Professor Pagel's Rundown

Instead of getting your Underoos all knotted up, maybe you could just tell us you don't issue illegal orders.

This looks a lot like more evidence that these jerks are spoilin' for a fight, and they intend to do everything they can think of to provoke a violent reaction.

Tracking Trumps Actions

Trump's fuckery continues apace. Here's 

TrumpActionTracker.info

We are documenting the actions, statements, and plans of President Donald Trump and his administration that echo those of authoritarian regimes and may pose a threat to American democracy. We started in January 2025. (More about us).

Every entry includes a source link and date. The full or filtered list of actions can be downloaded as a CSV file under a Creative Commons licence.

Follow 3-minute video updates of the latest actions on YouTube, TikTok or subscribe to a podcast version here.

About That Ballroom

White House tours have been discontinued - prob'ly so nobody can see the Russian agents planting their little spy gadgets everywhere.

But on the "bright side", once we're rid of President Yamtits McShitstain, we can gut that stupid monument to one man's fragile ego, and turn it into some useable office space for a legit government.

East Wing

before

East Wing

after

Donald Trump is a one-man plague of locusts.

Pissed Off Bartender

Our British Cousins

There's no shortage of dog shit in the British press, but when they hit on it, they really hit on it.

You may already be more familiar with this than you care to be, but here's The Mirror story:

Donald Trump attacks UN and tells Europe: 'Your countries are going to hell'

US President Donald Trump arrived on stage at the UN General Assembly complaining that the teleprompter was broken and an escalator had broken down on his way into the building

Donald Trump launched an extraordinary rant against Europe today, telling leaders: “Your countries are going to hell.”

In a speech to the United Nations, he said immigration was ruining European countries and urged Keir Starmer to open more oil fields in the North Sea, as he declared global warming a "hoax." He doubled down on his feud with Sadiq Khan, making a baseless allegation that the London Mayor was trying to impose Sharia law in the capital.

He said the UN was "not living up to its potential" and suggested it operates in a corrupt manner. Mr Trump arrived on stage complaining that the teleprompter was broken, and that an escalator had broken down on his way into the building. Delegates and observers chuckled as he recounted having bid on the contract to refurbish the United Nations HQ in New York.

"Many years ago a very successful real estate developer in New York known as Donald J Trump, I bid on the refurbishment of this very building," he said. "I'm going to give you marble floors, they’re going to give you terrazzo. I’m going to give you the best of everything, you’re going to have mahogany walls. They’re going to give you plastic"

He went on: "They spent between $2 and $4 billion and didn't even get the marble floors I was promising. Looking at the building and getting stuck on the escalator...they still haven't finished the job."

He claimed the bidding process was "so corrupt" that he had been asked to testify in a court case about the matter. He said: "Unfortunately many things in the United Nations are happening just like that but on a much bigger scale, it's sad to see."

He listed the seven wars he claims to have prevented or ended, but criticised the UN for "failing" to offer to help.

"It's too bad that I had to do these things instead of the UN doing them," he said. "And sadly in all cases the UN did not even try to help in any of them. I never even received a phone call from the UN offering to help in finalising the deal."

He went on: "All I got from the UN was an escalator that stopped in the middle, if the First Lady hadn't been in great shape she would have fallen. And now a teleprompter that doesn't work. That's what I got from the United Nations, a bad escalator and a bad teleprompter."

The US President added: "What is the purpose of the United Nations? The UN has such tremendous potential...but it's not even coming close to living up to that potential. For the most part all they do is write a strongly worded letter."

Trump also took a swipe at Europe over immigration, saying: "You're countries are going to hell.

He said: "Europe is in serious trouble. They've been invaded by a force of illegal aliens like nobody's ever seen before and nobody's doing anything to get them out. It's not sustainable.

He took aim at London Mayor Sadiq Khan, with whom he has a long-running feud. He said: "I look at London, where you have a terrible mayor, terrible, terrible mayor, and it's been changed, it's been so changed. Now they want to go to sharia law. But you are in a different country, you can't do that."

A spokesperson for Sir Sadiq said: “We are not going to dignify his appalling and bigoted comments with a response.

