Archive for the ‘Donald Trump’ Category

Donald Trump has visited a Trump-branded property every 2.8 days of his presidency – The Denver Post

By Philip Bump, The Washington Post

For the tenth weekend in a row, President Donald Trump is visiting a Trump-branded property every weekend except the first two after his inauguration.

For the sixth weekend in a row, hes golfing at one of those properties; hes golfed on nine of those 10 weekends.

In total, Trump has spent time at one-or-more Trump-branded property on 28 of the days hes been president meaning that he visits a property thats part of his private business empire more than a third of the days hes been in office, or once every 2.8 days. The frequency at which he golfs is lower: Hes golfed on 17.9 percent of the days hes been president, or about once every 5.6 days.

By comparison, Barack Obama golfed once every 8.8 days over the eight years that he was president. And he was excoriated by his political opponents for doing so including Trump.

Most of the visits Trump has made to Trump-branded properties were to Mar-a-Lago, where Trump this week hosted the president of China, Xi Jinping. Hell stay at the resort through Sunday, and he may (as he did on Saturday) head to Trump International Golf Course in Palm Beach, Florida. Trumps team is cagey about when he actually plays golf, probably precisely because of the conflict between his words on the campaign trail and his behavior in office.

Mar-a-Lago is a members-only facility, with those who pay the steep initiation fee suddenly gaining occasional proximity to the president and, at times, his Cabinet and senior staff. This week, ProPublica reported that the wall that Trump insisted would be built between himself and his business interests is fairly porous, with Trump able to receive money from the Trump Organization as he wishes. The free advertising his properties have received from his visit his golf club in Virginia, his hotel in downtown Washington likely help boost those businesses bottom lines, and, ultimately, his own.

These trips arent free, of course. Each weekend trip to Mar-a-Lago costs taxpayers an estimated $2 million. The extended trip this week for the Xi visit certainly cost more, particularly given the added security concerns.

If Trump does play golf Sunday, he will have played once every 5.3 days of his presidency. If he keeps up that pace, he will have golfed 261 times by the end of his first term. (Obama golfed 333 times over his eight years.)

If he continues to visit Trump properties at his current pace, he will have done so on 524 days of the 1,461 days between his inauguration and Jan. 20, 2021.

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Donald Trump has visited a Trump-branded property every 2.8 days of his presidency - The Denver Post

Dan Rather Slams Journalists Who Hailed Donald Trump’s Bombs As ‘Presidential’ – Huffington Post

Legendary news anchorDan Rather had some strong words for journalists whofawned over theU.S. airstrike in Syria this week while asking few critical questions.

The number of members of the press who have lauded the actions last night as presidential is concerning, Rather wrote in a Facebook post on Friday. War must never be considered a public relations operation. It is not a way for an Administration to gain a narrative. It is a step into a dangerous unknown and its full impact is impossible to predict, especially in the immediate wake of the first strike.

Cable news personalities on Friday seemed to equate the legitimacy of a U.S. president with dropping bombs. CNNs Fareed Zakaria stated that Donald Trump became president of the United States when the strikes started, while The Washington Posts David Ignatius said on MSNBC that the commander in chief had put pure more umph, more credibility back into American power.MSNBCs Brian Williams went so far as to call the Tomahawk missiles which state-run Syrian media reported killed at least nine people, including four children beautiful.

Rather pointed out that no matter what someones opinion on whether the airstrike was the correct course of action, the medias job is to ask difficult questions, not drool over the spectacle of war:

The role of the press is to ask hard questions. There is ample evidence that this Administration needs to face deep scrutiny. The lies we have heard, the chaos in governance, and the looming questions about ties with Russia - itself a major player in Syria - demand that the press treat this latest action with healthy skepticism. Perhaps it was the right thing to do. Perhaps a strong and wise policy will emerge. But that judgement is still definitely hanging in the balance.

Read Rathers whole post below.

As Fusion editor Alex Pareene noted last month, equating dropping bombs with being presidential is especially dangerous in the era of Trump, who has demonstrated repeatedly that he cares deeply about how hes treated on TV.

Several journalists, including The Intercepts Glenn Greenwald and MSNBCs Chris Matthews, suggested that the strike could have been a calculated move on Trumps part to turn press coverage in his favor.

