Donald Trump’s lawyer, Ty Cobb, attempted to downplay today’s guilty plea by Trump’s former national security adviser Michael Flynn, as a “single” count of lying to the FBI by someone who only worked in the Trump administration for 25 days.
Cobb goes on to say regarding the false statement to the FBI:
“The false statements involved mirror the false statements to White House officials which resulted in his resignation in February of this year. Nothing about the guilty plea or the charge implicates anyone other than Mr. Flynn. The conclusion of this phase of the Special Counsel’s work demonstrates again that the Special Counsel is moving with all deliberate speed and clears the way for a prompt and reasonable conclusion.”
This follows the Trump pattern of minimizing former Team Trumpers when they have been charged with crimes.
When former campaign chair Paul Manafort was charged the story was he “was part of the campaign for only a short amount of time.”
When George Papadopoulos was indicted for lying to the FBI, again, the story was “he was only low-level advisor no one knew.”
The statement also makes a point to include that Flynn was once a part of the Obama administration.
Of course, Flynn hasn’t been found guilty of any activities during his time in the Obama administration.
Watch coverage of the White House statement below.
I don’t know how you write a World AIDS Day proclamation without mentioning the millions of gay men, transgender folks and people of color who have died from the plague, but somehow Donald Trump’s White House has managed to do just that.
The proclamation even goes out of it’s way to mention young girls and women, but none of the main demographics that the disease has ravaged here in the U.S.
Appalling.
But one can only guess mentioning the gays would look like he has sympathy for us, and his supporters can’t stand the idea of that.
Perhaps the White House position is “Can’t do a Pride Month proclamation, but AIDS affects folks other than the gays, so we gotta do ‘something.'”
Additionally, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson was scheduled to speak at a World AIDS Day event later today. He’s now cancelled.
The first documented cases of the human immunodeficiency virus infection (HIV) and acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) 36 years ago became the leading edge of an epidemic that swept across the UnitedStates and around the globe, devastating millions of individuals, families, and communities. As a Nation, we felt fear and uncertainty as we struggled to understand this new disease. In the decades since through public and private American leadership, innovation, investment, and compassion we have ushered in a new, hopeful era of prevention and treatment. Today, on World AIDS Day, we honor those who have lost their lives to AIDS, we celebrate the remarkable progress we have made in combatting this disease, and we reaffirm our ongoing commitment to end AIDS as a public health threat.
Since the beginning of the HIV/AIDS epidemic, more than 76million people around the world have become infected with HIV and 35million have died from AIDS. As of 2014, 1.1million people in the UnitedStates are living with HIV. On this day, we pray for all those living with HIV, and those who have lost loved ones to AIDS.
As we remember those who have died and those who are suffering, we commend the immense effort people have made to control and end the HIV/AIDS epidemic. In the UnitedStates, sustained public and private investments in HIV prevention and treatment have yielded major successes. The number of annual HIV infections fell 18 percent between 2008 and 2014, saving an estimated $14.9billion in lifetime medical costs. We have also experienced successes around the globe. Through the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) and its data-driven investments in partnership with more than 50countries, we are supporting more than 13.3million people with lifesaving antiretroviral treatment. We remain deeply committed to supporting adolescent girls and young women through this program, who are up to 14times more likely to contract HIV than young men in some sub-Saharan African countries. Our efforts also include the DREAMS (Determined, Resilient, Empowered, AIDSfree, Mentored, and Safe) public-private partnership, which has resulted in a 2540percent decline in new HIV infections among young women in districts in 10 highly affected African countries during the last 2 years.
While we have made considerable progress in recent decades, tens of thousands of Americans are infected with HIV every year. My Administration will continue to invest in testing initiatives to help people who are unaware they are living with HIV learn their status. Internationally, we will rapidly implement the recent “PEPFAR Strategy for Accelerating HIV/AIDS Epidemic Control “(2017-2020), which uses data to guide investments and efforts in more than 50 countries to reach epidemic control.
