Readout of the President’s Call with Governor Rick Scott of Florida

Readout of the President’s Call with Governor Rick Scott of Florida

The President spoke by phone today with Governor Rick Scott of Florida regarding the suspected case of mosquito transmission of Zika announced by the Florida Department of Health. This case would be the first documented Zika infection caused by a mosquito in the Continental United States.  The President recognized Florida's strong record of responding aggressively to local outbreaks of mosquito-borne viruses like Zika, and offered Federal support and technical assistance for Florida's ongoing case investigation and mosquito control efforts. He acknowledged Florida's close coordination with the Department of Health and Human Services and the CDC for Zika preparedness. The President also noted during the call that in addition to the $2 million that CDC has provided to Florida for Zika preparedness, CDC is anticipating it will award Florida $5.6 million in Zika funding through a CDC grant to be awarded this week.

MSNBC Panel On Melania Trump’s Plagiarized Speech: “This Turns This Night Into A Catastrophe”

RACHEL MADDOW: We've had a remarkableturn of events. 

BRIAN WILLIAMS: Something has happened, you might say. 

MADDOW: This started on social media, people on Twitter first started circulating sort of eyebrow-raising claims about Melania Trump's speech this evening. That led us, because it started to pick up a lot of speed online, it led to us go dig up the archival material and check these claims. And it does appear that are some unusual similarities, some unusual, very tight parallels between Melania Trump's speech tonight and Michelle Obama's speech in a similar position in the 2008 Democratic nominating convention for her husband, Barack Obama. 

WILLIAMS: We haveput together just the first rudimentaryvideo comparisons from tonight to '08. As with a lot of things on the appropriately named social media, this started with one person, kind of the butterfly effect. By the time most Americans wake up tomorrow morning, this will likely be a thing. Here now the most rudimentary edit of the passages being highlighted.

[...]

STEVE SCHMIDT: Really the highlight of tonight's speech -- the highlight of tonight's activities was Melania Trump's speech. This turns this night into a catastrophe. This is a plagiarized speech, hands down, game, set, match on that. What an outrageous disservice to Melania Trump by the speech writers on that campaign. Nicole Wallace talked earlier today about the fact that the Trump campaign such as it is is not configured like a normalpolitical campaign. And maybe you don't need to be configured like a normal campaign. We know tonight, as you watch the incongruity between the speeches, the lack of a theme, the lack of a connection, the day starting off with the targeting and attacking the Ohio governor, right through the end of the program. Hamilton on Broadway is a great show, a great production, no one leaves it early. Tonight, in the middle of a show, and be clear, this is a show, a lot of people left it early. This is not a good first night, and now you have brought scandal to a prospective First Lady in the form of her convention speech. Just an outrageous incompetence and disservice to her by that campaign. 

[...]

CHRIS MATTHEWS: It's devastating and dumb, and here's my question, and it's open to everyone: There was a speech writer,someone did a draft with all these, as Lawrence pointed out perfectly, obviously lifted, the whole thing's lifted, all these chunks of words all in the same sequence, follow the same sequence with the same words. This is plagiarism, and the question is, the speech writer who drafted this knew where he or she got it, Lawrence, they knew they got it from Michelle Obama's speech in the same circumstance, and then they delivered it to their boss, to their client. Why would they do that? Why would they do it on purpose? Because this is purposeful. I know it sounds spooky to say sabotage, but it was so purposeful, you wonder what was the purpose except to sabotage? Because somebody was going to figure this out, and they did, and they got it into the news cycle. We're not even into the morning editions yet. And this is deadly. And I only say sabotage because it's so clear cut that the person who did this did this on purpose. That's what's so hard to figure out, guys.

RNC Convention Day 1 #betterthanthis

NeverTrump made their last stand. The convention floor erupted into chaos. The convention chair abandoned the stage. Credentials were hurled to the floor. People screamed. I am serious. Share the video! 

Scott Baio clarified that Donald Trump was "not a messiah." (related: Scott Baio spoke at the RNC on their national security night)

Donald Trump decided to call into FOX News during the speech of a mother who had lost her son in Benghazi.

