Idiocracy

Media Matters provides the transcript: BRIAN KILMEADE (CO-HOST): What are you calling for now, John? You served your time, wrote a book about it, what are you asking for now? JOHN KIRIAKOU (FORMER CIA ANALYST): I would be forever indebted to the president for a pardon. This president is unlike other presidents. You know, Barack Obama and Bill Clinton, they …

The Associated Press reports: Before President Donald Trump sits down with a third-generation North Korean autocrat, he will face what may well turn out to be a tougher crowd — some of America’s oldest allies. With his new tariffs increasing U.S. isolation, Trump heads to Canada on Friday for a meeting of the Group of Seven industrialized nations. The White …

Via Mediaite: On MSNBC Wednesday, host Katy Tur had her hands full when guests Democratic Strategist Bob Shrum and RNC Committeeman Shawn Steel [JMG: in the beret]  jumped right into a fight just after being introduced on the segment. The conversation went off the rails just after the first question, when Republican Steele began answering Tur’s question about ‘the Trump …

CNN reports: President Donald Trump and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had a testy phone call on May 25 over new tariffs imposed by the Trump administration targeting steel and aluminum imports coming from Canada, including one moment during the conversation in which Trump made an erroneous historical reference, sources familiar with the discussion told CNN. According to the sources, …

The Hill reports: Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) on Wednesday pushed back against President Trump’s “spygate” claims, siding with Rep. Trey Gowdy’s (R-S.C.) defense of the FBI’s investigation into Trump’s campaign and Russia. “Chairman Gowdy’s initial assessment is accurate, but we have more digging to do,” Ryan told reporters during his weekly news conference. A week after a closed-door briefing on …

Politico reports: White House counselor Kellyanne Conway appeared to suffer a verbal glitch on Wednesday when she apparently referred to President Donald Trump as the “commander in cheese.” Conway, when asked about the recent dust-up over the president disinviting the Philadelphia Eagles to the White House, said, “The problem with the President of the United States, and the commander of …

The Washington Examiner reports: President Trump accused the media of being “unfair” and “vicious” to first lady Melania Trump, who has scantly been seen in public since undergoing a kidney procedure last month. The first lady appeared at a White House event for Gold Star families on Monday, which was her first public appearance since she was underwent a procedure …

Reuters reports: The U.S. State Department on Tuesday defended remarks by the new U.S. ambassador to Germany that drew condemnation from across that country’s political spectrum, saying that U.S. envoys “have a right to express their opinions.” “Don’t we as Americans have the right to free speech?” State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert said in response to questions about U.S. Ambassador …

The New York Post reports: NBA star turned Kim Jong Un soulmate Dennis Rodman will be in Singapore during President Trump’s summit with the North Korean dictator next week, The Post has learned. “The Worm” will arrive in the country a day before the June 12 sitdown — and sources said he could even play some sort of role in …

Deadspin reports: Donald Trump’s hastily arranged replacement for the Super Bowl champion Eagles’ White House visit featured the president making a very brief appearance to talk about how great the economy is and, then, stand awkwardly while mouthing maybe half the words to “God Bless America” like a Yankees fan in right field who started drinking at seven in the …

The Huffington Post reports: Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, who sparked a firestorm last week when she said it was a school’s choice to call Immigration and Customs Enforcement to report potentially undocumented students, changed her tune Tuesday, telling a Senate subcommittee she doesn’t think schools can call ICE on undocumented students. DeVos’ reversal came during a tense exchange with Sen. …

The New York Times reports: President Trump said on Tuesday that the United States Marine Band would “proudly” play the national anthem at the White House during an afternoon event that had originally been planned as a celebration of the Philadelphia Eagles’ Super Bowl victory. In early-morning tweets, Mr. Trump obliquely questioned the patriotism of the Eagles and other N.F.L. …

Bloomberg reports: Majority Leader Mitch McConnell canceled most of the chamber’s August recess, bowing to calls from GOP lawmakers to stay in Washington to finish work on nominations and undercutting election campaigning by Democrats who have more than a half dozen incumbents at risk in November. “Due to the historic obstruction by Senate Democrats of the president’s nominees, and the …

The Washington Post reports: Three months after Scott Pruitt was sworn in as head of the Environmental Protection Agency, his executive scheduler emailed Dan Cathy, chairman and president of the fast food company Chick-fil-A, with an unusual request: Would Cathy meet with Pruitt to discuss “a potential business opportunity”? A call was arranged, then canceled, and Pruitt eventually spoke with …

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 …