| | | | | President Trump greets officers from the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office before boarding Air Force One at Palm Beach International Airport in West Palm Beach, Florida, on Sunday. Credit: Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images | | | If You Want to Know What the Trumps are Gifting the Macrons...: Your State Dinner preview
Shania's Sorry For Saying She'd Vote for Trump: "I am passionately against discrimination of any kind"
Kanye Loves the Way a Comms Director for Turning Point USA Thinks: "I love the way Candace Owens thinks" | | | What the White House is Talking About:
It's the kick-off of unofficial diplomacy week for President Trump, who today, along with first lady Melania Trump, welcomes French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife, Brigitte Macron.
What the White House Press Corps is Talking About:
Macron and Trump's interesting relationship. While there are topics fraught with tension, there is also a solid friendship.
Also, They're Going To Plant a Tree Together, So:
Nothing says let's do some diplomacy more than a ceremonial tree-planting on the South Lawn, which the Macrons and the Trumps will do this afternoon at 5:25 p.m. The tree is a gift from Macron, an oak sapling taken from Belleau Wood in France, the site of a fierce World War I battle wherein approximately 10,000 American troops lost their lives. I'll be covering the planting from the lawn (and dammit I wore the wrong shoes today) so stay tuned to my Twitter today and this space tomorrow for the good times.
If You Want To Know What the Trumps Are Gifting the Macrons...:
Click here, where I break the news that the gifts from POTUS and FLOTUS include (spoiler alert) a framed piece of fabric from a chair in the Blue Room -- a textile created by a French designer back in the 1800s when President James Monroe first commissioned the furniture suite for the room. You're welcome. | | State Dinner Preview:
The press (🙋♀️) won't get a peek until tonight at 9:45 p.m., but the White House released details, and Melania tweeted a produced #bts video. Here's a screenshot of it with her working out the table seating. Who can name that member of Congress? | | Credit: @FLOTUS/Twitter
The Clinton China:
Being that I'm a dork who has a(n amazing) book about the history of White House Presidential China on her desk, I notice the china being used tomorrow night appears to be the Clinton china, which, ironically, with its gold, swirly detailed border, is the most "Trump-ian" of all the presidential china sets. | | Credit: @FLOTUS/Twitter
IVANA TRUMP SEEMS NICE:
Wow. Just, wow. Ivana Trump, Donald Trump's first wife and mother of his three oldest children, told Page Six that her soon-to-be ex-daughter-in-law, Vanessa Trump, who recently filed for divorce from Don Jr, won't be able to get a new guy because she has too many kids. "Maybe Vanessa will have a little problem because she has five kids ... Who is going to date and marry the woman who has five children? Especially since she is young and she might want to have more."
She also says Donald shouldn't run for president again and he should just go enjoy his money and play golf.
Guys I Can't:
The adorableness of this image. | | What Washington is Talking About:
The Senate Foreign Relations Committee is expected to vote today on secretary of state nominee Mike Pompeo, with a full Senate vote later this week.
What America is Talking About:
The hero who wrestled a firearm out of the hands of a gunman Sunday at a Waffle House outside Nashville. James Shaw Jr., 29, hid in a restroom when he heard gunshots, but ran out when they paused to try to stop the gunman. His arm was grazed by a bullet during the encounter, but he still went to church with his dad hours later. The alleged shooter was arrested in July 2017 for unlawful entry after he crossed a security barrier outside the White House.
Poll of the Day:
When it comes to combatting false information online, a majority of Americans believe it's up to tech companies. A Pew poll released last week found 56% of American adults believe tech companies should take steps to restrict false information online, and 58% believe the US government should not. | | Credit: Pew
North Korea Says It Doesn't Need to Test Missiles Anymore:
Kim Jong Un said Saturday his country's nuclear testing is "complete" and "we no longer need any nuclear tests, mid-range and intercontinental ballistic rocket tests," according to North Korea's state-run Korean Central News Agency. Trump celebrated in a tweet. Kim is set to meet with South Korean President Moon Jae-In Friday.
DNC Chair Defends Lawsuit:
Democratic National Committee chairman Tom Perez defended the organization's lawsuit filed Friday that accuses the Trump campaign, Russia, and WikiLeaks of colluding during the 2016 campaign. During an interview Sunday on ABC's "This Week," Perez said the suit was filed because they don't want to miss the statute of limitations for filing and they want to deter misconduct, including the 2018 midterms. And, Perez said:
"We've done our homework. Over the course of the last year, we have seen story after story, brick after brick in the conspiracy between the Russians and the Trump campaign to affect the outcome of the election. I did my homework. We have a strong case. That's why we brought it."
Romney Now Has Primary:
Mitt Romney did not secure his party's nomination over the weekend at Utah's Repub Convention. Under the state party's rules, a candidate must receive 60% of the vote to avoid a primary. Romney received 49.12% and will face off against Utah state Rep. Mike Kennedy, who received 49.12%, on June 26.
Amnesty International Honors Kaepernick:
The group awarded Colin Kaepernick with the Ambassador of Conscience award. Kaepernick is "an athlete who is now widely recognized for his activism because of his refusal to ignore or accept racial discrimination," Amnesty International's Secretary General Salil Shetty said in a statement. Past winners include Nelson Mandela, Malala Yousafzai, and U2. | | Shania Twain Apologizes for Saying She Would Have Voted for Trump:
In an interview with the Guardian, the Canadian country superstar said she would have voted Trump in 2016. She said:
"I would have voted for him because, even though he was offensive, he seemed honest. Do you want straight or polite? Not that you shouldn't be able to have both. If I were voting, I just don't want bullshit. I would have voted for a feeling that it was transparent. And politics has a reputation of not being that, right?"
But then Sunday on Twitter she apologized "to anybody I have offended," saying the "question caught me off guard," and that she does not "hold any common moral beliefs" with Trump. "I am passionately against discrimination of any kind," she wrote.
Kanye Voices Support for Turning Point USA Comms Director:
Ye tweeted Saturday that he loves the way Candice Owen, communications director for Turning Point USA, thinks. Owens responded by comparing Kanye to Trump ("Long before @realDonaldTrump came down the escalator, Kanye West was public enemy #1 for telling the truth," she tweeted), and she told Fox News, "the left wants to strap black people to this idea that they are victims – they want black people to focus on their past rather than their future." | | Credit: Fox News
Street Art Sighting:
Spotted this weekend at the High Line in New York City at 22nd Street, a Statue of Liberty mural by Dorothy Iannone. It's Iannone's first-ever public artwork and will be up until March 2019. | | Credit: Hunter 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.
P.S.:
Beyoncé returned to Coachella for another performance, and this time added her remix of "Mi Gente" to the set-list and performed with J Bavin. And Ariana Grande made a surprise appearance, performing "No Tears Left To Cry" live for the first time. | | | | | | |
