memeorandum: Trump says ‘I inherited a mess,’ blasts media and detractors at combative news conference (Ashley Parker/Washington Post)

4:35 PM ET, February 16, 2017

Top Items:

In First Month, Views of Trump Are Already Strongly Felt, Deeply Polarized — Opposition to Trump's refugee policy; improved views of economy — Less than a month after Donald Trump took office, the public's initial impressions of the new president are strongly felt, deeply polarized and far more negative than positive.

Discussion: Daily Kos, The Week and Political Wire, more at Mediagazer »

Rasmussen Reports:

in Politics — The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll for Thursday shows that 55% of Likely U.S. Voters approve of President Trump's job performance. Forty-five percent (45%) disapprove. — The latest figures include 38% who Strongly Approve of the way Trump is performing and 36% who Strongly Disapprove.

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit, Rush and Washington Free Beacon

Pew Research Center:

1. Early public attitudes about Donald Trump — Overall, 39% say they approve of how Trump is handling his job as president, while 56% say they disapprove and 6% do not offer a view. Job ratings for Trump are more negative than for other recent presidents at similar points in their first terms.

Discussion: Mother Jones

Madeline Conway / Politico:

Trump says he called Justice Department to ask them to investigate leaks — President Donald Trump on Thursday said he called the Department of Justice to ask officials to investigate the source of recent leaks about his administration to the news media. — “Yes, we're looking at them very …

Discussion: RedState and ABC News

Allegra Kirkland / Talking Points Memo:
The 8 Craziest Moments Of Trump's Impromptu Press Conference

Discussion: rubber hose

Cristiano Lima / Politico:
Trump asks black journalist to help set up meeting with Congressional Black Caucus

Discussion: Vox, ABC News, Washington Post, Mother Jones, Gothamist, Raw Story and Mashable, more at Mediagazer »

Marianne LeVine / Politico:
Trump names Alexander Acosta as labor secretary nominee

Discussion: RedState and New York Magazine

Louis Nelson / Politico: Trump complains that he ‘inherited a mess’ in rant against media

Tara Golshan / Vox:
A guide to what the GOP-led House Oversight Committee will and won't investigate on Trump

Discussion: Daily Wire and Washington Post

David Brody / CBN.com:
This Just In From CNN: More Fake News!

Discussion: BizPac Review

Wall Street Journal:

Spies Keep Intelligence From Donald Trump — U.S. intelligence officials have withheld sensitive intelligence from President Donald Trump because they are concerned it could be leaked or compromised, according to current and former officials familiar with the matter.

New York Times:

White House Plans to Have Trump Ally Review Intelligence Agencies — WASHINGTON — President Trump plans to assign a New York billionaire to lead a broad review of American intelligence agencies, according to administration officials, an effort that members of the intelligence community fear …

Ashley Dejean / Mother Jones:

Exclusive: Classified Memo Tells Intelligence Analysts to Keep Trump's Daily Brief Short — Keep it short and free of nuance—that is the new guidance that has recently circulated to some intelligence analysts who compile materials for the President's Daily Brief on security threats around the globe.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo

New York Times:

Full Transcript and Video: Trump News Conference — President Trump on Thursday announced his new nominee for labor secretary, Alexander Acosta, during a news conference at the White House. Following is a transcript of that event, as prepared by the Federal News Service.

Discussion: Washington Monthly, CNN, Booman Tribune, New York Magazine and Political Wire

Bloomberg:

Kremlin Tells Media to Cut Back on Fawning Trump Coverage, Sources Say — Order comes as hopes fade for improved relations with U.S. — Trump was garnering more media mentions in Russia than Putin — The Kremlin ordered state media to cut way back on their fawning coverage of President Donald Trump …

Discussion: New York Magazine, Politico, The Hill, Hot Air, Talking Points Memo, Raw Story, Mediaite, The Week, Axios and Political Wire, more at Mediagazer »

Betsy Woodruff / The Daily Beast:

Leaked Emails Show Justice Clarence Thomas's Wife Pushing Travel Ban — Justice Clarence Thomas's wife is organizing in support of President Donald Trump's agenda. And it might make her husband's life a little complicated. — In an email sent to a conservative listserv on Feb. 13 …

Discussion: Daily Kos, The Root, Raw Story and Axios

Aaron Blake / Washington Post:

Donald Trump's combative, grievance-filled press conference, annotated — A solemn President Trump turned his Thursday afternoon announcement of a new labor secretary nominee into a screed against the media and large-scale defense of his first four weeks as president. — It was remarkable.

Discussion: Vox, Daily Kos and Media Matters for America

Philip Elliott / TIME:

Inside Donald Trump's White House Chaos — For two years, Donald Trump mastered the art of disruption. Name a political precept and he probably broke it during his improbable march to the White House. But disruption in government—the rulemaker breaking the rules—turns out to be more costly.

Discussion: Daily Wire, Mashable, Business Insider and Mother Jones

Josh Dawsey / Politico:
Priebus struggles to control fractious White House

Discussion: The Hill, Raw Story and Hot Air

Jon Schwarz / The Intercept:

Carter Page, at Center of Trump Russian Investigation, Writes Bizarre Letter to DOJ Blaming Hillary Clinton — Carter Page, briefly a foreign policy adviser to Donald Trump's presidential campaign, sent a peculiar, rambling letter this week to the Department of Justice, asking it to review …

Discussion: Raw Story, Talking Points Memo and Balloon Juice

PBS NewsHour:
CARTER PAGE: Yes.