“London is the greatest city in the world, safer than major US cities, and we’re delighted to welcome the record number of US citizens moving here.”

Mr Trump also used the speech to urge Keir Starmer to open more oil fields in the North Sea, as he declared global warming a "hoax."

"Drill baby drill," he declared from the stage, before telling delegates and observers that the Paris Climate Accord, to which almost all of them are signatories, was "fake." He said : "All green is all bankrupt. It's not politically correct, I'll get criticised for saying it."

"What a tremendous asset for the United Kingdom," he said of the North Sea. "I hope the Prime Minister is listening."

He went on: "The North Sea, I know the North Sea so well. They essentially closed it by making it so highly taxed that no oil company can go there. And he repeatedly attacked one of his longest-running bugbears - wind energy.

Mr Trump has campaigned about wind farms for decades, since a well-publicised row with the Scottish government over windmills planned for near to one of his golf courses.

"I want to see them stopping ruining that great English countryside with wind farms," he said. "We're not doing that in America."

Speaking at the UN General Assembly in New York, he told delegates: "We're getting out of the falsely named renewables. They're a joke. The wind doesn't blow, the windmills they're pathetic."

Meanwhile, Mr Trump tore into UN delegates who recognised Palestinian Statehood at a special meeting last night. "The rewards would be too great for Hamas atrocities," he said. "The reward would be too great for these terrible tragedies."

He added: "Instead of giving in to [Hamas'] ransom demands, we should have one message: release the hostages now."

Delegates and observers applauded for the first time in his speech in response to this message. He added: "We have to stop the war in Gaza immediately, we've got to get it done."

Quick Reminder

Trump is now 5,880 hours behind schedule on his "end those wars with a phone call in the first 24 hours" promise.

Phenomenon vs Noumenon

Phenomena are how things appear to us through our senses, forming the experienced, observable world.

Noumena are the things themselves, existing independently of our minds, and so forever beyond our direct knowledge or experience.

The key distinction, introduced by Immanuel Kant, is that we can know the phenomenal world through perception and reason, but the noumenal world remains a hidden reality that we can only think about, not fully grasp.

So, today I learned that my excuses for never being able to make it through Kant's works are valid.

Today's Rich

Trump is a fuckin' crook.

🤞🏻 Not Sure What Luck Means Here

It's a shitty thing to do, so I really don't wish ill for anyone. But I'll absolutely admit to being sorely tempted when it comes to Trump.

I'm putting this up as a counter to the plethora of "no big deal" videos that are on every channel.

Re-Upping The Kompromat

This guy is no conspiracy pimp.

The idea that the Kremlin has kompromat on Trump seems increasingly plausible

If the White House capitulates to Putin on Ukraine, it will grossly and perhaps fatally betray the principles on which Nato was founded

Whether or not the Islamic Republic of Iran politically implodes in the aftermath of the American-Israeli aerial onslaught, and regardless of whether there is an uneasy truce or phoney war between the participants, a far greater issue confronts the Continent of Europe – namely what will become of Putin’s ongoing war against a sovereign UN member state, Ukraine.

Far from ending that war – which has caused far greater casualties than the recent three years’ fighting in the Middle East within 24 hours – as Trump boasted he would to American voters this time last year, Putin is raising the military stakes in an unabated attempt to subjugate Ukraine.

What is Trump doing to stop Putin’s war? Nothing, it seems. But why? Any display of substantial US military assistance for Ukraine could make further prosecution of Putin’s invasion futile. It would not involve American boots on the ground in Ukraine. It would not risk nuclear warfare. If Putin sensed that the US was serious in preventing a win for Russia in Ukraine, a ceasefire followed by a peace conference would ensue.

But Trump won’t even countenance further sanctions against Russia. He astonished his so-called allies by calling for Russia’s readmission to the G7 summits. He regularly suggests that Ukraine somehow started the war with Russia. He called President Zelenskiy a dictator and insulted him grossly at an ambush in the Oval Office – the political pigsty where idiotic parodies of international diplomacy are staged. He has hardly more than murmured against the Russian missile onslaught on Ukrainian cities.

