| | | | | President Trump salutes as he steps off Air Force One upon arrival in Morristown, New Jersey, Friday to spend the weekend at the Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster. Credit: Nicholas Kamm/AFP/Getty Images | | | Wait, But Now Iran: It's hard to keep up with the topic-swapping going on these days at the White House
Dress Like the First Lady, Global Edition: Kate looks at FLOTUS's foreign trip wardrobe
A New Palin Reality Star is Born: Bristol will be on MTV's "Teen Mom OG" | | | What the White House is Talking About:
President Trump today keeping a relatively low profile, although we will see him for a Made in America event this afternoon in the East Room.
What the White House Press Corps is Talking About:
ALL CAPS TWEETS AND JOKES WITH ALL CAPS ABOUT ALL CAPS TWEETS.
There is a press briefing on the official White House schedule for 2 p.m. ET.
Made in America, Never Forget:
I'm personally thinking Trump is super-looking forward to today's event because last year he got to be a cowboy, a baseball player and a fireman. | | Credit: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images, Olivier Douliery/AFP/Getty Images
Wait, But Now Iran:
It's hard to keep up with the topic-swapping going on these days at the White House -- and I'm also really badly jet-lagged, so I blame myself. Last night, Trump appeared to dramatically pivot to a new news cycle, tweeting all-caps to Iran to watch out or else. | | Credit: @realDonaldTrump/Twitter
The tweet, however, was not out of nowhere. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani started it, saying in remarks yesterday that the United States should not "play with the lion's tail, because you will regret it eternally." Rouhani also said a war with his country would be "the mother of all wars." Trump is clearly making a statement back to that speech, but also establishing a precedent that could prove a difficult jumping-off point for diplomatic solutions, if and when that time might come.
This morning, National Security Adviser John Bolton released this statement to the press pool: "I spoke to the President over the last several days, and President Trump told me that if Iran does anything at all to the negative, they will pay a price like few countries have ever paid before." ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Other Trump Tweet Topics Today and It's Not Even 10:30AM:
The dossier; FISA warrants; Carter Page; fake news; the Helsinki summit with Vladimir Putin; North Korea peace progress; his dislike of "The Amazon Washington Post." Call me crazy, but I'm getting it's-gonna-be-an-Infrastructure Week vibes ... | | FoxNews Has a Case of the Mondays:
Nothing. Short. Of. Amazing. Please clap. | | Credit: @atrupar/Twitter
My Trip:
I know I've taken a lot of time off from this space this summer, but, guys, it's been crazy. Most recently, I was abroad for almost two weeks. I did the presidential trip to Brussels, London and Helsinki to cover Melania Trump, and it was pretty awesome. I wrote a bunch of stories about her activities in each of those places, so I hope you read along from home if you didn't catch me on TV. As such, I had a pretty different schedule than the rest of my White House press corps colleagues -- watching a violin concerto in a suburb of Brussels with leader spouses while the President went off at NATO, for example -- but it was still fascinating, even if Melania didn't say ONE PUBLIC WORD OF REMARKS the entire time. She did, however, manage to look graceful and fine after Trump -- in the middle of his press conference with Putin -- tossed her a soccer ball.
Dress Like the First Lady, Global Edition:
Melania wore a bunch of different outfits for the trip. It was hard for me to pick favorites, but here are my top five. She wore some great coats, including this blue one in Finland, by Isoude, which she paired with leather leggings from Ralph Lauren Purple Label and one of her Hermès Birkin bags (yes, one of, she has several, at least seven by my count.) I also really enjoyed her $3,600 pale yellow Gucci coat with butterfly belt, which she wore to the actual summit in Finland. I appreciate that she took off the giant red brooch thing it comes with. And I also liked it better like this (shown) with the collar popped, than when she had it later at the summit with the collar flattened. | | Credit: Brendan Smialowski/Getty Images, isoude.com, farfetch.com
Kudos to her for wearing a designer from one of the host countries, something the first lady does not do with regularity. She had on this striped Victoria Beckham dress for lawn bowling with pensioners in London. And I can't not mention the ethereal white Elie Saab she wore to the big NATO banquet dinner in Brussels -- I maintain without any official confirmation that it was also a nod to Belgium's tradition of lace-making. But, that's just me 🙋♀️. | | Credit: Luca Bruno/Getty Images, matchesfashion.com, Jonathan Nackstrand/Getty Images, eliesaab.com
But my favorite-favorite was the pale pink Dior suit with the thin black belt she wore to meet Queen Elizabeth at Windsor Castle. It was tailored but feminine, and was so perfectly appropriate it made the fact the president didn't button his suit jacket even more maddening. | | Credit: Brendan Smialowski/Getty Images, Richard Pohle/WPA/Getty Images
Stuff You Can Buy in Slovenia:
I also popped over to Slovenia for a couple of days at the end of my trip to do a little Melania research and just generally see where she came from -- I'd heard for years what a beautiful country it is, and it truly was. The only weird part was all of the Melania/first lady stuff you can buy in her hometown of Sevnica. Here's some of the first lady-branded stuff I got and brought home: wine, chocolate (big bars and small bars), tea, and chocolate-dipped apples. | | Credit: Me
It's good to be home. And special thanks to Hunter for holding down the fort and doing it so well while I was off on my vacation and travels! | | What Washington is Talking About:
The Senate is voting today on Robert Wilkie for VA Secretary, Sen. Mark Warner's (D-Va.) office in Roanoke, Virginia, was vandalized -- a brick was thrown through a window -- and Paul Manafort's trial will begin this week, with jury selection expected on Wednesday.
