Tag: Donald Trump

Trump Criticized Obama for Golfing. Now He Spends Weekends on the Links.

The following article by Erin McCann was posted on the New York Times website February 12, 2017:

As a private citizen, Donald J. Trump was repeatedly critical of President Obama’s fondness for relaxing with a round of golf.

“Can you believe that, with all of the problems and difficulties facing the U.S., President Obama spent the day playing golf.” Mr. Trump tweeted on Oct. 13, 2014. “Worse than Carter.”

“We pay for Obama’s travel so he can fundraise millions so Democrats can run on lies,” he said a day later. “Then we pay for his golf.” Continue reading “Trump Criticized Obama for Golfing. Now He Spends Weekends on the Links.”

Trump and Russia: A Timeline

The following article by Corey Ciorciari and Anna Perina was posted on the Center for American Progress Action Fund website February 10, 2017:

AP/Andrew Harnik
President Donald Trump—accompanied by, from the left, Chief of Staff Reince Priebus, Vice President Mike Pence, White House press secretary Sean Spicer, and National Security Adviser Michael Flynn—speaks on the phone with Russian President Vladimir Putin on January 28, 2017, in the Oval Office.

Recordings of phone conversations by U.S. intelligence agencies show that President Donald Trump’s National Security Adviser Mike Flynn likely lied when he denied discussing election-related sanctions on Russia with Kremlin officials before Trump’s inauguration.

The intercepts contain disturbing revelations showing a long history of contact between Flynn and Russian Ambassador to the United States Sergey Kislyak that began before the election and continued into the transition, with Flynn telling the Russians that Trump would revisit sanctions. Critically, these contacts persisted even after the U.S. government concluded the Kremlin engaged in a covert influence operation to put Trump in the White House. Continue reading “Trump and Russia: A Timeline”

From Trump’s Mar-a-Lago to Facebook, a National Security Crisis in the Open

The following article by Michael D. Shear and Maggie Haberman was posted on the New York Times website February 13, 2017:

President Trump at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Fla., on Saturday. He and his aides coordinated a national security response there in full view of diners instead of moving to a private location. Credit Al Drago/The New York Times

WASHINGTON — President Trump and his top aides coordinated their response to North Korea’s missile test on Saturday night in full view of diners at Mr. Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida — a remarkable, public display of presidential activity that is almost always conducted in highly secure settings.

The scene — of aides huddled over their computers and the president on his cellphone at his club’s terrace — was captured by a club member dining not far away and published in pictures on his Facebook account. The images also show Mr. Trump conferring with his guest at the resort, Shinzo Abe, the Japanese prime minister. Continue reading “From Trump’s Mar-a-Lago to Facebook, a National Security Crisis in the Open”

Trump’s TV Star Fades: He’s No Longer A Ratings Magnet

The following article by Eric Boehlert was posted on the Media Matters website February 10, 2017:

President Donald Trump might have been cheering the New England Patriots’ historic comeback on Super Bowl Sunday, but he couldn’t have been happy about his own contribution to the day. His sit-down interviewwith Bill O’Reilly, which aired during Fox’s pre-Super Bowl coverage, turned out to be something of a ratings dud. And for a president who obsesses over TV ratings and uses them to validate his own identity, the Sunday interview seemed to be the latest example of his fading personal appeal.  Continue reading “Trump’s TV Star Fades: He’s No Longer A Ratings Magnet”

Stephen Miller’s bushels of Pinocchios for false voter-fraud claims

The following Fact Checker article by Glenn Kessler was posted on the Washington Post website February 12, 2012:

White House senior policy adviser Stephen Miller. (Nicholas Kamm/AFP via Getty Images)

White House senior policy adviser Stephen Miller appeared on ABC’s “The Week” on Sunday, spouting a bunch of false talking points on alleged voter fraud. (He also repeated similar claims on other Sunday talk shows.) To his credit, host George Stephanopoulus repeatedly challenged Miller, noting that he had provided no evidence to support his claims. But Miller charged ahead, using the word “fact” three times in a vain effort to bolster his position.

Here’s a guide through the back and forth. Continue reading “Stephen Miller’s bushels of Pinocchios for false voter-fraud claims”

Russian dossier on Trump gaining credibility with law enforcement

The following video from CBS News was posted February 10, 2017:

 

The Takeaway: The Special Relationship

The following is from the Washington Post Today’s WorldView by Ishaan Tharoor was issued February 13, 2017. Teamed with President Trump stating he wasn’t aware of this issue this past Friday, the situation is extremely concerning on multiple levels.

President Trump’s national security adviser, Michael T. Flynn, had a pretty wretched week. The Post’s reporting revealed that Flynn, contrary to his and the White House’s earlier assertions, had discussed U.S. sanctions against Russia with Moscow’s ambassador in Washington prior to Trump’s inauguration. Flynn, according to intelligence sources, likely signaled that the question of sanctions would be revisited by a more friendly Trump administration. Continue reading “The Takeaway: The Special Relationship”

We Can’t Take His Word for It

English teachers beginning in the earliest grades demand that students writing essays or research papers support assertions with fact or expert opinion. Part of becoming a thoughtful, engaged citizen, the argument goes, is being able to make an argument and back it up with credible sources. An English teacher will often write in the margin of a draft of a research paper “It looks like you lack support for this assertion,” or “How did you draw this conclusion?”

Candidate Trump often employed unearned assertions throughout the campaign against his primary opponents and Hillary Clinton. As President of the United States, Donald Trump can no longer make unfounded assertions and a number of his most remarkable assertions demand evidence and further investigation. Continue reading “We Can’t Take His Word for It”