What I see when I look around the world, around this country and around this city, and the neighborhood that I live in is a lot of the same things greed, hunger, suffering, hatred all of the things that man has used to try and destroy God's world and separate his people this is not shocking nor should it be these are the things tools if you will that are used to create chaos which is exactly what we have mistrust, misunderstandings, and ignorance keeps us in this world from living up to the potential that God bestowed onto us when he gave us life and while there are great people who are doing great things in the world there is an element that does not want that to happen and it is an impulse that we have an urge to see human suffering it's true that it's been happening since the beginning but you would have thought that over the course of time we would have become smarter and while we have come a long way we still have many ways to go as a world even in my city and neighborhood I see this everyday people walking down the street they see that there is a trash nearby and yet still they just throw trash on the ground police driving through red lights in non emergency situations these are part of the things that make this country and this city is problematic you can't get anywhere if you continue down this same path no matter how hard people are trying to change the narrative and make this world a better place it is so hard to do this when you take one step forward and they drag you two steps back we have been doing this dance for years it hurts, it's insulting and it's a slap in the face when we see people who instead of trying to help they are hurting the cause we can be better I'm just not sure that we want to be these are just some of the things that I see I'm sure that you see the same things just look around.

So by now everyone in this world must realize that this pandemic is real and not a made up hoax so this is my opinion let them die I mean all of the people who want to group together and mingle and smoke weed together and follow the lunatic down that hole let them die they said that it is their right to do so, just let them get sick just stay the fuck away from the rest of us who want to live I could give a fuck less if you die just like you could give a fuck less if I die let's be real and not b.s each other with everything going on today all of the murders the pandemic along with the overall human hatred that has existed every since the beginning of time for once I am in agreement with the morons it is their right to expose themselves to anything that they like so many have died already using that way of thinking why not let more die I think that is a problem with the world today too many people are trying to keep people living who obviously want to die so I say let them go to the churches, the night clubs and all of the other places that they want to go let them gather by the thousands while the rest of us continue doing what we've been doing and that is trying to survive and stay alive some of these people shouldn't be alive anyway this is the way they want it and I couldn't be happier I'll keep living while you keep dying and my laughter will continue so keep up the good work by not wearing masks it's a riot lol!!!   

Should we still buy music? that is a question that I ask myself everyday with all of the ways that we consume music through online streaming services why should we buy music especially considering the fact that a lot of the music isn't really that good same with movies I remember a time when I used to anticipate the arrival of my favorite artist now those albums are few and far between because the business has been saturated with bad music and while the production has gotten better the lyrical content has gotten worse now of course as I have gotten older the music has become unrelatable to me as a younger person might understand it but to me bad music is bad music I don't care how old you are but there is hope because there are still artists out here fighting the good fight and making good music and when they do I buy because I know that I won't be disappointed so in my opinion it is okay to buy music but only the good music.

well in light of all the issues in today's society, what if black players in the nfl stopped playing. What would those football games look like? I mean most of us haven't been around long enough to remember major sports without, color. How many sponsors would the nfl and Walt Disney, and the owners have with an all white ,flag saluting league? Jerry jones and many other sports franchise owners are letting it be known who pays the bills. New slavery ,no whips, and chains,...well a least outside of jail, but whips are traded in for contracts big pay days and possible star power. Police killing black people, and urban crimes, struggles ain't the problems for black players as long as they move that ball and stay in line. Maybe black athletes take that next level stop playing, is justice for all bigger than sports games, or paychecks? Are we not capable of having other ways to make money? Black peoples are worth more to this country than they ever want us to know we built this country, we own this country, too bad we just don't know it.

