* “Ballistic missile customers are the most concerning of North Korea’s partners and deserve the highest attention. Egypt is one of those.”–Andrea Berger, a North Korea specialist at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies.
* “Absolutely unacceptable.”–How Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau characterized President Donald Trump’s plan for tariffs on steel and aluminum imported into the United States.
* “The president is going to quickly find out that you can’t start a trade war with your allies and expect them to work with you on other issues. The administration is squandering the little credibility they had with transatlantic partners.”–Jamie Fly, senior fellow at the German Marshall Fund.
* “Please reconsider. You’re punishing the American taxpayers and you are making a huge mistake.”–The response of Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., to Trump’s tariff plan.
* “We are extremely worried about the consequences of a trade war and are urging the White House to not advance with this (tariff) plan.”–AshLee Strong, spokeswoman for House Speaker Paul Ryan.
* “We didn’t cover ourselves in glory in terms of how we handled that. It was confusing.”–White House Chief of Staff John Kelly on how he handled security clearance and domestic abuse allegations against former top aide Rob Porter.
* “Trump is a creature almost preternaturally attuned to the shifting moods of the public and deeply influenced by what he sees on television. For him, ideology and philosophy do not mediate politics; politics is mediated by TV.”–Republican consultant Rick Wilson.
* “(Trump) really likes stage sets and all of what makes for good theater. This was his first love.”–Trump biographer Michael D’Antonio.
* “The Republican Party is learning what should have been obvious from the outset: Mr. Trump’s chaotic personality can’t be contained. His presidency is infecting the entire party. … The Republican Party has become a destructive and anarchic political force in American life. The president and his acolytes are championing conspiracy theories and a sweeping, uncalibrated, all-out assault on our institutions.”–Peter Wehner, senior fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center.
* “I thought it was fascinating television and it was surreal to actually be there.”–Texas Sen. John Cornyn, the No. 2 Republican, who sat next to Trump during the president’s bipartisan, gun-discussion meeting with members of Congress. The meeting that stunned some Republicans when the president “seemed” to back gun-control measures.
* “If I was there (Parkland High School) and I didn’t have a firearm, I would have gone into that scene.”–Donald Trump.
* “It’s clear to me that AR-15 or other high-velocity weapons, especially when outfitted with a high-capacity magazine, have no place in a civilian’s gun cabinet. As a doctor, I feel I have a duty to inform the public of what I have learned as I have observed these wounds and cared for these patients.”–Heather Sher, M.D., Broward Health Medical Center.
* “We don’t want to be a part of a mass shooting.”–Edward Stack, CEO of Dick’s Sporting Goods, explaining the rationale for his company restricting gun sales.
* “Bans do nothing but infringe on the rights of law-abiding citizens.”–NRA.
* “We live in a world of dense information pollution. The long-term fallout is really dramatic corruption of our democratic sphere.”–Nicco Mele, director of the Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy at Harvard’s Kennedy School.
* “While it seems shocking to be finding heroin at the public library–that’s where we are. This is an all-hands-on-deck situation.”–U.S. Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney, D-N.Y.
* “We are the forgotten business on some level.”–Robert Greenblatt, chairman of NBC Entertainment, defending the relevance of traditional television broadcasters.
* “An industry consumed with comic books and teenage boys.”–How Maureen Dowd, New York Times, defines Hollywood.
* “We are very concerned about the sexual harassment bill. …You will see many considerations when we redo our rules next year.”–Florida Senate Republican Leader Wilton Simpson of Trilby.
* “When you can’t change the laws, change the politicians who make them.”–Florida state Rep. Carlos Guillermo Smith, D-Orlando.
* “When we think about the growth of the Tampa Bay region and the companies that are moving into the West Shore business district, like Amgen, that travel all over the world, we think that this unique facility and its connection to the SkyConnect system is going to attract new types of businesses that are going to want to travel all over the world.”–Chris Minner, TIA executive vice president, in referencing the next phase of the airport’s $2 billion master plan of expansion and renovation.
* “It’s about time our reputation is as strong as our objective performance.”–Judy Genshaft, president of USF, which is about to launch a major rebranding campaign in the coming months.