Daily Archives: February 25, 2020

Donald Trump Jr. receives permit to hunt grizzly bear in Alaska – KMOV.com

Posted: February 25, 2020 at 7:49 pm

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Donald Trump Jr. receives permit to hunt grizzly bear in Alaska - KMOV.com

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Trump visits a big foreign market for the U.S. and for Trump Org – POLITICO

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After politics, we would certainly look at India and other markets. Trump Jr told the Indian newspaper Mint in 2019. But India, he conceded, would be a big focus of mine. Frankly, it would be easier for me to get going in India because of the relationships we have built up in the last decade.

After winning the election in 2016, Trump ignored calls to fully separate from his company, which comprises more than 500 businesses, a step past presidents have taken. He still owns his business but placed his holdings in a trust designed to maintain assets for his benefit. Trump, who donates his presidential salary to support federal agencies, can withdraw money from the trust at any point without the publics knowledge.

His decision to link his private business interests with Americas highest public office in an unprecedented way has led to a vast web of potential conflicts of interest, allegations he is using the office to enrich himself and accusations he makes foreign policy decisions based on his businesses.

In the weeks after his election in 2016, Trump met with three of his Indian business partners Atul Chordia, Sagar Chordia and Kalpesh Mehta during the presidential transition at Trump Tower in New York, irking government ethics veterans.

Trump has repeatedly denied a connection between his business and his presidency, but multiple lawsuits, Democrats and government ethics specialists have accused the president of improperly mingling the two. The White House and Trump Organization did not respond to requests for comment for this report. Neither Don Jr. and Eric are joining for the trip to India, though Trump will be accompanied on the trip by his daughter, Ivanka Trump, a former executive at the Trump Organization who now serves as a senior advisor at the White House.

Trump is scheduled to leave Sunday for India, where he will hold a massive rally with Modi at a cricket stadium in Ahmedabad in the western part of the country before he travels to the capital, New Delhi, for official talks.

Trump visited his properties in Scotland in 2018 and Ireland in 2019 on trips but isnt expected to visit his Indian developments which are condo buildings, not resorts or clubs. Yet Trump has shown in the past that he is willing to drop in references to his properties while discussing unrelated political issues.

Its a little different situation than him going to his own club and being able to hold court there, said Alyssa Ayres, a former deputy assistant secretary of state for South Asia who now serves as senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations. This trip will make [his properties] more visible in India.

The Trump Organizations history in India goes back over a decade. The company began talks with developers in India around 2007, initially signing a deal to develop a skyscraper in Mumbai. But that project floundered and it took another six years before the company finally entered Indian market in 2013.

Today, the company has four luxury condo projects across the country with what has been reported in India as revenue potential of $1.5 billion. In April 2016, it also proposed an office building in Gurgaon, a suburb of Delhi.

Trump Tower Pune, the first Trump development in India, is a pair of 23-story skyscrapers in the western Indian state of Maharashtra that boasts of redefining the Pune skyline. Trump Tower Kolkata is a 36-story skyscraper of black and silver glass that touts floor-to-ceiling windows in every room. Trump Tower Mumbai has a shimmering gold facade covering 75 floors that feature panoramic views of the Arabian Sea theres also a private jet available for customers. And each of the two Trump Towers in Delhi rise 50 stories.

At least one of the Trump Organizations partners is struggling, though. Macrotech, the developer of Trump Tower Mumbai, is saddled with mounting debt and was downgraded late last year by global credit rating agencies, including Moodys and Fitch. It has a bond repayment due weeks after Trumps visit.

The developments took Trump to India at least once in 2014, 10 months before announcing his presidential run, according to interviews. He attended the launch of the tower in Mumbai and promoted another property in the nearby city of Pune.

In India, the Trump Organization licenses its name and receives royalties from the projects instead of owning and managing the properties outright. Its a similar set up to many of the companys developments around the globe. The company often retains great interest in how the properties are developed and promoted, though.