What is his real strategy? Is it to collapse the Ukrainian state by weakening its resistance to Russia or to re-establish Ukraine as a Russian satellite? Is it to divide the mineral and oil assets of Ukraine with Russia, in line with the “deal” he imposed on Zelenskiy in a Corleone-style offer he couldn’t refuse? Is the “dictator” Zelenskiy now to be the object of US-backed regime change as part of a capitulation to Russia?

Or is there some different hidden policy agenda in the White House? I used to be sceptical about claims that Putin had access to kompromat on Trump that explained his grovelling relationship with the Kremlin. But if such kompromat is not the explanation, it is hard to see why the White House is behaving as it does towards Ukraine.

It was fascinating to read the Kremlin’s response to the US bombing of the Iranian nuclear facilities. The Russians condemned it as the violation of international law and the UN charter against the territory of a sovereign state member of the United Nations. As the invader of Ukraine, Moscow’s verbal posturing was the worst form of sanctimonious, hypocritical humbug. It was the least – and the most – it could do for Iran, the supplier of much of the components for its drone weaponry used in Ukraine.

Now we are told that the US is completely committed to Nato. The US permanent representative, Matthew Whittaker, speaking at the alliance’s conference in The Hague stated that the US “isn’t going anywhere” and is going to be a “reliable ally” for its Nato treaty members. The 5 per cent target for defence spending by Nato members seems to have rekindled Washington’s affection for the alliance.

It isn’t necessary for Ukraine to join Nato or indeed the EU in order for the US to stand by the security pledge it gave Ukraine in the aftermath of the collapse of the Soviet Union. This pledge was in exchange for Ukraine giving up the nuclear arsenal that was located on its territory in USSR days. It may well be that the pre-1954 status of the Crimea as part of Russia will ultimately be reinstated as part of a peace deal.

But a successful Russian subjugation of Ukraine and a follow-on subjugation of Moldova and Georgia would bring the Nato alliance into a directly confrontational physical and geographical relationship with Russian despotism from the Caucasus to the Barents Sea.

Ukraine must have its previous security guarantees reinstated as part of any peace deal. It must have the means to defend itself. It must have the right to choose at least the trading relationship with the EU that EEA members now enjoy, if it is not to become a fully fledged EU member.

It is now suggested that Trump may plan to meet Zelenskiy again. If so, that meeting must be based on mutual respect and truth – unlike the shameful Oval Office ambush. The White House must understand the concerns of its allies. It must understand that Nato is not simply transactional. The alliance is about a commitment to democratic values.

The preamble to the 1949 Nato treaty stated that the alliance was founded on preservation and defence of the “principles of democracy, individual liberty, and the rule of law”.

If the White House capitulates to Putin on Ukraine, it will grossly and perhaps fatally betray those principles.

A New One

Salty Dawg strikes again.

Today's Rich

When It Finally Craters

Briefly, from a surface-level Google search, followed by the AI version.

When a narcissist experiences failure, they often react with intense emotional distress, potentially leading to narcissistic collapse. This can manifest as anger, rage, depression, anxiety, or even self-harm. They may also engage in blame-shifting, manipulation, and avoidance behaviors.

Elaboration:
Narcissistic collapse occurs when a narcissist's carefully constructed self-image is threatened by a significant failure or setback. This can be a major blow to their self-esteem and sense of superiority, triggering a cascade of negative emotions and behaviors. Here's a breakdown of what might happen:

Emotional Dysregulation:

Narcissists struggle to regulate their emotions, and failure can trigger intense reactions like rage, anger, and irritability.

Defensive Mechanisms:

They may become defensive, blaming others for their failures, or resorting to gaslighting to distort reality and protect their ego.

Depression and Withdrawal:

Some narcissists may experience depression, withdrawal from social interactions, and a sense of inadequacy.

Vindictive Behaviors:

In some cases, they may lash out with vindictive or revengeful behaviors towards those they perceive as responsible for their failure.

Self-Harm and Mental Breakdown:

In extreme cases, narcissistic collapse can lead to self-harm, suicidal thoughts, or even a mental breakdown, especially if they feel their sense of self is irrevocably damaged.

