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Trump: I’ll Keep Calling Elizabeth Warren ‘Pocahontas,’ ‘That Name is Too Good to Give Up’

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During his Monday pre-midterms rally in Cleveland, Ohio, President Donald Trump told the crowd he intends to keep using his racially-charged, disparaging nickname for Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA).

As the president went through a litany of his greatest hits before the crowd, he eventually revived his “Pocahontas” jab at Warren for her controversial claims of having Native American ancestry. Trump bragged about supposedly being right that Warren has “no Indian blood,” but said he’ll retain the nickname for her because “that name is too good to give up.”

Warren’s heritage claims were given renewed attention last month when she publicly released a DNA test that she held up as proof of her Native ancestry. However, Warren’s endeavor met with considerable scrutiny for a number of reasons, so Trump seized on that in recent weeks in order to slam her.

[Mediaite]

Trump on prospect of Dems demanding his tax returns: ‘They can do whatever they want’

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President Trump on Monday downplayed the possibility that Democrats could demand his tax returns if they retake control of the House in Tuesday’s elections.

“I don’t care. They can do whatever they want and I can do whatever I want,” Trump said when asked if he was concerned Democrats may go after his tax returns if they win the majority.

Trump spoke to reporters upon arriving in Fort Wayne, Ind., for one of three campaign rallies he was set to hold on Monday. He suggested that a Democratic majority would force the White House to “have to work a little bit differently.”

“It’ll all work out but I don’t think that’s going to happen,” Trump said, expressing confidence in Republicans’ chances on Tuesday. “I think we’re doing very well in the House. I think we’re doing very well in the Senate.”

Democrats and critics of the president have suggested that Trump’s tax returns could reveal potential conflicts of interest, and liberal groups have urged Democratic lawmakers to demand the president’s filings should they regain control of the House.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said last month that compelling Trump to turn over his tax returns would be “one of the first things we’d do” if Democrats win back the House majority.

Under federal tax law, the chairmen of congressional tax committees can request tax returns from the Treasury Department and review them in a closed session before voting to make all or parts of the returns public.

While Trump may protest such a request, the decision would ultimately fall to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin.

Mnuchin told The New York Times earlier this month that he would work with the department’s general counsel and the general counsel for the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to address any requests should Democrats win the House.

The president broke with decades of precedent when he opted not to release his tax returns during the 2016 presidential campaign.

The White House has repeatedly brushed off questions about releasing Trump’s taxes after the election, claiming the documents were under audit and therefore could not be made public. Financial experts, reporters and lawmakers have noted that the president could still request that they be released.

Calls for Trump to release his returns intensified following a New York Times report that cited records and interviews indicating the president engaged in “dubious” tax practices to shield income from his father’s real estate empire from taxes. Trump and the White House blasted the story, though they did not refute specific claims.

[The Hill]

Trump says he wants to unite the country ‘eventually’

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— President Trump said he “eventually” wants to unite the country during a raucous Monday campaign rally where he repeatedly attacked Democrats and the news media.

“I do eventually want to unite, but the fact is, we’re driving them crazy,” Trump said inside a packed Allen County War Memorial Coliseum. “They’re going loco.”

Trump’s rhetoric during his nearly two years as president has featured a constant, pointed onslaught against his opponents.

His approach has come under scrutiny in the aftermath of a string of bombing attempts against prominent Democrats and a mass shooting at a Pittsburgh synagogue by suspects who have echoed some of his rhetoric.

But Trump has refused to back down, saying his style fires up his core supporters.

That was on display during his final day of campaigning before the midterm elections, when he went after Democrats on immigration and the confirmation battle for Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh.

Trump accused Democrats, without evidence, of wooing migrant caravans to the U.S. “to overwhelm your schools, your hospitals and your communities.”

He also mocked Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calf.) as a “real genius” and dubbed Indiana Sen. Joe Donnelly (D) “Sleepin’ Joe.”

Trump repeatedly lambasted the “fake news media” for turning the cameras toward demonstrators in the crowds instead of Trump supporters.

“The cameras turned like a pretzel, did you see that? But they won’t show these huge crowds,” he said. “They don’t turn because they’re fake news. They’re fake news.”

The president appeared to revel in the energetic crowd, which booed the interruptions of protesters and tried to drown them out with chants of “USA.”

