Today was a busy day in trumpland. Let’s get busy.
- After Iran tested a ballistic missile, trump national security advisor Michael Flynn said, “We are officially putting Iran on notice.” On notice for what? Going straight to bed without dessert? For nuclear retribution? Hacking their TV system and showing an endless marathon of Michael Bay movies?
- After voting to confirm Rex Tillerson, the ExxonMobil CEO, as Secretary of State, two Senate Republicans declared that Secretary of Education nominee Betsy DeVos wasn’t qualified enough to be confirmed. They made that statement without holding up the snark tag (/s) afterward to let us know they knew how ridiculous it was, so we have to believe they were being earnest.
- After Senate Democrats recovered from 27 years of spinelessness and declared they would filibuster trump Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch, donald trump urged Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to undo Senate rules and allow the Senate to confirm a Supreme Court nominee with just 51 votes. McConnell replied, “I don’t think that’s going to be required.”
- Sources are reporting today that during a phone call last Friday between donald trump and Mexican president Enrique Peña Nieto, donald trump threatened to send U.S. troops into Mexico under the pretense of fighting narcotics traffickers. This alleged threat came in the aftermath of the Mexican president canceling a meeting with donald trump over tensions over the border wall.
- News agency Reuters has apparently told its reporters to cover the trump administration as though it were an authoritarian regime. Reuters also apparently told its reporters to expect physical threats.
- Democrats on the House Oversight, Armed Services, Judiciary, Homeland Security, Intelligence, and Foreign Affairs committees signed a letter urging that Michael Flynn’s 2015 trip to Moscow be investigated as a possible violation of the constitutions prohibitions on accepting foreign gifts after being paid an undisclosed amount for speaking at an anniversary dinner for Russian news agency RT.
- In a ceremony at the White House commemorating the start of Black History Month, donald trump said of famed abolitionist Frederick Douglass, “Frederick Doug — Douglass is an example of somebody who’s done an amazing job and is being recognized more and more, I notice.” Just before president trump honored Frederick Doug, he “honored” Martin Luther King, Jr. whose contributions, according to trump’s speech, can be summed up by how the media unfairly accused trump of removing the bust of King from the White House. trump also helped dedicate Black History Month by bragging about how many black Americans voted for him.
Meanwhile, in news that doesn’t matter…
Beyoncé is pregnant.