TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/TRUMP PEOPLE/WHITE HOUSE STAFF: “….I look forward to working with him in this new capacity as we continue to MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN! John will be staying until the end of the year. He is a GREAT PATRIOT and I want to personally thank him for his service!” -Donald Trump, Twitter.com, December 14, […]
Category: A- Trump As President
12/14/2018
CANADA/CHINA/SANCTIONS/TECHNOLOGY/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Canada’s foreign minister warned top Trump administration officials on Friday [12-14-18] not to politicize the pending extradition of Chinese technology executive Meng Wanzhou. ‘Canada understands the rule of law and extradition ought not ever to be politicized or used as tools to resolve other issues,’ Chrystia Freeland, Canada’s foreign affairs minister, told […]
12/14/2018
CHRIS CHRISTIE/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/WHITE HOUSE STAFF: “Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie said on Friday [12-14-18] that he doesn’t want to be Donald Trump’s next chief of staff, leaving the president with a dwindling list of candidates and underscoring the chaos of the search for the top West Wing aide. Christie, an early Trump supporter […]
12/14/2018
BORDER/DEMS/IMMIGRATION/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/WALL: “President Donald Trump is mulling the prospect of making a counter-offer to Democratic leaders that would prevent a partial government shutdown and kick the border wall fight into next year, according to two sources familiar with the negotiations. While the specifics of that offer are unclear, Republicans on Capitol Hill are increasingly […]
12/14/2018
GOP/MICHAEL COHEN/SENATE/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/TRUMP PEOPLE: “Sen. Orrin Hatch, the outgoing Utah Republican and most senior GOP senator, issued a statement on Friday [12-14-18] expressing regret for telling CNN ‘I don’t care’ when asked about President Donald Trump being implicated in crimes by Michael Cohen…In the interview with CNN earlier in the week, Hatch strongly dismissed […]
12/14/2018
JOBS/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/TRUMP PEOPLE: “Thank you to @tim_cook for agreeing to expand operations in the U.S. and thereby creating thousands of jobs! https://t.co/2zOVxp9nTF“ -Donald Trump, Twitter.com, December 14, 2018 1:19 pm […]
12/14/2018
NORTH KOREA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Many people have asked how we are doing in our negotiations with North Korea – I always reply by saying we are in no hurry, there is wonderful potential for great economic success for that country….” –Donald Trump, Twitter.com, December 14, 2018 1:17 pm […]
12/14/2018
NORTH KOREA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “….Kim Jong Un sees it better than anyone and will fully take advantage of it for his people. We are doing just fine!” -Donald Trump, Twitter.com, December 14, 2018 1:17 pm […]
12/14/2018
LEGAL/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/TRUMP BUSINESS: “A legal effort to force President Donald Trump to clarify how much he personally owes to banks got a highly skeptical reception at a federal appeals court Friday [12-14-18]. Since last year, Washington attorney Jeffrey Lovitky has mounted a one-man battle to get Trump to re-file his financial disclosure forms to […]
12/14/2018
CHINA/ECONOMY/TARIFFS/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “China just announced that their economy is growing much slower than anticipated because of our Trade War with them. They have just suspended U.S. Tariff Hikes. U.S. is doing very well. China wants to make a big and very comprehensive deal. It could happen, and rather soon!” -Donald Trump, Twitter.com, December 14, […]
12/14/2018
CHINA/ECONOMY/TARIFFS/TRADE WAR/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “China just announce the there economy is growing much slower than anticipated because of our Trade War with them. They have just suspended U.S. Tariff Hikes. U.S. is doing very well. China wants to make a big and very comprehensive deal. It could happen, and rather soon!” -Donald Trump, Twitter.com, December […]
12/14/2018
2016 ELECTION/CAMPAIGN FINANCE/SPENDING/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders is denying that President Donald Trump had any knowledge of possible malfeasance by his inaugural committee, which is reportedly under investigation for misusing funds…The response comes after The Wall Street Journal reported earlier on Thursday [12-13-18] that federal prosecutors in Manhattan were investigating […]
12/14/2018
HOLIDAY/MEDIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Say what you will about Donald Trump: He is no hypocrite. Following a year of endless Twitter rants about FAKE NEWS ENEMY OF THE PEOPLE, he’s not about to stoop to calling a holiday truce in his war with the press. Nope, in a scoop undoubtedly heard with dismay around the Beltway, […]
12/14/2018
