| | | | | Winter sports enthusiast Ivanka Trump watches the men's four-man bobsleigh event of the PyeongChang Winter Olympic Games at the Olympic Sliding Center Sunday. Credit: Eric Gaillard/AFP/Getty Images | | | Ivanka Trump Thinks It's "Inappropriate" to ask Her Questions: She doesn't want to talk about allegations against her father
Companies Cut Ties With NRA: One way to judge the power of a political movement is to watch corporate America
Omarosa Says Trump Could Come After Her: If she writes a tell-all, like she says she might | | | What the White House is Talking About:
President Trump this morning met with governors to talk about a host of issues, including public safety. Later he has a string of meetings which are closed to the press.
What the White House Press Corps is Talking About:
Different stuff, all over the map, but mostly still guns. Sarah Sanders will give an on-camera press briefing at 3 p.m.
Our Daily Melania:
Big day for the first lady, who gave official remarks at the luncheon for a group of governors' spouses at the White House. It's the first big speech of 2018 for Melania, and she touched on gun control and the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. "I have been heartened to see children across this country using their voices to speak out and try to create change. They are our future and they deserve a voice."
This is worth noting because the first lady has typically not waded into policy issues, especially those as hot-button as guns are right now. She also told the governors' spouses that adults should help young people by limiting the time they spend online and by teaching them about the dangers of drug abuse and addiction.
Meanwhile, all of this is happening as Melania takes the spotlight in the wake of a pretty debilitating 2018 for her so far -- it's hard to say what goes on inside a marriage, but I tried today to take a fair and detailed look at what things have been like under the microscope for the first couple.
Trump's Poll Numbers Slip:
A new CNN poll has Trump's approval rating back down to 35%, matching the lowest it's been during his presidency, which was back in December. He's down five points since last month's high, which appeared to be a boost that resulted from strong economic numbers and tax reform. The most interesting part, to me, is how much he's disliked by women and young people -- pretty staggering margins. | | Ivanka Trump Thinks It's "Inappropriate" to ask Her Questions:
On the heels of her visit to PyeongChang to support American athletes at the Winter Olympics, Ivanka Trump sat down for an interview with Peter Alexander of NBC News -- and she said some stuff. The thing that really got me was the part where she told Alexander it was "inappropriate" of him to "ask a daughter" about allegations of sexual misconduct against her father. So, she's also a senior adviser to the President of the United States who handles a lot of women's issues, including helping women in the workplace, as well as supporting families.This is clearly where it gets dicey to make a family member a top-ranking adviser. Ivanka's already getting hammered for her comments, and justly so, in my opinion. You can't use the daughter card when this issue continues to play out publicly -- and you can't use it and completely ignore what your role is in the administration.
Lewinsky Drops a Fascinating and Insightful Essay:
Omg the opening of this Monica Lewinsky first-person story in Vanity Fair's March issue is a doozy. My jaw dropped at the telling of her first personal encounter with Ken Starr, the former special prosecutor who basically eviscerated Lewinsky, and her entire family, while investigating Bill Clinton's relationship with the then-24-year-old White House intern. Spoiler: Starr actually *went up to her at a restaurant on Christmas Eve last year*. Also in here, great insight from a woman who has essentially been a living, breathing example of workplace misconduct, cyberbullying, slut-shaming and now, finally, the #MeToo movement. And no better revenge than looking good doing it, am I right 🙌 . | | Credit: Erik Madigan Heck for Vanity Fair
Please Watch This Clip of Michael Wolff:
Michael Wolff, you ol' son of a gun. Check out this clip of Wolff on the Australian "Today Show" as he totally pulls a fake I-can't-hear-you with the host when he's asked about whether he is sure the President is having an affair, as Wolff recently said on Bill Maher's HBO program. Hahahahaha.
Videos Are Mostly Better with Foo Fighters:
This is a generally true statement, but confirmed when the clip of this dude destroying a DC speed camera began making the rounds. Slow clap to you, sir. | | Credit: @JBillinson/Twitter
Dress Like the First Daughter:
I got a lot of questions about the red and blue striped outfit Ivanka Trump wore to watch the Olympics over the weekend. It was ... eye-catching? It's actually a top and a skirt, both by Altuzarra. The skirt is $595 and available here, and the top is $695 and you can get it here. Barneys shows the pieces as separates, but Ivanka put them together. | | | Credit: Jean Catuffe/Getty Images, barneys.com | | What Washington is Talking About:
An assault weapons ban bill is expected to be introduced in the House today by Rep. David Cicilline, a Rhode Island Dem. And in the Senate, Sen. Gary Peters, a Michigan Dem, will read George Washington's farewell address, an annual tradition dating back to 1892.
