Mediaboss Marketing

Take North Korea. There is no person in this countrynot the generals, not the civil servants, certainly not the Republicans in Congresswho can influence what Trump does vis--vis the Hermit Kingdom. In fact there is evidence that his bellicosity is paying political dividends, which means we can expect more of the same. As The New York Times reported, there are plenty of Trump voters who believe that he should go to the hilt when it comes to aggravating Kim. As one Trump supporter from Colorado told the paper, war with North Korea, which would entail an untold number of deaths on the Korean Peninsula, didnt concern him because he would not personally be in danger. We live in the safest part of the country, he said.

There is so much selfishness and ignorance and hatred in this county, and they have found their concentrated embodiment in Trump, who bludgeons us with the worst aspects of humanity every single day. This is self-evidently traumatic for the body politic, harming our capacity for empathy and reason and decency. And yet it is difficult to express just how awful it is: how it makes us worry for our children in existential terms, how it makes our lives a little more sordid every day, how it slowly bleeds our world of joy and purpose.

The traditional response to bad presidents is to resist, to organize, to prepare for the next electionto have faith, even if everything else fails, in democracy. But democracy already failed us once, handing the presidency to a man who lost the popular vote by a resounding margin. It has been subverted by gerrymandering, and is being weakened by those working to keep minorities and the poor from the polls. It was compromised by the intervention of a foreign government, and the president is reluctant to even acknowledge that fact, let alone make sure it doesnt happen again.

And even if Trump were to be swept from office in 2020, this country will not magically return to the pre-Trump status quo. The damage he has already inflicted, and that he will undoubtedly continue to inflict over, God help us, three more years, will take a long time to undo, if it can ever be undone. A malevolent force has been loosed on the world, moving great invisible gears in unpredictable ways, and no one can say with an iota of certainty where we will be five, ten years from now.

This is the point in the essay where I should say that we mustnt lose hope, that we must impede Donald Trump at every step, and I do believe that. Still, to quote Howard Beale, everyone knows things are bad. I wake up each morning prepared for something terrible to happen. But something terrible is happening, every day, all around us. The most frightening part is that were not sure if Trumps America is rock bottom or if we have further to fall.

Read the original here:
Donald Trump Is Killing Us - New Republic

Vice president Mike Pence has said Donald Trump has made it clear that the U.S. will not stand by while Venezuela crumbles.

Speaking from Colombia in an interview with NBC Newscorrespondent Peter Alexander, the vice president addressed the ongoing issues in Venezuela and Trumps threatened military intervention in the country.

POTUS has made clear we're not going to stand by while Venezuela crumbles, while Venezuela collapses, Pence told NBC News on Monday.

Daily Emails and Alerts - Get the best of Newsweek delivered to your inbox

His comments come just days after Trump told reporters in a question and answer session that he would not rule out military action, in a statement that was immediately criticized by some lawmakers in Venezuela.

"The people are suffering and they are dying. We have many options for Venezuela including a possible military option if necessary," Trump said, in comments branded craziness by Venezuelan Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino.

Over the past week, the situation in Venezuela has deteriorated, as anti-government forces took weapons from a military base after the opposition-controlled Congress found its authority undermined by a new legislative body.

And at the end of a volatile week for the country, Venezuelas president Nicolas Maduro asked to speak with Trump, in a request that appeared to be rejected by the president, the White House said, with Trump reportedly stating there could be a conversation between the pair when democracy was restored to the country.

And it also emerged over the weekend that Florida senator Marco Rubio is believed to be the subject of a death threat from leading Venezuelan lawmaker Diosdado Cabello, after the threat was detected by U.S. intelligence.

A memo obtained by The Miami Herald on Sunday showed there was an order to have Senator Marco Rubio assassinated, although it also acknowledged that no specific information regarding an assassination plot against Senator Rubio has been garnered thus far.

See the original post here:
Mike Pence Pledges Donald Trump Will Not 'Stand By as Venezuela Crumbles' - Newsweek

Despite his huge rallies, President Trumps core base appears to be faltering. Buzz60

President Trump speaks to the press on August 11, 2017, at Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, N.J.(Photo: Jim Watson, AFP/Getty Images)

There's trouble in Trumpland.

The voters who backed Donald Trump like the disruption but are looking for more function from the outsider they helped put in the White House, members of the USA TODAY Network Trump Voter Panel say.

While they still approve of the job President Trump is doing, the collapse of the GOP's promise to repeal the Affordable Care Act has rattled some of his loyalists. Sohave chaos in the White House staff and the public humiliation of Attorney General Jeff Sessions.

"All the bickering, fighting and firings taketime away from solving all of our problems," worried Joe Canino, 62, of Hebron, Ct.

"Thecaveat or the pause there is, he's got to figure out a way to get more done collaboratively with CapitolHill," Barney Carter of St. Marys, Ga.,said. "The Hill to me has the most to blame for it, but he's got to figure out a way to solve that problem."

The loyalty of the president's base voters who tend to be older, socially conservative and mostly white has been a critical source of hispolitical strength. Trump continues to hammer messages that appeal to them on such issues as limiting immigration and reversing Pentagon policy on transgender troops.

