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Gingrich: Furor over CIA report on Russian election meddling 'stupid'

Gingrich: Hack claim is perfect example of propaganda media

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich said Monday that calls for an investigation of claims Russian government actors intervened in the U.S. election were "as stupid as anything I've seen the left try."
"Think about it. Barack Obama’s now saying that his administration was so incompetent that they stood around sucking their thumb while the Russians snuck in and hacked into an American election because of the utter incompetence of the Obama defense system," Gingrich told Fox News' Sean Hannity on 'Hannity'. "Now, I don’t know why one would want to go make that case."
Gingrich went onto say that he did not believe the claims of Russian hacking had any effect on the outcome of the election.
"I don’t believe that the Russians carried Pennsylvania. I think Donald Trump did," the former Speaker said. "I don’t think that the Russians carried Wisconsin ... I don’t think the Russians carried Michigan. Donald Trump did. The problem the left has is they cannot come to grips with the reality that the American people are turning against them, that the American people defeated them, and frankly, if the election were held today, the margin would be even bigger."
CIA REPORT OF RUSSIAN INTERFERENCE IN 2016 RACE DIVIDES REPUBLICANS
Gingrich contrasted the furor over the CIA assessment of Russian interference in the campaign with the coverage of Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton's email scandal.
"What it does is it trivializes the serious. There were really serious security problems. There would normally be, I think, jail time for things on this scale," he said. "But I think it’s ironic that the New York Times and the Washington Post, they can’t cover the things that are real, so they have to make up junk in order to hide behind the noise."

Kasich under pressure from both sides as major abortion bills hit desk

Ohio Gov. John Kasich, who built a reputation during the raucous GOP presidential primaries as an affable and moderate alternative, is suddenly finding himself at the center of the national abortion debate -- and under pressure to cast a decision bound to make him more unpopular with one side or the other.
Two bills passed by the legislature await his signature or veto. If signed into law, they would become two of the most restrictive time-based abortion measures in the country.
The more controversial is known as the “heartbeat bill.” It would ban abortion as soon as a fetal heartbeat can be detected -- roughly around the six-week mark. The second prohibits abortions after the 20-week mark in almost all circumstances.
Kasich, who said during the Republican presidential primaries that he’s “pro-life with the exceptions of rape, incest and the life of the mother,” faces a looming deadline for a decision.
After receiving the bills, he has 10 days to sign or veto.
If he does nothing, the bills become law. However, with the "heartbeat bill" which passed as an amendment to another measure, the governor could use his line item veto and nix only the amendment.
The "heartbeat bill" passed last Tuesday, and the 20-week ban passed the following day.
Kasich's press secretary Emmalee Kalmbach told FoxNews.com the governor's office has not officially received the bills.
So far, the governor's office has stayed quiet on his intentions.
"A hallmark of lame duck is a flood of bills, including, bills inside of bills and we will closely examine everything we receive," Kalmbach said.
Anti-abortion advocates are fighting hard against the "heartbeat bill," arguing it would in some cases prohibit abortion before women even realize they are pregnant. Critics argue such a strict cut-off denies women time to weigh their options.
The bill also includes no exceptions for rape or incest and would criminalize the procedure for doctors.
NARAL Pro-Choice Ohio Executive Director Kellie Copeland said the bill is “out of touch with Ohio values and is completely unacceptable.”
“Once a woman has made the decision to end a pregnancy, she needs access to safe, legal healthcare in her community,” Copeland said in a written statement. “This bill would effectively outlaw abortion and criminalize physicians that provide this care to their patients.”
If Kasich signs the bill, it would pose a direct challenge to multiple Supreme Court rulings that say women have a constitutional right to abortion until the point of viability, which occurs around 24 weeks.
Similar “heartbeat” bills in North Dakota and Arkansas were blocked by lower courts this year. They were appealed to the Supreme Court, which refused to hear the cases in January.
But conservative lawmakers in Ohio say this year may be different.
They point to the presidential election of Donald Trump and cite his campaign promise to appoint Supreme Court justices who will overturn Roe v. Wade, a 1973 decision that made abortion legal, as a positive sign the legislation has a shot.
“A new president, new Supreme Court appointees change the dynamic, and there was consensus in our caucus to move forward,” Senate President Keith Faber recently told reporters, adding that he believes the bill’s chance of surviving a constitutional challenge is greater now.
But if the measure becomes law, the ACLU has already vowed to fight it.
The ACLU of Ohio tweeted, “Just a reminder, if the unconstitutional #HeartBeatBill passes and become law, we will challenge it in court.”
The Guttmacher Institute, a nonprofit research organization that supports pro-choice and tracks abortion legislation, said if the measures become law, they would be some of the most restrictive in the land.
In the four decades since Roe v. Wade was handed down, states have enacted 1,074 abortion restrictions. Of those, 288 – or about 27 percent – have been put in place since 2010, according to the Guttmacher Institute.
The 20-week “pain capable” bill, meanwhile, would change the time abortions could be performed to 20 weeks from 26 weeks, which is the current law in Ohio.
Since he’s been in office, Kasich has signed 17 bills sponsored by Ohio Right to Life. If Kasich signs the "pain capable" bill, Ohio would become the 15^th state in the nation to pass a 20-week abortion ban.

