March 27, 2019

"An exuberant President Trump is considering attending the White House Correspondents' Association dinner, which he boycotted the last two years."

Axios reports.
Yesterday's post-Mueller trip to Capitol Hill was being called a "victory lap" — and this could be his next stop.... Historian Ron Chernow is the featured speaker. The association isn't having an entertainer this year.
Well, if they have Trump, they will have an entertainer.
It goes without saying: It could be awkward for both sides.
Ha ha.

I hadn't noticed that Trump went to Capitol Hill yesterday. Here's the AP article about that:
Trump strode into a high-spirited gathering of Senate Republicans on Tuesday, flanked by party leaders, saying the attorney general’s weekend summary of Mueller’s report “could not have been better.” GOP senators applauded his arrival, and he celebrated what he called his “clean bill of health.”...

Trump’s hour-long talk to Senate Republicans touched on trade, foreign policy and a vote later in the day on Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s Green New Deal, which the Senate declined to take up. Trump said the climate-change proposal would be a good campaign issue to fight over with Democrats.
"declined to take up" = voted 57 to 0 against. There was a vote, so they "took up" the idea in the sense that they had a vote. AP is ambiguous in a way that feels pro-Democrat to me.

68 comments:

zipity said...


No. Just no. Do not do it.

Let it die the death it so richly deserves.

tim maguire said...

They'll get the best ratings they've had in a decade.

Levi Starks said...

The ultimate gloat.

Birkel said...

The question is whether the press will attend.
Trump's speech will be described as "withering".

tim maguire said...

It goes without saying: It could be awkward for both sides.

Doubt it.

Rob said...

Normally propriety would prevent a president from opening his fly and suggesting the correspondents all blow him, but this is Trump, so hope springs eternal.

rcocean said...

He should only come if they serve Crow and the main entree.

Left Bank of the Charles said...

That dinner was the scene of Trump's abject humiliation in 2011, so a triumphal return would be Trump's style. But it would also draw attention to the birth certificate hoax he touted not being all that different from what the media did to him.

Bob Boyd said...

Trump should invite Putin to sit with him this year.

TreeJoe said...

If true, this is mis-step by Trump. His enemy - the press - is weak right now. Showing up at their event - which is in their control - will only strengthen them.

I don't think Trump is foolish enough to view his attendance there as an olive branch.

P.s. Ann, comments are over-moderated now. Please return somewhat to the old format.

Trumpit said...

Trump will NOT go because he knows that he will be the butt of nearly every joke. His exuberance won't last long. Rest assured. His next disaster is right around the corner.

TreeJoe said...

Ann, didn't see the AOC comment until I re-loaded.

I've seen many articles in the press talk about it's failure in the Senate. Not a single one headlined or mentioned in the initial paragraphs that not a single senator voted yes for the GND. Not a single senator.

Amazing rebuke of AOC.

rehajm said...

It goes without saying: It could be awkward for both sides

Yes, awkward for both the left and the far left...

Maybe they can get Seth Myers to sit and pout while Trump gloats.

Drago said...

Left Bank: "But it would also draw attention to the birth certificate hoax he touted not being all that different from what the media did to him."

I've seen this incredibly moronic attempt at equivalence by leftists everywhere because, lets face it, they have nothing left.

Get back to us when the govt is weaponized to create a fake bogus birth certificate and then injects that into a political campaign and is used as an insurance policy to undermine a sitting President by the Federal Govt agencies and used as the basis to spy on domestic political opponents.

Other than that Left Bank's "analysis" is spot on and appropriate.

LOL

Ralph L said...

"Declined to take up" could be accurate in the Senate's bizarre procedural rules, but it also sounds like a euphemism. All but 3 Dems declined to vote yea or nay.

exiledonmainstreet, green-eyed devil said...

When I read the headline, I immediately thought of Carrie at the prom.

Bay Area Guy said...

It goes without saying: It could be awkward for both sides.

Umm, No. It will be fucking hysterical for Trump's side as he drops the hammer on these Beta Male weenies and prom widows.

Drago said...

Trumpit: "Trump will NOT go because he knows that he will be the butt of nearly every joke. His exuberance won't last long. Rest assured. His next disaster is right around the corner."

Shorter: Running dog capitalists will soon suffer defeat of the ages and communist People's Heroes will stand victorious across the globe!!!

Charlie Currie said...

Blogger Left Bank of the Charles said...
"That dinner was the scene of Trump's abject humiliation in 2011, so a triumphal return would be Trump's style. But it would also draw attention to the birth certificate hoax he touted not being all that different from what the media did to him."

