Thursday News: Trump Praises Putin; Lauer Lets Trump Lie; Campaign 2016 Media #FAIL

by Lowell

Here are a few national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Thursday, September 8.

• Obama on Climate Change: The Trends Are ‘Terrifying’ (Correct. By the way, Trump outright DENIES climate science. That SHOULD be an automatic disqualifier for public office, let alone president.)
• Trump’s pay-for-play scandal intensifies (“The Republican nominee has denied any wrongdoing in his donation to Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi.” Another lie by pathological liar Trump…)
• Trump camp tries to clarify his ‘I love war’ comment (Good luck with that!)
• Watch Donald Trump’s Very Bizarre Answer About His Plan to Defeat ISIS (“And other weird moments from the Commander-in-Chief Forum.” Trump knows absolutely nothing, including the fact that he knows nothing.)
• Matt Lauer Lets Trump Lie About Opposing Iraq War During Commander-In-Chief Forum
• Questions on a curve: Matt Lauer may as well have asked Trump about his summer vacation
• Trump praises Putin at national security forum (Disqualifying. Imagine if Barack Obama had said that in 2008??? Republicans would have gone APE!)
• Trump says he opposed the Iraq war. Moderator Matt Lauer didn’t challenge the claim. So we are. (At this point, if a “journalist” allows Trump to get away with his Big Lies like this one, they need to be fired.)
• Trump’s best example of political corruption is himself (“When it comes to scandals, the GOP nominee’s record is far worse than Hillary Clinton’s.” Like, a million times worse — no comparison whatsoever.)
• Colin Powell emailed Clinton just after she took office in 2009 — contrary to what he said
• Matt Lauer Failed The Moderator Test (“At NBC’s ‘Commander-in-Chief Forum,’ the host let Donald Trump slide on false Iraq and Libya claims he’s made all campaign.” Again, no excuse for this from any “journalist.”)
• Matt Lauer Fields Storm of Criticism Over Clinton-Trump Forum (“Mr. Lauer found himself besieged on Wednesday evening by critics of all political stripes, who accused the anchor of unfairness, sloppiness and even sexism in his handling of the event.”)
• Trump Blasts Military Generals, Says They Are ‘Embarrassing To Our Country’ (“Hours earlier, he said he’d rely on the generals’ expertise to defeat ISIS.”)
• Closing Asia trip, Obama touts ‘unprecedented’ cooperation
• Trump’s shrinking swing state map (“Incumbent GOP Rep. Barbara Comstock has shown no interest in campaigning with her party’s nominee against a backdrop where Clinton has held consistent polling leads in the state, and her running mate, Tim Kaine, is a former Virginia governor. The state’s current governor, Terry McAuliffe, is one of her most loyal political allies. Her state director in Virginia previously ran McAuliffe’s political arm.”)
• Donald Trump Is Lying in Plain Sight (“It has generally been my experience that when people pepper their speech with the phrase ‘believe me,’ they are not to be believed…Trump lies with a ferocious abandon…The fact that people believe he’s honest is a result of a failed media “
• The Black Eyes in Donald Trump’s Life (“Over seven decades, there’s one continuous theme to his life story: This is a narcissist who has no core. The lights are on, but no one’s home.”)
• Matt Lauer’s Pathetic Interview of Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump Is the Scariest Thing I’ve Seen in This Campaign (“I had not taken seriously the possibility that Donald Trump could win the presidency until I saw Matt Lauer host an hour-long interview with the two major party candidates. Lauer’s performance was not merely a failure, it was horrifying and shocking…The average undecided voter is getting snippets of news from television personalities like Lauer, who are failing to convey the fact that the election pits a normal politician with normal political failings against an ignorant, bigoted, pathologically dishonest authoritarian.”)
• Donald Trump just lied about opposing the Iraq War before it started. Here’s proof.
• The Media Coverage of Hillary Clinton Is Out of Whack (“The problem isn’t the scrutiny of her emails or the Clinton Foundation, but treating such sins as comparable to Donald Trump’s.”)
• NBC’s wasted opportunity: The “Commander-in-Chief” forum was a complete bust (“Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump fielded inane national security questions with few follow-ups from Matt Lauer”)
• The Bondi situation: Somehow Teflon Trump takes no damage from alleged bribery scheme (“Trump allegedly paid Pam Bondi $25K to end her probe of Trump U. For the Donald, this is just business as usual”)
• Head Of Republican Party Says Clinton Needs To Smile More When She Talks About The Military
• Donald Trump Calls For Modern-Day Colonialism To Defeat ISIS
• McAuliffe announces 5 million meal increase in school breakfast program
• ‘Right to Work’ constitutional amendment on November ballots in Virginia (Vote no.)
• Virginia health care commission receives little public support for removing vaccine exemptions
• Hillary Clinton, in bid for coal miners’ support, urges Congress to ensure benefits for retirees
• Trump takes out $2 million ad buy in Va.; Kaine, Holton to campaign in Hampton Roads on Friday
• Watkins column: 2017 brings potential for real progress improving health care access for every Virginian
• Bobby Scott: The Virginia congressman who could make history. Again.
• Virginia school system weighs protections for transgender students and staff (“The Prince William County School Board is considering a policy that would bar discrimination on the basis of gender identity and sexual orientation, a move that comes as school districts across the country grapple with how — or whether — to accommodate transgender students.”)
• Report: Justice Dept. is divided on intent of law it’s using to investigate McAuliffe
• Beyer appears confident at first major campaign forum
• Editorial: Work together to stem Richmond crime
• Virginian-Pilot editorial: Cleaning house at the regional jail (“It is now abundantly clear to the commonwealth, and even other parts of the nation, that something has gone profoundly wrong at the Hampton Roads Regional Jail.”)
• In one Virginia city, residents erupt in anger at a community teetering on financial collapse
• Unrelenting summer swelter, until Sunday (Fascinating how it’s always HOTTER than normal, not just in the DC area but across the globe? Yet Donald Trump DENIES this is happening? Alrighty then…)