The people in Puerto Rico may not agree, but Donald Trump believes he merits an A+ for his administration’s relief work following Hurricane Maria. It was, he said, “great.” And “tremendous.” And “amazing.” Meanwhile, the job of treating the sick and injured “is like in war.” Via The New York Times.
In a Vox explainer, these are the things you should know about the devastation in Puerto Rico. For one, the 3.2 million people living on the island are American citizens with the same expectations of relief as those who live in Florida or Texas. For another, the humanitarian disaster is probably even worse than anyone knows.
It may be that Trump has fallen short in expressing concern about storm-ravaged Puerto Rico. What’s not as obvious, at least at this point, is how much more the federal government should have or could have done to help. Via The Atlantic.
Roy Moore, the 10 Commandments guy, wins the Senate primary against the Republican establishment (and Trump) choice, Luther Strange. It’s not just one race and one birther likely headed to the Senate. The race may be the beginning of an all-out assault on GOP incumbents from the far right. Via The Washington Post.
However bad things have gone recently for Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, things got a whole lot worse on Tuesday — a day in which McConnell lost on Obamacare, lost one of his trusted lieutenants to retirement and lost an incumbent that Republicans had spent $10 million to save. Via The Washington Post.
If any one senator deserves credit for saving Obamacare, it’s Maine’s Susan Collins. Her Republican critics call her a RINO or even a Democrat. But while she is a moderate, she’s more interested in putting country over party. Via The New Yorker.
Max Boot: Trump needs to watch Ken Burns’ Vietnam War documentary as soon as possible. He may think his North Korea rhetoric is harmless, but Vietnam shows how words of war can escalate into real war. Via Foreign Policy.
Frank Bruni: Jeff Sessions lectures colleges about the importance of free speech, but the person who really needs to hear that lecture is his boss, the president. Via The New York Times.
From The National Review: By kicking the can down the road on the last version of the Trump travel ban, the Supreme Court got what it wanted — not having to make a ruling. We’ll now see how the courts treat the latest version.
Kevin Drum: If we want to resolve the dysfunctional mess that is Congress, we could try bring backing the pork. It’s clear that ending earmarks helped bring on the dysfunction. It’s not so clear what would happen if they returned. Via Mother Jones.
