THE RIGHT CAN'T DEFEND TRUMP'S BEHAVIOR

TOP OF THE NEWS:

- The right can't defend Trump's behavior: Jonah Goldberg (USA Today) "It’s been interesting to see how various Republican leaders respond to Trump Unfiltered. Sometimes they’ll simply say they’re not going to respond to every distraction emanating from the president’s mouth or twitter feed. Others fall back on saying the president is 'unconventional' in the way he communicates, so get over it. This is a particularly popular talking point among his talk radio and cable TV boosters. It’s almost as popular as attacking the Mainstream Media’s very real double standard toward Trump and Obama. Perhaps my favorite is to magically define-away any problems. 'By definition, whatever he does is presidential, it’s just a new presidential,' Newt Gingrich recently explained. But the more worrisome defense is the one that I fear is coming — and I hear on social media all the time. Just trust him. He knows things we don’t. He is playing chess and everyone is playing checkers. He won the primaries relying on his judgment, and we should have confidence he knows what he’s doing. Place your faith in him. A staple tenet of modern conservatism — and to a lesser extent Americanism rightly understood — is skepticism for all politicians. When a political leader replaces fixed principles and clear ideological platforms with his own instincts and judgment, he gives his supporters no substantive arguments to rely on. Eventually, the argument to just say 'Have faith' in our leader, he knows best, is the only safe harbor. And that’s not what conservatism is about — nor, for that matter democracy."

- Trump must stop lying or Americans will think he is nuts (WaPo) "In other words, much of Trump’s world view — we’re losing, our allies are stealing us blind — and the policies he pursues are based on nothing but his imagination and urban myths fanned by rightwing talk radio. Far too many Republicans have played along, reticent to call out his reverence for Russian President Vladimir Putin, silent when his plan for a wall on our Southern border started a war of words with Mexico and utterly unwilling to confront him on the noxious travel ban. More is needed however from Republicans, Cabinet officials, Democrats, conservatives outside government and the public. Trump’s dangerous delusions need to be addressed head on — in part to determine if he is intentionally stoking fear or if he is intellectually and emotionally unfit."

BUSINESS:

- A Quiet Giant of Investing Weighs In on Trump (NYT) "In his letter, Mr. Klarman sets forth a countervailing view to the euphoria that has buoyed the stock market since Mr. Trump took office, describing 'perilously high valuations.' 'While they might be popular, the reason the U.S. long ago abandoned protectionist trade policies is because they not only don’t work, they actually leave society worse off.' And he appears deeply concerned about a swelling national debt that he suggests could undermine the economy’s growth over the long term. Much of Mr. Klarman’s anxiety seems to emanate from Mr. Trump’s leadership style. He described it this way: 'The erratic tendencies and overconfidence in his own wisdom and judgment that Donald Trump has demonstrated to date are inconsistent with strong leadership and sound decision-making.' 'The big picture for investors is this: Trump is high volatility, and investors generally abhor volatility and shun uncertainty,' he wrote. 'Not only is Trump shockingly unpredictable, he’s apparently deliberately so; he says it’s part of his plan. Mr. Klarman is a registered independent and has given money to politicians from both parties. He has donated to Jeb Bush, Chris Christie, Marco Rubio, John McCain and Rudolph W. Giuliani as well as Hillary Clinton, Cory Booker and Mark Warner. How Mr. Klarman wants investors to behave in the age of Trump remains an open question."

- A Concerned Citizen’s Plea to America’s Business Leaders (NYT)

FCC UPDATES:

- Trump’s F.C.C. Pick Quickly Targets Net Neutrality Rules (NYT) "In total, the chairman of the FCC released about a dozen actions in the last week, many buried in the agency website and not publicly announced, stunning consumer advocacy groups and telecom analysts. They said Mr. Pai’s message is clear: The FCC, an independent agency, will mirror the Trump administration’s rapid unwinding of government regulations that businesses fought against during the Obama years. The efforts portend great changes at the federal agency at the center of the convergence of media, telecom and the internet. The biggest target will be net neutrality, a rule created in 2015 that prevents internet service providers from blocking or discriminating against internet traffic. The rules, which were created along with a decision to categorize broadband like a utility, was the tech centerpiece of the Obama administration. At 44 and the child of immigrants from India who settled in Kansas, Mr. Pai is a fresh face for the Republican Party."

- The FCC is dropping its probe into Internet providers over this controversial practice (WaPo) "In the fall, the FCC found that AT&T and Verizon's approach to zero-rating posed a particular risk to net neutrality, the idea that all Internet content should be treated equally. Agency investigators said in a report that the companies' decision to exempt their own proprietary services from data caps could unfairly hurt competing apps."

- The FCC is stopping 9 companies from providing federally subsidized Internet to the poor (WaPo) "The program, known as Lifeline, provides registered households with a $9.25-a-month credit, which can then be used to buy home Internet service. As many as 13 million Americans may be eligible for Lifeline that do not have broadband service at home, the FCC has found. Roughly 900 service providers participate in the Lifeline program. Revoking the nine approvals 'would promote program integrity by providing the [FCC] with additional time to consider measures that might be necessary to prevent further waste, fraud, and abuse in the Lifeline program,' the decision said."

