by Lowell
Here are a few national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Wednesday, July 18.
- Discord over Trump’s Helsinki humiliation hands Putin another win
- Trump tried to walk back his defense of Putin. It was a disaster. (“The president wants you to believe he meant the exact opposite of what he actually said.”)
- If Trump really misspoke when he defended Putin, he forgot to tell Tucker Carlson (“Oops”)
- Here are all the Republican leaders and conservative activists Maria Butina met
- Anderson Cooper issues hilarious rebuke of ‘big brains’ in Trump’s Situation Room that came up with the ‘wouldn’t’ excuse
- Colbert hilariously mocks Trump’s switcheroo: ‘And on that bus I said respect her by the p*ssy’
- Trump angrily insists ‘many people at the higher ends of intelligence loved my press conference performance in Helsinki’ (Uhhhhhh…. Name one.)
- Trump back-pedals on Russian meddling remarks after outcry (“Republicans and Democrats attack president’s comments in press conference with Putin”)
- “This Was the Nightmare Scenario”: The West Wing Revolts After Trump Embraces Putin (“As Trump grappled with his error, Chief of Staff John Kelly went into overdrive to get Trump to walk it back.”)
- After Putin Meeting, Trump Voters Mostly Dig In. But Cracks Are Showing.
- Majority of Americans think Trump mishandling Russia: Reuters/Ipsos poll (That’s appalling; should be 100%, not 55%-37%. Tribalism run amok.)
- Trump Digs the Hole Deeper (“His excuses and justifications for his performance in Helsinki were almost as bad as the debacle itself.” They are beyond laughable.)
- A Besieged Trump Says He Misspoke on Russian Election Meddling (Another wild lie from Trump. Of course he didn’t “misspeak”; he knew exactly what he was saying, has said the same basic thing a gazillion times, and he means it.)
- In his prepared remarks, Trump removed a line about bringing election hackers to justice
- The Real Threat to American Democracy Isn’t Russia. It’s the Right. (No question.)
- For Republicans, ‘The Dam Has Broken.’ But for How Long?
- Trump Is Fighting the Entire Republican Party to Defend Putin
- It’s time to excise the Trump cancer (“With his comments in Helsinki, he presents a clear and present danger to the United States.”)
- George Will: This sad, embarrassing wreck of a man (“Which Republicans will stand behind a president who puts Russia first?”)
- ‘Putin’s Favorite Congressman’ Now Engulfed in NRA Spy Case (“Pro-Kremlin GOP Congressman Dana Rohrabacher met with a Putin ally in Russia in August 2015, The Daily Beast has confirmed, matching an account in Monday’s blockbuster FBI affidavit against accused Russian spy Maria Butina.”)
- Barack Obama Breaks His Silence (“The former president finally did what his supporters have waited for him to do since Donald Trump became president. He spoke up.” Yes, and showed why we badly need his powerful voice.)
- Barack Obama Cautions Against “Strongman Politics” in South Africa Speech
- The Unwinding of Donald Trump (“Just as the President’s comments following the torchlit white-supremacist march last year in Charlottesville made it clear that racism was at the core of his character and his political strategy, the contemptible remarks he delivered alongside of Vladimir Putin seemed to mark a turning point, even for some of his most ardent defenders.” Trump is scum. Anyone who supports or defends Trump is supporting/defending scum.)
- The Words of Republican Congressmen Are Useless. So, Unfortunately, Are Barack Obama’s. (“In the face of Trumpian chaos, we need more.’)
- Elon Musk apologises for calling Thai cave rescuer a ‘pedo’ (Someone who should not be on Twitter?)
- Trump’s migrant fiasco diverts millions from health programs (“HHS is forced to prioritize migrant crisis over medical research and other goals.”)
- Why Trump’s GOP critics never go nuclear (“Many Republicans like Trump’s domestic agenda, if not the way he talks about it, and still don’t believe direct confrontation with the president is the answer.” In short, Republicans repeatedly put party of patriotism.)
- ‘These guys need to wake up’: House Republicans badly outraised in midterms (“A whopping 56 Republican House incumbents raised less money than Democratic challengers in the second quarter.”)
- Senate Dems build huge cash edge in battlegrounds
- Top intel official leaving National Security Council: report
- Alabama Republican Who Refused to Back Trump Survives Brutal Primary
- Fox’s Jeanine Pirro: “What was [Trump] supposed to do, take a gun out and shoot Putin?” (Fox is the network of crazy people and Russian “useful idiots,” apparently.)
- Trump’s Road to American Martial Law (“For Putin, Trump is the gift that keeps on giving. Republicans may grumble over this, but they are Trump’s indecent enablers.”)
- Judge turns down Manafort’s bid to move Virginia trial
- What Was Maria Butina Doing at the National Prayer Breakfast? (“America’s Christian nationalists have been finding common cause with the Russian government for a while now.”)
- Top Democratic Sen. Mark Warner: Trump meeting with Putin was ‘weakest performance by an American president ever’ (“Top Democratic Sen. Mark Warner criticizes President Donald Trump’s meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, calling it “an embarrassment” to the United States.”)
- Sen. Mark Warner Weighs In On Trump’s Remarks On Russian Election Interference (Ari Shapiro’s first question is classically f’ed-up media framing: “President Trump is walking back some of the remarks he made at that stunning press conference with Vladimir Putin in Helsinki.” In fact, Trump has made a gazillion positive remarks about Putin, has minimized Russia’s interference in our elections, has encouraged Russia to attack our elections, etc. It’s not possible to “walk that back,” even if treasonous Trump wanted to do so.)
- 7 members of Va. congressional delegation decry tariffs on Canadian newsprint
- First Kaine/Stewart Debate Set For Saturday
- As their debate draws near, Sen. Kaine and GOP challenger Stewart trade jabs over Trump’s comments about Russian meddling
- Rep. Brat blames Obama after Trump-Putin summit; Spanberger calls for rebuke of president (Brat is a really bad joke and a disgrace to Virginia; please replace him this November, VA-07 voters!)
- Blue Ridge Caucus: Local members of Congress, candidates react to Trump’s stance on Russian meddling
- Schapiro: Former Va. speaker’s new habitat: the swamp (Howell’s old habitat was also the swamp – ALEC for instance.)
- Measure to weaken EPA enforcement of bay cleanup is up for House vote – again (Hell no.)
- Pulling the reins on gambling (“Again, we urge restraint toward gambling in Virginia. Without it, the commission may open a cage without knowing what lies inside it.”)
- Metro workers are going to strike… over this? (“The transit system’s main union threatens an illegal strike, which would paralyze the region.”)
- Hampton, Newport News ask: What are the answers to violence?
- Investigation leads to closure of 6 Virginia fox pens (Disgusting “sport” that should be illegal.)
- Lieutenant governor joins local discussion on eviction solutions
- Judge throws out 17 of 20 counts against Portsmouth Councilman Mark Whitaker
- Pleasantly warm through Friday, chance of showers returns this weekend
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