Subject: ?Axios AM: Mike's Top 6 — Trump's split screen — Best jokes from last night — Woodward's message for Trump; Bernstein's message for the press — Best food on Washington's big(-ish) weekend
From: "Mike Allen" <[email-masked]>
To: <[email-masked]>
Date: Sun, 30 Apr 2017 09:18:10 -0400 (EDT)

Presented by Bank of America:

Trump's split screen — Top jokes from last night — Woodw=rd's message for Trump; Bernstein's message for the press — Best f=od on Washington's big(-ish) weekend

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Presented By Bank of America

Axios AM

By Mike Allen = ·Apr 30, 2017

1 big thing: The split-screen night

Trump speaks last night in Harrisburg / AP's Patrick Semansky

President Trump's rallies are always a production. But =ast night's Day 100 victory lap in Pennsylvania — festooned with "=romises Made / Promises Kept" signs — was conceived in cin=matic terms: us-versus-them, the people-versus-the-media.

=p>Axios' Jonathan Swan sends me this scoopy, behind-t=e curtain reporting: West Wing officials, including Steve Bannon =nd Stephen Miller, conceived of a split-screen effect: TVs would show Trum= in full-blown nationalist populist mode, connecting viscerally with "forg=tten" Rust Belt Americans.

On the other side of the screen:=/strong> Washington reporters in bowties and ballgowns, looking out-of-tou=h, self-congratulatory and elite, at their White House Correspondents' Ass=ciation Dinner.

According to sources f=miliar with the speech's drafting, there was a line that Trump didn't end =p using that summed up the speech's intent: Washington reporters are "bubble people."

Trump's attack on t=e press was as full-throated as anything we saw on the trail:
=ul>
He spent the first 11 minutes whacking the media=

He cited polls showing the public doesn't trust=the press. He singled out CNN and MSNBC as "fake news" and went on a riff =bout the "totally failing New York Times" losing money on real estate.He contrasted his first 100 days against the media's =irst 100 days — "a big fat failing grade.

From=the speech: "As you may know, there's another big gathering takin= place tonight in Washington, D.C. Did you hear about it? [Crowd: Boo=] A large group of Hollywood actors [Crowd: Boo!], and Washi=gton media [Crowd: Boo!], are consoling each other in a hotel ba=lroom in our nation's capital right now."

"They are gathered together for the White House Corre=pondents' Dinner without the president. And I could not possibly be more t=rilled than to be more than 100 miles away from Washington's swamp, spendi=g my evening with all of you, and with a much much larger crowd, and much =etter people, right?" [Cheers: "USA!" and "CNN sucks!"] [T]hey're=trapped at the dinner — which will be very very boring. But next y=ar maybe we'll make it more exciting for them, in Washington."

Why it matters: Thi= remarkable speech shows Trump's inside-outside game. Inside, he's sculpti=g his 100-days narrative and giving a raft of interviews, assuring Beltway=reporters that he knows they still matter. (And he's already teasing that =e'll come to next year's dinner.) On the road, journalists are his go-to f=il.

Be smart: Don't over-interpret either ha=f.

2. History wins

Woodward and Bernstein beneath the banner over last night's head table /=AP's Cliff Owen

Bob Woodward a=d Carl Bernstein performed a rare duet last night as they present=d awards at the White House Corresondents' Association Dinner. Each place =etting had a "First Amendment" pin. People instantly pinned them to their =uxes and gowns.

From the Watergate duo's remarks be=ore presenting the awards:

Bernstein:

=strong>"Shortly after Richard Nixon resigned the presidency, Bob =nd I were asked a long question about reporting. We answered with a short =hrase that we've used many times since to describe our reporting on Waterg=te and its purpose and methodology. We called it: 'The best obtainable ver=ion of the truth.'"

"Richard Nixon tried to make =he conduct of the press the issue in Watergate instead of the conduct of t=e President and his men. We tried to avoid the noise and let the reporting=speak."

"Almost inevitably, unreason=ble government secrecy is the enemy — and usually the giveaway ab=ut what the real story might be. [Applause] And when lying is combined wit= secrecy, there is usually a pretty good roadmap in front of us. Y=s, follow the money. But follow also the lies."

"I know of no important story that I've worked on in more than half a c=ntury of reporting that ended up where I thought it would go when I starte= on it."

