A resource for journalists and for shutting down your crazy uncle.
Donald Trump’s rhetorical style is straight out of middle school. He’s like an eighth-grade girl.
On Monday, President Donald Trump retweeted a ‘hit list’ from Tom Fitton, the president of Judicial Watch, a conservative self-styled watchdog group.
Fitton tweeted a list out with Democrats name who believed have abused President Donald Trump.
People on the list included Barack Obama, Joe Biden, and Hillary Clinton.
President Donald Trump seems to think that impeachment is out of the question because he is a Republican and it is the Democrats who committed the crimes.
On Easter Sunday, Trump wrote on Twitter: “How do you impeach a Republican President for a crime that was committed by the Democrats? MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”
It is unclear what exactly prompted his tweet, but impeachment has been a topicwidely talked about on cable news this weekend as some Democrats renew their call for impeachment.
In addition, Laurence Tribe published an op-ed on Sunday in USA Todayclaiming the “time has come” for the sitting president to be impeached.
The Mueller probe — and how much it has been unfair to him — also seems to be on Trump’s mind this holiday.
Earlier on Easter Sunday, the president took time out of his day to blame the “other side” and complain he had to go through the “worst and most corrupt political Witch Hunt in the history of the United States.”
[Mediaite]
It’s the day after the actual Mueller Report dropped—albeit with redactions from Attorney General William Barr, who has been exposed as the president’s pet toad. We now know The Barr Letter three weeks ago was comically skewed to the point that the attorney general’s position is untenable. He so misrepresented the contents of the actual report, in a blatant attempt to manipulate public opinion about its findings, that he can no longer reasonably lead a Justice Department that is nominally independent from the White House. He’s supposed to be the nation’s top law-enforcement officer. If he wants to serve as the president’s personal lawyer, he should resign and start spending some more time with Rudy Giuliani.
If you’re interested in a further reminder that Barr’s initial letter—and his behavior over the last three weeks that crescendoed with yesterday’s reprehensible press conference—was an orchestrated scam, look no further than the president it was meant to protect. Donald Trump has always been one to say the quiet parts out loud, and now that Robert Mueller’s actual findings are public, our fearless leader has decided to sweat them just as publicly. You may remember that, after The Barr Letter, Trump embarked on a victory lap in which he declared Mueller had TOTALLY EXONERATED! him. Based on his stylings Friday morning on the Tweet Machine, something done changed.
He never finished the tweet thread. Maybe he had to attend to the actual affairs of state. Or Hannity called. Anyway, “Crazy Mueller Report” seems like one of the more Low Energy branding exercises rolled out by President Business Deals. His heart’s not in it, probably because he is palpably terrified.
There’s also that nice reminder that the president doesn’t trust anyone, especially a lawyer, who takes notes—a sure sign that his business dealings before he took office were Totally Above-Board. To be clear, one of the core guiding principles for the President of the United States is that you should never leave a paper trail. You know, like a mobster. What do you expect from a guy of whom former FBI Director Andrew McCabe said, “It has occurred to me on a number of occasions that, you know, Donald Trump and I know some of the same people,” referring to some of the people McCabe came to “know” in his time at the FBI’s New York bureau, where he spent a decade investigating Russian organized crime.
But the real peach is towards the end there: “some of which are total bullshit & only given to make the other person look good (or me to look bad).”So, if we’re keeping score here, The Mueller Report went from a COMPLETE EXONERATION! to TOTAL BULLSHIT! in a little over three weeks. Or, alternately, it underwent this transfiguration from the time it was being totally misrepresented by William Barr to the time we actually got to see it. Even now, Trump seems to be trying to say it’s both at the same time: The good parts for me are true. The bad parts are fake. Needless to say, nothing in the report has been proven false. In fact, it corroborates the vast majority of mainstream reporting on Russia, all of which Trump screamed was Fake News.
These people are relentlessly truthless, a pack of liars who have no shame in any context. The Goldfish Brain approach to political reporting that’s all too common will not work here. You can’t just look at what they said today. Whenever White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders speaks and the media relays her message, it should come with the disclaimer that she has a proven record of fabricating entire conversations from the White House podium to justify the president firing the FBI director leading an investigation into him. The fabricator’s kryptonite is history and context. The president is trying to lie his way to the end of each day, and he’s hoping you’re not taking notes. Take notes.
[Esquire]
President Trump on Thursday pushed back against questions about whether he may have obstructed the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election, asserting that he could have “fired everyone,” including special counsel Robert Mueller, if he had so chosen.
