Trump goes on rampage against the media, sitting Arizona senators at Phoenix rally

A defiant President Trump rallied with his base for more than an hour Tuesday in Arizona, trashing the media over its coverage of his response to the recent violence in Charlottesville, Va., while criticizing the state’s Republican senators for not getting behind him.

The president also signaled during the Phoenix rally that he could soon pardon Joe Arpaio, the former sheriff in Maricopa County famous for his tough stance against illegal immigration.

But Trump was most animated when defending himself against accusations he wasn’t forceful enough in condemning the white supremacists and racists who were protesting in Charlottesville earlier this month. He blamed the media for distorting his comments.
At one point, the president pulled a piece of paper out of his jacket and re-read his initial statements condemning the racists involved the protests.
“Did they report that I said that racism is evil?” Trump asked of the media. The crowd yelled, “No!”
“You know why?” Trump asked. “Because they are very dishonest people.”
A 32-year-old counter-protester was killed in Charlottesville after police said a Nazi sympathizer rammed his car into a crowd. After the violence, the president faced criticism for blaming “both sides” for the unrest instead of just white nationalists.
As Trump continued to rail against the media’s coverage of him, the crowd began chanting: “CNN sucks!”
“These are sick people," Trump said of the media. "You know the thing I don’t understand? You would think … they’d want to make our country great again. And I honestly believe they don’t.”
The events in Charlottesville cast a shadow over the rally, with Phoenix’s Democratic mayor, Greg Stanton, asking Trump last week to delay his rally in wake of the violence.
The Charlottesville violence led cities across the country to consider removing Confederate statues, something Trump railed against Tuesday.
“They’re trying to take away our culture, they’re trying to take away our history,” he said.
A crowd of protesters formed outside the convention center Tuesday, but the president bragged that there were far more Trump supporters in attendance.
“All week, they’re talking about the massive crowds that are going to be outside,” Trump said. “Where are they?”
He then mocked liberal protesters who had been demonstrating.
“You know, they show up in the helmets and the black masks and they’ve got clubs and they’ve got everything,” Trump said.
Referring to the far-left militant protest group, Trump exclaimed: “Antifa!”
Leading up to the rally, it was believed Trump could announce a pardon at the rally for Arpaio, the former Arizona sheriff convicted of a misdemeanor charge for not obeying a 2011 order from a judge to stop his anti-immigrant traffic patrols. Earlier Tuesday, the White House said the president would not be announcing a pardon at the rally.
But Trump suggested a pardon – which would be his first as president – could be forthcoming.
“I’ll make a prediction. I think he’s going to be just fine,” Trump said. “But I won’t do it tonight because I don’t want to cause any controversy. Is that OK?”
Without specifically naming them, Trump dinged the state’s two Republican senators, Jeff Flake and John McCain, with whom he has sparred recently.
McCain, a frequent Trump critic who was recently diagnosed with brain cancer, irked the president by voting against the Senate’s recent plan to repeal and replace ObamaCare.
“One vote away – I will not mention any names,” Trump said of McCain.
Flake, who has battled with Trump on immigration, has been promoting a book that argues the GOP is in “denial” about the president.
Speaking of Flake, Trump said: “And nobody wants me to talk about your other senator, who's weak on borders, weak on crime. So I won’t talk about him.”
During his speech, Trump vowed to follow through on his promise to crack down on illegal immigration. He also said he isn’t giving up on repealing ObamaCare and expressed optimism about reforming the country’s tax codes.
Speaking of the failed attempt to pass health care reform legislation, Trump said: “It would’ve been great health care for Arizona. It would have been great.”
Tuesday's rally came a day after Trump announced plans to send more troops to Afghanistan – an announcement he highlighted during his speech. “Did anybody watch last night?"
“Last night, as you know, I laid out my vision for an honorable and enduring outcome in a very tough place, a place where our country has failed, Afghanistan,” Trump said.
The president also addressed the recent escalation of rhetoric with North Korea. Trump referenced the country’s leader and said he believes Kim Jong Un is “starting to respect us.” Trump expressed hope that “maybe something positive can come about.”

High-ranking administration officials and other recognizable conservatives warmed up the crowd before the president spoke, including Vice President Mike Pence and Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson.
Several of them painted a picture of a divided country.
"Our lives are too short to let our differences divide us," Carson said. "Our differences are nothing compared to our shared humanity and the values that unite us."
Alveda King, a niece of Martin Luther King Jr., and evangelist Franklin Graham both delivered prayers before Trump’s speech.
"We come tonight as a troubled nation,” Graham said. “We're broken spiritually, we're divided politically, we're divided racially."

