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Donald Trump Tag

Posted by Mark Finkelstein on July 14, 2016 15 Comments
Joe Scarborough couldn't have been kinder as he slid the shiv into Mike Pence this morning. The opening segment of Morning Joe was devoted to the veepstakes, and Scarborough politely trashed Pence while making the case for Chris Christie. Scarborough went out of his way to praise Pence as an "able leader" and someone he likes. But he proceeded to say that Pence wasn't "ready for prime time." Joe broke out the deer-in-headlights metaphor and analogized Pence to previous running-mate "disasters." On the other hand, Joe argued that Christie is someone who has been on the national stage, capable of destroying Marco Rubio with one debate, and who is best equipped to prosecute the case against Hillary Clinton.

Posted by Mark Finkelstein on July 13, 2016 31 Comments
John Heilemann, co-host of Bloomberg TV's With All Due Respect, surely leans left, but is generally a savvy political analyst in my book. But Heilemann went haywire with his prediction today. He suggested that violence in the streets of Cleveland would hurt Donald Trump's chances of being elected president. Really? If there are, as Heilemann said,"images of chaos and disorder" in the streets, wouldn't Americans tend to turn to Trump, who has cast himself as "the law and order candidate?" And violent anti-Trump protesters, whether or not they expressly say so, would be in essence urging people to support Hillary, not Trump. Are Americans likely to reward Hillary for the violent actions of her, at the very least, tacit supporters? Just as Trump's numbers went up when unruly protests shut down his rally in Chicago during the primaries, violence at the RNC would likely benefit Trump, in this Insurrectionist's opinion.

Posted by Mark Finkelstein on July 06, 2016 16 Comments
Trump surrogates have been accused of debasing themselves by supporting The Donald. But have any sunk so low as poor Harold Ford, Jr., the Hillary surrogate who humiliated himself today on national TV? Appearing on With All Due Respect, former Dem congressman Ford, disagreed with Rudy Giuliani's statement made earlier in the day that Hillary Clinton could not get a security clearance given FBI Director Comey's conclusion that she acted "extremely carelessly" in the handling of classified material. When Ford claimed that if he were Attorney General, he would hire Hillary for a sensitive position involving national security, it seemed that host Mark Halperin could be heard, off camera, literally laughing in his face. Remind us never to hire Ford as Attorney General.

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on July 01, 2016 18 Comments
New polling data released from Public Policy Polling indicated 13% or respondents would rather the Earth suffer a collision with a giant meteor before voting for Hillary or Trump. Apparently, "Giant Meteor" is more popular than any independent candidate actually running for president. Giant Meteor was a particular favorite among independent voters, where it polled at 27% to Clinton's 43% and Trump's 38%.

Posted by Mark Finkelstein on June 29, 2016 26 Comments
In March of this year, Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto compared Donald Trump to Hitler and Mussolini. At the time, Peña Nieto said that Trump's rhetoric was "the way that Mussolini arrived and the way Hitler arrived." At a press conference today with President Obama and Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau, Peña Nieto, asked if he stood by those remarks, the Mexican president doubled down. He wordily replied that over decades, the world has made tremendous economic progress, but that "some" want to destroy what has been built. That is what Hitler and Mussolini did, said Peña Nieto. In concluding,  Peña Nieto said "that was my message" in March. Far from repudiating his attack on Trump, Peña Nieto repeated the Hitler/Mussolini comparison. Note also that although it is not in the transcript available to this Legal Insurrectionist, the MSNBC screen graphic has Peña Nieto saying, that some "demagogues" want to destroy what has been built over decades. Sounds like a clear allusion to Trump.

Posted by Mark Finkelstein on June 29, 2016 38 Comments
It's the same kind of elitism expressed by Brexit opponents who are casting Leave people as ignorant, parochial hicks . . . On today's Morning Joe, historian Jon Meacham disparaged Trump supporters as people who think with their "gut" instead of with their "head." After video rolled of Trump supporting waterboarding and saying we had to fight ISIS fire with fire, Meacham sniffed: "Democrats tend to seem to win the intellectual argument and Trump walks away with the emotional argument." Really? What was the "intellectual argument" won by Hillary, Obama and other Dems on the Russian reset, "leading from behind," the Syrian redline, the toppling of Gaddafi, the withdrawal of all troops from Iraq and the Iranian nuclear deal? How's this for an "intellectual argument"? Take your patronizing, condescending, elitism and shove it.

