| | | | BREAKING: Donald Trump isn't losing it | | NEWSFLASH: Donald Trump is perfectly mentally capable of being president and is suffering from no cognitive impairment or decline.
That statement, delivered by White House physician Ronny Jackson following Trump's physical last week, amounts to a direct rebuttal to a growing pet conspiracy theory among Trump haters: That he is in the midst of a rapid mental deterioration that necessitates the invoking of the 25th Amendment to remove him from office.
"[Trump] has absolutely no cognitive or mental issues whatsoever," Jackson said in a briefing on the President's health for reporters on Tuesday.
He added that having observed Trump closely over the past year-plus, he felt no need to do any sort of cognitive testing but did so at the request of the President. Trump scored 30/30 on the Montreal Cognitive Assessment administered by Jackson; "I can reliably say ... if he had some type of mental, cognitive issues ... he would not have gotten 30/30 on the test," Jackson said.
Jackson, it's worth noting, also served in the White House physician's office for Presidents Barack Obama and George W. Bush. And in the course of answering questions about Trump's health on Tuesday, he made clear that he was not "withholding" any information about Trump's overall health.
This should hopefully put the question of Trump's mental acuity to rest. Or at least dampen the chatter that he is suffering from some sort of undiagnosed condition that renders him unable to do the job.
What remains true is that Trump is temperamentally different from any of the 43 men who have preceded him as president. He is publicly petulant. He is hugely mercurial. He is a bully. He seems to have little concern for adhering to established facts.
But, as I have noted before, Trump has been all those things his entire life. And he ran on his unpredictability, his anti-politician instincts, his willingness to disrupt the status quo.
That's who people voted for. That version of Donald Trump is who won the White House. It would be far more curious and concerning if Trump suddenly began to comport himself like George W. Bush once winning the office than it is that he continues to act exactly like Donald Trump has acted his whole life.
The Point: Trump's temperamental fitness for the job remains a very open question. But his mental fitness no longer should be. Critics should focus on what he does in office rather than engaging in unfounded attacks on his mental acuity.
--Chris | | "This has turned into a s-show, and we need to get back to being a great country."
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My kids have been begging me to go see "Paddington 2." Now, thanks to The Ringer's K. Austin Collins, I know why. | | GREITENS AFFAIR FALLOUT CONTINUES | | | CNNs Juana Summers and Rebecca Berg reported Tuesday: Embattled Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens has called off a statewide tour to promote a tax cut plan as he continues to face fallout from bombshell allegations that he threatened a former mistress with blackmail. State Reps. Marsha Haefner and Kathie Conway issued separate statements this morning urging Greitens to resign.
Greitens "is no longer fit to hold Missouri's highest office," Haefner said, adding that he "no longer has the trust and support of many in the legislature."
State Rep. Nate Walker echoed that sentiment in a post on Facebook: "It has become clear after the very courageous statements by Reps. Conway and Haefner, this scandal will make it impossible to lead the state going forward. Last night's news of state employees being involved in attempting to control the scandal is further proof that that this will not be going away anytime soon.It is my belief the governor should resign so that the state can move forward focusing on the issues that we all care about."
Read more in CNN's coverage of Greitens here. | | ALL THE PRESIDENT'S FRIENDS & FOES | | | CNN's Kevin Liptak and Dan Merica looked at all the world leaders President Trump has met with in the last year and outlined his friends and foes. So far in office, Trump has visited 13 countries and hosted many world leaders at the White House. Check out Kevin and Dan's full list here. | | PAWLENTY NOT RUNNING FOR SENATE | | CNN's Eric Bradner reports:
Former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty will not run for the Senate — leaving Republicans with yet another 2018 race in which their top possible prospect isn't on the ballot and making it possible they'll wind up with former Rep. Michele Bachmann as their candidate.
Pawlenty said on Fox Business Network that he's "very interested in public service," but that "I'll tell you today that running for the United States Senate in 2018 won't be part of those plans."
This comes the week after another top Republican recruit, Rep. Kevin Cramer, passed on a run against Democratic Sen. Heidi Heitkamp in North Dakota.
Minnesota is a purple state that was much too close for Democrats' comfort in the 2016 presidential election. And with a second Senate seat suddenly on the ballot (Sen. Amy Klobuchar was already up for re-election), it could be a ripe target.
Pawlenty would have faced Sen. Tina Smith, who just replaced Al Franken. Smith is a long-time political operative herself and has broad support from Minnesota progressives, so she'll be a strong candidate. But so far she's mostly focused on keeping Franken's staff on board to make sure constituent services don't suffer from the awkwardly timed transition -- and until her first campaign finance report is filed, it'll be tough to gauge her strength as a candidate.
State Sen. Karin Housley may now be Republicans' best hope. | | ROMNEY STILL MUM ON SENATE RUN | | Speaking of running for Senate....
CNN's Maeve Reston reported Tuesday that during an event in Salt Lake City, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney refused to say anything about his plans to run for the seat of retiring Sen. Orrin Hatch of Utah.
"I have nothing for you on that topic," Romney said at the Salt Lake City Chamber of Commerce summit, where he gave the keynote address.
Utah publication Deseret News reported that during this same summit, Utah Gov. Gary Herbert said he thinks Romney is well qualified for the position, and could even take over the Senate majority leader position. "Who knows, in my wildest dreams, I can see him becoming the majority leader in the Senate and Paul Ryan still being speaker of the House. Think about it, Romney and Ryan leading in the Congress," the governor told the publication.
Read more about the summit in Maeve's article here. | | | We've all been there, Sen. Hatch. Keep your friends and family informed and tell them to subscribe to The Point. | | 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. | | | | | | |
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