Days 108-109 since the election and days 37-38 of him being in office.
Tomorrow will the first State of the Union and we know what kind of train wreck that will be.
'I think he is behind it': the rich asshole suggests Obama is organizing protests against him
Donald the rich asshole interviews with "Fox and Friends."Screenshot via Twitter/CNN
President some rich asshole delivered a scathing accusation against former President Barack Obama.
When asked if Obama was responsible for organizing some of the protests — including the widely-publicized demonstrations at GOP town hall meetings of late — the rich asshole had this response:
"No, I think he is behind it, I also think it’s politics, that’s the way it is," the rich asshole said in a preview of an interview with "Fox and Friends" released Monday night.
"You never know what’s exactly happening behind the scenes," the rich asshole said. "You never know."
the rich asshole's comments follow a long-playing battle with his critics and nationwide protests that have steadily grown in the months since he was elected. The president has continued to assert that demonstrators opposing his presidency are professional agitators and has stated, without evidence, that he only lost the popular vote because of election fraud. Multiple state and federal organizations — and the rich asshole's own attorneys — have debunked those claims.
the rich asshole's many squabbles have also played out under the specter of his self-declared war with US news organizations.
Here is the president's full quote on the question of protesters gathering around the country:
“No, I think that President Obama’s behind it because his people are certainly behind it. And some of the leaks … possibly come from that group ... But I also understand that’s politics, and in terms of him being behind things, that’s politics, and it will probably continue."
Monday pro-the rich asshole rallies a massive flop as event photos show tiny crowds
some rich asshole speaking with supporters at a campaign rally at the Prescott Valley Event Center in Prescott Valley, Arizona (Gage Skidmore/Flickr)
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President some rich asshole last week called on his supporters to hold massive rallies on his behalf, and on Monday some of them did their best to meet his demands.
However, although the rich asshole predicted that pro-the rich asshole rallies would be the “biggest of them all,” photos from around the country show sparsely attended events that at most show a couple hundred people in a given location.
Toronto Star reporter Daniel Dale posted some photos that he’s seen around Twitter that show tiny crowds at assorted the rich asshole rallies. Dale notes that pro-the rich asshole news website Breitbart predicted the events would be “massive.”
Breitbart said today's pro-Trump rallies would be "MASSIVE." The photos I've seen so far: pic.twitter.com/3gnSaAayiz
More photos from today's MASSIVE pro-Trump rallies. pic.twitter.com/b6ofD1aP9Y
My last tweet Showing The Crowd from today's MASSIVE Trump rallies. pic.twitter.com/SuSn7L9ARh
Taking a look at specific locations, the pro-the rich asshole rally in Raleigh, North Carolina featured a tiny crowd of dozens of people:
The crowds were similarly small in downtown Atlanta.
In St. Augustine, Florida, meanwhile, it appeared that maybe 100 people showed up to rally behind the president.
And in Denver, a local photographer estimates that around 200 people attended a pro-the rich asshole rally in front of the state capitol.
Here, meanwhile, was the scene in Bellingham, Washington:
For comparison, the first anti-the rich asshole Women’s March in Washington, D.C. drew hundreds of thousands of demonstrators, while millions more marched with them in solidarity in cities around the country.
‘He knew that this was part of the job’: Sean Spicer blames Navy SEAL for his own death
Sean Spicer (Fox News/screen grab)
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White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer said on Monday that William “Ryan” Owens, a Navy SEAL who died in Yemen, knew the risks of the job when he accepted the fatal mission.
Over the weekend, Owens’ father called for an investigation into his son’s death, and suggested that President some rich asshole had not been prepared when he ordered the mission just days after taking office.
Spicer insisted on Monday that the mission had achieved its objectives.
“As I mentioned before, I think you can’t ever say that when there’s most importantly loss of life, and people injured, that it’s 100 percent successful,” Spicer said. “But I think when you look at what the stated goal of that mission was, it was an information and intelligence-gathering mission. It achieved its objectives.”
