Trump says the stock market would crash if he were impeached: 'Everybody would be very poor' - CNBC News

Trump says the stock market would crash if he were impeached: 'Everybody would be very poor'
Trump says the stock market would plummet if he were to be removed from office.
"I don't know how you can impeach somebody who's done a great job," the president tells "Fox & Friends."
John Melloy | @johnmelloy
Published 7:08 AM ET Thu, 23 Aug 2018
CNBC.com
 Trrump on Fox News: 'If I ever got impeached, I think the market would crash' Trump on Fox News: 'If I ever got impeached, I think the market would crash'
23 Hours Ago | 01:01
President Donald Trump said the stock market would plummet if he were to be removed from office.

"If I ever got impeached, I think the market would crash. I think everybody would be very poor," the president said in a Fox News interview that aired Thursday.

"Because without this thinking, you would see numbers that you wouldn't believe in reverse," Trump said, pointing at his head. "I got rid of regulations. The tax cut was a tremendous thing."

The stock market has had little reaction so far to Trump's renewed legal troubles this week with two former advisors now guilty of criminal acts and one implicating him directly. The Dow fell slightly on Wednesday and stock futures were little changed Thursday morning. Traders say the market right now expects Trump to avoid impeachment unless the special counsel investigation can tie the president directly to collusion with Russia to sway the 2016 election.

The economy expanded at a 4.1 percent pace last quarter and the Atlanta Fed is forecasting 4.3 percent growth for this quarter. Under Trump, unemployment has fallen to 3.9 percent, around the lowest since 1969.

 Here’s how to impeach the president of the United States How to impeach the President of the United States
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The S&P 500 is up 7 percent for the year and on Wednesday its run since March 2009 became the longest bull market on record.

"I don't know how you can impeach somebody who's done a great job," the president told "Fox & Friends."

In the interview, Trump suggested it should be illegal for people facing prosecution to co-operate with the government for a reduced sentence, and he didn't rule out pardoning his former campaign chief and newly convicted felon Paul Manafort.

He also admitted he provided the hush money used by attorney Michael Cohen to suppress the allegations of two women that they had affairs with Trump. But he insisted he only knew about payments "later on," contradicting his former lawyer's sworn statement that Trump had directed him to make the payments. Trump has denied the affairs.

John McCain to discontinue medical treatment: Family statement - ABC News

August 24, 2018.

John McCain to discontinue medical treatment: Family statement


John McCain has decided to discontinue medical treatment, his family said.

The family released the following statement about his health on Friday:
"Last summer, Senator John McCain shared with Americans the news our family already knew: he had been diagnosed with an aggressive glioblastoma, and the prognosis was serious. In the year since, John has surpassed expectations for his survival. But the progress of disease and the inexorable advance of age render their verdict. With his usual strength of will, he has now chosen to discontinue medical treatment. Our family is immensely grateful for the support and kindness of all his caregivers over the last year, and for the continuing outpouring of concern and affection from John's many friends and associates, and the many thousands of people who are keeping him in their prayers. God bless and thank you all."

DiGenova: Sessions 'Doesn't Understand His Job' and 'Should Resign After Elections' - Fox News

August 24, 2018.

DiGenova: Sessions 'Doesn't Understand His Job' and 'Should Resign After Elections'

An Illinois mother says she was investigated by police and children's services after a neighbor reported her for allowing her eight-year-old daughter to walk their dog alone.
Mom Investigated by Police, Child Services...
The cover for the newest issue of TIME Magazine apparently portrays President Trump drowning at the White House.

Former federal prosecutor Joe diGenova said Thursday on a charged "Hannity" interview that Attorney General Jeff Sessions does not understand his job and should give President Trump the "courtesy of a resignation" after the midterm elections.

DiGenova -- a former U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia -- and Sean Hannity discussed how it would be politically unfavorable for Trump to ever fire Sessions.

"The President of the United States was and is entitled to a fully engaged attorney general. He has never had that," diGenova said. "Jeff Sessions has no command presence. He doesn't understand the job he has."

Japan's first woman fighter pilot to blaze a trail in skies - BBC News

August 24, 2018.

Japan's first woman fighter pilot to blaze a trail in skies

Misa Matsushima's childhood dream of being a fighter pilot was inspired by the 1986 US film Top Gun
A Japanese woman will be flying through the glass ceiling as she becomes her country's first female fighter pilot.

