| | | | | President Trump signs a National Security Presidential Memorandum as he announces the withdrawal of the United States from the Iran nuclear deal Tuesday in the Diplomatic Reception Room. Credit: Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty Images | | | Trump Pulls Out of Iran Deal: POTUS followed up on pledge, and pols react
The Divorce is Whoa: Vanessa Trump once dated a gang member and Leonardo DiCaprio
Kanye West, Political Tastemaker: Trump tweets support for Candace Owens 18 days after Ye | | | What the White House is Talking About:
President Trump had a Cabinet meeting at the White House, and later attends a celebration of military mothers and spouses event with first lady Melania Trump in the East Room.
What the White House Press Corps is Talking About:
The release to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo of the three American prisoners who were being held in North Korea.
Sarah Sanders is scheduled to do the briefing at 3:30 p.m.
*FREE*:
President Trump said yesterday afternoon during his speech to announce his intent to withdraw America from the Iran nuclear deal that (oh, by the way) Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was on his way to North Korea. Turns out, Pompeo was going in hopes of securing the release of the three American detainees being held there, and returning to the US with them. This morning, Trump tweeted, mission accomplished: | | Credit: @realDonaldTrump/Twitter
As the President tweeted, there is a plan for Pompeo and the detainees to return to JBA early tomorrow morning, but likely on separate planes. Two of the hostages were taken into custody by North Korea for alleged hostile acts: "Tony Kim and Kim Hak-song, who were arrested in April and May of 2017, respectively, were both accused of carrying out "hostile acts" against the Kim Jong Un regime. Both worked at the Pyongyang University of Science and Technology, which bills itself as the only privately run university in the North Korean capital." The third man, Kim Dong Chul, was arrested in 2015 and charged with spying on behalf of South Korea. Read more about all three men here.
The freeing of the prisoners is a huge step forward for Trump in his dealings with North Korea, and it could be taken as a sign of positivity as he preps for his upcoming face-to-face meeting with Kim Jong Un. | | Credit: @IvankaTrump/Twitter
Iran Nuclear Deal, Boy Bye:
The President followed up on his pledge to rid America of its commitment to the Iran nuclear deal, announcing yesterday he would be scrapping the United States' participation in what he called "a horrible one-sided deal that should have never, ever been made. It didn't bring calm, it didn't bring peace, and it never will."
Happy Comeyversary!:
Today marks the one year anniversary of the day Trump fired former FBI chief James Comey. Wow, time flies. And so do investigations into possible Russian meddling, amirite? Here's a solid tick-tock of that fateful day last year and what it's meant for Trump in the 364 days since. | | Speaking Of Which:
CNN exclusively broke the story last night that Russia investigation special counsel Robert Mueller and his team are questioning a Russian oligarch about large payments made to Trump fixer Michael Cohen. The beat goes on ...
The Divorce is Whoa:
Things are getting super-interesting/ugly in the Vanessa Trump, Donald Trump Jr. divorce, at least from a press perspective. Most of the details, including Trump's alleged infidelity and financially controlling behavior, have so far come to light in Page Six, the New York Post's infamous gossip section. Yesterday I read about Vanessa once dating a gang member, whom she brought to her prom at a swanky Manhattan private school and it was literally the best story I read all day. The accompanying pictures are also pretty awesome. Divorces are sad, and when both sides attempt to play them out in the tabloids, even sadder. But I really enjoyed learning about Vanessa's teenage walk on the wild side because for me it made her more real. Oh, the gang member and Vanessa eventually broke up because Vanessa started dating Leonardo DiCaprio ... seriously, read it.
Impeach Mint:
This could be an actual flavor at a new ice cream shop opening steps from the White House. The place is going to be called Presidential Scoops. | | Twinning?:
Yesterday with all the televisions showing their pictures throughout the day in our newsroom, I couldn't help but notice how much White House Director of Legislative Affairs Marc Short looks like Stormy Daniels' lawyer Michael Avenatti. If Short and Avenatti decided to be one another for Halloween, they wouldn't have to dress up. | | Credit: screenshots
Trump Foe José Andrés Hints at Senate Run:
Chef José Andrés had planned to open a restaurant in Trump's new DC hotel a few years back, but then the presidential campaign happened, and with it, Trump's comments about illegal Mexican immigrants. In protest, Andrés pulled out of the deal. The Trump Organization sued him for $10 million for breach of contract and the suit was settled last year. Since then, Andrés has gone on to be more politically vocal, expressing his distaste for Trump and his policies. In 2015, Andrés, it should be noted, was awarded a National Humanities Medal by President Barack Obama (who, with his wife Michelle, often frequent Andrés' DC restaurants.) Additionally, in the wake of the hurricane that devastated Puerto Rico last year, Andrés spent months tirelessly setting up food banks and kitchens there, facilitating a victims' feeding program that still exists today. Last night, the chef accepted a humanitarian award from the James Beard Foundation, and in an interview with Washingtonian's Jessica Sidman, said that he would consider running for the US Senate in Maryland. (Andrés lives with his family in Bethesda.) "I'm 48 now, so who knows. But, why not?," he asks. "If I don't see things get better in terms of understanding, maybe we need a chef in the capital that can bring everybody to the table and start having these kinds of honorable conversations. We know that at a table, good things happen." A native of Spain, Andrés has been an American citizen for the past five years. | | What Washington is Talking About:
CIA director nominee Gina Haspel is appearing before the Senate Intel Committee, where she's getting grilled, and a group of Dems filed a petition to force a vote to again try to save Net Neutrality.