ANTHONY SCARAMUCCI/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/TRUMP PEOPLE: “While the White House is increasingly under siege from emboldened Democrats, reports of chaos are off the mark. The president continues to run a tight ship and field heavy interest from talented candidates for key roles, including chief of staff. Donald Trump at times can be mercurial and unorthodox in […]
12/14/2018
CHINA/ECONOMY/TRADE WAR/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “China’s consumers and businesses are losing confidence. Car sales have plunged. The housing market is stumbling. Some factories are letting workers off for the big Lunar New Year holiday two months early. China’s economy has slowed sharply in recent months, presenting perhaps the biggest challenge to its top leader, Xi Jinping, […]
12/14/2018
ICE/IMMIGRATION/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “The Trump administration significantly stepped up its arrests and deportations of undocumented immigrants last year, according to government data released Friday [12-14-18], even as other parts of the president’s hard-line immigration agenda have been blocked by Congress and courts. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said it arrested about 159,000 foreigners during the 2018 […]
12/14/2018
CRIME/JARED KUSHNER/LEGISLATION/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “The day after President Trump announced his support for a bipartisan criminal justice overhaul bill in the Roosevelt Room, Mitch McConnell, the Senate majority leader, arrived in the Oval Office to give him a dose of political reality. He was not going to bring the bill to the Senate floor until […]
12/14/2018
2016 ELECTION/MICHAEL COHEN/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/WOMEN: “Donald Trump’s longtime attorney Michael Cohen said the president directed him to orchestrate hush money payments during his 2016 presidential campaign to women alleging affairs because he was concerned that those allegations might damage his electoral changes. Cohen, a longtime loyalist and fixer for Trump who flipped on the president […]
12/14/2018
MICK MULVANEY/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/WHITE HOUSE STAFF: “President Donald Trump has announced his final choice in the chief of staff sweepstakes: Budget Director Mick Mulvaney. The announcement, made predictably via Twitter on Friday [12-14-18], ends more than a week of ‘Apprentice’-like scrambling to figure out who would replace outgoing Chief of Staff John Kelly. Nick Ayers […]
12/14/2018
OBAMA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/TRUMP BUSINESS: “President Trump was in a Washington food fracas before he was even elected. He landed in the middle of two lawsuits in the summer of 2016 with restaurateurs who had backed out of opening establishments in the Trump International Hotel near the White House, and by 2017 was tangling with the […]
12/13/2018
AGRICULTURE/DRUGS/LEGISLATION/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Prepare to see more hemp beer, food, supplements and clothing if President Donald Trump signs the new Farm Bill that would more broadly permit American farmers to grow hemp, which has long been restricted because of its ties to marijuana. Hemp plants are the same species as marijuana but contain virtually none […]
12/13/2018
2016 ELECTION/LEGAL/MIDDLE EAST/PAC/ROBERT MUELLER/RUSSIA INVESTIGATION/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Federal prosecutors are examining whether foreigners illegally funneled donations to President Trump’s inaugural committee and a pro-Trump super PAC in hopes of buying influence over American policy, according to people familiar with the inquiry. The inquiry focuses on whether people from Middle Eastern nations — including Qatar, Saudi […]
12/13/2018
MEDIA/MILITARY/SAUDI ARABIA/SENATE/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/WAR: “The Senate on Thursday [12-13-18] passed a resolution condemning Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman for the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, ratcheting up pressure on President Donald Trump who has aligned himself with the Saudi kingdom in the aftermath of the brutal killing. Just prior to passing the resolution […]
12/13/2018
CAMPAIGN FINANCE/LEGAL/MICHAEL COHEN/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Donald Trump attended an August 2015 meeting that federal prosecutors believe was central to a criminal scheme to violate campaign finance laws to help Trump win the presidency, according to a source familiar with the matter. According to court filings, Trump was joined by Michael Cohen, who was his attorney […]
12/13/2018
MEDIA/MILITARY/SAUDI ARABIA/SENATE/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/WAR: “In a historic bipartisan rebuke of the president and a marked shift in the long-standing U.S. alliance with Saudi Arabia, the Senate voted Thursday [12-13-18] to try to force the Trump administration to end its military support for the Saudi-led war in Yemen. Although the measure will stall in the House […]
12/13/2018