Just thinking on the tragedy that occurred in Vegas this past Sunday, prayers going out for the victims, their families, this world, hoping for the better days to come sooner rather than later. Continuing to believe in hope, despite of the painful realities of the world we in today. Guns kill people bottom line, but I believe in the second amendment, we need that right. We shouldn't need guns outside the home, or heavy fire power, like the assault weapons the guy had who shot more than 500 peoples apparently by himself. While it's not yet known of the shooters motives, maybe a lot of people don't get shot if he didn't have so many guns and ammo. Could there not be a way to keep track on some database on the amount of guns a single individual is purchasing? Right wingers love there freaking guns with a passion, as much as they do their country ass music, and there's the sad irony of the shooting in Las Vegas. Surly now that many innocent, country music loving, white folks, lost their lives and family and friends, we will see stronger gun control and learn valuable lessons. Maybe not many republicans are all ready firmly behind the second amendment rights, as usual, as well as NRA leadership. We are seeing more people speaking out about guns that wouldn't have normally, which is good to see, but not enough. bottom line is wealthy people always values money and power over people, much like some rappers enjoy using the line "money over errthang" or "money over bitches". People often say "they don't care until it happens to them or one of theirs" not sure if the case for the real wealthy people, the ones who kinda control the world, who owns land, and the gun shops and buys influence. The only thing that's hurts them is lost of money. Its like the movie "Trading Places" starring Eddie Murphy& Dan Aykroyd, in the movie the wealthy Duke brothers causes Murphy's and Aykroyd's characters to trade places in life, making the poor man rich and the rich man poor, for a bet. At the end of the movie Eddie and Dan gets revenge on the Dukes by causing the to lose all their money in the stock market. The dukes were so devastated that one of the brother's had a heart attack while arguing with the chairman of the stock exchange. When the chairman informed the other Duke brother of the heart attack his response was" fuck him". And that's how many people in this world feel about the Vegas shooting, Sandy hook shooting, South Carolina church shooting and everything else when it comes to taking away guns. "Fuck them" Guns, crime, jails, victims, death all equals money, steady rise.

Are you ready for so FOOTBALL!!!? you damn right we are! Millions apron millions can't wait to see the NFL action big strong athletes smashing and crushing there way to victory making beautiful dimes, defensive reckage, and kicking a ball through the uprights and for distance....yay! We got 5times SB champ Tom Brady looking for number 6, dem cowboys with Dak Prescott and them boys think it's there year....again. alot of young qb's that could make or break a franchise, including da bears! Trubisky who had some nice passes in a preseason game ...ahem..yea. All is right in the world because of football! Our sports gives us something to look forward to and away from the real world, with all the hate and violence and racism and Trump. Why mess with that, why mess with our football? That's why a former pro bowl,nfc champ qb Colin Keapernick  don't have a job in the nfl and shitty jay cutler does, oh but keapernick isn't a good qb despite 59% completion passing with 16 td's as a backup last season who happened to take a knee during national anthems to protest police violence against black people. That has no place in the nfl we don't wanna think about that stuff or we don't wanna care. Marshawn lynch came out of retirement now playing for the raiders will sit, during national anthems, protesting against the senseless violence this past weekend in Charlottevile Va, because because the white superpowers of evil had to ban together over the removal of a general Lee statue. Didn't the south loose the civil war? Anyway because of Lynch decision to sit former player Tim brown came out against him. brown a black man, feels sports are not for all of that, activis Jim brown never protest during games. And of course Ray Lewis "the murderer" always have something to say along with others, and they all miss the point, which is football is Hugh in this country, which equals big platform to put out a message because life pose to be bigger than a damn game. We love entertainment and sports but life comes first always. If u love football great keep loving it and stop hating players who take a stance respect their rights to do so, because playing pro sports is their jobs, but they are still members of every day society with all the issues. Is this the world we need, death, violence, hate," oh well it ain't happening to me, I'm rich, or who cares that's the way it goes" maybe but I won't be watching nfl until keapernick get the respect he deserves joining the thousands who are boycotting and always realizing that racism is all over football still I'm not knocking players for getting their money but invest in your people, grow your money and continue  gain knowledge as well as power. Peace.

With the latest shooting incident it is apparent that the people in this country still don't get it not that they would anyway it's hasn't learned from all of the other  mass shootings why would this one be any different except this time it was an attack on a party of politics mostly republican but some democrats as well who still believe that guns are the ultimate answer even the lunatic in the white house says "well the police are heroes for killing the suspect" wait a minute if there were stricter gun laws the man wouldn't have had a gun in the first place but as usual money and big business takes precedent over human lives and why? because America has a blood lust people won't admit it but they love to kill people they love to watch people die we in this country are descendants of people who hung people while watching them twitch and die electric chairs lethal injections we love to see people die so I am not shocked or appalled because it happens all the time and that is truly the sad part that we have been so desensitized by violence that we are immune to it until we say enough is enough we will always live with this blood lust

