memeorandum: Italy's Prime Minister Visits Trump in Mar-a-Lago (Emma Bubola/New York Times)

9:40 AM ET, January 5, 2025

Top Items:

‘A Day of Love’: How Trump Inverted the Violent History of Jan. 6 — The president-elect and his allies have spent four years reinventing the Capitol attack — spreading conspiracy theories and weaving a tale of martyrdom to their ultimate political gain. — In two weeks, Donald J. Trump …

Discussion: CNN, HuffPost, The Hill, Associated Press, Plain Dealer, Los Angeles Times and Mercury News

Kyle Cheney / Politico:

Donald Trump's quiet Jan. 6 — Monday's certification of Trump's victory will be the antithesis of the carnage at the Capitol four years ago. — The transfer of power to Donald Trump is shaping up to be, well, peaceful. — No mobs are assembling to disrupt Congress' Jan. 6 counting of electoral votes.

Discussion: NPR, USA Today, CBS News, Florida Politics and Grabien

Ashleigh Fields / The Hill:

Former Capitol Police officers call Trump's vows to pardon Jan. 6 rioters ‘a betrayal’ — Former Capitol Police officers present during the Jan. 6, 2021 insurrection said President-elect Trump's commitment to pardon rioters is “a betrayal.” — “It's a betrayal, a stab in the heart,” …

Discussion: USA Today and Washington Post

Peter Baker / New York Times:

Trump Sees the U.S. as a ‘Disaster.’ The Numbers Tell a Different Story. — President Biden is bequeathing his successor a nation that by many measures is in good shape, even if voters remain unconvinced. — To hear President-elect Donald J. Trump tell it, he is about to take over a nation ravaged …

Discussion: Raw Story

Dan Balz / Washington Post:

A different and more dangerous world awaits President-elect Trump — The war in Ukraine presents immediate challenges for the incoming president, with other problems looming in the Middle East and China. — President-elect Donald Trump will begin his second term stronger and more dominant …

Discussion: Raw Story

NBC News:

Biden to deliver two major speeches in his final days in office — The remarks include a foreign policy speech followed by a farewell address, people familiar with the plans told NBC News. — President Joe Biden plans to deliver two major speeches before leaving office as part of an effort …

Discussion: The Independent

Todd Richmond / Associated Press:

Washington Post cartoonist quits after paper rejects sketch of Bezos bowing to Trump — A cartoonist has decided to quit her job at the Washington Post after an editor rejected her sketch of the newspaper's owner and other media executives bowing before President-elect Donald Trump.

Discussion: Daily Mail, The Moderate Voice, Newsbusters, CNBC, Washington Times, Politico, The Hill, New York Post, CNN, Rolling Stone and HuffPost, more at Mediagazer »

David Folkenflik / NPR:
A Pulitzer winner quits ‘Washington Post’ after a cartoon on Bezos is killed

Discussion: Media Nation, The Daily Caller, The Japan Times and The Borowitz Report

Ramon Antonio Vargas / The Guardian:
Washington Post cartoonist resigns over paper's refusal to publish cartoon critical of Jeff Bezos

Discussion: Althouse and Digby's Hullabaloo

New York Post:

Biden honors Dem donor George Soros, Hillary Clinton with Presidential Medal of Freedom, sparking outrage: ‘A national disgrace’ — President Biden bestowed woke Democratic megadonor George Soros with the Presidential Medal of Freedom on Saturday — outraging critics who ripped the selection as a “national disgrace.”

Discussion: Fox News, Townhall, American Thinker, Washington Examiner, Power Line, Deadline, Twitchy, CBS News, Mediaite, Breitbart, The Hill, Bloomberg and The Gateway Pundit, more at Mediagazer »

The White House:
President Biden Announces Recipients of the Presidential Medal of Freedom

Victor Nava / New York Post:
Biden to present Hillary Clinton, George Soros and 17 others the Presidential Medal of Freedom

Emma Bubola / New York Times:

Italy's Prime Minister Visits Trump in Mar-a-Lago — Giorgia Meloni, the Italian prime minister, joins just a handful of other world leaders who have been to the president-elect's Florida estate since his victory. — Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni of Italy has gone to Mar-a-Lago …

Discussion: Fox News, Politico, Business Insider, RedState, The Gateway Pundit, Bloomberg, Associated Press, Washington Examiner, Raw Story and The Japan Times

Douglas Murray / The Free Press:

Things Worth Remembering: ‘He Died Standing Up’ — Jeannette Bougrab's partner was murdered at Charlie Hebdo 10 years ago—in the name of values, she said, 'that we've forgotten to defend.' … This has been a week of mourning for the families of the Americans who lost their lives to Islamism in New Orleans.

Discussion: The Economist

Amanda Previdelli / The Local Austria:

Austria's chancellor says will step down in ‘coming days’ — Austria's conservative chancellor Karl Nehammer said on Saturday he would step down as chancellor in the ‘coming days’ after breaking off coalition talks with the Social Democrats. — Austria's coalition negotiations between …

Discussion: Reuters, Al Jazeera, Associated Press, The Japan Times and Politico

Brooke Singman / Fox News:

Melania Trump, Amazon partner to release new film about her life in theaters worldwide — The documentary will be released in the second half of 2025 and executive produced by Mrs. Trump — EXCLUSIVE: Amazon Prime has exclusively licensed a documentary film for global theatrical …

Discussion: Semafor

Rolling Stone:

Trump 2.0 Is About Punishing the Vulnerable and Enriching the Mega Wealthy — Here's what to take away from Trump's reversal on H-1B visas — and what his policy approach means for the poor and the uber-wealthy like Elon Musk — Donald Trump led a virulently anti-immigrant campaign for president …

Discussion: Breitbart and Daily Kos

Michael Podhorzer / Weekend Reading:

How Trump “Won” — The Anesthetized Anti-MAGA Majority — With all the ballots counted and all the races decided, in today's post, I want to unpack what we already know about how Trump “won” the popular vote.1 I use quotes around the word “won” for two reasons.

Discussion: Digby's Hullabaloo

Politico:

Johnson tells House Republicans that Trump wants one ‘big beautiful’ reconciliation package — Trump's decision is a win for House Ways & Means Chair Jason Smith. — Speaker Mike Johnson told Republicans on Saturday that President-elect Donald Trump wants one reconciliation package …