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Dan Rather Slams Journalists Who Hailed Donald Trump's Bombs As 'Presidential' - Huffington Post

Donald Trump’s Biggest Problem – The National Interest Online

Before he gets more deeply involved in Syrias civil war, Donald Trump will have to win one at home. The Republican Party was already divided after failing to repeal Obamacare. Now the conflict has spread to the White House, where Steve Bannon and Jared Kushner are at daggers drawn. Even Trumps most loyal grassroots and media supporters are in an uproar over the presidents evolving foreign policy, which has taken a turn toward the establishment as his domestic agenda sinks into the swamp he promised to drain.

How much damage has the Syrian attack done to Trump? Hes lost Ann Coulter, who took to Twitter to vent her outrage and retweet lesser-known supporters who felt equally betrayed. Hes lost Justin Raimondo of Antiwar.com and the sizable blocs of Ron Paul and Pat Buchanan activists who had flocked to Trumps America First banner. Hes even lost InfoWars, whose readers are overwhelmingly against the attacks, to judge from the sites self-polling and user comments. Commenters at Breitbart.com are not less outraged over Trumps move.

The president has lost his base, or is in grave danger of doing so. But he has also picked up new support: from John McCain, Lindsey Graham, and Bill Kristol, all of whom praised the airstrike on Syria. Neoconservatism is suddenly back in fashion at the White House, or so it seems.

Trumps supporters had been growing restive over a litany of setbacks and reversals even before this. The presidents executive order to restrict immigration from countries with active Islamist revolutionaries has bogged down in the courts. Obamacare repeal turned into a fiasco, with the White House getting behind an unpopular plan that neither conservatives nor right-wing populists could get behind. Bannon, the tribune of the right-wing populists, appears to be losing ground by the day in the White Houses internal battles. Word that Reince Priebus may soon be replaced as chief of staff by a more moderate Washington insider led Laura Ingraham to quip on Twitter, Trump is going into the Swamp he promised to drain for his new Chief-of-Staff. (A former chief of staff to Sen. Arlen Specter is among those being considered)

Its Bannon whose dismissal would be a real call to arms for the right, however. Only anonymous sources have been willing to speak to the press about Bannons reputed power struggle with Trumps son in law, Jared Kushner. But outside the White House, establishment Republicans have started to go on the record calling for Bannons removal. Politico notes that Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen has told a Miami radio station that Bannons downfall would be welcome news for the nation. She predicts his days are numbered in that administration. And I think profound changes will be coming.

This is the springtime of Republicans discontent. The failure of Trumps opening gambits in his first 100 days in office has created an opening for the establishment he vanquished during last years election to come to his rescue now: at least, thats how they would tell it.

Neoconservatives, in particular, have always been prepared to work with the personnel at hand: Kristol preferred John McCain as the Republican nominee in 2000, but he was glad to accept George W. Bush, especially once Bush placed Dick Cheney on the ticket. There are a lot of lesser-known Dick Cheneys ready to join the Trump administration just as soon as the Nationalists or Bannonitesas the supposed Kushner faction is said to call themare gone.

There are precedents for this: in 1980, right-wing conservatives from the West and South expected to staff the Reagan administration. They swiftly lost out to people they called the Eastern Establishment and to rising neoconservatives such as William Bennett, who was picked to head the National Endowment for the Humanities over the favored right-wing candidate, a University of Dallas professor of literature named M.E. Bradford. The conservative wars that have flared up from the 1990s to today have their roots in what the right experienced a betrayal of the Reagan Revolution. Reagan was personally popular enough with his own base, and with the whole country, that such conflicts didnt cost him re-election. But they did create splits that ultimate crippled George H.W. Bush in the 1992 primaries, when the right produced a challenger in the form of Pat Buchanan.

Trump does not have the same margin of safetyor any margin. He is the least popular of any president in modern times at this point in his administration. But he endured plenty of bad polls in the primaries and general election last year as long as his core activists and supporters stood by him, and those same voters have been steadfast during these troubled first 11 weeks. Trump would be well-served if he could expand his base of support. But demolishing his existing base and replacing it with one that appeals to Bill Kristol or John McCain does not seem like a smart political move. Even the less overtly neoconservative Republican brand represented by Paul Ryan proved to be politically leaden when Romney and Ryan shared a ticket in 2012. The neocons and the new center-right establishment were the winners of the old Republican civil warbut they never did stamp out the opposition, and they had the hardest of times winning national elections.

