#MondayNightMassacre: Internet scalds Trump for firing ‘god damned American hero’ Sally Yates
Donald Trump on Monday fired Acting Attorney General Sally Yates over her refusal to enforce Trump’s executive order restricting travel from several predominantly Muslim countries.
The move comes mere hours after it was reported that Yates told Justice Department lawyers not to defend Trump’s order, which the president signed on Friday to the chagrin of citizens and lawmakers on both sides of the aisle.
Yates was named deputy attorney general by former President Barack Obama and asked by the Trump administration to remain as acting head of the Justice Department by Trump pending Senate confirmation of Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL).
“@POTUS has named Dana Boente, US Attorney for the Eastern District of VA as Acting Attorney General,” White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer wrote Monday night. “Sally Yates has been relieved.”
In a statement, the White House said Yates “betrayed” the Trump administration with her decision.
“Ms. Yates is an Obama Administration appointee who is weak on borders and very weak on illegal immigration,” the White House said.
The move prompted observers to rail against the “fascist” undertones of Trump’s decision, with many using the hashtag #MondayNightMassacre to describe the events. The hashtag—which was trending on Twitter Monday night—is a clear allusion to Richard Nixon’s Saturday Night Massacre, wherein Attorney General Elliot Richardson and Deputy Attorney General William Ruckelshaus resigned in protest after the former president demanded they fire a special prosecutor appointed to investigate the Watergate scandal.
Read some of the best reactions below:
Someone updated Sally Yates’ Wikipedia page pic.twitter.com/BkPynP3h3w
— Tim Perone (@timperone) January 31, 2017
AG upholds the law. Dictator wanna be says you don’t agree with me. You’re fired.
— Carp (@robcarpenter81) January 31, 2017
If you’re catching up (like me) Trump immediately fired Acting AG Yates for defying his racist #MuslimBan. This is not normal. #NoBanNoWall
— Evan Greer (@evan_greer) January 31, 2017
Oh my! #Trump fires acting Attorney General! This is what Nixon did when his AG wouldn’t fire special prosecutor. And that didn’t end well.
— James Asher (@jimasher) January 31, 2017
Acting AG (now former) Sally Yates is a lawyer of principle and courage. She should be celebrated for upholding the ideal that a lawyer 1/2
— Sherrilyn Ifill (@Sifill_LDF) January 31, 2017
This line from @WhiteHouse statement announcing firing of acting AG so Trumpian. Can’t you hear him saying it in Apprentice board room? pic.twitter.com/B9tsaLCPPd
— Jacob Soboroff (@jacobsoboroff) January 31, 2017
Fun fact: Whether an acting AG is “very weak on borders” does not actually affect whether an order is legal or not
— Benjy Sarlin (@BenjySarlin) January 31, 2017
I was just thinking, “What does this administration need?” And then the answer came through my tv screen: “MORE WHITE MEN.”
Acting AG Yates https://t.co/oT2NvnrPnH
— Shannon Watts (@shannonrwatts) January 31, 2017
Holy crap. Trump fired AG Sally Yates for refusing his unlawful order. Says she “betrayed” the Dept. of Justice.
Sounds like facism. https://t.co/Yqs470bVpX
— Phil Plait (@BadAstronomer) January 31, 2017
Unsurprisingly, w a sexual predator in the WH, the folks standing up for constitutional govt in US are women. #WomensMarch and Sally Yates.
— Jasmin Mujanović (@JasminMuj) January 31, 2017
Sally Yates, I salute you. One for the history books.
— Jeb Brovsky (@JebBrovsky) January 31, 2017
Donald Trump just fired Sally Yates. This is a white nationalist government coup happening right before our eyes
— Tariq Nasheed (@tariqnasheed) January 31, 2017
Pres. Trump had an “Apprentice” flashback tonight. Told Sally Yates “You’re Fired”. She put her stuff in a box, they drove her off in Limo.
— Dr.Darrell Scott (@PastorDScott) January 31, 2017
Monday Night Massacre:
Trump fires Sally Yates, Acting AG who refused to defend his indefensible #MuslimBan. History will remember her well.— EJ Dionne (@EJDionne) January 31, 2017
Sally Yates rn pic.twitter.com/xTofgGXWCY
— Brandi (@BrandiInIndy) January 31, 2017
2020 Election
Sam Elliott narrated a powerful new Joe Biden ad — and it aired during Game 1 of the World Series
Actor Sam Elliott narrated a new ad for Joe Biden that aired during Game 1 of the World Series.
"There is only America," Elliott said. "No Democratic rivers, no Republican mountains, just this great land and all that's possible on it -- with a fresh start."
"Cures we can find, futures we can shape, work to reward, dignity to protect," Elliott continues, as the Star Spangled Banner plays quietly on a piano in the background.
"There is so much we can do if we choose to take on problems and not each other," the narrator continues. "And choose a president who brings out our best."
Breaking Banner
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"A man was taken into police custody Monday morning after hanging off the side of Trump Tower from a rope since Sunday evening demanding to speak to President Donald Trump," the Chicago Sun Times reported on Monday. "The man, who is in his 20s, began dangling from the tower’s 16th-floor balcony about 5:30 p.m., asking to speak to the president and trying to get his message to the media, according to Chicago Police spokesman Tom Ahern. Police officers at the scene said they believe the man used a climbing harness.
On Tuesday, The New York Times reported that new filings show President Donald Trump's campaign — and the Republican Party itself — are teetering on the brink of financial oblivion.
"New filings with the Federal Election Commission showed the extent of Mr. Trump’s cash troubles, which are severe enough that he diverted time from key battleground states and flew to California on Sunday for a fund-raiser with just over two weeks until Election Day," reported Shane Goldmacher and Rachel Shorey. "The president ended September with just over half as much money as he had at the beginning of the month."
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