Trump the President
Trump the President
Is he a man of integrity and principle, or does he only believe in self-prosperity?
Truth in the Age of "Fake News"
"The FAKE NEWS media (failing @nytimes, @NBCNews, @ABC, @CBS, @CNN) is not my enemy, it is the enemy of the American People!" President Trump tweeted on 17 February, 2017 - that is, a month after taking office. With that came the age of "fake news".But
the following three moments in a space of two weeks suffice to tell us what truth is in this age of "fake news" ushered in by the most powerful man on earth.
MOMENT 1:Trump says Sun interview is 'fake news'
At a joint press conference of President Trump and British Prime Minister Teresa May on 13 July, 2018, BBC political editor Laura Kuenssberg asked the following question:
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“Mr. President, you seem rather to have changed your tune from what you said earlier this week, when you said that, on the current Brexit plan, that would probably kill the possibility of a trade deal with the UK. Our countries are meant to have a special relationship, yet you publicly criticised the Prime Minister’s policy and her personally for not listening to you this week. Is that really the behaviour of a friend? ”
And the response from President Trump is as follows:
"I have a lot of respect for the Prime Minister. And, unfortunately, there was a story that was done, which was generally fine, but it didn’t put in what I said about the Prime Minister. And I said tremendous things. And, fortunately, we tend to record stories now, so we have it for your enjoyment, if you’d like it. But we record when we deal with reporters.
It’s called fake news. You know, we solve a lot of problems with the good, old recording instrument."
But if you listen to the taped interview published by the Sun
on 13 July (right), there is nothing "fake" about it. Trump was criticising the Prime Minister’s policy and her personally for not listening to him.
Following up Trump’s promise that his press shop would release the recording that proves he was victim of “fake news”, Yahoo News
made multiple requests to the White House asking for the recording, but the latter never responded.
This is why one reader of the Independent
left this comment: “Look at what Trump says, he blurts out something one day then blurts out the opposite the next, forgets things, facts and dates. In my (untrained) opinion the man is going senile, or perhaps onset Alzheimer’s.” Another reader added:
“I think the truth is worse. I think he has lied so much in his life, he no longer knows the difference between what he wants to be true and what real truth is.”
MOMENT 2:"Misspoke" or the boldest lie of his presidency
At a news conference on Monday 16 July, 2018 following President Trump's summit with Russian President Putin in Helsinki , Jonathan Lemire, from the AP, asked the following question:
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“President Putin denied having anything to do with the election interference in 2016. Every US intelligence agency has concluded that Russia did. My first question for you, sir, is, who do you believe?”
Below is what Trump said in its entirety, from which it is very clear that he was expressing scepticism about Russia’s guilt:
"My people came to me, Dan Coats came to me and some others; they said they think it’s Russia. I have President Putin. He just said it’s not Russia. I will say this.
I don’t see any reason why it would be, but I really do want to see the server. But I have confidence in both parties. ... I think it’s a disgrace that we can’t get Hillary Clinton’s 33,000 emails.
So I have great confidence in my intelligence people, but I will tell you that President Putin was extremely strong and powerful in his denial today. And what he did is an incredible offer. He offered to have the people working on the case come and work with their investigators, with respect to the 12 people [Russian agents indicted by special counsel Robert Mueller for election interference]. I think that’s an incredible offer."
Yet, following massive bipartisan condemnation of his disastrous Monday press conference in Helsinki, Trump held a surprise press appearance on Tuesday afternoon in Washington to try to walk back his comments.
Sitting at a table in the White House with members of Congress, Trump read directly off a sheet of paper that had clearly been prepared by his advisers. In halting speech, he asserted that he had “full faith and support for America’s great intelligence agencies” and that he “accepted” US intelligence’s findings that Russia was behind cyberattacks leading up to the election.
He claimed that he had misspoken at yesterday’s press conference when he told reporters “I don’t see any reason why it would be [Russia]” that interfered in the 2016 election. According to Trump, he meant to say,
“I don’t see any reason why it wouldn’t be [Russia].”
Ironically, in his walk-back statement on Tuesday afternoon, Trump still ended up reiterating his
scepticism. When Trump said, “I accept our intelligence community’s conclusion that Russia’s meddling in the 2016 election took place,” he immediately followed it up by saying,“Could be other people also. A lot of people out there.”
