If you can dodge a job assignment, you can dodge a ball: There are no public events on President Trump’s schedule today. Brace yourself for some news as the game of hot potato continues for Trump’s chief of staff job opening. Candidates are reportedly dodging the assignment, hoping to save salvage some of their reputation in what looks to be a thankless gig for all involved.
The Pinocchio limit does not exist: The Washington Post has introduced a new fact-check rating called “bottomless Pinocchio” for when an individual—so far only one person qualifies, guess who—repeats a lie over and over. Finally, a rating that will come in handy in both my personal and professional lives.
Something you may have missed: Kim Kardashian West’s meeting with Trump was featured heavily on last night’s season finale of Keeping Up With the Kardashians. In a confessional, West revealed that after a phone call with Ivanka Trump, West was connected to Jared Kushner, and the three began coordinating a way for West to meet their father. West, a Hillary Clinton supporter who amassed criticism from her base for meeting with the President, said that she was transparent about her political leanings from the jump: “I’ve been so straightforward with Jared that I have different views. I was at Hillary fundraisers. This might not be a popular opinion, but I’ll talk to who I need to talk to to get things done.” Days later, Alice Marie Johnson was granted clemency. Keeping Up With the Kardashians should be added to your Sunday show rotation, people!
And now for something completely different: Do you guys remember waaaay back in 2016 when former WH Chief of Staff Reince Priebus‘s typo “Obama-Clinton ecomomy isn’t working” went viral online? I just checked, and the tweet’s still up! Because every year is really just 2016 over and over again, what do you think an EcoMomy may be? My guess is a mother who names her children after stock exchange abbreviations.
Hi, good morning, I’m Brittany Shepherd, the author of this here morning newsletter. How do you do? Feel free to contact me at bshepherd@washingtonian.com or find me on Twitter. Avoid both leaking and lying by signing up for this newsletter here.
What we have cooking at Washingtonian:
- Just drink your Christmas tree because this is the kind of society we’ve become now.
- Here are the holiday decorations from the Vice President’s residence, and the photos include a very good cat named Hazel eating a gingerbread house.
- Give your children experiences instead of the iPhoneXR this Christmas.
- For years, Glen Hellman has been sniping at local DC tech bigwigs. Now, they’re starting to shoot back.
- Here’s how one Democratic FCC commissioner is making it work in the Trump Administration.
Our pick for things to do around town:
THEATRE Every few months, Signature Theatre hosts a reading as part of its SigWorks series, which features new plays from local or regional playwrights. This month’s reading is “The Reapers on Woodbrook Avenue” by Philadelphia playwright Mardee Bennett. The play follows one family in two different eras—1976 Baltimore and 2008 Charleston—as they fight for land that belongs to them. Free, 7 PM.
Good reads:
Breaking into the journalism industry is difficult. Breaking into NPR seems to be even harder, where an army of temps works without yearly salary or job security, Paul Farhi reports. (Washington Post)
Big events from Washingtonian
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Brittany Shepherd covers the societal and cultural scene in political Washington. Before joining Washingtonian as a staff writer in 2018, Brittany was a White House Correspondent for Independent Journal Review. While she has lived in DC for a number of years now, she still yearns for the fresh Long Island bagels of home. Find her on Twitter, often prattling on about Frasier.
