Tuesday 2/27/18: Susan Ferrechio, Hogan Gidley, Larry Kudlow, and guest host Amber Athey joined WMAL on Tuesday!

Mornings on the Mall

Tuesday, February 27, 2018

Host: Vince Coglianese

Guest Host: Amber Athey

5am – A/B/C Q & A with Amber Athey on media coverage of the gun debate

• S.E. Cupp Contends Media ‘Knows So Little’ About Guns: ‘Shouldn’t We Have Gun Beat Reporters?’

• CNN Analyst Suggests Women Can’t Carry Guns Because They Wear Skirts, Dresses

5am – D         Delta’s Split From NRA After Florida Shooting Puts Tax Break On the Line (Fortune) — These Companies Are Cutting Ties With the NRA. In the aftermath of the Florida school shooting. Georgia’s lieutenant governor threatened to block any tax legislation that would benefit Delta if the airline failed to reverse its decision to end a partnership with the National Rifle Association. Delta, which is based in Atlanta, announced Saturday morning on Twitter that it was withdrawing from an agreement to provide discounted travel for NRA members attending the pro-gun group’s annual meeting. With the decision, it joined a growing number of companies including fellow airline United that have decided to rescind discounts or other offers for NRA members following the Feb. 14 mass shooting at a high school in Parkland, Fla. that killed 17 educators and students. Georgia Lt Gov. Casey Cagle, who is running for governor as a Republican this year, pushed back against Delta’s decision on Monday, saying in a tweet: “I will kill any tax legislation that benefits @Delta unless the company changes its position and fully reinstates its relationship with @NRA. Corporation cannot attack conservatives and expect us not to fight back.” Casey Cagle @CaseyCagle I will kill any tax legislation that benefits @Delta unless the company changes its position and fully reinstates its relationship with @NRA.  Corporations cannot attack conservatives and expect us not to fight back.

5am – E         University Shrugs Its Shoulders After White Student Gets Called ‘Mayonnaise Monster Lookin A**’ (Daily Caller) — A North Carolina university bias team declined a white student’s request to start a judicial case after he got called a “mayonnaise monster lookin a**,” according to a Monday report. Wake Forest University’s bias response team, which investigates identity-based harassment at the school, declined to press charges against students who called student Ryan Wolfe a “mayonnaise monster lookin a**” and photoshopped his face onto a cracker, reported The Wake Forest Review. The students engaged in the racially charged attacks before, during, and after Wolfe’s participation in a conservative panel at the school. When Wolfe told student Brianna Reddick that her Twitter mentions were not a safe space, Reddick responded, “If you don’t GET your mayonnaise monster lookin asss OUT my mentions.” Student Charlotte Van Schenck targeted Wolfe and three other conservative students who appeared on a panel by posting a picture of four crackers and saying “loving the lineup!” Reddick presented Wolfe with a box of crackers after the panel and tweeted about it later. “Today I handed the saltiest Republican a box of saltine crackers,” Reddick tweeted.

6am – A/B/C Trump says he would have run into Florida school without a weapon. Would you have? (NBC News) — President Donald Trump said Monday that he would have charged into a Florida school during the shooting there earlier this month even if he were unarmed. “I really believe I’d run in there even if I didn’t have a weapon,” Trump told governors meeting at the White House to discuss school safety. Trump slammed as “frankly, disgusting” the armed school guard who remained outside the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland that left 17 students and teachers dead. The president also criticized several deputies who failed to immediately enter the school, telling the governors that the law enforcement officers “weren’t exactly Medal of Honor winners.” “The way they performed was really a disgrace,” he said. Trump also said that armed sheriff’s deputy Scot Peterson, who was on site during the mass shooting there but did not enter, had “choked.” Peterson, who resigned last week after being suspended without pay, pushed back against a wave of criticism for his actions in a Monday statement from his attorney.

6am – D         David Hogg says he won’t return to school until gun control passed (Washington Times) — One of the most prominent survivors of the Florida school shooting says he won’t go to school until Florida legislators pass gun control. At a gun-control rally in New Jersey, Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School student David Hogg said he won’t return to school, which is scheduled to reopen for class Wednesday, the New York Daily News reported. “I’m not going back to school on Wednesday until one bill is passed,” Mr. Hogg said at the rally. The 17-year-old also had some choice words for gun-rights advocates at the rally, the Daily News reported, calling them “child murderers” and lamenting the fact that many Florida lawmakers who support gun rights didn’t want to meet with him and other anti-gun students. “Literally any legislation at this point would be a success considering the fact that so few legislators in Florida met with us,” he said. “The fact that they want people to forget about this and elect them again as the child murderers they are, that’s unacceptable and we’re not going to let that happen.”