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Donald Trump's Biggest Problem - The National Interest Online

Mark Hamill has scathing response to Donald Trump interrupting ‘Rogue One’ screening – AOL

Aol.com Editors

Apr 8th 2017 1:05PM

Mark Hamill slammed Steve Bannon in response to seeing a photo of Donald Trump interrupting a screening of "Star Wars" film "Rogue One" while aboard Air Force One.

Photos surfaced of the moment on Thursday after President Trump spoke to members of the press on the aircraft as they were watching the most recent "Star Wars" movie.

SEE ALSO: As Trump defends O'Reilly, Fox uses 'Access Hollywood' tape in harassment seminars

Michigan journalist Brent Ashcroft took to Twitter with a screenshot of the moment being shown on ABC to ask Hamill what he thought about the moment.

"Hey @HamillHimself, what's your take on Trump watching #RogueOne while being interviewed on Air Force One?" he tweeted at the actor.

See photos of the moment:

6 PHOTOS

Donald Trump interrupts 'Rogue One' screening on Air Force One

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US President Donald Trump speaks to the press on Air Force One on April 6, 2017. Chinese President Xi Jinping touched down in Florida Thursday for a first face-to-face meeting with President Donald Trump, hoping that a basket full of 'tweetable' deals will help avoid a public clash.Trump had yet to arrive to Florida, but the pair will gather later at his Mar-a-Lago resort -- which the US president likes to call the 'Winter White House' -- for what promises to be a masterclass in studied informality. / AFP PHOTO / JIM WATSON (Photo credit should read JIM WATSON/AFP/Getty Images)

US President Donald Trump speaks to the press on Air Force One on April 6, 2017. Chinese President Xi Jinping touched down in Florida Thursday for a first face-to-face meeting with President Donald Trump, hoping that a basket full of 'tweetable' deals will help avoid a public clash.Trump had yet to arrive to Florida, but the pair will gather later at his Mar-a-Lago resort -- which the US president likes to call the 'Winter White House' -- for what promises to be a masterclass in studied informality. / AFP PHOTO / JIM WATSON (Photo credit should read JIM WATSON/AFP/Getty Images)

US President Donald Trump speaks to the press on Air Force One on April 6, 2017. Chinese President Xi Jinping touched down in Florida Thursday for a first face-to-face meeting with President Donald Trump, hoping that a basket full of 'tweetable' deals will help avoid a public clash.Trump had yet to arrive to Florida, but the pair will gather later at his Mar-a-Lago resort -- which the US president likes to call the 'Winter White House' -- for what promises to be a masterclass in studied informality. / AFP PHOTO / JIM WATSON (Photo credit should read JIM WATSON/AFP/Getty Images)

US President Donald Trump speaks to the press on Air Force One on April 6, 2017. Chinese President Xi Jinping touched down in Florida Thursday for a first face-to-face meeting with President Donald Trump, hoping that a basket full of 'tweetable' deals will help avoid a public clash.Trump had yet to arrive to Florida, but the pair will gather later at his Mar-a-Lago resort -- which the US president likes to call the 'Winter White House' -- for what promises to be a masterclass in studied informality. / AFP PHOTO / JIM WATSON (Photo credit should read JIM WATSON/AFP/Getty Images)

TOPSHOT - US President Donald Trump speaks to the press on Air Force One on April 6, 2017. Chinese President Xi Jinping touched down in Florida Thursday for a first face-to-face meeting with President Donald Trump, hoping that a basket full of 'tweetable' deals will help avoid a public clash.Trump had yet to arrive to Florida, but the pair will gather later at his Mar-a-Lago resort -- which the US president likes to call the 'Winter White House' -- for what promises to be a masterclass in studied informality. / AFP PHOTO / JIM WATSON (Photo credit should read JIM WATSON/AFP/Getty Images)

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In response to the inquiry, Hamill responded with a quick-witted zinger of his own.

"#RogueOne?" he retorted. "I thought they were just screening Steve Bannon's home movies."

This isn't the first time Hamill has taken Trump to task, of course. He famously released recordings of himself reading the president's infamous tweets in the voice of "The Trumpster," as he calls the character that channels his version of The Joker from a 1992 animated show.

"As a voiceover actor, you recognize good dialogue -- and I haven't had dialogue this good since Paul Dini," he once said of his recordings.

