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This New Wall Street Journal Interview With Donald Trump Is Ridiculous.

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‘I Want a Country That Loves Each Other’

The first published interview with President-elect Donald Trump was given to the Wall Street Journal, and as anyone who’s been awake the past 17 months can assume, it’s ridiculous.

First and foremost, like reading a foreign language, reading anything Donald Trump says requires a certain amount of education and understanding of idioms and local culture. For instance, you know what Trump says can change entirely day to day, sometimes hour by hour, and even can change depending on his audience. Like when he spoke with a New England editor who identified herself to him as a lesbian and Trump tried to appear as embracing LGBT people and our rights.

So know that everything Trump told the WSJ comes with a warning and fine print, which should read: 

“WARNING: These words are subject to interpretation, expiration, deletion, even conflagration. They should be taken not only with a grain of salt, but the expectation they symbolize nothing. They hold no weight as their speaker is a proven serial liar with no proven desire to respect his word. In other words, this is meant for entertainment only.”

That said, let’s begin.

The Wall Street Journal reports Trump says one of his top priorities is repealing and replacing Obamacare. The President-elect says he will keep some of the parts he likes, such as protection for people with pre-existing conditions, and children being allowed to stay on their parents’ policies until they are 26.

“I like those very much,” Trump told the Journal. 

On health care, Mr. Trump said a big reason for his shift from his call for an all-out repeal was that Thursday meeting at the White House with the president, who, he said, suggested areas of the Affordable Care Act to preserve. “I told him I will look at his suggestions, and out of respect, I will do that,” Mr. Trump said in his Trump Tower office.

“Either Obamacare will be amended, or repealed and replaced,” Mr. Trump said.

Perhaps he’ll just keep it altogether but rebrand it as TrumpCare?

After nearly a year and a half of blatant attacks on women and minorities, and daily, repeated lies about Hillary Clinton, Trump shows zero remorse.

Asked whether he thought his rhetoric had gone too far in the campaign, the president-elect responded: “No. I won.”

Stunning. 

For Trump, winning is literally everything. Which begs the question, how quickly will he go to war, and how many lives will be lost as a result, so he can “win,” because, as he has said, “I love war.”

“Mr. Trump suggested he would now turn more positive, saying that was true of his victory speech early Wednesday morning as well as his comments with Mr. Obama at the White House Thursday,” the Journal reports. “It’s different now,” he added.

Almost immediately upon returning home from his White House tour and meeting with the man whose job he will take, a whiny, cry-baby Trump took to Twitter to blast the thousands of people protesting his presidency. 

“It’s different now.”

No, no it’s not.

Trump “deflected a question on whether he would follow up on a campaign vow to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate his election opponent, Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton, over her use of a private email server while secretary of state: ‘It’s not something I’ve given a lot of thought, because I want to solve health care, jobs, border control, tax reform.'”

For months Trump has been thinking about it. Daily:

And finally: “Mr. Trump said he is placing a high priority on bringing the country together,” the Journal reports.

Almost instantaneously upon the news of Trump winning the White House was announced, reports began flooding in of people verbally and emotionally attacking women, children, Blacks, LGBT people, Muslims, Asians, Hispanics, and other minorities, all in Donald Trump’s name.

It’s become so bad The New York Times Editorial Board late Thursday urged Trump to call on his supporters to stop the hate and bigotry.

He has ignored it. Entirely.

“I want a country that loves each other,” Mr. Trump said. “I want to stress that.”

Trump can “stress” all he wants, but the reality is the only people who are actually stressing are those of us who are minorities, or women, or allies, who know, if Trump keeps his promises, we’re about to lose our health care and the right to marry, and 11 million people are about to be deported.

“I want a country that loves each other,” Mr. Trump said. “I want to stress that.”

America will believe that when we see it.

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Image by Disney | ABC Television Group via Flickr and a CC license

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News

‘I’m Not Talking About That Meeting’: Noem Implies She May Have Met With Kim Jong Un

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Republican South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem continues to make media appearances promoting her new book, which has received massive attention for the story about her shooting to death her 14-month old dog, Cricket, and a goat, and her reportedly false claim she met with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un.

