Trump says he won’t fire Mueller, but his allies in the media and GOP are pushing hard to discredit the Russia probe as improper and politically motivated. Mueller has been accused of wrongfully obtaining thousands of emails sent and received by Trump officials before the start of his campaign; but other legal experts … Read more
Rex Tillerson pushes for diplomacy over North Korea and is promptly contradicted by his White House boss. Presumably he just chooses the ignore the views of the man he reputedly called ‘a moron’ and do what seems sensible. Though this is the third time in several months he’s been publicly at odds … Read more
Even Jewish American groups have accused Trump of ignorance and irresponsible decision making and warn of destructive consequences to his latest lunacy in deciding to move the US Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. The Middle East is in uproar with the Palestinians promising ‘three days of rage’, though it’s unlikely to end there. … Read more
Trump Term revisited as it sidles towards its first ‘victory’ – a tax bill the FT describes as ‘the most bogus and politically cynical tax plan in recent memory. This is Reaganomics with all the downside and none of the upside.’ If it ultimately passes, it will create a fiscal mess and … Read more
Donald Trump is either descending into paranoid psychosis or he’s up to his usual game of diversionary tactics to render reality irrelevant; plus his narcissistic urge to keep attention focussed on him. Although his return in private to obsessive conspiracy theories about Obama’s birth certificate, Hillary not winning the popular vote and it … Read more
Donald Trump’s penchant for dictator-chic is being well-nourished by a glitzy state welcome in China, though that’s likely to fall foul of North Korea and trade wars. This December/January look pretty explosive between Xi Jinping and DT; with a fast downhill slide through 2018. Today’s FT, sadly behind a paywall, has an … Read more
Trump and Brexit – the two great shocks of 2016 – are being seen as linked to a spider’s web of alliances between the Trump campaign, Steve Bannon, Wikileaks’ Julian Assange, Robert Mercer’s UK-based Cambridge Analytics of which Bannon was vice-president and Brexiteer Nigel Farage – with Russia hovering in the background. One … Read more
The Trump lash-back reflex appears to be misfiring spectacularly as he digs himself a crater-sized hole over presidential condolences to the families of soldiers killed in action. Following Roy Cohn, his mentor’s advice – ‘always be on the attack, counterpunch whenever punched and never apologize. Never, ever, ever apologize’ – he blames … Read more
How delicious as light relief. A wife and ex-wife fighting for the title of First Lady. Ivana Trump, mother of Ivanka, Donald Jnr and Eric, is pushing her new memoir Raising Trump and says she has a hot line into the White House and is really the important wife having been first … Read more
A banner year is what the US conservatives are hoping for from the Supreme Court as it reviews a batch of ideological cases on migrant rights in the legal system, partisan gerrymandering of election districts, voter purges, public-sector union financing, a cake maker’s objection to gay marriage, the privacy of cell-phone … Read more