Thought we needed some equal time for President Trump's Candidacy, his challengers and of the Republicans running for the House and Senate...
Are Any Republicans Running Against Trump In 2020?
Much of the 2020 presidential election coverage thus far has focused on the many, many Democratic candidates aiming to challenge incumbent President Donald Trump. But what about the other Republicans running for president in 2020? Let's take a look at the Republican landscape and the potential challengers to Trump.
So far, there's only one Republican challenger: William Weld. Weld was Governor of Massachusetts from 1991 to 1997 and is aiming to bring "equality, dignity and opportunity for all" (principles of Abraham Lincoln) back to the Republican party. He's strongly anti-Trump, both in rhetoric and in action, asserting that the president should be charged for obstruction of justice. Interestingly, he's pro-choice, which is unusual for conservatives, but he's also pro-tax cuts and pro-small government. In 2016, he was on the Libertarian ticket as VP for Gary Johnson.
Weld has been making the rounds as a very long-shot candidate, continuing to criticize Trump and warning that the sitting president might not leave the White House voluntarily if he loses in 2020. Weld also says he's continuing his fight to keep the more old-school values of the Republican Party intact instead of the cult of personality that he sees in modern-day Republicanism.
There were two other politicians who are also considering a run, although both have now indicated that they won't be diving into the 2020 race. There was also one other potential candidate who briefly seemed like he was entertaining a 2020 bid—former Arizona Senator Jeff Flake, who served from 2013 to 2019—but he has since become a contributor for CNBC, so he's not running. He was and is also staunchly opposed to Trump.
Maryland Governor Larry Hogan, who just won re-election, is also anti-Trump, particularly over the Mueller report. As a moderate Republican, he's pro-tax cutes but also pro-climate change reform, LGBT rights, and gun control, amongst other things.
Hogan freely admitted to Politico, "I don’t see any path to winning a Republican primary against this president, or anybody doing it. But things have a way of changing." He added, "I don’t know what the lay of the land is going to look like this summer, or in the fall." He's also said that he's not going to run unless he sees a path to victory. On June 1, he made it official: No, he's not running.
John Kasich, former Ohio Governor from 2011 to 2019 and presidential candidate in 2016, was also mulling over a potential run. He's more conservative, favoring tax cuts and actually defunding Planned Parenthood in Ohio, but he has some moderate stances, like acknowledging climate change as a threat. He's also building a platform on fixing broken government and bringing civility back to politics.
Trump campaign's small-dollar donations surge, marking major shift for GOP
The Republican Party has long been panned by its detractors as the party of big money and big donors -- but donation patterns have changed measurably under President Trump, a Fox News analysis of campaign finance data shows.
Sixty-one percent of money raised directly by the Trump campaign this election cycle came from small donors (donations under $200), according to Federal Election Commission figures.
That is similar to the proportion Trump raised during the 2016 election cycle, when 65 percent of donations were under $200. And this is dramatically higher than previous Republican nominees. Mitt Romney raised 26 percent of his direct contributions from small donations in 2012, and John McCain raised 25 percent from small donations in 2008.
Campaign finance analysts say the data indicates grassroots enthusiasm for Trump's populist message.
Former GOP Rep. Mark Sanford eyeing challenge to Trump in 2020
Former South Carolina Republican Rep. Mark Sanford, who lost his primary race last year after voicing criticism of President Donald Trump, says he is considering mounting a challenge to the President in 2020. Sanford told CNN's Brianna Keilar on "CNN Right Now" he will explore a possible candidacy over the next month.
He said there is "no discussion of debt, deficit and government spending in Washington these days," when asked why he is considering a run.
"The President said we're not going to touch the very things that drive debt and spending," he said. "So I think that we're walking our way into one heck of a financial storm and there's no discussion."
Sanford said there is "more than enough commentary" about the President's "noxious" and "weird" comments, and his bid would instead focus on debt and spending.
Sanford, whose presidential bid would be a long shot, said he has been privately considering whether to run since leaving office in January. He said he was waiting to see if any other high-profile Republicans like Ohio Gov. John Kasich would primary the President, according to the newspaper. Kasich said he has no intention of running for office again.
If he decides to run, Sanford would join former Massachusetts Gov. Bill Weld, who announced in April he was officially entering the race to challenge Trump in 2020.
The chairman of the South Carolina Republican Party, Drew McKissick, said in a statement, "The last time Mark Sanford had an idea this dumb, it killed his Governorship. This makes about as much sense as that trip up the Appalachian trail."
In 2009, Sanford, who was governor of the state at the time, infamously disappeared for a few days and told the public he was hiking the Appalachian Trail. He later admitted he was actually in Argentina carrying on an extramarital affair.
"I'm an imperfect messenger, no doubt about it," Sanford said on CNN's "New Day" Wednesday.
Sanford also does not doubt that Trump would personally attack him by mentioning the incident of marital infidelity should he decide to challenge Trump.
"If he wants to rehash that, he'll rehash that," Sanford said of the President.
Sanford lost the South Carolina Republican primary to state Rep. Katie Arrington last year. The President endorsed Arrington hours before the polls closed in a tweet attacking Sanford for being "very unhelpful to me in my campaign to MAGA." Arrington later lost the election to Democrat Joe Cunningham.
Sanford has been a frequent critic of the President. In 2017, after the shooting at congressional Republicans' baseball practice, Sanford said on MSNBC that Trump is "partially to blame for demons that have been unleashed" in American politics.
Sanford told Politico Magazine the same year that Trump had "fanned the flames of intolerance," and said it was "befuddling" that "facts don't matter" with Trump.
only way trump aint on the main ticket is if something tragic happens.
as much as i despise trump, obviously i dont want that to happen. so while these people trying to challenge him have good intentions....please, stop wasting everyone's time.
Especially when the RNC has already announced they will be backing the President 100 percent.
Actually the RNC is not the Republican Party anymore. The lunatic trump tea party has a firm grip of the RNC right now. If the real republicans had any balls they’d denounced trumps policies and nominate a candidate that can bring our country together not separate us as black, white, and brown.
Very cool post 40 at least your trying to get a fair minded discussion ...KUDOS ,,I was reading the Statue of Liberty post and all poster were the lefties on that board and I thought I was on a Antifa chatroom LOL
Yeah, changing American values back to the time when people were nasty and prejudice isn't the fault of the left anymore. I know you can't admit it, but deep down inside that must suck for you.
And I think that its all the lefts fault , the MSM is squarely in the DNCs pocket and report and spin hate toward cons. IMO. So it must really suck to be you and your ilk and I know that you cant admit it. To prove my point again I never directed my post to you but YOU had to answer by hurling insults at me. Its really sad that this board is your whole life but not mine. PEACE OUT
Sanford also does not doubt that Trump would personally attack him by mentioning the incident of marital infidelity should he decide to challenge Trump.
"If he wants to rehash that, he'll rehash that," Sanford said of the President.
Wait, what? Trump is going to attack somebody over marital infidelity?
You mean like how you won't admit that FOX News is in Trump's pocket and are nothing but his mouthpiece?
I will admit that FOX News kept us informed with the truth while the others made you look foolish over Collusion, Obstruction, Treason and so many other matters.
But go ahead and continue to mock the truth while supporting the liars.
Well how far do you want to turn the clock back? Before civil rights? Before women were allowed to vote? Before the Civil war?
Yeah, it's the fault of the left that many Americans have their rights today and "my ilk" isn't as left wing as some on this board.
That's how I know I'm right where I should be. When people of your ilk argue against me and the furthest wing of the left argue with me too.
You mean like how you won't admit that FOX News is in Trump's pocket and are nothing but his mouthpiece?
I've stated many, many times on this board that both extremes of the media are slanted. Your turn.....
BTW- State one insult I hurled at you? Here will be the first.... #snowflake
You whine just like the president you support.
Are you talking about going back to when laws written by democrats kept blacks from being full citizens?
Yes, back to when laws written by white southern men kept blacks from being full citizens...
They can change from D to R, they can change the church they went to, they can change the town they live in... can't change the fact that they were all white and they were all men and they were all from the south.....
See, you can phrase it however you want, throw it out there as an insult as many times as you want... none of that changes the fact that all of those old school southern racist blue dog democrats would now be republicans. I've been a republican since I was 18 years old... it gets a lot easier when you accept and take ownership of that part of the past.... and the present.
You mean like how you won't admit that FOX News is in Trump's pocket and are nothing but his mouthpiece?
I will admit that FOX News kept us informed with the truth while the others made you look foolish over Collusion, Obstruction, Treason and so many other matters.
But go ahead and continue to mock the truth while supporting the liars.
Yep. Fox should be called mushroom news, because they keep y'all in the dark and feed you bullcrap.
See, you can phrase it however you want, throw it out there as an insult as many times as you want... none of that changes the fact that all of those old school southern racist blue dog democrats are now Republicans.*.
Joe Walsh expected to announce presidential run: report
Former Rep. Joe Walsh (R-Ill.) is reportedly expected to announce his candidacy for president, becoming the second prominent Republican to challenge President Trump for the party's nomination.
The New York Times reported Wednesday that Walsh, now a radio host, will announce his candidacy as early as the weekend. Walsh argued in an op-ed for the newspaper last week that the president needed a primary challenge from the right and told the Times in an interview that he would announce his intentions before Labor Day.
Walsh would join former Massachusetts Gov. Bill Weld (R), who announced his candidacy earlier this year, as the second Republican challenger to mount the long-shot challenge against Trump, whose approval rating among Republicans has hovered above 50 percent since he took office in 2017.
The former congressman supported Trump during the 2016 election but has hammered the president for his conduct in the years that followed. Earlier this year, he sharply criticized Trump over behavior outlined in Robert Mueller's report that detailed the results of the special counsel investigation into the Trump campaign.
"I don't know how anybody can read this report and think, 'This is behavior that we want in our president,'" he told CNN's Brooke Baldwin at the time.
"Criminal behavior, who knows?" he added. "But, boy, dishonest, immoral, unethical? Heck yes it is. And I’ll tell you, Brooke, every Republican on Capitol Hill agrees with what I just said. They can’t say that publicly."
Walsh previously served one term in Congress as a Tea Party-aligned Republican and swiped at Weld as a centrist earlier this month in the Times op-ed.
“The president is more vulnerable to a challenge from the right. I’m on the right, and I’m hugely disappointed that challenge hasn’t yet materialized,” Walsh wrote at the time.
Joe Walsh laments past controversial statements while blasting Trump: 'He's a child'
Former Illinois Congressman Joe Walsh announced Sunday morning that he is running for president as a Republican, challenging President Trump in the GOP primary race, while delivering a blistering attack on the president's character and qualifications.
Walsh blasted the president for his social media habits and general behavior.
"I'm running because he's unfit; somebody needs to step up and there needs to be an alternative," Walsh said. "The country is sick of this guy's tantrum -- he's a child."
At the same time, Walsh recognized that he himself is guilty of the same behavior as the president, and even played a part in the division in Washington that led to Trump's election.
"I helped create Trump," the Tea Party favorite told ABC News' George Stephanopoulos in an interview that aired Sunday morning. "I feel responsible for that."
Walsh claimed that Trump was "tweeting us into a recession" and warned that "he'll tweet us into war."
Stephanopoulos called out Walsh for making outlandish statements of his own, including calling former President Barack Obama a Muslim and an enemy. Walsh said Trump "made me reflect on some of the things I've said in the past," acknowledging that at times he "went beyond the policies and idea" and "said some ugly things about President Obama that I regret."
When asked if he truly believes what he said about Obama, Walsh responded, "God no, and I have apologized for that."
During the same interview, however, Walsh made a series of personal attacks against President Trump.
"He's nuts, he's erratic, he's cruel, he stokes bigotry," Walsh said. He accused Trump of not caring about America, saying, "the only thing he cares about is Trump."
Walsh also cited Trump's 2016 campaign promise to build a wall along the southern border and to have Mexico pay for it, which has not happened.
"He’s incompetent. He has no freakin’ clue what he’s doing," Walsh said.
The Trump campaign had far fewer words in response to Walsh's announcement.
"Whatever," campaign communications director Tim Murtaugh said to ABC.
Walsh, who served one term in Congress, acknowledged that he has very little chance of defeating the president in the primaries, but said he wants to promote a different direction for the Republican Party. Earlier in August, Walsh published a New York Times op-ed about the need for Trump to face a primary challenge. He said the positive response to the piece inspired his decision to run.
Former Massachusetts Governor Bill Weld has previously announced that he is running against Trump in the primaries.
Joe Walsh reportedly wants to troll Trump by recruiting George Conway, the husband of White House counselor Kellyanne Conway, to work on his 2020 campaign
Trolling Trump is by far the best way to get unhinged comments from him.
Let's look at it for a moment.
He makes a silly suggestion like buying Greenland. In response?
The prime minister of Greenland said that was absurd.
So let's look at how unhinged that made Trump, shall we?
"I thought that the prime minister’s statement, that it was 'absurd,' that it was 'an absurd idea,' it was nasty, I thought it was an inappropriate statement," Trump told reporters before departing the White House for a speech to a veterans group in Kentucky. "All she had to do is say 'no, we wouldn’t be interested, but we can’t treat the United States of America the way they treated us under President Obama.'"
"She’s not talking to me, she’s talking to the United States of America. You don’t talk to the United States that way," he added.
No idiot, she was talking to you!
No wonder Erik thinks we should throw tantrums. He learned that from his idol.
I like Joe Walsh... glad he's running from the right. I seriously doubt he can win but it will be a decent litmus test to see just how "behind Trump" many on the right are if given another choice.
