Monday, July 13, 2015 7:34:23 AM
Trump Press Conference with families of people killed by illegal aliens
Published on Jul 10, 2015 by PSB Satellite [ http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCEu3KY-hNCbWVCXrqQfPB9w / http://www.youtube.com/user/psb2usa , http://www.youtube.com/user/psb2usa/videos ]
FULL RAW UNEDITED
Donald Trump California Press Conference with the families of people killed by illegal aliens.
Los Angeles 7/10/15
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bsokVoqSOA8 [with comments] [also at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UDqaFTWgfR4 (with comments)]
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THE SIMPSONS | Trumptastic Voyage | ANIMATION on FOX
Published on Jul 7, 2015 by Animation Domination [ http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCRT4LEdCBC_Zxincl76B0yQ / http://www.youtube.com/user/ANIMATIONonFOX , http://www.youtube.com/user/ANIMATIONonFOX/videos ]
A close encounter with Donald Trump's hairpiece sends Homer on an extraordinary journey.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oz7_JP7ROvA [with comments]
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Donald Trump Full FreedomFest Speech
Published on Jul 11, 2015 by PSB Satellite
Donald Trump's Full FreedomFest Speech.
Las Vegas 7/11/15
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f3hGCLZ156Q [with comments]
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Donald Trump Full Press Conference after Freedomfest Speech
Published on Jul 11, 2015 by PSB Satellite
Donald Trump takes questions at Press Conference after his FreedomFest Speech today in Las Vegas NV.
7/11/15
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V7qst0wAxzU [with comments]
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Steve Martin and Martin Short with surprise guest-- David Letterman!!
Published on Jul 10, 2015 by Jeanie Engler [ http://www.youtube.com/channel/UC180YfoYaL1ZEshPXmEOd0g , http://www.youtube.com/channel/UC180YfoYaL1ZEshPXmEOd0g/videos ]
Top Ten Interesting Facts About Donald Trump
July 10, 2015 Majestic Theater in San Antonio, Tx
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lfuXYh-BFoc [with comments]
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LIVE: Donald Trump's #StandWithTrumpAZ Phoenix Event on Illegal Immigration
Streamed live on Jul 11, 2015 by FOX 10 Phoenix [ http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJg9wBPyKMNA5sRDnvzmkdg , http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJg9wBPyKMNA5sRDnvzmkdg/videos ]
LIVE coverage of the #StandWithTrumpAZ event! GOP Presidential hopeful Donald Trump will give a speech on illegal immigration among other topics at The Phoenix Convention Center in Phoenix, Arizona. Due to high ticket demand, Trump was forced to move the event from The Biltmore Resort. We will have live coverage inside and outside of the venue. From #StandWithTrumpAZ enthusiasts to #DumpTrump protesters.
Sheriff Joe Arpaio's appearance begins at the 48:50 mark and concludes at the 58:25 mark.
Previously-recorded Fox 10 phone call with Trump begins at the 1:04:30 mark and concludes at the 1:13:30 mark.
Trump's appearance (including the following press conference) begins at the 1:44:10 mark and concludes at the 3:18:40 mark.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yMQYzKhsnGM [with (over 24,000) comments] [Trump's speech only also at e.g. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rDtvk9GRrpQ (with comments), http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ls3m7NUOqxs (with comments), and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fUtx5smgQZM (with comments)]
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Listening to Donald Trump swear and talk politics on his private plane
Donald Trump's Boeing 757 prepares to leave Las Vegas on Saturday on the way to an immigration-themed rally in Phoenix.
(Robert Costa/Washington Post)
Monogram on a headrest inside Donald Trump's private Boeing 757 airliner.
(Robert Costa/Washington Post)
The pilots on Donald Trump's private 757 en route to Phoenix on Saturday.
(Robert Costa/Washington Post)
Donald Trump makes his infamous "You're fired!" gesture during a recent campaign speech.
(REUTERS/Dominick Reuter/Files)
By Robert Costa
July 12, 2015 at 4:30 PM
SOMEWHERE ABOVE THE AMERICAN SOUTHWEST — It was Saturday night aboard Donald Trump’s gleaming Boeing 757. An hour earlier, he had finished the most high-profile speech of his nearly month-old presidential campaign: a rally attended by thousands in Phoenix where he railed against illegal immigration and countless other targets — Macy's, NBC, NASCAR, U.S. Ambassador to Japan Caroline Kennedy — for 70 minutes. The billionaire real-estate mogul took off his jacket, clicked the oversized satellite television in his plush, cream-colored cabin over to Fox News and closely watched the channel’s coverage.
As shadowy images of Hispanic immigrants and criminal mug shots were interspersed with his remarks, Trump, 69, turned gleeful. "The only reason they’re talking about this is because of me," he said. "Look at that crowd, fantastic," he added. He sat down in his leather chair. His eponymous crest was woven into the headrest, and his plane was 30,000 feet above the border he had called so porous that illegal immigrants are able to "flow in like water."
In an expletive-laden interview over soft drinks — Trump sips from a small plastic bottle of Coca-Cola — the celebrity contender said he has no plans to change the way he’s running for the Republican nomination, which combines his trademark showmanship, an outsider-populist credo that resists ideological categorization and incendiary comments that have thrilled conservative activists.
Trump was most animated when analyzing the way the news media covered him and dishing with aides about the articles they had printed out. He was less excited discussing the process of presidential politics. When asked about the coming debate, set for Aug. 6 in Cleveland, he shrugged and said, “Whatever.” When asked about calls for him to tone down his fiery pitch, he shrugged again.
Following is a lightly edited transcript:
What’s next?
More of the same, I’ll keep doing my thing. I’ll go around to different places, get great receptivity. I get the biggest crowds. I get the biggest standing ovations. You saw that today, I could have been there for 20 minutes and they would have been cheering. So, you’ll see more of the same, getting the word out.
Will immigration remain your focus?
No. It’s just one of the things. It’s not only immigration. It’s about trade. They go hand in hand. Immigration is one of the things you have to do. I’m also a moralist. You heard what I said today about health care. I said, I’m sorry, folks, but we have to take care people that don’t have money. I know it’s not the conservative thing to say, but I got a standing ovation — and these were very conservative people. We can’t let people down when they can’t get any medical care, when they’re sick and don’t have money to go to a doctor. You help them.
So Trump has a heart?
A big heart, let me tell you. Too big.
When did you decide to seize on immigration and make it the thrust of your campaign?
They gave it to me. It wasn’t a big part of my announcement speech — a small paragraph. The Democrats and the enemies lined up and they criticized me for one line where I said Mexico is sending — I said Mexico is sending. I didn’t say people are coming over and they’re bad people. They would leave off the ‘Mexico is sending’ part, chop it and say I said ‘rapists’ when talking about people.
But when you use a word like rapist . . .
It is a very rough word. It’s okay to use.
[Eyeing the television, Trump gets up to watch another Fox News segment about his Arizona gathering. "Jeanine Pirro, let’s see what she has to say about me," he said as he settled into his couch. When a picture of the Mexican laborer accused of killing a San Francisco woman is put on screen, Trump said: "Look at that guy, look at what he did, killing that beautiful girl. [Expletive] animal." He returned several minutes later to continue the interview.]
Are you looking forward to the debate?
No, not one way or the other. Whatever. I don’t look forward or not look forward. It is what it is.
When are you going to file your financial disclosure with the Federal Election Commission?
This week. Do you think Jeb Bush [the former Florida governor] is going to file his statement? I don’t know what’s going on. I just heard it today that he hasn’t filed. I assume he would have been filed. His should be simple, you know, in comparison to mine. I have so many companies and corporations.
Many Republican officials have asked you to tone down your immigration comments. It doesn’t seem like you’re listening to their advice.
I respect the people in the Republican Party, but this is a very important issue and it can’t be toned down. It’s an issue that wants to be silenced. Remember I told you the story about the guy they were going after, that killer, and when they heard he was he was an illegal immigrant it was like he was protected? If he were a citizen, they’d put him in jail for life.
How did you come up with “the silent majority” as a theme for your Saturday speech?
I was just thinking about it today. When I heard about this overwhelming — I’m telling you, it was 500 people at the start and the hotel called us begging to be released. They said they never had anything like this and we had to move the venue. I said to myself, 'That’s the silent majority.'
You don’t care about the Nixon overtones?
Nah. Nobody remembers that. Oh, is that why people stopped using [the phrase]? Maybe. Nobody thinks of Nixon. I don’t think of Nixon when I think of the silent majority. The silent majority today, they’re going to vote for Trump. Remember, many Republicans didn’t vote for Mitt Romney. He didn’t inspire people. They’re going to vote for me. And I’ll also get the Hispanics, you watch.
What do they see in you?
They see somebody who’s going to turn the country around — somebody who has the ability to turn this country around. They’re tired of the incompetence. When you see my [financial] statement, you’ll be very impressed. That’s why it’s important. Let’s say I was worth $10. People would say, "Who the [expletive] are you?" You understand? They know my statement. Fortune. My book, "The Art of the Deal," based on my fortune. If I didn’t make a fortune, who the [expletive] is going to buy "The Art of the Deal"? That’s why they watched "The Apprentice," because of my great success.
Do you see your bid as similar to Ross Perot’s 1992 maverick presidential campaign?
No. I don’t consider Perot a movement. This is a movement. It’s a different movement than I think you’ve ever seen before. Angry, sad, disappointed, devastated by what’s happened to the country. Mourning. Some of these people who’ve lost their kids to [illegal immigrants], it’s mourning. I spoke to one of the mothers today who came to see me, lost her son five years ago. It was like it was yesterday. Their lives are [expletive] over. She’ll never be happy. This campaign is about making America great again. I copyrighted it.
What the [expletive] else do you have? Are you finished yet?
[Trump turns back to Fox, which is again covering the accused San Francisco killer. "Look at this animal. Now he’s claiming innocence. He’s got the lawyer now," Trump said. He stands up and opens another Coke, not to go on the record again.]
