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warsofasoiaf · 7 years ago

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It's correct to say that the confederate reason to secede was keeping slavery (and not state's rights) but the reason (or at least the main reason) the north did stop then was keeping the union (and not abolishing slavery)? Ps: i'm not a american myself and dont know almost nothing about american story, i'm just trying to find a middle term between the different versions of the fact i've heard

No worries friend, it is a hotly-debated issue in the United States ever since the war started. When it comes to examining the causes of the U.S. Civil War, it’s best to go to the original documents and use them as our sources to explain the thinking of the individuals involved, examining them against the context of their time in order to provide the clearest possible picture. In that spirit, we must establish the proper context and examine the arguments in light of that.

Remember that the Confederate States of America did not form immediately. South Carolina was the first state to declare secession on 20 December, 1860, with the edict to go into effect on 24 December. The Confederate States of America established a provisional constitution and congress on 8 February 1861. So there was no one act of secession on behalf of the Confederate States of America, each individual state made its own individual declaration of secession and as such, those would be the most accurate documents to gauge the intent of each individual state as a resolution of the conventions called by those states. Unfortunately, most of these statements are largely declarations of secession, not explanations why. Four states went further, issuing “Declaration of Causes” documents in Texas, Mississippi, South Carolina, and Georgia, all of which mention slavery and state’s rights. Similarly, the first declaration of Lincoln’s intent was made in his call for volunteers on 15 April, 1861, three days after the shelling of Fort Sumter in South Carolina by Confederate troops under P.G.T. Bureaugard.

The North’s reason for war is the easiest, for the call for volunteers explicitly mentions “I appeal to all loyal citizens to favor, facilitate, and aid this effort to maintain the honor, the integrity, and the existence of our National Union, and the perpetuity of popular government; and to redress wrongs already long enough endured. I deem it proper to say that the first service assigned to the forces hereby called forth will probably be to repossess the forts, places, and property which have been seized from the Union.” Slavery is not mentioned in this initial document, and indeed Lincoln mentions slavery as the cause only later in the war, such as during his 1864 inaugural address. Now, there was considerable rhetoric for the Republican Party about combating the “Slaveocracy,” about a small cadre of slave-holding southerners threatening republican rule and using the threat of violence, citing the 1856 attack on Senator Sumner and the “Bleeding Kansas” skirmishes from 1854 to 1861 as proof of anti-democratic and anti-republican intent and action carried out on the behalf of the “slaveocracy.” This idea had been floated in key Republican speeches to include Lincoln’s “House Divided” speech, so it is clear that these ideas were believed by a significant number of northern politicians. There is an argument that the reason slavery wasn’t mentioned in the 75,000 volunteers document was political, an attempt to keep the slave states of Arkansas, Delaware, Kentucky, Maryland, and Virginia within the Union so that the Union could more effectively combat the South, and that Lincoln believed the war to be about slavery from the beginning. Certainly, Lincoln was noted on record to be opposed to the practice of slavery from economic, legal, and moral grounds, but I haven’t found anything that states that Lincoln himself believed the war to be about slavery from the beginning, and that his primary goal was the preservation of the Union. It is true that factions within the North believed the war to be about slavery from the beginning, though.

Now on to the meatier and more controversial issue, what was the reason for the southern states’ secession?

Of the four declarations of causes, each one mentions the defense of slavery as a reason for secession, some also mention abolitionism inciting violent uprisings as a reason for secession. Similarly, speeches at later secession conventions made from representatives of previously seceded states mention secession as the reaction to abolitionist sentiment in the North. The Confederate States of America’s position is far easier to discern. The Confederate Constitution establishes the right of property with respect to slavery in Article IX, and dictates greater powers to states relative to the United States Constitution, but speeches such as the Cornerstone speech made by Confederate Vice President Stephen Alexanderon 21 March, 1861, approximately one and one-half monthsafter the formation of the Confederate States of America, mention slavery as the primary cause of the U.S. Civil War as far as the Confederate government’s official position was concerned. Another key factor for context was the rise of abolitionists in power in the Federal Government. In the 1860 Republican Convention, Abraham Lincoln established a compromise platform among the various factions of the Republic Party which included banning slavery in any new territories acquired by the United States, the so-called “free soil movement,” and each of the eleven declarations make explicit reference to Abraham Lincoln’s presidency because of it. Abolitionists also held a large portion of seats in the federal government and state legislatures. There was widespread rhetoric among southern Democrats that there was a northern conspiracy to end slavery at the federal level, which offers strong support for the defense of slavery as a key motivating issue.

State’s rights is often posited as a counterpoint, often in response to the rise of abolitionism within the federal government. In prior times, the southern legislators actually were champions of federal rights over state’s rights, as they enacted the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 which explicitly stated that northern laws could not interfere with the recapture of runaway slaves in Northern territories. Northern states had been compelled to return runaway slaves with the Fugitive Slave Act of 1793. This in turn let to northern states passing “personal liberty laws” which gave escaped slaves the right to jury trials, and permitted northern governments to refuse to cooperate with southern slave catchers. In response, the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 was passed, which clamped down on these laws and upped the penalties for non-compliance.

The history of state rights versus federal law was not an old one in 1860′s American law. Just as an example, plenty of dispute is found between the Commerce Clause of the Federal government versus the police power of the state governments, but this is hardly the only example. In 1832, the Nullification Crisis occurred when a major economic downswing majorly impacted South Carolina. Blaming the controversial Tariff of 1828 for this problem, plenty of states voted for Andrew Jackson for the presidency under the belief that he would reduce or eliminate this tariff, established to promote American manufacturing. In 1832, Jackson established the Tariff of 1832 which was a compromise tariff, though the reductions were not considered enough for South Carolina who wished to nullify the tariff citing state’s rights, almost leading to conflict. This economic anti-tariff attitude was remarkably common among the free-trade supporting southern states versus the protectionist Northern states, as free trade meant more European purchasing of Southern cotton for their textile industries. Over the course of the U.S.’s history, individual states supported federal primacy or state law largely based on political and economic advantage in individual cases. This was true for northern and southern states alike and the practice continues long after the war to today. Individual members of the Confederate Army did mention state’s rights or state nationalism in contemporary documents as motivating concerns, though these were not policy documents and are individual beliefs, not established government policy.

There was mention of state’s rights in one particular instance, in refusing Lincoln’s call for volunteers in Tennessee, Kentucky, Virginia, and Arkansas, though Tennessee mentioned that the Confederates could levy troops which make that less a discussion on state’s rights and more a matter of choosing a side in the U.S. Civil War. So the state’s rights argument seems much weaker in that particular context. State sovereignty was a means to advocate for a desired cause, not a cause itself.

Tariffs have even been used as a cause for the U.S. Civil War and did indeed contribute to northern-southern state tensions in regards to the Panic of 1857, though there are few mentions of tariffs in contemporary documents or speeches in direct reference to the U.S. Civil War four years later, which leads me to conclude that they had little if any effect on calls for secession. Similarly, difference in the agricultural south versus the industrializing north had contributed to a culture clash, though these differences in economy supported each other as much as they clashed. Northern factories took advantage of cheap shipping of raw materials while southern consumers enjoyed the cheaper (though of relative inferior quality compared to European-produced) finished goods produced in Northern factories, which again, leads me to conclude that this was not a significant factor.

Individual states did mention other reasons for secession, such as Texas’s dissatisfaction with federal military presence not protecting against immigration from Mexico or Comanche attacks. These act more as contributing factors for each individual state, rather than the overall reason for secession.

The slavery argument is the one that holds the most support when using the individual source documents and the rhetoric among politicians from both the north and south. State’s rights seems, in documents and speeches of the time, to not be as pressing a concern as the defense of slavery against Northern abolitionism, and the history of states using state’s rights as a means to advance particular situations to their advantage fits the established pattern in regard to previous support for laws like the Fugitive Slave Acts of 1793 and 1850. So with that, the conclusion is that southern secession was largely based on political defense of slavery as an institution within those states.

Thanks for the question, Anon. Hope that didn’t bore you.

SomethingLikeALawyer, Hand of the King

#slavery #history #us civil war

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unfilteredpatriot · 4 years ago

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New Post has been published on Unfiltered Patriot

New Post has been published on http://unfilteredpatriot.com/black-republicans-urge-african-american-museum-to-honor-clarence-thomas/

Black Republicans Urge African-American Museum to Honor Clarence Thomas

The National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington is filled to the brim with exhibits paying tribute to innumerable black Americans who have contributed to the fabric of our nation. But for much of the museum’s five-year existence, one prominent and important African-American was almost entirely missing from the exhibits: Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. Indeed, as of the museum’s opening, there was only one exhibit even mentioning Thomas: The one commemorating Anita Hill’s infamous Senate testimony.

“Thomas is only mentioned in connection with Anita Hill — a former staffer of Thomas, who accused him in 1991 during his confirmation hearing, of making sexually explicit comments and unwanted advances toward her while she worked for him at the Education Department and Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in the 1980s,” reported Fox News at the time.

After the backlash for that omission, the museum reportedly added a new exhibit displaying information about both Thomas and Thurgood Marshall. In addition to a bit of text about Thomas’s judicial ideology, the exhibit consisted of a photo of Thomas being sworn in to the Supreme court and a picture of him on the cover of Jet magazine.

Now, Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL) is calling on the museum to put up a proper tribute to one of the most important black Americans of the last half century. In conjunction with Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC), Rep. Burgess Owens (R-UT), Heritage Foundation’s Kay Coles James, Dr. Alveda King, and others, Donalds wrote a letter to the museum this week urging them to do better by Justice Thomas.

“This museum is a national treasure for our nation’s fabric – this is especially true for me as a Black American and Republican,” Donalds wrote. “Black History transcends political correctness and partisanship. Overall, the NMAAHC honors its mission, but it is unfortunate to see pitfalls likely driven by irresponsible bias.

“Black history cannot and should not be political…The American people deserve an unbiased assessment of the trailblazers in the Black community — it is time to honor Justice Thomas with this long-overdue documentation of his whole life and history and not the disingenuous effort displayed today,” he continued.

In remarks to the press, Rep. Owens said, “As one of the only two Black men to serve on our nation’s highest and most distinguished court, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas deserves unbiased recognition from the National Museum of African American History and Culture.”

Unfortunately, this is the same museum that had an exhibit last year proclaiming traits like hard work and concepts like the nuclear family to be unwanted aspects of “whiteness” that have (sadly) seeped into the black community. To imagine that their agenda leaves room for a proud conservative black man like Clarence Thomas is to delude yourself.

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weekendwarriorblog · 5 years ago

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Weekend Warrior Home Edition – April 3, 2020 – Slay the Dragon, Tape and More

Well, things sure have gone to hell since I last wrote this weekly column that I’ve now been doing in some form or another at one place or other for over nineteen years! For the first time in those 19 years and probably a good 80 or 90 years before that, there were no movies in theaters. In fact, there were no movie theaters. Because of this, the last two weekends have been the first in history with ZERO BOX OFFICE. It’s kind of tough to write a column about the box office and theatrical releases when there are none, n’est ce pas?

So I’m going to try to evolve for the time being, and we’ll see how that goes. I’m not too thrilled about having to watch movies as screeners, let alone writing about movies that will probably never get a theatrical release, but I’ll try to make the best of it. (Oh, and Disney’s Onward, which opened in theaters less than a month ago will be available ON DISNEY+* tomorrow.) (*corrected)

This week’s “Featured Movie” that you absolutely must see, especially if you’re reading this from one of the “red states” and feel like government just isn’t doing things the way you’d like them to do, is Barak Goodman and Chris Durrance’s political documentary SLAY THE DRAGON (Magnolia). It covers how gerrymandering is being used in census years (like this one) to maintain a Republican majority in local and state government. Goodman’s doc begins in Michael Moore territory of Flint, Michigan and shows how gerrymandering was used to create a Republican majority that led to the town getting water from the nearby Flint River which contaminated the pipes and leaked lead into the system.

The film does a good job explaining gerrymandering in an easy to understand way by following a few specific cases of people fighting against the policies. Counties and voting districts in different states aren’t just a straight grid on a map. Instead, the districts are drawn up to cause an unfair advantage to a party. This was especially true of the REDMAP program instituted in 2008 by the GOP after Barack Obama was elected President to make sure Republicans could dominate Congress as well as politics on a state level.

Much of the film deals with Katie Fahey’s group Citizens United that has decided to take on the politicians with its grassroots campaign to allow the people’s voices and votes to start counting. (One of the programs that grew out of REDMAPping was that thousands of voters were not able to vote since a few states passed a law that ID was required to vote, thereby keeping black and brown voters from the polls.)

Yes, it’s a rather complicated situation but it’s one that people in the primarily liberal states like New York, California and others really need to know about, since it’s why we have a reality TV host as our President right now as well as why we have a Republican Senate that just prevented him from being impeached. All of the bigger politics goes back to the individual state politics and how gerrymandering and REDMAP unfairly sways the vote against those who win on the state level in census years (essentially every ten years including 2020). Originally, this was going to get a theatrical release in March but now it will only be available on digital and On Demand, so you can find out how to see it on the official site.

I also want to give a little extra attention to Deborah Kampmeier’s TAPE (Full Moon Films), which skipped its theatrical release instead to do an interesting “virtual theatrical run,” playing every night On Demand via CrowdCast. It’s available every night at 7pm eastern followed by discussions with the filmmakers and then will be on Digital and VOD on April 10. Again, these are changing times, but this is a haunting and powerful thriller based on true events, starring Anarosa Mudd as a woman trying to catch a sleezy casting agent (Tarek Bishara) who is preying on actresses and one in particular, played by Isabelle Fuhrman (Orphan). Both of their performances are pretty amazing, Mudd playing a shaven-head whistleblower and Fuhrman playing an ambitious young actress who think she’s finally gotten her much-needed break, but finding out there’s a lot darker side to the business than she expected. While a lot of people have raved about The Assistant as a response to #MeToo, this is a much starker and direct look at the abuse of power to take advantage of young women. The movie is not going to be for everybody, because it takes some time before you realize what Mudd’s character (who could just as easily be Rose MacGowan) is up to, but the way how things play out in the film makes it unforgettable. It’s a fantastic new movie from Kampmeier, who famously had an underage Dakota Fanning have a rape scene in her earlier movie, Hounddog.

A movie that was released last week that I didn’t get to write about (but it’s still available On Demand and Digitally, as many movies currently are) is Lorcan Finnegan’s VIVARIUM (Saban Films), starring Jesse Eisenberg and Imogen Poots. It’s a virtual two-hander in which they play a couple who look at a house in a suburban housing complex where every house looks the same. They soon learn that they can’t escape and things get weirder and weirder from there. I can’t say I loved the movie, because it just got weirder and weirder, almost to a fault at times.

Polish filmmaker Malgorzata Szumowska’s THE OTHER LAMB (IFC Midnight) is another movie about a religious cult, this one a group of women that live in a remote forest commune led by a man they call “Shepherd” (played by Michiel Huisman from Game of Thrones and The Haunting of Hill House). It follows a teenager named Selah (Raffey Cassidy) who begins to question her existence when she starts having nightmarish visions. This was okay, but I really have hit my limit in terms of movies about religious cults. They’ve just been overdone.

Mike Doyle’s rom-com ALMOST LOVE (Vertical) is about a group of middle-aged friends trying to navigate love and relationships with a cast that includes Scott Evans, Kate Walsh, Patricia Clarkson, Augustus Prew and more. Some of the characters are having marital issues, others are dating or getting into early feelings of possible love. It’s a nice distraction from all the serious stuff going on in the world today.

A great music doc now On Demand, digital and other formats (Blu-ray/DVD) is Brent Wilson’s STREETLIGHT HARMONIES (Gravitas), which takes a look at the early doo-wop vocal groups of the ‘50s and ‘60s that predated and formed the basis for Rock & Roll, Rhythm & Blues and other music genres as we know them today. It deals with acts like The Drifters, Little Antony and the Imperials, The Platters, and Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers. It includes interviews with some of the more recent acts influenced by it including En Vogue and N’Sync as well as Brians Wilson and McKnight. I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this despite doo-wop not being my preferred music style. (For the sake of transparency, I helped out with a little bit of publicity on this film.)

Also, Olivier Meyrou’s fly-on-the-wall doc Celebration (1091) is a movie that was commissioned by Yves Saint Laurent’s former lover and business partner, Pierre Bergé, more than ten years ago but was shelved for being too revealing. It was filmed over the course of three years where Laurent was at his most frail and mostly separated from the world as we get a look inside one of the last great haute couture houses. It’s now available On Demand and digitally.

