Michael Goodwin: Here's how Trump can survive the fierce attack against his presidency

From Day One, President Trump has been fighting a war for survival on two fronts. One front involves law enforcement, led first by James Comey’s FBI and now by special counsel Robert Mueller. The other front is political, where Trump faces the resistance movement led by congressional Democrats.
But sift through the fog of last week’s dizzying headlines about guilty pleas, immunity deals and possible impeachment, and a clear picture emerges: The two fronts have united, with the anti-Trumpers in the Justice Department and those in politics now openly working hand-in-hand against him.
In the long slog to unseat the president, the official merger of the anti-Trump forces marks a dramatic turning point. For one thing, it shows beyond doubt that the Mueller probe is fundamentally tainted by partisan politics, with the latest example involving Michael Cohen, Trump’s former lawyer. Inexplicably, Cohen’s case remains in control of Manhattan federal prosecutors.
The US attorney Trump appointed for that outpost, Geoffrey Berman, reportedly was ordered to recuse himself by Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, leaving the office staffed mostly by holdovers from Preet Bharara’s tenure.

For all the glee of his opponents and media doomsaying, only a fool would count President Trump out. He’s bounced back from the brink before and there are three reasons why he could do it again.

Bharara was fired by Trump when he refused to resign and is cheering for Trump’s fall. Meanwhile, his former colleagues made the politically charged demand that Cohen accuse the president of criminal behavior in his own plea documents, illustrating how Cohen is a pawn and Trump is the real target.
The anti-Trump alliance also raises the stakes even higher in the midterm elections. Every match- up will be a referendum on him, and if Republicans lose either house of Congress, his power ebbs and his troubles instantly expand.
Perhaps most remarkable of all, this new legal-political landscape shows the power wielded by Lanny Davis, a decades-long friend, lawyer and fixer to Bill and Hillary Clinton.
With Davis serving as Cohen’s lawyer, the Clinton machine is effectively directing much of the assault on the president. After brokering Cohen’s deal with prosecutors, Davis began a televised barnstorming tour where he declared that because Cohen said Trump “directed” him to pay hush money to Stormy Daniels and another woman during the 2016 campaign, it is certain the president broke campaign-finance laws.
Leaving aside that the deal proves nothing about Trump, the fact remains that Davis’ role is a delicious revenge scenario beyond anything Hillary could have imagined. She now has a mole working with Mueller!
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Michael Goodwin is a Fox News contributor and New York Post columnist.

Tiger Woods says 'you have to respect the office' of president after questions about his relationship with Trump

Tiger Woods shot down questions on Sunday about his relationship with President Trump, urging people to respect the office of the president.  (AP)

Tiger Woods shot down questions on Sunday about his relationship with President Trump, urging people to respect the office of the president.
“He's the President of the United States. You have to respect the office. No matter who is in the office, you may like, dislike personality or the politics, but we all must respect the office,” Woods said during a news conference just after the final round of the US PGA Northern Trust tournament.

"He's the President of the United States. You have to respect the office. No matter who is in the office, you may like, dislike personality or the politics, but we all must respect the office."
- Tiger Woods

The comment was in response to a provocative reporter’s question that tried to get Woods to denounce Trump’s policies and feuds with NBA and NFL players, USA Today reported.
Woods was asked whether he had anything to say to people who “find it interesting” that he maintains a rather personal relationship with the president who tightening immigration controls in the country and feuding with both NBA and NFL players.
“At times, especially 2018, I think a lot of people, especially immigrants are threatened by him and his policy — what do you say to people who might find it interesting that you have a friendly relationship with him?” a reporter asked Woods.
Trump and Woods are known golfing partners for years and have remained in touch ever since Trump took office.
“Well, I’ve known Donald for a number of years,” Woods said. “We've played golf together. We've had dinner together. I've known him pre-presidency and obviously during his presidency.”
The golf star was then asked to comment about the race relations in the country, which he declined.
“No. I just finished 72 holes and really hungry,” Woods said and moved on to questions that were relevant to his performance at the tournament that day.

Gun Control 2018 Cartoons

NRA Blasts Dems For Trying To Bring Down Pres. Trump Via Clinton Tactics

Dana Loesch

The NRA blasts the Left and the FBI for trying to bring down President Trump.
During an interview Friday, NRA spokesperson Dana Loesch slammed the Democrats for doing anything necessary to entrap President Trump.
Loesch said liberals will make a legal problem to do so, and will use campaign finances to fund the venture.
She clarified moral dilemmas surrounding the president would not result in legal trouble, so they use the so-called ‘Clinton years’ as a template to manipulate the situation.

