TheNewsGuru

Tag: WHITE HOUSE

  • Trump hunkers down at White House for Thanksgiving as ouster looms

    Trump hunkers down at White House for Thanksgiving as ouster looms

    The First Family will spend Thanksgiving at the White House as President Donald Trump hunkers down for what he wants the public to think is an epic fight for his political life.

    Even as Trump stays out of sight and avoids questions about his election loss to President-elect Joe Biden, he apparently wants his #MAGA supporters to continue to see him as the legitimate occupant of the White House.

    Trump has in past years spent the holiday at his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida along with other members of his family.

    The decision to stay put is almost certainly not related to any desire to set a good example to avoid unnecessary travel, amid the soaring coronavirus crisis.

    Trump has stubbornly avoided implementing basic public health precautions, apparently because he believes it shows weakness or is an admission of his failure to manage the pandemic.

    White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany even denounced common-sense limits on gatherings that many governors have implemented to slow the spread of COVID-19.

    “A lot of the guidelines you’re seeing are Orwellian,” McEnany told Fox News.

    “The American people know how to protect their health. We’ve dealt with COVID-19 for many months.”

    The Republican president’s public schedule had no events again ON Wednesday, as he moves toward the end of the second full week since the election with little sign that he is focused on running the country.

    The White House does reportedly plan to go ahead with the annual Thanksgiving turkey pardon ceremony next week, in spite the pandemic.

    Trump lost the election to Biden, who won with 306 electoral votes.

    Biden leads the popular vote by nearly 6 million votes, with many more still to be tabulated.

    Even though he has suffered a rapid-fire string of losses in courts nationwide, Trump continues to rally his #MAGA supporters behind his quixotic effort to deny the reality of his defeat.

    Republican lawmakers have mostly toed Trump’s line and refused to admit that Biden won or call on Trump to cooperate with the transition effort.

    However, there is a slight thawing in relations.

    For all the accusations and rancor about Election Day, one of Trump’s most vocal defenders, Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-South Carolina, was spotted on the Senate floor on Tuesday exchanging a fist bump with Vice-President-elect Senator Kamala Harris, D-California, in spite of denying her victory in the election.

  • Biden announces more top White House appointments

    Biden announces more top White House appointments

    President-elect Joe Biden has announced a raft of top White House staff positions, drawing from the senior ranks of his campaign and some of his closest confidants to fill out an increasingly diverse White House leadership team.

    Biden confirmed that former campaign manager Jen O’Malley Dillon will serve as a deputy chief of staff, while campaign co-chair Louisiana Representative Cedric Richmond and campaign adviser Steve Ricchetti will play senior roles in the new administration. Richmond will leave his Louisiana congressional seat to fill the White House job.

    The President-elect also announced that Mike Donilon, a long-time confidant, will serve as a senior adviser; Dana Remus, the campaign’s current general counsel, will be counsellor to the president; Julie Chavez Rodriguez, who was one of Biden’s deputy campaign managers, will serve as director of the White House Office of Intergovernmental Affairs; and Annie Tomasini, who is currently Biden’s travelling chief of staff, will serve as the director of Oval Office operations.

    Anthony Bernal will serve as a senior adviser to Jill Biden, after he was her chief of staff on the campaign, and Julissa Reynoso Pantaleon, a former Obama Ambassador to Uruguay, as her chief of staff.

    The new hires represent an initial wave of what will ultimately be hundreds of new White House aides hired in the coming weeks as Biden builds out an administration to execute his governing vision. The Democrat will be inaugurated January 20.

    Late last week, Biden tapped former senior campaign adviser Ron Klain to serve as his chief of staff.

    The latest round reflects Biden’s stated commitment to diversity in his staff – the team includes four people of colour and five women.

    “America faces great challenges, and they bring diverse perspectives and a shared commitment to tackling these challenges and emerging on the other side a stronger, more united nation,” Biden said in a statement.

    Yesterday, Rudy Giuliani, the lawyer picked by President Donald Trump to lead his post-election legal battles, sought court permission to appear for the Trump campaign in its lawsuit to block certification of President-elect Joe Biden’s victory in Pennsylvania.