© 2015 The Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-politics/wp/2015/07/12/listening-to-donald-trump-swear-and-talk-politics-on-his-private-plane/ [with comments]
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Trump Tramples Facts
Posted on June 16, 2015 | Corrected on June 17, 2015
Real estate developer Donald Trump [ http://www.factcheck.org/person/donald-trump/ ]’s speech announcing he is running for the Republican nomination [the first item in the posts two posts back at/see (linked in) http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=115142239 and preceding and following] for president contained a number of false and misleading statements on the economy, trade, health care and terrorism:
• Trump claimed that economic growth has “never” been below zero until last quarter’s drop, which is far from true. It has been below zero 42 times since 1946.
• He said “there are no jobs” to be had. In fact, there were 5.4 million job openings recorded at the end of April, the most in 15 years.
• He said the “real” unemployment rate is “anywhere from 18 to 20 percent” and “maybe even 21 percent.” We see no factual basis for this opinion.
• He boasted he would have blocked new Ford plants in Mexico by threatening to impose a 35 percent tax on vehicles and parts made in Mexico and shipped to the U.S. But only Congress can impose taxes and such a tax would violate the North American Free Trade Agreement.
• Trump claimed the five Taliban leaders exchanged for Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl “are now back on the battlefield trying to kill us.” But all five remain in Qatar, where they continue to be monitored and are subject to a travel ban, according to the State Department.
• He also made the misleading claim that health care premium costs are going “up 29, 39, 49 and even 55 percent.” He’s talking about some proposed rate increases on the individual market that still need regulatory approval. There are also proposed rate decreases or single-digit increases that did not have to be submitted for review.
On the Economy
Trump, who gave his speech [ http://www.c-span.org/video/?326473-1/donald-trump-presidential-campaign-announcement ] in the lobby of Trump Tower in New York City, becomes the 12th Republican [ http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2016/us/elections/2016-presidential-candidates.html ] to officially join the race. The billionaire developer [ http://www.forbes.com/profile/donald-trump/ ] promised strong leadership and savvy economic stewardship. But he went too far in talking down the present state of the economy.
GDP: Trump said, “Last quarter, it was just announced, our gross domestic product – a sign of strength, right? But not for us. It was below zero. Who ever heard of this? It’s never below zero.” That’s pure nonsense.
Actually, the quarterly change in real GDP has been below zero 42 times [ http://bea.gov/iTable/iTableHtml.cfm?reqid=9&step=3&isuri=1&904=2013&903=1&906=q&905=2015&910=x&911=1 ] since 1946, including a drop exactly one year before the most recent one.
Trump was referring to the 0.7 percent drop in the annualized rate of real (inflation-adjusted) GDP growth that Commerce Department statisticians reported on May 29 [ https://www.bea.gov/newsreleases/national/gdp/gdpnewsrelease.htm ]. The drop came as no surprise [ http://blogs.wsj.com/economics/2015/02/12/winter-snow-weighs-on-first-quarter-gdp/ ], given the record snowfall that paralyzed Boston [ http://www.nbcchicago.com/weather/stories/big-snowstorm-on-the-way-290422801.html ] and much of the Northeast in February, and the near-record snow that covered the Chicago area [ http://www.nbcchicago.com/weather/stories/big-snowstorm-on-the-way-290422801.html ] and much of the Midwest. There had been an even bigger, 2.1 percent drop in the January-March quarter of 2014, also attributed partly to bad weather [ https://www.pnc.com/content/dam/pnc-com/pdf/aboutpnc/EconomicReports/NEO%20Reports/NEO_JuneJuly2014.pdf ].
Currently, all indications are that growth has resumed at a modest pace. The Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta estimated on June 16 [ https://www.frbatlanta.org/-/media/Documents/cqer/researchcq/gdpnow/RealGDPTrackingSlides.pdf ] that real GDP is increasing this quarter at an annual rate of 1.9 percent [ https://www.frbatlanta.org/cqer/research/gdpnow.aspx ], while the “Blue Chip” consensus of private economists falls in the 2 percent to 4 percent range.
Opinions can differ on whether the current growth rate represents “strength” or not. And we’re not sure how seriously Trump meant his “never” comment to be taken, even though he repeated it for emphasis. In any case, it’s not true.
“No jobs”: Trump said, “A lot of people up there can’t get jobs. They can’t get jobs. Because there are no jobs.”
Actually, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on June 9 that the number of job openings at the end of April had increased to 5.4 million [ http://www.bls.gov/news.release/archives/jolts_06092015.htm ], the most job openings since the bureau began tracking them in December 2000 [ http://data.bls.gov/timeseries/JTS00000000JOL ].
The previous record came in January 2001. The new record is 1.1 million higher than the number of job openings recorded in November 2007, the month before the Great Recession of 2007-2009 [ http://www.nber.org/cycles.html ] began. And the number of openings has more than doubled — increasing by 3.2 million — since hitting the low point in July 2009.
“Real” Unemployment: Trump said, “[O]ur real unemployment [rate] is anywhere from 18 to 20 percent. Don’t believe the 5.6. Don’t believe it. … The real number is anywhere from 18 to 19 and maybe even 21 percent.”
We see no factual basis for this claim. Trump is going well beyond the exaggeration that Mitt Romney made [ http://www.factcheck.org/2012/02/whats-the-real-jobless-rate/ ] during the 2012 campaign that the “real” unemployment rate was 15 percent. And back then, the official rate was 8.3 percent, compared with the current rate — which is actually 5.5 percent [ http://data.bls.gov/timeseries/LNS14000000 ], not the 5.6 percent Trump cited.
Romney was referring to an alternative measure that is meant as the broadest measure of under-employment. That measure — called “U-6? — adds in people who have part-time jobs but are looking for full-time work, “discouraged workers [ http://www.bls.gov/cps/lfcharacteristics.htm#discouraged ]” who aren’t looking for work because they don’t believe jobs are available, and all others “marginally attached” to the workforce, meaning those who say they want to work and would work if offered a job, and who have looked for work sometime within the past year but not within the last four weeks. (Only those who say they have looked for work in the last four weeks are officially counted as unemployed.)
Currently, that U-6 rate stands at 10.8 percent [ http://data.bls.gov/timeseries/LNS13327709 ], well below where it was in 2012, though still not down to the 8.4 percent rate of November 2007, the month before the Great Recession of 2007-2009 [ http://www.nber.org/cycles.html ] began.
So where does Trump get his 18 percent to 21 percent range? The highest number we found from any economist comes from Peter Morici, an economist at the University of Maryland, who has argued that the “real” rate is “at least 18 percent [ http://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/economy-budget/213834-real-unemployment-rate-is-at-least-18-percent ].” In addition to categories included in the U-6 measure, Morici counts what he calls “the effects of immigration.” And he also adds in the “many” students who are being “duped” into applying for “useless programs” at universities and for-profit schools.
“They would likely be in the labor force now but for easy access to federally sponsored loans,” Morici wrote. “Adding in these students, the real unemployment rate among U.S. citizens and permanent residents is at least 18 percent.”
But even that 18 percent estimate is a bit out of date. The U-6 rate has dropped another 1.4 percentage points since his article was published on July 31, 2014. Morici, in a telephone interview, said that if he were to run his calculations again, the “real” rate would likely be “in the range of 15 percent now.”
On Manufacturing Jobs
In April, American automaker Ford announced [ https://media.ford.com/content/fordmedia/fna/us/en/news/2015/04/17/ford-announces-2-5-billion-usd-investment.html ] that it was putting $2.5 billion into building new engine and transmission plants in Mexico. The company said that it expects the deal will bring 3,800 new direct jobs to that country.
But Trump believes this is bad for the U.S., and said that as president, he would impose a huge tax on Ford vehicles and parts manufactured in Mexico and shipped to the U.S.
“Every car and every truck and every part manufactured in this plant that comes across the border, we’re going to charge you a 35 percent tax, and that tax is going to be paid simultaneously with the transaction, and that’s it,” he said.
But only Congress [ http://www.annenbergclassroom.org/page/article-i-section-7 ], not the president, can impose taxes. And Trump’s tax proposal would likely run afoul of current international trade agreements.
“Mr. Trump’s tax would violate the current North American Free Trade Agreement, NAFTA, for most cars and car parts sourced from Mexico,” wrote Sean McAlinden [ http://www.cargroup.org/?module=Page&sID=sean-mcalinden-bio ], chief economist and executive vice president of research for the Center for Automotive Research [ http://www.cargroup.org/ ], in an email to us.
McAlinden said that under NAFTA, new vehicles and parts containing 60 percent North American manufacturing content are allowed tariff free access to all three countries.
He added that Trump’s proposal “may also violate WTO (World Trade Organization) agreements signed by the U.S. that do not allow an increase in a tariff once it has been lowered except as an anti-dumping fine (which must be proven).”
But McAlinden noted that Congress could possibly vote to revoke NAFTA and vote to withdraw from the WTO. And as president, Trump could sign that legislation into law.
Trump isn’t alone in wanting to make it tougher for U.S. companies to move operations outside the country. The AFL-CIO union has also argued [ http://www.aflcio.org/Issues/Trade/NAFTA/NAFTA-Made-Outsourcing-Easy ] that NAFTA, instead of boosting American jobs, has “made outsourcing to Mexico much more attractive for U.S. companies.”
Even so, Trump’s proposal to tax Ford wouldn’t be as simple as picking up the phone and threatening the CEO with a huge import tax.
On the Taliban Five
Trump claimed the five Taliban leaders exchanged for Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl “are now back on the battlefield trying to kill us.” But all five remain in Qatar, where they continue to be monitored and are subject to a travel ban, according to the State Department. A department spokeswoman says none of them has returned to the battlefield.
Trump argued that President Obama is a “bad negotiator” based on the deal the president approved to swap Bergdahl for five Taliban figures detained at Guantanamo Bay. Bergdahl, who was held captive by the Taliban for five years after wandering away from his base in Afghanistan, was charged [ http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/checkpoint/wp/2015/03/25/bowe-bergdahl-once-missing-u-s-soldier-charged-with-desertion/ ] on March 25 with desertion and misbehaving before the enemy.