“They’re trying to Al Capone the president. I mean, you remember. Capone didn’t go down for murder. Elliot Ness didn’t put him in for murder. He went in for tax fraud. Prosecutors didn’t care how he went down as long as he went down. The same goes for Democrats, whatever avenue is needed to take down the president they’ll take it.” -Dana Loesch, NRA spokeswoman

This comes just days after President Trump’s former lawyer Michael Cohen pleaded guilty to campaign finance violations among other charges.

Report: U.S. Will Retaliate Against Syria If It Uses Chemical Weapons

US national security adviser John Bolton, speaks during an interview about the meeting with his Russian counterpart Nikolai Patrushev, at the American embassy in Geneva, Switzerland, Thursday, August 23, 2018. (Martial Trezzini/Keystone via AP)

OAN Newsroom

UPDATED 2:50 PM PT – Sat. August 25, 2018

A new report suggests the U.S. may be preparing to hit Syria if President Bashar Al Assad ever uses chemical weapons.
According to a report released Saturday, National Security Adviser John Bolton issued the warning to his Russia counterpart earlier this week.
Bolton reportedly clarified the U.S. will respond with more force than it has in the past.
This comes just one day after a report surfaced from U.S. Intelligence suggesting Assad may be planning a chemical attack in the Idlib province.

Liberal media's desperate push for Trump impeachment may actually hurt Democrats

Future Democrat Drone?

The liberal news media have a new favorite word to use when discussing President Trump: impeachment. 
For example, MSNBC and CNN reporters, anchors and guests said “impeach,” “impeachment” or some other form of the word on the cable news channels an incredible 222 times between 6 a.m. and 11:59 p.m. Wednesday. And of course, they talked about possible impeachment other days as well, and newspapers and websites were also filled with impeachment speculation. 
Most Democrats in Congress and their leaders are shying away from talking about impeachment before the November midterm elections – but that’s not stopping the anti-Trump media.
In the discussions about kicking the duly elected president of the United States out of office, speakers gave their fond recollections of the effort to impeach President Nixon, which resulted in his resignation on Aug. 9, 1974.
Journalists and the people they interviewed fondly recalled the Nixon drama, talked about the how you can’t spell “election” without an “I,” and warned the Supreme Court nomination  of Judge Brett Kavanaugh will face fierce opposition from Democrats.
Journalists were so desperate for the narrative that they completely ignored correcting a false statement they had promoted for nearly a half-hour across the three broadcast networks. ABC, CBS and NBC first reported that “Trump knew in advance of 2016 Trump Tower meeting” with Russians. Then when former Trump attorney Michael Cohen’s lawyer, Lanny Davis, corrected the record the media ignored it for an entire day.
Facts apparently don’t matter. MSNBC did a number on accuracy and ran an incorrect graphic of “how impeachment works” two days in a row. Perhaps it was just wishful thinking as the left-wing network hoped that 60 senators could convict the president instead of the required 67.
Slate flashed back to the impeachment drama it enjoyed (hint: not the one involving President Clinton.) “Most of the articles of impeachment against Nixon could easily apply to Trump,” it reported.
Journalists couldn’t control themselves. NBC’s “Today” co-host Savannah Guthrie was enthralled talking to “Meet The Press” host Chuck Todd about possible impeachment.
“So is this gonna, in some way, be like the only issue in the midterms going forward?” Guthrie asked.
“I think it’s possible,” Todd said.
Oddly, CNN’s Ana Cabrera and sometime-conservative host S.E. Cupp accused the White House of the “politics of fear” over that same possibility of impeachment. Cupp stressed that saying what her network is saying is “stoking these fears” that the Democrats will impeach. She claimed it’s a voter “turnout” strategy.
Apparently, she never watches her own network. But who can blame her?
There’s one fly in the ointment. Democrats are afraid that rational Americans don’t want to impeach a president for something he might have done that they don’t care about and happened before he ever took office. The party fears such impeachment talk might help the GOP.
The issue Democrats want to flee is the top agenda item of liberal billionaire Tom Steyer. And at least part of his wish came true – the part he’s paying $120 million to get – turning the election into a referendum on impeaching the president.
Steyer, whose record of picking winning candidates in elections is atrocious, wants to impeach President Trump and replace him. Possibly with himself. He’s already built a list of 5.5 million impeachment fans and the former hedge fund executive is “seriously looking into running for president,” according to CNBC.
So the news media aren’t just buying into a bogus exercise in impeachment, they are genuinely doing the work of a likely Democratic candidate.
Ah, journalism.

