| | | | Donald Trump and the 'presidential' thing | | President Donald Trump is set to deliver remarks about the future of American involvement in Afghanistan from Fort Meyer at 9 ET tonight.
It's his first big moment in front of a national audience since August 12, the day white supremacists and neo-Nazis incited violence that left one woman dead and dozens injured in the streets of Charlottesville.
Trump's insistence that the violence was "on many sides ... on many sides" amounted to an abdication of the moral leadership that people expect from presidents in moments of national crisis. Trump's follow-up comments days later, in which he pointedly refused to back down from his "both sides" comments, were the definition of un-presidential.
Tonight Trump will take on that most solemn of duties -- explaining to the American public why, and how -- the United States will move forward in the country's longest war, and one that has already claimed the lives of more than 2,000 Americans.
Trump has struggled mightily to be the sort of leader required in moments like these -- when the eyes of the country (and the world) are on him. He seems much more at ease in a campaign setting like the one he will have Tuesday night when he travels to Phoenix for a rally.
Trump's task is made doubly difficult by the fact that he was deeply critical of then-President Obama's approach in Afghanistan, but has been more circumspect since becoming president himself. (Check out all Trump's past statements -- as compiled by CNN's Daniella Diaz -- here.)
Being president isn't the same thing as running for president. Trump has yet to show that he understands -- or cares for -- the distinction. Tonight is a moment where he will need to do so -- even if he, as I expect he will, reverts back to Campaign Donald tomorrow.
-- Chris | | 👓FUN UNDER THE ECLIPSE SUN 👓 | | There's literally only one rule with eclipses: Don't look into the sun during them. Which brings me to the President of the United States.
That's Donald John Trump on the Truman Balcony (see the photo on the left above), seemingly looking directly into the sun. At the peak of the solar eclipse. Without any sort of protective eyewear.
This, from the White House pool report of the moment filed by the Guardian's Ben Jacobs is, um, amazing: "At approximately 2:39, the President initially gesticulated to the crowd below and pointed at the sky. As he did so, one of the White House aides standing beneath the Blue Room Balcony shouted 'don't look.'"
Trump did, eventually, put on protective eyewear -- as did first lady Melania Trump (see the photo on the right above).
Their son, Barron, got in on the action, too. Hell, even "beleaguered" Attorney General Jeff Sessions got on the protective eyewear bandwagon (alongside Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross)!
Just in case Trump is still president when the next solar eclipse comes in 2024 -- it could happen! - here's a story he should read. In the article, titled "Can you really go blind staring at a solar eclipse," CNN's Ashley Strickland writes:
"The retina may translate light into an electrical impulse that the brain understands, but one thing it can't translate to your brain is pain. So even if you're excited about the eclipse and think one brief glimpse at the sun before it completely hides behind the moon is worth it -- it's not. There's no internal trigger that is going to let you know that you've looked at the sun for too long. Any amount of looking at it is too long.
Even the smallest amount of exposure can cause blurry vision or temporary blindness. The problem is, you won't know whether it's temporary."
Remember, Mr. President: "Any amount of looking is too long." | | SPEAKING OF THE ECLIPSE... | | | Some of the best social media on Monday came from lawmakers, who posted pics of themselves sporting eclipse glasses while staring at the sun. CNN's Caroline Kenny rounded up all the best photos here. | | | Also: Here's a GIF of CNN's Wolf Blitzer rocking the eclipse glasses on air. You're welcome. | | Is it the solar eclipse today? We forgot because no one's been talking about it. Just kidding! Recommended listen: "Total Eclipse of the Heart."
Or, as Bruce Springsteen said on Twitter: "Remember to wear proper glasses today when viewing the #SolarEclipse. You don't want to get...'Blinded By The Light.' " (Hah). | | CNN's Ryan Struyk writes:
The more things change, the more they stay the same.
Brand new numbers from an NBC/Marist survey show that Trump's favorable numbers look very, very similar to Election Day.
But these numbers may even be closer than they appear: The poll results are among registered voters -- a group that tends to lean slightly more Democratic than the actual electorate.
Don't forget: One in five Trump voters nationally cast their ballots for him even though they didn't like him, trust him, think he was qualified or had the temperament to do the job.
For more, check out Ryan's full story here. | | CNN's Eric Bradner is in Arizona today and tomorrow to cover President Donald Trump's visit to the state where the two senators -- Sen. Jeff Flake and Sen. John McCain -- are among his most vocal critics within the Republican Party.
