Category: Attack a Citizen

Trump sides with Kim Jong Un over Joe Biden in Japan

President Donald Trump seems to have a new ally in his 2020 reelection fight: North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. More shocking, though, is that Trump appears fine with it — and is siding with the brutal dictator over a fellow American.

Last week, the state-run Korean Central News Agency published a scathing article targeting top Democratic presidential contender Joe Biden. Among other insults, the commentary called the former vice president “a fool of low IQ” and listed off a series of embarrassing moments in his life — like the time Biden fell asleep during a 2011 speech by then-President Barack Obama, or how in 1987 he admitted to plagiarizing in school.

Trump seemed delighted by the KCNA hit piece, tweeting Sunday that he had “confidence” Kim had “smiled when he called Swampman Joe Biden a low IQ individual, & worse.”

And asked about his tweet during a press conference alongside Japanese Prime Minister Abe Shinzo* the next day, Trump reiterated his stance. “Kim Jong Un made a statement that Joe Biden is a low-IQ individual. He probably is, based on his record. I think I agree with him on that,” the president told reporters.

Just stop for a second and think about that: The president of the United States endorsed a foreign government’s nasty insults of America’s former vice president — and did so while standing next to the leader of a top American ally.

That’s appalling behavior from the president. There’s an unwritten rule that Americans — and especially high-level American politicians — are supposed to leave domestic politics at the water’s edge when they travel abroad. That means you don’t talk badly about your political opponents overseas, but instead show a united front as a representative of the United States.

Not only did Trump violate that very basic principle, he did so gleefully — and sided with a murderous, repressive dictator while he was at it.

Even some of Trump’s allies in Congress, like Rep. Pete King (R-NY), were appalled by Trump’s behavior.

Some experts, however, aren’t too shocked by Trump’s remarks. “This is Trump being Trump, using anything he can to strike his political enemies,” Harry Kazianis, a North Korea expert at the Center for the National Interest in Washington, told me.

Still, it shows that Trump has a penchant for siding with dictators when it most suits him — even at the expense of Americans and US allies.

[Vox]

Trump Cites Made Up Ian Bremmer Tweet as Example of Why Libel Laws Need to Change

President Donald Trump on Monday slammed pundit, journalist, and New York University professor Ian Bremmer for publishing a “completely ludicrous quote” that he attributed to him. In the early morning tweet while he was still in Japan, the president said the fake quote that Bremmer published and then deleted shows “what’s going on in the age of Fake News” and how something must be done to prevent similar instances in the future. “@ianbremmer now admits that he MADE UP ‘a completely ludicrous quote’, attributing it to me. This is what’s going on in the age of Fake News,” Trump wrote. “People think they can say anything and get away with it. Really, the libel laws should be changed to hold Fake News Media accountable!”

Bremmer, the founder and president of Eurasia Group who is also a columnist and editor-at-large for Time, published a tweet over the weekend that contained a false quote from Trump about North Korea. In the since-deleted post, Bremmer quoted Trump as saying “Kim Jong Un is smarter and would make a better President than Sleepy Joe Biden.” The quote was shared by Rep. Ted Lieu of California and several popular pundits, including Ana Navarro-Cardenas.
When Bremmer was confronted on the fake quote, he defended it by saying it was “plausible” and somehow made a point about the larger state of news media. “This is objectively a completely ludicrous quote. And yet kinda plausible. Especially on twitter, where people automatically support whatever political position they have. That’s the point.” Bremmer wrote in a tweet that he has also since deleted.

Bremmer addressed his tweet again Monday morning after Trump’s criticism, claiming that the quote was “meant in jest.” Bremmer apologized and said that he “should have been clearer.”

This is not the first time Trump has called for a change in libel laws. In fact, he has been pushing the message since he was a candidate. “One of the things I’m going to do if I win … I’m going to open up our libel laws so when they write purposely negative and horrible and false articles, we can sue them and win lots of money,” Trump said in February 2016. He has repeated that threat several times since he moved into the White House.

[Slate]

Trump Implies He Trusts North Korea’s Kim More Than His Own People

President Donald Trump seemed to contradict his national security adviser Saturday, claiming he was unbothered by North Korea’s recent missile tests essentially because he trusts dictator Kim Jong Un. In a tweet while he was in Japan, Trump also espoused a view that is at odds with his host country. “North Korea fired off some small weapons, which disturbed some of my people, and others, but not me,” Trump wrote on Twitter. “I have confidence that Chairman Kim will keep his promise to me.”

Japan had said that North Korea’s recent test of short range missiles amounted to a violation of United Nations resolutions. And Trump’s own national security adviser John Bolton agreed with that assessment, telling reporters on Saturday there was “no doubt” that the missile test violated Security Council resolutions.

