Tag: Donald Trump

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Report: Trump Took Interpreter’s Notes After Private Meeting With Russian President

Trump called into Fox News last night during the Judge Jeanine show. Jeanine Pirro, referencing the recent New York Times report that indicates the FBI became concerned whether Trump was acting on Russia's behalf after firing FBI director James Comey, asked Trump point blank “are you now or have you ever worked for Russia.”

According to a new report by The Washington Post, Donald Trump took his interpreter’s notes after a one-on-one with Russian President Vladimir Putin and told the translator not to reveal what had transpired to other officials in his own administration.

President Trump has gone to extraordinary lengths to conceal details of his conversations with Russian President Vladi­mir Putin, including on at least one occasion taking possession of the notes of his own interpreter and instructing the linguist not to discuss what had transpired with other administration officials, current and former U.S. officials said.

Trump did so after a meeting with Putin in 2017 in Hamburg that was also attended by then-Secretary of State Rex Tillerson. U.S. officials learned of Trump’s actions when a White House adviser and a senior State Department official sought information from the interpreter beyond a readout shared by Tillerson.

The constraints that Trump imposed are part of a broader pattern by the president of shielding his communications with Putin from public scrutiny and preventing even high-ranking officials in his own administration from fully knowing what he has told one of the United States’ main adversaries.

As a result, U.S. officials said there is no detailed record, even in classified files, of Trump’s face-to-face interactions with the Russian leader at five locations over the past two years. Such a gap would be unusual in any presidency, let alone one that Russia sought to install through what U.S. intelligence agencies have described as an unprecedented campaign of election interference.

Bolding is mine.

The result of Trump’s actions is there are no records of his five face-to-face discussions with Putin.

In related news, Trump called into Fox News last night during the Judge Jeanine show.

Jeanine Pirro, referencing the recent New York Times report that indicates the FBI became concerned whether Trump was acting on Russia’s behalf after firing FBI director James Comey, asked Trump point blank “are you now or have you ever worked for Russia?”

Trump never directly answered the question, but responded with, “I think it’s the most insulting thing I’ve ever been asked.”

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NY Times: FBI Launched Investigation Into Whether Donald Trump Was Working On Behalf Of Russia

In the days after President Trump fired James B. Comey as F.B.I. director, law enforcement officials became so concerned by the president’s behavior that they began investigating whether he had been working on behalf of Russia against American interests, according to former law enforcement officials and others familiar with the investigation.
Donald Trump

Quite the bombshell.

From The New York Times:

In the days after President Trump fired James B. Comey as F.B.I. director, law enforcement officials became so concerned by the president’s behavior that they began investigating whether he had been working on behalf of Russia against American interests, according to former law enforcement officials and others familiar with the investigation.

The inquiry carried explosive implications. Counterintelligence investigators had to consider whether the president’s own actions constituted a possible threat to national security. Agents also sought to determine whether Mr. Trump was knowingly working for Russia or had unwittingly fallen under Moscow’s influence.

The investigation the F.B.I. opened into Mr. Trump also had a criminal aspect, which has long been publicly known: whether his firing of Mr. Comey constituted obstruction of justice.

I’m also going to make a point to include this from the Times report:

No evidence has emerged publicly that Mr. Trump was secretly in contact with or took direction from Russian government officials. An F.B.I. spokeswoman and a spokesman for the special counsel’s office both declined to comment.

Clearly, I don’t have the evidence that the FBI has gathered but we do know that Trump frequently praised Russian President Putin, taking his word over that of the US intelligence community regarding Russian interference in the 2016 election.

That alone that should give pause to any American.

The Donald’s short little fingers flew across his iPhone’s keyboard this morning in a Twitter rage complete with ‘the Failing New York Times,’ ‘Lyin James Comey,’ ‘Crooked Hillary,’ and a boast of being ‘FAR tougher on Russia than Obama.’

