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PolitiFact Scorecard for Donald Trump

TRUE | MOSTLY TRUE | MOSTLY FALSE | FALSE | PANTS ON FIRE

True (4%) — 15 of 350 Researched Statements

Mostly True (12%) — 41 of 350 Researched Statements

Half True (15%) — 51 of 350 Researched Statements

Mostly False (19%) — 66 of 350 Researched Statements

False (33%) — 115 of 350 Researched Statements

Pants on Fire (18%) — 62 of 350 Researched Statements

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The benefits of a knives-out Democratic debate
By John HudakStop whining about Democrats criticizing each other. The idea that Democrats attacking Democrats is a risk and an avenue that will deliver reelection to Donald Trump is nonsense. Democrats must attack each other and attack each other aggressively. Vetting presidential candidates, highlighting their weaknesses and the gaps in their record is essential to building a more qualified candidate. The Democratic debate in Las Vegas was held at the Paris Hotel, but may well have been in the Grand Garden Arena at MGM as a heavyweight boxing match. The pre-existing belief about the debate was that five of the ... read more
The Brookings Institution2020-02-20
2 hours ago
Watch: Elizabeth Warren grills Michael Bloomberg over allegations of sexism and nondisclosure agreements
Mike Bloomberg and Sen. Elizabeth Warren speak during a commercial break during the ninth debate of the 2020 presidential campaign. | Mark Ralston/AFP via Getty Images Warren called on the former New York City Mayor to release women from NDAs they had signed about the hostile work environment at his company. In one of the most stunning moments of the Democratic debate on Wednesday, Elizabeth Warren confronted Michael Bloomberg directly and repeatedly about nondisclosure agreements his past employees agreed to sign regarding allegations of a hostile work environment. Warren and others have been pushing for Bloomberg to release ... read more
Vox2020-02-20
2 hours ago
Mike Bloomberg gets badly roughed up in debate that tests his unconventional campaign
Mike Bloomberg's rivals savaged his claim to be the best candidate to defeat Donald Trump in November by branding him as a misogynistic, Obamacare-hating, soft-on-Wall-Street bully -- basically the rough equivalent of that other New York billionaire. ... read more
CNN2020-02-20
3 hours ago
Identity politics isn’t hurting liberalism. It’s saving it.
Christina Animashaun/Vox Modern liberalism is weak and under siege. Its path to revival is clear — if liberals are willing to take it. American liberalism is in desperate need of renewal. Its ideas too often feel stale, its nostrums unsuited to beating back the authoritarian populist tide. Yet there is an opportunity for revival — if liberals are willing to more forthrightly embrace the politics of identity. To many liberals, such a suggestion will sound like blasphemy. Since mere days after Donald Trump’s 2016 victory, an unending stream of op-eds and books have accused “identity politics” — defined loosely as ... read more
Vox2020-02-20
3 hours ago
Burnt radio stations and 18-month newsprint blockades: Inside the slow culling of Nicaragua’s free press
In January 2019, La Prensa ran a front page totally blank — except for the question, “Have you imagined living without information?” — in protest against the refusal by the General Directorate of Customs (DGA) to hand over paper and ink imported by the paper. | Inti Ocon/AFP via Getty Images Why Ortega’s latest move to open up society doesn’t mean the country’s press is free. Most repressive countries interested in censoring information and the media try to lock down the internet, but for the past two years, Nicaragua has had an old-school solution: just remove the tools of the trade. ... read more
Vox2020-02-20
3 hours ago
Melania Trump Hails ‘Healthy Online Behavior’ And People Can’t Handle The Hypocrisy
People on Twitter pointed out President Donald Trump's completely unhealthy online behavior. ... read more
The Huffington Post2020-02-20
3 hours ago
‘This Could Make or Break the Election.’ How States Are Battling Over Who Gets to Vote in the 2020 Election
The winner of the 2020 presidential election will depend not only on who votes but also on who doesn’t. Four years after 77,744 ballots in three states gave the White House to Donald Trump, state lawmakers are battling over voting rules that will determine whether millions of Americans get a chance to cast a ballot in November. So far this year, 29 states have introduced at least 188 bills to expand voting rights by making registration and absentee voting easier, and by restoring the vote to former felons. At the same time, legislators in 15 mostly Republican states have introduced ... read more
TIME Magazine2020-02-20
3 hours ago
FactChecking the Las Vegas Democratic Debate
Summary Many of the factual disputes centered on disagreements among the candidates: Former New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg said the stop-and-frisk policy that was “in place” when he became mayor “got out of control” and so “we cut 95% of it.” That’s true if comparing the number of stops in the first quarter of 2012 with the last quarter of 2013, but the stops rose 600% in his first 10 years in office. They were twice as high in the year he left office than when he began. Former Vice President Joe Biden, meanwhile, wrongly said: “The reason that ... read more
FactCheck.org2020-02-20
7 hours ago
Watching the Democratic Debate, Latinos in Las Vegas Feel Left Out of the Conversation
About 10 miles away from Wednesday’s Democratic primary debate in Las Vegas, far from the glitzy casinos that the city’s visitors flock to, there is a suite in a strip mall full of about two dozen people chatting happily, greeting each other with kisses on cheeks, and enjoying a dinner featuring flautas. A woman passes out bingo cards. They’re at debate watch party for Make the Road Action Nevada, the state branch of a national organization that works with immigrants that’s streaming a Spanish version of the debate. The bingo cards — “es como la lotería!” someone explains — are ... read more
TIME Magazine2020-02-20
8 hours ago
‘A Bland, Clueless Billionaire With Feet of Clay’
The ninth Democratic presidential debate of the 2020 presidential campaign was the first one with Michael Bloomberg in it, and his opponents seemed to have saved up eight debates’ worth of barbs for the new guy. POLITICO Magazine asked 14 experts, insiders, activists and political professionals to watch and tell us who won, who lost, and how the race changed after two hours in Las Vegas. The consensus: Political observers love to use gambling metaphors when we talk about the Nevada caucuses, and Bloomberg may have lost his first big bet of the presidential campaign. Less clear was who benefited ... read more
POLITICO2020-02-19
9 hours ago
Bloomberg Bombs in Democratic Debate as Warren Fights Back