Trump, June 16: He [Obama] is the one that did Bergdahl. We get Bergdahl, they get five killer terrorists that everybody wanted over there. We get Bergdahl. We get a traitor. We get a no-good traitor, and they get the five people that they wanted for years, and those people are now back on the battlefield trying to kill us. That’s the negotiator we have.
As part of the exchange, the five Taliban leaders were taken to Qatar, with the understanding that they would be monitored for a year and would be subject to a travel ban. That yearlong travel ban/monitoring was extended [ http://www.voanews.com/content/qatar-extends-travel-ban-for-taliban-released-from-guantanamo/2802593.html ] at the end of May, and no date was provided [ http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/dpb/2015/06/243057.htm ] for when those restrictions might be lifted.
In January, CNN reported [ http://www.cnn.com/2015/01/29/politics/bergdahl-swap-prisoner-militant-activity/ ] that according to multiple U.S. military and intelligence officials, one of the so-called Taliban Five “has attempted to return to militant activity from his current location in Qatar by making contact with suspected Taliban associates in Afghanistan.” And on March 25, Fox News, citing an unnamed “government official familiar with the intelligence,” reported [ http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2015/03/25/official-at-least-3-members-taliban-5-trying-to-reconnect-with-terror-networks/ ] that “[a]t least three of the five Taliban leaders traded last year for Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl have tried to plug back into their old terror networks.”
State Department officials, however, have vehemently contested the claim that any of the men have rejoined the battlefield.
“Well, what I can say since their release is that none of the five individuals has returned to the battlefield,” State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf said at a June 5 press briefing [ http://m.state.gov/md243249.htm#QATAR ]. “All five men are subject to a travel ban and none have left Qatar. None of the individuals has engaged in physical violence. Many actions have been taken to restrict their activities, of course. And so I know there was a lot of discussion about this earlier about their possible re-engagement, and none of the five have returned to the battlefield.”
Harf told us via email that nothing has changed in the two weeks since she made that statement.
On Health Care
Trump made the misleading claim that health care premium “costs are going for people up 29, 39, 49 and even 55 percent.” He’s talking about proposed rate increases for 2016 for some plans on the individual market, but it’s unclear whether such increases will be approved by state insurance regulators. And other plans have proposed decreases in rates, or single-digit increases that didn’t have to be submitted for review.
The Affordable Care Act requires [ http://www.cms.gov/CCIIO/Resources/Fact-Sheets-and-FAQs/rate_review_fact_sheet.html ] insurers to submit any proposed rate increase above 10 percent for individual and small-group market plans to state and federal regulators for review. Insurers must publicly disclose the proposed increases and explain why they are necessary.
These plans would be sold on the state and federal exchanges, as well as through insurance brokers for individuals buying their own plans. Most Americans get their insurance coverage through work, and their premiums have been rising at low rates for the past few years.
The average annual family-plan premium for employer-sponsored policies went up 3 percent from 2013 to 2014, according to the latest annual employer survey from the nonprofit Kaiser Family Foundation and Health Research & Educational Trust [ http://kff.org/health-costs/report/2014-employer-health-benefits-survey/ ]. The press release on the survey [ http://kff.org/private-insurance/press-release/employer-sponsored-family-health-premiums-rise-3-percent-in-2014/ ] noted: “Premiums increased more slowly over the past five years than the preceding five years (26 percent vs. 34 percent) and well below the annual double-digit increases recorded in the late 1990s and early 2000s.”
But the individual market is different, and how premiums can be priced has changed under the ACA. Insurers must now accept anyone who wants insurance, and they can’t charge policyholders more based on health status. Plans also must cover certain minimum benefit standards.
In early June, as the Associated Press explained [ http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2015/06/01/us/ap-us-health-insurance-2016-prices.html ], the federal government released the rate increase proposals for the individual market, and indeed, some of them are quite high. “Dozens of health insurers say higher-than-expected care costs and other expenses blindsided them this year, and they’re going to have to hike premiums for individual policies well-beyond 10 percent for 2016,” the AP reported, citing a 26 percent increase sought by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina, and about 20 percent increases proposed by plans in Illinois, Florida and other states.
Trump cites a 55 percent increase, and, in fact, there are plans that have requested increases that high, and even above. In New Mexico, one Blue Cross Blue Shield plan is proposing a 65 percent increase; the same plan decreased its premium rate by nearly 2 percent for 2015. Another New Mexico BCBS plan that dropped rates by 2.37 percent for 2015 is seeking a 58.75 percent increase for next year. This information is available on HealthCare.gov [ https://ratereview.healthcare.gov/#urrresults?U2FsdGVkX1%2BXoGWZJfa%2FGt1ouLOpKN6KFxq2LarZjitnfP84dVslwWJcvlwdPVOaTizDsOn4lgXUaxVzmJQS8w%3D%3D ], where people can search for their specific health plan [ https://ratereview.healthcare.gov/#search ] to see if their insurer has proposed an increase above 10 percent.
Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Mexico said that “the main driver” of the proposed increase is that the claims were “significantly higher than expected.”
Minnesota is another state in which some plans are requesting very high increases, above 50 percent. Other plans in the state have proposed increases around 20 percent or 10 percent.
The actual rate increases could be lower. As the AP story said, “Regulators in many states have the power to reject price increases, and many who don’t are expected to at least pressure insurers to soften their plans.”
Some states, like New Mexico and Minnesota, also are experiencing more extreme proposals than others. In Ohio, for instance, only two of the 16 rate request increases exceed 20 percent [ https://ratereview.healthcare.gov/#urrresults?U2FsdGVkX1%2ByrU8UIvrDHQ2%2BdD6ToIKNW3Bt5kdS7zhAsFp5zgt7y1o0qkicgmtHzNAsqd6olhSMfhyOGRZUMywun%2FoeN4S%2Fwv3vs2QUdxfpO6yo390EVINGT%2FzSxIdd ].
And, again, these proposals only include plans that are seeking increases above 10 percent. The Indianapolis Star published a story on June 15 [ http://www.indystar.com/story/news/politics/2015/06/11/obamacare-premiums-drop-indiana/71077884/ ], showing that four of the nine insurance companies on the ACA exchange in Indiana are proposing to decrease premiums for 2016, some by double-digit percentages. Anthem of Indianapolis, which does the most business on the exchange for the state, has proposed a 3.8 percent rate increase.
Individuals also can switch to lower-cost plans. As we wrote last year [ http://www.factcheck.org/2014/11/the-great-premium-debate-continues/ ], the New York Times analyzed [ http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/15/us/politics/cost-of-coverage-under-affordable-care-act-to-increase-in-2015.html ] premium data for the exchanges for 2015 and found that many who stuck with the same plan could see increases, as high as 20 percent. But not if they shopped around. “In a typical county, the price will rise 5 percent for the cheapest silver plan and 4 percent for the second cheapest,” the Times wrote.
— Brooks Jackson, D’Angelo Gore, Robert Farley and Lori Robertson
Correction, June 17: In our original article we identified Peter Morici as a Fox News contributor. He is not a paid Fox News contributor. We also erred in saying Morici had overstated the U-6 measure. He did not. We failed to note that “immigration” was among the factors he was citing in addition to U-6. We regret these errors.
© Copyright 2015 FactCheck.org (emphasis in original)
http://www.factcheck.org/2015/06/trump-tramples-facts/ , http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=usO-Pbm2BKE [as embedded; with comments]
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Fact-checking Donald Trump: How he gets a lot of things wrong. (+video)
Billionaire developer and TV personality Donald Trump is known for generating outrage when commenting on just about anything, most recently immigration. Now that he’s a presidential candidate, fact-checkers are examining his rhetorical record.
By Brad Knickerbocker
July 11, 2015
Billionaire developer and reality TV personality Donald Trump has been getting the cold-shoulder treatment from the Republican establishment, especially most of the other presidential hopefuls, for his controversial remarks about immigration.
But the veracity of his assertions – not just on immigration but on a wide range of issues – is being tested by fact-checkers as well.
In a blistering op-ed piece [ http://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/10/opinion/not-like-us.html ] about the reemergence of anti-immigration thought similar to the Know Nothing movement of the 19th century, Timothy Egan of The New York Times takes on Trump and conservative political commentator Ann Coulter, whose latest book is titled “¡Adios, America! The Left’s Plan to Turn Our Country Into a Third World Hellhole.”
Egan points to a Pew Research Center report [ http://www.pewhispanic.org/2012/04/23/net-migration-from-mexico-falls-to-zero-and-perhaps-less/ ] concluding that “the net migration flow from Mexico to the United States has stopped and may have reversed.”
According to Pew, “The standstill appears to be the result of many factors, including the weakened U.S. job and housing construction markets, heightened border enforcement, a rise in deportations, the growing dangers associated with illegal border crossings, the long-term decline in Mexico’s birth rates and broader economic conditions in Mexico.”
Egan also cites National Bureau of Economic Research data showing that “poor immigrants are less likely to take advantage of free government help than citizens.”
As for Trump’s controversial remark about many Mexican immigrants being violent criminals, including “rapists,” that too is questionable. (“They’re bringing drugs,” Trump said in announcing his presidential bid last month. “They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists.”)
“The Congressional Research Service [ http://fas.org/sgp/crs/homesec/R42057.pdf ] found that the vast majority of unauthorized immigrants do not fit in the category that fits Trump’s description: aggravated felons, whose crimes include murder, drug trafficking or illegal trafficking of firearms,” The Washington Post reports [ http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/fact-checker/wp/2015/07/08/donald-trumps-false-comments-connecting-mexican-immigrants-and-crime/ ]. “CRS also found that non-citizens make up a smaller percentage of the inmate population in state prisons and jails, compared to their percentage to the total U.S. population.”
