The Office of Government Ethics has been joining Trump in the Twitter game.

It started Wednesday morning, when President-elect Donald Trump took to Twitter to address concerns about his ability to lead the U.S. government while also holding massive business interests around the world.

“While I am not mandated to do this under the law, I feel it is visually important, as President, to in no way have a conflict of interest with my various businesses,” Trump tweeted, adding that “legal documents are being crafted which take me completely out of business operations” and that he will be leaving his “great business in total.”

More than “visually.” Much more. The “visual” part flows from the substantive part. Conflicts of … Read the rest

Last July the Independent went to Macy’s in New York to look at Ivanka Trump’s line of clothes.

One of the people at the Republican National Convention who received praise from all corners was Donald Trump’s daughter Ivanka.

People liked her sharp comments, and admired her stylish line of clothes, which she highlighted during her performances. When she tweeted a link the morning after delivering a speech about how her father would fight for America, the $139 (£106) pink dress she had worn sold out online.

Ok wait, she what? She promoted her clothes during her “performances” – meaning her appearances at a political convention which nominated her father as a candidate for president? She flogged her … Read the rest

Trump says he’s going to “punish” companies that move their factories to places with lower wages. Yeah sure he is – right after he sells all that he has and gives to the poor.

Trump’s remarks came as he triumphantly celebrated a decision by the heating and air conditioning company Carrier to reverse its plans to close a furnace plant here and move to Mexico, helping keep 1,100 jobs in Indianapolis. About that many Carrier positions at that plant and another facility in the area will still be cut, however.

Plus Trump bribed them with tax breaks, thus providing an incentive for all other companies to threaten to run away from home unless Trump bribes them too.

In remarks delivered

Bernie Sanders points out that Trump has just signaled to every corporation in the US that it can get big tax benefits and incentives if it threatens to go offshore.

In exchange for allowing United Technologies to continue to offshore more than 1,000 jobs, Trump will reportedly give the company tax and regulatory favors that the corporation has sought. Just a short few months ago, Trump was pledging to force United Technologies to “pay a damn tax.” He was insisting on very steep tariffs for companies like Carrier that left the United States and wanted to sell their foreign-made products back in the United States. Instead of a damn tax, the company will be rewarded with

William Saletan has advice on how to deal with the pathetic needy narcissist that is Trump.

To understand Trump, you have to set aside the scripted speeches he gave before his election and the canned videos he has released since. You also have to set aside the caricature of him as a Klan-loving, Nazi-sympathizing woman hater who will deport every immigrant he can find. Instead, look at the four interviews he has given since his election: to the Wall Street Journal, 60 Minutes, the New York Times, and a group of TV anchors and executives. In these exchanges, all of them conducted outside the behavior-warping context of the campaign, you’ll see how squishy he is. Trump did

In Florida:

A white Florida man has been charged with battery after he was accused of punching an Hispanic man in the back of the head “for Donald Trump.”

It happened in a parking lot behind a grocery store in Gainesville.

According to a police report obtained by Egberto Willies, Caleb Joseph Illig arrived at the parking lot at around 1:10 a.m. and began punching Pablo Echevarria in the back of the head.

The report said that Illig shouted, “Let’s Trump down,” as he punched Echevarria. When Echevarria asked why he was being attacked, Illig reportedly replied, “This is for Donald Trump.”

Trump the warrior against political correctness. Now that political correctness has been defeated, it’s cool for … Read the rest