Gregory Cheadle – a black man who Donald Trump referred to as “my African American” during a rally – has announced he is leaving the Republican party, citing the president’s “white superiority complex”.
Related: El Paso shooting suspect indicted on murder charges – live
Continue reading...President tweeted about the firing after reports emerged Bolton opposed Trump plan to hold peace talks with the Taliban at Camp David
Trump has taken the stage at the National Historically Black Colleges and Universities Week Conference and appears to (so far) be sticking to the teleprompter.
He has touted the importance of HBCUs and celebrated his education secretary, Betsy DeVos, as a champion for the institutions.
Trump is expected to soon start speaking at the National Historically Black Colleges and Universities Week Conference. The president was scheduled to take the podium at 2:15 p.m. E.T. but is apparently running behind.
Continue reading...Wilbur Ross said to have issued threats at Noaa after the agency contradicted the president’s false claim on Hurricane Dorian
Trump told his supporters at a rally in North Carolina that he might need an extra term as president, then mocked the idea that news headlines tomorrow will announce that he said he wants an extra term.
“We told you he’s a dictator, we told you,” Trump said, impersonating his critics.
Just as a Republican congressional candidate had started to speak, Trump paused the rally for several minutes and repeatedly said “thank you” to a doctor presumably assisting an audience member who was unwell.
Then the president quipped, “I guess Dan’s speech wasn’t so good,” referring to Dan Bishop, a Republican congressional candidate the president had flown to North Carolina to support.
Continue reading...Donald Trump’s shock announcement that he had canceled secret peace talks with the Taliban this weekend has prompted criticism and confusion, including from his own Republican party.
The Democratic presidential 2020 hopeful and Minnesota senator Amy Klobuchar ridiculed the president on Sunday morning, saying he approaches foreign policy like “some kind of gameshow”.
Continue reading...NYT reports top official has proposed ‘zeroing out’ the program, while another option is to cut admissions by half or more
That’s it from me this week. My West Coast colleague, Julia Carrie Wong, will be taking over the blog for the next few hours.
Here’s where the day stands so far:
Fresh from the department of oof: Democratic presidential candidate Tim Ryan said he thinks Joe Biden is “declining” and doesn’t have the “energy” to defeat Trump.
“I just think Biden is declining,” Ryan told a reporter, whom he apparently mistook for a potential donor. “I don’t think he has the energy. You see it almost daily. And I love the guy.”
Continue reading...US president says Jason Greenblatt will be leaving to pursue work in the private sector after three years in administration
A CNN analyst neatly summarized Joe Biden’s continued dominance in the polls despite a series of embarrassing gaffes that many commentators predicted would affect his front-runner status.
Average of all polls this year of Biden v. Trump? Biden by 8. Average of all August polls, after all the gaffes? Biden by 10. That's the same as it is in the RCP average. Clinton lead in the RCP average against Trump at this point? 2.4 points... (1/?)
Maybe, it will change. Heck, we're over a year out. But the difference between what the numbers are saying and conventional wisdom (at least in some quarters) is stunning.
Meanwhile, Trump is still refusing to acknowledge that he was wrong when he tweeted Sunday about the threat Hurricane Dorian posed to Alabama.
Just as I said, Alabama was originally projected to be hit. The Fake News denies it! pic.twitter.com/elJ7ROfm2p
I was with you all the way Alabama. The Fake News Media was not! https://t.co/gO5pwahaj9
Continue reading...HHS inspector general concluded children affected by Trump’s family separation policy exhibited more fear and post-traumatic stress
Bernie Sanders dismissed concerns that there was not enough room in the Democratic presidential primary for both him and Elizabeth Warren, given that the two progressive senators espouse similar ideals.
“Elizabeth is a friend of mine. She and I have known each other well over 20 years. She’s going to run her campaign and I will run my campaign,” Sanders told ABC’s “The View.”
"Elizabeth is a friend of mine. She and I have known each other well over 20 years. She's going to run her campaign and I will run my campaign," Bernie Sanders tells @TheView when asked if there's room in the Democratic Party for himself and Sen. Warren. https://t.co/QXHJ4vE89I pic.twitter.com/FBemYsKdPn
Imagined as a Venn diagram, there is common ground between Warren and Sanders voters but each has their own distinct base. A survey by the Pew Research Center this month found that about seven in 10 of Warren’s supporters are white, compared to about half of Sanders’ backers. Warren’s supporters are substantially more likely to have a college degree compared with supporters of [Joe] Biden and Sanders.
