Monday, July 3, 2017
White House battles backlash after Trump tweets 'slam' of CNN
President Trump kept up his Twitter barrage against the mainstream media Sunday, saying that the "dishonest media will NEVER keep us from accomplishing our objectives" hours after he tweeted a mock video that shows him pummeling a man in a business suit whose face was obscured by the CNN logo.
It was not immediately clear who produced the 28-second video, which appears to be a doctored version of Trump's 2007 appearance on World Wrestling Entertainment Inc.
The president in the past has branded the media as "the opposition party" and "the enemy of the American people." He has taken particular aim at CNN, calling the network "fake news."
Bruce Brown, the executive director of the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, condemned the video as a "threat of physical violence against journalists." He said Trump's tweet was "beneath the office of the presidency."
White House homeland security adviser Tom Bossert insisted the media should not view the tweet as a threat.
"I hope they don't," Bossert said on ABC's "This Week." "But I do think that he's beaten up in a way on cable platforms that he has a right to respond to."
CNN accused Trump of engaging in "juvenile behavior far below the dignity of his office."
White House officials traveling with Trump during his weekend stay at his New Jersey golf club did not immediately respond to questions about who made the video or about any message the president might have intended to send.
The video appeared to be a doctored version of an appearance Trump made on a World Wrestling Entertainment Inc. show called "Battle of the Billionaires" in 2007, in which Trump appears to attack WWE CEO Vince McMahon.
McMahon's wife, Linda, who founded and built the company with her husband, now heads the Small Business Administration for Trump and was a generous benefactor to his campaign.
The video was posted several days ago by a Reddit user with the title, "Trump takes down fake news." It was not clear whether that was where it originated or where Trump found it. Still, the user wrote Sunday about being "honored" Trump had tweeted the video. The user who posted the video has a history of posts using anti-Muslim and anti-immigrant language.
The president's verbal shots against news outlets and individual members of the media have grown increasingly personal in recent days even as lawmakers in both parties say the insults only threaten to undermine his political agenda.
Trump has singled out MSNBC host Mika Brzezinski and CNN for some of his most biting criticism, and hardly is backing down in the face of widespread condemnation from the political class.
"The fake media tried to stop us from going to the White House, but I'm president and they're not," Trump told a supportive crowd Saturday in Washington.
A White House spokeswoman, Sarah Sanders, told reporters last week that Trump "in no way, form or fashion has ever promoted or encouraged violence."
CNN, in its response to the video posted Sunday, said it was "a sad day when the president of the United States encourages violence against reporters. Clearly, Sarah Huckabee Sanders lied when she said the president had never done so."
CNN's statement noted the weighty list of issues before Trump -- an overseas trip this week that includes a meeting with Russian leader Vladimir Putin, the stalled health care bill, the threat from North Korea. Instead of focusing on those matters, CNN said, "he is involved in juvenile behavior far below the dignity of his office. We will keep doing our jobs. He should start doing his."
Trump's latest tweet came as Republicans and Democrats have been imploring him to focus on leading the country, rather than exploding on social media.
For days, Trump has focused his ire on Brzezinski and Joe Scarborough, co-hosts of MSNBC's "Morning Joe."
Trump took to Twitter on Thursday to call Brzezinski "crazy" and contend she was "bleeding badly from a face-lift" when he once saw them at his Florida estate. The comment was decried as sexist and vulgar by many Democrats and Republicans.
The MSNBC personalities said Friday that Trump was lying about their December encounter and they questioned his "unhealthy obsession" with their program.
The hosts, who are a couple onscreen and off, also said the White House told them a damaging National Enquirer story about their relationship would "go away" if they called the president and apologized for harsh commentary. Trump quickly disputed the claim on Twitter.
A source told Fox News Friday that Scarborough called senior adviser Jared Kushner and asked if there was anything that could be done about the Enquirer story, which was slated to run in early June.
Kushner allegedly told Scarborough that the former Republican congressman needed to talk to the president himself about the issue, to which Scarborough replied that Trump was angry at him. The source said Kushner answered: “Well, then maybe you should apologize.”
Republican officials acknowledged Sunday that Trump's Twitter feed distracts from work like health care.
"We in Washington, we in the country, cannot be focused on tweets," Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., told NBC's "Meet The Press," adding that "I get so frustrated when we get focused on tweets."
