In his latest book, Tyrant: Shakespeare on Politics, Pulitzer-Prize winning historian Stephen Greenblatt analyzes the Bard's most power-hungry characters. The book never mentions Donald Trump by name, but it is easy to see the parallels between our president and the characters ...read more
Yesterday, CNN's Jim Acosta had his White House press credentials suspended after he repeatedly questioned president Trump over his use of the migrant caravan to stoke the fears of American xenophobes. While he and Trump were having at it, a young, female, White House intern ...read more
Maine Senator Susan Collins has been at the center of much of the debate surrounding the vote to confirm Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court. In the past, Collins has bolted party lines to vote with the Democrats, most memorably in the summer of 2017 when she sided with ...read more
I had the good fortune of talking to David Corn this week, who, with Yahoo! News's Michael Isikoff, has written what is sure to be remembered as one of the best books on the 2016 election, Russian Roulette: The Inside Story of Putin's War on America and the Election of Donald ...read more
When my friend invited me to see The Final Year, Greg Barker's documentary about the end of Obama's presidency, I was reluctant to see it. I had just come back from the New York Women's March, and I didn't want to watch something that would only remind me what a hole Obama has ...read more
The White House is so adept at covering for president Trump's routine outbursts, lies and maniacal ranting that they have now coined a new term for it. When Trump says something that is patently untrue or completely insane, these statements are not lies but a "rhetorical ...read more
It’s a shame, but the days of serving respectably in the public eye appear to have passed us. Hey, millennials — are you feeling old yet? You’re witnessing history. With so many employees either being fired, threatening to quit or outright quitting, the White House is certainly ...read more
I know you are but what am I? It's a classic come back for kids who want to turn the table on name callers, or who just don’t have anything better to say. And for kids, it often works! When grown adults lean on similar rhetorical devices to redirect, however, it's not funny or ...read more
Wednesday was a busy day for the administration. With the deadline for Donald Trump's first 100 days barreling towards him on Saturday, the president continued to be the kid in class who didn't do the work and tried to throw together a project at the last minute so it looks like ...read more
Taking heed from every crackpot dictatorship in modern history, the Trump administration has blocked several major media outlets from a White House media briefing on Friday. Reports The Daily Beast" CNN, The New York Times, Politico, and other mainstream news organizations ...read more
Are you a giant fan of soon to be President Ted Cruz? Are you sick of communism in America, illegal immigrants taking over the country, the ridiculous fact based propaganda on global warming and that stupid theory of evolution being taught to children? If so, join the movement ...read more
At the risk of serious overkill following Mike Huckabee's trail of idiocy these past few weeks, this latest story of stupidity really does warrant attention because it reveals a stark preview of what we should expect over the coming months as he gears up for 2016. Not content ...read more
You might want to sit down for this one, folks, because it's absolutely Earth-shattering. According to a spokesperson for Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), the potential 2016 presidential candidate -- get this -- "foolishly experimented with marijuana" as a teenager. The spokesperson ...read more
Greetings, dear Banterers, and welcome to another edition of A Day at the White House, in which I take you behind the scenes of my coverage of the People's House, and all of its contents. This week's edition covers the span of Wednesday, Jan. 28 through Thursday, January 29, ...read more
It's pretty rote to blame President Obama for pretty much everything these days, including matters way outside of his control, like the spread of Ebola. But Obama-blaming may have just hit its logical extreme. Former Washington Post security journalist and totally reasonable ...read more
No matter where I go, dear Banter readers, you are always close to my heart, and that includes the White House. If you missed our last field trip to the People's House, feel free to check it out now, because how else are you supposed to follow the plot of the sequel? My week ...read more
At Friday's surprise presidential press conference, Fox News tried to inject a little "blame Obama" into the Republicans' embarrassing failure to pass even its own watered-down bill to deal with the border crisis, but President Obama had other ideas. Fox News' Wendell Goler ...read more
They are the Dos Equis guys of journalism, the reportorial equivalent of a gaggle of Chuck Norrises, the Jedi Knights of the People's House: White House reporters. Although the job seems as glamorous as gathering daily on an unused set for a Starship Troopers series that never ...read more
A few weeks back, Bob Cesca emailed me with the news that Tommy Christopher had parted ways with Mediaite.com. In not so many words, he said, "If there's any way humanly possible, get Tommy over to the Banter." About 24 hours later, Chez Pazienza emailed me independently ...read more
Congresswoman Michele Bachmann (R-MN) thinks President Obama needs to be "spanked" and that his "magic wand should be taken away." What? He's had a magic wand all this time? Shouldn't he have used that to get some legislation passed? Watch the madness here: Meanwhile, up in ...read more
It's true. President Obama has all the time in the world to read your email. Here's proof! Politicohas this story about how photos of the president looking over people's shoulders has gone viral, you know, he wasn't getting enough intel on you from your phone records. And if ...read more
But he plays one on TV. Yesterday, Chairman of the House Government Reform and Oversight Committee Darrell Issa called White House Press SecretaryJay Carney a "paid liar." As former communications staff for different government officials and politicians, one thing I would never ...read more
If you lie to Congress, it is a crime. It’s called perjury. You may remember that when Roger Clemens did it, he barely escaped two counts of it. And you should remember that the official reason President Bill Clinton was impeached was because of perjury (you know, it had ...read more
Bill O'Reilly has not shied away from calling Congresswoman Michele Bachmann out when he sees fit. This week he was at it again after her CPAC speech in which she bashed the Obama White House for the president's lavish lifestyle (the gardiner walks the dog!). If you missed this, ...read more
The Affordable Care Act (ACA), otherwise known as Obamacare turns three today. Many of the provisions will go into effect in January 2014 and you may be unsure about how this may impact your coverage. Some states have seen insurance companies increase their premiums and you ...read more
