Christie Falsely Claims Trump Hadn’t Talked ‘Birther’ for Years

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie said Sunday Donald Trump’s questioning of President Barack Obama’s birthplace was “done,” arguing falsely that Trump hasn’t talked about it for years and had put to rest any remaining questions Friday.

“The birther issue is a done issue. I’ve said it’s a done issue for a long time, and Donald Trump has said it’s a done issue now,” Christie, a top Trump supporter and the chairman of his transition team, told CNN’s Jake Tapper on “State of the Union.”

Though Trump had been asked whether he now believes Obama was born in the United States as recently as 2016 and hadn’t affirmed that position, Christie refuted Tapper’s questioning saying: “It’s just not true that he kept it up for five years.”

Tapper: “Sure he did.”

Christie: “It’s simply not true.”

Tapper: “It is true.”

Christie: “No, Jake. It wasn’t like he was talking about it on a regular basis … And when the issue was raised, he made very clear the other day what his position is.”

But of course, Trump for years elevated false claims that Obama wasn’t born in the United States, raising it repeatedly in interviews and on Twitter. In 2011, Obama released a copy of his birth certificate to put to rest what many considered fringe conspiracy theories aimed at undermining his legitimacy as president.

Trump had been asked whether he now believes Obama was born in the United States as recently as last week and hadn’t affirmed that position, until Friday.

Christie also said it was “an issue that Mrs. Clinton also injected” into the 2008 Democratic primary against Obama, which is false.

Trump’s running mate, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, stuck to a similar line in an interview with ABC’s Martha Raddatz on “This Week.”

“This is not what the American people are talking about. Donald Trump put this issue to an end yesterday in Washington, D.C.,” Pence said.

He also declared birtherism “over” and denied Trump has any responsibility it. “Throughout this campaign, he hasn’t been talking about it,” Pence said.

Tim Kaine, the Democratic vice presidential nominee, blamed Trump for “an incredibly painful five-year chapter.”

“When Donald Trump says the first African-American president is not a citizen, that is so painful to so many people who still have deep feelings about that dark chapter in American life,” Kaine told Tapper later on “State of the Union.”

“And he either believed what he said for five years, which showed that he’s either incredibly gullible or conspiratorial, or he didn’t believe it, in which case he was just trying to prey upon people’s darkest emotion,” he said.

And Kaine deflected questions about whether Hillary Clinton’s friend Sidney Blumenthal pushed birtherism quietly on the 2008 campaign trail.

“Sidney Blumenthal has categorically denied that, but Sidney’s not running for president. Let’s talk about Donald Trump,” Kaine said.

Trump campaign manager Kellyanne Conway deflected questions about Trump’s history of birtherism Sunday on CBS’ “Face the Nation.”

Host John Dickerson asked: “Donald Trump advocated something for five years that was a lie. Why did he do that?”

Conway said: “Well, you’re going to have to ask him. But, again, I think that this is a sideshow now that the media seem obsessed with, John, respectfully. And, again, he put everything out on the table on Friday. Those are his words. He does things on his terms, on his time line.”

(h/t CNN)

Reality

The Wall Street Journal, of all places, compiled a list of every birther statement by Donald Trump proving that he did indeed keep up the false birther conspiracy theory for five years, even after President Obama released his long form birth certificate. However they missed a few so we added some to their list.

February 2011: In a speech at a conservative conference, Mr. Trump said: “Our current president came out of nowhere. Came out of nowhere. In fact, I’ll go a step further: the people that went to school with him, they never saw him, they don’t know who he is. It’s crazy.” [Politifact]

March 2011: Mr. Trump went on “The View” when he was first considering a run for the presidency and was asked if he believed Mr. Obama was born in the U.S. He responded: “Why doesn’t he show his birth certificate? And you know what? I wish he would… Nobody from those early years remembers him… There’s something on that birth certificate he doesn’t like.” [Mediaite]

April 7, 2011: Mr. Trump said: “Right now, I have some real doubts…His grandmother in Kenya said he was born in Kenya and she was there and witnessed the birth. He doesn’t have a birth certificate or he hasn’t shown it.” [“Today”]

April 19, 2011: “He doesn’t have a birth certificate or he hasn’t provided it. He’s given a certificate of live birth. It’s a much different instrument.”  Mr. Trump also said he sent investigators to Hawaii, though he gave no evidence of that.  [“ABC News”]

April 27, 2011: The White House publishes the long form of Mr. Obama’s birth certificate.

