Archive for the ‘Obama’ Category

Trump gets trolled again by Obama’s White House photographer over ‘respect for women’ – Washington Post

As a chorus of Democratic and Republican lawmakers slammed President Trump for sexist tweets about MSNBC host Mika Brzezinski, a former White House chief photographer took to social media to troll the president, again.

Pete Souza, who chronicled theObama presidency, shared a photoof an Oval Officemeeting four women had with Barack Obama while he was president.The candidphotoshows Obama sitting on hisdesk and gesturing while talking with the female staffers.

Souza labeledthe Instagram post: Respect for women.

Souza also shared the photo on Twitter, a few hours after Trump unleashed a couple of tweets about Brzezinski and her co-host, Joe Scarborough. Trump calledBrzezinski"low I.Q. Crazy Mika" andclaimed she had a facelift.

Trump's tweets came just three weeks after members of Congress called for civility, restraint and cooperation following a shooting rampage that injured five during a baseball practice in Alexandria, Va. Several lawmakers have taken to Twitter to rebuke Trump for his tweets, which many called sexist and unbecoming of the president of the United States.

Souza,whohas said his "political leanings are Democratic," has previously trolled Trump by sharing photos that appear to show the men's stark differences.

[Mr. President, please grow up: Lawmakers slam Trumps vile Mika Brzezinski tweets]

For example, he shared a picture of Obama clasping the left hand of his wife, Michelle Obama, as the two listened to a speech in Selma, Ala. The short caption,"holding hands," appears to be a slight at what Trump and first lady Melania Trump had just done or not done,The Washington Post's Amy B. Wang wrote.

Holding hands.

A post shared by Pete Souza (@petesouza) on May 23, 2017 at 7:53am PDT

Souza's photo followed a pair of viral video clips of the president and the first lady during their trip to the Middle East last month. One shows Melania Trump appearing toswat away her husband's hand after they arrived in Tel Aviv.In the other, she appears to avoid holding the president's handafter they landed in Rome.

Last May, after The Post broke the news about Trump revealing highly classified information to Russian officials, Souza posted a photo of a folder marked CLASSIFIED on hisformer boss's desk.The caption: Organized paperwork on the Resolute Desk, 2009.

The subtext, wrote The Post's Emily Heil:Obama knew how to handle sensitive information.

Souza, who also photographed the Reagan White House,has for months been sharing candid pictureshe took of Obama over the past eight years.CNN described itas a silent, social media, shade-throwing protest told in visuals.

The Fix's Callum Borchers explains the years-long feud between President Trump and the hosts of MSNBC's "Morning Joe." (Peter Stevenson/The Washington Post)

Avi Selk and Amy B. Wang contributed to this story.

READ MORE:

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Trump gets trolled again by Obama's White House photographer over 'respect for women' - Washington Post

Eric Schultz: Obama White House didn’t "choke" in handling of Russian meddling – CBS News

The Obama administration didn't "choke" in its handling of Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. election, former White House official Eric Schultz said on the latest episode of "The Takeout" podcast. He defended the Obama administration's handling of intelligence demonstrating Russia intended to influence the American democratic process.

"Our view was, let's do this by the book. And what that meant was, the intelligence community was going to investigate they were going to be thorough, and as soon as they reached a conclusion they were going to release it." And that, he told CBS News' Major Garrett and Steve Chaggaris, was the right decision at the time.

Schultz's comments follow aWashington Postreport that details much of what the Obama administration knew and when officials knew about Russian President Vladimir Putin's directives to influence the election.

At the heart of the story is the question of whether the Obama administration did enough in late 2016 to combat Russia's cyber campaign in an attempt to "disrupt and discredit the U.S. presidential race." Politicians from both sides have argued that not nearly enough was done to prevent interference.

President Trump went as far as to say President Obama "colluded or obstructed" and "did not want to 'rock the boat'" because he thought Clinton would win.

One official quoted in the story said the situation was "the hardest thing about my entire time in government to defend," and that "I feel like we sort of choked."

Schultz argues that's not the case, and that the risk that the Obama administration could being perceived as intervening in the electoral process should not be underestimated.

"It's important to take stock of how we were making decisions in real time, versus looking back in hindsight. So if you transport ourselves back to the summer and fall of 2016, it's in the midst of a spirited, intense presidential election," Schultz said, noting that he respected the Washington Post's thorough reporting.

"It's also in the midst of President Obama crisscrossing this country campaigning for Secretary [Hillary] Clinton," he added. "We're acutely aware of that, and we're acutely aware of how information that we release gets consumed in that particular environment. And you had a Republican nominee for president claiming that the election was rigged. And you had a campaign trying to undermine results if Secretary Clinton had prevailed."

Over yogurt, berries, eggs, toast, and Garrett's "Kitchen sink Omelet-plus" at the Ritz Carlton'sQuadrant, Schultz, who served as the White House principal deputy press secretary, also discussed what it's like to stand at the White House podium to brief reporters on live television.

"Briefing for the White House is the hardest thing I've ever done, and will likely be hardest thing I ever do," he said. "When you brief, you can move markets, you can mobilize armies, you can impact Congress and governors."

For more from Schultz's conversation with CBS News Chief White House Correspondent Major Garrett and CBS News Political Director Steve Chaggaris, listen to "The Takeout" podcast, available oniTunes,Google Play,Stitcher,SpotifyandCBSNews.com. And follow "The Takeout" on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter: @TakeoutPodcast.

