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Jeb Bush: Americans Don’t Know ‘The Facts’ On Indiana ‘Religious Freedom’ Law

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2016 likely GOP presidential candidate Jeb Bush offered his opinion on Indiana’s discriminatory and anti-gay “religious freedom” law – and gets so much wrong in the process.

As Americans get to know Jeb Bush, two clear character traits are emerging.

First, he is cautious. Unlike some of his likely opponents, the elder Bush brother thinks before he speaks. He recognizes that every public statement, every opinion, every action, has weight, especially at this early stage.

And second, he is condescending. It’s not as clear or obvious as is his cautious and thoughtful nature, but it’s very much there.

Take Bush’s interview with Republican talk show host and law professor Hugh Hewitt yesterday.

(Hewitt, who teaches at the same university as NOM Chairman John Eastman, will conduct one of the 2016 presidential debates. He is known for his insightful and intelligent interviews, which is why Donald Trump‘s time with Hewitt was so embarrassing.)

Bush was asked to weigh in on Indiana’s highly-controversial Religious Freedom Restoration Act, which has been the top headline around the nation since Gov. Mike Pence signed it into law Thursday.

LOOK: Ted Cruz Fundraising Off His Just-Released Statement On Indiana Anti-Gay ‘Religious Freedom’ Law

Top multi-billion dollar corporations, like Apple, Inc. and Salesforce, multi-million dollar Indiana-based companies, like Angie’s list, states like Washington and Connecticut, and cities like San Francisco and Seattle, have all come out denouncing quite strongly this anti-gay bill as discriminatory.

Does anyone think Apple’s CEO Tim Cook, or Connecticut’s Governor Dan Malloy, did not consult with attorneys before issuing strong statements? 

Cue Jeb Bush, audio and transcript:

HEWITT: Earlier today, I watched Peter Hamby on CNN, which is on over your head, say that, and I want to quote him correctly, you don’t see a lot of Republicans rallying to Mike Pence’s defense right now. That’s a direct quote from Hamby. He’s a great reporter talking about the Indiana Religious Freedom Act. What do you make of the controversy? Tim Cook, the CEO of Apple, great company, had a blast at it in the Washington Post yesterday. What do you think?

BUSH: I think if you, if they actually got briefed on the law that they wouldn’t be blasting this law. I think Governor Pence has done the right thing. Florida has a law like this. Bill Clinton signed a law like this at the federal level. This is simply allowing people of faith space to be able to express their beliefs, to have, to be able to be people of conscience. I just think once the facts are established, people aren’t going to see this as discriminatory at all. 

HEWITT: You know, the Religious Freedom Restoration Act was signed in 1993. It’s been the law in the District of Columbia for 22 years. I do not know of a single incidence of the sort that Tim Cook was warning about occurring in the District in the last 22 years. 

BUSH: But there are incidents of people who, for example, the florist in Washington State who had a business that based on her conscience, she couldn’t be participating in a gay wedding, organizing it, even though the person, one of the people was a friend of hers. And she was taken to court, and is still in court, or the photographer in New Mexico. There are many cases where people acting on their conscience have been castigated by the government. And this law simply says the government has to have a level of burden to be able to establish that there’s been some kind of discrimination. We’re going to need this. This is really an important value for our country to, in a diverse country, where you can respect and be tolerant of people’s lifestyles, but allow for people of faith to be able to exercise theirs.

[Bolding ours]

First, Bush has not read the bill, does not know the necessary details of the cases he’s cited, and most importantly, does not understand the context of any of this. It’s like he’s Rip Van Winkle and just woke up to this national story that’s based in two decades of events that he’s never observed first hand.

Second, if he had read Indiana’s RFRA, and the federal RFRA, he would immediately recognize how vastly different they are.

Finally, Jeb Bush thinks that once people know the facts they’ll come to support this law.

Really? 

Does the former Florida governor think people haven’t read the bill, or can’t think for themselves?

The condescension is subtle, but staggering.

 

Related:

Watch: Top Indiana GOP Lawmakers Throw Gov. Mike Pence Under The Bus

Exclusive: Activist Buys Domains Of Indiana Lawmakers Who Passed Anti-Gay ‘Religious Freedom’ Bill

How’s This For Proof Mike Pence Is Lying When He Says His Anti-Gay Bill Isn’t About Discrimination?

