This is where I try to post all my links 'n' thots about the guy in the Oval Office so I don't have to think as much about him the rest of the day.
- Trump is supposed to be this superstar negotiator in the business world…though I'm not sure he's considered that by very many people who are actually in the business world. It looks more to me like he's a great negotiator the same way Doctors Phil and Oz are great doctors. Anyway, Trump was bragging about how he'd make a great deal with Chinese President Xi Jinping in exchange for reaffirming the One China policy. Well, he just reaffirmed it and according to Fred Kaplan, what Trump got in exchange was…absolutely nothing. Hey, I could have made that deal.
- Out on the campaign trail, Trump promised whatever would make the folks at his rallies cheer…and it seemed obvious to most of us that he had no idea if those things were possible or even desirable. But in his world, you say whatever you have to to make the sale. Now, he's stuck with having to keep at least some of those promises just because he made them. As Kevin Drum notes, the ones concerning Israel are already proving to be kinda difficult to keep.
- Most Americans' idea of how to balance the federal budget is pretty simple. They don't phrase it this way but it basically comes down to "Just get rid of all the expenditures that don't directly benefit me." It ain't that easy as James Surowiecki explains.
- It will not surprise you that Trump's Secretary of Health and Human Services takes a lot of money from tobacco companies, has investments in some and is all for rolling back laws that make it more difficult for such companies to prosper and reel in new customers. If there's any coherent motto of this administration it's that government must never get in the way of large companies making larger amounts. Patrick Caldwell has more on this.
- Just about everyone I think is funny is vehemently anti-Trump. As Jeet Heer notes, attacks on Donald by comedians won't destroy him but they might make him really, really angry. And now that I think of it, the madder Trump gets, the more likely he is to destroy himself.
And speaking of comedians, I wrote somewhere here not long ago that I was disappointed with Stephen Colbert's show. Well, not lately and especially not the first 15 minutes or so of all the episodes this week. His ratings are notably up, too. Hope he sends D.J.T. a nice thank-you note.