The Morning Briefing: Trump Blamed for Roseanne Remarks and Much, Much More

Good Wednesday morning.

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

The president signs S. 204, the “Right to Try Act”
President Trump meets with the Secretary of State
The President delivers remarks and participates in the White House Sports and Fitness Day

Roseanne’s tweet is Trump’s fault

Yesterday, we had quite a social media scandal. Roseanne Barr, the star of the show “Roseanne,” decided to tweet out a rather unfortunate, racist description of Obama aide Valerie Jarrett. The description involved an ape. Reaction was swift: social media personalities and the media complex went crazy. The “Roseanne” show was cancelled promptly. (It’s going to cost them a chunk of change.) Re-runs and syndicated shows were yanked off the air. A parade of figures condemned her. Roseanne apologized and left Twitter. Roseanne returned to Twitter.

Roseanne is wacky—she always has been. ABC News knew what they were going to get with Roseanne and her Twitter account. And her show was a hit—the first hit they’ve had in a long time. And because her show deviated from the stale, progressive line of resistance and Trump jokes, she had to be taken down regardless of the cost. People can’t see Trump voters presented in a friendly and neutral light. And of course, the media quickly blamed Roseanne’s tweet on Trump.

Valerie Jarret, naturally, weighed in with Trump blame. “The tone does start at the top, and we like to look up to our president and feel as though he reflects the values of our country,” Jarrett says in an MSNBC special on Tuesday night. “But I also think every individual citizen has a responsibility too, and it’s up to all of us to push back. Our government is only going to be as good as we make it be.”

Roseanne’s tweet had nothing to do with Trump. Roseanne was doing crazy, unpredictable things long before Trump was elected, good grief. But what is unavoidable is the realization that the political and cultural elites are enforcing a new caste system, where people who hold the “wrong” political views should be punished severely and people who hold the proper political beliefs are given a pass. I mean how many years did people know Harvey Weinstein was an [alleged] rapist and sexual predator as they cashed his checks? It’s disgusting.

Scarborough thanks ABC for canceling ‘Roseanne’

Dem compares Roseanne’s Valerie Jarrett tweet to ‘a burning cross in the yard’

Inspector General prepares to testify

Earlier this month, Inspector General Michael Horowitz announced he had completed a draft of a report on his investigation into the FBI’s handling of the Hillary Clinton email server. Clinton used a homebrewed server in her house to conduct official government business, sending and receiving classified information. Now Horowitz, along with other FBI honchos, will testify before Congress next month.

Both the Senate Judiciary Committee and the House Oversight Committee are preparing to have Horowitz appear before them in early June, according to a congressional source.

On Tuesday, Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, said his committee would hold a hearing titled “Examining the Inspector General’s First Report on Justice Department Decisions Regarding the 2016 Presidential Election” on June 5.

Mark your calendars. Other swampers scheduled to testify: Bill Priestap, assistant director of the FBI’s counterintelligence division; Michael Steinbach, former head of the agency’s national security division; and Steinbach’s predecessor, John Giacalone. Priestap’s an interesting character.

Priestap, who oversaw both the Clinton email and Russia probes, is scheduled for a closed-door hearing on June 5. Priestap was the boss of FBI official Peter Strzok, whose anti-Trump texts with a fellow agency employee have been probed by congressional investigators.

Priestap’s appearance comes as messages between Strzok and FBI lawyer Lisa Page are drawing fresh scrutiny because they indicate Priestap went to London two weeks before the FBI officially opened its investigation into Russia meddling in the election. A congressional source questioned to Fox News whether the trip was connected.

In a text on May 4, 2016, Strzok referenced how “Bill” is getting “back from London next week.”

Stay tuned.

Trump’s campaign visit to Nashville

They LITERALLY were infiltrating the campaign. Trump in Nashville claims people were ‘infiltrating’ his campaign

Trump goes after ‘Chuck & Nancy,’ blasts MS-13 ‘animals’ at Nashville rally

Your daily WTF:

Woman discovers severed head of a goat and photo of herself on the hood of her car

Historical picture of the day:

Some of the cast of the television series “The Love Boat,” walk hand in hand, May 30, 1983, at the Great Wall near Beijing, China. From left to right: Fred Grandy, Ted Lange, Jill Whalen, Gavin MacLeod, Lauren Tewes and Bernie Kopell. (AP Photo/Liu Heung Shing)

Other morsels:

DOT Repeals Enviro Rule Mandating States Comply With Greenhouse Gas Policy

Gaza’s Hamas rulers say cease-fire reached with Israel

Supreme Court rejects challenge to strict Arkansas abortion law

Yes, Alexa is spying on you, even if unintentionally

CA mayor to offer $1K/mo stipend to “those most likely to shoot somebody”

Giuliani: Trump won’t sit with Mueller until he gets info on informant

American Josh Holt returns home after serving two years in Venezuelan prison for alleged conspiracy

US Geological Survey PSA: Please, Don’t Roast Marshmallows Over Lava

Chuck Todd: NFL Sided With ‘White Consumers’ By Implementing Anthem Policy

Pompeo to gather ‘like-minded’ allies on religious freedom

White House silence on Melania stokes conspiracy theories