Idiocracy

The Washington Post reports: It was only 200 days ago, on his 601st day in office, that President Trump exceeded 5,000 false or misleading claims. Now, on his 801st day, the count stands at 9,451, according to The Fact Checker’s database that analyzes, categorizes and tracks every suspect statement the president utters. That’s a pace of 22 fishy claims a …

Axios reports: President Trump told confidants he had big plans for Judge Amy Coney Barrett. “I’m saving her for Ginsburg,” Trump said of Barrett, according to three sources familiar with the president’s private comments. Trump used that exact line with a number of people, including in a private conversation with an adviser two days before announcing Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination. Barrett …

XXL Mag reports: Tesla CEO and co-founder Elon Musk suddenly entered the world of SoundCloud rap when he dropped off a rap song that was dedicated to the late and beloved gorilla, Harambe. On the song, which is titled “RIP Harambe,” Musk uses Auto-Tune to rap about the gorilla who was shot and killed by zookeepers in May 2016 after …

The Associated Press reports: If you’re lucky enough to play a round of golf with the president, make sure you double check the scorecard. A new book, “Commander in Cheat: How Golf Explains Trump,” by New York Times best-selling author and longtime Sports Illustrated columnist Rick Reilly is described as “an uproarious indictment of Donald Trump’s lying, cheating, and poor …

Reuters reports: The United States is cutting off aid to El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras, known collectively as the “Northern Triangle,” the State Department said on Saturday, a day after President Donald Trump blasted the Central American countries for sending migrants to the United States. “We are carrying out the President’s direction and ending FY (fiscal year) 2017 and FY …

The New York Times reports: In a legal blow to President Trump’s push to expand offshore oil and gas development, a federal judge ruled that an executive order by Mr. Trump that lifted an Obama-era ban on oil and gas drilling in the Arctic Ocean was unlawful. The decision, by Judge Sharon Gleason in the United States District Court for …

The Washington Post reports: After President Trump vowed to take credit for shutting down the government over border wall funding during a televised Oval Office meeting with Democratic leaders in December, West Wing aides sprung into overdrive to clean up the mess. Taking ownership of a shutdown was considered verboten in Washington and the overwhelming consensus was that the president …

The Hill reports: President Trump’s 2020 presidential campaign is now selling “Pencil-Neck Adam Schiff” t-shirts, after Trump coined the new nickname at a rally this week. The shirt, which is on sale for $28, shows Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) with a literal pencil for a neck as well as a clown nose. “Little Pencil-Neck Adam Schiff. He spent two years …

Mediaite reports: Before the President took the stage, his son, Donald Trump Jr. warmed up the crowd. During those remarks, he laid into Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and Democrats in general for being pushed by her to the left. “Think about the fact that every mainstream, leading Democratic contender is taking the advice of a freshman congresswoman who three weeks ago …

Newsweek reports: President Donald Trump made a few boasts about himself during his campaign rally in Michigan while taking a swipe at the liberal “elites” he believed were trying to undermine him. “You know, I always hear ‘the elite, the elite,'” Trump told the crowd. “I have a better education than them, I’m smarter than them, I went to the …

USA Today reports: President Donald Trump said he would jettison a proposal to slash funding for the Special Olympics, undercutting Education Secretary Betsy DeVos. “The Special Olympics will be funded. I just told my people I want to fund the Special Olympics,” Trump said he left the White House en route to a political rally in Grand Rapids, Mich. “I …

The Daily Progress reports: A Virginia teenager has pleaded guilty to posting a racist threat online that shut down Charlottesville City Schools for two days last week. News outlets report the 17-year-old boy was convicted Wednesday and is set to be sentenced April 24. Assistant Commonwealth Attorney Samantha Markley says the teen told authorities he was bored and joking when …

Mediaite reports: Is Donald Trump Jr. laying the groundwork for a run for office? Appearing on Bloomberg radio, the son of President Donald Trump definitely left the possibility open, when asked by host Kevin Cirilli whether he’s considering it. “I never want to rule it out,” Trump Jr. said. “I definitely enjoy the fight. I definitely like being out there …

NBC News Chicago reports: The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the U.S. Department of Justice will review the case involving “Empire” actor Jussie Smollett, President Donald Trump tweeted early Thursday. Representatives for the FBI and DOJ did not immediately respond to requests for comment Thursday morning. The surprise decision to dismiss all charges, which was celebrated by Smollett and his …

CNN reports: Though President Donald Trump has claimed “complete and total exoneration” based on Attorney General William Barr’s summary of special counsel Robert Mueller’s report on Russian interference in the 2016 election, the American public disagrees, according to a new CNN Poll conducted by SSRS. A majority (56%) says the President and his campaign have not been exonerated of collusion, …

Anaheim’s Fox affiliate reports: A customer — confused about a special at a taco restaurant — went on a racially-charged tirade after learning he couldn’t get his $2 taco on Monday. The man scared employees and yelled several threats to them before taking off. Several signs greet visitors to Palapas Tacos on Lincoln Avenue in Anaheim, advertising daily specials in …

Mediaite reports: Former Trump campaign aide George Papadopoulos sat down with MSNBC’s Ari Melber last night to talk about how he became one of the central figures in the Mueller investigation, ending up pleading guilty. At one point during the lengthy interview, Melber asked Papadopoulos what it was like in federal prison. Papadopoulos described it as “Trump country” and said, …

From an op-ed published last night by George Conway: Americans should expect far more from a president than merely that he not be provably a criminal. They should expect a president to comport himself in accordance with the high duties of his office. As all presidents must, Trump swore an oath to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution, and to …

From the far-right Washington Times: Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee and actor Jon Voight are among 10 people whom President Trump intends to nominate to the Kennedy Center’s board of trustees, the White House said Tuesday. Among the others to be nominated are billionaire Kelcy Warren of Texas, chairman of the pipeline company Energy Transfer; author Karen LeFrak of New …

The Washington Post reports: President Trump complained in a private lunch Tuesday with Senate Republicans about the amount of disaster aid designated for Puerto Rico, as lawmakers prepare for a standoff over funds for the island still struggling to recover in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria, according to officials familiar with the meeting. Aid for Puerto Rico has long been …