And Ds should be especially excited about this as it will give them a lot of good ammo going into the general election from every R who supports Joe instead of Trump.
West Virginia is not polling for 2020 yet as far as I can find. However I found a poll that is very recent that compared his favorable/unfavorable numbers from 2017 and now. They looked at the 17 most competitive states in the 2016 election. Trumps favorable rating has fallen between about 15-24 percent and he is underwater in 15 of them. He is still slightly positive in Texas and Georgia. Of those 17 states, he won 10 of them in 2016.
I think the better question would be what's on a West Virginia pole. Considering how Trump treated Stormy, they may have taken that poll in West Virginia strip clubs.
Didn't want to clutter the board with a new thread - but this is an interesting story from a neutral 3rd party country who was initially very enthusiastic to welcome the VP....
"Miriam Lord: How Mike Pence shat on the new carpet in Ireland’s spare room"
You suppose that's why the media has been screaming 'recession, recession, recession' recently?
They failed at collusion. They failed with Stormy, they failed with Avenatti, they fail, and fail, and fail. This time, they're going after the economy. Despite this, from the Fed: https://www.npr.org/2018/08/01/634423478...changed-for-now
Quote:
If that slips, he's done. I think he's losing tons of support in farm and coal country already.
I thought there was no coal country anymore?
Farm country, around here anyway, supports Trump in a big way.
I know you hear all the stories in the msm about how farmers are losing farms, etc. That makes the media salivate, and they air it non stop.
There are NONE that blame Trump for the weather (although the msm would like us to believe that) There aren't many that are losing their farms based on the tariff's, if any, really. You'll find some farmers that are losing their farms..........based on too much debt. They'd have probably lost them no matter what, despite what you see in the media.
Fewer farmers are supporting Trump because he's making them go broke. In case you missed it, they incur debt when their crops can't be sold or they have to sell them at a loss. Those markets aren't coming back and they know it.
And coal didn't make a comeback. He lied to them too.
Oh, and let's not forget about the big comeback of American Steel that didn't happen.
People that are involved in these industries either have already figured it our or are in the process of figuring it out. They won't survive another four years of Trump.
Like most of your posts you just make it up as you go.
Tell a lie enough times and you will eventually believe it as fact.
Truth:
Iowa Farmers Stick With Trump Despite Trade War
DES MOINES, Iowa—As President Trump maps out his re-election bid, farmers in this battleground state are backing him even with the U.S. Farm Belt bracing for deeper pain from his trade fight with China.
In and around the livestock barns, agriculture building and an antique-tractor collection at the Iowa State Fair in recent days, farmers almost universally expressed support for the president and pledged to vote for him in 2020.
Fewer farmers are supporting Trump because he's making them go broke. In case you missed it, they incur debt when their crops can't be sold or they have to sell them at a loss. Those markets aren't coming back and they know it.
Democrat frontrunner Joe Biden (D) told a concerned activist in New Hampshire Friday that he guarantees that “we are going to end fossil fuel.”
Many of the democrat presidential hopefuls endorse the new green deal that calls for the elimination of fossil fuels.
I wonder how those farmers would like to go back to threshing machines and horses. The farmers and ranchers in my area say Trump 2020 MAGA!
Like most of your posts you just make it up as you go.
Tell a lie enough times and you will eventually believe it as fact.
Truth:
Iowa Farmers Stick With Trump Despite Trade War
DES MOINES, Iowa—As President Trump maps out his re-election bid, farmers in this battleground state are backing him even with the U.S. Farm Belt bracing for deeper pain from his trade fight with China.
In and around the livestock barns, agriculture building and an antique-tractor collection at the Iowa State Fair in recent days, farmers almost universally expressed support for the president and pledged to vote for him in 2020.
Seems like its against the rules to have Libertarians debate on the main stage. I think it would make both parties look like the hot garbage they actually are.
Same number that the one guy posted that said farmers won't be voting for Trump.
Only that is a lie. Or maybe you could quote where I said that? That's right, you can't.
Haven't you figured out by now that even when you lie, you still can't get under my skin? You don't hold that ability. You do hold the ability to lie about what i post though.
I have the same advice for you I have for trump. People can see what you did.
Yes, I grew up in farm country. Worked for a lot of farmers too. I have talked to a couple of them who have said that if this isn't settled by election time they're not sure how they will vote.
He told them that trade wars would be solved quickly and are easy to win. So far that hasn't been truthful and they're hurting. I explained to them that those markets aren't coming back no matter what. They're still not sure about that part of it.
WASHINGTON – Responding to a wave of retirements by GOP members of Congress, President Donald Trump called Monday for the House to change its rules to let senior lawmakers keep their committee chairmanships beyond the current six-year term limit.
Trump, who made "drain the swamp" a mantra of his 2016 campaign, said that the self-imposed limit "forces great people" to leave too early.
More than a dozen Republican lawmakers have announced retirements this year, opening up new races and complicating GOP efforts to take back the House in the 2020 presidential election. They include Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner of Wisconsin, the second-longest serving member of the House, and Rep. Bill Flores of Texas.
Trump tweeted Monday that the answer is to do away with the party's six-year, self-imposed limit on how long members can serve as chairs. The six-year limit was created in 1994 to ensure fresh leadership atop the most powerful committees on Capitol Hill.
"House Republicans should allow Chairs of Committees to remain for longer than 6 years. It forces great people, and real leaders, to leave after serving," the president tweeted. "The Dems have unlimited terms. While that has its own problems, it is a better way to go. Fewer people, in the end, will leave!"
Donald J. Trump ✔ @realDonaldTrump House Republicans should allow Chairs of Committees to remain for longer than 6 years. It forces great people, and real leaders, to leave after serving. The Dems have unlimited terms. While that has its own problems, it is a better way to go. Fewer people, in the end, will leave!
16.1K 7:08 AM - Sep 9, 2019 Twitter Ads info and privacy 7,179 people are talking about this Trump has previously indicated support for electoral term limits. He tweeted in 2018 that he had met with a group of lawmakers who "feel very strongly in favor" of terms limits and said "I gave them my full support and endorsement for their efforts."
The president has also frequently joked about extending his own term, a notion he says he brings up to tweak his critics and the media. In 2018, Trump reportedly told a group of donors at Mar-a-Lago that Chinese President Xi Jinping remains "president for life" and joked that "maybe we'll have to give that a shot someday."
Trump shared a tweet by Jerry Falwell Jr. in May in which the president of Liberty University said that because Trump had to endure the Russia probe for the first two years of his presidency that he should "have 2 yrs added to his 1st term as pay back for time stolen by this corrupt failed coup."
Romney won this district by 12 percentage points. Trump won the same district by 12 percentage points. This race was won by 2 percentage points. Sounds like a giant step backwards.
If that margin dwindles by that much on a national scale in 2020, Trump loses.
Romney won this district by 12 percentage points. Trump won the same district by 12 percentage points. This race was won by 2 percentage points. Sounds like a giant step backwards.
If that margin dwindles by that much on a national scale in 2020, Trump loses.
Lib Media was spewing how this was a litmus test for the 2020 Presidential elections. Now like you, they try to pull little positives out of a Loss.
McCready, had nearly 100% name recognition with voters after running for two full years. A former Marine, McCready's campaign slogan — “Country over party” — has resonated with some Republican voters. “He’s acceptable” to Republicans, the source said. But still he lost to Bishop who only began running about 6 months ago.
conservative media was saying the same thing. please stop it.
both sides knew that the results of the race *could* potentially give us a glimpse. not one person said it was a litmus test.
besides, a republican held the seat by how many points last time? it hasnt gone blue since 1963, so the fact that it was even close says yall got a messaging problem.
my litmus test? the fact that a state like Kansas voted a Dem as governor. or the fact that the dems won the house AND gained full control.
that special election only helped the dems. you should be thankful you didn't lose what little seats you have.
You lost 10% of the vote in that district and I don't see you displaying any dignity. I know math is complicated by let's try this again.
If Trump loses 10% of the vote in 2020, he loses the election. Just like they lost the congress in 2018. It's a basic concept.
And I didn't lose anything. I don't even live in N. Carolina. I'm just watching the voting trends and pointing them out. I know that troubles you. Facts simply aren't your friend anymore.
McCready, had nearly 100% name recognition with voters after running for two full years. A former Marine, McCready's campaign slogan — “Country over party” — has resonated with some Republican voters. “He’s acceptable” to Republicans, the source said. But still he lost to Bishop who only began running about 6 months ago.
Well then you guys can keep playing "snatch Victory from defeat" while my boys keep racking up seats.
nobody gained or lost any seats. what are you talking about?
I suppose it can be construed as since there was an election, a seat was open, in this case two seats, the party that wins the elections picks up the seat(s). I know, this is getting picky.
Trump on energy-efficient light bulbs: 'I always look orange'
President Trump knocked light bulb efficiency standards on Thursday during a House Republican retreat, telling attendees that energy-efficient lights make him look "orange."
In a speech to Republican House members reported by NBC News, the president quipped that light bulbs that the Obama administration "forced" Americans to use were "no good."
"People said, 'What's with the light bulb?' And I said 'Here's the story,' and I looked at it. ... The bulb that we're being forced to use, number one, to me most importantly, the light's no good. I always look orange," Trump said, to laughter.
"And so do you, the light is the worst," Trump added.
His remarks come after the administration finalized the reversal of the Obama administration's efficiency standards on light bulbs last week and days after he made similar comments at a North Carolina rally.
"I'm not a vain person. ... But I look better under an incandescent light than these crazy lights that are beaming down," he said at a rally in Fayetteville.
The standards rolled back by the Trump administration allow for the production of bulbs that require more power to light, which critics say will hasten the effects of climate change by increasing U.S. energy usage.
“This rule does not prevent consumers from buying the lamps they desire, including efficient options,” the Department of Energy wrote last week. “The market is successfully transitioning to LEDs regardless of government regulation. Consumers are clearly taking advantage of the energy savings provided by LEDs.”
Well 'orange' explains this bizarre action of rolling back light bulb efficiency standards... and here I thought it was just because Obama did it. You can't make this stuff up.
Trump at GOP retreat: 'Whether you like me or not' you 'have to elect me'
President Trump on Thursday told GOP lawmakers at a retreat in Baltimore that “it doesn’t matter” if people like him or not, they have “no choice” but to elect him.
“Whether you like me or not, it doesn’t matter,” Trump said at the conference Thursday night, according to The New York Times. “You have to elect me. You have no choice.”
“Our country will go to hell if any of these people get in,” he continued in reference to Democratic presidential candidates, further warning that if one of them gets elected they would “take your money and very much hurt your families.”
The comments were part of a 68-minute address he gave to the House GOP retreat in Baltimore, which took place during the third Democratic presidential primary debate on Thursday night.
During his speech, he also poked fun at Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s (D-N.Y.) name, which he reportedly shortened to “Cortez” because he didn’t have time to “go through the whole damn name.” He made a similar jab at the congresswoman at a rally earlier this year.
He also singled out some Democratic presidential contenders for criticism, like Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and former Vice President Joe Biden.
“I hit Pocahontas too early — I thought she was gone, she has emerged on the ashes and now it looks like she could beat sleepy Joe,” he said.
The president also took a moment to criticize wind turbines, which he once said emit noise that cause cancer.
Trump said “they make noise, they kill all the birds, the energy is intermittent,” according to The Times.
While talking about the structures, the president also reportedly pondered about what would happen to a family watching the Democratic debate on Thursday night on a television that was powered by wind energy.
“You happen to be watching the Democratic debate and the wind isn’t blowing,” Trump said, according to the Times. “You’re not going to see the debate. ‘Charlie, what the hell happened to this debate?’ He says, ‘Darling, the wind isn’t blowing. The goddamned windmill stopped.'”
He’s shook cause he knows warren can drop the house on him. Him and the GOP want Biden because it’s too easy to not only drill him, but guarantee another low voter turnout in the generals.
"Because one thing I've learned about politics, you can say something one day that's just absolutely insane like they're saying and then about two weeks later say the exact opposite and nobody will ever even call you on it."
"Because one thing I've learned about politics, you can say something one day that's just absolutely insane like they're saying and then about two weeks later say the exact opposite and nobody will ever even call you on it."
- Trump yesterday in Baltimore.
Is this real life?
What's wrong with that? He absolutely has learned that.
Increasingly isolating himself. Appointing only "acting" cabinet members, who can be fired at whim. Attrition rate at levels never before seen. Fired/resigned former aides lining up to pen 'tell-all books.'
I tried to tell folks what they would get back in 2015. I'm done with all that. Now, I'll simply drop Current Events, and let Real Life troll them for me.
We are going to come at you hard with Climate. I think Republicans, in the deep recess of their heart, already know they will lose in 2020.
You’re going to fall, and fall hard, it's not going to be pretty. Through every fault of your own.
Bring it on as the Silent Majority is not going to support your destruction of America for something that has been going on for millions of years.
1 the majority of Americans did not want Rump to represent us 2 climate change is destroying planet earth. The only educated humans on planet earth that disagree, are republicans 3 ”destruction of America” a gun in every hand. Weapons lead to destruction, we have centuries of data to back that up.
You do a poor job of representing Cleveland, more importantly, a disservice.
If no crime was committed, why would he be criminally investigated?
I love how the left is grabbing at straws like jackwads playing hungry hungry hippo, yet coming up with nothing. For 3 years you've been preaching to a choir that never showed up.
I don't mind your criticism and wear it as a badge of honor after considering the source. Have a good night!
