David Taintor is a news editor at Talking Points Memo. Previously, he worked at NBC News and Adweek. He's a native of Minnesota. Reach him at taintor@talkingpointsmemo.com.
President Donald Trump is expected to speak Monday afternoon at the White House, amid fierce criticism that the President failed to condemn white supremacists and neo Nazis at a rally that turned violent in Charlottesville, Virginia over the weekend.
Reuters’ Jeff Mason tweeted a photo of a lectern set up at the White House:
House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) said the “hearts of the whole House” are with Rep. Steve Scalise (R-LA) after the congressman was shot at a congressional Republican baseball practice Wednesday morning.
This morning the hearts of the whole House are with @SteveScalise, the brave Capitol police, staff, and all those who were in harm's way.
President Donald Trump released a statement Wednesday about a shooting at a congressional baseball practice outside of Washington, D.C., saying he was “deeply saddened by this tragedy.”
Trump tweeted that Rep. Steve Scalise (R-LA), who was injured in the shooting, will “fully recover.”
Rep. Steve Scalise of Louisiana, a true friend and patriot, was badly injured but will fully recover. Our thoughts and prayers are with him.
The Vice President and I are aware of the shooting incident in Virginia and are monitoring developments closely. We are deeply saddened by this tragedy. Our thoughts and prayers are with the members of Congress, their staffs, Capitol Police, first responders, and all others affected.
Reporter Ben Jacobs said a candidate for Congress in Montana “body slammed” him during an interview Wednesday, a day before a special election in the state.
The incident apparently occurred after Jacobs, a reporter for The Guardian, asked GOP candidate Greg Gianforte about the Congressional Budget Office’s newly released appraisal of House Republicans’ health care bill.
A rustling noise could be heard on an audio recording of the incident, after which Gianforte apparently told Jacobs, “I’m a sick and tired of you guys.” He added: “Get the hell out of here.”
“You just body slammed me and broke my glasses,” Jacobs said, sounding stunned.
Greg Gianforte just body slammed me and broke my glasses
“He took me to the ground,” Jacobs told The Guardian, which reported that he was speaking from the back of an ambulance. “This is the strangest thing that has ever happened to me in reporting on politics.”
The paper reported that Jacobs alerted the authorities to the incident. The Gallatin County Sheriff’s Office said it was “currently investigating allegations of an assault,” according to Politico.
Gallatin County Sheriff's Office now updates: "currently investigating allegations of an assault involving Greg Gianforte."
— Gabriel Debenedetti (@gdebenedetti) May 25, 2017
The Gianforte campaign said Jacobs asked “badgering questions” and interrupted a separate interview.
“After asking Jacobs to lower the recorder, Jacobs declined. Greg then attempted to grab the phone that was pushed in his face. Jacobs grabbed Greg’s wrist, and spun away from Greg, pushing them both to the ground. It’s unfortunate that this aggressive behavior from a liberal journalist created this scene at our campaign volunteer BBQ,” Gianforte spokesman Shane Scanlon said in a statement, according to Politico.
President Trump early Tuesday admitted that he shared “facts” with Russian officials, a day after the Washington Post and others reported that the President passed on highly classified info to the Russian foreign minister and Russia’s ambassador to U.S. during a meeting in the Oval Office.
Trump said he had the “absolute right” to share the information.
As President I wanted to share with Russia (at an openly scheduled W.H. meeting) which I have the absolute right to do, facts pertaining….
During the Oval Office meeting last week — which occurred amid the fallout over the President’s firing of FBI Director James Comey — Trump reportedly shared information about an ISIS threat, that was obtained from an American intelligence partner, according to the Washington Post.
President Donald Trump is scheduled to speak at Snap-On Tools headquarters in Kenosha, Wisconsin at 3:20 p.m. ET. Watch the president’s remarks live below, via the White House:
President Obama is scheduled to travel to Austin, Texas on Thursday, the Austin American-Statesman reported on Friday. Obama's trip to Texas will be focused on the economy, according to the report.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average on Friday reached 15,000 for the first time, after the Bureau of Labor Statistics showed strong job growth in April and previous months, according to the AP:
BREAKING: Dow Jones industrial average crosses 15,000 for the first time after US hiring surges.
