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Donald Trump - President of the USA's legal troubles

Stewie said:
I think there is a fine line there somewhere when people genuinely believe a demagogue and do not support the person for the vile nature of his thoughts but rather they think he is doing good.

Middle America, whites, blue collared not college educated, are happy due to booming economy and jobs. They care less for f it’s not impacting them.

Any nation would honestly behave the same way. Idealism works best in books, speeches, forums, whatnot. It’s upto Dems to do their best to make sure the people know Trump is not truly good because these economic policies are not good in the long term. The economy is not good because of him, it has to do with the slow and steady work Obama did.

But if the Dems keep harping along racial/ethnic/minority lines they won’t be able to get much done.
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Great post and sums up the whole scenario....
 
siddharth said:
Its about how u present urself...she doesn't know how to putforth her point elegantly whereas Trump can getaway with everything..
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She is an elected representative. She is communicating herself just fine. Trump, on the other hand, lost the midterms and there is no guarantee he'll survive the next presidential election. In fact i'm willing to bet he'll lose by a landslide. Ilhan will win. No one would have paid any particular attention to her had Trump not vindicated her point of view by blatantly expressing his racist views about her. So its not the Democrats but Republicans who are shooting themselves in the foot by pulling these racist stunts.
 
Angrez Pakistani said:
I can leave my house with my own accord but if some white guy from my neighborhood comes knocking at my door, threatening me to leave my house, because of my identity, then he is indeed a bigot and racist of the highest order. There is no hypocrisy at play here as some Trump supporters, like you, would like us to believe.
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Calm down. None is deporting the four horsewomen of the apocalypse. It is just a verbal protest.
 
Angrez Pakistani said:
'Some people did something and now all of us [Mislims] are being blamed for 9/11' were her exact remarks. It is so easy to demonize someone when smear merchants aren't willing to see what's actually right there in front their eyes.

You can call Ilhan Omer ungrateful but more than a 100,000 dead Iraqi civilians disagree. Homeless and Orphaned children of Afghanistan due to unending illegal US led wars disagree. People who have suffered directly at the hands of the Empire disagree. 13 year old children held at Guantanamo Bay. Afghan girls raped by the US tropes in Afghanistan disagree. Innocent civilians killed via drone attacks in Pakistan disagree. I disagree.
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Almost 3000 were killed and another 6000 were injured, all of them innocent civilians including the elderly and the children.

Shame on traitor Ilhan and people like you who do not think what she said needed to be condemned.
 
The_Odd_One said:
This said, people like Ilhan Omar and AOC are extremely obnoxious and incompetent. All they do is constantly ***** about America. Trump is not wrong when he tells them to go back where they came from if all they have so many issues with our country. This applies to anyone with any skin color, it has nothing to do with racism. America has given them everything and they should be grateful for it rather than bad-mouthing it all the time.

I will vote for Trump because of all the candidates for presidency, Trump is easily better than all of them. My political views are aligned with his for the most part, be it stopping illegal immigrants, supporting Israel, bringing more jobs to the US, staying away from wars, etc.
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Trump was complaining about "draining the swamp", "Washington being too corrupt", immigration, etc during his election campaign. By his logic, should he have left the country if he didn't like those things?
 
JaDed said:
Volunteering to leave and asking to leave are not the same.
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Why do these people care? Their homeland was clearly not something very important to them otherwise they would not have mentioned leaving it for such a petty issue.
 
ahsan17 said:
Trump was complaining about "draining the swamp", "Washington being too corrupt", immigration, etc during his election campaign. By his logic, should he have left the country if he didn't like those things?
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He was highlighting the issues that he would solve as the president. Omar's shameful comments on 911 and Al-Qaeda were completely out of line.
 
The_Odd_One said:
Almost 3000 were killed and another 6000 were injured, all of them innocent civilians including the elderly and the children.

Shame on traitor Ilhan and people like you who do not think what she said needed to be condemned.
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And she said all those deaths have been cynically weaponized by the bigots to lump Muslims into the category of extremists since the 9/11. That's actually the case, with the profiling of Muslims and their notorious detentions at sites like Guantanamo Bay. I don't know about you but i feel like Ilhan is raising voice for those whose voice cannot be heard in the upper echelons of Washington DC elite.
 
Angrez Pakistani said:
And she said all those deaths have been cynically weaponized by the bigots to lump Muslims into the category of extremists since the 9/11. That's actually the case, with the profiling of Muslims and their notorious detentions at sites like Guantanamo Bay. I don't know about you but i feel like Ilhan is raising voice for those whose voice cannot be heard in the upper echelons of Washington DC elite.
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Muslims are doing just fine in America. They are in much better shape than other minorities.
 
The_Odd_One said:
He was highlighting the issues that he would solve as the president. Omar's shameful comments on 911 and Al-Qaeda were completely out of line.
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Trump was complaining about 4 congresswomen, not just Omar. And he was complaining about "they are telling us how to run our country", which in your words mean highlighting issues that they want to solve. So how do you address the fact that he is telling the congresswomen to go back based on things he did himself during his election campaign?
 
The_Odd_One said:
Almost 3000 were killed and another 6000 were injured, all of them innocent civilians including the elderly and the children.

Shame on traitor Ilhan and people like you who do not think what she said needed to be condemned.
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Dont worry America have murdered thousand times more people in the last few years. I know for sure, you dont mind when children are blown up unless they are in your camp.

Ilhan is a great woman and has said nothing wrong. Racists cant stand black muslim woman being so strong and pointing out rednecks in office.
 
<iframe width="806" height="453" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/oNzVSIo0CGY" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>

This sums up the rationale fairly well.
 
Here's another gem

<iframe width="806" height="453" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/M9rsVV-n1n0" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>
 
Evangelicals should never utter another word about their "Christian values" when they hero worship this man.

Did Jesus call to lock children up in filthy detention camps, swindle your creditors, lie with impunity, sexually assault women, engage in racism and destroy the environment ?
 
Markhor said:
Evangelicals should never utter another word about their "Christian values" when they hero worship this man.

Did Jesus call to lock children up in filthy detention camps, swindle your creditors, lie with impunity, sexually assault women, engage in racism and destroy the environment ?
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These people believe Jesus(pbuh) was a white man with blue eyes. Its easier to knock sense into a brick.
 
WASHINGTON — Nervous Republicans, from senior members of Congress to his own daughter Ivanka, urged President Trump on Thursday to repudiate the “send her back” chant directed at a Somali-born congresswoman during his speech the night before at a rally in North Carolina, amid widespread fears that the rally had veered into territory that could hurt their party in 2020.

In response, Mr. Trump disavowed the behavior of his own supporters in comments to reporters at the White House and claimed that he had tried to contain it, an assertion clearly contradicted by video of the event.

Mr. Trump said he was “not happy” with the chant directed at Representative Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, a freshman Democrat who is Muslim. At the rally Wednesday evening, he had been in the middle of denouncing her as an anti-American leftist who has spoken in “vicious, anti-Semitic screeds” when the chant was taken up by the crowd.

Pressed on why he did not stop it, Mr. Trump said, “I think I did — I started speaking very quickly.” In fact, as the crowd roared “send her back,” Mr. Trump paused and looked around silently for more than 10 seconds as the scene unfolded in front of him, doing nothing to halt the chorus. “I didn’t say that,” he added. “They did.”

A spotlight on the people reshaping our politics. A conversation with voters across the country. And a guiding hand through the endless news cycle, telling you what you really need to know.

Mr. Trump’s cleanup attempt reflected the misgivings of political allies who have warned him privately that however much his hard-core supporters in the arena might have enjoyed the moment, the president was playing with political fire, according to people briefed on the conversations.

Among them were House Republican leaders, who pleaded with Vice President Mike Pence to distance the party from the message embraced by the crowd in Greenville, N.C. Mr. Pence conveyed that directly to Mr. Trump, according to people familiar with the exchange.

“That does not need to be our campaign call, like we did the ‘lock her up’ last time,” said Representative Mark Walker, Republican of North Carolina, a top official in the party’s messaging arm, referring to the chant that routinely broke out whenever Mr. Trump mentioned Hillary Clinton during the 2016 campaign. Midway through that race, Mr. Trump told reporters he did not approve of that chant, but he never intervened.

