| | | | Donald Trump's 'fire and fury' on North Korea | | President Donald Trump significantly ratcheted up his rhetoric toward North Korea in the wake of news that the rogue nation has successfully miniaturized a nuclear warhead to fit into an intercontinental ballistic missile.
"North Korea best not make any more threats to the United States," Trump said, arms crossed, from his golf resort in Bedminster, New Jersey, on Tuesday. "They will be met with fire and fury like the world has never seen."
That seems, um, unlikely to defuse -- at all -- what appears to be a rapidly escalating situation. In the wake of Saturday's unanimous U.N. Security Council vote to strengthen sanctions against North Korea, the country issued a statement accusing the United States of "trying to drive the situation of the Korean Peninsula to the brink of nuclear war."
The North Korean foreign minister also said on Monday that the country is totally unwilling to "put the nukes and ballistic rockets on the negotiating table."
Those words -- from Trump and North Korea -- coupled with the assessment that North Korea had taken a significant step toward weaponizing its nuclear capability -- accelerates the game of diplomatic chicken the two countries have been playing for the last several years.
"I would speak to him," Trump said of North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un in May. "I would have no problem speaking to him."
That stance was pilloried by many experts in the foreign policy world as deeply naive. Since then, however, he had significantly ramped up his rhetoric against Kim. He also has hardened his stance against China and that country's need to exert its influence over North Korea -- a view that came after Trump spent the first few months of his tenure in the White House playing a sort of "good cop" role in terms of China and North Korea.
It's unclear what, specifically, Trump was referring to with his "fire and fury" comments. Military intervention in North Korea is seen as an extremely risky move vis a vis China. But, "fire and fury" doesn't exactly evoke a policy of waiting-and-seeing to see if the tightened sanctions work.
Given the realities on the ground and the limited options to "solve" the problem, the question is whether -- and how -- Trump chooses to back up his tough talk.
The world will be watching. Literally.
--Chris | | TARKANIAN TAKES ON HELLER | | | Republican Las Vegas businessman Danny Tarkanian on Tuesday announced his bid to challenge Nevada Sen. Dean Heller in 2018 during an interview with "Fox and Friends." "So many people have contacted me over the last couple of months saying you've got to run against Dean Heller," Tarkanian told "Fox and Friends." "They understand as I do that we're never going to make America great again unless we have senators in office that fully support President Trump and his 'America First' agenda. Dean Heller wasn't just one of the first Never Trumpers in Nevada, he was one of the most influential." We asked Jon Ralston, editor of The Nevada Independent, his thoughts on the news. Here's what he told us in an email:
1. What was your reaction to the announcement?
Here we go again. As soon as Heller went against the health care bill with SANDOVAL, I suggested a primary was possible. And Danny was the obvious choice. He always is. Weeks ago, he said he was interested
2. Is it surprising to have Tarkanian enter the race?
Not at all. This is his sixth run I doubt it will be his last He's young!
3. Tarkanian called Heller a "Never Trumper." Do you think that's true based on his voting record? Do you think that matters to the voters in Nevada?
That's not accurate. Heller danced around his support last year. He was evasive. But he was never a Never Trumper.
4. Does Tarkanian stand a chance?
Oh, yes. He has won primaries. He can stay on message. He is all in for Trump. The primary is in June. Turnout will be low. Trump fans will turn out. Let's see what the President does. Remember, Heller voted for the skinny repeal.
5. Anything else you'd like to add!
Filing doesn't open until March. A lot can happen. Maybe both will file. Maybe neither will! Way too early. | | CNN's Liz Stark pulled some front pages from August 9, 1974. She writes:
On this day, 43 years ago, former President Richard M. Nixon resigned from office. "By taking this action," he said in a late night address from the Oval Office, "I hope that I will have hastened the start of the process of healing which is so desperately needed in America."
For more, check out the piece the Washington Post wrote on the resignation. | | Both The Daily Beast and Buzzfeed looked into "how a Pro-Trump Twitter scheme fell apart after a retweet from the President."