First Lieutenant Misa Matsushima, 26, will begin duty on Friday having completed her training to fly F-15s, Japan's military has announced.

"As the first female (fighter) pilot, I will open the way," she told reporters.

Japan's air force began recruiting women in 1993 - except as fighter jet and reconnaissance aircraft pilots. It lifted that final ban in late 2015.

"Ever since I saw the movie Top Gun when I was in primary school, I have always admired fighter jet pilots," the graduate of Japan's National Defence Academy told journalists.

"I wish to continue to work hard to fulfil my duty - not just for myself but also for women who will follow this path in the future."

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Three other women are currently training to join the elite group of fighter pilots.

The F-15J fighter jets they will pilot are twin-engine aircrafts designed for air-to-air combat with other jets. They can reach top speeds of about Mach 2.5 - 2.5 times the speed of sound or about 3,000 km/h (1,864 miles/h).

"The first female fighter pilot of the Air Self-Defence Force is born," a tweet (in Japanese) from the Japan Air Self-Defence Force said.

The 26-year-old had planned to fly transport planes before the final gender restriction on fighter pilots was lifted.

Women in Japan's work force
Japan has high levels of gender inequality, with many women expected to become housewives rather than having a career.

But faced with an aging population and shrinking workforce, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe pledged in 2013 to empower working women.

The armed forces has taken on his "womenomics" policy by planning to increase the number of women serving in the 228,000-strong air, sea and ground troops from the current 6.1% to 9% by 2030.

Earlier this year, Ryoko Azuma became the first woman to command a warship squadron.

"I don't think about being a woman. I will concentrate my energy on fulfilling my duties as commander," the 44-year-old said at the time, according to local media.

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When she joined the country's maritime self-defence force in 1996, women were not allowed to serve on warships. That ban was lifted a decade ago, but women are still barred from serving on submarines.

Breaking through Japan's male-dominated workplace remains a huge challenge in different fields, such as the corporate world where women face difficulties rising up the ranks.

Women are also still banned from competing professionally in Japan's national sport, sumo wrestling.

Despite the prime minister's efforts to improve the position of women in the workplace, the nation dropped from 111th to 114th in 2017's global gender equality rankings, according to the World Economic Forum.

Malcolm Turnbull: The 'refreshing' PM felled by revolts and revenge - BBC News

August 24, 2018.

Malcolm Turnbull: The 'refreshing' PM felled by revolts and revenge

Malcolm Turnbull failed to live up to his promise as prime minister.
Malcolm Turnbull began his Australian prime ministership in 2015 by declaring it was the most exciting time to be alive. Achievements followed but, as political historian Paul Strangio writes, so too did reality - and it bit hard.

What madness has infected Australian politics and why did Mr Turnbull, whose ascension to the job aroused such initial optimism, end so badly?

Partly it can be explained by the primal political passion of vengeance.

Malcolm Turnbull toppled Tony Abbott to become prime minister in September 2015.

As in the preceding Labor period of government when Julia Gillard felled Kevin Rudd as prime minister who thereafter waged a remorseless insurgency against her, Mr Abbott and his allies have been hell bent on retribution against Mr Turnbull since 2015.

On Friday, Mr Turnbull was overthrown by his Liberal Party colleagues in favour of his treasurer, Scott Morrison.

However Mr Turnbull's demise also has its origins in larger forces.

Rise unstoppable
Barrister, journalist, businessman, articulate and a renowned independent thinker, Mr Turnbull was long regarded as a coming man of Australian politics.

He entered the national parliament in a wealthy Sydney electorate in 2004 and served briefly as a minister in the final term of John Howard's Liberal-National coalition.

Malcolm Turnbull: How the party turned on Australia's PM
Following the Howard government's defeat by Mr Rudd's Labor Party in 2007, Mr Turnbull became the second of three Liberal opposition leaders.

He lost the position to Mr Abbott in an internal rebellion in 2009 that was catalysed by differences over climate change policy.

Mr Abbott and fellow conservatives bitterly resented Mr Turnbull's willingness to support the Rudd government's proposed emissions trading scheme.

When in September 2015 Mr Turnbull had his revenge on Mr Abbott, who had proved a deeply unpopular prime minister, there was a contagious optimism surrounding his ascension.

Mr Turnbull seemed a breath of fresh air following the dour muscular conservatism of his predecessor.

