Beto O’Rourke says El Paso shooting was a ‘consequence’ of Trump

“It wasn't until that moment that I truly understood how critical this moment is
and the real consequence and cost of Donald Trump,” Beto O’Rourke said on NBC's
“Meet the Press“ on Sunday. | Drew Angerer/Getty Images Former Rep. Beto O'Rourke
said Sunday the mass shooting in his hometown of El Paso was a "consequence and
cost" of President Donald Trump. “It wasn't until that moment that I truly
understood how critical this moment is and the real consequence and cost of Donald
Trump,” O’Rourke said on NBC's “Meet the Press.“ Story Continued Below “There is a
concerted, organized attack against immigrants, against people of color, against
those who do not look like or pray like or love like the majority in this country,”
O’Rourke added, referencing the recent Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids in
Mississippi that ensnared nearly 700 undocumented migrant workers. “And this moment
will define us one way or another. And if we do not wake up to it, I am convinced
that we'll lose America, this country, in our sleep. And we cannot allow that to
happen.“ Although the suspect in the El Paso shooting said he was not influenced by
Trump, his writings reflect the president’s claims of an “invasion” of the United
States. O’Rourke echoed the call by many Democrats to ban assault weapons,
including the semiautomatic version of an AK-47 used in the El Paso shooting.
O’Rourke called it a “weapon of war … that no American should own, unless they are
on a battlefield, engaged with the enemy.” CORRECTION: An earlier version of this
story misspelled Beto O'Rourke's name. This article tagged under: Missing out on
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Trump considering buying Greenland, confirms White House adviser

Donald Trump has confirmed he is considering an attempt to buy Greenland for

strategic reasons, though he said the idea is “not No1 on the burner”. Trump’s
interest was reported this week – and greeted with widespread hilarity. The
government of Greenland, a semi-autonomous Danish territory, insisted it was not
for sale. Nonetheless, on Sunday economic adviser Larry Kudlow confirmed the story
in an interview before Trump spoke to reporters as he left New Jersey to return
from vacation to Washington. Saying the “concept came up” and he was “looking at
it”, the man who runs a notoriously leaky White House also questioned how the idea
found its way to the press. Trump sought to tie the idea of a US purchase of the
world’s largest island – not including Australia – to his own area of professional
expertise, saying it would be “essentially a large real estate deal”. “Denmark
essentially owns it,” he said. “We're very good allies with Denmark, we protect
Denmark like we protect large portions of the world. So the concept came up and I
said, ‘Certainly I'd be.’ Strategically it's interesting and we'd be interested but
we'll talk to them a little bit. It's not No1 on the burner, I can tell you that.”
Denmark is a member of Nato, a mutual defence organisation which is the target of
frequent criticism from the US president. Trump believes member nations do not pay
enough for the privilege of membership alongside the powerful US military. Such
American forces have operated for decades from Thule Air Base in Greenland, the
northern-most US base which is part of a global network of radars and sensors for
missile warnings and space surveillance. “Well a lot of things can be done,” Trump
said. “Essentially it's a large real estate deal. A lot of things can be done.” He
then claimed without offering evidence that ownership of Greenland was “hurting
Denmark very badly because they're losing almost $700m a year carrying it. So they
carry it at a great loss and strategically for the United States it would be very
nice and we're a big ally of Denmark, we protect Denmark and we help Denmark and we
will.” Trump is scheduled to visit Denmark in September, as part of a trip to
Europe. “I'm supposed to be going there,” he said. “We may be going to Denmark but
not for this reason at all.” US presidents have paid for territory before. In 1803,
Thomas Jefferson bought huge tracts of land from France for $15m in the Louisiana
Purchase. In 1867, Andrew Johnson paid $7.2m for Alaska from Russia. Territory has
also been purchased from Denmark. In 1917 Woodrow Wilson bought the Danish West
Indies for $25m, renaming them the US Virgin Islands. Kudlow appeared on Fox News
Sunday, for an interview mostly given over to rejecting fears of looming recession
and defending policy on trade with China. Finishing the chat, host Dana Perino
asked: “If you get asked to go do a site survey about purchasing Greenland, can I
go with you?” “Well,” said Kudlow, laughing, “maybe I’ll run the central bank.” He
continued: “Look, it’s an interesting story. It’s developing. We’re looking at it.
We don’t know. Years ago, Harry Truman wanted to buy Greenland.” That is true: the
Democrat offered Denmark $100m in 1946 but was turned down. “Denmark owns
Greenland,” Kudlow said. “Denmark is an ally.” But he also said “Greenland is a
strategic place up there” and added something not discussed by Trump: “They’ve got
a lot of valuable minerals.” “I don’t want to predict it now,” Kudlow said. “I’m
just saying the president, who knows a thing or two about buying real estate, wants
to take a look at a potential Greenland purchase.” Some Greenlanders have expressed
horror. One, Else Mathiesen, told local media: “You can’t just buy an island or a
people. This sounds like something from the era of slavery and colonial power.”
Nonetheless, Fox host Perino seemed taken with the idea, asking again if Kudlow
would take her along on any official visit. “You know,” said Kudlow, “I could make
that happen.”