Trump Visits Arizona Ahead of Border Wall Funding Battle

Washington, DC – Trey Yingst, OAN Political Correspondent
President Trump visited Southern Arizona Tuesday ahead of what some are calling the September showdown for border wall funding.
The President’s trip to a US Customs and Border protection facility sent a clear message to Trump supporters he is still very serious about completing a Southern border wall, but he faces an uphill battle with lawmakers.
In order to have funding for the border wall, President Trump will need to lobby Congress to include appropriate funds in the government spending bill that is set to be passed this fall.
If Congress is unable to come to a consensus on spending for the border wall, the President will have to explain to his supporters how he plans to move forward on this campaign promise.
During a background briefing Tuesday, senior administration officials discussed the President’s plans for a Southern border wall.
“There will be places where a wall, as most people commonly think of it, makes most sense from an operations perspective. And other areas, where something like what exists today makes more sense,” one senior official said.
The White House is expected to continue lobbying support for funding from lawmakers when they return from their August recess.
President Trump will also address the issue of border wall funding when he speaks Tuesday night in Arizona.

President Trump Doubles Down on His Message of Unity, Calls Out Fake Media

In this July 11, 2015 file photo, then-Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks before a crowd of 3,500 Saturday, July 11, 2015, in Phoenix. Trump is coming back to Arizona at another crucial moment in his presidency. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

President Trump says “we are going to make America great again for all of the people of the United States,” as he doubles down on his message of unity following the violence in Charlottesville.
He made the comments Tuesday, during a campaign-style rally in Phoenix, calling out the fake news media for their dishonest coverage of the events in Virginia.
The president also hinted that he may pardon Sheriff Joe Arpaio saying he wouldn’t do it tonight, because he didn’t want to cause controversy.
Earlier Tuesday, the president visited the border in Yuma where he met with border patrol agents and toured their facility.
The trip comes as the president pushes for border funding as part of the 2018 budget when congress returns from recess.

Taliban Cartoons

Mnuchin's wife confronts Instagram user over comment

The wife of Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin on Monday fired back at an Instagram user-- calling her "adorably out of touch"-- after the woman criticized a picture she posted on the social media platform.

Louise Linton posted a photo that showed her and her husband stepping off a government plane. She captioned the photo: “Great #daytrip to #Kentucky!”

Linton went on to tag some of the clothing that she was apparently wearing: #rolandmouret, #hermesscarf, #tomford and #valentino.
Some users disliked the move to call attention to her outfit. One user posted: “Glad we could pay for your little getaway. #deplorable.”
But Linton did not take the comment sitting down. The actress went on to confront the woman.
“Aw!!! Did you think this was a personal trip?! Adorable!” she wrote. “Do you think the US govt paid for our honeymoon or personal travel?! Lololol. Have you given more to the economy than me and my husband? Either as an individual earner in taxes OR in self sacrifice to your country? I’m pretty sure we paid more taxes toward our day ‘trip’ than you did. Pretty sure the amount we sacrifice per year is a lot more than you’d be willing to sacrifice if the choice was yours.”
Linton went on to say that the user's kids “look very cute. Your life looks cute. I know you’re mad but deep down you’re really nice and so am I.”
The New York Times identified the Instagram user as Jenni Miller, a mother of three who lives in Portland.
Speaking with The Times, Miller joked that if Linton hadn't made her account private she would have written back "a very snide Marie Antoinette joke.”
“I think my post was just five or six words, and she had to go on basically a rant about it to make herself look more important and look smarter, better, richer — all those things,” she said, adding that the situation "seemed wholly inappropriate.”
A Treasury Department official told the Times that the Mnuchin family had to reimburse the government for the trip, noting that Linton did not receive any compensation from the fashion labels she promoted with her hashtags on the photograph.

Texas man tries to plant bomb on Confederate statue, officials say

Don't Mess with Texas

A Texas man was arrested Monday after he allegedly tried to destroy a Confederate statue in a park during the weekend by planting explosives, federal officials said.

Andrew Schneck, 25, was charged with attempting to maliciously damage or destroy property receiving federal financial assistance. A Houston park ranger spotted Schneck Saturday night in Hermann Park in Houston kneeling near the statue of Richard Dowling, a lieutenant in the Confederate army. 

The ranger confronted Schneck, who had two boxes that contained duct tape and wires and a bottle of liquid containing a "highly explosive compound," authorities said.
"ln its undiluted form, [nitroglycerin] is one of the world's most powerful explosives," federal authorities said.
Schneck allegedly tried to drink the liquid before ultimately spitting it out, according to The Houston Chronicle.
Schneck previously received five years of probation after pleading guilty in 2014 to improperly storing explosive materials.

