“The Agriculture Department announced Wednesday that it had selected Ben Carson, the retired neurosurgeon and president’s former housing secretary, as an adviser on nutrition, health and housing,” the New York Times reports.
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Trump’s ‘Rose Garden Club’ Is New Hangout for Allies
“Washington’s hottest club has everything — Cabinet secretaries, a new stone patio, food from the White House kitchen and even a playlist curated by President Donald Trump,” the AP reports.
“But good luck getting a spot on the guest list. So far, only some of the president’s political allies, business executives and administration officials have been invited.”
“In Trump’s remake of the White House, the Rose Garden is now the Rose Garden Club, with the iconic lawn outside the Oval Office transformed into a taxpayer-supported imitation of the patio at Mar-a-Lago, the president’s private Florida resort.”
Trump Unveils ‘Presidential Walk of Fame’
The White House unveiled a “Presidential Walk of Fame” just outside the Oval Office featuring portraits of all U.S. presidents — except former President Joe Biden.
For Biden, the White House instead used a framed photo of an autopen writing Biden’s signature.
Trump Dares the United Nations to Mock Him Now
Jonathan Lemire and Missy Ryan: “Trump has led a campaign to upend the global order that the United States built following World War II. He has bent foreign leaders to his will while antagonizing allies by musing about a return to an age of American imperialism, when the U.S. could simply seize the territory it wanted. He and his advisers have launched trade wars and aligned themselves with movements that have eroded democracies and supported rising authoritarians.”
Big Majority Think the U.S. Is In a Political Crisis
A new Quinnipiac poll finds 79% of voters say the United States is in a political crisis, while 18% say it is not.
And 82% of voters think the way people talk about politics these days is contributing to violence in the United States, while 15% do not.
America’s Zombie Democracy
George Packer: “Today’s authoritarianism doesn’t move people to heroic feats on behalf of the Fatherland. The leader and his cronies, in and out of government, use their positions to hold on to power and enrich themselves. Corruption becomes so routine that it’s expected; the public grows desensitized, and violations of ethical norms that would have caused outrage in any other time go barely noticed. The regime has no utopian visions of a classless or hierarchical society in a purified state. It doesn’t thrive on war.”
“In fact, it asks very little of the people. At important political moments it mobilizes its core supporters with frenzies of hatred, but its overriding goal is to render most citizens passive.”
He continues: “Twenty-first-century authoritarianism keeps the public content with abundant calories and dazzling entertainment. Its dominant emotions aren’t euphoria and rage, but indifference and cynicism. Because most people still expect to have certain rights respected, blatant totalitarian mechanisms of repression are avoided. The most effective tools of control are distraction, confusion, and division.”
A Pretty Good Sign a Shutdown Is Coming
Politico: “Any chance of avoiding a shutdown next week would probably be helped if the Senate’s top two party leaders talked to each other… As of Tuesday evening, neither man has spoken to the other about the government funding impasse.”
Trump’s Approval on the Economy Sinks
AP-NORC Poll: “Just 37% of U.S. adults approve of Trump’s handling of the economy. That is down slightly from August, when 43% approved, but broadly in line with his overall approval.”
“The economy is a particularly weak issue for Trump among independents. Only about 2 in 10 independents approve of how Trump is handling the economy, much lower than the share who approve of his handling of border security and crime.”
“In Trump’s first term, closer to half of U.S. adults approved of his handling of the economy.”
Democrats Probe Law Firms Doing Work for Trump
“Top House and Senate Democrats are investigating whether law firms that cut deals with President Trump earlier this year — including Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison — are breaking the law by doing free legal work for his administration,” the New York Times reports.
How Would a Shutdown Impact the Economy?
New York Times: “First came President Trump’s punishing global tariffs, which have started to send prices higher.”
“Then, it was mass layoffs in government and deportations nationwide, which have put the squeeze on the labor force.”
“Now, Washington is speeding toward a federal shutdown, posing yet another test to an economy under increasing strain eight months into Mr. Trump’s second term. If a partisan logjam brings federal agencies to a screeching and sustained halt in a matter of days, the result could be another round of pain for American consumers and businesses.”
Investors Flock to Gold
Vanity Fair: “The president promised a ‘golden age,’ but Americans buying actual gold to hedge against an unstable economy is probably not what he had in mind.”
“Gold—it’s not only the decoration of choice for Donald Trump’s White House, but, it seems, the asset of choice for investors skittish about the economy he’s overseeing.”
“Gold prices have been surging lately, climbing to a record high Tuesday amid declining value of the U.S. dollar, political instability, and anxiety over the president’s signature tariffs—the latest sign that his economy may not exactly be the ‘miracle’ he promised he’d deliver on the campaign trail.”
Gavin Newsom Taps a Voter Motivator
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Massie Says GOP Leaders in ‘Full Panic’ Over Epstein Files
Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) is declaring victory on his move to force a vote on releasing the Jeffrey Epstein files after the election to fill a vacant Arizona House seat, Semafor reports.
And he says House Speaker Mike Johnson and “some of the powers that be in DC are in full panic right now” about it.
Jimmy Kimmel Reveals a Big Trump Weakness
Greg Sargent: “The reality MAGA will not acknowledge is this: Trump’s authoritarian tactics in suppression of disfavored speech are themselves triggering a massive cultural outcry. And by all indications, it’s larger than the one driving the push to censor imperfect speech about Kirk.”
Trump’s Middle Finger to the World
Charlie Sykes: “Not since Uganda’s Idi Amin, festooned in a gold embroidered dark green uniform, ranted from the podium has the United Nations seen anything quite as weird and embarrassing as Wednesday’s performance by the American president.”
“Most news accounts don’t come close to capturing it, as much of the media seems intent on sane-washing Trump’s performance, using words like ‘scathing’ or ‘meandering,’ because headline writers shy away from words like ‘unhinged,’ ‘deranged,’ ‘unstable,’ ‘crazed,’ certifiable — and are generally reluctant to point out that the President of the United States is a crack-brained elderly man-child shouting at windmills and clouds.”
Trump Says NATO Should Down Russian Jets
“President Donald Trump said NATO nations should shoot down Russian aircraft that violated their airspace and struck a more sympathetic tone on Ukraine’s chances of winning the war,” Bloomberg reports.
A Media Mogul Like No Other
New York Times: “TikTok is just one part of the rapidly expanding Ellison family media portfolio. Mr. Ellison’s son, David, who recently secured an $8 billion deal for Paramount and CBS and is busy putting his own stamp on them, is widely reported to be preparing a much bigger bid for Warner, which includes CNN.”
“At any other time, the regulatory hurdles to owning TikTok, CBS and CNN along with a major swath of Hollywood would have been insurmountable. This is a decidedly different era, where being in the good graces of Mr. Trump counts for a great deal.”
Trump’s Approval Rating Ticks Down
President Trump’s approval ticked slightly lower in recent weeks as Americans worried about the health of the U.S. economy and the Republican’s ability to contain rising prices, according to a new Reuters/Ipsos poll.
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