| | | | | President Trump poses for a photo with the leaders of Thailand, Vietnam, Philippines, and Singapore during the 31st Association of Southeast Asian Nations Summit in Manila today. Credit: Manan Vatsyayana/AFP/Getty Images | | | The Faces, Oh, the Faces: The photo-op with world leaders that looked like a really awkward chorus line situation
Trump's "Short and Fat" Tweet Went Mega Vi: His tweet making fun of Kim Jong Un
GQ Names Kaepernick Citizen of the Year: And the magazine photographed him in Harlem, inspired by Muhammad Ali | | | What the White House is Talking About:
Final day of President Trump's Asia trip, and the conclusion of the ASEAN Summit.
What the White House Press Corps is Talking About:
Trump believes he's been welcomed to Asia, "like nobody, I think, has probably ever seen," in terms of red carpet rollout. Also, controversial Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte's name-calling of the media, which made Trump chuckle. "Whoa, whoa," Duterte said. "This not a press statement. This is the bilateral meeting .... We will be discussing matters that are of interest to both the Philippines and ... with you around, guys, you are the spies." Heh, heh, heh," Trump laughed. Good times.
But Did They or Did They Not Talk About Human Rights?:
Sarah Sanders said they did, which would be good because that's an issue with Duterte. But Duterte's spokesman says they didn't: "It was not brought up." Yet, here's Sanders to the WH traveling press: "The conversation focused on ISIS, illegal drugs, and trade. Human rights briefly came up in the context of the Philippines' fight against illegal drugs." ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
The Faces, Oh, The Faces:
Say what you want about Trump, he really does make spectacular facial expressions -- and I appreciate that. This traditional handshake deal that everyone is talking about to me just looked like a really awkward chorus line situation, made better by the faces of Trump. | | Credit: Jim Watson/AFP/Getty Images
But, Meanwhile ... :
Outside the summit, in the streets of Manila, a gigantic effigy burned, depicting Trump in the shape of a swastika. | | Credit: Jes Aznar/Getty Images
I'm Back from China, Guys!:
Well, THAT was a whirlwind few days I'll never forget for the rest of my life. Not just because I achieved my goal of getting an exclusive interview with Melania Trump (on the Great Wall of China - whaaa?!), but because of the things I saw and the people I met. I was particularly intrigued by the children, mostly because a lot of Melania's events were with kids. They were so well trained, which was incredibly impressive, but also sort of startling and a bit... unnerving? Clearly, in China, perfection is paramount, which is why every dance, every song, statement, wave of a tiny flag, was done with precision. I don't know why it left such an impression on me, but it did. Otherwise, it was a very cool trip. I grabbed this shot of Melania inside a school she visited in Beijing, just so you can try to feel how crazy it all was, and what a cool customer she remained in the face of it all. | | Credit: Kate Bennett
Dress Like the First Lady:
I mean -- where do I begin? I have a story coming hopefully later today about my overall thoughts on Melania's Asia trip fashion, because I have a lot of feels. I'll post it in Cover/Line tomorrow, just in case. But let's do her shoes for the Alaska stopover at Elmendorf-Richardson Air Force Base, which served as both a chance for our plane to refuel, and for the first lady to visit with some military families. The entire look was totally mountain chic, and I dug it, but the Christian Louboutin boots, available for $1,245 here, were lit. | | | Credit: Kate Bennett; us.christianlouboutin.com | | What Washington is Talking About:
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Roy Moore should step aside in Alabama's US Senate race. The Senate Finance Committee markup of their Repub tax reform bill begins today. And one of the attendees at the Trump Tower meeting, Rinat Akhmetshin, is meeting with the House Intelligence Committee.
What America is Talking About:
Bill Gates has pledged $50 million to Alzheimer's research. "I believe there is a solution," he told CNN. An investment firm of his has also spent $80 million to build a "smart city" called Belmont outside Phoenix.
J Kush Has Entered a New Phase of Trying to Bring Peace in the Middle East:
The White House says their team creating a Middle East peace plan is now ready to draft plans. Jared Kushner is a member of the team, along with deputy national security adviser Dina Powell, Ambassador to Israel David Friedman and chief negotiator Jason Greenblatt, who said the team won't put out "an artificial timeline" about releasing their plan.
This Omarosa Profile, Man...:
The Daily Beast shadowed the White House Office of Public Liaison communications director for a day in which she walked around the West Wing and prepared for a bridal luncheon. The story is headlined "No One Knows What Omarosa Is Doing in the White House -- Even Omarosa." Oof.
In Seeking to Discredit WaPo's Reporting, Breitbart is Confirming It:
Breitbart has declared war on the Washington Post's reporting about Alabama Repub Senate candidate Roy Moore and the women who accused him of pursuing relationships with them when they were teenagers and he was in his 30s. The stuff they've come up with is really ... um ... thin.
In one story, the mother of an accuser said the Post "worked to convince her daughter to give an interview about the allegations against Moore." There's a word for that. It's called "journalism." | | Credit: Breitbart
Also, it confirms what the Post already described about how it reported the story. These women didn't seek out the press. | | Credit: The Washington Post
Breitbart also touted an exclusive that the same mother said her daughter didn't have a phone in her room where she allegedly had phone conversations with Moore, a "key detail" in the Post's story, while noting that the house phone could reach her room. Breitbart was also the only outlet allowed into a Sunday campaign event "which was closed to the press," where Moore said he plans to sue the Post. If a suit is ever actually filed, I'll be sure to let you guys know.
Biden Says he Hasn't Considered a 2020 Run Yet:
"Not yet," he said in an interview with Oprah. "And I say that, 'not yet,' because I'm a great respecter of fate." He said his health is one thing that could sideline him in 2020. "I'm, thank God, right now in awful good health. But I don't know what the things are going to be two years from now."
Biden also said he knew Clinton was going to lose after doing 83 campaign events for her. "A month out, I came back and said, 'We're going to lose this election.'" He said he believed he would have beaten Clinton if he ran in 2016, although it "would have been an extremely difficult race. And I have nothing but friendship for Hillary."
Trump's "Short and Fat" Tweet Went Mega Vi:
Trump's tweet about Kim Jong Un Saturday where he does that thing he loves to do by insulting someone and saying he's not going to say the insult that he says was RTed more than 442,000 times, about 250,000 of the RTs came from Trump's account, while about 191,000 of the RTs in the form of this screenshot of the tweet written in crayon using a Daily Show chrome extension that changes the font in all Trump tweets to this: | | Credit: @riseuphes/Twitter
GQ Names Kaepernick Citizen of the Year:
Colin Kaepernick is on the cover of the magazine's December issue for a story for which he wasn't interviewed. Writes GQ:
"When we began discussing this GQ cover with Colin earlier this fall, he told us the reason he wanted to participate is that he wants to reclaim the narrative of his protest, which has been hijacked by a president eager to make this moment about himself. But Colin also made it clear to us that he intended to remain silent."
In place of an interview with him, they spoke with 10 of Kaepernick's confidants about his protest, including rapper J. Cole and former teammate, 49ers safety Eric Reid. Photographer Martin Schoeller shot Kaepernick in Harlem, using images of Muhammad Ali as inspiration. You can read the story and see the photos here. | | Credit: GQ
Melania's Last CNN Interview:
I missed this one when looking through interviews last week. Before Kate's, Melania's last CNN interview was in October 2016 with Anderson Cooper over the "Access Hollywood" tape, in which she responded to the footage of her husband bragging about trying to have sex with a married woman and being able to grope women. | | | | | | |
No comments:
Post a Comment