Tag: Once Upon a Mattress

-Written by Elaine Godfrey (@elainejgodfrey) Today in 5 Lines President Trump said on Twitter that he has the “absolute right” to pardon himself and attacked the appointment of Special Counsel Robert Mueller as “totally UNCONSTITUTIONAL!” The Supreme Court ruled in favor of a Colorado baker who refused to sell a cake to a same-sex couple. In a series of interviews promoting his new book, former President Bill Clinton defended his handling of the affair with Monica Lewinsky and discussed his own impeachment. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt reportedly instructed an aide to perform several personal tasks, including purchasing a used mattress from the Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C. The White House said Trump’s meeting with North Korea’s Kim Jong Un is set for 9 a.m. on June 12 in Singapore, which is 9 p.m. on June 11 on the East Coast. Today on The Atlantic ‘Just Say It’s Racist’: The framing of a recent New York Times piece comparing President Trump and his predecessor, Barack Obama, shows that “the American discourse concerning racism remains largely about hurt feelings, rather than discriminatory policy,” argues Adam Serwer. Hmmm: In defending a president’s limitless pardoning power, Trump and his defenders are actually making the case for impeachment. (David A. Graham) Not So Great Expectations: Since 2016, the gap between Republicans’ and Democrats’ assessments of the economy’s direction has widened to an unprecedented level. (Annie Lowrey) ‘Bill Clinton Feels His Own Pain’: The former president boasted that he has used his career to elevate women, but that doesn’t change the facts, writes Megan Garber: “Working on behalf of women in general does not spare a person of accountability for his treatment of women in particular.” Snapshot What We’re Reading The Left’s Blind Spot: On social issues, like gay marriage, police brutality, and transgender rights, Democrats have more or less reached a consensus. But when it comes to economics, there doesn’t appear to be a party doctrine. (Ryan Cooper, The Week) L'état, C'est Moi: President Trump’s lawyers’ sweeping assertion of his presidential authority shows that a constitutional crisis has already begun, argues Jonathan Chait.