| | | | What Donald Trump did today, in 8 steps | | Every day of the Trump presidency feels like a week. Or a month.
You can debate whether Trump's throw-everything-at-the-wall-at-all-times approach is a strategy or just how he does things. What you can't debate is that it makes it very, very hard to keep track of all the things Trump says and does in a day.
So, here's an attempt to catalog all of what he did Wednesday.
1. In a series of early morning tweets, he suggested the Justice Department should investigate James Comey for starting a letter exonerating Hillary Clinton months before he made the announcement that no charges would be brought.
2. He attacked the NFL for not mandating that its players stand during the National Anthem.
3. He insisted that the account from Florida Democratic Rep. Frederica Wilson of a phone call he made to the widow of a soldier killed in Niger -- in which Trump allegedly said "he knew what he signed up for, but I guess it still hurt" -- was totally incorrect. "Democrat Congresswoman totally fabricated what I said to the wife of a soldier who died in action (and I have proof). Sad!," he tweeted.
4. He formally came out against the compromise health care deal struck by Sens. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) and Patty Murray (D-Wash.). That came less than 24 hours after Trump referred to it as "very good solution."
5. He reiterated he was right and Wilson was wrong about the call with widow Myeshia Johnson. "I didn't say what that congresswoman said," Trump told reporters during a White House meeting on tax reform. "Didn't say it at all. She knows it."
6. White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said that the "proof" Trump was talking about in regard to the call was that other people -- including chief of staff John Kelly -- were in the room when he made it. Sanders said no recording of the calls exists. "I didn't say what that congresswoman said," Trump insisted. "Didn't say it at all. She knows it."
7. He went back to the National Anthem and the NFL, tweeting, "Too much talk, not enough action. Stand for the National Anthem." 8. He sent the father of a servicemember killed in Afghanistan in June a $25,000 check after The Washington Post reported that Trump, this spring, had promised the grieving father the money, but not followed through. That. Was. One. Day.
-- Chris | | PUERTO RICO: ONE MONTH AFTER HURRICANE MARIA | | | CNN's John D. Sutter and McKenna Ewen were in Puerto Rico this week following up with residents one month after Hurricane Maria. About 1 million Americans don't have running water, and 3 million are without power. McKenna writes: The conditions were shocking. Most of the island is without power. 35% of homes without water. It feels as though the hurricane hit only days ago. The people I met were hopeful, but still in dire need of help. I never fully appreciated the value of having a tarp after a storm, but to see people living without a roof and watching water collect on the floors was difficult to see. The storm was a month ago, but please continue to think about the people recovering from Hurricane Maria. It will be a long road back.
Read more in CNN's story (featuring videos by McKenna) here. | | | "The ambassador from Russia is Russian" - Sen. Al Franken during Attorney General Jeff Sessions' hearing with the Senate Judiciary Committee | | | | New Beck! Listen on Spotify. | | It all started with a can of Dr Pepper.
Republican Sen. Ben Sasse, of Nebraska, on Wednesday opened his questioning during Attorney General Jeff Sessions' testimony by saying he accidentally spilled Dr Pepper on Sen. Ted Cruz. IJR reporter Haley Byrd wrote "hmm. Accidentally,' @BenSasse?" to which Sasse replied "no comment" on Twitter.
Thus began a hilarious and weird series of tweets between Sasse, Cruz and, of course, random people on the Internet.
In another response to a Twitter user, Sasse wrote: "Full disclosure: I was wearing my 'Lee Harvey Oswald Was Framed' t-shirt" a reference to the rumor linking Cruz's father to the JFK assassination. Cruz replied with a cryptic tweet (above top left).
Cruz also tweeted a photo of the fridge in his office's lobby. "MEMO TO OFFICE: Please place a picture of @BenSasse above the @drpepperfridge in our lobby. He is now cut off," he wrote.
Both Sasse and Cruz have been called out for their social media presences before, for very different reasons. Cruz came under fire after someone liked a pornographic video from his official Twitter account; Meanwhile, Sasse consistently mocks Trump. | | A new University of New Hampshire poll released Wednesday outlines some new 2020 numbers out of the Granite State.
CNN's Ryan Struyk writes:
Brace yourselves: The first 2020 numbers in New Hampshire are here. Sen. Bernie Sanders leads a crowded field with 31%, followed by former Vice President Joe Biden with 24%, Warren with 13% and Booker with 6%. But here's the chaser: 94% of Democratic voters are still making up their minds. The most meaningful number may be on the Republican side, however. Only 47% of Republican primary voters say they are going to back President Trump. Sure, it's true that only a quarter, 23%, say they are definitely backing someone else, and "someone else" always polls better than actual, real-life alternatives in polling. But former President Barack Obama had 64% support at this point in 2009, which means the door could be open for a serious primary challenge in 2020 on the GOP side. | | Sorry Oprah fans. The media mogul officially ruled out a potential 2020 presidential bid in an interview on "CBS This Morning."
"There will be no running for office of any kind for me," Winfrey said after host Gayle King teased about narrowing her shortlist of vice presidential candidates. | | Republican Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas and independent Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont will participate in a CNN town hall debate Wednesday night to discuss efforts to overhaul the tax code. CNN's Jake Tapper, anchor and chief Washington correspondent, and CNN's Dana Bash, chief political correspondent, will moderate the debate.
The debate will air on CNN, CNN en Español, CNN International and will be carried by CNN's SiriusXM Channel 116 and the Westwood One radio network. In addition to the TV airings, the debate will also stream live for subscribers via CNNgo (at CNN.com/go and via CNNgo apps for Apple TV, Roku, Amazon Fire, Samsung Smart TV and Android TV) and on the CNN mobile apps for iOS and Android. The debate will be available Thursday via on demand via cable/satellite systems, CNNgo platforms and CNN mobile apps.
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