Idiocracy

The Hill reports: Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) fired back at President Trump for denying that he called Haiti and African countries “shithole countries,” saying Trump’s denials are “not true.” “In the course of his comments, [Trump] said things that were hate-filled, vile and racist,” Durbin told reporters on Friday. “I cannot believe in this history of the White House, in …

Mediaite reports: On Friday morning, Fox & Friends — the president’s favorite morning news show — actually, incredibly, criticized Trump for the reported remark. “The president made a mistake making those comments,” Kilmeade said. “No question.” “Sure,” Rachel Campos-Duffy said in agreement. “He said things about Haiti and El Salvador, and we should have more people from Norway,” Kilmeade said. …

Newsweek reports: CNN’s Don Lemon let rip on President Donald Trump Thursday night, after a report claimed he referred to Haiti, El Salvador and African countries as “shithole countries.” Lemon — who just last month was himself attacked by Trump on Twitter—opened Thursday’s CNN Tonight: “The President of the United States is racist.” Later, during a heated panel discussion on …

The Guardian reports: Remarks by Donald Trump describing immigrants from Africa and Haiti as coming from “shithole countries” were racist, the United Nations human rights office has said, as it led global condemnation of the US president. On Thursday, Trump questioned why the US would want to have immigrants from Haiti and African nations, instead suggesting the US should bring …

The New York Times reports: President Trump said late Thursday that he had canceled a trip to London because of the cost and “off location” of the new United States Embassy in the city, where he had been expected to face protests. Nearly a year ago, Mr. Trump accepted an invitation to visit from Queen Elizabeth II, which was extended …

The Washington Post reports: President Trump grew frustrated with lawmakers Thursday in the Oval Office when they floated restoring protections for immigrants from Haiti, El Salvador and African countries as part of a bipartisan immigration deal, according to two people briefed on the meeting. “Why are we having all these people from shithole countries come here?” Trump said, according to …

The New York Daily News reports: The “healthiest individual ever elected” President claims his well-being is tied to the stock market. During a brief back-and-forth with reporters Thursday afternoon, President Trump insinuated that the economy could take a serious hit if his upcoming physical exam doesn’t go well. “It better go well, otherwise the stock market will not be happy,” …

The Washington Post reports: President Trump’s announcement of U.S-made F-52s fighter aircraft delivered to Norway may have rattled its neighbor Russia, the source of rising tension among NATO allies. Was it a secret advanced jet capable of beating its Russian counterparts? A ruse to fool intelligence analysts? Neither, it turns out. The “F-52” is a fictional jet only available to …

ABC News reports: President Donald Trump has someone who can empathize. An 11-year-old girl from Indiana has written a letter to Trump saying that she, too, faced a bit of a backlash after she became her 5th grade class president. Joy Wolf thought Trump may know a thing or two about that. “A lot of people are unhappy with me …

The Washington Post reports: The Trump administration’s decision to exempt Florida from expanded offshore drilling kicked off a frenzy Wednesday in other coastal states, with governors from both political parties asking: Why not us? “We cannot afford to take a chance with the beauty, the majesty and the economic value and vitality of our wonderful coastline,” South Carolina Gov. Henry …

Reuters reports: President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that his administration will examine whether U.S. libel laws can be strengthened after a new book questioned his mental fitness to serve as president. “Our current libel laws are a sham and a disgrace and do not represent American values or American fairness so we’re going to take a strong look at …

The Daily Beast reports: For a man who has spent so much time demanding that players respect the national anthem by standing, he seemed to struggle when it came to mouthing along to the patriotic song. Fortunately, “Bad Lip Reading” is here to decipher what exactly Trump was singing on the sidelines. By their estimation, it was mostly nonsense syllables, …

“I don’t think it’s about separating families. It’s about keeping our country safe. It’s about patriotism, keeping drugs outside of the United States and keeping people, taxpaying citizens — it’s not fair for people to work hard, to go to work every single day to put food on the table that other people are getting a pass and living here …

The Week recaps: When Miller lost his cool, Tapper treated him “like a 5-year-old,” Colbert said. “Unfortunately, telling Stephen Miller to calm down doesn’t work.” He played part of the interview, then jumped in. “Hold on, did Jake Tapper just call Stephen Miller an obsequious factotum? Looks like somebody got a word-a-day calendar for the holidays!” Tapper finally cut Miller …

Mediaite reports: Prior to the start of last night’s college football championship game between Alabama and Georgia, President Donald Trump took to the field to participate in the pregame singing of the national anthem. Considering that the president has made a really big deal about athletes showing respect during the playing of the Star-Spangled Banner, this presented the opportunity for …

“Unless we had a preexisting relationship, I didn’t trust any journalist. And if you came from an outlet that belonged to what President Trump calls #FakeNews, I really wasn’t interested in becoming your friend. To those few persistent journalists from news organs like the Washington Post who wouldn’t give up, I was upfront: Sorry, I don’t do ‘deep background’ and …

CNN reports: Before Donald Trump and Steve Bannon were enemies, they were allies. And not long before that, Bannon was part of an effort to sink Trump’s presidential hopes — even if Trump didn’t know it. A conservative watchdog group led by Bannon tried to discredit Trump in the early stages of the 2016 Republican presidential primary by shopping a …

CBS News reports: President Trump is expected to find a loyal audience Monday to hear his speech to the American Farm Bureau Federation’s Annual Convention in Nashville, where he will push for rural prosperity and tout solutions proposed by a task force that include increasing internet connectivity for rural America. A new report from the task force, however, also argues …

Business Insider reports: White House adviser Stephen Miller was escorted off the set of CNN’s “State of the Union” on Sunday after a contentious interview with host Jake Tapper. Two sources close to the situation told Business Insider that after the taping was done Miller was asked to leave several times. He ignored those requests and ultimately security was called …

Axios reports: President Trump is starting his official day much later than he did in the early days of his presidency, often around 11am, and holding far fewer meetings, according to copies of his private schedule shown to Axios. This is largely to meet Trump’s demands for more “Executive Time,” which almost always means TV and Twitter time alone in …