Tag: Donald Trump

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President Obama To Donald Trump: “Stop Whining”

President Obama had a “mic drop” moment today during a press conference at the White House when asked about Donald Trump’s “rigged election” comments.

Obama suggested that Trump’s “whining” indicates he doesn’t “have what it takes” to be president.

Via ABC News:

“I have never seen in my lifetime or in modern political history any presidential candidate trying to discredit the elections and the election process before votes have even taken place. It’s unprecedented. It happens to be based on no facts,” the president said during a joint news conference at the White House with Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi.

“If you start whining before the game’s even over? If whenever things are going badly for you and you lose, you start blaming somebody else, then you don’t have what it takes to be in this job,” the president said, pointing towards the Oval Office behind him. “I’d advise Mr. Trump to stop whining and go try to make his case to get votes.” The president added that if Trump does end up winning the election, he would welcome him as the next president.

“If he got the most votes then it would be my expectation of Hillary Clinton to offer a gracious concession speech and pledge to work with him in order to make sure the American people benefit from an American government, and it would be my job to welcome Mr. Trump, regardless of what he said about me or my differences with him on my opinions and escort him over to the capitol in which there would be a peaceful transfer of power,” Obama said.

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Six Witnesses Come Forward Corroborating PEOPLE Reporter Allegation Of Trump Sexual Assault

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump

PEOPLE reporter Natasha Stoynoff, who came forward last week with her own story about sexual assault by Donald Trump during an interview session, has gotten back-up from colleagues and friends who are putting their own names out there in support of her story.

Here’s just an excerpt of the PEOPLE story today:

Six colleagues and close friends who corroborate former PEOPLE writer Natasha Stoynoff’s account of being attacked by Donald Trump in 2005 are now coming forward. Among them is a friend who was with Stoynoff when she ran into Melania Trump later in N.Y.C.

The wife of the Republican nominee denies meeting Stoynoff after the attack, but Stoynoff’s friend Liza Herz remembers being there during the chance meeting.

“They chatted in a friendly way,” Herz, who met Stoynoff in college, says. “And what struck me most was that Melania was carrying a child and wearing heels.”

Marina Grasic, who has known Stoynoff for more than 25 years, says she got a call from her friend the day after the attack. Stoynoff detailed everything about the attack, from Trump pushing her against a wall to the business mogul showing up at her massage appointment the following day, she says.

According to Grasic, her longtime friend was embarrassed and even thought of Trump’s then-pregnant wife when deciding not to come forward about the encounter.

“Natasha was also struggling about not hurting pregnant Melania if the story came out,” Grasic says. “Beyond just the attack, she was horrified by the vulgar circumstances under which she was attacked and propositioned to have an affair. She was there in a professional capacity, writing an article about their happy marriage, and after the incident Trump acted like nothing happened.

Stoynoff’s former journalism professor, Paul McLaughlin, says that the writer called him in tears looking for advice the very night of the harrowing encounter. However, he cautioned her to remain quiet in fear of how Trump may retaliate.

“She wasn’t sure what she should do,” McLaughlin recalls. “I advised her not to say anything, because I believed Trump would deny it and try to destroy her.”

Testimonials from four more colleagues at the link.

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Matthew Shepard’s Mother Denounces Donald Trump’s “Hate” Rhetoric

A new campaign spot from Priorities USA features Judy Shepard, the mother of Matthew Shepard, denouncing the dark and hateful rhetoric coming out of the Donald Trump campaign.

As many know, Matthew Shepard was the victim of a hate crime in 1998 in Laramie, Wyoming. Two men pretended to be gay after meeting Matthew, then they kidnapped him, beat him and left him for dead tied to a fence in the cold Wyoming night.

“When I see the hate that Donald Trump brings to his campaign for president, it terrifies me. Words have an influence. Violence causes pain. Hate can rip us apart. I know what can happen as the result of hate, and Donald Trump should never be our president.”

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Trump Supporter Threatens Violence: “Hillary Needs To Be Taken Out”

More threats of violence as a Trump supporter who describes himself as a “patriot” says if Hillary Clinton is elected president, he would do everything in his power to take her out.

Via Buzzfeed:

The supporter, identified as 50-year-old Dan Bowman, told the Wall Street Journal last Thursday, “I feel like Hillary needs to be taken out. If she gets into government, I’ll do everything in my power to take her out of power. Which if I have to be a patriot, I will.”

When asked what he meant, Bowman responded, “Take it any way you want to take it.” After the Journal told him it sounded like a threat, Bowman said, “I’m a patriot.”

Bowman, who was wearing a Trump mask, also told the Boston Globe that Clinton should be “in prison or shot” and that there would be “a lot of bloodshed” if she won the election.

“If she’s in office, I hope we can start a coup,” Bowman told the Globe. “She should be in prison or shot. That’s how I feel about it. We’re going to have a revolution and take them out of office if that’s what it takes. There’s going to be a lot of bloodshed. But that’s what it’s going to take… I would do whatever I can for my country.”