And, what were the origins of that birth certificate hoax? Oh yeah, the Clinton campaign. Funny, that.

narciso said...

yes it's fake news, not as much as the Puerto rico bit, but close enough, meanwhile pence's trip to Huntsville only got attention in one paper,

Charlie Currie said...

"Declined to take up"

Giving the AP the benefit of the doubt, I believe it was the House that declined to take it up.

cyrus83 said...

Let's not kid ourselves here, the AP is trying to make it sound like those planet-killing Republicans are refusing to consider the Green New Deal when in fact they allowed a vote on it and not one Democrat had the conviction to vote for it.

I have no illusions it would have passed like Obamacare if this was like 2009 and Democrats had the majority in Congress and a Democrat president, but Democrats won't tip the public off about that until the public makes the mistake of voting for a Democrat Congress and president again.

If I were the press, I would be scared to invite Trump this year because they would have to know he would use the opportunity to torch them on their lies of the past 2 years.

Michael K said...

Sarah Hoyt is not fond of Occasional Cortex.

I'll first confess why this nonsense irritated me: When she says things like "No, you can’t say 'Cortez.' I’ve never used that in my life. 'Cortez' is referring to someone else. Even if they‘re trying to be rude + wrong, my dad’s last name was Ocasio anyway. (His name was hyphenated too, though.)" She's assuming that we give a good g*dd*mn what her dad's name was.

The reason.

She is a bartender who is suddenly famous. I can see how that would go rot a not very intelligent girl's head,

Jim Gust said...

Evidently the AP will never change. Expected from MSNBC and CNN, but I had hoped the AP might become a bit more neutral.

tim in vermont said...

Democrats are a lot like the Emperor in Star Wars, they love to stoke the hatred. “Feel the hate Howard.... Let it flow through you. Inga my child, feel its force. But remember my children, you must always deny that what you feel is “hatred.” Only they feel hatred, and that’s why you hate them so."

readering said...

It was a vote for cloture. It was a vote to take a vote that failed.

tim in vermont said...

If that is anything like all of the other reporting we have gotten from inside the WH, especially from Axios, it’s another steaming turd loaf.

readering said...

You could say that the Republicans voted for GND the way you could say folks vote for cloture on an issue they want to see passed.

Yancey Ward said...

The Senate Democrats are Sir Robin- they bravely voted "Present".

Carol said...

The AP used to seem so unbiased that it was kinda boring. Now they're like all the others.

These hacks all think they're heroes.

Francisco D said...

I don't think Trump is foolish enough to view his attendance there as an olive branch.

Trump is a street fighter. His attendance is meant to further provoke the DNC/MSM complex into absolute hysteria while he plays rope-a-dope.

Surprisingly, Trump may come across as gracious and civil compared to the deranged mob. That's a campaign ad right there.

readering said...

The awkward part of the dinner will be the contrast between Chernow talking about Morgan, Rockefeller, Hamilton, Washington and Grant, and Trump talking about himself.

stlcdr said...

The AP has become decidedly left wing (or, at least) anti-right, and has been for some time, now.

Any group that has a formalized 'fact check' department is not peddling in news, but propaganda. This leaves room for them to become an editorial, just like the rest of the mainstream news (sic) media.

Chuck said...

Well, Althouse I see that some other of your readers have beat me to it; the reason that the AP reported that "the Senate declined to take up the Green New Deal" is because that was the exact right phrasing of what they did. The vote was a cloture vote, on a Senate Joint Resolution. There was and is no "Green New Deal" bill, anywhere. They aren't voting on legislation.

If you were being more careful in your criticism, you might well have criticized the AP's choice to make the proposed resolution "Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's..." Because in fact she's not in the Senate, and the Senate sponsor is Sen. Ed Markey. So personally, I would observe that this is one of countless instances in the media where Rep. Ocasio-Cortez is getting credit/coverage/attention beyond what she deserves. But the media is fascinated by shiny objects like Rep. Ocasio-Cortez. As with Candidate/President Donald Trump.

The one line that I liked most from the AP story is one that you did not quote. It was Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) who said to the AP, “The president is saying he’s been completely and totally exonerated by the report... [but] The one sentence we’ve seen from the report says this is not an exoneration of the president.”

I just want to see the complete Mueller report. Trump has said that he would like it to be public. AP had already reported the Trump quote, "Let it come out, let people see it" in relation to the report. The percentage of the public that wants to see the Mueller report is hovering around 84%, with 75% of Republicans wanting to see it. I hope that I alone am not accounting for 72% of that 75%.


Birkel said...

It was a procedural vote so "declined to take up" is accurate if not fully informative.

The Green Nude Eel is an embarrassment for Democratics.
They believed their own press clippings after 2018 and thought they were ascendant.
That assessment was, shall we say, premature?

