memeorandum: Melania Trump, Amazon partner to release new film about her life in theaters worldwide (Brooke Singman/Fox News)

1:30 PM ET, January 5, 2025

Top Items:

‘A Day of Love’: How Trump Inverted the Violent History of Jan. 6 — The president-elect and his allies have spent four years reinventing the Capitol attack — spreading conspiracy theories and weaving a tale of martyrdom to their ultimate political gain. — In two weeks, Donald J. Trump …

Discussion: Politico, The Hill, Los Angeles Times, CNN, Associated Press, CBS News, The Guardian, USA Today, Althouse, HuffPost and Washington Post

Kyle Cheney / Politico:

Donald Trump is about to get the Jan. 6 that he denied Joe Biden — Monday's certification of Trump's victory will be the antithesis of the carnage at the Capitol four years ago. — The transfer of power to Donald Trump is shaping up to be, well, peaceful.

Discussion: The Hill, Associated Press, USA Today and Townhall

S.V. Date / HuffPost:

Trump's Propaganda Victory: The Rewriting Of Jan. 6 — You can believe your own eyes or Donald Trump's words — and many Americans are choosing to believe him. — WASHINGTON — It took decades for defenders of the Confederacy to rewrite the history of the Civil War to recast Southern …

Tom Dreisbach / NPR:

As Trump rewrites history, victims of the Jan. 6 riot say they feel ‘betrayed’ — For the millions of Americans who watch the presidential inauguration every four years, the Lower West Terrace Tunnel of the U.S. Capitol is a familiar site. — The incoming president walks through that tunnel …

Discussion: New York Times, Plain Dealer and The Hill

Peter Baker / New York Times:

Trump Sees the U.S. as a ‘Disaster.’ The Numbers Tell a Different Story. — President Biden is bequeathing his successor a nation that by many measures is in good shape, even if voters remain unconvinced. — To hear President-elect Donald J. Trump tell it, he is about to take over a nation ravaged …

Discussion: Lawyers, Guns & Money and Raw Story

Dan Balz / Washington Post:

A different and more dangerous world awaits President-elect Trump — The war in Ukraine presents immediate challenges for the incoming president, with other problems looming in the Middle East and China. — President-elect Donald Trump will begin his second term stronger and more dominant …

Discussion: Raw Story

Jamison Foser / Finding Gravity:

No, Jeff Bezos is not “obeying in advance” — Ann Telnaes, a giant of the editorial cartoonist world who won the Pulitzer Prize in 2001, has resigned from The Washington Post after the paper killed a cartoon she submitted depicting Post owner Jeff Bezos (among others) negatively. Telnaes explains:

Discussion: Media Nation and Balloon Juice, more at Mediagazer »

Todd Richmond / Associated Press:
Washington Post cartoonist quits after paper rejects sketch of Bezos bowing to Trump

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, Daily Mail, Newsbusters, CNBC, Washington Times, Althouse, Politico, The Hill, New York Post, CNN, HuffPost and Rolling Stone

David Folkenflik / NPR:
A Pulitzer winner quits ‘Washington Post’ after a cartoon on Bezos is killed

Discussion: How Things Work, Mother Jones, The Daily Caller, The Japan Times and The Borowitz Report

Brooke Singman / Fox News:

Melania Trump, Amazon partner to release new film about her life in theaters worldwide — The documentary will be released in the second half of 2025 and executive produced by Mrs. Trump — EXCLUSIVE: Amazon Prime has exclusively licensed a documentary film for global theatrical …

Discussion: CNBC, Mediaite, Breitbart, Daily Mail and Lawyers, Guns & Money

Ben Smith / Semafor:

Director Brett Ratner, marginalized after ‘#MeToo’ allegations, will direct Melania Trump documentary — The News — The director and producer Brett Ratner, forced out of Hollywood at the peak of the #MeToo movement, will direct a documentary about First Lady Melania Trump for Amazon, the studio confirmed Sunday.

Discussion: Rolling Stone, One America News Network, The Hollywood Reporter, Deadline, Variety and New York Post, more at Mediagazer »

Rex Huppke / USA Today:

As Trump's election is certified, Americans should declare war on stupidity — Shame is what keeps us in check, or at least it should. It certainly used to. Trump, devoid of shame, has gone to great lengths to eviscerate that societal check. — On the eve of Donald Trump's election certification …

Alexandra Marquez / NBC News:

Sen. Adam Schiff says the New Orleans attack shows Kash Patel shouldn't lead the FBI — Schiff told NBC News' “Meet the Press” that it was an “easy” decision to vote against Patel, President-elect Donald Trump's pick to lead the FBI. — Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., said Sunday that the New Year's …

Discussion: The Hill

Sam Levine / The Guardian:

Fears grow for voting rights as Trump plots to reshape US justice department — Experts warn that incoming president could direct DoJ officials to scale back enforcement of Voting Rights Act — Donald Trump could use a second term atop the justice department to gut enforcement …

Discussion: Digby's Hullabaloo

Michael Podhorzer / Weekend Reading:
How Trump “Won” — The Anesthetized Anti-MAGA Majority — With all the ballots counted …

Discussion: The Daily Caller and Digby's Hullabaloo

Douglas Murray / The Free Press:

Things Worth Remembering: ‘He Died Standing Up’ — Jeannette Bougrab's partner was murdered at Charlie Hebdo 10 years ago—in the name of values, she said, 'that we've forgotten to defend.' … This has been a week of mourning for the families of the Americans who lost their lives to Islamism in New Orleans.

Discussion: The Economist

Associated Press:

Driving into Manhattan? That'll cost you, as new congestion toll starts Sunday — New York's new toll for drivers entering the center of Manhattan debuted Sunday, meaning many people will pay $9 to access the busiest part of the Big Apple during peak hours.