But in discussing that apparent lie that appears in her book, Noem appeared to tell a few more – and seemed to suggest she may have actually met with Kim Jong Un but should not have put that meeting in her memoir. Experts have said it’s unlikely she did meet with him.

“The book is called, ‘No Going Back,’ but it sounds like the publisher, Center Street, is going back on a couple of the details in the book,” CBS Mornings told Noem.

“Well, I don’t believe so,” Noem replied.

After hearing the apparently false details of her alleged meeting with Kim Jong Un being read on-air straight from her book, Noem explained, “when I became aware of that we changed the content, and the future editions will be adjusted.”

READ MORE: Judge Hands Trump ‘Incarceration’ Threat as Experts Say Next Time He’ll Toss Him in Jail

Noem also said she’s “met with many, many world leaders, I’ve traveled around the world. I should not have put that anecdote in the book, and at my request they have removed it.”

She was then asked, “That specifically didn’t happen?” but Noem appeared to brush off the question.

“What I’m saying is I’m not talking about that meeting, I’m not talking about my meetings with world leaders, there are some that are in the book and there’s some that are not in the book.”

Asked, “Did you tell your ghost writer to write that?” Noem refused to answer the question.

“I specifically have worked on policy for over 30 years, and over that time I have traveled around the world and met with leaders around the world. And that anecdote, I’ve asked them to change the content, and it will be removed.”

“It’s a simple question, did you or did you not meet with Kim Jong Un?”

“That’s the answer that I have for you,” Noem replied.

READ MORE: Congressman Pummeled for Praising Students Mocking Black Protester With Monkey Sounds

She also did not tell CBS why she chose to put it in the book at all, if she knew it was false.

Noem does not mention that she recorded the audio book version for “No Going Back,” and would have read those words about meeting with the North Korean dictator aloud, yet apparently did not ask her publisher to remove it until a local newspaper, The Dakota Scout, published a report starting her account of the event was “in doubt.”

On Sunday, Noem first began to suggest the meeting might have taken place. Speaking with CBS’s “Face the Nation,” Axios reported, “Noem declined to talk about specific meetings she had with various world leaders, and never outright said she didn’t meet with Kim during the interview.”

A CBS News transcript of that interview shows “Face the Nation” moderator Margaret Brennan saying, “you released video of your recording of the audio book. you didn’t catch these errors when you were recording it?”

“Well, Margaret, as soon as it was brought to my attention, I took action to make sure that it was reflected,” Noem responded, before leaping into an attack on the media.

Also on Sunday, The Independent reported, “North Korea experts say it’s highly unlikely Ms Noem ever met the North Korean leader.”

“From 2011 to 2018, Mr Kim did not leave North Korea, according to University of Notre Dame professor and North Korea expert George Lopez.” The Independent added, “Benjamin Young, a professor at Virginia Commonwealth University and an expert on North Korea, told The Dakota Scout that Ms Noem’s account of meeting Kim was ‘dubious.'”

“I cover North Korea very closely, and I have never heard of Kim Jong Un meeting congressmen or congresswomen,” Young said.

Watch Noem’s full CBS interview from Monday below or at this link.

READ MORE: RFK Jr., Embracing Far-Right, Spoke at Fundraiser for Anti-Government Group With J6 Ties

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News

Judge Hands Trump ‘Incarceration’ Threat as Experts Say Next Time He’ll Toss Him in Jail

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New York State Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan ruled on the tenth allegation of Donald Trump violating his gag order, finding the ex-president in criminal contempt of court and warning the presumptive Republican nominee for president directly that he may put him jail if he again violates the gag order.

“Mr Trump, as you know, the prosecution has filed three separate motions to find you in criminal contempt. It appears that the $1,000 fines are not a deterrent,” Judge Merchan told the defendant Monday morning, as The Guardian reports. Merchan, who is overseeing the Trump criminal trial commonly called the “hush money case” also said, “I have a job to do and part of that job is to protect the dignity of the judicial system.”

“Mr. Trump, last thing I want to do is put you in jail, you are the former president of the United States, and possibly the next president as well,” Merchan told Trump directly, ABC News reported.

“Defendant violated the order by making public statements about the jury and how it was selected,” Merchan’s five-page ruling reads. “In doing so, Defendant not only called into question the integrity, and therefore the legitimacy of these proceedings, but again raised the specter of fear for the safety of the jurors and of their loved ones.”

