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Foreign Leaders Told to “Praise” and “Compliment” Trump

Donald Trump is embarking on his first foreign trip as president, and in an effort to keep his fragile state of mind in tack, leaders in these upcoming countries are being told to “praise” and “compliment” Trump on his election win.

The Hill is reporting that embassies and leaders who have met with Trump have been speaking among themselves and with other dignitaries about how to handle the new president, and a number of themes have emerged, the report said. Among them:

– Compliment Trump on his election win, and compare him favorably to former President Obama.

– Don’t expect him to know your country’s history or hot-button issues.

– Make a short presentation tailored to his attention span, and don’t try to bring up a long list of issues.

“If you were prepping people for Donald Trump, the two or three points would be: one, bear in mind this is still a guy who focuses on wins,” Peter Westmacott, a former British ambassador to the U.S., told the Times.

“Secondly, he is a deal maker, a pragmatist. Third, this is a guy with a limited attention span. He absolutely won’t listen to visitors droning on for a half-hour — or longer if they need an interpreter.”

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Report – Comey Tried to Blend In With White House Curtains to Avoid Trump

That Comey would go to these lengths to avoid Trump tells me that Trump was constantly trying to obstruct this investigation.

Can you say obstruction of justice?

According to a New York Times report published Thursday, Comey tried to blend into the Blue Room’s blue curtains during a White House visit for a ceremony honoring law enforcement officials who provided security at inauguration.

Comey recounted the incident to his friend, Brookings Institution fellow Benjamin Wittes, who told the story to The Times. Comey, who is 6 feet 8 inches tall, was wearing a dark blue suit and stood near the similarly colored curtains in the back of the room, hoping that Trump would not spot him.

“He thought he had gotten through and not been noticed or singled out and that he was going to get away without an individual interaction,” Wittes told the Times.

However, Comey was spotted by the president, who called out to him and joked he had become “more famous” than himself. Trump went in for a hug when Comey was reportedly trying to only give Trump a handshake.

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Fox News’ Roger Ailes Dead at 77

I can only hope Ailes was able to repent for all the lies, sorry, miss-information he and his co-conspirators at Fox News delivered to the American people.

Here is an except of a statement from his wife, Elizabeth.

“I am profoundly sad and heartbroken to report that my husband, Roger Ailes, passed away this morning,” Ailes said in the statement. “Roger was a loving husband to me, to his son Zachary, and a loyal friend to many. He was also a patriot, profoundly grateful to live in a country that gave him so much opportunity to work hard, to rise—and to give back.”

 

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Report – Donald Trump Could Be The Reason Lawrence O’Donnell Loses Job at MSNBC

Speculations are being fueled that the relationship between MSNBC and Lawrence O’Donnell is coming to an abrupt end. O’Donnell’s contract on The Last Word ends in four weeks and the two sides have not come to the negotiating table. This is raising questions and people are various theories as to why O’Donnell is not being respected by MSNBC’s leadership.

One theory was supplied by Yashar Ali from HuffPo. Ali raised a very important point when he suggested that Donald Trump could be the reason MSNBC has not re-negotiated Lawrence’s contract.

In 2011, O’Donnell called on NBC to fire Trump, then the host and executive producer of “The Celebrity Apprentice,” for pushing his racist and inaccurate “birther” conspiracy against President Barack Obama. In 2015, he also claimed that Trump was lying about his wealth. Trump threatened to sue O’Donnell for making false statements but never followed through on his threat (which O’Donnell had predicted).

According to three sources, Trump has pressured MSNBC President Phil Griffin to fire O’Donnell on multiple occasions. Griffin alluded to Trump’s push for O’Donnell’s ouster in an interview with the Hollywood Reporter last month, saying, “[Trump] started calling me all the time in 2011 to say Lawrence O’Donnell was a ‘third-rate’ anchor.”  Griffin and O’Donnell enjoy a cordial relationship but Griffin’s power as the President of MSNBC has been diminished by Lack since he returned in 2015. As a result, Lack will be the one to decide whether O’Donnell stays and under what terms.

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David Gergen on Trump – “I Think We’re In Impeachment Terrority”

“I think we’re in impeachment territory.”

Those were not the words of a left-wing political blogger with high hopes, nor a hyperactive Twitter maven spouting conspiracy theories. They came from David Gergen, the typically moderate, mild-mannered CNN analyst and former aide to four presidents, both Republican and Democrat.

Gergen appeared on CNN Tuesday night to discuss to discuss the controversies that have overwhelmed the Trump administration in the past week.

At the top of the list were reports that President Trump had asked then-FBI Director James B. Comey to drop an investigation into Michael Flynn, the former national security adviser. The revelation has fueled claims that Trump might have obstructed justice, which in the past has been treated as an impeachable offense.

If true, it could mean devastating consequences for the president, said Gergen, who served under Presidents Richard Nixon and Bill Clinton, both of whom faced the impeachment process.