According to the presidents personal financial disclosure forms, the companys Indian properties have earned Trump millions. Since 2014, Trump has likely earned more than $10 million in royalties from his deals with Indian developers, though exact numbers are not listed. In 2018, for example, he earned between $1 million and $5 million from the Kolkata property.

India, among other emerging markets, is the biggest push for our organization, Trump Jr. says on one of the Indian developer's websites.

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Trump visits a big foreign market for the U.S. and for Trump Org - POLITICO

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What Would Happen If Trump Refused to Leave Office? – The Atlantic

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Derek Thompson: The 2020 election will break history

That a president would defy the results of an election has long been unthinkable; it is now, if not an actual possibility, at the very least something Trumps supporters joke about. As the former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee tweeted, President Trump will be eligible for a 3rd term due to the illegal attempts by Comey, Dems, and media , et al attempting to oust him as @POTUS so thats why I was named to head up the 2024 re-election. A good troll though it may have been, Huckabee is not the first person to suggest that Trump might not leave when his presidency ends.

In May, the faith leader Jerry Falwell Jr. tweeted an apparent reference to the completed investigation of Special Counsel Robert Mueller into Russian election interference. I now support reparations, he wrote. Trump should have 2 yrs added to his 1st term as pay back for time stolen by this corrupt failed coup. Trump retweeted Falwells post.

One of Trumps former confidants, Michael Cohen, has suggested that Trump wont leave. In his congressional testimony before heading to prison, Trumps former attorney said, Given my experience working for Mr. Trump, I fear that if he loses the election in 2020, there will never be a peaceful transition of power.

Trump himself has joked about staying in office beyond his term, and even for life. In December, Trump told a crowd at a Pennsylvania rally that he will leave office in five years, nine years, 13 years, 17 years, 21 years, 25 years, 29 years He added that he was joking to drive the media totally crazy. Just a few days earlier, Trump had alluded to his critics in a speech, A lot of them say, You know hes not leaving So now we have to start thinking about that because its not a bad idea. This is how propaganda works. Say something outrageous often enough and soon it no longer sounds shocking.

Refusal to leave office is rare, but not unheard of. In the past decade, presidents in democracies such as Moldova, Sri Lanka, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Gambia have refused to leave office, sometimes leading to bloodshed. In 2016, Joseph Kabila decided not to step down after three five-year terms as the president of Congo, announcing that he would delay the election for two years so that a census could be conducted. His decision was met with mass protests in which 50 people were killed by government security forces. Still, he followed through and an election took place in 2018. He left office thereafter.

Adam Serwer: The first days of the Trump regime

Elected officials in the U.S. have also refused to step down, albeit from lower offices than the presidency. In 1874, a Texas governor locked himself in the basement of the state capitol building after losing his reelection bid. The saga began when Republican Governor Edmund J. Davis lost the 1873 election by a resounding 2-to-1 ratio to his Democratic challenger, Richard Coke, and claimed that the election had been tainted with fraud and intimidation. A court case made its way to the states supreme court. All three justices, each of whom had been appointed by the incumbent Davis, ruled that the election was unconstitutional and invalid. Democrats called upon the public to disregard the courts decision, and proceeded with plans for Cokes inauguration. On January 15, 1874, Coke arrived at the state capitol with a sheriffs posse, and was sworn in to office while Davis barricaded himself downstairs with state troopers. The next day, Davis requested federal troops from President Ulysses S. Grant. Grant refused, and Davis finally stepped down three days later.

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What Would Happen If Trump Refused to Leave Office? - The Atlantic

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Brooks Koepka on Round with President Donald Trump: ‘We Had a Blast’ – Golf Channel

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Brooks Koepka recently received the GQ treatment, as he was the subject of a lengthy feature story that appeared online Tuesday.

