Tag: Donald Trump

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Trump: ‘It’s Terrible When A State Can Tabulate Votes For A Long Time’

Speaking to reporters during a campaign stop in North Carolina, Donald Trump railed against the idea that ballots – specifically mail-in ballots preferred by Democrats in this presidential cycle due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic – would be counted past election night. Basically, Trump is arguing that millions of voters be disenfranchised by having their ballot thrown out if it’s not counted by midnight on Election Day. “I think it’s a terrible thing when a state can tabulate ballots for a long time after an election is over. Cause it can only lead to one thing and that thing is very bad. I think it’s a very dangerous terrible thing. And I think it’s terrible when we can’t know the results of an election the night of an election in a modern-day age of computers. Trump also warned that he plans on going into states “the night of, as soon as that election is over, we’re going in with our lawyers.” He added, “If people wanted to get their ballots in, they should have gotten their ballots in long before that.” As everyone knows at this point, every state sets its own rules for when a ballot can be accepted and counted. Some states have laws allowing a ballot to be counted as long as they are postmarked the day of the election and received within a certain number of days. In other states, the ballot has to be received by Election Day. Plus, some states (Arizona, Florida, Nevada) begin processing mail-in ballots before Election Day but others (North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Michigan) won’t begin to tabulate those ballots until November 3. Here’s a breakdown of when key states will begin to start counting ballots as well as their cutoff dates for receiving those mail-in votes.

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Bloomberg: ‘Cash-Poor’ Trump Campaign Pulls Ads In Florida

Trump walks past reporters with no comment

Trump walks past reporters with no comment
Donald Trump (image via public domain/White House)
Bloomberg News reports Donald Trump’s campaign has “all but pulled its advertising out of Florida, as it stakes its relatively small bank account on the industrial northern states that carried him to victory in 2016.” Team Trump reportedly canceled $5.5 million in ad spending in the Sunshine State although there is still about $350,000 in ad spots still scheduled to run before Election Day. The Trump campaign contends its “organizational strength” will carry the day to victory in Florida. “Trump is now placing his final bet on just 4 battleground states: Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio & Pennsylvania,” reports Bloomberg. The media outlet adds that since Labor Day the president has scaled back campaign ad spending by $24 million. At the same time, former Vice President Joe Biden has been outspending Trump at a ratio of 3-1 as he added $197 million to his ad budget.

Update: After I shared this post this morning, Thea McDonald, Deputy National Press Secretary for the Trump Campaign, reached out this response from Tim Murtaugh, Trump 2020 communications director:

“The Bloomberg story is horribly wrong and should never have been written. The campaign, with the RNC coordinated buy, is up with a seven figure buy in Florida on broadcast TV alone. In addition in Florida, we are up with six figures in local cable, six figures in Spanish language, and six figures on radio. Our ad buying week by week in the state has been consistent, and the reporting on this issue demonstrates a clear misunderstanding of how ad buying works (and in some cases a misunderstanding of simple addition and subtraction). Last week we announced a $55 million buy over the final two weeks, which is a 40 percent increase over our previous levels. Just yesterday we added $6 million on top of that for the final week. Including Florida, the Trump campaign is on television in 12 states and also nationally. This is sloppy reporting at the highest level.”

Bloomberg has updated their report adding details and quotes of advertising strategy.

The RNC is picking up some of that slack, buying $4 million in ads beginning last week. It’s now airing an ad in Florida attacking Biden on Medicare, falsely claiming that the Biden health care plan would eliminate private health insurance.

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Report: Trump Already Planning Post-Election List Of Firings

Donald Trump

Donald Trump (photo: Gage Skidmore/Flickr – CC License)
Should Donald Trump win reelection he’ll move to immediately fire FBI Director Christopher Wray and also expects to replace CIA Director Gina Haspel and Defense Secretary Mark Esper reports Axios.

Wray and Haspel are despised and distrusted almost universally in Trump’s inner circle. He would have fired both already, one official said, if not for the political headaches of acting before Nov. 3.

Why it matters: A win, no matter the margin, will embolden Trump to ax anyone he sees as constraining him from enacting desired policies or going after perceived enemies.

As for Wray, whose expected firing was first reported by the Washington Post, Trump is angry his second FBI chief didn’t launch a formal investigation into Hunter Biden’s foreign business connections — and didn’t purge more officials Trump believes abused power to investigate his 2016 campaign’s ties to Russia.

Trump also grew incensed when Wray testified in September that the FBI has not seen widespread election fraud, including with mail-in ballots.

Trump soured on Esper over the summer when the Defense secretary rebuffed the idea of sending active-duty military into the streets to deal with racial justice protests and distanced himself from the clearing of Lafayette Square for a photo op at St. John’s church.

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SNL: ‘The Village People’ Sing Musical Cease & Desist To Trump Campaign

(screen capture)
‘The Village People’ (Kenan Thompson, Mikey Day, Beck Bennett, Chris Redd, Bowen Yang) stopped by SNL’s Weekend Update to address Donald Trump using their music at his rallies. Earlier this week, video clips of the Trumpster ‘dancing’ (kinda, sorta, ish) to their disco hit “YMCA” made their way onto the interwebs becoming a source for numerous viral memes. For months now, recording artists like Bruce Springsteen, The Rolling Stones, Phil Collins and even Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber have publicly asked the Trump camp to stop using their music at campaign rallies. Tony Award-winner Betty Buckley recently fired off an epic takedown of the Donald after learning her recording of “Memory” was being played at Trump events.

