Harsh words for The Donald? Perhaps….applicable? Judge for yourself.
There has been much ado over the spat between Donald Trump and Megyn Kelly and Fox News Channel since the first debate. I have reserved judgment while I witnessed some real vile attack. Did anyone consider there may have been some history between Kelly and Trump? Well it seems to point back to Trump’s campaign top spokesperson, Corey. Michelle Fields was clearly not Corey’s first victim. Several other have been on the receiving end of Corey’s aggressive behavior both in person and via electronic communications. Politico explains the history here.
It was not too long ago where Trump complained about the dishonest media. Oh wait, he does that almost every a microphone is near his mouth. It is obvious he does not think too much of the 1st Amendment, the part about free press.
Trump Says He’ll Make It Easier To Win Libel Lawsuits Against Media
In part from TPM:During a Texas campaign rally on Friday, Donald Trump told voters that if he is elected president, he will change libel laws to make it easier to win lawsuits against media outlets.
The Republican presidential candidate raised the issue while complaining that news networks only show his rallies’ crowds on camera if there is a protester. He then turned his attention to the New York Times, which he said is “totally incompetently run.”
“I think the media is among the most dishonest groups of people I’ve ever met. They’re terrible. The New York Times, which is losing a fortune, which is a failing newspaper, which probably won’t be around that much longer, but probably somebody will buy it as a trophy, keep it going for a little longer — I think the New York Times is one of the most dishonest media outlets I’ve ever seen in my life,” Trump said. “The worst. The worst. The absolute worst.”
And then he complained about the Washington Post.
“I have to tell you I have respect for Jeff Bezos, but he bought the Washington Post to have political influence, and I got to tell you we have a different country than we used to have,” Trump said. “He owns Amazon. He wants political influence so that Amazon will benefit from it.”
“That’s not right, and believe me, if I become president, oh do they have problems. They’re going to have such problems,” Trump continued before launching into his plan to alter libel laws.
On the most recent Fox News Sunday with Chris Wallace, Trump attacked Wallace for being dishonest on the matter of the grading of Trump University by the Better Business Bureau. The Daily Caller explained the exchange and Fox later did some real fact checking. When it comes to factual reporting that is precisely what Fox should and did do.
Then a matter of hours ago, Megyn Kelly of Fox explained the issue of the Better Business Bureau rating of Trump University. In fact during the last debate, Trump broke the debate rules by receiving a fax and then handing it to the panel during the commercial break.
So….it has been established there is an extreme litigious bent to Trump but one more item should send a real chill down your spine.
Donald Trump’s volunteer contract forbids all criticism of Trump for life
DailyDot: Donald Trump‘s campaign requires volunteers to sign a contract that forbids them from criticizing the Republican presidential front-runner, his family members, any Trump businesses or products, or his campaign. The six-page contract, reviewed in full by the Daily Dot, theoretically lasts for the entirety of a volunteer’s life.
Legal experts say, however, that the contract’s non-disparagement clause would likely never hold up in court.
The tight control of volunteers stands in stark contrast to not only American political-campaign norms but also Trump’s reputation for speaking his mind.
The contract first came to light late last week after Trump campaign emails indicated that some prospective volunteers were required to sign a non-disclosure agreement in order to make calls for the campaign from Trump Tower in Manhattan.
It wasn’t until Monday that the contracts were unveiled to prospective volunteers at Trump Tower. A Daily Dot review of the contract found that the document extends beyond the non-disclosure agreement that was originally reported.
In addition to forbidding volunteers from disparaging Trump, the contract also includes a sentence that demands volunteers prevent their employees from criticizing Trump, thus making volunteers responsible for the free speech of others for an indeterminate amount of time.
“I guess he doesn’t know about the First Amendment,” Davida Perry, an employment lawyer in New York City, told the Daily Dot. “This is really shocking.”
