“During a crisis, heroes come to the forefront because many of our basic human needs are threatened, including our need for certainty, meaning and purpose, self-esteem, and sense of belonging with others,” said Elaine Kinsella, a psychology professor at the University of Limerick in Ireland who has researched the role of heroes in society.
“Heroes help to fulfill, at least in part, some of these basic human needs,” she added.
The scientist-heroes emerging from the coronavirus crisis rarely have the obvious charisma of political leaders, but they show deep expertise and, sometimes, compassion.
In Italy, a nation ravaged by the virus more than any other in the world so far, Dr. Massimo Galli, the director the infectious diseases department at Luigi Sacco University Hospital in Milan, swapped his lab coat for a suit and accepted he “would be overexposed in the media” in order to set things straight, he told one talk show.
In Greece, which has so far been spared a major outbreak, everyone tunes in when Prof. Sotirios Tsiodras, a slender-framed, gray-haired man, addresses the nation every day at 6 p.m.
His delivery is flat, and he relies heavily on his notes as he updates the country on the latest figures of those confirmed sick, hospitalized or deceased. Occasionally, he offers practical advice, like a solution of four teaspoons of bleach per liter of water can be sprayed on surfaces for disinfection.
In recent days, President Donald Trump has left some allies feeling uneasy about his connection to voters in America’s heartland. | John Minchillo/AP Photo
At a Cincinnati rally, the president casts the Democratic primary as a referendum on Barack Obama’s legacy.
CINCINNATI — In a state he hopes to capture again next November, President Donald Trump on Thursday accused his “extremist left-wing” opponents of ruining America’s inner cities — escalating his attacks against influential progressive voices and painting the Democratic presidential primary as a referendum on Barack Obama’s legacy.
“I was watching the Democrats’ debate last night … and the Democrats spent more time attacking Barack Obama than they did attacking me,” Trump said at a crowded rally here.
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It was Trump’s first trip to Cincinnati for a campaign event since he warned voters on the eve of the 2018 midterm elections that Democrats would “take a wrecking ball” to the U.S. economy if they won control of the House of Representatives. He painted the same bleak picture for his supporters on Thursday, claiming that a Democratic victory next fall would subject Ohioans to higher taxes, fewer jobs and “socialist” policies that could make the U.S. unrecognizable.
“The rage-filled Democrat Party is trying to tear America apart. The Democrat Party is now being led by four left-wing extremists who reject everything that we believe in,” Trump said, referencing the four first-term congresswomen of color — Reps. Ilhan Omar, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ayanna Pressley and Rashida Tlaib — whom he targeted in a series of tweets last month.
“No one has paid a higher price for the far left’s destructive agenda than Americans living in our inner cities,” he added.
Campaign advisers said the president views this campaign stop as an opportunity to reset the narrative following back-to-back Democratic primary debates this week in Detroit. Nearly every candidate excoriated Trump for stirring up racial animus, in addition to criticizing his trade, health care and immigration policies.
The president has alternated his attacks against Democratic rivals over the past few months, often directing his ire toward whichever candidate is dominating the news cycle that week or gaining ground in primary polls. But on Thursday, Trump specifically went after Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), who drew praise for her debate performance this week.
“She’s lying and cheating her way through” the presidential primary, Trump said. “She defrauded people with her credentials. She said, ‘I’m Indian,’ and I said, ‘I have more Indian blood than she does and I have none. I’m sorry.’”
He also mocked former Vice President Joe Biden, 76, for his age, suggesting the current Democratic front-runner would be taken advantage of as president because he as “no clue what the hell he is doing.”
“They’d say, ‘Sleepy Joe, Sir, just sign right there,’” Trump said, mimicking White House staffers.
Trump’s team previewed his message in a statement earlier Thursday that sought to underscore his appeal in the industrial Midwest — and mocked Democrats for handing him “another win” with their onstage bickering.
“Plenty of socialist stupidity — eliminating private insurance, decriminalizing border crossings, higher taxes, getting rid of fossil fuels,” campaign spokeswoman Kayleigh McEnany said in a statement.
“Goodbye Pennsylvania. Goodbye auto industry. Goodbye Midwest,” she added.
