Joe diGenova, Scott Ramussen and Trevor Matich joined WMAL on Monday!

Mornings on the Mall

Monday, November 21, 2016

Hosts: Brian Wilson and Larry O’Connor

Executive Producer: Heather Hunter

5am – A/B/C Boycott Hamilton? Donald Trump Supporters Call for ‘Hamilton’ Boycott in Defense of Mike Pence. Supporters of Donald Trump and Mike Pence started the hashtag #BoycottHamilton to defend the vice president-elect who was booed while attending the Broadway show “Hamilton” Friday night, and addressed directly by the cast after the show. “We are the diverse America who are alarmed and anxious that your new administration will not protect us, our planet, our children, our parents, or defend us and uphold our inalienable rights,” said current cast-member Brandon Victor Dixon Friday night as the rest of the cast stood behind him. “But we hope this show has inspired you to uphold our American values, and work on behalf of all of us.” Trump demanded that the cast apologize in two tweets sent out Saturday morning: “Our wonderful future V.P. Mike Pence was harassed last night at the theater by the cast of Hamilton, cameras blazing.This should not happen!,” Trump wrote. “The Theater must always be a safe and special place.The cast of Hamilton was very rude last night to a very good man, Mike Pence. Apologize!”

5am – D Byron York: Attorney General Jeff Sessions is Democrats’ nightmare

By Byron York (@ByronYork) • President-elect Trump’s transition team knew that nominating Jeff Sessions for Attorney General would set off controversy. Democrats and their allies in the press have at key times in the past called Sessions a racist — they’re now using the Alabama senator’s full name, Jefferson Beauregard Sessions III, to heighten the Old South effect — and now, as they oppose Trump at nearly every turn, they’ve turned to race again. Here’s why the effort to stop Sessions is likely to intensify as his confirmation hearings near. Sessions is the Senate’s highest-profile, most determined, and most knowledgeable opponent of comprehensive immigration reform. Democrats are particularly anxious about immigration because of the unusually tenuous nature of President Obama’s policies on the issue. Those policies can be undone unilaterally, by the new president in some cases, and by the attorney general and head of homeland security in other cases. There’s no need for congressional action — and no way for House or Senate Democrats to slow or stop it.

5am – E The Obamas Just Bought Another House — And This One Is Really Far From Home. (Daily Caller) — The Obamas are becoming bicoastal. Though the family has already leased a posh nine-bedroom mansion in the North West neighborhood of Washington, D.C. for when they leave the White House, Barack and Michelle Obama are now the proud owners of a fifth home on the West Coast. According to Page Six, the Obamas bought a house in Rancho Mirage, Calif., a small town located near Palm Springs that is known for its golf resorts and was frequented by Obama during his presidency. It is also where Gerald Ford retired. The Los Angeles-based interior designer Michael S. Smith is reportedly in charge of decorating the Obamas’ new home. The family — who is staying in Washington until their youngest daughter Sasha graduates from high school — now have five homes, in Washington, Chicago, New York, Hawaii and California.

6am – A/B/C Are You Anticipating Politics For Thanksgiving Dinner This Year?

• The Holderness Family Are Back with #thanksgiving music and funny election commentary: Thanksgiving Politics Parody “Welcome to My Couch” Video Goes Viral. A Thanksgiving parody bringing the laughs. With Turkey Day next week, one couple is offering advice on how to survive the holiday when your family is split on politics: (Holderness) “Thanksgiving Day it’s going to come up. Yeah you know they’re going to bring up Hills and Trump.” The Holderness family created a Thanksgiving parody to Flo Rida’s hit ‘My House’. It’s called “Welcome to My Couch”: (Holderness) “Welcome to my couch, drink away your feelings, cheer at all the touchdowns and surpress your anger.” You see a family member who supports President-elect Donald Trump, saying turkey tastes great again. And a neighbor proudly wearing an “I’m with Her” pin. They give a list of non political topics to discuss. Like the iPhone 7 and the Brangelina breakup. The comical clip gaining traction online.