Discussion: Washington Times

Chicago Tribune:

Former Obama aide fined $90,000 for illegally lobbying Emanuel on Uber's behalf — David Plouffe speaks before United States President Barack Obama appears at campaign fundraiser at Navy Pier in Chicago, IL on April 14, 2011. — A former senior executive for Uber who once served …

Discussion: Axios and Business Insider

Anthony Capaccio / Bloomberg:

Trump's F-35 Calls Came With a Surprise: Rival CEO Was Listening — Boeing CEO said to be in room as Trump phoned program chief — Lockheed has faced Trump attacks over cost of F-35 contract — Days before taking office, President-elect Donald Trump made two surprise calls …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, RedState, USNI News, Balloon Juice, The Daily Caller, Mediaite and The Week

Josh Marshall / Talking Points Memo:

About ‘The Press Conference’ — This is that rare time when I think the cliched phrase is appropriate: That press conference speaks for itself. There's very little I can think to add. It all amounts to a confirmation of what most of us already know. This man is not emotionally …

Discussion: RedState

Jennifer Steinhauer / New York Times:

G.O.P.'s Grand Visions for Congress Now Look Like a Mirage — WASHINGTON — Congressional Republicans, who craved unified control of the government to secure their aggressive conservative agenda, have instead found themselves on a legislative elliptical trainer, gliding toward nowhere.

Discussion: Daily Kos, Politico and The Atlantic

Megan McArdle / Bloomberg:
A Rough 24 Hours for Obamacare

Discussion: CNBC, Los Angeles Times, The Nation, The Week, The Federalist and Business Insider

Bloomberg:

Tillerson Forced to Stay at Sanitarium in German Village for G-20 — Russian foreign minister asks why reporters were ushered away — Secretary of State is in ‘listening mode,’ official says — On his first trip abroad as U.S. secretary of state, Rex Tillerson was forced to stay …

Gardiner Harris / New York Times:
Rex Tillerson Meets Russian Counterpart in First Trip as Top U.S. Diplomat

Discussion: New York Magazine, RT, IJR and The Week

German Lopez / Vox:

Trump keeps lying about his Electoral College victory — He made two false claims about his win at a news conference on Thursday. — President Donald Trump made two false claims about his 2016 victory early in his news conference on Thursday: He said he won 306 Electoral College votes …

Discussion: Politico

E.J. Dionne Jr / Washington Post:

Admit it: Trump is unfit to serve — Let's not mumble or whisper about the central issue facing our country: What is this democratic nation to do when the man serving as president of the United States plainly has no business being president of the United States?

Discussion: Hullabaloo, liberalplug.com, WWLP-TV, Mediaite and Talking Points Memo

Ashley Parker / Washington Post:

Trump says ‘I inherited a mess,’ blasts media and detractors at combative news conference — President Trump on Thursday aired his grievances against the news media, the intelligence community and his detractors generally in a sprawling, stream-of-consciousness news conference …

Katie Mettler / Washington Post:

‘This is really unprecedented’: ICE detains woman seeking domestic abuse protection at Tex. courthouse — A hearing in El Paso County in Texas went from ordinary to “unprecedented” last week when half a dozen Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents showed up at a courthouse …

Discussion: twitchy.com, Washington Free Beacon, The Hill, The Nation, El Paso Times, Balloon Juice, Hit & Run, The Week, Business Insider, ThinkProgress, The Huffington Post, Raw Story, The Gateway Pundit and New York Magazine

Paulina Firozi / The Hill:

Martial arts academy posts how-to video for defending against Trump handshake — A mixed martial arts online magazine has posted a tutorial from a jiu-jitsu academy on how to defend against President Trump's handshakes. — Recent meetings with foreign leaders have brought attention to the president's handshake.

Discussion: RedState and Washington Post

Chris Brito / New York's PIX11:

Man found dead with zip-ties around neck inside TriBeCa jewelry store — TRIBECA, Manhattan - A man was found dead with zip-ties around his neck inside his TriBeCa jewelry store, NYPD sources said Thursday. — The grisly discovery was made around 6 p.m. Wednesday at the family-owned World …

Discussion: WREG-TV and Gothamist

Richard Pollock / The Daily Caller:

EXCLUSIVE: How The Nation's Spooks Played The Game ‘Kill Mike Flynn’ — Ted Cruz Tries To Wreck Liz Warren's Legacy With One Sentence — Democrats Announce HUGE Show Of No-Confidence In Crucial Senate Race — Why Did The FBI Just Release Trump Real Estate Records From The 70s? — US |

Discussion: Geller Report, BizPac Review and Sputnik International

Daniel Burke / CNN:

‘Telephone terrorism’ has rattled 48 Jewish centers. Is anyone paying attention? — More bomb threats, anti-Semitic vandalism in US — (CNN)Samantha Taylor was at Orlando's Jewish Community Center for a morning meeting when she heard reports of a bomb threat crackle from the director's walkie-talkie.

Discussion: Vox and New York Magazine