Vipin Narang, a professor at Massachusetts Institute of Technology who is an expert on nuclear proliferation and North Korea, said that Trump’s message was “disturbing” for one key reason. “There is a lot that is really disturbing here, but the most important bit is ‘Chairman Kim will keep his promise to me’,” Narang wrote. “Kim never promised to unilaterally disarm, and the problem is Trump continues to believe he did. THAT is why this is so dangerous.”

[Slate]

Smollett Was a Hate Crime AGAINST ME & MAGA COUNTRY!!!

President Trump is back to bashing Jussie Smollett and his criminal case in Chicago — this time insinuating the real hate crime was against him and his supporters.

DT took to Twitter Saturday, and seemingly out of nowhere … he brought up the Smollett case again, saying that on top of great incompetence and corruption, the Smollett case “is also about a Hate Crime.” Doesn’t sound like he’s referring to the crime Jussie reported either.

The Prez went on to write, “Remember, ‘MAGA COUNTRY DID IT!’ That turned out to be a total lie, had nothing to do with ‘MAGA COUNTRY.'” Trump ended his tweet by saying, “Serious stuff, and not even an apology to millions of people!” 

At first glance, it would appear 45 could be referring to the alleged hate crime Jussie claimed to be a victim of — but on a second read, it kinda sounds like Trump believes the true hate crime was against “MAGA COUNTRY” … and, in effect, himself too.

You’ll recall … Jussie’s criminal case was dismissed, which only cost him a few thousand dollars and some community service. Although the Cook County State Attorney’s Office insisted their decision wasn’t an exoneration, Jussie doubled down and maintained his innocence.

[TMZ]

Trump Tweets Cartoon Mocking Brennan, Comey, & Clapper; Brennan Fires Back at Trump’s ‘Immature Behavior’

President Donald Trump shared a cartoon on Twitter this afternoon mocking James Comey, John Brennan, and James Clapper.

Trump has publicly blasted all three former officials over the Russia investigation. Yesterday he gave AG Bill Barr the authority to declassify documents pertaining to the origins of the investigation.

The president shared this cartoon to Twitter this afternoon:

(The very recognizable symbol on Brennan’s jacket is presumably a reference to the time he voted for a Communist presidential candidate.)

Brennan himself shot back by sending a message to young people to please never emulate Trump’s “very immature behavior”:

[Mediaite]

Trump trashes Tillerson for saying Putin outfoxed him

President Donald Trump on Thursday bashed former Secretary of State Rex Tillerson as “dumb as a rock,” saying he was “totally ill prepared and ill equipped” to be America’s top diplomat, after Tillerson shared unflattering information about Trump with top House members.

The president’s outburst on social media comes after Tillerson met with the top Democrat and Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee and some of their staffers on Tuesday. He said during the meeting that Russian leader Vladimir Putin had out-prepared the U.S. president when the pair met for the first time in July 2017 in Hamburg, Germany.

Tillerson, whom Trump fired in March 2018, left the impression that the Russians had outmaneuvered the Republican president on at least two occasions, three people familiar with Tillerson’s meeting with the lawmakers told POLITICO.

Trump denied he was under-prepared for the meeting with Putin, who he has long sought to charm.

“Rex Tillerson, a man who is ‘dumb as a rock’ and totally ill prepared and ill equipped to be Secretary of State, made up a story (he got fired) that I was out-prepared by Vladimir Putin at a meeting in Hamburg, Germany,” the president tweeted. “I don’t think Putin would agree. Look how the U.S. is doing!”

It was not the first time the president has lashed out at his former secretary of state, who was ousted last year after frequently being at odds with Trump on policy issues. Trump also called Tillerson “dumb as a rock” in December.

According to the people familiar with Tillerson’s Tuesday session, which lasted roughly seven hours, he said that while in Germany, the Russians indicated to U.S. officials that the meeting between Trump and Putin would be quick, essentially a meet-and-greet.

The Russians also proposed not having anyone present to take notes, according to Tillerson’s statements, and Tillerson and others agreed to that condition, the people said. “Tillerson said, ‘It’s the way the Russians preferred it,’” one of the people told POLITICO.

But instead of lasting just a few minutes, the session turned into a wide-ranging meeting that stretched more than two hours.

It is still not clear what the two leaders discussed; Tillerson has said cyber issues and allegations of Russian interference in the 2016 election came up. He indicated Tuesday that there were other topics discussed, though he declined to go into specifics, the people familiar with the meeting said.

Tillerson told those attending Tuesday’s session that he does not recall crafting a written record of the meeting after it ended and that he doesn’t know if anyone did.

The Washington Post, which first revealed some details of Tillerson’s talks with lawmakers this week, has in the past reported that Trump took away the notes of his interpreter in that meeting. Tillerson, who could not be reached for comment for this story, told lawmakers that he did not witness the interpreter’s notes being taken away.

The Hamburg meeting may not have been the first time the Russians out-played the Trump administration, the people familiar with Tillerson’s remarks told POLITICO.

In May 2017, Trump met in the Oval Office with two top Russian officials, foreign minister Sergey Lavrov and Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak.

