Politicians & Pundits: Donald Trump

Prime Minister’s Visit Highlights Trump’s Malaysian Conflicts

President Trump, who pays himself millions in taxpayer funds and sells out presidential access on a multi-million dollar scale, is today set to meet with Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak, who is himself “under the cloud of a corruption investigation.”

But not even Prime Minister Najib’s “corruption cloud” and accompanying Department of Justice investigation can distract from Trump’s own scandals — particularly as Najib’s visit puts Trump’s entangling Malaysian business conflicts of interest in high relief.

Trump’s Malaysian conflicts of interest epitomize his selling out the presidency for personal gain: the Trumps’ Trump Tower Vancouver partner, Malaysian national Joo Kim Tiah, was an invited guest at Trump’s inauguration, and he even trumpets his Trump family access on social media and in media interviews. There are consequences to Trump and his partners — especially foreign partners — using the presidency as a marketing tool — and none are […]

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Reminder: You Can’t Believe Anything Donald Trump Jr. Says

Donald Trump Jr. has changed his story about collusion with Russia yet again, this time in testimony to investigators from the Senate Judiciary Committee. He can be charged with a crime if he’s found to have lied to congressional investigators. 

It’s clear Trump Jr. must be counting on congressional investigators, Special Counsel Robert Mueller, and the American people to suspend their disbelief and blindly accept his conflicting explanations. Unfortunately for Trump Jr. and his father, however, that’s simply not going to happen. 

Here are the three most likely lies from Trump Jr.’s testimony today: 

1. Trump Jr. now says he doesn’t remember if the White House helped craft his initial misleading response to reports about the June 9, 2016 meeting in Trump Tower with Jared Kushner, Paul Manafort, and Russian officials. 

FACT CHECK: The President dictated his son’s response on-board Air Force One. 

2. Trump Jr. now says he had reservations about […]

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American Bridge Statement On Trump Administration Roll Back Of Campus Sexual Assault Protections

American Bridge Rapid Response Director Emily Aden made the following statement in response to Secretary Betsy DeVos’ announcement that the Trump administration will re-write campus sexual assault protections under Title IX:

“Today, Betsy DeVos and Donald Trump showed us they stand with perpetrators of sexual violence over the victims. One in five women are sexually assaulted in college, yet the Trump administration thinks the answer is to make it even more difficult for victims to feel comfortable and protected when coming forward. This is disgusting and shameful, even for the man who bragged about where he likes to grab women.”

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Trump’s sabotage of the Affordable Care Act costs the people of Kentucky

Donald Trump is actively sabotaging Affordable Care Act insurance marketplaces, and it is costing the people of Kentucky. Today, Anthem announced that as a result of Trump destabilizing the market, they will withdraw from offering individual coverage plans in half of the counties in Kentucky.

The news comes after Donald Trump has taken a host of executive actions taken by Trump and his administration to undercut the functioning of Affordable Care Act marketplaces, including an executive order on Trump’s first day in office to compromise the effectiveness of the individual mandate, calling into question whether the mandate would be enforced at all, pulling other ACA enrollment ads that had already been paid for, and – most harmful of all – threatening to abruptly withhold cost-sharing reductions (CSRs) that are critical in order for 7 million working people to have […]

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TOMORROW: Don Jr Will Have To Account For His Dad’s Lies Before Senate Judiciary Committee

When Donald Trump Jr. appears before the Senate Judiciary Committee tomorrow to answer questions about arranging the now-infamous meeting with Jared Kushner, Paul Manafort, and a Kremlin-linked lawyer promising dirt on Secretary Clinton, he will also have to explain why his father tried to deceive the American people about the real intent behind the meeting.

Donald Trump’s attempted cover-up is central to special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation and so far, the White House’s conflicting explanations about their lies have only led to more questions than actual answers surrounding the June 9, 2016 meeting.

“The only reason for a cover up is when you’ve done something wrong,” said Kevin McAlister, a Bridge Project spokesperson. “That’s why everyone from Robert Mueller to members of the House and Senate – not to mention the public – are anxiously awaiting a real, truthful explanation about the events surrounding the now infamous June meeting with a Putin operative and the subsequent lies about the […]

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Watch: Every GOP insurance commissioner testifying today says that Trump should end his ACA sabotage 

Today, every single Republican state insurance commissioner testifying to the Senate HELP committee about stabilization of the Affordable Care Act called for the continued payment of cost-sharing reductions (CSRs) that are critical in order for 7 million working Americans to have healthcare, and without which premiums for benchmark marketplace silver plans would skyrocket by 25%.

