Last week, news broke that Secretary of State Mike Pompeo berated and attempted to embarrass NPR reporter Mary Louise Kelly for asking him hard questions by demanding she identify Ukraine on a map. When Kelly, who has a master’s degree in European studies, proved to be both knowledgable about her field of study and good at her job, Pompeo presumably consulted the Trump administration handbook, which mandates that grown men have public diaper baby meltdowns anytime a woman proves competent.
Now moving into phase two of the official protocol, Pompeo has declared that his travel entourage, which presumably also has a no cooties policy, also doesn’t let meanies play, which is why they’re barring a different NPR correspondent, Michele Kelemen, from traveling with him for coverage of his trip to Britain and Ukraine. This tantrum is both embarrassing for the country and completely unwarranted, so naturally, President Trump absolutely loved it, assuring Pompeo “I think you did a good job on her” at a White House event, and all the other babies giggled and giggled. [Vox]
One of Trump’s favorite things to do, aside for praising men who behave abusively to women while other men chortle encouragement, is brag about how wealthy he is. And like most wealthy people, he also incredibly cheap, much like my grandmother’s cousin, a very wealthy businessman from Arkansas who I once saw demand a waitress honor an expired coupon in a Western Sizzler. In Trump’s case, the expired Western Sizzler coupon is his impeachment defense fees and the waitress is the Republican National Committee.
The RNC is reportedly paying for two of Trump’s private attorneys. According to the Washington Post, these attorneys are not as affordable as the buy one get one special at the Sizzler:
“The law firms of Trump’s lead lawyer, Jay Sekulow, and attorney Jane Raskin, have received a total of $225,000 from the RNC through November, according to the most recent campaign finance reports.”
Other attorneys for Trump include impeachment veteran, now working on the against side, Ken Starr, Alan Dershowitz, and Pam Bondi. It’s like a “Where are they now?” for names of people I’d hoped fell into a sinkhole. [Washington Post]
And like a person who has just completed a third lap of the Western Sizzler buffet, I’m both nauseated and still hungry. So let’s barf:
- Sorry, I can’t get past the fact that John Kelly is giving speeches at the Ringling College Library Association to the actual meat of this story, but feel free to dig in. [Sarasota Herald-Tribune]
- There might be some questions around gun violence case, which sent a teen to jail for life, that Amy Klobuchar is always bragging about. [AP]
- Ivanka Trump wishes mean men would stop being so mean. No, not those mean men, other mean men. [Ivanka Trump Twitter]
- Mayor Pete, who has vowed to do a better job at listening to people of color, should maybe start with his staffers. [New York Times]
- A Cuban man has become the sixth person to die in ICE custody. [Buzzfeed]
- Like any good parent, Success Kid’s mom understandably wants her child’s image nowhere near Steve King. [Washington Post]
- Joe Biden’s brother sold a lobbyist an island, and then the lobbyist gave Biden’s brother a loan. Sounds like a normal and fine thing for the brother of a vice president and a lobbyist to do. [Politico]
- Accused pedophile sues media outlets for telling people about the accusations. [Fox News]
- It appears to me that Michael Bloomberg poked a dog in the eye. [Twitter Nicole Sganga]