You can find our latest wrap of the evening’s events, with both Clinton and Sanders defending their vision(s), here.
Thanks for reading: the live blog will be back tomorrow.
Today in post-campaign 2016
- Donald Trump renewed his fight with the American media, criticizing the New York Times, ducking reporters to visit a restaurant and turning to Twitter as a means of direct communication. The US president-elect even appeared to allude to his reality TV show The Apprentice as he denied reports that his transition process is in turmoil and plagued by infighting.
- Trump waged an unprecedented one-man war against the media during his election campaign, banning some organizations from his rallies and regularly inciting his supporters to boo and jeer reporters. He used Twitter, on which he has more than 15 million followers, to berate his critics and throw out often incendiary statements.
- Tom Hanks has spoken out about the results of the election, reassuring people that the US has seen difficult times before and is still “the greatest country in the world.”
- “We are going to be all right,” he said, according to Vulture. “America has been in worse places than we are at right now.” He went on to praise the constitution, saying: “That document is going to protect us, over and over again, whether or not our neighbors preserve and protect and defend it themselves.”
- Senate Democrats today elected Chuck Schumer of New York to lead the party into the Donald Trump era, while Senate Republicans re-elected Mitch McConnell of Kentucky to be their key legislative bridge to the next administration. Schumer had hoped he might be the majority leader if his party recaptured the Senate, working closely with Hillary Clinton’s administration. Instead, the New York Democrat will serve as the party’s main counterweight to a Trump presidency as minority leader. He will replace Harry Reid, the sharp-tongued senator from Nevada, who is retiring.
- Vermont senator Bernie Sanders, a newly minted member of the Democratic leadership in the upper chamber, has released a statement calling the appointment of Breitbart chair Steve Bannon as president-elect Donald Trump’s chief strategist and senior counsel “totally unacceptable.”
- “This country, since its inception, has struggled to overcome discrimination of all forms: racism, sexism, xenophobia and homophobia,” Sanders declared in a statement. “Over the years we have made progress in becoming a less discriminatory and more tolerant society – and we are not going backward.”
- An official in the Chinese foreign ministry has responded to president-elect Donald Trump’s old allegation that the Chinese government created the concept of climate change as a hoax to trick the West into ruining its manufacturing industry.
Video: Hillary Clinton’s full speech to the Children’s Defense Fund.
Who is Jared Kushner? Trump's son-in-law at center of transition team drama
One of the key men behind Donald Trump’s transition to power is a 35-year-old real estate mogul, businessman and publisher called Jared Kushner. He is also married to Trump’s influential daughter Ivanka, and is in line to be arguably the most powerful son-in-law to ever set foot in the White House.
During the latter stages of the campaign it was Kushner who effectively functioned as Trump’s campaign manger. He advised him on strategy, drafted his speeches and ran the candidate’s digital media campaign.
But eight days after Trump’s unexpected victory, Kushner is now at the centre of a messy and Shakespearean body-strewn transition process, variously described as infighting, a “Stalinist purge”, and a “knife fight”. On Friday, New Jersey governor Chris Christie was abruptly sacked as head of the transition team and replaced with Trump’s vice-president-elect, Mike Pence.
Christie’s ousting is thought to be the result of a feud with Kushner. As a federal prosecutor, Christie prosecuted Kushner’s father, Charles, who was convicted and jailed on charges of tax evasion, witness tampering and illegal campaign contributions. He got two years in jail, and was released after one. While he was in jail, Kushner took over the running of his father’s property business.
Earlier this week, two more senior members of Trump’s team were sacked. They were Mike Rogers, who had been handling national security, and Matthew Freedman, a lobbyist and liaison with business and foreign governments. Both were allies of Christie.
Good-looking, tall and patrician, Kushner studied at Harvard and New York universities. (According to Daniel Golden, author of The Price of Admissions: How America’s Ruling Class Buys Its Way into Elite Colleges, he was admitted to Harvard after his father donated $2.5m to the university.) At age 26, he was conducting his own mega-deals. In 2007, he bought an office building on Fifth Avenue for a record $1.8bn. Most of the cash involved in the acquisition was borrowed.
Kushner has one characteristic which sets him apart from Trump’s alt-right entourage: he’s Jewish. (Ivanka Trump converted to Judaism when they married in 2009; the couple have three children who they’re raising as Orthodox Jews.) Kushner has defended his father-in-law against persistent accusations of antisemitism, including in a notable piece published by the New York Observer, which he owns.
Trump has described his son-in-law as a “great guy”. The president-elect has also reportedly taken the unprecedented step of requesting security clearance for Kushner to attend top-secret presidential briefings, the first one of which was on Tuesday. It’s unclear if the request will be approved. It marks an astonishing departure and invites the accusation of nepotism.
Megyn Kelly, speaking with CNN’s Anderson Cooper, declared tonight while promoting her new book that president-elect Donald Trump’s lawyer had to be told that if she were to be killed after the lawyer retweeted a demand that she be “gutted,” “it would not help your candidate.”
After Trump verbally attacked her, "we had security guards the whole year," @MegynKelly says on @AC360 https://t.co/02L47iqC7l
— Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) November 17, 2016
Hillary Clinton, on facing adversity:
America is worth it. Our children are worth it. Believe in our country, fight for our values, and never give up. Because over the past two years, I’ve met so many people who’ve reaffirmed my belief in this country.
Speaking in New York City, former Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton declared at a gala for the Children’s Defense Fund that “no child” should live in fear of their parents being deported, or of violence at their schools because of their race or religion.
“No child should have to live with fear like that,” Clinton said, in an apparent reference to president-elect Donald Trump’s proposals regarding undocumented immigrants currently residing in the United States. “No child should be afraid to go to school because they are Latino, or African American, or Muslim, or have a disability.”
“There is work to do,” Clinton continued. “Girls as well as boys, in every country, in every continent, deserve that chance to fulfill their potential.”
“If they can persevere, so can all of us.”
On a conference call with reporters tonight, Republican National Committee strategist Sean Spicer and president-elect Donald Trump’s senior communications advisor, Jason Miller, announced that landing teams will be deployed in the coming days to start the transition process and noted that all of those joining landing teams will sign a pledge that they will not serve as a lobbyist at the federal and state level for the next five years.
