| | | | | Jason Morris takes down one of several American flags ahead of the arrival of Hurricane Florence today in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Credit: Joe Raedle/Getty Images | | | The President is a Hurricane Truther: Trump denies Puerto Rico storm death toll
Oh, Also Trump's FEMA Chief is Under Investigation: DHS is looking into FEMA administrator Brock Long's travel expenses
Michelle Obama is Going on Tour, and She's Doing Arenas: The "Becoming" tour kicks off at Chicago's United Center | | | What the White House is Talking About:
President Trump has no scheduled public events today.
What the White House Press Corps is Talking About:
There is also not a scheduled White House press briefing -- again.
Trump Denies Puerto Rico Storm Deaths:
Wait, what? I have read Trump's two tweets about the death toll from Hurricane Maria over and over and they still haven't really sunk in. Let me get this straight: the President of the United States is denying that 3,000 people died in the aftermath of last year's storm, and that that number, which was uncovered by researchers, and media organizations such as CNN, was just pushed out by Democrats who wanted to make Trump look bad. Earlier this week, Trump said the US response to Puerto Rico was actually "an incredible, unsung success." Sorry, but this is too sad and disappointing to even comprehend. | | Credit: @realDonaldTrump/Twitter
Oh, Also Trump's FEMA Chief is Under Investigation:
Add FEMA administrator Brock Long to the list of Trump-appointed senior officials who have come under investigation for possibly using government perks for personal use. An inspector general from the Department of Homeland Security is looking into Long's long drives between his job in DC, and his personal home in North Carolina -- which may have been done using taxpayer dollars.
5,000 Lies:
The Washington Post's Fact Checker database has this week calculated the lies told by Trump and they add up to 5,000 -- a record-breaker. On September 7 alone, WaPo says there were so many untruths it was hard to keep up: "In that single day, he publicly made 125 false or misleading statements -- in a period of time that totaled only about 120 minutes. It was a new single-day high."
This is a really interesting read on all of the data analysis the Fact Checker team has done since Trump got into office, tallying all the misleading statements and exaggerations, and ultimately tabulating how, by the 601st day of his presidency, Trump has busted through the 5,000 mark. | | People Can Keep Drinking at the Trump Hotel:
After a complaint was made to the D.C. liquor board about Donald Trump's fitness to have a liquor license for his Trump Organization-owned Trump International Hotel Washington, D.C., the liquor board yesterday decided the complaint was without merit and people can still drink alcohol at the property. Writes the Washingtonian: "The complaint -- filed by three reverends, two rabbis, and two judges -- alleged that President Donald Trump is the true owner of the White House-adjacent property and that he violated the law's requirement of being of "good character and generally fit for the responsibilities of licensure." Seems like the whole issue was sort of more of a publicity stunt than a true appeal to revoke the license, but now rest-assured you can enjoy a $25 drink of your choice at the lobby bar. | | Dress Like the First Lady:
I was off working on a project the past few days, so let's circle back to Melania Trump's Tuesday outfit. She wore a custom Hervé Pierre trench dress to ceremonies commemorating September 11 in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. Pierre is Melania's personal stylist and couturier, and he has made her custom looks in the past. However, according to his Instagram, Pierre will make more iterations of this FLOTUS look that the public can purchase. "Details and the sketch of that trench dress which will be actually available at Bergdorf Goodman!!! I read that it was only for the First Lady ... Well not this time!!," he wrote in a caption. The trench dress is made of midnight blue silk faille, and has white stitch piping and threaded "stars" for detail. Prices for Pierre's small line of clothes at Bergdorf Goodman range about $1,500-$3,500, and I would expect this dress to be on the upper end of that spectrum. Here is Melania in the look, and Pierre's sketch of the back of the design: | | | Credit: Nicolas Kamm/AFP/Getty Images, @atelier_caito_for_herve_pierre/Instagram | | What Washington is Talking About:
Brett Kavanaugh has responded to follow-up questions from lawmakers, including some about why he racked up thousands of dollars in debut purchasing Washington Nationals tickets for friends. Kavanaugh said he's a "huge sports fan" and was paid back for the tickets. "Everyone in the group paid me for their tickets based on the cost of the tickets, to the dollar," he wrote. "No one overpaid or underpaid me for tickets. No loans were given in either direction." And the Washington Mystics lost the WNBA finals to the Seattle Storm.
