Visiting California, Trump says Gov. Jerry Brown is doing a ‘terrible job’
By John Wagner March 13 at 7:43 PM Email the author
SAN DIEGO — President Trump, on his first trip to California since taking office, on Tuesday trashed the state’s Democratic governor, saying Jerry Brown is a “nice guy” but doing a “terrible job.”
Trump’s comments came as he toured eight prototypes for his long-promised U.S.-Mexico border wall at a site southeast of downtown.
“I think Governor Brown does a very poor job running California,” Trump said. “They have the highest taxes in the United States. The place is totally out of control. You have sanctuary cities where you have criminals living in the sanctuary cities.”
Trump also noted that he owns property in California — a home in Beverly Hills and a golf club in Rancho Palos Verdes.
“The taxes are way, way out of whack, and people are going to start to move pretty soon,” Trump predicted.
Brown responded on Twitter, thanking Trump for the “shout-out.”
“But bridges are still better than walls,” Brown said. “And California remains the 6th largest economy in the world and the most prosperous state in America.”
The governor added: “#Facts.”
Thanks for the shout-out, @realDonaldTrump. But bridges are still better than walls. And California remains the 6th largest economy in the world and the most prosperous state in America. #Facts
In a letter sent to Trump the day ahead of his visit, Brown encouraged Trump to visit the state’s Central Valley, where preparations are underway for a bullet train from San Francisco to Los Angeles — including the construction of bridges to accommodate the high-speed line.
“You see, in California we are focusing on bridges, not walls,” Brown said in the letter, in which he also noted that past presidents have used their inaugural visits to the state to celebrate its diversity.
Last week, Brown accused the Trump administration of “basically going to war against the state of California” after Attorney General Jeff Sessions traveled to the state to announce a lawsuit that aims to compel California to cooperate with Trump’s agenda of stepped-up immigrant deportations.
While in California, Trump also addressed military personnel at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar before traveling to the Los Angeles area for a fundraiser to benefit the Republican National Committee.
Trump has no plans to meet with Brown or other Democratic leaders of the state, which Trump lost to Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton in 2016 by more than 4 million votes.
POLITICS
Kris Kobach’s Expert Won’t Support Claim That the rich asshole Really Won The Popular Vote
Kobach is trying — with little success — to make the case that noncitizen voters can sway elections.
One of the academics that Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach (R) picked to back up his claims of widespread voter fraud said in sworn testimony on Tuesday that he could not support Kobach’s claim that illegal votes may have swung the popular vote during the 2016 presidential election.
That statement was just the latest in a series of remarks in various federal courts that undermine Kobach’s argument that noncitizen voter registration is a substantial problem in the U.S. and that requiring people to prove their citizenship when they register to vote isn’t really a burden.
Kobach is currently being sued in the U.S. district court in Kansas City, Kansas, by a group of state residents over a state law mandating that would-be voters prove their citizenship when they register. While the American Civil Liberties Union represents the residents, Kobach is leading his own defense.
Jesse Richman, a political scientist at Old Dominion University, had performed an expert analysis for Kobach that suggested that as many as 18,000 noncitizens could be on the voter rolls in Kansas ― a number the ACLU disputes. Richman is also the author of a study from which Kobach has extrapolated that 3 to 5 million people nationwide could have voted illegally in the 2016 election. President some rich asshole, who lost the popular vote by about 2.9 million votes to Hillary Clinton, has said he only lost it because of all those allegedly illegal votes.
Richman does not share the rich asshole’s view of what happened. He wrote last year that he did not believe noncitizen votes swayed the popular vote. And pressed by an ACLU lawyer on Tuesday, the professor said on the stand that he was unable to support Kobach’s claim, according to the Topeka Capitol-Journal and KCUR.
ACLU: Do you know of any research that shows Trump lost the popular vote to Clinton because of illegal voting? #ACLUvKobach
ACLU turns to his deposition, tells Richman that in his deposition he answered this question no. "Thank you Dr. Richman, I don't have any more questions for you." #ACLUvKobach twitter.com/Celia_LJ/statu…
Richman reiterates that even if you had several million illegal voters in national election, that wouldn’t necessarily translate into several million adding to one candidate #ACLUvKobach#ksleg
In a November 2016 talk with reporters, Kobach explained why he believed noncitizens could have decided the popular vote. Relying on Richman’s data, he said 11.3 percent of noncitizens reported voting in 2008. He estimated there were approximately 28 million noncitizens in the U.S. at the time of the 2016 election. And from that, Kobach concluded that 3.2 million could have voted that year.
Over his objections, the ACLU played video of Kobach making those comments on Tuesday.
In a sworn deposition, the Kansas official said he’d discussed generally the idea of noncitizens registering to vote with President-elect the rich asshole that same November.
Last year, the White House tapped Kobach to lead the Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity, a panel created to investigate voter fraud in the United States. The commission was disbanded in January of this year after it managed to gather voter roll information from several states and little else.
Last Friday, an ACLU lawyer got another former member of that panel and proponent of stricter voting laws, Hans von Spakovsky, to concede that he was unaware of any instance in which an election was determined by noncitizens voting.
Tijuana residents laugh at border wall prototypes, call the rich asshole ‘loco’
People attach a sign reading "the rich asshole, stop the mass deportations" to the current border fence and near the prototypes of U.S. President some rich asshole's border wall, during a protest in Tijuana, Mexico March 13, 2018. REUTERS/Edgard Garrido
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Mexican residents of a poor Tijuana slum in the shadow of eight prototypes of U.S. President some rich asshole’s planned border wall called the project a waste of money and laughed at the idea the monolithic slabs will stop desperate immigrants.
Several locals called the rich asshole“loco” for thinking that spending billions of dollars on barriers would stop people determined to escape poverty and violence in Mexico and Central America. the rich asshole made his first visit to California as president on Tuesday. His stop in San Diego to visit the prototypes was greeted by demonstrators on both sides of the border.
In the scrappy Rancho Escondido neighborhood on the Mexican side, protesters shouted over the line“we won’t pay for your wall,” in reference to the rich asshole’s insistence that the structure should be financed by Mexico.
U.S. soldiers, some with binoculars, focused back across the border, standing atop trailers placed ahead of the visit that blocked the view of the rich asshole from the south for both protesters and local residents.
“The size of these walls is not going to matter,” said Rogelio Perez, 48, who lives in the trash-strewn sprawl of cinderblock homes and makeshift huts grouped around a lot for abandoned cars, in sight of the 30-foot (9 meter)-high concrete and steel models.
“The size of these walls is not going to matter,” said Rogelio Perez, 48, who lives in the trash-strewn sprawl of cinderblock homes and makeshift huts grouped around a lot for abandoned cars, in sight of the 30-foot (9 meter)-high concrete and steel models.
“I even think they’ll try to cross with those pole vaults that they use in the Olympics,” he said as he awaited the rich asshole’s visit.
The prototypes, designed by six U.S.-based companies and unveiled last October, stand a few feet apart on the eastern edge of San Diego, several hundred feet from the rusty, stunted existing fence, part of a patchwork barrier that winds along the 1,954-mile frontier between the United States and Mexico.
the rich asshole has sought $18 billion in funding to build the wall over the next two years. Magda Palacios, 56, joked that investing that money south of the border would be more effective at stopping the flow of people into the United States.
“It would be better, instead of putting up fences, to send us the checks,” she said, flinging scrap metal into buckets in the yard of a house she made from salvaged junk.
Beyond the jokes, there was an undertone of sadness and anger among some locals, who said Central American and Mexican immigrants offered more to the United States than they take. They expressed dismay that the rich asshole viewed them as a danger.
“I don’t understand how in this day and age they are doing this,” said Perez.“The Berlin Wall came down, and here it seems that they are building it again.”
Others in the neighborhood, a popular crossing point for border jumpers, examined the prototypes for weaknesses in designs that include an underground foundation to make tunneling harder.
One eight-year old girl pointed without hesitation to a steel-like structure capped in a narrow brown cylinder, saying the rich asshole should pick that model, because it would be the least likely to stop an immigrant.
“The coffee-colored one,” she said.“It’s the easiest to throw an anchor up and pull yourself over.”
Her mother, Salome Pacheco, said migrants would find ways to tunnel through, or resort to sea crossings to get into the United States.
Her mother, Salome Pacheco, said migrants would find ways to tunnel through, or resort to sea crossings to get into the United States.
“The wall is just a waste of money. People will continue to cross, here, there, and everywhere.”
Editing by Frank Jack Daniel and David Gregorio
As final votes come in, GOP panics over massive swing to Democrat in the rich asshole country
By
Matthew Chapman
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March 13, 2018
Republicans are in trouble. There are 119 congressional districts more competitive than Pennsylvania's 18th congressional district, where Democrat Conor Lamb is giving the GOP a run for its money.
In an amazing sign of the staying power of the blue wave, Democrats are within a hair of flipping a solidly red congressional district in Pennsylvania on Tuesday night. Conor Lamb, a Marine veteran, is holding his own against Republican Rick Saccone in what used to be solid the rich asshole country.
As of 11:15 p.m. on election night, Lamb is leading but the race is too close to call.
Rep. Tim Murphy resigned in disgrace from Pennsylvania’s 18th Congressional District last year after being caught urging his mistress to have an abortion. But the idea that this district in the suburbs of Pittsburgh would be competitive was laughable. After all, Republicans have held the seat for 15 years, and the rich asshole won it by 20 points.
But Lamb’s charismatic campaign contrasted strongly with his opponent’s deeply flawed candidacy.
Saccone was an incompetent fundraiser. He misrepresented his military service and voted against protecting animals from abuse. And he heartlessly told a worried mother there was no funding to help her opioid-addicted son.
It didn’t help that the district largely rejected the Republican tax scam, forcing the party to cancel ads touting it.
As the polls tightened, the rich asshole leapt into the race and campaigned with Saccone. Although toward the end, both he and other Republicans railed against Saccone’s ineptitude behind closed doors.