“So, again, I would express our thoughts and our prayers and our condolences to all of the people in Chief Owens’ family and his friends,” the press secretary added. “But it’s something that as a SEAL and as somebody who deployed 12 times, he knew that this was part of the job and he knew what he was doing.”
“And so we’re very comfortable with how the mission was executed.”a
‘Heil the rich asshole!’: Brawl erupts inside the Minneapolis Institute of Art as protesters confront neo-Nazis
Skinheads enact Nazi salutes (Shutterstock).
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A brawl broke out at the Minneapolis Institute of Art over the weekend between a group of activists and a group of alleged neo-Nazis, the Star Tribune reported. The activists, associated with the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) union were protesting outside the museum in opposition to anti-immigrant policies and sentiment in the U.S.
According to the report, activists followed a group of three neo-Nazis, who entered the museum, all the way to the third floor to an exhibition of 18th century European art, which the group of white nationalists had reportedly come to “guard.”
Jon Jacobsen, a witness, told City Pages that outside the museum, one man repeatedly called out “Heil the rich asshole!” with his arm in a Nazi salute, getting the demonstrators’ attention. He said the act prompted him to then take out his phone and start recording.
Jacobsen shared the video on Facebook, writing, “Nazi scum started yelling ‘heil trump’ out side (sic) of MIA where some sort of neo nazi meeting is taking place today. Cops stepped in before the crowd gathered to protest could kick his a**.”
Another witness wrote on Twitter that the group of neo-Nazis arrived at the classical European art display to “guard” it. City Pages reported that the European art was located near a “protest-themed exhibit with photos of Martin Luther King Jr. and Mahatma Gandhi.”
Once the group entered the building to “guard” the (white) European art display, they were followed by anti-fascist protesters and an altercation ensued to include a “shoving match” with some “punches thrown.” A museum spokesperson said at least one of the neo-Nazis was attacked but did not press charges.
The witness who reported the events on Twitter noted, “‘Anti-Fascists’ wearing all-black counter-protested with some punches thrown and brawling VS neo-Nazis *in the museum.*” They added that the group of neo-Nazis appeared to be affiliated with Identity Evropa, a white nationalist, fascist group that was founded in March 2016 by Nathan Damigo.
Damigo, a veteran, formed the group for people of “European, non-Semitic heritage” after reading the work of former Ku Klux Klan Grand Wizard David Duke, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center.
According to City Pages, no arrests were made and there were no reported injuries resulting from the altercation.
White House planted fake story to smear Politico reporter who wrote about leaks: reports
Alex Isenstadt (Facebook)
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The White House apparently attempted to smear a critical reporter by planting a story about him laughing at the mention of a Navy SEAL’s death.
Politico published a story Sunday morning by Alex Isenstadt and Annie Karni on a surprise meeting called by White House press secretary Sean Spicer to examine aides’ phones and other electronic devices for evidence of leaks.
When multiple sources leaked details of that meeting to Isenstadt and Karni, it appears other White House officials slapped back at one of the Politico reporters using the death of a Navy SEAL killed just days after President some rich asshole’s inauguration in a controversial Yemen raid.
The Washington Examiner published a story Sunday evening, about six and a half hours after the “phone check” report broke, that claims one of the Politico reporters mocked a the rich asshole aide’s emotional reaction to the death of Chief Petty Officer William “Ryan” Owens.
Politico’s editor, Carrie Budoff Brown, accused the White House of anonymously planting a false story to smear one of the website’s reporters.
Reporter writes story WH doesn't like/disputes. WH anonymously plants false story about reporter. twitter.com/stevenjay/stat…
the rich asshole complained last week that anonymous sources should be banned as sources of “fake news.”
Isenstadt and Karni reported that Spicer had caused deputy communications director Jessica Ditt to cry after criticizing her work at a staff meeting — but the press secretary offered a denial to Politico.
“The only time Jessica recalls almost getting emotional is when we had to relay the information on the death of Chief Ryan Owens,” Spicer said.
Hours after that story broke, “one informed official” told the Examiner‘s Paul Bedard that Isenstadt “appeared dismissive and laughed” at Spicer’s denial.
