Friday, July 28, 2017
Scaramucci's interview tirade sends Twitter aflutter
Newly hired White House
Communications Director Anthony Scaramucci has certainly made his mark
in Washington -- and on the internet.
The Mooch’s interview with the New
Yorker on Thursday, in which he demanded that Ryan Lizza tell him who
leaked the details of a dinner that President Trump attended the
previous night, left Twitter in a frenzy over the shock and vulgarity of
his vitriol.
In typical meme-worthy fashion, some of the tweets made light of the situation.Some mentioned his Italian-American heritage, debating whether Scaramucci had brought honor or shame to people who share his ethnicity.
Others used the social media platform to come to Scaramucci’s defense.
Press secretary Sanders reacts to Scaramucci interview
After newly hired White House communications
director Anthony Scaramucci set off a firestorm Thursday with vulgar
remarks in a New Yorker magazine interview, White House press secretary
Sarah Huckabee Sanders was quick to try to put out the blaze.
Sanders told reporters outside the
White House on Thursday that she hoped Scaramucci could learn to use
more restraint in his rhetoric – especially when discussing fellow Trump
administration staffers.
“Anthony has put out a statement that has made pretty
clear that sometimes he is a passionate guy and he has made pretty
clear that sometimes he has let that passion get the better of him,”
Sanders told a reporter outside the West Wing. “I don’t anticipate he
will do it again.”Scaramucci "is a passionate guy and he has made pretty clear that sometimes he has let that passion get the better of him. I don’t anticipate he will do it again.”Sanders also addressed concerns that Scaramucci might be serious in wanting to “kill” leakers in the White House, as he was quoted as saying.
- Sarah Huckabee Sanders, White House press secretary
“In terms of people’s safety, I certainly hate that somebody feels that way, but I have worked with an incredible team over the last six months,” Sanders told Fox News. “We have a great group of people. I love coming to work every day. I consider it a privilege. I certainly feel very safe in the building, and happy to be here.”
In the interview, Scaramucci bluntly assailed his top White House rival, chief of staff Reince Priebus, as well as Trump’s chief strategist, Steve Bannon. He also threatened “leakers” among his new staff, or White House staffers who serve as unnamed sources to the White House press corps.
“They’ll all be fired by me,” Scaramucci told a New Yorker reporter, after the reporter refused to divulge a source. “I fired one guy the other day. I have three to four people I’ll fire tomorrow. I’ll get to the person who leaked that to you.”
One White House official expressed concern about Scaramucci’s comments since being hired.
“This is getting out of hand. I am honestly getting concerned for my safety in the office tomorrow,” the official, who is well liked by many among the different factions in the White House, told Fox News exclusively Thursday.
The official said Scaramucci’s tough language in the article was not only concerning but below the dignity and decorum of White House traditions and etiquette.
“This type of behavior is unbelievable,” the official told Fox News. “Working in the White House and something like that is said … it is a disgrace.”
Thursday’s Scaramucci episode has become a combustible and potentially defining moment of the first six months of the Trump White House. The new communications director, with smooth-talking skills in the briefing room and a stellar Wall Street background, unleashed a barrage of expletive-laden comments to the New Yorker.
“Reince is a (expletive) paranoid schizophrenic, a paranoiac,” he told the New Yorker about the White House chief of staff, who has apparently fallen out of favor with Trump.
Scaramucci also took a shot at Bannon.
“I’m not Steve Bannon, I’m not trying to suck my own (expletive),” Scaramucci said. “I’m not trying to build my own brand off the (expletive) strength of the president. I’m here to serve the country.”
Scaramucci later tweeted his response to the article.
“I sometimes use colorful language. I will refrain in this arena but not give up the passionate fight for @realDonaldTrump's agenda. #MAGA”
Senate rejects amendment to 'skinny repeal' of ObamaCare as 3 Republicans vote no
Senate Republicans failed to pass Majority Leader
Mitch McConnell’s proposed “skinny repeal” amendment in a vote Friday
morning, signaling what could be the end to any hopes of repealing and
replacing ObamaCare.
As the clock neared 2 a.m. ET, the
amendment proposal failed, 51-49, with Republican Sens. John McCain of
Arizona, Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska joining
Democrats in voting no.
“It is time to move on,” McConnell said after the vote.Added Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer, D-N.Y.: "We are not celebrating. We are relieved."
Shortly after, President Trump took to Twitter to express his disapointment in the three Republicans who voted against the amendment, saying they "let the American people down."
"3 Republicans and 48 Democrats let the American people down. As I said from the beginning, let ObamaCare implode, then deal. Watch!" Trump tweeted.
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said Republicans will now have to work on improving the current health care legislation alongside their Democratic counterparts
"The American people have spoken loud and clear against the higher costs and monstrous cruelty of Trumpcare," Pelosi said.
The decision came after House Speaker Paul Ryan honored Republican senators’ request that the body vote on a vehicle to continue moving forward with discussions to repeal and replace the health care legislation through a conference committee.
“Senators have made clear that this is an effort to keep the process alive, not to make law. If moving forward requires a conference committee, that is something the House is willing to do,” Ryan said in a statement Thursday night.
