| | | | | First lady Melania Trump, whose approval rating has fallen to 43%, according to a new CNN poll, on November 15. Credit: Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images | | | Melania's Favorable Rating Took a Nose Dive: Her latest CNN poll
Wait, Tell Me Again How Fashion Doesn't Matter: Max Mara is reissuing Nancy Pelosi's coat
Esquire Endorses Ted Cruz's Beard: "It's salt, it's pepper, it's still a bit patchy, but good Lord, he's trying." | | | What the White House is Talking About:
President Trump today has a closed-press meeting with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo at the White House. Later he attends an event with Governors-elect. This evening, the President and first lady Melania Trump host two private holiday receptions.
What the White House Press Corps is Talking About:
Fallout from Michael Cohen's sentence. Also Russian spy Maria Butina, who is expected to plead guilty today in DC federal court.
Trump Breaks His Silence on Cohen:
It was almost weird yesterday when Trump *didn't* tweet or make a public statement about Cohen's sentencing, so this morning when he tweeted a three-parter on the topic it was pretty much anticipated. Trump started by saying, "I never directed Michael Cohen to break the law. He was a lawyer and he is supposed to know the law," and wrapped three tweets later with, "Those charges were just agreed to by him in order to embarrass the president and get a much reduced prison sentence, which he did-including the fact that his family was temporarily let off the hook. As a lawyer, Michael has great liability to me!"
Trump also tweeted his thoughts about Michael Flynn and his deal with prosecutors: "They gave General Flynn a great deal because they were embarrassed by the way he was treated - the FBI said he didn't lie and they overrode the FBI. They want to scare everybody into making up stories that are not true by catching them in the smallest of misstatements. Sad!"
Our Daily Melania:
Melania's favorable rating took a huge nose dive in a new CNN poll, out today. She now stands at 43% favorability, down 11 points from 54% in our last polling just two months ago. Her unfavorable rating is also up six points to 36%. Melania hasn't had this low of a public favorability opinion since January of 2017, before Trump's inauguration, when it stood at 36%.
It's a significant drop that I can only assume is related to more publicity associated with her husband. Melania's ABC News interview aired after our last poll in October, as did her on-the-record press gaggle in Egypt, and in those she spoke about the #MeToo movement (she stands with women, but also says they need "really hard evidence,") and how she is bullied (she said she's "the most bullied person in the world"), and also how her "I really don't care do u?" jacket was a message to a meddling press. In the ensuing weeks, Melania has been more and more by Trump's side, both physically and metaphorically -- she has not only admitted to weighing in on which staffers the President should trust and not trust, she actually managed to get one of them fired after putting out a very public statement via her spokeswoman. And as she continues to become more open and active in Trump's administration, I am curious to see if her likable numbers drop even further. President Trump, by the way, had a favorable rating of 40% in our most recent CNN polling. | | Credit: CNN
Our Daily Melania, Part Two:
Melania's interview with Sean Hannity aired last night and there wasn't a whole lot of news, besides her saying the hardest part of her life is dealing with "opportunists" who want to make money off the Trump name (cue all the irony). She also said she doesn't have a lot of time to watch TV (cue more irony, because Trump watches a lot). "I wish to have the time to watch more news but I don't," said Melania. "I'm very busy with my office and traveling and doing my work. Yes I watch you and sometimes also tape the shows and if I have the time I watch it, but I know exactly what's going on." She added she wishes the media would focus not on the "gossip" and "nonsense," and more on the "substance." I wonder here if "gossip" and "nonsense" are reference to her marriage, or her husband's alleged infidelities, or even yesterday's sentencing of Michael Cohen. I wish Hannity had followed up but ... he's Hannity, so, no.
