Still unfit: On Thursday, President Trump ordered a missile strike on a Syrian air base in response to the Syrian government’s chemical weapons attack this week. Pundits immediately voiced their praises, applauding Trump for allegedly becoming more “serious” and presidential. Sorry, writes Jamelle Bouie, recent interviews show Trump is still ignorant of the importance of truth and basic knowledge, and thereby unfit to lead. Further, the question still remains whether the order, made without authorization from Congress, is legal, Josh Keating points out.
Still persisting: At a women’s conference in Manhattan on Thursday, speaking publicly at length about the election for the first time, Hillary Clinton showed the strength of her willpower, Michelle Goldberg notes. Even though Clinton was devastated by her loss, and made some remarks that served as reminders of why many distrusted her, “she still—still!—refuses to disappear.” That’s inspiring, Goldberg writes.
No more “compromise” justices: After the confirmation of Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court on Friday morning, Dahlia Lithwick and Mark Joseph Stern conclude that it’s likely Republicans and Democrats will never agree on another “mainstream” or centrist justice. That’s because even before Senate Republicans invoked the nuclear option, each party was playing by different rules when it came to the Supreme Court, and if one believed their candidate was a compromise, the other didn’t agree.
The art of the charm: After the New York Times published a partial transcript of an interview with Donald Trump, Katy Waldman noticed Times White House correspondent Maggie Haberman seems to have a knack for charming the president into revealing his true, empty self. “Not only does Haberman encourage Trump to weave his own shroud with vain or uninformed words, but she also gently calls him on inaccuracies in a way that opens him up rather than shutting him down,” Waldman observes.
For fun: Why does Jared Kushner hate belts?
Don’t forget to tie your shoelaces either, Jared,
Chau
