The Commentariat -- Nov. 16, 2016
Afternoon Update:
Michael Shear of the New York Times: "... Donald J. Trump denied Wednesday morning that his transition is in disarray, assailing news media reports about firings and infighting and insisting in an early-morning Twitter burst that everything is going 'so smoothly.' But legal and procedural delays by Mr. Trump's transition team continued on Wednesday, all but freezing the traditional handoff of critical information from the current administration more than a week after Mr. Trump won the presidential election.... [Trump] criticized a report in The New York Times about his early telephone contacts with foreign leaders. In a post on Twitter, he said he had made and received 'calls from many foreign leaders despite what the failing @nytimes said. Russia, U.K., China, Saudi Arabia, Japan.' In fact, The Times reported that Mr. Trump had taken calls from the leaders of Egypt, Israel, Russia and Britain, but said they had been conducted haphazardly and without State Department briefings that traditionally guide conversations with foreign leaders. Of the transition effort, Mr. Trump wrote: 'It is going so smoothly.'" -- CW ...
... Jerry Markon, et al., of the Washington Post: "In his tweets, Trump falsely implies the Times reported that he had not spoken with foreign leaders and never points out exactly what the Times had in error.... He also denied reports that his transition team has sought security clearances for his children. In his tweets, Trump falsely implies the Times reported that he had not spoken with foreign leaders and never points out exactly what the Times had in error.... Two hawkish Republican senators, Jeff Sessions (Ala.) and Tom Cotton (Ark.), emerged as top candidates for defense secretary. Both would bring military experience, but neither has executive experience running a massive bureaucracy such as the Pentagon." -- CW ...
... Jonathan Chait: "The bad news on Donald Trump's transition team is that Mike Rogers, one of the better informed and respected members of the Republican security establishment, has been booted off. The worse news is that, according to the Weekly Standard and a source who contacted the New York Times, Rogers was thrown off because of concerns about his handling of the Benghazi investigation. (Rogers found that, contrary to a popular right-wing conspiracy theory, the Obama administration did not order its security forces to 'stand down.')... The even worse news is that the person who was fired for not being crazy was replaced by somebody who is famous for being crazy. Frank Gaffney has taken Rogers's spot. Gaffney suffers from a variety of delusional beliefs concerning secret Islamic subversion of the government, a conspiracy that runs from such figures as Barack Obama (who Gaffney called 'America's first Muslims president') to Chris Christie, who Gaffney has accused of 'misprision of treason.'... Gaffney was banned from CPAC for being too crazy, which is like being thrown out of the Soprano family for lacking business ethics." -- CW ...
... AND Speaking of Ethics.... Isaac Arnsdorf of Politico: "Donald Trump's transition team appears to have deviated from its own ethics rule barring lobbyists whose work for Trump would overlap with any matters on which they lobbied in the previous year. According to a copy of Trump for America Inc's 'Code of Ethical Conduct' obtained by Politico, members of the transition team must pledge to 'disqualify myself from involvement in any particular transition matter if I have engaged in regulated lobbying activities with respect to such matter, as defined by the Lobbying Disclosure Act, within the previous 12 months.' But at least eight transition team members have done work that appears to flout that internal rule, Senate records show." CW: Don't blame the transition team. How could they have suspected Trump had an ethics code? ...
... Harper Neidig & Megan Wilson of the Hill: "... Mike Pence is reportedly kicking all lobbyists off the transition team, according to The Wall Street Journal. An unidentified source within the transition team told the Journal that it was one of Pence's first moves since taking over the effort from New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who was ousted last week.... Trump said in an interview with CBS's '60 Minutes' on Sunday that selecting lobbyists was the only option he had." CW: So pence didn't kick out the lobbyists? Sounds like pence planted the WSJ story.
Brian Stelter of CNN: "For the second time in a week..., Donald Trump has abandoned precedent and traveled without the 'press pool,' a small group of journalists assigned to cover his movements. The move Tuesday night has spurred a strong backlash. 'It is unacceptable for the next president of the United States to travel without a regular pool to record his movements and inform the public about his whereabouts,' the White House Correspondents Association said in response." -- CW
Paul Waldman: "Anti-nepotism laws prevent Trump from giving his family members jobs in the administration. But don't think that's going to stop them from being active participants in U.S. government decision-making, or using the fact that Trump is president to keep money flowing in. In fact, we could see the president enriching himself and his family on a scale that we normally associate with post-Soviet kleptocrats and Third World dictators." -- CW
Another Ruthless Dictator Friends Trump. Sewell Chan & Hwaida Saad of the New York Times: "President Bashar al-Assad of Syria, in his first remarks since the American election, has called ... Donald J. Trump 'a natural ally, together with the Russians, Iranians and many other countries' in the struggle against terrorism. The comments from Mr. Assad were no surprise, given that Mr. Trump has suggested that he would end American aid to certain rebel groups and work with Mr. Assad and his ally, Russia." -- CW ...
