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Just dropped · Trial Balloon · Ep. 194

What Just Happened?

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Trial Balloon · Ep. 194: What Just Happened?

Trump Indexed

January 5, 2017 · 10:52 am ET · Leave a Comment

This is an amazing tool: Factbase is indexing and transcribing nearly every speech, tweet or other utterance of Donald Trump.

For example, this search finds every time Trump has said the word “fuck.”

Trump Transition

Tensions Grow Between Trump and the GOP

January 5, 2017 · 9:53 am ET · Leave a Comment

Rick Klein: “Welcome to unified government – Trump style. The new Congress wasn’t even sworn in before a Donald Trump crashed through the Republican conference – forcing a hasty retreat on an ill-timed ethics maneuver. And you don’t have to look far beneath the surface to see other cracks in party unity trying to make themselves seen. Trump’s near-mockery of intelligence agencies, along with his alignment with both Russia and Wikileaks, is testing the ability of Republicans in Congress to hold their tongues on foreign policy and national security.”

“Even on healthcare, where the goal of eliminating Obamacare has galvanized the GOP, the togetherness may not be what it seems. Slamming Chuck Schumer is easy enough for Republicans to agree on. But Trump’s Thursday morning Twitter call for ‘Republicans & Democrats to get together’ on a replacement for Obamacare is precisely what Hill leaders are preparing to avoid. The Trump brand, as always, is distinct from the Republican one – and his leadership shows few signs of respecting traditional party lines.”

Trump Transition

Quote of the Day

January 5, 2017 · 7:47 am ET · Leave a Comment

“He is a very strategic thinker… He thinks about where things are going to end up.”

— Incoming White House press secretary Sean Spicer, quoted by the Wall Street Journal, saying that Donald Trump is not just “randomly tweeting.”

Trump Transition Sean Spicer

Trump Faces Sworn Deposition

January 5, 2017 · 7:43 am ET · Leave a Comment

Donald Trump “is being forced to take a big time-out from his frenzied planning for the White House, sitting down as soon as Thursday for a sworn, videotaped deposition in Trump Tower that could stretch for as long as seven hours.” Politico reports.

“It’s an extraordinary circumstance for any president or president-elect. The last president to be deposed was Bill Clinton in 1998, in the Paula Jones sexual harassment suit. Ulysses Grant, Gerald Ford, and Jimmy Carter are the only other sitting presidents to face a deposition.”

“And it’s hardly Trump’s only legal headache. With Trump’s swearing-in just days away, many of the high-profile lawsuits that entangled him during the campaign are all but certain to carry on through his inauguration and into his tenure at the White House — and he will even inherit some new ones.”

Trump Transition

How Christie Aide Went from Bridgegate to Trump

January 5, 2017 · 7:22 am ET · Leave a Comment

“During a salacious criminal trial last year involving the 2013 lane closures at the George Washington Bridge, prosecutors and defense attorneys alike cited the hard-nosed culture of Gov. Chris Christie’s political operation,” Politico reports.

“Running that operation was Bill Stepien, who was named President-elect Donald Trump’s political director Wednesday. His name was mentioned almost 700 times in the trial… The mastermind of the political revenge plot at the world’s busiest bridge, David Wildstein, testified he told Stepien about his plan before he put it in motion.”

“Stepien’s hiring by the White House capped a remarkable political recovery for the 38-year-old political operative, who had been expected to play a major role in Christie’s 2016 presidential campaign before the governor cut ties with him over the bridge scandal, reducing his political profile until this summer.”

Trump Transition Bill Stepien

Trump Names Bridgegate Figure as Political Director

January 4, 2017 · 4:52 pm ET · Leave a Comment

President-elect Donald Trump is reportedly considering bringing to the White House a political operative with close ties to the Bridgegate scandal, WNYC reports.

“Bill Stepien came of age in New Jersey politics alongside the three convicted Bridgegate felons before managing both of Chris Christie’s gubernatorial campaigns. Stepien was the national field director for Trump’s presidential campaign and is now in line to become the White House political director.”

“His hiring is being pushed by Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner, who is friends with long-time Stepien ally David Wildstein, the admitted Bridgegate lead conspirator.”

Trump Transition Bill Stepien

Bonus Quote of the Day

January 4, 2017 · 4:28 pm ET · Leave a Comment

“Sure. There’s also a realistic scenario that pigs fly.”

— Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), quoted by the Houston Chronicle, when asked if he would support Rex Tillerson’s nomination to be Secretary of State.

Foreign Affairs, Trump Transition Rex Tillerson

Exxon Mobil Cashes Out Tillerson Ahead of Hearings

January 4, 2017 · 2:14 pm ET · Leave a Comment

Exxon Mobil has awarded former CEO Rex Tillerson “a $180 million retirement package as the company moves to break financial ties with President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for secretary of state,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

“If Mr. Tillerson is confirmed, Exxon will transfer the equivalent value of two million unvested shares that he was set to receive at his previously expected retirement in March into a trust.”

