Trump faces The Atlantic
12:30 Report is The Hill's midday newsletter. Subscribe here or in the box below:
Happy Monday to a sleepy Washington after a weekend of White House Correspondents' Association dinner events.
In today's issue:
Trump's interview with The Atlantic (!)
White House focuses on border at 100 days
Johnson huddles with Trump
The Philadelphia Eagles visit the White House 🦅
Viral photo of Trump, Zelensky in Vatican City
Bill Belichick's awkward interview
THE FIRST 100 DAYS
New interview just dropped:
Do you remember last month when President Trump bashed The Atlantic's Ashley Parker for not being 'capable of doing a fair and unbiased interview?' This happened during that infamous saga over The Atlantic's editor in chief accidentally being added to a Signal group chat discussing sensitive military plans.
Well, a Trump sit-down had been in the works until word got around the Trump circle. The president posted on Truth Social at the time that the interview was canceled … until Parker and her colleague Michael Scherer got his personal cellphone number.
This is incredible: 'So at 10:45 on a Saturday morning in late March, we called him on his cellphone. (Don't ask how we got his number. All we can say is that the White House staff have imperfect control over Trump's personal communication devices.) The president was at the country club he owns in Bedminster, New Jersey. The number that flashed on his screen was an unfamiliar one, but he answered anyway. 'Who's calling?' he asked.'
Then, the interview was back on the books — and it just published.
This read is well worth your time: ''I Run the Country and the World' Donald Trump believes he's invincible. But the cracks are beginning to show.'
WHAT WE LEARNED:
Trump is having more 'fun' this time: Trump said he's 'having a lot of fun' — and a Trump ally said he has a 'twinkle in his eye.' Trump said he 'had all these crooked guys' during his first administration.
What Trump told his staff after the Signal group chat controversy: 'Maybe don't use Signal, okay?'
Trump on Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth: ' I think he's gonna get it together. … I had a talk with him, a positive talk, but I had a talk with him.'
Trump's strategy to take on media companies: ''You know at some point, they give up,' [Trump] said, referring to media owners generally and—we suspected—[Washington Post owner Jeff] Bezos specifically. 'At some point they say, No más, no más.' He laughed quietly.'
BY THE WAY: Trump posted about The Atlantic's editor in chief Jeffrey Goldberg — yes, the person mistakenly added to the national security group chat — ahead of the interview, saying he planned to meet with him too. The president said he did the interview with the magazine 'out of curiosity, and as a competition with myself.'
TIDBIT: Trump's first White House press secretary Sean Spicer criticized the decision to speak with the publication. Spicer: '[Trump] firmly believes … that he can win people over. But anyone who believes that Jeffrey Goldberg, The Atlantic, or Ashley Parker are going to write anything positive is nuts.' 📹 Watch the clip (posted by Michael Scherer)
MORE FROM TRUMP'S MEDIA TOUR:
ABC News's Terry Moran interviews Trump, airing Tuesday at 8 p.m. EDT.
Trump is expected to call into a NewsNation town hall moderated by Chris Cuomo on Wednesday night.
Pivot!
President Trump is one day away from the conclusion of his first 100 days back in office, a traditional marker of a president's first sprint.
His net approval rating is negative 9 points, per The New York Times's poll tracker, and the economy has been a bit shaky. Republicans are raring to pass his agenda in Congress this year but face enormous hurdles advancing a sprawling bill in the House and Senate.
The Trump team tries to steer the focus: Despite his rocky deportation effort, Trump World believes his immigration agenda is his biggest asset. That was evident this morning with a rare 8:30 a.m. White House press briefing with border czar Tom Homan.
Trump will sign an executive order later today to target sanctuary cities. Homan and White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt previewed the order during the early-morning presser.
^ Speaking of that rocky deportation effort: Homan addressed Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the man who was wrongly deported to El Salvador. 'I don't accept the term 'error.' … There was an oversight,' he told reporters this morning.
📹 Watch the early-morning press briefing
Spotted on the White House lawn: The Trump administration prominently displayed posters of people who have been arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). They're all over the White House lawn. 📸 Posters on the White House lawn
This comes after the Trump administration over the weekend touted nearly 800 arrests from a multiday operation in Florida and more than 100 arrests at an underground nightclub in Colorado.
ALSO OVER THE WEEKEND:
Trump attended Pope Francis's funeral on Saturday in Vatican City. He met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in St. Peter's Basilica, and the photo is extraordinary. 📸 See for yourself
ON CAPITOL HILL
Ready, set, GO!:
Republican lawmakers are back in Washington today, kicking off a four-week sprint to pass the president's ambitious legislative agenda. The goal has been to pass the 'one big, beautiful bill' by Memorial Day😅 — and that tight timeline may keep GOP leadership up at night.
To that end: Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) is meeting with Trump in the Oval Office this afternoon to strategize.
The biggest hurdle: Getting enough Republicans on board with spending cuts for Medicaid and other safety-net programs. Program cuts could be politically disastrous for some members.
Johnson may be updating his expectations: Politico reports that Johnson is adjusting his Memorial Day goal of passing Congress to just clearing it in the *House* by the end of May. The Senate now is also reportedly hoping to pass it before the July 4 recess.
Happening this week: At least five House committees are scheduled to take a look at their portions of the bill this week. Three committees are meeting on Tuesday and two others on Wednesday. What to expect, via The Hill's Mychael Schnell.
COMING UP
The House and Senate are in. President Trump and Vice President Vance are in Washington. (All times EDT)
12:30 p.m. Trump and Vance have lunch together.
2 p.m. Trump meets with Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) in the Oval Office
2 p.m. NASA astronaut Donald Pettit holds a news conference. 💻 Livestream
4 p.m. Trump hosts the Philadelphia Eagles at the White House to celebrate their 2025 Super Bowl win. 💻 Livestream
5 p.m. Trump signs executive orders.
5:30 p.m. The Senate holds a vote. 📆 Today's agenda
6:30 p.m. First and last House votes. 📆 Today's agenda
Wednesday: Former Vice President Kamala Harris delivers her first public remarks since leaving office in January. A source told The Hill's Alex Gangitano that she will jab at Trump.
Just announced — May 7: The conclave to elect the next pope.
INTERNET BUZZ
🥧 Celebrate: Today is National Blueberry Pie Day.
📺 I have so many more follow-up questions now: Bill Belichick sat down for an interview with 'CBS Sunday Morning.' Journalist Tony Dokoupil asked how he and his 24-year-old girlfriend met. His girlfriend, who was off-camera, jumped in and said, 'We are not talking about this.' 👀 It was pretty awkward. 📹 Watch the clip
AND FINALLY:
Because I missed all of you and have been saving this video, here is definitive evidence that our dogs do judge us … but in the best possible way.
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