Denial Ain’t a River: After a bad week in which he used a scatological slur to describe entire countries, President Trump arrived for dinner last night at one of his Florida golf clubs and told reporters, “I am not a racist. I am the least racist person you have ever interviewed. That I can tell you.”

When the President has to say he’s not a racist, it’s not good.

A couple of defenders surfaced yesterday. Georgia Sen. David Perdue, who was present in the meeting in which President Trump was reported to have used an expletive referring to Haiti and Africa, now denies that the President used the offensive word.

Perdue said on ABC’s  “This Week” that Mr. Trump “did not use that word.” Both Perdue and Tom Cotton of Arkansas previously said they did not “recall” Trump using the word. But also yesterday, Cotton said on CBS’s “Face the Nation” that, “I didn’t hear that word either. And I was sitting no further away from Donald Trump than Dick Durbin was.”

Illinois Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin said Trump used the word “repeatedly.” Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, who was also at the meeting, has not denied what Trump said. So far only Trump, Perdue, and Cotton have said it didn’t happen.

The meeting was to discuss immigration reform and DACA, the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals that protects young illegal immigrants from deportation. Trump tweeted yesterday, “DACA is probably dead because the Democrats don’t really want it, they just want to talk and take desperately needed money away from our Military.”

DACA was temporarily continued over the weekend by court order.

Denial Ain’t a River II: Amid all the noise around the White House last week, somewhat lost was President Trump’s claim to the Wall Street Journal that he has a good relationship with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un. To anyone’s knowledge, the two have never spoken and certainly never met.

Trump tweeted a denial yesterday, saying, “The Wall Street Journal stated falsely that I said to them “I have a good relationship with Kim Jong Un” (of N. Korea). Obviously I didn’t say that. I said ‘I’d have a good relationship with Kim Jong Un,’ a big difference. Fortunately we now record conversations with reporters…”

Maybe they did, maybe they didn’t. But the The Journal did record the interview and released the audio in which Trump says he has a good relationship with President Xi of China, and Prime Minister Abe of Japan. Then he adds, “And I probably have a very good relationship with Kim Jong Un of North Korea. I have relationships with people. I think you people are surprised.”

Mudslide: Searchers in Montecito, Calif. yesterday found another body, bringing to 20 the number of people killed in a massive mudslide. Rescuers are losing hope for finding four missing people still alive.

The 101 Freeway, the main artery along the California coast, remains blocked just below Santa Barbara. It could be closed for weeks.

Postgame: The Jacksonville Jaguars upset the Pittsburgh Steelers yesterday 45-42 to face New England next week in the AFC Championship game. The Minnesota Vikings had a 17-0 lead at half time, but had to keep battling against the New Orleans Saints. Viking quarterback Case Keenum threw a 61-yard touchdown pass with eight seconds on the clock to win it 29-24. The Vikings will square off against Philadelphia for the NFC Championship.

The Obit Page: Doreen Tracey, one of the original Mouseketeers on Walt Disney’s “The Mickey Mouse Club” in the 1950s, has died at age 74. She appeared in the film “Westward Ho the Wagons!” and later served as a publicist to musician Frank Zappa.

Tracey strained her lifelong relationship with Disney by posing naked for a couple of men’s magazines. Her Mickey Mouse audience grew up and so did she.

Lobster Law: Switzerland has a new law that says you can’t throw a live lobster into boiling water. It’s in response to studies that suggest lobsters feel pain. They do squirm a bit when you throw them in.

The law says, “Live crustaceans, including the lobster, may no longer be transported on ice or in ice water. Aquatic species must always be kept in their natural environment,” the law says. And it says, they must be killed cleanly before being thrown in the pot.

The whole state of Maine just said, “ayuh.”

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