Today in Trump: February 12, 2017
Today in the Trump Administration
CBS News poll: Does Trump’s support have a ceiling — or a floor?
The nation is not simply divided. The last election left many wondering if they really understood the views of Americans who disagreed with them, or whether they were truly being heard at all. A single poll number can’t always answer those puzzles, so here we look deeper at all the groups who support and oppose the Trump administration at its outset: who they are, what they want and - most of all - what might change their minds.
It turns out that while there are hard-and-fast views on either side of the nation’s divide, the range of President Trump’s potential support - both to the high and low side - is actually bigger than you might think.
In this study, people separated themselves into four groups: the strongest of Trump backers (who we’ll call the Believers); those backing him but waiting for him to deliver (the Conditionals); those opposing him for now but waiting to see some results (the Curious) and those who seem immovably, firmly opposed (The Resistors.) We’ll plan to follow these groups over time. Here’s the new CBS/YouGov poll showing how they break down now.
“Face the Nation” transcript is here.
In case you missed the show, check out the “Face the Nation” page here.
GOP senator warns Trump to avoid “personal attacks” on judges
Sen. Jeff Flake, R-Arizona, chastised President Trump Sunday for his condemnations of the judiciary branch, following a federal court decision not to reinstate his travel ban.
The Arizona Republican told “Face the Nation” host John Dickerson that while it was “fine to disagree with opinions” of judges, blasting specific judges was inappropriate.
“It’s fine to question the judgment. But to go after individual judges or to talk about them, I think Judge Gorsuch said it right, that is disheartening,” Flake said. “And I think that we ought to avoid any personal attacks like that.”
Trump adviser: Administration will send a signal “very soon” to N.K.
On “Face the Nation” Stephen Miller, a senior policy adviser to President Trump, weighed in on North Korea’s ballistic missile test Sunday, defending the president’s response as a “show of strength” to the Asian nation.
“He went out, stood shoulder to shoulder and sent a message to the whole world that we stand with our allies,” Miller said in an interview with CBS’ “Face the Nation,” referencing the president’s brief statement Saturday standing beside Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. Mr. Trump, on Saturday, said the U.S. “stands by” Japan, but did not mention North Korea.
“Last night was a show of strength,” Miller said of the president’s remarks. “Saying we stand with our ally, having the two men appear on camera worldwide to all of planet Earth was a statement that will be understood very well by North Korea.”
Schumer urges Trump to throw travel ban “in the trash”
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer wants President Trump to abandon his executive order on immigration and start from scratch, following a federal appeals court’s decision not to reinstate his travel ban last week.
“I think he ought to throw it in the trash,” Schumer said on CBS’ “Face the Nation” Sunday. “I think this executive order is so bad and so poison and its genesis is so bad and terrible that he ought to just throw it in the trashcan.”
Supreme Court nominee Gorsuch describes his most significant cases
President Donald Trump’s Supreme Court nominee has returned a 68-page questionnaire to the Senate Judiciary Committee ahead of confirmation hearings expected in March.
In the questionnaire, Judge Neil Gorsuch lists what he considers the 10 most significant cases he presided over while on a federal appeals court.
Top of his list is a 2016 case in which he wrote for a panel of judges who sided with a Mexican citizen seeking permission to live in the U.S.
Also listed is a 2013 case involving a family business that raised religious objections to paying for contraception for women covered under its health plans.
Gorsuch states that none of the opinions he authored has been reversed.
The questionnaire also contains a long list of his published writings and speeches.
What you missed yesterday
Trump/Abe
President Trump is hosting Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe at his resort in West Palm Beach. Today they teed off for some rounds of golf at Trump National Golf Club in Jupiter.
First Lady Melania Trump took Akie Abe on a tour of Morikami Museum and Gardens in Delray Beach.
Trump tweets on border wall cost
After a report that the cost of building a wall on the southern border could reach $21 billion, the president tweeted this morning:
The president also sent out a tweet criticizing the “broken” legal system. He blasted the recent court decision refusing to reinstate his travel ban as “SO DANGEROUS.”
Trump calls legal system “broken,” addresses border wall cost on Twitter
President Trump took aim at the nation’s legal system early Saturday, calling it “broken” following his administration’s failed challenge to a federal judge’s stay on his travel ban.
The president unleashed his criticism of the judicial branch in a tweet Saturday, days after the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals decided not to reinstate the ban, which bars refugees and citizens from seven predominantly Muslim countries from entering the U.S.
Trump attacks on judiciary raise safety concerns for judges
When a judge who helped derail President Trump’s travel ban was hit with online threats, the abuse raised safety concerns among jurists across the country, and experts are worried that the president’s own attacks on the judiciary could make judges a more inviting target.
U.S. District Judge James Robart imposed the temporary restraining order that halted enforcement of Mr. Trump’s ban last week. The president soon sent a tweet saying the opinion of “this so-called judge” was “ridiculous and will be overturned.”
Trump on U.S. Embassy in Israel
In an interview published Friday with Israel Hayom, the president was asked how soon he would make a decision on relocating the embassy to the holy city of Jerusalem from Tel Aviv -- a controversial shift that could inflame tensions across the Islamic world.
“I am thinking about the embassy, I am studying the embassy [issue], and we will see what happens,” Mr. Trump said. “The embassy is not an easy decision. It has obviously been out there for many, many years, and nobody has wanted to make that decision. I’m thinking about it very seriously, and we will see what happens.”
