Idiocracy

“Have you ever had a fight with your spouse? And in that fight, you just make the decision, OK things were said that we wish were not but there’s an underlying issue that has to be addressed. Now you put this aside and hope it never happens again but you begin to address the issue. I think we as a …

The Hill reports: Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) came to the defense of Canada following attacks on Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau by President Trump and some of his top advisers. Trump and some of his top economic aides targeted Trudeau over the weekend after the Canadian leader criticized steep tariffs imposed by the U.S. on Canadian steel and aluminum imports. …

Politico reports: At the end of a long weekend of rhetorical salvos over the G7 summit’s chaotic ending, German Chancellor Angela Merkel added her voice to the chorus, saying she found Donald Trump’s actions “sobering and a bit depressing,” while calling for more civility in international exchanges. “The situation isn’t very nice,” Merkel told German public television in a lengthy …

Politico reports: Under the Presidential Records Act, the White House must preserve all memos, letters, emails and papers that the president touches, sending them to the National Archives for safekeeping as historical records. But White House aides realized early on that they were unable to stop Trump from ripping up paper after he was done with it and throwing it …

Talking Points Memo reports: Fellow G7 members responded harshly to President Donald Trump’s refusal to sign a previously agreed-upon joint statement authored by all seven nations at a summit this weekend, with Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland on Sunday pointedly condemning Trump and his advisers’ “ad hominem attacks.” “We spent two days to obtain a text and commitments. We will …

The North Jersey Record reports: Chris Christie has opened a law firm and Rudy Giuliani, a long-time mentor and attorney for President Donald Trump, says he’s sent New Jersey’s former governor clients. Christie, nearing the end of his formal transition out of state government, established a new practice based in his Morris County hometown. Giuliani said in an interview that …

Politico reports: White House trade adviser Peter Navarro lit into Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Sunday, saying there’s a “special place in hell” for a world leader that double crosses President Donald Trump. “There’s a special place in hell for any foreign leader that engages in bad-faith diplomacy with President Donald J. Trump and then tries to stab him …

The New York Times reports: President Trump has gone overseas to embark on some of the most consequential diplomatic negotiations of his tenure, threatening an all-out trade war with allies and seizing a chance to make peace with a nuclear-armed menace. But back home, he left behind a West Wing where burned-out aides are eyeing the exits, as the mood …

The Hill reports: White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow on Sunday tore into Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for “double crossing” President Trump with critical comments about U.S. trade policy. “He was polarizing. He really kind of stabbed us in the back,” Kudlow said in strikingly critical remarks during an appearance on CNN’s “State of the Union.” “He did a …

CBS News reports: Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced he told President Trump he will go through retaliatory tariffs after Mr. Trump’s decision not to exempt allies such as Canada from tariffs on steel and aluminum imports. Although Mr. Trump signed onto the communique for the G-7 summit, he tweeted afterward that he had instructed representatives “not to endorse” it …

Even on the world stage, he just cannot resist: President Trump slammed CNN as “fake news” after a reporter with the news organization asked him a question during a press briefing at the Group of Seven (G-7) summit. After the reporter asked Trump a question about tensions between him and other leaders at the G-7 summit, the president asked what …

Politico reports: HUD Secretary Ben Carson is backing off plans to triple the minimum rent paid by some of the country’s poorest households, citing Congress’ move to defy the administration and boost his agency’s budget. The proposal to increase the minimum rent paid by rental assistance beneficiaries is no longer “urgent,” due to the additional resources in the HUD budget, …

The Hill reports: President Trump is giving more details on his wife’s medical procedure last month, saying Melania Trump is on doctor’s orders not to fly. “The first lady’s great,” Trump told reporters Friday on the South Lawn before heading to Canada to attend the Group of 7 (G-7) summit. “She has to — because she wanted to go — …

The New York Times reports: President Trump called on the world’s leading economies on Friday to reinstate Russia to the Group of 7 nations four years after it was cast out for annexing Crimea, once again putting him at odds with America’s leading allies in Europe and Asia. The president made the suggestion to reporters as he headed to Canada …

First, a sweet dig from CNN: When Rudy Giuliani said Wednesday that Stormy Daniels has no credibility because she is is a porn star, he neglected to mention that his client, President Donald Trump, has appeared in three Playboy videos that feature nudity and softcore pornographic content. “So yes, I respect all human beings,” Giuliani said at a conference in …

The Washington Post reports: The meeting was supposed to be about hurricane preparedness, as disaster officials gathered at Federal Emergency Management Agency headquarters days after the start of the 2018 season. But President Trump had a lot else on his mind, turning the closed-door discussion into soliloquies on his prowess in negotiating airplane deals, his popularity, the effectiveness of his …

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, …