Megan Rapinoe Cartoons

2016

As G-20 concludes, Trump tells reporters he 'may or may not' meet with Kim in North Korea

President Trump in a news conference Saturday said he doesn’t plan to add new tariffs on Chinese imports but he won’t be lifting the existing tariffs.
The president spoke from Osaka, Japan, where he met with several world leaders, including China's President Xi Jinping, Russia's President Vladimir Putin, Saudi Prince Mohammad bin Salman and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

President Trump calls on a reporter to ask a question during a news conference following the G-20 summit in Osaka, Japan, on Saturday. (Associated Press)

“These meetings have been great,” he told reporters. He said his meeting with Xi "went better than expected" and that U.S. negotiators would “start where they left off with China.”
He called the country a "strategic partner" and said, “U.S. companies can sell their equipment to" Huawei Technologies, despite the Commerce Department's efforts to blacklist the Chinese company last month over concerns that its products could be used to spy on other countries.
“Trump also said he “may or may not see Kim Jong Un” when he makes his next stop, in South Korea, to visit that nation's President Moon Jae-in. He told Fox News he would “feel very comfortable” stepping into North Korea if the meeting with Kim became possible, but he wasn't concerned if it couldn't happen. He would be the first U.S. president to enter North Korea.
Trump sent an invitation to Kim on Friday via Twitter, suggesting the two could meet when Trump is in the DMZ with President Moon. A North Korean official reportedly said the invitation was a "very interesting suggestion."
He told reporters any meeting with Kim would just be a "quick hello."

President Donald Trump speaks during a news conference following the G-20 summit in Osaka, Japan, on Saturday. (Associated Press)

When asked if he had spoken to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman about the killing of American journalist Jamal Khashoggi – a murder the U.S. intelligence community believes the crown prince ordered – Trump said he asked him what was happening.
“There are large numbers of people being prosecuted," he told reporters. He added that the crown prince is “very angry” over the murder, but praised the leader as a "great ally" whose country is fighting terrorism and helping women.
When a reporter challenged his statement that no one had "pointed a finger" at bin Salman, Trump said he couldn't comment on intelligence, but added that "they’re taking it very seriously over there."
Trump also said he had “a great discussion” with Putin and hopes the U.S. will do more trade with Russia in the future.
A reporter pressed him on whether he asked Putin to stay out of U.S. elections beyond a seemingly joking rebuke Friday. Trump said he “discussed it a little bit after that,” but the Russian president "denies it totally.”
The president called Turkey a "friend" and said he and President Erdogan would "look at different solutions" in Turkey's planned purchase of a Russian-made S-400 surface-to-air missile system.
The president covered various other topics in the hour-long news conference, weighing in on the Democratic debates, immigration and a remark Jimmy Carter made about his legitimacy before leaving for South Korea.
The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

Cory Booker calls out Biden over 'kid in hoodie' remark, says better 'language' needed to talk about race