6am – D Trump Transition Meetings:

• Romney after meeting with Trump: I “look forward to the coming administration” (Washington Examiner) – Former 2012 GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney emerged from a meeting with President-elect Trump on Saturday afternoon and described it as a “very thorough and in-depth discussion.” Romney greeted the press briefly after his meeting at Trump National Golf Club in New Jersey. “Where there are interests of the United States of real significance, we discussed those areas and exchanged our views on those topics,” Romney said. “I appreciate the chance to speak to the president-elect, and look forward to the coming administration.”
• Fox News’ Bolling, Trump in Talks About Commerce Job. Fox News host Eric Bolling is in talks with President-elect Donald Trump about a position within his administration according to a report in Politico. Bolling, who has a degree in economics from Rollins College and finished a fellowship at Duke University in public policy, is the co-host of “The Five” on Fox News Channel and host of Fox Business Network’s “Cashin’ In.” The former commodities trader has met with Trump twice. If tapped for a role, it would be in the Department of Commerce. “At this time I can’t confirm anything,” Bolling, a strong Trump supporter, told Politico. “I’m sure you understand.”
• Trump Set to Meet Today With Kris Kobach, Christie, Giuliani and Others. President-elect Trump is set to continue his round of weekend meetings today, with former Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach, former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani and former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie among those expected to meet with Trump and members of his transition team. Others whom Trump is set to meet with today include: Ari Emanuel, brother of Rahm Emanuel, the mayor of Chicago and former chief of staff to President Obama; conservative writer John Gray; private equity firm founder Wilbur Ross; Black Entertainment Television founder Robert Johnson; and David McCormick president of global investment firm, Bridgewater Associates, who held senior positions in the George W. Bush administration.

6am – E Highlights of Obama’s Presser in Peru Last Night

7am – A INTERVIEW — JOE DIGENOVA – legal analyst and former U.S. Attorney to the District of Columbia – discussed Trump’s pick of Sen. Jeff Sessions for Attorney General.

7am – B MAD DOG MATTIS FOR SECRETARY OF DEFENSE?

