memeorandum: Watchdog to Trump: Accountability not red carpet for Duterte (Associated Press)

1:45 PM ET, May 1, 2017

Top Items:

Trump Says He'd Meet With North Korea's Kim If Situation's Right — ‘I would be honored to do it’ under the right circumstances — North Korea has become Trump's top foreign policy challenge — President Donald Trump said he would meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un amid heightened tensions …

Discussion: The Atlantic, Politico, Talking Points Memo, Axios, CNBC, Political Wire, The Daily Caller, Business Insider and Joe.My.God.

Salena Zito / Washington Examiner:

Trump: ‘You make a mistake here, there is nothing to work out’ … Hours shy of his 100th day in power, President Trump strides into the Oval Office. The energy in the world's most famous room changes instantly and perceptibly as he sits down. — It's a little after 3 in the afternoon.

Discussion: The Guardian, Washington Post, Raw Story, The Daily Caller, NBC News, Mashable and CNN

Associated Press:
Watchdog to Trump: Accountability not red carpet for Duterte

Discussion: Politico, New York Magazine, Hit & Run, New York Post and New York Times

Louis Nelson / Politico:

Trump on Obama surveillance claims: 'I don't stand by anything' — President Donald Trump said his allegation that he was illegally surveilled by former President Barack Obama has “been proven very strongly” and that that surveillance has negated the relatively warm relationship …

Discussion: Axios

Glenn Thrush / New York Times:

Trump Abruptly Ends CBS Interview After Wiretap Question — WASHINGTON — President Trump cut short an interview with the host of “Face the Nation” on CBS after being asked about his unsubstantiated claim that President Barack Obama wiretapped his campaign, saying he was entitled to his own “opinions.”

Discussion: Business Insider, AOL, Political Wire, Mediaite and Joe.My.God.

Brandon Carter / The Hill:

Philippines' Duterte on Trump's White House invitation: 'I'm tied up' — Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte said he could not commit to visiting the White House after President Trump invited him this weekend, saying “I am tied up.” — “I cannot make any definite promise.

Discussion: RedState, Politico, Washington Post, ThinkProgress, Salon, Hullabaloo, New York Times, Raw Story, UPI, Shakesville, Shareblue, Talking Points Memo, Towleroad and Althouse

Brad Reed / Raw Story:
WATCH: Trump angrily walks away from interview after reporter presses for Obama wiretapping evidence

Discussion: The Root

Adriana Cohen / Boston Herald: President gets last laugh for stiffing soiree

Agence France-Presse:
Philippines' Duterte hesitant on US visit, warm on China

Discussion: RedState, New York Times and The Hill

Greg Sargent / Washington Post:

Why did Trump win? New research by Democrats offers a worrisome answer. — As the Democratic Party rebuilds itself for the 2018 and 2020 elections, Democratic strategists have been preoccupied with a pressing question: Why did so many voters who backed Barack Obama in 2012 switch …

Discussion: Common Dreams and twitchy.com

Alex Roarty / McClatchy Washington Bureau:

Democrats say they now know exactly why Clinton lost — WASHINGTON — A select group of top Democratic Party strategists have used new data about last year's presidential election to reach a startling conclusion about why Hillary Clinton lost. Now they just need to persuade the rest of the party they're right.

Discussion: ABC News

Bill Barrow / Talking Points Memo:
With Obama And Clinton Gone, GOP Revives Pelosi As Boogeyman

Discussion: Daily Kos

New York Times:
The Cost of Barack Obama's Speech

Discussion: American Prospect

Rebecca Savransky / The Hill:

Trump: ‘Why was there the Civil War?’ — President Trump during an interview that airs Monday questioned why the country had a Civil War and suggested former President Andrew Jackson could have prevented it had he served later. — “I mean had Andrew Jackson been a little bit later you wouldn't have had the Civil War.

