update: Bernhard Langer says he saw no voting fraud and never talked to Trump
Gathered with the top leaders of Congress, President Trump on Monday apparently relayed the story in all seriousness: pro golfer Bernhard Langer had told him a story that really stuck with him.
As Mr. Trump relayed it, Mr. Langer had been in line to vote in Florida when he was told by an official that he could not cast a ballot. But people all around him who looked far more suspect — Mr. Trump tossed out the names of Latin American countries that the voters might have come from — were allowed to draw up provisional ballots.
There was a problem with the story: Mr. Langer is a German citizen.
Now Mr. Langer says he never talked to Mr. Trump, that he was told the story by a friend, then told the story to a friend who told it to someone with ties to the White House — who apparently told it to Mr. Trump. He certainly never tried to vote in Florida.
So, if the anecdote was important to Mr. Trump’s erroneous belief that millions of illegal immigrants gave Hillary Clinton her 2.8 million-ballot win in the popular vote, it was based on fourth-hand information.
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On Monday, President Trump gathered House and Senate leaders in the State Dining Room for a get-to-know-you reception, served them tiny meatballs and pigs-in-a-blanket, and quickly launched into a story meant to illustrate what he believes to be rampant, unchecked voter fraud.
Mr. Trump kicked off the meeting, participants said, by retelling his debunked claim that he would have won the popular vote if not for the three million to five million ballots cast by “illegals.” He followed it up with a Twitter post early Wednesday calling for a major investigation into voter fraud.
When one of the Democrats protested, Mr. Trump said he was told a story by “the very famous golfer, Bernhard Langer,” whom he described as a friend, according to three staff members who were in the room for the meeting.
In the emerging Trump era, the story was a memorable example, for the legislators and the country, of how an off-the-cuff yarn — unverifiable and of confusing origin — became a prime policy mover for a president whose fact-gathering owes more to the oral tradition than the written word. [...]
The witnesses described the story this way: Mr. Langer, a 59-year-old native of Bavaria, Germany — a winner of the Masters twice and of more than 100 events on major professional golf tours around the world — was standing in line at a polling place near his home in Florida on Election Day, the president explained, when an official informed Mr. Langer he would not be able to vote.
Ahead of and behind Mr. Langer were voters who did not look as if they should be allowed to vote, Mr. Trump said, according to the staff members — but they were nonetheless permitted to cast provisional ballots. The president threw out the names of Latin American countries that the voters might have come from.
Mr. Langer, whom he described as a supporter, left feeling frustrated, according to a version of events later contradicted by a White House official.
The anecdote, the aides said, was greeted with silence, and Mr. Trump was prodded to change the subject by Reince Priebus, the White House chief of staff, and Senator John Cornyn, Republican of Texas.
Just one problem: Mr. Langer, who lives in Boca Raton, Fla., is a German citizen with permanent residence status in the United States who is, by law, barred from voting, according to Mr. Langer’s daughter Christina.
“He is a citizen of Germany,” she said, when reached on her father’s cellphone. “He is not a friend of President Trump’s, and I don’t know why he would talk about him.” [...]
The story, the aide added, had made a big impression on Mr. Trump.
Rabbi EIdensohn.
ReplyDeleteWhat is your point in all this? Are your goals in fighting Trump synonymous with those of the New York Times, The Washington Post, Madonna and Merrill Streep?
I would really appreciate it if you would write your own post explaining what your objections are and what your end-goal is. Thank you. I will, however, give my two cents as to what the goals of these left-wingers are.
The left-wingers are not fighting Donald Trump because of his personality or because of his temperament. They are fighting the policies that he - and ALL CONSERVATIVES - are trying to implement, or are are trying to restore.
The left-wingers feel that:
1) Capitalism is wrong and unjust!
2) There should be no rules that govern morality.
Therefore: A) Indecent exposure should be allowed.
B) Killing of unborn babies should be allowed. In fact, ALL Americans should even pay for these killings in OTHER countries. The purpose of this is that there shall be no consequences to a person opting to have intimate relations with whomever they feel like it, whenever they feel like it.
C) We will even say that there is no such a thing as gender. Gender is all societal. Therefore, it is a given that marriage can be between people of the same gender. In fact, Zoophilia is only about 30 years down the road.
3) America is an unjust country, with too much freedom. They want what the communists wanted - before their great failure.
