| | | | | President Trump is introduced at a campaign rally in the Hertz Arena in Estero, Florida, Wednesday. Credit: Joe Raedle/Getty Images | | | Trump: "When I Can, I Tell The Truth": "I do try," he told ABC
Obama Portrait Girl Remains Adorable: Parker Curry dresses as Michelle for Halloween
TSwift Shares Animal Cruelty Op-Ed: The author speaks to Cover/Line | | | What the White House is Talking About:
President Trump today has a meeting at the White House about the state of election integrity. Later, he's on the road again, this time to Columbia, Missouri, for another rally.
What the White House Press Corps is Talking About:
From Sarah Sanders to the press pool, updating POTUS schedule:
"The President will make brief remarks on the illegal immigration crisis and give an update on border security today in the Roosevelt Room at 4:15pm. The event will be open to the pool."
Trump Tweets Inflammatory Ad Days Before Elections:
The President tweeted an incredibly polarizing ad yesterday, featuring an illegal immigrant who committed heinous crimes, and then blaming Democrats for letting him in the country. The caption from Trump read: "It is outrageous what the Democrats are doing to our Country. Vote Republican now! Vote.GOP"
Stephen Collinson has a good take here on what the ad means, and what its place is in this racially charged climate, with midterms literally days away.
Trump Doubles Down Tho:
The immigration and border rhetoric from Trump appears to have caught on, and he's digging in, telling reporters yesterday that he will send up to 15,000 troops to the border to deal with the 3,500 immigrants headed to America. Now, I'm not so good at math, but that feels like an exaggeration to me 🤔. Sometimes I think the President says stuff like this so the press runs around with our hair on fire, spreading the message via "can you believe he said this?!" stories and takes. And then, voila, the message gets out there. It's a pretty dependable tactic, which Trump has honed for literally decades of his public life. However, Secretary of Defense James Mattis said this when asked by reporters if Trump's statement was just bloviating: "We don't do stunts." Ok, then. But, still, the caravan "invasion" conversation has struck a chord with Trump's GOP base and he's digging in.
"When I Can, I Tell the Truth":
I mean, same. But, I'm me, and he's the President of the United States. Still, Trump admitted to ABC News' Jon Karl yesterday that the truth can be a bit of a slippery pickle for him, and the line on what is real and what is false can move around sometimes. "Well I try. I mean, I do try. I think you try, too. You say things about me that are not necessarily correct," Trump replied. "I do try, and I always want to tell the truth. When I can, I tell the truth."
Obama Portrait Girl Remains Adorable:
Remember the little girl, Parker, who stood staring at Michelle Obama's portrait at the National Portrait Gallery many months back? Michelle was so taken with her that she invited her to her house to hang out – which they did. Well, Parker knew exactly who she wanted to be for Halloween. "It was Parker's idea to be Obama and 'her first immediate response' when asked what she wanted to dress as for Halloween, her mother Jessica Curry told CNN. 'We asked her a few times, 'Are you sure?'' Curry told CNN. ''Yes, I do. I want to be Michelle Obama.'" Here's Parker looking at the portrait, then the dance party with Michelle and, finally, Parker last night, doing her best impression of Michelle in a very good mini-version of her Milly dress. Sweet.
| | Credit: @cnn/Instagram, @_parkercurry/Twitter
Most Powerful Man in World Only Has One Way to Fight Back:
Which isn't exactly true, but that's what the President says during an interview with Axios that will air Sunday night on HBO. Jim VandeHei asks Trump about using all of the "enemy of the people" language at his rallies and how dangerous that is, and could still be. Trump says, "I think I'm doing a service [by attacking the press] when people write stories about me that are so wrong. I know what I do good and what I do bad. I really get it, OK? I really get it better than anybody in the whole world." He goes on to say that it's his only defense, "It's my only form of fighting back. I wouldn't be here if I didn't do that."
And yet ... :
There are still people out there who -- after the fury of being whipped up by Trump at a rally -- remember that we are all humans with feelings, as witnessed by Jim Acosta last night in Ft. Myers, Florida. | | Credit: @Acosta/Twitter
What It Was Like to Trick-or-Treat in Kalorama:
This is an actually great take on trick-or-treating in DC's swankiest 'hood, where Chris Wallace got thumbs up for handing out the best candy, and Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner stationed staff outside their front door to pass out apple cider. The best sign was on the door of uber-GOP political consultant and famed Washington hostess Juleanna Glover, which warned greedy kids they were being watched. | | Credit: washingtonian.com
There Was Some Sort of Fake Donald Trump Striptease Fun Last Night:
Halloween in Washington is always ... interesting. Last night at Le Diplomate, a person performed a very dramatic fake (and tame) striptease situation in the middle of the front bar area. It's worth a fun little look if you didn't get enough Halloween last night.
