Tag: Donald Trump

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Trump Praises Protesters Anti-Media Behavior “Great People!”

On Thursday, a local TV reporter tweeted video footage of him being berated by anti-shutdown protesters in the New York City borough of Long Island shouting “fake news” and “the enemy of the people.” “You’re disgusting. You are the virus!” shouted one attendee. “Traitor!” said another. News 12 Long Island reporter Kevin Vesey shared the video writing, “The level of anger directed at the media from these protestors was alarming. As always, I will tell a fair and unbiased story today.” In the video you can see people getting in Vesey’s face using anti-media rhetoric. Extremely disconcerting. Making matters worse, Donald Trump, who opened the door for this ever-devolving public discourse, retweeted the video attacking the reporter with his own ugly attacks of “FAKE NEWS IS NOT ESSENTIAL” and praising the protesters as “great people!” Sad.

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Medical Journal: Trump’s ‘Inconsistent And Incoherent’ COVID-19 Response

Donald Trump speaks to reporters at the White House (screen capture)
As the U.S. COVID-19 death toll passes 85,000, one of the world’s oldest and best-known medical journals published an op-ed calling out the Trump administration’s ” inconsistent and incoherent national response to the COVID-19 crisis.” The new editorial by The Lancet notes that, following two months of stay-at-home restrictions, infection and death rates have declined in those states hardest hit like New Jersey and New York. But recent outbreaks in Iowa and Minnesota raise disconcerting questions regarding the effectiveness of the federal response. The op-ed accuses the administration of, among other things, minimizing top officials at the CDC, as well as creating an “intelligence vacuum” in China when it pulled the last CDC officer from the country in July 2019. “The Administration is obsessed with magic bullets — vaccines, new medicines, or a hope that the virus will simply disappear,” it continued. “But only a steadfast reliance on basic public health principles, like test, trace, and isolate, will see the emergency brought to an end, and this requires an effective national public health agency.” The editorial closes with a call for new leadership in the White House writing, “Americans must put a president in the White House come January 2021, who will understand that public health should not be guided by partisan politics.” Meanwhile, during a press event today, Trump told reporters the country will overcome the COVID-19 crisis with or without an effective vaccine, claiming that the disease will “go away at some point” either way.

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Swing State: Biden Leads Trump By 6 Points In Florida Poll

You see a lot of chatter on social media along the lines of “Ignore the polls, they were all wrong in 2016.” In truth, ALL the polls weren’t wrong. If you look at the RealClearPolitics average of polls at the end of the 2016 campaign, Hillary Clinton led Trump by an average of 3.2 points. Remember, national polls basically gauge the popular vote. Hillary won the popular vote by 2.1 points, off by a point which just about every polling organization would give you as margin of error. My point being national polling might give a sense of the electorate at a given time but it won’t predict the election. If you want to follow the race, watch the six or seven swing states (Wisconsin, Florida, Michigan, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Arizona, Minnesota) that will decide the election. I say “decide” because let’s face it, we know California and New York will go blue. We know Tennessee and Indiana will go red. Which brings me to today’s polling from Florida, where Trump beat Hillary by just 1.2 points. According to a Florida Atlantic University poll released today, former Vice President Joe Biden leads Donald Trump by 6 points in the Sunshine State. The survey, conducted May 8-12 shows Biden with 53 percent support while Trump garnered 47 percent. The same poll in March showed Trump with a slight lead, 51 percent to 49.

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Trump Says New Coronavirus Stimulus Package ‘Dead On Arrival’

Donald Trump speaks at the White House (photo: public domain)
Donald Trump says the new coronavirus relief package being worked out in Congress is a ‘no go’ before it even has a vote. From NBC News:

“DOA. Dead on arrival. Of course, Nancy Pelosi knows that,” he told reporters Wednesday at the White House.

About one-third of the $3 trillion legislation is relief for state, local and tribal governments, which many Republicans are resisting.

The measure also includes assistance to essential workers, an extension of unemployment insurance beyond July, another round of $1,200 direct cash payments and various other measures that are unlikely to gain bipartisan support but serve as an opening bid for Democrats.

