#Kevin Liptak

[hasanabiouttakes]

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Michael Williams and Kevin Liptak at CNN:

Vice President Kamala Harris and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz will sit with CNN for their first joint interview on Thursday as Democrats work to broaden their base’s excitement from last week’s Democratic National Convention.  The interview, conducted by CNN’s chief political correspondent and anchor Dana Bash, will air at 9 p.m. ET on Thursday. It occurs as the candidates embark on a bus tour through the battleground state of Georgia and marks the first time Harris has sat with a journalist for an in-depth, on-the-record conversation since President Joe Biden dropped his bid for a second term and endorsed her on July 21.

The 37 days since her candidacy began have generated a swell of enthusiasm and momentum for Harris, including at last week’s convention in Chicago. But her lack of a formal news conference or interview has generated criticism from her Republican rivals. Thursday’s interview fulfils a vow she made earlier in August to schedule a sit-down before the end of the month. With the interview, Harris’ extraordinarily truncated campaign is entering a new, post-convention phase. Her team is anticipating more scrutiny as she and Walz enter the final weeks before early voting begins. Harris has also been preparing for a September 10 debate with her Republican rival, former President Donald Trump. Over the past several weeks, Harris has responded to some shouted questions from reporters as she campaigns in battleground states. She also sat for three interviews with content creators and influencers during the DNC last week – an example of her campaign’s belief that voters, especially young voters, are getting their news from less traditional sources.

[...] The interview will present Harris with the first chance to elucidate her position on various domestic and foreign issues during a campaign that has so far been heavy on vibes but light on concrete policy. She will also have a chance – if she chooses – to explain how her positions might differ from Biden. Previous major interviews have presented a challenge for Harris. During a 2021 sit-down with NBC’s Lester Holt, Harris responded with annoyance when asked why she had not visited the US-Mexico border as part of her assignment to investigate root causes of migration from Central and South America.

The first joint interview of the Kamala Harris/Tim Walz Democratic ticket since they became the official ticket will be Thursday night, airing on CNN at 9PM ET/8PM CT with Dana Bash as the interviewer.

[tariffs-tradewar]

Trump threatens additional 50% tariff on China as trade war escalates

13,200 views Apr 8, 2025 #CNN#News

President Donald Trump said Monday he’s ready to slap new 50% tariffs on China following Beijing’s retaliatory duties announced last week, further escalating the global trade war that has rattled markets. He said the additional tariffs would take effect midweek if China doesn’t remove its 34% retaliatory tariff by Tuesday

Transcript

0:01We are following the breaking

0:02news of President Trump

0:03threatening to slap China

0:04with additional tariffs.

0:05Let's go live to CNN senior

0:07white House reporter Kevin Liptak.

0:09So, Kevin,

0:09what is the president

0:10saying about this potential escalation

0:13here?

0:13Yeah, and it's a major escalation

0:15in this tit for tat

0:17tariff war

0:17between Washington and Beijing.

0:19Remember him?

0:20Last week

0:20President Trump

0:21applied that 35%

0:23reciprocal tariff on China.

0:25China retaliated,

0:26applying its own 34%

0:28tariff on the United States.

0:30Now, President Trump saying this

0:32if China does not withdraw

0:34its 34% increase above their already long

0:37term trading abuses by tomorrow,

0:39April the 8th,

0:40the United States will impose

0:42additional tariffs

0:43on China of 50%, effective April 9th.

0:47He goes on to say that

0:48additionally, all talks with China

0:50concerning their requested meetings

0:52with us will be terminated.

0:54And I just want to break down

0:55the math for you

0:56here, Pamela,

0:57because remember,

0:58President Trump had already applied a 20%

1:01tariff on China for its role

1:04in the fentanyl crisis.

1:05He applied that 34% reciprocal

1:08tariff last week

1:10that goes into effect later this week.

1:12Now he's threatening this

1:13additional 50%

1:15retaliatory tariff on China.

