Inside Trump's shock and brawl strategy with foreign leaders

Axios

"President Trump isn't afraid to punch on foreign turf, even after getting the red carpet.

"The big picture: As the White House prepares for the summit with North Korea in Singapore on June 12 ("a once unimaginable encounter," the N.Y. Times calls it), we've put together a look at President Trump handles foreign leaders when the doors are closed:

• Trump wound up U.S. Trade Representative Bob Lighthizer and let him go to town in Beijing when meeting with President Xi Jinping and a whole bunch of Chinese representatives in November.
• In fact, Trump egged Lighthizer on. POTUS asked Lighthizer leading questions at the table in the bilateral meeting, which included Xi and the U.S. and Chinese delegations.
• Trump: "Bob, why don't you walk them all through what our trade deficit is and [how] all these dialogues have produced nothing? ... Take them through the history." Lighthizer was all too happy to do it.

"Trump likes to walk into a meeting with a head of state and throw out the protocol, which he believes throws rivals off balance." . . .

Iranian citizens start #ThankYouTrump Campaign On Twitter For Cancelling Obama’s Nuke Deal With Iran

100% FedUp  "On the same day President Trump announced that he would be withdrawing from Barack Obama’s horrible nuclear deal with Iran, the world’s leading state sponsor of terror, Iranians started a #ThankYouTrump campaign on Twitter that’s been picking up steam ever since…

Here are just a sampling of the many tweets from Iranians, thanking President Trump for not supporting the brutal, torturous, Iranian regime. One of the Twitter users even told President Trump they would be removing the Mullahs very soon.

This Iranian Twitter user wanted Americans to know that Iranians do not support the behavior of these Iranian officials who burned the American flag and chanted “death to America” as a show of hate, and disrespect for our nation after Trump withdrew from the nuclear deal with Iran.

#ThankYouTrump

The Guardian

May 10, 2018

Search results

1. بیش فعال‏ @hyperactivve May 8

   #ThankYouTrump You saved Iranian people's future
2. موسیو هپلی‏ @heykhosrow May 9

   As an Iranian, I would like to say: Oh people of world, I apologize to you for the silence and stupidity of my people. we gave power and nourishment to these evil Muslim terrorists(Mullah government & IRGC), for the past 39 years. #ThankYouTrump

   
   

   Show this thread
3. Maryam  🏳‏ @proMcyon May 8

   Make Iran Great Again #ThankYouTrump

What has happened to the hero John McCain's legacy?

Trump's statement about McCain's POW status was below the belt and uncalled for, understandably causing great anger in McCain. Yet the Senator met with his torturers
How sad. TD

Obama called to thank McCain for saving Obamacare  "As he unburdens himself from the cares and bonds of a lifetime, and never will face Arizona voters again, Senator John McCain is letting it all hang out.  In his forthcoming final book, which may sell more copies to Democrats than to Republicans,  he reveals a friendship of sorts. Caitlin Yilek writes in The Daily Caller:" . . .
. . . "If only the senator had been this candid before facing the voters."

McCain defends giving dossier to Comey: 'I would do it again'  Sen. John McCain wrote in his upcoming memoir that he does not regret alerting the FBI about the so-called Steele dossier, which details President Trump’s alleged ties to Russia." . . .
. . . "The Steele dossier has been at the center of investigations into Russian meddling in the 2016 election conducted by congressional committees and special counsel Robert Mueller. Trump has repeatedly called the latter's probe a "witch hunt" and a "hoax."
"The document has been a source of controversy, as it was funded partly by the Democratic National Committee and Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign.It started out as an opposition research document funded by the conservative website The Washington Free Beacon" . . .

John McCain calls on Senate to reject CIA nominee Gina Haspel

Did John McCain's experience in captivity ruin his judgment?  . . . "But what caught my attention was a statement McCain made yesterday against CIA nominee Gina Haspel. McCain, who is so ill that he cannot attend Senate sessions, could have chosen merely to be silent about Haspel if he were not predisposed to voting for her. Instead, he made a special effort to stab her and President Trump in the back with a statement seemingly intended to torpedo her nomination." . . .

