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The Divider In Chief

September 25, 2017 at 7:09 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

New York Times: “Over the course of just 17 hours this weekend, President Trump assailed John McCain, Chuck Schumer, Stephen Curry, the National Football League, Roger Goodell, Iran and Kim Jong-un — the ‘Little Rocket Man.’ And that was on his day off. … While he has restrained himself for brief stretches, his penchant for punching eventually reasserts itself. Never in modern times has an occupant of the Oval Office seemed to reject so thoroughly the nostrum that a president’s duty is to bring the country together. Relentlessly pugnacious, energized by a fight, unwilling to let any slight go unanswered, Mr. Trump has made himself America’s apostle of anger, its deacon of divisiveness.”

“In his brief career as president and a candidate for president, Mr. Trump has attacked virtually every major institution in American life: Congress, the courts, Democrats, Republicans, the news media, the Justice Department, Hollywood, the military, NATO, the intelligence agencies, the cast of ‘Hamilton,’ the cast of ‘Saturday Night Live,’ the pope and now professional sports. He has attacked the Trump administration itself, or at least selected parts of it (see Sessions, Jeff), and even the United States of America (‘you think our country’s so innocent?’).”

James Hohmann: “Trump, who was a developer before he became a reality TV star and then a politician, has long been a builder of straw men. Everyone knows that he trades on controversy, but his chaotic approach to governing also depends on constantly presenting the American people with false binary choices.”

Filed Under: White House

Bonus Quote of the Day

September 24, 2017 at 8:25 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“I don’t know what he’s going to do tomorrow. He changes his statements almost on a daily basis. So for me to spend my time trying to analyze what he says, I don’t know.”

— Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), in an interview on 60 Minutes, on President Trump.

Filed Under: White House

Kushner Used Private Email for White House Business

September 24, 2017 at 3:42 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Jared Kushner “has corresponded with other administration officials about White House matters through a private email account set up during the transition last December, part of a larger pattern of Trump administration aides using personal email accounts for government business,” Politico reports.

“Kushner uses his private account alongside his official White House email account, sometimes trading emails with senior White House officials, outside advisers and others about media coverage, event planning and other subjects, according to four people familiar with the correspondence. Politico has seen and verified about two dozen emails.”

Filed Under: White House Tagged With: Jared Kushner


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NFL Owner Joins Players During Anthem Protest

September 24, 2017 at 10:59 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Less than three hours after President Trump called on NFL owners to suspend or fire players who protest during the national anthem, the Baltimore Ravens and Jacksonville Jaguars — the first teams to play on Sunday — linked arms or took a knee during the playing of ‘The Star-Spangled Banner’ before the teams 9:30 a.m. EDT kickoff in London’s Wembley Stadium,” the Washington Post reports.

“Ravens Coach John Harbaugh joined his players, linking arms, and Ravens Hall of Famer Ray Lewis took a knee. Jaguars owner Shahid Khan, who had contributed $1 million to the Trump inauguration, locked arms with his players in what is believed to be the first visible participation in relation to anthem protests by a league owner.”

Filed Under: White House

Trump Is Trying to Distract from His Big Losses

September 24, 2017 at 10:13 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Mike Allen quoted former Clinton advisor Doug Sosnik on what President Trump is trying to accomplish by attacking professional athletes who protest during the national anthem: “One of Trump’s typical moves is to toss a bomb out of nowhere to deflect what is really bothering him, in the hopes that the press will be distracted.”

He added: “There is a good chance that the candidate he endorsed and campaigned for will lose in the Alabama Senate primary. On top of that, it looks like … another failed Republican attempt to repeal Obamacare. So he figures that the shows on Sunday focusing on his fights with professional athletes is more appealing than a discussion about how he is becoming a loser.”

Filed Under: White House

Majority See Trump as a Dividing Force

September 24, 2017 at 8:15 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

A new Washington Post-ABC News poll finds most Americans see President Trump as a divisive figure who has yet to fulfill his campaign promise to positively change the way Washington works.

“More than twice as many Americans say Trump is doing more to divide the country than to unify it, 66% vs. 28%. The margin is significantly more negative than those recorded for Obama and Bush; at most, 55 percent of Americans said Obama or Bush was dividing the country.”

“Trump’s overall job approval rating has stabilized at 39% in the new poll after slipping to 36% in July. The shift is within the poll’s margin of sampling error but is mirrored in the small rise in other recent national polls.”

Filed Under: White House

Trump Demands NFL Fire Players Who Kneel

September 24, 2017 at 7:59 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“President Trump on Sunday morning renewed his demand that NFL owners fire or suspend players who kneel during the national anthem in protest, again urging that fans should boycott the sport to force change,” the Washington Post reports.

Tweeted the president:

If NFL fans refuse to go to games until players stop disrespecting our Flag & Country, you will see change take place fast. Fire or suspend!

NFL attendance and ratings are WAY DOWN. Boring games yes, but many stay away because they love our country. League should back U.S.

Filed Under: White House

Price Will Stop Using Private Planes

September 24, 2017 at 7:01 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price told Fox News that he’ll stop his taxpayer-funded travel on private jets, pending a formal review by the inspector general.

Said Price: “We’ve heard the criticism. We’ve heard the concerns. We take that very seriously and have taken it to heart.”

