| | | | | President Donald Trump returns to the White House on Wednesday after travels to Southern California to see border wall prototypes and to St. Louis for a fundraiser. Credit: Eric Thayer/Pool/Getty Images | | | Barron Trump's School Writes Letter to His Dad: It calls for stricter gun control measures
What Trump's New Economic Adviser Said About Tariffs: Larry Kudlow is no fan of one of the few issues Trump has been consistent on
"We Believe You Stormy!": Political street art sighting in Washington | | | What the White House Is Talking About:
President Donald Trump goes to the Friends of Ireland luncheon today on Capitol Hill; later he and first lady Melania Trump welcome Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar back to the White House, where the President will speak at a reception for the annual Shamrock Bowl presentation.
What the White House Press Corps Is Talking About:
The United States announcing new sanctions against Russia for meddling in US elections.
Also, TFW Trump makes up stuff he says to the leader of one of our closest allies and then brags about it during a fundraising speech -- all of which actually happened, according to audio obtained by The Washington Post. "Trudeau came to see me. He's a good guy, Justin. He said, 'No, no, we have no trade deficit with you, we have none. Donald, please.' Nice guy, good-looking guy, comes in -- 'Donald, we have no trade deficit.' He's very proud because everybody else, you know, we're getting killed. I said, 'Wrong, Justin, you do.' I didn't even know. ... I had no idea. I just said, 'You're wrong.' You know why? Because we're so stupid. ... And I thought they were smart. I said, 'You're wrong, Justin.' He said, 'Nope, we have no trade deficit.' I said, 'Well, in that case, I feel differently,' I said, 'but I don't believe it.' "
Press secretary Sarah Sanders is set to do the briefing at 2 this afternoon.
Russia Gets Sanctions:
There's a lot of "finally!" happening about this move, but this morning the White House announced it had imposed sanctions against Russian entities and individuals for meddling in US elections. Here's a helpful snippet from Kevin Liptak's reporting: "In total, the administration applied new sanctions on five entities and 19 individuals on Thursday, including Russians who posed as Americans and posted content online as part of the (troll farm Internet Research Agency's) attempts to sow discord ahead of the presidential contest."
More Russia:
And Trump also got the United States on board in a joint statement with France, Germany and the United Kingdom, condemning Russia over a poison attack on a former double spy and his daughter in England. The statement says in part: "The United Kingdom thoroughly briefed its allies that it was highly likely that Russia was responsible for the attack. We share the United Kingdom's assessment that there is no plausible alternative explanation, and note that Russia´s failure to address the legitimate request by the government of the United Kingdom further underlines Russia's responsibility." The White House had come under fire for not saying enough in the wake of the March 4 attack, and on the heels of British Prime Minister Theresa May's admonishment of Russia. | | Kudlow Is In, So Sayeth the Tweet:
It was kind of weird that Larry Kudlow was doing interviews about being tapped to be the new head of the National Economic Council before the White House publicly confirmed him as the pick, but whatever. Trump made it official this morning in a tweet: | | Credit: @realDonaldTrump/Twitter
Barron Trump's School Writes Letter to His Dad:
St. Andrew's Episcopal School in Potomac, Maryland, has written an open letter to the father of one of its students. The student is Barron Trump, and his dad happens to be the President of the United States. The letter, signed by a group of 100 independent schools in the Washington area, including St. Andrew's, was published in The Baltimore Sun and calls on Trump to enact stricter gun control measures. | | Credit: baltimoresun.com
Also, Today in Trump Fam Land:
The New York Post's Page Six says that Donald Trump Jr. and his wife, Vanessa, are heading for a divorce, according to friends of the couple. They have five children and have been married for 13 years. The younger Trump is a prolific post-er when it comes to pics of himself and his kids, or his kids on their own, on his Instagram account, but the last solo photo he posted of just his wife was from October. Honestly, I can't imagine how difficult and probably stressful it must be to have five children and live life under a microscope, while your father/father-in-law is the most divisive president in modern history -- and let's not forget it was just last month that Vanessa Trump went to the hospital as a precaution after opening a letter containing a white powder. (The Trumps haven't said anything publicly, and CNN hasn't confirmed the report.)
Trump Added to Painting of GOP Presidents:
Time has a fun story about Donald Trump being painted into "The Republican Club," a dogs-playing-poker-style painting by artist Andy Thomas. Thomas, who also made a Democratic version, tells Time the updated print will go on sale before the summer. Here it is with Trump. Note he and George W. Bush are having soda -- both don't drink alcohol. | | Credit: Andy Thomas, andythomas.com
There's a Democratic version already out with former President Barack Obama. Personally, I prefer Thomas' painting of the presidents playing poker titled "Callin' the Blue," because literally Abe Lincoln looks like a cool, bad boy who just told a dirty joke. | | Credit: Andy Thomas
Dress Like the First Daughter:
In the journey of plaid looks Ivanka Trump has been on this fall and winter -- she wears the pattern a lot -- I thought Tuesday's silhouette was one of the most interesting. It's sold out, but it was $1,200 and made by designer Sara Battaglia. You can't really tell from this picture, but it was sort of Sherlock Holmes-y. The first daughter was heading a roundtable discussion about human sex trafficking; she was also wearing mismatched earrings, which for the life of me I haven't been able to find. | | | Credit: sarabattaglia.com | | What Washington Is Talking About:
The Senate passed a banking bill Wednesday that makes changes to rules put in place after the 2008 financial crisis, and the legislation will next head to the House. And following the death of a French bulldog in an overhead compartment on a United Airlines flight, Sen. John Kennedy, a Louisiana Republican, said he'll file a bill today that would ban airlines from putting animals in overhead bins.