That said, the spiderweb of concern among his supporters in these interviews is an anecdotal finding consistent with the results of recent nationwide polls. ACNN survey at the six-month mark of Trump's presidency last week showed his approval rating among Republicansat a healthy 83%, but the percentage of Republicans who "strongly approve" haddropped by double-digits, to 59% from 73% in February.

None of the 25 voters on the USA TODAY panel expressregret for casting a ballot last November for Trump instead of Democrat Hillary Clinton or someone else. They generally trust him to handle the crisis with North Korea, although there is concern about his bellicose rhetoric.

But now some couch their approval of the president with a hedge that wasn't there in three previous rounds of interviews with this group. And their disdain for congressional Republicans and the GOP establishment is rising, a troubling development for the party as it heads into the 2018 midterm elections.

"I approve, but not 100%," Monty Chandler, 46, a disabled veteran from Church Point, La., said of the president.

"I'd have to approve, but with some laughter in the background," said Duane Gray, 63, a truck driver from Boise, Idaho. Asked if Trump was doing better or worse than he expected as president, he said:"I don't know what I expected. I just didn't want Hillary in there."

Another new poll means another new low for President Trump. Buzz60

There's also bit less confidence these days about how history will judge Trump. In January, 21 members of the panel predicted he ultimately would be seen as a "great" or "good" president. In February, there was even more unanimity: 23 gave thatpositive assessment.

Now that number has slipped to 19 still favorable territory, but with signs of some erosion. Four predict he'll be seen as a "fair" president. Twodidn't respond.

Read previous stories on the USA TODAY Network Trump Voter Panel:

Trump voters like the president's actions but not his tweets

Great expectations: These Trump voters expect him to deliver for them

No regrets: 100% approval at 100 days from these Trump voters

The panel of 25 Trump voters from 19 states is drawn from respondents in the USA TODAY/Suffolk University Poll taken in December, just after the election. The group of 18 men and seven women, ranging in age from 31 to 88, agreed to weigh in occasionally for a look at how Trump is faring with his supporters.

The GOP's failure to repeal the Affordable Care Act has enraged some of these voters.

"Killing Obamacare was a key component of the Republican platform, and I believe all Republican senators campaigned on that very issue," Daniel Kohn, of Corpus Christi, Tex., said. "The inability to move forward is embarrassing and disgusting."

For Ken Cornacchione, a 65-year-old financial consultant from Venice, Fla., the issue is personal. "My premiums have doubled and my deductible has increased nearly three times under Obamacare with no claims by either my wife or me," he said.

Asked whom they blame for the failure, not one singled out Trump, although several volunteeredthat everyone involved ownedsome responsibility. Only a handful cited congressional Democrats or the news media, frequent targets of Trump.

Instead, a solid majority placedthe responsibility squarely on congressional Republicans.

"There's some blame to go around with everybody, but I continue to be the most disappointed in Congress," said Carter, 50, who works for a medical device firm."We could have had a plan for this long before Trump was elected, and you would have just had to go to the bookshelf and pull the binder off."

"Seven years: Think about it," railedJoAnne Musial, 65, of Canadenis, Penn."Who are they kidding, too? This whole baloney with all of them any more makes me sick to my stomach."

That sentiment helps explain Trump's Twitter blasts last week at Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. The attacks may complicate White House efforts down the road to work with the Kentucky Republican on raising the debt ceiling, funding the government and passing a tax bill.

At the moment, though, they reinforce the sentiment that Republican senators, not the president, areto blame for the stunning setback on health care.

"They've been talking about this for seven years, show-boating for seven years passing resolutions they knew (President Barack) Obama would veto," said Rick Dammer, 45, a an IT project manager from Zephyrhills, Fla. "When the rubber needed to hit the road, they chickened out."

"I like that Trump said that," Chandler said of the president's comments welcoming Obamacare's demise. "He's not going to sugarcoat it. You made your bed, now lie in it."

On North Korea, Trump voters like policymakers and experts and nearly everyone else around the globe see no easy answers and worry about what's ahead. Theyare inclined to trust Trump to handle it, albeit not without some nervousness.

"I'm in agreement with how Trump's approached it, kind of," said Francis Smazal, 54, a registered nurse from Marshfield, Wis. "If this guy (in North Korea) is left unchecked, I believe conflict is inevitable."

Several said they hope Trump tries to build an international coalition through the United Nations, or with China and Russia. "I think we need to go through China," said Patricia Shomion, 67, of Mount Gilead, Ohio. She blames Beijing, North Korea's neighbor and ally, for not doing more to block its nuclear program. "That's our solution, becauseall of those nukes and missiles have 'China' written all over them, 'Made in China.'"

But Pat Jolliff, 60, of Rochester, Ind., worriedthat Trump's threat of "fire and fury" riskedmaking a bad situation worse. "I think his words, once again, are some of his worst enemies," she said. "He comes across as a bully, a tyrant, somebody who always has to have his way."

