Tag Archives: Idiocracy

Reuters reports: Republican U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham said President Donald Trump reassured him about his plan to withdraw U.S. troops from Syria and his commitment to defeating Islamic State during a White House meeting on Sunday. “We talked about Syria. He told me some things I didn’t know that made me feel a lot better about where we’re headed in …

Politico reports: White House counselor Kellyanne Conway on Sunday appeared to retreat from President Donald Trump’s signature campaign pledge of a physical wall along the U.S.-Mexico border, saying debate over the final form of the administration’s border security measures amounts to “a silly semantic argument.” “It is a silly semantic argument because people who just want to say ‘wall, wall, …

The Guardian reports: Citing the thorny question of withdrawing troops from Afghanistan and Trump’s urge to pull out of NATO, Kelly “defended his rocky tenure, arguing that it is best measured by what the president did not do when Kelly was at his side”. Kelly was one of the so-called “adults in the room” – many of them generals, who …

Roll Call reports: As the partial government shutdown grinds on, President Donald Trump signed an executive order Friday evening that would freeze pay for federal workers in 2019. Trump telegraphed the move in his February budget request for fiscal 2019 when he proposed a pay freeze for the roughly 2.1 million federal civilian workers. White House and Office of Management …

Mediaite reports: President Donald Trump continues to tweet through the government shutdown, going after the Democrats again Saturday morning for being too focused on “presidential harassment.” Trump’s tweet follows a report from about the optimism in the White House over the shutdown and how it takes attention away from Democrats’ planned investigations into the President in the run-up to the …

CNBC reports: President Donald Trump has cancelled his New Year’s plans and will stay in Washington, D.C., as the government shutdown continues, incoming acting Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney said in an interview with Fox News on Friday. “He cancelled his plans for Christmas, now he’s cancelled his plans for New Year’s,” Mulvaney said. “The president is very heavily engaged …

The Associated Press reports: The government shutdown could complicate things for farmers lining up for federal payments to ease the burden of President Donald Trump’s trade war with China. The USDA last week assured farmers that direct payments would keep going out during the first week of the shutdown. But payments will soon be suspended for farmers who haven’t certified …

USA Today reports: The U.S. Office of Personnel Management has offered federal workers affected by the partial government shutdown a guide for negotiating with creditors, landlords and mortgage companies while their income is cut off. The Thursday tweet notes that workers should consult with a “personal attorney” for advice but offers templates for how one might seek financial assistance for …

Reuters reports: Nearly 60 percent of U.S. voters say President Trump should be either impeached and removed from office or formally censured according to a new Harvard CAPS/Harris poll. The poll shows that a majority of votes think some kind of action should be taken against Trump, though they are divided on how far lawmakers should go as Democrats prepare …

The Daily Beast reports: Days into a partial government shutdown that has left tens of thousands of federal workers furloughed, President Donald Trump and his close allies have begun feeling more confident about the political perch they occupy. In their eyes, a prolonged stalemate will likely fracture voters along traditional partisan lines, and the ultimate outcome will be a debate …

Reuters reports: According to a new HarrisX poll released Thursday, a majority of registered voters (52 percent) are doubtful about surveys they hear about in the news media. Twenty-nine percent of respondents said they don’t believe most polls but do trust a few while 19 percent said they “almost never” believe that polls are accurate. While the majority were mistrustful …

The Associated Press reports: Iraqi lawmakers Thursday demanded U.S. forces leave the country in the wake of a surprise visit by President Donald Trump that politicians denounced as arrogant and a violation of Iraqi sovereignty. Politicians from both blocs of Iraq’s divided Parliament called for a vote to expel U.S. troops and promised to schedule an extraordinary session to debate …

The Hill reports: President Trump early Thursday resumed his feud with Democrats on Capitol Hill over funding for a border wall, claiming that most of the hundreds of thousands of federal employees furloughed or forced to work without pay due to a partial government shutdown are Democrats. The president did not provide an explanation for his claim. Have the Democrats …

The Associated Press reports: The drumbeat of bad news for President Donald Trump hasn’t been good for his most prominent backer in the media. Fox News Channel’s Sean Hannity has been slumping in the ratings since the midterm elections and ominous stories related to Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation of the president. His show averaged 2.76 million viewers since the …

Talking Points Memo reports: President Barack Obama visited troops on a base in Hawaii every year of his presidency.  Trump skipped the tradition this year, adding yet another strike to his 2018 record. He garnered backlash earlier this year when he cancelled appearances at a burial site in Paris and Arlington National Cemetery in quick succession. He has also yet …

Mediaite reports: President Donald Trump capped off Christmas Day with by hoping everyone was having a great Christmas, even the “fake news media.” It followed Christmas Day remarks, when Trump said this from the White House: “It’s a disgrace what’s happening in our country. But other than that, I wish everybody a very Merry Christmas. Thank you very much.” Trump’s …

Jonah Goldberg writes for the LA Times: Weirdly, it’s gotten to the point that when I say President Trump is not a man of good character, I feel like I should preface it with a trigger warning for many of my fellow conservatives. But his refusal to listen to advisors; his inability to bite his tongue; his demonization and belittling …

Reuters reports: President Donald Trump on Tuesday said the partial shutdown of the federal government was going to last until his demand for funds to build a U.S.-Mexico border wall is met. Speaking after a video conference with U.S. troops posted abroad, Trump also reiterated his contention that the Federal Reserve was raising U.S. interest rates too fast. At Christmas …

The Hill reports: Russian state-backed news outlet RT on Monday released a satirical video depicting President Trump opening Christmas gifts.   Trump begins by opening a gift from Kim Jong Un, who gave him small gold busts of the two leaders. Trump tosses the bust of Kim aside before opening his next gift: A “Make America Great Again” hat boasting a …

The Associated Press reports: President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump on Christmas Eve took calls from children anxious to find out where Santa was on his gift-giving journey. In one conversation, Trump asked a 7-year-old named Coleman, “Are you still a believer in Santa?” He listened for a moment before adding, “Because at 7, it’s marginal, right?” Trump …