Intel committee chairman: Report on Russia meddling conflicts with DNI testimony

The Republican chairman of the House Intelligence Committee says a reported CIA assessment that Russian government actors interfered in the U.S. election to help Donald Trump win conflicts with the mid-November public testimony from the nation’s intelligence chief, according to a new letter obtained by Fox News.
In a letter Monday to Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Calif., said, "On November 17, 2016 you told the Committee during an open hearing that the IC (Intelligence Community) lacked strong evidence connecting Russian government Cyber-attacks and Wikileaks disclosures."
In response to a question from ranking Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff, Clapper had said, “As far as the WikiLeaks connection, the evidence there is not as strong and we don't have good insight into the sequencing of the releases or when the data may have been provided. We don't have as good insight into that.”
The Nunes letter continued, “According to new press reports, this is no longer the CIA’s position…I was dismayed that we did not learn earlier, from you directly about the reported conflicting assessments and the CIA’s reported revision of information previously conveyed to this Committee.”
Nunes is requesting a briefing from the CIA and FBI on the current assessment of alleged Russian involvement related to the U.S. election no later than Dec. 16.
The Washington Post reported Friday that the CIA concluded in a secret assessment that Russia interfered in the race to boost Trump, not just undermine confidence in the system. Intelligence agencies reportedly found individuals connected to the Russian government gave WikiLeaks hacked emails from the Democratic National Committee, as well as from Hillary Clinton Campaign Chairman John Podesta – though the agencies did not have “specific intelligence” showing Kremlin officials directed the activity.
Trump has challenged the report, calling the assessment “ridiculous.”
Some Republican senators, though, have sought a bipartisan congressional probe to investigate further. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., endorsed those calls Monday morning, saying: “The Russians are not our friends.”
In a statement earlier Monday, Nunes said his committee will “closely oversee the production  of the report on these attacks requested by President Obama to ensure its analytical integrity” – but he does “not see any benefit in opening further investigations, which would duplicate current committee oversight efforts and Intelligence Community inquiries.”
The top Democrat on the committee, Rep. Schiff, D-Calif., criticized Trump and his allies for calling the intelligence community’s work into question.
“Every day the President-elect and his team continue to denigrate the work of the intelligence community, to the detriment of the agencies' important work and the success of his own presidency,” he said in a statement.
A spokesman for Clapper told Fox News that the DNI would respond directly to the committee.

Trump victories certified in Wisconsin, Pennsylvania

President-elect Donald Trump's victories in Wisconsin and Pennsylvania were certified Monday, further affirming his win over Democrat Hillary Clinton in last month's presidential election.
Wisconsin finalized its recount, which showed Trump beating Clinton by more than 22,000 votes, on the same day that a federal judge issued a stinging rejection of a Green Party-backed request to recount paper ballots in Pennsylvania's presidential election and scan some counties' election systems for signs of hacking.
Later Monday, Pennsylvania certified the state's results in the Nov. 8 election, which saw Trump defeat Clinton by more than 44,000 votes.
Green Party candidate Jill Stein successfully requested, and paid for, the Wisconsin recount. In addition to her failed Pennsylvania recount attempt, Stein's bid for a similar statewide recount in Michigan was blocked by the courts. Stein only got about 1 percent of the vote in each of the three states, which Trump swept on his way to the White House. She argued, without evidence, that voting machines in all three states were susceptible to hacking.