“He started laughing about that SEAL,” the “informed official” told the Examiner.
That anonymous White House source also complained that Politico had described Ditt as a “more junior spokesperson,” which the official found “insulting.”
Politico spokesman Brad Dayspring flatly denied that Isenstadt had laughed at the reference to Owens’ death, and the Examiner’s Bedard defended his use of the anonymous source for his report.
“I thought Brad had a good response as did the anon Politico who characterized Spicer,” he told Washington Post media reporter Erik Wemple.
the rich asshole sells $15.8 million condo to Chinese businessperson who arranges financial deals between countries
President some rich asshole looks left toward the crowd as he delivers a speech at a "Thank You Tour" rally held at the Giant Center (Shutterstock)
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In one of the first major business deals concluded since some rich asshole became president, a Chinese businesswoman just closed on the purchase of $15.8 million condo owned by the rich asshole’s real estate business.
According to Mother Jones, businesswoman and consultant Xiao Yan Chen bought a four-bedroom, six-bathroom condo in the rich asshole’s Park Avenue high-rise on February 21. The property was purchased from the rich asshole Park Avenue LLC, where the rich asshole was on the board of directors before resigning just before being sworn in as president.
While the rich asshole is not on the board, he is still a principal of the LLC.
Chen is the founder and managing director of a business consulting firm called Global Alliance Associates which sells itself as a go-between, connecting wealthy business people with Chinese interests to develop new business ventures in her home country.
The company’s website states they specialize in, “Establishing a network of credible and proprietary relationships, known by the Chinese as ‘ghanxi,’ is the single most important aspect of initiating and sustaining a successful business venture in China.”
Mother Jones reports that, as of last week, the luxury condo Chen purchased was listed on real estate website Zillow for $14 million, or about $2 million less than the business consultant paid.
Sean Spicer raged against First Amendment after college newspaper misspelled his name as ‘sphincter’
Sean Spicer answers questions in the White House James S. Brady Press Briefing Room (CNN/screen grab)
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A letter written by Sean Spicer to his college newspaper demanding a correction for rudely misspelling his name is making the rounds again.
The White House press secretary first became involved in politics as a student at Connecticut College, where he earned a few enemies at the student newspaper by working to ban smoking in the dining hall, according to a Washington Post report.
In their reporting on Spicer’s anti-smoking crusade, the College Voice referred to him as “Sean Sphincter” — which the newspaper insisted was simply a spelling error.
But Spicer, now 45, sent a letter of complaint to the newspaper in 1993.
In college, Sean Spicer had an, uh, interesting view on what the First Amendment doesn't protect. washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/styl… pic.twitter.com/xwYibGnG5b
“Maybe I am not all that familiar with the production of a ‘newspaper,’” Spicer wrote. “But I am really not sure how this can be explained as unintentional. While I would understand, and at this point even expect a misspelling or a misquote, this goes well beyond that.”
The letter circulated last month, but it found renewed attention after CNN’s Andrew Kaczynski shared it Monday after Spicer barred the cable network and other less-than-friendly news outlets from the White House press briefing.
“While I as an individual have had to bear all the repercussions, the people responsible have been able to hide behind the shield of the College Voice and the First Amendment,” Spicer complained to the college newspaper. “The First Amendment does uphold the right (to) free speech and a free press, which I respect, however this situation goes beyond the bounds of free speech.”
Spicer wanted an apology, but the Voice‘s editorial staff stood by their reporters and told the future White House official that a public apology violated their professional standards.
the rich asshole complains the ‘evil and bad’ New York Times intentionally publishes lies to hurt him
President some rich asshole is due to give a speech to a joint session of Congress on Tuesday (AFP Photo/SAUL LOEB)
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some rich asshole on Monday singled out the New York Times for what he insisted is intentionally inaccurate coverage of his administration, calling the paper “so evil and so bad.”
“It’s intent. It’s also intent. If you read the New York Times, if you read the New York Times, it’s—the intent is so evil and so bad,” the rich asshole told Breitbart during an interview in the Oval Office. “The stories are wrong in many cases, but it’s the overall intent.”