They also noted several of the meetings that the president-elect had held with potential cabinet members today, including Alabama senator Jeff Sessions, General Mike Flynn, Georgia congressman Tom Price, Kansas congressman Mike Pompeo and charter school activist Eva Moskowitz.
They added that Trump is expected to meet tomorrow with South Carolina governor Nikki Haley, Florida governor Rick Scott and former secretary of state Henry Kissinger, among others.
Speaking at a gala celebrating the Children’s Defense Fund, former Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton told the audience of philanthropists and children’s rights activists that although after the loss of the presidential race one week ago, she wanted to “curl up with a book, maybe my dogs, and never leave the house again,” but that she was inspired in part by the stories of the children that the organization helps.
“The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice. Now, sometimes it can feel awfully long - believe me, I know,” Clinton said, to muted laughter. “But it does bend towards justice.”
“You don’t get to stop paying rent just because things don’t go your way,” Clinton continued. “I know that many of you are disappointed in the results of last week’s election - so am I, more than I can ever express, but as I said last week, our campaign was never about one person or even one election,” Clinton said, but about “building an America that is hopeful, inclusive and bighearted.”
Video: Donald Trump’s name has been stripped from three New York City apartment buildings that he once developed and later sold, after protests from the building’s residents that the name was negatively affecting their ability to attract renters and buyers.
Kellyanne Conway, adviser for president-elect Donald Trump’s transition team, dismissed reports of problems in forming his cabinet in an on-camera interview with pool reporters this evening, and said that new appointments should be announced soon.
“We feel really good about the transition,” Conway said. “I actually would just say it’s false to say it’s not going well.”
From the long-suffering transition pool:
At about 7:35 pm the elevator came down to the lobby and the doors opened. Sen. Jeff Sessions was inside, but he did not get off the elevator. Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani came into the lobby at about 7:39 pm.
“We discussed the transition,” Giuliani said, adding, “It went really well.”
Reporters asked if he could reveal any names under consideration and Giuliani said he had to keep it to himself. Your pooler tried to ask Giuliani for one word to describe his foreign policy doctrine and once again he responded with a laugh as he headed into the Trump Tower bar. An order of five pizza pies and other food from Angelo’s was brought upstairs shortly before Giuliani arrived and the mayor confirmed it was food for the meetings. He said he didn’t get to have any pizza but “got to smell it” before taking a jab at the infamous incident where current Mayor Bill de Blasio ate pizza with a fork.
“I’d also like to make clear that I eat pizza this way, not with a knife and fork,” Giuliani said as he demonstrated his slice folding technique with his hands.
Soon afterwards, professional skateboarder Billy Rohan walked through the lobby and called out to the press. “Trump loves Muslims too!” he shouted. “A salaam aleikum! Peace be upon you!”
Rohan said he met with Trump earlier today and came away impressed.
“It was the opposite of what I expected. You know how you hear about Freemasons and then you meet one and it is the opposite of what you expected? It was like that,” Rohan said.
Rohan claimed he told Trump to spread peace by building skate parks around the world like he once rebuilt the skating rink in New York. He said Trump was receptive to the idea. Your pooler has reached out to the campaign to confirm whether the meeting between Trump and Rohan actually occurred. As of this writing, we have not received a response.
For planning purposes: Texas senator and former #NeverTrump figurehead Ted Cruz will be interviewed on Fox News Channel’s Fox & Friends tomorrow morning during the 7am ET hour. This will be Cruz’s first interview since his meeting with president-elect Donald Trump at Trump Tower on Tuesday, and his first interview on the cable news network since May 1, 2016.
Fortunately, where Bernie Sanders’ livestream has failed, the Guardian’s David Smith has succeeded: Here are highlights from the Vermont senator’s speech at George Washington University from the Guardian’s Washington correspondent.
At George Washington University. Bernie Sanders: "I know there a lot of people who are frightened."
— David Smith (@SmithInAmerica) November 17, 2016
Sanders: "When we stand together by the millions we can stop Mr Trump and anyone else from doing bad things."
— David Smith (@SmithInAmerica) November 17, 2016
Sanders: Trump said he would be the champion of the working class. Mr Trump, we have a list "and we are going to hold you to account".
— David Smith (@SmithInAmerica) November 17, 2016
Sanders: Trump said we should spend a trillion dollars on crumbling infrastructure. That's a good sum, that's what should be done.
— David Smith (@SmithInAmerica) November 17, 2016
Sanders: We will not be willing to work with Trump in expanding racism, sexism and bigotry.
— David Smith (@SmithInAmerica) November 17, 2016
Sanders: Rescind the Steve Bannon appointment. "A president of the United States should not have a racist at his side. Unacceptable."
— David Smith (@SmithInAmerica) November 17, 2016
Vermont senator and former Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders is currently speaking at George Washington University in Washington, DC - although you wouldn’t know it, because the livestream carried exclusively by his OurRevolution.com site has completely frozen for all its would-be viewers. Facebook comments posit that the new site is not built to handle this amount of traffic on streaming video.
Apparently, the Revolution will not be televised.
Bernie Sanders speaks at George Washington University
Watch it live here:
The Australian prime minister’s office has confirmed that Malcolm Turnbull became one of the first world leaders to ring Donald Trump – thanks to golfer Greg Norman.
Norman is a friend of Trump and handed over his contact details to Joe Hockey, Australia’s ambassador to the US, allowing Turnbull to make an early call to the president-elect.
Coming up: Clinton and Sanders speak
Bernie Sanders will be in Washington DC at 7pm ET to talk about his new book, Our Revolution: A Future to Believe in.
Then at 8.30pm, Hillary Clinton makes her first public appearance since she conceded to Trump (that hike in the woods doesn’t count) with a speech at a Children’s Defense Fund event at the Newseum. That’s around 8.30pm ET.
We’ll have news of both here in the live blog.
On Thursday, Japan’s prime minister, Shinzo Abe, will be the first foreign leader to meet Donald Trump. Probably.
Reuters reports that planning for the meeting might not be going … smoothly:
One day before Trump’s first meeting with a foreign leader, Japanese officials said they had not finalized when or where in New York it would take place, who would be invited, or in some cases whom to call for answers.
Japanese and US officials said on Wednesday the state department had not been involved in planning the meeting, leaving the logistical and protocol details that normally would be settled far in advance still to be determined.
“There has been a lot of confusion,” said one Japanese official.
The meeting was only agreed to last week, and Trump and his advisers have been busy in meetings at his headquarters in Manhattan’s Trump Tower in recent days to work out who gets which job in the new administration.
