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Trump dedicates Presidents Cup trophy to people who 'have really suffered' from hurricanes
October 1, 2017 -
Bipartisan questions raised about U.S.-Saudi relationship while Trump appears committed to MBS in wake of shooting
2:30 p.m. -
NBC's Chuck Todd can't figure out why Ted Cruz isn't more skeptical of Trump after their primary battles
1:52 p.m. -
This week could prove just how good the New England Patriots and Buffalo Bills really are
12:52 p.m. -
Trump accused of pushing anti-Semitic stereotypes in controversial speech to Israeli American Council
11:08 a.m. -
Trump can't get a seat with NATO's cool kids in latest SNL cold open
8:32 a.m. -
Missile experts suspect North Korea's latest secretive test spells bad news for U.S. negotiations
8:09 a.m. -
Elizabeth Warren, Buttigieg campaign bicker over tax returns, fundraisers
December 7, 2019
Team USA was victorious at this year's Presidents Cup golf tournament, and before presenting captain Steve Stricker with the trophy, President Trump dedicated it to the victims of Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria, "who went through so much."
The American team defeated the International team 19-11, and Trump, an avid golfer who hasn't let being president get in the way of teeing off, became the first sitting president to attend the tournament's final matches. After praising the team, Trump turned to those affected by the recent devastating hurricanes.
President Trump dedicates Presidents Cup golf tournament trophy to those affected by hurricanes https://t.co/rDmO0T39II
— NBC News (@NBCNews) October 1, 2017
"On behalf of all of the people of Texas, and all of the people of — if you look today and you see what's happening, how horrible it is but we have it under really great control — Puerto Rico," he said. "and the people of Florida, who have really suffered over this last short period of time with the hurricanes. I want to just remember them, and we're going to dedicate this trophy to all of those people that went through so much, that we love, a part of our great state, really a part of our great nation."
Earlier in the weekend, Trump lashed out at the mayor of San Juan after she pleaded for help, tweeting that her "poor leadership ability" prevented Puerto Ricans from going to work and helping with relief efforts, adding, "They want everything to be done for them when it should be a community effort." Much of Puerto Rico remains without power, and 55 percent of residents don't have access to drinking water. Catherine Garcia
The shooting — which is now being considered an act of terrorism — that resulted in three deaths at Naval Air Station Pensacola in Pensacola, Florida, on Friday has placed the United States' relationship with Saudi Arabia under a microscope.
The suspected shooter, identified as Saudi Royal Air Force 2nd Lt. Mohammad Saeed Alshamrani, was an aviation student at the base. The killing has led some people to question whether the partnership should continue, especially considering there have long been doubts about the alliance for a variety of reasons, most notably accusations of human rights abuses in Yemen and the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
But President Trump seems committed to U.S. policy toward Saudi Arabia, especially as his administration remains wary of Iran's influence in the Middle East. Trump said he spoke with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman after the shooting, who offered his condolences to family and friends of the deceased. There didn't, however, seem to be much in the way of rethinking the alliance.
That doesn't mean others haven't. Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.), who is aiming to challenge Trump as the next Democratic nominee, called the U.S. partnership with Saudi Arabia "unacceptable."
"The fact that this president seems, in a very transactional way, doubling down on (the U.S.-Saudi relationship), and telling us it's because of just financial interests, is unacceptable," Sen. Cory Booker says in light of the Pensacola naval base shooting https://t.co/xFq8aFsaKL pic.twitter.com/SHikA0aSNA
— This Week (@ThisWeekABC) December 8, 2019
Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), a supporter of Trump, said he was assured by Saudi Ambassador to the U.S. Princess Reema bint Bandar Al Saud that Saudi Arabia would not interfere with the investigation into the matter, unless requested. But he still said that Friday's shooting "has to inform" the U.S.-Saudi relationship. Tim O'Donnell
"There is a special kind of grief when the bravest, most patriotic Americans are putting themselves in harms way to train people from other countries ... and then they kill us."
