White House Correspondents Insider

Behind the scenes of the most powerful city in the world — Washington, D.C. — and those who cover it.

Kevin Bacon and Brother to Play Reporter’s Music Jam at White House Correspondents’ Dinner Weekend

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White House Correspondents’ Jam organizer and Rolling Stone Chuck Leavell playing at the 2017 event, Photo Courtesy Getty Images

Actor Kevin Bacon and his brother Michael Bacon, together known as The Bacon Brothers, are set to headline this year’s annual White House Correspondents’ Jam, which will be held on April 27th, one day before the Correspondents’ Dinner itself.

The concert is organized each year by Rolling Stones keyboardist Chuck Leavell, who, according to the Washington Post, “usually enlists a bona fide celebrity band to headline, then rounds out the lineup with bands whose members include moonlighting journalists”.

Journalists on the roster of this year’s Correspondents’ Jam include Lester Holt and his band, and Wall Street Journal senior editor Michael Siconolfi’s group. FOX News’ Chief White House Correspondent John Roberts will be emceeing.

The Post mentions a possible reason for the Bacon Brothers’ appearance. The brothers use the opportunity to come to DC in order “to see their sister, local real estate developer Elinor Bacon”.

You can read more about the Bacon Brothers and the Correspondents’ Jam here.

Trump Offers A Dose of Self Deprecating Humor at Annual Gridiron Club

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Donald Trump at the 2011 White House Correspondents’ Dinner, Photo Courtesy AP

President Donald Trump is (finally) in on the joke. Trump launched a number of zingers aimed at himself and his staff at the annual Gridiron Club dinner held in Washington, DC on Saturday, March 3rd.

The longstanding dinner hosted by the Gridiron Club, an exclusive club for Washington’s most prestigious journalists and newsroom bureau chiefs, is part of a presidential tradition dating back to 1885. In fact, every president except Grover Cleveland has spoken at the dinner at least once. The program is in the same vein as the annual White House Correspondents’ Dinner, where presidents poke some fun at themselves in a stand-up comedy routine.

Upon the White House’s announcement that President Trump was attending the dinner, many in Washington speculated as to whether the president would be as willing to joke about himself or his administration. Donald Trump addressed those concerns right from the top saying, “My staff was concerned heading into this dinner that I couldn’t do self-deprecating humor. They were worried about it. They said, ‘Can you do this?’ And I told them not to worry. Nobody does self-deprecating humor better than I do.”

He saved the best line of the night for his embattled White House senior advisor and son-in-law Jared Kushner, whose security clearance was recently downgraded, saying, “You know, we were late tonight because Jared could not get through security. Ivanka, you’ve got to do something.”

The Washington Post tracked responses to President Trump’s jokes. The reviews were decidedly mixed, noting that Trump was in a “room full of reporters, no few of whom he openly despises.”

You can find more highlights and reviews of the roast here.

Don’t miss Jim VandeHei’s Five-Parter on Jared Kushner’s Fall

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Jim VandeHei, Jenny Licht and Mike Allen, Photo Courtesy Haddad Media.

Jared Kushner is on thin ice according to Axios’ Jim VandeHei, who writes in an epic story out Friday, March 2nd that President Trump’s son-in-law is facing a “slit-by-slit slow bleed”.

VandeHei mentions a series of embarrassments suffered by Kushner over the past week including losing his interim security clearance, losing his top communications staffer Josh Raffel, a bombshell Washington Post report suggesting that four foreign countries are discussing strategies to manipulate him, a New York Times front page detailing loans that his business has received after high-level meetings with the CEOs of Apollo and Citigroup, and last but not least a Maggie Haberman story detailing Trump’s frustrations with Kushner in recent days. VandeHei is quick to point out the fact that both Trump and Kushner both read Haberman’s stories.

You can read VandeHei’s full report here.

NYTimes’ Grynbaum: Trump Losing Hope Hicks Akin to “Losing a Limb”

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Former White House Communications Director Hope Hicks, Photo Courtesy AP

The New York Times’ Michael Grynbaum writes in a piece published on March 1st that soon-to-be-former White House Communications Director Hope Hicks was such an integral part of the Trump White House that her departure will be a major loss to the president, remaining White House staffers, and the journalists with whom she facilitated meetings and interviews.

Hicks’ departure marks “an astounding rise for a political neophyte whose seemingly implausible career hinged on a deep understanding of, and bottomless patience for, her mercurial charge,” writes Grynbaum.

