Tag: tweet

Spicer offers cryptic explanation for Trump ‘covfefe’ tweet

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White House press secretary Sean Spicer on Wednesday offered a cryptic explanation for President Trump’s incomplete, misspelled tweet that went viral overnight.

“The president and a small group of people know exactly what he meant,” Spicer told reporters.

The spokesman’s refusal to admit Trump made a mistake prompted laughter from members of the media at the White House.

Spicer said he wasn’t concerned about the president posting confusing tweets late at night.

Shortly after midnight, Trump tweeted, “Despite the constant negative press covfefe.”

The message unleashed a torrent of reactions from Twitter users who tried to define the term – or simply made fun of it.

Trump deleted the tweet shortly before 6 a.m., and posted a new message that read, “Who can figure out the true meaning of ‘covfefe’ ???”

[The Hill]

Media

Trump Defends Carter Page, Whom He is Not Supposed to Know

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Over the weekend, the Wall Street Journal reported that “a team of lawyers” may soon review Donald Trump’s social-media missives as the White House tries to grapple with the Russia scandal.

If that was the plan, it doesn’t appear to be going well. This morning, for example, the president published some tweets about the controversy that didn’t do Trump World any favors:

“So now it is reported that the Democrats, who have excoriated Carter Page about Russia, don’t want him to testify. He blows away their case against him & now wants to clear his name by showing ‘the false or misleading testimony by James Comey, John Brennan…’ Witch Hunt!”

Trump was apparently watching a Fox News segment this morning, which led to this little outburst.

And that’s a shame, because the president’s tweets are problematic for a variety of reasons.

For example, Trump, apparently quoting a letter Page sent to lawmakers seemed to argue this morning that the former directors of the FBI and the CIA delivered “false or misleading testimony” while under oath. That’s a pretty dangerous thing for a president to allege publicly without any evidence.

What’s more, Trump’s tweet follows Page’s claim that his interview with the House Intelligence Committee has been delayed, but it’s unclear if that interview had ever been scheduled in the first place.

But perhaps the most salient detail is Trump’s insistence that Carter Page has information that “blows away” the Democrats’ “case against him” in the Russia scandal. This, of course, leads to an awkward question: how exactly would the president know that?

A year ago, during the presidential campaign, Trump personally singled out Page, by name, as one of only a handful of people who were advising him on matters of foreign policy. That became highly problematic: the FBI has investigated Page as a possible agent of Russia.

The more controversial Page became, the more eager Team Trump became to put distance between Page and the president. Sean Spicer told reporters during the transition period, for example, “Carter Page is an individual whom [Trump] does not know.” The Washington Post added this morning people close to the president have insisted that Trump and Page “never met.”

And yet, there was the president this morning, not only defending Page, but making the case that Page has important, exculpatory information. I’ll look forward to the explanation as to how and why Trump has reached this conclusion.

[MSNBC]

Trump: Senate Republicans Should Use the ‘Nuclear Option’ to Pass Healthcare and Tax Cuts

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President Donald Trump on Tuesday said the Senate should get rid of the legislative filibuster so that it could pass healthcare and tax-cut bills.

“The U.S. Senate should switch to 51 votes, immediately, and get Healthcare and TAX CUTS approved, fast and easy,” Trump tweeted. “Dems would do it, no doubt!”

The filibuster allows senators to hold up legislation without a 60-vote threshold.

Changing the floor rules to end the filibuster has been considered a “nuclear option” for lawmakers, as it could come back to bite the GOP if the Democrats were to retake the Senate.

In recent years, however, the party in control of the Senate has done away with other filibusters in an attempt to circumvent the opposition. Democrats eliminated the filibuster for executive and judicial nominees in 2013. And in April, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell scrapped the filibuster for Supreme Court nominees to confirm Trump’s nominee, Neil Gorsuch.

The GOP is circumventing a possible filibuster for its healthcare bill by introducing it using a process known as budget reconciliation. As long as the bill cuts the federal deficit, it is not subject to a 60-vote threshold.

Both the GOP healthcare bill, the American Health Care Act, and Trump’s tax proposals have faced unanimous opposition from Democrats.

Trump’s suggestions followed a series of tweets Tuesday in which he criticized Germany and attacked reports on ties between his campaign and Russian officials.

[Business Insider]

Trump Fires Back at Merkel, Says Germany is ‘Very Bad’ For The US

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President Donald Trump has criticized Germany once again for its large trade surplus with the U.S. and its low contributions to NATO, saying this attitude is “very bad” for the United States.

The comments made on Twitter take current tensions in U.S.-German relations a notch higher.

Chancellor Angela Merkel said at an election rally on Sunday that Germany and the European Union can no longer rely on the United States.

“The times in which we could completely depend on others are, to a certain extent, over,” she told the rally in Munich.

“I’ve experienced that in the last few days. We Europeans truly have to take our fate into our own hands,” she said. Her comments came as she steps up her campaign in the September federal election.

The image of friendly relations between Germany and the U.S. seems distant since Trump took office. His administration has previously said that Germany’s trade surplus is a result of the country’s manipulation of the euro.