Jon Abrahams directs and co-stars in Clover (Freestyle Digital Media) opposite the great Mark Webber, playing bumbling Irish twins trying to pay off their father’s debt to local mob boss Tony Davolo, played by Chazz Palminteri. Things get more complicated when a teen girl named Clover (Nicole Elizabeth Berger) shows up and the brothers need to protect her from Tony’s “hit-women.” Looks like a fun dark comedy.

Unfortunately, Saban Films didn’t offer advance review screeners of the action sequel, Rogue Warrior: The Hunt (Saban Films), directed by Mike Gunther, but it stars Will Yun Lee. I’m not sure if this is a sequel to 2017’s Rogue Warrior: The Hunt, but I haven’t seen that either. It involves the leader of an elite team of soldiers being captured by terrorists, so his team needs rescue him. Oh, and Stephen Lang (Avatar, Don’t Breathe) is in it, too.

STREAMING AND CABLE

This week’s Netflix offerings include the streaming network’s latest true-crime documentary series, HOW TO FIX A DRUG SCANDAL, directed by Erin Lee Carr (Dirty Money), which covers the 2013 case of Sonja Farak, a crime drug lab specialist who was arrested for tampering with evidence but also accused of using the drugs she was supposed to be testing. (It’s on the service as of this writing.)

Stuber and Good director Michael Dowse helms the action-comedy COFFEE & KAREEM, starring Ed Helms as police officer James Coffee, who begins dating Taraji P. Henson’s Vanessa Manning while her 12-year-old son Kareem (Terrence Little Gardenhigh) plots their break-up. Kareem hires criminal fugitives to kill Coffee but instead ends up getting his whole family targeted, so the two must team up. Also starring Betty Gilpin, RonReaco Lee, Andrew Bachelor and David Alan Grier.

Also on Friday, Disney Plus will stream two Disneynature docs, Dolphin Reef and Elephant, in honor of Earth Day taking place later this month. Previously, one or both of these movies might have been released theatrically but hey, earth is going to hell right now.

Now playing on Hulu is the latest installment of Blumhouse’s “Into the Dark,” Alejandro Brugué’s Pooka Lives, which ties in with “Pooka Day” (no idea what that is) but apparently, Pooka is a fictional creature like “Slender Man” that was created on Creepypasta by a group of friends that goes viral but then manifests into creatures that become real. It stars fan faves Felicia Day, Will Wheaton, Rachel Bloom and more.

Next week, more movies not in theaters!

By the way, if you read this week’s column and have read this far down, feel free to drop me some thoughts at Edward dot Douglas at Gmail dot Com or send me a note on Twitter. I love hearing from readers!

#Movies #Reviews #TheWeekendWarrior SlayTheDragon Streaming VOD #TheWeekendWarrior #Vivarium #SlayTheDragon #Streaming #VOD

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go-redgirl · 5 years ago

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WH Press Secretary Stephanie Grisham on Impeachment: Democrats ‘Trying to Overturn 2016 Because They Know What’s Coming for Them in 2020’

White House Press Secretary Stephanie Grisham joined SiriusXM host Alex Marlow on Wednesday’s Breitbart News Daily for an exclusive interview to discuss President Donald Trump’s letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi blasting the impeachment process. She described impeachment as a desperate Democrat effort to overturn the 2016 election because they know President Trump is likely to win reelection in 2020.

“It’s such a partisan issue right now, and this will be a partisan impeachment. This is going to change things forever.

Future presidents will have to worry about this very thing – and that would be Republican or Democrat,” she said.Grisham said President Trump personally composed the letter to Pelosi because he wanted to “put this down on paper for future generations because he is seeing what this is going to do for years to come.

”“They are truly changing history because they don’t like his policies,” she said of the Democrats. “It’s a very, very sad day.”Grisham said Democrats would proceed with their impeachment vote despite growing public opposition, particularly in must-win battleground states, because they want to “overturn the 2016 election” and have been trying to do so ever since President Trump’s victory over Hillary Clinton.“From the very beginning, the Democrats have been calling for his impeachment – and that’s prior to his success,” she noted.

“Since then, he has had nothing but success, and they see what’s coming for 2020.”“It’s not just the president,” she pointed out.

“The president noted in his letter that his family has been hurt by this. Here you’ve got a family – Mrs. Trump – who has been working so hard on behalf of the children of this country. You’ve got Ivanka Trump, who has been pushing relentlessly for paid child leave and women’s empowerment all over the world, and you’ve got Jared, who has been pushing for Middle East peace, for crying out loud.”

“You’ve got a whole family who have been working really hard on behalf of this country and who continue to be abused and demonized by the Democrats. It’s just really unfortunate,” she said.She stressed the Democrats are determined to “overturn 2016 because they know what’s coming for them in 2020.”

Grisham slammed the Democrats for floating “bribery” as an impeachment charge purely because it “polled well with their voters” but then quietly dropping the charge when it was time to draft the actual articles of impeachment.“They came up with these two sham impeachment articles, one of which in our mind doesn’t even exist: ‘obstruction of Congress.’ That just means they’re angry we didn’t participate in their sham impeachment hearings,” she said of the White House perspective on the articles.“I think there are a lot of people who are questioning the constitutionality of it.

At the end of the day, we’re excited to get to the Senate, where he will be given a fair trial. I hate to use that word, but he will be given a fair shake. Then, hopefully, we can just get on with governing for this country,” she said.“The president continues to produce results, as you know. We’ve got USMCA coming down and NDAA – all kinds of great things happening,” she said, referring to the new North American trade deal and the National Defense Authorization Act, respectively.“That’s what he’s really, really focused on,” she said of President Trump.

“He’s traveling tonight to Michigan to speak with supporters. It’s amazing to watch him. I want your listeners to know that he’s very focused, despite what a lot of the mainstream media is saying. He’s not sitting around angry. He is continuing to work, which I think is obvious, and he’s just ready to get on with the work he has to do for this country.”Grisham agreed with Marlow that it would be illuminating to have a proper trial with numerous Democrats and people like former Vice President Joe Biden’s son, Hunter, called to testify under oath about their actions.

“I’d like people to answer for what has been done not only throughout this process, but in the past and the things that have been done to this president and to his campaign before he took office,” she said.Grisham said President Trump was comfortable leaving the Senate proceedings in the hands of Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY).“I think we have to take into account what’s best for the country,” she urged.

“While a trial may be a two-week trial, having people testify, is wonderful to think about, we don’t know if that’s what would actually happen. We don’t know what kind of games people would play to stop those individuals from testifying, et cetera.”Grisham found some grim humor in Marlow asking if Joe Biden might be charged with “obstructing the Senate” for his stated refusal to respond to its subpoenas – precisely the same charge Democrats leveled against Trump in one of their impeachment articles.“When the sham went through the House and we were afforded no due process and we were given no rights to have witnesses and every witness that was called forward was stacked against us –

I think you’ll remember the constitutional scholars; it was three to one in terms of people who were in favor of our president – and now that we’re about to move into the Senate, everybody’s calling for ‘fairness,’ and people on the other side are saying that they’re not going to comply,” she observed.“Once again, the hypocrisy continues.

The irony is crazy. As the president always says, we’ll just see what happens,” she said.Grisham said President Trump has not been given a “fair shake” by either Democrats or establishment media, with the latter constantly omitting vital context from reporting on the Ukrainian corruption story at the heart of the impeachment fight.“We’re used to that. We’re doing the best we can to get the facts out there and to fight back. We’re thankful for outlets such as yours that take the time to understand context and explain it to your listeners,” she told Marlow.“We’re just used to it now.

We’re used to the constant siege and the constant misinformation and the constant attack on this president and this administration. We’re doing the best we can,” she said.“I think we’re winning, though,” she added, referencing the polls that show the public turning against impeachment.“The American people are starting to see what the media does, and I think the American people are starting to do their own research and see that this president is working really hard on their behalf and that the country is doing better,” she said.Grisham said the White House remains focused on the first phase of the developing trade agreement with China, on sharing the burden of U.S. military deployments with allied nations, and building up America’s military strength.

She credited President Trump with doing a “fantastic job” on the latter score.“Veterans Affairs is very, very important to this president, making sure that our veterans are honored and taken care of,” she added.“And then, of course, the opioid crisis in our country – both the president and the first lady are very, very devoted to that issue and want to ensure that children and families have all of the resources needed,” she said.

“The economy is booming. Jobs are great. We’re doing really, really good things. The president knows that. He’ll be sharing that tonight with all of his supporters. Those are the things we’re going to continue to focus on. He came here to make this country better, and he’s succeeding. Nothing is going to stop him from that,” Grisham vowed.

READ MORE STORIES ABOUT:

Politics Radio Donald TrumpHunter Biden impeachment Joe Biden Mitch McConnell Senate Stephanie Grisham

____________________________________________________________________

OPINION: The American Citizens knows whats going to happen to the ‘evil’ Democrats in Congress. Almighty God, is going to send them where they belong, and that is to ‘hail’ their home base. In fact, ‘hail’ is the home of 90% of the Democrats.

They’ve been trying to take over God’s world since the beginning of time. You’ll know ‘evil people’ in how the’ve treat Almighty God’s saviors. These people are trying to ‘crucify’ our President that have been ordained by God himself to restore ‘heaven on earth’ especially In the most powerful Country on earth (United States of America) and eventually around the World. No other human-being during our life time has been so qualified for this journey that we’re been on other than President Donald J. Trump.

Christians around the ‘World’ keep praying for Donal J. Trump, his family and all of his supporters, because he’s on a mission from Almighty God to bring down corruptions by those who believe they have more power than the Commander-in-Chief of the World leader and thats the USA.

Pray like you’ve never before. Christians you faithful believers, should be teaching your congressional church members to keep the faith and pray like you’ve never done before.

Because ‘ole satan’ knows that his time is up and he’s fighting like hell to stay in charge (i.e, Democrats in Congress). That’s where he’s been hiding with his flock who's on ‘display’ so you can see them and know them by name.

Every good deed is being recorded in the ‘Book of Life’ and Every Bad Deed is Being recorded for record keeping purposes.

Keep praying, don’t stop because we’re to close to winning this War on Good vs Evil.

You’ll know Gods flock by their actions more so than by their words.

In the Bible the scriptures wrote about this day and guess what? We’re here! 😇🙏🇺🇸

Don’t let what the people did to ‘Jesus’ who was sent to earth to save our lives happened to another God sent person, President Donald J. Trump. Because you have a second chance (i.e, second coming) to correct that this time around.

Don’t miss this ‘second’ chance again believers/Christians because the power is in you hands. Protect Gods chosen one this time around don’t repeat the pass.

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wetrumpfeed · 6 years ago

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Afternoon MAGAthread: YOUR WEEKLY PRESIDENTIAL RECAP!

HAPPPPY SATURDAY DEPLORABLES!!

I hope everyone is having a fantastic weekend so far! This is u/Ivaginaryfriend and I'm here to deliver everything spicy & dank from the past week! If you happened to miss any past recaps you can catch those here!

Sunday, May 5th:

🔥🔥TRUMP TWEETS🔥🔥:

I am pleased to inform all of those that believe in a strong, fair and sound Immigration Policy that Mark Morgan will be joining the Trump Administration as the head of our hard working men and women of ICE. Mark is a true believer and American Patriot. He will do a great job!

The Kentucky Derby decision was not a good one. It was a rough & tumble race on a wet and sloppy track, actually, a beautiful thing to watch. Only in these days of political correctness could such an overturn occur. The best horse did NOT win the Kentucky Derby - not even close!

For 10 months, China has been paying Tariffs to the USA of 25% on 50 Billion Dollars of High Tech, and 10% on 200 Billion Dollars of other goods. These payments are partially responsible for our great economic results. The 10% will go up to 25% on Friday. 325 Billions Dollars.... ... ....of additional goods sent to us by China remain untaxed, but will be shortly, at a rate of 25%. The Tariffs paid to the USA have had little impact on product cost, mostly borne by China. The Trade Deal with China continues, but too slowly, as they attempt to renegotiate. No!

After spending more than $35,000,000 over a two year period, interviewing 500 people, using 18 Trump Hating Angry Democrats & 49 FBI Agents - all culminating in a more than 400 page Report showing NO COLLUSION - why would the Democrats in Congress now need Robert Mueller....... ... ....to testify. Are they looking for a redo because they hated seeing the strong NO COLLUSION conclusion? There was no crime, except on the other side (incredibly not covered in the Report), and NO OBSTRUCTION. Bob Mueller should not testify. No redos for the Dems!

“The Report sounded an awful lot as being Comeyesque, in other words, I’m not going to charge this person (there wasn’t even close to being a crime), but I’m going to criticize him on the way out the door. That’s unfortunate because it’s stepping outside of the role.” Robert Ray

“This is not Congressional Oversight, this is bullying.” Jason Riley, The Wall Street Journal

Pending the confirmation of Mark Morgan as our Nation’s new ICE Director, Matt Albence will serve in the role of Acting Director. Matt is tough and dedicated and has my full support to deploy ICE to the maximum extent of the law! #MAGA

Once again, Israel faces a barrage of deadly rocket attacks by terrorist groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad. We support Israel 100% in its defense of its citizens.... ... ....To the Gazan people — these terrorist acts against Israel will bring you nothing but more misery. END the violence and work towards peace - it can happen!

Despite the tremendous success that I have had as President, including perhaps the greatest ECONOMY and most successful first two years of any President in history, they have stolen two years of my (our) Presidency (Collusion Delusion) that we will never be able to get back..... ... .....The Witch Hunt is over but we will never forget. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!

SIGNIFICANT TWEETS AND NEWS:

Urban Dictionary is a treasure trove

Well that poll is backfiring. Let’s keep it up pedes!!

YouTube bans Tommy Robinson for talking about Muslim gangs sexually exploiting white girls, but I can go to YouTube and watch Muslims rapping about sexually exploiting white girls, and it was played by the BBC.

Just going to leave this handy chart here.

🐸 TOP SPICE OF THE DAY 🐸:

Is it acceptable for the attorney general to say this?

When Democrats Are In Power...

Happy Cinco De Mayo Pedes!

Trump for 2020

Who would TRADE creepy non-human ZUCK for TOM? I hate reptilians.

Monday, May 6th:

TODAY'S ACTION:

Three Nominations Sent to the Senate

President Trump Welcomes Prime Minister Peter Pellegrini of the Slovak Republic to the White House

President Trump Presents the Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy to the U.S. Military Academy Football Team

President Trump Presents the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Tiger Woods

🔥🔥TRUMP TWEETS🔥🔥:

“Democrat Texas Congressman Al Green says impeachment is the only thing that can prevent President Trump from re-election in 2020.” @OANN In other words, Dems can’t win the election fairly. You can’t impeach a president for creating the best economy in our country’s history..... ... Also, there are “No High Crimes & Misdemeanors,” No Collusion, No Conspiracy, No Obstruction. ALL THE CRIMES ARE ON THE OTHER SIDE, and that’s what the Dems should be looking at, but they won’t. Nevertheless, the tables are turning!

The United States has been losing, for many years, 600 to 800 Billion Dollars a year on Trade. With China we lose 500 Billion Dollars. Sorry, we’re not going to be doing that anymore!

Scott Walker is 100% correct when he says that the Republicans must WAKE UP to the Democrats State by State power grab. They play very dirty, actually, like never before. Don’t allow them to get away with what they are doing!

Just spoke to Prime Minister Abe of Japan concerning North Korea and Trade. Very good conversation!

Congratulations @ArmyWP_Football!

Today, it was my true honor to present the Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy—for the second year in a row, to the @ArmyWP_Football Black Knights. Congratulations once again on your historic victories, and keep on making us proud!

SIGNIFICANT TWEETS AND NEWS:

Finally, some support for POTUS!

imagine if the parties were swapped

Pres. Trump Pardons Army Lt. Michael Behanna, Convicted Of Murdering Al-Qaeda Detainee

This 👇🏻

TRUMP: I WILL NEVER FORGIVE OBAMA FOR WHAT HE DID TO OUR MILITARY... AND MANY OTHER THINGS THAT I WILL TELL YOU ABOUT IN THE FUTURE 😁

🐸 TOP SPICE OF THE DAY 🐸:

Is it just me, or are things getting crazier out there?

Today on “They Asked, So I Answered”:

He’s still standing on the graves of his classmates for his own self serving purposes

Free Speech Cafe (No Conservatives Allowed)

I was asleep in 2016; this time I'm signing up for the meme war.

