George HW Bush was in intensive care last night suffering from pneumonia. His 91-year-old wife, Barbara, was also taken to hospital after complaining of exhaustion. Mr Bush, 92, had already excused himself from the inauguration ceremony a week ago in a letter to Donald Trump. “Dear Donald, Barbara and I are so sorry we can’t be there for your inauguration,” he wrote. “My doctor says if I sit outside in January, it’s likely to put me six feet under. Same for Barbara. So I guess we’re stuck in Texas.”
● Mr Trump has already found his re-election slogan: “Keep America Great.” The phrase appeared to have come to him midway through an interview with The Washington Post. He immediately asked for a lawyer to have it trademarked — both with and without an exclamation mark. His 2016 campaign slogan, “Make America Great Again” was thought up the day after Mitt Romney, the 2012 Republican nominee, lost. A registry fee of $325 bought him the catchphrase that would help him win.
● For the first time since 1933, the car that will take the new president from Capitol Hill to the White House will not have a special inauguration licence plate, much to the disappointment of memorabilia collectors. The armoured Cadillac limousine will keep its usual plate. The public transport system will sell commemorative subway cards, however.
● A Washington bar is serving “unpresidented” Trump-themed drinks all week — a cheeky reference to Mr Trump’s misspelling of “unprecedented” in a tweet. A “Moscow Mole” is a surprise with fish sauce and jalapeño. A “This Drink Costs $29 at Trump Hotel” is a relative steal for $14 — even though the Capitol Hill spot promises “Extremely Offensive And Completely Ridiculous” prices. Russian dolls painted with the likenesses of Mr Trump and President Putin and Soviet hammer-and-sickle flags fill out the atmosphere.
● Mr Trump granted an interview to Axios, a new political news site that bills itself as “a marriage of Twitter and The Economist”. It is run by former journalists from Politico and The Washington Post and will cost $10,000 to subscribe for ultra-insider content. And what precious insight might a reader gain from the Trump interview? He revealed that he would not recommend the book Adams vs Jefferson by John Ferling.