A poorly written book filled with tedious detail and more than a few errors has become a runaway sensation — and for good reason. “Fire and Fury” is the exact place to look to understand the life and times of Donald Trump. Michael Wolff’s book is a rehashing of gossip — the medium that best defines the rise of Trump — and offers supposed insights into the reporting already done by The New York Times and Washington Post. Via The New Yorker.
In the wake of the book, Steve Bannon sort of apologizes, Trump defends his intelligence by actually calling himself a “stable genius” and top Trump aide Steve Miller gets shut down by CNN’s Jake Tapper for pretending to agree that Trump actually is a genius. Not sure if Miller addressed whether Trump is also stable. Via The New York Times.
“Big Little Lies” and “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri” dominated the Golden Globes, if it’s movies you’re talking about. But then there was Oprah, who not only stole the show but whose speech will be a defining moment in the #MeToo, #TimesUp movement. And because we live in the time of Trump, the Twittersphere was alive with predictions of an Oprah 2020 run. Can we expect a Trumpian rant in the morning? As we wait, here’s Oprah’s speech. Via The Washington Post.
Speaking of movies, David Frum writes in The Atlantic that the Wolff book and Trump’s “stable genius” replay prove what we had long suspected — that Trump is the political version of Fredo.
Trump postpones his fake fake-news awards, presumably because someone told him they’d be going up against the Golden Globes and any number of Trump jokes. Via Vox.
The forgotten story of Recy Taylor and the role Rosa Parks played in investigating her 1944 kidnapping and rape by six white men in Alabama. Via The New York Times.
David French writes in The National Review that the prospects of a Trump impeachment have little to do with the law and everything with the court of public opinion.
Will the government actually shut down in two weeks, as many fear? It will probably depend on whether Trump sticks with his $18 billion down payment on a wall in exchange for a deal on Dreamers. Via The Washington Post.
If there’s anyone who has prospered in the time of Donald Trump, it’s the president who preceded him. As Trump’s ratings sink, Obama’s soar. Via The Boston Globe.
New York Times columnist Frank Bruni takes a look at the Colorado governor’s race. It’s the state, he writes, where everyone (except Ken Salazar and Ed Perlmutter) wants to governor. You can’t say he’s wrong.
Hours of audio means the guy got his receipts.
“Gossipy”? What does that even mean?
What happens when this stuff gets corroborated post-publication?
When does it stop being “gossipy”, and starts becoming scary?
Jay, Guessing you didn’t read the referenced review. I’m sure the book is exactly right in general. It’s in the specifics that it has problems. And, like pornography, you know gossipy when you see it. As for scary, it’s been that since the day Trump was elected.
Trump’s delay of the Fakies…
I’m figuring he glanced ahead, saw there were no big premieres on the 17th, and thinks he’ll be able to dominate a news cycle.
The only one I can see is American Crime Story, starting a new cycle on “The Man Who Would Be Vogue,” the murder of Gianni Versace.