Posted by Mark Finkelstein on June 27, 2016 10 Comments
In my old liberal hometown of Ithaca, NY, back in the George W. era it seemed you couldn't drive a block without seeing a "Dissent Is Patriotic" bumper sticker. But the night Barack Obama was elected, one imagined all across town earnest souls in their driveways, scraping those stickers off. And so it is that Joe Biden, the Vice-President of the United States, traveled to Ireland to imply that Donald Trump is 'un-American." For good measure, when it comes to illegal immigration, Biden proclaimed a preference for "bridges" over "walls." Think about that.

Posted by New Neo on June 22, 2016 61 Comments
It's not that Trump has never criticized Hillary Clinton before. But a speech Trump gave today focused on those criticisms. I've been expecting that to happen, because realistically speaking it's his best and perhaps only chance---to ramp up the already-existent dislike and disapproval of Clinton (and the Clintons as a duo), and to make people vote for him as a reaction to her. To me, the most powerful part of the speech---and a theme Trump should hammer home, because this is the sort of thing that could change the minds of people who are not already predisposed to vote for him, women and the LGBT community---was this:
I only want to admit people who share our values and love our people. Hillary Clinton wants to bring in people who believe women should be enslaved and gays put to death.

Posted by Mary Chastain on June 22, 2016 19 Comments
Members inside GOP presumptive presidential candidate Donald Trump's campaign said that Paul Manafort has taken over as campaign manager:
Three people close to the campaign said some of Trump's staff viewed Lewandowski as opposing strategic changes and staff hires urged for the general election campaign by Paul Manafort, a strategist hired in April partly for his experience on presidential campaigns that Lewandowski lacked. The three, a campaign staffer and two people in regular contact with Trump advisers, spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized by Trump to discuss the firing. Manafort will take over as campaign manager, said Carl Paladino, co-chairman of the campaign's operations in New York state. "Paul's in charge," Sean Spicer, the Republican National Committee's communications director, said in an interview.
Trump brought in Manafort in late March as an advisor. People may not know Manafort, but those like me who have covered Ukraine since 2013 know the name all too well since he once advised ex-President Viktor Yanukovych. The man who advised the Moscow-backed president of Ukraine is now managing the campaign of the GOP candidate. While Manafort has consulted numerous unsavory individuals, Yanukovych remains fresh since his downfall has led to the worst tensions between the West and Russia since the Cold War.

Posted by Mark Finkelstein on June 22, 2016 43 Comments
Nicolle Wallace nailed it: "voters are so smart! And whenever we scratch our heads here in New York City or anywhere along the Acela corridor, you really just have to get out for a day or an hour and talk to people. They see everything." Wallace was reacting to clips from a focus group of working-class Pennsylvania voters aired on today's Morning Joe. Trump boosters and critics alike offered fresh, authentic, insightful takes on the candidate. As something of a political junkie, I found myself feeling envious of the clear and uncluttered way they cut to the heart of things. Have a look: if your faith in your fellow Americans has at times been flagging, these folks will restore it.

Posted by Mary Chastain on June 21, 2016 12 Comments
Mexican flags will greet GOP presumptive presidential candidate Donald Trump when he visits.....Scotland. Yes, the residents around Trump's Aberdeenshire golf course have raised the flag to "show solidarity" with the country since Trump wants to build a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border. The Donald ticked off these people when he built his golf course because he wanted to buy their lands. https://twitter.com/STVNews/status/745230658214170624 David Milne raised one of the Mexican flags:
Mr Milne said: "I am currently flying a Mexican flag along with my usual Saltire just for solidarity along with those worldwide who Trump has decried, insulted and threatened over the years, and will continue to decry, insult and threaten."