Based on an analysis of data from the FBI, the US Census Bureau, and other agencies, the American Immigration Council reports [ http://immigrationpolicy.org/special-reports/criminalization-immigration-united-states ]:
“A variety of different studies using different methodologies have found that immigrants are less likely than the native-born to engage in either violent or nonviolent ‘antisocial’ behaviors; that immigrants are less likely than the native-born to be repeat offenders among ‘high risk’ adolescents; and that immigrant youth who were students in U.S. middle and high schools in the mid-1990s and are now young adults have among the lowest delinquency rates of all young people.”
While Trump’s incendiary comments about immigrants have gotten the most attention, his rhetorical forays into military policy and national security have triggered pushback as well.
In order to defeat ISIS, Trump says he would “bomb the hell” out of oil fields in Iraq.
"If I win [the presidential election], I would attack those oil sites that are controlled and owned – they are controlled by ISIS," Trump said. "I wouldn't send many troops because you won't need 'em by the time I'm done."
Military experts say that would do more harm than good, CNN reports [ http://www.cnn.com/2015/07/10/politics/donald-trump-fact-check-bomb-oil-fields-iraq/index.html ], because it would make it more difficult for Iraq to rebuild once ISIS is defeated.
"You're destroying the infrastructure of Iraq, you're not really doing much to hurt ISIS," retired Lt. Col. Rick Francona said. "At some future point those oil fields will have to help regenerate Iraq."
"You have to understand the issues a little bit better than just bombing things," says Lt. Gen. Mark Hertling, another CNN military analyst.
Cynics may believe that “truth in politics” can never be firmly established. But a number of institutions and organizations give it a try, including Pulitzer Prize winner PolitiFact, an independent fact-checking journalism website. Here’s how they grade [ http://www.politifact.com/personalities/donald-trump/ ] 23 of Donald Trump’s statements: Two are true; three are half true; two are mostly false; ten are false; and six are “pants on fire.”
Among the Trump statements rated false are those having to do with public approval rates on abortion, the US unemployment rate, the enrollment rate for the Affordable Care Act, the amount President Obama has spent defending lawsuits regarding his birth certificate, the reliability of the US nuclear arsenal, whether South Korea pays for US troops based there, who buys Libyan oil, and the fact that his book “The Art of the Deal” is “the number one selling business book of all time.”
PolitiFact also debunks several Trump statements on immigration.
For his questionable and downright false assertions about immigration, the Post’s fact-checker feature [ http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/fact-checker/about-the-fact-checker/ ] awards Trump “Four Pinocchios,” defined as “Whoppers.”
“Trump’s repeated statements about immigrants and crime underscore a common public perception that crime is correlated with immigration, especially illegal immigration,” writes [ http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/fact-checker/wp/2015/07/08/donald-trumps-false-comments-connecting-mexican-immigrants-and-crime/ ] the Post’s Michelle Ye Hee Lee. “But that is a misperception; no solid data support it, and the data that do exist negate it. Trump can defend himself all he wants, but the facts just are not there.”
Meanwhile, most Republicans are distancing themselves as rapidly as possible from Trump’s comments on immigration.
On Saturday, Trump is scheduled to speak to an event at the Phoenix Convention Center hosted by the Republican Party of Maricopa County and featuring Sheriff Joe Arpaio, another outspoken opponent of most immigration.
US Sens. John McCain and Jeff Flake and Gov. Doug Ducey, all Republicans, are shunning the event, reports The Arizona Republic [ http://www.azcentral.com/story/news/arizona/politics/2015/07/10/trump-shunned-arizona-gop-establishment-phoenix-visit/29949337/ ].
"Donald Trump's views are coarse, ill-informed and inaccurate, and they are not representative of the Republican Party," said Sen. Flake. "As an elected Republican official, I'm disappointed the county party would host a speaker that so damages the party's image."
In addition to the media sniping and fact-checking watchdogs, Trump has seen some of his many business ties broken as a result of his comments on immigration. Does he care about any of this? Apparently not.
© 2015 The Christian Science Monitor
http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Politics/Decoder/2015/0711/Fact-checking-Donald-Trump-How-he-gets-a-lot-of-things-wrong.-video [with embedded video report]
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Real Time with Bill Maher: Ann Coulter on Immigration (HBO)
Published on Jun 19, 2015 by Real Time with Bill Maher [ http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCy6kyFxaMqGtpE3pQTflK8A / http://www.youtube.com/user/RealTime , http://www.youtube.com/user/RealTime/videos ]
Bill Maher and panelists Rep. Luis Gutiérrez, Ann Coulter, Joy Reid and Matt Lewis discuss America’s immigration policy in this clip from June 19, 2015.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tW0GowO_MaM [with comments]
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Lindsey Graham Laments Trump 'Hijacking' GOP With Immigration Comments
BOONE, IOWA -- Republican presidential hopeful Senator Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) speaks at a Roast and Ride event hosted by freshman Senator Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) on June 6, 2015 in Boone, Iowa.
(Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)
By Arthur Delaney
Posted: 07/12/2015 11:35 am EDT Updated: 07/12/2015 2:59 pm EDT
WASHINGTON -- Republican presidential hopeful Sen. Lindsey Graham (S.C.) complained Sunday that Donald Trump's presidential candidacy is hurting the Republican party.
Trump spent his Saturday continuing to trash Mexican immigrants [ http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/07/11/donald-trump-immigration_n_7777058.html ], whom he has described as rapists and criminals.
"I think he's uninformed about the situation regarding the illegal immigrant population," Graham said on CNN's "State of the Union [ http://www.cnn.com/2015/07/12/politics/donald-trump-lindsey-graham-wrecking-ball/ ]." "I think he has hijacked the debate. I think he is a wrecking ball for the future of the Republican party with the Hispanic community and we need to push back."
Graham trails Trump in early polling and is more moderate on immigration than Trump and other GOP presidential candidates.
He said Trump's ascendancy could potentially discredit the whole party.
"This is a defining moment in the future of the Republican party," Graham said. "We can't worry about what Donald Trump might do. We have to focus on what we should do. And as a party, we should reject what he says because it's not true. And if we don't reject it we've lost the moral authority, in my view, to govern this country."
Latino voters strongly favor Democrats [ http://www.pewhispanic.org/2014/11/07/hispanic-voters-in-the-2014-election/ ], but Trump has claimed immigrants love him [ http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/07/08/donald-trump-latino-vote_n_7754098.html ]. He said Saturday [ http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/07/11/donald-trump-immigration_n_7777058.html ] that undocumented Mexican immigrants "wreak havoc on our population."
Copyright ©2015 TheHuffingtonPost.com, Inc.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/07/12/lindsey-graham-donald-trump_n_7779564.html [with comments]
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Real Time with Bill Maher: Donald Trump Is the White Kanye (HBO)
Published on Jun 26, 2015 by Real Time with Bill Maher
Bill Maher and panelists Kristen Soltis Anderson, Mary Katharine Ham, Michael Eric Dyson and Judd Apatow discuss Donald Trump's political future in this clip from June 26, 2015.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oTL-M3e6lq0 [with comments]
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Rupert Murdoch: Donald Trump 'wrong' on immigration
Media mogul Rupert Murdoch had some choice words to tweet to Donald Trump this weekend.
By Mariano Castillo and Brian Stelter, CNN
Updated 12:20 AM ET, Mon July 13, 2015
(CNN)—Media mogul Rupert Murdoch, who is considered a conservative kingmaker as the man behind Fox News, took to Twitter Sunday with a swipe at Donald Trump's recent comments on illegal immigration.
Trump's campaign to be the Republican presidential candidate has swelled in support and media attention following his controversial remarks about the threat posed by undocumented immigrants in the United States.
He sparked outrage by saying that some people crossing the border from Mexico were "rapists" and "criminals."
The comments found support among some, but also a pile of criticism. A slew of corporations, including Macy's, NBC and ESPN, responded to his inflammatory remarks by severing business ties with the real estate magnate.
And on Sunday, the influential Murdoch added his voice to the chorus.
"Mexican immigrants, as with all immigrants, have much lower crime rate than native born," Murdoch wrote on a verified Twitter account. He cited El Paso as one of the safest cities, and added, "Trump wrong."
Rupert Murdoch
@rupertmurdoch
Mexican immigrants, as with all immigrants, have much lower crime rates than native born. Eg El Paso safest city in U.S. Trump wrong.
5:03 PM - 12 Jul 2015
[ https://twitter.com/rupertmurdoch/status/620352927807377408 ]
Murdoch's voice is one of the most influential in the Republican party -- his tweets are picked apart for clues about who he might be backing and, just as important, who he might be opposing.
Murdoch's tweet comes at a time when media commentators of all stripes are struggling to figure out what to say and how to feel about Trump.
It's almost palpable on Fox News. Some hours, they're leaning in, embracing the controversial candidate's ratings-grabbing comments, other times they're expressing skepticism and avoiding giving him too much attention.
Trump used to be a regular, weekly guest on Fox News' morning show, that only ended when he declared for president.
Murdoch sent a second tweet challenging Trump's claims.
"So FBI says 267000 illegal aliens incarcerated. Who are the other two million presently incarcerated?" Murdoch tweeted.
Rupert Murdoch
@rupertmurdoch
So FBI says 267000 illegal aliens incarcerated. Who are the other two million presently incarcerated? Seems like social breakdown.
5:35 PM - 12 Jul 2015
[ https://twitter.com/rupertmurdoch/status/620360889380638720 ]
Other government figures have provided a lower estimate, such as a 2013 Bureau of Judicial Statistics report [ http://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/p13.pdf ] that said there were about 73,600 noncitizens in federal and state prison.
A 2011 report by the Government Accountability Office [ http://www.gao.gov/assets/320/316959.pdf ] estimated there were 249,000 noncitizens incarcerated. According to that report, about 65% were charged with an immigration violation.
Related:
Immigrants and crime: Crunching the numbers
http://www.cnn.com/2015/07/08/politics/immigrants-crime/
© 2015 Cable News Network. Turner Broadcasting System, Inc.
http://www.cnn.com/2015/07/12/politics/rupert-murdoch-trump-tweets/index.html
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Published on Jul 10, 2015 by PSB Satellite [ http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCEu3KY-hNCbWVCXrqQfPB9w / http://www.youtube.com/user/psb2usa , http://www.youtube.com/user/psb2usa/videos ]
FULL RAW UNEDITED
Donald Trump California Press Conference with the families of people killed by illegal aliens.
