Tag: Barack Obama

Trump Presence Felt During Poignant Moments of Bush 41’s Funeral

Former presidents, vice presidents, first ladies and Pres. Trump attend the funeral of former President George H.W. Bush at the National Cathedral on Wednesday. Credit: Chip Somodevilla, Getty Images

Hillary Clinton ignores president before George W. Bush’s emotional eulogy for father

President George H.W. Bush’s funeral, by design, was not about the sitting commander in chief, but there were moments when Donald Trump’s presence was paramount.

The 41st president’s son, George W. Bush, never mentioned the 45th president by name during his humorous and emotional eulogy for his father. But there were moments during his remarks that made clear the deep differences between the elder Bush and Trump.

“Of course, dad taught me another special lesson; he showed me what it means to be a president who serves with integrity, leads with courage and acts with love in his heart for the citizens of our country,” the 43rd president said in his familiar Texas drawl.

View the complete December 5 article by John T. Bennett on The Roll Call article here.

Someone is taking Trump’s angry rhetoric very literally

Words matter.

Donald Trump Credit: Win McNamee, Getty Images

In the midst of the 2016 campaign, a bit of punditry was born: Take Trump seriously, not literally. Two years later, Trump has done — or tried to do — everything he literally promised on the campaign trail, and on Wednesday morning, there was more chilling evidence that words matter, and that people listening to the president may be taking him very literally.

On Wednesday morning, the Secret Service announced it had intercepted packages containing “potential explosive devices” addressed to former Secretary of State and Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton in New York and President Barack Obama in Washington, D.C. Not long after, the CNN New York offices were evacuated after a suspected explosive device, addressed to former CIA director and MSNBC contributor John Brennan, was found in the mailroom.

Suspicious packages were also being investigated Wednesday afternoon at the Sunrise, Florida office of Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL) — the former chair of the Democratic National Committee — and an office building shared by the San Diego Union-Tribune, Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA), and several other businesses, in San Diego, California.

View the complete October 24 article by Addy Baird on the ThinkProgress website here.

The Coincidence of Bomb Recipients, Trump and Far-Right Rhetoric

White House ducks questions about president’s win-at-all-costs polarizing approach

People at a Make America Great Again rally in Tampa. Credit: Joe Raedle, Getty Images

ANALYSIS | The recipients of explosive devices sent this week have so far shared a commonality: harsh criticism by President Donald Trump and far-right followers.

But White House officials were in no mood Wednesday to entertain the notion that the president’s descriptions of Democrats as “evil” and news organizations as the “enemy of the people” might have helped lead a bomber to build devices and mail them to Democratic mega-donor George Soros, former President Barack Obama, 2016 Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton and CNN. A building in Miami that houses an office for former Democratic National Committee head Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz was also evacuated Wednesday.

Trump’s aides declined to comment beyond a statement from press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders condemning what she called “attempted violent attacks recently made against President Obama, President Clinton, Secretary Clinton, and other public figures.”

View the compete October 24 article by John T. Bennet on the Roll Call website here.

The ‘Trump economy’ vs. the ‘Obama economy’

We’ve accomplished an economic turnaround of historic proportions.”

— President Trump, in remarks on the economy, on July 27, 2018

“When you hear how great the economy’s doing right now, let’s just remember when this recovery started. I mean, I’m glad it’s continued, but when you hear about this economic miracle that’s been going on, when the job numbers come out, monthly job numbers, suddenly Republicans are saying it’s a miracle. I have to kind of remind them, actually, those job numbers are the same as they were in 2015 and 2016.”

— Former president Barack Obama, in remarks at the University of Illinois, on Sept. 7, 2018

There’s little doubt that the economy is doing well. Regular readers of The Fact Checker know we automatically award Two Pinocchios to anyone who gives sole credit to a president for economic improvements. That’s because the U.S. economy is complex, and the decisions of companies and consumers often loom larger than the acts of government.

View the complete September 18 article by Meg Kelly on the Washington Post website here.

Ohio’s Richest Republican Backer Leslie Wexner Quits Party After Visit From President Obama

He said he had been a Republican since college, but would now consider himself an independent.

Credit: Astrid Stawiar, Getty

Former President Barack Obama visited Ohio looking to boost the campaign prospects of Democratic gubernatorial candidate Richard Cordray, who served as the head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau during Obama’s second term.