Rep. Gaetz says shooting at naval base "has to inform" U.S.-Saudi relations. https://t.co/xFq8aFsaKL pic.twitter.com/1HXQJwQ3Js— This Week (@ThisWeekABC) December 8, 2019
NBC's Chuck Todd really isn't sure why Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), of all people, isn't more skeptical of President Trump.
Cruz, in an appearance on Sunday's edition of Meet the Press, said he still believes Ukraine interfered in the 2016 presidential election, which has become a major talking point among Republicans defending Trump during the impeachment inquiry that was spurred, in part, by Trump asking the Ukrainian government to investigate the claim.
As he did last week, when Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) expressed a similar opinion, Todd seemed like he couldn't quite grasp what he was hearing. He then asked Cruz why he's so trusting of Trump considering he dealt with the president's attempts to manipulate a narrative about someone firsthand during the Republican primary battles in 2015 and 2016, including Trump's threat to "spill the beans" about Cruz's wife. The senator wasn't thrilled Todd brought that up, but he didn't backtrack on his comments about Ukraine.
Ted Cruz disseminating propaganda fabricated by the Kremlin to weaken the Unites States https://t.co/Cd6kGTJSP9
— John Harwood (@JohnJHarwood) December 8, 2019
Todd, for his part, wasn't buying Cruz's argument that Ukraine officials criticizing Trump during the election amounted to interference. The NBC host said Cruz, in comparing Ukraine's role in the elections to Russia, was basically comparing a pickpocket to Bernie Madoff. Tim O'Donnell
Only four weeks remain in the 2019 NFL regular season, and Sunday's slate of games is a doozy.
It'll be a particularly telling week for the AFC East, where the New England Patriots might actually have a real challenger for the division crown for the first time in what seems like forever – and people are excited.
Ravens/Bills, then Chiefs/Patriots... CBS may have finally found a way today to top NFL RedZone pic.twitter.com/Si3UTMm4qM
— Ray Necci (@raymanjr) December 8, 2019
New England, behind quarterback Tom Brady and head coach Bill Belichik, has won the last 10 division titles, but the upstart 9-3 Buffalo Bills, who were mostly an afterthought before the season, are right there.
Here's the thing, though: Neither team has done much against quality opponents this year, aside from New England's hardfought 16-10 victory in Buffalo way back in Week 3. New England is 10-2, but they were beat convincingly in their two most challenging games this year — road matchups with the Baltimore Ravens and Houston Texans — which has led to questions about whether the Brady-Belichik partnership might be winding down.
Buffalo, meanwhile, has only beat one team that currently has a winning record, and it's fair to say that the Tennessee Titans were nowhere near as good as they are now when that happened.
Both teams will be up against a major test Sunday with a chance to buck the trend. New England will host the Kansas City Chiefs and reigning MVP quarterback Patrick Mahomes, while the Bills have the luxury of playing the Baltimore Ravens, the hottest team in the league thanks to potential 2019 MVP quarterback Lamar Jackson. Per The Ringer, New England will need its statistically-impressive defense to play like it has against its non-Houston and Baltimore opponents, while Buffalo will need its improving quarterback Josh Allen to step up against Jackson. Tim O'Donnell
President Trump may have gotten a good response from his audience, but his latest speech offended many others.
Trump delivered a 45-minute speech to the Israeli American Council in Hollywood, Florida, on Saturday evening. Trump spoke about his administration's decisions to pull out of the Iran nuclear deal in 2017, move the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem, and eliminate funding for the Palestinian Authority as he urged those in attendance to vote for him while he runs for a second term in the Oval Office. Trump was reportedly regularly interrupted by the crowd's chants of "four more years" during the speech.
But the speech was not without controversy, with several observers noting that his words played into anti-Semitic tropes about wealth and loyalty, Haaretz reports. During the speech, Trump said there are Jewish people in the U.S. who don't love Israel enough, and added that if someone like Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) gets elected to the presidency, instead, the people in the room would "be out of business in 15 minutes."