Mr. Walker, who attended the rally on Wednesday night, later posted on Twitter that he had “struggled” with the chant. “We cannot be defined by this,” he said.

Mr. Trump’s inner circle immediately appreciated the gravity of the rally scene and quickly urged him to repudiate the chant. Ms. Trump, his elder daughter and senior adviser, spoke to the president about it on Thursday morning, the people familiar with the discussions said, speaking on the condition of anonymity.

Mr. Trump’s backpedaling reflects a larger issue for Republicans as they devise a strategy for the election. There is wide agreement in the party that branding Democrats as radicals in favor of open borders and what they dismiss as grandiose proposals like the Green New Deal could be a powerful argument in their attempt to hold the White House and make inroads in Congress.

“What I’m going to be busy doing is uplifting people, and making sure they understand: Here in this country, we are all Americans,” Representative Ilhan Omar, Democrat of Minnesota, said on Thursday at the Capitol.
Credit
Anna Moneymaker/The New York Times


Image“What I’m going to be busy doing is uplifting people, and making sure they understand: Here in this country, we are all Americans,” Representative Ilhan Omar, Democrat of Minnesota, said on Thursday at the Capitol.
“What I’m going to be busy doing is uplifting people, and making sure they understand: Here in this country, we are all Americans,” Representative Ilhan Omar, Democrat of Minnesota, said on Thursday at the Capitol.CreditAnna Moneymaker/The New York Times
But while Republicans regard Ms. Omar and her fellow progressives who make up “the squad” — Representatives Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, Ayanna S. Pressley of Massachusetts and Rashida Tlaib of Michigan — as particularly good embodiments of that radicalism, there is some concern that suggesting they leave the country makes the argument too personal and could backfire.

Mr. Trump’s freewheeling campaign rallies — at which he aims for maximum entertainment value by testing boundaries and breaking taboos, all while his supporters egg him on with cheers and chants — encourage that kind of language. The feedback loop is so familiar by now that Mr. Trump’s staff explicitly warned him before the rally that the crowd would follow his lead as he spoke about Ms. Omar and to be careful not to let things spin out of control.

Even before Wednesday’s rally, his aides and advisers had spent days trying to manage the fallout from the president’s tweets on Sunday calling on the four Democratic congresswomen who he said “originally came from countries whose governments are a complete and total catastrophe” to “go back” and “help fix” them.

All of them are American citizens, and all but Ms. Omar, a Somali refugee, were born in the United States.

Many of Mr. Trump’s advisers immediately recognized that the tweets had crossed a new line, and they expected him to walk them back at the beginning of the week. But he did the opposite, renewing his call for the women to leave the United States. The charge that his tweets were racist “doesn’t concern me,” the president said, “because many people agree with me.”

Those people included Mr. Trump’s defenders on Fox News, like the prime-time host Tucker Carlson, who has repeatedly denounced Ms. Omar while defending the president against the charge of racism.

After the rally, Mr. Trump made no mention of any concern. “Just returned to the White House from the Great State of North Carolina. What a crowd, and what great people,” he tweeted.

Congressional Republicans, who offered only muted protest over the president’s initial remarks about the congresswomen, recognized that the spectacle in Greenville demanded a more vocal response. Some suggested that the episode, with its intimations of political persecution and even physical force, had violated sacred democratic norms.

“Those chants have no place in our party or our country,” Representative Kevin McCarthy of California, the Republican leader, told reporters.

Even as they denounced the crowd’s chant, Republican leaders declined to criticize Mr. Trump personally.

“There’s no place for that kind of talk,” Representative Tom Emmer of Minnesota said to reporters in Washington after being asked about the chant.

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/18/us/politics/ilhan-omar-donald-trump.html
 
The democrats would be absolutely thrilled at how effective their propaganda has been on PP.
 
The_Odd_One said:
Why do these people care? Their homeland was clearly not something very important to them otherwise they would not have mentioned leaving it for such a petty issue.
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You know what the funny thing here is? Trump and his cult would want you out of the country too :)))
 
Madplayer said:
You know what the funny thing here is? Trump and his cult would want you out of the country too :)))
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They will have to change the constitution and the law of the state to do so. Fortunately, the US is not a third world country like Pakistan where constitution and law can be manipulated at will.
 
KingKhanWC said:
Dont worry America have murdered thousand times more people in the last few years. I know for sure, you dont mind when children are blown up unless they are in your camp.

Ilhan is a great woman and has said nothing wrong. Racists cant stand black muslim woman being so strong and pointing out rednecks in office.
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There are plenty who openly criticize the US involvement in the middle east and Afghanistan.

Let's not play the race card. Ilhan passed some terrible remarks about 9/11 and Al-Qaida. She deserves this bashing.
 
ahsan17 said:
Trump was complaining about 4 congresswomen, not just Omar. And he was complaining about "they are telling us how to run our country", which in your words mean highlighting issues that they want to solve. So how do you address the fact that he is telling the congresswomen to go back based on things he did himself during his election campaign?
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Because these 4 women are a curse to this country. Do you know how much AOC cost NY by not letting Amazon establish their head-quarter in NY?
 
The_Odd_One said:
There are plenty who openly criticize the US involvement in the middle east and Afghanistan.

Let's not play the race card. Ilhan passed some terrible remarks about 9/11 and Al-Qaida. She deserves this bashing.
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USA has destroyed nations, killed millions which makes anything Al-Q did miniscule in comparison.

What did she say?

What did she say?
 
KingKhanWC said:
USA has destroyed nations, killed millions which makes anything Al-Q did miniscule in comparison.

What did she say?

What did she say?
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Exactly, the US has killed far more people than the amount of people that died in the twin tower attack. Oh the hypocrisy!
 
USA didn't just kill in Middle East. They also messed up or tried to mess up many countries in South America, Vietnam etc. Let's not forget USA was the only country in history to use nuclear weapon. Just take a look at CIA's track records in foreign countries; they constantly interfere.

USA and hypocrisy go side by side.
 
AdamM97 said:
Exactly, the US has killed far more people than the amount of people that died in the twin tower attack. Oh the hypocrisy!
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Since 911 US wars have killed approx 1000 X more people than those killed on 911. Attacking innocent people is never right but it's not hard to understand why so many want to attack America.
 
sweep_shot said:
USA didn't just kill in Middle East. They also messed up or tried to mess up many countries in South America, Vietnam etc. Let's not forget USA was the only country in history to use nuclear weapon. Just take a look at CIA's track records in foreign countries; they constantly interfere.

USA and hypocrisy go side by side.
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USA-Bombing.jpg
 
KingKhanWC said:
Since 911 US wars have killed approx 1000 X more people than those killed on 911. Attacking innocent people is never right but it's not hard to understand why so many want to attack America.
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Any atrocity should be condemned and that includes 9/11 which was a terrible act of violence against innocent people. I just can’t stand some Americans who think their lives are worth more than others lives.
 
sweep_shot said:
Exactly.

No other country in human history caused as much miseries as USA did. But then again, we have to understand that USA is literally controlled by Zionist monsters.
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Lets also not forget the only nation to have used nuclear bombs, not one but two bombs. These were not required as confirmed by the commander of the US forces in the East at the time. So they used such weapons for their own personal interests, this itself shows the sick mentality of this regime over time. Zionists own them and will lead the US down the toilet in the future.
 
AdamM97 said:
Any atrocity should be condemned and that includes 9/11 which was a terrible act of violence against innocent people. I just can’t stand some Americans who think their lives are worth more than others lives.
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I think this may be due to their history. Remember US came into being by invading a land, killing est 30-80 million natives and then using slaves to build their economy. Its only been 50 odd years since black people were allowed to vote. Maybe in another generation or two things might change but I doubt it , their population are becoming thicker and thicker.
 
The_Odd_One said:
There are plenty who openly criticize the US involvement in the middle east and Afghanistan.

