Whatever else you can say about Donald Trump, it’s safe to say that no other president has ever gotten himself involved in a Twitter war with the National Football League or taken on some of America’s favorite athletes for protesting racial injustice. And it’s safe to say, too, as the great David Remnick writes in The New Yorker, that Trump is “infinitely more offended by the sight of a black ballplayer quietly, peacefully protesting racism in the United States than he is by racism itself.”
Donald Trump, The Happy Divider. Who would have guessed he’d add the NFL to the list? And in going after protesting athletes, Trump has moved the political world ever closer to the sports world. In each case, it seems to be a matter of choosing sides. Via The New York Times.
Before Trump vs. the NFL, there was Jackie Robinson vs. JFK. There are differences, though. The Robinson-Kennedy feud (spoiler alert) actually had a happy ending. Via The Washington Post.
Putting Trump’s tweets in perspective: You probably know of, or possibly even remember, the Tommie Smith-John Carlos raised-fist protest at the 1968 Olympics. But what you may not know — I didn’t — is what Lyndon Johnson and Richard Nixon said publicly at the time. According to James Fallows in The Atlantic, they said exactly nothing.
Meanwhile Trump tweet-threatens Little Rocket Man and his foreign minister, saying that if they keep things up, they “won’t be around much longer.” World-wide reaction, writes The New York Times, ranges from nervous disbelief to sheer terror.
There’s a new Trump administration travel ban. In this one, North Korea makes the list, even though there may not be a long line of North Koreans lined up to come to the United States. Chad is also new to list. And Sudan is off. And the Supreme Court hearing on the last travel ban is still on the schedule. Via The Los Angeles Times.
Everyone from insurance companies to health organizations to hospitals to doctors may be lined up against the Graham-Cassidy Obamacare replacement bill, but that doesn’t mean that it’s dead yet. There’s a new version of the bill being circulated meant to appeal almost exclusively to Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski, who voted against the last repeal bill and says she is undecided on this one. Some call it a bribe. Some call it politics. Via NBC News.
E.J. Dionne: The new Graham-Cassidy bill would allow Alaska to basically keep most of Obamacare. If that’s such a good deal for Alaska, why aren’t Republicans offering it to everyone? Via The Washington Post.
From The National Review: Yes, Angela Merkel wins again, but these election results showed yet another bad night for the political elites.
In case you needed a laugh, there is this Politico story: Jared Kushner used private email to conduct government business. Yep. Really. Lock him up?