Loss of Supply:

Failure can also mean a loss of narcissistic supply, the admiration and validation they crave from others, which can further exacerbate their negative reactions.

It's important to remember that these are just potential reactions, and the specific way a narcissist responds to failure can vary depending on the individual and the nature of the failure.

Narcissistic collapse and its relation to failure

Narcissistic collapse is an intense emotional and behavioral breakdown experienced by individuals with narcissistic personality disorder (NPD) when their self-esteem, inflated ego, or perceived sense of superiority is threatened or challenged. This collapse is often triggered by perceived failures, criticism, or shame that directly attack the narcissist's carefully constructed false self.

How it relates to failure

Narcissists heavily rely on external validation, admiration, and a grandiose self-image to maintain their fragile self-esteem. When confronted with failure or any situation that exposes their perceived flaws or inadequacy, it can severely impact their ability to uphold this image, leading to a narcissistic collapse.

Here's how failure can trigger a collapse:
Threat to superiority: Failure challenges their belief in being superior and exceptional, triggering intense feelings of inadequacy and shame.
Loss of admiration and validation: A setback can disrupt their access to "narcissistic supply" – the attention, admiration, and validation they crave from others.
Exposure of false self: Failure can tear down the carefully constructed facade they present to the world, revealing their underlying insecurities and vulnerability.

Signs of narcissistic collapse
The manifestation of narcissistic collapse can vary, but it commonly includes:

• Intense shame and despair: They may struggle with feelings of worthlessness and inadequacy, leading to depression and withdrawal, notes Verywell Mind.
• Rage and aggression: Some may lash out with intense anger, irritability, and even verbal or physical aggression, blaming others for their failure, reports MentalHealth.com.
• Withdrawal and isolation: Others may retreat from social interactions and isolate themselves, refusing to engage with the outside world.
• Impulsive and reckless behaviors: They might engage in self-destructive actions like excessive spending, substance abuse, or dangerous activities to cope with the emotional pain, says

It's important to remember that narcissistic collapse isn't a permanent state. The individual may employ various coping mechanisms, including blaming others or engaging in manipulation, to regain a sense of control and self-esteem.

This is for informational purposes only. For medical advice or diagnosis, consult a professional. AI responses may include mistakes.

Learn more

Analysis

Elon vs TACO Don

The world's richest man and the world's most powerful man are locked in a playground-level tussle over how best to fuck over Americans in order to hand more yacht money to wealthy people and corporations.

For Sale

If you've got the money, the law doesn't apply to you. Just order up the Million-Dollar Surf-n-Turf and you're good to go.

@mrglobaltoo #viral #foryoupage #foryoupageofficiall #fypage #fyp #fypシツ #fypシ゚viral #trump #@MeidasTouch @Aaron Parnas ♬ original sound - Mr Global

And while we're at it, let's go find some hungry foxes to guard the chickens.

Trump oversight picks include scandal-hit ex-lawmaker, antiabortion lawyer

Several nominees have clearly partisan backgrounds, including two with controversial histories and two with ties to the agency they would be investigating.

President Donald Trump’s pick to investigate waste, fraud and abuse at the Labor Department, Anthony D’Esposito, is a former Republican congressman who lost his New York seat after he was accused of putting his mistress and fiancée’s daughter on his payroll.

The inspector general nominee for Health and Human Services, Thomas March Bell, previously resigned from a government job over an allegation of mishandling taxpayers’ money and has pursued cases against abortion clinics as a GOP attorney.

And Trump’s choice for Veterans Affairs watchdog, Cheryl Mason, said in a Senate questionnaire that she had continued to be a senior adviser to Secretary Douglas A. Collins after she was nominated to become the inspector general monitoring his agency.

After firing inspectors general at 19 agencies in an unprecedented purge, Trump has named six replacements in recent weeks, including three with clearly partisan backgrounds. Two of those have controversial histories and two have ties to the agency they would be responsible for investigating.

Government ethics experts, including some former inspectors general, expressed concerns about the qualifications of several of the nominees, warning that the positions require independence and that installing loyalists would erode public trust. All six will require confirmation by the Republican-controlled Senate.

