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WASHINGTON During her two years serving in the Trump administration, Nikki R. Haley, the former ambassador to the United Nations, managed to toe a tougher line on Russia than her boss, while also never straying from his good graces.

We dont trust Russia. We dont trust Putin, Ms. Haley said in an interview in July 2018, days after Mr. Trump met with the Russian president, Vladimir V. Putin, in Helsinki, Finland. Theyre never going to be our friend.

By the time Ms. Haley left the administration nearly a year ago, she seemed to have perfected an almost impossible dance: distancing herself from some of the presidents most criticized positions while staying publicly loyal. She managed to leave both on her terms and on good terms with the president.

It was a balancing act that did not go without notice, and Ms. Haley, a woman of color and a former governor of South Carolina, was widely seen as preserving her options for a return to politics, perhaps as a post-Trump presidential candidate.

Last summer, she challenged the president once more after he had trumpeted the fact that the Baltimore home of Representative Elijah E. Cummings, a critic of Mr. Trump, had been broken into.

This is so unnecessary, Ms. Haley wrote on Twitter in August, infuriating the president, according to aides.

But now, Ms. Haley appears to have made the political calculation to go all in supporting the president, rather than defining herself in contrast to him.

In a media blitz timed to the release of her new book, With All Due Respect: Defending America With Grit and Grace, Ms. Haley has consistently echoed White House talking points about how there is no case for impeachment and unequivocally defended Mr. Trumps character.

In every instance I dealt with him, he was truthful, he listened and he was great to work with, Ms. Haley told NBCs Savannah Guthrie.

In her book, Ms. Haley does not criticize the president, but does take on two targets who have fallen out of favor with him, and with whom she clashed repeatedly: John F. Kelly, the former chief of staff, and Rex Tillerson, the former secretary of state.

She praises the president as a leader who always treated her with respect and describes an honest relationship in which he would sometimes change course based on her counsel.

In describing the announcement of her resignation in October 2018, when Mr. Trump praised her for her service, she writes that the president was the man Id seen many times, the man he too often doesnt let the country see.

She even tries to explain his continuing flattery of Mr. Putin, describing a conversation with him after the Helsinki meeting.

To his credit, she writes, the president soon issued additional remarks, saying he had misspoken. She adds: I was glad he made that clarification, and I understood what he had been trying to do. He was trying to keep communication open with Putin.

She also credits Mr. Trump with learning from the experience of Charlottesville, and handling synagogue shootings in Pittsburgh and near San Diego with great sensitivity and appropriateness.

Ms. Haleys loyalty to Mr. Trumps view of the world has been rewarded with a presidential endorsement. Make sure you order your copy today, or stop by one of her book tour stops to get a copy and say hello. Good luck Nikki! Mr. Trump wrote on Twitter.

For Ms. Haley, an Indian-American Tea Party activist who became a two-term governor of South Carolina known better as a voice of moderation on racial issues in the South, the reaction to her tweet about Mr. Cummings was a rude reminder of how she risks losing the Trump base when she puts distance between herself and the president.

Mr. Trump, aides said, wanted to respond to her himself, but was talked out of doing it. Instead, Kellyanne Conway, a top adviser who is close with Vice President Mike Pence, shot back at Ms. Haley in a tweet that was sanctioned from the top. THIS is so unnecessary Trump-PENCE2020, Ms. Conway wrote, an allusion to the rumors that Ms. Haley had been positioning herself to replace Mr. Pence on the ticket in 2020.

Ms. Haley remains close with the presidents daughter Ivanka and her husband, Jared Kushner, and they warned her to be more careful talking about Mr. Trump, according to two people familiar with the conversation. A spokeswoman for Ms. Haley said she never received such a warning.

Her subsequent pivot can be seen as a recognition of the reality confronting anyone contemplating a future in todays Republican Party there is little future after distancing yourself from Mr. Trump.

It is Trumps party today and, more likely than not, it will be Trumps party 10 years from now, said Kevin Madden, a political strategist and former adviser to Mitt Romneys presidential campaign. Trump will cast a long shadow over the partys profile and will be a litmus test for the partys most active base voters for years to come.

