Second Chance'
The New York Times’s Jelani Cobb, for example, was far from convinced in a 2011 profile by New Republic founder Martin Peretz that the country was ready for America's first black president.
“My question is whether or not the average black person – and let’s start with the black poor,” he wrote, “can find a modicum of solace and affirmation in the election of a black president. Or whether they will feel that this was a ‘sellout,’ that it is some kind of betrayal of what King called ‘the fierce urgency of now.’”
“And why,” Cobb continued, “does it matter that Obama was elected by a razor-thin popular vote? That’s the democratic way, they say. But this is also, as we saw in 2000 and 2004, America at its most savage – and its most shallow. How can black Americans be proud of a nation that has such scant regard for the value of their lives, and the dreams for a better future that animated their ancestors to come to this continent?”
“We’re not a perfect country,” he concluded. “But can’t we come a little closer to that idea without becoming the worst of all?
For a brief moment, the American right tried to be the latter, with “birther” conspiracy theories, and then “birther” politicians from Donald Trump and Ted Cruz on down who refused to acknowledge Obama’s presidency.
It’s been downhill ever since. Now the right, more than any other political identity, can't get out of its own way.
President-elect Donald Trump had to be told how to make his Christmas ornament — even though the former host of NBC’s The Apprentice knows a thing or two about jewelry.
“I have a feeling they’re going to make it pretty good,” Trump said of the company he is partnering with. “I hope they do a good job.”
The president-elect and his team apparently don't know any better, either.
Trump and his advisors have consistently refused to release his tax returns, breaking with tradition that dates back decades — a move that may not be so unprecedented, either.
As Forbes points out, though, some tax returns from previous presidents have been leaked:
In 1974, reporter Neil MacNeil claimed to have obtained copies of Nixon’s federal income tax returns for 1969 and 1970, which showed he had paid $792,000 in income taxes in 1969 and a total of $792,966 that year.
In 1983, journalist Bill Dedman leaked to reporter Peter Jennings a copy of Carter’s 1978 income tax return that showed he had earned $2.5 million in 1977 and paid $1.8 million in taxes.
Even Jimmy Carter’s brother, Billy, may have spilled the beans in 1976 about his brother’s 1978 return, which showed that Jimmy was well off. There is a persistent rumor that when Ronald Reagan ran for president in 1980, his opponent Ted Kennedy released their tax returns showing that Reagan had paid only $100 in taxes in 1959. However, Kennedy later disavowed the charge.
President-elect Donald Trump offered his congratulations to German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Wednesday as they began talks aimed at “countering the negative trends in the global economy and refocusing on the fundamental drivers of economic growth,” a senior administration official said.
“The two leaders look forward to strengthening the U.S.-German relationship and working together on efforts to promote economic growth and prosperity,” the official said in a statement.
Merkel expressed her “optimism” about future cooperation with the incoming Trump administration, noting that “the American election was a very special one.”
U.S. election observers were surprised, if not alarmed, at how many Russians used fake accounts on Facebook, Twitter, and Google to interfere with the 2016 presidential election and help elect Donald Trump over Hillary Clinton.
More than 50 accounts related to the Internet Research Agency, a so-called “troll farm” with ties to the Kremlin, used these platforms in the campaign. Google acknowledged that the ads were Russian-purchased, saying, “From the stuff I’ve read this is pretty textbook [propaganda]. These are very Russian techniques. I’m not saying it’s the Kremlin.”
But what is Russia’s motive? And how can it be prevented from interfering in future elections?
A day after Donald Trump’s upset victory, he reportedly told Russian president Vladimir Putin in a phone call: “I’m not getting involved in politics. But of course I’m going to get involved. We’re going to do a lot of things together, including strengthening up what we did with number one in Syria, as you know, the destruction of ISIS.”
It’s unclear what that means, but his comments are just the latest troubling signal that Trump intends to turn a blind eye to the threat of Russia.
The Senate Intelligence Committee has concluded that Russia interfered in the election on Trump’s behalf and, according to The New York Times, “has not uncovered any evidence that President Obama or his White House were actively engaged in the Russian election meddling.”
In response to Putin’s election meddling and interference in Ukraine, Obama expelled 35 Russian diplomats and sanctioned Russia’s intelligence agencies.
Trump seems ready to turn a blind eye.
This isn’t the first time Trump has praised Putin. He had a warm relationship with him prior to his campaign, meeting him a number of times. During that time he praised Putin’s leadership, especially on the economy. During an interview in December of 2015, Trump said of Putin: “I got to know him very well because we were both on ‘60 Minutes’ and we had tremendous success … I got to know him very well and I got to like him a lot.”
Trump’s praise continued for years, long after that December 2015 interview with Lesley Stahl. He claimed that during a 2013 trip to Moscow, Putin offered him a “reporter” for $20 million dollars. In response, he said: “It was a long time ago, it was right after Russia, you remember this, it was not in this country.”
Trump’s comments are troubling for another reason. The intelligence committee’s findings were part of a comprehensive investigation into Russia’s interference and Trump’s own campaign has acknowledged that it received off-the-books funding from Russia.
The FBI is reportedly concerned that Trump, Putin, and former campaign manager Paul Manafort are “flipping” and could become witnesses for the Mueller investigation.
How the president-elect handles Putin in the future will be a telling sign.
Former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke responded to the election of Donald Trump by tweeting: “This is one of the most exciting nights of my life. Make no mistake about it. This is the first step to taking our country back.”
While many progressives were alarmed by the prospect of a Trump presidency, Duke was thrilled, tweeting: “He’s gonna do something. Make no mistake about it. This is his first step to draining the swamp, and we’re gonna get rid of all the illegals.”
This time, however, Trump has pledged to be more specific on his policy goals. “We will be looking at those applications,” Trump said during the campaign.
As a Klan leader, however, Duke’s own applications would be very different than an immigrant’s or a Syrian refugee’s. While refugees are vetted to make sure they aren’t a threat to American safety, Duke is a known white supremacist.
As Trump met with President Obama to transition the White House and the country to a new administration, Trump reportedly met in Trump Tower with former KKK grand wizard David Duke. Duke, of course, is known as a champion of white supremacy. The Anti-Defamation League, whose mission is to fight anti-Semitism, has long fought Duke’s extremist views and racism. As a former Klan leader, his statements about immigrants, refugees, and Muslims are cause for alarm.
“We are determined to take our country back,” Duke told the crowd of white supremacists and anti-Semites on Saturday, according to the AP. “We are going to fulfill the promises of Donald Trump. That’s what we believe in.”
As the former KKK leader spoke, the neo-Nazi who murdered an Indian immigrant in Kansas that month gave his support to Trump. “I can’t vote for Donald Trump because of what he said about the KKK,” said Frazier Glenn Cross, but added: “But that’s okay because the Jews are going to vote for him.”
Trump, who has praised the former KKK leader and has refused to renounce Duke’s support, has been silent on Trump’s endorsement of Duke. Trump has never commented on Glenn Cross, despite his praise for a former K
