memeorandum: Fox braces for fallout from Bill O'Reilly scandal (Brian Stelter/CNNMoney)

11:20 PM ET, April 2, 2017

Top Items:

Donald Trump in his own words — The US president speaks to Lionel Barber, Gillian Tett and Demetri Sevastopulo — Read next … You are the master of ‘the art of the deal’ . . . can you cut a deal with Xi Jinping when you see him in Mar-a-Lago? — I have great respect for him.

Discussion: CNBC, The Daily Caller, RT, The Guardian, Political Wire, NBC News, Politico, Business Insider, Raw Story, The Daily Beast and Axios

Mark Meckler / The Hill:

Why is Trump attacking the Freedom Caucus? Simple: They won, he lost — “The Freedom Caucus will hurt the entire Republican agenda if they don't get on the team, & fast,” President Donald Trump — wrote on Twitter Thursday. “We must fight them, & Dems, in 2018!”

Discussion: Raw Story, CNN and BizPac Review

Mallory Shelbourne / The Hill:

Trump will deal with Dems on healthcare 'if we don't get what we want' — President Trump will “make a deal with the Democrats” if Republicans can't get their way on healthcare. — In an interview published Sunday in the Financial Times, Trump said negotiations on healthcare are ongoing …

Discussion: RedState, Talking Points Memo and Axios

Abby Phillip / Washington Post:
Trump remains the center of attention, but he's increasingly isolated politically

Discussion: Raw Story, IJR and The Daily Caller

Stan Collender / Forbes:
This Is The Clown Show That Could Lead To A Government Shutdown This Month

Discussion: CNN, Axios, Washington Examiner, Politico, Talking Points Memo, The Week, Fox News Insider and NPR

Kelsey Snell / Washington Post:
Democrats have a new and surprising weapon on Capitol Hill: Power

Discussion: Hot Air

Brian Stelter / CNNMoney:

Fox braces for fallout from Bill O'Reilly scandal — If Bill O'Reilly weren't the biggest star at Fox News, would he still have a job at Fox News? — Many media industry observers, reading about the harassment allegations that have cost O'Reilly and Fox millions of dollars, are saying he would not.

Discussion: Raw Story, Politicus USA, Media Matters for America, Daily Kos, Showbiz411, NewsHounds blog, The Week and Mediaite

Erik Wemple / Washington Post:

Bill O'Reilly: An awful, awful man — As Fox News last year was plowing through the sexual harassment scandal involving now-former network chief Roger Ailes, King of Cable News Bill O'Reilly couldn't have been more dismissive of the victims. “In this country, every famous, powerful or wealthy person is a target.

Discussion: Raw Story, Media Matters for America and The Week, more at Mediagazer »

Los Angeles Times:

Editorial Donald Trump's train-wreck presidency — The Times Editorial Board — It was no secret during the campaign that Donald Trump was a narcissist and a demagogue who used fear and dishonesty to appeal to the worst in American voters. The Times called him unprepared and unsuited …

Discussion: Breitbart, Occupy Democrats, Business Insider, The Hill and Political Wire

David Edwards / Raw Story:

'That's an absurd question': Mitch McConnell melts down as Chuck Todd grills him for blocking Merrick Garland — DON'T MISS STORIES. FOLLOW RAW STORY! — Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) on Sunday blamed the American people for the decision of Senate Republicans …

Discussion: TheBlaze

U.S. Senator Joe Donnelly of Indiana:
Donnelly Announces Support for Gorsuch

Discussion: TheBlaze, John Hawkins' Right Wing News, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Talking Points Memo, IJR and twitchy.com

Elana Schor / Politico:
Donnelly becomes third Dem to back Gorsuch; Tester to vote no

Discussion: Axios

New York Times: The Government Gorsuch Wants to Undo

Associated Press:
Washington's high-court fights date to Washington himself

Discussion: Politico and ABC News

Leah McElrath / Shareblue:

Watching the hearings, I learned my “Bernie bro” harassers may have been Russian bots — When it was revealed during the Senate Intelligence Committee hearing that Russian bots (computer algorithm controlled social media accounts) on Twitter had masqueraded as “Bernie Bros” …

Discussion: Raw Story

Kali Holloway / Salon:

Vacate Trump Tower: People want Melania Trump to be forced to leave New York City — A petition requests that Melania leave and save the city a ton of money — The exorbitant cost of keeping Melania and Barron Trump in their gold-plated penthouse in New York City has inspired thousands …

Joel B. Pollak / Breitbart:

Adam Schiff's Weak CNN Interview Supports Nunes, Trump Claims on Surveillance — Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA), the ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee, told CNN's Jake Tapper on State of the Union on Sunday morning that he “can't say whether anything was masked or unmasked properly” …

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit

Aaron Blake / Washington Post:

A judge rules Trump may have incited violence ... and Trump again has his own mouth to blame — The courts keep taking Donald Trump both seriously and literally. And the president's word choices are proving to be a real headache. — A federal judge in Kentucky is the latest …

Discussion: Lawfare, New York Magazine, The Daily Caller, The Last Tradition and The Week

Mallory Shelbourne / The Hill:
Judge: Trump incited violence at rally in 2016

Discussion: Politico, Occupy Democrats, Boing Boing, RedState, Daily Kos and USA Today

Naomi Jagoda / The Hill:

IRS chief is unexpected survivor in Trump era — One of Republicans' least favorite Obama administration officials remains in his position: IRS Commissioner John Koskinen. — Some Republicans lawmakers have asked President Trump to ask for Koskinen's resignation.

Discussion: Political Wire

Niall Stanage / The Hill:

The Memo: White House staff rise, fall after healthcare loss — The internal dynamics of the White House have been shaken by the failed push to repeal ObamaCare. — The White House at large took a hit when Republicans were forced to withdraw their bill to repeal and replace President Obama's Affordable Care Act.

Jeffrey Toobin / New Yorker:

What Makes Sheldon Whitehouse Angry? — Sheldon Whitehouse is a politician with a great name, a bad haircut, and a pissed-off attitude. The second-term Democratic junior senator from Rhode Island has built his career around two seemingly unrelated issues—climate change and money in politics …

Donald Trump / ABC News:

‘This Week’ Transcript 4-2-17: Ambassador Nikki Haley, Ash Carter, Sen. John McCain, and Dmitry Peskov — THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT FOR ‘THIS WEEK’ on April 2, 2017 and it will be updated. — MARTHA RADDATZ: But we begin with the first Sunday morning interview with a member …

Discussion: RT, Talking Points Memo and AOL

Ryan Struyk / ABC News:
UN envoy Nikki Haley says 'there's no love' in US relationship with Russia

Discussion: Washington Post and The Week

Ross Mcdonagh / Daily Mail:

Tina Fey blasts white, college-educated women who voted for Donald Trump and now want to ‘forget about it and watch HGTV’ — She also claimed those same women would like to forget about what happened at the election and go back to watching Home & Garden Television