| | | | | President Trump enters the Rose Garden on Thursday for a tax cut event. Credit: Alex Wong/Getty Images | | | Trump Tweets, Like We All Knew He Would: @realDonaldTrump responds to early excerpts from Comey's "A Higher Loyalty"
Good News for Melania: There will soon be another option for date night
"Fox & Friends" Hosts on Being Trump's Fav Morning Show: "We're not in the policy business." | | | What the White House is Talking About:
President Trump only has his daily intelligence briefing on his public schedule today.
What the White House Press Corps is Talking About:
As such, we likely won't see the President, but we will probably hear from him via Twitter.
Because we're all talking about James Comey's book.
Sarah Sanders is slated to brief the press but the time is still TBD.
It's Noon and I'm Already Tired of the Comey Clips:
Here's my sequence of events: breathless anticipation -> wait, what?! -> ew. ew. ew. -> ok, please release the next excerpts. I'm not sure what the strategy was behind ABC News thinking the pee part should be the number one clip (see what I did there?). Because now I, for one, sort of feel like this book about higher loyalty and conviction is tabloid-y and salacious. It's a juicy nugget, yes, but should it have been the lead-off tease? Time will tell. (However, the part where Comey says he told Trump about the prostitutes, and Trump allegedly replied, "Do I look like a guy who needs hookers?" is pretty great.)
I am personally hoping there is more in there about how Comey feels the government is or is not coping in a turbulent time, and how he navigated when his job went off the rails -- and I'm particularly interested in the details surrounding his firing by Trump.
Also, pertaining to the part where Comey questions the Trump marriage and whether Melania Trump would even have a one-percent suspicion that her husband engaged in a romp with prostitutes, I think Trump's single days were probably a lot headier than Comey's, so the paradigm of comparison feels off and judgmental. But that's just me.
Also, It Elicits This:
Today's New York Daily News cover is pretty tragic. | | Credit: @NYDailyNews/Twitter
Trump Tweets, Like We All Knew He Would:
There was a 14-minute break between ellipses, where I think we all envisioned John Kelly physically trying to wrestle the President's phone out of his hands, but the second part eventually arrived. | | Credit: @realDonaldTrump/Twitter
Meanwhile, Michael Cohen Recorded Things and the FBI Probably Has Them:
The President's personal attorney apparently liked to record conversations with people, and some of those recordings might be in the boxes of stuff the FBI hauled away from Cohen's home, hotel room and office earlier this week (that was this week!). The recordings were from phone conversations, and CNN reports some might have occurred during the 2016 campaign. What could come from those conversations is apparently of concern to some of Trump's allies ...
Part Two: this morning, Cohen's attorneys filed a motion to try to stop federal investigators from reviewing the seized items. A temporary restraining order was requested via Cohen this morning at federal court in New York.
I Did Not See This Scooter Libby Thing Coming:
The President is apparently considering pardoning Scooter Libby, who for you youngs out there, was former VP Dick Cheney's chief of staff. Libby was convicted in 2007 of perjury connected to the leak of the identity of a covert CIA officer. It's actually sort of interesting, because James Comey is tangentially related to the Libby business, so this move by Trump feels personal. Read this, it's helpful. | | Mike Pence Heads To Peru:
Where his official schedule says he will meet with the president of that country, only that president RESIGNED WEEKS AGO. Awkward. The Vice President's official schedule went out last night, saying that Pence would attend a banquet hosted by Peruvian President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski. But Kuczynski resigned three weeks ago after a corruption scandal. A corrected schedule went out this morning at around 8:30 a.m.
Dress Like the First Daughter:
Ivanka Trump has already been on the ground in Peru for a day (her Instagram story shows her at a quinoa factory yesterday, among other gems). While there, she wore one of I think her best dresses to date: this navy Altuzarra patterned with bright yellow flowers. It's on sale 50% off here for $1,147. | | Credit: Ernesto Benavides/AFP/Getty Images, matchesfashion.com
Good News for Melania:
There will soon be another option for date night at the Trump International Hotel besides the steakhouse, which the first couple has frequented several times since moving to Washington. Washingtonian food editor Jessica Sidman got a peek at Sushi Nakazawa, the original of which is in the West Village and is pretty terrific. Sidman says the DC version could open next month. | | Credit: @jsidman/Twitter
Enjoy the warm weather! | | What Washington is Talking About:
Who's going to replace House Speaker Paul Ryan. House Majority Whip Steve Scalise said he won't run for the job if Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy does, while the Freedom Caucus is encouraging Rep. Jim Jordan to run, the group's chairman Mark Meadows said.
