SINCERETALK

President Donald Trump’s chief of staff, Susie Wiles , announced on Monday through the president that she was diagnosed with breast cancer — and reports indicate the White House is worried about how it will get by without her. “Wiles’ diagnosis has generated fresh anxiety among aides and allies who describe her as perhaps the sole irreplaceable figure in Trump’s orbit — and the only one capable of imposing order on a White House led by a famously unmanageable commander in chief,” CNN reported on Thursday. One longtime Trump adviser told the publication, “She’s basically doing what we were told was impossible. I don’t know what any of us — especially the president — would do without Susie.” CNN described Wiles as a “constant presence” in Trump’s White House, frequently attending his sensitive meetings and high profile public events. In a White House where Trump wishes to be the center of attention, Wiles is skilled at staying out of range of the cameras, providing assistance while n...

President Donald Trump’s 19-year-old son Barron is reportedly close friends with Justin Waller, an influencer in the so-called “manosphere” who preaches mistreatment of women. In the new Netflix documentary Louis Theroux: Inside the Manosphere , the 40-year-old Waller bragged that he had befriended Barron and in general joined Trump’s “inner circle.” “I had dinner with Barron at Mar-a-Lago,” Waller said. “I met Donald that night. I’ve been to Mar-a-Lago four or five times.” Manosphere influencers like Waller preach the belief that men are inherently superior to women and should be able to control women’s lives. They argue for patriarchal values in which women exist only to serve men domestically and sexually. Waller specifically advocates one-way monogamy wherein women are expected to be faithful to men but men are socially permitted to sleep with as many women as they desire. Waller is not the only manosphere influencer to find his way into Barron Trump’s good graces. In Decembe...

Former George H. W. Bush campaign field director Rick Wilson says there’s no reason to wait for the moment when President Donald Trump tumbles from his throne. The tumbling’s already begun. “There’s a moment in every failed strongman’s story when the noise fades, the flunkies fall silent and slip from the throne room one final time before the shooting starts,” said Wilson, who is currently a pundit, media consultant and Florida author. “There’s a moment where the court jesters stop laughing at the Dear Leader’s every joke, and when reality comes crashing through the gilded walls like a breaching charge. There’s a moment when the loyal bodyguard’s eyes flicker with some new signal, and the dictator wonders if the tools of oppression and brutality will be turned on him.” And for Trump, Wilson said that moment isn’t a “someday” thing. It’s a “ now ” thing. “Nothing will save you now, Donald,” said Wilson. “Not the war. Not the lies. Not today’s loyalists, tomorrow’s traitors. Not th...

Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) claims President Donald Trump is in denial when it comes to the price of oil. And the congressman doesn’t understand if Trump even has a vision for ending the conflict. Speaking with host Tim Miller on The Bulwark podcast , Khanna was asked to espond to a presidential statement where Trump mused that the U.S. should finish off what’s left of the “terrorist state,” and then let the countries that need the Strait of Hormuz deal with getting it back up and running. Khanna said “the president doesn’t understand global supply and demand for oil.” Stopping the oil flowing through the Strait of Hormuz, “It’s going to push prices up for everyone.” Although, he conceded, “Great for Midland.” “Just go to your gas pump and you’ll see prices are up,” Khanna said. As the war appears to be dragging on and the Iranian regime shows no signs of surrender, Trump has also shown no signs of a master strategy to turn that around. “There’s no coherence to the policy,” Khanna sai...

President Donald Trump is denouncing Joe Kent, his former director of the National Counterterrorism Center, for resigning in protest over his invasion of Iran. Now a respected columnist is warning Trump’s critics that although Kent may be correct in opposing the Iran war, that does not mean he is on the side of anti-Trumpers. It just means that “it’s getting crowded under” the bus under which Trump keeps throwing people. “How does media ― legitimate media ― cover a story in which a bad person does the right thing?” wrote Bill Goodykoontz of the Arizona Republic. “File under: A stopped watch is right twice a day. And more chaos from the Donald Trump era, and how that has affected media coverage.” Goodykoontz then praised CNN anchor Dana Bash for explaining when covering the news that “Kent is not a typical intelligence official. He is a Trump appointee known for his ties to White nationalists, Nazi sympathizers and an embrace of the Jan. 6 conspiracy theories that we have seen so ...

In its desperation to replace fleeing prosecutors and defectors , President Donald Trump’s DOJ is now loosening hiring requirements for federal prosecutors. Trump’s DOJ says new applicants no longer need have any attorney experience to get a job. They can be fresh out of college, and CNN Chief Legal Affairs Correspondent Paula Reid says Americans can probably expect predictable results. “They have redesigned this agency to try to pursue MAGA priorities and in some cases, pursue the president's adversaries. And they've lost a lot of people in the process,” said Reid. “Some people have objected and walked out. Some people have been fired …” Reid said the DOJ is undeniably having trouble managing its own caseload, with judges complaining about agency lawyers not meeting deadlines, as well as the shoddy quality of their work. “That’s something you don't hear about with federal prosecutors. These are supposed to be the best of the best, which is part of why most offices h...