May 1, 2011: Mr. Obama opened the White House Correspondents’ Dinner with a “birth video” — taken from the start of the Disney movie”The Lion King.” He quickly turned to jokes at Mr. Trump’s expense. “Donald Trump is here tonight!  Now, I know that he’s taken some flak lately, but no one is happier, no one is prouder to put this birth certificate matter to rest than the Donald.  And that’s because he can finally get back to focusing on the issues that matter –- like, did we fake the moon landing?  What really happened in Roswell?  And where are Biggie and Tupac?” [Transcript]

May 29, 2012: Mr. Trump told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer that “a lot of people don’t agree with that birth certificate. A lot of people do not think it’s authentic.” [Video/Transcript, CNN’s “The Situation Room”]

July 10, 2012: 

Aug. 22, 2012:

Aug. 29, 2012:

Oct. 11, 2012:

Oct. 24, 2012: Mr. Trump offered to pay $5 million to Mr. Obama’s charity of choice if the president releases his college and passport records. [YouTube video]

https://youtu.be/MgOq9pBkY0I

Oct. 31, 2012:

August 2013: Mr. Trump is asked about his “birther” comments. “I think that resonated with a lot of people.” Did he still question if Mr. Obama was born in the U.S.? “I have no idea. I don’t know. Was there a birth certificate? You tell me. … Nobody knows.” [ABC’s “This Week”]

Dec. 12, 2013: 

Feb. 27, 2015: At the Conservative Political Action Conference, Mr. Trump questioned whether Mr. Obama’s long-form birth certificate that’s posted on the White House’s website is real. He also said Hillary Clinton and Sen. John McCain also wanted to see his birth certificate but the White House only posted one in response to Mr. Trump. [Video (24:37)]

July 2015: When asked by CNN’s Anderson Cooper if he accepts that Mr. Obama was born in the U.S., Mr. Trump said, “I really don’t know. I don’t know why he wouldn’t release his records, but you know, honestly, I don’t want to get into it.”[CNN]

September 2015: On “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert,” Mr. Colbert asked Mr. Trump, “Barack Obama, born in the United States?” Mr. Trump said: “I don’t talk about it any more.” [Video, “The Late Show”]

Sept. 17, 2015: At a town-hall event, Mr. Trump didn’t denounce a comment from an attendee who said Mr. Obama isn’t an American. The man said,”We have a problem in this country. It’s called Muslims. We know our current president is one. You know he’s not even an American.” Mr. Trump interrupted, saying, “We need this question.” [Video (16:40)]

Jan. 26, 2016: In an interview, CNN’s Wolf Blitzer discusses whether Sen. Ted Cruz, a Republican presidential candidate, is a natural-born citizen. Mr. Blitzer  said: “Your critics are saying you’re doing to Ted Cruz what you tried to do to President Obama, where he was born, his birth certificate…” Mr. Trump said: “Who knows about Obama, who cares right now.”  [Video, CNN’s “The Situation Room”]

Sept. 15, 2016: In an interview published by the Washington Post, Mr. Trump declined to say whether he believed the president was born in Hawaii. “I’ll answer that question at the right time,” he said. “I just don’t want to answer it yet.” Later in the day, the Trump campaign put out a statement, referring back to 2011: “Having successfully obtained President Obama’s birth certificate when others could not, Mr. Trump believes that President Obama was born in the United States.”  [WSJ]

Sept. 16, 2016:  Mr. Trump briefly addresses the issue at an event at his new hotel in Washington. “President Barack Obama was born in the United States, period. Now we all want to get back to making America strong and great again.” In his remarks, he also falsely blamed Hillary Clinton for the birther controversy. [WSJ]

 

 

 

Trump Told Reporter Violence at Rallies Added ‘Excitement’

On CNN this morning, Michael Smerconish spoke with New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd about whether she’s said any “wrong” things about Donald Trump over the past year.

