News from the note…
A round up of the day’s news that might be of interest to you.
Consider this an OPEN THREAD, folks. Chat about any of the stories listed, share links to stories that caught your eye today, and generally have a good time discussing whatever you want.
Peter Navarro says ‘there’s a special place in hell’ for Justin Trudeau
From CNN
Peter Navarro, a trade adviser to President Donald Trump, escalated the White House’s rebuke of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, calling him weak and dishonest on Sunday.
“There’s a special place in hell for any foreign leader that engages in bad faith diplomacy with President Donald J. Trump and then tries to stab him in the back on the way out the door,” Navarro said on “Fox News Sunday.”
He continued, “And that’s what bad faith Justin Trudeau did with that stunt press conference. That’s what weak, dishonest Justin Trudeau did, and that comes right from Air Force One.”
France blasts ‘incoherent’ Trump after G7 fiasco
From Politico
France pledged on Sunday to stand by the G7 summit statement disowned by Donald Trump and took a swipe at the U.S. president by declaring that international cooperation could not depend on “fits of anger” or “little words.”
Apparently incensed by remarks about U.S. tariffs at the closing press conference on Saturday by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Trump — who had already left the gathering in Quebec — tweeted that he had instructed U.S. officials not to endorse the final communiqué, which had already been agreed and published.
John Kelly called White House ‘miserable place to work’: report
From The Hill
White House chief of staff John Kelly, burned out by his job, is reportedly questioning how long he can remain in the post.
The chief of staff told a group of senators last week that the White House is “a miserable place to work,” The New York Times reported Sunday.
According to the Times, aides are mocking Kelly’s new deputy chief of staff, Zachary Fuentes, by calling him “deputy president” for taking over some of Kelly’s duties.
Why the Summer Zervos case might be the most dangerous for Trump
From The Hill
President Trump may never sit for an interview with special counsel Robert Mueller, but it’s looking more likely he’ll have to answer questions as part of a defamation lawsuit filed by a former contestant on “The Apprentice.”
A ruling by a New York state judge this week said Trump can be deposed in the defamation lawsuit filed by Summer Zervos, the former contestant who has accused Trump of unwanted advances.
Some see the legal fight, which has received less publicity than other cases, as the most dangerous to Trump because it could lead to testimony where he’d risk lying or making a misstatement under oath.
Trump co-chair on Crimea: He was ‘thinking about something else’
From Politico
Donald Trump’s campaign co-chairman offered up an alternate explanation for the Republican nominee’s recent comments about the geopolitical situation between Russia and Crimea: He “was thinking about something else” when he said that Vladimir Putin would not invade Ukraine.
“I think, you know, I’ve run for office and I would — the phenomena I thought of when I was listening to the interview, Mr. Trump was thinking about something else and he answered the question when he was thinking about something else,” Sam Clovis told MSNBC, adding, “I’m not trying to offer an excuse. But I will say, this is the — this is — the circumstance sometimes that, that — that happens. I think what was really at the heart of this.”
A Sunday Bonus Note from the “How Do We Know It’s Really Satire?” file
Concerned, But Not Wanting To Offend, Canada Quietly Plants Privacy Hedge Along Entire U.S. Border.