| | | | | President Trump is presented with two flags as he hosts Team USA at the North Portico of the White House on Friday. Credit: Alex Wong/Getty Images | | | So That Russian Lawyer Woman...: The woman DJTJ met with at Trump Tower in 2016 has deeper ties to the Kremlin than previously thought
#FBF to Times Donald and Melania Went to WHCD: And the future FLOTUS' Correspondents' Dinner bangs evolution
Red-Pill Kanye Fan Art: How internet artists told this week's story of Kanye and politics | | | What the White House is Talking About:
President Trump today meets at the White House with German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
What the White House Press Corps is Talking About:
The press conference later today with Trump and Merkel.
Also that the President is taking the time to meet with the White House Correspondents' Association Scholarship winners this afternoon in the Diplomatic Room.
So That Russian Lawyer Woman Was Sort of More Than That:
The New York Times reports the Russian lawyer who met with Trump campaign people, including Donald Trump Jr, at Trump Tower in 2016 has deeper ties to the Russian government (and the Kremlin) than originally believed.
Speaking Of Which, the Russia Report is Out:
The House Intelligence Committee this morning released its report about the investigation into the Russia connection and possible collusion -- and found nothing happened.
"Grab and Go Clinic":
Oof. This Dr. Ronny Jackson thing just continues to unfold. The latest reporting paints his medical office at the White House as pill central.
Your Friday Read:
Tomorrow night at the White House Correspondents' Dinner, Sarah Sanders will be sitting on the dais, likely taking the brunt of the Donald Trump jokes that will no doubt come rapid fire, so today I would suggest reading this excellent Politico Magazine piece, "The Puzzle of Sarah Sanders." It has lots of juicy nuggets, including the period when Sean Spicer was resigned. Sanders had been on vacation with her family in Maine, but cut it short to head back to Washington. Her husband and three kids remained, and while they were on a hike, he got a text from his wife, "I'm the next press secretary." Here's a photo montage from the feature: | | Credit: Olivier Douliery, Politico Magazine
Your Friday Listen:
Me! As a guest on David Chalian's fab podcast, "The Daily DC". We discuss all things Melania and I unload a few of my choicest theories about the first lady.
#FBF to Times When Donald and Melania Trump Went to WHCD:
There was the first time in 2001, when the two were just dating, and Melania was still Melania Knauss. Here's a pic of them at the WHCD Bloomberg after-party, which was no-joke held at the Ministry of the Russia Federation. | | Credit: Chris Kleponis/Getty Images
Then, a decade later, when Melania was going through an amazing bangs phase: | | Credit: Joshua Roberts/Bloomberg/Getty Images
Finally, there was 2015, when Melania, still in bangs phase, accompanied her husband to what remains his final appearance at the dinner -- so far. | | Credit: Michael Loccisano/Getty Images
And, Here's Me and Hunter From Last Year:
Clearly, feeling the effects of the Buzzfeed after-party. Yes, we're taking turns holding a Barbie doll at a fake White House podium. You're welcome. Party safe, peeps! | | | Credit: My personal collection | | What Washington is Talking About:
The Senate Judiciary Committee passed legislation protecting special counsel Robert Mueller from being fired and it received votes from four Repubs, and a group of Dem lawmakers have questions about why the House chaplain resigned per Speaker Ryan's request.
What America is Talking About:
Last night's NFL draft. The Cleveland Browns selected Oklahoma quarterback Baker Mayfield as the No. 1. pick. John Kasich is very excited about it.
Poll of the Day:
There's a really interesting Pew poll released yesterday looking at how Americans feel about democracy that I think is important for understanding the state of political culture right now. Dems this decade have been more likely than Repubs to say they like politicians who compromise, but my oh my that's changed. In a year, the percentage of Dem and Dem-leaners who are pro-compromise has plummeted, from 69% to 46%. It's 193 days until the midterms. | | Credit: Pew
Some other interesting findings from the poll: 61% of Americans think the US government needs to undergo "significant changes" to work today, 76% say it's "too risky" to give the president more power, and 67% believe "their side" has been losing more often than winning in politics, including 53% of Repubs and 78% Dems.
Meanwhile, in Korea...:
Kim Jong Un today became the first North Korean leader to enter South Korea since the countries were divided. He and South Korean President Moon Jae-in said they are committed to denuclearization of the peninsula and formally ending the Korean War. Here they are shaking hands at the Military Demarcation Line at the DMZ. This is what they said to each other when they first greeted one another. | | Credit: Inter-Korean Summit Press Corps/Pool via Bloomberg
The Diamond and Silk Show Comes to Washington:
Political-YouTubers-turned-conservative-folk-heroes Diamond and Silk's hearing before the House Judiciary Committee yesterday was nuts. Read our Oliver Darcy on the spectacle of it all. YouTubers complaining about YouTube is one of the oldest influencer tropes (saying videos aren't getting the views they used to, or that certain video were randomly demonetized, etc.), and basically, the sisters have turned it into a political issue, characterizing an erroneous "unsafe for the community" flag they received from Facebook that Facebook said was made in error into an attempt to censor conservatives on the platform. | | Credit: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
The sisters also said they were not paid by the Trump campaign to support him, but according to an FEC filing, they were paid $1,274.94 by Donald J. Trump for President Inc. on November 22, 2016, for "field consulting." When asked about it during the hearing, Diamond denied being paid and Silk said it was just them being reimbursed for their airline tickets from New York to Ohio for a campaign event, initiated by Laura Trump. You can see that filing here (scroll down to Diamond and Silk).