Discussion: Mother Jones, New York Magazine, Althouse and CNBC

Aaron Blake / Washington Post:
Trump's totally bizarre claim about avoiding the Civil War

Discussion: New York Times, Talking Points Memo, Business Insider and Towleroad

Bloomberg:

Trump Says He's Considering Moves to Break Up Wall Street Banks — President says in interview he is weighing revival of 1933 law — Top administration officials back return of Glass-Steagall Act — President Donald Trump said he is actively considering breaking up giant Wall Street banks …

Discussion: The Hill, Politico, Axios, Business Insider and The Week

NBC News:

Deal on Government Funding Reached, Averting Shutdown — A deal has been reached on a $1 trillion-plus bill to fund the government for the final five months of this fiscal year, an agreement that is likely to avert a government shutdown. — Congressional negotiators had been working through …

Discussion: ThinkProgress, New York Times, IJR, CNBC, The Atlantic and NBC News

Kelsey Snell / Washington Post:
Congress reaches deal to keep government open through September

Discussion: USA Today, RedState, Talking Points Memo, The Daily Caller, Daily Kos, Balloon Juice and Political Wire

CNN:
Congressional negotiators reach deal on government funding through September

Discussion: Washington Monthly and Mother Jones

Sarah Kliff / Vox:

An interview suggests Trump doesn't know what's in his health bill — Either the president doesn't understand the proposal — or isn't telling the truth about it. — President Donald Trump gave a lengthy interview Sunday morning to CBS's John Dickerson about the Republicans' health care plan.

Kyle Cheney / Politico:
GOP faces make-or-break moment on Obamacare repeal

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, CBS News, Axios, Daily Kos, Business Insider, Jamie Dupree, New York Magazine, FiveThirtyEight, The Week and Washington Post

Robert Pear / New York Times:
Pushing for Vote on Health Care Bill, Trump Seems Unclear on Its Details

Discussion: Fox News, Politico, IJR, The Guardian, Mediaite, Talking Points Memo and Joe.My.God.

Bloomberg:

Trump Open to Raising Gas Tax and Negotiating Tax Overhaul Plan — Truckers back higher gas levy for highways, Trump says — President calls his tax plan starting point in interview — President Donald Trump said he's willing to raise the U.S. gas tax to fund infrastructure development …

Discussion: Axios, CNBC, Politicus USA and Business Insider

Evan Osnos / New Yorker:

How Trump Could Get Fired … Hours after Donald Trump's Inauguration, a post appeared on the official White House petitions page, demanding that he release his tax returns. In only a few days, it gathered more signatures than any previous White House petition.

Ali Rogin / ABC News:

Ethics office raised questions about Ivanka Trump before she joined White House — The Office of Government Ethics raised concerns about Ivanka Trump's status as an informal adviser to the president before she announced that she would be an employee of the White House.

Nancy Scola / Politico:
White House launches ‘American Technology Council’

Discussion: The White House, more at Techmeme »

New York Times:

Emboldened by Trump but Divided by Generations, Democrats Look to 2020 — MANCHESTER, N.H. — A vast array of Democratic leaders, divided by generations but uniformly emboldened by President Trump's perceived vulnerability, have begun taking palpable steps toward seeking the White House …

Discussion: Washington Post, Mediaite, No More Mister Nice Blog and rubber hose

David Smith / The Guardian:
Run against Trump? Elizabeth Warren will certainly stand and fight

Discussion: National Review and Washington Free Beacon

Michael Brendan Dougherty / The Week:

I write on the internet. I'm sorry. — Try to pinpoint the last time you took a purposeless walk through the late spring breeze, when there was no itch in your hand to reach for a mobile device, and you felt like the wind and sky around you had nothing to disclose to you other than the vast …

Discussion: Althouse

Thomas Hunt / Daily Express:

Macron PLUMMETS in the polls as Marine Le Pen enjoys boost a WEEK AWAY from election vote — EMMANUEL Macron's lead over Marine Le Pen has taken a heavy hit as France prepares to vote in the final round of the election on Sunday. — Recent moves by Ms Le Pen to appeal to a wider audience seem …

Discussion: Althouse and The Gateway Pundit

David Roberts / Vox:

The New York Times should not have hired climate change bullshitter Bret Stephens — It's time for the opinion page to take climate change as seriously as the paper's reporters do. — Earlier this month, the New York Times hired conservative Bret Stephens, longtime writer for the Wall Street Journal, to join its editorial page.