What America is Talking About:
Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School students returned to campus yesterday for the first time since the shooting to get information about the phased reopening of the school. Teachers are returning to work today and tomorrow, and students will return for classes Wednesday.
Poll of the Day:
The percentage of Americans who support stricter gun laws, according to a CNN poll released Sunday: | | Credit: CNN
That's the highest level since 1993, and up from 52% in October after the Las Vegas shooting.
What PyeongChang is Talking About:
Norway ended the Games as the medal leader, with 39. The US came in fourth, with 23 medals, nine of them gold. It was the worst showing for the US at a Winter Olympics since 1998.
Olympic Athletes from Russia won the gold medal in men's hockey, and they sang the Russian national anthem during the medal ceremony, in violation of the neutrality rules under which they were competing. Gus Kenworthy called their victory Russia's biggest win since the 2016 US presidential election.
US intelligence says a cyberattack on Olympics officials during the opening ceremony came from Russia and they made it look like it was from North Korea, two US officials told the Washington Post.
Goodbye, PyeongChang, and goodbye PyeoungChang's Trump and Kim Jong Un impersonators, it's been weird. | | Credit: Jonathan Nackstrand/AFP/Getty Images
Companies Cut Ties With NRA:
One way to judge the power of a political movement is to watch corporate America. When big companies that serve customers across the political spectrum cut ties with political causes or organizations or take a stand on an issue, it often shows they've made a calculation that, sure, they might upset some customers, but ultimately, it's in their best interest to take a stand. Since Thursday, a wave of companies, including major car rental companies and airlines, have ended discount programs they had with the NRA. They include: - The First National Bank of Omaha
- Enterprise Holdings car rental brands Rent-A-Car, Alamo Rent a Car, National Car Rental
- Symantec
- Hertz
- MetLife
- SimpliSafe
- Avis Budget Group car rental brands Avis and Budget Rent a Car
- Sirva, the parent company of moving-van lines Allied and North American
- TrueCar
- Delta Air Lines
- United Airlines
- Paramount RX
- Starkey, a hearing aid company
Omarosa Says Trump Could Come After Her:
Just when you were starting to get used to bombshell revelations about the Trump White House coming in the form of hidden camera reality show confessionals, "Celebrity Big Brother" has come to an end. Omarosa did not win (that honor went to actress Marissa Jaret Winokur, with Ross Mathews coming in second), but she did say she's thinking of spilling more. Omarosa said she's thinking of writing a tell-all, but if she does, she expects Trump will "come after me with everything he has." "I'm going up against a kazillionaire," she said. "So I'll probably end up in court for the next... but I have to tell my truth." She compared leaving the White House to being "freed off a plantation." | | Credit: CBS
Michelle Obama's Memoir Has a Release Date:
It's called "Becoming" and it's set to be released November 13. Obama's publisher, Penguin Random House, called the book "an unusually intimate reckoning from a woman of soul and substance who has steadily defied expectations -- and whose story inspires us to do the same." It will be published in 24 languages and sell for $32.50 in the US.
Tiffany Trump, Hockey Fan:
Ivanka isn't the only winter sports enthusiast in the family, it seems. While her half sister was in PyeongChang, Tiffany was at Saturday's Capitals-Sabres game, but it doesn't appear she was cheering on the home team. Tiffany tagged Sabres' player Evander Kane in one ringside video posted on her Instagram story, and posted a photo with Kane and fellow Sabre Robin Lehner. | | Credit: @tiffanytrump/Instagram story
Street Art Sighting:
Shoutout to my mom, who sent in today's street art sighting. My family was in Los Angeles this weekend and she spotted this Trump (and a minion) piñata outside a party supply store in Highlands Park. | | Credit: Joan Schwarz
If you spot political street art, I'd love to see it. Here's how you can reach me:
1. Tweet me @hunterschwarz
2. Tag me on Instagram @hunterschwarz
3. Email me at coverlinehunter@cnn.com | | | | | | |