... Anne Barnard & Ivan Nechepurenko of the New York Times: "Warplanes resumed airstrikes on the besieged rebel-held sections of Aleppo, Syria, on Tuesday, as Russia began a major new offensive against insurgents battling Syria's president, Bashar al-Assad. Russia's defense minister, Sergei K. Shoigu, said it had started 'a big operation to deliver massive strikes' against the Islamic State and the Levant Victory Front, formerly known as the Nusra Front, in Idlib and Homs Provinces." -- CW
Ed O'Keefe & Mike DeBonis of the Washington Post: "Sen. Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) was elected as the next leader of Senate Democrats on Wednesday, establishing him as one of his party's most senior officials in Washington and Democrats' primary partisan counterweight to a Trump administration.... In a gesture to his party's progressive wing, Schumer added Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) to a junior role in his newly expanded leadership team.... Sen. Richard J. Durbin (D-Ill.) will serve as party whip and Schume's chief deputy, maintaining a role he held under outgoing Senate Minority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.). Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) will serve as the third-ranking Democrat, foregoing a challenge to Durbin but assuming a new title of assistant Democratic leader. Among Republicans, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) was reelected unanimously by colleagues on Wednesday morning." -- CW
Heather Caygle of Politico: "Nancy Pelosi is officially running for House minority leader again, announcing in a letter to colleagues Wednesday that she has already locked down support from two-thirds of the caucus.... Pelosi ... was forced to delay leadership elections after an uprising from rank-and-file members Tuesday -- but her already widespread support could put to rest any rumors of a potential challenger and shows her standing within the caucus remains strong." -- CW
Twitter Curtails Trump Backers' Hate Speech. Jessica Guynn of USA Today: "Twitter suspended a number of accounts associated with the alt-right movement, the same day the social media service said it would crack down on hate speech.Among those suspended was Richard Spencer, who runs an alt-right think tank and had a verified account on Twitter.... Spencer has said he wants blacks, Asians, Hispanics and Jews removed from the U.S.... In one of the highest-profile bans, Twitter removed the account of Milo Yiannopoulos, a technology editor at the conservative news site Breitbart in July. He had engaged in a campaign of abuse in which hundreds of anonymous Twitter accounts bombarded Ghostbusters actress Leslie Jones with racist and sexist taunts." -- CW
Mark Berman of the Washington Post: "Prosecutors in Minnesota said Wednesday that they had charged the police officer who fatally shot Philando Castile during a traffic stop in Falcon Heights, Minn. with second-degree manslaughter for the shooting.... John Choi, the Ramsey County attorney, said at a news conference in St. Paul, Minn., on Wednesday morning that Jeronimo Yanez, the officer who shot Castile, would also be charged with endangering the lives of [Diamond] Reynolds and her 4-year-old daughter, who was also in the car." -- CW
Brian Murphy of the Washington Post: "Russia appeared on course Wednesday to become the latest nation to snub the International Criminal Court, sending a signal of defiance after a U.N. panel cited rights abuses and other complaints linked to Russia's annexation of Crimea more than two years ago. The decree to formally withdraw from the ICC, signed by President Vladimir Putin, also could be a preemptive move to buffer Russia against future claims of war crimes related its military intervention in Syria." -- CW
*****
Louis Nelson of Politico: "In a speech extolling the virtues of democracy in the country credited with inventing it, President Barack Obama said the election of Donald Trump as his successor should serve as a reminder of the importance of the governing values cherished by both the United States and Greece. Speaking in Athens Wednesday, Obama listed out freedoms protected by democracies, including freedom of speech and worship and of the press, along with independent judiciaries and a separation of powers. He told the Greek audience that among those cherished values is 'free and fair elections, because citizens must be able to choose their own leaders. Even if your candidate doesn't always win,' pausing as the crowd chuckled." -- CW ...
