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Watch: Obama Gets Heckled At White House LGBT Pride Event

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President Barack Obama has heckled by a transgender woman this afternoon, but quickly won support from his guests.

President Barack Obama has had more than his fair share of heckling. Usually it’s at a campaign event, but today was different.

During his annual LGBT Pride Month celebration, when the President invites leaders from the LGBT community for an afternoon of speeches and hors d’oeuvres, an undocumented transgender woman interrupted him.

“President Obama,” she repeated, “release all LGBTQ immigrants from detention and stop all deportations.”

“OK, you know what? No, no, no, no,”  Obama responded. “Hey,” he said, as Vice President Biden, apparently embarrassed, bent over. “Listen. You’re in my house,” the President scolded, to laughter from the crowd, then cheers and applause.

“It’s not respectful when you get invited to somebody,” President Obama said, trailing off. “You’re not going to get a good response from me by interrupting me like this,” a noticeably frustrated Obama continued.

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry,” Obama continued, as the Vice President put both hands over his face. “Shame on you, you shouldn’t be doing this.”

The crowd began to chant, “O-bam-a!, O-bam-a!”

The President told her she could stay if she quieted down, but apparently she refused and was then escorted out, saying, “Not one more deportation.”

Obama joked, “My attitude is, when you’re eating the hors d’oeuvres…,” to which the crowd laughed. “You know what I’m saying? And drinkin’ the booze.”

Afterwards, the President said, “Anyway, where was I?” to which a guest replied, “We love you!”

“I love you back!,” Obama responded.

The heckler was later identified as Jennicet Gutiérrez, a member of LGBT and immigration rights group GetEQUAL, and NotOneMoreDeportation, which says it is “a campaign made of individuals, organizations, artists, and allies to expose, confront, and overcome unjust immigration laws.”

Gutiérrez said she could not celebrate while some 75 transgender detainees were still being exposed to assault and abuse in ICE custody at this very moment.
“The White House gets to make the decision whether it keeps us safe,” Gutiérrez told NotOneMoreDeportation. “There is no pride in how LGBTQ and transgender immigrants are treated in this country. If the President wants to celebrate with us, he should release the LGBTQ immigrants locked up in detention centers immediately.”

Watch:

On any given day there are about 267,000 LGBT immigrants subject to deportation. For many if not most of them, deportation back to their native country can literally be a death sentence.

As it was happening, attendees and others responded via Twitter:

 

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‘Double-Burned by Trump’: Stefanik Suspends Campaign for Governor

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U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik, a “staunch” Trump ally, late Friday afternoon suspended her campaign for governor after failing to secure President Donald Trump’s endorsement. The New York Republican also announced she will not seek re-election to Congress.

“I did not come to this decision lightly for our family,” Stefanik said in her statement, while insisting that she would have “overwhelmingly won this primary.” Instead, she decided that “it is not an effective use of our time or your generous resources to spend the first half of next year in an unnecessary and protracted Republican primary, especially in a challenging state like New York.”

Earlier this year, Congresswoman Stefanik saw her nomination to serve as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations withdrawn. She also battled with Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, at times very publicly.

“At war with Johnson and double-burned by Trump, what’s the incentive to finish her term?” asked New York Times congressional correspondent Annie Karni.

READ MORE: Trump DOJ Blasted for ‘Missing Today’s Legal Deadline’ to Release All Epstein Files

“WOW,” exclaimed Inside Elections’ Jacob Rubashkin, “a roller coaster of a few years for Stefanik, who seemed on a rocket ship to GOP leadership, then to a UN ambassadorship, then to the gubernatorial nomination, and now with none and headed for the exits.”

Cook Political Report’s Matthew Klein noted that “Stefanik’s path was borderline nonexistent. She was simply way too conservative and Trump-aligned to win in New York state.”

“Quite the rise and fall story,” observed former anchor turned podcaster Chuck Todd. “Sliding doors alternative histories galore with her career.”

“She went from moderate to full MAGA for nothing,” noted HuffPost’s Jennifer Bendery.

READ MORE: ‘Overnight’: Trump Claims He Could Slash Unemployment by More Than Half

 

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Trump Says He Didn’t Name TrumpRX — After Claiming He Didn’t Know About the Kennedy Center

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President Donald Trump on Thursday said he did not know the Kennedy Center was going to vote to add his name to the iconic memorial to the late president, just one day before the building’s lettering was changed. On Friday, Trump similarly said he was unaware of how a federal prescription drug program, TrumpRX, came to be named.

The Associated Press reported on Thursday that “Trump, a Republican who’s chairman of the board, said at the White House that he was ‘surprised’ and ‘honored’ by the vote” to rename the Kennedy Center.

The TrumpRX website says it is an “official website of the United States government” that “connects patients directly with the best prices, increasing transparency and cutting out costly third-party markups.” It also says it will launch in January.

READ MORE: ‘Overnight’: Trump Claims He Could Slash Unemployment by More Than Half

On Friday, in a White House event announcing lower drug prices, the president also appeared surprised at how TrumpRX got its name.

“I didn’t name it that — somebody named it that,” the president told reporters.

“And I guess they assumed that — did you name it, Oz?” Trump asked, referring to Mehmet Oz, his Administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

“Bobby name it?” the president continued, asking about his Secretary of Health and Human Services, Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

“We all named it together” a voice off-screen replied.

“OK, well,” Trump said, “I’m honored to have the name.”

“And so far that that’s turned out ’cause the numbers are so incredible,” he said of the yet-to-be-live program. “It’s an honor.”

READ MORE: Trump DOJ Blasted for ‘Missing Today’s Legal Deadline’ to Release All Epstein Files

 

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‘Overnight’: Trump Claims He Could Slash Unemployment by More Than Half

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Responding to news that unemployment jumped to a four-year high of 4.6%, President Donald Trump lashed out at the “fake news” media and claimed he could slash that number by more than half, to 2%.

In a Truth Social post, the president claimed that the “only” reason unemployment “ticked up” is because “we are reducing the Government Workforce by numbers that have never been seen before.”

He also mischaracterized the unemployment rate as 4.5%, not 4.6%, the official and widely-reported number.

Trump then explained how he could reduce the unemployment rate.

READ MORE: Trump DOJ Blasted for ‘Missing Today’s Legal Deadline’ to Release All Epstein Files

“I could reduce Unemployment to 2% overnight by just hiring people into the Federal Government, even though those Jobs are not necessary,” he wrote.

Trump’s remarks align with comments made one day earlier by Kevin Hassett, the director of the National Economic Council, as CNN’s Alayna Treene noted.

When asked why the president had claimed that unemployment is down during his Wednesday primetime address, Hassett appeared to suggest that federal government jobs should not be part of the calculation.

READ MORE: Trump Will Be ‘Devastated and Humiliated’ if Jack Smith Testifies in Public: Top Dem

“If you look at the numbers, then there’s really one big factor that explains the difference, and that is that because of tightening government spending,” Hassett told Treene. “We’ve reduced federal employment by 250,000 workers.”

“And so if you adjust the unemployment rate for the fact that there’s been a large loss for government workers, for federal government workers, then you get numbers that are consistent with what the president’s saying.”

Trump finished his post by writing, “I wish the Fake News would report the 4.5% correctly. What I am doing is the only way to, MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”

READ MORE: ‘Downright Weird’: Kennedys Blast New Trump-Kennedy Center Name

 

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