| | | | | Christine Blasey Ford is sworn in before testifying Thursday before the Senate Judiciary Committee about her sexual assault allegations against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh. Credit: Win McNamee/Getty Images | | | The World Is Watching: Christine Blasey Ford testifies
"I Am Here Today Not Because I Want To Be. I Am Terrified": Ford's emotional opening statement
Supreme Court Appointments "Very Important" to Midterm Voters: Poll of the day | | | What the White House Is Talking About:
President Donald Trump heads back to Washington today, wrapping up his four-day trip to New York for the UN General Assembly.
President Says He, Too, Will Watch Hearing:
In addition to his public schedule, Trump confirmed Wednesday that he will be watching today's Brett Kavanaugh-Christine Blasey Ford hearing on Capitol Hill. "I'm going to see what happens tomorrow. I'm going to be watching, believe it or not," Trump said. "I'm going to see what's said. It's possible they will be convincing." He later added: "I want to watch. I want to see. I hope I can watch."
What the White House Press Corps Is Talking About:
The Kavanaugh-Ford hearing.
Today Is a Big Day:
Not just here in Washington but around the country -- I would imagine people are paying attention to the hearing. You can watch all the live updates here, and CNN also is livestreaming so it's easy to follow if you want to tune in. Also, here are Kavanaugh's prepared remarks, and here are Ford's. And since Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee felt the optics of older white men interviewing a woman about sexual allegations would be bad, here's a primer on the career prosecutor they have tasked with asking Ford questions in their place.
No matter what happens today, at the end of it, we will likely have a determination about whether Kavanaugh will sit on the highest court in the land, or face a different future than the one he anticipated. The latter, of course, also applies to Ford.
The World Is Watching:
My colleague Hadas Gold, who is based at CNN's London bureau, tweeted this pic of European news outlets showing the hearing as things got underway: | | Credit: @Hadas_Gold/Twitter
Trump's Press Conference Was a Wild and Fascinating Ride:
I don't know about you, but for sheer entertainment value, I know of no other president whom I would want to watch do an 80-minute press conference. Sorry, but it's true. Trump was clearly in his most comfortable place Wednesday, rolling out answers that ranged from humorous to severe, to downright bizarre. I highly suggest scrolling through this link for the highlights, because there were so many! The revelation that he denied a meeting with Canada's Justin Trudeau because, well, he just wasn't liking what the Prime Minister has been saying, was very interesting. Ditto his feelings about trade and China. Oh, and also the bit about how we could have been at war with North Korea. But his insights into how he feels about accusations from women against men, including those leveled through the years at himself, were perhaps the most telling. Here's a snippet: | | Credit: cnnpolitics.com
Oh, And What Will Happen to Deputy Attorney General?
Trump planned to meet today with Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who may or may not get fired over allegedly discussing wearing a wire to record the President in meetings, according to reporting by The New York Times. Rosenstein was supposed to show up at the White House at some point today to meet one-on-one with Trump about his future. At his press conference Wednesday, the President indicated he wouldn't mind if Rosenstein stayed on in the job.
Our Daily Melania:
Ahead of her trip to Africa on Monday, here's a deeper dive from me on what first lady Melania Trump intends to do, and why she chose Africa -- a continent that has been a frequent place of remarkable impact for former first ladies who have visited.
Dress Like the First Daughter:
Wednesday at the UN General Assembly, Ivanka Trump had a few meetings of her own. She likes to detail her day, and her outfits on her Instagram page and on her Instagram Story -- I'm not criticizing this, necessarily, because lots of people do. Ivanka, she's just like us! Wednesday she was wearing a navy Ralph Lauren Collection dress, available here for $1,990. | | | Credit: @ivankatrump/Instagram, ralphlauren.com | | What Washington Is Talking About:
Christine Blasey Ford and Brett Kavanaugh appearing today before the Senate Judiciary Committee.
