Jonathan Bernstein, Columnist

With Friends Like These, Who Needs Critics?

Jonathan Bernstein's morning links.

Inner circles.

Photographer: Brendan Smialowski/AFP -- Getty Images
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I'm going to take exception to how Alison Gopnik prefaced her otherwise fine New York Times column about Donald Trump and kids:

Yes, some critics are saying things like that, I suppose (others think he knows exactly what he's doing), but the real story here isn't what critics say: It's what the White House staff ("senior administration officials") and others close to Trump are telling reporters. For example, every president misspeaks -- that is, gets a word wrong, or otherwise botches something they're trying to say. It's unusual, I'd say, for an administration spokeswoman to rush out and claim the president was "exhausted" while making a major speech. Especially on the second day of a long foreign trip.