Idiocracy

Mediaite reports: On Tuesday, President Donald Trump lauded the Washington Examiner for publishing a list of the Trump administration’s 205 historic results. Yet, as the Toronto Star’s Daniel Dale notably noticed, that list of accomplishments actually came directly from Trump’s own team, who provided the Examiner an “exclusive.” It is also not the first time that the Washington Examiner has …

The Hill reports: President Trump on Tuesday targeted retired Gen. Stanley McChrystal with a string of personal attacks after the former leader of U.S. operations in Afghanistan called the president “immoral” and dishonest. The president was quoting a tweet from Fox News host Laura Ingraham, who shared a post on a conservative website she founded that recapped McChrystal’s comments over …

Raw Story reports: President Donald Trump on Tuesday wished a happy 2019 — even to the “haters and fake news media.” The commander-in-chief used all capital letters for his second tweet of the year, which was posted early Tuesday morning. “Happy New Year to everyone, including the haters and the fake news media,” he exclaimed. Previous New Year’s tweets are …

CBS News reports: While many Americans form their New Year’s resolutions, President Trump on New Year’s Eve aired his grievances and defended his legacy. The president fired off a flurry of tweets Monday as 2018 concludes with a government shutdown, controversy over troop withdrawal plans in the Middle East, and staffing upheavals. Later Monday morning, the president tweeted, “I’m in …

Mediaite reports: On New Year’s Eve, President Trump apparently felt the need to clear the air and defend his position via a short series of tweets that explained his process as a simple fulfillment of his campaign promise. And, as his is wont, he included some not-so-subtle digs at his detractors. Trump’s dig at “some failed generals” is certainly a …

Politico reports: White House counselor Kellyanne Conway on Sunday appeared to retreat from President Donald Trump’s signature campaign pledge of a physical wall along the U.S.-Mexico border, saying debate over the final form of the administration’s border security measures amounts to “a silly semantic argument.” “It is a silly semantic argument because people who just want to say ‘wall, wall, …

The Guardian reports: Citing the thorny question of withdrawing troops from Afghanistan and Trump’s urge to pull out of NATO, Kelly “defended his rocky tenure, arguing that it is best measured by what the president did not do when Kelly was at his side”. Kelly was one of the so-called “adults in the room” – many of them generals, who …

Mediaite reports: President Donald Trump continues to tweet through the government shutdown, going after the Democrats again Saturday morning for being too focused on “presidential harassment.” Trump’s tweet follows a report from about the optimism in the White House over the shutdown and how it takes attention away from Democrats’ planned investigations into the President in the run-up to the …

The Huffington Post reports: “So, Congressman, how long should the president keep the government closed?” Fox & Friend co-host Griff Jenkins asked Gohmert, who is famous for his eyebrow-raising remarks. “Because we keep seeing people losing their lives without [a wall], you do it till hell freezes over,” the lawmaker answered, after noting that only about 25 percent of the …

The Associated Press reports: The government shutdown could complicate things for farmers lining up for federal payments to ease the burden of President Donald Trump’s trade war with China. The USDA last week assured farmers that direct payments would keep going out during the first week of the shutdown. But payments will soon be suspended for farmers who haven’t certified …

USA Today reports: The U.S. Office of Personnel Management has offered federal workers affected by the partial government shutdown a guide for negotiating with creditors, landlords and mortgage companies while their income is cut off. The Thursday tweet notes that workers should consult with a “personal attorney” for advice but offers templates for how one might seek financial assistance for …

Reuters reports: Nearly 60 percent of U.S. voters say President Trump should be either impeached and removed from office or formally censured according to a new Harvard CAPS/Harris poll. The poll shows that a majority of votes think some kind of action should be taken against Trump, though they are divided on how far lawmakers should go as Democrats prepare …

The Daily Beast reports: Days into a partial government shutdown that has left tens of thousands of federal workers furloughed, President Donald Trump and his close allies have begun feeling more confident about the political perch they occupy. In their eyes, a prolonged stalemate will likely fracture voters along traditional partisan lines, and the ultimate outcome will be a debate …

Reuters reports: According to a new HarrisX poll released Thursday, a majority of registered voters (52 percent) are doubtful about surveys they hear about in the news media. Twenty-nine percent of respondents said they don’t believe most polls but do trust a few while 19 percent said they “almost never” believe that polls are accurate. While the majority were mistrustful …

The Associated Press reports: Iraqi lawmakers Thursday demanded U.S. forces leave the country in the wake of a surprise visit by President Donald Trump that politicians denounced as arrogant and a violation of Iraqi sovereignty. Politicians from both blocs of Iraq’s divided Parliament called for a vote to expel U.S. troops and promised to schedule an extraordinary session to debate …

The Hill reports: President Trump early Thursday resumed his feud with Democrats on Capitol Hill over funding for a border wall, claiming that most of the hundreds of thousands of federal employees furloughed or forced to work without pay due to a partial government shutdown are Democrats. The president did not provide an explanation for his claim. Have the Democrats …

Politico reports: The President of the United States is the “worst” perpetrator of misinformation on the internet, the U.N. Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression and Opinion David Kaye said in an interview published today. “Governments are real offenders when it comes to disinformation,” said Kaye. “In my own country, the United States, the worst perpetrator of false information is …

CNN reports: House Freedom Caucus Chairman Mark Meadows, one of President Donald Trump’s closest allies, on Wednesday described Trump’s resolve to hold out for $5 billion in border wall funding as “very firm” as the partial government shutdown entered its fifth day. Having spoken to the President since Saturday, the North Carolina Republican described Democrats as “misreading” Trump if they …

The Wall Street Journal reports: Matthew Whitaker, the acting U.S. Attorney General, has incorrectly claimed on his résumé and in government documents to have been named an Academic All-American while playing football at the University of Iowa, according to the documents and the organization that awards that honor. Mr. Whitaker, who was a tight end on the Iowa team from …

The New York Times reports: In the fall of 1968, Donald J. Trump received a timely diagnosis of bone spurs in his heels that led to his medical exemption from the military during Vietnam. Now a possible explanation has emerged about the documentation. It involves a foot doctor in Queens who rented his office from Mr. Trump’s father, Fred C. …