Author: Stop the Donald Trump

Teen Gropped and Pepper Sprayed at Trump Rally

Police are looking for a man who pepper-sprayed a 15-year-old girl as opponents and supporters of Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump clashed outside a Wisconsin rally.

The altercation is the latest in a series of confrontations that have marred recent Trump events.

Investigators have photos taken by participants at Tuesday’s demonstration outside of the Holiday Inn Express that could help to identify the man with the pepper spray, Janesville Police Sgt. Aaron Ellis said Wednesday.

Ellis said the girl told police she punched a man who groped her, and another man then pepper-sprayed her. The girl and a 19-year-old woman standing next to her were treated and released from a hospital, police said.

Ellis said the girl could face charges for punching the man, identified by the Wisconsin State Journal as Dan Crandall, of Milton.

“I didn’t touch her,” Crandall, a Trump supporter, told the newspaper. “She started to challenge why I was at the Trump rally since I was a grown man. I told her I was at the Trump rally because I was a grown man and I cared about my country.”

Crandall said someone standing behind him used the pepper spray. That person could be charged with illegal discharge of pepper spray since he was not using it in self-defense, Ellis said.

“It doesn’t appear that (the man who used the pepper-spray) was directly involved,” Ellis said. Police released a photo of the man suspected of using pepper spray on the girl, which shows him wearing a red hat with the Trump campaign slogan “Make America Great Again.”

Reality

Donald Trump has declared in the past he would help to defend supporters who respond to protesters with violence in court. It is no surprise that violence is a common occurrence at Trump events.

Protests at Trump rallies do not occur in a vacuum. Since he first announced his candidacy, Trump continues to make racist, sexist, and authoritarian remarks that marginalizes anyone who do not meet his view of white and conservative enough. A full list of protests can be found here.

Video posted on social media shows the girl arguing with someone in the crowd before punching or pushing a person who was not shown on camera. The teen was then pepper-sprayed. As the young woman was blinded by the spray, Trump supporters cheered, and one man wearing Trump’s signature “Make America Great Again” shouted at her, “You goddamn communist nigger-lover, get out of here.”

Media

Links

http://news.yahoo.com/teen-pepper-sprayed-trump-protesters-supporters-clash-120727698–election.html

https://twitter.com/MollyBeck/status/714930032444047361

Trump Claims Banning Muslims Makes Them More Likely to Fight ISIS

Donald Trump discusses arresting women who get an abortion.

Donald Trump said that his proposed ban on Muslims entering the country may have the effect of motivating them to fight ISIS in order to attempt to return to the U.S. at some point.

Trump made the statement during an MSNBC town hall, when the GOP presidential front-runner was asked by Chris Matthews about the temporary ban he suggested in December.

Asked if Muslims would be more ill-disposed to fighting ISIS if a ban was imposed.

“I don’t know, maybe they’ll be more disposed to fight ISIS,” Trump said. “Maybe they’ll say, ‘We want to come back into America, we’ve got to solve this problem.'”

Here is the entire exchange:

 MATTHEWS: But there’s 1.6 billion Muslims in the world. And they’re all getting the message from Donald Trump, who’s leading the fight for the Republican nomination for president, saying, “Stay out of my country.”

How does that encourage them to fight ISIS?

TRUMP: Chris (inaudible).

MATTHEWS: How does that encourage them to fight the bad guys?

TRUMP: OK, let me explain (inaudible). They have a problem too. They have a big problem.

MATTHEWS: But if we say “Go away…”

TRUMP: I have been told by more (inaudible) who are saying, “What are you doing is a great thing, not a bad thing.” The two people in San Bernardino…

MATTHEWS: Are any Muslims telling you that?

TRUMP: I have actually — believe it or not, I have a lot of friends that are Muslim and they call me.

MATTHEWS: Right.

TRUMP: In most cases, they’re very rich Muslims, OK?

(LAUGHTER)

MATTHEWS: But do they get in the country?

TRUMP: But they do call me. They’ll come in.

MATTHEWS: How do you let them in?

TRUMP: They’ll come in. And you’ll have exceptions.

MATTHEWS: But you…

TRUMP: Wait, wait, wait. Look, Chris, Chris, with the San Bernardino situation…

MATTHEWS: Right.

TRUMP: … many people saw that apartment with bombs all over the apartment…

MATTHEWS: Yeah, I agree with that.

TRUMP: … bombs on table.

MATTHEWS: You see something, say something.

TRUMP: Not one person…

MATTHEWS: I know.

TRUMP: … with all the people that said — they said it’s racial profiling. That’s why they didn’t call. You know why they said that? Because some lawyer said, “You know, you saw this, you better come up with a good excuse.” They said it’s racial profiling. A lot of people saw what was going on in that apartment. Not one Muslim, OK?