While world leaders sometimes hold loosely planned bilateral meetings at regional summits, it is unusual for foreign leaders to hold high-level diplomatic talks in the United States without detailed planning. Abe is on his way to an Asia-Pacific summit in Peru.
State department spokesman John Kirby said that to his knowledge, Trump’s transition team had not been in contact with the department either to discuss the transition of government or to seek information ahead of his meetings with foreign leaders.
Trump is expected to use the Abe meeting to reassure Japan and other Asian allies rattled by his campaign rhetoric, advisers to Trump said.
But Trump, a brash outsider with no diplomatic or government experience, and Abe, a veteran lawmaker, have differences on policy issues such as free trade.
Several Trump aides did not immediately answer requests on Wednesday for comment about the Abe visit or contact between the transition team and the state department.
This is Claire Phipps picking up the live blog from Scott Bixby.
Updated
In one of his final acts in office, Barack Obama selected key figures in sports, entrepreneurship, philanthropy, activism, academia and entertainment among the 21 people who will be awarded the 2016 Presidential Medal of Freedom – the highest civilian honor in the US.
Obama will present recipients including rocker Bruce Springsteen, Motown soul singer Diana Ross, former basketball champions Michael Jordan and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and actors Tom Hanks, Robert De Niro and Robert Redford with the medal at a White House ceremony on 22 November, the White House said on Wednesday.
“The Presidential Medal of Freedom is not just our nation’s highest civilian honor – it’s a tribute to the idea that all of us, no matter where we come from, have the opportunity to change this country for the better,” Obama said in a statement.
The medal is given annually to people who have made outstanding contributions to the security or national interests of the US, to world peace, or to cultural or other significant public or private endeavors.
This year’s roster also includes Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates and his wife Melinda for their philanthropic foundation, TV talkshow host Ellen DeGeneres, veteran actor Cicely Tyson, architect Frank Gehry and baseball broadcaster Vin Scully.
The group also includes several not so well known Americans, such as late Native American community leader Elouise Cobell and Nasa moon landing computer scientist Margaret H Hamilton.
Cc: @APStyleBook.
The transition site can't figure out whether Trump is "President-elect," "President Elect" or "President-Elect." https://t.co/4Gs7vYwiV8
— Scott Bixby (@scottbix) November 16, 2016
Nicole Hockley, who lost her son in the Sandy Hook elementary school shooting in 2012, faced a row of television cameras on Tuesday. She and other Sandy Hook families were filing an appeal in their battle against the gun companies who had made the military-style rifle used to kill their children.
What was her reaction to Donald Trump’s victory, reporters asked her. Was she scared?
Hockley, composed and forceful, offered a reality check: even if Hillary Clinton had been elected president, Congress would not have passed gun control legislation.
“We’ve had a very committed gun violence prevention president in place for the last eight years, and we’re not seeing significant federal change,” she said.
“This is about bottom-up change, not top-down,” she told the cameras. “This is more about a community groundswell that’s needed.”
Hockley’s fight for gun violence prevention has been focused on state and local action – and having Trump in the White House did not change that strategy.
Obama, a passionate advocate for gun violence prevention, has “tried everything. He can’t get it passed,” she said in an in-depth interview with Guardian US.
When it comes to guns, “I still don’t think our country is ready yet for federal change,” she said. “I think there are still too many people that are uninformed or misinformed on this issue, that believe it’s never going to happen to them, that believe it has nothing to do with access to weapons.”
“This is not the time to bow out,” she said. “This is where we have to double down our efforts. Regardless of who’s in office, people are still dying every day, and there’s an opportunity to save lives.”
From the long-suffering transition pool:
Former Mayor Rudy Giuliani came to Trump Tower shortly after 5:00pm. As he waited for the elevator reporters shouted questions at him including whether he will be Secretary of State and if he thinks Gov. Christie did a good job with the transition.
Your pooler asked him for one word to sum up his approach to foreign policy and he laughed. Will send along video of this shortly. Mayor Giuliani said he might speak to the press when he comes back downstairs.
China to Donald Trump: No, climate change is not a hoax we invented
An official in the Chinese foreign ministry has responded to president-elect Donald Trump’s old allegation that the Chinese government created the concept of climate change as a hoax to trick the West into ruining its manufacturing industry.
The concept of global warming was created by and for the Chinese in order to make U.S. manufacturing non-competitive.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 6, 2012
“If you look at the history of climate change negotiations, actually it was initiated by the [Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change] with the support of the Republicans during the Reagan and senior Bush administration during the late 1980s,” vice foreign minister Liu Zhenmin told reporters today at United Nations talks in Morocco.
Liu stated that American commitment to decreasing carbon emissions could actually increase its economic competitiveness: “That’s why I hope the Republican’s administration will continue to support this process.”
Donald Trump renews war with media as transition chaos continues
Donald Trump has renewed his fight with the American media, criticizing the New York Times, ducking reporters to visit a restaurant and turning to Twitter as a means of direct communication.
The US president-elect even appeared to allude to his reality TV show The Apprentice as he denied reports that his transition process is in turmoil and plagued by infighting.
Trump waged an unprecedented one-man war against the media during his election campaign, banning some organisations from his rallies and regularly inciting his supporters to boo and jeer reporters. He used Twitter, on which he has more than 15 million followers, to berate his critics and throw out often incendiary statements.
Not even his elevated status as the next leader of the free world appears to have changed his habits. Whereas Barack Obama gave his first press conference three days after his election in 2008, Trump is yet to do so, instead giving a primetime TV interview and unleashing a barrage of tweets, yet again taking the US presidency into uncharted waters.
“Very organized process taking place as I decide on Cabinet and many other positions,” he posted on Twitter late on Tuesday. “I am the only one who knows who the finalists are!”
His reference to “the finalists” seemed to deliberately evoke The Apprentice, in which contestants battled each other for a chance to work at his business and he told those who fell short: “You’re fired!”
The Twitter storm resumed early on Wednesday morning when he denied media reports that his three adult children – Don Jr, Eric and Ivanka – would be receiving security clearances, raising potential conflicts of interest. “I am not trying to get ‘top level security clearance’ for my children. This was a typically false news story.”
