Sanders helped to roll back women’s rights while allowing the Trump administration to boast about ‘empowering women’
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Continue reading...Category Archives: US Politics
The US must stand with the people of Hong Kong
But for policies to be effective we must keep in mind how US actions affect the debate within China, where there is vigorous struggle over the country’s future
As the United States engages in an increasingly heated debate over policy towards China – the fight against Huawei, the trade war, talk of a new cold war – the protests in Hong Kong serve as a reminder that there are people in China who are concerned about the same things we are – basic rights, jobs, families.
In Hong Kong this week hundreds of thousands of people flooded the streets to protest a proposed law that would enable the government to extradite Hong Kong citizens to the mainland – legislation perceived as legal cover for the Chinese Communist party (CCP) to jail those in Hong Kong advocating for their democratic rights.
Continue reading...Democratic candidates debate: Sanders, Harris and Biden will spar in two-night event
NBC announces pairings for debates later this month, the first of the 2020 presidential campaign season
The first 2020 presidential debate will be divided into two nights later this month, with senators Elizabeth Warren and Cory Booker going up against the former congressman Beto O’Rourke in the first session. The former vice-president, Joe Biden, will face off with South Bend’s mayor, Pete Buttigieg, and senators Kamala Harris and Bernie Sanders on the second evening.
NBC announced the lineup on Friday for its two-night debate, which will begin 26 June in Miami, and is set to be the first direct showdown between the Democrats vying to take on Donald Trump.
Continue reading...Biden, Sanders and Harris to face off as Democratic debate lineups set – live
Trio drawn together for split NBC debate on 26-27 June, while Cory Booker, Elizabeth Warren and Beto O’Rourke to meet in other group
The Wall Street Journal has an interesting read about how after launching an atypical presidential election bid, Donald Trump’s 2020 campaign team is taking a more traditional path:
The campaign aims to build a political infrastructure that can operate regardless of what Mr. Trump says on stage or on social media. Mr. Trump’s Twitter feed is spoken of as his own brand, separate from the campaign.
Sarah Huckabee Sanders has only a few weeks left of her tenure as White House press secretary and the rumor mill is churning with possible replacements.
Four possible replacements, according to Reuters, are: Stephanie Grisham, Melania Trump’s communications director; Heather Nauert, the former State Department spokeswoman; Tony Sayegh, the outgoing Treasury department spokesman and Hogan Gidley, deputy White House secretary.
Once, after watching Gidley on his screen in the residence, the President walked over to the communications office to tell the staff he thought they were handling the shutdown well.
In the days afterward, Trump confused several officials when he directed them to, “Get me Tidley.”
Continue reading...‘Squash Amash’: how a Republican congressman drew the ire of his party
Justin Amash is the lone GOP congressman to call for Trump’s impeachment, and his career – at least in his party – is in question
The hundreds of Republicans who gathered for the “squash Amash” rally outside the Michigan congressman Justin Amash’s downtown Grand Rapids office on Friday left nothing in doubt as they spoke about the man they feel betrayed their party by calling for Donald Trump to be impeached.
“Pathetic”, “lightweight loser”, “a joke” and the phrase uttered with perhaps the most derision: Rino, or “Republican In Name Only”.
Continue reading...Golden escalator ride: the surreal day Trump kicked off his bid for president
On 16 June 2015, the then mogul announced his White House run. Four years on, reporters who covered that Trump Tower speech recall the lies and bombast that now define his presidency
Given everything that has happened in the past four years, it’s not a huge surprise to learn that the first words of Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign were a lie.
Four years ago, on 16 June 2015, after Trump had slowly descended a golden escalator to the basement of his eponymous New York tower, he clambered on to a makeshift stage and began his announcement speech.
Continue reading...Trump hails the departing Sarah Sanders: ‘A very fine woman’ – video
The White House press secretary, Sarah Sanders, whose tenure was marked by a breakdown in regular press briefings and questions about the administration's credibility, as well as her own, will leave her post at the end of the month, Donald Trump has announced. Sanders is one of the US president's closest and most trusted White House aides and one of the few remaining staff who worked on his campaign
Continue reading...Biden in 2006 video: ‘I do not view abortion as a choice and a right’
CNN unearths clip highlighting Democratic presidential candidate’s inconsistent record on the issue
A 2006 video of Joe Biden unearthed by CNN on Thursday shows the then senator saying he does not see abortion as “a choice and a right”.
“I do not view abortion as a choice and a right,” the 2020 Democratic presidential candidate said in a videotaped interview with Texas Monthly. “I think it’s always a tragedy. I think it should be rare and safe,” he added. “I think we should be focusing on how to limit the number of abortions.”
Continue reading...Sarah Sanders’ tenure as press secretary ended long before her exit
Analysis: the departing White House spokeswoman, who has not held a press briefing in months, spun a web of deceit in her role
“You’re fired!”