Tuesday, May 7th:

TODAY'S ACTION:

President Donald J. Trump Announces Intent to Nominate and Appoint Personnel to Key Administration Posts

First Lady Melania Trump's Be Best Anniversary Celebration

Vice President Pence Delivers Remarks at the 49th Annual Washington Conference on the Americas

🔥🔥TRUMP TWEETS🔥🔥:

Democrats in Congress must vote to close the terrible loopholes at the Southern Border. If not, harsh measures will have to be taken!

(Retweeting The White House) On the one year anniversary of @FLOTUS' initiative, Be Best, take a look back at some of the highlights! #BeBest

Congratulations @TigerWoods - you are truly one of a kind!

'Forgotten Man' Story: Under Trump, Red Counties Economically Thrive http://bit.ly/2VKPFNq via @BreitbartNews

He wants to impeach because they can’t win election. Sad!

I am pleased to inform you that THE BIG FIREWORKS, after many years of not having any, are coming back to beautiful Mount Rushmore in South Dakota. Great work @GovKristiNoem and @SecBernhardt! #MAGA

SIGNIFICANT TWEETS AND NEWS:

CNN Contributor: ‘When a Woman Is Pregnant, That Is Not a Human Being inside of Her’

Steele's stunning pre-FISA confession: Informant needed to air Trump dirt before election 🤬

Over 35.4k upvotes and climbing on r/all. Good job pedes!

TWITTER Bans Account that Tracks and Reports on Epidemic of Violence Against Trump Supporters

🐸 TOP SPICE OF THE DAY 🐸:

This is serious

Looking forward to warmer weather. How about you?

Some people just can’t comprehend this

Careful lads, he's high on truth.

Wednesday, May 8th:

TODAY'S ACTION:

President Donald J. Trump Announces Intent to Nominate Individual to a Key Administration Post

Proclamation on Addressing Mass Migration Through the Southern Border of the United States

Executive Order on Imposing Sanctions with Respect to the Iron, Steel, Aluminum, and Copper Sectors of Iran

Vice President Pence Visits Mt. Pleasant Baptist Church in Louisiana

President Trump Departs the White House in Marine One

🔥🔥TRUMP TWEETS🔥🔥:

McConnell Backs Trump: Mueller Report Is 'Case Closed' | Breitbart http://bit.ly/2VNaqIl via @BreitbartNews

The reason for the China pullback & attempted renegotiation of the Trade Deal is the sincere HOPE that they will be able to “negotiate” with Joe Biden or one of the very weak Democrats, and thereby continue to ripoff the United States (($500 Billion a year)) for years to come.... ... ...Guess what, that’s not going to happen! China has just informed us that they (Vice-Premier) are now coming to the U.S. to make a deal. We’ll see, but I am very happy with over $100 Billion a year in Tariffs filling U.S. coffers...great for U.S., not good for China!

“The real “Obstruction of Justice” is what the Democrats are trying to do to this Attorney General.” Congressman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio). @MariaBartiromo

“Shouldn’t 2015 and 2016 be revealed, how Intelligence Agencies, FBI, tried to sabotage a particular campaign - never been done before?” @SteveForbesCEO @MariaBartiromo

Big Court win at our Southern Border! We are getting there - and Wall is being built!

“Everyone wants to know who needs to be accountable, because it took up two years of our lives talking about this Russian involvement. It proved No Collusion, & people want to trace it back to see how this all happened?” @ainsleyearhardt @foxandfriends TREASONOUS HOAX!

“This British Spy, Christopher Steele, tried so hard to get this (the Fake Dossier) out before the Election. Why?” @kilmeade @foxandfriends

“CASE CLOSED!” @SenateMajLDR

Real estate developers in the 1980’s & 1990’s, more than 30 years ago, were entitled to massive write offs and depreciation which would, if one was actively building, show losses and tax losses in almost all cases. Much was non monetary. Sometimes considered “tax shelter,” ...... ... ....you would get it by building, or even buying. You always wanted to show losses for tax purposes....almost all real estate developers did - and often re-negotiate with banks, it was sport. Additionally, the very old information put out is a highly inaccurate Fake News hit job!

GREAT NEWS FOR OHIO! Just spoke to Mary Barra, CEO of General Motors, who informed me that, subject to a UAW agreement etc., GM will be selling their beautiful Lordstown Plant to Workhorse, where they plan to build Electric Trucks. GM will also be spending $700,000,000 in Ohio... ... ....in 3 separate locations, creating another 450 jobs. I have been working nicely with GM to get this done. Thank you to Mary B, your GREAT Governor, and Senator Rob Portman. With all the car companies coming back, and much more, THE USA IS BOOMING!

Republicans shouldn’t vote for H.R. 312, a special interest casino Bill, backed by Elizabeth (Pocahontas) Warren. It is unfair and doesn’t treat Native Americans equally! 14,996 replies 18,369 retweets 69,053 likes

Our Nation grieves at the unspeakable violence that took a precious young life and badly injured others in Colorado. God be with the families and thank you to the First Responders for bravely intervening. We are in close contact with Law Enforcement.

Thank you @NewtGingrich & @FoxandFriends!

Getting ready to leave for one of my favorite places, the Florida Panhandle, where we’ve given, and are giving, billions of $$$ for the devastation caused by Hurricane Michael. Even though the Dems are totally in our way (they don’t want money to go there) we’re getting it done!

“The reality is, with the Tariffs, the economy has grown more rapidly in the United States and much more slowly in China.” Peter Morici, Former Chief Economist, USITC

Big announcement today: Drug companies have to come clean about their prices in TV ads. Historic transparency for American patients is here. If drug companies are ashamed of those prices—lower them!

Just landed in Panama City Beach, Florida for a rally beginning at 8:00 P.M. Eastern. Will be live on @FoxNews! #MAGA @tuckercarlson @seanhannity

Big crowds in Panama City Beach, Florida. See everyone in 30 minutes! @FoxNews @TuckerCarlson @SeanHannity

Beautiful evening in Panama City Beach, Florida. Thank you! #MAGA

MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!

After a great rally in Panama City Beach, Florida - I am returning to Washington, D.C. with @SenRickScott and Senator @MarcoRubio, discussing the terrible abuses by Maduro. America stands with the GREAT PEOPLE of Venezuela for however long it takes!

SIGNIFICANT TWEETS AND NEWS:

This young patriot bravely sacrificed his life to tackle a deranged school shooter yesterday. He stopped the gunfire, saving lives. Kendrick Castillo is a hero. You won’t see this on redacted because WE are the side that honors selflessness

BREAKING: Secretary of State Mike Pompeo Warned UK PM Theresa May that if she allows Huawei Technologies into Britain's 5G, "U.S. will not share America’s national security secrets in a network we don’t have confidence in and is controlled by China"

FBI opened obstruction case against Trump before Mueller was appointed, court files show

Two young men, who did what was right. No matter what it took.

PRESS BRIEFINGS, INTERVIEWS, RALLIES:

Watch Party: President Donald J. Trump MAGA Rally Panama City Beach, FL 5/8/19

🐸 TOP SPICE OF THE DAY 🐸:

Word of the day: "Baizuo"

Backfired

OMFG DED 😂😂😂😂💀💀💀💀

Yes

Line for the Trump rally in Panama City Beach. Three and a half hours before the rally begins

Thursday, May 9th:

TODAY'S ACTION:

Proclamation on Military Spouse Day, 2019

President Donald J. Trump Announces Intent to Appoint Individual to a Key Administration Post

President Trump Delivers Remarks on Ending Surprise Medical Billing

President Trump Welcomes the 2018 World Series Champions The Boston Red Sox to the White House

U.S. Border Patrol Chief Carla Provost Testifies About the Border Crisis

🔥🔥TRUMP TWEETS🔥🔥:

Great news today: My Administration just secured a historic donation of HIV prevention drugs from Gilead to help expand access to PrEP for the uninsured and those at risk. Will help us achieve our goal of ending the HIV epidemic in America!

Today, it was my honor to welcome the 2018 World Series Champion Boston @RedSox to the @WhiteHouse!

House Republicans should not vote for the BAD DEMOCRAT Disaster Supplemental Bill which hurts our States, Farmers & Border Security. Up for vote tomorrow. We want to do much better than this. All sides keep working and send a good BILL for immediate signing!

(Retweeting VP Mike Pence) Great to be at R&J Johnson Farms in Glyndon, Minnesota today! Since the earliest days of our administration, @POTUS has promised to keep fighting for our farmers - & that’s exactly what we’ve done!

(Retweeting The White House) President @realDonaldTrump hosted the 2018 World Series Champions, the Boston @RedSox, at the White House!

James Comey is a disgrace to the FBI & will go down as the worst Director in its long and once proud history. He brought the FBI down, almost all Republicans & Democrats thought he should be FIRED, but the FBI will regain greatness because of the great men & women who work there!

SIGNIFICANT TWEETS AND NEWS:

BREAKING: Hillary Clinton’s campaign accepted large and illegal donation from the sex slave cult NXIVM

THE HILL: FBI's Steele story (completely) falls apart: False intel and media contacts were flagged before FISA

President Trump and his admin distributing AIDs preventing medicine to hundreds of thousands of people - why do I feel like Democrats will still find something to bitch about?

Senate Panel Approves Trump Nominee Jeffrey Rosen as Deputy AG

Trump to Nominate Patrick Shanahan as Defense Secretary

🐸 TOP SPICE OF THE DAY 🐸:

Yup.

One important takeaway from Google unpersoning us

Another nugget of gold from twitter:

Rosenstein's last day at DOJ is tomorrow. I got him a card. Who wants to sign it?

Got 'Em 👌

Friday, May 10th:

TODAY'S ACTION:

President Trump and The First Lady Participate in the Celebration of Military Mothers

🔥🔥TRUMP TWEETS🔥🔥:

We have lost 500 Billion Dollars a year, for many years, on Crazy Trade with China. NO MORE!

V.P. Mike Pence will be interviewed on @foxandfriends at 7:30 A.M. Enjoy!

Talks with China continue in a very congenial manner - there is absolutely no need to rush - as Tariffs are NOW being paid to the United States by China of 25% on 250 Billion Dollars worth of goods & products. These massive payments go directly to the Treasury of the U.S.... ... ....The process has begun to place additional Tariffs at 25% on the remaining 325 Billion Dollars. The U.S. only sells China approximately 100 Billion Dollars of goods & products, a very big imbalance. With the over 100 Billion Dollars in Tariffs that we take in, we will buy..... ... ....agricultural products from our Great Farmers, in larger amounts than China ever did, and ship it to poor & starving countries in the form of humanitarian assistance. In the meantime we will continue to negotiate with China in the hopes that they do not again try to redo deal!

Tariffs will bring in FAR MORE wealth to our Country than even a phenomenal deal of the traditional kind. Also, much easier & quicker to do. Our Farmers will do better, faster, and starving nations can now be helped. Waivers on some products will be granted, or go to new source!

Tariffs will make our Country MUCH STRONGER, not weaker. Just sit back and watch! In the meantime, China should not renegotiate deals with the U.S. at the last minute. This is not the Obama Administration, or the Administration of Sleepy Joe, who let China get away with “murder!”

The average 401(k) balance has SOARED since the bottom of the market - 466%. Wow!

....If we bought 15 Billion Dollars of Agriculture from our Farmers, far more than China buys now, we would have more than 85 Billion Dollars left over for new Infrastructure, Healthcare, or anything else. China would greatly slow down, and we would automatically speed up!

Build your products in the United States and there are NO TARIFFS!

Your all time favorite President got tired of waiting for China to help out and start buying from our FARMERS, the greatest anywhere in the World!

Great Consumer Price Index just out. Really good, very low inflation! We have a great chance to “really rock!” Good numbers all around.

Looks to me like it’s going to be SleepyCreepy Joe over Crazy Bernie. Everyone else is fading fast!

“We have been engaged in an unfair relationship with China for a long time. They have reneged on the commitments they made to the WTO, particularly around intellectual property.” Carly Fiorina @MariaBartiromo

Great Republican vote today on Disaster Relief Bill. We will now work out a bipartisan solution that gets relief for our great States and Farmers. Thank you to all. Get me a Bill that I can quickly sign!

Over the course of the past two days, the United States and China have held candid and constructive conversations on the status of the trade relationship between both countries. The relationship between President Xi and myself remains a very strong one, and conversations.... ... ....into the future will continue. In the meantime, the United States has imposed Tariffs on China, which may or may not be removed depending on what happens with respect to future negotiations!

Military spouses share an admirable legacy of unwavering devotion to their loved ones in uniform and to the cause of freedom. On Military Spouse Day, we honor our Nation’s military spouses and express our deep appreciation for all that they do!

Build your products in the United States and there are NO TARIFFS!

SIGNIFICANT TWEETS AND NEWS:

He did it..Name change

This is the funniest damn thing I’ve read today! The left is so triggered over this!

Giuliani will travel to Ukraine, saying country's probes may be 'very, very helpful' for Trump

Biden goes crazy. Backs health care for illegal immigrants, says 'we have an obligation' to provide it

JUDICIAL WATCH: New Records Reveal Obama White House Paranoid, Tracking FOIA Request For Hillary Clinton Emails

🐸 TOP SPICE OF THE DAY 🐸:

"SSSHHHH....just keep playing..."

Babylon Bee with the spice 🌶️🌶️🌶️

Lock. Him. Up.

Movie posters we really want to see..

Saturday, May 11th:

🔥🔥TRUMP TWEETS🔥🔥:

Such an easy way to avoid Tariffs? Make or produce your goods and products in the good old USA. It’s very simple!

SIGNIFICANT TWEETS AND NEWS:

Another false #metoo, but this time it ends in death.

President Trump: It would be 'appropriate' for me to talk to DOJ about investigating Biden

Comey: It’s ‘Totally Normal’ To Plant People Near Political Campaigns

Red Sox fans hanged a "Trump 2020" banner over Fenway Park tonight

Trump’s ‘Uplifting’ Letter To Cancer Patient Meets With Hateful Response From Libtards On Twitter

🐸 TOP SPICE OF THE DAY 🐸:

It's Now A Neck and Neck Race

The Ultimate Red-Pilling

OVER TARGET! Dems and fake news are shitting themselves over Guliani going to the Ukraine. They're calling for investigation into Guliani, and ignoring the the Ukrainian investigation into Bidens. Even Fox cut off Guliani when he tried talking about Biden. Guliani connecting Steele with Ukraine now.

Just spit out my coffee from laughing so hard.

WEEEEW LAD!

Without further ado, some tunes to get you jamming through all this winning:

Feels

My Song

Promises

American Girl

You Took the Words Right Out of My Mouth

MAGA ON PATRIOTS!

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goarticletec-blog · 6 years ago

Text

AP FACT CHECK: Trump's misdirection on Calif fires, climate

New Post has been published on https://www.articletec.com/ap-fact-check-trumps-misdirection-on-calif-fires-climate/

AP FACT CHECK: Trump's misdirection on Calif fires, climate

WASHINGTON (AP) – President Donald Trump is going too far in assigning most of the blame for California’s devastating wildfires on the state’s forest management.

In comments over the weekend, he called forest management a “big problem” and suggested that California officials needed to do a much better job. But most of California’s 33 million acres of forests are under federal or private control, not the state’s. Fire scientists say that Trump also neglects a larger effect from climate change in promoting abnormally dry conditions and dead trees, creating fuel for fire.

In a week honoring the sacrifice of America’s warriors, Trump appeared to claim that he visited Arlington National Cemetery on Veterans Day last year and asserted that veterans, thanks to him, no longer face long waits for medical care. Neither is true.

Capping the weekend, the president also misspelled the name of a Democratic lawmaker in an unfortunate way and did not correct himself.

A look at his recent statements, compared with the facts:

CALIFORNIA WILDFIRES

TRUMP, speaking about the role of forest management in stemming wildfires: “I was with the president of Finland and he said, ‘We have a much different_we’re a forest nation.’ He called it a forest nation, and they spent a lot of time on raking and cleaning and doing things. And they don’t have any problem.” – remarks Saturday in Paradise, California.

THE FACTS: Finland apparently is not raking that many leaves.

President Sauli Niinisto said in an interview published Sunday in the Ilta-Sanomat newspaper that he told Trump during a brief meeting in Paris on Nov. 11 that “Finland is a country covered by forests but we also have a good surveillance system and network” in case of wildfires.

Niinisto said he told Trump “we take care of our forests,” but he couldn’t recall mentioning anything on raking.

___

TRUMP, on the role of climate change: “Maybe it contributes a little bit. The big problem we have is management…You need forest management. It has to be. I’m not saying that in a negative way, a positive – I’m just saying the facts.” – interview with “Fox News Sunday.”

