Trump’s 2016 win was not based on the economy

One catch to the "Trump wooed economically struggling white working-class voters" narrative: They were identifying more heavily as Republican for years anyway. https://t.co/xl81SAi8eK
— Philip Bump (@pbump) April 12, 2019

Trump is using taxes to hurt blue states

This is like his detainee plan.

I live in a blue state and was hurt by the cap on SALT deductions.

"Whether you see your taxes go up or down will depend on whether you live in a red state or blue state and that's by design," explains @JohnAvlon in today's #RealityCheck as he looks at how Trump has used the tax code to hurt Democratic states. pic.twitter.com/T6nbLenSqM
— New Day (@NewDay) April 12, 2019

Bills passed by the House

There’s more to politics than Trump. Democrats have passed important bills that would improve our country. This doesn’t get anywhere near enough attention in the media.

Republicans have blocked more than a 100 bills from being voted on. Perhaps focusing on the senate might be a worthwhile idea. https://t.co/XvVAvisVOZ
— Molly Jong-Fast (@MollyJongFast) June 5, 2019

The narrative that Dems are obsessed with investigating rather than legislating is doubly stupid. First, they're doing a lot of legislating. Second, nothing can pass given R opposition – investigating is the only real power they have https://t.co/euYSRg43e8
— Paul Krugman (@paulkrugman) May 28, 2019

Actually the Dems in the House have passed dozens of bills but your bestie @senatemajldr has blocked them from coming to a vote in the Senate (just so you could tweet your lie). https://t.co/QLv4UrK62L
— Pete Souza (@PeteSouza) May 27, 2019

Wow. Reflecting on the past 100 days, I feel like we’re off to a really solid start as a Democratic majority in the people’s House. #ForThePeople pic.twitter.com/SFr9l3Mv2Y
— Rep. Andy Levin (@RepAndyLevin) April 12, 2019

Trump told the head of the border patrol he would pardon him if he broke immigration law

House Democrats are also demanding a list of aides present during meetings between Trump and DHS Sec McAleenan and border agents, who might have witnessed these orders.

They're also demanding communications relating a key private meeting with Kirstjen Nielsen.

Ramping up: https://t.co/BVnj3nFdRL
— Greg Sargent (@ThePlumLineGS) April 16, 2019

Trump told CBP head he'd pardon him if he were sent to jail for violating immigration law – CNNPolitics https://t.co/31tN1Ah8Uh
— Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) April 12, 2019

As @jaketapper reported earlier, Trump told McAleenan to ignore Nielsen and said he'd pardon him if anything happened. The remarks, possibly a joke, still alarmed DHS officials @anniekarni @EricSchmittNYT @KannoYoungs me https://t.co/rcxD27XI5a
— Maggie Haberman (@maggieNYT) April 12, 2019

I doubt it was a joke.

This is what in the old days we used to call “abuse of power.” https://t.co/te6rArdoof
— Asha Rangappa (@AshaRangappa_) April 12, 2019

A President instructing a subordinate to break the law with the promise of a pardon is a textbook example of an impeachable offense and should be the biggest story in the country for months. https://t.co/1JXU9t9Nd2
— Dan Pfeiffer (@danpfeiffer) April 12, 2019

Dear @realDonaldTrump: Dude, you can't tell a federal employees to violate the law and then say you will issue a pardon. That's the kind of stuff that can get you impeached.

Also, why are you trying to eliminate pre-existing conditions health care coverage? https://t.co/DXbesW0xUm
— Ted Lieu (@tedlieu) April 12, 2019

President Trump last week urged Kevin McAleenan, who he was about to name as acting secretary of homeland security, to close the southwestern border despite stating a few days earlier that he was delaying a decision on the step for a year >> https://t.co/qDXptJy6y8
— Jonathan Martin (@jmartNYT) April 12, 2019

Trump pardoned Joe Arpaio after he was found in contempt for his violation of immigration laws.

Now Trump reportedly promised a pardon to the Customs and Border Partrol head if he violated the law at Trump’s urging.

