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In the midst of the social media-firestorm surrounding the Public Theaters staging of Julius Caesar featuring the brutal stabbing of an orange-haired dictator, Donald Trump Jr. asked two questions Sunday on Twitter.

The same day, the National Endowment for the Arts had its answer.

A statement posted on the embattled agencys website read: The National Endowment for the Arts makes grants to nonprofit organizations for specific projects. In the past, the New York Shakespeare Festival has received project-based NEA grants to support performances of Shakespeare in the Park by the Public Theater. However, no NEA funds have been awarded to support this summers Shakespeare in the Park production of Julius Caesar and there are no NEA funds supporting the New York State Council on the Arts grant to Public Theater or its performances.

The NEA distanced itself from the controversy in a year when the endowments very existence was threatened by the budget blueprint from President Donald Trumps administration for 2018. Although funding for the agency was extended through the end of September, its future is still uncertain.

The clamor over Julius Caesar is affecting Delta Air Lines and Bank of America. Amid threats of a boycott, the businesses withdrew their sponsorship of the Public, a move that resulted in calls for a boycott from those on the other side of the debate. In the current, political environment, it seems, there is no winning.

The Public answered the second question in the younger Trumps tweet with a statement that read:

We stand completely behind our production of Julius Caesar. We recognize that our interpretation of the play has provoked heated discussion; audiences, sponsors and supporters have expressed varying viewpoints and opinions. Such discussion is exactly the goal of our civically-engaged theater; this discourse is the basis of a healthy democracy. Our production of Julius Caesar in no way advocates violence towards anyone. Shakespeare's play, and our production, make the opposite point: those who attempt to defend democracy by undemocratic means pay a terrible price and destroy the very thing they are fighting to save. For over 400 years, Shakespeares play has told this story and we are proud to be telling it again in Central Park.

jessica.gelt@latimes.com

Twitter: @jessicagelt

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Originally posted here:
Donald Trump Jr. asked, the NEA answered: No funds went to Public Theater's 'Julius Caesar' - Los Angeles Times

BBC News

Ivanka condemns Donald Trump's 'vicious critics' BBC News President Trump's daughter Ivanka has criticised "the level of viciousness" her father has been subjected to. She said that it went far beyond what she was expecting. In the interview with the Fox and Friends morning TV show, she said that she had been ... Ivanka Trump: 'There is a level of viciousness that I was not expecting'CNN all 178 news articles »

Continued here:
Ivanka condemns Donald Trump's 'vicious critics' - BBC News

New reports indicate that President Donald Trump is aware of the extent to which he has lost control of his own presidency and is determined to fix the situation.

Another week, and no progress on the GOP agenda, one high-ranking Republican told Axios.Infrastructure Week turned into Comey Week. No one really knows Trump and came to D.C. with him. He is a president on an island, all alone [T]he ability to get anything done is in double jeopardy.

Trump seems to be placing at least some of the blame on his chief of staff, Reince Priebus, according to a report by Politico. As he contemplates bringing former campaign manager Corey Lewandowski and former deputy campaign manager David Bossie into his administration, he invited the two to the Oval Office and berated Priebus in their presence, letting all three of them know that they would be brought on board once Priebus had undertaken a major staff shakeup.

Im giving you until July 4. I dont want them to come into this mess. If Im going to clean house, they will come in as fresh blood, Priebus is reported to have said.

Despite this reported humiliation, Priebus recently thanked Trump for the blessing of being able to serve as his chief of staff, according to a report by Glenn Thrust of The New York Times. It is unclear whether even Priebus himself will remain on board after the shakeup occurs.

Meanwhile, as Politico reports, at least a dozen prominent Republicans are concerned that Trumps ongoing scandals and inability to push through major legislative accomplishments will result in major losses during the 2018 midterm elections. Even Secretary of Defense James Mad Dog Mattis has kept a low profile since Trump took office, a decision that individuals close to him believe is motivated by his belief that the military can unite the country by maintaining its perceived political neutrality.

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Donald Trump is losing control of his presidency - Salon

In 2016, Salma Hayek revealed that, many years ago, PresidentDonald Trumpasked her out.

According to Hayek, she rejected Trumps advances and, as a result, he told the National Enquirer that he had rejected herbecause she was too short.

After this story broke in October, many wondered how Trump got his tiny little hands on Hayeks number in the first place. Well, now, shes telling the awkward tale behind their initial meetup.

During a recent appearance on The Daily Show with Trevor Noah, Noah asked Hayek about this particular incident and the 50-year-old actress spilled so much tea.

It all started when Hayek was cold at an event and Trump, who just happened to be sitting behind her and her then boyfriend, immediately put his coat around her shoulders.

I turn around and my boyfriend so charming, so nice he said hello [to Trump], she recalled. [Trump] said, Im sorry, your girlfriend, I saw she was cold. And then he kept talking to my boyfriend.

Trump sparked up a little friendship with Hayeks boyfriend that night and eventually told the couple they should stay in his hotel in Atlantic City, New Jersey, if they were ever in town. He asked for their phone numbers and, according to Hayek, Trump never spoke to her boyfriend again.

But he did give her a ring.

Hes inviting me out, and Im like, What about my boyfriend? Am I crazy? Are you asking me out? You know I have a boyfriend, she explained, adding that Trump responded with, Hes not good enough for you. Hes not important, hes not big enough for you. You have to go out with me.

Noah then joked that Trump was right. Hayek did not end up with that boyfriend and instead married French billionaire Franois-Henri Pinault in 2009.

Read the rest here:
How Donald Trump Weaseled His Way Into Getting Salma Hayek's Number - HuffPost

An armed man appears to place a protester with an American flag featuring Nazi symbols in a choke hold during a protest at the Sam Houston statue in Houston, Texas.

A video of the incident was posted by an anti-Semitic YouTube account that appears to be supportive of the alt-right. It showed the chokehold lasting for about five seconds, The Houston Chronicle reported.

The man with the flag had been carrying a megaphone as well as signs with alt-right imagery like Pepe the Frog and No blood for Israel. A woman from the crowd can be heard saying that the protest was about the monument.

Dude, theyre not taking the monument down, he can be heard saying. These are good memes.

A crowd gathers around him.

Dude, this is not Comicon, a man off camera can be heard shouting.

I know, what is it? the man asked rhetorically. I thought I was just coming to make friends.

The account that uploaded the video titled it accusing an Oath Keeper of choking the man. The Oath Keepers are the group that typically arrives heavily armed at protests. They claim that their presence is to prevent dictatorship, but the Southern Poverty Law Center labels them as one of the largest radical antigovernment groups in the U.S. today.

After the event escalates, he eventually is escorted away from the protest as demonstrators chanted, Na, na, na, na. Hey, hey, hey. Goodbye.

The victim has not yet filed a report and police told The Chronicle theres nothing they can do until the victim comes forward.

You can watch the full video below:

Alt-right white nationalist put in chokehold by sarahburris

See the rest here:
'Dude, this is not Comicon': Right-wing militia violently chases off 'alt-right' protester in Houston - Raw Story