Tag: Donald Trump

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On-Again Off-Again Trump/Romney Bromance Is Back On

Well, what can you say about the on-again, off-again, on-again bromance between Donald Trump and Mitt Romney?

Less than two years ago, Mitt Romney called then-presidential candidate Trump a “fraud” and a “con artist.”

Trump labeled Romney a “choke artist” for his failure to win the 2012 presidential election.

Eventually, Trump won the 2016 election and Romney came crawling back in hopes of becoming Secretary of State.

But it turned out Trump was just punking Romney.

Now, as Romney announces his candidacy for the U.S. Senate seat currently held by retiring Orrin Hatch of Utah, Romney and the Trumpeter are buds once again.

Check out the tweets from last night from these crazy kids.

And just for giggles, let’s take a trip on the way-back machine to March 2016 when Romney felt the need to give a huge speech wherein he called Trump “a fraud.”

Watch below.

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Trump Lies: Obama “Did Nothing” To Stop Russian Meddling

Donald Trump, who has denied any Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election for over a year, is a sudden convert to the concept after Special Counsel Robert Mueller indicted 13 Russian actors last Friday.

Trump thought the news of the indictments was good news for him. But, watching cable news over the weekend, Trump realizes most folks don’t see it that way.

The Donald has continually called the investigation into Russian meddling a “witch hunt.” And, as the New York Times noted, “has made little if any public effort to rally the nation to confront the Russians for their intrusion.”

The Trumpster’s latest tact is to blame President Obama who Trump claims “did nothing.”

That isn’t true though.

Obama directly addressed Vladimir Putin about the transgressions as well as issued sanctions on Russia while expelling dozens of Russian diplomats in the aftermath of the meddling.

Trump expressed his frustrations via Twitter (for a change):

Even Fox News called Trump out on his lies:

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The New Yorker: Trump Rigged Miss Universe To Boost Business In Certain Countries

Donald Trump

It will come as no surprise to anyone today that back when Donald Trump owned the Miss Universe Pageant, his picks for finalists often overrode the decisions of the judges.

And often, those finalists came from countries where Trump had business interests.

#QuelSurprise

Jeffrey Toobin writes for The New Yorker:

From 1996 to 2015, Donald Trump co-owned the Miss Universe Organization, which also included the Miss U.S.A. and Miss Teen U.S.A. pageants. A day or two before a pageant began, Trump would casually visit the contestants while they conducted their final rehearsals. Former contestants told me that Trump would circulate among the young women, shaking hands and chatting with each of them, periodically turning to speak with Paula Shugart, the president of the Miss Universe Organization, who followed him at a discreet distance. (Paula Shugart declined to comment.)

Adwoa Yamoah, who competed as Miss Canada in 2012, told me, “He made comments about every girl: ‘I’ve been to that country.’ ‘We’re building a Trump Tower there.’ It was clear the countries that he liked did well. He’d whisper to Paula about the girls, and she’d write it down. He basically told us he picked nine of the top fifteen.”

Kerrie Baylis, who was Miss Jamaica in 2013, described a similar scene and added that, when the finalists were announced, “the list looked like the countries that Donald Trump did business with, or wanted to do business with.” Shi Lim, who competed that year as Miss Singapore, told me, “The finalists were picked by Trump. He was really in charge. We called it the Trump card.” (A Miss Universe spokeswoman said that the pageant rules allowed the company’s staff, including Trump, to participate in naming the finalists.)

Toobin goes on to chronicle Trump’s obsession with Russian business, and explains how the 2013 Miss Universe Pageant (held in Russia) helped create many connections between Team Trump and several wealthy Russian businessmen.

Well worth the read.

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White House: Trump Is “Supportive” Of Efforts To Improve Background Checks For Gun Purchases

The White House has announced Donald Trump “is supportive of efforts to improve the federal background check system” in the aftermath of the Florida shooting last week which left 17 dead and dozens injured.

Via CNN:

Principal Deputy Press Secretary Raj Shah said in a statement on Monday that Trump spoke with Sen. John Cornyn, a Texas Republican, on Friday about a bill he introduced with Sen. Chris Murphy, a Connecticut Democrat, that aims to strengthen how state and federal governments report offenses that could prohibit people from buying a gun.

“While discussions are ongoing and revisions are being considered, the President is supportive of efforts to improve the federal background check system,” Shah said. Students, teachers and lawmakers have urged Trump and other Republican lawmakers to take action on guns in the wake of the Parkland, Florida, shooting.

Trump, however, ran for president as a pro-gun candidate and tied himself to the National Rifle Association throughout the campaign. The White House didn’t vigorously push the Cornyn-Murphy bill when it was introduced, and the President also said he was open to banning bump stocks, devices that enable rifles to fire more rapidly, in the wake of last fall’s Las Vegas shooting — but there hasn’t been significant further action by the White House on that front, either.

To date, the only action taken by Donald Trump on the issue of guns was to roll back regulations that made it more difficult for those with mental health problems to get firearms.

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Trump Twitter Rant: Sunday Edition

Donald Trump

Donald Trump’s “Executive Time” was spent this morning on a lengthy Twitter tirade wherein the Trumpster bounced from one lie to another.

In one tweet he blamed President Obama for doing “nothing” about the Russian meddling in our 2016 election. That would be the “meddling” Trump has not – until recently – even acknowledged happened.

