Idiocracy

The Washington Post reports: Years before running for president, Trump had a clear message on Afghanistan: It was time to get out. In 2012, he said the war was “wasting our money.” In 2012, he called it “a total disaster.” In 2013, he said, “We should leave Afghanistan immediately.” Trump continued his criticism of the war during the year and …

The HuffPost reports: Life imitated satire on Monday night when Fox News host Tucker Carlson offered effusive praise for President Donald Trump’s ability to stare at the sun during the eclipse without protective lenses. “In a move that is not a complete surprise, he looked at the sun without any glasses,” Carlson gushed. “Perhaps the most impressive thing any president …

Former Trump campaign spokesperson and convicted shoplifter Katrina Pierson has (for the moment, at least) reclaimed her title as the nation’s most idiotic Republican after literally calling slavery “good history” during an off-the-rails segment on Fox News today. The Daily Beast reports: It all started with a debate over House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi’s push to remove Confederate monuments from …

Talking Points Memo reports: President Donald Trump’s administration on Monday took a moment in the afternoon to observe the first total solar eclipse to pass over the United States from one coast to the other since 1918. White House pool reporter Ted Mann, from the Wall Street Journal, tweeted updates from the nation’s capital, which was not in the path …

Mediaite reports: Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-TX) is pointing fingers over Charlottesville. Who is he blaming? Dem. Governor Terry McAuliffe and Charlottesville mayor Michael Signer. In a Sunday appearance on Fox & Friends, Gohmert called for a Department of Justice investigation on McAuliffe and Signer because…um…who knows, exactly? “The way forward’s not gonna be easy,” Gohmert said. “And I think the …

Hair Furor ranted about “fake news” for the millionth time this morning and praised Jerry Falwell’s appearance yesterday on Fox & Friends. Meanwhile this is happening on Falwell’s home turf: Liberty University graduates are calling on fellow alumni to take a stand against by returning their diplomas. They are also writing letters to Falwell’s office and to the Board of …

Raw Story reports: Fox News host Leland Vittert revealed on Sunday that President Donald Trump had refused to let anyone from his administration appear on the network. During a segment about Trump’s outgoing chief strategist Steve Bannon, Vittert noted that only Trump surrogates from outside the administration would discuss the staff shakeup. “Noteworthy,” Vittert observed. “We, along with a number …

Steve Bannon resumed control of Breitbart about 48 hours ago and today comes the first attack. Mediaite reports: After leaving the White House, Bannon has stirred the pot, notably saying that the “Trump presidency that we fought for, and won, is over,” and reportedly said that he was going to war for Trump against his opponents. And so here we …

From the editorial board of the New York Times: It seems beyond unlikely that Mitch McConnell, the Senate majority leader, or Paul Ryan, the weak-kneed speaker of the House, would entertain any thought of strong action, like censure. But it’s fair to ask: Purely as a matter of political self-preservation, wouldn’t a concerted effort to drag Mr. Trump away from …

Axios reports: We talked to a half dozen senior administration officials, who range from dismayed but certain to stay, to disgusted and likely soon to leave. They all work closely with Trump and his senior team so, of course, wouldn’t talk on the record. Instead, they agreed to let us distill their thinking/rationale. “You have no idea how much crazy …

The Hill reports: A House Democrat introduced a resolution on Friday suggesting that President Trump undergo a physical and mental health exam to help determine whether he is fit for office. Rep. Zoe Lofgren’s (D-Calif.) resolution specifically calls on Vice President Pence and Trump’s Cabinet members to “quickly secure the services of medical and psychiatric professionals” to “assist in their …

The Washington Post reports: President Trump took to Twitter on Saturday morning to thank Stephen K. Bannon, his ousted White House chief strategist, and took a shot at his vanquished Democratic rival, Hillary Clinton, while he was at it. Trump’s tweet made no mention of Bannon’s contributions at the White House. It also referenced Bannon’s arrival after the GOP primary …

The Daily Beast reports: So much for “In Trump We Trust.” “I’m ticked off at the Emperor God,” said right-wing firebrand Ann Coulter, who last year authored a book with that worshipful title (subtitle: “E Pluribus Awesome”), as she processed Friday’s firing of chief White House strategist Stephen K. Bannon. Increasingly disgusted and disheartened by the president’s inability, or unwillingness, …

The Weekly Standard reports: “The Trump presidency that we fought for, and won, is over,” Bannon said Friday, shortly after confirming his departure. “We still have a huge movement, and we will make something of this Trump presidency. But that presidency is over. It’ll be something else. And there’ll be all kinds of fights, and there’ll be good days and …

MSNBC reports: Ben Shapiro, the conservative writer and former editor-at-large at Breitbart, appeared on MSNBC to give some insights into the firing of Steve Bannon and reports the White House chief strategist is set to return to the rightwing website he once chaired. Shapiro argued that Bannon’s return to Breitbart shows that battle lines are being drawn between establishment officials …

Donald Trump’s chief “fake news” target took some understandable satisfaction in the shitcanning of Steve Bannon this afternoon with a lengthy scrolling of the many White House disasters of just the last few weeks, name-checking The Mooch, Reince Priebus, the Boy Scouts, Mexico’s president, the Nazi rally, and so much more. Watch as host Brooke Baldwin is “forced” to pause …

The Washington Post reports: The Salvation Army, the American Red Cross and Susan G. Komen on Friday joined a growing exodus of organizations canceling plans to hold fundraising events at the Mar-a-Lago Club in Palm Beach, deepening the financial impact to President Trump’s private business amid furor over his comments on Charlottesville. The Red Cross said it would cancel its …

We’ve heard this before, but here’s what Axios is saying: A decision is imminent from White House chief of staff John Kelly on whether Steve Bannon will keep his job, according to administration officials with knowledge of the situation. Bannon, who has run afoul of Trump in the past, is now suspected by the president of leaking about his West …

The Hill reports: Former Speaker Newt Gingrich said President Trump needs to make “serious changes” if he wants to have a stable presidency. The Trump ally said in a Fox News interview with Bill Hemmer Friday that Trump has taken a “good first step” in bringing in John Kelly as chief of staff, but that other changes are necessary. “You …

Mediaite reports: There is no question that the @RealDonaldTrump Twitter account has been an integral part to both Donald Trump‘s rise to the White House and the way he’s communicated as president. As such, CNN is airing a one-hour special tonight entitled “Twitter & Trump” and host Bill Weir promoted during an appearance this morning with Jon Berman. Oh, and …