Let's not play the race card. Ilhan passed some terrible remarks about 9/11 and Al-Qaida.
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This is not true.
 

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The_Odd_One said:
Because these 4 women are a curse to this country. Do you know how much AOC cost NY by not letting Amazon establish their head-quarter in NY?
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Why was she against Amazon setting up shop in NY?

Amazon is an American company and would have employed thousands. Its hard to understand why.
 
UP said:
Why was she against Amazon setting up shop in NY?

Amazon is an American company and would have employed thousands. Its hard to understand why.
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I think it was because of the bad working conditions in the Amazon warehouses.
 
AdamM97 said:
I think it was because of the bad working conditions in the Amazon warehouses.
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Had nothing to do with working conditions, AOC didn't like that Amazon would get some tax incentives for setting up in NY.

When she realised her mistake she tried to back pedal but Amazon had moved on.

It’s a shame, because 77% of New Yorkers wanted the Amazon jobs and $150,000 average pay packages, and the governor made a good deal that would have netted NY and NYC $25 billion in tax revenue over 10 years, despite a modest credit in the beginning.
https://nypost.com/2019/06/22/aoc-attacks-amazon-with-absurd-allegations/
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AOC screwed up and cost NY billions of dollars due to her ego.
 
Trump demands apology from congresswomen targeted by racist slurs

Donald Trump has continued his week-long attack on four Democratic congresswomen - demanding they apologise to the US and Israel "for the horrible things they have said".

The US president has been engaged in a war of words with the women - who he has branded "The Squad" - since he used his Twitter account to tell them to "go back" to the "crime-infested places from which they came".

A Trump rally in North Carolina on Wednesday night also took an ugly turn when the crowd started chanting "send her back" - a direct reference to one of politicians.

In a Sunday morning tweet, Mr Trump questioned their allegiance to the United States, writing: "I don't believe the four Congresswomen are capable of loving our Country.

"They should apologize to America (and Israel) for the horrible (hateful) things they have said.

"They are destroying the Democrat Party, but are weak & insecure people who can never destroy our great Nation!"

The congresswomen - Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Rashida Tlaib, Ilhan Omar and Ayanna Pressley - have all been long-time critics of Mr Trump's immigration policy.

They have criticised the treatment of immigrants in border camps and crackdowns by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers.

Mr Trump caused controversy a week ago when he falsely said the black, Hispanic and Muslim women - all US citizens - "came from countries whose governments are a complete and total catastrophe, the worst, most corrupt and inept anywhere in the world".

He had written on Twitter: "Why don't they go back and help fix the totally broken and crime infested places from which they came.

"Then come back and show us how it is done."

Three of the congresswomen were born in the US, with the exception of Somali-born Ilhan Omar, who became a US citizen aged 17 after claiming asylum.

At a news conference last week, Ms Pressley said: "Our squad includes any person committed to building a more equitable and just world and that is the work that we want to get back to.

"And given the size of this squad in this great nation we cannot, we will not be silenced."

Despite many established Democrats in the US previously appearing to distance themselves from the group, they have now rallied around their colleagues in the face of the president's remarks about them.

Prime Minister Theresa May said Mr Trump's comments were "completely unacceptable", while US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said they showed the president's plan was to "make America white again".

https://news.sky.com/story/trump-de...ngresswomen-targeted-by-racist-slurs-11767980
 
Gilly said:
Had nothing to do with working conditions, AOC didn't like that Amazon would get some tax incentives for setting up in NY.

When she realised her mistake she tried to back pedal but Amazon had moved on.



AOC screwed up and cost NY billions of dollars due to her ego.
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Lol what? Are you even from New York? Do you even know the conditions New Yorkers are living under? To hell with Amazon and their promise of $150k jobs... You probably don't even know how Amazon hires, they aren't going to hire local New Yorkers who don't have access to good schools becsuse the government is busy giving tax incentives to companies that don't need it. Amazon moving to New York LIC would've been bad for every New Yorker and they were rightly booted off.
 
sjahmed23 said:
Lol what? Are you even from New York? Do you even know the conditions New Yorkers are living under? To hell with Amazon and their promise of $150k jobs... You probably don't even know how Amazon hires, they aren't going to hire local New Yorkers who don't have access to good schools becsuse the government is busy giving tax incentives to companies that don't need it. Amazon moving to New York LIC would've been bad for every New Yorker and they were rightly booted off.
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Amazon will build in Arlington, New York had the chance but didn't take it. Time will provide the answer.
 
Gilly said:
Amazon will build in Arlington, New York had the chance but didn't take it. Time will provide the answer.
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No, Amazon had selected both NY and VA location first. Then decided to pull out of NY location citing various reasons including lack of help from politicans and protests from different community organizers. NY does not need Amazon, infact Google just opened offices in Manhattan recently and plans to have 20k employees working there without all the fiasco. This whole HQ search was a sham and New Yorkers are not stupid to fall for that. Amazon shouldve chosen a smaller/struggling city if it really had good intetions. NYC already has too many people and has become very unaffordable.
 
sjahmed23 said:
No, Amazon had selected both NY and VA location first. Then decided to pull out of NY location citing various reasons including lack of help from politicans and protests from different community organizers. NY does not need Amazon, infact Google just opened offices in Manhattan recently and plans to have 20k employees working there without all the fiasco. This whole HQ search was a sham and New Yorkers are not stupid to fall for that. Amazon shouldve chosen a smaller/struggling city if it really had good intetions. NYC already has too many people and has become very unaffordable.
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Good for New York and good for Arlington, win win all round.
 
sjahmed23 said:
No, Amazon had selected both NY and VA location first. Then decided to pull out of NY location citing various reasons including lack of help from politicans and protests from different community organizers. NY does not need Amazon, infact Google just opened offices in Manhattan recently and plans to have 20k employees working there without all the fiasco. This whole HQ search was a sham and New Yorkers are not stupid to fall for that. Amazon shouldve chosen a smaller/struggling city if it really had good intetions. NYC already has too many people and has become very unaffordable.
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You are wrong.

Though let's first establish that it is Amazon pulling out rather than New York turning them away.

One of the biggest objections to Amazon's HQ2 was the ~$3B in corporate subsidies being granted as an incentive for Amazon to come in. People think "Jeff Bezos is the richest man in the world, Amazon makes tons of money, why should they get some of our tax dollars?"

Which would make sense but belies a total lack of understanding of what was being proposed or basic principles of investment. Amazon had promised 25,000 jobs which they claimed would be "six figures.". Let's assume that they were exaggerating both the number and compensation of those jobs. If they actually delivered 18,000 jobs with an average salary of $70k, that would mean $1.26B a year in taxable wages.

NYC has its own income tax which varies, but let's say everyone pays an effective 3.3% rate. NY State also has its own income tax which again varies, but we can assume an effective rate of 5.25%[1] . Right there that's over $100M/year in lost tax revenue. With a low-ball estimate across the board. If we actually go with Amazon's promised number it's closer to $275M/year.

That's purely income tax revenue. Forget sales taxes for everyone living there, real estate taxes, and the ancillary effect on the local economy of having a large group of well compensated employees suddenly added to it. And finally, NYC lost the opportunity to get a major HQ of a major tech player there - so far the NYC tech ecosystem has been improving, but this would have cemented it as the tech hub on the east coast, which comes with a host of benefits to the city from a business perspective.

But the most important factor that never gets mentioned in that most of the "subsidies" were in the form of promises of reduced corporate taxation. Which means that there isn't any outlay of capital, but rather a reduction in future gains.

Think of it like this - if someone says "I'm willing to take some of your stuff that you're not using - normally it would cost me $200/month but I’ll do it if I only get to pay you $170/month” does that mean you’re paying them $30/month? Sort of, but it ignores the fact that you’re getting a lot more that you wouldn’t have gotten in the first place if the deal hadn’t happened.

This is an incredibly stupid thing for local politicians to have done. The epitome of cutting off ones nose to spite their face.

https://qr.ae/TWnDt1
 
TalentSpotterPk said:
This is not true.
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“Israel has hypnotized the world, may Allah awaken the people and help them see the evil doings of Israel.”

