Remember when Trump…

called the press “the enemy of the people”?

Trump has repeated the remark several times at rallies, in interviews, and over Twitter, disparaging anything critical as fake news. He has also suggested taking the press credentials of those critical of him.

The New York Times – Trump Calls the News Media the ‘Enemy of the American People’
Business Insider – Trump tweets the media is ‘the enemy of the American People’
The Hill – Trump ramps up rhetoric on media, calls press ‘the enemy of the people’
USA Today – Trump again calls media ‘enemy of the people’

printed out positive articles and tweets to sign and send back to the author?

Throughout his career and Presidency, Trump had aides print out positive articles for him to sign and send to the author.

News article with Trump writing
Politico

Republican Representative and Trump ally Matt Gaetz also said how he received a printout of his own tweet, signed by Trump.

While Trump was known for this even before becoming President, reports depict how it became more problematic while in office. Aides would print cherry-picked articles and tweets for Trump in order to sway his view or opinion, reflecting his Chief of Staffs’ difficulty controlling his media diet.

According to Politico,

“The unofficial channels of sending the president newspaper articles for all kinds of political purposes never ended. It continues,” one person close to the White House said. “It’s a practice that has never been able to be halted and will continue on forever. No chief of staff has been able to stop people around Trump handing him articles to try to influence his opinion.”

Politico – The print reader in chief: Inside Trump’s retro media diet
Business Insider – Trump reportedly prints out tweets about him he likes, signs them, and mails them to the author

called Jeffrey Epstein “a terrific guy”?

Trump also said of Epstein, and “likes beautiful women as much as I do, and many of them are on the younger side.”

Trump's Warm Words for Ghislaine Maxwell: 'I Just Wish Her Well' - The New York Times
Trump and Melania with Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, FL, Feb. 12, 2000. Davidoff Studios / Getty Images

Trump made the comments in a 2002 interview, noting that he’d known Epstein for over a decade. In 2008, Epstein was convicted of procuring an underage girl for prostitution and soliciting a prostitute.

Trump tried to distance himself from the child sex trafficker after his 2019 arrest, saying “I don’t think I’ve spoken to him in 15 years” and that he “was not a fan.” A tape surfaced of them chatting and laughing together at a party from 1992, amid reports of Trump having gone to various Epstein-hosted events, including testimony by Epstein’s brother Mark that Trump had flown on Jeffrey’s plane multiple times. Additionally, one of Epstein’s alleged teenage victims claims to have been recruited from Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort.

After Ghislaine Maxwell was arrested for allegedly helping Epstein traffic children, Trump said “I wish her well.”

New York Magazine – Jeffrey Epstein: International Moneyman of Mystery
The New York Times – Jeffrey Epstein Was a ‘Terrific Guy,’ Donald Trump Once Said. Now He’s ‘Not a Fan.’
The Washington Post – Donald Trump and Jeffrey Epstein partied together. Then an oceanfront Palm Beach mansion came between them.
NBC News – Tape shows Donald Trump and Jeffrey Epstein discussing women at 1992 party
Politico – Unsealed documents detail alleged Epstein victim’s recruitment at Mar-a-Lago

claimed he didn’t know Prince Andrew despite photos together and having called him “a lot of fun”?

Trump was asked about Prince Andrew during a London NATO conference amid revelations of the prince’s history with child sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein. Trump claimed he didn’t know the prince, but that it was “a very tough story.” However, there are various photos of them together and speaking, with the oldest dating to 2000. They were also photographed together 6 months prior at multiple events during another of Trump’s visits to London. Trump had also previously described Prince Andrew as “a lot of fun to be with.”

Trump has also distanced himself from Epstein in the past, despite his having gone to various Epstein-hosted events in the past, and saying of in a 2002 interview that Epstein is “terrific” and “likes beautiful women as much as I do, and many of them are on the younger side.”

Reuters – Trump on Britain’s Prince Andrew: a very tough story
Business Insider – Trump claimed he doesn’t know Prince Andrew. These photos say otherwise.
NBC News – Trump claims he doesn’t know Prince Andrew, but once called him ‘a lot of fun’
New York Magazine – Jeffrey Epstein: International Moneyman of Mystery

pardoned Scooter Libby?

In a 2007 trial, the former Vice President Cheney chief of staff was was found guilty of four felony counts of perjury and obstruction of justice regarding the leak of CIA officer Valerie Plame’s identity.

Scooter Libby.jpg
Irving “Scooter” Libby. Wikipedia

Though President Bush refused to pardon him at the time, Trump did so in 2018. Some political commentators theorized that this was to indicate Trump’s willingness to provide legal cover to allies amid the investigation into Trump’s own obstruction of the Mueller probe into Russian election interference.

Politico – Trump issues pardon for Lewis ‘Scooter’ Libby
The New York Times – Trump Pardons Scooter Libby in a Case That Mirrors His Own

pardoned conservative commentator Dinesh D’Souza?

D’Souza, who served as policy analyst in the Reagan administration, is a prolific conservative commentator and author. He is known for such works as The Big Lie: Exposing the Nazi Roots of the American Left where he makes the academically fallacious claim that Nazism was leftist and that modern American liberals draw their ideology from Nazism. He has also created conservative documentaries, such as the critically panned film 2016: Obama’s America.