The belief that Trump isn't just another politician, that he has a combative style and is comfortable breaking old norms, is his fundamental appeal for many of his supporters. "Everyone's having a hissy (fit) because a politician isn't the president," scoffed Musial."Cut and dried: He's not a politician and doesn't fit in (your) little clique here, so they're trying to cause a ruckus for him."

"Trump is a different kind of person; he's not a politician," Shomion agreed. "They're not used to that. They don't know what to do with him."

But the continuing soap-opera drama onthe White House staff is worrisome to some: Chief of Staff Reince Priebus, out. Press secretary Sean Spicer, out. ("A sweetheart," Musial said affectionately.) Communications director Anthony Scaramucci: In, then out after 11 days. ("He was horrible," Jolliff said.)

"I am somewhat concerned with all the tension," saidWayne Moore, 60, a procurement manager from Henderson, Ky. "It looks like there are more chiefs than Indians."

Several volunteered dismay over Trump's public humiliation of Attorney General Jeff Sessions.

"I was very disappointed in the way he ripped up Jeff Sessions, who was basically the first one to sign up" to support Trump's candidacy, Carter said. "He's a long-tenured, respected lawmaker, and it just didn't make sense to me."

David McDonough, of Brownsburg, Ind., says he voted for President Trump but considers himself an independent.(Photo: Mykal McEldowney, USA TODAY Network)

David McDonough, 55, a plumber from Brownsburg, Ind., predicted things eventually would settle down. "It's like taking over a new business and some employees don't like the way you run things," he said. "In time, once the kinks are worked out and the leakers are found, I believe the White House will run smooth."

Then there are those tweets.

Some supporters say the president's thoughts in 140-character bursts make them wince. "He comes out looking like a damn fool 60% of the time," Gray said.

But by more than 2-1, his loyalists say he should continue posting on Twitter and acknowledge that he's not likely to stop, no matter what they think.

"I don't necessarily agree on what he's saying, but if Twitter is the only way to get the truth out and the truth only comes from him, then that's OK," Steven Spence, 70, of Mesa, Arizona, said. "He either lives or dies by the sword, and we'll find out four years from now how the American public rates him."

Autoplay

Show Thumbnails

Show Captions

Read or Share this story: https://usat.ly/2w2AaUx

Originally posted here:
Trouble in Trumpland: The president's core supporters begin to worry - USA TODAY

But at least one key Republican remains firmly in his corner.

On Sunday night, Vice President Mike Pencecondemned the violence in Virginia, praised Trumps response to the situation, then slammed the media for its reaction to the presidents statement blamingmany sides instead of white supremacists.

We have no tolerance for hate and violence, white supremacists or neo-Nazis or the KKK, Pence said, according to The Hill. He said Trumpclearly and unambiguously condemned the violence.

Jonathan Ernst / Reuters

Pence, who is currently in Colombia, also took aim at the press for raising questions about Trumps response after the president not only refused to condemn the neo-Nazis and KKK on Saturday but walked out when reporters asked about white nationalists.

I take issue with the fact that many in the national media spent more time criticizing the presidents words than they did criticizing those that perpetuated the violence to begin with, Pence was quoted as saying.

However, the issue wasnt just raised by the media.

The white supremacists themselves were heartened by Trumps response, with one neo-Nazi website praising it as really, really good.

The White House later issued a second statement about Charlottesville on Sunday that condemned all forms of violence, bigotry and hatred and specifically mentioned white supremacists, KKK, Neo-Nazi and all extremist groups.

That statement was attributed to a spokesperson and not to Trump himself.

See the original post here:
Mike Pence Defends Donald Trump, Slams Media Over Charlottesville Response - HuffPost

Donald Trump has come under fire for his response to the violent Charlottesville white supremacist rally, and he couldnt have had a different reaction to that of former president Barack Obama.

While President Trump failed to mention racism or white supremacy in his statement on the matter, Obama quoted the late Nelson Mandela in his apparent response to the violence.

"No one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin or his background or his religion," Obama wrote on Twitter on Saturday.

Daily Emails and Alerts - Get the best of Newsweek delivered to your inbox

People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite. - Nelson Mandela.

But while Obama referenced the anti-apartheid leader, Trump was criticized for failing to acknowledge the clearly racist element of the protests.

In a statement, Trump said: We condemn in the strongest possible terms this egregious display of hatred, bigotry and violence, on many sides. On many sides. It's been going on for a long time in our country. Not Donald Trump, not Barack Obama. This has been going on for a long, long time."

Responding to the criticism, the White House attempted to issue reassurances that Trump intended to send an anti-racist message.

The president said very strongly in his statement yesterday that he condemns all forms of violence, bigotry and hatred, and of course that includes white supremacists, KKK, neo-Nazi, and all extremists groups. He called for national unity and bringing all Americans together," a White House spokesman said in a statement.

But other leaders reacted very differently to the attack, which left three people dead including one woman who was killed after a car rammed into a group of counter-protesters at speed.

We know Canada isn't immune to racist violence & hate. We condemn it in all its forms & send support to the victims in Charlottesville, Trudeau wrote on Twitter on Sunday, in another response that differed greatly to that of the U.S. president.

Continued here:
Obama's Reaction To the Charlottesville Rally Was Very Different from Trump's - Newsweek