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It's a major test for Trump -- particularly given that there appears to be such a marked difference between Teleprompter Trump who was on display Monday night in his Afghanistan speech and Campaign Trump. Previous attempts at restarting a new -- and more politic -- version of the Trump Administration have been dashed along the rocks of the President's desire to be applauded and loved by his base.

It's a reality that has caused the Republican party -- and, really, the entire political world -- to suffer from a permanent case of whiplash.

2. The Cleveland Browns

At a campaign rally in Kentucky (sound familiar?) in March, Trump attributed the fact that Kaepernick had not yet been signed by an NFL team to a fear of his wrath.

Given Trump's both-sides-do-it response to the violence caused by white supremacists and neo-Nazis in Charlottesville, a riff on the Browns -- or Kaepernick -- would be, um, inadvisable.

3. Louise Linton

Trump -- ever loyal to those who are loyal to him -- might be tempted to defend Linton. "She's a great lady -- and elegant too!," or something like that.

Bad idea. No one likes the guy defending the rich and entitled from the average Joe (or Jane).

4. John McCain and Jeff Flake

There's no question that a few ad hominem attacks against Flake and/or McCain would be well received by the assembled masses there to hear Trump speak tonight. But, he needs to understand that simply giving people what they want for a cheap applause high can badly undermine his efforts to unify his party behind things like tax reform, the budget and the debt ceiling. Attacking Flake and McCain in their home state would be Trump cutting off his nose to spite his face. Which, if past is prologue, he's uniquely capable of doing.

5. The eclipse photos

By not mentioning Eclipse-gate, Trump can keep it that way. But, it may be hard for him to resist using the episode as yet more evidence of the media's terrible and horrible biases against him.

"They said I looked into the sun without the glasses on!," you can imagine Trump saying. "And I didn't."

Spoiler alert: He did.

6. Steve Bannon

Trump cares deeply about his media coverage and watches Breitbart along with the Daily Caller and the Drudge Report very, very closely. And he won't be happy -- at all -- about his former aide taking pot shots at him.

But, there's zero to be gained by going after Bannon. Conservative media -- led by Breitbart -- have been an incredible ally for Trump, and will be again. Why alienate them over one day of bad headlines?

Plus, talking about staffing and process is the surest way to lose a crowd. "Did you see what a guy who used to work for me said?," is not exactly the world's greatest applause line.

7. The electoral map

As you may have heard, Trump won the electoral college when no one said he could. They said it was impossible to do. But he did it. And, yes, he won Arizona -- by 3.5 points -- in 2016.

As you may have also heard, the 2016 election was 287 days ago. Trump was inaugurated as the 45th president of the United States 214 days ago.

Spending any time at all about how he won a historic victory makes it look like Trump is still living off past glories. Which believe me -- a guy who once scored 30 points in a 6th grade basketball game -- is not a good look.

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7 things Donald Trump shouldn't talk about in Arizona tonight (but probably will) - CNN

Screen legend Robert De Niro is taking on PresidentDonald Trump once again, this time insulting the presidents intelligence and accusing him of bigotry.

If he was smart, hed be even more dangerous, the two-time Oscar winner told Deadline.Hes dangerous as it is.

He also suggested that Trumps days may be numbered.

Hes terrible, and a flat-out blatant racist and doubling down on that, and its good that he does because hes going to sink himself, De Niro said.

De Niro, who is nominated for an Emmy for his portrayal of fraudster Bernie Madoff in HBOs King of Lies, wants next months awards show to take on the president.

It should be a kind of theme in some way however, you know, balanced it could be so were not making it all about that, he said. But at this point, were at a crisis in this country with this fool, who never should have gotten into the position that hes in.

Since the upcoming Emmy Awards will be hosted by Stephen Colbert, who has risen to the top of the ratings with his nightly Trump jokes on the Late Show, theres a chance De Niros wish will come true.

De Niro has been one of Hollywoods harshest Trump critics, last year saying hed like to punch him in the face.

He has since said Trump has sullied the presidency, slammed proposed cuts to programs for the arts as bullshit and called America under Trump a tragic dumbass comedy.

The rest is here:
Robert De Niro Unloads On Donald Trump In Biting New Interview - HuffPost

President Donald Trump on Tuesday said he would be willing to shut down the government in order to get the funding needed for his proposed border wall.

"If we have to close down our government, we're building that wall," Trump said at a rally in Arizona.

If Congress does not reach a funding deal that the president signs into law by a Sept. 30 deadline, the government will shut down. Congressional Democrats have explicitly said they will not support a deal that includes money for the wall.

Trump could, in theory, veto or choose not to sign a spending measure that Congress passes without funding for the barrier, causing a shutdown.

As a candidate, the president pledged to build a physical barrier along the entire U.S.-Mexico border as part of his push to crack down on illegal immigration. He pledged that Mexico would fund the project, but America's southern neighbor quickly quashed that idea.

The White House has sought federal funding for the wall, which is spending Democrats have pledged not to back in a bill. The majority Republicans will need the minority party's votes to keep the government open.

Lawmakers whose districts sit along the border, including Republicans, have questioned the effectiveness of a physical wall.

See the original post here:
Trump: I'm building the wall even 'if we have to close down our government' - CNBC

Mondays cable news cycle included two huge ratings events: a rare cross-country total eclipse of the sun, and an equally historic Donald Trump total walk-back on his position about American involvement in Afghanistan.