This story is good news for Ascap members with music on you tube

The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers

Dear ASCAP members, Our primary mission at ASCAP is to protect the value of our members’ music and increase the overall economic return from your work. Today, we have announced that we are delivering on that promise with a new licensing and data collaboration agreement we have signed with YouTube. This multi-year agreement achieves two important ASCAP goals: The deal substantially increases the overall compensation for our members from YouTube. The deal continues to propel ASCAP’s ongoing transformation strategy to lead the industry to more accurate and reliable data. This ensures that more money goes to you – our members – the women and men whose creative works fuel the digital music economy. The data collaboration with YouTube is just one example of how ASCAP is transforming to stay ahead of massive changes in the music industry in ways that will benefit our members today and in the future. Other examples include ASCAP’s recent data strategy agreement with Nielsen and our landmark Blockchain initiative with sister societies SACEM and PRS for Music. All of these data initiatives, coupled with ASCAP’s vast database, will improve the accuracy and reliability of the metadata attached to your works in the global market, and will move us closer to making the essential links between the sound recordings and compositions. This is important because making those links means that more money ends up in the pockets of our songwriter, composer and publisher members. We will be sharing more details with you on YouTube tracking, matching and distributions as we begin to operationalize this new license and data exchange with YouTube. As we continue to transform ASCAP to stay ahead in the industry, we also remain committed to leading the fight toward legislative and other solutions that will allow us to achieve market rates for your work. Thank you to all of you who have actively joined us in these efforts to modernize music licensing laws through legislation and updates to the antiquated ASCAP Consent Decree with the Department of Justice. If you have not already done so, you can join with us in advocating for your rights and the rights of all music creators. Find out more at www.ascap.com/advocacy. All of us at ASCAP thank you for your music and for being part of the ASCAP family of songwriters, composers and music publishers. Sincerely, Beth Matthews ASCAP CEO

© 2017, 1900 Broadway, New York, NY  10023 Newsletter Preference Center    RSS    Unsubscribe    Terms Of Use

The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers     Dear ASCAP members, Our primary mission at ASCAP is to protect the value of our members’ music and increase the overall economic return from your work. Today, we have announced that we are delivering on that promise with a new licensing and data collaboration agreement we have signed with YouTube. This multi-year agreement achieves two important ASCAP goals: The deal substantially increases the overall compensation for our members from YouTube. The deal continues to propel ASCAP’s ongoing transformation strategy to lead the industry to more accurate and reliable data. This ensures that more money goes to you – our members – the women and men whose creative works fuel the digital music economy. The data collaboration with YouTube is just one example of how ASCAP is transforming to stay ahead of massive changes in the music industry in ways that will benefit our members today and in the future. Other examples include ASCAP’s recent data strategy agreement with Nielsen and our landmark Blockchain initiative with sister societies SACEM and PRS for Music. All of these data initiatives, coupled with ASCAP’s vast database, will improve the accuracy and reliability of the metadata attached to your works in the global market, and will move us closer to making the essential links between the sound recordings and compositions. This is important because making those links means that more money ends up in the pockets of our songwriter, composer and publisher members. We will be sharing more details with you on YouTube tracking, matching and distributions as we begin to operationalize this new license and data exchange with YouTube. As we continue to transform ASCAP to stay ahead in the industry, we also remain committed to leading the fight toward legislative and other solutions that will allow us to achieve market rates for your work. Thank you to all of you who have actively joined us in these efforts to modernize music licensing laws through legislation and updates to the antiquated ASCAP Consent Decree with the Department of Justice. If you have not already done so, you can join with us in advocating for your rights and the rights of all music creators. Find out more at www.ascap.com/advocacy. All of us at ASCAP thank you for your music and for being part of the ASCAP family of songwriters, composers and music publishers. Sincerely, Beth Matthews ASCAP CEO         © 2017, 1900 Broadway, New York, NY  10023 Newsletter Preference Center    RSS    Unsubscribe    Terms Of Use