“I’ve gotten so many things wrong,” Smerconish said, “as Donald Trump likes to remind people about this cycle. What have you gotten wrong that stands out?”

Dowd said, “Oh, wow. I don’t know. You tell me. I don’t know.”

They both laughed and Smerconish said, “Maybe it’s all subjective.”

But one detail in Maureen Dowd‘s CNN interview this morning may give some insight into why Donald Trump lashed out at her afterwards.

Dowd told Michael Smerconish that during one of her interviews with Trump, she confronted him about the violence at his rallies, and this exchange ensued:

“I told him that it was wrong that there was violence being incited at his rallies and that reporters were being roughed up. And he paused, you’re right, he did listen, but then he disagreed and said he thought the violence added a frisson of excitement.”

She also asked him why he would attack Bill Clinton over his personal life when he’s not exactly had the most stable marriages.

(h/t Mediaite)

Media

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

Trump Claims NY Explosion Was a Bomb Without Confirmation

Donald Trump, taking the podium at a rally in Colorado Springs, announced to the crowd that a bomb had exploded in New York; when at the time it is still unclear what caused the reported explosion.

“Just before I got off the plane, a bomb went off in New York and nobody knows exactly what’s going on, but, boy we are really in a time. We better get very tough, folks,” Trump said. “It’s a terrible thing that’s going on in our world and in our country and we are going to get tough and smart and vigilant. We’ll see what it is.”

ABC noted later Saturday night that roughly 25 people had been injured, but all injuries were minor. Mayor Bill de Blasio said in a statement that the explosion appeared to be “intentional,” but too early to tell if it was international terrorism.

(h/t The Hill)

Reality

Law enforcement was responding to an explosion in Chelsea that occurred around 8:30 p.m., but the earliest reports did not specify a cause.

It was only hours later that NYPD ruled out a gas leak explosion and ruled that it was indeed a bomb.

ABC noted later Saturday night that roughly 29 people had been injured, but all injuries were minor. Mayor Bill de Blasio said in a statement that the explosion appeared to be “intentional,” but too early to tell if it was international terrorism.

This is not the first time Trump had jumped to conclusions without all the available evidence. For example, minutes after a truck drove into a crowd in Nice, France, Trump claimed several times on Fox News it was Islamic terrorism. While it indeed turned out to be an ISIS inspired attack, at the time Trump was working off of pure speculation but presenting it as fact.
(https://www.stopthedonaldtrump.com/2016/07/15/trump-jumps-to-conclusions-minutes-after-nice-attack/)

In times of uncertainty we look toward our leaders for guidance. When a leader rushes to judgement without all of the available evidence, especially when it comes to our security, the consequences are fears get stoked.

Donald Trump may be using this incident to incite people’s anxiety and alarm, as he often does. This would be a deplorable tactic in an effort to win political points, because the only other explanation is that he is a terrible leader. There may be a real danger to people, or there may be no danger and Trump is muddling the response to any official investigation with a false rumor.

Media

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O9OfNpuitl4

Trump Threatens to Sue New York Times

Donald Trump threatened to sue The New York Times on Twitter after posting several other messages blasting the paper and its well-known columnist Maureen Dowd.

“My lawyers want to sue the failing @nytimes so badly for irresponsible intent. I said no (for now), but they are watching. Really disgusting,” Trump tweeted.

Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, posted several other tweets Saturday attacking the Times and Dowd, calling her a “neurotic dope.”

On Saturday, the Times published a story digging into Trump’s reliance on tax breaks to build his New York real estate empire. It put the total value of tax breaks on Trump properties at at least $885 million.

(h/t The Hill)

Reality

Trump has had a long history of harassing the press and individual journalists for reporting on what he says.

In the past, Trump has made his feelings known that journalists should be “congratulating” him, which is not their jobs and sounds more like the role of the press in soviet Russia.

Trump Blasts New York Times Columnist Without Provocation

Donald Trump took to Twitter on Saturday to blast New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd, calling her “a neurotic dope.”