Donald Trump was joking when he barked these words at his press secretary, Sarah Sanders, during a rally in Green Bay, Wisconsin, in April – on a night when both were snubbing the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner.
Continue reading...Kim Kardashian West returns to White House to help ex-prisoners get jobs
The reality star announced a ride-sharing program to help former prisoners get transportation to job interviews and work
The reality star and activist Kim Kardashian West took a star turn at the White House on Thursday to promote efforts to help those leaving prison get jobs and stay on track.
“Everyone wants the community to be safe, and the more opportunity we have and that they have and the support that we help give them, the safer everyone will be,” Kardashian West told an East Room crowd.
Continue reading...Sarah Sanders exits after two fraught years as Trump hails ‘a very fine woman’
- Sanders, who made false claims on Trump’s behalf, departs
- Press secretary says ‘I love the president’ in emotional farewell
Sarah Sanders, the White House press secretary, has become the latest official to leave Donald Trump’s volatile administration, but in an emotional farewell she insisted: “I love the president.”
Related: Sarah Sanders to stand down as Trump's press secretary – live
Continue reading...Kellyanne Conway violated US law and should be fired, federal watchdog says
White House spokesman says the agency’s report that the counselor had violated the Hatch Act was ‘deeply flawed’
A US federal watchdog is recommending that Donald Trump fire one of his most ardent and high-profile defenders, White House counselor Kellyanne Conway, for repeatedly violating a law that limits political activity by government workers.
Conway should be removed from federal office, the US Office of Special Counsel (OSC) announced on Thursday.
Continue reading...House holds hearing on ‘deepfakes’ following doctored Pelosi video – live updates
House intelligence committee hearing on national security challenges may also address anticipated Russian interference in the 2020 election
Donald Trump appears to have inadvertently misspelled the Prince of Wales in a rebuttal to his statement to ABC that he would accept information on opponents from foreign governments.
.@realDonaldTrump ‘s knowledge of porpoises (U.K.) is second to none https://t.co/hd6RbAiX8V
•The House intelligence committee is holding a hearing on ‘National Security Challenges of Artificial Intelligence, Manipulated Media and Deepfakes’ at 9am. It comes after a tampered video of Nancy Pelosi – a deepfake – was widely shared in May. Facebook refused to delete the video, which was manipulated to question Pelosi’s competence. They may also address anticipated Russian interference in the 2020 election.
•In other political skullduggery news, Donald Trump has said he would accept incriminating information from Russia or other adversaries on his 2020 election opponent. “It’s not an interference,” Trump told ABC. “They have information — I think I’d take it.” The president said he would call the FBI if approached only “if I thought there was something wrong.”
Continue reading...Trump asserts executive privilege over 2020 census documents sought by Democrats – live
Documents relate to decision to insert a citizenship question, which the census bureau itself acknowledges will reduce participation
Sticking with the 2020 race, we have a report that former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz is taking time off from exploring a presidential run.
Hallie Golden has a quick story for us:
Former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz will be taking the summer off from exploring his potential 2020 bid for the US presidency. In a statement released Wednesday, Schultz said he experienced “acute back pain” while he was traveling in Arizona as part of his campaign work, and ultimately had to undergo three back surgeries. He said he has decided to spend the summer focused on rest and rehabilitation.
“I take this detour from the road reluctantly,” Schultz said. “My concern for our country’s future remains, as does my belief that the American people deserve so much more from our elected officials.”
In January, the billionaire announced he would explore a potential run for the presidency as an independent candidate. The news sparked a backlash from leading Democrats worried such a move could help President Donald Trump win his reelection bid in 2020.
Schultz has spent months traveling to 15 states, talking with thousands of local residents as part of his campaign. In January, he visited his home town of Seattle to promote his new book and was greeted by dozens of protestors. He said he will be back in touch after Labor Day.
We’ll return to the Democratic 2020 campaign for a short while and to my colleague Adam Gabbatt who spent the morning with Texas Democrat Beto O’Rourke here in New York.
O’Rourke, whose campaign has dropped off in recent weeks according to some polls was her to take part in a morning run with LGBTQ activists.
O’Rourke turned up right on time, ready for action. The 47-year-old was decked out in full running garb for the two-mile jog, mid-thigh shorts displaying willowy legs. He was wearing an Iowa Cubs baseball hat, which seemed on message given the importance of the Hawkeye State in the Democratic primaries.
“Everybody ready to run?” O’Rourke asked the roughly 30 people who had assembled on a popular running path close to the Hudson River. There was a muted response. “Two miles is all we’re doing,” he added, which served to lift spirits a little.
