CNN Dunks on TACO Trump With Supercut of His Failed Two-Week Deadlines
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CNN Dunks on TACO Trump With Supercut of His Failed Two-Week Deadlines
President Donald Trump has given himself a two-week deadline to decide whether or not the U.S. will attack Iran. CNN points out that he’s given that exact same deadline many times before. When pressed by a reporter who asks for an actual date or timeline, Trump responds, “Well, two weeks or less, or if it’s a little more at the time I’d say…” and shrugging. Trump’s press secretary was pressed on the pattern Thursday after Trump promised to make a decision on Iran within two weeks.
A supercut of his two-week pledges aired last month when host Kasie Hunt had already identified the president’s troubling habit of letting his deadlines lapse with no action. Karoline Leavitt was pressed on his repeated use of the same tactic Thursday after Trump promised to make a decision on Iran within two weeks.
In the first clip, Trump tells a reporter on April 27 that he’ll know in approximately two weeks what his next moves were in relation to Russian President Vladimir Putin and his invasion of Ukraine. When pressed by a reporter who asks for an actual date or timeline, Trump responds, “Well, two weeks or less, or if it’s a little more at the time I’d say…” and shrugging. ADVERTISEMENT
In the next, filmed on May 19, he tells another reporter that he’d rather answer their question about what will happen next in Ukraine in “about two weeks”.
Hunt then draws viewers’ attention to the timestamps on those videos, pointing out that, once again on May 28, Trump had avoided answering questions about Russia and Ukraine by postponing the issue by another two weeks.
Almost a month later, there has been no further acknowledgement of the fact that the president’s two-week deadline has been and gone with no sign of a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine in sight.
Trump’s press secretary was pressed on the pattern Thursday. “He’s used this phrase about two weeks several times, in terms of ’We expect a two-week deadline,’ and then you give another two-week deadline. How can we be sure that he’s gonna stick to this one, making a decision on Iran?” a reporter asked Leavitt.
After initially blaming the issue on President Biden and the fact that Trump “inherited“ the conflicts of Russia-Ukraine and Israel-Iran from the “previous, incompetent president,” Leavitt suggested that Trump’s fixation on a self-imposed two-week timeline was born from a desire to find diplomatic solutions to problems.
Leavitt told reporters, “The last time the president said two weeks, you saw [Russia and Ukraine] have direct negotiations for the first time in years.”
Newsom Ripped for Going on ‘Pod Save America’ While L.A. Burns
Gavin Newsom appeared on Pod Save America’s X account on Saturday. In a preview clip, Newsom said he wasn’t getting “straight answers” from local leaders. Many in the comments below the post were incensed that he would take the time to go on a podcast amid the wildfires. The California governor’s office defended the decision to appear on the show as an awareness-raising endeavor. The fires have killed at least 11 people, displaced more than 100,000, and destroyed around 12,000 structures.Donald Trump has been outspoken in blaming the Democratic governor for the fires (referring to him exclusively by the nickname “Newscum”). However, the governor previously dismissed Trump’s criticism of him as “this guy wanted to politicize it,” he told CNN on Thursday.“The Governor is solely focused on the response and getting out critical updates and resources wherever Californians get their news,’” wrote Brandon Richards, a spokesperson for the governor.
Gavin Newsom is being ripped for his decision to go on Pod Save America while his state is being devastated by wildfires.
The California governor’s sit-down appearance on the progressive political podcast only adds to the deluge of criticism he and other Democrats have already faced for the response to the fires.
The episode, in which Newsom discusses the crisis in his state for more than 30 minutes, appeared on Saturday. But it was a preview clip, posted to Pod Save America’s X account on Friday night, that first stoked controversy.
Gavin Newsom surveys damage from the wildfire in Pacific Palisades. / MediaNews Group/Orange County Re / MediaNews Group via Getty Images
Pressed by host Jon Favreau about his response to the fires, Newsom seemed to pass the blame onto Southern California’s local leadership.
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“I want to get the answers,” Newsom says in the clip. “And I’ll be candid with you, I wasn’t getting straight answers.”
“We had my team start talking with local leaders, saying, ‘What’s going on?’ I was getting different answers. When you start getting different answers, then I’m not getting the actual story.”
Newsom’s remarks aside, many people in the comments below the post were incensed that he would take the time to go on a podcast amid the wildfires.
“Wait, Newsom did a podcast today?” wrote user @Estril01. “He couldn’t find a better way to use his time?”
The sentiment was echoed by user @DavidSh66283242, who wrote, “Going on a podcast while the fires are still burning? Guys this is embarrassing.”
Many, including country musician Justin van Sant, suggested that the appearance was an effort to do damage control on Newsom’s political standing during the crisis.
“He such a slick politician,” van Sant wrote. “He’s no longer worried about saving lives, Newsom is solely worried about saving his political capital and saving face.”
Stephen L. Miller, a contributing editor at The Spectator, was quick to mock Newsom for appearing on the show
“I can’t talk right now. I have to go on Pod Save America.” pic.twitter.com/iLXQ9qSdWG — Stephen L. Miller (@redsteeze) January 11, 2025
“‘I can’t talk right now. I have to go on Pod Save America,’” Miller, inhabiting Newsom’s perspective, wrote below the preview clip.
