The Note: High stakes for Trump's second foreign trip

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July 5, 2017

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High stakes for Trump's second foreign trip

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW TODAY

1. More than noise from North Korea. The United States confirmed that the North Korean regime tested an ICBM overnight on July 4th. U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley called an emergency U.N. Security Council meeting that will be held today. 2. Trump plus Putin. President Trump leaves D.C. for just his second foreign trip. On the agenda: a stop in Poland today, then the G-20 summit in Germany and a critical, high-stakes meeting with Vladimir Putin Friday. 3. More woes for the president's election integrity commission. It now faces its first legal challenge, with a privacy group filing a lawsuit against the commission's request for voter registration data from all 50 states. The lawsuit comes as an increasing number of states are refusing to comply. 4. Quiet on the town-hall front, for now. Republican senators mostly ducked any Independence Day heat on health care but the pace of public events picks up from here.

THE TAKE with ABC News' Rick Klein

Body-slamming Kim Jong Un is not a viable option. Debates over fake news and presidential behavior will have to wait while a crop of big storylines converges on the White House. We're talking about the brink of a real war with North Korea, with a regime that's clearly prodding President Trump and seeming to like the attention so far. We're talking about a foreign trip that will be capped by a real meeting between Trump and Vladimir Putin, an exchange that will carry vast implications both foreign and domestic. We're talking about a legislative agenda on the recess firing line, with town halls heating up and health care blowback stirring. It leaves the president in an unfamiliar position, reacting, rather than driving the agenda. We know the president's views on counter-punching, of course. But these are crises that can't be solved in 140 characters. "Does this guy have anything better to do with his life?" Trump tweeted, an apparent reference to North Korea's leader. Things are getting serious again, and quickly.

SENATORS AVOID HEALTH CARE HECKLES

Sen. Ted Cruz was heckled in southern Texas while reading the Declaration of Independence. In Philly, folks held an event: "Don't let Toomey BBQ Your Healthcare"... without Sen. Pat Toomey. There were protesters along parade routes in Nevada, too, making their opposition to Obamacare repeal heard even if politicians weren't there in person to listen. Sen. Susan Collins of Maine was welcomed by a few people at her July 4th parade, who specifically thanked her for pushing back against her own party on health care, according to the Washington Post. What is usually a high-flying holiday day for elected officials was muted, to say the least. Several senators opted for a work trip to Afghanistan over public flag-waving at home and other Republicans simply seemed to stay indoors, avoiding public opposition and photo ops all together this year. The question now is how long they can keep the heat away.