Tag: Donald Trump

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Anti-Trump Republicans Seek Rule Change In Selecting VP Candidate

While anti-Trump Republicans may be stuck with the Donald, they may not have to accept the Trumpster’s choice of running mate if they are successful in passing a change in rules at this year’s GOP national convention.

From Buzzfeed:

A draft proposal obtained by BuzzFeed News outlines several changes to Rule 40 that would make it easier for delegates to reject whomever Trump picks as his running mate and present their own alternative. BuzzFeed News has learned that it will be presented at the Rules Committee meeting next week in Cleveland ahead of the convention.

Already, delegates are technically not bound to vote for the nominee’s choice for vice president. But in the past, vice presidential picks have largely been automatically ratified by the convention after being chosen by the nominee.

This year is different, as a vocal contingent of anti-Trump delegates to the convention are searching for ways to stop Trump from being nominated — or, failing that, to at least assert control over the party’s vice presidential nominee.

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Possible Trump Running Mate: Same-Sex Marriage “Not A Big Issue Our Country Is Dealing With”

Retired Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn

Well, that didn’t take long.

It’s been just a day since the rumor of registered Democrat, retired Lt. General Michael Flynn being vetted as Donald Trump’s running mate.

But ABC News’ “This Week” quickly booked an interview with the former Army vet. Oh, and he has a book to sell, too!

During the interview with ABC’s Martha Raddatz he let the world know that he believes in a woman’s right to choose (a pro-choice Republican vice-president – that will be popular).

Flynn dodged a question about same-sex marriage by saying, “What people do in their private lives, these are not big issues that our country is dealing with that will cause our country to collapse. I’m more concerned that our country could collapse because we are not dealing with education issues, immigration issues.”

Flynn is decidedly “not ready for prime-time” as he gave conflicting answers to some of Raddatz’s questions.

When asked about his reaction to the shootings of black men by police in Louisiana and Minnesota, he said he couldn’t speak to the issue because he didn’t have all the details.

But, when it came to the issue of Hillary Clinton not being charged with a crime over her emails – he hasn’t seen all the evidence in that investigation either – he said she was clearly guilty and should be charged.

So, he can speak to some issues without all the details but not others?

When asked about Hillary Clinton’s response to the shootings this week, he denounced her reaction as “totally irresponsible” saying she “blamed white people” – she didn’t.

But when asked about Trump’s comments about the Black Lives Matter being “trouble, a disgrace with hate,” Flynn replied that he couldn’t speak for Trump.

So, he can speak about Hillary’s comments but not Donald’s?

Watch the full interview below.

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Donald Trump Considering Democrat Army Veteran For VP Spot

Throwing a curve ball into current prognostications on Donald Trump’s possible running mate as GOP White House contender, the Trumpster is reportedly looking at retired Lt. Gen. Michael T. Flynn according to several folks involved in the vetting process.

From the Washington Post:

Flynn, 57, a registered Democrat but fierce critic of President Obama, previously ran the Defense Intelligence Agency.

The turn toward a military figure is being driven by Trump himself rather than by his advisers, the people said, and comes as the real estate mogul is telling his friends that national unrest may demand a “tough and steady” presence alongside him on the ticket.

In Flynn, they added, Trump believes he would have a partner whom he trusts, based on their close working relationship over the course of the campaign on policy. And he likes the image of a businessman and a general coming to Washington as outsiders.

As multiple people explained, Trump is eager to rally the party around him but sees the convention and other parts of the campaign as integral to that goal, with the vice-presidential nod potentially more important in terms of what it broadly symbolizes to voters.

“Trump-Flynn. I’ve heard him say that, kind of test out the sound of it,” one person said of how Trump is mulling the possibility. “I think it’s a brand he finds appealing.”

Flynn’s formal vetting by the Trump campaign was first reported by the New York Post. In an interview with the newspaper, Flynn did not deny that he was under consideration.

“All I would say is that I have been honored to serve my country for the past three decades and look forward to serving in other ways now that I am retired from the U.S. Army,” Flynn said. “I’ve been a soldier too long to refuse to entertain any request from a potential commander in chief.”

The question might be, though, would Republicans who are already wary of Trump’s Republican bona fides buy a registered Democrat as running mate?

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Trump Supporter Pulls Gun On Crowd At Portland March

Tense moments at a Portland march yesterday as a right-wing agitator and Donald Trump supporter pulled a gun with a large capacity magazine on the crowd.

From Raw Story:

Michael Strickland, the right-wing agitator and Trump supporter seen in this video brandishing a gun at a peaceful Black Lives Matter rally, has been charged with two class A felonies after being arrested and initially released Friday morning on his own recognizance without bail.

At his arraignment today at the Multnomah County Courthouse in downtown Portland Strickland was hit with two felony counts of “unlawful use of a weapon,” as well as misdemeanor charges of menacing and disorderly conduct.

The hearing took place on the same block where Strickland pulled a Glock 27, swept the gun at the crowd while yelling “Get the hell back!” He subsequently outfitted the gun with a large capacity magazine.

At the scene, Strickland said he was only armed in self-defense. But the Multnomah County District Attorney revealed in court that Strickland had six magazines of ammunition on him.

In videos of the incident, Strickland also appears to be far out of the range of any protesters when he menaced them with his gun. Some protesters can be seen facing Strickland with their hands up and urging him to put the gun away and to leave.