Donald Trump has repeatedly threatened to cease the payment of these funds, resulting in needless uncertainty that insurance companies have stated is the cause of double-digit premium rate hike requests.

America’s doctors and hospitals, patient advocacy organizations, and the U.S. business community have all appealed to Trump personally to guarantee payment of CSRs and remove the turbulence he has injected into marketplaces across the country.“Donald Trump should listen to these insurance commissioners from his own party and immediately end his campaign to sabotage the state insurance marketplaces,” said American Bridge spokesperson Andrew Bates. “Trump […]

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Trump Is Making Millions Off Of His Pay-To-Play Golf Vacations

“This is just the latest proof that Trump is abusing the power of the presidency to make millions off of his time in office. Every time Trump goes golfing at one of his properties, he’s engaging in a corrupt pay-to-play scheme that allows CEOs and lobbyists to funnel millions of dollars into his pocket in exchange for access,” said American Bridge spokesperson Brad Bainum. “It’s all a scam, and the American people are getting screwed while the Trump family makes millions.”

USA Today: Trump gets millions from golf members. CEOs and lobbyists get access to president

By Brad Heath, Fredreka Schouten, Steve Reilly, Nick Penzenstadler, and Aamer Madhani, 9/6/17

Dozens of lobbyists, contractors and others who make their living influencing the government pay President Trump’s companies for membership in his private golf clubs, a status that can put them in close contact with the president, a USA TODAY investigation found.

Members of the clubs […]

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American Bridge response to Trump Administration abandoning 4 million Americans being denied overtime pay 

American Bridge President Jessica Mackler released the following statement after the Department of Justice announced it would stop defending the Obama Administration’s rule guaranteeing that approximately 4 million Americans would no longer be denied the overtime pay that they earn: 

“Donald Trump personally screwed over hundreds of employees by refusing to pay their overtime and now he’s using the Justice Department to slash the paychecks of 4 million hard-working Americans who will not receive the overtime pay ​that ​they earn. This is Trump’s latest action that is at odds with his campaign trail rhetoric, and ​it ​further shows how his economic agenda is solely designed to further rig the American economy for the rich – including Trump himself – at the expense of American workers. The American Dream is moving farther and father out of reach of our country’s workers and Donald Trump is to blame.” 

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American Bridge DACA Statement

American Bridge President Jessica Mackler statement on Donald Trump ending DACA:

“Over the past few weeks, Donald Trump praised neo-Nazis, pardoned a racist criminal convicted of jailing people based on the color of their skin, and he’s now authorizing the mass-deportation of young people who have done nothing wrong. Trump’s actions will force a million people out of the country, break up hundreds of thousands of families, and throw away the contributions that a generation of young immigrants would have made to the United States — all in the name of a partisan agenda that solely caters to extremists in his party.

“DACA recipients are the best of us; young people who, despite difficult circumstances and challenges, achieve success and make the best lives they can for themselves and their families. They are the epitome of the American dream that Donald Trump is hell-bent on undermining.” 

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Editorials Round Up: Relief for Texas Edition

Editorial boards from all over the country criticized President Trump this week for his unpresidential behavior amidst one of the worst natural disasters the United States has ever seen. As Houston braced for the Hurricane Harvey, the President pardoned the reprehensible Sheriff Joe Arpaio, and as thousands remained stranded in their homes waiting to be rescued, the President announced a “tax plan” only the ultra wealthy and billionaire CEOs could love.

 

Throw in a threat to shutdown the government over his border wall that Mexico will never pay for and a broken promise to Dreamers and you have another disastrous week for the Trump presidency. Here’s what Americans saw this week in their local newspapers:

 

8/25

Arizona Republic: Donald Trump Just Resurrected Joe Arpaio From Irrelevance

His pardon of Joe Arpaio elevated the disgraced former Maricopa County sheriff to monument status among the immigration hardliners and nationalists […]

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