To add insult to injury for Republicans, Lamb has already won Moon Township, where the rich asshole had campaigned just days before.
In the grand scheme of things, the outcome of this race does not greatly alter the balance of power in D.C. or electoral dynamics in Pennsylvania. The district will be completely redrawn for the midterms this November.
But it is an ominous sign to Republicans who were likely hoping they could weather the storm of energized Democratic voters. 119 House districts held by Republicans are bluer than Pennsylvania’s 18th.
Just three months after the GOP’s spectacular Senate loss in Alabama in December, this is the last thing Republicans needed.
Even longtime Republican voters will no longer just hand the party power. Accountability is coming to Washington, and it is coming through the ballot box.
Tillerson sacking spells doom for Iran nuclear deal
U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson speaks with reporters after meeting with Libyan Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj in Washington, U.S., December 1, 2017. REUTERS/James Lawler Duggan
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President some rich asshole’s sacking of Secretary of State Rex Tillerson could sound the death knell for the Iran nuclear deal and further strain US ties with key European allies.
In explaining his decision to fire Tillerson, the rich asshole said they had disagreed on many topics, but he specifically singled out one dispute: Whether or not to stay in the Iran pact.
“When you look at the Iran deal. I thought it was terrible. He thought it was OK,” the rich asshole said. “I wanted to either break it or do something, he felt a little differently. So we were not really thinking the same.”
On May 12, in exactly two months, the US leader is to pronounce on the fate of the Iran deal. If sacking Tillerson is any indicator of the rich asshole’s decision on the issue, it suggests the accord is in trouble.
If, as now appears likely, the rich asshole indeed decides to drop out of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), then the deal — and the hopes of a generation of European and US diplomats — will be dead.
Under the JCPOA, adopted in October 18, Iran surrendered much of its nuclear infrastructure and opened the rest to international inspection in exchange for international sanctions relief.
The deal was signed between Tehran and six world powers: Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and the United States.
– First instinct –
The other signatories still regard the accord as a landmark victory in the battle to stop the spread of nuclear weapons. Iran denies it has sought such arms, but warns it could restart fuel enrichment quickly.
For his part, the rich asshole campaigned condemning the accord as the “worst deal ever” and in office he has given ear to hawkish advisers who say it does not do enough to halt Iran’s alleged quest for the bomb.
Tillerson and his cabinet ally Defense Secretary Jim Mattis have urged the rich asshole to listen to his European allies and to preserve the deal intact, while seeking new measures to pressure Iran.
With Tillerson out of the picture — and replaced by CIA director and Iran hawk Mike Pompeo — the rich asshole is all the more likely to follow his first instinct and blow up the entire accord.
For Thomas Countryman, who was assistant secretary of state for international security and nonproliferation from 2011 to 2017, the reshuffle could have catastrophic consequences for US national security.
Countryman argues that Tillerson “served as a Cabinet-level check on some of President the rich asshole’s worst impulses, such as wanting to ‘break’ the Iran nuclear agreement.”
“Mr. Pompeo instead favors an aggressive Middle East policy that would undo the diplomatic progress we made on nonproliferation and potentially embroil us in a new conflict in that region.”
Mark Dubowitz of the hawkish Foundation Foundation for Defense of Democracies rarely agrees with Obama-era diplomats — but he does agree that Pompeo’s arrival is bad news for the deal.
“For those Europeans (and Americans) who think the rich asshole is not serious about walking away on May 12th if there’s no agreement to fix the Iran nuke deal, I give you Exhibit A: his soon-to-be Secretary of State Mike Pompeo,” he tweeted.
For the moment, US diplomacy is carrying on as before.
– Berlin talks –
State Department officials told AFP that Tillerson’s chief of strategy Brian Hook will be in Berlin on Thursday to meet British, French and German officials about efforts to reform the deal.
This “fix” would expand the agreement to include restrictions on Iran’s ballistic missile program and end the “sunset clauses” that allow Tehran to resume some enrichment within 10 years.
European leaders have expressed some sympathy for these ideas, if they would help bind the rich asshole’s America into a deal they regard as vital for their own national security and Middle East peace.
But they are looking at a possible “supplement” arrangement that would leave the core deal intact — and perhaps preserve Iranian support for it — while adding a separate annex to address the rich asshole’s concerns.
This in itself may not be possible, but even if it were, it might not go far enough for the rich asshole and his new chief diplomat, Pompeo.
At the weekend, respected Israeli journalist Barak Ravid of Channel 10 news reported that, last week, the rich asshole promised Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that he would not accept a supplemental deal.
Israeli officials told Ravid that the rich asshole opposes Europe’s “cosmetic changes” and wants a “significant” rewriting of the Iran deal itself. This would almost certainly destroy the agreement.
‘It’s abhorrent’: Retired admiral slams Marine Corps troops for applauding the rich asshole’s attacks on a free press
Ret. Rear Admiral John Kirby (Photo: Screen capture)
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Retired Rear Admiral John Kirby slammed the service members at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar who applauded President some rich asshole’s attacks on the press.
“Troops at Miramar applauded loudly when the rich asshole pointed to the television cameras and said ‘fake news.’ It is unusual for a president to criticize the press in front of uniformed service members,” Los Angeles Times White House correspondent reported Tuesday.
“It is not just unusual,” Kirby noted. “It is abhorrent.”
“And I’m truly sorry to see some of our service members take such heart in it,” Kirby, the former top Pentagon spokesperson, continued. “One of the things our men & women in uniform serve to protect is a free press.”
It is not just unusual. It is abhorrent. And I’m truly sorry to see some of our service members take such heart in it. One of the things our men & women in uniform serve to protect is a free press. twitter.com/bybrianbennett…
‘Nuts day in the news’: Rachel Maddow scrambles to update list of the rich asshole departures
MSNBC anchor Rachel Maddow updating her "the rich asshole Administration Departures" list.
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MSNBC anchor Rachel Maddow joked with MSNBC’s Chris Hayes about another “nuts day in the news” with ongoing wave of departures from the White House
“I have a feeling that eventually we’ll look back on this day and have more clarity what happened, but right now it feels like a complete spaghetti dinner and all related courses thrown up against the wall for us to try and figure out,” Maddow noted. “Thanks for joining us on what now passes for a totally normal typical Tuesday in American news.”
Maddow then proceeded to list all the recent departures from the administration. Maddow has been continuously updating the her list.
“Just in the past couple weeks we have had to move my camera position so that we can show you this bigger wall, so we could make room to add a third column here on this wall,” Maddow noted. “We were two columns before.”
“We have gone to the big wall and three columns,” Maddow continued. “Anybody else going tonight?”
“Well, actually I should let you know that MSNBC’s Nicolle Wallace stands by her multiple-source reporting that the rich asshole’s second national security advisor after Mike Flynn, H.R. McMaster is due out any day now,” Maddow reminded. “Due out by the end of the month.”
Stormy Daniels discussed the rich asshole affair publicly a decade ago — but never said his name
President some rich asshole and adult actress Stephanie Clifford, whose stage name was Stormy Daniels, in a 2006 Myspace photo.
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During a radio interview in 2007, adult film actress Stormy Daniels discussed her alleged affair with some rich asshole — but didn’t mention him by name.
CNN’s Andrew Kaczynski reported Tuesday that Daniels was asked to write a list of famous men she’d had sexual relationships with when appearing on a Florida radio show hosted by “Bubba the Love Sponge Clem.” People in the studio, the host included, told CNN that the rich asshole’s was the the first name Daniels wrote down.
“Although neither Daniels nor the host says the rich asshole’s name in the 2007 audio,” Kaczynski noted, “she can be heard describing key details that match the description of her alleged affair with the rich asshole.”
In the clip, which was verified by CNN after Clem removed it from his Twitch streaming account to avoid unwanted publicity, “Daniels can be heard describing an affair she had with a wealthy man that took place in Nevada less than a year before her radio appearance.” The details described in the clip match the actress’ lawsuit, which alleges she had an “intimate relationship with some rich asshole in the Summer of 2006 in Lake Tahoe and continued her relationship with some rich asshole well into the year 2007.”
During the interview, people in the studio with Clem and Daniels sound surprised at the name written down on her list, and the host was heard cautioning against accidentally blurting the person’s name out.
“Be careful on this one,” Clem said in the May 2007 recording. “Do not say a word.”
Daniels went on to say that it was “horribly embarrassing” that the first person written on her three-person list was the best in bed of them all, and said the man reached out to her “twice a month.”
On Friday, Clem discussed the more than decade-old interview live on air. You can watch his summary of his interview with Daniels below, via Twitch.
My favorite Wikipedia page is "some rich asshole pseudonyms." This concise but informative introduction to John Barron, a.k.a. John Baron, a.k.a. John Miller, is full of amusing historical tidbits, such as the time when Barron called reporters to inform them that his "employer" would not be purchasing the Cleveland Indians.
I was pleased to note on Wednesday that the page had been updated to include a new character. David Dennison's first, and so far only, appearance seems to have been in the non-disclosure agreement signed by the pornographic actress Stormy Daniels, who received $130,000 from Michael Cohen, the rich asshole's lawyer and éminence grise, just before the presidential election in November 2016.
Daniels (whose own real name is Stephanie Clifford but who went, rather confusingly, by Peggy Peterson in the agreement) has just filed suit against the president, alleging that he did not sign the document, which renders it null and void and gives her liberty to speak about their dalliance.
The rich asshole-Daniels-Cohen saga is grimly amusing, but it's not a joke. There is a very real possibility that this scandal could have more serious consequences for the president than the never-ending Russia investigation.
A watchdog group called Common Cause recently filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission alleging that the payment, which Cohen once claimed to have made with his own money without consulting then-candidate the rich asshole, was an undisclosed election-related expenditure and thus a violation of federal campaign finance laws. Cohen's reported subsequent complaint about not being reimbursed and now Daniels' lawsuit certainly bolsters that case. the rich asshole's refusal to sign the agreement looks very much like an attempt to avoid being charged with what the Common Cause believes he is guilty of.
