Jul 30, 2020:
Trump tweeted the following:
With Universal Mail-In Voting (not Absentee Voting, which is good), 2020 will be the most INACCURATE & FRAUDULENT Election in history. It will be a great embarrassment to the USA. Delay the Election until people can properly, securely and safely vote???
Source:
Ewing, Philip. (July 30, 2020). "Trump Floats Delaying The Election. It Would Require A Change In Law". NPR. Retrieved 2020-07-30.
Read what factcheck.org has to say about Trump's tweet and voter fraud here.
The Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank, has a web page entitled "A Sampling of Recent Election Fraud Cases from Across the United States" which I suggest you take a look at.
Jul 19, 2020:
Trump sat down with Fox News host Chris Wallace for an interview.
Regarding the killing of George Floyd:
WALLACE:
Meanwhile, the George Floyd murder has reignited the issue of racism in policing in this country. I want to give you a couple of statistics. Nationwide blacks are twice as likely, fewer in absolute numbers, but in terms of per capita, blacks are twice as likely to be shot and killed by police as whites are. In Minneapolis, over the last five years, police used force against blacks at a rate seven times that against whites. Can you understand why blacks would be angry at that?
TRUMP:
Of course I do. Of course I do. Many whites are killed also. You have to say that. I mean, many, many whites are killed. I hate the sad – but this is going on for decades. This is going on for a long time, long before I got here. You know, if you look at what’s gone on in Portland, those are anarchists and we’ve taken a very tough stand. If we didn't take a stand in Portland, you know we’ve arrested many of these leaders. If we didn't take that stand, right now you would have a problem like you, you – they were going to lose Portland. So let's see...what this says here: Prosecutions, sanctuary cities, incentivize illegal aliens, expand asylum, abolish immigration detention...
Regarding healthcare:
TRUMP:
Pre-existing conditions will always be taken care of by me and Republicans, 100 percent.
WALLACE:
But you've been in office three and a half years, you don't have a plan.
TRUMP:
Well, we haven't had. Excuse me. You heard me yesterday. We're signing a health care plan within two weeks, a full and complete health care plan that the Supreme Court decision on DACA gave me the right to do. So we're going to solve -- we're going to sign an immigration plan, a health care plan, and various other plans. And nobody will have done what I'm doing in the next four weeks. The Supreme Court gave the president of the United States powers that nobody thought the president had, by approving, by doing what they did -- their decision on DACA. And DACA's going to be taken care of also. But we're getting rid of it because we're going to replace it with something much better. What we got rid of already, which was most of Obamacare, the individual mandate. And that I've already won on. And we won also on the Supreme Court. But the decision by the Supreme Court on DACA allows me to do things on immigration, on health care, on other things that we've never done before. And you're going to find it to be a very exciting two weeks.
Regarding what children are being taught in schools:
TRUMP:
Our children are taught in school to hate their own country and to believe that the men and women who built it were not heroes, but that were villains.
WALLACE:
You said our children are taught in school to hate our country. Where do you see that?
TRUMP:
I just look at – I look at school. I watch, I read, look at the stuff. Now they want to change -- 1492, Columbus discovered America. You know, we grew up, you grew up, we all did, that’s what we learned. Now they want to make it the 1619 project. Where did that come from? What does it represent? I don’t even know, so.
WALLACE:
But are they teaching people to hate America?
TRUMP:
Oh, I think so yeah, I think so. Look at the professors. Look at what’s going on in the colleges...we have a radical left destructive ideology and it's being taught in our schools. And don't act like you're surprised to hear this – there are books written about it, and we can't let that go on. We can’t let them change the true meaning of what we’re all about and that’s what they’re trying to do and I don’t want it to happen. Not on my watch. It’s not going to happen on my watch.
Regarding the upcoming presidential election:
TRUMP:
If he wins--
WALLACE:
In general, not talking about November, are you a good loser?
TRUMP:
I’m not a good loser. I don’t like to lose. I don’t lose too often. I don’t like to lose.
WALLACE:
But are you gracious?
TRUMP:
You don’t know until you see. It depends. I think mail-in voting is going to rig the election. I really do.
WALLACE:
Are you suggesting that you might not accept the results of the election?
TRUMP:
No. I have to see. Look, Hillary Clinton asked me the same thing.
WALLACE:
No, I asked you the same thing at the debate.
Wallace then played a video clip from the October 19, 2016 presidential debate.
WALLACE:
There is a tradition in this country -- in fact, one of the prides of this country -- is the peaceful transition of power and that no matter how hard-fought a campaign is, that at the end of the campaign that the loser concedes to the winner. Not saying that you're necessarily going to be the loser or the winner, but that the loser concedes to the winner and that the country comes together in part for the good of the country. Are you saying you're not prepared now to commit to that principle?