MATTHEWS: I’m with you on this. Of course I’m with you. But that’s not the question.

TRUMP: OK. Why didn’t they report ’em?

MATTHEWS: Look, look, you’re saying ban…

TRUMP: In other words, why — but Chris, why don’t they report ’em?

MATTHEWS: OK. You say ban them from entering the country. They get the message. Everyone in the world — over 1.6 — in Indonesia, Pakistan, everywhere. In Albania. Anywhere there’s Muslims, you know, they know you don’t want them. So they get the message. They’re a little more ill-disposed to fight ISIS, a little bit more after that once they say, “The Americans don’t even like us,” don’t you think?

TRUMP: I don’t know, maybe they’ll be more disposed to fight ISIS. Maybe they’ll say, “We want to come back into America, we’ve got to solve this problem.”

MATTHEWS: OK.

TRUMP: I’m serious about that. Maybe they’ll be…

Reality

Trump’s flip-flop on banning all Muslims is a proposal to create a 2-class system, those who are rich enough to afford to get past his ban and the rest who would be forced into military service to fight ISIS. This is interesting to note to the Trump supporters who believe that he would help out the common man when it is very clear from remarks like these that his views favor the wealthy.

We will say this again, Trump’s call to ban Muslims from entering the United States has been widely derided as discriminatory, hateful unworkable, and illegal. Many legal experts have said it’s almost certainly unconstitutional.

I think Republican House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Ed Royce, whose district includes parts of San Bernardino County, which suffered a deadly terrorist attack in December, said it best later in the day:

I think the thought we could have a religious test [for entrants] would be unconstitutional.
[But] we need to address the problem in terms of foreign fighters who might come back in the United States,” the congressman said in a “Squawk Box” interview. “We need to vet people who come in.”

Media

Links

http://abcnews.go.com/US/trump-muslims-fight-isis-banned-us/story?id=38042421

 

Donald Trump: Sure, I Might Use Nuclear Weapons In Europe.

Donald Trump has refused to rule out dropping a nuclear bomb on Europe, saying he is not willing to “take any cards off the table”.

In an MSNBC interview which has already made headline for Mr Trump’s comments on punishing women for having abortions, the presidential candidate said if the US wasn’t willing to use its nuclear weapons, “why are we making them?”

Mr Trump did say he “would be the last one to use the nuclear weapons” and added his now-familiar line that he was “against Iraq” – which is not strictly the case.

“I would be very, very slow to pull that trigger,” Mr Trump said. “[But] if someone hits us with a nuke, you wouldn’t fight back with a nuke?”

Here’s the exchange with Chris Matthews in full:

Donald Trump: “First of all, you don’t want to say take everything off the table because you would be a bad negotiator if you do that.

 

Chris Matthews: “Just nuclear?”

 

DT: “Look, nuclear should be off the table, but would there be a time that it could be used? Possibly.”

 

CM: “The problem is when you say that, the whole world heard that. David Cameron heard that in Britain, the Japanese where we bombed them in ’45 heard it. They are hearing a guy running for President of the United States talking about maybe using nuclear weapons. Nobody wants to hear that about an American president.”

 

DT: “Then why are we are making them? Why do we make them?”
Which countries have nuclear weapons?

 

CM: “Because of the old mutually assured destruction, which Reagan hated and tried to get rid of.”

 

DT: “I was against Iraq, I would be the last one to use the nuclear weapons because that’s sort of like the end of the ball game.”

 

CM: “Can you tell the Middle East we’re not using nuclear weapons?”

 

DT: “I would never say that. I would never take any of my cards off the table.”

 

CM: “How about Europe? We won’t use in Europe?”

 

DT: “I’m not going to take it off the table for anybody.”

 

CM: “You’re going to use it in Europe?”

 

DT: “No! I don’t think so. But…”

 

CM: “Just say it, say ‘I’m not going to use a nuclear weapon in Europe’.”

 

DT: “I am not taking cards off the table. I’m not going to use nukes – but I’m not taking any cards off the table.”

 

CM: “The trouble is, the sane people hear you, and the insane people are not affected by your threats. The real fanatics say good, keep it up.”

 

DT: “I think they are more affected than you think.”

Earlier this week, Mr Trump struggled with another question on the nuclear issue when he was asked by right-wing radio host Hugh Hewitt which of the US’s “triad” of weapons – by land, by sea or by air – was in most urgent need of an upgrade.

The candidate appeared not to understand the question, even when it was repeated, eventually responding: “I think – I think, for me, nuclear is just the power, the devastation is very important to me.”

David Cameron has previously said he would be willing to use nuclear bombs if an attack was “justified”, describing them as “the ultimate insurance policy”.

