1) Never attribute to a conspiracy what can be explained by simple incompetence. 2) BUT -- in this case -- we're getting some deliberate obfuscation about key points regarding Trump's trips to Minnesota and New Jersey, Wednesday and Thursday.
3) If Trump was contagious on Wednesday and Thursday (and it's almost certain that he was on Thursday) then he possibly/likely infected donors at indoor fundraisers in Shorewood, MN, and at his golf course in Bedminster, NJ.
4) Hope Hicks felt ill on the plane heading back from Minnesota, which should have raised a big red flag for him and anyone else who had been around her over the previous days. Not saying she made them sick. There could have been a common source.
5) However, her illness meant there was a problem in Trump's inner circle. 6) What Americans have a right to know:
a) When did Trump receive his first positive test?
b) When did he receive his last negative test?
c) If he was not tested after Hicks' positive test, why not?
I asked the White House about Trump's testing timeline.
Here is their response, given only on condition of anonymity: "The president is tested regularly."
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Donald Trump is giving the commencement address at the United States Military Academy wearing his campaign hat.
Trump finished his meandering speech in which he attacked his predecessors, bragged about his election win, talked about trophy wives … then he left, claiming he had to deal with Russia and China.
It is traditional for the president at academy commencements to congratulate each cadet.
That part of the ceremony is now happening without him.
The president of the United States, from the moment he regained the office, has been step-by-step following the autocrat’s playbook. He has gone after universities for not obeying his decrees.
He has extorted law firms for having on staff, or just once-upon-a-time having had on staff, people who crossed him. He has targeted for prosecution former aides who challenged him. He has arrested a local judge for not helping him round up migrants for deportation.
Some years ago I needed a spare paddle for my self-steering gear. I was in Spain, but was on my way to Gibraltar so had it shipped to the marina I was going to tie up in.
NEW -- Kash Patel has hawked a sketchy supplement to undo the effects of the COVID vaccine, promoted the QAnon cult, spread Trump's lies about a stolen election, and already has a 60-name enemies list of Trump critics.
Soon he could the FBI director.
Should he win confirmation, it would put an end to the concept of the FBI as a non-political law enforcement agency, and unwind the reforms put in place after the abuses by J. Edgar Hoover.
Republicans and Democrats call him Trump's most dangerous pick.
Reading back through this before filing, I was taken aback that someone could do and say the things Patel has over the past years and STILL likely be the next FBI director.