HEALTH:

- Conservative Republicans Double Down on Push to Repeal Health Law (WSJ) "Conservatives fret that it only gets harder for a new Congress to take sweeping actions as the momentum of their election fades and a new election approaches, causing lawmakers to worry more about the political consequences of taking action. Republicans’ delay in repealing and overhauling the health-care law affects their ability to complete other items. For instance, GOP plans to overhaul the tax code are likely to stall if health-care negotiations drag on."

- The Purpose of Sleep? To Forget, Scientists Say (NYT)

NEWS:

- Trump’s loose talk about Muslims gets weaponized in court against travel ban (WaPo) "Trump himself recently explained that his rhetoric about Muslims is popular, winning him 'standing ovations.' The states of Washington and Minnesota, which sued to block it, are citing Trump’s inflammatory rhetoric as evidence that the government’s claims — it’s not a ban and not aimed at Muslims — are shams. In court papers, Washington and Minnesota’s attorneys general have pulled out quotes from speeches, news conferences and interviews as evidence that an executive order the administration argues is neutral was really motivated by animus toward Muslims and a 'desire to harm a particular group.' In response, government lawyers are trying to have Trump’s rhetoric treated, so-to-speak, as inadmissible and irrelevant. It is inappropriate and contrary to precedent, they say in their brief, for the court to 'look behind’ the stated basis for the Order to probe its subjective motivations."

- Think Before Shooting, Mr. President (Ozy) "Tough is a declaration of intent, easy to say and always applauded. But being tough-minded takes real guts, real planning, real deliberation and detailed — and even annoying — solicitation of views from others about secondary and unintended consequences. It’s not sexy. It’s hard, grinding work that requires attention to detail and a formulation of plan B for when things go off the rails, as they often do in the chaotic world of domestic and international politics. So far it looks like the Trump administration is good at talking tough but has a lot to learn about tough-mindedness. Victors usually come to office convinced that the previous crew was incompetent or worse, and think that the worst thing is to be judged less tough than their predecessors. Then they discover that governing is really quite difficult, that the last guys were not the idiots they thought they were, and that they need to be a bit more tough-minded in decision-making."

- Trump is now attacking all the institutions that could limit his power later (WaPo) "The effort to falsely inflate impressions of popular support for Trump — and for policies that in reality are deeply controversial and divisive and are being rejected by majorities — is concerted and deliberate. And the unabashed use of obvious and demonstrable lies to carry out this deception campaign is remarkably brazen. The travel ban has unleashed a surprisingly robust response from the public and our institutions, making this into a first test case as to whether popular mobilization and those institutions can effectively rein in Trump’s authoritarian and nakedly discriminatory impulses."

- There's a long history of presidential untruths. Here's why Donald Trump is 'in a class by himself' (LA Times) "Presidents of all stripes and both major political parties have bent, massaged or shaded the truth, elided uncomfortable facts or otherwise misled the public — unwittingly or, sometimes, very purposefully. But White House scholars and other students of government agree there has never been a president like Donald Trump, whose volume of falsehoods, misstatements and serial exaggerations — on matters large and wincingly small — place him 'in a class by himself,' as Texas A&M’s George Edwards put it." and Trump makes false statement about U.S. murder rate to sheriffs’ group (WaPo) "According to Carol Lee of the Wall Street Journal who filed a pool report: 'At one point POTUS said the country’s murder rate is highest it’s been in 45-47 years. He singled out Chicago. He said Chicago is worse than some places in Middle East where there are wars going on.' The country’s murder rate is not the highest it’s been in 40 years. It is almost at its lowest point, actually, according to the FBI, which gathers up statistics every year from police departments around the country."

- Elliott Abrams, Neoconservative Who Rejected Trump, May Serve Him (NYT) "But the advantage of picking Mr. Abrams is clear: He knows the inner workings of the department, he served under Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush, and, like Mr. Trump, he is often a critic of the Washington foreign policy establishment. Of course, he is also a member of it. In ordinary times, nominating Mr. Abrams would set off tremendous opposition, especially from the left. But Mr. Trump’s many promises during the campaign to upend decades of bipartisan foreign policy doctrine, as well as a series of phone calls and meetings in recent weeks that left allies feeling insulted, led many experts to applaud him as a man who could put the Trump administration on a more predictable path. Mr. Abrams’s years of direct experience in government are seen as an important asset for Mr. Tillerson. And his thick skin from previous battles could help if Mr. Tillerson seeks a wholesale revamping of the department."

BOTTOM OF THE NEWS:

- Trump’s ‘Apprentice’ Factory Is Pumping Out Politicians Worldwide (Bloomberg) "The revolving door between the show and government coincides with a surge in voters around the world who blame establishment politicians for a range of ills, from depressed wages to the loss of jobs. 'The Apprentice' has become a platform for businessmen to cultivate credentials as free-wheeling savvy outsiders who get stuff done."

- Single men are having less sex than you think (WaPo)

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