| | | | The Pope has a message on 'fake news' for Trump | | Pope Francis condemned the idea of "fake news" in a message Wednesday, words that appeared to be an attempt to combat President's Donald Trump's ongoing war on inconvenient facts.
"Spreading fake news can serve to advance specific goals, influence political decisions and serve economic interests," wrote Pope Francis, noting that the first instance of "fake news" was committed by the serpent in the Garden of Eden.
While Francis' message was not specifically directed at Trump, there's little question that the head of the Roman Catholic Church is aware of the American President's role in seeking to call into question all news that he doesn't like -- and its ripple effect around the world.
Trump uses "fake news" as a political rallying cry -- understanding that bashing the media is good politics for him with his base of supporters. What he doesn't realize -- or simply doesn't care about -- is the hugely corrosive effect that actively seeking to disqualify the idea of objective truth has on our culture.
If everyone is entitled to their own facts as well as their own opinions, then how can we ever agree on any set of facts on which we all agree? And, if we can't agree on facts, what the hell can we agree on?
Francis put that idea more eloquently than me.
"Disinformation thus thrives on the absence of healthy confrontation with other sources of information that could effectively challenge prejudices and generate constructive dialogue," he said.
Hear, hear!
The Point: Trump's attempt to label as "fake" anything with which he disagrees is, at the moment, his lasting imprint on our culture -- and a massively damaging one at that. An American president who says more than 2,000 untrue things in his first year in office should trouble all of us -- no matter what party you align with.
-- Chris | |  | | Happy Hump Day! Now you can enjoy The Point takes on CNN Politics' Instagram, Monday through Friday, thanks to CNN's Brenna Williams. Just click on CNN Politics' Instagram story every afternoon for more. | | "This place sucks."
-West Virginia Democrat Sen. Joe Manchin to his colleagues re: Senate (per The New York Times). Read Chris' take on that comment here. | | | | Christina Aguilera said her new album is "coming." So here's a '90s throwback to "Genie in a Bottle" because why not? | | CNN's Laura Jarrett and Sarah Jorgensen report:
"A federal judge has acquitted New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez and his friend Salomon Melgen, of several charges, according to a new order filed Wednesday. The order from Judge William Walls comes days after the Justice Department announced that it would retry its case against Menendez. The original trial, which took place in the fall of 2017, ended after the jury failed to reach a unanimous verdict on any of the 18 counts in the case. Defense attorneys had refiled a motion for acquittal after the mistrial."
Read more in their full story here. | | 🚨ANOTHER PENCE TIEBREAKER🚨 | | CNN's Ryan Struyk writes:
With Republicans Sens. Bob Corker and John McCain missing from voting on Wednesday at the Capitol, the GOP needed to call in some backup to help push one vote across the finish line. Pence's tie-breaking vote on ending debate on Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback's nomination to serve as ambassador-at-large for international religious freedom marks his seventh ever — resulting in an average of 6.9 votes per year for Pence. That tops Chester Arthur's pace of 5.5 votes per year — and puts him on track for the most tie-breaking votes per year of any vice president in American history.
Read more in Ryan's full story here. | | CNN's Liz Landers is among the team of reporters in Davos, Switzerland, reporting on President Trump's trip. Here's her dispatch for The Point:
Walls of snow in Davos this evening separated the haves and the have-nots from exclusive revelry during the World Economic Forum. The wall, by the way, is for real: feet of snow have been pushed to the sides of winding roads and the majority of pedestrians attending the global conferences clutched to each other in vain to keep from slipping.
The evening before the American president arrived in the tiny ski town, global movers and shakers traipsed up and down the Promenade popping into an embarrassing number of sponsored parties from the likes of HSBC to the Davos Russia House to The Wall Street Journal. I didn't find Elton John (he's supposed to be here) but did slide by (literally) former British Prime Minister David Cameron, and I'm pretty sure the president of Colombia walked by with his entourage about three minutes later. See and be seen under a mountain of puffer jackets and fur?
Back to the politics, Emmanuel Macron, one of the major world leaders in attendance this year, took a thinly veiled jab at Trump during his evening speech here, saying, "For sure with Davos when you look outside, arriving in this building it is hard to believe in global warming. Obviously and fortunately you didn't invite anybody skeptical with global warming this year." The French President of course reacted to Trump's withdrawal from the Paris Climate Agreement by stating, "Make our planet great again."
President Trump leaves DC this evening and lands here in the sunny Alps tomorrow morning. He'll have several bilateral meetings tomorrow, including with British Prime Minister Theresa May. | | 🎼LOOK WHAT YOU MADE HIM DO🎼 | | Per reporter Matt Laslo, Sen. Orrin Hatch got Taylor Swift and Jay-Z put in the Congressional Record during his floor speech on his bill to modernize music licensing. Hatch is a songwriter himself. He and Sen. Lamar Alexander are advocating for the Music Modernization Act, which would help ensure songwriters are paid fair market value. They took to social media Wednesday morning, using the hashtag #StandWithSongwriters. They also uploaded a video -- called "Orrin and Lamar's Mixtape Volume 1" -- where they play piano (!) and discuss music. | | | Happy Wednesday! Support The Point and tell everyone you know to subscribe. | | We'd love to share our other newsletters with you. Follow this link for daily coverage of the world's top stories, savvy market insights, an insider's look into the media and more. Our authors for The Point are Chris Cillizza and Saba Hamedy. Send your tips and thoughts via email to Chris or Saba. Follow on Twitter: Chris and Saba. | | | | | | |
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