Melinda Soliz, a Cincinnati native who tuned in to parts of the Democratic debates, said she was less than impressed with the candidates. But, she added, “Biden was OK, I guess.” Soliz said she’s loyal to Trump — for now.
“If the situation changes with the economy, I could change my mind,” Soliz told POLITICO before the rally began.
In recent days, Trump has left some allies feeling uneasy about his connection to voters in America’s heartland. His return to racial politics has done little to boost his approval in the suburbs of Rust Belt cities that many white working-class voters and union members — two demographics that the Trump campaign is targeting — consider home.
One poll released last Thursday, on the heels of the president’s attacks on the four minority congresswomen and before his weekend Twitter rant against Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.), found Democratic front-runner Joe Biden besting the president in Ohio by 8 percentage points — 50 to 42 percent — in a hypothetical general election matchup.
Other polls conducted over the past two weeks have shown the president receiving high marks for the state of the economy, while highlighting voters’ broad disapproval of his racially charged rhetoric. Even among Trump’s supporters, a Fox News survey found a 17-point decline from August 2017 to present of those who believe he respects racial minorities.
But Trump campaign officials say they’re optimistic about capturing voters who disagree with his rhetoric, yet struggle to stomach some of the far-left policies presented by his Democratic opponents. As long as progressive Democrats maintain their current positions on immigration, taxes and health care, aides say, Trump can use them to his advantage.
It’s precisely what Trump sought to do when he took the stage in Cincinnati. Standing before an adoring crowd in the U.S. Bank Arena, he ticked through cultural issues and cast the Democratic Party as far “outside the mainstream.”
“Democrats are now the party of high taxes, high crime, late-term abortion, and they’re the party, frankly, of socialism,” he said.
As he worked through themes that have become a staple of his 2020 campaign, Trump was careful to avoid the same lines that led supporters at a rally last week to chant, “Send her back,” at the mention of Omar (D-Minn.). Prior to arriving here, Trump said he would “prefer” that his fans avoid the chant Thursday night.
“I didn’t care for that. It’s inappropriate,” said Soliz, the Cincinnati native.
Another part of the Trump campaign’s strategy in swing states like Ohio includes forming various coalition groups whose members will serve as pro-Trump surrogates in their communities. The campaign has already announced a women’s coalition and Latino coalition, and has plans to unveil an African American coalition this summer.
“‘Women for Trump’ will not only highlight the president’s clear record of success during his first term, but will share a vision of empowerment and prosperity for every person in every corner of our country,” Lara Trump, the president’s daughter-in-law, said of the coalition she spearheads.
There are some in Trump’s camp who, in addition to congressional Republican leaders, want the president to trade his divisive commentary on race and immigration for safer talking points on jobs and the economy. A reminder of their preference hung behind the president as he took the stage on Thursday: Two enormous red banners hung high above Trump’s head with “JOBS! JOBS! JOBS!” emblazoned across them.
Thursday could have been an ideal opportunity for Trump to tout such progress. Just hours before he arrived here, the Senate passed a two-year budget deal with bipartisan support that erases the threat of a debt default until after the election next year and increases military and domestic spending by $320 billion over the two years. Trump is expected to sign the bill into law.
Trump carried Ohio, a battleground state with 18 electoral votes, by 8 points over Hillary Clinton in 2016. His current approval rating in the state could paint a grim picture, though, as he seeks a second term. Fifty percent of Ohio voters in a June poll by Morning Consult said they disapproved of Trump’s job performance, compared with 46 percent who gave the president high marks.
Former Vice President Joe Biden addresses a crowd at the Hyatt Park community center on Saturday in Columbia, South Carolina. | Sean Rayford/Getty Images
COLUMBIA, S.C. — Joe Biden on Saturday referred to President Donald Trump as a “clown” after a supporter asked the former vice president whether he would return Trump’s insults.
Biden, who is on the first swing of his 2020 campaign, told about two dozen supporters at a private fundraiser that he didn’t want to get down in the mud with Trump.
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“There’s so many nicknames I’m inclined to give this guy,” Biden said to laughter in the room. “You can just start with clown.”
