Idiocracy

Via Mediaite: Sean Spicer appeared on CBN’s new show Faith Nation, broadcast on Facebook Live, this afternoon, and naturally the issue of the off-camera press briefings came up. Spicer again reiterated the line the White House has used before about letting President Trump‘s own words “carry the day” (even though reporters have questioned that on a few occasions), while again …

The Washington Examiner reports: The vice chair of President Trump’s voter fraud commission claims “we may never know” if Hillary Clinton won the popular vote. MSNBC host Katy Tur asked Kris Kobach on Wednesday if the commission exists because Trump thinks he would have won the popular vote if it weren’t for voter fraud. Clinton, the Democratic nominee, won the …

The Week reports: President Trump was not subtle during a lunch for Senate Republicans at the White House on Wednesday, pressuring Sen. Dean Heller (R-Nev.) to fall in line with the GOP’s health-care bill, The Hill reports. “[Heller] wants to remain a senator, doesn’t he?” Trump said, while seated directly beside Heller. Heller is one of 2018’s most vulnerable Republicans, …

Talking Points Memo reports: President Donald Trump attempted to give a boost to Republicans’ stalled Obamacare repeal effort Wednesday. But he seemed to acknowledge that his party had lost the messaging battle on health care to Democrats, who the President said “scream death,” presumably referring to Democrats’ framing of Republicans’ proposed overhaul of the health care system. Trump has invited …

The Hill reports: President Trump will hold a rally in Ohio scheduled for next Tuesday in the wake of Senate Republicans hitting a major roadblock in their ObamaCare repeal efforts. Trump will appear at a rally in Youngstown, Ohio at the Covelli Centre at 7 p.m on July 25. He has held a number of campaign-style rallies since his election …

The Associated Press reports: Callista Gingrich, Donald Trump’s nominee to be ambassador to the Vatican, told skeptical Democrats on Tuesday that the president wants the United States to be an environmental leader even after pulling the country out of the landmark accord aimed at combating global warming. Testifying before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Gingrich said Trump is committed to …

Business Insider reports: Kansas senator Jerry Moran has been hounded by reporters since announcing Monday night that he wouldn’t vote for the Republican healthcare bill, the Better Care Reconciliation Act. When confronted by reporters on Tuesday on Capitol Hill, Moran opted to jump across the tracks of the Senate subway to get away from them. Moran, along with fellow Republican …

“I understand that we’re a nation of charged opinions and partisan rancor, but I do find that most of the vitriol comes from people who don’t know me, and who are very brave on social media. It’s unbelievable how if I say something on a television program, or if the president says something, the reaction is so disconnected from what …

The Associated Press reports: The Trump presidential campaign has spent almost $1 million on legal fees since the beginning of the year, according to a campaign finance report filed Saturday with the Federal Election Commission. That includes a $50,000 charge for the law firm of Alan Futerfas, who is representing Trump Jr. The payment was made nearly two weeks before …

NBC News reports: President Donald Trump said Tuesday he would let Obamacare “fail” in the aftermath of his party’s botched efforts to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act. “I think we’re probably in that position where we’ll let Obamacare fail,” the president said at the White House. “We’re not going to own it. I’m not going to own it. …

From a survey released today by Public Policy Polling: On Russia related issues we find a certain degree of willful ignorance among Trump voters that can possibly best be summarized by this finding: only 45% of Trump voters believe Donald Trump Jr. had a meeting with Russians about information that might be harmful to Hillary Clinton…even though Trump Jr. admitted …

The Washington Examiner reports: President Trump once again called for the end of the legislative filibuster in the Senate in order to repeal the Affordable Care Act after the Senate Republican healthcare bill plan was stymied Monday. “The Senate must go to a 51 vote majority instead of current 60 votes. Even parts of full Repeal need 60. 8 Dems …

“Do we represent prosperity, economic growth, higher take home pay, more jobs or not? I personally believe they ought to do as much as they can on health care right now, but they shouldn’t spend the whole rest of this year on one issue. They have also got to pass, by Thanksgiving, and sign into law by Thanksgiving, a very …

The Hill reports: President Trump on Tuesday put blame on Democrats and “a few” Republicans a day after two more GOP senators announced they would not support the Senate GOP’s healthcare bill. Trump then raised the possibility of letting ObamaCare fail and then putting together a healthcare plan. His comments come after Sens. Jerry Moran (Kan.) and Mike Lee (Utah) …

The Chicago Tribune reports: The Department of Homeland Security on Monday announced a one-time increase of 15,000 additional visas for low-wage, seasonal workers for the remainder of this fiscal year, a seeming about-face from President Trump’s “Hire American” rhetoric, following heavy lobbying from the fisheries, hospitality and other industries that rely on temporary foreign workers. The increase represents a 45 …

Yahoo News reports: Public comments on the voter fraud commission released by the White House late Thursday were overwhelmingly, and in many cases profanely, critical of the project. The Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity posted on its page on the White House website, without comment or explanation, 112 pages of emails received through July 11, commenting on the organization’s …

The Washington Examiner reports: Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa, argued Wednesday that Congress should build President Trump’s border wall by taking money from Planned Parenthood and federal food stamps. On CNN, King said he supports the $1.6 billion in funding that the House is considering as a start for building the wall. But he said he’d add another $5 billion if …

Damage control from Mike Pence: “The vice president is working every day to advance the president’s agenda,” press secretary Marc Lotter said in a statement. “He was not aware of the meeting. He is also not focused on stories about the campaign — especially those pertaining to the time before he joined the campaign.”

Todd Starnes writes for Fox News: Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee was a guest on The Todd Starnes Show on Wednesday – and he had some choice words for the Mainstream Media and the purveyors of fake news. “The issue in America is not that the press is under assault. The issue is the press has become the predator,” Huckabee …

The Hill reports: Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) on Tuesday expressed concern after new details emerged regarding Donald Trump Jr.’s meeting last year with a Russian lawyer. “Anytime you’re in a campaign and you get an offer from a foreign government to help your campaign, the answer is no,” Graham told reporters. “So I don’t know what Mr. Trump Jr.’s version …