 

Image by Gage Skidmore via Flickr and a CC license
Transcript via Hugh Hewitt

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Trump Fires Three National Security Officials for ‘Disloyalty’ After Multiple Crises

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After multiple Trump administration national security crises including SignalGate, GmailGate, the passwords scandal, and new revelations that the National Security Advisor’s team set up at least 20 Signal chats to handle crises, President Donald Trump reportedly has fired three national security officials for “disloyalty.”

“President Donald Trump has moved to fire several senior White House National Security Council officials soon after he was urged by far-right activist Laura Loomer to purge staffers she deemed insufficiently committed to his Make America Great Again agenda, according to several people familiar with the matter Thursday,” the Associated Press reports.

Loomer, who promotes conspiracy theories and appeared to be close to the President near the end of the 2024 campaign, met with Trump, White House chief of staff Susie Wiles, national security adviser Mike Waltz, and Sergio Gor, the director of the Presidential Personnel Office, according to the AP. Loomer reportedly presented her “research” to the President.

It does not appear Trump has fired anyone for the growing list of national security breaches that experts say have put the nation, the military, and other nations at risk.

READ MORE: ‘Indescribably Crazy’: Trump Heads to Golf Tournament After ‘Blowing Up’ World Trade

CNN reports the three fired officials include “Brian Walsh, a director for intelligence and a former top staffer for now-Secretary of State Marco Rubio on the Senate Intelligence Committee; Thomas Boodry, a senior director for legislative affairs who previously served as Waltz’s legislative director in Congress; and David Feith, a senior director overseeing technology and national security who served in the State Department during Trump’s first administration.”

A fourth, Principal Deputy National Security Adviser Alex Wong,”was not among those who had been dismissed on Wednesday, however, one White House official speculated to CNN Thursday that Wong could be out as soon as today, though a final decision remains to be seen.”

Many, including some Republicans, have expressed concern over National Security Advisor Mike Waltz, who admitted to setting up the Signal chat that mistakenly included the editor-in-chief of The Atlantic.

Waltz was not fired on Thursday, despite reports of bipartisan calls for his dismissal or resignation. Those calls included Vice President JD Vance, chief of staff Susie Wiles, and top personnel official Sergio Gor, in a private meeting, according to Politico.

“The president agreed that Waltz had messed up,” Politico reported, “but Trump ultimately decided not to fire him for one reason — for now: Like hell he’d give the liberal media and pearl-clutching Democrats a win.”

President Trump has repeatedly bragged that his administration would be “merit-based” only.

“President Trump believes in a new approach to hiring and workplace matters. This emerging movement advocates for ‘Merit, Excellence, and Intelligence (MEI),’ which emphasizes selecting candidates based solely on their qualifications, abilities and intelligence,” Forbes reported in February.

READ MORE: ‘Parade of Incompetence’: Trump Security Adviser Set Up Numerous Signal Chats on Key Crises

Meanwhile, The New York Times, which detailed Loomer’s meeting with the President, reported that “Ms. Loomer’s rhetoric and actions have been so extreme that she has alienated even others on the far right. She has shared a conspiracy theory on social media calling the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks an ‘inside job.’ During the 2024 campaign, Ms. Loomer said that ‘the White House will smell like curry’ if Kamala Harris were elected, a jab at her Indian heritage. During the Republican primary campaign, in which she served as Mr. Trump’s online attack dog against Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida, Ms. Loomer floated the baseless notion than Mr. DeSantis’s wife, Casey, had lied about having breast cancer.”

However, the Times reports, “on Wednesday afternoon, she sat with the president in the Oval Office, plying him with claims about staff members whom she insisted he should dismiss. News of her attendance was first reported by the newsletter Status, but the details of what was discussed had not been revealed.”

SignalGate is the Trump administration’s national security scandal that potentially endangered the lives of U.S. service members, and risked exposing military plans. GmailGate is the Trump administration’s use of the even less-secure commercial email app, to conduct government business. In the Trump administration’s passwords scandal, passwords, email addresses, and phone numbers of top Trump national security officials were easily found online. Wednesday brought revelations that the National Security Advisor’s team had set up at least 20 Signal chats to handle crises.

