This story appeared in The Logoffa daily newsletter that helps you stay informed about the Trump administration without letting political news rule your life. Register here.
Welcome to The Logoff: Hello, readers. Over the weekend, President Donald Trump was the target of a third high-profile assassination attempt there The annual White House Correspondents’ Dinner. He was not injured, as were other attendees. One Secret Service agent was shot but not seriously injured, thanks to a bulletproof vest.
We’re likely to learn more about the shooter, who was arraigned in DC today, in the coming days. But the White House appears to be dealing with two other priorities after the shooting: Jimmy Kimmel and Trump’s ballroom.
What’s going on? Let’s start with Kimmel, who joked earlier in the week describing First Lady Melania Trump as “shining like an expectant widow.” On Monday, both Trumps called for Kimmel to lose his job over the joke, which Melania described as “hateful and violent.”
This is something that the Trump administration has they tried before. Last year, Kimmel was briefly off the air after Federal Communications Commission chairman Trump threatened his employer, ABC; His return was a black eye for the administration.
There is nothing to connect Kimmel’s joke to Saturday night’s attack, but the administration, undeterred, seems to be trying again.
And the ballroom? He said the hall – a great space for entertainment in which the East Wing was demolished – not yet, but Trump wants it done before the end of his term. Right now, however, the White House is ordered to proceed and above ground construction on the building.
And so, following the attack, the administration is leaning heavily on national security justifications for the ballroom. On Sunday, Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said that the lawsuit against the administration was “delaying the construction of a safe facility for the President to do his job.”
(The Writers’ Dinner is not a government event and would not have been organized at the White House even if the venue had been completed.)
what is the main picture? Faced with an avoidable crisis, the Trump administration is engaging in limited political opportunities — and trying to outwit its opponents.
And so, it’s time to leave…
I learned a new and interesting word from this Wall Street Journal story: thigmotactic, which the Journal’s Robert McMillan reports is “a scientific term for highly social creatures that like to cuddle.”
The creatures in question are sea lions, and in particular, a Steller sea lion named “Chonkers,” who has made his home on San Francisco’s Pier 39. You can read all about him. here is the giveaway link.
As always, thanks for reading, have a great evening, and we’ll see you back here tomorrow!
