The Note: Stormy weather ahead?
What's next for the White House in the wake of the Stormy Daniels interview?
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The TAKE with Emily Goodin
For President Donald Trump, a pressing question now is whether the political fallout from last night's Stormy Daniels interview on CBS News' “60 Minutes” could be as potentially damaging as the legal questions he's facing. (The president had dinner at Mar-a-Lago with attorney Michael Cohen the night before.)
While some will argue various parts of this story have been public for a while, for many Americans this is the first time they are seeing all the puzzle pieces put together.
That's because the Daniels interview follows one former Playboy model Karen McDougal gave CNN Thursday about her alleged relationship with the president.
The back-to-back conversations could result in a renewed public focus on both the investigations surrounding the president and on his personal life – two roads the White House does not want to go down.
It also raises questions of how the squall surrounding Trump will affect Republicans on the ballot this November.
One House Republican has cited the tempestuous White House as one reason he’s not seeking re-election this year.
“Whether it’s Stormy Daniels or passing an omnibus spending bill that the president threatens to veto after promising to sign, it’s very difficult to move forward in a constructive way today,” GOP Rep. Ryan Costello of Pennsylvania said Sunday, when he announced he won’t run again in November.
And his comments could mean a whirlwind to come.
So expect more coming out of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue in order to counter any bad political prediction – anything from a personnel announcement to a Cabinet shuffle to a significant policy initiative.
After all, a major administration shift could be what the Trump White House needs - to shift attention away from a stormy forecast.
The RUNDOWN with MaryAlice Parks
On ABC's "This Week," a high school student told co-anchor Martha Raddatz that soon her peers will not only be able to vote for candidates who back gun safety reforms - but run for office themselves.
And that - a new generation of candidates running specifically on gun safety platforms and winning - is probably what it would take for sweeping legislation to be passed.
The power of the NRA is multi-faceted. Republican candidates fear facing well-funded primary challenges if they support even measured, bipartisan reforms. The NRA has also been successful mobilizing voters, especially during primaries, and in expanding and promoting a culture in many communities where guns are seen as a key part of household identities.
In some local and state races, though, even in redder parts of the country, candidates running on this issue have begun to emerge. Unsurprisingly, many are moms. Their ability, though, to mobilize voters and win is still just beginning to be tested. And largely, the Democratic party - looking to gain congressional seats, take back the House and win in red and purple districts – has not been encouraging or seeking out these types of candidates in new battleground areas.
The TIP with Pierre Thomas
There were many remarkable things about the March for Our Lives. Politics aside, it was just amazing to see all those young people, their parents and others gathered together across the nation to try to make a difference.
But what was most striking is how at least one group of protesters merged the shootings in Parkland, Fla., and other suburban communities with the lives lost in the nation’s urban centers - cities like Chicago and Baltimore. They stood shoulder to shoulder, often embracing.
Gun violence in this country is a chronic plague. The numbers are consistently awful — despite the progress made in combating and lowering violence in the last decade. Just way too many people shot, wounded or killed — all the time.
It truly is stunning actually — with so many of all races being killed and wounded each day in domestic violence - to the terribly routine violence in inner-cities—often looked at as just numbers and many days - simply forgotten.
For 11 days in the summer of 2016 ABC News partnered with Gun Violence Archive to examine shootings in this country—trying to get beyond the same old debate and simply show the truth of what is happening all the time.
At least 509 people died at the hands of gun violence during the 11 days that ABC News documented. There were 1,277 violent gun incidents across the country during that same period.
In the last 72 hours, when millions around the country were preparing to march, 72 people were shot and killed and another 161 were wounded, according to the Gun Violence Archive.
The Nightline project ended by asking a simple question: Are we okay with that? Apparently more and more are saying: No.
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW TODAY
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“This is not a #MeToo. I was not a victim. I’ve never said I was a victim. I think trying to use me to further someone else’s agenda does horrible damage to people who are true victims.” - Stormy Daniels in an interview on CBS News’ "60 Minutes" Sunday night.
NEED TO READ
Stormy Daniels, in 60 minutes interview, says she had sex with Trump once In her long-awaited interview, Stormy Daniels told "60 Minutes" that she had sex with Donald Trump only one time in 2006 -- despite the future president's repeated attempts to continue the affair. https://abcn.ws/2uizYAt
GOP Rep. Ryan Costello to retire, boosting Democratic hopes of taking his House seat Rep. Ryan Costello, R-Pa., will not seek re-election this year, ABC News has confirmed, a move that boosts Democrats’ chances of winning his House seat. https://abcn.ws/2G8OK24
Trump will not hire two attorneys considered for his special counsel legal team President Donald Trump will not be hiring two attorneys to advise him on the ongoing Russia probe by the Special Counsel. https://abcn.ws/2G4c9lq
Trump to make ‘one or two major changes to his government’ soon: President's friend said Trump told him “he's expecting to make one or two major changes to his government very soon,” but “that’s going to be it.” https://abcn.ws/2G7gJQ0
'It is the president' who decides on going to war, despite John Bolton’s rhetoric: National security expert A former national security adviser said that despite concerns that President Donald Trump's new adviser, John Bolton, might "take the country to war," any such decision would lay with the president. https://abcn.ws/2G4vanY
Trump says much of the Stormy Daniels’ stuff ‘a political hoax’: ally says: 'Those were his words' President Donald Trump has referred to stories around his alleged affair with adult film star Stormy Daniels as a 'political hoax,' a friend of the president said. https://abcn.ws/2G3ZHSA
If young people 'show up to vote,' could have 'profound impact': Gabby Giffords' husband Mark Kelly, a retired astronaut, gun-control advocate and husband of former Arizona congresswoman Gabby Giffords, said Sunday that if students who organized the March for Our Lives can mobilize young people to vote, they could swing the 2018 midterms. https://abcn.ws/2G5Pfdx
From Alabama to Alaska, all 50 states had March for Our Lives protests Hundreds of thousands of energized protesters rallied in all 50 states and in Washington, D.C., in the March for Our Lives demanding action toward ending gun violence in the U.S. https://abcn.ws/2G5w5V8
Sen. Marco Rubio gets swift pushback for comments on March for Our Lives As hundreds of thousands of people rallied in support of gun reform on Saturday, Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., said a march “in favor of a gun ban” would not solve the nation's gun violence problem. https://abcn.ws/2G1Vf6S
The Guardian reports that former President Barack Obama wants to create a “million young Barack Obamas” through his foundation, in remarks during a trip to Japan this weekend. http://bit.ly/2G4vfaZ
The GOP is on defense after this weekend’s March for Our Lives protests around the country, The New York Times reports. https://nyti.ms/2G4g9lW
The Note is a daily ABC News feature that highlights the key political moments of the day ahead. Please check back tomorrow for the latest.
Related Topics
Related Stories
ABC News Live