memeorandum: Leaked tape reveals Trump invited club guests to ‘come along’ during cabinet interviews (Brooke Seipel/The Hill)

2:15 PM ET, February 18, 2017

Top Items:

Annie Karni / Politico:

Leaked Trump tape: ‘You are the special people’ — President Donald Trump, living alone inside the White House, often hungers for friendly interaction as he adjusts to the difficult work of governance. At his clubs, he finds what's missing. — That showed last November at a cocktail …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo and Raw Story

New York Times:

Sun, Sand and Influence: For Mar-a-Lago Members, Proximity Is Power — On any given weekend, you might catch President Trump's son-in-law and top Mideast dealmaker, Jared Kushner, by the beachside soft-serve ice cream machine, or his reclusive chief strategist, Stephen K. Bannon, on the dining patio.

Discussion: ThinkProgress and The Week

Brooke Seipel / The Hill:

Leaked tape reveals Trump invited club guests to ‘come along’ during cabinet interviews — Newly leaked audio from a November party at President Trump's Bedminster, N.J., golf club reveals then president-elect Trump touting to guests his scheduled interviews on premises with potential cabinet members and White House staff.

Discussion: alan.com and Joe.My.God.

Paul Blumenthal / The Huffington Post: Who Is Vetting The People At Mar-A-Lago? Democrats Want To Know.

Wall Street Journal:

Trump and Candidates for National Security Adviser Spar Over Staffing — Retired Vice Adm. Bob Harward and retired Gen. David Petraeus have dropped out of consideration — President Donald Trump won't guarantee that his next national security adviser will have full control over staffing and process …

Discussion: Washington Free Beacon, Business Insider, Political Wire, Axios, Politico, Hot Air, FOX News Radio, The Daily Caller, Sputnik International and NBC News

Brooke Seipel / The Hill:

Reports: Petraeus off the list, Trump down to three candidates to replace Flynn — Retired general and former CIA Director David Petraeus has reportedly pulled his name from consideration to replace Michael Flynn as National Security Adviser. — According to a report by the Wall Street Journal Friday …

Discussion: TheBlaze and RedState

New York Times:

President Trump, White House Apprentice — It's with a whiff of desperation that President Trump insists these days that he's the chief executive Washington needs, the decisive dealmaker who, as he said during the campaign, “alone can fix it.” What America has seen so far is an inept White House led by a celebrity apprentice.

Julian E. Barnes / Wall Street Journal:

Petraeus Says National Security Adviser Should Hire Own Staff — Official says Petraeus isn't in running for NSA job after Robert Harward turns down role — MUNICH—Former CIA director David Petraeus said anyone considering the national security adviser job in the Trump administration …

Dan Balz / Washington Post:
Will Pence's loyalty to Trump be returned in full by the president?

Discussion: Politico and The Week

Nicholas Schmidle / New Yorker:

Michael Flynn, General Chaos … Two days before the Inauguration of Donald Trump as the forty-fifth President of the United States, Michael Flynn, a retired lieutenant general and former intelligence officer, sat down in a Washington restaurant. On the tablecloth, he placed a leather-bound folder …

Emily Langer / Washington Post:

Norma McCorvey, Jane Roe of Roe v. Wade decision legalizing abortion, dies at 69 — Norma McCorvey, who was 22, unwed, mired in addiction and poverty, and desperate for a way out of an unwanted pregnancy when she became Jane Roe, the pseudonymous plaintiff of the 1973 U.S. Supreme Court decision …

Discussion: New York Post, Axios, AOL, New York Magazine and The Resurgent

WNYW-TV:

Ivanka Trump brand tops Amazon Best Sellers list — NEW YORK (FOX5NY) - First Daughter Ivanka Trump could be getting the last laugh at brick and mortar stores that have dropped her brand of clothing, shoes, perfumes and more. — On Friday morning, Ivanka Trump Eau de Parfum Spray For Women …

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit

New York Times:

Popular Domestic Programs Face Ax Under First Trump Budget — WASHINGTON — The White House budget office has drafted a hit list of programs that President Trump could eliminate to trim domestic spending, including longstanding conservative targets like the Corporation for Public Broadcasting …

Discussion: Los Angeles Times, Common Dreams, The Root and Political Wire

Emma Brown / Washington Post:

DeVos criticized teachers at D.C. school she visited — and they are not having it — Newly minted Education Secretary Betsy DeVos had a hard time getting inside the District's Jefferson Middle School Academy last week when protesters briefly blocked her from entering.

