Tag: Trump flip-flops

Trump Retreats From Flavor Ban for E-Cigarettes

New York Times logoAdvisers say the president pulled back from proposed restrictions intended to curb teenage vaping after he was warned of the political fallout among voters.

WASHINGTON — It was a swift and bold reaction to a growing public health crisis affecting teenagers. Seated in the Oval Office in September, President Trump said he was moving to ban the sale of most flavored e-cigarettes as vaping among young people continued to rise.

“We can’t have our kids be so affected,” Mr. Trump said. The first lady, Melania Trump, who rarely involves herself publicly with policy announcements in the White House, was there, too. “She’s got a son,” Mr. Trump noted, referring to their teenager, Barron. “She feels very strongly about it.”

But two months later, under pressure from his political advisers and lobbyists to factor in the potential pushback from his supporters, Mr. Trump has resisted moving forward with any action on vaping, while saying he still wants to study the issue.

View the complete November 17 article by Annie Karni, Maggie Haberman and Sheila Kaplan on The New York Times website here.

Trump’s Challenge: Can His Word on Iran Be Trusted?

New York Times logoFor a president with a loose relationship with the facts and poisonous relationships with allies, the attack on the Saudi oil fields poses a challenge: how to prove the administration’s case that Iran was behind the strike and rally the world to respond.

President Trump must now confront that problem as he struggles with one of the most critical national security decisions of his presidency. Over the next few days or weeks, he will almost certainly face the reality that much of the world — angry at his tweets, tirades, untruths and accusations — could be disinclined to believe the arguments advanced by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and others that Iran bears responsibility for the attack.

If Mr. Trump tries to gather a coalition to impose diplomatic penalties, tighten sanctions to further choke off Iranian oil exports or retaliate with a military or cyberstrike, he may discover that, like President George W. Bush heading into Iraq 16 years ago, he is largely alone.

View the complete September 17 article by David E. Sanger on The Washington Post website here.

Mnuchin begs Chris Wallace: Take the president ‘very literally’ — except on being ‘the chosen one’

AlterNet logoTreasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin insisted on Sunday that Americans should take President Donald Trump’s hyperbolic comments “very literally” — but he allowed for some exceptions.

During an interview on FOX News Sunday, host Chris Wallace noted that Trump had recently “ordered” companies not to do business with China.

“When the president says something, how seriously, how literally should we take it?” Wallace asked.

“I think most of the time, you should take it very literally,” Mnuchin insisted. “I think sometimes he says things that are meant to be a joke.”

View the complete August 25 article by David Edwards from Raw Story on the AlterNet website here.

Trump aborts yet another plan

Washington Post logoThis time, it was on the census. It’s becoming a theme.

Over the past month and a half, President Trump has set in motion plans to strike Iran, ordered nationwide immigration raids, threatened punitive and imminent tariffs on Mexico and said he would fight to get a citizenship question on the census that was rejected by the Supreme Court.

Each time, he launched extensive planning, created angst even among his own officials and some supporters and devoted significant government resources to preparation.

And each time, he ultimately pulled the plug.

View the complete July 12 article by Aaron Blake on The Washington Post website here.

Video: Trump’s flip-flops on remarks in his 2015 campaign announcement speech

The following article by Meg Kelly was posted on the Washington Post website June 16, 2017:

Two years ago, Donald Trump rode down the escalator at the Trump Tower and launched a presidential campaign that changed history. (Here’s our fact check of his announcement speech, in which we described Trump as “a fact checker’s dream — and nightmare.”)

In this Fact Checker video, we rewind the tape and look at what he said then — and what’s changed now, including:

• the unemployment rate (he called it “nonsense” on the campaign trail; now he touts it as legitimate);
• China currency devaluation (he no longer blames them for devaluing their currency, which was false to begin with);
• and immigration (he promised to end Obama’s executive order granting deferred action to children of undocumented immigrants, which he now says he won’t do).

 

View the pos here.