The Note: After CNN tweet, Trump will have to own any violence

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July 3, 2017

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After CNN tweet, Trump will have to own any violence

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW TODAY

1. A joke that should be taken seriously: After attacking Mika Brzezinski and Joe Scarborough late last week, President Trump shared a video of himself body-slamming someone with a CNN logo superimposed on his face. 2. CNN's response: "It's a sad day when the President of the United States encourages violence against reporters...We will keep doing our jobs. He should start doing his." 3. Full steam ahead, still. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is working on changes this week to the GOP health care bill instead of taking the president's suggestion to repeal Obamacare first before passing a replacement. 4. Trump returns to D.C. tonight to celebrate the Fourth of July. He and first lady Melania Trump host a picnic for military families at the White House Tuesday, followed by a viewing of fireworks.

THE TAKE with ABC News' Rick Klein

Calling it a strategy on the part of the president both overstates and understates the case of Donald J. Trump vs. the news media. Trump's tweets, like so much of his conduct, are impulsive outbursts, driven by short-term tactical decisions for which the main purpose may well be simply making the president feel better. But the flip side is that this is where he goes when he can't find another groove. You don't have to issue a value judgment on the sentiments he's sharing, or even the actions he's seemingly condoning, to recognize that there's a swath of his base that wants to be cheering for the president at a professional wrestling match. Everyone knows that's not real life, calling to mind the infamous question about whether Trump should be taken seriously or literally. Of course, there are other things (health care? Russia?) that could be occupying the president's time. And the jokes turn deadly serious should any actual violence take place. For now, though, the president's actions mark not as escalation so much as a return to the norm. That's not the same as calling it normal.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

"He did not get any sun. He had a baseball hat on." New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie's spokesperson when asked about Christie and his family's spending Sunday on a closed beach after ordering a government shutdown.