Gov. John Kasich, R-Ohio, told "This Week" he hoped Trump's family would talk to him and say, "Knock it off."
"The coarseness doesn't help anybody," he said.
Paul: Senate health bill is 'lit up like a Christmas tree' with spending
Washington Republicans are taking no July 4 holiday on the Senate’s ObamaCare overhaul bill -- with President Trump calling senators and Kentucky GOP Sen. Rand Paul pushing a conservative alternative to the existing measure that he says is “lit up like a Christmas tree” with spending.
“I don’t think we’re getting anywhere with the bill we have,” Paul said on “Fox News Sunday.” “Every time you add more federal money, more spending for the big-government Republicans, it offends the conservatives. … Senate leadership is loading (up) the bill like a Christmas tree, with billion dollar ornaments.”
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., didn't have enough support last week to vote on the measure, leaving it behind as Congress departed for the July recess.
MCCONNELL REJECTS TRUMP’S ADVICE ON REPEAL OBAMACARE NOW, REPLACE LATER
The Kentucky Republican will need support from at least 50 of the chamber’s 52 GOP senators to pass the bill.
Paul is pushing a plan to divide the Senate bill into two parts -- a vote on repealing ObamaCare and a separate vote on replacing it.
Forty-nine GOP senators voted in 2015 in favor of repealing the 2010 health care law, formally known as the Affordable Care Act. However, they knew that then-President Barack Obama would veto the effort.
President Trump over the past few days has expressed his support for a separate repeal-and-replace plan, in an effort to fulfill Republicans’ long-standing promise to end ObamaCare, struggling under increasing premium costs and fewer policy options for Americans.
However, McConnell said Friday that he wants to stick with the existing bill.
Paul said Sunday that he would support the repeal effort but seemed unlikley to back the replace effort in its existing form, which he said includes roughly $200 billion in insurance "bailouts."
Mac Short, Trump's director of legislative affairs, told “Fox News Sunday” that the White House has already stated its “preference” for passing the existing Senate bill.
He also said Trump is talking to GOP senators over the weekend and expressed confidence about the bill being passed this summer so the president and Congress can move to tax reform by the fall.
WH: Health Care Vote May Happen Soon
The Republican leadership in the Senate decided this week to delay a vote on their long-awaited health care bill in following opposition in the GOP ranks.(AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite) |
A White House official says the GOP Health Care Bill is getting close to a full Senate vote.
Legislative Affairs Director Marc Short appeared for an interview on Sunday and said the President is continuing to reach out to Senators to rally support for the American Health Care Act.
Short says the Republican package lowers premium costs and provides better quality of care.
When pressed on whether the bill has enough votes to pass the Senate, Short only said the White House anticipates a vote in the near future.
“We got it completed and passed through the House. We are now in the Senate where there is obviously a lot of procedural delays, we’re at the point of scoring two different bills throughout the course of this recess week. So we hope that when we come back the week after recess we will have a vote,” he said.
Short also slammed the CBO score for being unreliable.
He added the report should be questioned for its past failures predicting the outcomes of key legislation.
Homeland Security Lifts Part of Laptop Ban
The Department of Homeland Security lifts a ban on laptops on flights coming into the U.S. from Abu Dhabi.
Earlier on Sunday, officials announced Etihad Airways and the Abu Dhabi International Airport met the initial security requirements needed to have the electronics restriction lifted.
Etihad is the only airline that has direct flights into the country from that city.
In march, authorities banned laptops on U.S.-bound flights from certain airports in eight countries, including Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates, among others.
Last week, Homeland Security unveiled security measures that airlines must adopt in order to be cleared from the ban.
Sunday, July 2, 2017
Pentagon sails destroyer near disputed island in South China Sea, officials say
For the second time since President Trump took
office, the Pentagon dispatched a U.S. Navy warship to sail near a
disputed island claimed by China in the South China Sea, two U.S.
defense officials told Fox News.
The USS Stethem, a guided-missile destroyer based in Japan, sailed within 12 nautical miles of Triton Island, which is part of the Paracel Islands located in the South China Sea between China and Vietnam.
The destroyer was trailed by a Chinese warship during its Sunday voyage.
While occupied by China, Vietnam and Taiwan also lay claim to the island. A defense official said the operation challenged Vietnam and Taiwan's claims to Triton Island in addition to China.
