| | | | Donald Trump hops across the pond | | President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump departed the White House for a week in Europe early Tuesday morning. The trip includes stops in Belgium, the United Kingdom, Scotland and Finland. Here are five things to watch for as the two hop across the pond.
1. NATO. Trump is first headed to Brussels for the NATO summit, which is known as one of the most important meetings of Western leaders. Last time Trump met with world leaders, it didn't go so well: He feuded with allied leaders at the G7 summit in Canada, and complained that NATO was worse than the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). This trip, he is expected to call on NATO leaders to live up to the alliance's target of 2% of their gross domestic product for defense spending. Last week, The New York Times reported that Trump sent letters to the leaders of NATO allies, including Germany, Belgium, Norway and Canada, demanding increased defense spending.
2. A royal welcome, coupled with protests. In London, Trump will hold talks with Prime Minister Theresa May and meet with Queen Elizabeth II. He and the first lady will attend a Blenheim Palace dinner hosted by May on Thursday evening. But not everyone in the UK is pleased with the American President's arrival. Remember that Trump has attacked the UK many times (on Twitter, usually). In February, he criticized the UK's National Health Service, claiming it is "going broke and not working." The remark was met with swift condemnation from Britain's then-Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt.
In January, Trump said he would apologize for retweeting a series of posts by a UK far-right group, saying he didn't know who they were at the time. London Mayor Sadiq Khan has also been outspoken about his opposition to Trump. Khan recently approved a proposal to fly a giant "Trump Baby" balloon over London during the President's visit.
According to CNN's recent report, "the request for the balloon to fly was approved by Khan after over 10,000 people signed a petition and a thousand people contributed £16,000 (approximately $21,152.83 USD) to a crowdfunding campaign. The balloon will fly for two hours on the morning of Friday, July 13, at the same time as the 'Stop Trump' march in central London."
3. Melania back on the world stage. CNN's Betsy Klein and Kate Bennett -- who are on the FLOTUS beat -- reported Tuesday that the first lady's "presence is sure to make headlines of its own." Melania Trump, who is Slovenian born, "has served as an asset during previous trips abroad, earning generally high praise from foreign media." Her schedule "will be composed of a combination of appearances alongside her husband and solo outings." Her spokeswoman Stephanie Grisham told Kate and Betsy that that will "include spousal programs set by the host country and 'events focused on both public service and children.'"
4. POTUS & Putin's one-on-one meeting. This is last on the agenda but probably the most significant planned meeting. It's hard to tell whether Trump views Russian President Vladimir Putin as friend or foe. The President told reporters Tuesday he thinks the Putin meeting "may be the easiest" of all his meetings planned in Europe. He also described Putin as a "competitor," but said "I think that getting along with Russia, getting along with China is a good thing, getting along with others is a good thing. It's not a bad thing, I've said that many times." The meeting also comes as special counsel Robert Mueller and congressional committees continue investigating Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election and whether anyone from Trump's campaign was involved.
5. There will be lots of handshakes. Because of course.
The Point: CNN's Stephen Collinson said it best: "All the world's a stage for Trump." And what happens overseas will not stay overseas.
-- Saba | | "Bigotry has no place in society -- let alone the US House of Representatives. The NRCC withdraws our support of Seth Grossman and calls on him to reconsider his candidacy."
-- National Republican Congressional Committee Chairman Steve Stivers in a statement. The move by the NRCC follows weeks of negative headlines highlighting Grossman's history of inflammatory comments. CNN has updated its House Key Race Alert to indicate that New Jersey's 2nd Congressional District will likely swing to Democrats. | | | SOME FAMILIES TO REUNITE TUESDAY | | CNN's Tal Kopan reports: "A few dozen immigrant families are expected to be reunited by a court deadline Tuesday, as the fates of thousands more remain in limbo.
"Four children of 102 identified for the deadline have already been reunified with their parents, and another 34 were expected to be reunited on Tuesday, according to a court filing Tuesday. The deadline comes amid heightened stakes. A separate federal judge late Monday flatly rejected the administration's attempt to rewrite the rules for detaining families in order to hold them indefinitely, calling the request 'cynical' and 'wholly without merit.'"
In case you were wondering, CNN's Catherine E. Shoichet wrote about why it's taking so long for the government to reunite the families it separated. | | | Today's topic, tackled by Brenna Williams: Trump's country hopping. | | CNN's Marshall Cohen and Katelyn Polantz report: "Former national security adviser Michael Flynn, the only former Trump administration official so far charged in the Russia investigation, appeared in court Tuesday for a procedural hearing about his sentencing -- his first court appearance since he admitted that he lied to investigators seven months ago."
"The federal judge who will sentence Flynn put no pressure on special counsel Robert Mueller's team to wrap their investigation at a court hearing Tuesday morning, keeping Flynn in purgatory as he awaits his sentencing. Judge Emmet Sullivan said he simply wanted to meet Flynn, his attorneys and prosecutors for the first time at the hearing the judge had called." Read more in CNN's story here.
News also broke Tuesday that Flynn is taking a job with a new consulting firm called Stonington Global LLC. In a statement from Flynn provided to CNN by Stonington Global, he said, "I am excited to begin this new phase of my career as Stonington's Director of Global Strategy." | | Many Democratic lawmakers have not shied away from voicing their concerns over President Trump's Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh.
CNN's Eric Bradner reports: "Two 2020 Democratic presidential prospects, California Sen. Kamala Harris and New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker, are on the Senate Judiciary Committee -- which means they are positioned to play important roles and have stand-out moments during the Kavanaugh confirmation proceedings.
"So far, Harris is making the case that Kavanaugh would undercut women's reproductive rights, while Booker is focusing on the potential conflict of interest of Trump appointing a justice while under investigation.
"President Trump is currently a subject of an ongoing criminal investigation, and any nomination of a Supreme Court justice while that investigation continues is unacceptable because of the clear conflict of interest," Booker said in a statement last night."
Meanwhile ... Kavanaugh and Vice President Mike Pence went to Capitol Hill on Tuesday, where they met with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. The meeting came at almost the same time that Senate Democrats held a rally against Kavanaugh in front of the Supreme Court, an event led by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and the Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee. Read more from CNN's Hill team here. | | Last year, President Donald Trump started calling Kim "Little Rocket Man" or simply "Rocket Man" as an insult. Now he's changed his tune, often praising the North Korean dictator and touting their chemistry. So it should come as no surprise that Trump is planning on giving Kim a gift when they meet next. CNN's Caroline Kenny reports:
"The President of the United States confirmed on Tuesday morning that he plans to give a copy of the Elton John hit song 'Rocket Man' to the dictator of North Korea, who he met with during a summit in Singapore last month to discuss denuclearization.
"They didn't give it, I have it for him, they didn't give it, but it will be given at a certain time," Trump said when asked about the CD during a gaggle outside the White House Tuesday morning before departing for the NATO summit. "I actually do have a little gift for him, but you'll find out what that gift is when I give it." Read more here.
In other Tuesday POTUS news: Trump pardoned two men -- Dwight Hammond Jr. and his son, Steven Hammond -- who were involved in a dispute with federal authorities over federal land usage that sparked the takeover of a wildlife refuge in Oregon. In case you forgot, here's who Trump has pardoned already: Joe Arpaio, Kristian Saucier, Scooter Libby, Jack Johnson and Dinesh D'Souza. | | | From Brenna: "Y'all, it's summer. Wear sunscreen, hydrate and maybe be like Sen. Pat Leahy and wear a hat when you're outside to protect your face. But also be like Sen. Leahy and take that hat off before delivering public remarks. Last thing to remember: Tell your friends 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.
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