memeorandum: Appeasing the Trigger Gods (Maureen Dowd/New York Times)

5:55 PM ET, February 18, 2018

Top Items:

Matthew Nussbaum / Politico:

Trump attacks everyone but Russia — President Donald Trump railed against the investigations into Russian interference in the 2016 election Saturday night into Sunday, sending off a stream of tweets attacking the FBI, CNN, the Democratic Party, his own national security adviser …

Discussion: Breitbart

Josh Dawsey / Washington Post:

‘They are laughing their asses off in Moscow’: Trump takes on the FBI, Russia probe and 2016 election … West Palm Beach, Fla. — President Trump questioned the intensifying special counsel's investigation of his campaign and administration while attacking his own national security adviser …

Discussion: CNN, RedState, Fox News Insider, NPR, USA Today, The Guardian, ThinkProgress, IJR, Vox, AOL, Breitbart, KTLA, Axios, CBS New York, The Week, RT, CNBC, NBC News, Outside the Beltway, The Daily Caller and Mediaite, more at Mediagazer »

David Frum / The Atlantic:

America Is Under Attack and the President Doesn't Care — As the rest of America mourns the victims of the Parkland, Florida, massacre, President Trump took to Twitter. — Not for him the rituals of grief. He is too consumed by rage and resentment. He interrupted his holidaying schedule …

Discussion: The Daily Beast, Axios, Outside the Beltway, CNBC, NBC News and Splinter, more at Mediagazer »

Josh Feldman / Mediaite:

Jill Stein Downplays Russian Meddling: Media and DNC Interfered in 2016 Election Too — Days after the Russian indictments were handed down, Jill Stein appeared on MSNBC today to downplay Russian interference by pointing to American interference in the election.

Karen Tumulty / Washington Post:

We've just hit a new presidential low … Donald Trump has taken the presidency to yet another new low. — In a remarkable set of tweets over the weekend, the commander in chief sounded off on new revelations about the extent of Russia's campaign to undermine our electoral system.

Discussion: Raw Story, Breitbart, Washington Free Beacon, KTLA and The Daily Caller

Katie Rogers / New York Times:
Trump Blames Obama and Democrats for Failing to Stop Russian Meddling

Discussion: National Review

Associated Press:
Trump vents frustration over Russia probe, rails against FBI

Discussion: Politico and The Week

David Willman / Los Angeles Times:

Former Trump aide Rick Gates to plead guilty; agrees to testify against Manafort, sources say … A former top aide to Donald Trump's presidential campaign will plead guilty to fraud-related charges within days - and has made clear to prosecutors that he would testify against Paul J. Manafort Jr. …

Discussion: The Hill, RedState, Vox, Axios, Political Wire, Law & Crime and twitchy.com

Quinn Scanlan / ABC News:

Florida teen shooting survivors announce ‘March for Our Lives’ demonstration in Washington — Teen survivors of the school shooting massacre in Florida last week are calling for a march on Washington to demand action on gun control. — Student organizers of the protest told ABC News' …

Discussion: Fox News, CBS News, Axios, The Root, thecut, The Week, Breitbart and Mother Jones

CNN:
Florida student Emma Gonzalez to lawmakers and gun advocates: ‘We call BS’

Discussion: miamiherald, FOX6Now.com, WPIX 11 New York, Hullabaloo, thecut and KNXV

CNN:
Parkland students say, ‘We are going to be the last mass shooting’

Discussion: Mother Jones, USA Today, The Daily Caller, Sun-Sentinel, myfox8.com and AOL

Cristiano Lima / Politico:
Florida shooting survivors announce national march against gun violence

Discussion: Breitbart, The Week and Washington Times

Adam Taylor / Washington Post:

The Russian journalist who helped uncover election interference is confounded by the Mueller indictments … A 37-page indictment issued by special counsel Robert S. Mueller III's team on Friday brings fresh American attention to one of the strangest elements of alleged Russian interference …

Discussion: Mother Jones, The Daily Beast and The Guardian

Evan Osnos / New Yorker:
Reading the Mueller Indictment: A Russian-American Fraud

Discussion: Eschaton

Max de Haldevang / Quartz:
Facebook and Trump are telling the same misleading story about Russian propaganda

Discussion: Breitbart, Business Insider, Daily Wire, Front Page Magazine and The Federalist

Anton Troianovski / Washington Post:
A former Russian troll speaks: 'It was like being in Orwell's world'

Discussion: Althouse

Max Londberg / St. Louis Post-Dispatch:

Third-graders are selling AR-15 raffle tickets in Missouri — Third-graders in a Missouri community are continuing to sell raffle tickets for an AR-15 to benefit their traveling baseball team after the same type of rifle was used to slaughter and injure dozens at a Florida school.

Discussion: Law & Crime, ThinkProgress and Raw Story

Cristiano Lima / Politico:
Limbaugh: ‘We need concealed carry’ in schools

Discussion: Breitbart and ABC News

Christine Brennan / USA Today:

Adam Rippon will work for NBC as a correspondent for remainder of 2018 Winter Olympics — PYEONGCHANG, South Korea — U.S. figure skater Adam Rippon, the openly gay Olympic team bronze medalist who has become one of the best-known names at these Games, has been hired by NBC to work …

Discussion: CNNMoney, Outsports, Mediaite, TheBlaze, AOL and thecut

Matt Philbin / NewsBusters:
NBC Hires Anti-Pence Gay Skater

Discussion: Deadline and USA Today

Honor Jones / New York Times:

Why Yoga Pants Are Bad for Women — It's a new year and I've got a new gym membership. I went the other morning. It was 8 degrees outside. And every woman in there was wearing skintight, Saran-wrap-thin yoga pants. Many were dressed in the latest fashion — leggings with patterns …

Frank Pallotta / CNNMoney:

‘Black Panther’ brings in a record-breaking box office weekend — The Marvel model for success — All hail the king. — “Black Panther,” Marvel's first film directed by an African-American, brought in an estimated $192 million for its three-day debut in North America this weekend.

Discussion: NPR

Pamela McClintock / Hollywood Reporter:
Weekend Box Office: ‘Black Panther’ Bounds to Record-Shattering $218M-Plus Bow

Discussion: The Root

Tom Boggioni / Raw Story:

'He's scared out of his mind': Ex-official nails Trump over blaming FBI for shooting to deflect from Russia probe — Appearing on AM Joy, former FBI Assistant Director for Counterintelligence Frank Figliuzzi harshly criticized Donald Trump for attacking the FBI over the tragedy in Parkland …

Jonathan Swan / Axios:

Scoop: Skirmish in Beijing over the nuclear football — On Thursday Nov. 9, when President Trump and his team visited Beijing's Great Hall of the People, Chief of Staff John Kelly and a U.S. Secret Service agent skirmished with Chinese security officials over the nuclear football.

Discussion: Political Wire

Associated Press:

Florida suspect's red flags weren't enough to stop gun buy — The warnings around Nikolas Cruz seemed to flash like neon signs: expelled from school, fighting with classmates, a fascination with weapons and hurting animals, disturbing images and comments posted to social media, previous mental health treatment.

Maureen Dowd / New York Times:

Appeasing the Trigger Gods — WASHINGTON — During his campaign, Donald Trump often bragged about his skill as a negotiator. — In conversations, he ventured that, as president, he might be able to resolve two of the most thorny and tragic dilemmas: finding peace in the Mideast and reaching a sensible compromise on guns.