6am – E         Supreme Court and DACA / Trump Wall

• Supreme Court refuses Trump request on DACA (Washington Examiner) — The U.S. Supreme Court has declined to hear a case involving the Trump administration’s repeal of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, and on Monday rejected an appeal from the Justice Department to review a lower court decision that put an injunction on the government’s attempt to end DACA. The ruling means any possible Supreme Court review will have to come after the federal appeals court weighs in, instead of immediately as the Trump administration requested. It also means the administration’s March 5 deadline for ending the DACA program is less meaningful, as the lower court injunction will stand for now as the case continues. The Justice Department sought a Supreme Court review after a federal district court in California ruled against President Trump’s attempt to rescind the program, which protects immigrants brought to the U.S. illegally as children from the threat of deportation and grants them work permits. Judge William Alsup ordered the administration to begin accepting renewal applications from those participating in DACA. In a rare move, the Department of Justice appealed to the high court in the case, Department of Homeland Security v. the Regents of University of California, bypassing the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals and expediting review of the lower court’s decision. The Justice Department admitted it’s request was a rare one, and said it would keep defending its right to repeal DACA in court.
• Trump expected to visit California to view border wall prototypes (Washington Post) — President Trump is expected to finally go to California. The president, who has rarely crossed the Mississippi River during his first 13 months in office, is scheduled to visit California in mid-March to see prototypes for a potential border wall and learn more about the construction, according to administration officials involved in the planning. He will also visit Los Angeles to attend a Republican National Committee fundraiser, these people said, one of a number of fundraisers he is expected to headline in the next two months. The president’s trip to California has been floated several times but then scuttled. Trump prefers to sleep in his own bed at night, and some of his aides have been leery of a trip to the border because protests are likely amid debate over the president’s support for new immigration limits. Trump has criticized California officials in recent days, threatening to pull immigration enforcement out of the country’s most populous state in retribution for what he deemed a “lousy management job.” He has also complained about “sanctuary cities” in California, where local municipalities do not cooperate with federal law enforcement officials.

6am – F         West Virginia News:

• West Virginia teacher strike set to continue Tuesday (CNN) — The work stoppage by West Virginia’s public school teachers and staff looks set to continue Tuesday. Around 20,000 teachers and 13,000 school service employees first hit the picket lines Thursday in all of the state’s 55 counties to demand better pay and benefits. Monday was the third day schools were closed. Christine Campbell, president of the American Federation of Teachers-West Virginia, one of the three bodies representing teachers and service staff, told a rally at the State Capitol on Monday that teachers would not return to their classrooms yet. “We are ready, we are willing. We stand on the right side of public education, by being back here and outside our schools tomorrow,” Campbell said. The head of the state’s largest teacher organization earlier said that small strides had been made in the effort to end the stoppage. “We had a meeting with House and Senate leadership this morning, making some progress,” said Dale Lee, president of the West Virginia Education Association. He did not elaborate on the nature of the progress
• WV Gov At High School: ‘Nobody’s Going To Shoot At Me Or Anything, Are You?’ (Talking Points Memo) — The governor of West Virginia, where public schools statewide have been closed for three days due to a teacher’s strike, opened a speech Spring Mills High School on Monday by joking about getting shot. “Okay everybody, nobody’s going to shoot at me or anything, are you?” Gov. Jim Justice (R) asked the crowd, some of whom responded angrily. “Okay, you don’t have to promise,” he said. Jess Spring, who told TPM in a Facebook message Monday evening that she teaches PE at a middle school in Berkeley County, West Virginia, captured video of the comment. “This was our greeting from the governor of the state,” she wrote in the video description. “Glad I got it on tape.” “Myself and others with me were shocked and saddened at his choice of words when the country is still reeling from the Florida school shooting,” she told TPM. The governor’s office did not immediately respond to TPM’s request for comment. Justice was scheduled to speak at Spring Mills and several other high schools on Monday, according to local reports. The comment, and the rest of the speech, provoked passionate responses from West Virginians.