Trump ripped into election-related provisions that would require 15 consecutive days of early voting and the option for every American to vote by mail through an absentee ballot, rules that would take effect starting in the 2020 presidential contest.

“Mail-in ballots is subject to tremendous corruption. Tremendous corruption, cheating. And so I’m against it,” Trump said. “And if you look at the bill that Nancy Pelosi is putting in, it has a lot to do with elections. We’re not going to lose elections because of that.”

As NBC News notes, ‘voter fraud’ is an often repeated lie for Trump. But even though he says it over and over, the truth is several studies and investigations by election experts have looked into the issue and no widespread fraud has ever been found. In fact, five state handle their elections completely by mail-in voting: Colorado, Hawaii, Oregon, Washington and Utah. Additionally, Trump recently admitted that HE voted in Florida’s recent election by mail. And hundreds of thousands of military service members participate in the electoral process by mail every cycle. Trump’s issue with mail-in voting is it enables more Americans to take part, and higher turnout tends to favor the Democratic party.

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Supreme Court Hears Arguments On Subpoenas For Trump Financials

The current U.S. Supreme Court (image: public domain)
The U.S. Supreme Court heard three hours of oral arguments today in multiple cases regarding whether Congressional committees or district attorneys can subpoena the financial records of a president. Donald Trump is trying to fight two sets of subpoenas — one from three House committees and another from Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance. Reading several legal experts, Vance’s office appeared to have fared better during today’s oral arguments than the House’s lawyer. From the New York Times:

The court’s ruling, expected by July, could require disclosure of information the president has gone to extraordinary lengths to protect. Or the justices could rule that Mr. Trump’s financial affairs are not legitimate subjects of inquiry.

But some of the justices’ questions raised a third possibility: that the court could return the cases to lower courts for reconsideration under stricter standards. That would have the incidental effect of deferring a final decision beyond the 2020 presidential election.

The first argument of two the court heard, which dealt with the congressional investigations, seemed to go better for Mr. Trump.

The justices seemed more skeptical of the president’s case during the second argument, in which Jay Sekulow, a lawyer for Mr. Trump, argued that he was absolutely immune from criminal investigation while he remained in office.

The subpoenas ask for documents from Trump’s accountants or bankers, not from Trump himself. The firms have previously said they are willing to comply with the court’s ruling. Chief Justice John Roberts appears to be an apparent swing vote in the eventual ruling.

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Obama: Trump Response To COVID-19 ‘An Absolute Chaotic Disaster’

Speaking with previous members of his administration on a private call, former President Barack Obama called Donald Trump’s response to the coronavirus a “chaotic disaster.” He also shared deep concerns about the Department of Justice’s announcement to drop charges against former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn. “The news over the last 24 hours I think has been somewhat downplayed — about the Justice Department dropping charges against Michael Flynn,” said Obama in a recording obtained by Yahoo News. “And the fact that there is no precedent that anybody can find for someone who has been charged with perjury just getting off scot-free. That’s the kind of stuff where you begin to get worried that basic — not just institutional norms — but our basic understanding of rule of law is at risk.” Underscoring the importance of supporting former Vice President Joe Biden in the upcoming election, Obama referenced trends in politics today in which “selfish, being tribal, being divided, and seeing others as an enemy — that has become a stronger impulse in American life.” “And by the way, we’re seeing that internationally as well,” he added. “It’s part of the reason why the response to this global crisis has been so anemic and spotty.” “It would have been bad even with the best of governments. It has been an absolute chaotic disaster when that mindset — of ‘what’s in it for me’ and ‘to heck with everybody else’ — when that mindset is operationalized in our government.” You can hear the recording at Yahoo News.

