Only the Best?

Mark your calendars:  Meghan and Harry are getting married in Windsor on May 19.  That other infamous duo, Trump and Kim Jong Un, are on schedule to meet in Singapore on June 12.  It’s reported that the royal couple will be delaying their planned honeymoon, fulfilling some preexisting commitments before jetting off to someplace in Africa.  At least for now, one member of that other couple is already on a honeymoon, basking in the glow of his new bromance.  That guy, Trump described his newest fling saying  “we are starting off on a new footing -- I really think we have a very good chance of doing something very meaningful. A lot of very good things have happened," Speaking of Kim he added "I really think he wants to do something and bring the country into the real world. It's never been taken this far, there has never been a relationship like this. I really think a lot of progress has been made."  As to the rest of us, it will be really nice to see Meghan and Harry go the distance but if they don’t the consequences of their break up, while emotionally distressing for them, will have little impact on the rest of us beyond an onslaught of some gossipy articles including a few “I told you so’s” from Meghan’s estranged half siblings.  The consequences of a Trump-Kim failure would be far more concerning, resulting in even more disruption of the world order, more missile launches and some more nuclear explosions.  It’s not clear that Trump understands that even a successful deal with Kim will require more than a highly publicized first date, at best it will take months  of negotiations and probably some pretty significant concessions from both sides.  If the two erratic actors make it out of Singapore with any kind of peace framework, the devil will be in the details especially those related to monitoring of nuclear sites, the kind of details that were included in the deal with Iran that Trump just kicked to the curb.  Speaking of that other deal, it remains on life support with other countries trying to salvage its remainders from what is expected to be the crushing impact of the re-imposition of  US financial sanctions. Tension between Israel and Iran continue to ratchet up with little end in sight. Diplomacy is another one of those very, very complicated things.

The Rest of the Circus:  Rudy Giuliani better hope that he stays on Trump’s good side because his other options are falling away.  Yesterday, Greenberg Traurig, his now former law firm announced that they were parting ways permanently.  Apparently Trump’s undying advocacy for all things Trump, especially his defense of Trump’s hush payments to playmates and adult film stars threw his former partners over the edge.  They were particularly upset about his claim that at firms like theirs, helping clients payoff errant girlfriends was standard operating procedure and wanted him to stop implicating them in his less than savory or ethical activities.  For his part  Giuliani explained away the split saying that he left because his role on the Trump team was all consuming and would continue for a long time, a contradiction from his earlier assertion that he would have the Mueller investigation wrapped up in two weeks.  As to that Mueller investigation, echoing words used by former president Nixon years ago, VP Pence told NBC’s Andrea Mitchell that it has gone on for long enough.  His message  to Mueller is that “It’s time to wrap it up.”  Pence’s remarks did not go unnoticed.  While Trump must have been really pleased with his obsequiousness and gleeful willingness to stick with the party line,  in a Washington Post opinion piece entitled “Trump is No Longer the Worst Person in Government” long term conservative George Will blasted the ”oleaginous” Pence calling him a toady before concluding that Trump is what he is, a “floundering, inarticulate jumble of gnawing insecurities and not-at-all compensating vanities, which is pathetic. Pence is what he has chosen to be, which is horrifying.”  Long term Republican strategist and communications advisor Steve Schmidt doubled down, calling Pence horrific and a titanic fraud  who for years engaged in “moral preening” but now has turned into the ultimate slobbering Trump cultist. A few other members of that Trump cult drew attention yesterday too by attacking the ailing Senator John McCain for his refusal to endorse the nomination of Gina Haspel to serve as Director of the CIA because of her history with the  CIA’s enhanced interrogation program and her involvement in the destruction of the waterboarding tapes. Dissing McCain, former VP Dick Cheney called for more torture because he really liked it when it was “legal.”  Kelly Sadler, a member of the White House communications team said that McCain’s “dying anyway,” so why should anyone care what he has to say.   We know what she said  because a number of other members of the White House communications office leaked her chilling remarks though none of them shut her down when she made them.   Speaking on Fox Business, retired Air Force Lt. General Thomas McInerney further slammed McCain while defended the use of torture saying that “it worked on John, that’s why they call him ‘songbird John.’”  McCain who was tortured during his five years of captivity in Viet Nam, never “sang,” moreover despite his suffering he refused his captors’ offer of early release because he wouldn’t leave his fellow service men’s side. Fox Business has since apologized for McInerney’s statement.   While Chief of Staff John Kelly had nothing bad to say about John McCain, he also had nothing bad to say about his experience in the White House.  He told NPR that he never once seriously thought about leaving his post, that he wishes he had started his job there earlier, that he is in lockstep with Trump on all of his positions and that Trump is a really smart guy.  With those remarks Kelly also proved once again that he is a willing liar.  Everyone knows that he’s been miserable, that his days are numbered and that he’s called Trump an idiot countless times.  One person who isn’t all that happy on the Trump team is Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen, the New York Times reports that she hates her job so much that she’s already drafted a resignation letter.  Apparently Trump laid into her in a recent cabinet meeting, calling her out for not being tough enough on illegal immigrants.  He holds her responsible for a recent uptick in illegal crossings at the Mexico border, something that may be seasonal more than the beginning of a long term trend.  He’s also quite upset that she is pushing back at his order to punish children by separating them from their mothers when they are caught crossing into the US, a despicable plan but one that is fully endorsed by Attorney General Sessions.  Taking a page from her former mentor, John Kelly, Nielsen responded to the NY Times article by denying that any of it is true.  Sarah Huckabee Sanders didn’t deny the accuracy of the story but did say that Trump is “committed to fixing our broken immigration system and our porous borders.”   For his part Trump railed against immigrants and called for the building of the wall again last night during a campaign rally in Indiana for the state’s new Republican senatorial candidate.  The adulating crowd ate up all of his words, responding with the usual cheers including one calling for the draining of the swamp.  No one mentioned Michael Cohen, his influence peddling payments or any of the financial and moral scandals that have plagued Trump’s staff and cabinet members.  As to Cohen, his nemesis, Stormy lawyer Michael Avenotti reports that call logs indicate that he made several calls to Stormy’s original lawyer, Keith Davidson, who is now cooperating with Federal prosecutors, after his home and office were raided.  Avenotti didn’t explain how he knew that nor did he explain why Cohen could have possibly thought that calling Davidson moments after the raid was a good idea.  Trump surrounds himself with only the best?