For Republicans like Ms. Haley, Mr. Madden said the relationship with Trumpism would continue to be a balancing act.

Stray too far and you run the risk of inviting scorn from his biggest defenders, he said. Go lock step with him and, as weve seen with the 2018 midterm test and the 2019 contests in key states like Virginia, the potential is there to alienate voters in suburbs who are making and breaking elections right now.

Ms. Haley has been relatively removed from public life in the year since she left the administration. She joined the board of Boeing and is reportedly getting paid $200,000 a speech on the speaking tour.

But her forays into politics show someone who is tacking toward Mr. Trump, while leaving herself room for daylight between them in the future.

She has held a fund-raiser for the president and plans to do more, according to an aide. Ms. Haley, who still lives in New York City but plans to return to South Carolina after her son graduates from high school, has also started a nonprofit organization called Stand for America.

The groups website describes Americas prosperity being threatened by socialist schemes of higher taxes, regulations and unsecure borders, echoing the language and themes of Mr. Trumps own re-election campaign. She has campaigned for Republicans like Senator Joni Ernst of Iowa and Senator Cory Gardner of Colorado.

But she also appears to be stirring the pot on Twitter in a way that is intended to grab Mr. Trumps attention and stay in the news.

On Monday, she targeted George T. Conway III, the outspoken, Trump-hating husband of Ms. Conway, who has drawn the presidents own ire.

George Conway is the last person that can call someone trash. #Pathetic, Ms. Haley wrote on Twitter, criticizing Mr. Conway for an attack on Representative Elise Stefanik, Republican of New York, who emerged during the first week of televised impeachment hearings as a moderate turned Trump defender.

Youll say anything to get the vice-presidential nomination, wont you? Mr. Conway fired back.

Ms. Haley, who declined to comment for this article, has in the past denied that she is seeking to replace Mr. Pence.

But White House advisers loyal to Mr. Pence have long faulted Ms. Haley for stoking the rumors that she could potentially replace Mr. Pence on the 2020 ticket something they see as beneficial to an out-of-office politician who needs a way to stay relevant until the next presidential race.

Some have noted with frustration that it was Mr. Pence who first advocated Ms. Haley joining the administration, even though she had been tacitly critical of Mr. Trump during her 2016 response to President Barack Obamas final State of the Union address and had supported Senator Marco Rubio of Florida during the 2016 Republican primary.

For now, friends said, with plenty of time for another pivot down the line, supporting Mr. Trump makes sense.

Having that tweet from Donald Trump is going to be very, very important, promoting the book, said Bakari Sellers, the former South Carolina state legislator who ran unsuccessfully for lieutenant governor and is now a CNN commentator. She got what she wanted.

Mr. Sellers, a Democrat who said he considered Ms. Haley a friend, said that in her balancing act he saw someone who had plenty of time to recalibrate. Ms. Haley, he predicted, would have a longer political story to tell.

Donald Trump is going to be a footnote in her political career, Mr. Sellers predicted. It wont be defining.

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After Keeping a Careful Distance From Trump, Nikki Haley Is All In - The New York Times

The Navy will review whether a sailor who was convicted of posing with the corpse of an ISIS fighter before President Donald Trump intervened should be allowed to remain in the elite SEAL corps, along with three of his supervising officers, a defense official told NBC News on Tuesday night.

A military jury acquitted Chief Petty Officer Edward Gallagher of murder and war crimes charges in July but convicted him of having posed with the corpse of the captive, a teenage fighter for the Islamic State militant group. He was ordered dropped in rank from chief to petty officer first class.

Trump last week reversed the order, directing Gallagher's restoration as chief petty officer.

Capt. Tamara Lawrence, a spokeswoman for the Navy, told NBC News on Tuesday night: "We have implemented the president's order to restore Chief Gallagher's paygrade."