From CBS: John McCain opposes CIA nominee Gina Haspel  . . . " 'I believe Gina Haspel is a patriot who loves our country and has devoted her professional life to its service and defense," McCain noted. "However, Ms. Haspel's role in overseeing the use of torture by Americans is disturbing. Her refusal to acknowledge torture's immorality is disqualifying. I believe the Senate should exercise its duty of advice and consent and reject this nomination.' "

#YepHimToo

The New York Post reported all the salacious details of Attorney General Eric Schneiderman’s whips-and-chains love life on Tuesday. He has resigned in disgrace. He’s so angry at the New York Post for publishing the details of his bondage fetish that he’s threatened to cancel all his personal ads.  Comedian Argus Hamilton

Another one bites the dust

. . . "In one of his flicks Samuel Jackson says something to the effect of, “If you keep doing what you’ve always done, you’ll always be what you’ve always been.” As long as Noo Yockers keep voting for liberals, this is exactly what they’re gonna get."

UPDATE:  Schneiderman accusations show how he was shielded to protect Dem brand  . . . "An alarming development for so many, the Weinstein scandal exposed the depth of a fraud difficult for many to comprehend. But now we know and understand more. It’s about monsters using politics to gain power while cultivating a liberal environment that will protect them.

"In the immediate aftermath of the allegations, this columnist noted on Fox News that “All these liberal men clothe themselves in the cloak of feminism. Weinstein did the same thing, Bill Clinton was doing the same thing. It was all about ‘we’re your protectors, we’re your advocates.’ And that had kept them safe.”

National Review: Eric Schneiderman: Abortion Advocate and Fake Feminist  "For men who use and abuse women, abortion can be an easy way out." . . . "As it turns out, Schneiderman’s relentless campaign for women’s rights was a thin veneer apparently painted on for public profit. Behind closed doors, the act evaporated, to be replaced by systematic, heinous abuse. I won’t recount Schneiderman’s misdeeds here — the New Yorker story, tenaciously reported by Jane Mayer and Ronan Farrow (who catalyzed the #MeToo movement last fall with his bombshell report on Weinstein), is not for the faint of heart." . . .

. . . "We are now several decades into this experiment of billing abortion as false liberation that requires women to “take care of” unwanted pregnancies. On top of the tens of millions of unborn lives taken as a result, the #MeToo movement and abusive men such as Schneiderman have shown us the bitter fruit of a message that allows men to foist the consequences of promiscuity and pregnancy on women alone."  Alexandra DeSanctis 

#yep himtoo NBC News on Matt Lauer sexual harassment probe: We knew nothing  The old, "I found out the same way you all did: I read it in the paper this morning" worked for Obama for at least eight years. Of course, he was a Democrat being scrutinized by Democrats.

Why are New York Democrats such perverts? 

 "New York Democratic Congressman Anthony Weiner wanted to remove the “Triumph of Civic Virtue” statue from Queens in February 2011 because the figures were nekkid.  Four months, Weiner resigned from Congress after sending a naughty tweet to a young co-ed."

October 9, 2016;  New York’s AG Eric Schneiderman Gives Clinton Foundation a Free Pass  "The New York office of the attorney general is corrupt and it’s right out in the open with no one is complaining.

"AG Scneiderman is trying his hardest to prosecute people who he labels as climate deniers and he has shut down Trump’s charity in New York for the same reasons he is not prosecuting the Clinton Foundation. His latest gambit on behalf of his candidate Hillary Clinton is to give the Clinton Foundation a pass on late filings and worse though he used that excuse to go after the Trump Foundation.

"Keep in mind, this is New York’s top  law enforcement officer.

"The Clinton Foundation failed to properly file non-profit paperwork required by New York state for years – for years – and did not disclose government grants on its filings as required by law.

"New York will allow their late filings, giving them cover for the illegal operation they have been running for years.

"No such pass was given to Schneiderman’s political enemy. Last week, the office of Democrat Schneiderman issued a cease and desist letter to the Trump Foundation, ordering it to stop fundraising in the state for failing to complete the government form for every year that the group raises money in the state.

