President Trump

Sen. Bill Nelson Discusses Puerto Rico Recovery One Year After Hurricane Maria

By Sam Turken • Sep 20, 2018

Standing alongside Puerto Rican community leaders in Miami on Thursday, U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson said he didn't want to talk politics on the one-year anniversary of Hurricane Maria's landfall in Puerto Rico.

But that wish gradually gave way as the Democrat from Florida condemned President Donald Trump for disputing the death toll from the hurricane and called on the federal government to do more to rebuild the island.

Will Anti-Trump Puerto Ricans Storm Florida's Polls In November, Or Is It Hype?

By Tim Padgett • Sep 17, 2018

President Trump astonished people across the country last week when he denied 3,000 Puerto Ricans died as a result of Hurricane Maria. He insisted (falsely) that Democrats inflated the death toll to make him “look bad.”

For Ernesto Morales, Trump’s tweets exacerbated his awful memories of the storm, which demolished Puerto Rico a year ago this Thursday.

Why U.S. Invasion Of Venezuela Is Still A Hot Topic – But Will Likely Never Happen

By Tim Padgett • Sep 10, 2018

Over the weekend the New York Times created hemispheric buzz. It reported that U.S. officials talked privately this past year with rebellious Venezuelan military officers. Those officers wanted U.S. help to overthrow Venezuela’s socialist president, Nicolás Maduro.

Apparently nothing came of the talks; the Trump Administration declined to help the rogue militares. But the Times story was more evidence that President Trump is exploring unusually strong action to topple Maduro. At the White House last summer, he'd already displayed that impulse.

“We have many options for Venezuela," Trump said then, "including a possible military option if necessary…”

Lawsuit Challenges Miami-Dade Immigration Detention Policy

By Alexander Gonzalez & Nadege Green • Jul 27, 2018

Two undocumented immigrants who were arrested for driving without a license and face deportation are suing Miami-Dade County over its immigration detention policy. The lawsuit was filed in federal court this week, claiming the county’s policy is unconstitutional.

Rubio's Hypocrisy On Trump, North Korea – Call It Rubiocrisy – Is Bad For Latin America

By Tim Padgett • Jun 13, 2018

Ramon Espinosa; Evan Vucci / AP via Miami Herald

COMMENTARY

Intellectual honesty is rarely a politician’s strong suit. But Florida Senator Marco Rubio showed us just how epic his hypocrisy is when he didn't denounce President Trump’s bromance this week with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un. So epic it can only be explained by a line from another epic, “Lawrence of Arabia.”

To wit: There’s a big difference between a politician who merely hides the truth and a politician who’s forgotten where he put it.

Why Central America's Volcanic Tragedies Are Stronger Than Trump's Immigration Logic

By Tim Padgett • Jun 6, 2018

COMMENTARY

Here’s the logic behind the Trump Administration’s wrongheaded policy of separating undocumented migrant parents from their children when they’re detained: It’s only doing what law enforcement does any time it arrests suspects – who, after all, don’t get to take their kids to jail with them.

But the logic snaps when the Trumpistas also insist separating families this way is a big deterrent to illegal immigration. Just like it deters all crime, right?

Trump Turns Philadelphia Eagles Event Into 'Celebration Of America'

By Brian Naylor • Jun 5, 2018

Updated at 5:21 p.m. ET

There was God Bless America, but no Swoop the Eagle. The U.S. Marine Band was there, but neither quarterback Nick Foles, nor head coach Doug Pederson, nor any member of the 2018 Super Bowl winning team was at the White House Tuesday for what was to be a celebration of the Philadelphia Eagles victory.

Is U.S.-Cuba Normalization Over? (If It's Not, It Might As Well Be)

By Tim Padgett • Mar 7, 2018

COMMENTARY

This Sunday, Cuba will hold what passes for parliamentary elections there. Voters will ratify National Assembly candidates pre-selected by the ruling Communist Party. On April 19 the Assembly will elect one of its own as President of the country.

It’s a neat little system that’s even less democratic than the U.S. Electoral College.

NASA Budget Defunds International Space Station, Focuses On Moon

By Brendan Byrne • Feb 13, 2018

The Trump administration’s $19.9 billion budget for NASA calls for privatizing the International Space Station. Senator Bill Nelson is blasting the proposed budget.

The budget proposal provides nearly $10 billion to support human space exploration of the moon. It pays for the Space Launch System and Orion capsule, that will launch from Kennedy Space Center, slated for a mission to the moon in 2020.

Trump To Unveil Long-Awaited $1.5 Trillion Infrastructure Plan

By David Schaper • Feb 11, 2018

President Trump will finally be unveiling his long-awaited $1.5 trillion plan to repair and rebuild the nation's crumbling highways, bridges, railroads, airports, seaports and water systems Monday. But, the proposal will not be one that offers large sums of federal funding to states for infrastructure needs, but it is instead a financing plan that shifts much of the funding burden onto the states and onto local governments.

Russian Meddling, MS-13 Savagery – Bad For Latin America, But Good For Trump?

By Tim Padgett • Feb 1, 2018

Orlando Sierra / AFP/Getty Images via El Nuevo Herald

COMMENTARY

When Rex Tillerson leaves for his first visit to Latin America as Secretary of State on Thursday, he’ll have the ominous warnings of two Cuban-American Senators ringing in his ears.

But it’s not communist Cuba that’s got Republican Senator Marco Rubio of Florida and Democratic Senator Bob Menendez of New Jersey in a lather. It’s Mexico – the first stop on the Secretary of State’s five-nation itinerary.

A Year Later, Immigration Activists Call On Gimenez To Drop Fed Compliance

By Tim Padgett • Jan 30, 2018

Last January, Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Gimenez agreed to a federal request to hand over undocumented immigrant detainees. That decision is controversial a year later, and on Tuesday immigration activists stepped up calls on Gimenez to reverse it.

Mr. Sessions: Shouldn't What Your Boss Says About Haiti Apply To Alabama?

By Tim Padgett • Jan 17, 2018

COMMENTARY

If you’re still wondering why U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions puts up with all those humiliating public smack-downs from his boss, President Trump, then hop on the Internet and watch the video of him on Fox News Tuesday night.

Trump's Alleged 'Sh--Hole' Remarks Embolden Caribbean Writers At Key West Event

By Tim Padgett • Jan 16, 2018

Last week the renowned Key West Literary Seminar held its 36th annual gathering – and the theme of this year’s four-day event was “Writers of the Caribbean.” Thanks to President Trump, it turned out the organizers could not have picked a timelier subject.

What Beat Moore – And Could Beat Maduro – Is Less Pouting And More Politicking

By Tim Padgett • Dec 14, 2017

COMMENTARY

It’s hard to exaggerate what a repugnant U.S. Senate candidate Judge Roy Moore of Alabama was. Right-wing bigot. Mean-spirited homophobe. Alleged pedophile. An intolerant theocrat who rode to the polls Tuesday on horseback to highlight the antediluvian past he and his followers want to drag us back to.

President Trump

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