Former underwear model Antonio Sabato Jr. got real mad about undocumented immigration.

Donald Trump aired an interview on the GOLF CHANNEL during the speech of a father who lost his son to a shooting.

Rudy Giuliani yelled louder than Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump and Hillary combined and I can not WAIT to hear all the experts complain about it and offer him unsolicited advice about voice modulation tomorrow. Seriously try to unsee this.

Donald Trump appeared in a dry ice silhouette while Freddie Mercury played because LOL NOTHING MATTERS. 

Here's what you need to know about last night's GOP convention speaking line up:

Willie Robertson

This Duck Dynasty star, well-known for defending his father's attacks on LGBT Americans, thinks we need someone who "talks tough" like Donald Trump does.

Christian Today: 'Duck Dynasty' star Willie Robertson sees no issue with Donald Trump's controversial comments: 'We need somebody tough'

Former Governor Rick Perry

Himself no moderate, Perry has called Trump "a cancer on conservativism," "a barking carnvial act," and attacked Trump's policies as "a toxic mix of demagoguery and nonsense."

Rick Perry: [Trump] offers a barking carnival act that can be best described as Trumpism: a toxic mix of demagoguery, mean-spiritedness and nonsense that will lead the Republican Party to perdition if pursued...Let no one be mistaken – Donald Trump’s candidacy is a cancer on conservatism, and it must be clearly diagnosed, excised and discarded.

Scott Baio

Why should Scott Baio be held accountable for Tweeting divisive graphics that someone else noticed? Because he's representing Donald Trump's campaign for the presidency, and Donald Trump already does enough to make himself appear unfit for our nation's highest office.

Twichy: Convention speaker Scott Baio under fire for sharing ‘best meme out there’ about Hillary Clinton #RNCinCLE 

Antonio Sabato, Jr.

Another of Trump's former television "stars" appearing at tonight's convention, Antonio Sabato, Jr. is the perfect Hollywood foil to The Donald. Divisive in his own right, Sabato, Jr. thinks Donald Trump has "got a point in everything," wants to send "illegal aliens coming in here illegally...back home," and definitely thinks "we need a wall" with Mexico.

Antonio Sabato, Jr.: But he’s got a point in everything.  We’re talking about illegal aliens coming in here illegally … Everybody is walking over the boarders or crawling or coming there illegally, and it’s an illegal issue. So, we have to send them back home

Antonio Sabato, Jr.: We need a wall.  Do you have a wall at your house? I do, and I personally wouldn’t want it open for everybody to come in. This country needs protection. In some parts, there’s nothing there at all and everybody just walking in.

Rep. Mike McCaul [R-TX]

Rep. McCaul may want to increase deportations and he sure was bummed by the Supreme Court's ruling against Texas's anti-women's health law, but even he is no fan of Donald Trump's Muslim ban, and he's warned that Trump's statements could be used by ISIS to recruit. (Fact check: TRUE)

Breitbart: McCaul warned that “inflammatory statements” in America against Muslims were “counterproductive” to national security efforts would likely be used by ISIS in their propaganda material.“They take things like this and then they spin it to their advantage to inflame the Muslim world to get more recruits to join the cause,” he said.

Milwaukee County Sheriff David A. Clarke, Jr.

It's easy to see why Sheriff Clarke was chosen to speak at Trump's convention (and no, it's not because of his five-pointed sheriff's star). Rather, Sheriff Clarke wants to patrol Muslim neighborhoods, he's stated that "blacks sell drugs and involve themselves in criminal behavior...because they're uneducated, they're lazy, and they're morally bankrupt," and has claimed that "Black Lives Matter will join forces with ISIS to bring down our legal constituted republic."

Fox Business: During an interview on the FOX Business Network’s Varney & Co., Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clarke discussed his support for patrolling Muslim neighborhoods, and suggested that U.S. law enforcement has already been successfully invoking this type of policing.

