FLOTUS sends peace letter
Plus: David Archuleta is an actual angel
If federalizing D.C.’s policing was supposed to make people feel safer, plunging restaurant bookings in the District suggest it’s not working. Meanwhile, FLOTUS is seeking peace and war, sending a letter to Putin asking him to think of the children, and a $1 billion lawsuit threat to the son of a former president unless he apologizes.
Welcome to this week’s issue of Whig. I’ll be off the next two weeks. H.A.G.S., and don’t forget to wear your sunscreen. I’ll see you again the week after Labor Day. — Hunter Schwarz
No deal:
After meeting with Russian leader Vladimir Putin Friday in Alaska, President Donald Trump walked away empty handed with no peace deal.
Zelenskyy’s White House return:
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met Monday with Trump at the White House, and this time there was no shouting match. Trump met with Zelenskyy, and other European leaders including British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron, and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz.
Trump said of Ukraine, “we will give them very good protection, very good security” and he said a trilateral meeting between the U.S., Russia, and Ukraine would happen.
These eight pages were found in an Alaska hotel business center printer:
Eight pages marked “Produced by the Office of the Chief of Protocol” that showed details for Trump’s Putin meeting were found Friday at the business center printer of the Hotel Captain Cook in Anchorage, Alaska, 20 minutes from Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson where the meeting was held, according to NPR, which obtained images of the pages it published Saturday. The pages give a fascinating glimpse into what goes into planning meetings between world leaders (and are probably something you don’t want to leave out in a public hotel area).
The pages show the schedule for the meeting; names, pictures, and titles for attendees (including name pronunciation for the Russians); a seating chart for lunch; and the menu. Trump and Putin were expected to dine on green salad with champagne vinaigrette, a duet of filet mignon with brandy peppercorn sauce and halibut Olympia, and crème brûlée for desert, according to the document, but the lunch was cancelled, per NPR.
FLOTUS sends peace letter:
In a letter to Putin posted to social media on Saturday, First Lady Melania Trump called on the Russian leader to end the war in Ukraine by asking him to think of the children.
“Every child shares the same quiet dreams in their heart, whether born randomly into a nation’s rustic countryside or a magnificent city center,” Trump wrote. “They dream of love, possibility, and safety from danger.”
Telling Putin he could protect the innocence of children “with the stroke of a pen,” FLOTUS signed off her letter with the sentence “It is time.”
FLOTUS threatens to sue Hunter Biden:
Former first son Hunter Biden says “F*** that, that's not going to happen” to a threat of a $1 billion lawsuit by the First Lady. Melania Trump attorney Alejandro Brito said in a letter ABC News reviewed that Biden’s comment in a podcast interview with independent journalist Andrew Callaghan about an allegation reported by journalist Michael Wolff that Jeffrey Epstein introduced Melania to Donald Trump was “extremely salacious” and caused her “overwhelming financial and reputational harm.”
In a follow-up interview with Callaghan, Biden dropped the F bomb and said he wouldn’t apologize, saying he was repeating things others had reported. “I only can go by what people are saying, I don't know,” Biden said.
In a statement to ABC News, a spokesperson for FLOTUS said, “First Lady Melania Trump's attorneys are actively ensuring immediate retractions and apologies by those who spread malicious, defamatory falsehoods. The true account of how the First Lady met President Trump is in her best-selling book, Melania,” which says the Trumps were introduced by a modeling agent at a party during New York Fashion Week 1998.
Man who threw sandwich charged with assault:
Sean Dunn, an Air Force veteran and former Justice Department employee who shouted “fascists!” at law enforcement near 14th and U streets in northwest Washington, D.C., before throwing a Subway sandwich at an officer, has been captured. Dunn was arrested at his home by 20 officers and charged with felony assault, the Justice Department said last Thursday. “I did it. I threw a sandwich,” Dunn said, according to court documents.
The hoagie-hurling incident isn’t the only viral moment so far from Trump’s federal takeover of D.C. policing. Startling bystander footage captured on Saturday showed masked agents in unmarked vehicles tackle and detain a man on a scooter the Department of Homeland Security later identified as a Venezuelan national, according to The Washington Post.
Restaurant reservations in D.C. are way down:
Restaurants in Washington, D.C., saw a drop of more than 25% in online reservations since Trump announced a federal takeover of D.C. policing, according to OpenTable data compiled by WUSA.
Trump’s Kennedy Center takeover:
At a press conference designed to look like a game show, Trump announced the first Kennedy Center Honors recipients of his second term. “They all went through me,” Trump said. “I turned down plenty who were too woke.”
