Obama on Trump: This isn't reality TV

Obama has appeared on tv shows 51 times

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President Barack Obama speaks about the economy in the Brady Press Briefing room at the White House on May 6. | Getty

The president rebukes the presumptive nominee and the media, and asks Republican voters to ask tough questions about the real estate mogul.

By Nick Gass

05/06/16 12:42 PM EDT

Updated 05/06/16 12:52 PM EDT

When it comes to the presumptive Republican nominee, President Barack Obama has a message for Donald Trump, the American people, and the media: "This is not entertainment, this is not a reality show."

"With respect to the Republican process and Mr. Trump, there is going to be plenty of time to talk about his positions on various issues. He has a long record that needs to be examined. I think it is important to take seriously the statements we made in the past," Obama said while taking questions after issuing a statement following Friday's jobs numbers.

Obama remarked that he wanted to emphasize the degree to which "we are in serious times" and that "this is a serious job."

"This is not entertainment, this is not a reality show. This is a contest for the presidency of the United States. What that means is every candidate, every nominee needs to be subject to ... exacting standards of genuine scrutiny," Obama said.

"It means that you have to make sure their budgets add up. It means that if they say that they’ve got an answer to a problem, it is actually plausible and that they have details on how it would work and if it is completely implausible and would not work, that needs to be reported on, and the American people need to know that," he said, addressing the media. "If they take a position on international issues that could threaten war or has the potential of upending our critical relationships with other countries, or would potentially break the financial situation, that needs to be reported on."

Regardless of who the next president is, Obama said that he will be looking for proper vetting of candidates in the media.

"And if that happens, then I'm confident our democracy will work," he said. "That is true whether we are talking about Mr. Trump, or Ms. Clinton, or Bernie Sanders, or anybody else. But what I am concerned about is the degree to which reporting and information starts emphasizing the spectacle and the circus because that’s not something we can afford. And the American people, they have good judgment and instincts. As long as they get good information."

Obama declined to comment on House Speaker Paul Ryan's reluctance to get behind Trump as the party's nominee. The Wisconsin Republican delivered a stunning statement on Thursday, saying he was "not ready" to endorse Trump and that the real estate mogul needed to prove that he could be the Republican Party's standard-bearer.

"There is no doubt that there is a debate taking place inside the Republican Party about who they are and what they represent. Their standard-bearer at the moment is Donald Trump," he said. "And I think — not just Republican officials, but more importantly Republican voters are going to have to make a decision whether this is the guy who speaks for them and represents their values."

"I think Republican women voters are going to have to decide, 'Is that the guy I feel comfortable representing me and what I care about?' I think folks who historically have been concerned about making sure that budgets add up and that we are responsible stewards of government finance have to ask do Mr. Trump's budgets work? Those are going to be questions Republican voters, more than Republican officials, have to answer," Obama continued.

Obama also did not bite on a question on whether Bernie Sanders should bow out of the Democratic race against Hillary Clinton, reiterating that the process should play itself out.

And as far as Trump's social-media post commemorating Cinco de Mayo with a taco salad, Obama resisted commenting.

"I have no thoughts on Mr. Trump's tweets," Obama said. "As a general rule, I don't pay attention to Trump's tweets."

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First on CNN: Cheney says he will support Trump

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Cheney told CNN Special Correspondent Jamie Gangel that he has always supported the GOP nomineeThe announcement makes Cheney one of the few Republican Party elders to announce their support of Trump

Cheney told CNN Special Correspondent Jamie Gangel that he has always supported the GOP nominee and will do so this year as well.

The announcement makes Cheney one of the few Republican Party elders to announce their support of Trump and comes a day after House Speaker Paul Ryan told CNN he is "just not ready" to back Trump.

Former President George W. Bush, who Cheney served, said this week he would skip this summer's Republican convention where Trump will be formally nominated. Former President George H.W. Bush and John McCain and Mitt Romney, the GOP's 2008 and 2012 nominees, also don't plan to attend the convention.

Sen. Lindsey Graham, meanwhile, said Friday he would sit this election outbecause he can't bring himself to vote for either Trump or Hillary Clinton.

Graham said he was a "little bit" surprised when informed by CNN's Dana Bash that Cheney was supporting Trump.