Eric reports:
Weeks ago, Sen. John McCain's vote sank Trump's health care bill in the Senate. Sen. Jeff Flake, meanwhile, has voted with Trump -- but he also wrote a book in which he compared Trump's campaign to a "late-night infomercial" with an agenda that is "free of significant thought."
Now, Trump is set to arrive in their backyard Tuesday for a nighttime rally in Phoenix.
It comes a week after the firestorm of criticism from the left and right that he set off last week by equating white supremacists rallying in Charlottesville, Virginia, with anti-racist counterprotesters. The visit also gives Trump an opportunity to re-stake his claim on the Republican Party -- potentially by taking on one or both of Arizona's GOP senators.
Among the swirling questions heading into the week: Will Trump endorse a Flake primary opponent? Last week, Trump tweeted praise for Kelli Ward, the conservative who failed to unseat McCain in a 2016 primary but is trying again by taking on Flake in 2018.
Adding to the tension, Trump appeared to hint recently that he may pardon former Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio.
Trump's rally will be held in Phoenix on Tuesday evening. | | More than 24,000 people have signed a petition on Change.org to replace the Confederate monument in Portsmouth, Virginia, with a statue of Missy Elliott.
The description for the petition is a play on one of Missy Elliot's popular songs "Work It." It reads:
"Getting this statue put up will be a lot of work and you may ask yourself is it worth it? I say yes and ask you to join me in letting us work it. Together we can put white supremacy down, flip it and reverse it."
H/T Mashable for pointing out the petition's existence. | | New Pew Research Center analysis shows that highly ideological members of Congress have more Facebook followers than moderates do.
CNN's David Wright writes:
Researchers compared members' ideologies – using the widely accepted DW-Nominate metric – to their Facebook reach, finding that the more liberal or conservative a member, the larger their audience. From the research:
"The most liberal and most conservative House members had a median of 14,361 followers as of July 25, compared with 9,017 followers for those in the middle of the ideological spectrum. The median number of followers for the Senate's most liberal and conservative lawmakers was 78,360, while moderates had 32,626."
Pew noted that in the Senate, the ratios were "largely driven by a small number of prominent members in both parties" – and named Sens. Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, Ted Cruz and Rand Paul, among others. Many of those named ran presidential campaigns, which would increase their Facebook reach regardless of ideology.
Still, it's also noteworthy that the senators who have run for president and who've built national profiles are among their party's most ideological. Pew's research is a useful data point in the debate over political polarization and the role that social media plays in that process. | |  | The GOP is conducting a survey asking people how they rate President Trump's job performance so far. The options: "Great," "Good," "Okay" and "Other."
Why weren't "terrific" and "bigly" options? | | USA Today on Monday published an exclusive story about how the Secret Service "can no longer pay hundreds of agents" because of President Donald Trump's frequent travel and large family.
Per the story: "Secret Service Director Randolph 'Tex' Alles, in an interview with USA TODAY, said more than 1,000 agents have already hit the federally mandated caps for salary and overtime allowances that were meant to last the entire year. "Alles said the service is grappling with an unprecedented number of White House protectees. Under Trump, 42 people have protection, a number that includes 18 members of his family. That's up from 31 during the Obama administration. "Overwork and constant travel have also been driving a recent exodus from the Secret Service ranks, yet without congressional intervention to provide additional funding, Alles will not even be able to pay agents for the work they have already done." | | Live from Wisconsin it's -- House Speaker Paul Ryan's Town Hall!
The town hall will be hosted by CNN and moderated by CNN's Jake Tapper. Watch it at 9:30 p.m. ET on CNN, CNN en Español and CNN International or stream it live on CNNGo and CNNGo apps. It will also be carried by CNN's SiriusXM Channel 116 and the Westwood One Radio Network.
Chris wrote today on how Ryan is trying to salvage the GOP brand in the age of Trump. | |  | | H/T Brenna (again!) | | | Hope everyone wore their safety glasses while staring at the eclipse. If you're done staring up at the sun, tell your friends and family to subscribe to The Point. | | We'd love to share our other newsletters with you. Follow this link for daily coverage of the world's top stories, savvy market insights, an insider's look into the media, and more. Our authors for The Point are Chris Cillizza and Saba Hamedy. Send your tips and thoughts via email to Chris or Saba. Follow on Twitter: Chris and Saba. | | | Get the Nightcap, a comprehensive summary of the most important political news, delivered to your inbox daily. | | | | | |
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