memeorandum: Donald Trump, the refugee ban, and the triumph of cruelty (Dylan Matthews/Vox)

9:40 AM ET, January 29, 2017

Top Items:

Inside the confusion of the Trump executive order and travel ban — Trump's unilateral moves reflect the President's desire to quickly make good on his campaign promises — But they also encapsulate the pitfalls of an administration largely operated by officials with scant federal experience

Discussion: RedState, Washington Monthly, Axios, Voice of America, The Atlantic, Damian J. Penny, Hullabaloo, Mother Jones, Raw Story, ImmigrationProf Blog, Vox, Washington Post, Balloon Juice, The Daily Caller and New York Times

Benjamin Wittes / Lawfare:

Malevolence Tempered by Incompetence: Trump's Horrifying Executive Order on Refugees and Visas — The malevolence of President Trump's Executive Order on visas and refugees is mitigated chiefly—and perhaps only—by the astonishing incompetence of its drafting and construction.

David Ferguson / Raw Story:

Trump boots top officials — but includes Steve Bannon — in reshuffled National Security Council — DON'T MISS STORIES. FOLLOW RAW STORY! — In another series of executive orders on Saturday, Pres. Donald Trump restructured the National Security Council (NSC) and created a position …

Discussion: ECHIDNE OF THE SNAKES

Philip Rucker / Washington Post:

Trump orders ISIS plan, talks with Putin and gives Bannon national security role … President Trump on Saturday ordered the Joint Chiefs of Staff to devise a strategy to defeat the Islamic State and restructured the National Security Council to include his controversial top political adviser …

Discussion: Outside the Beltway, Los Angeles Times, The Gateway Pundit and Political Wire

The White House:

Presidential Memorandum Plan to Defeat the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria — NATIONAL SECURITY PRESIDENTIAL MEMORANDUM - 3 MEMORANDUM FOR THE VICE PRESIDENT THE SECRETARY OF STATE THE SECRETARY OF THE TREASURY THE SECRETARY OF DEFENSE THE ATTORNEY GENERAL THE SECRETARY OF ENERGY

Discussion: Infowars and Washington Post

Mother Jones:

A Federal Judge Just Issued a Stay Against Donald Trump's “Muslim Ban” — A federal judge in Brooklyn issued an emergency stay Saturday night against President Donald Trump's executive order banning immigration from certain predominantly Muslim countries, temporarily allowing people …

Discussion: USA Today, New York's PIX11, ABC News, NBC News, Above the Law, Townhall.com, ThinkProgress, Mediaite, Little Green Footballs, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Vox, AOL and Washington Post

Brooke Seipel / The Hill:

Federal judge blocks Trump immigration order: report — The federal court for the Eastern District of New York has issued an emergency stay halting President Trump's executive order banning immigrants from seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the U.S, The Verge reported Saturday night.

Discussion: John Hawkins' Right Wing News, TheBlaze, IJR, Balloon Juice and New York Times

Sfrantzman / Seth J. Frantzman:

Obama's administration made the “Muslim ban” possible and the media won't tell you — I was outraged by the ban on refugees from war-torn countries in the Middle East. I've covered refugees fleeing war in Iraq and Syria over the last two years, meeting families on the road in Greece …

Discussion: Infowars, Instapundit, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Althouse, The Guardian, CNN, Hullabaloo, New York Times, Daily Kos, Vox Popoli, The Daily Caller, The Mahablog, New York Daily News and Hit & Run

Nilay Patel / The Verge:

Federal court halts Trump's immigration ban — Step one in a long fight to come — The federal court for the Eastern District of New York issued an emergency stay halting President Donald Trump's executive order banning entry to the US from seven majority-Muslim countries tonight …

Discussion: ACLU, Joe.My.God., Axios, The Talking Dog, Daily Kos, Gothamist and TheBlaze

Adrienne Mahsa Varkiani / ThinkProgress:
Here's your list of all the protests happening against the Muslim Ban

Discussion: National Review, The Verge, The Hill, New York Times, Daily Kos, Washington Post, Talking Points Memo, New Urban Legends, Vox and Mother Jones