Though there werent many revelations golf-wise other than Koepka saying hedoesnt need any more golf friends it was revealed that he played with President Donald Trump over the holidays for the first time. Rounding out the foursome at Trumps course in West Palm Beach, Florida, were Koepkas brother, Chase, and father, Bob.

I mean, we had a blast, Koepka told GQ. It was nice to have my family there, my dad, my brother. Anytime its with a president, its pretty cool. I dont care what your political beliefs are, its the president of the United States. Its an honor that he even wanted to play with me.

A look at professional golfers who have played alongside Donald Trump since he was elected President of the United States.

Koepka told GQ that hes met four of the five living presidents, and that spending time with then-president Barack Obama at the Floridian Golf Club was one of the top five highlights of my life so far.

I respect the office, I dont care who it is, he told GQ. Still probably the most powerful man in the entire world. Its a respect thing. Thats what I dont understand about the teams that dont go to the White House. Its still ... like, if I see an older man, its Yes, sir or mister. It wouldnt be like, Hey, Jack, whats up? Its like, Hey, Mr. Nicklaus, how are you? Out of respect. Doesnt matter who it is.

Koepka is one of several top mens players who have played at least one round with Trump, including Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy and Dustin Johnson.

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Brooks Koepka on Round with President Donald Trump: 'We Had a Blast' - Golf Channel

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Donald Trump pounces on reports Russia is seeking to help Bernie Sanders – The Guardian

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As Democrats in Nevada went to the polls on Saturday, Donald Trump gleefully stirred the pot over reports that US intelligence believes Russia is trying to aid Bernie Sanders, the frontrunner for the nomination to face the president in November.

In a tweet, Trump said: Democrats in the Great State of Nevada (Which, because of the Economy, Jobs, the Military & Vets, I will win ) be careful of Russia, Russia, Russia.

According to Corrupt politician Adam Shifty Schiff, they are pushing for Crazy Bernie Sanders to win. Vote!

US intelligence has determined that Russian interference in the 2016 US elections not only supported Trump but included efforts to boost Sanders in his bitter primary against the eventual Democratic nominee, Hillary Clinton.

On Thursday, the Washington Post reported that the House intelligence committee had been briefed that Russia was once again trying to interfere in favour of Trump.

Schiff is the Democratic chair of that committee and as a leading figure in Trumps impeachment over his approaches to Ukraine has become a regular target for presidential vitriol.

Reports about the briefing described a furious reaction from Trump which led to the departure of Joseph Maguire, the acting director of national intelligence, and his replacement by a Trump loyalist, the ambassador to Germany, Richard Grenell.

On Saturday, ABC News released an interview in which Robert O'Brien, Trump's fourth national security adviser, said he had not seen any intelligence that Russia is doing anything to attempt to get President Trump reelected.

On Friday, the Post reported that Sanders, Trump and lawmakers on Capitol Hill had been briefed about Russian assistance to the Vermont senator this year, but said it was not clear what the effort involved.

In a statement, Sanders said: I dont care, frankly, who [Russian president Vladimir] Putin wants to be president. My message to Putin is clear: Stay out of American elections, and as president I will make sure that you do.

In 2016, Russia used internet propaganda to sow division in our country, and my understanding is that they are doing it again in 2020. Some of the ugly stuff on the internet attributed to our campaign may well not be coming from real supporters.

In Nevada, ugly stuff attributed to Sanders supporters has included abuse aimed at female leaders of the Culinary Workers Union, an influential presence in the state which opposes the Vermont senators plan for Medicare for All healthcare reform.

Nonetheless, Sanders seems set to win. On Saturday morning the realclearpolitics.com polling average for Nevada put the progressive star 16.5 points up on two moderates, Pete Buttigieg and Joe Biden.

Nationally, Sanders leads the same sites average by 11.4 points, over Biden and the former New York mayor Mike Bloomberg, who is not competing in Nevada.

Some suggest Trump wants to face Sanders at the polls, rather than Biden or Bloomberg.

