Trump isn't down for the count in Florida

What he's florid about

With tempers hot over unresolved Florida election results, the chief state judge in Broward County — ground zero for the fight — urged both sides to “ramp down the rhetoric.” Rate that as a long-shot bid, especially as it concerns the man who cries "rigged."

President Donald Trump is taking wild swings on Twitter, accusing Democrats of trying to steal the Senate election from Republican Rick Scott for incumbent Bill Nelson, and the governor's race from Republican Ron DeSantis for Democrat Andrew Gillum. The Senate race is the closer of the two — a gap of 0.14 percentage points as of Monday night. 

"The Florida Election should be called in favor of Rick Scott and Ron DeSantis in that large numbers of new ballots showed up out of nowhere, and many ballots are missing or forged. An honest vote count is no longer possible-ballots massively infected. Must go with election night!" Trump said.

His allegations are unsubstantiated, and the remedy he demanded isn't remotely legal. Automatic recounts were ordered due to tight margins in the votes. Also yet to be counted were ballots for overseas and military voters, which aren't due until Friday.

Judge Jack Tuter denied attempts by Scott’s campaign to have law enforcement impound voting machines, but did add three Broward County sheriff’s deputies to the facility, a move both sides supported.

While Tuter said no fraud has been shown, Broward's top elections supervisor, Democrat Brenda Snipes, has been under fire over a history of foul-ups. Republican former Gov. Jeb Bush, who first appointed her, said she should be replaced after the recounts. Democrats aren't happy with her either, suspecting the ballot design that relegated the Senate contest to a lower corner caused tens of thousands of voters in the heavily Democratic county to miss it.

Trump has also claimed "electoral corruption" and asked "Call for a new Election?" in Arizona as Democratic Senate candidate Kyrsten Sinema's lead over Republican Rep. Martha McSally  grew. But Republican officials there defended the counting process. Late Monday, The Associated Press declared Sinema the winner, and McSally conceded.

Ebb tide

If Trump really wants to know who to blame for losing in Arizona, he could check the mirror. He forced incumbent Republican Jeff Flake, who has been a critic of him, to step aside or face his wrath in the GOP primary. Trump figured he’d get a more pliant replacement.

The Arizona call is the third close Senate race to go against Republicans since election night, following Nevada and Montana. The GOP majority now stands at 51-47, with Florida still undecided and a Mississippi race headed for a Nov. 27 runoff in which the Republican is favored. At best, the Republican gain will be two seats.

Stocks and pillories

Trump tweeted an explanation Monday for a slump in the stock market: It's because the Democrats are going to use their new House majority to pick on him.

"The prospect of Presidential Harassment by the Dems is causing the Stock Market big headaches!" he said.

Market analysts have attributed factors including the Fed’s interest-rate strategy and Trump’s trade wars for the recent stock-market volatility, writes MarketWatch. They regard blaming a bear market on the Democrats' investigative plans as bull.

Janison: Nice unknowing you

If you're a problem for him, Trump doesn't want to know you, even if he does. The latest to get a relationship reclassification is his acting attorney general, who went from "I know Matt Whitaker" to "I don’t know Matt Whitaker" after problematic details emerged about his record, writes Newsday's Dan Janison.

Others who have gone from know to hardly knew include George Papadopoulos, the campaign foreign policy adviser who copped a plea to special counsel Robert Mueller; former campaign chairman Paul Manafort; Trump's former lawyer Michael Cohen, now a potential witness against him; and, most famously during the campaign, Vladimir Putin.

Nielsen ratings hit zero 

After creating a pre-election "caravan" frenzy, and then sending thousands of soldiers on a mission of vague purpose, Trump is following through on scapegoating Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen for what he sees as bad numbers at the border.

According to the Washington Post, Trump told advisers to remove her as soon as possible, despite Nielsen's continued support and defense from Chief of Staff John Kelly, who is also said to be on shaky ground.  

Trump's French whine

The president delivered a few unhappy reactions on Twitter early Tuesday to his gaffe-riddled trip to France for what was supposed to have been a World War I armistice celebration.  "Make France Great Again!" he taunted at President Emmanuel Macron.

“Emmanuel Macron suggests building its own army to protect Europe against the U.S., China and Russia,” he tweeted. “But it was Germany in World Wars One & Two — How did that work out for France? They were starting to learn German in Paris before the U.S. came along. Pay for NATO or not!”

But in the world outside Trump's narrative, Macron had actually suggested that Europe needs to better position militarily itself against an increasingly aggressive Russia. The American president also sought to defend his decision to skip a cemetery visit and in a bit of typical projection came up with this allegation: "The problem is that Emmanuel suffers from a very low Approval Rating in France, 26%, and an unemployment rate of almost 10%. He was just trying to get onto another subject."

Get a better NAFTA deal, Dems say

Trump hailed the trade agreement reached with Canada and Mexico last month as "a great deal," but Democrats taking over the House majority say the replacement for NAFTA isn't good enough — they want more protections for American workers from low-wage competition.

“Trump made it seem like this was a done deal, but there is a long, long way to go,” Rep. Bill Pascrell (D-N.J.), likely to chair the Ways and Means Subcommittee on Trade, told The New York Times. Democrats also say there that agreement is weak on enforcement of Mexico's pledges to raise its labor standards.

Caught in the ICE net

Felipe Iñiguez, an Ecuadorian immigrant from Central Islip who entered the U.S. illegally 17 years ago, provides a stark example of how immigration enforcement has changed since the start of the Trump administration from focusing on serious criminals, reports Newsday's Sandra Peddie and Victor Manuel Ramos.

Iñiguez, 49, has no criminal record, and married a U.S. citizen two years ago. He paid taxes and worked installing custom-made kitchen islands. His lawyer said a petition for legal residence had been accepted. But in May, village police in Lloyd Harbor ticketed him for a burned-out headlight. Three months later, ICE agents arrested him. He has been in detention ever since.

What else is happening:

• Commercial satellite images show North Korea is moving ahead with its ballistic missile program at 16 hidden bases, undercutting Trump's claim to have stopped the nuclear threat, The New York Times reported. The images indicate Kim Jong Un's offer to dismantle a major launch site is part of a deception.

• Whitaker is now planning to consult senior Justice Department ethics officials about any matters that could warrant his recusal, a Justice Department spokeswoman said. That’s just what Jeff Sessions did.

• Michelle Obama said that as she was on her way out as first lady, she invited Melania Trump to call her anytime for advice. Has she? "No, she hasn't," Obama said in an ABC News interview. 
• Conspiracy theorist Jerome Corsi, an associate of Trump confidante Roger Stone, said he expects to be indicted "for some form or other of lying." in the special counsel's Russia investigation. Corsi was a top proponent of the false "birther" claim against Barack Obama that Trump flogged for five years.
• The first major postelection poll by Gallup puts Trump's job approval at 38% and disapproval at 56%, a swing of 2 points against him on each measure.
• Trump wants to cut off federal hurricane recovery funds for Puerto Rico because he claims, without evidence, that the island’s government is using the money to pay off debt, Axios reported. The belief appears to be based on Trump's misunderstanding of a Wall Street Journal article about Puerto Rico's finances last month.
• Nasty nicknames for $600, Alex? "Jeopardy" host Alex Trebek doesn't think Trump would do well on the quiz show because "he might not agree that any of the correct responses are correct." Trebek was interviewed by Vulture.