"Almost all of our sources in Watergate =ere people who had, at one time or another, been committed to Richard Nixo= and his presidency."

"Incremental reporting =/strong>is essential. We wrote more than 200 stories in Watergate."

Woodward:

Carl "obtained a list =f people who worked at Nixon's reelection campaign committee, not=surprisingly, from a former girlfriend. [Laughter] He's finally embarrasse=."

"No one would talk. Carl said, 'H=re's what we have to do,' launching a system of going to the homes of peop=e, knocking on doors when we had no appointment."

"[I]n 2017, the impatience and speed of the Internet �=94 and our own rush — can disable and undermine the most importan= tool of journalism ... that luxury of time to inquire, to pursue, to find=the real agents of genuine news, witnesses, participants, documents, to di=e into the cab."

"Like politicians and presid=nts, sometimes, perhaps too frequently, we make mistakes and go t=o far. When that happens, we should own up to it. But the effort today to =et this best obtainable version of the truth is largely made in good faith= Mr. President, the media is not fake news." [App=ause]

"The indispensable centrality =/strong>of fact-based reporting is careful, scrupulous listening and an op=n mind. President Nixon once said, 'The problem with journalists is that t=ey look in the mirror when they should be looking out the window.' That is=certainly one thing that Nixon said that Carl and I agree with."

<=pan>"Whatever the climate, whether the media is re=ered or reviled, we should and must persist, and I believe we will. We als= need to face the reality that polling numbers show that most Americans di=approve of and distrust the media. This is no time for self-satisfaction o= smugness."

C-SPAN video.

=/a>

3. "Now you know what it feels like to be a minority"

Hasan Minhaj's expressive face was part of his act / AP's Cliff Owen

"Daily Show" correspondent Hasan Minhaj got rave review= for his alternately subtle and brutal approach to the hardest gig in town= entertainer at the White House Correspondents' Association Dinner.

=strong>The top jokes, via Axios' Becca Rotenberg:=

"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the series=finale of the White House Correspondents' Dinner."

"The ne=s coming out of the White House is so stressful, I've been watchi=g 'House of Cards' just to relax."

"Comedy Central
"We've got to =ddress the elephant that's not in the room. The leader of our cou=try is not here, and that's because he lives in Moscow and it's a very lon= flight. It'd be hard for Vlad to make it."

"You know Dona=d Trump doesn't drink, right? ... Think about that. That means ev=ry statement, every interview, every tweet completely sober ... He tweets =t 3 a.m. sober. Who's tweeting at 3 a.m. sober? Donald Trump, because it's=10 a.m. in Russia and that's business hours."

"Hillary Cli=ton couldn't be here tonight. She could have been here, but I thi=k someone told her the event was in Wisconsin and Michigan. What? You guys= You know, Nate Silver told me that joke would kill. Nate Silver told me t=ere was a 74.1% chance of that joke killing."

Drop the=mic: "I don't have a solution on how to win back trust. I don't. =ut in the age of Trump, I know that you guys have to be more perf=ct now, more than ever. Because you are how the president gets hi= news. Not from advisers, not from experts, not from intelligence agencies= You guys!"

"So that's=why you gotta be on your A-game. You gotta be twice as good. You =an't make any mistakes. Because when one of you messes up, he bla=es your entire group. And now you know what it feels like to be a minority="

C-SPAN video.

A message from Bank of America

50 percent of small business owners say local econo=y to improve

There is new optimism among small business owners, who believe their loc=l economies are going to improve over the next 12 months. The Bank of Amer=ca Small Business Owner Report found 50% of small business owners say thei= local economy will improve, a 13% jump since last fall. Read more.

4. Inside Trump's NAFTA move

POTUS celebrates 100 days with a cake on Air Force One after the Harrisb=rg rally. That's John Dickerson in foreground; Commerce Secretary Wilbur R=ss at Trump's right. Photo by "Face the Nation" Executive Producer Mary Ha=er

CBS's John Dickerson got a sit-down interview with Trum= for "Face the Nation" at the White House yesterday afternoon, then rode A=r Force One for the trip to Harrisburg.

Dickerson: =What do you know now on Day 100 that you wish you knew on Day 1 of the pre=idency?"

Trump: "Well, one of the things that I've =earned is how dishonest the media is, really. I've done things that are I =hink very good. I've set great foundations with foreign leaders. ... NAFTA= as you know: I was going to terminate it, but I got a very nice call from=a man I like, the president of Mexico.

