To view past editions of The Hill’s 12:30 Report, click here: http://bit.ly/1M1mIfw To receive The Hill’s 12:30 Report in your inbox,…
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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 tweetstorm — Calls Stormy Daniels ‘Horseface’| Daniels, Avenatti fire back| Trump mocks Warren DNA test as ‘useless’ | Warren calls Trump ‘creepy’ in response| Trump threatens aid to Honduras over migrant caravan| Dems fear Avenatti’s approach| Three weeks to midterms| Cruz, O’Rourke debate tonight| Pompeo meets Saudi king
LATE THIS MORNING
*Sees Trump’s ‘horseface’ tweet*
*Long sigh*
*Instead clicks on the next tweet on my timeline — « Your Horoscope » in The Onion:
In case you’re on my level today and are also stooping to reading your Onion Horoscope
–> http://bit.ly/2Ot1zZp
President Trump called Stormy Daniels « Horseface » and denounced her legal efforts against him. http://bit.ly/2RUo084
He tweeted: « Federal Judge throws out Stormy Danials lawsuit versus Trump. Trump is entitled to full legal fees. » @FoxNews Great, now I can go after Horseface and her 3rd rate lawyer in the Great State of Texas. She will confirm the letter she signed! She knows nothing about me, a total con! » http://bit.ly/2P13Tq8
Timing: Yesterday, a New York judge dismissed Daniels’ defamation suit against Trump. She was also ordered to repay the president’s legal fees. http://bit.ly/2PBhlhp
REACTION FROM DANIELS’S LAWYER — DAYUM: Michael Avenatti tweeted back at the president, « You are a disgusting misogynist and an embarrassment to the United States. Bring everything you have, because we are going to demonstrate to the world what a complete shyster and liar you are. How many other women did you cheat on your wife with while you had a baby at home? » http://bit.ly/2CNV6lo
BREAKING REACTION FROM STORMY DANIELS – I CAN’T EVEN TODAY: The former adult film star later hit back at Trump, making a ribald reference to his genitals. Stormy tweeted: « Ladies and Gentlemen, may I present your president. In addition to his…umm…shortcomings, he has demonstrated his incompetence, hatred of women and lack of self control on Twitter AGAIN! And perhaps a penchant for bestiality. Game on, Tiny. » http://bit.ly/2EyyNBU
KEEP IN MIND ABOUT TRUMP TODAY: The president has no public events on his schedule.
It’s Tuesday — the midterms are three weeks from today. 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, @CateMartel and on Facebook .
TALK OF THE MORNING
Sooo, the DNA test will be the next news cycle I’m tapping out of:
President Trump and Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) have been feuding after she revealed that she had a distant Native American ancestor. Trump and Republicans have long questioned her claims of Native heritage.
BASED ON THE DNA TEST: Warren is somewhere between 1/32 and 1/1,024 American Indian.
HOW THE CHEROKEE NATION REACTED: The Cherokee Nation in a statement said using a DNA test to claim connection with a tribal nation is « inappropriate » and « wrong. » More from the statement: « Using a DNA test to lay claim to any connection to the Cherokee Nation or any tribal nation, even vaguely, is inappropriate and wrong. It makes a mockery out of DNA tests and its legitimate uses while also dishonoring legitimate tribal governments and their citizens, whose ancestors are well documented and whose heritage is proven. » http://bit.ly/2NJyBiE
TRUMP SLAMMED WARREN AGAIN TODAY: Trump went on a Twitter tirade this morning. For example — he tweeted: « Pocahontas (the bad version), sometimes referred to as Elizabeth Warren, is getting slammed. She took a bogus DNA test and it showed that she may be 1/1024, far less than the average American. Now Cherokee Nation denies her, ‘DNA test is useless.’ Even they don’t want her. Phony! » Full series of tweets against Warren: http://bit.ly/2NKUtKr
HOW SEN. WARREN REACTED — ‘CREEPY.’ SHE CALLED HIM ‘CREEPY’: « We all know why [Donald Trump] makes creepy physical threats about me, right? He’s scared, » Warren tweeted. « He’s trying to do what he always does to women who scare him: call us names, attack us personally, shrink us down to feel better about himself. It may soothe his ego – but it won’t work. » http://bit.ly/2AdLTAs
This feels like a John Dingell tweet:
NEWS THIS MORNING
The next major immigration story to watch:
This morning, President Trump threatened to cut off aid to Honduras if the country doesn’t stop a migrant « caravan » heading towards the U. S. border. http://bit.ly/2Ad6wgc
Trump tweeted: « The United States has strongly informed the President of Honduras that if the large Caravan of people heading to the U. S. is not stopped and brought back to Honduras, no more money or aid will be given to Honduras, effective immediately! »
WHAT SPARKED TRUMP’S TWEET: Via BuzzFeed’s Adolfo Flores, « A caravan of about 1,600 hungry and tired Honduran immigrants crossed into Guatemala on Monday with the hopes of making it to the United States. » Keep in mind: This is the second group of Hondurans to make this trip this year. Photos of the migrants: http://bit.ly/2Ad9IbL
Latest with the missing journalist — Pompeo’s Saudi meetings:
Via CNN, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo met with Saudi King Salman and his son, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to discuss missing journalist Jamal Khashoggi . https://cnn.it/2CktPGg
Meanwhile: According to CNN’s sources, Saudi Arabia is preparing a report to admit that Khashoggi was accidentally killed during an interrogation gone wrong. « One source says the report will likely conclude that the operation was carried out without clearance and transparency and that those involved will be held responsible. One of the sources acknowledged that the report is still being prepared and cautioned that things could change. » What we know: https://cnn.it/2NHWY09
Job openings hit a new record:
Via CNBC’s Jeff Cox, job openings hit 7.14 million in August, according to a survey from the Labor Department that has been tracking this data since December 2000. What this means: The new record indicates that « companies could face more inflationary pressures ahead with a tight labor market. » Details: https://cnb.cx/2P0JvoZ
MEANWHILE IN THE STOCK MARKET — DOW SURGES 374 POINTS: « Stocks rose on Tuesday after the release of strong quarterly results from some of the largest U. S. companies helped the market recover from last week’s sell-off. » https://cnb.cx/2Pxkz5s
Why Rick Perry is having a bad day:
Via Politico’s Eric Wolff and Darius Dixon, « One of the Trump administration’s major efforts to prop up ailing coal companies has run aground in the White House, a setback to an industry that had hoped for a major resurgence after Donald Trump won the presidency.
