Melania Trump – mackaycartoons

Tuesday March 26, 2019

April 2, 2019 by Graeme MacKay

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Tuesday March 26, 2019

Trump breaks silence on Mueller report, claims vindication

July 18, 2018

President Donald Trump claimed vindication after nearly two years of unrelenting investigation on Sunday, seeing “complete and total exoneration” in the Justice Department’s account of special counsel Robert Mueller’s findings and signalling he was eager to go on offence in the political fight ahead.

A buoyant Trump reacted to the release of Mueller chief findings with a mix of celebration, personal grievance and calls for political retribution. He cast the investigation as politically motivated, and bemoaned the probe’s toll on the country — and on him.

“It was just announced there was no collusion with Russia.” Trump said in brief remarks to reporters. “It’s a shame that our country had to go through this. To be honest it’s a shame that your president has had to go through this.”

Trump spoke shortly after the Justice Department released a letter saying special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation did not find evidence that Trump’s campaign “conspired or co-ordinated” with Russia to influence the 2016 presidential election.

November 11, 2016

The four-page summary by Attorney General William Barr was less definitive on the question of whether Trump obstructed the probe. Mueller’s report “does not exonerate” on that issue and instead “sets out evidence on both sides of the question, ” Barr wrote. Barr, however, said he found insufficient evidence of a crime on the issue.

Trump and his aides did not let that distinction — between Mueller’s findings and Barr’s determination — prevent them from declaring victory. Trump, speaking to reporters before boarding Air Force One, was clear he was ready to fight back against Democrats who have said they intend to use Mueller’s report as a road map for further investigation into Trump and his inner circle.

“This was an illegal takedown that failed,” he said, repeating his unproven claims that the investigation was launched by people trying to undermine his presidency after being devastated by Democrat Hillary Clinton’s loss.

Trump’s victory lap came after he kept a low profile over the weekend at his private club in Palm Beach, Florida. White House spokesman Hogan Gidley said Trump was briefed on Barr’s letter in his residence by staff and attorneys. Gidley said Trump reaction was brief. “This is very good,” he said, according to Gidley.

The White House, like lawmakers on Capitol Hill, has yet to see the full account by the special counsel. (Source: CTV News)

Wednesday February 6, 2019

February 13, 2019 by Graeme MacKay

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Wednesday February 6, 2019

Knuckling under pressure to the U.S. won’t win battle of steel tariffs

What was Ontario’s economic development and trade minister thinking when he publicly called on Canada to surrender in the trade war with the United States?

March 3, 2018

On Monday Todd Smith said Canada should remove tariffs put in place in response to Donald Trump’s imposition of 25 per cent tariffs on steel imports and 10 per cent on aluminum. Canada’s tariffs match those dollar for dollar, and are used in part to support companies and workers in the affected sectors.

Further, Smith said his boss, Doug Ford, wanted the same thing. “I know that the premier has suggested this to the federal government that they should remove their tariffs as a first step in removing tariffs overall.” As far as we know Ford hasn’t spoken on the matter, but if that’s how he feels, he should go public.

June 15, 2018

Why on earth would anyone, Ford or his minister, believe that Donald Trump would respect capitulation? Has Trump shown in past behaviour that he respects weakness? We must have missed that newscast.

Smith’s suggestion is so patently ridiculous it took only hours for steel and aluminum companies to pipe in with their support for Ottawa. A tweet from the Canadian Steel Producers Association, said: “The federal government’s retaliatory action against the U.S.A. is vital in protecting businesses and steelworkers.” The Aluminum Association of Canada said the Trudeau government should “maintain all tariffs on U.S. imports and support Canadian businesses as long as U.S. tariffs are in place.”

June 28, 2018

Analysts and pundits from all quarters were equally mystified and distraught. Why would the Ford government side with Trump against Canada? More than one suggested it might be linked to Ford’s oft-expressed respect and affection for Trump’s leadership. But suggesting Canada should surrender?

It turns out, if you believe the updated position of the province, that wasn’t behind Smith’s play. He really meant to say we should revisit tariffs on things other than steel and aluminum, like Kentucky bourbon and playing cards. That, he says, will demonstrate to Trump that Canada is willing to deal. This new position — if it can be called that — isn’t nearly as damaging, but it’s equally stupid. Do Smith and his boss really think Trump will come to the table based on bourbon and playing cards?

June 6, 2018

He won’t. He thinks his tariffs, broadly, have been a huge success and a sign of his historic greatness. Yes, they’re hurting Americans as they’re hurting Canadians, but Trump isn’t one to worry about his own citizens welfare. In his view, measures like these are signs of strength and dominance.

Tariffs are a real and growing problem for steel and aluminum companies. High steel prices have cushioned steel producers to some extent, but the impact of tariffs is already being felt in Sault St. Marie, and will eventually hit Hamilton as well.