I turn that around, and thank you for the entertainment. I fully expect to find another 10-20 articles posted by you in the morning. And i'll laugh at each one.
Hey, keep on keeping on, hater. Maybe 1 of these days you'll stumble across something with meaning. But, for 3 years now, you haven't.
Now he is officially above the law. Republicans should speak up before it's too late.
Now he is officially above the law? It's actually a pretty interesting article with quite a bit of nuance to the proceedings and the points both sides are making have some validity...
But it took until the very last paragraph before they got to the part about which law he is evidently "above"... the case in question is his payment to Stormy Daniels, what is at issue is that the Manhattan prosecutor wants to determine if he accounted for the payment correctly or if he accounted for it as "legal fees"... so let's be serious for a moment... how serious of a crime is determining the proper accounting means of a $130K settlement payment? This isn't about election rigging or Russian collusion or rape or any of that.. it's about a relatively small accounting procedure/discrepancy.
So I will say this, nobody should be above the law... but if we are going to monopolize the time of high ranking politicians by allowing them to be dragged into court to defend themselves against every nickle and dime allegation that state and local prosecutors can come up with, the political system will come to a grinding halt. (Though I do understand that is the point of the left, to tie up Trump in other matters such as minor lawsuits so he can't serve as President) My advice to the left would be to let this one go or I guarantee you, it will come back to haunt you... At some point, a D will be President and the R parts of the country will come after them to defend every late medical bill payment and parking ticket they have ever received in their life.. and the Ds will hate it and cry about how unfair that is...
So if the matter under investigation is directly related to how a President won the election, or it impacts their ability to be President, or if it is a violent crime, or something more serious.. then no President should be above having that investigated and prosecuted if necessary.... even if that means impeach first, then proceed with the criminal matter... but this is a minor civil thing.. I would have to say this could wait until he is out of office. (Since that's what it actually says, not that it goes away forever, it just has to wait until he is out of office, then this could move forward.)
I certainly see your point. But his lawyers made sure this includes, "any crime" a president may commit. If it were restricted to a single incident that would be one thing. But to claim a president can't be investigated for "any crime" is most certainly concerning.
It brings the statement, "I could shoot someone on 5th Avenue" to a whole new level.
God Trump is embarrassing on the stage with other world leaders. Watching him with the Australian President (or PM not sure) was just sickening. He's so stupid and void of facts.
Trump raises $15 million despite war with top California officials
Los Angeles (CNN)President Donald Trump is warring with California's Democratic officials over auto-emission standards and the state's homeless crisis, but here at the center of the resistance to his administration he's scooped up $15 million for his re-election campaign during a two-day swing through the Golden state.
Trump raises $15 million despite war with top California officials
Los Angeles (CNN)President Donald Trump is warring with California's Democratic officials over auto-emission standards and the state's homeless crisis, but here at the center of the resistance to his administration he's scooped up $15 million for his re-election campaign during a two-day swing through the Golden state.
Trump raises $15 million despite war with top California officials
Los Angeles (CNN)President Donald Trump is warring with California's Democratic officials over auto-emission standards and the state's homeless crisis, but here at the center of the resistance to his administration he's scooped up $15 million for his re-election campaign during a two-day swing through the Golden state.
nope. conservatives hate socialism, until all of a sudden, they don't.
They don’t mind it as long as the 1% get it. The rest of us just need to work harder and pull ourselves up by our bootstraps. Then we can be 1%’rs and reap those sweet socialist rewards.
It's funny how they brag about how much Trump raised. I wonder how much all of the Democrats running for president raised since they are splitting the donations between them?
Supporting a disgraceful president isn't something anyone should be bragging about.
Trump slams world leaders for religious freedom hypocrisy, commits $25M to the cause at UN summit
President Trump, speaking Monday at a United Nations event on religious freedom, called out world leaders for espousing diversity and inclusion while “shunning or silencing” people of faith.
“Too often people in power preach diversity, while shunning or silencing the faithful,” Trump said. “True tolerance means respecting the rights of all people to express their deeply held religious beliefs.”
Trump -- who was joined on stage by Pence, U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and other world leaders -- also announced that his administration was allocating an additional $25 million to protect religious freedom as well as religious sites and relics, and launching an initiative with business leaders to protect religious freedom in the workplace.
Another load of crap out of the giant orange baby. He has condemned Muslims numerous times just for being muslim. Does he even realize that is a faith? smh
No, Radical Islamic terrorists and Muslims from countries that harbored them....
As the great orange turd sells Saudia Arabia guns and sends our troops to fight for their oil. The same Saudia Arabia that harbored the terrorists behind 911.
You’re so full of crap trump is oozing from your orfaces.
No, Radical Islamic terrorists and Muslims from countries that harbored them....
As the great orange turd sells Saudia Arabia guns and sends our troops to fight for their oil. The same Saudia Arabia that harbored the terrorists behind 911.
You’re so full of crap trump is oozing from your orfaces.
Don't worry Portland The military doesn't want guys like you. And show some respect or go live in some socialist utopia.
No, Radical Islamic terrorists and Muslims from countries that harbored them....
As the great orange turd sells Saudia Arabia guns and sends our troops to fight for their oil. The same Saudia Arabia that harbored the terrorists behind 911.
You’re so full of crap trump is oozing from your orfaces.
Don't worry Portland The military doesn't want guys like you. And show some respect or go live in some socialist utopia.
Respect is earned. I don’t just give it away. trump hasn’t earned crap. He’s trash. His wife is eastern block trash. His exwives are trash. His kids are all trash. I don’t respect any of them.
Respect is earned. I don’t just give it away. trump hasn’t earned crap. He’s trash. His wife is eastern block trash. His exwives are trash. His kids are all trash. I don’t respect any of them.
I read all these threads, and I see the lib's, dem's doing exactly what they claim they are against. Bashing people, calling people names, wishing ill on people that don't see things their way.
Respect is earned. I don’t just give it away. trump hasn’t earned crap. He’s trash. His wife is eastern block trash. His exwives are trash. His kids are all trash. I don’t respect any of them.
Wow. I mean, just, wow.
Seriously?
Sorry. Barron hasn’t earned the moniker yet. My bad.
bro you follow Vers around the forum just to bash him on a regular basis.
you dont exactly possess the moral high ground to make such a statement.
What? Show me the last time I replied to vers.
Secondly, I was replying to portland. He didn't just bash the president, he went after family.
But when is the last time I bashed vers?
Family is off limits unless family has done things to earn ire. It’s why I exempted Barron and after further thought I’ll throw Tiffany in there too. Melania is a gold digging mail order bride. Sorry, not sorry, I have no respect for her. Ivanka is silent in her father’s disgusting rhetoric. She was my hope for sanity in the trump clan. She’s proven to be nothing but a worthless clothing line shill. Donnie Jr is a buffoon that’s retweeted Pepe the Frog memes. He’s also propagated lies such as retweeting Roseanne Barr's false claim that George Soros, a Holocaust survivor, was actually a Nazi collaborator. No doubt Donnie is trash. Eric has stood by his father’s side and argued that his dad’s use of Pocahontas, referring to Warren, wasn’t wrong. He also took money for his own gain from his cancer charity. He’s scum like daddy trump.
Trump slams world leaders for religious freedom hypocrisy, commits $25M to the cause at UN summit
President Trump, speaking Monday at a United Nations event on religious freedom, called out world leaders for espousing diversity and inclusion while “shunning or silencing” people of faith.
“Too often people in power preach diversity, while shunning or silencing the faithful,” Trump said. “True tolerance means respecting the rights of all people to express their deeply held religious beliefs.”
Trump -- who was joined on stage by Pence, U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and other world leaders -- also announced that his administration was allocating an additional $25 million to protect religious freedom as well as religious sites and relics, and launching an initiative with business leaders to protect religious freedom in the workplace.
As he also praises, sells guns, and sends troops to Saudia Arabia. Man you’re a good little lapdog.
https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/9935530/sa...ign=sharebarweb SAUDI SLAUGHTER Saudi Arabia executions spike in 2019 – with 134 crucified and beheaded including six who were kids when arrested “At least 58 of those killed were foreign nationals and most were accused of spreading Shia Islam - a crime in the Sunni Arab state.”
“Too often people in power preach diversity, while shunning or silencing the faithful,” Trump said. “True tolerance means respecting the rights of all people to express their deeply held religious beliefs.”
Are you kidding me.. If a person expresses any doubt or reservations about any Trump actions or words, he declares all out war on them,, This is the classic case of the pot calling the kettle black.
By far, Trump is the biggest abuser of those very thoughts and beliefs. Along with just about every stinking one of his supporters.
I read all these threads, and I see the lib's, dem's doing exactly what they claim they are against. Bashing people, calling people names, wishing ill on people that don't see things their way.
This is so funny. You sound like somebody else on here.
Here's the rub though. When liberals didn't fight back your side called them wimps. When they do fight back you cry foul.
I'm glad they grew a spine and started calling it the way it is.
The problem is the right isn't used to the left fighting back and punching them in the mouth. So this is how they respond.
If only you and the others would step up and call Trump out for the same BS.
But you won't. Instead you'll blame the liberals for punching back. It's like what you do.
Trump gives what he gets. (hey, weird, you claim to do that also)
I get bashed and name called quite a bit on here because - get this: I don't bow down to the libs. Consequently, I'm seen as the enemy, and TREATED as such.
Trump gives what he gets. (hey, weird, you claim to do that also)
I get bashed and name called quite a bit on here because - get this: I don't bow down to the libs. Consequently, I'm seen as the enemy, and TREATED as such.
But, you do you.
Arch, I don't think you are bashed or name called any more than anyone else who picks a side and stands up for what they believe. AND you see yourself as the enemy! I never had a thing against you for saying what you believe. The times that I went after you were when you stalked and made personal attacks on me. However, I'm most likely guilty of lashing out far too strongly at you and others at times because we all get very defensive when being attacked.
If you remember before PP was created, you and I always got along.
Trump has been a nasty individual his entire life. He has lied and degraded people his entire life. He reaps what he sows. Try looking into that. You can go back to his appearances on Howard Stern for a start.
You can go back to his appearances on Howard Stern for a start.
What father says it's alright for a stranger (Stern) to refer to his daughter as a "nice piece of *** ?" I'm sure we have fathers of daughters on this board. I wonder how many of them are OK with something like this.
The meme is cute and all, but this goes beyond the political. This is the realm of the pathological.
It really has to do with character and Human Nature. We have a person- a father, who went on a nationally syndicated entertainment show, and gave the host permission to refer to his daughter with "locker room talk." Put plainly: this dude pimped out his own daughter to the nation to get publicity from a "Shock Jock."
Character on display.
Then, we have a group of people who are so invested in this man that they see all the same things everyone else does, and seemingly choose to be OK about it without any internal conflict. He's not just the POTUS for them. He's family. "He may be crazy Uncle Don, but he's OUR crazy Uncle Don. And nobody messes with our family. Right or wrong, we got his back."
And that's Human Nature on display.
There are a million examples available, both grand and granular, so this bunch isn't alone in this at all. All of us have this blind spot somewhere- for someone. Or something. Uh, hello? this meeting place is a fansite for a professional football team, fergawdsake...
In this instance, "Crazy Uncle Don" happens to command center stage in all of America's news, so his tribe will be well-represented in our local political forums. Every day. They are no more able to separate this man from their personal identities than if he actually shared blood... because they adopted him with their votes.
They are now doubly determined to defend him- not only because he's Tribe, but (just as important) you aren't. The act of resistance to people like you (and me, and Swish, Perfect, Rocket, et al is as important as the cause/person/party/etc. being championed. It's part of how we (the species) define ourselves.
And yeah- I'm in a lot of tribes, too, so I'm just as guilty under this analysis. I just don't think any of my Tribal Chiefs are the type to sell out their own daughters as sexual chattel on the public marketplace. A man who could do such a thing deserves the kind of judgement My Family would level against him. And if he was found in violation of our nation's laws, My Father would actually clasp the handcuffs on him and make sure that he was humanely treated during his public perp walk.
_______________
I can't escape the way I was raised. I spent two nights per week in the Baptist Church throughout my childhood/adolescence. I was lectured endlessly about propriety, ethics, morality and good judgement. My familial role models were clergy, legal scholars, educators and scientists. I was taught to dispassionately study the world's facts around me, and then make choices based upon the "criteria of character" that formed my personal makeup.
My fam's motto was: "When you are out in public, you represent This Family's Name. Measure your steps accordingly."
It pains me to no end that I live in a country which boasts a POTUS who would be the shame of everyone who shares my last name. A country in which 30-40% of its people think a man like this is not only acceptable, but also worthy of defense.
I can only conclude that I was surrounded by people who expected more from their progeny than these folks seem to require of their President. Strip away the false equivalences, and we are left with a craven, venal bottom-feeder who managed to scam his way to the top.
Two different Americas, indeed.
Character on display, indeed... from both our POTUS- and those who actively tote water for him.
History will record this chapter in America's saga as it always has. I will be recorded as actively resisting this man and all he stands for.
I'm good with that. Because My Family stood for better than his ilk ever since we were established freedmen and land owners... a full decade before his blood ever landed here.
This country was doing just fine until those filthy immigrants came and lowered standards all over the place. Now, one of them is running the country (into the ground).
Man, Republicans ain’t been doing too good since the end of 2018. Also, another Texas Republican is retiring, making it 6 gop house members to call it quits in the upcoming 2020 elections.
