Donald Trump

The New York Times reports: During a phone call with Mr. Putin in March, when the president was urged by aides not to congratulate the Russian president on his electoral victory, Mr. Trump did just that. He told Mr. Putin that Russia and the United States should get along better. And he commiserated with Mr. Putin over Trump administration officials …

Newsweek reports: President Donald Trump has tweeted a strange Simpsons-inspired video that portrays him as “Super Trump,” commenting that people didn’t used to “get it”—but they do now. In a Sunday night message, Trump shared the three-minute video, which features clips from cartoon The Simpsons, as well as footage from his election campaign, alongside a message aimed at his detractors. …

The Palm Beach Post reports: Nearly all of the $706,000 in donations made by the Donald J. Trump Foundation in Palm Beach County since 2008 went to charities that hosted lavish fundraisers at Mar-a-Lago — the president’s highest-profile business in the county. While the timing and frequency of the donations suggest charities that fete at Mar-a-Lago — especially those that …

The New York Daily News reports: The Trump administration announced Saturday it will temporarily suspend a program meant to stabilize Obamacare markets by halting billion of dollars in payouts to insurance companies. The federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services — known by the abbreviation CMS — will temporarily stop so-called “risk-adjustment payments” used to steady Obamacare health insurance premiums. …

The Hill reports: President Trump on Saturday floated the idea of Twitter dumping major national news publications including The New York Times and The Washington Post as the social media platform removes “fake” accounts. Twitter has stepped up its efforts to remove accounts on the platform in recent months amid criticism over harassment and fake accounts. The platform suspended more …

Reuters reports: North Korea says high-level talks with a U.S. delegation led by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo were “regrettable” and has accused Washington of trying to unilaterally pressure the country into abandoning its nukes. The statement by an unnamed North Korean Foreign Ministry spokesman on Saturday came hours after Pompeo concluded two days of talks with North Korean officials …

Politico reports: The Trump administration is suppressing an Environmental Protection Agency report that warns that most Americans inhale enough formaldehyde vapor in the course of daily life to put them at risk of developing leukemia and other ailments, a current and a former agency official told POLITICO. The warnings are contained in a draft health assessment EPA scientists completed just …

New York Magazine reports: In a move that was, like so much of his rhetoric, both disturbing and completely unsurprising, on Thursday night President Trump mocked the #MeToo movement, revived his “Pocahontas” insult against Senator Elizabeth Warren, and imagined throwing a DNA test at her and challenging her to prove she’s Native American. It was quite the mix of racism …

The Guardian reports: When Mike Pompeo meets Kim Jong-un in Pyongyang, he will reportedly attempt to smooth a path towards denuclearisation with a gift that playfully references a low point in relations between the North Korean leader and Donald Trump: a CD of Elton John’s Rocket Man. The US secretary of state will present Kim with the CD along with …

And to hell with constitutional due process: President Trump on Thursday said Congress must pass immigration laws that would allow the U.S. authorities to kick out people entering the country “just as they would if they were standing on your front lawn.” In a series of tweets, Trump railed against the U.S.’s immigration laws, calling them “insane.” Trump tweeted last …

Agence France-Presse reports: President Nicolas Maduro urged his armed forces Wednesday to be on guard following news reports in the United States that a year ago President Donald Trump raised the possibility of invading Venezuela. “You cannot lower you guard for even a second, because we will defend the greatest right our homeland has had in all of its history,” …

Reuters reports: Major U.S. trading partners including the European Union, China and Japan voiced deep concern at the World Trade Organization (WTO) on Wednesday about possible U.S. measures imposing additional duties on imported autos and parts. Japan, which along with Russia had initiated the discussion at the WTO Council on Trade in Goods, warned that such measures could trigger a …

Glorious Leader is ever so pissed that people are mocking his very high IQ by pointing out his misspellings and random capitalizations on Twitter. After all, people, he has written books! Very bigly smart books! Yeah, OK so those books were actually written by paid ghostwriters but shut up, you stupid snowflakes.  After having written many best selling books, and …

NBC News reports: After a court order to reunite more than 2,000 migrant children who were separated from their parents in May and June, the Trump administration has instructed immigration agents to give those parents two options: leave the country with your kids — or leave the country without them, according to a copy of a government form obtained by …

The Washington Post reports: President Trump said Tuesday that the United States would be at war with North Korea without his efforts and that conversations with the nation’s leaders are “going well” — an assessment at odds with recent reports that North Korea is working to conceal key aspects of its nuclear weapons program. The president’s comments in a morning …

The Associated Press reports: President Donald Trump has seen staff turnover in excess of 37 percent over the calendar year ending June 30, an AP analysis of White House filings shows. According to the most recent filing, 141 staffers who worked for the president at that point last year are gone, with 138 new arrivals. The figures don’t include those …

Gallup reports: This Fourth of July marks a low point in U.S. patriotism. For the first time in Gallup’s 18-year history asking U.S. adults how proud they are to be Americans, fewer than a majority say they are “extremely proud.” Currently, 47% describe themselves this way, down from 51% in 2017 and well below the peak of 70% in 2003. …

The New York Daily News reports: Some drug traffickers appear to be using President Donald Trump’s image to brand their illegal wares. An Indiana State Police news release about 129 arrests in a series of drug busts in northern Indiana includes a photo of what police describe as “Trump-shaped ecstasy pills.” They are orange and stamped with a face. On …

The Washington Post reports: Trump has told advisers he is looking for three overarching attributes in a replacement for Kennedy. First, one adviser said, Trump insists upon an “extraordinarily well qualified” nominee with a superlative résumé. The president is especially drawn to contenders with name-brand degrees, such as from Ivy League universities such as Harvard or Yale. He also wants …

Yet another not so thinly-veiled threat: President Trump on Sunday blamed his opponents for the division in the country, warning that those who have spoken out against him should “take it easy.” Trump appeared on Fox News’s “Sunday Morning Futures,” where he was asked about recent incidents in which celebrities cursed him out and protesters demonstrated against members of his …