"I got a very nice call from Justin Trudeau, the prime mi=ister of Canada. And they said: Please, would you rather than terminating =AFTA — I was all set to do it. In fact, I was going to do it today= I was going to do it as we're sitting here. I would've had to delay you. = was going to do it today. I was going to terminate NAFTA.

"But they called up and they said, "Wo=ld you negotiate?" And I said, "Yes, I will negotiate." ... But the media =idn't cover it that way. The media said, oh, I didn't terminate NAFTA."CBS video of Trump on Nor=h Korea.

5. Grading Trump

The Day 100 appraisals ...

"A pres=dent's very public education," by AP's Julie Bykowicz and Vivian Salama: =Health care is complicated. China can be a useful ally. NATO isn't obsolet=. Being president is hard. ... Trump has been startlingly candid about his=public education in the ways of Washington and the world."

Trump's Executive Orders Are Mostly The=ter," by Michael Grunwal=: "Trump's first 30 executive orders will create a lot of federal reviews =nd reports, along with some new task forces and commissions, but not a lot=of substantive change. So far, they've been more about messaging than gove=ning."

N.Y. Times 2-column lead, "Remaki=g the Presidency, Trump Has Changed, Too," by Peter Baker: "[I]f the presi=ency had grown somewhat stale under the old norms as its occupants increas=ngly stuck to carefully crafted talking points and avoided spontaneity, Mr= Trump has brought back a certain authenticity and willingness to engage. =.. Taboos once broken no longer seem inviolable."

WashPost 2-column lead<=a>, "Trump's complex next 100 days," by Abby Phillip and Ed O'Kee=e: "Trump administration officials are expected to spend the next six week= soliciting feedback on the tax proposal and fine-tuning their approach. .=. The centrality of Trump's economic agenda to his success as president ha= crystallized in recent days."

L.A. Times 2-column lead, "Trump makes =is mark on environment," by Evan Halper (online: "Trump stumbled on he=lthcare and immigration, but he's been 'a wrecking ball' on the environmen="): "[T]he administration has managed in a few short months to upend =umerous hard-fought environmental protections and climate actions that the=fossil fuel industries have been targeting for years."

6. 1 foodie thing

Courtesy Haddad Media

This "donut wall" or 'donut installation" was the buzz =f the White House weekend's annual Garden Brunch, hosted by Tammy Haddad, =evin Sheekey, Hilary Rosen, Connie Milstein, Mark and Sally Ein, Microsoft=Vice President Fred Humphries, Kelley McCormick, and Cafe Milano founder F=anco Nuschese.

Other food and beverage highlights =f Washington's shrunken prom weekend:

White House Corr=spondents' Association Dinner entree course: Center Cut Petite Fi=et of Beef, Cognac & Morel Creme; Paired with Halibut; Crisp Kale and =otato Cake; Jumbo Peeled Asparagus, Carrot, Cipollini Onion, Roasted Peppe=. Followed by Tapas Display of Desserts.

Receptio= at the British Ambassador's Residence: Fish & Chips (cold-wa=er cod, beer batter, fresh-cut fries, rosemary, aioli), Vegetable Curry, S=usage Rolls, Shepherd's Pie, Vegetable Pie, Chicken Pot Pie, Melted Gruyer= Cheese Fondue with Tomato and Fresh Herbs, Carved Prime Tenderloin and Ho=seradish Cream, Chocolate Marquis Cake Squares.

Garden Bru=ch: Scrambled Eggs in Tulip Croustades, Bacon Wrapped Egg Muffins= Quiche Trio, Spicy Pecan Crusted Chicken, Stuffed Half Avocados, Espresso=Bar (Hot or Iced).

Signature Cocktails had an air=ine theme (American Airlines sponsored) at MSNBC's "The After Party," at t=e Organization of American States: Old Fashioned First Class (Johnnie Walk=r Black Label, Demerara Syrup, Angostura Bitters) ... Refreshed Upon Arriv=l (Zacapa Rum, Fresh Grapefruit Juice, Fresh Lime, Maraschino Liqueur).

=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">

A message from Bank of America

Business owners optimistic about growing their econ=mies

Small business owners are more optimistic about their local economies--a=d America’s--than they are about the global economy. See why, and =ead other important findings in Bank of America’s Spring 2017 Smal= Business Owner Report. Download it now.

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