Donald Trump defends immigration enforcement raids across US
DONALD Trump’s National Security Adviser Mike Flynn reportedly has his job on the line, as the stink over his close ties to Moscow refuse to go away.
WEEKS of damaging revelations of close ties to Moscow appear to be taking its toll, with President Trump’s National Security Adviser Mike Flynn’s job on the line.
The Wall Street Journal is reporting the White House is reviewing whether or not to keep the embattled Flynn in his key role after fresh furore over his conversations with Russian officials in the days and weeks before Trump took office.
Flynn has reportedly been seeking to heal a rift with his Trump administration colleagues, an unnamed administration official told The Wall Street Journal.
“He’s apologised to everyone,” the official is quoted as saying.
President Trump has remained silent on the issue since telling reporters on Friday that he would “look into” disclosures about Flynn’s Moscow ties.
But he’s also previously said he had confidence in Flynn and wanted to “keep moving forward”.
Key Trump adviser Steve Bannon reportedly shared a meal with Flynn over the weekend when the ongoing scandal was discussed.
General Flynn should be suspended and have his intelligence clearance revoked. https://t.co/gflLx8W7DG
â Nancy Pelosi (@NancyPelosi) February 11, 2017
At the heart of the issue is a conversation between Flynn and Russian ambassador Sergey Kislyak on December 29. Flynn initially insisted he did not discuss the issue of sanctions with the Russian official, though one of the first acts of the Trump administration was to move on loosening limitations on Moscow.
Flynn now concedes he did.
He also admits to having made several calls to the ambassador.
Vice-president Pence is reportedly furious with the National Security Advisor after publicly vouching for Flynn’s integrity — only for later revelations to reveal he had lied.
Senior Democrats figures have been calling for an independent investigation into Flynn, stating a lack of certainty over Russian involvement in his commercial dealings.
TRUMP IMPEACHED? YOU CAN BET ON IT
IT’S pretty much even money President Trump will quit the White House or be impeached, according to online betting agencies.
British bookmaker Ladbrokes has been taking money and calculating the odds: it says the current figures are 11-to-10 the unpredictable President won’t last his full term.
Irish gambling agency PaddyPower has the odds at 4-to-1 that Trump will be impeached before the end of the year.
Either way, Presidend Trump is proving to be big business for betting agencies.
“From a betting perspective, Donald Trump’s presidency has triggered a massive boom for these kinds of markets,” PR manager of Ladbrokes Alex Donohue told Politico. “With Donald Trump, everything he does, it can be turned into speculation, and that can be turned into gambling.”
TRUMP MAY ISSUE ‘NEW’ TRAVEL BAN
THE White House has confirmed it is considering issuing a brand new order on immigration now that President Donald Trump’s travel ban has been halted by the courts.
“Right now we are considering and pursuing all options,” presidential aide Stephen Miller told Fox television on Sunday.
He said the next step would be either filing an emergency appeal to the Supreme Court, defending the merits of the order in lower courts or issuing a new one.
“The president’s powers here are beyond question,” said Mr Miller. “We are contemplating new and additional actions to ensure that immigration is not a vehicle for admitting people into our country that are hostile to its nation and its values.”
.@realDonaldTrump motorcade passes hundreds of protesters -- and a few supporters -- in West Palm Beach. pic.twitter.com/TQ40PyT9Vq
â George Bennett (@gbennettpost) February 12, 2017
The order that Mr Trump issued abruptly on January 27 halts resettlement of all refugees for 120 days and that of Syrian refugees indefinitely. It also bars for 90 days the entry of nationals from seven mainly Muslim countries.
A federal judge and a three-judge appeals panel in San Francisco voted against the ban.
On Saturday, Mr Trump said he was considering signing a “brand new” executive order, adding: “We need speed for reasons of security, so it very well could be.”
SENATOR RAISES MENTAL HEALTH FEARS
Democratic senator claims that “a few” of his Republican colleagues have expressed concern to him about President Donald Trump’s mental health — and that stems from questions about Trump’s truthfulness.
