Trump vs. World: Today's News for August 23rd

Fox News:

Trump goes on rampage against the media, sitting Arizona senators at Phoenix rally

A defiant President Trump rallied with his base for more than an hour Tuesday in Arizona, trashing the media over its coverage of his response to the recent violence in Charlottesville, Va., while criticizing the state’s Republican senators for not getting behind him.

...But Trump was most animated when defending himself against accusations he wasn’t forceful enough in condemning the white supremacists and racists who were protesting in Charlottesville earlier this month. He blamed the media for distorting his comments.

At one point, the president pulled a piece of paper out of his jacket and re-read his initial statements condemning the racists involved the protests.

“Did they report that I said that racism is evil?” Trump asked of the media. The crowd yelled, “No!”

“You know why?” Trump asked. “Because they are very dishonest people.”

...The Charlottesville violence led cities across the country to consider removing Confederate statues, something Trump railed against Tuesday.

“They’re trying to take away our culture, they’re trying to take away our history,” he said. 

A crowd of protesters formed outside the convention center Tuesday, but the president bragged that there were far more Trump supporters in attendance.

“All week, they’re talking about the massive crowds that are going to be outside,” Trump said. “Where are they?”

He then mocked liberal protesters who had been demonstrating.

“You know, they show up in the helmets and the black masks and they’ve got clubs and they’ve got everything,” Trump said.

Referring to the far-left militant protest group, Trump exclaimed: “Antifa!” 

Without specifically naming them, Trump dinged the state’s two Republican senators, Jeff Flake and John McCain, with whom he has sparred recently.

McCain, a frequent Trump critic who was recently diagnosed with brain cancer, irked the president by voting against the Senate’s recent plan to repeal and replace ObamaCare.

“One vote away – I will not mention any names,” Trump said of McCain.

Flake, who has battled with Trump on immigration, has been promoting a book that argues the GOP is in “denial” about the president.

Speaking of Flake, Trump said: “And nobody wants me to talk about your other senator, who's weak on borders, weak on crime. So I won’t talk about him.” 

Even though the guy is a fool, you have to love Trump's hubris. In this day and age where everyone is apologizing for everything, Trump stands above us all. Truly, in the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is now king.

Here, he further proves his half-vision:

Tuesday's rally came a day after Trump announced plans to send more troops to Afghanistan – an announcement he highlighted during his speech. “Did anybody watch last night?"

“Last night, as you know, I laid out my vision for an honorable and enduring outcome in a very tough place, a place where our country has failed, Afghanistan,” Trump said. 

He admits our Afghanistan policy has failed, so naturally he wants to continue it. If Trump isn't blind, he is at least myopic.

Anyway, that was the Fox News view on Trump's speech. Needless to say, the Left went off the deep end over Trump's speech:

CNN:

James Clapper calls Trump speech 'downright scary and disturbing'

James Clapper, former director of National Intelligence, said Wednesday morning he questioned President Donald Trump's fitness for office.

"I really question his ability to be -- his fitness to be -- in this office, and I also am beginning to wonder about his motivation for it," Clapper told CNN's Don Lemon on "CNN Tonight."

Hours after Trump delivered a defiant speech in Phoenix, Arizona, Clapper said he found the President's rally "downright scary and disturbing."

Clapper denounced Trump's "behavior and divisiveness and complete intellectual, moral and ethical void."

"How much longer does the country have to, to borrow a phrase, endure this nightmare?"

This is hilarious. You can almost imagine the collective Left stomping and holding their collective breath, all at one time.

Admittedly, Clapper's interview was soft-spoken, and yet his rhetoric was every bit as inflammatory as something Trump might have said.

By the way, former government bureaucrats aren't the only people ticked at Trump:

New York Times:

McConnell, in Private, Doubts if Trump Can Save Presidency

The relationship between President Trump and Senator Mitch McConnell, the majority leader, has disintegrated to the point that they have not spoken to each other in weeks, and Mr. McConnell has privately expressed uncertainty that Mr. Trump will be able to salvage his administration after a series of summer crises.

What was once an uneasy governing alliance has curdled into a feud of mutual resentment and sometimes outright hostility, complicated by the position of Mr. McConnell’s wife, Elaine L. Chao, in Mr. Trump’s cabinet, according to more than a dozen people briefed on their imperiled partnership. Angry phone calls and private badmouthing have devolved into open conflict, with the president threatening to oppose Republican senators who cross him, and Mr. McConnell mobilizing to their defense.

Like the old saying goes, follow the money:

While maintaining a pose of public reserve, Mr. McConnell expressed horror to advisers last week after Mr. Trump’s comments equating white supremacists in Charlottesville, Va., with protesters who rallied against them. Mr. Trump’s most explosive remarks came at a news conference in Manhattan, where he stood beside Ms. Chao, the transportation secretary. (Ms. Chao, deflecting a question about the tensions between her husband and the president she serves, told reporters, “I stand by my man — both of them.”)

Mr. McConnell signaled to business leaders that he was deeply uncomfortable with Mr. Trump’s comments: Several who resigned advisory roles in the Trump administration contacted Mr. McConnell’s office after the fact, and were told that Mr. McConnell fully understood their choices, three people briefed on the conversations said.

There is no doubt Mr. McConnell is expecting nice hefty campaign contributions from those business leaders.

Finally, in news of the moronically PC (and this headline nails it):

Outkick the Coverage:

MSESPN Pulls Asian Announcer Named Robert Lee Off UVa Game To Avoid Offending Idiots

In a story that seems made for The Onion, but is actually true, according to multiple Outkick fans inside ESPN MSESPN decided to pull an Asian college football announcer named Robert Lee off the William and Mary at University of Virginia college football game because they were concerned that having an ASIAN FOOTBALL ANNOUNCER NAMED ROBERT LEE would be offensive to some viewers.

Did I mention that Robert Lee is Asian?

Just when you think this story can't get any dumber:

UPDATE: ESPN ISSUES OFFICIAL STATEMENT ON MOVING ROBERT LEE FROM VIRGINIA GAME: 

“We collectively made the decision with Robert to switch games as the tragic events in Charlottesville were unfolding, simply because of the coincidence of his name. In that moment it felt right to all parties. It’s a shame that this is even a topic of conversation and we regret that who calls play by play for a football game has become an issue.” 

Note to ESPN: This is only an issue because YOU made it an issue.