1:17This tit for tat back and forth

1:19that would bring the total tariffs

1:21on China by the United States to 104%,

1:25which is a huge number.

1:27China,

1:27the world's second

1:28largest economy,

1:29one of the United States's

1:30largest trading partners.

1:32This could have a serious effect

1:34for American consumers,

1:36given the amount of goods

1:37that come into the United States.

1:39And I think just as we have seen

1:41today, the markets

1:42clearly looking for some kind of off

1:44ramp here for some kind of easing

1:46on the part of the president.

1:48This shows that the president

1:49is very much committed

1:51to this tariff plan. Exactly.

1:53Not what the markets were looking

1:54for, Pamela.

1:55Yeah. No, you're absolutely right.

1:56And you know,

1:57the white House has been talking

1:59about all these countries more

2:00the 50 countries have come and,

2:03you know, reached out to the president

2:04wanting to negotiate.

2:06But the white House is also sending

2:07these mixed

2:08messages on whether the president

2:10is willing to negotiate.

2:11Where do things stand on that front?

2:13Yeah, it seems to be this

2:15that the president

2:15is willing to talk to these countries

2:17about potential trade deals,

2:19but that the bar will be very high

2:21for him to lift these tariffs.

2:22That seems to be the combination

2:25of what you're hearing from

2:26white House advisers today.

2:27We do know this morning

2:28that the president spoke

2:30to the prime minister of Japan,

2:32that country

2:32looking to ease up

2:34some of the tariffs on them,

2:35saying that they will be sending

2:37a high level delegation

2:38to the United States to talk about trade.

2:41The president will also discuss this

2:42with the prime minister of Israel,

2:44Benjamin Netanyahu, later today.

2:46He imposed a 17%

2:47tariff on Israel last week.

2:49But in a way, that's a cautionary tale.

2:51Remember, Netanyahu lifted

2:53customs duties on U.S.

2:54imports to Israel,

2:55but the president

2:56went ahead with that tariff and exactly.

2:59That's absolutely right. Kevin Liptak.

3:01Thank you so much, Wolf.

3:03All right, Pamela,

3:04I want to get some more

3:05of the breaking news right now.

3:06Joining us, Democratic Congressman

3:07Mike Quigley of Illinois.

3:09Congressman,

3:10thanks so much for joining us.

3:11First of all,

3:11what do you make of the president's

3:13decision to escalate his trade war

3:15once again?

3:16Do you see any chance for an offer

3:18AMP, before this gets a whole lot worse?

3:23I don't see it coming from

3:24the president of the United States.

3:26It talks about a very strange world

3:28we live in.

3:28I'm what the liberal Democrat

3:30from Chicago

3:31agreeing with headlines

3:33from the Wall Street

3:34Journal, the dumbest

3:35trade war in history.

3:37And I'm very concerned,

3:38as are my constituents,

3:40with extraordinary cost

3:42increases, recession,

3:45and the volatility in the markets

3:47that create

3:47uncertainty and,

3:49great economic peril for our country.

3:51I think the bigger concern right now

3:54is it's part of a larger issue

3:56where this country,

3:58through the president,

3:58thinks that we can stand alone

4:014% of the world's population.

4:04we're going to be less

4:05secure financially,

4:07and we're going to be more vulnerable

4:09in every other way from threats

4:11from across the seas.

4:13Do you want to start by talking

4:14about this sort of tit for tat

4:15trade war between the US and China?

4:17Obviously,

4:18a lot of threats in the air

4:19between both countries.

4:20Donald Trump

4:21now threatening to slap an additional 50%

4:24tariff on China

4:25if China does not pull back its 34%,

4:28tariff hike.

4:29Just explain to us

4:30the potential consequences

4:31and which economy stands

4:33to lose more from this escalating

4:35trade war.

4:38Well, it's hard to know which

4:39is going to lose more,

4:40but it's easy to tell you

4:41which consumers will lose more.

4:43And that's us, right?

4:45I mean,

4:46we consume in the United States

4:48and throughout the West,

4:50huge amounts of Chinese,

4:52goods for everyday life.

