300 Face Punches Every Day but President Trump Is Still Standing

IN HIS BOOK "ALL OUT WAR," Ed Klein tells a story about a trip he made with Donald Trump almost 25 years ago. Trump told Klein : "There's a level of brutality in boxing. It's hard to take 300 punches in the face and come back for another round." • President Trump has been "punched in the face" 300 times every day since June 16, 2015, when he annnounced that he was a candidate for the presidency. The punches delivered by the Progressive establishment that Trump would label "the Swamp" and by its lapdog propagandist publicity wing, the mainstream media, have taken many forms -- character assassination of Trump and his family, attacks on his enormously successful businesses, calling his tax cuts "crumbs" for the middlle class, and painting him as a traitor "colluding" with Russia to destroy American democracy. All lies. All deliberate. All carried out to prevent Americans from taking back the political power over their own country and future that the US Constitution gave them. Sometimes, as things heat up and we are outraged over the latest ProgDem attacks, we lose sight of their scurulous reason -- to protect their elite power positions and to prevent America from being what it is, a unique "city on the hill" that beacons to the world about the possibility of successful self-government. And, we forget why Trump, punched 300 times each day, often answers with direct attacks on the Swamp that is determined to destroy him. After the totally reasonable firing of Andrew McCabe -- recommended by the FBI's own internal ethical watchdog, we are seeing the ProgDem / MSM attack out in force. • • • BEWARE ADAM SCHIFF BEARING GIFTS. The Washington Free Beacon on Sunday quoted Representative Adam Schiff as saying that the Trump administration may have had justification to fire former FBI deputy director Andrew McCabe, adding he couldn't know for sure. If you had read that headline and not bothered ot click onto the entrie article, you might have beentempted to give Schiff a point for candor. Do not be fooled. What Schiff really said was this : "His firing may be justified. There's no way for us to know at this point, but even though it may have been justified, it can also be tainted. I think the President's badgering of the attorney general, his urging that [McCabe] be fired before his pension could vest, and the fact that McCabe and every other of the James Comey associates, his general counsel, [James] Baker, his chief of staff, [James] Rybicki, who corroborate James Comey on the issue of potential obstruction of justice -- every one of them has been targeted by the administration, by the Republicans in Congress, and is this because they corroborate James Comey? That's a question we also have to answer." • Schiff has not changed. Candor is nowhere to be seen. He shows no willingness to accept the rightful reasons for McCabe's firing or for the reasonableness of President Trump's responses to the attacks on him personally for the firing, when it was the FBI that recommended it and the attorney general who carried out the FBI's recommendation. • • • McCABE'S OUTBURST AFTER HIS FIRING. The Daily Caller's David Krayden on Sunday quoted George Washington Law Professor Jonathan Turley, a conservative constitutional law expert, on McCabe's statement following his dismissal. Turley said it may have incriminated former FBI Director James Comey. Krayden notes that Turley told TheHill that in defending himself, McCabe was pointing his finger at Comey for leaking confidential information to to the media and also “lying to Congress.” Turley wrote for TheHill : “McCabe declared that he was ‘singled out’ after ‘unrelenting’ attacks by President Trump and critics...McCabe may have rectified his ‘singled out’ status with his long statement criticizing his termination : In the middle of it is a line that could be viewed as incriminating fired FBI director James Comey, not just in leaking sensitive information but also in lying to Congress.” Turley argued that the incriminating line can be found when McCabe explains how he “chose to share” information with a reporter after first seeking the FBI’s public affairs and legal counsel. McCabe said : “As deputy director, I was one of only a few people who had the authority to do that. It was not a secret, it took place over several days, and others, including the director, were aware of the interaction with the reporter.” Turley states: “If the ‘interaction’ means leaking the information, then McCabe’s statement would seem to directly contradict statements Comey made in a May 2017 congressional hearing. Asked if he had ‘ever been an anonymous source in news reports about matters relating to the Trump investigation or the Clinton investigation’ or whether he had ‘ever authorized someone else at the FBI to be an anonymous source in news reports about the Trump investigation or the Clinton investigation,’ Comey replied ‘never’ and ‘no.’ ” According to Turley, the inspector general’s office in the Department of Justice viewed this “interaction” as a concern when it questioned McCabe. For Turley : “If the inspector general considered this to be a leak to the media, any approval by Comey would be highly significant. Comey already faces serious questions over his use of a Columbia University Law School professor to leak information to the media following his own termination as director.” • The Daily Caller published an article on Sunday that noted that President Trump tweeted about Comey's testimony under oath to Congress in 2017: “Wow, watch Comey lie under oath to Senator G. When asked ‘have you ever been an anonymous source...or known someone else to be an anonymous source…?’ He said strongly ‘never, no.’ He lied.” Indeed, wrote the Daily Caller : "It does appear that Comey may have misrepresented the truth during his congressional testimony in 2017. The following is an excerpt from his questioning before Congress : 'Director Comey, have you ever been an anonymous source in news reports about matters relating to the Trump investigation or the Clinton investigation? COMEY: Never. GRASSLEY: Question two, relatively related, have you ever authorized someone else at the FBI to be an anonymous source in news reports about the Trump investigation or the Clinton investigation? COMEY: No.' " Former deputy director Andrew McCabe, who was recently fired, seemed to tell the story a little differently in a statement Saturday when he said that the inspector general investigation "has focused on information I chose to share with a reporter through my public affairs officer and a legal counselor. As Deputy Director, I was one of only a few people who had the authority to do that. It was not a secret, it took place over several days, and others, including the Director, were aware of the interaction with the reporter. It was the type of exchange with the media that the Deputy Director oversees several times per week." In response to some of the President’s tweets Saturday criticizing the pair, Comey tweeted that the American people will soon be able to judge who is “honorable and who is not.” • That is a smearing character assassination by innuendo -- McCabe actually seemed to say "everybody does it" and Comey added "and it is an 'honorable" thing to do, unlike President Trump, whose acts are not 'honorable.' " It is a punch in the face to President Trump, who in the McCabe episode is entirely innocent of any dishonorable act. But, the ProgDem cabal and its lapdog media will report what McCabe and Comey said as if it sparkles with truth, not bothering to add that Trump is innocent of wrongdoing in the McCabe affair, while McCabe was recommended for firing by the FBI and Comey lied under oath to Congress. • • • TRUMP STRIKES BACK. Sometimes, 300 face punches in one day are hard to take. TheHill headline on Saturday read : "Trump unrestrained in latest attacks of Mueller probe." In the article, Julia Manchester wrote : "President Trump unleashed on special counsel Robert Mueller over the weekend, signaling a shift in his criticism of the Justice Department probe into Russian election interference. In a series of tweets on Saturday and Sunday, Trump took aim at Mueller, calling his investigation into alleged ties between the Trump campaign and Russia a 'witch hunt' and suggesting bias on the part of Mueller. The Twitter attacks on Mueller -- which came in the wake of former FBI deputy director Andrew McCabe's firing -- were the first of their kind by Trump. The President has frequently bashed the probe and asserted there was no collusion between himself and Russia, but until now Trump had never mentioned Mueller by name in his critical tweets." • Manchester says that according to a report by the New York Times, Trump's lawyers had asked him for months to avoid the specific mention of Mueller on the social media platform, and aides told the publication that the President is feeling more emboldened than ever to speak his mind. The ramped up criticism from Trump started on Saturday when his personal lawyer John Dowd called on Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein to end the investigation on the President's behalf. Dowd later reversed course, saying he gave the statement in his personal capacity. This is what Dowd said : "I pray that Acting Attorney General Rosenstein will follow the brilliant and courageous example of the FBI Office of Professional Responsibility and Attorney General Jeff Sessions and bring an end to alleged Russia Collusion investigation manufactured by McCabe’s boss James Comey based upon a fraudulent and corrupt Dossier.” Dowd's statement was first reported by the Daily Beast. Manchester notes that : "Later the President appeared to echo Dowd's statement, saying Mueller's investigation should have never been started in the first place." Trump tweeted : "The Mueller probe should never have been started in that there was no collusion and there was no crime. It was based on fraudulent activities and a Fake Dossier paid for by Crooked Hillary and the DNC, and improperly used in FISA COURT for surveillance of my campaign. WITCH HUNT!" Trump continued : "Why does the Mueller team have 13 hardened Democrats, some big Crooked Hillary supporters, and Zero Republicans? Another Dem recently added...does anyone think this is fair? And yet, there is NO COLLUSION!" • Manchester said : "The tweet marks a significant shift from late last year, when Trump said he believed Mueller would treat him fairly in the investigation. 