L-R President Donald Trump, former Vice President Joe Biden I realize I haven’t posted much on this week’s Republican National Convention, mainly because who could possibly keep up with the fact-checking needed to counter the huge amount of misinformation coming from the speakers. CNN fact-checker Daniel Dale does a great job of pointing out many of Donald Trump’s lies from his renomination speech last night. By the way, CNN’s Brian Stelter reports news that is sure to burn the Donald: more folks tuned in for former Vice President Joe Biden’s speech at the Democratic National Convention last week than Trump’s lie-fest on Thursday night.
The ratings are in: Trump’s speech was lower-rated than Biden’s speech one week ago, per overnight Nielsen #’s. About 21.6 million for Trump, 23.6 million for Biden. The #’s may fluctuate a bit, but not enough to change the takeaway. Here’s my full storyhttps://t.co/bMrveuOwdL
New York Times tech journalist Kevin Roose explains how Donald Trump could very well win a second term in the White House. Every morning, Roose checks the top-performing Facebook link posts by U.S. pages and shares them via a Twitter account. If you’re a moderate, or land left of center politically, you may not be aware (or see) how Trump’s ‘silent majority’ is still out there. From the New York Times:
Most days, the leader board looks roughly the same: conservative post after conservative post, with the occasional liberal interloper.
But what sticks out, when you dig in to the data, is just how dominant the Facebook right truly is. Pro-Trump political influencers have spent years building a well-oiled media machine that swarms around every major news story, creating a torrent of viral commentary that reliably drowns out both the mainstream media and the liberal opposition.
The result is a kind of parallel media universe that left-of-center Facebook users may never encounter, but that has been stunningly effective in shaping its own version of reality.
Inside the right-wing Facebook bubble, President Trump’s response to Covid-19 has been strong and effective, Joe Biden is barely capable of forming sentences, and Black Lives Matter is a dangerous group of violent looters.
Mr. Trump and his supporters are betting that, despite being behind Mr. Biden in the polls, a “silent majority” will carry him to re-election.
The top-performing link posts by U.S. Facebook pages in the last 24 hours are from: 1. Ben Shapiro 2. Ben Shapiro 3. Blue Lives Matter 4. Ben Shapiro 5. David J. Harris Jr. 6. Ben Shapiro 7. Ben Shapiro 8. SportsCenter 9. Shaun King 10. NPR
The top-performing link posts by U.S. Facebook pages in the last 24 hours are from: 1. Ben Shapiro 2. TMZ 3. Ben Shapiro 4. Ben Shapiro 5. USA Patriots for Donald Trump 6. Fox & Friends 7. ForAmerica 8. Donald Trump 2020 Voters 9. Dan Bongino 10. Dan Bongino
Today, 8/25, the top-performing Facebook link posts by U.S. pages are from: 1. Franklin Graham 2. Franklin Graham 3. Ben Shapiro 4. Ben Shapiro 5. Ben Shapiro 6. NBC News 7. Sean Hannity 8. Bill O’Reilly 9. Fox News 10. Fox News
Today, 8/24, the top-performing Facebook link posts by U.S. pages are from: 1. Occupy Democrats 2. Franklin Graham 3. Fox News 4. Fox News 5. Fox News 6. Ben Shapiro 7. Roger Billings 8. Joe Kennedy III 9. Fox News 10. Newsbusters
Donald Trump during a White House press briefing (public domain) Quite the bombshell just days before the Republican National Convention. It turns out Donald Trump’s niece, Mary Trump, secretly recorded her aunt and the Donald’s sister, Maryanne Trump Barry, as a source for her family tell-all book. From the Washington Post:
“All he wants to do is appeal to his base,” Barry said in a conversation secretly recorded by her niece, Mary L. Trump. “He has no principles. None. None. And his base, I mean my God, if you were a religious person, you want to help people. Not do this.”
Barry, 83, was aghast at how her 74-year-old brother operated as president. “His goddamned tweet and lying, oh my God,” she said. “I’m talking too freely, but you know. The change of stories. The lack of preparation. The lying. Holy shit.”
In the weeks since Mary Trump’s tell-all book about her uncle has been released, she’s been questioned about the source of some of the information, such as her allegation that Trump paid a friend to take his SATs to enable him to transfer into the University of Pennsylvania. Nowhere in the book does she say that she recorded conversations with her aunt.