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Mark Hamill through the years

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Mark Hamill with his girlfriend at a theater; circa 1970; New York. (Photo by Art Zelin/Getty Images)

UNITED STATES - SEPTEMBER 14: ROOM 222 - 'I've Got the Hammer, If You've Got the Thumb' - 9/14/73, Mark Hamill (as Matt Evans) and Phil Carey (as Benjamin Evans) in the 'I've Got the Hammer, If You've Got the Thumb' episode of the ABC series 'Room 222.', (Photo by ABC Photo Archives/ABC via Getty Images)

JUN 15 1977, MAY 30 1978, JUN 4 1978; 'Star Wars' has Given three Performers that 'All-Important Break'; Featured in the popular science fantasy movie are, from left, Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher and Harrison Ford.; (Photo By Steve Larson/The Denver Post via Getty Images)

CANADA - JUNE 23: Actor; Mark Hamill (Photo by Reg Innell/Toronto Star via Getty Images)

American actor Mark Hamill, star of George Lucas' space saga 'Star Wars', 1978. (Photo by Maureen Donaldson/Getty Images)

Mark Hamill hitchhikes from Las Vegas to Los Angeles in a scene from the film 'Corvette Summer', 1978. (Photo by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer/Getty Images)

THE 50TH ANNUAL ACADEMY AWARDS - Show Coverage - Shoot Date: April 3, 1978. (Photo by ABC Photo Archives/ABC via Getty Images) BENJAMIN BURTT JR.;C3PO;MARK HAMILL

Mark Hamill (Photo by Tom Wargacki/WireImage)

FRIDAYS - Show Coverage - Shoot Date: May 8, 1981. (Photo by ABC Photo Archives/ABC via Getty Images) L-R: MARK HAMILL;MICHAEL RICHARDS;EXTRA

KIDS ARE PEOPLE TOO - Show Coverage - Shoot Date: July 24, 1980. (Photo by ABC Photo Archives/ABC via Getty Images) HOST MICHAEL YOUNG (C) AND MARK HAMILL (R) WITH AUDIENCE MEMBERS

LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM - FEBRUARY 11: Actor Mark Hamill, best known for starring as Luke Skywalker in the Star Wars saga, and his wife Marilou York attend a premiere on February 11, 1989 in London, England. (Photo by Georges De Keerle/Getty Images)

CANADA - NOVEMBER 18: 'Luke Skywalker' on Wellesley; Star Wars star Mark Hamill and Toronto actress Jessica Steen take a break on location at Jarvis Collegiate; where they're filming an Alfred Hitchcock Presents episode for airing on TV in February. (Photo by Bernard Weil/Toronto Star via Getty Images)

Mark Hamill & Dean Cain (Photo by SGranitz/WireImage)

LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM - MARCH 20: George Lucas ,the Film's Creator, [left] And Mark Hamill Who Played Luke Skywalker At The London Premiere Of The Film 'star Wars' (Photo by Tim Graham/Getty Images)

Mark Hamill (center) and sons during 'Starship Troopers' Los Angeles Premiere at Mann Village Theatre in Los Angeles, California, United States. (Photo by SGranitz/WireImage)

Actor Mark Hamill and actress Carrie Fisher attending '10th Anniversary Gala for American Film Institute' on November 17, 1977 at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. (Photo by Ron Galella/WireImage)

WESTWOOD, CA - AUGUST 15: Shannon Elizabeth, Writer/Director/Actor Kevin Smith, Mark Hamill and Jason Mewes attend the post-premiere party for 'Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back' on August 15, 2001 in Westwood, California. (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images)

Mark Hamill during World Premiere Of 'The Hulk' - Hollywood at Universal Amphitheatre in Universal City, California, United States. (Photo by SGranitz/WireImage)

X-Men's Alan Cumming and Star Wars Mark Hamill (Photo by Bruce Glikas/FilmMagic)

Meri Lou and Mark Hamill during 2004 Cannes Film Festival - 'The Life and Death of Peter Sellers' Premiere at Palais Du Festival in Cannes, France. (Photo by George Pimentel/WireImage)

WESTWOOD , CA - MAY 12: Actor Mark Hamill (centre) and his daugter Chelsea (left) and wife Marilou arrive with C-3PO to the 'Star Wars Episode III - Revenge Of The Sith' Los Angeles Premiere at the Mann Village Theatre on May 12, 2005 in Westwood, California. The premiere benefits the charity Artists for a New South Africa and its comprehensive, ground-breaking program for South African children orphaned by HIV/AIDS. (Photo by Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images)