Trump quoted Fox News host Jesse Watters, who said on “The Five” that Trump “was being framed” and “fought back.”
“I had the right to end the whole Witch Hunt if I wanted,” the president tweeted. “I could have fired everyone, including Mueller, if I wanted. I chose not to. I had the RIGHT to use Executive Privilege. I didn’t!”
The president’s tweet came as he traveled aboard Air Force One to Palm Beach, Fla., where he will spend the weekend at his Mar-a-Lago resort.
A redacted version of Mueller’s full report was released Thursday morning. In it, the special counsel detailed 10 areas where investigators looked at whether Trump may have obstructed justice.
Mueller looked into, among other topics, Trump’s efforts to remove the special counsel, his conduct surrounding the firing of former FBI Director James Comey and his encouragement of former Attorney General Jeff Sessions to take control of the investigation.
The special counsel ultimately did not exonerate or implicate Trump on obstruction charges.
“[I]f we had confidence after a thorough investigation of the facts that the President clearly did not commit obstruction of justice, we would so state. Based on the facts and the applicable legal standards, we are unable to reach that judgment,” the report states.
Attorney General William Barr said he and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein did not find sufficient evidence to prove obstruction of justice on the part of the president.
Mueller’s report further established there was “no collusion” between the Trump campaign and Russian government, Barr said.
Trump’s tweet marked one of his few public comments in the wake of the report’s release.
The president briefly addressed the report’s findings at an event for wounded military service members, saying that he was “having a good day” and reiterating his stance the report found “no collusion. No obstruction.”
He also tweeted a photo inspired by the hit HBO series “Game of Thrones” showing him staring into a fog behind the statement: “No collusion. No obstruction. For the haters and the radical left Democrats—Game Over.”
Trump did not address reporters as he departed the White House for Florida.
[The Hill]
President Donald Trump shared a “Game of Thrones”-style tweet featuring the words, “game over,” following Attorney General William Barr’s press conference where he repeatedly said that the Mueller report found “no collusion” between the Trump campaign and Russia.
[NBC News]
President Trump lit into Democratic presidential contender Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) in a series of tweets on Tuesday, in which he attacked the senator as “crazy” and took aim at his wealth.
“Many Trump Fans & Signs were outside of the @FoxNews Studio last night in the now thriving (Thank you President Trump) Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, for the interview with Crazy Bernie Sanders,” Trump said in the first of a string of tweets on Tuesday evening.
“Big complaints about not being let in-stuffed with Bernie supporters. What’s with @FoxNews?” he claimed without evidence.
The president went on to call out the senator over his wealth after Sanders recently revealed that he has become a millionaire from the profits he received from his best-selling book.
“Bernie Sanders and wife should pay the Pre-Trump Taxes on their almost $600,000 in income. He is always complaining about these big TAX CUTS, except when it benefits him,” Trump tweeted.
“They made a fortune off of Trump, but so did everyone else – and that’s a good thing, not a bad thing!” Trump, who has an estimated net worth of $2 billion and proclaims to be a self-made billionaire, also wrote.
He also predicted in another tweet that both Sanders and former Vice President Joe Biden, who have emerged as front-runners in a crowded field of Democratic presidential contenders, would be the “two finalists to run against maybe the best Economy in the history of our Country.”
“I believe it will be Crazy Bernie Sanders vs. Sleepy Joe Biden as the two finalists to run against maybe the best Economy in the history of our Country (and MANY other great things)!” he wrote.
“I look forward to facing whoever it may be. May God Rest Their Soul!” the president added.
Trump’s criticism arrives as the Vermont Independent leads Democratic presidential contenders in a new Emerson poll, which has him at 29 percent in the lead compared to the 24 percent Biden now holds in second place.
[The Hill]
Trump seemed to be referring to a group of people holding American flags and Trump flags outside the ArtsQuest Center at SteelStacks while the hour-long program was being shot inside before an audience who cheered Sanders.
President Trump on Monday attacked The New York Times as “very fake” for publishing an article pointing out most Americans will likely receive a tax cut under his 2017 law, even though a majority say they will not.
Speaking at a Tax Day event in Minnesota, Trump held up a printed copy of the Times article and voiced his displeasure with the headline “Face It: You (Probably) Got a Tax Cut.”
“In other words, they’re really pretty upset. You can tell where they’re coming from, come on,” the president said.
Noting the article pointed out a large majority of Americans are expected to receive cuts, something that is positive for him, Trump said “they must have made a mistake. I’m sure these writers will be fired very shortly.”
Trump continued to tout the effects of his tax law but later added that “nothing good comes from The New York Times,” drawing applause from an audience of supporters inside a trucking and equipment facility outside Minneapolis.