    Giuliani filed an application to join the case hours before a hearing is set to start before U.S. District Judge Matthew Brann in Williamsport, Pennsylvania. The request comes a day after campaign lawyer Linda Kerns withdrew from the litigation, and days after the law firm Porter Wright Morris & Arthur LLP walked away from the case.

    Brann, an appointee of President Barack Obama, will hear arguments on Pennsylvania’s motion to dismiss the suit, which seeks to block the state from certifying the election result unless thousands of mail-in ballots from Democratic-leaning counties are tossed out. The campaign claims the counties improperly allowed voters to fix errors on the ballots before Nov. 3.

  • Kamala Harris’s husband quits job for White House role

    Kamala Harris’s husband quits job for White House role

    Kamala Harris’s husband has quit his law firm job for a White House role despite claiming he wouldn’t go into politics.

    Doug Emhoff will leave DLA Piper, where is a partner, by inauguration day on 20 January, according to the Associated Press.

    Emhoff took a leave of absence from the firm in August when vice president-elect Harris ran on Joe Biden’s ticket.

    The future second man is reportedly working with Biden’s transition team to establish a role for him in the administration.

    A Biden official told Fox News that Mr Emhoff was “working with the Biden-Harris transition team to develop the portfolio he will focus on to support the work of the administration.”

    Emhoff joined DLA Piper in 2017 where he works with media, sports and entertainment clients, as well as intellectual property and technology, litigation, arbitration and investigations.

    “Douglas Emhoff is a highly experienced litigator and strategic advisor,” his DLA Piper profile reads.

    “Doug is known for tackling and resolving the toughest problems – whether by aggressively litigating high-stakes cases in the public glare or acting as a trusted advisor behind the scenes.

    “For over 25 years, Doug has proven himself in courtrooms and boardrooms across California and around the country.”

    Emhoff will be the first male spouse of the vice president after Ms Harris made history by becoming the first female holder of the office

    Last month Emhoff told People magazine that he had no interest in joining a “kitchen cabinet” of advisors if his wife won the election.

    “I’m her husband, that’s it,” said Emhoff.

    “She’s got plenty of great people giving her political advice. I’m her partner, I’m her best friend and I’m her husband. And that’s what I’m here for. I’m here to have her back.”

    Emhoff and Harris met on a blind date in 2013 and married in a quiet ceremony a year later.

    They share a $5 million home in the exclusive Brentwood neighbourhood of Los Angeles and have apartments in Washington DC and San Francisco.

     

  • US Poll: Trump’s refusal to concede poises no threats to presidency take over – Biden

    US Poll: Trump’s refusal to concede poises no threats to presidency take over – Biden

    United States President-elect Joe Biden said Tuesday that he doesn’t need President Donald Trump’s help to prepare to take over as president.

    Trump has refused to concede to Biden, despite Biden having won the Electoral College votes needed to win the presidency last week.

    Trump has instead disputed the election results, promoting baseless claims about widespread voter fraud and launching more than a dozen legal challenges in battleground states.

    As Business Insider’s Jake Lahut previously reported, Trump’s refusal means that Biden has so far been denied access to basic transition materials like funding, office space, classified information, and security clearances.

    But Biden said on Tuesday that not having the access “does not change the dynamic at all of what we’re able to do.”

    “We don’t see anything that’s slowing us down, quite frankly.”

    “We’re already beginning the transition,” he said. “We’re well underway.”

    Biden has taken steps to assert himself, including appointing a transition team, a coronavirus task force , and holding calls with world leaders, many of whom acknowledged his victory of the weekend.

    “We’re going to be moving along in a consistent manner putting together our administration, our White House, reviewing who we’re going to pick for Cabinet positions, and nothing’s going to stop it.”

    Presidents-elect usually receive classified intelligence briefings as part of the transition. Biden has not, but said: “Access to classified information is useful, but I’m not in a position to make any decisions on these issues anyway. It would be nice to have it but it’s not critical.”

    Axios reported on Tuesday that Biden’s transition team is weighing legal action if the transition processes do not begin. However, at the press conference, Biden he did not “see a need for legal action.”

    Biden is due to be sworn in as president in January 2021, after the transition period.

