Subject: Axios AM: Mike's Top 10 -- Happy Presidents Day! Trump report card: Wins, losses after 30 days * Death of the click * Adios, Milo * Oscars so worried
From: "Mike Allen" <[email-masked]>
To: <[email-masked]>
Date: Mon, 20 Feb 2017 06:35:10 -0500 (EST)

Presented by BP:

Trump report card: Wins, losses after 30 days * Death of the click * Adi=s, Milo * Oscars so worried

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Axios AM

By Mike Allen = ·Feb 20, 2017

1 big thing: Wins and losses

Tourists at Washington Monument at sunset last night / AP's J. David Ake=/p>

The Trump presidency is one month old — 47 (or =5) more months to go. So what has President Trump gotten most right and mo=t wrong? After talking to dozens of officials inside and out of the White =ouse, VandeHei and I came up with this list:

Most=right:

In policy promises and rhetoric, he ha= created a fairly strong climate for economic growth, an essentia= ingredient for first-term success. Voters are more forgiving when they ha=e jobs, wage growth and optimism. Business hates uncertainty, but stock pr=ces are rising and consumer confidence is growing. Hard to see tax cuts, l=ghter regulations and infrastructure spending doing anything but helping.<=li>
Forcing U.S. companies to think harder about creating U.S. =obs. We can argue all day whether most big jobs announcements �=80� starting with Carrier — were overhyped. But you can't disput= that CEOs are looking anew for ways to showcase job creation in America, = good short-term trend for U.S. workers. And very good long-term politics =or Trump.

Keeping his promises. Trump, for bette= or worse, has done precisely what he said he would do in terms of pulling=out of trade deals, clamping down on illegal immigration and banning trave= from Muslim-majority nations. While it's been sloppy, it has been similar=to what was promised. And his Supreme Court pick, Neil Gorsuch, was on the=list Trump shared as a candidate, and looks like a virtual lock to win app=oval. This has kept Republicans solidly in his corner.

Scaring off talent. Othe=s will argue for what they see as greater sins. But Trump's paranoid, chao=ic way of leading has spooked some of the smartest, most capable Republica=s who wanted or were willing to work for him (especially in intelligence a=d defense positions). We know: We've talked to them. We have heard from sc=res of talented officials who took a pass after watching how outsiders are=treated by the existing team — and witnessing the far reach of Ste=e Bannon and the White House oligarchy. You can't run a great business wit= mediocrity — or retreads or yes-men. This is a big, long-term ris= on many fronts.

Delegitimizing people he will one day nee=. Mark our word: The moment will come when Trump needs the public=or world to believe something "fake news" journalists are reporting, or ne=ds "so-called" judges to give his idea a fair hearing, or needs the intell=gence community to have his back in a tense moment, or needs allies such a= Germany or Australia to support him, or needs establishment Republicans t= take a tough vote. All five groups could hurt him badly on the Russia inv=stigation (a topic that could easily be #1 on this entire list). Revenge i= a human instinct not confined to Trump.

Being consumed wi=h small-ball grievances. This has been a hallmark of Trump going =ack decades. He allows petty slights and distractions -- town-hall questio=s! -- to preoccupy his mind, his team and decision-making. This has slowed=action on Capitol Hill and obscured the genuine accomplishments listed abo=e.

2. For your radar ...

N.Y. Times 2-col. lead, "Trump Associates Push Backdoor=Ukraine Plan," by Megan Twohey and Scott Shane: "A week before =ichael T. Flynn resigned as national security adviser, a sealed proposal w=s hand-delivered to his office, outlining a way for President Trump to lif= sanctions against Russia. ... Michael D. Cohen, the president's personal =awyer, ... delivered the document."

"At a time=when Mr. Trump's ties to Russia, and the people connected to him, are unde= heightened scrutiny ... some of his associates remain willing and eager t= wade into Russia-related efforts behind the scenes.

"Whil= there is nothing illegal about such unofficial efforts, a propos=l that seems to tip toward Russian interests may set off alarms."

3. The click graveyard

Lazaro Gamio / Axios

For a decade, everything in online media was about clic=s. But Sara Fischer, Axios' media-trends reporter, says the click referral is becomin= an idea of the past. The new-new thing: "content exposure," which drives =ou to click something, instead of the click itself.

