More than ever, Trump is acting by feeling and instinct. “Trump is nuts,” said one former West Wing official. “This time really feels different.” Deputy Chief of Staff Bill Shine has privately expressed concern, a source said, telling a friend that Trump’s emotional state is “very tender.” Even Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump are unsettled that Trump is so gleefully acting on his most self-destructive impulses as his legal peril grows. According to a source, Jared and Ivanka told Trump that stripping security clearances from former intelligence officials would backfire, but Trump ignored them. Kushner later told a friend Trump “got joy” out of taking away John Brennan’s clearance. His reaction to the death of John McCain—quashing a White House statement in praise of the senator, and restoring White House flags to full staff—falls into the same self-indulgent category.
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Two sources told me that Trump continues to raise the possibility of a pardon for Manafort, his former campaign chairman. Trump has been clashing with White House counsel Don McGahn, who, sources said, is strongly against granting Manafort a pardon. (A lawyer for McGahn did not respond to a request for comment.) Trump has told people he’s considering bringing in a new lawyer to draft a Manafort pardon, if McGahn won’t do it. “He really at this point does not care,” a former official said. “He would rather fight the battle. He doesn’t want to do anything that would cede executive authority.”
WH flag got lowered to half-staff at about 345pm today, after considerable criticism.
Forty-three days of protest in front of the #KremlinAnnex.
The performance was part of a series of daily demonstrations that have taken place in front of the White House since President Trump’s meeting in Helsinki, Finland, with President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia. Monday was the 22nd night of the protests, which have been named the Kremlin Annex.
The cast members — who hailed from current and past runs of “Wicked,” “The Lion King,” “Hamilton,” “The Phantom of the Opera” and other shows — belted out songs meant to evoke a political edge or offer a tinge of hope for the hundreds of protesters who are disillusioned by Mr. Trump (who was in New Jersey during the performance). With demonstrators often singing along, the five-song set included climactic Broadway tunes such as “Do You Hear the People Sing?” from “Les Misérables” and “Everybody Rejoice/A Brand New Day” from “The Wiz.”
Ms. O’Donnell, who has been an adversary of Mr. Trump’s for more than a decade, organized the trip with James Wesley, the producer of Sirius XM’s “On Broadway,” and the show’s host, Seth Rudetsky, a fixture of the Broadway scene.
And they could go anywhere in the country, Girvan said, as he's looking for good homes around the nation to adopt some of the babies.
"We want to make sure the balloons get put into good hands," he said Wednesday. "If we can locate an organization that's willing and able to have multiple events on a regional level, we're certainly going to consider that."
Girvan said organizations, rather than individuals, will be considered to receive the babies, as he wants them to get as much play as possible. Interested parties can apply at babytrumptour(at)gmail.com.
"With your help and participation, we can share these big cry-babies across America sending Donald Trump and his enablers a powerful message for the next two years if he remains in office," the organizers wrote on Facebook.
www.nj.com/...