Going into Wednesday’s Democratic debate, former New York Mayor Mike Bloomberg loomed over the field like a colossus. His hundreds of millions of dollars in TV ads had desperate Democratic voters casting him as a potential savior: confident, mainstream, able to win. For the other candidates, he posed a challenge: by turning on him, they might only cement him as the contest’s central figure, allowing him to rise above the fray and offer an escape from the morass of the 2020 primary to date. But in the most combative debate yet this cycle, the Bloomberg who finally appeared on ... read more
TIME Magazine2020-02-19
10 hours ago
Facing Improbable Odds in Nevada, Elizabeth Warren Goes on the Attack Against Mike Bloomberg
Elizabeth Warren rose to stardom slaying villains. The first time she was widely noticed on the national stage came with a gavel in her hand, as she pounded then-Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner for his mishandling of the Wall Street bailout. Elected to the Senate in 2012, she quickly transformed her perch on the sleepy Banking Committee into a public studio that regularly produced viral videos of her slicing hapless banking regulators and Wall Street executives to pieces. And her damning interrogation of Wells Fargo CEO Timothy Sloan was widely credited as leading to his “resignation.” That combative spirit fueled a ... read more
The Intercept2020-02-19
10 hours ago
Here’s What the Protesters Were Yelling to Joe Biden at the Nevada Democratic Debate
As former Vice President Joe Biden prepared his closing statement at the Nevada Democratic primary debate on Wednesday night, protesters began to yell “You deported 3 million people.” The crowed booed as protested continued to yell, and Biden began speaking again once they left the room. The undetermined number of protesters seem to be referring to to Biden’s role in the Obama administration, which deported over 3 million people. The immigrant rights organization the Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Services, or RAICES, took credit for the protest on social media. “BREAKING: We are interrupting @JoeBiden at the ... read more
TIME Magazine2020-02-19
11 hours ago
Bloomberg’s Beating
Everyone came to Vegas to fight—everyone, that is, except Michael Bloomberg.Tonight’s debate at the Paris Theater on the Las Vegas strip was the feistiest free-for-all of a marathon campaign that only saw its first votes cast two weeks ago. The candidates went after each other with abandon—frontrunners filleting the underdogs, zingers criss-crossing the stage like lasers. A newly energized and combative Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts tried to reassert herself in the race by taking down just about all of her five competitors—but particularly the former New York mayor.Bloomberg made his debate debut after entering the race 10 weeks ago, ... read more
The Atlantic2020-02-19
12 hours ago
Bloomberg’s Answers on Sexual Harassment Were Pretty Stunning
Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg had a rough time at the Democratic debate answering questions about sexual harassment on his watch. Asked by the moderator about claims that his company was a hostile workplace for women, Bloomberg deployed several cringey defenses: The only complaints about him concerned bad jokes; other women at his company had a great time; non-disclosure agreements women signed were, in his words, “consensual.” Sen. Elizabeth Warren did not have time for any of it. She continued a long night of savaging the founder of financial services giant Bloomberg LP by casting ... read more
VICE News2020-02-19
12 hours ago
Quite A Twofer
Just returning quickly to the Elizabeth Warren evisceration of Michael Bloomberg: I’d like to talk about who we’re running against. A billionaire who calls women fat broads and horse-faced lesbians, and no I’m not talking about Donald Trump, I’m talking about Mayor Bloomberg. It’s quite a twofer. She gets to go toe-to-toe with Bloomberg, who was standing right next to her, and demonstrate exactly what she would do on stage with Trump in the general. And she did it while noting the worst of the similarities between the two billionaires. ... read more
Talking Points Memo2020-02-19
13 hours ago
Bloomberg Got Destroyed in the First 3 Minutes of the Debate
LAS VEGAS — It took exactly one question at Wednesday’s Democratic presidential debate for Michael Bloomberg’s opponents to lay into him. Bernie Sanders slammed Bloomberg for his “stop-and-frisk” policy while he was New York's mayor, which the senator described as “outrageous” and a way to guarantee low turnout from black and Hispanic voters. Elizabeth Warren called Bloomberg “a billionaire who calls women fat broads and horse-faced lesbians.” Joe Biden slammed him for “throwing close to 5 million young black men up against the wall.” After months of relatively tame debates, the increasingly desperate field of Democratic candidates wasn’t interested ... read more
VICE News2020-02-19
14 hours ago
Right Wing Round-Up: Normalizing Corruption
Paul Gordon @ The Hill: A disgraced Senate and president have no business confirming judges. Media Matters: Michael Savage attacks “evil” Bernie Sanders’ Jewishness, says Sanders is racist at the core and fears white people. Aaron Rupar @ Vox: Trump’s latest pardons show how quickly he’s normalizing corruption. Cristina Cabrera @ Talking Points Memo: Trump Drags Comey Into His Griping About Blagojevich’s Prison Sentence. Nick R. Martin @ The Informant: No bail for Augustus Invictus. Ken Meyer @ Mediaite: The Hill Rebukes John Solomon’s Ukraine Work and Admits Mistakes in Oversight of His Columns. Nico Hines @ The Daily Beast: ... read more
Right Wing Watch2020-02-19
17 hours ago
Right Wing Bonus Tracks: The Moral Dam
David Barton wants it known that he has no problem with the things that President Donald Trump tweets: “I like his tweets. I like the fact they stir up controversy.” Gene Ho, a photographer for Trump’s 2016 campaign who has climbed all aboard the QAnon conspiracy train, sat down with Eric Metaxas for an interview. Did Wayne Allyn Root pay $20,000 to buy himself a spot on the Las Vegas Walk of Stars? Bryan Fischer writes about what he sees as a fundamental divide in life: “God loves people, environmental activists don’t.” Finally, Jim Garlow declares that Christians can never ... read more
Right Wing Watch2020-02-19
17 hours ago
Billionaire Braces for Criticism
Last month, when a late-stage change to the Democratic National Committee’s debate rules provided an opening for former New York Mayor Mike Bloomberg, his competitors claimed to be irate. “Billionaires shouldn’t be allowed to play by different rules,” Senator Elizabeth Warren tweeted. An adviser to Senator Bernie Sanders called it “the definition of a rigged system.”But the Democratic-primary candidates and their allies also recognize that there is potential value in sharing a stage with the self-funding billionaire tonight. For the progressives in the race, Bloomberg’s appearance at the Las Vegas debate means they’ll get to directly confront the person who, ... read more
The Atlantic2020-02-19
18 hours ago
John Rood, Top Defense Official, Latest to Be Ousted After Impeachment Saga
