January 1, 2019

Donald Trump's Very First Tweet of 2019 is Here, and Oh Boy...

by Caleb Howe | Jan 1st, 2019, 9:26 am

Happy New Year! It’s January 1st, and President Donald Trump has issued his first tweets of 2019, and at first, may not seem like what you expected.

The president’s twitter is a media outlet unto itself, a source of news stories, memes, haters, mockers, fans, devotion, controversy, policy and more. From time to time people pretend at ignoring it or at deeming it beneath America’s attention to obsess over, but like celebrity break-up stories and buddy cop films, the President’s tweets aren’t leaving the American spotlight anytime soon. So his first tweet of the new year is, of course, of interest, be that interest morbid, prurient, or genuine.

Well this year’s first tweet is here, and, given all the above, you may find it rather underwhelming. It’s a book pitch for a Fox newser.

https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1080084113762197504

Rather a let-down, to be honest. Certainly not one of the greatest hits of the medium.

But fear not. Before you get too disappointed, you’ll be glad to know that he followed up with a second tweet, and it is gloriously all-caps and angry, full of Trumpian buzz words.

https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1080088373451206656

more
https://www.mediaite.com/online/donald-trumps-very-first-tweet-of-2019-is-here-and-oh-boy/

January 1, 2019

'The time for accountability has arrived' as Democrats put White House under microscope

‘The time for accountability has arrived’ as Democrats put White House under microscope

BY LESLEY CLARK

JANUARY 01, 2019 05:00 AM,

UPDATED 4 HOURS 18 MINUTES AGO

WASHINGTON - Democrats taking control of the House Thursday have been waiting two years for this: Getting their hands on Donald Trump’s tax returns, investigating whether his businesses are improperly benefiting from his presidency and taking a deep look at the policy that separated migrant children from their parents.

Some lawmakers and much of the Democratic base would like party leaders to open impeachment proceedings against Trump without delay. But that’s unlikely to happen, as top Democrats are more inclined to pursue investigations that are deliberate and dispassionate, says Rep. Gerry Connelly, D-Virginia.

“For it to have credibility and to stick, it’s got to be methodical and fact-based,” Connelly said. “It can’t just be about emotion and that’s a balancing act we’re going to have to figure out here.”

Democrats will first have to figure out a way to work with Republicans and the White House to re-open parts of the government that have been shuttered since Dec. 22. The party’s leaders insist that won’t distract them from their watchdog mission.

more
https://www.mcclatchydc.com/news/politics-government/congress/article223252835.html

January 1, 2019

How the shutdown is reaching a breaking point

Many of the departments and agencies hit by the partial shutdown are running out of carryover cash and time to prep checks for the midmonth pay period.

By JENNIFER SCHOLTES, CAITLIN EMMA and BERNIE BECKER 01/01/2019 08:04 AM EST

Nine federal departments haven’t received a cent in federal funding in more than a week.

They’ve limped along on leftover money, coasted through the quiet days of the holidays and paid staff with checks already prepped before the lapse. But all that’s about to end.

Many of the departments and agencies hit by the partial shutdown, which began Dec. 22, have reached a breaking point in their ability to go on with minimal disruption. They are running out of carryover cash and time to prep checks for the midmonth pay period. In a very visible sign of the growing impact of the shutdown showdown, 19 Smithsonian museums and the National Zoo will close to the public on Wednesday, their temporary funds exhausted.

While paychecks for federal employees went out Friday after a pay period ended on Dec. 22, workers are left wondering whether they will get their next check on Jan. 11. The pay period for that next check ends on Jan. 5. Pay processing varies from agency to agency.

more
https://www.politico.com/story/2019/01/01/how-the-shutdown-is-reaching-a-breaking-point-1053885

January 1, 2019

'Wow': NASA startles with invitation to sanctioned Russian

Source: Politico


Dmitry Rogozin is no typical rocket-science technocrat. He is an ultranationalist politician with a record of stark racism and homophobia who is under American sanctions.

By BEN SCHRECKINGER 01/01/2019 08:06 AM EST

A Trump administration official’s plan to host a sanctioned Russian nationalist in the U.S. in the coming months is raising alarms among Russia hawks in Washington.

NASA administrator Jim Bridenstine extended an October invitation for his counterpart, Dmitry Rogozin, to visit NASA headquarters in Houston in early 2019. U.S.-Russia space cooperation is nothing new. But Rogozin is no typical rocket-science technocrat. He is an ultranationalist politician with a record of stark racism and homophobia who is under American sanctions, which typically bar him from entering the U.S. over his 2014 role, as deputy prime minister, in Moscow’s annexation of Crimea.

Bridenstine, a former three-term Republican congressman from Oklahoma, told the Russian state news agency TASS in mid-October that he had succeeded in temporarily waiving sanctions on Rogozin so that he could visit Houston and speak at Rice University, Bridenstine’s alma mater, sometime after the new year. The U.S. and Russia cooperate extensively on space exploration and, according to the TASS report, Bridenstine stressed the need for a “strong working relationship” with his counterpart.

Yet lawmakers from both parties and former national security officials are crying foul, saying the invitation undermines U.S. sanctions and would give a government-approved platform to an anti-American bigot.

Read more: https://www.politico.com/story/2019/01/01/nasa-sanctioned-russian-nationalist-1076621

January 1, 2019

Trump on 2019: 'Calm down and enjoy the ride'

Source: The Hill



BY BRETT SAMUELS - 01/01/19 08:33 AM EST

President Trump on Tuesday issued an all-caps New Year's Day greeting to his followers on social media, and predicted 2019 "will be a fantastic year for those not suffering from Trump derangement syndrome."