“It’s all about the Benjamins, baby!”

“CAIR was founded after 9/11 because they recognized that some people did something and that all of us were starting to lose access to our civil liberties,” she said. (CAIR was actually founded in 1994, not after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.)
 
The_Odd_One said:
“Israel has hypnotized the world, may Allah awaken the people and help them see the evil doings of Israel.”

“It’s all about the Benjamins, baby!”

“CAIR was founded after 9/11 because they recognized that some people did something and that all of us were starting to lose access to our civil liberties,” she said. (CAIR was actually founded in 1994, not after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.)
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Please explain what is wrong with these statements?
 
The_Odd_One said:
You are wrong.

Though let's first establish that it is Amazon pulling out rather than New York turning them away.

One of the biggest objections to Amazon's HQ2 was the ~$3B in corporate subsidies being granted as an incentive for Amazon to come in. People think "Jeff Bezos is the richest man in the world, Amazon makes tons of money, why should they get some of our tax dollars?"

Which would make sense but belies a total lack of understanding of what was being proposed or basic principles of investment. Amazon had promised 25,000 jobs which they claimed would be "six figures.". Let's assume that they were exaggerating both the number and compensation of those jobs. If they actually delivered 18,000 jobs with an average salary of $70k, that would mean $1.26B a year in taxable wages.

NYC has its own income tax which varies, but let's say everyone pays an effective 3.3% rate. NY State also has its own income tax which again varies, but we can assume an effective rate of 5.25%[1] . Right there that's over $100M/year in lost tax revenue. With a low-ball estimate across the board. If we actually go with Amazon's promised number it's closer to $275M/year.

That's purely income tax revenue. Forget sales taxes for everyone living there, real estate taxes, and the ancillary effect on the local economy of having a large group of well compensated employees suddenly added to it. And finally, NYC lost the opportunity to get a major HQ of a major tech player there - so far the NYC tech ecosystem has been improving, but this would have cemented it as the tech hub on the east coast, which comes with a host of benefits to the city from a business perspective.

But the most important factor that never gets mentioned in that most of the "subsidies" were in the form of promises of reduced corporate taxation. Which means that there isn't any outlay of capital, but rather a reduction in future gains.

Think of it like this - if someone says "I'm willing to take some of your stuff that you're not using - normally it would cost me $200/month but I’ll do it if I only get to pay you $170/month” does that mean you’re paying them $30/month? Sort of, but it ignores the fact that you’re getting a lot more that you wouldn’t have gotten in the first place if the deal hadn’t happened.

This is an incredibly stupid thing for local politicians to have done. The epitome of cutting off ones nose to spite their face.

https://qr.ae/TWnDt1
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That all sounds nice and stuff but Amazon is notorious for skipping on paying taxes. Idk the exact figures but appearently they have paid 0 federal tax in many years. NYC is already unaffordable for those not working in tech or finance, queens is one of the boroughs left where middle class income people work and live. You throw in these hipster amazon workers who want everything genetrified and that goes away. We don't want to become the next SF where people who are not in tech are being kicked out.
 
sjahmed23 said:
That all sounds nice and stuff but Amazon is notorious for skipping on paying taxes. Idk the exact figures but appearently they have paid 0 federal tax in many years. NYC is already unaffordable for those not working in tech or finance, queens is one of the boroughs left where middle class income people work and live. You throw in these hipster amazon workers who want everything genetrified and that goes away. We don't want to become the next SF where people who are not in tech are being kicked out.
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What does that mean?.
 
sjahmed23 said:
That all sounds nice and stuff but Amazon is notorious for skipping on paying taxes. Idk the exact figures but appearently they have paid 0 federal tax in many years. NYC is already unaffordable for those not working in tech or finance, queens is one of the boroughs left where middle class income people work and live. You throw in these hipster amazon workers who want everything genetrified and that goes away. We don't want to become the next SF where people who are not in tech are being kicked out.
Click to expand...

Amazon is not the only company benefiting from tax laws. General Motors, Southwest Airlines, Goldman Sachs, etc have used similar tax incentives.

Amazon was bringing highly paid jobs to New York. These workers would have paid income tax, sales tax, etc.

No matter how you look at it, Amazon operating in NY was only good for NY.
 
sjahmed23 said:
That all sounds nice and stuff but Amazon is notorious for skipping on paying taxes. Idk the exact figures but appearently they have paid 0 federal tax in many years. NYC is already unaffordable for those not working in tech or finance, queens is one of the boroughs left where middle class income people work and live. You throw in these hipster amazon workers who want everything genetrified and that goes away. We don't want to become the next SF where people who are not in tech are being kicked out.
Click to expand...

They did not "skip" on any taxes. They used the current tax codes that are riddled with loopholes that favor big corps and 1%ers.
If you are a) a US citizen and B) a taxpayer please lobby your congressperson and senator to revise the IRS Tax code.
 
Trump bragged about the crowd sizes of his rallies while visiting victims of the El Paso shooting in hospital.

He cannot help himself, a narcissist to the core. A disgusting human being like much of his base.
 
Markhor said:
Trump bragged about the crowd sizes of his rallies while visiting victims of the El Paso shooting in hospital.

He cannot help himself, a narcissist to the core. A disgusting human being like much of his base.
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All* of his base
 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">I am genuinely confused and horrified by this image. Am I taking this the wrong way?<br><br>Why is Trump and Melania posing, GRINNING, and giving a thumbs up with the infant who’s parents were murdered by the shooter in El Paso.<br><br>Seriously… WTH is going on? <a href="https://t.co/0YA2hIQeP3">pic.twitter.com/0YA2hIQeP3</a></p>— Bryan William Jones (@BWJones) <a href="https://twitter.com/BWJones/status/1159659862214582273?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 9, 2019</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
 
DeadBall said:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">I am genuinely confused and horrified by this image. Am I taking this the wrong way?<br><br>Why is Trump and Melania posing, GRINNING, and giving a thumbs up with the infant who’s parents were murdered by the shooter in El Paso.<br><br>Seriously… WTH is going on? <a href="https://t.co/0YA2hIQeP3">pic.twitter.com/0YA2hIQeP3</a></p>— Bryan William Jones (@BWJones) <a href="https://twitter.com/BWJones/status/1159659862214582273?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 9, 2019</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
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Reminds me of Ben Affleck in Gone girl...lovely way of holding the kid as well.
 
Last edited:
DeadBall said:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">I am genuinely confused and horrified by this image. Am I taking this the wrong way?<br><br>Why is Trump and Melania posing, GRINNING, and giving a thumbs up with the infant who’s parents were murdered by the shooter in El Paso.<br><br>Seriously… WTH is going on? <a href="https://t.co/0YA2hIQeP3">pic.twitter.com/0YA2hIQeP3</a></p>— Bryan William Jones (@BWJones) <a href="https://twitter.com/BWJones/status/1159659862214582273?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 9, 2019</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
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... Speechless.
 
DeadBall said:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">I am genuinely confused and horrified by this image. Am I taking this the wrong way?<br><br>Why is Trump and Melania posing, GRINNING, and giving a thumbs up with the infant who’s parents were murdered by the shooter in El Paso.<br><br>Seriously… WTH is going on? <a href="https://t.co/0YA2hIQeP3">pic.twitter.com/0YA2hIQeP3</a></p>— Bryan William Jones (@BWJones) <a href="https://twitter.com/BWJones/status/1159659862214582273?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 9, 2019</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
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The photo emerged as Mr Trump already faced criticism for his behaviour during his visit to the city on Thursday.

Doctors said he appeared to “lack empathy”, while he was filmed bragging to medical staff – who have spent the week dealing with the aftermath of the massacre – about the size of a rally he had previously held there.

“Then you had this crazy Beto [O’Rourke, Democrat presidential candidate],” he is heard adding in the mobile footage. “Beto had like 400 people in a parking lot.”

The president also drew condemnation for not speaking to the press but instead releasing a highly-polished promotional-style video from his day. It also featured lots of thumbs-ups and smiling medical staff crowding for selfies with Mr Trump.

