Subject: ?Axios AM: Mike's Top 10 -- Trump national security adviser looks gone * Older women worker longer * "Spicey" back on SNL
From: "Mike Allen" <[email-masked]>
To: <[email-masked]>
Date: Sun, 12 Feb 2017 11:04:00 -0500 (EST)

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Trump national security adviser looks gone * Older women worker longer *="Spicey" back on SNL

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Presented By The Boeing Company

Axios AM

By Mike Allen = ·Feb 12, 2017

1 big thing: ​Confrontation v. conformists

Stephen Miller, the White House's Sunday face, in Tampa on Mon. / AP

A big reason the first three weeks of the Trump preside=cy have been such a rollercoaster: the intense, daily competition between =wo very different world views in the West Wing -- those who want radical c=nfrontation at home and abroad, versus those who want to conform better to=Washington and international norms.

Hence, the wild swings from confrontation over a "One China" policy to total accommodation= or a full-court fight over extreme vetting to growing momentum to simply =ix it.

The confrontationalists -- Steve Bannon, St=phen Miller, Kellyanne Conway, Attorney General Jeff Sessions, et al. -- d= not underestimate how much sway they have with Trump, even when they rece=e from the headlines for a few days. There is a reason Miller is on four S=nday shows defending the executive order, even though many of his colleagu=s feel he gives the administration too dogmatic and inflexible of a face. =/p>
The confrontationalists elected Trump and earned hi= loyalty, and often capture the president's "guy" impulse, especially on t=ugh talk overseas or tough action on immigration.

The confo=mists -- Ivanka Trump, Jared Kushner, Chief of Staff Reince Prieb=s, economic adviser Gary Cohn, General Mattis, Secretary Tillerson -- woul= simply call themselves the realists. They think needless confrontation is=killing the president's standing overseas and on Capitol Hill. This group =s not as tight with each other, so its collective imprint waxes and wanes.=/p>
But Jared and Ivanka will outlast everyone. Many Re=ublicans think the two will recognize the damage to Trump's brand and thei= own -- and help engineer a return to a more conventional West Wing.

What to watch for: Trump is often torn between the w=rld views -- and hates being the bad guy, or the laughingstock. Whoever ca= help Trump find middle ground will rise quickly.

2. Flynn looks gone

President Trump had one person representing him on the =unday shows today: senior policy adviser Stephen Miller. On NBC's Meet the=Press, moderator Chuck Todd asked Miller whether the president still had c=nfidence in his national security adviser, Gen. Michael Flynn:

Miller: "That's the quest=on that I think you should ask the president, the question you should ask =eince, the chief of staff ... General Flynn has served his country admirab=y."

Todd: "So the Whit= House did not give you anything to say other than — "

Miller: "They did not give me anyt=ing to say ... It's not for me to answer hypothetical. It wouldn't be resp=nsible. It's a sensitive matter."

Why this matt=rs, per Axios' Jonathan Swan: Todd cut to the heart of the matter= Flynn sent Vice President Pence out on national T.V. with the categorical=assurance that he'd never discussed sanctions with the Russian ambassador.=We now know that is false. He sent the V.P. out in public with a falsehood= and we know that the VP is not happy about this.

What'= next: It was utterly predictable that Miller would face question= on this subject. That he wasn't sent out with a full-throated defense of =lynn is telling. It's appropriate, now, to question the general's future i= Trump's White House.

3. Trump tested

Trump responded super-cautiously last night to the firs= international provocation he has faced as president -- a missile test-fir=d by North Korea (dropped into the Sea of Japan). The president appeared o= short notice, at 10:39 p.m., with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in a= ornate ballroom at Mar-a-Lago.

Trump let his guest

What Trump didn't do: Condemn t=e attack, or say he supports other allies in the region including, ahem, S=uth Korea. On TV today, the White House's Stephen Miller extended the supp=rt to other allies.

Why it matters: AP calls the test, North Korea's first of the year, "an implicit =hallenge" to Trump, who promised during the campaign and transition to get=tough on the isolated state.

What's next: A U.S. =fficial told Reuters that the administration had been expectin= a North Korean "provocation" soon after taking office. Trump "will consid=r a full range of options in response, but they would be calibrated to sho= U.S. resolve while avoiding escalation."

=/a>

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4. Trump's bottom-line guy

Andrew Harnik / AP

Gary Cohn, the former Goldman Sachs #2 who runs economi= policy in the White House, is getting star treatment this weekend. The New York Times, and Wall Street Journal an hour later, yesterda= popped highly choreographed pieces on Cohn's rise.

The best=nuggets:

WSJ: "At Donald Trump's firs= meeting with Gary Cohn in late November, he appeared so impressed with th= then-president of Goldman Sachs Group Inc. that he joked about offering h=m the post of Treasury secretary, said a person who recalled the moment. S=tting nearby was the odds-on favorite for the job, Steven Mnuchin, who got=the nod."

NYT: "People with knowledge of his new =ole said that Mr. Cohn, a Democrat, is summoned to the Oval Office for imp=omptu meetings with the president up to five times a day — and tha= he reaches out to the president on other occasions. Mr. Trump, said one o= these people, is oriented toward the bottom line when it comes to shaping=policy, often asking Mr. Cohn, 'What do you want to do?'"

=YT: "Cohn collaborates frequently with Mr. Kushner ... Along with=Mr. Kushner and ... Ivanka Trump, Mr. Cohn recently helped persuade the pr=sident not to pursue an executive order that would have rolled back rights=for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people."

