Columnist Cal Thomas, USA Today’s James Robbins, Virginia GOP Chairman John Whitbeck, The Hill’s Joe Concha, and Loudoun County supervisor Ron Meyer joined WMAL Wednesday!

Mornings on the Mall

Wednesday, June 13, 2018

Hosts: Mary Walter and Vince Coglianese

Executive Producer: Heather Hunter

5am – A/B/C  North Korean Media Reaction:

• CNN Panelists Whine About Menu for North Korean Summit
• MSNBC panelist says North Korea summit is a distraction from Russia
• ‘The View’ Bashes Trump for Meeting Kim Jong-un: Went ‘Too Far!’
• Washington Post: Reporters Thought White House Video Was North Korean Propaganda
• Just in Time to Embarrass Trump, New York Times Reports North Korea’s a Dictatorship
• Matthews Claims Trump Came Off ‘Like a Kiss Butt’ to Kim, Only Likes Dictators

5am – D/E  Rosenstein threatened to ‘subpoena’ GOP-led committee in ‘chilling’ clash over records, emails show (Fox News) – Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein threatened to “subpoena” emails, phone records and other documents from lawmakers and staff on a Republican-led House committee during a tense meeting earlier this year, according to emails reviewed by Fox News documenting the encounter and reflecting what aides described as a “personal attack.”  The emails memorialized a January 2018 closed-door meeting involving senior FBI and Justice Department officials as well as members of the House Intelligence Committee. The account claimed Rosenstein threatened to turn the tables on the committee’s inquiries regarding the Russia probe.  “The DAG [Deputy Attorney General Rosenstein] criticized the Committee for sending our requests in writing and was further critical of the Committee’s request to have DOJ/FBI do the same when responding,” the committee’s then-senior counsel for counterterrorism Kash Patel wrote to the House Office of General Counsel. “Going so far as to say that if the Committee likes being litigators, then ‘we [DOJ] too [are] litigators, and we will subpoena your records and your emails,’ referring to HPSCI [House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence] and Congress overall.”  A second House committee staffer at the meeting backed up Patel’s account, writing: “Let me just add that watching the Deputy Attorney General launch a sustained personal attack against a congressional staffer in retaliation for vigorous oversight was astonishing and disheartening. … Also, having the nation’s #1 (for these matters) law enforcement officer threaten to ‘subpoena your calls and emails’ was downright chilling.”

6am – A Teachers reportedly fearful after MS-13 infiltrates Maryland school (Fox News) – The violent gang MS-13 has infiltrated a predominantly Hispanic school in Maryland, bringing terror and the campaign to recruit young students, with teachers calling the situation a “ticking time bomb.”  William Wirt Middle School in Riverdale has reportedly become a battleground after the gang established its presence at the school.  Fighting, drug dealing, pro-MS-13 graffiti and attempts to recruit immigrant children from Central America have become an everyday occurrence, The Washington Post reported.  “We now have two to three fights per day,” one school employee told the paper, who didn’t reveal his name over fears to lose the job or be targeted by the gang. “At this point, it’s completely out of control.”  School teachers claimed at least a dozen of members of the gang are in the school. The violent activities prompted the school to call the police over 70 times in the 2017-2018 school year.

6am – B Millennials:

• 28% of younger millennials drink at home because it takes too much effort to go out (Mintel) – From dating through apps and online shopping to working from home, it seems Millennials prefer to do nearly everything from the comfort of their couch—and now socializing is best done from home for this generation, as well. New research from Mintel reveals that almost three in ten (28%) Younger Millennials (aged 24-31) drink at home because they believe it takes too much effort to go out.  But while going out is proving to be too much effort for young Americans, the country’s older consumers are willing to make the time as just 15% of Baby Boomers (aged 54-72) agree it takes too much effort to drink away from home.
• More than half of Millennials expect to be millionaires someday, according to a new study (Daily Mail) – Millennials expect to make it big some day, with more than half reporting that they believe they will eventually become millionaires, according to a new study.  Despite having crushing student loans (20 percent never expect to pay them off), credit card and other debt, people born between 1982 and 2000 share a confidence when it comes to their financial outlook.  ‘Young people are optimistic about the future,’ said JJ Kinahan, chief strategist for TD Ameritrade, in a statement on the company’s new report.  ‘On average, survey respondents expect to land a job in their chosen field and be completely financially independent by age 25.’  That’s despite the fact that 17 percent still can’t say they’re financially independent from their parents; most report getting cut off once they’ve moved out of the house.
• Voluntarily vagrant, homeless youth a ‘crusty’ urban challenge (Fox News) – From the parks of Berkeley to the streets of Brooklyn, and in most every large city in between, they have become an almost inescapable part of urban life.  Known by many names – “crusty punks,” “crusties,” “gutter punks,” “crumb bums” and “dirty kids,” to list but a few – this group of young adults has rejected a more traditional 9-to-5 lifestyle in favor of train hopping, panhandling and voluntary homelessness.  And while traditionally tolerated by police and urban residents, these transient groups of the unshaven and unwashed have been involved in a series of incidents in recent years — accompanied by an abundance of bad press — that has municipalities across the country puzzling over how to address the problem.

