This week, America observed the 17th (!) anniversary of the September 11th terrorist attacks, and saw a president totally out of his element.
Constitutionally incapable of filling the role of "consoler-in-chief," @realDonaldTrump instead spent a good part of the solemn day attacking the FBI/DOJ and Bob Woodward.
It was a performance that the country will likely #NeverForget, regardless of how much historical revisionism Trump engages in.
Speaking of which, Trump's superlative efforts to gaslight the public into believing that his response to Hurricane Maria was an "unsung success"—and the official death toll of nearly 3,000 Americans is a Democratic conspiracy to make him look bad—fell flat with just about everyone except Lou Dobbs.
Perhaps Trump will have better luck convincing people that his campaign chairman's guilty plea and cooperation agreement aren't bad news for him—but I wouldn't count on it.
Morning lineup:
Meet the Press: FEMA Administrator Brock Long; Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA); New Bern, NC Mayor Dana Outlaw; Harvard Law School Prof. Emeritus Alan Dershowitz; Roundtable: .
Face The Nation: FEMA Administrator Brock Long; Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC); Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC); Roundtable: Jamelle Bouie (Slate), Jeffrey Goldberg (The Atlantic), Susan Page (USA Today) & Ramesh Ponnuru (National Review).
This Week: U.S. Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Karl Schultz; North Carolina Emergency Management Director Michael Sprayberry; Whitewater Independent Counsel Ken Starr; Obama Chief Ethics Lawyer Norman Eisen; JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon; Roundtable: Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R), Democratic Strategist Donna Brazile, Tamara Keith (NPR) & Jonathan Swan (Axios).
Fox News Sunday: FEMA Administrator Brock Long; Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC); Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA); Roundtable: Republican Strategist Karl Rove, Former Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-UT), Julie Pace (Associated Press) & Former Rep. Jane Harman (D-CA).
State of the Union: Sen. Doug Jones (D-AL); Congressional Candidate Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY); Whitewater Independent Counsel Ken Starr; Roundtable: Karine Jean-Pierre (MoveOn), Mary Katharine Ham (The Federalist), Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) & Former White House Director of Legislative Affairs Marc Short.
Evening lineup:
60 Minutes will feature: a report on fraudulent blood testing company Theranos (preview); and, a report on MIT's Media Lab (preview).
Late night shows:
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
Monday: Rerun.
Tuesday: "Admit It, You Forgot This Happened" Special.
Wednesday: Actress Jane Fonda; Musician Willie Nelson.
Thursday: Actress Tiffany Haddish; Actor Iain Armitage.
Friday: Hillary Rodham Clinton; Actor Nik Dodani.
The Daily Show with Trevor Noah
Monday: Pre-empted; Tuesday: "In the Foxhole" Special; Wednesday: Eli Saslow (Washington Post) & Former White Nationalist Leader Derek Black; Thursday: Actress/Comedian Tracey Ullman.
Elsewhere...
Eric Trump decided to get in on his father's and brother's anti-Semitic racket .
Eric Trump lashed out at Bob Woodward during a Wednesday interview on Fox News, calling the Watergate veteran's book a work of fiction used for publicity.
The president's son also remarked that Woodward made "three extra shekels" with his book attacking the Trump administration.
"Don't you think people look through the fact that you can write a sensational, nonsense book, CNN will definitely have you on there because they love to trash the president," Trump said, responding to Fox and Friends host Steve Doocy, who asked if the book detailed "chaos" in the White House. "It will mean you sell three extra books, you make three extra shekels."
The use of the term "shekels" by Eric Trump is likely to draw scrutiny given its use by white nationalists to describe money they say has been tainted by Jewish influence.
And, in related news...
A couple of Republican congressmen were caught hanging out with famed Holocaust denier Chuck Johnson (again).
The Republican Party’s dalliance with anti-semitism is a disturbing trend with no end in sight. In the most recent incident, two Republican House members were joined by a notorious Holocaust denier at a fundraiser held on a yacht.
In late July 2018, Reps. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) and Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA) were spotted with famed internet troll and Holocaust denier Chuck Johnson on a yacht near Newport Beach, California, according to Mother Jones.
The event was a fundraiser for Gaetz held in Rohrabacher’s district, and Rohrabacher spoke on behalf of Gaetz.
It is unclear who invited Johnson, says Mother Jones, but neither campaign denies he was there. Both men have publicly associated with Johnson in the past.
Oy vey.
– Trix