TRUMP: “There is no reason for these massive, deadly and costly forest fires in California except that forest management is so poor. Billions of dollars are given each year, with so many lives lost, all because of gross mismanagement of the forests. Billions of dollars are given each year, with so many lives lost, all because of gross mismanagement of the forests. Remedy now, or no more Fed payments!” – tweet on Nov. 10.

THE FACTS: Both nature and humans share responsibility for the state’s devastating wildfires, but fire scientists say the forest management is not the main contributor.

Nature provides the dangerous winds that have whipped the fires, and human-caused climate change over the long haul is killing and drying the shrubs and trees that provide the fuel. That’s not to say California is blameless: Urban development encroaching on wildlands also is a factor. But about 19 million or 57 percent of California’s 33 million acres of forests are managed or owned by the federal government, according to the University of California.

The wildfire that incinerated the Northern California town of Paradise and surrounding areas is the single deadliest such blaze in California history.

The other major fire, in Southern California, has burned through shrubland, not forest.

“It’s not about forest management,” said University of Utah fire scientist Philip Dennison. “These aren’t forests.”

The dean of the University of Michigan’s environmental school, Jonathan Overpeck, said Western fires are getting bigger and more severe. He said it “is much less due to bad management and is instead the result of our baking of our forests, woodlands and grasslands with ever-worsening climate change.”

Wildfires have become more devastating because of the extreme weather swings from global warming, fire scientists said. The average number of U.S. acres burned by wildfires has doubled from 30 years ago.

California also has been in drought for all but a few years of the 21st century and is now experiencing its longest drought, which began on Dec. 27, 2011, and has lasted 358 weeks, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor. Nearly two-thirds of the state is abnormally dry.

The first nine months of the year have been fourth-warmest on record for California, and this past summer was the second-hottest on record in the state.

Because of that, there are 129 million dead trees, which provide fuel for fires.

___

MIDTERM ELECTIONS

TRUMP: “We picked up two seats in the Senate. We went from 51-49 to 53-47.” – remarks Saturday.

THE FACTS: Not so. He’s presuming Republican Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith will defeat Democrat Mike Espy in a runoff election Nov. 27. If Espy wins, Republicans will have picked up only one seat and have a 52-48 edge. It’ll be 53-47 if she wins.

___

RUSSIA INVESTIGATION

TRUMP: “So funny to see little Adam Schitt (D-CA) talking about the fact that Acting Attorney General Matt Whitaker was not approved by the Senate, but not mentioning the fact that Bob Mueller (who is highly conflicted) was not approved by the Senate!” – tweet Sunday.

THE FACTS: The correct name of the Democratic lawmaker is Adam Schiff.

Mueller’s appointment to lead the investigation into 2016 election interference and possible ties between Moscow and Trump’s campaign was not put to the Senate because special counsels are appointed by the Justice Department. His appointment is not in legal dispute.

Critics contend Trump illegally sidestepped procedure by appointing Whitaker over Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who’s been confirmed by the Senate.

___

TRUMP, on special counsel Robert Mueller and his team conducting the Russia investigation: “These are Angry People, including the highly conflicted Bob Mueller, who worked for Obama for 8 years.” -tweet Wednesday.

THE FACTS: Mueller, a longtime Republican, was chosen to lead the FBI by Republican President George W. Bush in 2001. Democratic President Barack Obama kept him in the job, and Mueller left in September 2013 after six years under Obama.

___

VETERANS

TRUMP, on his decision not to visit Arlington National Cemetery last week to commemorate Veterans Day: “In retrospect, I should have, and I did last year and I will virtually every year. But we had come in very late at night and I had just left, literally, the American Cemetery in Paris, and I really probably assumed that was fine and I was extremely busy because of affairs of state – doing other things.” – interview with “Fox News Sunday.”

THE FACTS: While Trump has visited Arlington National Cemetery twice during his presidency on Memorial Day, he did not do so last year on Veterans Day. He was in Asia at the time.

___

TRUMP: “In June, I proudly signed into law the most significant VA reform in half a century, called Veterans Choice. … Now if a veteran cannot get the treatment they need from the VA in a timely manner, they can see a private doctor. They don’t have to wait 12 days or 20 days. … There is no more waiting on lines.” – remarks at veterans’ event Thursday.

THE FACTS: He continues to spread a misleading claim about veterans now receiving immediate medical care because of his improvements. In fact, the care provided under the Veterans Choice program is not as instantaneous as Trump suggests nor will it necessarily be the biggest overhaul at the Department of Veterans Affairs in decades.

Trump signed legislation in June to expand the private-sector Choice program, which was first approved in 2014 during the Obama administration after a scandal at the Phoenix VA medical center in which some veterans died while waiting months for appointments. The current Choice program allows veterans to see doctors outside the VA system if they must wait more than 30 days for an appointment – not “12 days or 20 days.” But many are waiting much longer than the program prescribes.

How much Choice will be expanded under his law will depend on yet-to-be-completed regulations that will determine eligibility for veterans as well as available money for the program. The VA has yet to resolve long-term financing due to congressional budget caps that could put money for VA or other domestic programs at risk of shortfalls next year.

The program’s success will also depend on an overhaul of the VA’s electronic medical records to allow seamless sharing of medical records with private physicians, expected to take up to 10 years.

Meanwhile, the current Choice program isn’t always timely. A report released this year by the Government Accountability Office found that despite the Choice program’s guarantee of providing an appointment within 30 days, veterans waited an average of 51 days to 64 days.

___

TRUMP: “Veteran unemployment has reached its lowest level in nearly 21 years, and it’s going to be better.” – remarks Thursday.

THE FACTS: The veterans’ unemployment rate fell to 2.9 percent in October, the latest data available, but that is still higher than the 2.7 percent rate reached in October 2017, also under Trump. That was the lowest joblessness rate for veterans in nearly 17 years.

Veterans’ unemployment has fallen mostly for the same reasons that joblessness has dropped generally: strong hiring and steady economic growth for the past eight years.

In May 2000, veterans’ unemployment dropped to a low of 2.3 percent, and he hasn’t reached that.

In any event, it’s impossible for Trump to claim an achievement not seen in 21 years on veterans’ unemployment. The data on joblessness for vets only go back 18 years, to 2000.

___

NATO

TRUMP: “Emmanuel Macron suggests building its own army to protect Europe against the U.S., China and Russia. But it was Germany in World Wars One & Two – How did that work out for France? They were starting to learn German in Paris before the U.S. came along. Pay for NATO or not!” – tweet Tuesday.

TRUMP: “President Macron of France has just suggested that Europe build its own military in order to protect itself from the U.S., China and Russia. Very insulting, but perhaps Europe should first pay its fair share of NATO, which the U.S. subsidizes greatly!” – tweet on Nov. 9.

THE FACTS: Macron never suggested assembling a European army to stand against the United States, its steadfast military ally. Instead, he joined German Chancellor Angela Merkel in proposing a continental army that would give Europe more responsibility for its own security, supplementing NATO. Trump has repeatedly pushed NATO members to spend more on their own military capabilities to relieve pressure on the U.S. to protect Europe. A European army would be aimed at doing that, though in theory outside the NATO umbrella.

Macron said in a radio interview before Trump’s arrival in France that Europe should be able to defend itself more than it now can, without only relying on the United States.

At another point in the interview, Macron discussed hacking and other cyberthreats and asserted that on that front, France must protect itself from China, Russia and even the United States. His concern about U.S. hackers had nothing to do with military threats or forces.

Trump misrepresented Macron’s position on the matter before they met and again after they discussed it.

___

WHITE HOUSE

SARAH HUCKABEE SANDERS, on a judge’s order that CNN reporter Jim Acosta be allowed back into the White House: “Today, the court made clear that there is no absolute First Amendment right to access the White House.” – statement Friday.

THE FACTS: The court made no such determination. U.S. District Court Judge Timothy Kelly issued a ruling of a “limited nature” that restored Acosta’s credentials temporarily while a CNN lawsuit against the Trump administration proceeds. Kelly essentially found support for CNN’s claim under the Fifth Amendment that Acosta hadn’t received sufficient notice or explanation before his credentials were pulled. As a result, the judge didn’t get to the First Amendment issues in the case.

___

TRADE

TRUMP: “On Trade, France makes excellent wine, but so does the U.S. The problem is that France makes it very hard for the U.S. to sell its wines into France, and charges big Tariffs, whereas the U.S. makes it easy for French wines, and charges very small Tariffs. Not fair, must change!” – tweet Tuesday.

THE FACTS: Yes, U.S. wine is desired in France.

Trump, who’s been in the wine business, is wrong about France applying tariffs. The European Union does.

He’s right about a disparity in wine duties.

Tariffs vary by alcohol content and other factors. A bottle of white American wine with 13 percent alcohol content imported into the EU carries a customs duty of 10 euro cents (just over 11 U.S. cents). A bottle of white wine from the EU exported to the United States has a customs duty of 5 U.S. cents.

The gap in duties is narrower for red wine with an alcohol content of 14.5 percent.

Bulk wines are another story. The U.S. tariff is double the EU one, a break for American producers because bulk wine represents 25 percent of the volume of U.S. wine coming into the EU, according to the French wine exporter federation.

The value of wine imported by France has jumped 200 percent over a decade. Meantime Americans are the top consumers of French wine exports.

___

VOTER ID

TRUMP: “The disgrace is that, voter ID. If you buy, you know, a box of cereal, if you do anything, you have a voter ID …The only thing you don’t is if you’re a voter of the United States.” – interview Wednesday with The Daily Caller.

THE FACTS: He is meaning to say that shoppers use a photo ID to make purchases, so it should not be a burden to show a photo ID for voting. But as shoppers know, no photo is required to purchase a box of cereal or other items at a grocery store when using cash or to make routine purchases with credit or debit cards.

Identifications are required to purchase limited items such as alcohol, cigarettes or cold medicine and in rapidly declining situations in which a customer opts to pay with a personal check.

According to the National Grocers Association’s most recent data, the use of checks as a percentage of total transactions dropped from 33 percent in 2000 to 6 percent in 2015, due in part to the popularity of debit cards, which use PIN codes. The group’s members are independent food retailers, family-owned or privately held, both large and small.

___

Associated Press writers Jessica Gresko, Darlene Superville, Christopher Rugaber and Seth Borenstein contributed to this report.

___

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Follow @APFactCheck on Twitter: https://twitter.com/APFactCheck

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mystlnewsonline · 7 years ago

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New Post has been published on https://www.stl.news/latest-trump-defends-remarks-about-africa-haiti/66718/

The Latest: Trump defends remarks about Africa, Haiti

WASHINGTON /January 12, 2018 (AP)(STL.News) — The Latest on President Trump and immigration (all times local):

8 p.m.

President Donald Trump has privately defended his remarks disparaging Haitians and African countries, saying he was only expressing what many people think but won’t say about immigrants from economically depressed countries.

That’s according to a person who spoke to the president as criticism of his comments ricocheted around the globe.

Trump spent Thursday evening making a flurry of calls to friends and outside advisers to judge their reaction to the tempest, said the confidant, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn’t authorized to disclose a private conversation. Trump wasn’t apologetic about his inflammatory remarks and denied he was racist, instead, blaming the media for distorting his meaning, the confidant said.

Critics of the president, including some Republicans, spent Friday blasting the vulgar comments he made behind closed doors.

— Jill Colvin and Jonathan Lemire

5:30 p.m.

President Donald Trump is privately defending his inflammatory comments about African nations and Haitian immigrants.

Trump made a round of calls Thursday night to friends and outside advisers to judge their reaction to the tempest, says a person who spoke to Trump but wasn’t authorized to discuss a private conversation.

Trump wasn’t apologetic, the person says.

The president instead blamed the media for distorting his meaning, arguing his description of “shithole” was not racist but rather a straightforward assessment of some nations’ depressed conditions.

Trump also said he believed he was expressing what many people think, according to the person.

During a bipartisan Oval Office immigration meeting Thursday, Trump questioned why the U.S. would accept more immigrants from Haiti and “shithole countries” in Africa.

— Josh Lederman and Jonathan Lemire

5:15 p.m.

The chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus and the top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee say they plan to introduce a censure resolution against President Donald Trump over his “bigoted fear mongering” about Haiti and Africa.

Democratic Reps. Cedric Richmond of Louisiana and Jerrold Nadler of New York say they were deeply troubled by Trump’s comments referring to African nations as “shithole” countries during an Oval Office meeting on immigration.

Richmond and Nadler say the countries Trump insulted “produce immigrants that are remarkable and make significant contributions to our country.”

The censure resolution has little chance of passage in the Republican-controlled House, but Richmond and Nadler say it’s important because “America is a beacon of hope.” They say Trump’s comments don’t “represent the real feelings” of most Americans.

3:20 p.m.

Sen. John McCain says all elected officials, including the president, must respect that people from all over the world have “made America great.”

The Arizona Republican statement comes a day after President Donald Trump referred to African nations as “shithole” countries during Oval Office talks with lawmakers about immigration.

McCain says respecting all people “is the essence of American patriotism.” He says rejecting that “is to oppose the very idea of America.”

McCain did not specifically mention Trump or the profanity he used. He did employ a variant of Trump’s campaign theme, “Make America Great Again.”

Trump’s vulgarity was described by Democratic Sen. Richard Durbin, who attended the White House meeting, and three others briefed on the session.

McCain is in Arizona being treated for brain cancer.

3 p.m.

Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham says he “said my piece” to Donald Trump after the president’s comments about Africa and Haiti that have stirred such controversy. But Graham isn’t confirming exactly what Trump said.

In a statement Friday, the South Carolina lawmaker says, “Following comments by the president, I said my piece directly to him.” Graham also says diversity is “our strength, not our weakness.”

Graham released his statement a day after an Oval Office immigration meeting at which Trump referred to African nations with a vulgar term. Trump’s words have prompted an uproar and were relayed by Democratic Sen. Richard Durbin of Illinois — who was at the session — and three others familiar with the meeting.

Trump disputes the accounts of the language he used, but he has not denied the most controversial word he is said to have uttered.

2:45 p.m.

The State Department says American diplomats will have to work “extra hard” to send the message that the United States cares about other countries after President Donald Trump used the word “shithole” to describe Africa nations.

Under Secretary of State Steve Goldstein says it’s Trump’s right to “make whatever remark he chooses.” He says that’s the benefit of being president.

But Goldstein says U.S. diplomats have an obligation to represent the U.S. throughout the world. He says Trump’s remarks don’t “change what we do.”

Goldstein says the State Department is advising U.S. ambassadors to “primarily listen” if summoned to explain Trump’s comments to foreign leaders. He says they’ll tell foreign countries that the U.S. commitment to their nations “hasn’t wavered” and that the United States is honored to have diplomatic representation there.

___

2 p.m.

The lone Democrat in a White House immigration meeting says talks were “combative at times” and that Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham pushed back after President Donald Trump used a vulgarity about African countries.

Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois says he was the only Democrat among 12 people at Thursday’s meeting, where he says Trump “repeatedly” used the term “shithole” to describe African countries.

He says Graham “spoke up” and told Trump his own family’s story of coming to the U.S.

Durbin says it’s up to the South Carolina senator to say more.

Durbin also repeated his earlier account that Trump said the U.S. doesn’t need more people from Haiti. He says he told Trump if he singled out Haitians it was “clearly a racial decision.”

Trump says he did not denigrate Haitians.

___

1:25 p.m.

Two Republicans who were in the Oval Office with President Donald Trump say they “do not recall” him talking about “shithole” countries in Africa.

Georgia Sen. David Perdue and Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton issued a joint statement Friday. They say, “We do not recall the president saying these comments specifically.” They say, “But what he did call out was the imbalance in our current immigration system, which does not protect American workers.”

Trump’s slur came as pro-immigration senators tried to pitch Trump on a deal to protect younger immigrants brought to the country illegally as children. Perdue and Cotton had travelled separately to the White House.

Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois says Trump made the comments, as do people briefed on the conversation.

1:15 p.m.

Legal experts predict it won’t be long before President Donald Trump’s remarks about immigrants from “shithole countries” in Africa start showing up in lawsuits and judicial decisions, much as the president’s tweets already have.

Lawyer Neal Katyal says on Twitter Thursday that he’s putting the finishing touches on his latest Supreme Court brief. The brief opposes Trump’s ban on visitors from six mostly Muslim countries. Katyal says Trump’s words “remind us again of how his un-American racist ideology impacts policy.”

South Texas College of Law professor Josh Blackman says he is “willing to bet you lunch” the comments will find their way into a pending travel ban decision from the federal appeals court in Richmond, Virginia.

