Idiocracy

ABC News reports: President Donald Trump is seriously considering potential options to circumvent Congress, including declaring a national emergency, to reprogram funds from the Department of Defense and elsewhere to help pay for parts of his desired border wall along the U.S.-Mexico border, according to multiple sources familiar with the ongoing discussions. Sources tell ABC News the discussions are still …

The Verge reports: Netflix has warned fans against participating in a potentially dangerous online challenge that’s inspired by its recent original horror film Bird Box. The challenge takes the core concept of Bird Box — wearing a blindfold at all times while wandering around outside — and applies it to a certain period of time. Some people, like YouTube creator …

Talking Points Memo reports: President Trump praised Republican National Committee (RNC) Chairwoman Ronna Romney McDaniel a day after she criticized her uncle, Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah), over a scathing op-ed he penned excoriating the president’s character. McDaniel has cast herself as a staunch ally of the president, a stance which has put her at odds with her uncle, who has …

Reuters reports: President Trump on Thursday called Democrats’ opposition to his proposed border wall “strictly political” and accused the party of seeking an advantage in the 2020 presidential election as a partial government shutdown entered its 13th day. The tweet echoed comments Trump made during a lengthy and at-times meandering Cabinet meeting a day earlier, when he claimed the government …

The Hill reports: President Trump struck back at incoming Utah Sen.-elect Mitt Romney (R) on Wednesday after Romney challenged the president’s character in an op-ed, suggesting that Romney should be more supportive of his party. The president’s tweet came hours after Romney targeted him directly in a Washington Post op-ed, accusing him of a glaring “shortfall” in terms of character …

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 …