| | | | | President Trump disembarks from Air Force One after arriving at Noi Bai International Airport in Hanoi, Vietnam, on Tuesday. Credit: Justin Chin/Bloomberg via Getty Images | | What the White House is Talking About:
President Trump's first day in Vietnam, where he arrived about 9:15 EST this morning. His plan is to rest up until meeting Kim Jong Un tomorrow.
What the White House Press Corps is Talking About:
Getting kicked out of the predesignated press hotel in Hanoi because it was where Kim was also staying. To be clear, it is no small undertaking to move the press file room for an event like this. Teams have been setting up for days ahead of the arrival of the correspondents and producers to ensure the press area runs smoothly and every network can report -- it's one of the great unseen mechanisms of the White House press corps. | | Credit: @kaitlancollins/Twitter
Good Morning, Vietnam:
I just put my dollar in the jar for using that phrase for a headline, as every member of the press should. But, it's true. Here's where you can follow live updates of everything in Vietnam pertaining to the big meet-up, but now we're mostly just waiting for tomorrow, which, because of the time difference, will happen when we're all asleep.
Trump is Betting on His Friendship With Kim ... A Shaky Proposition:
In an interesting diplomatic strategy, Trump is hoping his personal friendship with dictator Kim Jong Un will be paramount to negotiating -- a very different tactic than those used by most presidents who have gone into a summit with another leader. "It's a very interesting thing to say, but I've developed a very, very good relationship," Trump told the nation's governors on Sunday evening before departing for Hanoi. "We'll see what that means. But he's never had a relationship with anybody from this country, and hasn't had lots of relationships anywhere."
I love the lede of this story by Kevin Liptak and Kylie Atwood. It's amazing when you think about it -- and it's great reporting: Hanoi (CNN) -- President Donald Trump was looking to flatter his new friend in Singapore when he struck upon an unusual compliment. He had known plenty of people who had grown up wealthy and whose families were powerful, Trump told Kim Jong Un, the despotic North Korean dictator whose father and grandfather held the same role. Many of them emerged messed up, Trump said. But, he added, Kim wasn't one of them. The Train, The Motorcade, All a Little Shabby:
Good video in here of Kim's train not stopping at the red carpet for him to get out, and having to reverse to line up with it. Oof. And his dusty, mud-splattered limo arriving in Hanoi. Also the translator sprinting -- literally -- out of the train to run up to Kim is amazing.
Mr. Cohen Goes to Washington:
Today was the day Michael Cohen began his testimony on Capitol Hill, arriving this morning to speak behind closed doors to the Senate Intelligence Committee on all things Donald Trump. The committee was told everything is on the table, meaning Cohen is free to discuss Trump's business dealings, as well as what Cohen witnessed during the presidential campaign. Of course, most of us are waiting for tomorrow, when Cohen's testimony will be public. The White House is apparently anticipating this as well, and according to CNN, will monitor all of Cohen's appearances and report notes to Trump, who will be busy with Kim in Vietnam. Sarah Sanders is already on the offensive, releasing this statement to the media Tuesday morning on Cohen: "Disgraced felon Michael Cohen is going to prison for lying to Congress and making other false statements. Sadly, he will go before Congress this week and we can expect more of the same. It's laughable that anyone would take a convicted liar like Cohen at his word, and pathetic to see him given yet another opportunity to spread his lies."
