| | | | | Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh arrives with Sen. Chuck Grassley on the first day of his confirmation hearing in front of the Senate Tuesday. Credit: Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images | | | Fiery Start to Brett Kavanaugh Hearings: Interruptions from lawmakers and protesters alike
"Fear" Itself: White House bracing for Bob Woodward's upcoming book
Nike Turned "Just Do It" Into a Political Tagline: Their new Kaepernick ad comes days before NFL opening day | | | What the White House is Talking About:
President Trump has nothing on his public schedule today. Privately, he'll lunch with Vice President Mike Pence.
What the White House Press Corps is Talking About:
Traffic into work because summer is o-v-e-r.
Also, no White House briefing on the schedule. There were a total of FIVE briefings during the month of August.
Fiery Start to Brett Kavanaugh Hearings:
I mean, did you watch that? Sen. Chuck Grassley couldn't even get his introduction out before Sen. Kamala Harris interrupted, protesting the thousands and thousands of documents that were delivered to Democrats on Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh just last night. There is a loud cry that there has not been adequate time for review, and implications from Democrats that the White House is attempting to hide something about their nominee. Democrats are looking to adjourn the hearings. I would encourage you to watch the hearings live today. There are lots of citizen protesters as well... | | Credit: Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images
Get To Know Kavanaugh:
In the meantime, if you haven't, feel free to brush up on the nominee here and here. In his opening remarks today, Kavanaugh is expected to say that he is a "pro-law judge." A snippet: "A good judge must be an umpire -- a neutral and impartial arbiter who favors no litigant or policy," he will say, according to excerpts of his prepared remarks. "I don't decide cases based on personal or policy preferences. I am not a pro-plaintiff or pro-defendant judge. I am not a pro-prosecution or pro-defense judge. I am a pro-law judge."
"You Want This To Go On All Day?":
Grassley got exasperated. After all the interruptions, he finally turned to his Democratic colleagues on the Senate Judiciary Committee and asked them how long they intended to interrupt the hearings and continue to question the process.
The White House Response:
White House assistant press secretary Raj Shah, who is handling communications for the Kavanaugh nomination process, sent out a count of interruptions to the media. | | Credit: @kaitlancollins/Twitter
"Fear" Itself:
The White House is apparently bracing for the upcoming September 11th release of Bob Woodward's exposé "Fear."
And they should be. It's ... scandalous. CNN combed through an early copy and culled snippets, including damaging comments from Trump's aides, and a blistering row between Ivanka Trump and Steve Bannon, wherein Woodward reports that she yelled, "I'm not a staffer! I'll never be a staffer. I'm the first daughter!"
CNN's Kaitlan Collins reports the President is annoyed that he ultimately didn't sit with Woodward for an interview: "Woodward made several attempts to interview Trump, CNN is told, and there were serious discussions between high-ranking officials about whether the President should sit down with him. But the interview never panned out, and in recent weeks, Trump has complained to confidants that he didn't have the chance to speak with Woodward before the book went to print." | | Credit: @simonschuster/Twitter
Good Job, Jeff:
This tweet from Trump yesterday is getting a lot of attention -- some people are saying it's evidence of him trying to use the Justice Department for political gain, others are just flabbergasted at his continued pounding of Attorney General Jeff Sessions. Either way, when you think about it, it's all pretty bananas. I think it's interesting that in the past couple of days we're echoing things that were at least tangentially issues of contention in 2016: the nomination of Merrick Garland to the Supreme Court by President Barack Obama, which was blocked, and the need for a truly politics-free Justice Department, after the Loretta Lynch/Bill Clinton meeting on the tarmac at an Arizona airport. | | Credit: @realDonaldTrump/Twitter
Monica Lewinsky Exits Interview:
People are talking about Monica Lewinsky's abrupt ending to an on-stage interview at a conference she attended in Jerusalem. The interviewer asked her a Bill Clinton question, specifically if she was expecting an apology from the former president. Lewinsky apologized, said she wasn't going to do the interview, got up, and walked off stage. Later, she tweeted that the interviewer had broken pre-made parameters for topics to be discussed. "I left because it is more important than ever for women to stand up for themselves and not allow others to control their narrative," Lewinsky said in her tweet explaining her decision to leave.