"Dick Cheney's a great man. We see the world a lot alike when it comes to foreign policy. I can understand when people want to support the nominee of the Republican Party. I would like to be able to do that, but I just can't," Graham said. "Maybe I'm the outlier here. Probably am. There'll be Democrats who can't support Hillary Clinton, and you know some of them will hold their nose and vote for her. Some of them will do it enthusiastically."

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Report: Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts to Endorse Donald Trump

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AP Photo/Nati Harnik

by ALEX SWOYER6 May 2016Washington, DC424

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Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts, whose family funded anti-Trump efforts, is now expected to endorse the presumed Republican nominee at a campaign rally in Omaha, Nebraska on Friday.

“Governor Ricketts will appear with Donald Trump in Omaha tomorrow,” Ricketts’ spokesperson Taylor Gage stated, according to the Wall Street Journal. “The governor has always said he will support the GOP nominee to retake the White House. The governor is supporting Donald Trump as the presumptive GOP nominee.”

The endorsement is a surprise because the Ricketts family helped fund Our Principles PAC, a Super PAC started by a former Mitt Romney staffer, which was dedicated to stopping Trump from becoming the nominee. Trump warned the Ricketts family last February because of the anti-Trump efforts, saying, “be careful, they have a lot to hide.”

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Magazine Depicts Donkey with Hillary Tattoo Raping Donald Trump

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OC Weekly

by ADELLE NAZARIAN5 May 201629

This week’s OC Weekly cover features a Democratic donkey, with a Hillary for America tattoo, raping a naked depiction of Republican presidential frontrunner Donald Trump.

The less-than-savory cover appears to be a take on the infamous Donkey Show myth in Mexico, in which a woman has sex with the animal.

“Yes, that is a Democratic ass on top of Donald Trump on the cover of this week’s dead-tree Weekly,” the magazine writes. “And it’s only fitting.”

The image was drawn by Hispanic “cartoonista” Lalo Alcaraz who was born in San Diego, California to Mexican parents. In the dialogue bubbles, the Clinton donkey says, “check out our Trump coverage!” while it shows off its abnormally large teeth. The Trump caricature depicts a flustered and humiliated man saying, “It’s yuuuge!”

The donkey, or ass, is the Democratic Party’s mascot.

The magazine offers the following description of its Charlie Hebdo-like cover choice, which it self-praises as “good stuff!”

For more than a year, the presumptive GOP presidential nominee has peddled all sorts of nasty myths against Mexicans, from painting undocumented immigrants as rapists and Typhoid Marias to insisting a massive wall on the U.S.-Mexico border will make America great again.” His campaign has grown as grotesque as adonkey show, those Tijuana spectacles that exist only in the fevered minds of gabachos, and it made a stop in Costa Mesa last week, with Trump the featured star and theWeeklydocumentingeveryscream,punch and lie. So it’s also only fittinglegendary cartoonista Lalo Alcarazcapture the moment, you know? Besides, Democrats violating Trump from behind is what he can expect when he faces Hillary Clinton come November. Enjoy our package, and don’t forget to register to vote!

BTW, the idea for this cover came from our former sister paper the Riverfront Times, who infamously had theDemocratic donkey humping former Missouri congressman Todd “Legitimate Rape” Akins on its cover in 2012—good stuff!

The OC Weekly cover arrives just one month away from the California primary, which will likely decide the state of the race in the Democratic Party. Clinton, the presumptive Democratic nominee, is just 178 total delegates away from clinching the party’s nomination.

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Follow Adelle Nazarian on Twitter @AdelleNaz 

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Six Aspects Of Donald Trump’s Pro-Gun Push

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by AWR HAWKINS5 May 2016169

Presumptive Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has a plan to defend gun rights in general and the Second Amendment in particular. The plan is visible in the policies set forth by Trump as well as his understanding of the value of the Second Amendment and the freedoms it guards.

Here are six aspects of his plan.

National Reciprocity for Concealed Carry–In a September 18 position paper,Trump explained that “the right of self-defense doesn’t stop at the end of your driveway.” He contended that right to defend one’s life is viable wherever a person goes. He said, “I have a concealed carry permit and…tens of millions of Americans do too. That permit should be valid in all 50 states. A driver’s license works in every state, so it’s common sense that a concealed carry permit should work in every state.”

