| | | | | Members of the upcoming 116th Congress stand for a group photo outside the US Capitol Wednesday. Credit: Andrew Herrera/Bloomberg via Getty Images | | | Melania Trump Calls for West Wing Firing: Here's what to look for next
What New Member Orientation is Like: Rep.-elect Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez posts behind-the-scenes shots
Rihanna Got Her Songs Pulled From Trump Rallies: The music rights company that represents Riri reached out to Trump | | | What the White House is Talking About:
President Trump has two closed-press events on his schedule today, his intelligence briefing and then a lunch with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
What the White House Press Corps is Talking About:
MELANIA TRUMP. No one saw that plot twist.
Super-Sized Our Daily Melania:
I mean, whoa. Who saw that coming? I think it's interesting that Melania Trump was so deeply compelled to have this woman, Mira Ricardel, face punishment, she was willing to take such a dramatic step as approving the statement sent out by her communications director Stephanie Grisham. I also think it speaks to what the first lady has learned about what behavior gets attention. When Trump tweets, people listen. A statement tweeted out like that about a staffer is like throwing a Molotov cocktail. The question now is what the fallout will be. Here are things to look for:
- Now that the public is looped in (thanks, Melania!) what will Trump do? If he fires Ricardel, which he apparently has not because she is at her desk today, according to Sarah Sanders, then he will upset John Bolton. But if he doesn't fire her, he'll be going against the feelings of his wife.
- The East Wing and West Wing communications meltdown? The West Wing was not happy that the East Wing released such a fire statement without so much as a heads-up, which they did not take kindly to. In recent history, most East Wing staffs have worked in at least conditional tandem with West Wing staffs -- not so here. Melania's office has always been very forthcoming in my reporting that FLOTUS does not run anything by the President or with his staff before doing it herself, whether it be a tweet or a statement, or a trip to the border.
- Is this the new normal for the East Wing and Melania? It could be. It certainly sends the signal that you don't want to mess with the first lady and/or her staff.
I also think there's something to be said here for the loyalty FLOTUS has for her very tiny team, and that she voiced what she did when others who felt the same way about Ricardel, as has been reported, have kept quiet. I'm not saying the statement was ok in the broader sense of decorum or protocol -- that's actually not really my place -- I'm just saying she has a history of expressing her feelings about people or ideas or things, whether they are kind or not. I mean, just the day before, Grisham had said in a statement that Melania didn't need Michelle Obama's help, thank you very much. And think about the LeBron James incident, or the one about Rudy Giuliani, or all the way back to Ivana Trump and her book. When Melania wants to release a stinger, she does.
So, who is Mira Ricardel? More about her career and how she got to the White House and what she actually does, here. When you read this, it's even more strange that Melania is tampering with this part of the administration apparatus. But it also highlights just how egregious she felt Ricardel's actions were that she would weigh in on a West Wing/NSC senior staffer.
What's the Opposite of Surprising:
The Department of Justice has ruled that it's ok that Trump tapped Mark Whitaker as acting attorney general. There had been questions as to whether Whitaker's appointment was constitutional, but the DOJ has now issued a "robust" memo explaining all of the ways that it is.
Caravan? What Caravan?:
Fearing the looming caravan was all the rage before the midterm elections, but now it's been ghosted. Trump, who railed against the giant number of immigrants headed toward the United States via Mexico for weeks, has barely mentioned it this week.
Fox Is Friends:
An unlikely ally today came forward to support CNN in its lawsuit against the White House: | | And It's Not JUST Fox:
A bunch of other networks and outlets have jumped on the bandwagon as well: The AP; Bloomberg; First Look; Gannett; National Press Club; NBC News; The New York Times; Politico; Press Freedom Defense Fund; E.W. Scripps; USA Today; and The Washington Post have all filed joint friend-of-the-court briefs. Their statement: | | Credit: @DylanByers/Twitter
White House Christmas Tree on Its Way:
On Monday, the official White House Christmas Tree will arrive via horse and carriage -- as it does each year -- to the North Portico of the White House. Last year, Melania Trump (and Barron Trump) were there to greet it. This year's tree is from the Smith Family of Mountain Top Fraser Fir in North Carolina. Winners of the National Christmas Tree Association National Tree Contest have provided the official White House Christmas Tree since 1966. The tree will be displayed in the Blue Room. Also, omg, I can't believe we're talking about Christmas already.
No Kennedy Center Honors, Again:
They didn't go last year, either, but I s'pose it's still news that the Trumps are once again not going to attend the Kennedy Center Honors at the Kennedy Center. "At this time there are no plans for them to attend," Stephanie Grisham, FLOTUS spokeswoman, told the New York Post. Probably a good idea to skip it anyway because Cher (who, if you follow her Twitter, is one of the most outspoken Trump critics in the universe) is one of the honorees. | | The Gardener Who Helped Create the Rose Garden:
I know this sounds morbid, but I love a good obit. I like to read about people's lives in full, especially those unassuming but essential people, like Irvin Williams, who was the White House's head gardener from 1962-2008. Williams died last week at the age of 92. During his tenure at the White House, he oversaw the implementation of the Rose Garden, which was a project of Jackie Kennedy's and to this day remains one of the most historic parts of the entire White House compound. "Mr. Williams was an expert in digging and moving mature trees, and he brought four large saucer magnolias from the Tidal Basin to the Rose Garden to mark the garden's corners," says the Washington Post obit. And this fantastic bit:
"Even to family, Mr. Williams spoke little of his interactions with presidents. He asked one of his grandsons to gather acorns so President Ronald Reagan could feed the squirrels in the Rose Garden. But Mr. Williams had a love-hate relationship with the squirrels that each fall eyed the many thousands of newly planted tulip bulbs as an invitation to a feast. Ever the pragmatist, Mr. Williams would place containers of peanuts at the base of the trees to appease the furry marauders. (At heart, he was a pet lover who adopted Pushinka, the puppy Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev had given to the Kennedys.)"