• Trump Tweets Gen. James ‘Mad Dog’ Mattis Is a Leading Contender for Secretary of Defense. (NBC News) — Donald Trump announced via social media Sunday that Marine Gen. James Mattis is a contender to serve as secretary of defense in his administration. “General James ‘Mad Dog’ Mattis, who is being considered for Secretary of Defense, was very impressive yesterday. A true General’s General!” Trump tweeted. Trump met with Gen. Mattis for about an hour Saturday afternoon at the Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, New Jersey. After the meeting, Trump told reporters the general was “a great man, the real deal.” Mattis who boasts 44 years of service in the Marines, is a retired four-star general who earned accolades for his leadership during the Iraq War, particularly 2004’s Battle of Fallujah — largely considered one of the bloodiest clashes of the war. “Mad Dog” also led a task force in southern Afghanistan in 2001 and a Marine division during the Iraq invasion. He served as commander of NATO’s Allied Command Transformation in Norfolk, Virginia before earning a 2010 promotion to run U.S. Central Command — a position that placed him in charge of all American forces stationed in the Middle East. Since leaving the military, Mattis has been a loud critic of Obama’s Iran nuclear deal and has derided the current administration’s lack of desire to pursue military confrontations.
• Ret. Army Gen. Jack Keane Says He Declined Offer To Be Defense Secretary. (NPR) — President-elect Donald Trump asked him to serve as secretary of defense, retired four-star Army Gen. Jack Keane tells NPR’s Rachel Martin — but Keane declined the offer, citing personal reasons. Keane says he recommended retired generals James Mattis and David Petraeus for the job. “I was asked to serve, but I’m not able to,” Keane told Rachel. “I have some personal issues surrounding the death of my wife recently, and I explained all that to Mr. Trump, and he was very gracious and understanding, and quite supportive.” Keane’s wife, Theresa, died in late June after a fight with Parkinson’s Disease. The couple were married for 51 years and raised two sons.
• The Best From ‘Mad Dog Mattis’ / 16 best quotes from the retiring Gen. James Mattis (Free Beacon) — Here are some of the best words that the “Mad Dog” has had to offer:
  • 1. “I don’t lose any sleep at night over the potential for failure. I cannot even spell the word.” (San Diego Union Tribune)
  • 2. “The first time you blow someone away is not an insignificant event. That said, there are some assholes in the world that just need to be shot.” (Business Insider)
  • 3. “I come in peace. I didn’t bring artillery. But I’m pleading with you, with tears in my eyes: If you fuck with me, I’ll kill you all.” (San Diego Union Tribune)
  • 4. “Find the enemy that wants to end this experiment (in American democracy) and kill every one of them until they’re so sick of the killing that they leave us and our freedoms intact.” (San Diego Union Tribune)
  • 5. “Marines don’t know how to spell the word defeat.” (Business Insider) 6. “Be polite, be professional, but have a plan to kill everybody you meet.” (San Diego Union Tribune)
  • 7. “The most important six inches on the battlefield is between your ears.” (San Diego Union Tribune)
  • 8. “You are part of the world’s most feared and trusted force. Engage your brain before you engage your weapon.” (Mattis’ Letter To 1st Marine Division)
  • 9. “There are hunters and there are victims. By your discipline, cunning, obedience and alertness, you will decide if you are a hunter or a victim.” (Business Insider)
  • 10. “No war is over until the enemy says it’s over. We may think it over, we may declare it over, but in fact, the enemy gets a vote.” (Defense News)
  • 11. “There is nothing better than getting shot at and missed. It’s really great.” (San Diego Union Tribune)
  • 12. “You cannot allow any of your people to avoid the brutal facts. If they start living in a dream world, it’s going to be bad.” (San Diego Union Tribune)
  • 13. “You go into Afghanistan, you got guys who slap women around for five years because they didn’t wear a veil. You know, guys like that ain’t got no manhood left anyway. So it’s a hell of a lot of fun to shoot them. Actually it’s quite fun to fight them, you know. It’s a hell of a hoot. It’s fun to shoot some people. I’ll be right up there with you. I like brawling.” (CNN)
  • 14. “I’m going to plead with you, do not cross us. Because if you do, the survivors will write about what we do here for 10,000 years.”

7am – C REDSKINS WIN: Surging Washington Redskins hand Green Bay Packers fourth straight loss. LANDOVER, Md. — Kirk Cousins passed for 375 yards and three touchdowns, Robert Kelley rushed for 137 yards and three scores, and the Washington Redskins defeated the Green Bay Packers 42-24 on Sunday night at FedEx Field. Pierre Garcon caught six passes for 116 yards and one touchdown, and Jamison Crowder had 102 yards and a touchdown on three catches for Washington (6-3-1), which has won six-of-eight after opening with two losses. The Redskins play at East Division-leading Dallas (9-1) on Thanksgiving. Slumping Green Bay (4-6) has lost four straight — allowing 153 points — and sits two games behind Minnesota and Detroit in the NFC North.

7am – D/E Boycott Hamilton? Donald Trump Supporters Call for ‘Hamilton’ Boycott in Defense of Mike Pence. Supporters of Donald Trump and Mike Pence started the hashtag #BoycottHamilton to defend the vice president-elect who was booed while attending the Broadway show “Hamilton” Friday night, and addressed directly by the cast after the show. “We are the diverse America who are alarmed and anxious that your new administration will not protect us, our planet, our children, our parents, or defend us and uphold our inalienable rights,” said current cast-member Brandon Victor Dixon Friday night as the rest of the cast stood behind him. “But we hope this show has inspired you to uphold our American values, and work on behalf of all of us.” Trump demanded that the cast apologize in two tweets sent out Saturday morning: “Our wonderful future V.P. Mike Pence was harassed last night at the theater by the cast of Hamilton, cameras blazing.This should not happen!,” Trump wrote. “The Theater must always be a safe and special place.The cast of Hamilton was very rude last night to a very good man, Mike Pence. Apologize!”

