Mornings on the Mall

Thursday, September 12, 2019

Hosts: Mary Walter and Vince Coglianese

Executive Producer: Heather Hunter

Susan Ralston, Saagar Enjeti, Brad Botwin, Elizabeth Bracey and Josh Kraushaar joined WMAL on Thursday morning!

5am – A/B/C The White House is working on proposals to ban flavored e-cigarettes and other vaping products. Health and Human Services Secretary Secretary Alex Azar says the Food and Drug Administration will develop guidelines to remove all e-cigarette flavors from the market, especially those favored by children. States have reported an increase in lung problems by users of vaping products.

5am – D         Supreme Court allows Trump administration to deny asylum to migrants on southern border. The Supreme Court has approved President Trump’s request to allow the administration to enforce its new asylum rule that would deny entry to anyone who passes through another country on their way to the U.S. without seeking protection there first. The order is a victory for the President, who has vowed to take action to stem the flow of immigrants at the southern border, most of whom are coming from Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador.

5am – E         DEMS DEBATE PREVIEW

• DEMS DEBATE PREVIEW: All 10 qualifying candidates to share debate stage for 1st time in Democratic primary. (ABC News0 — Top-polling Biden, Warren, Sanders, Harris and Buttigieg will share one stage in Houston after a number of candidates failed to qualify. Ten candidates qualified for the third debate, which had stricter qualifying requirements set by the DNC earlier this year: former Vice President Joe Biden, Sen. Cory Booker, South Bend, Ind. Mayor Pete Buttigieg, former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julián Castro, California Sen. Kamala Harris, Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar, former Texas Rep. Beto O’Rourke, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren and entrepreneur Andrew Yang.
• ECONOMIST/YOUGOV POLL: Joe Biden and Elizabeth Warren are tied at 26 percent in this new poll. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) is going nowhere but up. The 2020 candidate pulled off a rare showing in an Economist/YouGov poll published Wednesday, tying the largely untouchable former Vice President Joe Biden with 26 percent support among registered voters
• New CNN Poll: Biden leads as Warren and Sanders battle for second on eve of debate. New CNN national poll on Democratic debate eve: Biden  24% and Warren    18%
• ANDREW YANG’s STRATEGY: Daily Beast’s Sam Stein @samstein: Andrew Yang’s campaign manager just called to tell me that at tomorrow night’s debate, Yang will be doing “something no presidential candidate has ever done before in history.” He declined to go further than that.
• Funny “something no presidential candidates has ever done” Yang options: whip it out, cross-dress, drop out of the race, drop an f-bomb, vape, kneel for the anthem, sucker punch Beto and dab. (via Alex Griswold)
• DNC, ABC News Tell 2020 Candidates Not To Swear During The Upcoming Debate. The Democratic National Committee and ABC News would like the 2020 candidates to please keep it clean on the debate stage this week. CNN reported on Tuesday that the DNC and ABC News, the network hosting the third Democratic debate, have sent advisories to participating candidates telling them not to swear when they face off against each other on Thursday night.The memo warned that ABC News won’t be able to edit out “foul language” because the debate will be broadcast in real time without any delay.

6am – A         PRESIDENT TRUMP BLASTS AMB. BOLTON:

• Trump disparages his ousted national security adviser, saying he made “some very big mistakes”
• President Trump on John Bolton Firing: “He made some very big mistakes when he talked about the Libyan model for Kim Jong Un that was not a good statement to make.” Trump adds: “John is known as a tough guy. He’s so tough he got us into Iraq.”
• President Trump on John Bolton’s firing: “He’s somebody that I actually had a very good relationship with, but he wasn’t getting along with people in the administration that I consider very important”
• Bloomberg: In mtg Monday in Oval, Trump discussed easing sanctions on Iran to help secure a meeting with Iran’s Rouhani later. Mnuchin wanted to. Bolton did not. Trump leaning. Pompeo later said Trump would meet with Rouhani, but with “no preconditions.”
• CNN: Administration considers double-tapping Pompeo for national security adviser. Under this scenario, Mike Pompeo would be the second person in history to have both jobs at the same time. The first, Henry Kissinger, was already President Richard Nixon’s national security adviser when he was appointed secretary of state in 1973.
• FOX’S GILLIAN TURNER: Developing: a former senior Trump admin official tells me Pres Trump may replace #NationalSecurityAdvisor John Bolton with … SecState Mike #Pompeo. Pompeo would serve in both roles for the remainder of Trump’s term. Bonus History nugget: Ford & Nixon did this w/Kissinger
• REBECCA BALLHAUS: Ric Grenell, the U.S. ambassador to Germany who has been mentioned as a possible Bolton successor, is having dinner w/Trump in Washington on Saturday. The dinner was arranged before Bolton’s ouster, but the job is expected to be part of their discussion.