'There’s been no collusion. But I think he’s going to be fair,' Trump told the New York Times in December. Trump's new focus on Mueller comes after the special counsel reportedly subpoenaed the Trump Organization and, according to another report, provided Trump’s legal team with a series of questions leading up to a possible interview with Trump. The President said last year that Mueller would be crossing a 'red line' if his office began investigating his family’s finances with other countries outside of Russia." But, added Manchester : "The Mueller criticism also comes as the fallout over McCabe's firing continues to shake Washington, DC. Sessions fired McCabe on Friday, citing reports from the FBI's Office of Professional Responsibility and Office of the Inspector General that McCabe 'made an unauthorized disclosure to the news media.' Trump praised the move in the early hours of Saturday morning as 'a great day for Democracy.' McCabe fired back on Saturday, saying he never leaked any information. 'The decision to share information with the media is absolutely within my authority as deputy director,' McCabe said. 'I am one of three people in the FBI who has the independent authority to make that decision. People could disagree about the decisions I made...but the fact is this is not a leak.' " That closes the loop to Professor Turley's analysis above. • Trump's criticism of Mueller in the wake of both McCabe and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson's firings has sparked speculation that Mueller could be next to go. But Democrats and Republicans say that would be the wrong move for Trump. Trey Gowdy, chairman of the House Oversight Committee, told Fox News Sunday : “Give him the time, the resources, the independence to do his job.” Democrat Representative Jackie Speier of California on Sunday warned that if President Trump orders the firing of special counsel Robert Mueller, she will vote to impeach him : “The President is careening us toward what I fear will be a constitutional crisis. Mr. President : Here is my red line -- Fire Mueller and I will vote to fire you." Trump's lawyer Ty Cobb on Sunday issued a statement saying Trump has no plans to fire Mueller : “In response to media speculation and related questions being posed to the Administration, the White House yet again confirms that the President is not considering or discussing the firing of the Special Counsel, Robert Mueller." • The 300 punches here relate to impeachment. Trump has been threatened with impeachment more often than any other US President, with the possible exception of Lincoln. Why? As with Lincoln, the Washington establishment is trying to paralyze Trump into inaction out of fear of being impeached. It didn't work with President Lincoln and it will not work with President Trump. There is normally a sense of responsibility in being President that does not and cannot exist in any other US officeholder. The President is directly responsible to every American -- all of us. No other officeholder has that direct relationship with or responsibility for American citizens. It makes Presidents very hard to intimidate when they see their duty clearly in relation to their responsibility. President Trump, who became President over the vicious attracks of the Swamp and its candidate Hillary Clinotn, is not likely to be afraid of impeachment. • BUT, there is one Republican congressman who is becoming an annoyance in always blurting out instructions to his own party's President -- Trey Gowdy. Mr. Gowdy has already announced that he is not "right" for politics and is retiring to go back into law practice. That ought to make his observations even less useful than those of other members of Congress. So, to Trey Gowdy -- whom, we may remember, had a Special Committee with the opportunity to nail Hillary Clinton for her disgraceful role in the Benghazi attacks and assassinations that he muffed totally -- my advice would be to go quietly and leave politics to the President and his real supporters in Congress. They have a much better track record in dealing with the Swamp. • • • KALLSTROM SPEAKS OUT ABOUT THE FBI. Lifezette published a report of an interview that former FBI assistant director James Kallstrom gave to Fox's Maria Bartiromo on Sunday. Kallstrom told Bartiromo that high-ranking Department of Justice officials had a 'backup plan to basically frame Donald Trump.' Kallstrom said there were “high-ranking people throughout the government” with “a plot” to protect 2016 Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton -- and “basically frame” President Donald Trump. Kallstrom had a 27-year career in the FBI culminating in his serving as assistant director. Kallstrom told Bartiromo : "“I think there’s a big sigh of relief and a good feeling about the fact that an FBI element, and organization in the FBI, recommended that he be fired, as opposed to them being mute and having someone else make that recommendation. So I think they’re very happy about that. And they’re just gnawing at the bit to actually get involved in a real investigation, not a phony investigation like [former FBI Director] Jim Comey conducted.” • Bartiromo noted that 10 people “at the top of the FBI and the Department of Justice” have been “either fired or reassigned” over the past several months. These actions took place as details about the Clinton investigation and the investigation into collusion between Russia and Trump’s presidential campaign came to light. Bartiromo noted : "Obviously this is no coincidence. Do you think somebody was directing them, or do you think they just came to the conclusion on their own, this leadership