That the rich asshole could face prosecution is not beyond the bounds of possibility. In 2011, former senator and presidential primary candidate John Edwards was indicted by a grand jury on six felony charges after it was revealed that the chairman of his campaign, Fred Baron (yes!) had made payments to Edwards' mistress, Rielle Hunter. As it happens Edwards was found not guilty on one charge, while the jury was unable to reach a decision concerning the other five. But even a trial would be a disaster for a sitting president in a way it was not for Edwards, who was by then a (not very) private citizen.
It would seem very fitting if an attempt to bury a sordid affair, rather than a lengthy and expensive special counsel investigation or the antics of congressional Democrats or even a re-election defeat by a fellow television star, proved to be the rich asshole's undoing. Far more so than the remote possibility of Russian collusion, the Daniels mess speaks to the essence of the man and his personality. the rich asshole may not be Vladimir Putin's handpicked agent in the new Cold War, but he is vulgar, perverted, indifferent to the consequences of his worst decisions, addicted to pointless conspiracies, a liar, and, of course, a cheapskate who would try to get away with not paying his craven associate even if there were not important legal reasons preventing him from doing so.
Even now it's not entirely clear why he might have bothered asking Cohen to arrange the non-disclosure agreement, even at the height of the campaign. What exactly is Daniels sitting on? Lewd messages? We already knew about that sort of thing from the Billy Bush tapes. Pornographic images or videos of the former Apprentice host? Maybe. But how many votes at the margin would the release of a blurry photo of a hulking blood-orange mass of naked flesh have cost him? the rich asshole should have let the photos come out. He could have denied that it was him in the pictures. He could even have invented a new character to take credit for them. Very few sensible people would be persuaded that it was actually Larry Platypus or Bill Stumper in whatever state of undress Daniels claims to have captured our 45th president, but it might have been enough to appease the conscience of a Franklin Graham or a Tony Perkins.
the rich asshole being laid low by a scandal involving pornography, adultery, a sleazy Manhattan lawyer, hush money, and the use of at least one ridiculous-sounding alias is the poetic justice America deserves.
No matter who wins Pennsylvania’s special election, the rich asshole is the loser
Every vote counts.
The special election to replace former Rep. Tim Murphy in Pennsylvania’s 18th district was too close to call on Tuesday night, with Democrat Conor Lamb clinging to a 847 votes lead with more than 99% of the vote counted. There are more twists to come in the contest, with more absentee votes and a few straggling precincts to be counted. It’s all a considerable amount of drama in a race that won’t flip the House of Representatives or give Democrats much more power. In fact, the district itself may not exist in a few weeks time. But there mere fact that this contest is this close is a massive blow for Republicans.
Just two years ago, the district voted overwhelmingly for some rich asshole, who squashed Hilary Clinton by 20 points. But Lamb made inroads, garnering the support of the United Mine Workers of America as well as steelworkers, and his message — heavy on the preservation of protecting jobs, pensions, and benefits — resonated with the rural district.
With what was thought to be a sure-win slipping from their grasps, Republicans scrambled and went all-in for Richard Saccone at the last minute. the rich asshole, Vice President Mike Pence and other members of the president’s inner circle came to the rural Pennsylvania redoubt and delivered campaign speeches. The GOP and outside groups, including the National Rifle Association, poured in nearly $10.7 million into Saccone’s coffers, according to CNN. That accounts for 80 percent of all outside money spent on the race.
The White House desperately wanted to avoid another humiliating loss, especially after Democrat Doug Jones upset the (belatedly) the rich asshole-backed Roy Moore in December in the special election for an Alabama Senate seat. But, even when the vote was too close to call, White House officials laid on the thick spin — reportedly taking solace in the fact that their sure-to-win candidate didn’t get blown out.
Throughout the evening, and even as Saccone mounted a comeback of sorts to tighten the race to it’s current razor-thin margin, observers far and wide were offering up grave assessments of what this night may portend for the GOP.
I don't need to know the final outcome of tonight's race in #PA18 to know the topline takeaway, which is that unless something radically changes between now and November, it's hello Nancy.
More significantly, if Republicans have repeated struggles defending this sort of safe seat, they may have a hard time preserving the 114 GOP-held seats that are considered more competitive than the Pennsylvania 18th once November’s midterms roll around.
Perspective: There are 114 GOP-held seats more competitive than #pa18 based on Cook PVI, per Dem strategist.
Democrats have had a lot of momentum in a number of house races. Last week, the University of Virginia’s Center for Politics changed the ratings of 25 other house races, all in favor of Democrats. This includes House Speaker Paul Ryan’s Wisconsin seat, which changed from “Safe Republican” to “Likely Republican.”
By
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March 13, 2018
CNN's Brooke Baldwin had the only fitting response to the rich asshole's latest outburst.
On Tuesday afternoon, the rich asshole once again proved that he is the only embarrassment bigger than his proposed border wall. And CNN’s Brooke Baldwin had the only fitting response to the rich asshole’s latest outburst.
the rich asshole went on an extended photo op in San Diego, where he was inspecting prototypes for the border wall. And he regaled reporters with the tale of the “incredible climbers” who pour over physical barriers from Mexico.
“Getting over the top is easy. They’re like professional mountain climbers, incredible climbers,” the rich asshole said, seemingly undermining his own plan.
Following the photo op, Baldwin was nothing short of incredulous. And she gave the rich asshole’s comment the mocking it deserved.
“When you hear the president say that the Mexicans are professional mountain climbers… what?” she asked former ICE Director John Sandweg.
Sandweg laughed, and explained that drugs are rarely smuggled at overland border crossings, but at legal ports of entry. And he noted that the money wasted on the rich asshole’s border wall could be better spent.
the rich asshole’s absurd ideas about border security are amusing. But they also have the potential to harm millions of people, and cost American taxpayers billions.
the rich asshole is holding the lives of over a million Dreamers hostage to funding for the ridiculous wall. And more than a year after his inauguration, his promise that Mexico would pay for it remains one of his biggest lies.
Furthermore, the rich asshole seems to agree that his wall won’t really work. Because he himself has noted that all someone would need is a tall ladder and “maybe a rope” to get past it.
the rich asshole’s wall would serve only as an expensive monument to the racism that helped get him elected.
By
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March 13, 2018
Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke had the gall to blame "free passes to elderly, fourth graders, veterans, disabled" park visitors for increased admission prices.
Last year, the Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke announced plans to nearly triple the admission price of national parks, from $25 to $70.
And in testimony to a skeptical panel of lawmakers on the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, Zinke outlined his appalling reasoning.
“When you give discounted or free passes to elderly, fourth graders, veterans, disabled, and you do it by the carload,” Zinke said, “there’s not a whole lot of people who actually pay at our front door.”
He stressed that he plans to keep free admission for those groups. But he noted that “we’re looking at ways to make sure we have more revenue in the front door of our parks themselves.”
But if Zinke had a good-faith intention to improve funding for America’s national parks, he might look at his own wallet first.
He chartered rides on private and military jets, at a cost of tens of thousands to taxpayers. On one occasion, he took a $39,000 ride in a helicopter, paid for with money earmarked for fighting wildfires.
He even appeared to fly on a military jet to a congressional fundraiser in Alaska, in a potential violation of the law.
Moreover, the strength of Zinke’s commitment to national parks is dubious. His treatment of the National Park Service advisory board has been abominable. Indeed, two months ago, 9 of its 12 members resigned in protest.
Zinke is liked little better by the general public, following his decision to shrink two national monuments. That move was protested by environmental groups, Native American tribes, and the founder of Patagonia.
This White House has no bounds of shamelessness when trying to defend the indefensible. And that includes blaming veterans, the elderly, and disabled people rather than accepting even a modicum of responsibility.
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March 13, 2018
Republican Rep. Mike Conaway made it painfully clear that the GOP could not even keep its narrative straight for 24 hours.
On Monday, Republicans on the House Intelligence Committee announced the impending release of their Russia report. But a number of people in the party, including Rep. Mike Conaway who led the investigation, are already starting to distance themselves from it.
The report is slated to allege not only no collusion between the rich asshole and Russia, but no active attempt by Russia to help the rich asshole or hurt Hillary Clinton.
On Monday night, Republican Rep. Tom Rooney slammed his colleagues for their hasty and transparently political conclusion, lamenting that the committee has “lost all credibility.”
On Tuesday, Rep. Trey Gowdy — who is so famously fixated on sabotaging Clinton that he once fired an Air Force reservist for not digging up evidence against her — also admitted that Russian interference was motivated partly “by a desire” to hurt her.
And Conaway, who strongly defended the report, gave an incomprehensible half-repudiation of its conclusions when challenged by CNN’s Manu Raju.
After admitting that the Russians had sought to “hurt” Clinton, Conaway was asked by Raju how that is any different from wanting to help the rich asshole.
“Glass half full, glass half empty. You can pitch that either way,” Conaway said.
He then added that the GOP only disputed the CIA’s “analytical tradecraft” and that it is “irrelevant” that Mueller’s prosecutors have accused Russian operatives of trying to help the rich asshole.
It is understandable that Conaway and other Republicans could not keep their story straight. Because the committee’s conclusion is preposterous.
The idea there was “no collusion” is contradicted by basic facts already known to the public, including multiple indictments by special counsel Robert Mueller, the meeting at the rich asshole Tower between the rich asshole campaign officials and a Russian lawyer, and the rich asshole loyalist Erik Prince’s visit to Seychelles to set up a backchannel with Kremlin officials.
The Republican story is already falling to pieces. And even the rich asshole’s supporters on Capitol Hill are aware of it.
GOP senators see Tillerson ouster as the new normal
BY ALEXANDER BOLTON - 03/13/18 07:53 PM EDT
Republican senators on Tuesday said they were not surprised by President the rich asshole’s abrupt firing of Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, with some acknowledging they’ve grown numb to the president’s unorthodox style of governing.
