According to the so-called FAKE NEWS media, this week, the White House descended into "chaos," and President @realDonaldTrump came "unglued."
Now, it's entirely true that this week was more chaotic than usual; and, it's also true that Trump's behavior was more unhinged than usual.
However, to accept that this week represented some kind of deviation from the (Trumpian) norm would require us to forget everything we've seen over the past year and suspend our disbelief.
The fact of the matter is, ever since taking office, Trump has continuously defined the presidency down.
And so, if anything, this week has simply shown us that there is no bottom.
Morning lineup:
Meet the Press: Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross; Sen. Angus King (I-ME); Roundtable: Tom Brokaw (NBC News), Presidential Historian Doris Kearns Goodwin, Republican Strategist Al Cardenas & Katy Tur (NBC News).
Face The Nation: Director of the White House National Trade Council Peter Navarro; Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV); Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC); Father of Slain Parkland Student Meadow Pollack Andrew Pollack; Roundtable: Jeffrey Goldberg (The Atlantic), Ed O'Keefe (Washington Post), Susan Page (USA Today) & Margaret Talev (Bloomberg News).
This Week: Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross; Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT); Former White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus; Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R); Roundtable: "Independent" Strategist Matthew Dowd, Van Jones (CNN), Meghan McCain (The View) & Megan Murphy (Formerly of Bloomberg Businessweek).
Fox News Sunday: Josh Bolten (Business Roundtable); Roundtable: Michael Needham (Heritage Action for America), Former Rep. Jane Harman (D-CA), Republican Strategist Josh Holmes & Gerald F. Seib (Wall Street Journal).
State of the Union: Director of the White House National Trade Council Peter Navarro; Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV); Ohio Gov. John Kasich (R); Roundtable: Former Sen. Rick Santorum (R-PA), Democratic Strategist Jen Psaki, Conservative Commentator Linda Chavez & Former South Carolina State Rep. Bakari Sellers (D).
Evening lineup:
The Academy Awards, hosted by Jimmy Kimmel, will air on ABC at 8 pm ET.
Late night shows:
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
Monday: Actor David Oyelowo; Author Chelsea Clinton; Lifestyle Guru Martha Stewart.
Tuesday: Entertainer Oprah Winfrey; Actor Justin Hartley.
Wednesday: Actress Reese Witherspoon; Figure Skater Adam Rippon; Musicians Ben Harper & Charlie Musselwhite.
Thursday: Actress Mindy Kaling; Chris Hayes (MSNBC); Comedian Amberia Allen.
Friday: Actress Helen Mirren; Musician David Byrne.
The Daily Show with Trevor Noah
Monday: Restaurateur David Chang; Tuesday: NFL Player Malcolm Jenkins; Wednesday: Author Terese Marie Mailhot; Thursday: Vann R. Newkirk II (The Atlantic).
Elsewhere...
Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin tried to block the release of footage of a Q&A he did at UCLA.
The Burkle Center for International Relations invited Mnuchin to speak with "Marketplace" public radio host Kai Ryssdal for an open discussion on the Trump administration, its policies and the U.S. economy at the university. The public event went so poorly, however, that Mnuchin asked UCLA not to publish any video of it, The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday.
At one point, Mnuchin deflects the hecklers by dismissing them as students.
"Well, I think they're going to get more tired than I am," he said in response to hissing from the crowd, according to "Marketplace's" transcript. "So, you know, that's kind of — oh, yeah, I'm dealing with students, I forgot. There's a lot of students."
The Burkle Center said it originally had an agreement with the Treasury Department that gave the university permission to publish video of the event on the center’s website, according to the L.A. Times.
After the event, the Treasury Department withdrew its consent.
Meanwhile...
Anthony Scaramucci has been blocked from entering the White House grounds.
Anthony Scaramucci, President Donald Trump's former communications director, is on a list of people blocked from entering the White House without special approval.
A day after saying he wasn't blocked, a White House official confirmed that Scaramucci is indeed among fired officials excluded from the campus. The acknowledgment came after the financier provided to Bloomberg News official White House correspondence that confirmed he was denied an appointment.
Scaramucci is among a group of former staffers who left "under adverse circumstances" placed on an "administrative exclusion list," the White House said in response to Bloomberg's questions. Those former employees must have any appointments on the premises "evaluated on a case by case basis."
The former communications adviser believes Kelly is blocking his access to the president. Scaramucci called for the chief of staff's resignation last month after disclosures that former staff secretary Rob Porter kept his job with access to top-secret information despite a background investigation that revealed allegations of domestic abuse by two of Porter's ex-wives.
But while the White House now acknowledges that Scaramucci, who departed the administration after a rocky tenure lasting less than two weeks, cannot access the complex without special approval, the official said he wasn't specifically targeted.
And, speaking of people who are unwelcome...
Mike Huckabee was forced to quickly resign from the Country Music Association Foundation Board.
Less than one day after his appointment was announced, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee resigned Thursday from the CMA Foundation board of directors after criticism from multiple members of the country music industry.
"I genuinely regret that some in the industry were so outraged by my appointment that they bullied the CMA and the Foundation with economic threats and vowed to withhold support for the programs for students if I remained," Huckabee wrote in his letter of resignation. "I’m somewhat flattered to be of such consequence when all I thought I was doing was voluntarily serving on a non-profit board without pay in order to (continue) my decades of advocacy for the arts and especially music."
The announcement follows pointed criticism from members of the country music industry, as well as fans — much of it stemming from Huckabee's stance on LGBT issues.
Huckabee's inclusion on the board had sparked hundreds of comments from outraged fans on social media, many of which were threatening to boycott the CMA, the CMA Music Festival and in some cases country music as a whole.
THE END.
– Trix