The Next President of the United States

[TightEnd]

Click to see full-size image.

[hector62]

I would love to see Trump's state visit cancelled and given to the Mexican President instead.

[MintTrav]

Irony and contradictions everywhere:
- At the same time as Spicer was giving his off-the-record briefing, Trump was laying into the media for quoting unattributed sources.
- Trump demanded that all sources be named, despite having often acted as an unnamed source himself in the past (according to WaPo).
- In the very same speech, he quoted an unnamed source about the situation in Paris.
- Earlier in the day, "White House officials used a 'background briefing' (one where information is used but names are left out) to berate reporters for using background sources, without a hint of irony".  http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/timeline-reporters-barred-spicer-press-address-article-1.2981805

[MintTrav]

Imagine Hillary Clinton had won the election. What would be happening now?

Well, you don't need to imagine - it's all set out here. This site assumes that Hillary is now the President:

 http://www.hillarybeattrump.org/

Click to see full-size image.

Click to see full-size image.

[Doobs]

And it starts: White House blocks news outlets from media briefing

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/white-house-blocks-news-outlets-from-media-briefing-a7598641.html

Love the way he blocked the daily mail.   Feckin subversive lefties.

[MintTrav]

Donald ate out last night for the first time in DC (at his own hotel), joined by Florida Gov Rick Scott, Jared Kushner, Ivanka and an unidentified interloper.

Click to see full-size image.

[TightEnd]

White House scrambles to damp down scandal over FBI inquiry into Russia ties

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/feb/26/white-house-scrambles-to-damp-down-scandal-over-fbi-inquiry-into-russia-ties?CMP=twt_gu

[TightEnd]

How unusual — and how significant — are these major events of the Trump era? http://nyti.ms/2l65m0b

Click to see full-size image.

[MintTrav]

There are some major areas where the Republicans in the White House and Congress haven't been able to agree. It had been hoped that the President could address the solutions tonight in his speech to Congress, but the interested parties are still too far apart:

1. There is disagreement about the proposed border adjustment tax, which had been expected to be endorsed in the speech. Bannon wants to raise $1 trillion from new taxes on imports, but Trump's economic advisor Gary Cohn and Treasury Sec Steve Mnuchin are against the idea. Paul Ryan says that, without it, there won't be funds for tax reforms. In the end, Trump complained again about goods coming in toll-free, but didn't address how it will be resolved.

2. All Republicans are opposed to Obamacare, but they have divergent views on what should replace it. Progress on repeal and agreement on an alternative has been slow. The latest today from Mitch McConnell: "The goal is for the Administration, the House and the Senate to be in the same place. We're not there yet." Trump avoided conclusions in the speech, instead setting out five principles that should guide Congress in creating a new healthcare system.

3. Trump said he wants a $1 trillion infrastructure programme. That just ain't gonna happen with a Republican Congress unless he comes up with a new way of funding it. It is an area where the Democrats may help him out.

4. The Budget is looming, and Trump wants to increase military spending by 10% ($54bn). Republicans are generally pro-military, but they don't want the national debt to increase, so they will only agree if the funding comes from cuts elsewhere, which is likely to mean the Environmental Protection Agency and the State Department.

Lots of work still to be done.

[MintTrav]

Meanwhile, more snippets showing how ludicrous this Administration is.

Sean Spicer called in all staff who had attended a leaked meeting and made them hand over their phones, both official and private, to check if they had been leaking. It seems that numerous GOP and White House staff have been downloading Confide (coincidentally, partly owned by Billy Bush of Pussygate fame), which automatically deletes messages once they are read, and they were warned that using apps such as this is illegal. He also warned them not to reveal details of that meeting but, of course, it was leaked as soon as they came out.


And, if you ever have Kellyanne Conway round, don't tell her to make herself at home.

Click to see full-size image.

[Woodsey]

Amazing what people will find reasons to whine about, even I can think of 5 things more pressing right now than someone kneeling on a sofa.....yet some media outlets choose to highlight that.

[MintTrav]

Amazing what people will find reasons to whine about, even I can think of 5 things more pressing right now than someone kneeling on a sofa.....yet some media outlets choose to highlight that.

Of course it is trivial and there are a hundred things more important. And she was actually photographing the group with her phone rather than lounging about. But of course a great photo like that will be highlighted.

Previous Presidents have "disrespected" the Oval Office, particularly Obama. If you put yourself in the situation where an unusual shot can be taken, it's gonna hit the headlines.

Click to see full-size image.

[AndrewT]

It seems that Trump's senior adviser (and Ivanka's husband) Jared Kushner has become less strident on repealing Obamacare, which is odd seeing as that was one of Trump's main election promises.

Of course, it is entirely coincidental that Kushner's brother owns a $2.7 billion insurance company that runs a website and app that specifically makes money from Obamacare

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/jared-kushner-obamacare-trump-oscar-app_us_58b5f4c8e4b060480e0c9e18?29vk190523sl6usor&ncid=inblnkushpmg00000009

[MintTrav]

George W Bush breaks silence to attack Donald Trump's war on the media

What George W Bush says matters a lot to Republicans, all the more so as the current Admin develops.

"I consider the media to be indispensable to democracy. We need an independent media to hold people like me to account...........it's kind of hard to tell others to have an independent, free press when we're not willing to have one ourselves."

http://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/world/george-w-bush-breaks-silence-to-attack-donald-trumps-war-on-the-media/ar-AAnxyw8?ocid=iehp

[TightEnd]

hard hitting stuff from the WaPo

"Attorney General of the United States is basically a job where it's better if the person is not a documented liar."

Sessions met with Russian envoy twice last year, encounters he later did not disclose

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/sessions-spoke-twice-with-russian-ambassador-during-trumps-presidential-campaign-justice-officials-say/2017/03/01/77205eda-feac-11e6-99b4-9e613afeb09f_story.html?postshare=4831488423284318&tid=ss_tw&utm_term=.95fbcb1cc2f2