Trump reverses course, commits U.S. to open-ended Afghanistan war

FILE PHOTO: US Marines from Charlie 1/1 of the 15th MEU (Marine Expeditionary Unit) fill sand bags around their light mortar position on the front lines of the US Marine Corps base in southern Afghanistan, December 1, 2001. REUTERS/Jim Hollander

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Donald Trump has committed the United States to an open-ended conflict in Afghanistan, reversing course from his campaign pledges and signaling he will send troops to America’s longest war in “a fight to win.”
Trump offered few specifics in a speech on Monday but promised a stepped-up military campaign against Taliban insurgents who have gained ground against U.S.-backed Afghan government forces. He also singled out Pakistan for harboring militants in safe havens on its soil.
“We are not nation-building again. We are killing terrorists,” he said in a prime-time televised address at a military base outside Washington.
The Taliban swiftly condemned Trump’s decision to keep American troops in Afghanistan without a withdrawal timetable, vowing to continue “jihad” until all U.S. soldiers are gone.
“If the U.S. does not pull all its forces out of Afghanistan, we will make this country the 21st century graveyard for the American empire,” Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said in a statement.
Trump ran for the presidency calling for a swift U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan and he acknowledged on Monday that he was going against his instincts in approving the new campaign plan sought by his military advisers.
“The consequences of a rapid exit are both predictable and unacceptable,” he said. “A hasty withdrawal would create a vacuum that terrorists, including ISIS and al Qaeda, would instantly fill.”
Republican Trump, who had criticized his predecessors for setting deadlines for drawing down troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, declined to put a timeline on expanded U.S. military operations in Afghanistan.
Trump now inherits the same challenges as George W. Bush and Barack Obama, including a stubborn Taliban insurgency and a weak, divided government in Kabul. He is laying the groundwork for greater U.S. involvement without a clear end in sight or providing specific benchmarks for success.
U.S. officials said he had signed off on Defense Secretary James Mattis’ plans to send about 4,000 more troops to add to the roughly 8,400 already in Afghanistan.
Mattis said he had directed the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff to carry out the strategy and that he would be consulting with NATO and other U.S. allies, several of which had also committed to increasing troops.
‘NOT A BLANK CHECK’
Trump warned that U.S. support “is not a blank check,” and insisted he would not engage in “nation-building,” a practice he has accused his predecessors of doing at huge cost.
Trump insisted through the speech that the Afghan government, Pakistan, India, and NATO allies step up their own commitment to resolving the 16-year conflict.
“We can no longer be silent about Pakistan’s safe havens,” Trump said. “Pakistan has much to gain from partnering with our effort in Afghanistan. It has much to lose by continuing to harbor terrorists.”
Senior U.S. officials warned he could reduce security assistance for Pakistan unless nuclear-armed Islamabad cooperates more.
A Pakistani army spokesman said on Monday that Pakistan had taken action against all Islamist militants.
“There are no terrorist hideouts in Pakistan,” spokesman Major General Asif Ghafoor said.
Pakistan sees Afghanistan as a vital strategic interest. Obama sent Navy SEALs into Pakistan to kill al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden, the architect of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks that triggered the war in Afghanistan.
The Taliban government was overthrown by U.S.-backed Afghan forces in late 2001 but U.S. forces have been bogged down there ever since. About 2,400 U.S. troops have died in Afghanistan.
Trump expanded the U.S. military’s authority for American armed forces to target militant and criminal networks, warning “that no place is beyond the reach of American arms.”
“Our troops will fight to win,” he said.
“UNFORTUNATE$ TRUTH”
The speech came after a months-long review of U.S. policy in which Trump frequently tangled with his top advisers.
U.S. military and intelligence officials are concerned that a Taliban victory would allow al Qaeda and Islamic State’s regional affiliate to establish bases in Afghanistan, from which they could plot attacks against the United States and its allies just as bin Laden had done.
“The unfortunate truth is that this strategy is long overdue and in the interim the Taliban has made dangerous inroads,” said senior Republican Senator John McCain, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee.
Senator Jack Reed, the senior Democrat on the committee, criticized what he called a speech short on details.
Trump suggested he was hoping for eventual peace talks, and said it might be possible to have a political settlement with elements of the Taliban.
He said he was convinced by his national security advisers to strengthen the U.S. ability to prevent the Taliban from ousting Afghan President Ashraf Ghani’s government.
“My original instinct was to pull out,” he said.
Two officials who participated in discussions on Afghanistan said one reason Trump’s policy decision had taken so long was because it was hard to get him to accept the need for a broader regional strategy that included Pakistan.
White House national security adviser H.R. McMaster backed the request for the extra 4,000 U.S. troops, although recently ousted White House strategic adviser Steve Bannon had argued for a total withdrawal.
Breitbart News, the hard-right news site to which Bannon has returned as executive chairman, said on its home page that Trump “reverses course” and “defends flip-flop in somber speech.”

Major Announcement Set for President Trump’s Campaign-Style Rally in Arizona

FILE – In this July 11, 2015 file photo, then-Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks before a crowd of 3,500 Saturday, July 11, 2015, in Phoenix. Trump is coming back to Arizona at another crucial moment in his presidency. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

President Trump is set to hold a campaign-style rally in Phoenix on Tuesday, despite opposition from Democrat lawmakers in Arizona.
The President is set to make a major announcement during event at the Phoenix Convention Center.
Reports said, the President may pardon former Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, or endorse a new GOP candidate to unseat Arizona Senator Jeff Flake.
Up to this point, Flake and Senator John McCain have had a contentious relationship with the President.
This comes despite calls to postpone the rally from the Mayor of Phoenix last week.