Since launching his bid in late April, Trump has given Biden special attention, including referring to him as “Sleepy Joe.”
Biden said that while he planned to respond to Trump if directly attacked, he believed it was part of the president’s strategy to keep dialogue away from the issues.
“On every single issue and on every demeaning thing he says about other people, I have no problem responding directly,” Biden said. “What I’m not going to do is get into what he wants me to do. He wants this to be a mud wrestling match.”
Saturday marked the first of Biden’s two-day swing through South Carolina as part of a larger cross-country tour that will eventually bring him back to a rally in Philadelphia. Biden spoke at a fundraiser in the private home of state Sen. Dick Harpootlian, an attorney and former South Carolina Democratic Party chairman. Earlier in the day, Biden spoke at a rally in Columbia before heading to the private fundraiser where he delivered remarks and took questions from supporters for about 20 minutes. Biden’s campaign is allowing limited media access to all of the candidate’s fundraisers.
Biden highlighted his foreign policy background as he made the case for running.
“I think, whether I’m right or not, I know as much about American foreign policy as anyone around, including even maybe Kissinger. I say that because I’ve been doing it my entire adult life.”
Just then, Biden flubbed on his foreign leaders.
“One I can say is Margaret Thatcher, um, excuse me, Margaret Thatcher – Freudian slip,” Biden said to laughter in the room. “But I knew her too.” He then corrected himself: “The prime minister of Great Britain, Theresa May.”
Biden also told the group he regretted once saying if he were in high school he would have taken Trump around back and “beat the hell out of him.”
“Well guess what? I probably shouldn’t have done that,” Biden said Saturday, “I don’t want to get it down to that level. The presidency is an office that requires some dignity.”
Biden alluded to having private conversations with Trump, adding: “I let him understand what I think about him.”
The former vice president warned that the contest would get nasty quickly, and that he expected his family would be the subject of attacks.
“This guy is going to go after me and my family,” Biden said.
Biden then told a story about his grandchildren playing a role in urging him to run for president. He said one of his grandchildren called a family meeting eight weeks ago and contended that his grandchildren urged him to run after seeing degrading images on him online.
“‘Pop, you have to run Pop,” Biden said one of his grandsons, “Little Hunter” told him, then said his grandson showed him a photo online from Beau Biden’s funeral. “‘Pop, it says: ‘Look at Biden molesting a kid,’” Biden said his grandson told him. “Pop, I know it’s going to be mean, they’re going to say bad things about Daddy.”
“Mommy and Daddy had a divorce and they’re going to really go after that,” Biden continued, in retelling what he said his grandchildren said to him.
“My generic point is they know how tough it’s going to be.”
“The United States is not seeking war with the Iranian regime, but we are fully prepared to respond to any attack, whether by proxy, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, or regular Iranian forces,” he said.
Gales y Eslovaquia debutaban en una fase final del Campeonato de Europa de la UEFA y la selección de Chris Coleman se llevó los tres puntos gracias al 2-1 que abrió el Grupo B de la UEFA EURO 2016. Gareth Bale adelantó a los suyos a los diez minutos, Duda igualó a 29 del final y el espigado Hal Robson-Kanu provocó el delirio de los galeses en el 81′ al empujar de forma poco ortodoxa un balón suelto tras una gran jugada de de Aaron Ramsey.
En una sensación extraña para ambos, galeses y eslovacos saltaron al Stade de Bordeaux para escuchar por primera vez su himno nacional en un marco incomporable como una fase final del máximo torneo continental.
Avisó primero Marek Hamšík tras romper a dos defensas con un recorte y soltar el disparo con la zurda, pero Danny Ward (que fue el titular por la baja de última hora de Wayne Hennessey) desvió a saque de esquina.
En el minuto 10, Gareth Bale ensayó un libre directo y el meta Matúš Kozáčik dio un paso a la izquierda que evitó la posible parada. El futbolista del Real Madrid volvía a escena tras la final de la UEFA Champions League liderando a Gales.
