Month: October 2019 (Page 2 of 2)

Fake news, corrupt media, treason, spy, those are just a few words that President Trump has used in reference to American citizens during the last week.  American citizens are now using only one word in reference to President Trump, impeachment. 

President Trump’s phone call on July 25, 2019 to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy is the center of the House Democrats’ impeachment inquiry.  A transcript of the call made public by the White House showed President Trump asked Zelenskiy to look into why Ukraine’s top prosecutor ended an investigation into a Ukrainian gas company. That once employed Vice President Joe Biden’s son as a board member.  Messages given to Congress and released by House Democrats suggest the call was part of a broader effort by Trump and his administration to pressure Ukraine.

The messages show how U.S. Ambassadors worked to persuade Ukraine to publicly commit to investigating Trumps political opponents. Explicitly linking the inquiry to whether Ukraine’s President would be granted an official visit to the White House.

President Trump has also publicly stated that China should start an investigation into Joe Biden. 

President Trump is no stranger to attacking his political rivals, this week is no different.  With House Democrats pursuing an impeachment inquiry, the President is lashing out at new and old targets. President Trump has also publicly stated that China should start an investigation into Joe Biden. 

This week at an Iowa town hall a local resident confronted Republican Senator Joni Ernst. Asking a important question about the President. “Where’s the line?” Haskins asked at the town hall. “When are you guys going to say, enough,” and stand up and say, “I’m not backing any of this?” Republicans need to ask themselves just how far the President will go if they don’t start setting boundaries.  

Republican lawmakers have mostly been silent on the President’s comments. Only a handful have spoken out including Sen. Mitt Romney of Utah and Ben Sasse of Nebraska. They agreed that the call was bad, but the majority of the GOP officials stayed silent. Republicans have never really been able to stop Trump from being Trump and have often paid a price when they have tried. 

According to NPR, an analysis finds Trump’s use of heated phrases such as “lamestream media,” “coup,” “treason,” “enemy of the people,” and “corrupt media” jumped beginning of March of this year. October is on pace to set a record. The President said “Bullshit” in the middle of a long speech last March at the Conservative Political Action Conference in reference to the Democrats investigation. Since then similar language has been exceeding commonplace. “I’m glad he just said it via Twitter and hasn’t done it in the Rose Garden yet,” said Sam Nunberg, who was the Presidents advisor in the early part of his campaign.   

Sources

Blake, Aaron. “’Where Is the Line?’: A Joni Ernst Town Hall Questioner Sums up the GOP’s Trump Dilemma.” The Washington Post, WP Company, 4 Oct. 2019, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2019/10/04/where-is-line-joni-ernst-town-hall-questioner-sums-up-gops-trump-dilemma/.

Bennett, Geoff, et al. “Trump Blames Energy Secretary Rick Perry for Ukraine Call at Center of Impeachment Inquiry.” NBCNews.com, NBCUniversal News Group, 6 Oct. 2019, https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/trump-impeachment-inquiry/trump-blames-energy-secretary-rick-perry-ukraine-call-center-impeachment-n1062931.

Keith, Tamara. “’Treason,’ ‘Spy,’ ‘Coup’: As Impeachment Talk Intensifies, So Does Trump’s Rhetoric.” NPR, NPR, 5 Oct. 2019, https://www.npr.org/2019/10/05/767224186/treason-spy-coup-as-impeachment-talk-intensifies-so-does-trump-s-rhetoric.

Alex Watters has always had an interest in politics. Alex’s father ran for sheriff on a local level. He remembers going door to door and being in parades with his father. In 2016 Mr. Watters decided to run for the board of supervisors unsuccessfully. However an opportunity presented itself in 2017 when he was appointed to the board in February. Later on winning in November of the same year.

Alex has worked in career services at Morningside for over two years. When asked what he would bring to a desert island first, he would bring a wheelchair that wouldn’t get stuck in the sand. Second, Alex would bring a source of fresh water. Finally, he would bring a phone with endless battery.

One thing Alex wants to do in the future is become a motivational speaker. When asked why he replied ” The reason I do speaking is education and engagement.”

He also enjoyed his time working with the Obama campaign during the 2012 election. “You can really make a difference in politics.” When asked about his future in politics he plans on running for reelection in 2021. Kamala Harris has asked for opinions from Alex on disability laws.

A furious Donald Trump blasted Democrats for wasting America’s time. Venting his frustration on Twitter “The Do Nothing Democrats should be focused on building up our country, not wasting everyone’s time and energy on BULLSHIT, which is what they have been doing ever since I got overwhelmingly elected in 2016, 223-306. Get a better candidate this time, you’ll need it!”

Following the twitter tirade from the President, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff said they were not “fooling around.” Trump insisting that “the whistleblower is very inaccurate.” despite Trump’s own community inspector general deemed the report “urgent and credible.”

On Wednesday Democrats unveiled a plan to subpoena a haul of documents from the White House related to the investigation. The sharp Democratic response suggests that the added gravity of a formal impeachment inquiry could shift Washingtons balance of power. These fast moving developments show how Democrats are using their constitutional authority to quickly build up a framework for their investigation.

This article was written by Stephen Collinson from CNN. I think he is certainly left leaning. But he did include arguments from both political parties. CNN has also updated this article several times with more information as it has become available. They also have a video that gives the reader a quick overview of the important topics.