In ravaged Puerto Rico, Trump finds splendor in the gracias

Gratitude adjustment

Donald Trump went around the table to thank those who have thanked him and hear them thank him again because, after all, they should be thankful for what he’s done for Puerto Rico since Hurricane Maria.

Take Gov. Ricardo Rosselló. “He’s not even from my party, and he started right at the beginning appreciating what we did. ... He was giving us the highest grades.”

The trip was a victory lap of sorts, even as local officials plead for faster federal aid amid widespread shortages of power, fuel, food and drinkable water.

Residents gave Trump a friendly greeting as he saw hurricane-damaged homes and visited an aid distribution center in Guaynabo. He assumed a basketball-shooting stance to toss rolls of paper towels into the crowd (GIF here) and handed out flashlights while remarking, “You don’t need ’em anymore.”

Maybe they still do. More than 90 percent of the island remains without electricity. See Emily Ngo’s story for Newsday.

‘Miscommunicator-in-chief’

As Trump was leaving Washington, it sounded like he was ready to forgive, if not forget, San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulín Cruz’s rebuke of the feds’ happy-talk self-reviews. “I think she’s come back a long way,” Trump said.

The president shook her hand at the gathering of officials. He then ignored her.

Cruz tweeted afterward that she had “productive” talks with White House staff, but told CNN the president was still a “miscommunicator-in-chief,” who was “spouting out comments to hurt the people of Puerto Rico.”

Among the latest: That the official death toll, which Rosselló told him was 16 (it’s now 34), didn’t compare to the “real catastrophe” of Hurricane Katrina, which killed more than 1,800. Also: “You’ve thrown our budget a little out of whack.”

On the flight home, asked if he heard any criticism, Trump said, “We’ve only heard thank yous. ... I think it meant a lot to the people of Puerto Rico that I was there.”

Trump kin dodged NYC charges

President Donald Trump's most front-and-center offspring — son Donald Jr. and daughter Ivanka — came close to being criminally charged in connection with false claims to condo buyers at the Trump SoHo in 2012, according to a ProPublica piece. 

Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance chose not to proceed with the case. Part of the story centers on the timing of contributions and refunds to and from Vance's campaign by Marc Kasowitz, a longtime attorney to the senior Trump who met with the DA on the matter.

The SoHo project has been a hotspot of litigation, accusations and counter-charges for years.

The take-away: Court’s tilt

The nation this week will begin to see where Trump’s presidency may have one of its biggest impacts, writes Newsday’s Dan Janison.

The Supreme Court’s fall term is underway, and Justice Neil Gorsuch — picked by Trump earlier this year — could swing the court in a conservative direction. One major case could stop unions from collecting fees in lieu of dues from workers who choose not to join.

After Las Vegas

Trump called the Las Vegas massacre shooter a “very, very sick individual” and “demented,” but wouldn’t say Tuesday if he’s reconsidering his opposition to stronger gun control.

“We’ll be talking about gun laws as time goes by,” Trump said as he was leaving the White House for Puerto Rico.

Trump also said that for the Las Vegas police to have stopped the gunman before he killed even more people was “in many ways, a miracle. The police department, they’ve done such an incredible job.” Trump is due to visit Las Vegas Wednesday.

Former White House aide Steve Bannon, now a leading voice on Trump’s hard-right flank, told Axios that if the president tilts left on gun laws, it “will be the end of everything.”

‘Worst’ deal vs. no deal

Trump says the Iran nuclear agreement made by the Obama administration was the worst deal the United States ever negotiated. But Defense Secretary Jim Mattis told a congressional hearing Tuesday that the United States shouldn’t break it.

“If we can confirm that Iran is living by the agreement, if we can determine that this is in our best interest, then clearly, we should stay with it,” Mattis said.

Some administration officials are trying to come up with a face-saving solution for Trump so he doesn’t have to recertify Iran’s compliance every 90 days, as Congress now requires, according to The Associated Press.

And now, 'Moron'-gate

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson was so agitated at one point a few months back that he candidly referred to Trump as a moron in front of other administration officials, NBC reports on Wednesday.

Tensions mounted especially after the president's bizarre political speech to the Boy Scouts of America, and Vice President Mike Pence intervened to discuss ways to smooth things over.

Tillerson had threatened to quit. The disclosure of the episode, in light of Trump's recent undercutting of Tillerson on North Korea, prods the question of whether the former Exxon-Mobil CEO will be the next big aide to leave the White House.

Flights of fancy

More inspectors general are getting busy investigating the flying habits of Trump administration officials.

The Washington Post reported that Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin’s top aide, Eli Miller, flew on New York hedge fund billionaire Nelson Peltz’s private jet to Palm Beach several months ago. A Treasury spokesman said the two men had a “pre-existing relationship” as friends. But the IG is reviewing it.

The Veterans Affairs inspector general is reviewing Secretary David Shulkin’s 10-day, taxpayer-funded trip to Europe in July, during which Shulkin and his wife spent time shopping, sightseeing and watching tennis at Wimbledon, CBS News said.

What else is happening

• After Trump left, Rosselló announced the updated Hurricane Maria death toll of 34. Local officials say it will go higher still as people suffer secondary effects from thirst, hunger and extreme heat without air conditioning or run out of critical medical supplies such as oxygen.
• The White House will ask Congress to authorize almost $30 billion in new funding to address recent natural disasters, The Washington Post reported.
• In a San Juan neighborhood a few miles from the air base where Trump held a meeting, residents told The Associated Press they’ve seen no sign of federal aid.
• Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump had a third, previously unreported private email account, Politico reported. Since news of the accounts emerged, they have been rerouted to servers run by the Trump Organization, according to USA Today.
• Trump administration officials are mulling an executive order for federal agencies to review low-income assistance programs as part of a planned effort to seek sweeping changes to the country’s welfare system, Politico reported.
• Republican lawmakers who dined with Donald Trump Monday night said the president denied making a deal with Democratic leaders to expand protections for immigrants brought here illegally as children beyond those now covered by DACA.