The numbers barely budged in Wisconsin after nearly 3 million votes were recounted. Trump picked up a net 131 votes and the final results changed just 0.06 percent.
In Pennsylvania, U.S. District Judge Paul Diamond said there were at least six grounds that required him to reject the Green Party's lawsuit, which had been opposed by Trump, the Pennsylvania Republican Party and the Pennsylvania attorney general's office.
Suspicion of a hacked Pennsylvania election "borders on the irrational" while granting the Green Party's recount bid could "ensure that no Pennsylvania vote counts" given Tuesday's federal deadline to certify the vote for the Electoral College, wrote Diamond, an appointee of former President George W. Bush, a Republican.

"Most importantly, there is no credible evidence that any `hack' occurred, and compelling evidence that Pennsylvania's voting system was not in any way compromised," Diamond wrote. He also said the lawsuit suffered from a lack of standing, potentially the lack of federal jurisdiction and an "unexplained, highly prejudicial" wait before filing last week's lawsuit, four weeks after the Nov. 8 election.

The decision was the Green Party's latest roadblock in Pennsylvania after hitting numerous walls in county and state courts. Green Party-backed lawyers argue that it was possible that computer hackers changed the election outcome and that Pennsylvania's heavy use of paperless machines makes it a prime target. Stein also contended that Pennsylvania has erected unconstitutional barriers to voters seeking a recount.

A lawyer for the Green Party said Monday they were disappointed and unable to immediately say whether they would appeal.

"But one thing is clear," said the lawyer, Ilann Maazel. "The Pennsylvania election system is not fair to voters and voters don't know if their votes counted, and that's a very large problem."

A federal judge halted Michigan's recount last week after three days. Trump won Michigan by fewer than 11,000 votes out of nearly 4.8 million votes cast. It was not immediately clear when the state would certify its results.

MeMe Cartoons

Terrified by Trump: Activist groups stoke fears, raise funds on incoming administration

Veteran to anti-Trump protesters: Quit being crybabies

Stoking the fears of a Trump presidency, liberal activist groups have launched campaigns online and around the nation to help people cope – and even survive – their version of democratic doomsday.
Some are based on Trump’s mixed signals about illegal immigration, while others seem aimed at a more generalized sense of unease. One effort that launched this week, called “WhatDoIDoAboutTrump.com,” is depicted by its organizers as a non-partisan “website [that] turns Trump angst into action – online and off.”
“Not sure how to protect yourself if some of Trump’s campaign promises become reality?” the San Francisco-based site asks.
It provides links to websites of organizations, such as the American Civil Liberties Union, which advise people about what steps to take or what they may face if Donald Trump follows through on some of his promises. One link leads to “Welcome to the OH CRAP! WHAT NOW? SURVIVAL GUIDE,” which describes itself as “a crowdsourced collection of health, legal, and safety plans and resources + social, digital and economic security related resources urgent now as an outcome of the recent US election.

Hundreds of Rutgers University students march last month to protest some of President-elect Donald Trump's proposed policies. (The Associated Press)

Experts say scaring consituencies about politics is standard operating procedure for activist groups, but what's different this time are the intensity, and the fact that it has started well before Jan. 20, 2017, when Trump will be sworn in.
Corinna Kester, one of the founders, says the group, which includes a former national press secretary for the Democratic National Committee, is not pushing an agenda.
“If people are upset about the election, we encourage them to figure out how to get involved and work with that, from donating to petitions to protests.”

We can say, in one sense, it is intensifying divisions in America.
- Fred Siegel, senior fellow, Manhattan Institute

