The Morning Briefing: Trump's a Racist, Gov't Shut-Down and Much, Much More

Good Tuesday morning.

Here is what’s on the president’s agenda today:

In the afternoon, the president will greet President Nursultan Nazarbayev of Kazakhstan.
He will then meet with President Nursultan Nazarbayev.
Trump will participate in joint press statements with President Nursultan Nazarbayev.
Afterwards, the president will participate in a working lunch with President Nursultan Nazarbayev

Holy sh!thole we’re still talking about this

The lefty media and political jesters are still obsessed with President Trump’s purported remark about Haiti and/or African countries being sh!tholes. The most current obsession focuses on how Trump’s a racist. When this story first broke I made the observation that describing a country as a “sh!thole” is not the same as disparaging the people who live in those countries. My observation is not special, it’s obvious. Nevertheless, it is a useful idea for the president’s detractors in the media and in the Congress, so MLK Day was spent accusing the president of being a racist.

First up we have Martin Luther King Jr. III, who said that Trump’s vulgar comments are “extremely racist”

“Some may go further and say he is a racist. What I am saying is his comments were extraordinarily racist,” King said.

What is racism? That’s a good question. These days the charge has become a useful tool to shut up anyone who brings up an inconvenient subject for discussion, which is unfortunate because it denigrates actual racism. President Trump fired back at chief instigator “Dicky” Durbin. “Senator Dicky Durbin totally misrepresented what was said at the DACA meeting. Deals can’t be made when there is no trust! Durbin blew DACA and is hurting our military,” said Trump.

Politico participated in the pile-on with its own special brand of concern-trolling in a thinkpiece called Did the AIDS Panic Make Trump Afraid of Haitians?

The Hill has a report that the president told attendees at his bi-partisan immigration reform meeting that he would not cater to the demands of the Congressional Black Caucus. Why should he? CBC members have boycotted his inauguration and plan to boycott the State of the Union speech.

Trump reportedly dismissed Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) when he suggested that Trump consider the CBC’s demands, and that those lawmakers would be more amendable to an agreement if certain countries were given immigration protections.

Trump replied by saying that he didn’t really care about the influential group’s wishes and that he would not create immigration policy to cater to them, according to The Post.

Influential group.

There are so many anti-Trump narratives the Left is pushing I have whiplash: Trump hates women, Trump’s a sexual predator, Trump’s a racist, Trump is a tool of the Russian government, Trump is insane, Trump needs to get 25th Amendmented, and on and on… Is anyone listening to this crap anymore?

Government shutdown on Friday?

The government is heading for a shutdown, ABC News tells us.

At the heart of it: the fate of nearly 800,000 undocumented immigrants.

Democrats insist that if Republicans want their support for a spending deal, it must include a legislative fix to help DACA recipients. Republicans maintain that DACA must be dealt with separately from spending negotiations.

The blame lies with Trump when the negotiations were derailed by the president’s “racist” comments leaked by saboteur Senator Dick Durbin.

In case you were wondering…

Here’s an update on the Women’s March movement from The New York Times.

But as the movement evolves, differing priorities and tactics have emerged among the women, nearly all of them unpaid and spread across the country. Now, on the eve of the anniversary, a rift is emerging between two groups: Women’s March Inc., which organized the march on Washington and spent much of the year creating more social justice protests, and another organization of activists who planned sister marches last year and believe that winning elections, particularly in red states, should be the primary goal. The split has raised questions about who can claim the mantle of the Women’s March — and the funding and press attention that goes with it.

Your daily WTF:

Army vet sues Connecticut VA hospital over scalpel left in body after surgery

[Alleged] sexual harassment update:

Disgraced actor Kevin Spacey accused of racism: report

Sharon Stone has ‘seen it all’ with Hollywood sexual harassment

Catherine Zeta-Jones supports Michael Douglas amid sexual harassment claims

Dita Von Teese says ‘everybody knew’ about Harvey Weinstein

[Alleged] Molester roundup:

Actress Eliza Dushku says she was molested at age 12 while shooting ‘True Lies’

Gymnastics star Simone Biles says Larry Nasser sexually abused her

Historical picture of the day:

Medics rush Lt. Col. George Eyster on a stretcher toward a helicopter after he had been shot by a Viet Cong sniper at Trung Lap, South Vietnam, Jan. 16, 1966. Eyster, 43, of Florida and commander of the “Black Lions” battalion of the U.S. 1st Division, died 42 hours later in a Bien Hoa hospital. (AP Photo/Horst Faas)

Other morsels:

Pizzeria in Belgian city explodes, leaving more than a dozen people injured, trapped under rubble

Hijab cutting incident did not happen, Toronto police say

Notorious leaker Rep. Adam Schiff demands that Fusion GPS testimony be released

The closing of 63 Sam’s Club stores has big implications for small business

DANGER: The Senate’s push to overrule the FCC on net neutrality now has 50 votes, Democrats say

President Trump’s Mar-a-Lago is cited for 15 kitchen violations, maintenance problems

House panel to question Hope Hicks over Russia probe as soon as Friday

The State Department is telling US citizens ‘do not travel’ to 5 states in Mexico

LeBron James says Trump has emboldened racists in the U.S.

Author: Scalia ‘fascinated’ by then-candidate Trump’s outspokenness

Jeff Bezos donates $33 million to fund college scholarships for ‘Dreamers’