Los Angeles 7/10/15
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bsokVoqSOA8 [with comments] [also at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UDqaFTWgfR4 (with comments)]
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THE SIMPSONS | Trumptastic Voyage | ANIMATION on FOX
Published on Jul 7, 2015 by Animation Domination [ http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCRT4LEdCBC_Zxincl76B0yQ / http://www.youtube.com/user/ANIMATIONonFOX , http://www.youtube.com/user/ANIMATIONonFOX/videos ]
A close encounter with Donald Trump's hairpiece sends Homer on an extraordinary journey.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oz7_JP7ROvA [with comments]
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Donald Trump Full FreedomFest Speech
Published on Jul 11, 2015 by PSB Satellite
Donald Trump's Full FreedomFest Speech.
Las Vegas 7/11/15
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f3hGCLZ156Q [with comments]
*
Donald Trump Full Press Conference after Freedomfest Speech
Published on Jul 11, 2015 by PSB Satellite
Donald Trump takes questions at Press Conference after his FreedomFest Speech today in Las Vegas NV.
7/11/15
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V7qst0wAxzU [with comments]
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Steve Martin and Martin Short with surprise guest-- David Letterman!!
Published on Jul 10, 2015 by Jeanie Engler [ http://www.youtube.com/channel/UC180YfoYaL1ZEshPXmEOd0g , http://www.youtube.com/channel/UC180YfoYaL1ZEshPXmEOd0g/videos ]
Top Ten Interesting Facts About Donald Trump
July 10, 2015 Majestic Theater in San Antonio, Tx
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lfuXYh-BFoc [with comments]
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LIVE: Donald Trump's #StandWithTrumpAZ Phoenix Event on Illegal Immigration
Streamed live on Jul 11, 2015 by FOX 10 Phoenix [ http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJg9wBPyKMNA5sRDnvzmkdg , http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJg9wBPyKMNA5sRDnvzmkdg/videos ]
LIVE coverage of the #StandWithTrumpAZ event! GOP Presidential hopeful Donald Trump will give a speech on illegal immigration among other topics at The Phoenix Convention Center in Phoenix, Arizona. Due to high ticket demand, Trump was forced to move the event from The Biltmore Resort. We will have live coverage inside and outside of the venue. From #StandWithTrumpAZ enthusiasts to #DumpTrump protesters.
Sheriff Joe Arpaio's appearance begins at the 48:50 mark and concludes at the 58:25 mark.
Previously-recorded Fox 10 phone call with Trump begins at the 1:04:30 mark and concludes at the 1:13:30 mark.
Trump's appearance (including the following press conference) begins at the 1:44:10 mark and concludes at the 3:18:40 mark.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yMQYzKhsnGM [with (over 24,000) comments] [Trump's speech only also at e.g. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rDtvk9GRrpQ (with comments), http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ls3m7NUOqxs (with comments), and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fUtx5smgQZM (with comments)]
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Listening to Donald Trump swear and talk politics on his private plane
Donald Trump's Boeing 757 prepares to leave Las Vegas on Saturday on the way to an immigration-themed rally in Phoenix.
(Robert Costa/Washington Post)
Monogram on a headrest inside Donald Trump's private Boeing 757 airliner.
(Robert Costa/Washington Post)
The pilots on Donald Trump's private 757 en route to Phoenix on Saturday.
(Robert Costa/Washington Post)
Donald Trump makes his infamous "You're fired!" gesture during a recent campaign speech.
(REUTERS/Dominick Reuter/Files)
By Robert Costa
July 12, 2015 at 4:30 PM
SOMEWHERE ABOVE THE AMERICAN SOUTHWEST — It was Saturday night aboard Donald Trump’s gleaming Boeing 757. An hour earlier, he had finished the most high-profile speech of his nearly month-old presidential campaign: a rally attended by thousands in Phoenix where he railed against illegal immigration and countless other targets — Macy's, NBC, NASCAR, U.S. Ambassador to Japan Caroline Kennedy — for 70 minutes. The billionaire real-estate mogul took off his jacket, clicked the oversized satellite television in his plush, cream-colored cabin over to Fox News and closely watched the channel’s coverage.
As shadowy images of Hispanic immigrants and criminal mug shots were interspersed with his remarks, Trump, 69, turned gleeful. "The only reason they’re talking about this is because of me," he said. "Look at that crowd, fantastic," he added. He sat down in his leather chair. His eponymous crest was woven into the headrest, and his plane was 30,000 feet above the border he had called so porous that illegal immigrants are able to "flow in like water."
In an expletive-laden interview over soft drinks — Trump sips from a small plastic bottle of Coca-Cola — the celebrity contender said he has no plans to change the way he’s running for the Republican nomination, which combines his trademark showmanship, an outsider-populist credo that resists ideological categorization and incendiary comments that have thrilled conservative activists.
Trump was most animated when analyzing the way the news media covered him and dishing with aides about the articles they had printed out. He was less excited discussing the process of presidential politics. When asked about the coming debate, set for Aug. 6 in Cleveland, he shrugged and said, “Whatever.” When asked about calls for him to tone down his fiery pitch, he shrugged again.
Following is a lightly edited transcript:
What’s next?
More of the same, I’ll keep doing my thing. I’ll go around to different places, get great receptivity. I get the biggest crowds. I get the biggest standing ovations. You saw that today, I could have been there for 20 minutes and they would have been cheering. So, you’ll see more of the same, getting the word out.
Will immigration remain your focus?
No. It’s just one of the things. It’s not only immigration. It’s about trade. They go hand in hand. Immigration is one of the things you have to do. I’m also a moralist. You heard what I said today about health care. I said, I’m sorry, folks, but we have to take care people that don’t have money. I know it’s not the conservative thing to say, but I got a standing ovation — and these were very conservative people. We can’t let people down when they can’t get any medical care, when they’re sick and don’t have money to go to a doctor. You help them.
So Trump has a heart?
A big heart, let me tell you. Too big.
When did you decide to seize on immigration and make it the thrust of your campaign?
They gave it to me. It wasn’t a big part of my announcement speech — a small paragraph. The Democrats and the enemies lined up and they criticized me for one line where I said Mexico is sending — I said Mexico is sending. I didn’t say people are coming over and they’re bad people. They would leave off the ‘Mexico is sending’ part, chop it and say I said ‘rapists’ when talking about people.
But when you use a word like rapist . . .
It is a very rough word. It’s okay to use.
[Eyeing the television, Trump gets up to watch another Fox News segment about his Arizona gathering. "Jeanine Pirro, let’s see what she has to say about me," he said as he settled into his couch. When a picture of the Mexican laborer accused of killing a San Francisco woman is put on screen, Trump said: "Look at that guy, look at what he did, killing that beautiful girl. [Expletive] animal." He returned several minutes later to continue the interview.]
Are you looking forward to the debate?
No, not one way or the other. Whatever. I don’t look forward or not look forward. It is what it is.
When are you going to file your financial disclosure with the Federal Election Commission?
This week. Do you think Jeb Bush [the former Florida governor] is going to file his statement? I don’t know what’s going on. I just heard it today that he hasn’t filed. I assume he would have been filed. His should be simple, you know, in comparison to mine. I have so many companies and corporations.
Many Republican officials have asked you to tone down your immigration comments. It doesn’t seem like you’re listening to their advice.
I respect the people in the Republican Party, but this is a very important issue and it can’t be toned down. It’s an issue that wants to be silenced. Remember I told you the story about the guy they were going after, that killer, and when they heard he was he was an illegal immigrant it was like he was protected? If he were a citizen, they’d put him in jail for life.
How did you come up with “the silent majority” as a theme for your Saturday speech?
I was just thinking about it today. When I heard about this overwhelming — I’m telling you, it was 500 people at the start and the hotel called us begging to be released. They said they never had anything like this and we had to move the venue. I said to myself, 'That’s the silent majority.'
You don’t care about the Nixon overtones?
Nah. Nobody remembers that. Oh, is that why people stopped using [the phrase]? Maybe. Nobody thinks of Nixon. I don’t think of Nixon when I think of the silent majority. The silent majority today, they’re going to vote for Trump. Remember, many Republicans didn’t vote for Mitt Romney. He didn’t inspire people. They’re going to vote for me. And I’ll also get the Hispanics, you watch.
What do they see in you?
They see somebody who’s going to turn the country around — somebody who has the ability to turn this country around. They’re tired of the incompetence. When you see my [financial] statement, you’ll be very impressed. That’s why it’s important. Let’s say I was worth $10. People would say, "Who the [expletive] are you?" You understand? They know my statement. Fortune. My book, "The Art of the Deal," based on my fortune. If I didn’t make a fortune, who the [expletive] is going to buy "The Art of the Deal"? That’s why they watched "The Apprentice," because of my great success.
Do you see your bid as similar to Ross Perot’s 1992 maverick presidential campaign?
No. I don’t consider Perot a movement. This is a movement. It’s a different movement than I think you’ve ever seen before. Angry, sad, disappointed, devastated by what’s happened to the country. Mourning. Some of these people who’ve lost their kids to [illegal immigrants], it’s mourning. I spoke to one of the mothers today who came to see me, lost her son five years ago. It was like it was yesterday. Their lives are [expletive] over. She’ll never be happy. This campaign is about making America great again. I copyrighted it.
What the [expletive] else do you have? Are you finished yet?
[Trump turns back to Fox, which is again covering the accused San Francisco killer. "Look at this animal. Now he’s claiming innocence. He’s got the lawyer now," Trump said. He stands up and opens another Coke, not to go on the record again.]