CAMPAIGN FINANCE/LEGAL/MICHAEL COHEN/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/WOMEN: “President Donald Trump on Thursday [12-13-18] disputed claims by former lawyer Michael Cohen that he engaged in ‘dirty deeds’ that included hush payments to two women to keep them quiet during the 2016 campaign…Wednesday, a federal judge sentenced Cohen to three years in prison for campaign finance violations, tax evasion […]
12/13/2018
HOLIDAY/MEDIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “A war on Christmas parties? The White House won’t host its annual reception for members of the news media this year. The White House said in a statement to USA TODAY that the party was never put on the holiday schedule this year, thus seemingly never going to happen…President Donald Trump did […]
12/13/2018
BUDGET/DEMS/GOVERNMENT/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Let’s not do a shutdown, Democrats – do what’s right for the American People! https://t.co/bZg07ZKQqo“ –Donald Trump, Twitter.com, December 13, 2018 4:21 pm […]
12/13/2018
MEDIA/SAUDI ARABIA/SENATE/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/WAR: “The Senate passed a resolution Thursday [12-13-18] to withdraw U.S. support for Saudi-backed forces at war in Yemen in a rare bipartisan rebuke to President Donald Trump. The resolution, led by Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Mike Lee (R-Utah) and Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), invokes the War Powers Act and passed in a […]
12/13/2018
TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Today, it was my honor to welcome our Nation’s newly elected Governors to the @WhiteHouse! https://t.co/LCpFIoRglp” -Donald Trump, Twitter.com, December 13, 2018 3:24 pm […]
12/13/2018
ELECTION/GOP/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “President Donald Trump is daring other Republicans to run against him in 2020, saying they’re not likely to unseat him because of strong support from his base. During an interview on Thursday [12-13-18], Fox News’ Harris Faulkner asked the president about possible primary opponents in the 2020 election, including the outgoing governor […]
12/13/2018
CAMPAIGN FINANCE/LEGAL/MICHAEL COHEN/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/WOMEN: “President Donald Trump on Thursday [12-13-18] ended his silence on Michael Cohen’s prison sentencing, claiming he never directed his longtime attorney to break the law and that he bears no responsibility for Cohen’s campaign finance violations. In his first tweets since Cohen was sentenced to three years for a series […]
12/13/2018
MEDIA/MIKE POMPEO/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/TRUMP PEOPLE: “President Donald Trump on Thursday [12-13-18] went on the attack against Mika Brzezinski, after the ‘Morning Joe’ host used a homophobic slur to refer to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. In a duo of tweets, Trump suggested that there was a double standard for conservative pundits, predicting that Brzezinski would […]
12/13/2018
MILITARY/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Happy 382nd Birthday @USNationalGuard. Our entire Nation is forever grateful for all you do 24/7/365. We love you! #Guard382 https://t.co/XLoCxOFvMA“ -Donald Trump, Twitter.com, December 13, 2018 1:13 pm […]
12/13/2018
MEDIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Just did an interview with @HARRISFAULKNER on @FoxNews, airing now (1pmE.) Enjoy!” -Donald Trump, Twitter.com, December 13, 2018 1:00 pm […]
12/13/2018
MEDIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “If it was a Conservative that said what ‘crazed’ Mika Brzezinski stated on her show yesterday, using a certain horrible term, that person would be banned permanently from television….” –Donald Trump, Twitter.com, December 13, 2018 12:34 pm […]
12/13/2018
AMBASSADOR/GERMANY/MEDIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “….She will probably be given a pass, despite their terrible ratings. Congratulations to @RichardGrenell, our great Ambassador to Germany, for having the courage to take this horrible issue on!” -Donald Trump, Twitter.com, December 13, 2018 12:34 pm […]
12/13/2018
MEDIA/MICHAEL COHEN/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/WOMEN: “On Wednesday [12-13-18], while the political world was focused on the news that former Trump lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen had been sentenced to three years in prison for a variety of crimes, something else of potentially huge import got somewhat glossed over: American Media Inc., the parent company of the […]
12/13/2018
CRIME/LEGAL/MICHAEL COHEN/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “President Trump has been insulting Michael Cohen. And spreading falsehoods about their work together. And Cohen is not going to stay silent about it. Cohen sat down with ABC’s George Stephanopoulos on Thursday [12-13-18] afternoon, one day after being sentenced to three years in prison. The interview will air on Friday’s […]
12/13/2018
