The White House kept it quiet until now, but on Friday the President nearly blocked the Vice President from getting his chosen national security adviser.
Why this matters: It's a highly unusual event, as Trump typically gives Pence a long leash on personnel appointments. This is the first time the President has tried to block Pence from filling a senior staff position. The scene also highlights — once again — the extraordinary importance Trump places on personal loyalty.
A new NBC News/WSJ poll reveals that 66% of Democrats have a "high level of interest" in this fall's midterm elections — compared to 49% of Republicans.
Flashback: This is a mirror image of Republican enthusiasm ahead of the 2010 midterms, which resulted in a Tea Party sweep in Congress. At that time, the same NBC/WSJ poll showed that 66% of Republicans had a "high level of interest" compared to 49% of Democrats.
Former FBI Director James Comey tweeted on Sunday that while he mentions two presidents in his book who "help illustrate the values at the heart of ethical leadership," he includes another presidential example "as a counterpoint."
The context: Comey's subtweet is the latest salvo in a Twitter battle between President Trump and the former FBI director. Trump took to Twitter earlier this morning to unleash on Comey, calling him, a "slimeball," "not smart!" and the "WORST FBI Director in history, by far!"
President Trump cited data from Rasmussen Reports' latest daily tracking poll in a Sunday tweet, claiming his support is "much higher" than President Obama's at the same point during his first term. He cited a nearly identical stat from the historically Republican-leaning poll almost exactly a year ago.
President Trump tweeted that former FBI director James Comey reopened the bureau's investigation into Hillary Clinton's emails because she led polling in October 2016, reiterating prior statements from the White House and the RNC.
Yes, but: Trump seems to be misreading Comey's intentions about the investigation, per a Politico breakdown. Comey says in his book that he publicly reopened the Clinton investigation because he unconsciously feared making her an "illegitimate president" in an "environment where [she] was sure to be the next president."
The coordinated airstrikes on Syria Friday night resulted in a mixed reaction from Congress — some applauding a strong response to chemical weapons, and others calling it unconstitutional to go over Congress' head.
The bottom line: This was a big decision for President Trump, and many in Congress aren't happy about being excluded. We saw a split with top Democrats like Minority Leaders Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi offering limited support, along with Republican Congressman Justin Amash calling them "unconstitutional, illegal, and reckless."
"President Trump’s advisers have concluded that a wide-ranging corruption investigation into his personal lawyer poses a greater and more imminent threat to the president than even the special counsel’s investigation," the N.Y. Times reports on A1.
Why it matters: Trump's lawyers "were caught flat-footed by the New York raids. The lawyers fear that Mr. Cohen will not be forthcoming with them about what was in his files, leaving them girding for the unknown."
In a series of Saturday morning tweets ahead of a public update from the Pentagon, President Trump praised the U.S. military for the execution of coordinated strikes in Syria, thanked the U.K and France for their support, and sent a reminder to Congress to approve increased military spending.
The Trump administration is going to war with California. And it’s just getting started.
Why it matters: The bluest state in the U.S. has managed to wield the power of the courts to impede the President’s agenda on immigration, the environment and more. And the White House and Jeff Sessions are fighting back.
President Trump launched strikes on Syria this evening, in a combined effort with France and the U.K. "My fellow Americans, a short time ago, I ordered the United States Armed Forces to launch precision strikes on targets associated with the chemical weapons capabilities of Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad," Trump said.
Flashback: Just a little over a week ago, Trump was urging a total withdrawal from Syria, and his administration was anticipating a “rapid end” to military operations there. Below, how we got from there to here...
Friday evening, the United States launched missile strikes on Syria in response to a chemical weapons attack brought by Assad's regime on Syrian civilians. President Trump said the strikes were carried out in cooperation with Britain and France.
In a briefing at the Pentagon, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Joseph Dunford, along with British and French counterparts, announced that three targets in Syria were "struck and destroyed." All of which were specifically associated with the Syrian regime's chemical weapons program.
President Trump is skipping this weekend's Summit of the Americas to deliberate with advisers on how to respond to the latest chemical weapons attacks in Syria. But on his television, he faces a growing list of distractions and potential provocations.
Be smart: Trump already has a major decision on his hands in the coming days. Add a TV-addicted president and the situation becomes even more tenuous.