 by now most people our aware that bill maher host of political satire show "real time" which airs on HBO, called himself a "house nigga" using the more popular "a"ending opposed to the more offensive sounding "er"ending, whilie interview Nebraska senator ben sasse. A poor attempt at a joke forced liberal host mr.maher to apologize dearly, but probably won't force him off air, unlike don imus's "nappy hoes"remarks in 2007 about those black girls on the Rutgers women b-ball team. hmm double standards?? anyway we have freedom of speech in this country, along with "political correctness"and all kinds of stuff, and people will feel however they want to on what was said. But why did he feel the need to say it, with a sense of authorization at that? Is it because he has black friends? Or dates black women? Or smoke weed everyday?whatever the case hear we go again when black people will have to tolerate it and there is the problem. Mr. Maher is a liberal, which means he good white folks! He tells jokes smokes weed supported Obama, he our "nigga" like bill and Hillary. Some of these white liberals are worst than a right wing republican or a kkk man .Some White liberals have a passive aggressive racism, smile in face spit at your back type. Sometimes it's not even intentionally, I come across lots of white peoples everyday, at work, the gym, Etc, mostly friendly types,I don't mind a little conversation from time to time. Then that's when notice the Bulls talk, the pac conversations, "I don't care what color a person is blah blah...", Michael Jordan, and so on. Going out their way to engage me, give me false sense of comfort. These political figures and celebs be on that too and we get caught up in it and sleep on it, next thing you know, bill maher is saying house nigga on t.v., your white friend is telling you"my nigga", Seth macfarlane makes Ted2. Black people are the least respected and most used race of people in America, the lowest common denominator. But we too worried about the 2pac movie, cavs vs warriors, trump tweets, empire, hip hop wives, drake and future beef,Facebook, ig's dm's, and whatever else , to give a damn. But someday ,we will, just hope it won't be to late.

As I sit down and write this piece I have to try and get my thoughts together because this is a personal issue for me be that as it may I will try to be objective and look at two sides of the story I have heard people say that healthcare is a privilege I guess next these same people will say air is a privilege and not a right for some reason people in this world who mostly claim that they are Christians are all for denying people the right to get the same medical attention as the very wealthy have in this country and the lunatic in the white house and his cronies are more than happy to help with this issue and these are the same people who are crying why should I have to pay for people to have healthcare or why should I be responsible for people who don't work for their  healthcare why should I pay taxes for that well there are more people who have worked all of their lives for their healthcare and have paid taxes but when they could no longer work they lost their healthcare there are more of those people in the world than people who are taking advantage of the system you cannot group people together based on the same circumstances because all situations are not the same so we have to ask ourselves this question what would you do if suddenly you could not work and needed to rely on your friends, neighbors,colleagues and complete strangers you aren't happy you don't feel proud of this you are not scamming the system you have a genuine need for help but the lunatic in the white house his cronies and people who think like him who believe that they are winners in life because they have more than everyone else so they somehow believe that they are better than everyone else when the truth of the matter is they are simply part of the problem of why this country can't be great there are too many "me" people who only care about themselves and no one else so to those people I say I will fight to my last breath to speak out against people who think and feel this way because human beings deserve to be treated with dignity and until they do there will always be people like me who will fight for what's right

LOnzo Ball UCLA men basketball player, protenial NBA basketball God(let is old man tell it) has his zo2 shoes coming out with crazy ass prices as most of the media and sports world pointed out and clowned about and dismissed on so many levels just like most people f us did and continue to do. However after the seeing a commercial of some sort on fb and understanding more about the mindset behind their maneuvers I applaud the effort. Now I havn't follow his career at all and know little about the kid outside his old man LaVar Ball,(the seemingly mastermind behind this whole venture and self proclaimed one on one Jordan killer) always on some media outlet talking smack. Whatever your opinion about the Ball family, father and sons is yours to have but what they could do is great for black athletes and talent. Chris Rock once said "Shaq is rich, but the man who writes his checks is wealthy !"big difference . It speaks to the idea of "Think Big, and Be Big" much like the album by McBaN. Successful black athletes always get big money deals to indorse other people's products many other people wealth, sure there are a few Jordan's and Magic's and Orah's out there but the fact reminds African Americans own less than %1 of the wealth of this country that our ancestors made forcefully and otherwise. So to see Lonzo Ball turn down a million dollar shoe deal with Nike and adidas to brand himself and attempt to have his own should be inspiring if nothing else and I hope them the best. I don't agree with what most the garbage that comes out LaVar Ball's mouth, nigga crazy idk but he generates attention , much of which will make extremely difficult for his sons but they gotta live up to it. Laugh at them if you want and we as black peoples always enjoy putting each other down as much as possible, (thank you slavery) but the Balls are showing some balls and going for theirs, and I hope they get it.

