Tommy Christopher

Sen. Feinstein slams “thirteen white men” who will decide fate of women’s health in Senate

Even as the ink (and beer) dried on the House Republicans’ destructive and unpopular healthcare repeal plan, Republicans in the Senate began plotting a way to shine it up enough to get it past fifty votes, let alone sixty. Their first questionable step was to announce a working group composed entirely of men, to the exclusion […]

By Tommy Christopher - May 07, 2017

Hillary schools Trump: We can’t “speak of protecting Syrian babies” but “close American doors”

Donald Trump is facing increasing criticism over his decision to unilaterally launch an airstrike on a Syrian air base, but Hillary Clinton focused her criticism elsewhere. At an Annie’s List luncheon in Texas, Clinton called Trump out for expressing concern over Syrian babies killed in the chemical attack, while simultaneously seeking to choke off refugees […]

By Tommy Christopher - April 07, 2017

Trump admin celebrates government shutdown as “outside the box” thinking

Donald Trump began the week by insisting that “Our country needs a good ‘shutdown’ in September.” And Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Mick Mulvaney finished the week by doubling down on that reckless statement. In an interview on CBS News’ Face the Nation, host John Dickerson asked Mulvaney about Trump’s tweet, and despite appearing to indicate […]

By Tommy Christopher - May 07, 2017

Trump has nothing to say about U.S. Navy SEAL killed in Somalia, golfs instead

Donald Trump and his administration have yet to acknowledge the sacrifice of Senior Chief Special Warfare Operator Kyle Milliken, a 38 year-old Navy SEAL who was killed in action Thursday while repelling an attack by al-Shabab fighters. Two other U.S. servicemembers were wounded in the attack. Chief Milliken is the first U.S. casualty in Somalia […]

By Tommy Christopher - May 07, 2017

Take this in: Trump told Russia about plans to bomb Syria before he told U.S. Congress

Donald Trump’s decision to launch airstrikes on a Syrian airfield demands answers, as lawmakers in both parties criticize Trump for failing to seek authorization from Congress for the strike, as required by the Constitution. One particularly disturbing fact to emerge in the wake of the attack is that Trump not only failed to seek authorization, but […]

By Tommy Christopher - April 07, 2017

Leader Pelosi to Republicans: Skip your recess and do your job on Syria

Following his airstrike on a Syrian air base, Donald Trump delivered remarks in which he cited the “vital national security interest of the United States” as the rationale for his unilateral decision to use force. Almost immediately, Trump faced criticism from both sides of the aisle for not seeking authorization from Congress before using military […]

By Tommy Christopher - April 07, 2017

Republican didn’t read health care repeal bill because he “just got back from baseball practice”

House Republicans dealt a serious blow to tens of millions of Americans when they passed their cruel and haphazard health care repeal bill, then celebrated with cases of beer and a triumphant, blindingly white photo op in the Rose Garden of the White House. Nearly as galling as their celebration of so many Americans’ misery, […]

By Tommy Christopher - May 05, 2017

Chris Matthews speculates Syria airstrike was “set piece” to kill Trump/Putin narrative

Following a period of chaos and uncertainty, Donald Trump ordered an airstrike of 59 Tomahawk cruise missiles on al-Shayrat military airfield in Syria, in response to the chemical weapons attack on civilians in Idlib. The Pentagon has confirmed that Russian forces in the area were warned of the strike ahead of time. As details of the […]

By Tommy Christopher - April 07, 2017

Republican who voted for health care repeal asks a reporter to explain it to him

One of the many disturbing themes of the Republican health care repeal vote was the repeated scenes of GOP members either refusing to say whether they had even read the bill they were voting on, or flatly admitting they had not. One member even told a reporter he hadn’t read the bill because he had been […]

By Tommy Christopher - May 05, 2017

Imagine if Obama defended a hostile power the way Trump just defended Russia on Syria attack

Donald Trump’s performance at a joint press conference demonstrated his obvious lack of preparation to deal with the Syrian regime’s chemical weapons attack on its own citizens. After immediately jumping to falsely blame President Obama for the attack, Trump fended off questions about any possible action he might take against Syria, despite his insistence that […]

By Tommy Christopher - April 06, 2017

Republican senators suspiciously quiet after House passes health care repeal

House Republicans have been busy engaging in beer-soaked celebration of their razor-thin passage of a cruel and wasteful health care repeal plan. But their Senate colleagues were much more muted in their reactions, to say the least, with only seven GOP senators tweeting tepid reactions to the bill in the two hours following its passage. […]

By Tommy Christopher - May 04, 2017

GOP lawmaker to constituents who will die without health care: They didn’t vote for me

On the cusp of a rushed vote on the Republicans’ health care repeal plan, one GOP lawmaker summed up his party’s utter disregard for the harm the bill would do in just 64 seconds of a cable news segment. In an interview with MSNBC’s Stephanie Ruhle, Rep. Thomas Garrett (R-VA) displayed both the carelessness and the cruelty […]

