By Judson Berger
Vowing to “get the job done,” President Trump took office
Friday outlining a drastically different agenda than that of his predecessor
and installing key members of his national security team – as he began the work
of turning his bold, and often brash, campaign promises into action.
He took the first steps Friday evening, signing an
executive order directing agencies to ease the burdens of the Affordable Care
Act. White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus also directed agencies to impose
an “immediate regulatory freeze.”
“The time for empty talk is over. Now arrives the hour of
action,” Trump declared in his inaugural address earlier on the West Front of
the Capitol, issuing a fiery condemnation of business as usual in Washington.
The president presided over the traditional inaugural
fanfare, taking part in the parade down Pennsylvania Avenue before an evening
of balls and other festivities. But on the sidelines, his team already was
making its mark, part of what Trump called a “new vision.”
The official White House website swiftly switched as
Trump took the oath of office, reflecting a new agenda for the new
administration.
At the top of the “issues” section was Trump’s “America
First Energy Plan,” which included a commitment to nix Obama-era policies to
curb global warming and regulate U.S. waterways.
Team Trump deemed them “harmful and unnecessary policies”
that hurt the economy. “Lifting these restrictions will greatly help American
workers, increasing wages by more than $30 billion over the next 7 years,” the
website now states.
The site posted additional plans for the military,
foreign policy, the economy and more. The jobs plan committed to “pro-growth
tax reform” including a reduction in the corporate tax rate.
In terms of official actions, Trump’s first day consisted
mostly of routine transfer-of-power measures. He signed nomination papers for
his Cabinet picks – but also his first bill, legislation allowing retired Gen.
James Mattis to serve as Defense secretary.
The Senate later confirmed Mattis to lead the Pentagon, as
well as retired Gen. John Kelly to lead the Department of Homeland Security.
Senate Democrats angered GOP colleagues by resisting efforts to consider more
Cabinet nominees on the first day.
But bigger and more visceral battles were playing out on
the streets of Washington Friday, as anti-Trump protesters swarmed parts of the
District in demonstrations that turned violent at times. Amid dozens of
arrests, protesters smashed the windows of businesses, forced the temporary
shutdown of security checkpoints and clashed with police – who used pepper
spray and tear gas to try to control the crowds.
But thousands of Trump supporters also came out, watching
the 45th president’s inaugural address from the National Mall and later the
parade, at times drowning out the protesters with cheers.
The address itself was heavy on populist themes, and
stitched together by an appeal for a “new national pride,” as Trump described
patriotism as a salve for the country’s divisions.
“When you open your heart to patriotism, there is no room
for prejudice,” he said.
He also rebuked those who have held power in Washington,
saying a small group reaped the rewards of government while “the people did not
share” in Washington’s wealth.
In blunt and unvarnished terms similar to the language
used during his nomination acceptance address last summer, Trump lamented the
jobs lost to foreign rivals – he described “rusted out factories scattered like
tombstones” across the land – and the crime in America’s cities.
“This American carnage stops right here and stops right
now,” Trump said.
Trump cast his presidency as a return to power for the
people and vowed never to let them down.
“From this day forward, it’s going to be only America
first,” Trump said. “I will fight for you with every breath in my body, and I
will never, ever let you down. … We will bring back our jobs, we will bring
back our borders, we will bring back our wealth and we will bring back our
dreams.”
Telling the American people this is “your moment” and
“your day,” Trump closed his speech with the promise that started it all: “We
will make America great again.”
As Barack and Michelle Obama departed the White House
after eight years in office, Trump will immediately be confronted with the
challenge of governing, as he attempts to apply his CEO experience to running
the nation. His team has vowed a “robust” start to the Trump administration,
which could include everything from rescinding controversial Obama actions to
renegotiating trade deals to repealing and replacing the Affordable Care Act.
_____________________________
OTHER
NEWS:
[Note: If you have trouble with any of the below links, super copy and paste them in google]
[Note: If you have trouble with any of the below links, super copy and paste them in google]
Lockheed CEO to Trump: We plan to add 1,800 F-35 jobs in Fort Worth
________________________________
Trump on throngs of Sunday protesters: 'Why didn't these people vote?'
