 July 20, 2021 | by Chris Cillizza and Lauren Dezenski Donald Trump's favorite athlete just mocked the 'Big Lie' to the man who beat him  Tuesday was not a good day for Donald Trump.
His favorite athlete went to the White House to celebrate winning the Super Bowl -- and Trump wasn't there. And what's worse? They laughed at him!
Yes, Tom Brady -- famed quarterback of the Super Bowl champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers -- was at the White House to celebrate that victory with President Joe Biden.
And yes, Brady, who is not exactly known for his comedic timing, trolled Trump's ongoing insistence that he won the 2020 election.
"Not a lot of people think that we could have won. In fact, I think about 40% of people still don't think we won. You understand that, Mr. President?" Brady said to laughter.
"I understand that," Biden chuckled.
Know who probably wasn't laughing? Donald John Trump. Trump has made no mystery of his feelings for Brady over the years.
You get the idea. Trump likes Brady. Like, a lot.
Brady for his part, has said the two men are friends and supported Trump in 2016. But in an interview with Howard Stern in the spring of 2020, he seemed to be backing away from that support. Here's the key bit:
"The whole political aspect came, and I think I got brought into a lot of those things because it was so polarizing around the election time. It was uncomfortable for me. You can't undo things — not that I would undo a friendship — but the political support is totally different than the support of a friend."
Whether or not Brady and Trump remain friends is tough to know. What's not tough to figure out is that Trump will be hurt and offended not just that Brady went to the White House to celebrate a Super Bowl with Joe Biden but also that Tom Terrific took a direct shot at the "Big Lie."
-- Chris QUOTE OF THE DAY "Bucks in six." -- Wisconsin Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes began his US Senate bid announcement with a nod to tonight's NBA Finals game. The Milwaukee Bucks lead the series 3-2. ANOTHER CONTENTIOUS EXCHANGE  Today wasn't the first time Dr. Anthony Fauci has sparred with Sen. Rand Paul over Covid-19-related measures, and something tells us this won't be the last. This latest exchange over the origins of the coronavirus outbreak, recounted by CNN's Rachel Janfaza, says so much:
"Sen. Paul, you do not know what you are talking about, quite frankly. And I want to say that officially," Fauci told Paul who has repeatedly, without evidence, suggested that the NIH funded so-called gain-of-function research -- work done on viruses to make them grow better or to make them more infectious or more virulent -- at the Wuhan Institute.
Paul on Tuesday asked Fauci whether or not he "wish[ed] to retract" a May 11th statement claiming that the NIH did not fund such research.
"Sen. Paul, I have never lied before the Congress, and I do not retract that statement," Fauci told Paul, adding that the research in question "was judged by qualified staff up and down the chain as not being gain of function."
Paul -- who continued to suggest the NIH was responsible for funding such research, despite Fauci's denial -- went so far to say that Fauci was "trying to obscure responsibility four million people dying around the world from a pandemic."
"I totally resent the lie that you are now propagating, senator," Fauci said in response to Paul's allegation.
"If you look at the viruses that were used in the experiments that were given in the annual reports that were published in the literature, it is molecularly impossible," Fauci told Paul.
"If anybody is lying here senator, it is you," Fauci said.
The Biden administration is now more than halfway through its 90-day intelligence review into the origins of the coronavirus. As of now, the intelligence community remains firmly divided over whether the virus leaked from the Wuhan lab or jumped naturally from animals to humans in the wild, multiple sources familiar with the probe told CNN.
TUESDAY'S TOP TWEETS 1. Covid-19 is on the march. Again. 2. Breakthrough infections hit Capitol Hill 3. Donald Trump is recruiting against Liz Cheney 3. Read the room, Bezos! 4. Also: Mackenzie Scott is a winner 5. Happy "Hot FERC Summer" 6. Giannis in 2013 talking about being a star one day. This is way cool.
CHRIS' GOOD READS  The special election primary in Ohio's 11th District is coming up early next month and it's shaping up as a fight between liberal upstart and establishment favorite. The New York Times' Jonathan Weisman went to the district and has a good take on the stakes.
The Washington Post takes a good look at the lawyers representing the insurrectionists on 1/6 and how they are trying to play off their clients' culpability.
We knew that some major league pitchers were using sticky stuff to help them grip -- and spin -- the ball better. But this Upshot breakdown suggests the practice was absolutely rampant.
I loved Peppa Pig when my boys were younger. So you can imagine how fast I raced through this awesome Wall Street Journal piece on Peppa's influence with children cooped up at home by the pandemic.
One of the things I struggle with when watching the Olympics, which start Friday(!), is I never know who I should be watching -- and when. ESPN's list of the 25 American athletes to keep an eye on is a big help.
MUSICAL INTERLUDE I love the solo work of Nathaniel Rateliff (of the The Night Sweats). And him playing a lot of those tunes at Red Rocks -- from a show in September 2020 -- is just terrific.
-- Chris THE TRUMP BOOKS  The explosive new books about Donald Trump are riddled with insider details about the former President ... and it's partly because he chose to sit down with the authors himself.
In the latest episode of The Point, Chris examines Trump's obsession with the media and his efforts to control the narrative.
Stick with The Point on YouTube and subscribe!  ONE BIG 'FOOTBALL' REVIEW  The Department of Defense inspector general is launching a review of the Pentagon's and White House's ability to keep the "nuclear football" secure during a crisis, following an incident on January 6 when rioters came within 100 feet of the backup "football." You are receiving this message because you subscribed to CNN's The Point with Chris Cillizza newsletter. Was this email forwarded to you? Sign up now to get The Point in your inbox.
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