Non-disparagement, non-disclosure, and non-compete agreements—which are all found in Trump’s contract—are common in business contracts, but they apply to employees, not volunteers who receive no compensation for their time and work.
Because volunteers give up their rights but get nothing in return, the contract is likely legally unenforceable, professor Samuel Estreicher, who directs the labor program at NYU Law School, told NBC News.
The Trump campaign could risk a lawsuit by forcing volunteers to give up so much without treating them as employees, Jeanne Christensen, an employment lawyer at Wigdor LLP, told NBC.
The contract extends down to the lowest levels of the Trump campaign, including at call centers, where people spend hours making phone calls to convince other citizens to vote for Trump.
Donald Trump’s campaign contract Daily Dot
2. No Disparagement. During the term of your service and at all times thereafter you hereby promise and agree not to demean or disparage publicly the Company, Mr. Trump, any Trump Company, any Family Member, or any Family Member Company or any asset any of the foregoing own, or product or service any of the foregoing offer, in each case by or in any of the Restricted Means and Contexts and to prevent your employees from doing so.
3. No Competitive Services. Until the Non-Compete Cutoff Date you promise and agree not to assist or counsel, directly or indirectly, for compensation or as a volunteer, any person that is a candidate or exploring candidacy for President of the United States other than Mr. Trump and to prevent your employees from doing so.
Volunteers also sign a non-disclosure agreement, forbidding them from sharing any sensitive information from the campaign. What kind of information is sensitive or confidential is completely at Trump’s discretion, according to the contract.
“He’s apparently so afraid that people would say something bad about him after spending some time on his campaign that they have to sign some sort of agreement,” Perry explained. “I don’t see how this stands up. I don’t see how a court enforces this.”
Volunteers must also sign a non-compete agreement that extends until Trump ceases his campaign for president, identified in the contract as the “Non-Compete Cutoff Date.” The agreement also forbids volunteers from working for another presidential candidate, should they change their minds.
In the event of a Trump victory in November’s general election, the non-compete clause could extend until his 2020 reelection campaign or even 2024, at the end of a second Trump term, the document explains. If Trump loses but wants to run again in the next election or in any presidential election in the future, the contract states the volunteer cannot work for another candidate.
Volunteers are, once again, theoretically bound to “to prevent your employees from” working on any other presidential campaign at any point while Trump is running for president, ostensibly locking them into Trump’s political career for life.
The Daily Dot viewed Trump’s volunteer contract at the campaign’s New York City headquarters on Monday morning. During that time, approximately two dozen prospective Trump volunteers handed over their state identification, submitted to a voluntary background check, and took the contract to read over and sign.
What was Ben Carson actually thinking in jumping on the Trump train?
WaPo: “Even if Donald Trump turns out not to be such a great president, which I don’t think is the case —I think he’s going to surround himself with really good people —but even if he didn’t, we’re only looking at four years, as opposed to multiple generations and perhaps the loss of the American dream forever,” Carson said.
Ouch.
And not only that; Carson even suggested he may have liked to endorse one of the other candidates rather than Trump.
Carson said he liked Sen. Marco Rubio and Gov. John Kasich but didn’t think they could win the Republican nomination. He also said he didn’t think that Sen. Ted Cruz could win in the general election.
“I have to look at what is practical and what is going to save this country and the American dream for the next generation,” Carson said. “Is there another scenario that I would have preferred? Yes. But that scenario isn’t available.”
“With one of the other candidates, you mean?” Malzberg asked.
“Yes,” Carson replied.
Double ouch.
Then Carson went on to question whether Trump should have offered to pay the legal fees for a man who punched a protester, and he openly talked about how Trump has offered him a role in his administration. Carson declined to say whether he has been promised a Cabinet job.
To top it off….how about Trump’s thoughts on women?
Then there is the point person Trump uses for foreign policy, Richard Haass. Heh….we will do that another time. But just reading a book from a handful of years ago, does good foreign policy make? NOT.
