Category: Unpresidential

Trump Questions Need For NATO

Donald Trump said the U.S. should rethink its involvement in NATO because the defense alliance costs too much money.

In remarks to CNN’s Wolf Blitzer, Trump said the U.S. pays a disproportionate amount to NATO to ensure the security of allies.

“Frankly, they have to put up more money,” he said. “We are paying disproportionately. It’s too much, and frankly it’s a different world than it was when we originally conceived of the idea.”

In a CNN Town Hall Trump said about NATO:

“[NATO is] costing us too much money, and frankly, have to put up more money… We’re taking care of, as an example, the Ukraine. I mean, the countries over there don’t seem to be so interested. We’re the ones taking the brunt of it. So I think we have to reconsider — keep NATO, but maybe we have to pay a lot less toward the NATO itself. “

Reality

Ukraine is not a member of NATO, and Washington is not providing arms to the government as it is fighting pro-Moscow rebels, though has provided nonlethal aid and has helped support international bailouts of the Ukrainian economy. Once the third-largest nuclear power in the world, Ukraine agreed to give up its nuclear weapons in return for an assurance that the U.S. would help protect its sovereignty. Critics point out that Trump’s remarks were “really quite astonishing,” speculating that Trump is ignorant of the United States’ diplomatic relations with Ukraine.

It’s unfortunate that a day after making these remarks a terrorist attack occurred in Brussels, highlighting the importance of NATO.

It is important to point out that the United States “taking the brunt” as Mr. Trump has suggested, is a bit of loaded statement. All member countries have pledged at lest 2% of their GDP to fund NATO, and the United States has by far and away the highest GDP of all member nations, in-fact 6 times more than Germany who has the next highest GDP of the NATO members. The whole theory of NATO is to keep the United States involved in Europe long-term, to promote our goals, and to deter another world war, so of course we would be spending more. However it is fair to point out that President Obama has been critical of some of the European partners for not spending enough to fund NATO.

Links

http://www.cnn.com/2016/03/21/politics/elections-2016-final-five-highlights/index.html

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/donald-trump-hopelessly-naive-dead-wrong-on-nato-gop-candidates-say/

Trump on Elizabeth Warren: ‘Who’s that, the Indian?’

Senator Elizabeth Warren and Donald Trump

Donald Trump responded to an increasingly heated series of attacks from Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren by mockingly referring to her as “the Indian.”

After a reporter brought up the Democrat’s recent criticism of him, Trump interrupted, asking sarcastically, “Who’s that, the Indian? You mean the Indian?”
“The problem with the country right now is it’s so divided,” he said, after touting his success in the GOP primaries. “People like Elizabeth Warren really have to get their act together because it’s going to stay divided.”
In 2012, Warren’s past claims about her Native American ancestry came under scrutiny, with her Republican campaign rival Scott Brown demanding she provide documented proof. But Warren said her heritage had been passed down in words, not on paper.
“Being Native American has been a part of my story, I guess since the day I was born,” she told reporters in May of that year. “I don’t know any other way to describe it.”
Earlier on Monday, Warren in a storm of heated tweets had called Trump a “loser” who threatens “to tear apart an America that was built on values like decency, community, and concern for our neighbors.”

Trump introduced the “Indian” insult during an interview later on Friday with New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd.
“I think it’s wonderful because the Indians can now partake in the future of the country,” the Republican front-runner offered glibly when asked about Warren’s comments. “She’s got about as much Indian blood as I have. Her whole life was based on a fraud. She got into Harvard and all that because she said she was a minority.”

Reality

BRN’s critique echoed my original comments but wrote it better than I ever could have:

When he refers to Warren as “the Indian,” he’s not merely being insulting—although that, too—but he is seeking to to discredit her critique on the basis that she isn’t fit to criticize him; isn’t his peer; is less than; isn’t even deserving of recognition of her complex humanity.

 

 

This reductive dismissal, like so many others he has issued, is a clear signal of his contempt for marginalized people, unless he can exploit their support to undermine credible challenges to his ubiquitous claims of being well-liked by “everybody.”