12:50 p.m.

House Speaker Paul Ryan says that President Donald Trump’s vulgar slur about Africa was “very unfortunate, unhelpful.”

The Wisconsin Republican was referring to Trump’s asking during an Oval Office meeting with lawmakers why the U.S. should admit more immigrants from “shithole countries” in Africa.

Trump on Friday denied using certain “language,” but didn’t offer more specifics. Illinois Democratic Sen. Richard Durbin said Friday that Trump “said these hate-filled things and he said them repeatedly.”

Ryan said his ancestors were Irish and “were really looked down upon.” He called immigration “a beautiful story of America ” and said Africans in his hometown of Janesville, Wisconsin, are “incredible citizens.”

Ryan made his remark Friday at a public forum at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

—This item has been corrected to show that Ryan was complimenting Africans, not Haitians, in his hometown.

___

12:45 p.m.

GOP leaders are staying quiet while more moderate Republicans are speaking out against President Donald Trump’s incendiary comments in a White House meeting Thursday about “shithole” countries in Africa.

Florida GOP Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen said Trump’s alleged comments were “completely unacceptable,” telling WPLG-TV in Miami that “if that’s not racism, I don’t know how you can define it.”

Moderate GOP Sen. Susan Collins of Maine chimed in on Twitter to call Trump’s remarks “highly inappropriate & out of bounds.” She said they are hurting prospects for a bipartisan agreement on immigration.

And Idaho Republican Mike Simpson told The Associated Press that Trump’s remarks were “stupid and irresponsible and childish.”

Simpson added that, “this is a big deal. America’s influence and power in the world has really been about our ability to persuade because of our leadership, and he’s just destroying that.”

____

12 p.m.

President Donald Trump did not respond to questions about his use of a vulgarity or his question about why the U.S. should accept more immigrants from Haiti and African nations than from countries like Norway.

The questions came Friday in the White House when Trump signed a proclamation honoring Martin Luther King Jr. Day, noting the contributions of a “great American hero.”

Trump did not respond to several questions about the incident, including whether he actually used vulgar language to describe African nations, or if he is racist.

The president said at the White House that “love was central” to the slain civil rights leader. Trump said the nation celebrates King for “standing up for the self-evident truth Americans hold so dear, that no matter what the color of our skin or place of our birth, we are all created equal by God.”

___

11:50 a.m.

A prominent evangelical supporter of President Donald Trump’s is standing by him after Trump used a vulgarity to describe African countries.

The Rev. Robert Jeffress of First Baptist Dallas says that, apart from the reported choice of words, “Trump is right on target in his policy.”

Jeffress says Trump has a constitutional responsibility as commander in chief to protect the U.S. “above the needs of other countries.” Jeffress says Trump has courage and deserved gratitude for his leadership.

Jeffress sent out the statement as many evangelical leaders condemned the remarks as offensive and racist.

People briefed on the Oval Office conversation on immigration reform Thursday said Trump questioned why the U.S. would accept more immigrants from Haiti and what he called ‘shithole countries” in Africa.

___

10 a.m.

A senator present at a White House immigration meeting says President Donald Trump used vulgar language to describe African countries, saying he “said these hate filled things and he said them repeatedly.”

Sen. Dick Durbin, an Illinois Democrat, on Friday told reporters that Trump questioned why the U.S. would accept more immigrants from Haiti and that he referenced “shithole countries” in Africa.

Durbin said “shitholes” was “the exact word used by the president not just once but repeatedly.”

Durbin added, “When the question was asked about Haitians … he said, ‘Haitians? Do we need more Haitians?'”

Trump said on Twitter Friday that his language during the meeting was “tough,” but “this was not the language used.” He did not specifically deny using the word “shithole.”

9:15 a.m.

President Donald Trump is insisting he “never said anything derogatory about Haitians.”

Trump is reacting on Twitter Friday, after reports that he questioned why the U.S. would accept more immigrants from Haiti and “shithole countries” in Africa rather than places like Norway. Some media outlets also reported that Trump said in reference to Haitians, “take them out.”

Trump tweets: “Never said anything derogatory about Haitians other than Haiti is, obviously, a very poor and troubled country. Never said ‘take them out.'”

The White House has not denied the language used at the Thursday meeting on immigration. Three people briefed on the conversation described the language. The people were not authorized to describe the conversation and spoke on condition of anonymity.

___

7:45 a.m.

President Donald Trump says “this was not the language used” after reports that he referred to “shithole” African nations in a meeting.

Trump tweeted Friday amid criticism over his comments during a White House meeting Wednesday. The White House has not denied the language, nor have the several Republican lawmakers in the meeting.

Three people briefed on the conversation say Trump questioned why the U.S. would accept more immigrants from Haiti and “shithole countries” in Africa rather than places like Norway. The people were not authorized to describe the conversation and spoke on condition of anonymity.

Trump says Friday: “The language used by me at the DACA meeting was tough, but this was not the language used. What was really tough was the outlandish proposal made – a big setback for DACA!”

___

7 a.m.

President Donald Trump says a bipartisan immigration proposal is “a big step backwards.” He tweets that it would force the U.S. “to take large numbers of people from high crime countries which are doing badly.”

Trump seems to be defending himself against the furor over his vulgar words to describe African countries. Trump questioned at a White House meeting Thursday why the U.S. would accept more immigrants from Haiti and Africa than from places like Norway.

Trump says the “so-called bipartisan” deal “was a big step backwards” because it doesn’t fund a wall along the Mexican border.

He adds: “I want a merit based system of immigration and people who will help take our country to the next level. I want safety and security for our people. I want to stop the massive inflow of drugs.”

___

2 a.m.

President Donald Trump’s dismissal of Haiti and certain African countries with a vulgar expression has created a furor.

Trump made the remark Thursday during a White House meeting after senators discussed revamping immigration rules. That’s according to three people who were briefed on the conversation but weren’t authorized to describe it publicly.

Trump questioned why the U.S. would accept more immigrants from Haiti and “shithole countries” in Africa rather than places like Norway, as he rejected a bipartisan immigration deal.

Trump’s contemptuous description of an entire continent startled lawmakers in the meeting and immediately revived charges of racism. The White House did not deny his remark but issued a statement saying Trump supports immigration policies that welcome “those who can contribute to our society.”

____

by Associated Press – published on STL.News by St. Louis Media, LLC (Z.S)

___

#Africa #Defends #Donald Trump #Extra hard #Oval Office #Remark #Republican statement #Shithole #Supreme Court #white house

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truthinhistorycharlestonsc-blog · 7 years ago

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This is an extremely difficult question to ask but it may not be as hard to answer. Today we will use an excerpt from the Historic Charleston Walking Tour, King Cotton, Slavery and the Planter Aristocracy to illustrate the viability of the question and to help you answer it for yourself. Our narrative continues here in what is now Charleston’s centerpiece, Marion Square.

We invite the world to Marion Square as it now acts as ground zero for so very many of our world class events and festivals that we host throughout the year. The square itself is named for Brigadier General and the American Revolutionary War hero, Francis Marion. Marion was also a major slave holding planter who had a reputation for raping his slaves and brutally hunting and killing Cherokees for sport. The hotel that flanks the west side of the square is named for him a well.

Francis Marion

Marion Square is also flanked on the north side with a building that was originally constructed as the South Carolina State Arsenal. Its purpose was to instill fear and intimidate those who were enslaved. The Arsenal evolved into what is now known as the Citadel. The man who was the Architect of that building was Frederick Wesner. Wesner doubled as the Master, of a complex of penal buildings that included where those who were enslaved were sent to be humiliated, tortured and in 14,000 cases had their lives taken from them. For more on the indescribable horrors that occurred there click here. Charleston’s Old City Jail | Recollections of a Runaway Slave

The Former South Carolina State Arsenal

The still standing Charleston Old City Jail.

The biggest statue in Charleston is also right here in Marion Square and it was erected for the most powerful and influential statesman South Carolina had up until then, former U.S. Secretary of War, Secretary of State, Congressman, U.S. Senator and two time Vice President of the United States of America, John C. Calhoun. Calhoun’s most dangerous ideology was “paternalism”. Paternalism believed that “slavery was not a necessary evil but rather a greater good”. He ferociously and proudly orated this notion on the U.S. Senate floor many times. The belief is still one that has legs in 2017 Charleston and you need not look very far to find it. Unfortunately you can encounter this point of view on many historic tours given every day in the Holy City.

So those are the broadest strokes of just three examples, right in the middle of our city but for those of you who still need a little more help formulating your opinion do not worry because our citizens have provided us with one more piece of major artillery in which to sway you right here in Marion Square. For those of you who need further convincing all you have to do is walk our streets and know the history, Charleston provides an infinite number of examples in which to answer the question.

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We stand before the Wade Hampton Obelisk and we will use this monument to illustrate not just Hampton’s beliefs but we will use it to illustrate South Carolina’s racist and white supremacists beliefs right into the 21st century. This obelisk honors Confederate General, United States Senator and South Carolina Governor, Wade Hampton III, son of Wade Hampton II and grandson of Wade Hampton.

Confederate General Wade Hampton redeemed South Carolina with his white supremacist para military Red Shirts……

The Hampton family was one of the most powerful and influential families Colonial America, our newly formed United States of America and the Confederates States of America has ever had. The Hampton men were Continental Army, Union Army and Confederate Generals. They were also leading politicians and they represented the wealthiest the Planter Aristocracy has ever had to offer.

These men had an empire that included vast and numerous rice, cotton and sugar plantations that were housed in three states. The Hampton men are reported to have owned the most slaves in the United States, a number close to 3,000. Let me say that again the Hampton men owned more than 3,000 fellow human beings.

General Wade Hampton III as a Confederate war hero is a remarkable story, not only was he wounded in battle on five different occasions. Hampton fought in the Battle of Manassas and helped lead the Confederate Army to major victories at both the Battle of Fredericksburg and the Battle of Chancellorsville.

There is no denying that Wade Hampton was a brilliant politician, an imposing and feared warrior, a leader of brave men and most importantly a proud protector of his many homelands and their institutions. There are so very many reasons he could be and is memorialized here in this park today. After the war like almost every member of the Planter Aristocracy, Wade Hampton suffered devastating financial loss and humiliation, General Sherman incinerated Hampton’s childhood home just because he could, just to rub it in.

General Sherman

Wade Hampton is also the man that enables us to perfectly sedge way into a time in our history after the War Between the States known as “Radical Reconstruction” because Hampton was the leading and most influential Democratic political presence South Carolina had left. The Reconstruction Period was a time in Charleston and South Carolina where the city and the state was forced to live in what amounted to a police state, with the Union Army’s military occupation and under the thumb of the “Lincoln’s Republican Party” and the most hated Federal Government.

This was also the time when three Amendments, known as the Reconstruction Amendments were created, passed, ratified and designed for the first time in our nation’s history, to give basic human rights to the now newly emancipated slave. Initially these basic rights were extended and ensured by Union Army occupation and many Black men some former slaves were actually allowed to run for and were elected to public office.

The two greatest and most famous examples of that here in the Lowcountry were Joseph Rainey and Robert Smalls. We will most definitely pay homage to those two great men in our future posts.

Congressman Robert Smalls

Congressman Joseph Rainey

South Carolina was actually the only state in the Union, North or South, with a Black majority legislature during, before or even after Federal Reconstruction. To the best of my knowledge, no other state has ever accomplished a Black majority legislature since. Please correct me if I am wrong? There was indeed hope and there was indeed forward movement for a time here, but it did not last.

The loss of power to Black men, Northern Carpetbaggers and Southern Scalawags (those few local white Southerners that actually did go along with Federal Reconstruction), was never accepted by the white powers that be.

Men like this man, Wade Hampton and almost every other influential white person were seething, just because they had lost the war did not mean they had lost their pride and their supreme value of “White Supremacy”. So men like Wade Hampton reorganized and they did everything within their power to retake control of their state and their government. They called it “redeeming” what was rightfully theirs.

The “Redeemers” organized their fellow white man rich or poor and most everybody after the war was poor, even the rich were poor, although they never acted like they were. Paramilitary groups known as rifle clubs, the White League and Ku Klux Klan were organized and went on rampages of terror and they did everything they could to circumvent South Carolina’s new federally authored state constitution and ensure that Black lives worsened. They were extremely successful on both fronts.

Wade Hampton was Redeemer #1 here in South Carolina and led his own paramilitary group of White Supremacists known as the “Red Shirts”. What did these men do? Well they would gather just like the Klan did, heavily armed and often times mounted on horses. They did not however feel the need to hide their faces or cover themselves in white sheets.

Wade Hampton’s men strutted and paraded around proudly dressed in their preferred “Red Shirts” and their mission was simple, coerce and intimidate Black citizens any and every way they could, especially when it came to coercing them and intimidating them so they would not vote.

It was not uncommon for that intimidation to turn to physical violence or even to murder. The two local South Carolina low lights happened within a short time of one another not far from here geographically and really just across the street philosophically. The Hamburg Massacre and the Ellenton Riots which after a bloody several days saw 100 Blacks murdered in cold blood. This was 1876 South Carolina.

A disgusting depiction that brutally and accurately describes the mindset and the net effect.

The roughly ten year Radical Federal Reconstruction period was a resounding failure. The combination of an uncooperative White population, widespread poverty and even more widespread Federal corruption ensured that this experiment never had a chance.

The local municipalities from there were once again free to do whatever they wanted. The cities rewrote laws once again further restricting the rights of blacks and blatantly ignored the Reconstruction Amendments. South Carolina once again was free to rewrite her state constitution and laws were enacted essentially criminalizing black lives known as the “Black Codes” AND a completely different new set of laws known as “Jim Crow” were enacted and instituted a system of complete racial segregation.

For many of you today this might have been the first time hearing the term “Jim Crow” and for those of you that have heard the term, the first image that may come to mind is this “harmless”, albeit insulting black faced minstrel caricature.

Let me please say this as emphatically as I possibly can, “Jim Crow” was not harmless, “Jim Crow” was incredibly harmful. “Jim Crow” has affected you and I. “Jim Crow” was the last overt “legal” vestige of the institution of slavery in our country and it did not end officially until 1964 with the passing of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

To put this both physically and psychologically abusive set of laws into an even more modern day perspective is easy enough. We are all familiar with Nelson Mandela and South African Apartheid, well if this were a math equation,“Jim Crow” equals “Apartheid”.

They are synonymous, there is no difference between the two. They are both a set of laws created by, instituted by and enforced by a White Supremacist establishment against Black human beings that call for complete racial segregation. Beyond the actual physical segregation and separation of the races it also included how Black people had to physically conduct themselves when around White people.

Jim Crow determined how and when a Black person could speak, how they could move, how, when and with whom they could have eye contact. Under Jim Crow any and every Black person was considered by law and the social order to be inferior to any White person.

Under Jim Crow it mattered not your age, your education, your job or your economic standing, it only mattered if you were Black or if you were White. The most successful Black person by any measure was, under “Jim Crow” still inferior to the least advanced and successful White person. It did not matter, vagrant, criminal, mentally ill or degenerate, if you were White you were considered superior under “Jim Crow”.

It is here that we must include one more subject that we touched on earlier. So, yes indeed slavery and involuntary servitude were formally abolished by the 13th Amendment but that 13th Amendment provided an incredible “exception” and one in which Southern municipalities and major United States corporations would exploit all the way up until WWII.

The “exception” I am describing was the 13th Amendment still specifically allowed for “slavery and involuntary servitude…… as punishment for a crime”. The wording is unmistakable, it said exactly that and it is still part of our United States Constitution today, as in slavery is still constitutionally legal. The system became known as the “convict leasing system”. This system had a complicit country North, South and West. Hundreds of thousands, some put the estimate at 800,000 Black men were arrested for almost anything and sentenced to forced labor.

So…..these newly “freed citizens” of the United States of America after the Civil War were forced to work without pay for many of the largest corporations our country has ever had.

Really, what companies? Included in that list was the single largest corporation in the U.S. at that time, JP Morgan’s U.S. Steel, U.S. Sugar, almost every major Coal and Iron Mining Company that existed at that time , almost every major railroad company, almost every major lumber company, the largest Florida Naval Store and Turpentine companies and surprise, surprise, they were put back to work in the fields working for former Slaveholders and Planters. Cotton was and would remain “King” for quite some time.

Pretty much every major company that grew this country every way it grew then had a hand in the “Convict Leasing System”.