Rick Wilson, a former Republican consultant turned author and ardent Trump critic, recently told the Guardian that Sanders, a self-described democratic socialist who sits in the Senate as an independent, would be the easiest person in the world to turn into the comic opera villain Republicans love to hate, the Castro sympathiser, the socialist, the Marxist, the guy who wants to put the aristos in the tumbril as they cart them off to the guillotine.

The special counsel Robert Muellers investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 election did not establish a conspiracy between the Trump campaign and Moscow but did lay out extensive contacts and numerous instances in which the president seemed to seek to obstruct the course of justice.

Trump has claimed vindication but the investigation remains a running sore and at a campaign rally in Las Vegas on Friday, he duly took aim at his political opponents.

I see these phoneys, the do-nothing Democrats, Trump said. They said today that Putin wants to be sure that Trump gets elected. Here we go again. Here we go again. Did you see it? ... Now I just see it again. I was told that was happening, I was told a week ago. They said you know theyre trying to start a rumor. Its disinformation.

In tweets and retweets after the event, the president loosed off shots at another favourite target, the media.

Referring to MSNBC as MSDNC (Comcast Slime), he said that network and CNN and others of the Fake Media, have now added Crazy Bernie to the list of Russian Sympathizers, along with Tulsi Gabbard [and] Jill Stein (of the Green Party), both agents of Russia, they say.

Gabbard, a Hawaii congresswoman still in the running for the Democratic nomination but not registering significantly in the polls, has sued Hillary Clinton for allegedly calling her a Russian asset.

Stein was the Green nominee for president in 2016, taking nearly 1.5m votes nationally (while the Libertarian Gary Johnson took more than 4m) in a contest Clinton won by nearly 3m. Trump took the White House in the electoral college.

Clinton beat Trump by two points in Nevada, a key swing state again this year.

On Twitter, Trump claimed the reason for media reports that President Putin wants Bernie (or me) to win is that the Do Nothing Democrats, using disinformation Hoax number 7, dont want Bernie Sanders to get the Democrat Nomination, and they figure this would be very bad for his chances.

Its all rigged, again, against Crazy Bernie Sanders!

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Donald Trump pounces on reports Russia is seeking to help Bernie Sanders - The Guardian

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Donald Trump ally Boris Johnson says the president is ‘failing to lead’ – Business Insider – Business Insider

Posted: at 7:49 pm

Donald Trump's previously close relationship with UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson looks close to collapse, with the president reportedly accusing him "betrayal" after a furious phone call between the two leaders.

Trump's behaviour during the call was described by officials as "apoplectic," with the president reportedly slamming the phone down to end the call.

Johnson has now cancelled his plans for a visit to the White House next month.

The prime minister had been one of Trump's few close international allies, with the president labelling Johnson "fantastic," a "good man" and "Britain Trump."

However, relations broke down following a series of high-profile threats from Trump and a series of pointed interventions against Trump by Johnson and senior members of his government.

Here's how Trump is losing the support of the leader of the United States' closest international ally.

Getty President Donald Trump reportedly slammed the phone down on UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson last month after what officials described as an "apoplectic" call.

The call was ended by Trump "slamming the phone down" on Johnson.

The call, which one source described to the Financial Times as "very difficult," came after Johnson defied Trump and allowed Chinese telecoms company Huawei the rights to develop the UK's 5G network.

Trump's fury was triggered by Johnson backing Huawei despite multiple threats by Trump and his allies that the United States would withdraw security co-operation with the UK if the deal went ahead.

Trump's threats reportedly "irritated" the UK government, with Johnson frustrated at the president's failure to suggest any alternatives to the deal.

Following the call, US Vice President Mike Pence said that the Trump administration had made its disappointment at the UK "very clear to them".

The official UK account of the call gives a hint of the disagreement, stating that "the Prime Minister underlined the importance of like-minded countries working together to diversify the market and break the dominance of a small number of companies."

Johnson has cancelled his planned trip to Washington, which was due to take place next month.