7am – A          IVANKA / WOLFF:

• Ivanka Trump: ‘I believe my father,’ not his accusers (Washington Examiner) — Ivanka Trump says she believes her father who has denied allegations of infidelity and sexual misconduct. In an interview with the “Today” show, Ivanka Trump was asked if she believes President Trump’s accusers. She called the question “inappropriate” and said other daughters would not be asked such a question. “I think it’s a pretty inappropriate question to ask a daughter if she believes the accusers of her father when he’s affirmatively stated there’s no truth to it,” Ivanka Trump said. I don’t think that’s a question you would ask many other daughters.” “I believe my father. I know my father. I think I have that right as a daughter to believe my father,” she continued. More than a dozen women have accused President Trump of sexual misconduct before he was elected president. More recently, two women have alleged they had affairs with Trump in the early days of his marriage to Melania Trump.
• Michael Wolff may have faked tech issue to avoid question about Trump affair rumor he started (Fox News) — “Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House” author Michael Wolff appeared to pretend his audio malfunctioned during an appearance on an Australian TV program to avoid answering questions about a rumor he started regarding President Trump allegedly having an extramarital affair. “You said during a TV interview just last month that you are ‘absolutely sure’ that Donald Trump is currently having an affair while president behind the back of the First Lady, and I repeat you said you were ‘absolutely sure,’” Australian “Today” show host Ben Fordham asked. “Do you owe the president and the First Lady an apology?” Wolff attempted to interrupt the question before saying, “I can’t hear you.” Fordham repeated his question but Wolff appeared to speak to someone off set and said, “I’m not getting anything.” The host then asked Wolff if he could hear him, and the controversial author answered but claimed he was “not getting anything.” “We were hearing each other well just before,” a clearly dejected Fordham said. “Mr. Wolff was hearing me before but he’s not hearing me… looks like the interview may be over.” Wolff then took out his earpiece and walked off the set. The program reviewed the audio and revealed that Wolff could hear the question all along. “This footage from our London studio reveals that there were no audio problems and Wolff could clearly hear,” the show’s official Twitter account wrote in a message that accompanied the audio.

7am – B/C     INTERVIEW – SUSAN FERRECHIO – chief congressional correspondent for the Washington Examiner – discussed gun legislation in Congress and gun measures that could be taken by President Trump

• Trump and Congress move on guns after Florida (Washington Examiner) — Many are hoping Congress will finally move on stalled gun control legislation in the wake of the latest deadly school shooting, but the effort on Capitol Hill still faces the same kinds of hurdles that have made it impossible for decades to pass measures that make significant changes to current gun laws. The Senate could act soon on a bill that would improve the nation’s background check system used for scrutinizing most firearms purchases, including incentives and penalties to make state government report information that could be used to block gun purchases. But the Republican-run House is likely to oppose the measure unless it is coupled with language allowing concealed carry permit holders to legally bring their weapons to other states, which is a measure that cannot pass the Senate. The two measures were paired in legislation the House passed in December. “It should not happen where that bill comes up by itself in the House,” Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, said, referring to the Senate bill to improve the background check system. Jordan said most members of his faction of conservative lawmakers, the House Freedom Caucus, would oppose the standalone background check bill. GOP leaders assured them in December the two measures “would stay together.” Opposition to a bill that leaves out reciprocity language, Jordan said, “is broader than the Freedom Caucus.”

7am – D         FLORIDA DEPUTY: I’M NOT A COWARD:

• I’m no coward, says deputy who didn’t go inside Parkland school during massacre (Herald Sun) — The Broward campus deputy widely lambasted for not entering Marjory Stoneman Douglas High during the massacre that killed 17 people insists he is no coward — and that he did not initially believe that gunfire was happening inside the building. Broward Sheriff’s Deputy Scot Peterson, in a statement released through his lawyer Monday, said his actions during the Valentine’s Day massacre “were appropriate under the circumstances.” Peterson “heard gunshots but believed those gunshots were originating from outside of the buildings on the school campus,” according to the release. “BSO trains its officers that in the event of outdoor gunfire one is to seek cover and assess the situation in order to communicate what one observes with other law enforcement.” “Allegations that Mr. Peterson was a coward and that his performance, under the circumstances, failed to meet the standards of police officers are patently untrue,” according to the statement sent from the office of Fort Lauderdale attorney Joseph DiRuzzo.