He clearly doesn’t believe that Russia was involved. He just doesn’t, and he’s trying to convince us that he didn’t mean what he said.
The verdict has to be: Trump on 2016 and Russia and Putin, lying.
MOMENT 3:‘Corrupting the world' by spreading Trump’s ‘damaging' lies’
On 24 July 2018, Sean Spicer, former press secretary to the US President, appeared on Newsnight of the BBC to promote his new book The Briefing, which details his time in the White House.
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In the interview, he was asked about controversy over the administration's claims that Trump's inauguration-crowd size was the largest in history. This was despite pictures (see right) clearly showing that the crowd for Barack Obama was much larger. Spicer responded by saying that “We all make mistakes,” adding that he would love a "do-over on that one."
“It is just not good enough though, because actually Donald Trump as you well know made stuff up long before he was a candidate.”
She cited Kellyanne Conway, Trump’s adviser, as saying that the inauguration crowd lies were “alternative facts” and said: “She introduced a second version of the truth. How dangerous is that?” She went on:
“It became a joke. It became something that defined you. You joked about it when you presented the Emmy awards. But it wasn’t a joke. It was the start of the most corrosive culture. You played with the truth, you led us down a dangerous path. You have corrupted discourse for the entire world by going along with these lies.”
Maitlis later said that Trump spouts "lies or half-truths" or knocks down "real truths", and that Spicer was his agent by working as his press secretary.
Spicer responded:
“My job was to be the president’s spokesperson and communicate his thoughts or his ideas. My job wasn’t to interpret for him. I would give him the best advice and counsel in private, I shared strategy with him, but at the end of the day he is the President of the United States and it was his thoughts and his ideas.”
ABC News White House correspondent Jonathan Karl has slammed the book in a review for The Wall Street Journal, saying that it reads "much like his tenure as press secretary: short, littered with inaccuracies and offering up one consistent theme: Mr. Trump can do no wrong."
Contrast: An aerial view of Barack Obama's inauguration in 2009 (top) compared with Donald Trump's (bottom) (AP)
Trump Takes on the Whole World
The art of "America First": "Overshoot your target, be tough and get on with it."
Attacks on the Paris Climate Agreement
On 1 June, 2017, Trump announced that the U.S. would cease all participation in the 2015 Paris Agreement on climate change mitigation, adding that the withdrawal would be in accordance with his America First policy. He gave the following reasons for the withdrawal:
- "The Paris accord will undermine (the U.S.) economy,"
- "[It] puts (the U.S.) at a permanent disadvantage."
Democratic former US Secretary of State John Kerry:
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"The president who promised "America First" has taken a self-destructive step that puts our nation last. This is an unprecedented forfeiture of American leadership which will cost us influence, cost us jobs, and invite other countries to walk away from solving humanity's most existential crisis. It isolates the United States after we had united the world."
John Kerry calls Trump's decision "self-destructive step" that puts U.S. last
World Leaders Criticise US Withdrawal from Paris Agreement
Gov. Jerry Brown: Trump’s move to reject Paris agreement hurts America and will cost jobs
Attacks on the Iran Nuclear Agreement
On 8 May, 2018, Trump announced the US would violate the Iran nuclear agreement, nearly three years after the the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) was struck between Iran and the five permanent members of the UN Security Council - the US, UK, France, China and Russia - plus Germany.
He launched a scathing assault on the deal and its deficiencies, but he offered no alternative policy to put in its place. He has put US diplomacy on a collision course with some of Washington's closest allies. And some fear that he may have brought a new and catastrophic regional war in the Middle East that much closer.
Former President Obama said on Facebook that the deal was working and was in US interests:
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"Walking away from the JCPOA turns our back on America's closest allies, and an agreement that our country's leading diplomats, scientists, and intelligence professionals negotiated... [T]he consistent flouting of agreements that our country is a party to risks eroding America's credibility, and puts us at odds with the world's major powers."
Former President Obama: "Serious mistake" to exit Iran nuclear deal
UN chief calls on remaining parties to abide by Iran deal
Bernie Responds to Trump's Decision on Iran Nuclear Deal
Attacks on UNESCO
On 12 October, 2017, the Trump administration announced that it is to withdraw from UNESCO, the 72-year-old UN agency which protects the world’s cultural heritage, citing two official reasons: arrears on membership fees and “anti-Israel bias.”