BORDER/DEMS/IMMIGRATION/MEXICO/NAFTA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/WALL: “President Donald Trump has begun to tie his seemingly abandoned campaign promise that Mexico will pay for the construction of a wall on the U.S. border to the newly negotiated trade pact that would replace the North American Free Trade Agreement. In a Thursday [12-13-18] tweet, Trump, using dubious logic, declared that […]
12/13/2018
MICHAEL COHEN/RUSSIA INVESTIGATION/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “….guilty even on a civil basis. Those charges were just agreed to by him in order to embarrass the president and get a much reduced prison sentence, which he did-including the fact that his family was temporarily let off the hook. As a lawyer, Michael has great liability to me!” […]
12/13/2018
MICHAEL COHEN/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “….guilty even on a civil bases. Those charges were just agreed to by him in order to embarrass the president and get a much reduced prison sentence, which he did-including the fact that his family was temporarily let off the hook. As a lawyer, Michael has great liability to me!” -Donald […]
12/13/2018
CAMPAIGN FINANCE/MICHAEL COHEN/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “….stated that I did nothing wrong with respect to campaign finance laws, if they even apply, because this was not campaign finance. Cohen was guilty on many charges unrelated to me, but he plead to two campaign charges which were not criminal and of which he probably was not…” -Donald […]
12/13/2018
CAMPAIGN FINANCE/MICHAEL COHEN/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “I never directed Michael Cohen to break the law. He was a lawyer and he is supposed to know the law. It is called ‘advice of counsel,’ and a lawyer has great liability if a mistake is made. That is why they get paid. Despite that many campaign finance lawyers […]
12/13/2018
AUTO INDUSTRY/ENERGY [ALTERNATIVE]/ENVIRONMENT/OBAMA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “The electric vehicle revolution, after years of hype that outpaced reality, finally seems to be taking off in the United States. The best five months for plug-in sales in American history have been the past five months. Tesla’s Model 3 has been one of America’s top five selling passenger cars […]
12/13/2018
CAMPAIGN FINANCE/LEGAL/RUDY GIULIANI/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Federal prosecutors are investigating whether U.S. President Donald Trump’s inaugural committee misspent some of the record $107 million it raised from donors, the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday [12-13-18], citing people it said were familiar with the matter. The early-stage investigation by the Manhattan U.S. attorney’s office is examining […]
12/13/2018
CAMPAIGN FINANCE/LEGAL/MICHAEL COHEN/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/WOMEN: “President Donald Trump offered a simple defense Thursday [12-13-18] to accusations he broke campaign finance law by directing attorney Michael Cohen to orchestrate hush-money payments to conceal Trump’s alleged affairs: He was following terrible advice from a bad lawyer…The advice-of-counsel defense is a real thing. But Trump’s ability to use […]
12/13/2018
CAMPAIGN FINANCE/LEGAL/MEDIA/MICHAEL COHEN/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/WOMEN: “U.S. President Donald Trump offered up a handful of legal arguments in a series of tweets on Thursday [12-13-18] distancing himself from former personal attorney Michael Cohen, who was sentenced to prison on Wednesday [12-12-18] for arranging 2016 hush-money payments to women who say they had affairs with the married […]
12/13/2018
CHINA/ECONOMY/TARIFFS/TECHNOLOGY/TRADE DEALS/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “The Trump administration is using the current trade truce with China to flex its diplomatic muscles in a bid to get its own way. So far, it looks like the strategy may be succeeding. The U.S. sees a chance to push China around. ‘The country’s economy is in a sharp downturn, […]
12/13/2018
BORDER/MEXICO/NAFTA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/WALL: “I often stated, ‘One way or the other, Mexico is going to pay for the Wall.’ This has never changed. Our new deal with Mexico (and Canada), the USMCA, is so much better than the old, very costly & anti-USA NAFTA deal, that just by the money we save, MEXICO IS PAYING […]
12/13/2018
BORDER/IMMIGRATION/MEXICO/TRADE DEALS/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/WALL: “President Trump has been vague on how Mexico would pay for his border wall and has suggested various ways this could happen — including imposing fees on visas and border crossings from Mexico or paying through ‘reimbursement.’ On Tuesday [12-11-18], he demanded the money from congressional appropriations. Then, on Thursday [12-13-18] […]
12/13/2018
2016 ELECTION/LEGAL/MICHAEL COHEN/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/WOMEN: “President Trump said on Thursday [12-13-18] that if there was anything illegal about the hush payments made to two women claiming to have had affairs with him, it was the fault of his former lawyer, Michael D. Cohen, part of a newly improvised attempt to combat the legal exposure the […]
