President Obama will have one last chance to force Judge Merrick Garland onto the U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday - but it's a legal gamble and one that has so many pitfalls that even those who say he could get away with it believe it isn't worth the fight. Mr. Obama's moment will come just before…
NPR host Michele Norris pointed out over the weekend that President-elect Donald Trump's campaign slogan, "Make America Great Again," is a "deeply encoded" message that troubles minorities while promising prosperity to white Americans.
During a Face the Nation panel discussion on resisting Trump's agenda, conservative columnist David Frum offered a sobering assessment about how the new president would impact the country.
"I am hopeful that Americans will rise to this challenge," Frum said. "I think the message that they do not need to hear is, 'Don't worry, your grandparents rose to the challenge and therefore you can stay on the couch.'"
"I don't think we do people a service by saying, 'You know, there have been bad things in the American past before,'" the former speechwriter for George W. Bush continued. "This is our bad thing and it's about a bad a thing as has happened in any of our lifetimes."
Norris argued that Trump's "Make American Great Again" slogan misses the mark for addressing current reality in the United States.
"In the phrase 'Make America Great Again' there's one word that if you are a person of color, that you sort of stumble over, and it's the word 'again'." Norris observed. "Because you're talking about going back to a time that was not very comfortable for people of color. They did not have opportunities, they were relegated to the back of the line."
"And this was a country that -- to be honest -- was built on the promise of white prosperity above everything else," she added. "And for a lot of people, when they hear that message, 'Make America Great Again,' deeply encoded in that message is a return to a time where white Americans can assume a certain amount of prosperity."
According to Norris, Trump's win was made possible by white people who feel like they are "not at the front of the line."
"And Donald Trump was able to tap into a message where people felt a lot of discomfort," she noted. "That is somewhat retrograde. I mean, fear is not our brand in America. And that is so much sort of the bright vein that ran though the campaign."
Watch the video below from CBS, broadcast Jan. 1, 2017.
Donald Trump's former campaign spokeswoman Katrina Pierson and Democratic political strategist Jessica Tarlov appeared on Thursday night's O'Reilly Factor with host Eric Bolling. The group discussed Huffington Post senior politics editor Sam Stein's recent commentary that President Obama "oversaw the destruction of the Democratic party."
Calling him a "divider-in-chief" whose political career "revolved around racism, sexism, classism and even elitism," Pierson argued that the Democrats are imposing an "extreme leftist ideology" on all Americans.
However, Tarlov pushed back, listing "core democratic policies" that have gained significant public support, such as a minimum wage increase, overtime pay, gay marriage, and Obamacare. "Tell me what's the problem there," she said.
Pierson's response suggested that the Democratic party "demonizes strong, traditional family values," pointing to formerly blue states that went red in the 2016 election, such as Wisconsin and Michigan. "This is about an extreme ideology that is being forced down the public's throat."
Tarlov shot back as Pierson continued to talk, "Katrina, when you say 'core family values' do you mean anti-gay marriage? Because 60 percent of the country is pro-gay marriage."
"No. Jessica, what I'm saying — people who have traditional family values —" Pierson continued before Tarlov asked her again, "What does that mean to you? Tell me!"
"People who have traditional family values are criticized, ostracized. They are talked down to. And look what they've been going through," Pierson continued. Tarlov pressed her for answers, "Tell me what it means. What does it mean to you? Traditional family values."
Finally, Pierson responded, "Traditional family values, pro-life, pro-family."
"What's pro-family? Does that mean not gay marriage? Tell me if it means to you that marriage is only between a man and a woman because that is not what Americans feel. Sixty percent are pro-gay marriage," Tarlov said.
Pierson then argued that people who don't believe in gay marriage are ostracized and treated "like subhuman" because of their beliefs.
"Katrina, if you think that Donald Trump won Wisconsin and Michigan because of his stance about marriage being between a man and woman, you are dead wrong," Tarlov argued.
Watch the full clip below.