Th= future: Two key formats increase content exposure: video and pas=ive scrolling. Google and Facebook are investing heavily in products that =mbody these formats: YouTube and Instagram.

The past: Most publishers designed their websites to measure user interaction th=ough clicks, not scroll rates or time spent on stories. As the industry mo=es away from click-through rates (CTR's) as the most meaningful marketing =etric, those publishers will have a difficult time justifying the effectiv=ness of their platforms for marketers.

Who's =o blame? Click referrals as the most successful marketing metric =as driven by a free click referral measuring tool created in 2005 ... Goog=e Analytics.

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BP invests more in the U.S. than anywhere else, and over the past 10 yea=s no energy company has invested more in America.

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4. Tops in tech: An explosive blog post

Another tale of sexism and unacceptable workplace behav=or in Silicon Valley, Axios' Kia Kokalitcheva writes. T=is time it's at Uber, according to an explosive blog pos= yesterday by former company engine Susan Fowler Riggetti, who accuses=Uber of ignoring multiple complaints of sexual harassment. Her attempts to=use emails to document bad behavior were turned against her, she says.
=p style="margin-left: 20px;">Reached for comment, Uber =EO Travis Kalanick told Axios first: "I have just read Susan Fowler's blog= What she describes is abhorrent and against everything Uber stands for an= believes in. It's the first time this has come to my attention so I have =nstructed Liane Hornsey our new Chief Human Resources Officer to conduct a= urgent investigation into these allegations."

Uber board member Ariann= Huffington tweeted: "Just talked w/ Travis & as=a representative of Uber's Board I will work w/Liane to conduct a full ind=pendent investigation starting now."

5. Bill Gates' robot tax

Financial Times second front, "Bill Gates calls for inc=me tax on robots: Microsoft co-founder suggests money should be used to re=rain people replaced by robots," by Richard Waters in S.F.: "It is an idea that unti= now has been associated more with European socialists than tech industry =eaders, and puts him in the unusual position of explicitly arguing for tax=s to slow the adoption of new technology."

Gates told Quartz: "It is really bad if =eople overall have more fear about what innovation is going to do than the= have enthusiasm ... That means they won't shape it for the positive thing= it can do. And, you know, taxation is certainly a better way to handle it=than just banning some elements of it."

6. Now you know

Although today is widely known as Presidents Day, the U=S. Office of Personnel Management kicks it old-=chool: "This holiday is designated as 'Washington's Birthday' in secti=n 6103(a) of title 5 of the United States Code, which is the law that spec=fies holidays for Federal employees. Though other institutions such as sta=e and local governments and private businesses may use other names, it is =ur policy to always refer to holidays by the names designated in the law."=/p>

7. Adios, Milo

After Breitbart provocateur Milo was announced Saturday=(the day after his bro-out with Bill Maher) as a speaker at CPAC -- the Co=servative Political Action Conference, which opens Wednesday -- the self-d=scribed "virtuous troll" got hit with fatal oppo on the Twitter feed of the Reagan Battalion:

"Video surfaces of Milo Yiannopoulos defending pedophilia,<=strong> ACU board reportedly not consulted on CPAC invite," by The Blaze's=Chris Enloe: "'We get hung up on this sort of c=ild abuse stuff,' Yiannopoulos is heard saying in a video ... 'In the homo=exual world, particularly, some of those relationships between younger boy= and older men — the sort of "coming of age" relationship �=94 those relationships in which those older men help those young boys disc=ver who they are and give them security and safety and provide them with l=ve and a reliable, sort of rock, where they can't speak to their parents.'=

"'It sounds like mole=tation to me,' an unnamed person tells Yiannopoulos in reply, likely an in=erviewer."

Milo replies on Facebook: "A note for idiots (UPDATED)= I do not support pedophilia. Period. ... If it somehow comes across (thro=gh my own sloppy phrasing or through deceptive editing) that I meant any o= the ugly things alleged, let me set the record straight ... "

The board of=the American Conservative Union, which stages CPAC, includes Kellyanne Con=ay, John Bolton, Grover Norquist, Becky Norton Dunlap, Ron Christie, Jos=C3� Cárdenas, etc.

Chances Milo speaks at CP=C, with hundreds of young attendees: zero.