Sheriff David Clarke: Let me tell you why blacks sell drugs and involve themselves in criminal behavior instead of a more socially acceptable lifestyle — because they're uneducated, they're lazy, and they're morally bankrupt

Sheriff David Clarke: Before long, Black Lies Matter will join forces with ISIS to being down our legal constituted republic. You heard it first here.

Rep. Sean Duffy [R-WI]

Both a former reality TV personality and an extremely conservative member of Congress, Sean Duffy would seem to be the ideal Trump surrogate - he has defended white male voters who feel like "their country has been taken away." But even he doesn't like Donald Trump's comments about women, and he's outright said that Trump "doesn't have any ideas" to make America safer.

Rep. Sean Duffy: And I think what you do is, you have a lot of white male voters who have kind of been forgotten, who haven't gone to the polls and voted.You're going to see a rise of the white male voter who feels like they're not secure, their country has been taken away. 

Republican Senate Candidate Darryl Glenn

Colorado Senate wannabe Darryl Glenn is a pea in a climate change-denying pod with Donald Trump. Given his staunch opposition to women's right to make their own health care decisions, we're sure he and Mike Pencewill have a lot to chat about backstage tonight.

Darryl Glenn: Climate change, we can debate that until the cows come home, for lack of a better way of stating that. The bottom line is, I do not believe that man is contributing to that factor.

Colorado Independent: “Listen up, Planned Parenthood,” [Glenn] said, promising to defund the women’s health organization that provides abortions if any tax money goes toward — his words— the dismemberment of babies.

Senator Tom Cotton [R-AR]

With his mix of Pence-like extreme opposition to women's right to make their own health decisions and his dangerous attempt to undermine national security to boost his own name recognition, Tom Cotton is a true rising start in the Party of Trump.

Tom Cotton: I deeply believe that Roe v. Wade was wrongly decided and that it should be-and will be-overturned someday.

Washington Post: “I would use the word mutinous,” said Eaton, whose long career includes training Iraqi forces from 2003 to 2004. He is now a senior adviser to VoteVets.org. “I do not believe these senators were trying to sell out America. I do believe they defied the chain of command in what could be construed as an illegal act.” Eaton certainly had stern words for Cotton.

Senator Jeff Sessions [R-AL]

A top Trump surrogate who was once a serious contender in the race to be Trump's veep, even Senator Jeff Sessions hasn't been immune from criticizing Trump - stating that he wishes Trump had a better understanding of the world, and claiming that Trump will have to answer for his comments about women.

Jeff Sessions: Well, I think [Trump]'s going to need to learn. He's going to need to understand really completely -- as you know, Martha, how complex this world is, even within Baghdad and the region around Baghdad -- Kurds, al Anbar, Sunni, Shia, Iranians, so forth. It's just a very, very complex world and you have to be careful when you commit a military force.

Jon Karl: Senator Sessions, let me pick it up right where we left off with Chairman Priebus. He talked about this article in The New York Times, about Trump's relationship with women and said there are things in here that he is going to have to answer for. Do you agree with that?
Jeff Sessions: Well, of course, he has to answer and people will ask those questions and they've got 20 or -- they've got hundreds, I suppose.

Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani

If you like Donald Trump's divisive attacks on President Obama, you'll love Rudy Giuliani! The former mayor and failed presidential candidate has claimed that President Obama "doesn't love America," and in the wake of recent tragedies, he claimed that the "real danger" to African Americans is "that black kid who is going to shoot you."

Rudy Giuliani: I do not believe, and I know this is a horrible thing to say, but I do not believe that the president loves America. He doesn’t love you. And he doesn’t love me. He wasn’t brought up the way you were brought up and I was brought up through love of this country.

New York Daily News:  Former Mayor Rudy Giuliani believes the "real danger" to the black community is "that black kid who is going to shoot you," rather than police.Giuliani said in an interview with MSNBC's Brian Williams that black people should be thankful to officers for fighting crime instead of supporting anti-brutality groups such as Black Lives Matter.

U.S. Army Lt. General Michael T. Flynn, Ret.

