Tuesday, January 9, 2018
Stephen Miller calls CNN 'extraordinarily biased' after chaotic Jake Tapper interview, denies being escorted off set
White House policy adviser Stephen
Miller, an architect of President Donald Trump’s immigration policy,
told Fox News’ Tucker Carlson on Monday night he was not escorted from
“extraordinarily biased” CNN after his fiery interview with Jake Tapper
flew off the rails the day before.
“Like many things CNN says, this
story has the most important virtue of all CNN stories, of being not
true,” Miller told Carlson. “It’s an amusing story, but not a true one.”
Miller added, “CNN has been extraordinarily biased,
extraordinarily unfair to the president, and is not giving viewers
honest information.”Carlson asked if Miller would be escorted out by security if he were an MS-13 gang member illegally in America.
Miller responded that if he were an MS-13 gang member, “they would be clamoring to get me into the voting booth.”
His interview with Tapper on “State of the Union” Sunday morning ultimately turned into a shout-fest, with the CNN star eventually cutting it off entirely.
The CNN anchor said, “I’ve wasted enough of my viewers’ time,” when the two men couldn’t come to an on-camera agreement regarding Michael Wolff’s controversial anti-Trump book.
Fox News previously reported that the conversation continued off-camera immediately after Tapper cut Miller off and the show went to commercial. Miller and Tapper argued until the commercial break was about to wrap up and the live set had to be cleared.
“I let you give like a three-minute filibuster at the very top,” Tapper said before Miller fired back, “You gave me two minutes.”
Miller said the leak of this post-interview exchange is evident of CNN’s “low journalistic standards.”
Miller appeared on Carlson’s show to further discuss Trump’s immigration policies: ending chain migration, ending the diversity lottery, and financing the border wall.
He said Trump’s immigration reform is based on that the country should be as loyal to Americans as Americans are loyal to the U.S. — citizens who obey the laws, follow the rules, pay their taxes, and show up and vote.
“Donald Trump has a very ‘radical’ idea. And that’s that when we make changes to our immigration laws, the group we should be most concerned about are hardworking, everyday Americans. The citizens who make this country run,” Miller told Carlson.
Miller said the tougher vetting procedures must happen because immigrants should only be allowed in America if they add value to the economy.
Miller told Carlson, “We can have an immigration system that 10, 20, 30, 50 years from now produces more assimilation, higher wages, more economic opportunity, and better prospects for immigrants and U.S.-born alike.”
Trump stands for national anthem at NCAA game; Alabama player heard saying 'F--- Trump'
Alabama RB Bo Scarbrough yells “F— Trump” before tonight’s title game. Future Football Hero for your Kids to Worship. |
President Trump brought his fight against national anthem-kneelers
to the field of the NCAA championship football game in Atlanta on
Monday night, standing and singing “The Star-Spangled Banner.”
Meanwhile, one Alabama player --
identified as running back Bo Scarbrough -- was heard yelling 'F---
Trump' before the game, Sporting News reported, showing video of the
team apparently walking off the field after pregame warmups.
Trump was announced to a varied combination of cheers and jeers as he
entered the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in a dark suit and red tie. Waving
and smiling to the crowd of thousands, Trump walked onto the field to
hear the Zac Brown Band sing the anthem.With his right hand on his heart, Trump smiled and occasionally sang along with the band.
President Trump attended the NCAA championship game in Atlanta on Monday, standing for the National Anthem prior to the start of the game. (AP)
Both the Georgia Bulldogs and the Alabama Crimson Tide stayed back in the locker room as the anthem played, which is common among college football teams. They stormed the field shortly afterwards.
But Trump left the game before rapper Kendrick Lamar started his halftime performance nearby.
Plans for the president’s visit had been met with criticism from the NAACP.
Atlanta's NAACP chapter said on its Facebook page that fans inside the stadium for the College Football Playoff title should send Trump a message by waving white towels "simulating a blizzard."
"We will not let the President’s visit go without a response. If you are lucky enough to attend the game, we encourage you to bring a white towel to wave simulating a blizzard while the president is in the packed stadium," the group said. "Trump supporters mockingly call the opposition snowflakes, but when we come together we create a mighty storm."