Today we all found out that the officers involved in the murder of Mr. Alton Sterling of Baton Rouge LA, will not be facing charge, big surprise right? There a lot of outrage on social media, in the community, and everywhere else black folks sit long enough to even thing about it. "Oh what a shame" some will say. "This gotta stop" others will, then it's on to the next day, back to the the job, back to t.v. Back to the hustle, back to our lives. Nothing changes. White power continues. Lets thank each other for all the nothing we do other than be angry or social media outlets for about a min or two. 

Well if you haven't heard by now the big news from the week in music as far as artists and independent labels are concerned is Jay Z pulling his catalog from Spotify that is big news  considering that Jay Z is a big name in the business also being as he is also a major investor in Tidal music streaming service Jay Z has long been a champion for artists getting what is rightfully theirs which is always a good thing as an independent artist and also Ceo of an independent label it is always good to see some of the heavy hitters in the business who knows how hard an artist works to get their music out here now of course there is always two sides to every story according to the different stories that you may find online Jay Z only decided to do this because Spotify is at the top of the heap when it comes to streaming while Tidal is further down on the list however if enough heavy hitters follow suit then it just might change the way music will be streamed in the future as streams have become just as important for artists as being seen and doing shows are you can be in the streets and in the clubs and on videos but if your business side isn't right then financially it doesn't make much sense unless you value popularity over money it will be interesting to see what this will mean to the music business in the future as streams have become more prevalent but streaming services are trying to low ball artists for their streams as they believe if it wasn't for them no one would hear your music well while that may be true if it wasn't for the artists they wouldn't exist either so who knows what this will mean we can only watch and see how all of this will unfold 

This is a good piece to read for artists Yes, the value gap does exist, and Google proudly exploits it, says the RIAA. In an attempt to set the record straight, YouTube’s Christophe Muller wrote last year,“The… claim we hear is that we underpay compared to subscription services like Spotify. But this argument confuses two different services: music subscriptions that cost $10 a month versus ad-supported music videos. It’s like comparing what a cab driver earns from fares to what they earn showing ads in their taxi.”

Muller’s arguments, however, didn’t satisfy Google’s critics.

On Thursday, the RIAA released an overview of the music industry’s 2016 performance.  Music streaming outperformed both physical sales and digital downloads combined.  Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube, and their competitors accounted for 51.4% of all US revenue.  Digital downloads accounted for 24.1%, and physical sales 21.8%. Retail revenues grew 11.4% to $7.7 billion.

In the blog post, while praising high streaming revenue, the RIAA blasted YouTube.  RIAA CEO Cary Sherman wrote,

“The unfortunate reality is that we have achieved this modest success in spite of our current music licensing and copyright laws, not because of them.  That’s not the way it should be.  For example, it makes no sense that it takes a thousand on-demand streams of a song for creators to earn $1 on YouTube, while services like Apple and Spotify pay creators $7 or more for those same streams.”

The RIAA blamed Google and YouTube for taking advantage of legal loopholes.  Apple and Spotify pay out higher rates, but YouTube undercuts the services by 85%, unfairly compensating musicians.

“Why does this happen? Because a platform like YouTube wrongly exploits legal loopholes to pay creators at rates well below the true value of music while other digital services  — including many new and small innovators  —  cannot.  It may be the same song requested by the user, on the same device, but the payouts differ enormously because of an unfair and out-of-date legal regime.”

YouTube hasn’t responded to the RIAA’s latest claims.  However, the RIAA looks to prepare to fight for changes in the DMCA. Through these changes, the RIAA may look to improve growth and revenue.

“A year of growth in the U.S. music business is welcome news.  It suggests that years of patiently nurturing a nascent streaming marketplace has begun to pay off.  But it does not erase 15 years of declines, or continuing uncertainty about the future.

“Nor does it absolve the urgent need for policymakers to right a host of wrongs, or to ensure that music’s outsized contribution is fairly valued.  On that front, there’s still a lot of work that needs to be done.”