Sen. Cory Booker accused Democratic presidential frontrunner Joe Biden on Friday of not having the right "language" to talk about race that's needed to win the party's 2020 nomination.
Booker's comment came after Biden spoke about race relations in the U.S. during an appearance in Chicago earlier in the day.
“That kid wearing a hoodie may very well be the next poet laureate and not a gangbanger," Biden said, making a rhetorical point during his remarks at the headquarters of the Rainbow PUSH Coalition, a group of nonprofits organized by the Rev. Jesse Jackson.
But Booker, an African-American senator from New Jersey,  took issue with Biden’s use of the word “hoodie.”
“This isn’t about a hoodie," Booker wrote on Twitter. "It’s about a culture that sees a problem with a kid wearing a hoodie in the first place. Our nominee needs to have the language to talk about race in a far more constructive way.”
Other Twitter users also took Biden to task, claiming his use of the word “gangbanger” was racially insensitive.
The blowback against Biden came less than 24 hours after his onstage clash in Miami with another 2020 White House hopeful, Sen. Kamala Harris, during Thursday night's second Democratic presidential debate.
Biden and Harris tangled over the issue of school desegregation. Harris attacked Biden’s decades-ago work with segregationist senators, making the point personal by explaining she was a member of only the second class of black children in California to be bused to school in an effort to force desegregation.
“That little girl was me,” Harris said directly to the former vice president in a moment that has since gone viral.
But in Chicago on Friday, Biden defended his record on racial issues.
“I heard and I listened to and I respect Senator Harris," Biden said. "But we all know that 30-60 seconds on campaign debate exchange can't do justice to a lifetime commitment to civil rights.”
Then, speaking directly to 77-year-old Jackson, whose long career has included two presidential runs and work with the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., he said: “I know you know I fought my heart out to ensure civil rights and voting rights and equal rights are enforced everywhere.”
Biden insisted he “never, never, never, ever opposed voluntary busing.”
Booker’s Friday tweet followed his previous criticism of Biden for reminiscing over his work with two long-dead segregationist senators, Democrats James Eastland of Mississippi and Herman Talmadge of Georgia. During a New York fundraiser last Tuesday, Biden brought up the two senators to argue that Washington functioned more smoothly a generation ago than under today's "broken" hyperpartisanship.
"We didn't agree on much of anything," Biden said of the two men, who were prominent lawmakers when Biden was first elected in 1972. Biden described Talmadge as "one of the meanest guys I ever knew" and said Eastland called him "son," though not "boy," a reference to the racist way many whites addressed black men at the time.
“You don’t joke about calling black men ‘boys.’ Booker said responding to Biden's speech. "Men like James O. Eastland used words like that, and the racist policies that accompanied them, to perpetuate white supremacy and strip black Americans of our very humanity,” Booker said in a statement last week, according to the Hill.
Fox News' Andrew O'Reilly and Paul Steinhauser contributed to this report. 

Trump slams 'terrible' Jimmy Carter as 'forgotten president' after suggestion 2016 win was 'illegitimate'

President Donald Trump speaks during a news conference following the G-20 summit in Osaka, Japan, Saturday, June 29, 2019. (Associated Press)

President Trump fired back at former President Jimmy Carter’s suggestion that he’s illegitimate president, saying Carter is “the forgotten president” who’s not only “trashed” by his own party but also remembered only as being “terrible” for the country.
Trump addressed the comments made by Carter during a news conference Saturday following the G-20 summit in Japan, saying that although Carter is “a nice man, he was a terrible president,” before noting that “he’s a Democrat and it’s a typical talking point.”
He added that Carter is “loyal to the Democrats” but “as everybody now understands, I won not because of Russia, not because of anybody but myself.”

“He's a nice man, he was a terrible president. He’s a Democrat and it’s a typical talking point.”
— President Trump

Carter said Friday at a Virginia forum that “I think a full investigation would show that Trump didn’t actually win the election in 2016.”
“He lost the election, and he was put into office because the Russians interfered on his behalf," he added. When asked if Trump was “illegitimate president,” Carter responded saying “Basically, what I just said, which I can’t retract.”

Trump said during the news conference that he “campaigned better, smarter, hotter than Hillary Clinton. I went to Wisconsin, I went to Michigan the night of the vote.”
"I won Michigan, I won Wisconsin, I won Pennsylvania, I won states that traditionally haven’t been won by Republicans for many years,” he continued. “This had nothing to do with anybody but the fact that I worked harder and much smarter than Hillary Clinton did.”
The president added that he was “surprised” Carter made such comments but he also “felt bad” for him as he’s been attacked even by his own party.
“He’s been trashed within his own party, he’s been badly trashed. I felt bad for him because you look over the years, his party has virtually … he’s like the forgotten president,” Trump said. “And I understand why they say that.”

“He’s been trashed within his own party, he’s been badly trashed ... he’s like the forgotten president."
— President Trump

“He was not a good president. Looked at what happened with Iran – that was a disaster. What Iran did to him, they tied him in knots. The reason Ronald Reagan probably became president.”
The 94-year-old Carter recently returned to public activities after undergoing surgery for a broken hip.

Trump-Xi meeting at G-20 'went better than expected,' US president says

President Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping's face-to-face meeting on trade relations in Osaka, Japan, on Saturday "went better than expected," Trump said after the talks.
Trump described the meeting as "excellent" and said the U.S. and China were "back on track" in trade talks but added that "negotiations are continuing." He told reporters he would announce the results of the talks at a news conference later Saturday.
China's official Xinhua News Agency said the two leaders agreed to restart trade talks "on the basis of equality and mutual respect," saying the leaders had reached a cease-fire on trade and that Trump also agreed to forego new tariffs on Chinese imports.
The meeting between the two leaders at the G-20 summit was their first in seven months, although the two leaders reportedly also met at a dinner for the Group of 20 leaders, where Trump said much was accomplished.
The de-escalation is a pattern for Trump and Xi, whose agreements often break down over negotiation details.

