Trump’s failed defense secretary pick defended his son after he brutally beat his own mother with a baseball bat
Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan abruptly resigned on Tuesday — and a new report from the Washington Post sheds some light on why.
Shanahan, who had been tapped by President Donald Trump as a permanent replacement for former Defense Secretary James Mattis, admitted to the Post this week that he had written a defense of his then-17-year-old son Will Shanahan after he brutally beat his own mother with a baseball bat in 2011 and left her “unconscious in a pool of blood, her skull fractured and with internal injuries that required surgery,” the paper reports.
Despite the gruesome nature of the attack, Shanahan sent a letter to his former brother-in-law claiming that his son had acted in self-defense.
“Use of a baseball bat in self-defense will likely be viewed as an imbalance of force,” Shanahan wrote. “However, Will’s mother harassed him for nearly three hours before the incident.”
Shanahan tells the Post that he deeply regrets writing those words and claims that he did not know the extent of his ex-wife’s injuries at the time.
“Quite frankly it’s difficult to relive that moment and the passage was difficult for me to read. I was wrong to write those three sentences,” he said. “I have never believed Will’s attack on his mother was an act of self-defense or justified. I don’t believe violence is appropriate ever, and certainly never any justification for attacking someone with a baseball bat.”
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‘The wheels are coming off’: MSNBC panel says Trump told his chief of staff to ‘walk the plank’
Two MSNBC anchors discussed Thursday's whirlwind day of breaking news in scandals involving President Donald Trump.
The host of "The Rachel Maddow Show" joined Brian Williams on "The 11th Hour" to discuss Trump holding the G7 Summit at his Trump National Doral Miami golf course and the White House acting chief of staff, Mick Mulvaney, confessing that there was a quid pro quo with Ukraine -- before attempting to walk back his confession.
"Did things change today, do you think?" Williams asked.
"I do feel like the wheels are coming off," Maddow said.
"For the Energy Secretary [Rick Perry] to resign, you've had two cabinet secretaries resign during the impeachment proceedings already, one of whom, the current one resigning tonight, the Energy Secretary, does appear to be involved in the scheme, at least on a couple of different levels. We have got the White House Chief of Staff who was sent out today, not only to make the, 'Yes, it was quid pro quo. Yes, we did it. What are you going to make of it?' article -- which was bracing, but then to take it back, simultaneously announcing this self-dealing, which is something more blatant than we’ve ever seen from any president in U.S. history," she explained.
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Rick Wilson rips Trump for holding G7 meeting at his ‘South Florida House of Bed Bugs Hotel’
Republican strategist Rick Willson blasted President Donald Trump after the administration announced that the G7 meeting of world leaders would be held at his Trump National Doral Miami golf course.
Chief of staff and Office of Management and Budget Director Mick Mulvaney announced the severely under-performing resort would receive the lucrative contract during a contentious White House briefing.
2020 Election
Trump impersonated a CNN anchor — and a US president — during epic meltdown at Texas speech
President Donald Trump offered multiple impersonations during a campaign rally in Dallas, Texas on Thursday.
Trump showed the crowd his impersonation of a president of the United States -- and a CNN anchor.
"No guns. No religion. No oil. No natural gas," Trump said. "Abraham Lincoln could not win Texas under those circumstances. Couldn’t do it."
In fact, Abraham Lincoln could not win Texas when he ran for president as the state refused to print any ballots with his name.
He then showed the audience two impersonations as part of his 87-minute speech.
"I used it to say, I can be more presidential. Look," Trump said, as he shuffled awkwardly on stage.
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Rick Wilson rips Trump for holding G7 meeting at his ‘South Florida House of Bed Bugs Hotel’
Trump impersonated a CNN anchor — and a US president — during epic meltdown at Texas speech
Maddow reveals Trump’s Ukraine scandal is also an attempt to ‘unblame’ Russia for 2016 interference