President Trump on Sunday expressed his unfiltered
opinion of the Women’s March on Washington and other protests this weekend
organized largely in opposition to his presidency, tweeting, “was under the
impression that we just had an election! Why didn't these people vote?”
He also said in the tweet, “Celebs hurt cause badly.”
Trump, a Republican sworn-in Friday, didn’t mention
names. However, singer Madonna has been criticized for saying Saturday during
the women’s march that she considered “blowing up the White House” after
Trump’s victory over Democrat Hillary Clinton.
The Secret Service declined to comment Sunday about
reports the agency plans to investigate the comment as a threat.
Trump tweeted about 90 minutes later: "Peaceful
protests are a hallmark of our democracy. Even if I don't always agree, I
recognize the rights of people to express their views."
The dueling tweets marked his administration's first
response to the more than 1 million people who rallied at women's marches in
Washington and cities around the world.
On “Fox News Sunday,” White House Chief of Staff Reince
Priebus responded to concerns that Trump would roll back women’s rights.
“President Trump wants to be president for all people,
including every one of those marchers yesterday,” Priebus said. “And I think
that over time, many of those people are going to be proud of this president.”
He also didn’t name Madonna but said, “Can you imagine
saying that about President Obama?”
The suggestion that the Saturday rally in Washington
appeared to attract more people than Trump's inauguration on Friday clearly
irked the new president.
Trump spent his first full day in office berating the
media over their coverage of his inauguration, using a bridge-building visit to
CIA headquarters to air grievances about "dishonest" journalists and
wildly overstating the size of the crowd that gathered on the National Mall as
he took the oath of office.
The
Associated Press contributed to this report
_____________________________________
Alveda King reacts to the Women's March on Washington
Video: Fox News contributor [niece of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.] shares her thoughts
_____________________________________
Judge
Jeanine: Trump will be biggest change agent ever in US
Video: We need someone strong enough to admit our faults and take them on
________________________________________
Sean
Spicer accuses media of false reporting at WH briefing
Video: Press secretary speaks out about reporting of Inauguration Day crowd sizes
________________________________________
FIGHTING
WORDS: Priebus says media wants to 'delegitimize' Trump
Video: White House chief of staff weighs in on 'Fox News Sunday'
_______________________________________
Ex-Black Panther: Why John Lewis has joined
the oppressor
One former Black Panther takes issue with legendary civil
rights activist Rep. John Lewis calling Trump an illegitimate president, saying
Democrats are the party of the Klan and Lewis is an 'illegitimate congressman'
#TuckerClick below to view the explosive video.
____________________________________
FLASHBACK: Fans of Fox News Rally Around Historically Black College Band to Perform At Trump’s Inauguration
By Rusty
What an incredible story of what it truly means to come
together on a day in which we celebrate Martin Luther King Jr.’s legacy of
unity.
As readers of our site are already keenly aware,
Talladega College, a historically black university, set off a wave of liberal
foot-stomping when they announced they would gladly accept an invitation to
perform at President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration.
Liberals went into a predictable meltdown, because after
all, an historically black college should never perform for Trump who is white
and therefore racist.
Come to find out it was another group of people liberals
like to label as racist that helped the Talladega Marching Tornadoes make the
trip to Trump’s inauguration.
Fox News viewers to the rescue!
Via
Fox News Insider:
The
president of a historically black college in Alabama is standing firm on his
marching band attending the Inauguration Day festivities for President-elect
Donald Trump after receiving an invitation.
Dr.
Billy C. Hawkins said the chance for Talladega College’s “Marching Tornadoes”
to take part in the inaugural parade is a “great opportunity for students”, and
was overjoyed after an appearance on “The O’Reilly Factor” caused a major spike
in his band’s fundraising.
Hawkins
previously discussed the band’s invitation with Bill O’Reilly last week, and
told Arthel Neville on Sunday that an additional $300,000 has come in to help
the band make the trip north to the nation’s capital.
Hawkins said the historically black college’s willingness
to play the inauguration ‘has resulted in numerous critical and threatening
messages from opponents of Trump.’
Liberals are almost certainly unaware of the irony
involved in being upset with anyone agreeing to play for an alleged ‘racist’
like Trump, and expressing their disgust by actually making threats to an all-black
marching band.
Because that’s not racist or anything.