© 2015 The Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-politics/wp/2015/07/12/listening-to-donald-trump-swear-and-talk-politics-on-his-private-plane/ [with comments]
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Trump Tramples Facts
Posted on June 16, 2015 | Corrected on June 17, 2015
Real estate developer Donald Trump [ http://www.factcheck.org/person/donald-trump/ ]’s speech announcing he is running for the Republican nomination [the first item in the posts two posts back at/see (linked in) http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=115142239 and preceding and following] for president contained a number of false and misleading statements on the economy, trade, health care and terrorism:
• Trump claimed that economic growth has “never” been below zero until last quarter’s drop, which is far from true. It has been below zero 42 times since 1946.
• He said “there are no jobs” to be had. In fact, there were 5.4 million job openings recorded at the end of April, the most in 15 years.
• He said the “real” unemployment rate is “anywhere from 18 to 20 percent” and “maybe even 21 percent.” We see no factual basis for this opinion.
• He boasted he would have blocked new Ford plants in Mexico by threatening to impose a 35 percent tax on vehicles and parts made in Mexico and shipped to the U.S. But only Congress can impose taxes and such a tax would violate the North American Free Trade Agreement.
• Trump claimed the five Taliban leaders exchanged for Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl “are now back on the battlefield trying to kill us.” But all five remain in Qatar, where they continue to be monitored and are subject to a travel ban, according to the State Department.
• He also made the misleading claim that health care premium costs are going “up 29, 39, 49 and even 55 percent.” He’s talking about some proposed rate increases on the individual market that still need regulatory approval. There are also proposed rate decreases or single-digit increases that did not have to be submitted for review.
On the Economy
Trump, who gave his speech [ http://www.c-span.org/video/?326473-1/donald-trump-presidential-campaign-announcement ] in the lobby of Trump Tower in New York City, becomes the 12th Republican [ http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2016/us/elections/2016-presidential-candidates.html ] to officially join the race. The billionaire developer [ http://www.forbes.com/profile/donald-trump/ ] promised strong leadership and savvy economic stewardship. But he went too far in talking down the present state of the economy.
GDP: Trump said, “Last quarter, it was just announced, our gross domestic product – a sign of strength, right? But not for us. It was below zero. Who ever heard of this? It’s never below zero.” That’s pure nonsense.
Actually, the quarterly change in real GDP has been below zero 42 times [ http://bea.gov/iTable/iTableHtml.cfm?reqid=9&step=3&isuri=1&904=2013&903=1&906=q&905=2015&910=x&911=1 ] since 1946, including a drop exactly one year before the most recent one.
Trump was referring to the 0.7 percent drop in the annualized rate of real (inflation-adjusted) GDP growth that Commerce Department statisticians reported on May 29 [ https://www.bea.gov/newsreleases/national/gdp/gdpnewsrelease.htm ]. The drop came as no surprise [ http://blogs.wsj.com/economics/2015/02/12/winter-snow-weighs-on-first-quarter-gdp/ ], given the record snowfall that paralyzed Boston [ http://www.nbcchicago.com/weather/stories/big-snowstorm-on-the-way-290422801.html ] and much of the Northeast in February, and the near-record snow that covered the Chicago area [ http://www.nbcchicago.com/weather/stories/big-snowstorm-on-the-way-290422801.html ] and much of the Midwest. There had been an even bigger, 2.1 percent drop in the January-March quarter of 2014, also attributed partly to bad weather [ https://www.pnc.com/content/dam/pnc-com/pdf/aboutpnc/EconomicReports/NEO%20Reports/NEO_JuneJuly2014.pdf ].
Currently, all indications are that growth has resumed at a modest pace. The Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta estimated on June 16 [ https://www.frbatlanta.org/-/media/Documents/cqer/researchcq/gdpnow/RealGDPTrackingSlides.pdf ] that real GDP is increasing this quarter at an annual rate of 1.9 percent [ https://www.frbatlanta.org/cqer/research/gdpnow.aspx ], while the “Blue Chip” consensus of private economists falls in the 2 percent to 4 percent range.
Opinions can differ on whether the current growth rate represents “strength” or not. And we’re not sure how seriously Trump meant his “never” comment to be taken, even though he repeated it for emphasis. In any case, it’s not true.
“No jobs”: Trump said, “A lot of people up there can’t get jobs. They can’t get jobs. Because there are no jobs.”
Actually, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on June 9 that the number of job openings at the end of April had increased to 5.4 million [ http://www.bls.gov/news.release/archives/jolts_06092015.htm ], the most job openings since the bureau began tracking them in December 2000 [ http://data.bls.gov/timeseries/JTS00000000JOL ].
The previous record came in January 2001. The new record is 1.1 million higher than the number of job openings recorded in November 2007, the month before the Great Recession of 2007-2009 [ http://www.nber.org/cycles.html ] began. And the number of openings has more than doubled — increasing by 3.2 million — since hitting the low point in July 2009.
“Real” Unemployment: Trump said, “[O]ur real unemployment [rate] is anywhere from 18 to 20 percent. Don’t believe the 5.6. Don’t believe it. … The real number is anywhere from 18 to 19 and maybe even 21 percent.”
We see no factual basis for this claim. Trump is going well beyond the exaggeration that Mitt Romney made [ http://www.factcheck.org/2012/02/whats-the-real-jobless-rate/ ] during the 2012 campaign that the “real” unemployment rate was 15 percent. And back then, the official rate was 8.3 percent, compared with the current rate — which is actually 5.5 percent [ http://data.bls.gov/timeseries/LNS14000000 ], not the 5.6 percent Trump cited.
Romney was referring to an alternative measure that is meant as the broadest measure of under-employment. That measure — called “U-6? — adds in people who have part-time jobs but are looking for full-time work, “discouraged workers [ http://www.bls.gov/cps/lfcharacteristics.htm#discouraged ]” who aren’t looking for work because they don’t believe jobs are available, and all others “marginally attached” to the workforce, meaning those who say they want to work and would work if offered a job, and who have looked for work sometime within the past year but not within the last four weeks. (Only those who say they have looked for work in the last four weeks are officially counted as unemployed.)
Currently, that U-6 rate stands at 10.8 percent [ http://data.bls.gov/timeseries/LNS13327709 ], well below where it was in 2012, though still not down to the 8.4 percent rate of November 2007, the month before the Great Recession of 2007-2009 [ http://www.nber.org/cycles.html ] began.
So where does Trump get his 18 percent to 21 percent range? The highest number we found from any economist comes from Peter Morici, an economist at the University of Maryland, who has argued that the “real” rate is “at least 18 percent [ http://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/economy-budget/213834-real-unemployment-rate-is-at-least-18-percent ].” In addition to categories included in the U-6 measure, Morici counts what he calls “the effects of immigration.” And he also adds in the “many” students who are being “duped” into applying for “useless programs” at universities and for-profit schools.
“They would likely be in the labor force now but for easy access to federally sponsored loans,” Morici wrote. “Adding in these students, the real unemployment rate among U.S. citizens and permanent residents is at least 18 percent.”
But even that 18 percent estimate is a bit out of date. The U-6 rate has dropped another 1.4 percentage points since his article was published on July 31, 2014. Morici, in a telephone interview, said that if he were to run his calculations again, the “real” rate would likely be “in the range of 15 percent now.”
On Manufacturing Jobs
In April, American automaker Ford announced [ https://media.ford.com/content/fordmedia/fna/us/en/news/2015/04/17/ford-announces-2-5-billion-usd-investment.html ] that it was putting $2.5 billion into building new engine and transmission plants in Mexico. The company said that it expects the deal will bring 3,800 new direct jobs to that country.
But Trump believes this is bad for the U.S., and said that as president, he would impose a huge tax on Ford vehicles and parts manufactured in Mexico and shipped to the U.S.
“Every car and every truck and every part manufactured in this plant that comes across the border, we’re going to charge you a 35 percent tax, and that tax is going to be paid simultaneously with the transaction, and that’s it,” he said.
But only Congress [ http://www.annenbergclassroom.org/page/article-i-section-7 ], not the president, can impose taxes. And Trump’s tax proposal would likely run afoul of current international trade agreements.
“Mr. Trump’s tax would violate the current North American Free Trade Agreement, NAFTA, for most cars and car parts sourced from Mexico,” wrote Sean McAlinden [ http://www.cargroup.org/?module=Page&sID=sean-mcalinden-bio ], chief economist and executive vice president of research for the Center for Automotive Research [ http://www.cargroup.org/ ], in an email to us.
McAlinden said that under NAFTA, new vehicles and parts containing 60 percent North American manufacturing content are allowed tariff free access to all three countries.
He added that Trump’s proposal “may also violate WTO (World Trade Organization) agreements signed by the U.S. that do not allow an increase in a tariff once it has been lowered except as an anti-dumping fine (which must be proven).”
But McAlinden noted that Congress could possibly vote to revoke NAFTA and vote to withdraw from the WTO. And as president, Trump could sign that legislation into law.
Trump isn’t alone in wanting to make it tougher for U.S. companies to move operations outside the country. The AFL-CIO union has also argued [ http://www.aflcio.org/Issues/Trade/NAFTA/NAFTA-Made-Outsourcing-Easy ] that NAFTA, instead of boosting American jobs, has “made outsourcing to Mexico much more attractive for U.S. companies.”
Even so, Trump’s proposal to tax Ford wouldn’t be as simple as picking up the phone and threatening the CEO with a huge import tax.
On the Taliban Five
Trump claimed the five Taliban leaders exchanged for Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl “are now back on the battlefield trying to kill us.” But all five remain in Qatar, where they continue to be monitored and are subject to a travel ban, according to the State Department. A department spokeswoman says none of them has returned to the battlefield.
Trump argued that President Obama is a “bad negotiator” based on the deal the president approved to swap Bergdahl for five Taliban figures detained at Guantanamo Bay. Bergdahl, who was held captive by the Taliban for five years after wandering away from his base in Afghanistan, was charged [ http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/checkpoint/wp/2015/03/25/bowe-bergdahl-once-missing-u-s-soldier-charged-with-desertion/ ] on March 25 with desertion and misbehaving before the enemy.