• Broward Deputies Reportedly Told Not To Enter School During Shooting Unless Body Cameras Were On (Mediaite) — Laura Ingraham kicked off her show Monday night with two exclusives regarding the Broward Sheriff’s Office handling of the Parkland shooting. During a monologue that blasted Broward Sheriff Scott Israel for his outspokenness on gun control and for his questionable behavior both before and after the tragedy, The Ingraham Angle received copies of internal emails from the Broward Sheriff’s Office that were shared by a “close” source to the office. The emails sent to staff earlier in the day urged them to defend Sheriff Israel amid growing criticism of his leadership. “As the moment we find our agency up against a flurry of media allegations and a personal attack against our Sheriff, SI stood with us now and we must stand with him,” the email read. “It’s important that they know we ‘stand as one’ during this difficult time.” Ingraham later broke another exclusive report that may shed light as to why several armed deputies were waiting outside during the shooting. According to “sources near the Broward County Sheriff’s Office,” the deputies who arrived at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School were told not to enter the building “unless their body cameras were turned on.” Ingraham went on to report that the deputies didn’t even have body cameras at all. They also lost “radio communication” during the shooting. The source further told The Ingraham Angle that they also lost radio communication during the Ft. Lauderdale airport shooting last year. And on top of that, some of the radio communications from the shooting either are “missing” or “weren’t recorded.”

7am – E         Congressional runs:

• ‘Clueless’ Actress Stacey Dash Running for Congress (Hollywood Reporter) — The former Fox News contributor is running as a Republican in California’s 44th Congressional district. Stacey Dash is running for Congress as a Republican in California’s 44th Congressional District, according to paperwork filed on Monday with the Federal Election Commission. Her campaign committee is called “Dash to DC.” The actress (Clueless) is a prominent conservative and served for a time as a contributor on Fox News. Dash commented on her candidacy on Twitter on Monday afternoon: “Formal statements coming. For those mocking for the district I live in…open your minds. It’s time to for me to put up or shut up and I want to serve great people. I live in the 44th unlike some who don’t live in their districts. Thank you to those who offered their support.” The Southern California district Dash is competing for is represented by Democrat Nanette Barragan, who was first elected in 2016. So far, one Democrat and two Independents have declared their candidacy for the seat. Last week, former MSNBC anchor Dylan Ratigan declared his run for a seat in the House of Representatives.
• Bernie Sanders’ son announces run for Congress from New Hampshire (ABC News) — A new — and familiar — name has joined the list of candidates running in New Hampshire’s 1st Congressional District race: Levi Sanders, the son of 2016 presidential candidate Bernie Sanders. Levi Sanders made the announcement Monday evening after it emerged late last week he was debating entering the race. “After much thought and consultation with my family, friends, and the people of New Hampshire, I am excited to announce today that I am running for Congress in New Hampshire’s 1st District,” Sanders said in a statement. “This is a unique opportunity to listen to the hard working men and women of New Hampshire about the issues that matter to them.” Incumbent Democrat Rep. Carol Shea-Porter is retiring, leaving seven Democrats, three Republicans and one Libertarian seeking her seat. Sanders is the eighth Democrat in one of the most competitive races in the nation. He cited many of the same issues his father has tackled in announcing his run, including a Medicare for All health care system, which “guarantees health care to every man, woman and child without out of pocket expense,” an educational system that allows everyone to go to college, and a commitment to addressing the state’s opioid crisis. Sanders also addressed the hottest national debate at the moment, saying, “It is unacceptable that we haven’t found the political courage to pass sensible gun legislation.”

8am – A         INTERVIEW – HOGAN GIDLEY – Special Assistant to President Trump & Deputy Press Secretary – discussed President’s Trump proposal to ban bump stocks in lieu of legislative action, the NRA, the Supreme Court on DACA, and the President’s coming trip to visit the border wall prototypes

8am – B/C     More on media coverage of gun debate

8am – D         INTERVIEW – LARRY KUDLOW – CNBC Senior Contributor and host of The Larry Kudlow Show on WMAL Saturdays at 7 pm and author of “JFK and the Reagan Revolution: A Secret History of American Prosperity” @larry_kudlow – discussed the future of monetary policy after the change of the Fed chairman and protectionism policy in the White House

8am – E         ‘Go big or go home’: Nats fans audition to sing the national anthem (Washington Post) — Fergie’s national anthem performance at the NBA All-Star Game on Feb. 18 didn’t hit the right note with some. So it’s unlikely that Nationals fans drew inspiration from the former Black Eyed Pea when they turned out Friday to audition to sing the anthem at Nationals Park. The first 50 people to submit an application were invited to try out at the 11th annual live audition. Each candidate performed “The Star-Spangled Banner” for two judges from the Nationals’ entertainment staff. Tom Davis, the team’s director of entertainment, said the audition process is nothing like “American Idol.” There is no golden ticket, but judges select three to five singers each year from various backgrounds who can capture their attention in 90 seconds or less. Those selected will be contacted by Nats entertainment staff by March 9.