2020 Becomes the Dementia Campaign

https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2020/03/07/2020-dementia-campaign-123106

In fact, a kind of ghoulish gallows humor about the issue is widespread in political circles in both parties, in part because people simply don’t see much alternative. My colleague Marc Caputo said on Twitter that a Democratic operative with presidential campaign experience described the likely 2020 race like this: “the nice old guy with Alzheimer’s against the mean old man with dementia.”

 

Trump's latest target on Twitter: Comcast

https://edition.cnn.com/2020/06/13/media/comcast-president-trump-abuse-of-power/index.html

President Trump on Saturday told his Twitter and Facebook followers to drop Comcast -- an egregious use of his presidential platform to hurt an American business.

For the most part, people just shrugged. Comcast executives barely batted any eyelashes. The company didn't bother to comment. And Google searches for "Comcast customer service" trended lower than in recent days.

Still, the president's missive was yet another example of his yearslong effort to punish media companies for news coverage he doesn't like.

 

Fox News publishes digitally altered and misleading images of Seattle demonstrations

https://edition.cnn.com/2020/06/13/media/seattle-fox-news-autonomous-zone-protest/index.html

Among the photos that Fox News published on its homepage was one that showed a protester running past a burning vehicle and building with the headline "CRAZY TOWN" blaring across the website. The image, which accompanied a story about the situation in Seattle, was in fact taken from the unrest last month in Minnesota.

In other photos that showed the scene in Seattle, Fox News digitally added an image of a man armed with an assault rifle.

 

As President Trump Condemns 'Antifa,' Protest Records Show Scant Evidence

https://time.com/5849592/antifa-far-right-violent-trump-protesters/

The Associated Press analyzed court records, employment histories, social media posts and other sources of information for 217 people arrested last weekend in Minneapolis and the District of Columbia, two cities at the epicenter of the protests across the United States.

Rather than outside agitators, more than 85% of those arrested by police were local residents. Of those charged with such offenses as curfew violations, rioting and failure to obey law enforcement, only a handful appeared to have any affiliation with organized groups.

 

Vandalism and theft aren’t helping

https://www.vox.com/2020/6/4/21278048/civil-disobedience-looting-vandalism

Nobody leading real movements for change is suggesting that people engage in indiscriminate acts of destruction. In fact, there are many examples of protesters intervening to stop looters and vandals (many of whom are white) whom they realize only serve to discredit their work. Nationwide, protesters are challenging the multiple, interlocking injustices faced by African Americans. Right now you’re either helping or exacerbating the problems — and it’s clear where the vandals stand.

Trump, Pompeo and West Point's Cadet Creed

Tapper to Kudlow: This is as swampy as I can imagine

'Trump’s Re-Election Chances Are Going Down in Flames.' How Trump's Divisive Rhetoric Could Hurt Republicans in November

https://time.com/5846311/trump-protests-republican-fallout/

While some Republicans caution it is still too early to predict the party’s demise, others say the writing is on the wall. “Trump’s re-election chances are going down in flames with that Autozone building, police precinct building and burning police cars,” says Dan Eberhart, a Republican donor and Trump supporter. “It’s hard to see how these riots don’t boost Joe Biden’s claim to be the Alka-Seltzer America needs to sooth its stomach right now.”

 

Trump's Attacks on Antifa Are Attacks on Jews

https://www.haaretz.com/us-news/.premium-attacks-on-antifa-are-attacks-on-jews-1.8902330

To start with, Trump’s statement about Antifa is absurd on multiple levels. It isn’t clear he has the legal authority to do so. And Antifa isn’t an organization, but a philosophy that guides anti-fascist street organizing. Who is its leader? What is its structure? Where is it based? How do you become a member? These questions have no answers because there are none. But no matter: it's certainly filler for Trump’s campaigning.

Soros Conspiracy Theories and The Protests: A Gateway to Antisemitism

https://www.adl.org/blog/soros-conspiracy-theories-and-the-protests-a-gateway-to-antisemitism

Although the vast majority of Soros-related conspiracy theories do not mention his Jewish heritage, the concern remains that they can serve as a gateway to the antisemitic subculture that blames Jews for the riots. This type of content can be found on mainstream platforms; a Twitter user wrote, “George Soros is paying for this he is a Jew America bows to the Jew [sic],” while another tweeted, “Antifa are on the payroll of the Jewish financier George Soros who often uses these paid thugs to intimidate any opposition towards the status quo that he and his Zionist allies have set up to control us.” Yet another claimed, “Soros is every bit the subversive, parasitic conspirator these people make him out to be. The problem they always neglect to mention is the fact that he’s a Jew.”

Antifa, explained

https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2020/6/8/21277320/antifa-anti-fascist-explained

President Donald Trump seems convinced that there is a scary conspiracy lurking in the protests for racial justice sweeping the nation: that antifa, a militant left-wing anarchist movement, is taking advantage of the demonstrations to burn the country down.

Over the past week, he has blamed looting on antifa in tweets, fundraising emails, and public appearances. He has used them to cast the protest movement as a fundamentally violent affair, claiming in a Monday address that “our nation has been gripped by professional anarchists, looters, criminals, antifa and others.” He has repeatedly vowed to officially label antifa a terrorist group, putting it on a federal list alongside al-Qaeda and ISIS.

 While there is undoubtedly an antifa presence at some of the recent protests, there is no reason to believe that antifa is responsible for their (occasional) turns toward violence. Internal FBI assessments and protest-related court documents tell a consistent story: Antifa members are not responsible for the unrest.

Dozens of Republicans urge Trump not to cut number of US troops in Germany

https://edition.cnn.com/2020/06/09/politics/republicans-trump-troops-germany/index.html?iid=ob_article_organicsidebar_expansion

"We strongly believe that NATO allies, such as Germany, should do more to contribute to our joint defense efforts. At the same time, we also know that the forward stationing of American troops since the end of World War II has helped to prevent another world war and, most importantly, has helped make America safer," the lawmakers wrote.

"In Europe, the threats posed by Russia have not lessened, and we believe that signs of a weakened US commitment to NATO will encourage further Russian aggression and opportunism. In addition, the overall limit on troops would prevent us from conducting the exercises that are necessary for the training and readiness of our forces and those of our allies," they added.

"The troop limit would also significantly reduce the number of US forces that can flow through Germany for deployment to bases around the world, causing serious logistical challenges," the letter reads.

 

Appeals judges reluctant to force immediate end to Flynn case

https://www.politico.com/news/2020/06/12/appeals-court-judge-drop-flynn-case-315536

Earlier this week, John Gleeson, a former judge Sullivan appointed to advise him on how to proceed in Flynn’s case, filed a court brief savaging Barr’s decision to abandon the prosecution. In a blistering memo, Gleeson called the Justice Department’s legal arguments “preposterous.”

Juneteenth: Trump changes Tulsa Oklahoma rally date 'out of respect'

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-53032664

US President Donald Trump is postponing his first post-coronavirus lockdown election rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma so it does not fall on a holiday commemorating the end of US slavery.

He tweeted that the 19 June rally would be held a day later out of respect for the occasion, known as Juneteenth.

The choice of date had drawn criticism amid nationwide anti-racism protests.

The location was also controversial, as Tulsa saw one of the worst massacres of black people in US history in 1921.

Up to 300 people died when a white mob attacked the prosperous black neighbourhood of Greenwood, known as the "Black Wall Street", with guns and explosives. About 1,000 businesses and homes were also destroyed.