A spokesperson for the Secret Service told BuzzFeed News they would respond with a statement.

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Arizona Republic Responds To Death Threats From Trump Supporters Over Clinton Endorsement

Mi-Ai Parrish

The president of the Arizona Republic,Mi-Ai Parrish, responds to the death threats – yes, you read that correctly – the paper and it’s reporters received after endorsing a Democratic presidential candidate for the first time in the paper’s history.

As someone who has spent a career in the business of words, it’s unusual to find myself speechless.

Yet, there I was, a little more than two weeks ago.

What is the correct response, really, to this?

YOU’RE DEAD. WATCH YOUR BACK.

WE WILL BURN YOU DOWN.

YOU SHOULD BE PUT IN FRONT OF A FIRING SQUAD AS A TRAITOR.

How did I come to be hearing these threats?

More than a year ago, The Republic’s editorial board began taking a stand against the actions and positioning of Donald Trump. In piece after piece, we made it clear that his principles weren’t conservative. They were bad for the party, bad for Arizona, dangerous for America.

But in its more than 125 years, The Republic had never endorsed a Democrat for president. So, over the many months of the campaign, we found ourselves with this question: Endorse no one, or endorse a Democrat for the first time in our history?

We made our choice soberly. We knew it would be unpopular with many people. We knew that, although we had clearly stated our objections to Trump, it would be a big deal for a conservative editorial board in a conservative state to break ranks from the party.

We chose patriotism over party. We endorsed the Democrat.

And then the reaction started pouring in. Threats against our business. Threats against our people.

So, what is the response?

What is the correct response to any of the vile threats against me? What is the correct response to the more disturbing actions and words directed against so many others?

I’ve thought about those responses a lot. Today, I offer you a few.

If you’d like to see the kind of political discourse Donald Trump has helped create, I really encourage you to read the entire op-ed.

I’ll be looking for Donald Trump to denounce these threats.

#ThisIsTrumpNation

(h/t JoeMyGod)

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Donald Trump Slaps At SNL – Calls Satirical Skit “Hit Job”

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump took to Twitter to call Saturday Night Live’s satirical reenactment of the 2nd presidential debate a “hit job,” and part of an elaborate attempt by the media to “rig” the election.

Trump told his followers that the late night sketch show was “unfunny” and that it’s time to retire the series. He gave Alec Baldwin’s portrayal of him a big thumbs down saying Baldwin “stinks.”

This is probably where I should point out that Trump happily appeared on the show last November.

The skit gave nods to all the memorable moments of the past week’s race for the White House including Trump’s recently discovered video tape from 2005 which caught him telling host Billy Bush he liked to kiss women when he felt like it and “grab ’em by the pussy,” and his lurking behind Hillary Clinton during the debate in a shark-like manner.

Clinton wasn’t left unscathed though. From the get go, the folks at SNL made fun of her seemingly over-rehearsed comments and responses.

The Trumpster told the Twitterverse he was not amused:

Kate McKinnon won an Emmy Award skewering Hillary Clinton. And when McKinnon won, Hillary publicly congratulated her. Trump needs to learn a few lessons about not being so thin-skinned.

I have to say, every president and presidential candidate since the 1980s has been lampooned by SNL. If you can’t handle satire, how are you going to handle being leader of the free world?

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News Round-Up: October 15, 2016

Some news stories you may have missed:

• Impossibly handsome Ben Cohen, anti-bullying hero, reminds us we’re just one month to #StandUpDay. #Woof

• Donald Trump’s brand is taking a serious hit as his new five star D.C. hotel is now slashing rates by 50% even though major events are happening in town.

• Anti-LGBT Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton headed to felony fraud trial where he faces 99 years in prison.

• CNN explores whether or not Hillary Clinton attacked her husband’s accusers.

• A judge has found there is probable cause for a complaint of official misconduct against Gov. Chris Christie regarding the 2013 “BridgeGate” debacle.

• Virulently anti-gay Alabama State Supreme Court Justice Roy Moore told to clean out his office after being suspended for the remainder of his term for instructing probate judges to refuse same-sex couples marriage licenses.

• The Simpsons lampoons Donald Trumps reportedly “cozy” ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin as Homer meets an unlikely voter at the polls. Watch the short clip below.

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Clinton Campaign Compares Donald Trump’s Connection To Hacked Emails With Watergate

(image via JoeMyGod)

The Clinton campaign has accused Donald Trump and Russia of criminal theft in a newly penned essay to be shared on Medium today.

POLITICO has the inside story:

Four decades after five men broke into the Democratic National Committee headquarters at the Watergate, Hillary Clinton’s campaign is trying to frame the hacking of her campaign chairman’s email as a repeat of the most famous political scandal in American history – and to directly implicate Donald Trump.

“What did Trump know, and when did he know it?” the campaign asks in an essay that will post on Medium, a play on the famous line from the Senate’s Watergate investigation. (“What did the President know and when did he know it?” Sen. Howard Baker asked then.)

