The Morning Briefing: No MAGA Hats for You and Much, Much More

Good Monday morning.

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

The president has no public events on his schedule today.

Of course white, MAGA-hat wearing Christians would bully and mock a native American elder

Of course. It took about a day before a more complete picture emerged of this purported provocative, racist interaction, but one has to be inclined to swallow the anti-Trump racist narrative with ease in order to start wagging fingers and writing hit pieces excoriating these kids without waiting for more information. I’m not referring to the mainstream media because I expect them to sell these kinds of stories — it’s all they know how to do. But people who are allegedly on the “right” jumped on these boys FAST. Any story that exactly fits the liberal racist worldview needs a timeout and closer investigation. Haven’t we learned anything? Remember that Michael Brown, a promising young boy, cried, “Hands up, don’t shoot” before he was shot in cold blood by a white police officer until he was a 6’4″, 300 lb, adult who knocked around a convenience store clerk before he tried to steal an officer’s gun and was fatally shot in self defense. Remember the Duke lacrosse players, the “Rape on Campus,” and there are many others. It’s always smart to wait and investigate. The media and the institutional left have an interest in cultivating a race war; they run a well-oiled machine to that effect.

From Robby Soave at Reason:

Far from engaging in racially motivated harassment, the group of mostly white, MAGA-hat-wearing male teenagers remained relatively calm and restrained despite being subjected to incessant racist, homophobic, and bigoted verbal abuse by members of the bizarre religious sect Black Hebrew Israelites, who were lurking nearby. The BHI has existed since the late 19th century, and is best describes as a black nationalist cult movement; its members believe they are descendants of the ancient Israelites, and often express condemnation of white people, Christians, and gays. DC-area Black Hebrews are known to spout particularly vile bigotry.

Here’s another good rundown of the story.

Here’s a tweet from a brother of one of the boys. Read the whole thread — how sad:

1) Yesterday was supposed to be a day of celebration for my middle brother Alex, who got married last night. Instead my family had to deal with the fallout of my youngest brother #MichaelHodge being falsely accused for standing & smiling in front of an indigenous man with a drum

— Andrew Hodge (@PikePlaceTechie) January 20, 2019

Here’s a list of some on the “right” who immediately joined into assist the left/media condemn these boys.

https://twitter.com/NightmarEclipse/status/1087021673709223938

Student in Trump hat denies mocking Native American activist in videotaped encounter

‘Poisoning Young Minds’: Democratic Rep Wants To Ban Teens From Wearing MAGA Hats, Says He Was Joking

Trump comes forward with a deal, Democrats not interested

President Trump made another budget offer on Saturday, in hopes the Democrats would come to the table and an agreement could be reached so we can open the government. But alas, the Democrats will not make a deal unless Trump opens the government and tosses all his deal leverage away. Chris Wallace on FNC was incredulous that Trump wouldn’t want to throw his leverage away.

“No, isn’t it really that you just want the leverage?” Wallace asked on “Fox News Sunday.” “And that you figure if you don’t keep the government closed, that then they’re going to go nowhere?”

Uh YES, Chris, there is no reason the Democrats would make a deal on the wall once the government is open. They admitted they wouldn’t make a deal on the wall even if Trump gave them everything they wanted and opened the government, so really, there isn’t much to be done unless Trump abandons his campaign promises. The longer the government is closed, and the longer the Democrats refuse to deal while Trump makes offers, the worse it’s going to look for the Dems.

Schumer again tells Trump to end shutdown before wall negotiation

Mueller’s witch hunters undermine BuzzFeed story that Trump told Cohen to lie

This story was so HOT HOT HOT that all day on Friday everyone was giddy that finally *impeach Trump* was happening. Hours and hours of cable news shows talked about this story and the internet and Twitter were so excited. IT’S HAPPENING…until in a rare public appearance, Mueller’s posse snuffed out the flame of impeachment.

Now here’s how these stories happen to appear in the media — and not just this story but most every story that makes it into the news cycle. Stories are pitched by professionals, a la Fusion GPS, to “journalists” at most of the major outlets; they aren’t usually leaked by some do-gooder whistle-blowers. In the city of media hierarchy, BuzzFeed is basically the sewer system. “Prestige” publications like the New York Times will sometimes pass on poorly sourced stories but places like Buzzfeed will run with them. Once BuzzFeed runs a story the “prestige” publication can then write about the story in the context of “BuzzFeed is reporting…” Now here is the kicker: these “prestige” publications know the stories are weak, because they passed on running them, but nevertheless they give them headline after headline after headline but are insulated because they are just reporting what BuzzFeed is reporting. Same thing happened with the dossier: it was pitched to everyone but only BuzzFeed ran with it.

Meanwhile, BuzzFeed has doubled-down on their story.

Historical picture of the day:

David Roeder shouts and waves as he and others arrive at Rhein-Main U.S. Air Force base in Frankfurt, West Germany from Algeria on January 21, 1981. He was among 52 Americans held hostage in Iran for 444 days after their capture at the U.S. Embassy in Tehran. (AP Photo)

Other morsels:

Conservative Pundits Hit Back Against Trending ‘#ExposeChristianSchools’

GO PATS. Tom Brady’s Heroics Send Patriots to Super Bowl 53 over Patrick Mahomes, Chiefs

CNN Anchor Asks: Does It Matter That Taxpayers Pay for Karen Pence’s Security When She Teaches at Christian School?

What a clown. Swalwell: Trump Is a Russian Agent ‘Working on Behalf of the Russians’

Women protest in hundreds of U.S. cities for third straight year

Student booted from sorority for filming friend in blackface

Advertisers Flee Ben Shapiro in Wake of Criticism Over ‘Baby Hitler’ Comments

Schiff gives Cohen a date to testify before House Intelligence Committee

Israel, in rare move, announces attacks on Iranian targets in Syria, delivers warning

US, South Korean diplomats attending NKorea talks in Sweden

And that’s all I’ve got, now go beat back the angry mob!