| | | | | Sen. Jeff Flake and his wife Cheryl Flake leave the US Capitol Tuesday as they are trailed by reporters. Credit: Drew Angerer/Getty Images | | | Ivanka Trump to Head to Japan: She'll speak on two of her fav topics: women entrepreneurs and women in the economy
Ellen Reinterprets CNN Campaign: Makes Anderson Cooper a pineapple
What It Was Like on the Senate Floor During Flake's Speech: Some Repubs gave him a standing O, Tim Kaine had tears in his eyes | | | What the White House is Talking About:
Wednesday is for fund-raising. President Trump spends most of his day in Dallas, Texas, where after a hurricane recovery briefing, he'll attend an RNC roundtable. In the evening, he'll headline a Trump Victory reception -- where tickets range from $2,700 to $100,000 per person -- before flying back to Washington.
What the White House Press Corps is Talking About:
Trump held off on most of his tweets about Sen. Jeff Flake last night, but this morning he let fly a handful of doozies, many mentioning the standing ovation he says he got at the luncheon with GOP senators on Capitol Hill yesterday.
Flake's Remarkable Speech:
Whatever your politics, it's fair to say Flake's speech on the floor was remarkable and unprecedented. Motives aside, it's worth a read if you didn't have time to catch it live -- some speeches are best read anyway, in my opinion. Anyway, as soon as news broke that he was retiring, I looked at Hunter and said, "he's running." I think he's going to try for the lane of Republicans and right-leaning Democrats who perhaps voted for Trump but have become disillusioned by the rhetoric and the lack of any tangible progress with legislation. Right after the speech, Flake went on "The Lead," and Jake Tapper asked him if he had plans to run in 2020. Here's what he said: "I won't go there. That's a long time away ... it's early." By this morning, on "New Day," Flake was here: "That is not on my radar screen, that's a long way off. I'm focused on my work in the Senate. I have another 14 months... I haven't entertained that thought for very long, no." So, yeah.
Wolf Blitzer is My Favorite:
And it's not just because we play the "who are you wearing?" game when we bump into each other in the hall (he likes an Armani suit) -- it's because he's an actual real badass journalist. This exchange he had with Republican Sen. Jim Risch yesterday is proof: | | Brianna Keilar is Even More Amazing Than You Already Think She Is:
Sometimes as journalists it's hard to keep our personal lives out of our work -- especially when the headlines hit home. I'm really proud of Brianna for telling her story, I know it's been difficult the past couple of weeks with all the controversy involving the President and the widow of Sgt. La David Johnson. Brianna's husband is on his sixth deployment.
Ivanka Trump Heads to Japan Ahead of Her Dad:
The first daughter and adviser to the President arrives in Japan on November 3rd, two days ahead of her father, so she can deliver a speech on two of her favorite topics: women's participation in the economy and women's entrepreneurship, writes Betsy Klein. She'll speak at the invitation of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, at the World Assembly for Women conference.
And I Have to Include This. I'm Sorry.:
Eve Peyser made a list on Twitter of all the times Ivanka has used words incorrectly. | | Credit: @evepeyser/Twitter
This is My Favorite Story Today:
Queen Elizabeth has made, wait for it, $8.8 million dollars from racing her thoroughbred horses. That's £6.7 million pounds for those of you who prefer it that way. Her winnings make her the 11th most successful owner in flat racing in a 30-year period. | | Ellen Reinterprets CNN's New Campaign:
I hope you guys have seen our new Facts First campaign that launched this week, the one with the apple -- that no matter if you try to call the apple a banana, it's still an apple. Talk shows have had some fun with it, but I liked Ellen DeGeneres' take from yesterday, mainly because she made Anderson Cooper be the pineapple 🍍. And I'll even give Buzzfeed's troll a thumbs -up because it's my favorite knock-knock joke. | | RTCA Awards Dinner is Tonight:
The Radio and Television Correspondents' Association annual black tie awards dinner is tonight. House Speaker Paul Ryan is going to be the keynote speaker (and he better be as funny as he was at last week's Al Smith dinner) and Roy Wood Jr from "The Daily Show with Trevor Noah" is the headliner. Follow me on Twitter tonight -- it's my first time attending. Congratulations in advance to the winners of the three big RTCA awards ... | | What Washington is Talking About:
Surprise that Sen. Jeff Flake announced he won't seek re-election. And the House today is considering a bill on Iran sanctions.