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/...-hospital-parents-mass-shooting-a9049086.html
 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Scaramucci, who like so many others had nothing to do with my Election victory, is only upset that I didn’t want him back in the Administration (where he desperately wanted to be). Also, I seldom had time to return his many calls to me. He just wanted to be on TV!</p>— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1160997363177181188?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 12, 2019</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
 
Greenland has said it is "not for sale" following reports that US President Donald Trump has spoken about buying the world's biggest island.

The president is said to have discussed the idea of purchasing Greenland, an autonomous Danish territory, during dinners and meetings with advisers.

But Greenland's foreign ministry dismissed the idea, saying: "We're open for business, not for sale."

Mr Trump's reported plans have also been quickly dismissed by politicians in Denmark. "It must be an April Fool's Day joke...but totally out of [season]!", tweeted former Prime Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen.

The Wall Street Journal (WSJ), which first reported the news, said Mr Trump had spoken about the purchase with "varying degrees of seriousness".

Sources quoted in other media differed over whether the president was joking or seriously hoping to expand US territory.

The White House has not commented on the reports.

Where is Greenland?
Greenland is the largest island in the world (after Australia, which is defined as a continent in its own right). It is an autonomous Danish territory, located between the North Atlantic and Arctic oceans.

'Why I translate all of Trump's tweets into Chinese'
It has a population of about 56,000 people concentrated around the coastline. Almost 90% are indigenous Greenlandic Inuit people. It has a limited self-government and its own parliament.

More than 80% of the island is covered by an ice cap. Global warming is feared to be causing the ice cover to melt increasingly quickly but has also increased access to its mineral resources.

Greenland Premier Kim Kielsen has not commented publicly on the reports about Mr Trump.

Why would it be appealing to Trump?
Mr Trump has reportedly taken an interest in Greenland, in part, because of its natural resources, such as coal, zinc, copper and iron ore.

But while Greenland might be rich in minerals, it currently relies on Denmark for two thirds of its budget revenue. It has high rates of suicide, alcoholism and unemployment.

Image copyrightAFP
Image caption
Reports differ over whether Mr Trump was serious about trying to purchase Greenland
Two people briefed on the discussions told the New York Times the president was also interested in Greenland's "national security value" because of its location.

The US has long seen the island as being strategically important and established a radar base there at the start of the Cold War.

Republican Representative Mike Gallagher described Mr Trump's reported idea as a "smart geopolitical move".

"The United States has a compelling strategic interest in Greenland, and this should absolutely be on the table," he tweeted.

Is Greenland up for sale?
As Greenland's foreign ministry pointed out, the island is not on the market.

"Greenland is rich in valuable resources such as minerals, the purest water and ice, fish stocks, seafood, renewable energy and is a new frontier for adventure tourism. We're open for business, not for sale," it said in a statement shared on social media.

Greenland MP Aaja Chemnitz Larsen also dismissed the president's reported interest.

"No thanks to Trump buying Greenland!", she wrote on Twitter, adding that a "better and more equal partnership with Denmark" was the way forward.

Politicians in Denmark have ridiculed the idea of a possible US acquisition.

"If he is truly contemplating this, then this is final proof, that he has gone mad," foreign affairs spokesman for the populist Danish People's Party, Soren Espersen, told national broadcaster DR.

"The thought of Denmark selling 50,000 citizens to the United States is completely ridiculous."

"Out of all things that are not going to happen, this is the most unlikely. Forget it," Danish Conservative MP Rasmus Jarlov wrote on Twitter.

The WSJ reported that it was "unclear" how the US would go about acquiring Greenland if Mr Trump was serious.

Denmark's Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, who took office earlier this year, has not commented on the reports.

She is set to visit Greenland this month and has said she is "very much looking forward" to it.

Mr Trump is scheduled to visit Denmark in September but there is no indication that the possible acquisition of Greenland is on the agenda.

Can countries buy territories?
Historically, countries have acquired territory not only through military conquest but also financial deals.

Under the 1803 Louisiana Purchase, the US acquired about 827,000 sq miles (2.1m sq km) of land from France for $15m (£12.3m). In 1867, the US reached a deal with Russia to purchase Alaska for $7.2m.

The US later purchased the Danish West Indies in 1917 and renamed them the US Virgin Islands.

However, law professor Joseph Blocher wrote in 2012 that the "market for sovereign territory seems to have dried up".

"To be sure, there is still an active market for proprietary interests in public land... But borders - sovereign territory, rather than property - do not seem to be for sale."

"Sovereign territory was bought and sold throughout much of American history... But no such market currently exists," he wrote in his paper Selling State Borders.

Has the US ever tried to buy Greenland before?
Mr Trump is not the only US president to have had a reported interest in buying Greenland.

In 1946, Harry Truman offered Denmark $100m for the territory.

He had earlier toyed with the idea of swapping land in Alaska for strategic parts of Greenland, according to AP.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-49367792
 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">I informed John Bolton last night that his services are no longer needed at the White House. I disagreed strongly with many of his suggestions, as did others in the Administration, and therefore....</p>— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1171452880055746560?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 10, 2019</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">....I asked John for his resignation, which was given to me this morning. I thank John very much for his service. I will be naming a new National Security Advisor next week.</p>— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1171452881729228802?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 10, 2019</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
 
MenInG said:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">I informed John Bolton last night that his services are no longer needed at the White House. I disagreed strongly with many of his suggestions, as did others in the Administration, and therefore....</p>— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1171452880055746560?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 10, 2019</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">....I asked John for his resignation, which was given to me this morning. I thank John very much for his service. I will be naming a new National Security Advisor next week.</p>— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1171452881729228802?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 10, 2019</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Click to expand...

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">I offered to resign last night and President Trump said, "Let's talk about it tomorrow."</p>— John Bolton (@AmbJohnBolton) <a href="https://twitter.com/AmbJohnBolton/status/1171455806069305346?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 10, 2019</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

:))
 
Viewpoint: Syria could be beginning of end for Trump

President Donald Trump's policies on Syria are a disaster largely of his own making - one that could cost him re-election in 2020, says former US Assistant Secretary of State PJ Crowley.

There will not be an article of impeachment that includes Donald Trump's latest decisions regarding Syria among his alleged high crimes and misdemeanours. But the strategic disaster unfolding following his capitulation to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan could well mark the beginning of the end of the Trump presidency.

Trump will survive impeachment - the Republican-controlled Senate is unlikely to convict him - although he continues to be his own worst enemy. The president believes the call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was "perfect." The transcript the White House released presents strong evidence a crime was committed.

But Ukraine has already become a domestic political Rorschach test - there was a quid pro quo but many Trump supporters still choose to see a benign image.

Syria is different. It's not something he can blame on Barack Obama or House Democrats. Notwithstanding the administration's intent to punish Turkey with fresh sanctions, this is a crisis largely of Trump's making.

To Trump, his decision to withdraw US forces from the contested areas along the border between Syria and Turkey is consistent with his electoral mandate, extracting US forces from complex and costly Middle East conflicts.

As he tweeted, "it is time for us to get out of these ridiculous Endless Wars," adding with capitalised emphasis, "WE WILL FIGHT WHERE IT IS TO OUR BENEFIT, AND ONLY FIGHT TO WIN."

While it's tempting to ignore his many erratic and contradictory statements and tweets, in this case, Erdogan read Trump like a book, and played him like a fiddle.

When Erdogan told Trump in a recent phone conversation that he planned to send forces into Syria to eliminate the possibility of an autonomous Kurdish region along Turkey's border, it's likely he anticipated that Trump would offer minimal resistance.

After all, in another conversation in late 2018, Trump signalled his strong desire to withdraw US forces from Syria, reportedly telling Erdogan, "OK, it's all yours. We are done." Secretary of Defense James Mattis resigned as a result, one of the last national security "adults in the room" willing to contain Trump's impulses.

Ten months later, when Erdogan decided to act, he knew he was pushing against an open door.

While Trump's policy has elicited bipartisan criticism, even from Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, many Americans are weary of Middle East wars and support bringing the troops home.

But Trump did it in just about the worst possible way.