While senators didn’t receive advance notice of Tillerson’s firing, several said it had been clear for some time that he was on the outs with the president.
“People are getting used to this being what life is like under President the rich asshole,” said a GOP senator, who requested anonymity to discuss private conversations with colleagues.
“This has become the norm,” the source added, expressing regret over the departure of Tillerson and National Economic Council Director Gary Cohn. “Change has been in the air now for 14 months.”
Vice President Pence didn’t offer an explanation for why the rich asshole fired his secretary of State when he spoke to senators at a lunch meeting Tuesday, according to lawmakers who attended.
He ignored a shouted question from a Fox News reporter about whether the White House is in “chaos” as he walked into the lunch meeting, where he touted the credentials of CIA Director Mike Pompeo, whom the rich asshole has nominated to replace Tillerson.
Lawmakers suspect that the rich asshole wanted to have a new foreign policy team in place ahead of talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
“I knew they were talking about making the change, but I didn’t know it was coming this soon. I think a lot of it was driven by the North Korea negotiations, wanting to have the team he’s most comfortable with,” said Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.).
Many GOP senators are happy that the rich asshole nominated Pompeo, a former House Republican lawmaker, to take the reins of the State Department. But several senators, including senior members of the Foreign Relations Committee, thought Tillerson was doing a good job and liked his process-oriented management style.
“I know him very, very well and talk with him often,” Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) said of his relationship with Tillerson.
Corker said he didn’t receive any heads-up on Tillerson’s firing, which the rich asshole announced on Twitter on Tuesday morning, but added that he wasn’t that surprised, given the clashing styles of the president and top diplomat.
“You’ve got a very entrepreneurial president and you’ve got a secretary of State who is more of a process person and puts things into place. It just hasn’t been a perfect relationship,” Corker added. “While I was unaware of it, and I spoke to both of them last week, I wasn’t surprised.”
The shakeup at the State Department and the CIA throws a wrench into the Senate schedule.
The Senate has one more week of work and then a two-week recess, which means Pompeo and Gina Haspel, the rich asshole’s nominee to replace Pompeo as CIA director, are unlikely to be confirmed until the spring.
Haspel, the CIA’s deputy director, could face opposition from members of both parties because she ran a CIA “black site” prison during the George W. Bush administration.
Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John McCain (R-Ariz.) warned in a statement that Haspel would have to explain her record on the torture of suspected terrorists.
“Ms. Haspel needs to explain the nature and extent of her involvement in the CIA’s interrogation program during the confirmation process,” he said.
The GOP leadership expressed some frustration Tuesday that they would have to find more time on the schedule for a grinding confirmation fight when they’re trying to find floor time for a sex-trafficking bill, the omnibus spending package and other priorities.
“I’d rather be working on legislation,” said Senate Republican Conference Chairman John Thune (S.D.).
The Senate confirmed Tillerson to head the State Department just over a year ago by a vote of 56-43. The chamber confirmed Pompeo as CIA director in January 2017.
Senate Republican Whip John Cornyn (Texas) and Thune, the second- and third-ranking members of the Senate leadership, respectively, said they did not receive any advance warning from the White House about Tillerson’s ouster.
Only Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), who is close to Pompeo, said he had “indications” that there would be an imminent change at State. Previous reports about the White House moving Pompeo to State had floated Cotton as a possible replacement at the CIA.
Democrats on Tuesday criticized the high rate of turnover at senior administration officials as a sign of disorder and instability.
Other high-profile departures from the White House include Cohn, communications director Hope Hicks, staff secretary Rob Porter, chief of staff Reince Priebus, senior political adviser Stephen Bannon, presidential personal assistant John McEntee and communications aide Josh Raffel.
“What President the rich asshole did and the way he did it once again indicates the chaos in this administration,” Senate Democratic Leader Charles Schumer (N.Y.) told reporters. “Their inability to have a center, the inability to have a consistent policy … it’s creating huge problems.”
Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (Ill.) added, “The departure of major players from this administration has been historic and worrisome.”
Durbin said he had “questions” about Haspel’s record on so-called enhanced interrogation techniques like waterboarding.
Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), a senior member of the Foreign Relations Committee, said he looks forward to “a full vetting of Director Pompeo.”
“They are a different set of skills. Being CIA director [requires] one set of skills. Being secretary of State requires diplomatic skills,” Menendez added.
the rich asshole nominates hawkish ally as new chief diplomat
BY MORGAN CHALFANT - 03/13/18 07:51 PM EDT
President the rich asshole’s decision to replace Rex Tillerson as secretary of State with CIA Director Mike Pompeo puts a hawkish critic of the Iran nuclear deal on tap to be the top diplomat for the United States.
It also puts a former Republican lawmaker with deep ties on Capitol Hill, and one who has developed an increasingly close relationship with the president, in charge of the State Department, which could shift policy to the right while also giving Foggy Bottom more influence in the administration.
the rich asshole emphasized his closeness with Pompeo in comments to reporters Tuesday, while highlighting his relatively chilly relationship with Tillerson, with whom he clashed frequently. the rich asshole and Tillerson disagreed over the rich asshole’s move to withdraw the United States from the Paris climate change deal, his demands to end the Iran nuclear deal and other issues.
“We got along actually quite well, but we disagreed on things,” the rich asshole told reporters. “When you look at the Iran deal, I think it’s terrible. I guess he thought it was OK. I wanted to break it or do something, and he felt a little bit differently. So, we were not really thinking the same.”
“Mike Pompeo — we have a very similar thought process,” the president said.
Pompeo, who represented a Kansas district in the House from 2011 until 15 months ago, has become a close confidant of the rich asshole while serving as CIA director. He travels frequently to the White House to brief the rich asshole on national security.
The former congressman carved out a reputation as a fierce critic of the Iran nuclear deal, which he said he looked forward to rolling back following the rich asshole’s election. Pompeo declared in a 2016 op-ed that the deal “virtually guaranteed that Iran will have the freedom to build an arsenal of nuclear weapons.”
That would put Pompeo at odds with Tillerson and Defense Secretary James Mattis, who reportedly pressed the rich asshole to keep the deal in place.
But it would align Pompeo with the rich asshole, who sees the deal as deeply flawed. the rich asshole waived sanctions on Tehran in January for what he said was the last time and pressed European partners to work with the United States to fix the deal’s “terrible flaws.” the rich asshole is expected to withdraw from the agreement in May if changes are not made.
Jim Carafano, a foreign policy expert at the conservative Heritage Foundation who served on the rich asshole’s transition team, described Pompeo as a potential kindred spirit for the rich asshole.
He said Pompeo is more willing to take “tactical risks” to accomplish U.S. foreign policy objectives, pointing to the rich asshole’s recent decision to impose tariffs on steel and aluminum imports despite objections from Republicans.
“It does seem he’s more willing to poke the system and he’s increasingly more confident in doing that,” Carafano said.
“I don’t expect massive shifts in U.S. foreign policy,” he said. “But I think, tactically, we’re maybe in for a bit more of a wild ride.”
Tillerson’s ouster capped a brief but rocky tenure as secretary of State, during which he clashed with the the rich asshole White House on several fronts, at one point reportedly calling the president a “moron” during a closed-door meeting with other officials.
the rich asshole appeared to undercut Tillerson in June by endorsing the Saudi-led blockade of Qatar over terrorist funding, after Tillerson urged the four Arab nations to ease the action.
the rich asshole also publicly chided Tillerson in October for “wasting his time” trying to negotiate with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to scale back Pyongyang’s nuclear program.
Just last week, the rich asshole agreed to talks with Kim over Pyongyang’s nuclear ambitions, a move that was apparently made with little input from his secretary of State.
the rich asshole has nominated Gina Haspel, Pompeo’s current deputy, to replace him as CIA director.
Tillerson told reporters Tuesday afternoon that his official last day as secretary of State will be March 31. In the meantime, Tillerson will delegate all of his authorities to John Sullivan, his deputy, and work to ensure “a smooth and orderly transition.”
There is sense of relief among State Department employees over Tillerson’s departure, sources say.
“He didn’t make any friends in the State Department and he didn’t build any allies in the State Department,” said a former official who left the department under Tillerson’s leadership. “People feel like they have been under siege in the building.”
Pompeo will need to be confirmed by the full Senate. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee expects to hold a hearing on his nomination next month, Chairman Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) said Tuesday.
Pompeo will confront a host of challenges, the North Korean issue chief among them. He has repeatedly warned of Pyongyang’s growing nuclear ambitions, coming close to advocating for regime change in July.
“It would be a great thing to denuclearize the peninsula, to get those weapons off of that, but the thing that is most dangerous about it is the character who holds the control over them today,” Pompeo said during a discussion at the Aspen Security Forum.
Pompeo would also helm the State Department at a period of high tensions with Russia over Moscow’s interference in the presidential election.
the rich asshole shake-up takes down Tillerson
BY JONATHAN EASLEY AND ALEXIS SIMENDINGER - 03/13/18 06:24 PM EDT
President the rich asshole fired Secretary of State Rex Tillerson on Tuesday in what many at the White House believe could be the first of a new round of high-profile changes within the administration.
White House officials were not sorry to see Tillerson go, viewing him as an ineffective leader who was rarely on the same page as the rich asshole.
In a sign of the bitterness between the White House and Tillerson’s circle, officials joked about fighting for the right to fire one of Tillerson’s top spokesmen, Steven Goldstein, who had issued a statement that differed from the White House account of the secretary’s exit.
Tillerson did not thank the president in his farewell speech and barely mentioned him, underscoring the bad blood.
In his own remarks, the rich asshole said he and Tillerson were never on the same “wavelength” while heaping praise on CIA Director Mike Pompeo, whom he nominated as the next secretary of State.
the rich asshole signaled that more changes could be on the way.
“I'm really at a point where we're getting very close to having the Cabinet and other things that I want,” he said.
