Idiocracy

The Hill reports: President Trump said in an early morning tweet on Tuesday that he hopes the inspector general’s report on his former rival, Hillary Clinton, and former FBI director James Comey is not being delayed to make it “weaker.” Inspector General Michael Horowitz told lawmakers last month that a draft of the report was finished. It is expected to …

Politico reports: President Donald Trump and one of his top aides on Monday night appealed a federal court ruling that said the president was violating the constitutional rights of individuals he has blocked from viewing his personal Twitter feed. Three Justice Department officials filed notice of their appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit on behalf …

Via press release from Glorious Leader: “The Philadelphia Eagles are unable to come to the White House with their full team to be celebrated tomorrow. They disagree with their President because he insists that they proudly stand for the National Anthem, hand on heart, in honor of the great men and women of our military and the people of our …

Talking Points Memo reports: Among a slew of odd and unprofessional personal requests that Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt asked his top aide Millan Hupp to undertake for him, Democratic lawmakers revealed in a letter on Monday that Pruitt asked Hupp to secure a “used mattress” from the Trump International Hotel for him. According to a letter Reps. Elijah …

Trump is reacting, as usual, to a Fox & Friends piece that aired this morning. A fact check from the Washington Post: In the 497 days since he took the oath of office, President Trump has made 3,251 false or misleading claims, according to The Fact Checker’s database that analyzes, categorizes and tracks every suspect statement uttered by the president.  …

The Huffington Post reports: Candidate Donald Trump bragged that he could shoot someone on New York’s Fifth Avenue and not lose any support, and now President Donald Trump’s lawyer says Trump could shoot the FBI director in the Oval Office and still not be prosecuted for it. “In no case can he be subpoenaed or indicted,” Rudy Giuliani told HuffPost …

The Texas Tribune reports: U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, on Friday detailed his role in urging President Donald Trump to pardon conservative writer and filmmaker Dinesh D’Souza, saying he raised the issue with Trump while they traveled together last month in Texas. Trump announced Thursday that he was pardoning D’Souza, who pleaded guilty in 2014 to campaign finance fraud, tweeting …

Trump and Bongino are reacting to a blistering Washington Post op-ed written yesterday by Brennan. An excerpt: The impact of the Trump presidency will be felt for many years to come. Most worrisome is that his use of falsehoods, his mean-spirited and malicious behavior, and his self-absorption will be emulated by many young Americans — indeed, young people globally — …

The Louisville Business Journal reports: Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) is urging President Trump to “pull back from the brink” from an international fight over tariffs, warning they could start a “trade war.” “I don’t think anything good will come out of a trade war, and I hope we pull back from the brink here,” McConnell said at the …

The Washington Post reports: The account manager at the Tiny Jewel Box, which calls itself Washington’s “premier destination for fine jewelry and watches,” had promised to expedite the order of a dozen customized silver fountain pens — each emblazoned with the seal of the Environmental Protection Agency and the signature of its leader, Scott Pruitt. Now all that the EPA …

The Hill reports: President Trump fired back at Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Friday after Trudeau called Thursday’s implementation of U.S. tariffs on steel and aluminum an affront to Canadian soldiers who died serving alongside their U.S. compatriots. Trump accused Canada’s government of treating U.S. agricultural interests “very poorly” in a tweet, adding that the country was “highly restrictive …

“These tariffs are totally unacceptable. The numbers are clear: The United States has a $2 billion U.S. dollars surplus in steel trade with Canada – and Canada buys more American steel than any other country in the world, half of U.S. steel exports. Canada is a secure supplier of aluminum and steel to the U.S. defense industry, putting aluminum in …

The Associated Press reports: Seeking to comfort grieving families and shaken survivors, President Donald Trump spent more than an hour privately Thursday with some of those impacted by a Texas mass school shooting that killed 10 and wounded more than a dozen on May 18. Rhonda Hart, whose 14-year-old daughter, Kimberly Vaughan, was killed at the school, told The Associated …

The Pussy Grabber-In-Chief is pretending to be mad: President Trump on Friday blasted TBS over comedian Samantha Bee’s recent use of a vulgar slur to describe first daughter Ivanka Trump. After Roseanne Barr’s show was cancelled over her racist tweet about Obama adviser Valerie Jarrett, Trump also accused ABC of a double standard, criticizing the network for apologizing to Jarrett …

Not that he’ll do anything about it: House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) on Thursday condemned President Trump’s decision to impose a new set of steel and aluminum tariffs against close trading allies.  “I disagree with this decision,” Ryan said in a statement after Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross announced the new duties Thursday morning. “Instead of addressing the real problems in …

NPR reports: Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe says his government “cannot accept” new U.S. tariffs on imported automobiles, as is reportedly being considered as a possible next move by the White House. President Trump last week launched an investigation into whether auto imports posed a national security risk to the U.S., a justification that might be used to raise the …

The Associated Press reports: The Trump administration announced Thursday it will impose tariffs on steel and aluminum imports from Europe, Mexico and Canada after failing to win concessions from the American allies. Europe and Mexico pledged to retaliate quickly, exacerbating trans-Atlantic and North American trade tensions. The European Commission’s president, Jean-Claude Juncker, said Trump’s decision amounted to trade protectionism and …

The Hill reports: GOP Sen. Orrin Hatch (Utah), the chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, on Thursday, blasted the Trump administration’s decision to slap steel and aluminum tariffs on the European Union, Canada and Mexico saying the financial penalties are a “tax hike on Americans.” “My position remains unchanged: Tariffs on steel and aluminum imports are a tax hike on …

CNBC reports: The United States is likely to impose steel and aluminum tariffs on Canada, Mexico and the EU Thursday, according to a source familiar with the decision. The source, who preferred to remain anonymous due to the sensitivity of the situation, said the tariff decision is coming this morning and is “99.9” percent done. The U.S. expects the EU …

CNN reports: Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson will name the son of his close friend and business associate as deputy chief of staff, the department confirmed Wednesday. Alfonso Costa Jr., 29, is expected to join the department in the coming weeks, a source familiar with the decision told CNN. Costa’s father is a dentist-turned-real-estate-investor who Carson has described …