| | | | | White House communications director Hope Hicks watches as President Trump takes part in a listening session on gun violence in the White House on February 21. Credit:Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images | | | Hope Resigns: One of Trump's longest-serving aides, she's lasted nearly 1,000 Scaramuccis since Trump announced his campaign
Poll of the Day: 57% of Americans believe Trump is racist, including 21% of Repubs
Steph Curry Debuts Obama "O" Kicks: What he wore at last night's game in Washington | | | | Kate Bennett is off. Her section will return Tuesday. | | What Washington is Talking About:
Lawmakers are unsure where exactly President Trump stands on guns after yesterday's televised "Apprentice" boardroom-style roundtable meeting at the White House (more on that below).
What America is Talking About:
Reba McEntire has been tapped to host the American Country Music Awards. Chris Stapleton leads the nominations, with eight.
Reminder:
Rent is due.
Poll of the Day:
The percentage of Americans who consider President Trump to be racist: | | Credit: AP
That's according to an AP-NORC poll released today that found 85% of Dems, 84% of blacks, 75% of Hispanics, 47% of whites, and 21% of Repubs say they believe Trump is racist.
February 2018, a Retrospective:
We're now two months down into 2018. Here are the notes I've written up of some of the big stories in politics, news and culture in February: | | Credit: Hunter Schwarz
Hope Resigns:
White House communications director Hope Hicks, 29, announced yesterday that she'll leave the administration in the coming weeks. Her announcement came a day after she testified before the House Intel Committee as part of its investigation into Russian meddling during the 2016 campaign and admitted she's essentially told white lies for Trump.
The former model began working for the Trump family in about 2012 for Ivanka Trump's brand. She is among President Trump's longest-serving aides, lasting nearly 1,000 Scaramuccis, between his 2015 campaign announcement and now.
Speaking of Scaramucci, he told CNN today Hicks is "one of the President's closest friends, aides, loyalists, somebody that understands the heartbeat of the President" and that her departure will be "a big loss for the President."
A Hicks confidant told our Brian Stelter that Hicks has had a rough past few weeks with the resignation announcement of Josh Raffel, a former Hollywood publicist who worked for Javanka, and the ouster of Rob Porter, the White House staffer she was romantically linked to who was accused by two ex-wives of spousal abuse.
Trump said in a statement Hicks is "as smart and thoughtful as they come," that he will miss her, and that he was certain they would "work together again in the future." | | Hicks, in June 2017, steps off Air Force One. Credit: Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images
Putin Says He Has "Invincible" Missile:
Vladimir Putin said today Russia has a missile with "unlimited" range that can avoid missile defense systems.
"Take The Guns First":
Lawmakers left Wednesday's White House meeting on guns more confused about Trump's positions than they were when they walked in. During the meeting, Trump said he was a "big fan" of the NRA, told members of Congress they were "petrified of the NRA," and perhaps most shocking for someone who claims to love the Second Amendment, said he supports taking people's guns without due process. "Take the guns first, go through due process second," he said.
Meanwhile, at a Trump Property in Panama...:
Armed Panamanian authorities on Wednesday entered the Trump Ocean Club International Hotel, where a dispute has boiled over between the Trump Organization and a Miami-based investor for the property who wants to cut ties with Trump's company. Panama's Ministry of Public Affairs told CNN it's opening an investigation.
The White House Calligrapher Has a Higher Security Clearance Than J-Kush:
White House chief calligrapher Patricia Blair has "top secret" clearance.
Jared Kushner's clearance has been downgraded from "top secret" to "secret."
Oof. Our Betsy Klein has a good write-up of what a White House calligrapher does, from state dinner place setting diplomacy, to first lady Valentine's Day cards.
@girlwithnojob's Mom is an Anti-Muslim Activist:
Insta-famous meme queen @girlwithnojob and her sister @jackieoproblems are daughters of outspoken anti-Muslim activist Pamela Geller, per the Daily Beast. Geller is the author of "Fatwa: Hunted in America," a book published on Milo Yiannopoulos' book imprint, and the organizer of the "Draw the Prophet Muhammad" event held in Garland, Texas in 2015 where two armed attackers were killed. Old tweets from her daughters in which they claim former President Obama is Muslim went viral since the news broke. @girlwithnojob, real name Claudia Oshry, apologized in a video on Instagram. "It's not cool, it's not funny," she said. "I'm not racist." In a statement to the Daily Beast, Oshry said:
"We want to be clear to our audience and fans that our political and cultural beliefs are not anti-Muslim or anti-anyone. Our views are separate from our mother's." | | Credit: @girlwithnojob/Instagram
Steph Curry's Obama "O" Kicks:
The day after the Warriors skipped a White House visit for a trip to the African-American history museum, Steph Curry hit the court at Capital One Arena Wednesday night in a pair of his Curry 4s with the logo of Obama's My Brother's Keeper Alliance. Curry wrote on Instagram of the shoes:
"The inspiration for shoe I'll be playing in today is every boy and young man of color in this country that need to know they matter - to their communities, their country, to me."
Curry will auction off the shoes and donate the proceeds to the organization. The Warriors defeated the Wizards 109-101. | | Credit: Patrick Smith/Getty Images
The 2018 White House Easter Eggs Are Here:
The White House Historical Association released the official eggs today. They're made of wood, feature the President's and Melania Trump's signatures, and come in five colors, four of which retail for $8.50; the gold one costs $14.95. The results for the lottery to attend this year's White House Easter Egg Roll will be released tomorrow. | | Credit: White House Historical Association
Street Art Sighting:
Ahead of this weekend's Oscars, Sabo put up three billboards over Hollywood about its sexual abuse scandal. The red billboards feature all-caps black text and read, "We All Knew And Still No Arrests," "Name Names On Stage Or Shut The Hell Up!" and "And The Oscar For Biggest Pedophile Goes To..." | | Credit: @unsavoryagents/Twitter
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
Correction: In Wednesday's issue I misspelled street art sighting contributor Andrew Noyes' last name. I blame autocorrect and regret the error. | | | | | | |
