News Media Enjoys a Trump Bump
The Economist: “The unprecedented nature of political events has kept American eyeballs glued to pages and screens. The pace of change, especially since the election, compels Mr Trump’s fans and foes alike to stay abreast of developments. Many do so using Twitter. But many others seem to want the kind of analysis that established groups provide. Mr Trump’s bashing of certain outlets also may have encouraged some to subscribe or watch in defiance.”
Quote of the Day
“What happened in Sweden Friday night? Did they catch the Bowling Green Massacre perpetrators?”
— Chelsea Clinton, on Twitter.
How Trump Uses Leaks to Undermine the Media
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Christie Tells Staff He’s Taking White House Job
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) is telling friends and staff he is taking a role with the Trump administration, the New York Post reports.
“The GOP governor’s position has not been worked out, but he would not replace Reince Preibus as the president’s chief-of-staff, the source said.”
Trump’s Remark Puzzles Swedes
“Swedes reacted with confusion, anger and ridicule on Sunday to a vague remark by President Trump that suggested that something terrible had occurred in their country. During a campaign-style rally on Saturday in Florida, Mr. Trump issued a sharp if discursive attack on refugee policies in Europe, ticking off a list of places that have been hit by terrorists,” the New York Times reports.
Said Trump: “You look at what’s happening. We’ve got to keep our country safe. You look at what’s happening in Germany, you look at what’s happening last night in Sweden. Sweden, who would believe this?”
“Not the Swedes. Nothing particularly nefarious happened in Sweden on Friday — or Saturday, for that matter — and Swedes were left baffled.”
Trump Attempts Reset at Campaign-Style Rally
“Nearly a month into a presidency full of missteps, Donald Trump returned Saturday to firmer ground outside of Washington, staging a raucous campaign-style rally here with a throng of adoring supporters who helped sweep him into the White House,” the Washington Post reports.
“For 45 minutes, there was no talk of the president’s falling approval ratings or turmoil in his administration. Instead, Trump rattled off familiar campaign promises, scolded the media, mocked protesters gathered outside, declared that it is “a new day in America” and basked in applause from a crowd of 9,000 that waited hours in the sun to see him.”
Politico: “It was a raucous campaign appearance — light on specifics and heavy on braggadocio — just four weeks after he was inaugurated and almost four years before he faces re-election.”
Memos Detail New Guidelines for Deportations
Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly “has signed sweeping new guidelines that empower federal authorities to more aggressively detain and deport illegal immigrants inside the United States and at the border,” the Washington Post reports.
“In a pair of memos, Kelly offered more detail on plans for the agency to hire thousands of additional enforcement agents, expand the pool of immigrants who are prioritized for removal, speed up deportation hearings and enlist local law enforcement to help make arrests.”
FBI Investigating Russian Investments Linked to Trump
The FBI “is pursuing at least three separate probes relating to alleged Russian hacking of the U.S. presidential elections,” Reuters reports.
Key takeaway: “This counterintelligence inquiry includes but is not limited to examination of financial transactions by Russian individuals and companies who are believed to have links to Trump associates. The transactions under scrutiny involve investments by Russians in overseas entities that appear to have been undertaken through middlemen and front companies, two people briefed on the probe said.”
For members: What Are Trump’s Ties to Russia?
McCain Says Dictators Start By Attacking Press
Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) slammed President Trump’s attacks on the media this week by noting dictators “get started by suppressing free press,” CNN reports.
“It was a startling observation from a sitting member of Congress against the President of the United States, especially considering McCain is a member of Trump’s party.”
Said McCain: “If you want to preserve — I’m very serious now — if you want to preserve democracy as we know it, you have to have a free and many times adversarial press. And without it, I am afraid that we would lose so much of our individual liberties over time. That’s how dictators get started.”
Bonus Quote of the Day
“I think that the media should stop with this unnamed source stuff. Put names on a piece of paper and print it. If people aren’t willing to put their name next to a quote, then the quote shouldn’t be listed.”
— Reince Priebus, in an interview with CBS News.
White House Dismisses NSC Aide After Criticism
“The White House abruptly dismissed a senior National Security Council aide on Friday after receiving reports that he had publicly laced into the president and his senior aides, including son-in-law Jared Kushner and daughter Ivanka Trump at an event hosted by a Washington think tank,” Politico reports.
“The aide, Craig Deare, was serving as the NSC’s senior director for Western Hemisphere Affairs. Earlier in the week, at a private, off-the-record roundtable hosted by the Woodrow Wilson Center for a group of about two dozen scholars, Deare harshly criticized the president and his chief strategist Steve Bannon and railed against the dysfunction paralyzing the Trump White House.”
“He complained in particular that senior national security aides do not have access to the president — and gave a detailed and embarrassing readout of Trump’s call with Mexican president Enrique Pena Nieto.”
Priebus Says Trump Serious About Media as the Enemy
White House chief of staff Reince Priebus advised Americans to take President Trump’s attacks on the media “seriously,” following the president’s denunciations of the press as the “enemy,” CBS News reports.
Said Priebus: “I do think it’s a problem. And I think that the media needs to, in some cases — not every case, John — but in some cases really needs to get its act together.”
Lawmakers Worry Trump’s Rhetoric Hurting U.S.
A growing roster of Republicans and Democrats on Capitol Hill say they believe President Trump’s pugnacious rhetoric and unpredictable behavior threaten to diminish the United States’ standing around the world, do real damage to fragile diplomatic relationships and even weaken global stability,” the Washington Post reports.
“Lawmakers are speaking in increasingly urgent tones about Trump’s unusual foreign policy statements and his tendency to pick fights with domestic and international figures. They say it has taken a toll on the way key allies, foes and other foreign observers view the United States. Even members of Trump’s own party are having difficulties vouching for him.”
Who Gave Flynn the Orders to Talk to Russia?
New Yorker: “Even before Flynn’s rapid fall, his closest military colleagues had been struggling to make sense of what had happened to the talented and grounded general they once knew… Some of Flynn’s former military colleagues, even those from whom he’s drifted apart in recent years, told me they were skeptical that Flynn would have conducted shadow diplomacy on his own. Despite his reputation as an agitator, he was, in the end, a soldier who followed orders, they said.”
Said one intelligence official: “This story is bigger than Mike Flynn. Who told Mike to go do this? I think somebody said, ‘Mike, you’ve got some contacts. Let them know it’s gonna be all right.’ Mike’s a soldier. He did not go rogue.’”
Quote of the Day
“The national-security aspect isn’t functioning. Nobody knows who’s making the decisions. The Iranians are testing. The Russians are testing. They’re testing this administration. Who is making the decisions when we don’t have a national-security adviser?”
— Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), in an interview with New York Magazine.
Scott Brown to New Zealand?
Former Sen. Scott Brown (R-MA) is being considered for nomination as President Trump’s ambassador to New Zealand, the Boston Globe reports.
“Brown, who was previously considered for the veterans affairs Cabinet post, has told associates that he believes he will get the nod for Wellington.”
Trump Proposes Checking Chinese Visitors
Politico: “The Trump administration is moving to expand social media checks to cover Chinese citizens traveling to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials are proposing to ask Chinese visitors to disclose their social media ‘handles’ or other identifiers on common social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook. The question would be asked online as part of an electronic system Chinese holders of long-term U.S. business and visitor visas use to advise of upcoming travel.”
“Answering the question would be ‘optional,’ CBP said in a notice set for publication Tuesday in the Federal Register. Those who don’t wish to answer will have their travel requests processed ‘without a negative interpretation or inference,’ the notice said.”
