| | | | Donald Trump loves a parade | | President Donald Trump huddled on Monday with French President Emmanuel Macron at the United Nations General Assembly in New York City. And he couldn't stop talking about the Bastille Day parade he attended in Paris over the summer.
"I do want to say that I was your guest at Bastille Day," said Trump. "It was one of the greatest parades I have ever seen. It was two hours on the button and was military might. It was a tremendous thing for France and for the people of France."
Trump said that he has broached the possibility of having a similar military show-of-force parade down Pennsylvania Avenue.
"We're going to have to try and top it," said Trump. "It was really a beautiful thing to see. It was really so well done. We're actually thinking about Fourth of July having a really great parade to show our military strength."
If you've followed Trump's (brief) political career to this point, his love of parades -- and military might -- shouldn't surprise you. Trump is very, very into pageantry, especially when it makes him look tough and resolute.
He also likes having the biggest and the best of everything. He saw that French parade and thought: "If the French can do this, imagine what we can do."
Trump, at root, is a television addict -- and a reality TV star. He is forever thinking about how things look. How they are perceived. (Remember that Trump has screengrabs of the lower-thirds -- the "chyrons" in the biz -- printed out after speeches so he can see how things are playing.)
Image is everything. Which means it trumps -- ahem -- the possible negative signal it might send to the world if we had tanks rolling down Pennsylvania on July 4.
-- Chris | | #UNGA: REPORTER'S NOTEBOOK | | The UN General Assembly kicked off Monday in New York City. CNN's Liz Landers with more:
World leaders descended upon a gray Gotham for the annual United Nations General Assmebly, where President Donald Trump made his debut at the multinational gathering.
This morning, during his first remarks to the UN, the president expressed a desire to see the body, frankly, do more. "I encourage all member states to look at ways to take bold stands at the United Nations with an eye toward changing business as usual," Trump said.
The president held midday meetings with both Israel's Benjamin Netanyahu and France's Emmanuel Macron (no, the handshake wasn't quite as awkward this time). It's important to remember that Trump is back on his home turf. The last time he was here, there was that off-the-rails, impromptu Trump Tower lobby press conference.
Anything could happen tomorrow during the president's 10:30 a.m. address, though UN Ambassador Nikki Haley teased the speech on Friday, saying that the president "slaps the right people, huge hugs the right people, and he comes out with the US being very strong in the end."
Look for his nuance around North Korea. Is it "fire and fury"? Is the President presenting more military options? Our preview of the speech will be out later tonight. | | CNN's Ryan Struyk writes:
President Trump not-so-subtly jabbed at world leaders on Monday when he said the United Nations needs to make sure "no member state shoulders a disproportionate share of the burden." The United States has long contributed the most to the United Nations regular budget – but have we been paying too much? It's complicated.
On the one hand, the US is paying (a lot) more than any other country on the planet to the UN's budget. But it's still paying less than you might expect, based on the massive US economy. Still, China is paying much less than you'd expect given its (even bigger) gross national income. But when you factor in goods that some other countries are giving to the UN, the US number might not look like such a huge share of the total pot, after all.
For more, look for Ryan's full story tomorrow on cnn.com/politics or the CNN Politics app. | | "No, I wouldn't rule it out." -Hillary Clinton, when asked by NPR's Terry Gross whether she'd "completely rule out questioning the legitimacy of this election if we learn that the Russian interference in the election is even deeper than we know now."
Read Chris' take on the interview here. | | | | In honor of "Big Little Lies" winning a ton of awards at Sunday night's Emmys, here's a link to the amazing soundtrack for the HBO miniseries. If you can only listen to one song: The opening credits: "Cold Little Heart" by British soul singer Michael Kiwanuka. BTW we're not the only ones who are fans of the music: It's been written about a ton (The Atlantic called the show's soundtrack its "soul"). | | SPICER OUT OF THE BUSHES, ON TO THE EMMYS | | Speaking of the Emmys...
Axios on Sunday morning reported there would be a "Washington-related stunt" at this year's annual awards show, hosted by Stephen Colbert. And sure enough, that stunt turned out to be a surprise cameo from Sean Spicer. The former White House press secretary shocked attendees -- and enraged Twitter users -- when he appeared in a bit that appeared to mock Spicer's defense of Trump's inauguration attendance.
Spicer was apparently "getting mobbed" in the Emmys lobby by people who wanted to take pictures with him. The Hollywood Reporter's Chris Gardner caught this moment (above).
But many people have been echoing Chris' take on Spicer's appearance: "Not only was the Spicer bit not funny, it shouldn't have happened at all."
BTW, per CNN's Brian Stelter, the cameo was Colbert's idea. "Colbert thought it would be funny and surprising, and that's what mattered most," Stelter reported. | | 🍔HAPPY NATIONAL CHEESEBURGER DAY🍔 | | Meanwhile, the Mooch apparently has bigger plans.
Per a recent report in Buzzfeed News: Former/short-lived White House communications director Anthony Scaramucci "told a friend, in writing, that he wants to run to be the governor of New York or president of the United States."
From the story: "The correspondence, obtained by BuzzFeed News, contradicts Scaramucci's tweet on Friday calling a BuzzFeed News report on his political ambition 'fake news.' The story detailed how the bold former White House communications director, who lasted only 10 days in the Trump administration, had recently told friends he wants to run for office — as mayor of New York City, governor of New York, or US president."
Like Spicer, Scaramucci has been on somewhat of a media tour, appearing on late-night shows after departing from his Trump admin post. He's also been promoting a new endeavor called "The Scaramucci Post" on Twitter. | | | Sorry, we had to, because Melissa McCarthy's reaction is everything. Reminder to tell everyone you know to subscribe. Period. | | We'd love to share our other newsletters with you. Follow this link for daily coverage of the world's top stories, savvy market insights, an insider's look into the media and more. Our authors for The Point are Chris Cillizza and Saba Hamedy. Send your tips and thoughts via email to Chris or Saba. Follow on Twitter: Chris and Saba. | | | Get the Nightcap, a comprehensive summary of the most important political news, delivered to your inbox daily. | | | | | |
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