Understands Concealed Carry As ‘A Right, Not A Privilege’–This the “why” behind Trump’s push for national reciprocity. For him, honoring concealed carry licenses from every state is the “common sense” way to honor the right to bear arms for self-defense. He makes the point by contrasting rights and privileges, saying, “[If we can recognize licenses in all 50 states as it relates to] driving – which is a privilege, not a right – then surely we can do that for concealed carry, which is a right, not a privilege.”

Opposes ‘Assault Weapons’ Ban–Trump views attempts to ban “assault weapons” as a prime example of the left’s attempt to use language and demagoguery to limit the freedoms of the people. He said:

Opponents of gun rights try to come up with scary sounding phrases like “assault weapons,” “military-style weapons” and “high capacity magazines” to confuse people. What they’re really talking about are popular semi-automatic rifles and standard magazines that are owned by tens of millions of Americans. Law-abiding people should be allowed to own the firearm of their choice.

Opposes Expansion of Background Checks–Trump believes background checks have failed to live up to the hype surrounding them at the time they were enacted and, therefore, ought not be expanded. He observes that the U.S. has had background checks since 1998, yet they have not prevented numerous high profile shootings and terror attacks against our country and our stateside military personnel. He says we have a situation where criminals get guns when they need them–background system or not–while law-abiding citizens are burdened with going through a check that was supposed to “be instant, accurate and fair,” but isn’t.

Supports ‘Harsh Penalties’ For Gun Crime—Trump said:

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Several years ago there was a tremendous program in Richmond, Virginia called Project Exile. It said that if a violent felon uses a gun to commit a crime, you will be prosecuted in federal court and go to prison for five years – no parole or early release. Obama’s former Attorney General, Eric Holder, called that a “cookie cutter” program. That’s ridiculous. I call that program a success. Murders committed with guns in Richmond decreased by over 60% when Project Exile was in place – in the first two years of the program alone, 350 armed felons were taken off the street.

Arm U.S. Troops On Military Bases–Trump strongly opposes the policies that disarm troops and make them sitting ducks on military bases. He said:

Banning our military from carrying firearms on bases and at recruiting centers is ridiculous. We train our military how to safely and responsibly use firearms, but our current policies leave them defenseless. To make America great again, we need a strong military. To have a strong military, we need to allow them to defend themselves.

AWR Hawkins is the Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and political analyst for Armed American Radio. Follow him on Twitter: @AWRHawkins. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com.

 

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Why Did NBC News Sit on Explosive Story About Clinton’s Alleged Hacked Email Server For Weeks?

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As LawNewz.com reported on Wednesday evening, NBC News was the second major news network to announce an upcoming interview with the notorious Romanian hacker Marcel Lehel Lazar, better known by the name “Guccifer.”

Lazar, whose actions led to the exposure of Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server, was extradited to the United States in March.  He is alleged to have posted emails that were sent to then-Secretary of State Clinton on the internet, including correspondence from close Clinton family confidant Sidney Blumenthal. Lazar was extradited to the United States just as reports indicate that the FBI investigation into Clinton’s email server was in in full swing. Lazar is charged with wire fraud, cyberstalking, identify theft, unauthorized access to computers and obstruction of justice.

According to the NBC News press release, Lazar was interviewed by reporter Cynthia McFadden from a Bucharest prison, where he admitted to also hacking into Clinton’s private e-mail account.  Here is the transcript from the upcoming NBC interview special, On Assignment:

###

CYNTHIA McFADDEN:

When Hillary Clinton says that her server is absolutely safe – you’re laughing.

MARCEL LEHEL LAZAR (GUCCIFER):

That’s a lie.

McFADDEN:

That’s a lie?

GUCCIFER:

Yes.

McFADDEN:

It’s not safe.

GUCCIFER:

It’s not safe at all.

# # #

As you can see from the transcript, Lazar is openly admitting to hacking Clinton’s private e-mail account.  The same private e-mail account where federal officials found over 2,000 e-mails that contained classified information, including at least 22 deemed to contain “Top Secret” information.  That is pretty explosive information. To note, Clinton’s campaign has already fired back, in a statement saying “There is absolutely no basis to believe the claims made by this criminal from his prison cell.”