Posted by Mike LaChance on June 21, 2016 31 Comments
A 19 year old man was arrested at a Trump rally in Las Vegas over the weekend when he tried to grab a gun from a police officer. The man, now identified as Michael Sandford, is originally from the UK and has admitted to authorities that his intention was to kill Donald Trump. The Daily Mail reports:
Protester, 20, grabbed a policeman's firearm at Las Vegas rally and said he wanted to KILL Donald Trump, after driving from California and learning how to shoot on a gun range the day before A British man arrested at a Donald Trump rally in Las Vegas told authorities he tried to grab an officer's gun so he could kill the billionaire Republican presidential candidate. Anti-Trump protester Michael Steven Sandford, 19, who appeared in court on Monday, even went to a gun range on Friday so he could learn how to shoot.

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on June 20, 2016 11 Comments
According to the New York Times, Trump's campaign has fired their campaign manager, Corey Lewandowski. Maggie Haberman reports:
“The Donald J. Trump Campaign for President, which has set a historic record in the Republican primary having received almost 14 million votes, has today announced that Corey Lewandowski will no longer be working with the campaign,” the campaign spokeswoman, Hope Hicks, said in a statement. “The campaign is grateful to Corey for his hard work and dedication and we wish him the best in the future.”

Posted by Mark Finkelstein on June 20, 2016 84 Comments
As Joseph Heller famously wrote in Catch-22, “just because you're paranoid doesn't mean they aren't after you." On today's Morning Joe, Mark Halperin reported that GOP elites are indeed trying to "orchestrate" a "grassroots, organic" revolt against the presumptive nominee. An "orchestrated grassroots, organic" revolt? Oxymoron, anyone? Halperin went on to state "Trump is right: there are people plotting against him."

Posted by Mark Finkelstein on June 19, 2016 30 Comments
Hillary Clinton: the patriotic choice for president? That seems the implication of Chuck Todd's challenge to Paul Ryan in an interview aired on today's Meet The Press. When Ryan told Todd that as Speaker of the House, he was supporting Trump, Todd retorted: "you just made a case though for party over country." How absurd! As Ryan rightly went on to explain to Todd, "No I didn't! I know Hillary Clinton won't agree with anything we want to do. She'll put a bad judge on the Supreme Court. She won't agree with any of the conservative reforms we're trying to do." But in the mind of Chuck Todd and others in the MSM, supporting the Dem candidate isn't merely preferable, it's the only decent, American thing to do!

Posted by Mark Finkelstein on June 17, 2016 33 Comments
In 1964, Republican Barry Goldwater suffered a devastating landslide loss to LBJ. Aside from his home state of Arizona, Goldwater carried only five other states, all in the Deep South. Goldwater amassed only 52 electoral votes, to Johnson's 486. But even that paltry performance will look "extremely successful" compared to the thrashing that is in store for Donald Trump in November -- if you believe Joe Scarborough. On today's Morning Joe, after reviewing Trump's disapproval numbers with various demographics, Scarborough said "Barry Goldwater is going to look like an extremely successful candidate." Interestingly, Nick Confessore of the New York Times disagreed, arguing that the American electorate is so polarized that LBJ-like landslides are impossible today, and that the candidate of either party has a guaranteed base of 48%.

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on June 16, 2016 15 Comments
Donald Trump for World President! this odd, and very Japanese video explores. I don't even know how to go about explaining what follows, but I can tell you that Donald Trump's head is on a brontosaurus, in the trees, on dictatorial statues, and winking from a picture frame. Just...see for yourself:

Posted by Mary Chastain on June 14, 2016 26 Comments
Russian government hackers have attacked the Democrat National Committee (DNC) and stole their research on presumptive GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump. The attack went on for over a year. DNC officials and security experts said the hackers read emails and chat traffic. They believe they did not gain access to donor's private information, leading them to call it "traditional espionage" and not "criminal hackers." From The Washington Post:
“It’s the job of every foreign intelligence service to collect intelligence against their adversaries,” said Shawn Henry, president of CrowdStrike, the cyber firm called in to handle the DNC breach and a former head of the FBI’s cyber division. He noted that it is extremely difficult for a civilian organization to protect itself from a skilled and determined state such as Russia. “We’re perceived as an adversary of Russia,” he said. “Their job when they wake up every day is to gather intelligence against the policies, practices and strategies of the U.S. government. There are a variety of ways. [Hacking] is one of the more valuable because it gives you a treasure trove of information.”
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