| | | | 4 reasons Donald Trump faking a doctor's note matters | | Harold Bornstein, Donald Trump's longtime personal physician, is a comic character. From his long hair to his odd personal manner and pronouncements, he is someone who is hard to take seriously. So, when Bornstein told CNN on Tuesday that Trump had personally dictated a 2015 letter ostensibly from Bornstein touting the then-presidential candidate's historic good health, the first reaction of many people was to laugh.
Of course he did! The language was totally Trumpian! "His physical strength and stamina are extraordinary," "Bornstein" wrote of Trump. "If elected, Mr. Trump, I can state unequivocally, will be the healthiest individual ever elected to the presidency." But to dismiss this whole situation as a joke is to miss the broader points. And, yes, there are some broader points. Here are four.
1. The President of the United States, as a candidate, faked a letter from his doctor to settle health and age questions. Sure, Bornstein looked and sounded a bit kooky, but he had been Trump's doctor for more than two decades, right? Because no one could prove the letter was a sham -- which it has turned out to be -- the only option for reporters was to take it, generally speaking, at face value. Trump knew that -- and he exploited it to the nth degree.
2. Trump repeatedly attacked Hillary Clinton as not being healthy enough to be president. From the start, Trump sought to make Clinton's stamina and endurance -- both code words for her overall health -- an issue in the campaign. That effort ramped up bigly in the wake of video capturing a decidedly wobbly Clinton leaving a September 11 memorial in New York. He did all these things knowing that he had written his own doctor's note and then used it as a bulwark against questions regarding his own health.
3. Trump will say or do absolutely anything to win. In Trump's mind, everything -- and I mean everything -- is justified if you win. In a world in which everything is justified by self interest, nothing can be off limits. And that, at the moment, is the space that Donald Trump willingly occupies.
4. Trump eventually turns on everyone. Bornstein should have never allowed Trump to dictate a letter about his own fitness. But, he did so because he had a long relationship with Trump and wanted to stay in the presidential candidate's good graces. Trump routinely rewards total loyalty -- see Cohen, Michael -- and Bornstein undoubtedly thought he would reap some sort of gains from his willingness to put aside medical ethics in order to please Mr. Trump. History, however, suggests that those who pledge total fealty to Trump are almost never repaid in kind.
Read my full take here.
--Chris | | "You'll be doing things that you don't even know about."
-President Donald Trump to employees at State Department | | | CAMBRIDGE ANALYTICA CLOSES | | CNN's Eli Watkins reports: Cambridge Analytica, the embattled data firm that worked on Donald Trump's 2016 presidential campaign, announced it is shutting down operations.
"The company is immediately ceasing all operations," it said in a statement Wednesday, announcing bankruptcy proceedings would soon begin. The company has come under fire over allegations it misused the personal Facebook data of millions.
Read more in CNN's story here. | | From CNN's Jeff Zeleny, Kaitlan Collins and Eli Watkins: "White House lawyer Ty Cobb is leaving his position, the White House said Wednesday. 'For several weeks Ty Cobb has been discussing his retirement and last week he let chief of staff (John) Kelly know he would retire at the end of this month,' White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said in a statement. The New York Times, which first reported the news, said attorney Emmet Flood would replace Cobb. Flood represented then-President Bill Clinton during his impeachment process in the late 1990s." Read more here.
And as Chris notes in his analysis on the exit: "With special counsel Robert Mueller on Tuesday asking for a two-month extension before sentencing for former Trump national security adviser Michael Flynn, the message is sent: This probe isn't over -- or even close. Trump's got that message now. And he's bracing for a battle." | | | Today's topic? Ty Cobb's exit. | | CNN's Gregory Wallace put together a list of the nearly one dozen inquiries into Administrator Scott Pruitt's actions at the Environmental Protection Agency. Here are a few from the list: - Travel: The EPA inspector general is reviewing all Pruitt's travel last year. That audit is believed to include multiple taxpayer-funded weekend trips to his home state of Oklahoma as well as trips to Italy and Morocco.
- Security detail: The inspector general's office announced in April it will begin another probe into Pruitt's travel practices, suggesting it will review Pruitt's use of his unprecedented 24/7 security detail while on family vacations.
- Condo: Rep. Trey Gowdy of South Carolina is looking into Pruitt's below-market-rate lease of a DC condo from a lobbyist couple, one of whom represents clients before the EPA. The inspector general has also acknowledged concerns about the condo and the "use of the administrator's subordinates' time," which appears to be a reference to reports the EPA scheduling director contacted real estate agents while on the clock. The condo lease also drew scrutiny from the Office of Government Ethics, which urged the EPA to "take action to appropriately address any violations."
You can read about all the inquiries here. | | From CNN's Eli Watkins: "House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi predicted Tuesday that she will be elected speaker of the House again after this year's midterm elections.
"'We will win,' the California Democrat said in an interview with The Boston Globe on the 2018 elections. 'I will run for speaker. I feel confident about it. And my members do, too.'"
As Chris writes, "That announcement was greeted with a mixture of joy and disappointment within the Democratic Party. Republicans, on the other hand, were positively gleeful at the prospect of having the unpopular Pelosi to run against this November -- and maybe more Novembers to come. That reaction typifies the double-edged sword that Pelosi has become for Democrats. She is, without question, the party's best fundraiser and a hero among liberals in and out of Congress. Given those twin strengths, it is virtually impossible for Pelosi to be beaten in an intraparty vote. At the same time, Pelosi -- thanks to years of sustained attacks from Republicans -- is an unpopular figure in many key districts Democrats need to win the majority this fall." Read more here. | | CNN's Caroline Kenny -- our Point #2020 expert -- writes: "A new Suffolk University poll shows Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren leading the pack of prospective Democratic contenders for president in 2020 among voters in the first-in-the-nation primary state of New Hampshire.
"Warren takes the spot among Granite State voters with 26% of the support over big names such as former Vice President Joe Biden, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker and others.
"In other 2020 polls released this year, Biden has typically garnered the most support, with Sanders not far behind. Warren may be more familiar to the New Hampshire voters, as she represents neighboring Massachusetts. When Suffolk University conducted a separate poll without Warren's name in the mix, Biden received 30% of the vote while Sanders came in a close second with 25%.
"New Hampshire is already a hot spot on the campaign trail for many prospective Democrats looking to forge a potential 2020 path. The only announced Democratic candidate, Rep. John Delaney of Maryland, has visited the state several times already. Others who have made stops and have more scheduled in the coming months include Ohio Rep. Tim Ryan, former Missouri Secretary of State Jason Kander, former Attorney General Eric Holder and Oregon Sen. Jeff Merkley." | | President Donald Trump on Wednesday attended Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's swearing-in ceremony -- headlining an event that was also attended by numerous Cabinet members and Vice President Mike Pence. There, CNN's Zachary Cohen reports, Trump made it clear that Pompeo is his man at State.
"I must say that's more spirit than I've heard from the State Department in a long time," Trump said in his opening remarks, adding, "We'll be doing things that you don't even know about" under the new secretary. Trump went on to praise Pompeo as "a true American patriot" and noted that Pompeo was at the top of his class at West Point.
Trump notably did not visit the State Department during the tenure of Pompeo's predecessor, Rex Tillerson. Read more in Zach's story here. | | | From Brenna: "Sen. Orrin Hatch is thriving. His staff tweeted out a video of him surveying four different sauces at Salt Lake City BBQ spot R&R BBQ. I had a sad salad for lunch, so the photo of Hatch chomping into a rib that accompanied the video kind of inspired me to run for office." Help us thrive, too! Tell people you know 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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