Apr 7, 2019

Trump to Paul Ryan after Access Hollywood tape: "You're just a Boy Scout"

Illustration: Lazaro Gamio/Axios

You'll find a trove of deeply sourced reporting in the new book, out Tuesday, by Politico's Playbook authors Jake Sherman and Anna Palmer. Here's a taste of the reporting from Trump's Washington, found in "The Hill to Die On."

On November 10, [Paul] Ryan and Trump met face-to-face. The Speaker hosted Trump; his wife, Melania; and Mike Pence on Capitol Hill for lunch at the Capitol Hill Club, and a subsequent tour of the Capitol and the Speaker's balcony, the space off of Ryan's office.

When Ryan walked into the Capitol Hill Club, Trump grabbed the Speaker's hand and brought him close in. "I think I got you figured out," Trump said to him. "That thing really rattled you." He was talking about the Access Hollywood tape.

"Yeah, it really did," Ryan replied.

"I get you," Trump said. "You're just a Boy Scout. You're also kind of religious, aren’t you?"

"You're like Mike on that, aren't you?" Melania chimed into the conversation.

"I'm a devout Catholic," Ryan said, "and yes, I take that stuff very seriously."

"Oh, okay," Trump said. "You're just a Boy Scout. That's what it is."

Go deeper: Ryan told Republicans to feel free to abandon Trump after Access Hollywood tape

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Rashaan Ayesh

11 mins ago - Politics & Policy

Gov. Tim Walz to mobilize Minnesota's full National Guard

Photo: Steel Brooks/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz announced on Saturday he is activating the full National Guard to respond to street violence in Minneapolis that broke out during protests of a police encounter that left a black man, George Floyd, dead.

Why it matters: This is the first time the state has activated the full National Guard since World War II. The Minnesota National Guard tweeted, "We are "all-in" to restore order and maintain and keep the peace in Minnesota." There are already around 700 National Guard troops in the city, and the order could bring another 1,000, The Star Tribune writes.

Go deeper...The aftermath of George Floyd's death: Everything you need to know

Miriam Kramer

Updated 28 mins ago - Science

Live updates: SpaceX attempts to launch NASA astronauts Saturday

SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket on the launch pad. Photo: NASA/Joel Kowsky

At 3:22 p.m. ET today, SpaceX is expected to launch NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley to the International Space Station for the first time.

Why it matters: The liftoff — should it go off without a hitch — will be the first time a private company has launched people to orbit. It will also bring crewed launches back to the U.S. for the first time in nine years, since the end of the space shuttle program.

Follow along below for live updates throughout the day...

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52 mins ago - Politics & Policy

In photos: We've seen images like the protests in Minneapolis before

Photo: Kerem Yucel/AFP/MPI/Getty Images

The photos of protests around the country following the death of George Floyd during an encounter with Minneapolis police are hauntingly familiar. We’ve seen them many times before, going back decades.

Why it matters: "What is also unmistakable in the bitter protests in Minneapolis and around the country is the sense that the state is either complicit or incapable of effecting substantive change," Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor, an assistant professor of African-American studies at Princeton University writes in the New York Times. The images that follow make all too clear how little has changed since the modern Civil Rights Movement began in the 1950s.

Go deeper (1 min. read)