12/13/2018
HOUSE OF REPS/LEGISLATION/REGULATIONS/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “One of the House’s major bipartisan achievements this year — a sweeping financial deregulation package negotiated by Democrat Maxine Waters and Republican Jeb Hensarling — may be doomed. As Congress prepares to leave town in the coming days, Democrats are opposing efforts to attach the legislation to a year-end government […]
12/13/2018
AFRICA/CHINA/NATIONAL SECURITY/RUSSIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/TRUMP PEOPLE/UN: “National security adviser John Bolton unveiled President Donald Trump’s Africa strategy on Thursday [12-13-18], outlining a plan that he said focuses heavily on countering China and Russia’s expanding influence across the region, while also making sure US taxpayer dollars are spent responsibly with a reduction in US involvement in United […]
12/12/2018
MICHAEL COHEN/RUSSIA INVESTIGATION/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/WOMEN: “President Donald Trump’s former lawyer, Michael Cohen, was sentenced to three years in prison Wednesday [12-12-18] for crimes that included arranging payments during the 2016 election to silence women who claimed affairs with Trump after the President’s onetime ‘fixer’ attributed his offenses to ‘my duty to cover up his dirty […]
12/12/2018
CANADA/CHINA/TECHNOLOGY/TRADE DEALS/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Top law enforcement officials on Wednesday [12-12-18] pushed back on comments from President Donald Trump suggesting the prosecution of a Chinese telecommunications executive could be used as leverage in trade negotiations…Demers said Wednesday that if Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou is extradited from Canada, as the US has requested, ‘our criminal case […]
12/12/2018
BORDER/MEXICO/TERRORISM/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “President Donald Trump said on Tuesday [12-11-18] that U.S. authorities had ‘caught 10 terrorists,’ citing it as a reason for why the United States should build a wall on its Mexican border, but four government sources said there was no recent evidence of terrorism suspects being caught along the border. A senior […]
12/12/2018
IVANKA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “President Donald Trump is signing an executive order that will engage 13 federal agencies to aid the Opportunity Zones program targeting development in distressed American communities. The program is part of the 2017 tax reform law, offering tax benefits for developers and investors to build in long-neglected areas. The order establishes the […]
12/12/2018
CAMPAIGN FINANCE/MEDIA/MICHAEL COHEN/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Abandoned by two of his most powerful protectors, President Donald Trump insisted Thursday [12-13-18] that he did not violate campaign finance laws and that the liability for hush-money payments to two women alleging affairs with him rests with his former fixer, Michael Cohen. Both Cohen and American Media Inc., the […]
12/12/2018
CHINA/TARIFFS/TRADE DEALS/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “The Trump administration, believing Beijing will struggle to change its trade stance, plans to hammer home the idea that it is interested only in strong commitments. China has begun to make good on some concessions. Beijing has reportedly agreed to cut tariffs on imported American cars to 15 percent from 40 […]
12/12/2018
CANADA/CHINA/ECONOMY/TECHNOLOGY/TRADE DEALS/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “When President Trump said in an interview this week that he was willing to intercede in the case of a Chinese telecom executive facing extradition to the United States if it helped achieve ‘the largest trade deal ever made,’ it was a clear signal that his White House saw no problem […]
12/12/2018
MEDIA/MICHAEL COHEN/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/WOMEN: “With the revelation by prosecutors on Wednesday [12-12-18] that a tabloid publisher admitted to paying off a Playboy model, key participants in two hush-money schemes say the transactions were intended to protect Donald J. Trump’s campaign for president. That leaves Mr. Trump in an increasingly isolated and legally precarious position, according […]
12/12/2018
2016 ELECTION/CAMPAIGN FINANCE/MEDIA/MICHAEL COHEN/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/WOMEN: “President Donald Trump’s former personal lawyer Michael Cohen was sentenced to three years in prison on Wednesday [12-12-18] for crimes including orchestrating hush payments to women in violation of campaign laws before the 2016 election, and he promised to keep cooperating with the U.S. government against his former boss. […]
12/12/2018
GOP/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/TRUMP PEOPLE/WHITE HOUSE STAFF: “Rep. Mark Meadows (R-N.C.), chairman of the House Freedom Caucus, is no longer under consideration to be President Donald Trump’s chief of staff…Meadows, a staunch Trump ally, had been a top contender for the position after Nick Ayers — the president’s first choice to replace John Kelly, who Trump […]