Also, My Basic Costume:
I figured since I was her last year, might as well continue the theme. Sadly, I didn't win the CNN DC Bureau costume contest -- there was stiff competition from a Mr. Rogers and a woman dressed as "Tequila Mockingbird" -- but I did snag a spot in the top three. You're welcome. | | What America is Talking About: - It's five days until the midterm election.
- CNN polls have found Democrat Kyrsten Sinema up 51% to 47% over Martha McSally in Arizona, Democrat Jacky Rosen up 48% to 45% over Dean Heller in Nevada, Democrat Bill Nelson up 49% to 47% over Rick Scott in Florida, and Republican Marsha Blackburn up 49% to 45% over Phil Bredesen in Tennessee.
- More than 2,000 items from Neil Armstrong will be auctioned off, including a US flag from Apollo 11 that's predicted to go for $75,000.
- Alex Trebek has renewed his contract to host "Jeopardy" through 2022.
- Google employees today participated in a worldwide walkout over the company's handling of sexual harassment.
Reminder:
Rent is due.
Poll of the Day:
About two out of three Americans think everything possible should be done to make it easy to vote, according to a Pew poll released Wednesday. Among Democrats, 84% support making it easier to vote, compared to 48% of Republicans. Check that split between conservative and moderate/liberal Republicans, wow: | | Credit: Pew
October 2018, a Retrospective: | | Credit: Hunter Schwarz
Huntsman Diagnosed with Cancer:
US Ambassador to Russia Jon Huntsman Jr. told Salt Lake City's Deseret News that he's been diagnosed with stage one cancer. "We'll probably get it taken care of, and we'll be fine," he said. Huntsman also said should Russia interfere in this year's election, the consequences could be "pretty dramatic."
Out: Spooky Twitter Names, In: Voter Twitter Names:
According to data from Twitter, 15,000 US users have added "vote" to their display name.
TSwift Shares Op-Ed on Blackburn's Animal Wellness Record:
Taylor Swift shared an op-ed about Republican Marsha Blackburn's record on animal wellness Wednesday in her Instagram story, adding "The more you know...". The pieces published last week in the Knoxville News Sentinel and written by Marty Irby, the executive director of the group Animal Wellness Action.
Irby told Cover/Line in an interview his op-ed "doesn't touch the tip of the iceberg" when it comes to Blackburn's record. His group ranked her among the eight worst lawmakers when it comes to animal protections.
"I am a lifelong Republican who's never voted for a Democrat in my life," he said, but after Blackburn opposed legislation that would have protected horses from soring, or inflicting pain on their front legs to give them an exaggerated, man-made gait and a high step, prized by walking horse judges, he's fought to share her record.
Irby found out about Swift sharing his op-ed through friends. "I have a lot of friends who are 25 years old," he said, adding that he's "grateful" Swift posted his piece. | | Credit: @taylorswift/Instagram story
New Media Right Stars Feud Over Kanye:
Tomi Lahren gloated that she was right about Kanye West after he said he was dipping out of politics. "Funny how he was a 'free thinker' before and now he's a 'traitor,'" she tweeted Tuesday. "Sounds a lot like a tactic of the Left. You made your bed, now lie in it."
Yesterday, Candace Owens retweeted Lahren and added, "sorry about your failed career," then in a since-deleted tweet today she wrote that she needed to "clear her name" after West denied her claim that he designed some of her "Blexit" merch. She has not tweeted anything since that would clear her name on the issue (Nor has she cleared her name on spreading conspiracy theories about the pipe bomb mailer that she's also since deleted).
Lahren responded: "YOU are talking about ME. If you're trying to bait me into some Twitter war, it's not going to work."
Street Art Sighting:
The School of Visual Arts in New York has an exhibit on political art from 2016-2018 titled "Art As Witness," which I got to see earlier this week. It's a collection of 53 of the "best of the best" illustrators and cartoonists, operations coordinator Adam Cable said. Many of the pieces were originally published in newspapers and magazines, like the "Twilight's Last Gleaming," below right, by Christoph Niemann for the New York Times Book Review. | | Credit: Hunter Schwarz
The exhibit has an emphasis on Trump and Russian interference in the 2016 campaign -- like the red and blue Trump and Vladimir Putin by Mike McQuade that appeared in Mother Jones, and Milton Glaser's imaginary "Space Force" logo turned into a patch on an orange flight-style jacket -- but also features pieces on other political issues like #MeToo and gun violence. The exhibit is open through Saturday at the SVA Chelsea Gallery. | | 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.
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