READ MORE: Congressman Pummeled for Praising Students Mocking Black Protester With Monkey Sounds

MSNBC legal Analyst Danny Cevallos on-air reported he believes Justice Merchan may give Trump one more chance if he violates the gag order but that could be it before ordering him to jail.

“The judge is saying that this is absolutely on the table and that jail could happen and in fact, I think that might justify him doing it sooner rather than later. I mean, maybe one more chance,” Cevallos said.

But former Assistant U.S. Attorney General Harry Litman took Justice Merchan’s warning to be a more immediate threat: “So there it is — next time –> jail. The final warning. It’s in Trump’s hands now,” he wrote on social media.

CNN legal analyst Norm Eisen appeared to agree with Litman, writing that Trump “was told for violation #11 he’s going to jail.”

“In response to jail warning,” Eisen adds, “Trump gives Judge the absolute laser glare–if looks could kill…”

And former FBI Asst. Director Frank Figliuzzi adds, “I expect the next violation will put Trump in the lock up. He knows that. So if Trump violates again, consider that he views jail as helpful.”

READ MORE: RFK Jr., Embracing Far-Right, Spoke at Fundraiser for Anti-Government Group With J6 Ties

Some legal experts felt Justice Merchan should have imposed a jail sentence for his criminal contempt of court finding.

NBC News/MSNBC legal analyst Glenn Kirschner wrote, “yes, it IS way past his jail time.”

See a copy of the final page of Justice Merchan’s ruling below or at this link.

 

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Congressman Pummeled for Praising Students Mocking Black Protester With Monkey Sounds

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U.S. Rep. Mike Collins, Republican of Georgia, is under fire after praising University of Mississippi students, some wearing American flag outfits, mocking a Black woman protester by making monkey sounds and shouting, “lock her up.”

“Counter-protestors at the University of Mississippi made racist remarks — including monkey noises and comparisons to Lizzo — towards a Black woman who was part of a planned protest against the war in Gaza,” Los Angeles Magazine reported Friday.

Collins, who tried to defund Vice President Kamala Harris’ Office in November, declared his support for the counter-protesters at “Ole Miss,” as the University is called.

“Ole Miss taking care of business,” he wrote on social media, atop the video (below).

The counter-protesters, as evidenced in the video, appear to be mostly white.

A large number of users on the social media platform X responded, accusing the Congressman and the counter-protesters of racism.

“When is the inevitable ‘I don’t have a racist bone in my body’ tweet coming,” wondered Rewire News Group editor-at-large Imani Gandy.

“Which part is your favorite, Mike?” asked Fred Wellman, the former executive director of The Lincoln Project. “Is it the white kid acting like a monkey at the black woman or the white security guy acting like she’s a threat? I’m trying to figure out which flavor of racism has you all excited the most?”

READ MORE: MAGA State Superintendent Supports Chaplains in Public Schools – But Not From All Religions

Harvard Law Cyberlaw Clinic clinical instructor Alejandra Caraballo responded to the Georgia GOP congressman, “Thanks for confirming you’re a massive racist piece of sh*t.”

Mississippi Free Press news editor Ashton Pittman wrote: “Rep. Mike Collins, R-Georgia, praises a video showing a University of Mississippi frat boy dancing like a monkey and making monkey noises near a Black woman student who was protesting for Palestine while other frat boys chant ‘lock her up.'”

In a separate post describing a separate video taken of the same group Pittman wrote: “Frat bros at @OleMiss chant, ‘Lizzo! Lizzo!’ and shout, ‘F**k you fatass, f**k you b*tch’ at a Black woman who was protesting for Palestine. Do people really think these counterprotestors are doing it to support Jews?”

Journalist John Harwood did not mince words, writing, “Congressman proud of the racism.”

“Okay, Mike. We get it,” wrote podcast host, documentary director, and author W. Kamau Bell. “You want to be famous for being a racist. Fine. I’ll help you become a famous racist. You’re welcome.”

The original video is here.

See Rep. Collins’ post and the video below or at this link.

Caution: the video is disturbing.

READ MORE: Noem Heads to Mar-a-Lago After Branding Kids She Ministered in Church ‘Little Tyrants’

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