8am – A INTERVIEW — SCOTT RASMUSSEN – President, Rasmussen Media Group; Sr Fellow at King’s College and Founder of Rasmussen Reports

• America Reveals Strong and Growing Republican Party. (By Scott Rasmussen / Townhall) — Political journalists totally dismissed the possibility of a victory by Donald Trump because they were looking in the wrong direction. Too many of them look to Washington, DC to explain what’s happening in America. They’ve got it backwards. We should all look to America to explain what’s happening in official Washington. From that perspective, the only real question is why President-elect Trump didn’t win by a bigger margin. For example, there are 99 state legislative bodies in America (every state but Nebraska has two — a House and a Senate). Data from Ballotpedia.org shows that, during the Obama Administration, there was an amazing transformation among those legislatures. An astounding 85 out of the 99 are more Republican today than they were when President Obama took office.” The impact of this can be seen in the number of what Ballotpedia calls Trifectas. These are states where one party controls both houses of the state legislature and the governorship. They have, in effect, total control over the state’s political process. When President Obama took office, Democrats had more Trifecta control than Republicans. There were 14 Trifectas held by the president’s party and 11 by the loyal opposition. Now, however, the Republicans dominate. Following last week’s election, the GOP holds 25 Trifectas while the Democrats hold only six. To suggest that Republican gains during the Obama years have been broad and deep is an understatement. There are now 958 more individual Republican state legislators than there were eight years ago. On top of this, Republicans have increased their number of U.S. Senators from 41 to 52 and added more than 60 seats in the House of Representatives. Overall, as chronicled by Sean Trende of Real Clear Politics, the Republican Party is stronger today than it has been at any time since the 1920s.

8am – B Entertainment News:

• Kanye West Told Fans He Would Have Voted For Trump. During Kanye West’s Saint Pablo tour stop in San Jose, the rapper told the crowd that he didn’t vote, but if he had, he would have checked the box for Trump. A fan captured this video of Yeezy declaring his support for the president elect. And it appears as if the crowd was just as surprised as we are to learn of West’s dirty little secret because the majority of them boo-ed the rapper after he gave his short speech.
• Kanye West cancels Los Angeles concert hours after wild post-election rant. (Fox News) – Kanye West canceled a concert in Los Angeles on Sunday night hours after going on a rant about President-elect Donald Trump, Jay-Z, and Beyonce and cutting short a show in Sacramento. The Los Angeles Times reported that the show was canceled three hours before the show was set to begin at The Forum. Refunds would be made available, the venue tweeted. West’s label, Ticketmaster nor Live Nation have given any explanation for the cancellation. The latest drama comes after West cut short is Sacramento show after going on a wild rant about Trump and others. Captured on video by concert-goers Saturday night in Sacramento, West in an over 10-minute tirade told the audience he was on his “Trump (expletive) tonight.” He talked about Beyonce, Jay Z, Hillary Clinton, Mark Zuckerberg, the radio and MTV at the stop of his Saint Pablo Tour.
• Celebrities Slammed Donald Trump at the American Music Award. (Cosmopolitan) — The evening was packed with Trump impressions, protest chants, and a shoutout to Hamilton. Last night at the American Music Awards, presenters and performers had a few words to say to President-elect Donald Trump. With an evening packed with ridiculous impressions, protest chants, and even a few f-bombs, here were some of the best Trump jabs of the night. 1. Hosts Gigi Hadid and Jay Pharoah challenged each other to their best Melania and Donald Trump impressions. Gigi’s wasn’t half bad as Melania.