President Donald Trump, center, shakes hands with Chinese President Xi Jinping, as they gather for a group photo at the G-20 summit in Osaka, Japan, on Friday. (Associated Press)

In the meeting, Trump and Xi were expected to focus on issues including trade and a dispute over Huawei Technologies.
"We've had an excellent relationship," Trump said to Xi before the talks, "but we want to do something that will even it up with respect to trade."
Trump told reporters he thought they would have a “very productive” meeting. “I think we can go on to do something that will be truly monumental and great for both countries," he added.
Xi said, "Cooperation and dialogue are better than friction and confrontation."
Trump has already put tariffs on $250 billion in Chinese imports this year and has threatened to tax an additional $300 billion. China retaliated with its own tariffs on American exports.
After the meeting with Xi, Trump met with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Biden Cartoons

AOC's chief of staff deletes tweet attacking Blue Dog Caucus as 'New Southern Democrats'

The chief of staff of Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-NY, deleted a tweet accusing moderate House Democrats of being the "new Southern Democrats" following a House vote that approved funding for the border on Thursday.
After initially resisting the bipartisan bill that passed in the Senate, Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif, caved to the pressure of moderates in her caucus and passed the spending bill, causing backlash among progressives.
Ocasio-Cortez's chief of staff Saikat Chakrabarti lashed out on Twitter, took aim at the New Democrats and the Blue Dog Caucus.
"Instead of 'fiscally conservative but socially liberal,' let's call the New Democrats and Blue Dog Caucus the 'New Southern Democrats,' Chakrabarti said in the now-deleted tweet. "They certainly seem hell bent to do black and brown people today what the old Southern Democrats did in the 40s."
After deleting the tweet, Chakrabarti explained that he was "mad" but doubled down on the message, saying "if we don't have progress on racial justice it will be because of the new Dems and blue dogs. Just like in 1940."
"I don't think people have to be personally racist to enable a racist system," Chakrabarti told another Twitter user. "And the same could even be said of the Southern Democrats."
He continued his attacks against the Blue Dog Caucus for "wasting $4.5 billion" that "puts kids in concentration camps."
Chakrabarti nor Ocasio-Cortez's office did not immediately respond to Fox News for comment.

Mark Penn: Kamala Harris, Joe Biden, Bernie Sanders -- Second Dem debate's big winners and losers

With more at stake for the front runners, the second Democratic debate Thursday night in Miami had far more fireworks than the rather tepid debate the night before.
By and large, the moderators went down a list of Democratic issues as defined by the left of the party, and the candidates largely pandered in their answers.
Interestingly when asked what issue they would bring before Congress this group of mostly seasoned politicians ducked the issue for fear of alienating one constituency over another.
Based on two nights of debates, impeachment is a dead issue of little interest to the presidential candidates but free health care for undocumented immigrants is now a consensus issue among the candidates.
Here are Thursday night’s winners and losers:
Winners
Joe Biden — He successfully showed he could stand up under withering challenges and recite a list of his accomplishments. He was generally articulate, on point and unflappable. But his response to the attack by Kamala Harris has holes, saying his vote against federally ordered busing was not a vote against busing.
Kamala Harris — She went in with a mission of having a confrontation with Biden, who is holding 50 percent of the African-American community votes. She went after him on the issue of race, and her attack will be the most replayed moment of the debate, elevating her status and perhaps reclaiming some of an important constituency from Biden. She had the most aggressive style of all the debaters and that may help her if the voters are looking for someone they believe won’t wither under attacks by President Trump.
Pete Buttigieg — His answers were generally articulate and he was careful to take some moderate positions like questioning "Medicare-for-all." His answer on the police shooting in his city was obviously rehearsed and very tentative, but he got through it. Nevertheless, he remains a candidate with a growing hold on younger voters who can’t be counted out. He has ended Beto O’Rouke’s campaign by edging him out as the less-than-experienced insurgent candidate.
Losers
Bernie Sanders — He generally repeated his attack on corporate America over and over again and it sounded a bit hollow. His performance on Thursday night is unlikely to stop the advance of Elizabeth Warren who is splitting the party’s most progressive voters.
Kristen Gillibrand — She swung for the fences with an impassioned defense of women’s reproductive rights, but her attempt to go after women’s votes seemed inauthentic and forced. She likely did not advance her candidacy much in this debate.
The rest
The rest of the candidates generally were losers even as they gave some articulate and interesting answers. But they will likely remain far behind the front runners.
So, Biden holds on to his lead. Harris is moving up. Sanders is going down. Elizabeth Warren and Buttigieg are the ones to watch.

