KEEP YOUR ENEMIES CLOSE
Trump picks female critic and considers others for cabinet posts
in world diplomacy, d despite previously cl clashing with Trump. As one of two women tapped so far for Trump’s cabinet, t the daughter of Indian immigrants also injects a measure of d diversity in a group which until now consisted solely of men.
Murdered churchgoers
Last year, after a white supremacist murdered nine black churchgoers in South Carolina, Haley supported a decision by legislators to remove the Confederate flag from the state house.
The decision drew protests from racist groups. This year, while campaigning for Trump’s primary rival Marco Rubio, Haley called Trump out for his failure to repudiate the Ku Klux Klan ( KKK).
“I will not stop until we fight a man that chooses not to disavow the KKK. That is not a part of our party. That is not who we are,” she declared.
Trump, true to form, responded with one of his trademark Twitter insults, declaring: “The people of South Carolina are embarrassed by Nikki Haley!”
Trump’s choice last week of the self- described “economic nationalist” Steve Bannon, head of the right- wing news platform Breitbart, as his chief strategist delighted white supremacists.
But on Tuesday, after video emerged of fans of the so- called altright making straight- armed salutes and chanting “Hail Trump,” the president- elect disavowed the movement.
Campaign rhetoric
As he works with his advisers in his luxury Mar- a- Lago golf resort outside Palm Beach, all eyes will be on the appointments he makes for a sign of the direction his administration will take.
When it comes to security threats and global issues, the president- elect has reportedly received just two classified intelligence briefings since winning the presidency, far less than his immediate predecessors, according to the Washington Post newspaper.
The Republican’s limited engagement with his team of intelligence analysts has some officials questioning the real estate mogul’s commit- ment to national security or international affairs, arenas in which he has no significant experience.
When Trump’s November 8 election victory still seemed an unlikely prospect, many Republicans and conservative policy experts condemned his anti- Muslim rhetoric, his affinity for Russia or his isolationist and protectionist positions.
Many of these figures are now moderating their tone and looking for work, whether they are lured by the prospect of a powerful job or are keen to serve US interests as a moderating influence inside a Trump administration.
The former Iraq and Afghan war commander, retired general David Petraeus – who resigned as head of the CIA after he was caught sharing classified data with his mistress – made his pitch on Wednesday.
“If you’re asked, you’ve got to serve, put aside any reservations based on campaign rhetoric, and figure out what’s best for the country,” he told BBC Radio.
In May, Petraeus described hardline rhetoric like Trump’s threat to ban all Muslims from traveling to the United States as “toxic” and “corrosive to our vital national security interests.”
This week a Trump aide was photographed carrying notes on a border security plan into Trump Tower. The first three points were legible in the picture, and pointed to stringent vetting for Muslim visa applicants.
Trump and his family will stay at Mar- a- Lago through Thursday’s Thanksgiving holiday and the weekend. More meetings will be held on Monday with transition officials, his press office said.
Meanwhile, erstwhile Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton — who lost to Trump by carrying a minority of the Electoral College which decides the election outcome — saw her national lead in the popular vote tally pass 2 million votes.