| | | | | Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Ivanka Trump with a robot at the Global Entrepreneurship Summit in Hyderabad Tuesday. Credit: Money Sharma/AFP/Getty Images | | | This is Awkward: Trump meeting with "Chuck and Nancy" canceled last minute
We Have Zero Chill About Prince Harry's Engagement: Meghan Markle's coat is already sold out
When You Try to Come for the MSM But Play Yourself Instead: Project Verifail | | | What the White House is Talking About:
President Trump today headed to Capitol Hill for lunch and tax reform pushing with Senate Republicans.
What the White House Press Corps is Talking About:
The whole Pocahontas thing from yesterday is still a talker, as was Sarah Sanders' response to it in yesterday's briefing. Odds decent someone will ask about it again today when she takes the podium at 3pm.
SMH:
I don't really know how to talk about this without using "shaking my head," for the whole thing -- the remark, the Andrew Jackson painting, Elizabeth Warren's response, Sanders' defense of Trump. Yeah, all of it.
This is Awkward:
Trump this morning tweeted he'd be meeting with "Chuck and Nancy" today (his quotation marks, not mine), but then Schumer and Pelosi announced they would not be attending the meeting, saying in a statement, "Rather than going to the White House for a show meeting that won't result in an agreement, we've asked (Senate Majority Leader Mitch) McConnell and (House Speaker Paul) Ryan to meet this afternoon."
Sanders' statement in response: "It's disappointing that Senator Schumer and Leader Pelosi are refusing to come to the table and discuss urgent issues.The President's invitation to the Democrat leaders still stands and he encourages them to put aside their pettiness, stop the political grandstanding, show up and get to work. These issues are too important. The meeting will proceed as scheduled with Speaker Ryan, Leader McConnell and administration officials who are committed to getting things done. If the Democrats believe the American people deserve action on these critical year-end issues as we do, they should attend." | | Prince Harry Got Engaged and We Have Zero Chill About It:
Yesterday's news that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were engaged literally made everyone lose their damn minds. The stories ran the gamut, from who made Markle's white wrap trench coat (The Line, a Canadian label, retailed for about $600, but now sold out), to what her hair has looked like through the years. Guys, chill out! You know we're not going to get invited if we don't act like we're cool! For planning, though, the Royal Palace announced today that the wedding will be in May at Windsor Castle. I'm going to buy my hat now, brb.
Also, for you conspiracy theorists who thought Harry was throwing gang signs when he met Melania Trump in Canada in September, he apparently just likes to rest his hand inside his suit jacket. | | Credit: (both) Chris Jackson/AFP/Getty Images
Dress Like The First Daughter:
Ivanka Trump has been in India the past couple of days; she gave a speech at the Global Entrepreneurship Summit at the invitation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. She wore an Erdem dress, a label that is based in London and is known for brightly colored floral patterns. It's available here on sale for $2,485. Below is Ivanka in India, and then how the dress was shown on the fall/winter 2018 runway. | | | Credit: Money Sharma/AFP/Getty Images, erdem.com | | What Washington is Talking About:
Tax reform. The Senate Budget Committee begins markup of the Senate Republicans' tax proposal today at 2:30 p.m. Repubs are hoping for a vote by the end of the week, and can afford to have two "no" votes and still pass it. Two Republican senators -- Ron Johnson of Wisconsin and Steve Daines of Montana -- have already come out against it, and a handful of others have voiced their concerns about the bill. Per the bill's Congressional Budget Office score, Americans earning less than $40,000 a year would be worse off by 2025.
What America is Talking About:
Grammy noms are out!! Jay-Z leads with eight nominations, including nods for record, album and song of the year. The best new artist category has some of my fav breakout stars of the year like Julia Michaels (who co-wrote much of Britney Spears' "Glory"), SZA, Khalid, Lil Uzi Vert and Alessia Cara. Also, MTV announced it's bringing back the cast of "Jersey Shore" for "Jersey Shore Family Vacation" in 2018, which no one asked for but I'm sure will be something.
Poll of the Day:
A Pew poll found a combined 48% of American adults believe using military force against countries that seriously threaten but have not attacked the US is "never" or "rarely" justified. That's up from 41% who said as much in November 2009, the last time Pew asked the question. | | Credit: Pew
When You Try to Come for the MSM But Play Yourself Instead:
This is one of my favorite stories of the year. A woman who tried to plant a fake story with the Washington Post that Alabama Senate candidate Roy Moore impregnated her when she was a teenager was seen Monday entering the New York offices of Project Veritas, the group that's been attempting to discredit mainstream media this year with undercover videos. Her story was riddled with inconsistencies, and as Post reporters checked out the woman's story and background (also known as journalism), they found a lot of things that didn't add up. So rather than getting any damaging footage that could discredit the Post, she got an A1 story about her botched sting operation.
Moore Campaign Staff Push Fox News Crew:
Fox News' Jonathan Serrie said two staffers "decided to push the cameras back and physically manhandle two Fox News photographers" when Moore used a different entrance for a campaign event than they said he would. Serrie said:
"It's not unusual for people to get bumped around a bit in the media scrum. This was not a scrum, though. It is highly unusual for members of a political campaign to physically engage in this manner with members of the press." | | Credit: Fox News
In May, then-Montana House candidate Greg Gianforte was charged with assaulting reporter Ben Jacobs. If this is how two special elections are going in 2017, I can only imagine how the midterms next year could be...
What Meghan Markle Said About Trump:
In May 2016, before she was Prince Harry's fiancée, Meghan Markle voiced her opposition to the then-Republican candidate in an interview with Larry Wilmore on "The Nightly Show." The video is now unavailable on the Comedy Central page, but you can see a clip of it here.
The actress starred in "Suits," which was filmed in Canada, and said if Trump won:
"It's really the moment that I go, we film 'Suits' in Toronto and I might just stay in Canada. I mean come on, if that's reality we are talking about, come on, that is a game-changer in terms of how we move in the world here."
Markle also criticized Trump for being "misogynistic":
"With as a misogynistic as Trump is, and so vocal about it, that's a huge chunk of it, you're not just voting for a woman if it's Hillary just because she is a woman but certainly because Trump has made it easy to see you don't want that kind of world he is painting." | | Credit: Comedy Central
My Favorite Royal Wedding Take:
When it comes to 2020, I always caution perspective and calm because it's so far away and so much will happen between now and then, but then I see this tweet and I lose it and start imagining a royal in the 2060 race. | | Credit: @GPollowitz/Twitter
Barbie Comes Out in Support of LGBT Rights:
Barbie is showing her support for LGBT rights and issues. The doll wore a "Love Wins" shirt in a post on the @barbiestyle Instagram page. The tee was made for Pride Month in June and is available for $68 from the Los Angeles brand Two Songs, with 50% of the proceeds going to the Trevor Project, which combats LGBT youth suicide. | | Credit: @barbiestyle/Instagram
Miss Minnesota Contestant with Down Syndrome Wins Director's Awards:
Mikayla Holmgren, 22, is believed to be the first woman with Down syndrome to compete in the Miss Minnesota USA pageant, and she won the Miss Minnesota USA Spirit Award and Director's Award. Holmgren is a student at Bethel University's Inclusive Learning and Development program. Her parents told the Twin Cities Pioneer Press, "She goes after what she wants. She said, 'I want to do this. I'm going to go do this,' and we said, 'All right.' She just goes after it." Amazing. ❤️❤️❤️ | | | | | | |