What America is Talking About:
The James Comey book tour hasn't even started yet (first interview will be Sunday on ABC at 10 p.m. ET), but it's burning up the news cycle and the internet. Its initial print run is 850,000 copies, more than five times larger than the initial print run for Michael Wolff's "Fire and Fury."
Poll of the Day:
Repubs' strategy to respond to Comey's upcoming "A Higher Loyalty" is to question his credibility. A Washington Post-ABC News poll out today found US adults trust Comey over President Trump, 48% to 32%. | | Credit: The Washington Post
The breakdown by party affiliation is Dems trust Comey over Trump 76% to 7%, independents 48% to 29%, while Repubs trust Trump over Comey 70% to 15%.
One Former Speaker on the Next Former Speaker:
Former House Speaker John Boehner told "Today" he believes Speaker Ryan when he said his decision to not seek re-election wasn't due to Trump:
"He never wanted to be speaker. I had to beat him to death to take my job. And tax reform was his issue and he spent all of his political career working on tax reform. And so when it was finished, I pretty well knew he would move on."
"Fox & Friends" Hosts on Being Trump's Fav Morning Show:
The show regularly seems to be the source of inspiration for some of Trump's morning tweets on policy and political grievances, but the hosts downplayed their importance in an interview with the Associated Press. Ainsley Earhardt said, "I guess in the back of my mind I occasionally think he could be watching. But it doesn't affect anything that I say, my opinions or how I report the news." And Steve Doocy said, "We give our opinion. We're not in the policy business."
Disney's Iger on Running for President:
Disney President Bob Iger was considering a presidential run even before 2016, and Oprah is even among his backers ("I really, really pushed him to run for president, so much so that I said to him, 'Gee, if you ever decide to run for office, I will go door to door carrying leaflets. I will go sit and have tea with people,'" she said), according to a new Vogue profile. But a future in politics following Disney's 21st Century Fox deal is unlikely, the magazine said.
Kaepernick's Workout with the Seahawks Postponed:
The Seattle Seahawks were arranging a workout for Colin Kaepernick to join on Monday, but postponed it over activism. Kaepernick reportedly declined to say whether he would continue to kneel during the anthem. The team had been in talks with Kaepernick for about two weeks, and despite the TBD status of the workout, they're still considering bringing him in for a tryout.
Is It Just Me, or Does James Harden's GQ Cover Give Off Obama Portrait Vibes?:
The Houston Rockets star was photographed by Erik Madigan Heck against a floral background for the upcoming issue of GQ. It pops, and like, florals for spring, I know, but it immediately reminded me of Kehinde Wiley's official portrait of the former President Obama. Am I wrong? | | Credit: GQ
Street Art Sighting:
In honor of 2016 never ending, here's a mural of Trump and Hillary Clinton spotted by Alex Virr in Richmond, Australia, in March: | | Credit: Alex Virr
If you spot political street art, tweet me @hunterschwarz, tag me on Instagram @hunterschwarz, or email me at coverlinehunter@cnn.com with your sighting so I can feature it in COVER/LINE.
P.S.:
Britney Spears accepted the Vanguard Award at last night's GLAAD Media Awards ceremony at the Beverly Hilton. In her acceptance speech, which she wrote herself, Britney said, "I feel like our society has always put such an emphasis on what's normal, but to be accepted unconditionally and to be able to express yourself as an individual through art is such a blessing." USA Today's Carly Mallenbaum, who filmed the speech, said Britney "got the kind of reception" last night that Oprah got at the Golden Globes (*cough* Britney 2020 *cough*). Britney also met two of America's sweethearts, Gus Kenworthy and Adam Rippon, and posted a photo of the trio. | | Credit: @britneyspears/Instagram
Hope you have a good weekend, we all deserve it after the week we just had. See you on Monday! | | | | | | |
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