He was speaking in October last year, after opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn said he could conceive of no circumstances in which he would order the use of a nuclear weapon.

(h/t Independent.uk)

Reality

Let’s just let this sink in for a moment. A leading candidate for the Presidency of the United States of America said that using a nuclear weapon in Europe is not off the table. That immediately put our allies in Europe on edge.

Media

 

Trump Makes His Third Position on Abortion This Week

Days after sparking a firestorm of criticism for his comments on abortion, Donald Trump says laws regarding abortions should remain as they are.

“At this moment the laws are set. And I think we have to leave it that way,” Trump told CBS’ “Face the Nation” host John Dickerson in an interview that will air Sunday.

“The laws are set now on abortion and that’s the way they’re going to remain until they’re changed,” Trump said at another point in the interview.

Hours after the excerpt of the new interview was released, Trump campaign spokesperson Hope Hicks denied that Trump’s comments amounted to a reversal.

“Mr. Trump gave an accurate account of the law as it is today and made clear it must stay that way now —until he is President,” Hicks said. “Then he will change the law through his judicial appointments and allow the states to protect the unborn. There is nothing new or different here.”

Reality

Actually this is the third position Donald Trump has taken this week. Usually politicians space out their flip-flops to give them a higher probably for a successful denial.

Links

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2016-election/amp/trump-ma kes-new-comments-abortion-laws-are-set-n549526?client=safari#

 

Trump Campaign Manager Charged With Battery for Incident With Reporter

Corey Lewandowski grabs Michelle Fields

Donald Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski turned himself in to Florida police Tuesday after being charged with misdemeanor battery for an incident with a reporter at a campaign event earlier this month, according to the Jupiter Police Department.

Michelle Fields, a former reporter for Breitbart, filed charges alleging that Lewandowski pulled her arm while she attempted to ask Trump a question at an event at Trump National Golf Club in Jupiter, Florida on March 8.

Lewandowski was later released and is scheduled to appear in court on May 4, according to a senior law enforcement official. Under Florida law, a first offense could carry a penalty of up to one year in prison or a fine of $1,000.

“Mr. Lewandowski is absolutely innocent of this charge,” the Trump campaign said in a statement. “He will enter a plea of not guilty and looks forward to his day in court. He is completely confident that he will be exonerated.”

Reality

Trump, known for denying even the most in-your-face facts, took to Twitter to defend Lewandowski and did not disappoint calling him a “decent man” and saying the video surveillance shows “nothing there.”

However reality once again contradicts Donald Trump. The Juniper Florida Police released a video obtained from overhead footage by a security camera clearly showing Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski grabbing reporter Michelle Fields where her bruises appeared.

But don’t worry, Trump will probably be paying Lewandowski’s legal fees.

Media

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AT3-K9pCvJI

Links

http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2016-election/trump-campaign-manager-charged-assaulting-reporter-n547306

Anderson Cooper Tells Trump He’s Acting Like “a 5-Year-Old”

Anderson Cooper tells Trump he's acting like a 5 year old.

CNN anchor Anderson Cooper sparred with Donald Trump at a Tuesday town hall over an unflattering image he retweeted of Heidi Cruz last week.

Cooper told Trump he had the argument of a 5-year-old when the Republican presidential candidate tried to defend his reposting the image that compared Ted Cruz’s wife to Melania Trump.

When asked about the tweet, Trump was comically disingenuous:

“I thought it was a nice picture of Heidi. I thought it was fine,” Trump said.

“C’mon,” Cooper responded.

“I thought it was fine. She’s a pretty woman,” Trump fired back.

“You’re running for president of the United States,” Cooper said.

“I didn’t start it. I didn’t start it,” Trump responded.

“Sir, with all due respect, that’s the argument of a 5-year-old,” Cooper said.

“You would say that. But he started it! The problem with our country — that thinking, that’s the problem with the country. He sent out a picture” — Cruz did not, as Cooper noted, it was an anti-Trump group — “it was Romney people, they were very embarrassed he did so poorly four years ago, he choked like a dog.”

Reality

Anderson Cooper is correct.

Media

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=suKJhNUiAC0

h/t The Hill

Trump Fails at Foreign Policy With The New York Times

It’s a tradition for The New York Times to have a 1-on-1 interview with a presidential candidate to dig deep into their foreign policy positions so the public can come away with a better understanding. This usually happens much later in the race but this year however is not usual as the front-runner for the Republican candidacy for the President of the United States, Donald J. Trump, has little-to-none public foreign policy positions. So the Times reached out to Trump to get some info out of him and what we got was a rambling mess and some really bad ideas.