6am – C Virginia eyes Beltway toll lane extension to Maryland border (WTOP) – With Maryland’s plans to add toll lanes to the entire length of the Capital Beltway within its borders, Virginia is now looking at possibly extending its existing Beltway toll lanes northward to the Maryland line.  The idea is to lengthen the I-495 Express Lanes in Virginia by about 3 miles, from the Dulles Toll Road interchange to the American Legion Bridge.  The project will be developed in tandem with Maryland’s to ensure they are compatible, but Virginia’s plan will also be able to stand alone, said the Virginia Department of Transportation.  VDOT launched a $6 million environmental study of its project in April.  The study is expected to be finished in late spring of next year, after a public hearing planned for early spring.

6am – D INTERVIEW – Cal Thomas – syndicated columnist – discussed the media’s reaction to the North Korea summit         

6am – E Virginia Primary Day Recap:

• Pro-Confederate Republican Corey Stewart wins GOP nomination for Senate in Virginia (Mic) – Corey Stewart, a Republican who is a staunch supporter of the Confederate flag and monuments, won the GOP nomination for Senate in Virginia Tuesday night. Stewart defeated state Rep. Nick Freitas and conservative minister E.W. Jackson for the chance to take on Sen. Tim Kaine, the Virginia Democrat and former 2016 vice presidential nominee. Stewart won with 44.7% of the vote, with Freitas coming in a close second with 43.2%, according to the Associated Press. Stewart’s embrace of the Confederate flag and monuments to Confederate leaders — even after the violent and racist rally in Charlottesville in August — likely puts this seat even more out of play than it already was. Over the past decade, Virginia has rapidly changed from red to purple, and now a bright hue of blue. Democrats have held both of the state’s Senate seats since 2009, and the gubernatorial mansion since 2014. At the presidential level, Democrats carried the state in 2008, 2012 and 2016, when Hillary Clinton (along with her running mate Kaine) won the state by 5.4 points.

• State Sen. Jennifer Wexton wins the Democratic race to run against Rep. Comstock (Washington Post) – State Sen. Jennifer T. Wexton beat five Democrats in the race to challenge U.S. Rep. Barbara Comstock (R) in what will be one of the most closely watched midterm elections in the nation. Wexton won about 42 percent of the vote, besting her nearest rival, anti-human-trafficking activist Alison Friedman, by almost 20 points, in Virginia’s 10th Congressional District, unofficial results show.  Wexton, the establishment favorite, ran on her legislative record and the strength of endorsements from Gov. Ralph Northam (D) and Rep. Gerald E. Connolly (D-Va.) as well as the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence. A former federal prosecutor, she is the only candidate from Loudoun County, the heart of the district.  “I’m Jennifer Wexton, and I’m going to repeal and replace Barbara Comstock,” she told voters and staff at her victory party. “If tonight showed us anything, it’s that people are ready for change.”  Supporters surrounded by blue and white balloons at a pub in Sterling chanted “Jennifer! ­Jennifer!”

6am – F Why Ariana Grande and Pete Davidson Got Engaged So Fast, According to All the Tabloids (Elle) – Two weeks ago, Ariana Grande and Pete Davidson confirmed the rumors they were dating by going Instagram official. Less than one week ago, Grande joked about having Davidson’s kids on Instagram.  And now, less than 24 hours ago, People, Us Weekly, and more outlets began reporting that the two are engaged after one month of dating. The speed took the internet by surprise, but sources close to the couple are already on the front lines defending their relationship. Below, a roundup of what all the big tabloids are reporting about Grande and Davidson’s whirlwind public romance and proposal.  Multiple sources stressed to Us Weekly that this will be a long engagement. “They are a perfect fit. They are not rushing to get married,” one source said. “Their friends are really excited and supportive. They are both constantly making each other laugh, Their moms have met. They’ve been very public with their relationship on social media, and they are very in love.”