Delaware senator Chris Coons, a graduate of Yale Divinity School who occasionally still gives sermons on Sunday, has framed his criticism of president-elect Donald Trump’s appointment of Steve Bannon as his chief strategist and senior counsel as welcoming “the toxic blend of hate and bigotry that Mr. Bannon has made a living propagating” into the White House:
In his election night victory speech, president-elect Trump pledged to be a president of all Americans. His choice of Steve Bannon as his chief strategist is deeply disturbing and fundamentally inconsistent with that pledge. Mr. Bannon personally has made despicable comments about women, the LGBT community, people of faith, and those with mental illness. At Breitbart, Mr. Bannon created an outlet built upon stoking racism, sexism, homophobia, and anti-Semitism. These are not the values that have made America great. Inclusion and diversity are at the foundation of our nation’s success and our leadership in the world, and I will continue to defend those values. The president-elect must make it clear that the toxic blend of hate and bigotry that Mr. Bannon has made a living propagating has no place in a Trump administration.
Pres-elect must make it clear that toxic blend of hate & bigotry Steve Bannon has made a living on has no place in a Trump administration. pic.twitter.com/VHbQKi3ZFV
— Senator Chris Coons (@ChrisCoons) November 16, 2016
Former Trump campaign manager Kellyanne Conway has denied reports that president-elect Donald Trump’s transition to the White House was in turmoil and plagued by infighting, saying that new appointments were expected “soon.”
Speaking to reporters in the lobby of Trump Tower in New York City, Kellyanne Conway said: “You don’t form a federal government overnight and these are very serious issues, very serious appointments, very serious considerations.”
BREAKING TRUMP MEATLOAF NEWS:
Trump spokeswoman Hope Hicks told your pooler she is traveling today and cannot confirm whether President-elect Trump had his mother’s meatloaf today. However, she did note that ‘it is a favorite of his.’
Bernie Sanders: Steve Bannon's appointment 'totally unacceptable'
Vermont senator Bernie Sanders, a newly minted member of the Democratic leadership in the upper chamber, has released a statement calling the appointment of Breitbart chair Steve Bannon as president-elect Donald Trump’s chief strategist and senior counsel “totally unacceptable.”
“This country, since its inception, has struggled to overcome discrimination of all forms: racism, sexism, xenophobia and homophobia,” Sanders declared in a statement. “Over the years we have made progress in becoming a less discriminatory and more tolerant society – and we are not going backward.”
“The appointment by president-elect Trump of a racist individual like Mr. Bannon to a position of authority is totally unacceptable,” Sanders continued. “In a democratic society we can disagree all we want over issues, but racism and bigotry cannot be part of any public policy. The appointment of Mr. Bannon by Mr. Trump must be rescinded.”
Republicans have thus far largely declined to criticize Trump’s decision to appoint Bannon, despite the latter’s record of promoting white supremacy.
President-elect Donald Trump’s transition team has released a full list of the foreign heads of state with whom Trump and vice president-elect Mike Pence have spoken:
- President of Argentina, Mauricio Macri
- Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of Australia, Malcolm Turnbull
- Prime Minister of Canada, Justin Trudeau
- President of the People’s Republic of China, Xi Jinping
- President of Colombia, Juan Manuel Santos Calderón
- President of the Arab Republic of Egypt, Abdel Fattah al-Sisi
- Prime Minister of Denmark, Lars Løkke Rasmussen
- Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany, Dr. Angela Merkel
- President of France, François Hollande
- Prime Minister of Ireland, Enda Kenny
- Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu
- Prime Minister of Italy, Matteo Renzi
- Prime Minister of Japan, Shinzō Abe
- King Abdullah II bin Al Hussein of Jordan
- Prime Minister of Lebanon, Saad Al Hariri
- President of Mexico, Enrique Peña Nieto
- Prime Minister of New Zealand, John Key
- His Highness Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al-Thani of Qatar
- Prime Minister of the Republic of India, Narendra Modi
- President of the Republic of Korea, Park Geun-hye
- President of the Republic of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan
- President of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin
- King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud of Saudi Arabia
- Prime Minister of Turkey, Binali Yildirim
- President of Ukraine, Petro Poroshenko
- President of the United Arab Emirates and Ruler of Abu Dhabi, H.H. Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan
- Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan
- Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Theresa May
- Secretary General to the United Nations, Ban Ki-moon
Frank Gaffney, the founder and president of the reputationally challenged Center for Security Policy and a hardline conspiracy theorist who has floated the notion that President Barack Obama is a crypto-Muslim, has denied numerous media reports that he has been brought on to advise president-elect Donald Trump’s transition team.
“An unattributed quote appeared in the press yesterday indicating that I had been appointed to the Trump transition team,” Gaffney told Politico in a statement today. “In fact, I had not been contacted by anyone from the team and appreciate the campaign’s clarification today that the previous day’s reports were inaccurate. I look forward to helping the president-elect and the national security-minded team he is assembling in whatever way I can.”
Gaffney, who once served as Texas senator Ted Cruz’s campaign advisor on national security issues, has repeatedly expressed concerns about a “worrying pattern of official US submission to Islam and the theo-political-legal program the latter’s authorities call Shariah.” Gaffney has also accused numerous members and allies of the Obama administration were acting as Islamic fifth columnists, including Hillary Clinton advisor Huma Abedin.
Both the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times reported last night that Gaffney was serving an informal role in the Trump transition, citing unidentified sources.
Updated
Mr Trump’s Mother’s Meatloaf, anyone?
They are serving "Mr. Trump's Mother's Meatloaf" today in the cafe at Trump Tower pic.twitter.com/lCOUmPfIQo
— Hunter Walker (@hunterw) November 16, 2016
The Bidens have lunched with the Pences at the vice president’s residence at the Naval Observatory.
Now they’ve finished, the press pool reports. They took some questions and we’ll have the details shortly.
According to the vice president’s office, the Bidens gave the Pences a tour of the grounds before lunch, then a tour of the house.
Kellyanne Conway, who has said she’s been offered a job in the Trump administration, was asked about Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner possibly having top security clearance. Conway suggested Kushner may get the presidential daily briefing.
Why? What’s his role?
Conway on Kushner clearance: “It’s appropriate for whoever’s going to get the presidential daily briefing to have a security clearance.”