... Gardiner Harris of the New York Times: "President Obama, in some of his strongest language since Donald J. Trump's election last week, on Tuesday warned against the rise of nationalistic tribalism, apparently a reference to Mr. Trump's decision to appoint Stephen K. Bannon, a hard-right nationalist, to a top position. 'I do believe, separate and apart from any particular election or movement, that we are going to have to guard against a rise in a crude sort of nationalism or ethnic identity or tribalism that is built around an "us" and a "them,"' Mr. Obama said. Mr. Obama's remarks came in an hourlong news conference in Athens on his final trip overseas as president. He had come to Greece partly to bolster Greek hopes of further debt relief from its European partners, which will meet on Dec. 5 to consider giving this ailing nation another pass on its mountain of debt." -- CW ...
James Hohmann of the Washington Post: "Barack Obama has deluded himself with the misguided hope that Donald Trump will not even try to follow through on many of his biggest campaign promises. He is consoling himself with the hope that, if he does, the new president will be measured, self-restrained and respectful of custom. That he will 'study ... deeply' and 'look at the facts.' That logic and reason, not emotion or ideology, will drive him above all else.... For a little over an hour yesterday afternoon, Americans saw a 55-year-old who has not come to grips with just how big a blow Trump's victory is to his legacy and his party. He rationalized. He downplayed. He justified. He minimized. With all the trappings of the presidency still his, it hasn't fully sunk in yet." -- CW
Very organized process taking place as I decide on Cabinet and many other positions. I am the only one who knows who the finalists are! -- Donald Trump, in a tweet last night ...
... Sent just in case you hoped maybe a President Trump, unlike Donald Trump, would be truthful with the American people. Notice, too, how Trump uses beauty pageant language -- "finalists" -- to describe the process; according to the reports below, that's pretty much how he's "managing" staffing (I could use graphic metaphors here, but I'm way too decorous for that, so fill in your own). -- Constant Weader ...
CW: Do read at least one of the Transition Chaos! stories below to get a flavor of what a disaster (to use one of Trump's favorite words) this guy is. There's a lot of overlap to the stories but each reports some unique elements, too. I don't believe in the supernatural, but maybe I'm wrong. It seems there must be some dark comic force that has propelled Trump forward all his life because there is not one damned thing about him that says "marginally competent," much less "winner." Anyway, here's what happens when a "team of rivals" brings knives to the table. ...
... Julie Davis, et al., of the New York Times: "... Donald J. Trump's transition was in disarray on Tuesday, marked by firings, infighting and revelations that American allies were blindly dialing in to Trump Tower to try to reach the soon-to-be-leader of the free world.... One week after Mr. Trump scored an upset victory that took him by surprise, his team was improvising the most basic traditions of assuming power. That included working without official State Department briefing materials in his first conversations with foreign leaders." This is an expansion of a report linked yesterday afternoon. -- CW ...
... The Post published online this story, by Karen DeYoung & Greg Miller, about an hour after releasing the story below: "The bloodletting in ... Donald Trump's transition team that began with last week's ouster of New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie escalated Tuesday with new departures, particularly in the area of national security, as power consolidated within an ever-smaller group of top Trump loyalists.... As he had during the campaign, Trump appeared to be increasingly uncomfortable with outsiders and suspicious of those considered part of what one insider called the 'bicoastal elite,' who are perceived as trying to 'insinuate' themselves into positions of power.... Some key members of Trump's party began to question his views and the remaining candidates for top positions. Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) said Trump's efforts to work more closely with Russian President Vladimir Putin amounted to 'complicity in [the] butchery of the Syrian people' and 'an unacceptable price for a great nation.' ...
"The two names most prominently mentioned for the diplomatic job -- former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani and John Bolton.... Giuliani ... was said ... to have personally appealed to Trump for the diplomatic job. He has virtually no diplomatic experience or knowledge of the State Department bureaucracy. Bolton, a national security hawk who got his U.N. job through a recess appointment after the Senate refused to confirm him, was a leading advocate for the 2003 invasion of Iraq, contradicting Trump's campaign position opposing it." -- CW ...
... Dave Weigel of the Washington Post: "Sen. Rand Paul, a newly reelected member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said [Tuesday] morning that he is inclined to oppose former U.N. ambassador John Bolton or ... Rudolph W. Giuliani if either is nominated for secretary of state. 'It's important that someone who was an unrepentant advocate for the Iraq War, who didn't learn the lessons of the Iraq War, shouldn't be the secretary of state for a president who says Iraq was a big lesson,' Paul said in an interview Tuesday morning.... Paul argued that Giuliani and Bolton, the people whose names have circulated most widely, 'have made it clear that they favor bombing Iran.'" -- CW ...
... Here's Li'l Randy's full-throated rap on Bolton. Maybe worst of all, Bolton is just another Hillary Clinton! -- CW ...
