Monthly Archives: January 2020

President Donald Trump responded to Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, using the Persian language in a tweet on Friday. The president also tweeted an English version of his response.

Translated by Twitter, the tweet by Trump read: "The noble people of Iran, who love America, deserve a government that will help them achieve their dreams, rather than focusing on killing them for revenge. Instead of dragging Iran to ruin, Iran's leaders must put aside the terrorists and magnify Iran again!"

The English version of Trump's tweet included a play on his famous campaign slogan which may have been lost in translation: "Make Iran Great Again!"

Khamenei had earlier tweeted: "The villainous US govt repeatedly says that they are standing by the Iranian ppl. They lie. If you are standing by the Iranian ppl, it is only to stab them in the heart with your venomous daggers. Of course, you have so far failed to do so, & you will certainly continue to fail."

That was in response to Trump and other U.S. officials, such as Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, offering statements of support to Iran's anti-regime protesters.

The latest Twitter exchange followed a rare public sermon by Khamenei on Friday, his first in eight years. Some of the the Iranian leader's remarks were then repeated by his Twitter account.

The Ayatollah criticized American leaders who he said "only pretend to support the Iranian people" but want to "stab them in the heart with your venomous daggers."

Khamenei also criticised the British, French and German governments and accused them of being "the footmen of the US. These 3 countries are the ones who helped Saddam as much as they could in his war against us."

In response, President Trump said: "The so-called 'Supreme Leader' of Iran, who has not been so Supreme lately, had some nasty things to say about the United States and Europe. Their economy is crashing, and their people are suffering. He should be very careful with his words!

Trump went on to say: "The noble people of Iranwho love Americadeserve a government that's more interested in helping them achieve their dreams than killing them for demanding respect. Instead of leading Iran toward ruin, its leaders should abandon terror and Make Iran Great Again!"

This was then followed up with the Persian language version of the tweet.

This exchange and the sermon came two weeks after a U.S. drone strike killed Iran's top general, Qassem Soleimani, near Baghdad International Airport, Iraq, on January 3. In retaliation, on January 8, Iran attacked the Ain al-Asad airbase west of Baghdad, which the Pentagon has confirmed injured 11 U.S. military personnel.

While Trump held back on ordering a U.S. counterstrike over the Ain al-Asad airbase attack, he has imposed more sanctions on Iran.

The heightened security status in Iran also resulted in the regime's accidental downing of a commercial jetliner minutes after it departed Tehran Imam Khomeini International Airport. All 176 people aboard Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752 died. Of the people on board, 82 were Iranian, 63 Canadian, 11 Ukrainian (including nine crewmembers), 10 Swedish, seven Afghan and three German.

In his sermon on Friday, Khamenei expressed his condolences to the families of the victims but then claimed that foreign press tried to manipulate Iranians over the tragedy.

According to Khamenei's English language website, he said: "The plane crash was a bitter accident that truly broke our hearts. The loss of the dear, young people and those who had come here from other countries was a truly heartrending event.

"As much as we were grieved by the tragedy of the plane crash, enemies were happy about it. They tried to question the Armed Forces of the Islamic Republic and use it to overshadow the great event. They were mistaken, 'And they planned and Allah (also) planned, and Allah is the best of planners.' [Qur'an 3:54]"

Newsweek has contacted the White House for comment.

More here:

Donald Trump Tweets in Persian That Iranians 'Love America' in Twitter Joust With Ayatollah Khamenei - Newsweek

Winston Churchill supposedly said: Americans will always do the right thing, only after they have tried everything else. In his new book, Andrew Bacevich goes far towards proving the second half of that sentence and casts doubt on the first, without offering much in the way of alternatives.

In what is mostly a social history of the post-cold war era dont expect to find an analysis of the Balkan wars Bacevich seeks to chronicle how the US wasted little time in squandering the advantage it had gained. Few would disagree.

Yet he defines Americas supposed post-cold war consensus as globalized neoliberalism, global leadership, freedom (as the expansion of personal autonomy, with traditional moral prohibitions declared obsolete and the removal of constraints maximizing choice), and presidential supremacy. The 2016 election, he writes, presented the repudiation of that very consensus.

The villains in this telling are the elites who pushed the consensus heedless of other views or interests expectations raised, but unfulfilled; outraged citizens left with no place to stand to the point where Donald Trump was elected and no one could understand why.

In 2016, he writes, financial impotence was to turn into political outrage, bringing the post-cold war era to an abrupt end. As for the people who shop for produce at Whole Foods, wear vintage jeans and ski in Aspen, they never saw it coming and couldnt believe it when it occurred.

Bacevich argues that the seeds of this failure were present throughout the cold war, notably in Vietnam and Ross Perots insurgent White House run in 1992. But how could there ever have been a consensus if the country were so divided?