 

 

Trump must be held accountable for his sickening reliance on racism, misogyny, and dehumanization. He is not an insult comic. He is a candidate for President of the United States of America.

Links

http://www.cnn.com/2016/03/21/politics/elizabeth-warren-donald-trump-indian/

Trump Stops Presser To Give Fake Job Interview To Fake Reporter

Alicia Watkins posses as a member of the press.

Republican presidential frontrunner Donald Trump managed to squeeze a public job interview into a news conference at the site of his upcoming hotel in Washington, D.C.

A woman in the crowd introduced herself as a 9/11 survivor and a veteran of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and voiced support for his plans for the U.S. military. Then she asked if work at the Trump International Hotel would be available to veterans.

“What are you talking about here? We are doing some of that actually already,” Trump responded. “We have it very much involved. Why what are you looking for? What kind of a position?”

The real estate magnate invited the woman up to the podium to conduct a job interview for a position at the forthcoming hotel.“So what’s your experience in front of the world?” he asked.

The woman replied, “Well I design. I do wreaths. I do all types of decorations.”

“And you like this building?” Trump said. “So here’s what I’m going to do. There’s the man.”

Trump directed the woman to one of his associates while telling the crowd, “If we can make a good deal on the salary, she’s gonna probably have a job.”

Later on, a reporter pointed out that it’s “pretty remarkable” that Trump just offered a job to a complete stranger and asked what inside his gut led him to that decision.

“I felt good about her. I’ll tell you what, I looked at her, I said she, you know, I have gut instincts, OK? And we’re allowed to have that,” Trump said. “And I looked at her and she asked a question and it was a very positive question… she just seemed like a good person to me.”

He said that maybe she won’t qualify for a position but he thinks she will.

Reality

It was a totally staged publicity stunt.

The reporter who praised Donald Trump’s military policy and inquired about veterans jobs was not a member of the press. Yet somehow, Alicia Watkins, a retired Air Force staff sergeant who has appeared on Oprah, was given media credentials by the Trump campaign and permitted to ask a question of the candidate, a question that (surprise!) turned into an impromptu job interview.

The Trump campaign, which handled credentials for the press conference, initially told CNNMoney that Watkins worked for “a site called Troops Media which focuses on military and veterans issues.”

Later that afternoon Dylan Byers of CNNMoney tweeted that Troops Media did not seem to exist.

When told that there was no evidence of any such site on the Internet, the Trump campaign said it would look into the matter.

CNNMoney then received a call from a woman who identified herself as Alicia Watkins who said she would send an email explaining “why Troop Media is no longer on the Internet as of today.”

The woman, who said her phone was about to run out of battery, hung up while being asked if she still wanted to identify herself as a reporter. The woman called from a blocked number and did not leave any contact information. The promised email has yet to arrive.

When Stop The Donald Trump looked into Troops Media, we can confirm that Troops Media does not exist. We did find a blog called http://troopsmedia.blogspot.com/ with nothing on it except a post from January 5, 2016 stating the blog is rebuilding after a hacker attack. No cached pages can be found on search engines, so it cannot be determined if the site had any content before January 5th. And finally no blogger.com profile id could be retrieved to help identify the owner.

Troops Media at Blogger.com

Also we found http://troopmedia.org, with no contact information anywhere on the page (it was finally found on their Facebook page), a broken Contact Us link, and whose owner information is blocked using a proxy, but surprisingly has very many pro-Trump articles. Their Facebook page, which used to regularly post military news but now includes amazing military articles such as, “Create an English Cottage Kitchen“, “Fix Lawn Spots“, and “Landscape Design Process and Thinking“, shows that this is probably now a hoax site. The Air Force Times was able to reach out to TroopMedia.org but a representative for the site said that Watkins had not been employed there.
Trump's Troop Media website

Media

Links

https://www.yahoo.com/news/trump-gives-impromptu-job-interview-during-press-205417552.html
http://money.cnn.com/2016/03/21/media/donald-trump-alicia-watkins/

Trump’s Campaign Manager Involved in Altercation at Rally

Donald Trump’s campaign manager appeared to grab a protester by his collar during a rally Saturday in an incident captured on video.