If Trump attends, he will have a plan and it will likely be glorious.
Or he might be waiting for the press to get excited about his attendance only to say "never mind" to embarrass them further.
Expectations will be managed.

Gunner said...

Trump voluntarily participated in a Comedy Central Roast by moronic liberal "comedians" who didn't even know him. I don't think he is as thin-skinned as liberal parrots like Trumpit believe.

rehajm said...

The Senate voted on it enough to make campaign commercials. 'Present' won't save you. If you support it, why didn't you support it?

Quaestor said...

"declined to take up" = voted 57 to 0 against. There was a vote, so they "took up" the idea in the sense that they had a vote. AP is ambiguous in a way that feels pro-Democrat to me.

Lovely understatement, Althouse. We (I mean all Americans) need desperately to cultivate that subtle art. We (at least half of us) have become quite jejune and tedious since November 2016.

Just imagine a Japanese Kaiju movie in which the romantic lead, on seeing Godzilla raze Tokyo to the ground with its breath, turns to his lady love and says "Now there's something you don't see every day." That's the level of understatement Althouse has used here.

Jim at said...

Let it die the death it so richly deserves.

Agreed. Spike the football in other ways.
Over and over.

Anonymous said...

Trump at the white house correspondents dinner:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Dy1C95p00E

theribbonguy said...

"AP is ambiguous in a way that feels pro-Democrat to me."

No shit...it has ever been thus. Usually they leave out the ambiguity though.

eLocke said...

Is "declined to take up" even accurate on procedural grounds? The senate opened up debate on the bill, it was just the vote to close debate that failed.

Drago said...

readering:"The awkward part of the dinner will be the contrast between Chernow talking about Morgan, Rockefeller, Hamilton, Washington and Grant, and Trump talking about himself."

Nowhere near as awkward as when Bill Clinton attended, to universal praise from the left and LLR's and then, near the end of the dinner, everyone broke out their cigars!

Awkward!!

Like, not understanding basic WW2 history can be awkward, right?

Drago said...

Self-admitted Smear Merchant: "If you were being more careful in your criticism,...."

LOL

That's rich!!

Howard said...

Sign Barracks Hootenanny Obama as the headliner. Comedy gold

Drago said...

LLR Chuck: "I just want to see the complete Mueller report."

Gee, that "complete" is awfully vague, isn't it?

Why, one might suspect that you are purposely advancing the lefty/dem talking point which is designed to create a scenario for declaring "Cover up!!" when the law pertaining to classified sources and methods and grand jury testimony results in the required exclusion of that information.

And I do believe you have declared yourself a lawyer, and big fan of the "law", yet here you are advancing an obvious lefty talking point designed to create a specific political outcome.

Gee, who would have guessed a LLR would "fall" for such an obvious democrat ploy?

It's inexplicable I tell ya!!

So very unexpected!!!

Kevin said...

GOP senators applauded his arrival,

I heard it was a standing ovation.

Why wouldn't the AP make that distinction? Because it signals the end of impeachment.

The whole takedown could only work if the Republicans in Congress went along with it.

Nadler's 81 letters were in addition to the Mueller Report, not instead of it.

Drago said...

Here's a walk down Memory Lane Trump might ponder recapping for our professional coup-enabling media class:

https://theintercept.com/2019/01/20/beyond-buzzfeed-the-10-worst-most-embarrassing-u-s-media-failures-on-the-trumprussia-story/

Don't read it Chuck. It's essentially a compendium of your team's failures, and haven't you had enough of those in the last week?

Ralph L said...

Trump ought to make them go through all the security mess and then not show up or just make a token appearance.

Drago said...

Howard: "Sign Barracks Hootenanny Obama as the headliner. Comedy gold"

The name alone is pretty amusing....but something tells me if we research the origin of "hootenanny" we will find some problematic "wokeness" issues that will require you to undergo immediate and sustained "re-education".

And in that case, being a white dude is NOT going to help your predicament.

Stephen_Robbins said...

"declined to take up" = voted 57 to 0 against. There was a vote, so they "took up" the idea in the sense that they had a vote. AP is ambiguous in a way that feels pro-Democrat to me.

You think?

Stephen_Robbins said...

"declined to take up" = voted 57 to 0 against. There was a vote, so they "took up" the idea in the sense that they had a vote. AP is ambiguous in a way that feels pro-Democrat to me.

You think?

Inga...Allie Oop said...

"The awkward part of the dinner will be the contrast between Chernow talking about Morgan, Rockefeller, Hamilton, Washington and Grant, and Trump talking about himself."

He will impress the crowd for sure.

JAORE said...

