This week, Clinton Foundation donor Donald Trump found himself in a bit of a pickle.
Recognizing that he has a yuge white male problem (read: there aren't enough of them to win), Trump attempted to soften his rhetoric in appealing to "other" constituencies.
But, given his well-documented history of racism/birtherism, sexism and nativism, that proved to be a hard sell, even for a confidence man as skilled as Trump.
Also, too ... the Trump campaign's formal merger with the so-called "alt-right"—by way of bringing on (alleged) domestic abuser/fraudulent voter/anti-Semite Steve Bannon—certainly didn't help.
Or did it?
Some recent polls (of Sean Hannity's audience) found that Trump's shifting position(s) are actually quite popular.
"Which polls?!," you asked him knowingly.
All of them.
Morning lineup:
Meet the Press: RNC Chair Reince Priebus; Obama '08 Campaign Manager David Plouffe; Roundtable: Conservative Commentator Hugh Hewitt, Joy Ann Reid (MSNBC), Andrea Mitchell (NBC News) & Robert Costa (Washington Post).
Face The Nation: Trump Campaign Manager Kellyanne Conway; Interim DNC Chair Donna Brazile; "Brain Surgeon" Dr. Ben Carson (R); Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-UT); Roundtable: Republican Strategist Leslie Sanchez, Mark Leibovich (NY Times Magazine), Jeffrey Goldberg (The Atlantic) & Ed O'Keefe (Washington Post).
This Week: New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R); Interim DNC Chair Donna Brazile; Roundtable: Republican Straregist Alex Castellanos, Democratic Strategist Stephanie Cutter, Republican Strategist Ana Navarro & Former Sanders Campaign Press Secretary Symone Sanders.
Fox News Sunday: Libertarian Presidential Candidate Gary Johnson; Trump Campaign Manager Kellyanne Conway; Roundtable: George Will (Washington Post), Susan Page (USA Today), Republican Strategist Karl Rove & Juan Williams (Fox News).
State of the Union: Republican Vice Presidential Candidate Mike Pence; Roundtable: Trump Surrogate Corey Lewandowski, Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa (D), Matt Bai (Yahoo News) & Abby Phillip (Washington Post).
Evening lineup:
60 Minutes will feature: a hidden camera investigation into America lawyers hiding foreigners' dirty money (preview); and, an interview with Schuyler Bailar, the first openly transgender male athlete to compete in a NCAA Division I men's sport (preview).
Late night shows:
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
Monday: Actor Riz Ahmed; Actor Pedro Pascal; Singer Angel Olsen.
Tuesday: Actor John Krasinski; Actor Adam Brody; Band St. Paul and the Broken Bones.
Wednesday: Actor Christian Slater; Rep. John Lewis (D-GA); Actor Chris Geere.
Thursday: TV Host Larry Wilmore; Actor Chris Noth; Singer Sampha.
Friday: Guests TBD.
The Daily Show with Trevor Noah
Monday-Thursday: Pre-empted.
Elsewhere...
Racist Maine Gov. Paul LePage (R) revealed that he has binders full of black & Hipanic drug dealers.
Gov. Paul LePage on Thursday fiercely defended comments he made about race and drug dealers at a town hall meeting Wednesday in North Berwick, where he said he keeps a binder of photographs of drug dealers arrested in Maine and that more than 90 percent of them are black or Hispanic.
In a tense exchange with two reporters outside his State House office, LePage said: "Let me tell you something: Black people come up the highway and they kill Mainers. You ought to look into that!"
The governor then stormed off, saying over his shoulder, "You make me so sick!"
Meanwhile...
Ann Coulter published her latest masterpiece, which is both a celebration and defense of Donald Trump.
In her new book In Trump We Trust, Ann Coulter attempts to talk America into supporting the Republican presidential nominee—in her own words, "the great orange hope."
She also attempts to answer for his past mistakes, including when he mocked New York Times reporter Serge Kovaleski, who has a musculoskeletal disorder.
Coulter, in a chapter entitled "Disabled Reporter Joins Media Effort to Create More Disabled Americans," writes that Trump wasn't making fun of Kovaleski's disorder; he was just doing an impression of a "standard retard."
Duly noted.
– Trix