2. After Gigi, Jay then transformed into Donald Trump, who is apparently quite the fan of Bruno Mars.
3. Chrissy Teigen had some harsh words about the election and was censored while introducing her husband, John Legend.
4. Just a few days after Trump said Vice President-elect Mike Pence was “harassed” by the cast of Hamilton, Idina Menzel and Mark Cuban took a jab at the president-elect and gave a shoutout to the Broadway cast.
5. Green Day performed “Bang Bang” and lead the audience in a familiar anti-Trump protest chant in the middle of their set: “No Trump, no KKK, no fascist USA.”

• Stevie Van Zandt calls out ‘Hamilton’ cast for ‘bullying’ Pence. (Washington Examiner) – Stevie Van Zandt criticized the cast of the musical “Hamilton” for singling out Vice President-elect Mike Pence for scolding when Pence saw the show on Broadway Friday. “This sets a terrible precedent,” Van Zandt, an inductee to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for his role in Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Band, tweeted Saturday.

Stevie Van Zandt @StevieVanZandt: Lin-Manuel is a genius. He has created the greatest play since West Side Story. He is also a role model. This sets a terrible precedent> 11:08 AM – 19 Nov 2016

He argued that precedent ought to be overturned by a personal apology to Pence by “Hamilton” playwright and public face Lin-Manuel Miranda. “When artists perform the venue becomes your home. The audience are your guests. It is nothing short of the same bullying tactic[s] we rightly have criticized Trump for in the past. It’s taking unfair advantage of someone who thought they were a protected guest in your home,” he explained.

Stevie Van Zandt @StevieVanZandt: When artists perform the venue becomes your home. The audience are your guests. It is nothing short of the same bullying tactic we rightly> 11:35 AM – 19 Nov 2016

8am – C Melania and Barron Trump WON’T move to the White House for seven months so he can finish school year in NYC – threatening nightmarish traffic and security checks for shoppers near Trump Tower (Daily Mail) — Melania and Barron Trump are set to keep living in Trump Tower once the Donald moves to the White House on January 20 – in a move that threatens continued traffic chaos and delays for New Yorkers in midtown Manhattan. Melania and Barron won’t move to the White House until after the 10-year-old finishes the school year in June, the president-elect said on Sunday. Melania will travel to Washington, D.C. when necessary, and Donald Trump himself is expected to spend much of his time at his gilded penthouse apartment in midtown Manhattan. News that Melania and Barron would be staying in New York angered residents who feared the security measures, ranging from armed officers, road closures and pedestrian bag checks, would exacerbate traffic in the city.

8am – D INTERVIEW — TREVOR MATICH — Redskins elite long snapper, WMAL’s Redskins analyst and Comcast SportsNet co-host

• Green Bay Packers (4-6) 24 vs Washington Redskins (6-3) 42
• Surging Washington Redskins hand Green Bay Packers fourth straight loss. LANDOVER, Md. — Kirk Cousins passed for 375 yards and three touchdowns, Robert Kelley rushed for 137 yards and three scores, and the Washington Redskins defeated the Green Bay Packers 42-24 on Sunday night at FedEx Field. Pierre Garcon caught six passes for 116 yards and one touchdown, and Jamison Crowder had 102 yards and a touchdown on three catches for Washington (6-3-1), which has won six-of-eight after opening with two losses. The Redskins play at East Division-leading Dallas (9-1) on Thanksgiving.

8am – E SNL Highlights:

• SNL ‘Bubble’ skit about liberals in denial over Trump was perfect. “Saturday Night Live” envisions a literal bubble where “life can continue for progressive Americans just as before.” The Bubble is “a community of like-minded free thinkers….and no one else” where hybrid cars, used-book stores and “small farms with the rawest milk you’ve ever tasted” dominate.
• Baldwin returns to @nbcsnl — but president-elect isn’t laughing: Donald J. Trump @realDonaldTrump: I watched parts of @nbcsnl Saturday Night Live last night. It is a totally one-sided, biased show – nothing funny at all. Equal time for us? 8:26 AM – 20 Nov 2016