What happened
Donald Trump returned to Capitol Hill on Thursday for the first time since his supporters stormed Congress on Jan. 6, 2021. Trump met separately with House and Senate Republicans, in what The Associated Press said was a "triumphant return" to a Washington "successfully purged" of his GOP critics.
Who said what
The meetings were supposed to highlight GOP unity under Trump's leadership, but "much of the focus was instead on stray comments he made," The New York Times said. "Perhaps most striking," Trump disparaged Milwaukee, "site of the Republican National Convention in July." Milwaukee "is a horrible city," he said, according to Jake Sherman at Punchbowl News.
"Republican members of Wisconsin's congressional delegation offered varying accounts of the comment's context," saying he was talking about crime or voter fraud, "and one claimed it wasn't uttered at all," the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel said.
Trump also reportedly made odd comments about Taylor Swift, Nancy Pelosi and "nice guy" Hannibal Lecter, the fictional cannibal. One Republican attendee said to NOTUS that Trump's "rambling" performance was "like talking to your drunk uncle at the family reunion."
What next?
Trump plans to host House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) at Mar-a-Lago next week to discuss policy, Axios said.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Millions turn out for anti-Trump ‘No Kings’ ralliesSpeed Read An estimated 7 million people participated, 2 million more than at the first ‘No Kings’ protest in June
-
Conservative megadonors build a new bank thanks to Trump administration approvalIN THE SPOTLIGHT With a Lord Of The Rings-inspired name, and the backing of some of the biggest GOP financiers around, Erebor Bank is set to make major waves in the crypto world
-
DOJ indicts John Bolton over classified filesSpeed Read Continuing the trend of going after his political enemies, Trump prosecutes his former national security adviser
-
Trump, Putin set summit as Zelenskyy lands in DCSpeed Read Trump and Putin have agreed to meet in Budapest soon to discuss ending the war in Ukraine
-
‘The illusion of wealth can encourage people to take on more debt’instant opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Supreme Court points to gutting Voting Rights Actspeed read States would no longer be required to consider race when drawing congressional maps
-
Trump says he authorized covert CIA ops in VenezuelaSpeed Read He is also considering military strikes inside the country
-
Are inflatable costumes and naked bike rides helping or hurting ICE protests?Talking Points Trump administration efforts to portray Portland and Chicago as dystopian war zones have been met with dancing frogs, bare butts and a growing movement to mock MAGA doomsaying
