Full on “LOCK HIM UP! LOCK HIM UP!” chants heard throughout the crowd at Nats Park after President Trump was announced and shown on screen here
#WorldSeries
President Biden announces TSA will double fines for travelers who violate mask requirements on flights: "If you break the rules, be prepared to pay. And by the way, show some respect!"
Off she goes! Sending so much love to
@kwelkernbc
as she leaves the White House for the last time before maternity leave. We cannnnnot wait to meet Baby Girl Welker Hughes soon! 💛
Boos heard throughout Nationals Park as President Trump and the First Lady are announced and shown on screen after the “wave your caps” moment between innings
So last year 37,000 Americans died from the common Flu. It averages between 27,000 and 70,000 per year. Nothing is shut down, life & the economy go on. At this moment there are 546 confirmed cases of CoronaVirus, with 22 deaths. Think about that!
New from
@AP
: Former Attorney General Barr says President Trump's conduct as a violent mob of his supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol was a "betrayal of his office and supporters." In a statement, Barr said Thursday that "orchestrating a mob to pressure Congress is inexcusable."
Macron just steps away from Trump: “Patriotism is the exact opposite of nationalism. Nationalism is a betrayal of patriotism. By saying our interests first... we erase what a nation holds dearest, what gives it life, what gives it grace, and what is essential: its moral values.”
Herschel Walker on Pres. Trump: "He leaves nothing on the field. Some people don’t like his style, the way he knocks down obstacles that get in the way of his goals. People on opposing teams didn’t like it when I ran right over them either. But that’s how you get the job done."
Dr. Fauci says it would not be correct to say the outbreak is under control on
@FaceTheNation
: "That would be a false statement. We are struggling to get it under control and that's the issue that's at hand right now."
President Trump just now in the Rose Garden: "We're rounding the corner."
VP Pence moments earlier: "The American people should anticipate that cases will rise in the days ahead."
CDC Director Dr. Redfield to me Friday: "We're nowhere near the end."
It’s so hot here in Tampa (87 degrees) that there’s a truck blasting water at the back of the Trump rally crowd. Multiple people have passed out already, with supporters calling for medics every 5-10 minutes.
Quick snapshots of President Trump’s reaction as President Macron wrapped his armistice speech, strongly rebuking nationalism and calling it “a betrayal of patriotism”
Key from Mueller: “If we had confidence that the president clearly did not commit a crime, we would have said so. We did not, however, make a determination as to whether the president did commit a crime.”
Notable gesture:
@FLOTUS
brought George Hainey (former WH head Maitre d) and Buddy Carter (current WH usher) to the funeral with her as invited guests. “She knew they were very close to the Bush family and wanted them to be able to pay their respects,” per Stephanie Grisham.
NEWS: CDC Dir. Redfield is increasingly concerned about the expanding influence of Dr. Scott Atlas, telling a colleague in an overheard call that "everything he says is false" & suggesting Atlas is arming Pres. Trump with misleading pandemic information.
Fox News just cut away from the Trump campaign presser after
@PressSec
made the “explosive charge” of widespread voter fraud without any “proof” to back her claims.
@TeamCavuto
said he would dip back in if McEnany provided any specific evidence.
Trump camp released a statement on Biden's speech claiming he "repeated the erroneous claim that protestors in Lafayette Park were tear gassed last night to clear a path for Pres. Trump, when Park Police says they used no tear gas." Our
@GarrettHaake
was there. Read his account.
@AugensteinWTOP
Hey Neal. I was there. Tear gas was definitely used, and park police can’t 🤷🏼♂️ that. And there was no object-throwing before the mounted park police moved in. Don’t want to tell you how to do your job, but using a background source to deny observable fact seems like a bad call.
Very loud chants of “VOTE HIM OUT! VOTE HIM OUT!” heard at the Supreme Court as President Trump and First Lady Melania pay their respects to the late Justice Ginsburg
At the end of his presser in Dallas, I asked VP Pence to comment on reports Russians offered Taliban bounty to kill American troops. He heard & acknowledged the question but did not respond. Just landed back at Andrews & Pence boarded Marine Two without stopping to talk.
Flight attendant on my
@Delta
trip just announced the airline already has 400-500 people on its no-fly list because of improper mask usage or refusal to wear a face covering aboard their aircrafts ✈️😷
Reminder of what President Trump told
@FoxNews
last month: “One of the reasons I respect Paul Manafort so much is he went through that trial—you know they make up stories. People make up stories. This whole thing about ‘flipping’ they call it... It almost ought to be outlawed.”
Check out the disclaimer at the bottom of the general admission page for next week’s Trump rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Venue capacity is more than 19,000 people.
Positive COVID cases in Trumpworld we learned about in the last week:
Mark Meadows
Nick Trainer
Ben Carson
David Bossie
Healy Baumgardner
Brian Jack
Corey Lewandowski
+3 unnamed WH aides
Hard to say where all got the virus but many attended East Room election night party.