Mr. Rood told Congress that Ukraine had made necessary changes to justify sending the country aid, undermining an argument made by President Trump’s defenders in the impeachment battle. ... read more
The New York Times2020-02-19
18 hours ago
Russia’s shifting views of multilateral nuclear arms control with China
By Steven PiferOver the past year, President Donald Trump and administration officials have made clear the importance they attach to engaging China in nuclear arms control along with Russia. The Chinese have made equally clear their disinterest in participating. Moscow, meanwhile, has stepped back from its position that the next round of nuclear arms reductions should be multilateral rather than a continuation of the bilateral process that produced the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START) in 2010. Russian leaders are not opposed to bringing in China — to the contrary, they’d undoubtedly welcome it. But Moscow seems prepared to ... read more
The Brookings Institution2020-02-19
19 hours ago
President Trump hands out wave of pardons, commutations
On Tuesday, President Trump handed pardons and clemency to some notoriously corrupt white-collar criminals. To put this string of pardons into perspective, UNews spoke to Ken Hughes, a historian at the University of Virginia’s, Miller Center, and an expert on presidential powers. ... read more
Fusion2020-02-19
19 hours ago
U.K. healthcare workers will be able to refuse to treat homophobic & racist patients
ShutterstockMeanwhile, Donald Trump has been pushing "religious exemptions" that would allow healthcare workers to refuse to treat LGBTQ people and women. ... read more
LGBTQ Nation2020-02-19
19 hours ago
Trump Ousts Top Defense Official Who Warned Against Withholding Ukraine Aid
John Rood resigned at the president's request, becoming the latest official to be purged following the impeachment trial. ... read more
The Huffington Post2020-02-19
20 hours ago
Trump Takes Up Call for Barr to ‘Clean House’ at Justice Dept.
With a series of retweets, President Trump kept up attacks on federal law enforcement agencies, despite pleas from the attorney general. ... read more
The New York Times2020-02-19
20 hours ago
Rod Blagojevich Praises Himself, Offers No Apology After Release From Prison
President Donald Trump commuted the sentence of the disgraced former governor of Illinois who tried to sell a U.S. Senate seat. ... read more
The Huffington Post2020-02-19
20 hours ago
Great America PAC
Political leanings: Republican/Pro-President Trump 2018 total spending: $9 million Great America PAC was formed in February 2016 as TrumPAC to support Donald Trump’s presidential campaign, but soon became known as Great America PAC after the Federal Election Commission warned that it could not use the name of a candidate. As a so-called “Carey committee” — a traditional political action committee and super PAC hybrid — Great America PAC can contribute to a candidate’s campaign committee and make independent expenditures, provided the funds for each purpose are kept separate. Great America PAC “raised and spent over $30 million in support of Donald Trump’s candidacy” in 2016, “broadcasting ... read more
FactCheck.org2020-02-19
21 hours ago
Congressional Leadership Fund
Political leanings: Republican 2018 Spending: $159 million The Congressional Leadership Fund’s sole purpose is to win a Republican majority in the House of Representatives. The super PAC was formed in October 2011 as the conservative counter to the liberal House Majority PAC and is endorsed by House Republican leadership. As an independent-expenditure-only committee, CLF advocates for the election or defeat of federal candidates without coordinating with candidates, campaigns or political parties. Dan Conston serves as CLF’s president, as well as the president of its sister 501(c)(4), the American Action Network. Conston has managed communications for several successful Republican congressional campaigns ... read more
FactCheck.org2020-02-19
21 hours ago
Key Pentagon official to resign at Trump’s request amid Huawei trade spat
A key Pentagon official said on Wednesday he would leave his post at President Donald Trump's request, according to a copy of his resignation letter seen by Reuters, after a battle between government agencies over a bid to crack down on exports to China's Huawei Technologies Co Ltd. ... read more
Reuters2020-02-19
21 hours ago
Priorities USA Action
Political leanings: Democratic/liberal 2018 total spending: $44.8 million Priorities USA Action, a super PAC, was formed in 2011 by ex-White House staffers Bill Burton and Sean Sweeney to help reelect President Barack Obama in 2012. In 2016, it supported Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign, spending more money than any other super PAC. Priorities USA Action states that its mission is to help build “a powerful progressive movement that informs, energizes, and empowers average Americans to fight and win for their priorities in 2020 and beyond.” Guy Cecil, who was political director of Clinton’s 2008 campaign, serves as chairman of the super PAC. Patrick McHugh, who was research director for the Democratic Senatorial ... read more
FactCheck.org2020-02-19
21 hours ago
Infowars Correspondent Uses Fox News Appearance to Send Trump a Message
Kaitlin Bennett, a correspondent for the conspiracy theory outlet Infowars and employee of the far-right outlet Liberty Hangout, appeared on Fox News’ “Fox & Friends First” program Wednesday morning, where she asked the president to support conservatives on college campuses. Bennett’s appearance on Fox News came after she attempted to make a video on Ohio University’s campus Monday and was confronted by a crowd of angry protestors. The incident has been lifted up by national conservative media as the latest instance supporting its well-worn college campus outrage machine. Since the incident, Bennett has leaned into the opportunity, using her experience ... read more
Right Wing Watch2020-02-19
22 hours ago
Josh Bernstein: The Only Choice in 2020 Is ‘Trump or Death’
Right-wing commentator Josh Bernstein closed out today’s installment of his YouTube program by declaring that the 2020 presidential election will come down to one simple choice: “Trump or death.” Bernstein, a radical right-wing conspiracy theorist who reported that he has been granted White House press credentials to cover President Donald Trump’s rally in Phoenix, Arizona, declared that Trump is “the only one that is going to help us survive.” “Trump or death. That’s what this is all about,” Bernstein said. “Your choice is Trump or death.” “This is not about policy, this is not about party, this is literally about ... read more
Right Wing Watch2020-02-19
1 day ago
Mexico needs better law enforcement, but the solution isn’t opportunistic decapitation