TRUMP:
What I'm saying is that I will tell you at the time. I'll keep you in suspense. OK?
TRUMP:
And you know what? She’s the one that never accepted it.
WALLACE:
I agree.
TRUMP:
She never accepted her loss and she looks like a fool.
WALLACE:
But can you give a, can you give a direct answer you will accept the election?
TRUMP:
I have to see. Look, you – I have to see. No, I’m not going to just say yes. I’m not going to say no, and I didn’t last time either.
Source:
(July 19, 2020). "Transcript: 'Fox News Sunday' interview with President Trump". Fox News. Retrieved 2020-08-31.
In addition to the quotes referenced above, I suggest you read what CNN reporter Chris Cillizza had to say about this interview in an article entitled "The 55 most shocking lines from Chris Wallace's interview with Donald Trump".
Trump also spoke at length about the coronavirus pandemic. I will cover that part of the interview in an upcoming post.
Commentary:
Regarding the killing of George Floyd:
After citing statistics that blacks are killed at much higher rates than whites, Wallace asks Trump if he can understand why blacks would be angry about the killing of George Floyd.
Trump's response is "Of course I do. Of course I do. Many whites are killed also. You have to say that." Then Trump says this kind of thing has been going on for a long time, before he was president, before immediately deflecting into a discussion about the "anarchists" in Portland.
The killing of George Floyd and the way he was killed has outraged America. It's the event that has sparked the ongoing protests. And all Trump can say is, "Of course I do?", and then, without skipping a beat, say that many whites are killed also? Are you kidding me?
Trump and many of his supporters continue to say that Trump isn't a racist, but when he says things like this is it any wonder so many people think that he is in fact a racist? He's made statements like this before, many times, and with each one it becomes harder and harder to believe that he isn't a racist.
Any caring, reasonable, real president would have taken the opportunity to respond with EMPATHY AND A PLAN for how we are going to address the problem of racial injustice in America. But not Trump. No, instead his immediate "knee-jerk" response is that many whites are killed. Of course whites are killed, all people of all colors are killed, but not at the same rate and not in the same brutal, unjustified manner as blacks. We're talking about blatant use of excessive force and disregard for human life. TRUMP IS MISSING THE WHOLE POINT!
Trump doesn't address the core issue because 1) he is a racist, or 2) he has no plan to address it, or 3) he feels it would hurt his chances for reelection to talk about it (which is why he always immediately deflects), or some combination of these things. This is NOT behavior befitting the president of the United States.
Regarding healthcare:
Trump said he and his administration were signing a "full and complete health care plan" within two weeks. As of this writing (September 4, 2020), no "full and complete health care plan" has been announced. Read more about this in a Chicago Tribune article entitled "Column: Trumpcare is -- wait for it! wait for it! -- still coming".
Regarding what children are being taught in schools:
Here's another example of Trump going off the deep end, showing his extreme thinking, claiming that children are being taught to hate their own country. This is pure baloney. Trump says he "looks at the stuff", but he's obviously distorting what he hears for political gain.
Even if what Trump says is true (changing 1492 to 1619), how does this equate to "hate of country?" Even if schools are starting to put more emphasis on the role of slavery and racial inequality into their curricula, that doesn't mean children are being taught to "hate." All it means is that they are putting out a more real, balanced narrative on the history of our country. That does NOT equate to "hate."
Regarding the upcoming presidential election:
Based on what he said and his behavior as president, it's clear that Trump REALLY does not like to lose. It's also clear, since he wouldn't outright say he would accept the results of the upcoming election, that he may in fact dispute the results. This should be a "red flag" for America and a harbinger of what's to come if he doesn't receive enough electoral votes to win the election.
Jul 4, 2020:
Trump gave a Salute to America speech from the White House (view a full transcript here):
We will never allow an angry mob to tear down our statues, erase our history, indoctrinate our children, or trample on our freedoms.
Likewise, testing — there were no tests for a new virus, but now we have tested over 40 million people. But by so doing, we show cases, 99 percent of which are totally harmless. Results that no other country will show, because no other country has testing that we have — not in terms of the numbers or in terms of the quality.
In every age, there have always been those who seek to lie about the past in order to gain power in the present. Those that are lying about our history, those who want us to be ashamed of who we are, are not interested in justice or in healing. Their goal is demolition.
Let me also say a word to those in the media who falsely and consistently label their opponents as racists, who condemn patriotic citizens who offer a clear and truthful defense of American unity...When you level these false charges, you not only slander me, you not only slander the American people, but you slander generations of heroes who gave their lives for America.
The more you lie, the more you slander, the more you try to demean and divide, the more we will work hard to tell the truth. And we will win. The more you lie and demean and collude, the more credibility you lose. We want to bring the country together, and a free and open media will make this task a very easy one.
