Tag: liar

Posted on

Trump Wants His Signature On Stimulus Checks As If He’s Giving Americans Money

Donald Trump (photo: public domain)
The Wall Street Journal reports Donald Trump would like to see his signature on the stimulus checks that will be sent out after he signed a $2.2 trillion coronavirus relief package into law Friday, according to an administration official. Normally such checks would be signed by a disbursing officer, not the president. Trump always wants “credit” for everything that happens in the country, and a check bearing his signature could appear to some as if the Donald is giving Americans these funds when actually the American people are writing the checks.

Posted on

Asked If Everyone Who Needs Ventilator Will Get One, Trump Snaps ‘Don’t Be A Cutie Pie’

Donald Trump (screen capture)
A reporter at a press conference asks a question hoping to get a direct question. But that doesn’t happen with Donald Trump. At today’s White House press briefing ABC News’ Jonathan Karl asked Trump, “Are you able to guarantee, to assure these states, these hospitals, that everybody who needs a ventilator will get a ventilator?” “Here’s what I’ll tell you – I think we’re in really good shape,” replied Trump. “This is a pandemic the likes of which nobody’s seen before. I think we’re in great shape. Ventilators are a big deal. We’ve distributed vast numbers of ventilators, and we’re prepared to do vast numbers. I think we’re in great shape. I hope that’s the case. I hope we’re going to have leftovers so we can help other people, other countries.” You’ll note the Trumpster didn’t answer the question. Still looking for an answer, Karl repeated, “Will everyone who needs one be able to get a ventilator?” “Look, don’t be a cutie pie, ok?” snapped Trump. “Nobody’s ever done what we’ve done. Nobody’s done anything like we’ve been able to do. And everything I took over was a mess. It was a broken country in so many ways, in so many ways other than this. We had a bad testing system, we had a bad stockpile system, we had nothing in the stockpile system. So I wouldn’t tell me what you’re — you know, like, being a wise guy.” Still no answer as to if everyone who needs a ventilator will get one. Just a word salad. Watch the exchange below.

After being critical of some states’ governors, Trump was asked what more he wanted the governors to do? Trump answered, “I want them to be appreciative. I don’t want them to say things that aren’t true. I want them to be appreciative.” He added later, “You know what I say? If they don’t treat you right, I don’t call.” So, for Americans to get help from the federal government, Trump needs his butt kissed. Got it.

Posted on

NPR Station Stops Broadcasting Trump Briefings Due To ‘False Information And Exaggerations’

NPR station KUOW in Seattle has announced it will no longer broadcast the White House daily briefings on the coronavirus due to “a pattern of false information and exaggeration.” Via the Washington Post:

“After airing the White House briefings live for two weeks, a pattern of false information and exaggeration increasingly had many at KUOW questioning whether these briefings were in the best service of our mission — to create and serve a more informed public,” notes the statement, posted Wednesday afternoon.

“Of even greater concern was the potential impact of false information on the health and safety of our community.” KUOW provided three examples of bogus information stemming from the briefings. All of them — surprise — came from President Trump.

• “Nobody knew there’d be a pandemic or an epidemic of this proportion,” President Trump said at a live White House briefing on March 19 despite warnings from the U.S. Intelligence community earlier this year.

• “You’re seeing very few empty shelves,” our listeners heard live from President Trump on March 20. Local reporting shows many stores are out of basic supplies, including hand soap.

• We’re going to be able to make the drug chloroquine “available almost immediately” said President Trump on March 19. The president claimed, incorrectly, that the FDA had fast-tracked approval of its use to treat COVID-19. There isn’t current medical evidence of the efficacy of that drug in treating COVID-19.

In related news, The Hill reports major news outlets have now started to cut away from the briefings after less than half an hour as well. Except Fox News, of course,  