Now, this is where things get a little strange.  As was noted earlier, NBC News says Lazar made these claims to McFadden during an interview in a Bucharest prison and we know Lazar was extradited to the United States on or about March 31, 2016.  So, it stands to reason that McFadden conducted the interview before he was extradited to the U.S. which means NBC News was sitting on these explosive claims for more than one month.  Which begs the question, why would a major news network sit on such an explosive allegation — especially when the claim directly relates to a presidential candidate and the biggest story the 2016 presidential election cycle?

Understandably, production on a special might take longer than usual — but given the story — networks have turned interviews around in mere minutes.

The delay cost them what would’ve been a huge exclusive, or at least seemed to prompt them to hurry and put something out as Fox News went with its own story and interview with Lazar late Wednesday. Fox News clearly did their interview with the hacker after he arrived in the United States. As they mentioned, they visited him in a Virginia jail.

We reached out to NBC News for clarification and a spokesman declined to comment at this time.

[image from NBC News]

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Labour set to recapture London after bitter mayoral campaign

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By Elizabeth Piper and Nadeem Shad

LONDON (Reuters) - Labour candidate Sadiq Khan was set on Thursday to become the first Muslim to be elected mayor of London, loosening the ruling Conservatives' hold on Britain's financial center after a campaign marred by charges of anti-Semitism and extremism.

His expected victory may be a lone bright spot for Labour on a day of local elections in England, Scotland and Wales. Opinion polls suggested the main opposition party would lose seats in some traditional strongholds, testing the authority of its new left-wing leader, Jeremy Corbyn.

In bright sunshine, Britons trickled in to voting stations to cast their ballots in elections which some campaigners fear could fail to attract many voters, as the contests have been overshadowed by next month's referendum on whether Britain should leave the European Union.

The fight to run London - the top prize in the local elections - has pitted Labour's Khan, 45, the son of an immigrant bus driver, against Conservative Zac Goldsmith, 41, the elite-educated son of a billionaire financier.

The winner will replace Conservative Boris Johnson, who has run the city of 8.6 million people for the past eight years and is seen as a leading contender to succeed David Cameron as party leader and prime minister.

Khan has a big lead in the opinion polls, despite accusations by Goldsmith that he has shared platforms with radical Muslim speakers and given "oxygen" to extremists.

"Yes Goldsmith's argument on the radio made me distrust him ... I am absolutely amazed how he tried to smear by innuendo," said self-employed voter Ian Whisson, describing the Conservative candidate's campaign as "disgusting and slimy".

Goldmith denies the charge, saying he has raised legitimate questions over his opponent's judgment.

The campaign, condemned by Labour for using what it calls Donald Trump-style tactics to divide Londoners along faith lines, has swept aside usual concerns in the capital over high transport costs and a lack of affordable housing.

HEATED CAMPAIGN

On the eve of the vote, Prime Minister Cameron and Labour leader Corbyn went head-to-head over Khan and Goldsmith's campaigns in a heated parliamentary debate.

Cameron accused Khan of sharing "a platform with an extremist who called for Jews to drown in the ocean", while Corbyn accused the Conservatives of "smearing" Khan.

Khan says he has fought extremism all his life and that he regrets sharing a stage with speakers who held "abhorrent" views.

But the former human rights lawyer has also had to distance himself from Corbyn after a row over anti-Semitism.

The Labour leader ordered an inquiry into charges of anti-Semitism after suspending Ken Livingstone, a political ally and a former London mayor, for saying Adolf Hitler had supported Zionism.

Khan was quick to condemn the comments. Although people out in the capital said the row had done little to change their view of the Labour candidate for mayor, others said they had become disenchanted with the party itself.

"Yes it has affected my view of Labour, it's very disappointing," said Sylvie Edge, a 60-year-old photographer, as she cast her ballot in Shoreditch in central London.

Corbyn risks losing dozens of seats in some of Labour's traditional strongholds in his first major electoral test since being elected party leader in September on a wave of enthusiasm for change and an end to 'establishment politics'.

After Corbyn expressed confidence that Labour would gain seats, his spokesman qualified his remarks on Thursday, saying he rather wanted to say: "We're not in the business of losing seats and we'll be fighting to win as many as possible tomorrow."

(Additional reporting by William James, writing by Elizabeth Piper, editing by Mark Trevelyan)

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