The rule of law is withering away, and the GOP says nothing. https://t.co/cOBfNsN9D4
— Adam Schiff (@RepAdamSchiff) April 12, 2019

Life’s pretty good when you’ve been assured you won’t be impeached. You can commit impeachable offenses casually, on a near-daily basis. https://t.co/nG1ZqQLinP
— Brian Beutler (@brianbeutler) April 12, 2019

This is truly authoritarian behavior. https://t.co/0vSTgSeqsx
— Robert Reich (@RBReich) April 12, 2019

Top tax frustrations

The Trump tax cut helped corporations and rich people. This is not what the people want.

Tax day fast approaching. Far more Americans are bothered 'a lot' by some corporation/wealthy people not paying their fair share than by what they pay in taxes.https://t.co/3syKnW0vo5 pic.twitter.com/syKWWMSVvj
— Carroll Doherty (@CarrollDoherty) April 12, 2019

Trump’s terrible detainee plan

Trump politicizes everything and doesn’t care about laws – he just wants to punish people. He wants to send detainees to areas (sanctuary cities) held by Democrats (mayors or Congress) who oppose his terrible immigration ideas. Even his own employees raised legal objections but Trump still wants to do it. Sad!

This follows the reduction of tax deductions for SALT which penalized blue states, his threats to withhold money aimed for California and unwillingness to support the Gateway tunnel that would help New York and New Jersey. He has no interest in being president for everyone – he only cares about his base.

Due to the fact that Democrats are unwilling to change our very dangerous immigration laws, we are indeed, as reported, giving strong considerations to placing Illegal Immigrants in Sanctuary Cities only….
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 12, 2019

“We are giving very strong consideration to having people, after a 20 day period–because legally we’re not allowed to hold them for more than that–we will move them to sanctuary cities.” -President Trump on plan to release immigrants in DHS custody in sanctuary cities. pic.twitter.com/XYa6b7bCg0
— CSPAN (@cspan) April 12, 2019

What the President is talking about here is spending taxpayer dollars to use immigrant families—mothers, fathers and young children—as pawns for political retribution. This is both morally repugnant and probably illegal. https://t.co/6l3PgF2eg8
— (((Rep. Nadler))) (@RepJerryNadler) April 12, 2019

Will any Republicans speak up?

All is well. pic.twitter.com/sfhKQ4AiIV
— southpaw (@nycsouthpaw) April 12, 2019

BREAKING: After a DHS official told @NBCNews Thursday night that the White House considered busing migrants to "sanctuary cities" but the "suggestion" was "floated and rejected," President Trump now says he's "giving strong considerations" to the plan. https://t.co/oEsG24iHSe
— MSNBC (@MSNBC) April 12, 2019

The President of the United States of America tweeted this afternoon that he is considering transporting human beings he has captured for concentration in cities populated by Americans he considers his enemies.
— Walter Shaub (@waltshaub) April 12, 2019

This is beyond shocking. We have a President who acts like the President of only a portion of the United States, and an enemy to the rest. Heartbreaking. https://t.co/qNAL3vBsTb
— Neal Katyal (@neal_katyal) April 12, 2019

This is a classic @realDonaldTrump move that he does quite deftly.

You know that plan that sounded objectionable and legally suspect and that my political aides tried to talk you out of writing?
Well it's true and there's nothing wrong with it.
https://t.co/Cfe90SkRWt
— Carol Leonnig (@CarolLeonnig) April 12, 2019

Trump invokes Herman Cain in the situation room; the military ignores him. He wants ICE to release detainees in opponents’ cities; ICE lawyers stop it. He orders border agents to break the law; their bosses say no. The system has often checked Trump. But how long can it do so?
— Bill Kristol (@BillKristol) April 12, 2019

I just confirmed that Trump tried to pressure U.S. authorities to release immigrant detainees onto the streets of "sanctuary cities." Both DHS & WH emailed same quote: "This was a suggestion that was floated & rejected, which ended any further discussion." First reported by WaPo.
— Yamiche Alcindor (@Yamiche) April 12, 2019