“Wacky @NYTimesDowd, who hardly knows me, makes up things that I never said for her boring interviews and column. A neurotic dope!” Trump tweeted.

He added, “Crazy Maureen Dowd, the wacky columnist for the failing @nytimes, pretends she knows me well–wrong!”

It’s unclear what provoked Trump’s outburst at Dowd, who hasn’t written a column since Aug. 27. However, Dowd has often mocked Trump in her columns and written satirical pieces that imitate his voice. And in an interview with CNN Saturday, Dowd said she told Trump she was concerned about the violence at his rallies, to which he responded that he liked the “frisson of excitement.”

Trump has been criticized for employing the word “neurotic” to describe women he dislikes, including MSNBC host Mika Brzezinski and Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.).

(h/t The Hill)

Furious Trump Lashes Out at CNN: They’re ‘Mostly Losers in Life!’

Twitter

GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump continued his war on journalism Saturday morning, taking aim at unnamed CNN panelists who have been critical of his campaign and calling them “losers in life.”

Using his favorite criticism mechanism, Twitter, Trump wrote, “@CNN just doesn’t get it, and that’s why their ratings are so low – and getting worse. Boring anti-Trump panelists, mostly losers in life!”

Trump’s push-back comes one day after the candidate was roundly criticized  by the media for manipulating them to promote his new hotel under the guise of a major announcement regarding his conspiracy mongering over whether President Obama was not born the the U.S.

On an almost nightly basis, Trump advocates — including Kayleigh McEnany and former campaign manager Corey Lewandowski — have been taken to the woodshed for making outrageous statements while attempting to spin Trump’s comments and actions.

Friday night, CNN host Don Lemon was forced to cut Lewandowski’s mic when the Trump booster — who receives paychecks from both Trump and CNN — refused to allow Lemon to read a statement on Trump’s birther crusade.

Wednesday night, CNN panelists laughed after a Trump advocate attempted to explain how the candidate was going to deal with the Flint water crisis by beginning, “First, we;re going to build the wall..” a reference to Trump’s proposed multi-billion dollar wall between the U.S. and Mexico.

(h/t Raw Story)

Trump Fires Back at Criticism from Robert Gates

Twitter

Donald Trump took to Twitter early Saturday morning to lob an attack at Robert Gates, after the former Defense secretary said he is “beyond repair” on national security.

“I never met former Defense Secretary Robert Gates. He knows nothing about me. But look at the results under his guidance – a total disaster!” the GOP presidential nominee tweeted.

Gates on Friday criticized both Trump and Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton on military issues, writing in a Wall Street Journal op-ed that “neither candidate has seriously addressed how he or she thinks about the military or the use of force.”

Gates specifically ripped Trump for “naive and irresponsible” expressions of admiration for Russian President Vladimir Putin, and for a Middle East plan he called a “dangerous approach oblivious to the reality” of the region.

“Mr. Trump is also willfully ignorant about the rest of the world, about our military and its capabilities, and about government itself,” he wrote.

“He disdains expertise and experience while touting his own — such as his claim that he knows more about ISIS than America’s generals. He has no clue about the difference between negotiating a business deal and negotiating with sovereign nations.”

Gates and Trump have gone after each other throughout the presidential campaign.

Gates ripped Trump in May for appearing unwilling to accept advice from foreign policy experts, and Trump responded that he’s “not a big fan” of the former Defense secretary, who served under President Bush as well as President Obama.

Vice Reporter Arrested Outside Trump Event

Vice News reports that one of its journalists, Alex Thompson, was arrested outside a Donald Trump campaign event in Houston on Saturday after inquiring about a media credential.

Thompson had previously applied for a credential to the event — a luncheon for families with relatives killed by undocumented immigrants — and was told by the Trump campaign that his application was pending, according to Vice. Thompson, hoping to cover the luncheon at the Omni Houston Hotel at Westside, showed up to inquire about the campaign’s decision.

“A man who identified himself as a hotel manager then asked Thompson to leave and warned that he would be arrested if he did not,” Vice reported. “Roughly two minutes later, without further warning and while Thompson was waiting for a member of Trump’s staff to clarify his access to the event, he was arrested by Houston police, handcuffed and escorted outside. Thompson spoke with his editors while handcuffed and said that he was never given any opportunity to explain himself to police.”

