* Photo from White House south lawn draws amusement * Indignant Trump says image ‘photoshopped, obviously’An image of a windswept Donald Trump, which appears to show a dramatic forehead tan line through his blown-back blond hair, has gone viral – prompting the hashtag orangeface to trend on Twitter.This image was posted late Friday afternoon to an unverified Twitter account called White House Photos, which describes itself as the account of a “White House Correspondent, Journalist, Photographer, Poet and Pesco Vegetarian” named “William Moon.”White House Photos tweeted a black-and-white version of the image shortly thereafter, with the caption: “Today, ⁦DonaldTrump⁩ was dancing with the sunset and strong winds when he walked to the Oval Office from the Marine One on the South Lawn.. Photo by William Moon in the White House on February 7, 2020.”Trump, who is known to be sensitive about his appearance, did not take kindly to this image and said on Twitter of the black-and-white version on Saturday: “More Fake News. This was photoshopped, obviously, but the wind was strong and the hair looks good? Anything to demean!”> ⁦@realDonaldTrump⁩ returns to the White House from Charlotte, North Carolina. Photo by William Moon at the South Lawn of the White House on February 7, 2020 pic.twitter.com/n1a1Z93LrJ> > — White House Photos (@photowhitehouse) February 7, 2020Although there are other photos of Trump at that time showing tan lines, the contrast is not as dramatic, Vox pointed out – prompting questions about its authenticity. White House Photos later said in a tweet: “This picture was never photoshopped, but used the Apple smartphone’s photo app to adjust the color of the picture.”People on the internet didn’t worry too much about its authenticity – or Trump’s hurt feelings – in lampooning him.One user wrote: “The stain of impeachment never washes off.”And one meme featured the caption: “Tupperware after you store spaghetti in it.”

* Impeachment witness Vindman fired from White House job * David Pressman backs client and decries Trump ‘intimidation’The lawyer for Lt Col Alexander Vindman condemned Donald Trump on Saturday for making “obviously false statements” about the decorated military veteran, after the president defended sacking him through several critical tweets.Ambassador David Pressman, who represents Vindman, said: “The president this morning made a series of obviously false statements concerning Lieutenant Colonel Vindman; they conflict with the clear personnel record and the entirety of the impeachment record of which the president is well aware.”He went on: “While the most powerful man in the world continues his campaign of intimidation, while too many entrusted with political office continue to remain silent, Lt Col Vindman continues his service to our country as a decorated, active duty member of our military.”Pressman’s statement came several hours after Trump said that “Fake News CNN & MSDNC keep talking about ‘Lt Col’ Vindman as though I should think only how wonderful he was.“Actually, I don’t know him, never spoke to him, or met him (I don’t believe!) but, he was very insubordinate, reported contents of my ‘perfect’ calls incorrectly, &…”The next tweet from Trump said Vindman “was given a horrendous report by his superior, the man he reported to, who publicly stated that Vindman had problems with judgement, adhering to the chain of command and leaking information. In other words, ‘OUT’”.Vindman was a key witness in the impeachment inquiry, delivering damaging testimony despite Trump’s opposition to the proceedings.While Vindman, a Ukraine expert and Purple Heart recipient, was set to rotate out of his national security council post this summer, he was abruptly axed and escorted out of the White House on Friday. Vindman’s twin brother – who was not an impeachment witness – was also booted from his job on the national security council, reports said.Gordon Sondland, who also provided testimony in the inquiry, was sacked from his post as US ambassador to the European Union just hours after Vindman’s firing.

