Shell Companies Donated to Trump Inauguration

$107 million

“Donald Trump’s inauguration received tens of thousands of dollars from shell companies that masked the involvement of a foreign contributor or others with foreign ties,” The Guardian reports. “The Guardian has identified the creators of three obscure firms that contributed money to Trump’s inaugural committee, which collected a record $107m as he entered the White House in 2017.”

Trump’s Nationalist Message Is Resonating

49%

A new Politico/Morning Consult poll finds President Trump’s inaugural message “is resonating with voters, refuting the idea that Trump bungled his first speech as commander in chief … with 49% of those who watched or heard about the speech saying it was excellent or good, and just 39% rating it as only fair or poor.” “Sixty-five percent of those surveyed reacted positively to the ‘America First’ message, the cornerstone of the Trump campaign and governing posture. Americans are looking for Trump to put his slogan into action: 61% said they agreed with Trump’s plan that the federal government should ‘buy American and hire American.’”

The Con Man Has Reached the ‘Maximal Limits of His Strategy’

The methods of a skilled con artist have worked just barely well enough to deliver the presidency to Trump. But what happens when his grandiose promises fail to materialize? And when the aspects of his program that he never mentioned in his speech — tax cuts for the rich, stripping away health insurance from millions, massive graft — do take place? A con artist who always escaped his old victims and found new ones has reached the maximal limits of his strategy. What happens when the marks are demanding that the promises he made be redeemed, and there is nowhere for him to go, and he commands the powers of the state?

Jonathan Chait

Russian Nationalists Celebrate Trump Inauguration

Washington will be ours.

— Konstantin Rykov, a former pro-Putin lawmaker and one of the promoters of an all-night party for Russian nationalists at what used to be the main Soviet-era post office in Moscow to celebrate Donald Trump’s inauguration, Reuters reports. Rykov said on social media it was right to celebrate the first phase of the “New World Order.”

It’s Donald’s Inauguration Day …

6887e517-3c51-4430-9014-25da4bbe512d_800Donald Trump’s inauguration by the numbers, according to Reuters

  • 900,000: The number of people expected to attend, including protesters; about half the amount of President Obama’s inauguration.
  • 20: The expected duration, in minutes, of Trump’s inauguration speech.
  • 105: The longest inaugural speech, in minutes. It was delivered by William Henry Harrison in 1841 in a snowstorm. He wasn’t wearing a hat or coat. He died of pneumonia a month later.
  • 270,000: The number of protesters expected to converge on Washington.
  • […]