D.C. Trump hotel is lit

What The White House is Talking About: 
Martha’s Vineyard is a comfortable 83 degrees. Washington is under a heat advisory, with temps feeling like 105.

What the White House Press Corps is Talking About: 
Donald Trump last night calling Barack Obama the founder of ISIS. He has said it before, or said Hillary Clinton is, but for some reason this time everyone is listening.

Guys, but he isn’t.

But Trump Thinks He Is, Reals: 
He said it again this morning.

Twitter: @JoePerticone

Obama Breaks From Vacation to Fundraise: 
A White House official passed along info yesterday on a Monday DNC fundraiser Obama will headline in Martha’s Vineyard. He’ll deliver remarks and take questions at the home of Hank and Carol Goldberg, according to the Boston Globe, who live in Chilmark, the same MV nabe as POTUS’ multi-million-dollar vacation rental. Like Obama, the Goldberg’s primary residence is Washington. They are also the couple discussed in the DNC email hacks who wanted to host a big fundraiser at their house in Chevy Chase but it proved too logistically challenging.

Tickets for the DNC funder on Monday start at $10,000 and go up to the max $33,400, per person.

Martha’s Vineyard, Cont’d: 
Town & Country magazine this month has a look at the Martha’s Vineyard enclave of Oak Bluffs, which has become a vacation favorite for African-Americans. Valerie Jarrett goes every summer, so does Vernon Jordan, though he’s not into the beach: “I never go to the beach. There are many things I need; a suntan is not one of them.”

Hey, Mister DJ (Obama): 
The president’s summer day and night playlists are now available on Spotify and no matter your politics, the man has sick taste in music.

D.C. Trump Hotel is Lit: 
The Trump International Hotel Washington, D.C. opens on September 12th and today they’re testing some futuristic LED lights in the ginormous 13,200 square foot ballroom.

Twitter: @TrumpDC

The lights will make it so guests having events there can get all fancy with their decor — it’s an option not a lot of other luxury hotels in town offer. According to a source at the hotel’s sales office, I hear requests and bookings for weddings and events are already pouring in.

Congrats, Kasie!:
One of my favorite humans, NBC News/MSNBC’s Kasie Hunt, got engaged to her boyfriend, NBC News senior digital producer Matt Rivera, and we wish her all the very best. Here’s a snap she shared just after it happened:

Ain’t love grand …

What The Beltway is Talking About:
Trump saying Obama founded ISIS, and newly released Clinton emails critics say suggest collusion between the Clinton Foundation and State Department.

What America is Talking About:
The man who scaled Trump Tower using suction cups.

Getty Images: Bryan R. Smith

We Live in a World Where the Democratic Nominee Wrote an Op-Ed About Religious Freedom in a Salt Lake Newspaper:
I found Clinton’s op-ed in the Mormon Church-owned Deseret News yesterday one of the most remarkable documents on the 2016 election. Mormons are the most Republican religious group in the U.S., so they’re not used to being courted by presidential candidates like this, least of all by a Democrat talking about religious freedom using language uniquely familiar to Mormons.

Like, “it so often takes a village — or a ward (the Mormon word for congregation) — working together to build the change we hope to see,” or referencing Mormon history, like the 1838 Extermination Order where the governor of Missouri literally called for Mormons to be exterminated and driven from the state. She said Trump lacked the morals to be commander-in-chief, she quoted Romney, and she name checked Joseph Smith.

The op-ed received a lot of attention — receiving double the traffic of Des News’ homepage I’m told — but a Clinton source I spoke to said it fits in with the campaign’s broader strategy of focusing on state-specific issues and leaving “no stone unturned.”

Does the New Time Cover Remind Anyone Else of Kylie Jenner’s Lipgloss?:
Or is it just me?

Independent Journal Review: Hunter Schwarz

Clinton at Raygun:
You might remember Iowa apparel and novelty store Raygun from the state’s caucus in February. Clinton held a campaign event there yesterday flanked by “America: Hill Yes” shirts.

Getty Images: Steve Pope

Political Trivia, Trump Rally Edition:
Independent Journal Review’s Joe Perticone asked attendees at a Virginia Trump rally some trivia questions. I’m actually pretty shocked at how many people didn’t know Trump’s running mate.