4:55think about,

4:57just to take the most basic example,

4:59an iPhone, which now markets at, what,

5:02$1,100 for the newest, models of them.

5:06And, if you ended up doing the,

5:09the 50% hike on, on components,

5:12you know, you're probably adding,

5:14another, $500 or so to that.

5:18And, of course, there's

5:19everything you're looking at at Walmart

5:21and much of what you're

5:22looking at on Amazon.

5:24So these would flow through

5:26what really sort of struck me

5:27about President Trump's

5:29truth social posting,

5:31which was just less

5:31than an hour ago, was,

5:34if you know much about the Chinese,

5:37structure and about XI Jinping,

5:40the idea of setting him a deadline

5:43to back down in 24 hours,

5:46he's not going to do that.

5:47He's not going to end up

5:49looking weaker to Donald Trump.

5:52And it's

5:52just not

5:53in the DNA of the Chinese leadership

5:56right now, because you will think

5:58that will transfer

5:59to the confrontation

6:00over Taiwan or something else.

6:03So I don't think the ultimatum strategy

6:06is likely to work.

6:08And David,

6:09we had Rahm Emanuel on last week

6:11and he said

6:11the irony here is here's

6:13a president

6:13who campaigned on ending all wars.

6:16And he starting one.

6:17And he said,

6:18no, it's not a combat war

6:19involving F-16s or anything like that,

6:22but it's a trade war.

6:23And if you think about

6:24one of the purposes

6:25that free trade

6:27or any type of trade

6:28relations and trade

6:29alliances, serves is to hopefully

6:33avoid physical wars as well.

6:37and you have a president now

6:39who has fired his U.S.,

6:41cyber security,

6:42chief cyber command chief,

6:44because of a conspiracy theorist

6:46apparently reportedly

6:47coming to the white House and suggesting

6:49he's not loyal.

6:50You have a president who continues

6:52to conflate friend and foe.

6:54And in saying that that even

6:56our friends are treating us

6:57worse than our foes.

6:58Just give us a sense of where

7:00that puts us in terms of,

7:03security risks here in the United States.

7:06Sure.

7:08Well, first of all, I

7:09mean, just

7:10any reading of the history of the past

7:12century is trade conflict can frequently,

7:17spill into military conflict.

7:19We've seen that happen

7:21time and time again.

7:22Was the source of the War of 1812

7:25with Britain. Right.

7:26But you also saw elements of that

7:28in World War one and so forth.

7:31separate apart

7:32from the history

7:33lesson here, the conflation of our,

7:37adversaries with our allies

7:39is bound to come back and haunt

7:43the United States.

7:44I think,

7:45you know, the

7:46what is our greatest military strength

7:49as a country

7:51beyond our nuclear weapons,

7:52which you can't really go use.

7:55And the answer is,

7:56it's our alliance system.

7:58Who is it that we have tariffs heavily

8:00in the course of this?

8:02Japan and South Korea,

8:05who are lynchpins of the effort

8:07to contain

8:08Chinese expansion, to say nothing

8:11of North Korea?

8:13why poison that relationship?

8:15I don't know,

8:17and if the president turned around

8:19and said, well, this is about trade,

8:20not about politics,

8:22go explain what we heard,

8:25over the weekend

8:26about why it was that he did not put any,

8:30tariff penalties on Russia

8:32because we're in the middle

8:33of a negotiation for peace in Ukraine,

8:36by the way, there are tariffs

8:38that were put on Ukraine.

8:39so obviously politics has entered into

8:43the setting of these tariffs,

8:45and yet

8:46not with our main allies

8:47in Europe or Asia.

8:50All right.

8:50David Sanger live for us there.

8:51Thank you.