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Poll: Biden Leads Trump By 9 Points In Senate Battleground States

L-R Former Vice President Joe Biden, Donald Trump
A new poll of voters in six states where Republican senators up for reelection this year are facing some tough races shows former Vice President Joe Biden leading Donald Trump by 9 points. Hart Research Associates surveyed voters in Arizona, Colorado, Iowa, Maine, Montana, and North Carolina, and found support for Biden at 50% while Trump garnered 41% support. Of the six states, Trump scored 2016 wins in Arizona, Iowa, Montana and North Carolina. Democrats will need to win in four of those states to win a majority in the Senate. The poll showed the Republican incumbents lagging the Democratic challengers by five points – 41 to 46 respectively. The GOP incumbents are Sens. Marth McSally (Ariz.), Cory Gardner (Colo.), Joni Ernst (Iowa), Susan Collins (Maine), Steve Daines (Mont.) and Thom Tillis (N.C.). The poll also asked voters about their feelings on mail-in ballots this fall in light of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Voters in the six battleground states overwhelmingly support the idea with 85% saying a mail option should be available.

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Republicans Opposing Trump Riff On Reagan Slogan: ‘Mourning In America’

Riffing on Ronald Reagan’s iconic 1984 campaign ad, “Morning in America,” a group of Republicans who oppose Donald Trump’s policies and presidency released this devastating video, “Mourning in America.” The caption on YouTube reads, “Donald Trump’s failed presidency has left the nation weaker, sicker, and teetering on the verge of a new Great Depression. There’s mourning in America.” From AdAge:

Against a backdrop of scenes of empty streets and shots of people wearing masks, and underscored by plaintive classical music, an announcer says (in a script that directly echoes that of “Morning in America”).

The Lincoln Project launched in December with an op-ed in The New York Times headlined: “We Are Republicans, and We Want Trump Defeated.” The NYT bio line for the op-ed’s authors—George T. Conway III, Steve Schmidt, John Weaver and Rick Wilson—noted that they “have worked for and supported Republican campaigns.”

Predictably, Trump lashed out on Twitter raging at the group and specifically George Conway, husband to Trump’s White House chief counsel, Kellyanne Conway. Mr. Conway, who Trump nicknamed “Moonface,” clapped back.

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Trump Approval Ratings Plummet In 6 Battleground States

Donald Trump

Donald Trump during a White House press briefing (public domain)
Donald Trump has seen his approval rating in six battleground states crucial to his reelection drop a precipitous 15 percentage points in the last month. As Trump faces an expanding economic collapse amid the ongoing COVID-19 health threat, nonpartisan polling group PRRI found Trump’s approval rating in Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, Florida, Arizona and North Carolina plummet from 53% in March to a 38% approval rating. In terms of the entire nation, Trump fell from 49% approval to 43% approval. PRRI notes “Trump benefited from a brief ‘rally around the flag’ effect as the coronavirus pandemic began to spread in the U.S.” But with the number of confirmed U.S. cases of the coronavirus increasing exponentially from around 33,000 cases at the beginning of March to more than 1,000,000 cases and 63,000+ deaths today, that boost has quickly evaporated.

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Trump Wanted To Disperse Unemployment Benefits Via Imaginary Federal System

Donald Trump
Donald Trump took to Twitter today to lay the blame on Democrats for any delays Americans see in receiving additional unemployment funds provided under coronavirus relief legislation. “Blame the Democrats for any ‘lateness’ in your Enhanced Unemployment Insurance,” Trump tweeted. “I wanted the money to be paid directly, they insisted it be paid by states for distribution,” Trump added. “I told them this would happen, especially with many states which have old computers.”

As I’m sure you know, there is no federal system by which unemployment benefits can be paid. All unemployment is paid via each individual state. The $2.2 trillion emergency relief package overwhelmingly passed in Congress last month expanded the size and scope of unemployment benefits, kicking in an additional $600 to weekly unemployment checks. The legislation also expanded benefits to include freelance workers, self-employed and participants in the gig economy. One of the issues delaying these benefits is the fact that states have never paid benefits to those workers, so the sign-up process has required adapting systems in every state. But many people report encounters of crashing systems and busy phone lines as states struggle with unprecedented unemployment levels. CNN reports payments will be applied retroactively for claims starting March 29 in most, if not all, states.