Organizations and, in many cases, lawyers, are urging people and groups they deem at-risk under a Trump presidency to take action now to protect themselves. School administrators are assuring students concerned about immigration raids that they won’t be spirited away, some city officials are vowing to provide a sort-of buffer to any federal attempts to strip benefits or programs. On Monday, the Los Angeles Unified School District announced that it was setting up a hotline and "support sites" in response to the deep anxiety among students about Trump as president.
The Rev. Al Sharpton is organizing a rally of black activists and lawmakers in Washington D.C. days before Trump’s inauguration in mid-January to, as he told The Hill, “put the Democrats on notice to use the confirmation hearings to really go after” Trump’s nominees.
One of the most high-profile efforts aimed at creating preemptive buffers against Trump policies are so-called sanctuaries for immigrants who are here illegally.
Students at various colleges are pushing their campuses to be designated sanctuaries. Some cities are moving toward declaring themselves safe zones for such immigrants, saying they will not report them to immigration authorities if they come across them during the course of providing a service.
On Tuesday, the Santa Ana City Council voted to designate the municipality a sanctuary, a non-binding action that they may make enforceable through an ordinance, according to the Los Angeles Times.
The Times noted that “the move is in direct defiance of President-elect Donald Trump, who was critical of illegal immigration and sanctuary cities during his campaign.”
“The day after Donald Trump got elected, our kids were falling apart emotionally,” the Times quoted Councilmember Sal Tinajero, who is a high school teacher, as saying. “They thought their parents would be deported.”
“The reason you’re seeing this push now is that us leaders ... want to tell them they are going to be protected. If they are going to come for them, they have to come through us first.”
Trump has denounced such efforts as divisive and the people who have protested his election as “crybabies.” His supporters, as well as some who voted for Democrat Hillary Clinton or third party candidates, say it behooves everyone to accept the results of the election and work to be united.
“This sounds like a large group therapy session,” said Fred Siegel, a historian who is a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute and professor at Saint Francis College. “There’s a way in which this is all good and right in democratic terms.”
Siegel said the trend to organize in advance of Trump assuming the presidency is intriguing, and more in line with the kind of actions taken against policies and governments that are seen in Europe, particularly France.
“We can say, in one sense, it is intensifying divisions in American society,” Siegel said to FoxNews.com, “What that represents is President Obama’s success in Europeanizing American politics.”
“In France, the argument has always been when something occurs in Parliament that is unacceptable to you, you take to the streets. These [actions] are occurring in advance of – not in response to – policy being initiated.”
Louis DeSipio, a political science professor at the University of California-Irvine, said that the patchwork efforts to organize against Trump and his expected policies reflect an already-divided nation.
“President-elect Trump set out broad principles, and wasn’t specific about some policies,” DeSipio said. “There will always be people who are unhappy about an election. In any election, you can see a complete reversal of fortunes. The challenge for any president in this situation is to build bridges to some of his former opponents.”
President George W. Bush did so in response to concerns – among those who did not support his election – over how he would handle education and Medicare prescription costs, DeSipio said.
“He worked with Democrats, with Sen. Ted Kennedy, on both of those issues,” he said.
DeSipio expressed misgivings about efforts underpinned by a refusal to accept Trump as president, a movement that has a hashtag -- #notmypresident.
“Philosophically, I don’t accept it,” DeSipio said. “He was accepted by rules in place before the election.”
The approach of some groups to try to influence policy and laws at the local level can be both healthier and more practical in many cases, he added.
“We may get some criticism from Trump supporters,” said Kester. “But we’re all getting involved in a democracy.”

The media call Trump a 'cyberbully,' even when he's punching back

The press has hurled just about every possible charge at Donald Trump. Now there’s a new accusation: cyberbully.
It’s true that Trump picks more public fights than just about anyone who’s ever ascended to the highest office in the land. It’s also true that when punched, he punches back harder.
So it was that the New York Times published a story with this headline: “Trump as Cyberbully-in-Chief? Twitter Attack on Union Boss Draws Fire.”
Now maybe it wasn’t the greatest idea for Trump to unsheathe his Twitter account against Chuck Jones, president of a steelworkers union in Indiana. Such digital assaults tend to generate plenty of online abuse and death threats aimed at the target, as they did in this case.
Therefore, the Times intoned, “Mr. Trump’s decision to single out Mr. Jones for ridicule has drawn condemnation from historians and White House veterans.”
But let’s be clear on the timeline here.
After Trump made the deal with Carrier to use tax breaks to save what he said were 1,100 jobs slated for Mexico, Jones charged that his numbers were overstated by several hundred.
What’s more, he told the Washington Post, Trump “lied his ass off.”
Jones, who voted for Hillary Clinton, said Trump and Mike Pence “pulled a dog and pony show on the numbers…I almost threw up in my mouth.”
Then Jones went on Erin Burnett’s CNN show and said some workers were being betrayed: “So, those folks probably had to think, okay, I'm keeping my job. Only to find out last Friday, well, no, there are 550 being laid off. Now, that never was mentioned by anybody. Trump, Pence or any of them never mentioned about 550 moving to Mexico.”
Minutes later, Trump tweeted this:
“Chuck Jones, who is President of United Steelworkers 1999, has done a terrible job representing workers. No wonder companies flee country!”
Whether that was a good idea or not, he hardly struck the first blow.
Jones now says he takes Trump’s comments with a grain of salt and stresses that he’s just an ordinary working guy.
The transition has produced a whole lot of journalistic tut-tutting about Trump going on offense: Against Boeing and its Air Force One contract. Against another Indiana company threatening to ship jobs to Mexico. Against the media, of course. Even against Alec Baldwin.
I get critics saying that he’s punching down. But every president brings his own style. Trump makes everything personal. He’s been doing that since his feud with Rosie O’Donnell.
Another president-elect might have ordered a review of the Boeing plane deal. Trump says “Cancel the order!” Whether the contract is eventually axed or just negotiated downward isn’t the point. By then he’ll be on to other controversies.
Wall Street Journal columnist Dan Henninger says he’s a performance artist. Kinda like Lady Gaga.
“Anti-Trumpers will say: Precisely. We can't have a performance artist as president of the United States. That's irrelevant now.
“In four years it may be possible to say that making a performance artist president was a mistake. But that will only be true if he fails. If the Trump method succeeds, even reasonably so, it will be important to understand his art from the start. So far, the media and the comedians are stuck in pre-Trump consciousness.”
I worry, in this age of online abuse, about the impact of Trump singling out people, especially if they’re not major public figures. His wife Melania has expressed concern about online bullying.
The Post has a story about an 18-year-old college student who asked Trump a skeptical question at a town hall a year ago, saying she didn’t think he was a “friend to women.” He tweeted that she was an “arrogant young woman” and a “plant” by Jeb Bush, and she now says she was flooded with threats, many of a sexual nature.

