From Axios, 1 big thing: Mike Allen on the case for extreme worry. President Trump is acting unhinged because that’s all he can do. Trump is finally making investors nervous. Sinclair chairman David Smith claims entire print media has “no credibility”. Trump tweets away what’s left of Sinclair’s credibility. Ryan Holiday on how to serve a deranged tyrant, stoically. Trump’s feud with Amazon is really about the Washington Post’s success. Donald Trump is an autocrat without an autocracy: Josh Marshall on McCabe, Amazon and defending the Republic from Donald Trump. Milton Friedman predicted socialism would kill democracy — instead, Trump is.
Martin Longman on Donald Trump and the deep state. Gingrich’s decades-long quest to purge federal workforce gets a new lease on life. Rex Tillerson’s $12 million army of consultants: The cost-cutting former Secretary of State had grand ambitions for a department “redesign”, but its clearest impact is a huge bill for consultants, some of whom charged more than $300 an hour. Scott Pruitt’s scandals won’t stop coming, and Trump might actually have to fire him. Trump can’t decide if Pruitt is too corrupt to lead the EPA — or just corrupt enough to be his attorney general. Scott Pruitt’s ethics scandal hasn’t stopped him from rolling back environmental protections.
