Tag: Trump putting Americans at risk

Romney: Consequences of Trump actions during lame-duck ‘potentially more severe’ than transition delay

The Hill logo

GOP Sen. Mitt Romney (Utah) warned in a new interview Thursday that President Trump’s actions during the lame-duck period could be even more dangerous than his refusal to allow President-elect Joe Biden to begin his White House transition. 

“The consequences of what’s happening during this lame-duck period, I think, are potentially more severe than the consequences associated with a late transition process,” the Utah Republican and 2012 GOP presidential nominee said on an episode of “The Axe Files” podcast released Thursday.

Romney specifically noted Trump’s decision to withdraw more troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, moves that defense officials said were premature given the circumstances on the ground and which drew alarm from allies that also have troops stationed in those two countries. Continue reading.

‘A weak man with delusions of competence’: Trump buried for lying his way through the daily pandemic press conferences

AlterNet logoIn a brutally blunt piece for the New York Times, columnist Jennifer Senior went scorched earth on Donald Trump for his lie-filled performances in the now daily press briefings on the coronavirus pandemic — suggesting the media call them what they are: presidential “propaganda.”

Following a day when the combative Trump attacked NBC reporter Peter Alexander for merely asking what he could say to the public that is living in fear of the pandemic, Senior said enough is enough.

“In a time of global emergency, we need calm, directness and, above all, hard facts. Only the opposite is on offer from the Trump White House. It is therefore time to call the president’s news conferences for what they are: propaganda,” she wrote. “We may as well be watching newsreels approved by the Soviet Politburo. We’re witnessing the falsification of history in real time. When Donald Trump, under the guise of social distancing, told the White House press corps on Thursday that he ought to get rid of 75 to 80 percent of them — reserving the privilege only for those he liked — it may have been chilling, but it wasn’t surprising. He wants to thin out their ranks until there’s only Pravda in the room.” Continue reading.

Acting counterterrorism center head fired, according to former U.S. officials

Washington Post logoThe acting director of the National Counterterrorism Center was removed Wednesday in what insiders fear is a purge by the Trump administration of career professionals at an organization set up after 9/11 to protect the nation from further attacks, according to two former U.S. officials.

Russell E. Travers, a highly regarded intelligence professional with more than 40 years of government service, told colleagues he was fired by acting director of national intelligence Richard Grenell, said the former officials, who like others interviewed spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive matter.

Travers, who took up the acting position last August, had been resistant to pressure to make personnel cuts at the center, which has been undergoing a review of its mission and effectiveness. Continue reading.

Fed Chair Powell warns Congress that $1 trillion budget deficits are unsustainable

Washington Post logoPowell also said it is ‘very likely’ the coronavirus will impact the U.S. economy, but it is too early to tell how much or for how long

Federal Reserve Board Chair Jerome H. Powell told Congress on Tuesday that now would be a good time to reduce the federal budget deficit, which is expected to top $1 trillion this year.

“Putting the federal budget on a sustainable path when the economy is strong would help ensure that policymakers have the space to use fiscal policy to assist in stabilizing the economy during a downturn,” Powell said in testimony to the House Financial Services Committee.

In past recessions, the Fed has played a large role in reviving the economy by sharply cutting interest rates. But Powell has been warning lawmakers that the central bank won’t have much ammunition left to fight the next downturn because interest rates are so low (the benchmark rate is just below 1.75 percent, far below rates above 5 percent in the past). Continue reading.