Despite President Trump’s call to boycott the company, the tires on the Beast in the motorcade are still Goodyear. This was taken at JBA before departure. We’re now wheels down in Scranton, Pennsylvania. What brand are those wheels, you ask? Also Goodyear.
Former VP Biden just told the TX Dems convention he believes there's a "real chance" they can win there in November.
This week, Pres. Trump's political aides briefed him on "very concerning" internal polling that shows the president down in Texas, sources told me &
@carolelee
Standing ovation from several hundred folks here to see
@DonaldJTrumpJr
at Ames GOP caucus site: “Seems like we have this one covered,” he says, as compared to 2016 (when Trump came in second place here)
Oof. Trump is calling his microphone a “piece of garbage” after 20 mins of issues and has now said repeatedly the audio production team in Kenosha shouldn’t be paid.
.
@PressSec
this morning on contacts with Jacob Blake's family: "We are efforting outreach, have not been able to connect yet."
Attorney Ben Crump tells
@HallieJackson
the Blake family has received no outreach from the White House ahead of Pres. Trump’s visit to Kenosha tomorrow.
After about five hours at Walter Reed, President Biden is done with his medical tests.
He told reporters on the way out: "I had a great physical and a great House of Representatives vote. It's a good day."
Don't think I've ever seen more Trump supporters along a motorcade route than here, just outside Scranton, Pennsylvania. This was the scene for several minutes.
In his first Oval Office spray, President Biden describes the letter former President Trump left him there as “very generous” but said he didn’t want to share more than that because it is “private.”
For months during the pandemic, the White House has been doing temperature checks & asking health Qs of all journalists entering the grounds. For some reason, that wasn’t the case today. Tents normally staffed during business hours for these screenings are being taken down.
List of those closest to Pres. Trump who've had/have COVID since October:
Hope Hicks
Melania Trump
Barron Trump
Kayleigh McEnany
Ronna McDaniel
Kellyanne Conway
Chris Christie
Bill Stepien
Stephen Miller
Mark Meadows
David Bossie
Corey Lewandowski
Donald Trump Jr.
Rudy Giuliani
Inside the small, private White House meeting between Muslim American community leaders and President Biden, including more details on what two doctors who have been in Gaza told and showed him firsthand
(w/
@Yamiche
@elysepg
)
“If every one of us” wore a mask, Redfield told me, “this pandemic would be over in eight to 12 weeks,” before offering a stark warning that contradicts the president's assertion the country is “rounding the corner” on coronavirus. “We’re nowhere near the end,” Redfield said.
Lev Parnas to
@maddow
on biggest inaccuracy he could correct: "That the president didn't know what was going on. Pres. Trump knew exactly what was going on. He was aware of all of my movements. I wouldn't do anything without the consent of Rudy Giuliani or the president"
@MSNBC
This tweet from Dr. Atlas, the medical adviser closest to the president right now, has been flagged by Twitter for violating its policies about misleading info. Atlas, a neuroradiologist who doesn’t specialize in infectious diseases or epidemiology, is often seen without a mask.
Early “lid” called at the White House already which means we don’t expect to see the president on-camera today. Major protests expected nearby this afternoon. Fencing outside and road closures in place all around the complex.
Spotted in line for President Trump’s Swanton, OH campaign event tonight. As a reminder, 17-year-old Kyle Rittenhouse was charged with shooting three people, two fatally, during a protest in Kenosha, WI last month.
Vanity Fair, which looks like it is on its last legs, is bending over backwards in apologizing for the minor hit they took at Crooked H. Anna Wintour, who was all set to be Amb to Court of St James’s & a big fundraiser for CH, is beside herself in grief & begging for forgiveness!
Standing ovation from several hundred folks here to see
@DonaldJTrumpJr
at Ames GOP caucus site: “Seems like we have this one covered,” he says, as compared to 2016 (when Trump came in second place here)
File under anecdotally interesting: when President Trump polled the crowd in Waterford Township, Michigan on who has already voted, very few people raised their hands. When he asked who is planning to go the polls Tuesday, almost everyone responded by cheering.
NEW: Just asked
@FLOTUS
about her husband’s reported “shithole countries” comment. She said she “never heard” him use such language and told me the derogatory comments didn’t come up at all on her week-long visit to Africa. (Oh also, we’re at the pyramids.)
NEW: “After another round of testing for campaign staff in Tulsa, two additional members of the advance team tested positive for the coronavirus. These staff members attended the rally but were wearing masks during the entire event," per communications director
@TimMurtaugh
The White House declined to explain why President Trump hasn’t completed an annual physical yet, despite questions this week over his use of a potentially dangerous drug after being exposed to an aide with coronavirus. Latest with
@GeoffRBennett
Dr. Fauci to
@SavannahGuthrie
this morning on Dr. Atlas' message below: "You know, I totally disagree with it, and I made no secret of that. I mean, I don't want to say anything against Dr. Atlas as a person but I totally disagree with the stand he takes. I just do, period."