El propio Bale tuvo otra en el tiempo añadido, pero su zurdazo acabó mansamente en las manos de Kozáčik. Eslovaquia dio un paso adelante y ya en el segundo acto llegó el empate. Ondrej Duda entró en el minuto 60 y uno después no desaprovechó la excepcional jugada de Róbert Mak por la derecha.
Coleman, cuando el partido pintaba mal, optó por dar entrada al espigado Robson-Kanu. En el 73′ sacó un centro con zurda desde el costado derecho que Ramsey cabeceó arriba y ocho después intercambiaron los papeles. El del Arsenal dejó sentado a Martin Škrtel y la pelota suelta fue rematada por Robson-Kanu.
No fue el mejor disparo del delantero del Reading, pero sirvió para sumar la primera victoria de Gales en una fase final y afrontar la segunda jornada (frente a Inglaterra) con tres puntos y mucha moral. Adam Nemec disparó a la madera en el minuto 83 en el que pudo ser el empate.
Jugador del partido: Joe Allen Con Gareth Bale como referencia ofensiva y Aaron Ramsey jugando unos metros por delante de la medular, sobre Joe Allen recaía la responsabilidad de ser el creador de juego para poder enlazar con las otras dos estrellas de Gales. Y no le pesó la presión. El del Liverpool jugó su rol a la perfección y fue el timón para que los de Chris Coleman se estrenasen con triunfo.
Aspecto clave Con el empate de Eslovaquia, los galeses no se vinieron abajo y aguantaron en sus minutos más flojos. La entrada de Robson-Kanu dio oxígeno al ataque de Coleman y finalmente el ariete fue determinante para definir el envite.
Kim Kardashian applauded New Zealand’s lawmakers for proposing to change the country’s gun laws following the mosque shootings that left at least 49 people dead. (AP)
Kardashian tweeted Saturday, “Just 24 hours after the Christchurch shooting New Zealand bans semiautomatic guns! America take note! Why can’t our elected officials put public safety over gun manufacturers’ profits?!?!”
Following Friday’s shooting at two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern vowed to change the country’s gun laws, though she didn’t immediately specify how.
“I can tell you right now, our gun laws will change,” Ardern said. “Now is the time for change.”
David Parker, the country’s attorney general, said New Zealand would ban semiautomatic weapons at a vigil Saturday but backtracked his comments later, The New York Times reported.
“Those decisions have yet to be taken, but the Prime Minister has signaled that we are going to look at that issue,” Parker told Radio New Zealand.
New Zealand citizens as young as 16, provided they pass a background check to get a firearms license, can possess a long gun. They can get one for hunting, pest control or sports shooting, but self-defense is not considered a valid reason to own a firearm.
This is not the first time Kardashian has called for gun control in the U.S.
Following the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in February 2018, the social media personality called on Congress to do their job.
“We owe it to our children and our teachers to keep them safe while at school,” she tweeted. “Prayers won’t do this: action will. Congress, please do your job and protect Americans from senseless gun violence.”
On Friday, Finland urged EU countries to consider stopping importing beef and soybeans from Brazil in order to put pressure on Brazil to tackle the fires.
Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro has faced criticism for failing to protect the region.
More than 80,000 fires have broken out in the Amazon rainforest so far this year.
Environmentalists say Mr Bolsonaro’s policies have led to an increase in fires this year and that he has encouraged cattle farmers to clear large areas of the rainforest since his election last October.
Image copyright EPA
Mr Araujo said: “We want to be together in the endeavour to create development for the Amazon region which we are convinced is the only way to protect the forest.
“So we need new initiatives, new productive initiatives, that create jobs, that create revenue for people in the Amazon and that’s where our partnership with the United States will be very important for us.”
Media caption“It’s extremely upsetting… to see this kind of devastation” – the BBC’s Will Grant flew over northern Rondonia state
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the biodiversity investment fund would support businesses in hard to reach areas of the Amazon.
He added: “The Brazilians and the American teams will follow through on our commitment that our presidents made in March. We’re getting off the ground a 100 million dollar, 11-year Impact Investment Fund for Amazon biodiversity conservation and that project will be led by the private sector.”