"Anything to embarrass Trump – to take him down." . . .

How can anyone concerned for our nation's safety ever want Democrats in charge of our security?

Dem Senator Tells Haspel She Should Have Used this Obvious Solution to the CIA Tapes Scandal . . . "Haspel fielded other antagonistic retorts throughout the hearing - a few of which she was ready for. Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR), for instance, suggested that her record is largely classified in order to put her in a better light. What was she hiding?

" 'After 9/11, I didn't look to go sit on the Swiss desk, I stepped up," Haspel said in defense. "I was not on the sidelines. I was on the front lines in the Cold War and I was on the front lines in the fight against al Qaeda."

"She defended her integrity when Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA) grilled her about what she would do if President Trump directed her to restart enhanced interrogation.

" 'My parents gave me a very strong moral compass," she said. "I would never, ever take CIA back to an interrogation program.”

"At another point, Haspel corrected Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) for suggesting the CIA had interrogated 92 detainees. It was 92 tapes of one detainee, Haspel responded." . . .

Gina Haspel Embarrasses Senator Feinstein For Citing Debunked Reports
. . . "Feinstein shot back, "My understanding is that it was recently confirmed it was you."
"Senator, I did not run the interrogation department," Haspel said. "In fact, I was not even read into the interrogation program until it had been up and running for a year."

Senator Cotton Reminds Democrats About Their Connection To Torture Program  "On Wednesday, Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) gave a friendly reminder to Democrats on the Senate Intelligence Committee, reminding them that they voted in favor of confirming President Barack Obama's CIA director nominee John Brennan, who held a senior-level position in the agency during its use of enhanced interrogation techniques."

Ann Coulter: 'Guest workers are more of a threat to our national security than Iran is'

"Old Muhammad Had a Farm, Jihad, Jihad … Oh!"

Don't judge them, Ann. They just want a better life and will be good Americans

Ann Coulter  "Contrary to the lyin’ media’s lie that Trump is the liar, he isn’t. At least not all the time. But this week, he got off a true whopper.

"Trump’s claim that he was pulling out of the Iran deal in order “to protect America’s national security interests” is a big, fat lie.

"Iran has killed lots of American troops in the Middle East but has done nothing to any Americans here on our own soil.

"Obviously, I’m not saying anyone was asking for it, but here are some rules to live by: If you don’t want to be falsely accused of rape by a stripper, don’t invite strippers to your lacrosse party. As of Monday, if you don’t want to get beaten up, don’t date Eric Schneiderman. And if you don’t want American troops getting blown up in the Middle East, don’t send troops there when we have absolutely no national security reason for doing so.

"There are a lot of crazy people in the Middle East.

"America has zero defense interest in rearranging that part of the world, and we don’t have a particularly good track record of doing so, at least since Jimmy Carter withdrew our support from the Shah of Iran in 1979.

"What actually is in America’s national security interest is preventing crazy foreigners from coming here." . . .

Obama Accuses Trump Of ‘Flouting’ Agreements, But Ex-Prez Did Just That By Betraying Israel   "However, Obama himself had no problem flouting a critical U.S. pledge to Israel when his administration allowed the passage of an anti-Israel United Nations resolution demanding a halt to Israeli construction in the West Bank and eastern Jerusalem, wrongly labeling those lands “Palestinian territory occupied since 1967.”

"Obama on Tuesday said Trump’s decision to withdraw from the Iran deal is “misguided.”

"The former president further warned: “The consistent flouting of agreements that our country is a party to risks eroding America’s credibility and puts us at odds with the world’s major powers.”

"Obama failed to mention that Iran is already accused of violating the agreement by signing the deal under false pretenses. During an address last week, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu unveiled a cache of secret files he says were obtained from inside a hidden Iranian site and clearly demonstrate that Tehran maintained a secret nuclear weapons program despite declarations to the contrary." . . .

