| | | | | President Donald Trump discusses the recent tax reform legislation Wednesday with workers in the Oval Office. Credit: Win McNamee/Getty Images | | | Trump Wants People "On My Team": What he reportedly asked the deputy attorney general
Trump Incorrectly Claims He had Largest SOTU Audience: It's like Inauguration Crowd Size 2.0
Twitter Stars' Fake Followers Unveiled: Will follower fraud become a political issue? | | | What the White House Is Talking About:
President Donald Trump is in West Virginia today to give remarks at a GOP retreat.
What the White House Press Corps Is Talking About:
Whether Trump will mention the House memo on FBI surveillance and/or the Russia investigation during his speech today, or later at remarks he's giving at the Republican National Committee meeting, conveniently being held at the Trump International Hotel.
Hashtag Release the Memo:
CNN reported an explosive revelation this morning that the President thinks the information in the memo prepared by US Rep. Devin Nunes' staff will be powerful enough to discredit the Russia investigation, citing sources familiar with White House discussions. I think the larger picture here is that the President is essentially in opposition to the Justice Department. The lines of division in government v. government all lead back to one person: Trump.
Trump Wants People "On My Team":
Trump asked Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein whether he was on his team in December, according to sources familiar with the meeting. Here's a snippet of new reporting on what happened:
"At the December meeting, the deputy attorney general appeared surprised by the President's questions, the sources said. He demurred on the direction of the Russia investigation, which Rosenstein has ultimate authority over now that his boss, Attorney General Jeff Sessions, has recused himself. And he responded awkwardly to the President's 'team' request, the sources said. 'Of course, we're all on your team, Mr. President,' Rosenstein told Trump, the sources said. It is not clear what Trump meant or how Rosenstein interpreted the comment."
Spotted Near GOP Retreat:
A CNN producer sent this photo of a sign outside a gun store in Sulphur Springs, West Virginia, today, just down the road from the Greenbrier Resort, where Republicans are having their retreat, and where Vice President Mike Pence spoke Wednesday and Trump is speaking today. I dig they are open to conversation about guns. | | Photo credit: CNN
Michelle Obama Talks Doorbells and Decorating:
Part two of the teases for the Michelle Obama interview on today's "Ellen" are out, and the former first lady shares a bit of what life is like now that her family isn't in the White House. Spoiler: Bo and Sunny are *not* used to hearing doorbells ring. Also, she takes credit for finding the house in Washington's Kalorama area where they now live, and says she also oversaw the new decor. This latter part bums me out because I thought the previous look of the home, (which, insider tip, you can view here) was very cool and stylish. Obama adds daughter Sasha has the best setup in the new place, but she deserves it because she's the baby -- and former President Barack Obama has the least amount of room, both for his closet and his home office. | | Credit: Michael Rozman/Warner Bros.
Our Daily Melania:
I find the first lady's Twitter feed to sometimes be a gentle reminder calendar. Today, for example, she tweeted a unifying message about Black History Month. | | Credit: @FLOTUS/Twitter
I also find it fascinating that she posted video of her solo reception for the State of the Union guests and the photo op she had with them (and a snippet of the meet and greet with Karen Pence at SOTU). Keep in mind, the guests had already been to a reception and photo op in the Oval Office with the President. He didn't go to hers, and she didn't go to his -- so did the guests feel like the kids of divorced parents who have to go to two homes on Christmas?
Dress Like the (Former) First Lady:
Michelle Obama wore a mod black-and-white look for her appearance on "Ellen," but it's not just any black and white, because she's Michelle Obama. The white top is a silk and cashmere off-the-shoulder number from Tom Ford, available here for $1,490, and the pants are the high-waisted Axon design from Roland Mouret, here for $955. For your convenience, and your wallet, I did a look for less. Here are a similar top ($16.50) and pants ($64) | | | Credit: @meredithkoop/Instagram, net-a-porter.com, rolandmouret.com | | What Washington Is Talking About:
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi asked House Speaker Paul Ryan to remove Rep. Devin Nunes as chairman of the House Intelligence Committee over the memo about the FBI's surveillance practices. Others are sounding off, too: The FBI told the White House it has "grave concerns" about the memo's accuracy, and a former CIA chief said the handling of the memo was "reckless partisan behavior" on the part of Republicans.
What America Is Talking About:
Nintendo announced it's developing a Mario Kart game for your phone.
