Idiocracy

Foreign Policy reports: Donald Trump disclosure of top secret Israeli intelligence to top Russian officials during a meeting in the Oval Office is not without repercussions. On Wednesday, Israeli Defense chief Avigdor Lieberman said his country tweaked its intelligence-sharing protocols with the United States after Trump’s off-script remarks. “I can confirm that we did a spot repair and that there’s …

CNBC reports: The current Republican bill to repeal and replace major parts of Obamacare will lead to 23 million more Americans not having health insurance coverage by 2026 if it becomes law, the Congressional Budget Office projected Wednesday. That is only 1 million fewer uninsured people than the 24 million people more uninsured that had been projected for an earlier …

Business Insider reports: “Game of Thrones” author George R.R. Martin and star of the HBO series Kit Harington don’t think highly of President Donald Trump. In a new profile of Harington for Esquire, the two men weighed in on comparisons between the HBO hit fantasy drama and today’s politics. “I think Joffrey is now the king in America,” Martin told …

CNN reports: Texas Rep. Blake Farenthold, during an appearance on CNN Wednesday morning, offered what seemed to be a wink and nod to the debunked conspiracy theories surrounding the murder of former Democratic National Committee staffer Seth Rich. Here’s the exchange with CNN’s Poppy Harlow and John Berman: FARENTHOLD: “My fear is our constant focusing on the Russians is deflecting …

TIME Magazine reports: President Trump’s budget includes simple accounting error that adds up to a $2 trillion oversight. Under the proposed budget released Tuesday, the Trump Administration’s proposed tax cuts would boost economic growth enough to pay for $1.3 trillion in spending by 2027. But the tax cuts are also supposed to be revenue-neutral, meaning that trillion dollars is already …

Politico reports: Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross marveled Monday morning that there was not even “a single hint or a protester” anywhere in Saudi Arabia during President Donald Trump’s visit there over the weekend, conceding only at a CNBC anchor’s prodding that the lack of unrest could have been due to the Islamic kingdom’s lack of protections for freedom of …

The Hill reports: President Trump said Monday that he never mentioned Israel during an Oval Office meeting when he disclosed highly classified intelligence to Russian diplomats, which has never been claimed. “I never mentioned the word or the name Israel. Never mentioned during that conversation,” Trump said in Jerusalem during a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. “They’re all …

Reuters reports: Images of U.S. President Donald Trump placing his hands on a glowing orb has set alight the internet, prompting comparisons to science fiction and fantasy villains. The pictures were taken while Trump – on a nine-day trip to the Middle East and Europe – along with Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi visited …

John Aravosis reports at AmericaBlog: Conservative media is crowing that unlike President Obama, Donald Trump did not “bow” to the Saudi King. And they’re right. He curtsied. Mind you, Trump’s odd genuflect to the Saudi king comes after a campaign in which Trump regularly savaged the Saudis as sexist homophobes. Trump did this in an attempt to suggest that Hillary …

The Hill reports: President Trump’s advisers reportedly held an intervention to tame his use of Twitter. The Wall Street Journal reported Friday that aides called for an “intervention” to urge the president to use restraint on the social media platform, specifically pointing to some of his more incendiary claims posted there. Aides told Trump that his unfiltered tweets could “paint …

The New York Times reports: President Trump told Russian officials in the Oval Office this month that firing the F.B.I. director, James B. Comey, had relieved “great pressure” on him, according to a document summarizing the meeting. “I just fired the head of the F.B.I. He was crazy, a real nut job,” Mr. Trump said, according to the document, which …

The Hill reports: President Trump set off Friday for his first foreign trip, a nine-day, five-stop tour of the Middle East and Europe that comes amid turmoil at home. rump said in a Friday morning tweet he’s excited for the trip. He tweeted Friday morning: “Getting ready for my big foreign trip. Will be strongly protecting American interests – that’s …

The Associated Press reports: When President Donald Trump sits down for dinner in Saudi Arabia, caterers have ensured that his favorite meal – steak with a side of ketchup – will be offered alongside the traditional local cuisine. At NATO and the Group of 7 summits, foreign delegations have gotten word that the new U.S. president prefers short presentations and …

“I believe it hurts our country terribly, because it shows we’re a divided, mixed-up, not-unified country. And we have very important things to be doing right now, whether it’s trade deals, whether it’s military, whether it’s stopping nuclear — all of the things that we discussed today. And I think this shows a very divided country. It also happens to …

Newsweek reports: President Donald Trump has canceled a planned visit and speech at the ancient mountain fortress of Masada in Israel after authorities told him that he could not land his helicopter on top of the UNESCO-listed site. Instead, Trump will now deliver a speech at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem. It comes after an Israeli Air Force (IAF) regulation …

The New York Daily News reports: The Trump White House’s war against the media became real for a moment Wednesday. Department of Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly, appearing alongside President Trump at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy graduation ceremony, reportedly suggested the commander-in-chief use a ceremonial sword against the media. Kelly, referring to the ceremonial saber Trump was presented with …

The Wall Street Journal is behind a paywall so here’s CNN’s account of today’s editorial: It’s not just liberal critics taking President Trump to task for his latest crisis. The conservative Wall Street Journal pleaded with the embattled president Wednesday to get his act together. In an editorial titled “Loose Lips Sink Presidencies,” the Journal recounted the administration’s most recent …

Reuters reports: Besieged by controversy at home, U.S. President Donald Trump is under pressure to stick to the script and avoid fresh flare-ups when he embarks this week on his first foreign trip, a nine-day trek to the Middle East and Europe. Some doubt whether Trump, a businessman-turned politician who never held elective office before becoming president in January, is …