Producers: Arden Farhi, Nick Fineman, and Katiana Krawchenko

Facebook:Facebook.com/TakeoutPodcast

2017 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved.

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Eric Schultz: Obama White House didn't "choke" in handling of Russian meddling - CBS News

Republican attorneys general target Obama ‘Dreamer’ program – Reuters

Ten Republican state attorneys general on Thursday urged federal authorities to rescind a policy set by former U.S. President Barack Obama that protects from deportation nearly 600,000 immigrants brought into the country illegally by their parents, known as "Dreamers."

Obama, a Democrat, had hoped that overhauling the U.S. immigration system and resolving the fate of the estimated 11 million people in the country illegally would be part of his presidential legacy. But Republican President Donald Trump has vowed to crack down on illegal immigration.

The Department of Homeland Security earlier this month rescinded a separate Obama-era policy meant to cover illegal immigrant parents that had been blocked by the courts. However, DHS said the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, policy covering "Dreamers" was still in effect.

In a letter on Thursday, the Republican attorneys general asked that DHS abolish the DACA program going forward, while noting that the government did not have to rescind permits that had already been issued.

If the federal government does not withdraw DACA, the attorneys general said they would file a legal challenge to the program in federal court in Texas.

A DHS representative referred questions to the U.S. Department of Justice, which did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The 10 Republican attorneys general who signed the letter represent the states of Texas, Louisiana, Alabama, Nebraska, Arkansas, South Carolina, Idaho, Tennessee, West Virginia and Kansas.

A larger coalition of 26 Republican AGs had challenged the policy covering illegal immigrant parents.

In a statement, the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund said it took encouragement from the diminished number of attorneys general signing onto the DACA letter, and urged Trump not to "cave in to the toothless threat" of legal action.

(Reporting by Dan Levine in San Francisco; editing by Jonathan Oatis)

BEIJING China reacted relatively calmly on Friday after a series of diplomatic broadsides by the United States, expressing anger over new arms sales by Washington to Taiwan but hoping ties could soon be brought back on track.

Maine lawmakers will vote on a budget plan on Friday that would repeal a 3 percent tax hike on those who earn at least $200,000 and increase education funding to try to avert a partial government shutdown threatened by Governor Paul LePage.

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Republican attorneys general target Obama 'Dreamer' program - Reuters

How Should We View the Obama Legacy? – New York Times

Photo Credit Anthony Gerace, photograph by Stephen Crowley/The New York Times

To the Editor:

Re The Anti-Legacy, by Peter Baker (news analysis, Sunday Review, June 25):

Do you know why President Trump is working so hard to tear down former President Barack Obamas legacy? Because Mr. Obama represents everything that Mr. Trump is not: an articulate orator, a deep thinker and someone who is elegant in style, words and actions.

Mr. Obama brought grace, self-deprecating humor and sensitivity to our countrys deepest concerns, and a fearless commitment to public service. He risked his presidency over his signature legislation, the Affordable Care Act.

Barack Obama is the light, and Donald Trump is the dark, and all the world now knows it.

GABRIELLA EVANS, BELMONT, CALIF.

To the Editor:

Your online headline asks, Can Trump Destroy Obamas Legacy? Its a fair question, but the more important one is what parts of Barack Obamas legacy President Trump will keep.

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How Should We View the Obama Legacy? - New York Times

Obama’s jeans game gets strong(er) – CNN

While the statement wasn't one of then-President Obama's most important pronouncements during his time in office, it was one of the most questionable, from a truth perspective. Said to Ryan Seacrest during a radio interview in March of 2014, it was a response to Obama's critics, those who mocked his denimwear, which, according to years of photographic evidence, leaned toward ill-fitting, stone-washed, and extremely "Dad"-like.

He again wore jeans on Tuesday, this time while on vacation with his family in Bali, Indonesia. The look was a definite upgrade, but the jury's still out as to whether jeans are, or should be, his thing.

"There was one episode like four years ago, in which I was wearing some loose jeans, mainly because I was out on the pitcher's mound and I didn't want to feel confined while I was pitching," Obama told Seacrest during that same conversation. The sartorial moment, which occurred in 2009, stuck with him. "I've paid my penance for that [look.] I got whacked pretty good. Since that time, my jeans fit very well." But, do they? Here's a look back; decide for yourself:

Here's the pitch in July 2009 that earned him the title of Dad jeans king:

In May of that year, cheering on the sidelines of one of his daughter's soccer games, things weren't much better. The super-wide leg, the monotone wash, the awkward length...hi, Dad.

The following year, vacationing in Martha's Vineyard, the jeans were better in the wash department -- more of a gray denim -- but the pairing of them with mandals brought the overall score down. Way down.

But sometime around 2013, he turned a corner. With Malia in Hawaii in July of that year, here's the then-president stepping up his demin game. The fit is tighter, the wash darker, the shoe far more acceptable.

He finished his presidency with no more headline-grabbing jeans debacles, and reemerged in March of this year a new (denim) man. Here he is in DC in March, after a visit to a museum with Michelle Obama. Leather jacket, T-shirt, button-down, good belt, tight jeans. Who is this guy, and what have you done with Barack Obama?

Which brings us to yesterday. The collared, short-sleeved shirt, tucked neatly into the waistband, the telltale sneakers -- it all still says "Dad," but in a far more stylish way. He's embraced a dark wash and he's acknowledged that legs have shape.

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Obama's jeans game gets strong(er) - CNN