Idiocracy

It’s like two days of national scorn didn’t happen: President Donald Trump yesterday said he doesn’t believe the Puerto Rico death toll, and today he continued to stand by that position by touting comments from Fox News’ Geraldo Rivera. During a segment on The New York Times and media bias, Rivera had this to say regarding Puerto Rico:  “They’re saying …

Axios reports: Florida lawmakers are publicly disagreeing with President Trump’s claim that the death toll in Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria is not accurate. With just two months before the election — and with an estimated 50,000 to 75,000 Puerto Ricans who may have permanently settled in Florida since the hurricane — they know they can’t stay silent on an …

The Hill reports: President Trump told donors that he hopes to rebrand the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) among the U.S., Mexico and Canada as the “USMC” pact, The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday. If the U.S. is unable to come to terms on a deal with Canada, Trump said he’s willing to drop the “C” from the new …

The Hill reports: President Trump on Thursday appeared to cast doubt on studies that found roughly 3,000 people died in Puerto Rico as a result of Hurricane Maria. Puerto Rico officials late last month increased the death toll as a result of the 2017 storm to 2,975 after a study by the George Washington University that assessed the aftermath of …

The Daily Beast reports: Kushner is Coulter’s top candidate as the anonymous author of last week’s New York Times op-ed by “a senior administration official” claiming to be a secret member of the insider resistance protecting the country against Trump’s worst excesses. “Because he and Ivanka are going to have to go back to the Upper East Side and go …

Here’s what Glorious Leader is responding to: JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s Jamie Dimon picked a fight with President Donald Trump — and immediately regretted it. “I think I could beat Trump” in an election, the Wall Street executive said at an event Wednesday morning that was supposed to celebrate his firm’s philanthropy. “I’m as tough as he is, I’m smarter …

The Daily Beast reports: Donald Trump once tried to veto the use of Braille in the elevators of Trump Tower, and was unaware—and unmoved—by the fact that it was required by federal law, according to a Wednesday report from the New York Daily News. When an architect informed him the Braille was, in fact, mandatory, Trump reportedly responded “Get rid …

The Hill reports: President Trump in an early morning tweet on Wednesday doubled down on his defense of the federal response to Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico while taking aim at one of its frequent critics, San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulín Cruz. When asked by reporters in the Oval Office on Tuesday what he had learned from the response to …

USA Today reports: President Donald Trump accused former New Jersey governor Chris Christie of “stealing from me” and feared that a presidential transition team was “jinxing” his chances of victory during the 2016 presidential campaign, according to journalist Bob Woodward’s new book on the Trump White House. In one passage from “Fear: Trump in the White House,” Woodward described a …

The Hill reports: President Trump’s scheduled trip to Ireland in mid-November has been canceled, an administration source confirmed to The Hill on Tuesday. No reason was given for the cancellation, although Trump was expected to face protests in Ireland. Trump had been expected to visit Dublin, the Irish capital, as well as a golf course he owns in Doonberg, County …

Mediaite reports: President Donald Trump is getting his daily briefing from Fox News again. The president started off his daily Twitter proclamations with a quote from Sara Carter, who appeared on Lou Dobbs last night to discuss the real Russian collusion in 2016. Shortly after that, Trump referenced a Fox & Friends segment based on a Daily Caller article about …

“The history of how errors happen is not something that I can engage in, like from the initial fact to what the president said, I don’t know the whole chain of command. But what is true is that it’s the highest in 10 years, and at some point somebody probably conveyed it to him adding a zero to that, and …

The Washington Post reports: Those who think Americans should thank God for President Trump apparently include President Trump. On Monday morning, the president retweeted an image of his head, draped with an American flag, with the words, “THANK GOD FOR TRUMP.” The original tweet came from the handle @trueamerica1st, a pro-Trump account with fewer than 3,000 followers at the time. …

USA Today reports: Former White House aide Omarosa Manigault Newman said Sunday that she and others used #TFA in text messages, a reference to the 25th Amendment, when President Donald Trump did something “insane” or “so crazy.” The one-time “Apprentice” star, told MSNBC in an interview that she used the hashtag in messages with family, “staffers” and people working in …

The Hill reports: President Trump on Monday morning slammed veteran journalist Bob Woodward’s new book as “total joke,” vowing to write “real book” of his own. The White House has spent days pushing back on Woodward’s upcoming book, “Fear: Trump in the White House.” The president has claimed the Watergate journalist is an “idiot,” while White House press secretary Sarah …

The Hill reports: President Trump in a tweet on Sunday knocked the NFL over lower ratings for its first game of the season. Broadcast viewership for the game dropped by 13 percent, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The game also saw a 61-percent spike in online streaming viewership, the news outlet added. Trump renewed his clash with the NFL after …

Politico reports: Vice President Mike Pence on Saturday denied participating in any conversation about invoking the 25th Amendment in a bid to oust President Donald Trump. “No. Never,” Pence told Margaret Brennan of CBS News in an interview to be broadcast Sunday on “Face the Nation.” “And why would we be, Margaret?” the vice president added. “I mean, the truth …

The Washington Post reports: The top two Republicans in Congress arrived at the White House this week armed with props aimed at flattering and cajoling President Trump out of shutting down the government at the end of this month. House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (Wis.) showed the president glossy photos of a wall under construction along the U.S.-Mexico border. Senate …

Nikki Haley writes for the Washington Post: I, too, am a senior Trump administration official. I proudly serve in this administration, and I enthusiastically support most of its decisions and the direction it is taking the country. But I don’t agree with the president on everything. When there is disagreement, there is a right way and a wrong way to …

From the far-right Washington Times: Conservative activist and founder of Turning Point USA Charlie Kirk is offering a $50,000 reward for information on the anonymous White House official who published a blistering anti-Trump New York Times op-ed. Mr. Kirk also declared war on “the deep state,” which some have said is behind the chaotic portrayal of President Trump’s administration. Turning …