[shrinkrants]

Musk appeared to be in charge of the first Cabinet meeting of the Trump administration today. As Kevin Liptak and Jeff Zeleny of CNN reported: “If anyone was still in doubt where the power lies in President Donald Trump’s new administration, Wednesday’s first Cabinet meeting made clear it wasn’t in the actual Cabinet.” Katherine Doyle of NBC News described “Senate-confirmed department heads spending an hour as audience members.”

A photograph of the meeting in which Musk, wearing a Make America Great Again ball cap and a T-shirt that said ��Tech Support,” appears to be holding court while Trump appears to be sleeping reinforced the idea that it is Musk rather than Trump who is running the government. When Trump did speak, CNN fact checker Daniel Dale noted, his remarks were full of false claims.

Cabinet officers, who had brought notes for the statements they expected to make, sat silent, while Musk, the unelected billionaire from South Africa who put more than a quarter of a billion dollars into electing Trump, spoke more than anyone except Trump himself. Trump didn’t turn to Vice President J.D. Vance until 56 minutes into the meeting, and Vance spoke for only 36 seconds.

[sentinelleblr]

“Musk appeared to be in charge of the first Cabinet meeting of the Trump administration today. As Kevin Liptak and Jeff Zeleny of CNN reported: “If anyone was still in doubt where the power lies in President Donald Trump’s new administration, Wednesday’s first Cabinet meeting made clear it wasn’t in the actual Cabinet.” Katherine Doyle of NBC News described “Senate-confirmed department heads spending an hour as audience members.”

A photograph of the meeting in which Musk, wearing a Make America Great Again ball cap and a T-shirt that said “Tech Support,” appears to be holding court while Trump appears to be sleeping reinforced the idea that it is Musk rather than Trump who is running the government. When Trump did speak, CNN fact checker Daniel Dale noted, his remarks were full of false claims.”

Musk, unelected president. Trump, asleep.

[newupdate12]

Update 12 news

[andronetalks]

Rubio says he’s acting director of USAID as humanitarian agency is taken over by the State Department

CNN Politics By Jennifer Hansler, Lauren Kent, Alex Marquardt and Kevin Liptak, CNN10 minute read Updated 8:35 AM EST, Tue February 4, 2025 Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced Monday that he is acting administrator of the US Agency for International Development, confirming the de-facto takeover of the humanitarian agency by the State Department. Rubio said in a letter to lawmakers Monday he…

[blogcowboyron]

House Intel Chairman announces ‘serious national security threat,’ sources say it is related to Russia

House Intel Chairman announces ‘serious national security threat,’ sources say it is related to Russia     By Natasha Bertrand, Katie Bo Lillis, Annie Grayer, Kevin Liptak and Michael Williams, CNN  3 minute read  Updated 4:16 PM EST, Wed February 14, 2024 Rep. Mike Turner speaks during the House GOP news conference on December 14, 2022. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc/Getty…

[blacktruthdotnet]

Former White House chef and Obama employee found dead at Martha’s Vineyard pond after falling while paddleboarding, police say

By Celina Tebor, Kevin Liptak and Zoe Sottile Article Reprint Ron Edmonds/AP A former White House chef who was working for the Obama family was found dead Monday in a pond on the south shore of Martha’s Vineyard, according to Massachusetts police.

[midnightfunk]

He knew how to grasp that hand, didn’t he?

Trump going out like Ronda Rousey. Oh wait, he started with the WWE!

[vickie526a]

Joe Biden set to acknowledge ground-shaking history of the last year in first speech to Congress - CNNPolitics

I read this and could not believe what I read, though i should not have been surprised.

Kevin Liptak and Kaitlan Collins and CNN talk about what a strong speech writer and speaker the president is. They tall of him taking weeks with this speech to get it just so a just trying to prop the president up anyway they can. They even go as far and talk about how all his time in politics have prepared him for this speech.

Of course they also set things up to show how the Republicans and Conservatives are going to scoff and find flaws with the president and his speech but thats because they are not on board with fixing America.

It's important to read these kinds of articles just to give insight into the minds of the left.