Obama's
Failed Black Legacy
By Clarence V. McKee
President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama arrive with children to play on a playset dubbed Malia and Sasha's Castle, formerly used by the Obama children at the White House and donated by the Obama family, on January 16, 2017, in Washington, D.C. (Michael Reynolds-Pool/Getty Images)
Barack Obama’s greatest legacy and accomplishment was
being elected as the first black president of the United States.
For black Americans, it has been downhill ever since,
from "Yes we can" to "No he didn’t."
Yes, there was a certain pride in all black Americans
that a black man had been elected President of the United States, where
hundreds of years earlier blacks suffered through slavery, racism, and not that
far back, blatant racial discrimination in virtually every segment of society
and part of the country — some of which continues to this day.
Black Americans particularly had high hopes that many of
their concerns and issues would be addressed — inferior schools, high
unemployment, especially among black youth, violent crime, and gang-terrorized
inner cities to name just a few. Black parents could tell their black children,
especially boys, "See what you can become."
White Americans felt and hoped that his election signaled
a new "post-racial" America. For many whites, especially many in the
media, his election gave them a "thrill up the leg" showing that they
and the country were not racist. He would bring America, black and white, rich
and poor, together.
Both were duped.
Four years into his presidency, he answered those who
felt he could do more for black America, saying in a Black Enterprise magazine
interview, that, "I am not the President of Black America; I am the
President of the United States of America."
However, he has not hesitated to be president of: gay
rights and same-sex marriage America; extreme environmentalists and climate
change America; open borders America; and protect the "dreamers" —
children born to illegal immigrants — America.
As fellow Newsmax Insider Deroy Murdock wrote in March in
National Review:
"Based on the Obama administration’s own
latest-available statistics by the most basic economic-performance metrics —
with one key exception — black Americans are worse off now than when Obama was
sworn in on January 20, 2009."
Murdock quoted, as have I, liberal media commentator
Tavis Smiley who has said that "Sadly — and it pains me to say this —
under the last decade, black folk, in the era of Obama, have lost ground in
every major category."
Blacks apparently share the view that Obama has not done
enough for the black community. An August Gallup poll found that a majority of
blacks, 52 percent, believed that Obama had not gone far enough to help them —
up from 20 percent during the 2008 campaign and 32 percent his first year in
office.
They are not alone!
He also ignored the growth of ISIS, the genocide in
Aleppo, Chinese expansion in the South China Sea, the Cuban people and
dissidents by cozying up to the Castros, the people of Israel, and the plight
of our veterans.
As he departs, keep in mind that Obama is loved and
revered by white and black liberals — and the mainstream media — not because he
is black, but because he is a "black liberal."
They share no such love or affection for black
conservatives who dare to have different viewpoints on solutions to many of the
problems confronting black America. In fact, they have disdain for them — just
ask South Carolina Republican Senator Tim Scott or Supreme Court Justice
Clarence Thomas.
Obama is a great role model as a loving and caring
husband and father. And, his "My Brother’s Keeper" mentoring effort
is commendable. However, he, the black president, could have done so much more
from his bully pulpit to bring attention to the importance of family related
problems facing much of America’s black communities.
He could and should have addressed the problem of the
over 70 percent black illegitimacy rate and the consequences of having children
out of wedlock; tell youth to stay in and do well in school; respect parents,
teachers and those in authority and, urge young black men to take care of and
help raise their children. But that was not his soapbox.
Remember, he said he was not "president of black
America."
As to a "post racial" America — forget about
it!
He used his Attorney General Eric Holder and their race
bating allies to play the race card at every opportunity. Question his motives
and you were either a racist or, if black, an Uncle Tom.
When it suited his purposes, he used race to show blacks
that he "felt their pain."
Comments such as Trayvon Martin could have been his son;
or, he knows what it is like to be followed in stores or have women grab their
purses when he got on the elevator showed that he empathized with blacks and
solidified any wavering support due to his failure to do little else for that
community.
So, looking back on Obama’s eight years, black and white
voters have one thing in common — they were both bamboozled!
Clarence
V. McKee is president of McKee Communications, Inc., a government, political,
and media relations consulting firm in Florida. He held several positions in
the Reagan administration as well as in the Reagan presidential campaigns. He
is a former co-owner of WTVT-TV in Tampa and former president of the Florida
Association of Broadcasters.