— Jonathan Weisman (@jonathanweisman) November 16, 2016
The question is why is it appropriate for Kushner to get the daily briefing. https://t.co/3aTWvXOFpK
— Matthew Yglesias (@mattyglesias) November 16, 2016
Reid: bring back earmarks now
Reid is asked how he feels about bringing back earmarks, ie specified spending for pet projects in legislators’ home districts, which are currently outlawed but which used to grease every old budget deal.
Reid:
Me? What a question to ask me? I’m one of the kings of earmarks. I think it was a terrible disservice to America to come up with this stupid stupid idea to stop.... it’s the way we get things done around here.
I’ve never apologized to anybody. I go home and I boast about earmarks. And that’s what everyone should do.
Reid calls for hearings on electoral college
Here come the Democrats now on Capitol Hill. Outgoing senate minority leader Harry Reid apologizes for being late.
Reid says he wants to pass a budget instead of relying on a patchwork of continuing resolutions to fund the government. He wants to move on presidential nominations. “We’re ready to work with Republicans during these next few weeks,” Reid says. We’ll hold our breaths.
Reid opens it to questions.
Question: Have you accepted the election result? Do you love the electoral college?
“I think it would be educational for the country to have some hearings on the electoral college system,” Reid says, adding that Clinton would end with a 2m+ vote lead on Trump. Reid points out that the loser got more votes than the winner in 2000 too.
“Of course I’ve accepted [the result], whether I’ve really put it behind me, the answer is no, this is something that will be with me for a long time, I’m terribly disappointed.”
McConnell says election was only typically nasty, like 1824
Mitch McConnell, in a Republican news conference on Capitol Hill, is asked about Steve Bannon:
“I’m not going to comment on White House personnel choices.”
McConnell is asked about the tone of the campaign:
American campaigns are pretty robust. I think a lot of Americans don’t realize we’ve had a lot of elections like this in the past. I’m thinking of 1824.... What’s different is with the Internet, and 24-hour TV everybody gets constantly confronted with all this. I think it’s time for the election to be over... to lower the tone.
What do Bruce Springsteen, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Diana Ross have in common?
They’re all about to get presidential medals of freedom:
WH announces 21 new Presidential Medal of Freedom recipients. WH Ceremony on Nov 22. Includes: pic.twitter.com/NSKYG2NgTC
— Mark Knoller (@markknoller) November 16, 2016
Goodness.
@seanhannity just purchase my painting The Forgotten Man to give to President Trump to hang in the White House. pic.twitter.com/UmP6h1KPjI
— Jon McNaughton (@McNaughtonArt) November 9, 2016
This is literally the worst painting. https://t.co/Vl5PJ0d9fe
— southpaw (@nycsouthpaw) November 16, 2016
“Donald Trump’s most prized possessions: the treasured items that matter to him most and the stories behind them.”
Any plans for Friday night?
Fox News airing special Friday in which Trump talks about his prized possessions https://t.co/7ODUhVQ80u
— Michael Calderone (@mlcalderone) November 16, 2016
Former Ku Klux Klan grand wizard David Duke defends Steve Bannon:
THEY are trying to characterize Mr. Bannon as "evil". They hate White men who won't apologize for being - White men.#MAGA #BuildTheWall pic.twitter.com/cQxuEH43b2
— David Duke (@DrDavidDuke) November 16, 2016
Michelle Obama and Melania Trump met at the White House last week for what was by all accounts a cordial encounter and there’s no reason whatsoever America to believe that Mrs Obama has in any way lost her resolve or succumbed to self-pity and regret.
Globalization and its discontents. pic.twitter.com/Npwv3lRitZ
— ian bremmer (@ianbremmer) November 16, 2016
De Blasio told Trump that some families in New York, “the ultimate city of immigrants,” feared being split apart and said the president-elect needed to consider the long-term consequences for the well-being of the city of his immigration policies:
“I talked to him about concerns of potential deportations, I gave him the perspective of the NYPD” that you could create serious distrust between police and neighborhoods, De Blasio says. He calls NYC “the ultimate city of immigrants.”
Here De Blasio says “we are not going back to OVERUSE of stop-and-frisk” – leaving open the question of just how much stop-and-frisk we’re going back to?
I want all NYC residents to know: federal gov't can't tell us how to police our streets. We are not going back to overuse of stop-and-frisk.
— Bill de Blasio (@BilldeBlasio) November 16, 2016
Updated
Ahead of a slate of formal meetings in Berlin tomorrow, Barack Obama and German chancellor Angela Merkel will dine together informally at his hotel this evening, the White House pool reports:
The President will be taking part in an informal and private dinner with Chancellor Merkel this evening at his hotel.
Updated
A few NBA teams are reportedly boycotting Trump hotels. The season started three weeks ago:
Sources: 3 NBA teams nix staying at Trump hotels https://t.co/LGLro8mgJu
— Ben Jacobs (@Bencjacobs) November 16, 2016
On the wave of anti-Semitism that has risen with Trump, De Blasio says he told Trump:
We’ve seen a worrisome increase in some parts of this country... there are deep fears and concerns out there... the wrong messages can encourage hateful acts.
De Blasio says he told Trump people are afraid
De Blasio said he wanted to give Trump a feel of concerns everyone is feeling about his presidency.
They discussed financial regulations, particularly deeply concerning reports that Trump may roll back part of the Dodd-Frank law, de Blasio says.
He said they talked about the tax code and he emphasized the need to invest in infrastructure and not hit the middle and working classes.
“I talked to him about concerns of potential deportations, I gave him the perspective of the NYPD” that you could create serious distrust between police and neighborhoods, De Blasio says. He calls NYC “the ultimate city of immigrants.”
They talked about stop and frisk. “I tried to provide a perspective on stop-and-frisk... we knew that we were never going back to that policy.” De Blasio said it drove a wedge between police and people.
De Blasio says there are more than 900 Muslim members of the NYPD and we rely on their willingness to protect the city and respect needs to be shown to the Muslim community.
De Blasio said he warned Trump about rhetoric: “I let him know that so many New Yorkers were fearful and that more had to be done to show that this country can heal, that people be respected.”
De Blasio:
Even though I have very real differences with the president-elect, he is a New Yorker, I do think he loves this city.
Here’s de Blasio:
Assad: Trump's words 'promising' but 'can he deliver?'
Conway: 'you don’t form a federal government overnight'
Here’s a transcript of a conversation just then between former Trump campaign manager Kellyanne Conway and the press pool.