"AP is ambiguous in a way that feels pro-Democrat to me."

That's as far right as they can stomach.

Achilles said...

I just want to see the complete Mueller report.

No you don't.

You know it would be flagrantly illegal to release it and make it public.

You know the reason it can't be released is because the investigation gathered personal information of hundreds if not thousands of innocent people who have clear constitutional rights against that sort of information being made public.

At least you do if you really are a lawyer. Most of the leftists who blabber about making it public are just idiots.

If you are a lawyer you have no excuse. That just makes it a completely and blatantly dishonest request that has obvious ulterior motives to help your political allies.

LLR's are just dishonest people acting in constantly dishonest ways.

Bay Area Guy said...

No Collusion
No Obstruction
No Impeachment
No Democrat in the White House in 2020

At some point these leftwing clowns have to start to recognize that their own distorted world view and inability to even listen to opposing and/or dissenting points of view are counterproductive.

Until then, the deplorables will chant:

No Collusion
No Obstruction
No Impeachment
No Democrat in the White House in 2020

exiledonmainstreet, green-eyed devil said...

Here's an even better hit parade, Drago. Everyone from Acosta to the Krazy Krassenstein brothers:

https://pjmedia.com/trending/50-journalists-politicians-celebrities-and-grifters-who-peddled-the-russia-collusion-hoax/

The LLRs Chuck loves are listed at the bottom of this very comprehensive list as befits their special brand of moral turpitude. Dante would certainly place them in the circle of hell reserved for traitors. As the author says:

"This despicable group of losers jumped on the Trump/Russia bandwagon as part of their ongoing efforts to damage Trump. Members of this erstwhile "conservative" group regularly appear on left-wing news broadcasts to lend their voices to the cacophony of negative news coverage of the president. Whether the reports are true or not, doesn't seem to matter as long as it hurts Trump."

SomeoneHasToSayIt said...

Trump could bring Garth Brooks to sing about the Jussie Smollett outrage:

Blame it all on my roots
Yes we're all in cahoots
It's a genuine black lies affair.
You won't get me to cop it
Cuz I know that they'll drop it
Prison???
You won't see me there.
And I saw the surprise
Disbelief in your eyes
As I took a big sip of champagne
And I toasted the cops
As those charges were dropped
Now you'll never hear me complain
'Cause I've got friends in high places
And the mayor frowns
As the DA chases my crimes away
Now I'll be okay
And I say to all you white faces
Can't take me down cuz you're ALL racists
And I've got friends in high places.

Or something like that

narciso said...

yes and when greenwald was tearing us govt personnel sources and methods, he was celebrated by all the major outlets from the guardian to Spiegel to the Washington post,

Francisco D said...

How was this comment deemed acceptable under the new moderation guidelines?

Meade and Althouse: I think Chuck wants to take over your jobs as moderators.

You two are doing a good job. It must be a lot of work.

Gk1 said...

Overheard at work today "I'm afraid none of that Deutsche's bank stuff is going to matter anyway. No one will believe the press now." Wow, when you begin to lose liberals in the heart of the San Francisco financial district, you know they are in trouble. I think Trump is used to playing bigger houses and won't bother with the scabby dateless wonders of Nerdcon. Trump just likes teasing them like the big brother that is supposed to pick you up in front of the theater but keeps pulling away just as you try to open the passenger door.

Qwinn said...

Chuck, if you think there's no collusion, then your call for the entire Mueller report to be released, knowing how many innocent people would be endangered and that it would violate the law meant to protect those people, has no valid justification. None. It is rancid political opportunism. It is vile. Lower than even I thought you capable of.

narciso said...

Deutsche bank was muellers law firms main client like he defended banamex, like Comey vouched for hsbc

Drago said...

Trump should counter-program with a rally in a swing state...but not too close to MI to minimize the risk of some lefty/LLR nutjob shooting up the place.

narciso said...


One of the outfits Mueller vouched for:


https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-banamex-settlement-20170522-story.html%3foutputType=amp

whitney said...

I read this somewhere and I think it's pretty good. He's not a Teflon president he's a Tar-Baby president. Just keep throwing more Briar's at him. He thrives on them

Fen said...

Trumpit: "His next disaster is right around the corner."

FIFY

Sorry but you walked right into that one. At what point do you realize you were played?

Nichevo said...


Drago said...
Trump should counter-program with a rally in a swing state...but not too close to MI to minimize the risk of some lefty/LLR nutjob shooting up the place.

3/27/19, 7:16 PM


Drago, did you know when you posted this that the rally would actually be in Grand Rapids, Michigan? We should all watch the news very carefully to see if any local election lawyers had to be dragged out by their hair.