Washington Post

The North Korea summit was a triumph of Trumpian stagecraft, and the media fell for it

[Commentary] Although every legitimate news organization made efforts, some better than others, to bring context and even a measure of skepticism into their mix of stories [on the Singapore summit], the event overall was a triumph of Trumpian stagecraft. And the media played its accustomed role.  Because of wall-to-wall media coverage, carefully choreographed visuals and the usual Trumpian bluster, the Singapore summit largely came across as a triumph of personal diplomacy by the president.

Aiming at AT&T and Time Warner, President Trump shot from the hip and missed

President Donald Trump knew right away how he felt about AT&T’s proposed $85 billion acquisition of Time Warner. He hated it. “It’s too much concentration of power in the hands of too few,” Trump said on the day the deal was struck in October 2016, adding that, if he were elected, his administration would block the purchase. Judge Richard Leon considered the matter for several months and in a lengthy opinion June 12 ruled that President Trump’s take, shot from the hip, was off the mark. The merger of media giants can move forward, despite legal objections by the Justice Department.

A judge is about to decide whether to block AT&T’s merger with Time Warner. Here’s what you need to know.

The AT&T/Time Warner case could be decided any number of ways. Judge Richard Leon could rule in the government's favor, forcing AT&T to abandon the deal or to sell off key assets such as Turner or DirecTV to move forward. Judge Leon could side with AT&T, saying there is no threat to competition and allowing the deal to proceed unimpeded. In that scenario, AT&T would not be required to divest anything or make any other concessions and could close the deal by June 18.