Subject: ?Axios AM: Mike's Top 10 — Trump and the red button (not what you think) — Caption contest! — What Silicon Valley likes about D.C. — One of your favorites is getting their own MSNBC show
From: "Mike Allen" <[email-masked]>
To: <[email-masked]>
Date: Fri, 28 Apr 2017 06:36:10 -0400 (EDT)

Presented by Bank of America:

Trump and the red button (not what you think) — Caption contest!=— What Silicon Valley likes about D.C. — One of your favo=ites is getting their own MSNBC show

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Presented By Bank of America

Axios AM

By Mike Allen = ·Apr 28, 2017

1 big thing

Trump speaks during an interview with Reuters in the Oval Office yesterd=y / Reuters' Carlos Barria

Good morning, Day 99! A save-that-tape moment during a =euters interview with President Trump reminds us: For all the century's wo=th of news we have had under President Trump, there has yet to be = massive, transcendent crisis — foreign or domestic �=80� to test him, his team and this divided nation.

Trump told Reu=ers' Stephen Adler, Steve Holland and Jeff Mason: "Th=re is a chance that we could end up having a major, major conflict with No=th Korea. Absolutely."

"We'd love to solve thi=gs diplomatically but it's very difficult."

On North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, now 33: "He's 27. =is father dies, took over a regime. So say what you want but that is not e=sy, especially at that age. I'm not giving him credit or not giving him cr=dit, I'm just saying that's a very hard thing to do. As to whether or not =e's rational, I have no opinion on it. I hope he's rational."

=strong>That pairs nicely with this priceless lead of an interview with Trump in tomorrow's Financial Times Magazine, by Washington bu=eau chief Demetri Sevastopulo:

in the Oval Office, my eyes are=drawn to a little red button on a box that sits on his desk. 'This isn't t=e nuclear button, is it?' I joke, pointing. 'No, no, everyone thin=s it is,' Trump says ... before leaning over and pressing it to <=trong>order some Cokes. 'Everyone does get a little nervous when = press that button.'"

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2. 100 looooong days

Trump pats a U.S. Marine on the back after he and the First Lady walked =rgentine President Mauricio Macri and his wife, Juliana Awada, to their ve=icle outside the West Wing yesterday / AP's Pablo Martinez Monsivais

Big theme ... USA Today lead story, "One thing is certain: Uni=ed we're not," by Rick Hampson: "The USA TODAY Network spent time with peo=le around the nation and across the political spectrum ... Although they a=reed on little, there's virtual unanimity that political division has wors=ned since the president took office. ... Some people would like to see Ame=ica made whole again."

CEO President ... "Trump finds that CEO-as-pres=dent isn't always a natural fit," by AP Economics Writer Josh Boak: "A=ked to assess his tenure so far, management experts point to a stream of m=ssteps that run counter to the clarity, discipline and consistency of mess=ge typical of the best executives. Blustery speeches have given way to fuz=y policies that have weakened the president's negotiating hand on such com=lex challenges as revamping taxes and health insurance.

Clic=er ... "(Almost) 100 Days of Page One Headlines ... [How] the print fro=t page of The New York Times that covered the first 100 days of President =rump's administration, as well as a look at what former Presidents Barack =bama and George W. Bush were going through at the same point in their firs= terms."

Hot shot

Carolina Hurley (@CLH45)

Carolina Hurley, White House director of regional media= tweets this pic: "@PressSec briefing chil=ren on Bring Your Kids To Work Day ... Kids asking the tough questions - s=ecific terms of NAFTA renegotiation and @POTUS' favorite col=r."

CNN's Brian Stelter labeled it "Caption contest=" in his Reliable Sources newsletter.

Shoot me your caption by replying to this email, or [email-masked]=m.

A message from Bank of America

Millennial business owners expect revenue growth

The Bank of America Spring Small Business Owner Report, released yesterd=y, shows a large majority of millennial business owners expect revenue to =ncrease in the year ahead. A sign of economic optimism, 65% of these buddi=g entrepreneurs expect to see their bottom line grow. Read more.

