| | | | Donald Trump's presser: Me, me, me, me, me | | On the eve of a potentially make or break moment for his Supreme Court nominee, President Donald Trump held a press conference to talk about his favorite subject: Himself.
Asked about whether he believed the women who had made accusations of sexual assault or inappropriate conduct against Brett Kavanaugh were liars, Trump responded by noting that he also had been the target of allegations like this.
"I've been accused ... by four or five women, who got paid a lot of money to make up stories about me who made a lot of money," Trump said.
(Fact check: More than a dozen women have accused Trump of a variety of charges relating to sexual behavior. He has denied all the charges and threatened to sue those women after the conclusion of the 2016 campaign. He hasn't filed any of those lawsuits.)
(Fact check 2: Trump's one-time personal attorney, Michael Cohen, has testified under oath that Trump directed and coordinated payments to two women -- porn star Stormy Daniels and ex-Playmate Karen McDougal -- aimed at buying their silence in the lead-up to the 2016 vote. Both women alleged they had extramarital affairs with Trump in the mid 2000s.)
That answer -- comparing his own accusers to those of Kavanaugh -- surely made Senate Republicans who are desperately trying to confirm the judge groan. It was far from the only time that Trump turned a question (OK, any question) at the press conference into a soliloquy about his greatness.
When asked about Kim Jong Un, Trump said that if he had not been elected president, the United States and North Korea would be at war now.
When asked about his planned meeting with Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein tomorrow, Trump said that Rosenstein had been "very nice" to him.
When asked what sort of message he was sending by raising questions about Kavanaugh's accusers, Trump noted that he had won 52% of the female vote in 2016.
(Fact check 3: He actually won 41% of the women's vote. He won 52% of white women. He received 4% among black women and 25% among Hispanic women. Here's the exit poll to prove it.)
When asked about the impact of his tariffs on farmers, he noted that farmers love him.
When he called on a reporter for The New York Times, he said the reporter -- Mark Landler -- should thank him for the profits the company was making.
Again and again and again, Trump turned the conversation to himself. It was an 81-minute running riff on a) all the things HE has done and b) all the things HE doesn't get credit for.
The Point: The press conference was remarkable. It was unprecedented. It was wild. It was pure Trump.
-- Chris
| | Republican Sen. Jeff Flake of Arizona, a vocal critic of President Trump, took to the Senate floor on Wednesday afternoon to voice his opposition to how Trump has handled the Brett Kavanaugh nomination process and his accusers.
Flake, during his emotional remarks, said that both Kavanaugh and Christine Blasey Ford, the woman who has accused the Supreme Court nominee of sexual assault, deserve an apology for the way they have been treated. He also rebuked the President for casting doubt on Ford's credibility.
The senator from Arizona said that some of the "public comments" about both Kavanaugh and Ford "have been vile," and said, "we owe you both a sincere apology."
Flake isn't the only Republican senator who has expressed doubt about Kavanaugh and the handling thus far of the nomination process.
Sen. Susan Collins of Maine raised serious concerns at a private meeting about the newest allegations of inappropriate behavior against the nominee, and questioned why the Senate Judiciary Committee had not subpoenaed a close friend of the federal judge, multiple sources tell CNN's Phil Mattingly and Manu Raju.
Sources said Collins seemed to be unnerved by the latest allegation made against Kavanaugh by a third woman, Julie Swetnick, citing that it was a sworn statement sent to the Senate Judiciary Committee, which carries with it the possibility of perjury for lying to Congress.
The pressure is also on GOP Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, whose constituents have been putting pressure on her to oppose Kavanaugh's nomination for reasons not having to do with his assault allegations.
The Alaska Federation of Natives, a key group that backed Murkowski for the Senate during her write-in triumph in 2010, said in a statement last month that it strongly opposed Kavanaugh because of "his views on the rights of Native peoples."
Read more from CNN's Daniella Diaz's story about why Alaskans are urging Murkowski to oppose Kavanaugh's nomination. | | President Donald Trump "went off" on French President Emmanuel Macron during their bilateral meeting at the United Nations General Assembly in New York on Monday evening, a source says.
CNN's State Department team of Michelle Kosinski and Jennifer Hansler explain what went down in their story:
"Trump lambasted the European Union for its trade policies, saying it was worse than China -- a complaint the US President made to his French counterpart in an April meeting at the White House.
"The source described Trump as 'going off' on EU trade during his meeting on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly. Trump said the EU had to open up on agriculture -- a continued point of contention in trade negotiations between the two entities. Macron was respectful to Trump and pushed back some on the topic but moved the conversation forward, the source said.
"There was 'some rapport' between the two, 'but it's not what it (once) was,' the source said."
The next day, Macron delivered a speech in which he rebuked Trump's isolationist "America First" message that his speech that same day centered around. Macron's message displayed that he's ready to assume the rule of global leader the US leader typically assumes. | | GETTING TO THE BOTTOM OF IT | | Polls say one thing while President Trump says another, so CNN's Grace Sparks examined the question at hand: How many Americans actually support Trump?
Trump is known to brag about how popular of a Republican president he is (more popular than Abraham Lincoln, so he claims). However, in the most recent CNN poll conducted by SSRS, his approval rating was 36%, which may not be a record low, but it's not very good either. - According to the latest Pew Research poll, 25% of Americans identify as Republicans, 31% Democrats and 38% independents
- In the latest CNN poll, Trump was under water with most of the population, but among Republicans his approval was at 82%
- However, because only 25% of Americans over age 18 identify as Republicans, and 82% of Republicans approve of Trump, only about 20% of Americans support him as President of the United States
- Not all Trump supporters are Republicans. Fourteen percent of people in the United States are independents who approve of Trump and 2% are Democrats who approve of him.
Read more of the breakdown in Grace's story here. | | During a reception for United Nations General Assembly leader spouses in New York this morning, first lady Melania Trump laid out her plan for her upcoming solo trip to Africa.
Departing on Monday, October 1, Trump will visit Ghana, Malawi, Kenya and Egypt during her first trip overseas without her husband.
"There are many programs across the country that are doing great things for children, and I believe we can replicate many of these programs overseas," said Trump in her remarks on Wednesday. "This is why I am pleased to be working closely with USAID as I prepare for my first major international trip to Africa. By working with developing countries around the world to help them with their journey to self-reliance, USAID's work embodies much of what 'Be Best' stands for."
Trump is sticking to tradition as her most recent predecessors, first ladies Michelle Obama, Laura Bush and Hillary Clinton, all visited several countries in Africa on solo trips during their time in office. Stephanie Grisham, Trump's communications director, told CNN the first lady chose Africa for her first major solo excursion long before details and dates were even in the proposal stage.
CNN's Kate Bennett writes more about the upcoming trip here. | | | From Brenna: "'Nose goes!' -- Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke, probably. I don't even know what chore he's avoiding, but having grown up with many siblings, I reflexively touched my nose upon seeing this. Encourage your friends to be in the know by sharing The Point." | | | | | | |
No comments:
Post a Comment