| | | | | President Donald Trump delivers remarks about the Florida school shooting Thursday at the White House. Credit: Win McNamee/Getty Images | | | Romney's Olympics-Themed Announcement: Mitt Romney announces Senate candidacy in Utah on ice rink
Trump Accused of Another Affair: This time with a former Playboy model
Guys, We Have a Podcast: The three-part "The Political Runway" is out now | | | | Kate Bennett is off. Her section will return Tuesday. | | What Washington is Talking About:
A bipartisan immigration deal that would have allowed almost 2 million children of undocumented immigrants to remain in the country and provide $25 billion in border security failed Thursday in a 54-45 vote in the Senate.
What America is Talking About:
Reaction to the Florida school shooting continues. A GoFundMe page for the victims raised more than $100,000 in two hours, and today's New York Post leads with "Mr. President, Please Act."
Poll of the Day:
Presidents Day is Monday, and an Ipsos-University of Virginia Center for Politics poll found John F. Kennedy is seen as the best President since the '50s, followed by Ronald Reagan and Barack Obama. Nixon came in last, and Trump was not included. | | Credit: UVA Center for Politics
What PyeongChang is Talking About:
Shirtless opening ceremony sensation Pita Tofua finished in 114th place in freestyle cross-country skiing and is openly mulling trying out a third sport for the Tokyo Games in 2020, while in men's figure skating, US national champion Nathan Chen fell into 17th place and Adam Rippon, who skated to Ida Corr vs Fedde Le Grand's "Let Me Think About," landed in seventh. | | Credit: Robert Cianflone/Getty Images
Romney's Olympics-Themed Announcement Video:
Mitt Romney announced his candidacy for a US Senate seat from Utah today in a video filmed at Utah Olympic Oval, the speedskating venue at the 2002 Salt Lake City Games. He lists what Washington can learn from the Beehive State, including, "Utah welcomes legal immigrants from around the world, Washington sends immigrants a message of exclusion." CC: President Trump. | | Credit: @MittRomney/Twitter
Politicians React to Florida Shooting:
Trump said in his remarks about the school shooting that Americans are "all joined together as one American family" and called on people to "answer hate with love. Answer cruelty with kindness." He did not mention guns.
Former President Barack Obama called for "long overdue, common-sense gun safety laws." Florida Gov. Rick Scott, a Republican, told CNN's Wolf Blitzer that "everything's on the table" when it comes to gun legislation. "We cannot let this pass without making something happen that hopefully, and it's my goal that this will never happen again in my state," Scott said.
Russian Bots Tweet on Shooting:
Two sites created to track Russia-connected account activity found some accounts began tweeting about the shooting and guns.
Speaking today to the Council on Foreign Relations, Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff, ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee, said that Russians see guns "as one of the fault lines to exploit."
"The Russians are very big fans of our Second Amendment. They don't particularly want one of their own," Schiff said. "They don't necessarily want lots of Russians running around with lots of guns, but they're really happy we do. They would like nothing better than if we were shooting each other every day, which sadly, we are."
Special Counsel Reportedly Talks to Bannon, Nears Plea Deal with Adviser:
The latest from Robert Mueller's investigation: Sources tell CNN that former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon was questioned for two days this week, and former Trump campaign adviser Rick Gates is nearing a plea deal to cooperate with the investigation.
Trump Accused of Another Affair:
This time, it's former Playboy model Karen McDougal who, according to an eight-page, handwritten note obtained by The New Yorker, allegedly had an affair with Trump in 2006 when he was married to Melania. McDougal was paid $150,000 by the Trump-friendly National Enquirer publisher American Media Inc. for rights to her story, which it never published. An unnamed White House representative was careful with his or her words when denying the story, telling The New Yorker, "The President says he never had a relationship with McDougal" (emphasis mine).
The story included some photos from McDougal's notes, including this excerpt in which she wrote Trump "showed me around" his Trump Tower home in New York and pointed out Melania's bedroom. "Said she liked her space - to read or be alone sometimes," McDougal wrote. | | Credit: Via The New Yorker
Stormy Has a Story She'd Like to Tell:
Stormy Daniels' manager, Gina Rodriguez, said the adult film actress can now talk freely about her alleged affair with Trump because his attorney Michael Cohen broke their nondisclosure agreement when he admitted he paid Daniels $130,000. "Everything is off now, and Stormy is going to tell her story," Rodriguez said.
Omarosa Praises First Lady:
Omarosa had a rare positive thing to say about the Trump White House on "Celebrity Big Brother," saying the first lady has "impeccable taste" when it comes to interior design and calling her "sharp." She said:
"I don't understand why people don't think that she's sharp. She speaks so many different languages."
Guys, We Have a Podcast:
It's a three-part miniseries on politics and fashion called "The Political Runway." Kate and I spoke with The Washington Post's fashion critic Robin Givhan, historian Barbara Perry, "Veep" costume designer Kathleen Felix-Hager, and designer Prabal Gurung (who's dressed Michelle Obama) about how clothing is used to send a political message in Washington and on the runway. We learned a lot while recording it, including how stylish some of our former first ladies were.
You can download "COVER/LINE: The Political Runway" here. Hope you like it! | | | Credit: CNN
Someone Found a Lock of George Washington's Hair:
If you want to kick off your Presidents Day weekend right, click here to see it. A librarian at Union College in Schenectady, New York, said he discovered a lock of Washington's hair in an almanac. Amazing.
Kate and I will be off Monday. Hope you have a great weekend, and we'll see you Tuesday! | | | | | | |
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