Trump Turns Question About Breonna Taylor Decision Into Self-Praise Session

Considering Donald Trump is not known for being a reader, it’s probably not a surprise that he can be bad at reading a room.

That’s what happened Wednesday when a reporter asked him for his reaction to the decision by a grand jury in Louisville, Kentucky, to not charge the police officers who fatally shot Breonna Taylor in her death.

There are many things a president could have said, such as a statement calling for peace while the process continues or an expression of sympathy to Taylor’s family. Continue reading.

Threats and invective hurled at health director who sought to postpone Trump’s Tulsa rally, emails show

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Three days before President Trump’s first indoor campaign rally during the coronaviruspandemic — at an arena in Tulsa in June — the director of the Tulsa Health Department marveled at the wave of abuse that was cresting in his direction.

“It’s been crazy since the announcement of the presidential rally,” Bruce Dart wrote to Lori Freeman, a colleague who led an association of local public health officials. “It’s amazing how people strike out against anyone who they assume is not supportive of the president instead of listening to our messaging around staying safe in this pandemic.”

“You’re doing a fabulous job,” Freeman wrote back. “Be strong (as will I).” Continue reading.

‘He’s only concerned about himself’: Governor slams Trump after his revealing comments about coronavirus risk

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When thousands of Trump supporters attended an indoor MAGA rally in Las Vegas over the weekend, social distancing was not encouraged — and protective face masks were few and far between in the crowd. Critics of President Donald Trump have slammed the rally as blatantly irresponsible, including Democratic Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak — who didn’t hold back during an appearance on MSNBC on Monday.

In an interview, Trump had dismissed concerns about contracting the virus at the rally, saying: “I’m on a stage and it’s very far away.” He added: “And so I’m not at all concerned.”

Of course, his supporters in the audience were packed in tightly against each other, many of them not wearing masks. Continue reading.

‘Shameful, dangerous and irresponsible’: Nevada governor blasts Trump for indoor rally against state rules

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Shortly before President Trump took the stage on Sunday night in Henderson, Nev., for his first indoor rally in months, Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak blasted the president for flouting the state’s coronavirus restrictions by packing hundreds of supporters, many without masks, into a building.

The Democratic governor noted that Trump and his campaign were violating Nevada’s ban on gatherings of 50 people or more, tweeting that the president’s rally at Xtreme Manufacturing was “shameful, dangerous and irresponsible.”

“Tonight, President Donald Trump is taking reckless and selfish actions that are putting countless lives in danger here in Nevada,” the governor said. “The President appears to have forgotten that this country is still in the middle of a global pandemic.” Continue reading.

Trump in Minden: Largely maskless crowd hears attacks on Nevada’s mail-in election, Biden

President Donald Trump staged a rally in Minden on Saturday after officials rebuffed similar airport rallies in Reno and Las Vegas, citing Nevada’s months-long ban on gatherings of more than 50 people during the coronavirus pandemic.

Trump — speaking to a crowd of at least 5,000 largely maskless supporters densely packed on the Tarmac at Minden-Tahoe Airport on Saturday —  repeated unsupported claims that Nevada’s governor sought to scuttle an earlier planned campaign rally in Reno.

Trump went on to falsely claim that Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak controls “millions of votes” in the state, claiming without evidence Democrats are trying to “rig” the upcoming general election. Continue reading.

Secret Service copes with coronavirus cases in aftermath of Trump appearances

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When President Trump gave a speech to a group of sheriffs in Tampa late last month, his decision to travel forceda large contingent of Secret Service agents to head to a state that was then battling one of the worst coronavirus surges in the nation.

Even before Air Force One touched down on July 31, the fallout was apparent: Five Secret Service agents already on the ground had to be replaced after one tested positive for the coronavirus and the others working in proximity were presumed to be infected, according to people familiar with the situation.

The previously unreported episode is one of a series of examples of how Trump’s insistence on traveling and holding campaign-style events amid the pandemic has heightened the risks for the people who safeguard his life, intensifying the strain on the Secret Service. Continue reading.

Trump calls for Goodyear boycott after company bans MAGA attire among employees

The Goodyear attack is the latest in a long line of proposed boycotts from the president.

President Donald Trump on Wednesday promoted a boycott of Goodyear, angrily reacting to a viral company policy that banned employees from wearing “MAGA Attire.”

“Don’t buy GOODYEAR TIRES – They announced a BAN ON MAGA HATS. Get better tires for far less!” Trump wrote on Twitter. “(This is what the Radical Left Democrats do. Two can play the same game, and we have to start playing it now!).”

The president appeared to reference an image that a Goodyear employee said was taken during a diversity training slideshow that went viral this week. Continue reading.

How Trump’s condescending pitch to ‘suburban housewives’ blew up in his face in spectacular fashion: report

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According to a report from the Daily Beast, Donald Trump’s attempts to gain back voters in the suburbs — particularly women — has not only failed but has created a movement among the women the president condescendingly calls “suburban housewives” to see that he is defeated in November.

As the Beast’s Emily Shugerman explains, Donald Trump has a woman voter problem and he has been trying to make inroads in the suburbs by using racist dog-whistling to make a connection with what he undoubtedly only sees as white moms. And while his appeal seems to have fallen on deaf ears– if the polls are to be believed — his pandering has also created a backlash.

“If you search ‘suburban housewives’ on Facebook—between the pages dedicated to gossiping about the Real Housewives reality shows and one called ‘A group where we pretend to be suburban PTA housewives’ —you will now find at least eight groups dedicated to overthrowing Trump,” Shugerman reports. “The group descriptions and membership varies, but the message is the same: Trump cannot count on suburban women to pull him over the line this November.” Continue reading.

Trump’s New ‘Coronavirus Adviser’ Was Almost Always Dead Wrong

President Donald Trump announced this week that Dr. Scott Atlas, a senior fellow at Stanford University’s Hoover Institution, will serve as a new “adviser” to the president on COVID-19. Atlas, whose background is in diagnostic radiology, is not an expert in infectious disease but rather a pundit and frequent Fox guest who has been repeatedly wrong about the pandemic.

Atlas, who has appeared 20 times on Fox News since the end of April, predicted in March that there would only be 10,000 deaths from COVID in America, said in April that the pandemic “appears to be entering the containment phase,” and claimed in May that “the curves have been flattened.” More recently, he has taken to making unproven claims downplaying the risk of COVID-19 in considering whether to reopen schools for in-person learning.

But Fox News and other right-wing outlets have elevated his politically convenient though dubious commentary; and on August 12 he gave brief remarks during a White House press briefing after Trump asked him to come up to the podium. Continue reading.