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Fact Check: No, Trump Did Not ‘Fire’ Pandemic Specialist or ‘Defund’ CDC

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CLAIM: President Trump “fired” the government’s pandemic specialist, and “defunded” the Centers for Disease Control (CDC).

VERDICT: Mostly false. The specialist was not fired; he quit. Some CDC cuts were proposed, but not implemented.

Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg claimed at the Democrat debate in Charleston, South Carolina, on Tuesday night that President Donald Trump had “fired” the government’s pandemic expert and “defunded” the Centers for Disease Control:

One of the great problems today, you read about the virus, what’s really happening here is the president fired the pandemic specialist in this country two years ago, so there’e nobody here to figure out what the hell we should be doing. [Applause] And he’s defunded Centers for Disease Control, CDC so we don’t have the organization we need.

In reality, the pandemic expert — Rear Adm. Timothy Ziemer — left the National Security Council (NSC) voluntarily after then-National Security Advisor John Bolton was appointed. (Read more from “Fact Check: No, Trump Did Not ‘Fire’ Pandemic Specialist or ‘Defund’ CDC” HERE)

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What to Expect From U.S. President Donald Trump’s Visit to India

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American and Indian national interests are clearly converging.

President Donald Trump will, therefore, strive to enhance US – India bilateral relations with the context of a multilateral environment.

What does that mean?

I refer back to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s concept of Security and Growth for All in the Region (SAGAR), first articulated in 2015.

SAGAR stresses the importance of the Indian Ocean to India and the close alignment between Indian and global interests, as Dhruva Jaishankar outlined in his article “Indian Ocean Region: A Pivot for India’s Growth:

“(i) preserving freedom of navigation for commercial shipping, (ii) sustainably and equitably harnessing the Indian Ocean’s natural resources, (iii) establishing protocols for enhancing disaster prevention and relief as well as search and rescue operations, (iv) countering piracy, terrorism, smuggling, and illegal weapons proliferation, and (v) managing international naval competition.”

It is no accident that regional security is the fundamental component ensuring that the benefits of regional economic growth can be realized.

Acknowledging and de facto supporting Prime Minister Modi’s SAGAR strategy, it is also no accident that the United States recently renamed its military Pacific Command to the Indo-Pacific Command.

The foundation of growing US – India strategic convergence has been the recognition of potential Chinese economic hegemony and military expansion in South Asia, especially via China’s close alliance with Pakistan and Pakistan’s own obsession with the use of terrorism as an instrument of foreign policy, all threats to the Modi SAGAR goals.

It is, therefore, not surprising that increased US-India defence cooperation has been the leading element in the expanding relationship and a segue to a new trade agreement likely to be completed within the next year.

Last November, the US and India completed their most expansive joint military exercises in history amid efforts to coordinate more ambitiously on challenges in the Indo-Pacific region as outlined in the SAGAR doctrine.

Sales of American weapons systems to India have concomitantly increased, which has included Apache attack helicopters for anti-terrorist operations, Seahawk helicopters for the Indian navy, C-17 heavy air-lift sustainment and anti-surface warfare and anti-air defence MK 45 5 inch/62 calibre (MOD 4) naval guns.

The need for greater US – India coordination will only increase as the American forces withdraw from Afghanistan and the Trump legacy in that regard will be determined by ensuing regional events precipitated by that withdrawal.

Both India and the United States have a shared interest in preventing strategic adversaries, namely China and Pakistan, from unduly benefitting from that withdrawal at the expense of regional stability and a balance of power.

Make no mistake, China seeks global domination. One vehicle to achieve it is the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), a collection of infrastructure projects and a network of commercial agreements in 152 countries designed to link the entire world directly to the Chinese economy through interconnected land-based and maritime routes.

A critical part of BRI is the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), an infrastructure and development project, the backbone of which is a transportation network connecting China to the Pakistani seaports of Gwadar and Karachi located on the Arabian Sea

The guarantor of that soft power approach is the hard power of Chinese military expansion.

China plans to establish a naval and air bases on the Arabian Sea within easy reach of the strategically important Strait of Hormuz at the mouth of the Persian Gulf. That military facility will complement China’s already operational naval base in Djibouti, located at another strategic chokepoint, the entrance to the Red Sea and the Suez Canal.

All of that is the opposite of what Prime Minister Modi seeks to achieve through SAGAR.

It may be that the outcome of the Modi-Trump meeting and subsequent greater US– India cooperation may largely determine peace, stability, economic prosperity and the democratic future of the Indo-Pacific region.

Both the stakes and the potential benefits are that high. (For more from the author of “What to Expect From U.S. President Donald Trump’s Visit to India” please click HERE)

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Couple Runs Two Teens On Bikes Off The Road Over Their Pro-Trump Flags

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Police say that a couple ran two teens on bikes off the road over their pro-Trump flags, and they were caught after posting videos of the altercation on social media site Snapchat. . .

