memeorandum: Experts Now Agree: The Deplorables Really Are Deplorable (Michael Brendan Dougherty/National Review)

10:05 AM ET, May 11, 2017

Top Items:

How Trump's anger and impatience prompted him to fire the FBI director — Every time FBI Director James B. Comey appeared in public, an ever-watchful President Trump grew increasingly agitated that the topic was the one that he was most desperate to avoid: Russia.

New York Times:

‘Enough Was Enough’: How Festering Anger at Comey Ended in His Firing — WASHINGTON — The countdown to President Trump's dismissal of James B. Comey, the F.B.I. director, began last weekend, which the president spent stewing over Mr. Comey's testimony to Congress last week in which he provided …

Discussion: The Hill, Daily Mail, Politico, Hit & Run, Power Line, Axios, Washington Free Beacon, Business Insider, Gizmodo, Mediaite, Boing Boing, Los Angeles Times, The Daily Beast, New York Magazine, Vox and McClatchy Washington Bureau

New York Times:

An Open Letter to the Deputy Attorney General — Dear Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein: — It's rare that any single person has to bear as much responsibility for safeguarding American democracy as you find yourself carrying now. Even before President Trump's shocking decision …

Discussion: Conservative News Today, Politicaldog101.Com, Media Matters for America, AOL, Washington Times, National Review and IJR

Wall Street Journal:

As the FBI Reels, Candidates Emerge to Run Agency — The Justice Department moved on Wednesday to find a temporary successor for fired FBI Director James Comey, as Attorney General Jeff Sessions and his top deputy interviewed five candidates amid continuing fallout over the controversial dismissal.

Discussion: The Week and Raw Story

Zack Beauchamp / Vox:

Experts on authoritarianism are absolutely terrified by the Comey firing — “Trump has talked like a would-be authoritarian since day one. ... This is the first clear warning sign that he's attempting to [act like one].” — Those are the words not of a Democratic political operative …

Jeremy W. Peters / New York Times:

For Trump Supporters, the Real Outrage Is the Left's Uproar Over Comey — WASHINGTON — The script should be familiar by now. President Trump takes action that stuns the country, eliciting indignation and disbelief from Democrats and leading them to conclude that the vitality of American democracy is under assault.

Mike Allen / Axios:

Trump puts agenda, presidency at risk — The answers to why Trump canned Comey are becoming clear: The president was filled with grievance about the FBI probe and acted on impulse without clearly thinking through the fallout, numerous sources tell me. — The consequences are also becoming clear …

Discussion: Politico, CNN, The American Conservative and Politicus USA

Lucian K. Truscott IV / Salon:

Americans are witnessing a slow-motion coup — Rule of law be damned, President Trump was mad as hell and casting around looking for a reason to fire James Comey — Less than a day after the firing of FBI Director James Comey, it's becoming clear that Trump has conspired with his attorney general …

Jake Tapper / CNN:

Source close to Comey says there were 2 reasons the FBI director was fired — Washington (CNN)There are two reasons why President Donald Trump fired James Comey, according to a source close to the now-former FBI director: — Comey never provided the President with any assurance of personal loyalty.

Brett T. / twitchy.com:

WaPo story on Trump and Comey cites more than 30 officials but can't beat this one editor's note — Former FBI Director James Comey's termination was big enough news that CNN added a special “Non-Comey news” section to its homepage Wednesday. — .@CNN website right now.

Discussion: Hot Air and McClatchy Washington Bureau

Mallory Shelbourne / The Hill:

DOJ official who recommended Comey's firing threatened to resign: report — Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein threatened to quit after the White House cast his recommendation as the sole reason FBI Director James Comey was fired, according to The Washington Post.

Discussion: Washington Post, RedState, Talking Points Memo, Raw Story, Mediaite and The Week

David Choi / Business Insider:

Trump's deputy attorney general reportedly threatened to resign after being painted as the mastermind behind Comey's firing — While President Donald Trump's decision to fire FBI director James Comey came as a shock for many, one of the alleged architects of the dismissal was also reported …

Discussion: New York Times, CNN, Just Security, Raw Story, The Week, Mediaite and Axios

United States House Committee on Oversight …:
Chaffetz Statement on Comey Firing

Discussion: The Hill, Talking Points Memo, Washington Free Beacon and Washington Post

The Daily Beast:
New FBI Boss Could Be More Controversial Than Comey

Discussion: Washington Post and Breitbart

National Review:
The Comey Ouster — A combination photo of James Comey …

Discussion: The Atlantic, Fox News, Mediaite, Business Insider and Washington Post

Joshua Keating / Slate: If It Happened There: Political Chaos as Regime Purges Powerful Security Chief

The Daily Beast:
White House Lawyers Warned Trump: Stay Away From Michael Flynn

Discussion: portal.liberalamerica.org, New York Times, Raw Story, Mediaite, Talking Points Memo, Business Insider, Politico, Gizmodo, ABC News and IJR

Brandon Carter / The Hill:
US ambassador to Qatar appears to criticize Trump in tweet

Discussion: MichelleMalkin.com, Mediaite, The Gateway Pundit and Raw Story

Bbauer / Lawfare:
How It Was Done: The Problem Is Not Only That Trump Fired Comey, But How He Did It