Trump, speaking to the Israeli American Council: "You're not nice people at all, but you have to vote for me. You have no choice. You're not going to vote for Pocahontas, I can tell you that. You're not going to vote for the wealth tax!" pic.twitter.com/IXoaVUw6MU
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) December 8, 2019
Read more at Haaretz and The Washington Post. Tim O'Donnell
Welcome to NATO High.
In the latest Saturday Night Live cold open, the NBC show parodied the hot mic situation from last week's NATO conference, in which several world leaders appeared to be gossiping about President Trump. Paul Rudd, Jimmy Fallon, and James Corden joined the sketch as French President Emmanuel Macron, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, and U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson. Rudd's Macron and Fallon's Trudeau are clearly the cool kids at the NATO conference, and they've decided to let Corden's Johnson tag along with them during lunch (though it sounds like they mostly want him to help them throw a party at Buckingham Palace.)
Meanwhile, Alec Baldwin returned as Trump, who — along with a tray filled with several cheeseburgers — tries to snag a seat at the table, but is continuously rejected by the trio, who eventually give their fourth seat to a shocked Angela Merkel (portrayed by Kate McKinnon). Baldwin's Trump is especally stung by Corden's Johnson, who he thought was his friend. After Baldwin's Trump gets fed up with his fellow leaders' antics, Cecily Strong's first lady Melania Trump dropped by with a message about bullying. Watch the full skit below. Tim O'Donnell
North Korea is at it again. But this time no one is exactly sure about what they're up to.
North Korean state media reported Sunday that Pyongyang conducted a "successful test of a great significance" Saturday at its Sohae satellite launch site, a rocket testing ground, but did not reveal what was tested. U.S. officials have said North Korea promised to close the testing ground, but it appears that won't be the case any longer as Pyongyang's year-end deadline to reach a denuclearization agreement with Washington nears after talks stalled earlier this year.
It likely wasn't a missile launch, since Japan and South Korea can usually detect those. Instead, missile experts said it's possible North Korea tested a solid fuel rocket engine, which could allow the country to field intercontinental ballistic missiles that are easier to hide and faster to deploy. "If it is indeed a static engine test for a new solid or liquid fuel missile, it is yet another loud signal that the door for diplomacy is quickly slamming, if it isn't already," said Vipin Narang, a nuclear expert at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. "This could be a very credible signal of what might await the world after the New Year."
North Korea has promised to adopt a "new path" if the U.S. does not offer sanctions relief, which analysts believe could include launching a satellite that would allow Pyongyang to continue testing missiles more covertly. Read more at BBC and Reuters. Tim O'Donnell
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) did not want to answer that one.
Warren on Saturday steered away from directly responding to a question about whether she would release her tax returns from before 2008 if her fellow Democratic presidential candidate South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg made his fundraisers open to the press.
Asked by @cbszak if she would release her pre-08 tax returns if Pete makes his fundraisers open press, Warren shakes her head. “This is about the conflicts he is creating every single day right now” later adds conflicts r “when candidates for president sell access to their time” pic.twitter.com/u0m869TugF
— Alex Thompson (@AlxThomp) December 7, 2019
The senator didn't say yes or no, but she made the argument she was focusing on the present. To her point, she has already released 10 years worth of her tax returns, which is more than President Trump or former President Barack Obama ever released. But Warren has also recently called for Buttigieg to release the names of his clients when he worked for the consulting firm McKinsey & Co. He began that job in 2007.
Warren wouldn't commit to release more tax returns, as Buttigieg has called for, arguing that "this is about what's going on right now." But she's also recently been calling on him to release his list of clients from his time at McKinsey. Full exchange below: pic.twitter.com/VbQQSc0ODf
— Zak Hudak (@cbszak) December 7, 2019
Buttigieg's camp responded to Warren already, and called for her to release the returns in a show of transparency. Tim O'Donnell
Buttigieg camp responds: “She should match @PeteButtigieg’s transparency and release her tax returns going back through her years as corporate lawyer” https://t.co/cnwaWbK7vM
— Zak Hudak (@cbszak) December 7, 2019