Eric Boehlert

Van Jones powerfully condemns Trump: “Both sides are not mowing people down with cars”

Decrying the conservative disease of false equivalency and the refusal to forcefully condemn, by name, Nazi sympathizers and white supremacists who rampaged in Virginia on Saturday, CNN analyst Van Jones called for clarity and for the whole truth from Donald Trump. “This is a day in which after an American citizen was assassinated in broad […]

By Eric Boehlert - August 13, 2017

“Bannonbart.” Ex-White House comms chief attests to grip of white supremacy over Trump

Anthony Scaramucci’s tenure as Donald Trump’s White House communications director was quite brief, but it still gave him a strong sense of the firm grip that white supremacist ideology has on this administration. On ABC’s This Week, Scaramucci expressed dismay over the hold that someone like chief strategist Steve Bannon, as well as Bannon’s former […]

By Eric Boehlert - August 13, 2017

Trump and White House go AWOL following shameless refusal to denounce white supremacy

Donald Trump and Mike Pence have no scheduled public appearance today, and White House officials did not book any communications representatives on the Sunday morning talk shows, as the shocked nation reels from the violent white supremacist riot in Charlottesville, Virginia. Nearly three dozen people were injured in the mayhem yesterday, which featured neo-Nazis waging […]

By Eric Boehlert - August 13, 2017

Two of the most bigoted political attacks in America backfire in Texas and Iowa

The GOP strategy of trying to a reignite cultural war under the banner of attacking transgender people isn’t working out the way some Republicans hoped. Fueled by right-wing evangelicals who have launched a bullying, bigoted crusade to turn public bathrooms into a lightning rod for a larger cultural shoving match, the so-called bathroom bill movement […]

By Eric Boehlert - August 11, 2017

Reddest district in Georgia greets GOP congressman with chants of “Shame!” at town hall

He might represent the reddest, most conservative district in the state of Georgia, but even Republican Rep. Doug Collins couldn’t escape the public wrath surrounding the GOP’s attempt to repeal Obamacare. At a town hall meeting during the August recess this week, Collins was chastised, confronted, and occasionally shouted down for nearly 80 minutes by […]

By Eric Boehlert - August 11, 2017

Even former Fox News chief doesn’t want Scaramucci’s old White House job

The Trump White House reportedly received another, “Thanks, but no thanks” response from a high-profile player who has passed on a senior administration position. It turns out this chaotic White House can’t even get Fox News’s former co-president, Bill Shine, to come aboard. The New York Post reports that Shine has turned down the communications […]

By Eric Boehlert - August 11, 2017

Trump adviser says not to take his North Korea threats “literally,” gets destroyed on CNN

Donald Trump continued his dangerous and unhinged rhetoric Friday morning, as he did his best to gin up a confrontation with North Korea’s equally unstable leader, Kim Jong Un: Military solutions are now fully in place,locked and loaded,should North Korea act unwisely. Hopefully Kim Jong Un will find another path! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) […]

By Eric Boehlert - August 11, 2017

Trump spitefully jacks up health care costs after repeal failure

Politically, the Republican Party’s mangled attempt to repeal and replace Obamacare continues to rattle key players, with Donald Trump on Wednesday lashing out at GOP congressional leaders for failing to get the job done. But more importantly, Trump’s incompetence, and now inaction, regarding health care is spiking premium costs. Bewildered insurance companies are looking to […]

By Eric Boehlert - August 10, 2017

Trump’s obsession with President Obama spins dangerously out of control

Insecurity remains a cornerstone trait for Donald Trump, and lately he’s been advertising his own self-doubts by obsessing over his predecessor, President Barack Obama. Whether that’s now being spurred on by the stress of the unfolding North Korea crisis, Trump’s tumbling approval rating, the enveloping Russia investigation, or his inability to get any major legislation […]

By Eric Boehlert - August 10, 2017

Trump TV is so disturbing that even GOP media outlets are getting nervous

In a surprising twist, many of the voices speaking out against the emergence of a “Trump TV” behemoth are coming from Donald Trump’s side of the aisle. Christopher Ruddy, the CEO of Newsmax and a close Trump ally, slammed the pending merger between the Sinclair Broadcast Group and Tribune Media, insisting that the move “cannot […]