Congress Votes Today to Block Trump National Emergency Funding:
Today is the day for Congress to weigh in in an attempt to stop the President from getting the funding he wants for the border wall via declaration of a national emergency. There will be a vote on a resolution to prevent the funding, and Speaker Nancy Pelosi says, "This isn't about the border, this is about the Constitution." It's unlikely enough Republicans will vote against Trump, but if four Republicans join all the Democrats in the Senate to pass the resolution in the coming weeks, Trump has said that he would veto it -- which would be his first as President. Congress would then need an overwhelming majority -- two-thirds of its members -- in both chambers to override the presidential veto. | | Clarissa Ward, International Badass Reporter:
I have always had a mild obsession with female correspondents who report out of war zones, an early fixation brought about by listening to Christiane Amanpour on the radio when I was a kid. However, I am not exaggerating when I say that this Clarissa Ward story from behind enemy lines with the Taliban in Afghanistan is sooooo worth your time. In addition to the fabulous writing, there are great pictures and videos of everything Clarissa witnessed during her 36 hours in Taliban territory. | | What Washington is Talking About:
The House today is expected to vote to nullify President Trump's national emergency declaration, and Michael Cohen is testifying behind closed doors before the Senate Intelligence Committee.
What America is Talking About:
Nearly 200 people aboard an Amtrak train headed for Los Angeles were stranded in Oregon for more than a day, and Ariana Grande's "7 Rings" has become the first song from a female artist since Adele's "Hello" to spend its first five weeks at No. 1.
Cash Machine:
Bernie Sanders' 2020 campaign is not being shy about sharing its early fundraising numbers. The campaign said it's raised $10 million in less than a week from 359,914 donors. What's more, 39% of those donors used an email address the campaign hadn't been given before, per the New York Times. "Our second day was bigger than anybody else's first day," Sanders adviser Ari Rabin-Havt said.
What Sanders Said About the US Going Socialist:
At last night's CNN town hall, our Wolf Blitzer asked Sanders if Trump's promise that the US would never be socialist "would hold true" under a Sanders administration. He didn't directly answer the question, perhaps wanting to define the term himself with policy instead. Sanders said under his administration, health care would be a right, public colleges and universities would be tuition-free, and minimum wage would be set at at least $15 an hour. | | Credit: CNN
Pack the Court:
A new progressive group called Pack The Court is hoping to push 2020 Democrats to support expanding the number of Supreme Court justices up from nine.
It's been a minute since the US changed the court's size. It originally had six members, then in 1801 was temporarily reduced to five, per the National Constitution Center. It grew to seven members in 1807, nine in 1837, and had a 10th member for a few years beginning during the Civil War. FDR supported legislation in 1937 to add as many as six new justices (!!!) but that, of course, didn't happen.
SXSW 2019 Will be Very Political:
The festival announced a two-day Conversations About America's Future series to be co-hosted with the Texas Tribune that will feature a slate of Democratic candidates including Pete Buttigieg, Julián Castro, Amy Klobuchar and Elizabeth Warren. The series will also feature John Kasich, Bill Weld, and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy.
They're not the only pols speaking at SXSW. Former Speaker John Boehner will be a keynote speaker in a conversation with the chairman and CEO of the cannabis company he sits on the board of, and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is speaking on "the new left."
Turning Tweets Into Messages to Congress:
A Chrome extension called ePluribus turns social media posts into messages to members of Congress. They first confirm what Congressional district users live in with a mail-in card with a verification code, to make sure lawmakers are hearing from their constituents, per Fast Company.
"The idea is that people are already talking about politics on social media and news sites, but it doesn't really matter right now because it's in a bubble," co-founder Liam McCarty said. "It doesn't get to the decision-maker. And so we are effectively providing an extra layer over that. You can both tell your friends what you think, but also get back to your representatives so that they can act on it." | | Credit: ePluribus
Street Art Sighting:
One of my favorite parts of street art sighting is when you see a piece that's in the middle of still being painted. That's what happened with this mural off Melrose in Los Angeles inspired by "The Picture of Dorian Gray." Artist Zoueh Skotnes started with a mural of Trump that slowly deteriorated and melted away over the course of three-and-a-half weeks. You can see the finished product here, and below is mid-morph from last week: | | Credit: Hunter Schwarz
Tag or DM me your political street art sightings @hunterschwarz on Twitter or Instagram, or email me at coverlinehunter@cnn.com. | | | | | | |
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