Huffington Post:
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The US withdrawal from UNESCO is ... a turning point in mercantilist, egoistic and unilateral foreign policy. Naturally, the international reaction will be extremely negative. We already saw a preview of the response after Trump’s September speech at the UN, in which he noted that the US would no longer fund global initiatives and countries that don’t bring direct tangible benefits to the American economy. The one-sidedness of this logic is absurdly selfish and an extreme case of hegemonism.
Assembled only two months after the end of World War II, it was seen as a global priority. Its constitution’s authors recognised that by “promoting collaboration among the nations through education, science and culture” they could reduce the threat of conflict. The US was one of the first signatories and its delegate, Archibald MacLeis, is widely attributed with the creation of the document’s powerful opening line:
"That since wars begin in the minds of men, it is in the minds of men that the defences of peace must be constructed. "
Director-General Irina Bokova on US withdrawal from UNESCO
Attacks on UN Human Rights Council
On 19 June, 2018, the United States announced it was withdrawing from the United Nations Human Rights Council on Tuesday, dismissing it as a "cesspool of political bias" for its anti-Israel stance. It marks the latest rejection of multilateral engagement by the Trump administration - following its exit from the Paris climate accords and the Iran nuclear deal - and comes a day after the UN's most senior human rights official condemned the US for separating children from parents at the border with Mexico.
Boris Johnson, former British Foreign Secretary, said the US decision was "regrettable":
"We’ve made no secret of the fact that the UK wants to see reform of the human rights council, but we are committed to working to strengthen the council from within. Britain’s support for the human rights council remains steadfast. It is the best tool the international community has to address impunity in an imperfect world and to advance many of our international goals. That’s why we will continue to support and champion it."
Forbes: Why U.S. Withdrawal From The Human Rights Council Is A Dangerous Leadership Mistake
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"The Trump administration’s decision to withdraw from the United Nations Human Rights Council is yet another step in the administration’s retreat from the world stage. Once widely viewed as a global leader on issues like human rights, the U.S. is now a marginal player, in headlong retreat from the leadership position it has occupied since World War II."
128 UN member states call for USA to withdraw Jerusalem move
President of the UN Human Rights Council
2000 children forcibly separated from their parents and other topics - Human Rights Council Briefing
Attacks on Canada
On 10 June, 2018, following the Group of Seven (G-7) summit in Quebec, where Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau promised to retaliate against the US-imposed steep steel and aluminium tariffs, Trump launched harshly worded attacks aimed at Trudeau in a tweet:
Sen. John McCain tweeted:
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“To our allies: bipartisan majorities of Americans remain pro-free trade, pro-globalisation & supportive of alliances based on 70 years of shared values. Americans stand with you, even if our president doesn’t."
Canada Parliament Condemns U.S. Attacks On Trudeau, Country Simmers
U.S. Chamber of Commerce President Tom Donohue said:
“Our strategy must take aim at the right problems, not trade deficits. It must also take aim at the right targets, not our closest allies. Unfortunately, the growing list of tariffs proposed or imposed by our government, as well as the continued uncertainty over the future of [the North American Free Trade Agreement], is already taking a toll on businesses.
[The Trump administration’s] approach, however, runs the risk of erasing the recent economic gains it worked so hard to secure through tax and regulatory relief without even solving the underlying problems.”
Attacks on Germany
Speaking over the breakfast table with Nato Secretary General in Brussels, Belgium on 11 July 2018 ahead of a two-day summit, Trump launched a scathing attack on Germany:
“Germany is totally controlled by Russia … They will be getting between 60 and 70 percent of their energy from Russia and a new pipeline, and you tell me if that is appropriate because I think it's not... I think it is a very bad thing for NATO and I don’t think it should have happened and I think we have to talk to Germany about it. On top of that, Germany is just paying a little bit over 1 percent (on defence) … And I think that is inappropriate also.”
This was, however, not the first time Trump attacked Germany. On 18 June, 2018, Trump posted the following tweet:
"The people of Germany are turning against their leadership as migration is rocking the already tenuous Berlin coalition. Crime in Germany is way up. Big mistake made all over Europe in allowing millions of people in who have so strongly and violently changed their culture!"