NBC's Chuck Todd joined Politico's podcast series "Off Message" for a revealing conversation about President-elect Donald Trump in which he shared some insights on Trump's behavior. He explained the president-elect's close attention to how his interviews appear visually, as reported by the Hill.
Todd commented on Trump's habit of watching his finished interviews with the sound off because "he wants to see what it all looked like." The "Meet the Press" host has interviewed the president-elect on various occasions.
He said, "He will watch the whole thing on mute. He thinks this way, and look, it's an important insight in just understanding him. The visual stuff is very real beyond just himself."
The Hill reports that former Fox News CEO Roger Ailes wrote about this as part of his process for choosing TV personalities — watching prospective personalities for 10 minutes without sound. Imagery is important, according to Politico, and Trump's attention to his visual appearance was politically effective.
Todd also spoke to Trump's "daddy issues" in the podcast. "Look, he’s not the first president to have daddy issues," he said. "There’s nothing like a parental issue to add a chip … My name is Chuck Todd and I have a chip on my shoulder about my dad … Everybody has the chip."
Last fall, a report revealed that Trump's late father, Fred may have been associated with the Ku Klux Klan. The New York Times reported in 1927 that he was arrested at a Klan rally in Queens, according to the Guardian. Trump defended his father, however, suggesting that "there were no charges."
Todd also opened up to Politico about the one thing that bugs him most about Trump — he doesn't laugh and it drives Todd "crazy." He said, "Do you know what? I’ve never seen him laugh."
"He’ll smile, but he smiles appropriately. Watch him at the Al Smith dinner [the roast in New York City in October] ... He doesn’t really laugh. He looks for others to laugh. It is just weird."
You can listen to the full podcast here.
Chris Suprun, a Texas Republican elector, caused a stir this year by raising the possibility that he would cast his Electoral College ballot for someone other than President-elect Donald Trump.
Journalists bombarded the Dallas man with questions following his admission. Among them: For whom did he vote in November?
He didn’t vote, it turns out. But he says he tried.
“I would have voted for myself. I didn't get that chance,” Suprun told The Texas Tribune.
Suprun chose Ohio Gov. John Kasich in the Dec. 19th Electoral College vote. (Trump nabbed 36 of the 38 Texas ballots.) When he tried to vote weeks before, he said, poll workers denied his general election ballot for want of photo identification.
The self-described "voting addict" was an apparent casualty of the confusion amid legal wrangling over the state’s 2011 voter ID law.
Now, Suprun is calling for courts to clarify the rules once and for all.
“Pick a course and run with it,” he urged U.S. District Court Judge Nelva Gonzales Ramos, of Corpus Christi, in a letter dated Dec. 21.
“I write this because after not being able to cast a ballot I was disheartened,” the letter said. “I never missed an election in my life until this one.”
In July, the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Texas' voter ID law discriminated against voters in minority groups less likely to possess one of seven accepted types of identification. The state has appealed that decision to the U.S. Supreme Court, and Ramos is weighing whether Texas discriminated on purpose.
Ahead of the November election, Ramos ordered a temporary fix: Folks without ID could still vote if they presented an alternate form of ID and signed a form swearing a “reasonable impediment” kept them from obtaining photo ID.
That’s why Suprun believed he could vote when he showed up to an early voting location in Glenn Heights on Oct. 26, even though he did not have photo ID.
Suprun said his driver’s license was inside his wallet, which he had left in a family van that was away for repairs. He said he arrived at the polls carrying his city water bill, cable bill and voter registration card — documents that should have fit Ramos’ softened rules.
But the on-site election judge turned Suprun away, saying he could not cast a ballot — even a provisional one — without photo ID, according to a complaint the elector filed with Texas Secretary of State Carlos Cascos’ office.
Alicia Pierce, a spokeswoman for that office, said she could not confirm that any complaint was being investigated. Nor could Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s office, his spokeswoman said.
Could Suprun have legally voted under such circumstances? That’s where it gets tricky. Ramos’ order barred poll workers from asking would-be voters why they did not have photo ID. Election judges were to allow voting as long as the otherwise eligible voter signed a form swearing that they could not “reasonably obtain” photo ID.
