| | | | | President Trump walks across the South Lawn at the White House to board Marine One for a trip to Billings, Montana, where he attended a fundraiser and rally Thursday. Credit: Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images | | | White House Reportedly Narrows Down Op-Ed Suspects: They think it could be one of 12 people, per NYT
"It's Your Fault" if I'm Impeached: Trump's message to his supporters
Twitter Bans Alex Jones Permanently: He responded with a video wearing a donkey mask | | | What Washington is Talking About:
It's the fourth and final day of Brett Kavanaugh's confirmation hearing, George Papadopoulos is expected to be sentenced, and lawmakers are reacting to the anonymous New York Times op-ed. Sen. Elizabeth Warren said senior administration officials should invoke the 25th Amendment if they think President Trump is unfit for office, Sen. Rand Paul says the White House should use a lie detector to find out who wrote it, and some Republicans are just shrugging it off.
What America is Talking About:
Burt Reynolds died Thursday at 82, Elon Musk smoked weed on camera while recording a podcast, and the Oscars announced they'll postpone their "popular" category.
White House Reportedly Narrows Down Op-Ed Suspects:
The White House has a list of a dozen people they think wrote the editorial, per the New York Times. Meanwhile, WikiLeaks says it was likely written by an older conservative male, which sure narrows it down lol.
Trump to Supporters: "It's Your Fault" if I'm Impeached:
Trump brought up impeachment at his rally last night in Billings, Montana, and turned it into his GOTV message. "You didn't go out to vote -- that's the only way it could happen," he said. "I'll be the only President in history they'll say: 'What a job he's done! By the way, we're impeaching him." Trump suggested if he were impeached, it would set off a pattern of impeachment if the opposing party didn't like whoever was president and said the US would become a "third-world country."
Who is Plaid Shirt Guy?:
Last night's rally reminded me of simpler times back in 2016, when random rally attendees would become viral sensations for a hot second for doing or wearing something wild while standing behind the candidate. A guy in a green plaid shirt who was visible on screen behind Trump for most of the rally made faces and expressed his confusion with things Trump said became that last night. After about 50 minutes, a woman had him leave and took his spot. | | Credit: C-SPAN
Obama to Preview his Midterm Message:
Former President Barack Obama is expected to lay out his midterm message in a speech today ahead of his return to the campaign trail. The speech will be given at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where Obama is receiving an award. Next, he goes to California, where he'll hold a rally for Democratic House candidates in Anaheim Saturday.
Nancy Pelosi Was Just Put on Her First National Newsmagazine Cover:
I was surprised it hadn't happened before. America's first female House speaker will be on the cover of the September 17th issue of Time magazine. | | Credit: Time
Twitter Bans Alex Jones and InfoWars Permanently:
Twitter announced Thursday that Jones and his site had been booted for good, a day after he tried to crash the tech hearings on Capitol Hill and accosted our Oliver Darcy. "We took this action based on new reports of Tweets and videos posted yesterday that violate our abusive behavior policy, in addition to the accounts' past violations," the company tweeted. In case you were wondering how Jones reacted to the ban, he posted a video wearing a donkey mask, ranting about the how the Democratic Party is in control of everything. Farewell, @realalexjones. | | Credit: InfoWars
NFL Season is Here:
The season opened last night with what appeared to be a single player -- the Eagles' Michael Bennett, who's protested racial injustice during the anthem before -- sitting while the song played. The National Anthem was performed by Philadelphia's own Boyz II Men, who did a phenomenal job, and the Eagles beat the Falcons 18-12. | | Credit: @Eagles/Twitter
Miss Virginia Weighs in on NFL Protests:
The Miss America pageant is this weekend in Atlantic City, and Miss Virginia Emili McPhail was asked during the preliminary round what advice she'd give protesting players. She said the kneeling in protest is "a right you have. But it's also not about kneeling; it is absolutely about police brutality."
Street Art Sighting:
"Vote! Anybody But The Incumbents" spotted at 8th and Maryland NE. | | Credit: Eagle-eyed tipster
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.
Kate Bennett is off. | | | | | | |
