Politico published an article Friday claiming that Trump called the coronavirus a “hoax” at his rally in South Carolina.
The article claimed that Trump “tried to cast the global outbreak of the coronavirus as a liberal conspiracy intended to undermine his first term.”
In reality, Trump referred to “politicizing” of the coronavirus by Democrats as “their new hoax.”
Even Facebook flagged Politico’s piece as false information:
The President clarified his remarks over the weekend, noting noting that he was “referring to the action that they take to try and pin this on somebody because we’ve done such a good job.”
“The hoax is on them. I’m not talking about what’s happening here. I’m talking what they’re doing. That’s the hoax,” Trump said, according to NBC News.
Mike Bloomberg proved Trump’s exact point by spreading an edited video and claiming that Trump believes the virus isn’t real:
Here it is, folks. With a pandemic at our doorstep and the country looking to its president for leadership, Trump decides to call the coronavirus… a "hoax."
Bloomberg repeated that claim in an interview with CBS, prompting host Scott Pelley to correct him:
Michael Bloomberg repeated the false claim that President Trump referred to the coronavirus as a "hoax."
CBS News' Scott Pelley pointed out that President Trump actually said the media & Democrat hysteria about the government coronavirus response was a hoax, NOT the virus. pic.twitter.com/HmSWsnaQFw
— Francis Brennan (Text TRUMP to 88022) (@FrancisBrennan) March 1, 2020
“He said that the Democrats making so much of it is a Democratic hoax, not that the virus is a hoax,” Pelley told Bloomberg.
Mini Mike simply ignored Pelley, and argued “This is up to the scientists and the doctors as to whether there is a problem,” adding that Trump’s response to the coronavirus outbreak has been “ignorant and irresponsible.”
Meanwhile, over at CNN, the mental gymnastics went a step further, with Inside Politics host John King saying that “you can read this how you wish” as far as Trump’s ‘hoax’ comments go.
A federal appeals court Friday blocked President Trump’s “remain in Mexico” policy, ruling it went beyond the boundaries of federal law — and eliminating the most important tool Homeland Security used to stem last year’s border surge.
Officially known as the Migrant Protection Protocol, the policy was used to push migrants who showed up at the U.S.-Mexico border back across the boundary, where they were told to wait for their immigration court dates in the U.S.
But the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said federal law doesn’t allow for such a blanket return policy, and upheld a preliminary injunction.
“The court forcefully rejected the Trump administration’s assertion that it could strand asylum seekers in Mexico and subject them to grave danger,” said Judy Rabinovitz, a lawyer with the American Civil Liberties Union who argued the case against the government. “It’s time for the administration to follow the law and stop putting asylum seekers in harm’s way.”
Are concerns expressed by Rush Limbaugh and others that workers in the federal bureaucracy may try to politicize the response to the coronavirus as a weapon against President Trump’s reelection that far fetched? Workers in many federal government departments and agencies have tried since his election to sabotage Trump from within, proudly calling themselves part of the Resistance.
However, a November 9, 2016 report by NPR station WABE-FM in Atlanta where the CDC is headquartered headlined an article on CDC employees’ reaction to Trump’s victory: “Atlanta CDC Employees Express Anxiety Over Trump’s Win”.
Employees at the Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say the mood in their office is somber.
The employees of one of the largest federal agencies in Atlanta said they’re concerned about job safety, funding and new public health policies under Donald Trump’s presidency.
At the General Muir deli across the street from the CDC, a few employees talked to WABE, asking that their names not be used. One microbiologist said her colleagues were crying in the hallways.
“It’s really sad,” she said. “It’s depressing. I’m eating a bagel to try and be happy.”
One anti-TRUMP CDC worker spoke of using the CDC to ‘reach out to (the) electorate’
But, she said, they are looking for a silver lining, specifically reaching out to low-income, rural communities.
“My team is trying to identify how to reach out to this electorate that has clearly expressed that they’re hurting,” she said. “We’re thinking, you know, how can we reach out to these people so they don’t feel the need to feel disenfranchised, I guess.”
Q Thank you, sir. A number of your supporters online have embraced these theories reported — these theories that the CDC may be exaggerating the threat of coronavirus to hurt you politically. Rush Limbaugh the other day said this has been advanced to weaponize the virus against you.
