The reason President Donald Trump stormed out of a “60 Minutes” interview with Lesley Stahl was that she asked about the Michigan rally in which his supporters began chanting “lock her up” about Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.
Trump held the rally over the weekend attacking her for not opening up the state back up when he wanted it.
“So you don’t want to lock her up?” Stahl asked.
“That’s such a vicious thing you just said,” Trump claimed. “When did I say lock her up?” Continue reading.
“I’m out there trying to educate as many people as possible at the systemic danger that Mr. Trump represents to our democracy.” Those were part of the opening words of my conversation earlier this week with former Trump White House communications director Anthony Scaramucci on “Salon Talks.” And it went downhill from there for Trump.
I can’t recall another presidential election where as many former officials from a White House administration and members of the president’s own political party came out so vocally to defeat that very president. But then again, nothing has been normal in the time of Trump.
In our conversation, Scaramucci, a successful Wall Street investor, shared why he turned on Trump, citing events such as Trump’s family separation policy and, finally, when Trump led the “Send her back” bigoted smear of the four Democratic female members of Congress known as “The Squad,” saying they should go back to their own countries. As Scaramucci noted, this vile line of attack by Trump was personal for him; his own Italian grandparents heard the same hateful nativist comments when they first came to America. Continue reading.
President Trump on Thursday posted his full interview with “60 Minutes” ahead of its scheduled air time in an apparent attempt to undercut the news program after he walked out on the interview, bristling at questioning from journalist Lesley Stahl.
The president posted the nearly 40-minute sit-down to his Facebook page with the caption: “Look at the bias, hatred and rudeness on behalf of 60 Minutes and CBS.”
“Tonight’s anchor, Kristen Welker, is far worse!” Trump added, referencing the NBC News anchor who will moderate the presidential debate in Nashville, Tenn. Continue reading.
President Trump and his advisers have repeatedly discussed whether to fire FBI Director Christopher A. Wray after Election Day — a scenario that also could imperil the tenure of Attorney General William P. Barr as the president grows increasingly frustrated that federal law enforcement has not delivered his campaign the kind of last-minute boost that the FBI provided in 2016, according to people familiar with the matter.
The conversations among the president and senior aides stem in part from their disappointment that Wray in particular but Barr as well have not done what Trump had hoped — indicate that Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden, his son Hunter Biden or other Biden associates are under investigation, these people say. Like others, they spoke on the condition of anonymity to disclose internal discussions.
In the campaign’s closing weeks, the president has intensified public calls for jailing his challenger, much as he did for Hillary Clinton, his opponent in 2016. Trump has called Biden a “criminal” without articulating what laws he believes the former vice president has broken. Continue reading.
Republicans Reed Galen, Steve Schmidt and Rick Wilson are co-founders of the Lincoln Project. Stuart Stevens is a senior adviser to the Lincoln Project.
This is for the many men and women in Washington with whom we have worked over the past 30-plus years. Some of you hold elected office. Some are officials in the Trump administration. Many of you are members of the consultant and lobbyist class.
In two weeks, the most consequential election of our generation will come, and your time for choosing will arrive. As Republicans, will you stand with President Trump, or will you stand with, and stand up for, America? Will you protect democracy or protect a single person and his family?
We’re not merely talking about your vote.
We’re talking about what comes next. Continue reading.
President Trump early Tuesday pressured Attorney General William Barr to investigate the son of Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden and demanded that information be released before Election Day.
“We have got to get the attorney general to act. He’s got to act and he’s got to act fast,” Trump said on “Fox & Friends,” citing a New York Post report about Hunter Biden’s business dealings. Trump called on Barr to “appoint somebody” to handle the matter.
“This is major corruption and this has to be known about before the election,” Trump said. Continue reading.
The Supreme Court on Monday agreed to review a pair of disputes over Trump administration immigration policies, including the president’s diversion of military funds to build a wall along the United States’ southern border and a policy requiring asylum-seekers to remain in Mexico while their cases proceed through American courts.
The cases are expected to be heard sometime after the anticipated confirmation of President Trump’s third justice, Amy Coney Barrett, and are likely to present the first major legal confrontation over Trump immigration policy to the 6-3 conservative majority court.
In both instances, the administration sought Supreme Court review after lower federal courts rebuffed the president’s bids to curb migration into the U.S. from Mexico. Continue reading.
Donald Trump continues to make it clear that he does not intend to leave office peacefully if he is defeated by Joe Biden and the Democrats on Election Day. Moreover, Donald Trump considers any election in which he is not the “winner” to be null and void. Trump’s appointment of Amy Coney Barrett to the United States Supreme Court is an obvious quid pro quo to secure his “reelection” if his attorneys and other agents can sufficiently sabotage the vote on Election Day and beyond.
On Thursday, Trump again followed the authoritarian’s playbook when he bragged to his supporters at a rally in North Carolina that U.S. Marshalls essentially executed Michael Reinoehl, an anti-fascist activist accused of killing a right wing paramilitary member during protests in Oregon last August.
Celebrating the extra-judicial killings of one’s political “enemies” is a common feature of fascist authoritarian regimes and the types of leaders admired and imitated by Donald Trump. Continue reading.
Donald Trump Jr. on Sunday called on his father to “break up” the FBI if he wins a second term.
During an interview on Fox News, host Maria Bartiromo asked the president’s son what his father would do if the FBI does not do his bidding by smearing the son of Democratic nominee Joe Biden and by preventing Democrats from increasing the use of mail-in ballots.
“We have to keep fighting,” Trump replied. “We’re fighting with one leg and two arms tied behind our back. You know, we don’t have the mainstream media that’s willing to at this point, not even just boost the other side, but literally run cover for what would arguably be the biggest corruption scheme in American political history. This is the stuff that makes Watergate look like kindergarten.” Continue reading.
A guide to what the next president will have to unwind
Experts in authoritarianism advise keeping a list of things changing, subtly, around you, so you’ll remember. Days after the 2016 presidential election, I started a list. Each week, I chronicle the ways Donald Trump has changed our country. This selection, adapted from more than 34,000 entries — or about 1 percent of the total — focuses on the norms he and his administration have broken. The List offers us a road map back to normalcy and democracy.
WEEK 1: “Hail Trump, hail our people, hail victory” is how Richard Spencer greets members of his “alt-right” movement gathered in Washington to celebrate Donald Trump’s victory; the group, mostly male white nationalists, responds with cheers and Nazi salutes.
WEEK 2: Trump says he has no legal obligation to cut ties with his businesses: “The president can’t have a conflict of interest.” Continue reading.
