Friday, August 18, 2017
Trump slams two GOP senators who criticized him on Charlottesville
President Trump fired back Thursday
at Senate Republicans who have criticized his response to the
Charlottesville violence, accusing Lindsey Graham of a “disgusting lie”
for saying he drew a “moral equivalency” between white supremacists and
counter-protesters -- while also tagging Jeff Flake as "toxic."
“Publicity seeking Lindsey Graham
falsely stated that I said there is moral equivalency between the KKK,
neo-Nazis & white supremacists … and people like Ms. Heyer. Such a
disgusting lie. He just can't forget his election trouncing.The people
of South Carolina will remember!” Trump tweeted.
The president’s reference to the election invoked
Graham’s short-lived bid for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination
which Trump ultimately won.While numerous elected Republicans have criticized Trump for his response to the Charlottesville violence over the weekend, Graham, R-S.C., issued a particularly harsh condemnation on Wednesday.
He said: “Through his statements yesterday, President Trump took a step backward by again suggesting there is moral equivalency between the white supremacist neo-Nazis and KKK members who attended the Charlottesville rally and people like Ms. Heyer. I, along with many others, do not endorse this moral equivalency.”
Graham responded on Thursday, telling Trump in a statement that “because of the manner in which you have handled the Charlottesville tragedy you are now receiving praise from some of the most racist and hate-filled individuals and groups in our country ... please fix this."
Heather Heyer was the counter-protester killed in a car attack Saturday on the sidelines of the white nationalist rally in Virginia.
The president initially took heat for blaming “many sides” for the violence. He then specifically condemned white supremacists and neo-Nazis, only to return to defending his original statement on Tuesday.
In those remarks, Trump said both sides share blame and even suggested some “fine people” attended that rally.
The statements invited a new round of criticism from Republican lawmakers, and accelerated an exodus of business executives from two advisory councils – which Trump, in turn, disbanded as they were coming apart.
The president on Thursday also rapped Arizona Sen. Flake, a Republican who has stepped up his criticism of Trump in recent weeks and also sounded off about Charlottesville on Twitter.
“We can’t claim to be the party of Lincoln if we equivocate in condemning white supremacy,” Flake tweeted Wednesday.
Trump on Thursday touted Flake’s main primary challenger, former state Sen. Kelli Ward. “Great to see that Dr. Kelli Ward is running against Flake Jeff Flake, who is WEAK on borders, crime and a non-factor in Senate. He's toxic!” he wrote.
Trump hit back at another favorite target as well, the media: “The public is learning (even more so) how dishonest the Fake News is. They totally misrepresent what I say about hate, bigotry etc. Shame!” he tweeted.
Jason Kessler, Charlottesville rally organizer, says he's in hiding
Jason Kessler, who organized the “Unite the Right”
rally in Charlottesville, Va., told Fox News late Thursday he's in
hiding after getting a string of death threats.
Last Saturday, a car rammed into a
crowd of counter-protesters in Charlottesville, killing one woman and
injuring some 19 other people. The next day, protesters chased Kessler
from a press conference he was trying to hold.
The nationalist blogger maintains his group is not a
collection of white supremacists, but rather a “civil rights group.” He
said he graduated from the University of Virginia, voted for Barack
Obama in 2008 and once attended an Occupy Wall Street rally in
Charlottesville.His grievances are rooted in what he calls the identity politics of today. “Some are the discriminatory policies of affirmative action, college admissions, history books being rewritten, blaming American whites for slavery,” when it was a worldwide institution.
“Every culture had slavery,” he said.
He also blamed the “existential crisis of immigration, mass immigration from third world countries.”
Kessler said he “never met” James Alex Fields Jr., the suspected driver in the deadly crash. As for the death of the woman, Heather Heyer, Kessler said: “no comment.”
In preparation for last Saturday’s rally, he met repeatedly with Charlottesville police and was assigned a police liaison. He says she went over the city’s safety plan with him, let him see it, but would not let him photograph it. He said that the captain “let slip” that in preparation for the rally, the city and police “did not use government servers because they did not want to get FOIA’d” — referring to the Freedom of Information Act.
He said he has received no calls, no visits from police or federal investigators since the event. “I’ve done nothing wrong,” Kessler said.
Kessler said the organization’s funding came from “donations to our PayPal account, before it was shut down.” Now, “we fund ourselves, because most of us have or used to have jobs, before this.”
He said that police had given the white nationalists a specific entry way to the park. But that as they arrived at the park at 8:30 a.m. on Saturday, the road to that entrance was blocked by police. The caravan of shuttle busses that the nationalists had rented had to detour to the opposite side of the park, where most of the Antifa demonstrators were positioned.
That was the point at which tensions rose meteorically, he said. They had to pass through Antifa, Black Lives Matter, and other opponents at close range.
The body armor, clubs and helmets his people wore during the rally were strictly defensive, “for our own safety,” he said.
U.S. Takes Firm Stance During NAFTA Negotiations, New Zealand Possibly Signing Free Trade Deal
American delegates laid down hard lines during the first day of formal negotiations, saying they would not settle for ‘cosmetic changes’ to the trade agreement.
In the past, President Trump has called the decades old trade agreement the worst deal in history.
Meanwhile, the New Zealand trade minister says there is a good chance of signing a free-trade deal with other nations despite the U.S. pulling out.
Todd McClay said the 11 remaining members of the Trans-Pacific Partnership are committed to quickly completing the deal with only minor changes.
He announced the New Zealand government approved a mandate to push ahead with negotiations Thursday.
However, TTP partners say the deal could still face many hurdles as the New Zealand elections will be held next month.
Christopher Columbus Statue in N.Y. May Not Receive Landmark Status
A Christopher Columbus statue in New York may or may not receive landmark status.
The White Plains Historic Preservation Committee will be holding a public forum on the issue.
This comes after the idea of whether the explorer is worth celebrating sparked controversy in July.
Many Italian Americans supported the statue, which was built by the “Sons of Italy” more than 100 years ago.
However, one local argued Columbus was a slave owner who killed Native Americans.
Local law says a statue can receive landmark status if it has special value or is part of the cultural, political, or social history of the city, state, or nation.
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