"Spitzer, Weiner, Schneiderman: a bunch of power-hungry perverts"

The New Yorker via Lucianne    "Eric Schneiderman, New York’s attorney general, has long been a liberal Democratic champion of women’s rights, and recently he has become an outspoken figure in the #MeToo movement against sexual harassment. As New York State’s highest-ranking law-enforcement officer, Schneiderman, who is sixty-three, has used his authority to take legal action against the disgraced film mogul Harvey Weinstein, and to demand greater compensation for the victims of Weinstein’s alleged sexual crimes. Last month, when the Times and this magazine were awarded a joint Pulitzer Prize for coverage of sexual harassment, Schneiderman issued a congratulatory tweet, praising “the brave women and men who spoke up about the sexual harassment they had endured at the hands of powerful men.” Without these women, he noted, “there would not be the critical national reckoning under way.”

"Now Schneiderman is facing a reckoning of his own. As his prominence as a voice against sexual misconduct has risen, so, too, has the distress of four women with whom he has had romantic relationships or encounters. They accuse Schneiderman of having subjected them to nonconsensual physical violence." . . .

NBC News Ridiculed After Ronan Farrow Breaks NY AG Sexual Assault Story  "NBC News is being criticized after its former reporter, Ronan Farrow, once again broke a story regarding sexual misconduct allegations involving a major figure, who happens to be on the political left.

"On Monday, Farrow co-bylined a story in the New Yorker documenting four accusations of sexual misconduct by Democrat New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, which led to his resignation just hours later, The Wrap reported.

. . . "Appearing on the “Rachel Maddow Show” last October, the MSNBC host asked Farrow about NBC News’ decision not to run the story.

“ 'You would have to ask NBC and NBC executives about the details,” Farrow replied. The reporter noted that he was threatened personally with a lawsuit by Weinstein, implying perhaps NBC received the same threats.

"Maddow followed up saying NBC claimed the story wasn’t “ready to go” when Farrow brought it to their attention.  "He immediately shot that notion down." . . .

“I walked into door at The New Yorker with an explosively reportable piece that should’ve been public earlier,” Farrow said. “And immediately, obviously, The New Yorker recognized that, and it is not accurate to say that it was not reportable.”

The "kink community" thinks this reflects badly on their image.  "Many members of what’s widely known as the kink community are outraged that Eric Schneiderman, in resigning as New York’s attorney general, depicted his alleged violence toward several women as “role-playing and other consensual sexual activity.' ” . . .

The Mormon boys who will be leaving Boy Scouts represent about 18.5 per cent of the 2.3 million youth in the organisation.

An Eagle Scout Explains the Fatal Folly of Taking the ‘Boy’ out of Boy Scouts
. . . "I was proud to be a Scout, prouder still to earn my Eagle rank just before my 18th birthday. But of course, as we all know, once social justice warriors gets their slimy tentacles into something their thirst is never quenched until that something is entirely destroyed, and such has it been with Boy Scouting ever since its clueless national leaders began leading the organization down that perilous cliff.

"From openly gay scout leaders to transgender members to just last Wednesday, when the organization officially announced a name change to Scouts BSA because, well, Boy Scouting isn’t just for boys anymore.

“ 'We’re trying to find the right way to say we’re here for both young men and young women,” said hapless Boy Scouts Chief Scout Executive Mike Surbaugh. Because everyone is the same, don’t you know. Because little boys and little girls are, as far as today’s liberals are concerned, identical to each other in every possible way except a few ‘easily changeable’ body parts.

"Of course, anyone with half a brain knows that boys and girls are different, but reason and common sense has never stopped a rabid social justice warrior from wanting to impose their twisted view of reality on the rest of us. " . . .

The UK Independent reports:  Mormons to cut nearly century-old tie with Boy Scouts, a week after decision to drop 'boy' from name

"The Mormon church will cut all ties with Boy Scouts, a week after movement announced its decision to drop 'boy' from its name.

"A statement issued by the church said it had opted for the split so it could create its own youth programme, although the two organisations' values had clearly diverged over recent years.

"The announcement was not a complete surprise after the religion last year removed 185,000 boys between the ages of 14 and 18 from the Scouts, signalling an end to a nearly century-old relationship based on shared values.

"In 2015 the Boy Scouts decided to allow gay troop leaders and announced last year it would allow girls in its ranks. 

"Last week, the organisation said it would change the name of its flagship programme next year to Scouts BSA to account for the inclusion of girls." . . .