By Eric Boehlert - August 09, 2017

Pence hires veteran campaign operative in latest sign he’s preparing White House run

Mike Pence’s communication team is going to have to do a lot more spinning in coming days as it becomes increasingly clear the vice president is making all the needed moves to position himself for a possible 2020 White House run if Donald Trump isn’t able to. The latest piece in that shadow campaign puzzle […]

By Eric Boehlert - August 09, 2017

Trump’s pathetic “opioid briefing” fails miserably, proves “working vacation” is a sham

Touted as a major policy briefing from Donald Trump and his team of senior health care advisers, Tuesday’s “working vacation” event on America’s raging opioid epidemic turned out to be a pointless photo op, where a disconnected Trump read incoherent talking points while his wife and son-in-law looked on. The whole scene resembled a sad, […]

By Eric Boehlert - August 09, 2017

“Hold your horses”: White House in no hurry to condemn bombing of Minnesota mosque

Continuing a long pattern of refusing to publicly acknowledge hate crimes targeting Muslims in America, Donald Trump has yet to denounce the bombing of a Minnesota mosque on Saturday. Since the attack, Trump has tweeted approximately two dozen times, but no words of support for the Minnesota community. Pressed about Trump’s silence, White House adviser […]

By Eric Boehlert - August 08, 2017

NRA launches full-scale culture war to boost plummeting gun sales

The NRA has gone full-on Alex Jones in recent weeks, producing a string of confrontational and fantasy-like videos that depicts rogue “leftists” violently tearing down America, while the untrustworthy news media protect “Democratic overlords.” So over-the-top as to be at times comical, the clips have generated headlines for their incendiary rhetoric, and for their strange […]

By Eric Boehlert - August 08, 2017

It’s happening: Trump’s base finally begins to flee

Donald Trump can tweet all he wants about how vibrant and loyal his political base, the way he did Monday morning, claiming, “The Trump base is far bigger & stronger than ever before.” But if Trump can’t accomplish anything — if he can’t repeal Obamacare — the base is going to flee. And they’re going to […]

By Eric Boehlert - August 08, 2017

Tillerson rebukes Trump in front of Russia: Election interference is serious

In his first face-to-face meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov since the United States imposed sanctions on Russia for its interference in our election, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson insisted the hacking scandal seriously damaged relations between the two countries. But that viewpoint diverges sharply from the one to which Donald Trump still adheres. […]

By Eric Boehlert - August 07, 2017

Mike Pence’s press secretary won’t rule out 2020 run for White House

The Mike Pence semi-apology tour continued on cable news Monday as the vice president’s nervous communications team continued to scramble. They’re hoping to extinguish speculation that Pence has been engineering a shadow campaign for the 2020 election, under the unspoken assumption that scandal-plagued Donald Trump won’t be around to run in four years. (Hint: Pence […]

By Eric Boehlert - August 07, 2017

Bad weather on Trump’s first day of vacation leads to massive collusion tantrum

With cold, rainy weather in New Jersey forcing Donald Trump to take a break from his golf-a-thon summer vacation, Trump lashed out Monday morning on Twitter. He alternately attacked the press, boasted about his supposed popularity, and mocked allegations of “hoax Russia collusion.” He also leveled weird, personal attacks against a Democratic senator. The nasty […]

By Eric Boehlert - August 07, 2017

Trump’s approval rating plunges to new low following GOP’s health care fiasco

The White House suffered a week from hell at the end of July, which included a series of spectacular staff implosions, getting rebuked by the Boy Scouts, and watching the Republican Party’s last-minute failure to pass health care legislation. Now, for the White House, comes the hellish polling data to confirm Donald Trump’s plunging status. […]

By Eric Boehlert - August 02, 2017

Trump issues bizarre signing statement undermining sanctions and ignoring Russian hacking

In a rambling statement released in conjunction with Donald Trump’s signing of a bipartisan sanctions bill to punish Russia for interfering with America’s 2016 election, Trump seemed to go out of his way to downplay Moscow’s historic transgressions. The veto-proof bill passed the Senate 98-2, and passed the House on 419-3. The bill’s a bit […]

