The Note: For conspiracy-loving Trump, JFK files are a big moment
It figures to be quite a moment for conspiracy theories.
— -- The TAKE with Rick Klein
It figures to be quite a moment for conspiracy theories. And nobody relishes a good conspiracy theory quite like President Donald Trump.
The president finds the remaining government documents surrounding the Kennedy assassination to be “interesting,” or so he informed his Twitter audience – around the time he was touching down at Dallas Love Field, no less. The fact that he also supplied a hashtag - #JFKFiles – speaks to the power he sees in this moment.
It’s not simply that Trump has trafficked heavily in conspiracy theories himself, from the birther movement and through the insinuation that Ted Cruz’s dad was connected to Lee Harvey Oswald. It’s not just that he associates himself with people like Alex Jones and Roger Stone, who have make fame and fortune out of conspiracy yarns.
It’s that a big part of Trump’s appeal is based on the sense that there is a big conspiracy that only he can unravel. The mistrust in institutions, the rise of fake news, the willingness to believe in dark, secret forces – that is all entwined in the fabric that produced the Trump presidency.
That makes Trump a player in the national moment that will surround today’s document release. New files are highly unlikely to close any cases.
The president will be just fine with that.
The RUNDOWN with MaryAlice Parks
President Donald Trump will officially declare the opioid epidemic a public health emergency in an announcement at the White House on Thursday — a divergence from previous promises to declare the epidemic a "national emergency".
Serious questions linger about whether the announcement be more than just that and how this new charge fits into the president’s larger vision for repealing and replacing the Affordable Care Act?
So far, most Republican health care bills have pushed to weaken requirements under the so-called Obamacare law that individual health insurance plans cover care like drug and addiction treatment.
Plus, a long list of top tier federal health care vacancies beg the question, who will carry out any new charge?
The commission led by New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie to explore ways to curb opioid overdoses, recommended the president declare a national emergency back in July. In the meantime, then-head of Department Health of Human Services Tom Price stepped aside and the White House has yet to nominate a replacement cabinet secretary. President Trump’s pick for drug czar, Rep. Tom Marino, R-Pa., took himself out of the running for that job just a week ago, and the acting head of the Drug Enforcement Agency left earlier this month too.
The president has tried to blame Democrats for slowing the gears when it comes to moving nominations, but that is not the case here.
The TIP with Whitney Lloyd
Federal Communications Committee Chairman Ajit Pai vigorously defended the First Amendment at an Energy and Commerce subcommittee hearing Wednesday.
"I stand on the side of the First Amendment; I firmly believe that journalists should heed their viewers, their listeners and their readers -- not the dictates of officials in DC," Pai said. "We must stop the federal government from intervening in the news business,” he added.
Pai then announced the FCC will be voting on November 16 to reform media ownership regulations, eliminating rules that restrict common ownership of newspapers and broadcast stations.
Watch or read Pai's remarks: http://bit.ly/2l037vw
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW TODAY:
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“I went to an Ivy League college. I was a nice student. I did very well. I'm a very intelligent person. You know, the fact is, I think, I really believe, I think the press creates a different image of Donald Trump than the real person.” —President Trump
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The Note is a daily ABC News feature that highlights the key political moments of the day ahead. Please check back tomorrow for the latest.