| | | | | Jimmy Kimmel and Stephen Colbert onstage during the Emmy Awards on Sunday in Los Angeles. Credit: Kevin Winter/Getty Images | | | What the White House Press Corps Is Talking About: Robert Mueller has been making requests for documents
Melania Trump to Lead US Delegation: White House says first lady will lead delegation at Invictus Games on Saturday
Jimmy Kimmel *Goes Off* on GOP Senator and Fox Host: Comedian escalates late-night war with Sen. Bill Cassidy, calls Brian Kilmeade a "phony little creep" | | | What the White House Is Talking About:
Meetings between President Donald Trump and world leaders as the final day of the UN General Assembly wraps up. On his agenda: the presidents of Afghanistan, Ukraine, South Korea, Japan and Turkey. Afterward, Trump departs Manhattan en route to Bedminster, New Jersey.
Just before his working lunch with the leaders of South Korea and Japan, Trump issued an executive order announcing more sanctions against North Korea. Here's part of what he said: "Foreign banks will face a clear choice: Do business with the United States or facilitate trade with the lawless regime in North Korea. The regime can no longer count on others to facilitate its trade and banking activities."
What the White House Press Corps Is Talking About:
Movement on the Russia investigation -- special counsel Robert Mueller has been making requests for documents and related information. Also, the pressure is on to Republicans to see if the Graham-Cassidy health care bill has enough votes to pass in the Senate.
Awkward:
In remarks Wednesday night to African leaders, Trump referred to the country of Nambia a couple of times, but Nambia doesn't exist. Namibia does, but not Nambia. He also congratulated Africa because a lot of his friends are spending money there "trying to get rich."
Trump Confirms Trip to Puerto Rico:
The President this morning confirmed he'll be heading to Puerto Rico to assess the damage from the latest devastating hurricane. He told the press that the US territory has been "absolutely obliterated" and is "in very, very tough shape." | | Ivanka on 'Dr. Oz':
The Ivanka Trump episode of "Dr. Oz" airs today after the pre-taping Monday in New York. She discussed things we've heard before (it's not her place to go against her father, or to be a moderator), and things we haven't. (She struggled with postpartum depression after the births of her children.)
Spicer on 'GMA':
Sean Spicer did "Good Morning America" this morning, and he said he didn't think he lied when he was White House press secretary. I'm not going into a lot of this because the clock on Spicer's 15 minutes started when he was on "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" last week; I'm guessing we're about halfway through, so why devote the time? | | Our Daily Melania:
Melania Trump is having a big week, you guys. Here's a recap of her speech Wednesday, which some on Twitter felt was a troll against her husband. It was, yes, ironic, perhaps, that her words about leading by example for our children and being cognizant of words and tone and moral barometer were essentially applicable to Trump's own rhetoric, often found via his tweets. But I really don't think the first lady was sending a message to the President. I think she was doing what she always does when it comes to the line between the West and East wings: not crossing it. She's her own person, trying to set her own agenda, and while she will have a tougher time doing so because of her husband's behavior and random name-calling, she's not going to let it interfere with what she wants to support.
The White House today announced she will lead the US delegation to the Invictus Games in Toronto on Saturday. The rest of the delegation to the sports competition for wounded veterans is below, and please note Mr. Las Vegas, Wayne Newton: | | Credit: White House press office
She'll Do White House Garden Event Saturday:
I'm excited about this because there was always that random buzz about how she and/or Trump would plow over the garden, presumably to make room for a golden swimming pool or something, which is ridiculous. At noon Saturday, the first lady will do a harvest and some planting with a group of local children and the National Park Service. Long live the White House kitchen garden 🌱.
Wow, It's a Big Melania Day:
Her sometime-personal couturier and stylist, Hervé Pierre, did a Q&A with The New York Times and discussed working with the first lady, his most high-profile client. Pierre, a former creative director for Carolina Herrera, first met Melania Trump just weeks before the inauguration when she reached out to ask him to design her dress, something she wanted to be "sleek, ivory, vanilla." Pierre has since dressed her in custom looks a handful of other times, and on occasion he says he shops for her. As for controversy surrounding dressing the first lady, Pierre says he cares little what others think about his choice to do so: "The beauty of this country is it's a democracy, so some people want to dress certain people and some people don't want to. I choose to. If you forget about the political, or whatever, that's behind it, the needs are so interesting to answer. " | | Fashion, You Crazy:
Speaking of clothes, it's Fashion Week in Milan, Italy, and as I watch the collections come down the runways, as I always do each year, I like that I'm still confounded by things I don't get. For example, Gucci, WTF is this? But I still love you. | | | Credit: Miguel Medina/AFP/Getty Images | | What Washington Is Talking About:
Both the Senate and House are out for the weekend. House Speaker Paul Ryan and a bipartisan group of lawmakers, including members of Texas' congressional delegation, will be in Houston today getting an update on recovery efforts after Hurricane Harvey.
What America Is Talking About:
Darci Lynne Farmer, a 12-year-old ventriloquist, won "America's Got Talent" on Wednesday night.
What Provo is Talking About:
My alma matter, BYU, is now selling caffeinated soda on campus for the first time since the 1950s. I don't even drink soda, but I'm having a Coke today to celebrate. This is me right now.