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Polls: Biden Won Final Debate By Double-Digits

Donald Trump and Joe Biden (screen capture)
NowThis News serves up the “Top Moments” from the final presidential debate of the 2020 election cycle:

From Donald Trump comparing himself to Abraham Lincoln to Joe Biden blasting the president’s COVID-19 response, here are some of the biggest moments of the final 2020 presidential debate.

The last presidential debate between Donald Trump and Joe Biden was a lot less chaotic than the first.

Still, there were some big standout moments throughout the night, such as Donald Trump saying he was the ‘least racist person’ in the room and Joe Biden talking about the government’s coronavirus response.

Three quick real-time polls all showed most folks felt Joe Biden, as with the first presidential debate, came out on top. From the NY Times: This time, the instant polls had a consistent and clear story: Mr. Biden won the debate by a double-digit margin. If the results in the chart look familiar, that’s because they’re reminiscent of many national survey results we’ve seen over the last month. You could interpret that to mean that the debate was more or less a draw on the merits, with most Biden supporters concluding that Mr. Biden won, and vice versa for the Trump supporters. Indeed, the CNN/SSRS poll didn’t find that either candidate improved his favorability rating compared with interviews conducted before the debate.

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Donald Trump Releases Whiny, Defensive 60 Minutes Interview

Donald Trump

Donald Trump on 60 Minutes (screen capture)
Donald Trump followed through on his threat to release the “full video” of his interview with CBS News journalist Leslie Stahl prior to airing on “60 Minutes” on Sunday night. From the Washington Post:

Trump was interviewed by Stahl at the White House on Tuesday but abruptly ended the interview after declining to participate in a scheduled walk-and-talk that would have included Pence.

Later that day, the president said on Twitter that he was “considering” posting the White House’s copy of the video, “so that everybody can get a glimpse of what a FAKE and BIASED interview is all about.”

Then, on Thursday morning, after he again teased a release of the video (“the vicious attempted ‘takeout” interview of me”), a 37-minute-clip of the interview appeared on the president’s Facebook page.

As with numerous business agreements in his past, Trump violates the agreement with CBS News in releasing the video. The White House had previously claimed their camera was “for archival purposes only,” according to a network official with knowledge of the interview.

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Betty Buckley To Trump: Stop Using My Music ‘Your Presidency Is The Very Antithesis Of Art’

Tony Award winner and proud Texas Democrat Betty Buckley (photo: John Boal)
Do not mess with Broadway legend Betty Buckley. She. Will. Call. You. Out. Buckley, a proud Texas Democrat, became aware that the Trump campaign has been playing the recording of her Tony Award-winning performance of “Memory” from CATS at the Donald’s rallies. Months ago, Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber sent a cease-and-desist letter to the Trump campaign asking that his music not be played at the events, but was clearly ignored. And so, the mighty Ms. Buckley has now fired off an open letter to the Trump/Pence campaign demanding they cease and desist using her music. “We must insist that you stop this misappropriation of music and performance that has nothing to do with the representation of your regime. Your presidency, completely devoid of empathy or humanity, is the very antithesis of art.” She goes on to note his “disastrous mishandling of the pandemic” which is responsible for closing down Broadway and theaters across the country as well as his “super spreader events” which are “undoubtedly exacerbating the problem.” Buckley also underscores the many artists who, like her, have asked that their music not be associated with Trump’s “deplorable mendacity and ill behavior.” Among those musicians are Elton John, Bruce Springsteen, The Rolling Stones, Phil Collins and many more. The star closes her epic takedown writing, “The good news is that we, the voters, have the ultimate say. We will reject you at the polls, and by January the utter hell of your presidency, your criminal enablers and regime will be nothing more than a (wait for it) memory.” Buckley recently produced a new music video in which she sings a beautiful medley of “For the Beauty of the Earth / Jesus Loves the Little Children” with the School of Arts & Enterprise Virtual Choir in a gorgeous arrangement by longtime collaborator Christian Jacob. The video was created to promote social justice, turn out voters in her home state, and encourage donations for the American Civil Liberties Union, Save The Children, Black Lives Matter, and Voto Latino. In a statement, Buckley shared:

“I grew up as a military brat on Air Force bases around the World.  My Father Ernest Buckley was a Major turned Lt. Colonel in the United States Air  Force. Kids of every race and color were my classmates and our neighbors.

“When I  was in the fifth grade my father retired from the military, and we settled in Fort Worth,  Texas. Every Sunday morning we went to the Methodist Church. I sang in the Youth Choir on Sunday evenings. ‘For The Beauty Of The Earth’ is one of my favorite, most beloved hymns. I learned ‘Jesus Loves The Little Children’ when I was very young at  Vacation Bible School.

