| | | | Trump set to host Trudeau, Netanyahu | | President Donald Trump's "America first" outlook will clash head-on with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's multicultural Barack Obama-styled worldview when Trudeau visits Washington tomorrow for his first meeting with Trump.
It will be the first of two foreign head of state meetings dominating Trump's week. Up on Wednesday: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu -- whose visit highlights Trump's campaign promises to support Israel and raises questions about how he'll handle continued Israeli settlements when pressed on the issue.
Two other storylines to watch this week:
1. Mike Flynn's future: New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie says it's up to national security adviser Mike Flynn to clear up the details of whether he talked about lifting Russian sanctions with the country's ambassador pre-inauguration. The question: Is Flynn already on the rocks with Trump?
2. Confirmation battles: First up this week is Steve Mnuchin for treasury secretary. He's been a liberal target -- but there's no sign of Senate Republican defections.
There's also lots of palace intrigue about the roles of Reince Priebus (on the rocks?), Stephen Miller (on the rise?) and Kellyanne Conway (a queen with no army?). For more on that, keep reading... | | "I don't think you want a guy who'd forget that." -- Sen. Al Franken, D-Minnesota, to CNN's Jake Tapper on "State of the Union" on President Donald Trump's national security adviser Mike Flynn not being sure whether he discussed sanctions in a pre-inauguration conversation with the Russian ambassador to the United States. | | | "Saturday Night Live" saw yuge ratings Saturday night with President Donald Trump impersonator Alec Baldwin as host. Melissa McCarthy reprised her role as press secretary Sean Spicer, too.
Also: The New York Times' Glenn Thrush -- who Nightcap always considers a must-read -- is now a recurring character in the White House press corps, played by Bobby Moynihan, this week wearing the hat, too. | | The rise of Trump policy aide Stephen Miller | | No Mike Pence, no Kellyanne Conway, no Sean Spicer: It was White House policy director Stephen Miller serving as President Donald Trump's voice on the Sunday shows today -- and he defended the administration's travel ban, indicating new executive action isn't out of the question.
Another voting fraud falsehood: Miller argued Trump was right to claim (without any evidence) that people were bused from Massachusetts to New Hampshire to vote in the swing state in a contentious interview with ABC's George Stephanopoulos -- who ended the interview by saying: "You can start by providing evidence to back up your claims."
What really matters here: Miller has Trump's ear. He's among the most influential voices in the West Wing, as John King explains in this week's Inside Politics forecast.
Trump officials know they always have a real audience of one -- and that audience was pleased with Miller's performance today: | | Two more Trump White House notes:
Is Priebus showing "weakness"? This is something to watch: White House chief of staff Reince Priebus was attacked Sunday by a friend of Trump who recently spent time with the President. Christopher Ruddy, CEO of Newsmax Media, told CNN's Brian Stelter on "Reliable Sources" he thinks "there's a lot of weakness coming out of the chief of staff." He said: "I think Reince Priebus, good guy, well-intentioned, but he clearly doesn't know how the federal agencies work. He doesn't have a real good system. He doesn't know how the communications flow."
Palace intrigue, Kellyanne Conway edition: Politico's Tara Palmeri dives into the risks Trump's counselor has taken recently (including hawking Ivanka Trump products on Fox News). A key excerpt: "For Conway, the prize for loyalty is eventually landing a spot as chief of staff, becoming the first woman ever to hold the role and cementing her spot at the center of Trump's inner circle. Currently, Conway is seen within the White House as a 'queen without an army,' according to a former campaign official." | | 3 things you might have missed this weekend | | 1. Trump's "Pocahontas" remark: Sen. Al Franken says President Donald Trump's references to Sen. Elizabeth Warren as "Pocahontas" are racist. "I'd have said, 'Mr. President, with all due respect, that's racist. ... This is completely unacceptable. You really should stop doing that. It doesn't serve anybody.' Something like that," Franken told Jake Tapper today.
2. Immigration raid questions: From CNN's Tal Kopan: Immigrant rights activists and Democrats are raising concerns this weekend about recent immigration enforcement actions -- though immigration officials maintain that only routine actions targeting criminals were underway.
3. Trump brand takes another hit: Sears says it is removing 31 Trump-branded items from its website. | | | "Death panel" talk returned at Florida Rep. Gus Bilirakis' town hall Saturday -- where he was the latest GOP lawmaker to face pro-Obamacare protests. ... President Donald Trump vowed on Twitter to keep costs down for his border wall, but offered no specifics on how he'd do that. ... Is Hillary Clinton running again? | | | We'd love to share our other newsletters with you. Check out Five Things for Your New Day, CNN's morning newsletter. Give us five minutes, and we'll brief you on all the news and buzz people will be talking about. | | | Get the Nightcap, a comprehensive summary of the most important political news, delivered to your inbox daily. | | | | | |
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