TRUMP PROMISES TO ISSUE NEW EXECUTIVE ORDER ON TRAVEL BAN NEXT WEEK
Says new executive order on travel ban coming next week
US president Donald Trump has denied any one in his campaign had been in touch with Russian intelligence, slammed intelligence leaks as criminal, rubbished reports of turmoil in White House and accused news media of reporting “fake news”. And, he claimed he had “inherited a mess” at home and around the world.
Addressing his first solo news conference after assuming office, Trump gave vent to his frustration with what he said was unfair and hateful media coverage, anger with Democrats for delay in confirming his cabinet picks and with courts for striking down his travel ban order. He insisted he was not raving or ranting and claimed he was enjoying himself.
“I turn on the TV, open the newspapers and I see stories of chaos — chaos,” Trump said. “Yet it is the exact opposite. This administration is running like a fine-tuned machine, despite the fact that I can’t get my Cabinet approved.” He listed out steps take by him to cut regulation, pull the US out of Trans-Pacific Partnership and others and previewed those in the pipeline — such as a new executive order on travel ban coming next week, “tailored” along the line of the court orders.
“There has never been a presidency that’s done so much in such a short period of time,” he said.
The briefing was initially called to announced Trump’s new nominee for labour secre- tary, Alexander Acosta, a Hispanic lawyer from Florida, but he used it to address all issues that have been in the headlines.
Such as Russia, and media coverage of him. He flatly denied anyone he knew in his campaign had been in touch with Russian intelligence as was reported, and reasserted he himself had no dealings in Russia.
Russia is a “ruse”, he said many times, insisting he would be tougher with Moscow than his Democratic rival for the presidency Hillary Clinton.
Critics on the left described him as looking and behaving “unhinged”, frustrated and angry; and still peddling truths and half truths. And that he still doesn’t give a direct answer to direct questions — such as the one about being anti-semitic.
But conservatives were happy. Christopher Bedford, editor in chief of The Daily Caller News Foundation, told HT: “I’m happy he used the conference to try and list off what he’s done and what’s going on, as opposed to simply flipping out over the scary leaks from the Deep State.”