January 1, Trump’s Axios Interview Meltdown

This Day in History | 1962 

Marilyn Monroe is found dead in her home in Los Angeles. She was discovered lying nude on her bed, face down, with a telephone in one hand. Empty bottles of pills, prescribed to treat her depression, were littered around the room. Los Angeles police concluded that her death was “caused by a self-administered overdose of sedative drugs and that the mode of death is probable suicide.”

Good morning Middle Americans, 

It didn’t go well. Let us rephrase that – it was a disaster. President Trump’s interview with Jonathan Swan from Axios has everyone talking. It first got our attention because they dropped an exchange be the president and Swan that was about the “Russian bounty story” – the same story former Secretary of State Colin Powell, called “hysterical”. But now that the full interview is out, we can judge for ourselves how bad it was. And it leaves us with a question we find ourselves asking a lot these days, how did we wind up with a choice between Joe Biden and Donald Trump? Neither man is instilling a lot of confidence these days. 

Meanwhile, the FBI has opened more than 300 domestic terrorism investigations since George Floyd’s death in Minneapolis kicked off nationwide unrest and riots, a federal attorney revealed Tuesday in a hearing on Capitol Hill on Antifa and violent protests.

Neil Young is suing Donald Trump’s campaign for alleged illegal usage of his music at a rally.

The commander of the Navy SEALs said the unit will suspend its support of the National Navy SEAL Museum, a nonprofit organization not overseen by the military after videos surfaced online of dogs attacking a man wearing a Colin Kaepernick jersey during a demonstration.

Read all about it. 

-Fraser Dixon

‘The Cognitive Test Trump Didn’t Pass’: Internet Reacts to President’s ‘Shocking’ Axios Interview

(MarketWatch) – Last week, Axios political reporter Jonathan Swan teased his HBO interview with President Trump as “one of the most shocking exchanges” he’s ever had with him.

Now, with the whole thing having aired, what had been the signal “shock” moment — Trump’s claiming the intelligence that Russia was funding Taliban targeting of U.S. troops in Afghanistan never reached his desk — just seems to blend in with all the other stuff.

The exchange that gained the most traction on social media, where the chat went viral overnight, finds Trump talking about how his administration has done an “incredible” job of navigating the pandemic and how the outbreak is “under control” despite surging infection numbers.

Swan kicked off the interview by asking whether Trump was employing “wishful thinking” when it comes to a public health crisis that has left more than 155,000 in the U.S. dead.

“I think you have to have a positive outlook — otherwise you would have nothing,” Trump said, pointing again to the travel restrictions he says saved perhaps millions of lives. “Those people that really understand it, that really understand it, they said it’s incredible the job that we’ve done.”

Swan asked how Trump could claim that the outbreak is “under control” when the average daily number of deaths is again more than 1,000.

Read more here

FBI has Opened 300 ‘Domestic Terror’ Investigations as a Result of Riots, Attorney Tells Capitol Hearing on Antifa

(Fox News) – The FBI has opened more than 300 domestic terrorism investigations since George Floyd’s death in Minneapolis kicked off nationwide unrest and riots, a federal attorney revealed Tuesday in a hearing on Capitol Hill on Antifa and violent protests.

Erin Nealy Cox, a U.S. attorney tapped by Attorney General William Barr to lead a task force on violent anti-government extremists, said the feds have opened hundreds of federal criminal investigations surrounding the violence and rioting since May 28.

“They have since May 28 [opened] over 300 domestic terrorist investigations,” Cox told a Senate Judiciary subcommittee hearing on preventing violent protests. “That does not include any potential civil rights investigations or violent crime associated with the riots.”

Find out more here

Neil Young Sues Donald Trump Campaign for Using his Music

(The Guardian) – Neil Young is suing Donald Trump’s campaign for alleged illegal usage of his music at a rally.

The musician claims that Rockin’ in the Free World and Devil’s Sidewalk were played at the president’s recent rally in Tulsa without a license. Both songs have also been used before by the campaign.

“This complaint is not intended to disrespect the rights and opinions of American citizens, who are free to support the candidate of their choosing,” reads the copyright infringement complaint filed in New York federal court. “However, Plaintiff in good conscience cannot allow his music to be used as a ‘theme song’ for a divisive, un-American campaign of ignorance and hate.”

Young posted details of the lawsuit on his official site which details the singer “continuously and publicly” objecting to his music being used by Trump going back to 2015. “The Campaign has willfully ignored Plaintiff’s telling it not to play the songs and willfully proceeded to play the songs despite a lack of license,” it reads.

Learn more here

Navy SEALs Cut Ties with Museum Over Colin Kaepernick Video

(Navy Times) – The commander of the Navy SEALs said the unit will suspend its support of the National Navy SEAL Museum, a nonprofit organization not overseen by the military after videos surfaced online of dogs attacking a man wearing a Colin Kaepernick jersey during a demonstration.

“Each and every one of us serves to protect our fellow Americans – ALL Americans. Even the perception that our commitment to serving the men and women of this nation is applied unevenly is destructive,” Rear Adm. Collin Green, who heads the Naval Special Warfare Command, said in an email to his forces on Monday evening.

He added: “We will revisit our relationship with the Museum when I am convinced that they have made the necessary changes to ensure this type of behavior does not happen again.”

Get the latest here