Donald Trump first impeached president to run for reelection
President Donald Trump will kick his reelection campaign into high gear Tuesday in perhaps the most awkward of places: Inside the Democratic-controlled House, where he became only the third president in U.S. history to be impeached.
The 45th chief executive formally launched his bid for a second term last summer with a rally in Florida. But his fourth address to a joint session of Congress — and third State of the Union — will put him face-to-face with the House Democratic caucus that rebuked him, guaranteeing a made-for-television clash that seems a fitting Season 4 premiere for a presidency that continues to operate stunningly like a reality television show.
Seated over Trump’s left shoulder will be Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a California Democrat who decided she had no choice but to launch an impeachment inquiry after concluding he had gone too far with Ukraine’s new president. Also expected to be in the chamber is the lead House impeachment manager in the Senate trial, House Intelligence Chairman Adam B. Schiff, also a California Democrat. Continue reading.
A protest against the Trump administration’s transgender policies in New York in October. Credit: Yana Paskova, Getty Images
WASHINGTON — In his State of the Union address, President Trump announced a bold plan to end the scourge of H.I.V. by 2030, a promise that seemed to fly in the face of two years of policies and proposals that go in the opposite direction and could undermine progress against the virus that causes AIDS.
In November, the Trump administration proposed a rule change that would make it more difficult for Medicare beneficiaries to get the medicines that treat H.I.V. infection and prevent the virus from spreading.
Mr. Trump has repeatedly urged Congress to repeal the expansion of Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act, even though Medicaid is the largest source of coverage for people with H.I.V. And he has promoted the sale of short-term health plans that skirt the Affordable Care Act, even though such plans usually exclude people with H.I.V.
In the 2019 State of the Union address, Donald Trump revealed yet again that his administration is based on reality television practices, not the faithful execution of duties assigned by our Congress.
His speech was also bad with numbers—very bad, especially for anyone concerned about winning the war on cancer.
That said, to those who believe that Trump is their self-proclaimed economic and white-skin-privilege savior, a demi-god rather than a demagogue, this was a powerful speech, rich with dog whistles to those who favor authoritarianism over the messy business of democratic self-governance.
It’s one of the most dispiriting rituals that attend State of the Union addresses in the Trump era: White House advisers piously promise us that President Trump will issue new calls for unity and bipartisan comity, and for reasons that remain baffling, far too many observers then feel obliged to pretend that these soothing exhortations are real.
But this time around, there’s just no excuse for playing along. That’s because we’ve already seen what happens in the real world after Trump stands before Congress and carries out his unity routine — not once, but twice.
The New York Times reports that White House officials are previewing a speech that will supposedly “lean into a bipartisan and optimistic vision for the country.” White House senior adviser Kellyanne Conway vows that it will call for “comity” and “compromise.” Former White House spokesman Raj Shah gushes that Trump can “turn the page” with “unifying, patriotic, and optimistic themes that have worked well for him in previous addresses.”
Stacey Abrams, who ran for governor last year in Georgia, will give the Democratic response to President Trump‘s State of the Union speech next week, Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) announced.
“Three weeks ago, I called Stacey Abrams and asked her to deliver the response, I was very delighted when she agreed,” Schumer told reporters on Tuesday.
Abrams has previously served as the Democratic leader of the Georgia General Assembly. She unsuccessfully ran against Brian Kemp (R) for governor in November in what turned out to be a hotly contested election, with her receiving 48.8 percent of the vote.
The following article by Allison Graves, Jon Greenberg, Louis Jacobson, John Kruzel, Katie Sanders, Amy Sherman, Manuela Tobias and Miriam Valverde was posted on the PolitiFact website January 30, 2018:
President Donald Trump offered a rosy assessment of American life in his first State of the Union address — but several of his points were factually flawed.
“This is our new American moment,” Trump said. “There has never been a better time to start living the American Dream.”