But had Suprun signed that form and voted, an investigation (however unlikely one might be) might have found that he had “reasonably” obtained an ID but just hadn’t brought it with him.
Whichever the case, Suprun said his story shows that Texas needs clearer voting requirements for the next election — regardless of whether they involve photo identification.
He wasn’t the only voter alleging difficulties this year. Civil Rights advocates documented scattered reports of Texas poll workers sharing incomplete or inaccurate information about ID requirements.
“It needs to be clear, so it’s enforced clearly. Whether we like it or not, those cute little signs on the side of the road that say 65 or 75 [miles per hour], everyone knows: Don’t go more than five over,” Suprun said.
The elector’s voting troubles didn’t end at the Glenn Heights polling spot.
In hopes of keeping his voting streak in alive, Suprun said he tried voting at a second location — even cutting short an out-of-state trip to do so.
There, he was told that someone had already voted under his name elsewhere — at Bear Creek Community Church in Irving.
“I had never heard of the place,” he told the Tribune. Nor did Suprun recognize the signature on the election ledger, which he viewed after filing a public records request. “It was like basically a scrawl.”
He said he notified the Dallas County elections division about the irregularity, but had yet to hear back. The division did not immediately return a message from the Tribune.
Perhaps it was a bureaucratic snafu — someone signed on the wrong line, Suprun suggested. Or perhaps it was something else. He wasn't sure.
“I don’t know what’s going on with Dallas County voters,” he said.
Donald Trump supporter and conservative radio host Ben Ferguson continued toeing the Trump line when he defended the Russian government from accusations that they were involved in hacking.
CNN host Kate Bolduan cited the recent statement by Trump dismissing the issue of Russian hacking and saying that Americans should move on. "Do you think that is the right response?" she asked.
Ferguson said that it was absolutely the right response because people need to "stop litigating the election and fighting over the outcome." Ferguson went on to say that he was shocked President Obama is coming out so forceful on the issues when no one knows what Russia's intent was in the hacking.
"Does that even matter?" Bolduan interrupted. "It's the fact that they hacked."
Ferguson claimed it did matter because it has happened in multiple elections in the past but people are now claiming this hack was done to sway the election for Trump. "We don't know that," Ferguson said.
Bolduan had to interrupt again to explain that there is a difference between the FBI and the CIA but both of them agree that the Russian government was hacking Americans in an attempt to influence the election.
“There is consensus amongst that according to the intelligence community,” she said. "You can believe the intelligence community or not, which seems to be kind of, what happens today, but that is what they're saying."
Ferguson maintained that no one knows what the intent of the Russian hackers was.
"How about we agree that hacking by a foreign entity, in particular, Russia our adversary from the Cold War is bad," said Nayyera Haq, Former State Department spokesperson. "There is no good thing that can come out of Russia having access to cyberspace. So, forget about the reason. The fact is they did it. The president did not unlike what FBI may have done, did not take action. And now you have, while he is still a sitting president, exercising his authority and responsibility to defend American security and American accounts. This is an ongoing habit of Russia. Let's not poo-poo what Putin has been doing."
She went on to say that it was shocking to hear people acting as if Americans need to have a better relationship with an invading country. Particularly one known for "invading other countries, undermining democracies around the world and now trying to play the United States for the fool by saying, 'Oh, you know, we're going to have a great relationship after January 20.'"
Ferguson said that the sanctions were inappropriate because the facts aren't in.
"That's counter to everything I've heard from Republicans," an animated Bolduan said. "All the main Republicans, including House Speaker Paul Ryan said this is long overdue."
Haq noted Senate president Mitch McConnell agreed as well.
But Ferguson refused to relent saying that the timing is what shocks him the most. "why didn't you do this when you found out they were currently in the process of trying to influence the election," he said. He wanted to know why Obama hasn't done anything about other bad things Russia has done.
Obama said previously that they were concerned about influencing the election. The United States has acted on Russia many times before including serious sanctions.
