Today in Trumpworld -- May 31

TRUMP’S SCHEDULE:

10:30 a.m.: President Donald Trump will receive his daily intelligence briefing in the Oval Office.


1:45 p.m.: Trump will meet with Secretary of State Rex Tillerson in the Oval Office.

3 p.m.: Trump will welcome Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc of Vietnam to the White House. The two will hold a meeting in the Oval Office before an expanded bilateral meeting in the Cabinet Room.

OTHER HAPPENINGS: Secretary of Veterans Affairs David Shulkin will brief the press at the White House at 11:30 a.m. Press secretary Sean Spicer will hold an off-camera gaggle with the press at the White House at 2 p.m.

TRUMP’S TWITTER THIS MORNING: At 12:06 a.m., Trump wrote, "Despite the constant negative press covfefe" -- he deleted the tweet some time after 5 a.m. His other tweets this morning: “Who can figure out the true meaning of ‘covfefe’ ??? Enjoy! … So now it is reported that the Democrats, who have excoriated Carter Page about Russia, don't want him to testify. He blows away their.......case against him & now wants to clear his name by showing ‘the false or misleading testimony by James Comey, John Brennan…’ Witch Hunt! … Kathy Griffin should be ashamed of herself. My children, especially my 11 year old son, Barron, are having a hard time with this. Sick!”

BREAKING: TRUMP TO WITHDRAW FROM PARIS DEAL: From POLITICO’s Andrew Restuccia and Josh Dawsey: “President Donald Trump is planning to pull the United States out of the Paris climate change agreement, according to a White House official, in a move that is certain to infuriate America’s allies across the globe and could destabilize the 2015 accord. The upcoming decision is a victory for hardliners such as senior White House adviser Stephen Bannon, who argued that the deal would hobble the U.S. economy and Trump’s energy agenda, and a defeat for moderates like Trump’s daughter Ivanka, who feared that withdrawing would damage U.S. relations abroad. Trump had promised during the campaign to ‘cancel’ the nearly 200-nation agreement, the most comprehensive climate pact ever negotiated.”

JARED WATCH: From POLITICO’s Annie Karni: “There has been no rallying the troops in the White House, and no open acknowledgment from President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, that he has transformed from behind-the-scenes West Wing power broker to its lead distracting story. Kushner led three meetings in the West Wing on Tuesday — and never once acknowledged the stories about him that have dominated cable news since last week, when it was reported that during the campaign he discussed setting up a secret communications back channel to Moscow. For the first five months of Trump’s administration, Kushner has managed to stay out of Trump's line of fire, even as every other top West Wing aide has taken a turn on the outs with the president. As Trump has sought input from outside advisers on whom he should keep and whom he should can, Kushner seems to operate as a faculty member with tenure in an otherwise insecure work environment.”

TRUMP AND EUROPE: From POLITICO’s Nahal Toosi: “President Donald Trump may be aggravating Germany, France and other U.S. allies in Europe with his tirades and qualms about trade imbalances, NATO spending and the Paris climate change deal. But the White House is casting Trump’s approach as one designed to strengthen the U.S.-European relationship — not kill it. After all, Trump aides insist, real friends tell each other hard truths.”

HIRING WOES: From POLITICO’s Andrew Restuccia and Josh Dawsey: “President Donald Trump’s effort to fill hundreds of vacant jobs across the federal government has hit a new snag: Russia. Potential hires are paying close attention to the expanding investigations, which have now begun to touch senior Trump aides, with some questioning whether they want to join the administration. Four people who work closely with prospective nominees told POLITICO that some potential hires are having second thoughts about trying to land executive branch appointments as federal and congressional investigations threaten to pose a serious distraction to Trump’s agenda.”

TRUMP’S CELL PHONE: From AP’s Vivian Salama: “President Donald Trump has been handing out his cellphone number to world leaders and urging them to call him directly, an unusual invitation that breaks diplomatic protocol and is raising concerns about the security and secrecy of the U.S. commander in chief’s communications. Trump has urged leaders of Canada and Mexico to reach him on his cellphone, according to former and current U.S. officials with direct knowledge of the practice. Of the two, only Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has taken advantage of the offer so far, the officials said. … The notion of world leaders calling each other up via cellphone may seem unremarkable in the modern, mobile world. But in the diplomatic arena, where leader-to-leader calls are highly orchestrated affairs, it is another notable breach of protocol for a president who has expressed distrust of official channels. The formalities and discipline of diplomacy have been a rough fit for Trump — who, before taking office, was long easily accessible by cellphone and viewed himself as freewheeling, impulsive dealmaker.”



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