Mornings on the Mall broadcasts live at Eggspectation in Silver Spring for the WMAL Diner Tour!

Mornings on the Mall

Friday, October 12, 2018

Hosts: Mary Walter and Vince Coglianese

Executive Producer: Heather Hunter

5am – A/B/C President Trump praises Kanye West’s words at White House: ‘That was quite something’ (Fox News) Kanye West did lunch with President Trump Thursday, but pre-empted the meal with a wildly entertaining and decidedly bizarre press conference in which he covered Superman, the 13th and Second amendments, North Korea and his budding MAGA bromance with the commander in chief. West began the much-anticipated sit-down by praising Trump’s efforts in North Korea saying, “On day one you solved one of [Obama’s] biggest troubles. We solved one of the biggest problems.” The conversation turned to West discussing the lack of support he received from his Hollywood cohorts with regards to his support of the president. “They tried to scare me to not wear this hat,” West said, referring to his “Make America Great Again” hat he wore to the meeting and on a recent appearance on “Saturday Night Live.”

5am – D Michelle Obama rebukes Holder, Clinton over calls for political warfare (Fox News) Former first lady Michelle Obama on Thursday openly challenged calls from Hillary Clinton and Eric Holder for Democrats to eschew civility in favor of confrontational politics, saying she “absolutely” stands by her famous slogan, “when they go low, we go high.” “Fear is not … a proper motivator,” Obama said during an interview on NBC’s “Today.” “Hope wins out, and if you think about how you want your kids to be raised, how you want them to think about life and their opportunities, do you want them afraid of their neighbors? Do you want them angry? Do you want them vengeful?” “Which motto do you want them to live by? And I have to think about that as a mother,” she added.

5am – E Judge dismisses one count in Harvey Weinstein’s criminal case (CNN) A New York judge dismissed count six of Harvey Weinstein’s criminal indictment Thursday, which was a criminal sexual act in the first degree. The count stems from charges brought forth against the disgraced movie producer in May and July by the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office. A source familiar with the investigation told CNN at the time that the criminal sex act charge was from a case involving aspiring actress Lucia Evans, who alleged Weinstein forced her to perform oral sex on him in his Tribeca office in 2004. She first spoke out about the alleged incident to Ronan Farrow in the New Yorker last fall. The reason that count was dropped today was due, in part, to a newly unsealed letter that prosecutor Joan Illuzzi-Orbon sent to defense counsel Benjamin Brafman in September. It cites alleged inconsistencies in Evans’ story.

6am – A INTERVIEW – DAN MCHUGH – President of Montgomery County Young Republicans 

TOPIC: Discuss the key MoCo candidates and the issues concerning the MoCo YRs this election year.     

6am – B Melania Trump says she is one of the most bullied people in the world; distrusts some in the West Wing (GMA) First lady Melania Trump told ABC News in an exclusive interview that she has told her husband there have been people in his administration she didn’t trust who worked for him. She also said she believes she is one of the most bullied people in the world. Asked by ABC News Chief National Affairs Correspondent Tom Llamas whether there are still people in the president’s administration “he can’t trust,” the first lady said yes.

6am – C Virginia judge: Paul Manafort plea deal in Washington ‘highly unusual’ (Washington Examiner) “This would be highly unusual,” Ellis wrote. “In this district, the government’s decision to re-try a defendant on deadlocked counts is always made in a timely manner and sentencing occurs within two to no more than four months from entry of a guilty plea or receipt of a jury verdict.” Ellis explained that if Manafort is to continue cooperating with Mueller’s team ahead of sentencing, and plans to cooperate after sentencing, the special counsel must file motions to show that Manafort is giving “substantial assistance” to the federal government, and thus deserves a lower sentence.