Intelligence community watchdog debunks whistleblower conspiracy pushed by Trump and other Republicans Zachary Cohen By Zachary Cohen, CNN
In a rare statement released Monday, the inspector general addressed a false claim pushed by Trump and some of his allies on Capitol Hill, including House GOP leader Kevin McCarthy of California and Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, that the whistleblower lacked firsthand knowledge of the conduct outlined in the complaint and therefore the allegations were based on "hearsay." But the statement from the inspector general made clear that the whistleblower was not simply communicating secondhand knowledge. "The whistleblower stated on the form that he or she possessed both first-hand and other information," the statement read. "The ICIG reviewed the information provided as well as other information gathered and determined that the complaint was both urgent and that it appeared credible. " The statement clearly says the whistleblower had "direct knowledge of certain alleged conduct" and that Intelligence Community Inspector General Michael Atkinson obtained additional information during his preliminary review that supported other allegations in the complaint not based on firsthand knowledge, including Trump's July 25 phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Tapper fact-checks GOP Rep. Jim Jordan on Ukraine scandal Tapper fact-checks GOP Rep. Jim Jordan on Ukraine scandal "As part of his determination that the urgent concern appeared credible, the Inspector General of the Intelligence Community determined that the Complainant had official and authorized access to the information and sources referenced in the Complainant's Letter and Classified Appendix, including direct knowledge of certain alleged conduct, and that the Complainant has subject matter expertise related to much of the material information provided," the statement says. "Although the Complainant's Letter acknowledged that the Complainant was not a direct witness to the President's July 25, 2019, telephone call with the Ukrainian President, the Inspector General of the Intelligence Community determined that other information obtained during the ICIG's preliminary review supported the Complainant's allegations," it adds. Earlier Monday, Trump tweeted: "WHO CHANGED THE LONG STANDING WHISTLEBLOWER RULES JUST BEFORE SUBMITTAL OF THE FAKE WHISTLEBLOWER REPORT? DRAIN THE SWAMP," referring to a theory that seems to have been initially propagated by the right-wing website The Federalist on Friday. The article claims that "between May 2018 and August 2019, the intelligence community secretly eliminated a requirement that whistleblowers provide direct, first-hand knowledge of alleged wrongdoings." Monday's statement from the intelligence community inspector general clearly debunks that theory, aligning with a fact check conducted by CNN that found the assertion to be false. Fact check: Trump falsely claims whistleblower rules changed just before Ukraine complaint Fact check: Trump falsely claims whistleblower rules changed just before Ukraine complaint The statement said that the form submitted by the whistleblower on August 12, 2019, was the same one the inspector general has had in place since May 24, 2018. The statement reiterated that having firsthand knowledge of the event has never been required in order to submit a whistleblower complaint. "Although the form requests information about whether the Complainant possesses first-hand knowledge about the matter about which he or she is lodging the complaint, there is no such requirement set forth in the statute," the statement reads. "In fact," the inspector general's statement continues, "by law the Complainant ... need not possess first-hand information in order to file a complaint or information with respect to an urgent concern. The ICIG cannot add conditions to the filing of an urgent concern that do not exist in law." The statement does state that three new forms have been made available on the inspector general's website as a part of a months-long process. Those forms were developed because the previous versions, including the one used by the whistleblower, "could be read -- incorrectly -- as suggesting that whistleblowers must possess first-hand information to file an urgent concern complaint with the congressional intelligence committees." Pro-Trump pundits and lawmakers spread the theory on Twitter and TV over the weekend as evidence of some nefarious plot against the President. Rep. Jim Jordan, an Ohio Republican told Jake Tapper on CNN's "State of the Union" that whistleblowers no longer need firsthand knowledge because "they changed the form." Tapper pushed back, fact-checking Jordan. "Experts say it has never been true that you need to have firsthand knowledge to be a whistleblower," Tapper said. The theory put forth by the President and his allies hinges on the idea that the inspector general recently changed the rules to allow individuals with secondhand knowledge of an event to submit a whistleblower complaint. This is wrong. A previous version -- cited by The Federalist -- of the form that whistleblowers submit to alert the inspector general of the intelligence community of an "urgent concern" states that in order for the inspector general to determine that the concern is credible "the IC IG must be in possession of reliable, first-hand information." This does not mean that the inspector general would reject a complaint if it presented only secondhand knowledge, but that firsthand information would be needed for the complaint to be found credible and passed further up the chain of command. The inspector general has 14 days from the time the complaint is submitted to investigate and make a determination as to whether the urgent concern is credible. And that's exactly what happened in the case of this whistleblower. During the investigation into this specific complaint about Trump's July 25 call with the Ukrainian President, the inspector general found additional information that "supports the Complainant's allegation that, among other things, during the call the President 'sought to pressure the Ukrainian leader to take actions to help the President's 2020 reelection bid,' " according to the letter from the inspector general to Joseph Maguire, the acting director of national intelligence.
Intelligence community watchdog debunks whistleblower conspiracy pushed by Trump and other Republicans
Washington (CNN)The intelligence community inspector general is forcefully pushing back against assertions made by President Donald Trump and several Republican lawmakers about the whistleblower complaint that has rocked Washington in recent weeks.
In a rare statement released Monday, the inspector general addressed a false claim pushed by Trump and some of his allies on Capitol Hill, including House GOP leader Kevin McCarthy of California and Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, that the whistleblower lacked firsthand knowledge of the conduct outlined in the complaint and therefore the allegations were based on "hearsay." But the statement from the inspector general made clear that the whistleblower was not simply communicating secondhand knowledge.
"The whistleblower stated on the form that he or she possessed both first-hand and other information," the statement read. "The ICIG reviewed the information provided as well as other information gathered and determined that the complaint was both urgent and that it appeared credible. "
The statement clearly says the whistleblower had "direct knowledge of certain alleged conduct" and that Intelligence Community Inspector General Michael Atkinson obtained additional information during his preliminary review that supported other allegations in the complaint not based on firsthand knowledge, including Trump's July 25 phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
"As part of his determination that the urgent concern appeared credible, the Inspector General of the Intelligence Community determined that the Complainant had official and authorized access to the information and sources referenced in the Complainant's Letter and Classified Appendix, including direct knowledge of certain alleged conduct, and that the Complainant has subject matter expertise related to much of the material information provided," the statement says.
"Although the Complainant's Letter acknowledged that the Complainant was not a direct witness to the President's July 25, 2019, telephone call with the Ukrainian President, the Inspector General of the Intelligence Community determined that other information obtained during the ICIG's preliminary review supported the Complainant's allegations," it adds.
Earlier Monday, Trump tweeted: "WHO CHANGED THE LONG STANDING WHISTLEBLOWER RULES JUST BEFORE SUBMITTAL OF THE FAKE WHISTLEBLOWER REPORT? DRAIN THE SWAMP," referring to a theory that seems to have been initially propagated by the right-wing website The Federalist on Friday.
The article claims that "between May 2018 and August 2019, the intelligence community secretly eliminated a requirement that whistleblowers provide direct, first-hand knowledge of alleged wrongdoings."
Monday's statement from the intelligence community inspector general clearly debunks that theory, aligning with a fact check conducted by CNN that found the assertion to be false.
The statement said that the form submitted by the whistleblower on August 12, 2019, was the same one the inspector general has had in place since May 24, 2018. The statement reiterated that having firsthand knowledge of the event has never been required in order to submit a whistleblower complaint.
"Although the form requests information about whether the Complainant possesses first-hand knowledge about the matter about which he or she is lodging the complaint, there is no such requirement set forth in the statute," the statement reads.
"In fact," the inspector general's statement continues, "by law the Complainant ... need not possess first-hand information in order to file a complaint or information with respect to an urgent concern. The ICIG cannot add conditions to the filing of an urgent concern that do not exist in law."
The statement does state that three new forms have been made available on the inspector general's website as a part of a months-long process. Those forms were developed because the previous versions, including the one used by the whistleblower, "could be read -- incorrectly -- as suggesting that whistleblowers must possess first-hand information to file an urgent concern complaint with the congressional intelligence committees."
Pro-Trump pundits and lawmakers spread the theory on Twitter and TV over the weekend as evidence of some nefarious plot against the President. Rep. Jim Jordan, an Ohio Republican told Jake Tapper on CNN's "State of the Union" that whistleblowers no longer need firsthand knowledge because "they changed the form."
Tapper pushed back, fact-checking Jordan. "Experts say it has never been true that you need to have firsthand knowledge to be a whistleblower," Tapper said.
The theory put forth by the President and his allies hinges on the idea that the inspector general recently changed the rules to allow individuals with secondhand knowledge of an event to submit a whistleblower complaint. This is wrong.
A previous version -- cited by The Federalist -- of the form that whistleblowers submit to alert the inspector general of the intelligence community of an "urgent concern" states that in order for the inspector general to determine that the concern is credible "the IC IG must be in possession of reliable, first-hand information."
This does not mean that the inspector general would reject a complaint if it presented only secondhand knowledge, but that firsthand information would be needed for the complaint to be found credible and passed further up the chain of command. The inspector general has 14 days from the time the complaint is submitted to investigate and make a determination as to whether the urgent concern is credible.
And that's exactly what happened in the case of this whistleblower.
During the investigation into this specific complaint about Trump's July 25 call with the Ukrainian President, the inspector general found additional information that "supports the Complainant's allegation that, among other things, during the call the President 'sought to pressure the Ukrainian leader to take actions to help the President's 2020 reelection bid,' " according to the letter from the inspector general to Joseph Maguire, the acting director of national intelligence.
Local officials warn of RNC mailer for campaign donations that looks like official census
Local officials in Montana are warning constituents about a Republican National Committee survey asking for funds for the president's reelection campaign that mirrors a federal Census form.
Residents in a handful of Montanan counties have received the "Imitation Census" this year labeled as "2019 congressional District Census," according to a release from the state's Census and Economic Information Center at the Department of Commerce. The mailer states recipients were "selected to represent voters."
The mailer requests donations of at least $15 to "help pay for the costs of processing [the] Census Document."
The Department of Commerce's release reminded residents that the federal census "will never ask respondents for money, and those surveys will always be postmarked from the U.S. Department of Commerce, U.S. Census Bureau."
The mailers contained a letter from RNC Chair Ronna McDaniel that says the president asked for a Census of every congressional district to secure his reelection. The survey includes questions asking about confidence in the country's economy, support of Trump's appointing of judges and thoughts on whether climate change is a "major threat," the Washington Post reported.
Lt. Governor Mike Cooney said in the release that his residents need to have clear information about the Census because of its importance to potentially getting the state more funding and another House representative.
“An accurate and complete Census count for Montana is too important to take lightly,” he said.
An RNC official told The Hill that the mailers clearly say they are from the RNC.
"The mailers receive an overwhelming positive response and we continue to send each year because it performs so well," the official said.
The Census is conducted every 10 years and is due to be completed for 2020. Trump's administration's recent push to add a question about U.S. citizenship on the Census was not successful.
President Donald Trump was so frequently unprepared for conversations with world leaders that White House staff needed to sit in on his conversations to make sure Trump didn't say anything inappropriate, CNN reported.
A source familiar with how calls to foreign leaders were handled under former White House chief of staff John Kelly told CNN that several staff members would coach the president during his phone calls in order to avoid any diplomatic gaffes.
"Kelly always wanted a bunch of us to be there in the Oval (Office) ... to just babysit on these calls," the source said.
In the past, officials from the US National Security Council would brief the president before a call, and then sit with the president in the Oval Office during a call, according to the BBC. Other officials in separate parts of the White House will also listen in on conversations and take notes, known as a "memorandum of telephone conversation," which would often be combined with automated computer transcriptions.
During the Trump presidency, the White House began to limit the number of people allowed to listen in on Trump's phone calls after transcripts of Trump's calls with the leaders of Mexico and Australia were leaked, according to The New York Times. According to CNN, the current policy typically allows four officials to listen in to calls with foreign leaders, "and include the national security adviser, the National Security Council director and deputy director for that region."
Read more: Trump is facing the biggest firestorm of his presidency because his own staffers blew the whistle on him
A source told CNN that prior to Kelly leaving the White House in December 2018, he would often hit "mute" on the call so people in the room could guide him, as he was known to sometimes go off "on random tangents" with foreign leaders.
"We were there to coach him in real-time because he was so impervious to coaching ahead of time," the source told CNN.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Insider.
A Trump phone call is at the center of a whistleblower complaint filed last month, which has since triggered a formal impeachment inquiry.
An unnamed intelligence official lodged a complaint in August regarding a July 25 phone call between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, saying that he was deeply troubled by a phone call Trump had with a foreign leader, particularly "a promise" Trump made.
The Intelligence Community Inspector General, Michael Atkinson, deemed it "credible" and of "urgent concern," and passed the complaint on to acting Director of National Intelligence, Joseph Maguire.
The complaint, which was declassified last week, alleged that Trump pressured Ukraine to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden. The White House last week also released a memo about the call, which appeared to confirm that Trump pressed Zelensky to open an investigation into corruption allegations against former Vice President Joe Biden and his son, Hunter Biden.
US House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff said on Sunday that Congress is determined to get access to Donald Trump's calls with Russian President Vladimir Putin and other world leaders.
"I think the paramount need here is to protect the national security of the United States and see whether in the conversations with other world leaders — and in particular with Putin — that the president was also undermining our security in a way that he thought would personally benefit his campaign," Schiff said on NBC's "Meet the Press."
Trump campaign, RNC raise staggering $125 million in third quarter
President Trump’s reelection campaign and the Republican National Committee combined to raise $125 million in the third quarter, a massive haul that gives the president a head start in fundraising as Democrats move through a contested primary.