Source:
Trump, Donald J. (July 4, 2020). "Remarks by President Trump at the 2020 Salute to America". whitehouse.gov. Retrieved 2020-07-06.
Commentary:
Trump said that "99%" of coronavirus cases are "totally harmless." Of course, he gave no evidence to back up his claim. The next day, July 5, when asked about this FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn would not directly answer a question about Trump's claim. Of course, Trump fails to mention that it's not all about what the coronavirus does to someone who contracts it - it's about how that person can pass it on to others.
Regarding Trump's rant about "lies", "slander", "demean and divide", and "bringing the country together" - I'm just about at a loss for words. I would imagine Trump's speech writer wrote this speech for him, but to hear this come out of Trump's mouth is just another glaring, pathetic example of grandiose Trump hypocrisy foisted upon the American public and the world. Absolutely unbelievable.
In the speech, Trump also mentioned the shooting death of retired St. Louis Police Captain David Dorn. Amazingly, in his speech there was no mention of the killing of George Floyd, nothing said about racial injustice, police brutality, police reform, or the problem of racism in America. NOT ONE WORD.
Jul 3, 2020:
Trump gave a speech in Keystone, South Dakota at the 2020 Mount Rushmore Fireworks Celebration (view a full transcript here):
Our nation is witnessing a merciless campaign to wipe out our history, defame our heroes, erase our values, and indoctrinate our children. [regarding the movement to remove Confederate symbols like flags and statues]
One of their political weapons is "Cancel Culture" — driving people from their jobs, shaming dissenters, and demanding total submission from anyone who disagrees. This is the very definition of totalitarianism, and it is completely alien to our culture and our values, and it has absolutely no place in the United States of America. This attack on our liberty, our magnificent liberty, must be stopped, and it will be stopped very quickly. We will expose this dangerous movement, protect our nation's children, end this radical assault, and preserve our beloved American way of life.
In our schools, our newsrooms, even our corporate boardrooms, there is a new far-left fascism that demands absolute allegiance. If you do not speak its language, perform its rituals, recite its mantras, and follow its commandments, then you will be censored, banished, blacklisted, persecuted, and punished. It's not going to happen to us.
Make no mistake: this left-wing cultural revolution is designed to overthrow the American Revolution. In so doing, they would destroy the very civilization that rescued billions from poverty, disease, violence, and hunger, and that lifted humanity to new heights of achievement, discovery, and progress. To make this possible, they are determined to tear down every statue, symbol, and memory of our national heritage.
The violent mayhem we have seen in the streets of cities that are run by liberal Democrats, in every case, is the predictable result of years of extreme indoctrination and bias in education, journalism, and other cultural institutions.
Against every law of society and nature, our children are taught in school to hate their own country, and to believe that the men and women who built it were not heroes, but that were villains. The radical view of American history is a web of lies — all perspective is removed, every virtue is obscured, every motive is twisted, every fact is distorted, and every flaw is magnified until the history is purged and the record is disfigured beyond all recognition.
The radical ideology attacking our country advances under the banner of social justice. But in truth, it would demolish both justice and society. It would transform justice into an instrument of division and vengeance, and it would turn our free and inclusive society into a place of repression, domination, and exclusion.
Those who seek to erase our heritage want Americans to forget our pride and our great dignity, so that we can no longer understand ourselves or America's destiny. In toppling the heroes of 1776, they seek to dissolve the bonds of love and loyalty that we feel for our country, and that we feel for each other. Their goal is not a better America, their goal is the end of America.
Source:
Trump, Donald J. (July 3, 2020). "Remarks by President Trump at South Dakota’s 2020 Mount Rushmore Fireworks Celebration | Keystone, South Dakota". whitehouse.gov. Retrieved 2020-07-06.
Commentary:
Nothing more than Trump extremism and propaganda meant to fire up his base.
Commentary:
Since when is going to a polling station more "proper", "secure", or "safe" than sending a ballot through the mail? Currently, five U.S. states conduct elections primarily by mail-in ballots. In my home state of Arizona about 80% of election voting is done with mail-in ballots.
Trump is the one who has been downplaying the severity of the coronavirus pandemic, but now here he is suggesting he delay the election until it's more "safe" to vote. Trump is the one pushing for schools to reopen with in-class learning, for college sports to be played, and for everything to get back to "normal" ASAP, but now, when it comes to voting, he's apparently thinking that standing in line at a polling station is not "safe" enough.
If you can be in a classroom all day with a whole bunch of other students and teachers, then why can't you be at a polling station for a few hours? You can't have it both ways - on the one hand saying it's safe to go back to school, play sports, go out to a bar or restaurant, go back to work, and so on, and in the same breath say, but wait, it's not OK to stand in line for a while to vote.
This is nothing more than Trump's "twisted logic" and an attempt to plant the seeds of suspicion about the results of the upcoming election.