| | | | | Kellyanne Conway, counselor to the President, speaks to the media in front of the West Wing of the White House Friday morning. Credit: Mark Wilson/Getty Images | | | Now That Trump's Military Parade is Off, Here's How He'll Spend His Veterans Day: In France, watching a parade there
The Drama Over Omarosa's Latest Tape is So Reality TV: "I hope it's all worth it for you, Omarosa"
Repubs Spent $1.7 Million at Trump Properties: And that's just in the first six months of 2018 | | | What Washington is Talking About:
The jury in the Paul Manafort case returns today after not reaching a verdict in its first day of deliberations, President Trump's military parade has been postponed, and the Senate unanimously passed a resolution Thursday stating "the press is not the enemy of the people."
What America is Talking About:
Tributes to Aretha Franklin have been pouring in from fellow musicians and others, and the Vatican has now responded to a grand jury's findings about sexual abuse of hundreds of children in Pennsylvania, calling it "criminal and morally reprehensible."
Poll of the Day:
A majority of Americans say the US shouldn't have a Space Force. A CNN poll found 37% believe the US should establish a new space branch of the military and 55% believe it should not. | | Credit: CNN
Even among Republicans and those who approve of the job Trump is doing, support for Space Force is just 50%, per the poll.
Now That Trump's Military Parade is Off, Here's How He'll Spend His Veterans Day:
The Department of Defense announced Thursday that Trump's military parade planned for Veterans Day wasn't going to happen and they're looking into doing it sometime in 2019 instead. Then this morning, Trump tried to take credit for the cancellation after the fact, saying the cost was too high and accusing local D.C. politicians of trying to make money off it. Trump said instead he'll go to France for Veterans Day to mark the 100th anniversary of the end of World War I and attend a parade at Andrews Air Force Base at another date. Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser clapped back at Trump in a tweet: | | Credit: @MurielBowser/Twitter
The Drama Over Omarosa's Latest Tape is So Reality TV:
Omarosa dropped her latest tape yesterday on NBC (Side note: idk if you noticed, but Omarosa's media strategy has been heavy on NBC, which aired "The Apprentice." She kicked off her book tour on "Meet The Press" Sunday, did "Today" Monday, sat for an interview with MSNBC's Katy Tur Tuesday, and this latest tape was also released on MSNBC). In the recording, Lara Trump offered Omarosa a job on the campaign for $15,000 a month, and Trump said Omarosa has some things in her "back pocket" she could "pull out." "Clearly, if you come on board the campaign, like, we can't have -- we got to -- everything, everybody positive, right?" Trump said. | | Credit: MSNBC
Lara Trump responded to the tape with one of the most reality TV-esque statements I've seen in politics, which I've included below in its entirety, emphasis mine:
"From the beginning of my father-in-law's campaign, Omarosa was welcomed into our family as a trusted friend and confidant. On the Women for Trump tour, including Omarosa, we formed a sisterhood bond that is unlike any I have experienced in my life. We toured together, laughed together, and worked really hard towards a common goal. We never would have imagined that one of our own was secretly recording all of our private conversations. When Omarosa was fired by the White House Chief of Staff in December of 2017, my entire family was concerned for her because we had no idea about the basis of her dismissal. We still wanted her on our team because we cared so much about her personally. That's why I reached out to offer her a position with the 2020 Trump campaign before we knew anything about the gross violations of ethics and integrity during her White House tenure. Another one of Omarosa's 'bombshell' tapes is a fraud. The discussion about a position with the campaign took place in numerous phone calls over the course of several weeks. Woman to woman, I shared a connection with Omarosa as a friend and a campaign sister, and I am absolutely shocked and saddened by her betrayal and violation on a deeply personal level. I hope it's all worth it for you, Omarosa, because some things you just can't put a price on."
The question that remains is why, after Kelly fired Omarosa for "serious integrity violations," would the Trump campaign court her for weeks to join them? Isn't someone with those sort of workplace problems exactly the type of person you wouldn't hire? The New York Times reports that Omarosa could have as many as 200 tapes.
Our Daily Melania:
The week after her husband called Omarosa a "dog" on the internet, FLOTUS is attending a cyberbullying event. Melania will be in Rockville, Maryland, Monday for the Federal Partners in Bullying Prevention's Cyberbullying Prevention Summit where she'll deliver remarks and participate in a panel discussion with representatives of social media platforms.
Repubs Have Spent $1.7 Million at Trump Properties in the First Half of 2018:
A CNN analysis of FEC filings found Republican campaigns, committees and outside groups spent about $1.7 million at Trump properties in the first six months of the year. Here's how much those properties brought in: | | Credit: CNN
Trump Tower Condo Hits Market for $24.5 Million:
The 6,144 square-foot, five-bedroom duplex penthouse is on the 64th and 65th floors. The views are incredible, and the decor shown on the photos released by Dolly Lenz Real Estate is much more modern and much less gold and gaudy than Trump's home there. According to Page Six, the condo is directly below Trump's, which is on the 66th through 68th floors. | | Credit: Dolly Lenz Real Estate
Street Art Sighting:
The National Portrait Gallery is displaying a poster of Aretha Franklin made in 1968 by Milton Glaser, the designer behind "I ❤️ NY" and the famous 1966 psychedelic portrait of Bob Dylan that came with his greatest hits album, for a limited time to mark Franklin's passing. The poster came in a teen magazine called Eye, and will be on display through August 22 on the first floor In Memorium section (because it's paper and sensitive to light and because it was recently on display, it will only be up for a few days). | | 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.:
Ariana Grande and The Roots performed Aretha Franklin's "Natural Woman" on last night's "Tonight Show," and wow. Grande's out promoting her album Sweetener, which was released today, and I don't think being called on to pay tribute to the Queen of Soul on national television hours after her death was on the agenda, but she did a tremendous job. The VMAs are Monday, and I wonder what kind of tribute they're pulling together...
Kate Bennett is off. | | | | | | |