THE PRESIDENT: You don’t mean my supporters. You mean my — my people that are not supporters?
Q Right. Your opponents.
THE PRESIDENT: Yeah, I agree with that. I do.
Q Have you seen evidence of that?
THE PRESIDENT: I think they are. I think — and I’d like it to stop. I think people know that when Chuck Schumer gets upset — I mean, he did the same thing with a couple of trade deals that are phenomenal deals now — everybody has acknowledged they’re phenomenal deals — before he ever saw the deal. He didn’t even know we were going to make a deal. They said, “What do you think of the deal with China?” “I don’t like it. I don’t like it.”
He talked about tariffs. I left the tariffs on: 25 percent on $250 billion. He said, “He took the tariffs off.” He didn’t even know the deal. And he was out there knocking it because that’s a natural thing to say. But when you’re talking about especially something like this, we have to be on the same team. This is too important. We have to be on the same team.
Q Have you seen evidence that the CDC is trying to hurt you? That there are career officials —
THE PRESIDENT: No, I don’t think the CDC is at all. No, they’ve been — they’ve been working really well together. No, they really are. They’re professional. I think they’re beyond that. They want this to go away. They want to do it with as little disruption, and they don’t want to lose life. I see the way they’re working. This gen- — these people behind me and others that are in the other room, they’re incredible people. No, I don’t see that at all.
“Russia is currently trying to help President Trump get reelected.”Allow me to paraphrase.“We have nothing to talk about in our attempts to get rid of President Trump right now, so, “RUSSIA! RUSSIA! RUSSIA!”
As Marxist Bernie Sanders continues to surge in the Democrat primary a new poll finds that only 29% of US voters support Socialism.
This could spell doom for Democrats in November.
It was already going to be a very difficult year for the death cult but with Crazy Bernie as the public face of the party it’s going to be even more difficult.
A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone and online survey finds that 29% of Likely U.S. Voters share a favorable opinion of socialism, with just nine percent (9%) who have a Very Favorable one. Fifty-nine percent (59%) view socialism unfavorably, including Very Unfavorables of 42%. Eleven percent (11%) are undecided.
The Donald J. Trump For President campaign filed anew defamation lawsuitagainst the New York Times in the New York Supreme Court on Wednesday, seeking to the hold the legacy media publication accountable for its false claims of a conspiracy between Trump and the government of Russia to assist in Trump’s 2016 election as President.
The development could represent the first step towards holding fake news accountable for wide-ranging conspiracies alleging Russian interference in American politics on behalf of Trump, a recurring theme in the New York Times’ editorial and news coverage since the President’s election.
The Trump campaign is pointing to an op-ed in 2019 as an incident in which the Times “knowingly published false and defamatory statements,” most notably claiming that President Trump was willfully working with the Russia to ensure his election. The Times claimed Russia was boosting Trump’s political prospects with the hopes of a pro-Russian foreign policy to come during the Trump administration.
Jenna Ellis, senior legal counsel to the campaign, released a statement on the matter upon the lawsuit’s filing.
Pervasive claims of Russian interference in American politics were largely shut down by the conclusion of Robert Mueller’s much-hyped probe into the matter, the Special Counsel having failed to find evidence of any plot between the President and Russia to benefit his election.
Fake news has consequences. The New York Times could follow in the footsteps of CNN in facing an expensive settlement with someone it’s defamed, the latter recently being forced to settle with Covington Catholic student Nick Sandmann for its slanted editorial coverage of the high school student.
Journalists and security guards were attacked by violent Bernie Bros in Austin, Texas yesterday, with one having to visit hospital to receive stitches after having his head gashed.
One of the security guards revealed what happened to him and his colleagues when Owen Shroyer began bullhorning during the event.
“As soon as Bernie went on stage and Owen tried to give some counter-points with the bullhorn, we were immediately rushed by a number of very aggressive individuals,” said the security guard.
Shroyer and his security were situated well outside the perimeter and where police officers had said they were allowed to be. They did not attempt to insert themselves into where the Bernie supporters were located.
“There were people on the perimeter that were Bernie supporters and as soon as Owen started with his counter-message they rushed us,”the security guard added, noting that a man wearing a black bandana used a large steel flashlight as a threatening weapon while another tried to physically grab Shroyer’s bullhorn.
