| | | | | First lady Melania Trump participates in a tree-planting ceremony on the South Lawn Monday. Credit: Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images | | | President Switches Gears on McCain Tribute: The flag was down, then it was up, then it was down again
Which First Lady Are You?: The Bush Center quiz
Trump Tweeted About Googling "Trump News," so if You Google "Trump News" You Get News About his Tweet: Meta | | | What the White House is Talking About:
President Trump today is meeting with the president of FIFA.
What the White House Press Corps is Talking About:
President Trump today is meeting with the president of FIFA?
President Switches Gears On McCain Tribute:
The flag was down, then it was up, then it was down again -- and thus went the White House mindset, following the mood of the President as most of his staff, and probably his wife and daughter, tried to get him to acquiesce a bit on the harshness of his feelings about Sen. John McCain. By last night, at a dinner for evangelical leaders in the White House State Dining Room, a couple of sentences had been added to Trump's remarks to indicate he did value the late senator as a hero. "Our hearts and prayers are going to the family of Senator John McCain. There's going to be a lot of activity over the next number of days. And we very much appreciate everything that Senator McCain has done for our country," said Trump. The change of tone came after more than a dozen opportunities for the President to answer shouted questions from the press about how he felt about McCain. Trump answered each with stony silence. Here's how New York Times photographer Doug Mills captured it yesterday: | | Credit: @nytmills/Instagram
This is Why You Shouldn't Google Yourself:
Guys, never, ever, ever Google yourself. You're not going to find what you think you're going to find and the images are your worst photos. Trust me. The President apparently googled himself last night/early this morning because he was up and tweeting super-early about what he found when he googled "Trump news" -- which was a bunch of stories that he felt compiled an orchestrated political agenda against him, and basically that the search engine is rigged (it isn't). Google issued a statement in its defense: | | | And, naturally, when you google Trump's name now ... | | Credit: @betsy_klein/Twitter
"You Don't Sit T-Rex Down at the Dinner Table":
Ashley Parker's story in the Washington Post today about how America has elected a "President non grata" is an interesting take on how some of the most inherent duties of a president have been disrupted in the age of Trump. I personally think that's what his supporters fancy about him -- his irascible insistence that things shouldn't necessarily be status quo. It's just a unique way to look at one of the many different angles of this presidency.
Which First Lady Are You? The Quiz:
The George W. Bush Center has been doing a huge First Ladies program and as part of it, they've issued a new quiz to see which First Lady you most align with. I love a good which-blank-are-you quiz. I got Jackie: | | Credit: bushcenter.org
Dress Like the First Lady:
Not gonna lie, I was worried that Melania might slip when she was "planting" the Eisenhower Oak sapling yesterday on the White House South Lawn. But it was more a ceremonial planting -- and she didn't. Whew. I was particularly concerned because she was of course wearing her usual Christian Louboutin "So Kate" heels, this time in "Charlotte Pink," no less, available here for $725. She paired the shoes with a very "I'm in the garden" skirt by Valentino, from the house's spring 2017 collection, on sale here for $1,185. | | | Credit: Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images, farfetch.com | | What Washington is Talking About:
The Republican response to renaming the Russell Building after John McCain has been lukewarm, McCain's farewell statement -- in which he reiterated his love of country and said America is weak when it confuses "patriotism with tribal rivalries that have sown resentment and hatred and violence in all the corners of the globe" -- was read Monday by his former campaign manager Rick Davis, and McCain's desk in the Senate chamber was draped in black, with a vase of white flowers. | | Credit: @cindymccain/Twitter
What America is Talking About:
There are primaries today in Arizona and Florida, with a runoff primary in Oklahoma, Marriott plans by the end of the year to place the Bible and Book of Mormon in 300,000 rooms in Starwood brand hotels, which they acquired two years ago, and Odell Beckham Jr. signed an extension with the New York Giants and became the highest-paid wide receiver in the NFL.
If You Google "Trump News" You Get Results About Trump Tweeting About "Trump News":
Kate mentioned Trump's tweets about Google, and as with all stories these days about conservatives being allegedly censored by Big Tech, you should take it with a grain of salt. Trump didn't cite his sources (surprise!) in his tweet claiming 96% of search results about "Trump News" are from "left-wing media," but there is an article on the conservative site PJMedia making the claim that uses this chart that bizarrely shows mainstream outlets about as far left as places like Salon and Mother Jones and puts InfoWars in the middle right, so yeah, like I said, big ole grain of salt.
Because of Trump's tweet, it's getting harder to test out the claims yourself. When you Google "Trump News" now, you're starting to see results about Trump tweeting about "Trump News," which is a meta search engine phenomenon popularized by Christina Aguilera in 2012. Aguilera was reportedly considering making amends with her estranged father and dying grandparents, and stories about that were illustrated with pictures of her. The internet eventually found that if you Googled "dying grandparents" you mostly got pictures of the pop star, and today, it's super meta and you get images of screenshots of Google images. | | Credit: Google
Unlike "dying grandparents," however, I don't expect "Trump news" search results to stay like this forever, if only because there's so much Trump news every day.
J-Kush's Family's Company was Fined for False Permit Info:
New York City's Department of Buildings accused Kushner Companies of making false statements in permits at 17 buildings and fined the company $210,000 for 42 violations Monday, according to the New York Times. A spokeswoman for the company told NYT they were "paperwork errors."
Stormy in Vogue:
Stormy Daniels' Vogue profile has been published. Written by Amy Chozick, Daniels talked about how her fan base has shifted from middle-aged white men who bought her DVDs to women, immigrants, gay couples and others who aren't as interested in her adult industry work ("I've sold like five naked pictures. I'm like, What is happening?"). She said she's regularly harassed, including notes slipped under her hotel room door, and described her politics as "Republican" but "pro-choice, pro-gay." The photos, of her and her attorney, Michael Avenatti, were shot by Annie Leibovitz, and Daniels is wearing Zac Posen, a designer Kate noted has refused to dress the first family. | | Credit: Annie Leibovitz for Vogue
Designing Cities for Terrorist Attacks:
Sidewalks in Washington's Chinatown neighborhood are getting a redesign, and the planters, trees, and bike racks that may go up aren't just there to look pretty. After car attacks in places like Nice, France, and Charlottesville, Virginia, some landscape architects are looking for ways to protect pedestrians that won't make sidewalks look like war zones. "When you look at it, you won't say, 'That's there to protect pedestrians," Robb Berg, whose firm, Design Workshop, is designing I Street between 6th and 7th NW, told the Washington Post. "We're taking that function and disguising it in all sorts of other elements."
Street Art Sighting:
In the suburbs of Phoenix, signs posted in the gravel next to sidewalks count as street art. My dad spotted a sign reading "Reagan would be disgusted with today's Republican!" among the political signs and ad for a $20 pedicure in Gilbert, Arizona, this weekend. | | Credit: Dan 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. | | | | | | |