A pal of Putin who sat on the board of an anti-Muslim advocacy group, we're still shocked Donald Trump didn't select Flynn as his vice president. But don't worry, Mike Pence was definitely his first choice. 

Daily Beast: Three former U.S. officials said that a trip Flynn took last December to Moscow—where he was filmed sitting at the head table next to Russian President Vladimir Putin during a formal dinner—set off alarms within military and intelligence circles over whether Flynn had notified the U.S. government about his foreign travel, as his security clearance requires. 

Michael Flynn: The immigration of radical Islamists into Europe and those attempting to enter our own country--all must be stopped to determine what we have or as a minimum, severely slowed to better control the impact inside our country. 

Southern Poverty Law Center: ACT defends itself against charges of broad-brush hatred of Muslims by claiming to promote the efforts of “reformist” Muslims such as Tawfik Hamid, an Egyptian author who opposes Islamic fundamentalism. In 2009...in a column written for The Washington Examiner, Hamid was one of the first to spread the groundless fear of Shariah law. “Concessions to Islamic Shariah law can serve as a provocation to radical Islam, as it gives the radicals the impression that the West should bow to their Islamic laws.”

Sen. Joni Ernst [R-IA]

Joni Ernst fits right in with tonight's line up of GOP convention speakers: extreme opposition to women's rights to make their own health decisions and divisive attacks that only serve to divide Americans, but still not down with Trump's Muslim ban. 

Quad-City Times: Abortion...Ernst is opposed, including in cases of rape and incest.

Joni Ernst: Offering voter registration forms in foreign languages is not only unlawful but serves to segregate our population, rather than unify.

Omaha World Herald: Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, rejected Donald Trump’s proposal this week to bar Muslims from entering the country, at least temporarily.“I don’t agree with his statement,” Ernst said. “Freedom of religion is a foundational principle of our republic.”

Jason Beardsley, Concerned Veterans for America
As Special Operations Adviser for the Koch-backed Concerned Veterans for America, Beardsley must be well aware of his group's criticism of Trump's veterans plan, which we've previously highlighted focuses on moving toward privatizing the VA. Concerned Veterans for America called Trump's plan "painfully thin on specifics about how he would implement" his proposals.

Daily Caller: Veterans’ Group Not Happy With Trump’s Plan To Make The VA Great Again

Concerned Veterans for America: While Donald Trump rightly proposes more health care choices for veterans and long-overdue accountability for bad VA employees, his "plan" is painfully thin on specifics about how he would implement those principles.

Rep. Ryan Zinke [R-MT]

Zinke, himself the recipient of a campaign donation from the leader of a white supremacist group, is the perfect end note to tonight's convention speakers. Zinke voted against federal funding for Planned Parenthood, he opposes allowing women to serve in combat roles but co-sponsored a bill to require women to register for the draft "to make a point." Clearly no moderate, even Zinke disagrees with Trump's plan for mass deportations of immigrants.

Billings Gazette: U.S. Rep. Ryan Zinke of Montana is among a group of Republicans who received donations from the leader of a white supremacist group cited by Charleston church murder suspect Dylann Roof. Documents show Earl Holt, the leader of the Council of Conservative Citizens, made a $500 donation to Zinke's election campaign in October 2014. Holt listed ‘slumlord’ as his occupation on the document.

KXLH: Rep. Ryan Zinke, R-Mont., also has voted to block federal funds for Planned Parenthood. Zinke wants to stop the funding for one year and give it to other clinics, while the U.S. House investigates whether Planned Parenthood illegally sold ‘aborted baby body parts,’ said his spokeswoman, Heather Swift.

Washington Post: Ryan Zinke (R-Mont.), a former Navy SEAL, introduced legislation on Thursday to compel young women to register for the Selective Service, the agency responsible for implementing a draft. For Hunter and Zinke, the bill does not mark a change of heart, but serves as a way to make a point.

Great Falls Tribune: Asked to name an issue where Zinke disagrees with Trump, Swift cited the businessman's vow to deport immigrants.