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— “Face the Nation” is America’s premier Sunday morning public affairs program. The broadcast is one of the longest-running news programs in the history of television, having debuted November 7, 1954 on CBS. Every Sunday, “Face the Nation” moderator and CBS News senior foreign affairs correspondent Margaret Brennan welcomes leaders, newsmakers, and experts to a lively round table discussion of current events and the latest news.
Boeing will temporarily halt production of its troubled 737 Max airliner in January, the manufacturer said.
Production of the jet had continued despite the model being grounded for nine months after two deadly crashes.
More than 300 people died when two 737 Max aircraft crashed in Indonesia and Ethiopia after reported problems with a new feature.
Boeing had been hoping to have the planes back in the air by the end of this year.
But US regulators made it clear that they would not be certified to return to the skies that quickly.
What will Boeing do next?
Boeing is one of the largest US exporters. The company said in a statement that it would not lay off workers associated with the 737 Max, but the stoppage is likely to affect suppliers and the wider economy.
“Safely returning the 737 Max to service is our top priority,” the aircraft manufacturer said.
“We know that the process of approving the 737 Max’s return to service, and of determining appropriate training requirements, must be extraordinarily thorough and robust, to ensure that our regulators, customers, and the flying public have confidence in the 737 Max updates.”
What went wrong with the planes?
Last week a congressional hearing was told that US aviation regulators were aware, following the first crash in Indonesia in October 2018, that there was a risk of further accidents.
The Federal Aviation Authority’s analysis suggested there could be more than a dozen more crashes over the lifetime of the aircraft unless changes were made to its design.
Media captionBoeing 737 crashes: What went wrong?
Despite that, the 737 Max was not grounded until after the second crash in Ethiopia in March 2019.
Boeing is redesigning the automated control system thought to have been the primary cause of the crashes.
The manufacturer said it had 400 of the 737 Max aircraft in storage and would focus on delivering those to customers. While many airlines around the world have the planes on order, delivery was halted to allow Boeing’s engineers to develop software fixes.
What has the reaction been?
Travel industry analyst Henry Harteveldt said the decision to suspend production was unprecedented and likely to have a “massive impact on Boeing, its suppliers and the airlines”.
“It’s really going to create some chaos for the airlines that are involved in this as well as the 600 or so companies that are part of the 737 Max supply chain and Boeing itself.”
The suspension of the 737 Max has already cost Boeing around $9bn (£6.75bn). Boeing shares fell more than 4% on Monday amid speculation production would be suspended.
Image copyright Reuters
Image caption
All Boeing 737 Max planes are currently grounded
The production freeze is expected to be felt across the plane’s global supply chain.
Teal Group aviation analyst Richard Aboulafia described Boeing’s options for managing the blow to its suppliers as “bad and worse”.
He said the plane maker could either allow them to take a hit, or pay them to wait for when the 737 Max is finally cleared to fly.
US carriers operate the largest 737 Max fleets, though airlines around the world also use it.
“The Chinese carriers would [also] be quite badly affected. They’re some of the biggest users of the Max,” said Shukor Yusof, aviation analyst at Endau Analytics.
Some suppliers, such as fuselage maker Spirit AeroSystems, are highly dependent on the jet, with half of its revenue attached to it, according to Mr Aboulafia.
So far, the supplier has only said it is “working closely” with Boeing to determine what impact the production suspension may have.
The move by Boeing is unlikely to affect passengers as airlines have leased additional aircraft to replace the 737 Max.
It’s a different story for airlines, who have the added expense of leasing planes and managing their grounded aircraft.
“The media’s obsession with the January 6th protest is a blatant attempt to overshadow a simple fact: there is no greater threat to America than leftist journalists and the Fake News, which has avoided a careful examination of the fraudulent 2020 election. The media, just like the Democrats, do not want to see secure and honest elections. Instead of reporting the facts, outlets like the Washington Post sow division, hate, and lies, like it is doing with this story.”
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announces impeachment inquiry over President Donald Trump’s efforts to get Ukraine to investigate Joe Biden. USA TODAY
WASHINGTON— As House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced a formal impeachment inquiry into President Trump’s contact with the Ukrainian president, multiple 2020 Democratic presidential candidates switched their view on where they stand with impeachment or reiterated their belief that impeachment is the right path.