Long story short: While on vacation, Trump tweeted a thank you to a supporter who goes by "Nicole" (Twitter handle: @protrump45) after the account tweeted: "Trump working hard for the American people.....thanks."
Turns out that the account is linked to website ProTrump45, which sells Trump merch.
Buzzfeed's Claudia Koerner and Craig Silverman wrote: Protrump45 is "a 21-year-old woman in New Jersey associated with the @Protrump45 handle, who said that the account and the pro-Trump store connected to it were actually run by a collective of about 10 Trump supporters spread across the United States. BuzzFeed News was unable to independently verify the existence of any other members of the group cited by the woman. "According to the woman, the 'Nicole Mincey' character was created using a variation of her name, and some of her biographical information. The @Protrump45 account frequently used the name, but the woman claimed she was never in control of the account, though she did post on the site's blog using the alias. The Mincey character was used as a 'marketing tool,' she said, explaining that the group chose to use aspects of her identity, 'because I'm black, so it's easier to market black people [as Trump supporters].'"
And The Daily Beast's Ben Collins reports: "All the accounts retweeted by @protrump45 are gone from Twitter now, because they were all stock photos attached to Twitter accounts that only existed to like @protrump45's posts and share its memes, which mostly and ironically decried mainstream media as fake news funded by liberal billionaire George Soros." | | | All Songs Considered has a 24/7 Music Channel, which is a nonstop mix of every song ever played on the NPR Music station including live concert recordings (!) | | Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee -- for some reason -- decided to chime in on the controversial memo written by a male Google engineer that argued in part that there are "biological" reasons behind the gender gap in tech. Huckabee tweeted: "Google ought to 'Google' what diversity means!"
So, we looked up "what diversity means" on Google. The dictionary definition popped up. | | Journey co-founder Neal Schon is not pleased with three of his bandmates -- Arnel Pineda, Jonathan Cain, and Ross Valory -- after their White House visit on July 27, PEOPLE reports.
The guitarist took to social media to rant last week. He wrote on Facebook: "I will remain strong and consistent with the belief we've always shared and agreed upon – Journey should never be used and exploited by anyone, especially band members for politics or any one religion. I've been here since 1972 and this has always been our belief. This was with intent to exploit the brand and use the name. Journey was not there [at the White House] – 3 individual members were Cain Valory and Pineda whom I found … Tours are done all the time but it could have been privately."
In an additional comment, Schon wrote: "So they didn't want to make a spectacle about the visit as Journey? Press is NEVER allowed in the Oval Office. So sorry but this was planned and manipulated for the benefit of ? …. u figure it out." | | Following last week's news of the new Republican-backed "merit-based" immigration bill, TIME created a short quiz where people can "find out if President Trump would let you immigrate to America."
Per TIME, "The Reforming American Immigration for Strong Employment Act, or RAISE Act, favors people between the ages of 26 and 30 with a doctorate, high English proficiency and a job offer with a high salary. Applicants would need at least 30 points to be eligible to apply for a visa under the proposal, and the fastest way to get there is to have received a Nobel Prize or comparable international award, which gives applicants a head start of 25 points. Applicants with the highest number of points would go to the front of the line to receive visas."
We took the quiz: Saba qualifies, Chris, um, doesn't. | | | Journalist Kat Rosenfield wrote a super interesting piece for Vulture called "The Toxic Drama on YA Twitter." It examines how "young-adult books are being targeted in intense social-media callouts, draggings, and pile-ons — sometimes before anybody's even read them." Worth a read, even if you aren't a teen -- or a teen at heart. | | | Thanks for reading The Point. Here's a toast to you on this lovely Tuesday. Please ask everyone you know to subscribe! | | We'd love to share our other newsletters with you. Follow this link for daily coverage of the world's top stories, savvy market insights, an insider's look into the media, and more. Our authors for The Point are Chris Cillizza and Saba Hamedy. Send your tips and thoughts via email to Chris or Saba. Follow on Twitter: Chris and Saba. | | | Get the Nightcap, a comprehensive summary of the most important political news, delivered to your inbox daily. | | | | | |
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