6am – D INTERVIEW – AMIE HOEBER  – a former Reagan administration official running for Maryland’s 6th Congressional District, Maryland’s only open House seat 

• District 6 – Maryland’s 6th Congressional District encompasses Allegany, Garrett and Washington counties, as well as parts of Frederick and Montgomery counties
• Heading into the election the incumbent is John Delaney (D), who was first elected in 2012. On July 28, 2017, Delaney announced that he would run for president in 2020 rather than seek re-election to his seat in 2018.[1] The winners of the June 26 primaries were businessman David Trone (D) and defense consultant Amie Hoeber (R)

6am – E  INTERVIEW – ANJALI REED PHUKAN – The Republican nominee for Maryland Comptroller  

6am – F  Yoko Ono releases new version of John Lennon’s Imagine (The Guardian) Forty-seven years after she co-wrote it with her husband John Lennon, Yoko Ono has released a new version of his signature solo hit, Imagine. Taken from her forthcoming new album Warzone, Ono, 85, creates a new arrangement, first set to drifting ambient tones before the famous piano motif is brought in later on.

7am – A  INTERVIEW – ROBIN FICKER – Republican attorney running for Montgomery County Executive

• In the fall of 2015, Ficker began campaigning for a ballot measure in the 2016 general election to place term limits on the Montgomery County Executive and Montgomery County Council members. Ficker won this fight in MoCo 

7am – B  JOHN WALSH – Running for Maryland’s 8th Congressional District

• District 8 – Maryland’s 8th Congressional District encompasses parts of Carroll, Frederick and Montgomery counties

7am – C A California community is trying to recover a massive 800-pound hammer sculpture after it mysteriously went missing without a trace Friday night.

7am-D  INTERVIEW – CRAIG WOLF – Republican candidate for Maryland Attorney General 

• He is facing the incumbent Democrat, Attorney General Brian Frosh, who’s held the seat since 2015. 
• General Brian Frosh has been a critic of President Donald Trump, filing or joining a number of lawsuits against his administration and its policies. Frosh, a Democrat seeking re-election in November, has been criticized by his opponent, Republican Craig Wolf, for spending too much time on the Trump administration suits. Wolf has said they detract from local issues Marylanders are facing

7am – E INTERVIEW – LARRY MICHAEL – Voice of the Washington Redskins

Topic: Game Sunday against the Panthers

8am – A INTERVIEW – DIRK HAIRE – Maryland GOP Chairman 

TOPICS: Discuss Gov. Hogan’s re-election and other key races in Maryland this election year

8am – B/C INTERVIEW – BILL DAY – Candidate for vacant Delegate seat in Maryland’s District 16

8am – D/E INTERVIEW – LT GOV BOYD RUTHERFORD – Current Lieutenant Governor of Maryland 

TOPICS: Discuss the accomplishments of the Hogan-Rutheford administration in Maryland, why Gov. Hogan is so popular in a blue-leaning state and why to vote for Gov Hogan again this November

• Polling: Hogan overwhelms Jealous in new polls by Gonzales and Post. Republican Gov. Larry Hogan overwhelms Democratic challenger Ben Jealous by wide double digit margins in two new independent polls released Tuesday by Gonzales Research and Media Services and by the Washington Post-University of Maryland. Gonzales has Hogan winning 54% to 36%; the Post has the governor ahead 58% to 38%. Both polls found few voters undecided four weeks out from Election Day, 8% undecided in Gonzales, 5% by the Post.
• WashPost Ed Board endorses Larry Hogan for Maryland The Washington Post Editorial Board writes: Having campaigned in 2014 on a platform by turns vague, glib and pie-in-sky, Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan shifted gears and struck a clear and bracing note on the day he took office, promising in his inaugural address to surmount partisanship and wedge politics in favor of what he called a bipartisan politics of “middle temperament.” That was January 2015, before anyone foresaw the rise of Donald Trump. To his immense credit, Mr. Hogan, a Republican in a state where Democrats enjoy a 2-to-1 advantage, has largely fulfilled that pledge, rejecting what he called “the extremes of either political party” and taking a pragmatic, centrist approach to leadership that has been a tonic in a venomous era. …We didn’t support him when he ran for governor in 2014. We do now. Mr. Hogan deserves a second term.