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Trump's order was widely reported to have created a rift with the Navy, and Tuesday night, the defense official said the service would seek to strip Gallagher and three of his supervising officers of the gold eagle Trident emblem signifying that they are members of one of the Navy's elite Special Warfare Navy Sea, Air and Land units, better known as SEALs.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Rear Adm. Collin P. Green, commander of the Naval Special Warfare Command, would issue an order Wednesday directing that a Trident review board be convened to determine whether to withdraw the emblem from Gallagher and the three other officers Lt. Cmdr. Robert Breisch, Lt. Jacob Portier and Lt. Thomas MacNeil.

Green would make a ruling based on the board's recommendations, which would then go to the Navy's top leadership.

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Removal of the Trident denotes that a sailor is no longer a SEAL, but it isn't a demotion. Since 2011, 154 sailors have been expelled from the SEALs.

Asked whether Green expected reprisals from the White House, the defense official said Green had the backing of Navy Secretary Richard V. Spencer and of Adm. Mike Gilday, the chief of naval operations.

The three other men all testified at Gallagher's trial.

Breisch, Gallagher's troop commander, wasn't charged. A naval investigation found that he had been informed about the killings of the ISIS detainees and others multiple times but that he told other concerned SEALs to "let it go."

Charges of failing to report alleged war crimes were dropped against Portier after Gallagher was acquitted in August.

MacNeil, one of the SEALs who reported Gallagher, testified at his trial under immunity. He also posed for the photo with the ISIS fighter's corpse and was accused of drinking with enlisted SEALs, which is against regulations.

Earlier this year, Green said "we have a problem" regarding lack of discipline within the SEALS.

Continued here:
Navy seeks to eject 4, including sailor championed by Trump, from elite SEALs, official says - NBC News

US President Donald Trump speaks on the United StatesMexicoCanada Agreement (USMCA) trade agreement at Derco Aerospace Inc. plant in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on July 12, 2019.

Mandel Ngan | AFP | Getty Images

In a 2020 election where a handful of swing states will decide whether President Donald Trump gets another term in the White House, the president may need a strong economy to nudge him over the line.

Trump has already used it to make his case for reelection. During early campaign stops, the president has repeatedly pointed to an unemployment rate near its lowest level in 50 years, among other economic indicators that he says show his administration's success.

Economic health varies more at the state level. The latest government data released Tuesday show not all 2020 battleground states have enjoyed the same gains.

CNBC looked at 13 states that are usually considered swing states or have grown more competitive in recent elections. In October, eight had unemployment rates lower than the national mark of 3.6%, while five stood higher.

At the same time, six of the states had unemployment rates that rose from the previous year. The metric fell in six other states, while it was unchanged in Pennsylvania.

Arizona had the highest unemployment rate of the 13 states at 4.8%, followed by Pennsylvania and Ohio at 4.2%. Iowa, New Hampshire, Colorado and Virginia held the lowest marks at 2.6%.

Minnesota saw the biggest increase in the unemployment rate among those states, while Colorado enjoyed the largest decrease.

Three states that narrowly backed Trump in 2016 Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin delivered enough electoral votes to put the president in the White House. Along with those states Democrat Hillary Clinton lost in 2016, Democrats hope to flip previously pro-Trump Florida and Arizona, among others.

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Here's where the unemployment rate stands in the states that will decide Trump's 2020 fate - CNBC

Kim Kardashian West has a lot of love for President Donald Trump not necessarily because of his politics, but because of his willingness to work with her on criminal justice reform.

Over the past year or so, shes worked with Trump to secure clemency for at least one person and pass the First Step Act, which helps inmates transition back into society. These efforts have largely been documented on Keeping Up with the Kardashians.

In a recent episode, the KKW Beauty star even invited her sister and right-hand, Khlo Kardashian, to join her. But the Good American founder did not seem super thrilled. It appears that Khlo isnt the biggest fan of Trump, and its not really surprising given their history.

In the episode, which aired on Oct. 27, Kardashian West met with the president to talk about a ride-share program with Lyft that helps newly-released inmates get to job interviews.

I work with Cut 50, they write so much amazing policy, she said in the episode (via Us Weekly). Getting people back on their feet is really important to me and Im so proud to be a part of this initiative to make peoples reentry back into society easier.