“The cardinal sin for an inspector general is bias,” said Mark Greenblatt, a former chairman of the council of federal inspectors general and the Trump-nominated Interior Department watchdog from August 2019 until Trump fired him Jan. 24. “There will be questions about whether programs under [former president Joe] Biden are getting a fair shake and whether those under Trump are getting unwarranted good reviews.”

Five of the six nominees did not respond to requests for comment.

In response to a query sent to D’Esposito, Department of Labor spokeswoman Courtney Parella said the agency “respects the independent role of the Inspector General, and we look forward to working with the nominee, once confirmed, to uphold that mission.”

White House spokeswoman Taylor Rogers said in a statement that Trump’s inspector general nominees are “highly-qualified and accomplished individuals.”

“It is ironic for The Washington Post — notorious peddlers of fake news — to attack the credibility of President Trump’s highly qualified selections for Inspectors General,” she said. “These so-called experts cited in this story are clearly suffering from Trump Derangement Syndrome who hate that President Trump is restoring integrity and transparency to our federal government.”

Congress was explicit when it passed the 1978 law governing inspectors general: They should not be selected based on partisan affiliations. “Each Inspector General shall be appointed without regard to political affiliation and solely on the basis of integrity and demonstrated ability in accounting, auditing, financial analysis, law, management analysis, public administration, or investigations,” the law says.

But critics of Trump’s shake-up say several of those nominated seem to fit one requirement: Loyalty to the White House.

Then-Rep. Anthony D'Esposito (R-New York) speaks during a news conference outside the U.S. Capitol on Sept. 11 to announce the formation of the bipartisan Aviation Safety Caucus on the anniversary of 9/11 terrorist attacks. (Bonnie Cash/Getty Images)
This is not the first time Trump has taken aim at federal watchdogs. In the final year of Trump’s first term, he fired five inspectors general over two months and criticized their oversight.

This time, the fired inspectors general were told by the White House personnel office that they no longer aligned with the president’s priorities, said Hannibal “Mike” Ware, who was watchdog at the Small Business Administration and acting inspector general for the Social Security Administration.

“That means that these nominees will all be expected to align with Trump’s priorities,” Ware said.

Eight of the watchdogs removed at the start of Trump’s second term are fighting their dismissals in federal court, arguing that the White House violated the law by not providing a detailed reason for their termination and 30 days’ notice. They are seeking reinstatement.

Faith Williams, the director of the Effective and Accountable Government Program at the Project on Government Oversight, said that while it was widely expected that Trump would clean house, his choices for replacements are puzzling.

“As diverse as these candidates on paper appear to be, what threads through them is that there are basic thresholds that you need to meet in order to be a good inspector general — have you managed a big office before, have you done investigations before, have you worked in this community — and these folks don’t seem to meet that threshold,” Williams said.

The lack of replacements for other inspector general positions has also worried the government watchdog community, especially as Trump and Elon Musk’s U.S. DOGE Service have dramatically overhauled agencies without oversight. Sen. Gary Peters (D-Michigan), the top Democrat on the committee overseeing governmental affairs, released a report last week showing that the fired inspectors general had effectively rooted out billions of dollars in waste, fraud and abuse before Trump removed them.

The White House did not respond to a question from The Post about when Trump would fill other vacancies.

When President Barack Obama in 2012 delayed filling 10 inspector general slots, then-Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Florida) joined other Republicans in criticizing Obama, writing at the time that all federal agencies should “have proper oversight through highly qualified, permanent inspectors general.”

D’Esposito, Trump’s choice for labor watchdog, has been the most politically visible of the nominees. A former congressman and ex-NYPD detective, he lost reelection in 2024 after increasing scrutiny over his use of taxpayer dollars for questionable staffing arrangements, including allegations that he placed a mistress and his fiancée’s daughter on his official payroll.

D’Esposito was the subject of several investigations for misconduct, including working as a disc jockey and serving alcoholic beverages without permission, while he was a New York City police detective. Investigators determined the accusations were “partially substantiated.”

