Bolton, in interview, says Democrats 'almost as bad and somewhat equivalent to Trump'

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/john-bolton-interview-democrats-trump-abc

Former national security adviser John Bolton warned in an interview airing Sunday night that President Trump's White House poses a "danger for the republic" -- but cautioned that congressional Democrats were "almost as bad" in their efforts to unseat him from office, which Bolton called a "partisan catfight."

 

Trump's 'kidding' on testing exposes his negligence as virus spikes

https://edition.cnn.com/2020/06/22/politics/donald-trump-coronavirus-testing-tulsa-rally/index.html

Trump has meanwhile also helped to turn the wearing of masks, which is proven to slow transmission of the disease, into a culture war issue. And his rally in Oklahoma on Saturday night was a rebuke of the notion of social distancing -- even though, ironically, his smaller-than-expected crowd would have made such practices possible. Health experts warn that spikes in infections in states like Florida and Arizona -- both of which recorded new highs in daily infection rates over the weekend -- are being driven by the public's waning willingness to avoid large gatherings and a reticence to wear masks.

The President's poor example represents a typical effort to divide Americans and highlight divisions over specific issues for his own political gain. But in the long run, apart from putting thousands of lives at risk, it is counterproductive, since a more stringent effort to avoid rises in infections as states open up would likely promote the fast economic recovery on which Trump is banking a reelection campaign that has slipped into trouble in recent weeks.

 

הגר"ח קנייבסקי: מי שעוטה מסכה מקיים את דברי המשנה ברורה

https://www.kikar.co.il/364651.html

 מגיד המישרים הגר"ש לוינשטיין, הסביר בשיעורו השבוע, את דברי מרן הגר"ח קנייבסקי, מדוע יש חובה הלכתית לעטות מסכה ביציאה מהבית, על פי הפסק של החפץ חיים. צפו
 

Sick staff and empty seats: How Trump's triumphant return to the campaign trail went from bad to worse

https://edition.cnn.com/2020/06/21/politics/trump-campaign-trail-coronavirus/index.html

By the time he strode out to the strains of Lee Greenwood on Saturday evening into a partially-full Bank of Oklahoma Center, the event had devolved from a triumphant return to the campaign trail after a 110-day pandemic-forced absence into something else altogether. The launch of a new assault on former Vice President Joe Biden fizzled, replaced by recycled grievances and race-baiting. The sparse crowd was a reminder that many Americans, even Trump's supporters, remain cautious of a pandemic that continues to rage in places like Oklahoma, where cases are spiking, even if Trump is ready to move on.

 

Bolton: Dermer said Trump’s Syria withdrawal - ‘worst day’ of Trump admin

https://www.jpost.com/middle-east/bolton-dermer-said-trumps-syria-withdrawal-worst-day-of-trump-admin-632262

Ambassador to the United States Ron Dermer told John Bolton that the sudden decision by US President Donald Trump in December 2018 to withdraw from Syria was the “worst day he had experienced thus far in the Trump administration.” Threatened and enticed by Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan into leaving Syria, the Trump administration ignored concerns by allies in the Middle East and Europe, according to the former National Security Advisor’s account.

 The Trump decision to withdraw from Syria caught almost everyone by surprise in December 2018. The war on ISIS was going well and US partners in eastern Syria, the Syrian Democratic Forces, made up of Kurdish, Arab and Christian fighters, were stabilizing the areas liberated from ISIS. Turkey’s threats to invade would overturn everything the US had accomplished. There were other concerns. The US maintained a base at Al-Tanf in Syria near the Jordanian border. This base helped keep the Syrian conflict from harming Jordan. Bolton wanted to confront Iran and saw the US presence in Syria as part of the “big picture” of stopping Iran. He writes that if the US abandoned the Kurds in eastern Syria then former US partners would have to “ally with Assad against Turkey” or be ethnically cleansed as Turkey had already done to Kurds in Afrin after a January 2018 invasion. Bolton understood that eastern Syria was a huge piece of leverage against the Assad regime, where Turkey’s main interest in Syria wasn’t confronting Iran or ISIS, but fighting Kurds.

Barr Can’t Fire Berman, Trump Can, Says Obscure DOJ Memo

https://www.bloombergquint.com/onweb/barr-can-t-fire-berman-trump-can-says-justice-department-memo

“Nerds like me will fixate on the technical legal questions here -- can the president fire a judicially appointee U.S. Attorney; and, if so, can he also replace him,” Vladeck said in a tweet on Saturday. “But don’t lose sight of the bigger story here -- this stinks to high heaven. Finding out *why* this happened is the key.”

Read more at: https://www.bloombergquint.com/onweb/barr-can-t-fire-berman-trump-can-says-justice-department-memo
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“Nerds like me will fixate on the technical legal questions here -- can the president fire a judicially appointee U.S. Attorney; and, if so, can he also replace him,” Vladeck said in a tweet on Saturday. “But don’t lose sight of the bigger story here -- this stinks to high heaven. Finding out *why* this happened is the key.”

Bridges Burned: Watch Trump Hire 'Best People' And Trash Them As 'Not Qualified' On Their Way Out

Trump mocks coronavirus and Democrats in rally with sparse turnout

Trump: Tulsa rally fails to draw expected crowds amid virus fears

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-53121488

 

Mr Trump had boasted earlier this week that almost a million people had requested tickets for the event at Tulsa's Bank of Oklahoma Center.

But the 19,000-seat arena was far from full and plans for him to address an outside "overflow" area were abandoned.

Trump holds comeback rally, but fails to fill arena after infections among staff

https://www.timesofisrael.com/trump-comeback-rally-features-empty-seats-staff-infections/

Slamming ‘unhinged left-wing mob’ for ‘trying to vandalize our history,’ US president goes on the offensive as he blames media for low turnout at event that defied health warnings

 

Trump's Tulsa rally was a flop

https://edition.cnn.com/2020/06/21/opinions/trump-rally-tulsa-oklahoma-covid-19-ghitis/index.html

President Donald Trump couldn't wait. His presidency is nosediving, with bad news erupting all around him. His answer was Tulsa, a campaign rally in blood-red Oklahoma, the state he won by a crushing 36 points in 2016.

 

But Tulsa did not deliver. The event that was supposed to trumpet his return to greatness -- and the country's return to normalcy -- instead brought embarrassing scenes of empty bleachers, a dismantled stage and a familiar speech unsuccessfully trying to reignite public fears.

AP FACT CHECK: Trump Is Not Credible on Virus Death Tolls

https://www.usnews.com/news/politics/articles/2020-05-09/ap-fact-check-trump-is-not-credible-on-virus-death-tolls

President Donald Trump is claiming a low death rate from the coronavirus pandemic in the United States.

Top NYC Prosecutor, Who Led Investigation of Trump Allies, Resigns After Feud With Justice Department

https://time.com/5856478/justice-department-berman-barr-trump-allies-refuses-resign/

The Trump administration on Saturday fired the top federal prosecutor in Manhattan, escalating tensions with the high-profile office that has overseen numerous investigations into President Donald Trump’s allies. Attorney General William Barr said Trump personally issued the order; the president denied he was involved.

The extraordinary clash between the White House and U.S. Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman fueled new accusations of political interference in the Justice Department, particularly given that Berman’s office is engaged in an ongoing investigation into Trump’s personal attorney, Rudy Giuliani.

Barr set off a whirlwind chain events on Friday night with a surprise announcement that Berman was resigning.

Bill Barr fires U.S. Attorney Berman. Bolton's book reveals why.