| | | | Rudy! Rudy! Rudy! (and the rest of Trump's week) | | This week began with a bang on Monday with the leak of more than four dozen questions that special counsel Robert Mueller wants to ask President Donald Trump in a sit-down interview.
In most other weeks of most other presidencies, that might have been the biggest story. But this is the Trump presidency!
Tuesday was dominated by news of the alleged raid -- by Trump officials -- of his longtime doctor's office to obtain his medical files. And, oh yeah, that glowing doctor's note about Trump being the healthiest person on this or any other planet? Turns out Trump actually dictated it to Dr. Harold Bornstein -- at least according to Dr. Harold Bornstein.
Wednesday kicked off the Rudy Giuliani portion of the week -- with the former New York mayor (and new addition to Trump's legal team) revealing in an interview with Sean Hannity that Trump had reimbursed Michael Cohen for the $130,000 hush payment to porn star Stormy Daniels.
Thursday was consumed with what Giuliani had said, whether Trump wanted him to say it and what it meant for the now-debunked narrative the White House was trying to sell on the Stormy Daniels situation.
By Friday, Trump was saying that Giuliani would "get his facts straight" -- and Giuliani was (kind of) recanting. "My references to timing were not describing my understanding of the President's knowledge, but instead, my understanding of these matters," he said in a statement.
Riiiiiiiight.
Friday also brought some good news for Trump. The unemployment rate dipped under 4% for the first time since 2000 and a judge in Paul Manafort's criminal case lambasted the special counsel, saying he was using Manafort to get at the President.
The week in headlines -- 29 of them! -- is below.
-- Chris
Monday: Tuesday: Wednesday: Thursday: Friday: | | "Thank you, Kanye."
-President Donald Trump during National Rifle Association convention (more context here). | | | 'WE WILL PROTECT YOUR SECOND AMENDMENT' | | Speaking of the NRA conference ... both Trump and Vice President Mike Pence addressed NRA members Friday.
During his speech, Trump assured NRA members that their Second Amendment rights are safe in the midst of a national conversation on gun law reform. "Your Second Amendment rights are under siege, but they will never ever be under siege as long as I am your President." This is Trump's fourth consecutive address to the NRA's annual meeting, but his first remarks to the group since the tragic Parkland, Florida, high school shooting that left 17 dead and sparked a national student-led push for changing gun laws.
He also mentioned Kanye West (above), CNN's reporting (reading some of it from the stage and again calling Robert Mueller's Russia probe a "witch hunt"), 2018 midterm elections ("don't be complacent," he told the crowd) and North Korea ("We're really doing well with North Korea").
Pence echoed Trump's comments praising the Second Amendment: "In this administration, the right of the people to keep and bear arms will not be infringed."
Read more from CNN's Betsy Klein and Jeremy Diamond here. | | | Enrique Iglesias and Pitbull have a new single: "Move To Miami." Happy Friday! | | | Today's topic? Trump's remarks about Giuliani. | | From CNN's Dan Merica: "Former President Barack Obama endorsed Sen. Dianne Feinstein on Friday, his first Senate endorsement of the 2018 cycle.
By backing Feinstein, Obama is stepping into what could be a contentious battle between the incumbent Democrat and California Democratic state Senate president Kevin de León, a liberal upstart who is looking to unseat the longtime senator.
"She's always been an indispensable leader for California, and we became dear friends and partners in the fight to guarantee affordable health care and economic opportunity for everybody; to protect our planet from climate change, and our kids from gun violence," Obama said in a statement. "I ask Californians to join me in supporting Dianne Feinstein's reelection and returning one of America's most effective champions for progress to the Senate."
Read more here. | | #FBF: RONALD REAGAN AND STAR WARS | | May the Fourth be with you! It's Star Wars Day, and in honor of that, CNN's Brenna Williams put together a timely Flashback Friday story about former President Ronald Reagan's March 1983 speech on defense spending, dubbed the "Star Wars" speech. From her story:
"The budget request that is now before the Congress has been trimmed to the limits of safety. Further deep cuts cannot be made without seriously endangering the security of the nation. The choice is up to the men and women you've elected to the Congress, and that means the choice is up to you," Reagan said in the televised address.
Reagan was trying to justify a hefty boost to the Defense Department's budget in order to protect against the threat of Soviet attack. Critics were having none of this partially space-focused program. The New York Times said the technology Reagan wanted was "decades away from reality." He basically wanted everything short of X-Wing fighters and lightsabers. He also wanted $30 billion more for defense in the 1984 budget.
Reagan's Star Wars speech wasn't his first foray into a galaxy far, far away. A few weeks prior, he had delivered his "evil empire" speech, in which he described the Soviets in Vader-esque terms. At the time Reagan was delivering these speeches, America was awaiting the third film in the original Star Wars trilogy. "Return of the Jedi" was released in May that year. | | MCCAIN SHARES THOUGHTS ON HIS BATTLE WITH CANCER | | Republican Sen. John McCain, who was diagnosed with brain cancer last year, shared an excerpt of his new book with NPR. In the memoir, titled "The Restless Wave: Good Times, Just Causes, Great Fights, and Other Appreciations," the Arizona lawmaker gives his thoughts about his battle with cancer.
"I don't know how much longer I'll be here," he writes in the memoir, according to the excerpt published by NPR. "Maybe I'll have another five years, maybe with the advances in oncology they'll find new treatments for my cancer that will extend my life. Maybe I'll be gone before you hear this, my predicament is, well, rather unpredictable."
Read more in CNN's story here. | | | From Brenna: "Conservative views team, assemble! President Trump addressed the NRA today, and no public outing is complete without a thumbs-up photo-op. Trump Jr., Chris Cox and Wayne LaPierre were there, too." Thanks for reading, and happy Friday! Please tell people 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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