The Daily Fuckup — December 4, 2018

Edition · December 4, 2018

The Daily Fuckup — December 4, 2018

2 verified reports published on December 4, 2018.

This edition is the complete daily record. Reports remain separate so readers can see each claim, source set, correction, and update without one article being mislabeled as the entire edition.

Closing take

Trump’s problem on December 4 was not just that his people stepped on rakes. It was that the rakes were all pointing back at him: the trade war, the lies, the investigations, the improv that passes for strategy in his orbit.

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Ranked by how bad the fuckup was

5 stars means maximum fallout. 1 star means a smaller self-own.

Story

Mueller’s Flynn Memo Keeps the Trump-Russia Wound Open

Flynn liability Confidence 5/5

★★★★☆Fuckup rating 4/5 Serious fuckup

Special counsel Robert Mueller filed a sentencing memo for Michael Flynn saying the former national security adviser deserved little or no jail time because of his substantial assistance. The filing helped Flynn, but it also kept Trump’s Russia-era national security scandal in the center of the page. For a White House that wanted the story gone, the document was another ugly reminder that Flynn’s case is still a live political liability.

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Story

Kudlow Has to Clean Up Trump’s China Tariff Fairy Tale

Trade walkback Confidence 5/5

★★★☆☆Fuckup rating 3/5 Major mess

The White House spent December 4 walking back President Trump’s claim that China had agreed to cut tariffs on U.S.-made cars. The cleanup came fast because the original boast was vague, unconfirmed, and immediately useful only as stock-market bait. By afternoon, the administration was left insisting there had only been an opening round of talks, not a signed deal.

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