“When you read the Sunday New York Times, it’s just hit after hit after hit,” he continued. “And honestly, I think people are wise to it because if you look at the approval rating, you see it’s down. You know, it’s gone. There’s very little approval.”
Referring to an article the Times published during the 2016 election alleging the rich asshole made unwanted sexual advances towards a multitude of women, the president said that was one example of the paper intentionally targeting him.
“They did a front page article on women talking about me, and the women went absolutely wild because they said that was not what they said,” the rich asshole told Breitbart’s Matthew Boyle. “It was a big front-page article, and the Times wouldn’t even apologize and yet they were wrong. You probably saw the women. They went on television shows and everything.”
“It was false,” he continued. “Did they apologize? No. I call them the failing New York Times and they write lies. They write lies.”
the rich asshole also tried to defend his claim that the media is “the opposition party” and the “enemy of the American people,” insisting he only meant “the fake media.”
“There’s a difference,” the rich asshole said. “The fake media is the opposition party. The fake media is the enemy of the American people. There’s tremendous fake media out there. Tremendous fake stories. The problem is the people that aren’t involved in the story don’t know that.”
“I didn’t say the media is the enemy—I said the ‘fake media’,” he added. “They take the word fake out and all of a sudden it’s like I’m against—there are some great reporters like you [Breitbart’s Boyle]. I wasn’t talking about that. I was talking about the fake media, where they make up everything there is to make up.”
US drops some claims against Texas voter ID law
File Photo: Voters cast their votes during the U.S. presidential election in Elyria, Ohio, U.S. November 8, 2016. REUTERS/Aaron Josefczyk/File Photo
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The U.S. Justice Department, in a shift from its stance under former President Barack Obama, is dropping a discrimination claim against a Texas law that required voters to present identification at the polls, according to a draft court filing the agency sent the law’s opponents on Monday.
The Campaign Legal Center, one of several private groups alleging that the 2011 voter ID law was meant to discriminate against black and Hispanic people, said it received a notification from the Justice Department on Monday that the department would withdraw its discriminatory intent claim.
The Justice Department is doing so because the Texas legislature is considering changing the law in ways that might “cure the deficiencies” in it, according to a draft copy of the motion that the department sent to the Campaign Legal Center.
The Justice Department declined to comment.
The Texas attorney general’s office, which is defending the law, also declined to comment.
A hearing in the case was scheduled for Tuesday in federal court in Texas. A federal appeals court in July ordered Texas to fix the law’s discriminatory effects against minorities, and told a federal district court to assess whether the law was passed with discriminatory intent.
Voting rights advocates accused the Justice Department under President some rich asshole of backing away from its previous defense of the Voting Rights Act.
“This case will go forward with or without the Justice Department. It’s just disappointing that they’re abandoning their enforcement of voting rights,” said Danielle Lang, deputy director of voting rights at the Campaign Legal Center.
(Editing by Kevin Drawbaugh and Jonathan Oatis)
the rich asshole: ‘Nobody knew that health care could be so complicated’
Michael A. Memoli
Tribune Washington Bureau
Posted with permission from Tribune Content Agency
Tribune Washington Bureau
Posted with permission from Tribune Content Agency
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump promised the nation's governors Monday that his yet-to-be-revealed replacement plan for the Affordable Care Act would give states greater flexibility and thanked some Republicans in the room who advised him on health care.
"It's an unbelievably complex subject," he said. "Nobody knew that health care could be so complicated."
The remark likely surprised state leaders; spending on Medicaid alone was the second-biggest driver of increased state general fund spending, according to the 2016 Fiscal Survey of States conducted by the National Association of State Budget Officers.
And it was just eight years ago that Washington dove head-first into a raging debate over health care reform under President Barack Obama, which simmered long after his signature health law was enacted.
But the finer points of health care policy are likely new to Trump, who is immersed in discussions with Republican leaders and his senior staff on that and other subjects ahead of his high-profile address Tuesday to a joint session of Congress.