Country singer George Strait, the original Phantom of the Opera phantom Michael Crawford, actor Sylvester Stallone, disco singer Gloria Gaynor, and KISS will be honored, and Trump said he’s hosting the ceremony. “Next year we’ll honor Trump, OK?” Trump said. Will we have a choice?
Jimmy Carter is getting a stamp:
The U.S. Postal Service announced a stamp of Jimmy Carter will come out on Oct. 1, which would have been his 101st birthday. The stamp shows detail from a portrait of the late former president by artist Herbert E. Abrams.
No. 1 movie: Weapons is No. 1 at the box office for a second week. Meanwhile, (much) lower on the list, Americana starring Sydney Sweeney, Paul Walter Hauser, and Halsey opens at No. 16.
No. 1 album: I’m the Problem by Morgan Wallen is No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for an 11th nonconsecutive week.
No. 1 song: “Ordinary” by Alex Warren racks up a 10th week at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100.
The first 2025 VMAs performers are here:
MTV announced the first group of performers for this year’s Video Music Awards on Sept. 7.
The show will be hosted by LL Cool J and feature performances by Sabrina Carpenter, Warren, J Balvin, DJ Snake, and Ricky Martin, as well as Busta Rhymes, who is set to receive the MTV VMA Rock the Bells Visionary Award. More performance announcements are forthcoming.
Max Martin is the No. 1 producer of 21st century:
Billboard ranked the most successful producers of the 21st century, and in a surprise to absolutely no one, it’s Max Martin. Martin has produced 25 No. 1, and all but his first, 1998’s “…Baby One More Time” with Britney Spears, weren’t released in the 21st century.
The Backstreet Boys gave Martin a shoutout during a recent show in Las Vegas at Sphere where he was in the crowd. “He helped us create our legacy and the soundtrack to our lives,” Howie Dorough said of the producer.
Martin is followed on Billboard’s list by Dr. Luke, Cirkut, Shellback, Stargate, and at No. 6, the top female producer on the list, Beyoncé.
Halfway to an EGOT:
In other Beyoncé news, the 35-time Grammy winner won her first Emmy for costume design for her Netflix special Beyoncé Bowl.
Taylor Swift’s album announcement podcast was a hit:
In the first 24 hours after Taylor Swift’s New Heights podcast appearance with boyfriend Travis Kelce where she announced her forthcoming album The Life of a Showgirl, a lucky 13 million viewers tuned in.
A true golden retriever boyfriend, Kelce said Swift’s next album is packed with “bangers,” and since it’s produced by Martin and Shellback, you know he’s right. “It’s a lot more upbeat, fun pop,” Kelce said. “A complete 180 from songs on Tortured Poets.”
Mariah Carey thinks the Grammys are overrated:
Appearing on Pitchfork’s “Over/Under,” Mariah Carey rated the Grammys, social media, and self-driving cars as overrated but said dolphins, Billboard charts, and diss tracks are underrated. 100%.
David Archuleta is an actual angel:
“David Archuleta is in his ‘lover boy era.’” That’s according to People, who Archuleta spoke to about Earthy Delights, his new EP that came out Friday. “It's been very fun to sing songs about sensuality and being a flirty lover boy,” Archuleta said of the EP.
It’s his first body of new music in five years, and yes, like lead single “Crème Brulée,” the follow up “Dulce Amor” is desert themed. Sweet. Archie’s voice sounds like butter and in the video, he’s dressed like an angel.
Blackpink covers “Wannabe”:
It’s the cover girl group fans didn’t know they needed. During their final show at London’s Wembley Stadium Saturday, Blackpink performed the Spice Girls’s “Wannabe” for the encore. Can we get some Girls Aloud next time?
What Little Mix’s Jade Thirlwall thinks about protest in pop:
Former Little Mix member Jade Thirlwall told the Guardian she doesn’t think pop stars can stay out of politics. “I don’t think you can be a pop artist and cover your eyes. I saw Matty Healy say that he doesn’t want to be political, which I found disappointing. It’s very easy for someone who’s white and straight and very privileged to say that. Good for you, hun!”
Thirlwall said after leading a “f*** you” chant directed at Reform UK, transphobia, and genocide during her set at Glastonbury festival in June, “I saw a lot of people saying ‘Your Glastonbury set was really good until you got political’ or ‘I used to be a fan of yours until you got political’. But, hun, you were never a fan, because I’ve always piped up.”
Thanks for reading! See you next week. ⭐