Foreign Affairs, Trump Transition Rex Tillerson

What Happens When Trump Turns Against the GOP?

January 4, 2017 · 9:57 am ET · Leave a Comment

Rick Klein: “Careful what you wish for – and for what you can’t see coming. Donald Trump appears to have bailed out House leadership on day one of the new Congress, convincing rank-and-file members to roll back an ill-timed gutting of the House ethics process. But how it went down should serve as a warning to anyone prepared to do business with – or against – Trump. His Tweets, though mild by Trump standard – it’s still not clear that he opposes the ethics reforms, or just the timing – scrambled Capitol Hill, making a likely undoing of the changes inevitable.”

“This time, Trump was working on the same side as House Republican leaders. But what about next time? Tweets twisting arms represent a new dynamic for lawmakers to adjust to. With vice-president-elect Mike Pence on the Hill Wednesday to strategize opposite President Obama, it may not be just Democrats who are nostalgic for those good old days.”

Trump Transition

Bonus Quote of the Day

January 3, 2017 · 10:12 pm ET · Leave a Comment

“Let me tell you, you take on the intelligence community, they have six ways from Sunday at getting back at you. So even for a practical supposedly hard-nosed businessman, he’s being really dumb to do this.”

— Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), quoted by The Hill, on Donald Trump attacking intelligence agencies.

National Security, Trump Transition Chuck Schumer

Obama Still Concerned About Trump with Nuclear Codes

January 3, 2017 · 9:44 pm ET · Leave a Comment

President Obama “still doesn’t think Donald Trump can handle the nuclear codes or safely protect America from attack — he just doesn’t want to talk about it anymore,” Politico reports.

Said White House press secretary Josh Earnest: “My assessment would be that his opinions have not changed, but the time and place for presenting those opinions has come and gone, and we’re focused on a transition.”

National Security, Trump Transition

How Donald Trump Tweets

January 3, 2017 · 9:34 pm ET · Leave a Comment

Evan Puschak: “Instead of asking us to read, he forces us to hear.”

Trump Transition Donald Trump

Law Professors Come Out Against Sessions

January 3, 2017 · 9:00 pm ET · Leave a Comment

“A group of more than 1,100 law school professors from across the country is sending a letter to Congress on Tuesday urging the Senate to reject the nomination of Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) for attorney general,” the Washington Post reports.

Trump Transition Jeff Sessions

Trump to Omarosa: You’re Hired

January 3, 2017 · 5:10 pm ET · Leave a Comment

Omarosa Manigault, a memorable contestant in the first season of “The Apprentice,” is expected to join President-elect Donald Trump’s White House staff, the AP reports.

Her job is expected to focus on public engagement.

Trump Transition Omarosa Manigault

Quote of the Day

January 3, 2017 · 4:23 pm ET · Leave a Comment

“I don’t want you to be very, very scared, but there is reason to be.”

— House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), quoted by Politico.

House of Representatives, Trump Transition

Trump Rang In New Year with Convicted Mobster

January 3, 2017 · 3:54 pm ET · Leave a Comment

President-elect Donald Trump rang in the new year together with Joseph “Joey No Socks” Cinque — a convicted felon with ties to notorious Gambino crime family boss John Gotti, the New York Daily News reports.

“Cinque can be seen in a video obtained by the Palm Beach Daily News, cheering loudly as a tuxedo-clad Trump runs through a number of campaign promises before the hundreds of guests attending the New Year’s Eve bash the President-elect threw at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida on Saturday.”

Trump Transition

Ivanka Trump Will Live Near Obamas

January 3, 2017 · 2:51 pm ET · Leave a Comment

A real estate broker tells the Washingtonian that Ivanka Trump bought a $5.5 million house in Washington, D.C.

The broker “would not disclose the house’s location, citing contractual obligations to his client not to share that information. However, multiple real-estate sources say Trump and husband Jared Kushner will move into 2449 Tracy Pl, NW, in Kalorama. That will put the couple less than two blocks from the Obamas, who will reportedly move here post-White House.”

Trump Transition Ivanka Trump

Bill and Hillary Clinton Will Attend Inauguration

January 3, 2017 · 2:39 pm ET · Leave a Comment

“Bill and Hillary Clinton have decided to attend the inauguration of Donald Trump as the 45th President of the United States,” New York Magazine reports.

Politico: “The news comes as former President George W. Bush and his wife Laura also announced Tuesday that they will be attending the inauguration. Both former presidents, who are offered tickets to all inaugurations, had put off the decision about whether attend until the new year. Neither supported Trump’s election.”

“Watching a rival sworn in from up close has happened several times in American politics, including when outgoing vice presidents Richard Nixon in 1961 and Al Gore in 2001 watched from the risers as the men who had beaten them for the presidency raised their hands for the oath of office.”

Trump Transition Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton

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Taegan Goddard

Taegan Goddard

Taegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire -- which for more than two decades has been one of the nation's most influential political news sites.

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