There's a lot more to be said. I firmly believe that this is what the New York Times, The Washington Post, Madonna and Merrill Streep want and are fighting for. Please clarify if you are fighting for any of these ideals. Thank you.
It would be a lot easier to understand you if you clarified your position, in your own words.
What is your position on capitalism?
What is your position on rules that govern morality (indecent exposure, allowing natural consequences and deterrents for intimate relations and, what is your position on gender.)
If my grandmother would have had wheels she could have been a trolley car. And if you exclude the results of the voting in New York and Los Angles, then Trump garnered more votes than Clinton. All it shows is that the mindset of those 2 cities is quite different than that of the rest of the United States. Big "chiddush".
ReplyDeleteSure, Trump's declarations are silly and pointless, but so are those of his opponents. By the way, DT, what's all this obsession with Trump about anyway? I thought that the blog Daas Torah deals with "issues of Jewish identity". Why should I as a Jew be concerned with whether the President of the United States is "ah grobber yung" or not. An Abraham Lincoln you want, in this corrupt day and age?
Oh, regarding voter fraud, it brings to mind a statement made by Allen Dershowiz. When asked if he believed in plea bargaining he replied, "Believe in it? I've seen it. ". Do I have incontrovertible proof that voter fraud exists? No, but I don't have to believe in voter fraud, I KNOW that there is voter fraud. I've seen it.
My own brother told me that the only time he ever voted was when he was 17 years old and not a U.S. citizen. I asked him why he didn't vote when he legally eligible, he answered, "What kind of fun would that be? I know that my single vote doesn't amount to anything anyway. I only voted because of the thrill I got from doing something I wasn't allowed to do."
In my state all one needs in order to be able to cast a ballot is either a driver's license or a social security card (which you don't have to actually present. Merely reporting the license number or the last four digits of your social security card is sufficient.) Those who wish to vote can do so with ease, whether qualified or not.
Even if we accept the absurdly low figure of the Washington Post of 11 million living illegally in the U.S., just 25% of them would be sufficient to account for the popular margin enjoyed by Clinton. Did millions of these come out to vote illegally? I have no proof to offer that that is so but it reasonable to assume that such is indeed the case, considering the ease with which it could be accomplished and the threat of dire consequences for illegal aliens should Trump be elected, as he subsequently was
Although I cannot prove it, if I leave a pile of money unattended on a park bench in New York City It would be reasonable to assume that it would be purloined within a half hour. I cannot prove that large scale voter fraud is being committed; common sense tells me that this is so.
You are way off
ReplyDeletetrumps bizarre statements have nothing to do with ideology but his weak ego
Destroying the state department and relatinons with Mexico China Europe
Dividing the US etc etc etc is maing the US Great?!
If Trump were a Russian mole he could not be doing more damage!
yes I am planning to write a post describing my views
ReplyDeleteNo I am not a left winger or pinko or fellow traveler. I have never been a member of the communist party - though I do admit having voted for Democrats in the elections.
The issues you ascribe to the Left wing are often more relevant to Trump's views
John Halmark wrote:
ReplyDeleteSure, Trump's declarations are silly and pointless, but so are those of his opponents. By the way, DT, what's all this obsession with Trump about anyway? I thought that the blog Daas Torah deals with "issues of Jewish identity". Why should I as a Jew be concerned with whether the President of the United States is "ah grobber yung" or not. An Abraham Lincoln you want, in this corrupt day and age
DT you ask an important question yet it is unfortunately and shameful that you feel a need to ask it.
What does what happens in the world have to do with Jewish identity? Doesn't Jewish identity have to do with whether bazooka gum is kosher? Whether I can carry with the eruv? Whether a woman's skirt should be 3 or 4 inches below the knee? That having an Iphone so immoral that you lose you olam habah? The necessity to condemn the Internet and especially those disgusting bloggers who create such a chilul hashem by reporting on things like chief rabbis going to jail for corruption, child abuse, bizarre rabbinic psakim etc etc. Jewish Identity doesn't involve condemning the nasty behavior and corruption of halacha of the Mendel Epstein gange. It doesn't involve pointing out the disgrace of a senior rabbi plotting and sustaining an adulterous relationship because these are chilul hashem. Jewish identity involves covering up and denying all aspects of Jewish activity which is embarrassing and shameful.
Did I understand your question correctly?
