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WATCH: Harry Reid Condemns Bannon Appointment, Says Trump Election Has Sparked ‘Wave of Hate Crimes’

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‘Millions of Young People Are Watching and Wondering if Sexual Assault Is Now a Laughing Matter’

U.S. Senator Harry Reid, one week after Donald Trump won the White House, took to the floor of the Senate to denounce the President-elect’s impact on the nation, the wave of hate crimes that have been committed in his name, and the appointment of Steve Bannon as Trump’s Chief White House Strategist and Senior Counselor. Bannon is now seen as an icon of the alt-right movement.

Reid, the retiring Senate Minority Leader, Tuesday afternoon asked that documents showing hundreds of attacks in Trump’s name be entered into the Senate Record. 

“A man who lost the popular vote by more than two million votes is now the President-elect, and his election has sparked a wave of hate crimes across America,” Reid told his fellow Senators.

“We have a responsibility to be the voice of the millions of Americans sitting at home, afraid they are unwelcome in Trump’s America,” Reid continued, lamenting that there are now “millions of young people who are watching and wondering if sexual assault is now a laughing matter.”

“It is not normal for the KKK to celebrate the election of a president they view as their champion.”

Sen. Reid noted that throughout America, “many are afraid.”

“Indeed the majority of Americans oppose Donald Trump,” the Senator said.

“Many Americans believe that Trump’s election validates the kind of bullying Trump modeled on a daily basis,” Reid noted.

And he called on the President-elect to rescind the appointment of Steve Bannon, the publisher of the alt-right website Breitbart whom Reid describes as a “champion of white supremacists” who will be “a step away from the Oval Office.”

“If Trump is serious about seeking unity, the first thing he should do is rescind the appointment of Steve Bannon.”

Reid read a CNN report on white supremacists praising Bannon’s appointment, and read a portion of a court document that claims Bannon said he didn’t want his children to go to school with Jews.

 

 

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Cracks Widen as Trump Presses GOP on Hardline Voter ID Plan

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President Donald Trump is facing opposition from some prominent Republicans over his hardline voter ID bill.

The controversial SAVE America Act barely scraped by in the House of Representatives and has languished in the Senate for weeks, but President Trump is pressuring Republicans not only to pass it — he has added demands that would make it even harder for Republicans and Democrats to support the legislation.

Trump wants the bill to curtail mail-in voting and has called for anti-transgender language to be added to it.

Now, as House Republicans convene for a three-day meeting at his Doral Golf Resort in Florida, he’s urging GOP leaders to act immediately.

On Monday, Trump told House Republicans in a televised speech that they must pass the SAVE Act because if they do, Democrats “probably won’t win an election for 50 years, and maybe longer.”

READ MORE: ‘Looking to Throw in the Towel?’: Trump Mocked as Administration Again Switches Priorities

He also threatened to sign no other legislation until the SAVE Act comes to his desk — a proposition some Democratic lawmakers did not find objectionable.

“GOP leaders now have to drum up support from members reluctant to dive into the culture war of transgender politics when they’d prefer to focus on affordability,” Politico reports. “And the mail voting provision was left off the package last time for a reason.”

Over in the Senate, several Republicans “signaled Monday they aren’t behind the president’s call to significantly limit mail-in ballots, touting the success of the practice in their own states.”

“I don’t want the federal government telling me that I can’t have mail-in voting or absentee ballot voting,” Senator Thom Tillis (R-NC) told reporters. “There’s nothing wrong with mail-in voting if you have the right standards in place.”

Trump is also continuing to pressure Senate Republican Majority Leader John Thune to commit to a talking filibuster to pass the bill — a move Thune strenuously opposes.

Leader Thune “delivered a public reality check on the ‘complicated and risky’ idea Monday,'” Politico noted.

“Having studied it and researched it pretty thoroughly, you have to show me how, in the end, it prevails and succeeds,” Thune told reporters on Monday, as NBC News reported. “Because I think what has been promised out there is that it would actually, in the end, get an outcome. And I find it very hard to see that based on actual past experience.”