As if that was not enough, he tweeted again on 19 June:
"Crime in Germany is up 10% plus (officials do not want to report these crimes) since migrants were accepted. Others countries are even worse. Be smart America!"
John Kerry, former US secretary of state, on President Trump's remarks in Brussels:
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“I've never seen a President say anything as strange or counterproductive as President Trump's harangue against NATO and Germany.It was disgraceful, destructive, and flies in the face of the actual interests of the United States of America. President Trump makes public adversaries out of our friends, and turns our adversary, who has been attacking America's democracy, into his fawned-over ally. Why?
"The president set America back this morning. He is steadily destroying our reputation in the world. He is undermining our interests. He diminishes alliances we built to safeguard an economic and strategic force that has allowed millions of people to live in freedom."
'Germany is totally controlled by Russia': Trump at Nato summit
Germany confused by Trump's harsh words over Russian energy deal
Why did Trump attack Germany-Russia energy links at NATO?
The Truth About German Crime Statistics: Change in total number of recorded crimes compared to previous year, as a percentage (Source: Federal Criminal Police Office, 2017)
Attacks on European Union
On 28 June 2018 at a rally in Fargo, North Dakota, Trump attacked the European Union by claiming that
"The European Union, of course, was set up to take advantage of the United States, to attack our piggy bank."
He also cited as evidence inflated US trade deficit figures-as if the choice by American consumers to purchase more from Europeans than vice-versa proved unfair competition.
More extraordinarily still, Trump is actively encouraging the EU's dissolution. While lionising populist nationalists, he has attacked establishment, Europeanist leaders like Germany's Angela Merkel. Shockingly, Trump even asked French President Emmanuel Macron in April, "Why don't you leave the EU?" - even offering a bilateral trade deal as a sweetener.
On 15 July 2018, in an interview with CBS News, Trump said:
"I think the European Union is a foe, what they do to us in trade. Now you wouldn't think of the European Union but they're a foe... In a trade sense, they've really taken advantage of us and many of those countries are in Nato and they weren't paying their bills and, you know, as an example a big problem with Germany... There's a lot of anger at the fact that Germany is paying Russia billions of dollars."
He accused Germany of "waving a white flag".
Ohio-based Xenia Daily Gazette: "What's behind Trump's attacks on Europe?"
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"The president has declared Europe an enemy because of its trade policies. But that’s just a red herring.
Trump has launched a much larger, ideological assault on European institutions and values. What’s worse: It’s part of the same attack on liberal values here in the United States.
Forget about NATO: Maybe we need a transatlantic alliance against Trump."
‘Declaration of war’: EU leaders ‘astonished’ by Trump remarks
Trump to Macron: Why don't you leave the European Union?
'EU takes ADVANTAGE of US' – Donald Trump launches SCATHING attack and threatens trade WAR
Donald Trump: 'I think the European Union is a foe'
Attacks on Media Outlets
On 16 February 2017, reporters had initially gathered to hear him announce his pick for secretary of labour. But he swiftly moved on to attacking them, repeatedly telling them to "be quiet" and "sit down" during the 77-minute affair. He said:
"Much of the media in Washington DC, along with New York, Los Angeles, in particular, speaks not for the people but for those profiting off an obviously very broken system.
"The press has become so dishonest and if we don't talk about it we are doing a tremendous disservice to the American people, because the press is out of control. The level of dishonesty is out of control.
"I am here to change the broken system so it serves their families well. I am talking about this entrenched power structure.
"Too oftentimes the media distort. And some of the media's fantastic, but much of it is not.
"But we're not going to let it happen."
Trump's Reaction to BBC Reporter's Introduction
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Trump: "Where are you from?"
Reporter: "The BBC"
Trump: "Here's another beauty"
Reporter: "It's a good line. Impartial, free and fair."
Trump: "Just like CNN, right?"
Trump's most heated exchanges with reporters at his longest press conference
Trump attacks media in Florida rally
Trump attacks the 'fake media'
Reporter corrects President Donald Trump over vote count claim
Attacks on Amazon
On 31 March, 2018, Trump continued his attacks against Amazon, accusing the company of scamming the US Postal Service by tweeting:
"While we are on the subject, it is reported that the U.S. Post Office will lose $1.50 on average for each package it delivers for Amazon. That amounts to Billions of Dollars.