Black Men could be arrested for anything, as in anything like standing. A common and utilized part of the Black Codes was an ultra broad vagrancy act, loitering, cursing, spitting and selling cotton after sunset were the most widely used charges. Black men could also be and would also be arrested and convicted of rape for looking a white woman “the wrong way”, whatever that is?

Once arrested your fate was predetermined, you had no representation, you were tried, convicted and sentenced. The local judges were in cahoots and used their kangaroo courts as labor factories for these corporations and the local sheriffs and judges directly benefited financially by sentencing these men. As in they were paid.

If you doubt this occurred, I do not take that personally, you should question everything I share. Feel free and Google the Peonage Files of the U.S. Department of Justice, 1901-1945 This file contains more than 1,000 cases filed by the federal government against major U.S. corporations, business owners and southern municipalities, including the State of South Carolina and even one against themselves with the U.S. Army.

These practices are more than important they are everything to our story because they all completely dispel the myth that slavery ended with the Civil War and that the newly “emancipated” and those who have descended from them, as a collective have had anywhere close to a fair or equal chance at the “American Dream” after the war because they simply have not and they especially did not in the South.

Unfortunately during the vast majority of the 20th C. South Carolina’s leading and most influential politicians all did more than their fair share to continue to promote and foster white supremacy and devalue the Black population every chance they had.

After Governor Wade Hampton it actually got worse with Governor Ben “Pitchfork” Tillman. In response to President Theodore Roosevelt having Booker T. Washington as his guest in the White House, Tillman is infamously and publicly quoted “entertaining that “nword” will necessitate us killing a thousand more “nwords” in the South before they learn their place again”. This was our South Carolina Governor and a man who is honored still to this day with a statue in front of our South Carolina State House.

It got even worse after Tillman with his protege Governor Cole Blease. Blease publicly encouraged the practice of lynching and spoke how it was “a necessary means in controlling racial order”. Blease is even reported to have proudly buried a severed finger given to him of a lynching victim in the gubernatorial garden.

The severing of body parts of those that were lynched was not a uncommon occurrence. This posthumous mutilation of fellow human beings, including having their private areas severed happened. These body parts would often times be preserved in Mason Jars, suspended in Moonshine.

In 1929 representing South Carolina as a United States Senator, Blease read a poem on the floor of the United States Senate entitled, “Nword in the White House” in protest to First Lady Hoover having a black guest in the White House for tea. An excerpt from that poem goes like this “But everything is settled, Roosevelt is dead, Nword in the White House, Cut off Teddy’s head”.

I mean are you kidding me?

The “best” worst example of 20th C South Carolina politics and the racist mindset was another former South Carolina Governor and longtime United States Senator Strom Thurmond because he was not only South Carolina’s most powerful but also longest tenured representative.

Strom Thurmond only just stopped representing South Carolina’s ideals in our United States Senate in 2003 at 100 years old. He achieved the status then as the longest serving senator in U.S. History.

Thurmond not only represented South Carolina for 47 years, he led, influenced and left his mark on this state in a way that arguably no other politician of any other state had in the 20th C. What he is most famous for is singularly being the biggest “thorn in the side” the modern day Civil Rights Movement has ever had.

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In 1957 he stood alone and conducted the single longest filibuster ever by a lone U.S. Senator in opposition to the Civil Rights Act of 1957. A filibuster is a tactic used to stop a vote from taking place and Thurmond’s lasted nonstop for more than 24 hours. South Carolina celebrated him as a hero for that singular act of defiance but that would not be his only.

Every time I open up a book or read an historical essay about Charleston and South Carolina’s history I am both shocked, amazed and frightened in a different way by her collective political strength and conviction, racism aside. You or I, may or may not agree with her politics but there is no disputing that no other municipality has ever existed in our United States of America that has or had a history of defiance, leadership, independent thought and independence like Charleston and South Carolina.

There exists no other city or state in the United States of America that can lay claim to the fame of standing alone by herself, on three separate occasions no less and flipping off first, the King of England’s Lords Proprietors then, the King of England himself and then our United States Federal Government AND each time in no uncertain terms telling them all, seemingly fearlessly to go “you not what themselves” and declaring herself to be independent and sovereign.

GOOD LORD…… I JUST HOPE I AM NOT AROUND FOR #4!!!!!!!!!

Oh yes and one more thing on Hampton and Confederate monuments. If it is your belief that monuments to the Confederacy and White Supremacist Slaveholders should be taken down as is the modern day trend, you need to not only include the southern cities like Charleston and New Orleans you need to include our nation’s capital. Statues, busts and paintings are all on display memorializing not just Wade Hampton and John C. Calhoun but many many others. George Washington was after all the largest slave holder in all of Fairfax Virginia…

DID CHARLESTON WILLINGLY OR UNINTENTIONALLY RECONSTRUCT HERSELF AS A “SHRINE” TO RACISM, WHITE SUPREMACY AND SLAVERY? This is an extremely difficult question to ask but it may not be as hard to answer.

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movietvtechgeeks · 8 years ago

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Donald Trump's history making press conference transcript Part 1