3. Charlie Brown and the football

Speaker Ryan holds 14-month-old Maximo Desjardins, son of PBS correspond=nt Lisa Desjardins, at "Bring your children to work day" yesterday / AP's =anuel Balce Ceneta

Despite authentic hopes at both ends of Pennsylvania Av=nue that the House would jam a health-care vote in before Day 100, leaders=admitted last night that it's not happening.

A House Republi=an leadership aide emails: "It's tracking positive but never was =here commitment or even expectation to vote this week. Always whenever we =ad the votes we would vote."

Axios' David Lawler posts this trifecta:

What t=ey're saying: House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy said leadershi= was "still educating voters" about what's in the amended bill.

What really happened: The votes aren't there yet. If more th=n 22 Republicans oppose the bill, it will fail. So far at least 15 have co=e out against it and many more are undecided.

The silver l=ning: This removes an obstacle to funding the government, with th=t deadline looming, though the current plan is to pass a stopgap measure t=at will only last one week.

4. Bite of the day

Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin does his Spicer impression as he briefs=on the tax plan Wednesday / AP's Andrew Harnik

Steve Rosenthal, a business tax expert and senior fello= at the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center, in James Stewa=t's column on the N.Y. Times Business front:

"Mr. Trump's plan basically is tax cuts for eve=yone. Real reform, with revenue neutrality, is difficult. There are winner= and losers, but Trump apparently just wants winners."

The n=rrative ... N.Y. Times, top of column 5: "Trump's Plan=Shifts Trillions To Wealthiest: Despite Lack of Details, Impact Is Cle=r."

5. Diplomacy on a diet

Bloomb=rg's Nick Wadhams has details on how SecState Rex Tillerson p=ans to implement President Trump's order to reverse the expansion of the S=ate Department under Obama:

State will cut 2,300 U.S. diplomats and civil servants -- about 9 percent of the Americans =n its workforce worldwide.

The majority of the job cuts, about 1,=00, will come through attrition, while the remaining 600 will be done via =uyouts. may be phased in over two years,

William Ingl=e, a former Lockheed Martin Corp. official and policy adviser in Congress,=was hired to help oversee the budget cuts and briefed senior managers on t=e plan Wednesday.

FYI ... "Alex Acosta [the s=n of Cuban immigrants] has been confirmed as ... labor secretary, filling =ut President Donald Trump's Cabinet ... 60-38 vote by the Senate." (AP)

6. What Michelle and Barack said in paid $peaking debuts

Former President Obama — a day after news that he'll b= paid $400,000 to speak at a September health-care conference run by t=e Wall Street firm Cantor Fitzgerald — was paid the same amount fo= a "History Makers" luncheon speech at the A&E Networks advertising up=ront yesterday in New York, per the N.Y. Post's Claire Atkins=n:

"He was interviewed over 90 minutes ...=by presidential historian Doris Kearns Goodwin in front of the cable netwo=k's advertisers."

"Obama, who got a standing ovat=on when he entered the room, asked about what he missed most about the Whi=e House, said it was sitting on the Truman balcony on summer nights and ga=ing at the Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial."

"Obama also told the crowd that in his three months o=t of office he has not yet been behind the wheel of a car ... [H]e's learning how to use the coffee machine in the Obamas' new home =n Washington."

"Goodwin asked Obama =ow, while president, he handled frustrating moments. She mentioned Lincoln=would write angry letters and then put them in a desk and not mail them. O=ama responded: 'For starters, by not having a Twitter account.'"

Michelle Obama made her paid-speaking debut yes=erday in Orlando at American Institute of Architecture's annual c=nference, the WashPost's Krissah Thompson writes in the Style section l=ad, "For Obamas, paid-speaking circuit can pose risks to their brand":=

"She spoke with authority about her experienc= as a lawyer and executive — topics she often seemed reluctant to =ddress in her husband's administration."

"She shared a sto=y about her emotional final day at the White House. Her daughters=were in tears as they said goodbye to the staff, and she felt herself chok= up, too — but she resolved to keep her emotions hidden before the=Inauguration Day cameras. 'I didn't want to have tears in my eyes because =eople would swear I was crying because of the new president,' she said, as=the crowd laughed."