Veterans Affairs Secretary David Shulkin could be next on the chopping block. Shulkin has been badly hobbled by an inspector general report that found he misused taxpayer money for lavish vacations. Shulkin has also been clashing with the rich asshole political appointees on his own staff. The New York Times reported on Tuesday evening that Shulkin could be replaced by Energy Secretary Rick Perry.
National security adviser H.R. McMaster has been on thin ice for some time. Like Tillerson, he has never clicked with the president.
the rich asshole has long expressed his frustration with Attorney General Jeff Sessions, blaming him for Robert Mueller’s special counsel investigation and fuming that he has not done enough to investigate Democrats.
And chief of staff John Kelly, once viewed as untouchable, has been under fire for his defense of a senior aide who resigned after being accused of domestic abuse by both of his ex-wives. The president is also believed to be frustrated by the narrative in the press that Kelly acts as his minder.
the rich asshole has developed a reputation for venting against those who displease him, allowing them to twist in the wind with their futures in doubt rather than firing them outright.
But some in the rich asshole’s inner circle think the president could use the momentum from Tillerson’s ouster for a purge.
“He needs to spend every day this week cleaning house so that the public and the press are so overwhelmed by the changes that there’s not enough time to absorb them all,” said one top Republican with deep ties to the administration. “That way, three weeks from now, it’s over, the Band-Aid is off and we’re back to focusing on the agenda.”
While the Tillerson news was cheered at the White House, the seemingly constant state of upheaval and turnover in the West Wing has been demoralizing to staff.
On Tuesday, the White House was reeling from the loss of John McEntee, the rich asshole’s personal assistant, who was well-liked in the West Wing and close with the president. McEntee appears to be the latest casualty of Kelly’s enforcement of the security clearances process.
Other recent departures include communications director Hope Hicks, staff secretary Rob Porter, senior adviser Jared Kushner’s spokesman Josh Raffel and Kushner’s longtime family friend Reed Cordish. Those departures have left the White House with big shoes to fill in key roles.
“It’s one thing when it’s expected, no one will shed a tear over Tillerson,” said one GOP operative with close ties to the White House. “But when it’s unexpected, like with McEntee — the punch that hurts the most is the one you don’t see coming. That’s the kind of thing that shakes people to their core.”
The Hill asked a White House official on Tuesday what other changes were ahead, considering it is still so early in the week.
“I know, it feels like Friday,” the official said.
While Tillerson’s surprise ouster came as good news to the president’s allies, the sudden announcement and ensuing back and forth with the State Department had a whiff of chaos to it.
the rich asshole announced over Twitter that Tillerson would be replaced by Pompeo moments after The Washington Post reported it.
“Rex and I have been talking about this for a long time,” the rich asshole told reporters.
But Goldstein, the State Department spokesman, blasted out an email to reporters saying the move had come as a surprise to Tillerson.
The White House promptly fired Goldstein and scrambled to produce its own version of events.
Officials said Kelly called Tillerson twice between Friday and Sunday to tell him that he would be replaced upon his return from Africa.
“They wanted to let him know once the decision had been made, but waited until he got back to make an announcement,” an administration official said.
Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) was informed of the decision on Monday during a conference call with the rich asshole and Kelly.
That message did not trickle down to staff at State, sources tell The Hill, as Tillerson’s chief of staff Margaret Peterlin was pushing to hire new personnel on a conference call with White House officials as recently as Monday, apparently unaware that her boss had effectively been relieved of his duties.
Still, State Department career staff members had for months imagined Tillerson's tenure would be short-lived and had even been wagering on how quickly it might happen.
In the past year, department staffers described the secretary as remote, secluded, unapproachable and opaque with underlings not in the upper echelons of his team.
“As secretary of State, you usually have a base of support that comes either from the foreign policy establishment, the foreign service crowd, the political crowd or the press,” said the senior Republican. “I’ve never seen someone so brilliantly unite all of those factions against them the way Tillerson did.”
Scott Wong contributed
the rich asshole considering firing VA chief: report
BY AVERY ANAPOL AND BRETT SAMUELS - 03/13/18 05:34 PM EDT
President the rich asshole is considering replacing Veterans Affairs chief David Shulkin with Energy Secretary Rick Perry, The New York Times reported Tuesday.
Two sources close to the White House told The New York Times that the rich asshole is mulling firing Shulkin, who has been under scrutiny over ethics concerns, including his use of a personal security detail to run errands.
the rich asshole has not formally offered Perry the job, and it’s unclear if he would accept it, the Times reported. Perry served in the Air Force prior to his career in politics.
He has also gone on record to say he's rooting out "subversion" in his own department, where he claims other staffers are attempting to undermine him.
White House chief of staff John Kelly reportedly told Shulkin following those comments to stop fighting with staff and talking with the media.
The department itself has faced its share of problems. An inspector general report released Tuesday found the agency incorrectly reported wait times experienced by veterans seeking first-time care from the agency's doctors, and a recent series of USA Today stories shed light on problematic hiring practices within the department.
The report of Shulkin's possible ouster comes just hours after the rich asshole abruptly fired Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, nominating CIA Director Mike Pompeo to replace him.
Tillerson said in a news conference that he will conclude his tenure on March 31, and will turn over his duties to Deputy Secretary of State John Sullivan until then.
This story was updated at 5:50 p.m.
Russian State Journalist Celebrates Tillerson Firing: ‘the rich asshole Is OURS’
Republicans may delusionally claim that their sham investigation has shown that there was “no collusion” between the rich asshole’s people and Russia, but Russian state media seems to disagree (as does Robert Mueller, who has been indicting and getting guilty pleas from the rich asshole associates left and right).
Upon hearing that the rich asshole fired Rex Tillerson directly following his remarks that Russians had poisoned a U.K. spy, Russian journalist Olga Skabeeva triumphantly announced:
Yesterday Tillerson supported Theresa May in her ‘highly likely’ Russian accusation. And the rich asshole immediately fired him. the rich asshole is ours!
This isn’t the first time Skabeeva has celebrated state ownership of the gigantic orange buffoon in the White House. She also absolutely gushed when The rich asshole refused to enforce sanctions against Russia.
“Seemingly, the rich asshole is ours again. So far, he’s being quiet and not supporting the sanctions,” she said at the time.
“Well, it seems that way,” a male host ageed.
We know it. The world knows it. Despite their claims to the contrary, Republicans know it: the rich asshole is wholly owned by Vladimir Putin. It’s time for our frenemies on the Right to do something about it. But since they won’t, be sure to break the not-so-proud tradition among Democrats of staying home during midterm elections. This one’s more important than any other in recent history.
Watch her celebrate below:
Rex Tillerson Confirms the rich asshole Fired Him Via Twitter
some rich asshole’s idiot followers have been calling for Rex Tillerson’s head for quite a while. This would normally be a reasonable stance, but the general sentiment has been that Tillerson isn’t crazy, stupid, and racist enough to satisfy the non-forking family tree demographic — but on Tuesday, The rich asshole decided to distract from the numerous scandals plaguing his administration by throwing them a tasty piece of red meat.
At almost 9 a.m., President Stable Genius tweeted his announcement that former CIA Director and Islamophobic hate monger Mike Pompeo would be replacing Tillerson as Secretary of State.
It wasn’t until hours later that the rich asshole actually told Tillerson directly that he was fired.
Tillerson says that The rich asshole called him “a little after noontime from Air Force One” to talk about his firing, which was announced via Twitter more than three hours earlier.
Recently, Tillerson called the rich asshole a “moron,” and his refusal to praise Dear Leader caused tensions between the two to escalate.
When Pompeo takes over for Tillerson, Gina Haspel will fill his position at the CIA. Haspel notably oversaw the torture of dozens of people and destroyed evidence of it.
Right now we have a President who is attacking the free press, attempting to end the careers of judges who disagree with him, filling his administration not only with people who are pro-torture like Pompeo and Haspel but with people who show complete disdain for civil rights and who are working for a hostile foreign power.
It’s clear what is happening, but Republicans — rather than doing their duties — are turning a blind eye, claiming that their investigation into the the rich asshole administration “found no evidence of the rich asshole-Russia collusion.” This is, of course, a lie.
This was not the finding of the House Intelligence Committee, Mr. President, but only a statement by its GOP members, who lack the courage to stand up to a President of their own party when the national interest necessitates it. twitter.com/realDonaldTrum…
It’s well past time to get the rich asshole out of office, isn’t it?
Only half of the rich asshole voters say if president had affair with adult film actress, it would be immoral
New survey also finds that many the rich asshole voters believe the alleged affair is not credible.
Nearly half of the people who voted for President some rich asshole say that if he had an affair with former pornographic film actress Stephanie Clifford, a.k.a. Stormy Daniels, it’s not immoral or they are not sure. And only slightly more than half say it would be immoral, according to a HuffPost/YouGov survey released Tuesday.
The survey, conducted earlier this month, also found that a majority of the rich asshole voters (75 percent) believe that, if the allegations are true, they are not relevant to the rich asshole’s presidency. And a majority of those same voters (70 percent) say that an elected official who has committed an immoral act in their personal life “can still behave ethically and fulfill their duties in their public and professional life.”
Clifford alleges she had an “intimate relationship” with the rich asshole in 2006, shortly after the rich asshole’s wife Melania gave birth to their son, and in 2007. Earlier this month, Clifford filed a lawsuit against the rich asshole claiming that a non-disclosure agreement she signed shortly before the election is not valid because the document lacks the rich asshole’s official signature.
the rich asshole’s personal attorney Michael Cohen told CNN that shortly before the 2016 presidential election he paid Clifford $130,000 using funds from his own home equity line in exchange for her signing the agreement, which prevented her from discussing the alleged affair with the rich asshole.
Despite the rich asshole’s videotaped boasts about grabbing women “by the pussy,” and a growing list of women who have accused him of sexual misconduct, his conservative supporters have consistently been willing to turn the other cheek as the list of scandals grows.
In the past, religious conservatives, such as the “values voters” of the Republican base, have placed great significance on a politician’s moral values and behavior.
