White House Watch: Inside Trump's Behind-the-Scenes Anti-immigration Email Campaign

------=_Part_664778837_420665546.1523014427484 Content-Type: text/html;charset=UTF-8 Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Also, the president gears up for next week's Summit of the Americas in Peru. [View this as website]( [header]( Share: [Share on Facebook]( [Share on Twitter]( [Share on Google+]( What has the White House been tellings friendly voices in the media? I explore this in the [new issue of the magazine.]( Here's an excerpt: They are emails designed to grab you by the lapels. "CRISIS AT OUR SOUTHERN BORDER," announced one. "MS-13 Is 'Taking Over the School' One Teen Warned Before She Was Killed," read another. The subject lines are always over the top: "CRIMINAL ALIENS SET FREE BY SANCTUARY CITIES" "National Security Threats—Chain Migration and the Visa Lottery System" "'I wish I had killed more of the mother‐‐‐‐‐‐-,' says illegal immigrant accused of killing two cops" "U.S. PERMANENTLY RESETTLED NEARLY 142K BANGLADESHI NATIONALS ON BASIS OF FAMILIAL TIES" "Previously Deported Mexican National Convicted of Raping 9-Year-Old Girl in Sanctuary City" These aren't news blasts from some anti-immigration group or a right-wing news site like Breitbart. They come direct from the White House, sent from an official government email address. They are the work of Kelly Sadler, the "Director of Surrogate & Coalitions Outreach" in the White House communications office. Sadler's job is to disseminate the White House's thoughts, views, and talking points to friendly journalists, cable-news pundits, radio and TV hosts and producers, and anyone else who might be willing to put out the administration's preferred line. Read the whole thing [here.]( ADVERTISEMENT Trade Watch—President Trump on Tuesday evening released a statement calling for $100 billion in new tariffs on China, escalating the nascent trade war after China implemented tariffs of their own earlier this week. "China's illicit trade practices—ignored for years by Washington—have destroyed thousands of American factories and millions of American jobs," Trump said in a statement. "Rather than remedy the misconduct, China has chosen to harm our farmers and manufacturers. In light of China's unfair retaliation, I have instructed the USTR to consider whether $100 billion of additional tariffs would be appropriate under section 301 and, if so, to identify the products upon which to impose such tariffs." Trump added that "trade barriers must be taken down to enhance economic growth in America and around the world," but that "I will never allow unfair trade practices to undermine American interests." President Trump on Thursday finally broke his silence about his alleged affair with Stormy Daniels, telling reporters he had not known about the $130,000 payment his lawyer Michael Cohen made to the porn actress shortly before the 2016 election. Trump was speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One returning from an event in West Virginia when he was asked whether he had known about the transaction."No," Trump responded. "You'll have to ask Michael Cohen. Michael is my attorney. You'll have to ask Michael." Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, has alleged that she had an affair with Trump more than a decade ago. The White House has largely avoided discussing the allegations, while Trump remained completely silent about them both on Twitter and in person until Thursday. Mark It Down—"I think he'll be fine. Yeah, I want to look at it. I haven't seen the details, but I can tell you, at EPA he has done a fantastic job." —President Trump, on the future of EPA administrator Scott Pruitt amid various problematic news reports, April 5, 2018 ADVERTISEMENT President Trump traveled to West Virginia Thursday to participate in a roundtable on tax reform with state leaders. While there, he also took the time to weigh in on the state's upcoming 2018 Senate race, where Democrat Joe Manchin is up for reelection. "Democrats have a problem. I mean, if you look at your senator, he voted against. Joe, he voted against," Trump said, referring to Manchin's vote on the last year's GOP tax reform bill. "I thought he would be helpful because he talks . . . But he votes against everything. And he voted against our tax cuts." Trump was flanked at the event by two of Manchin's Republican challengers: Congressman Evan Jenkins and state attorney general Patrick Morrisey. Trump spoke highly of both men and held an impromptu cheer poll to gauge their support among the audience before encouraging them to get out and vote. [Read more...]( President Trump will travel to the Summit of the Americas gathering in Peru next week, where officials say he will make the case for his trade policies while urging Latin American states to work with America, rather than China, on trade issues. A senior administration official told reporters Thursday that Trump would remind the summit's other attendees of their "shared democratic values" and tell them that "Chinese economic aggression in the region has not been productive for the hemisphere, and that the United States should remain the partner of choice for them." As he has done in former international trips, Trump will also use the visit as a platform to discuss "protecting the U.S. homeland and the U.S. way of life." To this end, Trump will urge other leaders attending the summit to redouble their efforts to stamp out "transnational criminal organizations" and diminish drug trafficking and illegal immigration. Officials said Trump will not use the summit to engage with Latin America's more transgressive leaders. Trump will not sit down for a bilateral meeting with Cuban President Raul Castro, while Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro has been barred from attending the summit at all. 2018 Watch—Former Minnesota governor Tim Pawlenty is making run at his old job. The Republican, who briefly ran for president in 2008, announced his campaign on Thursday: [pawlenty]( Minnesota voted narrowly for Hillary Clinton in 2016, but it was one of the best blue states for Donald Trump and appears to be trending Republican. Save the Date—Join us at the 2018 Weekly Standard summit this May 17-20 at the historic Broadmoor resort in Colorado Springs Join THE WEEKLY STANDARD's Stephen F. Hayes, Fred Barnes, John McCormack, and yours truly, along with special guests Bret Baier, Senator Tim Scott, Congressman Trey Gowdy, A.B. Stoddard, and Jonah Goldberg for discussion about politics, policy, national security, and more. Sign up [here](. Song of the Day—["Eminence Front" by the Who]( [pawlenty-2]( Copyright © 2018 MEDIA DC, All rights reserved. Weekly Standard | A MediaDC Publication 1152 15th Street | NW, Suite 200 | Washington, DC | 20005 You received this email because you are subscribed to the White House Watch from The Weekly Standard. Update your email preferences to choose the types of emails you receive. We respect your right to privacy - [view our policy]( [Unsubscribe]( ------=_Part_664778837_420665546.1523014427484--