Trump has also made the nontraditional choice to select some people who have worked within the agencies they will be tasked with investigating.

Bell, the inspector general nominee for the Department of Health and Human Services, worked in the agency’s Office of Civil Rights during Trump’s first term after serving as an attorney for congressional Republicans. He has previously led House Republicans’ efforts to investigate Planned Parenthood based on heavily doctored videos by antiabortion activists and debunked claims that the group was profiting from the sales of fetal tissue.

Bell resigned as deputy director of Virginia’s Department of Environmental Quality in 1997 after a legislative audit found he couldn’t justify an almost $8,000 payment to a former employee. He was also previously a special counsel for the Justice Department.

Senate Finance Committee leading member Ron Wyden criticized Bell as “completely unqualified.”

“This action shows how little the Republican Party actually cares about taking on genuine waste, fraud and abuse in the American health care system,” Wyden said in a statement.

Mason, Trump’s pick for VA inspector general, is an attorney who had a role in the agency for years before Trump’s second term, when she returned as a member of Trump’s VA transition team, and then as special adviser in the secretary’s office at agency headquarters. Until 2022, Mason led the Board of Veterans’ Appeals as a political appointee during Trump’s first term after serving as a career official at the board. The board plays a nonpartisan role in adjudicating appeals when a veteran’s claim for benefits is denied. The White House required candidates to disclose their party affiliation and other details about their political leanings and only Republican-leaning candidates were selected, The Post reported at the time.

Mason is likely to face questions from Democrats on the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee about her role as Collins’s senior adviser. Leading member Richard Blumenthal (D-Connecticut) said in a statement that Mason was “exactly the wrong choice to be the VA Inspector General — a role requiring nonpartisan, independent oversight.”

“This nomination is especially problematic because Ms. Mason has been point person in muzzling VA workers and directing them to sign Non-Disclosure Agreements,” Blumenthal said. “As Special Advisor to Secretary Collins, she’s playing a leading role in slashing the VA workforce by 83,000. Veterans deserve an Inspector General who will conduct investigations free of interference and collusion from Collins and the Trump Administration.”

In response to questions from The Post about Mason’s positions as senior adviser to Collins and nominee to be his watchdog, VA spokesman Peter Kasperowicz pointed to Collins’s testimony before a House panel on May 15, when he noted that she had served in two administrations. Kasperowicz did not respond to questions about whether Mason has stepped down from her role as an administration official since her nomination.

One of Trump’s new nominees does have previous experience in an inspector general’s office: William Kirk, the nominee for inspector general at the Small Business Administration, was in the inspector general’s office at the Environmental Protection Agency from 2022 until recently, when he was detailed to the Department of Education’s general counsel office, according to his LinkedIn profile.

Meanwhile, Peter M. Thomson, nominated as CIA inspector general, is a former prosecutor and white-collar defense attorney. Thomson was previously nominated for the same post in Trump’s first term and cleared the Senate Intelligence Committee.

But Thomson’s nomination was ultimately sent back to the White House after the Senate didn’t schedule a confirmation vote for him.

The sixth new nominee, Christopher Fox, has been tapped to be the intelligence community inspector general and has not yet completed paperwork required of Senate-confirmed positions, according to a Senate aide familiar with the process, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to share internal discussions.

Of course, there's a level of corruption that goes with practically every political office - and every organization in general.

Warren G Harding

Ulysses S Grant

And It Might Be Legal

Trump is the King of SmarmSpace.

Oy

The spin doctors could make this out to be "Man of the People" kinda shit.

To me, it means he's a small man with only a sporadic understanding of the enormity of his position. And that's a deadly combination, the obvious portents of which we are seeing play out in real time.

There are historical examples of this 

• Henry VI - The Naïve Fool - England
• George III - The Mad King - England
• Afonso VI "The Glutton" - Portugal - a grinning moron
• Charles IX "The Snotty King" - France - the murderous mama's boy
• John - England - the famously corrupt Prince John, from the Robin Hood stories

Donald Trump Says He Runs the Country and the World, But He Still Answers Calls From Unknown Numbers

Two reporters from The Atlantic cold-called the president. He picked up and had a little chat.

