memeorandum: Trump's Undermining of Rex Tillerson (Krishnadev Calamur/The Atlantic)

6:45 PM 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: The Atlantic, Washington Post, Daily Kos, Taylor Marsh, NBC News, Hullabaloo, The Root, The Daily Caller, CNN, Mother Jones, USA Today, Conservative News Today, Bangor Daily News, Shareblue, Mashable and Breitbart, more at Mediagazer »

Caroline Orr / Shareblue:

Trump heads off to golf trophy ceremony after a weekend spent attacking Puerto Rico — After two days of golfing and tweeting insults at hurricane victims in Puerto Rico, Donald Trump will cap off his weekend by participating in the Presidents Cup Golf Tournament trophy presentation Sunday evening.

Mallory Shelbourne / The Hill:

Pentagon: More than half of Puerto Ricans without access to drinking water — The number of Puerto Ricans without access to drinking water has risen sharply, the Defense Department announced on Saturday. — Fifty-five percent of the population did not have access to drinking water, the Pentagon said in a Saturday press release.

Discussion: RedState and Raw Story

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: Politico and Mother Jones

Ingrid Arnesen / The Daily Beast:
Puerto Rican Troops Are Still Waiting for Orders While Residents Cry for Help

Discussion: Althouse

Molly Hennessy-Fiske / Los Angeles Times: In one Puerto Rican nursing home, a struggle to get power and keep patients alive

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE:
DoD Accelerates Hurricane Relief, Response Efforts in Puerto Rico

Discussion: Shareblue, Raw Story, Bloomberg and The Last Refuge

Mike Allen / Axios:
Scoop: Homeland security adviser pushes upbeat PR campaign for Puerto Rico

Discussion: ABC News, New York Magazine, Business Insider, Hullabaloo, IJR and Mediaite

Richard Fausset / New York Times:
Puerto Rico Is Getting a Surge of Aid, Governor Says

Discussion: ThinkProgress, The Guardian, ABC News and Daily Kos

Zack Ford / ThinkProgress:
Trump calls San Juan mayor ‘ingrate’ in propaganda war over Puerto Rico relief

Discussion: Philly.com, The Hill, Mother Jones, Deadline and Mashable

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

Discussion: RedState and CNN

Brooke Seipel / The Hill:
Baldwin returns to SNL as confused Trump responding to Puerto Rico

Discussion: RedState

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

Discussion: Axios and New York Times

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

Brandon Carter / The Hill:
Trump to attend Presidents Cup golf tournament Sunday

Discussion: RedState

Chris Cillizza / CNN:
Trump sent 18 tweets on Puerto Rico on Saturday. And made things a whole lot worse

Discussion: ABC News, Axios, AOL, The Daily Caller, Mediaite, France 24, RedState, Conservative News Today, Washington Post, IJR, CBS Los Angeles and John Hawkins' Right Wing News

Krishnadev Calamur / The Atlantic:

Trump's Undermining of Rex Tillerson — President Trump's latest tweets on U.S. diplomacy with North Korea appear not only to undermine Rex Tillerson, his secretary of state, but also the nascent dialogue with Pyongyang over its nuclear and missile programs.

Discussion: New York Times, CNN, Washington Post, RedState and Shareblue

Dave Lawler / Axios:

Trump v. Trump admin on foreign policy — President Trump's public order to Secretary of State Tillerson to stop seeking dialogue with North Korea — just a day after Tillerson confirmed talks were taking place — follows a pattern noted by Tony Blinken, a top State Dept. official under Barack Obama, in a NY Times op-ed one month ago.

Discussion: Politico

Jonathan Swan / Axios:

Scoop: Trump urges staff to portray him as “crazy guy” — In an Oval Office meeting earlier this month, President Trump gave his top trade negotiator, Robert Lighthizer, an Art of the Deal-style coaching session on how to negotiate with the South Koreans. — Trump's impromptu coaching came …

Discussion: Raw Story, France 24, Vox and Mashable

David Cohen / Politico:
Trump undercuts Tillerson's efforts on North Korea

Discussion: Patterico's Pontifications

Washington Post:
Trump signed presidential directive ordering actions to pressure North Korea

Discussion: Engadget, The Daily Caller and The Week, more at Techmeme »

Eli Watkins / CNN:

Kasich hints at leaving GOP if it's not ‘fixed’ — STORY HIGHLIGHTS — Washington (CNN)Ohio Republican Gov. John Kasich said on CNN's “State of the Union” Sunday that a time could come when he no longer supports the Republican Party. — “If the party can't be fixed, Jake, then I'm not going to be able to support the party.

Discussion: Business Insider

Akbar Shahid Ahmed / HuffPost:

John Kasich Hints That He May Need To Leave The GOP — The Ohio governor also noted that Americans seem enthusiastic about the idea of candidates outside the two main parties. — WASHINGTON Ohio governor John Kasich, a top Republican leader and former candidate for the party's presidential nomination …

Discussion: IJR and The Daily Caller

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 …

Valerie Strauss / Washington Post: 9 million kids get health insurance under CHIP. Congress just let it expire.

Caroline Orr / Shareblue:

“Pretty safe bet”: Former national security adviser warns Kushner compromised by foreign intel — The National Security Agency warned top Trump administration officials in a series of classified briefings that using their personal cell phones and emails could make them vulnerable to espionage …

Discussion: Media Matters for America, Washington Examiner and NPR

David Montero / Los Angeles Times:

O.J. Simpson released from Nevada prison — O.J. Simpson signs documents at the Lovelock Correctional Center late Saturday. (Brooke Keast / Nevada Dept. of Corrections / AP) — Former football star O.J. Simpson was released from a Nevada prison early Sunday after serving nine years …

Discussion: RedState, Washington Post and The Daily Caller

CNN:
O.J. Simpson walks out of Nevada prison after 9 years

Discussion: ABC News, IJR, The Week and twitchy.com

ESPN:

NFL owners struggled to retain control after Trump's attacks, rise of player protests — As DeMaurice Smith drove Monday morning to Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport for a flight to his annual locker room meeting with the Buffalo Bills, his phone rang. It was Roger Goodell.

Discussion: IJR, East Bay Times and ProFootballTalk

New York Times:

Grace du Pont, Conor Sutherland — Grace Hays Holcomb du Pont was married Sept. 30 to Conor Jackson Sutherland in Manhattan. The Rev. J. Donald Waring performed the ceremony at Grace Episcopal Church. — The bride and groom both graduated from Princeton, she cum laude and he magna cum laude

Amy B Wang / Washington Post:

Semen-contaminated flutes might have been given to children, California school officials warn — Several school districts in Southern California warned parents this weekend that flutes and recorders given to children through a nonprofit music program may have been contaminated with bodily fluids.

Discussion: Orange County Register, Associated Press, CBS Los Angeles and CBS13