Top Trump officials downplay recession risks

Felicia Sonmez National reporter on The Washington Post's breaking political news
team Robert Samuels National political reporter who focuses on the intersection of
politics, policy and people August 18 at 12:49 PM Two of President Trump’s senior
economic advisers took to the airwaves Sunday to downplay the risk of a recession
after a tumultuous week in the markets suggested the economy is heading onto shaky
ground. Larry Kudlow, director of the National Economic Council, and White House
trade director Peter Navarro between them appeared on all five Sunday morning shows
to defend the president’s economic record and argue that his trade offensive
against China isn’t harming American producers or consumers. Their push came days
after bond market investors sent a powerful signal that they see a potential
downturn looming, and economists from Wall Street and beyond further whittled
growth forecasts for a record-length economic expansion that appears to be slowing.
“I don’t see a recession at all,” Kudlow said on “Fox News Sunday.” On NBC’s “Meet
the Press,” he urged Americans, “Let’s not be afraid of optimism.” “Consumers are
working at higher wages,” Kudlow said. “They are spending at a rapid pace. They’re
actually saving also while they’re spending. That’s an ideal situation. So I think
actually the second half, the economy’s going to be very good in 2019.” On ABC
News’s “This Week with George Stephanopoulos,” Navarro maintained that a recession
could be staved off if the Federal Reserve stops raising interest rates and banks
in Europe and in China make similar moves. “The Federal Reserve’s precipitous
interest rate hikes actually cost us a full point of growth,” Navarro told host
Martha Raddatz. “All we need, Martha, is to reverse that, have Europe do what they
need to do, China do their fiscal stimulus, and the global economy will — will have
a bullish cycle going through 2020 and beyond.” Appearing on CNN’s “State of the
Union,” Navarro dismissed research indicating American businesses and consumers are
shouldering the bulk of the tariff burden Trump has imposed on Chinese imports.
“That dog won’t hunt,” Navarro said of findings by economists at Harvard
University, the University of Chicago, the International Monetary Fund and the
Federal Reserve Bank of Boston that the tariffs are effectively tax hikes on
Americans. “They’re not hurting anybody here. … They’re hurting China. They’re
slashing their prices.” The White House announced Tuesday that it is delaying until
December new tariffs on a number of popular consumer goods, including cellphones,
laptops and strollers, that were set to take effect next month. Trump framed the
decision as a gift to American shoppers heading into the Christmas season. But
Navarro rejected the suggestion that the move amounts to an acknowledgment by the
administration that the import duties are raising prices for American consumers.
Instead, he said it was “a goodwill gesture that the president made to the Chinese.
It was a wise decision to delay the tariffs to December 15th, and in the meantime
half of those tariffs are actually going on September 1st. The tariffs are
working.” Democratic presidential hopefuls on Sunday painted a bleaker picture of
the economic outlook and blamed Trump’s trade policies. “There’s a big debate going
on right now about whether we’re on the cusp of a recession. I think we probably
are,” South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg said on CNN. “But the more important
thing is, even during an expansion, most Americans haven’t been able to get ahead.
… And the president has made it abundantly clear that he doesn’t care. When it
comes to rural America, I think to him it’s just the scenery that he sees out the
helicopter window on the way to his golf course. And when it comes to American
consumers, he is completely out of touch on the impact it’s going to have on the
prices we pay for our goods as the result of a trade war in which both sides will
lose.” Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), appearing on ABC, said she worries that
the pending trade agreement to replace NAFTA will end up exacerbating economic
woes. “I’m concerned because I think NAFTA 2.0 is a disaster,” Gillibrand said. “I
think it was a giveaway to drug companies in Mexico. It’s going to harm our jobs.
President Trump said no bad trade deals. Not only has he entered into them, but
he’s started a trade war with China.”