said China’s use of concentration camps was “exactly the right thing to do?”

Trump’s former national security advisor, John Bolton, described the exchange in his 2020 book, The Room Where it Happened.

In 2019 conversation between Trump and Chinese President Xi during a G20 meeting, Trump described the detainment and relocation of the Uighur people as “exactly the right thing to do.”

Xinjiang Re-education Camp Lop County.jpg
Uighur detainees in Xinjiang, April 2017. Wikipedia

An estimated 2 to 3 million Uighur Muslims, an ethnic minority in China, are separated from their families and imprisoned across hundreds of concentration camps to undergo re-education and forced labor. Survivors have recounted people being regularly beaten, tortured, and murdered.

China’s Communist Party maintains that such measures are necessary to prevent terrorism.

Trump’s 2020 presidential opponent, Joe Biden, referred to China’s treatment of the Uighur people as genocide.

The Washington Post – Bolton says Trump didn’t just ignore human rights but encouraged China’s concentration camps
Business Insider – Trump told China’s president that building concentration camps for millions of Uighur Muslims was ‘exactly the right thing to do,’ former adviser says
Axios – Biden campaign says China’s treatment of Uighur Muslims is “genocide”
Wikipedia – Uyghurs
Wikipedia – Xinjiang re-education camps

called Tim Cook, CEO of Apple, “Tim Apple”?

On March 6, 2019, Trump referred to the CEO of Apple as “Tim Apple.”

Trump defended the mistake by saying it was done intentionally to save time.

Trump also called national security advisor John Bolton “Mike Bolton,” Vice President Mike Pence “Mike Pounce,” and former Speaker of the House Paul Ryan “Ron.”

The Verge – The president just called the CEO of Apple ‘Tim Apple’
CNBC – Trump says he called Apple’s CEO ‘Tim Apple’ to save time after reportedly telling donors he never said it
USA Today – President Trump calls Apple CEO Tim Cook ‘Tim Apple’ and social media responds to the flub

repeatedly referred to national security advisor John Bolton as “Mike Bolton”?

John Bolton, former George W. Bush ambassador to the United Nations, served as a national security advisor for Trump from April 2018 to September 2019.

Trump repeatedly referred to him as Mike Bolton to aides and in public.

Michael Bolton is a famous singer.

Michael Bolton - The One Thing - Amazon.com Music

Trump also called Apple CEO Tim Cook “Tim Apple,” Vice President Mike Pence “Mike Pounce,” and former Speaker of the House Paul Ryan “Ron.”

Newsweek – ‘Mike Bolton’: Donald Trump’s Relationship With His National Security Adviser Is So Distant That He Sometimes Can’t Remember His Name
The Week – Trump sometimes calls John Bolton ‘Mike’
CNN – Hear President Trump’s latest name flub
PBS – Trump fires national security adviser John Bolton

called his Vice President “Mike Pounce”?

In a September 12, 2019 address to House Republicans in Baltimore, Maryland, Trump accidentally referred to Vice President Mike Pence as “Mike Pounce.”

Trump also called national security advisor John Bolton “Mike Bolton,” former Speaker of the House Paul Ryan “Ron,” and Apple CEO Tim Cook “Tim Apple.”

Business Insider – Trump called his vice president ‘Mike Pounce’ and the internet blew up with memes
The Hill – ‘Mike Pounce’ trends on Twitter after Trump slip at GOP retreat

siphoned billions from the Defense Department to pay for the border wall?

Despite repeatedly claiming that Mexico would pay for the border wall, Trump requested and redirected billions of dollars for funding.

Trump repeatedly ran into funding difficulties through the official budget. The federal government shut down for 35 days starting in December 2018 when Trump refused to sign any funding bill that didn’t include money for the wall.

In March 2019, The Department of Defense is shifting $1 billion from a military personnel account to build a 57-mile fence

In August 2019, a quarter billion dollars were taken from FEMA, the federal organization responsible for disaster response and funding.

In September 2019, The Pentagon announced that 127 military projects would be delayed or suspended in order to provide $3.6 billion in funding for the wall.

In April, 2020, an additional half billion was pulled from overseas military construction projects.

In June 2020, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that $2.5 billion in Defense Department funds were diverted illegally for the wall, as it was without congressional approval.

A private organization that sought to gain additional funding, We Build the Wall, raised approximately $25 million for the effort. In August 2020, longtime Trump ally and chair of the organization Steve Bannon was arrested for fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering.

As of January 2020, from official and redirected funds, $11 billion had been spent on the wall at a cost of approximately $20 million per mile.

NPR – Pentagon Takes $1 Billion From Military Personnel Account To Build Border Fence
US News & World Report – Trump Administration to Redirect FEMA Money to Border
Vanity Fair – Trump Is Using More Pentagon Money to Pay For His Border Wall
Politico – Pentagon pulls money from overseas projects to pay for border wall
Wikipedia – We Build The Wall
NPR – $11 Billion And Counting: Trump’s Border Wall Would Be The World’s Most Costly

allegedly said “only blacks could live this way” about Chicago?

Michael Cohen, Trump’s former personal attorney and fixer, alleged that Trump made a variety of racist remarks. While driving through a struggling Chicago neighborhood, Trump commented that “only the blacks could live this way.” Trump went on to say that they wouldn’t vote for him to be President because of their stupidity.