What America is Talking About:
Disney dropped "Guardians of the Galaxy 3" director James Gunn because of old tweets it called "indefensible," none of the victims who died in the capsized duck boat in Missouri were wearing life vests, a source told CNN, and wait, are we going to go to war with Iran now?
Poll of the Day:
A majority of Americans believe: 1. Citizens should automatically be registered to vote when they interact with state agencies like the DMV. 2. Those convicted of a felony should be allowed to vote after they serve their sentence, and 3. There should be same-day voter registration, according to a Public Religion Research Institute poll. Dems lead Repubs in all three categories. | | Credit: PRRI
The poll also found a majority would rather we pick our presidents through popular vote and not the Electoral College, a preference our Grace Sparks found can vary depending on how the question is asked.
Just Some Old Tweets From President Trump About Iran:
October 9, 2012: "Now that Obama's poll numbers are in tailspin – watch for him to launch a strike in Libya or Iran. He is desperate."
August 16, 2012: "I always said @BarackObama will attack Iran, in some form, prior to the election."
September 16, 2013: "I predict that President Obama will at some point attack Iran in order to save face!"
September 25, 2013: "Remember what I previously said--Obama will someday attack Iran in order to show how tough he is."
Obama, btw, never ended up attacking Iran. But interesting tweets nonetheless!
Bernie and AOC Hit the Heartland:
American politics' No. 1 and 2 most famous Democratic socialists were on the campaign trail together this weekend. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and US House candidate Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez spent time in Kansas stumping for Dem candidates in Kansas City and Wichita. That Sanders would bring someone like Ocasio-Cortez to stump halfway across the country is a testament to her newfound star power; it's not every day a candidate who hasn't been elected to Congress yet has that sort of pull. Sanders posted a pic of them together on Instagram and wrote that the policies they support are "not just popular in Vermont and New York City. They are popular everywhere." | | Credit: @berniesanders/Instagram
But not everyone appears to be a fan...
Comey Warns Dems:
Former FBI Director James Comey, who said last week Americans should vote Dem this November, has some advice for the party he endorsed: don't go too far left. "Democrats, please, please don't lose your minds and rush to the socialist left," he tweeted. "This president and his Republican Party are counting on you to do exactly that. America's great middle wants sensible, balanced, ethical leadership."
Trump 45:
Trump's daughter-in-law Lara Trump competed in the Boston Triathalon Sunday and came in 45th place and 243rd overall with a time of 2:11:21. Weather canceled the swim portion of the triathlon, but Trump called the race "fun nonetheless." | | Credit: Adam Glanzman/Getty Images for Columbia Threadneedle Investments
A New Palin Reality Star is Born:
Sarah Palin's daughter Bristol posted a photo with a film crew on Instagram Friday and wrote that she was joining MTV's "Teen Mom OG." "I look forward to sharing my experiences and hope that I can help others on their journey," she wrote. Palin gave birth to her first child in 2008, when she was 17, and now has three children. Sarah Palin told TMZ Bristol would be a "great messenger." "She sees this as a venue, as a forum for good," she said. | | Credit: @bsmp2/Instagram
Street Art Sighting:
This sci-fi Trump egg was sent in by Graciela Navarro, who said she spotted it in Mexico City's Santa Fe district. The egg is about six feet tall, Navarro said. | | Credit: Graciela Navarro
If you spot political street art, tweet me @hunterschwarz, tag me on Instagram @hunterschwarz, or email me at coverlinehunter@cnn.com with your sighting so I can feature it in COVER/LINE.
P.S.:
Rihanna's next album will be dancehall-influenced, sources close to the project told Rolling Stone. One producer said they have 500 songs for the album, but only 10 will make the cut. And P.P.S., this dog who sings "Toxic" is my spirit animal.
Correction: In Friday's issue I misidentified the person Michael Cohen talked about with President Trump in a recorded conversation. The person they reportedly discussed was Karen McDougal. | | | | | | |
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