Goddammit.
In case you somehow blessedly managed to avoid the news yesterday, Donald Trump is SO MAD that Nordstrom decided to discontinue carrying his daughter Ivanka’s clothing brand, either because sales were slow or in response to the travel ban, it’s unclear, BUT IT ALSO DOESN’T MATTER BECAUSE NORDSTROM IS A PRIVATE BUSINESS THAT GETS TO MAKE BUSINESS DECISIONS BASED ON WHATEVER THE HELL THEY WANT. But Donald Trump was SO MAD that he twatted on his personal Twitter account the following:
OK, so this is bad for a whole host of reasons, perhaps most importantly because he reportedly tweeted this out at the same time he was supposed to be receiving his intelligence briefing. DUDE.
But then, this asshole, he had the official POTUS Twitter account retweet his tweet, which is getting us somehow even deeper into some already ethically dubious territory:
THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES SHOULD NOT BE USING OFFICIAL CHANNELS TO PUNISH COMPANIES FOR NOT ENRICHING HIS FAMILY.
THIS IS NOT OK. THIS IS NOT OK. THIS IS NOT OK.
But then! Somehow! It just gets worse! Sean Spicer in his press briefing that Nordstrom’s decision was a “direct attack” on Trump’s policies.
And then Kellyanne Conway went on Fox and Friends this morning and urged people to buy Ivanka’s products. Make no mistake, she just broke the law — this federal ethics law in particular:
As Jake Tapper so eloquently put it:
And as long as Kellyanne Conway is a federal employee, she has no business promoting her boss’ daughter’s brand on television or anywhere else. That is in direct violation of the law.
Memorize “2635.702” because I think we’ll be hearing about it a lot. Remember, we are only in week three.
In other morning news shows/Trump tweeting nonsense news, Trump is SO MAD at a bunch of other people because his Supreme Court nominee said that Trump’s attacks on the judiciary is “disheartening and demoralizing.” After tweeting that Senator Blumenthal (who repeated Judge Gorsuch’s comments, comments that were confirmed by Gorsuch’s own communications direct) lied about his military service during Vietnam, Trump went after CNN New Day‘s Chris Cuomo:
Except … Cuomo did mention Blumenthal misrepresenting his military service?
Do not be fooled: this is just Trump trying to distract us from the fact that his Supreme Court nominee said something unflattering about him. Pay attention to what matters. (Despite the fact that I am compounding the problem by pointing out all this crap that doesn’t matter.)
So will any stars attend Trump’s White House Correspondent’s Dinner? Well, maybe Toby Keith and Lou Greenwood.
Is Trump basically an angry showrunner? YEP. And it shouldn’t be surprising since he’s STILL THE EXECUTIVE PRODUCER OF A SHOW THAT IS CURRENTLY ON THE AIR, LEST WE ALL FORGET ABOUT THAT WHOLE CONFLICT OF INTEREST.
Oh, and President Asshole’s address to Congress is going to push back the finale of This Is Us, so just one more thing to thank him for.
In non-Trump political television news, that weird debate between Bernie Sanders and Ted Cruz over the Affordable Care Act was the highest rated thing on primetime news the other night, giving CNN a win over Fox News for a change.
And Elizabeth Warren made a surprise appearance on The Daily Show last night to discuss being silenced in the Senate.
The government launched Current Time,a Russian-language TV network, to counter “alternative facts” coming out of our soon to be bestest friend in Europe. We’ll see how long that lasts.
Let’s just laugh about it, you guys
In other TV news
Bob Costas won’t be contracting any weird eye diseases for you ingrates anymore. He’s handing over that duty to Mike Tirico.
Spike is being renamed The Paramount Network, and is no longer going to be a “dude” network. You can partially thank Lip Sync Battle.
If you want to be spoiled about how Negan became the sociopath we all love to loath, click here.
That cool shot in Legion where the kitchen explodes? Yeah, that wasn’t CGI.
If you need to see Jason Bartha’s ass, you should subscribe to CBS All Access.
Hey, here’s Alec Baldwin’s promo for this week’s Saturday Night Live:
Speaking of, SNL‘s ratings are at a 20-year high. WONDER WHY.
Kate McKinnon is going to be your new Mrs. Frizzle in the Netflix reboot of Magic School Bus.
In Development
HBO has ordered to series Succession, a family drama from Adam McKay and Will Ferrell, and will star Brian Cox and Kieran Culkin.
A Harry Potter producer is developing Out of Africa as a TV series.
Netflix is working on a series based on the video game Castlevania.
Discovery has ordered The Suck, a Vietnam drama from the Nashville showrunners.
Hope Solo is going to host an unscripted sports medicine show called The Cutting Edge.
Amazon is working on Too Old to Die Young, a thriller from Nicolas Winding Refn.
Jessica Chastain might star in Mercury 13, an event series about thwarted female astronauts in the 60s.
And this is more casting than development, but the wonderful Patricia Clarkson and Scott Campbell are both joining House of Cards.
Renewals
Netflix renewed Travelers for a second season.
Trailer Park
Anne of Green Gables: May 12
Grace and Frankie: March 24
Dear White People: April 28 (Related: some racist assholes have canceled their Netflix subscriptions in response to this. GOOD.)
Chef’s Table: February 17
Girlboss: April 21
13 Reasons Why: March 31
WATCH THIS
Supernatural: Rowena’s back. 8 p.m., The CW
MasterChef: Junior Edition: Here are some more kids who can definitely cook better than you. Season premiere. 7 p.m., Fox
The History of Comedy: This new series is what it says it is — a history of comedy — and it begins with a look into comedians who used inappropriate comedy to break ground. Series premiere. 8 p.m., CNN
Late Night: Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon: Alec Baldwin, JoAnna Garcia Swisher, Future Islands, Nathan East Late Night with Seth Meyers: Joe Rogan, Viet Thanh Nguyen The Late Show with Stephen Colbert: David Oyelowo, Taran Killam, Rae Sremmurd Jimmy Kimmel Live: Kerry Washington, Alicia Keys Conan: Lester Holt, Kat Dennings, Aaron Lee Tasjan The Daily Show: Laura Jane Grace Watch What Happens Live: Rita Ora, Nick Viall
| THURS | 7:00 | 7:30 | 8:00 | 8:30 | 9:00 | 9:30 |
| ABC | Grey’s Anatomy (new) |
Scandal (new) |
How to Get Away With Murder (new) |
| CBS | The Big Bang Theory (new) |
Superior Donuts (new) |
Mom (new) |
Life in Pieces (new) |
Training Day (new) |
| CW | Supernatural (new) |
Riverdale (new) |
News/Local |
| FOX | MasterChef Junior (new) |
My Kitchen Rules (new) |
News/Local |
| NBC | Superstore (new) |
Powerless (new) |
Chicago Med (new) |
The Blacklist (new) |
“But then, this asshole, he had the official POTUS Twitter account retweet his tweet,”
Careful about your references. “This asshole” is somebody else. I believe you are referring to “that orange-skinned asshole”.
FAIR ENOUGH.