Hannity: Rachel Maddow moderating debate an 'embarrassment' for NBC News

Fox News' Sean Hannity blasted NBC News for allowing opinion host Rachel Maddow to moderate Wednesday's debate, calling it an embarrassment.
"The real embarrassment is that NBC allowed the biggest conspiracy theorist in the country to moderate the debate. The so-called news network put 'Roswell' Rachel Maddow right there, front and center," Hannity said on Thursday's edition of Fox News' "Hannity." "The single biggest conspiracy theorist in the country."
Hannity blasted NBC and called out longtime NBC News anchor Tom Brokaw, asking if the retired anchorman was watching what his news organization had become.
"NBC is not interested in the truth, they're not interested in integrity or actual journalism. Instead, NBC News -- Tom Brokaw, are you watching? Didn't you build up this brand? A TV channel that works in unison with everything Democratic Party, everything socialist. Everything to smear, slander President Trump every hour of every day," the Fox News host said.
Hannity also went after the Democratic Party for sliding further to left.
"Last night's debate did confirm what we've also been telling you for some time. Moderates in the Democratic Party, they are extinct. They no longer exist. There are no more Joe Liebermans, Scoop Jacksons. Radical socialists have completely and totally taken over," Hannity said.

"There are no more Joe Liebermans, Scoop Jacksons. Radical socialists have completely and totally taken over."
— Sean Hannity

Hannity also took umbrage with many of the political platforms candidates expressed -- in particular the ones that were anti-capitalism.
"Last night they were just obsessed with vilifying private enterprise. In other words, that which has created the greatest standard of living in the industrialized world, that has advanced the human condition more than any governmental system. Capitalism works and we share it with others," Hannity said.
"I wonder why New York, New Jersey, let's say Illinois, California are losing population? Yeah, because of what they proposed last night. Where are we going to go next?"

Biden grilled by Harris on race record at chaotic Dem debate, as Bernie’s ‘socialist’ agenda challenged

