Tag: GOP now the cult of Trump

Romney shocks GOP with vote to convict

The Hill logoSen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) shocked his fellow Republican senators and surprised much of the nation on Wednesday with a dramatic floor speech announcing he would vote to convict President Trump on the impeachment charge of abuse of power.

Romney announced his decision in a nearly empty Senate chamber just hours before the Senate voted to acquit Trump and after fellow GOP colleagues such as Sens. Susan Collins (Maine) and Lisa Murkowski (Alaska) had already announced they would not vote to convict Trump.

Just as surprising as his vote was the intensity of the 2012 Republican presidential nominee’s language. Continue reading.

 

Wrong: Trump Claims Unprecedented ‘Victory’ In Iowa’s GOP Caucus

Donald Trump claimed on Tuesday that his successful performance in Monday’s Iowa caucus was somehow historic, but that isn’t true. President Barack Obama outperformed Trump when he ran for reelection in 2012.

“I had the largest re-election vote in the history of that great state, by far, beating President Obama’s previous record by a lot,” Trump tweeted. “Also, 97 percent Plus of the vote! Thank you Iowa!”

The Iowa Republican Party’s official results show that Trump received 97.15 percent of the vote. Former Illinois Rep. Joe Walsh received 1.08 percent of the vote on Monday night, and William Weld, a former governor of Massachusetts, received 1.31 percent of the vote. Another 0.47 percent of the vote went to “other.” Continue reading.

Out of the impeachment, into the fallout

The trial ended Wednesday with acquittal, but investigations and court fights continue

The acquittal of President Donald Trump ended his impeachment trial Wednesday the way it always appeared it would, but the battle’s lasting fallout is just beginning for congressional power, the nation’s political landscape and ongoing legal fights between Trump and House Democrats.

The Senate voted 48-52 to reject the House’s abuse of power charge and 47-53 to reject the obstruction of Congress charge.

The trial’s ultimate result was never seriously in doubt, since at least 20 Republicans would have needed to cross Trump and party lines to get the supermajority of 67 votes needed to convict him for abuse of power or obstruction of Congress. Most of the drama ended with a 49-51 vote last week to reject a motion to subpoena more witnesses and documents. Continue reading.

George Conway: I believe the president, and in the president

Washington Post logoGeorge T. Conway III is a lawyer in New York and an adviser to the Lincoln Project, an anti-Trump super PAC.

I believe the president, and in the president.

I believe the Senate is right to acquit the president. I believe a fair trial is one with no witnesses, and that the trial was therefore fair. I believe the House was unfair because it found evidence against him. I believe that if the president does something that he believes will get himself reelected, that’s in the public interest and can’t be the kind of thing that results in impeachment.

I believe former national security adviser John Bolton has no relevant testimony because he didn’t leave the White House on good terms. Continue reading.

Susan Collins said the president learned his lesson. Trump just set her straight

AlterNet logoRepublican Sen. Susan Collins of Maine earned mockery and derision on Tuesday when she defended her upcoming decision to vote for acquitting President Donald Trump in his impeachment trial.

“I believe that the president has learned from this case,” Collins told CBS News. “The president has been impeached. That’s a pretty big lesson.”

She added: “I believe that he will be much more cautious in the future.” Continue reading.

The strangest State of the Union ever

Trump zigs to the right, zags to the center in a speech that broke all the rules.

President Donald Trump likes his superlatives, and you have to give him credit: He definitely earned them this time.

This was the most defiant, most boastful, most ostentatiously theatrical, most overtly campaign-oriented, most am-I-hearing-this-right? outlandish—the most flamboyantly bizarre—State of the Union Address of All Time.

It was also the most disorienting, and hard to categorize through the prism of conventional political analysis. That prism already had lost much of its utility during the Trump Era, and the president seemed to shatter it completely in a 78-minute speech to a congressional audience whose fealty and contempt toward Trump were on display in equal and vivid measure. Continue reading.

Senate votes to acquit Trump on articles of impeachment

The Hill logoThe Senate on Wednesday voted to acquit President Trump on impeachment charges of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress over his dealings with Ukraine, marking the end of the months-long saga that has dominated Washington.

Senators voted 48-52 on abuse of power and 47-53 on obstruction, falling well short of the two-thirds requirement for convicting Trump and removing him office.

But, in a blow to Trump and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell‘s (R-Ky.) efforts to keep Republicans unified, Sen. Mitt Romney (Utah), the party’s 2012 presidential nominee, announced less than two hours before the vote that he would vote to convict Trump on the abuse of power charge, while acquitting him on the second article.  Continue reading.

Here Are the Facts Behind President Trump’s 2020 State of the Union Claims

During his 2020 State of the Union address Tuesday night, President Trump touched on a wide variety of issues, from the economy and health care to immigration and the military.

Trump also took the opportunity to highlight what he considers his biggest accomplishments so far, including overseeing a period of economic growth, the passage of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), and more, giving his address the air of a campaign rally — especially as this year’s campaign season is just getting underway.

But over the course of his speech, President Trump made several claims that were exaggerated or factually incorrect. Here are the facts you need to know about Trump’s claims.

Pre-Existing Conditions

Trump spoke about an “affordable” and “high-quality” health care system and said that “we will always protect patients with pre-existing conditions.” But health experts say the President has long supported efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act and subsequently strip away consumer protections for patients with pre-existing conditions.

‘The guardrails are gone’: Democrats brace for emboldened Trump at State of the Union

Washington Post logoDemocrats are bracing for a more emboldened President Trump now that his acquittal is at hand, beginning with Tuesday’s State of the Union address before a nationally televised audience.

Rather than seeking to unify Congress and the nation with remorse, Democrats expect Trump to ratchet up his rhetoric of grievance on the eve of Senate impeachment votes that are all but certain to acquit him for abuse of power and obstructing Congress.

“Whatever happens he claims that it’s a victory for him, in many instances when it’s far from it. So that’s what he’ll say,” Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), a 2020 presidential contender, said during a break in Monday’s closing arguments by the prosecutors and the president’s defense team. Continue reading.

Did McCarthy Forget GOP Controlled Congress Two Years Ago?

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy complained that House Democrats were providing a check on Donald Trump and suggested that things would be much better if the GOP had total control.

In a Fox News interview on Friday, Rep. McCarthy (R-CA) noted that Trump has recently talked about Middle East peace, signed the U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade agreement, and agreed to a deal with China, despite being tried in the Senate on two articles of impeachment.

“What if he had a Congress that would work with him?” McCarthy said. “Instead of blaming America first, actually working for America first. That would be a fundamental difference.” Continue reading.