Tag: Trump State of the Union

Trump Gave a Scholarship to a 4th Grader ‘Trapped’ in a ‘Failing’ Public Education at the State of the Union. She Reportedly Attends a Top Charter School

During Tuesday’s State of the Union address, President Donald Trump introduced Philadelphian 4th grader Janiyah Davis and said she would receive an “opportunity scholarship” to attend whatever school she wanted. He pointed to her experience as an argument for expanding school choice.

However, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported Friday that Davis already attends a competitive charter school, Math Science and Technology Community Charter School III (MaST III).

The Inquirer reports that her school is part of a charter network so competitive that it received 6,500 applications for 100 spots in the next school year. The school reportedly opened in the fall with about 900 students, one of whom was Davis. MaST III is funded by taxpayers and does not charge tuition, per the The Inquirer. Continue reading.

Trump Falsely Accuses Pelosi Of Crime For Ripping Up His Speech

From a Feb. 7 appearance on the White House lawn:

DONALD TRUMP: Well, I thought it was a terrible thing when she ripped up the speech. First of all it’s an official document, you’re not allowed, it’s illegal what she did. She broke the law.

But I haven’t been asked a question other than a lot of people that viewed it, they couldn’t believe that she did it. I thought it was terrible, I thought it was very disrespectful to the chamber and to the country.

Video here.

Trump is a brazen liar about Social Security

AlterNet logoIn his State of the Union address, Donald Trump claimed that “we will always protect your Social Security.” But just two weeks ago, Trump said just the opposite. He was in Davos, hobnobbing with Wall Street billionaires. While there, he sat for an interview with CNBC’s Joe Kernen, who asked him if “entitlements” would “ever be on your plate.”

“At some point, they will be,” Trump replied.

The word “entitlement” is how Washington elites refer to Social Security, as well as Medicare and Medicaid. Having “entitlements” “on your plate” is Washington insider-code for cutting these vital programs. Insider code is necessary because cutting Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid is not only terrible policy but also deeply unpopular even with Trump’s base. Continue reading.

‘I never did that’: Haspel’s clapping for Trump rankles intel veterans

Former leaders of the CIA were taken aback by the director’s enthusiasm for the president’s State of the Union address.

CIA Director Gina Haspel’s attendance at President Donald Trump’s State of the Union on Tuesday—and her decision to stand and clap at certain lines—has surprised former senior intelligence officials who say the agency director should consistently appear nonpartisan.

Haspel entered the House chamber for Trump’s speech on Tuesday—for the second year in a row—with other members of the president’s Cabinet, including political appointees like Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin. And she stood, as they did, at Trump’s comments about Medicare and Social Security, abortion, paid family leave and immigration. She clapped at his line about rebuilding infrastructure.

“I never did that,” said former CIA director Gen. Michael Hayden, referring to Haspel’s clapping at the domestic policy issues. “That wouldn’t be right.” Continue reading.

Pelosi-Trump relationship takes turn for the terrible

The Hill logoSpeaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and President Trump’s relationship may be beyond repair, and the only thing that might break the tension could be the November election itself.

The partnership between Washington’s two top powerhouses has always been fraught. But their ongoing feud took a turn for the worse during Trump’s third State of the Union address when the president appeared to snub the Speaker as she tried to shake his hand and Pelosi tore up a copy of his speech before the cameras.

Even though Trump didn’t mention impeachment during his nearly 90-minute address, it was clearly the elephant in the room on the eve of the Senate vote to acquit him of two impeachment charges passed by the House. Continue reading.

Five takeaways from Trump’s tense State of the Union address

The Hill logoPresident Trump’s State of the Union address on Tuesday was overshadowed by the tensions in the chamber between Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and himself — which led to two viral moments sure to be remembered for a long time.

It was an address steeped in partisan warfare, and it was delivered less than 24 hours before the GOP Senate is expected to vote to acquit Trump in the impeachment trial.

Here are five takeaways. Continue reading.

Democrats tear into Trump’s speech: It was a ‘MAGA rally’

The Hill logoDemocrats were exasperated over what they called a raucous campaign-style speech from President Trump on Tuesday night as the president made his case for reelection during the annual State of the Union address.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) appeared disgusted during much of Trump’s third State of the Union address. By the end of it, she ripped up his speech and set it aside while her political nemesis was still standing on the House dais.

“I tore it up,” Pelosi replied when asked by reporters what she thought of the speech. Continue reading.

Trump touts his economy as ‘the best it has ever been.’ The data doesn’t show that.

Washington Post logoThe U.S. economy is doing well, but these are not unprecedented times.

President Trump’s State of the Union address had a lengthy section celebrating the U.S. economy, which has been growing for 11 straight years, the longest expansion in U.S. history.

Trump claimed the U.S. economy is “roaring” and “the best it has ever been.” He went as far as to say the nation is “moving forward” at an “unimaginable” pace, a claim not backed up by the data.

The broad consensus among economists is that the U.S. economy is doing well, but these are not unprecedented times. Continue reading.

Michigan governor hits Trump’s economic message in Dem response

“It doesn’t matter what the president says about the stock market,” Gretchen Whitmer says.

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer hit back at President Donald Trump’s “blue collar boom” Tuesday night in her Democratic response to the president’s third annual address before Congress.

The Democratic governor, who was selected by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to deliver the Democrats’ answer to Trump’s address, focused on economic issues to counter the president’s message of unprecedented economic growth.

“It doesn’t matter what the president says about the stock market,” the governor said. “What matters is that millions of people struggle to get by or don’t have enough money at the end of the month after paying for transportation, student loans, or prescription drugs.” Continue reading.

State of the Union: Governors keep their distance from Trump

State executives this year have often compared the shape of their states favorably to the federal government.

To hear New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo tell it, his Empire State is strong but threatened by a national mood he compared to a sea “as tempest-tossed as we have seen,” with “waves of anxiety, injustice and frustration  . . .  fanned by winds of anger and division, creating a political and social superstorm.”

His Jan. 8 State of the State address in Albany framed the state of the union under President Donald Trump as a disaster that would be far worse for New Yorkers if not for his state government.

Trump, in his State of the Union address before Congress on Feb. 4, will no doubt paint a different picture. But many governors around the country appear to be happy to contrast their self-proclaimed steady hands to the gyrations of the federal government. Continue reading.