Tag: Criticism

White House counselor Kellyanne Conway defended President Trump on Sunday over renewed criticism of his comments following the 2017 violence in Charlottesville, Va. – arguing that the president had “condemned white nationalism” and that his words following the incident has been distorted for political gain. Trump was slammed by both sides of the aisle for his remarks in the summer of 2017 that there were "very fine people on both sides" during the white nationalist "Unite the Right" rally in Charlottesville, where participants had chanted phrases like "Jews will not replace us." "Well, the irony is that he condemned white nationalism and neo-Nazis and the KKK during the Charlottesville incident," Conway said on CNN's "State of the Union" on Sunday. Conway added that Trump’s “very fine people” comment was in reference to “the debate over removing statues.” She added: "He was not talking about the weekend at all." While Trump was largely panned at the time for his comments, those words have come under renewed scrutiny after former Vice President Joe Biden launched his Democratic presidential campaign by condemning them. Biden blasted Trump's "moral equivalence between those spreading hate and those with the courage to stand against it" and declared the election a "battle for the soul of this nation." Biden is positioning himself as the anti-Trump, an experienced elder statesman ready to restore stability to Washington. Conway’s defense on the president comes days after Trump himself tried to downplay the renewed controversy – arguing that he was referring to some who were protesting the removal of a statue of Robert E. Lee, the Confederate general. Trump praised Lee as "a great general, everybody knows that." The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Representatives of more than 70,000 doctors have urged ministers to suspend regulations that force hospitals to charge overseas visitors upfront for NHS care. Three royal medical colleges and one faculty say the charging regime is harming people’s health by deterring them from seeking NHS help when they fall ill. Payments in advance are “a concerning barrier to care”, they say. They have voiced particular concern about pregnant women being denied care and children missing out on treatment for life or death illnesses. Their plea is the strongest opposition yet from the medical community to hospitals in England being compelled to charge migrants up to tens of thousands of pounds before they treat them. The statement has been signed by the Royal College of Physicians, the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists and the Faculty of Public Health. They want Matt Hancock, the health and social care secretary, to suspend regulations brought in in 2015 and 2017 that specify when overseas visitors should be charged for receiving NHS care. Charges should not be enforced until a full independent review is undertaken of how they are affecting migrants’ access to healthcare, the four groups say. Citing evidence of mothers-to-be and children being left without medical aid, the colleges say: “We do not believe that regulations that lead to such situations are appropriate. They are having a direct impact on individual health and have potential implications for wider public health. “Early diagnosis and treatment are vital to improve patients’ outcomes and – in the case of infectious diseases such as tuberculosis and HIV – to protect public health.” Some patients have been wrongly charged because they could not prove they were entitled to free care, the statement adds.

Brian Rice, president of the California Professional Firefighters, talks about progress being made against the deadly, raging fires in California, and why Donald Trump's ill-informed criticism was particularly unhelpful. » Subscribe to MSNBC: http://on.msnbc.com/SubscribeTomsnbc About: MSNBC is the premier destination…

In an interview with Der Spiegel published on Friday, the Labour leader renewed his criticism of the EU’s economic policy and called upon the entire country to “recognise the reasons why people voted leave”. This comes after the transport minister Jo Johnson resigned from the government and accused Theresa May of offering MPs a choice between “vassalage and chaos”, prompting renewed calls for a second vote. He said: “We will test the government against our six questions. “If it means we vote against the government, we vote against the government. “We know this is a mess made by the Tories, but the Labour party can’t just sit back and watch. It’s time for all of us in the Labour party to make the full-throated case for a people’s vote with the option of remaining in the European Union. Chris Leslie, another Labour MP, called for the public to have the final choice and accused Corbyn of a “dereliction of duty”. “With even Tory ministers recognising Brexit threatens the poorest in society, our public services and Britain’s place in the world, to have a Labour leader just shrug about it, then go awol, is nothing short of a dereliction of duty,” he said. The Labour MP and former leadership contender Chuku Umunna said in a tweet that the party would never be forgiven if it ignored the wishes of Labour members and opted not to call for a second referendum. “We can stop this Tory Brexit but, ultimately, it should be for the people to decide,” he said.

Boris Johnson has faced a backlash over his attack on Theresa May’s Brexit plans, with a string of senior Conservatives lining up to denounce him as the prime minister sought to save her Chequers deal. Boris Johnson’s latest Brexit outburst combines madness and mendacity | Simon Jenkins Read more Before a meeting of the right-wing European Research Group on Tuesday, Brexiters claimed May now had a “very limited window” of time to row back if she wanted to avoid a humiliating Commons defeat over the final deal. No 10 is also preparing for a crunch “no deal” cabinet meeting next week. That’s exactly what the country has with this prime minister and this Brexit plan.” Play Video 7:31 No 10’s intervention marks an escalation of the feud between the prime minister and her former foreign secretary, which has intensified since his attack on the government’s Brexit plans, widely viewed as a renewed push for the top job. She said: “Chequers is now dead.” Several Brexit-supporting sources confirmed that political strategist Sir Lynton Crosby was working with the ERG on a wider campaign against Chequers. Change Britain The successor group to the official leave campaign, it is headed by Labour MP Gisela Stuart, and says it wants to see the referendum result “respected and delivered in full”. It was supported by some Tories, such as Anna Soubry and Dominic Grieve, but they cut ties over a plan to oust hard Brexit-backing MPs. People's Vote Part of Open Britain, this group calls for a referendum on the final Brexit deal. They claimed the prime minister would struggle to get her proposal through the Commons, with as many as 50 Tory MPs prepared to vote against it, and another 20 following former minister Nick Boles who this week abandoned his support for Chequers in favour of a Norway-style deal. It came as at least 20 Eurosceptic Tory MPs, backed by former Tory ministers Iain Duncan Smith, Priti Patel and Steve Baker, backed the #standup4brexit grassroots campaign group, with more expected to sign up.