Reminder:
Rent is due.
January 2018, a Retrospective:
Congrats, guys, we made it through the first month of 2018 (just more than three whole Scaramuccis!) I kept some notes about the news. What a month: | | Credit: Hunter Schwarz
The Latest on Train Crash:
The driver of the truck struck Wednesday by the Amtrak train carrying GOP lawmakers en route to a retreat in West Virginia died. Amtrak said in a statement it's working with law enforcement to investigate, and lawmakers said they were conflicted about continuing with the retreat. "This is part of our job," said Rep. Michael Burgess of Texas. "Coming to a retreat is not something new or novel, we do it every year. ... It is part of our planning process."
Democratic Retreat Next Week:
It's being held in Cambridge, Maryland, and Joe Biden will give the keynote address. It's right smack dab in the middle of another potential government shutdown; the short-term spending deal to end the shutdown last month only ran until February 8.
Trump Incorrectly Claims He Had Largest SOTU Audience:
It's like Inauguration Crowd Size 2.0. Trump tweeted the 45.6 million viewers who tuned in for Tuesday's address were "the highest number in history." They weren't. In the 21st century, he's been beat four times: - His own 2017 address to a joint session of Congress*: 47.7 million viewers
- Obama's 2010 SOTU: 48 million
- Obama's 2009 address to a joint session of Congress*: 52.4 million
- George W. Bush's 2003 SOTU: 62.1 million
*The address a president gives in his first year in office technically isn't a State of the Union.
Trump's Not Doing a Super Bowl Interview:
If he really wanted to try to set some records, Trump would sit for the traditional Super Bowl interview, this year with NBC, which is airing the game. But a White House official told CNN that Trump is opting out.
The Super Bowl is the most-viewed television event of the year, and imagine the eyeballs that would tune in to see Trump respond to questions about the Russia investigation, Stormy Daniels, and whatever crazy news story that might pop up between now and Sunday. Could have been must-see TV, but alas. ...
NBC says it has an open invite to Trump if he changes his mind. Trump sat for an interview last Super Bowl, but it was on Fox with Bill O'Reilly.
Trump Campaign Spending a Lot on Legal Fees:
Trump's re-election campaign spent more than $3 million in legal fees last year, or almost $2 for every $10 spent, per Federal Election Commission filings. Reminder that the fact Trump has his re-election campaign up already is unusual; Trump filed for re-election the day he took office, while Obama and George W. Bush both waited until the spring before election year -- 2011 and 2003, respectively.
Facebook Use Declines:
Facebook's efforts to curb abuse, fake news and everything else bad on its site has resulted in people spending less time there. Founder Mark Zuckerberg told investors Wednesday there's been a 5% drop in time spent on the site, and for the first time, a drop in daily users in the United States and Canada, from 185 million last quarter to 184 million this quarter.
Twitter Stars' Fake Followers Unveiled:
A New York Times report on the sketchy world of buying Twitter followers published Saturday has brought to light how widespread fake followers are. The Hill told staff Wednesday that buying followers is prohibited after columnist Joe Concha was listed among those who purchased followers from the company Devumi. The article also listed actors, porn stars, athletes, business leaders, influencers, models, musicians, reality TV stars, and even a member of the Trump administration, Lynne Patton, among those who received fake followers from Devumi.
Inflated follower or retweet counts is one of the tools used by Russia-connected troll accounts during the 2016 campaign, so I'm interested to see if follower fraud becomes a political issue. Last week, Mark Cuban called on Twitter and Facebook to verify that there was a person behind each user, and Mitt Romney retweeted him: | | Credit: @mcuban/Twitter
"House of Cards" Resumes Production:
Netflix announced Wednesday that production has resumed on a Kevin Spacey-less "House of Cards" and that actors Diane Lane and Greg Kinnear are joining the cast for the series' sixth season. Stylist Kemal Harris shared this photo of Robin Wright in front of a White House briefing room backdrop, and I can't deal. | | Credit: @kemal_harris/Instagram
Street Art Sighting:
These pair of stickers showing Trump as a baby with Kim Jong Un and in the warm embrace of Vladimir Putin were spotted in Washington's Cleveland Park by Victoria Maloch on Quebec Street and near a gas station, respectively. Maloch took the photos last fall but said they're still up as of Tuesday. | | Credit: Victoria Maloch
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. | | | | | | |