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Kevin Liptak at CNN:  

President Joe Biden said for the first time Wednesday he would halt some shipments of American weapons to Israel – which he acknowledged have been used to kill civilians in Gaza – if Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu orders a major invasion of the city of Rafah. “Civilians have been killed in Gaza as a consequence of those bombs and other ways in which they go after population centers,” Biden told CNN’s Erin Burnett in an exclusive interview on “Erin Burnett OutFront,” referring to 2,000-pound bombs that Biden paused shipments of last week. “I made it clear that if they go into Rafah – they haven’t gone in Rafah yet – if they go into Rafah, I’m not supplying the weapons that have been used historically to deal with Rafah, to deal with the cities – that deal with that problem,” Biden said.

The president’s announcement that he was prepared to condition American weaponry on Israel’s actions amounts to a turning point in the seven-month conflict between Israel and Hamas. And his acknowledgement that American bombs had been used to kill civilians in Gaza was a stark recognition of the United States’ role in the war. The president has come under extraordinary pressure, including from members of his own party, to limit shipments of arms amid a humanitarian crisis in Gaza. Until now, the president had resisted those calls and strongly supported Israel’s efforts to go after Hamas. Yet a looming invasion of Rafah, the city in southern Gaza where more than a million Palestinian civilians have been sheltering, appears to have shifted the president’s calculus.

“We’re not walking away from Israel’s security. We’re walking away from Israel’s ability to wage war in those areas,” Biden said. Biden said while the US would continue to provide defensive weapons to Israel, including for its Iron Dome air defense system, other shipments would end should a major ground invasion of Rafah begin. “We’re going to continue to make sure Israel is secure in terms of Iron Dome and their ability to respond to attacks that came out of the Middle East recently,” he said. “But it’s, it’s just wrong. We’re not going to – we’re not going to supply the weapons and artillery shells.” Already, the US has paused a shipment of “high-payload munitions” due to Israel’s possible operations in Rafah without a plan for the civilians there, according to the Pentagon, though it said a final decision on that shipment hadn’t been made. The administration has said it is reviewing the potential sale or transfer of other munitions.

In an interview with CNN's Erin Burnett last night on Erin Burnett OutFront, President Joe Biden says that he'll halt the shipment of certain weapons to Israel if it launches a full-court invasion on Rafah. Good move, Biden.

From the 05.08.2024 edition of CNN's Erin Burnett OutFront:

See Also:

Rolling Stone: ‘It’s Just Wrong’: Biden Says He Will Withhold Weapons If Israel Invades Rafah

[astew1208]

Angel Stewart

Summary:

On Thursday November 5th Trump made an attempt to undermine the election. Claiming the presidency was being stolen from him with no proof to support these false claims. Trump suggested that if Biden wins, he will fight in court until the election is decided. In his favor this behavior was foreshadowed and is a sign of Trump’s unwillingness to leave presidency without a prolonged battle. Since then he has tried multiple things to stop the votes and has even sent his two sons. Wage ‘’ legal fights’’ in places where he was close to losing along with because of false claims his supporters have gathered at. Voting polls to demand the count be stopped, he is trying to push more lawsuits based of these claims. He has also been calling republican governors demanding why votes aren’t being properly counted.

Significance:

I chose this topic because it’s not only about the election its about the future of the country. IT’s also about the future of everyone living in the US and could affect the world heavly. My whole opinion of this is that Trump has showed multiple times his signs of immaturity. All Trump cares about is winning.

Question; What do you think of trump?

Relevance: 

‘‘Trump stages corrosive attempt to undermine voters as his path to 270 votes’‘

BY Kevin Liptak and Kaitlin Collins

10:29 Pm Thrusday November 5th 2020

[ademocrat]

Pence will not self-quarantine and plans to be at the White House Monday

By Jeremy Diamond, Paul LeBlanc and Kevin Liptak, CNN

Updated 10:56 PM ET, Sun May 10, 2020

Vice President Mike Pence is not planning to enter self-quarantine after his press secretary tested positive for coronavirus on Friday and plans to be at the White House on Monday, his office said on Sunday.

