Trump slams enemies, vows, revenge, as key staffers find themselves on chopping block
Donald Trump has become politically emboldened after his impeachment acquittal, reportedly punishing enemies and forcing out disloyal staffers as he focuses on his re-election.
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Key staffers in the administration of US President Donald Trump may find themselves on the chopping block as the newly-strengthened president seeks revenge -- and re-election -- following his impeachment acquittal.
The White House is reportedly considering the dismissal of Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman from the National Security Council (NSC), according to Bloomberg.
The White House plans to frame the war hero’s dismissal as part of an NSC “staff downsizing,” instead of retaliation.
Lt. Vindman gave testimony during Mr Trump’s impeachment proceedings and was an important witness for the Democrats regarding Mr Trump’s phone call with Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelensky.
The White House is allegedly seeking to dismiss other officials who testified against Mr Trump.
Jennifer Williams, who worked as a special adviser to US Vice President Mike Pence, and testified in the House impeachment inqiuiry, left the President’s office two months before her planned March departure.
Also under the gun could be acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney, with commentators saying his political days are numbered.
CNN reports that with the five-month impeachment saga now over, Mr Trump will look to enter a new chapter in his presidency and consolidate a second term, purging the White House of any aides who are not definitively boosting him.
CNN reports that Mr Mulvaney is “increasingly unhappy” in his role, and that Mr Trump has lost confidence in him.
The purge comes as Mr Trump gave a defiant post-impeachment speech at the White House, slamming his political foes, and holding up a Washington Post newspaper with the words “Trump acquitted” on the front page.
He lashed out at Democrats’ failed impeachment trial and called the Russia probe “bulls**t”.
Mr Trump received a standing ovation at the White House the day after he was acquitted in his senate impeachment trial.
“We’ve all been through a lot together. It’s been a very unfair situation,” he told the cheering crowd.
“We’ve been going through this now for three years. It was evil, it was corrupt, it was dirty cops, it was leakers. It was a disgrace. Had I not fired James Comey, who was a disaster by the way, I might not be standing here today,” he continued before pivoting briefly to his accomplishments.
“We’ve done more than any president, any administration, you look at all of things we’ve done.”
Mr Trump predicted the stock market would have crashed had he not won the 2016 election, reports the New York Post.
“That’s all our credit. One of the reasons it’s going up … and one of the reasons the stock market has gone up so much in the last few days is people think we’re doing so well, they liked the State of the Union speech,” Mr Trump continued.
“This is really not a news conference, it’s not a speech, it’s not anything, it’s just we’re sort of — it’s a celebration because we have something that just worked out. It worked out. We went through hell unfairly. Did nothing wrong. Did nothing wrong,” he said,
Mr Trump’s legal team, including Pat Cippollone, Jay Sekulow and Patrick Philbin, had front-row seats for the remarks.
Also on hand for the White House East Room address were a host of Trump loyalists, including Mitch McConnell, Matt Gaetz, Doug Collins and Louie Gomert as Dave Bossie, leader of Citizens United.
TRUMP WANTS ROMNEY OUT
Mr Trump slammed Senator Mitt Romney for breaking with his party and voting to convict him on one of the articles of impeachment at his Senate trial.
At the National Prayer Breakfast, Mr Trump hit out at Nancy Pelosi and Senator Romney, without mentioning the pair by name.
“I don’t like people who use their faith as justification for doing what they know is wrong.
Nor do I like people who say I pray for you when they know that’s not so. So many people have been hurt, and we can’t let that go on. I will be discussing that a little bit later at the White House,” he said.
Mrs Pelosi, a devout Catholic, has repeatedly said she prays for the president.
She was seated at the head table during Mr Trump’s remarks and shook her head at one point during them.
Mr Trump took to Twitter, again pointing out that Sen. Romney was the Republican candidate who lost to Barack Obama in 2012, calling the Utah senator a “failed presidential candidate.”
Had failed presidential candidate @MittRomney devoted the same energy and anger to defeating a faltering Barack Obama as he sanctimoniously does to me, he could have won the election. Read the Transcripts!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 6, 2020
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 5, 2020
“Had failed presidential candidate @MittRomney devoted the same energy and anger to defeating a faltering Barack Obama as he sanctimoniously does to me, he could have won the election. Read the Transcripts!” Mr Trump wrote.
Sen. Romney voted on Wednesday to convict Mr Trump of abuse of power in his dealings with Ukraine, doing so because he said he pledged an oath to God to act impartially.
“I swore an oath before God to exercise impartial justice. I am profoundly religious. My faith is at the heart of who I am. I take an oath before God as enormously consequential,” he said on the Senate floor before the vote.
Mr Trump, who has maintained his innocence, was acquitted of the articles of impeachment brought against him by the full Senate.
Earlier on Wednesday, the president’s son, Donald Trump Jr., posted a meme of Sen. Romney, calling him a “a p***y.”
Mr Trump Jr. shared the image — which features Sen. Romney wearing “mum jeans” and the words “because you’re a p***y” — on Instagram and demanded Sen. Romney be booted from the Republican Party.
His father also shared the image suggesting he too wants to see Sen. Romney expelled from the Republican Party.
However, celebrities including Alyssa Milano and Bette Midler praised Senator Romney for voting against the US President.
Thank you for doing what’s right, @MittRomney. History will remember you as a decent, courageous, man among cowards and fools. pic.twitter.com/YPQkDTex1p
— Alyssa Milano (@Alyssa_Milano) February 5, 2020
Romney made a great speech, logical, well reasoned, emotional and true. It honestly looks as if #Romney is the ONLY person of courage in the entire party. THAT’S THE REAL OUTRAGE.
