Idiocracy

Let’s go back just six weeks, shall we? President Donald Trump told reporters Monday that the United States would increase its nuclear arsenal until other nations “come to their senses,” threatening an arms race days after he said he would withdraw the US from a Cold War nuclear treaty. Trump announced over the weekend that he intended to pull the …

The Miami New Times reports: Vice President Mike Pence arrived at Fort-Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport just after noon on Friday. He was greeted by a Broward Sheriff’s Office SWAT team that included one cop in a #QAnon conspiracy-theory patch. #QAnon is, of course, the batshit-insane, 4Chan-based conspiracy theory that claims Donald Trump is secretly fighting a war with Special Counsel Robert …

Politico reports: President Donald Trump expressed his support for Alaskans affected by an earthquake on Friday, telling them to listen to emergency response personnel and calling the earthquake a “big one.” Trump has a history of comments after natural disasters that many have characterized as tone deaf or just plain weird. After Hurricane Maria, Trump and San Juan Mayor Carmen …

Politico reports: President Donald Trump is more than 5,000 miles from Washington, but Robert Mueller is very much still on his mind. Aides described Trump as fixated on the Cohen news, with one adding that he was fuming about it on the lengthy Air Force One flight to Argentina. On Thursday night, the president, who regularly binges on Fox News …

Mediaite reports: Either Robert Mueller managed to spend $10 million in less than 48 hours, or Donald Trump is unable to keep track of himself as he continues to slam the special counsel. The president got on his phone on Thursday to rip Mueller for the kabillionth time over the ongoing investigation into Russia. As he compared the probe to …

ABC News reports: A man who suffered a heart attack shortly after Hawaii mistakenly issued an alert about a ballistic missile has filed a lawsuit against the US state. The false missile alert and the state’s failure to cancel it in a timely manner was a substantial factor in causing James Sean Shields’s heart attack on January 13, the lawsuit …

The Daily Beast reports: Donald Trump has stepped up his attacks on the Mueller investigation by sharing an image of figures such as Barack Obama, the Clintons, and special counsel Robert Mueller himself behind bars for “treason.” The image, posted by a Trump fan page called the Trump Train, was retweeted by the president Wednesday morning. It’s captioned “Now that …

Politico reports: For the last two years, congressional Republicans have persuaded President Donald Trump to delay the fight to fund his border wall, convincing him he would pay a steep political price for such a high-stakes legislative brawl. Trump is done waiting. Nine days ahead of a deadline that could trigger a partial government shutdown, with no solution in sight, …

The Washington Post reports: In a wide-ranging and sometimes discordant 20-minute interview with The Washington Post, Trump complained at length about Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome H. “Jay” Powell, whom he nominated earlier this year. When asked about declines on Wall Street and GM’s announcement that it was laying off 15 percent of its workforce, Trump responded by criticizing higher interest …

The Washington Examiner reports: President Trump believes that his long list of achievements in office make him “far greater than Ronald Reagan.” In a new book out Tuesday about his “enemies,” the president said that while he feels “I blow Ronald Reagan away,” the “fake news” media is robbing him of bragging rights by ignoring his successes and focusing on …

From the far-right World Net Daily: After years of saying he would never run for any political office, radio talk-show host Rush Limbaugh is now open to the possibility, even if it’s the White House. “I’m not flat-out saying no. I’m gonna have to reassess it at some point,” Limbaugh said in the final moments of his broadcast when a …

The Arizona Daily Star reports: The Sawmill Fire is shown erupting from an exploding target — with blue smoke curling off the fire’s fringes — in a video just obtained by the Arizona Daily Star. The 49-second video clearly shows the fire starting in yellow grassland near a stand of mesquite trees from the exploding target on state land in …

“Tupelo, home of thousands of hard-working American patriots, and the proud birthplace of the king of rock n’ roll, Elvis. Elvis! We love Elvis. I shouldn’t say this, you’ll say I’m very conceited because I’m not, but other than the blonde hair, when I was growing up they said I looked like Elvis. Can you believe it? I always considered …

We already have a state network, but whatever. Deadline reports: Donald Trump, as we’ve known for 40 years, hates to cede the spotlight. So just as NASA was making an ultra-rare successful Mars landing that was carried live on some outlets, the president of the United States decided to float the idea of a state-run television network “to show the …

Mashable reports: ‘Tis the season to see what winter wonderland the White House is transformed into, and ohhh boy are the 2018 decorations something. In the minute-long Christmas decor trailer the White House dropped Monday morning, you can see Melania walk through a forest of blood red trees, show off a bowl of artichokes, gaze at a confusing wreath made …

Axios reports: In a book coming Tuesday by Trump campaign originals Corey Lewandowski and David Bossie, “Trump’s Enemies: How the Deep State Is Undermining the Presidency” (Center Street), the president says the Mueller investigation has helped him politically, per the WashPost’s Phil Rucker. “I think it makes my base stronger,” Trump told the authors in an interview. “I would have …

Politico reports: President Donald Trump capped the Thanksgiving holiday weekend by again expressing gratitude for himself and his administration’s accomplishments. The president’s post followed a similar self-congratulatory sentiment he expressed Thursday at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Fla., where he celebrated Thanksgiving with his family. Asked what he was most thankful for, Trump replied: “For having a great family …

The Hill reports: President Trump has been expressing dissatisfaction with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, the Wall Street Journal reported Friday. Trump reportedly blames Mnuchin for backing Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell and for recent volatility in the stock market. The president has publicly sounded off on Powell’s decision to raise federal interest rates, claiming that it’s endangering the country’s economic …

The Independent reports: Donald Trump has said he is most thankful for himself, at the end of an extraordinary Thanksgiving Day phone call to US troops in which he railed against judges, immigrants and “bad” trade deals. Speaking from his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida on Thursday, the US president told reporters he was most thankful for his “great family” and …

Trump may end up regretting this attack: President Trump fired back at Chief Justice John Roberts on Wednesday after the leader of the Supreme Court rebuked the president over his criticism of “Obama judges.” Trump’s tweet came after Roberts released an unprecedented statement criticizing the president earlier Wednesday, saying the U.S. doesn’t have “Obama judges or Trump judges, Bush judges …