Then Trump says he still wants to do it

"House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s district in San Francisco was among those the White House wanted to target, according to DHS officials. The administration also considered releasing detainees in other Democratic strongholds." https://t.co/1YVWWolo0Z
— Yashar Ali 🐘 (@yashar) April 12, 2019

Using humans as "pestilence to spread around the country" is grotesque, says @JeffreyToobin on Trump considering releasing immigrants in sanctuary cities to retaliate against opponents.@MaxBoot: It's "intellectual bankruptcy on the issue of immigration"https://t.co/hTUb7CQTBb pic.twitter.com/Qh8FrvNPcG
— CNN (@CNN) April 12, 2019

This is also the sort of recurring thing that makes me surprised there’s not more pressure from the Dem base on lawmakers to never deal with/legitimize the WHhttps://t.co/KMxzw1UE9H
— Jonathan Martin (@jmartNYT) April 12, 2019

POTUS really ought to check in with his press team more often, or they with him. NYT emailed three times for comment and press office acknowledged receipt of emails. https://t.co/Jk3XOoOQgJ
— Maggie Haberman (@maggieNYT) April 13, 2019

Trump lies/false claims last week

Trump false claims last week:
– 34 to Republican fundraising dinner
– 19 to Republican Jewish Coalition
– 14 with NATO chief Stoltenberg
– 9 in Fox News interview at the border
– 9 at other border events

As usual, much of his lying was to his supporters.
— Daniel Dale (@ddale8) April 11, 2019

Trump's speech to that Republican campaign dinner was the third-most-dishonest event of his presidency: 34 false claims. He made 102 false claims in all. That's the 11th-worst week of his presidency, second-worst since the midterms. https://t.co/RGhCxriaZ9
— Daniel Dale (@ddale8) April 11, 2019

Does anyone know if a Republican recently walked out of an interview when they were asked about health care, as the president claimed last week? pic.twitter.com/rXnxldP83P
— Daniel Dale (@ddale8) April 10, 2019

Per the pool reporter, Trump has resumed his dishonesty about family separation, saying "I'm the one who stopped it" while not acknowledging he had started the policy he later stopped.
— Daniel Dale (@ddale8) April 9, 2019

Trump’s sister retires to avoid misconduct investigation

That must have been one hell of a tree to produce these apples. https://t.co/ikeWxatacr
— Ronald Klain (@RonaldKlain) April 10, 2019

Funny how Maryanne Trump Barry needs to leave her job to be immune from consequences, and her brother needs to keep his for the same reason https://t.co/k6QhEMHi0b
— Catherine Rampell (@crampell) April 10, 2019

New: Judge Maryanne Trump Barry faced accusations of judicial misconduct over her role in the Trumps' fraudulent tax schemes uncovered in our 2018 tax investigation. Her retirement neutralizes those allegations. Here's the initial story. .https://t.co/9is4ZcpOY4
— Susanne Craig (@susannecraig) April 10, 2019

Trump goes even further than Barr

Donald Trump's dangerous allegation of 'illegal' and 'unprecedented' spyinghttps://t.co/j2zGJHjpFJ pic.twitter.com/BiiNN5DvlS
— Chris Cillizza (@CillizzaCNN) April 11, 2019

Trump claims he’s victim of ‘illegal’ spying – but provides no evidence @abbydphillip reports @TheLeadCNN https://t.co/dyt5rzeNB5 pic.twitter.com/3Zl4y7WFyn
— Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) April 11, 2019

Barr spreads Trump’s “spying” conspiracy theory.

Trump has said, with no basis, that his campaign was spied on. Now, Barr backs him up. This undermines law enforcement. I have no trust in Barr now. He’s just another Republican liar sucking up to Trump.

As Philip Bump notes, Trump wins by making an “informant”(routine for law enforcement) into a more sinister sounding “spy”.