By Vanda Felbab-BrownOver the past several weeks, the AMLO administration appears to have quietly reinitiated targeting drug traffickers, at least to some extent. Systematically going after drug trafficking and criminal organizations is important, necessary, and correct. But how the effort against criminal groups is designed matters tremendously. Merely returning to opportunistic, non-strategic high-value targeting of top traffickers that characterized the Felipe Calderón and Enrique Peña Nieto era, instead of systematically dismantling the operational capacities of criminal groups, will be as problematic now as then. And such a policy will be as inadequate as AMLO’s ‘hugs, not bullets’ approach so far. ... read more
The Brookings Institution2020-02-19
1 day ago
Better law enforcement, yes; opportunistic decapitation, no
By Vanda Felbab-BrownOver the past several weeks, the AMLO administration appears to have quietly reinitiated targeting drug traffickers, at least to some extent. Systematically going after drug trafficking and criminal organizations is important, necessary, and correct. But how the effort against criminal groups is designed matters tremendously. Merely returning to opportunistic, non-strategic high-value targeting of top traffickers that characterized the Felipe Calderón and Enrique Peña Nieto era, instead of systematically dismantling the operational capacities of criminal groups, will be as problematic now as then. And such a policy will be as inadequate as AMLO’s ‘hugs, not bullets’ approach so far. ... read more
The Brookings Institution2020-02-19
1 day ago
The real progressive-centrist divide on foreign policy
By Thomas WrightThe Democratic Party is clearly split along progressive-centrist lines on domestic politics, but the story is more complicated on foreign policy. Throughout the course of the primary campaign, Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren have pitched a distinctive progressive foreign policy that cuts the defense budget, ends military interventions, reforms the global economy, and confronts authoritarianism and networks of corruption around the world. Advisers to both campaigns are trying to clarify the progressive worldview and hope to transform Democratic foreign policy, much like neoconservatives in the 1980s and ’90s did for the Republican Party, albeit in the opposite direction. For those of us ... read more
The Brookings Institution2020-02-19
1 day ago
#AM_Equality Tipsheet: February 19, 2020
HRC PRESIDENT ALPHONSO DAVID ON BLOOMBERG’S TRANSPHOBIC COMMENTS: “We expect all pro-equality candidates, including Mayor Bloomberg, to create policy solutions to end the epidemic of violence our community faces, not use the same talking points our opponents use to dehumanize transgender people and justify their own hateful beliefs. LGBTQ people are human and deserve to be treated with respect. We are looking for a candidate who can undo the damage done to our community by the Trump-Pence administration and build a future more safe, more equal and more accepting for LGBTQ people. Words matter and Mayor Bloomberg should apologize for ... read more
Human Rights Campaign2020-02-19
1 day ago
Trump aims to be distraction for Democrats on Western U.S. swing
President Donald Trump began a four-day Western swing on Tuesday with a fundraiser in Los Angeles, the first stop on a trip aimed at making himself a distraction as Democratic presidential candidates focus on the Nevada caucuses. ... read more
Reuters2020-02-18
2 days ago
Stone sentencing to go ahead amid pardon speculation
Roger Stone, a longtime friend of President Donald Trump, on Tuesday lost his bid to delay his sentencing amid speculation that Trump might pardon him. ... read more
Reuters2020-02-18
2 days ago
Unconscionable: Trump-Pence’s Proposed Changes to Faith-Based Regulations Strip Away Key Protections
Post submitted by Michael Botticelli, Executive Director of the Grayken Center for Addiction Medicine, Former Director of National Drug Control Policy Ever since Donald Trump and Mike Pence took their oaths of office, they have tried new, innovative ways to regulate compassion out of existence in our government. They’ve targeted individual groups – including the LGBTQ community, women, people of color and religious minorities – through legislation, regulation and rulemaking. Now, they’re attempting to rewrite the rules for faith-based organizations that do work with the federal government – targeting Americans’ access to lifesaving programs and care. For over thirty years, I ... read more
Human Rights Campaign2020-02-18
2 days ago
Pittsburgh Dems endorse anti-trans Trump supporter over progressive bisexual candidate
ShutterstockThe local party also endorsed a primary challenger to the region's only black female representative from the area. ... read more
LGBTQ Nation2020-02-18
2 days ago
Trump Is Unleashing Militarized Goon Squads Against Immigrants in Sanctuary Cities
Sasha Abramsky First, they came for the immigrants… The post Trump Is Unleashing Militarized Goon Squads Against Immigrants in Sanctuary Cities appeared first on The Nation. ... read more
The Nation2020-02-18
2 days ago
These Proposed Regulations Open the Door to Discrimination. We Must Stop Them.
Post submitted by Jono Anzalone, Head of Disaster and Crisis, International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies Last month, the Trump-Pence administration proposed nine federal regulations that would enable federal agencies and programs receiving federal funding from them to discriminate against LGBTQ people, women, religious minorities and other vulnerable communities if they believe serving those populations in any context would go against the program’s personal beliefs. This includes the U.S. Agency on International Development, which accounts for more than half of all U.S. foreign assistance. The proposed regulation would empower organizations receiving federal funds to discriminate against LGBTQ people. ... read more
Human Rights Campaign2020-02-17
3 days ago
NSA Whistleblower Reality Winner Submits Clemency Petition Alongside More Than 4,000 Letters of Support
On Monday, a Texas civil rights attorney launched a clemency petition for National Security Agency whistleblower Reality Winner in Dallas. The attorney, Alison Grinter, encountered Winner through Crystal Mason, a Texas mother who served time alongside Winner in a Fort Worth federal prison after receiving a five-year sentence for “illegal voting” in the 2016 presidential election. Mason and Winner became friends in the facility’s newsroom, where they spent long hours watching TV news and debating current events. After hearing about Winner from Mason, Grinter began corresponding with the whistleblower’s mother, Billie Winner-Davis, on Twitter. Last year, the two women drove hours ... read more
The Intercept2020-02-17
3 days ago
The Inconvenient Truth About ISIS
The Islamic State has lost all of its territory; tens of thousands of its fighters have been killed or are imprisoned; and its former leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, is dead. But a Kurdish leader who witnessed the militant group’s rise and fall is warning that ISIS is putting itself back together and stressing an uncomfortable fact: that ISIS is bigger now than it was nearly six years ago, when it founded its self-styled caliphate.Eager to move on, President Donald Trump has declared victory over ISIS. Nevertheless, the conflict is ongoing, and to the extent that the Democratic presidential candidates mention ... read more