“And by the way, is there anything like a Trump rally?” Trump asked.

[The Hill]

Protesters Interrupt Trump Rally; Trump Shouts Back ‘Go Home to Mommy!’

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President Donald Trump‘s rally in Fort Wayne, IN was interrupted by protesters earlier tonight.

After the first protester showed up, Trump went on an extended riff about the cameras in the room and how they “turned like a pretzel,” launching into his usual schtick about how the networks never cut away to show the size of his crowds.

But then, a few minutes later, another protester interrupted.

This time, Trump called out, “Out! Out! Go home to mommy! Go home to mommy.”

And he riffed on the cameras once again. Trump also referred to the protester as “a weak person with a weak voice.”

There was even a third protester who interrupted after Trump brought Mike Braun up to speak.

[Mediaite]

Media

Trump defends controversial ad, telling reporter ‘your questions are offensive a lot of times’

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President Trump on Monday responded to critics calling his controversial anti-immigration ad “offensive” by saying “a lot of things are offensive.”

A reporter asked Trump about the widespread controversy over the ad, which NBC and Fox pulled from the airwaves on Monday.

“I don’t know about it,” Trump said. “We have a lot of ads. And they certainly are effective, based on the numbers that we’re seeing.”

“A lot of things are offensive,” the president told a reporter pressing him over the ad. “Your questions are offensive a lot of times so, you know.”

The ad, paid for by the Trump campaign, links the so-called migrant caravan heading towards the southern border with Luis Bracamontes, a man convicted of killing two U.S. police officers. It accuses Democrats of seeking to bring people like Bracamontes into the U.S., particularly through the caravan.

Washington Post fact-checker Glenn Kessler gave Trump “four Pinocchios” for claiming in the ad that Democrats brought Bracamontes back into the country. A review of court records by the Post reveals his case was handled primarily by Republicans.

CNN over the weekend said the ad is “racist,” saying the network declined the opportunity to be paid to air the ad.

The ad comes as Trump has leaned into immigration as an issue to stoke his base ahead of Tuesday’s elections.

[The Hill]

Trump accuses CNN of ‘Fake Suppression Polls and false rhetoric’

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President Trump on Monday accused CNN of promoting “fake Suppression Polls and false rhetoric” one day before the 2018 midterm elections.

“So funny to see the CNN Fake Suppression Polls and false rhetoric,” Trump tweeted. “Watch for real results Tuesday.”

“Don’t fall for the Suppression Game,” he added. “Go out & VOTE.”

He ended the tweet by touting the country’s impressive economic growth.

Trump’s tweet came hours after a new CNN poll showed Democrats continuing to hold a double-digit lead over Republicans in a generic congressional ballot among likely voters.

The poll also found Trump’s approval rating at 39 percent overall, with a 55 percent of those polled disapproving of his job performance. That is the worst pre-election approval rating for any president ahead of their first midterm election, CNN reported.

Other polls indicate slightly higher approval ratings for Trump, with polling analysis website FiveThirtyEight placing him at a 41.9 percent approval rating on Nov. 5.

A Harvard-Harris poll released last week found Trump’s approval rating at 44 percent among registered voters and 46 percent among likely voters.

Thirty-three percent of registered voters in the poll said their midterm election votes will be a signal of support for Trump while 40 percent said it will be a signal of opposition to the president. Twenty-seven percent said they are not voting according to their disposition on Trump.

An NBC/Wall Street Journal poll in late October found Trump’s approval rating ahead of the midterm elections at a higher level than former President Obama’s ahead of the 2010 midterms.

The poll found Trump’s approval rating at its highest level for that poll yet, at 47 percent. Obama’s approval rating was at 45 percent around the same time in 2010, according to a similar NBC/Wall Street Journal poll taken in late October 2010.

The new CNN poll surveyed 1,151 likely voters between Nov. 1-3 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 percent.

Most polls have Democrats at an advantage on generic congressional ballots and the party is widely expected to win back the House on Tuesday.

[The Hill]

Trump Says Pittsburgh Shooter and Mail Bomber Stopped His ‘Incredible’ Midterm Momentum

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On Thursday, President Donald Trump said the Pittsburgh synagogue shooter and the mail bomber who sent packages to CNN and Democratic targets stopped his “incredible” midterm momentum.