Haq said that the message to Trump is that he should put American interest first and that the intelligence community is non-partisan and the president was following their recommendations.
Ferguson maintained that "we don't know the evidence."
Bolduan finally closed the interview by saying that the intelligence community is laying out the evidence and she would send Ferguson some notes.
See the full exchange below:
Conservative Republican Rep. Trent Franks reacted to the Obama administration's fresh sanctions against Russia for election meddling by praising the hackers who penetrated the servers of U.S. political organizations and published what they found online.
The New Civil Rights Movement's David Badash said that Franks was speaking to MSNBC when he made the remarks, which have touched off a firestorm of controversy.
"Most of what we're talking about is based on leaks," Franks said. "If anything, whatever they might have done was to try to use information in a way that may have affected something that they believed was in their best interests."
He went on, "If Russia succeeded in giving the American people information that was accurate, then they merely did what the media should have done."
In fact, as Badash noted, many of the emails published by WikiLeaks are believed to have been doctored to make them appear more sensational.
Twitter users responded to Franks with derision.
Watch the video, embedded below:
Incoming Trump administration Press Secretary Sean Spicer on Thursday urged the media to stop blaming Russia for stealing campaign emails and instead place the "responsibility" on the Democratic National Committee.
Spicer told CNN's Jake Tapper that Democrats were focusing on the so-called Russian hacking of DNC emails in an effort to undermine Trump's election. And he said that intelligence officials should stop speaking about the matter unless they were willing to reveal sources and methods.
"We need to have the intelligence community come forward publicly and on the record and make it clear exactly how this happened and who was responsible," Spicer insisted. "Right now we have un-sourced media accounts for what the activity is. And I think that's not acceptable."
"I don't understand why it needs to be public," Tapper replied. "President-elect Trump gets these intelligence briefings. Presumably he's being told why the intelligence community feels the way it does."
Spicer suggested that Trump would not accept evidence from the briefings until intelligence community was "willing to come out publicly."
"At what point is it incumbent on you guys in the media to ask the DNC, what measures did they take to protect this?" Spicer pivoted. "Because it seems to me as though there's [not] a lot of talk about the DNC not doing what they should have done to protect their own network servers."
The future press secretary acknowledged that "any attempt to hack or do anything nefarious is wrong and illegal."
"But at some point, the question hasn't even been asked of the DNC, 'Did you take basic measures to protect the data that was on there?'" Spicer charged. "No one wrote those emails, no one put a private server on there and no one seems to have done the due diligence at the DNC to protect their own system."
"I don't think there is any question they did a horrible job," Tapper agreed.
"No, but have you ever asked the question of anyone at the DNC?" Spicer shot back. "Where's the responsibility of them to protect their system?"
"Nobody by any way or shape is suggesting that that's acceptable behavior," he added. "But I don't believe once I've ever seen an interview where anyone at the DNC was ever asked a question about whether they take any responsibility for what clearly appears to be a lax effort on them to protect their own networks."
"Well, when they come out from under their desks, I'll be sure to ask them," Tapper quipped.
On Thursday, the Obama administration revealed the names of at least four top Russian military officers who were believed to have ordered the theft of DNC emails as part of an effort to influence the 2016 election. The White House said it was responding with sanctions and by expelling 35 Russian diplomats.
According to The New York Times, further evidence of the Russian operation was expected to be released by U.S. intelligence agencies in coming days.
Watch the video below from CNN, broadcast Dec. 29, 2016.
Billionaire philanthropist and perennial right-wing bogeyman George Soros said on Thursday that Republican President-elect Donald Trump is a "con artist and would-be dictator" who poses a clear threat to U.S. democracy.
TheHill.com reported that Soros penned a scorching op-ed column for Project Syndicate in which he lamented the effect that a Donald Trump presidency will have on freedom and human rights both domestically and abroad.
“Democracy is now in crisis” around the world, wrote Soros. "Even the U.S., the world’s leading democracy, elected a con artist and would-be dictator as its president.”
