Day: February 7, 2018

God to Bachmann: Don’t Run!

Buck Banks

“I considered it for quite a long time. From the very first day when Al Franken had announced his resignation from the U.S. Senate, I went before the Lord and it became very clear to me that I wasn’t hearing any call from God to do this.”

— Former Rep. Michele Bachmannn (R-MN), telling a radio host that after much prayer, she has decided that God does not, in fact, want her to make a bid for U.S. Senate.

Trump: Just Another Old Bald Guy with an Elaborate Comb-Over

Buck Banks

“It may seem cheap and low to mock Trump’s absurd efforts to conceal his hair loss. But Trump is a man obsessed with image in ways that go beyond the normal human concern with looking presentable. Image is Trump’s moral code. He dismisses his political rivals for being short… Trump’s absurd hair is of a piece with his lifelong attempt to market himself as a brilliant deal-maker and stable genius. So yes, it is okay to laugh when the ruse is exposed.”

— Jonathan Chait

What to Make of Ryan?

Buck Banks

“And what to make of Ryan (R-WI)? I have been a consistent defender of his good intentions. But after the 17th time saying “He knows better,” it dawns that he may not. By his recent actions, the speaker has provided political cover for a weakening of the constitutional order. He has been used as a tool while loudly insisting he is not a tool. The way Ryan is headed, history offers two possible verdicts: Either he enabled an autocrat, or he was intimidated by a fool.”

— Michael Gerson

Decorated Veteran Says Not Clapping for Trump Is Not Treason

Buck Banks

“We don’t live in a dictatorship or a monarchy. I swore an oath—in the military and in the Senate—to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States, not to mindlessly cater to the whims of Cadet Bone Spurs and clap when he demands I clap.”

— Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), on Twitter, in response to President Trump’s suggestion that not applauding at the State of the Union was treasonous.

Trump Adviser Says You Don’t Need a Flu Shot If You Have God

Buck Banks

“Inoculate yourself with the word of God.”

— Gloria Copeland, a controversial minister on President Trump’s evangelical advisory board, saying flu shots aren’t necessary when you have Jesus, the HuffPost reports. She said the faithful who don’t have the flu can ward off the infection by repeatedly saying, “I’ll never have the flu. I’ll never have the flu.”

Three-Quarters of GOPers Think FBI Is Trying to Undermine Trump

Buck Banks

73%

A new Reuters/Ipsos poll finds that 73% of Republicans agreed that “members of the FBI and Department of Justice are working to delegitimize President Trump through politically motivated investigations. … The poll findings show the influence Trump wields among Republicans, who have long reserved some of their highest levels of trust for the country’s law enforcement agencies.”