memeorandum: Speaking Ill of Hugh Hefner (Ross Douthat/New York Times)

1:30 AM ET, October 1, 2017

Top Items:

The Media Needs To Stop Rationalizing President Trump's Behavior — Whenever President Trump lashes out against someone or something in a way that defies traditional expectations for presidential behavior — for instance, his decision to criticize the mayor of San Juan, Puerto Rico …

Discussion: Washington Post and New York Times

Washington Post:

Trump called San Juan's mayor a weak leader. Here's what her leadership looks like. — When Hurricane Maria destroyed the infrastructure of Puerto Rico, the mayor of San Juan became the spokeswoman of a stranded people. — Carmen Yulín Cruz Soto told the world of the “horror” …

Max Greenwood / The Hill:

Dem senator compares Trump to Marie Antoinette — (D-Ore.) is comparing President Trump to Marie Antoinette, the French queen whose lavish spending and aloofness became the subject of public ire during the French Revolution. — “Trump plays Marie Antoinette: Sits at his golf club …

Discussion: Raw Story

Justin Baragona / Mediaite:

General Defends San Juan Mayor: She's ‘Living on a Cot...Hope the President Has a Good Day at Golf’ — President Donald Trump once again used his Twitter account to set off widespread outrage when he personally attacked San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulin Cruz after she criticized the federal response to Hurricane Maria.

Jennifer Hansler / CNN:

Lin-Manuel Miranda to Trump: 'You're going straight to hell' — (CNN)"Hamilton" creator Lin-Manuel Miranda did not mince words in his message to Donald Trump following the President's Saturday morning Twitter attacks on San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulín Cruz.

Discussion: The Hill, CANNONFIRE, Deadline, Conservative News Today, Lawyers, Guns & Money, RedState, NewsBusters, Talking Points Memo and IJR

New York Times:

One Day in the Life of Battered Puerto Rico — 6 a.m. — Near Corozal — The sun rose Wednesday morning in the low mountains of north-central Puerto Rico, near the town of Corozal, to reveal the world that Hurricane Maria has made: shattered trees, traffic lights dangling precipitously …

Discussion: emptywheel

James Fallows / The Atlantic:

From Donald Trump, a New Low — The purpose of my 152-installment Trump Time Capsule series during the 2016 campaign was to record, in real time, things Donald Trump said or did that were wholly outside the range for previous serious contenders for the White House.

Discussion: Hullabaloo

Lee Moran / HuffPost:
San Juan Mayor Responds To Trump's Attacks: ‘I Was Asking For Help’

Discussion: Axios, The Week, Mediaite, NBC News, New York Magazine, Balloon Juice and twitchy.com

Joy-Ann Reid / The Daily Beast:
There He Goes Again: Trump's Demented, Racist Saturday Morning Puerto Rico Tweetstorm

Discussion: Washington Post, The Daily Caller, Raw Story, Caribbean Business, Bangor Daily News, IJR, Business Insider and Mediaite

Mike Allen / Axios:
Trump's new feud — Three days before flying to Puerto Rico …

Discussion: Washington Post, IJR, Vox, Hullabaloo, Political Wire and Mediaite

Juana Summers / CNN:
Trump attacks San Juan mayor over hurricane response

Discussion: New York Times, Shareblue, CNBC, WTVR-TV, twitchy.com, ThinkProgress, Mediaite, Common Dreams, The Daily Caller, NPR, IJR and Al Jazeera English

Brandon Carter / The Hill:
Trump slams Puerto Rico: ‘They want everything to be done for them’

Discussion: neo-neocon, Breitbart, twitchy.com, No More Mister Nice Blog, RedState, Patterico's Pontifications, Mediaite, The Guardian, The Week and Politico

Michelle Ye Hee Lee / Washington Post:
Did President Trump add $33 million to Puerto Rico's debt by bankrupting a golf course there?

Discussion: Booman Tribune, Raw Story, Talking Points Memo and Washington Free Beacon

Peter Baker / New York Times:
Trump Lashes Out at Puerto Rico Mayor Who Criticized Storm Response

Discussion: Raw Story, Daily Kos, Washington Monthly, CNN, The Mahablog, Outside the Beltway, Refinery29, Vox, The Hill and ThinkProgress

NBC News:
Puerto Rico Crisis: San Juan Mayor Pleads for Federal Aid, Trump Hits Back

Discussion: NBC News, US News, Doug Ross, The Daily Caller, twitchy.com, Mediaite, Raw Story, AOL, IJR, Washington Post, Little Green Footballs and The Week

Brandon Carter / The Hill:
Trump: ‘Fake news’ is trying to ‘disparage’ first responders in Puerto Rico

Discussion: Mediaite, Vox, Talking Points Memo, RedState and Balloon Juice

David Nakamura / Washington Post:
On Twitter, Trump attacks mayor of San Juan for ‘poor leadership’ amid deepening crisis

Discussion: Mediaite, USA Today, ABC News, East Bay Times, The Daily Caller, The Hill, IJR, CBS Dallas, Talking Points Memo, CBS New York, Raw Story, Mother Jones, Mashable, Splinter and Political Wire

Ross Douthat / New York Times:

Speaking Ill of Hugh Hefner — Hugh Hefner, gone to his reward at the age of 91, was a pornographer and chauvinist who got rich on masturbation, consumerism and the exploitation of women, aged into a leering grotesque in a captain's hat, and died a pack rat in a decaying manse where porn blared during his pathetic orgies.

Discussion: Slate

Adam Coleman / Houston Chronicle:

Local high school football players kicked off team after protest during anthem — Two Victory & Praise Christian Academy football players were kicked off the team for protesting during the national anthem at a game Friday night. — Cedric Ingram-Lewis raised his fist while cousin Larry …

Discussion: Raw Story, AOL, The Daily Caller and Splinter

Los Angeles Times:

Tillerson reveals U.S. is in direct contact with North Korea — U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson walks by Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi before a meeting in Beijing on Sept. 30, 2017. (Andy Wong / Pool photo) — Secretary of State Rex Tillerson acknowledged in Beijing on Saturday …

David E. Sanger / New York Times:
U.S. in Direct Communication With North Korea, Says Tillerson

Discussion: NPR, Daily Kos, Politico, New York Magazine, ABC News, Axios and The Week

Nick Wadhams / Bloomberg:
U.S. Talking With North Korea on Nuclear Program, Tillerson Says

Discussion: The Week

Reuters:
U.S. ‘probing’ to see if North Korea interested in dialogue: Tillerson

Discussion: ThinkProgress and SARAH PALIN

John Bowden / The Hill:

Ex-Medicare head says Trump ‘purposely’ raising insurance premiums — The former head of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) under President Obama blamed President Trump on Friday for rising health-care premiums around the country. — Andy Slavitt, who was acting CMS administrator …

John Sexton / Hot Air:

Steven Crowder Infiltrates Antifa At Ben Shapiro Event — Wednesday I wrote about the far left's plans to disrupt a speech by Ben Shapiro at the University of Utah. What I didn't know is that YouTube host Steven Crowder and his producer had infiltrated a local Antifa group and captured …

Discussion: Patterico's Pontifications

Max Greenwood / The Hill:

Trump: Strange gained in polls because of my endorsement — President Trump on Saturday accused the so-called “fake news” media of failing to recognize that Sen. Luther Strange — (R-Ala.), who was vanquished in a runoff election against GOP candidate Roy Moore this week …

Discussion: Washington Monthly and RedState