"I am an 86-year-old Hungarian Jew who became a US citizen after the end of World War II," he explained. "I learned at an early age how important it is what kind of political regime prevails. The formative experience of my life was the occupation of Hungary by Hitler’s Germany in 1944. I probably would have perished had my father not understood the gravity of the situation. He arranged false identities for his family and for many other Jews; with his help, most survived."
He went on, "I find the current moment in history very painful. Open societies are in crisis, and various forms of closed societies -- from fascist dictatorships to mafia states -- are on the rise. How could this happen? The only explanation I can find is that elected leaders failed to meet voters’ legitimate expectations and aspirations and that this failure led electorates to become disenchanted with the prevailing versions of democracy and capitalism. Quite simply, many people felt that the elites had stolen their democracy."
The U.S. has now elected Donald Trump to the highest office in the land in spite of his loss of the popular vote by nearly 3 million. Soros sees Trump as under-informed, unqualified and truly dangerous.
"Although Trump has toned down his rhetoric since he was elected," Soros said, "he has changed neither his behavior nor his advisers. His cabinet comprises incompetent extremists and retired generals."
The situation is not hopeless, he said.
"I am confident that democracy will prove resilient in the US. Its Constitution and institutions, including the fourth estate, are strong enough to resist the excesses of the executive branch, thus preventing a would-be dictator from becoming an actual one," Soros wrote.
"But the US will be preoccupied with internal struggles in the near future, and targeted minorities will suffer," he said. "The US will be unable to protect and promote democracy in the rest of the world. On the contrary, Trump will have greater affinity with dictators. That will allow some of them to reach an accommodation with the US, and others to carry on without interference. Trump will prefer making deals to defending principles. Unfortunately, that will be popular with his core constituency."
Soros said that he is particularly concerned about the EU, which is now being menaced by the machinations of Russian president Vladimir Putin even as it is overwhelmed with the influx of refugees from war-torn regions of the world.
"With economic growth lagging and the refugee crisis out of control, the EU is on the verge of breakdown and is set to undergo an experience similar to that of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s. Those who believe that the EU needs to be saved in order to be reinvented must do whatever they can to bring about a better outcome," he said.
After a year of painful celebrity deaths, actor Charlie Sheen took to Twitter on Wednesday night to ask God to take one more: President-elect Donald Trump.
In 2016, the world parted ways with David Bowie and Alan Rickman, Harper Lee, Prince, Muhammad Ali, and many others. Most recently, actress Carrie Fisher and her mother Debbie Reynolds passed away on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Sheen took to his Twitter account on Wednesday night to ask for one more, writing, "Dear God; Trump next, please! Trump next, please! Trump next, please! Trump next, please! Trump next, please! Trump next, please!" complete with a middle finger emoji.
Some were not thrilled by Sheen's post and took to Twitter to express their discontent. CNN's Jake Tapper wrote, "What is wrong with people? Just stop. It's not cute or funny." Columnist Lisa De Pasquale wrote, "Is the media going to demand Secret Service visit Charlie Sheen, as they did with Ted Nugent?" Not only did Sheen write the tweet, though, he also pinned it to the top of his profile.
The president-elect will be sworn into office as the 45th president on Jan. 20, 2017.
A senior member of President-elect Donald Trump's transition team suggested on Thursday that America would "be a leader in the world once again" after President Barack Obama leaves office because the country had chosen a "real man" over Hillary Clinton.
During an interview on MSNBC's Chris Jansen, Trump adviser Boris Epshteyn downplayed reports that members of the Rockettes had objected to performing at the president-elect's inauguration.
"It's about the people," he insisted. "It's not about any performers, any celebrities. This inauguration and this presidency is going to be all about the people. And people all over this country, who are coming out, who are supporting Donald J. Trump, Vice President-elect Mike Pence and are supporting the Trump movement, which is all about unity and coming together."
Epshteyn argued that Trump was "already the leader of this country."
"It's about the message -- it's about the message of America being the city on a hill once again," the adviser opined. "About America being a leader in the world once again. And that's what Donald J. Trump is going to be speaking about."