In light of that alleged flight reimbursement payment, another payment they received, from Volunteers For Nehlen for $3,525 on August 4, 2016, has resurfaced. Nehlen was a far-right activist who challenged Paul Ryan for his House seat and was so extreme Breitbart said he was "dead to us."
You can see that filing here and you can watch an an ad they filmed for Nehlen here. They tweeted to Kanye yesterday, and now I'm wondering whether we'll see Ye give them a shoutout the same way he did Candace Owens. Stay tuned.
Chance the Rapper Would Very Much Like to be Excluded for This Narrative:
Chance is speaking out after his "Black people don't have to be democrats" tweet Wednesday has been misconstrued and thrown around without any context by partisan conservative media and by Trump. He tweeted: - An RT of Trump's tweet this morning claiming Ye has "performed a great service to the Black Community" saying "Nah that aint it yo"
- And a Notes screenshot this morning that read in part, "I didn't speak up because I agree with what Kanye had to say or cause I f**k with trump" and that "my attempt to support Kanye is being used to discredit my brothers and sisters in the movement and I can't sit by and let that happen either."
So, Fox News, Sean Hannity, Laura Ingraham, Breitbart, et all, will you also highlight these tweets in your coverage of Yeezytweetstormgate as well?
How Ingraham Tried to Dodge Her Complete Reversal on "Shut Up and Dribble":
On "Ingraham Angle" last night, the host responded to critiques that were raised in COVER/LINE and by others that she seems to have forgotten about her opposition to celebrities speaking out on politics now that the celebrity is saying things she agrees with. She said:
"We pay [celebrities] to entertain, we don't want to be captive to their political ponderings. It applies to anyone peddling political nonsense while lacking the credentials or experience to do so. I'm not about to cheer the political pronouncements of Kanye West just because he's saying something nice about Trump, no. The political musings of uninformed celebrities, frankly, isn't of much interest to me at all. But I will tell you what is interesting to me: the over the top reaction to a big star saying something truly countercultural today."
She then went on to devote an entire segment to the political pronouncements of Kanye West. Lol, OK 😂😂😂
Some Olympians Visit, Others Skip White House:
Members of Team USA visited the White House today to celebrate their performance at the 2018 PyeongChang Games, but there were a lotttttt of Olympians who didn't go, including Adam Rippon (who said in lieu of going, he donated to GLAAD, Planned Parenthood and the Red Cross), Gus Kenworthy, Chloe Kim, Lindsey Vonn, and Opening Ceremony flag bearer Erin Hamlin. Said former USOC spox Mike Moran, "I don't remember any time when I was with the USOC that an athlete spoke out about not wanting to go to the White House."
Interest in Kanye's Yeezy Sneaker Line is Up:
Search traffic for the line is up 25% on StockX and purchases are up 40% on resale site Grailed, per GQ. Grailed brand director Lawrence Schlossman theorized the bump is due to Ye being in the news this week, but now I'm wondering if we'll ever hear the President of the United States take credit for a rapper's sneakers sales at a rally, a la "Roseanne" reboot episode 1.
Red-Pill Kanye Fan Art:
There are few public figures who excite a cross section of both political and pop cultural internet artists quite like Trump and his administration and Kanye and his in-laws. This week, we saw a blossoming of mashups. Call it Red-pilled Kanye. These were my favorites/most interesting/most bizarre, with credits below: - Rare MAGA hat-wearing Ye Pepe.
- This KKW X DJT by Saint Hoax for Comedy Central that put Trump's head with a MAGA hat on one photo of Kim Kardashian from the Yeezy Season 6 campaign. That campaign, you may remember, included dark, almost-paparazzi-style shots of Kim, Paris Hilton, other influencers.
- Conservative political cartoonist Ben Garrison, whose work recalls classic political cartoons with very little subtlety and symbols spelled out explicitly, made a cartoon of Ye riding shotgun in a red pill car. Turning Point USA communications director Candace Owens in the driver's seat being pulled over by an officer labeled "Thought Police" and "The Left."
- Kellyanne Kanye lol
- Ze Ginger, an artist who's made busts and statues you may remember seeing, including that naked one of Trump and a collaboration with street artist Plastic Jesus of Harvey Weinstein that was featured in the March 2 issue of COVER/LINE, posted a that weird photo.
- Rare Ye with Pepe baby.
| | Credit: via @louie443/Gab; @sainthoax/Instagram; @grrrgraphics/Instagram; via @barstoolnewsnet/Instagram; @morgothlot/Instagram; via @lukerohlfing/Twitter
P.S.:
Post Malone's new album "Beerbongs & Bentleys" is out today after a monthslong delay (he said he wanted to make it "the best f**king album ever" and pushed it back), and I can't stop spinning it. Also new out today, Walmart yodeler Mason Ramsey released his debut single, "Famous."
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To those of you in Washington who'll be out for WHCD weekend, have fun and be safe! Don't forget to send me your best spotteds and overheards at coverlinehunter@cnn.com.
You can listen to Kate and me talk about how Correspondents' Dinner has changed under Trump on "Full Stop" with Mark Preston on SiriusXM POTUS Channel 124 on Saturday at 12 p.m. ET. And I'll be posting up Stories on my Insta all weekend long. See you Monday. Schwarz out. | | | | | | |
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