"There has never been a more exciting time to be alive and there has never been a more exciting time to be an Australian," he enthused.

He promised an "adult" conversation with the electorate rather than Mr Abbott's sloganeering. The public responded buoyantly: the government's and Mr Turnbull's personal ratings soared.

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Australians vent about political chaos
Party battle
A key aspect of Mr Turnbull's appeal in the electorate was that he was not regarded as a creature of his party.

Malcolm Turnbull was more popular with the electorate than his party, experts say
Autonomy between leader and party can be an asset for a PM in an era when major party bases are narrowing and there is growing divergence between residual party membership and majority public opinion.

It rapidly became apparent, however, that the dilemma facing Mr Turnbull was that to exercise policy autonomy from his party (particularly in totemic areas like climate change and same-sex marriage) risked internal revolt.

On the other hand, if he hewed closely to party views, especially to the more vocal conservative wing, he risked extinguishing his public popularity.

It was a dilemma Mr Turnbull never resolved.

Mr Turnbull's hope was that emphatic endorsement by voters at the 2016 election would deliver him the authority to assert himself within his government. It did not happen.

His popularity faltered as the initial expectations of him went unfulfilled and the constraints he was operating under grew manifest.

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Australia PM fails own popularity yardstick
The result - the government scraping back with a one-seat majority in the July 2016 election and its upper house position worsened - was a major setback for Turnbull.

His authority, rather than enhanced, was diminished and his internal critics, not reconciled to his leadership and deeply distrustful of his progressive leanings, were emboldened.

Beholden government
The Turnbull government had achievements. It presided over a same-sex marriage plebiscite and legalisation of same sex marriage, albeit via a private senator's bill.

Cheers and a sing-song: Turnbull's government achieved same-sex marriage
It refined school education funding, legislated tax cuts, and claimed credit for strong employment growth.

But the abiding impression was of a hedged prime minister who was consistently placating conservative opponents who would never be appeased.

As has been the case in Australia for two decades, action on climate change remained anathema to conservative warriors.

Mr Turnbull's twists and turns in that area in the face of their resistance culminated this week in abject surrender to become one of the last sorry acts of his leadership.

Australia PM in climate policy U-turn
Another problem for Mr Turnbull was that his pro-market instincts (another signature policy abandoned on his prime-ministerial deathbed was large corporate tax cuts) jarred with a public mood of economic insecurity in conditions of wage stagnation and declining housing affordability.

He seemed uncertain of how to adjust to the exhaustion of the neo-liberal policy regime that has been a defining and destabilising feature of international politics since the global financial crisis.

Mr Turnbull's Labor opponent, the unpopular but underestimated Bill Shorten, proved more attuned to the electorate's anxieties by advocating redistributionist measures.

There was great optimism in the party when Malcolm Turnbull seized the leadership
Equally, Labor regularly politically outwitted Mr Turnbull. For instance, it insistently called for a royal commission into the banks.

Mr Turnbull belatedly and grudgingly agreed, only to be embarrassed by the scandalous malfeasance the inquiry uncovered.

Why is Australia investigating its banks?
Final twist
Mr Turnbull's prime ministership fell far short of delivering on the heady optimism of September 2015. He joins Mr Rudd, Ms Gillard and Mr Abbott in a line of unfulfilled and short-term national leaders.

Can anyone hang on to Australia's top job?
At the same time, and despite the capitulations, he remained a bulwark against darker nativist, populist impulses circulating within the conservative side of politics in Australia (and internationally). His fundamental instincts are cosmopolitan and progressive.

The ironic twist to this bloody story is that the conservative faction ultimately failed to have its preferred candidate replace Mr Turnbull.

Cartoon: Planet of Forbidden Prime Ministers
Instead, the middle-ground Scott Morrison has emerged with the prime ministership.

Questions remain: will the conservatives rest with the outcome and what reckoning will voters deliver when they pass judgement on this internally racked government next year?

Paul Strangio is an associate professor of politics at Monash University and joint author of a two-volume history of the Australian prime ministership.

Scott Morrison is new Australian PM as Malcolm Turnbull ousted - BBC News

August 24, 2018.

Scott Morrison is new Australian PM as Malcolm Turnbull ousted

Scott Morrison tells reporters he plans to unite the party and the country
Scott Morrison has become Australia's new prime minister after Malcolm Turnbull was forced out by party rivals in a bruising leadership contest.

