Idiocracy

The New York Daily News reports: President Trump’s recent insults against North Korea have only made it likelier the U.S. will be attacked, the country’s foreign minister warned Saturday. “Due to his lacking of basic common knowledge and proper sentiment, he tried to insult the supreme dignity of my country by referring (to it as) a ‘rocket,’” Foreign Minister Ri …

The Hill reports: President Trump doubled down on his comments blasting the NFL and “other leagues” on Saturday, saying players should “find something else to do” if they cannot stand during the national anthem. Trump continued his war of words with sports players after stirring backlash on Friday by blasting NFL player Colin Kaepernick and other players who kneeled during …

Deadspin reports: NFL commissioner Roger Goodell says the President of the United States demonstrated a “lack of respect” and “failure to understand” when Donald Trump attacked players who protest racial injustice and called for those “sons of bitches” to lose their jobs. In typical Goodell fashion, the statement manages to both hit its target “hard” while dedicating the bulk of …

The Hill reports: President Trump on Saturday said the “invitation is withdrawn” for Stephen Curry to visit the White House because the NBA All-Star “is hesitating.” All-Star Warriors guard Stephen Curry said this week he didn’t want the team to visit the White House to celebrate their NBA championship title. “I don’t want to go,” Curry told reporters on Friday. …

The New York Times reports: President Trump on Saturday morning lashed out at Senator John McCain of Arizona for breaking with him and opposing Republicans’ latest plan to roll back the Affordable Care Act, saying the senator had let his state down and been deceived by Democrats into abandoning a promise. In a series of angrily worded tweets sent from …

AL.com reports: The president is making his first trip to Alabama since taking office in January to headline the campaign rally for Sen. Luther Strange. But the early birds in line to get the best seats for the rally said they were there to see Trump, not Strange. Waylon Turner of Scottsboro said he was the first in line at …

The Washington Post reports: HHS Secretary Price’s office this week has sought to justify his use of chartered jets, first reported Wednesday by Politico, saying that the secretary’s office has routinely evaluated the most effective way for him to travel and has turned to chartered flights when necessary for Price to manage one of the largest executive branch agencies while …

The Hill reports: White House counselor Kellyanne Conway said Friday that the White House has become “increasingly optimistic” about the Republican effort to pass a last-minute measure to repeal and replace ObamaCare. “Obviously, those two senators came up with an innovative solution that would still preserve many of the most important components of repealing and replacing ObamaCare, doing away with …

The New York Times reports: Reversing a key part of government policy on campus sexual assault, Education Secretary Betsy DeVos on Friday issued new temporary rules that could give accused students greater protection against campus rape and sexual misconduct claims. Ms. DeVos said that colleges may now use a higher standard of evidence before finding students responsible for sexual assault, …

The Daily Beast reports: In his latest early morning tweetstorm, President Trump called the reports of Russian ads on Facebook a “hoax” and pointed the finger, once again at former challenger Hillary Clinton: “What about the totally biased and dishonest Media coverage in favor of Crooked Hillary?” The Daily Beast first reported Russian efforts to mobilize Trump voters during the …

Axios reports: The Watergate resonance of the Bob Mueller probe rose this week with a CNN report that the special counsel has details of wiretaps of “former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort under secret court orders before and after the election.” Now we can tell you about another potential honey pot for Mueller. Former colleagues of Sean Spicer tell Axios …

Metro USA reports: No, President Donald Trump didn’t coin the Rocket Man nickname for the leader of North Korea —British business magazine The Economist first used the nickname 11 years ago to describe then-North Korean leader Kim Jong Il, the father of current leader Kim Jong Un. The cover of the magazine’s July 8, 2006 issue featured Kim Jong Il, …

The Week reports: President Trump announced that the nonexistent country of “Nambia” has an increasingly self-sufficient health-care system during a United Nations lunch with African leaders on Wednesday. So far, Trump appears to have failed to impress African leaders — a photo of the Zimbabwean delegation listening to Trump’s U.N. speech on Tuesday went viral and President Robert Mugabe appeared …

The Washington Post reports: President Donald Trump is mocking Sunday’s Emmy Awards ceremony — where he himself was frequently mocked by host Stephen Colbert, presenters and prize-winners. Trump tweets, “I was saddened to see how bad the ratings were on the Emmys last night – the worst ever.” The president’s Tuesday night tweet is a little off: The show was …

The Daily Kos reports: When you take the position of press secretary in the Trump White House, the first thing they teach you is highly selective editing. Presidents have always been clear to deter threats: “We could, obviously, destroy North Korea with our arsenals” –@BarackObama last year — Sarah Sanders (@PressSec) September 19, 2017 That certainly makes it appear that …

The New York Times reports: If the United States is “forced to defend itself and its allies, we will have no choice but to totally destroy North Korea,” President Trump told the gathering. In his address to the General Assembly on Tuesday morning, Mr. Trump denounced North Korea and its leader, Kim Jong-un, saying the nation “threatens the entire world …

The New York Daily News reports: President Trump now wants to hold military parades in the United States — because he saw the French doing it. Trump on Monday said the Bastille Day military parades in France have inspired him to consider a similar extravaganza in Washington, D.C. for Independence Day. “It was one of the greatest parades I’ve ever …

The New York Times reports: During his surprise comedy skit at the Emmys on Sunday, Sean Spicer may have made light of his six-month tenure as the White House press secretary, but a message was also embedded in his performance. In an interview on Monday morning, Mr. Spicer said he now regrets one of his most infamous moments as press …

USA Today reports: Well then. President Trump kicked off his Monday speech before the United National general assembly with a plug for his nearby residential tower. “I actually saw great potential across the street, to be honest with you, and it’s only for the reason that the United Nations was here that that turned out to be such a successful …

Politico reports: White House adviser Kellyanne Conway was no fan of the overtly political tone at Sunday night’s Emmy awards, complaining Monday morning that the ceremony featured much of the “sameness” that she said is generally prevalent in Hollywood. “They got plucked and polished and waxed and some of them didn’t eat for two months — and all for what? …