Conway:
I was in DC yesterday at both transition offices and it’s really something to walk into our transition office in Washington DC and see everything from seasoned Reagan hands .. and then to look around the room and see millennials who were born after President Reagan left office. That’s really the hive of activity.
Question on rumors that transition is disorganized, not going well, slow, people are getting fired:
I just don’t see it that way. It’s just not that way. Those are false.”
Question: did Trump intentionally mislead the press when he went to dinner (last night)?
No. He was just having dinner with his family.”
Question: when will Trump do a press conference?
Shortly, I would say. Sometime soon. But obviously he’s meeting with – talking to heads of state and possible members of his Cabinet and senior team, filling out his senior leadership team. A lot of activity going on upstairs. So. I know he looking forward to” [addressing you all?]
Question: any names announced today?
I’m not sure it’ll be today. But it will be soon. It’s a lot to digest in putting together a federal government.”
Question: is Trump considering a registry for Muslims or a ban on Muslims?
We haven’t talked about that. I think he’s been very clear on his position on that issue.”
Question: over a week since election and only 2 appointments so far?
You don’t form a federal government overnight and these are very serious issues, very serious appointments, very serious considerations. And I was reading Politico earlier and noticed that we’re pretty much on track to where other administrations had been, definitely internally in terms of vetting different candidates and thinking through and interviewing different people. It’s not the kind of thing to rush through.” (She seemed to be scanning the pool for someone from Politico)
Colorado senator Cory Gardner will be in charge of coordinating and directing Republican efforts to strengthen their hold on the senate, as incoming chairman of the national Republican senatorial committee, the NRSC announces:
.@CoryGardner, you ready? pic.twitter.com/9IsOvx6zb0
— The Senate Majority (@NRSC) November 16, 2016
Reuters reports that “Mexico’s foreign ministry announced fresh steps on Wednesday to provide support to Mexican citizens living in the United States following the victory in last week’s U.S. presidential election by Donald Trump, who has promised to crack down on immigrants in the country illegally”:
The ministry said it was acting to help Mexicans avoid fraud and abuses in the United States. It said it would expand the availability of mobile consulate services to reach more migrants in their communities, establish a 24-hour telephone line for questions about immigration, and provide more appointments for migrants to get passports, birth certificates and consular identification cards.
The ministry also said Mexico will “strengthen dialogue” with U.S. state and local authorities to protect its citizens, and added that migrants in the United States should “avoid any conflict situation” and stay out of trouble with the law.
Read the full piece here.
Trump spokesman dismisses Bannon concerns: 'That’s just folks that are bitter the election’s over'
Here’s a partial transcript of what Trump spokesman Jason Miller has just told reporters at Trump tower. Thanks to Todd Gillman of the Dallas News. PE stands for president-elect and VPE stands for vice-president-elect.
Question on the perceived slow pace of personnel announcements and decisions:
The PE and the VPE are taking a very structured methodical approach to this….We’re not going to rush.… We’re going to make sure that they’re people that we are confident will pass confirmation and they’re going to be people that we think can implement the PE’s vision. It’s also important to look back that President Obama even didn’t have his entire cabinet formed in the first week. We’re going to make sure we get it right.”
Question: Will you announce national security team first?
When the PE is ready to put that forward then we will.” (no timetable who will be announced before others.) “Obviously we’re taking this very seriously and we know we have a finite amount of time to get this put together…. Inside, there’s a very solid plan. There’s a methodical approach to all this being put together. [despite news reports] … It’s very calm, it’s very structured and anyone saying anything else is either A, bitter, because they’re not on the inside and they’re not being considered, or they’re someone who’s just bitter because the election was last week and they didn’t get the result that they wanted. … The PE will be putting forward some very fine people. It’ll be some folks who’ll be outside the box. There will be some people who have been very successful in fields of business, in fields of education.”
Question on reports that Jared Kushner has been purging Christie allies?
Couldn’t be further from the truth. Jared did a fantastic job with the campaign. Obviously the PE seeks and respects his counsel very much. Jared is one of the most brilliant people I’ve had the opportunity to work with over the course of this campaign. The way that you described it I would say is completely inaccurate. The one thing I would say is that with the VPE coming in to run the transition team, we’re making sure that we’re bringing in folks who are ready to implement the PE’s vision. And of course the PE is going to have his VPE in charge of the transition team because he spent all this time with him on the campaign trail. He knows exactly what the PE wants to see. He knows the types of people he’ll want to put in place.”
Question on response to claims that Steve Bannon is a white supremecist or anti-Semite:
That’s just folks that are bitter the election’s over. They didn’t get the result that they wanted. Steve Bannon is someone who’s done a fantastic job implementing the PE’s vision on the campaign trail. He’s someone I’ve had the opportunity to work with over the past three or four months, someone ive seen very high character from. Someone who’s been a fantastic example of really being inclusive. Someone who’s embraced diversity at every step. I think he’ll do a great job working with chief of staff Reince Priebus… to implement PE Trump’s vision. And that’s the important thing. There’s one boss, and that’s the PE. He’s the person who’s going to have the final say on nominees who are going to be put forward” and on senior staff.
Question on how serious a contender is Ted Cruz for attorney general?
Obviously I am a big fan of Senator Cruz’s and whether there is something within the administration or whether it’s as an ally on Capitol Hill, I think Senator Cruz is happy that we’re going to have a president who’s going to push for conservative reforms, who’s going to make sure that we’re appointing the right kind of Supreme Court choices, and I think Senator Cruz will be a strong ally for President-elect Trump.
Sanders to deliver 'major' speech on Trump
Incoming senate budgetary committee ranking member Bernie Sanders – he ran for president this year too – is going to give what his activist group Our Revolution bills as “a major speech” this evening “about the future of our country under the presidency of Donald Trump.”
Developing...
Fellow white evangelicals: your votes for Trump shook my faith
As we enter the era of Donald Trump, I have to confess that I only now understand how purely cruel my fellow Christians are. I find it hard to pray as a result.
White American evangelicals, who produced me, and among whom I must count myself, have thoroughly demonstrated how little we care about our representation of Christ to the world, how gleefully willing we are to put our own interests and grievances above the teachings of Jesus. And we have done that where we always do it: in the voting booth.
Four in five white evangelicals who cast a vote last week did so for president-elect Trump, who repeatedly encouraged violence at his rallies and bragged that being a celebrity meant no one would stop him from grabbing women “by the pussy”. A dozen women came forward to accuse him of mistreating them. And Christians have such contempt for the work of government that we voted for him anyway.