Multiple videos, including CNN’s footage, show campaign manager Corey Lewandowski reaching for the man’s collar as a member of Trump’s security detail also grabs him from behind.

“Corey Lewandowski was speaking with a protester at today’s rally in Tucson, Arizona when the individual he was speaking with was pulled from behind by the man to Lewandowski’s left,” Trump campaign spokeswoman Hope Hicks said in response to a CNN inquiry, referring to a member of Trump’s private security detail.

“The video clearly shows the protester reacting to the man who pulled him, not to Mr. Lewandowski,” Hicks said, adding that Trump “does not condone violence at his rallies, which are private events paid for by the campaign.”

Lewandowski and the young man appear to exchange words in the moments before the altercation. Hicks said Lewandowski “simply asked the protester to leave.”

“Instead of exiting, the protester grabbed the woman in front of him (in the green shirt), which is when the man to Corey’s left and many others in the scene react to her wincing,” Hicks said.

The protester had been asked to leave once prior to the altercation, according to two sources familiar with the incident. He was able to gain entry back inside before Lewandowski and security removed him for a second time, the sources said.

Trump on Sunday called Lewandowski’s involvement in ejecting protesters “spirited.”

“Security at the arena, the police were a little bit lax. And he had signs — they had signs up in that area that were horrendous, that I cannot say what they said on the sign,” Trump said on ABC’s “This Week.” “I give (Lewandowski) credit for having spirit. He wanted them to take down those horrible profanity-laced signs.”

Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus said Sunday campaign officials should avoid “getting involved in confrontations.”

“Getting involved is not the answer. I think you leave these things up to the professionals. You’ve got professional police; you’ve got Secret Service,” Priebus told CNN’s Dana Bash on “State of the Union.”

Reality

This is not the first time Lewandowski used physical violence on the campaign trail. He is turning out to be Trump’s #1 thug.

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.

Media

Links

http://www.cnn.com/2016/03/19/politics/trump-campaign-manager-protester/index.html

Women Reading Donald Trump’s Sexist Comments About Women

The Republican group looking to block GOP presidential front-runner Donald Trump from the nomination is going on-air with an ad showing women reading some of his sharpest knocks on other women.

“Bimbo,” reads one woman.

“Dog,” reads another.

“Fat pig,” reads a third woman, as the ad, “Real quotes from Donald Trump about women,” is introduced.

“A woman who is very flat-chested is very hard to be a 10.”

Speaking of actress Nicollette Sheridan, Trump told Howard Stern back in 2005 that women, whom he apparently grades on a numeric scale based on their appearance, will have a hard time earning a “10” grade if they are “very flat-chested.”

“I’d look her right in that fat, ugly face of hers”

One of Trump’s worst moments may be his 2006 feud with Rosie O’Donnell, who criticized Trump for his support of Miss USA 2006 Tara Conner. Following the pageant, which Trump runs, Conner was found to have partook in underage drinking and drug abuse — a huge scandal for the pageant circle’s squeaky-clean image.

Trump’s tirade against O’Donnell:

Rosie O’Donnell is disgusting — both inside and out. If you take a look at her, she’s a slob. How does she even get on television? If I were running The View, I’d fire Rosie. I’d look her right in that fat, ugly face of hers and say, “Rosie, you’re fired.” We’re all a little chubby but Rosie’s just worse than most of us. But it’s not the chubbiness — Rosie is a very unattractive person, both inside and out.

“Look at that face. Would anyone vote for that?”

In September, Trump took aim at Republican opponent Carly Fiorina for “that face.”

“Can you imagine that, the face of our next president? I mean, she’s a woman, and I’m not supposed to say bad things, but really, folks, come on. Are we serious?” Trump blustered.

“She had the height, she had the beauty, she had the skin. She was crazy, but these are minor details”

Months after Princess Diana was killed in an automobile accident in 1997, Trump told Stern he thinks he could have slept with her, saying she had “supermodel beauty.” In a different interview in 2000, Trump said he would have slept with her “without hesitation” and that “she had the height, she had the beauty, she had the skin.” He added, “She was crazy, but these are minor details.”