at the FBI and the Department of Justice, that they wanted to change the outcome of the election, that they wanted to protect Hillary Clinton?" Kallstrom answered : "I think we have ample facts revealed to us during this last year and a half that high-ranking people throughout the government, not just the FBI -- high-ranking people had a plot to not have Hillary Clinton, you know, indicted, so that she could remain the flawed candidate that she was, which in my view was stupidity. They also had a...backup plan to basically frame Donald Trump, and that's what's been going on. This whole thing in my view is just [a] total phony." • President Trump targeted McCabe, Comey, and special counsel Robert Mueller in a series of tweets over the weekend, including this one : "As the House Intelligence Committee has concluded, there was no collusion between Russia and the Trump Campaign. As many are now finding out, however, there was tremendous leaking, lying and corruption at the highest levels of the FBI, Justice & State. #DrainTheSwamp...How many leaks? Comey knew it all, and much more!...The Fake News is beside themselves that McCabe was caught, called out and fired. How many hundreds of thousands of dollars was given to wife's campaign by Crooked H friend, [former Virginia Gov.] Terry [McAuliffe], who was also under investigation? How many lies? How many leaks? Comey knew it all, and much more!" • President Trump received more than 100,000 hits on each of those tweets, and 89,000 retweets. The President can give a punch as good as he gets. • • • HILLARY DESPERATELY SEEKING JUSTIFICATION, REVENGE -- AND MEDIA TIME. While President Trump was fending off Swamp attacks on his non-role in the McCabe firing, Hillary was busy speaking in India -- between falls and hospital visits. Fox News reported on Monday that Hillary tried "to explain her comments on Trump voters after backlash." Samuel Chamberlain wrote : "Former Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton attempted to explain her comments about American voters and the 2016 election in a lengthy Facebook post Saturday that claimed she 'meant no disrespect to any individual or group.' During a recent trip to India, Clinton told attendees at a conference in Mumbai that Americans did not 'deserve' a Trump presidency, said she won the states 'that are optimistic, diverse, dynamic, moving forward,' and said that Trump's campaign was 'looking backwards.' Clinton summed up Trump's message as 'you know, you didn't like black people getting rights, you don't like women, you know, getting jobs. You don't want, you know, to see that Indian American succeeding more than you are.' " • Hillary is good at blaming everyone and everything but herself for losing in 2016. She wrote a book chock full of reasons for her election loss. But, in India, she once more came close to the 'crash and burn' moment she had in 2016 when she called 50% of Americans "Deplorables." About her comments in India, she said : "I understand how some of what I said upset people and can be misinterpreted. I meant no disrespect to any individual or group. And I want to look to the future as much as anybody." But, said Fox"s Chamberlain : "The former first lady criticized Trump for relying on 'scare tactics and false attacks [that masked] the fact that he is otherwise no friend to most Americans.' " Chamberlain also noted that Clinton stood by her comments implying that white women who voted for Trump were subject to "a sort of ongoing pressure to vote the way that your husband, your boss, your son, whoever, believes you should. There is anecdotal evidence and some research to suggest that women are unfortunately more swayed by men than the other way around. As much as I hate the possibility, and hate saying it, it’s not that crazy when you think about our ongoing struggle to reach gender balance -- even within the same household." Clinton ended her latest "Oops" explanation with these words : "I did not realize how hard it would hit many who heard it. So to those upset or offended by what I said last week, I hope this explanation helps to explain the point I was trying to make." • Clinton's original comments in India drew noisy backlash from Democrats, among them Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin of Illinois, who told Fox News Sunday that the former Secretary of State's remarks were "not helpful. Thirty percent of the people who voted for Donald Trump had voted for President Obama. Why? The same people who looked for change with President Obama thought there wasn’t enough as far as their personal lives were concerned and they supported Donald Trump. "That is a reality that Democrats acknowledge." • Message : Shut up and go home, Hillary. • • • DEAR READERS, it is hard to forget Trump's prophetic 1993 words : "There's a level of brutality in boxing. It's hard to take 300 punches in the face and come back for another round." But, the President is still standing and coming back for more, because he believes in America and Americans. • The last verse of Simon and Garfunkel's great hit "The Boxer" says it all : "In the clearing stands a boxer, and a fighter by his trade, And he carries the reminders Of every glove that laid him down or cut him 'Til he cried out in his anger and his shame, I am leaving, I am leaving, but the fighter still remains." • We should thank God that Donald Trump still remains.