John McCain's US Senate seat: What happens next?

Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey will have big shoes to fill as he mulls over who he will appoint to temporarily fill the U.S. Senate seat of the late John McCain until a special election can be held to complete McCain's term.
McCain, 81, lost his year-long battle with brain cancer Saturday, leaving behind a decades-long legacy in politics which included presidential runs.
Even as he took a months-long hiatus from Washington to recover in his home state, McCain maintained a voice in Congress, sharing his opinion on legislation and frequently criticizing President Trump’s agenda.
McCain was one of the first to express opposition to Trump’s first presidential pardon in August 2017 of Joe Arpaio — the former sheriff of Arizona’s Maricopa County who was found guilty of a misdemeanor contempt-of-court charge in a trial prosecuted by the Justice Department.
A week earlier, McCain slammed Trump’s remarks surrounding last year's violence in Charlottesville, Va., writing in a tweet there’s "no moral equivalency between racists & Americans standing up to defy hate & bigotry."
In September 2017, McCain shocked his Republican colleagues with a thumbs-down vote against a replacement for "Obamacare," the health care law approved under President Barack Obama.
“I cannot in good conscience vote for the Graham-Cassidy proposal. I believe we could do better working together, Republicans and Democrats, and have not yet really tried,” McCain wrote, in part, after his dramatic vote. “I take no pleasure in announcing my opposition. Far from it. The bill’s authors are my dear friends, and I think the world of them. I know they are acting consistently with their beliefs and sense of what is best for the country. So am I.”
Trump signed a military policy bill in August named for McCain, but in a sign of their testy relationship the president made no mention of McCain's name in remarks at a signing ceremony.
Here’s what happens to Mccain’s Senate seat, according to Arizona election law.

Governor appoints a new senator

Arizona is one of 36 states where a governor makes an appointment to fill a U.S. Senate vacancy, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Therefore, Gov. Ducey will appoint an interim senator to fill McCain’s seat.
Because McCain was a Republican, state law requires Ducey to appoint a member of the same party — a move that’s critically important for the Trump administration, as the GOP currently holds a bare 51-49 Senate majority.
The newly appointed senator would be in office until the next general election in November 2020. The interim senator would not be obligated to run in that election.
Whomever is elected to the Senate seat in November 2020 would complete McCain's term, which expires in January 2023.

What happens if the governor chooses a member of Congress?

If Ducey chooses one of the state’s current congressional members to fill the seat, then a special election would need to be held to fill that empty spot. According to the Arizona State Legislature, that election would have to be held “not less than 120 nor more than 133 days” after the vacancy occurs.

McCain's body arrives in Phoenix, crowd gathers to pay respects

A hearse carrying the body of U.S. Sen. John McCain, who died Saturday after a year-long battle with brain cancer, arrived in uptown Phoenix on Saturday evening.
At least two-dozen people stood near the freeway exit as the motorcade that carried the senator’s body from his Cornville home arrived at the mortuary after 8:30 p.m. local time, the Arizona Republic reported.
By late evening, about 200 people were gathered outside the A.L. Moore Grimshaw Mortuary. Some could be heard shouting, “I love you, John,” while others waved flags or wore red, white and blue.
"We knew it was coming. It was expected," one onlooker told the Republic. "It happened so quickly. But he led a good life and I'm sure his family is proud of him. He left a legacy that will long be remembered."
Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey ordered all flags in the state to be lowered to half-staff in honor of McCain.
“May God rest his soul and look over his entire family. Our state and our nation mourn together," the governor tweeted.
Meanwhile in Washington, the U.S. flag was seen at half-staff over the White House in honor of the fallen senator.
McCain is expected to lie in state in both Arizona and Washington, before being laid to rest at the U.S. Naval Academy Cemetery in Annapolis, Md. His website states that more information will be available once funeral services are finalized.
Before he died, McCain requested that former presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama give eulogies at his funeral. Both men paid tribute to McCain on Twitter.
McCain, a Vietnam prisoner of war, was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1982 and U.S. Senate in 1986. He was the GOP nominee for president in 2008. During his time in office he earned a reputation for reaching across the aisle.
He died Saturday at age 81, four days shy of his birthday. He is survived by his wife, Cindy, seven children, and five grandchildren, his website states.