Fox & Friends may have been at the root of President Trump's racist tweets directed at four Democratic congresswomen last week.

A report from The Washington Post, which relied on information from 26 White House aides, advisers, and lawmakers, details how even Trump's own top aides believed he did not understand the political ramifications of what he had done last Sunday when he tweeted that Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.), and Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) should "go back" to the "places from which they came."

It turns out that Trump was reportedly watching Fox & Friends, one of his favorite shows, after waking up in the morning when he decided it would be a good idea to "elevate" the congresswomen, whom he reportedly believes make good political foils.

Senior adviser Kellyanne Conway reportedly then had to explain to the president why the tweets had caused such stirring outrage throughout Washington and the media landscape.

While it's unclear what specifically about the show's segment on the congresswomen might have inspired the particular sentiment behind the tweets, it looks like another potential example of the reputed influence the cable news network has on the president's opinions. Read more about the fallout of Trump's tweets at The Washington Post. Tim O'Donnell

Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) is taking a stand against one of the Senate's strictest rules.

When in the hallowed halls of the Senate chamber, lawmakers may only sip water or milk, the latter of which has been spotted in the glasses of a few senators throughout the past week of impeachment. But on Tuesday, Romney became the first senator to be seen drinking chocolate milk in the Senate — a bold step that comes as he's considering taking a few more.

A slew of reporters spotted Romney, safely outside the Senate camera's view, drinking the chocolate milk from an approved glass on Tuesday — he'd tried to bring it to the floor in a "contraband bottle" earlier, per The Wall Street Journal. It's not the healthiest choice, but as Romney's wife Ann Romney told Politico in 2011, it's his guilty pleasure food.

Romney's cocoa-dusted decision begs another question: What other unconventional choices might Romney be angling to make? Like the smoke signal that determines a pope's selection, does this indicate Romney has opted to push for witnesses in the Senate trial? Perhaps he's chosen to vote to convict President Trump altogether? Only time — and perhaps another sign in the form of dairy — will tell. Kathryn Krawczyk

After a second Harvey Weinstein accuser took the stand in his rape trial this week, her former roommate just corroborated the account.

Former Project Runway production assistant Mimi Haleyi testified Monday in the trial of the disgraced producer, telling jurors Weinstein forcibly performed oral sex on her in 2006. The rape and sexual assault charges Weinstein is facing stem from Haleyi's allegation, as well as the allegation of Jessica Mann, who says Weinstein raped her in 2013. Weinstein has pleaded not guilty and denied all allegations of non-consensual sex.

On Tuesday, Haleyi's roommate in 2006, Elizabeth Entin, testified that Haleyi told her about the alleged assault at the time.

"I said, 'Miriam, that sounds like rape' and told her to call a lawyer,” Entin said, Variety reports.

Entin reportedly testified that she "very clearly" remembers the day Haleyi told her about the alleged assault and that she "was pacing" and "seemed anxious." In the weeks afterward, Haleyi was "much more withdrawn," Entin said.

Actress Annabella Sciorra last week became the first Weinstein accuser to testify in the New York trial, telling jurors he raped her in 1993 or 1994. Her account was subsequently backed up by Rosie Perez, who testified that Sciorra told her about it at the time.

Several additional witnesses are expected to testify in the trial, including Mann, who Deadline reports is "scheduled to appear in the coming days." Deadline additionally reports that although the trial was "initially projected to last through March," it has "moved at a steady clip and could conclude by mid-February." Brendan Morrow

President Trump unveiled his administration's Middle East peace plan alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday, just hours after Netanyahu was indicted on corruption charges.

The two leaders touted the two-state plan as a "win-win" for Israel and Palestine. Trump promised $50 billion in international aid to build up the Palestinian state, which would house its capital in East Jerusalem, leaving Israel in control of a unified Jerusalem. The White House included a perplexing-looking map of the proposed solution, complete with a tunnel connecting Gaza and the West Bank.

Many of the early reactions to the proposal were critical — analysts like Nicholas Burns, a Harvard professor and former U.S. diplomat. anticipate a rejection from the Palestinians and even an escalation of tensions between the two sides since it does little to curb Israeli settlements in the West Bank in the long run.

Neighboring Jordan warned against the "annexation of Palestinian lands" in response to the plan, as well. But it does have at least one potential fan. U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson reportedly said that after speaking with Trump earlier in the day, he thinks it could help pave the way forward. Tim O'Donnell

For cursing out a reporter and accusing her of lying, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has earned high praise from President Trump.

Trump on Tuesday celebrated Pompeo after his recent confrontation with NPR's Mary Louise Kelly. Kelly last week said Pompeo angrily berated her after an interview in which she asked about Ukraine, cursing her out and demanding she find Ukraine on a map. Pompeo in a subsequent statement only doubled down, claiming Kelly "lied to me" and that she incorrectly pointed to Bangladesh and not Ukraine, even though Kelly has a master's degree in European studies from Cambridge University. The State Department subsequently removed another NPR reporter from an upcoming Pompeo trip in apparent retaliation.

This earned Trump's seal of approval on Tuesday, as after Pompeo received a round of applause during a White House event, Trump said, "That reporter couldn't have done too good a job on you yesterday, huh? I think you did a good job on her, actually."

Trump then asked if Pompeo is running for Senate but quickly added, "I guess the answer's no after that, huh?" The New York Times' Michael Barbaro wrote Tuesday this is "the latest case of Trump celebrating poor treatment of the media." Brendan Morrow

Former Vice President Joe Biden isn't bashful about the reason he's running for president.

Biden, though not bereft of policy plans, isn't leading a specific "movement" like some of his Democratic competitors, namely Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.). In that sense, there doesn't appear to have been an ideological motivation that spurred the 77-year-old's decision to jump into the crowded Democratic primary last year, except for defeating the incumbent, President Trump, The New York Times reports.

In fact, Biden reportedly told the Times while campaigning in Iowa before the state's caucus kicks off the election process next week that he likely wouldn't even have launched a campaign if someone like Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) was the one seeking re-election, amplifying Biden's message that Democrats and Republicans need not be in a state of "perpetual war" in a post-Trump America. It's Trump, and Trump alone, that compelled former President Barack Obama's right hand man to take one last crack at the Oval Office. Read more at The New York Times. Tim O'Donnell

Former National Security Adviser John Bolton has another ex-Trump official on his side.

Former White House Chief of Staff John Kelly spoke to a crowd in Sarasota, Florida, on Monday, where he was asked about Bolton's forthcoming book that reportedly says Trump spoke to Bolton about a Ukraine quid pro quo. "If John Bolton says that in the book, I believe John Bolton," Kelly said, per the Sarasota Herald Tribune.

Kelly, a retired general, left the Trump administration more than a year ago, but a good chunk of his tenure overlapped with Bolton's. A Sunday New York Times report describes how Bolton's memoir reportedly describes how Trump told Bolton he wanted to withhold Ukraine's security aid until the country agreed to investigate his Democratic rivals.

Kelly said if the reporting was true, he believed Bolton. "Every single time I was with him ... he always gave the president the unvarnished truth," Kelly said of Bolton, calling him an "honest guy." Kelly then said "half of Americans think this process is purely political and shouldn't be happening, but since it is happening," Americans should "hear the whole story." "If there are people that could contribute to this, either innocence or guilt ... I think they should be heard," Kelly continued, per the Sarasota Herald Tribune. Kathryn Krawczyk