* Truth be told: Candidate Donald Trump gave America a head’s up on his foreign policy views when he was running in 2016. It was more than the “America First” bumper sticker. “We tell everything. We must as a nation be more unpredictable.” Alas, he kept his word.
* “Let’s face it, Mr. Secretary (Rubio), the Trump foreign policy has become a dumpster fire.”—Sen. Chris Van Hallen, D-Md., of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
* The Artifice of the Deal: Iran war ends where it began: No meaningful nuclear agreement or regime change for the better. Status quo except for lives lost and displaced, economies roiled, munitions depleted and allies alienated.
* So Trump’s $1.776 billion “anti-weaponization” DOJ fund, the one that would have also benefited Jan. 6 rioters, has been stalled. Legal setbacks and political backlash take their toll.
The bottom line, however, remains the same. What about the 14th Amendment? Its wording is hardly nuanced on the matter. It bars the government from paying “any debt or obligation incurred in aid of insurrection or rebellion against the United States.” Probably sounds equivocal to Todd Blanche, the acting Attorney General, who still acts like Trump’s personal attorney.
* Skepticism about (remaining) career staff is reportedly so intense that sometimes Trump aides deliberately disclose false information in meetings to see if it ends up in the press so they can root out suspected traitors.
* Trump finally pulled his nomination of Bill Pulte for director of national intelligence. GOP pushback on the blatantly unqualified nominee was notably underscored by Senate Majority Leader John Thune: “We don’t need a weaponized DNI; we need a professional there.”
* Vanity Flair update: The Treasury Department has prepared the design for the $250 bill featuring Trump’s grifting likeness. While it would be another embarrassing, narcissistic affront to America, it would also seem ironically appropriate for Trump’s mugshot to appear on U.S. currency.
* “Extraordinary elevation”: Trump’s approving response to Chinese President Xi Jinping’s move to permanently install himself in office for life.
* <“Morning in America”: Reagan Administration.
<“Moronic in America”: Trump Administration.