Posted on

News Round-Up: March 23, 2020

Former Mayor Pete Buttigieg (screen capture)
Some news items you might have missed: • Instagram: Pete and Chasten Buttigieg have started live-streaming on the Gram. While their chat with actress/singer Mandy Moore was fun today, the big news is that #BeardEdgeEdge (above) is happening! #Yassss! • Reuters: Andorra, a nation of 80,000 people on the border of France and Spain, is set to legalize gay marriage, highlighting that eastern European countries with anti-LGBT laws are “on the wrong side of history”, leading human rights specialists said on Monday. A bill presented by the ruling coalition of Andorra will remove the legal distinction between same-sex civil unions and heterosexual weddings. • Out Music: Singer/songwriter Philp La Rosa’s latest single, “Paradise,” was inspired by his 7-year relationship with his boyfriend. Says La Rosa, “The journey of our love has honestly been like running through Paradise. But even in Paradise, we can trip and fall sometimes. The beauty of being in a loving relationship is we get to pull each other up, point out where we went wrong and keep running.” The synth-pop track has a mellow, chill vibe that partners well with La Rosa’s winning, winsome vocals. Hit the play button below. • US News & World Report: Addressing a shortage of ventilators for the coronavirus pandemic, Donald Trump said on Saturday, “General Motors, Ford, so many companies — I had three calls yesterday directly, without having to institute like: `You will do this’ — these companies are making them right now.” Fact check: No automaker is anywhere close to making medical gear such as ventilators. • Science Magazine: Infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci on dealing with Trump’s coronavirus exaggerations and lies during pressers: “I can’t jump in front of the microphone and push him down. OK, he said it. Let’s try and get it corrected for the next time.” • Gay Star News: Pride in London, the UK’s biggest LGBT+ Pride event, has announced it is postponing its 2020 event. The march, rally and official street parties were all due to take place on Saturday 27 June this year. Moreover, Pride bosses are also postponing the festival in the run-up to the main day. • Business Insider: Dow dives 582 points as impatience over pending coronavirus bill outweighs new Federal Reserve stimulus. #SoMuchWinning

Posted on

Trump Promotes Anti-Malaria Drug Not Approved As Treatment For Coronavirus

Donald Trump continues to push the idea that anti-malaria drug chloroquine has been approved as treatment for COVID-19. It has not. Via Mediaite:

At a White House Coronavirus Task Force briefing Friday, Fox News reporter John Roberts asked Fauci about the anti-malaria drug chloroquine, which is being tested as a treatment for COVID-19 but has not been approved for that use, despite Trump’s claim to the contrary yesterday.

“It was explained yesterday there has been some promise with hydroxychloroquine, this potential therapy for people who are infected with coronavirus,” Roberts said, then asked, “Is there any evidence to suggest that as with malaria it might be used as a prophylaxis against COVID-19?”

“The answer is no, and the evidence that you’re talking about, John, is anecdotal evidence,” Dr. Fauci replied, adding “So as the commissioner of FDA and the president mentioned yesterday, we’re trying to strike a balance between making something with a potential of an effect to the American people, available, at the same time that we do it under the auspices of a protocol that would give us information to determine if it’s truly safe and truly effective.”

Trump tweeted about the drug again this morning:

Posted on

News Round-Up: January 20, 2020

Devon Gibby for DadnDaddies/Instagram
Some news items you might have missed: • InstaHunks: Devon Gibby (above) spent the day at Mystic Hot Springs in Utah. “Not only is it super accessible (no 5-mile hike like others I’ve been to), but it’s the perfect balance of man-made quirkiness mixed with natural beauty. And who wouldn’t love sitting in actual bathtubs where the water doesn’t get colder while you watch the sunset behind snow-capped mountains!?” • RawStory: ‘Emasculated’ Virginia gun nuts mocked for ‘purchasing toys, dressing up in costumes, and playing fantasy games’ as they march on Richmond today. • Washington Post: In a single year, Donald Trump doubled the total number of false or misleading claims he had made in the previous two years combined. Put another way: He averaged six such claims a day in 2017, nearly 16 a day in 2018 and more than 22 a day in 2019. Lies like this one:

• RealClearPolitics: With two weeks to go until the ‘first in the nation’ Iowa caucuses on February 3, the two most recent polls there both show former Vice President Joe Biden leading the pack of Democratic White House hopefuls by 6 points. • Washington Blade: Some LGBTQ folks got riled up when Pete Buttigieg’s presidential campaign decided to nix a fundraiser planned at a gay club in Providence which the venue says is over a dancing pole the owners refused to remove. The Blade interviewed male pole dancers who were offended and say the decision was ‘unwarranted.’ • CNN: About half of Americans say the Senate should vote to convict President Donald Trump and remove him from office in the upcoming impeachment trial (51%), according to a new CNN poll conducted by SSRS, while 45% say the Senate should vote against conviction and removal. • CBS This Morning: Over nearly three decades, RuPaul Charles has left his mark on culture in music, movies and reality television including taking home his sixth Emmy Award in September for RuPaul’s Drag Race. Vladimir Duthiers spoke to RuPaul about doing “it all” and how his childhood impacted his career.

