Joe diGenova, Scott Allen and Tom Rogan joined WMAL on Monday!

Mornings on the Mall

Monday, April 24, 2017

Hosts: Brian Wilson and Mary Walter

Executive Producer: Heather Hunter

5am – A/B/C Poll: 96% of Trump Supporters Would Vote for Him Again, Win Popular Vote. An ABC News/Washington Post poll released on Sunday found that President Donald Trump only had 42% approval from Americans, the lowest since 1945 — but that 96% of Trump supporters say that they would vote for him again. Moreover, the poll indicates that Trump could win the popular vote if the 2016 electorate were to vote a second time. The poll comes as Trump looks to finish his first 100 days later this week on a high note, with new legislative initiatives on tax reform and health care. Unlike his predecessors, Trump had no “honeymoon,” with the media and the Demcoratic opposition — a.k.a. “Resistance” — determined to maintain a bitter antagonism from the very first day.

Washington Post poll hides: Trump still beats Clinton. Wash Post poll hides: Trump still beats Clinton, 43%-40%. A new Washington Post poll that declares President Trump as “the least popular president in modern times,” waits until the second to last paragraph to reveal another tidbit: He’d still beat Hillary Rodham Clinton if the election were held today and in the popular vote, not just Electoral College. The poll found that Trump’s polls continue to be upside down, with a 42 percent approval and 53 percent disapproval.

5am – D VICTORY: Politically Correct Wusses Fail To Ban Dodgeball In This State’s Public Schools. (Daily Caller) — The dark forces of political correctness and the general wussification of America have failed to outlaw the rite of passage that is dodgeball as a school-sponsored activity in Louisiana. A group of about two dozen teachers and education desk jockeys calling itself the Louisiana Physical Education Standards Committee had tried to add a wholesale, statewide prohibition on dodgeball to a set of revamped physical education standards, reports The Advocate, a Baton Rouge newspaper.

5am – E O’REILLY BACK IN PODCAST: Bill O’Reilly: ‘No Spin News’ returns on Monday. For Bill O’Reilly, the word of the day Monday will be “return.” The former Fox News host, who was booted from the network last week following an advertiser boycott of The O’Reilly Factor, is scheduled to speak in a new episode of his “No Spin News” podcast. The new podcast, the first time we’ll hear from O’Reilly since leaving his show for an abrupt vacation two weeks ago, is scheduled to go live on his website Monday at 7 p.m. Only subscribers will have access to the podcast. O’Reilly lost over 60 advertisers after the New York Times revealed he paid $13 million to five former Fox News personalities to settle claims of sexual and verbal harassment. The Factor (minus the “O’Reilly”) ended its 21-year run on Friday night with host Greg Gutfeld filling in for the ousted host.

6am – A Trump Rally First 100 Days:

• Politico reporter Kenneth P. Vogel‏ @kenvogel: “Wasn’t enough for Trump to skip WH Correspondents Dinner—now holding rally at same time, which many would-be dinner goers will have to cover”
• Trump announces rally on night of White House Correspondents’ Dinner. President Trump will hold a rally in Pennsylvania the night of the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner, he said Saturday.”Next Saturday night I will be holding a BIG rally in Pennsylvania. Look forward to it!” Trump wrote on Twitter.

6am – B Ann Coulter:

• Ann Coulter: It’s “up to police to keep me safe” at UC Berkeley. Conservative commentator Ann Coulter said it’s on law enforcement to protect her when she visits the University of California, Berkeley on Thursday. “I’m showing up this Thursday,” Coulter said Saturday evening on “Justice with Judge Jeanine.” “Its up to the police to keep me safe.” The University cancelled Coulter’s original appearance on April 27 after police said in a news conference on Thursday that they had received multiple threats that according to University Chancellor Nicholas Dirks, “could pose a grave danger to the speaker.” UC Berkeley later reversed its decusion and offered May 2 as alternative date. Lawyers from the conservative Young America’s Foundation in a letter condemned the university’s “insincere” offer during a “dead week,” the LA Times reported. Though UC Berkeley responded that it doesn’t have a “protectable” venue on April 27, Coulter says she will appear on campus on the day she originally intended.
• UC Berkeley students threaten to sue over Ann Coulter visit. (Fox News) — Students at the University of California at Berkeley who invited conservative commentator Ann Coulter to speak on campus are threatening to sue the university if it does not find a proper time and venue for her to speak next week. Harmeet Dhillon, who represents the Berkeley College Republicans, said in letters sent Friday to UC Berkeley’s Interim Vice Chancellor Stephen Sutton and chief attorney Christopher Patti that if Coulter is not allowed to give a speech on campus on April 27 she will file a lawsuit in federal court because the university is violating the students’ constitutional right to free speech. “It is a sad day indeed when the birthplace of the Free Speech Movement, is morphing before our eyes into the cemetery of free speech on college campuses,” Dhillon wrote.
• ‘F**king babies’: Bill Maher mercilessly tears into liberals, Berkeley for cancelling Ann Coulter speech . HBO “Real Time” host Bill Maher heavily criticized liberals and the University of California at Berkeley on his show Friday after the school decided this week to cancel an upcoming talk by Ann Coulter and then later re-invite her. Coulter’s speech, which was scheduled for April 27, was cancelled over concerns that her presence on campus would trigger another series of violent protests, something the city of Berkeley has become accustomed to in recent months. The school later reissued the invitation to Coulter, this time for May 2, a time when students are busy studying for final exams or have already gone home for the summer. “Berkeley used to be the cradle of free speech, and now it’s just the cradle for f**king babies,” Maher said on his show Friday. Maher explained that this is not an issue isolated to Berkeley. According to Maher, colleges across the country are cancelling talks because conservative speakers don’t offer opinions and ideas that are “exactly what liberals want to hear.” “And they want to shutter [conservative ideas],” Maher said. “I feel like this is the liberal version of book burning — and it’s got to stop,” he added.
• Bernie Sanders Condemns Threats Against Ann Coulter Speech At Berkeley

6am – C Trump Awards Purple Heart To Wounded Army Sergeant. (Daily Caller) — Donald Trump awarded a Purple Heart to an Army sergeant Saturday who was wounded in Afghanistan. Though most of the press expected the president to play a round of golf that day, the president instead took a trip to the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center with First Lady Melania Trump. It was there he gave Sgt. First Class Alvaro Barrientos the award. Barrientos’s right leg was amputated below the knee after he was injured in March. “When I heard about this, I wanted to do it myself,” Trump said. “Congratulations on behalf of Melania and myself and the entire nation. Tremendous, tremendous job, congratulations.”Trump stuck around after the ceremony and toured the facility while visiting with other service members for about 90 minutes.

6am – D Fox News Meteorologist Janice Dean Recalls Bad Plastic Surgery Side Effects: ‘Read the Fine Print.’ Fox News meteorologist Janice Dean had always wanted to fix the “excess skin” around her neck, but she didn’t take into consideration the side effects that could come with it. In an op-ed published on Friday, April 21, Dean warned others that you should always read the fine print. “Every time I would see my doctor I would ask if there was anything he could do with my neck,” she wrote. “I’ve had a bad relationship with my neck since I was little. There are weird lines around it like a tree trunk — they’ve been there since I was a baby. But now at age 46, I’ve started to notice excess skin gathering like an accordion in the middle. So now along with being able to count the rings around my neck to guess how old I am, there’s also some crepe paper attached to it.” After consulting with her doctor, she decided to go with a procedure called fractora, a laser procedure that promises to regenerate natural collagen and tighten skin in under an hour. Dean’s doctor advised her that it would only take five days to heal and that her results would last five years.

6am – E RIP ERIN MORAN AND KATE:

• Erin Moran remembered by ‘Happy Days’ co-stars Ron Howard, Henry Winkler and others in Hollywood. Following the death Saturday of Erin Moran at age 56, her former co-stars and colleagues took to social media to pay tribute to the iconic “Happy Days” and “Joanie Loves Chachi” actress. Her death was confirmed by the Harrison County Sheriff’s Department in Indiana, which said in a statement, “On April 22, 2017 at approximately 4:07 p.m., the Harrison County Dispatch received a 911 call that referenced an unresponsive female. Upon the arrival of first responders, it was determined that Erin Marie Moran Fleischmann was deceased and an autopsy is pending.” Moran was cast in 1974 in the sitcom “Happy Days” as Joanie Cunningham, the younger sister of high school student Richie Cunningham, played by Ron Howard. “Such sad sad news,” Howard tweeted. “RIP Erin. I’ll always choose to remember you on our show making scenes better, getting laughs and lighting up tv screens.”
• Farewell Kate O’Beirne of CNN’s ‘Capital Gang.’ (CNN)The political world lost a legend this weekend. Kate O’Beirne, longtime Washington editor of National Review and longtime panelist on CNN’s “Capital Gang” passed away Sunday of cancer. Kate O’Beirne was a legend for all the right reasons. Kate was a fierce conservative woman during an era when she would have said women were rarely described as conservatives and even more rarely described as fierce. Kate O’Beirne wasn’t just a conservative, she was conservative with a pronounced New York accent, something even more rare. And she could make an argument better, faster and with more wit than almost anyone else in Washington.

