(The wide-ranging interview of President Trump and others touches on such topics as the firing of James Comey, his replacement, the media and press conferences and President Trump’s accomplishments which the “mainstream” media have failed to cover. — DM)
Trump Says He’s ‘A Smart Person,’ Doesn’t Need Daily Intelligence Briefings, PJ Media, Walter Hudson, December 11, 2012
President-elect Donald Trump continues to defy convention and ruffle institutional feathers. In a wide-ranging interview with Chris Wallace on “Fox News Sunday,” Trump indicated he will delegate daily intelligence briefings to subordinates. From the Daily Mail:
“I get it when I need it,” [Trump] said on Fox News of the top-secret briefings sessions, adding that he’s leaving it up to the briefers to decide when a development represents a “change” big enough to notify him.
“I’m, like, a smart person. I don’t have to be told the same thing in the same words every single day for the next eight years,” Trump said.
Read in excerpt like that, Trump’s remarks may come across as arrogant. He presumes that he will be in office for two terms, touts his own intellect, and downplays the importance of a critical presidential role.
However, when viewed in context [below], Trump’s position proves much less provocative. His “smart person” comment comes off less as a reference to some exclusive ability, and more like the standard capacity most of us have to remember something when first told. He could have just as easily said, “I’m not an idiot. I don’t have to be told the same thing in the same words.”
Trump went on to note that his generals and Vice President-elect Mike Pence will receive routine daily briefings, presumably including the redundancies he seeks to avoid. This is consistent with his articulated tendency to delegate tasks to “the best people.”
Trump also addressed bipartisan concerns regarding Russia’s influence in the election.
“It’s ridiculous,” Trump said of the CIA’s assessment [that that Russia tried to interfere with the presidential election].
[…]
Trump’s incoming chief of staff, Reince Priebus, shrugged off allegations that Russia helped Trump win.
He said: “The Russians didn’t tell Clinton to ignore Wisconsin and Michigan.”
The Democratic candidate was expected to win in these two states but they went to Trump instead.
“She lost the election because her ideas were bad. She didn’t fit the electorate. She ignored states that she shouldn’t have and Donald Trump was the change agent,” Priebus said on ABC’s ‘This Week’.
Priebus may be overstating the case when he says the election results “had nothing to do with the Russians.” But those claiming Russia’s influence was decisive likewise overstate their case.
It remains unclear what actionable conclusions could emerge from investigations into suspected Russian hacking. Indeed, given the likely role Hillary Clinton’s private email server played in any such hacking, Democrats might be wise to let the issue go.
A Big Night for Republicans, Power Line,
Trump wasn’t my first choice for the nomination, or my second or fifth, or tenth. I labored pretty hard to help others get the nomination. But Trump was, obviously, the story of the election season. He may be an imperfect vessel, but he speaks powerfully to a great many Americans. For myself, I am feeling unified behind the nominee these days.
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Day two of the Republican convention was a success. The first speaker I saw was Tiffany Trump. I read somewhere that Tiffany was the weak link in the family, I guess because she is Marla Maples’ daughter. In fact, she was great–a 22-year-old (or so) graduate of Penn, she was cool as a cucumber, and her speech was terrific. My wife, whose emotional intelligence is superior to mine, pointed out that Tiffany told the sorts of personal anecdotes that warm peoples’ attitudes toward Donald, and that Melania didn’t. It was a remarkable performance by an intelligent and poised young Republican.
She was followed by Chris Christie. Christie has taken a fair amount of abuse lately, but he is a formidable guy. Let me put it this way: for four decades, I was a litigator. I spent years of my life in court, tried over 100 jury cases, took thousands of depositions and argued hundreds if not thousands of motions. And I would not have liked to go up against Chris Christie. He is very, very good.
Christie put Hillary Clinton on trial. Maybe there was a teleprompter somewhere, but Christie wasn’t using it. He was on a roll, indicting Hillary for one failure, disaster or lie after another. The convention audience pronounced her guilty, bringing to mind the old Doonesbury cartoon:
Christie’s indictment was overwhelming, so Democratic commentators no doubt scrambled to term his speech dark, overly intense, too negative, and so on. I just hope millions were watching.
After Christie, Donald Trump Jr. took the stage. He spoke longer than his sister Tiffany, and was more nervous. But he did a very good job. He portrayed his father as a sort of blue-collar hero, and pointed out that Hillary Clinton is the first presidential candidate who couldn’t pass a background check. (That is true, actually, not hyperbole.) The Fox commentators thought Trump Jr. was dynamite; I wasn’t quite that impressed by him, but no doubt he moved the ball forward for the GOP.
Tiffany Trump and Donald Trump, Jr.
Ben Carson wrapped up the evening, but by the time he took the stage delegates were on their way out to enjoy, I guess, the pleasures of Cleveland’s night life. Dr. Carson did fine, I think, but I confess that I started this post before he was done.
It was a good night, because of the combination of Christie’s fiery denunciation of the eminently vulnerable Hillary and two very good appearances by members of the Trump family. Maybe liberals will be able to find words in Donald Jr’s speech that were previously uttered by a Democrat: “a,” “the,” “and,” who knows. But I doubt that they will be able to blunt the positive effect of the evening’s festivities.
A key goal of the convention is to unite the Republican Party behind Donald Trump. Trump wasn’t my first choice for the nomination, or my second or fifth, or tenth. I labored pretty hard to help others get the nomination. But Trump was, obviously, the story of the election season. He may be an imperfect vessel, but he speaks powerfully to a great many Americans. For myself, I am feeling unified behind the nominee these days.
WarSclerotic 
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