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Morning Briefing: What a Sh*tshow of a Night

By Dustin Rowles | Politics | August 23, 2017 |

By Dustin Rowles | Politics | August 23, 2017 |

At a Phoenix rally last night, Donald Trump gave an unhinged, rambling, and angry 77-minute speech, much of which was directed at the news media, which he blamed for dividing the country and misrepresenting his response to Charlottesville.

“It’s time to expose the crooked media deceptions. They’re very dishonest people. The only people giving a platform to these hate groups is the media itself and the fake news.”

Trump whipped the crowd up into a frenzy, got them chanting CNN Sucks! CNN Sucks! and basically provoked them into shouting at the media in attendance (and boy, did they). He called out Jeff Flake and John McCain (though he did not mention those who died on the USS McCain).

He hinted that he might still pardon Joe Arpaio. He castigated the “anarchist” protestors. He said he’d build the Wall, said that he’d end NAFTA, and expressed his usual litany of grievances. He fumed for over an hour. Also, he lied a lot.

He also promised “beautiful clean coal.” He has no idea what clean coal is.

By the end of the rally, even much of the audience had tired of his ranting and many walked out. From the Washington Post:

But as the night dragged on, many in the crowd lost interest in what the president was saying.

Hundreds left early, while others plopped down on the ground, scrolled through their social media feeds or started up a conversation with their neighbors.

Trump supporters would have us believe otherwise, however.

He did keep one constituency happy, however.

Those Trump supporters are just good people, aren’t they? Jesus.

Meanwhile, there was a large number of counter-protestors at the rally, although police ultimately used tear gas and pepper spray on them with very little provocation. Trump, by the way, said there were no protestors. HA!

Trump railed; the crowd fomented; and police quelled dissent with violence. It was an ugly night in America.

The media didn’t react well to the speech. Don Lemon probably had the best summation:

Jake Tapper, more succinctly:

These two former British ambassadors were not impressed, either.

— Aside from the rally, we also learned that Trump got into a profanity-laced shouting match with Mitch McConnell on the phone, largely over Russia and the Russian sanctions. Meanwhile, in private, McConnell has expressed no confidence in Trump’s ability to lead the Republican party or even gain a basic understanding of government. He also expressed horror at Trump’s Charlottesville comments. The two basically hate each other now, which doesn’t bode well for their agenda. They haven’t spoken to each other in weeks.

— Meanwhile, and related: A college football announcer by the name of Robert Lee was pulled off of University of Virginia games because of his name. That’s how bad things are right now.

— The first excerpt from Hillary’s book on the campaign has hit. She describes what it was like to have Trump standing behind her during the debate:

— Speaking of Hillary, Melania Trump thanked her daughter, Chelsea, for sticking up for Baron Trump.

I think that more or less catches us up on last night.