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--> A midday take on what's happening in politics and how to have a sense of humor about it.*

*Ha. Haha. Hahah. Sniff. Haha. Sniff. Ha--breaks down crying hysterically.

The Hill’s 12:30 Report: Trump calls into ‘Fox & Friends’ | Says he wants a trial | Repeats debunked Ukraine claim | Hill, Holmes give damaging testimony | Five takeaways | New poll: Independents now oppose impeachment | Elon Musk Elon Reeve MuskTesla network outage leaves owners unable to connect to vehicles The pandemic showed states that businesses don't need special favors Would becoming one of the first people to settle Mars be worth dying for? MORE botches Cybertruck demo, shatters ‘Armor Glass’ windows twice

NEWS OF THE MORNING



Everyone, please welcome our co-host, Donald Trump:

President Trump Donald John TrumpFederal prosecutor speaks out, says Barr 'has brought shame' on Justice Dept. Former Pence aide: White House staffers discussed Trump refusing to leave office Progressive group buys domain name of Trump's No. 1 Supreme Court pick MORE called into “Fox & Friends” this morning for a nearly hourlong interview.

Watch Trump’s full interview: http://bit.ly/2QH7SbG





TRUMP REPEATED HIS DEBUNKED CLAIM THAT UKRAINE IS CONNECTED TO A HACKED 2016 DEMOCRATIC SERVER:

Trump said on “Fox & Friends”: "They gave the server to CrowdStrike or whatever it’s called, which is a company owned by a very wealthy Ukrainian, and I still want to see that server. ... A lot of it had to do, they say, with Ukraine. Why did they give it to a Ukrainian company?"

Co-host Steve Doocey asked: "Are you sure they did that?"

Trump: "That’s what the word is. That’s what I asked actually on my phone call you know. I asked it very point-blank because we’re looking for corruption. There’s tremendous corruption. Why should we be giving hundreds of millions of dollars to countries when there’s this kind of corruption?"

Keep in mind: “Trump made the claim a day after a former White House official with expertise on Russia, Fiona Hill, chastised Republicans for giving air in the impeachment hearings to conspiracy theories that Ukraine, and not Russia, was a driver of electoral interference in the 2016 election.” http://bit.ly/2rkjI0Y





TRUMP SAID HE WANTS A TRIAL:

“I want a trial,” Trump said. “There’s nothing there.” http://bit.ly/35n8h7l





ON KELLYANNE CONWAY’S HUSBAND, GEORGE:

"Kellyanne is great but she’s married to a total whack job,” Trump said on the show. “I think, she must have done some number on him ... I don’t know what Kellyanne did to that guy because I don’t even know him ... he’s got to be some kind of a nut job. She must have done some bad things to him because that guy’s crazy." http://bit.ly/2KLFh11





ON THE IMPEACHMENT HEARINGS:

Trump says people went easy on Yovanovitch because she's a woman: "I said, ‘Why are you being so kind?’ ‘Well, sir, she’s a woman. We have to be nice,' " Trump said. "She’s very tough. I heard bad things." http://bit.ly/2KIQi36

And on U.S. Ambassador to the European Union Gordon Sondland Gordon SondlandGOP chairman vows to protect whistleblowers following Vindman retirement over 'bullying' Top Democrat slams Trump's new EU envoy: Not 'a political donor's part-time job' Trump names new EU envoy, filling post left vacant by impeachment witness Sondland MORE: Trump called Sondland’s claim about a quid pro quo with Ukraine “total nonsense.” http://bit.ly/37wdBXE

Happy Friday! I’m Cate Martel with a quick recap of the morning and what’s coming up. Send comments, story ideas and events for our radar to cmartel@thehill.com — and follow along on Twitter @CateMartel and Facebook.

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IN THE WHITE HOUSE



It’s me, Prince Charming:

Via The Hill’s Alexander Bolton, “President Trump stepped up his charm offensive with Senate Republicans, who will handle any House impeachment charges, by meeting Thursday with a group of GOP lawmakers that included two of his biggest critics: Sens. Mitt Romney Willard (Mitt) Mitt RomneyCrenshaw looms large as Democrats look to flip Texas House seat The Hill's Morning Report - Sponsored by Facebook - Republicans lawmakers rebuke Trump on election Trump dumbfounds GOP with latest unforced error MORE (Utah) and Susan Collins Susan Margaret CollinsDemocratic senator to party: 'A little message discipline wouldn't kill us' Poll: 57 percent of Americans think next president, Senate should fill Ginsburg vacancy On The Trail: Making sense of this week's polling tsunami MORE (Maine).” http://bit.ly/2D3ZLOx

What they discussed, besides impeachment of course: “Legislation to lower prescription drug costs, the U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade deal and proposals to curb vaping products.”





