The Note: Republicans forced to answer for Trump

Trump is still facing fallout over his Charlottesville remarks.

By
Veronica Stracqualursi
August 17, 2017, 7:15 AM ET
4 min read

— -- WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW TODAY

  • President Donald Trump will have lunch today with Florida Gov. Rick Scott in Bedminster, New Jersey.
  • After disbanding two of his White House economic councils because of resignations, Trump meets today with Linda McMahon, head of the Small Business Administration.
  • Trump is returning to Phoenix, Arizona, next Tuesday to hold a rally. But Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton has asked Trump to postpone, given the "nation is still healing from the tragic events in Charlottesville," he said.
  • Vice President Mike Pence is cutting his Latin American trip short. He wraps up his trip today with a visit to Panama, where he'll meet with Panamanian President Juan Carlos Valera.

    • THE TAKE with ABC News' MaryAlice Parks

    Pillars of corporate America have said they cannot work with the businessman president. It remains to be seen whether Republican lawmakers will agree they cannot either. Republicans have distanced themselves before from the words of this president, only to carry on the next day. After Donald Trump's defense of "fine people" on both sides, there was near-universal condemnation from his party of racism and symbols of organized hate. But if, as Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., said, the past few days "complicates this administration's moral authority," should Republicans' relationship with this White House change? Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, called the president, but did others? Though statements from Republicans came swiftly after the president's defiant news conference, and seemed to refer to the president's remarks, many stopped short of naming the commander in chief or suggesting further legislative actions on the issues at hand such as hearings or investigations on the rise of domestic hate groups, for example. Neither the Senate majority leader nor the speaker of the House went in front of cameras. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, forcefully denounced white supremacy but, when talking to Texas reporters Wednesday night, said only of Trump, "The president speaks for himself." One House member said Wednesday he was still focused on working with the White House on tax system overhaul.

    QUOTE OF THE DAY

    "There's no military solution, forget it." White House strategist Steve Bannon on President Trump's "fire and fury" response to the North Korean nuclear threat [The American Prospect]

    NEED TO READ with ABC News' Daksha Sthipam

    Vice President Mike Pence ducks questions about Trump's controversial Charlottesville remarks. Pence did not directly answer questions about whether he agrees with Trump's comments that there were "very fine people on both sides" of the clashes in Charlottesville between white supremacists and counterprotesters.http://abcn.ws/2wSioRb

    Steve Bannon slams far-right: "These guys are a collection of clowns." Bannon has broken his silence on last weekend's white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, describing the participants as "a collection of clowns." "Ethno-nationalism -- it's losers," he said. "It's a fringe element. I think the media plays it up too much, and we gotta help crush it, you know, uh, help crush it more …These guys are a collection of clowns." http://abcn.ws/2x5ZxkL

    What led 2 White House economic councils to abruptly disband. Fallout Wednesday from President Donald Trump's response to the Charlottesville, Virginia, violence cost the White House two key economic advisory councils made up of the nation's top CEOs and business leaders. The Strategic and Policy Forum's dismantlement didn't come as a surprise as many had voiced privately to each other their concerns about staying on board. The council had only met two times in the past eight months, and members apparently believed they weren't achieving much. http://abcn.ws/2i8rVQE

    Special counsel's Russia probe loses top FBI investigator. One of the FBI's top investigators, tapped by special counsel Robert Mueller just weeks ago to help lead the probe of Russian meddling in last year's presidential election, has left Mueller's team, sources told ABC News. The recent departure of FBI veteran Peter Strzok is the first-known hitch in a secretive probe that, by all public accounts, is charging full-steam ahead. It's unclear why Strzok stepped away from Mueller's team of nearly two dozen lawyers, investigators and administrative staff. http://abcn.ws/2fLXUpd

    Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., says he plans to introduce bill to remove Confederate statues from Capitol. The Capitol building's National Statuary Hall Collection features at least a dozen monuments that honor Confederate soldiers and politicians, according to records maintained by the Architect of the Capitol. http://abcn.ws/2wSvJcc

    ANALYSIS from Cokie Roberts: A moment enshrined in history. ABC News

    Steve Bannon, unrepentant. The American Prospect

    Poll: Majority believes Trump's response to Charlottesville hasn't been strong enough. NPR

    Trump lawyer forwards email echoing secessionist rhetoric. The New York Times

    Sen. Tim Scott: Trump's "moral authority"complicated by response to Charlottesville rally. The Post and Courier

    USA Today editorial board op-ed: "After Charlottesville, time to censure President Trump." USA Today

    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.