Politico: “Even as the president has withdrawn from the types of public events that were standard for his predecessors, he’s sustained the dinner party as a staple of presidential power – though he’s traded the high-wattage salons hosted by the Obamas for clubby interactions with people he considers peers, according to eight current and former administration officials and sources who have been to the meals. The parties, which have recently ramped up, afford Trump the chance to do something he loves – play host – a role that runs contrary to the narrative of him isolated at night in the White House.”
Trump’s Easy Campaign Promises Hit Hard Realities
“An emboldened President Trump is discovering that the policies he once described as easy fixes for the nation are a lot more complicated in reality — creating backlash among allies, frustrating supporters and threatening the pocketbooks of many farming communities that helped get him elected,” the Washington Post reports.
“Freed from the caution of former advisers, Trump has spent recent weeks returning to the gut-level basics that got him elected: tough talk on China, a promise of an immigration crackdown and an isolationist approach to national security.”
“Several people who have spoken to the president say he is telling advisers that he is finally expediting the policies that got him elected and is more comfortable without a number of aides around him who were tempering his instincts. And he often cites rising poll numbers in recent weeks as a reason he should do it his own way.”
Mueller Witness Who Advises UAE Also Has Ties to Russia
“A witness who is cooperating in the special counsel investigation, George Nader, has connections to both the Persian Gulf states and Russia and may have information that links two important strands of the inquiry together,” the New York Times reports.
“Mr. Nader’s ties to the United Arab Emirates are well documented — he is an adviser to its leader — but the extent of his links to Russia have not been previously disclosed.”
Kudlow Talks Down Tariffs
“White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow stressed U.S. tariffs announced on Chinese goods are still only proposals that might never take effect as the Trump administration sought to tamp down fears of a trade war,” Bloomberg reports.
Said Kudlow: “None of the tariffs have been put in place yet, these are all proposals. We’re putting it out for comment. There’s at least two months before any actions are taken.”
Judge Skewers Manafort’s Case Challenging Mueller
A federal judge tore into all of the legal arguments that a lawyer for Paul Manafort made in his long-shot civil case to convince her that special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation has run amok and should be reined in, Reuters reports.
Said Judge Amy Berman Jackson: “I don’t really understand what is left of your case.”
Trump’s War on Jeff Bezos Is More Than Just Bluster
Edward Luce: “Those who think Mr Trump acts solely on impulse are not paying attention. He is doing what populists always do. They target independent media. In some cases, such as in Victor Orban’s Hungary, they direct state advertising to friendly outlets. In Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s Turkey, they hound independents with tax raids. Regulatory intimidation also works. Mr Trump keeps telling the world he intends to use such tools. We keep downplaying the risk. This is America, after all. Such things do not happen.”
“Yet they already have. Ponder this Ohio State University study. It found that voters who switched from Barack Obama in 2012 to Mr Trump in 2016 were influenced by three fake stories: Hillary Clinton was suffering from poor health; Pope Francis had endorsed Mr Trump; and Mrs Clinton had sold arms to Isis terrorists. All were essentially false. Together they may have tipped the election, says the report. Mr Trump is using his powers to ensure more Americans consume more stories like these. It helped elect him once. Why wouldn’t he press the advantage?”
Quote of the Day
“60 Minutes and CBS, you know, they are a conservative network. I mean there is a lot of information that was said during that interview that didn’t make it into the final 60 Minutes. They play it very close to the vest. For instance, she can describe the President’s genitalia in great detail. That did not make it.”
— Michael Avenatti, attorney for Stormy Daniels, interviewed on the Today Show.
Jared and Ivanka Offered ‘Bribe’ to Stop Abortions
Planned Parenthood president Cecile Richards writes in her new memoir that Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump offered the organization increased federal funding if it stopped providing abortions, People reports.
Writes Richards: “If it wasn’t crystal clear before, it was now. Jared and Ivanka were there for one reason: to deliver a political win… In their eyes, if they could stop Planned Parenthood from providing abortions, it would confirm their reputation as savvy dealmakers. It was surreal, essentially being asked to barter away women’s rights for more money.”
White House Emails Not Protected by Verification System
A security group tested the 26 email domains managed by the White House and found that only one fully implements a security protocol that verifies the emails as genuinely from the White House, Axios reports.