What America Is Talking About:
Toys R Us will close or sell all 735 of its US stores, which employ about 31,000 people.
Poll of the Day:
Three weeks ago in this space, I highlighted a CBS News poll that showed how Americans felt about various measures to prevent school shootings. "Allow more teachers to carry guns" was the least popular, and a new Gallup Poll again found that view remains the case. There is wide support, however, for both offering more training for officers responding to active shootings and requiring background checks for all gun sales. Nine out of 10 Americans favor both those proposals, according to the Gallup survey. | | Credit: Gallup
Shaq Wants More Officers in Schools:
That's what Shaquille O'Neal told WABC's "Curtis and Cosby" show. "You put 'em in front of the schools, you put 'em behind the schools, you put 'em inside the schools," the former NBA star said. He said he supported the students who are protesting for stricter gun controls but said he does not support banning guns because he thinks that would make them more valuable.
Walkouts Across America:
Wednesday's walkout protests against school shootings and in honor of the victims of the Parkland, Florida, massacre occurred at schools across the country. Thank you to everyone who emailed in what was happening in your community. Here is just a sample of what happened: - At George Mason Elementary School in Alexandria, Virginia, students whose parents signed them out of school held signs and lay down outside.
- Students lay down to form the word "Enough" on the football field at Mountain Ridge High School in Glendale, Arizona.
- Seventeen desks representing the 17 people killed last month in Parkland were placed on the front lawn of Venice High School in Los Angeles, where students and teachers placed flowers.
- At Wilson Preparatory Academy in Wilson, North Carolina, 16-year-old Justin Blackman was the only student to walk out.
- A student-led forum was held before a walkout at Yukon High School in Yukon, Oklahoma, on school safety issues, and teacher Michael Ketcham said students who walked out were counted tardy or absent, but "most students seemed to think that was pretty fair since it's the school policy."
- And in Washington, students gathered outside the White House:
| | Credit: Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images
What Kudlow Said About Trump and Tariffs:
Gary Cohn said he was quitting as Donald Trump's chief economics adviser because he disagreed with Trump's aluminum and steel tariffs. Trump's incoming chief economic adviser, CNBC senior contributor Larry Kudlow, also disagrees with Trump on tariffs. On March 1, Kudlow said Trump has "never been good on trade" after praising him on immigration, tax cuts and deregulation. Kudlow has called tariffs "prosperity killers," a "crisis of logic" and a "bad omen" that could lead to a "major calamity."
Stormy Daniels' Mom Hopes the Scandal Doesn't Hurt Trump:
Sheila Gregory, the 64-year-old mother of porn film star Stormy Daniels, is a Trump supporter who hopes her daughter's alleged affair with the President doesn't hurt him. "If Mr. Trump runs four more times, I would vote for him every time," she told the Dallas Morning News. "I like him. I like the way he handles things. It's time this country is put back where it belongs -- taking care of the people here instead of the people who don't belong here."
Gregory said she hasn't spoken with her daughter in 12 years. However, she said she calls "every few weeks," but the two haven't connected. And Daniels' father, Bill Gregory, said he worries about his daughter's safety. "You start rattling the cage of powerful people, and you don't know what might happen," he said.
Dems Hit Gym Bro Ryan:
House Majority Pac, a Democratic group, is out with an ad critical of House Speaker Paul Ryan, with an actor playing him as a hapless "Fancy Paul Ryan" out to dinner and working on his fitness.
I find it notable because A.) it's uncommon to see politicians painted as gym bros (blame his love of P90X and that iconic 2012 Time shoot) and B.) I feel like we could see a lot more attack ads coming -- for Ryan and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. One of the risks of congressional leadership is a tarnished personal political brand (see: Pelosi, Nancy), especially in today's political climate where Democrats might not want to attack Trump, unpopular as he may be, for fear of rallying his staunchest supporters. Better to stick to establishment GOP figures a lot of Trump fans don't like either. Per The Washington Post, this ad will run for a week on national cable networks, and in Milwaukee's media market, which includes part of Ryan's congressional district in Wisconsin. | | Credit: HouseMajorityPac/YouTube
Street Art Sighting:
Spotted Wednesday on a construction site banner on 11th and Q streets in northwest Washington that literally asks people for street art by Wayne Skinner: a spray-painted "WE BELIEVE YOU STORMY!" | | Credit: Wayne Skinner
If you spot political street art, I'd love to see it. Here's how you can reach me:
1. Tweet me @hunterschwarz.
2. Tag me on Instagram @hunterschwarz.
3. Email me at coverlinehunter@cnn.com. | | | | | | |
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