Also today ... <= href="http://link.axios.com/click/8915748.34665/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cud2FzaGl=Z3RvbnBvc3QuY29tL2xpZmVzdHlsZS9zdHlsZS9iYW5ub24tbW9sZGVkLWJyZWl0YmFydC1pbn=vLWEtZmFyLXJpZ2h0LXNsZWRnZWhhbW1lci1ob3ctaXQtd2lsbC1iZS13aWVsZGVkLWluLXRoZ=10cnVtcC1lcmEvMjAxNy8wMi8xOS80MjJmYmVkMi1mNzA0LTExZTYtYmUwNS0xYTM4MTdhYzIx=TVfc3RvcnkuaHRtbD91dG1fc291cmNlPW5ld3NsZXR0ZXImdXRtX21lZGl1bT1lbWFpbCZ1dG1=Y2FtcGFpZ249bmV3c2xldHRlcl9heGlvc2Ft/5871993924c17c54d77a8b8cB280560e8" ta=get="_blank">WashPost Style cover story, "Breitbart: A new =orce in the Trump era? Stephen Bannon is now a White House power. What's n=xt for the website he used to help elect a president?" by Manuel Roig-Fran=ia and Paul Farhi: "Already there have been indications that Bannon's form=r organization might enjoy something akin to most-favored media st=tus, even as the White House wages a very public verbal war with =ainstream media outlets."

"In the hours after the president announced financing =lans for an expanded U.S.-Mexico border wall, Breitbart.com was offering t= sell a special product to its readers on its homepage: a 'Breitbart Borde= Construction Co.' T-shirt."

8. The New Yorker goes inside DNC race

New Yorker staff writer Vinson Cunningham profiles Rep.=Keith Ellison in his progressive bid to beat the establishment candidate, =om Perez, for DNC chair: "The race for the chair has often echoed the acri=ony and confusion of the Presidential primaries."

"The =urmoil of Trump's first month as President has alternately panick=d and emboldened the Democratic base. The activist surge on the left ... h=s stoked a conviction that the Party must be more forceful in combatting T=ump."

"Democrats in the Senate have been conspicu=usly more strident in their opposition to his Cabinet nominees."

<=trong>"The rhetoric of the marches has seeped into the D.N.C. rac= as well, though to less certain effect. There seems to be a mismatch in e=pectations between the lofty hopes of the marchers and the more mundane wo=k that awaits on South Capitol Street, where the D.N.C. is headquartered."=/li>

9. "Shakeup at the Oscars"

"#OscarsNotSoWhite," by Eric Drooker

Ahead of Sunday's ceremony, Michael Schulman goes inside the Acad=my for The New Yorker, finding angst and pushback over the "plan to di=ersify the voting body quickly by aggressively recruiting new members whil= shifting others to 'emeritus status'":

"Like Hollywood=s best sagas—'Star Wars,' 'The Godfather'—the Osc=rs often play out as a drama of generational conflict."

"D=niel Smith-Rowsey, a film historian, has referred to the latest s=akeup as 'the third purge,' following two previous industry-wide talent ov=rhauls. The first occurred in the twenties, as the rise of talkies swept s=ores of mugging mustache-twirlers and big-eyed ingénues to the sideli=es. ... The second purge came in the late sixties, as the studio system wa= grappling with its own decline and the rise of a youth culture with which=it seemed hopelessly out of touch."

"Today, Holly=ood is again trying to appeal to a fractured, anxious country, polarized n=t by hippies but by identity politics."

"Cover Story" (love that!) about Eric Drooker's "#OscarsNotSoWhite," plus a slide show of The New Yorker's past Oscars covers.

10. 1 fun thing

"Can 2 fried chicken festivals coexist in North Carolin=?" -- Front page of today's Raleigh News & Observer, by Chris Cioffi: "Legislation to recognize a Fayetteville celebrati=n as the state's official fried chicken festival has caused some involved =ith Rose Hill's longstanding North Carolina Poultry Jubilee [73 miles away= to cry foul. Both eastern North Carolina towns have deep ties to the stat='s large poultry industry."

"Bi=l McMillan said he suggested the Fayetteville festival as a fun e=ent and fundraiser. He said he did not know that Rose Hill had a poultry-t=emed festival dating to the 1960s and wasn't trying to cause trouble."

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BP invests more in the U.S. than anywhere else, and over the past 10 yea=s no energy company has invested more in America.

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