Epstein Secrets

ress secretary, Sean Spicer— whose personal mantra would shortly become “You can’t make this shit up’—to argue his case in a media moment that turned Spicer, quite a buttoned-down political professional, HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_019919 into a national joke, which he seemed destined to never recover from. To boot

l they couldn’t control: the Republican National Committee, which was run by Priebus, his sidekick, thirty-two-year-old Katie Walsh, and their flack, Sean Spicer. Instead of being all in, the RNC, ultimately the tool of the Republican establishment, had been hedging its bets ever since Trump won the nomination

political professional, HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_019919 into a national joke, which he seemed destined to never recover from. To boot, the president blamed Spicer for not making the million phantom souls seem real. It was the first presidential instance of what the campaign regulars had learned over many month

forward. The next day Trump tweeted: “The U.S. has a 60 billion dollar trade deficit with Mexico. It has been a one-sided deal from the beginning of NAFTA with massive numbers ...” And he continued in the next tweet ... “of jobs and companies lost. If Mexico is unwilling to pay for the badly needed wall

nal into a joke figure standing at the White House door. In his daily out-of-body experience, as a witness to his own humiliation and loss for words, Spicer understood after a while—although he began to understand this beginning his first day on the job when dealing with the dispute about the inaugural au

he also wanted it because again and again the response surprised him—and, as though every time was the first time, he could not modify his behavior. Sean Spicer caught the brunt of the daily drama, turning this otherwise reasonable, mild-mannered, process-oriented professional into a joke figure standing at t

e House—Jared, Ivanka, Hope Hicks, and an increasingly ambivalent Dina Powell and Gary Cohn on one side, and almost everyone else, including Priebus, Spicer, Conway, and most clearly Bannon, on the other—were most distinguished by their culpability in or distance from the Comey-Mueller calamity. It was, a

7, 257, 259-60, 266, 271, 277 Nixon, Richard M., 2, 8, 26-27, 41, 54, 90, 93, 212-13, 222 Nooyi, Indra, 88-89 North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), 77 North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), 99 North Korea, 291-93, 297 Nunberg, Sam, 11, 13, 16, 22, 144, 237-38, 248, 282, 291, 300 Nunes,

tes can then exit the treaty six months later. At that point, Trump could begin imposing tariffs—largely without any new legislation from Congress. Spicer indicated new tariffs might be part of a big tax-reform bill expected from Congress this year, but trade experts say Trump wouldn't need a new law.

f products from Mexico in 2016. Twenty percent of that would amount to a $60 billion tax on some combination of Mexican exporters and US consumers. Spicer suggested a lower number, saying the 20% tariff would only apply to the amount of the trade deficit and total $10 billion or so. But you can't tax

Trump can't impose new tariffs on Mexico right away. He will first have to officially inform Canada and Mexico of America's intent to withdraw from NAFTA. If nothing changes, the United States can then exit the treaty six months later. At that point, Trump could begin imposing tariffs—largely without