While Grynbaum makes clear Hope Hicks’ lack of political acumen, he claims that in Washington her “success was viewed as a product of other qualities, including her nuanced understanding of Mr. Trump’s moods, her ability to subtly nudge him away from his coarser impulses and her skill as a liaison for some of the most prominent journalists in the country.”

The reasons for her departure, while not made explicit by the White House, are seen by many to stem from recent headlines Hicks has made from her testimony to the House Intelligence Committee on Tuesday, February 27th, and the ousting of her ex-boyfriend Rob Porter, the now former White House staff secretary, for domestic abuse allegations last month.

As for post-White House career plans, Hicks is so far mum. Per Grynbaum, “She has told friends that, for now, she has no definite ideas for her life after the West Wing, except that she will not be living in Washington. An extended vacation with her family is planned. Book agents have come calling, but Ms. Hicks has told acquaintances that she is reluctant to write anything — although she has joked that a massive advance could change her mind.”

You can read the full report here.

CNN vs FOX: Washington Post Says Networks Are the Hatfields and McCoys of Cable News

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Matt Drudge, Tammy Haddad, Howard Kurtz, Tucker Carlson, Sheri Annis, and Barbara Comstock at the Washington Correspondents’ Garden Brunch in 2004

CNN and Fox are at war when it comes to President Trump, the Parkland school shooting survivors, and even each other’s Winter Olympics coverage, the Washington Post’s Paul Farhi reports in a piece published on Thursday, March 1st.

The inter-network squabbling, writes Farhi, “has taken on new intensity in the Trump era. Hosts at CNN and Fox now trade blows almost daily about whose coverage or commentary about President Trump is more distorted or unfair.”

According to Farhi, “In many ways, the Hatfields-and-McCoys act has become a proxy for the news media’s drift into more polarized camps, especially when it comes to covering Trump. The president has certainly stoked the perception that there are pro- and anti-Trump factions in the news media, singling out CNN and Fox in particular.”

Farhi asked both networks’ respective media correspondents what all the bad blood was about.

Brian Stelter, host of CNN’s “Reliable Sources” said that “Fox influences the president of the United States in a way not seen by any other network. Fox affects society in more ways than it did even three years ago. . . . If you only looked at CNN, MSNBC or CBS and you didn’t acknowledge Fox’s influence on the president, then you’d be missing the story.”

FOX media analyst Howard Kurtz says that, “Sniping by rival cable news hosts is a more polarizing sport in the Trump era and that now includes CNN, which fairly or unfairly is often at odds with the president over its coverage. I get why anti-Trump voices at other outlets try to lump Fox’s opinion hosts in with its news division to make it appear there’s one company line, which is clearly not true.”

Kurtz adds, “I make it my business to report fairly on CNN, criticizing or defending as the situation warrants. I treat Fox the same way, which is the ultimate test of fair media reporting.”

You can read the full Washington Post piece here.

Morning Consult & POLITICO Poll: 2/3rds of Americans in Favor of Stricter Gun Laws

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David Hogg, activist and Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School student

Support for stricter gun laws is at its highest point in the last 25 years according to a new poll conducted by Morning Consult and Politico. While it is known that support for new gun control legislation sees a slight uptick after highly publicized shootings, the poll, found that the Parkland, Florida shooting that led to the deaths of 17 students at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School has impacted the views of Americans in a profound way.

According to the report, “Roughly two-in-three Americans now say gun control laws should be made more strict in the wake of the murder of 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, according to a number of polls, including a new POLITICO/Morning Consult poll which shows support for stricter gun laws among registered voters at 68 percent, compared to just 25 percent who oppose stricter gun laws.”

The poll found that most of the new support for increased gun control laws comes from Republicans. According to Kyle Dropp, Morning Consult’s co-founder and chief research officer, “53 percent of Republicans indicated they supported stricter gun laws, compared to 37 percent [of Republicans] who said the same following the Pulse nightclub shooting in June 2016.”

Other polls show similar upticks in support for stricter gun laws. A CBS News poll out last week showed 65% of Americans support more restrictive gun laws, and a CNN poll out this week showed 69% support. As POLITICO points out, that is the highest amount of support for new legislation since 1993.

The poll comes as students from the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School are organizing a March for Our Lives protest set to occur on March 24th in Washington, DC. The Michael Bloomberg-funded nonprofit Evertown USA is assisting the students in organizing similar protests across the United States.