Minnesota’s Al Franken has told CNN’s State of the Union that the concern arises “in the way that we all have this suspicion” that “he lies a lot. He says things that aren’t true. That’s the same as lying, I guess.”
Worried that seeking #mentalhealth care will affect your #securityclearance? Get the important facts here: https://t.co/snsx7LYGvr pic.twitter.com/pPH2KhFfcX
â U.S. Dept of Defense (@DeptofDefense) February 12, 2017
Franken cites Trump’s groundless claim that he would have won the popular vote in the presidential race if not for 3 million to 5 million immigrants in the country illegally voting for his Democratic opponent, Hillary Clinton. And Trump is said to have told some senators in a private meeting at the White House that he and former Republican Senator Kelly Ayotte would have won in New Hampshire if not for voters bussed in from out of state.
“You know, that is not the norm for a president of the United States, or, actually, for a human being,” Franken said.
PRESIDENT TRUMP’S JOB APPROVAL RATING DOWN
A new Gallup poll has shown President Trump’s approval rating has fallen again, with 55 per cent of those surveyed ‘disapproving’ of his performance after just 23 days in the top job.
When he took office, a similar poll showed 45 per cent approval rating. The weekend poll show this has slipped to 40 per cent.
President Trump has suffered several setbacks in his first weeks of office, with three judges last week upholding a ban on the implementation of his controversial travel-ban barring citizens from seven ‘high terror risk’, predominantly Muslim, countries.
Previous Republican President George W. Bush served 1678 days before recording a similar low score. President Obama took 950 days to reach the low.
TRUMP DEFENDS IMMIGRATION CRACKDOWN
Mr Trump has defended the arrest of hundreds of undocumented migrants this week in the first large-scale raids of his presidency.
The federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency rounded up undocumented individuals at homes and workplaces in Atlanta, Austin, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York and other cities two weeks after the US president signed an executive order that broadened who would be targeted for deportation.
While ICE said the operations were “routine”, the raids sparked protests and provoked the ire of elected Democrats.
“President Trump’s policy change betrays our values,” Democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein said in a statement. “Tearing families apart isn’t what this country stands for.”
Mr Trump hit back at his critics on Twitter, writing on Sunday morning: “The crackdown on illegal criminals is merely the keeping of my campaign promise. Gang members, drug dealers & others are being removed!”
The crackdown on illegal criminals is merely the keeping of my campaign promise. Gang members, drug dealers & others are being removed!
â Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 12, 2017
72% of refugees admitted into U.S. (2/3 -2/11) during COURT BREAKDOWN are from 7 countries: SYRIA, IRAQ, SOMALIA, IRAN, SUDAN, LIBYA & YEMEN
â Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 12, 2017
Fear is running high among immigrant communities, with about 160 people arrested in the California metropolis. About 75 per cent of them had prior felony convictions, while others were nabbed solely because they were undocumented.
By Friday night, 37 undocumented immigrants had already been expelled to Mexico.
In Austin, Texas, where 100,000 unauthorised migrants live, a bystander captured video footage of an arrest, which made local front-page news and ignited demonstrations.
In a January 25 decree, Mr Trump prioritised the deportation of undocumented males who had been convicted of or “charged with any criminal offence,” including misdemeanours.
The order was a move to make good on his campaign pledge to crack down on America’s undocumented population, estimated at 11 million people.
NEWSPAPER USES BALDWIN PHOTO FOR TRUMP
El Nacional, a newspaper in theDominican Republic, has published an apology after mistakenly running a photo of actor Alec Baldwin doing his impression of the US president on Saturday Night Live instead of Mr Trump himself.
Accompanying an article in its Friday edition headlined in Spanish: “Trump says settlements in Israel don’t favour peace,” a photo of a scowling Baldwin in a blond wig appears next to a photo of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
In a statement posted on its website, the Dominican newspaper said a photo of Baldwin imitating Mr Trump — over the caption “Donald Trump, president of the USA” — was published on page 19 and the mistake went unnoticed by the newspaper’s staff.
President Trump has lashed out at the way SNL has lampooned him, saying Baldwin’s semi-regular portrayal of him “stinks”.
KELLYANNE CONWAY EYEING EXIT?
