| | | | | President Trump and first lady Melania Trump arrive to attend the international ceremony of the Armistice Centenary of 1918 at the Arc de Triomphe Sunday. Credit: Chesnot/Getty Images | | | Trump's Medal of Freedom Recipients: Sen. Orrin Hatch, Elvis, and Babe Ruth among those to receive honor
"I Stopped Even Trying to Smile": What Michelle Obama wrote about Trump's inauguration
Tiffany Trump Hits 1 Million Followers: The first daughter's Instagram account recently passed the 1M mark | | | What Washington is Talking About:
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said he believes acting Attorney General Matt Whitaker will be "very interim" and replaced with a permanent nominee; likely House Judiciary chair Rep. Jerry Nadler told our Jake Tapper one of the first things he'd do in the role is bring in Whitaker for questioning; and Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said Democrats might try tying legislation protecting Robert Mueller to a must-pass bill to ensure it gets through.
What America is Talking About:
The California fires have killed at least 31 people, destroyed at least 6,879 structures, and forced more than 300,000 to evacuate in the state.
Poll of the Day:
Democrats and Democratic leaners have a more positive impression of Nancy Pelosi (48%) than negative (31%), but a majority would prefer someone else as House Speaker (56%). That's according to the most recent polls from Gallup. Here's the data on Democrats who want Pelosi back in leadership, broken down by liberal and moderate or conservative Dems: | | Credit: Gallup
Macron Talks Difference Between Patriotism and Nationalism:
French President Emmanuel Macron denounced nationalism during his speech commemorating the end of World War I, calling it a "betrayal of patriotism." Trump was at the event, but he arrived late, missing the walk down the Champs-Élysées toward the Arc de Triomphe with other world leaders. He did not respond to Macron's comments while in Paris.
Macron warned in his speech that "old demons" were making a comeback, that history threatened to "take its sinister course once again," and he wondered what history would say about their gathering:
"Will it be the symbol of a durable peace among nations? Or, on the contrary, a photograph of a final moment of unity before the world descends into a new disorder?" | | From left to right, Melania Trump, President Donald Trump, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife, Brigitte Macron, attend a ceremony for the 100th anniversary of the end of World War I in Paris on Sunday. Credit: Benoit Tessier/AFP/Getty Images
The Midterms Aren't Over Yet:
Some races have yet to be called and ballots in some states are still being counted. Florida's secretary of state's office announced Saturday it's heading to a recount for races including for governor and US Senate, and Republican Senate candidate Rick Scott has filed three election lawsuits. Georgia's Democratic Party and gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams filed a lawsuit asking for rejected absentee ballots and provisional ballots to be counted. And in Arizona, Democrat Kyrsten Sinema has taken a lead in the tight Senate race there. Arizona's Secretary of State published a blog post explaining why votes there are taking so long to count and assuring voters an accurate tally.
Trump's Medal of Freedom Recipients:
The White House announced Medal of Freedom recipients that Trump will honor Friday. They are: Miriam Adelson (the wife of Sheldon), Sen. Orrin Hatch, Alan Page, Elvis, Babe Ruth, Antonin Scalia, and Roger Staubach. There are a number of ways Trump's picks differ from past picks.
"I Stopped Even Trying To Smile":
ABC quoted from the former first lady's book, "Becoming," during its interview with Michelle Obama in which she said she stopped trying to smile during Trump's inauguration, making her "own optic adjustment."
Obama is also on the cover of the December issue of Elle, photographed by Miller Mobley, who shot the "Becoming" book cover.
In her interview for the magazine with Oprah, Obama talked about the breakneck pace of White House life. "I would forget on Tuesday what had happened on Monday," she said. "I forgot whole countries I visited, literally whole countries." And don't expect her to ditch the whole when-they-go-low thing. Here's what she said about the "responsibility" of being optimistic:
"Progress isn't made through fear. We're experiencing that right now. Fear is the coward's way of leadership. But kids are born into this world with a sense of hope and optimism. No matter where they're from. Or how tough their stories are. They think they can be anything because we tell them that. So we have a responsibility to be optimistic." | | Credit: Elle
Tiffany Hits 1 Million Followers:
Tiffany Trump's Instagram following has been inching up to a million for the past several weeks and she hit the 1M mark sometime before Friday evening. Amazing. | | Credit: @tiffanytrump/Instagram
Pete Davidson is Sorry:
Davidson apologized on Saturday's show to Rep.-elect Dan Crenshaw about last week's "SNL" joke, saying he made a "poor choice." He let Crenshaw come on to roast him, and Crenshaw joked that Davidson looked like "if the meth from 'Breaking Bad' was a person," and asked him if he knew Ariana Grande after his phone's ringtone went off to her "Breathin.'" Well played. | | Credit: Saturday Night Live/YouTube
Aubrey O'Day's Message to Trump:
The pop singer, who allegedly had an affair with Donald Trump Jr., was in Washington last week with her group Danity Kane for a show. Then over the weekend, she posted a photo of herself outside the White House wearing a "F**k Trump" shirt with a middle finger on it, and a caption reading "politically correct." I censored the shirt to keep this a family-friendly space, but her original post was not censored. In case there was any question which Donald Trump she was referring to, she tagged the President. | | Credit: @aubreyoday/Instagram
Street Art Sighting:
Thirty-two beaches in the United Kingdom were part of Pages in the Sea, a project by director Danny Boyle to make sand murals of everyday people killed in World War I. Below is an image of Lt. Richard Charles Graves-Sawle, killed by a sniper near Ypres in 1914. | | Credit: Matt Cardy/Getty Images
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. | | | | | | |