Twelve nautical miles is the territorial boundary that extends beyond the shores of all nations, sailing inside that distance sends a signal the United States does not recognize the claim.
The move comes as the Trump administration appears to be losing patience with Beijing over its continued military build-up in the South China Sea. The U.S. has been frustrated with Beijing’s failure to reign in North Korea's nuclear and missile programs.
Triton Island is not one of China's seven artificial islands in the region. It has been constructed in the past few years. The U.S. Navy last sailed a warship off the coast of Triton Island in October. The Obama administration conducted similar operations.
The Pentagon wants to conduct what it calls "freedom of navigation" operations, or FONOPS, to challenge China's claims with enough frequency in the hopes they become more routine and not as newsworthy, according to an official with knowledge of the discussions.
Lt. Cmdr. Matt Knight, a spokesman for the U.S. Pacific Fleet, would not confirm the operation but said in a statement to Fox News, "We conduct routine and regular FONOPs, as we have done in the past and will continue to do in the future."
In late May, another guided-missile destroyer, USS Dewey, sailed approximately six miles from one of China's man-made islands in the South China Sea, a first for the Pentagon since Trump assumed office. The American warship conducted a "man-overboard" drill off the coast of Mischief Reef sending a signal to Beijing that the United States does not honor its claim to the reef--one of seven former reefs China has turned into artificial islands. Three contain runways and other military fortifications.
"Fake islands should not be believed by real people," said the head of the U.S. Pacific Command, Admiral Harry Harris, in a speech Wednesday in Brisbane, where the United States is participating in the largest ever joint military exercise with Australia, aimed in part to send a message to Beijing.
"China is using its military and economic power to erode the rules-based international order," Harris added.
Friday, new satellite imagery published by the Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative (AMTI) part of the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington think-tank showed new military facilities including radar systems being installed on Mischief, Fiery Cross and Subi Reefs in the Spratly Islands located south of the Parcel Islands in the South China Sea.
While U.S. officials had seen the build-up for months, they are more concerned about the potential for China to place advanced surface-to-air missiles on the artificial islands, which could challenge U.S. military flights in the region. Fox News first reported in December that China moved SA-21 missile batteries with a 250-mile range to the island province of Hainan for training, which could be sent to the artificial islands at a later date. For the time being, they remain inside China.
The last time the U.S. Navy challenged China's claims in the South China Sea, the Trump administration pushed back on accusations it was turning a blind eye to China's military build-up on its artificial islands, while looking for Beijing to help with negotiations to halt North Korea's nuclear weapons and missile programs.
"While I greatly appreciate the efforts of President Xi & China to help with North Korea, it has not worked out. At least I know China tried!" Trump said in a tweet last month.
On Friday, the Trump administration unveiled new sanctions against a Chinese bank linked to North Korea's nuclear weapons and missile programs, a day after announcing a new $1.4 billion arms sale to Taiwan.
Announcing the sanctions, Treasury Secretary Steve Munchin said the move was not in retribution for Beijing failing to rein in North Korea. "This is not directed at China, this is directed at a bank, as well as individuals and entities in China," he said.
China is sending messages of its own.
As Beijing marked the 20th anniversary of Hong Kong's handover from British rule this weekend, President Xi Jinping presided over the largest military parade ever held in the territory. Standing in the back of a jeep, Xi was driven past more than 3,000 assembled troops in formation in a show of strength.
On Wednesday, China launched the first of its newest class of destroyer called the Type 055, which many analysts say resembles the size and capability of the U.S. Navy's Arleigh-Burke class of guided-missile destroyers, like the one which conducted the operation near the contested Chinese island this weekend.
According to the Center for a New American Security (CNAS), China has 183 cruisers, destroyers, coastal ships and submarines compared wth 188 for the U.S. Navy. CNAS projected in a March report that China will surpass the United States Navy in these types of warships by the end of the next decade, one of the reasons the U.S. Navy has requested a buildup to a 350-ship fleet, a view shared by many in Congress.
China claims most of the South China Sea where more than $5 trillion of commerce passes through each year.
Last week, the U.S. State Department called out China for being one of the worst human trafficking offenders--dropping Beijing to its lowest designation joining Iran, North Korea and Russia. The report said China had done little to stop what has amounted to modern slavery and sex trafficking affecting millions.
