| | | | | President Donald Trump gets ready address to the UN General Assembly on Tuesday. Credit: John Moore/Getty Images | | | The UN General Assembly Laughed After Trump Made This Claim: "I didn't expect that reaction, but that's OK," Trump said later
Trump-Rod Rosenstein Showdown: The President and the deputy attorney general will meet Thursday
Voter Registration Is So Hot Right Now: There's been an unprecedented effort to register young people to vote in the midterms | | | What the White House Is Talking About:
President Donald Trump kicked off his day at the UN General Assembly with a speech to fellow leaders. He then has three bilateral meetings.
What the White House Press Corps Is Talking About:
Alternating between the UN remarks, the Brett Kavanaugh saga (which is not a saga) and the Russia investigation.
Trump UN Speech:
Basically, the President stated throughout his address that the United States is really only going to lend a hand to countries that help us in return. Oh, and he barely mentioned Russia, but he did talk about North Korea and Kim Jong-Un. Read all the details of his 30-minute-plus speech here.
"I Didn't Expect That Reaction, But That's OK":
Also known as, when other world leaders audibly chuckle after the US President says his country is the best. "In less than two years, my administration has accomplished more than almost any administration in the history of our country," Trump said at the United Nations, which was followed, literally, by laughter. If anything from this week is going to stick in Trump's craw, it'll be this -- he does not like to be laughed at. Although he tried to follow up with surprise and recovery, the blow was dealt. Sort of reminds me of a Trump tweet from a few years back. ...
Trump, Speaking in Front of *Those* Green Tiles:
Let's take a moment to recall this Trump tweet from 2012 when he besmirched the "Mad Men"-era green tiles on the wall of the UN building. | | Credit: @realDonaldTrump/Twitter
And here's what Trump looked like today, being the speaker, in front of those same tiles, giving his address: | | Credit: John Moore/Getty Images
Kavanaugh Latest:
Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh did a Fox News interview Monday night, which was weird, considering he hasn't yet testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee about the allegations being levied against him by Christine Blasey Ford -- that's scheduled for Thursday. Also, Sarah Sanders said this morning that the White House would be open to having a second accuser also testify Thursday, saying, "The President's been clear: Let's let them speak. But let's also let Brett Kavanaugh speak, and let's let him tell his side of the story before we allow allegations to determine his entire future."
Trump-Rod Rosenstein Showdown:
Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein will now have a face-to-face talk Thursday with the President back at the White House after Trump returns from his UN trip. Rosenstein is expected to learn his fate at that time, whether he'll be fired, or whether he will resign -- or whether he will stay. | | Meanwhile, a Showdown of a Different Sort:
Sen. Ted Cruz attempted to dine Monday night at the swanky Washington restaurant Fiola with his wife, Heidi, but they were essentially chased out of the restaurant by activists. Fiola is something of a regular spot for Cruz, I hear, since he lives just a few blocks away. Take a look at the video and tell me what you think.
Dress Like the First Daughter:
Ivanka Trump spoke Monday in New York at the Concordia Summit, where she discussed the workforce, apprenticeships, women's economic empowerment and how life in the White House has personally affected her. (Spoiler: It hasn't been easy.) She was wearing a Bottega Veneta sweater and matching skirt. I can only find the skirt, still available here. | | | Credit: Leigh Vogel for Concordia Summit/Getty Images, bottegaveneta.com | | What Washington Is Talking About:
Democrats are calling again for legislation to protect special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation due to the uncertainty of Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein's job, and Attorney General Jeff Sessions is meeting with state attorneys general to discuss big tech and allegations of partisan bias.
What America Is Talking About:
It's National Voter Registration Day and you can check your registration status here; Scrabble has added 300 words, including "OK," "sheeple," and "listicle." The founders of Instagram, Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger, are leaving Facebook Inc., and the Philadelphia Flyers introduced their new mascot, the internet sensation Gritty.
Poll of the Day:
OK, so this one blew my mind. Did you know there was actually a time in American history when voter turnout was higher for midterms than for presidential elections?! Up to the first half of the 1800s, the midterm turnout rate was typically higher. Here are estimates of voting-eligible population, or "VEP," turnout rates, from 1788 to the 21st century, by Michael McDonald, a University of Florida political scientist. | | Credit: via Pew
Elections back then were, of course, much different than they are today, with many groups disenfranchised (shoutout to the 14th, 15th, 19th and 26th amendments), and the legislative branch was more a center of power than the executive. You can read more about historical midterm turnout theories here.
Voter Registration Is So Hot Right Now:
There's an unprecedented effort this year to encourage young people to register and vote. I wrote here about how voter registration groups such as Rock the Vote and HeadCount are targeting would-be voters at events and places such as the "On the Run II Tour," high schools and Levi Strauss stores.
Turnout for midterms has been especially low for young people (just 22% of millennials voted in 2014), but voter registration groups are hoping the 2018 midterms will be different.
"There's certainly a lot of signs that we're going to see increased turnout," Andy Bernstein, founder and executive director of the nonprofit group HeadCount, told me. He also said he's noticed an interest in engaging on voting from brands and companies he described as "very, very conscious of being nonpartisan."
HeadCount has already blown past its previous midterm registration record, and just landed its first spot with the Ad Council, which it estimates will be seen at least 10 million times. Other voter registration efforts include Rock the Vote and American Eagle's "Democracy Class," Twitter's #BeAVoter campaign, MTV's "+1thevote," and When We Vote, which Michelle Obama co-chairs. Even the fact that the former first lady is championing voter registration seems like a sign of what the issue means in 2018. Post-White House, the Obamas are sticking to their lanes: The former President is out campaigning for candidates, while his wife is sticking to more FLOTUS-like advocacy, pitching civic engagement in the national interest. | | Credit: Ethan Miller/Getty Images
Here's Google's Doodle Today:
The search engine is marking National Voter Registration Day with a doodle of campaign buttons linking to results for "how to register to vote #RegisterToVote." | | Credit: Google
How Russia Appears to Have Targeted Reddit's Largest Pro-Trump Page:
A viral thread on Reddit, since deleted, showed hundreds of links from sites created in Russia were submitted to the /r/The_Donald page for more than a year, according to BuzzFeed. A representative for Reddit said the company is "continuing our investigation into suspicious content on Reddit and have taken action against several domains that break our site-wide policies."
Your Alternate Willie Nelson Concert Poster:
Ahead of Willie Nelson's concert Saturday for Democratic Senate candidate Beto O'Rourke in Austin, Texas, conservative artist Sabo has made his own poster for the show, adding a "pussyhat" to the image of Nelson you may remember from the March 12 edition of Street Art Sighting. The poster calls Nelson a "tax dodger" and his performance "The Boys Gone Soy" Tour. | | Credit: Sabo
Street Art Sighting:
A mural off Florida Avenue NW in Washington's Bloomingdale neighborhood celebrates women's suffrage. Here are two close-up shots from the wall: | | 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.:
Will you guys be OK with Maroon 5 performing at the Super Bowl if the band brings Cardi B? The group just hit No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 with the song "Girls Like You" with Cardi B, and per TMZ, she's in talks with joining the halftime show. But she'd reportedly like her own set. | | | | | | |