The two entities have surpassed the $100 million mark for two quarters in a row now after raising $108 million in the second quarter.
Combined, the Trump campaign and RNC said they have raised more than $308 million in 2019 and begin the month with more than $156 million in the bank.
“President Trump has built a juggernaut of a campaign, raising record amounts of money at a record pace,” said Trump campaign manager Brad Parscale. “With our great partnership with the RNC and Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel, we will re-elect the President and win back the House of Representatives.”
The Trump campaign and RNC are already dipping into the war chest after House Democrats last week launched an impeachment inquiry over allegations that Trump pressured Ukraine to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden, a top contender for the Democratic presidential nomination.
Both teams put around $10 million behind ads pushing back on the impeachment hearings and attacking Biden. The ads are running on national cable news outlets and on Facebook, Google, Youtube, Spotify, and Pandora in key districts.
The RNC is also building out its ground game, and currently counts political, data, state and communications directors in 19 states.
“Boycotts from Hollywood liberals and Democrats’ shameful attacks on private citizens, along with unprecedented support for our president, boosted the RNC to break fundraising records again this quarter," said McDaniel.
"We are investing millions on the airwaves and on the ground to hold House Democrats accountable, highlight their obstruction, and take back the House and re-elect President Trump in 2020,” added the RNC chairwoman.
?? What does this even mean. Almost a bill got dropped last election. Welcome to the age of citizens united.
Don’t you know?... corporations are people.... people that don’t have to pay their share in taxes... yet influence policy more than actual people. Murika is essentially a fascist state at this point. Corporations own the government and bend it to their will.
?? What does this even mean. Almost a bill got dropped last election. Welcome to the age of citizens united.
Don’t you know?... corporations are people.... people that don’t have to pay their share in taxes... yet influence policy more than actual people. Murika is essentially a fascist state at this point. Corporations own the government and bend it to their will.
You say that like big biz doesn't have dems on a leash.
?? What does this even mean. Almost a bill got dropped last election. Welcome to the age of citizens united.
Don’t you know?... corporations are people.... people that don’t have to pay their share in taxes... yet influence policy more than actual people. Murika is essentially a fascist state at this point. Corporations own the government and bend it to their will.
You say that like big biz doesn't have dems on a leash.
Alt left extremists are always welcome to leave.
You inferred incorrectly. “Corporations own the government”, no mention of political party.
The rest is just your typical defense of ‘capitalism at all costs’ nonsense. You leave.
Here's a link to all of the top rated polls. Only one has him at 49%. Of course it's the one 40 posted. One other has him at 47%. One has him at 46% and all others are below that.
The average approval rating of all combined polls is 43.2%.
This link gives you updated lists on all of these polls so you can look at the truth and block out the noise.....
His enemies are divided only in the sense that some want to lock him up now while others want a trial first. So why is President Trump so cheerful?
“We just got great news from California, a judge ruled for us,” he said, referring to a decision blocking a state law that aimed at keeping Trump off the ballot unless he made his tax returns public.
The president said a “breaking news” alert had “me holding my breath because I know it’s going to be about me. They’re always about me.” We both laughed.
That was the start of my Tuesday night phone interview. It was 10 p.m. and the president, who sees sleep as a waste of time, seemed very energized despite the relentless onslaught and long days. He admitted he was feeling good, joking that “it must be a personality defect.”
“It sounds strange to say I’m energized, but I love it, I love it,” he said of the daily combat with Democrats and the media. “These people are so corrupt. They’re cons, all they want to do is win the election.”
“These people are so corrupt. They’re cons, all they want to do is win the election.”
this is from the same guy who told the american people that they will get a tax cut in a desperate attempt to not have his party get smoked in the mid terms.
Yes, another setback in negotiations. Perhaps more love letters will be written and sent while 30 million people will wake up each morning not having been vaporized.
Yes, just like nobody was vaporized before trump, except now trump handed Kim a seat on the world stage for literally nothing in return. Trump rewarded Kim for bad behavior.
A federal judge Monday dismissed President Donald Trump’s lawsuit seeking to block the release of his personal and corporate tax returns to the Manhattan District Attorney, who is conducting a criminal investigation related to the president’s company.
Judge Victor Marrero’s ruling, which Trump immediately appealed, flatly rejected what he called the “extraordinary claim” by Trump that he is while president immune not only from criminal prosecution, but also from being criminally investigated by a state prosecutor or anyone else.
Marrero said that under Trump’s theory, not only his behavior would be immune from an investigation, but so would suspected “misconduct of any other person, business affiliate, associate or relative who may have collaborated with the President in committing purportedly unlawful acts.”
“This Court finds aspects of such a doctrine repugnant to the nation’s governmental structure and constitutional values,” Marrero wrote in his 75-page decision in U.S. District Court in Manhattan.
Read the court’s ruling here.
Marrero said if Trump’s argument was allowed, it could “frustrate the administration of justice” in regard to a president’s conduct.
Trump’s attorneys asked U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit to block Marrero’s ruling from taking effect, and the president’s accountants being compelled to comply with a subpoena for his tax returns.
One of those lawyers, William Consovoy, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
A spokesman for Manhattan DA Cyrus Vance Jr. declined to comment.
Vance’s office had objected to a federal court becoming involved in the dispute, and had accused Trump’s legal team of trying to delay execution of the subpoena so that the statute of limitations for potential crimes that Vance is eyeing would expire.
WATCH NOW VIDEO12:55 The saga of Trump’s taxes The case relates to a grand jury subpoena obtained by Vance, who is seeking eight years of the president’s tax returns from the accounting firm Mazars USA.
Vance is probing, at the very least, if the Trump Organization violated the law in how it accounted for hush money payments made to two women, Stormy Daniels and Karen McDougal, ahead of the 2016 election.
Both women were paid to keep them quiet about sexual affairs they claim they had with Trump years before that election.
Trump denies having sex with either woman, but his then-personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, paid Daniels for her silence, and the Trump-friendly supermarket tabloid, The National Enquirer, paid off McDougal.
The judge’s ruling came right before a 9 a.m. deadline that Trump’s lawyers had set. Those lawyers had told the judge that they would ask the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit to handle the dispute if Marrero did not issue his ruling by then.
Trump has repeatedly fought efforts by both prosecutors and lawmakers to release his tax returns. He broke with decades of precedent by refusing to release the documents when he ran for president in 2016.
_________
So I went and read some of the actual ruling instead of just the article.
Basically, trump is trying to use his authority to shield him from legal and constitutional proceedings, which he can’t do. The presidential shield doesn’t protect him from potential criminal wrongdoing.
U.S. Supreme Court tosses challenge to Republican-drawn Ohio congressional maps
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday threw out a challenge to Republican-drawn congressional districts in Ohio that Democrats said were drawn to unlawfully diminish their political clout, a move that follows a major ruling by the justices in June that foreclosed such lawsuits.
The court’s action in the case involving a practice known as partisan gerrymandering means that 16 U.S. House of Representatives districts will no longer be reconfigured, as a three-judge panel had ordered in May.
The Supreme Court had put the panel’s ruling on hold ahead of its rulings, issued the next month, in two major gerrymandering cases from Maryland and North Carolina.
The justices in June dealt a major blow to election reformers by saying in its June 27 ruling that federal courts have no role to play in reining in electoral map manipulation by politicians aimed at entrenching one party in power.
The ruling gave the Ohio challengers little option but to concede defeat.
A similar case from Michigan, in which a lower court invalidated nine Republican-drawn U.S. House districts and 25 state legislative districts, was also put on hold by the Supreme Court in May. An appeal in that case remains pending and would be expected to be dealt with the same way as the Ohio dispute.
The June high court ruling did allow partisan gerrymandering to be challenged in lawsuits based on violations of a state constitution. On Sept. 3, a state court in North Carolina struck down the Republican-drawn state legislative electoral map as an unlawful example of partisan gerrymandering under the state constitution.
In partisan gerrymandering, one political party draws legislative districts to marginalize voters who tend to support the other party. The lines are typically redrawn once a decade after the U.S. census, and in many states the party in power controls the decision-making.
Included in the 2012 Ohio electoral map drawn by Republicans at issue in the case was the “Snake on the Lake,” which the judges called “a bizarre, elongated sliver of a district that severed numerous counties,” referring to the state’s 9th district that runs along Lake Erie. The electoral map consistently led to a lopsided advantage for Republicans in U.S. House races.
The League of Women Voters and the American Civil Liberties Union sued to challenge the legality of the map.
Ohio voters in 2018 voted overwhelmingly to redistrict (71% in favor) and the US Supreme Court steps in and threw out the results of that election concerning redistricting, defying the will of the people of Ohio...what the hell!
Here’s why Trump’s poll numbers are defying the impeachment mess
-A very large number of Americans don’t have high levels of trust and respect for the government, and they’re generally OK with Trump being the junkyard dog who digs it all out, writes Jake Novak.
No matter where you turn, the news is filled with embarrassing stuff about President Trump. The CIA whistleblower complaint about his conduct on a call with Ukraine’s president has turned into a full-court impeachment scandal.
But through all of this, Trump’s approval rating is at its highest level of the year according to the Hill-HarrisX survey, and the other major polls taken since this Ukraine phone call whistleblower story emerged show few changes from the last surveys taken before the news broke.
Oct 8 (Reuters) - The Senate committee investigating Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. election said on Tuesday that the Kremlin's best-known propaganda arm increased its activity after that vote, adding to concerns about foreign meddling in the current 2020 campaign.
The Senate Intelligence Committee, which has managed to operate under bipartisan consensus when other congressional panels have not, said in a report that activity by the St. Petersburg-based Internet Research Agency "increased, rather than decreased, after Election Day 2016."
IRA-linked account activity jumped more than 200% on Instagram and more than 50% on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, the committee said. The IRA and related entities and people were indicted earlier this year by special counsel Robert Mueller.
The committee, led by Republican Chairman Richard Burr and Democratic Vice Chairman Mark Warner, also concluded that African-Americans had been the group most targeted by Russian influence campaigns that sought to exacerbate domestic tensions and increase the election prospects of President Donald Trump.
The report by the Republican-controlled committee reaffirmed findings by the U.S. intelligence community and Mueller that the Kremlin pursued an influence operation through social media and other means that was aimed at throwing the 2016 U.S. presidential election to Trump over his Democratic challenger, Hillary Clinton.
In doing so, the Senate report contradicted allegations by Trump's personal attorney Rudolph Giuliani and others that Ukraine, not Russia, colluded with Democrats to undermine Trump's campaign as well as charges by the White House and Trump allies including Representative Devin Nunes that Russia actually aided Clinton's candidacy.
The panel recommended that Congress consider new laws requiring disclosure of who pays for election-related online advertising. It also said social media companies, which have come under fire for allowing propaganda to flourish, should share more information about what they find on their platforms. (Reporting by Joseph Menn in San Francisco, additional reporting by Jonathan Landay in Washington; Editing by Dan Grebler and Cynthia Osterman)
We are going to absolutely bury, any Ohio ideology that believes in Donald Trump.
Can I interest you in Kentucky and West Virginia? Before you answer, remember I am coming for your semi automatic rifles.
We are going to absolutely bury your antiquated notions, and the world will rejoice so, accordingly so. BTW, I’d put your treatment of the black man, in line with your plantation views of plant earth.
You should literally, all be ashamed of yourselves .
The fact that anyone thought walls were a good idea, perhaps were not fortunate enough as I, to look through history and realize, there is a better way
We are going to absolutely bury your ideology, once and for all. You know who you are
Boy, oh boy, the incredibly brilliant creative minds over in the alt-right just ooze hate and threats of violence out of every orifice even if it is copyright protected! This article describes the troglodyte minds of the trump supporting alt-right chan-trolls that create epic hits like this one that will probably go down as fast as the one covered in the article.
Violent Video Was Product of Right-Wing Provocateurs and Trump Allies
The White House said President Trump condemned a fake video depicting him killing rivals and members of the news media. But Mr. Trump never mentioned it.
WASHINGTON — The creator of a gruesome video that showed a fake President Trump killing journalists and political opponents and that was played at a meeting of a pro-Trump group over the weekend is part of a loose network of right-wing provocateurs with a direct line to the White House.
The unidentified creator of the video operates under the name “The GeekzTeam” and has proclaimed on Twitter to be a “red blooded American with ZERO tolerance for the liberal agenda.” Like many such amateur agitators, the GeekzTeam specializes in creating pro-Trump internet content, often by remixing the president’s image into clips from popular movies and television shows.
Another of the provocateurs, Logan Cook, who often has posted videos on MemeWorld, his website, participated in a social media summit at the White House in July and took his children to meet the president in the Oval Office, accompanied by Dan Scavino, the White House social media director.
The connections underscore how the president’s escalating war on what he calls the “fake news” media has elevated people from the far-right fringe into presidential allies who defend him with extreme language and images.
The president did not mention the video on Monday in the blizzard of tweets he sent out wishing a former press secretary good luck on “Dancing with the Stars,” defending his recent decisions on Syria and attacking Democrats for their impeachment inquiry.
But Stephanie Grisham, the White House press secretary, said Mr. Trump condemned the video. It was shown at a meeting of American Priority, a pro-Trump organization, celebrating “free speech, free association and American culture” for hundreds of attendees at Trump National Doral Miami, a golf resort that he owns.