Germany fought back arguing that it doesn’t have powers to manipulate the euro and the only reason consumers opt for its products is because they are more competitive.

Data released last February by the German Federal Statistics Office showed that Germany’s trade surplus rose to 252.9 billion euros ($270.05 billion) in 2016, surpassing the previous high of 244.3 billion euros in 2015. If it were a single trade partner, Germany would be the fifth largest in total trade flows with the U.S. But it runs the third largest trade surplus, after China and Japan.

Meanwhile, contributions to the defense alliance NATO has emerged as another problem between Berlin and Washington. Trump has repeatedly asked NATO allies to step up their contributions. At the moment, only 5 of the 28 members fulfill the target of paying at least 2 percent of their gross domestic product on defense.

According to NATO data, Germany is currently spending 1.2 percent of its GDP on NATO. The U.S. spends 3.6 percent.

At a summit last week, Germany, like other NATO members, vowed to present an action plan on how it will increase defense spending. At the time, Trump told his allies they were being unfair toward U.S. taxpayers.

[CNBC]

On first day back, Trump lashes out at “fake news media”

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Hours after returning from his first trip abroad as president, President Trump tweeted Sunday about “fake news media” and White House leaks.

“It is my opinion that many of the leaks coming out of the White House are fabricated lies made up by the #FakeNews media,” Mr. Trump said in a series of tweets.

“Whenever you see the words ‘sources say’ in the fake news media, and they don’t mention names… it is very possible that those sources don’t exist but are made up by fake news writers. #FakeNews is the enemy!” he tweeted.

On Sunday night, Mr. Trump followed up by tweeting that the “fake news media” disparges his use of social media “because they don’t want America to hear the real story!”

The president unleashed his apparent frustration as he faces a slew of challenges upon returning home from his nine-day trip to Europe and the Middle East.

[CBS News]

 

 

 

 

 

Trump Claims Defense Money is Pouring Into NATO After Speech

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President Trump on Saturday claimed that money was “beginning to pour in” to NATO, just two days after he gave a speech scolding allies for not paying their fair share at the alliance’s headquarters in Brussels.

“Many NATO countries have agreed to step up payments considerably, as they should. Money is beginning to pour in- NATO will be much stronger,” Trump tweeted Saturday.

Trump’s wording misrepresents how NATO is organized by suggesting that nations pay the alliance; each nation funds its own defense spending under the NATO umbrella. There is not a specific fund money would be pouring into.

Trump has frequently assailed the treaty organization as “unfair” to the U.S., arguing that other member states have long failed to uphold their defense spending commitments. Only five NATO countries — the U.S., Greece, Estonia, the U.K. and Poland — have met the treaty’s agreement that countries spend at least 2 percent of their annual GDP on defense by 2024.

Trump reiterated that sentiment while speaking to NATO allies this week, saying the members “must finally contribute their fair share and meet their financial obligations.”

[The Hill]

Donald Trump Threatens James Comey, Implies He Illegally Taped Conversations

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President Donald Trump implied on Friday that he may have recorded conversations with former FBI Director James Comey.

In a tweet, Trump issued a threat to Comey over “leaking to the press.”

Trump’s tweet seems to stem from his frustration over the fallout from his firing of FBI Director James Comey earlier this week. Trump told NBC on Thursday that he was looking for an excuse to fire Comey, who was leading an investigation into the Trump campaign’s ties to Russia.

Comey could testify during an investigation into the Trump campaign’s ties to Russia, meaning the president’s tweet could be seen as witness intimidation.

The White House has been inconsistent in its explanation of Comey’s firing, pointing on Tuesday to a memo written by deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein that suggested Comey’s handling of the investigation into former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s emails had prompted his departure.

On Wednesday, Trump said Comey was let go because he “wasn’t doing a good job.” Later that day, deputy press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders pointed to “atrocities” she says Comey committed in the Clinton email investigation.

But Comey’s firing came days after he reportedly asked for more resources to advance the FBI’s investigation into Russia’s interference in the U.S. presidential election. Trump questioned that investigation again Friday morning, calling it a “witch hunt.”

During his Twitter rant Friday morning, Trump also suggested he may stop press briefings, threatened the “fake media” and excused his aides for not giving journalists accurate information.

[Huffington Post]

 

Unhappy with Comey Coverage Trump Threatens to Cancel Press Briefings

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In a flood of angry tweets Friday morning, President Trump threatened to cancel press briefings as he continues to grapple with the fallout from his abrupt firing of his FBI director and the conflicting stories he and his aides have told about it.

“As a very active President with lots of things happening, it is not possible for my surrogates to stand at podium with perfect accuracy!” Trump said. “Maybe the best thing to do would be to cancel all future “press briefings” and hand out written responses for the sake of accuracy???”

In a striking reversal one day earlier, Trump told NBC News that he planned to fire Comey even before meeting with top-ranking Justice Department officials and soliciting their recommendations on his performance.

“I was going to fire regardless of (their) recommendation,” Trump said in an interview with NBC’s Lester Holt, calling Comey a “showboat” and “grandstander” who led the agency into turmoil.