Hobart police say that a woman and a man drove up to two teenage boys who were riding their bikes and asked if they supported President Donald Trump.

When they answered yes, the couple swerved to drive them off the road.

They told police that the male exited his vehicle in order to rip one of the flags from their bike. He then tossed it on the ground and ran over it with his vehicle.

A police affidavit says they threatened the boys, saying, “Don’t let me see you downtown.” (Read more from “Couple Runs Two Teens On Bikes Off The Road Over Their Pro-Trump Flags” HERE)

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Trump’s Public Charge Rule For Immigrants Officially Goes Into Effect Following Supreme Court Victories

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The Trump administration officially implemented its public charge rule for foreign nationals seeking permanent status, following two key victories in the nation’s highest court.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on Monday put into effect the administration’s new public charge rule, which takes into account a foreign national’s past use of taxpayer-funded benefits when determining whether that individual qualifies for a green card. The rule, which the White House first introduced in 2019, survived a lawsuit that reached all the way to the Supreme Court.

“President [Donald] Trump continues to deliver on his promise to the American people to enforce our nation’s immigration laws. After several judicial victories, DHS will finally begin implementing the Inadmissibility on Public Charge Grounds final rule,” Ken Cuccinelli, the acting deputy secretary of DHS, said in a statement Monday.

“This rule enforces longstanding law requiring aliens to be self-sufficient, reaffirming the American ideals of hard work, perseverance and determination. It also offers clarity and expectations to aliens considering a life in the United States and will help protect our public benefit programs,” Cuccinelli continued.

Under the public charge rule, permanent status can be denied to applicants who have a history of using government-funded benefits and deemed a “public charge” on the U.S. government. (Read more from “Trump’s Public Charge Rule For Immigrants Officially Goes Into Effect Following Supreme Court Victories” HERE)

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Ninth Circuit Court Rules Trump Admin Stripping Funding From Abortion Clinics Is Constitutional

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The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Monday that the Trump administration can continue stripping federal funding from clinics that offer abortions.

The court upheld the Trump administration’s June 2019 declaration that taxpayer-funded clinics must stop referring women for abortions or be stripped of their Title X funding. . .

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) followed the decision in June by alerting clinics that it would enforce the administration’s ban. Planned Parenthood withdrew from the Title X federal family planning program, thereby forgoing about $60 million a year, in August 2019 rather than comply with this decision. . .

The rules, which advance President Donald Trump’s promise to stop funding businesses that perform abortions, require that organizations that perform abortions and make abortion referrals will have to do so in separate buildings from those that receive Title X federal funds.

“Today’s ruling is a vindication of President Trump’s pro-life policies and a victory for the American people,” Susan B. Anthony List President Marjorie Dannenfelser said in a statement, adding that abortion is not family planning and that “a strong majority of Americans” oppose taxpayer-funded abortions. (Read more from “Ninth Circuit Court Rules Trump Admin Stripping Funding From Abortion Clinics Is Constitutional” HERE)

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President Trump Asserts Coronavirus ‘Under Control’ In U.S.

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President Trump asserted Monday that the coronavirus is “very much under control” in the United States, even as stock markets plunged amid concerns about the spread of the virus.

“The Coronavirus is very much under control in the USA. We are in contact with everyone and all relevant countries,” Trump, who is traveling on official business in India, tweeted. “CDC & World Health have been working hard and very smart. Stock Market starting to look very good to me!”

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1,031 points on Monday, one of its largest single-day drops in terms of points, as concerns rose about the spread of the coronavirus beyond China.

Trump has sought to project confidence in the steps his administration has taken to contain and mitigate the outbreak as cases are reported in the U.S. and at times has seemed to downplay the threat.

The White House is expected to ask Congress for emergency funding to combat the virus, which is believed to have originated in the Chinese city of Wuhan, though it’s unclear yet how much. (Read more from “President Trump Asserts Coronavirus ‘Under Control’ In U.S.” HERE)

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Child Abuse? Homosexual Buttigieg Coaches Boy On How To Come Out As ‘Gay’

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. . .”Thank you for being so brave,” the boy, later identified as 9-year-old Zachary Ro, wrote in a question submitted via fishbowl during the presidential hopeful’s Saturday rally, “Would you help me tell the world I’m gay, too? I want to be brave like you.” . . .

“I don’t think you need a lot of advice for me on bravery. You seem pretty strong to me,” Buttigieg, who is gay, told Zachary. “It took me a long time to figure out how to tell even my best friend that I was gay, let alone to go out there and tell the world and to see you willing to come to terms with who you are in a room full of 1,000 people, thousands of people you’ve never met that’s, that’s really something.”