As reported first by The Raw Story, the police found a live round chambered in his gun. In its case, the state also said there was an undercover cop in the crowd threatened by Strickland.

That led a judge to slap Strickland with $250,000 in bail and he was returned to custody in the Multnomah County jail. If convicted of the two felonies, he could be sentenced for a maximum of 20 years prison on each count.

The gun comes out in the first few seconds of the video.

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NYPD Says No To Donald Trump “Photo Op” In Wake Of Dallas Police Deaths

The New York Police Department said “no” to presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump regarding a request to speak at an NYPD roll call on Friday in light of the deaths of five Dallas police officers Thursday night.

According to the New York Daily News, Trump’s campaign reached out to the NYPD through his head of security, Keith Schiller. The specific request was to address a roll call at the NYPD Midtown North Precinct, but Police Commissioner Bill Bratton was unequivocal in his answer.

“Our interest is staying out of the politics of the moment, and not to provide photo ops,” Bratton told reporters.

“If Mr. Trump wants to speak to me, I would be happy to brief him on what we’re doing.

“If Sen. Clinton wants to speak to me, I would very happy to brief her on what we’re doing. But we are not in the business of providing photo ops for our candidates.”

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Pew Poll: Hillary Clinton Holds 9+ Lead Over Donald Trump

Pew Research shares the latest nationwide results in the 2016 presidential campaign:

The new national survey by Pew Research Center was conducted June 15-26 among 2,245 adults, including 1,655 registered voters.

In a two-way contest, 51% of registered voters support Clinton or lean toward her, while 42% support or lean toward Trump.

In a three-way contest, including Libertarian Party nominee Gary Johnson, 45% favor Clinton, 36% support Trump and 11% back Johnson.

A majority of registered voters (56%) say the phrase “personally qualified to be president” better describes Clinton than Trump; just 30% say the phrase better describes Trump.

Far more voters also say the phrase “would use good judgment in a crisis” better describes Clinton (53%) than Trump (36%).

It’s interesting to note that in 2012, the June Pew Poll showed President Obama up over Mitt Romney 50% to 46%, and Obama went on to win by the same margin – 4 points.

In June of 2008, Obama led Sen. John McCain by 8 points, 48% – 40%, and Obama won by a similar spread – 7 points.

I’ll  be curious to see if this predictive ability holds up this November.

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Sen. Bob Corker Pulls His Name From Trump’s VP Consideration

Republican Sen. Bob Corker of Tennessee has withdrawn his name from consideration as Donald Trump’s running mate in the 2016 White House race.

Micah Johnson, a spokesman for the senator, confirmed that Coker told The Washington Post, “There are people far more suited for being a candidate for vice president, and I think I’m far more suited for other types of things.”

Corker is the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee which surely had a lot to do with Trump’s interest in Corker. Trump’s lack of depth in foreign policy has been one of his glaring weaknesses during the presidential race.

Corker appeared with Trump at a campaign event in North Carolina on Tuesday.

In related news, freshman GOP Sen. Joni Ernst of Iowa seems to have also pulled out of contention for the veep spot telling Politico, “I made that very clear to him that I’m focused on Iowa. I feel that I have a lot more to do in the United States Senate. And Iowa is where my heart is.”

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UPDATED – Donald Trump Tweets Then Deletes “Corrupt” Star Of David Image

UPDATE: After Donald Trump’s supporters virulently denied the shape of the star had anything to do with the Star of David, internet sleuths have found that the internet graphic the Trumpster tweeted out actually came from a neo-Nazi/white supremacist chat board.

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Donald Trump got into some Twitter trouble again today when he tweeted an image combining a pile of cash, a Star of David and the word “corrupt.”

While the Twitterverse pondered the use of the star – was he making an anti-Semitic joke? –  the Trumpster deleted the image and retweeted the updated image with a circle replacing the Star of David.

An entire library of clip-art shapes and his team picks the Star of David. #Sad.

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New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie On Donald Trump’s VP List

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (L) with presumptive GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump

Well, you saw this coming.

Even though they ran against each other in the GOP primary, Donald Trump and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie have been long-time friends. Christie was one of the very first to jump behind Trump as the presumptive Republican presidential candidate.

Political insiders have speculated Christie has been angling for some prominent Cabinet position in a possible Trump administration. In addition to veep, folks have pondered an Attorney General appointment.

From the New York Times:

Mr. Christie is among those being vetted as Mr. Trump’s possible running mate, according to people briefed on the process, and Mr. Trump has said in interviews that Mr. Christie would have a prominent place in a Trump White House.

Already, Mr. Christie has begun the task of designing a government on Mr. Trump’s behalf. Tapped to lead Mr. Trump’s transition efforts, Mr. Christie has taken a role that some of his allies liken to that of a White House chief of staff, soliciting views on what a potential Trump administration should look like.

Mr. Christie has taken the transition process firmly in hand, according to people familiar with his activities, which have been kept from public view so far. He has enlisted his former top aide in Trenton, Richard H. Bagger, to help manage the transition team.

Behind the scenes, Mr. Christie has prodded his fellow governors and Republican political donors to line up behind a candidate many view with distaste. He has made only modest headway in the last few months: Mr. Trump has struggled badly with fund-raising and Mr. Christie has pleaded with donors, in personal phone calls and fund-raising events, to give him a second look.