The Twitterverse has their own thoughts on the historic news:

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Donald Trump Once To Students: ‘Go Through A Concrete Wall’ And ‘Never Give Up’
The Daily Show found video footage of Donald Trump telling graduates back in 2004 to ‘never give up,’ even if there’s a ‘concrete wall in front of you.’

“Never, ever give up. Don’t give up. Don’t allow it to happen. If there’s a concrete wall in front of you, go through it, go over it, go around it. But get to the other side of that wall.”

Hmmm…

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Study Shows Increase In School Bullying In Trump Country

Researchers have found increased reports of bullying in the 2017 responses in areas where Donald Trump won more votes over Hillary Clinton in the 2016 election. In the areas where voters favored Trump, middle school children reported bullying rates 18% higher than in areas where Clinton had been favored. Those same students were found to be 9% more likely to report teasing or name-calling based on ethnicity or race.
(photo via Depositphotos)

In the aftermath of the 2016 presidential election, teachers reported an increase in bullying and name-calling in classrooms across the country.

A new study in Virginia, published by the American Educational Research Association, now shows data that supports those stories.

Using data from a school climate survey involving over 150,000 students across Virginia, Francis Huang of the University of Missouri and Dewey Cornell of the University of Virginia compared responses from 2015 and 2017.

The researchers found increased reports of bullying in the 2017 responses in areas where Donald Trump won more votes over Hillary Clinton in the 2016 election.

In the areas where voters favored Trump, middle school children reported bullying rates 18% higher than in areas where Clinton had been favored.

Those same students were found to be 9% more likely to report teasing or name-calling based on ethnicity or race.

Looking back at the 2015 responses, before the presidential election, the data showed “no meaningful difference.”

A psychology professor at the University of Florida, Dorothy Espelage, whose work focuses on school safety and bullying in middle and high schools, wasn’t surprised by the study’s findings.

“Anybody that’s in the schools is picking up on this,” Espelage told NPR. “You don’t have to be a psychologist or a sociologist to understand that if these conversations are happening on the TV and at the dinner table that these kids will take this perspective and they’re going to play out in the schools.”

Last September, non-profit group Youth Truth released a report that showed 33% of students say they had been bullied in the past year. That represented an increase from two years earlier when only one in four students reported being bullied.

That survey included over 160,000 students across 27 states.

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Trump: “I Never Said” Mexico Would Pay For The Wall

Donald Trump

Donald Trump told reporters today that he “never said” Mexico would pay for his beloved border wall.

“When during the campaign I would say Mexico is going to pay for it, obviously I never said this, and I never meant they’re going to write out a check,” said the Trumpster. “I said they’re going to pay for it – they are.”

Show of hands, please, does anyone recall Trump repeating over and over again, “Who’s gonna pay for the wall? Mexico! It’ll be so easy…”

From Trump’s campaign website, August 2016: “It’s an easy decision for Mexico: make a one-time payment of $5-10 billion…”

Trump now says Mexico is “paying for the wall indirectly many, many times over by the really great trade deal we just made.”

Note: The USMCA has not been ratified by Congress, and so, it’s not currently in force.

Plus, any economic gains from the USMCA would go to private individuals and companies, not the U.S. Treasury.

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Trump Cuts Off Forest Fire/FEMA Money For California

Donald Trump announced this morning he has cut off forest fire FEMA funds from California ‘unless they get their act together’ regarding forest management.

Note: California sends far more money to the federal government than it gets back in federal aid.

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Mike Pence: Trump Had The ‘Impression’ Former Presidents Wanted A Border Wall

Vice President Mike Pence

For several days now, fact checkers have noted Donald Trump’s claim that former presidents have told him they wish they had built a wall along the US/Mexico border as false.

Representatives from Barack Obama, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Jimmy Carter have all confirmed they never told Trump they regret not building a wall.

Today, Vice President Mike Pence told MSNBC’s Hallie Jackson that the president ‘had the impression’ previous administrations had wanted to build a wall.