Trump, as he did last year, wished a happy New Year to "the haters" and the "fake news media."

https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1080088373451206656

The president late Monday shared a video reflecting on his 2018 in which he touted the state of the economy, his negotiations with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and his push for a wall along the southern border.

"So happy New Year, and let’s enjoy the next year, and then we’re going to enjoy the following year, and then we have four more and everything is going to be so beautiful," Trump said.

Read more: https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/423388-trump-on-2019-calm-down-and-enjoy-the-ride

January 1, 2019

Trump: No Money for Wall, No Signature on Bill to Fund Government

House Democrats plan to vote on package later this week

Posted Dec 31, 2018 8:31 PM
John T. Bennett
@BennettJohnT

President Donald Trump on Monday evening signaled he would not sign an omnibus spending package House Democrats plan to bring to the floor later this week because it omits dollars for his proposed southern border barrier.

“The Democrats will probably submit a Bill, being cute as always, which gives everything away but gives NOTHING to Border Security, namely the Wall. You see, without the Wall there can be no Border Security — the Tech “stuff” is just, by comparison, meaningless bells & whistles,” he tweeted.

The incoming House Democratic majority plans to vote on a package that would fully fund all other currently shuttered agencies for the remainder of the fiscal year and reopen the Department of Homeland Security until early February — but with no new dollars for a border barrier.

Trump on Monday evening equated border-sealing walls to the wheel, one of mankind’s most important inventions.

MORE
https://www.rollcall.com/news/politics/trump-no-money-wall-no-signature-bill-fund-government

January 1, 2019

RNC Chair Calls Warren 'Far-Left Obstructionist and a Total Fraud' in Response to 2020 Announcement

by Josh Feldman | Dec 31st, 2018, 12:44 pm

Elizabeth Warren announced a 2020 exploratory committee today, a significant moment kicking off the Democratic primary race against President Donald Trump.

RNC Chair Ronna McDaniel tweeted a brief statement in response saying, “Senator Warren couldn’t be more out of touch. Americans will see her for what she is: another extreme far-left obstructionist and a total fraud.”

https://twitter.com/GOPChairwoman/status/1079785883719659521

Warren’s announcement today––including a video that takes a shot at Fox News––has been met with mixed reactions. Former Republican congressman and Trump critic Charlie Dent called it a “total gift” to the President.

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https://www.mediaite.com/online/rnc-chair-calls-warren-far-left-obstructionist-and-a-total-fraud-in-response-to-2020-announcement/

January 1, 2019

Parkland Dad Accuses Trump of Putting Obama in Danger With Wall Remark: 'You F-ng Lunatic'

Parkland Father Fred Guttenberg Accuses Trump of Putting Obama in Danger With Wall Remark: ‘You F–ng Lunatic’

by Joe DePaolo | Dec 31st, 2018, 7:45 pm

Fred Guttenberg, whose 14-year-old daughter Jaime Guttenberg was killed in the Parkland shooting, is accusing President Donald Trump of putting the safety of former President Barack Obama “at risk” with a comment about a wall Trump (falsely) said the ex-president built around his Washington, D.C. home.

In a tweet posted on Sunday, Guttenberg quoted from a Trump tweet in which the president used the personal wall the Obamas were said to have built to advocate for a Southern border wall.

https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1079497288605683712

Guttenberg slammed the president, and argued that the remark may endanger Obama.

“You f–ng lunatic,” Guttenberg wrote. “Are you seriously trying to put our former President at risk?”

https://twitter.com/fred_guttenberg/status/1079528463374127112

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https://www.mediaite.com/online/parkland-father-fred-guttenberg-accuses-trump-of-putting-obama-in-danger-with-wall-remark-you-f-ng-lunatic/

January 1, 2019

Trump on Whether Warren Thinks She Can Win in 2020: 'You'd Have to Ask Her Psychiatrist'

by Joe DePaolo | Dec 31st, 2018, 5:23 pm

President Donald Trump is wasting little time mocking the White House bid of Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA).

In an excerpt of an interview slated to air in full Monday evening on Fox News, the president chided the Massachusetts Senator over her efforts to prove Native American ancestry.

“She did very badly in proving that she was of Indian heritage,” Trump told Fox News host Pete Hegseth. “That didn’t work out too well. I think you have more than she does and maybe I do, too. And I have nothing. So, you know, we’ll see how she does. I wish her well. I hope she does well. I’d love to run against her.”

Hegseth went on to ask Trump whether Warren truly believes she can take the White House in 2020.

“Well, that I don’t know. You’d have to ask her psychiatrist,” Trump said, slyly.

video
https://www.mediaite.com/online/trump-on-whether-warren-thinks-she-can-win-in-2020-youd-have-to-ask-her-psychiatrist/

January 1, 2019

Trump Appeals for Border Wall in New Years Eve Fox Interview: 'It is Not Old Fashioned,'...

Source: Mediaite



Trump Appeals for Border Wall in New Years Eve Fox Interview: ‘It is Not Old Fashioned,’ It’s Like the Wheel

by Ken Meyer | Dec 31st, 2018, 11:16 pm

As 2018 comes to an end, Donald Trump phoned into Fox News’ New Year show in Times Square to make one last appeal for his border wall.

For most of the day, Trump spent his New Years Eve insisting “MEXICO IS PAYING FOR THE WALL,” all while rage-tweeting against Democrats over the continuing battle from the government shutdown. When he spoke to Pete Hegseth on Monday night, Trump blasted the “pure obstruction” while talking up the border wall as a crucial element of national security.

Judging by Trump’s remarks and some of his most recent tweets, it seems he’s really trying to sell the idea that his border wall is tantamount to the historical significance of the invention of the wheel.



Read more: https://www.mediaite.com/tv/trump-appeals-for-border-wall-in-new-years-eve-fox-interview-it-is-not-old-fashioned-its-like-the-wheel/