We have been here before, both in the history of the US and of ideology. Post-1989 featured the same universal self-congratulation and flinging up of caps that Thomas Carlyle critiqued in The French Revolution. Bacevich is right to criticize it again. But it is surely wrong to claim, for instance, that Reagans entire presidency was a pseudo-event, its achievements based on the masterful creation and manipulation of images. Mikhail Gorbachev, for one, doesnt think so.

Acerbic, even curmudgeonly his catalogue of Americas social ills is harsh but fair Bacevich veers between the commonplace and the sarcastic. The promotion of globalization included a generous element of hucksterism, he writes, the equivalent of labeling a large cup of strong coffee a grande dark roast while referring to the server handing it to you as a barista.

Clearly, for those who favor an expansive role for America and the west, and operating according to the principles of grand statecraft, the post-cold war years were the years the locust has eaten. Social mobility declined. The plight of the poor worsened. But JD Vance wrote more sensitively about this in Hillbilly Elegy and Bacevich adds little on either the wars or the peace.

Even if the Donald Rumsfeld-endorsed, technology-friendly Revolution in Military Affairs only purported to describe the culmination of a long evolutionary march toward perfection, which great power today does not rely on technology for military might? And what, other than isolationism, would preclude the possibility of another Vietnam?

Similarly, even as he chronicles their failures Bacevich is harshly critical of the view that presidents direct history. Abraham Lincoln, call your office. FDR too.

The elites Bacevich chides had many faults, and no president of the period left office fully content. But sometimes the authors strategy, as well as his history, is simply wrong.

The horrors of 9/11 notwithstanding, he writes, terrorism does not pose an existential threat to the United States and never has. As innumerable commentators have noted, terrorism is merely a tactic, and an ancient one at that.

Yet one nuclear bomb can ruin your whole day, as the bumper sticker read, and any leader is responsible for maintaining vigilance. Which threats can be ignored? Air piracy? Chemical weapons? Nuclear smuggling? Bacevich never offers what he would do to states harboring terrorists, even while noting failures in Afghanistan and Iraq.

The book starts out critical of Trump but then takes a more nuanced position. Chiding Barack Obama as the one who saved globalized neoliberalism and inadvertently laid the way for a powerful backlash, he says Trumps detractors commit this categorial error. They confuse cause and effect. They charge him with dividing America. Yet which other recent president attacked fellow citizens so harshly and took delight in smashing the norms of political debate?

Bacevich focuses on the neoconservative project in terms of wars but ignores its Burkean focus on domestic policy, not least David Brooks idea of national greatness conservatism, a very different thing than Maga. John McCain, who articulated a similar vision of national purpose, and whose policies were designed to help Joe the Plumber far more than Trump has, gets one brief mention.

Some people saw what was happening and sought to answer the question Rabbit Angstrom asked and Bacevich cites: Without the cold war, whats the point of being an American? They were ignored.

Bacevich now urges Americans to ignore the tweets and focus on events. But the tweets are events, the way in which the old guardrails are broken down and the boundaries of legitimate discourse weakened, which has let loose some very dangerous ideas, not least on race and republican norms. A tweet is not a notification to Congress under the War Powers Act.

Despite Bacevichs call for conversation on issues formerly beyond the pale such as abandoning globalism and militarism, his book has a fatal weakness: he never quite says what or who he is for. He is too good a historian not to know there was a tendency of anti-anti-communism during the cold war. Perhaps his book is about anti-anti-Trumpism. But the pale is there for a reason

One hopes some future historian will find the seeds of success in our present troubles. Meanwhile, Americans must pick up the pieces as best they can.

Read more here:

The Age of Illusions review: anti-anti-Trump but for what, exactly? - The Guardian

Trumps allegations are not new he has sporadically claimed for years that the Democratic establishment sought to undermine Sanders in 2016, as have Sanders own supporters but they come as Trump has accelerated his offensive against the Vermont senator, who continues to show strength in early polling.

Earlier this week, Trump sought to play up a feud between Sanders and Warren, who are battling for progressive voters, and his campaign has begun to single Sanders out in press releases and on social media more often rather than focusing more exclusively on Biden.

Trump has also recently stepped up his attacks on former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who is pouring money into TV ads attacking Trump to boost his late-start bid.

But Sanders rejected Trump's "attempts to divide Democrats" in a statement Friday evening.

Lets be clear about who is rigging what: it is Donald Trumps action to use the power of the federal government for his own political benefit that is the cause of the impeachment trial," he said. "His transparent attempts to divide Democrats will not work, and we are going to unite to sweep him out of the White House in November.

When the trial begins in earnest on Tuesday, all senators will be required to attend each day of the proceedings for as long as they last.