“I like kids. I mean, I won’t do anything to take care of them. I’ll supply funds and she’ll take care of the kids.”

In a separate 2005 interview in April, Trump talked about how he wanted to have more kids with newlywed wife Melania: “I mean, I won’t do anything to take care of them.”

“You know, it doesn’t really matter what [the media] write as long as you’ve got a young and beautiful piece of ass.”

From an interview with Esquire in 1991.

“Must be a pretty picture, you dropping to your knees.”

Speaking to Brandie Roderick on Celebrity Apprentice.

“Blood coming out of here, wherever”

At the first Fox News Republican debate, Trump was unable to handle questions from Megyn Kelly.

“You have to treat ’em like shit.”

From New York magazine, Nov. 9, 1992.

Media

Links

http://www.cnn.com/2016/03/14/politics/donald-trump-ad-women/

http://www.dailywire.com/news/4157/7-quotes-show-donald-trump-doesnt-women-amanda-prestigiacomo

http://www.buzzfeed.com/andrewkaczynski/donald-trump-said-a-lot-of-gross-things-about-women-on-howar#.rrEQ5nZ92v

Trump Calls Rallies ‘Loud, Noisy Majority’ in Fountain Hills

Republican front-runner Donald Trump swaggered into Arizona again Saturday, repeating his promises to build a border wall, renegotiate U.S. trade deals and generally “make America great again.”

Wearing a blue jacket and red golf hat as he addressed the thousands gathered in Fountain Hills Park, Trump made a final pitch ahead of Arizona’s presidential primary on Tuesday.

“Go out on Tuesday and vote. I will never let you down,” he told the crowd, which had waited for hours in warm sunshine. He referred to them as a “loud, noisy majority.”

Trump was joined on stage by Sheriff Joe Arpaio, former Gov. Jan Brewer and Treasurer Jeff DeWit. Former Arizona lawmaker and 9/11 “truther” Karen Johnson prayed to open the event.

Trump’s arrival was delayed by protesters who blockaded one of the main traffic arteries into Fountain Hills. And he was in a fighting mood as he deployed his signature name-calling.

Trump’s angry tone endured throughout his shorter-than-usual 30-minute speech, which also focused on immigration-related themes.

“I want to tell you so much about illegal immigration, and so much has been mentioned about it and talked about it,” Trump said. “And these politicians are all talk, no action, they’re never going to do anything. They only picked it up because when I went and when I announced I’m running for president, I said, ‘you know, this country has a big, big problem with illegal immigration.’ And all of a sudden, we started talking about it and then had lots of bad things happening. Crime all over the place and for the first time people saw what was going on.”

Trump’s rallies have consistently been targets of protesters who oppose his call for a temporary ban on Muslims entering the United States and his hard-line positions on immigration and rhetoric, such as when he called Mexican immigrants drug runners and rapists.

At times during Trump’s speech, protesters, who stood in a fenced area of the park, chanted in competition with supporters.

Early in Trump’s speech, a protester scuffled with supporters after he unfurled a banner reading, “Vets to Trump: End hate speech against Muslims.” Two Trump supporters slapped down the banner and the man was quickly escorted from the rally.

Media

Links

http://www.azcentral.com/story/news/politics/elections/2016/03/19/donald-trump-fountain-hills-tucson-arizona-rally/82007552/

Protesters Try to Block Access to Trump Rally in Arizona

Traffic blocked to Trump rally by protesters in Arizona

Protesters in Arizona briefly blocked access to Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump’s rally Saturday morning in Arizona, kicking off a full day of campaign events in the border state, which holds key primaries Tuesday.

The protesters blocked a highway leading to Trump’s outdoor rally in Fountain Hills, Arizona, near Scottsdale, before sheriff’s deputies removed them and towed their vehicles.

Maricopa County Sheriff Deputy Joaquin Enriquez said officers would ask the protesters to move and if they didn’t comply, they would forcibly remove them.

Three protesters tied themselves to their cars to delay getting towed. They were arrested after officers cut them loose, and two vehicles were towed, Enriquez told NBC News.