By Tommy Christopher - May 04, 2017

GOP rep dismisses congresswoman’s impassioned plea for Obamacare as “hysterics”

Democrats are hammering their Republican colleagues on the House floor ahead of the rushed vote on the cruel and unpopular Republican health care repeal plan. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (R-TX) gave an especially powerful speech against the bill and the harm it would cause, calling it “the Mother of All Bombs on health care,” and telling […]

By Tommy Christopher - May 04, 2017

Cory Booker: Republican healthcare plan “will cost American lives… It will mean death”

Republicans in the House of Representatives are preparing for a morning vote on the latest, more cruel version of their healthcare plan, one which strips away protections for preexisting conditions, yet exempts themselves from their own bill. While they may just squeak through with a razor-thin margin, this is an awfully big risk for them […]

By Tommy Christopher - May 03, 2017

James Comey accidentally makes ironclad case for independent Russia probe

The Trump/Russia investigation was a central subject of the Senate Judiciary Committee’s hearing on oversight of the FBI, at which FBI Director James Comey testified for several hours. While Republicans tried to deflect attention away from the FBI’s ongoing investigation into possible coordination between Donald Trump’s campaign and the Russians, Democrats uncovered key information, and […]

By Tommy Christopher - May 03, 2017

Morning Joe: Trump’s claim that Obama wiretapped him “was a lie, is a lie, will always be a lie”

Donald Trump has taken several cracks at obstructing the investigation into his Russia ties by diverting attention in other directions. First, he insisted that leaks to journalists are the “real” story. Then his White House colluded with House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes (R-CA) — who has now been forced to recuse himself from the investigation — to fabricate allegations […]

By Tommy Christopher - April 06, 2017

White House openly boasts it held coal miners’ health benefits hostage to “get something in return”

Donald Trump and his fellow Republicans have shown a shocking and reprehensible callousness toward Americans, perfectly captured in a shocking statement Trump’s budget director actually made in public. At a White House briefing, Mick Mulvaney, director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), spent half an hour trying to spin Trump’s crushing defeat on the […]

By Tommy Christopher - May 03, 2017

Feinstein blasts Comey at hearing for Clinton letter, silence on Trump/Russia

Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) lit into FBI Director James Comey for his role in the 2016 election — both for publicizing a letter about reopening the Clinton email investigation, and for remaining silent about the bureau’s ongoing investigation into the Trump campaign’s possible collusion with Russia. In opening remarks at the Senate Judiciary Committee’s annual oversight hearing of the […]

By Tommy Christopher - May 03, 2017

Al Franken rebukes Republicans for laughing off Steve Bannon’s racism at hate crimes hearing

At a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing titled “Responses to the Increase in Religious Hate Crimes,” Sen. Al Franken (D-MN) quizzed Eric Treene, the Department of Justice’s special counsel for religious discrimination, about the racism and xenophobia of Donald Trump’s administration, and particularly about white nationalist and senior strategist Steve Bannon. Treene deflected the questions multiple times, but […]

By Tommy Christopher - May 03, 2017

Voter confronts GOP rep with $13,000-a-week treatment he would lose without Obamacare

With the monumental distraction of Donald Trump’s bombshell-a-day FBI obstruction scandal, it is easy to lose focus on the life-or-death struggle by many Americans against the Republican attack on health care. Kentucky Republican Rep. James Comer found that out during a town hall meeting in Marshall County recently, when a constituent actually showed him, and the […]

By Tommy Christopher - May 22, 2017

Throng of students walk out on Mike Pence’s commencement speech at Notre Dame

Vice President Mike Pence delivered a pair of commencement addresses this weekend, both of which drew powerful protests. Pence’s speech to small Christian school Grove City College was met with demonstrations outside the event. And his address to the University of Notre Dame drew protests from without and within. Pence’s appearance at the commencement drew throngs of […]

By Tommy Christopher - May 21, 2017

Sexual predator Trump defends accused predator O’Reilly: “I don’t think Bill did anything wrong”

Fox News host Bill O’Reilly is in a heap of trouble, after years of sexual harassment accusations finally caught up to him in the form of a New York Times exposé detailing the $13 million that has been paid out to his accusers over the years. That story has resulted in a mass exodus of […]

By Tommy Christopher - April 05, 2017

Nat’l security chief essentially confirms: Trump did not confront Russians about election

Donald Trump’s Oval Office meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Russian Ambassador and alleged spymaster Sergey Kislyak continues to generate news for the administration, and none of it is good. The meeting itself was a chilling black mark, coming as it did the day after Trump’s firing of FBI Director James Comey, and […]

By Tommy Christopher - May 21, 2017

Reporters confounded as Sean Spicer flees White House briefing without taking questions

At the White House daily briefing, press secretary Sean Spicer introduced a pair of opening acts — Secretary of Homeland Security John Kelly and Office of Management and Budget Director Mick Mulvaney — who were on hand to spin Donald Trump’s cave-in on the budget deal as a victory for Republicans. Guests at White House briefings […]