“I know the President has said that that was his impression from previous administrations, previous Presidents,” said Pence. “I know I’ve seen clips of previous presidents talking about the importance of border security, the importance of addressing the issue of illegal immigration.”

Again, we see the Trump/Pence administration stretch the truth here as “border security” (which Democrats support, by the way) is one thing, building a wall is another.

On top of the fact that all living former presidents say they never even discussed the subject with Trump.

The man literally cannot stop lying.

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Robert De Niro Says He Worries About Gay Son “Being Treated A Certain Way” Under Trump Administration

Robert De Niro at the 2018 Tony Awards

In a new interview with The Guardian’s David Smith, two-time Oscar winner Robert De Niro opens up about how the Trump administration’s divisive policies are worrisome for both him and his gay son.

“Yeah, I worry, and one of my kids is gay, and he worries about being treated a certain way,” says the 75-year-old actor. “We talk about it.”

De Niro, who has six mixed-race children, didn’t identify which of his four sons is gay.

In 2014, the actor debuted a new documentary, Remembering The Artist, on his father who was also gay.

De Niro says initially he took a ‘wait and see’ position on a Trump presidency.

“When you see someone like [Trump] becoming president, I thought, well, OK, let’s see what he does – maybe he’ll change,” admits De Niro. “But he just got worse. It showed me that he is a real racist.”

“I thought maybe as a New Yorker he understands the diversity in the city but he’s as bad as I thought he was before – and much worse,” he added. “It’s a shame. It’s a bad thing in this country.”

Asked by Smith if he believes Trump is a white supremacist, De Niro reportedly didn’t pause to answer, “Yes.”

Is Trump a fascist? De Niro says, “I guess that’s what it leads to.”

“If he had his way, we’d wind up in a very bad state in this country,” he continued. “I mean, the way I understand it, they laughed at Hitler. They all look funny. Hitler looked funny, Mussolini looked funny, other dictators and despots look funny.”

Since the 2016 presidential election, De Niro has become an outspoken critic of Trump.

The Raging Bull star has called Trump a ‘scumbag’ and a ‘pig’ in the past.

And in June of 2018, during an appearance at the Tony Awards, De Niro received a standing ovation when he declared, “It’s no longer ‘Down with Trump,’ it’s ‘F*ck Trump.”

For an ever-growing list of anti-LGBTQ actions taken by the Trump administration, click here.

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Another Lie: Trump Says Former Presidents Wish They’d Built ‘The Wall’

Donald Trump

Donald Trump told reporters on Friday that former presidents have shared with him privately that they wish they had built a wall along the Mexican border.

“This should have been done by all of the presidents that preceded me and they all know it,” Trump said. “Some of them have told me that we should have done it.”

But spokesmen for three of the four living former presidents – Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama — say (guess what?) that has not happened.

From Politico:

Asked if Clinton told Trump that he should have built a border wall, Clinton spokesman Angel Ureña said, “He did not. In fact, they’ve not talked since the inauguration.”

Bush spokesman Freddy Ford also said the two men had not discussed the matter. And Obama, for his part, has not spoken with Trump since his inauguration, except for a brief exchange at George H.W. Bush’s funeral in Washington, D.C.

No official word from Jimmy Carter, but in September he said, “If I were president again, I’d change all of Trump’s policies.”

So, there you go.

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UPDATE – January 7, 2019 – Jimmy Carter has weighed in officially now saying, “I have not discussed the border wall with President Trump, and do not support him on the issue.”

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Trump Considering Declaring ‘National Emergency’ To Get Funds For His Border Wall

Donald Trump may declare a national emergency to fund his border wall
Donald Trump may declare a national emergency to fund his border wall

Donald Trump told the press today that he is considering declaring a national emergency in order to allocate funds to build his infamous ‘border wall.’

Trump didn’t offer details on how that process would work.

In related news, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer told the press today that Trump said in a meeting today regarding the current government shutdown that he “would keep the government shutdown for a very long period of time – months or even years.”