In truth, Obama did react to the intelligence reports about election disruption: he addressed Putin; he invoked sanctions against Russians in the U.S. at the time, and he told Congressional leaders about the threat in later Summer 2016. It was Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell who refused to let the American people know about what was happening at the time.

Also, Congress passed new sanctions on Russia by huge margins last fall – the Senate vote was 98-2 – and Trump has not enforced those sanctions to date.

The Donald took time in two tweets to mock Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff for being a “leakin’ monster of no control.”

Schiff calmly slapped back during an interview on CNN’s “State of the Union,” when he was asked whether he felt the indictments this week by Mueller proved Trump campaign officials had not colluded with Russia. “No, of course not,” Schiff answered. “But this is a president who claims vindication anytime someone sneezes.”

Trump also begged to be complimented on his campaign skills asking, “Wasn’t I a great candidate?”

And he seemed to close out the Twitter rant by acknowledging Russia is laughing at the U.S. thanks to the discord sown by the 13 indicted Russian actors this week.

But, in true Trump fashion, he diverted by pretending that Senate, House and FBI investigations are the problem, not the Russians.

#Wrong #Sad

At the end it all, the phrase that keeps popping up in my head – “The guilty dog barks the loudest.”

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Donald Trump Finally Admits There Was An “Anti-US Campaign” By Russians During 2016 Election

Donald Trump

Donald Trump, who has never acknowledged Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election, finally did so today in light of the 13 Russian nationals indicted by Special Counsel Robert Mueller.

Several hours after the news of the indictment, Trump took to Twitter to declare, “Russia started their anti-US campaign in 2014, long before I announced that I would run for President. The results of the election were not impacted. The Trump campaign did nothing wrong – no collusion!”

Now, to be clear, the indictment did not address (yet) whether anyone on the Trump campaign knowingly collaborated with Russian actors.

But – at least he finally admitted there was an “anti-US campaign” by Russia.

The White House issued this statement:

“We cannot allow those seeking to sow confusion, discord, and rancor to be successful. It’s time we stop the outlandish partisan attacks, wild and false allegations, and far-fetched theories, which only serve to further the agendas of bad actors, like Russia, and do nothing to protect the principles of our institutions. We must unite as Americans to protect the integrity of our democracy and our elections.”

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Donald Trump Lies: “Democrats Totally Abandoned” DACA Recipients

Donald Trump

One day after three different plans to restore DACA protections failed to reach 60 votes in the Senate, Donald Trump attempted to shift responsibility for the ongoing debacle to the Democrats even though it was Trump himself who unilaterally ended the program.

A fourth plan, that was favored by Trump and sponsored by Sen. Chuck Grassley barely eked out 39 votes.

This morning Trump tweeted, “Cannot believe how BADLY DACA recipients have been treated by the Democrats…totally abandoned! Republicans are still working hard.”

He is literally lying to the American people. And the Twitterverse was not having it.

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Trump Calls Out “Mentally Disturbed” Shooter, Fails To Mention He Revoked Gun Regulation For People With Mental Illness

In the painful aftermath of the high school gun shooting in Florida yesterday, Donald Trump took to Twitter today to shift the discussion from any meaningful gun control measures to the idea that the shooter was apparently mentally ill.

Trump wrote, “So many signs that the Florida shooter was mentally disturbed, even expelled from school for bad and erratic behavior. Neighbors and classmates knew he was a big problem. Must always report such instances to authorities, again and again!”

The Trumpster almost seems to be blaming the students and neighbors for not reporting the shooter.

According to CNN’s Jake Tapper, the shooter was “a client at a mental health clinic” though he had not been at the clinic in more than a year.

What Trump failed to include was that he signed a bill into law a year ago that rolled back Obama-era regulations that made it harder for those with a history of mental illness to obtain a gun.

Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel told reporters, “While people in this country with mental health issues are being treated they should not be able to buy, surround themselves, purchase or carry a hand gun. Those two things don’t mix.”

Sounds like a logical idea to me.

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Florida: Numerous Fatalities Reported At Broward County High School

From The New York Times:

Numerous fatalities were reported in a shooting on Wednesday afternoon at a high school about an hour northwest of Miami.

The authorities said there were 14 victims, but did not say if they were injured or dead. The Broward County Public Schools confirmed fatalities, but would not say how many. Television images showed students running away from the school, Marjory Stoneman Douglas High, and law enforcement officers around the building.

The Broward County sheriff’s office wrote on Twitter that the suspect is now in custody and the scene is still active.

“The shooter was not a current student,” Sheriff Scott Israel said on Twitter.

Senator Bill Nelson told MSNBC there were multiple fatalities. Two hospitals, Broward Health North in Pompano Beach and Broward Medical Center in Fort Lauderdale, received multiple patients, according to Jennifer Smith, a spokeswoman for the hospitals.

“There are numerous fatalities. It is a horrific situation,” Robert W. Runcie, the Broward schools superintendent, told CNN. “It is a horrible day for us.”

Donald Trump and the Republicans have refused to take any consequential measures or enact any meaningful legislation in an effort to regulate guns, bullets, or accessories like “bump stocks” used in the nation’s deadliest mass shooting last year in Las Vegas.

This is the 19th school shooting this year.

The good news is Donald Trump just tweeted his “prayers and condolences” so everything should be just hunky dory. That’ll fix everything, right?