President Trump is starting his official day much later than he did in the early days of his presidency, often around 11am, and holding far fewer meetings, according to copies of his private schedule shown to Axios. This is largely to meet Trump’s demands for more “Executive Time,” which almost always means TV and Twitter time alone in the residence, officials tell us.
The schedules shown to me are different than the sanitized ones released to the media and public.
The Yale psychiatrist who met with Democrats to talk about President Trump's mental stability says she did not break the American Psychiatric Association's Goldwater Rule, which prohibits psychiatrists from giving professional opinions about the mental state of public figures without in-person consulations and consent, the Yale Daily News reports. Psychiatrist Bandy Lee told the News "she is speaking to Trump’s 'dangerousness,' which can be remotely evaluated based on the situation."
Why it matters: In December, congressional Democrats brought Lee to Washington to discuss the president's mental fitness for office — an issue that has made headlines in light of claims in Michael Wolff's new book that top Trump aides question his mental stability.
Lee's assessment of Trump, per the News:
"Under stress he has shown that he goes into attack mode and seems to resort to violence at times of feeling threatened or feeling powerless in some way ... He uses violence to burnish his sense of power, and that is [a] great concern.”
Battered by the backlash from Michael Wolff's book, Steve Bannon is trying to make amends with the Trump family, providing a statement to Axios that expresses "regret" to President Trump and praises his son, Donald Trump Jr.
Rep. Adam Schiff — the top Democrat on the House committee investigating possible collusion between the Trump campaign and the Kremlin — told CNN's Jake Tapper there's concern on both sides of the aisle about Trump's mental fitness.
“I don't think there's anyone in Congress, frankly, of either party who does not concur at least privately with those observations and concerns" about Trump's "capacity to do the job." The issue of Trump's state of mind has been the source of intense speculation after a new book by journalist Michael Wolff claimed that aides closest to the president question his mental stability.
President Trump has tweeted his reaction to the combative interview in which Jake Tapper cut off Stephen Miller, accusing him of putting on an "obsequious" performance to please Trump.
Worth noting: Trump's tweet does seem to support Tapper's point that Miller was putting on a show for the president.
U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May was asked in a BBC interview whether she considered concerns surrounding President Trump's mental health serious, per AP.
Why it matters: Questions about the president's mental state have been asked in the White House breifing room and, now, of an allied world leader.
The quote: “When I deal with President Trump what I see is somebody who is committed to ensuring that he is taking decisions in the best interests of the United States.”
One more thing: She said Trump will visit the U.K., but didn't give a date or say whether it would be a formal state visit. Trump reportedly pushed back plans to visit over concerns about protests in London.
This year could be one of the most consequential years on voting districts as the U.S. Supreme Court and other federal courts are set to rule on cases involving partisan and racial gerrymandering.
Why it matters: These cases could decide some state voting maps are unconstitutional, which would alter how maps are created and implement a concrete legal standard for determining when redistricting is infected with political bias.
President Trump has been working the phones over the past several days telling allies they need to choose between him and former adviser Steve Bannon. For almost everyone it’s been an easy choice: Trump.
What's next: Look for senior policy adviser Stephen Miller to make a rare appearance on Jake Tapper's Sunday CNN Show "State of the Union" tomorrow. Miller has for the longest time been described in the press as a Bannon ally, but that’s not quite true and I expect he will perform a public evisceration of Bannon for a gleeful audience of one.
The Democratic donor, billionaire and environmental activist has become a leading voice in the anti-Trump movement (his “Need to Impeach” campaign has earned millions of signatures) and now he's engaging every member of Congress.
Steyer bought 535 copies of Michael Wolff’s “Fire and Fury” book to have hand-delivered to all the House reps and senators, per an interview he did with California’s KQED radio station.
What’s next: Steyer will be in D.C. on Monday making an announcement about his future political plans, which could be that he’s running for California governor or as a challenger to Sen. Dianne Feinstein for her U.S. Senate seat.
Editor's note: We updated to correct the spelling of Sen. Feinstein's name.
Pause for a moment, and really let this sink in. The President of the United States this morning declared he's not mentally unstable, and in fact is a genius: "Actually, throughout my life, my two greatest assets have been mental stability and being, like, really smart. ... I think that would qualify as not smart, but genius... and a very stable genius at that!"
Nothing like this has ever been uttered in public by a sitting president in the existence of our nation. Nothing. And it puts us in uncharted waters:
The Trump administration is asking for $18 billion in spending over 10 years to extend the southern border wall with Mexico, according to the Associated Press.
Why it matters: Per the AP, this is one of the administration's "most detailed blueprints" of Trump's plan for the border wall, which was a staple of his campaign. The request comes amid Congressional negotiations on what to do about immigrants who were illegally brought to the U.S. as children, known as "dreamers."
The wall will be "first and foremost" in any dreamer-related legislative package, Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielson tells the AP.