Due to America’s leadership and private sector philanthropy and innovation, we have saved and improved millions of lives and shifted the HIV/AIDS epidemic from crisis toward control. We are proud to continue our work with many partners, including governments, private-sector companies, philanthropic organizations, multilateral institutions, civil society and faith-based organizations, people living with HIV, and many others.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, DONALD J. TRUMP, President of the UnitedStates of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim December1, 2017, as World AIDS Day. I urge the Governors of the States and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, officials of the other territories subject to the jurisdiction of the UnitedStates, and the American people to join me in appropriate activities to remember those who have lost their lives to AIDS and to provide support and compassion to those living with HIV.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this thirtieth day of November, in the year of our Lord twothousandseventeen, and of the Independence of the UnitedStates ofAmerica the twohundred and forty-second.
I keep hearing about this “War on Christmas” thing.
But where is it?
Donald Trump has said many times he will “bring Christmas back.” But where did it go?
Did we stop celebrating Christmas? I must have missed that one.
Trump tells folks all the time that we’re going to be able to say “Merry Christmas” again – but who stopped?
I know part of the rant from Trump is aimed at his favorite target, President Obama, who the Trumpster claims banned the words “Merry Christmas” from the nation.
But did he?
MSNBC’s Chris Hayes sheds light on whether or not Barack Obama ever said the holiday Christmas greeting.
Donald Trump is claiming victory in the War on Christmas, saying he brought “Merry Christmas” back to the White House. We found plenty of evidence proving him wrong… #innerspic.twitter.com/fGBSbYybvx
Earlier today, Donald Trump retweeted three anti-Islamic videos posted by Jayda Fransen, a leader of Britain First. The group is so heinous they are banned from mosques in England and Wales.
Fransen was convicted of religiously aggravated harassment in November 2016 after abusing a woman wearing a hijab.
President Trump is retweeting the deputy leader of Britain First, a fringe, far-right, ultranationalist British group.
The “leader of the free world” is not only giving oxygen to fascists, but European fascists. Astonishing. pic.twitter.com/gPmydDMKoE
Trump sharing Britain First. Let that sink in. The President of the United States is promoting a fascist, racist, extremist hate group whose leaders have been arrested and convicted. He is no ally or friend of ours. @realDonaldTrump you are not welcome in my country and my city.
In addition to “amplifying” the voice of a fascist group, the videos Trump retweeted have been called into question as to the veracity of the content.
One of the videos, showing a “Muslim migrant” assailant beating the Dutch boy is in fact neither a migrant or a Muslim.
So, you understand what a bone-headed move this was, yes?
Folks in the UK were so upset the office of Prime Minister Theresa May issued a statement saying Trump was “wrong” to retweet material from a group that promotes “hateful narratives.”
“British people overwhelmingly reject the prejudiced rhetoric of the far-right which is the antithesis of the values that this country represents: decency tolerance and respect,” said the statement.
White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders told the media it didn’t matter if the videos he retweeted were real or not.
“Whether it’s a real video, the threat is real and that is what the president is talking about,” Sanders told reporters.
Question on President Trump’s retweets this morning: Does it matter if it’s a fake video?
Sarah Sanders: “I’m not talking about the nature of the video. I think you’re focusing on the wrong thing. The threat is real, and that’s what the President is talking about.” pic.twitter.com/Nh2YyuLD01
Trump sharing Britain First. Let that sink in. The President of the United States is promoting a fascist, racist, extremist hate group whose leaders have been arrested and convicted. He is no ally or friend of ours. @realDonaldTrump you are not welcome in my country and my city.
Even though Donald Trump admitted to the world that it was indeed him on the now infamous Access Hollywood “Grab’em by the pussy” video clip, the Donald is now trying to convince folks in private that it might not have been him.
The New York Timesreports that Trump’s habit of creating “alternative facts” goes beyond the Access Hollywood tape.
In January, shortly before his inauguration, Mr. Trump told a Republican senator that he wanted to investigate the recording that had him boasting about grabbing women’s genitals.