The Atlantic2020-02-14
6 days ago
The Real ‘Miscarriage of Justice’ in the Stone Sentencing
President Donald Trump praised his attorney general Wednesday for “taking charge” of the Roger Stone case. But if the events of the past several days tell us anything it’s that the person having the biggest influence on the proposed prison sentence for the convicted Trump ally is the president himself. Despite the president’s insistence that he “didn’t speak to the Justice Department” and that he has “not been involved with that at all,” it’s clear that a single Trump tweet on Tuesday set in motion an unprecedented collapse of prosecutorial independence. In fact, the real “miscarriage of justice” is that ... read more
POLITICO2020-02-12
1 week ago
The Atlantic Politics Daily: What If No One Gets Enough Votes?
It’s Wednesday, February 12. On upheaval around the sudden, lighter sentence recommendation for Trump associate Roger Stone: “The administration’s rush to aid Stone, especially set against the retributive firings, shows Trump newly willing to flex his muscles,” David Graham writes.In the rest of today’s newsletter: Let’s talk about contested conventions. Plus: How Trump boxed the EPA out of a major climate rollback.*« TODAY IN POLITICS »(MATT ROURKE / AP)These are two words that no Democrat wants to hear: Brokered convention. The prospect that Democrats don’t coalesce around one particular candidate by this summer is a nightmarish scenario for many in ... read more
The Atlantic2020-02-11
1 week ago
The Night Socialism Went Mainstream
It has taken a single week for Senator Bernie Sanders to achieve a distinction that eluded him for the entirety of his underdog campaign four years ago: The 78-year-old democratic socialist from Vermont is now, at least for the moment, the front-runner for the Democratic nomination for president.Sanders’s victory tonight in the New Hampshire primary, combined with his strong finish last week in Iowa and a bounce in national polling, places him firmly at the top of the Democratic field as the nomination race heads to Nevada and South Carolina. He has benefited from a split in the moderate vote, ... read more
The Atlantic2020-02-11
1 week ago
‘This Is the Wild West Out Here’
DYER, Nevada—On a cold, windy day in late October, in one of the most remote and least populated regions of the state, a half-dozen workers prepared to drill another test hole in the arid volcanic rock. They were looking for deposits of lithium, a metal that has become indispensable to smartphones and electric-vehicle batteries, and which geologists estimate is so abundant here that mining companies from around the world are vying for a chance to make the next big discovery. The workers doing the drilling were contracted by Ioneer, an Australian company that has already invested millions in exploring what ... read more
POLITICO2020-02-09
2 weeks ago
How I Learned to Recognize the Real Mitt Romney
I’ve been doing a lot of interviews lately about the Netflix documentary series “Cheer,” which I directed. I’m often asked how we, as a film crew, are able to capture people authentically on camera. Truth is, our raw footage is riddled with inauthentic moments—people trying to say and do what they think the camera wants them to. We’ve learned simply to wait those moments out. After about 15 minutes, people drop affectation, and who they truly are starts to emerge. After years of doing this, I’ve become adept at discerning between authentic moments and affected ones.I first learned this about ... read more
POLITICO2020-02-08
2 weeks ago
Mike Bloomberg, Man of the People?
Billionaire Mike Bloomberg is making a whole new kind of presidential bid: a self-funded quest to pick up delegates not in Iowa or New Hampshire but on Super Tuesday and beyond, and to ride hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of ads to the nomination.What does a presidential campaign look like when it’s run by a candidate unencumbered by financial constraints, but with little experience in retail politics outside New York?Veteran political photographer Stephen Voss trailed Bloomberg as he traveled an unorthodox campaign path in late January, along the Eastern Seaboard from Florida to Washington, D.C., to Maine. Bloomberg’s personal ... read more
POLITICO2020-02-08
2 weeks ago
FACT CHECK: President Trump Delivers His 3rd State Of The Union Address
NPR reporters from across the newsroom will add analysis and fact-checking to the remarks. Watch it all live beginning at 9 p.m. ET.(Image credit: Evan Vucci/AP) ... read more
NPR2020-02-04
2 weeks ago
Democrats And Trump’s Lawyers Made Their Final Arguments In The Impeachment Trial
Following closing arguments, the Senate will take Tuesday off ahead of a vote on whether to remove Trump from office on Wednesday afternoon.View Entire Post › ... read more
Buzzfeed Politics2020-02-04
2 weeks ago
PolitiFact answers the Senate's impeachment questions
Senators took control of their chamber’s impeachment trial this week, submitting questions to the Democratic House managers and President Donald Trump’s legal team. The questions, provided to Chief Justice John Roberts in writing, gave a window into the senators’ thinking as they consider whether to remove a president from office for the first time. But House managers and the Trump team spun their answers to serve their perspective. So we decided to take on the questions ourselves, with the facts in mind. On whether impeachment and removal requires a crime The question (from Democratic senators): "Does the phrase ‘‘or other ... read more
PolitiFact2020-01-31
3 weeks ago
Fact-checking Joe Biden in Ankeny, Iowa
ANKENY, Iowa — Former Vice President Joe Biden ignored his Democratic rivals and focused extensively on attacking President Donald Trump at a campaign event, saying Trump is "a commander-in-chief who has no notion — none — of what it takes to lead." Biden mocked Trump for saying he was the one who protected pre-existing conditions and portrayed Trump as a divider who has bashed the press and Congress. In the 2020 election, Biden said, "the character of the country is on the ballot. The character of our candidates is on the ballot." Biden’s Jan. 25 event attracted about 300 voters on ... read more
PolitiFact2020-01-26
4 weeks ago
Gun enthusiast tells gun-owning Parkland dad and gunshot trauma surgeon, ‘Stay in your lane.’
The phrase "stay in your lane" is usually lobbed at celebrities who talk about politics on Twitter by people who disagree with them. People in the sports world will often get a "stick to sports" when they try to have an opinion that lies outside of the field of play.It's all an attempt to delegitimize someone's opinion that they don't like.But when it comes to political issues that affect us all, we should all have the ability to speak out. That's what living in a Democracy is all about.A Twitter user by the name of Colt Seavers got owned on ... read more