Democratic presidential primary front-runner Joe Biden ran into a formidable challenge at Thursday night’s debate from Sen. Kamala Harris, who tapped into her prosecutor toolbox to put his race record on trial following controversy over his comments on segregationist senators.
While the other top-polling candidate on stage in Miami, Bernie Sanders, avoided any direct clash with the former vice president, the California senator made a point of confronting Biden on the issue that has rattled his otherwise high-flying campaign.
In perhaps the most heated moment of the night, Harris told Biden she doesn’t believe he is a “racist” but considers his recent comments about being able to work with segregationist senators early in his career “hurtful.” (Biden has said he disagreed with the senators on segregation, but was still able to work with them in the Senate).
“You worked with them to oppose busing,” Harris then said, referring to efforts to limit orders for school desegregation by busing. In an emotional moment, she told her own story of being bussed as a little girl in California.
Biden fired back that Harris’ comments were a “mischaracterization of my position across the board,” saying he never praised racists, while denying that he opposed busing. He insisted he opposed busing ordered by the Department of Education, as opposed to localities making their own decisions.
Adamantly defending his record on race and civil rights, he also swiped at Harris by noting he became a public defender -- not a prosecutor, as she was.
The clash amounted to one of several moments where Harris grabbed attention, including when she scolded her rivals after they were shouting over one another in an earlier skirmish. “America does not want to witness a food fight,” Harris said. “They want to know how they’re going to put food on their table.”
With 10 candidates on stage, just like the previous night's showdown in Miami, the moderators frequently had to step in as well to stop them from talking over one another.
Biden, though, for the most part kept his focus on the candidate he really wants to face -- President Trump -- while repeatedly invoking the name and record of his popular running-mate Barack Obama and brushing back swipes at his age from long-shot candidate Rep. Eric Swalwell, who repeatedly called on him to "pass the torch."
"I'm still holding onto that torch," Biden said with a grin.
It's unclear whether the clash with Harris might damage Biden, considering most prior controversies have not dinged his poll numbers -- or simply give her some needed momentum in a race where fellow Sen. Elizabeth Warren, on stage the night before, has been climbing.
Sanders, for his part, spent much of the NBC-hosted debate defending his big-government agenda against questions from moderators and criticism from more centrist – and lower-polling – candidates.
Early in the debate, Sanders dismissed a moderator's contention that nominating a democratic socialist could re-elect Trump, pointing to polls showing him ahead of the president in head-to-head matchups.
“The American people understand that Trump is a phony,” Sanders said. “Trump is a pathological liar and a racist and that he lied to the American people during his campaign. He said he was going to stand up for working families.”
But several rivals took issue with some of Sanders’ socialistic policies, like "Medicare-for-all" and free college tuition.
Former Gov. John Hickenlooper of Colorado took issue with his rivals embracing socialism, saying it’s not good politics.
“I think that the bottom line is if we don't clearly define we are not socialists, the Republicans are going to come at us every way we can and call us socialists,” Hickenlooper said.
Colorado Sen. Michael Bennet challenged Medicare-for-all, saying the public should be able to have a choice on health care, public option or otherwise.
And South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg broke with Sanders in saying while he supports free college for children of low and middle income, “I just don’t believe it makes sense to ask working-class families to subsidize even the children of billionaires.”
Harris was also pressed on how Democrats will pay for the massive programs they are proposing, but tried to turn the tables on Trump instead.
“I hear that question, but where was that question when the Republicans and Donald Trump passed a tax bill that benefits the top one percent and the biggest cover corporations contributing to the debt of America which middle-class families will pay for one way or another,” Harris asked.
California Rep. Swalwell was the first to go on offense against Biden, recalling a speech Biden gave years ago saying it’s time to pass the torch to a new generation.
“Joe Biden was right when he said that 32 years ago. He is still right today. If we are going to solve the issue, pass the torch,” Swalwell said.
The debate also made clear how Democrats have moved to the left on issues relating to immigration.
"One of the worst things about President Trump that he's done to this country is he's torn apart the moral fabric of who we are," said New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand.
All 10 Democrats raised their hands when asked if their government health care plan would cover illegal immigrants. 
“That’s the end of that race!” Trump tweeted as he panned their response.
"All of the Democrats tripped over each other in a race to see who could stand out as the most leftist candidate, threatening government control of every aspect of people’s lives," his campaign said in a statement.
At another point, most candidates raised their hands when asked if they support decriminalizing crossing the border without authorization – a vibrant topic in the debate the night before. Candidates also said they did not think someone whose only offense is coming to the United States illegally should be deported.
“Let's remember that's not just a theoretical exercise, that criminalization is the basis for family separation,” Buttigieg said.
Biden said he didn’t want to see immigrants deported whose only offense is coming to America without documents.
“That person should not be the focus of deportation,” Biden said. “We should change the way we deal with things.”
Buttigieg – who has struggled to attract black voters – entered the debate having to answer questions about the racial unrest back home in South Bend, as the city deals with a deadly police-involved shooting.
“I'm not allowed to take sides until the investigation comes back,” he said. “The officer didn't have his body camera on. It's a mess. We are hurting.”
The debate stage included two non-politicians with national followings – entrepreneur Andrew Yang and writer Marianne Williamson.
“The right candidate will be solving the problems that got Donald Trump elected,” Yang said. “I am that candidate, I can build a much broader coalition to beat Donald Trump.
“Mr. President if you're listening, I want you to hear me, please," Williamson said. "You've harnessed fear for political purposes and only love can cast that out."
It was the second of two NBC sponsored debates this week, the first being Wednesday night. The network split up 20 of the Democratic candidates over the two nights.
The Wednesday night debate reflected how the party has moved to the left on issues of immigration, taxes and abortion. The candidates who debated Wednesday were: New York Mayor Bill de Blasio, New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker, former HUD Secretary Julian Castro, former Maryland Rep. John Delaney, Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, Washington Gov. Jay Inslee, Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar, former Texas Rep. Beto O’Rourke, Ohio Rep. Tim Ryan and Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren.
Fox News’ Brooke Singman contributed to this report.