“We’re witnessing another effort to steal private campaign documents in order to influence an election,” Clinton campaign spokesman Glen Caplin writes in an early version of the post, which was shared with POLITICO. “Only this time, instead of filing cabinets, it’s people’s emails they’re breaking into…and a foreign government is behind it.”

Clinton’s campaign has been increasingly frustrated by media coverage of campaign chairman John Podesta’s stolen emails, which are being released by the thousands every morning on Wikileaks.

Major news outlets have treated the internal correspondence of top campaign officials as a treasure trove of unfiltered information about how Clinton’s operatives navigated a thorny and prolonged primary challenge, and dealt with the almost-crippling State Department email scandal, which defined the early months of Clinton’s campaign.

Private email conversations about Chelsea Clinton, where former presidential aide Doug Band accused her of acting like a “spoiled brat kid” who “hasn’t found her way and has a lack of focus in her life” have had internal repercussions.

“Donald Trump needs to condemn these illegal hacks and denounce Russian efforts to intervene in our election,” Caplin writes. “Why is Trump protecting Putin by lying about Russia’s role in these hacks? What did his campaign know and when did they know it? Why won’t he condemn this? With less than a month until Election Day, these are the questions we need answered — and soon.”

Podesta last week claimed Trump operatives colluded with the Russians in an effort to derail Clinton and meddle in the U.S. election. Speaking to reporters aboard the Democratic nominee’s campaign plane, he pointed to longtime Trump adviser Roger Stone as an operative who has bragged about his back-channel connection to Wikileaks founder Julian Assange, and said it was safe to assume Stone had advanced warning about the hack. Stone has vehemently denied the accusation.

Trump has denied any colluding with Russia and any involvement in the hack of the Democratic National Committee last summer. “I don’t know Putin,” he said at the second presidential debate. “I notice anything wrong happens, they like to say the Russians. She doesn’t know it’s the Russians doing the hacking. Maybe there is no hacking.”

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Louisiana’s Largest Newspaper Endorses Hillary Clinton For President

Louisiana’s largest newspaper, the New Orleans Times-Picayune, has endorsed Democrat Hillary Clinton for president.

In the op-ed, the paper specifically notes Clinton’s support for infrastructure investments, childhood education and diversity as key to their endorsement.

The editorial board points to Donald Trump’s divisive approach and “combative style” as disqualifying for the office of president.

Mr. Trump has proved himself wholly unsuited to be president. He has spent this campaign denigrating women, Muslims, Mexicans, refugees, disabled people, the parents of a soldier who died in Iraq and essentially anyone who questioned him.

He has suggested that an African-American protester at one of his rallies should be “roughed up,” made gross generalizations suggesting that all black people live in poor, violent neighborhoods, expressed support for racial profiling by police. And he threatened in the last debate to jail his political rival if elected.

Mr. Trump’s go-to move is the insult. His combative style would be disastrous on the world stage, where poorly chosen words can incite violence and cost lives. His affection for Russian dictator Vladimir Putin and use of Russian propaganda to attack Mrs. Clinton are a frightening signal of what his approach to foreign policy would be.

The recording that surfaced Oct. 8 of Mr. Trump bragging about forcing himself on women and grabbing them between the legs is abhorrent. His characterization of the episode as mere “locker room talk” bespoke a pathological inability to acknowledge, and repair, his mistakes.

As for which candidate is better for Louisiana, there is no contest. Mrs. Clinton is committed to investments in infrastructure, including ports, that would benefit our state. She also wants to offer preschool to every 4-year-old, something that fits Louisiana’s goal of expanding and improving the quality of early childhood education.

But for New Orleanians, perhaps the most compelling contrast between Mr. Trump and Mrs. Clinton is his intolerance and her inclusiveness. New Orleans has diversity in its DNA. A president who routinely degrades African-Americans, Hispanics, Muslims and women could not, and would not, represent us.

Our nation is divided. Healing it will require strength, emotional intelligence and respect for all people’s humanity and dignity. We don’t believe Hillary Clinton is everything America needs in a president. But we have no doubt that she is the best choice on the 2016 ballot to move the country forward.

While the list gets longer and longer in regard to newspaper endorsements, I want to underline that I post these op-eds to illustrate how a broad swath of left and right leaning newspapers – sane voices – are publicly stating their support for Clinton.

There is no vast conspiracy rigging an election against Trump. He has put himself out there, and he’s being judged on who he’s revealed himself to be.

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Donald Trump Daily Tweet-Storm: “This Election Is Being Rigged”

https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/787244543003467776

Donald Trump began his Saturday with early morning tweets calling out lies, rigged elections and crooked media.

Not in the top tweet, he shares that recent news reports “may poison the minds of the American Voter.”

I would suggest he’s done this all on his own.

Trump never disavowed the comments in the Access Hollywood tape. He admitted he said he likes to kiss women when he feels like it, and he likes to “grab ’em by the pussy.”

Now women are coming forward saying he did what he admitted he likes to do.

If you’re going to throw around the big “locker room talk,” you have to own it.