GOOD2020-01-24
4 weeks ago
Five Key Takeaways From Israel’s Indecisive Election Rerun
Heidi Levine/Sipa/Pool via AP Benjamin Netanyahu at a voting station in Jerusalem, September 17, 2019 Anyone expecting clarity from Israel’s electoral rerun will be disappointed. The public was sent back to the polls when coalition negotiations following the April 9 election failed. The resumption of those negotiations based on the new distribution of seats in the Knesset will not prove any easier. Israeli President Reuven Rivlin will soon call the party leaders to begin the traditional round of post-election consultations, and within days will call on either ... read more
The American Prospect2019-09-21
5 months ago
Former Biden Chief of Staff is Fox News’ Top Lobbyist
Elise Amendola/AP Photo Former Vice President Joe Biden speaks during a campaign event at Dartmouth College, August 23, 2019. Sludge produces investigative journalism on lobbying and money in politics. The American Prospect is re-publishing this article. When Rupert Murdoch sold part of his 21st Century Fox company to Disney, he formed a new firm, Fox Corporation, which retained the rightwing news network Fox News, Fox Business Network, and many television stations and sports broadcasting companies. Multiple former Trump White House and GOP officials joined the company, including Hope Hicks, ... read more
The American Prospect2019-09-20
5 months ago
How Mexico Is Doing America’s Deportation Work for Us
Marco Ugarte/Associated Press Mexican authorities, feeling the effects of the Trump administration's “Remain in Mexico” policy, have resorted to busing migrants from Nuevo Laredo, at Mexico’s northern border with the U.S., to areas in the south of Mexico. More than a month ago, reports emerged that migrants and asylum seekers had been bused from Nuevo Laredo, at Mexico’s northern border with the United States, to Chiapas, near Mexico’s southern border with Guatemala. The Mexican government paid for the buses. The first time was just ... read more
The American Prospect2019-09-20
5 months ago
Transitioning ThinkProgress
Many years ago, we embarked on a new experiment: moving ThinkProgress from an organizational blog to a progressive news site, powered by reporters and editorially independent. We are proud that ThinkProgress helped shape the conversation in this country—exposing the companies that were supporting the NRA, uncovering sexual abuse within religious organizations, documenting voter suppression, and tracking the financing of white nationalism, to name just a few of the many, many, many important stories ThinkProgress covered. Unfortunately, as with so many ventures in today’s digital media landscape, ThinkProgress suffered multi-million dollar shortfalls the past two years—an unsustainable option for a non-profit ... read more
ThinkProgress2019-09-09
5 months ago
CNN’s planning a 2020 LGBTQ forum. Here are some issues advocates say the candidates should address.
A prominent LGBTQ rights organization, the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) announced Thursday that it will host a presidential town hall on LGBTQ issues next month. The event will air on CNN. LGBTQ advocacy groups told ThinkProgress that they know exactly what ideas they want to hear discussed at the town hall set for Oct. 10, which is National Coming Out Day. Many said that first and foremost, they want candidates to acknowledge the struggles of the most marginalized in the community, including LGBTQ people of color, and put forward policies to respond to anti-LGBTQ bias in the criminal justice system. ... read more
ThinkProgress2019-09-05
6 months ago
It wasn’t a debate, but CNN’s 7-hour climate forum laid bare key differences among Democrats
CNN’s seven-hour town hall on the climate crisis wasn’t the debate many activists have spent months calling for. But Wednesday night’s marathon event teased out notable differences among Democratic presidential contenders, giving voters a taste of how each candidate might approach climate policy if elected. Two of the main issues where candidates staked out wildly different stances were nuclear power and abolishing the filibuster. They also differed on fracking, the process of extracting natural gas to be used for energy. Meanwhile, former Vice President Joe Biden took heat over a controversial fundraiser scheduled for Thursday night and hosted by an oil ... read more
ThinkProgress2019-09-05
6 months ago
GOP candidate fueled by outside money complains he may lose because of opponent’s outside money
Dan Bishop, the Republican nominee in next week’s North Carolina congressional special election, claimed on Thursday that the reason polls show he could lose a district that President Donald Trump won easily is that so much money was coming in from out of district to support his Democratic opponent. But most of the money going to support Bishop also comes from outside of North Carolina. Voters in North Carolina’s 9th Congressional District will vote Tuesday in their latest attempt to elect a U.S. Representative. The 2018 midterm election result was thrown out due to election fraud by the then-Republican nominee’s ... read more
ThinkProgress2019-09-05
6 months ago
To build Trump’s border wall, Pentagon will divert funds from military schools and day cares
President Donald Trump, despite his empty claims that he’s the most pro-military president “ever,” is preparing to drain funds from schools and day care centers that serve military families, as well as stalling readiness projects, to pay for his promised border wall. The Pentagon is diverting billions of dollars from already funded projects at military bases around the world in order to rush fence construction along the U.S.-Mexico border, Defense Department (DOD) officials announced Wednesday. The department indicated the shunting of money away from military child care offerings was not DOD’s idea. “A Pentagon official said in a briefing that ... read more
ThinkProgress2019-09-05
6 months ago
FACT CHECK: Foreign Interference And ‘Opposition Research’ Are Not The Same
President Trump says he might be open to taking information from a foreign government in a future election, calling it a part of politics. But the law draws a distinction when foreigners are involved.(Image credit: Jim Watson/AFP/Getty Images) ... read more
NPR2019-06-13
8 months ago
FACT CHECK: Russian Interference Went Far Beyond ‘Facebook Ads’ Kushner Described
President Trump's son-in-law and senior adviser said the investigations into Russian interference have been more damaging than the interference itself. But there was more to it than online ads.(Image credit: Brian Ach/Getty Images for Time) ... read more
NPR2019-04-24
10 months ago
FACT CHECK: Trump Wrongly States Obama Administration Had Child Separation Policy
Speaking to reporters Tuesday, President Trump restated an earlier falsehood in which he blamed the Obama administration for a policy the Trump administration in fact started.(Image credit: Evan Vucci/AP) ... read more