That Whole Bannon Thing, Kind of a Mess, No?:
Steve Bannon was pursued for weeks and invited to the annual New Yorker Festival in New York, a series of programs and discussions about arts, culture and politics. But then, when his attendance at the event was announced, a bunch of celebrities who were on the schedule also said they weren't going to go anymore because of Bannon. So David Remnick, the editor of the magazine who admitted he tried to get Bannon for an interview for months, said, whoopsie, and changed his mind, dis-inviting Bannon. All told, I found Remnick's letter of explanation on the whole thing sort of convoluted and rambling -- but you read it and see what you think. | | What Washington is Talking About:
Confirmation hearings for Supreme Court justice nominee Brett Kavanaugh begin today in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee.
What America is Talking About:
Tropical Storm Gordon is expected to make landfall tonight around Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama, and Nike has made Colin Kaepernick the face of its 30th anniversary "Just Do It" campaign.
Reminder:
Rent is due.
Poll of the Day:
President Trump's disapproval rating has reached a new high of 60%, according to a Washington Post-ABC News poll released Friday. | | Credit: The Washington Post
August, a Retrospective:
There were a lot of crimes. | | Credit: Hunter Schwarz
US Elections Could Become "World Cup of Information Warfare," Former Facebook Security Boss Says:
Facebook's former security chief Alex Stamos told our Laurie Segall that foreign interference in US politics hasn't stopped, and, "If anything, it has intensified" and the US could be the "World Cup of information warfare," which sounds terrifying. "Two years after Pearl Harbor, the United States had quadrupled the size of our Navy. We were already on an unstoppable path to the Japanese home islands in the Pacific theater," Stamos said. "Two years on from the election and people are still arguing whether we were even attacked and I find that amazing." Representatives from Facebook and other tech companies will be testifying on Capitol Hill tomorrow. | | Credit: CNN
Nike Turned "Just Do It" Into a Political Tagline:
Like most anything Kaepernick does, the ad, which says, "Believe in something. Even if it means sacrificing everything," has been divisive. Athletes and activists have reposted it, while people upset over it have posted photos and videos of themselves destroying Nike products. But Nike has been heading in this direction for awhile, though not this explicit in weighing in on NFL protests. Their "Equality" campaign launched in early 2017 and focused on sports as something that broke down barriers, and there have been times it specifically emphasized racial justice, including their 2018 Black History Month collection. To me, this ad links the brand's support for equality with the NFL protests against racial injustice. It takes "Just Do It" from being just a sports tagline, to a political and moral one. The NFL season starts Thursday. | | Credit: @kaepernick7/Instagram
So He's Running:
Joe Biden dodged questions about a possible 2020 run while also sounding a lot like a future candidate and literally running at a Labor Day parade in Pittsburgh Monday. Biden said "everything" is at stake in the midterms. "We're in a fight for the soul of America," he said.
Kanye's Pushing His Campaign Plans Back:
Ye sounded very Trumpy when discussing his possible presidential campaign in an interview with Power 92 Chicago. He said it wouldn't happen until 2024, and though he isn't sure if he will run, if he does, he's confident he'll win. "If I decide to do it, it will be done," he said. "I'm not gonna try." He also riffed a bit more on the idea that Trump has made America woke. "People are like, 'man, Trump's racist.' If racism was a deal breaker we need to get out of America, period. He just shows you what it is. It's like the grass is cut low now...Now we woke for real."
Cartoon MAGA Ye and Michelle Obama Make Childish Gambino Music Video Cameo:
The illustrated music video for the new Childish Gambino single "Feels Like Summer" is a who's who of the rap world, including a brief cameo by a crying Kanye West in a MAGA hat being hugged by Michelle Obama. Idk. | | Credit: Donald Glover/YouTube
Street Art Sighting:
Ahead of Kavanaugh's confirmation, artist and activist Alessandra Mondolfi turned some stop signs in Miami into "Stop Kavanaugh" signs. | | Credit: @alessandramondolfi/Instagram
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. | | | | | | |