Trump, June 16: He [Obama] is the one that did Bergdahl. We get Bergdahl, they get five killer terrorists that everybody wanted over there. We get Bergdahl. We get a traitor. We get a no-good traitor, and they get the five people that they wanted for years, and those people are now back on the battlefield trying to kill us. That’s the negotiator we have.
As part of the exchange, the five Taliban leaders were taken to Qatar, with the understanding that they would be monitored for a year and would be subject to a travel ban. That yearlong travel ban/monitoring was extended [ http://www.voanews.com/content/qatar-extends-travel-ban-for-taliban-released-from-guantanamo/2802593.html ] at the end of May, and no date was provided [ http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/dpb/2015/06/243057.htm ] for when those restrictions might be lifted.
In January, CNN reported [ http://www.cnn.com/2015/01/29/politics/bergdahl-swap-prisoner-militant-activity/ ] that according to multiple U.S. military and intelligence officials, one of the so-called Taliban Five “has attempted to return to militant activity from his current location in Qatar by making contact with suspected Taliban associates in Afghanistan.” And on March 25, Fox News, citing an unnamed “government official familiar with the intelligence,” reported [ http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2015/03/25/official-at-least-3-members-taliban-5-trying-to-reconnect-with-terror-networks/ ] that “[a]t least three of the five Taliban leaders traded last year for Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl have tried to plug back into their old terror networks.”
State Department officials, however, have vehemently contested the claim that any of the men have rejoined the battlefield.
“Well, what I can say since their release is that none of the five individuals has returned to the battlefield,” State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf said at a June 5 press briefing [ http://m.state.gov/md243249.htm#QATAR ]. “All five men are subject to a travel ban and none have left Qatar. None of the individuals has engaged in physical violence. Many actions have been taken to restrict their activities, of course. And so I know there was a lot of discussion about this earlier about their possible re-engagement, and none of the five have returned to the battlefield.”
Harf told us via email that nothing has changed in the two weeks since she made that statement.
On Health Care
Trump made the misleading claim that health care premium “costs are going for people up 29, 39, 49 and even 55 percent.” He’s talking about proposed rate increases for 2016 for some plans on the individual market, but it’s unclear whether such increases will be approved by state insurance regulators. And other plans have proposed decreases in rates, or single-digit increases that didn’t have to be submitted for review.
The Affordable Care Act requires [ http://www.cms.gov/CCIIO/Resources/Fact-Sheets-and-FAQs/rate_review_fact_sheet.html ] insurers to submit any proposed rate increase above 10 percent for individual and small-group market plans to state and federal regulators for review. Insurers must publicly disclose the proposed increases and explain why they are necessary.
These plans would be sold on the state and federal exchanges, as well as through insurance brokers for individuals buying their own plans. Most Americans get their insurance coverage through work, and their premiums have been rising at low rates for the past few years.
The average annual family-plan premium for employer-sponsored policies went up 3 percent from 2013 to 2014, according to the latest annual employer survey from the nonprofit Kaiser Family Foundation and Health Research & Educational Trust [ http://kff.org/health-costs/report/2014-employer-health-benefits-survey/ ]. The press release on the survey [ http://kff.org/private-insurance/press-release/employer-sponsored-family-health-premiums-rise-3-percent-in-2014/ ] noted: “Premiums increased more slowly over the past five years than the preceding five years (26 percent vs. 34 percent) and well below the annual double-digit increases recorded in the late 1990s and early 2000s.”
But the individual market is different, and how premiums can be priced has changed under the ACA. Insurers must now accept anyone who wants insurance, and they can’t charge policyholders more based on health status. Plans also must cover certain minimum benefit standards.
In early June, as the Associated Press explained [ http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2015/06/01/us/ap-us-health-insurance-2016-prices.html ], the federal government released the rate increase proposals for the individual market, and indeed, some of them are quite high. “Dozens of health insurers say higher-than-expected care costs and other expenses blindsided them this year, and they’re going to have to hike premiums for individual policies well-beyond 10 percent for 2016,” the AP reported, citing a 26 percent increase sought by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina, and about 20 percent increases proposed by plans in Illinois, Florida and other states.
Trump cites a 55 percent increase, and, in fact, there are plans that have requested increases that high, and even above. In New Mexico, one Blue Cross Blue Shield plan is proposing a 65 percent increase; the same plan decreased its premium rate by nearly 2 percent for 2015. Another New Mexico BCBS plan that dropped rates by 2.37 percent for 2015 is seeking a 58.75 percent increase for next year. This information is available on HealthCare.gov [ https://ratereview.healthcare.gov/#urrresults?U2FsdGVkX1%2BXoGWZJfa%2FGt1ouLOpKN6KFxq2LarZjitnfP84dVslwWJcvlwdPVOaTizDsOn4lgXUaxVzmJQS8w%3D%3D ], where people can search for their specific health plan [ https://ratereview.healthcare.gov/#search ] to see if their insurer has proposed an increase above 10 percent.
Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Mexico said that “the main driver” of the proposed increase is that the claims were “significantly higher than expected.”
Minnesota is another state in which some plans are requesting very high increases, above 50 percent. Other plans in the state have proposed increases around 20 percent or 10 percent.
The actual rate increases could be lower. As the AP story said, “Regulators in many states have the power to reject price increases, and many who don’t are expected to at least pressure insurers to soften their plans.”
Some states, like New Mexico and Minnesota, also are experiencing more extreme proposals than others. In Ohio, for instance, only two of the 16 rate request increases exceed 20 percent [ https://ratereview.healthcare.gov/#urrresults?U2FsdGVkX1%2ByrU8UIvrDHQ2%2BdD6ToIKNW3Bt5kdS7zhAsFp5zgt7y1o0qkicgmtHzNAsqd6olhSMfhyOGRZUMywun%2FoeN4S%2Fwv3vs2QUdxfpO6yo390EVINGT%2FzSxIdd ].
And, again, these proposals only include plans that are seeking increases above 10 percent. The Indianapolis Star published a story on June 15 [ http://www.indystar.com/story/news/politics/2015/06/11/obamacare-premiums-drop-indiana/71077884/ ], showing that four of the nine insurance companies on the ACA exchange in Indiana are proposing to decrease premiums for 2016, some by double-digit percentages. Anthem of Indianapolis, which does the most business on the exchange for the state, has proposed a 3.8 percent rate increase.
Individuals also can switch to lower-cost plans. As we wrote last year [ http://www.factcheck.org/2014/11/the-great-premium-debate-continues/ ], the New York Times analyzed [ http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/15/us/politics/cost-of-coverage-under-affordable-care-act-to-increase-in-2015.html ] premium data for the exchanges for 2015 and found that many who stuck with the same plan could see increases, as high as 20 percent. But not if they shopped around. “In a typical county, the price will rise 5 percent for the cheapest silver plan and 4 percent for the second cheapest,” the Times wrote.
— Brooks Jackson, D’Angelo Gore, Robert Farley and Lori Robertson
Correction, June 17: In our original article we identified Peter Morici as a Fox News contributor. He is not a paid Fox News contributor. We also erred in saying Morici had overstated the U-6 measure. He did not. We failed to note that “immigration” was among the factors he was citing in addition to U-6. We regret these errors.
© Copyright 2015 FactCheck.org (emphasis in original)
http://www.factcheck.org/2015/06/trump-tramples-facts/ , http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=usO-Pbm2BKE [as embedded; with comments]
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Fact-checking Donald Trump: How he gets a lot of things wrong. (+video)
Billionaire developer and TV personality Donald Trump is known for generating outrage when commenting on just about anything, most recently immigration. Now that he’s a presidential candidate, fact-checkers are examining his rhetorical record.
By Brad Knickerbocker
July 11, 2015
Billionaire developer and reality TV personality Donald Trump has been getting the cold-shoulder treatment from the Republican establishment, especially most of the other presidential hopefuls, for his controversial remarks about immigration.
But the veracity of his assertions – not just on immigration but on a wide range of issues – is being tested by fact-checkers as well.
In a blistering op-ed piece [ http://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/10/opinion/not-like-us.html ] about the reemergence of anti-immigration thought similar to the Know Nothing movement of the 19th century, Timothy Egan of The New York Times takes on Trump and conservative political commentator Ann Coulter, whose latest book is titled “¡Adios, America! The Left’s Plan to Turn Our Country Into a Third World Hellhole.”
Egan points to a Pew Research Center report [ http://www.pewhispanic.org/2012/04/23/net-migration-from-mexico-falls-to-zero-and-perhaps-less/ ] concluding that “the net migration flow from Mexico to the United States has stopped and may have reversed.”
According to Pew, “The standstill appears to be the result of many factors, including the weakened U.S. job and housing construction markets, heightened border enforcement, a rise in deportations, the growing dangers associated with illegal border crossings, the long-term decline in Mexico’s birth rates and broader economic conditions in Mexico.”
Egan also cites National Bureau of Economic Research data showing that “poor immigrants are less likely to take advantage of free government help than citizens.”
As for Trump’s controversial remark about many Mexican immigrants being violent criminals, including “rapists,” that too is questionable. (“They’re bringing drugs,” Trump said in announcing his presidential bid last month. “They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists.”)
“The Congressional Research Service [ http://fas.org/sgp/crs/homesec/R42057.pdf ] found that the vast majority of unauthorized immigrants do not fit in the category that fits Trump’s description: aggravated felons, whose crimes include murder, drug trafficking or illegal trafficking of firearms,” The Washington Post reports [ http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/fact-checker/wp/2015/07/08/donald-trumps-false-comments-connecting-mexican-immigrants-and-crime/ ]. “CRS also found that non-citizens make up a smaller percentage of the inmate population in state prisons and jails, compared to their percentage to the total U.S. population.”
Based on an analysis of data from the FBI, the US Census Bureau, and other agencies, the American Immigration Council reports [ http://immigrationpolicy.org/special-reports/criminalization-immigration-united-states ]:
“A variety of different studies using different methodologies have found that immigrants are less likely than the native-born to engage in either violent or nonviolent ‘antisocial’ behaviors; that immigrants are less likely than the native-born to be repeat offenders among ‘high risk’ adolescents; and that immigrant youth who were students in U.S. middle and high schools in the mid-1990s and are now young adults have among the lowest delinquency rates of all young people.”
