“A republic, if you can keep it.”
* Donald Trump, unsurprisingly, remains the only president whose Gallup Poll approval numbers have never reached 50 percent.
* The collective, crisis-response good we increasingly see around us is consoling, even as we note its absence in the Oval Office.
* “America is better served when presidents respect the diversity of states instead of dictating uniform solutions.”–That was Nikki Haley’s agenda-driven defense of President Donald Trump’s handling of the pandemic. It came, notably, in a New York Times op-ed piece. It also came as speculation increases that she might be Mike Pence’s replacement on the 2020 ticket.
* There was no fealty issue with the appointment of Trump’s latest (4th) White House press secretary, Kayleigh McEnany, 31. She will be his Kool Aid dispenser to the media. The Tampa native (alas) and Davis Islands homeowner was a GOPster activist in (Academy of Holy Names) high school who morphed into a Trump-defending, Breitbart contributor and Fox News presence and then became the spokesperson for the 2020 Trump re-election campaign. Her track record of Trump sycophancy includes this Fox gem from February: “We will not see diseases like the coronavirus come here. Isn’t it refreshing when contrasting it with the awful presidency of President Obama.” Maybe we’ll miss Sean Spicer even more.
* Planes, trains and railroading: “Now they’re doing tests on airlines–very strong tests–for getting on, getting off. They’re doing tests on trains–getting on, getting off.” Whatever. For the illusory record, passengers on planes and trains are not being tested for COVID-19.
* “A half-Whit.” What Trump called Michigan Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.
* A mask for President Donald Trump? Hell, how about a muzzle?
* TGIF: Thank God It’s Fauci.
* “I told him your opponent is no longer Joe Biden–it’s this virus.”–Sen. Lindsey Graham.
* “It’s not complicated. They’re just going to run a white grievance campaign.”–Stuart Stevens, former presidential campaign adviser to Mitt Romney and George W. Bush.
* “I still think he’s going to lose. There has been no modern president that’s been able to withstand a recession in the election year.”–Former White House Communications Director Anthony Scaramucci. Too bad the “Mooch” doesn’t note all the other Trump disqualifiers.