Getty Trump has threatened a new trade war with European countries over their continued support for the Iran nuclear deal.

The threats were met with a stark response from Johnson earlier this month.

The prime minister used his first major speech on Brexit since the general election to hit back at the president's threats, launching a barely coded attack on President Trump and his "protectionist" economic strategy.

"Free trade is being choked," Johnson told an event in London on Monday, referencing ongoing trade battles between Washington and China.

"And that is no fault of the people, that's no fault of individual consumers. I am afraid it is the politicians who are failing to lead."

In a clear barb at Trump and his threats to launch a new trade war with Europe, Johnson added that "from Brussels to China to Washington, tariffs are being waved around like cudgels, even in debates on foreign policy where frankly they have no place."

Boris Johnson and Donald Trump Getty Trump's decision to assassinate Qassem Soleimani last month was quickly criticised by Johnson's administration, with UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab warning that further conflict with Iran is "in none of our interests."

Raab subsequently warned that terrorists "would be the only winners" of any conflict with the West.

Trump's threats to target Iranian cultural sites were also criticised by Johnson, with his spokesperson telling reporters in London that any attempt to do so would be a war crime.

Getty Johnson's administration's most outspoken criticism of Trump came last month from the UK Defence Secretary Ben Wallace.

Wallace said that Trump's isolationist foreign policy meant that the UK would have to consider ending its continued support for US-led interventions.

"I worry if the United States withdraws from its leadership around the world," hetold The Sunday Times.

He added: "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."

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Adam Schiff Reveals The Donald Trump Insult His Daughter Jokingly Used Against Him – HuffPost

Posted: at 7:49 pm

Schiff appearing on Jimmy Kimmel Live! remembered expressing his shock at being recognized on the street while visiting his daughter at college in New York.

Well, you know Dad, its the pencil neck, Schiff said she responded. Trump called Schiff a little pencil-neck during a rally in Michigan in March 2019.

Schiff said his collar size was 16 1/2, which Kimmel deemed perfectly reasonable. He also revealed how people now sometimes approach him and are surprised to find his neck looks kind of normal.

Kimmel suggested it was a good thing Trump was obsessed with Schiff, the lead House impeachment manager in the Senate trial of the president.

I spend half my day inside his head, apparently, and I gotta tell you its pretty scary in there, said Schiff. Its everything I can do to avoid all the marbles rolling around.

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Donald Trump Jr granted permit to hunt Alaska grizzly bear – The Guardian

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Donald Trump Jr has been granted the right to hunt a grizzly bear in north-western Alaska near the Bering Sea town of Nome, a state official says.

The son of US president Donald Trump was one of three people who applied for 27 spots for non-resident hunters targeting grizzlies in a designated region of north-western Alaskas Seward Peninsula, said Eddie Grasser, the wildlife conservation director for the Alaska Department of Fish and Game.

The state conducts periodic drawings for permits to hunt bears, caribou, moose and other animals in various regions. Winners are chosen by a lottery, and there are typically many more applications than hunting tags awarded.

We get thousands of applications, Grasser said on Friday. Whether anyone won came down to pure chance, luck of the draw.

But in the case of the bear-hunt permit the presidents son won, there was little competition. Twenty-four tags for hunting bears in that region went unclaimed, Grasser said.

Winners of the states latest hunting-permit drawings were announced on Friday.

To follow through with the Nome-area bear hunt, Trump had to pay a $1,000 non-resident tag fee and buy a $160 non-resident hunting license, Grasser said.

The presidents eldest son is an avid hunter and has made several trips to hunt in Alaska and Canada. He is scheduled to go to Alaska later this year to hunt deer and ducks.

The Safari Club this month raffled off a $150,000 seven-day dream hunt expedition with Trump Jr. The raffle winner got the right to accompany the presidents son on a yacht traveling in November along coastal areas of the Tongass National Forest.