... Margaret Hartmann of New York outlines the cases for and against Giuliani, Bolton & Jeff Sessions, each of whom wants the toppiest top job he can get. Other than picking a few random Trumpbots out of the crowd at one of his rallies, it's hard to conceive of how he could have made worse choices. I do have to concede that Trump did something I would not have expected, and that is to make Chris Christie appear to be a relatively reasonable man. ...
... Jerry Markon, et al., of the Washington Post: "... Donald Trump, who clashed with leading Republicans throughout his campaign, faced growing tumult in his national security transition team on Monday as key members of his own party appeared to question his views and personnel choices. Former congressman Mike Rogers (R-Mich.), a respected voice on national security thought to be a leading candidate to run the CIA, was among those pushed out of the team over the past two days, two individuals with direct knowledge said, in a series of moves that have added to the anxiety across the upper ranks of U.S. intelligence agencies.... A former U.S. official with ties to the Trump team described the ousters of Rogers and others as a 'bloodletting of anybody that associated in any way on the transition with [New Jersey Gov. Chris] Christie,' and said that the departures were engineered by two Trump loyalists who have taken control of who will get national security posts in the administration: retired Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn and Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner." -- CW ...
... Kevin Drum: "Maybe we should be less worried about Steve Bannon and more worried about Jared Kushner. No, scratch that. We should be worried about both. But Bannon is already getting plenty of attention. I have a feeling maybe Kushner should too." CW: Well, Kushner's dad seems nice. Read Drum to find out just what a sweetie the old man is. ...
... Elliot Hannon of Slate: According to Andrea Mitchell, Donald Trump has asked that his son-in-law receive top-secret clearance to read the Presidential Daily Briefing. Trump is currently receiving the briefings. Here's how the CIA describes the PDB: "The PDB compiles the [Directorate of Intelligence]'s highest level intelligence analysis targeted at the key national security issues and concerns of the President. The PDB is given only to the President, the Vice President, and a very select group of Cabinet-level officials designated by the President." ...
... CW: Of course if President Obama declines, Trump can clear Kushner on Day One (and he's probably already letting little Jared read the PDB over his shoulder). Why not just give top-secret to everyone who is at least distantly-related to Donald by birth or by marriage? Marla Maples? Fine. Some Drumph cousin in Kallstadt, Germany? What the hell. If Angela Merkel can't get hold of Trump because he forgot to give her his phone number (see story above), she can call Kallstadt to find out what's going on.
... CW: Another guy to watch is Mike Flynn. Here's what seems like a pretty balanced profile of him, giving him all the benefit of the doubt. Nevertheless, I'm seeing strains of General Buck Turgidson, George C. Scott's character in "Dr. Strangelove." ...
... Mark Landler & Maggie Haberman of the New York Times: "Rudolph W. Giuliani ... is the leading contender to be secretary of state in the Trump administration, campaign officials said on Tuesday, as ... Mike Pence plans to join ... Donald J. Trump in New York to accelerate the process of filling out his cabinet." CW: This makes as much sense as my picking my friend Jan for Secretary of State because we like each other. Like Rudy, Jan is unqualified to hold a Cabinet-level job; key differences are that Jan is neither corrupt nor INSANE! (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...
... Mark Landler, et al., of the New York Times: "Rudolph W. Giuliani, facing a flood of questions about whether his business dealings should disqualify him from being named ... Donald J. Trumps secretary of state, on Tuesday defended his lucrative 15 years in the private sector as a credential for the job.... Mr. Giuliani's business ties are a major red flag. He built a lucrative consulting and speechmaking career after leaving City Hall. His firm, Giuliani Partners, has had contracts with the government of Qatar and the Canadian company that is building the Keystone XL oil pipeline, and Mr. Giuliani has given paid speeches to a shadowy Iranian opposition group that until 2012 was on the State Department's list of foreign terrorist organizations.... During the presidential campaign, Mr. Trump repeatedly criticized Hillary Clinton for ... contributions Qatar made to the Clinton Foundation, which he claimed betrayed her commitment to women's and gay rights because of Qatar's poor record on both." -- CW ...
... Also, Rudy Is Crazy, Mean & Incompetent. New York Times Editors: "The extent of Mr. Giuliani's international experience has been largely limited to giving speeches and consulting work. He lacks any substantive diplomatic experience and has demonstrated poor judgment throughout his career. Indeed, as he became Mr. Trump's most bombastic champion, Mr. Giuliani at times appeared unhinged. Read on. -- CW ...