It might come down to Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and former South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg once again.In its latest poll conducted by the University of New Hampshire Survey Center, CNN shows Sanders leading the pack in the Granite State ahead of Tuesday's primary. The senator picked up 28 percent support in the survey, leading his closest contender Buttigieg by seven points. The two went toe to toe in the hotly contested — and mildly controversial — Iowa caucuses last week, with Buttigieg reeling in more delegates while Sanders led in terms of raw votes. New Hampshire, it seems, could provide another close race between the two, especially considering Iowa polls showed Sanders leading Buttigieg by a similar amount in the lead up to the caucuses.The CNN poll wasn't much to look at for anyone else. Former Vice President Joe Biden likely won't be surprised to hear he came in third with 11 percent, while no one else hit double digits. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) didn't get the New England love shown to Sanders in the survey, finishing with just 9 percent.Per CNN, Biden slid five points and Buttigieg rose six, indicating the mayor might be taking some of the vice president's voters.> New CNN/UNH poll of Dem primary among 365 New Hampshire likely primary voters (MoE +/- 5.1 percentage points):> > Sanders 28% > Buttigieg 21% > Biden 11% > Warren 9% > Gabbard 6% > Klobuchar 5% > Everyone else <5%> > — Kendall Karson (@kendallkarson) February 8, 2020The CNN New Hampshire Poll was conducted by the University of New Hampshire Survey Center between Feb. 4-7 among a random sample of 365 likely Democratic primary voters. The margin of error was 5.1 percent. Read more at CNN.More stories from theweek.com America's pig problem Vanguard is an anomaly in the investment world. Can it stay that way? 5 scathingly funny cartoons about Trump's impeachment acquittal

Manchester, N.H. Pete Buttigieg’s strong finish in Iowa, where he came in less than two points behind Bernie Sanders on the final vote and roughly tied Sanders for state delegates, has propelled him upward in New Hampshire polls. In Suffolk's tracking poll, Buttigieg trailed Sanders 11 percent to 24 percent in New Hampshire right before Iowa, but he had closed the gap to one point — 23 percent to 24 percent — in that same tracking poll conducted February 5–6.Did anything happen at Friday’s debate in Manchester to change the dynamic of the race?The frontrunner Sanders seemed to escape relatively unscathed. Joe Biden was the only candidate on stage to hit him hard on Medicare for All and Sanders’s past support of gun rights, but there was no defining moment that appeared likely to send the Vermont socialist sinking in New Hampshire.Buttigieg, on the other hand, did take some hard shots from Amy Klobuchar, who portrayed the 38-year-old former mayor of South Bend, Ind., as a child. “We got a newcomer in the White House and look where it got us,” Klobuchar said after noting Buttigieg is himself the “cool newcomer.” She hit Buttigieg for saying he’d rather “watch cartoons” than the Senate impeachment trial. Klobuchar was shading the truth a little bit. Buttigieg did indeed say: “I live and breathe politics, and I find it exhausting. It’s just — it gets you down and makes you want to watch cartoons instead.” But he went on to say that this was a “temptation” that “the cynics” want Democrats to give in to.Klobuchar was on firmer ground when she went after Buttigieg’s past support for Medicare for All. Buttigieg said at the debate that he has been “consistent throughout” on the issue of Medicare for All, but in 2018 he tweeted: “I, Pete Buttigieg, politician, do henceforth and forthwith declare, most affirmatively and indubitably, unto the ages, that I do favor Medicare for All, as I do favor any measure that would help get all Americans covered.”The former mayor drew fire from other candidates on stage as well. “I don’t know what about the past about Barack Obama and Joe Biden was so bad,” Joe Biden said. Buttigieg replied that those “achievements were phenomenally important because they met the moment” but that “now we have to meet this moment, and this moment is different.”All in all, Biden was more lively than he has been in the past but still turned in an unsteady performance. “I took a hit in Iowa and I’ll probably take a hit here,” the former vice president said at the outset of the debate. Elizabeth Warren, who probably needs good news out of New Hampshire more than Biden does (he still has a chance in South Carolina regardless of Tuesday’s outcome), was lackluster on Friday night. She preferred to stick to her script rather than forcefully debate her opponents. She may have stayed above the fray, but she didn’t do much to stay at the top of voters’ minds.The New Hampshire contest was Klobuchar’s best debate overall. She was poised and collected, and it was smart from her perspective to hit Buttigieg, whose supporters overlap the most with hers. Her attacks on Buttigieg certainly didn’t seem to be powerful enough to send Buttigieg tumbling downward the way Chris Christie’s attack on Marco Rubio did at the 2016 GOP debate. But was it a strong-enough debate performance for Klobuchar to leapfrog Buttigieg in New Hampshire and become a real contender for the nomination? We’ll know soon enough.

