| | | | | President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump arrive on the South Lawn of the White House Monday after their seven-day trip to Europe. Credit: Oliver Contreras/Pool/Getty Images | | | "How Bad Was That?": Not even Trump's WH was prepared for the blowback he's facing
We're Living in "Uncertain Times," Obama Says: 44 warns against "strongman politics" in South Africa speech
America, Its Flag, And a 51st Star: The history, power, and design of the American flag | | | What Washington is Talking About:
Repubs by and large have come out against President Trump's siding with Vladimir Putin over US intelligence (Sen. Rand Paul is an exception), the House Judiciary Committee is holding a hearing on social media filtering with representatives from Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube, and the All-Star Game is tonight at 7:30 ET in Nationals Park.
What America is Talking About:
Apple announced 70 new emoji including kale, cupcake, and kangaroo. And today is World Emoji Day. Email me your current fav underrated emoji at coverlinehunter@cnn.com. I find myself recently using a lot of 🤙 to convey that I'm good with or approve of something, and 🗣️ to get friends' attention when they don't respond to my texts in a reasonable amount of time.
"How Bad Was That?":
Not even Trump's White House was prepared for the blowback he's facing over his meeting with Putin. One official directly involved with the summit told CNN, "This was not the plan." Another asked, "How bad was that?" And another, when asked if there would be any resignations over it, responded, "Good question."
Trump Tries a Reframe:
Trump hasn't apologized or walked back his statements from yesterday's presser with Putin, but he is trying to reframe it. Keyword: trying. In a tweet yesterday afternoon, Trump pitched his performance as forward-looking, writing that although he has "GREAT confidence in MY intelligence people" (capitalization his), "in order to build a brighter future, we cannot exclusively focus on the past." Still no condemnation of Russia's attack on our democracy or a call for it to not do so in future elections. Here are the talking points the White House has sent out to surrogates and members of Congress.
Russian Woman Charged With Being a Foreign Agent:
The Justice Department charged Mariia Butina, a 29-year-old Russian foreign national, Monday, with conspiring against the US as a foreign agent and accused her of attempting to set up a back channel between Trump and Putin. Butina was active in US politics, asking then-candidate Trump a question about how he would handle Russia as president at the 2015 FreedomFest Convention (Trump said he would "get along very nicely with Putin" and said sanctions against Russia were unnecessary) and meeting activists and politicians, including Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker. Butina's attorney denied the accusations. | | Credit: Maria Butina/Facebook
Fox News Pushed Putin Harder Than Trump:
Putin didn't have a good answer when asked by Fox News' Chris Wallace about Russian interference in the 2016 campaign. Wallace interrupted Putin multiple times when he wouldn't answer his questions, and even tried handing Putin a copy of the indictment of the 12 Russians, but Putin didn't accept it. When Wallace asked why Putin's political enemies ended up dead, the Russian President deflected by going off on a seemingly conspiracy theory-influenced answer on political violence in the US (he cited JFK and MLK's assassinations). Putin said in the interview that Russia does not have compromising information about Trump, and inaccurately said Trump hadn't talked about the possibility of running for president back when he visited Moscow for the Miss Universe pageant (Trump has been talking about running for president since at least the '80s). | | Credit: Fox News
We're Living in "Uncertain Times," Obama Says:
During his speech today in Johannesburg, South Africa, to honor Nelson Mandela, the former president said we are living in "strange and uncertain times" and warned that the world is "threatening to return to an older and more dangerous and more brutal way of doing business." Obama was critical of "strongman politics" and the "politics of fear, resentment, retrenchment," and said facts are important. "Without facts, there is no basis for cooperation," he said. As per usual, he did not mention Trump by name in his speech. | | Credit: Gianuigi Guercia/AFP/Getty Images
America, Its Flag, and a 51st Star:
There are various efforts across the country to add a new state to the Union, and though none are likely to pass anytime soon, I wrote about what a 51st state would mean for our flag.
"Any 51st state adding a star is going to have to deal with one side seeing that as representing not their version of America, but someone else's," Scot Guenter, a professor of American studies at San Jose State University, told me. "There's fighting over beliefs, I think, about what American means and where America should go in the future."
The flag hasn't always been the symbol of America that we now know it as. We didn't adopt one until the year after the Declaration of Independence was signed, in 1777, and it didn't transition from a symbol of government to one of popular expression and patriotism until the Civil War. You can read more about the history, power, and design of the American flag in my story here. | | Credit: Sean Gardner/Getty Images
Dress Like a Home Run Derby Champ:
Bryce Harper was D.C. decked out for last night's Home Run Derby, which he won with 19 homers in front of a home crowd. He wore a D.C. flag headband... | | Credit: Patrick Smith/Getty Images
...and his first of two pairs of D.C.-themed colorways of his Harper 3 Under Armour cleats. Both these and a D.C. skyline pair he's expected to wear tonight for the All-Star Game are available for $120. Harper told reporters that there was "no elephant in the room" that this could be his last year playing for the Nationals. "Everybody knows." But he said he loves Washington and loves playing here. | | Credit: Patrick Smith/Getty Images
Street Art Sighting:
Sabo took over a Los Angeles billboard with a mock ad for Sacha Baron Cohen's "Who Is America?" series across from the CBS Studio in Fairfax. "Cohen Walks Away With A Hit ... And A Touch Of Stolen Valor," the sign reads, referencing Sarah Palin's claim that Cohen pretended to be a wounded veteran to interview her (Showtime disputes this, saying he "did not present himself as a disabled veteran, and viewers nationwide who watched the premiere on Sunday can now attest to that.").
Sabo told me there's "no depth the Hollywood left would not sink" to, "and no, the damage control Showtime tried to pull by saying Cohen was equally going after the left because he took a stab at Chelsea Clinton and Bernie Sanders is not good enough." | | Credit: Sabo
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.:
MTV has announced the nominees for its 2018 Video Music Awards, to be held in New York City on August 20. Cardi B leads with 10 nominations, Taylor Swift was shut out of the major categories, and the nominees for Video With a Message are Childish Gambino's "This Is America," DeJ Loaf and Leon Bridges' "Liberated," Drake's "God's Plan," Janelle Monáe's "PYNK," Jessie Reyez's "Gatekeeper," and Logic's "1-800-273-8255" featuring Alessia Cara and Khalid. | | | | | | |
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