Three headliners of the event — Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida, the former White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders and Donald Trump Jr., the president’s son — said they did not condone the violence portrayed and were not aware that the video had played on a loop in a conference room next to the resort’s Donald J. Trump Ballroom. Two small television screens were set up in the conference room, where people filtered in and out. The video was projected against a wall, according to one person who attended and shared a photo.
The online community that makes and shares grisly videos like this one uses what it calls “spicy memes” to fire up the president’s base, stir outrage among his opponents and provoke coverage by the mainstream media, which often helps amplify the messages.
Some of these meme-makers profit by soliciting donations or running ads on YouTube. (Data from SocialBlade, a website that tracks social media statistics, estimates that the GeekzTeam has earned less than $2,000 from the channel over the past year.) Others do it purely for the notoriety — or, best of all, an approving retweet from the president.
The GeekzTeam has been a prolific meme-maker for several years, posting videos with titles like “Captain MAGA” and “Trump: The Punisher” to YouTube and to r/the_donald, a large pro-Trump forum on Reddit. The video shown at the American Priority meeting was first posted on YouTube in July 2018.
Earlier this year, the account began contributing to MemeWorld, a centralized meme repository organized by Mr. Cook, who goes by the name “Carpe Donktum” online.
Mr. Cook’s website acts as a clearinghouse for offensive memes and videos, allowing users to post homemade videos that often depict Mr. Trump as a crusader or superhero who uses violence to suppress news outlets, individual journalists and political opponents.
On Monday, Mr. Cook’s site posted a statement disavowing political violence while defending The GeekzTeam, saying that the video showing Mr. Trump shooting, stabbing and punching his foes was “clearly satirical.”
Mr. Cook’s own videos, as well as his one-stop shop of a website, have become a go-to resource for Mr. Scavino, who often shares items with Mr. Trump. In April, Mr. Cook landed in the center of a controversy over a doctored version of a video in which former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. addressed his interactions with women.
In the doctored video, a cartoon version of Mr. Biden appears to be nuzzling the back of his own head. Mr. Trump shared the video with his 60 million followers on Twitter at the time.
“Trolls in the White House,” Mr. Cook wrote in a photo on his Instagram account on July 11, describing his family greeting Mr. Trump in the Oval Office.
At the White House social media meeting, which honored pro-Trump meme-makers and other members of the far-right ecosystem, Mr. Trump praised a room full of content creators as people who had worked with Mr. Scavino on ideas that ultimately saved him money on advertising.
“He’ll come up with ideas, and you’ll come up with ideas,” Mr. Trump said of Mr. Scavino and the attendees. “And he’ll run into my office. He said, ‘You got to see this.’”
Mr. Trump added, “Some of you are extraordinary. I can’t say everybody, but some of you are extraordinary. The crap you think of is unbelievable.”
A White House spokesman did not respond to a request for comment about why Mr. Cook was invited to the White House social media meeting in the first place.
Tracing the origins of the video shown over the weekend illustrates the often-complicated origins of modern political messaging. The graphic doctored footage was taken from the 2014 movie “Kingsman: The Secret Service,” and showed the actor Colin Firth in a massacre at a fundamentalist church.
In an earlier online iteration the target was one news organization: CNN. Mr. Trump’s head was superimposed on Mr. Firth’s body, but all the people punched, shot and stabbed had CNN logos covering their faces.
“You are fake news,” Mr. Trump said as he pointed a gun at a woman with the logo for a face.
The creator of that original video, Andres Hughes, said online that he submitted it to a meme contest run by the right-wing website Infowars three years ago, hoping to win a $20,000 prize.
But in July 2018, the doctored film clip was further altered to include new targets. News organizations like PBS, NPR, Politico and The Washington Post were added to the mix.
Mr. Trump was also depicted killing and maiming political enemies like Representative Maxine Waters of California; Senator John McCain of Arizona, who died last year; Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont; former Presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton; as well as Hillary Clinton and others.
The video, which had fewer than 1,000 views on YouTube as of Sunday night, had clocked nearly 200,000 by midday Monday but was removed from the site a few hours later because of a copyright complaint. On Sunday, the GeekzTeam appeared to celebrate the video’s success, posting a new one on Twitter that showed CNN’s logo exploding after coming into contact with the phrase “Trump memes.”
An email to an address listed on the creator’s YouTube channel was not immediately returned. American Priority denounced the video shown at its event as not “approved, seen or sanctioned” by the organizers and condemned violence of any kind. But the group’s founder, Alex Phillips, has his own longstanding relationship with Mr. Cook, and has supported his work online.
In a video posted to Facebook in June, Mr. Phillips and Mr. Cook played down the idea that such content can foment hate and violence. “Hate speech is a made-up word,” Mr. Cook says in the video. “You can’t cause violence with words.”
Mr. Phillips said he agreed. “The truth hurts sometimes,” he responds. “Deal with it.”
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Texas' GOP House speaker sought help ousting members of his own party in 2020, called a female lawmaker "vile" and said President Donald Trump is "killing us" in pivotal races in a secretly recorded meeting with a conservative activist released Tuesday.
House Speaker Dennis Bonnen also profanely disparaged another Democratic House member in the hourlong tape, which also reveals other political scheming and has thrown the GOP-controlled Legislature into disarray at a fragile moment when their majority is at stake.
The tape has uncorked the biggest Texas political scandal in years. Democrats filed a lawsuit accusing Bonnen — the third-most powerful Republican in the Texas Capitol — of breaking campaign finance laws during the June meeting with the head of a conservative group called Empower Texans, which has spent lavishly in pursuit of pulling the Legislature far to the right on issues such as abortion and guns.
State investigators responsible for looking into allegations of corruption by public officials have also opened a case .
The meeting was secretly recorded and released by Empower Texans CEO Michael Quinn Sullivan, who said he surreptitiously recorded the meeting held at Bonnen's Capitol office to protect himself. Bonnen can be heard seeking Sullivan's help in targeting several Republican incumbents in primaries next year, while also suggesting that a news affiliate of Empower Texans could obtain media credentials that would provide access to the House floor where votes are taken. Bonnen sought to drive out moderate GOP members who he saw as standing in the way of his agenda.
"You need to hear what I want to do," Bonnen said. "We can make this work. I'll put your guys on the floor next session."
Republicans have controlled the Texas House for nearly two decades, but their dominance is eroding quickly. Since the GOP reached a peak of a 101-49 super-majority in 2011, Democrats have tapped into a growing Hispanic population and liberal shifts in suburban areas to shrink that gap. Heading into 2020, Democrats can grab a majority if they flip nine seats.
Bonnen suggests on the tape that Trump — who is holding a campaign rally in Dallas on Thursday — isn't helping.
"With all due respect to Trump, who I love, he's killing us in urban, suburban districts," Bonnen said.
Bonnen also used crude language while discussing freshmen Democrats whose midterm victories in 2018 weakened the GOP's House majority.
"Jon Rosenthal makes my skin crawl. He's a piece of (expletive)," Bonnen said in the recording.
Mentioning another Democrat, Bonnen adds, "We've got Michelle Beckley, who's vile. But we got people who beat our Republicans that are not even trying to act like moderate Democrats, OK? Which is good for us. Because we ought to be able to take their heads off. But I need you firing harder that way."
It wasn't clear whether the hourlong recording was edited.
Bonnen has previously apologized for "embarrassing" and "hurtful" comments on the tape. But on Tuesday, he released a statement that only expressed vindication at the tape finally being made public.
"I have repeatedly called for the recording to be released because it will be immediately clear that no laws were broken. This was nothing more than a political discussion - the problem is that I had it with that guy," Bonnen said. "My colleagues have always deserved the facts and context this recording provides, and with clear evidence now disproving allegations of criminal wrongdoing, the House can finally move on."
Republicans, including Gov. Greg Abbott, remained largely silent after the tape was released, making Bonnen's future unclear. He is coming off his first term as House speaker and the Texas Legislature won't meet again until 2021.
But the release of the tape amplified calls for Bonnen's resignation, including from Beckley, who said "this a bunch of a men that are in a backroom afraid" of the Democrats taking control the House.
Rep. Chris Turner, the House Democratic leader, called Bonnen's comments "completely out of bounds, even with the Republican Party's low standards of the Donald Trump era."
I was worried for a while but I'm starting to think Trump will smoke all those freaks trying to give away everybody's money.
And Swish, Texas will never vote for any of those Yahoos. LOL Their women are tougher than anybody in California, Oregon and Massachusetts.
Such ‘freaks’ wanting our tax money to go to all of us instead of the war machine and corporate subsidies. The rest of what you said is garbage... Like most of your banal drool you ooze through your keyboard.
I was worried for a while but I'm starting to think Trump will smoke all those freaks trying to give away everybody's money.
And Swish, Texas will never vote for any of those Yahoos. LOL Their women are tougher than anybody in California, Oregon and Massachusetts. [/quote
Such ‘freaks’ wanting our tax money to go to all of us instead of the war machine and corporate subsidies. The rest of what you said is garbage... Like most of your banal drool you ooze through your keyboard.
I would come back at you but I get banned. You don't. Thats how Liberals roll. Have a nice day.
If the video depicting a fake President Trump massacring members of the media — which was condemned by the White House — wasn't too much to handle already, ProPublica and WNYC released more disturbing audio from the conference where the footage was originally shown.
While speaking at the pro-Trump conference in Miami, Florida, at the Trump National Doral Miami, Mark Burns, a pastor, told the crowd multiple times that "we've come to declare war." As he continued, he reportedly asked if anybody was "read to go to war for Donald J. Trump, this nation?" as the audience reportedly cheered him on.
Additionally, radio host Wayne Allyn Root reportedly boasted about a time in his childhood when, as one of the few white students at a predominantly black high school, he knocked one classmate unconscious and shattered another kid's teeth. "My buddies and I were high-fiving and laughing," Root reportedly said during his speech. "Man, it was funny."
Root reportedly went on to say that "you've got to be a natural-born killer" to win in politics. Listen to the audio clips at ProPublica.
If the video depicting a fake President Trump massacring members of the media — which was condemned by the White House — wasn't too much to handle already, ProPublica and WNYC released more disturbing audio from the conference where the footage was originally shown.
While speaking at the pro-Trump conference in Miami, Florida, at the Trump National Doral Miami, Mark Burns, a pastor, told the crowd multiple times that "we've come to declare war." As he continued, he reportedly asked if anybody was "read to go to war for Donald J. Trump, this nation?" as the audience reportedly cheered him on.
Additionally, radio host Wayne Allyn Root reportedly boasted about a time in his childhood when, as one of the few white students at a predominantly black high school, he knocked one classmate unconscious and shattered another kid's teeth. "My buddies and I were high-fiving and laughing," Root reportedly said during his speech. "Man, it was funny."
Root reportedly went on to say that "you've got to be a natural-born killer" to win in politics. Listen to the audio clips at ProPublica.
Psychopaths worshiping a false idol with cottoncandy for hair.
If the video depicting a fake President Trump massacring members of the media — which was condemned by the White House — wasn't too much to handle already, ProPublica and WNYC released more disturbing audio from the conference where the footage was originally shown.
While speaking at the pro-Trump conference in Miami, Florida, at the Trump National Doral Miami, Mark Burns, a pastor, told the crowd multiple times that "we've come to declare war." As he continued, he reportedly asked if anybody was "read to go to war for Donald J. Trump, this nation?" as the audience reportedly cheered him on.
Additionally, radio host Wayne Allyn Root reportedly boasted about a time in his childhood when, as one of the few white students at a predominantly black high school, he knocked one classmate unconscious and shattered another kid's teeth. "My buddies and I were high-fiving and laughing," Root reportedly said during his speech. "Man, it was funny."
Root reportedly went on to say that "you've got to be a natural-born killer" to win in politics. Listen to the audio clips at ProPublica.
Man I hope these dumbasses try to start a civil war over Trump. The National Guard will put them down like rabid dogs. That might drive them back into their holes. I hate fascists.
Trump pick for education board writes Illuminati self-help books: report
President Trump's pick for a federal education board authors self-help Illuminati books.
The Commission of Presidential Scholars awards high school seniors in the country annually, and its board is comprised of education experts like the 2019 National Teacher of the Year. Trump's nominee to this board, George Mentz, was announced last week, The Denver Post reported.
Mentz, a lawyer and online professor of wealth management at the Texas A&M University School of Law, has written books called "The Illuminati Secret Laws of Money," “The Illuminati Handbook,” “50 Laws of Power of the Illuminati” and “100 Secrets and Habits of the Illuminati for Life Success.”
“If you conceive of your desire, you can then imagine that your goal will take place with belief, and then you will be able [to] retrieve the opportunity from the world’s storehouse of riches,” he wrote in his book "Spiritual Wealth Management."
The nominee said he uses the word "Illuminati" in his books about money and wealth partly for marketing reasons.
“Just because I use the word Illuminati, don’t let that get you too excited,” Mentz told The Denver Post. “If you look the word up, it means ‘illumination.’ How to be more aware, conscious, a better person.”
Mentz has donated thousands of dollars to Trump's campaign and political action committee, after supporting him for three decades, The Denver Post report said.
A secret recording reveals GOP fears that Texas state House could turn blue
Should Democrats flip the lower chamber, they'll play a role in redrawing the state's congressional and legislative maps.
In June, Texas state House Speaker Dennis Bonnen took a meeting with a conservative activist to discuss a possible deal: media credentials for that activist's organization in return for assisting Bonnen in defeating a handful of fellow Republican lawmakers in next year's primary.