President Donald Trump made more history again on Wednesday with a press conference that easily made his diehard supporters very happy. He attacked the media, admitted that all the leaks within his administration are real, but then he quickly added that it's fake news. He didn't specify what was fake news, but he is the master of saying something and then contradicting it within the space of a minute. While Trump obviously feels that he can wrangle the press and change the direction of the conversation; he wound up raising even more questions than answers. He even showed the art of creating fake news when he began the conference by spouting he had the "biggest electoral college win since Ronald Reagan." But that was quickly dispelled when Peter Alexander at NBC News corrected him that Barack Obama had done better. Trump shifted and said he had the best win for Republicans, but then that was also dispelled because George W. Bush had done better. Then Trump said those were the facts he'd been given. This was the perfect show of how fake news can be spread directly from the source. Sadly, that's also called lying unless the source is just painfully unaware of true facts. Now if the media hadn't been doing their job and just ran with the numbers and facts he gave, Trump would be a happy camper, but then that would also be the breaking down of our democracy. By now, you've heard and seen pieces of the press conference, but below you can read it as it happened unedited. It's quite an interesting read, even for those not into politics. You may even think it's a transcript from one of the airplane political thriller pulp reads as it's rather out there. You can jump to Part 2 here if you've read this one already. Trust me, both parts are worth your time. TRUMP: Thank you very much. I just wanted to begin by mentioning that the nominee for secretary of the Department of Labor will be Mr. Alex Acosta. He has a law degree from Harvard Law School, great student, former clerk for Justice Samuel Alito, and he has had a tremendous career. He's a member and has been a member of the National Labor Relations Board, and he's been through Senate confirmation three times, confirmed, did very, very well. And so Alex, I wished him the best. We just spoke, and he's going to be a tremendous secretary of Labor. And, also, as you probably heard just a little while ago, Mick Mulvaney, former congressman, has just been approved, weeks late. I have to say that, weeks, weeks late, Office of Management and Budget, and he will be, I think, a fantastic addition. Paul Singer just left. As you know, he was very much involved with the anti-Trump or as they say, Never Trump, and Paul left and gave us total support. It's all about unification. We're unifying the party and hopefully we'll unify the country. It's very important to me. I've been talking about that for a long time, but it's very, very important to me. I thank Paul for being here, coming up to the office, he was very strong opponent, and now he's a very strong ally, and I appreciate that. I think I'll say a few words and take some questions. I had this time, we've been negotiating a lot of different transactions to save money on contracts that were terrible, including airplane contracts that were out of control and late and terrible. Just absolutely catastrophic in terms of what was happening. And we've done some really good work and we're proud of that. Right after that, you prepare yourselves for questions, unless you have no questions, that's always a responsibility. I'm here today to update the American people on the incredible progress that has been made in the last four weeks since my inauguration. We have made incredible progress. I don't think there's ever been a president elected who in this short period of time has done what we've done. A new Rasmussen poll, in fact, because the people get it, much of the media doesn't get it, they actually get it but they don't write it, let's put it that way, but a new Rasmussen poll came out a short while ago, and it has our approval rating at 55 percent and going up. The stock market has hit record numbers, as you know, and there's been a tremendous surge of optimism in the business world, which means something different than it used to. Now it means it's good for jobs. Very different. Plants and factories are already starting to move back into the United States, big league, Ford, General Motors. I'm making this presentation directly to the American people with the media present, which, it's an honor to have you this morning because many of our nation's reporters and folks will not tell you the truth and will not treat the wonderful people of our country with the respect that they deserve. And I hope going forward we can be a little bit different, and maybe get along a little bit better, if that's possible. Maybe it's not and that's OK too. Unfortunately, much of the media in Washington, DC, along with New York, Los Angeles, in particular, speaks not for the people, but for the special interests and for those profiting off a very, very obviously broken system. The press has become so dishonest that if we don't talk about it, we are doing a tremendous disservice to the American people. Tremendous disservice. We have to talk about it. We have to find out what's going on because the press, honestly, is out of control. The level of dishonesty is out of control. I ran for president to represent the citizens of our country. I am here to change the broken system so it serves their families and their communities well. I am talking, and really talking, on this very entrenched power structure and what we're doing is we're talking about the power structure. We're talking about its entrenchment. As a result, the media's going through what they have to go through to oftentimes distort — not all the time — and some of the media's fantastic, I have to say, honest and fantastic — but much of it is not. The distortion, and we'll talk about it, you'll be able to ask me questions about it. We're not going to let it happen because I'm here, again, to take my message straight to the people. As you know, our administration inherited many problems across government and across the economy. To be honest, I inherited a mess. A mess. At home, and abroad. A mess. Jobs are pouring out of the country. You see what's going on with all of the companies leaving our country, going to Mexico and other places. Low pay, low wages. Mass instability overseas, no matter where you look. The Middle East, a disaster. North Korea, we'll take care of it, folks. We're going to take care of it all. I just want to let you know. I inherited a mess. Beginning on day one, our administration went to work to tackle these challenges. On foreign affairs, we've begun enormously productive talks with foreign leaders, much of which you've covered, to move forward to security, stability and peace in the most troubled regions of the world, which there are many. We've had great conversations with the United Kingdom and meetings, Israel, Mexico, Japan, China and Canada. Really, really productive conversations. I would say far more productive than you would understand. We've even developed a new council with Canada to promote women's business leaders and entrepreneurs. Very important to me. Very important to my daughter, Ivanka. I have directed our defense community headed by our great general, now Secretary Mattis, he's over there now working very hard, to submit a plan for the defeat of ISIS, a group that celebrates murder and torture of innocent people in large sections of the world. Used to be a small group. Now it's in large sections of the world. They've spread like cancer. ISIS has spread like cancer. Another mess I inherited. We have imposed new sanctions on the nation of Iran, who has totally taken advantage of our previous administration. And they are the world's top sponsor of terrorism. And we're not going to stop until that problem is properly solved, and it's not now. It's one of the worst agreements I've ever seen drawn by anybody. I've ordered plans to begin for the massive rebuilding of the United States military. I've had great support from the Senate. I've had great support from Congress, generally. We've pursued this rebuilding in the hopes that we will never have to use this military. I will tell you, that is my — I would be so happy if we never had to use it, but our country will never have had a military like the military we're about to build and rebuild. We have the greatest people on earth in our military. They don't have the right equipment, and their equipment is old. I used it. I talked about it. At every stop. Depleted. It's depleted. It won't be depleted for long. One of the reasons I'm standing here instead of other people is, frankly, I talked about we have to have a strong military. We have to have strong law enforcement also. So we do not go abroad in the search of war. We really are searching for peace. It's peace through strength. At home, we have begun the monumental task of returning the government to the people to a scale not seen in many, many years. In each of these actions, I'm keeping my promises to the American people. These are campaign promises. Some people are so surprised that we are having strong borders. Well that's what I've been talking about for a year and a half, strong borders. They are so surprised. Oh, he is having strong borders. Well, that's what I've been talking about to the press and everybody else. One promise after another after years of politicians lying to you to get elected. They lied to the American people In order to get elected. Some of the things I'm doing probably aren't popular, but they're necessary for security and or other reasons. And then coming to Washington and pursuing their own interests, which is more important to many politicians. I'm here following through on what I pledged to do. That's all I'm doing. I put it out before the American people, got 306 electoral college votes. I wasn't supposed to get 222. They said there's no way to get 222. 230 is impossible. 270, which you need — that was laughable. We got 306. Because people came out and voted like they have never seen before. So that's how it goes. I guess it was the biggest electoral college win since Ronald Reagan. In other words, the media is trying to attack our administration because they know we are following through on pledges that we made, and they are not happy about it for whatever reason. And, but a lot of people are happy about it. In fact, I'll be in Melbourne, Florida, at 5 on Saturday, and I heard, just heard the crowds are massive that want to be there. I turn on the TV, open the newspaper and I see stories of chaos. Chaos. Yet it is the exact opposite. This administration is running like a fine-tuned machine. Despite the fact that I can't get my Cabinet approved. They are outstanding people. Like Senator Dan Coats, who is there, one of the most respected men in the Senate. He can't get approved. How do you not approve him? He's been a colleague, highly respected, brilliant guy, great guy, everybody knows it, but were waiting for approval. So we have a wonderful group of people that's working very hard, that's being very much misrepresented about, and we can't let that happen. So if the Democrats. all you have to do is look where they are right now. The only thing they can do is delay because they screwed things up royally. Believe me. Let me list things we've done in just a short period of time. Just got here. I got here with no Cabinet. Again, each of the actions is a promise I made to the American people, going over just some of them. We have a lot in the next week and weeks coming. We have withdrawn from the job killing disaster known as Trans-Pacific Partnership. We're going to have trade deals but we're going to have one-on-one deals, bilateral. One-on-one deals. We directed the elimination of regulations that undermine manufacturing and called for expedited approval of the permits needed for America and American infrastructure, meaning plants, equipment, roads, bridges, factories. People take 10, 15, 20 years to get disapproved for a factory. They go in for a permit, it's many, many years, and at the end of the process, they spend tens of millions of dollars on nonsense, and at the end of the process, they are rejected. They may be rejected with me, but it's going to be a quick rejection. Not going to take years, but, mostly, it's acceptance. We want plants and factories built. We want the jobs. We don't want the jobs going to other countries. We've imposed a hiring freeze on nonessential federal workers. We've imposed a temporary moratorium and new federal regulations. We issued a game-changing new rule that says for each one new regulation, two old regulations must be eliminated. Makes sense. Nobody's ever seen regulations like we have. You go to other countries, and you look at industries they have, and you say, let me see your regulations. They are a fraction, just a tiny fraction of what we have. I want regulations because I want safety. I want environmental, all environmental situations to be taken properly care of. It's very important to me. You don't need four or five or six regulations to take care of the same thing. We've stood up for the men and women of law enforcement, directing federal agencies to ensure they are protected from crimes of violence. We've directed the creation of a task force for reducing violent crime in America, including the horrendous situation — take a look at Chicago and others — taking place right now in our inner cities. Horrible. We've ordered the Department of Homeland Security and Justice to coordinate on a plan to destroy criminal cartels coming into the United States with drugs. We're becoming a drug-infested nation. Drugs are becoming cheaper than candy bars. We're not going to let it happen any longer. We've undertaken the most substantial border security measures in a generation to keep our nation and our tax dollars safe and are now in the process of beginning to build a promised wall on the southern border. [I] met with general, now Secretary Kelly, yesterday, and we're starting that process. And the wall is going to be a great wall, and it's going to be a wall negotiated by me. The price is going to come down, just like on everything else I've negotiated for the government. And we're going to have a wall that works. We're not going to have a wall like they have now that is either nonexistent or a joke. We ordered a crackdown on sanctuary cities that refuse to comply with federal law and that harbor criminal aliens, and we've ordered an end to the policy of catch and release on the border. No more release. No matter who you are. We've begun a nationwide effort to remove criminal aliens, gang members, drug dealers, and others who pose a threat to public safety. We are saving American lives every single day. Court system has not made it easy for us. And we've even created a new office in Homeland Security dedicated to the forgotten American victims of illegal immigrant violence, which there are many. We've taken decisive action to keep radical Islamic terrorists out of our country. Though parts of our necessary and constitutional actions were blocked by judges, in my opinion, incorrect, an unsafe ruling. Our administration is working night and day to keep you safe — including reporters — and is vigorously defending this lawful order. I will not back down from defending our country. I got elected on defending our country. I keep my campaign promises, and our citizens will be very happy when they see the result, they already are. I can tell you that. Extreme vetting will be put in place, and it already is in place in many places. In fact, we had to go quicker than we thought because of the bad decision we received from a circuit that has been overturned at a record number. I've heard 80 percent, I find that hard believe. That's just a number I heard, that they are overturned 80 percent of the time. I think that circuit is — that circuit in chaos and that circuit is frankly in turmoil. But we are appealing that and we are going further. We're issuing a new executive action next week that will comprehensively protect our country, so we'll be going along the one path and hopefully winning that. At the same time we will be issuing a new and very comprehensive order to protect our people and that'll be done sometime next week in the beginning or middle at the latest part. We've also taken steps to begin construction of the Keystone pipeline and Dakota Access pipelines, thousands and thousands of jobs, and put new buy American measures in place to require American steel for American pipelines. In other words, they build a pipeline in this country and we use the powers of the government to make that pipeline happen, we want them to use American steel. And they are willing to do that, but nobody ever asked before I came along. Even this order was drawn, and they didn't say that and I'm reading the order and I say why aren't we using American steel? They said, that's a good idea. We put it in. To drain the swamp of corruption in Washington D.C., I've started by imposing a five-year lobbying ban on White House officials, and a lifetime ban on lobbying for a foreign government. We've begun preparing to repeal and replace Obamacare. Obamacare is a disaster, folks. It's a disaster. You can say, oh, Obamacare. They fill up our alleys with people that you wonder how they get there, but they're not the republican people that our representatives are representing. So, we've begun preparing to repeal and replace Obamacare and are deep in the midst of negotiations on a very historic tax reform to bring our jobs back. Bring our jobs back to this country, big league. It's already happening. Big league. I've also worked to install a Cabinet over the delays and obstruction of Senate Democrats. You've seen what they've done over the last long number of years. That will be one of the great cabinets ever assembled in American history. You look at Rex Tillerson. He's out there negotiating right now. General Mattis I mentioned before. General Kelly. We have great, great people, makers with us now. We have great people. Among their responsibilities will be ending the bleeding of jobs from our country and negotiating fair trade deals for our citizens. Now look, fair trade. Not free. Fair. If a country is taking advantage of us, we're not going to let that happen anymore. You know, every country takes advantage of us, almost. I may be able to find a couple that don't, but for the most part, that would be a tough job for me to do. Jobs have already started to surge. Since my election, Ford announced it will abandon its plans to build a new factory in Mexico, and will instead invest $700 million in Michigan, creating many, many jobs. Fiat Chrysler announced it will invest $1 billion in Ohio and Michigan creating 2,000 new american jobs. They were with me a week ago. You know, you were here. General Motors likewise committed to invest billions of dollars in its American manufacturing operation, keeping many jobs here that were going to leave, and if I didn't get elected, believe me, they would have left, and these jobs, these things that I'm announcing would never have come here. Intel just announced that it will move ahead with a new plant in Arizona that probably was never going to move ahead with. And that will result in at least 10,000 American jobs. Wal-mart announced it will create 10,000 jobs in the United States just this year because of our various plans and initiatives. They'll be many, many more, many more. These are a few that we're naming. Other countries have been taken advantage of us for decades, decades, and decades and decades, folks, and we're not going to let that happen anymore. Not going to let it happen. And one more thing, I have kept my promise to the American people by nominating a justice of the United States Supreme Court, Judge Neil Gorsuch, from my list of 20, and who will be a true defender of our laws and our constitution. Highly respected. Should get the vote from the Democrats. You may not see that, but he'll get there one way or another. He should get there the old fashioned way, and he should get those votes. This last month has represented an unprecedented degree of action on behalf of the great citizens of our country. Again, I say it, there's never been a presidency that's done so much in such a short period of time, and we haven't even started the big work that starts early next week. Some very big things are going to be announced next week. So we're just getting started. We will be giving a speech as I said in Melbourne, Florida, at 5 p.m., I hope to see you there. And with that, I just say God bless America, and let's take some questions. Mara? Mara, go ahead, you were cut off pretty violently at our last news conference. Reporter: [ inaudible ] Mike Flynn is a wonderful person, and I asked for resignation, he respectfully gave it. He is a man who there was a certain amount of information given to Vice President Pence, who's with us today, and I was not happy with the way that information was given. He didn't have to do that because what he did wasn't wrong. What he did in terms of the information he saw. What was wrong was the way that other people, including yourselves, in this room, were given that information. Because that was classified information that was given illegally. That's the real problem. You know, you can talk all you want about Russia, which was all, you know, "fake news" fabricated deal to try to make up for the loss of the Democrats and the press plays right into it. In fact, I saw a couple of the people supposedly involved with all of this. They know nothing about it, never in Russia, never made a phone call, never received a phone call. It's all fake news. It's all fake news. The nice thing is I see it starting to turn where people are now looking at the illegal — I think it's very important — the illegal giving out classified information, and let me just tell you, it was given out so much. For example, I called, as you know, Mexico. It was a very confidential classified call, but I called Mexico, and in calling Mexico, I figured, oh, well that's nice, I spoke to the president of Mexico, had a good call, all the sudden it's out there for the world to see. It was supposed to be secret. Supposed to be either confidential or classified in that case, same thing with Australia. All of the sudden, people are finding out exactly what took place. The same thing happened with respect to General Flynn. Everybody saw this. And I'm saying, the first thing I thought of when I heard about it, is how does the press get this information that's classified? How do they do it? You know why? Because it's an illegal process, and the press should be ashamed of themselves, but more importantly, the people that gave out information to the press should be ashamed of themselves. Really a shame. Trump: Yes, go ahead. Reporter: Why did you keep your vice president in the dark for almost two weeks? Trump: Because when I looked at the information, I said, I don't think he did anything wrong. If anything, he did something right. He was coming into office, looked at the information, and he said, "huh, that's fine." That's what they are supposed to do. They are supposed to be — he just didn't call Russia, he called, and spoke to both ways, I think, there were 30-some odd countries, just doing his job. You know, he was just doing his job. The thing is he didn't tell our vice president properly, and then he said he didn't remember, so either way, it wasn't very satisfactory to me. And I have somebody that I think will be outstanding for the position, and that also helps, I think, in the making of my decision, but he didn't tell the vice president of the United States the facts, and then he didn't remember, and that just wasn't acceptable to me. Yes? Reporter: Since you brought up Russia, I'm looking for some clarification here. During the campaign, did anyone from your team communicate with members of the Russian government or Russian intelligence, and if so, what was the nature of the conversations? Trump: Well, the failing New York Times wrote a big long front page story yesterday, and it was very much discredited, as you know. It was— it's a joke. The people mentioned in the story, I noticed they were on television today saying they never even spoke to Russia. They weren't even a part, really, I mean, there was such a minor part. I had not spoken to them—I think the one person, I don't think I've ever spoken to him or ever met him, and he actually said he was a very low level member of, I think, committee for a short period of time. I don't think I ever met him. Now it's possible I walked into a room and he was sitting there, but I never met him, I never talked to him ever, and he thought it was a joke. The other person said he never spoke to Russia, never received a call, looked at his phone records, et cetera, et cetera, and the other person people knew that he represented various countries, but I don't think he represented Russia, but represented various countries. That's what he does. People know that. That's Mr. Manafort, by the way, a respected man, a respected man, but I think he represented the Ukraine or Ukraine government or somebody, but everybody knew that. Everybody knew that. So these people... and he said that he has absolutely nothing to do and never has with Russia. He said that very forcefully. I saw his statement. He said it forcefully. Most of the papers do not print it because it's not good for their stories. So the three people they talked about all totally deny it, and I can tell you, speaking for myself, I own nothing in Russia. I have no loans in Russia. I don't have any deals in Russia. President Putin called me up nicely to congratulate me on the win of the election. He called me up extremely nicely to congratulate me on the inauguration, which was terrific, but so did almost all other leaders from almost all other countries. That's the exception. Russia is fake news. Russia — this is fake news put out by the media. The real news is the fact that there are people probably from the Obama administration because they are there. We have new people going in place right now, as you know, Mike Pompeo is now taking control of the CIA, James Comey at the FBI, Dan Coates is waiting to be approved. I mean, he's a senator, a highly respected one, and he's still waiting to be approved. But our new people are going in. Just while you're at it, because you mentioned this, the Wall Street Journal did a story today that was almost as disgraceful as the failing New York Times story yesterday. And it talked about — you saw it, front page — so director of national intelligence just put out, acting, a statement, any suggestion that the United States intelligence community — this was just given to us — is withholding information and not providing the best possible intelligence to the president and his national security team is not true. So they took this front page story out of the Wall Street Journal top, and they just wrote the story, but it's not true. I'll tell you something. I'll be honest. I sort of enjoy this back and forth, and I guess I have all my life, but never seen more dishonest media than frankly the political media. I thought the financial media was much better and more honest, but I will say that I never get phone calls from the media. How do they write a story like that in the Wall Street Journal without asking me or how do they write a story in the New York Times put it on the front page. That was the story they wrote about the women and me, front page, big massive story. And It was nasty. And then they called, they said, we never said that. We like Mr. Trump. They called up my office. We like Mr. Trump. We never said that. And it was totally — they totally misrepresented those very wonderful women. I have to tell you. Totally misrepresented. I said, give us a retraction. They never gave us a retraction, and, frankly, I then went on to other things. Okay. Go ahead. Reporter: Mr. President, you said today that you have biggest electoral margins since Reagan with 350 electoral votes, and, in fact, president Obama got 365 -- [Trump mumbles in response] why should America — [ Trump tries to protest in response] why should America trust you when you accuse the — [ inaudible ] Trump: Actually, I've seen that information around. It was a substantial difference, do you agree with that? Reporter: You're the president. Trump: Okay. [laughing] Reporter: Can you tell us, can you determine that General Flynn never wronged you? What evidence — did you ask your transcripts [inaudible] you said you'd aggressively pursue [inaudible] Trump: We are. Reporter: [inaudible] review of the intelligence community — what can you tell us? Trump: First of all, about that. We now have Dan Coates, hopefully soon, Mike Pompeo, and James Comey, and they are in position, so I hope that we'll be able to straighten that out without using anybody else. The gentleman you mentioned is a very talented man, a very successful man, and he's offered his services, and you know, it's something we may take advantage of, but I don't think we'll need that at all because of the fact that, you know, I think that we're going to be able to straighten it out easily on its own. As far as the general is concerned, when I first heard about it, I said, huh, that doesn't sound wrong. My counsel came, Don McGahn, White House Counsel, and he told me, and I asked him, and he can speak very well for himself. He said he doesn't think anything is wrong. You know, really didn't think — really what happened after that — but he didn't think anything was done wrong. I didn't either, because I waited a period of time and thought about it. Well, I said I don't see, to me, he was doing the job. The information was provided by, who I don't know, Sally Yates, and I was a little surprised because I said, "Doesn't sound like he did anything wrong there," but he did something wrong with respect to the Vice President, and I thought it was not acceptable as far as, as far as, the actual making the call. In fact, I've watched various programs, and I've read various articles where he was just doing his job. That was very normal. You know, first everybody got excited because they thought he did something wrong. After they thought about it, it turned out he was just doing his job. So, and I do — and, by the way, with all of that being said, I do think he's a fine man. Yes, john? Reporter: What will you do on the leaks? You have said twice today [inaudible] Trump: I've actually called the Justice Department to look into the leaks. Those are criminal leaks. They're put out by people either in agencies you'll see it stopping because now we have our people in. You know, again, we don't have our people in because we can't them approved by the Senate. We just had Jeff Sessions approved and just as an example. So, we are looking into that very seriously. It's a criminal act. You know what I say, when I was called out on Mexico, I was shocked. Cause all this equipment, all this incredible phone equipment. When I was called out on Mexico, I was, honestly, I was really, really surprised. But I said, you know, it doesn't make sense. That won't happen. But that wasn't that important to call. It was fine. I could show it to the world, and he could show it to the world, the president, who is a very fine man, by the way, same thing with Australia. I said, that's terrible that it was leaked, but it was not that important. But then I said to myself, what happens when I'm dealing with the problem of North Korea? What happens when I'm dealing with the problems in the Middle East? Are you folks going to be reporting all of that very, very confidential information? Very important, very, you know, I mean, at the highest level, are you going to be reporting about that too? So I don't want classified information getting out to the public. In a way, that was almost a test, so I'm dealing with Mexico, I'm dealing with Argentina. We were dealing with this case on Mike Flynn, all the information gets put into the Washington Post and gets put into the New York Times, and I'm saying, what's going to happen when I deal on the Middle East? What's happening when I'm dealing with really, really important subjects like North Korea? We got to stop it. That's why it's a criminal penalty. Yes? John? Reporter: Thank you, Mr. President. I just want to get you to clarify, because it's a very important point, can you say definitively that nobody on your campaign had any contacts with the Russians during the campaign, and on the leaks, is it fake news or are these real leaks? Trump: Well, the leaks are real. You're the one that wrote about them and reported them. I mean the leaks are real. You know what they said. You saw it and the leaks are absolutely real. The news is fake because so much of the news is fake. So one thing that I felt it was very important to do, and I hope we can correct it, because there's nobody I have more respect for— well, maybe a little bit, but than reporters, than good reporters. It's very important to me. Especially in this position. It's very important. I don't mind bad stories. I can handle a bad story better than anybody as long as it's true and over the course of time, I'll make mistakes, and you'll write badly and I'm okay with it. But I'm not okay when it is fake. I mean I watch CNN, and it's so much anger, hatred, and just the hatred, I don't watch it anymore because it's very good — he's saying now, it's okay, Jim, you'll have a chance. But I watch others too. You're not the only one, don't feel badly. But I think it should be straight. I think it should be, I think it should be frankly more interesting. I know how good everybody's ratings are right now, but I think it'll actually be better. People, you have a lower approval rate than Congress — I think that's right, I don't know Peter is that one right? I think they have, I think I heard lower than Congress. But, honestly, the public would appreciate it. I would appreciate it. I don't mind bad stories when it's true, but we have an administration where the Democrats are making it very difficult. I think we're setting a record or close to a record in the time of approval in the cabinet. Numbers are crazy. Some of them had them approved immediately. I still have a lot of people that we're waiting for. And that's all they're doing is delaying. You look at Schumer the mess that he's got over there. And they have nothing going. The only thing they can do is delay. And you know, I think they would be better served by, you know, approving and making sure that they're happy and everybody's good. And sometimes, and I know President Obama lost three or four, and you lose them on the way, and that's okay. That's fine. I think it would be much better served, John, if they just went through the process quickly. This is pure delay tactics. And they say it. And everybody understands it. Yeah, go ahead, Jim. Reporter: The first part of my question is can you definitively say [inaudible] Trump: I had nothing to do with it. I have nothing to do with Russia. I told you, I have no deals there. I have no anything. Now, when Wikileaks — which I have nothing to do with —comes out and happens to give, they are not giving classified information. They are giving stuff, what was said in an office about Hillary cheating on the debates, which, by the way, nobody mentions. Nobody mentions that Hillary received the questions to the debates. Can you imagine, seriously, can you imagine if I received the questions? It would be the electric chair, okay? He should be put in the electric chair and you'd even call for the reconstitution of the death penalty, okay? Maybe not you, John. Yes, you next. Reporter: Mr. President, I just want to clarify an important point, I think. Did you direct Mike Flynn to discuss sanctions with the Russian ambassador? Prior to your inauguration? Would you have fired him if that information hadn't leaked out? Trump: I fired him because of what he said to Mike Pence. Very simple. Mike was doing his job. He was calling countries, his counterparts, so it certainly would have been okay with me if he did it. I would have directed him to do it if I thought he was not doing it. I did not direct him, but I would have directed him because that's his job. It came out that way, and, in all fairness, I watched Dr. Charles Krauthammer the other night say, he was doing his job. And I agreed with him. Since then, I've watched many other people say that. You know, I didn't direct him, but I would have directed him if he did not do it, okay? Jim? Reporter: Just for the record, We don't hate you. Trump: Okay. Reporter: Pass that along. Trump: Well, ask Jeff Zucker how he got his job. Reporter: If I may follow-up on questions taking place here sir, well, not too many -- Trump: I don't know which microphones to hold. You have other people and your ratings are not as good as some of the others. Reporter: They are pretty good right now, actually, Mr. President. Trump: Go ahead. Reporter: If I may ask sir, you said earlier that WikiLeaks was revealing information about the Hillary Clinton campaign during the election cycle. You welcomed that at one campaign rally, you said you loved WikiLeaks, and in a press conference, you called on the Russians to find the missing 30,000 e-mails. I'm wondering, sir if you Trump: Well, she was missing 33, and that was extended with Reporter: Maybe my numbers are off Trump: I did say 30, but it was higher. Reporter: I'm asking, sir, it sounds you don't have much credibility here when it comes to leaking if that is something that you encouraged in the campaign. Trump: Fair question. Reporter: If I may ask you -- Trump: Do you mind me saying something? Reporter: Yes, sir. Trump: So in one case, you are talking about highly classified information. In the other case, you're talking about John Podesta saying bad things about the boss. If John Podesta said that about me and working for me, I would have fired him so fast your head would have spun. He said terrible things about her. But It was not classified information. In one case, you are talking about classified. Regardless, if you look at the RNC, we had a very strong, at my suggestion, and I give Reince great credit for this. At my suggestion, because I know something about this world, I said I want a very strong defensive mechanism. I don't want to be hacked. And we did that. And you have seen that they tried to hack us and failed. The DNC did not do that. If they did it, they could not have been hacked. They were hacked. Terrible things came in. You know, the only thing I think is unfair is some of the things were so — when I heard some of those things, I picked up the papers next morning, and said, "Oh, this will be front page," but it was not even in the papers. Again, if I had that happen to me, it would be the biggest story in the history of publishing or newspapers. I would have been the headline in every newspaper. I mean, think of it. They gave her the questions to the debate, and she should have reported herself. Why didn't Hillary Clinton announce that, I'm sorry, I have been given the questions to a debate or a town hall, and I feel that it's inappropriate, and I want to turn in CNN for not doing a good job. Reporter: If I may follow up on that what was asked about. You said the leaks are real, but the news is fake. I don't understand. It seems there's a disconnect there. If the information coming from the leaks is real, then how can the stories be fake? Trump: The reporting is fake. Reporter: I have to ask — yes, sir? Trump: Here's the thing. The public is — you know, they read newspapers, they see television, they watch. They don't know if it's true or false. Because they are not involved. I'm involved. I've been involved with the stuff all my life. But I'm involved. I know when you are telling the truth or when you are not. I just see many, many untruthful things. And I'll tell you what else I see. Tone. I see tone. You know the word tone. The tone is such hatred. I'm really not a bad person, by the way. No, but You know, but the tone is such — I do the get good ratings, you have to admit that. But the tone is such hatred. I watched this morning a couple of the networks, and I have to say, Fox and Friends in the morning, they are very honorable people — not because they are good — because they hit me when I do something wrong, but they have the most honest morning show. That's all I can say. It's the most honest, but the tone, Jim, if you look, the hatred, the — I mean, sometimes — Reporter: We don't hate you, sir. Trump: Well, you look at your show that goes on at 10 in the evening. You just take a look at the show. It's a constant hit. The panel is almost always exclusive anti-Trump. The good news is he doesn't have good ratings, but the panel is almost exclusive anti-Trump, and the hatred and venom from his mouth. And hatred from other people on your network. I'll say this. I watch it. I see it. I'm amazed by it. And I just think you'd be a lot better off. I honestly do. The public gets it. You go to rallies, they're screaming at CNN, they want to throw their placards at CNN. You know, I think you would do much better by being different. But you just Take a look. Take a look at some of your shows in the mornings and evening. If a guest comes out and says something positive about me, it's brutal. Now, they'll take this news conference, I'm actually having a very good time, okay, but they'll take this news conference — don't forget, that's the way I won. I used to give you a news conference every day and made a speech, which was every day. That's how I won, with news conference and probably speeches. I certainly did not win by people listening to you people. That's for sure. But I'm having a good time. Tomorrow, they will say, Donald Trump rants and raves at the press. I'm not ranting and raving. I'm telling you you're dishonest people, but I'm not ranting and raving. I love this. I'm having a good time doing it, but tomorrow's headlines are going to be Donald Trump, rants and rants. I'm not ranting. Go ahead — Reporter: A follow-up — Trump: Should I let him more — sit down — well — Reporter: Just because of the attack of fake news and attacking our network, I just want to ask you, sir — Trump: Changing it from fake news, though. Reporter: I know — Trump: To very fake news — Reporter: I know but aren't you— Trump Go ahead. Go ahead. [ laughter ] Reporter: Real news, Mr. President — Trump: You're not related to our new — Reporter: I am not, sir. [ laughter ] I do like the sound of Secretary Acosta — Trump: I looked at the name, and said wait a minute, is there any relation — Reporter: I'm sure you checked it out. Trump: Yeah I checked it and they said, no, sir, I said, do me a favor, go back and check the family tree. Reporter: Aren't you concerned, sir, you are undermining the people's faith in the first amendment, freedom of the press, the press in the country when you call stories you don't like fake news? Why not just say it's a story I don't like — Trump: I do. Reporter: When you call it fake news, you're undermining the confidence in the news media. Trump: Here's the thing, I understand, you're right about that. Except I know when I should get good and when I should get bad. And sometimes I say, wow, that's going to be a great story, and I'll get killed. I know what's good and bad, I'd be a good reporter, but not as good as you. I know what's good. I know what's bad. And when they change it, and make it really bad, something that should be very positive, they'll make it okay. They'll even make it negative. I understand it. So because I'm there. I know what was said. I know who is saying it. I'm there. So it's very important to me. Look, I want to see an honest press. When I started out today by saying it's so important to the public to get an honest press. The public doesn't believe you people anymore. Maybe I had something to do with that, I don't know. But they don't believe you. If you were straight and really told it like it is as Howard used to say, right, of course, he had some questions also, but if you were straight, I would be your biggest booster. I would be your biggest fan in the world, incoming bad stories about me. But If you go, as an example, you're CNN, I mean, it's story after story after story is bad. I won. I won. The other thing, chaos. There's zero chaos. We are running — this is a fine-tuned machine. Reince happens to be doing a good job, but half his job is putting out lies by the press. You know, I said to him yesterday, you know, this Russia scam you are billing so that you don't talk about the real subject, which is illegal leaks. But I watched him yesterday working so hard to try to get the story proper. I'm saying, here's my chief of staff, a really good guy, did a phenomenal job at RNC, I may have won the election, right, won the presidency, but we got some senators, all over the country, take a look. He's done a great job. I said to myself, you know, I said to somebody there, look at Reince working so hard putting out fires that are fake fires. They are fake. They are not true. Isn't that a shame because he'd rather be working on health care. He'd rather be working on tax reform, Jim. I mean that. I would be your biggest fan in the world if you treated me right. I understand there's bias, maybe, by Jeff, whatever reason, but I understand that. But you've got to be at least a little bit fair. That's why the public sees it. They see it's not fair. You take a look at some of your shows and you see the bias and the hate, and the public is smart. They understand it. Okay. Yeah, go ahead. Go ahead. [ inaudible reporter question ] I think they don't believe it—I don't think the public — that's why the Rasmussen poll has me through the roof. I don't think they believe it. I guess one of the reasons I'm here today is to tell you the whole Russian thing, that's a ruse. That's a ruse. And by the way, it would be great if we could get along with Russia, just so you understand that. That tomorrow you'll say: "Donald Trump wants to get along with Russia. This is terrible." It's not terrible. It's good. We had Hillary Clinton try and do a reset. We had Hillary Clinton give Russia 20 percent of the uranium in our country. You know what uranium is, right? A thing called nuclear weapons and other things like lots of things that are done with uranium including some bad things. Nobody talks about that. I didn't do anything for Russia. I've done nothing for Russia. Hillary Clinton gave them 20 percent of the uranium. Hillary Clinton did a reset, remember, with the stupid plastic button made us look like a bunch of jerks. Here take a look. He looked at her, like, what the hell is she doing, with that cheap plastic button? Hillary Clinton — that was a reset. Remember it said reset. Now, if I do that, oh, I'm a bad guy, but if we could get along with Russia, that's a positive thing. We have a very talented man, Rex Tillerson, who is going to be meeting with them shortly and I told them, I said, I know politically it's probably not good for me. Hey, the greatest thing I could do is shoot that ship that's 30 miles offshore right out of the water. Everyone in this country is going to say, oh, it's so great. That's not great. That's not great. I would love to be able to get along with Russia. Now, you had a lot of presidents that have not taken that tack. Look where we are now. Look where we are now. So if I can — now, I love to negotiate things. I do it really well and all that stuff. But it's possible I won't be able to get along with Putin. Maybe it is. I just want to tell you, the false reporting by the media, by you people, the false, horrible fake reporting makes it much harder to make a deal with Russia. And probably Putin said, you know, he's sitting behind his desk saying, you know, I see what's going on in the United States, they follow it closely. It's going to be impossible for President Trump to ever get along with Russia because of all the pressure he's got with this fake story. Okay? And that's a shame. Because if we could get along with Russia, and by the way, China and Japan and everyone, if we could get along, it would be a positive thing, not a negative thing. Tax reform's going to happen fairly quickly. We are doing Obamacare, we are in the final stages. We should be submitting the initial plan in March, early March. I would say. And we have to, as you know, statutorily and for reasons of budget. We have to go first. Frankly, the tax would be easier, in my opinion, but for statutory reasons and for budgetary reasons, we have to submit the health care sooner, so well submitting health care sometime in mid-March, and after that, we're going to come up, and we're doing very well on tax reform, yes. Donad Trump's History Making Press Conference Part 1 - Continue To Part 2