That was in the heat of a campaign. Trump is president-elect now, and his every syllable has even more impact.
I don’t have a problem with Trump taking on a big corporation or responding to sharp criticism from a union leader. I do think he ought to measure his words carefully, given the size of his megaphone.
Howard Kurtz is a Fox News analyst and the host of "MediaBuzz" (Sundays 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. ET). He is the author of five books and is based in Washington. Follow him at @HowardKurtz. Click here for more information on Howard Kurtz. 

Trump vows no ‘wrecking ball’ to Obama legacy – but signals big changes

President-elect Donald Trump left the door open Sunday on how exactly he plans to overhaul the regulation-heavy agenda pursued by the Obama administration, suggesting he wouldn’t dismantle all that his predecessor has done – while making clear the government needs to be more business-friendly.
Asked in an exclusive interview with “Fox News Sunday” whether he’d take a “wrecking ball” to President Obama’s legacy, the construction magnate responded:
“No. I don't want to do that at all. I just want what's right.”
The answer may have surprised those watching Trump’s recent Cabinet selections, which have included: a prominent ObamaCare critic to lead the Health and Human Services Department; a foe of Obama’s overtime pay expansion to lead the Labor Department; and a state attorney general currently suing the Environmental Protection Agency to lead that very agency.
Trump, at the same time, has sent mixed signals about his plans, meeting in recent days with prominent climate change activists Al Gore and Leonardo DiCaprio.
Asked on “Fox News Sunday” about the implications of those meetings as well as his Cabinet selections, Trump indicated his interest is in making the government more efficient and responsive to business.
TRUMP RIPS CLAIMS OF RUSSIA INTERFERENCE IN 2016 RACE
At the EPA, he said, “You can't get things approved. I mean, people are waiting in line for 15 years before they get rejected, okay? That's why people don't want to invest in this country.”
Trump said: “So we're going to clean it up. We're going to speed it up and, by the way, if somebody is not doing the right thing we're not going to approve. … We can't let all of these permits that take forever to get stop our jobs.”
Trump steered clear of committing to specific actions regarding projects that have pitted environmental interests against the energy industry, while suggesting economic considerations are paramount to him.
On the long-disputed Keystone pipeline that was halted by the Obama administration, Trump said “you’re going to have a decision fairly quickly.”
Asked about the Dakota Access Pipeline, which the Army Corps of Engineers wants to re-route following protests, Trump said he did not want to answer right now.
“But I will tell you, when I get to office, if it's not solved, I'll have it solved very quickly,” Trump said, before adding: “Something will happen. It'll be quick. I think it's very unfair. So, it’ll start, one way or the other.”
Trump, meanwhile, said he is still studying the Paris climate agreement – a pact, backed by the U.S. and dozens of other nations, committing countries to curb the global rise in temperatures – but, “I don't want that agreement to put us at a competitive disadvantage with other countries.”
When asked where he stood on the environment and climate change, Trump would not be pinned down. “I'm very open-minded. I'm still open-minded. Nobody really knows,” Trump said. “Look, I'm somebody that gets it and nobody really knows. It's not something that's so hard and fast. I do know this: other countries are eating our lunch.”
Taken together, Trump’s comments, meetings and appointments speak to an incoming president still weighing his options on how drastically he wants to reverse or halt the Obama regulatory agenda.
In an indication that the incoming administration may be preparing for big changes with regard to energy sector programs and rules, his transition team reportedly has sent around a questionnaire asking the Energy Department for a list of appointees and senior executives – and details on who has spearheaded the agency’s clean energy initiatives.
One unnamed department official described the questionnaire as a hit list, according to an Associated Press report. The memo sparked alarm among some Democrats, as did Trump’s decision last week to name Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt to lead the EPA.
Pruitt has been involved in lawsuits against the Obama EPA, including over the controversial Clean Power Plan and waterway regulations. He also has suggested the debate over global warming – and the impact of human activity on global temperatures – is unsettled.
Former Democratic presidential candidate and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders suggested Sunday that the Pruitt pick suggests the meetings with Gore and others are not informing policy decisions.
“I’m glad they reached out to Gore, but apparently they are not hearing what Gore has to say,” he told CBS News’ “Face the Nation.” Sanders said it’s troubling Trump would appoint a climate change “denier” to lead the EPA.
Trump’s first order of Obama legacy business may be the Affordable Care Act, with congressional Republicans eager to send a repeal bill to his desk next year. Trump has said he plans to nominate Georgia Rep. Tom Price to lead HHS, which would put an outspoken ObamaCare critic at the helm of the agency that implemented the law.
House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., told Fox News’ “Sunday Morning Futures” that the Obama administration “pushed investment out” with its raft of rules and predicted a shift toward what he called “common-sense regulation,” including with health care.
“Our No. 1 focus is jobs [in the House],” he said. “[ObamaCare] is going to collapse on itself. We have to look at health care in a new form and have a new health care system.”

