This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift ShareFor weeks, as the coronavirus silently spread through the United States, President Trump belittled the threat and repeatedly praised China for “transparency” and the World Health Organization for its handling of the outbreak. But when the death toll mounted and the scope of the public health crisis became too difficult to ignore, Trump reversed course.“I always felt it was a pandemic long before it was called a pandemic,” he declared — then angrily blamed China for failing to contain the new virus and accused the WHO of...…This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift ShareFor weeks, as the coronavirus silently spread through the United States, President Trump belittled the threat and repeatedly praised China for “transparency” and the World Health Organization for its handling of the outbreak. But when the death toll mounted and the scope of the public health crisis became too difficult to ignore, Trump reversed course.“I always felt it was a pandemic long before it was called a pandemic,” he declared — then angrily blamed China for failing to contain the new virus and accused the WHO of...WW…

This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift ShareJonathan Swan, Axios: “It’s been widely reported that the U.S. has intelligence indicating that Russia paid bounties, or offered to pay bounties, to Taliban fighters to kill American soldiers. You had a phone call with Vladimir Putin on July 23rd. Did you bring up this issue?”President Trump: “No, that was a phone call to discuss other things, and frankly, that’s an issue that many people said was fake news.”— July 29, 2020Trump: “It never reached my desk. You know why? Because they didn’t think it — intelligence — they...…This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift ShareJonathan Swan, Axios: “It’s been widely reported that the U.S. has intelligence indicating that Russia paid bounties, or offered to pay bounties, to Taliban fighters to kill American soldiers. You had a phone call with Vladimir Putin on July 23rd. Did you bring up this issue?”President Trump: “No, that was a phone call to discuss other things, and frankly, that’s an issue that many people said was fake news.”— July 29, 2020Trump: “It never reached my desk. You know why? Because they didn’t think it — intelligence — they...WW…

This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift ShareUPDATE: The final count for the Trump claims database is 30,573. For more information, It took President Trump 827 days to top 10,000 false and misleading claims in , an average of 12 claims a day.But on July 9, just 440 days later, the president crossed the 20,000 mark — an average of 23 claims a day over a 14-month period, which included the events leading up to Trump’s impeachment trial, the worldwide pandemic that crashed the economy and the eruption of protests over the death of George Floyd in police custody.The...…This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift ShareUPDATE: The final count for the Trump claims database is 30,573. For more information, It took President Trump 827 days to top 10,000 false and misleading claims in , an average of 12 claims a day.But on July 9, just 440 days later, the president crossed the 20,000 mark — an average of 23 claims a day over a 14-month period, which included the events leading up to Trump’s impeachment trial, the worldwide pandemic that crashed the economy and the eruption of protests over the death of George Floyd in police custody.The...WW…

This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift Share“When will they open a Cold Case on the Psycho Joe Scarborough matter in Florida. Did he get away with murder? Some people think so. Why did he leave Congress so quietly and quickly? Isn’t it obvious? What’s happening now? A total nut job!” — President Trump, , May 12The sun had not been up for an hour when the president of the United States, in his ninth tweet of the day, said MSNBC anchor Joe Scarborough might be a murderer.It’s an old claim, . Trump often smears those who challenge him. He has a long-running feud with...…This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift Share“When will they open a Cold Case on the Psycho Joe Scarborough matter in Florida. Did he get away with murder? Some people think so. Why did he leave Congress so quietly and quickly? Isn’t it obvious? What’s happening now? A total nut job!” — President Trump, , May 12The sun had not been up for an hour when the president of the United States, in his ninth tweet of the day, said MSNBC anchor Joe Scarborough might be a murderer.It’s an old claim, . Trump often smears those who challenge him. He has a long-running feud with...WW…

This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift Share“When somebody is the president of the United States, the authority is total. And that’s the way it’s got to be. It’s total.” — President Trump, , April 13, 2020Steve Holland, Reuters: “There’s a debate over what authority you have to order the country reopened. What authority do you have on this one?” Trump: “Well, I have the ultimate authority.” — Exchange at the briefingAt a coronavirus news briefing Monday, Trump said he could order hunkered-down states to reopen their economies. He claimed to have the “ultimate...…This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift Share“When somebody is the president of the United States, the authority is total. And that’s the way it’s got to be. It’s total.” — President Trump, , April 13, 2020Steve Holland, Reuters: “There’s a debate over what authority you have to order the country reopened. What authority do you have on this one?” Trump: “Well, I have the ultimate authority.” — Exchange at the briefingAt a coronavirus news briefing Monday, Trump said he could order hunkered-down states to reopen their economies. He claimed to have the “ultimate...WW…