6am –B/C      Guys, should we stop using the word ‘guys’? (BizPacReview) — Foluke Tuakli, who runs the website NowThis News, posted a video Monday arguing that people need to stop using the words “hey guys” because they’re offensive. And in doing so, she triggered an avalanche of sarcastic blowback and criticism, some of it even from the surprisingly non-PC disabled community. “‘Guys’ is a simple term,” Tuakli says in the patronizing video below. “It could mean boys, or if you’re modern, hip, it means people. At first glance, ‘guys’ seems inviting, friendly, maybe warm, even comedic at times. But it, like many male default terms, should not be normalized as an all-encompassing phrase — innocent as it may seem. “While we understand the word means no real harm, with a deeper look, you’ll understand that we’ve been ignoring the cognitive impact on women, as well as gender non-conforming folks, by only explicitly addressing the male-identifying individuals present.” The bottom line is that, according to Tuakli, saying “hey guys” or any similar derivative is offensive because not everybody on Earth is a male, including “transgender men.” As of Wednesday morning, the tweet boasted only 1,400 retweets but over 20,000 comments, most of them scathing in their criticism of NowThis News and its infantile grievances. Among the top-voted criticisms was one by Ricky Berwick, a disabled Canadian comedian who suffers from a debilitating physical condition known as Beals-Hecht syndrome — and who therefore knows all too well what it feels like to live a life bereft of so-called “privilege.”

6am – D         INTERVIEW – SUSAN RALSTON – President of Citizens for Responsible Solar and owns Finally Farm with her husband in Culpeper, VA

• WASHINGTON POST: A company suggested installing solar panels near Virginia Civil War battlefields. Cricket Solar pulled out over backlash. Citizens for Responsible Solar is claiming victory. Now another energy company is eyeing Culpeper. As solar expands across the United States — especially as it stretches into the northeast, rich in Colonial and Revolutionary War-era landmarks — “you’re going to get these fights because large solar fields will intrude on people’s valued properties.”   Citizens for Responsible Solar’s work is far from done, Ralston said. The group, aware that another energy company could propose a new solar installation at any time, is now pushing Culpeper County to adopt an ordinance that would limit large solar fields to industrial land. McLearen said officials are considering the idea.
• Flashback: Culpeper residents are concerned the developer’s proposal would strain the water supply, erode soil and strip land; impact historic preservation; provide a questionable economic benefit; undermine local residents’ property values; and pose health and safety problems in the form of more traffic, congestion and noise. Also, Culpeper makes a lot of tourism money on its historical and rural character — $42 million per year. Culpeper is known for their scenic trolley tours and an industrial power plant would be an eyesore amidst their rolling landscape. The solar project’s pile driving will imperil the foundations of historic homes, encroach on historic St. Paul’s Church, limit study and preservation of the Morton’s Ford battlefield and hamper archaeological study of earlier settlements.

6am – E         BIDEN NEWS:

• BIDEN’S DEBATE STRATEGY: Biden Aims to Use Debate to Question Warren’s Corporate Work
• ECONOMIST/YOUGOV POLL: Joe Biden and Elizabeth Warren are tied at 26 percent in this new poll. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) is going nowhere but up. The 2020 candidate pulled off a rare showing in an Economist/YouGov poll published Wednesday, tying the largely untouchable former Vice President Joe Biden with 26 percent support among registered voters
• New CNN Poll: Biden leads as Warren and Sanders battle for second on eve of debate. New CNN national poll on Democratic debate eve: Biden  24% and Warren    18%>> Biden Tried to Buy Putin’s Support for Iraq War With Promise of Oil Money. Joe Biden sought out Russian president Vladimir Putin before the 2003 invasion of Iraq to propose a deal in which Russia would be given the oil profits from the war if they entered alongside the United States.
• BIDEN’S AGE: Politico: Biden camp thinks the media just doesn’t get it. The vice president’s allies say neither detractors in the media, nor his rivals on the stump, understand the root of his appeal.  The first thing you notice at a Joe Biden event is the age: Many of the reporters covering him are really young. Biden is not. The press corps, or so the Biden campaign sees it, is culturally liberal and highly attuned to modern issues around race and gender and social justice. Biden is not. The reporters are Extremely Online. Biden couldn’t tell you what TikTok is.

6am – F         Condoleezza Rice shuts down NBC anchor’s question on whether Russia helped Trump win. (Fox News) — Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice told an NBC anchor Wednesday it was not accurate to suggest that Russia flipped the 2016 election in President Trump’s favor. “I don’t think there is any evidence of that. And, you know, I really don’t think that’s a good conversation to have,” she told NBC anchor Savannah Guthrie. Guthrie had just asked whether Russian interference “actually worked” and blocked a victory by former Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton. “I think that really does devalue the people in Wisconsin and Michigan and others who decided to vote for President Trump,” Rice added in her response. “Whether you like this president or not, whether you believe that he should have been president or not, let’s give the credit to the Americans who went out and voted for somebody who they thought would bring change.” The interview came as Rice released her new book, “To Build a Better World,” on the Cold War. For years, media outlets like NBC have peppered the airwaves with stories surrounding Russian interference in the election as well as alleged collusion by the Trump campaign. Earlier in 2019, former Special Counsel Robert Mueller released a report that was unable to conclude Trump’s campaign engaged in conduct that met the legal definition for conspiracy with the Russians. But congressional Democrats have seized on its findings and some have continued to claim collusion occurred. While appearing on NBC’s “Today,” Rice said that people should focus on why people voted for Trump rather than whether Russia stole the election for him. “The question is: Are we going to be responsive to some of the messages that were out there … people who felt that they were disadvantaged by globalization – the unemployed coal miner in West Virginia, the opioid-addicted person in Pennsylvania – are we going to be responsive to those people? That’s really the question we should be asking,” Rice said.

7am – A         INTERVIEW – SAAGAR ENJETI – Chief Washington Correspondent & Host at The Hill – previewed the presidential Dem Debate Thursday night.

7am – B/C     9/11 RECAP:

• Son of 9/11 victim slams Ilhan Omar at NYC remembrance event: ‘Show respect in honoring them.’ While speaking at a 9/11 memorial event in New York City, Nicholas Haros Jr. called out Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar for her comments about the terrorist attacks which caused controversy for her. In April, video showed the Minnesota Democratic saying the Sept. 11 attacks were “some people who did something” while speaking at an event supporting the Council for American-Islamic Relations. Haros said there should be no confusion on who attacked the United States and killed almost 3,000 people. “I am here today to honor my 76-year-old mother, Frances, on the solemn 18th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. Mom, we always miss you and love you very much,” he said. “This day I also remember over 200 personal friends and co-workers that I knew that died.”
• Whoopi Goldberg Shreds 300+ House Members for Blowing Off 9/11 Moment of Silence: ‘Every One of You Should Be There.’ The hosts of “The View” on Wednesday slammed lawmakers who did not attend a moment of silence on the anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks. Whoopi Goldberg said that just 26 percent of lawmakers went to the House event on the steps of the Capitol.  “Shameful,” said Meghan McCain in a clip posted by Mediaite.  “We don’t know why they weren’t there, but this might not have been the right day to screw around with the optics,” Goldberg said. “This was a moment that affected everyone in this country.” “Every one of you people, every one should be out there,” she told lawmakers.  Wednesday was the 18th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, which killed nearly 3,000 people.