As we sit on the eve of the release of my new project Trump Factor I can't help but to think about all of the people who are affected by the actions of this president especially the ones who are going through health difficulties, financial issues and just in general are lost in a crowd of people who are just trying to make an honest living and live an honest life how can you when the person sitting at the top of this country is one of the most dishonest people to ever sit in the white house but the even more sadder part is that there are really people out here who support and also raise their children to believe in his kind of thinking to make fun of people to openly talk about people and generally sounds like a relic from the 19th century but given the history of this country it wasn't too hard for me to believe that he was elected he used a slogan that appealed to people who are lost in the fact of making America something that it never was it has never been great it has been sustainable while America is one of the best countries to live in it is also not the paradise that some people tend to believe it is and instead of working on these problems this president and the people that follow them tend to think that there are no problems and that any problems that are here only revolve around his predecessor that is the one thing I thought that president Obama should have not done which was say that he could unite Americans no one persons can unite Americans, Americans will never unite until we rise above the hatred and fear that is in our hearts now I could go on about what motivated me to do this EP but the one thing that made me focus is my general concern for my family's future if we continue in this country down this road I am not so sure that my family will have a future nevertheless I will continue fighting until my last breath to speak out against tyrants, dictators and lunatics so when you listen to this EP try and think about what I was thinking when I put this together let's all "RISE ABOVE THE HATE"

On the 60th day of his presidency came the hardest truth for Donald Trump.

He was wrong.

James B. Comey Jr. — the FBI director whom Trump celebrated on the campaign trail as a gutsy and honorable “Crooked Hillary” truth-teller — testified under oath Monday what many Americans had already assumed: Trump had falsely accused his predecessor of wiretapping his headquarters during last year’s campaign.

Trump did not merely allege that former president Barack Obama ordered surveillance on Trump Tower, of course. He asserted it as fact, and then reasserted it, and then insisted that forthcoming evidence would prove him right.

But in Monday’s remarkable, marathon hearing of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, Comey said there was no such evidence. Trump’s claim, first made in a series of tweets on March 4 at a moment when associates said he was feeling under siege and stewing over the struggles of his young presidency, remains unfounded.

© Matt McClain/The Washington Post FBI Director James B. Comey Jr., left, and Director of the National Security Agency Mike Rogers testify before the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence on March 20.

Comey did not stop there. He confirmed publicly that the FBI was investigating possible collusion between Trump campaign officials and associates with Russia, part of an extraordinary effort by an adversary to influence the outcome of the 2016 U.S. election in Trump’s favor.

Questions about Russia have hung over Trump for months, but the president always has dismissed them as “fake news.” That became much harder Monday after the FBI director proclaimed the Russia probe to be anything but fake.

“There’s a smell of treason in the air,” presidential historian Douglas Brinkley said. “Imagine if J. Edgar Hoover or any other FBI director would have testified against a sitting president? It would have been a mind-boggling event.”

For Trump, Comey’s testimony punctuates what has been a troubling first two months as president. His approval ratings, which were historically low at his inauguration, have fallen even farther. Gallup’s tracking poll as of Sunday showed just 39 percent of Americans approve of Trump’s job performance, with 55 percent disapproving.

The Comey episode threatens to damage Trump’s credibility not only with voters, but with lawmakers of his own party whose support he needs to pass the health-care bill later this week in the House, the first legislative project of his presidency.

Furthermore, the FBI’s far-reaching Russia investigation shows no sign of concluding soon and is all but certain to remain a distraction for the White House, spurring moments of presidential fury and rash tweets and possibly inhibiting the administration’s ability to govern.

Some of Trump’s defenders said the impact of Comey’s testimony could easily be overtaken if the White House is disciplined enough to marshall its agenda, as well as Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch, through Congress.

“All that really matters this week is Gorsuch moving forward and the House passing step one of Obamacare repeal,” said Scott Reed, a veteran Republican strategist who works for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. “All the rest is noise.”

On the Russia issue, Trump and his aides were defiant Monday in the face of Comey’s testimony. Before Comey was sworn in at the hearing, Trump tried to set the tone with a series of early-morning tweets decrying the accusations of collusion with Russia as “FAKE NEWS” being pushed by defeated Democrats and arguing that the real scandal is the leaking of sensitive information from within the intelligence community.

“Must find leaker now!” he wrote in one tweet from his personal account.

During Comey’s testimony, Trump offered live commentary on his official presidential Twitter account, pushing the argument that Russia did not influence the election.

White House press secretary Sean Spicer picked up the torch in the afternoon, trying in a contentious briefing with reporters to deflect attention from Trump’s false wiretapping charges while steadfastly refusing to admit any wrongdoing.