Given President Donald Trumps obsession with TV ratings and winning, were happy to report Trump obliterated the sun. No competition.

On the cable news networks, the sun scored its biggest crowd on Fox News Channel, whose wildly enthusiastic Shep Smith snagged a much deserved 2.1 million viewers from 1-3 PM. CNN followed with 1.7 million viewers, and MSNBC logged another 1.2 million. In total, the sun tallied 5.1 million U.S. viewers by TV. Happily for Trump, the millions more people who went out of doors to see the eclipse for themselves, hopefully all wearing protective glasses, do not count toward the suns tally.

On those same cable news networks later that day, 10.3 million viewers saw Trumps stunning 180 spin on Afghanistan.

Our troops will fight to win, Trump vowed. From now on, victory will have a clear definition: attacking our enemies, obliterating ISIS, crushing al-Qaeda, preventing the Taliban from taking over the country and stopping mass terror attacks against Americans before they emerge.

This seismic shift rocked longtime Trump supporters. Since Donald Trumps early years as a reality TV star, he steadfastly opposed American involvement in Afghanistan when the Celebrity Apprentice star got asked about the matter, for reasons we cannot explain. Trump clung to that popular position as a candidate for the White House. In his speech Monday night, Trump explained that position had been his instinct and he likes to go with his instinct, but on this he ignored his instinct because he had been told the view looks different from the Oval Office.

Continue reading here:
Donald Trump's Afghanistan About-Face Eclipses Cable News' Solar Blackout Crowd Of 5.1 Million TV Viewers - Deadline

(PHOENIX) A day of noisy but largely peaceful protests of President Donald Trump's speech in Phoenix turned unruly as police fired pepper spray at crowds after someone apparently lobbed rocks and bottles at officers.

A cloudy haze enveloped the night sky Tuesday outside the convention center where Trump had just wrapped up his speech as protesters and police clashed. People fled the scene coughing as the disturbance unfolded.

"People in the crowd have begun throwing rocks and bottles at police. They also dispersed some gas in the area," Phoenix police spokesman Jonathan Howard said, adding that officers responded with pepper spray to "disperse the crowd."

Minor scuffles and shouting matches erupted earlier between protesters and Trump's supporters on Tuesday with authorities on high alert as thousands of people lined up in the triple-digit heat to attend his first political rally since the violence in Charlottesville, Virginia.

Phoenix police kept most members of the two opposing groups behind barricades and apart on separate sides of the street. As a police helicopter hovered overhead, officers wearing riot gear and carrying rifles sauntered through the lane between the sides.

Local authorities were vigilant in the aftermath of the deadly protests in Virginia and the president's comments last week about both sides having blame for violence at the white supremacist rally. Mayor Greg Stanton had unsuccessfully called on the president to not hold the rally here so soon after the trouble in Charlottesville.

"Toxic Trump," read one protest sign held up to the president's supporters streaming into the Phoenix Convention Center downtown. "Lock Him Up!" read another, a reference to earlier campaign chants by Trump and his backers about his election rival Hillary Clinton.

Dillon Scott of Phoenix, who voted for Clinton, said he came out to express dissatisfaction with how long Trump took to denounce racism after the Charlottesville violence.

"No one should be allowed to get away with what he gets away with, especially in political office," Scott said.

Meanwhile, a group of protesters chanted, "Wrong side of history! Wrong side of history!"

Trump backer Randy Hutson, a retired Phoenix police officer, began standing in line more than seven hours before the speech was to start. "He is the first president I feel in my lifetime that speaks his mind and speaks from the heart," Hutson said. "He says what needs to be said."

A number of opposition signs showed drawings or photos of Trump with a small, Hitler-style mustache. Three Trump supporters taunted Latino protesters with offensive comments about immigrants and held anti-Muslim and Black Lives Matter signs.

As the line to get in the venue moved ahead, the two groups shouted at each other and some skirmishes broke out. At one point, a Trump supporter and protester shoved each other.

John Brown, of an anti-Trump group calling itself the Redneck Revolt, wore military fatigues and had an AK-47 rifle strapped to his chest as he and a half dozen others from the group stood about 30 feet behind the barricade for protesters. He said they were there to protect Trump opponents and stand up to fascism. "He's offensive to me in every way," Brown said.

The outdoor temperature remained over 100 degrees as the rally began.

Capt. Rob McDade, spokesman for Phoenix Fire Department, says that as of 6 p.m. they had treated 48 people for heat-related problems, most of them for dehydration. He said that of those, two were adult women were taken to a hospital for further evaluation.

State Democratic leaders urged people who wanted to show their opposition to the president's policies to gather at a city-designated free speech zone near the site of the rally.

The message to protesters echoed those coming from law enforcement and Stanton. Stanton said he expects protesters to be "civil, respectful and peaceful." Police Chief Jeri Williams says First Amendment rights will be supported but criminal conduct will be swiftly addressed.

But some of Trump's supporters were so keen to see the president that they began queuing up before dawn for the 7 p.m. rally.

"It's been on a bucket list of mine, since he became the president," said Kingman resident Diane Treon, who arrived at 4 a.m. "I wished I had attended one of his campaign rallies before he became president and I wanted to go to the inauguration. And truthfully it was the protests that kept me away."

Treon said she wishes protesters "would be a little more peaceful instead of violently rioting, which is happening in so many places" but isn't overly worried.

Read more from the original source:
Police Fire Pepper Spray as Protests at Trump's Rally in Phoenix Turn Unruly - TIME