Discussion: The Atlantic, The American Conservative, Raw Story, AOL, New York Times, The Week, ThinkProgress, Business Insider, Washington Post, Detroit Metro Times, TheBlaze and Mediaite

Wall Street Journal: Rod Rosenstein's Justice

Eliana Johnson / Politico: Sessions emerges as Trump's most valuable ally

Bret Stephens / New York Times:
The Easy Tells of Comey's Canning

Discussion: USA Today, The Atlantic and Vox

John Hinderaker / Power Line:
The Associated Press Goes Around the Bend on Comey

Discussion: LifeZette and The Daily Caller

Hadas Gold / Politico:
Trump holds auditions while Spicer's away

Discussion: Political Wire, Raw Story, Mediaite and Joe.My.God.

Marc Fisher / Washington Post:
Why Trump expected only applause when he told Comey, 'You're fired.'

Discussion: Raw Story

Reuters:
Comey infuriated Trump with refusal to preview Senate testimony: aides

Discussion: The Hill, Axios, Political Wire and Mediaite

Bianca Padró Ocasio / Politico:
Chaffetz requests DOJ IG expands probe to include Comey firing

Discussion: RedState, John Hawkins' Right Wing News, TheBlaze, Axios, The Daily Caller and New York Magazine

Michael R. Bloomberg / Bloomberg:
After Comey, Justice Must Be Served

Discussion: Foreign Policy, Real Clear Politics, Shareblue, TheBlaze, AOL, Business Insider, Washington Post, NY State of Politics, National Review, The Guardian, Vox, Politico, Dallas Morning News, Axios, Mother Jones, ThinkProgress, Talking Points Memo and CNN

Mike Lillis / The Hill:
Pelosi threatens to force vote on outside Russia probe

Discussion: TheBlaze

Kevin Drum / Mother Jones:
The White House Story On Comey Just Gets Worse and Worse

Discussion: USA Today, Discourse.net and The Week

Wall Street Journal:
Comey's Firing Came As Investigators Stepped Up Russia Probe

Discussion: The Hill, NPR, Boing Boing, Daily Kos, Hot Air, Axios, Political Wire, Business Insider, Politico, FOX6Now.com and Washington Post

Shimon Prokupecz / CNN:
First on CNN: Comey sends farewell letter to friends and agents

Discussion: The Guardian, AOL, The Gateway Pundit, RedState, The Week, Washington Times and Washington Free Beacon

Josh Dawsey / Politico:
‘He got tired of him’ — Telling Congress that he was …

Discussion: New York Times, New York Magazine, Washington Post, ABC News, Mediaite and The Hill

Aaron Blake / Washington Post:
More very bad news for Trump: His poll numbers just hit a bunch of new lows

Discussion: RedState, The Daily Caller, New York Magazine, The Hill, CNBC, Business Insider, AOL, Shareblue, Joe.My.God., Outside the Beltway, Mashable, No More Mister Nice Blog, Washington Times, Hullabaloo, The Week and Political Wire

Economist:

What is Trumponomics and how does it differ from standard Republican economics? — Well it's an interesting question. I don't think it's ever been asked quite that way. But it really has to do with self-respect as a nation. It has to do with trade deals that have to be fair, and somewhat reciprocal, if not fully reciprocal.

Discussion: Politico, Axios, Political Wire, Washington Post, TheBlaze, rubber hose, Need To Know Network, Lawyers, Guns & Money, CNBC and The Week

Carol Morello / Washington Post:

Presence of Russian photographer in Oval Office raises alarms — A photographer for a Russian state-owned news agency was allowed into the Oval Office on Wednesday during President Trump's meeting with Russian diplomats, a level of access that was criticized by former U.S. intelligence officials as a potential security breach.

Discussion: New York Times, Gizmodo, New York Magazine and The Week, more at Mediagazer »

Susan B. Glasser / Politico:
Russia's Oval Office Victory Dance

Discussion: The Hill, The Week, Talking Points Memo, Bloomberg, Raw Story, rubber hose and Mother Jones

ABC News:

Constituent loses his temper at Rep. Tom MacArthur over health care — Coming up in the next {{countdown}} {{countdownlbl}} — Coming up next: — {{nextVideo.title}} — {{nextVideo.description}} — Skip to this video now — Related Extras Related Videos Video Transcript

David Weigel / Washington Post:
'I didn't come here to defend the president tonight' — Republican who rescued health-care bill faces voters

Discussion: Los Angeles Times and The Week, more at Mediagazer »

Michael Brendan Dougherty / National Review:

Experts Now Agree: The Deplorables Really Are Deplorable — New social-science surveys help Democrats explain away Trump's win: Yes, his voters are racist. — Scene: The lab-coated man comes in from the room. “It was a troubling case,” he admits. “This question of why you voted for Trump.”

Discussion: TheBlaze

Clive Irving / The Daily Beast:

U.S. to Ban Laptops in All Cabins of Flights From Europe … The Department of Homeland Security will ban laptops in the cabins of all flights from Europe to the United States, European security officials told The Daily Beast. The announcement is expected Thursday.