The Houston Police Department said Saturday that Thompson had been asked to leave the hotel twice. The first time, he had left; the second time, they said, “he refused to do so and told hotel employees they would have to have him arrested because he was not leaving.” Hotel management then asked police to arrest him on trespassing charges, according to HPD.

Thompson’s journalism career didn’t start at Vice — he used to be an editorial assistant to New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd (who has written critically about Trump and released a book this week called “The Year of Voting Dangerously” — an unflattering take on both major-party presidential nominees.)

The Trump campaign late Saturday released a statement denying that it had anything to do with the arrest:

“The campaign was not involved in this incident or aware of the details surrounding it. The event organizers were responsible for today’s media presence and requested the campaign limit attendance to the traveling pool. The campaign had no staff presence at check-in for guests or media and therefore has no further knowledge of what occurred.”
Trump has treated the press with disdain throughout the election season, but the past few days have been particularly fractious. On Thursday, a plane chartered by the Trump campaign that was carrying reporters was delayed by about 30 minutes en route to a rally in Laconia, N.H. Trump refused to wait for the journalists to arrive and bragged to the crowd about leaving them behind.

“I have really good news: I just heard that the press is stuck on their airplane,” the GOP standard-bearer told his audience. “They can’t get here. I love it. So they’re trying to get here now. They’re going to be about 30 minutes late. They called us and said, ‘Could you wait?’ I said absolutely not. Let’s get going. Right?”

On Friday, Trump hoodwinked cable news channels into airing a campaign event live by promising a “major statement” about his longtime suggestion that President Obama might not have been born in the United States. Instead, Trump spent most of the time advertising his new hotel in Washington and calling on military dignitaries who endorse him.

“President Obama was born in the United States,” he finally said. “Period.”

Journalists fumed about getting played.

Now comes Thompson’s arrest — and seven more weeks of campaign-media relations that don’t appear to be improving anytime soon

(h/t The Washington Post)

Reality

Charges were eventually dropped.

Media

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nP5Pu31-cxM&feature=youtu.be

Trump Toughens Anti-Women’s Health Stance

Donald Trump has recruited the influential anti-abortion leader Marjorie Dannenfelser to lead his campaign’s national “Pro-Life Coalition.”

Not only that, but Trump has made a new policy promise that strengthens his anti-abortion position.

In a letter to anti-abortion leaders inviting them to join his coalition, Trump commits to a new policy: “Making the Hyde Amendment permanent law to protect taxpayers from having to pay for abortions.”It’s unusual for a Republican presidential nominee to move further to the right on abortion this late in an election cycle. And the move is a direct shot at Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton, whose party wrote into its platform that it would repeal the Hyde Amendment. Until this summer, the Democratic platform did not include this plank.

A longstanding policy, the Hyde Amendment bans the use of federal funds to pay for abortions for Medicaid recipients except in cases of rape, incest or when pregnancy endangers the life of the mother.

Trump’s commitment to making Hyde permanent law is new, though his running mate, Mike Pence, brought up the policy at an evangelical conference over the weekend.

In the letter, released by Dannenfelser’s Susan B. Anthony List, Trump also endorses the anti-abortion movement’s two biggest legislative priorities: defunding Planned Parenthood and passing a national ban on abortions after 20 weeks.

The late-term abortion ban, known as the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act, has long been one of Dannenfelser’s top priorities. Support for the bill has been the key litmus test for GOP candidates seeking endorsements from the Susan B. Anthony List for several election seasons.

The House approved the bill this year, though the initial vote had been abruptly cancelled after some Republicans voiced concerns about a restriction on abortion for rape victims who haven’t reported the crime to the police.

Legal experts have raised questions about whether a national 20-week ban would stand up in court, but Republicans say it is part of their long game to force the issue to reverse the landmark 1973 decision in Roe v. Wade.

Trump also committed to defunding Planned Parenthood, legalizing the actions of several GOP-led states over the last year. Most of those state actions have been blocked in courts.