While Trump’s incendiary comments about immigrants have gotten the most attention, his rhetorical forays into military policy and national security have triggered pushback as well.
In order to defeat ISIS, Trump says he would “bomb the hell” out of oil fields in Iraq.
"If I win [the presidential election], I would attack those oil sites that are controlled and owned – they are controlled by ISIS," Trump said. "I wouldn't send many troops because you won't need 'em by the time I'm done."
Military experts say that would do more harm than good, CNN reports [ http://www.cnn.com/2015/07/10/politics/donald-trump-fact-check-bomb-oil-fields-iraq/index.html ], because it would make it more difficult for Iraq to rebuild once ISIS is defeated.
"You're destroying the infrastructure of Iraq, you're not really doing much to hurt ISIS," retired Lt. Col. Rick Francona said. "At some future point those oil fields will have to help regenerate Iraq."
"You have to understand the issues a little bit better than just bombing things," says Lt. Gen. Mark Hertling, another CNN military analyst.
Cynics may believe that “truth in politics” can never be firmly established. But a number of institutions and organizations give it a try, including Pulitzer Prize winner PolitiFact, an independent fact-checking journalism website. Here’s how they grade [ http://www.politifact.com/personalities/donald-trump/ ] 23 of Donald Trump’s statements: Two are true; three are half true; two are mostly false; ten are false; and six are “pants on fire.”
Among the Trump statements rated false are those having to do with public approval rates on abortion, the US unemployment rate, the enrollment rate for the Affordable Care Act, the amount President Obama has spent defending lawsuits regarding his birth certificate, the reliability of the US nuclear arsenal, whether South Korea pays for US troops based there, who buys Libyan oil, and the fact that his book “The Art of the Deal” is “the number one selling business book of all time.”
PolitiFact also debunks several Trump statements on immigration.
For his questionable and downright false assertions about immigration, the Post’s fact-checker feature [ http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/fact-checker/about-the-fact-checker/ ] awards Trump “Four Pinocchios,” defined as “Whoppers.”
“Trump’s repeated statements about immigrants and crime underscore a common public perception that crime is correlated with immigration, especially illegal immigration,” writes [ http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/fact-checker/wp/2015/07/08/donald-trumps-false-comments-connecting-mexican-immigrants-and-crime/ ] the Post’s Michelle Ye Hee Lee. “But that is a misperception; no solid data support it, and the data that do exist negate it. Trump can defend himself all he wants, but the facts just are not there.”
Meanwhile, most Republicans are distancing themselves as rapidly as possible from Trump’s comments on immigration.
On Saturday, Trump is scheduled to speak to an event at the Phoenix Convention Center hosted by the Republican Party of Maricopa County and featuring Sheriff Joe Arpaio, another outspoken opponent of most immigration.
US Sens. John McCain and Jeff Flake and Gov. Doug Ducey, all Republicans, are shunning the event, reports The Arizona Republic [ http://www.azcentral.com/story/news/arizona/politics/2015/07/10/trump-shunned-arizona-gop-establishment-phoenix-visit/29949337/ ].
"Donald Trump's views are coarse, ill-informed and inaccurate, and they are not representative of the Republican Party," said Sen. Flake. "As an elected Republican official, I'm disappointed the county party would host a speaker that so damages the party's image."
In addition to the media sniping and fact-checking watchdogs, Trump has seen some of his many business ties broken as a result of his comments on immigration. Does he care about any of this? Apparently not.
© 2015 The Christian Science Monitor
http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Politics/Decoder/2015/0711/Fact-checking-Donald-Trump-How-he-gets-a-lot-of-things-wrong.-video [with embedded video report]
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Real Time with Bill Maher: Ann Coulter on Immigration (HBO)
Published on Jun 19, 2015 by Real Time with Bill Maher [ http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCy6kyFxaMqGtpE3pQTflK8A / http://www.youtube.com/user/RealTime , http://www.youtube.com/user/RealTime/videos ]
Bill Maher and panelists Rep. Luis Gutiérrez, Ann Coulter, Joy Reid and Matt Lewis discuss America’s immigration policy in this clip from June 19, 2015.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tW0GowO_MaM [with comments]
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Lindsey Graham Laments Trump 'Hijacking' GOP With Immigration Comments
BOONE, IOWA -- Republican presidential hopeful Senator Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) speaks at a Roast and Ride event hosted by freshman Senator Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) on June 6, 2015 in Boone, Iowa.
(Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)
By Arthur Delaney
Posted: 07/12/2015 11:35 am EDT Updated: 07/12/2015 2:59 pm EDT
WASHINGTON -- Republican presidential hopeful Sen. Lindsey Graham (S.C.) complained Sunday that Donald Trump's presidential candidacy is hurting the Republican party.
Trump spent his Saturday continuing to trash Mexican immigrants [ http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/07/11/donald-trump-immigration_n_7777058.html ], whom he has described as rapists and criminals.
"I think he's uninformed about the situation regarding the illegal immigrant population," Graham said on CNN's "State of the Union [ http://www.cnn.com/2015/07/12/politics/donald-trump-lindsey-graham-wrecking-ball/ ]." "I think he has hijacked the debate. I think he is a wrecking ball for the future of the Republican party with the Hispanic community and we need to push back."
Graham trails Trump in early polling and is more moderate on immigration than Trump and other GOP presidential candidates.
He said Trump's ascendancy could potentially discredit the whole party.
"This is a defining moment in the future of the Republican party," Graham said. "We can't worry about what Donald Trump might do. We have to focus on what we should do. And as a party, we should reject what he says because it's not true. And if we don't reject it we've lost the moral authority, in my view, to govern this country."
Latino voters strongly favor Democrats [ http://www.pewhispanic.org/2014/11/07/hispanic-voters-in-the-2014-election/ ], but Trump has claimed immigrants love him [ http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/07/08/donald-trump-latino-vote_n_7754098.html ]. He said Saturday [ http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/07/11/donald-trump-immigration_n_7777058.html ] that undocumented Mexican immigrants "wreak havoc on our population."
Copyright ©2015 TheHuffingtonPost.com, Inc.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/07/12/lindsey-graham-donald-trump_n_7779564.html [with comments]
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Real Time with Bill Maher: Donald Trump Is the White Kanye (HBO)
Published on Jun 26, 2015 by Real Time with Bill Maher
Bill Maher and panelists Kristen Soltis Anderson, Mary Katharine Ham, Michael Eric Dyson and Judd Apatow discuss Donald Trump's political future in this clip from June 26, 2015.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oTL-M3e6lq0 [with comments]
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Rupert Murdoch: Donald Trump 'wrong' on immigration
Media mogul Rupert Murdoch had some choice words to tweet to Donald Trump this weekend.
By Mariano Castillo and Brian Stelter, CNN
Updated 12:20 AM ET, Mon July 13, 2015
(CNN)—Media mogul Rupert Murdoch, who is considered a conservative kingmaker as the man behind Fox News, took to Twitter Sunday with a swipe at Donald Trump's recent comments on illegal immigration.
Trump's campaign to be the Republican presidential candidate has swelled in support and media attention following his controversial remarks about the threat posed by undocumented immigrants in the United States.
He sparked outrage by saying that some people crossing the border from Mexico were "rapists" and "criminals."
The comments found support among some, but also a pile of criticism. A slew of corporations, including Macy's, NBC and ESPN, responded to his inflammatory remarks by severing business ties with the real estate magnate.
And on Sunday, the influential Murdoch added his voice to the chorus.
"Mexican immigrants, as with all immigrants, have much lower crime rate than native born," Murdoch wrote on a verified Twitter account. He cited El Paso as one of the safest cities, and added, "Trump wrong."
Rupert Murdoch
@rupertmurdoch
Mexican immigrants, as with all immigrants, have much lower crime rates than native born. Eg El Paso safest city in U.S. Trump wrong.
5:03 PM - 12 Jul 2015
[ https://twitter.com/rupertmurdoch/status/620352927807377408 ]
Murdoch's voice is one of the most influential in the Republican party -- his tweets are picked apart for clues about who he might be backing and, just as important, who he might be opposing.
Murdoch's tweet comes at a time when media commentators of all stripes are struggling to figure out what to say and how to feel about Trump.
It's almost palpable on Fox News. Some hours, they're leaning in, embracing the controversial candidate's ratings-grabbing comments, other times they're expressing skepticism and avoiding giving him too much attention.
Trump used to be a regular, weekly guest on Fox News' morning show, that only ended when he declared for president.
Murdoch sent a second tweet challenging Trump's claims.
"So FBI says 267000 illegal aliens incarcerated. Who are the other two million presently incarcerated?" Murdoch tweeted.
Rupert Murdoch
@rupertmurdoch
So FBI says 267000 illegal aliens incarcerated. Who are the other two million presently incarcerated? Seems like social breakdown.
5:35 PM - 12 Jul 2015
[ https://twitter.com/rupertmurdoch/status/620360889380638720 ]
Other government figures have provided a lower estimate, such as a 2013 Bureau of Judicial Statistics report [ http://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/p13.pdf ] that said there were about 73,600 noncitizens in federal and state prison.
A 2011 report by the Government Accountability Office [ http://www.gao.gov/assets/320/316959.pdf ] estimated there were 249,000 noncitizens incarcerated. According to that report, about 65% were charged with an immigration violation.
Related:
Immigrants and crime: Crunching the numbers
http://www.cnn.com/2015/07/08/politics/immigrants-crime/
© 2015 Cable News Network. Turner Broadcasting System, Inc.
http://www.cnn.com/2015/07/12/politics/rupert-murdoch-trump-tweets/index.html
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Greensburg, KS - 5/4/07
"Eternal vigilance is the price of Liberty."
from John Philpot Curran, Speech
upon the Right of Election, 1790
F6
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