The senator from Colorado has called for more investigation into the president’s conduct and said Tuesday night that the “House is right to launch an impeachment inquiry … This administration cannot hide the truth.”
Joe Biden
The former vice president has been trading words with Trump over the controversy, and on Tuesday called on Congress to begin impeachment proceedings if Trump does not comply with all of Congress’ request for information about the July call Trump had with Ukraine’s president.
“It’s time for this administration to stop stonewalling and provide the Congress with all the facts it needs,” Biden said. “It’s time for the Congress to fully investigate the conduct of this president. The president should stop stonewalling this investigation and all the other investigations into his alleged wrongdoing. Using its full Constitutional authority, Congress in my view should demand the information it has a legal right to receive.”
Cory Booker
The senator from New Jersey said Pelosi’s move forward is “our one remaining path to ensuring justice is served,” and has been a long time supporter of impeachment.
Steve Bullock
The Montana governor called on Congress to demand the whistleblower’s complaint that has in part led to the impeachment inquiry, saying in a statement if “they don’t get it, I see no other option than starting impeachment proceedings.”
The former Housing and Urban Development secretary has long supported impeachment, and retweeted singer Lizzo cleverly tweeting “IM[peach emoji]MENT” with: Truth hurts, a nod to Lizzo’s smash hit single.
John Delaney
The former congressman had previously supported Pelosi waiting on an official impeachment inquiry and again followed the Speaker Tuesday, saying in a statement he believes Pelosi has “exercised extremely good judgment” and he agrees with her, reiterating that “she deserves our support.”
Tulsi Gabbard
Representative Tulsi Gabbard went against the tide of her fellow 2020 contenders on impeachment, saying she doesn’t support it because it would be “terribly divisive” for an “already very divided” country.”
Kamala Harris
The California senator tweeted out a petition before Pelosi had announced formal proceedings, asking supporters to sign if they want to see movement towards impeachment.
“As a 2016 candidate, Donald Trump openly encouraged a foreign adversary to hack a political opponent and attack our elections. As President, he’s doing it again in broad daylight. We cannot stand for this abuse of power,” the petition reads.
Trump openly encouraged a foreign adversary to hack a political opponent and attack our elections.
He’s doing it again.
Add your name to demand the House begin proceedings to impeach Trump»https://t.co/g6aouA7Zu2
The Minnesota senator tweeted that “the House did the right thing,” maintaining her previously stated support for an impeachment inquiry.
Wayne Messam
The Miramar, Florida, mayor tweeted Tuesday that “Many folks continue to demand impeachment proceedings for @POTUS, I’m on record as well.”
Beto O’Rourke
The former congressman from Texas on Twitter called on his former colleagues to simply “finish the job and impeach him.”
We have a lawless president, who has undermined our democracy; a racist president, who has incited violence; a reckless president, who has let our planet burn and fleeced taxpayers for his own benefit. To my former colleagues in Congress: Finish the job and impeach him.
The congressman from Ohio took to twitter to say: “Donald Trump showed us again that his true colors are more like a mob boss than a president. It’s time to impeach.”
Bernie Sanders
The Vermont senator tweeted Tuesday he believes Trump “is the most corrupt president in the modern history of this country. Enough is enough.”
He also said Tuesday he fears that if impeachment fails in the Senate, “I know and you know what [Trump] will do: ‘I am vindicated! … I am vindicated!’ And I think that is a fact that has to be taken into consideration.”
Joe Sestak
The former congressman and Naval officer said that if the allegations against Trump are true, “the constitutional duty of Congress is to investigate the outreach of America’s leader.”
Tom Steyer
The billionaire reiterated his support for the impeachment movement. Steyer began calling for impeachment two years ago to “hold this lawless, criminal president accountable. We are finally at a watershed moment.”
Elizabeth Warren
The Massachusetts Senator reiterated her longtime belief in impeaching the president, tweeting a video of her speaking on the floor of the Senate in May where she said “Congress must fulfill its Constitutional duty & begin impeachment proceedings against the President.” She also said “when it comes to the Senate, I will do what the Constitution requires.”
