* On Sunday, the editorial board of USA Today wrote: “What Bannon shares with ISIL leader.”
What does President Trump’s chief strategist have in common with the leader of the Islamic State terror group? Both Steve Bannon and Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi share similar world views. Both harbor apocalyptic visions of a clash of civilizations between Islam and the West.
That prompted Tucker Carlson to do this on Fox News:
Fun new game show on Fox News. Looks like the leader of ISIS is beating Steve Bannon pic.twitter.com/Cc3u1gk9tO
— Sam Reid (@SamReidSays) February 9, 2017
Here’s my twitter response:
When the best you’ve got is that he’s not as bad as Baghdadi. https://t.co/wnOM2wnxnq
— Nancy LeTourneau (@Smartypants60) February 9, 2017
* The big kerfuffle today was all about Kellyanne Conway promoting Ivanka’s clothing line on Fox News this morning. Let’s be honest, this is perhaps the most rational response:
On a more serious note, the White House said that Trump’s official counselor has been “counseled” about this – whatever that means. I found a former Bannon employee’s response most interesting.
Said Peter Schweizer, who has worked closely with Trump aide Stephen K. Bannon and wrote the book “Clinton Cash,” which was critical of donations to the Clinton Foundation: “They’ve crossed a very, very important bright line, and it’s not good. To encourage Americans to buy goods from companies owned by the first family is totally out of bounds and needs to stop.
* Martin did a great job of covering Trump’s attacks on Blumenthal about his service during Vietnam. But whenever this president has the nerve to bring up anyone else’s record on that topic, I feel obligated to remind everyone that he once said this:
In a 1997 interview with shock jock Howard Stern, Trump talked about how he had been “lucky” not to have contracted diseases when he was sleeping around.
“I’ve been so lucky in terms of that whole world. It is a dangerous world out there. It’s scary, like Vietnam. Sort of like the Vietnam-era,” Trump said in a video that resurfaced Tuesday on Buzzfeed, “It is my personal Vietnam. I feel like a great and very brave soldier.”
Donald Trump has said a lot of offensive things, but that one remains on my list of the top 5 worst.
* Here’s why Senator Mike Lee thinks Republicans should repeal Obamacare before they come up with a replacement.
Senator Mike Lee insists that Republicans repeal Obamacare first, before they decide on an alternative. And his reason is straightforward: If people saw the Republican alternative, they might not like it! “There is a lot less agreement about what comes next,” he tells Julie Rovner. “If we load down the repeal bill with what comes next, it’s harder to get both of them passed.”
* In the category of “it’s not just Bannon:”
A senior national security official in the Trump administration wrote under a pseudonym last year that Islam is an inherently violent religion that is “incompatible with the modern West,” defended the World War II-era America First Committee, which included anti-Semites, as “unfairly maligned,” and called diversity “a source of weakness, tension and disunion.”
Michael Anton, who served as a speechwriter for President George W. Bush, joined President Donald Trump’s administration earlier this year as a staffer on the National Security Council.
* Remember…the resistance comes in many forms.
When NBC filmed a new season of the Celebrity Apprentice, with new host Arnold Schwarzenegger, Donald Trump wasn’t even the Republican nominee yet. Now that he’s president (but still executive producer), the series is airing, and the people involved with the show are distancing themselves from the show.
Racked reports that Tyra Banks and Jessica Alba, who appeared with their brands on this season, have said they will no longer be involved with the show. This comes as #GrabYourWallet, a campaign to boycott companies that support the Trump administration, targeted Tyra Beauty and The Honest Company because of their involvement with the show.
* Finally, yesterday it was announced that 76 year-old Al Jarreau would retire from preforming. He’s always been one of my favorites. So let’s end the day with a great rendition of “Take 5” for a very distinguished audience.