Inadvertently, Obama also seemed to convince a longtime Republican, and the state’s wealthiest man, to leave his own party.

Leslie H. Wexner, the fashion retail tycoon whose net worth is estimated by Forbes to be $5.9 billion, recently told a small audience in Columbus that he has decided to quit the party he has called home for decades after Obama’s visit.

View the complete September 15 article by Gideon Resnick on the DailyBeast.com website here.

Obama comes off sidelines, thrilling Dems

The following article by Amie Parnes was posted on the Hill website September 8, 2018:

It was a speech Barack Obama had held off from delivering.

For months, the former president refused to come off the political sidelines, even as some activists said that they wanted him to publicly take on President Trump.

Obama grumbled privately to close allies about Trump, but said he did not want to become even more of a foil to his successor, who frequently criticizes him on Twitter and in remarks to friendly audiences.

He said he wanted to create space for new leaders to emerge, and that he didn’t want to suck up all the oxygen.

View the complete article here.

Obama condemns Trump in fiery address

The following article by Jordan Fabian was posed on the Hillwebsite September 7, 2018:

Former President Obama stepped off the political sidelines on Friday and delivered a fiery rebuke to his successor, President Trump, saying he has undermined trust in government and preyed on people’s fears by inflaming racial and ethnic divisions.

“This is not normal. These are not ordinary times, these are dangerous times,” the former president, who since leaving office has avoided direct attacks on Trump, said during a speech at the University of Illinois.

The hourlong speech marked Obama’s return to the political stage and was intended to rally Democrats ahead of November’s midterm elections, which he framed as crucial for the future of the American democracy. 

View the complete article here.

 

Trump accuses Obama of rigging Russia investigation

The following article by Frank Dale was posted on the ThinkProgress website July 16, 2018:

The president also praised Putin and told Hannity that the Mueller probe is hurting U.S.-Russia relations.

Pres. Trump during a Sean Hannity interview. Credit: Fox News screengrab

President Trump accused his predecessor, President Obama, of rigging the ongoing Russia investigation against him and instructing an FBI agent to carry out the task, during an interview with Fox News’ Sean Hannity Monday night.

FBI agent Peter Strzok, a former member of Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation team, has long been a target of conservatives, who claim his previous anti-Trump texts to a colleague with whom he was having an affair prove the Russia investigation is nothing more than a political witch-hunt. Trump has repeatedly echoed those claims, suggesting Strzok wanted to prevent him from winning the presidency and that the investigation is baseless, despite the numerous indictments Mueller’s team has handed down over the past year.

On Monday night, following his diplomatic summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Helsinki, Finland, Trump took things a step further by implying his predecessor had directly ordered Strzok to rig the investigation against him.

View the complete post on the Think Progress website here.

Trump falsely claims Obama gave citizenship to 2,500 Iranians during nuclear deal talks

The following article by Salvador Rizzo was posted on the Washington Post website July 4, 2018:

Credit: Getty Images

“Just out that the Obama Administration granted citizenship, during the terrible Iran Deal negotiation, to 2,500 Iranians – including to government officials. How big (and bad) is that?”
— President Trump, in a tweet, July 3, 2018

This tweet packs a punch: Trump is suggesting that President Barack Obama’s administration sweetened the Iran nuclear deal by granting U.S. citizenship to 2,500 Iranians, including government officials.

Trump has long derided the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). But this is a new line of criticism, coming nearly two months after Trump announced that the United States was withdrawing from the deal.

View the full article on the Washington Post website here.

Trump administration moves to rescind Obama-era guidance on race in admissions

The following article by Nick Anderson and Moriah Balingit was posted on the Washington Post website July 3, 2018:

Attorney General Jeff Sessions Credit: Gregory Bull/AP

The Trump administration Tuesday discouraged the use of race in college admissions and public school enrollment by revoking federal guidance on affirmative action from the Obama era.

The announcement is the latest step in a decades-long debate over the use of race in admissions, a tactic for many schools seeking to diversify and overcome the legacy of segregation.

Trump officials said that the Obama administration overstepped its authority by going ­beyond what the Supreme Court has said in affirmative-action ­cases. In recent years, the court has restricted when race can be used. President Barack Obama’s policies interpreting those rulings sought to show schools and colleges how they could use race voluntarily in the interest of promoting diversity.

View the complete article on the Washington Post website here.