Marianne Williamson: Williamson said Tuesday that she had previously been unsure of an impeachment inquiry because of the GOP stronghold on the Senate, as well as Trump possibly using the inquiry “make himself look like a victim.”
However, “when a president has no qualms withholding aid from another country unless its government agrees to help him get dirt on his political opponents, America has a serious problem,” the author said in a statement. “Our president has apparently no respect for the demands, responsibilities, or the limits to his power.”
“It is with no pleasure that I support an impeachment inquiry into the president. It is, however, with a deep belief that it is the right thing to do,” she added.
Andrew Yang: Yang came forward on Tuesday via Twitter to say he now believes “impeachment is the right path forward. Asking foreign leaders for political help in return for aid and then suppressing your own agency’s inquiry is egregious,” but clarified that if impeachment doesn’t work in the Republican Senate, he plans to “beat Donald Trump at the ballot box in 2020.”
Given the President’s latest actions I think impeachment is the right path forward. Asking foreign leaders for political help in return for aid and then suppressing your own agency’s inquiry is egregious. There have to be limits and Congress is right to act.
“Sometimes you do the right thing independent of politics,” he continued.
President Trump, for his part, has called the latest push for impeachment a “positive for me in the election.”
Trump’s campaign manager Brad Parscale called the Democrats impeachment strategy “misguided.”
“Democrats can’t beat President Trump on his policies or his stellar record of accomplishment, so they’re trying to turn a Joe Biden scandal into a Trump problem,” Parscale said in a statement.
Trump addresses the nation from the Lincoln Memorial, tells Americans that they are part of one of the greatest stories ever told: the story of America.
With the Lincoln Memorial in the background and flanked on both sides by camouflaged Bradley fighting vehicles, President Trump used his “Salute to America” speech Thursday evening to praise the men and women of the Armed Forces and American exceptionalism.
Despite concerns from Democrats that he would use the Fourth of July event as a virtual campaign rally, Trump struck a largely nonpartisan tone during an address that paid tribute to the military by telling its history from the days of America’s founding – praising the spirit that “runs through the veins of every American patriot.”
“Today, we come together as one nation with this very special Salute to America,” a smiling Trump said. “We celebrate our history, our people, and the heroes who proudly defend our flag — the brave men and women of the United States military.”
From George Washington leading the Continental Army to the Apollo 11 moon landing, Trump rattled off a list of American accomplishments and inventions in the name of freedom, while slipping in a boast about his administration’s accomplishments.
“Americans love our freedom and no one will ever take it away from us,” Trump said to chants of “U-S-A.” “Our nation is stronger today than it ever was before, it is stronger now, stronger than ever.”
The president took the audience, on this rainy day in Washington, through the history of the Armed Forces, telling tales of valor on foreign soil in gripping detail.
“Together we are part of one of the greatest stories ever told — the story of America,” Trump said. “It is the epic tale of a great nation whose people have risked everything for what they know is right.”
“We’re Americans. Nothing is impossible,” Trump said.
Trump followed his speech with an individual honor to each branch of the U.S. military — Coast Guard, Navy, Army, Air Force and Marines.
Despite the cloudy skies, Trump’s speech was punctuated by flyovers by military aircraft ranging from the Air Forces F-22 Raptors and B-2 Stealth Bomber to the Navy’s F-18 Super Hornets and Army Apache helicopters.
“Today, just as it did 243 years ago, the future of American Freedom rests on the shoulders of men and women willing to defend it,” Trump said. “As long as we stay true to our cause — as long as we remember our great history — and as long as we never stop fighting for a better future—then there will be nothing that America cannot do.”
“We will never forget that we are Americans, and the future belongs to us,” he said. “We share one home, one heart and we are all made by one almighty God.”
Trump’s speech was capped off with a performance by the Navy Blue Angels flight team.
While Trump’s speech set a unifying tone, the lead-up to the event was marked by controversy – with Trump’s opponents slamming him on everything from the cost of the event to the perceived exploitation of the holiday for a political purpose.