“I was in the Nixon administration, as you know, and I thought after watching the Clinton impeachment I’d never see another one,” Gergen told host Anderson Cooper. “But I think we’re in impeachment territory now for the first time.”

Cooper asked: “Really?”

“I think that obstruction of justice was the number one charge against Nixon that brought him down,” Gergen responded. “Obstruction of justice was the number one charge against Bill Clinton, which led to his indictment in the House.”

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Keith Olbermann to Trump – “…you stupid, pea-brained, motherfu*king traitor”

Never one to hold his silence on matters of importance, Keith Olbermann did not mince words when it was revealed that Donald Trump gave Russian officials Classified Intelligence during their Oval Office meeting last week.

Trump’s own words confirmed the multiple reports that he revealed classified information to the Russians. In his twitter rant, Trump claimed presidential privilege as the reason, saying that as president, he has “absolute right” to give Russia the classified intelligence.

As President I wanted to share with Russia (at an openly scheduled W.H. meeting) which I have the absolute right to do, facts pertaining to terrorism and airline flight safety. Humanitarian reasons, plus I want Russia to greatly step up their fight against ISIS & terrorism.”

Trump and his White House Minions were taken aback, yet again, by the universal outrage to his intelligence disclosure. Naturally, they tried to divert blame, saying that instead of focusing on what Trump did, we should all be damning the person who leaked the details of the meeting to the press.

Let’s weigh those options – Trump giving Russia America’s classified intelligence, or getting angry with the person who leaked information about the meeting to the press. I’m grateful to the person who brought this info to light.

Keith Olbermann is grateful to that person too. In defense of that person, Olbermann told Trump exactly what he thinks about him.”

“YOU are the leaker, you stupid, pea-brained, motherfucking traitor,” Olbermann said. “RESIGN.”

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Trump – “Are You Allowed to Impeach a President for Gross Incompetence?”

Remember in 2014 when Trump questioned if it was allowed to “impeach a president for gross incompetence?” Well the rest of America is wondering that very same thing today!

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Trump Defends Giving Highly Classified and Confidential Information To Russia

Donald Trump just don’t get it. After it was revealed yesterday that he invited Russian officials to the Oval office last week and shared classified confidential information with them, Donald Trump is now defending his decision in a barrage of tweets earlier this morning.

After the Washington Post broke the news, Trump sent out one of his surrogate, his national security adviser, H.R. McMaster, to deny the story. McMaster stood outside the White House and informed reporters that “the story as reported” was “false”

“At no time were intelligence sources or methods discussed,” McMaster said, carefully reading from a statement. “And the President did not disclose any military operations that weren’t already publicly known. I was in the room. It didn’t happen.”

Of course the story reported in the Washington Post did not say Trump disclosed military operations or discussed “intelligence sources or methods.” The story stated that Trump shared highly classified information on U.S intelligence about ISIS. Intelligence that was shared with the U.S on the condition it should not be disclosed without the authorization to do so.

Hours after Trump violated this trust, he threw McMaster under the bus and admitted that the report in the Washington Post was in fact, correct. In a tweet storm, Trump gave this reason for giving Russia the classified information.

“As President I wanted to share with Russia (at an openly scheduled W.H. meeting) which I have the absolute right to do, facts pertaining to terrorism and airline flight safety, Humanitarian reasons, plus I want Russia to greatly step up their fight against ISIS & terrorism,” he tweeted.

On CNN, former CIA officer Bob Baer, said by revealing this to the Russians, America “has lost control of this information. It’s going to go to the Syrians, It’s going to go to the Iranians — Russian allies.”

Baer continued. “The ability to protect that source whoever he is, wherever he is has been seriously undermined … If a CIA officer had revealed this information to the Russians, he would be fired instantly.”

Even former CIA Director, Leon Panetta was in awe and wondered if Donald Trump realizes that the safety of the United States is in his hands. Panetta was visibly perplexed in a CNN interview. “He is the president,” Panetta lamented, “not just a reality TV star.”

“He is President of the United States. He is not a reality TV star. He is not just another personality. He is President of the United States.”

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Report – Trump Revealed “Highly Classified” Information to Russian Officials

Donald Trump is a disaster and he is dragging this country off a cliff. I just had to get that off my chest!

In a bombshell report by The Washington Post, this week’s unbelievable Donald Trump story is about highly classified information that Donald Trump shared with Russia last week in the Oval Office.

The information the president relayed had been provided by a U.S. partner through an intelligence-sharing arrangement considered so sensitive that details have been withheld from allies and tightly restricted even within the U.S. government, officials said.

The partner had not given the United States permission to share the material with Russia, and officials said Trump’s decision to do so endangers cooperation from an ally that has access to the inner workings of the Islamic State. After Trump’s meeting, senior White House officials took steps to contain the damage, placing calls to the CIA and the National Security Agency.

“This is code-word information,” said a U.S. official familiar with the matter, using terminology that refers to one of the highest classification levels used by American spy agencies. Trump “revealed more information to the Russian ambassador than we have shared with our own allies.”