• Kate Walsh O’Beirne R.I.P. (National Review) — Kate O’Beirne was part of National Review’s world before she joined the staff. When she became the magazine’s Washington editor in 1995 her resume already included stints at Senator Jim Buckley’s office, the Reagan administration, and the Heritage Foundation. She served NR in that position for eleven years and then became president of National Review Institute for six more. She brought a witty and well-informed conservatism to a national television audience as well through weekly appearances on CNN’s marquee political talk show “Capital Gang.” Conservatives were outnumbered there as on cable news generally at that time, but it never seemed that way as long as she was on.

7am – A INTERVIEW — JOE DIGENOVA – legal analyst and former U.S. Attorney to the District of Columbia

• Joe weighed in on the legal issues of Berkeley canceling and trying to reschedule Ann Coulter’s speech
• Joe also shared his thoughts on the French election.
• Joe was also good friends with Kate O’Beirne and reflected on her legacy in Washington

7am – B SPORTS NEWS:

• 2017 Stanley Cup – Washington Capitals win Game 6. TORONTO — Bring on the Pittsburgh Penguins. But first, the Washington Capitals need to come up for air. >> Marcus Johansson scored his second goal of the game, 6 minutes, 31 seconds into overtime, and the top-seeded Caps edged the No. 8-seeded Toronto Maple Leafs 2-1 Sunday night, putting an end to a first-round series that was way, way closer than anyone could have ever predicted. The Capitals won the series 4-2.
• Washington Wizards stumbles to defeat. GAME TONIGHT: NBA playoffs: Washington Wizards vs Atlanta Hawks Game 4 score. It appears a little home cooking was all the Atlanta Hawks needed after falling behind 0-2 against the Washington Wizards in their best-of-seven, first round Eastern Conference NBA playoffs series. Paul Millsap had 29 points and 14 rebounds and Dennis Schroder added 27 as Atlanta avoided an 0-3 hole with a 116-98 win in Game 3. John Wall nearly recorded his third straight 30 point game, going 10 of 12 from the field and finishing with 29 points. But backcourt mate Bradley Beal — 31 points in Game 2 — went just 6 of 20 from the field and 0 of 6 from three-point range as Washington failed to reach 100 points for the first time in the series.
• Murphy slam leads Nats to 7th straight win. NEW YORK — Daniel Murphy provided the early offense, and Max Scherzer made it hold up, tossing eight strong innings to lead the Nationals to a 6-3 victory Sunday night at Citi Field to complete a three-game sweep over the Mets. Murphy launched a grand slam in the first inning off Zack Wheeler and Ryan Zimmerman added some insurance with a two-run homer in the eighth, which was more than enough for Scherzer. The reigning National League Cy Young Award winner completed eight innings for the first time this season with nine strikeouts and one walk in a 110-pitch outing.

7am – C Frozen hash brown recall due to possible ‘extraneous golf ball materials’. (CNN) You have an early-morning golf match. You make coffee and contemplate the optimal breakfast to help you hit the ball straighter and calm those first-tee jitters. For now, skip frozen hash browns sold in nine states under the Harris Teeter and Roundy’s brands. The potatoes may contain pieces of golf balls, according to the hash brown maker. McCain Foods USA’s recall notice on the US Food & Drug Administration site says the hash browns could be “contaminated with extraneous golf ball materials” that “may have been inadvertently harvested with potatoes used to make this product.” “Consumption of these products may pose a choking hazard or other physical injury to the mouth,” says the notice of the voluntary recall. There have been no reported injuries, according to the company. McCain Foods is recalling 2-pound bags of Roundy’s Brand Frozen Southern Style Hash Browns from Marianos, Metro Market, and Pick ‘n Save supermarkets in Illinois and Wisconsin.It is also recalling 2-pound bags of Harris Teeter Brand Frozen Southern Style Hash Browns sold in North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, the District of Columbia, Delaware, Florida, Georgia and Maryland.