What America is Talking About:
Amazon Key, a service for Amazon Prime members that allows deliveries to be made inside a customer's home, complete with a smart lock and security camera.
What It Was Like on the Senate Floor During Flake's Speech:
Sen. Jeff Flake's 17-minute speech on the Senate floor yesterday -- like Mitt Romney's March 2016 speech criticizing then-candidate Donald Trump or Ted Cruz's RNC speech calling on Republicans to "vote their conscience" -- felt historic and highly unusual with its criticism of a Republican president from fellow Republicans.
On the Senate floor, Sens. John McCain, Bob Corker and John Barrasso gave Flake a standing ovation. Hillary Clinton's former running mate Tim Kaine had tears in his eyes. "When someone as good and decent a person as Jeff Flake does not think he can continue in the body, it's a very tragic day for the institution," he told the media. Speaker Ryan said he was "saddened" that Congress would lose Flake. The Arizona senator's colleagues on the Hill were "stunned" by his decision to not seek re-election, our Lauren Fox reported.
Flake followed up his speech with an op-ed in today's Washington Post headlined "Enough." | | Credit: Win McNamee/Getty Images
Clinton Campaign, DNC Funded Infamous Steele Dossier:
The Washington Post reports Marc E. Elias, a lawyer for the campaign and DNC, retained the Washington firm Fusion GPS to conduct research for what became the infamous "Steele Dossier," written by former British intelligence officer Christopher Steele. Tweeted former Clinton campaign spokesman Brian Fallon:
"I regret I didnt know about Christopher Steele's hiring pre-election. If I had, I would have volunteered to go to Europe and try to help him," and "I have no idea what Fusion or Steele were paid but if even a shred of that dossier ends up helping Mueller, it will prove money well spent."
White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders tweeted a link to the Washington Post story, calling it the "real Russia scandal." | | Credit: @PressSec/Twitter
About four hours before Sanders shared that story, she criticized our Jeff Zeleny for citing the Washington Post, saying, "as I've said many times before, I wouldn't use the Washington Post as my source, Jeff. You should know better than that."
*looks over rim of glasses at Sanders with a bewildered, disapproving glare*
Meanwhile, the Data Firm That Worked for Trump Campaign Reached Out to Julian Assange:
WikiLeaks founder Assange told the Daily Beast that Cambridge Analytica, the data analytics firm that worked for the Trump campaign that's backed by Trump donors the Mercers, approached WikiLeaks. Per the Daily Beast, the firm's head, Alexander Nix, wanted to work with WikiLeaks regarding Hillary Clinton's emails.
Priebus Gets a New Job:
The former White House chief of staff is unemployed no more. Reince Priebus announced today he's rejoining the Wisconsin-based law firm Michael Best as president and has signed with Washington Speakers Bureau, an Alexandria-based agency that also reps George W., Laura, and Jeb Bush, Madeleine Albright, Colin Powell, John Kerry and Condoleezza Rice.
Twitter Announces Ad Transparency Measures:
The social network is launching a "transparency center" that will show all ads running on Twitter, and information such as how long they've run and who paid for them. They also shared this example of what a political ad in your Twitter feed could one day look like: | | Credit: Twitter
Ex-Fifth Harmony Member Dedicates Video to Dreamers:
Camila Cabello released her music video for "Havana" (featuring Young Thug) yesterday, and it features this closing dedication: | | Credit: CamilaCabelloVEVO/YouTube
Cabello was born in Cuba and arrived in the US when she was six. She's spoken out against Trump's proposed DACA repeal and in support of the children of undocumented immigrants, sometimes called "dreamers." | | | | | | |
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