Tag: Trump Administration

Trump Can’t Govern

The following article by John Stoehr was posted on the US News and World Report website February 28, 2017:

I’m on record saying I believe President Donald Trump is a threat to democracy. The waves of antisemitism crashing around the nation are sufficient evidence, as are the president’s repeated attacks on the press, the courts and democratic norms.

While we should be vigilant, I’ve been thinking: Are we seeing fascism where there is first plain ordinary incompetence? This may be a moot distinction since one thing can beget another, but in terms of a communication strategy, it’s important to understand what’s going on. This White House talks a good game. It has crowed about the return of “alpha males.” But when it matters, it chokes.

More than exposing Trump for his white nationalist sympathies, the best way forward may be stressing what’s emphatically evident: Trump can’t govern.

Continue reading “Trump Can’t Govern”

It’s Time For a Special Prosecutor

The following article was posted on the TrumpAccountable.org website March 6, 2017:

Rather than diverting attention away from his connections with Russia, Donald Trump’s unfounded Twitter assertions on Saturday are bringing attention back around to persistent questions about both his taxes and his campaign staff’s connections with Russian intelligence agents during and after the campaign.

The Trump administration on Sunday and Monday doubled down (mostly) on the assertions. Here are the latest developments: Continue reading “It’s Time For a Special Prosecutor”

Atty. Gen. Sessions should ‘explain himself’ to Senate Judiciary Committee, Franken says

The following article by Laura King was posted on the Los Angeles Times website March 5, 2017:

Alex Brandon / Associated Press

Atty. Gen. Jeff Sessions should reappear before the Senate Judiciary Committee to explain his contacts with Russia’s ambassador to Washington, Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) said Sunday.

It was a question by Franken during Sessions’ confirmation hearing that elicited the then-nominee’s assertion that he had not met with any Russians during the presidential campaign, to which Sessions served as an advisor. Continue reading “Atty. Gen. Sessions should ‘explain himself’ to Senate Judiciary Committee, Franken says”

The Real Deep State

The following article by Ishaan Tharoor was sen in the March 7, 2017, Washington Post Today’s Worldview e-newsletter:

Key figures in the White House see themselves locked in a battle with the “deep state” — a term they’re using, as my colleagues explained, to describe “a group of Obama-aligned critics, federal bureaucrats and intelligence figures” as well as the media. Stephen K. Bannon, the White House chief strategist who once ran far-right publication Breitbart, has reportedly spoken “at length” with President Trump about his view that the “deep state” is undermining Trump’s presidency.

The consequences of such paranoia can be seen in Trump’s Twitter outburst over the weekend. He accused his predecessor of tapping his phones (without offering any evidence) and framed his administration as the victim of “witch hunts” and “McCarthyism.” On Monday, reports emerged that FBI Director James B. Comey was “incredulous” over Trump’s allegations. Continue reading “The Real Deep State”

Leashes Come Off Wall Street, Gun Sellers, Polluters and More

The following article by Eric Lipton and Binyamin Appelbaum was posted on the New York Times website March 5, 2017:

People shooting firearms at a screen at an exhibit last May during the National Rifle Association Convention in Louisville, Ky. The gun-rights group lobbied against a rule that would have effectively prevented most people with disabling mental illnesses from purchasing firearms. Credit Ty Wright for The New York Times

Giants in telecommunications, like Verizon and AT&T, will not have to take “reasonable measures” to ensure that their customers’ Social Security numbers, web browsing history and other personal information are not stolen or accidentally released.

Wall Street banks like Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase will not be punished, at least for now, for not collecting extra money from customers to cover potential losses from certain kinds of high-risk trades that helped unleash the 2008 financial crisis. Continue reading “Leashes Come Off Wall Street, Gun Sellers, Polluters and More”

FBI Director Comey asked Justice officials to refute Trump’s unproven wiretapping claim

The following article by Abby Phillip and Ellen Nakashima was posted on the Washington Post website March 5, 2017:

PABLO MARTINEZ MONSIVAIS/ASSOCIATED PRESS/FILE

FBI Director James B. Comey asked the Justice Department this weekend to issue a statement refuting President Trump’s claim that President Barack Obama ordered a wiretap of Trump’s phones before the election, according to U.S. officials, but the department did not do so.

Comey made the request Saturday after Trump accused Obama on Twitter of having his “ ‘wires tapped’ in Trump Tower.” The White House expanded on Trump’s comments Sunday with a call for a congressional probe of his allegations. Continue reading “FBI Director Comey asked Justice officials to refute Trump’s unproven wiretapping claim”

The Daily 202: Wiretapping allegations accomplished what Trump wanted – but may backfire bigly

The following article by James Hohmann with Breanna Deppisch was posted on the Washington Post website March 6, 2017:

THE BIG IDEA: It is easy to pooh-pooh Donald Trump’s predawn Saturday tweetstorm — accusing Barack Obama of the worst political crimes since Watergate while offering no evidence — as an undisciplined rant from someone who has long embraced conspiracy theories.

That neither gives the president enough credit nor reflects the gravity of his unfounded accusations. Continue reading “The Daily 202: Wiretapping allegations accomplished what Trump wanted – but may backfire bigly”

Despite early denials, growing list of Trump camp contacts with Russians haunts White House

The following article by Rosalind S. Helderman was posted on the Washington Post website March 4, 2017:

Two days after the presidential election, a Russian official speaking to a reporter in Moscow offered a surprising acknowledgment: The Kremlin had been in contact with Donald Trump’s campaign.

The claim, coming amid allegations that Russia had interfered with the election, was met with an immediate no-wiggle-room, blanket denial from Trump’s spokeswoman. “It never happened,” Hope Hicks told the Associated Pressat the time. “There was no communication between the campaign and any foreign entity during the campaign.” Continue reading “Despite early denials, growing list of Trump camp contacts with Russians haunts White House”

Al-Qaeda likes Steve Bannon so much, they put him on the cover of their official newspaper

The following article by Amanda Erickson was posted on the Washington Post website March 3, 2017:

Al Masra

The way al-Qaeda tells it, the West is locked in an existential war with Islam. This is how the terrorist group justifies its violence and its fundamentalist ideology. And now it has found a Westerner to back them up — top Trump adviser Steve Bannon.

Bannon graced the cover (above the fold!) of the most recent al-Qaeda-linked Al Masra newspaper. That prominence, University of Oxford researcher Elisabeth Kendall told Quartz, is “striking.” Continue reading “Al-Qaeda likes Steve Bannon so much, they put him on the cover of their official newspaper”