Dismantle the social safety net, the argument goes, and let the church do the work it was called to do. God forbid the church simply express gratitude for aid in a work so infinite that Jesus himself said “The poor you will always have with you.”
But the words of Jesus are apparently worthless to people who are angry that immigrants might be made citizens without suffering enough. If you want your impoverished neighbor’s insulin supply cruelly torn away from her on the extremely slim chance that it might make your own monthly health insurance premiums go down, you will find little validation in the Sermon on the Mount. If you want to halt immigration for people who are fleeing persecution, you will have some trouble with the God of Zechariah, who tells you in so many words, “[D]o not oppress the widow or the orphan, the stranger or the poor; and do not devise evil in your hearts against one another.”
Why must an abused child be forced to carry another child to term? Why shouldn’t women be able to easily access birth control or surgeries that will prevent them from dying of sepsis? I can’t find answers for these questions in my Bible.
Perhaps white Christians simply gave ourselves the extravagant gift of forgetfulness before entering the voting booth. Perhaps we simply didn’t care. [...]
Read the full piece here:
Le Pen: Trump-Putin-Le Pen trio would bring safety
“French far-right party leader Marine Le Pen said on Wednesday that her election as president next year would form a trio of world leaders with U.S. President-elect Donald Trump and Russia’s Vladimir Putin that ‘would be good for world peace’,” Reuters reports:
Inaugurating her campaign headquarters for France’s 2017 election, just less than one mile away from the Elysee presidential palace, Le Pen said the premises were “a stopover on the way to (her) final destination down the road.”
Anti-Europe and anti-immigration, the 48-year-old Le Pen was the only French political leader who backed Trump in the U.S. election.
Her National Front party has been buoyed by his victory and that of Britain’s vote to leave the European Union, hoping to ride a similar anti-establishment wave in France to victory in next year’s poll.
“There is a worldwide movement. A worldwide movement which rejects unchecked globalisation, destructive ultra-liberalism ... the elimination of nation states, the disappearance of borders,” Le Pen told reporters.
“The forces at work in these various elections are ideas, forces which could bring about my election as the president of France next May.”
As for the Republican senate leadership: If it ain’t broke (?!?), don’t fix it:
Senate GOP ldrshp stays the same. McConnell as Ldr. Cornyn as Whip, et al.
— Chad Pergram (@ChadPergram) November 16, 2016
Trump team re-asserts that Trump is at Trump tower
Former Trump campaign manager Kellyanne Conway tells the press pool that a rumor that Donald Trump is not in Trump tower is “incorrect”:
Conway sent a text message to pooler Hunter Walker (@hunterw): “Incorrect. How do these nonsense rumors get started,” Conway wrote, adding, “He is here.”
Further from Walker:
Trump spokesman Jason Miller just spoke with the media for approximately 10 minutes. He denied rumors that [Trump son-in-law] Jared Kushner has pushed [New Jersey governor Chris] Christie allies off the transition team, addressed claims that [incoming chief White House strategist] Steve Bannon is a white supremacist and an anti-Semite, and responded to criticism of Trump ditching the pool.
Trump’s spokeswoman promises that Trump is in Trump tower:
Hope Hicks to @ajjaffe on Trump: "He's in Trump Tower, I promise"
— Leigh Ann Caldwell (@LACaldwellDC) November 16, 2016
He’s totally not there, is he? <---- That’s a joke. <-----We think.
Rogers: 'there's some confusion going on' inside Trump transition
Former House intelligence committee chairman Mike Rogers, who more recently is a former member of Donald Trump’s transition team, says “there’s some confusion going on” inside the transition:
Mike Rogers to @CNN on his ouster from Trump transition: "there's some confusion going on about a chain-of-command coming out of NY"
— John Harwood (@JohnJHarwood) November 16, 2016
Here’s our further coverage of the transition in disarray:
Vermont senator Bernie Sanders will be the ranking member on the budget committee in the 115th Congress, according to a list released by incoming minority leader Chuck Schumer.
As the top Democrat on the committee, Sanders and his staff will be in charge of drafting an alternative budget to the one presented by Republicans. Republican Senator Mike Enzi of Wyoming chaired the budget committee in the 114th congress.
Here are the top Democrats’ committee assignments, via CQ Roll Call:
Your top Democrats on each Senate committee for the 115th, per new minority leader @SenSchumer pic.twitter.com/upMM44Yuxy
— Todd Ruger (@ToddRuger) November 16, 2016
Bubble-wrap those letters and ship them to the White House:
NOW: Trump name being taken off apartment building in New York. Residents petitioned for removal. pic.twitter.com/Sw4w6a1DX5
— Gabriel Elizondo (@elizondogabriel) November 16, 2016
Sanders joins senate leadership
Senator Chuck Schumer has announced that Bernie Sanders (Vermont) Tammy Baldwin (Wisconsin) and Joe Manchin (West Virginia) will join the senate leadership team:
.@SenSchumer on leadership team: "I have decided to expand the team and add 3 new members…@SenSanders, @Sen_JoeManchin & @SenatorBaldwin. pic.twitter.com/k2ioD2CgfL
— CSPAN (@cspan) November 16, 2016
I vividly remember lefty blog skepticism of Harry Reid taking over the Dems in 2005. Pro-life record, red state, etc. 1/2
— Dave Weigel (@daveweigel) November 16, 2016
Schumer wants to win, and is already elevating Sanders/Warren-wing voices. By summer 2017 he’ll be all good with progressives. 2/2
— Dave Weigel (@daveweigel) November 16, 2016
Spotted at Trump tower: NYC mayor De Blasio
From your long-suffering transition pool:
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio arrived at Trump Tower at about 10:39 am.
Your pooler asked if he was meeting with Trump.
“We’re talking about what the people of New York City are feeling and what we need,” de Blasio said.
De Blasio, who boarded the elevators very quickly, did not respond to a question from your pooler about whether he is concerned about a spike in hate crimes in the city.