READ MORE: ‘Just Plain Dumb’: Trump’s Smuggled Fentanyl Tariff Mocked

 

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‘Indescribably Crazy’: Trump Heads to Golf Tournament After ‘Blowing Up’ World Trade

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Declaring a “national emergency that threatens our security and our very way of life,” President Donald Trump, after markets closed on Wednesday afternoon, announced sweeping tariffs on nearly every nation across the globe—tanking stock market futures in the U.S. and abroad, unleashing global “chaos,” and pushing the so-called “fear index” to “extreme.” Just 24 hours after what he dubbed “Liberation Day,” the President, on Thursday afternoon, will land at Miami International Airport and head straight to his Trump National Doral Golf Club for the LIV dinner, ahead of this weekend’s golf tournament, which he is expected to attend.

As global leaders prepare to make contact with President Trump to stave off what may become a “global trade war,” he will not be in the Oval Office, but in Florida—likely hitting the greens for the remainder of the week, something he himself accused federal workers of doing back in February. (At the same time, the House of Representatives has shut down, stalled by internal Republican divisions.)

Some critics are blasting Trump’s decision to head to his golf club during this “national emergency,” which he has a long history of doing.

And as Thursday morning unfolded, CNN chief media analyst Brian Stelter posted a screenshot of CNBC’s coverage of the “global selloff.”

READ MORE: ‘Parade of Incompetence’: Trump Security Adviser Set Up Numerous Signal Chats on Key Crises

Business media company Morning Brew offered this graphic of how the stock markets are reacting.

Economists and economic experts are stunned by Trump’s massive tariffs, deemed “worse than the worst case scenario,” according to multiple financial experts.

MSNBC’s Stephanie Ruhle, who spent decades in finance and financial journalism, criticized Trump tariffs.

“Folks who were unhappy with the economy did NOT vote for tariffs. They voted for Trump’s promise to lower inflation. His choice of action – tariff implementation will INCREASE inflation,” she noted.

And calling it “another large step toward a new old era of trade protectionism,” The Wall Street Journal Editorial Board blasted “Trump’s New Protectionist Age.”

“Blowing up the world trading system has consequences that the President isn’t advertising,” they warned, adding they could result in “shrinking world trade and slower growth, recession, or worse.”

They also declared that “Trump’s tariffs look ‘reciprocal’ in name only,” which brings up the question of how and why Trump imposed these tariffs.

“Economists and U.S. trade partners are raising questions about how the White House calculated the tariff rates it claimed other countries ‘charge’ the United States,” CNBC reports.

Meanwhile, economist Justin Wolfers explained why he says Trump’s thinking on tariffs is “bananas,” and “indescribably crazy.”

“Take a simple example,” offered Dr. Wolfers, a public policy scholar and professor of economics. “I run a trade deficit with Trader Joe’s buying their meals, while they buy none of mine. My trade deficit as a share of my imports is 100%. By Trump’s trade logic, this deficit is evidence they’re imposing 100% tariffs on the meals I try to sell them.”

RELATED: ‘Just Plain Dumb’: Trump’s Smuggled Fentanyl Tariff Mocked

“The White House ‘reciprocal’ tariff bears no relation to actual tariff barriers,” he adds. “It’s equal to half of the trade deficit (as a share of imports). This is indescribably crazy.”

Pointing to the “calculations” from the U.S. Trade Representative, Wolfers adds, “Obviously this is nonsense. Even crazier is that they’ve written what they think is a defense of this. I know not everyone speaks economist algebra, so lemme translate: This is muddled nonsense.”

Others, too, have criticized Trump’s method and calculations.

Trump’s tariff chart was ‘illogical and absurd,’ full of ‘factually incorrect’ numbers about what other countries charge the U.S.,” tech analyst Dan Ives “of Wedbush Securities wrote to clients this morning,” Stelter also reported.

“Trump doesn’t seem to mind the optics of Trump abandoning the White House to skip town early for his golf club after setting the world ablaze with the tariff announcements,” MeidasTouch News writes.

See the social media posts above or at this link.