China official says Trump's Taiwan comments cause 'serious concern'

A China official said Monday that there is “serious concern” about President-elect Donald Trump’s latest comments suggesting he’s reconsidering a relationship with Taiwan.
Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said in a television interview that Trump’s comments over the weekend raised the possibility that U.S.-China relations would be “badly affected.” Geng added that the “one China” policy was the “political foundation” of any Sino-American ties.
“We urge the new U.S. leader and government to fully understand the seriousness of the Taiwan issue, and to continue to stick to the one-China policy," Geng said.

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Trump said on “Fox News Sunday” that he doesn’t feel “bound by a one-China policy unless we make a deal with China having to do with other things, including trade.”
China’s response to Trump’s call with Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen and critical tweets has mostly been muted. Foreign Minister Wang Yi blamed the call on a Taiwanese "trick," and the ministry has repeatedly reaffirmed that Taiwan is part of China without directly criticizing the president-elect.
Geng’s comments were the strongest public condemnation of Trump’s criticisms since his Dec. 2 remarks.
Trump, though, seemed to have backed off of reports that his call with Tsai was planned well in advance by advisers positioning him to confront China over the island. He said he heard about the call “probably an hour or two before.”
"Why should some other nation be able to say I can't take a call?" he said. "I think it actually would've been very disrespectful, to be honest with you, not taking it."
Trump’s call with Taiwan was the first time an American president or president-elect has publicly spoken to a Taiwanese leader in nearly four decades. China considers the self-governing island to be its territory and any reference to a separate Taiwanese head of state to be a grave insult.
Chinese media went on the attack Sunday after Trump’s latest comments on the U.S. “one-China” policy, calling the president-elect “as ignorant as a child.” The Global Times published a Chinese-language editorial headlined: "Trump, please listen clearly: 'One China' cannot be traded."
"China needs to launch a resolute struggle with him," the editorial said. "Only after he's hit some obstacles and truly understands that China and the rest of the world are not to be bullied will he gain some perception."
"Many people might be surprised at how the new U.S. leader is truly a 'businessman' through-and-through," the paper said, referring to Trump's suggestion of using the "one China" policy as a bargaining chip. "But in the field of diplomacy, he is as ignorant as a child."
The Global Times, which is published by the Communist Party's mouthpiece, the People's Daily, often runs commentaries that target nationalistic sentiment with provocative language.