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Donald Trump Jr granted permit to hunt Alaska grizzly bear - The Guardian

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When Donald Trump Is the Law – The New York Times

Posted: at 7:49 pm

On Wednesday, Mr. Trump retweeted calls for Mr. Barr to clean house at the Justice Department, apparently referring to anyone with the temerity to maintain allegiance to the Constitution rather than to the president.

Characteristically, while interfering in the justice system, Mr. Trump is both insisting hes doing nothing of the sort and asserting his right to do so. Just so you understand, I chose not to be involved, he said Tuesday in response to a question about his meddling in Mr. Stones case. Im allowed to be totally involved.

This is in the style of autocrats across the globe, who weaponize the law to help themselves and their friends and hurt their enemies. The nations legal system is now run by a man who has spent his life mocking it.

He is trying to turn the people charged with federal law enforcement into presidential fixers, starting with Mr. Barr, who finds himself in a tight spot. Whether or not you believe him when he says the presidents tweets make his job impossible, the fact is that he said it, and that Mr. Trump ignored him. And if you do believe him, then you have to ask why, if his job has become impossible, he hasnt resigned already. (You might also ask just what Mr. Barr considers his job to be.) Mr. Barr becomes only the latest in a long line of powerful officials Mr. Trump has seemed to take delight in publicly humiliating, including, to name just a few: Jeff Sessions, Rex Tillerson, H.R. McMaster, Jim Mattis, Kirstjen Nielsen and John Kelly.

This is the second time in half a century that a lawless chief executive has tested the nations fundamental constitutional design. The first time, we passed. But now we know that the mechanisms put in place after Watergate were not sufficient. One potential new safeguard would be for Congress to make the Justice Department more independent, like the Federal Reserve, thus insulating it from the self-interested meddling of unethical presidents. The Supreme Court is currently considering the scope of Congresss power to establish independent agencies. However it rules, the current checks are demonstrably not strong enough.

If there is anything useful to draw from Mr. Trumps degradation of the rule of law and the powers of his office, its that he is exposing a critical vulnerability in the Constitutions design, which anticipated presidents behaving badly, but not this badly. To be fair, the founders did include two backstops to guard against a lawless chief executive: One is impeachment. The other is a quadrennial election.

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Flying coach, red meat and trucks: why Donald Trump Jr thinks hes not the elite – The Guardian

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It is common knowledge that Donald Trump Jr, the son of the billionaire president, is just a regular guy. But now this truth is indubitable, because it turns out Don Jr flies coach.

I am not an elitist I like fishing, hunting, red meat, trucks and guns.And yes, I usually fly coach, he said in an Instagram post on Sunday.

Don Jr posted the statement alongside a screenshot from someones Twitter feed presumably a fan of Trumps who praised his humble act of flying coach. How cool is this? tweeted Dennis Harms. He posted a photo of Don Jr sitting in the middle seat behind him, saying Dont anyone tell me the Trump family doesnt know how real Americans live, giving an entirely new meaning to the phrase squeezed middle.

In fact, 40% of Americans have never left the country, and a 2017 survey by Airlines for American found that most Americans hadnt flown that year. Twelve per cent of Americans have never flown at all. Don Jr, on the other hand, spent about $125,000 on flights to Dubai in 2017 with his brother Eric. They were visiting a golf course (you know, golf, that notoriously working-class sport that costs over $1,000 on average to start playing?) But it is totally not elitist because he wasnt paying for it the taxpayer was! At least he left the private plane at home. Humble.

Oh, and by the way, about that super non-elitist hunting hobby of his. Don Jrs regular trips to the Yukon mountains to hunt stone sheep are actually kind of pricey one in August 2017 cost the Secret Service $16,600, according to Politico. And it looks like Don Jr didnt even get a discount for staying at his fathers hotel he spent $5,700 at the Trump International Hotel and Tower on that same trip. Which is official proof that Don Jr refuses to use his dads name to get a leg up. Just like all of the other non-elitist Americans who happen to be the presidents son.

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