This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift Share“It’s an open question, and one I think [Sen. Kamala D.] Harris should answer so the American people know for sure she is eligible.” — Trump campaign legal adviser Jenna Ellis, , Aug. 13, 2020“I heard it today that [Harris] doesn’t meet the requirements. And, by the way, the lawyer that wrote that piece is a very highly qualified, very talented lawyer. I have no idea if that’s right. I would have assumed the Democrats would have checked that out.” — President Trump, in remarks to reporters, Aug. 13, 2020A legal adviser...…This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift Share“It’s an open question, and one I think [Sen. Kamala D.] Harris should answer so the American people know for sure she is eligible.” — Trump campaign legal adviser Jenna Ellis, , Aug. 13, 2020“I heard it today that [Harris] doesn’t meet the requirements. And, by the way, the lawyer that wrote that piece is a very highly qualified, very talented lawyer. I have no idea if that’s right. I would have assumed the Democrats would have checked that out.” — President Trump, in remarks to reporters, Aug. 13, 2020A legal adviser...WW…

This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift Share“Why would they want to ban requirements for signature verification in federal elections? Who would want a bill banning signature verification? What’s that all about? You know what it’s about? Fraud. That’s what they want: fraud. They want to try and steal this election because, frankly, it’s the only way they can win the election.” — President Trump, , Aug. 8, 2020This is false. Democrats are not trying to ban signature verification requirements for mail-in ballots.What Democrats have introduced is that says U.S....…This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift Share“Why would they want to ban requirements for signature verification in federal elections? Who would want a bill banning signature verification? What’s that all about? You know what it’s about? Fraud. That’s what they want: fraud. They want to try and steal this election because, frankly, it’s the only way they can win the election.” — President Trump, , Aug. 8, 2020This is false. Democrats are not trying to ban signature verification requirements for mail-in ballots.What Democrats have introduced is that says U.S....WW…

This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift Share“Steve Daines will protect Montanans with preexisting conditions.” — “Of course I will always protect those with preexisting conditions. Always.” — “What I look forward to working on is a plan that protects people with preexisting conditions.” — Sen. Cory Gardner (R-Colo.), , July 1, 2020Sound familiar? Just like President Trump, these Republican senators say they support coverage guarantees for patients with preexisting health conditions. And just like Trump, their records show the opposite.The president’s doublespeak —...…This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift Share“Steve Daines will protect Montanans with preexisting conditions.” — “Of course I will always protect those with preexisting conditions. Always.” — “What I look forward to working on is a plan that protects people with preexisting conditions.” — Sen. Cory Gardner (R-Colo.), , July 1, 2020Sound familiar? Just like President Trump, these Republican senators say they support coverage guarantees for patients with preexisting health conditions. And just like Trump, their records show the opposite.The president’s doublespeak —...WW…

This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift SharePresident Trump’s media event Tuesday — which was mostly an extended monologue — was like watching unroll in real time. So many of Trump’s rhetorical favorites were tossed out — that he had built the best economy in U.S. history (), that he inherited few ventilators (), that he overrode his aides to impose some travel restrictions on China (), that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) “danced” in the streets in defiance of the coronavirus (), that he “rebuilt” a “totally depleted” military (), that the European Union was...…This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift SharePresident Trump’s media event Tuesday — which was mostly an extended monologue — was like watching unroll in real time. So many of Trump’s rhetorical favorites were tossed out — that he had built the best economy in U.S. history (), that he inherited few ventilators (), that he overrode his aides to impose some travel restrictions on China (), that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) “danced” in the streets in defiance of the coronavirus (), that he “rebuilt” a “totally depleted” military (), that the European Union was...WW…

CommentGift Share“I don’t think there’s any Republican who doesn’t think the IRS should be able to identify tax evaders and taxes that are being evaded. The question is, do you need to create a mechanism where the people of America have to give up their privacy on all of their financial transactions in order to do so? There’s got to be some ground in the middle.”⁠ — Sen. Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), , Oct. 19, 2021“Whether it’s $600 or $10,000, under this proposal, the intimate financial details of everyone in this room, at a minimum of every American who has a job, will be turned over on a daily...…CommentGift Share“I don’t think there’s any Republican who doesn’t think the IRS should be able to identify tax evaders and taxes that are being evaded. The question is, do you need to create a mechanism where the people of America have to give up their privacy on all of their financial transactions in order to do so? There’s got to be some ground in the middle.”⁠ — Sen. Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), , Oct. 19, 2021“Whether it’s $600 or $10,000, under this proposal, the intimate financial details of everyone in this room, at a minimum of every American who has a job, will be turned over on a daily...WW…