 7am – A INTERVIEW – James Robbins – USA Today columnist – recapped the North Korea summit

• BIO: James S. Robbins, a member of USA TODAY’s Board of Contributors and author of This Time We Win: Revisiting the Tet Offensive, has taught at the National Defense University and the Marine Corps University and served as a special assistant in the office of the secretary of Defense in the George W. Bush administration. Follow him on Twitter: @James_Robbins.
• OTE FROM JIM: In the lead-up to the Singapore summit the press and pundits were more unhinged than usual. They concocted any number of failure scenarios for President Trump. Yet here we are with the beginning of process that will hopefully lead to a denuclearized North Korea, normalized relations, and the exposure of the illicit international nuclear network that includes Iran and Syria. Pretty good for the “amateur” diplomat! ​

Donald J. Trump
‏@realDonaldTrump
1h1 hour ago
Just landed – a long trip, but everybody can now feel much safer than the day I took office. There is no longer a Nuclear Threat from North Korea. Meeting with Kim Jong Un was an interesting and very positive experience. North Korea has great potential for the future!

===============================================================

James Robbins: Singapore, North Korea and Donald Trump’s ‘seat of the pants’ success

James S. Robbins, Opinion columnist Published 11:11 a.m. ET June 12, 2018 | Updated 5:43 p.m. ET June 12, 2018

The Singapore summit between Donald Trump and North Korea’s Kim Jong Un was a display of how unifying power and interest leads to successful negotiation despite criticism.

Last fall, President Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un were trading personal insults and threatening nuclear war. Fast-forward to the Singapore summit, and the two men are smiling and talking on the Island of Tranquility. Just like that, peace broke out.

The two leaders signed a joint statement that marked the beginning of a process for North Korea’s complete, verifiable and irreversible denuclearization. Progress on other issues may follow, such as improvement in human rights and political reform, economic openness and perhaps reunification with South Korea. We will see. But the two men have given birth to a new world of possibilities that no thoughtful person can see as anything but good.

Naturally, there has been no lack of criticism of the summit. But anti-Trump mania drives most of the critical narrative, rather than a reasoned analysis of strategic opportunity. The president was mocked for being overconfident, even as he approached the summit with repeated cautions that perhaps nothing would result.

He was scoffed at for being an amateur in foreign policy, a reality TV star in over his head and ill-prepared. But as Dilbert creator Scott Adams pointed out, Trump has spent his entire 50-year career making deals, while young dictator Kim has never had to negotiate anything.

We saw a preview of the power dynamic when the president walked away from the table two weeks ago and North Korea blinked.

Now the supposed experts, pundits, former officials and other naysayers will have to eat their words. Trump the diplomatic novice — with an assist from eccentric former basketball great Dennis Rodman — is achieving what the cream of Ivy League-educated Washington swamp-dwellers could not.

So is this just Big Mac diplomacy, trading a McDonald’s on every corner for an end to Pyongyang’s nuclear ambitions?

Not at all. The Singapore summit was the product of the politics of power and interest. President Trump’s most important diplomatic move came over a year ago when he explicitly linked the North Korean issue to trade negotiations with China, which no previous president had attempted. This was the key point of leverage, bringing Beijing to understand that it could not continue to support its North Korean ally without cost.

7am – B Rosenstein threatened to ‘subpoena’ GOP-led committee in ‘chilling’ clash over records, emails show (Fox News) – Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein threatened to “subpoena” emails, phone records and other documents from lawmakers and staff on a Republican-led House committee during a tense meeting earlier this year, according to emails reviewed by Fox News documenting the encounter and reflecting what aides described as a “personal attack.”  The emails memorialized a January 2018 closed-door meeting involving senior FBI and Justice Department officials as well as members of the House Intelligence Committee. The account claimed Rosenstein threatened to turn the tables on the committee’s inquiries regarding the Russia probe.  “The DAG [Deputy Attorney General Rosenstein] criticized the Committee for sending our requests in writing and was further critical of the Committee’s request to have DOJ/FBI do the same when responding,” the committee’s then-senior counsel for counterterrorism Kash Patel wrote to the House Office of General Counsel. “Going so far as to say that if the Committee likes being litigators, then ‘we [DOJ] too [are] litigators, and we will subpoena your records and your emails,’ referring to HPSCI [House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence] and Congress overall.”  A second House committee staffer at the meeting backed up Patel’s account, writing: “Let me just add that watching the Deputy Attorney General launch a sustained personal attack against a congressional staffer in retaliation for vigorous oversight was astonishing and disheartening. … Also, having the nation’s #1 (for these matters) law enforcement officer threaten to ‘subpoena your calls and emails’ was downright chilling.”