Former Vice President Joe Biden's campaign team is out with a new ad, and former South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg probably won't like it.Biden clearly isn't a fan of Buttigieg going after his record as vice president, even daring his younger competitor to openly call the Obama administration a failure. So it's not shocking to see his campaign go after the mayor's record, especially as he tries to establish himself as a legitimate contender for the nomination following a strong showing in the controversial Iowa caucuses.The ad pits Biden's record against Buttigieg's in an effort to show that while Buttigieg was achieving small scale goals in South Bend like putting colorful lights underneath bridges, Biden was helping the Obama administration make changes on the global and national level, including negotiating the Iran nuclear deal and passing the Affordable Health Care Act. Be warned, though -- they're not particularly nice about the distinctions. Watch the ad below. > Oh wow...Biden ad makes fun of Pete Buttigieg's mayoral record, joking he "revitalized the sidewalks" of South Bend while Biden negotiated Iran deal/helped with auto bailout https://t.co/AqjH0UJdS4> > -- Liz Goodwin (@lizcgoodwin) February 8, 2020More stories from theweek.com America's pig problem Vanguard is an anomaly in the investment world. Can it stay that way? 5 scathingly funny cartoons about Trump's impeachment acquittal

Hear us out.

Gordon Sondland had served as ambassador to the EU and had provided pivotal testimony in the House impeachment inquiry, as had Alexander Vindman.

MSNBC's Chris Matthews isn't sure what agenda Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) really wants to promote.In a post-Democratic debate discussion Friday evening, Matthews expressed concern about Sanders' politics, fearing he may usher in a socialist revolution akin to the one led by Fidel Castro. Matthews said that while Sanders generally talks about incorporating elements from countries like Denmark — which Matthews acknowledged is a capitalist country with strong social welfare programs — he isn't if that was where the senator really falls on the political spectrum."I don't know who Bernie supports over these years," Matthews said. "I don't know what he means by socialist."Matthews made his worries personal and a bit extravagant, arguing that part of the reason he's averse to politicians with socialist leanings is that if the Soviets and their allies like Castro won the Cold War, he likely would've been a victim of those regimes.> Soooooo, here's Chris Matthews saying he would have been executed in Central Park if Castro and the Reds won the Cold War and he's just not quite sure if Bernie wouldn't do the same.> > Just some very normal and cool post-debate analysis. https://t.co/DpGU0Rybev> > — Justin Baragona (@justinbaragona) February 8, 2020For what it's worth, Sanders was called out in 2015 for praising Castro in the past, though he attempted to clarify by explaining that he considered Cuba's regime authoritarian. Instead, he said his past comments were about disapproval of U.S. interference in Cuba and other countries in the region, though he does appreciate aspects of Cuba's health-care system. It remains to be seen if that will come up again this primary cycle, but don't be shocked if it does.More stories from theweek.com 5 scathingly funny cartoons about Trump's impeachment acquittal For better pasta sauce, throw away your garlic America's pig problem

U.S. President Donald Trump on Saturday defended the ouster of impeachment witness Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Vindman from the White House National Security Council, calling him "insubordinate" and saying he had incorrectly reported the contents of Trump's "perfect" telephone calls. Vindman was one of two witnesses who provided some of the most damaging testimony during Trump's impeachment investigation who were ousted by the administration on Friday.

Donald Trump has appeared to admit he fired a senior White House official in part for the aide’s involvement in the impeachment inquiry.Lt Col Alexander Vindman, a Russia and Ukraine expert on the National Security Council (NSC), was escorted from the White House on Friday after the US president ordered his removal.