Melania also posted some good pics of her visit to the USS George H.W. Bush aircraft carrier, in a custom baseball cap and a very seaworthy black beanie. | | Credit: @FLOTUS/Twitter
Wait, Tell Me Again How Fashion Doesn't Matter:
The burnt orange coat that Speaker-elect Nancy Pelosi wore to her (showdown) meeting with the president in the Oval Office on Tuesday caused such a ruckus that the label that made it, Max Mara, IS GOING TO RE-ISSUE IT IN A BUNCH OF COLORS. It was first issued in 2013, and has long been out of stores and retail, but the way Pelosi wore it caught the attention of the interwebs and it went viral -- prompting a New York Times think-piece and general high demand. I would imagine it will retail well into the $1,000-2,000 range, as most Max Mara coats do, but I also bet people will be willing to spring for one because it's a bomb coat. | | Credit: Yuri Gripas/Bloomberg/Getty Images
Melania Takes Pic for Fan:
Yesterday at Joint Base Langley-Eustis to visit troops and their families, Melania posed with a photo of a man who couldn't be at the event in person -- but who also has a spectacular beard. | | | Credit: @alwaysmelania/Instagram | | What Washington is Talking About:
Nancy Pelosi has secured the votes to become House Speaker next month after agreeing to serve no more than two terms; House Republicans gutted a measure that would restrict US involvement in the Saudi-led war in Yemen; and following Michael Cohen's prison sentencing Wednesday, lawmakers say they'd like to bring him as well as others charged in Robert Mueller's investigation in for questioning.
What America is Talking About:
A study by CAA found movies starring women do better than movies starring men; the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame has named its 2019 inductees, including Janet Jackson, Stevie Nicks, and Radiohead; and the Boy Scouts of America may reportedly file for bankruptcy.
Poll of the Day:
So this is interesting. Gallup asked Democrats and Republicans what they the direction they'd prefer their party to take and found a majority of Democrats want a party that's more moderate (54%), while a majority of Republicans want a party that's more conservative (57%). | | Credit: Gallup
National Enquirer Admits to Hush Money Payments:
As part of a non-prosecution agreement, the National Enquirer's parent company AMI admitted to making a $150K payment to Karen McDougal to silence her story about an alleged affair with Trump, federal prosecutors said Wednesday.
Back in 2016, days before the election, AMI denied making payments to help Trump. But now, prosecutors said AMI chair and longtime Trump friend David Pecker met with Michael Cohen and one other member of Trump's campaign in August 2015, and "offered to help deal with negative stories about that presidential candidate's relationships with women by, among other things, assisting the campaign in identifying such stories so they could be purchased and their publication avoided."
It Sucks to Work at Some Federal Agencies Right Now:
The Partnership for Public Service is out with their annual report on federal workplaces. It found NASA is the "Best Place to Work" among large federal agencies, while morale for many other agencies, including the EPA, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and Department of Education have sunk during the Trump administration.
"This is a report card on the administration," Partnership for Public Service president Max Stier said. "It's clear there should be concern."
Senator Buys Defense Stock After Pushing Defense Spending:
Oklahoma Republican Sen. James Inhofe, chair of the Senate Armed Services Committee, purchased between $50,000 to $100,000 in stock from defense contractor Raytheon after meeting with Trump to push for defense spending. An Inhofe spox told CNN the senator's financial transactions are handled by a third party and the Raytheon purchase was cancelled.
DJTJ Said His Dad is a Regifter:
Donald Trump Jr. told Extra since he and his father share initials, Trump Sr. would sometimes regift him monogrammed items. "There was one Christmas where he may or may not have given me the gift I had given him the year before because I monogrammed it," DJTJ said. "And I'm like, 'I know you didn't get this.'"
Obama Awarded RFK Human Rights Award:
Former President Obama received the honor last night in New York City. He tweeted that Bobby Kennedy taught that hope "travels through space *and* time, first splashing against the rocks, but eventually breaking down the walls of cruelty and injustice." | | Credit: Michael Loccisano/Getty Images for Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights
Esquire Endorses Ted Cruz's Beard:
I screamed when I saw this, screamed, I tell you. Esquire has came out in favor of Sen. Cruz's facial hair Wednesday. The magazine's Ben Boskovich called Cruz's now-much-more-fully grown-in beard "f**king endearing" and wrote, "It's salt, it's pepper, it's still a bit patchy, but good Lord, he's trying. And you can tell he's trying." This is probably the second coolest thing that's happened to Cruz all year, after beating Beto O'Rourke. Amazing. | | Credit: Zach Gibson/Getty Images
Street Art Sighting:
This Trump-themed take on "American Gothic" with the pitchfork swapped for a red "Make America Rake Again" rake was sent in from Seattle. | | Credit: Sara Sloyer
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.:
Today is Taylor Swift's 29th birthday. To celebrate she announced her "Taylor Swift Reputation Stadium Tour" is coming to Netflix on New Year's Eve. | | | | | | |
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