Tag: Trump White House

At Trump’s behest, top White House lawyer urged Jeff Sessions not to step aside from Russia probe

The following article by Matt Zapotosky and Josh Dawsey was psoted on the Washington Post website January 4, 2018″

President Trump sits with Attorney General Jeff Sessions last month. Trump’s White House counsel personally lobbied Sessions to not recuse himself from the Justice Department’s investigation into potential ties between Russia and the Trump campaign. (Evan Vucci/AP)

At the behest of President Trump, the White House’s top lawyer called Attorney General Jeff Sessions shortly before he recused himself from the FBI investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 election and tried to persuade him not to do so, according to two people familiar with the discussions.

By then, one of the people said, Sessions had essentially already made up his mind to step aside, and though the lawyer’s phone call sparked some additional discussions, the attorney general would ultimately turn over the probe to his top deputy. Continue reading “At Trump’s behest, top White House lawyer urged Jeff Sessions not to step aside from Russia probe”

Trump portrayed as uninformed, unprepared and lacking focus in unflattering new book

The following article by John Wagner was posted on the Washington Post website January 3, 2018:

The inauguration of President Trump on Jan. 20, 2017. (Jonathan Newton /The Washington Post)

During his campaign and tumultuous first year in office, President Trump demonstrated little knowledge of policy details. He was not interested in advice that conflicted with his instincts, and it was often impossible for White House staff to figure out what course he wanted to take. One compared it to “trying to figure out what a child wants.”

The portrait that emerges in the new book “Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House” by Michael Wolff — which became the talk of the town in Washington on Wednesday — is hardly a flattering one. Continue reading “Trump portrayed as uninformed, unprepared and lacking focus in unflattering new book”

New Trump book: Bannon’s ‘treasonous’ claim, Ivanka’s presidential ambitions and Melania’s first-lady concerns

The following article by John Wagner and Callum Borchers was posted on the Washington Post website January 3, 2018:

The Fix’s Callum Borchers lists three takeaways from the book “Fire and Fury” by Michael Wolff about President Trump’s campaign and first year in office. (Video: Bastien Inzaurralde/Photo: Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post)

President Trump is a book genre unto himself. There’s “Understanding Trump,” by Newt Gingrich, whom Trump considered as a running mate; “Let Trump Be Trump,” by former Trump campaign aides Corey Lewandowski and David Bossie; “The Swamp,” by former Fox News Channel host Eric Bolling; and a forthcoming book by former White House press secretary Sean Spicer (working title: “The Briefing”). Continue reading “New Trump book: Bannon’s ‘treasonous’ claim, Ivanka’s presidential ambitions and Melania’s first-lady concerns”

Trump lawyer seeks to block insider book on White House

The following article by Josh Dawsey and Ashley Parker was posted on the Washington Post website January 4, 2018:

President Trump used to have kind words for his former chief strategist Stephen K. Bannon, but things changed with his scathing statement on Jan. 3. (Jenny Starrs/The Washington Post)

A lawyer representing President Trump sought Thursday to stop the publication of a new behind-the-scenes book about the White House that has already led Trump to angrily decry his former chief strategist Stephen K. Bannon. Continue reading “Trump lawyer seeks to block insider book on White House”

White House looks to make internal changes amid worries of a tough year ahead

The following article by Ashley Parker and Josh Dawsey was posted on the Washington Post website December 28, 2017:

President Trump speaks to first responders at West Palm Beach Fire Rescue on Wednesday in Florida. (Nicholas Kamm/AFP/Getty Images)

PALM BEACH, Fla. — While President Trump spent the past week at his Mar-a-Lago Club — golfing, tweeting, relaxing with family and talking to old friends — White House officials have been in quiet talks about revamping the West Wing operation and filling open posts ahead of what could be a politically difficult 2018.

The discussions come at a critical time for the administration. The president ended his first turbulent year in office with a major legislative victory — the Republican tax plan — but also suffered an embarrassing setback when the Republican candidate he endorsed in Alabama’s Senate race suffered an upset loss following allegations of sexual misconduct. Continue reading “White House looks to make internal changes amid worries of a tough year ahead”

Here’s what happened when one woman emailed the White House about birth control

The following article by Anna North was posted on the Vox website December 21, 2017:

The confusing response she got was part of a bigger pattern in the Trump administration.

Supporters of birth control access rally outside the Supreme Court in Washington, DC, March 23, 2016. Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images

Members of the Trump administration have long conflated abortion and birth control. Now it seems the administration is doing the same thing in emails to constituents.

A woman who sent the White House an email as part of a campaign to counter measures by the administration to curb access to birth control was surprised to receive a reply within hours — but even more surprised that the response had nothing to do with birth control, and instead touted President Trump’s anti-abortion stances. Continue reading “Here’s what happened when one woman emailed the White House about birth control”

Trump’s team celebrates another stock-market high. Here’s the broader context.

The following article by Philip Bump was posted on the Washington Post website December 18, 2017:

Forty-five times since he has been president, Donald Trump has celebrated the stock markets on Twitter. It’s a perfect metric for him: business-related, reflecting his background, and going up consistently. Sure, he called it “a bubble” when the markets were rising under President Barack Obama, but on his watch, it’s a sign that he’s doing things right. (It’s certainly a much better metric for him to point to than, say, approval ratings.)

After the market closed on Monday, Trump praised the Dow Jones industrial average yet again. Continue reading “Trump’s team celebrates another stock-market high. Here’s the broader context.”

The White House’s odd statement about giving U.S. intelligence to Putin

The following article by Aaron Blake was posted on the Washington Post website December 18, 2017:

President Trump weighed in on Russia and North Korea on Dec. 15. (The Washington Post)

The White House did something very unusual Sunday, releasing details of a call between President Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin and including information about U.S. intelligence that was shared to foil a terrorist plot in Russia.

And the readout of the call sounds quite a bit like it was drafted by a certain someone — exclamation point and all. Continue reading “The White House’s odd statement about giving U.S. intelligence to Putin”

The White House and the Trump Organization have merged

The following article by Ryan Koronowski was posted on the ThinkProgress website December 12, 2017:

The life and times of Eric and Don Jr.

CREDIT: AP / DIANA OFOSU

Earlier this year, Donald Trump Jr. posted on Instagram: “Well done Mr. President! Congratulations on an amazing 100 days, and I look forward to many more years of you fighting for America. Keep it up.”

Eric Trump appeared on Fox News in June and said his father “has been in office for 150-something days and I think he has accomplished more than any president, arguably in history, has over that same period of time.” Continue reading “The White House and the Trump Organization have merged”

White House brags about repealing 834 fake regulations

The following article by Eric Boehlert was posted on the Share Blue website December 11, 2017:

With a non-existent list of legislative accomplishments, the Trump team claims nearly 1,000 regulations have been wiped off the books. They’re lying.

Under pressure to name any of Donald Trump’s accomplishments as the calendar winds down on his first year in office, and unable to point to any bills passed or agenda items completed, the White House has of late begun to point to rolling back regulations.

But it turns out even this desperate grasp is more lie than truth, as 97% of the 860 regulations cited are simply made up. An investigation by Bloomberg shows the actual number is much smaller — 27 regulations to be exact. Continue reading “White House brags about repealing 834 fake regulations”