Some highlights of the conversation include:

  • Trump would use nuclear weapons in the fight against ISIS.
  • Trump had no idea who the head of China is.
  • He is willing to pull troops from Japan and South Korea.
  • He believes it is okay for Japan and South Korea to develop their own nuclear weapons.
  • He is totally cool with Saudi Arabia collapsing if they don’t join the fight with ISIS.

Reality

Stop The Donald Trump is reading the transcript of the conversation and working on an analysis, which will be coming soon.

If you don’t have an opportunity to read the transcript allow us to sum up the conversation: Trump is asked a direct question, he rambles about nothing for 200 words, then The Times reporter asks if he can please answer the question, repeat.

 

Trump got many details just plain wrong. For example:

Trump had no idea who the head of China is.

That would be President Xi Jinping

 

Some of the ideas that Trump put forward are just outright stupid and dangerous. For example:

He is willing to pull troops from Japan and South Korea.

And then what? China and North Korea become stronger which would destabilize Asia.

He believes it is okay for Japan and South Korea to develop their own nuclear weapons.

And then what? Now we have an arms race in Asia, exactly what we’ve been trying to avoid for the past 50 years.

He is totally cool with Saudi Arabia collapsing if they don’t join the fight with ISIS.

And then what? With no Saudi Arabia to balance the region, Iran becomes stronger.

Links

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/27/us/politics/donald-trump-transcript.html

Trump Backs Off Pledge to Support Party Nominee

Donald Trump, Ted Cruz and John Kasich all stepped back from their earlier pledge to support the eventual Republican nominee during Tuesday night’s CNN town hall.

“All of us shouldn’t even have answered that question,” Kasich said of the pledge party officials asked all the candidates to sign in September.

No, I don’t anymore,” Trump said, when asked by CNN’s Anderson Cooper if he continued “to pledge to support whoever the Republican nominee is?”

Trump said he has “been treated very unfairly” by the Republican National Committee and party establishment figures. The billionaire front-runner accused rival Cruz of “essentially saying the same thing” in response to a question about the pledge.

Earlier, Cruz had told Cooper when asked the same question: “I’m not in the habit of supporting someone who attacks my wife and my family … I think nominating Donald Trump would be an absolute trainwreck, I think it would hand the general election to Hillary Clinton.”

Links

http://www.cnn.com/2016/03/29/politics/donald-trump-ted-cruz-nominee-pledge/

Trump Was Just Joking When Being Sexist

Donald Trump on Monday defended his past controversial remarks on women, saying they date from his time as a celebrity entertainer.

Radio host Charlie Sykes challenged the Republican presidential front-runner during an interview on WTMJ in Milwaukee, asking whether the rules are different for celebrities when it comes to insulting women.

“The rules aren’t different, but certainly I never thought I would run for office,” Trump responded before the host finished asking the question.

“Many people, you know, Howard Stern would interview me, and everybody would be having fun and the women would be laughing,” Trump said.

In the interview, Trump said he has always treated women well as a businessman, putting many in executive positions.

“I thought this was actually a dead issue until I just spoke to you,” Trump said when pressed about his remarks on women, including his feud with Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly, whom he has taken to calling “crazy Megyn” on Twitter.

“Really?” Sykes responded.

“I’d rather be talking about trade; I’d rather be talking about, you know, the things I’m best at: border security,” Trump said, pivoting to other campaign topics.

Reality

As we’ve documented, Trump made a whole ton of sexist comments after declaring his candidacy for the Republican nomination for the President of the United States of America, and not just towards Megyn Kelly. For example:

His claims that he was only making sexist comments years ago when he was an entertainer is absolutely false.

Media

Links

http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/274459-trump-explains-comments-on-women-i-never-thought-i-would-run

Donald Trump Tweets Nobody Has More Respect For Women

Twitter

After multiple polls continue to come to the conclusion that he has a massive unfavorable rating with women, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump is lashing out at media coverage of his treatment of women in a series of tweets that culminated in the statement:

“The media is so after me on women. Wow, this is a tough business,” Trump tweeted Saturday. “Nobody has more respect for women than Donald Trump!”

The tweets include:

Reality

Yes Donald Trump, it’s the media fault and all of your own comments where you disrespected women have nothing to do with this. Here are just a few examples where it was the media’s fault:

Some of the recent polls that showed Trumps unavailability rating include

  • Reuters 3/17 poll shows an unfavorable rating at 50%.
  • Quinnipiac 2/18 poll shows an unfavorable rating of 60%.
  • Gallup 2/29 poll shows it’s not good either.

Links

http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/presidential-races/274374-trump-nobody-has-more-respect-for-women-than-me

https://www.stopthedonaldtrump.com/category/intolerance/sexist/

 

 

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