Category: Trump Administration

Ivanka Trump once again misleads public with claim media is ‘silent’ on violence against conservatives

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As right-wing groups clashed with counter-protesters at pro-Trump demonstrations over the weekend, Ivanka Trump, the senior White House adviser and daughter of outgoing President Donald Trump, condemned the media on Twitter for “near total silence” over alleged assaults on conservatives. The tweet came as selectively edited video wrongly portraying Trump supporters as victims of violence circulated online in right-wing circles.

“The media’s near total silence about the physical violence being perpetrated against conservatives is shameful & dangerous. Just image the outrage and indignation if this went the other way,” Ivanka tweeted. “Violence is never the answer and instigators must be condemned and prosecuted.”

Donald Trump Jr. one-upped his sister’s allegation an hour later by claiming, without evidence, that the media was “complicit.” He also suggested that “they might as well” put Trump supporters on a non-existent Gulag list controlled by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y. Continue reading.

Trump’s favorite coronavirus adviser encouraged people to “rise up” against new restrictions

Throughout November, coronavirus cases nationwide have surged. There is no immediate end to the pandemic in sight — but rather than supporting governors in protecting their constituents, federal officials are once again railing against safety measures. Over the weekend, President Trump’s coronavirus adviser told Michigan to “rise up” against the state’s new restrictions.

In September, health experts predicted a “second wave” of coronavirus as the United States moved into flu season, with some warning that it may be worse than the initial wave. Right now, it seems that the U.S. is on track for that to be the case, having recently set a new record after surpassing 1 million new coronavirus cases in a week. In response, a number of states nationwide are tightening up restrictions. On Sunday, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) and the state’s Department of Health and Human services issued a new three-week emergency order.

Michigan’s new restrictions include halts on in-person classes for both high schools and colleges. In addition, restaurants will be closed to indoor dining, gyms will close to group classes, and entertainment facilities like theaters will have to shut down completely. Continue reading.

Republicans start turning the page on Trump era

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Top Republicans are starting to acknowledge publicly that Joe Biden will be the next president of the United States, turning the page on the Trump era.

Congressional Republicans and even a high-ranking White House official have, in recent days, referred to the upcoming change in administration.

National security adviser Robert O’Brien promised a “professional transition” of power, saying it looks like Biden has won the election. Continue reading.

Biden says it’s a good thing his ‘colleague’ Kamala Harris is still on the Senate Intelligence Committee

But warns ‘more people may die’ if Trump administration doesn’t coordinate on vaccine

President-elect Joe Biden said Monday that perhaps it was less of a concern that he was not getting top secret intelligence as part of the stalled presidential transition because his vice president-elect is still on the Intelligence Committee.

“The good news here is my colleague is still on the Intelligence Committee, so she gets the intelligence briefings I don’t any more,” Biden said in Wilmington, Del., after a meeting with business executives and labor leaders focused on the economy and the COVID-19 pandemic response. “I am hopeful that the president will be mildly more enlightened before we get to January 20.”

Biden’s penchant for Senate-speak aside, his remarks point to the curious reality of the moment: Vice president-elect Kamala Harris may know more about emerging threats to America than the next commander-in-chief. Continue reading.

Pence faces a new test after 4 years of fealty to Trump

The VP is staring at a deadlier phase of a pandemic and a Senate race that could reverse years of his work. He’ll have to get through Trump first.

For four years, Vice President Mike Pence has faced one sweeping loyalty test after another. This time, allies are questioning whether there should be a limit to his fealty.

As President Donald Trump pushes to overturn the election outcome and pressures Republicans not to recognize President-elect Joe Biden as the next commander in chief, Pence is facing pressure from allies to put country and party first — even if they collide with the inclinations of his boss.

The head of the White House’s coronavirus task force since the early weeks of the pandemic, Pence could be warning the public about an explosion of coronavirus cases and steering administration officials toward a more robust response to the pandemic — something Trump does not want his government dwelling on. The vice president also could spend more time promoting a pair of GOP senators in special-election races that are likely to determine the balance of power in the Senate — but part of that message rests on acknowledging Trump won’t hold the White House. And Pence, who has long harbored presidential ambitions of his own, might at this moment have his eyes on a 2024 Republican primary — but can’t do that with Trump in the way. Continue reading.

Murphy’s choice: Fed official has say on transition launch

The head of an obscure federal agency that is holding up the presidential transition knew well before Election Day that she might soon have a messy situation on her hands.