Canada continues to work trade and diplomatic channels to see tariffs lifted. Some have suggested the prime minister shouldn’t give final approval to the new NAFTA agreement without resolution, and that might be worth considering. Trump sees NAFTA as a major accomplishment, and the fact that it might be stymied due to his nonsensical tariffs will trouble him. His own Congress has said it won’t support the new trade pact until tariffs have been lifted, and that might be worth Ottawa’s consideration, too. Much more work remains to be done.

But please, no more suggestions that Canada take a knee to the biggest bully in the free world. That’s embarrassing, and would only make dealing with Trump more difficult. The Trudeau government has walked a fine line to date between working with Trump and not being pushed around. That should continue to be its strategy. (Source: Hamilton Spectator Editorial)

Friday January 20, 2017

January 19, 2017 by Graeme MacKay

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Friday January 20, 2017

President Trump’s Twitter plans: Tweet as usual

President-elect Donald Trump is well on his way to be an entirely new kind of “Tweeter in Chief,” with no plans to cut back on his frequent use of Twitter despite the disapproval of the majority of Americans and a range of security risks.

January 20, 1997 second inauguration of U.S. President Bill Clinton. Graphite sketch (Prisma filtered)

He’s tweeting despite the fact that this week a new NBC/WSJ poll reported that 69 percent of Americans believe Trump’s Twitter habits are a “bad thing” and want him to cut back. Just 26 percent of respondents said Trump’s use of Twitter is good, agreeing with the statement that “it allows a president to directly communicate to people immediately.” It’s no surprise that Democrats overwhelmingly disapprove of Trump’s tweets — just 8 percent say it’s good. And Republicans are divided, with 47 percent calling his tweets a bad idea.

January 20, 2001

Though Trump will inherit the @POTUS handle President Barack Obama established in May 2015, along with its 13.2 million followers, Trump won’t give up his personal account, which has 20.3 million followers, and plans to keep tweeting from it. The Obama administration’s “digital transition” team will wipe the timelines clean of @POTUS accounts on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube, and will archive all that content. (Source: CNBC)

Saturday December 17, 2016

December 16, 2016 by Graeme MacKay

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Saturday December 17, 2016

Donald Trump’s Denial About Russia

No matter how divided our politics and our times, Americans can agree that our status as a strong, democratic nation rests on the bedrock of free and fair elections. That confidence is what was targeted when Russia, one of our oldest, most determined foreign adversaries, invaded American computer networks and released thousands of pages of documents to undermine the legitimacy of the 2016 election.

Reminiscent of the Cold War days – the Soviet politburo, powerful, stern, disciplined, shrouded in mystery. Downright scary.

This news emerged last summer. Last month, the Central Intelligence Agency shared a further conclusion, based on months of analysis, that the Russian hacking was intended to favor Donald Trump.

“There shouldn’t be any doubt in anybody’s mind,” Adm. Michael Rogers, the director of the National Security Agency and commander of United States Cyber Command, said recently. “This was not something that was done casually, this was not something that was done by chance, this was not a target that was selected purely arbitrarily,” he said. “This was a conscious effort by a nation-state to attempt to achieve a specific effect.”

Extrapolating motive from evidence is always tricky. But after the C.I.A. provided classified briefings for Congress and the White House, members of both political parties were convinced.

But not President-elect Trump.

Mr. Trump’s instant rejection of the C.I.A. findings as “ridiculous,” based on no review of its work, echoed Moscow’s. “This tale of ‘hacks’ resembles a banal brawl between American security officials over spheres of influence,” Maria Zakharova, the spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry, wrote on Facebook. Mr. Trump said of American security officials, “They’re fighting among themselves.” (Continued: New York Times)

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Friday July 22, 2016

July 21, 2016 by Graeme MacKay

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Friday July 22, 2016

Is the Trump family America’s next political dynasty?

The glaring absence of prominent Republicans from the party’s convention in Cleveland raised questions about who would be filling the speaking slots in support of Donald Trump.

But, confident as ever, the New York billionaire had it covered. Waiting in the wings were a host of family members willing to get on stage.

Live Sketch – Acceptance Night

Mr Trump’s third wife Melania dominated the headlines after sections of her speech mimicked an address given by Michelle Obama – something Trump’s campaign denied for more than a day before a Trump staffer took responsibility for “including some of the phrasing” used by Ms Obama.

Now with successful appearances from the likes of Donald Trump Jr, his eldest son, and anticipation ahead of Ivanka Trump’s speech on Thursday, many commentators have been asking whether Mr Trump’s children could also follow him into politics.

Presentations by Donald Jr along with Tiffany, Eric and Ivanka Trump certainly help to “humanise” the candidate, political scientist Larry Sabato told the BBC.

But it should come as no surprise that the children are willing to speak out to support their father, he added.

Available at the boutique

The children of political candidates have long spoken at conventions, and many even go on to take an active role in politics.

But the Trumps are “remarkable” because the sheer number of family members giving evening speeches – more than any past political family, including the Kennedys, the Clintons, and the Romneys, Mr Sabato said.

The high-profile appearances also highlight a historical pattern in American politics. “We may be a democracy but we seem to like oligarchy,” he added. (Source: BBC)