He also specifically brought up the ongoing Russia investigation. “In fact, when I decided to just do it, I said to myself – I said, you know, this Russia thing with Trump and Russia is a made-up story,” Trump told NBC. “It’s an excuse by the Democrats for having lost an election that they should’ve won.”

These reasons contradicted the White House’s assertions — and even the widely disseminated termination letter Trump sent Comey — that the dismissal was based on the recommendations of Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who criticized Comey’s handling of the email investigation into Hillary Clinton last year.

Trump’s statements raised even more questions about his decision to fire the FBI director who was running an investigation into possible collusion between Trump campaign associates and Russians seeking to influence the 2016 presidential election.

That coverage of the Comey story prompted the Friday tweetstorm from the president, who also continued to loudly deny that he or his team had anything to do with Russia’s hacking Democrats during the 2016 election.

While Democrats continue to decry the timing of Comey’s firing was a way to short-circuit the ongoing counterintelligence probe, Trump tweeted that is is all politics: “Again, the story that there was collusion between the Russians & Trump campaign was fabricated by Dems as an excuse for losing the election.”

In yet another tweet, Trump called the investigation into his campaign associates’ ties to Russia a “witch hunt,” insisting that former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper said there was no collusion.

[USA Today]

 

 

 

Donald Trump just trolled Rosie O’Donnell. Not Good.

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As his White House continued to struggle to get its story straight regarding the firing of FBI Director James Comey and the unwanted photo-op of the president and Russian ambassador Sergey Kislyak on Wednesday, Donald Trump took time out to troll longtime nemesis Rosie O’Donnell.

On Thursday afternoon, Trump retweeted a two-word tweet the actress sent in December 2016 that read: “FIRE COMEY.” He added this comment: “We finally agree on something Rosie.”

Reminder: Donald Trump is the president of the United States, the head of the US military and, arguably, the single most powerful person in the world.

O’Donnell and Trump have a loooooong history — dating all the way back to 2006. Trump refused to de-crown (not sure that’s a word) Miss USA Tara Conner after reports of her past alcohol and drug use surfaced. O’Donnell, at the time a co-host of “The View,” blasted Trump the following day — calling him “a snake-oil salesman on Little House On The Prairie” among many other things.

But, only one of these two people are president of the United States. Only one of them is making decisions about sending missiles into a Syrian airfield or dropping the “mother of all bombs” on Afghanistan. Or making final calls on the number of troops in Afghanistan. Or developing tax policy and trade policy with far-reaching impacts on the US economy. Or representing the US on the world stage.

On Thursday, O’Donnell responded: “u don’t even realize the kind of trouble u r in – comeys people believe in him – for real – they have the proof – u r a sadistic man #USA”

Now, it’s easy to laugh at Trump’s decision to re-engage his long-simmering feud with O’Donnell. (It’s a good tweet and an expert troll, after all.)

But, it should also give everyone pause. This is the president of the United States we are talking about. (I know I have said that three times. But it bears repeating!) He — and his administration — are in the midst of a self-inflicted crisis over the reasons for his decision to fire Comey. That he made time to troll Rosie O’Donnell says something about where his priorities and focus lie. And what it says is nothing good.

[CNN]

Reality

Trump and Republicans would be correct to point out liberal hypocrisy over the firing of James Comey if today was November 9th. At that time we would have absolutely cheered the release of the FBI Director who helped hand Trump a White House victory.

But since November 9th we’ve learned, from James Comey, that he and the FBI are investigating Trump and his administration for collusion with Russia, and just a week prior was asking for more resources for his investigation.

So let’s cut that talking point to shreds right now.

Trump: Dem Senator ‘Should Be the One Who is Investigated’

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President Trump on Wednesday morning attacked Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), calling for him to face an investigation over a 2010 campaign controversy about his military service.

Trump took to Twitter to slam Blumenthal shortly after the senator appeared on morning cable news shows to criticize Trump for firing FBI Director Jamed Comey, warning of a “looming constitutional crisis.”

“Watching Senator Richard Blumenthal speak of Comey is a joke. ‘Richie’ devised one of the greatest military frauds in U.S. history,” Trump wrote in a series of tweets.

“For years, as a pol in Connecticut, Blumenthal would talk of his great bravery and conquests in Vietnam — except he was never there. When caught, he cried like a baby and begged for forgiveness and now he is judge & jury. He should be the one who is investigated for his acts.”

Trump was referring to a controversy in Blumenthal’s 2010 Senate campaign in which he admitted misspeaking about his military service.

Blumenthal held a press conference during the campaign to clarify that he had said he served “in” the Vietnam War when he meant to say he served “during” the war, as a reservist and not overseas.

Trump attacked Blumenthal earlier this year over the 2010 controversy, during debate about then-Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch, accusing the senator of a “long-term lie.”

(h/t The Hill)

Reality

Trump once overstated his military credentials telling Don Lemon he received an award in April 2015, saying it came from the United States Marines Corps when it was actually the unconnected charity The Marine Corps-Law Enforcement Foundation.

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