Pence spokesperson Devin O'Malley said the vice president "will continue to follow the advice of the White House Medical Unit and is not in quarantine.""Additionally, Vice President Pence has tested negative every single day and plans to be at the White House tomorrow," O'Malley said in the statement.The announcement comes as the White House continues to urge governors to begin reopening their states even as the virus has edged closer to the West Wing with news that

top members of the coronavirus task force

will self-quarantine, in some form, after coming in contact with an individual who tested positive for the virus.An official said there is extreme sensitivity inside the White House at the current state of affairs with officials recognizing the contradiction in telling states to reopen while the White House enhances protocols to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.The official said Pence's schedule will probably be on the lighter side in the coming days, but that he's not doing a full self-quarantine.Those steps come after President Donald Trump confirmed on Friday that

Pence's press secretary, Katie Miller, tested positive

for the virus. The President said that Miller has not come into contact with him but noted that she has been in contact with Pence."She's a wonderful young woman, Katie, she tested very good for a long period of time and then all of a sudden today she tested positive," Trump said during a meeting with Republican members of Congress at the White House.The news of Miller's positive test has left everyone in the West Wing of the White House genuinely nervous, one White House source previously told CNN. The source said Miller's nature is to communicate in person so she makes lots of in-person contacts during her day-to-day work.Her husband, Trump senior adviser Stephen Miller, is not expected to go to the White House for the immediate future, people familiar with his plans

told the New York Times.

He tested negative for the virus on Friday, the newspaper said. Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar and US Surgeon General Jerome Adams, however, have both tested negative for the virus, according to government spokespeople. They are not planning to self-quarantine as of now.HHS spokesperson Caitlan Oakley said Azar "will follow the advice of his physicians at the White House Medical Unit."And, a spokesperson for the Surgeon General said, "Surgeon General Adams was last tested for COVID-19 on Friday, May 8, and the results were negative. He was not in contact with anyone who has tested positive and at this time, has had no known exposure to the virus."Dr. Adams already participates in most meetings and events virtually, and will continue to do so. If the White House Medical Unit recommends any changes in Dr. Adams' practices, he will of course comply." An HHS spokesperson told CNN Sunday evening that Assistant Secretary for Health Brett Giroir is also not planning to self-quarantine. Giroir is the federal official coordinating testing efforts and has attended some of the White House coronavirus task force meetings. He hasn't been to the White House since May 5, the spokesperson said. Trump's moodIn conversations this weekend, Trump has expressed concern that aides contracting coronavirus would undercut his message that the outbreak is waning and states should begin reopening, according to a person who spoke to him.Trump voiced frustration that two White House staffers tested positive for coronavirus and has asked why his valets weren't ordered to wear masks before this week, according to the person.

Trump believes an economic rebound will only come when governors decide to lift restrictions and is concerned at any signs the virus is resurgent.At the same time, the President has told people he doesn't want to be near anyone who hasn't been tested and has bristled when coming into contact with some people at the White House, according to the person who spoke to him.

[andronetalks]

After two decades of crossing paths, Obama will deliver a ‘forceful affirmation’ for Harris at the DNC

CNN – Politics By Jeff Zeleny and Kevin Liptak, CNN7 minute read Published 4:00 AM EDT, Tue August 20, 2024 If there was one lesson Kamala Harris took from the 2004 Democratic National Convention, it was to fuel up for some long days. “You definitely have to eat your Wheaties,” the then-39-year-old San Francisco district attorney told a crowd in Boston before heading off to what had become the…

[gehayi]

For those of you wondering if this is real, oh HELL YES.

Biden Pardons Thousands Convicted of Marijuana Possession Under Federal Law-- New York Times, October 6, 2022

Biden pardons all federal offenses of simple marijuana possession in first major steps toward decriminalization --  article by Kevin Liptak for CNN.com, October 6, 2022

Statement from President Biden on Marijuana Reform, whitehouse.gov, October 6, 2022

Holy shit.