Donald Trump Accused Of Rape In Federal Court Lawsuit

UPDATED WITH VIDEO

Published with permission from Alternet. A new lawsuit filed in Manhattan Federal Court alleges that Donald Trump repeatedly raped a 13-year-old girl a little over 20 years ago. According to the now-adult woman's filing, the sexual assaults took place at parties held by Jeffrey Epstein, the billionaire former hedge funder who pleaded guilty in 2008 to…

Escaped Broward murder suspect armed, has help: Sheriff

Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel said Saturday his detectives have information that indicates Dayonte Resiles has obtained a weapon and is getting assistance. Without providing details, Israel said Resiles planned the escape.

He said search warrants are being served and thefocus remains on South Florida, but Resilies could be anywhere. He said a nationwide alert has been issued. Rewards totaling $20,000 have been offered.Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel said Saturday his detectives have information that indicates Dayonte Resiles has obtained a weapon and is getting assistance. Without providing details, Israel said Resiles planned the escape.

He said search warrants are being served and thefocus remains on South Florida, but Resilies could be anywhere. He said a nationwide alert has been issued. Rewards totaling $20,000 have been offered.

Democratic National Convention Lineup Announced

We are a little over a week away from the 2016 Democratic National Convention. The convention will be held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania at the Wells Fargo Center. The event will be held July 25 – 28 and will include delegates from all 50 states, Washington, DC, and U.S. territories. The main purpose of the convention is the formal nomination of the Democratic Party’s presidential and vice-presidential candidates. The Democratic Party has announced the lineup for each day of the convention and the details are below: Monday (7/25): United Together Featuring First Lady Michelle Obama, Senator Bernie Sanders and DREAMer Astrid Silva Gavel time expected at 3:00pm Monday will focus on putting the future of American families front and center and how we're stronger together when we build an economy that works for everyone, not just those at the top and when everyone has a chance to live up to their God-given potential. DREAMer Astrid Silva will share her story and her fight to keep families together. Tuesday (7/26): A Lifetime of Fighting for Children and Families President Bill Clinton and Mothers of the Movement Gavel time expected at 4:00pm Tuesday will feature the roll call vote and how Hillary has spent her entire career working to make a difference for children, families, and our country. The Mothers of the Movement participating include Gwen Carr, Mother of Eric Garner; Sybrina Fulton, Mother of Trayvon Martin; Maria Hamilton, Mother of Dontré Hamilton; Lucia McBath, Mother of Jordan Davis; Lezley McSpadden, Mother of Michael Brown; Cleopatra Pendleton-Cowley, Mother of Hadiya Pendleton; Geneva Reed-Veal, Mother of Sandra Bland. Wednesday (7/27): Working Together President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden Gavel time expected at 4:30pm On Wednesday speakers will take an in-depth look at just how high the stakes are in this election and how Hillary has the experience and steadiness to bring people together to tackle the big challenges and get real results. Thursday (7/28): Stronger Together Hillary Clinton and Chelsea Clinton Gavel time expected at 4:30pm On the final day of the convention, Hillary will speak about her vision for our country – her belief that we are stronger together and that America is at its best when we work together to solve our problems. The convention will have a large online presence and you can follow along on their website (demconvention.com), Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. You can sign up to volunteer at the convention by visiting the Volunteer Opportunities page. More details will be released as the convention nears; however, mark your calendars now as this year’s convention looks like it is going to make history!

Hillary Clinton Statement on Attempted Coup in Turkey

On Friday, military factions attempted to seize control in Turkey. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has returned to Istanbul as it has become clear that the coup has failed. United States President Barack Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry have both pledged their support for the Turkish leadership. Hillary Clinton released a statement calling for every to respect and support "the democratically elected civilian government." A copy of the statement is below. "I am following the fast-moving developments in Turkey tonight with great concern.  We should all urge calm and respect for laws, institutions, and basic human rights and freedoms – and support for the democratically elected civilian government.  All parties should work to avoid further violence and bloodshed, and the safety of American citizens and diplomatic missions must be ensured." News Source: The New York Times