Page 6 - Florida Sentinel 1-26-18

White House And Political News
Half Feel President Is Mentally Stable, Other Half Do Not; He Has Lowest Approval Rate In History
Trump To Reveal His Immigration Plan During State Of Union Speech On Monday
President Donald Trump will reveal his framework for immigration reform on the eve of his first State of the Union Address.
White House Press Secre- tary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said the former reality-TV star on Monday
will make a big reveal of the “framework” he hopes will become immigration re- form legislation. It will in- clude a “permanent solution on DACA,” address The Wall, end chain migration, and cancel the lottery visa program.
Asked by a reporter if the “framework” includes a path to citizenship for DACA participants, Sanders smiled and re- sponded, Simon Cowell- ish-ly, “If I told you now, it would kind of take away the fun for Monday.”
Amid the lowest approval rat- ing in the first year for a presi- dent, voters are also questioning Donald Trump's mental stability, according to a new ABC News/Washington Post poll.
Forty-eight percent of voters think Trump is mentally sta- ble, versus the 47 percent of voters who think he is not.
Trump's job approval rat- ing at his one year mark is at 36 percent, while 58 disapprove. The next lowest approval rating from a president at one year was Gerald Ford in 1975 with 45 percent.
President Trump passed his physical recently, however, poll- sters are questioning whether or not some feel he is ok mentally.
Some Democratic Mayors Decline Invitation To White House; Tampa Mayor Attends
A prominent group of may- ors meeting in Washington called off a scheduled White House meeting with Presi- dent Donald Trump on Wednesday after the adminis- tration again threatened to withhold funding from nearly two dozen local governments they claimed aren’t following immigration laws.
The bipartisan U.S. Confer- ence of Mayors, whose annual winter meeting in the nation’s capital kicked off Wednesday, had been scheduled to sit down with Trump to talk about the opioid epidemic and infra- structure. But the group’s leader canceled the session, citing the White House’s "deci- sion to threaten mayors and demonize immigrants yet again."
On Wednesday, the Justice Department escalated its fight against 23 so-called sanctuary cities, sending letters asking
Group of mayors that declined meeting with President Trump, after their cities received letters about being sanctuary cities.
for greater compliance with federal immigration law ac- cording to CNN.
New Orleans mayor, Mitch Landrieu told reporters in Washington that he would not go to the meeting under "false pretenses," complaining that the meeting is supposed to focus on infrastructure but that the Justice Department's sanc- tuary cities move changed the equation.
If the mayors have a prob- lem with the nation’s immigra- tion laws, “they should talk to Congress,” White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said. “They pass the laws.”
Mayors from across Florida, including Tampa’s mayor, Bob Buckhorn attended the meet- ing. St. Petersburg mayor, Rick Kriseman was not in- vited.
President Trump Next In Line Of Questioning In The Russia Probe
President Trump will likely not be interviewed in person by Spe- cial counsel, Robert Mueller and his team.
Special counsel Robert S. Mueller, III is seeking to question President Trump in the coming weeks about his decisions to oust national se- curity adviser Michael Flynn and FBI Director James B. Comey, accord- ing to two people familiar with his plans.
The sources cautioned against presuming the Presi- dent would sit down with Mueller in the next few weeks, saying there is much to be negotiated still.
One source said the form of the interview is still in pre- liminary discussion. Trump's attorneys would like the President's answers to come in written form only, but recognize it could end up being more of a combination of written and in-person in- terviews, or even solely an in- terview.
The Washington Post first reported on Mueller's inter- est in questioning Trump on Tuesday.
Mueller’s interest in the events that led Trump to push out Flynn and Comey indicates that his investiga- tion is aggressively scrutiniz- ing possible efforts by the president or others to hamper the special counsel’s probe.
Discussions about a Trump interview come amid the broader inquiry into Rus- sia’s interference in the 2016 election, a wide-ranging in- vestigation that has already led to charges against four former Trump advisers.
Mueller now appears to be turning his attention to Trump and key witnesses in his inner circle, raising the pressure on the White House as the administration enters its second year.
Last week, Attorney Gen- eral Jeff Sessions was inter- viewed for several hours by special counsel investigators, according to Justice Depart- ment officials. He is the first member of Trump’s Cabinet to be questioned in the probe.
Some Pastors Call For Change After Trump’s ‘Sh**hole Comment
Black Pastors are using the pulpit to speak out against President Donald Trump and his supporters in the wake of Trump’s remarks about Haiti, El Salvador and African nations being “shit- hole countries”.
Eldren Morrison, sen- ior pastor of Shaw Temple African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church in Smyrna, Georgia, in his sermon said his intent was to strike a chord with his congregation while also fulfilling his pas- toral responsibility.
“I have been a pastor for about 18 years now, and have always thought and been taught that the black pastor, who has the freest voice within the community, that it’s on black pastors to really speak to the things going on that affect the Black commu- nity.”
Pastors address President’s comments from their pulpits.
Rev. Maurice Watson, a senior pastor of Metropoli- tan Baptist Church in Largo, Maryland, also denounced Trump during a Sunday morning sermon while Vice President Mike Pence and his wife were in attendance.
Earl Fisher, senior pas- tor of Abyssinian Baptist Church in Memphis, Ten- nessee also used his sermon to shed light on Trump’s
comments.
“The gist of what I said to
my congregation Sunday morning was, ‘There are no s- --hole countries. But we do have a--hole people who pro- duce s---hole policies that ex- ploit people’s resources which cause inhumane living conditions. So we need to vote the a--hole people out of office,’” Fisher told NBC News.
PAGE 6-A FLORIDA SENTINEL-BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY FRIDAY, JANUARY 26, 2018