NPR2019-04-09
11 months ago
Why Is It So Fraught to Talk About the Klobuchar Bad Boss Reports?
This article is adapted from a segment on the Waves and has been edited and condensed for clarity. Christina Cauterucci: Last week, HuffPost and BuzzFeed both ran pieces that contained a whole slew of allegations that Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota runs a borderline abusive workplace. There were multiple former staffers who said they and their fellow employees were berated for wrongdoing in front of their peers. Sometimes they’d be CC’d on their emails, saying, “This is the worst press release I’ve ever read in my life.” They were forced to endure emotional outbursts and fits of rage. They were ... read more
Slate2019-02-15
1 year ago
Andrew McCabe: Jeff Sessions Complained That He Missed When the FBI “Only Hired Irishmen”
Former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe’s new book, which details his frustrations with President’s Trump administration, has made it clear that his “disdain for Trump is rivaled only by his contempt for [Jeff] Sessions,” according to an assessment from Washington Post reporter Greg Miller. According to Miller’s review of the book, McCabe saw then-Attorney General Sessions as a Trump-like idiot and racist who had “trouble focusing, particularly when topics of conversation strayed from a small number of issues,” failed to read intelligence reports, and jumbled classified material with publicly reported news. The strangest detail from the book, though, had to ... read more
Slate2019-02-15
1 year ago
There Is No New Backpage
Last April, two successive tremors shook the business of sex on the internet. The first was the dramatic FBI shutdown of Backpage, a website for posting online personals that had attained outsize importance among sex workers. Days after that, President Trump signed two new bills into law, the Stop Enabling Online Sex Trafficking Act (SESTA) and Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act (FOSTA), which together make websites that knowingly allow sex trafficking to happen liable for hosting the illegal activity—thus making it much easier for prosecutors to go after the proprietors of sites like Backpage. Both of these moves were meant ... read more
Slate2019-02-13
1 year ago
Roger Stone’s chance to make a positive impact
The Feb. 10 Retropolis column, “Stone seeks Trump pardon for black nationalist Marcus Garvey” [Metro], provided a well-informed review of Garvey’s role advancing a back-to-Africa movement in the ear ... read more
The Washington Post2019-02-13
1 year ago
The Feminist Future of Modesty
“I get it,” is Gretchen Carlson’s message to all the American women who wince at the thought of parading around in a swimsuit. Carlson, who is the new Chairwoman of the Miss America pageant and who also won the competition in 1989, announced last week that the swimsuit portion of the spectacle would be axed. The #MeToo-friendly, revamped Miss American “Competition” (the word “pageant” is also no more) would focus on substance instead of appearance; it would promote neither ogling at various female parts nor the premise that a willingness to bare almost all is necessary to winning.It’s a timely ... read more
The Feminist Future of Modesty2018-06-12
2 years ago
Giuliani’s media blitz defending Trump is off to rough start
WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Donald Trump's new attorney, Rudy Giuliani, is off to a rough start in his media blitz defending Trump's stance toward the special counsel's Russian investigation and a $130,000 porn star hush payment. ... read more
Associated Press2018-05-07
2 years ago
Trump defends CIA nominee, says she is ‘tough on terror’
WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Donald Trump on Monday defended Gina Haspel, his nominee to head the Central Intelligence Agency, dismissing debate over her involvement in a harsh interrogation program and arguing Democrats want her out because she "is too tough on terror." ... read more
Associated Press2018-05-07
2 years ago
Trump: ’13 angry Democrats’ on Mueller team should be wary
WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Donald Trump is striking a combative tone against the Russia probe. He's talking about "Fighting Back" and telling Democrats on the special counsel's team, "wait 'till the Courts get to see your unrevealed Conflicts of Interest!" ... read more
Associated Press2018-05-07
2 years ago
Trump urges West Virginia voters to reject Blankenship
WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Donald Trump is urging West Virginia voters to reject a former federal convict and coal baron running in the Republican Senate primary, arguing that Don Blankenship he would lose the general election. ... read more
Associated Press2018-05-07
2 years ago
Trump’s Tweets Threaten His Travel Ban’s Chances in Court
President Donald Trump began the week with a barrage of early-morning tweets blasting the courts for blocking his travel ban executive order. But in doing so, he may have just made it more likely that the courts will keep blocking the ban. People, the lawyers and the courts can call it whatever they want, but I am calling it what we need and what it is, a TRAVEL BAN! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 5, 2017 The Justice Dept. should have stayed with the original Travel Ban, not the watered down, politically correct version they submitted ... read more
Mother Jones2017-06-05
3 years ago
The Fox Primary For March: Trump Widens His Airtime Lead
As the Republican presidential field shrunk to three candidates in March, front-runner Donald Trump again led his competitors in interview airtime on Fox News. Fox News hosted the businessman for 6 hours and 15 minutes, compared to Texas Sen. Ted Cruz's 5 hours and 18 minutes and Ohio Gov. John Kasich's 3 hours and 44 minutes. Florida Sen. Marco Rubio and former neurosurgeon Ben Carson both ended their campaigns in March -- their airtime totals from before they dropped out are listed, but they will not be included in future editions. Trump's lead in Fox interview time comes amid ongoing tension ... read more
Media Matters for America2016-04-07
4 years ago
Morning Joe Panel: Hillary Clinton “Clearly Did Not Say Bernie Sanders Was Not Qualified To Be President”
From the April 7 edition of MSNBC's Morning Joe: MIKA BRZEZINSKI (CO-HOST): Late last night, Clinton's press secretary Brian Fallon responded to [Sanders'] remarks on Twitter saying quote "Hillary Clinton did not say Bernie Sanders was 'not qualified.' But he has now - absurdly - said it about her. This is a new low." He added "Bernie Sanders, take back your words about Hillary Clinton." Sanders did no such thing. His campaign released a statement that began quote "Responding to Hillary Clinton's attempt to portray him as unqualified for the White House, Senator Sanders linked her to a trade pact exploited by wealthy individuals and profitable corporations to ... read more
Media Matters for America2016-04-07
4 years ago