... Gary Legum of Salon: "... Rudy Giuliani has taken millions and millions of dollars to shill for foreign governments and clients with businesses in the United States, businesses that he would now have a hand in negotiating with and in some cases awarding lucrative contracts to on behalf of the American government. If Trump really intends to drain the swamp, he probably shouldn't put one of the swamp's most prominent alligators in one of his top Cabinet positions." -- CW ...
... Jerry Markon, et al., of the Washington Post: "It was unclear why [Mike Rogers resigned].... Rudy Giuliani appeared to take himself out of the running for attorney general.... In one surprising development, retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson, who has been a confidant to Trump since the end of the Republican primaries, is unlikely to join the administration but will remain an informal adviser.... Eliot Cohen, a leading voice of opposition to Trump among former national security officials during the campaign, blasted Trump's transition team in a tweet on Tuesday. 'After exchange w Trump transition team, changed my recommendation: stay away. They're angry, arrogant, screaming "you LOST!" Will be ugly,' tweeted Cohen, who served ...as counselor to then-Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.... Cohen also said the transition official was 'completely dismissive' of concerns raised about Trump's appointment of former Breitbart News head Stephen K. Bannon as chief White House strategist." -- CW (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...
... Caitlin MacNeal of TPM: "Donald Trump's transition team has not reached out to officials at the State Department or the Pentagon for briefings as [Trump] ... prepares to take office in January, according to officials from those agencies." -- CW
Andrew Restuccia & Doug Palmer of Politico: "Billionaire investor Wilbur Ross is ... Donald Trump's leading candidate for Commerce Secretary, multiple sources told Politico. Ross, 78, is the founder of the private equity firm WL Ross & Co., known for restructuring failed companies, and he's an economic adviser to Trump.... Ross has been a vociferous critic of trade deals negotiated over the last 25 years, including the North American Free Trade Agreement, which Trump has vowed to leave unless Mexico and Canada agree to renegotiate on more favorable terms.... If he is nominated, Ross is ... likely to face new questioning related to the January, 2006 Sago mine disaster in Sago, W.Va., which killed a dozen workers. The mine was owned by a subsidiary of one of his companies, International Coal Group, Inc. Ross faced findings that he ignored dozens of safety concerns and citations." -- CW
"Turn on the Hate." New York Times Editors: "Anyone holding out hope that Donald Trump would govern as a uniter -- that the racism, sexism, anti-Semitism and nativism of his campaign were just poses to pick up votes -- should think again. In an ominous sign of what the Trump presidency will actually look like, the president-elect on Sunday appointed Stephen Bannon as his chief White House strategist and senior counselor, an enormously influential post.... Breitbart News ... under Mr. Bannon became what the Southern Poverty Law Center has called a 'white ethno-nationalist propaganda mill.'... To scroll through Breitbart headlines is to come upon a parallel universe where black people do nothing but commit crimes, immigrants rape native-born daughters, and feminists want to castrate all men." -- CW (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
Matt Yglesias of Vox: "Donald Trump's dual roles as president-elect of the United States and owner of a large but completely opaque network of privately held companies present unprecedented conflicts of interest that the country heard little about during [the] campaign.... Rep. Elijah Cummings of Maryland, the ranking Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, wants Congress to start focusing on these problems and has sent a letter to his opposite number, Chair Jason Chaffetz of Utah, requesting hearings into the matter." -- CW (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...
... Matt Yglesias: Trump's "opening bid is that companies he owns and whose asset structure is completely opaque should be controlled by his children and heirs who will also serve as high-level informal government advisers with top secret clearances. Cummings's view is that this arrangement is not acceptable, and Congress should work to find an alternate structure. The question is whether Chaffetz -- who didn't defend or endorse Trump when he was a candidate -- will now defend and endorse this massive conflict of interest now that he's won." -- CW (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
Allegra Kirkland of TPM: "Donald Trump is considering naming anti-Muslim conspiracy theorist Clare Lopez as his deputy national security adviser, according to a list of possible appointees the Daily Caller published Tuesday. The Daily Caller reported that the list was an internal document put together by the President-elect's transition team.... Lopez, who has also written for far-right sites Breitbart News and World Net Daily, helped popularize the myth that senior Hillary Clinton aide Huma Abedin was an 'operative' of the Muslim Brotherhood." -- CW (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
"When Trump says he wants to deport criminals, he means something starkly different than Obama." Brian Bennett of the Los Angeles Times: "Donald Trump's advisors are drafting plans to resume workplace raids and to ramp up pressure on local police and jails to identify immigrants in the country illegally in an effort to meet Trump's goal to deport 2 million to 3 million migrants who he says are criminals. That could put the incoming Trump administration in direct conflict with Los Angeles and the laws of California, as well as other cities and states, setting the stage for an almost certain high-stakes legal and political battle.... According to two senior officials in the transition team, Trump's advisors will seek to widen that net to include migrants who have been charged but not convicted, suspected gang members and drug dealers, and people charged with such immigration violations as illegal reentry and overstaying visas, as well as lower-level misdemeanors. If local authorities refuse to cooperate, Trump's advisors are looking at withholding some federal law enforcement funds and equipment that go to state and local police agencies for holding federal prisoners or improving police practices." -- CW ...
