Trump Won Less Than 50 Percent. Why Is Everyone Calling It a Landslide

 https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2024/11/22/trump-win-popular-vote-below-50-percent-00190793

Trump’s 49.9 percent (for now) is still more than Kamala Harris’ 48.3 percent. When the counting is done, the margin will probably have shrunk even further. No matter: It still earns him 312 electoral votes from a population that also gave his Republican Party control of the House and Senate. He won.

All the same, the numbers might seem a wee bit jarring to anyone who has been listening to Washington’s triumphal Republicans and self-flagellating Democrats — all of whom seem to have internalized a version of the story that involves a romping, stomping Trump triumph.

The Lessons of Matt Gaetz’s Withdrawal

 https://www.wsj.com/opinion/the-lessons-of-matt-gaetzs-withdrawal-cabinet-attorney-general-nominee-justice-department-d85138f5?mod=hp_opin_pos_0

The name of the Trump nominations game is clearly “shakeup”—and that’s to be applauded. Few doubt that Washington is in desperate need of some rattling. But note Lesson No. 3: The Gaetz fiasco is a reminder that there remains a bright line between a candidate who is aggressive, committed and professional and one who is unthinking, partisan and a liability. Mr. Trump has chosen a solid lineup of the former, from Linda McMahon (Education) and Marco Rubio (State) to Chris Wright (Energy) and Brendan Carr (Federal Communications Commission). Mr. Gaetz was always clearly the latter—big on bravado, short on ideas and temperament. While not as discussed as the ethics question, it’s also an important reason his nomination was destined to fail.

How Hegseth Cultivated an Image That Caught Trump’s Eye

 https://www.wsj.com/politics/elections/how-hegseth-cultivated-an-image-that-caught-trumps-eye-cc1cdd10?mod=hp_lead_pos3

But the very reasons that drew Trump to Hegseth are threatening to derail his nomination. 

He would come to the job never having led a large government agency or faced the scrutiny that comes with it. A 2017 sexual-assault allegation that he later paid his accuser to keep secret blindsided Trump transition officials and has left even some Republicans undecided about voting to confirm him.

IDF rabbinate opposes asking troops to sign form ‘unchaining’ wives in case of disaster

 https://www.timesofisrael.com/idf-rabbinate-opposes-asking-troops-to-sign-form-unchaining-wives-in-case-of-disaster/

While conditional divorces can free women in case of a husband’s disappearance or loss of mental faculties in battle, rabbis say pushing such a document on soldiers may hurt morale

Donald Trump Loses Matt Gaetz for AG—and His Grip on Total Power

 https://www.thedailybeast.com/donald-trump-loses-matt-gaetz-for-agand-his-grip-on-total-power/

While one theory is that Gaetz was intended as a sacrificial lamb to help make other extreme choices seem more palatable, it is not clear that his dropping out will have that effect. It could in fact make it easier for Senators with some vestigial amount of spine left to mount an opposition to Gabbard, RFK, Jr. or Hegseth. The cases against each of them, strong to begin with, are mounting daily.

Botched Gaetz Nomination Shows Limits of Trump’s Hold Over GOP

 https://www.wsj.com/politics/policy/botched-gaetz-nomination-shows-limits-of-trumps-hold-over-gop-1a33b971?mod=hp_lead_pos1

The botched Gaetz nomination, together with the other pushback, show that while GOP lawmakers generally agree with the president-elect’s ambition to reshape the federal bureaucracy, they are at times willing to buck their party’s standard-bearer. 

הפרשיה שמסעירה: הרב ממונסי שמעוכב בארץ ניסה להימלט - ונעצר

 https://www.bhol.co.il/news/1679131

דרמה בפרשת העיגון שממשיכה להסעיר את המגזר החסידי: לאחר נסיון הימלטות מהארץ, קובע ביה"ד: הרב מטאהש ישהה במעצר בית | מחאות דלות ברחובות | בד"ץ העדה החרדית מפתיע ומסרב להתערב

Gaetz withdraws from attorney general consideration after Trump told him he didn’t have the votes in the Senate

 https://edition.cnn.com/2024/11/21/politics/matt-gaetz-withdrawing-attorney-general/index.html

But on Thursday morning, President-elect Donald Trump called Gaetz with bad news: He did not have the votes in the Senate to win confirmation, Trump told Gaetz, according to a source with direct knowledge of the call.

Ayelet Shaked refused entry to Australia

 https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/399555

Former Israeli Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked refused visa to enter Australia, over her opposition to a Palestinian state. 'An antisemitic decision and a black day for Australian democracy.'

RFK Jr. Compared Trump to Hitler in Freshly Surfaced 2016 Comments

 https://www.thedailybeast.com/robert-f-kennedy-jr-compared-trump-to-hitler-in-freshly-surfaced-2016-comments/

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Donald Trump’s pick for secretary of health and human services, in 2016 compared him to Adolf Hitler and lauded commentary that likened Trump’s supporters to Nazis and “belligerent idiots.”

ICC issues arrest warrants for Netanyahu, Gallant for Gaza 'war crimes'

 https://www.jpost.com/breaking-news/article-830135

In a blockbuster ruling that shook the military, diplomatic, and legal worlds, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former defense minister Yoav Gallant on Thursday.

The ICC cited reasonable grounds to believe that Netanyahu and Gallant committed the war crime of starvation as a method of warfare, and the crimes against humanity of murder, persecution, and other inhumane acts.

Matt Gaetz Withdraws From Consideration as Attorney General

https://www.wsj.com/politics/matt-gaetz-attorney-general-drops-out-trump-cabinet-a496bd28?mod=hp_lead_pos1

Matt Gaetz has withdrawn as Donald Trump’s pick for attorney general, after it became clear Republican lawmakers were prepared to reject his nomination amid swirling sexual misconduct and drug allegations.

How Trump abandoned his pledge to ‘drain the swamp’

 https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-drain-the-swamp/2020/10/24/52c7682c-0a5a-11eb-9be6-cf25fb429f1a_story.html

In the closing weeks of that election, Trump led cheering supporters in chants of that slogan, promising that he would completely disrupt the culture of Washington. He warned of the power of lobbyists and political donors who he said effectively bought off elected officials. He told voters he was uniquely prepared to take on the issue, because he knew personally as a contributor how the system worked.

But during his four years in office, Trump has taken few steps to clean up Washington. He has instead presided over a norm-shattering expansion of private interests in government.

Trump Pick Linda McMahon Is Facing Her Own Sex Scandal

 https://www.thedailybeast.com/linda-mcmahon-tapped-for-trumps-education-secretary-faces-own-sex-scandal/

McMahon on Tuesday was tapped to lead the Department of Education as she and her husband, the embattled Vince McMahon, are embroiled in a sex scandal, something of a developing trend in the second Trump administration.