REACTIONS FROM REPUBLICANS INVOLVED:

Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah): He called the meeting “delightful.” And via NBC News, Romney also said, "[Trump] had made some initial comments that related to the impeachment process, but it's nothing that I haven't heard on TV from him.” https://nbcnews.to/2XHhm8u

Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine): Collins said “the vast majority of the discussion was on prescription drugs and vaping.” And she said Trump’s comments on impeachment were “brief.”

Sen. Shelley Moore Capito Shelley Wellons Moore CapitoCongress must finish work on popular conservation bill before time runs out Second GOP senator to quarantine after exposure to coronavirus GOP senator to quarantine after coronavirus exposure MORE (R-W.Va.): “It was good.” She also said she got to pitch the president on her bill to protect minors from sale for financial gain.

Sen. John Cornyn John CornynHillicon Valley: Productivity, fatigue, cybersecurity emerge as top concerns amid pandemic | Facebook critics launch alternative oversight board | Google to temporarily bar election ads after polls close Lawmakers introduce legislation to boost cybersecurity of local governments, small businesses On The Trail: Making sense of this week's polling tsunami MORE (R-Texas): “We work together necessarily to pass legislation, so I don’t think getting together and having conversations about issues is anything wrong. I think senators will do their duty as they see it, regardless of a free lunch.”





TIDBIT FROM John Bolton John BoltonJudge appears skeptical of Bolton's defense of publishing book without White House approval Maximum pressure is keeping US troops in Iraq and Syria Woodward book trails Bolton, Mary Trump in first-week sales MORE THIS MORNING:

Former national security adviser John Bolton tweeted this morning, “Glad to be back on Twitter after more than two months. For the backstory, stay tuned........” http://bit.ly/2reOl7O

He then followed up two hours later: “We have now liberated the Twitter account, previously suppressed unfairly in the aftermath of my resignation as National Security Advisor. More to come.....” http://bit.ly/2XAsFza





LATEST WITH THE IMPEACHMENT INQUIRY



Interesting poll — independents aren’t keen on impeachment:

45 percent of independent voters oppose impeaching President Trump, while 43 percent support impeachment, according to a new national Emerson College poll. http://bit.ly/37vOvbG

For context: That’s a 6-point swing since October, when 48 percent supported impeachment and 44 percent opposed it.

I.e.: More independents now oppose impeachment than support it.

See the full Emerson College poll: http://bit.ly/2QHfdIh





FIVE TAKEAWAYS FROM YESTERDAY’S HEARING:

Hill shuts down GOP conspiracy theory Holmes gives details, color about Trump-Sondland call Redundancy is part of the strategy Schiff, Democrats not waiting for the courts Where do we go from here?

Here’s a breakdown of context and what’s next in the process: http://bit.ly/2QIazJW

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GETTING TRACTION



I can barely watch this clip. The secondhand embarrassment.:

Tesla CEO Elon Musk unveiled the company’s new pickup truck, the Tesla Cybertruck. On stage, Musk demonstrated the truck’s indestructible windows by throwing a metal ball at the truck. But it shattered the window. So Musk did it again. It shattered again. https://cnn.it/2OAiS87

Watch: http://bit.ly/2OHadku





INSIDE THE CYBERTRUCK:

Via The Verge, here are photos of the new vehicle: http://bit.ly/2QSuarh

Here is video of the truck demo: http://bit.ly/35sgG9z





IF YOU’RE ALREADY SOLD ON IT (LOL), HOW TO ORDER THE TESLA CYBERTRUCK:

Via CNET: https://cnet.co/2Owd1Re





NOTABLE TWEETS:



If you watch one thing today — I had tears in my eyes from laughing so hard:

The Hill’s Olivia Beavers had a cold while covering the impeachment hearings this week. Her appearance with Anderson Cooper on CNN is incredible.

Hyperlink http://bit.ly/2O8imz4

Watch Olivia talk about it on CNN: http://bit.ly/2OalXN0





ON TAP:

The House and Senate are out. President Trump is in Washington, D.C. Vice President Pence has no public events on his schedule.

11 a.m. EST: President Trump participated in the NCAA Collegiate National Champions Day at the White House.

1:45 p.m. EST: President Trump participates in a listening session on youth vaping and the electronic cigarette epidemic.

3 p.m. EST on Dec. 3: The Senate returns. The Senate’s full schedule: http://bit.ly/2rlXQSz





WHAT TO WATCH:

2 p.m. EST: Sen. Amy Klobuchar Amy Klobuchar3 reasons why Biden is misreading the politics of court packing Social media platforms put muscle into National Voter Registration Day Battle lines drawn on precedent in Supreme Court fight MORE (D-Minn.) holds a town hall in Henniker, N.H. Livestream: https://cs.pn/2ObNnCk





NOW FOR THE FUN STUFF...:

Today is National Cranberry Relish Day.





D.C. plans this weekend:

Via Washingtonian’s Madeline Rundlett, here’s a list of food events in the D.C. area this weekend. The list: http://bit.ly/2QOtOBA





And to get your weekend off to the right start, here is an adorable — and patient —“unicorn”: http://bit.ly/34bXo83