But McCain said he was skeptical that the House would take the bill to committee and approve it as is, so he voted no, dooming the "skinny repeal" after his triumphant return to Washington this week following a brain cancer diagnosis and surgery.
"We must now return to the correct way of legislating and send the bill back to committee, hold hearings, receive input from both sides of the aisle, heed the recommendations of the nation's governors, and produce a bill that finally delivers affordable health care for the American people," McCain said in a statement.
After McConnell's pared-down ObamaCare bill failed to receive enough votes early Friday, he took to the podium and delivered a somber message on the Senate floor.
“This is clearly a disappointing moment. From skyrocketing costs to plummeting choices and collapsing markets, our constituents have suffered through an awful lot under ObamaCare,” McConnell said. “We thought they deserved better. It's why I, and many of my colleagues, did as we promised and voted to repeal this failed law. We told our constituents we would vote that way. When the moment came, most of us did. We kept our commitments."
“So yes, this is a disappointment, a disappointment indeed,” he added.
However, Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, said he hasn't lost faith in the GOP's promise to ultimately repeal and replace ObamaCare, and believes "in time, we will honmor our promise."
Cruz added that the focus needs to shift to lowering premiums in order to reach the majority.
Failure to pass the amendment underscored the ongoing struggle within the Republican Party between moderates and conservatives who can’t seem to reach a consensus on their efforts to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, the 2010 law that is considered the signature legislation of President Barack Obama’s presidency.
The GOP will now have to grapple with the real possibility of failing to deliver a full repeal and replace of the law, something the party has been promising its supporters for more than seven years.
Great Britain to Challenge Chinese Naval Power in South China Sea
Britain’s defense minister plans to send aircraft carriers to the South China Sea sometime next year.
On Thursday, Michael Fallon said Britain is eager to exercise freedom of navigation, and plans to do so in an effort to challenge Chinese naval escalation in the region.
Officials claim an influx of British activity could anger the Chinese, and possibly have a negative effect on relations between the nations.
China previously condemned nations trying to get involved in the South China Sea dispute.
Fallon says no deployments are planned yet.
Russia Signs Deal to Keep Air Base in Syria for Nearly 50 Years
Russian President Vladimir Putin signs a law formalizing a deal with the Syrian government to keep an air base in Syria.
Putin approved the agreement Wednesday after it was supported by the Russian parliament earlier this month.
It now allows the Russian air group to use the air base in Latakia for 49 years free of charge.
The Russian air group used the air base since 2015 to help Syria fight against ISIS.
The deal could be extended for another 25 year period.
Thursday, July 27, 2017
Kid Rock tables US Senate run, stresses voter registration
Musician Robert James Ritchie (aka Kid Rock) left
his fans, as well as political junkies, guessing Wednesday about whether
he will actually run for a U.S. Senate seat in his home state of
Michigan – something the artist teased in a series of tweets July 12.
In a statement released on his
website, kidrock.com, the rocker announced a new initiative to create a
“non-profit organization for the promotion of voter registration,” while
he continues to explore the idea of challenging incumbent Sen. Debbie
Stabenow, D-Mich, in 2018.
“As part of the excitement surrounding this possible
campaign, I decided to take a hard look to see if there was real support
for me as a candidate and my message or if it was just because it was a
fresh new news story,” Rock said. “The one thing I've seen over and
over is that although people are unhappy with the government, too few
are even registered to vote or do anything about it.”“The one thing I've seen over and over is that although people are unhappy with the government, too few are even registered to vote or do anything about it.”Rock added he will hold a news conference in roughly six weeks “to address this issue amongst others, and if I decide to throw my hat in the ring for US Senate, believe me … it’s game on m***********.”
Stunt? Maybe not
Democrats, who were blindsided by Donald Trump’s presidential election upset, have been cautious about dismissing the prospect of a Rock candidacy as a publicity stunt.
“I know a lot of people are thinking: this is some sort of joke, right?” Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., wrote in an email, the Boston Herald reported.
“Well,” she continued, “maybe this is all a joke — but we all thought Donald Trump was joking when he rode down the escalator at Trump Tower and announced his campaign, too.”
Warren’s email links to a fundraising page for her own reelection campaign, as well as that of Stabenow.
Critics of Trump initially thought that revelations of his past, including vulgar talk in an “Access Hollywood” video with former NBC host Billy Bush, would be detrimental to his presidential campaign, but Trump’s victory in November proved them wrong.
Leading in polls
So, the idea of a rocker with a salacious past of assault and provocative comments, plus a partying persona, running for a Senate seat in a largely blue-collar state might not be that farfetched.
In fact, a mock poll by Delphi Analytica found Rock would defeat Stabenow by four points in the 2018 election.
Of the 688 Michigan residents polled, the majority were undecided at 44 percent. However, when asked to choose Rock or Stabenow, Rock won by 54 percent to 46 percent.
Wednesday’s announcement didn’t provide much clarity on whether Rock will actually run for Senate. But if he does run, Trump has already prepared the Democratic Party to expect the unexpected.
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