12/12/2018
MICHAEL COHEN/ROBERT MUELLER/RUSSIA INVESTIGATION/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “The clock is ticking for Michael Cohen, President Donald Trump’s former personal attorney and fixer. Though he has asked for no jail time, the real question is how much he’ll get in light of dueling sentencing memos that paint entirely different pictures of him. Last week, speculation from TV […]
12/12/2018
MICHAEL COHEN/ROBERT MUELLER/RUSSIA INVESTIGATION/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “The sentencing of President Donald Trump’s former personal lawyer and fixer might mark the end of a wrenching chapter for Michael Cohen, but the political and legal implications of Cohen’s capitulation have only darkened the shadow that looms over the Trump White House. The worst of what New York […]
12/12/2018
EDUCATION/GUNS/SCHOOL SHOOTING/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “The commission investigating Florida’s Parkland shooting recommended Wednesday [12-12-18] that trained and willing educators be allowed to carry guns in schools, reigniting a debate about an idea President Donald Trump had embraced earlier this year. Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri, chairman of the high-profile commission, suggested the idea late Wednesday as […]
12/12/2018
BUDGET/DEMS/GOVERNMENT/SPENDING/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “The trick in Washington has always been to make sure a government shutdown is pinned on the other guy. President Trump is the first to ever pin one on himself. In a new twist on the old game of shutdown politics dating to the 1990s, Mr. Trump was essentially goaded on Tuesday […]
12/12/2018
2016 ELECTION/MEDIA/MICHAEL COHEN/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “The National Enquirer’s parent company has agreed to tell prosecutors everything it knows about Donald Trump — and it might know a lot. In a court document released Wednesday [12-12-18], the tabloid publisher, American Media Inc., admitted to coordinating a hush-money payment with Trump’s 2016 campaign, reversing two years of […]
12/12/2018
2016 ELECTION/MICHAEL COHEN/ROBERT MUELLER/RUSSIA INVESTIGATION/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Moments before learning his fate, Michael Cohen made a final plea. He admitted in open federal court all his wrongdoings, which he said resulted from being weak and a “blind loyalty to Donald Trump,” his former boss. In his more than 1,000-word statement on Wednesday [12-12-18] ahead of […]
12/12/2018
MEDIA/SAUDI ARABIA/SENATE/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “The Senate is on the verge of passing a resolution to withdraw U.S support for Saudi-backed forces at war in Yemen, with senators predicting that at least a narrow majority will ultimately defy the Trump administration on the matter. The resolution, led by Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Mike Lee (R-Utah) and […]
12/12/2018
CONGRESS/GOP/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/TRUMP PEOPLE/WHITE HOUSE STAFF: “Republican House member Mark Meadows will stay in Congress and not become President Donald Trump’s new chief of staff, officials said Wednesday [12-12-18]. Meadows ‘is doing an incredible job in Congress,’ said White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders. ‘The President told him we need him in Congress so he can […]
12/12/2018
BUSINESS/ICE/IMMIGRATION/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “The Trump administration ramped up arrests at businesses suspected of employing undocumented immigrants in 2018, but data obtained by USA TODAY show that federal agents did so by mostly targeting those working illegally and not their employers. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement was ordered to quadruple worksite enforcement this year, and it […]
12/12/2018
DEMS/IRS/SENATE/TREASURY/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “The Senate passed legislation Wednesday [12-12-18] to reverse a Trump administration policy limiting donor disclosure requirements for political nonprofits in a rare rebuke to the White House. In a 50-49 vote, the Senate approved a resolution from Sens. Jon Tester (D-Mont.) and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) that would block the recent Treasury Department […]
12/12/2018
CHINA/DEMS/IRAN/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) Wednesday [12-12-18] called President Donald Trump’s suggestion that he might intervene in the criminal proceedings of a Huawei executive for trade purposes ‘very disturbing.’ Trump said Wednesday he may get involved in the case of Meng Wanzhou, chief financial officer of the Chinese telecommunications firm, over charges that […]
12/12/2018