A scandal and a lawsuit — brought by Texas Democrats alleging that Bonnen ran afoul of campaign-finance laws — ensued. And while strategists note the episode is unlikely to damage GOP prospects in 2020, especially with President Donald Trump at the top of the ticket, a secret recording of the meeting revealed a rattled Republican Party struggling to counter Democratic hopes of turning the state into a battleground.
"The whole meeting's premise was that the different factions of the Republican Party and the conservative movement needed to find a way to band together to defeat Democrats in 2020," Brendan Steinhauser, a Texas Republican strategist and campaign veteran, told NBC News.
"The threat of Texas turning blue had a lot to do with why this meeting happened in the first place," he added.
Changing demographics, an influx of young professionals from outside the state and difficulties for the Trump-led Republican Party in the state's suburbs in 2018 have contributed to Democratic optimism up and down the ballot. Though defeating Trump remains a tall task, the recording, released two days ahead of Trump's planned campaign rally in Dallas, highlights a key fight for control of the legislature's lower chamber ahead of a high-stakes redistricting process that hinges on the results of the 2020 census.
"I just think we've got to get through 2020, guarantee if we try and hold this majority — which, with all due respect to Trump, who I love, by the way — he's killing us in urban-suburban districts," Bonnen said in June, according to the recording made public by the activist, Michael Quinn Sullivan. (Bonnen has denied any wrongdoing and claimed vindication that he did not act untoward in the meeting in light of the tape's release.)
Democrats, who haven't controlled the state House since 2002, already made inroads there in 2018, picking up 12 seats. Kier Murray, a longtime Texas Democratic strategist, told NBC News that Bonnen's meeting with the activist put on display the "discord" that's existed between more conservative Republicans and the "business establishment types" for some time.
"They've largely been able to keep those problems inside the tent over the last few years, but they're not able to do it anymore," Murray said. "And I think it's somewhat reflective of the stress they feel generally about the state and losing their grip on it, that they're starting to fight among themselves."
U.S. Rep. Brian Babin, R-Texas, called hanging on to the majority in the state House in 2020 "extremely important" because of the voting maps.
"I think it'll be a big deal, I really do," Babin added. "I'm old enough to remember when the Democrats held sway in the state of Texas, 100 percent nearly. Of course, as the Republican Party grew, redistricting became a very, very important issue. Now that the Republicans have the majority, and we control the redistricting lines, I think it's all important.
"Each state is going to draw those lines to the benefit of their majority party. I think it's going to be an extremely important issue that is going to be hinging on whether we continue to have the majority in our state government, in the state House."
Murray told NBC News that flipping the state House would give Democrats the ability to put redistricting front and center in the next session.
Remember Ohio is, and will always be a northern state. If Ohio followed the southern ideology, people of color would be persecuted, wealth disparity would run rampant, and no one would care about anthropogenic climate change.
It’s actually easy to do the right thing. You’ve had this coming for decades, I just bring it to light now.
Remember Ohio is, and will always be a northern state. If Ohio followed the southern ideology, people of color would be persecuted, wealth disparity would run rampant, and no one would care about anthropogenic climate change.
It’s actually easy to do the right thing. You’ve had this coming for decades, I just bring it to light now.
So wrong.
Ever since the Democrats went away and Blacks became the first Southern Republicans, Whites and Blacks have gotten along very well in the South.
It is the North that is more racist. On both sides.
This is what happens when you are uneducated when it comes to your own Nations history. You are wrong.
So don't be sending your Ohio boys down here again to run over decent people with their cars!
Because blacks were closed out of elected offices, the South's congressional delegations and state governments were dominated by white Democrats until the 1980s or later. Effectively, Southern white Democrats controlled all the votes of the expanded population by which Congressional apportionment was figured. Many of their representatives achieved powerful positions of seniority in Congress, giving them control of chairmanships of significant Congressional committees. Although the Fourteenth Amendment has a provision to reduce the Congressional representation of states that denied votes to their adult male citizens, this provision was never enforced. Because African Americans could not be voters, they were also prevented from being jurors and serving in local offices. Services and institutions for them in the segregated South were chronically underfunded by state and local governments, from which they were excluded.[27]
During this period, Republicans held only a few House seats from the South. Between 1880 and 1904, Republican presidential candidates in the South received 35–40% of that section's vote (except in 1892, when the 16% for the Populists knocked Republicans down to 25%). From 1904 to 1948, Republicans received more than 30% of the section's votes only in the 1920 (35.2%, carrying Tennessee) and 1928 elections (47.7%, carrying five states) after disenfranchisement.
During this period, Republican administrations appointed blacks to political positions. Republicans regularly supported anti-lynching bills, but these were filibustered by Southern Democrats in the Senate.
Wall Street firm predicts stock market would rally if Trump resigned
A Wall Street investment firm predicts the stock market would rally if President Trump steps down as president.
Raymond James acknowledged Trump's resignation is a "low probability event," CNN Business reported. But the firm said in the "possible" event of the president stepping down it predicted Vice President Mike Pence will help the market stabilize.
"After the initial shock, we think the market rallies as Pence is a predictable, traditional, conservative choice," CNN Business reported the firm wrote in a report published Wednesday evening.
Raymond James analyst Chris Meekins told CNN Business that the company wrote the report because people in Washington keep talking about the possibility. "Independently, different people associated with Trump's orbit brought this idea up unsolicited," Meekins said.
The investment firm asserted that drug makers, defense contractors and other businesses associated with China would excel if Trump resigned, if the country believes it will impede on the chances a Democrat will win the White House or the GOP will maintain control of the Senate, CNN Business reported.
"The markets can live happily with Pence, on trade in particular," Greg Valliere, chief U.S. policy strategist at AGF Investments, told CNN Business. "Pence would get along far better with the Chamber of Commerce and the free trade advocates. He'd shy away from tariffs."
If Trump were to step down, Pence would become president, and the analysts predict former United Nations ambassador Nikki Haley would join Pence on the ballot in 2020 as a vice presidential candidate, according to The Detroit News.
"Trump has become so erratic and unpredictable that it's annoying for the markets," CNN Business said Valliere added. "Pence is a boring, conservative, pro-business Midwesterner."
CNN Business noted it cannot be known in advance how impeachment would affect the stock market, but the market would primarily be affected by the economy's and corporate profit's growth.
The president has argued that his impeachment would cause the stock market to "crash."
"Do you think it was luck that got us to the best Stock Market and Economy in our history. It wasn't," Trump tweeted in September.
Marquette Poll: Majority Believe Supreme Court Justices Motivated By Law, Not Politics
Nearly two-thirds of respondents to a new poll say U.S. Supreme Court justices base their decisions on the law rather than politics.
The survey also found that 71 percent of respondents favor fixed terms for justices. Even when broken down by political leanings, fixed terms were favored among Republicans, Democrats and Independents. But 56 percent of respondents oppose increasing the number of justices on the court. Both ideas have been offered as ways to address increasing polarization over the court's makeup.
A majority of respondents said they strongly favored Supreme Court decisions that allowed same-sex marriage and affirmed the right for individuals to own guns.
The survey also found that 71 percent of respondents favor fixed terms for justices.
This be me. Lifetime appointments are too long, imo. That convention was established when 60 was considered ancient. I dunno... 20-year terms sound about right?
The Constitution states that Justices "shall hold their Offices during good Behaviour." This means that the Justices hold office as long as they choose and can only be removed from office by impeachment.
Don't play games with me. You know what I'm saying.
In fact, it would take a constitutional amendment for it to happen. But we've already amended our constitution 27 times.
See how I did that? Now there can be no misunderstanding because there is no ambiguity for you to play around with.
I'm not disagreeing with you at all... but you really see our government actually doing something as big as passing an amendment? I don't. They're the most ineffective, impotent body.
I filled it out honestly. Which is to say I believe none of this is a witch hunt.... This morning I got an email thanking me for ‘joining team trump’. I sent an email back stating I hope trump rots in prison. Wonder if I’ll get another response?
I really wonder what will it take for the GOP to abandon trump?
Honestly I would like to know. Given everything that has transpired since he decided to run.
Trump University closed. Fraud.
"All of the best people"? Who now are gone. What was said before they took their offices and then how they were attacked when they left. Then the ones like Flint, Manafort, Cohen and the other doing time.
Access Hollywood. Paying off porn stars.
What came out in the Mueller? If it was read? Ukraine. Holding back appropriated money to an ally in order to get political dirt on a political opponent? Abandoning the Kurds who fought for us trying to rid the mid east from Isis.
I just want an honest answer. What would trump have to do in order for the GOP to say enough?
I really wonder what will it take for the GOP to abandon trump?
If he starts appointing left-leaning judges, that would do it. Until that happens, they'll tolerate and defend anything and everything to hang onto their useful tool.
You kind of believe that 25% no matter what would follow. Even if were proven he was traitor.
The Independents like myself or those who just could not vote for Clinton; those are the ones I am hopeful about. Especially in swing states.
The 25% there is no hope for them. The are polluted from the polluted sources they seek. One would think that if you call yourself a patriot first the obvious is front and center.
It saddens me that the country has become what it now looks like. But when 18% of Americans adults still believe humans have always existed in their current form.
"All of the best people"? Who now are gone. What was said before they took their offices and then how they were attacked when they left. Then the ones like Flint, Manafort, Cohen and the other doing time. And how many "acting" heads of departments and organizations are there? All of them Trump sycophants.
Access Hollywood. Paying off porn stars.
What came out in the Mueller? If it was read? Ukraine. Holding back appropriated money to an ally in order to get political dirt on a political opponent? Abandoning the Kurds who fought for us trying to rid the mid east from Isis. Calling the free press the Enemy of the People
Any one single item from the above list would have given the OLD Republican Party an aneurysm if it had been a Clinton or Obama ... And rightly so. smh.
I really wonder what will it take for the GOP to abandon trump?
If he starts appointing left-leaning judges, that would do it. Until that happens, they'll tolerate and defend anything and everything to hang onto their useful tool.
If h was as crooked as you guys say he would be a Democrat That would probably do it.
NEW YORK (AP) — Three judges on a federal appeals panel appeared inclined Wednesday to reject arguments that President Donald Trump's tax returns can't be given to a New York grand jury because he is immune from state criminal law — even if he were to shoot someone on Fifth Avenue.
Chief Judge Robert A. Katzmann of the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals told lawyers at the conclusion of nearly an hour of arguments that the panel believed the attorneys "may be seeing each other again in Washington."
The U.S. Supreme Court will likely have the last word on whether Trump can shield himself from Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance Jr.'s efforts to explore the president's financial records since 2011, including his tax returns.
The hearing's most colorful exchange came when Judge Denny Chin confronted Trump attorney William S. Consovoy over what local authorities could do if Trump shot somebody on Fifth Avenue, a reference to a boast Trump made in January 2016 that doing so wouldn't cost him voters.
"Local authorities couldn't investigate. They couldn't do anything about it?" Chin asked.
Consovoy said that it was not a permanent immunity and that local authorities could act once a president was removed from office.
"Well, I'm talking about while in office," Chin said. "Nothing could be done? That's your position?"
Consovoy answered: "That is correct. That is correct. Yes."
Chin foreshadowed his shooting comparison when he asked whether the president was beyond the reach of investigators "no matter how heinous" the crime.
The judge also asked Consovoy whether he believed the state was seeking Trump's financial records and tax returns "just to embarrass the president? Is that the argument?"
"Yes," Consovoy responded.
Vance, a Democrat, is conducting a wide-ranging probe that includes payments made to buy the silence of two women who claim affairs with the president before the 2016 presidential election.
The payments were made to porn star Stormy Daniels and Karen McDougal, a onetime Playboy centerfold. Both have spoken publicly about affairs they say they had with the president before the 2016 presidential election.
Trump appealed after a lower-court judge tossed out his challenge to Vance's subpoena of his financial records from his longtime accountant.
Trump's lawyers say the Constitution prohibits states from subjecting the U.S. president to criminal process while he's in office.
Vance's attorney, Carey R. Dunne, told the 2nd Circuit that no one is above the law and that the president does not enjoy the blanket immunity he claims.
The criminal probe, he said, is "hamstrung significantly" by Trump's claims of presidential immunity from a subpoena for tax returns.
"They're making this up, your honor," Dunne said of the legal argument.
Both sides have agreed that no tax records will be demanded until court appeals are finished.
In court papers, Vance has said he's seeking financial and tax records of entities and individuals, including Trump, who engaged in business transactions in Manhattan.
Trump's lawyers wrote in court papers that the request is unusual and requires more specific information.
All three judges on Wednesday's appeals panel were appointed by Democratic presidents.
Would any of you want to make a small bet on 2020?
Sure! I'll offer you the same bet I gave to 40 during the 2016 election. He didn't feel confident in Trump then, and I sure bet he and other regret him not taking it!
Trump wins and I never post here again. Trump loses and you never post here again.
It’s good for biz....it adds roughly 1200 miles of wall to be built. Think of it as a buffer zone. It’s going be the best thing ever. And we won’t get anymore New Mexicans.
WASHINGTON ― Senate Republicans voted Thursday to confirm Justin Walker to a lifetime seat on a federal court, despite the fact that he earned a rare and embarrassing “not qualified” rating from the American Bar Association.
Every Republican present voted to put Walker, 37, onto the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Kentucky. Every Democrat present voted no. The full vote tally is here.
Walker “does not presently have the requisite trial or litigation experience” to be a federal judge, the ABA’s Standing Committee concluded in a July review.
The nonpartisan ABA, which thoroughly reviews each of a president’s judicial nominees, typically requires that someone chosen for a lifetime court seat have at least 12 years of experience practicing law. It’s not an automatic disqualifier, though, if a nominee has other substantial trial or courtroom experience. Walker falls short on both counts.
