President Trump said he was "very thankful" for Vladimir Putin's sanctions on U.S. ambassadors because "we're trying to cut down our payroll." Here's how members of the foreign service community reacted:
In support:
Dan Fried, who was U.S. ambassador to Poland and Coordinator for Sanctions Policy at the State Department, told ABC News: "If in a generous mood, you could argue that POTUS is showing Putin that he isn't bothered by this."
In opposition:
Nicholas Burns, a former ambassador to NATO and former Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs, tweeted: "As a Foreign Service veteran, I find it lamentable that our great career diplomats are treated with such disrespect by their President."
Barbara Stephenson, the president of the American Foreign Service Association, the diplomats' union released a statement: "America's leadership is being challenged by adversaries who would like to see us fail. We cannot let that happen. With all the threats facing our nation, we need a properly resourced and staffed Foreign Service more than ever, and we need them where they do the most good—posted abroad, delivering for the American people."
Aaron Miller, a Middle East diplomat and negotiator, tweeted: "Having served at State for 25 yrs under R/Ds, Trump's defense of Putin over expelled US diplomats one of most shameful of his presidency."
Michael McFaul, former U.S. ambassador to Russia and on Obama's National Security Council, tweeted: "Imagine dissing Americans --patriots serving our country under difficult conditions in Russia -to praise Putin. Our president did today."
Rep. Eliot L. Engel, ranking member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, released a statement: "After weeks of silence regarding Vladimir Putin's outrageous expulsion of hundreds of U.S. embassy personnel, President Trump once again let Russia off the hook and instead insulted America's diplomats. No doubt, the President's staff will eventually try to clean up after the parade by claiming it was a joke, but there's nothing funny about this."
Heather Conley, former State Department official, told Reuters that the expulsions of hundreds of people from an important U.S. embassy is extraordinary and "it is very difficult to see how the president could view these expulsions as a 'positive' development in any form."
Rep. Don Beyer tweeted: "I served as an Ambassador under Obama. It's astonishing to see our President submissively take Putin's side against US State Dept personnel."
Dana Smith, a former ambassador, tweeted: "Disgusting. America Last. Again."
The new Trump International Hotel at the Old Post Office in D.C. didn't meet revenue expectations last fall, but the hotel brought in $18 million in the first four months of 2017 — exceeding the company's goals, according to financial records obtained by the Wall Street Journal.
The catch: The Trump hotel bumped their room rates from the planned $416 to $660 per night. Food and drink, which also is priced higher than budgeted, made up almost half the hotel's revenue for the first months of 2017.
Perspective: Comparable hotels charge about $495 per night, according to WSJ, and have a 69% occupancy rate. Meanwhile, the Trump hotel charges $660 per night and has a 44% occupancy rate.
Why it matters: While new hotels tend to grow their revenue over time and Donald Trump no longer runs the Trump Organization, it's hard to imagine Trump becoming president didn't spark a bump in room rates.
Barack Obama is planning a comeback to the political scene this fall, though his reemergence is causing some consternation amongst his allies and Democratic strategists, according to The Hill's Amie Parnes, who co-authored the Clinton campaign post-mortem Shattered.
The plan: Obama is already working behind the scenes fundraising for the Democratic apparatus, but he'll take on a public role this fall campaigning for Virginia gubernatorial candidate Ralph Northam — as well as other candidates who, according to an Obama aide, "[remain] to be seen."
The worry: President Trump shaped his political career around antagonizing Obama, so an active role for the former POTUS might help Trump stabilize support with his flagging base.
Why it matters: Obama is in a rare position amongst former presidents — relatively scandal-free and popular — so his next political move could have a huge influence with Democrats largely in disarray.
Most Americans are both paying attention to the news surrounding the nuclear threat from North Korea and worried about the potential for war, according to a new poll from Public Policy Polling, a Democratic polling firm, given exclusively to Axios.
After his security briefing this afternoon, President Trump made his first public comments on his decision to ban transgender individuals from the United States military since his tweets announcing the policy, saying that he has "great respect for the community" but his choice was the best decision for the military in "a very difficult situation."
It's been a very confusing issue for the military, and I think I'm doing the military a great favor.
President Trump continued with his rhetoric regarding North Korea on Thursday, saying the totalitarian country has to "get [its] act together" or it will be in trouble "like few nations ever have been" just before a security briefing with Vice President Mike Pence, National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster, and Chief of Staff John Kelly.
Trump expounded on his "fire and fury" comments from earlier this week, saying, "If anything, that statement may not be tough enough."
A new poll published in the Washington Post found that 52% of Republicans would support postponing the 2020 election if President Trump requested it to "make sure that only eligible American citizens can vote". It also found 56% of Republicans would support a delay if Congressional Republicans were in support.
Other takeaways among the Republicans surveyed: 68% believe illegal immigrants voted, 73% believe voter fraud happens somewhat or very often, and 47% believe Trump won the popular vote.
Keep in mind: The poll asked respondents questions about voter fraud before asking about the postponing the 2020 election. As Business Insider editor Josh Barro tweeted, "the poll was designed to produce alarming results..." and find correlations between beliefs in voter fraud and postponing.
We've seen deeply partisan polls before. During the 2016 campaign, The Hill reported that a majority of Democrats would support canceling the 2016 election in favor of Obama remaining in office for a third term.
The relevant poll questions, via WaPo:"If Donald Trump were to say that the 2020 presidential election should be postponed until the country can make sure that only eligible American citizens can vote, would you support or oppose postponing the election?""What if both Donald Trump and Republicans in Congress were to say that the 2020 presidential election should be postponed until the country can make sure that only eligible American citizens can vote? Would you support or oppose postponing the election?"
Governor of Guam Eddie Calvo praised President Trump's "fire and fury" threat against North Korea.
" I want a president that says that if any nation such as North Korea attacks Guam ... that they will be met with hell and fury," Calvo said on Fox News last night.
He encouraged the people of Guam to not panic, saying threat is no different from those in the past, that this is "about the third, fourth threat made by North Korea specifically to Guam."
Here's one of the most intriguing — and consequential — theories circulating inside the White House:
The generals, the New Yorkers and Republican congressional leaders see themselves as an unofficial committee to protect Trump and the nation from disaster.
This loose alliance is informal.
But as one top official told us: "If you see a guy about to stab someone with a knife, you don't need to huddle to decide to grab the knife."
The theory was described to us in a series of private chats with high-ranking officials:
