| | | | | President Trump gestures as he walks back to the Oval Office on Friday after speaking in the Rose Garden, where he declared a national emergency in order to build more barrier on the US-Mexico border. Credit: Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images | | What the White House is Talking About:
President Trump made a Rose Garden announcement stating he is declaring a national emergency in order to get funding for his border wall. Later today, he and first lady Melania Trump depart for a long weekend in Palm Beach, Florida, at Mar-a-Lago.
What the White House Press Corps is Talking About:
How ugly this fight could get. Congress is ready to push back -- legally -- to stop the national emergency -- and the possible precedent.
It was a non-teleprompter ramble of a Rose Garden address today, people.
"I Never Did Politics Before. Now I Do Politics.":
There are many things to consider about what the President proposed this morning: his questionable facts about the border and how drugs may or may not be getting through; that he said declaring a national emergency "has never been a problem"; whether the declaration of a national emergency is even constitutionally allowable; pulling funds from programs that have already had the money allocated by Congress. Etc.
Here's what the Trump administration is saying is happening at the border -- and what is actually happening at the border.
Check the live updates on the national emergency news here.
"And We Will Then Be Sued":
One of my favorite parts of this morning's Rose Garden speech was when Trump outlined the next steps of what will happen, each time going up in tone on the last word, like this: "And then we'll be SUED, and they will sue us in the NINTH CIRCUIT ... and we will possibly get a BAD RULING ... and then we'll end up in the Supreme COURT ... and hopefully we'll get a fair SHAKE ... and we'll win in the COURT ... just like the BAN ..."
I mean, he's right, though. That probably is how it will all go down.
GOP Gonna Split?:
It is highly possible that Republicans will divide over this issue of border funding, on the principle that Trump is violating the Constitution. This is another way this morning's declaration is going to cause a massive shift on the Hill. Grab the popcorn, folks.
And Let's Not Forget The Past:
Trump did once (more than once, actually) rail against Obama's use of executive action to fix things. CNN's KFILE team dug up some examples.
Democratic Response: "The President is Not Above the Law":
While Trump was still standing at the podium in the Rose Garden, Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Sen. Chuck Schumer released a statement that they intend to fight the President on this, and how. | | Credit: @Phil_Mattingly/Twitter
Meanwhile, This Seems Pretty Big?:
According to our Barbara Starr, Gen. Joseph Votel, one of our top generals in the Middle East and the armed forces in general, disagrees openly with the President on what is happening with ISIS in Syria. Votel said he doesn't think Syrian troops are able to handle defending themselves without US troops: "It would not have been my military advice at that particular time ... I would not have made that suggestion, frankly," Votel said of the troop withdrawal announcement. "(The caliphate) still has leaders, still has fighters, it still has facilitators, it still has resources, so our continued military pressure is necessary to continue to go after that network."
Our Daily Melania:
Yesterday afternoon, Melania visited The Children's Inn at the National Institutes of Health for the second time. She was warm and kind and spent a lot more time with the kids than she did last year, asking more questions about them (where they were from, what their illnesses are, what they like to do, their families, what they like to do with their friends) and genuinely connecting. I know I'll get flack for this, but honestly, Melania is a very warm and sensitive first lady. These children, most of whom came from all over the world, have horrible, terrible health issues, and some of them had been staying at Children's Inn for more than a year. One particularly nice moment was between Melania and a 13-year-old boy named Amani, who gave the first lady a necklace inscribed with the words "hope" and "faith," words he said he uses to help him get through his medical treatments -- he has a bracelet that matches the necklace, with the same words. Amani has sickle cell disease, which produces misshapen red blood cells that clump easily, causing excruciating pain and potential organ blockage. Sickle cell disease can be fatal. This week, he will get a bone marrow transplant to try to help; his 8-year-old sister, Amana, who was also there yesterday, will be the donor. | | Credit: Mandel Ngan/Getty Images
By the way, she was wearing a sold-out pink Cedric Charlier coat. | | What Washington is Talking About:
Opposition to President Trump's national emergency is coming from the left and the right. Republican Sen. Susan Collins called it a "mistake," and GOP Sen. John Cornyn said it was "not a very practical solution." Sen. Ted Cruz wrote in a Houston Chronicle op-ed that the wall should be paid for using money from El Chapo. Meantime, we have some major eagle drama: Justice, a male bald eagle that lives in Southwest Washington, is missing after mating with a female eagle named Liberty, and a new male named Aaron Burrd has showed up at the nest.
What America is Talking About:
Nickelodeon is rebooting shows like "All That" and "Are You Afraid of the Dark?"; Katy Perry and Orlando Bloom are engaged; and Kanye brought in Kenny G to perform for Kim for Valentine's Day.
Debates Are Coming:
The first two Democratic debates of the campaign have been announced. The first will be held in June on NBC, MSNBC and Telemundo, and the second will be held in July on CNN. We don't yet have exact dates or locations. Debates will be held over two consecutive nights to handle the large field of candidates. Candidates can qualify by either reaching at least 1% in three polls or raising money from at least 65,000 donors and at least 200 donors per state from 20 states.
Tear Down This Wall:
Former Democratic US Rep. Beto O'Rourke said yesterday on MSNBC he would take down the border wall between El Paso, Texas, and Ciudad Juárez, Mexico. He said the existing wall has "not in any demonstrable way made us safer" and has contributed to the death of migrants.
RBG is Back:
Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is back at work. Ginsburg attended a closed-door conference meeting with the other justices today, the court said. It's her first time back to the court since her cancer surgery was announced.
Libertarian VP Nominee Establishes Republican Exploratory Committee:
Bill Weld, a former Republican governor of Massachusetts and the Libertarian Party's 2016 vice presidential nominee, said he's launching an exploratory committee to challenge Trump for the Republican nomination in 2020.
Trump Org Cancels Hotel Expansion:
The Trump Organization is scrapping two planned hotel brands. The four-star Scion, described as a "multi-faceted lifestyle brand," was announced in 2016, and the midscale, three-star American Idea was announced in 2017. In a statement, Eric Trump blamed some of his father's favorite boogiemen. "We live in a climate where everything will be used against us, whether by the fake news or by Democrats who are only interested in presidential harassment and wasting everyone's time, barraging us with nonsense letters," he said.
A Notes App Screenshot for the History Books:
As someone who writes Notes app screenshots on a monthly basis professionally, the dot above "delivering" that appears to be made through the screenshot Markup capability is a total rookie move. | | Credit: @PressSec/Twitter
Street Art Sighting:
In the annals of "there's a Trump tweet for everything," Trump's November 2014 tweet accusing Obama of subverting the Constitution because he can't negotiate with Congress is a standout. It resurfaced yesterday with the announcement about Trump's national emergency and was projected on the San Francisco Federal Building. | | Credit: @aemarling/Instagram
Tag or DM me your political street art sightings @hunterschwarz on Twitter or Instagram, or email me at coverlinehunter@cnn.com. | | | | | | |