7am – C ‘This Is the Best’: Caps Fans Rejoice at Stanley Cup Victory Parade, Rally (NBC 4) – The National Mall and the streets of downtown D.C. were a sea of red Tuesday as the Washington Capitals and their fans celebrated the team’s historic Stanley Cup victory.  Caps players, marching bands and first responders paraded through the streets as tens of thousands of fans cheered along Constitution Avenue and on the steps of the National Archives.  Fans along Constitution chanted, “Raise the Cup!” and “Ovi! Ovi! Ovi!”  More than 40 vehicles — buses and convertibles — carried players and staff along the route, led by officers on motorcycles.  Goalie Braden Holtby said he always would remember the victory parade.  “Being on those buses, you guys are yelling ‘thank you’ to us. I want to say thank you to you guys, because every time I drive on Constitution [Avenue] for the rest of my life, I’m going to remember this day and how amazing it was, and it’s all because of you guys,” he said.

7am – D INTERVIEW – John Whitbeck – Virginia GOP Chairman – discussed Tuesday’s primaries in Virginia         

7am – E Claire McCaskill’s Private Plane Used on Campaign’s RV Tour Through Missouri (Washington Free Beacon) – Sen. Claire McCaskill (D., Mo.) said her campaign was “hitting the road” in an RV to tour the state, but public flight information indicates that travel also occurred on her million-dollar private plane.  The RV, named BigBlue by the campaign, was unveiled late last month by McCaskill, who said she was “very excited to hit the road” in it for an upcoming “Veterans for Claire” tour. The campaign kept a live blog of its three-day RV trip from May 29 to May 31, posting updates of its whereabouts.  Unmentioned on the blog is the role McCaskill’s private plane played on the trip. The aircraft is a single-engine turboprop valued on her financial disclosure forms at more than $1 million dollars.  McCaskill has taken steps to hide the use of her plane. In a 2017 email obtained by the Washington Free Beacon, the senator asked the Federal Aviation Administration to block radar tracking information on her plane from being publicly broadcast on the internet. The request blocks the ability to track her plane on websites such as FlightAware.com.

8am – A INTERVIEW – Joe Concha – The Hill reporter – discussed the media’s coverage of the G7 summit and Singapore summit

8am – B California ‘three states’ plan OK’d for November ballot (Fox News) – An initiative to divide California into three states has received enough signatures to qualify it for the November ballot, the California secretary of state’s office confirmed Tuesday.  The three-states campaign, dubbed “Cal-3,” submitted more than 600,000 signatures.  Tim Draper, a billionaire Silicon Valley venture capital investor, sponsored the ballot measure to divide America’s most populous state into three jurisdictions, the Mercury News of San Jose, Calif., reported.  California would be made up of six mainly coastal counties, including Los Angeles, Santa Barbara and Ventura counties.  Northern California would include 40 counties from Santa Cruz to the Oregon border, including San Francisco and Sacramento, the state’s current capital.  Southern California would comprise 12 counties, including Fresno, Kern, Orange and San Diego counties.  “California government has rotted,” Draper told the Mercury News last month. “We need to empower our population to improve their government.”

8am – C The ‘incurable optimist’ versus the ‘bold, tough, direct, negotiator’: Handwriting expert reveals the secrets Trump and Kim’s signatures can tell us (Daily Mail) – You can tell a lot by a name – especially if it is written down.  At least that’s the opinion of handwriting expert Tracey Trussell, a consultant graphologist at Handright, who analyzed Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un’s signatures for Mail Online.  According to Ms Trussell, Kim’s sloping, wide-spaced signature shows he is ‘an incurable optimist’, ‘pushy’ and has ‘an indomitable spirit’.  Meanwhile Trump’s spiky, bunched handwriting reveals him to be ‘a bold, tough, direct negotiator’ who doesn’t listen to anyone else because ‘he knows best’.

8am – D INTERVIEW – Ron Meyer – Loudoun County Board of Supervisors – discussed proposed extended toll lanes on the Capital Beltway in Virginia

8am – E Kim Kardashian is lobbying Jack Dorsey to add edit button to Twitter (fastcompany.com) – Fresh off convincing President Trump to commute the sentence of Alice Marie Johnson, a 63-year-old first-time nonviolent drug offender given a life sentence without parole in 1996, Kim Kardashian is now working on a challenge that’s vexed social media addicts for years–getting Twitter to add an edit button. On Tuesday night, she tweeted that she had met Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey at her husband Kanye West’s birthday party this past weekend and tried to convince him to add a button allowing users to edit their tweets.