Trump’s appearance at the game followed a speech he gave in Nashville earlier Monday to the American Farm Bureau Federation’s Annual Convention.
"In every decision we make, we are honoring America's proud farming legacy," the president said during the event touting his administration's accomplishments. The "American dream," the president said, "is roaring back to life."
The pundits swoon over Oprah for 2020 – but running for president is brutal
She really looks presidential :-) |
Oprah Winfrey suddenly has the best
of all worlds—a flood of gushing praise about the possibility of running
for president without actually having to do it.
And if she does do it, well, she’ll
quickly learn that being an entertainment icon is far easier than taking
positions on tough issues and dealing with a tsunami of political
attacks.
What, for instance, is Oprah’s position on trade with
China? Chain migration? Arming Syrian rebels? Financing infrastructure
projects? It’s one thing to be a hugely successful talk show host and a
pal of Barack Obama, and another to take on the world’s problems in a
hyperpolarized atmosphere.In the wake of her Golden Globes speech Sunday night, Oprah’s people were talking up the prospect. Her longtime partner Stedman Graham told the L.A. Times, “It's up to the people. She would absolutely do it."
And NBC seemed to be on board. “Nothing but respect for OUR future president,” the network tweeted in a huge embarrassment for its news division. (NBC yesterday deleted the tweet, saying it had been posted by a “third party” and was supposed to relate to a joke on the show. I think a special prosecutor needs to investigate how this shadowy third party got the Twitter nuclear codes.)
But Oprah also told Bloomberg backstage that she has no plans to run.
Winfrey was certainly sounding campaign-esque as she praised the press--which she said is “under siege”--and smoothly pivoted from the Hollywood women who have been subjected to “abuse” to half the electorate:
“They’re the women whose names we’ll never know. They are domestic workers and farmworkers. They are working in factories and they work in restaurants and they’re in academia, engineering, medicine and science. They’re part of the world of tech and in politics and business. They’re our athletes in the Olympics and they’re our soldiers in the military.”
The chattering class is chattering away.
“It's difficult to totally dismiss the idea of Winfrey 2020,” says the Washington Post.
“Oprah 2020 cannot be laughed off. This could really work,” says the Daily Beast.
“She delivered the kind of inspirational and aspirational message at the Golden Globes that Hillary Clinton had trouble hammering home in the 2016 presidential election,” said NBC’s Jonathan Allen.
Five years ago, the idea of a wealthy TV host with no political experience capturing the White House might have seemed far-fetched. Now, not so much. And wouldn’t the media love to cover a Trump-Oprah race?
Obviously, Winfrey is beloved on the left, has business experience and can spend some of her billions on assembling a crack team. She’s a woman who would have more minority support than Hillary and a zillion percent name recognition.
But I don’t think she’s going to run and face the searing scrutiny and personal attacks of a presidential campaign. Far better to have the pundits—and your fans—chewing the fat about how great it would be if you took the plunge.
Howard Kurtz is a Fox News analyst and the host of "MediaBuzz" (Sundays 11 a.m.). He is the author of five books and is based in Washington. Follow him at @HowardKurtz. Click here for more information on Howard Kurtz.
Spitzer reportedly accused of threatening to knife man's crotch
March 12, 2008: former Democratic New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer is seen announcing his resignation. |
Former New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer allegedly
threatened to stab a restaurant’s patron’s crotch for admiring his
longtime archenemy-- Home Depot founder Kenneth Langone, The New York Post reported.
Jamie Antolini, who was dining with
potential business partners, told the paper he was verbally ambushed by
Spitzer at Avra Madison Estiatorio restaurant last week.
"I’ll get a f–king knife and stab you right in your
f-----g c--k!” Antolini told the paper, recalling what he claims Spitzer
said.Spitzer, who resigned in 2008 amid revelations of being a high-priced prostitution patron, reportedly walked by Antolini’s table and heard him calling Langone an “amazing guy” and that “Ken Langone should have been president.”
The comments reportedly enraged Spitzer, prompting him to lean into the man’s face and allegedly yell, “I don’t know who the f–k you think you are! I’ll f-----g have you killed!”