“I think we’re going to test the outer limits of the Trump ‘fake news’ cult,” said Rick Wilson, a Republican strategist. “The central contention that Barack Obama wiretapped Donald Trump in Trump Tower was blown out of the water and utterly dismissed.”

As always in Trump world, where the guiding ethos is winning at any cost, the worst sin is conceding defeat.

Jennifer Palmieri, who served as communications director on Hillary Clinton’s 2016 campaign, said Trump’s wiretapping situation reminded her of his “death spiral” after lashing out at a federal judge over his Latino heritage.

“He just cannot let it go,” Palmieri said. “Except this time he is getting slapped down by the sitting FBI director. That’s a brutal blow to his credibility and a huge opportunity cost. He should be focused on salvaging his health care bill, not continuing to draw all of America’s eyes to the Russia investigation.”

A master showman, Trump surely could intuit the theatrical power of Comey trekking to Capitol Hill to testify for several hours about Russia, all broadcast live on national television.

“It just makes it much more vivid,” said Peter Wehner, a senior fellow at the Ethics & Public Policy Center, who has worked in the three previous Republican administrations. “It’s one thing to read statements from a transcript or a newspaper and that’s not unimportant, but when you see it on video, it carries a punch.”

Spicer’s defense strategy was in part to distance Trump from the figures under investigation by the FBI for their ties to Russia. In Spicer’s telling, Paul Manafort was a virtual nobody, saying he “played a very limited role for a very limited amount of time.”

Manafort was actually Trump’s campaign chairman and de-facto manager for five months last year, from the end of the primaries through the summer convention and the start of the general election.

“Watching Sean Spicer twist himself into a pretzel yet again to try to pretend that Paul Manafort isn’t an influential figure is ludicrous,” Wehner said. “It’s like saying Aaron Rodgers isn’t a central figure for the Green Bay Packers.”

Brinkley, who has published biographies of such presidents as Gerald Ford, Franklin Roosevelt and Theodore Roosevelt, said of Trump’s start, “This is the most failed first 100 days of any president.”

“To be as low as he is in the polls, in the thirties, while the FBI director is on television saying they launched an investigation into your ties with Russia, I don’t know how it can get much worse,” Brinkley said.

But Trump’s supporters have proven largely impervious to the political winds, at least so far. The president jetted late Monday to Louisville, Ky., to rev up another mega-rally crowd — separating himself from the swamp of Washington by more than 600 miles.

“My gut is that he’s bulletproof with his base,” said Austin Barbour, a Mississippi-based Republican strategist. “There’s just this massive distrust of Washington, and whether that’s fair or not — of Washington, of the intelligence community, of Congress, of the judicial branch. It’s just the reality outside of the Beltway.”

On the 60th day of his presidency came the hardest truth for Donald Trump.

He was wrong.

James B. Comey Jr. — the FBI director whom Trump celebrated on the campaign trail as a gutsy and honorable “Crooked Hillary” truth-teller — testified under oath Monday what many Americans had already assumed: Trump had falsely accused his predecessor of wiretapping his headquarters during last year’s campaign.

Trump did not merely allege that former president Barack Obama ordered surveillance on Trump Tower, of course. He asserted it as fact, and then reasserted it, and then insisted that forthcoming evidence would prove him right.

But in Monday’s remarkable, marathon hearing of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, Comey said there was no such evidence. Trump’s claim, first made in a series of tweets on March 4 at a moment when associates said he was feeling under siege and stewing over the struggles of his young presidency, remains unfounded.

© Matt McClain/The Washington Post FBI Director James B. Comey Jr., left, and Director of the National Security Agency Mike Rogers testify before the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence on March 20.

Comey did not stop there. He confirmed publicly that the FBI was investigating possible collusion between Trump campaign officials and associates with Russia, part of an extraordinary effort by an adversary to influence the outcome of the 2016 U.S. election in Trump’s favor.

Questions about Russia have hung over Trump for months, but the president always has dismissed them as “fake news.” That became much harder Monday after the FBI director proclaimed the Russia probe to be anything but fake.

“There’s a smell of treason in the air,” presidential historian Douglas Brinkley said. “Imagine if J. Edgar Hoover or any other FBI director would have testified against a sitting president? It would have been a mind-boggling event.”

For Trump, Comey’s testimony punctuates what has been a troubling first two months as president. His approval ratings, which were historically low at his inauguration, have fallen even farther. Gallup’s tracking poll as of Sunday showed just 39 percent of Americans approve of Trump’s job performance, with 55 percent disapproving.