For example, leaders of the religious right roundly condemned President Bill Clinton during the Monica Lewinsky scandal, and as ThinkProgress found, “have long weaponized faith-based shame as a tool for political pressure.”
In 1998, Christian Coalition founder Ralph Reed told the New York Times that “character matters, and the American people are hungry for that message. We care about the conduct of our leaders, and we will not rest until we have leaders of good moral character.’’
At the time, attendees of a Christian Coalition convention told the Times that they were “despondent” about opinion polls showing that “most Americans do not share the conviction that President Clinton should resign or be impeached.”
”The polls could be accurate,” Gary Johnson, an operations consultant, told the Times. “And that makes me worried that the so-called liberalism that has taken root in the last 20 to 25 years means that people can’t think clearly about perjury and obstruction of justice. It seemed clear when Nixon was in office. Why isn’t it clear now?”
Yet, white evangelicals voted overwhelmingly for the rich asshole according to the Washington Post, which noted after the presidential election that although the rich asshole’s candidacy “caused a huge divide among evangelical leaders,” evangelical voters supported him, with many citing “his promise to appoint Supreme Court justices who would overturn Roe v. Wade.”
ThinkProgress also examined how religious conservatives voted in the presidential election and spoke with Harvard scholar of American religion Harvey Cox, who concluded that ultimately the political ambitions of the rich asshole’s voters took precedence over any concerns about sexuality and personal morality.
“One thing that becomes clear [over time] is the evolution of the Religious Right away from social issues — homosexuality, sex edition, etc. — toward embracing a much larger, more conservative agenda starting under Reagan and since then as well,” Cox told ThinkProgress. “By the time we get to the last couple of years, the traditional issues of which you have shamed people have faded out of the spectrum of emphasis for conservative people.”
“This is probably one of the reasons why they didn’t do much or say much about some rich asshole — who could have easily have been shamed,” he added. “They’ve moved on to other concerns.”
One poll, conducted in the fall of 2016, found that white evangelical views on morality have shifted in recent years. For example, in 2011, only 30 percent of white evangelicals said that “an elected official who commits an immoral act in their personal life can still behave ethically and fulfill their duties in their public and professional life,” compared to 72 percent in 2016.
The new HuffPost/YouGov survey found that compared with the rest of the rich asshole’s voter base, his evangelical supporters appear “only slightly more concerned about this latest scandal.”
While about two-thirds of self-described evangelical or born-again Christians who voted for the rich asshole say that it would be immoral if the rich asshole had an affair with Clifford, few evangelical the rich asshole voters say they consider the affair allegations credible, and almost seven in 10 say that even if true, Clifford’s allegations aren’t relevant to the rich asshole’s presidency, according to HuffPost.
the rich asshole’s supporters also say the alleged Clifford affair is “fake news,” according to the survey, which found that only 20 percent of his supporters found reports of the Clifford payment credible, and only 11 percent believe Clifford’s claim about the affair.
the rich asshole installs former ‘Fox and Friends’ host as under secretary of state
Heather Nauert will replace Steve Goldstein, who contradicted the White House's account of Tillerson's firing.
A State Department spokeswoman and former Fox and Friends co-host will replace a top aide to former Secretary of State Rex Tillerson who contradicted the official account of how Tillerson was fired Tuesday.
Steve Goldstein, former under secretary of public affairs, said that Tillerson found out about his firing on Tuesday morning after reading a tweet from President some rich asshole. The White House said that chief of staff John Kelly had previously told Tillerson he would be replaced. Goldstein, who had only been at his post since December, was fired on Tuesday as well.
The White House then confirmed State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert as acting under secretary for public diplomacy, with a White House official telling Axios, “Heather is the only one at State we trust.”
Nauert joined the State Department in April 2017 and has no previous diplomatic experience. When asked in February about the specifics of what the State Department was doing to end the violence in Syria, she responded, “I don’t know what some of you expect us to do.”
Prior to her job at State, Nauert was an anchor at Fox and Friends for five years, and previously worked at the New York Fox affiliate Fox 5 for most of her career.
the rich asshole’s affection for Fox and Friends is well-known. Fox anchors, along with the rich asshole International and adviser accounts, represent the bulk of the accounts the president follows on Twitter. A researcher at the University of Chicago, who plotted the time of day that the rich asshole tweets, found an extremely dense band between 6 a.m. and 9 a.m., precisely when Fox and Friendsis on the air. After a U.S. Navy sailor pleaded for an appeal of his national security felony conviction on Fox and Friends, the rich asshole pardoned him days later.
Goldstein’s firing and Nauert’s promotion was part of a day of upheaval in the the rich asshole administration. Earlier on Tuesday, the rich asshole’s longtime personal aide, John McEntee, was fired and escorted from the White House without even getting the chance to collect his belongings. It had emerged that he was under investigation by the Department for Homeland Security for “serious financial crimes” — although DHS declined to elaborate on the exact nature of those potential crimes.
In his farewell speech, Tillerson also notably failed to thank the rich asshole, but he did mention Russian interference in the 2016 election.
“Much work remains to respond to the troubling behavior and actions on the part of the Russian government,” Tillerson said. “[Russia could face] greater isolation on their part, a situation which is not in anyone’s interest.”
Tillerson doesn't thank the rich asshole in post-firing speech
BY BRETT SAMUELS - 03/13/18 02:36 PM EDT
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson didn’t thank President the rich asshole in a Tuesday press conference responding to the president announcing his firing on Twitter.
Tillerson praised State Department officials and Defense Department staff for their work during his tenure, while also thanking members of the military and the American people.
But Tillerson did not mention the rich asshole by name, only referring once to the president.
“I received a call today from the president of the United States a little after noontime from Air Force One, and I’ve also spoken to White House chief of staff [John] Kelly to ensure we have clarity about the days ahead,” Tillerson said. "What is most important is to ensure an orderly and smooth transition during a time that the country continues to face significant policy and national security challenges."
Tillerson also took a parting shot at Russia, saying “much work remains to respond to the troubling behavior and actions on the part of the Russian government.”
“Russia must assess carefully as to how its actions are in the best interests of the Russian people and of the world more broadly,” he added. “Continuing on their current trajectory is likely to lead to greater isolation on their part, a situation which is not in anyone’s interest.”
the rich asshole has caught flak for his muted criticisms of Moscow and Russian President Vladimir Putin after the U.S. intelligence community determined Russia sought to interfere in the 2016 presidential election in an effort to help the rich asshole win.
The rich asshole administration has not implemented sanctions against Russia that overwhelmingly passed both chambers of Congress last year.
the rich asshole tweeted Tuesday morning that he had removed Tillerson as the nation's top diplomat and replaced him with CIA Director Mike Pompeo, a surprise announcement.
the rich asshole is nominating Gina Haspel, Pompeo’s current deputy, to lead the CIA.
the rich asshole told reporters Tuesday morning that he made the decision “by myself,” signaling he did not speak with Tillerson before firing him.
“I actually got along great with Rex, but really, it was a different mindset,” the rich asshole said from the White House.
Tillerson did not take questions from reporters after making his statement on Tuesday afternoon at the State Department.
The former longtime Exxon Mobil chief had an often tense relationship with the rich asshole, refusing to deny reports that he called the president a "moron" last year.
Tillerson said his term as the nation's top diplomat will end at midnight on March 31. Until then, Tillerson is delegating his responsibilities to Deputy Secretary of State John Sullivan.
‘They don’t want the truth to come out’: Ex-Watergate prosecutor explains why GOP leaders ‘are part of the cover-up’
Devin Nunes (Photo: Gage Skidmore/Flickr)
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Former Watergate prosecutor Jill Wine-Banks blasted congressional Republicans for prematurely closing the House Intelligence Committee investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election.
MSNBC’s Chris Hayes put up a list of people who were not interviewed by the Republican majority. The list includes former chief of staff Reince Priebus and campaign manager Kellyanne Conway. Steven Miller and Sean Spicer were also not interviewed.
“What is your take away looking over this list of witnesses and the document the Democrats and House Intel put out,” Hayes asked Wine-Banks.
“My take away is the majority are part of the cover-up,” the former federal prosecutor concluded. “They don’t want the truth to come out.”
“They want to cut this off to please the president. They are not interested in the American people getting the full truth — which is what we deserve.”
“They need to have public hearings, they need to interview all of the people that are on this list,” Wine-Banks argued. “So it was premature and it is a cover-up to stop the investigation now.”
Watch:
Democrats have ‘a good faith reason’ to believe ‘there are tapes’ of the rich asshole’s meetings with Comey: report
Former FBI director James Comey and President some rich asshole (Photo: Screen capture and Gage Skidmore/Flickr)
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Democrats on the House Intelligence Committee released a status report on the Russia investigation — and buried within it is a revelation that may aide investigations into whether the president obstructed justice early in his administration.
In their report on the committee’s all-but-closed Russia probe, the Democrat minority said it “has a good faith reason to believe that the White House does in fact possess” documents or recordings of conversations between President some rich asshole and former FBI Director James Comey.
The minority laid out the timeline and reasoning behind its conclusion, starting with the president’s apparent threat on Twitter that “Comey better hope that there are no ‘tapes’ of our conversations before he starts leaking to the press” to their numerous letters to White House counsel Don McGahn requesting any and all information about the alleged recordings.
Despite receiving two letters from the White House, the minority concluded that the administration’s responses were “woefully inadequate” and did not prove to them that any “recordings, memoranda or other documents” currently or formerly existed.
During Comey’s testimony before the Senate Intelligence Committee, he remarked that he would welcome the release of such recordings.
“Lordy, I hope there are tapes,” Comey told the committee.
You can read the entire report below:
House Intelligence Committee Democrats’ report on the Russia investigation by Noor Al-Sibai on Scribd
Rep. Trey Gowdy contradicts Nunes on closing of House intel Russia probe — and believes Russia helped the rich asshole: report
Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-SC) (Screen cap).