Spitzer then left, but later came back to the table with more expletive threats, including threatening to knife Antolini’s private parts, the report said.
The incident reported lasted about 20 minutes, and ended when restaurant’s security escorted Spitzer from the premises, Antolini told the New York Daily News. “I never left my seat. When the video tapes come out, it will show I sat in my chair with a glass of wine in my hand.”
There were no police reports filed after the incident.
Lisa Linden, Spitzer’s spokeswoman, denied that her boss started the confrontation and said he was out celebrating his mother’s 90th birthday.
“The patron persisted in making aggressive remarks, which Mr. Spitzer initially ignored. An argument ensued, but at no time did he make any threats,” Linden said in a statement, according to the Daily News.
The incident last week occurred just days before former escort Svetlana Travis Zakharova, who accused the former governor of choking her, gave the police a recording where Spitzer is heard threatening her with death, the Post reported.
“You know what’s going to happen to you? You’re going to be f–king dead,” he allegedly says in the recording. “You’re going to die a slow painful death and your family is going to look at you and laugh because you’re a f-----g b–h.”
Monday, January 8, 2018
WikiLeaks tweet then deletes link to text of new Trump book
The website WikiLeaks on Sunday tweeted a link to
the text of the new book critical of President Trump that has angered
the president, his staff and his allies.
An electronic image of the text of
author Michael Wolff’s book “Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White
House” appeared online Sunday, two days after its release.
The post read, “New Trump book “Fire and Fury” by Michael Wolff. Full PDF.” The Daily News reported that the tweet linked to the unnumbered PDF that appeared to be the book.Posting the text of a book without permission would violate copyright restrictions and potentially damage sales. Yet, hours after WikiLeaks tweeted the link, “Fire and Fury” remained No. 1 on Amazon’s lists of hardcover and ebook bestsellers.
The book portrays a president who doesn’t understand the weight of his office and whose own aides question his competence. Trump has called it a “Fake Book” and its author “totally discredited.” Aides have publicly rejected the book’s premise.
Trump retweeted a parody cover of the book that the Republican Party had tweeted earlier Friday, and used it as a springboard for his latest criticisms -- calling Wolff “a total loser” and saying Bannon "cried when he got fired" and has been "dumped like a dog by almost everyone" since leaving the White House in August.
The GOP's parody cover retitles the book "Liar and Phony," and surrounds a photo of Wolff with blurbs from actual reviews of his much-criticized White House exposé.
"He gets basic details wrong," a New York Times writer says about Wolff.
Wolff wrote the book over 18 months, in which he claims to have spoken with more than 200 people. He said he had access to top officials inside the Trump administration, including the president, according to an interview Thursday with the Hollywood Reporter that details the backstory to the book's publishing.
UK Prime Minister Theresa May defends Trump's mental fitness
UK Prime Minister Theresa May shot down concerns
about President Trump’s mental fitness on Sunday, saying he acts in the
best interests of his country.
May was forced to comment on Trump’s
mental state following the release of Michal Wolff’s explosive book
claiming some Trump advisers openly questioned the president’s mental
capacity for the job.
Speaking with the BBC,
the prime minister shot down any accusations against Trump, saying “no”
to question if concerns about Trump’s mental fitness were serious.“When I deal with President Trump what I see is somebody who is committed to ensuring that he is taking decisions in the best interests of the United States,” she added.
May also reiterated that Trump will be coming to Britain for a visit, but come up short of providing exact date and details.
There have been questions whether Trump will visit the country as a full state visit, which would include meeting the Queen, or if he will opt out for a lower-key working trip amid probable mass protests.
Trump has previously come under fire from British lawmakers after they deemed some of his statements might have violated the country’s hate speech laws – prompting country’s members of the Parliament to debate whether he should be granted a full state visit.
In November, May criticized Trump after he retweeted inflammatory videos from a British fringe far-right political group, saying it was “wrong” to have done so.
The president, tweeted in response: “Don’t focus on me, focus on the destructive Radical Islamic Terrorism that is taking place within the United Kingdom. We are doing just fine!”
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