During this confrontation, a security guard was left bloodied and had to be taken to the hospital to receive stitches. Police were nowhere to be seen during the scuffle.
“I promise you, these people were not peaceful, they were literally preparing themselves, masking up, getting metal objects into their hands, into their pockets, they were looking for a confrontation,” said the security guard.
Other clips from the confrontation showed Bernie supporters acting out in bizarre ways, including one older man who pulled strange faces into the camera while Shroyer was bullhorning.
Senior ABC News correspondent David Wright accused his own network of denying President Donald Trump “credit” for his administration’s accomplishments and revealed that he’s a “socialist,” according to an undercover video captured by Project Veritas.
“I feel terrible about it,” Wright says of ABC’s coverage of the presidential election. “I feel that the truth suffers, the voters are poorly informed and people have the opportunity to tune into whatever they want to hear.”
“It’s like there’s no upside in, or our bosses, don’t see an upside in doing the job we’re supposed to do; which is to speak truth to power and hold people accountable,” he adds.
In another part of the video, Wright claims that the media doesn’t hold President Donald Trump to account, and then admits that reporters don’t give the president “credit” where it’s due. “I think, some of that at least in the place that I work and places like it, is that with Trump, we’re interested in three things: we’re interested in the outrage of the day, the investigation, and of the palace intrigue of who’s backstabbing who,” he says.
Later in the footage, Wright is asked about his political ideology, to which he says that he not only sees himself as a Democrat-socialist, but a full-blown socialist. “I think there should be national health insurance,” Wright argues. “I’m totally fine with reining in corporations, I think there are too many billionaires, and I think that there’s a wealth gap. That’s a problem.”
The video concluded with Wright saying that the establishment media is more interested in covering the election as a “horse race” than a contest about issues important to voters. “I don’t think we’re terribly interested in voters,” he concedes.
“In addition to the candidate of the week, we need the story to move on,” Wright explains. “We’re happy to have Buttigieg be the story last week and we’re happy to have Klobuchar as a new subject this week, and then when we’re tired of her we’ll be delighted if Elizabeth Warren kicks ass in Nevada because then we have something new to talk about.”
“We’re all guilty of the same thing,” Wright continues.” I think that all of the big news organizations… ABC, CBS, NBC.”
“We recognize that we’re dinosaurs and we’re in danger of dying,” he adds.
The Washinton Post reported that ABC News has suspended correspondent Wright “for unguarded remarks he made in a video by operatives of Project Veritas.”
In a statement to Project Veritas, ABC News said of the decision: “Any action that damages our reputation for fairness and impartiality or gives the appearance of compromising it harms ABC News and the individuals involved. David Wright has been suspended, and to avoid any possible appearance of bias, he will be reassigned away from political coverage when he returns.”
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) on Mondayreleaseda fact sheet explaining how he will fund his “major” multitrillion-dollar campaign proposals — the Green New Deal, free college, housing for all, etc. — and revealed that he will pay for them through a combination of cutting military spending, creating new taxes, and enacting penalties on the fossil fuel industry in the form of lawsuits.
While Sanders has released a suite of lofty plans with the promise to improve the lives of middle class and low income Americans, critics have repeatedly asked the socialist senator to explain how his administration will pay for his grandiose proposals.
His campaign released a fact sheet on Monday listing each of his “major plans” and providing a line on how he will make it a reality.
His $16.3 trillion Green New Deal plan, perhaps one of his most prolific proposals, will be paid for, he claims, through a variety of methods including slashes in military spending and lawsuits against the fossil fuel industry.
He is calling to reduce defense spending by $1.215 trillion “by scaling back military operations on protecting the global oil supply.” His campaign claims he will raise $3.085 trillion by “making the fossil fuel industry pay for their pollution, through litigation, fees, and taxes, and eliminating federal fossil fuel subsidies.” He expects to garner another $6.4 trillion “from the wholesale of energy produced by the regional Power Marketing Administrations.”
“This revenue will be collected from 2023-2035, and after 2035 electricity will be virtually free, aside from operations and maintenance costs,” his website states.
Sanders also claims his Green New Deal plan will create 20 million jobs, which will effectively create a new tax base and eliminate the need for $1.31 trillion in “federal and state safety net spending due to the creation of millions of good-paying, unionized jobs.”