But Sanders isnt the only 2020 candidate who will be kept off the campaign trail as the impeachment trial drags on.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), whom polls have shown is within striking distance in Iowa; Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), who is hoping for a come-from-behind victory in the Hawkeye State, and Sen. Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), a longshot who has placed more stock in the New Hampshire primaries in less than a month, will all be sidelined by the proceedings.

The trial could be a huge boon to White House hopefuls like Biden and former South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg, who are clustered with Sanders and Warren at the top of the field. The senators currently running for president have all expressed disappointment at being kept off the campaign trail while pledging to fulfill their constitutional obligations and sending surrogates to campaign on their behalf.

Read this article:

Trump accuses Dems of using impeachment trial to hurt Sanders campaign - POLITICO

President Donald Trump is speaking at the American Farm Bureau Federations convention in Austin on Sunday. That means people driving downtown will likely experience delays.

Austin Police Department said it couldnt release details of Trumps route through Austin due to safety concerns, but here is what we know so far.

The AFBF conference is taking place Friday through Wednesday at the Austin Convention Center. Trump will be delivering remarks at 5 p.m. on Sunday in Exhibit Halls 2-3 of the Convention Center, AFBF announced this morning.

If Air Force One lands at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport and the presidents motorcade then travels to the Convention Center, highways like 71, I-35 and 183 could see closures or congestion. Roads around ABIA and the convention center could be hectic as well.

APD usually posts road closures and updates on Twitter, so keep an eye out if you plan on heading downtown.

Why Is Trump Visiting?

Trump is addressing farmers and ranchers at the convention for the third year in a row. Each year, AFBF holds a convention and trade show somewhere in the U.S. The organization chose Austin for its 101st.

Expect Protests

Trumps previous visits to Austin spurred protests, and this one likely will as well. Organizers have created Facebook events to spread the word.

Indivisible Austin, which organized protests during Trumps visit in November, posted on its website that this time, the organization is choosing instead to focus on local organizing, but it will support any individuals or groups who feel called to organize a protest of Trumps visit.

Past Visits

Trump last visited Austin in November to tour an Apple manufacturing plant. Before that, he stopped in Austin in 2017 to meet with state officials following Hurricane Harvey. And as a presidential candidate, he visited Austin in 2016, during which he taped a town hall event at ACL Live at the Moody Theater and held a rally at the Travis County Expo Center.

This story has been updated.

Go here to read the rest:

Trump Will Be In Austin Sunday. Here's What You Need To Know. - KUT

The UK government is preparing to defy Donald Trump and strike a deal with Chinese telecoms company Huawei, despite the president's repeated threats to cut off security ties with the country.

Trump has warned the UK that the intelligence-sharing arrangement between the two allies will be at risk if the deal for a role in Britain's 5G network goes ahead, with US officials warningthat "Donald Trump is watching closely."

However, Johnson is preparing to allow the Huawei deal to go ahead despite the threats, amid a widespread belief in Europe that Trump's warnings are a "bluff".

EU trade commissioner Phil Hogan on Thursday told an event in London that the President's threat was simply not credible.

"I don't think that will happen at the end of the day," he said.

"You can call their bluff on that one."

Johnson is now preparing to agree to allow Huawei a "limited" role in the UK's 5G network, with one UK official telling the Daily Mail that the UK security services simply do not believe Trump's blanket ban on Huawei is justified.

"The security world does not endorse the need for a blanket ban on Huawei. They are not naive they are well aware of the risks but they believe they can be contained," the official said.

Another source told the paper: "From a security point of view the risk is manageable."

Johnson repeatedly promised to upgrade Britain's sluggish communications network during his recent victorious election campaign and has publicly backed the possibility of a role for Huawei.

Asked on Tuesday whether he would allow the Huawei deal to go ahead, Johnson told the BBC that "the British public deserves access to the best possible technology."

He added: "If people oppose one brand or another they have to tell us what's the alternative?"

Donald Trump and Boris Johnson Getty

The development came as Johnson's administration responded to Trump's threats by threatening that the UK would cut UK support for future US-led wars.

The UK Defence Secretary told the Sunday Times that Trump's isolationist foreign policy stance meant that the UK would increasingly look to other international allies instead.

"Over the last year we've had the US pullout from Syria, the statement by Donald Trump on Iraq where he said NATO should take over and do more in the Middle East," Wallace said.

"The assumptions of 2010 that we were always going to be part of a US coalition is really just not where we are going to be."

Johnson's administration has repeatedly criticised Trump's aggressive stance towards Iran, with Johnson warning last week that the president's threats to target Iranian cultural sites could be a war crime.

More:

UK prepares to ignore Trump's threats and call his 'bluff' on Huawei - Business Insider

Corey Lewandowski, President Donald Trump's belligerent former campaign manager, recently decided against a US Senate run. That's good news for the civil-minded among us who respect a free press.

