Year: 2016

Conway: There’s a Nepotism Loophole

Buck Banks

The anti-nepotism law apparently has an exception if you want to work in the West Wing because the president is able to appoint his own staff. Of course, this came about to stop maybe family members from serving on the Cabinet, but the president does have discretion to choose a staff of his liking. … So if that is true and that legal advice holds then that will open up a realm of possibilities.

— Kellyanne Conway, on “Morning Joe” asserting that Donald Trump’s family members could be included on the White House staff.

Most Think Obama Will Be Remembered as an Above-Average President

Buck Banks

45%

Of respondents to a new Pew Research poll said they expect Barack Obama to be remembered as an above average or outstanding president, while 26% expect he will be viewed as average, and about as many (27%) say he’ll be seen as a below average or poor president. “Obama fares well when compared with past presidents. Expectations for Obama’s historical record are far more positive than those of George W. Bush at the end of his term (when 57% predicted that he would be remembered as a below average or poor president), and are roughly on par with views of Bill Clinton when he left office.”

Putin Directed Russian Hack Attacks

Buck Banks

Two senior officials with direct access to the information say new intelligence shows that Putin personally directed how hacked material from Democrats was leaked and otherwise used. The intelligence came from diplomatic sources and spies working for U.S. allies… What began as a ‘vendetta’ against Hillary Clinton morphed into an effort to show corruption in American politics and to ‘split off key American allies by creating the image that [other countries] couldn’t depend on the U.S. to be a credible global leader anymore.

— NBC News

Americans Have Low Expectations for President Trump

Buck Banks

34%

Of Americans think President-elect Trump will be a good or very good president, and another 23% think he will be average; 36 percent think he will be a poor president, according to a new CBS News poll. Trump ends the election year with far lower expectations than his two most recent predecessors did. In December 2008, 63% of Americans thought Barack Obama would make a good for very good president, while just 7% expected a poor performance. Less than half thought George W. Bush would make a good president in December 2000, but just 14% expected him to be a poor president.

Romney Wouldn’t Apologize to Trump, Hence, No Cabinet Post

Buck Banks

As President-elect Donald Trump considered Mitt Romney for secretary of state, Trump wanted one thing Romney wouldn’t give him: an apology. .. Trump personally saw it in business deal terms: He would get the mea culpa he sought from Romney; Romney would get the job he covets. But Romney — who titled his own book No Apology — declined. … He offered forward-looking praise for Trump — starting with the President-elect’s election-night speech. But he wouldn’t go backward and retract his words from the campaign.

— CNN

Europeans Greatly Overestimate the Muslim Population

Buck Banks

less than 8%

Actual percentage of Muslims in the French population, though a new Ipsos Mori survey finds that “members of the public in European states including France, Belgium, Germany and the UK greatly overestimate their country’s Muslim population and the rate at which it is growing. … The average French estimate was that 31% of the population was Muslim – almost one in three residents. According to Pew Research, France’s Muslim population actually stood at 7.5% in 2010, or one in 13 people. … The French were not the only ones to hold such misconceptions: Italian, German and Belgian respondents all guessed that more than a fifth of the resident population was Muslim, while in reality the figure ranges from 3.7% in Italy to 7% in Belgium.

Trump’s Inner Circle Dividing Into Factions

Buck Banks

Donald Trump’s White House-in-waiting is already being roiled by divisions, with the conservative outsiders who helped power his historic victory colliding with a Republican Party establishment muscling its way in. … Insiders paint a picture of constant score-keeping and simmering suspicion within Trump world — one even called it ‘vitriolic.’ And they foresee incoming White House chief of staff Reince Priebus, the party stalwart, and chief strategist Steve Bannon, the populist firebrand, headed for an inevitable clash.

— Politico

Obama: Russians, Trump Campaign Linked

Buck Banks

This was not a secret running up to the election! The president-elect in some of his political events specifically said to the Russians, ‘Hack Hillary’s emails so that we can finally find out what’s going on, and confirm our conspiracy theories.’ You had what was very clear relationships between members of the president-elect’s campaign team and Russians, and a professed shared view on a bunch of issues.

— President Obama, drawing a direct line between President-elect Donald Trump’s team and Russia’s attempt to sway the presidential election, the Daily Beast reports.