Discussion: Townhall.com, NPR and garnetnews.com

Danielle Douglas-Gabriel / Washington Post:
Betsy DeVos being guarded by U.S. Marshals Service

Discussion: AOL, Hot Air and Politico

Thomas D. Williams, Ph.D. / Breitbart:

Pope Francis: ‘Muslim Terrorism Does Not Exist’ — In an impassioned address Friday, Pope Francis denied the existence of Islamic terrorism, while simultaneously asserting that “the ecological crisis is real.” — “Christian terrorism does not exist, Jewish terrorism does not exist, and Muslim terrorism does not exist.

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit and Geller Report

James Hibberd / EW.com:

Milo Yiannopoulos spars with Bill Maher, attacks female comics — Bill Maher and Milo Yiannopoulos had their controversial showdown on HBO's Real Time on Friday night, though there were fewer sparks than some had perhaps expected. — The liberal talk show host and conservative Breitbart editor tried …

Discussion: Townhall.com, Washington Times, Daily Wire, American Thinker and IJR

Gabriel Sherman / New York Magazine:

John McCain the Republican vs. John McCain the Patriot — John McCain (ambivalently, agonizingly) takes on the president. — John McCain was hustling down the hallway in the Russell Senate Office Building with the purpose of an Aaron Sorkin character. It was not yet two weeks …

Discussion: No More Mister Nice Blog

John Hayward / Breitbart:

Marine Veteran Arrested After Pipe Bombs Allegedly Found in Hotel Safe — 37-year-old Adam Nauveed Hayat of Denver, Colorado, is under arrest and facing federal charges after police allegedly discovered pipe bombs in the safe of his hotel room. — The details surrounding Hayat's arrest …

Discussion: TheDenverChannel.com, Geller Report, John Hawkins' Right Wing News, Denver Post and CBS Los Angeles

Christinne Muschi / Reuters:

Eight people flee U.S. border patrol to seek asylum in Canada — ((This version of the Feb. 17 story corrects the headline and first paragraph to eight people from nine)) — Eight asylum-seekers, including four children, barely made it across the Canadian border on Friday …

Discussion: ThinkProgress, The Gateway Pundit, PRI, NCPR Daily News, CBC News and Hullabaloo

ESPN:

Mark Cuban takes apparent jab at Donald Trump with No. 46 jersey — NEW ORLEANS — Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban wore a No. 46 jersey in Friday night's NBA All-Star Celebrity Game, an apparent response to President Donald Trump's recent tweet that Cuban is “not smart enough to run for president.”

Discussion: AOL, The Hill, TheBlaze and Raw Story

Marc Champion / Bloomberg:

Four NATO Nations Would Pick Russia to Defend Them If Threatened: Poll — Gallup poll of 66 nations shows shifting global alliances — China and Russia prefer each other's support, survey shows — Who you gonna call? For the citizens of four NATO countries asked which military power …

Discussion: Sputnik International

Washington Post:

Coal is North Korea's largest export, and China just announced it won't buy any for the rest of 2017 — China's Ministry of Commerce announced the ban without giving a reason, but China is thought to be deeply frustrated with North Korea over its recent missile test and the assassination of Kim Jong Un's half brother in Malaysia.

Jack Montgomery / Breitbart:

European Union (EU) countries which constructed border fences in response to the migrant crisis have seen a collapse in illegal migration, while unprotected states have seen it increase. — Frontex, the European Border and Coast Guard Agency, reported drastic falls in illegal immigration …

Media Matters for America:

Anti-Semites Praise Trump For Berating Jewish Reporter And Refusing To Condemn Anti-Semitism In Press Conference — Anti-Semitic writers are thrilled that President Donald Trump denounced a Jewish reporter at a press conference and told him to be quiet after he asked the president to condemn anti-Semitism.

Discussion: The Daily Caller, Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Washington Free Beacon, Infowars and Mediaite, more at Mediagazer »

Veronica Rocha / Los Angeles Times:

Major flooding, mudslides and deadly winds as biggest storm in years barrels into L.A. area — A storm that officials said could be the strongest in years moved into Southern California on Friday. — A storm that forecasters billed as the most powerful in years barreled into Southern California on Friday …

Discussion: Hollywood Life, Refinery29 and KTLA