Second, I (and presumably others) take more issue with the "on the campaign" part of the assertion. Wrote about that last year.https://t.co/eA8zzq4NkJ
— Philip Bump (@pbump) April 11, 2019

William Barr is redefining what it means to “spy” https://t.co/pMOydkMJ8Z pic.twitter.com/DUf9GGcaNr
— Newsweek (@Newsweek) April 11, 2019

Democrat @TedLieu to CNN: The FBI didn't spy on the Trump campaign, "This was authorized surveillance." 🤔 pic.twitter.com/hgDv4Tf587
— Matt Wolking (@MattWolking) April 11, 2019

Bill Barr could have said "surveillance approved by a FISA court."

Instead, he said "spying."https://t.co/2H5Hkmz5bX
— Chris Cillizza (@CillizzaCNN) April 11, 2019

– Attorney General publicly says the FBI “spied” on the Trump campaign

– Unnamed sources around the AG try to walk the comments back

– The President comes out the next day and praises the original remarks, insisting “I think what he said was absolutely true.”

Clear as mud.
— Josh Campbell (@joshscampbell) April 11, 2019

It’s hard to call someone in Trump’s orbit even more dishonorable than Trump himself, but Bill Barr might meet that test: unlike the totally unmoored and immoral Trump, this Attorney General clearly knows better. He has to know how badly he is betraying the rule of law.
— Laurence Tribe (@tribelaw) April 11, 2019

DING DING DING. Also, Shaheen gave Barr a chance to take back "spying" and he paused and said it again.

Plus, he's an extremely accomplished lawyer and former AG who understands how to parse. https://t.co/77LT3vV5pj
— Aaron Blake (@AaronBlake) April 11, 2019

I see the “spying” conspiracy is coming back in vogue, now from the AG himself. Reupping my tutorial on why and how sources are used in counterintelligence investigations https://t.co/9aHRdjw0cn
— Asha Rangappa (@AshaRangappa_) April 10, 2019

“I frankly don’t even recognize the guy anymore. I am outraged that he would do that, to law enforcement and to the criminal justice system of the USA.” @CynthiaAlksne on AG Barr saying, with no evidence, that he thinks spying occurred on the Trump campaign. #Hardball pic.twitter.com/tVXsFuCggb
— Hardball (@hardball) April 10, 2019

More on #Barr from @stevebenen:
He "must realize the political weight of a loaded term such as 'spying,' but Barr, already suspected of being overly concerned with the president's political interests, said it anyway." https://t.co/LrAlbirhKi
— EJ Dionne (@EJDionne) April 10, 2019

This gets at something that has become apparent the past two weeks: Barr is a smart lawyer who has been out of public service a long time and has no idea what he's doing in the modern political/media landscape. https://t.co/OQemcvdAk2
— Matthew Miller (@matthewamiller) April 11, 2019

Have you noticed that at no time in the past two days did William Barr communicate any concern about Russia attackin' our election or Trump's campaign not once reportin' a single one of over 100 meetings with Russia?

His only worry was about a Trump conspiracy theory.
— Tea Pain (@TeaPainUSA) April 10, 2019

This is the sort of thing that the "spying" comment buys us. There will be a lot more where that came from. https://t.co/yAPHlGMr7Y
— Harry Litman (@harrylitman) April 10, 2019

AG Barr’s “spying” remark is a “classic demonstration of the Fox-newsification of the Republican party,” says CNN’s @JeffreyToobin. “His use of this term shows how much the paranoid lunacy of the right wing is now moved right in” to the Justice Department. https://t.co/m1qULaNutV pic.twitter.com/kjRx7ldgar
— CNN (@CNN) April 11, 2019

Barr was quick to criticize the agency he now leads, despite having no evidence to support the accusation. Career public servants deserve leadership that supports them. https://t.co/ItT4VEp6ol
— Joyce Alene (@JoyceWhiteVance) April 11, 2019

If Barr had a concern about the investigation and wanted the truth, he'd cite facts and rely on the IG. If he wanted to provide his boss political cover or intimidate investigators so they won't investigate his boss again, he'd cite a conspiracy theory and launch his own inquiry.
— Walter Shaub (@waltshaub) April 11, 2019