Secret donors and Trump allies: Inside the operation to push noncitizen voting laws in Florida and other states

Washington Post logoA network of out-of-state political consultants, secret donors and activists with close ties to President Trump is behind an effort to change the Florida constitution to explicitly state that only citizens may vote in elections, a measure that would amplify the issue of immigration in the 2020 battleground state.

In recent months, organizers said they have collected nearly twice the signatures needed to qualify for the ballot next year — and more than any other ballot initiative in Florida state history, they said.

The exact legal effect the amendment would have remains unclear. While federal law explicitly bars noncitizen voting, the language in the Florida constitution — like that of many states — says that “every” citizen who is 18 may vote. The proposed amendment would change the language to say “only” a citizen may vote.

View the complete July 22 article by Amy Gardner and Alice Crites on The Washington Post website here.

Fox News’ Geraldo Rivera turns his back on Trump after racist uproar: His ‘critics were much more right than I’

AlterNet logoDeep in a report on the fissures Donald Trump created between himself and some of his defenders, after he launched a racist attack on four Democratic lawmakers that led to an equally racist chant at a North Carolina presidential rally, Fox News contributor Gerald Rivera admitted that he now finds it near impossible to defend the president.

In an interview with the New York Times that came after Rivera blew up on a fellow Fox News host over the “send her back” chant aimed at Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) the longtime Fox personality said he has all but given up on Trump.

“As much as I have denied it and averted my eyes from it, this latest incident made it impossible,” Rivera confessed.

View the complete July 21 article by Tom Boggioni from Raw Story on the AlterNet website here.

Trump Employs an Old Tactic: Using Race for Gain

New York Times logoFor the fourth season of “The Apprentice,” Donald J. Trump searched for a gimmick to bolster ratings. His idea was simple if explosive — pit an all-white team against an all-black team.

“Do you like it?” he asked, previewing the concept on Howard Stern’s radio show in April 2005.

“Yes,” Mr. Stern said.

“Do you like it?” Mr. Trump asked Robin Quivers, the African-American co-host.

View the complete July 20 article by Peter Baker, Michael M. Grynbaum, Maggie Haberman, Annie Karni and Russ Buettner on The New York Times website here.

Trump vows congresswomen ‘can’t get away with’ criticizing U.S.

Washington Post logoPresident Trump broadly declared Friday that no one should criticize the United States while he is president, part of a renewed attack on four minority congresswomen whom he has targeted as un-American.

Trump also praised his supporters who chanted at a rally, “Send her back!,” a refrain directed at one of the lawmakers, Somali-born Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.). The president called the campaign crowd “incredible patriots” — a day after saying he disagreed with the chant.

Trump’s shift Friday was reminiscent of how he responded to the deadly clash between white nationalists and protesters in Charlottesville in August 2017. He initially denounced the bigotry and hatred, then issued a stronger statement calling the racism practiced by hate

View the complete July 19 article by John Wagner and Colby Itkowitz on The Washington Post website here.

Trump administration planning changes to U.S. citizenship test

Washington Post logoIf you were to take the test to become a U.S. citizen tomorrow, you might be asked to name one of five U.S. territories, or two of the rights contained in the Declaration of Independence, or to provide the correct number of amendments to the Constitution.

The naturalization test is a crucial part of an immigrant’s journey to becoming an American. And, according to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, it is meant not just as a measure of U.S. civics knowledge, but also as a reason to study and absorb the principles, values and functions of the U.S. government, including the rights and responsibilities that come with citizenship.

(Question No. 49: What is one responsibility that is only for United States’ citizens? Answer: “Serve on a jury” or “vote in a federal election.”)

View the complete July 19 article by Abigail Hauslohner on The Washington Post website here.

GOP rattled by Trump rally

The Hill logoRepublican lawmakers are feeling rattled after a long week capped by a raucous presidential rally where thousands chanted “send her back” at Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), a Somali refugee who became a U.S. citizen and one of the first Muslim women to serve in Congress.

President Trump distanced himself from the chant on Thursday, saying it made him unhappy and that he disagreed with it.

But he also did not seek to tamp down the chant when it happened on Wednesday night, and the crowd was clearly responding to Trump’s attacks on Omar and three other minority congresswomen he earlier in the week had said should “go back” to their home counties.

View the complete July 19 article by Alexander Bolton on The Hill website here.

Trump 2020: Loathing and Fear of Losing

The president is setting up his reelection run to be about socialism, ‘the squad’ and scaring voters about the Democratic Party.

THE ONLY SURPRISING aspect to President Donald Trump’s racially charged tirade this week is that some seemed surprised by it.

“Yet again this president finds a new low,” said Sen. Tina Smith of Minnesota, a home state colleague to Rep. Ilhan Omar, the prime target of Trump’s invective.

But for a president who has shattered nearly every conventional rule of politics and endured a cascade of uproars – from his birther campaign to insulting a national war hero to the “Access Hollywood” tape to the two-year wide-reaching investigation into his curious relationship with Russia – Trump has been taught that survival requires brazen, line-crossing, double-fisted pugilism.

View the complete July 19 article by David Catanese on The U.S. News and World Report website here.

Trump’s field-tested strategy: Whip up a frenzy, then disavow

The president’s latest episode followed a repeated Trump tactic of pushing his rhetoric over the line — and then shrugging off responsibility.

He once encouraged supporters to attack protesters — then claimed to ensure the safety of all Americans.

He mused that Russia should seize his competitor’s emails — then said it was just a joke.

View the complete July 18 article by Gabby Orr and Burgess Everett on the Politico website here.

‘We’re better than that!’: Top Democrat unleashes fury on Trump official over migrant children being left in ‘feces’

AlterNet logoHouse Oversight Committee Chairman Elijah Cummings (D-MD) brought down the hammer on acting Homeland Security Secretary Kevin McAleenan on Thursday over his department’s cruel treatment of migrant children.

“You feel like you’re doing a great job, right?” asked Cummings during the day’s committee hearing. “Is that what you’re saying?”

“We’re doing out level best in a very challenging —” McAleenan said, starting to answer, but Cummings cut him off.

“What does that mean?!” Cummings erupted. “What does that mean when a child is sitting in their own feces. Can’t take a shower. Come on, man! What’s that about?! None of us would have our children in that position. They are human beings. And I’m trying to figure out — and I get tired of folks saying, ‘Oh, oh they’re just beating up the border patrol. Oh, they’re just beating up on Homeland Security.’ What I’m saying is I want to concentrate on these children. And I want to make sure that they’re OK. I’ve said it before, and I will say it again. It’s not the deed that you do to a child, it’s the memory. It’s the memory!”

View the complete July 18 article by Cody Fenwick on the AlterNet website here.