He may not be Mr. Smith but Senator Rand Paul did exactly what I like to see Senators do, he executed an old school filibuster. Sorry, Bob Cesca but I read the Eric Holder letter and to be honest, I think Paul has a point. Here's the actual letter. The language that started ...read more
Elections have consequences, Chuck Hagel deserves an up or down vote on his nomination. Republicans in the Senate have never been thrilled by President Obama’s decision to nominate former Senator Chuck Hagel as his new Secretary of Defense. Their reasons have varied from his ...read more
"They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety." Benjamin Franklin I support most of President Barack Obama's actions and policies. That does not mean when they violate the fundamental ideas that make me believe in ...read more
By now you probably have heard that President Obama signed 23 executive orders on gun safety. You might also have heard Senator Rand Paul’s (R-KY) comments that by signing them, President Obama morphed himself into King Obama and that he plans to introduce legislation to nullify ...read more
Barack Obama has been busy cozying up to big business in the wake of his electoral victory in November, trying to mend fractured relations that saw Wall St and big industry put most of their money into Mitt Romney's campaign. “I am passionately rooting for your success,” Obama ...read more
In response to President Obama's offer last week to hike taxes by $1.6 trillion and to exempt Medicare and Social Security from cuts to beneficiaries, the Republicans have finally presented a counter offer. From Buzz Feed: House Republicans put their criticisms of President ...read more
Gawker's John Cook on the much discussed lunch between President Obama and Mitt Romney in an article titled 'Barack Obama Ate Some White Turkey With a White Turkey Today': On the menu was "Southwestern grilled chicken salad," according to a readout released by the White House ...read more
The scale of Right wing delusion in the face of overwhelming evidence that Barack Obama was going to win the election reached right up to the highest levels of the GOP. Apparently, Romney genuinely believed he was going to win right up until the last minute. From the Guardian: ...read more
By Ben Cohen: Picking up again on the theme of Right wing delusion in the wake of the Presidential election, political strategist Mary Matalin's latest piece of venom against Obama in the National Review really is a sight to behold. The hate and anger spewing from her ...read more
Steve Clemons looks at the data and concludes one thing: Republicans love debt a whole lot more than the Democrats: As the debates on who is responsible for the levels of federal debt continue to play out in the next 10 days before the election and the 66 days before the US ...read more
Although the popular vote looks increasingly close, Obama is retaining the edge when it comes to electoral votes - and that is down to his performance in swing states. From the Huffington Post: Ohio remains one of the most critical states in the election. Along with Wisconsin, ...read more
Just to confuse everyone with more poll numbers, the race for the White House is looking decidedly close going into the final debate tonight. From the Guardian: A new Wall Street Journal/NBC poll shows that after trailing Obama all year, Romney is now tied with him on 47% of the ...read more
I feel pretty much the same way about choosing Obama over Romney this election. From Vice's interview with the irrepressible Cornel West: We have to prevent a Romney takeover of the White House. No doubt about that. It would be very dangerous in terms of actual lives and actual ...read more
Matt Taibbi on the vice President's scoffing last night: The Romney/Ryan platform makes sense, and is not laughable, in only one context: if you're a multi-millionaire and you recognize that this is the only way to sell your agenda to mass audiences. But if you're not one of ...read more
This is likely to make the post debate poll numbers even more confusing. From the Guardian: Barack Obama's hopes of holding on to the White House have received a major boost from new figures showing that the US unemployment rate has dropped below 8% for the first time since he ...read more
The Daily Banter Headline Grab. From the Washington Post: The United States on Wednesday strongly condemned a deadly attack on its consulate in eastern Libya and vowed to bring the perpetrators to justice, as indications began to emerge that the assault may have been planned ...read more
The White House has apparently rejected a request by Israeli prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu to meet President Barack Obama when he travels to the US later this month for the UN General Assembly meeting. An Israeli official told the Reuters news agency that Netanyahu's aides ...read more
Bucking the trend of European economic austerity dogma, France is ramming through a host of measures to get their economy on track that consist mostly of increasing taxes on the rich - a wildly popular prospect with the majority of French people. Some of the measures are aimed ...read more
Here's an interesting take from philosopher Bradley Strawser on the US government's use of drones. Strawser's basic argument centers around the actual reasons behind the war, not the use of drones themselves, which he says are much safer, more effective and completely ...read more
Dennis McShane writes a bleak warning to the British Left in the New Statesman on the likelihood of a Romney Presidency, a prospect they should prepare for if they find themselves in power: In America, the liberal-left dislike of Romney may not be enough to offset the Obama ...read more
President Obama dropped his planned campaign speech in Florida over the weekend and instead held a moment of silence for the victims of the Aurora, Colorado shootings. Said the President: "And if there's anything to take away from this tragedy it's the reminder that life is ...read more
If you want to understand what is wrong with US media culture, this story sums it up. From the Guardian: News organisations in the US are reviewing their policies on quote approval after the New York Times blew the whistle on the draconian methods deployed by campaign officials ...read more
From the LA Times: By calling on Republicans to approve a one-year extension of tax cuts for families earning less than $250,000 a year, President Obama escalated the election-year focus on taxes, emphasizing a key distinction between the two parties and seeking to create a ...read more
By Ben Cohen: According to the Mississippi Tea Party, the implementation of Obamacare is tantamount to treason, and the chairman is advocating an armed uprising to get rid of the 'criminal invaders' residing in the White House. On their official website chairman Roy Nicholson ...read more
From the Guardian: Mitt Romney raised $100m in June, confirming Barack Obama's fear expressed Thursday that he is going to be massively outspent in November's White House election. The fundraising figure has not yet been published by the Federal Election Commission, which ...read more