ENVIRONMENT/EPA/OBAMA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “The Trump administration is moving forward with a significant rollback of an Obama-era clean water regulation that has become a rallying cry for farmers and property-rights activists opposed to federal overreach. The new proposal, unveiled Tuesday [12-11-18] morning by acting EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler and other administration officials, would ease Washington’s oversight […]
12/12/2018
CHINA/CYBERWAR/TECHNOLOGY/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Looming indictments against Chinese government hackers are part of a Trump administration push coming this week to highlight Beijing’s rampant theft of intellectual property and campaign of cyber intrusions, according to The Washington Post. In addition to the indictments over digital breaches, which The Wall Street Journal and POLITICO reported last week, […]
12/12/2018
NIKKI HALEY/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/UN: “President Donald Trump’s unpredictability may rattle his advisers and other world leaders, but to outgoing U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley the president’s mercurial nature has often been an asset…By harnessing Trump’s unpredictability to her advantage in diplomatic negotiations, Haley said she was just ‘trying to get the job […]
12/12/2018
BORDER/DEMS/FRANCE/TERRORISM/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “President Donald Trump on Wednesday [12-12-18] said he would move to fortify U.S. borders ‘even more’ in the wake of an attack in France that left three dead and more than a dozen wounded, criticizing Democratic congressional leaders for pushing back on his requests for money to build a proposed border wall […]
12/12/2018
DEMS/NATIONAL SECURITY/OBAMA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “The Democrats and President Obama gave Iran 150 Billion Dollars and got nothing, but they can’t give 5 Billion Dollars for National Security and a Wall?” -Donald Trump, Twitter.com, December 12, 2018 7:50 am […]
12/12/2018
BORDER/CHUCK SCHUMER/FRANCE/NANCY PELOSI/TERRORISM/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Another very bad terror attack in France. We are going to strengthen our borders even more. Chuck and Nancy must give us the votes to get additional Border Security!” –Donald Trump, Twitter.com, December 12, 2018 7:34 am […]
12/12/2018
MICHAEL COHEN/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “The fall of Michael Cohen, President Trump’s former attorney, is a watershed moment for the Trump presidency. As a former investigator, I see the Cohen affair’s most damning revelation to be the President’s knowing and longtime association with a criminal, not that the criminal in question pleaded guilty to a crime […]
12/12/2018
CANADA/CHINA/TRADE DEALS/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Canada issued a stern warning to President Donald Trump on Wednesday [12-12-18]: don’t use the arrest of a Chinese executive as a bargaining chip in trade talks. “Our extradition partners should not seek to politicize the extradition process or use it for ends other than the pursuit of justice,” Canadian Foreign […]
12/12/2018
ROBERT MUELLER/RUSSIA INVESTIGATION/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Rep. Denny Heck said Wednesday [12-12-18] that recent indictments and sentencing memos show ‘the walls are closing in and this is the beginning of the end for the Trump administration’…Heck, a member of the House Intelligence Committee, said special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into possible collusion between Russian operatives and […]
12/11/2018
IMPEACHMENT/MICHAEL COHEN/RUSSIA INVESTIGATION/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “President Donald Trump said on Tuesday [12-11-18] that there would be chaos across the country if he were impeached, as he brushed aside the latest assertions from federal prosecutors that during the 2016 election he coordinated and directed Michael Cohen’s efforts to silence women who claimed they had affairs with […]
12/11/2018
CHINA/TRADE DEALS/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “President Donald Trump said Tuesday [12-11-18] his administration is open to using the arrest of Huawei chief financial officer Meng Wanzhou as a bargaining chip in ongoing trade negotiations with China. Asked by Reuters in an interview if he would intervene in the case, Trump said, ‘Whatever’s good for this country, […]
12/11/2018
BORDER/CENTRAL AMERICA/DHS/IMMIGRATION/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “US President Donald Trump and Mexico’s top immigration officials painted sharply different pictures Tuesday [12-11-18] of the large groups of Central American migrants at the border. On Twitter and during a live televised meeting in the Oval Office, Trump said migrants in the so-called caravan he’d been warning about for weeks […]
12/11/2018
BORDER/DHS/IMMIGRATION/MILITARY/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Some of the active-duty troops who President Donald Trump ordered to help secure the southern border have begun departing and thousands of them could be home by the end of the month, according to a US defense official. The official said the exact number of troops to stay on the border after […]
