| | | | 4 lessons Melania Trump's 'Be Best' campaign can teach her husband | | On Monday, first lady Melania Trump unveiled her "Be Best" campaign, a comprehensive effort to encourage children to lead balanced and healthy lives. It was a platform 16 months in the making and marked a significant public stepping-out for the decidedly press-shy first lady.
"Let us teach our children the difference between right and wrong," Melania Trump encouraged a crowd of dignitaries that included her husband and Vice President Mike Pence, among others.
It was good that President Trump was in the audience, because, candidly, many of the themes Melania Trump outlines as part of her "Be Best" initiative are the sorts of things the commander in chief needs to brush up on.
Here are four lessons Trump can learn from his wife's new agenda (as illustrated by her quotes from today's speech):
1. "Let us teach children the importance of all aspects of their well-being, which includes social, emotional and physical health."
Donald Trump is notoriously anti-exercise. "Other than golf, he considers exercise misguided, arguing that a person, like a battery, is born with a finite amount of energy," the New Yorker's Evan Osnos wrote in a 2016 piece. In an interview with Reuters earlier this year, Trump bristled at the idea he doesn't exercise. "I get exercise. I mean I walk, I this, I that," he said, adding: "I run over to a building next door. I get more exercise than people think."
2. "Social media can be both positively and negatively effect (sic) on our children. But too often, it's used in negative ways."
"I heard poorly rated @Morning_Joe speaks badly of me (don't watch anymore). Then how come low I.Q. Crazy Mika, along with Psycho Joe, came to Mar-a-Lago 3 nights in a row around New Year's Eve, and insisted on joining me. She was bleeding badly from a face-lift. I said no!" -- Donald Trump, June 2017
3. "It is our responsibility as adults to educate and remind them that when they are using their voices, whether verbally or online, they must choose their words wisely and speak with respect and compassion."
"The many losers and haters never have the brains or stamina to become truly successful." -- Trump
"I have many great people but also an amazing number of haters and losers responding to my tweets-why do these lowlifes follow-nothing to do!" -- Trump
".@oreillyfactor, why don't you have some knowledgeable talking heads on your show for a change instead of the same old Trump haters. Boring!" -- Trump
4. "How we raise and educate our children on a variety of topics will provide the blueprint for the next generation."
"I think there is blame on both sides." -- Donald Trump on the white nationalist violence in Charlottesville, Virginia.
"When you're a star, they let you do it. You can do anything." -- Trump on the "Access Hollywood" tape.
"Go get 'em, Roy!" -- Donald Trump, endorsing Roy Moore's Alabama Senate campaign
The Point: Melania Trump should be commended for her work to combat online bullying, among other issues. But her husband's track record on civility and positivity runs directly counter to the "Be Best" message she unveiled on Monday.
-- Chris | | "It's as obvious as can be that the Upper Big Branch explosion was caused by the government."
-- Republican Senate candidate Don Blankenship (h/t Guardian reporter Ben Jacobs) | | | SPEAKING OF BLANKENSHIP... | | President Donald Trump is not on board with ex-con coal-baron-turned-West-Virginia-Senate-candidate Don Blankenship. "To the great people of West Virginia we have, together, a really great chance to keep making a big difference," Trump tweeted Monday morning. "Problem is, Don Blankenship, currently running for Senate, can't win the General Election in your State...No way! Remember Alabama. Vote Rep. Jenkins or A.G. Morrisey!"
As CNN's Terence Burlij points out in his analysis: "Thanks to a favorable map, Republicans have a chance to not only keep their Senate majority, but possibly expand it. Some in the party, however, fear that nominating Blankenship to run against Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin could cost the GOP a top pickup opportunity." CNN's Dan Merica and Maegan Vazquez reported that "Trump's tweet is a remarkable moment for Trump, given that Blankenship's campaign -- from its nativist tendencies to its use of conspiracy theories -- takes many cues from the President's 2016 playbook. Trump seized on Hillary Clinton's unpopularity in West Virginia in 2016 and won 68% of the state in November. Blankenship responded to Trump later Monday morning, saying the President "doesn't know me and he doesn't know how flawed my two main opponents are in this primary." Read more here.
The West Virginia primary is on Tuesday. | | DHS TO PROSECUTE ALL ILLEGAL BORDER CROSSINGS | | CNN's Tal Kopan reports: "The Trump administration has decided to refer every person caught crossing the border illegally for federal prosecution, a policy that could result in the separation of far more parents from their children at the border. The move would also mean that, even if immigrants caught at the border illegally have valid asylum claims, they could still end up with federal criminal convictions on their record regardless of whether a judge finds they have a right to live and stay in the US."
Read more here. | | | A lot of post offices were renamed in the House tonight. In Los Angeles -- Saba's home (!) -- one was renamed after Marvin Gaye. So here's "I Heard it Through the Grapevine." | | NEW NRA PRESIDENT ANNOUNCED | | Retired Marine Lt. Col. Oliver North will become president of the National Rifle Association of America, the NRA Board of Directors said in a statement. North, who will take on the role "within a few weeks," is retiring from Fox News effective immediately. Read more in CNN's full story here.
The announcement comes just after the annual convention of the National Rifle Association, held in Texas. President Trump addressed attendees on Friday. If you need a refresher about what he said, check out Chris' list of the 40 most breathtaking lines from the speech. | | ICYMI: IVANA AND STORMY MAKE TV CAMEOS | | You didn't need to watch cable news over the weekend to catch some familiar faces on air. Adult film star Stormy Daniels appeared alongside Alec Baldwin's President Donald Trump -- and a handful of other celebrities -- on "Saturday Night Live" over the weekend. The cameo comes amid ongoing headlines over her alleged affair with President Donald Trump. Daniels' lawyer, Michael Avenatti, filed a lawsuit on behalf of Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, in New York in April. The suit is separate from another lawsuit in which Daniels is suing Trump's personal attorney, Michael Cohen, over the legality of a 2016 agreement in which she was paid $130,000 to keep quiet about the alleged affair with Trump.
Also on TV this weekend? Trump's first wife, Ivana Trump, who competed on the Italian version of "Dancing with the Stars" with ex-husband Rossano Rubicondi. Actors Ryan Reynolds and Josh Brolin, who were promoting "Deadpool 2," also appeared as guests during that episode. | | Connecticut: The state's Legislature passed a bill that could eventually require its Electoral College votes to go to the candidate that wins the national popular vote. Connecticut joins 10 states and DC in the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact, which will go into effect only once it gathers states with at least a combined 270 electoral votes.
CNN's Eli Watkins has more here. | | From Brenna: "President Trump signed a proclamation declaring today 'Be Best' day, in honor of the first lady's newly unveiled platform. First, it's Monday. Being your best on a Monday is a lofty goal. Second, we should be our best every day. Third, I have mad respect for first ladies."
As always, thanks for reading. Please tell other people to read and 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. | | | | | | |
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