When she got back home to Calabasas, California, she suggested that Khlo join her next time, to which she retorted, Girl, Ive been when a different president was in office.

Bloop!

Their relationship dates back to at least 2009 when Khlo appeared on Celebrity Apprentice. People reported at the time that Trump had eliminated her from the show because of a DUI she received in 2007.

I hate people who drive under the influence, Trump said while firing Khlo. I know three families who lost children to drunken driving.

Khlo later defended herself in an old blog post, saying, It wasnt because of my work ethic, it wasnt because I was slacking. It was because of my DUI. I dont think I should have been fired for that reason alone. I just wish Mr. Trump would have handled the situation a little differently.

Sources later told The Huffington Post that Trump was looking for any way to get rid of the reality star. Former staffers of the show told the outlet in 2016 that Trump had made many disparaging comments about Khlo behind the scenes, including calling her a piglet.

Another insider claimed that Trump had once asked the staff, What is this? We cant even get the hot one, seemingly referring to Kardashian West.

In July of the same year, Khlo said that she hated the show and only did it because her mother, Kris Jenner, put her up to it.

It is something I would never do I was put in situations I would never be in real life. I went to home school, I dont know how to do a f*cking PowerPoint and this and that, she explained.

Khlo also said, I dont think [Trump] would make a good president.

So, as we said, shes clearly not a fan.

Original post:
Does Khlo Kardashian Support President Donald Trump? They Have An Interesting History Together - Showbiz Cheat Sheet

One of the recurring scenes of the Trump era has been the president holding forth in some splenetic rant from the cabinet table flanked by his top officials gazing into the middle distance with frozen smiles or else looking resolutely downwards as if they had made a startling new discovery about their thumbs.

It is a tableau that always invites speculation on what can be going through the minds of these pained accomplices and now we have at least a partial answer. One among them has brought out a book giving voice to those thoughts, but we do not know who.

The book is by Anonymous, described on the cover as a senior Trump administration official, the same one who wrote an unsigned essay in the New York Times in September last year, declaring they were part of the resistance Inside the Trump administration seeking to thwart the craziest impulses. Anonymous is now a year older, wiser and more depressed.

My original thesis in the New York Times was dead wrong. Americans should not expect that his advisers can fix the situation. We cannot. The question is what to do next, Anonymous writes in A Warning, a book- length exposition of life in the bizarre court of King Donald. The bottom line is that things look as appalling and chaotic from inside the administration as they do from the outside.

Anonymous describes a bizarre sense of fraternity among senior officials like bank robbery hostages, lying on the floor at gunpoint, unable to sound the alarm, but aware that everyone else was stricken with the same fear of the unknown.

The author sees himself or herself as part of the steady state (as opposed the deep state of the darker imaginings of Trump loyalists), who joined the administration early on, out of a mix of duty and optimism that the unlikely president would grow into the role. Then when that began to look absurdly unlikely the steady staters stayed on to try to contain and mitigate Trumps whims until they realised they had become glorified government babysitters.

Presenting a fullyfledged policy document would be like speaking Aramaic to Trump through apillow

These officials quietly compare notes and pool their shared shock and despair. According to Anonymous, there was half a plan to stage a mass resignation at one point as a way of raising the alarm about the seriousness of the situation, but the scheme was abandoned as being too destabilising to the country.

Instead, these officials have continued to seep out of the administration in a steady stream of resignations and dismissals. It is not entirely clear whether Anonymous is still on the inside, constantly in fear of discovery. But if I had an anonymous source burrowed deep inside the administration, I would want a lot more colour and anecdote than we are given in A Warning. We do learn that Trump has the insane idea of designating migrants as enemy combatants and sending them to Guantnamo Bay. We also get a little more detail on the relentless dumbing down of presidential briefings. Policy papers were condensed to PowerPoint presentations with a handful of slides, which became three main points, and then finally the advice to newcomers was come in with one main point and repeat it over and over again, couching it in terms of winners and losers, preferably with a really strong graphic.