The relatively small US contingent, together with British and French counterparts, were there to prevent a resurgence of the Islamic State and act as a buffer pending a diplomatic process to chart how Syria would be reconstructed and governed going forward.

Despite his business background, Trump ceded whatever leverage the United States might have had to shape a new and improved Syria to Russia, Iran, the Assad regime and even the Islamic State.

Syrian and Russian forces have moved into the vacuum created by the American withdrawal. An unknown number of Islamic State fighters escaped Kurdish custody in the mayhem following the Turkish incursion. How Trump's get-out-of-the-way strategy fits into his maximum pressure campaign against Iran is anyone's guess.

Trump's supporters back troop withdrawal

"Why do we need to be the policemen of the world?"

For many of Donald Trump's supporters attending his rally in central Minneapolis, their opinion on Turkey's assault on Syria - coming after US troops were pulled out of the city - was the same.

"I think it's great we've stopped involving our troops in their problems in Turkey and Syria," said 24-year-old Alex Ledezma. "We're not their babysitters."

Melissa Erra, 52, said: "What's going on there has been going on for hundreds of years. How many of our people have to die over there, for something that's not our cause? It's going to continue whether we are there or not."

But Marine Corps veteran Eric Radziej had a different take.

"I thought it was a mistake to pull out of Afghanistan so quickly. But if it goes bad, we've never said we wouldn't go back. In Afghanistan, we waited too long to go back."

He added: "There are other partners that could go in. We can't carry the weight of the world all of the time."

Even more significantly, the credibility and reliability of the United States as an ally is now an open question, in the Middle East and beyond.

Trump dismissed the importance of the battle-tested relationship that had developed between American forces and the Kurds during the campaign against the Islamic State caliphate. The Kurds were the vanguard of the forces on the ground that retook Raqqa and other ISIS strongholds.

The Kurds, Trump said, "didn't help us with Normandy."

There is a lot to unpack there.

Some Kurds fought on the allied side during World War Two, but there was no recognised Kurdish state then, or now for that matter.

Germany and Japan, both staunch American allies now, were adversaries back then. Others - think South Korea and Israel - were occupied or not yet independent states.

Japan and South Korea are already nervous that Trump's pursuit of a deal with North Korea will fail to address their legitimate security and human rights concerns. Trump's cavalier attitude towards the Kurds will only exacerbate those concerns.

None of this is reassuring to a majority of countries who are today Nato allies, or any country in the Middle East that relies on the United States for its security. They don't pass Trump's D-Day test either.

Saudi Arabia was already sufficiently unnerved about Trump's flip-flop regarding Iran - ordering a military strike in response to the downing of an American drone only to abruptly call it off - that it is reportedly exploring a back channel dialogue with Tehran. Rather than isolating Iran, Trump is precipitating a regional accommodation.

But that poses a problem in Jerusalem.

Syria brings Iran right to Israel's doorstep. The more Israel feels it is left to confront Iran alone, the greater the risk of a direct military confrontation that would inevitably draw in the United States. This is precisely the destructive dynamic Obama and his European counterparts thought they had ameliorated with the nuclear deal that Trump scuttled.

America's network of global alliances is fundamental to its national security and international stability. And Trump is actively undermining it. The evidence is mounting and in plain sight.

While he has made no secret of his scepticism regarding America's leadership responsibilities, Syria underscores how badly Trump is doing at his primary job, advancing the national interests of the United States, and in the process those of its key allies.

There are real costs to his preference to withdraw the United States behind his fantastical wall and let the world fend for itself.

The good news is that is not a state of affairs that most Americans support. In a recent Chicago Council on Global Affairs poll, a decisive majority of respondents favoured a more active US role in the world, supported its regional alliances and saw value in international trade.

This is a telling rejection of the main pillars of Trump's foreign policy. Syria, along with his continued blind spot regarding Russia, demonstrates that he is also mismanaging international relations. He has lost sight of the national interest in pursuit of his own political interests.

Taken together, they should cost Trump re-election. The bad news is American voters will have to wait until next November to choose a different president, and a different foreign policy.
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Source: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-50049421.
 
Former IMF chief Christine Lagarde said President Donald Trump's trade offensive against China could slash global economic growth and she critiqued his Twitter habits in an interview with US television programme "60 Minutes".

Lagarde, who takes over leadership of the European Central Bank on November 1, called for world leaders to act like grownups and negotiate a solution to the trade conflicts, and called for “rational decisions”.

Newly freed from the restraints of her previous post, where she would have had to guard her language, Lagarde said, “market stability should not be the subject of a tweet here, a tweet there”.

“It requires consideration, thinking, quiet and measured and rational decisions,” she said of Trump in the interview due to air Sunday night.

Lagarde led the Washington-based crisis lender for eight years and previously was more cautious in comments about Trump since the United States is the main IMF shareholder.

In the interview, she warned that Trump's trade war with China will give the global economy “a big haircut.” “My very, very strong message to all policymakers is please sit down like big men, many men in those rooms and put everything on the table, and try to deal bit by bit, piece by piece, so that we have certainty,” she said, according to excerpts of the interview released by CBS News.

As she takes on the new role as central banker, Lagarde also took a swipe at Trump's barrage of criticism of his own Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, whom Trump has called a “bonehead” among other insults.

“A central bank governor does best his job if he is independent.”
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Source: https://www.dawn.com/news/1511755/former-imf-chief-lagarde-takes-swipe-at-trumps-twitter-habits.
 
NEW YORK: Former US defence secretary James Mattis said on Thursday he was honoured to be the “world’s most overrated general” in a swipe at his former boss Donald Trump, who insulted him earlier this week.

At a gala charity dinner in New York, Mattis told diners he had now “achieved greatness”. “I’m not just an overrated general. I am the greatest, the world’s most overrated,” he said.

“I’m honoured to be considered that by Donald Trump because he also called Meryl Streep an overrated actress,” he said. “So I guess I’m the Meryl Streep of generals, and frankly that sounds pretty good to me,” he said to laughter and applause at the annual Alfred Smith Memorial Foundation dinner.

“And you do have to admit that between me and Meryl, at least we’ve had some victories.”

Trump called Mattis “the world’s most overrated general” during an acrimonious White House meeting on Wednesday with top Democrats over Syria policy.

The retired Marine general said he wasn’t bothered by Trump’s comments.

“Of course not, I earned my spurs on the battlefield... and Donald Trump earned his spurs in a letter from a doctor,” Mattis said, in a jab at the medical condition which allowed Trump to avoid the Vietnam draft.

“And I think the only person in the military that Mr Trump doesn’t think is overrated is Colonel Sanders.”

The softly spoken but battle-hardened former Marine left the administration last year, saying in his resignation letter that Trump’s worldview was irreconcilable with his own.
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Source: https://www.dawn.com/news/1511707/most-overrated-general-mattis-takes-swipe-at-trump.
 
An ex-Trump adviser who sparked the US inquiry into Russian election meddling is running for a congressional seat vacated by a scandal-hit Democrat.

George Papadopoulos, who served 14 days in prison for lying to the FBI during the Robert Mueller probe, is running for Katie Hill's California district.

Ms Hill stepped down amid claims of an affair with a Capitol Hill aide.

Papadopoulos pleaded guilty to lying about his meetings with alleged Kremlin go-betweens.

He filed his paperwork on Tuesday for California's 25th district with the Federal Election Commission.

He tweeted this week that he was "smelling blood in the water" because of Ms Hill's resignation.

His wife, Simona Mangiante Papadopoulos, also tweeted a picture of her husband at a lectern, and she commented: "Make California great again!"

Who is George Papadopoulos?
Papadopoulos was the first former Trump aide arrested in the US Department of Justice investigation into an alleged Kremlin plot to sway the 2016 US vote.

He was a London-based petroleum analyst before he joined President Donald Trump's election campaign in March 2016 as a volunteer foreign policy adviser.

Papadopoulos soon made contact with a mysterious Maltese academic, Joseph Mifsud.

The professor told Papadopoulos the Russians had "dirt" on Mr Trump's Democratic presidential rival Hillary Clinton in the form of "thousands of emails".