7am – D/E Poll: 96% of Trump Supporters Would Vote for Him Again, Win Popular Vote. An ABC News/Washington Post poll released on Sunday found that President Donald Trump only had 42% approval from Americans, the lowest since 1945 — but that 96% of Trump supporters say that they would vote for him again. Moreover, the poll indicates that Trump could win the popular vote if the 2016 electorate were to vote a second time. The poll comes as Trump looks to finish his first 100 days later this week on a high note, with new legislative initiatives on tax reform and health care. Unlike his predecessors, Trump had no “honeymoon,” with the media and the Demcoratic opposition — a.k.a. “Resistance” — determined to maintain a bitter antagonism from the very first day.

Washington Post poll hides: Trump still beats Clinton. Wash Post poll hides: Trump still beats Clinton, 43%-40%. A new Washington Post poll that declares President Trump as “the least popular president in modern times,” waits until the second to last paragraph to reveal another tidbit: He’d still beat Hillary Rodham Clinton if the election were held today and in the popular vote, not just Electoral College. The poll found that Trump’s polls continue to be upside down, with a 42 percent approval and 53 percent disapproval.

8am – A INTERVIEW – SCOTT ALLEN – Sports reporter, Washington Post

• 2017 Stanley Cup – Washington Capitals win Game 6
• Washington Wizards stumbles to defeat
• Murphy slam leads Nats to 7th straight win.

8am – B Busy Week Preview:

• Trump announces rally on night of White House Correspondents’ Dinner. President Trump will hold a rally in Pennsylvania the night of the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner, he said Saturday. “Next Saturday night I will be holding a BIG rally in Pennsylvania. Look forward to it!” Trump wrote on Twitter.
• Byron York: Trump’s 100 days: An executive success. (Washington Examiner / Byron York) — Of course Donald Trump over-promised for his first 100 days. What presidential candidate hasn’t? During last year’s campaign, Trump spoke frequently of all the things he would do almost immediately upon entering the Oval Office. He’d repeal Obamacare, reform the tax code, destroy ISIS, build a wall at the U.S.-Mexico border, fix the nation’s roads and bridges, take care of veterans, deport criminal illegal immigrants, and much, much more. By the last weeks of the campaign, Trump actually dialed back some of his promises. On October 22, he traveled to Gettysburg, Pennsylvania to announce his “Contract with the American Voter,” which formalized his pledges for the first 100 days. The “Contract” was a single piece of paper. The front listed 18 actions Trump would take under his executive authority as president, and the back listed ten pieces of legislation he would introduce in Congress.. Now, three months into the Trump administration, the front and the back of the Contract are two very different stories.
• Trump to host conservative media at reception. (Politico) — President Donald Trump will welcome members of the conservative media for a small reception at the White House on Monday. Among those attending: One America News Network, The Daily Caller and Breitbart, as well as some columnists and talk radio hosts. “They were neglected the last eight years, and they’re an important medium to communicate to a massively growing number of Americans who, frankly, have grown tired of mainstream media’s coverage,” White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer said in an interview. The reception, Spicer said, is part of the administration’s overall push to open up the White House to a “more diverse set of media outlets.” The White House has expanded which reporters they call on in the briefing room and at presidential press conferences, and they introduced Skype seats for regional reporters, talk radio hosts and others who might not otherwise be able to attend the daily briefings.
• Paul Ryan: No vote scheduled on Obamacare repeal next week. (Washington Examiner / Susan Ferrechio) — House Speaker Paul Ryan told GOP lawmakers Saturday there is no vote scheduled next week on a new healthcare reform bill as talks continue on reaching a deal between conservatives and moderates on how to repeal and replace Obamacare. “He was clear there will be a vote only when we know we can pass the bill,” a source who listened to Ryan during an afternoon conference call with Republicans, said. “The votes will drive the timing.” Ryan, R-Wis., told Republicans the House will focus next week on passing a spending bill to keep the government open past an April 28 deadline.
• Showdown looms as Trump demands funding for wall on U.S.-Mexico border. (Washington Post) – President Trump and White House officials pressed congressional Republicans on Sunday to use the looming threat of a government shutdown to win funding for a wall along the border between the United States and Mexico, a top priority for the administration as it nears the symbolic 100-day mark. Trump wants funding to be included in a spending measure that would keep the government open past April 28, a determined effort that has prompted a possible standoff with lawmakers in both parties, who hope to avert a federal closure next weekend. Trump’s push for fast action on his pledge to build the border wall is part of a mounting and, at times, tense scramble inside the administration to kick-start the president’s agenda, even if it risks dire political consequences. It follows weeks of frustration within the White House over inaction and stalemates on Capitol Hill over big-ticket items such as health care and tax cuts.
• White House to propose new tax rates Wednesday. (Politico) – President Donald Trump’s tax reform proposal, to be released Wednesday, will include new tax rates, but those will mostly be generalities for Congress to consider, the White House budget director said Sunday. Speaking on “Fox News Sunday,” Mick Mulvaney, the Office of Management and Budget director, said specifics about what tax cuts will be proposed Wednesday are still being determined. He said the announcement will include guidance, principles and “also some indication of what the rates are going to be.”