Filed Under: White House Tagged With: Tom Price

More Racial Demagoguery from Trump

September 23, 2017 at 7:16 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

David Remnick: “In these performances, Trump is making clear his moral priorities. He is infinitely more offended by the sight of a black ballplayer quietly, peacefully protesting racism in the United States than he is by racism itself. Which, at this point, should come as no surprise to any but the willfully obtuse…”

“What Trump is up to with this assault on athletes, particularly prominent black ones, is obvious; it is part of his larger culture war. Divide. Inflame. Confuse. Divert. And rule. He doesn’t care to grapple with complexity of any kind, whether it’s about the environment, or foreign affairs, or race, or the fact that a great American sport may, by its very nature, be irredeemable. Rather than embody any degree of dignity, knowledge, or unifying embrace, Trump is a man of ugliness, and the damage he does, speech after speech, tweet after tweet, deepens like a coastal shelf. Every day, his Presidency takes a toll on our national fabric. How is it possible to argue with the sentiment behind LeBron James’s concise tweet at Trump: “U Bum”? It isn’t.”

Filed Under: Race, White House

Trump Turns Sports In a Political Battleground

September 23, 2017 at 3:45 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“President Trump turned professional sports into a political battleground Friday night into Saturday morning, directing full-throated ire toward African American athletes who have spoken out against him and prompting a response from the National Football League, its players and the best basketball player in the world,” the Washington Post reports.

“In a span of roughly 12 hours, as the sports world typically would be gearing up for college football and baseball’s pennant races, Trump ensnared and agitated the most powerful sports league in North America and perhaps the most popular athlete in American team sports. His comments set the stage for potential mass protest Sunday along NFL sidelines.”

New York Times: “Mr. Trump’s broadsides this time focused on some of the most prominent African-American athletes in the country, who have international followings and have called out the president for his lack of tolerance and divisive views on race.”

Filed Under: Celebrities, White House

Another Bonus Quote of the Day

September 23, 2017 at 1:28 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Guess that makes me a proud bitch!”

— Teresa Kaepernick, quoted by the Modesto Bee, responding to President Trump referring to her son, Colin Kaepernick, a “son-of-a-bitch.”

Filed Under: Celebrities, White House

Bonus Quote of the Day

September 23, 2017 at 11:50 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“I really had such deep doubts about his preparation, his temperament, his character, his experience, but he’s been even worse than I thought he would be.”

— Hillary Clinton, quoted by The Hill, on President Trump.

Filed Under: White House

NFL Commissioner Criticizes Trump’s Divisive Comments

September 23, 2017 at 11:29 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell responded to President Trump’s excoriation of players who protest during the national anthem, saying the “divisive comments” show a “lack of respect” for the nation’s most popular sport, Politico reports.

Said Goodell: “Divisive comments like these demonstrate an unfortunate lack of respect for our great game and all of our players, and a failure to understand the overwhelming force for good our clubs and players represent in our communities.”

Filed Under: White House

Is Kelly an Enforcer or a One-Man Choke Point?

September 23, 2017 at 7:22 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Washington Post: “The no-task-too-small leadership style — dating to Kelly’s training in the Marine Corps, where he rose to a four-star general — has its benefits for a president who often sows chaos in his wake, implementing a sense of order and discipline in a White House known for lacking both.”

“But it also has prompted grumbling about micromanaging within the West Wing, where some staffers complain that Kelly may be growing his mandate too far and that his strict regimen stifles the creativity and spontaneity that have been hallmarks of Trump’s enterprises. As one of Kelly’s subordinates put it, the chief of staff sometimes becomes ‘a one-man choke point.'”

Filed Under: White House

New Details Cast Doubt on Why Price Needed Private Jet

September 22, 2017 at 7:01 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

An HHS spokesperson told Politico that Secretary Tom Price “has been taking private jets because an unreliable commercial flight once forced him to cancel an important meeting.”

“But the flight in question — to a two-day industry conference at a Ritz-Carlton hotel in southern California — didn’t get off the ground on a day when storms virtually shut down air traffic in the Washington region, preventing even private jets from getting out.”

“The details cast into doubt HHS’ justification for Price’s use of private jets as he faces criticism from congressional Democrats and a review of whether he complied with Federal Travel Regulations from his department’s inspector general.”

Filed Under: White House Tagged With: Tom Price

Trump’s Defense in Russia Probe Funded By Wealthy Few

September 22, 2017 at 5:16 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Presiden Trump’s attorneys in the probe of Russian election interference “are being funded in part through a Republican Party account with a handful of wealthy donors—including a billionaire investor, a property developer seeking U.S. government visas and a Ukrainian-born American who has made billions of dollars doing business with Russian oligarchs,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

“The RNC and campaign’s payment arrangement for Mr. Trump’s lawyers is legal. But ethics experts cautioned that Mr. Trump’s decision to rely on party and campaign accounts to pay for his attorney fees can raise thorny political issues.”

Filed Under: White House Tagged With: Russia

White House Won’t Defend Price’s Use of Private Jets

September 22, 2017 at 12:28 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“The White House says it didn’t sign off on what are reportedly at least two dozen private jet trips made by Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price,” Bloomberg reports.

“Price took at least 24 flights on private airplanes since he became a cabinet secretary in February. The trips have cost taxpayers more than $300,000 and were a sharp departure from Price’s predecessors, who typically used commercial flights in the continental U.S..”

Filed Under: White House Tagged With: Tom Price

Quote of the Day

September 22, 2017 at 7:11 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“The Russia hoax continues, now it’s ads on Facebook. What about the totally biased and dishonest media coverage in favor of Crooked Hillary?”

— President Trump, on Twitter.

Filed Under: White House

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About Political Wire

goddard-bw-snapshotTaegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites. He also runs Political Job Hunt, Electoral Vote Map and the Political Dictionary.

Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.

Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country.

Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.

Goddard is the owner of Goddard Media LLC.

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