... Peter Holley of the Washington Post: "Donald Trump has pledged to begin deporting millions of undocumented immigrants as soon as he takes office next year. For now, Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck has no plans to help him do it. 'We're going to maintain the same posture we always have,' Beck told KNX 1070 Monday. 'We don't make detentions or arrests based solely on status, whether that's immigration status or any other status.' 'If the federal government takes a more aggressive role on deportation, then they'll have to do that on their own,' he continued.... 'This is a population we police by creating partnerships, not by targeting them because of their immigration status,' he added." -- CW ...
... CW: I doubt he'll do it, but I think on the day before he leaves office, President Obama should issue a blanket pardon to everyone whose only crime was to enter the U.S. without papers or has overstayed a visitor's visa. A presidential pardon is a presidential pardon, & I don't think a future president or Congress can undo it. ...
... ** David Dayen of the New Republic has another idea: "... there is one action that Obama could take on January 3, 2017, that could hold off some of the worst potential abuses of a Trump administration, for up to a year. Obama can appoint his nominee Merrick Garland to the Supreme Court on that date, in between the two sessions of Congress. Based on everything we know about Obama's temperament and politics, he won't resort to this.... The gambit would have an extremely low likelihood of permanent success -- even if the Court didn't rule the Garland appointment unconstitutional (and it probably would), he'd be out in a year." Read the whole post. Dayen takes cracks at both Democrats and Republicans. -- CW
Fred Kaplan of Slate: "A mere week after its election-night triumph, the Republican Party is fracturing more deeply and sharply than anyone had anticipated. Donald Trump's simultaneous appointments of Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus and alt-right publisher Stephen Bannon -- an establishment moderate and a white-nationalist renegade -- to co-equal positions set the stage for what promises to be all-consuming internecine warfare in the White House and beyond." -- CW
Joshua Foust compiles a shortlist of things about "President Trump" that are not normal. Here's one:
... Amanda Sakuma of NBC News: Donald Trump is using his new DotGov account to promote his business interests: "More than one-quarter of Trump's bio refers to his business properties around the world." Thanks to Marvin S. for the link to Foust. ...
... Ivanka Uses "60 Minutes" Interview to Hawk Expensive Jewelry Line. Drew Harwell of the Washington Post: "One day after ... Donald Trump's daughter Ivanka spoke to '60 Minutes'..., her jewelry line alerted journalists ... [that] the incoming first daughter was wearing an Ivanka Trump Fine Jewelry-brand bracelet, which could be bought for $10,800.... [The '60 Minutes'] interview was..., for the Trump company, an undeniable promotional opportunity.... The sales tactic marked one of the first moments since the election during which the Trump companies have sought to use Trump's presidential prominence to boost their private fortunes. But it may not be the last. Ethics advisers have increasingly voiced concerns over the unprecedented conflicts of interest that could arise from the soon-to-be first family's empire of real estate, luxury goods and licensing deals." -- CW ...
... Anna Silman of New York: "In the wake of Trump's 'locker-room talk' scandal ... technology-and-media-marketing specialist Shannon Coulter created the hashtag #GrabYourWallet to encourage consumers to boycott businesses that carry Ivanka Trump's clothing and accessories lines.... An updated spreadsheet has been circulating on Twitter listing the retailers that do business with the Trump family, along with contact information their customer-relations departments. These include major retailers like Amazon, Macy's, Marshalls, Neiman Marcus, Nordstrom, Bloomingdale's, and Lord and Taylor, all of which carry the Ivanka Trump collection.... #GrabYourWallet saw its first victory a few days ago, when Shoes.com became the first retailer to dump Trump products as a result of the boycott." -- CW
Trump Already Making America Great Again! Justin McCarthy & Jeffrey Jones of Gallup: "After Trump won last week's election, Republicans and Republican-leaning independents now have a much more optimistic view of the U.S. economy's outlook than they did before the election. Just 16% of Republicans said the economy was getting better in the week before the election, while 81% said it was getting worse. Since the election, 49% say it is getting better and 44% worse." -- CW
Emmarie Huetteman of the New York Times: "House Republicans renominated Speaker Paul D. Ryan as their leader on Tuesday, quieting rumors of an initial revolt in the party in the wake of feuding between Mr. Ryan and ... Donald J. Trump.... To retain the speaker's job, Mr. Ryan, of Wisconsin, will still have to clear a vote by the full House when the new Congress assembles in January -- when he must win at least 218 votes. With the results of a few contests outstanding, Republicans will hold at least 239 seats, leaving a relatively healthy margin for dissent in their ranks.House Republicans said on Twitter that Mr. Ryan's selection was unanimous....