Abby Phillip Is Awesome:
I didn't need Elle magazine to confirm it for me, but if you don't know Abby like I do, this profile of how she felt after the president called her question "stupid" is so very worth the time. | | What Washington is Talking About:
New House members took their class photo this morning, Senate Democrats and Republicans held a leadership conference, and Majority Leader Mitch McConnell wrote an op-ed calling for bipartisanship, and some people are like, wait, seriously?
What America is Talking About:
The death toll from the California wildfires has climbed to at least 50, Juul announced it will stop selling most flavored e-cigarette pods in retail stores, the Florida recount continues and Georgia has until November 20 to certify its election results.
RBG's Back:
Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg returned to work yesterday, working from her chambers, the Court said.
What New-Member Orientation is Like:
Incoming members of Congress checked into a Navy Yard-area hotel yesterday for orientation, which is basically a crash course in how to be a lawmaker. Roll Call has a good overview of what it's like. They learn about ethics, setting up their office, travel, Capitol Police's protective services, and, new this year, workplace rights and responsibilities -- topics added as part of the House effort to stop sexual harassment on Capitol Hill.
Rep.-elect Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (who went to a protest in Nancy Pelosi's office and high-fived climate change demonstrators during her first day of orientation), has been posting about what it's like on Instagram stories. She showed off her US Congress-branded "swag bag" that included a secure tablet and phone she got, and her ID and a yearbook-like guide to new members. | | Credit: @ocasio2018/Instagram story
"Becoming" Tour Opening Night:
Michelle Obama opened her book tour last night in Chicago with Oprah. She said she didn't show her husband a draft of "Becoming," and she revealed that she cried after leaving the White House.
"When I got on the plane, I think I sobbed for 30 minutes," she said, according to the Chicago Tribune. "I think it was just the release of eight years of trying to do everything perfectly. I said to Barack, 'That was so hard, what we just did; that was so hard.'"
She also called the White House the "fanciest hotel" and said that though they didn't pay rent to live there, they did have to pay for food and guests. "We got the bill," she said. | | Credit: Scott Olson/Getty Images
No, Amazon Didn't Make Up "National Landing":
When Amazon announced the location of its Washington metro area HQ2 as "National Landing" yesterday, it confused those of us who know the area next to DCA as "Crystal City." But don't worry, Amazon isn't trying to come in and rename things. National Landing is actually a term used for a regional partnership that includes Crystal City and neighboring Pentagon City, Arlington County spokeswoman Cara O'Donnell told Washington Business Journal.
Crystal City got its name from developer Robert Smith, who rebranded the once-industrial neighborhood after opening an apartment complex named Crystal House for the crystal chandelier in the lobby. He later opened other Crystal-themed apartment buildings and the name stuck. I always thought it sounded like the location of a Pokemon gym.
Here is where Amazon has purchased or leased space, per the Washington Post: | | Credit: JBG Smith, Pictometry International, The Washington Post
Rihanna Got Her Songs Pulled From Trump Rallies:
At least a dozen bands, singers, or estates of deceased musicians have asked or complained about Trump playing their music at his rallies. But artists might not have control over where their songs are played if their music publishing is overseen by some music rights' companies. These companies work like libraries of music that clients pay to have access to, and sometimes musicians can't put limits on who gets to play their songs. The Rolling Stones' "You Can't Always Get What You Want," for example, still closes out Trump rallies despite the band's opposition, and back in 2016, Mick Jagger said they couldn't stop it.
The Trump campaign has a music agreement with Broadcast Music, Inc., or BMI. It's the largest music rights organization in the US, representing 14 million musical works, including Rihanna's. In a letter from BMI to the Trump campaign, the company wrote that Rihanna's songs were now excluded as part of their deal "and any performance of Rihanna's musical works by the Trump Campaign from this date forward is not authorized by BMI," according to a copy of the letter obtained by Rolling Stone.
Gaga Calls on Trump to Show Compassion for Fire Victims:
Lady Gaga was among those forced to evacuate due to the wildfires in Southern California, and she's kept busy. Yesterday, for World Kindness Day, she delivered pizza, coffee, and gift cards to a shelter and thanked the Red Cross for the help it's providing victims. She also had some words for Trump, who threatened in a tweet this weekend to pull federal money over forest "mismanagement" (the president of the International Association of Fire Fighters, by the way, called Trump's comments "reckless and insulting," and our Tom Sater fact-checked Trump's inaccurate claim). Gaga called on Trump to be compassionate and set an example of kindness: | | Credit: @ladygaga/Twitter
Amy Sherald on Why She Became an Artist:
Sherald, who painted Michelle Obama's official portrait, told Time she knew she wanted to become an artist after her first visit to a museum on a school field trip. "I saw a painting of a black person," she said. "I remember standing there with my mouth open and just looking at it. I knew in that moment that I could do what I wanted to do."
Sherald called working with Obama "fun" and said that there are "people who don't normally go to museums that are interested in art now" because they are "seeing themselves in different ways," noting in particular Obama's No. 1 fan Parker Curry. | | Credit: @time/Instagram
Street Art Sighting:
This street art paying homage to former President Obama's 2016 White House Correspondents' Dinner mic drop and was spotted in Seattle's Pike Place Market. Someone wrote "I Have A Drone" on it. | | Credit: @lindseyhubbs/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. | | | | | | |