John Zogby, a pollster and author, said: ‘Because of progressive ideology there is some sort of overlap, but they are different. Warren picks up support among women that ordinarily Sanders would not get, including former Clinton supporters who regard her as the bearer of the torch to get a woman elected.’
Democratic presidential candidate Marianne Williamson sent (and deleted) a tweet implying that the path of Hurricane Dorian could be altered with “the power of the mind.”
Marianne Williamson has deleted this tweet pic.twitter.com/YdLRD7UfoZ
Prayers for the people of the Bahamas, Florida, Georgia and the Carolinas. May the peace of God be upon them and their hearts be comforted as they endure the storm.
Continue reading...Donald Trump was “crazy like a fox” when he floated the idea of buying Greenland because the move would secure vital strategic interests for the US, a leading presidential ally in the Senate insisted on Monday.
Related: Trump’s bid to buy Greenland shows that the ‘scramble for the Arctic’ is truly upon us
Continue reading...Joe Walsh, a talk radio host and former congressman, said on Sunday he would challenge Donald Trump for the 2020 Republican presidential nomination.
Related: Something rotten? Trump's state over Denmark at heart of a madcap week
Continue reading...Charles and David Koch spent millions to promote conservative candidates and causes, provoking anger – and devotion
Charles and David Koch long claimed to belong to a system of belief based in the freedom of the individual, unimpeded trade and lives lived free from the intrusion of tax, drafts, business regulations, welfare support and laws designed to curb free expression.
To that end, and in particular with the financing of the Tea Party revolution, the Kochs spent in excess of $100m to promote conservative candidates and causes. Their actions provoked dismay and anger among liberals and devotion among the conservatives and libertarians whom they funded.
Continue reading...The president is travelling to France for the G7 summit, claiming the economy is ‘phenomenal’ despite some worrying signs
A city council candidate in Michigan said she wants to keep her community white “as much as possible” at a public forum on Thursday.
The candidate, Jean Cramer, made the comment in response to a question about diversity in Marysville, which is 55 miles (88 kilometers) northeast of Detroit and more than 90% of its 9,700-person population is white.
Donald Trump, who tapped into the angst and anger in the rust belt in 2016, has failed to return jobs to Lordstown, Ohio, where a GM plant closed down last year.
The Guardian’s Adam Gabbatt visited the town where, he writes, the presence of the factory and its well-paid manufacturing jobs was particularly important:
Related: 'It's devastating'. End of GM in Ohio town as Trump fails to bring back midwest jobs
Continue reading...
I’m signing off for the day and handing over the reigns to my talented colleague, Julia Wong. Thanks for sticking with us through what has proved to be a slow but steady news days. Here’s a roundup of the biggest news of the day.
Connecticut senator Chris Murphy, a Democrat who became a leading champion of gun control in the wake of the Newtown shooting, has revived hope of action on background checks after Trump appeared to walk back his support.
I spoke with the White House today. They have not walked away from improving background checks. I am skeptical we can reach consensus but I’m willing to stay at the table over next few weeks. Maybe I’m a fool for trying but stakes are too high.
Continue reading...New rule would effectively replace the Flores agreement, which sets 20-day limit for families held in custody
Eighteen (!) of the 23 (!!) prominent Democratic candidates for president are speaking at the Iowa Federation Labor Convention today.
The presidential hopefuls will address union members in Altoona, beginning at 10am ET and running, presumably, for a long time.
Some reaction to the Trump administration rule on indefinitely detaining immigrant families:
The government should NOT be jailing kids, and certainly shouldn’t be seeking to put more kids in jail for longer.
This is yet another cruel attack on children, who this administration has targeted again and again with its anti-immigrant policies.
Congress must not fund this. https://t.co/bp3uDIJder
Even a short period of detention— let alone prolonged detention—has devastating, often lifelong effects on children. https://t.co/3823D0XnhO
It's also incredibly costly. DHS declined to run the numbers in the proposed rule, so we did so for them. Each year this will cost at least $200 MILLION, and as much as over $1 BILLION.