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mavwrekmarketing · 8 years ago

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The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.s base in Birmingham, Alabama. A bus station where segregationists attacked Freedom Riders. These civil rights sites of the 1960s, etched in black-and-white images in our memories, are naturals for selection as national monuments. Less obvious, but perhaps more powerful in our nations history, is President Barack Obamas designation of Beaufort, South Carolina, a cradle of Reconstruction.

AmidObamas last-minute flurry of executive orders and regulatory actions pardons, commutations, Arctic drilling bans Thursdays dedication of the Beaufort monument seemed to fall in the shadow of the other two dedicated that day: the motel that served as Kings headquarters in the final push for the Voting Rights Act and the Anniston, Alabama, Greyhound station where a bus was firebombed in 1961.

The monument in Beaufort commemorates a segment of the civil rights struggle that is far less prominent in American history.

Beauforts Reconstruction Era National Monument will commemorate this lesser-known period (about 1865 to 1877) following the Civil War. For instance, how many Americans know the name of Hiram Revels of Mississippi, the countrys first black senator? At a time when the black population of the American South was still struggling to come to terms with life in the post-emancipation era, Revels belonged to the wave of black men who sought and won office across the region. They won seats in the Senate, in the House of Representatives, in state legislatures, and in hundreds of local and municipal posts across the South.

(Reconstruction is the subject of a new Huffington Post podcast, produced with rapper Killer Mike, that will launch in the next few weeks. Sign up here to get an email when it drops.)

So why doesnt Reconstruction get much attention? If you take as your starting premise that mainstream history remains largely written by white Americans, that question isnt so hard to answer. There are few white heroes in this story (no Lyndon Johnsons), and there is no happy ending, no great civil rights legislation (not that survived, at least). The countrys (and arguably the worlds) first experiment in genuinely interracial democracy was strangled in its cradle or, given the decade-plus it survived, its childhood destroyed by a combination of political sabotage and terrorism. In the 1860s and 70s, groups like the Ku Klux Klan, the White Leagues, and the Redshirts arose and conducted campaigns of violence aimed at intimidating Republican politicians in the South, especially their attempts to build black political power.

You were taking your life in your hands by becoming a black political figure, says Columbia University history professor Eric Foner. This group of black political leaders suffered more violence, whether its murder, or arson of their homes or whippings, than any group of political leaders I can think of in American history. Whatever the acrimony of politics right now, you dont have armed men going after members of the legislature and whipping them or shooting them. Were not quite at that level yet. But they were in Reconstruction.

By the end of the 19th century, white dominance in the South (or home rule, as it was euphemistically called) had been restored. Jim Crow was the law of the land, and the country would not see large-scale black electoral participation until the civil rights movement of the mid-20th century. In many ways, the drought in black political power lasted even longer than that: When Tim Scott was elected in South Carolina in 2014, it was the first time Southern voters had sent an African-American to the Senate since 1881. (Senators in the 19th century were actually elected by state legislatures, not directly by voters, but you get the point.)

In recent months, Beaufort has mounted a vocal campaign to persuade Obama to designate a monument to Reconstruction there. Why Beaufort? The town and its environs occupy a unique place in 19th century history: In the fall of 1861, early in the Civil War, Beaufort County became one of the first places in the South to fall to the Union. Although it was precariously situated between Savannah and Charleston, two of the most important Confederate port cities, the concentration of black population in coastal Beaufort made it a hotbed of pro-Union sentiment, and the ideal location for Union naval forces seeking anchorage. Confederates and plantation owners had fled the region, leaving behind their homes, their land, and most importantly, their former slaves.

Over the next few years, the region bore witness to one of the most extraordinary untold chapters of American history. Black leaders and white abolitionists saw an opportunity to demonstrate to white society (especially to skeptical Northerners) that blacks were capable of citizenship: that they could participate in the free labor economy, establish their own educational institutions and live as any other members of society. Northern abolitionists ministers, teachers, doctors traveled to Beaufort County to lend their expertise. The endeavor came to be known as the Port Royal Experiment. Like the Reconstruction as a whole, it succumbed to political reaction; after the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln in 1865, Republicans began to lose their stomach for radical programs of land redistribution, and the Port Royal Experiment was abandoned.

Beaufort was also the birthplace of arguably the most incredible political figure of the Reconstruction era. Robert Smalls was born into slavery in 1839 and won national fame in 1862 when he commandeered a confederate naval vessel, and, under cover of darkness, piloted it out of Charleston harbor and delivered it to the Union. He ended up meeting with Lincoln and influencing his decision to allow black soldiers to serve in the Union Army. Smalls became the first black man to command a U.S. naval vessel. He then had a long career in Congress, with Beaufort as his political base. Many of the historic sites that will comprise the new monument relate to Smalls and his life.

Unfortunately, African-Americans havent always been in control of their stories, says Michael Boulware Moore. Moore is the president and CEO of the International African American Museum in Charleston, South Carolina. Hes also the great-great-grandson of Smalls. And so stories like Robert Smalls just havent gotten out. Now over the last 15-20 years, certainly more people know of him and his accomplishments. But I grew up in Boston, and I think about Paul Revere who performed a valiant, historical service but he didnt do anything close to what Robert Smalls did. But yet every child in this country learns about Paul Revere. I think [Smalls] still is under-exposed, but thats changing year by year.

I think for a lot of people, the story of Robert Smalls really hasnt fit their narrative, adds Moore. In the South to this day, there are pockets where Robert Smalls is persona non grata because he embarrassed the Confederacy, and they dont want to talk about it.

It took a very long time for Reconstruction to shake off its accumulated historical dust and assume a prominent place in the canon of American history. Its still not there, really, but the popular conception of that era has made strides since a century ago, when its image was the one given to us by D.W. Griffith in his silent epic The Birth of a Nation.In this view, Reconstruction was undertaken by vengeful Northerners as punishment for the Souths independence of spirit. The success of the Democratic Party in banishing the Radical Republicans from the South was a victory to be celebrated. But most tragically consequential was the image this school of historical thought gave of the eras black leaders. Black politicians were childlike, unintelligent, corrupt, and preoccupied only with their own enrichment. It posited too that northern Republican carpetbaggers cared nothing for the rights of blacks, and saw them only as pawns in their political campaign to subjugate the former Confederate states. Black political power, which during Reconstruction was substantial, was fundamentally illegitimate.

The whole idea that your former slaves were now passing laws which white people would have to obey was completely anathema to white Southerners, says Eric Foner. Foner is generally credited as one of the most important figures in the late 20th century Reconstruction revisionism that swept away the Birth of a Nationschool of thought, and he recently co-wrote a New York Times editorial arguing for the establishment of the Beaufort monument.

By the way, he adds, its not all that different from how so many white people view President Obama 150 years later. There are still people who cant accept the fact that hes actually an American and entitled to be president.

Theres only so much that a monument can do to affect peoples historical attitudes, but anyone who has lived or traveled in the American South knows that monuments honoring 19th century figures have a decidedly pro-Confederate slant. Perhaps the new monument in Beaufort will begin to reverse that trend.The removal of the Confederate flag from the South Carolina statehouse and the raging debate over removal of Confederate statues in New Orleans suggest that attitudes toward history may be changing. If current trends continue, we might be on the verge of a Robert Smalls/Reconstruction revival.

In a recent interview, the director of the 2016 feature film Free State of Jones suggested that Smalls story would make a good movie. For now, we can revel in watching the first black president establish a monument to his 19th century forebears in the heart of the former Confederacy.

CORRECTION:Due to an editing error, an earlier version of this article said Freedom Riders were attacked by anti-segregationists. The attackers were segregationists.