Posted on

Buttigieg Crushes Trump In 8 Words After The Donald Questioned His Faith

Mayor Pete Buttigieg (image via Instagram)
While speaking at King Jesus International Ministry in Miami, Donald Trump claimed that Mayor Pete Buttigieg and other Democrats are trying to replace religion with socialism. The Donald then openly questioned if Mayor Pete was as religious as he claimed. “And I see Alfred E. Neuman comes out and he’s trying to pretend he’s very religious,” Trump said, referencing the former mayor as the MAD Magazine mascot. “Now all of a sudden, he’s become extremely religious, this happened about two weeks ago,” Trump continued. Buttigieg, a former Catholic who is openly Episcopalian, clapped back with 8 simple words: “God does not belong to a political party.”

Buttigieg elaborated further on Trump’s remarks during a campaign stop in New Hampshire. “I’m not sure why the president’s taken an interest in my faith journey, but certainly I would be happy to discuss it with him,” he said. “I just don’t know where that’s coming from, you know. Certainly, it has been a complex journey for me, as it is for a lot of people, but I’m pretty sure I’ve been a believer longer than he’s been a Republican.”

Posted on

Kansas Cop Faked Story Of McDonald’s Coffee Labeled “F**king Pig”

A police officer in Kansas has admitted he fabricated the story of a McDonald’s employee writing “f**king pig” on his coffee cup. Via KTLA:

A Kansas police officer who initially claimed McDonald’s employees wrote “F—–g pig” on his cup has resigned, the city’s police chief said.

“In (our) investigation we have found that McDonald’s and its employees did not have anything whatsoever to do with this incident, this was completely and solely fabricated by a Herington police officer who is no longer employed with our agency,” Herington Police Department Chief Brian Hornaday said in a news conference Monday.

The incident, the chief said, has been an “obvious violation of … public trust.”

“Our job is solely to do this job with the utmost integrity because if you can’t trust the cops, who can you trust,” he said.

After McDonald’s conducted its own investigation, the owner and operator of the Junction City franchise said in a statement the fast-food chain was “glad that the evidence confirmed our evaluation that McDonald’s and our crew members were absolutely not involved.”

The now-fired police officer had been with the department for just two months. After the officer texted the photo of the coffee cup to Hornaday on Saturday, the police chief posted it on his personal Facebook account, which clearly became embarrassing after discovering the story was faked.

Posted on

Trump: Windmills Are Spewing Tremendous Fumes Into The Atmosphere

Donald Trump served up this rambling, nonsensical word salad during his speech at Turning Point USA. #sundowning

“I never understood wind. I know windmills very much, I have studied it better than anybody. I know it is very expensive. They are made in China and Germany mostly, very few made here, almost none, but they are manufactured, tremendous — if you are into this — tremendous fumes and gases are spewing into the atmosphere. You know we have a world, right?”

“So the world is tiny compared to the universe. So tremendous, tremendous amount of fumes and everything. You talk about the carbon footprint, fumes are spewing into the air, right spewing, whether it is China or Germany, is going into the air.”

“A windmill will kill many bald eagles. After a certain number, they make you turn the windmill off, that is true. By the way, they make you turn it off. And yet, if you killed one, they put you in jail. That is OK. But why is it OK for windmills to destroy the bird population?”

You really have to watch it to understand how truly odd the remarks were:

Posted on

White House Froze Ukraine Aid Just Hours After Trump/Zelensky Call

Donald Trump
Thanks to a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request filed by the Center for Public Integrity, a federal judge ordered the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and the Pentagon to release documents related to the White House freezing military aid to Ukraine. From The Hill:

According to the documents, shortly after President Trump’s now-infamous July 25 phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, White House aides were tasked with halting the $391 million of military aid.

Trump’s phone call with Zelensky, and the withholding of aid, is at the center of the impeachment proceedings that began in the House and will now move to the Senate in the new year.

The obtained documents contain emails sent by senior White House official Michael Duffey. Duffey, a Trump appointee, works through the OMB and is responsible for overseeing national security money.

“Based on guidance I have received and in light of the Administration’s plan to review assistance to Ukraine, including the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, please hold off on any additional DoD obligations of these funds, pending direction from that process,” Duffey wrote to OMB and Pentagon officials on July 25.

“Given the sensitive nature of the request, I appreciate your keeping that information closely held to those who need to know to execute direction,” Duffey added.

The freeze of the aid apparently raised eyebrows at the OMB and other government agencies, with many worried that the delay of aid would make it hard for the assistance to go through before Sept. 30, the end of the fiscal year.