All to hurt kids and families.https://t.co/MjsidJxQx0
That’s all our live coverage for today, thanks for following along. Some key links and developments from the day:
The president says he is dining tonight with Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO:
Having dinner tonight with Tim Cook of Apple. They will be spending vast sums of money in the U.S. Great!
President Donald Trump called Apple CEO Tim Cook "Tim Apple" during a meeting at the White House on Wednesday pic.twitter.com/B6z3tzeBeO
Continue reading...
Several more Democratic presidential candidates have issues statements condemning Israel’s decision to block Omar and Tlaib’s planned trip.
I don't believe any nation should deny entry to elected Members of Congress, period. It’s an affront to the United States. Open and engaged foreign relations are critical to advancing U.S. interests. Trump is playing politics as he weakens our global leadership. https://t.co/UnMt9Tsd7Q
It’s appalling that President Trump continues to attack two sitting Congresswomen and encouraged another country to deny U.S. officials entry. Trump's behavior is unacceptable, dangerous, and un-American. Israel's decision should be reversed immediately. https://t.co/jHd0VYVJ1u
Nancy Pelosi has put out a statement saying she is “deeply saddened” by Israel’s decision to block Omar and Tlaib’s trip.
“As one who loves Israel, I am deeply saddened by the news that Israel has decided to prevent Members of Congress from entering the country,” the House speaker said.
Continue reading...Critics say the effort to dump King glosses over Trump’s conduct and fails to tackle a problem more pervasive than the GOP admits
Republican leaders piled on quickly following the latest outrageous remarks by Steve King, the longtime Iowa congressman and perceived bigot whom the party has been trying, unsuccessfully, to shake off its pant leg for months.
On Wednesday, King offered a defense of sorts of rape and incest, questioning whether, without the historical persistence of those two crimes, “would there be any population of the world left?”
Continue reading...
Donald Trump is linking US-China trade talks with the Hong Kong protests on Twitter, suggesting that if the China government wants to work out a deal it has to “humanely” work with the protestors.
Whereas investors and foreign leaders have blamed uncertainty around trade negotiations between the US and China is triggering economic volatility around the world, Trump has insisted that negotiations between himself and China’s Xi Jinping are going well and that Jerome Powell, the chairman of the Fed chairman that Trump nominated in 2017, is to blame.
I know President Xi of China very well. He is a great leader who very much has the respect of his people. He is also a good man in a “tough business.” I have ZERO doubt that if President Xi wants to quickly and humanely solve the Hong Kong problem, he can do it. Personal meeting?
..deferral to December. It actually helps China more than us, but will be reciprocated. Millions of jobs are being lost in China to other non-Tariffed countries. Thousands of companies are leaving. Of course China wants to make a deal. Let them work humanely with Hong Kong first!
Continue reading...Republican congressman Steve King has tried to defend a proposal for absolutist abortion restrictions on Wednesday by saying that without rape and incest the human race might long since have disappeared.
Related: Fury as Trump ally says poem on Statue of Liberty refers to 'people from Europe'
Continue reading...
Federal agents descended upon the private island of accused sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein as part of an ongoing investigation into the late financier, the FBI announced Monday.
Epstein died of an apparent suicide on Saturday while in federal custody at New York’s Metropolitan Correctional Center after being arrested on federal sex trafficking charges last month.
The New York Police Department is investigating attacks on Hasidic Jews in Brooklyn early Monday morning as a hate crime.
The hate crimes unit and local precinct are investigating the assaults, which were carried out against at least three people between the ages of 56 and 71.
Continue reading...Ohio state representative’s screed against cannabis and liberal ‘snowflakes’ goes too far even for her own party
A Republican state representative in Ohio who blamed “homosexual marriage” and “recreational marijuana” – along with many of Donald Trump’s favourite targets – for gun massacres is facing calls from her own party to resign.
In a Facebook post, Candice Keller, who represents a conservative district near Dayton, where nine people were killed early on Sunday, mused about the causes of mass shootings including: family breakdown and same sex marriage, open borders, sportsmen who disrespect the flag and national anthem, the Democratic-controlled House of Representatives, a godless culture, and liberal “snowflakes”.
Continue reading...