Continue reading...Trump lashes out at polls that show 2020 re-election bid in trouble
President revived attacks on the media and denied a report his campaign’s polling found him in a weak position across 17 states
Donald Trump on Wednesday lashed out at new polling results showing the president in deep trouble as he mounts his 2020 re-election bid.
A day after a survey found at least six Democratic presidential candidates would defeat Trump in a head-to-head election matchup, the president revived his attacks on the media while dismissing the numbers as, in his view, “fake polling”.
Continue reading...Donald Trump teases ‘secret’ Mexico agreement – video
The US president, Donald Trump, gave reporters a glimpse of what he said was a deal with Mexico on Tuesday, but offered few details on what was in the document. Trump was speaking to reporters before departing for Iowa when he took a piece of paper from his jacket pocket, held it up and said it was the deal with Mexico. He said it was 'a very good agreement' for both countries, but said he would let Mexico announce it
Continue reading...Joe Biden in Iowa: Trump an ‘existential threat’ to America – live
Biden and Trump to hold duelling rallies in key battleground state, while big tech under scrutiny at congressional hearing in Washington
Well, Donald Trump is tweeting again ... (not that he ever stopped).
The president took to his favorite social media platform on Tuesday to refer to the Russia investigation as “the Greatest Witch Hunt of all time” and once again suggest, falsely, that he had been exonerated by special counsel Robert Mueller’s report.
“Mueller has spoken. He found No Collusion between the Trump Campaign and the Russians. The bottom line is what the Democrat House is doing is trying to destroy the Trump Presidency (which has been a tremendous success), and I can assure you that we’re done with the Mueller......
....investigation in the Senate. They can talk to John Dean until the cows come home, we’re not doing anything in the Senate regarding the Mueller Report. We are going to harden our Infrastructure against 2020!” @LindseyGrahamSC
Vice president Mike Pence has defended the Trump administration’s move to bar US embassies from flying the rainbow pride flag during LBGTQ pride month as “the right decision”.
“We’re proud to be able to serve every American,” Pence said in an interview with NBC News late Monday. “But when it comes to the American flagpole, and American embassies, and capitals around the world, one American flag flies.”
At least four US embassies – in Israel, Germany, Brazil and Latvia – were denied permission to fly the pride flag. Richard Grenell, the US ambassador to Germany, is spearheading an American campaign to decriminalize homosexuality around the world and said he would be “proud” to fly the rainbow flag.
But Mike Pompeo, the US secretary of state, believes that embassy flagpoles should be reserved for the American flag only, according to a spokeswoman.
Continue reading...Mueller report shows ‘evidence of collusion’, says Nixon lawyer John Dean – live
- Former White House counsel Dean testifies to judiciary panel
- Nadler: DoJ has ‘agreed to begin complying with our subpoena’
- Sign up to the US briefing and get a new perspective
Richard Nixon’s former White House counsel John Dean testified before the House judiciary committee today, bringing the fire by stating that “Robert Mueller has provided this committee with a road map” to impeachment.
It appears Dean’s superfans were also there.
John Dean superfans asking him to sign Watergate paraphernalia is a very 2019 thing pic.twitter.com/3ZUDars4Lf
Here’s something fun: Lissandra Villa, a Time magazine reporter, has the walk-out song playlist for the 2020 candidates at the Iowa Democrats Hall of Fame campaign event yesterday.
It’s a good list. We’ve got Dolly Parton for Elizabeth Warren, Lizzo for Kirsten Gillibrand, Marvin Gaye for Tulsi Gabbard, the Clash for Beto O’Rourke, John Lennon for Bernie Sanders, Mary J. Blige for Kamala Harris.
Here is the walk-out song playlist for the candidates at the Iowa Democrats Hall of Fame campaign yesterday. The songs were chosen by the campaigns. pic.twitter.com/Aphykxt322
Continue reading...Company part-owned by Jared Kushner got $90m from unknown offshore investors since 2017
Overseas investment flowed to Cadre while Trump’s son-in-law works as US envoy, raising conflict of interest questions
A real estate company part-owned by Jared Kushner has received $90m in foreign funding from an opaque offshore vehicle since he entered the White House as a senior adviser to his father-in-law Donald Trump.
Investment has flowed from overseas to the company, Cadre, while Kushner works as an international envoy for the US, according to corporate filings and interviews. The money came through a vehicle run by Goldman Sachs in the Cayman Islands, a tax haven that guarantees corporate secrecy.
Continue reading...‘All I have done, no credit!’ Enraged Trump defends US-Mexico migrant deal
President tweets ire at New York Times and opponents as agreement to avoid tariffs comes under scrutiny
The Trump administration was forced to defend its immigration agreement with Mexico on Sunday, amid reports that key provisions in the deal, forged under the threat of trade tariffs, were mostly old commitments agreed to months ago.
Related: Mexican president leads 'celebration' rally after US tariffs dropped
Continue reading...