| | | | Why Trump's boring speech at Davos was a win for him | | | The idea of Donald Trump, the man who ran and governed on the idea that we need to think of "America first," speaking before the World Economic Forum in Davos, the hub of globalist thinking, had lots and lots of people expecting major fireworks. Instead they got a fizzle. And that's a win for the President and his advisers. The speech that Trump gave Friday afternoon in Switzerland (it was just after 8 a.m. on the East Coast) was -- dare I say it -- incredibly traditional and even somewhat mundane. Trump spent 15 minutes touting the benefits of investing in America and regaling attendees with evidence that the US economy was roaring to life.
"The world is witnessing the resurgence of a strong and prosperous America," Trump said at one point in his speech. "I'm here to deliver a simple message: There has never been a better time to hire, to build, to invest and to grow in the United States. America is open for business, and we are competitive once again." That's a line that you can imagine almost any past US president delivering in front of an audience like Davos. And that, in and of itself, is remarkable -- given that Trump has so rarely acted in ways over his first year in office that echo the conduct or rhetoric of his predecessors. Instead of repeatedly going off teleprompter to deliver long asides about a pet topic -- or play to the crowd -- Trump very much stuck to the script.
Even when Trump moved to the Q&A portion of the event, he was far more restrained than we are used to seeing. He did take a dig at the "fake news" -- which brought boos from the crowd -- but pivoted away from it very quickly. He talked about his business acumen and did some back-patting, but he didn't spend five minutes talking about how big his buildings were, how nice his houses were or how everyone wanted to be him.
Acting presidential for 15 minutes is, admittedly, a very low bar. This speech should not be taken as a pivot in any meaningful way to a different sort of Trump -- one more committed to acting like all the men who have come before him in the job. This is not that. And that is simply not going to happen. But what I am certain of is that when Trump got on Air Force One to head back to the United States earlier today, his staff -- and virtually every Republican senator and House member -- breathed a big sigh of relief.
Read my full take here.
-- Chris | |  | | Photo: Liz Landers / CNN | | Speaking of Davos ... CNN's Elizabeth Landers sent us another great on-the-ground dispatch. She writes:
Davos is still abuzz after President Trump's speech addressing the forum this afternoon. The Congress Hall, where he spoke, was so crowded that I witnessed a slight scuffle over an empty seat in front of me.
"You can't save seats," a woman in painful-looking high heels said to a man spread out over two chairs. "This isn't church, this is Davos."
She won the argument just in time to be seated and to hear Trump tell the hall that "America first does not mean America alone." The President touted his tax cuts and deregulation efforts to a crowd that included much of his Cabinet and other world and business leaders. The speech lasted a brief 15 minutes, and there was no major news in the address, though the Q&A portion afterwards gave the President the opportunity to criticize the "fake news" media, a sentiment that garnered boos (and not from the press section) in the hall.
The ski village emptied out quickly as sponsored store fronts on the main drag were being dismantled. The President landed back in DC around 7 p.m. ET this evening, just one day after The New York Times reported that he did in fact try to fire Mueller back in June.
Read more of CNN's coverage here. | | | Steven Spielberg Is remaking "West Side Story." (!) A casting call surfaced on the internet this week. Anyway, in honor of that, here's "Jet Song." | | Planned Parenthood President Cecile Richards confirmed Friday that she is stepping down in 2018.
"Leading Planned Parenthood over the last 12 years has been the honor of my lifetime," she said in a statement. "Together, we have made real progress in this country, expanding access to services and making reproductive rights a central priority of our nation's health care system. I'm deeply proud of the progress we've made for the millions of people Planned Parenthood health centers serve across the country each year."
The news comes just days after Buzzfeed, citing two sources familiar with the matter, first reported Richards' plans to exit the organization.
Read more in Saba's story here. | | WH COMMEMORATES HOLOCAUST REMEMBRANCE DAY | | Liz Landers reported Friday: "The White House released a statement Friday commemorating International Holocaust Remembrance Day, a worldwide day of reflection and remembrance for the millions of lives lost in the Holocaust. The statement makes clear mention of the 6 million Jews killed in the Holocaust, a notable difference with last year's statement, which was criticized for not mentioning Jews or anti-Semitism.
'Tomorrow marks the 73rd anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau, the Nazi death and concentration camp in Poland. We take this opportunity to recall the Nazis' systematic persecution and brutal murder of 6 million Jewish people,' the statement reads, calling the Nazi rule 'inhumane' and 'brutal' and highlighting the other persecuted groups who were killed by the Nazi regime, such as gays, Slavs and others.
First lady Melania Trump visited the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum on Thursday." | | TRUMP SAYS MUELLER REPORT IS 'FAKE NEWS' | | As we all know at this point, news never sleeps. And Thursday night, new news broke that President Donald Trump ordered the firing of special counsel Robert Mueller last June, only to be talked out of doing so when White House general counsel Don McGahn refused to follow through because he disagreed with the President's reasoning, a source told CNN. The New York Times was first to report that Trump called for Mueller's departure in June 2017. BTW: On Friday, Trump denied this. "Fake news, folks. Fake news," he said, when questioned about the revelation as he entered the World Economic Forum in Davos. "Typical New York Times," he added.
Read Chris' take on 5 things Trump's attempted firing of Robert Mueller teaches us and how Trump calling it "fake news" is a total Trump cop-out. | | REP. KENNEDY TAPPED BY DEMS FOR SOTU RESPONSE | | | CNN's Madison Park reports: "Rep. Joseph Kennedy III will deliver the Democratic Party's response to President Donald Trump's State of the Union address next week. Kennedy, 37, is seen as a rising star in a party that has many in the senior ranks well into their 70s. The Massachusetts congressman comes from one of the most prominent families in American politics as the great nephew of former President John F. Kennedy. He will follow in the footsteps of his great uncle, Sen. Ted Kennedy, who was part of a group response to President Ronald Reagan's State of the Union in 1982." Read more in CNN's full story here. | | | Happy Friday! Enjoy your weekend, and remind everyone you know to subscribe to The Point. | | 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. | | | | | | |
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