7. Tech legends Chambers, Doerr talk Trump

For the past 20 years, Cisco Chairman John Chambers and=Kleiner Perkins Chairman John Doerr have been bringing tech execs to Washi=gton to meet with government officials about the issues Silicon Valley car=s about, like corporate tax reform, high-skilled immigration and science e=ucation.

Axios Tech Editor Kim Hart writes=that despite the tech industry's overall skeptical view of Trump,=the two longtime Silicon Valley leaders see positive momentum for driving =ro-business policies that will spur startup investment and, most of all, j=bs.

Chambers: "We real=ze we have to change — I think Republicans and Democrats know it. =nd we've finally got somebody who's going to be bold and go for it. ... We=ve been through three presidencies in the past 20 years trying to get corp=rate tax rate changes. At least we're starting to move. The scary part is =ur counterparts around the world are moving much faster."

8. The talk of tech

"Qualified executives usually believe they can handle a difficul= leader" ... A Wall Street Journal front-pager g=es inside San Francisco's highest-profile COO hunt, "Uber Seeks Seasoned No. 2 to Mind Its CEO,= by Greg Bensinger, Betsy Morris and Georgia Wells:

CE= Travis "Kalanick and at least two Uber directors ... have interv=ewed ... Thomas Staggs, the former Walt Disney Co. COO, Karenann Terrell, =ormer chief information officer of Wal-Mart Stores Inc., and Helena Foulke=, executive vice president of CVS Health Corp. ... Ms. Foulkes and Mr. Sta=gs are no longer in discussions with Uber."

"=ber is also seeking prospects with experience in fields with comp=icated labor and operational structures, such as airlines."

=/span>"Uber is describing the new COO to candidates as a =artner to the 40-year-old Mr. Kalanick, not merely a deputy such as he has=had in the past."

What you're getting into: <=strong>"A Kalanick hallmark has been night jam sessions — 'sashes,= in Uber parlance — that could last until 2 a.m. The CEO sometimes=summoned employees with little warning, causing them to delay other projec=s and scramble to prepare for session topics such as how to capitalize on =ber's size. A topic might be debated each night for a week."

9. Nicolle Wallace gets MSNBC show

Nicolle interviews Gov. Chris Christie

MSNBC will announce today that NBC News political analy=t Nicolle Wallace will expand her role to host a new program that will air=weekdays from 4 to 5 p.m. ET. The New York City-based program will premier= in May.

From the forthcoming r=lease: "Wallace, a [novelist and] former White House Communicatio=s Director, will tackle the latest political developments and conduct inte=views with leading newsmakers. MSNBC host and political correspondent Steve Kornacki will continue his presence in the hour, providi=g in-depth discussion and analysis."

10. 1 fun thing: "Moon eating"

A new foo= fad harkens back to Hawaiian traditions of eating, farming a=d fishing according to the lunar cycles, per Bloomberg's Brandon Presser: =/p>
[C]enturies-old civilizatio=s recognized ... that the human body and our behavior operate on =oughly monthly loops like the menstrual cycle. ... [T]he primary goal of m=ndful consumption is truer connection to our planet and thus a heightened =ense of well being—both emotionally and physically. It's a lifesty=e. ...

A look at th= hundreds of images tagged #moonphaseproject on Instagram will re=eal the neonatal stages of the food fad throughout [Hawaii]. ... [M]oon ea=ing affects not only how vendors serve fresh fare, but also how they grow =t, when they procure it, and how they harvest it ..

By starting and ending the cyc=e on the eve of the full moon, the produce is noticeably more plump and mu=h more delicious and vitamin-rich when harvested in the correct season (br=adfruit during April's lunar month, mango throughout the summer).

A message from Bank of America

New study: The impact of rising health care costs o= small businesses

64% of small business owners are concerned about health care costs, but =hat’s down 10% from a year ago. Bank of America’s Spring 2=17 Small Business Owner Report looks at this and other issues facing Ameri=a’s small business community. For the latest insights, read more.

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