A new Gallup-Knight Foundation survey finds that 42% of Republicans consider accurate news stories that cast a politician or political group in a negative light to always be “fake news.”
The corresponding figure for Democrats is 17%.
Daily Archives
January 16, 2018
28 posts · Tuesday
Bannon Will Tell All to Mueller
“Former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon broke some bad news to House investigators on Tuesday, announcing that the White House has invoked executive privilege to keep him from answering many of their questions,” the Daily Beast reports.
“But executive privilege—the president’s right to keep certain information from the public so he can have frank conversations with aides—will not keep Steve Bannon from sharing information with Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s team, according to a person familiar with the situation.”
Said the source: “Mueller will hear everything Bannon has to say.”
Maybe Trump Is Just a Moron?
Jonathan Chait: “Trump is not actually suffering a severe mental impairment. White House doctor Ronny Jackson, who has served in the post since 2013, informed reporters on Wednesday that the president is in fine physical and mental health. The report comes as the national media has discussed whether Trump’s functional near-illiteracy, minuscule attention span, and narcissistic pathos are the symptoms of dementia or some other kind of cognitive incapacitation. We should take Jackson’s diagnosis as face value. Trump is just an idiot.”
GOP Weighs Children’s Health Insurance as Lure
“With little hope of an immigration agreement this week, Republicans in Congress are considering a plan to head off a government shutdown this weekend by pairing another stopgap spending measure with long-term funding for the popular Children’s Health Insurance Program, daring Democrats to vote no,” the New York Times reports.
“The bill would set up another possible showdown in mid-February, when government funding would again be set to expire. But it would give lawmakers time to continue negotiations on immigration and long-term government funding levels.”
Trump Approval Lower Than U.S. Mood Might Predict
A new Gallup poll finds President Trump’s 38% job approval rating is well below what would be expected based on Americans’ views of the economy and their level of satisfaction with the direction of the country for recent presidents.
A Gallup analysis of these relationships finds Trump’s approval rating is nine to 14 percentage points lower than the predicted values.
Fox News Declined Story Linking Trump to Porn Star
“Fox News had a story at the height of the presidential election that detailed an alleged sexual relationship between porn actress Stephanie Clifford — whose stage name is ‘Stormy Daniels’ — and Donald Trump, but opted not to publish it,” four people familiar with the matter told CNN.
Friend of Porn Star Confirms Trump Encounter
Alana Evans appeared on Megyn Kelly Today to recount what porn star Stormy Daniels told her about a rendezvous with Donald Trump after meeting him at a golf tournament in 2006.
Said Evans: “I asked how it went. I’m sorry, but the visual that I get has stuck with me for this entire time. I’m glad that you guys all have to deal with it too. Having her tell me the next day when I asked how did it go, and she says, ‘Well, picture this: Donald Trump chasing me around the bedroom in his tighty whities,’ isn’t something you ever forget.”
Bannon Refused to Answer Committee Questions
Steve Bannon “refused to answer questions Tuesday from the House intelligence committee about his time in the White House, prompting panel members to subpoena him on the spot,” Politico reports.
“According to the source, Bannon’s attorney told the committee that he wouldn’t discuss anything about his time in the White House or during the transition after the 2016 election.”
[alert type=”general” dismiss=”no”]It sure sounds like Bannon was trying to send a signal to the White House that he’s remaining loyal to President Trump.[/alert]
Doctor Has No Concerns About Trump’s Cognitive Ability
President Trump “asked the White House doctor to perform a cognitive exam during his physical last week, despite the doctor’s determination that such testing wasn’t necessary,” CNN reports.
Said Dr. Ronny Jackson: “I have no concerns about his cognitive ability.”
CNN quoted Jackson: “He has incredibly good genes, and it’s just the way God made him.”
GOP Lawmakers Call on Greitens to Resign
“At least four Republican lawmakers are calling for Gov. Eric Greitens (R) to resign after allegations that he blackmailed a woman in an effort to keep her quiet about an extramarital affair,” the Kansas City Star reports.
“Greitens has admitted to the affair but has vehemently denied the allegations that in 2015 he took a nude photograph of a woman — while she was blindfolded and her hands were bound — and threatened to release it if she spoke about the affair.”
Bonus Quote of the Day
“Facebook is a living, breathing crime scene for what happened in the 2016 election — and only they have full access to what happened.”
— Tristan Harris, former design ethicist at Google, quoted by NBC News.
Fox News Launches Series on Clinton Impeachment
Fox News announced a new show called “Scandalous,” a seven-episode series which chronicles the events that ultimately led to the impeachment of President Bill Clinton during the 1990s.
Graham Says Immigration Debate Is a ‘Shit Show’
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) said the immigration debate has turned into an “shit show,” lamenting what he said was President Trump’s abrupt change in tone on the topic last week, Politico reports.
Said Graham: “This has turned into an s-show, and we need to get back to being a great country where Democrats and Republicans work together to do something that we should have done years ago.”
Who Would Be Blamed for a Shutdown?
New York Times: “Democrats facing re-election in states that Mr. Trump carried in 2016 fear that a government funding crisis, precipitated by an immigration showdown, could imperil their campaigns. And they are growing increasingly uneasy that liberal colleagues eyeing White House bids are demanding that any spending bill beyond a stopgap measure that expires on Jan. 19 include protections for undocumented immigrants brought to the United States illegally as children.”
“But Republicans face their own uncertainties. With their party controlling the White House and both chambers of Congress, they could receive most of the blame for a shutdown, even if Senate Democrats effectively block a spending plan that does not extend the immigrant protections of an Obama-era program known as the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA.”
The Guardian: Trump blames Democrats as deadline looms.
Manafort’s Trial Not Likely Until September
“The criminal trial of President Trump’s former campaign manager Paul Manafort appears likely to start in September at the earliest after a federal judge on Tuesday rejected a bid by special counsel Robert Mueller’s office to kick off the trial in May,” Politico reports.
Bannon Subpoenaed to Testify Before Grand Jury
Former Trump adviser Stephen Bannon was subpoenaed by special counsel Robert Mueller “to testify before a grand jury as part of the investigation into possible links between Mr. Trump’s associates and Russia,” the New York Times reports.
“The move marked the first time Mr. Mueller is known to have used a grand jury subpoena to seek information from a member of Mr. Trump’s inner circle.”
“The subpoena could be a negotiating tactic. Mr. Mueller is likely to allow Mr. Bannon to forgo the grand jury appearance if he agrees to instead be questioned by investigators in the less formal setting of the special counsel’s offices in Washington… But it was not clear why Mr. Mueller treated Mr. Bannon differently than the dozen administration officials who were interviewed in the final months of last year and were never served with a subpoena.”
Nielsen Won’t Confirm Trump’s Vulgar Comments
Homeland Security Kristjen Nielsen confirmed that President Trump used “tough language” in an Oval Office meeting last week over immigration policy, but she said she did not hear him describe some African countries and Haiti as “shithole countries,” the Washington Post reports.
Said Nielsen: “I did not hear that word used.”
She added: “The conversation was very impassioned. I don’t dispute that the president was using tough language. Others in the room were also using tough language.”
A New Explanation for Why Trump Can’t Be Racist
White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said claims that President Trump is racist are “outrageous,” citing his success as a public figure and star turn on television as a host on NBC’s reality show The Apprentice, Bloomberg reports.
Said Sanders: “Frankly, if the critics of the president were who he said he was, why did NBC give him a show for a decade on TV.”
Jonathan Chait: “The belief that television networks would never employ a racist is oddly naïve, especially for a figure as steeped in criticism of Hollywood as the daughter of famed social conservative Mike Huckabee.”