“Why it matters: Imagine the havoc someone could cause sending misinformation from a presidential aide’s account: Such fraudulent messages could be used in phishing campaigns, to spread misinformation to careless reporters, or to embarrass White House employees by sending fake tirades under their names.”
Mueller Told Trump’s Lawyers He’s Not a Criminal Target
“Special counsel Robert Mueller informed President Trump’s attorneys last month that he is continuing to investigate the president but does not consider him a criminal target at this point,” the Washington Post reports.
“In private negotiations in early March about a possible presidential interview, Mueller described Trump as a subject of his investigation into Russia’s interference in the 2016 election. Prosecutors view someone as a subject when that person has engaged in conduct that is under investigation but there is not sufficient evidence to bring charges.”
“The special counsel also told Trump’s lawyers that he is preparing a report about the president’s actions while in office and potential obstruction of justice.”
Also important: “Some Trump advisers fear the president is not in the clear and could be baited into an interview that could put him in legal jeopardy.”
Tiffany Trump Rarely Talks to Her Father
People reports that Tiffany Trump’s “already strained relationship with her father has hit new lows since he took office in November 2016, with the pair going months at a time without contact.”
Mueller Probe Into U.A.E. Influence Broadens
“Special counsel Robert Mueller has asked questions about the work of a private consulting firm that has undertaken projects for the United Arab Emirates… suggesting his probe is looking more deeply at foreign influence in Washington,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
Trump Reassures Pruitt He Won’t Be Fired
President Trump called EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt last night and said “keep your head up, keep fighting, we’ve got your back,” according to Bloomberg.
White House chief of staff John Kelly called this morning to reinforce the president’s message.
Why Trump Plays to Conservative Media
“The mainstream media’s skeptical-to-sneering coverage of Fox and Sinclair just endears those outlets to Trump, and causes his diehard supporters to dig in even deeper,” Axios reports.
How it works: “Trump demands instant gratification and the quickest way to do it is to kick a shared enemy of his media allies (WaPo being the one this week). He’ll get instant feedback, phone calls from cable hosts and approving coverage on their shows. It’s the modern version of call and response: his tweets, their chyrons.”
Earlier for members: A Look at the Fox News-Trump Feedback Loop
Trump Gives Obama a Nickname
President Trump finally gave his predecessor a nickname in a tweet this morning:
Thank you to Rasmussen for the honest polling. Just hit 50%, which is higher than Cheatin’ Obama at the same time in his Administration.
Pruitt Bypassed White House to Give Raises to Top Aides
“In early March, Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt approached the White House with a request: He wanted substantial pay raises for two of his closest aides… Because both women were political appointees, he needed the White House to sign-off on their new pay,” The Atlantic reports.
“The White House, the source said, declined to approve the raises.”
“So Pruitt found another way. A provision of the Safe Drinking Water Act allows the EPA administrator to hire up to 30 people into the agency, without White House or congressional approval. The provision, meant to help expedite the hiring of experts and allow for more flexible staffing, became law in 1996.”
EPA Explored Private Jet for Pruitt
Washington Post: “Aides to EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt last year considered leasing a private jet on a month-to-month basis to accommodate his travel needs, according to current and former agency officials. The officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations, said the agency ultimately did not move forward with the plan because it would have been prohibitively expensive.”
Trump Wants to Take Down Jeff Bezos
Vanity Fair: “For the first time in Donald Trump’s presidency, the West Wing soap opera appears to be in hiatus, with many of its starring characters (Gary Cohn, Hope Hicks) either permanently offstage or with much reduced roles (John Kelly, Jared Kushner). Currently, there’s one star—a situation Trump is obviously enjoying—and his new freedom is used to focus ever more closely on his perceived enemies and obsessions. Amazon, whose owner, Jeff Bezos, also owns The Washington Post, is currently the main target.”
“Now, according to four sources close to the White House, Trump is discussing ways to escalate his Twitter attacks on Amazon to further damage the company.”
Said one source: “He’s off the hook on this. It’s war. He gets obsessed with something, and now he’s obsessed with Bezos. Trump is like, how can I fuck with him?”
New York Times: “People close to the president have said critical articles in The Post often trigger his public musings about Amazon.”
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