NEWS AND OPINION:
Following a momentous week, President Trump turns 72 on Thursday. That makes him a Gemini, known to be “smart, passionate and dynamic,” and an “expert communicator,” at least according to Horoscope.com. The site also says that the Gemini motto is “I manifest my reality.”
Interesting. All that aside, here is Mr. Trump’s exact and somewhat telling horoscope for the day, courtesy of Creators.com syndicate:
“Today’s birthday (June 14). People think highly of you and will promote you in ways you will love and also be slightly challenged by, as it sets up an expectation. Don’t worry: You’ll get there, with the same optimism and dedication you used to arrive at the place you are right now. You’ll discover treasure in July. Your legacy will expand in September. Cancer and Libra adore you. Your lucky numbers are: 9, 30, 18, 33 and 28.”
The birthday of a president can get complicated, however. The Justice Department has informed the Senate Judiciary Committee that its report on ex-FBI director James B. Comey and the bureau’s investigation into Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server as secretary of state will be released on the president’s birthday, according to multiple press reports.
The White House has not revealed Mr. Trump’s exact plans for his birthday, though there is a chance he will make an appearance at the Congressional Baseball Game at Nationals Park on Thursday evening, exactly a year after a gunman’s attack at a GOP practice left four wounded, including House Majority Whip Steve Scalise.
Mr. Trump could simply stay at home with family for his birthday, or travel to the sensational Trump International Hotel just three blocks away on Pennsylvania Avenue.
An online public birthday card for Mr. Trump has been circulated by his campaign with a vow to share the card with the president, advising signers: “Birthdays are a HUGE deal in the Trump family. And ever since our movement began, our family has grown by millions. The support we’ve received has been unbelievable.”
One recent host did not forget the big day. On Monday, just prior to the North Korean summit, a beaming Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong presented Mr. Trump with a birthday cake adorned with fresh fruit and a single candle.
A ’HOT MESS’ IN JOURNALISM
Once upon a time, there was no routine shouting by reporters during White House press conferences. Journalists once behaved in a fairly civil manner, though the trend began to change in the mid-1980s, when some members of the news media got feisty, including Sam Donaldson, an ABC correspondent who was among the first to call out questions to President Ronald Reagan.
Such tactics are now standard as journalists fight over tidbits or seek to land an exclusive comment from a heavy hitter. Alas, exclusive comments only last a matter of minutes in the current media marketplace before they disappear into the melange of social media, sometimes credited to the reporter, sometimes not. In the big picture, it helps to have that unruly question posed live on camera — just for the record.
All that aside, the press has been more aggressive with President Trump and his staff than previous administrations; during her time as White House press secretary, Sarah Huckabee Sanders has become particularly deft in wrangling the press corps when every hand in the room is raised.
CNN chief White House correspondent Jim Acosta is among those known for forthright questioning, most recently when he shouted a question at a pivotal moment between Mr. Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un as the pair signed a historic agreement on Monday.
“Some people in the White House press corps do that routinely,” White House counselor Kellyanne Conway told Fox News when questioned about the incident and the behavior of some journalists.
“They want to make things about them. I’m not naming any names — because why give it oxygen? They certainly want to make it about ’me, myself and I’ on Twitter. They’re all a hot mess in the kind of snark and bark towards this president and those who work for him including here at the White House in the Cabinet and elsewhere,” Mrs. Conway said, noting that aggressive journalists were displaying a new form of “social media muscle and cable news cojones.”
Indeed, news happens and is reported at lightening speed, which requires a new skill set.
“This summit was about peace and prosperity. It’s not about that correspondent or another correspondent — and the president didn’t even make it about himself. He made it about a process. He made it about doing something great for the world,” Mrs. Conway said.
MR. BLITZER HAS A SAY
“A lot of Trump’s supporters believe we are an enemy of the American people. And that is really, really an awful situation. We are not the enemy of the American people. We love the American people.”
— CNN anchor Wolf Blitzer, in a discussion with CNN analyst David Gregory over a tweet from President Trump that advised, “Our country’s biggest enemy is the Fake News.”
ANDREW MCCARTHY TO FOX NEWS
It is known in the industry as a very good get.
Andrew McCarthy has joined Fox News Channel as a contributor. A network spokesperson confirmed to Inside the Beltway that Mr. McCarthy will provide legal analysis during daytime and prime-time programming on Fox News and Fox Business Network.
The incredibly astute Mr. McCarthy is a former assistant U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York and led the 1995 terrorism prosecution against Sheikh Omar Abdel-Rahman and 11 others. He also contributed to the prosecutions of terrorists who bombed U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania. He resigned from the Justice Department in 2003, and is now a contributing editor of National Review and a senior fellow at the National Review Institute. He is the author of seven books.
Mr. McCarthy made his debut appearance on “The Ingraham Angle” Wednesday evening.
POLL DU JOUR
• 40 percent of U.S. voters say the Justice Department’s investigation into Russian influence on the 2016 election has not been handled fairly; 59 percent of Republicans, 38 percent of independents and 27 percent of Democrats agree.
• 38 percent say the investigation has been handled fairly; 20 percent of Republicans, 37 percent of independents and 56 percent of Democrats agree.
• 21 percent are undecided about the investigation; 21 percent of Republicans, 25 percent of independents and 16 percent of Democrats agree.
Source: A Morning Consult/Politico poll of 1,994 registered U.S. voters conducted June 7-10.
• Kindly follow Jennifer Harper on Twitter @HarperBulletin
• Jennifer Harper can be reached at jharper@washingtontimes.com.
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