My answer is I strongly disagree with you and others who claim the above. Jewish identity is how a Jew is to manifest himself in the world. It is not only how he observes minhagim and ritual. It is not only how he conforms to the norms of the community. IT IS ALSO HOW HE FUNCTIONS AS A MEMBER OF THE HUMAN RACE. HOW HE FUNCTIONS AS A MEMBER OF SOCIETY AT LARGE. AND FOR THIS TO BE DONE PROPERLY HE NEEDS TO HAVE AN AWARENESS OF FACTS. iT INVOLVES A KNOWLEDGE OF POLITICS, MEDICINE, PSYCHOLOGY, SOCIOLOGY ETC ETC.
In short - Jewish Identity involves something called Tikun Olam
DT:"Jewish identity is how a Jew is to manifest himself in the world. It is not only how he observes minhagim and ritual. It is not only how he conforms to the norms of the community. IT IS ALSO HOW HE FUNCTIONS AS A MEMBER OF THE HUMAN RACE. HOW HE FUNCTIONS AS A MEMBER OF SOCIETY AT LARGE. AND FOR THIS TO BE DONE PROPERLY HE NEEDS TO HAVE AN AWARENESS OF FACTS. iT INVOLVES A KNOWLEDGE OF POLITICS, MEDICINE, PSYCHOLOGY, SOCIOLOGY ETC ETC.
ReplyDeleteIn short - Jewish Identity involves something called Tikun Olam"
I probably did not explain myself well. I will try again.
ReplyDeleteYou have been quoting quite a few left-wing sources, which I believe have a very different purpose in their ridicule, criticism and opposition of President Trump. I have described three points which are clearly their goal, but which I do not know that it is your goal. (In fact, I believe that it is not your goal.)
Let me cite one more example. President GW Bush (43) was continuously attacked by these same sources as being dumb, stupid, a narcissist etc. They claimed that Bush went to war because of his own financial interests. They claimed that he made us look like fools to the world, hated etc. They claimed that he was a liar, dishonest, irresponsible, bat temperament etc.
The reality is though, that they did not dislike Bush for these reasons. It was all a facade! They hated Bush because of the conservative values that he upheld for the country and that he furthered for the country. If we will be honest to ourselves, we will acknowledge that they are doing the same thing to Trump for the very same reason!
This is why I feel that it is important that you explain your opposition clearly, in your own words, at least once. Thank you.
I disagree with your premise
ReplyDeleteI appreciate that you will be writing your own post explaining your views.
ReplyDeleteThe issues you ascribe to the Left wing are often more relevant to Trump's views
I respectfully disagree. I do not care what Trumps personal views are. It is the policies that he is implementing that are important.
He has been described as someone who will cause lots of deaths because he reinstated the "Mexico City Policy", which stops the US taxpayer from paying for abortions of foreigners in foreign countries. He has been called a lot worse for considering to defund abortions in the US. If someone was irresponsible about whom and/or when they had physical relations, then they will have to pay for killing the fetus they created by themselves. Again, Trump has been compared to Hitler for this. He has been called a murderer etc. But the reality is, Trump himself may not be all that opposed to abortions. But he realizes that his supporters are, and that is why he is doing it. The opposition to Trump on this is not because of who he is; the opposition is to the policies that he is implementing.
though I do admit having voted for Democrats in the elections.
Have you always voted democrat across the board, indiscriminately? 90%+ of the time?
Which premise? Please explain, as I do not understand what you mean.
ReplyDeleteOne his most shameless attempts yet.
ReplyDeleteThe closest to this that comes to mind is an antic that FOX news pretty much gave him a pass on (i.e., they let it pass with minimal comment), when he indignantly claimed they failed to report the BBB had revised its rating of Trump U., when as evidence of this false claim he presented the "perfect A+ record" of a newly formed BBB account under Trump U.'s parent corporation's recently changed name. (Yup!) He even had the gall to level that charge (of false, biased reporting, LOL!) live to Megyn Kelly in the first Republican Primaries Debate.
One trembles to wonder how this shameless loudmouth would have handled Bengazi had he been Secretary of State, a trembling quickly eclipsed by the shock of realizing that yorei shamayim rush publically & most vocally to speak his praise. So who's more shame-worthy: the shameless, bullying cheat that he so visibly is, or all you who rush to defend him at every opportunity? I think the latter.