Lucas Tomlinson is the Pentagon and State Department producer for Fox News Channel. You can follow him on Twitter: @LucasFoxNews
The USS Stethem, a guided-missile destroyer based in Japan, sailed within 12 nautical miles of Triton Island, which is part of the Paracel Islands located in the South China Sea between China and Vietnam.
The destroyer was trailed by a Chinese warship during its Sunday voyage.
While occupied by China, Vietnam and Taiwan also lay claim to the island. A defense official said the operation challenged Vietnam and Taiwan's claims to Triton Island in addition to China.
Twelve nautical miles is the territorial boundary that extends beyond the shores of all nations, sailing inside that distance sends a signal the United States does not recognize the claim.
The move comes as the Trump administration appears to be losing patience with Beijing over its continued military build-up in the South China Sea. The U.S. has been frustrated with Beijing’s failure to reign in North Korea's nuclear and missile programs.
Triton Island is not one of China's seven artificial islands in the region. It has been constructed in the past few years. The U.S. Navy last sailed a warship off the coast of Triton Island in October. The Obama administration conducted similar operations.
The Pentagon wants to conduct what it calls "freedom of navigation" operations, or FONOPS, to challenge China's claims with enough frequency in the hopes they become more routine and not as newsworthy, according to an official with knowledge of the discussions.
Lt. Cmdr. Matt Knight, a spokesman for the U.S. Pacific Fleet, would not confirm the operation but said in a statement to Fox News, "We conduct routine and regular FONOPs, as we have done in the past and will continue to do in the future."
In late May, another guided-missile destroyer, USS Dewey, sailed approximately six miles from one of China's man-made islands in the South China Sea, a first for the Pentagon since Trump assumed office. The American warship conducted a "man-overboard" drill off the coast of Mischief Reef sending a signal to Beijing that the United States does not honor its claim to the reef--one of seven former reefs China has turned into artificial islands. Three contain runways and other military fortifications.
"Fake islands should not be believed by real people," said the head of the U.S. Pacific Command, Admiral Harry Harris, in a speech Wednesday in Brisbane, where the United States is participating in the largest ever joint military exercise with Australia, aimed in part to send a message to Beijing.
"China is using its military and economic power to erode the rules-based international order," Harris added.
Friday, new satellite imagery published by the Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative (AMTI) part of the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington think-tank showed new military facilities including radar systems being installed on Mischief, Fiery Cross and Subi Reefs in the Spratly Islands located south of the Parcel Islands in the South China Sea.
While U.S. officials had seen the build-up for months, they are more concerned about the potential for China to place advanced surface-to-air missiles on the artificial islands, which could challenge U.S. military flights in the region. Fox News first reported in December that China moved SA-21 missile batteries with a 250-mile range to the island province of Hainan for training, which could be sent to the artificial islands at a later date. For the time being, they remain inside China.
The last time the U.S. Navy challenged China's claims in the South China Sea, the Trump administration pushed back on accusations it was turning a blind eye to China's military build-up on its artificial islands, while looking for Beijing to help with negotiations to halt North Korea's nuclear weapons and missile programs.
"While I greatly appreciate the efforts of President Xi & China to help with North Korea, it has not worked out. At least I know China tried!" Trump said in a tweet last month.
On Friday, the Trump administration unveiled new sanctions against a Chinese bank linked to North Korea's nuclear weapons and missile programs, a day after announcing a new $1.4 billion arms sale to Taiwan.
Announcing the sanctions, Treasury Secretary Steve Munchin said the move was not in retribution for Beijing failing to rein in North Korea. "This is not directed at China, this is directed at a bank, as well as individuals and entities in China," he said.
China is sending messages of its own.
As Beijing marked the 20th anniversary of Hong Kong's handover from British rule this weekend, President Xi Jinping presided over the largest military parade ever held in the territory. Standing in the back of a jeep, Xi was driven past more than 3,000 assembled troops in formation in a show of strength.
On Wednesday, China launched the first of its newest class of destroyer called the Type 055, which many analysts say resembles the size and capability of the U.S. Navy's Arleigh-Burke class of guided-missile destroyers, like the one which conducted the operation near the contested Chinese island this weekend.
