This week, "your favorite president," @realDonaldTrump, held his long-awaited, highly-anticipated summit with former KGB agent Vladimir Putin.
The one-on-one meeting marked the culmination of Trump's efforts—which began at the 2013 Miss Universe pageant in Moscow—to become Putin's best friend.
Coming just three days after 12 Russian intelligence officers were indicted for hacking Democrats during the 2016 presidential election, and one day after a Russian operative was arrested for infiltrating the NRA/GOP, the tête-à-tête and subsequent joint news conference offered Trump the perfect opportunity to confront Putin, and perhaps lay some of the lingering questions about his loyalty to rest.
But that was—err... wasn't—to be.
Instead, while standing alongside Putin, Trump cast doubt on the findings of the US intelligence community, touted some of his favorite conspiracy theories, and lauded his counterpart/handler for making a "sincere" offer to interrogate US citizens.
Suffice it to say, for the most part, Trump's Helsinki performance was not well received back at home.
Maybe next time will be better.
Morning lineup:
Meet the Press: Pre-empted by British Open coverage.
Face The Nation: Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) & Congressional Candidate Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY); Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC); Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL); Former Secretary of State John Kerry; Roundtable: Susan Glasser (The New Yorker), Jeffrey Goldberg (The Atlantic), Susan Page (USA Today) & Ramesh Ponnuru (National Review).
This Week: Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA); Former Trump Homeland Security and Counterterrorism Adviser Tom Bossert; Former Obama National Security Adviser Susan Rice; Cohen Recording Panel: Legal Analyst Dan Abrams, Stormy Daniels' Attorney Michael Avenatti & Harvard Law School Professor Emeritus Alan Dershowitz; Roundtable: Republican Strategist Alex Castellanos, Democratic Strategist Stephanie Cutter, "Independent" Strategist Matthew Dowd, Michelle Goldberg (New York Times) & Margaret Hoover (PBS).
Fox News Sunday: Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ); Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-SC); Roundtable: Brit Hume (Fox News), Guy Benson (Townhall.com), Former State Department Spokesperson Marie Harf & Juan Williams (Fox News).
State of the Union: Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL); Rep.Seth Moulton (D-MA); FISA Target Carter Page; Roundtable: Former Rep. Mike Rogers (R-MI), Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA), Karine Jean-Pierre (MoveOn) & Former Sen. Rick Santorum (R-PA).
Evening lineup:
60 Minutes will feature: a report on California's Pelican Bay State Prison and its controversial Security Housing Unit (preview); a report on the Hubble Telescope and an interview with astronaut John Grunsfeld—dubbed the "Hubble repairman" (preview); and, a report on efforts to help preserve critically endangered rhinos (preview).
Late night shows:
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
Monday: Andy Cohen (Bravo); Actress Angela Bassett; Novelist Rebecca Makkai; Songwriter Nate Smith.
Tuesday: Actor Tony Shalhoub; Comedian Bo Burnham; Songwriter Nate Smith.
Wednesday: Actress Amy Poehler; Rock Band Fall Out Boy; Songwriter Nate Smith.
Thursday: Lifestyle Guru Martha Stewart; Actor Jonathan Rhys Meyers; Songwriter Nate Smith.
Friday: TBA.
The Daily Show with Trevor Noah
Monday: Rapper Tip "T.I." Harris; Tuesday: Journalist Michael Scott Moore; Wednesday: Comedian Bo Burnham; Thursday: Congressional Candidate Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY).
Elsewhere...
A candidate for the Arizona State Senate who shot and killed his mother presented himself as the proverbial "good guy with a gun."
A big crowd gathered in a Tucson church last week, ready to hear candidates' plans for gun-control legislation from people vying to become lawmakers at the Arizona state Capitol.
All was going more or less as expected. Then, it was Bobby Wilson's turn to speak.
Wilson, one of two Republican candidates who attended the July 9 meeting, took the mic and told a story of how he shot and killed a crazed attacker in an act of self-defense while a teenager.
That attacker, it turned out, was his mother.
He said his life story illustrates the importance of having "a good guy there with a gun" rather than gun-control legislation.
Meanwhile...
Gun nut Ted Nugent, who regularly decries gun-free zones, prevented his fans from bringing guns to his concert.
Pro-gun rights rock legend Ted Nugent's fans were told last minute before his Tuesday night show in Virginia that they would not be permitted to bring their guns inside the Berglund Performing Arts Theater.
Nugent's management team made the decision not to allow guns into the show following protests in the weeks leading up to his performance, according to a local NBC affiliate.
The theater where he performed is owned by the city of Roanoke, and is not able to keep out guns unless the performers request it.
The audience was informed of the decision by security as people were already in line for the concert. Concert-goers were patted down, and any gun found was kept out of the theater.
Do as I say, not as I do.
– Trix