• ‘Triggered by a freaking pizza’: Restaurant chain apologizes for offering patriotic fare on 9/11:   Annapolis-based restaurant chain Ledo Pizza apologized Wednesday after marking 9/11 with one of their signature square pizzas, the toppings of which were arranged to look like the American flag.Some Twitter users were outraged that Ledo had chosen to commemorate the lives lost with a pizza, with some even accusing the pizza chain of using the day of tragedy to promote their food. After initial backlash, Ledo deleted the original photo of the flag-themed pizza and replaced it with the stock image of an American flag. Many users had captured the original image of the pizza, however. “Your recently deleted tweet might just be the most tone-deaf 9/11 ‘brand’ tweet to ever be posted,” one user wrote. “How dare you trivialize our nation’s most impactful tragedy in recent memory with a g—-mn pizza flag. Save it for 4th of July, you tactless clods.”

7am – D         INTERVIEW – BRAD BOTWIN – Director OF Help Save Maryland – previewed the upcoming Montgomery County rally @ 11 AM in front of the County Council Office Building.

• Rockville Rally Supporting ICE Set for Friday. A group calling itself the Concerned Citizens Coalition of Montgomery County is holding a rally Friday to support federal immigration agents in downtown Rockville. WMAL’s Larry O’Connor and Michelle Malkin will host the event. Malkin once lived in Germantown. The rally starts at 11 a.m. in front of the County Council Office Building at 100 Maryland Ave. The rally follows a series of sex crimes in which the defendants are in the country illegally.
• SPEAKERS:  WMAL’s Larry O’Connor, Frederick County Sheriff Chuck Jenkins, Heritage’s Hans Von Spakovsky, Joe diGenova, Judicial Watch’s Tom Fitton and Michelle Malkin will be speaking at the protest. The protest is organized by various concerned groups of citizens in Montgomery County.

7am – E         SPORTS NEWS:

• REDSKINS OWNER DAN SNYDER IS SENDING HIS PLANE TO BAHAMAS:  Redskins owner Dan Snyder is sending his plane to the Bahamas filled with supplies. Redskins Sending Plane With Supplies to Bahamas. Washington Redskins owner Dan Snyder is sending his plane to the Bahamas filled with supplies. Sherree Burruss reports.
• OVECHKIN CEREAL: Alex Ovechkin scores on first shift of the season — as a supermarket cashier. Ovechkin walked into the classroom in his red Capitals sweater and shorts bearing gifts — a shopping cart full of boxes of Ovi O’s, his new cereal. “I think it’s breakfast time for you guys, no?” Ovechkin said.

8am – A         INTERVIEW – ELIZABETH BRACEY – the curator of the Bob Ross exhibit at the Franklin Park Arts Center – discussed the new Bob Ross exhibit and his legacy.

• “Happy little clouds,” “happy little trees,” “happy little leaves.” The late American painter and beloved TV host Bob Ross had a unique and blissful way of teaching art. Ross’ how-to painting show, “The Joy of Painting,” was first broadcast on public television in 1983 and ended in 1994. Over the course of the show’s 403 episodes, Ross completed over 1,000 paintings, all of them landscapes. Now, more than two decades after his death in 1995, his work is finally being exhibited — outside his own gallery — in a solo show. “Happy Accidents: An Exhibit of Original Bob Ross Paintings” features 24 works from the long-running series, at the Franklin Park Arts Center in Purcellville, Virginia, about 50 miles from Washington, DC.
• NOTE: The exhibit is sold out but there is a WAITING LIST.

8am – B/C     FORMER ICE CHIEF TOM HOMAN CLASHES WITH THE SQUAD AND DEM LAWMAKERS:

• Rep. Tlaib to Fmr. Acting ICE Director Homan: You Will Be Remembered For Being “Ruthless and Inhumane”
• Fmr. ICE Acting Director Homan to AOC: I’ve Never Seen Such Hate Toward A Law Enforcement Agency In My Life
• FOX NEWS: Ex-ICE director rebukes Dem in hearing clash: ‘I’ve forgotten more about this issue than you’ll ever know’
• Former ICE Head Tom Homan fires back at Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz for calling his testimony “inaccurate” and “jingoistic.” “I’ve forgotten more about this issue than you’ll ever know… Everything I’ve said here is accurate. If you want to go toe to toe, I’m here.”

8am – D         INTERVIEW – JOSH KRAUSHAAR – political editor for National Journal – recapped President Trump’s presser and shared his preview of Thursday night’s Presidential Dem Debate.