As one of the most prominent critics of Donald Trump within the Republican party, John Kasich, the governor of Ohio, admits: “It’s been pretty lonely out here.” Though he does say he would like more company in a Republican party that still seems loath to ever break with the president, even as he endangers traditional alliances or cozies up to the Russian president, Vladimir Putin. “You don’t want to become a nihilist, you don’t want to be Ron Paul where nothing is ever good,” Kasich said. However, Kasich says he saw a country increasingly pulled apart by partisanship with two parties where politicians were increasingly marching in lockstep with their leadership and leaving little room for independent thinking as elected officials simply toed the party line and followed orders. If you’re a Republican, I can predict what you’re going to be, and let’s not mingle the two.” As a result, he saw the United States moving “more and more towards a parliamentary system”, a feature he noted that was not what the founding fathers intended. In a looming 7 August contest between Danny O’Connor, a Democrat, and Troy Balderson, a Republican, Kasich was not yet ready to fully commit to support the Republican candidate. However, the Ohio governor said Balderson had “now pointed some out, so we’ll see”. In looking towards the midterm elections, he noted the question of whether the current “level of enthusiasm among Democrats is because they have a better way or because they are anti-something. I don’t see they have much of a better way,” said Kasich. “Both parties are moving further and further away from each other,” said Kasich, who wondered: “What does that mean about the middle?” The Ohio Republican argued we did not know what that means. I don’t know.

And both have been on-again, off-again critics of aspects of Trump's behavior and approach, both as a candidate and while in office. "[Sanford] talks about working with President Trump on the border wall," says opponent Katie Arrington in one campaign ad. VOTE Katie! VOTE Katie!" Even as Trump was winning the presidential election, his net favorability (favorable-unfavorable) rating among Republicans in an average of polls was just +50 points. To put that in perspective, only two other presidents since 1950 have had higher approval ratings among their own party heading into a potential presidential primary." (Side note: Harry's point above is why no one should take the idea of Trump losing in a Republican primary fight in 2020 all that seriously.) Donald Trump is the Republican Party now. Or at the very least, he is the Republican Party base. If you want to keep your seat, disagreeing publicly with Trump is the surest way to lose it.

The archbishop of New Delhi has waded into Indian politics, urging Catholics to pray for democracy and marginalized people ahead of national elections next year, bringing a quick rebuke from the ruling party. India is "witnessing a turbulent political atmosphere which poses a threat to the democratic principles enshrined in our constitution and the secular fabric of our nation," Archbishop Couto wrote in his May 8, 2018 letter, which was sent to all the city's churches. "I personally believe that no one should say things like this, for a religious person to make such comments cannot be accepted and appreciated," Shah said. A top party lawmaker, Subramanian Swamy, demanded the scrapping of diplomatic ties with the Vatican because of the archbishop's remarks. Archbishop Anil Couto, in a May 8 letter sent to New Delhi's Catholic churches, urged members to pray for democracy and for marginalized people ahead of national elections next year. The prayer also called for marginalized people to be "brought into the mainstream of nation-building." Minorities have complained of rising attacks by Hindu hardliners against them since Prime Minister Narendra Modi came to power in 2014. Church leaders normally avoid getting too deeply involved in politics. The archbishop was, however, supported by opposition politicians. It is a fact."

The president of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, Amit Shah, accused the archbishop of trying to divide people on the basis of religion. "I personally believe that no one should say things like this, for a religious person to make such comments cannot be accepted and appreciated," Shah said. A top party lawmaker, Subramanian Swamy, demanded the scrapping of diplomatic ties with the Vatican because of the archbishop's remarks. And your subscription makes it possible. Subscribe today for only $12.99 $7.99 per month Archbishop Anil Couto, in a May 8 letter sent to New Delhi's Catholic churches, urged members to pray for democracy and for marginalized people ahead of national elections next year. Christians make up just 2 percent of India's population, which is overwhelmingly Hindu but has a sizable Muslim minority. Church leaders normally avoid getting too deeply involved in politics. The archbishop's letter angered Hindu nationalists as it came at a time when Modi and his party are preparing for next year's national polls. Alphons, India's tourism minister and a BJP leader, said the archbishop's comments were unfair and that "godmen" should stay away from politics.