Poll of the Day:
Trump's bipartisan gestures to Dems seem to have paid off in the polls. His approval rating rose to 43%, up 3 percentage points since August, according to an NBC News-Wall Street Journal poll. It was within the survey's margin of error of plus or minus 3.3 percentage points. And in fact, the only issue with which a majority approved of Trump was his working with Democrats, at 71%. His response to violence last month in Charlottesville, Virginia, was the issue where he received his lowest approval rating, at 20%. | | Credit: NBC News
Jimmy Kimmel *Goes Off*:
Grab the popcorn, you're going to need it. Jimmy Kimmel hit Sen. Bill Cassidy again. He played a clip of Cassidy saying he was sorry Kimmel "didn't understand" the health care bill -- from his interview Wednesday on CNN's "New Day" -- and then responded, "Oh, I get it I don't understand because I'm a talk-show host, right?"
"What part of that am I not understanding?" Kimmel asked. "Or could it be, Sen. Cassidy, that the problem is I do understand, and you got caught with your GOPenis out? Is that possible? Because it feels like it is." | | Credit: Jimmy Kimmel Live/YouTube
BUT KIMMEL WAS NOT DONE YET. He played a clip of Fox News' Brian Kilmeade describing his wading into the health care debate as "Hollywood elites like comedian Jimmy Kimmel for pushing their politics on the rest of the country."
Kimmel hit Kilmeade hard, saying the Fox host "kisses my ass like a little boy meeting Batman. He's such a fan."
"He follows me on Twitter, he asked me to write a blurb for a book, which I did," Kimmel said. "He's dying to be a member of the Hollywood elite. The only reason he's not a member of the Hollywood elite is because no one will hire him to be one." He called Kilmeade a "phony little creep" and said, "I'll pound you when I see you."
Kimmel closed out Wednesday night's monologue with the phone numbers of five Republican senators whom he asked viewers to call if they lived in those lawmakers' states. | | Credit: Jimmy Kimmel Live/YouTube
I'm shocked -- shocked -- @realDonaldTrump hasn't tweeted about Kimmel yet. He did give Trump some ammunition though: "There's no way President Trump read this bill," Kimmel said. "Can you imagine Donald Trump actually sitting down to read a health care bill? It's like trying to imagine a dog doing your taxes." So maybe soon?
Kilmeade's Response:
He responded to Kimmel in two videos you can watch here. Kilmeade said he hopes Kimmel's son gets better and went through the comedian's attacks one by one, with some subtle digs here and there. ("Even when you weren't getting great ratings, I thought you and the show were excellent.") I scrolled through Kilmeade's follow list and can confirm he has not unfollowed Kimmel.
Meanwhile, Over On Colbert:
Stephen Colbert has also been political this week on "The Late Show." On Wednesday night, he had on Sen. Jeff Flake, who defended his support for the Graham-Cassidy health care bill. ("Part of the reason we want to push this down to the governors' level and the state legislatures is they usually do things more efficiently and better," Flake said). And on Tuesday, Colbert had Hillary Clinton on and gifted her with the jokes he was planning on giving had she won in 2016. Among them, naked men who had "I'm With Her" written out across their tushes "because a woman was in charge," he said. | | Credit: The Last Show with Stephen Colbert/YouTube
This was Clinton's reaction after Colbert showed her the pic. | | Credit: The Last Show with Stephen Colbert/YouTube
Clinton's 'What Happened' Is a Hit:
Clinton has sold more than 300,000 copies of her new book in hardcover, e-books and audiobooks, Simon & Schuster told The Associated Press. Hardcover sales totaled 168,000, the highest opening for nonfiction since 2012 when Mark Owen's "No Easy Day: The Firsthand Account of the Mission that Killed Osama bin Laden" sold 250,000 in its first week.
How does "What Happened" stack up to her pervious opening week sales? Her last book, 2014's "Hard Choices," sold more than 100,000 in its first week, while her biggest opening week was for 2003's "Living History," which sold more than 600,000.
Ed Sheeran Show:
That private living room in Washington where Ed Sheeran performed Wednesday for Amnesty International and Sofar Sounds looked like a Sheerio's dream come true. Here are clips of him doing "Castle on a Hill" and "Shape of You." | | Credit: @SalilShetty/Twitter
Beyoncé Returns:
Her first show since giving birth will be a benefit concert for Harvey and Irma relief efforts, next month at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn with her husband, Jay-Z, according to Us Weekly.
Also, Jay-Z reportedly turned an offer to perform at next year's Super Bowl halftime show, to show solidarity with Colin Kaepernick. "No decisions have been made on the performer(s) and we are not going to speculate on particular artists," the NFL said in a statement.
When Legend Meets Legend:
Britney Spears posted this photo of her with Mariah Carey at dinner, and I wanted to share it with you in case you hadn't seen it yet. Amazing. | | Credit: @britneyspears/Twitter
Street Art Sighting/🐸Pepe Watch🐸:
Images of Pepe the Frog were projected onto the facade of what appears to be the Washington offices of WilmerHale, the law firm representing Pepe creator Matt Furie, on Pennsylvania Avenue, as seen in this unlisted YouTube video published Wednesday. | | Credit: Cassandra Fairbanks/YouTube
WilmerHale represented Furie on a pro bono basis to stop a book from being sold that included Pepe and "espoused racist, Islamophobic and hate-filled themes, included allusions to the alt-right movement and was deliberately targeted at children," per the firm's website.
Send me your pics of political street art to coverlinehunter@cnn.com, tweet me @hunterschwarz or tag @cnncoverline on Instagram. | | | | | | |