The Comey episode threatens to damage Trump’s credibility not only with voters, but with lawmakers of his own party whose support he needs to pass the health-care bill later this week in the House, the first legislative project of his presidency.

Furthermore, the FBI’s far-reaching Russia investigation shows no sign of concluding soon and is all but certain to remain a distraction for the White House, spurring moments of presidential fury and rash tweets and possibly inhibiting the administration’s ability to govern.

Some of Trump’s defenders said the impact of Comey’s testimony could easily be overtaken if the White House is disciplined enough to marshall its agenda, as well as Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch, through Congress.

“All that really matters this week is Gorsuch moving forward and the House passing step one of Obamacare repeal,” said Scott Reed, a veteran Republican strategist who works for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. “All the rest is noise.”

On the Russia issue, Trump and his aides were defiant Monday in the face of Comey’s testimony. Before Comey was sworn in at the hearing, Trump tried to set the tone with a series of early-morning tweets decrying the accusations of collusion with Russia as “FAKE NEWS” being pushed by defeated Democrats and arguing that the real scandal is the leaking of sensitive information from within the intelligence community.

“Must find leaker now!” he wrote in one tweet from his personal account.

During Comey’s testimony, Trump offered live commentary on his official presidential Twitter account, pushing the argument that Russia did not influence the election.

White House press secretary Sean Spicer picked up the torch in the afternoon, trying in a contentious briefing with reporters to deflect attention from Trump’s false wiretapping charges while steadfastly refusing to admit any wrongdoing.

“I think we’re going to test the outer limits of the Trump ‘fake news’ cult,” said Rick Wilson, a Republican strategist. “The central contention that Barack Obama wiretapped Donald Trump in Trump Tower was blown out of the water and utterly dismissed.”

As always in Trump world, where the guiding ethos is winning at any cost, the worst sin is conceding defeat.

Jennifer Palmieri, who served as communications director on Hillary Clinton’s 2016 campaign, said Trump’s wiretapping situation reminded her of his “death spiral” after lashing out at a federal judge over his Latino heritage.

“He just cannot let it go,” Palmieri said. “Except this time he is getting slapped down by the sitting FBI director. That’s a brutal blow to his credibility and a huge opportunity cost. He should be focused on salvaging his health care bill, not continuing to draw all of America’s eyes to the Russia investigation.”

A master showman, Trump surely could intuit the theatrical power of Comey trekking to Capitol Hill to testify for several hours about Russia, all broadcast live on national television.

“It just makes it much more vivid,” said Peter Wehner, a senior fellow at the Ethics & Public Policy Center, who has worked in the three previous Republican administrations. “It’s one thing to read statements from a transcript or a newspaper and that’s not unimportant, but when you see it on video, it carries a punch.”

Spicer’s defense strategy was in part to distance Trump from the figures under investigation by the FBI for their ties to Russia. In Spicer’s telling, Paul Manafort was a virtual nobody, saying he “played a very limited role for a very limited amount of time.”

Manafort was actually Trump’s campaign chairman and de-facto manager for five months last year, from the end of the primaries through the summer convention and the start of the general election.

“Watching Sean Spicer twist himself into a pretzel yet again to try to pretend that Paul Manafort isn’t an influential figure is ludicrous,” Wehner said. “It’s like saying Aaron Rodgers isn’t a central figure for the Green Bay Packers.”

Brinkley, who has published biographies of such presidents as Gerald Ford, Franklin Roosevelt and Theodore Roosevelt, said of Trump’s start, “This is the most failed first 100 days of any president.”

“To be as low as he is in the polls, in the thirties, while the FBI director is on television saying they launched an investigation into your ties with Russia, I don’t know how it can get much worse,” Brinkley said.

But Trump’s supporters have proven largely impervious to the political winds, at least so far. The president jetted late Monday to Louisville, Ky., to rev up another mega-rally crowd — separating himself from the swamp of Washington by more than 600 miles.

“My gut is that he’s bulletproof with his base,” said Austin Barbour, a Mississippi-based Republican strategist. “There’s just this massive distrust of Washington, and whether that’s fair or not — of Washington, of the intelligence community, of Congress, of the judicial branch. It’s just the reality outside of the Beltway.”