12/11/2018
BORDER/BUDGET/CHUCK SCHUMER/DEMS/NANCY PELOSI/SPENDING/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/WALL: “President Donald Trump just made it nearly impossible for Republicans to blame Democrats for an increasingly likely partial government shutdown. But they’re going to try anyway. House Republicans are considering passing a stopgap spending bill that provides $5 billion for Trump’s border wall, essentially daring Senate Democrats to accept it […]
12/11/2018
MEDIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/TRUMP PEOPLE/WOMEN: “President Donald Trump has made numerous derisive comments about female reporters, but White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders won’t say whether he crossed the line. Defending the president during a talk hosted by POLITICO, Sanders said on Tuesday [12-11-18] that male reporters had been equally targeted by Trump’s vitriol and […]
12/11/2018
BORDER/CHUCK SCHUMER/DEMS/NANCY PELOSI/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/WALL: “House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi privately questioned President Donald Trump’s ‘manhood’ after a contentious meeting Tuesday [12-11-18] about funding his wall at the southern border…Pelosi, in a feisty mood after the heated exchange with the President, also compared the President to a skunk…The press-filled Oval Office meeting had been slated […]
12/11/2018
BORDER/CHUCK SCHUMER/GOVERNMENT/NANCY PELOSI/SPENDING/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/WALL: “‘This has spiraled downward,’ Nancy Pelosi declared. That turned out to be an understatement. For 17 awkward and tense minutes in the Oval Office on Tuesday [12-11-18], President Donald Trump and his Democratic adversaries — Pelosi, the expected incoming House speaker, and Chuck Schumer, the Senate minority leader — clashed […]
12/11/2018
CRIME/LEGISLATION/MITCH MCCONNELL/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Thanks to Leader McConnell for agreeing to bring a Senate vote on Criminal Justice this week! These historic changes will make communities SAFER and SAVE tremendous taxpayers dollars. It brings much needed hope to many families during the Holiday Season.” -Donald Trump, Twitter.com, December 11, 2018 5:09 pm […]
12/11/2018
BORDER/DEMS/IMMIGRATION/SPENDING/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/WALL: “President Donald Trump threatened Tuesday [12-11-18] to shut down the government over his demand for a multi-billion dollar border wall during a remarkable televised clash with the top House and Senate Democrats in the Oval Office. Trump traded taunts and threats with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Nancy […]
12/11/2018
IMPEACHMENT/LEGAL/MICHAEL COHEN/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/WOMEN: “President Donald Trump said on Tuesday [12-11-18] he was not concerned that he would get impeached and that payments made ahead of the 2016 election by his former personal attorney Michael Cohen to two women did not violate campaign finance laws…Court filings last week drew renewed attention to six-figure payments made […]
12/11/2018
CHINA/JUSTICE DEPARTMENT/SANCTIONS/TRADE DEALS/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday [12-11-18] he would intervene with the U.S. Justice Department in the case against a Chinese telecommunications executive if it would help secure a trade deal with Beijing…Trump expressed optimism that he could strike a trade deal with Chinese President Xi Jinping as the […]
12/11/2018
CIA/MEDIA/SAUDI ARABIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday [12-11-18] that he stood by Saudi Arabia’s crown prince despite a CIA assessment that he ordered the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi and pleas from U.S. senators for Trump to condemn the kingdom’s de facto ruler. Trump refused to comment on whether Crown Prince […]
BORDER/DEMS/NANCY PELOSI/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/WALL: “Nancy Pelosi was on fire with her fellow Democrats. Minutes after a very public showdown with Donald Trump on Tuesday [12-11-18] over his border wall with Mexico, the House minority leader returned to the Capitol and railed against the president in a private meeting with her colleagues…Congressional Democrats are feeling smug […]
12/11/2018
BORDER/BUDGET/CHUCK SCHUMER/IMMIGRATION/NANCY PELOSI/SPENDING/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/WALL: “President Donald Trump clashed sharply with Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer in a remarkable Oval Office meeting before reporters Tuesday [12-11-18], with the president threatening to shut down the government and the Democrats warning him they will not bend. In a pitched partisan argument televised for all to see, the […]
12/11/2018
FBI/JAMES COMEY/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “’I don’t care what you think of the President…it cannot bleed over to the FBI…Comey is confirming there is bias in the FBI…’ -Chris Swecker” -Donald Trump, Twitter.com, December 11, 2018 1:55 pm […]