Wh= this matters: Cohn is a smart, ambitious guy with vast experienc= thriving in the cutthroat Goldman culture. He was given broad say over ec=nomic policy and has a number of close allies, especially those close to I=anka and Kushner. Some Trump officials say he would be a candidate for chi=f of staff if the president ever orders a shake-up.

5. What no Sunday host wants to hear

Stephen Miller to John Dickerson on "Face the Nation," =bout next steps in the court fight on the travel ban: "There are so many t=ings we can do. ... I don't have any news today to make on it."

Miller, on whether the West Wing =taff is in control: "I think to say we're in control would be a substantia= understatement."

6. Inside Trump's team

A pair of top-of-front-page profiles today focus on two=of the few West Wing officials with routine, direct access to Trump:
Jared Kushner, senior adviser ... "Kushner and Israel: = Personal Bond: Shaping Mideast Policy, Adviser Fuels Hope and Skepticism,= by N.Y. Times' Jodi Kantor: "His grandmother survived the Holocaust by cr=wling through a homemade tunnel in Poland. His grandfather escaped the mas=acres by hiding in a hole for years. An Orthodox Jew, Mr. Kushner was inst=ucted to protect Israel, remember the genocide and assure the survival of =he Jewish people."

"His fam=ly used its real estate fortune to donate millions of dollars to =merican Jewish and Israeli hospitals, schools and other institutions ... I= his classes [in Jewish schools], Palestinians were regarded at a distance= in part as security threats who committed acts of terrorism ... When Mr. =rump ran for president, his son-in-law's stances on Israel helped shape th= campaign."

Stephen Miller, senior adviser for poli=y ... "A key engineer for Trum='s agenda: Miller, 31, began building a conservative foundation in liberal=California," by WashPost's Roz Helderman: "Starting as a teenager, with hi= frequent calls to the nationally syndicated 'Larry Elder Show,' Miller ma=e a name for himself in conservative media circles for his willingness to =ake controversial stands and act as a champion for those on the right who =elt maligned by a culture of political correctness."

"MSNBC's Joe Scarborough ... recently blast=d Miller as a 'very young person in the White House on a power trip thinki=g that you can just write executive orders and tell all of your Cabinet ag=ncies to go to hell.'"

"15 facts about Steve Ban=on," by Axios' Stef Kight.

7. Stat of the day

Percentage of older women working doubles, from NYT Upsho='s Claire Cain Miller: "Nearly 30 percent of women 65 to 69 are working, u= from 15 percent in the late 1980s ... Eighteen percent of women 70 to 74 =ork, up from 8 percent."

Most by choice, not c=rcumstance, it appears: "Many of these women report that they do it becaus= they enjoy it."

Why it matters: "The data adds a=bright chapter to the narrative of women's progress in the world of work."=/li>

=img width="32" height="32" style="border: none" target="_blank" sr=="https://static.axios.com/img-email/twitter-circle.png" alt="Tweet th=s Story">

8. Trending in media: Jake Tapper en fuego

CNN

Slate TV critic Willa Paskin on "How Jake Tapper became=the ideal newsman for our age": "[S]ince Trump's election, Tapper's fiery =ut establishment-entrenched objectivity has morphed into a kind of radical=sm, as the establishment, or at least the president, cuts ties with the tr=th."

"To maintain his air of au=hority, Tapper doesn't just tenaciously question politicians or a=sess Trump's actions; he calls out Democratic hypocrisy whenever he can. I='s like tossing a wet blanket on liberal adoration that only makes that ad=ration smolder further."

9. Tops in tech: Tim Cook on fake news

Tech companies and governments need to le=d the charge against fake news, Apple CEO Tim Cook said in an intervie= with The Daily Telegraph: =/p>
"We are going through =his period of time right here where unfortunately some of the people that =re winning are the people that spend their time trying to get the most cli=ks, not tell the most truth."

He ca=led on tech companies to try to "squeeze" the fake news phenomeno=: "Too many of us are just in the complain category right now and haven't =igured out what to do."

10. 1 fun thing: Spicey's back!

NBC

Melissa McCarthy returns in the "Saturday Night Live" c=ld open as Sean Spicer, who busts out a leaf blower and blasts the reporte= when he doesn't like a question: "You know what that was? It was me blowi=g away their dishonesty?"

"Spicy" lists terrorist "incidents that you're not reporting o=," including "the night they drove Old Dixie down."

"And then there was some light terroris= this week when Nordstorm's [turns thumb down] decided to st=p selling Ivanka Trump's line of clothing and accessoriesNordstrom's loss.

"Because these are high, high quality produ=ts. In fact, I'm wearing one of her bangles right now. It's beautiful, it'= shimmery, it's elegant, and at $39.99?!, it is ... unbelievably affordabl=. OK? And don't even get me started on her shoes. Becaus= these babies -- a real head-turner."

"Now I'm gonna open it up for questions, =nd I'm gonna probably freak if you start asking stupid ones. =/em>Speaking of freaks and stupid ones, Glenn Thrush, New York Ti=es -- stupid hat! Go! ... It is REAL Glenn. Don't eff with me, Gl=nn."

Other sketches:

A knife-wielding=/strong> Kellyanne Conway breaks intolying!"

=I don't do this for me. I do this for you. You need me! =ou need to press me. ... You need to reach inside me and you need=to pull out the truth."

Alec Baldwin is back as Trump, defending his travel ban=in "People's Court" against three appeals-court judges, with Putin as a ch=racter witness.

Announcer: "He's asking for broad, unchecked power. Will he get it? ... They're =ccused of letting bad hombres pour into this country."

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