“We can’t find a piece of legislation in history that’s been passed that way,” he added.

Seeking to avoid “a bruising internal filibuster fight,” Senator John Kennedy (R-LA) “floated passing the SAVE America Act through reconciliation Monday, despite the lack of a clear budget connection.”

READ MORE: ‘Tell Me It’s Satire’: WaPo Roasted for Op-Ed Linking Lattes to Destruction of Society

 

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‘Looking to Throw in the Towel?’: Trump Mocked as Administration Again Switches Priorities

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President Donald Trump is drawing mockery after telling a CBS News reporter that his war in Iran is “very complete, pretty much,” as the administration’s military priorities continue to shift rapidly.

In the early hours of the war, Trump had strongly suggested it was about regime change, only to have his defense secretary days later specifically state it was not.

On Monday, apparently around the time he had a telephone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Trump said Iran has “no navy, no communications, they’ve got no Air Force.”

Secretary of State Marco Rubio made similar remarks earlier on Monday.

“The goals of this mission are clear, and it’s important to continue to remind the American people of why it is that the greatest military in history of the world has engaged in this operation,” he told reporters. “It is to destroy the ability of this regime to launch missiles, both by destroying their missiles and their launchers. Destroy the factories that make these missiles, and destroy their Navy.”

Days earlier, Trump had called for Iran’s “unconditional surrender.”

Professor of Strategic Studies Phillips P. O’Brien responded to Rubio’s remarks, saying: “If this is actually the new set of strategic goals, the Trump administration is admitting that they have strategically failed and this has been a disaster.”

Specifically referencing Trump’s remarks to CBS News, Professor O’Brien added, “So is this Trump looking to throw in the towel?”

Foreign policy analyst Jimmy Rushton observed, “No mention of removing the regime. No mention of destroying the Iranian nuclear programme. No mention of destroying Iran’s ability to project power via proxy forces. The administration’s war aims are constantly changing.”

Similarly, political scientist Ian Bremmer noted, “declaring victory and ending war with iran much easier with these goals. not mentioned: -regime change -uranium enrichment/stockpiling -attack drones.”

 

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Trump Once Again Directly Contradicts Pentagon Chief on Key Element of Iran War

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President Donald Trump told CBS News on Monday that his war in Iran could be almost over — just after the Pentagon tweeted, “We have Only Just Begun to Fight.”

“In a phone interview, President Trump told me the war could be over soon,” reported CBS’s Weijia Jiang on Monday afternoon, less than one hour after the social media post. “I think the war is very complete, pretty much. They have no navy, no communications, they’ve got no Air Force.”

Trump added that the U.S. is “very far” ahead of his initial 4-5 week estimated time frame,” Jiang added.

The Commander-in-Chief’s prediction also came just days after Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth told CBS News’ “60 Minutes” that this is “just the beginning” of the war in Iran, as The Washington Post’s John Hudson reported.

Earlier on Monday, the Pentagon posted another Iran tweet: “This is just the beginning—we will not be deterred until the mission is over.”

READ MORE: ‘Blatant Racism’: House Republican’s Remarks Spark Backlash

One week ago, after President Trump specifically alluded to the war in Iran being about regime change, Secretary Hegseth declared it was not.

“Trump repeatedly emphasized regime change was a goal — and possibly even the goal,” CNN reported.

“America is backing you with overwhelming strength and devastating force,” Trump said to the Iranian opposition in the early hours of the war. “Now is the time to seize control of your destiny and to unleash the prosperous and glorious future that is close within your reach. This is the moment for action. Do not let it pass.”

“When we are finished, take over your government,” Trump added. “It will be yours to take.”

Barely days later, Hegseth told reporters, “This is not a so-called regime change war.”

READ MORE: ‘Good Luck in the Midterms’: Anti-Trump Conservatives Smell Weakness in the President

 

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