The people familiar with the Tillerson meeting Tuesday said he indicated that the U.S. side understood the session to be a mere courtesy call with no real agenda. Tillerson also said he did not recall a designated note-taker being in the room.

“The president twice went into a meeting with sophisticated diplomatic players from an adversary with no agenda and presumably no designated note-taker. That’s concerning, because it leaves the U.S. side open to being out-maneuvered,” one of the people familiar with Tuesday’s session said.

It was later reported that Trump divulged classified information to his Russian guests. Tillerson did not address those reports, however.

Tillerson was careful not to disparage Trump during his discussions Tuesday, the people familiar with the meeting said.

[Politico]

Trump Calls For Joe Biden to Be Investigated: ‘It’s a Disgrace’

In his interview with Fox News host Steve Hilton, President Donald Trumpcalled for an investigation into one of his 2020 rivals, Joe Biden, and the former vice president’s ties to China.

Granted, Trump didn’t bring up the prospect of investigation, he was egged on by Hilton. “Don’t you think that should be investigated?” the Fox News host asked. “That financial connection –the Chinese government putting billions of dollars into Biden’s family business.”

Trump’s answer: “1oo percent.”

“It’s a disgrace,” the president continued. “And then he says China’s not a competitor of ours. China is a massive competitor of ours. They want to take over the world.”

Hilton’s question appears based on a claim from Peter Schweizer — author of Clinton Cash — who wrote hat the firm of Joe Biden’s son Hunter Biden “inked a $1 billion private equity deal with a subsidiary of the Chinese government’s Bank of China.”

On a somewhat related note, Trump’s attorney, Rudy Giuliani, recently floated plans to travel to Ukraine and convince the government to launch an investigation on the Biden family. Giuliani has dropped that idea last week, and yesterday, a Ukranian prosecutor said in an interview that his government has no evidence of wrongdoing by the Bidens.

[Mediaite]

Trump: McGahn had a better chance of being fired than Mueller

President Trump denounced his former counsel Don McGahn on Saturday, following a report that the White House asked the lawyer twice to say publicly that Trump didn’t obstruct justice by asking for special counsel Robert Mueller’s dismissal.

Why it matters:The New York Times report appears to indicate how far the Trump administration has gone to prove the president did not attempt to obstruct justice. The revelations prompted House Democrats to say it’s critical for McGahn to testify before Congress regarding the Mueller report.

[Axios]

Reality

The Mueller Report is very clear, Donald Trump fired Robert Mueller several times, it’s just his orders were never carried out because his aides knew they would be in deep legal jeopardy.

On June 17,2017 Don McGahn recalled Trump said something along the lines of, “You gotta do this. You gotta call Rod,” Mueller’s report said. McGahn said he told the president he would see what he could do and did not act on the request.

Trump followed up that call telling McGahn “Mueller has to go” and “call me back when you do it.”

Trump says bring on ‘Sleepy/Creepy’ Joe Biden

He’s got his heart set on Joe.

President Trump tweeted that he has his money on Vice President Joe Biden winning the crowded Democratic primary battle to take him on in 2020.

It was one of a head-spinning 16th tweet by 10 am eastern time for Trump. Critics have noted that the president spends most of his working day in so-called “Executive Time,” which is a euphemism for whipping out tweets and chatting with pals on the phone.

Trump regularly mocks Biden for his well-reported proclivity for getting touchy feely with women and men alike. Some women have expressed discomfort with Biden’s “tactile” personality for years but so far he has not faced more serious harassment or abuse allegations.

The president, on the other hand, was infamously caught on tape bragging about “grabbing” women by their private parts and has faced numerous claims of sexual impropriety, including paying hush money during the 2016 campaign to silence porn stars about extramarital affairs.

Twitter quickly piled on the POTUS for his dig at Biden. George (Mr. Kellyanne) Conway took just an hour to get 7,500 retweets for his riposte that Trump “palled around with” big bucks pedophile Jeffrey Epstein.

[New York Daily News]

Trump suffers meltdown after James Comey tells CNN it is ‘possible’ that ‘the Russians have leverage over’ the president

President Donald Trump freaked out on Twitter after former FBI Director James Comey gave an exclusive interview to CNN on the two-year anniversary of being fired.

“Do you think the Russians have leverage over President Trump?” Anderson Cooper asked.

“I don’t know the answer to that,” Comey replied.

“Do you think it’s possible?” Cooper asked.

“Yes,” Comey answered.

That was not the only news Comey made.

Comey also said that Attorney General Bill Barr has behaved “less than honorably” and that America can’t have a president “who lies constantly.”

Trump lashed out after the interview was televised.

“James Comey is a disgrace to the FBI and will go down as the worst director in its long and once proud history,” Trump argued, seemingly unaware of the Bureau’s history.

“He brought the FBI down, almost all Republicans and Democrats thought he should be fired, but the FBI will regain greatness because of the great men & women who work there!” Trump argued.

[Raw Story]

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