Grand Old Party pooper

President Donald Trump’s dance with the Democrats may not last. But Capitol Hill Republicans aren’t confident he’s going to close ranks with them, either.

They worry that Trump has relinquished his role as leader of the party, choosing to put the interests of his own political movement first, The New York Times reported. That could spell big trouble as the GOP looks to the 2018 midterm elections.

Trump has already shown a willingness to undermine incumbents who cross him.

Former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon has been meeting with would-be primary challengers willing to side with Trump over establishment Republicans, and his patron — Long Island megadonor Robert Mercer — is prepared to spend millions of dollars to back them, Politico reported.

Republicans fear the intramural warfare could drain funds needed to take on the Democrats in the general elections and even imperil the GOP’s 52-48 Senate majority, the report said.

The take-away: Junk bonds

Newsday’s Dan Janison calls nonsense on the notion that their common New York pedigrees and language brought Trump and Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer together for last week’s deal on the debt extension and Harvey aid.

Contrary to Schumer’s post-mortem — “We’re direct, blunt, don’t mess around” — New Yorkers can also, on all counts, be the opposite, Janison writes. Just like the rest of America.

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Trump and 9/11

Trump will preside over his first 9/11 commemoration in office on Monday. The ceremonies will be solemn, but the anniversary will also be a reminder about Trump’s controversial comments during the campaign about the nation’s worst terrorist attack.

He has made unsubstantiated claims about what he did and saw on that day, particularly saying when talking about Muslims that “thousands of people were cheering” in Jersey City, New Jersey, across from lower Manhattan as the World Trade Center towers collapsed.

Trump has also said he lost “hundreds of friends” in the attack and that he helped clear rubble afterward.

Watching ‘monster’ Irma

Trump said “every group is coordinating really well” in the response to Hurricane Irma and he wants to visit Florida soon, reports Newsday’s Emily Ngo.

“The bad news is this is some big monster, but I think we’re very well put,” Trump said.

On Saturday, opening a Cabinet meeting, Trump said he will see faster action in the wake of the giant storm on a tax overhaul. “I wanted a speedup anyway, but now we need it even more so,” he said. The president didn’t elaborate to explain the linkage.

No pivot, no paws

Trump is the first president in almost 150 years — since Andrew Johnson — who doesn’t have a pet in the White House, according to The Economist.

Every president since Theodore Roosevelt has had a dog. Are there none that could meet Trump’s demands for loyalty?

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