In the aftermath of National Security Council usurper Lt. Col. Vindman helping to orchestrate a joint DoD, CIA and State Dept soft-coup against President Trump, several pointed questions were asked about why the NSC was allowed to undermine the office they were created to support.
In response to those questions, newly appointed National Security Advisor Robert O’Brien announce the White House was in an ongoing process to reduce the size of the NSC.
A follow-up article within the Washington Times highlights the downsizing so far.

WASHINGTON DC – The White House National Security Council staff is being downsized sharply in a bid to improve efficiency within the policy coordinating body by consolidating positions and cutting staff.
A second, unspoken thrust of the overhaul is a hoped-for end to what many critics see as a string of politically damaging, unauthorized disclosures of sensitive information. Leaks of President Trump’s conversations with foreign leaders and other damaging disclosures likely originated with anti-Trump officials in the White House who stayed over from the Obama administration, according to several current and former White House officials.

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At the time of a Tuesday evening Fox News interview Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was affirming his trip to Ukraine was still planned.  However, by the time Pompeo woke up on Wednesday morning those plans were cancelled….  Perhaps someone told the secretary he needed to stay-attached to the crisis he helped inspire?

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Wednesday postponed a trip to Ukraine so he could focus on the situation in Iraq after demonstrators attacked the U.S. embassy.
Supporters of Iranian-backed Iraqi paramilitary groups stormed the U.S. embassy’s perimeter and hurled rocks in two days of protests. They withdrew on Wednesday after Washington dispatched extra troops and threatened reprisals against Tehran.

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Despite the initial reaction a stable-minded person would likely take away from the headline, it is a good thing that ABC News and other MSM have dropped their pretense and shallow-efforts to retain their open secrets.
In this example while lamenting the outcome of the recent U.K. election that saw the socialists and leftists crushed by conservative and pragmatic voters, ABC is concerned the American people may end up similarly interfering in media objectives for the 2020 U.S. presidential election.  The problem they discover is this pesky concept called “freedom”.

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Consider this argument from the article: “One of the things that we’re always very cautious about is everyone looking at Russia. But actually, we should be looking at the party and political dynamics closer to home and how domestic actors are using the platforms and manipulating the systems to spread information or misinformation that’s favorable to their political stance.” 
I mean seriously.  Can you imagine a world where U.S. politicians easily spread information favorable to their political stance.  Oh.My.God… The outcome is almost unimaginable…. People, allowed to think for themselves.  Yikes, the horror of it.
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Most CTH readers are aware the RNC and DNC are literally private clubs with the ability to do anything they want regarding rules & by-laws inside their respective organizations.  As such both republicans and democrats can do whatever they want to determine their candidate. Understanding this opaque process was one of the cornerstones to figuring out how the RNC controlled the nominee outcome in 2012 and their failed attempt in 2016.
Here’s an interesting perspective on the likely DNC nominee looking at the procedural processes within the 2020 democrat national committee rule changes.  No super-delegates (in round one) and no winner-take-all rules for state delegation distribution.

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Despite the challenges to scour through the details of party rules and regulations, it would be nice if more media spent time on this aspect of elections. Ultimately it is the club rules, and the candidate’s ability to use or overcome those rules, that is the best predictor of who will succeed in the nomination process.
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In an effort to keep the Daily Open Thread a little more open topic we are going to start a new daily thread for “Presidential Politics”. Please use this thread to post anything relating to the Donald Trump Administration and Presidency.

This thread will refresh daily and appear above the Open Discussion Thread.

President Trump Twitter @POTUS / Vice President Pence Twitter @VP

Stephanie Grisham Twitter @StephGrisham45

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy Name. Thy kingdom come. THY WILL BE DONE, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but DELIVER US FROM EVIL.
For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory, forever and ever. Amen †

Incredible.  Continuing a legacy of transparency and availability the People’s President stops to hold an impromptu presser upon arrival for the Mar-a-Lago New Year’s eve celebration.  [Video and Transcript Below]
Dressed in formal attire with our stunning First Lady Melania Trump beside him, President Trump responds to a variety of media questions.  WATCH:

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[Transcript]  THE PRESIDENT: Hello, everybody. Happy New Year. Happy New Year. We’re going to have a great year, I predict. I think it’s going to be a fantastic year. We had the best economic year, I think, in our country’s history. And I think we’re really set for additional growth and jobs and everything else. It’ll be great.
Kevin?
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I have long felt that life is like a series of links in a chain. You might be driving down the road and you hear a song on the radio, or see a picture, and you feel a memory…. Something that reminds you of a different time and place than where you are right now.
You reflect.
The memories you consider remind you of a totally different time in your life. Perhaps you lived in a different place. Perhaps you were surrounded by different people. Perhaps a different job or completely different friends.
You recognize those memories were constructed like frozen moments in time. They become individual links in the chain in your life.
We never actually realize, in the immediate moment, when one link closes and another link begins. But when we look back, we can clearly see distinct points where things changed, the link closed, and a new link began. The links are only visible in reflection.
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First, the explanation from former CIA Director, current U.S. Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo:

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Does this “escalation” have a familiar feel about it?
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Earlier today, via Tweet, President Trump announced the ‘phase-one’ agreement between the U.S. and China will be signed January 15, 2020.

As U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer previously stated this very challenging agreement will be the first-ever attempted trade deal between a state-run economy and a free-market economy.   It will take time to see if communist China will actually follow-through on the terms and conditions.
Ambassador Lighthizer noted the principle challenge is generating an enforceable set of standards -within a written agreement- between a totally controlled communist economic system (China) and a free-market system (USA). No other nation has ever tried, and there is no preexisting trade agreement to facilitate a mapping. What Lighthizer was/is constructing will be what all nations will start to use going forward. This is historic stuff.
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