For the record: Trump tracking, January 13, 2018

I do not like writing about Trump. I fear that writing about him only strengthens him by giving him more of the attention he craves and thrives on. Nonetheless, this year is already full of so much new information about his racism, lies, and other bizarre behavior that I will record several reports here, to make track-backs easier for myself and for anyone else who may want the information.

Please note: All of this information is from news sources, frequently from multiple sources. None of it comes from the famous Michael Wolff book.

Trump’s racist remarks

January 11, 2018: In a discussion of immigration legislation, Trump refers to Africa and Haiti as “shithole countries” and asks why the United States should accept any immigrants from these countries. He says the United States should look for more immigrants from countries like Norway.

Fall, 2017: From an NBC report: Trump received a briefing on negotiations for release of a family long held in Pakistan from “a career intelligence analyst who is an expert in hostage policy.” He asked her where she was from. New York, she replied. He didn’t like the answer and continued to ask more questions about where “your people” were from, until she said her parents were from Korea. Then he asked another person in the room “why the ‘pretty Korean lady’ isn’t negotiating with North Korea on his administration’s behalf.”

Spring 2017: The president met with the Congressional Black Caucus, and one member told him welfare reform would hurt some of her constituents, “not all of whom are black.” Newsweek reported:

“The president was incredulous. “Really? Then what are they?”…

“In fact, whites are the biggest beneficiaries when it comes to government safety-net programs like the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, commonly referred to as welfare.”

Vox published Donald Trump’s long history of racism, from the 1970s to 2018 on January 12.

Sexual misconduct

Did Trump have an affair with porn star “Stormy Daniels” in 2006? Stormy Daniels (Stephanie Clifford) says no. His lawyer, Michael Cohen, says no. But his lawyer does not deny the Wall Street Journal report that he paid $130,000 to the woman during the final days of the 2016 presidential campaign. According to the Wall Street Journal—definitely not a left-wing media outlet—the payment was made to keep her from talking about the 2006 “sexual encounter.” Trump and Melania were already married at that time. The Wall Street Journal story was published on January 12.

From a January 13, 2018 Guardian article:

“A photo from Clifford’s MySpace account shows her posing with Trump and was reportedly taken in July 2006.

“Trump was dressed in the same outfit in a photo circulated by adult film star Jessica Drake when Drake accused Trump of groping her at a golf tournament “a decade ago”. Speaking in 2016, Drake recalled that Trump offered her $10,000 and the use of his private plane if she would agree to come back to his room and accompany him to a party.

“Clifford’s attorney, Keith Davidson, also represents Karen McDougal, a onetime Playboy model who reportedly received $150,000 from the National Enquirer for the rights to her own story about an alleged 2006 sexual encounter with Trump. No such story ever ran in the Enquirer, suggesting the magazine acquired the story in order to keep it under wraps, a tactic known as “catch and kill”.

The Guardian published a list of 20 other allegations back in November 2017. These date from the 1980s through 2013. These allegations range from walking, unannounced, into dressing rooms where teen beauty contestants were naked to unwanted grabbing, groping, and kissing.

The London Embassy

Trump canceled a scheduled February visit to London to officially open the new U.S. Embassy there. He tweeted:

“Reason I canceled my trip to London is that I am not a big fan of the Obama Administration having sold perhaps the best located and finest embassy in London for ‘peanuts,’ only to build a new one in an off location for 1.2 billion dollars. Bad deal. Wanted me to cut ribbon-NO!”

1. The former embassy was sold by the George W. Bush administration, not the Obama administration. Making needed repairs to the old embassy would have cost an estimated $550 million and would have taken seven years.
2. The embassy was sold for an an amount estimated between $400 and $680 million, not for “peanuts.”
3. The new location was chosen by the Bush administration because of security concerns.
4. The cost of the new embassy was $1.02 billion, not $1.2 billion.

Treason?

Trump told the Wall Street Journal that an FBI employee’s private text messages critical of the president constituted treason. That’s a fairly outrageous charge: criticizing the president is free speech, not treason.

Kim Jong Un and Nuclear Buttons

After boasting that his nuclear button is “much bigger” than Kim Jong Un’s nuclear button, Trump told the Wall Street Journal that “I probably have a very good relationship with Kim Jong Un.” Since he has also said that the United States should not negotiate with North Korea, that’s a pretty bizarre claim.

This post covers only bizarre behavior, not the twisted and damaging policies promulgated by this administration. I’m sure it’s not a comprehensive list—feel free to suggest additions (with links) in the comments.