READ MORE: ‘Paralyzed’: Johnson Mocked for Shutting House Down After ‘Brutal’ Defeat

 

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‘Parade of Incompetence’: Trump Security Adviser Set Up Numerous Signal Chats on Key Crises

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Less than two weeks ago there was SignalGate, the Trump administration’s national security scandal that potentially endangered the lives of U.S. service members, and risked exposing military plans, by using an insecure channel to discuss, map out, and announce progress of an attack in Yemen. Then there was the Trump administration’s passwords scandal, where passwords, email addresses, and phone numbers of top Trump national security officials were easily found online. And just yesterday, GmailGate, the Trump administration’s use of the even less-secure commercial email app, to conduct government business.

All three crises involved President Donald Trump’s national security team, including White House national security adviser Mike Waltz, who admitted to setting up the insecure Signal chat.

On Wednesday afternoon, Politico reported that Waltz’s team actually had set up 20 or more different Signal group chats, for national security crises.

“National security adviser Mike Waltz’s team regularly set up chats on Signal to coordinate official work on issues including Ukraine, China, Gaza, Middle East policy, Africa and Europe, according to four people who have been personally added to Signal chats,” according to Politico. “Two of the people said they were in or have direct knowledge of at least 20 such chats. All four said they saw instances of sensitive information being discussed.”

READ MORE: ‘Significant Political Rift’: Trump Faces Possible Defeat in First Tariff Test

“Waltz built the entire NSC communications process on Signal,” said one of the four sources.

Experts have warned that the use of Signal in certain circumstances may violate national security regulations, as well as federal law surrounding retention of government communications.

The use of Signal on personal cell phones is also problematic because those mobile devices can easily be compromised, experts say. CISA, the Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, has recommended the use of Signal instead of less secure platforms, but not for classified or sensitive communications.

“None of the four individuals said they were aware of whether any classified information was shared, but all said that posts in group chats did include sensitive details of national security work,” Politico noted.

Additionally, on Sunday, The Wall Street Journal reported more concerning national security lapses.

“Two U.S. officials also said that Waltz has created and hosted multiple other sensitive national-security conversations on Signal with cabinet members, including separate threads on how to broker peace between Russia and Ukraine as well as military operations. They declined to address if any classified information was posted in those chats,” the Journal reported. It was not clear if these were among the 20 or more chats Politico reported on Wednesday.

RELATED: ‘Just Plain Dumb’: Trump’s Smuggled Fentanyl Tariff Mocked

“In under 10 days, we’ve heard about journalists added to unclassified chats and sensitive data being shot around on personal emails,” lamented U.S. Senator Mark Warner (D-VA), the Vice Chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee. “And now we’re hearing there’s dozens more chats. It’s a never-ending parade of sloppy, reckless incompetence.”

U.S. Rep. Brad Schneider (D-IL), also responding to the latest news from Politico, wrote: “President Trump must put our troops and national security first. Waltz must step down. If he won’t, President Trump should fire him.”

Democratic congressional candidate Cait Conley is a former National Security Council official who “spent nearly 20 years in the military, including a stint working on counterterrorism for the National Security Council under former President Biden,” The New York Times has reported. She also worked at CISA, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency.

“This is not an Administration that’s serious about protecting America. Every person on those (20!) group chats should have known better,” Conley observed.

“The national security advisor continues to put our country at risk by using chats to discuss sensitive issues, allowing our adversaries to potentially intercept these messages,” commented former Deputy Pentagon Press Secretary and former Special Assistant to the President Sabrina Singh. “This is not putting America First – it’s the opposite.”

U.S. Rep. Ted Lieu (D-CA), a former Air Force JAG officer, wrote: “National Security Adviser Waltz should resign for repeatedly playing fast and loose with OpSec. Signal should not be used to discuss sensitive information. The Pentagon warned against using Signal even for unclassified information.”

MSNBC host Symone Sanders Townsend snarked, “Amateur hour at the OK Corral and that’s even offensive to the amateurs.”

“This is Trump’s CLOWN CAR CABINET!,” charged CNN commentator Maria Cardona. “Incompetent, unqualified, unserious. AND these massive national security blunders, put US all is SERIOUS danger! They need to go!!”

READ MORE: ‘Paralyzed’: Johnson Mocked for Shutting House Down After ‘Brutal’ Defeat

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