According to the Center for a New American Security (CNAS), China has 183 cruisers, destroyers, coastal ships and submarines compared wth 188 for the U.S. Navy. CNAS projected in a March report that China will surpass the United States Navy in these types of warships by the end of the next decade, one of the reasons the U.S. Navy has requested a buildup to a 350-ship fleet, a view shared by many in Congress.
China claims most of the South China Sea where more than $5 trillion of commerce passes through each year.
Last week, the U.S. State Department called out China for being one of the worst human trafficking offenders--dropping Beijing to its lowest designation joining Iran, North Korea and Russia. The report said China had done little to stop what has amounted to modern slavery and sex trafficking affecting millions.
Lucas Tomlinson is the Pentagon and State Department producer for Fox News Channel. You can follow him on Twitter: @LucasFoxNews
McConnell rejects Trump's advice to repeal ObamaCare now, replace later
McConnell |
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is rejecting President Trump's suggestion on how the Senate could promptly pass its ObamaCare overhaul measure -- by immediately repealing the 2010 heath care law and replacing it later.
The Kentucky Republican said Friday night that the bill, which includes significant and complex changes to ObamaCare, remains challenging but "we are going to stick with that path."
He also riffed on Trump’s winning campaign slogan, saying, "It's not easy making America great again, is it?"
McConnell, the leader of GOP-controlled Senate, responded to Trump tweeting earlier in the day: “If Republican Senators are unable to pass what they are working on now, they should immediately REPEAL, and then REPLACE at a later date!”
Trump is trying to revive an approach that GOP leaders and the president himself considered but dismissed months ago as impractical and politically unwise.
The Senate introduced its bill about two weeks ago but left Washington for July 4 recess without enough support from the chamber’s 52 GOP senators to pass the measure. McConnell will need support from at least 50 of them because the bill has no support among Senate Democrats.
The GOP-controlled House passed its ObamaCare overhaul bill earlier this month.
McConnell's is struggling to bridge the divide between moderates and conservatives.
The president also tweeted his message shortly after Nebraska Republican Sen. Ben Sasse appeared on Fox News Channel's "Fox & Friends" to talk about a letter he had sent to Trump making that exact suggestion: a vote on repealing former President Barack Obama's health law followed by a new effort at a working out a replacement.
Trump is a known "Fox & Friends" viewer, but Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., also claimed credit for recommending the tactic to the president in a conversation earlier in the week.
"Sen. Rand Paul suggested this very idea to the president," said Paul spokesman Sergio Gor. "The senator fully agrees that we must immediately repeal Obamacare and then work on replacing it right away."
Either way, Trump's suggestion has the potential to harden divisions within the GOP as conservatives like Paul and Sasse complain that McConnell's bill does not go far enough in repealing former President Barack Obama's health care law while moderates criticize it as overly harsh in kicking people off insurance rolls, shrinking the Medicaid safety net and increasing premiums for older Americans.
McConnell has been trying to strike deals with members of both factions in order to finalize a rewritten bill lawmakers can vote on when they return to the Capitol the second week of July.
Even before Trump was inaugurated in January, Republicans had debated and ultimately discarded the idea of repealing the overhaul before replacing it, concluding that both must happen simultaneously. Doing otherwise would invite accusations that Republicans were simply tossing people off coverage and would roil insurance markets by raising the question of whether, when and how Congress might replace Obama's law once it was gone.
The idea also would leave unresolved the quandary lawmakers are struggling with now, about how to replace Obama's system of online insurance markets, tax subsidies and an expanded Medicaid with something that could get enough Republican votes to pass Congress. House Republicans barely passed their version of a replacement bill in May, and the task is proving even tougher in the Senate, where McConnell has almost no margin for error.
Moderates were spooked as the week began with a Congressional Budget Office finding that McConnell's draft bill would result in 22 million people losing insurance over the next decade, only 1 million fewer than under the House-passed legislation which Trump privately told senators was "mean." But conservatives continue to insist that the bill must go further than just repealing some of the mandates and taxes in Obama's law.
Underscoring the fissures within the GOP, conservative group leaders on that call welcomed Trump's suggestion but said it didn't go far enough because it could open the door to a subsequent bipartisan compromise to replace Obama's law. At the same time, a key House Republican, Rep. Kevin Brady, chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, rejected Trump's suggestion, contending that it "doesn't achieve what President Trump set out to do."
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