The Note: Which Trump will show up at the UN this week?

The pieces are in place for a Trumpian splash at the United Nations.

By
Veronica Stracqualursi
September 18, 2017, 7:11 AM ET
5 min read

— -- THE TAKE with ABC News' Rick Klein

The pieces are in place for a Trumpian splash at the United Nations. A president who likes being the center of attention gets the world spotlight this week, amid a range of challenges where U.S. leadership is the center of the action. President Trump faces dual challenges that will highlight the varied directions in which you often see him pulling himself. He and his team are mindful of this being a U.N. debut, and want progress and a degree of unity in combating ISIS, confronting North Korea and reaching decision points on Iran. But he'll be balancing that with the view from his base. That's where you'll see the side of Trump that declared the U.N. to be "not a friend," and who spent part of his weekend tweeting about "Rocket Man," and sharing a mock gif of his hitting a golf ball into Hillary Clinton's back. It's easy enough to say the president isn't out to make friends. But he's learned on the job that national-security crises require partnerships, if not friendships. Remember that Trump likes being liked. And he's riding just enough domestic momentum, perhaps, to present himself in a slightly more cooperative light.

HOW HITTING HILLARY HURTS

When President Trump insults Hillary Clinton - not her policy prescriptions or her political ideas, but her as a human being - he insults those Americans who voted for her, too. When he ridicules her, when he tweet-mocks, as he did over the weekend, he is ridiculing people who thought she wasn't half bad, and maybe ever preferable to him. He perpetuates the idea that there are some Americans he likes and some he does not. The risk of being perceived like that is one of the reasons past presidents chose to stop criticizing their opponents as soon as their campaigns were over. They wanted to send a message that they represented all citizens, and respected all Americans, even those who did not vote for them. Trump may be wining and dining a few congressional Democrats. But it's worth remembering that he still regularly and actively alienates swaths of the country. He has yet to try to court those who voted against him in any meaningful way, or even show them he wants to work for their values and perspectives, ABC News' MaryAlice Parks writes.

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW TODAY

  • Mike Flynn's family has set up a legal defense fund for the former national security adviser to "help ensure he can defend himself" from the Russia investigations. A source close to Flynn told ABC News that the fund won't accept any contributions from foreign nationals or anonymous donors, nor the Trump campaign or Trump Organization.
  • President Trump's U.N. debut includes a meeting to discuss changes to the U.N., face time with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (a "major focus" of their meeting will be Iran), and time with French President Emmanuel Macron.
  • The White House will host leaders of historically black colleges and universities and announce the new director of its HBCU initiative today amid tension over President Trump's response to Charlottesville.

    • QUOTE OF THE DAY

    "This will be the largest audience to witness an Emmys, period. Both in person and around the world." -- Sean Spicer making a surprise cameo at Sunday night's Emmys

    NEED TO READ

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    British prime minister Theresa May opens up about her relationship with Trump. British Prime Minister Theresa May opened up about her relationship with President Donald Trump, saying they "work very well together." "I do get on with him...President Trump has actually...an affection for the United Kingdom. Like many Americans, he has family connections with the United Kingdom, and we work very well together," May told ABC News chief anchor George Stephanopoulos in an exclusive interview in London that aired on "This Week" Sunday. http://abcn.ws/2jzmwmy

    Trump has "no ideology" except "his own personal interest'": Top Democrat. A leading House Democrat said he isn't surprised by President Donald Trump's recent willingness to work with Democratic congressional leaders because, he said, Trump has "no ideology." "He's not conservative. He's not liberal," Rep. Adam Schiff of California, the leading Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, said on "This Week" Sunday. http://abcn.ws/2xHZJLj

    Trump lawyers clash over how much to cooperate with Russia inquiry. The New York Times

    U.S. considering closing its embassy in Cuba. The Washington Post

    Senate GOP tries one last time to repeal Obamacare. Politico

    Anthony Scaramucci is thinking about running for president! BuzzFeed

    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.