[MEANWHILE,] "House Democrats postponed their own elections until Nov. 30 during a meeting behind closed doors to discuss last week's painful losses and their leadership. A group of at least 25 members had been pushing to delay the vote, which had been scheduled for Thursday, until after Thanksgiving. Some members have urged Representative Tim Ryan of Ohio, 43, to challenge Representative Nancy Pelosi of California, 76, who has led House Democrats since 2003. He has not yet decided whether to run against her.... Democrats had a net gain of six House seats so far." -- CW
House GOP Threatens Obama. Lisa Rein of the Washington Post: "... House Republicans on Tuesday laid down the gauntlet to the outgoing Obama administration: Don't finalize any pending rules and regulations you think you can slip through before you leave office. In a letter to hundreds of Cabinet secretaries, commissioners and other heads of federal offices and agencies signed by 22 Republican leaders, the lawmakers noted that President Obama has been generous in his use of executive orders to set policy. And they issued a threat: Ignore us and we will give your agency extra scrutiny." -- CW ...
... Sally Jewell Is Not Listening! Demi Lee of the New Republic: "The Obama administration just passed more environmental regulations for Trump to eliminate. The Department of the Interior announced a new rule Tuesday to reduce methane waste on public and Indian lands, as part of President Barack Obama's Climate Action Plan. Methane emissions not only contribute to climate change, but 'enough natural gas was lost between 2009 and 2015 to serve more than 6 million households for a year,' the department said." -- CW
What Deficit? Ben Weyl of Politico: "For eight years, Republicans hammered President Barack Obama for exploding the national debt. But now a GOP-led spending spree is coming, with Donald Trump riding to the White House on trillion-dollar promises and a Republican Congress that looks likely to do his bidding. It's a potential echo of the last time Republicans ran Washington, when then-Vice President Dick Cheney memorably remarked, 'Deficits don't matter.' Trump campaigned heartily on a spending splurge and nothing he's said since his shocking election suggests he will reverse course." -- CW
Paul Waldman: "... for Democrats to regain their focus, they need a specific controversy around which they can organize and potentially notch a win. And it looks like they may have found it. I'm speaking of Paul Ryan's wish to privatize Medicare, or phase it out.... An effort to phase out Medicare will unite liberals and give them one specific thing to direct their energies toward. It'll make the consequences of unified Republican rule vivid and concrete." -- CW (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
Jonathan Easley of the Hill: "The Democratic National Committee's charter states that the chairman must be a full-time employee, a revelation that is raising questions about the candidacy of Rep. Keith Ellison of Minnesota. There appears to be wiggle room in the charter, because it does not specifically prohibit a lawmaker from serving as DNC chairman. And the most recent chairman, Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz of Florida -- split her duties between the DNC and Congress." -- CW
Madeline Conway of Politico: "Hillary Clinton's lead in the popular vote over ... Donald Trump has surpassed 1 million, according to ... the nonpartisan Cook Political Report.... Votes are still being tabulated in California, Utah and Washington...." -- CW ...
... John Myers of the Los Angeles Times: "California election officials continue their efforts to review and count as many as 4 million ballots from the Nov. 8 election, a daunting process that has kept a few closely watched races in limbo for almost a week. A report from the secretary of state's office on Tuesday put the total number of unprocessed ballots at 4.1 million...." -- CW ...
