| | | | | President Donald Trump smooths his hair during the opening of his speech at CPAC on Friday. Credit: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg/Getty Images | | | Just "Ivanka," Like Madonna, Or Rihanna: First daughter lands in South Korea
Rippon Says He's Willing to Talk to Pence Now: The Olympian is game to call now that the Games are wrapping up
FYI, the Media Doesn't Love Mass Shootings: Our Alisyn Camerota sets the record straight | | | What the White House is Talking About:
President Trump speaks at CPAC. Later, he has a press conference with Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, following a meeting and lunch between the two leaders.
What the White House Press Corps is Talking About:
Guns. And Trump's hair. It's Friday after a long week and Trump literally spoke for over an hour.
Trump CPAC Speech:
During those entertaining and insightful 80 minutes, which included a reading of "The Snake" poem, Trump talked guns, the economy, tax reform, immigration, MS-13, Hillary Clinton, the wall, midterms, North Korea sanctions, and his bald spot. Feel free to read the highlights because it was just too long for me to recap here. Before the speech, by the way, White House officials teased excerpts, which never happened, about the North Korea sanctions portion of Trump's remarks, claiming that topic would be the main headline -- instead, here is what the President actually said: "North Korea, we imposed today the heaviest sanctions ever imposed by our country before. And frankly, hopefully something positive can happen. We will see, but hopefully something positive can happen. That just was announced and I wanted to let you know." Mmkay, thanks.
Trump Says Officer "Didn't Have the Courage":
In an impromptu Q&A with reporters on his way to get to CPAC, the President talked a bit more on the gun issue, including his thoughts about the resource officer who failed to intervene at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, saying the armed officer did a poor job and lacked courage.
"I Try Like Hell to Hide That Bald Spot":
So far today, the best part of CPAC was when the President turned his back at the podium to preen and smooth his hair, after admiring a large image of himself. "What a nice picture that is," he said to cheers. "Look at that. I'd love to watch that guy speak." Then he said perhaps the most refreshingly honest and funny thing he's said in months: "Oh, I try like hell to hide that bald spot, folks. I work hard at it. It doesn't look bad."
Just "Ivanka," Like Madonna, Or Rihanna:
Ivanka Trump is something of a celebrity in Asia, which is perhaps why the local press (and apparently the staff at the Blue House, President Moon's residence) is comfortable with just calling her "Ivanka." According to a pool note out of South Korea, Ivanka is simply "Ivanka," and no one seems to have a problem with that. But, lemme just say, what if when Mike Pence was there for the Opening Ceremony, everyone just called him "Mike." Weird, right? Also, the President tweeted that he thinks his daughter is a better representative of America in Korea than Pence, btw.
Anyway, Ivanka (and Sarah Sanders) dined with Moon and first lady Kim Jung-sook. The menu was partly kosher, out of deference to Ivanka's religious practices. And since I love a menu, I'm hoping you will appreciate this too: lotus root and pear salad, jujube (red date) porridge, grilled soft tofu with special marinade for Ivanka Trump, kalbi grilled ribs (for everyone else), bibimbap: "Bibimbap is a food that mixes different ingredients evenly and symbolizes harmony," per Blue House, bean sprout soup. Dessert: frozen strawberry in three different flavors, citrus tea, and dried persimmon and deep fried walnuts. | | Credit: @IvankaTrump/Twitter
Our Daily Melania:
Melania Trump welcomes the Turnbulls to the White House with the President today on the South Lawn. She will host her Australian counterpart Lucy Turnbull for lunch while the leaders meet. | | Meanwhile, At Fashion Week ... :
FLOTUS style is en vogue, apparently. Moschino's show at Milan Fashion Week yesterday consisted of several looks very clearly inspired by Jackie Kennedy's style, right down to the hair and makeup. | | | Credit: Catwalking/Getty Images | | What Washington is Talking About:
Repub congressional leaders so far have been silent about President Trump's proposed gun measures. Here are four reasons it'll be an uphill climb for lawmakers to do anything.
