To read the original in the Daily News, click here.

It is a well-established fact that Donald Trump carries a magic shield. No matter what preposterous thing he does or inane or intentionally false thing he says, he survives to fight another day. When Trump said he could shoot someone on Fifth Ave. and not lose votes, he was attesting to the existence of his invisible armor. Continue reading →

He was only slightly warmer Wednesday at his first news conference as president-elect, referring to some “very, very dishonest people” right in front of him as “fake news” purveyors — his characterization of CNN and Buzzfeed  reporting on allegations that Russia had been collecting compromising financial and personal information on Trump for years. Continue reading →

To read the original in USA Today, click here. 

In his remaining time in office, perhaps the most difficult decision President Obama will face is how the United States should respond to the stunning Russian cyberattack on our electoral system: the penetration of Democratic National Committee servers and the email account of John Podesta, Hillary Clinton’s campaign chairman. Continue reading →

Every day in the United States of Trump brings fresh novelties. The latest comes to us in a report yesterday from CBS News that the President-elect is seeking top-secret security clearances for his adult children: Eric, Donald Jr., Ivanka, and her husband, Jared Kushner.

Reports are conflicting, however. An unnamed Trump transition official, speaking to the press this morning and perhaps reacting to overnight criticism, was paraphrased as saying, “it wasn’t something he was expecting right now.” Continue reading →

With the election over, connoisseurs of Russian influence operations will want to redirect their attention to lower Manhattan, where the world chess championship is getting under way at the South Street Seaport.

Continue reading →

It has been 17 months since Donald Trump descended the golden elevator in Trump Tower to announce, before an assemblage of applauding actors paid $50 apiece, that he would run for the presidency of the United States. His presidency has yet to commence, but his campaign has left a blemish on American history as ugly as any since the Civil War. Continue reading →

The unthinkable — a Donald Trump presidency — is upon us. An urgent task is to examine how it is likely to unfold. By experience and temperament, Trump is unlike any previous occupant of the Oval Office, so projections are difficult. But we do know a great deal about the man. And we know a great deal about the office he will occupy. When the first is put inside the second, what is likely to happen? Continue reading →

The video went viral. It showed a man at a Trump rally in Phoenix, gesticulating wildly at journalists in the press pen while shouting “Jew-S-A! Jew S-A!” It became a national story. On CNN, Jake Tapper asked Trump campaign manager Kellyanne Conway whether she would call the man’s behavior “deplorable.” “Yes, I would,” she responded, “His conduct is completely unacceptable.” Continue reading →

As October surprises go, news that the FBI is reviving its investigation of Hillary Clinton is a bomblet, not a bombshell. In a letter to Congress, FBI Director James Comey reports that in the course of an inquiry in an unrelated case, new emails surfaced which “appear to be pertinent to the investigation” of Clinton’s private server and that his agency was taking steps to “determine whether they contain classified information, as well as to assess their importance” to the previously closed Clinton case. The unrelated case in question is reported by the New York Times to be an FBI inquiry into Anthony Weiner’s sexting practices. Continue reading →

Violence and threats of violence emanating from the Trump campaign are multiplying by the day.

In Virginia, a Trump supporter, taking advantage of his state’s open carry laws, positioned himself in front of the storefront window of a Democratic congressional candidate’s campaign office. For nearly twelve hours, he brandished a firearm, intimidating volunteers working there.

In Milwaukee, a sheriff called for insurrection with this tweet: “It is incredible that our institutions of gov. WH, Congress, DOJ, and big media are corrupt & all we do is b—h. Pitchforks and torches time.” Continue reading →