What America Is Talking About:
Ford and Kavanaugh appearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Poll of the Day:
A Pew poll that asked respondents to rate whether certain issues were important to their midterm vote found Supreme Court appointments was the top issue, with 76% of all voters saying it was "very important." | | Credit: Pew
The poll also found voter enthusiasm is up. Among Democrats, the percentage of registered voters who said they are more than enthusiastic than usual about voting is up from 36% in 2014 to 67% today. Among Republicans, it's up 36% to 67% in the same time period.
"I Am Here Today Not Because I Want To Be. I Am Terrified":
You can read Ford's opening statement here.
The Top Trends in America on Twitter Are Nearly All Hearing-Related:
Here's what the trending topics looked like this morning: | | Credit: Twitter
Trump's Message to Young People in America Before Ford's Testimony:
The final questions Trump answered during his press conference Wednesday concerned what his message would be to young people on the eve of today's hearing. "You're a father. What does the moment that we're in, this cultural moment ... what message do you have for the young people of America?" he was asked.
Trump didn't answer the question but instead characterized sexual assault accusations as political and referred to accusations made against him. "I could have you or you or you, anybody, and somebody could say things, and it has happened to me many times," he said. "Where false statements are made and, honestly, nobody knows who to believe. I could pick another Supreme Court judge, justice. I could pick another one, another one, another one. This could go on forever." Trump, Without Evidence, Accuses China of Election Interference:
During his comments at Wednesday's UN Security Council meeting, Trump said China "has been attempting to interfere in our upcoming 2018 election" because it didn't want him to be President. He offered no proof, and we haven't heard these same claims from US intelligence.
Trump later tweeted about an advertorial section that appeared in Iowa's The Des Moines Register called China Watch. China Watch also appears sometimes in The Washington Post, including with Wednesday's edition. It's marked "Advertising Supplement" and says it is "prepared by China Daily, People's Republic of China" and does not "involve the news or editorial departments of The Washington Post," unlike Russian interference, which was not marked as Russian but instead pretended to be American. | | Credit: @hunterschwarz/Twitter
When Trump was asked at the press conference how he would compare the level of Chinese interference with Russian, the President didn't actually answer the question, nor did he say anything about Russia -- instead talking about the advertorial, farmers and how NAFTA was bad.
Trump has repeatedly been at odds with his own intelligence agencies and the Senate Intelligence Committee's assessment of Russian interference, dismissing it or claiming it wasn't Russia. Russian interference efforts during the 2016 campaign reached about 126 million Facebook users in America, and Robert Mueller's investigation has indicted 12 Russia agents in connection with their efforts.
Nike Reportedly Considered Dropping Kaepernick:
Colin Kaepernick's "Just Do It" 30th anniversary campaign for Nike almost didn't come to be, according to The New York Times. In the summer of 2017, the company wasn't sure what to do with the former 49ers quarterback. He wasn't signed to a team, it couldn't put his name on any team merchandise, and there was concern about angering the NFL. Nike reportedly considered dropping Kaepernick, whose contract was set to expire in 2019, but there were concerns doing so would be met with blowback, and its head of communications, Nigel Powell, went "ballistic" over the idea of cutting him, a former employee told the Times. Nike shares have risen 36% this year. CEO Mark Parker said on a call with analysts Tuesday that Nike has "seen record engagement with the brand" as part of its "Just Do It" campaign.
Netflix Has Been Watching the News, I Think:
"House of Cards" chose to drop its latest promo, in which Robin Wright's Claire Underwood says "the reign of the middle-aged white man is over," this morning.
Street Art Sighting:
The political art group For Freedoms is putting up billboards across the country for its 50 State Initiative meant to provoke "nuanced conversations" about politics. "If you make a black square on your canvas, it's a political statement and will be read with people and contexts," said artist Kambui Olujimi, whose billboard for the group is about the Trump administration's family separation policies. "I don't think there's a way to have an apolitical position as an artist, or even as an individual. It all has political ramifications." The below billboard, by Michele Pred, went up last week in St. Louis. | | Credit: For Freedoms
If you spot political street art, tweet me @hunterschwarz, tag me on Instagram @hunterschwarz or email me at coverlinehunter@cnn.com with your sighting so I can feature it in COVER/LINE. | | | | | | |
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