“It is my hope that via the remembrance of the simple truths contained in the beautiful music and lyrics of these two traditional hymns some persons will feel a call to a soul remembrance of Truth. And it is my hope that the gorgeous faces and voices of the Children of the School of Arts and Enterprise will touch hearts and minds to remember our connected humanity.

“These children, their teachers and families did these recordings from their homes. Over 200 people have participated in creating this project. If this music and the images in this video touch one person, ten or one hundred, it will have been worth it.”

Watch and listen to Buckley’s hymns for humanity below. #Bravo

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Even Before COVID-19 Trump Did No Better On Economy Than Obama

L-R Former President Barack Obama, Donald Trump
Trump and his followers often tout the stock market and unemployment under Trump as “the best economy in the history of the world.” But crunching the numbers from the final three years of the Obama administration and the first three years of Trump’s time in office – which leaves out the devastation of the current pandemic on the US economy – the data shows Trump is not better on economic issues than his predecessor. I recently came across a report from USA Today comparing the economic records of Donald Trump and Barack Obama. From USA Today:

• Employment: According to the U.S. Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the economy created 6,979,000 jobs during Obama’s final three years in office. In Trump’s first three years through this past January, the economy added 6,585,000 jobs to a total of 158,714,000. That’s 394,000 fewer under Trump than under Obama during a similar time span.

• Economic growth: During Obama’s final three years, the economy (inflation-adjusted gross domestic product) grew 2.5% in 2014, 3.1% in 2015 and 1.7% in 2016, or an average of 2.43%, according to figures from the U.S. Commerce Department’s Bureau of Economic Analysis. Under Trump, the economy grew 2.3% in 2017, 3.0% in 2018 and 2.2% in 2019, for an average of 2.5% a year –  just below one-tenth of a percent per year under Trump, who came into office promising to produce an economy that would sprint ahead at a 4% annual pace or even higher.

• Wage growth: During Obama’s final three years in office through January 2017, hourly earnings adjusted for inflation grew 3.3%, according to BLS figures. During Trump’s first three years, inflation-adjusted hourly earnings grew an identical 3.2%. • Stock market: During Trump’s presidency, the S&P 500 climbed 50.4%, from a close of 2,271.31 on Jan. 20, 2017, when he was inaugurated, to 3,4433.12 today. Under Obama, the S&P 500, which was 805.22 on Jan. 20, 2009, grew 182% during his presidency. During his second term, it grew 52% (from 1,492.56 on Jan. 22, 2013).

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Trump On COVID: People Are Saying ‘Whatever – Just Leave Us Alone’

Donald Trump

Donald Trump is D-O-N-E done with the coronavirus pandemic. During a conference call with campaign staffers, Trump expressed frustration with infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci and other health officials calling them ‘idiots.’ From Politico:

“People are tired of Covid. People are saying, ‘Whatever, just leave us alone.’ People are tired of hearing Fauci and all these idiots,” Trump said on the call, which included press.

“He’s been here for, like, 500 years. He’s like this wonderful sage telling us how — Fauci, if we listened to him, we’d have 700,000 [or] 800,000 deaths.”

Trump described Fauci as a “disaster” and added that “every time he goes on television, there’s always a bomb. But there’s a bigger bomb if you fire him.”

Trump also commented on the call that he “couldn’t care less” if the media reported the remarks. “If there’s a reporter on, you can have it just the way I said it. I couldn’t care less.” Trump’s statement was probably in response to an interview Fauci gave CBS’s 60 Minutes where he told the venerable news magazine that Trump’s reluctance to wear a face mask in public is because he “equates wearing a mask with weakness.” “You know, a statement of strength,” Fauci said. “Like, ‘We’re strong. We don’t need a mask.’ That kind of thing.” Asked if that makes sense from a scientific stand point when facing a pandemic, Fauci answered, “No, it doesn’t. Of course not.”

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John Kelly On Trump: ‘The Most Flawed Person I Have Ever Met’

Former White House Chief of Staff John Kelly (screen capture)
A new report set to air Sunday night says former White House chief of staff, retired Marine Gen. John Kelly, has told friends that President Donald Trump “is the most flawed person” he’s ever known. From CNN:

“The depths of his dishonesty is just astounding to me. The dishonesty, the transactional nature of every relationship, though it’s more pathetic than anything else. He is the most flawed person I have ever met in my life,” the retired Marine general has told friends, CNN has learned.

The reporting comes from a new CNN special to air Sunday night, “The Insiders: A Warning from Former Trump Officials,” in which former senior administration officials — including former national security adviser John Bolton, former Health and Human Services scientist Rick Bright and former Department of Homeland Security general counsel John Mitnick — explain why they think the President is unfit for office.

Kelly’s sentiments about the President’s transactional nature and dishonesty have been shared by other former members of the Trump administration who also appear in the special.

Olivia Troye, a former top adviser to Vice President Mike Pence, has said the President knew about the impact the coronavirus pandemic would have on the US by mid-February, but that “he didn’t want to hear it, because his biggest concern was that we were in an election year.”

Miles Taylor, a former DHS chief of staff who now serves as a CNN contributor, has asserted Trump essentially calls individuals within the federal government who disagree with him “deep state.”