Tamer El-Ghobashy / Wall Street Journal:
Trump Visa Ban Also Applies to Citizens With Dual Nationality, State Department Says

Discussion: neo-neocon, The Hill, CNN, Raw Story and Fox News

Sam Altman:
Time to Take a Stand

Discussion: Business Insider, Politico, NBC News and The Verge

Jeremy Diamond / CNN:
Trump's immigration ban sends shockwaves

Discussion: WTKR-TV, twitchy.com, FOX31 Denver, AOL, Cafe Hayek, Daily Kos, Hot Air and WDTN-TV

Richard Pérez-Peña / New York Times:
Trump's Immigration Ban Draws Deep Anger and Muted Praise

Discussion: The Atlantic, FiveThirtyEight, Vox, Refinery29, The Daily Caller, Fortune, Outside the Beltway, Mashable, Gothamist, Business Insider and AOL

Dylan Matthews / Vox:

Donald Trump, the refugee ban, and the triumph of cruelty — Trump's immigration crackdown is an exercise in government cruelty. — On Friday, Donald Trump made the most plainly indefensible promise of his presidential campaign a reality. He suspended all refugee admissions to the US for 120 days …

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, New York Times and Speaker.gov

Kelsey Snell / Washington Post:
Facing intense criticism, some Republicans are speaking out against Trump's refugee ban.

Discussion: Vox, Sun Journal, National Review, TheBlaze, Mother Jones, No More Mister Nice Blog, New York Times, Talking Points Memo, Daily Kos and The Guardian

Reuters:
Chaos, anger as Trump order halts some Muslim immigrants

Discussion: Raw Story and USA Today

USA Today:
Trump immigration ban blocks migrants from boarding jets, leads to airport detentions

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit, Corrente, IJR, Telegraph, TheBlaze, Refinery29, NPR and Mother Jones

Chris Geidner / BuzzFeed:

Federal Judges Push Back Against Trump Order, Stopping Deportations Nationwide — Less than 36 hours passed after President Trump signed his executive order on Friday restricting immigration on several fronts before four federal judges had issued rulings in quick succession blunting the effect …

Discussion: Business Insider, Vox, Hit & Run, The Gateway Pundit and Washington Monthly

Jerry Markon / Washington Post:
Judge halts deportations as refugee ban causes worldwide furor

Discussion: New York Times, Political Wire, Vox, Business Insider, The Gateway Pundit, alan.com, Daily Kos, AOL, The Moderate Voice, WTKR-TV and Reuters

New York Times:
Banned From U.S.: ‘You Need to Go Back to Your Country’

Margaret Gonzales / ACLU:
ACLU and Other Groups Challenge Trump Immigration Ban After Refugees Detained at Airports Following Executive Order

Discussion: Al Jazeera English, Daily Kos, Washington Post and Vox

Ryan Browne / CNN:

US servicemember killed in raid on al Qaeda in Yemen — Yemenis look at the wreckage of a vehicle on February 9, 2016, in the aftermath of clashes between forces loyal to Saudi-backed President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi and al-Qaeda members in the Mansura suburb of Aden.

Discussion: Axios

Derek Hunter / Townhall.com:

The Media Honestly Doesn't Get It — In 1968, if you'd railed endlessly about how the United States would never, ever send men to the moon, you would've had some crow to eat the following year. — If you made your declarations not in your local pub, but on television and in the newspaper …

Jim VandeHei / Axios:

The Trump bulldozer — We can't stress this enough: Watch closely the specific, substantive moves of the Trump White House. Try to block out the white noise of outlandish statements and unforced errors, and the hyperventilating they provoke. — Otherwise, you miss the big — and in some cases, radical — changes coming our way.

Jake Tapper / CNN:

WH: No mention of Jews on Holocaust Remembrance Day because others were killed too — Washington (CNN)The White House statement on International Holocaust Remembrance Day didn't mention Jews or anti-Semitism because “despite what the media reports, we are an incredibly inclusive group …