De Blasio has said the city will aggressively prosecute hate crime in the Trump era. On Sunday the mayor’s office responded to an incident in which a swastika was spray-painted on a Brooklyn sidewalked:
Acts of violence in our beautifully diverse city will not be tolerated. We are all better than this. Report incidents to @NYPDNews via 911. https://t.co/AddQT3rOdL
— NYC Mayor's Office (@NYCMayorsOffice) November 13, 2016
Mark Zuckerberg’s belief that face news on Fakebook fake news on Facebook could not have swayed the election because nobody shares it makes Ben Collins in the Daily Beast wonder what Facebook Mark Zuckerberg is hanging out on:
Mark Zuckerberg has been in the crosshairs this week, even from within his own company, for saying he believes “it’s a pretty crazy idea” that “fake news on Facebook, which is a very small amount of content, influenced the election in any way.”
He should take a look at the most shared stories on his website, according to trend analysis site Trendolizer, and see if he can reconcile his PR statement with the truth.
At least a dozen stories with no basis in reality—most of them favoring Donald Trump—broke Facebook’s trending algorithm Monday and Tuesday, as the new president-elect took to his own Twitter account to repeatedly deride fact-checked newspapers like The New York Times.
Read the full piece here.
Schumer named as senate minority leader
The news is exactly as anticipated: senate Democrats have picked Chuck Schumer, of New York, as their new leader.
Senator Patty Murray of Washington, a budget specialist, has been named assistant leader; Dick Durbin of Illinois is still minority whip; and Debbie Stabenow of Michigan also will fill a leadership role.
Daily transition parade at Trump tower begins anew
From your long-suffering transition pool:
Trump advance team director George Gigicos arrived at 9:40. Reporters asked what he’s doing today.
“I don’t know I’m just getting here,” Gigicos said.
Trump campaign COO Eli Miller arrived at 9:43. He did not respond to questions from reporters.
Steve Mnuchin, a member of the transition team executive committee and possible pick for treasury secretary, arrived shortly afterwards and spoke to reporters.
Mnuchin said he and Trump had “talked about taxes.”
“I think the other thing — very big focus — is regulatory changes, looking at the creation of an infrastructure bank to fund infrastructure investments. So, there’s a lot of things to do and I’d say the economic priorities are clearly taxes, regulatory, trade, and infrastructure.”
Mnuchin later added:
“Right now we’re just still in the planning stages, as you can see, we want to be in a position where in the first 100 days we can execute the economic plan.”
Mnuchin was also asked when the transition team would hold a press conference. He said he was “not commenting.” Mnuchin was also asked about staffing and when Trump would announce an economic team.
“I’m really focused on the policies right now and getting things done,” Mnuchin said.
Senator Jeff Sessions arrived at Trump Tower at about 10:02 am toting a rolling suitcase.
He was asked if there would be any announcements today.
“I don’t think so,” Sessions said.
Kellyanne Conway arrived at about 10:07 am. She walked over to the elevators from somewhere within Trump Tower. Conway declined to come over and speak to the press though she waved and gave a thumbs up.
Updated
We don’t know that Trump will use the White House to enrich himself and his family and cronies, but anyone who has observed how he pays taxes or runs his foundation and casinos and businesses, or who has come face-to-face with the fact that for Trump, nothing is absolute – contracts, facts, settled history, videotaped incidents, your hand in front of your face – any such person might see a serious potential for corruption ahead:
The coming orgy of corruption isn't an alternative to Trump's authoritarianism, it's the natural complement https://t.co/uHmJCQ8mbT
— Matthew Yglesias (@mattyglesias) November 16, 2016
The really important thing is that he doesn't use a private email server for any of this. https://t.co/Vr20dswgsm
— Dave Weigel (@daveweigel) November 16, 2016
Barack Obama in Athens: ‘Democracy can be complicated’ – video
Former Maryland governor and presidential candidate Martin O’Malley has withdrawn from contention to be new chairman of the Democratic national committee.
While I'm grateful to the friends who have urged me to consider running for DNC Chair, I will not be seeking our Party's Chairmanship (2/2)
— Martin O'Malley (@MartinOMalley) November 16, 2016
Representative Keith Ellison of Minnesota has emerged as the frontrunner for the post, with the support of close ally Bernie Sanders, outgoing senate minority leader Harry Reid, (probable) incoming senate minority leader Chuck Schumer and others.
The Washington Post published a story Tuesday on various potential controversies attached to Ellison:
Earlier in his career, Ellison apologized for and/or backed off a number of controversial statements and politically dicey moves, from likening George W. Bush’s consolidation of power post-9/11 to the rise of Adolf Hitler, to defending the leader of the National of Islam, to labeling his 2012 reelection opponent a “lowlife scumbag.” These comments have rarely been an issue for Ellison in his safe Minneapolis-based district, but now that he’s competing to lead the Democratic Party, they’ve resurfaced.
In the Trump era, is it daft even to speculate that a 10-year-old comment by Ellison about George W Bush might disqualify him for a political leadership role?
Updated
Morning summary
Hello and welcome to our live-wire coverage of US politics. President-elect Donald Trump has spent his morning contradicting reports that personnel firings have left his transition team in disarray:
Trump specifically takes issue with a New York Times report that US allies are “struggling to make contact” because his team has jettisoned protocol:
Prominent American allies were in the meantime scrambling to figure out how and when to contact Mr. Trump. At times, they have been patched through to him in his luxury office tower with little warning, according to a Western diplomat who spoke on the condition of anonymity to detail private conversations.
Trump asserts that the report is wrong:
The failing @nytimes story is so totally wrong on transition. It is going so smoothly. Also, I have spoken to many foreign leaders.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 16, 2016
I have recieved and taken calls from many foreign leaders despite what the failing @nytimes said. Russia, U.K., China, Saudi Arabia, Japan,
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 16, 2016
Australia, New Zealand, and more. I am always available to them. @nytimes is just upset that they looked like fools in their coverage of me.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 16, 2016
Trump does not address security clearances for Kushner
Finally, Trump contradicts a story his team had previously contradicted in a statement, that he was seeking top security clearances for his children.
But Trump does not address the latest twist in the story, from last night, when NBC News reported that Trump had sought top-level security clearance for his son-in-law, Jared Kushner:
Trump team has asked for son in law Jared Kushner to have top secret clearance for Presidential Daily Brief no precedent for that
— Andrea Mitchell (@mitchellreports) November 15, 2016
I am not trying to get "top level security clearance" for my children. This was a typically false news story.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 16, 2016
Trump grabs dinner
Trump gave his protective press pool the slip last night to grab dinner at the 21 Club, which is a few blocks south of Trump tower:
Thank you for reading and please join us in the comments.
