The Hill’s 12:30 Report — The Trump Show is here

by Elizabeth Crisp - 06/12/23 12:30 PM ET

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–> A midday take on what’s happening in politics and how to have a sense of humor about it.*

*Ha. Haha. Hahah. Sniff. Haha. Sniff. Ha–breaks down crying hysterically.

TALK OF THE MORNING

It’s the Trump show…:

Being federally indicted won’t deter former President Trump from his 2024 bid to retake the White House. In the lead up to his Tuesday arraignment, he remains on the offense.

As we reported in The Hill’s live coverage of the indictment: “After speaking at Republican Party events in two states on Saturday, Trump on Sunday stood firm in his desire to return to the White House. Asked by ally Roger Stone on his radio show if he would end his campaign, Trump replied: ‘No, I see no case in which I would do that.’”

The Hill has all the updates you need here.

Also: The House comes back today to try to pass legislation, though many Republicans in the lower court have spent the past few days focused on defending Trump amid his federal indictment.

It’s Monday, June 12. I’m Elizabeth Crisp, filling in for Cate with a quick recap of the morning and what’s coming up. Did someone forward this newsletter to you? Sign up here. Send me your tips, add me to your media list, share your funny animal videos and pass along your White House or 2024 campaign gossip: ecrisp@digital-staging.thehill.com and follow me on Twitter @elizabethcrisp.

In the White House

OUCH: Biden has a root canal:

President Biden underwent a root canal at the White House today after complaining of tooth pain, his physician said in a letter released to the public.

The dental team determined a root canal would be necessary to address the issue, presidential physician Kevin O’Connor said, adding they performed the initial procedure Sunday at the White House.

“The President tolerated the procedure well. There were no complications,” O’Connor said.

“He is experiencing further discomfort this morning, which was anticipated,” O’Connor continued, adding Biden would have his root canal completed Monday at the White House.

(More here)

In Congress

GOP trying to keep the House tidy:

The relationship between House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) and Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) isn’t going so great, according to reports.

They have never been super tight, but they are the top Republicans in the House — powerful posts as Democrats hold onto the Senate and White House — but there is a lot of friction in their slim majority, including far-right outliers who want more extreme actions.

More from The Hill here on how messy things are getting and how they plan to clean things up.

BUT, BUT, BUT:

McCarthy has always been a survivor. A lot of people from both parties have tried to take him down. He came up with an agreement with the far-right flank to get elected as Speaker after a marathon 15 votes. It’s not that hard to take it back from him, but would anyone dare? More here on his journey.

In other news

Fox News v. Tucker Carlson goes another round:

Fox News has sent a cease and desist to Tucker Carlson after the conservative pundit took to hosting his own Twitter show.

The letter, which was first reported by Axios, is the latest development of Carlson’s contract dispute with the cable giant after his ouster last month.

In a Twitter thread posted Monday, Harmeet Dhillon, one of Carlson’s attorneys who regularly appeared on his show while he was still on Fox, accused the network of attempting to muzzle its former prime-time star.

“What you are seeing on Fox today is a censored version of the news,” Dhillon said. “Keep that in mind as you make your viewing and your commenting choices.”

🐥 Notable tweets

What even is ‘woke’?:

“Woke” is a word that has been appropriated from African-American Vernacular English and used to mean being aware of acts of injustice. But now people are taking the phrase to mean something else.

⏰ Media Matters star Kat Abu breaks it down here.

Now hiring …:

Twitter CEO and billionaire Elon Musk has an enticing job opening…

“Looking to hire a VP of Witchcraft & Propaganda,” he tweeted yesterday.

⏱ On tap

The House came in at noon, and the Senate is coming in at 3 p.m. President Biden and Vice President Harris are in D.C.

10 a.m.: President Biden received the Presidential Daily Briefing.
11:30 a.m.: Biden started College Athlete Day at the White House, celebrating women’s and men’s NCAA top teams from this season.
1 p.m.: Press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre briefs reporters. (Watch here)
3:15 p.m.: Biden holds a meeting with Jens Stoltenberg, secretary general of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, to discuss the upcoming NATO Summit in Lithuania.
6 p.m.: Biden delivers remarks at the Chiefs of Mission reception in the White House East Room.

All times Eastern.

🌹 In lighter news

Today is National Red Rose Day!Back in the day… my wedding was absolutely blanketed in roses. Rose is also a very special family name for our family. So I’m very happy to celebrate this one! Give some roses, plant a rose bush or just wear something that is reminiscent of a rose. ❤️

And because you made it this far, check out this video of an octopus getting its stroll on. 🐙