By Eric Boehlert - August 02, 2017

Boy Scouts smack down Trump for lying about praise he did not actually get

Like an unwanted house guest who can’t take the hint, the Boy Scouts of America are still trying to detangle themselves from Donald Trump’s creepy, vindictive appearance at the group’s annual jamboree last week in West Virginia. On Tuesday, the group was forced to swat down Trump, again. This time it was over his bizarre, […]

By Eric Boehlert - August 02, 2017

Trump TV has a new propaganda site that reaches millions with fake news to help Trump

With some longtime, right-wing media allies suddenly growing cold to Donald Trump and his permanent campaign of White House chaos, Trump advocates are scouring for new, sympathetic media outlets to faithfully deliver partisan attacks. One eager player that has emerged is Circa, an innocuous looking, general interest news site that’s owned by Sinclair Broadcasting. That’s […]

By Eric Boehlert - August 01, 2017

Fox News sued for cooking up fake news with Trump about murdered DNC staffer

Saying he was “used as a pawn” by the Trump White House and Fox News, a longtime Fox contributor claims in a new federal lawsuit that both parties conspired in May to resurrect a phony tale about a murdered DNC staffer, Seth Rich. The plaintiff, Rod Wheeler, also insists the White House was anxious to […]

By Eric Boehlert - August 01, 2017

John Kelly’s first day as White House chief of staff was a total disaster

Riding a wave of positive press coverage that suggested former Gen. John Kelly might be the perfect man to right Donald Trump’s leaky White House ship, the new chief of staff’s first day instead unfolded as a fiasco. Not only did the notorious White House leaks continue under Kelly’s command, but the chaotic nature of […]

By Eric Boehlert - August 01, 2017

Texas Republican warns religious right getting “out of hand” with bigoted bathroom bill

Politically, how far has the radical right gone, even in deeply red states like Texas? So far that the Lone Star state’s Republican speaker of the House recently warned that the movement, and its obsession with waging cultural wars, stands poised to do lasting damage to the state. The current flashpoint in Texas is the […]

By Eric Boehlert - July 31, 2017

Mike Pence lets himself get played by Putin

Traveling to Eastern Europe to reassure allies about Donald Trump’s resolve to standing up to Russian aggression in the Baltic region, Vice President Mike Pence came across as suspiciously naive when he claimed he and Trump “expect” Russian behavior to change for the better. Pence’s hopeful message was met nearly simultaneously with news the Russia […]

By Eric Boehlert - July 31, 2017

Trump’s Homeland Security candidate quits over bigoted military ban

Donald Trump’s impulsive move to ban transgender people from the U.S. military is having far-reaching repercussions. In an email, John Fluharty, a former executive director of the Delaware Republican Party, notified the Department of Homeland Security that he was withdrawing his name from consideration for the post of assistant secretary of partnership and engagement at […]

By Eric Boehlert - July 28, 2017

Pence hides from public after humiliating health care fail

Instead of celebrating a long-coveted victory to repeal of Obamacare, Vice President Mike Pence is nowhere to be seen, after the latest repeal bill failed in the Senate. The daily schedule released by Pence’s office does not include a single public event. That stands in sharp contrast to the very active public schedule Pence had […]

By Eric Boehlert - July 28, 2017

Trump rages after humiliating health care defeat

After suffering a stunning, early morning health care defeat on the Senate floor, Donald Trump took to Twitter to lash out. Taking aim at the three Republicans and 48 Democrats who saved health insurance for millions, Trump said they “let the American people down” by refusing to support the GOP’s last-ditch effort to repeal Obamacare. […]

By Eric Boehlert - July 28, 2017

Military refuses to follow Trump’s bigoted ban

Undercutting the White House’s assertion that Donald Trump announced his sweeping new directive to remove all transgender people from the U.S. military after consulting with top Pentagon officials, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff announced there would be no action on the ban because the armed services don’t yet know what the ban […]

By Eric Boehlert - July 27, 2017