Rep. Betty McCollum, D-Minn., who is among the lawmakers overseeing the Interior Department, which has jurisdiction over the National Mall and federal parks, said it was “absolutely outrageous” that the administration will use park money to help defray Thursday’s event costs. The National Park Service plans to use nearly $2.5 million intended to help improve parks nationwide, The Washington Post reported late Tuesday, citing anonymous sources.
“These fees are not a slush fund for this administration to use at will,” McCollum said in a statement. She promised a congressional hearing.
Two outside groups, the National Parks Conservation Foundation and Democracy Forward, want the department’s internal watchdog to investigate what they say may be a “potentially unlawful decision to divert” national parks money to Trump’s “spectacle.”
Former high-ranking members of the Armed Forces also weighed on Trump’s celebration, with retired U.S. Army Gen. Barry McCaffrey – a frequent critic of the president – calling the “Salute to America” “narcissistic” and that it will set up “another vile political fight.”
“He’s turning it into a “narcissistic display for his own purpose,” McCaffrey said on MSNBC on Wednesday. “It undoubtedly is a political event which makes everyone uneasy in the Pentagon.”
Trump defended the cost of the event on Wednesday, tweeting that cost “will be very little compared to what it is worth.”
“We own the planes, we have the pilots, the airport is right next door (Andrews), all we need is the fuel,” he said, referring to Maryland’s Joint Base Andrews, home for some of the planes that are to fly over the Mall on Thursday. “We own the tanks and all. Fireworks are donated by two of the greats.”
Washington has held an Independence Day celebration for decades, featuring a parade along Constitution Avenue, a concert on the Capitol lawn with music by the National Symphony Orchestra and fireworks beginning at dusk near the Washington Monument.
Trump altered the lineup by adding his speech, moving the fireworks closer to the Lincoln Memorial and summoning the tanks and warplanes.
Trump originally wanted a parade with military tanks and other machinery rolling through downtown Washington ever since he was enthralled by a two-hour procession of French military tanks and fighter jets in Paris on Bastille Day in July 2017. Later that year, Trump said he’d have a similar parade in Washington on the Fourth of July 2018, and would “top” the Paris show.
The event ended up being pushed to Veterans Day, which conflicted with one of Trump’s trips abroad, before it was scuttled after cost estimates exceeding $90 million were made public.
At the same time, she is spending money quickly to build up a large campaign operation. Her campaign said it spent $5.2 million in the first quarter, leaving it with $11.2 million in cash on hand.
Ms. Warren’s fund-raising at the beginning of her campaign did not impress. On Dec. 31, the day she announced her exploratory committee for president, she raised about $300,000 through the online donation-processing platform ActBlue, according to Federal Election Commission records. By contrast, Mr. O’Rourke raised $6.1 million in his first 24 hours in the race, and Mr. Sanders raised $5.9 million in his first day, according to their campaigns.
A New York Times article detailing Ms. Warren’s early fund-raising struggles, which was published online on the last day of the first quarter, helped create an outpouring for Ms. Warren, handing her one of her best fund-raising days of the quarter, according to a Democrat familiar with her fund-raising.
Supporters of Ms. Warren feared that she was being crowded out by Mr. Sanders on the party’s left flank, but the campaign’s surge in the final week has at least temporarily allayed some of the concern. During that time, Ms. Warren’s campaign team made several dramatic pitches to its donor base, sending emails that addressed the harshest criticisms of the campaign, such as one titled “Can She Really Win?” in which they laid out the campaign’s overarching strategy.
The emails, which track with private conversations among Ms. Warren’s senior advisers, suggest that the senator believes several things will help her break out of the Democratic pack, including an ability to do more political events because she is not devoting time to private fund-raisers, her well-praised policy rollouts and her campaign team’s focus on digital organizing.
“The relative numbers don’t matter to me,” said John Walsh, a former chairman of the Massachusetts Democratic Party. “Who has the most money? No, that doesn’t matter. It’s, ‘Do you have enough money to run the campaign you said you’re going to run?’”
Candidates must report their fund-raising for the first quarter to the Federal Election Commission by April 15, but campaigns can announce numbers before that deadline.
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