Before Nov. 3, Emily Murphy, the head of the General Services Administration, held a Zoom call with Dave Barram, the man who was in her shoes 20 years earlier. 

The conversation, set up by mutual friends, was a chance for Barram, 77, to tell Murphy a little about his torturous experience with “ascertainment” — the task of determining the expected winner of the presidential election, which launches the official transition process. Continue reading.

The longer Republicans cower to Trump, the more damage they do to democracy

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IN AN ordinary time, none of these comments from Republican officials would be noteworthy. “I expect Joe Biden to be the next president of the United States,” Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson said Sunday. President Trump has every right to challenge the results in court, said Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, but “Joe Biden is the president-elect.” In Michigan, state Sen. Ruth Johnson said that “I don’t believe that enough votes are in question in Michigan to change the outcome, so I think we need to move forward.” In Georgia, Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger said, “People are just going to have to accept the results. . . . I’m a Republican. I believe in fair and secure elections.”

Unfortunately, the Republican Party’s national leadership now stands squarely against fair and secure elections — or accepting results, for that matter. Both Georgia GOP senators competing in runoff elections Jan. 5 called for Mr. Raffensperger’s resignation, while offering absolutely no evidence of misconduct. Mr. Trump called him a “RINO” (Republican in Name Only) — because he competently oversaw an election that Mr. Trump lost. Mr. Trump also threatened Mr. DeWine on Monday, suggesting he would stymie the governor’s 2022 reelection.

Republican so-called leaders in Congress continue to quail before this bullying, indulging Mr. Trump’s toxic lies about a stolen election. Privately they speak of the president as though he were a petulant toddler who can’t face the hard truth all at once; or they argue that so many voters are suspicious of the results that Mr. Trump should have time to challenge them, unsuccessfully, in court. But why are so many people suspicious in the first place? Because Mr. Trump has been sowing doubt about the nation’s democratic institutions since before the election, and his enablers excuse and amplify his lies. As Mr. Trump has lost case after case in court since Election Day, his claims that the vote was rigged have only gotten more brazen. Continue reading.

Hate Crimes in U.S. Rose to Highest Level in More Than a Decade in 2019

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An F.B.I. report on hate crimes also found that more murders motivated by hate were recorded in 2019 than in any year before.

Hate crimes in the United States rose to their highest level in more than a decade last year, while more murders motivated by hate were recorded than ever before, the F.B.I. said on Monday.

The sharp rise in homicides driven by hatred — there were 51 last year, according to the F.B.I. — was attributed in large part to the mass shooting in El Paso in August 2019. In that shooting, the authorities say a 21-year-old gunman motivated by hatred toward Latinos stormed a Walmart and killed 23 people and injured many more.

The death toll in the El Paso attack more than doubled that of 2018’s deadliest hate-motivated crime, the mass shooting targeting Jews at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh. Continue reading.

South Dakota Nurse: Dying COVID-19 Patients ‘Still Don’t Believe The Virus Is Real’

“People want it to be influenza, they want it to be pneumonia, we’ve even had people say, ‘I think it could be lung cancer,’” Jodi Doering said.

A South Dakota nurse has gone viral after explaining her ongoing frustrations with trying to convince COVID-19 patients they actually have the virus.

“Their last dying words are, ‘This can’t be happening. It’s not real,’” Jodi Doering told CNN. “Even after positive results come back, some people just don’t believe it.”

Doering was sitting on her couch Saturday night and was attempting to soothe herself on a night off by cuddling her dog and eating Oreo ice cream, when she felt the urge to publicly express the obstacles she’s facing at work. Continue reading.

Ga. secretary of state says fellow Republicans are pressuring him to find ways to exclude ballots

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Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger said Monday that he has come under increasing pressure in recent days from fellow Republicans, including Sen. Lindsey O. Graham (S.C.), who he said questioned the validity of legally cast absentee ballots, in an effort to reverse President Trump’s narrow loss in the state.

In a wide-ranging interview about the election, Raffensperger expressed exasperation over a string of baseless allegations coming from Trump and his allies about the integrity of the Georgia results, including claims that Dominion Voting Systems, the Colorado-based manufacturer of Georgia’s voting machines, is a “leftist” company with ties to Venezuela that engineered thousands of Trump votes to be left out of the count.

The atmosphere has grown so contentious, Raffensperger said, that he and his wife, Tricia, have received death threats in recent days, including a text to him that read: “You better not botch this recount. Your life depends on it.” Continue reading.