What America is Talking About:
The armed school resource officer who waited outside Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School for four minutes while the shooting occurred.
Poll of the Day:
Of the five gun policy measures asked about in a CBS News poll released today, "spend more money on mental health screening" was the most popular, supported by 87% of Americans, while "allow more teachers to carry guns" was the least, at 44%. | | Credit: CBS News
What PyeongChang is Talking About:
Matt Hamilton, his amazing mustache, and the US men's curling team is heading for the gold medal round and will face off against Sweden Saturday. And an Olympic athlete from Russia who wore one of the ZA Sport "I Don't Do Doping" shirts failed a doping test. 🤷 | | Credit: Wang Zhao/AFP/Getty Images
Adam Rippon Says He's Willing to Talk to Pence Now:
Rippon told "Today" he'd take a call from Vice President Pence now that his Games are over. "I didn't take the phone call because I needed to focus on the competition," he said, but he would "totally" take it now. "Mike Pence doesn't stand for anything that I was taught when I grew up, and I think that it's important if you're given the platform to speak up for those who don't have a voice."
New North Korea Sanctions Are Here:
The sanctions, promised by Vice President Pence during his five-day trip for the Opening Ceremony, will target 56 shipping and trade entities.
The Name of DJTJ's Conference Speech in India Changes:
Donald Trump Jr.'s remarks at a business conference in New Delhi were originally titled "Reshaping Indo-Pacific Ties: The New Era of Cooperation," but have now been changed to something a little less political: "Fireside Chat with Donald Trump Jr., Executive Vice President, The Trump Organization."
FYI, the Media Doesn't Love Mass Shootings:
Our Alisyn Camerota set the record straight and asked NRA national spokeswoman Dana Loesch about her comment yesterday at CPAC that "many in legacy media love mass shootings" because of the ratings. You can watch the exchange here. Said Camerota:
"It's just malicious, actually, that you would say that. I don't know anybody in the media who likes mass shootings. You're wrong on every single level. We pray that there's never another one. And the idea of them being ratings gold ... they're not ratings gold." | | Credit: @CNN
How Parkland Survivors Felt About Meeting with Trump:
Several talked to the New York Times about their experience with him:
Andrew Pollack, whose daughter Meadow was killed and who delivered a heartbreaking, emotional plea during Wednesday's listening session at the White House, said Trump "showed us nothing but love" and that, "He's a regular guy. I wouldn't have been there if I didn't think he cared."
Samuel Zeif, an 18-year-old survivor, said he was disheartened to see the photo of Trump's now infamous "I hear you" note. "Everything I said was directly from the heart, and he had to write down 'I hear you.' Half the time during that meeting, his arms were crossed — I kept wanting to say, 'Mr. President, uncross your arms.' To me, that is the international sign for closemindedness; it's really just a big 'no.'"
Samantha Fuentes, who was wounded and hospitalized, said she received a call from Trump. "He said he heard that I was a big fan of his, and then he said, 'I'm a big fan of yours too.' I'm pretty sure he made that up. Talking to the President, I've never been so unimpressed by a person in my life. He didn't make me feel better in the slightest."
What a Russian Troll Job Posting Looks Like:
Job postings from 2014 and 2015 were found by the special counsel for the Russian troll factory indicted last week, which is known as the Internet Research Agency. One, for a "content manager" position, offered a starting salary of about $700 a month and said applicants would need to be able to publish "thematic posts" and exhibit traits like "consistency, accuracy, diligence [and] responsibility," which are weird traits to ask for when you're hiring people to churn out fake news to meddle in a foreign election. See more of the postings at BuzzFeed. | | Credit: via BuzzFeed
Oprah's Still Not Running for President:
On "Jimmy Kimmel Live" last night, Oprah said she didn't think of responding to Trump's tweet about her for a second. She also said she was "surprised" by the reaction to her Golden Globes speech, and looked straight to the camera and said, "I am definitely not running for president." | | | | | | |
