Category: 2020 Election

Trump horrifies viewers with warm wishes for accused sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell

AlterNet logoPresident Donald Trump horrified many viewers of his Tuesday coronavirus briefing — filled with many lies and distortions about the ongoing pandemic — when he was asked about the fate of Ghislaine Maxwell.

The longtime girlfriend of the late Jeffrey Epstein, who was believed to have engaged in decades of sex trafficking and abuse of young girls, is now in federal custody. She faces multiple charges of participating in sex trafficking with Epstein, who was also a friend of the president before they reportedly had a falling out.

A reporter asked Trump if he had any comment on the prospect that Maxwell might turn in powerful men as a part of her case.

“I haven’t really been following it too much,” Trump said. “I just wish her well, frankly. I met her numerous times over the years, especially since I lived in Palm Beach, and I guess they lived in Palm Beach. But I wish her well, whatever it is.” Continue reading.

Maine brewery cancels on Lara Trump after accusing campaign of lying about ‘Women for Trump’ event

AlterNet logoA Trump campaign event in Maine was canceled Tuesday after the owner said he was lied to by the campaign about the scope of the event.

Brad and Nancy Nadeau, the owners of Stars and Stripes Brewing, told the Bangor Daily News on Tuesday that they were alerted to the facts from a campaign news release calling them the “first stop” for a “Women for Trump” bus tour that will cross a few states in the northeast, ending in New Hampshire two days after it begins.

“The Nadeaus said on Tuesday they had initially been told that some members of the campaign were going to come in for a beer while getting pizza from an adjacent restaurant,” the report explained. “Brad Nadeau said he was told late Monday that Lara Trump, the Republican president’s daughter-in-law, would be there and reporters may come as well, but he did not know it would be a formal event.” Continue reading.

As Trump Pushes Into Portland, His Campaign Ads Turn Darker

New York Times logoThe Trump campaign is spending millions on ads that promote a dark and exaggerated portrayal of Democratic-led cities, a tactic that reinforces his “law and order’’ campaign message.

As President Trump deploys federal agents to Portland, Ore., and threatens to dispatch more to other cities, his re-election campaign is spending millions of dollars on several ominous television ads that promote fear and dovetail with his political message of “law and order.”

The influx of agents in Portland has led to scenes of confrontations and chaos that Mr. Trump and his White House aides have pointed to as they try to burnish a false narrative about Democratic elected officials allowing dangerous protesters to create widespread bedlam.

The Trump campaign is driving home that message with a new adthat tries to tie its dark portrayal of Democratic-led cities to Mr. Trump’s main rival, Joseph R. Biden Jr. — with exaggerated images intended to persuade viewers that lawless anarchy would prevail if Mr. Biden won the presidency. The ad simulates a break-in at the home of an older woman and ends with her being attacked while she waits on hold for a 911 call, as shadowy, dark intruders flicker in the background. Continue reading.

Facing unrest on American streets, Trump turns Homeland Security powers inward

Washington Post logoIn Portland, Washington and other U.S. cities shaken by protests in recent months, the Trump administration has leaned on the considerable authority and assets of the Department of Homeland Security — an agency formed to prevent another Sept. 11, 2001, attack — to spearhead the federal response.

Images of militarized Border Patrol agents clubbing protesters and stuffing them into unmarked vehicles have alarmed civil liberties advocates and administration critics, and the displays of government power echo tactics long associated with authoritarian rule.

Legal analysts say that while the department has broad authority to enforce federal laws, officers’ actions — especially in Portland, Ore. — seemed to be pushing the boundaries and pulling DHS into a domestic policing role. Continue reading.

Trump’s Request of an Ambassador: Get the British Open for Me

New York Times logoWoody Johnson, the N.F.L. owner, Trump donor and ambassador to Britain, was warned not to get involved in trying to move the tournament to a Trump resort in Scotland, but he raised the idea anyway — and he failed.

LONDON — The American ambassador to Britain, Robert Wood Johnson IV, told multiple colleagues in February 2018 that President Trump had asked him to see if the British government could help steer the world-famous and lucrative British Open golf tournament to the Trump Turnberry resort in Scotland, according to three people with knowledge of the episode.