"The Failing N.Y. Times reports that 'the size of the company's lobbying staff has ballooned,' and that......does not include the Fake Washington Post, which is used as a 'lobbyist' and should so REGISTER," the President wrote. "If the P.O. 'increased its parcel rates, Amazon's shipping costs would rise by $2.6 Billion.'
"This Post Office scam must stop. Amazon must pay real costs (and taxes) now."
The Editorial Board, USA Today:
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"Donald Trump's attacks on Amazon are transparently political"
"Far more than previous presidents, Donald Trump has taken to picking on individual companies.
"Trump has frequently taken aim at CNN parent company Time Warner, and his Justice Department is challenging its proposed merger with AT&T.
"And lately he has grown fixated with Amazon, claiming several times this week, as he has before, that it pays too little in taxes and gets too good a deal from the U.S. Postal Service.
"But Trump's actions ... are so petty, so personal.
"For Trump, ... soundness of arguments seems to count less than his personal animosities. His distaste for CNN prompts him to oppose anything that might benefit Time Warner. And he thinks his Amazon outbursts will rattle the cage of its CEO, Jeff Bezos, who bought The Washington Post in 2013.
"His arguments — particularly those related to Amazon — do not hold water. "
The history of Trump and Amazon's long-standing feud
Trump slams Amazon on taxes, retail competition
The BBC's Business Correspondent, Joe Lynam:
“It is unprecedented for a sitting president to single out one company for such vicious attacks.
"Friends of Mr Trump in the commercial property sector have also been urging him to protect them from digital retail giants as they see shopping malls closing and rents falling."
Attacks on Migrant Families
The Trump administration family separation policy, implemented in April 2018, involved prosecuting all adults who were detained at the U.S.–Mexico border, sending the parents to federal jails, and placing children and infants under the supervision of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. According to government officials, the policy led to the separation of more than 2,300 children from their parents.
Speaking on NPR in May 2018, White House Chief of Staff John F. Kelly described the policy as "a tough deterrent [and] a much faster turnaround on asylum seekers". When questioned if it might be considered "cruel and heartless" to remove children from their mothers, Kelly replied, "I wouldn't put it quite that way. The children will be taken care of—put into foster care or whatever."
Attorney General Jeff Sessions cited the Bible on 14 June in his defence of the border policy:
“I would cite you to the Apostle Paul and his clear and wise command in Romans 13, to obey the laws of the government because God has ordained them for the purpose of order. Orderly and lawful processes are good in themselves and protect the weak and lawful.”
More than 200 child welfare organisations released a letter calling for the Trump Administration to abandon the policy:
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"We know that this policy would have significant and long-lasting consequences for the safety, health, development, and well-being of children. Children need to be cared for by their parents to be safe and healthy, to grow and develop.
"Forced separation disrupts the parent-child relationship and puts children at increased risk for both physical and mental illness. The Administration's plan would eviscerate the principle of family unity and put children in harm's way."
Nearly 2,000 Children Have Been Separated From Their Families During Trump Border Crackdown | TIME
As outrage over family separation grows, Trump administration doubles down
United Nations: U.S. Is Violating Human Rights
Attacks on China
If, ranging from international agreements, UN organisations, old allies, American corporations, through to migrant families, all - plus friends and colleagues, see Michael Wolff, Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House
- have been subject to Trump's attacks, what chances does China have of not being targeted by Trump? Absolutely ZERO. As early as 11 November, 2012, Trump
tweeted:
"The concept of global warming was created by and for the Chinese in order to make U.S. manufacturing non-competitive."
Sounds absurd to us! But it is only one of Trump's a thousand reasons why China must be attacked - which Navarro has identified in his 2006 book The Coming China Wars.
The real reason - why China and not Russia must be targeted - has been revealed in a FOX News interview following the Trump-Putin Helsinki summit on 16 July 2018. (Watch the clip on the right!)
Discover more
Trump speaking to Tucker Calson of Fox News:
"Russia and the United States control 90 per cent of the nuclear weapons in the world, and getting along with Russia, and not only for that reason, that’s a good thing not a bad thing... They are strong militarily,but their economy is much smaller as you know than China...
We allowed them to make hundreds of billions of dollars. And right now as you see and you probably have noticed that things are happening. We have to bring it more into line... We’re about twice the size of China, our economy.
But
China still is a massive economy; they have the second biggest by far."