About Dinesh D'Souza
Dinesh D’Souza. www.dineshdsouza.com

D’Souza’s past commentary includes defending conditions at prison Abu Ghraib, in which multiple Iraqi prisoners were tortured, claiming it to be comparable to typical Middle Eastern hotels. He was condemned by liberal and conservative commentators alike for mocking the survivors of the Stoneman Douglas High School shooting.

In 2014, he pleaded guilty to making $20,000 in illegal contributions to the New York Senate campaign of Wendy Long, who ultimately lost to Senator Kirsten Gillibrand. Trump pardoned him of the crime in 2018.

The New York Times – A Look at Dinesh D’Souza, Pardoned by Trump
The Atlantic – Dinesh D’Souza and the Decline of Conservatism: Under President Trump, the most outrageous and aggrieved polemicists are thriving.
USA Today – Trump pardons Dinesh D’Souza — and might do the same for Rod Blagojevich and Martha Stewart
Wikipedia – Dinesh D’Souza

pardoned Joe Arpaio, who was convicted for illegally detaining immigrants?

The former Arizona sheriff had become infamous for running Tent City, known for its harsh conditions and being what Arpaio himself referred to as “a concentration camp.” The resources put into detaining immigrants also sapped county resources, leading to a backlog of various other violent crimes.

Arpaio was convicted of contempt for violating a judge’s order preventing him from detaining immigrants based on racial profiling and their legal status. Though he was unlikely to serve any jail time, Trump issued a pardon. The pardon was controversial in how it eschewed tradition, including any layers of review or even a formal application by Arpaio.

Arpaio later ran for US Senate, but lost the primary. In an interview during his campaign, he seemed to be unaware that acceptance of a pardon is tantamount to an admission of guilt, per the US Supreme Court finding in Burdick v. United States.

USA Today – Analysis: Trump’s bold Joe Arpaio pardon breaks with presidential tradition
The New York Times – Trump Pardons Joe Arpaio, Who Became Face of Crackdown on Illegal Immigration
NPR – Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio Under Fire For Mishandled Sex-Crime Cases
Wikipedia – Burdick v. United States
Wikipedia – Pardon of Joe Arpaio
Wikipedia – Joe Arpaio

pardoned a soldier convicted of murdering an unarmed and naked Iraqi prisoner?

The soldier, Army 1st Lt. Michael Behenna, had captured the prisoner in a raid where an arms cache was also discovered. The prisoner was held by military intelligence in connection to a roadside bomb that had killed two soldiers. No evidence was found connecting the prisoner to the bomb, and he was ordered released. While returning the prisoner, Behenna claimed that he sought to question him further. He stripped the prisoner of his clothes and shot him.

Behenna was convicted of murder and sentenced to 25 years, and received parole after 5 in 2014. Trump’s pardon removes all prior restrictions from his parole.

NPR – Trump Pardons Michael Behenna, Former Soldier Convicted Of Killing Iraqi Prisoner
USA Today – ACLU blasts Trump’s pardon of soldier Michael Behenna as ‘endorsement of a murder’
Wikipedia – Michael Behenna

pardoned two soldiers convicted of war crimes?

Trump announced the pardons in November, 2019.

One soldier, Maj. Mathew L. Golsteyn, killed an unarmed Afghan that he suspected of being a bomb-maker. He was convicted of second-degree murder.

The other, 1st Lt. Clint Lorance, gave orders to open fire on unarmed Afghan civilians, resulting in two deaths. He was sentenced to 19 years in prison.

Neither intervention was welcomed by military leaders. Defense Secretary Mark Esper warned that this would undermine the military code of justice.

Trump has also intervened on behalf of other soldiers convicted of war crimes, including a Navy SEAL whose own unit had turned against him.

A year later, Trump pardoned four former Blackwater contractors convicted of perpetrating a massacre.

USA Today -Trump pardons service members in high profile war crimes cases
The New York Times – Trump Clears Three Service Members in War Crimes Cases

claimed that he is “in a struggle for the survival of democracy in America” at a rally in which he attacked various political enemies?

Trump spent some 40 minutes attacking his various enemies at a Minneapolis rally. He accused the Washington establishment of pillaging America, despite being in power for three years and himself constituting the establishment. He called Democrats “very sick,” and said Nancy Pelosi is “either really stupid or she’s really lost it.”

He again made claims about the Biden family, calling Hunter Biden a loser, and saying of his father Joe Biden, “He was only a good vice president because he understood how to kiss Barack Obama’s ass.” He denounced recent surveys and news reports about the White House as “crooked” and bad for America.

Trump targeted the Mueller investigation and FBI agents Lisa Page and Peter Strzok, mimicking them their amorous relationship: “‘Oh, I love you so much. I love you, Peter!’ ‘I love you too, Lisa! Lisa, I love you. Lisa, Lisa! Oh God, I love you, Lisa.’”

He also targeted the more recent inquiry into his withholding military aid from Ukraine in exchange for political favors, saying, “The do-nothing Democrat extremists have gone so far to the left that they believe it should not be a crime to cross our border illegally and that it should be a crime to have a totally appropriate, casual, beautiful, accurate phone call with a foreign leader.”

Finally, Trump targeted the mayor of the host city, as well as the state’s freshman US Representative Ilhan-Omar, who he called an “America-hating socialist.”

The New York Times – At Minneapolis Rally, an Angry Trump Reserves Sharpest Attack for Biden
Politico – ‘These people are sick’: Trump’s ire against Washington boils over
Newsweek – Nancy Pelosi is ‘either really stupid or she’s really lost it,’ says Trump in fiery Minneapolis political rally

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