— Bette Midler (@BetteMidler) February 6, 2020
Thank you @MittRomney for putting #CountryOverParty & voting your conscience. Is there any doubt the outcome would have been much different had it been a secret ballot? #CowardlyGOP #HistoryIsWatching
— Mark Hamill (@HamillHimself) February 5, 2020
Respect to @SenatorRomney for being the only Republican Senator with the courage to honor his oath https://t.co/e2G0zp7Ky9
— Jimmy Kimmel (@jimmykimmel) February 5, 2020
I’d like to thank the Democratic senators who face tough re-election races in states that Trump won who, like Mitt Romney, voted to do the right thing and convict this criminal of a president. They are examples of courage and principle over politics as well.
— George Takei (@GeorgeTakei) February 5, 2020
TRUMP ACQUITTED
On Wednesday, Mr Trump was formally acquitted by the US Senate in his historic impeachment trial.
The outcome, with the Senate voting 52 to 48 to clear Mr Trump of abuse of power and 53 to 47 on obstruction of congress, has been regarded as a “done deal” for some time, but the result now supercharges his bid for re-election in November.
Within minutes of his acquittal, Mr Trump posted a video that suggested he would remain in office forever.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 5, 2020
Acquitted for life. pic.twitter.com/HgqBXwpoWK
— Kevin McCarthy (@GOPLeader) February 5, 2020
Mr Trump’s approval rating with US voters is now riding high while his opponents try to sort out who will actually be opposing him in the election.
White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham said in a statement that the result in the Senate was “full vindication and exoneration” for the US President.
“As we have said all along, he is not guilty. The Senate voted to reject the baseless articles of impeachment, and only the President’s political opponents – all Democrats, and one failed Republican presidential candidate – voted for the manufactured impeachment articles,” she said.
Democrats sought to impeach Mr Trump and remove him from office through two counts of impeachment, abuse of power and obstruction of Congress.
They alleged that in the phone call, Mr Trump asks for a “favour” – for Ukraine to look into business dealings there by Hunter Biden, son of former Vice President Joe Biden – in exchange for military aid.
Mr Trump vehemently denied the allegations. However, the Democrat-controlled House of Representatives voted to impeach the President, which sent the matter to the Republican-controlled Senate for trial.
Leading Democrats cried foul at the Senate outcome.
“President Trump was impeached with the support of a majority of the American people – a first in our nation’s history. And now he is the first President in history to face a bipartisan vote to convict him in the Senate,” Ms Pelosi said.
“A full 75 per cent of Americans and many members of the GOP Senate believe the President’s behaviour is wrong. But the Senate chose instead to ignore the facts, the will of the American people and their duty to the Constitution.
“The President will boast that he has been acquitted,” she said.
It came a day after Mr Trump declared he has delivered a “great American comeback”, in a rousing State of the Union speech.
Addressing a Congress that has for months been roiled by bitter partisan discord, the US president cast forward and made the case for why he should win a second term to chants of “four more years” in the chamber.
But even as he spoke of unity, the nationally televised spectacle saw him reject a handshake from Ms Pelosi, who announced his impeachment in the same room seven weeks ago, and sat uncomfortably behind him, at times making faces as he spoke and tearing up a copy of the speech he handed her as he finished.
“This is a blue collar boom,” Mr Trump said as he touted the “roaring economy”, creation of seven million new jobs, new trade deals and rising wages.
“In just three short years, we have shattered the mentality of American decline and we have rejected the downsizing of America’s destiny.
“We are moving forward at a pace that was unimaginable just a short time ago, and we are never going back!”
The address came in an extraordinary week for Washington, with his opposition still in turmoil after counting of the first Democratic votes for their presidential candidate were declared an “unmitigated disaster”.
A technical glitch delayed the release of the results for Monday’s Iowa caucuses, stealing crucial momentum at the kick-off the primary season. A decision by Democrats to release only part of the data Tuesday caused more confusion about who had actually won the first vote.
Former vice president and long-term frontrunner, Joe Biden, appeared to suffer a crushing blow, coming in fourth behind young Washington outsider Pete Buttigieg, who took 26.9 per cent in early counting, and far left candidates Bernie Sanders (25.1 per cent) and Elizabeth Warren (18.3 per cent), after 62 per cent of the vote was tallied.
The results were released by a contrite Iowa Democratic Party chair, who apologised for the disastrous count in which a coding problem in a new, untested app cast a shadow over the first days of the 2020 race.
“We have been working day and night to make sure these results were accurate,” said state party chairman Troy Price at a testy press conference.
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Although Mr Trump is only the second president to give a SOTU address while being impeached Mr Trump did not mention the saga.
But he did make several nods to the radical platforms of Mr Sanders and Ms Warren, including the scrapping of private health cover and providing universal health care for refugees.
“We will never let socialism destroy American healthcare,” he said.
“If you believe that we should defend American patients and American seniors, then stand with me and pass legislation to prohibit free government healthcare for illegal aliens!”
It comes as it was announced that the US economy has added 225,000 new jobs in January.
On Friday morning local time, Mr Trump took to Twitter to welcome back ultra-conservative actor James Woods who had been banned from the social media platform.
Welcome back James! https://t.co/m116MGrrRo
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 7, 2020
Originally published as Trump slams enemies, vows, revenge, as key staffers find themselves on chopping block