    (www.newsnow.co.uk)

  • AmericaDecides2020: Trump panicky as Biden closes up on White House

    AmericaDecides2020: Trump panicky as Biden closes up on White House

    With his challenger Joe Biden at the brink of winning the US presidency, incumbent Donald Trump launched an extraordinary assault on the country’s democratic process.

    In words and deeds, Trump showed desperation and panic as his re-election chances faded away, with more votes being counted in a handful of battleground states.

    At a press briefing at the White House on Thursday, Trump falsely claimed the election was being “stolen” from him, as he also lost legal challenges to stop counting.

    Offering no evidence, he lambasted election workers and alleged fraud in the states where results from a dwindling set of uncounted votes are pushing Democrat Joe Biden nearer to victory.

    “This is a case where they’re trying to steal an election,” Trump said.

    He spoke for about 15 minutes in the White House briefing room before leaving without taking questions.

    In Georgia and Michigan on Thursday, Trump’s campaign lost court rulings to challenge the counting of votes.

    Undeterred by the setback, the campaign vowed to bring a new lawsuit challenging what it called voting irregularities in Nevada.

    In the Georgia case, the campaign alleged 53 late-arriving ballots were mixed with on-time ballots. In Michigan, it had sought to stop votes from being counted and obtain greater access to the tabulation process.

    State judges tossed out both the suits on Thursday.

    Judge James Bass, a superior court judge in Georgia, said there was “no evidence” that the ballots in question were invalid.

    In the Michigan case, Judge Cynthia Stephens said: “I have no basis to find that there is a substantial likelihood of success on the merits.”

    Trump allies alleged that there had been voting irregularities in Nevada’s populous Clark County, which includes Las Vegas.

    Biden, the former vice president, was steadily eating away the Republican incumbent’s leads in Pennsylvania and Georgia.

    He also maintains narrow advantages in Nevada and Arizona, moving closer to securing the 270 votes in the state-by-state Electoral College that determines the winner.

    In Pennsylvania, Trump’s lead had shrunk from 319,000 on Wednesday afternoon to less than 64,000 a day later.

    His margin in Georgia fell from 68,000 to fewer than 3,500

    Those numbers were expected to continue to move in Biden’s favour, with many of the outstanding ballots from areas that typically vote Democratic, including the cities of Philadelphia and Atlanta.

    Biden, meanwhile, saw his lead in Arizona contract from 93,000 to 65,000; he was ahead in Nevada by only 11,000 votes.

    Biden would become the next president by winning Pennsylvania, or by winning two out of the trio of Georgia, Nevada and Arizona.

    Trump’s likeliest path appeared narrower – he needed to hang onto Pennsylvania and Georgia while overtaking Biden in either Nevada or Arizona.

    Most major television networks gave Biden a 253 to 214 lead in Electoral College votes, which are largely determined by state population, after he captured the crucial states of Wisconsin and Michigan on Wednesday.

    The Associated Press gave Biden 264 votes, calling out Arizona.

    As demonstrators marched in several U.S. cities for a second straight day, the election lay in the hands of civil employees who were methodically counting hundreds of thousands of ballots, many of which were sent by mail amid the coronavirus pandemic.

  • Trump’s youngest child recovers from COVID-19

    Trump’s youngest child recovers from COVID-19

    U.S. President Donald Trump’s youngest child, Baron, also contracted COVID-19 but has recovered, according to his mother and First Lady, Melania Trump.

    In an article on the official website of the White House titled, “My personal experience with COVID-19,” Mrs Trump also disclosed that she had also tested negative.

    “It was two weeks ago when I received the diagnosis that so many Americans across our country and the world had already received: I tested positive for COVID-19.

    “To make matters worse, my husband, and our nation’s Commander-in-Chief, received the same news.

    “Naturally my mind went immediately to our son. To our great relief he tested negative, but again, as so many parents have thought over the past several months, I couldn’t help but think “what about tomorrow or the next day?”.

    “My fear came true when he was tested again and it came up positive. Luckily he is a strong teenager and exhibited no symptoms.

    “In one way I was glad the three of us went through this at the same time so we could take care of one another and spend time together.