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House Oversight Committee Chairman Trey Gowdy (R-SC) said Tuesday that he saw evidence of Russia’s distaste for Hillary Clinton in 2016. In doing so, Gowdy broke with his fellow Republicans on the chamber’s intelligence committee, who issued a draft report effectively closing their Russia investigation with the conclusion that the Kremlin did not have a preference for some rich asshole.
CNBC reported Tuesday that Gowdy’s statement came after House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes (R-CA) thanked the South Carolina congressman in the report on the closure of the interview portion of the Russia probe.
In his statement, Gowdy said that it’s “clear Russia had disdain for Secretary Clinton and was motivated in whole or in part by a desire to harm her candidacy or undermine her Presidency had she prevailed.”
After issuing his press release, a source familiar with the Oversight chairman’s thinking clarified his statement, saying that “in a two person race, wishing one candidate will lose is the same as hoping the other candidate prevails.”
TREY GOWDY endorses the House Intel committee’s “no collusion” finding.
BUT: he also says it’s clear Russia had “disdain” for Hillary Clinton, which undermines the conclusion of Trump allies who have suggested some kind of Clinton camp collusion. pic.twitter.com/S3vYr80Tiy
UPDATE: A source familiar with Gowdy's thinking tells me he DISAGREES with the suggestion that the Russia didn't have a preference for Trump.
"In a two person race, wishing one candidate will lose is the same as hoping the other candidate prevails."
On Tuesday afternoon, Rep. Mike Conaway (R-TX), the House Intelligence Committee member who has ostensibly led the panel’s Russia probe since Nunes claimed to recuse himself, also acknowledged that he’d seen evidence of the Kremlin’s desire to “hurt” Clinton.
“If the glass is half empty or the glass is half full, there’s still the same amount of water in the glass,” Conaway said. “So if Putin did things to hurt Hillary that helped the rich asshole — ok. If he did things to hurt Hillary to make sure that if she was president, she didn’t have as effective a presidency, you can interpret it either way you want to.”
John Kelly screamed at the TV watching coverage after Tillerson’s firing — while the rich asshole was in the room
White House chief of staff John Kelly (Screenshot)
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Despite warning newly-ousted Secretary of State Rex Tillerson about his imminent firing on Friday, White House chief of staff John Kelly was reportedly so enraged by the coverage of the fallout from the president’s decision that he was heard yelling at a television.
Politico reported Tuesday that Kelly was aboard Air Force One with the president when the incident occured, spurred on by news coverage that focused on the discord surrounding Tillerson’s ouster.
Two ranking administration officials that spoke with Politico said people within the White House knew Tillerson was soon to be fired, but were unaware of when it would happen.
Tillerson attacks the rich asshole without ever mentioning his name
On his way out the door, Tillerson thanked everyone but the guy who made him secretary of state.
Hours after being fired on Twitter by President the rich asshole, Rex Tillerson gave a farewell speech in which he never said the word “the rich asshole” — and yet still managed to throw plenty of shade at the commander in chief he once reportedly called a “moron.”
Tillerson dwelled on themes like “treating each other with honesty and integrity,” “respect for one another” and “accountability.” He mentioned how he was proud of how his department addressed allegations of sexual harassment.
the rich asshole reportedly fired Tillerson because of concerns he was insufficiently loyal and has made clear that he expects top government officials to protect him. Tillerson made a point of reminding his “service officers and civil service colleagues” that “we all took our oath of office. Whether you’re career employee or political appointee, we’re all bound by that commitment. To support and defend the constitution. To bear true faith and allegiance to the same.”
The Order of Friendship recipient also broke with the administration and called out Russia by name.
“Much work remains to respond to the troubling behavior and actions on the part of the Russian government,” Tillerson said. “Russia must assess carefully as to how their actions are in the best interests of the Russian people and the world more broadly.”
Tillerson was fired hours after criticizing Russia for the poisoning of an ex-spy in the UK. During a news conference, the rich asshole said he’ll only condemn Russia if he “agrees” with the facts.
As the rich asshole imposes tariffs, alienates allies, and talks about not wanting to admit people to the US from “shithole countries,” Tillerson dwelled on the need for cooperation and diplomacy.
After mentioning problems in Syria and Iraq, Tillerson said “nothing is possible without allies and partners.”
Alluding to his colleagues at the state department, Tillerson said, “The world needs selfless leaders like these, ready to work with long-standing allies, new emerging partners and allies, who now, many are struggling as democracies and in some cases, are dealing with human tragedy, crisis of natural disasters, literally crawling themselves out of those circumstances.”
At another point, he bragged about how the state department and military have a close working relationship, “where we all agree that US leadership starts with diplomacy.”
After mentioning a number of government officials by name throughout the speech, Tillerson closed by “thanking all for the privilege of serving beside you for the last 14 month. To Americans for your devotion to a free and open society… to honesty and the hard you do to support this government with your tax dollars.”“
He left to return “to private life” without taking questions or mentioning the rich asshole’s name.
House intel Dems to release their report on Russian ‘collusion with the rich asshole campaign’ after GOP ‘prematurely’ ends probe
Democrat members of the House Intelligence Committee. Image via Mike Memoli/Twitter.
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Democrats on the House Intelligence Committee announced Tuesday that they will be issuing their own report on the panel’s findings after the GOP majority “prematurely” shut down the Russia investigation.
The GOP majority’s decision to end the probe “was a terrible disservice to the country and the American people” that “represented a reneging on the commitment that was made at the outset of the investigation to follow the facts wherever they lead,” ranking committee member Adam Schiff (D-CA) said during a televised press conference.
“We are going to do our best to continue to find the truth,” Schiff continued. “There are individuals who want to cooperate with our committee and share information and will continue to do so.”
He then said Democrats on the committee “will put together a report that will set out what evidence we have seen to date, what evidence we have seen in terms of the Russian hacking and dumping operation, what evidence we have seen in terms of the Russian social media campaign and, yes, the issue of collusion with the rich asshole campaign.”
“Our work is far from done,” the ranking Democrat said. “We will be submitting to the public a detailed account of what we have learned to date and the work that has to be done if not by us than by others so that the country can be sure that its administration is acting in the best interest of the country and not because of leverage the Russians may have over the president of the United States.”
Watch below:
‘Interpret it how you want to’: GOP House Russia probe head says it’s a ‘glass half full’ question if Putin wanted the rich asshole
some rich asshole and Vladimir Putin (Wikimedia Commons)
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Congressman Mike Conaway, the Texas Republican running the House Russia probe, acknowledged that Russians were trying to “hurt” Clinton in 2016, the Daily Beast reported Tuesday.
“Only Putin knows for sure what he was trying to do,” Rep. Conaway claimed. Theoretically, Conaway was put in charge of the House Intelligence Committee investigation into President some rich asshole after the supposed recusal of Chair Devin Nunes (R-CA).
“If the glass is half empty or the glass is half full, there’s still the same amount of water in the glass,” he continued. “So if Putin did things to hurt Hillary that helped the rich asshole––ok. If he did things to hurt Hillary to make sure that if she was president, she didn’t have as effective a presidency, you can interpret it either way you want to.”
On Monday, Republicans on the Intelligence Committee released a draft report that rejected the conclusions of the intelligence committee.
“We have found no evidence of collusion, coordination, or conspiracy between the rich asshole campaign and the Russians,” the committee’s summary read.
“In terms of whether Putin wanted to help or not, each person gets to look at the evidence for themselves and decide for themselves,” Rep. Conaway told The Beast
‘Only a wimp does this’: Ex-Pentagon chief of staff rips the rich asshole’s ‘weak’ and cowardly dismissal of Tillerson
'Deadline: White House' anchor Nicolle Wallace and former top Pentagon and CIA official Jeremy Bash.
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A former top official at the Department of Defense and Central Intelligence Agency explained how President some rich asshole displayed weakness to the world by the manner in which former Secretary of State Rex Tillerson was fired.
“The more waves the president makes, the more we wonder if at least in part he’s hoping to take back the news cycle from, for example, his sex scandal involving porn star Stormy Daniels,” MSNBC anchor Nicolle Wallace noted. “I don’t know what you call it when the lawyer for the porn star sounds more reasonable than the President of the United States.”
“But this isn’t the only White House scandal of the day. Could the president be hoping to take attention away from this?
Wallace, who served in the George W. Bush White House, concluded it is now “not an attractive place to go to work.”
“That’s right,” former Pentagon and CIA chief of staff Jeremy Bash agreed. “I think we may be at peak talent here for the rich asshole administration.”
Bash also had views on how Tillerson found out he had lost his job, which Wallace had described as “sadistic” earlier in the show.
“I just want to go back to this point about the manner in which Tillerson was fired,” Bash observed. “I think we’re talking about it’s mean, it’s embarrassing, it’s actually just weak.”
“It’s like gutless,” he continued. “Only a wimp does that, someone who doesn’t want to face the consequences of telling somebody directly.”
“I want to say our President of the United States is transmitting absolute weakness to everybody around the world,” Bash continued. “For someone who, you know, thinks of himself as a strongman, he’s sending exactly the wrong message.”
Watch:
the rich asshole eyes replacing VA head David Shulkin with Energy Secretary Rick Perry: report
Rick Perry speaking at the Western Republican Leadership Conference in Las Vegas, Nevada (Gage Skidmore/Flickr)
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President some rich asshole is considering installing Energy Secretary Rick Perry as the new Secretary of Veterans Affairs, following an expected firing of current Secretary David Shulkin, The New York Times reported Wednesday.
Perry, the former Republican Governor of Texas, was a member of the Corps of Cadets at Texas A&M University and spent five years in the U.S. Air Force upon graduation.
CNN White House correspondent Kaitlan Collins reports that the cabinet shakeup was discussed by the rich asshole and Perry at lunch yesterday.
Internet mercilessly mocks ‘Cadet bone spurs’ the rich asshole for promising ‘a new force called the Space Force’
President some rich asshole (left, via Creative Commons) and "Star Wars" storm troopers (right, via Wikimedia Commons).