The White House staged Monday’s event in order to promote the tax law, which is Trump’s biggest legislative accomplishment and something he plans to tout during his 2020 reelection race.
Multiple polls show that most Americans believe they are not benefiting from the law, which could limit its effect as a political asset next year. The Times article pointed out the disparity between popular opinion about the law and its actual effects.
“To a large degree, the gap between perception and reality on the tax cuts appears to flow from a sustained – and misleading – effort by liberal opponents of the law to brand it as a broad middle-class tax increase,” it says.
The president has routinely attacked his hometown paper, even though he has sat for multiple interviews with its reporters during his time in office.
His latest remarks came the same afternoon it was announced that the Times had won a Pulitzer Prize for its long-form article investigating Trump’s finances, which said the Trump family has been dodging taxes for years.
[The Hill]
President Donald Trump tweeted out on Saturday night that “the USA has the absolute legal right” to send migrants to sanctuary cities.
“Just out: The USA has the absolute legal right to have apprehended illegal immigrants transferred to Sanctuary Cities. We hereby demand that they be taken care of at the highest level, especially by the State of California, which is well known or its poor management & high taxes!” Trump wrote.
Trump’s tweet comes just following a segment on Fox News where his deputy Press Secretary defended the plan.
Speaking with Fox News’ Jeanine Pirro on Saturday, White House Principal Deputy Press Secretary Hogan Gidley praised Trump’s proposal.
He claimed, though, that the actual transport hasn’t started yet because Trump is still considering all of his options and they are still working on the legality of the issue.
In defense of Trump’s proposal, Gidley said this:
“They are telling us you cannot keep family units who come here illegally and unlawfully at the southern border. You can’t keep them at detention facilities. You can’t deport them. The only thing you can do is as an administration is release them into American communities…So, the president said listen, there are sanctuary cities out there where Democrats have said we welcome any and all whether they criminals, whether they are here illegally, seeking asylum, regardless. Anybody who disagrees with us is racist. So the president said fine, I’ve got a great idea. We’d love to work with you guys to figure out exactly the best way to transport these people were here illegally and unlawfully and into your communities and your districts and your states.”
Gidley then added that not a single Democrat has signed up for the plan.
Pirro next asked when all this was going to start.
“He’s looking at any and all options right now,” Gidley said, referring to Trump. “We’re going through the process, reviewing everything we can do lawfully.”
Pirro then asked if it had started already.
“Not yet, we’re trying to figure out if we can do that Legally,” Gidley replied.
A few minutes later, Trump tweeted out that the “USA has the absolute legal right” to what he wants and send migrants to sanctuary cities.
[Mediaite]
President Donald Trump again threatened to send asylum seekers to sanctuary cities.
“Democrats must change the immigration laws fast,” Trump demanded, despite nothing being done during the two years of his presidency that Republicans controlled both houses of Congress.
Trump then branded immigrants as “criminals of all shapes.”
“If not, sanctuary cities must immediately act to take care of the illegal immigrants – and this includes gang members, drug dealers, human traffickers, and criminals of all shapes, sizes and kinds,” Trump continued.
“Change the laws now,” he demanded.
Back from his round of golf with Tiger Woods, President Donald Trumptook to Twitter on Saturday evening to bash the New York Times for being corrupt after running a story about sanctuary cities.
“The New York Times Sanctuary Cities/Immigration story today was knowingly wrong on almost every fact. They never call to check for truth. Their sources often don’t even exist, a fraud. They will lie & cheat anyway possible to make me look bad. In 6 years they will be gone,” Trump wrote.
He also insisted that the paper had to beg subscribers for forgiveness after botching coverage of the 2016 election.
“When I won the Election in 2016, the @nytimes had to beg their fleeing subscribers for forgiveness in that they covered the Election (and me) so badly,” Trump wrote. “They didn’t have a clue, it was pathetic. They even apologized to me. But now they are even worse, really corrupt reporting!”
Trump, by the way, doesn’t exactly have his facts right. The New York Timesactually reported that they had a “Trump bump” as a result of the election.
Here is the report from November 2018 (emphasis mine):
More than three million paid digital-only subscribers. More than four million total.
The New York Times Company announced on Thursday that it surpassed those milestones during the third quarter of 2018, when the number of its digital subscribers showed a net increase of roughly 203,000.
That was the highest gain in digital subscribers in a quarter since the so-called Trump bump in the fourth quarter of 2016 and the first quarter of 2017 after the presidential election.
[Mediaite]