In the following months, thousands of emails linked to the Clinton campaign were published by Wikileaks.

The young political operative told Mr Trump, then a Republican presidential candidate, and other members of the campaign that he could set up a meeting with President Vladimir Putin ahead of the 2016 election.

American authorities were alerted in mid-2016 after Papadopoulos told an Australian diplomat during a drinking session in a London pub about his meetings with Professor Mifsud.

Papadopoulos falsely claimed to the FBI he had met two individuals with Russian connections before working on the Trump campaign in March 2016.

But in fact he had met them after joining the Trump campaign.

Mr Trump's allies played down Papadopoulos' role, dismissing him as nothing more than a "coffee boy".
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Source: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-50228487.
 
A US judge has temporarily blocked a rule proposed by President Donald Trump that would require immigrants to prove they will have health insurance within 30 days of arrival in the US, or can pay for medical care.

Judge Michael Simon, a district judge in Oregon, granted a preliminary injunction against the proposal.

Seven American citizens and an NGO had filed a lawsuit opposing the rule.

They argued it would block hundreds of thousands of legal migrants.

The lawsuit said the number of immigrants who enter the US with family-sponsored visas would drop considerably, or be eliminated altogether.

Judge Simon said the potential damage to families justified a US-wide ban.

"Facing a likely risk of being separated from their family members and a delay in obtaining a visa to which family members would otherwise be entitled is irreparable harm," his legal order read.

Would-be immigrants had been struggling to establish how to get the required insurance coverage. The US healthcare system is complex, and has not generally catered to people yet to arrive there.

The policy is part of Mr Trump's effort to shift the US away from a family-focused immigration system.

Judge Simon's 28-day temporary restraining order will prevent the rule from coming into effect on 3 November, but the legal battle is likely to continue.

The Trump administration has argued that legal immigrants are about three times more likely to lack health insurance than US citizens, and that taxpayers should not bear their medical costs.

However, US policy experts say immigrants are less likely to use the healthcare system than American citizens.

Research from George Washington University found that recent immigrants without insurance made up less than a tenth of 1% of US medical fees in 2017.
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Source: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-50278527.
 
A New York judge has ordered President Donald Trump to pay $2m (£1.6m) for misusing funds from his charity to finance his 2016 political campaign.

The Donald J Trump Foundation closed down in 2018, after prosecutors accused it of working as "little more than a chequebook" for Mr Trump's interests.

Charities such as the one Mr Trump and his three eldest children headed cannot engage in politics, the judge ruled.

She said the money must be paid by Mr Trump himself.

"I direct Mr Trump to pay the $2,000,000, which would have gone to the Foundation if it were still in existence," wrote Judge Saliann Scarpulla.

She said the money should go to eight charities Mr Trump has no relationship to.

Mr Trump "breached his fiduciary duty" by allowing funds raised for US veterans to be used for the Iowa primary election in 2016, she said in the settlement.

Donald Trump Jr, Eric Trump and Ivanka Trump - who were also directors of the Trump Foundation - are required to undergo mandatory training "on the duties of officers and directors of charities", New York Attorney General Letitia James said.

The payment is the final resolution of a case brought by state prosecutors.

Mr Trump and his lawyers had argued that the case was politically motivated and blamed "sleazy New York Democrats" of "doing everything they can to sue me".
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Source: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-50338231.
 
Nikki Haley, former US ambassador to the UN, has said two top White House aides encouraged her to undermine President Donald Trump.

In a new book, Ms Haley says then-Chief of Staff John Kelly and then-Secretary of State Rex Tillerson told her to resist some of Mr Trump's demands.

They reportedly told her they were "trying to save the country".

There was no immediate comment from Mr Tillerson. Mr Kelly said he had wanted the president to be fully informed.

"If by 'resistance' and 'stalling' she means putting a staff process in place... to ensure [Mr Trump] knew all the pros and cons of what policy decision he might be contemplating so he could make an informed decision, then guilty as charged," Mr Kelly told US broadcaster CBS.

Mr Trump tweeted his approval of the book, writing: "Good luck Nikki!"

What does she say in the book?
Ms Haley says Mr Kelly and Mr Tillerson told her they "weren't being subordinate, they were trying to save the country".

"It was their decisions, not the president's, that were in the best interests of America, they said," she wrote in her book With All Due Respect, which was seen by the Washington Post before its release on Tuesday.

Mr Tillerson, she added, told her people would die if the president were not restrained.

Ms Haley, 47, said she had refused the request from Mr Kelly and Mr Tillerson, and called it "dangerous" and "offensive".

"Instead of saying that to me they should have been saying that to the president, not asking me to join them on their sidebar plan," she told CBS.

"It should have been - go tell the president what your differences are and quit if you don't like what he's doing. But to undermine a president... it is really a very dangerous thing and it goes against the constitution, and it goes against what the American people want. It was offensive."

The former ambassador said she disagreed with the president over his handling of Russian President Vladimir Putin at a summit in Helsinki in 2017.

She also wrote that his comments after the deadly white supremacist rally in Charlottesville in 2017, that there were good people on "both sides", had been "hurtful and dangerous". A counter-protester, Heather Heyer, was killed at the demonstration.

But Ms Haley also said she supported a number of Mr Trump's policies that others within the administration opposed - such as his decisions to pull the US out of a nuclear deal with Iran, and to withdraw from the Paris climate agreement.

In the interview with CBS, she also criticised House Democrats' moves to impeach the president, saying that impeachment is "like the death penalty for public officials".
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Source: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-50370347.
 
US President Donald Trump's adviser Roger Stone has been convicted on seven counts of lying to Congress, obstruction and witness tampering.

The court heard he lied about his efforts to learn more about when WikiLeaks would publish damaging emails about Hillary Clinton in 2016.

The jury returned its verdict on day two of deliberations in Washington DC.

Witness tampering carries a sentence of up to 20 years in prison. The other counts can carry five years each.

The court heard Stone lied in September 2017 during his testimony to the House of Representatives Intelligence Committee's inquiry into alleged Russian interference in the US elections a year earlier.

He was asked about WikiLeaks' release of damaging emails about Mrs Clinton - President Donald Trump's Democratic rival in the vote.

How have people reacted?
After Friday's verdict Mr Trump claimed that Stone had been the victim of "a double standard", arguing that the likes of Mrs Clinton and former law enforcement and intelligence chiefs he has sparred with had also told lies.

But John Podesta, the Clinton campaign chairman whose emails were hacked, gloated over Stone's conviction.

US intelligence officials and Department of Justice Special Counsel Robert Mueller later concluded those messages had been stolen by Russian hackers.
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Source: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-50438196.
 
US President Donald Trump has said he is in "very good" health after completing "phase one" of his annual physical examination.

The White House confirmed he underwent an exam and some laboratory tests on Saturday at Walter Reed Medical Center in Washington.

The visit was not in the president's public schedule, and no details of the tests have been released.

It comes 10 months after an annual exam found him "in very good health".

In a statement, White House Press Secretary Stephanie Grisham said the latest tests were prompted by a "free weekend" in the president's diary, and that Mr Trump remained healthy and energetic without complaints.

"Further speculation beyond the extensive and honest info I put out is wholly irresponsible and dangerous for the country," she added in a tweet.

No set template is in place for the president's physical examination, but Mr Trump's last two were announced ahead of time and noted in his public diary. He has visited the Walter Reed Medical Center nine times since taking office.

The 73-year-old is the oldest person to be sworn in for his first term as president, and the state of Mr Trump's health has attracted attention in the past.

During his campaign he produced a letter that said he would be the "healthiest individual ever elected to the presidency". But the doctor named as its author later said Mr Trump had written the letter himself.

His main Democratic rivals for next year's presidential race are also aged 70 or over, and personal health concerns have become a talking point on the campaign trail.

Bernie Sanders underwent emergency surgery last month after suffering a heart attack.

Former Vice-President Joe Biden, 76, has also pledged to release his medical records before voting begins.
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Source: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-50450349.
 