8am – C Obama to make first public speech since leaving office. (The Hill) — Barack Obama will make the first public appearance of his post-presidency on Monday when he speaks at an event in his hometown of Chicago, his office said Friday. It ends a three-month period of relative silence since Obama left office on Jan. 20, much of which he has spent on vacation in Palm Springs, Calif., on a Caribbean island with English billionaire Richard Branson and at an exclusive resort in French Polynesia. Obama will participate in a town hall-style discussion with young people on “community organizing and civic engagement” at the University of Chicago, near the site of his planned presidential library. “This event is part of President Obama’s post-presidency goal to encourage and support the next generation of leaders driven by strengthening communities around the country and the world,” his office said in a statement. The event is the beginning of Obama’s reentry into public life. He is scheduled to travel to Boston next month to accept the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award. The former president will also meet with German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin, a visit that coincides with President Trump’s first overseas trip to a NATO summit in Belgium. The Chicago town hall comes just days before Trump’s 100th day in office.

8am – D INTERVIEW – TOM ROGAN – is a contributor to the Washington Examiner’s Beltway Confidential blog AND he is a foreign policy columnist for National Review, and a senior fellow at the Steamboat Institute.

• Far-right leader Marine Le Pen and independent centrist Emmanuel Macron have made it to the second round. 36.7 million voted, a turnout of 78.2 per cent; Macron won 23.9 per cent of the vote, Le Pen 21.4. (Daily Mail) — French voters turned their backs on the political establishment last night in round one of the presidential election.
• Emmanuel Macron – an independent centrist – won first place ahead of National Front leader Marine Le Pen. The result will have major implications for Britain and its departure from the EU. Miss Le Pen wants to completely renegotiate France’s relationship with Brussels while Mr Macron wants closer links. According to France’s Interior Ministry, 46 million people voted in the first stage of the elections which knocked the traditional Right and Left parties out of the running for the first time in 60 years. With 97 per cent of the vote counted, Macron achieved 23.9 per cent, followed by Le Pen on 21.4. A total of 36.7million voted, a turnout of 78.2 per cent.

8am – E North Korea:

• North Korea warns it could sink US carrier “with a single strike”: report. North Korea said Sunday that its military could sink a U.S. aircraft carrier that President Trump is sending to the region “with a single strike,” according to Reuters. “Our revolutionary forces are combat-ready to sink a U.S. nuclear powered aircraft carrier with a single strike,” North Korea’s ruling Workers’ Party newspaper said in a commentary, the news service reported. The Rodong Sinmun commentary reportedly compared the USS Carl Vinson to a “gross animal.” The USS Carl Vinson and Japanese navy ships are currently conducting exercises in the Philippine Sea. Vice President Pence said on Saturday the aircraft carrier would arrive in the waters off the Korean Peninsula “within days,” Reuters noted.
• North Korea detains US citizen as tensions rise. (CNN) North Korea detained a US citizen for unknown reasons as he was planning to fly out of Pyongyang International Airport on Saturday morning. Kim Sang Duk, also known as Tony Kim, was teaching at Pyongyang University of Science and Technology, a statement from the school said. The detention comes amid a buildup of tension on the Korean Peninsula, with a North Korean newspaper saying Sunday that Pyongyang was ready to sink a US aircraft carrier conducting drills in the region. Kim is the third US citizen in North Korean custody. The school said he was detained by authorities at the airport “after several weeks of service, teaching at PUST.” American citizen Kim Sang Duk, also known as Tony Kim. His former colleague, who does not wish to be named, verified this photo from 2011 over the phone to CNN.