We can now expect TV depictions of boys in the Scouts being put in their place  by more skilled girls who are better at everything, and having a smirk on their faces.

Did you hear about the violent teen flash mob that took over Chicago's fanciest shopping area Saturday?

And we owe these people reparations? Maxine Waters calls incidents like this simply "rebellion".

Thomas Lifson  

"The end result of indoctrination in government schools and mass media that teaches "urban youths" that American society is racist, corrupt, unfair, and unworthy of compliance is the crumbling of civil order.  When a substantial group of young males (the segment of society most prone to acting out with violence) think they have no stake in the continuation of existing social and property relations, they are able to impose anarchy in local areas.  When enough people think and feel this way, the forces of order – police, and in extremis the National Guard – can be overwhelmed and powerless to stop the disorder.

"This nightmare scenario is developing step by step.  The rise of social media enables the organization of what are now called "flash mobs" that can descend on targets and cause chaos.  Sometimes, targets are chosen for the lucrative looting opportunities.  That appears to be what happened last Saturday night on Chicago's Magnificent Mile, at the very heart of upscale shopping, dining, and residential life, the Water Tower Place, a multistory shopping mall at the base of a 74-story tower." . . .

Betsy DeVos Gets Standing Ovation for Commencement Speech Despite Protests

Legal Insurrection

“The warm welcome was in stark contrast to the disapproving crowds DeVos encountered last year”

 

"No one gave Obama’s education secretary a second thought but DeVos has been an object of the left’s hatred of Trump. She recently got a great reception for a commencement speech, however.

"The College Fix reports:

Despite protest, Betsy DeVos grad speech draws standing ovation from students

There’s this famous story about how Barbara Bush in 1990 won over her critics through her commencement speech at Wellesley College. Initially, many students had protested her as speaker. But in the end, the First Lady wowed the grads with her words of wisdom, earning their respect and praise.

That’s similar to what just happened with U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos.*

Last month, some Ave Maria University alumni called on their alma mater to rescind its invitation to DeVos to speak at the commencement ceremony, suggesting “Mrs. DeVos’s policies are callous and unjust towards marginalized persons,” the Naples Daily News reports.

Well, whatever negative vibes those objections might have projected onto the graduating seniors was nullified by DeVos’ words of wisdom to grads a few days ago, during which she called on the students to embrace their new lives with the heart of a servant.

Citing Mother Teresa, Pope Saint John Paul II and Jesus Christ as examples, the education secretary brought the students to their feet with cheers and applause, earning the embattled leader a standing ovation, according to several news reports." . . .

Officials Admit Parkland Shooter Took Part in Controversial Broward Discipline Program

Legal Insurrection

More egg on the face of Broward officials.

"Nikolas Cruz, who murdered 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, took part in a controversial Broward discipline program despite reassurances that he had “no connection” to it.

The PROMISE program allows students to attend an alternative school “to avoid getting involved with the criminal justice system” if they “commit certain misdemeanors.” The program has a list of 13 misdemeanors that qualify.

"From WJCT:

Two sources with knowledge of Cruz’s discipline records told WLRN he was referred to the so-called PROMISE Program for a three-day stint after committing vandalism at Westglades Middle School in 2013.

When asked for a response, a spokeswoman for Superintendent Robert Runcie stated on Friday that district administrators were aggressively analyzing Cruz’s records. Then Tracy Clark said on Sunday afternoon the district had “confirmed” Cruz’s referral to PROMISE after he vandalized a bathroom at the middle school on Nov. 25, 2013.

However, it’s unclear if Cruz ever attended the program.

"Cruz attended the “Pine Ridge Education center in Fort Lauderdale – an alternative school facility where PROMISE is housed – for an intake interview the day after the vandalism incident. Clark said it looks like Cruz did not complete “the recommended three-day assignment/placement” and refused to “speculate” why.

"One of the injured survivors of the shooting “is planning a lawsuit that will argue the program led school leaders to demonstrate a lax attitude toward discipline.”

"The superintendent and officials keep defending the program:" . . .

(All emphases in the original.)