"Of course, there's going to be a lot of the authentic parts of Donald Trump," Epshteyn said of the inaugural address. "Because that's why he is the president-elect, that's why he's becoming president because the people elected a real man, a true man, a man who loves this country to the very bottom of his heart."
Watch the video below from MSNBC, broadcast Dec. 29, 2016.
Former Department of Justice spokesman Matthew Miller joined Fox News' Ed Henry on Tuesday night where he spoke about FBI Director James Comey's impact on the 2016 election results, Mediaite reports.
Miller has been outspoken for months about Comey's decision to send a letter to congressional leaders in late October about emails he expected were associated with former Sec. of State Hillary Clinton’s server.
During his Tuesday night appearance on Henry's show, Miller said Comey's decision to send that letter just 11 days out from the election was like throwing "a hand grenade into the middle of the election."
Miller stands by his stance that Comey's letter impacted the election results for the worse. "That's an appalling thing for an FBI director to do," he said.
Henry wasn't sold on Miller's position, noting that his belief that Clinton had the election in the bag before Comey's letter is flawed. He pointed to the mere fact that "polling was off in a lot of states" leading up to Nov. 8.
Regardless, Miller explained that after Comey's letter came out, there was a "4-point swing in Trump's direction." Henry responded that Comey is supposed to remain independent, as someone representing the FBI. Commenting on the fact that Miller should know that "as someone who used to work in the Justice Department," he asked, "Why interfere with [the election]?"
"So, you're right," Miller said. "I'm someone who worked at the Justice Department and one of the things I learned is yes, the FBI director is independent as is the attorney general. But he's also supposed to follow the rules."
Immediately following Comey's letter in late October, Miller went on a tweetstorm, calling the decision "an inappropriate public disclosure." Miller also called Comey's actions "an inappropriate abuse of power" in a string of abuses and poor decision-making that always "either violated or seriously stretched DOJ rule & precedent."
"Yes he's independent," Miller explained to Henry during the segment. "But there are rules that have been put in place because the FBI and the Department of Justice have so much power to unfairly tarnish people's reputation."
Watch the full clip below.
President-elect Donald Trump's pick for Labor Secretary appears less and less like a champion of workers each day. On Wednesday, OC Weekly unearthed a 2009 interview between Puzder, who is the CEO of CKE restaurants, and California State University Prof. Allison Varzally.
During their interview, Puzder called California a socialist state, adding that "You can't be a capitalist" there. He then complained about workers regulations and overtime laws, boasting his belief that "workers are overprotected." He also claimed that workers should not have breaks.
OC Weekly reported the following statement from Puzder's interview:
"Have you ever been to a fast food restaurant and the employees are sitting and you're wondering, 'Why are they sitting?'" Puzder asked. "They are on what is called a mandatory break." He shared a laugh with the interviewer, saying the so-called nanny state is why Carl's Jr. doesn't open up any new restaurants in California anymore.
Add that to the existing list of problematic values for someone who is poised to head the U.S. Department of Labor, which as Mother Jones reports, "exists to 'foster, promote, and develop the welfare of the wage earners, job seekers,' as well as to 'improve working conditions' and 'assure work-related benefits and rights.'"
Even before the release of this 2009 interview, Puzder was on record as an opponent of raising the minimum wage. He suggested in 2014 that increasing the minimum wage would hurt low-wage workers. At that time, he was earning 291 times more than minimum-wage employees working for his fast-food chains.
Puzder's company was also hit with a class-action lawsuit in 2013 for "allegedly failing to pay its general managers overtime, even while requiring them to be on call 24 hours a day," according to Law 360.
Former Labor Secretary Robert Reich slammed Puzder as "anti-worker" during a CNN panel earlier this month. He pointed to the fact that "The Department of Labor came into his restaurants and found that half his restaurants had wage and labor violations that violated the law of the United States."
It seems that Puzder is not the most "pro-worker" pick for Trump's cabinet, which is important given that the president-elect ran his campaign on the basis of making America work again, while catering to the working class.
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