WESTWOOD , CA - MAY 12: Actor Mark Hamill and Chewbacca arrive at the 'Star Wars Episode III - Revenge Of The Sith' Los Angeles Premiere at the Mann Village Theatre on May 12, 2005 in Westwood, California. The premiere benefits the charity Artists for a New South Africa and its compreshensive, ground-breaking program for South African children orphaned by HIV/AIDS. (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images)

LOS ANGELES, CA - DECEMBER 12: Actor Mark Hamill (R) and Chelsea Hamill arrive at Spike TV's 7th Annual Video Game Awards at the Nokia Event Deck at LA Live on December 12, 2009 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)

CANNES, FRANCE - MAY 17: Director/Actor Mark Hamill attends the Black Pearl Photocall during the 63rd Annual Cannes Film Festival on May 17, 2010 in Cannes, France. (Photo by Michael Buckner/Getty Images)

THE NEIGHBORS - 'It Has Begun . . . . ' - The Weavers take the Bird-Kersees to Atlantic City, where Marty learns that Larry Bird not only counts cards, he can see through them, and Jackie admits that she's always wanted a human wedding. Meanwhile, Dick Butkus, in charge back home, gets an ominous call from his grandpa. Is it time for the Neighbors to return to Zabvron? Find out on the Season Finale of 'The Neighbors,' WEDNESDAY, MARCH 27 (8:30-9:00 p.m., ET) on ABC. The episode features two of science fiction's biggest icons as guest stars, George Takei as Grandfather and Mark Hamill as Commandant Bill. (Photo by Richard Cartwright/ABC via Getty Images) GEORGE TAKEI, MARK HAMILL

ESSEN, GERMANY - JULY 28: Actor and producer Mark Hamill (L), best known for his performance as Luke Skywalker in the original Star Wars trilogy, and actor Warwick Davis (R) attend the Star Wars Celebration at Messe Essen on July 28, 2013 in Essen, Germany. (Photo by Sascha Steinbach/Getty Images)

BEVERLY HILLS, CA - SEPTEMBER 30: Actor Mark Hamill attends the Midnight Mission's 100 year anniversary Golden Heart Gala held at the Beverly Wilshire Four Seasons Hotel on September 30, 2014 in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo by Tommaso Boddi/WireImage)

ANAHEIM, CA - APRIL 16: (L-R) Actors Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher and Anthony Daniels speak onstage during Star Wars Celebration 2015 on April 16, 2015 in Anaheim, California. (Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images for Disney)

SAN DIEGO, CA - JULY 10: Actor Mark Hamill (C) poses with Imperial Stormtroopers at the Lucasfilm panel during Comic-Con International 2015 at the San Diego Convention Center on July 10, 2015 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Albert L. Ortega/Getty Images)

SAN DIEGO, CA - JULY 10: Actors Harrison Ford (R) and Mark Hamill attend Comic-Con International at San Diego Convention Center on July 10, 2015 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Daniel Knighton/FilmMagic)

HOLLYWOOD, CA - DECEMBER 14: Actor Mark Hamill attends the Premiere of Walt Disney Pictures and Lucasfilm's 'Star Wars: The Force Awakens' on December 14, 2015 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Jason Merritt/Getty Images)

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Mark Hamill has scathing response to Donald Trump interrupting 'Rogue One' screening - AOL

Colbert mocks Donald Trump Jr. for eyeing NY governor run – The Hill (blog)

"Late Show" host Stephen Colbert mocked Donald TrumpDonald TrumpDocuments reveal how Manafort connected with Trump: report McConnell: Supreme Court vacancy helped Trump win Trump defends Syria strike on Twitter MORE Jr. late Friday following reports that he is considering a run for governor of New York, joking "we are screwed."

"Whats the lovable scamp up to? Colbert asked of Trump, 39. Is he inventing a new hair-slicking technology? Or sitting on a tree stump, daydreaming about a new endangered species to shoot? Who knows.

No, according to Page Six, Donald Trump Jr. is considering a run for governor of New York, Colbert said. Look, that is absurd and will never happen is what I would have said six months ago. Now, we are screwed.

Colbert joked that Trump should consider the fact that his "dad lost here by 90 points."

The eldest son of President Trump reportedly said earlier this week that he may be setting his sights on a future in politics, and could consider running for governor of New York.

Trump Jr. reportedly said returning to business became boring after joining his father on the presidential campaign trail.

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Colbert mocks Donald Trump Jr. for eyeing NY governor run - The Hill (blog)