A very interesting and Trumpian interview that Trump gave with the New York Times last night. Some highlights: Twice, Trump lies to Maggie Halberman of the NY Times, and she corrects him, and then he just admits he was wrong. This happens a lot: when he’s challenged, he just concedes. Trump makes a new claim about Trump Tower Moscow: he … Read More
Are Congressional Republicans Growing A Pair?
The Hill: Frustrated Republicans say it’s time for the Senate to reclaim more power over foreign policy and are planning to move a measure Thursday that would be a stunning rebuke to a president of their own party. GOP lawmakers are deeply concerned over President Trump’s reluctance to listen to his senior military and intelligence advisers, fearing it could erode national … Read More
Don Jr Didn’t Talk To Dad Before The Trump Tower Meeting
Breaking on CNN: Senate investigators have obtained new information showing Donald Trump Jr.’s mysterious phone calls ahead of the 2016 Trump Tower meeting were not with his father, three sources with knowledge of the matter told CNN. Records provided to the Senate Intelligence Committee show the calls were between Trump Jr. and two of his business associates, the sources said, … Read More
Document Dump: The Dems Opening Offer In The Border Wall Negotiations
Some interesting tidbits: Democrats have offered $500 million “to address humanitarian concerns at the border, including medical care, more efficient transportation, food and other consumables, and to support at least one prototype temporary holding facility (72 hours or less) with better conditions and services for migrants.” (Trump doesn’t want this, but it’ll give a lie to his supposed concern if … Read More
Cost Of The Government Shutdown: $3 Billion
The U.S. economy will likely never recover $3 billion lost during the five-week partial government shutdown, according to a report released by the Congressional Budget Office on Monday. The 35-day shutdown ― the longest such closure in U.S. history ― reportedly reduced GDP in the fourth quarter of 2018 by $3 billion and an additional estimated $8 billion in the … Read More
Stupid Is As Stupid Does
I was going to write a post about how Trump learned (although – let’s face it – he probably didn’t learn) about the importance of having good information. But this guy beat me to it: One takeaway from the federal government shutdown is the importance of good information. American presidents are privy to the highest quality data on the planet. … Read More
Breaking: Trump To Speak On Shutdown; Will He Invoke A National Emergency?
The White House is now making plans for an afternoon event today, where President Trump is poised to make an announcement about the border and the government shutdown, per @jeffzeleny @kaitlancollins. Invoking national emergency has been on the table — Manu Raju (@mkraju) January 25, 2019 People I’ve been talking to this morning are convinced, following the arrest of Roger … Read More
Boom: Stone Indicted, Arrested
AP: Roger Stone, a confidant of President Donald Trump, was arrested in the special counsel’s Russia investigation in a pre-dawn raid at his Florida home on Friday and was charged with lying to Congress and obstructing the probe. The seven-count indictment against Stone, a self-proclaimed “dirty trickster,” is the first criminal case in months from special counsel Robert Mueller. It provides … Read More
Day 34 Of Shutdown And Government Shows Signs Of Strain
All it will take is one plane crash — it doesn’t even have to be a major one — and it’s a whole new ballgame. Five former Department of Homeland Security Secretaries — including John Kelly (Trump’s former Chief of Staff) signed a letter calling on Trump and Congress to fund the agency to relieve DHS national security personnel from … Read More
Pelosi Wins SOTU War
Donald Trump blinked. There’s simply no other way to interpret this tweet sent at 11:12 p.m. Eastern time Wednesday night: As the Shutdown was going on, Nancy Pelosi asked me to give the State of the Union Address. I agreed. She then changed her mind because of the Shutdown, suggesting a later date. This is her prerogative – I will do the … Read More
Breaking: Witness Tampering Successful
pic.twitter.com/YGSjuaXenv — Maggie Haberman (@maggieNYT) January 23, 2019 Recall that the president told @JudgeJeanine last weekend that media and prosecutors ought to be looking into Cohen's family, suggesting a look at private citizens. One in a series of suggestions that Cohen family be pursued that POTUS has made. — Maggie Haberman (@maggieNYT) January 23, 2019 Reporting by @KatyTurNBC just on … Read More
Breaking: Trump Will Show Up For SOTU Anyway
Just released by the White House: Puerile, of course. We’re actually going to have a showdown over this now? TLDR of the president’s letter to Nancy Pelosi: He’s daring her to formally uninvite him from delivering the State of the Union Tuesday. — Kaitlan Collins (@kaitlancollins) January 23, 2019 If that is true… then she should formally uninvite. This Trump … Read More
Trump May Be At His Wit’s End With Rudy
Gabriel Sherman in Vanity Fair: Every time Rudy Giuliani opens his mouth in front of a reporter, something bad seems to happen. Donald Trump’s beleaguered lawyer has, over the past few weeks, given one disastrous interview after another. The latest fiasco came Monday, when Giuliani participated in a rambling Q&A with The New Yorker’s Isaac Chotiner. After telling Chotiner he only had a moment before he took a shower, Giuliani unspooled a … Read More
I’m Sick Of The Covington Catholic Teen Incident, But This One Thing I Believe
Adam Serwer: The incident became a national story in part because of the way the images seemed to confirm first one sweeping narrative, and then another, opposite one: the first, that the heart of Trumpism is prejudice; the second, that anti-prejudice, abetted by the liberal media, has become a malevolent force comparable to racial oppression. But only one of these … Read More
Movement, Ever So Slightly, On Ending The Government Shutdown
NY Times: WASHINGTON — Senate Republicans and Democrats on Tuesday offered the first glimmers of a potential resolution to the five-week partial government shutdown, scheduling procedural votes Thursday on President Trump’s proposal to spend $5.7 billion on a border wall and a competing bill that would fund the government through Feb. 8. The plan for the Senate to consider the … Read More