Trump offered no hint as to the details. Republicans have vowed to repeal and replace Obamacare, but their effort has stalled as they debate how to do so and await word from the White House on what Trump wants to do.
The president seemed keenly aware of the political ramifications of whatever steps he takes.
"As soon as we touch it, if we do the most minute thing, just a tiny little change, what's going to happen? They're going to say it's the Republicans' problem," Trump said after telling the governors the easiest thing for him to do would be nothing, and, in his view, watch Obamacare collapse.
"But we have to do what's right because Obamacare is a failed disaster."
"It's an unbelievably complex subject," he said. "Nobody knew that health care could be so complicated."
The remark likely surprised state leaders; spending on Medicaid alone was the second-biggest driver of increased state general fund spending, according to the 2016 Fiscal Survey of States conducted by the National Association of State Budget Officers.
And it was just eight years ago that Washington dove head-first into a raging debate over health care reform under President Barack Obama, which simmered long after his signature health law was enacted.
But the finer points of health care policy are likely new to Trump, who is immersed in discussions with Republican leaders and his senior staff on that and other subjects ahead of his high-profile address Tuesday to a joint session of Congress.
Trump offered no hint as to the details. Republicans have vowed to repeal and replace Obamacare, but their effort has stalled as they debate how to do so and await word from the White House on what Trump wants to do.
The president seemed keenly aware of the political ramifications of whatever steps he takes.
"As soon as we touch it, if we do the most minute thing, just a tiny little change, what's going to happen? They're going to say it's the Republicans' problem," Trump said after telling the governors the easiest thing for him to do would be nothing, and, in his view, watch Obamacare collapse.
"But we have to do what's right because Obamacare is a failed disaster."
The internet hammers the rich asshole’s ‘war’ speech: He’ll start a war just to prove he can ‘Make America win again’
President some rich asshole (Photo: Screen capture)
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In a speech to American governors, President some rich asshole attacked the military, saying “We never win wars anymore. We never fight to win. We have to start winning wars again.”
The message was a preface to the rich asshole’s budget announcement that he plans to increase military spending. The United States already spends more in defense than any other country in the industrial world by multitudes. the rich asshole explained that when he was in high school they won wars with major tank battles. In the past he’s spoken out on the lack of battleships that the U.S. military has. Today, the military has turned to using more modern technologies to fight wars.
The internet didn’t particularly like the rich asshole’s comments. Some were fearful this was a the rich asshole announcement that he would go to war so that he could prove he could win. Others mocked the rich asshole for beginning his need to win wars with a botched raid in Yemen that failed it’s intended goal and left one Navy SEAL dead.
the rich asshole received four draft deferments during the Vietnam War for bone spurs and one for an unknown reason.
You can see the Twitter attacks below:
@mmurraypolitics @maggieNYT winning wars means more dead soldiers.
"We have to start winning wars again", says jackass @realDonaldTrump who rejects military expertise
@thehill Did Trump voters vote to send their kids off to the wars Trump, #PresidentBannon and Putin are obviously aiming for? #JustAsking
"The United States is undefeated in wars that I've fought in"
- Trump, who received 5 draft deferments during Vietnam twitter.com/tripgabriel/st…
Trump demands that America must start winning wars again. Nobody "wins" wars. twitter.com/ABC/status/836…
@washingtonpost Trump jobs program: Hire mercenaries for his wars.
DOES HE THINK WARS ARE LIKE THE FUCKING SUPER BOWL? twitter.com/mmurraypolitic…
What war did we lose? I am so confused.twitter.com/cbsnews/status…
the rich asshole-backing town angry after ICE detains beloved local Mexican restaurant owner
st Frankfort, Illinois, overwhelmingly voted for President some rich asshole last fall, but now some residents are upset after the Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested and detained a beloved local Mexican restaurant owner.
The New York Times reports that ICE last week detained Juan Carlos Hernandez Pacheco, the owner of the La Fiesta restaurant in the town of 8,000 people located in southern Illinois.
