The making of donald trump

Speaker Nancy Pelosi ridiculed President Donald Trump for attacking the credibility of former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch or the whistleblower during testimony, cautioning him that such a move is a direct challenge to her leadership. Pelosi said Trump and anyone else in Washington understands that the president's words have massive repercussions and "he should not frivolously throw out insults, but that's what he does." Speaking Sunday morning on CBS' Face the Nation , Pelosi said Trump's actions in the White House are "much worse" than those of former President Richard Nixon. She defended the impeachment process and warned Trump against trying to intimidate or harass the currently anonymous Ukraine whistleblower. "I will make sure he does not intimidate the whistleblower," Pelosi said in an interview with Face the Nation host Margaret Brennan,which aired Sunday morning. "I told the president you're in my wheelhouse when you come after the whistleblower." … [Read more...] about Nancy Pelosi warns Trump against harassing whistleblower: “You’re in my wheelhouse”

President Donald Trump's only rebuttal so far of a career diplomat who gave damning testimony at impeachment proceedings was to label him as a "never-Trumper"—without addressing any of the statements that the diplomat made. Trump's comments came after he was asked to respond to statements made by Bill Taylor, the top U.S. diplomat in Ukraine, in which he provided evidence for ongoing the alleged quid-pro-quo attempt to make military aid to Ukraine contingent on the country probing 2020 Democratic front-runner Joe Biden. In Taylor's opening statement to impeachment proceedings on Tuesday, he said that Trump wanted the Ukrainian president to "go to a microphone and say he is opening investigations of Biden and 2016 election interference." Taylor said that U.S. Ambassador to the European Union Gordon Sondland told him that "'everything' was dependent on such an announcement, including security assistance." Speaking to reporters outside the White House before flying to a Criminal … [Read more...] about Trump launches fresh attack on his own acting ambassador to Ukraine: “He’s a never-Trumper and his lawyer is a never-Trumper”

Attorney General William Barr gave his most vociferous defense of President Donald Trump on Friday and accused his political opponents of trying to upend the Trump administration. In an hour-long speech at the Federalist Society—a largely Conservative and influential legal group—Barr hit out at Democrats for trying to dismiss voters who elected Trump by "using every tool and maneuver to sabotage" his administration. "In waging a scorched-earth, no-holds-barred war of resistance against this administration, it is the left that is engaged in a systematic shredding of norms and undermining the rule of law," Barr said. Barr's comments came a week after the Washington Post reported that he declined a request from Trump to hold a press conference to state that there was no illegality in a July phone call between the president and his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskiy. The call is central to Democrats' impeachment probe into whether Trump was withholding military aid in order … [Read more...] about William Barr accuses Democrats of “scorched-earth, no-holds-barred war” against Trump

Nearly a month after objecting to electoral votes cast for President Biden, Rep. Mike Garcia wanted to clear the air. In a lengthy Jan. 30 op-ed in a local newspaper, the Santa Clarita Republican and former Navy fighter jet pilot denounced the blowback on social media that branded him “a seditionist, a traitor, or even worse.” Roughly 150 miles to the north, Rep. David Valadao also had some explaining to do after voting to impeach President Trump for his part in inciting the deadly riot at the U.S. Capitol. He, like Garcia, was disparaged by some constituents as a traitor. Two votes in Congress in successive weeks — one to certify Biden’s election and another to impeach the president — snared the two California Republicans into the pitched battle over the future of their party: whether the GOP will demand allegiance to Trump or break from his influence. On one side sits Garcia and the majority of House Republicans, who on Jan. 6 aligned with Trump in rejecting the will of the … [Read more...] about For two California Republicans, diverging approaches to Trump lead to the same place: Backlash

Fox News host Sean Hannity railed Friday against former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch as a "narcissistic diplomatic snowflake" in his latest defense of President Donald Trump. Trump himself received widespread criticism and allegations of witness intimidation for ridiculing Yovanovitch on Twitter during her testimony before House lawmakers Friday. But Hannity, one of Trump's most prominent cheerleaders on Fox News, labeled her and House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff "liars" and narcissists. Hannity described her as a "snowflake" for testifying Friday about attorney Rudy Giuliani and other Trump administration officials leading a smear campaign against her. Although Trump's tweet did not directly threaten Yovanovitch, the law also covers intimidation and harassment, which is an impeachable offense punishable by up to three years in prison. Hannity followed the president's lead and repeatedly labeled Yovanovitch a self-important official looking to make … [Read more...] about Sean Hannity attacks Marie Yovanovitch, calling her a “narcissistic diplomat snowflake”

Donald Trump was not the first presidential candidate to perform notably better on election day than pre-election polling had predicted. Ronald Reagan did it in the 1980 election. So did Bob Dole in 1996. Still, the gap between the 2020 polling and the actual results has caused considerable dismay. Since the election, a lot of people have asked the same question: “What went wrong with the polling?” I’ve been leading the Quinnipiac University Poll for over 25 years. And while a lot of work remains before there is a final diagnosis of this year’s election polls, I don’t think it will show that polling has lost its value. I already see some early indicators of what went right — as well as wrong — this year. In general, public opinion polls have had a good track record over the last 100 years. However, election polls have never been perfect, nor should that be expected. Uncertainty is part of the equation — whether because of the margin of error, who turns out to vote or the number … [Read more...] about Op-Ed: Will 2020 mark the end of election polling as we know it?

A new ad by the State Government Leadership Foundation (SGLF) slams President Joe Biden for allegedly ruining Americans’ summer by making life too expensive. The ad , shared first with the Daily Caller, contrasts life under Republican leadership with the current environment of high gas prices and inflation, depicting the former as a better time to be an American. It also highlights that a key pillar of Biden’s pitch on the campaign trail was a “return to normalcy” following the often-unorthodox tenure of former President Donald Trump, but claims that Americans aren’t having a normal summer due to Biden’s economic policies. The new spot is the third in the SGLF’s “Tale of Two Americas” ad campaign, which aims to show Americans that life was better off under Republican control than it is now with Democrats in power not only at the federal level but in many state legislatures. The six-figure ad campaign is targeting key battleground states for the 2022 midterm elections, including … [Read more...] about EXCLUSIVE: New Conservative Ad Blasts Biden For Allegedly Ruining Americans’ Summer

By ZEKE MILLER ELMAU, Germany (AP) — One year ago, Joe Biden strode into his first Group of Seven summit as president and confidently told the closest U.S. allies that “America is Back.” Now, many of them are worrying that America is backsliding. As Biden meets this week in the Bavarian Alps with the heads of G-7 leading democratic economies, he carries with him the domestic baggage of political unrest, shocking mass shootings and the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to end constitutional protections for abortion. Biden’s 2021 summit was meant as a palate cleanser to the “America First” ideology of his predecessor, President Donald Trump. Embracing multilateralism and global partnerships and restoring faith in America’s alliances — especially NATO’s mutual self-defense pact — were top on his agenda. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said of Biden, “We’re totally on the same page.” Biden’s election was seen by most allies as an American reset, returning to norms honed over … [Read more...] about Tale of 2 summits: ‘America’s back’ to America’s backsliding