Trump additionally doubled down on his promise to appoint “pro-life” justices to the Supreme Court.

“Hillary Clinton’s unwavering commitment to advancing taxpayer-funded abortion on-demand stands in stark contrast to the commitments I’ve made,” Trump writes, “to advance the rights of unborn children and their mothers when elected president.”

Leaders of the anti-abortion movement were hardly quick to embrace Trump, who told an interviewer in 1999 that he supported partial-birth abortion.

But as the prospect of Clinton — a career-long advocate for abortion rights — becoming president came into focus, many anti-abortion activists sided with Trump.
Still, Trump tested their patience when he said that women should be punished for abortions if the procedure were made illegal.
Those remarks in April, which he later walked back, ignored decades of conservative doctrine on abortion, which some leaders of the movement said proved that Trump was out-of-touch with their beliefs. He arranged meetings with anti-abortion leaders, including Dannenfelser, shortly after facing the backlash.

And selecting Pence as his running mate, a trusted ally of Dannenfelser and other leaders, helped Trump immeasurably with the anti-abortion movement.
Co-chairs of the Pro-life Coalition will be announced later this month, according to SBA List’s statement. Coalition members will be asked to write op-eds, speak on Trump’s behalf on television and at public events, and recruit volunteers.

“Not only has Mr. Trump doubled down on his three existing commitments to the pro-life movement, he has gone a step further in pledging to protect the Hyde Amendment and the conscience rights of millions of pro-life taxpayers,” Dannenfelser said.

“For a candidate to make additional commitments during a general election is almost unheard of.”

Reality

Hyde Amendment means that American women — many of them women of color — who cannot afford health insurance are effectively prevented from availing themselves of a legal medical procedure that is their right and that is fundamental to their ability to exert autonomy over their reproductive lives and thus their economic and familial futures. Yes. Hillary Clinton opposes the Hyde Amendment, because it is one of the policies that exacerbates economic and racial inequality in this country.

If Donald Trump is elected president, it will likely be with a Republican congress and Supreme Court seats to fill. He could do every single one of the things he’s promising anti-abortion activists he will do. And those things would return women, in a very real way — in a way that is already happening in state and local jurisdictions around the country — to their secondary status: unable to exert full control over their bodies; barred from making choices about whether or when to bear children based on their health, their economic, or familial status, or the condition of the fetuses they carry.

Abortions accounted for 3 percent of the nearly 10.6 million total services provided by Planned Parenthood clinics in 2013, according to its annual report.

Trump Jokes About Congressman’s Disability

Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid chastised Donald Trump on Friday for joking about an accident that blinded Reid in one eye.

“Donald Trump can make fun of the injury that crushed the side of my face and took the sight in my right eye all he wants — I’ve dealt with tougher opponents than him,” Reid said in response to Trump’s “toxic comments.”

Reid, D-Nev., a fierce critic of Trump’s, was referring to remarks that the Republican presidential nominee made in an interview with The Washington Post that was posted online Thursday night.

The Post reporter told Trump that Reid had said that Trump is “not slim and trim.”

“Harry Reid? I think he should go back and start working out again with his rubber work-out pieces,” Trump was quoted as saying.

Reid was exercising with a rubber resistance band in his bathroom on New Year’s Day 2015 when the band reportedly broke or slipped from his hands, causing him to spin around and strike his face on a cabinet. Reid lost vision in his right eye and suffered a concussion, broken orbital bones, and a broken rib.

“I may not be able to see out of my right eye, but with my good eye, I can see that Trump is a man who inherited his money and spent his entire life pretending like he earned it,” Reid said. “In Searchlight (Nevada), we learned a thing or two about hard work that Trump may not have learned at his boarding school.”

Trump made his remarks the same day that Reid took to the Senate floor to blast Trump as “a spoiled brat” and “a human leech who will bleed the country.”

(h/t USA Today)

Reality

This is not the first time Trump has mocked someone’s disability. Back in November 2015, Trump mocked New York Times reporter Serge Kovaleski’s muscular disorder by saying, “You should see the guy!” then waved his hands to mimic Kovaleski’s disability.

1 … 373 374 375 376 377 … 426