“We don’t think that was my voice,” Mr. Trump told the senator, according to a person familiar with the conversation. Since then, Mr. Trump has continued to suggest that the tape that nearly upended his campaign was not actually him, according to three people close to the president.
Mr. Trump’s falsehoods about the “Access Hollywood” tape are part of his lifelong habit of attempting to create and sell his own version of reality. Advisers say he continues to privately harbor a handful of conspiracy theories that have no grounding in fact.
In recent months, they say, Mr. Trump has used closed-door conversations to question the authenticity of President Barack Obama’s birth certificate. He has also repeatedly claimed that he lost the popular vote last year because of widespread voter fraud, according to advisers and lawmakers.
Mr. Trump’s friends did not bother denying that the president was creating an alternative version of events. One Republican lawmaker, who asked not to be identified, said that Mr. Trump’s false statements had become familiar to people over time. The president continues to boast of winning districts that he did not in fact win, the lawmaker said, and of receiving 52 percent of the women’s vote, even though exit polls show that 42 percent of women supported him.
In the aftermath of Donald Trump’s crass reference to “Pocahontas” during a ceremony at the White House yesterday meant to honor Native American veterans of WWII, the leader of the Navajo Nation said he found the reference to be an ethnic slur and inappropriate for the occasion.
During an interview with CNN, Navajo Nation President Russell Begaye said Trump’s political attack on Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren during a ceremony honoring Navajo code talkers was “uncalled for.”
“This was a day to honor them, and to insert something like that — the word ‘Pocahontas’ as a jab to a senator — you know, that belongs on the campaign trail,” Begaye said. “That doesn’t belong in the room when our war heroes are being honored.”
Sonny Skyhawk, the founder of American Indians in Film & Television, told CNN that Trump deliberately held the ceremony in front of a painting of President Andrew Jackson who signed the Indian Removal Act. That legislation led to thousands of Native American deaths due to over 60,000 being forced to relocate.
Skyhawk said there’s no way Trump didn’t know the history, noting, “Andrew Jackson is one of his heroes.”
Today at a White House event honoring the three surviving Navajo code talkers from WWII, Donald Trump joked about calling Elizabeth Warren “Pocahontas.”
“We have a representative in Congress who has been here a long time – longer than you. They call her ‘Pocahontas!'”
The comment took place in front of a portrait of President Andrew Jackson who signed the Indian Removal Act.
According to reporters present, the comment was met with abject silence.
Here’s the video: Trump calls Elizabeth Warren ‘Pocahontas’ while honoring Native American code talkers: “You were here long before any of us were here. Although we have a representative in Congress who they say was here a long time ago. They call her Pocahontas.” pic.twitter.com/hjZ5MInDDf
Why are people getting SO UPSET about me using the “Pocahontas” indian slur in front of the WWII Navajo Code Talkers veterans? My racist friends and I think it’s SO FUNNY! #MondayMotivationpic.twitter.com/YB6QTvaODv
Elizabeth Warren responds to Trump's new 'Pocahontas' remark on MSNBC: "It is deeply unfortunate that the President of the United States cannot even make it though a ceremony honoring these heroes without having to throw out a racial slur." https://t.co/2EiILol15V— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) November 27, 2017
The man who once made fake TIME Magazine covers of himself and proudly had them on display in his golf clubs has the stones to call for a “Fake News” contest.
Donald Trump tweeted this morning, “We should have a contest as to which of the Networks, plus CNN and not including Fox, is the most dishonest, corrupt and/or distorted in its political coverage of your favorite President (me). They are all bad. Winner to receive the FAKE NEWS TROPHY!”
We should have a contest as to which of the Networks, plus CNN and not including Fox, is the most dishonest, corrupt and/or distorted in its political coverage of your favorite President (me). They are all bad. Winner to receive the FAKE NEWS TROPHY!