Lewandowski was famous for his rhetorical and sometimes literal pugilism, if you watched his chaotic congressional testimony or saw his altercations with a reporter and protesters. His campaign would've been Trump 2.0 but on a smaller scale.

Beyond Lewandowski, there are others in Trump's orbit contemplating higher office, including the president's son Donald Trump Jr., Trump loyalist and cable-TV staple Rep. Matt Gaetz, and even George Papadopoulos the Trump campaign aide who, as part of the Mueller investigation, pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI.

As these Trump-adjacent figures start running, it'll be a test for the future of Republican politics and our country.

Trump rose to power with an unconventional, in-your-face style that works for him but not the country. For most of the 2016 primary campaign, he was ignored, considered a crude celebrity but not a president. As he started to gain traction, Republicans like Mitt Romney, an array of national-security officials, and retired military brass began to challenge his qualifications for office.

But they were too late. Trump had the momentum, and the Republicans ushered in the era of divide at will, lie with abandon, and point the finger at people who don't look like you.

And as the Trump presidency has progressed, the GOP has increasingly taken on the image of the president. Republican voters have stayed fiercely loyal to Trump, leading politicians in the party to mirror his style. Fueled by this positive reinforcement, the most Trump-like figures are now looking to work their way up the ranks of the party.

The resemblance between the man in the Oval and his disciples is striking. Don Jr. has been a true a chip off the old block with his Twitter fights, questionable testimony, and clashes with media. And "attack dog" Matt Gaetz's bullying,hypocrisy, and "alternative facts" often land him in hot water. Sound familiar?

So for everyone saying that a Democratic president will bring us a return to normality, the alternative narrative is this: The current game is just the first inning of increasingly incendiary leadership in America. We're already beginning to see evidence of this. Despite the turmoil engulfing his administration, Trump faces no credible primary challengers. As state GOP parties scrap their primaries and caucuses, Trump's takeover of the party has never been more apparent.

Twenty years from now, Trump will seem run of the mill, as the divide that began during the Clinton years seems now.

The vocal GOP opposition candidate Trump faced has long subsided in the era of President Trump. While Republicans continue to grumble about Trump in private, they're afraid to stand up to him publicly, even on the smallest matters. If Republicans can stop Trump's disciples from winning office, they'll have a chance to rediscover and recommit to their principles.

For the non-Trumpist Republicans, there's still room to survive and thrive. But their opportunity and maneuverability are limited with Trump at the helm. Their best bet will be when they drop Trump and his minions and rally around a normal standard bearer.

Republicans will need to make a choice about whether to stick with the Trump brand or reject it. Just as with impeachment, they'll have an opportunity to put country first. If they don't, eventually it will catch up to them. But the damage to the country will be beyond repair.

Read this article:

The final test of Trump's domination of the GOP will have nothing to do with his reelection - Business Insider

Ronald Reagans son lacerated Donald Trump in a scathing interview with The Daily Beast published Friday, saying his late father never would have voted for Trump.

He would have been embarrassed and ashamed that a president of the United States was as incompetent and traitorous as the man occupying the White House now, said Ron Reagan, 61. Hes a disgrace to the office of the presidency.

Reagan, speaking to the Beast from Italy, where he lives half the year, said if his father were alive today, he suspects the popular 40th commander in chief would say something like:Our nation is at a real turning point. Our republic is in danger. Democracy is in danger, and we need to put somebody else in the White House because this man is betraying the country every single day he occupies the Oval Office.

Because of Trump, it is perhaps the most dangerous time for our republic in my lifetime, perhaps since the Civil War, said the liberal commentator. Though Reagans views often clashed with his conservative fathers perspectives, he said his dad conducted his presidency with dignity and class.

If there is a second Trump administration, hes going to feel liberated to do whatever he wants to do. Hell try and go for the third, fourth, however long he lasts. He wants to be president for life. It would keep him out of jail, for one thing, Reagan said.

Reagan also lashed the GOP. He said his dad would be ashamed of this Republican Party.

The GOP at this point, for a whole host of reasons to do with Donald Trump, is an entirely illegitimate political party just made up of a bunch of sycophantic traitors mouthing Kremlin propaganda to defend this squalid little man who is occupying the White House, said Reagan.

Reagans powerful2014 ad for the Freedom From Religion Foundationplayed again this week during the Democratic presidential debate. He calls himself an unabashed atheist who supports the group to keep state and church separate, just like the Founding Fathers intended.

Calling all HuffPost superfans!

Sign up for membership to become a founding member and help shape HuffPost's next chapter

Original post:

Ron Reagan Goes Scorched Earth On 'Traitor' Trump: My Dad Wouldn't Have Voted For Him - HuffPost