Meanwhile, In Trump-Landia…

Last month, Donald Trump got frustrated with his “surrogates'” inability to keep his lies straight.

Here’s what he said on Twitter about the apparent inconsistencies between what he says and what his staff says about what he says (and no, there are no typos in there):

As a very active President with lots of things happening, it is not possible for my surrogates to stand at podium with perfect accuracy!….

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 12, 2017

In other words: “I’m batshit crazy, so it’s impossible for anyone around me, even my spokespeople, to know what the fuck it is I’m going to do or say next.”

In what amounted to a Bill O’Reilly “we’ll do it live” moment, Trump suggested he may start doing the press briefings himself.

Unfortunately for those of use who enjoy lampooning this administration, he didn’t make good on that threat, but he certainly has remained “a very active President.”

So “active” in fact, that Bloomberg has to do a daily “Trump Wrap” just to keep up with everything.

For those looking for a concise, bullet-point rundown of what happened today in Trumplandia, here’s the latest…

Via Bloomberg

Fired FBI Director James Comey says President Trump told him “I need loyalty” when the two dined in the White House, according to remarks prepared for Thursday’s public Senate Intelligence Cmte hearing. Separately, two top U.S. intelligence officials are refusing to tell senators whether they were asked by Trump to sidetrack the FBI probe into Russia’s role in the 2016 election. And Trump is busy promoting his infrastructure plan, today in Ohio.

Comey’s Testimony

• “The President said, ‘I need loyalty, I expect loyalty,” Comey says
  • “I didn’t move, speak, or change my facial expression in any way during the awkward silence that followed. We simply looked at each other in silence”
• Comey also says Trump asked him in February to put an end to an investigation into former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn, requesting that Comey see his “way clear to letting this go”
• Trump Sees Russia Probe as ‘Cloud’ Impairing Presidency: Comey
• Comey Hearing Pits Ex-FBI Chief Versus Trump on Russia Probe

More on Russia Probe

• Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats and National Security Agency Director Mike Rogersrefuse to answer in public a question by the senior Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Cmte about possible Trump interference with the Russia inquiry
• Both say they would be more open to talking about conversations with President Trump in a closed Senate cmte session but would need to confer with White House counsel about executive privilege
• Sen. Mark Warner posed the question after the Washington Post reported that Coats told colleagues in March that Trump asked him if he would intervene in the FBI’s probe

Trump Tweets FBI Pick

• Trump picks former Justice Dept official Christopher Wray to be his nominee for FBI director. The timing, a day before Comey’s testimony, suggests the White House is trying to turn the page on the Comey era
• Trump made his announcement at 7:44am on Twitter:
  • “I will be nominating Christopher A. Wray, a man of impeccable credentials, to be the new Director of the FBI. Details to follow.”
• NBC: Senate Judiciary Cmte Chair Chuck Grassley, who’ll be responsible for shepherding Wray through his panel, learned about the nomination from Trump’s tweet
• That’s also how many senior White House officials found out, the Daily Beast reports
  • Grassley’s first reaction: “I don’t know him except when I spoke to him 13 years ago”
  • Top Democrat on the Judiciary Cmte Dianne Feinstein, who also didn’t get a heads up, says: “I don’t know him, he may be fine”

Infrastructure Push

• Trump is promising a push to crackdown on foreign steel dumping as part of his plan to spur jobs, focus on infrastructure
• Trump Says U.S. Can No Longer Accept Crumbling Infrastructure

Polls

• Americans by 2-1 margin disapprove of Trump’s pulling out of Paris climate accord, Quinnipiac Poll shows
• Sixty-one percent of Americans think Trump fired Comey to protect himself, according to Washington Post/ABC poll
• Trump Approval Rating at 38%; Disapproval 57% in Gallup Poll

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Bonus humor: Friends in high (and low) places…