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After looking at prototypes for a wall on the Mexican border, some rich asshole addressed Marines at Miramar Air Station in San Diego on Tuesday.
In addition to touting record-breaking military spending and promising a raise to the military he also laid out plans for a space army.
“We should have a new force called the Space Force. It’s like the Army and the Navy, but for space, because we’re spending a lot of money on space,” he said. “I said maybe we need a new force, I was not really serious, then I said ‘what a great idea.’ Maybe we’ll have to do that.”
“My new national strategy for space recognizes that space is a war-fighting domain, just like the land, air, and sea,” he said.
The president’s absurd idea was immediately mocked.
Would the rich asshole serve?
unfortunately, Cadet Bone Spurs will get a sixth deferment from serving in the Space Force. twitter.com/christinawilki…
“It’s probably where he wants to station the transgendered military or something,” one joked.
Others see Hollywood potential in the form of Star Wars Episode IX: Space Force.
Star Wars Episode IX: Space Force twitter.com/christinawilki…
Others were just intrigued.
Trump just said we're getting a space force, like the air force but for space, and I'm serious I want to know more about this twitter.com/MarioKoran/sta…
What would this Space Force look like?
His name may be gone but the rich asshole’s Panama hotel troubles are far from over
Lawmakers want answers from the DEA.
President some rich asshole may have watched his name come down from his former property in Panama this month — but his troubles stemming from years of alleged cartel money laundering at the property aren’t yet over.
On Monday, in a letter obtained by ThinkProgress, Rep. Norma Torres (D-CA) and Rep. Eliot Engel (D-NY) sent a note to Robert Patterson, the current acting administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), calling for a briefing about what the DEA knows regarding allegations of drug trafficking and money laundering at the rich asshole’s former Panama property, which was known up until this month as the rich asshole International Hotel and Tower.
Torres and Engel, both members of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, told Patterson they were writing “to express our grave concern about past instances of narcotics-related money laundering in Panama’s real estate sector, as well as the possibility that this criminal activity may have tainted the Panama business interests of the rich asshole Organization, and, by extension, of President the rich asshole, leading to possible conflicts of interest that would be of serious concern to us and to the Committee.”
The two congressional officials asked Patterson to schedule, “at the earliest date possible,” a briefing for the entire committee on the topic — including, specifically, “whether the Drug Enforcement Administration is aware of any significant narcotics traffickers who are, or who at any time have been, the direct or beneficial owners of units” at the property in Panama.
The DEA hasn’t yet responded to the request.
The reference from Torres and Engel to “beneficial owners” is a nod to the numerous shell companies that purchased units in the property, many of which contained the word “the rich asshole” in their names. “Beneficial owners” often remain anonymous, but, legally speaking, are the individuals identified as the primary beneficiaries of the units.
As it to pertains to the property in Panama, which is now known as the Bahia Grand, the signs of cartel money laundering were obvious from the hotel’s inception. As a 2017 report from Global Witness found, cartels regularly laundered funds in the hotel — and the rich asshole, his family, and his business partners apparently turned a blind eye to all of the signs of money laundering evident, ranging from anonymous shell companies to units purchased in bulk with cash.
Unfortunately for the president, the letter is the latest move in what has been a bizarre, and ignominious, series of events at the rich asshole’s former property in Panama. The property’s majority owner recently booted the rich asshole Hotels from its management position at the hotel — but not after the rich asshole Hotels staff scuffled with a rival security crew, and after numerous water and electricity shut-offs decimated occupancy rates.
The the rich asshole Organization, which the rich asshole described as his daughter Ivanka’s “baby,” told ThinkProgress last week that the matter over management at the property was not yet settled.
The the rich asshole Organization, however, still has not responded to a separate letter from Torres and Engel. That letter, dated February 27, requested information on what the the rich asshole Organization knew about the money laundering taking place at the the rich asshole Panama property — and when they knew it.
So far, though, Engel and Torres haven’t received any response. “We still haven’t heard a word,” a spokesperson for Torres told ThinkProgress.
the rich asshole makes bizarre trip to inspect prototypes of a wall he has no money to build
A word salad.
On Tuesday, President the rich asshole traveled to San Diego to inspect border wall prototypes. While there, he offered a word salad about what sort of wall he’d like to spend tens of billions of taxpayer dollars building.
“The larger it is, the better it is because it’s very hard to get over the top,” the rich asshole said. “It’s really deterrent from getting over the top. Who would think, who would think. But getting over the top is easy. These are like professional mountain climbers.”
Even though the rich asshole thinks existing walls are “easy” to climb over, in the next breath, he said he only wants to build ones that are impossible to surmount.
“They can’t climb some of these walls — some of them they can and those are the walls we aren’t using,” the rich asshole said. “And even the walls they have now they are not holding up. And they’re small, but they’re really great compared to what they had before. Stopped about 95 percent.”
It’s hard to imagine what sort of wall would be impossible for professional climbers to surmount. Fox & Friends recently touted one proposal that excited hosts because it would feature “spikes” on top.
During his trip to the border, the rich asshole claimed “a part of San Diego needs a wall” in order to reestablish “law and order.” But his actions indicate he views it mainly as a bargaining chip.
Last month, the the rich asshole administration criticized a number of immigration reform proposals in Congress — nearly all of which included funding for the border wall and border security. The rich asshole administration seemed stuck on the idea of banning legal immigration as well — in the form of family-based migration and the diversity lottery — and all the bills put forward for a vote in the Senate failed.
But the mere fact that the rich asshole is asking American taxpayers to pay for any part of the wall represents a violation of one of his signature campaign promises, which was that Mexico would pay for it.
These days, the rich asshole seems confused about whether he believes Mexico will pay or not. During his campaign rally in Pennsylvania last Saturday, the rich asshole claimed that he canceled a meeting with Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto after Nieto asked him to “make a statement that Mexico will not pay for the wall.” But the rich asshole then immediately pivoted to attacking Democrats for resisting his efforts to force American taxpayer to pay for all of it.
“We will build a wall, we have to build a wall. We have to build a wall, and the Democrats are holding it back,” the rich asshole said. “You know, we had a deal — $25 billion. And by the way, if I get $25 billion for the wall, you’re going to have a lot of change.”
the rich asshole’s trip to inspect wall prototypes on Tuesday was his first to the country’s most populous state as president. He concluded his remarks by unloading on Gov. Jerry Brown (D), who recently responded to a lawsuit the rich asshole’s DOJ filed against the state’s immigration laws by saying, “The the rich asshole administration is full of liars.”
“Gov. Brown has done a very poor job,” the rich asshole said. “They have some of the highest taxes. The place is totally out of control. You have sanctuary cities where have you criminals living in the sanctuary cities.”
Jake Tapper highlights the shocking level of White House strife: ‘It’s not quite the Red Wedding but…’
CNN's Jake Tapper. Image via screengrab.
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CNN’s Jake Tapper on Tuesday noted that President some rich asshole’s scandalous firings over the past day bears a resemblance to one of the most memorable scenes in HBO’s Game of Thrones.
“It wasn’t quite the ‘Red Wedding,’” Tapper said, referencing multiple bloody beheadings at a royal marriage in the historical fantasy series, “but three top the rich asshole administration officials have been axed in the just the past 24 hours or so.”
Responding to the abrupt ouster of Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, the host reported that sources within the White House warned that “more significant administration departures are expected.”
Tapper noted that earlier in the day, the rich asshole “told reporters that Tillerson will be ‘much happier now,’ acknowledging that they never quite saw eye-to-eye — especially, one might imagine, on that whole ‘moron’ thing.”
Watch below, via CNN:
WATCH: CNN’s Brooke Baldwin utterly baffled over the rich asshole’s fear of Mexican mountain climbers
CNN's Brooke Baldwin, composite image.
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The former acting director of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement was at a loss to explain President some rich asshole’s claim that Mexican “professional mountain climbers” were infiltrating the country.
President the rich asshole made the comments while touring proto-types for his signature border wall, which he campaigned on being financed by Mexico.
“When you hear the president say that, the Mexicans are professional mountain climbers,” Baldwin began, before a long pause with an exaggerated eye-roll. “What?”
“I think what was more disturbing to me is that somehow a wall will stop drugs from coming in this country,” John Sandweg, the former acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement responded.
Sandweg concluded, “that money could be better spent elsewhere.”
Watch:
WATCH: Fox News’ Shep Smith blasts the rich asshole for failing British allies on Russian poisoning
Fox News host Shep Smith (Screenshot/YouTube)
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Though disagreement about the Iran nuclear deal was the apparent cause for Secretary of State Rex Tillerson’s firing, a disagreement about who caused a former Russian spy to fall ill in the streets of London from a poisoning also foreshadowed his abrupt ouster.
Responding to the ex-Russian spy poisoning scandal — which both Tillerson and the UK have blamed on Russia while President some rich asshole reserves judgement — Fox News host Shep Smith was incredulous.
“As soon as we get the facts straight, if we agree with them, we will condemn Russia or whoever it may be,” the rich asshole said during a press conference earlier in the day.
“Information like that, intelligence like that — it’s all one thing,” the Fox News host said. “That doesn’t make sense.”
The Associated Press’ Josh Lederman, who was on the plane with Tillerson when he returned to D.C. from Africa a day early in the hours prior to being publicly fired, said the rich asshole’s message was very different from the secretary of state’s.
Tillerson, the AP reporter continued, noted that the poison used on the former Kremlin spy “clearly came from Russia.”
“Tillerson seemed eager to actually go after Russia and described this as part of a broader pattern of increasing Russian aggression,” Lederman continued. “Yet at the White House we hear a lot more caution about drawing any conclusions about this incident.”
Smith noted that the president and the White House have paid lip service to “standing by” British Prime Minister Theresa May, who strongly condemned Russian President Vladimir Putin for the poisoning, but have not acted accordingly.
“What you say is one thing,” the host concluded, “but what they’re doing is really not that.”
Watch below, via Fox News:
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