Cohen faced criminal charges for campaign finance violations regarding his assistance in the Stormy Daniel scandal. He also named Trump as a co-conspirator.

Associated Press – The Latest: Cohen says Trump disparaged black people
Chicago Tribune – To back his claim that Trump is racist, Michael Cohen recounts a story from Chicago
The Independent – Trump said ‘only blacks could live this way’ about Chicago and hates Obama because he’s Black, Michael Cohen claims

repeatedly suggested being President for more than 2 terms?

The Washington Post compiled multiple instances up to 2019, including one in which he expressed admiration for China’s lack of term limits:

Trump retweeted a claim that he should have two years added to his term because of the Mueller investigation.

In a deleted tweet, Trump reiterated the sentiment that two years had been “stollen”:

Twitter Users Bake Donald Trump Over His Deliciously Weird Typo ...

He reiterated the suggestion a month later.

The remarks on additional terms resurfaced as the 2020 election neared. Trump tweeted a meme about his never ending presidency:

On August 17, 2020, Trump said that he wanted a third term because of the Obama administration’s supposed spying on his campaign. The conspiracy theory, often referenced as Obamagate or Spygate, has been debunked.

Trump reiterated the claim on August 24, the first day of the Republican National Convention. He suggested 12 more years “because we caught them doing very bad things in 2016.”

The 22nd Amendment to the Constitution states, “No person shall be elected to the office of the President more than twice.”

Politico – Trump again jokes about extending his term past 2024
Politico – Trump: 2 years of my term were ‘stollen’
News18 – Donald Trump Tweets How Two Years of his Term were ‘Stollen,’ Which Is a German Bread
The Hill – Trump retweets Jerry Falwell Jr. suggesting his term should be extended by two years
Rolling Stone – Trump Says He’ll Seek a Third Term Because ‘They Spied On Me’ 
Wikipedia – Twenty-second Amendment to the United States Constitution

said he would accept foreign help in an election?

In a June 2019 interview with ABC News’ Stephanopoulos, Trump said that he would accept information from foreign governments without reporting it to authorities.

STEPHANOPOULOS: Somebody comes up and says, ‘hey, I have information on your opponent,’ do you call the FBI?”

 

TRUMP: Okay, let’s put yourself in a position: you’re a congressman, somebody comes up and says, “Hey I have information on your opponent.” Do you call the FBI?

 

STEPHANOPOULOS: (inaudible) if it’s coming from Russia you do.

 

TRUMP: I’ll tell you what: I’ve seen a lot of things over my life. I don’t think in my whole life I’ve ever called the FBI. In my whole life. You don’t call the FBI. You throw somebody out of your office, you do whatever you–

 

STEPHANOPOULOS: Al Gore got a stolen briefing book. He called the FBI.

 

TRUMP: Well, that’s different. A stolen briefing book. This isn’t a (inaudible). This is somebody who said “We have information on your opponent.” Oh, let me call the FBI. Give me a break, life doesn’t work that way.

 

STEPHANOPOULOS: The FBI Director says that’s what should happen.

 

TRUMP: The FBI Director is wrong. Because, frankly, it doesn’t happen like that in life…

Trump also took the “extremely strong and powerful” word of Putin over his own intelligence agencies about whether Russia worked to get him elected in 2016, and again dismissed their intelligence about Russia’s assistance in 2020.

ABC News – ‘I think I’d take it’: In exclusive interview, Trump says he would listen if foreigners offered dirt on opponents
ABC News – Transcript: ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos’ exclusive interview with President Trump 
Politico – ‘I think I’d take it’: Trump says he might not report foreign help to FBI in 2020

rolled back Obama-era healthcare and housing protections for transgender people?

With the implementation of the Affordable Healthcare Act, the Obama administration determined that its anti-discrimination measures included matters of gender identity, which it defined as “male, female, neither, or a combination of male and female.”

In 2019, the Trump administration eliminated the provision, allowing for gender discrimination by federal law. The same week, the Trump administration also eliminated anti-discriminatory measures based on gender for federal housing.

The new healthcare rules were finalized in 2020, amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

MSNBC – Trump administration rolls back Obama-era health care protections for transgender people
The Wall Street Journal – Trump Administration Issues Rule to Roll Back Transgender Protections in the Affordable Care Act
NPR – Transgender Health Protections Reversed By Trump Administration
Politico – Trump finalizes rollback of LGBTQ patient protections
HHS.gov – HHS Finalizes Rule on Section 1557 Protecting Civil Rights in Healthcare, Restoring the Rule of Law, and Relieving Americans of Billions in Excessive Costs

hired a press secretary who never gave a press conference during her 9 month tenure?

In July 2019, Stephanie Grisham was selected to replace Sarah Sanders as White House press secretary and communications director. She held the position for 9 months until April 2020, and was the first to hold the position without ever holding a press conference.

Stephanie Grisham.jpg
Stephanie Grisham. Wikipedia

Grisham has been fired from previous jobs for faking expense reports and plagiarism. She also has had two DUIs, the more recent one occurring in 2016, for which she failed to appear in court before ultimately pleading guilty.

Grisham was replaced by Kayleigh McEnany, who was a vocal proponent of the Obama birther conspiracy.

Fox News – First lady spokeswoman Stephanie Grisham named new White House press secretary
CNN – Grisham out as West Wing press secretary without having held a briefing
Wikipedia – Stephanie Grisham

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