WASHINGTON, DC - APRIL 23: U.S. President Donald Trump talks to reporters after inspecting the North Lawn with members of the White House grounds crew to look for a place to put a 100-foot-tall flag pole on April 23, 2025 in Washington, DC. He said that he wants to put two 100-foot flag poles, one on the North Lawn and another on the South Lawn. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Donald Trump talks a lot of smack about the media in public. But, in private, it turns out he’s happy to shoot the breeze with reporters—even the ones he claims are liars and lunatics.

Even when they cold-call him from an unknown number.

Even on a Saturday morning.

At least, that is how journalists Ashley Parker and Michael Sherer scored an interview with the president last month, according to their sweeping new cover story in The Atlantic about Trump's return to the White House.

In late March, just days after Trump excoriated both reporters on Truth Social following their request for an interview with him, Parker and Sherer wrote that they called the president directly on his cell phone from a number he didn’t recognize at 10:45 am on a Saturday. And he actually picked up.

“Who’s calling?” he reportedly asked, like any other 78-year-old grandpa, the sound of what Parker and Sherer said seemed to be the television blaring in the background at his Bedminster, New Jersey golf club.

“We had a perfectly fine, gracious interview,” Sherer told CNN Monday.

Despite his very public insistence on Truth Social that Parker is “as terrible as is possible” and Sherer “virtually always LIES,” the president apparently was happy to talk. On the subject of his new billionaire bestie, Jeff Bezos, Trump reportedly said, “He’s 100 percent. He’s been great.” And Mark Zuckerberg? He too has "been great,” Trump said. “Maybe they didn’t know me at the beginning, and they know me now,” Trump told Parker and Sherer of the tech executives.

Trump also used the call to take a victory lap around the recent capitulation of law firms and universities in the face of his threats. “What do you think of the law firm? Were you shocked at that?” he asked the reporters regarding Paul Weiss’s negotiations with the White House over an executive order that would have restricted its attorneys’ access to federal buildings.

And he celebrated the leverage he has over the rest of the Republican party. “When I endorse somebody, they win,” Trump told Parker and Sherer.

Trump warned the reporters that if The Atlantic wrote “good stories and truthful stories, the magazine would be hot,” and said that most media owners were growing tired of standing up to Trump, a possible reference to Bezos’s Trump-friendly turn at The Washington Post. “At some point, they say, No más, no más,” Trump reportedly said.

The interview came shortly before The Atlantic broke the news about National Security Advisor Michael Waltz accidentally inviting Atlantic editor Jeffrey Goldberg to a private Signal chat, which prompted the president to sour on the magazine all over again. (Trump called Goldberg “a total sleazebag.”) But once again, his public barbs didn’t stand in the way of a separate invitation to the White House, which he extended to Sherer, Parker, and Goldberg last week. During that meeting, Sherer said on CNN, Trump “was in a far more conciliatory mood” and acknowledged the turmoil that has since overtaken the Pentagon. “I think he’s gonna get it together,” Trump said of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. “I had a talk with him, a positive talk, but I had a talk with him.”

As for the news that his Cabinet officials had accidentally texted secretive strike plans to Goldberg, Trump said he’d instructed his team, “Maybe don’t use Signal, okay?”

The Atlantic’s story is a telling account of how the president staged an unlikely comeback after becoming a political pariah in the wake of the January 6, back when his team was reportedly having trouble getting him even booked on Fox & Friends. It also shows how he’s come back more powerful than the first time around now that the guardrails of his first term are off. As Trump reportedly put it during the Saturday morning phone call, “The first time, I had two things to do—run the country and survive; I had all these crooked guys. And the second time, I run the country and the world.”

But even more than that, the story is a stunning illustration of how, perhaps the most media-savvy president of all time works the press in public and private—but still somehow does not know how to screen a phone call.

The Art Of The Scam

Today's WTF

Talk about being high on your own supply. The guy thinks he's so smart that when he "learns" a word that normal people have been using in everyday conversation for 600 years or more, he believes he's made the linguistic discovery of the ages.

Somebody please make this shit stop.