... Sarah Wire of the Los Angeles Times: "Retiring Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) filed legislation Tuesday to abolish the Electoral College in light of Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton winning the popular vote but still losing the election. Such legislation makes a statement after an election that shocked Democrats, but is unlikely to gain traction with Republicans holding control of both chambers of Congress in a lame duck session. Her bill calls for an amendment to the Constitution that would end the Electoral College system. Should such a thing pass, the amendment would only take effect if ratified by three-fourths of the states within seven years after its passage in the U.S. Congress." -- CW
The Rigged Election, Ctd. Alice Ollstein of Think Progress: "Last week, the first election in 50 years without the full protection of the federal Voting Rights Act propelled Donald Trump to the White House." Ollstein looks at how voter suppression laws in Wisconsin, North Carolina, and Florida cost Clinton the election and warns that "This year, the GOP expanded its control to 32 state legislatures and 33 governorships. With all three branches of the federal government and a majority of states now under Republican control, American voters can expect to face more barriers and restrictions in the coming years." CW: Democrats won't just have to win elections; they will have to win big to make up for the disenfranchised. ...
... "A Poll Tax by Another Name." Ronald Krotoszynski, in a New York Times op-ed: "... a very small difference in net votes — around 100,000 votes in Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin — would have turned Hillary Clinton's popular vote victory into an Electoral College victory as well. As people try to process what happened on Election Day, we need to consider carefully whether the difficulty of voting in our nation's urban centers, in places like Detroit, Milwaukee and Philadelphia, might have played a decisive role. This isn't merely idle speculation. Professors Charles Stewart III, of M.I.T., and Stephen Ansolabehere, of Harvard, estimate that long lines at the polls discouraged between 500,000 and 700,000 would-be voters from casting ballots in the 2012 general election." -- CW: BTW, The Twenty-fourth Amendment prohibits Congress and the states from imposing a poll tax "or other tax" as a condition of voting. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
Facebook "News" Worse than Fox "News." And Zuckerberg Lies about It. Zeynep Tufekci of the New York Times: "Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook's chief, believes that it is 'a pretty crazy idea' that 'fake news on Facebook, which is a very small amount of content, influenced the election in any way.' In holding fast to the claim that his company has little effect on how people make up their minds, Mr. Zuckerberg is ... contradicting Facebook’s own research.... After the election, Mr. Zuckerberg claimed that the fake news was a problem on 'both sides' of the race. There are, of course, viral fake anti-Trump memes, but reporters have found that the spread of false news is far more common on the right than it is on the left.... Facebook ... recently fired its (already too few) editors responsible for weeding out fake news from its trending topics section. Unsurprisingly, the section was then flooded with even more spurious articles.... The company’s business model, algorithms and policies entrench echo chambers and fuel the spread of misinformation." -- CW
** The media are feeling sorry for all those Trump voters we keep accusing of racism & misogyny. Jamelle Bouie has a message for poor, maltreated Trumpbots: "Trump campaigned on state repression of disfavored minorities. He gives every sign that he plans to deliver that repression. This will mean disadvantage, immiseration, and violence for real people, people whose 'inner pain and fear' were not reckoned worthy of many-thousand-word magazine feature stories. If you voted for Trump, you voted for this, regardless of what you believe about the groups in question. That you have black friends or Latino colleagues, that you think yourself to be tolerant and decent, doesn't change the fact that you voted for racist policy that may affect, change, or harm their lives. And on that score, your frustration at being labeled a racist doesn't justify or mitigate the moral weight of your political choice." -- CW ...
... Erik Wemple of the Washington Post: "... anti-Semitic attacks that have descended upon journalists covering Donald Trump. Most commonly expressed on Twitter, but also via email and other channels, the vile and threatening messages ballooned during Trump's run through the Republican primaries and ... haven't gone away in light of his victory last week. To wit, New York Times reporter Maggie Haberman recently came home and found an orange envelope holding 'three pages of anti-Semitism,' according to CNN." -- CW
The New Yorker publishes 16 writers' ruminations on Trump's America. CW: I read only George Packer's brief essay, and it's quite good. I expect many of the others are, too. ...
... BTW, Adam Gopnik of the New Yorker writes a letter on how the rights of humankind begin at the garden gate. A bit disjointed, but a morsel for thought.
Beyond the Beltway
Lexi Browning & Lindsey Bever of the Washington Post: "The mayor of this tiny West Virginia town has resigned amid a firestorm over racist comments about Michelle Obama, according to Clay officials. Mayor Beverly Whaling, who had commented approvingly on a Facebook post comparing the first lady to an ape, turned in her letter of resignation Tuesday. Joe Coleman, the town recorder, said Whaling's resignation was effective immediately, according to the Associated Press. The mayor's resignation came one day after the director of a local, government-funded nonprofit was removed from her position over a Facebook post." CW: It's heartening to see that even in Trump's America, many people won't put up with official racism.
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