LIKE NOBODY’S SEEN: President Trump went on live television last night and shouted for 18 minutes about what a great president he’s been for the last 11 months. He claimed that he’s lowered prices, settled eight wars, stopped immigration over the southern border … he tagged all his bases. It was an angry speech trying to convince America how great he is.

  All throughout he blamed Joe Biden for the problems he inherited or has been unable to solve while sometimes spewing fantasies. He claimed to have cut drug prices by 400, 500, or 600 percent, a mathematical impossibility. He said that in some places gasoline has dropped to $1.99 when in fact there is nowhere in the country you can get it for that price.

  While arguing with the country’s feelings over the affordability of life, he announced a bonus for the military, a check for every member for the symbolic figure of $1,776.

  Trump touted his tariffs and tough dealings with other countries, ending his speech saying, “We are respected again, like we have never been respected before.” It was as if the respect he wanted was for himself. 

BEYOND REASONABLE DOUBT: Former special counsel Jack Smith, who brought two criminal indictments against Donald Trump, yesterday told lawmakers in a closed meeting that his team of investigators had “developed proof beyond a reasonable doubt” that Trump had criminally conspired to overturn the 2020 election, according to portions of his opening statement obtained by The Associated Press.

  Smith also said there was “powerful evidence” Trump broke the law hoarding classified documents from his first presidential term at his Mar-a-Lago estate and that he obstructed government efforts to recover the records.

  The Republican-run House Judiciary Committee is inquiring whether the prosecutions of Trump were politically motivated. “I made my decisions in the investigation without regard to President Trump’s political association, activities, beliefs, or candidacy in the 2024 election,” Smith said in his statement. “We took actions based on what the facts and the law required — the very lesson I learned early in my career as a prosecutor.”

THE REGIME:

— The NY Times reports that the Trump administration is ramping up plans to strip an increased number of naturalized Americans of their citizenship. Under the law a naturalized citizen can lose citizenship if they committed fraud on their application.

  The Times says it has seen internal guidance to US Citizenship and Immigration Services field offices asking that they “supply Office of Immigration Litigation with 100-200 denaturalization cases per month” in the 2026 fiscal year. 

  A spokesman for Immigration Services told the Times that, “It’s no secret that U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services’ war on fraud includes prioritizing those who’ve unlawfully obtained U.S. citizenship — especially under the previous administration.”

— Trump administration budget director Russell Vought, the shadow president, announced on Twitter/X  that they will be dismantling the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Colorado, one of the world’s leading Earth science research institutions. Representing an administration that is abandoning the fight against climate change and protection of the environment, Vought said the Atmospheric center is “one of the largest sources of climate alarmism in the country”

— Deputy FBI Director Dan Bongino, who had no qualifications for the job, is leaving to return to the world of right wing podcasting from which he came.

— The Trump administration promised a federal judge this week that it will submit plans for a new White House ballroom replacing the demolished East Wing to two federal oversight entities for review by the end of the month. Judge Richard Leon said that with that promise he would allow ground preparation for the ballroom to continue.

 The National Trust for Historic Preservation has sued to stop the project that has not had any public review or approval by Congress. “No president is legally allowed to tear down portions of the White House without any review whatsoever — not President Trump, not President Biden, and not anyone else,” the lawsuit suit says. “And no president is legally allowed to construct a ballroom on public property without giving the public the opportunity to weigh in.”

THE OBIT PAGE: Former Commentary magazine editor Norman Podhoretz, who during the course of his intellectual life travelled from being a far left-winger to the far right, died in Manhattan Tuesday at 95.

  Once a man who hung with the likes of Norman Mailer and smoked marijuana, Podhoretz went on to write about the dangers of the Black Panthers and the follies of women’s liberation. The magazine under his direction became a critic of affirmative action to cure the history of racial bias in the country. He seemed to enjoy contrarian views

  Podhoretz spent his life in the circles of New York intellectuals, socializing with and battling other smart people whose influence beyond Manhattan was limited. Commentary at its peak had 60,000 subscribers in the 1960s at when the non-intellectual Time Magazine sold millions of copies.

THE SPIN RACK: Investigators in Providence, Rhode Island say they are looking for someone seen passing the suspected Brown University shooter on the street. — Rob Reiner’s son Nick appeared in court yesterday to face charges of murdering his parents but formal arraignment was delayed until January. He was wearing a sleeveless anti-suicide smock and was described as having a vacant stare. — As viewers turn from over-the-air television to streaming services, the Motion Picture Academy announced that it is leaving the ABC network and will stream the Oscar ceremonies on YouTube starting in 2029. They’ve been with ABC since 1976.   

BELOW THE FOLD: Canadian linguists are in an uprising over British spellings slipping into government documents.. The word “emphasize” became “emphasise,” and “trade liberalization” is “trade liberalisation.”

  “Canadian English spelling must continue to be used in all communications and publications in the federal government,” a group of linguists wrote to Prime Minister Mark Carney. “It’s a matter of our national history.” Ayy.

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