By Tommy Christopher - May 02, 2017

Trump drops a bald-faced lie and a racist dog whistle about Obama

Donald Trump is never more at home when he is lying, with the possible exception of when he is being an overt racist. He recently combined both of those pastimes during a “CEO Town Hall on Unleashing American Business” in the South Court Auditorium of the Eisenhower Executive Office Building. Along with his usual boasts about the […]

By Tommy Christopher - April 05, 2017

Democratic lawmaker calls GOP financial bill “a 591-page middle finger” to consumers

House Republicans are trying to rush through the Orwellian named “Financial CHOICE Act of 2017,” a bill that would gut financial protections and, among other things, allow banks and credit card companies to charge higher per-transaction fees. During the House Financial Services Committee’s markup session for the bill, also known as House Bill 10, the committee’s ranking […]

By Tommy Christopher - May 02, 2017

Rep. Cummings busts Pence: “I warned the vice president directly” about Michael Flynn

Among the many scandals dogging Donald Trump’s administration is the failure to properly vet disgraced former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn, who had ties to foreign governments and received payments from Russia, despite a warning from the Defense Intelligence Agency that it would be illegal to do so. The White House has been obstructing the congressional investigation into […]

By Tommy Christopher - May 02, 2017

This is not normal: Spicer outsources White House ethics questions to The Trump Organization

White House spokespeople frequently refer reporters to other sources for information, sometimes out of necessity, and sometimes as a convenient way to avoid answering a question. But typically, they refer reporters to some other government agency, or to an elected official, or to some other accountable body. In fact, a review of White House briefings […]

By Tommy Christopher - May 02, 2017

Scarborough to policymakers on Syria: “‘It’s hard’ is no longer an acceptable answer on Morning Joe”

The tragic and horrific chemical weapons attack on civilians on Syria by the Assad regime precipitated a crude and political response from the White House. On the morning after the attack, White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer read out a statement from Donald Trump falsely laying blame for the attack on former President Barack Obama. Playing […]

By Tommy Christopher - April 05, 2017

Democratic Congressman on Trump’s free press attacks: “This is the beginnings of fascism”

The House Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on the Constitution and Civil Justice held a hearing in which the main point was to complain about students opposing often bigoted conservative speech on campuses. In his opening statement, however, Rep. Steve Cohen (D-TN) called out his colleagues for failing to recognize the threat to freedom of the press that emanates […]

By Tommy Christopher - April 05, 2017

Tommy Christopher

Freelance Political Writer

Sen. Feinstein slams “thirteen white men” who will decide fate of women’s health in Senate

Hillary schools Trump: We can’t “speak of protecting Syrian babies” but “close American doors”

Trump admin celebrates government shutdown as “outside the box” thinking

Trump has nothing to say about U.S. Navy SEAL killed in Somalia, golfs instead

Take this in: Trump told Russia about plans to bomb Syria before he told U.S. Congress

Leader Pelosi to Republicans: Skip your recess and do your job on Syria

Republican didn’t read health care repeal bill because he “just got back from baseball practice”

Chris Matthews speculates Syria airstrike was “set piece” to kill Trump/Putin narrative

Republican who voted for health care repeal asks a reporter to explain it to him

Imagine if Obama defended a hostile power the way Trump just defended Russia on Syria attack

Republican senators suspiciously quiet after House passes health care repeal

GOP lawmaker to constituents who will die without health care: They didn’t vote for me

GOP rep dismisses congresswoman’s impassioned plea for Obamacare as “hysterics”

Cory Booker: Republican healthcare plan “will cost American lives… It will mean death”

James Comey accidentally makes ironclad case for independent Russia probe

Morning Joe: Trump’s claim that Obama wiretapped him “was a lie, is a lie, will always be a lie”

White House openly boasts it held coal miners’ health benefits hostage to “get something in return”

Feinstein blasts Comey at hearing for Clinton letter, silence on Trump/Russia

Al Franken rebukes Republicans for laughing off Steve Bannon’s racism at hate crimes hearing

Voter confronts GOP rep with $13,000-a-week treatment he would lose without Obamacare

Throng of students walk out on Mike Pence’s commencement speech at Notre Dame

Sexual predator Trump defends accused predator O’Reilly: “I don’t think Bill did anything wrong”

Nat’l security chief essentially confirms: Trump did not confront Russians about election

Reporters confounded as Sean Spicer flees White House briefing without taking questions

Trump drops a bald-faced lie and a racist dog whistle about Obama

Democratic lawmaker calls GOP financial bill “a 591-page middle finger” to consumers

Rep. Cummings busts Pence: “I warned the vice president directly” about Michael Flynn

This is not normal: Spicer outsources White House ethics questions to The Trump Organization

Scarborough to policymakers on Syria: “‘It’s hard’ is no longer an acceptable answer on Morning Joe”

Democratic Congressman on Trump’s free press attacks: “This is the beginnings of fascism”