memeorandum: In hurricane-hit Puerto Rico, a stunning silence (Chris Gillette/Associated Press)

11:40 AM ET, October 1, 2017

Top Items:

Matthew Yglesias / Vox:

Puerto Rico is all our worst fears about Trump coming real — A real crisis comes and Trump can't handle it. — For the first nine months of his administration, observers have had occasion to wonder — and wonder, and wonder, and wonder — how exactly Donald Trump would manage to handle …

Discussion: Washington Post, USA Today, US News, The Daily Caller, Mother Jones, The Hill, IJR, Mashable and ThinkProgress

Brooke Seipel / The Hill:

Baldwin returns to SNL as confused Trump responding to Puerto Rico — Actor Alec Baldwin resumed his impersonation of President Trump on “Saturday Night Live” this week for the season premiere, appearing in the cold open as a confused Trump responding to the humanitarian crisis in Puerto Rico.

Discussion: RedState

Tobin Harshaw / Bloomberg:

No, Trump Didn't Botch the Puerto Rico Crisis — A Q&A with former Navy Captain Jerry Hendrix on smart preparations the White House and Pentagon made for the looming storm. — “Send in the cavalry.” — That was the advice retired Army General Russel Honore gave President Donald Trump …

Discussion: John Hawkins' Right Wing News, The Daily Caller and Instapundit

Mike Allen / Axios:

Full text: Homeland security adviser's update on Puerto Rico — Here's the full text of an update on Puerto Rico that White House homeland security adviser Tom Bossert sent his West Wing colleagues: — To inform you, I traveled with Brock to Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands on Monday …

Discussion: ThinkProgress

Chris Gillette / Associated Press:

In hurricane-hit Puerto Rico, a stunning silence — https://apnews.com/4590c0a86dc7473589a7 1e15e3b05181 — Link copied! — SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — I was stunned as I walked through the darkened and humid arrivals terminal at San Juan's International Airport two days after Hurricane Maria blasted its way across Puerto Rico.

Discussion: Axios and New York Times

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: ABC News, Politico and Raw Story

Paul Bedard / Washington Examiner:
Neighboring mayor praises Trump, says San Juan mayor playing ‘politics,’ AWOL at meetings

Discussion: RedState and CNN

The Daily Caller:
EXCLUSIVE: Fellow Puerto Rico Mayor Rips San Juan Mayor — 'She's Not Participating In Any Meetings'

Discussion: Conservative News Today, Washington Post, NBC News, IJR, Doug Ross, NewsBusters, twitchy.com and Bangor Daily News

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

Discussion: Axios, ABC News, The Daily Caller, Mediaite, France 24, Conservative News Today and CNBC

Justin Baragona / Mediaite: General Defends San Juan Mayor: She's ‘Living on a Cot...Hope the President Has a Good Day at Golf’

Washington Post:
Trump called San Juan's mayor a weak leader. Here's what her leadership looks like.

Jennifer Hansler / CNN:
Lin-Manuel Miranda to Trump: 'You're going straight to hell'

Discussion: RedState, Mashable, Althouse, Conservative News Today, ABC News, Daily Kos, Washington Post, The Hill, CANNONFIRE, New York Times and Lawyers, Guns & Money, more at Mediagazer »

Michael Hiltzik / Los Angeles Times:

Column Time's up: As CHIP expires unrenewed, Congress blows a chance to save healthcare for 9 million children — Secretary of Health and Human Services Tom Price voted twice against expanding CHIP as a George state legislator. — Advocates for children's health started worrying months ago …

Discussion: Daily Kos

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

New York Times:

At Trial, a Focus on the Facts, Not the Politics, of Benghazi — WASHINGTON — Almost from the moment that Islamist militants overran the American consulate and assaulted a C.I.A. annex in Benghazi, Libya, in September 2012, politics consumed the deadly attacks.

Associated Press:

The Latest: Barcelona soccer game played without fans — https://apnews.com/7cd3046388ac4ca59d44 3c2ea9cb6936 — Link copied! — BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — The Latest on Catalonia's plans to hold a referendum Sunday on breaking away from Spain (all times local): — 5 p.m.

Discussion: RedState, BBC, CNN, Forbes and Reuters

Stan Collender / Forbes:

Trump Tax Cut Already In Trouble — Don't believe the unrestrained enthusiasm coming from the White House and congressional leaders: The tax cut they announced last Wednesday is already in trouble and isn't going to be enacted quickly. — Of course the party line coming from the Trump administration …

CNN:

O.J. Simpson walks out of Nevada prison after 9 years — (CNN)After serving nine years for a Las Vegas kidnapping and armed robbery, an upbeat O.J. Simpson walked out of a Nevada prison with little fanfare early Sunday to start a new life as a parolee. — The former NFL star left prison shortly …

Discussion: Washington Post, IJR, ABC News, The Daily Caller and The Week