Obama spokesperson: "Pres. Obama spoke separately this afternoon with Pres-Elect Joe Biden and Vice Pres-Elect Kamala Harris. He congratulated each of them on their historic victory and told them how proud he was of the campaign they ran in unprecedented times." (via
@kwelkernbc
)
TIME's 2018 Person of the Year: "The Guardians and the War on Truth." This includes: Jamal Khashoggi, Maria Ressa, Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo, and the Capital Gazette.
The account that sent that apparent QAnon tweet I just referenced on
@MSNBC
has already been suspended by Twitter for violating its rules. The president elevated it with a message moments before, saying simply: “STRENGTH!”
Reminder: President Trump is at his Virginia golf course right this minute and his campaign is supposed to be holding a press conference with Rudy Giuliani at a landscaping business in Philadelphia shortly.
Notables in attendance at 9/11 Memorial ceremony:
Bidens
Obamas
Clintons
Pelosi
Schumer
NY Delegation
Hochul
Murphy
de Blasio
Wray
Garland
Mayorkas
Monaco
Thomas-Greenfield
Giuliani
Pataki
White House flags at half-staff for the third time in three weeks: twice before for the shootings in Georgia & Colorado, now for the US Capitol Police Officer who died today
Here’s the full joint statement that infuriated the president so much it led him to fire Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency Dir. Krebs (bolding theirs): “There is no evidence that any voting system deleted or lost votes, changed votes, or was in any way compromised.”
Dr. Fauci on
@MSNBC
: “If you stick with the scientific data & are transparent, open & honest with the American public, I think you’re gonna see things are gonna be different.” Fauci says he “took no pleasure” contradicting former Pres. Trump but “I had to be true to myself.”
Here’s the new CDC guidance on mask-wearing for fully vaccinated people versus those who are not. President Biden is expected to speak on these recommendations this afternoon.
Notable: the president’s doctors declined to specify what was found on Trump’s lung scans.
@HallieJackson
and
@colvinj
asked repeatedly but there was no clear answer.
VP Pence won’t be attending President Trump’s ceremonial sendoff at Joint Base Andrews tomorrow morning. The only thing on Pence’s public schedule (his last hours in office) is the Biden/Harris inauguration. A White House official said it would be hard to do both logistically.
The last formal White House press briefing was 42 days ago -- a new record for this administration. There was no on-camera "daily" briefing in Feb, the first time we've gone a full calendar month without one during the Trump presidency. The new go-to: informal driveway gaggles.
NEW: President Trump tells reporters he's "surprised" to see Bob Kraft charged (with soliciting prostitution) and emphasizes Kraft "denies it" (via
@HallieJackson
in the Oval)
President Biden just signed two executive orders mandating vaccines for millions of federal workers and contractors, according to a White House official. The president is expected to speak in detail about this new action during his remarks next hour.
Powerful images from Arlington Cemetary, via the pool. President Biden visited Section 60 this afternoon, the final resting place for many who served in Iraq and Afghanistan. “Look at them all,” Biden said.
NEW: President Biden will no longer travel to his home in Wilmington, DE this afternoon. He will stay in DC tonight, per a White House official.
The president's remarks on Afghanistan are still scheduled for 1 pm ET.
Greetings from Tampa, Florida where
@KellyannePolls
is headlining a “Women for Trump” event. It’s one of 14 nationwide “evenings to empower” hosted by the re-election campaign tonight. Standing room only before it starts, with about 500 chairs set in the room.
Pool reporters at Walter Reed pass along this assessment from a source familiar with Trump’s health: “The President's vitals over last 24 hours were very concerning and the next 48 hours will be critical in terms of his care. We are still not on a clear path to a full recovery.”
.
@PressSec
Jen Psaki says Dr. Fauci will participate in today's WH briefing. He was a fixture in the early COVID newsers but was later sidelined from regular appearances. The last time he appeared in the briefing room was November, which had been his first return since April.
Democratic VP Nominee Kamala Harris: "I've fought for children, and survivors of sexual assault. I’ve fought against transnational gangs. I took on the biggest banks and helped take down one of the biggest for-profit colleges. I know a predator when I see one."
While you were sleeping:
- Trump/Kim talks broke down, prompting cancellation of working lunch and joint agreement signing ceremony
- Trump held presser, arguing “sometimes you have to walk” away
- Trump boarded AF1, leaving Hanoi two hours earlier than originally scheduled
NEW statement from WHCA President
@OKnox
on White House banning
@kaitlancollins
from open press event today after she asked questions (as network pooler) that they didn’t like