In response to a question from The Washington Post about how she knew the president paid someone to take the SATs, Mary Trump revealed that she had surreptitiously taped 15 hours of face-to-face conversations with Barry in 2018 and 2019. She provided The Post with previously unreleased transcripts and audio excerpts, which include exchanges that are not in her book.
As the Post points out, under New York law, it is legal to tape a conversation with the consent of one party, which in this case was Mary Trump. In the recordings, Judge Barry acknowledges the only thing Donald ever accomplished on his own were the six corporate bankruptcies his companies filed. Click over to the Washington Postto hear the Trumpster’s own sister say he has no principles and how they grew apart because he took credit for her success as a federal judge. The Trump campaign brushed the news aside calling it “sibling rivalry.”
WATCH: Trump campaign senior adviser Jason Miller responds to secretly recorded comments from President Trump’s sister, Maryanne Trump. #MTP@JasonMillerinDC: “When you get to the White House you have family members who decide to voice their sibling rivalries.” pic.twitter.com/EAqsRxctwq
L-R Brayden Harrington, Donald Trump I thought I posted this early today. By far, my favorite moment of the last night of the Democratic presidential convention was the incredible appearance by 13-year-old Brayden Harrington. The teen spoke at the DNC about how he bonded with Joe Biden because they both have a stutter. “He told me that we were members of the same club — we stutter.”
Just some of the reactions on the Twitter:
I stutter. Have my entire life. Taught myself to hide it but it’s always there. Always
There is no way I could be as brave as that little boy, at his age. I’m honestly crying. Jesus — T. Fisher King (@T_FisherKing) August 21, 2020
It was amazing. Forever and ever, every time I see or hear Trump, this is all I see. His vile cruelty. I am so ready for that picture to be erased from my head and heart. Joe Biden is a man of character and integrity. Joe Biden can wipe away that image. pic.twitter.com/0rra01kTmj
Brayden Harrington’s video about having a stutter like Biden was also a stark contrast to the President who mocks reporters with disabilities. #DemConvention
“We need the world to feel better.” “Kids like me are counting on you to elect someone we can look up to.” Decency. I miss decency. The president should be a role model not a cautionary tale! Best part tonight so far 💙 — Amy Siskind 🏳️🌈 (@Amy_Siskind) August 21, 2020
Former Department of Homeland Security chief of staff Miles Taylor In an interview with CNN’s Jake Tapper, longtime Republican and former Trump official Miles Taylor warned about Donald Trump if he achieves a second term, “You will see the president align with dictators around the world.” Republican Voters Against Trump has released a new Miles Taylor ad in which the former DHS chief of staff revealed he will vote for Joe Biden in the 2020 election.
Richard Grenell for Log Cabin Republicans (screen capture) The Log Cabin Republicans, an organization representing conservative LGBTQ voters, recently released a misleading video featuring Richard Grenell, the openly gay former Ambassador to Germany, praising the Donald as the “most pro-gay president in American history.” That’s certainly some serious hyperbole (and a lie), but it was right up the Donald’s alley as he retweeted the clip with the caption, “My great honor!!!” The video, which has been viewed over 5.2 million times on Twitter at this writing, is meant to attack former Vice President Joe Biden’s record on LGBTQ issues. In the clip, Grenell (who briefly served as acting Director of National Intelligence) points to Trump being the “first president in history to be pro-gay marriage from his first day in office.” What Grenell doesn’t note is that marriage equality was the law of the land by that time, decided in 2015 by the U.S. Supreme Court. It’s not exactly an act of courage to acknowledge the law. When asked about the issue shortly after his electoral win in 2016, Trump told CBS News reporter Lesley Stahl his personal view on the matter was “irrelevant” and that he considered the matter “settled.” He added, “I’m fine with that.” Hardly a glowing endorsement of marriage equality. Especially when, during the campaign, he sent mixed signals about gay rights. While Trump mentioned “L. G. B. T. citizens” during his nominating convention speech (in a halting cadence that sounded like he’d never used the phrase in his life), he went on to tell Fox News he would “strongly consider” appointing judges who might overturn same-sex marriage. Grenell also mentions the Trump administration’s supposed push to end the criminalization of homosexuality around the world. You might recall the initiative, announced to be headed up by Grenell himself, was unknown to Trump when he was asked about it. And, since the announcement of the campaign, there’s been no news or apparent action on the issue. NBC News also reported that State Department deputy spokesperson Robert Palladino downplayed Grenell’s new effort, describing it as “long-standing,” “bipartisan” and “really is not a big policy departure.” Additionally, Trump’s administration has attacked the LGBTQ community on numerous fronts including the transgender military ban, arguing before the U.S. Supreme Court LGBTQ people shouldn’t be protected under federal civil rights law, and supporting taxpayer-funded religious adoption agencies that refuse to place children in LGBTQ homes.