Mr Turnbull had been under pressure from poor polling and what he described as an "insurgency" by conservative MPs.

Mr Morrison, the treasurer, won an internal ballot 45-40 over former Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton - who had been Mr Turnbull's most vocal threat.

Mr Turnbull is the fourth Australian PM in a decade to be ousted by colleagues.

"It has been such a privilege to be the leader of this great nation. I love Australia. I love Australians," he said on Friday.

A PM felled by revolts and revenge
"Who needs Game of Thrones?" - Australians react to political chaos
Why was Turnbull forced out?

Media captionCan anyone hang on to Australia's top job?
With an election looming, MPs were nervous about the government's poor opinion polling and recent by-election defeats.

Last week, a row over energy policy ignited long-existing tensions between Mr Turnbull, a moderate, and his party's conservative wing.

Mr Dutton, a conservative, then unsuccessfully challenged Mr Turnbull on Tuesday, but his narrow defeat only stoked further discord.

Mr Morrison entered the race after Mr Turnbull lost key backers. After a majority of MPs called for a leadership "spill", Mr Turnbull agreed to step down.

To further complicate matters, Mr Turnbull has signalled he would resign from parliament, which would force a by-election and potentially put the government's one-seat majority at risk and force the new premier to call early elections.

However, Mr Morrison, who was sworn in on Friday, told reporters there were no plans to do this any time soon.

His government, he said, would be in place by next week.

Who is Morrison?
Mr Morrison, a former Tourism Australia official, entered parliament in 2007 and has since held three key ministerial portfolios.

A social conservative who appeals to the moderate elements of the Liberal party
Rose to national prominence as immigration minister in Tony Abbott's government
Built a reputation as a tough operator in enforcing Australia's hardline "stop the boats" policy
Drew criticism over the controversial asylum seeker policies and offshore detention centres
Seen as a pragmatic, ambitious politician who has long eyed the top job
The 50-year old father-of-two is a leading religious conservative and opposed last year's same-sex marriage bill.
Speaking to reporters after the vote on Friday, Mr Morrison said he would be working to "bring our party back together which has been bruised and battered this week" and bring the country together.

He also said dealing with a severe drought, which has hit parts of eastern Australia, would be "our most urgent and pressing need right now".

The rise of Scott Morrison, Australia's new PM
How has everyone reacted?
With a mixture of bemusement, anger and sheer frustration: many have described this week as one of the most chaotic in Australian political history.


Media captionHow the party turned on Malcolm Turnbull
In his final press briefing, Mr Turnbull called the week "madness" and thanked his colleagues for choosing Mr Morrison over Mr Dutton.

"We have so much going for us in this country. We have to be proud of it and cherish it," he said.

Six moments that defined Turnbull as PM
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The ex-cop who tried to oust Australia's PM
Mr Dutton said: "My course from here is to provide absolute loyalty to Scott Morrison, and make sure we win the election."

Foreign Minister Julie Bishop was also in the running for the leadership, but did not make it to the final round.

Now the battle for forgiveness
Hywel Griffith, BBC News in Canberra

So Australia has its 30th prime minister, but how long before the 31st?

Scott Morrison faces an enormous task not just in healing the wounds within his party, but in winning the forgiveness of the public.

Many Australians have watched on exasperated, as normal government business was suspended to settle a political feud.

Given that an election must be called by May, Mr Morrison's biggest challenge will be convincing the electorate that he should stay in power.

If he doesn't succeed, expect yet another PM by June.

Why is Australian politics so turbulent?
The past decade has been marked by a series of leadership coups, with three other sitting prime ministers deposed by party rivals.

Not a single leader in recent times has succeeded in serving a full term as prime minister, partly because elections come around so often - every three years - two years less than in the UK.

So in recent years, prime ministers unpopular in the polls - or with their colleagues - have been swiftly sacrificed from within.

Dave Sharma, a former Australian diplomat, says "an election is always just around the corner, meaning members of parliament are forever focused on their electoral survival - and less so on the national interest".

Four reasons why Australian politics is so crazy
Writing in the Sydney Morning Herald, Mr Sharma says "the steady drip of opinion polls and the relentless media cycle exacerbates the short-termism".

Under the Australian system, as in the UK, the prime minister is not directly elected by voters but is the leader of the party or coalition that can command a majority in parliament.