Latest News

Trump

UCLA Study: Why conservatives are more likely than liberals to believe false information about threats

A team of UCLA researchers are offering new evidence that when it comes to telling the difference between truth and fiction, not all potential voters are created equal.

February 3rd, 2017

War on Science

An uneasy new era for scientists

Just hours after the inauguration, the official White House website was scrubbed of any mention of climate change. After that, scientists and other employees at several federal agencies were told not to speak directly to the public about their work.

January 28th, 2017

Healthcare

Obama Condemns ‘Repeal and Replace’

Repealing Obamacare without a replacement is “reckless” and “irresponsible,” and would leave the country “with more uninsured and uncompensated care than when we started,” writes former President Barack Obama.

January 28th, 2017

Uncategorized

Trump Doesn't Mention Jewish People In Holocaust Day Statement

In a break with recent tradition, Trump’s statement didn't make any mention of the Jewish people or anti-Semitism, only referring to the victims of the Holocaust as "innocent people."

January 28th, 2017

Don't Miss

Environment

Maddow: Trump actions affirm fears for environment

January 25th, 2017

Rachel Maddow reports on how many of the concerns about how Donald Trump would regard the environment as president are coming true.

Humor

Social media gleefully mocks Sean Spicer & Kellyanne Conway's "Alternative Facts"

January 23rd, 2017

Trump's corruption may be shameless and unending, but at least it yields some comedic inspiration.

alt-right

Trump to begin publishing weekly list of immigrant crimes; Hitler did the same with Jewish people

Uncategorized

The List

January 21st, 2017 — Day of Women's March Trump brought a group of 40 cheerleaders to a meeting with the CIA to cheer for him during a speech that consisted almost entirely of framing himself as the victim of dishonest press. ...

Hypocrisy

After just two weeks on the job, President Trump to go on Florida vacation costing taxpayers $3 million

It's drawing the same scrutiny Trump and other Republicans heaped upon former President Obama, even though he had less vacation days than George W. Bush and Ronald Reagan did.

Fact Check

Philadelphia Mayor Criticizes Trump “False Comments”

Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney debunked President Donald Trump’s comments Thursday about the city’s crime rates, adding that the commander-in-chief’s “false comments were an insult to the men and women of the Philadelphia police force.”

War

“Doomsday Clock” Ticks Closest to Midnight Since 1950s

January 28th, 2017

Humanity is edging nearer to destruction, according to the “Doomsday Clock.” The “clock” is now at two-and-a-half minutes to midnight (representing the destruction of Earth), the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists said in its annual announcement.

Immigration

Trump Executive Order Could Block 500,000 Legal U.S. Residents From Returning From Trips Abroad

January 28th, 2017

Since the order’s travel ban applies to all “aliens” — a term that encompasses anyone who isn’t an American citizen — it could bar those with current visas or even green cards from returning to the U.S. from trips abroad.

Healthcare

Trump's actions on health care law threaten to undermine insurance markets

January 28th, 2017

The move, which comes just days ahead of an enrollment deadline for health plans under the health care law, follows Trump's executive order last weekend in which he suggested his administration wouldn't implement rules crucial to sustaining viable markets.

Latest Video

Humor

Hasan Piker takes on Tomi Lahren's #WomensMarch rant

January 27th, 2017

A righteous takedown of the hot garbage spewed by Tomi Lahren, an opportunist conservative mouthpiece who carefully directs fake outrage at things she knows will get her notoriety. An entire career built on complaining about other people complaining.

Video

Samantha Bee mocks President Trump’s lackluster inaugural weekend

So far this week, our new overlord has torn up treaties, taken the first steps toward a Muslim ban, ordered the construction of his dumbass wall and threatened to invade Chicago like his own little Crimea. Dress rehearsal is over guys, the tragedy has begun.

January 26th, 2017

Video

PPP Poll: President Donald Trump's Base Deluded By False Facts

Rachel Maddow gives an exclusive first look at the latest PPP poll showing Donald Trump with historically low approval ratings and that most Americans do not believe his lies about inauguration numbers, though his supporters do.

January 26th, 2017

Video

Trump's False Claims and Executive Orders: A Closer Look

Seth Meyers takes a closer look at the false claims President Trump repeated during his first national TV interview.

January 26th, 2017

Latest News

alt-right

Racist-Right Finds New Prominence Via Donald Trump

August 26th, 2016

Daryle Lamont Jenkins, founder of One People's Project, talks with Rachel Maddow about exposing leaders of the racist-right, and the new prominence...

Humor

SNL - Celebrity Family Feud: Political Edition

October 2nd, 2016

Hate Crimes

Self-Hatred Seen In Some Anti-Gay Hate Crimes

June 20th, 2016

Abortion

Trump: Most Unlikely Anti-Abortion President Ever

January 28th, 2017

Donald Trump was once an adamant believer in legal abortion. He may even have been involved in one, or more. Maureen Dowd, the New York Times...

Humor

Seth Meyers Interviews Kellyanne Conway About President-Elect Trump

January 10th, 2017

Humor

Trump Plans to Reinvent Himself: A Closer Look

April 25th, 2016

The Wire

Humor

SNL - Donald Trump Prepares

November 20th, 2016

When faced with making good on his campaign promises, president-elect Donald Trump (Alec Baldwin) starts to panic.

Trump

Conway Spins Trump’s Blatant Inauguration Size Lies With Ridiculous New Term: “Alternative Facts”

January 22nd, 2017

Kellyanne Conway defended the litany of blatant falsehoods told at yesterday’s Trump press conference as “alternative facts.”

Humor

Trump University: A Closer Look

June 6th, 2016

Seth Meyers takes a closer look at Donald Trump's racially charged comments about the judge presiding over the lawsuit against Trump University.

Conflict of Interests

The Limits of Government Ethics Enforcement

January 12th, 2017

America’s system for preventing ethical conflicts in government is supremely overmatched by President-elect Donald Trump and his cadre of billionaire advisers.

Obama

A parting lesson from Obama, at Trump's inauguration

January 20th, 2017

As President Trump drew his dystopian picture of an America in decline, leaching its wealth to the rest of the world as an indifferent government looks on passively, President Obama stared straight ahead.

Keith Olbermann

Is There a Russian Coup Underway in America?

December 12th, 2016

Why we urgently need a special prosecutor to investigate Russia’s meddling in the election

The Countdown

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