Aside from the content of the tweet, two things jump out as I read this:
1. Trump somehow believes he is America’s “favorite” president
2. He interestingly put “me” in parentheses. He felt he had to identify himself as president? Maybe he doesn’t believe he’s president?
And let’s check in with the Twitterverse for reaction:
Who do trust more, Donald Trump or:
ABC. ABC, 54/36 CBS. CBS, 54/36 NBC. NBC, 54/36 New York Times. New York Times, 54/37 CNN. CNN, 52/37 Washington Post. Washington Post, 52/37 https://t.co/XIY6vnb1i7
I think the idea of a trophy for networks that produce the most news that Trump just happens not to like might actually be pretty great. https://t.co/WCcyKk2rFf
Hmmm…FAKE NEWS TROPHY? Biggest inauguration crowd Wiretapp Nobody respects women more… The best words… Know more than the generals… I can be presidential… FAKE TIME MAGAZINE COVER?
Fake news trophy? Is that like getting a degree from Trump University?— Palmer Report (@PalmerReport) November 27, 2017
Donald Trump is handing out a fake news trophy. Robert Mueller is handing out plea deals and indictments.— Palmer Report (@PalmerReport) November 27, 2017
Over the weekend, the New York Times reported that Donald Trump’s “support” for Alabama Republican Roy Moore (if you can call it that since Trump won’t use his name) stems in part from Trump’s own experience with sexual misconduct allegations.
Although, are they allegations if the president copped to them? Like the now-infamous Access Hollywood tape that captured Trump boasting he likes to “grab’em by the pussy?”
According to the NYT, Trump has now asserted that that tape is fake.
He sees the calls for Mr. Moore to step aside as a version of the response to the now-famous “Access Hollywood” tape, in which he boasted about grabbing women’s genitalia, and the flood of groping accusations against him that followed soon after. He suggested to a senator earlier this year that it was not authentic, and repeated that claim to an adviser more recently. (In the hours after it was revealed in October 2016, Mr. Trump acknowledged that the voice was his, and he apologized.)
As everyone in the world knows, just hours after the video surfaced Trump issued a statement which read, in part, “I said it, I was wrong, and I apologize.”
This morning on CNN, host Chris Cuomo was gobsmacked that the Donald would even attempt to claim “fake” over a year later when he acknowledged the veracity of the tape at the time.
“I think it is way more troubling than it is getting credit for,” Cuomo said of Trump’s newly reported denials. “I don’t think this is an offhand comment. I think he believes this will work with people. That if he doubts its authenticity. That is him. On. That. Tape! Okay? That’s who it is. He said what he said. He even kind of owned it.”
Some folks believe the new “fake” story is Trump’s preparation for any new video or audio that may be revealed by the investigation being headed up by Special Counsel Robert Mueller. Trump is getting ready to call any and all evidence against him “fake.”
By the way, if Trump believes in Roy Moore so much, why isn’t he campaigning for the guy before the election? Other than he’s probably seen the polls and doesn’t like the political calculation…?
BREAKING: White House official: Trump will not campaign for embattled Alabama Senate candidate Roy Moore before Dec. 12 election.— The Associated Press (@AP) November 27, 2017
After his fifth day in a row on a golf course, Donald Trump took to Twitter today to attack (yet again) CNN News and pump up Fox News.
“Fox News is MUCH more important in the United States than CNN, but outside of the U.S., CNN International is still a major source of (Fake) news, and they represent our Nation to the WORLD very poorly,” the president wrote. “The outside world does not see the truth from them!”
.@FoxNews is MUCH more important in the United States than CNN, but outside of the U.S., CNN International is still a major source of (Fake) news, and they represent our Nation to the WORLD very poorly. The outside world does not see the truth from them!
Not sure exactly what set that off, but CNN was ready to clap back at the Trumpster, tweeting that it isn’t the network’s “job to represent the US. to the world.”
“That’s yours,” the network’s comm team wrote. “Our job is to report the news.”
It’s not CNN’s job to represent the U.S to the world. That’s yours. Our job is to report the news. #FactsFirst 🍎