“Now, we did have two maniacs stop a momentum that was incredible. Because for 7 days, nobody talked about the elections. It stopped a tremendous momentum.” Trump said, before adding, “More importantly, we have to take care of our people, and we don’t care about momentum when it comes to a disgrace like just happened to the country, but it did nevertheless stop a certain momentum.”

He then said the momentum is once again picking up.

During the same rally, Trump also declared the election the “election of Kavanaugh” and “caravans.”

[Mediaite]

Trump Says He Told U.S. Military at Border to ‘Consider it a Rifle’ if Migrants Throw Rocks

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During an address on immigration from the White House on Thursday, President Donald Trump took questions from the press.

At one point, in response to a question from a reporter about if he would foresee a situation where the military may fire on the Central American migrants making their way to the border, he said that the United States military will consider a rock held in the hands of migrants the same as a firearm.

“I will tell you this, anybody throwing stones, rocks, like they did to Mexico and the Mexican military, Mexican police, where they badly hurt police and soldiers of Mexico, we will consider that a firearm,” Trump said. “Because there’s not much difference. When you get hit in the face with a rock, which as you know, that was very violent a few days ago. Very, very violent.”

Then a little while later he doubled down, saying that he considers a rock like a rifle: “They’re throwing rocks, viciously, and violently. You saw that three days ago. Really hurting the military. We’re not going to put up with that. They want to throw rocks at our military, our military fights back. We’re gonna consider, and I told them consider it a rifle. When they throw rocks like they did at the Mexico military and police, I say consider it a rifle.”

Just one week ago, in an interview with Fox News, Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen downplayed the possibility of the US military opening fire on the migrants, saying, “We do not have any intention right now to shoot at people…They will be apprehended, however.”

[Mediaite]

Trump says he tells the truth, “when I can”

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President Trump, who has frequently made false and misleading statements while in office, told ABC News’ Jon Karl that he tried to tell the truth, “when [he] can”.

“Well, I try. I do try … When I can, I tell the truth. And sometimes it turns out to be where something happens that’s different or there’s a change, but I always like to be truthful.”

By the numbers: The Washington Post’s Fact Checker reported last month that Trump made more than 5,000 false or misleading statements in the first 601 days of his presidency, an average of 8.3 claims a day.

[Axios]

Trump shocks with racist new ad days before midterms

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In the most racially charged national political ad in 30 years, President Donald Trump and the Republican Party accuse Democrats of plotting to help people they depict as Central American invaders overrun the nation with cop killers.

The new web video, tweeted by the President five days before the midterm elections, is the most extreme step yet in the most inflammatory closing argument of any campaign in recent memory.

The Trump campaign ad is the latest example of the President’s willingness to lie and fear-monger in order to tear at racial and societal divides; to embrace demagoguery to bolster his own political power and the cause of the Republican midterm campaign.

The web video — produced for the Trump campaign — features Luis Bracamontes, a Mexican man who had previously been deported but returned to the United States and was convicted in February in the slaying of two California deputies.

“I’m going to kill more cops soon,” a grinning Bracamontes is shown saying in court as captions flash across the screen reading “Democrats let him into our country. Democrats let him stay.”

The ad recalls the notorious “Willie Horton” campaign ad financed by supporters of the George H.W. Bush campaign in the 1988 presidential election. Horton was a convicted murderer who committed rape while furloughed under a program in Massachusetts where Democratic nominee Michael Dukakis was governor.

The ad has since come to be seen as one of the most racially problematic in modern political history since it played into white fear and African-American stereotypes. It was regarded at the time as devastating to the Dukakis campaign.

Trump’s web video, while just as shocking as the Horton spot, carries added weight since, unlike its 1988 predecessor, it bears the official endorsement of the leader of the Republican Party — Trump — and is not an outside effort. Given that Trump distributed it from his Twitter account, It also comes with all the symbolic significance of the presidency itself.

In a first reaction, Democratic National Committee Chairman Tom Perez said the ad was a sign of desperation and suggested that Trump was losing the argument over health care that is at the center of the Democratic campaign.

“This is distracting, divisive Donald at his worst,” Perez said on CNN’s “Cuomo Prime Time.”

“This is fear mongering. … They have to fear monger and his dog whistle of all dog whistles is immigration. This has been Donald Trump’s playbook for so long.”

[CNN]

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