Buttigieg took the opportunity to tell Zachary, “a couple things that might be useful.”

“The first thing is that it won’t always be easy, but that’s okay, because you know who you are. And that’s really important, because when you know who you are, you have a center of gravity that can hold you together when all kinds of chaos is happening around you,” he said. (Read more from “Child Abuse: Homosexual Buttigieg Coaches Boy On How To Come Out As ‘Gay'” HERE)

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Drug Prices Dropped 11 Percent Under President Trump

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A White House Council of Economic Advisors (CEA) report released this week found that drug prices fell by more than 11 percent under President Donald Trump.

A White House CEA report found that President Trump’s actions have reduced prescription drug prices. The CEA detailed that, under former President Barack Obama, drug prices continued to increase and only started to fall after Trump took the oath of office.

The CEA wrote that prescription drug prices fell more than 11 percent and well below general inflation. . .

The CEA attributed much of this to the president’s signing of the 2017 Drug Competition Action Plan and the 2018 Strategic Policy Roadmap. The CEA said the reforms enhance “choice and price competition in the biopharmaceutical markets.”

“We estimate that the results of these actions will save consumers almost 10 percent on retail prescription drugs, which results in an increase of $32 billion per year in the purchasing power of the incomes of Americans (including both consumers and producers),” the council added. (Read more from “Drug Prices Dropped 11 Percent Under President Trump” HERE)

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Democratic Elites Prefer Trump To Sanders

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By Breitbart. . .It’s an article of faith inside the Bernie Sanders campaign that the Democratic establishment is going to do everything it can to stop the Vermonter from winning the Democratic nomination this year. This is what happened four years ago during the primary battle, when the Democratic National Committee (DNC) was helping Hillary Clinton win the nomination, even as it feigned neutrality in the contest.

In fact, MSNBC’s anti-Sanders tone is so strong that it’s been noticed by others on the left; hence this February 12 headline in the liberal New Republic magazine, “Bernie Sanders Has an MSNBC Problem.” As the article details, a long list of MSNBC talking heads—including Joe Scarborough, Chuck Todd, Lawrence O’Donnell, and James Carville—have hammered Sanders.

At the top of that list of MSNBC hitmen is Chris Matthews. On February 7, in one of his typically purple perorations, Matthews compared Sanders to Fidel Castro, adding that if Castro had somehow managed to bring communism to America, “There would have been executions in Central Park”—and among the executed would have been Matthews himself. . .

. . .Matthews-type Democrats see Sanders as an internal enemy: That is, he and his socialism—or, as Matthews might put it, communism—are a threat to the good order of the existing Democratic Party structures, which rely heavily on funding from Wall Street, Silicon Valley, and individual heirs and plutocrats.

These donors are perfectly happy with a Democratic Party that’s green and gay, but not one that’s red and angry. So we can see: Trump unites Democrats (in opposition to Trump), whereas Sanders divides them (pro and con on Sanders). (Read more from “Democratic Elites Prefer Trump To Sanders” HERE)

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Sanders Is A Risk, Not A Winner

By The Hill. Please, Democrats, find a practical, moderate candidate for president to help those of us in the center of the American political spectrum oust Donald Trump and his mindless supporters in Congress from power in November.

The Bernie Sanders revolution is not the answer.

The country needs a return to sanity, not an extremist from the idealistic far left to defeat Trump, the extremist reactionary on the far right. Give us someone — any gender or race — who is a real problem solver and who has some hope of winning the presidential and congressional election and then creating the political conditions for real change.

I make this plea as someone who grew up in the South and has worked in government for presidents of both parties. I am also not affiliated with any political party or candidate. (Read more from “Sanders Is A Risk, Not A Winner” HERE)

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Report Undercuts Claim That Russia Is Trying To Help Trump’s Re-election

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American intelligence does not indicate that Russia is attempting to help President Donald Trump’s re-election campaign, according to a new report.

According to CNN, who spoke with several U.S. intelligence officials, Shelby Pierson, the top election intelligence official, overstated the intelligence community’s assessment on Russian interference in the 2020 election during a recent classified briefing with the House Intelligence Committee. She told lawmakers that Russia is attempting to aid Trump’s re-election, the New York Times reported last week.

However, the intelligence simply does not indicate that.

“The intelligence doesn’t say that,” a senior national security official told CNN. “A more reasonable interpretation of the intelligence is not that they have a preference, it’s a step short of that. It’s more that they understand the President is someone they can work with, he’s a dealmaker.” (Read more from “Report Undercuts Claim That Russia Is Trying To Help Trump’s Re-election” HERE)

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