Category: National Issues

Trump And His Press Secretary Flagrantly Lied On Their First Full Day In Office. That Matters.

Thankfully, some reporters are calling them out on it.

The following article by Nick Baumann and Michael Calderone was posted on the Huffington Post website January 21, 2017:

On Saturday, President Donald Trump’s first full day in office, he gave a speech at CIA headquarters in which he lied about the size of the crowd at his inauguration and falsely claimed that he had never feuded with the U.S. intelligence community. Hours later, his press secretary emerged from the West Wing, lied about the size of the inaugural crowd and took no questions. Continue reading “Trump And His Press Secretary Flagrantly Lied On Their First Full Day In Office. That Matters.”

Trump takes to Twitter to weigh in on Women’s March, TV ratings for inauguration

The following article by John Wagner was posted on the Washington Post website January 22, 2017:

President Trump weighed in for the first time on the massive protests against his presidency that took place in Washington and around the globe, stating sarcastically on Twitter on Sunday morning that he was “under the impression that we just had an election!”

His tweet came in response to more than one million people gathering Saturday for the Women’s March on Washington and at other rallies in the United States and abroad, meant as a rejoinder to his inauguration the day before. Trump and his aides remained silent about the protests on Saturday. Continue reading “Trump takes to Twitter to weigh in on Women’s March, TV ratings for inauguration”

Sean Spicer held a press conference. He didn’t take questions. Or tell the whole truth.

The following article by Chris Cillizza was posted on the Washington Post website January 21, 2017:

White House press secretary Sean Spicer held a press briefing Saturday night.  Except not really.  Spicer delivered a statement blasting the media for allegedly underestimating the size of the crowds for President Trump’s inaugural ceremony.  He took no questions.  The full text of Spicer’s statement is below. Using Genius, I annotated it. You can too! Sign up for Genius and annotate alongside me! To see an annotation, click or tap the highlighted part of the transcript.

Good evening.  Thank you guys for coming.  I know our first official press briefing is going to be on Monday, but I wanted to give you a few updates on the President’s activities.  But before I get to the news of the day, I think I’d like to discuss a little bit of the coverage of the last 24 hours. Continue reading “Sean Spicer held a press conference. He didn’t take questions. Or tell the whole truth.”

Trump, in CIA visit, attacks media for coverage of his inaugural crowds

The following article by Philip Rucker, John Wagner and Greg Miller was posted on the Washington Post website January 21, 2017:

On his first full day in office, President Trump visited the Central Intelligence Agency’s headquarters to express his gratitude for the intelligence community, which he had repeatedly railed against and recently likened to Nazis.

What Trump delivered Saturday was a campaign-style, stream-of-consciousness airing of grievances — at the Senate for delaying confirmation of his nominees; at critics for questioning whether he is smart and vigorous; and at journalists, whom he called “the most dishonest human beings on earth” and accused of lying about the size of his inauguration crowd. Continue reading “Trump, in CIA visit, attacks media for coverage of his inaugural crowds”

Donald Trump’s Inauguration Marks the Beginning of the Era of Fear

The following piece by Nina Burleigh was posted on the Newsweek website January 20, 2017:

JOSHUA ROBERTS/REUTERS

As the sun rose over Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington on Friday, everything was in place for Donald Trump’s inauguration except the people. Hundreds of cement bomb-blockers were in place; camo-clad soldiers patrolled street corners along with D.C. police in riot gear; roads were closed; traffic crawled; choppers buzzed; and black-clad snipers took up positions on rooftops. Trump had wanted tanks and missile launchers to roll down Pennsylvania Avenue ahead of him, but the U.S. military would only give him some fighter jet flyovers.

The people would arrive later, after they lined up as meekly as cattle at a Texas feedlot and were herded through narrow security gates to be prodded and searched. Continue reading “Donald Trump’s Inauguration Marks the Beginning of the Era of Fear”

White House website touts Melania Trump’s modeling and jewelry line

The following article by Kelsey Snell was posted on the Washington Post website January 20, 2017:

This post has been updated.

Photo: Daily Beast

Visitors to the newly revamped White House website get more than a simple rundown of first lady Melania Trump’s charitable works and interests — they also get a list of her magazine cover appearances and details on her jewelry line at QVC.

Her biography starts with traditional details, such as her date of birth in her native country of Slovenia and information about her background as a model. That’s when the brief backgrounder takes a promotional turn. The website includes a lengthy list of brands that hired her as a model and several of the magazines in which she appeared, including the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue. Continue reading “White House website touts Melania Trump’s modeling and jewelry line”

Trump’s inaugural cake was commissioned to look exactly like Obama’s, baker says

The following article by Amy Wang and Tim Carman was posted on the Washington Post website January 21, 2017:

 

Amid the glitz of President Trump’s inaugural festivities, one item stood out in particular late Friday night: a spectacular nine-tier cake that the new president and Vice President Pence cut into with a sword.

To pastry chef Duff Goldman, the cake seemed a little too familiar — because it looked almost exactly like one he had made years earlier for Barack Obama’s second inauguration as president. Continue reading “Trump’s inaugural cake was commissioned to look exactly like Obama’s, baker says”

Interior Department reactivates Twitter accounts after shutdown following inauguration

The following article by Lisa Rein was posted on the Washington Post website January 21, 2017:

Donald Trump’s 2017 inauguration, right, appeared to draw a smaller crowd than Barack Obama’s 2009 inauguration, left. (Reuters)

The Interior Department reactivated its official Twitter accounts early Saturday after an abrupt shutdown following shares of two tweets during the inauguration the agency considered unsympathetic to President Trump. Continue reading “Interior Department reactivates Twitter accounts after shutdown following inauguration”

Fact-checking President Trump’s inaugural address

The following article by Glenn Kessler and Michelle Ye Hee Lee was posted on the Washington Post website January 20, 2017:

Generally, inaugural addresses are not designed to be fact-checked. But President Trump’s address was nothing if not unique, presenting a portrait of the United States that often was at variance with reality. Here’s a guide to understanding whether the facts back up his rhetoric.

“Washington flourished, but the people did not share in its wealth. Politicians prospered, but the jobs left and the factories closed.”

Continue reading “Fact-checking President Trump’s inaugural address”