Anonymous recalls the reaction to a hapless aide who ignored the advice and presented pages of briefing notes. What the fuck is this? Trump shouts. These are just words, a bunch of words. It doesnt mean anything. Presenting a fully fledged policy document, the author observes memorably would be like speaking Aramaic to Trump through a pillow. Even if he tried very hard to pay attention, which he didnt, he wouldnt be able to understand what the hell he was hearing, Anonymous writes. Various unnamed officials are frequently cited saying such things as: This place is so fucked up ... There is literally no one in charge here which frankly has become the archetypal unattributed quote from the Trump era, familiar from a thousand newspaper stories.

Anonymous acknowledges that there is something strange about Trumps obsequious relationship with Vladimir Putin but has no definitive ideas about what lies beneath it, other than a general admiration for dictators who run their countries as he would like to run the US.

The author predicts that there will be a lot more compelling stories to emerge from the administration at a later date, to which any reader would be entitled to ask why they were not informed of that before they bought this book. By way of explanation for its surprising blandness, the author explains early on that too many details could compromise national security or help blow the writers cover.

Speculating about the authors true identity has become something of a niche sport in Washington. The sleuths should perhaps be looking for someone with a classical education. The text is littered with the sayings of Plato, Aristotle and Marcus Aurelius. An extensive middle section is devoted to measuring Trump against Ciceros virtues of leadership an odd, rather pointless exercise, a bit like judging Boris Johnson by the attributes required to be a world class ballerina. There is little surprise that the president scores badly in every department.

The classical stuff is laid on so thick it could be a misdirect, designed to cast suspicion elsewhere. Leak investigators might instead look for an admirer of the late senator John McCain. The author of A Warning was provoked into writing the first cry for help in the New York Times not because of Trumps obvious misogyny or racism, or attachment to Putin, but because of the presidents peevishness on McCains death in August 2018, sulkily ordering flags raised after the first day of mourning and failing to put out a proclamation. The warning in the books title refers to the implications of a second Trump term. The president is already ignoring the law, and the supposedly co-equal authority of Congress, putting loyalists in top position in an acting capacity, so they need not be confirmed by the Senate. Anonymous predicts the republic is likely to unravel at an accelerated rate if Trump wins re-election.

On the world stage, the author observes that the US has been extraordinarily lucky so far not to have undergone a monumental international crisis since Trump took office. We have not suffered a major attack against the United States or been forced to go to war, but its only a matter of time before that luck runs out, Anonymous predicts, asking the reader whether they really want to risk keeping the US nuclear arsenal under Trumps unchallenged stewardship for another four years.

Providing more detail of the moment members of the administration contemplated invoking the 25th amendment, relieving the president of power if a majority of the cabinet and the vice president deem him unable to discharge his duties, Anonymous contends if enough cabinet members had signed such a document, Mike Pence would have put his name on it.

Armoured vehicles would race across town to the US capitol building and a protected courier would walk the document into the hands of congressional leaders, the book suggests. However, the author and the would-be co-conspirators quickly had second thoughts, reasoning that Trump would resist and denounce the move as coup, possibly triggering conflict across the country. Violence would be almost inevitable, Anonymous concludes.

The book is current enough to consider the impeachment proceedings now under way, urging Republicans to follow the law rather than partisan loyalty, before rejecting that option too as an unsatisfactory means of toppling an elected president. Ultimately, Anonymous deems the 2020 election to be the countrys best chance of waking up from its Trumpian nightmare. The author encourages fellow Republicans to look beyond tribalism, and Democrats to put up a centrist candidate that can unite an anti-Trump majority, or muses about a third-party candidate emerging from the heartland.

A Warning ends then with a rousing call to the ballot box, but it fails to answer the question that hangs over almost every page: why heed the counsel, however urgent, of someone who is not prepared to reveal who they are?

A Warning is published by Little, Brown (20). To order a copy go to guardianbookshop.com or call 020-3176 3837. Free UK p&p over 15, online orders only. Phone orders min p&p of 1.99.

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A Warning by Anonymous review inside the Trump administration - The Guardian