The ambassador’s deputy, Lewis A. Lukens, advised him not to do it, warning that it would be an unethical use of the presidency for private gain, these people said. But Mr. Johnson apparently felt pressured to try. A few weeks later, he raised the idea of Turnberry playing host to the Open with the secretary of state for Scotland, David Mundell.

In a brief interview last week, Mr. Mundell said it was “inappropriate” for him to discuss his dealings with Mr. Johnson and referred to a British government statement that said Mr. Johnson “made no request of Mr. Mundell regarding the British Open or any other sporting event.” The statement did not address whether the ambassador had broached the issue of Turnberry, which Mr. Trump bought in 2014, but none of the next four Opens are scheduled to be played there. Continue reading.

Legal experts slam Trump’s ‘blatantly unconstitutional’ attempt to corrupt the census

AlterNet logoPresident Donald Trump on Tuesday signed a memorandum declaring undocumented immigrants are not to be counted when the number of U.S. Representatives for each state is allotted. That process, called “apportionment,” occurs every ten years after the official national census is conducted.

The U.S. Constitution mandates the census, which is being conducted this year, count “the whole number of persons in each state.” It makes no distinction as to their citizenship status.

What Trump is doing is claiming he has the authority to bypass the Constitution and declare undocumented immigrants are not “persons,” and therefore, literally, do not count. Continue reading.

Right-wing smear accuses a reporter of calling Kayleigh McEnany a misogynistic slur — but the video proves otherwise

AlterNet logoLike her predecessors Stephanie Grisham and Sarah Huckabee Sanders, White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany has had an adversarial relationship with the mainstream media, leading to testy exchanges. And on Tuesday, after a terse back-and-forth with Al Jazeera’s Kimberly Halkett, some right-wing critics accused the reporter of calling McEnany a “lying bitch” during a press briefing.

But video and the White House transcript of the conservation shows that Halkett never said that.

Halkett, originally from British Columbia in Western Canada, has been covering the White House for Al Jazeera’s English-language division since the late 1990s. At the press briefing, Halkett had a tense discussion with McEnany when the two briefly addressed voting by mail. McEnany told Halkett: “There are questions about mass mail-out voting, and I know you don’t want to hear them — which is why you talk over me.” Continue reading.

He’s back: Trump to re-up virus briefings amid lagging polls

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is set to once again take center stage in the government’s coronavirus response after a White House debate over how best to deploy its greatest and most volatile asset — him — played out in public as his poll numbers falter.

One week after a campaign shake-up, the plan is for Trump to again become a regular public presence at the podium starting Tuesday as confirmed coronavirus cases spike nationwide.

Trump advisers have stressed the urgency of the president adopting a more disciplined public agenda in an effort to turn around his lagging poll numbers against Democratic rival Joe Biden. Continue reading.

Trump aims to bar undocumented immigrants from counting toward House representation

The Hill logoPresident Trump on Tuesday issued an order that blocks undocumented immigrants from being counted in the 2020 census for the purpose of allocating congressional representation.

The order, which immediately prompted legal challenges, amounts to something of a workaround for Trump after the Supreme Court last year blocked the administration from adding a citizenship question to the decennial survey.

The rationale for the memo rests on the argument that the president has final say over transmitting the final census report to Congress and that the Constitution does not explicitly define which persons must be included in determining apportionment. Continue reading.

The Memo: Trump’s grip on GOP loosens as polls sink

The Hill logoPresident Trump faces the prospect of growing dissent within his own party unless he can arrest his slide in the polls.

Trump has fallen a significant distance behind presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden in recent weeks, as the coronavirus has become resurgent. Republicans are eyeing their electoral futures with increasing nervousness.

“Are they worried about Trump’s approval rating? Absolutely, because many of them know they cannot significantly outperform the president. If you are in a swing state or in a swing district, you need the president to be at least competitive,” said one former Republican member of Congress, who requested anonymity to speak candidly. Continue reading.