You can read more about the latest Morning Consult/POLITICO poll here.

 

Warren Buffett Cheers on Michael Kives as He Goes Solo with K5 Global

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Michael Kives and Kate Hudson, Photo Courtesy People Magazine

Michael Kives, a longtime leader at the Creative Artists Agency (CAA), former aide to President Bill Clinton, and close advisor to investor Warren Buffett, is launching his new venture, an advisory firm called K5 Global where he will serve as CEO.

Kives has long been a link between the worlds of DC politicos and Hollywood stars. In a statement from Kives, K5 Global will “work with corporations, government entities, and start-ups, and will be involved in a range of industries, including sports, technology, politics, and entertainment.”

Kives is a longtime colleague of Bill and Hillary Clinton, working as interim spokesperson for the Clinton White House and serving alongside Huma Abedin in Hillary Clinton’s Washington office. During his tenure at CAA, Kives’ clients included Warren Buffett, Bruce Willis, Katy Perry Jesse Eisenberg, Eric Stonestreet, and Jessica Alba.

Warren Buffett said of Kives, “I have known Michael for 10 years and he is one of the most creative and well-connected professionals in his space. Michael knows the worlds of finance, media, technology and popular culture and has an unusual understanding of how those industries will intersect and develop in the future.”

Richard Lovett, president of CAA, said of Kives’ departure, “Michael Kives is an absolute original. Because of his incredible instincts and unique ability to connect people, he has created a vast network that will help to provide growth and opportunity for anyone fortunate enough to work with him.”

You can read Variety’s full report here.

Hollywood Reporter Predicts Less Action at White House Correspondents Dinner

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Don Lemon, Stephanie Ruhle, and Matt and Morgan Walsh at the 2017 White House Correspondents’ Garden Brunch

Jeremy Barr, writing for the Hollywood Report today, claims that many of the media companies that traditionally host parties during the White House Correspondents’ Dinner weekend will be skipping out this year, but is that true?

According to Barr, “Representatives for Vanity Fair and Bloomberg confirmed that, like last year, the brands will not be co-hosting a party this year. A spokeswoman for The New Yorker said the magazine’s once-renowned party, canceled last year, isn’t happening this year either.” Barr could not confirm whether MSNBC will once again host their annual Correspondents’ Dinner after party.

This year’s White House Correspondents’ Dinner takes place on April 28th. Tammy Haddad started The White House Correspondents Garden Brunch 25 years ago but has not yet commented on this year’s event.

You can read Barr’s full report here.

Mike Bloomberg’s Everytown Teams Up with Parkland School Shooting Survivors to Plan March For Our Lives Protest in DC

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Cameron Kasky, a student at Marjory Stoneman Douglas, at a CNN town hall with Sen. Marco Rubio, Photo courtesy CNN.

Mike Bloomberg’s gun safety nonprofit organization, Everytown for Gun Safety, is partnering with the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School students who have risen up in the wake of the Parkland, Florida shooting which occurred on February 14th, to promote the March for Our Lives, a protest calling for action on gun laws. The March for Our Lives takes place on March 24th in Washington, DC, with other protests being planned around the US on the same day. Join the protest in your city here.

Everytown was formed in 2014, a year after Congress debated the issue of background checks following the Sandy Hook shooting. The nonprofit was formed out of a partnership between Mike Bloomberg’s gun control initiative Mayors Against Illegal Guns, which was launched in 2006, and the grassroots movement Moms Demand Action.

Juleanna Glover Among GQ’s 50 Most Powerful in DC

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Juleanna Glover with Karen Appleton, Rachel Pearson, Kristi Rogers at the Washington Women Technology Network Luncheon with Senator Amy Klobuchar, Photo Courtesy Haddad Media

GQ has published its list of the 50 Most Powerful People in Trump’s Washington on Thursday, February 22nd. Among the ranks of insiders and Trump-whisperers is corporate consultant Juleanna Glover.

According to GQ, “For all that talk of swamp draining, Glover—a former aide to Dick Cheney—remains a key figure where the city’s social and policy scenes meet. Her dinner parties are a refuge for establishment Republicans in a sort of exile.”

Haddad Media CEO Tammy Haddad said of Glover, “Washington still works because Juleanna is ‘fixing’ every day.”

To see the rest of GQ’s 50 Most Powerful People in Trump’s Washington click here.