    “He has since tested negative,” she said.

    The First Lady said days after her diagnosis, she started having a “roller coaster” of symptoms including body aches, cough and headaches.

    She advocated healthy lifestyle for everyone, noting that a “balanced diet, fresh air, and vitamins really are vital to keep our bodies healthy”.

    However, she opted for more of natural treatment through vitamins and healthy food, according to her.

    “I am happy to report that I have tested negative and hope to resume my duties as soon as I can.

    “Along with this good news, I want people to know that I understand just how fortunate my family is to have received the kind of care that we did.

    “If you are sick, or if you have a loved one who is sick—I am thinking of you and will be thinking of you every day.

    “I pray for our country and I pray for everyone who is grappling with COVID-19 and any other illnesses or challenges,” she wrote.

    Mrs Trump thanked her caretakers led by White House physician, Dr Sean Conley, and the Americans who wished her well while she was ill.

  • VIDEO: Trump captured struggling to breathe on return to White House

    VIDEO: Trump captured struggling to breathe on return to White House

    U.S. President Donald Trump appeared to be struggling to breathe after returning to the White House upon receiving Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) treatment at a military hospital.

    TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) reports Trump on Monday evening returned to the White House from hospital, three days after he was diagnosed with COVID-19.

    Wearing a black mask and surrounded by Secret Service operatives, Trump walked out of the Walter Reed Military Medical Centre in Bethesda, Maryland, at 6:38 p.m. (11:38 p.m. Nigerian time).

    Against expectations, the president did not answer questions from newsmen, who could be heard shouting questions at him.

    He was driven in a motorcade to a helipad nearby from where the presidential helicopter, Marine One, flew him on a short trip back to the White House.

    On arrival at the White House, he removed his mask, paused for a brief photo op during which he waved to the cameras before entering his official residence.

    However, he appeared to be struggling to breathe as captured in the video below.

    Shortly before leaving hospital, Trump tweeted that he was feeling much better and would be back on the campaign trail soon.

    Four hours earlier, Trump had made a Twitter post in which he, again, downplayed the impact of the virus, and said he was feeling better than he did 20 years ago.

    “I will be leaving the great Walter Reed Medical Center today at 6:30 P.M. Feeling really good!

    “Don’t be afraid of COVID. Don’t let it dominate your life. We have developed, under the Trump Administration, some really great drugs and knowledge.

    “I feel better than I did 20 years ago!,” he said.

    Briefing newsmen earlier in the day, the president’s physician, Sean Conley, expressed support for his move to the White House.

    However, Conley was quick to point out that Trump was “not necessarily out of the woods yet”, adding that he was on “uncharted territory” in terms of his treatment.

    Trump’s discharge from hospital comes as more COVID-19 infections are reported among White House staff.

    No fewer than 12 people close to the president – including White House Press a Secretary – Kayleigh McEnany, have tested positive for the virus.

    Meanwhile, on Tuesday Trump was faced a fresh backlash for removing his mask when he returned to the White House.

    Trump, however, urged Americans not to fear the COVID-19 disease that has killed over 209,000 people in the country and put him in hospital.

    Trump arrived at the White House on Monday in a made-for-television spectacle in which he descended from his Marine One helicopter wearing a white surgical mask only to remove it as he posed, saluting and waving, on the mansion’s South Portico.

    “Don’t let it dominate you. Don’t be afraid of it.

    “I’m better, and maybe I’m immune, I don’t know,” Trump said in a video after his return from the Walter Reed Medical Centre military hospital outside Washington where he was treated for the disease.

    Trump, who was treated by an army of doctors and received experimental treatment, has repeatedly played down a disease that has killed over 1 million people worldwide and left his own country with the highest death toll in the world.

    The Republican president, running for re-election against Democrat Joe Biden in the Nov. 3 election, was admitted to hospital on Friday after being diagnosed with the disease.

    Trump has repeatedly flouted social-distancing guidelines meant to curb the virus’ spread and ignored his own medical advisers.

    He also mocked Biden at last presidential debate for wearing a mask at events, even when he is far from others.