Protesters told NBC News that having their vehicles towed was part of the plan designed to disrupt traffic.

One protester said he was willing to risk getting arrested if it meant keeping Trump out of Arizona.

“If Donald Trump continues and becomes president and his rhetoric continues, more of our families will be hurt,” he said.

Media

Links

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2016/03/19/with-immigration-center-arizona-primary-trump-gets-boast-from-border-union.html

http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2016-election/protesters-block-traffic-arizona-trump-rally-while-protesters-nyc-detained-n541926

Protester Attacked While Being Escorted Out of Trump Rally

A Donald Trump rally punctuated by near-constant interruptions from demonstrators reached a violent crescendo Saturday when a protester was punched and kicked while being escorted out.

The incident at the event in Tucson, Arizona, was the latest in a series involving scenes of violence at and around events for the Republican front-runner.

There were around 150 police officers working at the Trump event in Tucson on Saturday night.

Trump was interrupted several times during the first 20 minutes or so of the rally by protesters, who the candidate called “disgusting,” “troublemakers” and a “disgrace.”

Bryan Sanders was one of the protesters — dressed in an American flag shirt and holding a sign with Trump’s face with the slogan “Bad for America.”

He told NBC News that he was being escorted out of the rally when a man in the stands grabbed his sign and ripped it out of his hands.

“I stumble back, sucker punch.. and then you saw all hell break loose,” Sanders said. “He’s stomping me.”

Video emerged of the incident that shows Sanders being punched and kicked on the ground before police are able to separate the two men.

“What was going through my mind was: Put your arms over your head, because this political movement has gotten to the point where you may get beat to death inside of a rally,” Sanders said of the moments he was on the ground.

Officers arrested Tony Pettway, 32, at the scene. He was charged him with assault with injury, a class 1 misdemeanor, and released, police said.

Trump noticed the disturbance during his remarks, pointing to the stands and saying, “That’s a disgrace.”

Sanders, who said he is an independent and plans to vote for Bernie Sanders in Tuesday’s primary, said he expected the crowd might be hostile but was surprised by the violence.

“I understand that people support Donald Trump, but do they support this kind of scene?” he said. “Really?”

“Let’s relax, not beat each other at rallies, ok? Even if we have dissenting opinions… I find it un-American that each of us can’t dissent.”

Reality

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.

Media

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

Links

http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2016-election/protester-punched-kicked-donald-trump-rally-arizona-n541991

Trump Tweets Megyn Kelly’s Show Would Tank Without Him

Twitter

On Saturday morning, Trump said “crazy” Kelly’s “ratings would totally tank” if she wasn’t constantly covering him. He also said her show was “terrible” and that she was “average in so many ways.”

If crazy @megynkelly didn’t cover me so much on her terrible show, her ratings would totally tank. She is so average in so many ways!

(h/t CNN)

Trump Tweets Megyn Kelly Claims He Won’t Go On Her Show

Twitter

On Saturday morning, Trump claimed that “crazy” Megyn Kelly said he won’t go on her show yet she gets good ratings from negative pieces about him.

Crazy @megynkelly says I don’t (won’t) go on her show and she still gets good ratings. But almost all of her shows are negative hits on me!

Reality

Trump has had an issue with Kelly since she moderated a Republican presidential debate in August. He accused her of being unfairly harsh on him by asking him valid questions about past sexist and misogynist comments. Fox News is standing by its anchor, calling the attacks on her “sexist verbal assaults.”

“Donald Trump’s vitriolic attacks against Megyn Kelly and his extreme, sick obsession with her is beneath the dignity of a presidential candidate who wants to occupy the highest office in the land,” the network said in its statement.

“Megyn is an exemplary journalist and one of the leading anchors in America — we’re extremely proud of her phenomenal work and continue to fully support her throughout every day of Trump’s endless barrage of crude and sexist verbal assaults,” the statement continued. “As the mother of three young children, with a successful law career and the second highest rated show in cable news, it’s especially deplorable for her to be repeatedly abused just for doing her job.”

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