This is the presidential conduct Republicans would tolerate?
If they countenance this, they’ll accept any assault on democracy.
Happy Hour Roundup
Our nightly wrap-up of news and opinion.
Sarah Sanders conducts a reenactment of a White House press briefing
She “briefs” kids.
How Fox News distorts the news: A Mueller case study
Let’s have a look at how the No. 1 cable news network handled the story about Trump’s attempted firing of Robert Mueller.
Trump’s campaign manager says Russia ‘never’ helped. That lie will please Trump.
An open invitation to another round of Russian interference?
One more North Korea humiliation for President Trump
The news that Trump agreed to pay a ransom for Otto Warmbier is just the latest.
Trump Reportedly Agreed to Pay North Korea $2 Milion For Otto Warmbier’s Hospital Care
According to a new report, Donald Trump ordered a U.S. official to sign an agreement to pay North Korea $2 million for the “hospital care” of American hostage Otto Warmbier, who died shortly after being returned to the United States in a comatose state.
According to The Washington Post, North Korea demanded a promise to pay the $2 million bill before it would release Warmbier, and “the main U.S. envoy sent to retrieve Warmbier signed an agreement to pay the medical bill on instructions passed down from President Trump.”
And while the sources of the story did not know whether the bill was ever paid, the Post reports that the White House isn’t saying:
The bill went to the Treasury Department, where it remained — unpaid — throughout 2017, the people said. However, it is unclear whether the Trump administration later paid the bill, or whether it came up during preparations for Trump’s two summits with Kim Jong Un.
The White House declined to comment. “We do not comment on hostage negotiations, which is why they have been so successful during this administration,” White House press secretary Sarah Sanders wrote in an email.
Trump took nearly unanimous criticism for defending North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un over Warmbier’s death, and Trump’s State Department continues to refuse to say that Kim is responsible for Warmbier’s death.
Trump is terrified that his aides might not lie for him
He can’t be sure they’ll commit perjury on his behalf.
Joe Biden identifies the No. 1 threat: Trump
It’s hard to escape the sense that Biden and top Democrats are still not up to the challenge of the moment.
Kamala Harris’s misfired talking point: ‘Majority of women are minimum wage workers’
In a CNN town hall, the Democratic presidential hopeful offered a statistic that would be shocking if true.