What America is Talking About:
Winds reaching 80 mph are expected to hit the coast of the Carolinas by this afternoon, 30,000 pallets of water have been sitting in Puerto Rico unused since Hurricane Maria, and it's primary Election Day in New York.
Poll of the Day:
A Quinnipiac poll out today found 67% of voters think NFL players have a right to protest, with men and women supporting it equally. | | Credit: Quinnipiac
When asked if they approved of players' protests, however, opinions are less in favor and split equally, with 47% saying they approve and 47% saying they disapprove.
"Fear" is a Monster Hit:
Bob Woodward's "Fear" sold 750,000 copies in its first day, the book's publisher announced Wednesday. Simon & Schuster President Jonathan Karp called "Fear" "a cultural phenomenon," and said in a press release they've ordered a ninth printing for the book, for a total of 1,150,000 hardcover copies. In a day, "Fear" jumped from being Amazon's fifth best-selling book of 2018 to third. Anyone want to put odds on how long it could take to hit No.1? | | Credit: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
Michelle Obama's Going on Tour, and She's Doing Arenas:
The former FLOTUS is finished writing her forthcoming memoir "Becoming," she said yesterday on Instagram, and she plans to hit the road to promote it after the midterms. Her tour kicks off November 13, the day the book is released, at Chicago's United Center. In her video, Obama said since leaving the White House she's been able "to think and reflect for the first time in a long time." She also said she was a "little frightened" by how candid she was in the book. "It's candid, it's honest, it's totally and utterly me," she said. Here are her tour dates: | | Credit: Becoming Michelle Obama
Stormy Daniels Has a Book Coming Too:
She told "The View" it will be called "Full Disclosure" and is coming out October 2. "I was like, I'm going to write everything and include it, and people can think what they want about me. But at least it's the truth," she said.
W's Back:
Former President George W. Bush has tended to stay out of politics since leaving office, but he's making an exception to fundraise for some Republicans, including for Rep. Will Hurd of Texas. Bush attended a private fundraiser for Hurd last night, and on Friday, he'll be in Florida to raise money for Gov. Rick Scott. One noticeable omission for Bush's current calendar of candidates is his own Sen. Ted Cruz, who faces a closer than expected reelection fight with Democrat Beto O'Rourke.
Republicans Aren't Exactly Running on the Tax Bill:
Out of nearly 400,000 Republican campaign ads analyzed by Kantar Media/CMAG, about 30% mention taxes, and only about 12% mention the tax bill specifically, according to the Huffington Post.
Breitbart Gets Leaked Post-Election Google Meeting Footage and ... It's Not That Bad:
The site published more than an hour of footage of an all-hands meeting at Google after the 2016 election, and is hyping the footage as proof of Google's bias, but I've been watching it and Google actually comes out looking pretty reasonable. CEO Sundar Pichai talks about how many people at the company are upset over the election results but comforts them by saying sometimes your side doesn't always win in a democracy. He also told employees that it was "a good moment of reflection, introspection, and listening to each other." "I think it's important to reach out," he said. "People don't feel heard across both sides." | | Credit: via Breitbart
Vice President Eileen Naughton also said that it was "fairly obvious Google leans liberal and Democrat, but I do want to be clear diversity also means diversity of opinion and political persuasion" and said "we need to do better" making conservatives feel comfortable at the company.
In a statement to Breitbart, Google said, in part, "For over 20 years, everyone at Google has been able to freely express their opinions at these meetings. Nothing was said at that meeting, or any other meeting, to suggest that any political bias ever influences the way we build or operate our products."
Street Art Sighting:
This midterm voting poster in New York City was made by Alex Marino for the Women's March Power to the Polls campaign. | | Credit: @amplifierart/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.
P.S.:
Christina Aguilera said she's open to doing a song with Britney Spears. This is the Watch The Throne II America actually needs. | | | | | | |
