Idiocracy

The Washington Post reports: White House Chief of Staff John F. Kelly told Democratic lawmakers Wednesday that the United States will never construct a physical wall along the entire stretch of the U.S.-Mexico border and that some of President Trump’s campaign promises on immigration were “uninformed.” The comments put Kelly at odds with Trump, who repeatedly said during his presidential …

The Hill reports: The Republican National Committee (RNC) slammed Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) on Wednesday, accusing him of “mansplaining” to Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen during her hearing in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee. In an email titled “Derogatory Cory”, the RNC urged readers to “picture” a male Republican lawmaker “mansplaining” to a female Cabinet secretary. “There’d …

Vox reports: Is Donald Trump hoping foreign terrorists attack the United States? That terrifying question is subtly embedded in a story this weekend reported by Michael Scherer, Josh Dawsey, and Sean Sullivan of the Washington Post on the Republican Party’s growing alarm about the upcoming 2018 midterms. The story details GOP woes and Democratic hopes before pivoting to some more …

The Daily Beast reports: Fox News political analyst Brit Hume late Tuesday offered reassurances on Twitter that he is not “having fantasies about Trump’s penis” in a heated debate about the president’s recent physical exam. Hume was in the midst of defending President Trump against claims of a major discrepancy in his physical exam, the details of which were revealed …

Bloomberg reports: Author Michael Wolff’s pitch to the White House to win cooperation for his book included a working title that signaled a sympathetic view, a counter-narrative to a slew of negative news stories early in Donald Trump’s presidency. He called it “The Great Transition: The First 100 Days of the Trump Administration.” And in part due to that title, …

CNBC reports: U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday blamed Senator Dick Durbin for blowing up talks on a deal to help immigrants brought to the country illegally as children and said the Democratic lawmaker from Illinois misrepresented his comments about Haiti and African countries. Durbin has said Trump used the term “s___hole” when speaking about Haiti and African countries during …

The Post & Courier reports: After taking the weekend to reflect on a combative White House meeting in which President Donald Trump reportedly referred to African countries as “shithole countries,” U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham said Monday he is even more determined to reach an immigration deal with hardliners in his own party. In his most extensive comments yet about Thursday’s …

Trump is getting it from all sides today: Cardinal Timothy Dolan on Monday marked Martin Luther King Jr. Day, saying the slain civil rights leader would remind people today that “no country is a ‘hole’.” Dolan has in the past been critical of President Trump. His tweet comes after President Trump reportedly referred to Haiti, El Salvador and African nations …

Raw Story reports: “Fox & Friends” host Brian Kilmeade on Monday once again reiterated his disapproval of President Donald Trump calling African countries “sh*tholes” — and many of the shows viewers reacted with rage. During Monday morning’s show, Kilmeade said that Trump disparaging African countries was “unfortunate,” which echoed a statement he made last week that suggested Trump should walk …

Mediaite reports: The Fox & Friends curvy-couch held a contentious debate Monday morning over President Donald Trump’s reported “shithole” remarks, which segued messily into a spat over the immigration deal currently being worked out on Capitol Hill. Brian Kilmeade opened up the segment by explaining the back and forth between lawmakers over whether Trump actually referred to immigrants from Haiti, …

Of course he is: Last week ended with President Donald Trump’s thoughts on race being opened to the world. And a day after he said that Haitians, El Salvadorians and those from African nations came from “s**tholes” — while at the same time proclaiming his preference for Norwegians — Trump made a proclamation in honor of Martin Luther King, Jr. …

Politico reports: Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) said Sunday that President Donald Trump’s declaration that media is “the enemy of the people” is a throwback to Josef Stalin that should have no place in political discourse. “I’m saying he borrowed that phrase,” Flake told MSNBC’s Kasie Hunt of Trump’s choice of words. “It was popularized by Josef Stalin, used by Mao …

Splinter News reports: The Trump brand is taking another hit as people on Yelp strike back over the president’s description of African nations, Haiti, and El Salvador as “shithole countries” this week. Trump hotels across the country are being targeted by Yelp users leaving one–star reviews and describing the facilities as shitholes. The effort caused the luxury Trump International Hotel …

The Hill reports: A conservative columnist said President Trump called friends to brag after the meeting in which the president reportedly referred to Haiti, El Salvador and African nations as “shithole countries.” Citing a person who spoke with the president, The Associated Press reported that Trump doubled down on his reported comments from this week, defending the remark as not …

Mediaite reports: It would appear that Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) would really appreciate it if people would stop painting the president as racist for calling Haiti, El Salvador and African nations “shithole countries” and asking why America can’t just bring in more immigrants from Norway. “You can’t have immigration compromise if everybody’s out there calling the president a racist,” Paul …

“I don’t want to be flip about this, but I think there are a lot of people out there who are happy that this at least didn’t happen while President Trump was watching Fox & Friends and instead it happened when he was out on the golf course and he was informed about this by layers of advisers. Because we …

The Washington Examiner reports: Sen. David Perdue, R-Ga., repeatedly said Sunday morning that reports President Trump referred to Haiti and various African countries as “shithole countries” during a meeting with senators this week on immigration was a “gross misrepresentation.” Perdue use the phrase “gross misrepresentation” several times during an interview with ABC’s “This Week.” Asked repeatedly if the president specifically …

The Washington Post reports: President Trump claimed Sunday that the Wall Street Journal deliberately misquoted him as saying he probably has a good relationship with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. The White House is disputing the newspaper’s story from an interview last week in which Trump claimed some success in countering the nuclear threat from North Korea and said …

The Daily Beast reports: The Daily Beast was informed late Friday that porn star Jessica Drake is not allowed to discuss President Donald J. Trump on account of a non-disclosure agreement she signed barring her from any such talk. NDAs are often deployed as part of settlements to silence accusers. “Jessica’s NDA blankets any and every mention of Trump, so …

The Hill reports: Conservative filmmaker James O’Keefe claims in a forthcoming book that President Trump asked him to “get inside” Columbia University and obtain a copy of former President Barack Obama’s college records. O’Keefe writes in his book “American Pravda: My Fight for Truth in the Era of Fake News,” that Trump “suspected Obama had presented himself as a foreign …