His campaign actually argues that enacting his multitrillion-dollar climate change proposal will save the United States $2.9 trillion in the next decade, $21 trillion over the next 30 years, and $70.4 trillion over the next 80 years.
“If we do not act, the U.S. will lose $34.5 trillion by the end of the century in economic productivity,” he claims.
That is far from Sanders’ only proposal. Offering free college and cancelation of student debt will cost, according to his estimates, $2.2 trillion. Sanders claims the plan is “fully paid” for with a “modest tax on Wall Street speculation,” contending that it will raise more than enough — $2.4 million over the next decade.
Sanders says his $1.5 trillion housing for all plan and $1.5 trillion universal child care/pre-K plan will be paid for with “a wealth tax on the top one-tenth of one percent – those who have a net worth of at least $32 million.” He claims it will raise “a total of $4.35 trillion.”
His other plans rely almost entirely on new taxes on the wealthy. His vow to erase $81 billion past-due medical debt will be “fully paid for by establishing an income inequality tax on large corporations that pay CEOs at least 50 times more than average workers.”Additionally, Social Security expansion will be paid for, he says, with a tax on Americans with incomes over $250,000.
Instead of explicitly stating how Sanders will fund his Medicare for All plan, which some experts say could cost over $60 trillion over the next decade, the fact sheet simply touts a “menu of financing options that would more than pay for the Medicare for All legislation he has introduced,” which includes raising taxes on the middle class.
Per the fact sheet, those options include:
Creating a 4 percent income-based premium paid by employees, exempting the first $29,000 in income for a family of four.
Imposing a 7.5 percent income-based premium paid by employers, exempting the first $1 million in payroll to protect small businesses.
Eliminating health tax expenditures, which would no longer be needed under Medicare for All.
Raising the top marginal income tax rate to 52% on income over $10 million.
Replacing the cap on the state and local tax deduction with an overall dollar cap of $50,000 for a married couple on all itemized deductions.
Taxing capital gains at the same rates as income from wages and cracking down on gaming through derivatives, like-kind exchanges, and the zero tax rate on capital gains passed on through bequests.
Enacting the For the 99.8% Act, which returns the estate tax exemption to the 2009 level of $3.5 million, closes egregious loopholes, and increases rates progressively including by adding a top tax rate of 77% on estate values in excess of $1 billion.
Enacting corporate tax reform including restoring the top federal corporate income tax rate to 35 percent.
Using $350 billion of the amount raised from the tax on extreme wealth to help finance Medicare for All.
The release of the fact sheet follows Sanders growing frustration over the mounting questions over the costs of his massive proposals.
Anderson Cooper grilled Sanders on the costs of his various proposals during the presidential hopeful’s recent sit-down interview with 60 Minutes.
“But you say you don’t know what the total price is, but you know how it’s going to be paid for. How do you know it’s going to be paid for if you don’t know how much the price is?” Cooper asked.
“I can’t rattle off to you every nickel and every dime,” Sanders said. “But we have accounted for — you talked about Medicare for All — we have options out there that will pay for it.”
US Customs and Border Protection agents in South Texas are reportedly being given respirator face masks to deal with Chinese immigrants crossing illegally into the US through Mexico.
The agents, stationed in Texas’ Rio Grande Valley sector, on Tuesday said they’ve encountered 91 immigrants from China since start of 2020, according to Center for Immigration Studies fellow and counter-terrorism expert Todd Bensman.
Fortunately, none of the Chinese immigrants have tested positive for the Coronavirus currently wreaking havoc in China and other parts of the world.
From Bensman:
Border Patrol source: 91 Chinese migrants apprehended at Texas Rio Grande sector since Jan. 1. They are being isolated and screened for virus. Agents given respirators to deal. No virus detected as of today. Lots of Chinese still coming over there and elsewhere.
The update from the southern border comes as US health officials on Tuesday warned the virus’ spread to the United States appears inevitable as cases continue to pop up in Asia and the Middle East.
“Ultimately, we expect we will see community spread in the United States,” a top scientist at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Tuesday. “It’s not a question of if this will happen but when this will happen and how many people in this country will have severe illnesses.”
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