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In a statement to the Daily Beast, the governor’s office defended the decision to go on the show as an awareness-raising endeavor.
“The Governor is solely focused on the response and getting out critical updates and resources wherever Californians get their news—it’s 2025, that includes one of the largest podcasts in the country, with hosts that call the impacted LA area home,” wrote Brandon Richards, a spokesperson for the governor.
The fires have killed at least 11 people, displaced more than 100,000, and destroyed around 12,000 structures, according to The Associated Press.
Donald Trump has been outspoken in blaming the Democratic governor for the fires (referring to him exclusively by the nickname “Newscum”).
However, the governor previously dismissed Trump’s criticism of him.
“People are literally fleeing, people have lost their lives, kids lost their schools, families completely torn asunder, churches burned down,” he told CNN on Thursday. “This guy wanted to politicize it.”
On Friday, though, Newsom announced that his office would probe one of the complaints Trump has repeatedly raised—the fact that some fire hydrants ran dry as firefighters sought to battle the flames.
In a letter directed to the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power—which Newsom posted to his X account—he wrote, “We need answers to how that happened.”
NEW: I am calling for an independent investigation into the loss of water pressure to local fire hydrants and the reported unavailability of water supplies from the Santa Ynez Reservoir.
We need answers to ensure this does not happen again and we have every resource available to… pic.twitter.com/R0vq0wwZph — Gavin Newsom (@GavinNewsom) January 10, 2025
Appearing on the podcast, he explained the decision to investigate what went wrong wasn’t motivated by a desire to assign blame.
“Let’s just get the facts and let’s get ‘em out quickly,” he told Favreau. “Let’s stop the finger pointing. Let’s just assess the truth. I’m not interested in who’s to blame. I wanna know what happened.”
Newsom said his main focus right now, though, “is saving lives and making sure people get out.”
Newsom Vows to Crash Trump’s Wildfire Devastation Tour
California Governor Gavin Newsom has vowed to crash President Donald Trump’s Friday trip to Los Angeles to survey wildfire damage in the state. Newsom said he plans on a courteous greeting for the MAGA chief, despite the barrage of insults Trump has thrown his way throughout the disaster. The Democrat on Thursday attempted to downplay his conflict with Trump as a “sideshow” that has dominated headlines in recent weeks, assuring that even if Trump is ignoring his calls, he still has a line to the president. Trump invited Sen. Adam Schiff (D-CA) to join the visit. That would be the same Sen. Schiff who Trump called “scum’ from the Oval Office mere hours after his inauguration this week.
California Governor Gavin Newsom vowed to crash President Donald Trump’s Friday trip to Los Angeles to survey wildfire damage in the state.
Newsom said he plans on a courteous greeting for the MAGA chief, despite the barrage of insults Trump has thrown his way throughout the disaster—including repeatedly branding him “Newscum.” For his part, Newsom has accused Trump of politicizing the state’s emergency.
A view of flames at the mountain as seen from Topanga Canyon near Pacific Palisades in Topanga, Los Angeles, California on January 9, 2025. / Anadolu / Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu via Getty Images
Despite the tension, Newsom told reporters he’d show up to greet Trump regardless of whether or not the president invites him.
“I look forward to being there on the tarmac to thank the president, welcome him, and we’re making sure that all the resources he needs for a successful briefing are provided to him,” Newsom said Thursday.
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He was speaking from Pasadena after signing two bills pledging $2.5 billion in state recovery after the fires killed at least 28 people and decimated around 17,000 structures. “There’s no limit to the resources we’ll provide for that briefing,” he added.
Politico reported that Newsom and Trump haven’t spoken since Trump left the White House in 2020. The president has also not been retuning Newsom’s recent calls, the report added.
The Democrat on Thursday attempted to downplay his conflict with Trump as a “sideshow” that has dominated headlines in recent weeks, assuring that even if Trump is ignoring his calls, he still has a line to the president.
Newsom said he has “a lot of relationships in the Trump world; a lot of relationships of trust. I communicate with a lot of folks around him, folks that have his ear and influence.”
🚨 President Trump is on his way to North Carolina and Los Angeles, California to tour damage from Hurricane Helene and the recent fires:
“We’re going to get it fixed up. It should’ve been done months ago.” pic.twitter.com/ZVYPdFVlGN — Trump War Room (@TrumpWarRoom) January 24, 2025
Politico’s Playbook separately reported Friday that perhaps the most unlikely trio might have assembled for Trump’s visit if it wasn’t for scheduling conflicts.
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The newsletter said Trump invited Sen. Adam Schiff (D-CA) to join the visit. That would be the same Sen. Schiff who Trump called “scum“ from the Oval Office mere hours after his inauguration this week.
“Senator Schiff greatly appreciates the President’s visit to see the devastation of these wildfires firsthand and the invitation to accompany him, and regrets that he’s unable to join the President in Los Angeles due to scheduled nomination votes,” a spokesperson for Schiff told CNN.
When asked about the surprising invitation on Friday morning, Trump denied knowing anything about it.
“Is he going? I don’t know. I mean, I really don’t know,” Trump told reporters before departing the White House for the trip. “You know, if he’s going to be there it would be cheaper but I didn’t invite him. Somebody did.”