You banned transgender people from the military. Are you too stupid to know what the "T" in LGBT stands for? Just go away, you ignorant homophobic transphobic idiot!
Just this week, the Trump Administration intrinsically erased LGBTQ people from an updated foreign policy on gender and women’s empowerment by the U.S. Agency for International Development. Throughout the video, Grenell ignores that transgender people even exist as he only uses the terms “gay and lesbian.” Grenell also alleges that Biden believes “gays are security risks,” which is a pretty far stretch as Grenell is referencing an off-hand statement made almost 47 years ago. Biden was reportedly ‘startled’ by a question about gays serving in the military and civil service at an informal event with neighbors in 1973. According to the conservative Free Beacon, Biden responded, “My gut reaction is that they [gay people] are security risks but I must admit I haven’t given this much thought,” he said. “I’ll be darned!” You’ll note Grenell doesn’t mention the incident happened back in 1973, and he also doesn’t include the part of Biden’s response that said he hadn’t given the subject much thought. In reality, Biden’s movement on LGBTQ rights has pretty much mirrored the nation’s perspective. He’s publicly evolved to become a champion for gay rights – most memorably coming out in support of same-sex marriage in 2012 just days before President Obama. While Joe Biden has promised full-throated support for the Equality Act, which would extend existing civil rights protections to LGBTQ people, Trump and the majority of his fellow Republicans have stood firmly against the legislation. Biden has also named a fierce Black lesbian, Karine Jean-Pierre, as the chief of staff for vice presidential candidate Sen. Kamala Harris. If you want the facts, click over to GLAAD for an extensive list of Trump’s attacks on the LGBTQ community. For information about Biden’s plans for LGBTQ equality, check out my report on his proposals for our community here.
What the fuck is this? Trump banned transgender people from the military! This tweet is such an embarrassment.
He’s literally spent his entire term tearing down Lgbt rights, access to healthcare, appointing anti equality judges, arguing against equality in the courts, and denying asylum to desperate people fleeing oppression. No one is here to congratulate a grifter like @RichardGrenell
CNN’s John Berman notes that Donald Trump repeats the same statistics during White House press briefings even when the briefings are weeks apart. It’s especially interesting since Trump has often criticized former Vice President Joe Biden for reading from prepared remarks. But, as the panel here notes, repetition – while not always ‘truth’ – does work in politics.
L-R Edward Snowden, Donald Trump (images: publio domain) Donald Trump said on Saturday that he would consider issuing a presidential pardon to whistleblower Edward Snowden, who has remained in exile in Russia since disclosing highly classified information from the National Security Agency. After leaking the info to the Guardian in 2013, Snowden left the U.S. traveling to Hong Kong and then to Moscow in order to avoid being arrested. To some, Snowden is seen as a civil liberties hero, but to others, he is seen as a traitor for revealing secret intelligence documents. Back in 2014, Trump called Snowden a ‘spy’ tweeting, “A spy in the old days, when our country was respected and strong, would be executed.”
Q: "Do you want to give Edward Snowden a pardon and bring him back?"
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) took a moment this morning to clap back against Donald Trump’s comment yesterday when he floated a birther theory that Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) might not be eligible to run for vice president. Trump told reporters on Thursday, “I heard today that she doesn’t meet the requirements. I have no idea if that’s right. I would have assumed the Democrats would have checked that out before she gets chosen to run for vice president.” Ahem, Harris was born in Oakland, California – on US soil – in 1964. The 14th Amendment makes it very clear she is a natural-born citizen and can run for veep. Graham made note of this on Twitter:
President Trump on claims that :Kamala Harris isn't eligible to run for Vice President because she's an anchor baby: "I heard it today that she doesn't meet the requirements…I have no idea if that's right. I would have assumed the Democrats would have checked that out." pic.twitter.com/H887X43GJK
However, there is no issue as to whether or not she is an American citizen.
She was born in the United States in 1964 to parents who were legally present. Under the Constitution and Supreme Court precedent, she is unequivocally an American citizen. — Lindsey Graham (@LindseyGrahamSC) August 14, 2020
