During the public portion of Trump’s first cabinet meeting, Vice President Pence set the tone for the unusual 11-minute spectacle that followed, praising Trump while he sat smiling. Each of Trump’s cabinet members took turns offering praise and thanks.
The Washington Post – Praise for the chief – Trump’s cabinet tells him it’s an ‘honor’ and ‘blessing’ to serve
The New York Times – Trump Is Praised — by the Cabinet He Appointed
Trump had previously asserted by tweet that President Obama had placed an illegal “tapp” on Trump, but provided no evidence.
In an interview held in the Oval Office with CBS’ John Dickerson, when asked to elaborate on his claims, Trump abruptly ended the interview.
RESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: — and I thought that — well, you saw what happened with surveillance. And I think that was inappropriate, but that’s the way–
JOHN DICKERSON: What does that mean, sir?
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: You can figure that out yourself.
JOHN DICKERSON: Well, I– the reason I ask is you said he was– you called him “sick and bad”.
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: Look, you can figure it out yourself. He was very nice to me with words, but– and when I was with him — but after that, there has been no relationship.
JOHN DICKERSON: But you stand by that claim about him?
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: I don’t stand by anything. I just– you can take it the way you want. I think our side’s been proven very strongly. And everybody’s talking about it. And frankly it should be discussed. I think that is a very big surveillance of our citizens. I think it’s a very big topic. And it’s a topic that should be number one. And we should find out what the hell is going on.
JOHN DICKERSON: I just wanted to find out, though. You’re– you’re the president of the United States. You said he was “sick and bad” because he had tapped you– I’m just–
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: You can take– any way. You can take it any way you want.
JOHN DICKERSON: But I’m asking you. Because you don’t want it to be–
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: You don’t–
JOHN DICKERSON: –fake news. I want to hear it from–
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: You don’t have to–
JOHN DICKERSON: –President Trump.
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: –ask me. You don’t have to ask me.
JOHN DICKERSON: Why not?
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: Because I have my own opinions. You can have your own opinions.
JOHN DICKERSON: But I want to know your opinions. You’re the president of the United States.
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: Okay, it’s enough. Thank you. Thank you very much.
Time – President Trump Suddenly Ends Interview When Asked About Obama Wiretapping Claim
CNN Money – Trump abruptly ends interview with CBS’ Dickerson after wiretapping questions
CBS News – President Trump’s interview in the Oval Office: Full Transcript
The talking points in question were various disparaging remarks about four Congressional lawmakers Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (N.Y.), Ilhan Omar (Minn.), Ayanna Pressley (Mass.), and Rashida Tlaib (Mich.). While his tweet claimed there were no talking points prepared, clear pictures of them surfaced. He had also said the four women, despite being US citizens, should “go back” to their own countries, and said that they were “incapable of loving America.”
Additionally, the upper right corner of the page had the words, “some people,” and “alcaida” prominently hand-written. The former is a common justification that Trump uses (e.g. “I’m intelligent. Some people would say I’m very, very, very intelligent”), while the latter appears to be a misspelling of Al-Qaeda. Trump has also misspelled his officials’ name, his wife’s name, and his own name.
The Week – Trump claims he didn’t have ‘talking points’ to degrade Rep. Ilhan Omar. Here’s a picture of him holding them.
Newsweek – DONALD TRUMP FALSELY CLAIMS HE DIDN’T HAVE ‘TALKING POINTS’ ON MINORITY CONGRESSWOMEN, DESPITE PHOTOS
Trump doubled the price of membership to Mar-a-Lago to $200,000 shortly after the election. The tour of Air Force One raises questions about the line between the President’s private businesses and the Trump administration.
The Hill – Members of Trump’s private clubs may have been invited to tour Air Force One: report
There has yet been no evidence provided to support the claims about Obama illegally wiretapping Trump.
Trump abruptly ended a subsequent interview when asked to elaborate.
The raid was one of the first high-profile military actions of the administration. Trump was reportedly told that the proposal had been considered too aggressive by Obama before he signed off on it. It led to the death of a Navy SEAL, 23 civilians including an 8 year old girl, and the crash of a $90 million aircraft.
This was the first direct American intervention in Yemen, which had been in the middle of a civil war.
US Senator John McCain referred to it as botched, and refused to retract the statement despite a request to do so by the White House.
NPR – FACT CHECK: Trump’s Yemen Raid — ‘Winning Mission’ Or ‘Failure’? It’s Not So Simple
Politico – McCain rebuffs White House’s call for apology over Yemen raid
Wikipedia – Raid on Yakla
Trump had previously tweeted about the F-35 program and its exorbitant costs.
During a visit to MacDill AFB in 2017, Trump made a variety of claims. Among them, like how “our Navy is at a point almost as low as World War One – that’s a long time ago, that’s a long time ago,” Trump also claimed “I saved over $700 million when I got involved in the negotiation on the F-35.”
Politico – How Trump got credit for slashing price of fighter jet when he didn’t
Politifact – Trump overstates credit for $700 million in savings for F-35s
Impact 2020 – Trump’s boasts aside, here’s the real reason those F-35s wound up costing less
President Trump was vocal in his support for confiscating guns from individuals considered dangerous, even if it violates due process, the requirement that the state respect to all individual rights.
Trump said,
I like taking the guns early, like in this crazy man’s case that just took place in Florida. He had a lot of firearms. They saw everything. To go to court would have taken a long time. So you could do exactly what you’re saying, but take the guns first, go through due process second.
The Hill – Trump: ‘Take the guns first, go through due process second’
USA Today – Trump says take guns first and worry about ‘due process second’ in White House gun meeting
Trump instituted the tariffs unilaterally, claiming them to be of importance to national security.
The New York Times – Trump’s ‘Bully’ Attack on Trudeau Outrages Canadians
During the freewheeling interview, he railed against Iran and the nuclear deal, distanced himself from the “crazy” Stormy Daniels story and his personal attorney Michael Cohen, and slammed Obama’s handling of North Korea while praising his own. He also spoke about his friendship with Kanye West and boasted about the employment rate of blacks under his administration, noting, “Republicans really did the thing. Lincoln was a Republican.”
The cast looked visibly uncomfortable throughout the last few minutes, during which Trump complained about “how dishonest the news is,” Brian Kilmeade suggested, “I’m not your doctor, Mr. President, but I would recommend you watch less of them.” Trump replied, “well I don’t watch them at all…I watched leakin’ lying Comey last night.” He had sacked James Comey, Director of the FBI, for investigating Russia election interference. He went on to attack the “witch hunt” from the Mueller investigation, and said “I would give myself an A+, no one has done what I’ve been able to do, and I did it despite the fact that I have a phony cloud over my head that doesn’t exist.” Kilmeade finally ended the interview by cutting into a rant about the Justice Department and “crooked” FBI by saying, “we talked to you all day, but it looks like you have a million things to do, but I hope you can join us again.”
Trump has called in several times to Fox & Friends as President, including one that lasted 52 minutes.
The New Yorker – Trump’s stormy morning on “Fox & Friends”
Vanity Fait – Fox & Ffriends hurriedly shuts down interview as Trump rants about Mueller
Politifact – Fact-checking Donald Trump’s interview on Fox & Friends