“Mr. Walker’s experience to date has a very substantial gap, namely the absence of any significant trial experience,” the ABA found. “Mr. Walker has never tried a case as lead or co-counsel, whether civil or criminal. ... In addition, based on review of his biographical information and conversations with Mr. Walker, it was challenging to determine how much of his ten years since graduation from law school has been spent in the practice of law.”
So why did Walker get nominated? Because Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) wanted him to. He recommended Walker to the White House.
“This is unquestionably the most outstanding nomination that I’ve ever recommended to Presidents to serve on the bench in Kentucky,” McConnell tweeted in July, just a day after the ABA issued its rating of Walker’s qualifications.
McConnell praised Walker again on Thursday on the Senate floor, calling him “brilliant” and an “outstanding choice” by the president (even though McConnell chose him).
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) noted how rare it is for the Senate to move forward with a judicial nominee with a “not qualified” rating.
“It seems the only reason Mr. Walker has been nominated for an austere judgeship is his membership in the Federalist Society,” Schumer said on the Senate floor, referring to the conservative legal group driving many of the White House’s court picks. “And his far-right-wing views on health care, civil rights and executive power.”
Walker, a University of Louisville law professor, previously clerked for Brett Kavanaugh, also a Federalist Society member, when he was a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. After Kavanaugh was nominated to the Supreme Court in 2018, Walker went out of his way to defend his former boss against credible allegations by Christine Blasey Ford that he sexually assaulted her in high school. Walker participated in more than 70 media interviews challenging Ford.
“She may believe that assailant was Brett Kavanaugh,” Walker said in a Fox News interview in September 2018. “I believe she’s mistaken.”
Walker’s ascension marks the fifth time that Republicans have confirmed one of President Donald Trump’s court picks who earned a “not qualified” rating from the ABA.
Others include U.S. Circuit Judge Leonard Steven Grasz, who the ABA concluded was “unable to separate his role as an advocate from that of a judge,” given his strong anti-LGBTQ and anti-abortion views; U.S. District Judge Charles Goodwin, who the ABA said lacked the ability to fulfill the demands of a federal judge given his frequent absence from the courthouse in his former role as a magistrate judge; and U.S. Circuit Judge Jonathan Kobes, who the ABA found “was unable to provide sufficient writing samples of the caliber required” of a circuit judge.
By contrast, in his entire eight years in the White House, President Barack Obama didn’t nominate anyone to be a lifetime federal judge who earned a “not qualified” ABA rating.
Retired four-star general blasts White House over NYTimes, WaPost cancelations
Retired four-star U.S. Army Gen. Barry McCaffrey on Friday slammed the White House for directing federal agencies to end their subscriptions to The New York Times and The Washington Post after President Trump said he didn’t want either outlet in the White House.
“The White House Trump statement telling the entire Federal Government to terminate subscriptions to the NYT and Wash Post is a watershed moment in national history,” McCaffrey tweeted. “No room for HUMOROUS media coverage. This is deadly serious. This is Mussolini.”
The White House said Tuesday that it would cancel subscriptions to both outlets less than a day after Trump told Fox News’s Sean Hannity that “we don’t even want it in the White House anymore” while referring to the Times.
“We’re going to probably terminate that and The Washington Post. They’re fake,” he said.
McCaffrey also took a jab at Trump on Sunday for attacking former Defense Secretary James Mattis as “the world’s most overrated general.”
“At the end of the day what we’re seeing is a total breakdown in the national security process,” he said.
2019 deficit nears $1 trillion, highest since 2012: Treasury
The federal deficit for fiscal 2019 reached close to $1 trillion for the first time since 2012, according to final Treasury Department figures released Friday.
In the final accounting, the deficit came in at $984 billion, more than $200 billion, or 25 percent, higher than last year and the same figure the Congressional Budget Office projected earlier in the month.
The deficit, which is projected to grow in 2020, has only surpassed $1 trillion four times in the nation's history, during the four-year stretch following the 2008 global financial crisis.
While President Trump as a candidate had promised to wipe out the nation's debt altogether, it now stands above $22 trillion. The annual deficit, which adds to the nation's overall debt burden, was $587 billion in the last full fiscal year before Trump took office.
“America remains on the fast track to trillion-dollar deficits, rising rapidly as far as the eye can see," said Michael Peterson, CEO of the Peterson Foundation, which advocates for debt reduction.
"With all of the important investments we need to make in our future, we find ourselves in a situation where interest costs are the fastest growing program in the federal budget. That’s not where we want growth," he said.
Net interest, the amount the government pays to service the debt, reached $376 billion, larger than the combined cost of veterans benefits and services and education, and more than half as much as the cost of defense.
The main drivers of the deficit are mandatory programs such as Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid, but recent legislation has contributed to it as well.
The GOP tax law added substantially to the deficit by scaling back revenues, while two bipartisan spending deals added financial resources for both defense and domestic priorities.
CBO has warned that the nation is on an "unsustainable" fiscal path. Treasury projected that the 2020 deficit would amount to $1.045 trillion.
The rise in the deficit during a booming economy is particularly worrying to economists and budget watchers.
A deficit of this size following the longest span of economic growth in history shows just how reckless our leaders have become," said former Obama Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, a co-chairman for the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget.
"This is exactly the time when deficits should be contracting, not expanding," he added.
The facts just keep piling up that Trump is a complete failure in all areas. Going to wipe out the debt... I'll wait for the GOPers to explain that away.
Most of the people I've aimed this post at won't even read the article, because it's longer than 4-5 paragraphs. I don't care. I'll place it here anyway, so that anyone else who's remotely interested in the larger issue can take it in for themselves.
The people interviewed in this article are career military. People of substance, who live by moral/ethical codes the likes of which we mere citizens are never beholden. They are people who have served this nation faithfully and consistently through both Republican and Democratic presidencies. They are clear-eyed, no-nonsense, fact-based operators who have risen through one of the most demanding hierarchies ever devised by Man.
This link spells out for us exactly what The Best of America's Best think of this individual.
In another thread, an Original Poster asked where all the Republican patriots were. I posit that they are fairly easy to find in our 24 hr news feed.
The Republican patriots you asked about? They are abundant, and readily found. They are the former, recent, latest, and ongoing targets of this current POTUS.
A man who views American Law Enforcement as The Enemy is most likely a criminal. A man who casts American Military Brass as The Enemy is most likely a terrorist. A man who routinely sets public sentiment against society's conventions/standards is most likely a subversive.
Until 2015, this was the mantra/mantle/watch-cry of almost every conservative I ever read at this web address.
What is different now?
A guy you voted for turned out to be America's Public Enemy Number One- and the exact opposite of the kind of guy you always thought you were.
I don't love Donald Trump, but I love how Donald Trump has managed to expose us American citizens to each other. If anything, that might be the most complementary depiction of his legacy in American history books: how his presidency separated America's patriots from her cultists.
He said none of our soldiers were hurt just the k9, I call it a dog, a beautiful talented dog. The k9 was hurt and brought back...
smh. Just an FYI, that k9 is a soldier. But he wouldn't know that so I'll give him a pass. But damn it's hard to listen to him make any kind of announcement of facts because he always needs to embellish and fit his own ego strokes in, while trying to explain things that it is obvious he has zero clue about.
Why does he have to embellish the details ("his mutilated body", "whimpering and crying")? Just have a bit of dacorum and tell us that the mission was successful. Spare the public of its details. Why the need to glorify its violence?
I hope Trump and his supporters realize that this does not mean the end of IS and that there will be another leader in Baghdadi's place. I'm sure they (IS) have had a plan for succession knowing that their leaders were targets.
and this photo looks way more intense than Trump's loser face on it.
Agreed. The Obama photo of Bin Laden mission is candid, honest & shows human emotion. Trump's posed photo is lame as was his embellishment of the grisly details of the mission.
You should try listening to Obama's announcement after Bin Laden was killed and Trump's after Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was killed.
Don't get me wrong, they got another bad guy and that's always a good thing.
But still, his presser was a laugh and he couldn't help but make the claim this was bigger than killing Bin Laden. You just couldn't make this crap up if you tried.
Psssst...........I was talking about the pictures. You can find something terrible about Trump in ANYTHING. And it shows. That's why .........ah, nevermind. Carry on.
Dude, come on..........really? They are both posed. If you think otherwise, you're dreaming.
The looks on all of their faces in the Obama one looks candid. But, at the end of the day that's not the point...I'm not debating one photo or another. I simply commented on Fish's pic that Trump's was a bunch of angry white men. No diversity. He replied with Obama's assassination of Bin Laden cabinet pic and I said it at least has a POC and a couple women in the photo. Swish and I commented on it showing some human emotion considering the gravity of what they were watching. Trump's? "Let's look like we are angry and mean, gents".
On the bigger scheme of things? Arguing over a photo is trivial, but I will stand by the lack of diversity. Our nation (as of 2018) is approx 40% POC and a greater ratio of women to men. Why then are there only men in this photo? Why were the majority of Republicans who stormed the hearing white men? If we expect equitable representation then I think these are fair questions.
Seriously? I'll give you this: Obama is in the 1 picture.
But you think that picture shows human emotion, and the other one doesn't? Come on man.........are you ALSO biased by hatred of Trump?
In either picture, I see people staring at some unseen screen.
Posed pictures, both of them.
You have hillary in one........uh, white lady, secretary of state.........and another lady in the back who apparently drew the short straw.
Come on.
But I'll take this statement of yours and ponder it:
Quote:
Our nation (as of 2018) is approx 40% POC and a greater ratio of women to men.
Why is O getting a pass for being all inclusive when there is exactly ONE poc in his photo, with only 1 female and some lady hanging out in the background? THAT, is diversity for you?
Seriously? I'll give you this: Obama is in the 1 picture.
But you think that picture shows human emotion, and the other one doesn't? Come on man.........are you ALSO biased by hatred of Trump?
In either picture, I see people staring at some unseen screen.
Posed pictures, both of them.
You have hillary in one........uh, white lady, secretary of state.........and another lady in the back who apparently drew the short straw.
Come on.
But I'll take this statement of yours and ponder it:
Quote:
Our nation (as of 2018) is approx 40% POC and a greater ratio of women to men.
Why is O getting a pass for being all inclusive when there is exactly ONE poc in his photo, with only 1 female and some lady hanging out in the background? THAT, is diversity for you?
1 photo good, 1 photo bad. ??????
I didn't give him a pass. Look at my reply to Fish when he posted Obama's pic. I actually said "Fair point", but at least there were 2 women and of course a POC in his pic. But yeah, still a lot of white dudes.
And yes, I do have a serious problem with Trump. He admitted and bragged about sexual assault and harassment, yet people still voted for him. I have absolutely no respect for him and I find it scary that 49% seem to not have a problem with that one admission alone (not to mention the numerous other problematic and deeply concerning issues of his character).
Iconic photo released of President Trump and his team during Al-Baghdadi raid.
Shealah Craighead/The White House via Getty Images
Washington Post publishes al-Baghdadi headline referring to ISIS leader as ‘austere religious scholar’
The Washington Post published a gasp-inducing headline for the ages Sunday, describing ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi as an "austere religious scholar."
The obituary, written by The Post’s National Security reporter Joby Warrick, followed confirmation of al-Baghdadi's death in a U.S. military operation in Syria on Saturday night. It detailed al-Baghdadi’s rise to the terrorist group's shadow leader from what the paper described as his origins as a "religious scholar with wireframe glasses." https://www.foxnews.com/media/washington-post-al-baghdadi-obituary-headline-isis
Iconic photo released of President Trump and his team during Al-Baghdadi raid.
Shealah Craighead/The White House via Getty Images
Washington Post publishes al-Baghdadi headline referring to ISIS leader as ‘austere religious scholar’
The Washington Post published a gasp-inducing headline for the ages Sunday, describing ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi as an "austere religious scholar."
The obituary, written by The Post’s National Security reporter Joby Warrick, followed confirmation of al-Baghdadi's death in a U.S. military operation in Syria on Saturday night. It detailed al-Baghdadi’s rise to the terrorist group's shadow leader from what the paper described as his origins as a "religious scholar with wireframe glasses." https://www.foxnews.com/media/washington-post-al-baghdadi-obituary-headline-isis
SHAME!!!
Why President Trump says he didn't tell Pelosi details of raid that killed ISIS boss
Trump says he kept details of ISIS operation from Pelosi to avoid leaks.
Trump didn't tell the Dems because he either didn't know himself until it was about to go down, or because he is being impeached and didn't want dems to have any opportunity for feedback before hand.
"It's genuinely fascinating watching Democrats in real-time struggle to figure out what to say about this," journalist Glenn Greenwald wrote on Sunday. "They want to be patriotic and anti-ISIS, but also need a way to malign Trump without contradicting their gushing Obama praise over Osama bin Laden: not an easy balancing act. Good luck!"
This was his hometown reception later in the same day that Navy SEALs took out 'Enemy Big Boy #2.' In Washington DC... home turf. At the World Series... the quintessential example/expression of American culture.
He should move heaven and earth to make sure that DC never gets statehood. They know him every bit as well as Manhattans... and regard him just the same.
Kim Jong Un gets universal cheers when he attends mass public functions. So does Vladimir Putin. And Xi Jinping.
Q: Know why Dolt45 doesn't? In his own back yard? On a day that Public Enemy #1 was erased? A: Because America is not yet a dictatorship.
Fox should be called mushroom news, because they keep y'all in the dark and feed you bullcrap.