    His decision to remove his mask after climbing the staircase to the White House South Portico, a perch that put him at some distance from others and his insistence that Americans should not fear the disease horrified some physicians.

    “I was aghast when he said COVID should not be feared,” said William Schaffner, a professor of preventive medicine and infectious diseases at Vanderbilt University Medical Centre in Nashville.

  • Face mask: Trump under fire on return to White House

    Face mask: Trump under fire on return to White House

    U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday faced a fresh backlash for removing his mask when he returned to the White House.

    Trump, however, urged Americans not to fear the COVID-19 disease that has killed over 209,000 people in the country and put him in hospital.

    Trump arrived at the White House on Monday in a made-for-television spectacle in which he descended from his Marine One helicopter wearing a white surgical mask only to remove it as he posed, saluting and waving, on the mansion’s South Portico.

    “Don’t let it dominate you. Don’t be afraid of it.

    “I’m better, and maybe I’m immune, I don’t know,” Trump said in a video after his return from the Walter Reed Medical Centre military hospital outside Washington where he was treated for the disease.

    Trump, who was treated by an army of doctors and received experimental treatment, has repeatedly played down a disease that has killed over 1 million people worldwide and left his own country with the highest death toll in the world.

    The Republican president, running for re-election against Democrat Joe Biden in the Nov. 3 election, was admitted to hospital on Friday after being diagnosed with the disease.

    Trump has repeatedly flouted social-distancing guidelines meant to curb the virus’ spread and ignored his own medical advisers.

    He also mocked Biden at last presidential debate for wearing a mask at events, even when he is far from others.

    His decision to remove his mask after climbing the staircase to the White House South Portico, a perch that put him at some distance from others and his insistence that Americans should not fear the disease horrified some physicians.

    “I was aghast when he said COVID should not be feared,” said William Schaffner, a professor of preventive medicine and infectious diseases at Vanderbilt University Medical Centre in Nashville.

  • White House addresses talks on transfer of power as Trump remains in hospital

    White House addresses talks on transfer of power as Trump remains in hospital

    U.S. President Donald Trump will remain in hospital for a “period of time,” a key White House official said on Sunday.

    The official ruled out the need to move towards a transfer of power within the federal government.

    National Security Adviser Robert O’Brien told broadcaster CBS that day seven and eight after the onset of symptoms are the “critical days” for any patient.

    Trump was diagnosed on Thursday with the new coronavirus and was moved, the next day, to the Walter Reed medical centre, a military facility outside Washington.

    He apparently had some breathing difficulties initially, but his doctors say his condition has improved and that the medical team “remains cautiously optimistic’’.

    His oxygen levels were back within a normal range on Saturday.

    The president received an antibody cocktail and is on a treatment course of Remdesivir.

    Trump issued a four-minute video on Saturday from the hospital.

    Wearing a blue suit jacket and no tie, the president insisted he was “starting to feel good’’ and would soon be back to work at the White House.

    The illness has thrown Trump’s re-election campaign into a tailspin, with just 30 days to go until the November vote.

    The team has been trying to put forward a sense of normalcy but campaign manager, Bill Stepien, is among a number of people in Trump’s inner circle to have contracted the coronavirus in the past week.

    Jason Miller, a campaign adviser, was pressed on ABC’s This Week about the president often refusing to wear a mask and holding large rallies, insisting that Trump has taken the virus “very seriously”.

    He attacked Democratic presidential nominee, Joe Biden, for using masks as a “prop”.

  • Trump holds private memorial service for late younger brother at White House

    Trump holds private memorial service for late younger brother at White House

    President Donald Trump and his family bade farewell Friday to the U.S. president’s brother Robert, who died last week.

    Robert Trump’s casket was transferred to a hearse outside the White House.

    The president, First Lady Melania Trump and members of the Trump family took part in the procession.

    Robert Trump, the president’s younger brother, died at the age of 71 on Saturday.

    The details of his cause of death have not been publicly released.

    In recent weeks Robert Trump had led a lawsuit on behalf of the Trump family in a bid to stop the publication of a tell-all book by the president’s niece, Mary, titled “Too Much and Never Enough.”

    Robert Trump was formerly a manager in the family’s group of companies, Trump Organisation.