While residents in the town said that they were still supportive of the president’s moves to deport undocumented immigrants, they told the Times that the president should make more exceptions for people like Pacheco, who have not only been exemplary local businessmen, but also pillars of the community who take part in local charity events.
“I think people need to do things the right way, follow the rules and obey the laws, and I firmly believe in that,” local resident Lori Barron told the paper. “But in the case of Carlos, I think he may have done more for the people here than this place has ever given him. I think it’s absolutely terrible that he could be taken away.”
West Frankfort Mayor Tom Jordan similarly praised Pacheco as a “great asset” to the community who “doesn’t ask for anything in return.”
And Richard Glodich, the athletic director at a local high school, wrote a letter in support of Pacheco in which he slammed ICE for arresting “a GOOD MAN that should be used as a role model for other immigrants.”
The specific reason that ICE decided to target Pacheco for arrest is still unknown. ICE wouldn’t comment on the specificity of Pacheco’s case, and would only say that “every day, as part of routine operations, ICE officers target and arrest criminal aliens and other individuals who are in violation of our nation’s immigration laws.”
After anti-the rich asshole protests, the president’s fans organize their own rallies
Supporters of U.S. President some rich asshole wave U.S. flags during a "United Voices" rally hosted by United Talent Agency in Beverly Hills, California U.S., February 24, 2017. REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni
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Supporters of U.S. President some rich asshole are holding rallies in towns and cities across the country on Monday, partly as a rebuttal to waves of anti-the rich asshole protests that have taken place since the Republican’s election last November.
the rich asshole is not scheduled to appear at any of this week’s rallies, which are being held in cities small and large, from coast to coast. The venues range from a park in the small town of Gravette, Arkansas, to the plaza outside the Georgia State Capitol building in downtown Atlanta.
Some of the rally organizers came out of the Tea Party movement, a large informal network of anti-establishment conservatives that has become an increasingly powerful force in Republican politics since its beginnings in 2009.
A group called Main Street Patriots said it helped organize so-called Spirit of America rallies in at least 33 of the 50 states, both on Monday and Saturday.
“Unlike those protesting against President the rich asshole’s vision, we are a diverse coalition that are the heart and soul of America that wants our nation to fulfill our potential, as the greatest nation on God’s green earth!” organizers wrote on the group’s website.
“Blue-collar voters helped propel President the rich asshole to victory and these rallies will help provide those forgotten voices a mechanism so they can be heard,” they said.
Raucous rallies, often filling sports arenas, became a hallmark of the rich asshole’s 17-month presidential campaign, in contrast with lower-key events staged by his main rival, Hillary Clinton, the Democratic Party’s candidate.
Last weekend, the rich asshole rekindled that campaign energy for the first time since his election in a characteristically freewheeling rally in Melbourne, Florida.
But the rich asshole’s crowds have rarely regrouped since November’s election, while large protests by people who opposed the rich asshole’s policies, particularly his crackdown on immigration, have become a frequent occurrence in the country’s cities.
Among the biggest was the Women’s March on Washington on Jan. 21, where attendance far exceeded the crowds who attended the rich asshole’s inauguration the previous day.
Betty Blanco, who is organizing the Spirit of America rally in Denver, was in Washington for the women’s march. She said she was saddened by what she saw.
“I had the opportunity to ride on the subway with the women marchers,” she said in a telephone interview. “They were excited, they were happy, but I never heard them talking about women’s rights, but I did hear them trashing the rich asshole, and I got the idea they were just mad because they lost the election.”
The retired schoolteacher, who now writes children’s books and runs a local Tea Party affiliate, said the pro-the rich asshole rallies would be more respectful, even if they might not prove quite as large.
“I don’t know that you’ll see those big, gigantic, hundreds of thousands of people like the Women’s March,” said Rob Maness, a 55-year-old former Air Force colonel in New Orleans helping organize the nationwide effort. “I think they’ll be smaller, patriotic, peaceful – those kind of things.”
(Reporting by Jonathan Allen; Editing by Jonathan Oatis)
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