The economy took center stage in Trump’s speech, with mixed accuracy. Trump touted record lows for unemployment levels, middle class relief from the passage of a $1.5 trillion tax cut, and loyalty to his campaign promise to cut red tape. He also exaggerated victories on immigration and ISIS. Continue reading “Fact-checking Donald Trump’s 2018 State of the Union speech”
The following article by Griffin Connolly was posted on the Roll Call website January 30, 2018:
Pair of Democrats attending ‘State of OUR Union’ with women’s rights activists instead
Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., is slated to speak at an event of women activists Tuesday night instead of attending President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address. (Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call)
At least 11 Democratic lawmakers will skip President Donald Trump’s first State of the Union address Tuesday.
Instead, at least two of those absentees plan to take part in a separate event in Washington, the “State of OUR Union,” put on by leading women activists to “offer an alternative view and vision for the country” from Trump’s.
Rep. Judy Chu had been on the speakers list but is attending Trump’s State of the Union address, a spokesman confirmed.
The event planners hope to “address the persistent gender inequality and ‘crisis of leadership’” they believe is harming America, they said in a statement on Monday.
Jayapal and the 10 other lawmakers who have announced they will boycott Trump’s speech Tuesday night cited the president’s caustic and often controversial rhetoric — especially with regard to race — as the primary reason for their no-show.
Watch: Three Things to Look For During Trump’s First Official State of the Union
“This president has consistently indicated that he has no interest in leading a unified country,” Jayapal said in a statement earlier this month. “He has gone out of his way to play to a small and shrinking base of voters by using language that diminishes and demeans vast swaths of people in our own country and around the world. He does and says things that none of us, as parents, would condone for our children.”
Trump uses language that is “outright racist,” Jayapal added.
The “State of OUR Union” program at the National Press Club Tuesday is a gesture to “resist this racism and put forward our own progressive vision for our beloved country,” Jayapal said.
Trump has been accused of sexual misconduct by more than a dozen women. He has denied every such allegation against him.
Skipping the State of the Union address, while rare, is not without precedent.
Republican Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas missed President Barack Obama’s final SOTU speech in January 2016 because he was campaigning for president in New Hampshire.
The following article by John Wagner was posted on the Washington Post website January 29, 2018:
Credit: Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images
President Trump is seeking to parlay his first State of the Union address on Tuesday into cash for his reelection campaign by offering supporters a chance to see their name flashed on the screen during a broadcast of the speech.
In a fundraising solicitation on Monday, Trump offered those willing to pay at least $35 the opportunity to see their name displayed during a live streaming of the address on his campaign website.
The following article by Seth Hanlon, Sam Berger, Alex Rowell, Galen Hendricks, Regina Willensky Benjamin, Kevin DeGood, Eliza Schultz, Joe Valenti and Marc Jarsulic was posted on the Center for American Progress website January 29, 2018:
NICHOLAS KAMM/AFP/Getty Images
In his State of the Union address on Tuesday, President Donald Trump is sure to point to stock indexes and other positive economic indicators as evidence of a “Trump boom.” But to the extent that middle-class and working families are doing better economically, it is not because of Trump or his policies; rather, it is in spite of them. Instead of fighting for American workers, as he promised to do during his presidential campaign, Trump has sought in numerous ways to disempower them.
The Trump administration’s fiscal policies are redistributing income and wealth upward through massive new tax breaks to corporations and the wealthy, which come at the expense of middle-class and low-income Americans and investments in key economic priorities such as infrastructure. And by ending the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) initiative, the administration has thrown the lives of hundreds of thousands of young people—who, with DACA, have been able to get better- and better-paying jobs, buy houses and cars, and make significant economic contributions to the nation as a whole—into chaos. Continue reading “State of the Union Preview: Trump Is Rigging the Economy Against Workers and the Middle Class”
The following article by Jessica Stahl was psoted on the Washington Post website January 26, 2018:
Each week, the “Can He Do That?” podcast explores the powers and limitations of the American presidency, answering the critical questions about what today’s news means for our nation and its highest office. Explore past episodes here.
Donald Trump first impeached president to run for reelection
Each week, the “Can He Do That?” podcast explores the powers and limitations of the American presidency, answering the critical questions about what today’s news means for our nation and its highest office.