ISLAMABAD: United States President Donald Trump on Thursday thanked Prime Minister Imran Khan for Pakistan’s efforts for the release of Western hostages in Afghanistan earlier this week, a press release issued by the Prime Minister’s Media Office said.

The prime minister had a telephonic conversation with Trump and discussed bilateral and regional issues, said the press release. Both the leaders agreed to remain in close contact and continue to work together for the promotion of the shared objective of Afghan peace, it added.

The phone call came two days after the Afghan Taliban released American Kevin King and Australian Timothy Weeks in exchange for the release of three Taliban commanders from Afghan prison under a deal that raised hopes for the revival of peace process.
“The US president thanked the prime minister for Pakistan’s efforts in facilitating this positive outcome,” the press release said. “He [Imran] conveyed that the release of Western hostages in Afghanistan was a positive development and Pakistan was happy that they were safe and free,” it added.

During the conversation with Trump, Prime Minister Imran reaffirmed Pakistan’s commitment to the advancement of Afghan peace and reconciliation process for a peaceful and stable Afghanistan,” the Prime Minister’s Media Office said.

Prime Minister Imran also apprised the US president of the ongoing situation in Indian Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IOJK) and underscored that over eight million Kashmiri people remained under siege for over 100 days in occupied Kashmir.

“Appreciating the president’s continued engagement as well as mediation offer, he [Imran] stressed that Trump must continue his efforts for facilitation of a peaceful solution of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute,” the press release said.

Recalling their conversations in Washington during the prime minister’s visit to Whites House and again in New York on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly, the two leaders agreed to deepen their bilateral collaboration, including on the relevant multilateral fora.

Prisoner swap

The Afghan Taliban freed American Kevin King and Australian Timothy Weeks on Tuesday after holding them for more than three years under a deal that saw three Taliban commanders, including a brother of Siraj Haqqani, the head of the eponymous militant group, walk out of Afghan custody.

King and Weeks were kidnapped in August 2016 from outside the American University of Afghanistan in Kabul where both worked as professors. On November 12, President Ashraf Ghani announced that Afghanistan would free Anas Haqqani and two other Taliban commanders in exchange for the release of the two Western hostages.

Prime Minister Imran Khan had welcomed the release of the hostages and expressed the hope that this step would give a boost to confidence of all parties involved to re-engage in the peace process. “Pakistan welcomes release of professors Kevin King and Timothy Weeks in Afghanistan,” he said in a tweet.

“As part of the international community working to bring peace and end the suffering of the Afghan people, Pakistan has fully supported and facilitated this release as part of its policy of supporting initiatives for a negotiated political settlement of the Afghan conflict,” he said. “Pakistan remains committed to facilitating this peace process.”
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Source: https://tribune.com.pk/story/210413...itating-release-western-hostages-afghanistan/.
 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck"><p lang="und" dir="ltr"><a href="https://t.co/11nzKwOCtU">pic.twitter.com/11nzKwOCtU</a></p>— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1199718185865535490?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 27, 2019</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
 
President Donald Trump made a surprise Thanksgiving visit to US troops in Afghanistan on Thursday and said he believed Taliban insurgents would agree to a ceasefire in America's longest war.

Trump's visit was his first to Afghanistan since becoming president and came a week after a prisoner swap between Washington and Kabul that has raised hopes for a long elusive peace deal.

"The Taliban wants to make a deal and we are meeting with them," Trump told reporters after arriving in Afghanistan after an overnight flight from the United States, kept secret for security reasons.

"We say it has to be a ceasefire and they didn't want to do a ceasefire and now they want to do a ceasefire, I believe. It will probably work out that way."

Taliban leaders have told Reuters that the group has again been holding meetings with senior US officials in Doha since last weekend, adding they could soon resume formal peace talks.

The Air Force One presidential plane touched down at Bagram Airfield late in the evening on Thursday, with White House national security adviser Robert O'Brien, a small group of aides and Secret Service agents. Two surveillance blimps flew overhead.

Trump met with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and served turkey to some US troops before sitting down to eat Thanksgiving dinner with them. He chatted and had his picture taken with some of the US forces deployed there.

"What a great job you do. It's an honour to be here," he said.

Rare war zone visit
It was only the second trip to a war zone by a US president who never served in the military and has often derided US engagement in foreign conflicts as costly blunders. He travelled to Iraq in 2018 for a Christmas holiday visit with troops.

Trump was greeted upon his arrival by US Army General Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Milley said on Wednesday that a successful outcome from peace talks on ending the 18-year war in Afghanistan could happen in the "near term".

Trump has wanted to end US involvement in Afghanistan since his days as a presidential candidate.

But talks between the Taliban and the United States collapsed in September after Trump called off a planned meeting with Taliban leaders at the US Camp David presidential retreat, citing a surge in Taliban violence.

The US military says it has ramped up strikes and raids on the Taliban since then, in a bid to pressure the insurgents back to the negotiating table.

Hopes for peace rose earlier this month, when the Taliban released American and Australian hostages.

But Ghani underscored the need for a halt in the fighting, saying on Twitter after meeting Trump: "If the Taliban are sincere in their commitment to reaching a peace deal, they must accept a ceasefire."

Trump eyes deal 'or total victory'
There are currently about 13,000 US forces as well as thousands of other NATO troops in Afghanistan, 18 years after an invasion by a US-led coalition following the September 11, 2001, Al Qaeda attacks on the United States. About 2,400 US service members have been killed in the course of the Afghan conflict.

A draft accord agreed in September would have thousands of American troops withdrawn in exchange for guarantees that Afghanistan would not be used as a base for militant attacks on the United States or its allies.

Still, many US officials doubt the Taliban could be relied upon to prevent Al Qaeda from again plotting attacks against the United States from Afghan soil.

The US military has said it can go down to 8,600 troops and still carry out an essential counter-terrorism mission in a country where both Al Qaeda and Islamic State fighters would continue to pose a threat even after any Taliban peace deal.

Trump acknowledged US troop levels were "substantially" coming down but did not provide a specific number.

At the same time, however, Trump suggested he was willing to have US forces stay in Afghanistan for the long-term, if needed.

"We're going to stay until such time as we have a deal or we have total victory. And they want to make a deal very badly," Trump said.
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Source: https://www.dawn.com/news/1519499/trump-makes-surprise-afghanistan-trip-voices-hope-for-ceasefire.
 
China deal could wait until after 2020 polls

LONDON: President Donald Trump on Tuesday downplayed the likelihood of reaching a US-China trade deal before next year’s elections and then shrugged off the tailspin that his remarks caused in the stock market.

Speaking in London, where he is attending a NATO summit, Trump said he had no deadline to end the 16-month trade war between the world’s two largest economies, which has caused economic damage for both sides.

In some ways I like the idea of waiting until after the election,” Trump added. The president has previously suggested that China wanted to wait until after the election to negotiate a deal.

Stocks began sinking right after Trumps latest rhetoric shot at the Chinese leadership. His brash remarks could amount to either a short-term negotiating gambit or a sign of his willingness to run for re-election without a breakthrough in the trade war. At midday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down nearly 400 points.

Later Trump dismissed the tumult on Wall Street, choosing instead to highlight how much stock prices have risen since the start of the year.

We have picked up record numbers in our stock markets, so that’s OK. That’s the way I feel. Trump replied to questions from reporters. I have to make the right deal. I’m not going to make a deal that’s not going to be great for our country. It can’t be an even deal. If it’s an even deal, it’s no good.

The trade negotiations with China, the president declared, are at a critical stage.

But if the stock market goes up and down, I don’t watch the stock market, I watch jobs, Trump said, contradicting the numerous tweets he has sent out when stock markets have set new highs.

Tensions between the two nations flared anew last week after Trump signed legislation expressing US support for pro-democracy demonstrators in Hong Kong.

On Dec 15, additional US tariffs are set to kick in on many Chinese-made items, including smartphones and toys. The Trump administration is already taxing more than $360 billion worth of Chinese imports. China has counterpunched by taxing $120 billion in US imports.
Click to expand...

Source: https://www.dawn.com/news/1520350/china-deal-could-wait-until-after-2020-polls.
 
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