What America is Talking About:
Katy Perry sent a literal olive branch to Taylor Swift, which T Swift posted on her Insta story last night before her opening Reputation Tour show in Arizona. 🕊️🕊️🕊️
What Tehran is Talking About:
Following President Trump's decision to pull the US from the Iran nuclear deal, some conservative lawmakers in Iran's legislature, the Majilis, burned a copy of the deal and burned a US flag while shouting "death to America." "Iran has no obligation to honor its commitments under the current situation," Majilis Speaker Ali Larijani said. "It is obvious that Trump only understands the language of force." 😳 | | Credit: @tictoc/Twitter
Pols React to Trump Iran Decision:
Here's a sampling of the responses to Trump's decision. The tl;dr is those supporting Trump say the deal was bad and we need something better, while those opposed say, yeah, of course it wasn't perfect, that's how diplomacy works, and now we just blew years of work and other countries won't trust us, and also maybe war.
For Pulling Out:
Nikki Haley, in a statement: "This was a terrible deal that only allowed Iran's bad international conduct to worsen."
Mitch McConnell, to our Phil Mattingly: "My view is it's a flawed deal and we can do better."
Mitt Romney, on Twitter: "The Iran Nuclear Deal was a bad deal. Nothing short of a permanent elimination of Iran's nuclear weapon program is acceptable."
Against:
Emmanuel Macron, on Twitter: "France, Germany, and the UK regret the U.S. decision to leave the [Iran Deal]. The nuclear non-proliferation regime is at stake."
Barack Obama, on Facebook: "the consistent flouting of agreements that our country is a party to risks eroding America's credibility, and puts us at odds with the world's major powers."
Joe Biden, in a statement: "This wholly unnecessary crisis could ultimately put the safety of our country and our fellow citizens, including thousands of men and women in uniform serving across the Middle East, at risk by setting us back on a path to war with Iran."
Jeff Flake, to our Jake Tapper: "I just don't think that it's a wise move. Our allies and our adversaries need to know that we are reliable, and I think that's missing right now."
Bernie Sanders, on Twitter: "President Trump's decision to withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal is the latest in a series of reckless decisions that move our country closer to conflict."
Kamala Harris, in a statement: "Today's decision to violate the Iran nuclear deal jeopardizes our national security and isolates us from our closest allies."
And at least seven lawmakers, both Dem and Repub, who opposed the deal in 2015 but now think it's a bad deal to get out.
Your Tuesday Primary Results Cheat Sheet:
Repubs are breathing a sigh of relief that Don Blankenship lost his Senate primary in West Virginia; Vice President Pence's brother Greg won his House primary in Indiana; Rachel Crooks, the woman who accused Trump of forcibly kissing her in Trump Tower in 2005 running for Ohio's state legislature, won; and Robert Pittenger became the first incumbent House member to lose in 2018. | | Credit: Scott Olson/Getty Images
Team McConnell's Cocaine-Themed Celebration:
The official campaign account for Mitch McConnell made fun of Blankenship's loss with this "Narcos"-themed tweet, referencing Blankenship calling McConnell "Cocaine Mitch." Every ~govster~ in Washington lost their minds over it. "Narcos" called it a "low blow" lol. | | Credit: @NarcosNetflix/Twitter
Trump's Definition of ~Fake News~ is Fake:
The logic here is ... something. It's unclear what's he's specifically referencing here, seems more like general grievances. But reminder: news that you don't like isn't "fake news" if it's true. | | Credit: @realDonaldTrump/Twitter
Kanye West, Political Tastemaker:
Trump also tweeted his support for Candace Owens this morning, 18 days after Kanye did. I'm assuming Trump won't follow Ye's lead on Emma Gonzalez, though.
Street Art Sighting:
The reason NoMa is Washington's street art hub is due in no small part to Pow! Wow! DC, the local iteration of a global mural festival. The festival is in its third year, and I took a walking tour yesterday led by Pow! Wow! DC executive director Kelly Towles. Half the artists are local, the other half are visiting, and they work for free on donated wall space.
"You have to ask, find out who owns it, and get in a conversation with them," Towles said of getting walls. Wall owners have to agree to let artists do whatever they want. "They get complete creative control," he said. The only rules: 1. No sex (awesome) 2. No violence (great) and 3. No politics (OK, I hate this rule, but I'm also biased).
The most political work is the bottom right piece by Mike Murphy (the "love wins" and "f**k Trump" graffiti on the bottom left was a tagged portion of a wall that will be painted over by a Pow! Wow! DC artist, fyi). Murphy's piece is an image of his girlfriend Natalie made out of silhouettes of women as a statement on equal rights and the power of women. You may be familiar with Murphy's piece using the shapes of firearms to create the image of the continental U.S. that looks like a gun from a different perspective. | | Credit: Hunter Schwarz
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.:
Christina Aguilera is coming on tour to the D.C. area for the first time since George W. Bush was president (It was her Back to Basics Tour stop at what was then called the Verizon Center in April 2007; WaPo at the time noted it suffered from poor setlist order and overconfidence but said that "all seems insignificant when Aguilera opens her mouth"). Xtina's Liberation Tour will hit MGM National Harbor September 30. Listen, after she canceled her Bionic Tour in 2010, I feared I may never live to see Aguilera live in concert. It is now our duty to go support Xtina on this tour, regardless of how you feel about "Accelerate," so she will continue to make music and tour instead of releasing Oreos commercials. #buyaccelerateonitunes | | | | | | |
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