The revelation comes as the president faces rising legal and political pressure on multiple Russia-related fronts. Last week, he fired FBI Director James B. Comey in the midst of a bureau investigation into possible links between the Trump campaign and Moscow. Trump’s subsequent admission that his decision was driven by “this Russia thing” was seen by critics as attempted obstruction of justice.

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James Clapper – U.S Institutions Under Attack by Donald Trump – Video

In a poor and feeble attempt to justify his claim that Russia did not influence the outcome of the 2016 presidential election, Donald Trump and his minions in the White House often reference James Clapper’s initial statement that he saw no evidence of collusion between the Russians and the Trump campaign.

Of course, Clapper also said that he was not privy to all the information and could not make any conclusion on the matter, but Trump and his minions continue quoting Clapper as the final say in the Russia/Trump investigation.

At no other time in Trump’s presidency was Clapper so referenced as this past week. After Trump admitted that he fired the FBI Director because of the agency’s ongoing investigation into his 2016 campaign, Trump and his minions in the White House invoked Clapper’s name… bigley! So it was refreshing to hear Clapper smack his name out of their mouths by saying loud and clear, that Trump and his minions are actively trying to destroy Americas’ Institutions.

“I think in many ways our institutions are under assault both externally,” Clapper said in a Sunday morning interview on CNN, “…and I think as well our institutions are under assault internally.”

“Internally from the president?” CNN host Jake Tapper asked. “Exactly,” Clapper replied.

Video

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The Comey Storm

The editorial boards of these reliable conservative newspapers were geniuses in the fall, and they’re geniuses now because they saw what other Republicans refused to see: that Donald Trump was, and is, not fit to be president.

I’m not psychoanalysis him. I’ll leave that to the professionals. He doesn’t have the personal skills or ideas or knowledge to be an effective president, and the entirety of his tenure has proven that.  What he does is not presidential, what he says is not presidential and what he sees as his role in the national conversation is not presidential.

In and of itself, Trump’s firing of James Comey should not have been big news. Comey has lived on borrowed time since the inaugural, and would have been immediately sacked at 12:02 pm on January 20 had Hillary won. But the Trump White House looks like a rat’s nest with people peeking their heads out to see if there’s a trap. Good public servants have dutifully explained what the talking-points said and legislators have responded as expected to their party over country.
Then the president (shudder) weighs in. And by now it should be crystal clear that he has little sense of protocol or how to shape a message, and it is not clear if he wants to acquire these skills. It’s all personal. Venomous. Vindictive. Vile. Accusatory. Threatening…  This is not presidential and it never will be. There is no normal here.
As for the actual content, clearly Comey has something on Trump or Trump has something on Trump, and Comey should just come right out and say what he has and see if Trump releases any “tapes” if they exist. This is how you confront a bully. I think one of Hillary’s big mistakes in the debates was not taking Trump’s offer that he would release his tax returns if she released her deleted emails. As soon as he proposed it, she should have extended her hand and said, “Deal. We’ll release them on the same day.”  Comey needs to do the same thing in response to Trump’s threats. The country is bigger than one person’s personality.
As I said before, my life has become much easier now that I reject anything that comes out of Trump’s mouth, twitter feed or pen. And now that he has essentially said his administration will say anything or even cancel press briefings, my life is getting even more relaxing. The problem is that we still live in a democratic republic that demands an active press. Shutting down the process is dangerous.
And finally, let’s not overplay Trump’s dysfunction. He has done nothing impeachable nor can people who oppose him gain anything by demonizing those who voted for him. What we need is a responsible opposition that focuses on the issues such as health care, taxes, immigration and jobs and makes clear what we think the country should do about these things. That’s what voters will eventually use to make their choices. There is plenty of time to identify quality candidates and to begin the process of making a case.
For more, go to www.facebook.com/WhereDemocracyLives or Twitter @rigrundfest
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Congressman on Trump – “Lock Him Up!”

It was a chant reserved for Hillary Clinton. They sang it from the rafters of the Republican convention as speaker after speaker incited the crowds with the prospects of putting Hillary Clinton in jail when Donald Trump became president. “Lock her up! Lock her up,” they chanted, fists pumping in the air as they visualized the handcuffs clamping down on Hillary’s wrists.

The chants worked. Their man won. But since he assumed the office of the presidency on January 20th, Donald Trump and his minions in the White House have been the ones plagued by investigations and accusations of wrong doing. Their man, Donald Trump, is now the one doing all he can to avoid being impeached and thrown out of office.

After Trump fired James Comey, the FBI Director who was in the middle of investigating possible crimes against him and his 2016 campaign, Americans from sea to shining sea dubbed the firing ‘an obstruction of justice’ and demands for a special investigator followed. And with those demands, chants of “lock him up!”

Rep. Hakeem Jeffries of New York chanted it on Twitter!

My oh my how times have changed.

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