White House counsellor Kellyanne Conway may not be planning to spend the full four years with Mr Trump in Washington DC.
Sources have told The New York Post Ms Conway and her husband George T Conway III are members of the exclusive Alpine Country Club in Demarest, New Jersey, where memberships can cost up to $US75,000, plus $US25,000 a year in dues.
One source at the club said, “It was expected that Kellyanne would resign her membership, as she’s moved to DC. But instead of resigning, she and her husband asked for a leave of absence for just one year. Hasn’t she gone to Washington for four years?”
Ms Conway explained that she didn’t want to cancel her membership because the club has “among the best food on the Jersey side.”
She told The New York Post, “Anything more than a year feels like a cancellation, not a suspension. Do the rules allow for four years? And don’t you mean eight years, not four? (wink)”
HEZBOLLAH ‘OPTIMISTIC’ ABOUT TRUMP PRESIDENCY
The leader of Lebanon’s militant Hezbollah group says the world will benefit from having an “idiot” in the White House.
Hassan Nasrallah said in a speech on Sunday that his group is much stronger than when it was created in the early 1980s and should not be concerned about threats from the West.
Referring to Mr Trump, Nasrallah said “we are very optimistic that when an idiot settles in the White House and boasts about his idiocy, this is the beginning of relief for the oppressed around the world.”
Mr Trump has vowed to take a stronger stance against Iran, which is a key sponsor of Hezbollah and other militant groups in the Middle East. The White House said Iran was “on notice” after it tested a ballistic missile.
JOHN OLIVER’S GREEN CARD FEARS UNDER TRUMP
British comedian John Oliver has revealed he is “slightly concerned” about his immigration status under the Trump administration.
On Tuesday’s broadcast of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, the host of Last Week Tonight acknowledged he “probably” won’t be deported because he has a green card.
But Oliver said he now accepts that under Mr Trump’s presidency, there is “a non-zero chance of it happening.”
“I have an American wife and an American son now, but who knows what’s enough?” Oliver said. “Having a green card used to be enough, and yet what we saw with that executive order on immigration, that debacle, things are not what they were supposed to be.”
His comments come after Mr Trump signed an executive order on immigration temporarily barring people from seven Muslim-majority countries from temporarily entering the US.
The order was overturned by the courts, but Mr Trump told reporters on Saturday a “brand new order” could be issued as early as Monday or Tuesday.
âIt's easy to be angry when you're on adrenaline. It's much harder when you're just tired." - @IamJohnOliver #LSSC https://t.co/X10JhF79Vg pic.twitter.com/yaJ55Ovg90
â The Late Show (@colbertlateshow) February 8, 2017
TRUMP GOOD FOR US ECONOMY IN SHORT TERM: IMF
The head of the International Monetary Fund says Mr Trump taking office is likely good for the American economy in the short term, though rising interest rates and a strengthening dollar will challenge global trade.
Christine Lagarde said Mr Trump’s plans for additional investment in US infrastructure and his likely tax reforms will boost America’s economic fortunes.
However, she acknowledged that Mr Trump’s policies likely will squeeze international markets.
“That’s a tightening that is going to be difficult on the global economy and for which economies have to prepare,” Ms Lagarde said during an event on Sunday at the World Government Summit in Dubai.
Asked how the world missed Mr Trump’s rise and the United Kingdom’s vote to leave the European Union, Ms Lagarde described a creeping, “insidious” push toward anti-globalisation and protectionist thought.
KMART, SEARS DROP TRUMP’S LINE OF FURNISHINGS
The websites of retailers Kmart and Sears in the US no longer sell products from the Trump Home Line, which is owned by the Trump Organisation, Business Insider reports.
A search for Trump Home items on both retailers’ sites reportedly yielded no results, except goods sold by third-party sellers.
“As part of the company’s initiative to optimise its online product assortment, we constantly refine that assortment to focus on our most profitable items,” a Sears Holdings spokesperson told Business Insider.
“Amid that streamlining effort, 31 Trump Home items were among the items removed online this week. Products from the line are still offered online via third-party Marketplace vendors.”