Former Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff was not interested in shaking the hand of a man who refused to do the same with former Vice President Kamala Harris, his wife.
As vice president, Harris swore in members of the Senate earlier this month. That included Sen. Den Fischer (R-NE), whose husband Bruce Fischerrefused
to shake Harris’s hand when she extended it for a shake.
Before President Donald Trump was inaugurated on Monday, Harris and Emhoff attended a ceremonial tea, which the Fischers also attended because the senator served as Trump’s inauguration co-chair. According to CNN, Bruce Fischer attempted
to shake Emhoff’s hand and was rejected:
At the ceremonial tea at the White House before the motorcades headed to the US Capitol, the former second gentleman refused a handshake from Bruce Fischer, the husband of inauguration co-chair Nebraska Sen. Deb Fischer, a person familiar with the interaction tells CNN.
The tense moment came after a viral exchange earlier this month when Fischer’s husband did not shake Harris’ hand as they stood in the old Senate chamber at the beginning of January for the traditional repetition of the oath and family photo with the vice president. At one point during the interaction Harris encouraged Fischer’s husband forward, saying, “I’m not going to bite, don’t worry.”
After they finished and Harris shook the third-term senator’s hand in congratulations, she reached out to Bruce Fischer, who looked down at her hand and said “thank you.”
A full-length image of the interaction shows that the GOP senator’s husband was holding a cane with one hand and the Bible for his wife’s swearing-in with his other. But the awkwardness of the moment was evident from Harris’ widened eyes and clenched teeth smile.
And it was still on Emhoff’s mind on Monday: “Why would you try to shake my hand,” he told Bruce Fischer according to the person familiar with the interaction, “when you wouldn’t shake my wife’s hand?”
CNN said that neither the senator nor Harris were involved. Bruce Fischer, the report stated, later apologized.
“And by the time they headed to the car to the Capitol, tempers had cooled and there was a cordial conversation which touched on golf, among other things,” CNN added.
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) said Americans should not be equating the pardons issued by President Trump and former President Biden.
Sanders joined CNN’s “The Source” on Tuesday evening, where he was asked about the flurry of executive action from Trump, including pardons for Jan. 6 rioters
, and how some are comparing it to the pardons seen from Biden before he left office.
“What I think is that he was worried that, given all of Trump’s rhetoric, that [Biden] was going to go after his family and close associates,” Sanders said. “All right, that’s a concern, but don’t equate the two.”
Sanders said he doesn’t know anyone in Trump’s family that attempted to overthrow the U.S. government.
“What Trump is saying to the world is that it is okay for you to attack police officers when you have a mind to do that,” he said. “And I think that is an outrageous message to send to the world.”
Sanders admitted that the argument could be made about whether it was the right or wrong thing for Biden to preemptively pardon his family members but said still, “It has nothing to do with what Trump did today.”
Biden’s move to pardon family was an unprecedented use of power on his last day in office. He was concerned that in his second administration, Trump would follow through on his threats of retribution. The issue divided Democrats, with some agreeing with the pardon and some disagreeing with the action.
Once Trump took office, he moved swiftly to pardon nearly all rioters who stormed the Capitol four years ago.
Sanders said Tuesday that it “says a lot” that Trump would pardon them, particularly as a supporter of law enforcement.
“To tell the entire world that we’re going to pardon people who attacked and hurt police officers is telling,” Sanders said. “I think that is a horrible message and I strongly disagree with his pardoning of those insurrectionists.”
In his first news conference since returning to the Oval Office, Trump defended supporters who were convicted of violent crimes — and condemned political opponents
PoliticusUSA is ad-free and completely reader-supported. You can support our work by becoming a subscriber.Subscribe nowRachel Maddow devoted the first half of her show on Tuesday to the concept of
President Trump ‘s administration is directing that all federal diversity, equity and inclusion staff be put on paid leave, and that agencies develop plans to lay them off, according to a memo Tuesday from the Office of Personnel Management.
A Danish Member of the European Parliament had some pointed words for President Donald Trump.
As he did during his first term, Trump has expressed interest in attempting to acquire Greenland
– the large and autonomous Danish territory between Canada and Iceland. Politicians in Denmark and Greenland have said the territory is not for sale.
During a meeting of the European Parliament in Strasbourg on Tuesday, MP Anders Vistisen addressed the U.S. president’s fixation with the island:
Dear President Trump, listen very carefully. Greenland have been part of the Danish kingdom for 800 years. It’s an integrated part of our country. It is not for sale. Let me put it in words you might understand. Mr. Trump, fuck off.
Vistisen’s message drew a rebuke from Parliament’s vice president.
“If the translation was correct, the term you used is not allowed in this house and there will be consequences to the message you have used,” said
Nicolae Stefanuta. “It is not ok in this house of democracy. Regardless of what we think of Mr. Trump, it is not possible to use such language.”
Last week, the prime minister of Greenland made it clear that the territory has no intention of becoming American.
“We will always be part of NATO,” Prime Minister Mute Egede told
Fox News. “We will always be a strong partner for U.S. We are close neighbors, we have been cooperating in the last 80 years, and I think the future have a lot to offer to cooperate with, but we want to also be clear. We don’t want to be Americans, we don’t want to be a part of U.S., but we want a strong cooperation together with U.S.”
New York City Mayor Eric Adams (D) said the Democratic Party “left” him and the working class behind as much of his own party has distanced themselves from him and he faces poor polling numbers.
Adams told political commentator and former Fox News host Tucker Carlson in an interview
that aired on Tuesday that those in the “orbit” of the Justice Department under the Biden administration felt he was “not a good Democrat,” leading to his indictment
on multiple federal charges, including bribery and wire fraud. He has denied the allegations and pleaded not guilty.
Adams said he believes he was indicted because he complained about the state of U.S. immigration policy and an influx of migrants into New York City.
Carlson asked Adams if the indictment was punishment for complaining, and Adams said, “That is my belief based on several aspects of it,” but said he couldn’t go into details. Adams has previously alleged without evidence that the charges against him were politically motivated.
“People often say, ‘You don’t sound like a Democrat. You seem to have left the party,’” Adams said. “No, the party left me, and it left working-class people.”
“People are concerned about the future of their families, and that should be our focus, and that’s the focus of this administration,” he added.
Adams faces a significant challenge as he mounts a reelection campaign with the Democratic primary in June. His trial is set to begin in April, and numerous challengers have jumped into the race against him.
Former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) appears poised
to also enter the race as soon as next month, potentially giving Adams an opponent with strong name recognition and fundraising ability.
While not much polling has been conducted in the race yet, the early surveys show Adams has a significant deficit to make up for. Surveys after Adams’s indictment showed his approval rating plummeting and most voters wanting him to resign.
A poll released last week showed
Adams with 6 percent support in the first round of a hypothetical ranked-choice voting matchup.
Adams avoided commenting on a question from Carlson about his reaction to the possibility of Cuomo entering the race, but he said he’s a “firm believer” that he’s not running against anyone and is just “running against myself.”
“We have to run our race, and so no matter who’s in the race, I’m going to run my race, and I’m going to sell to New Yorkers what we did with this city,” he said.
Adams has been particularly outspoken among Democrats in criticizing the Biden administration’s immigration policies long before the indictment, creating some tension with the administration, but Democrats particularly distanced themselves after Adams’s indictment.
Adams has also stirred
speculation about the possibility of him seeking a pardon from President Trump as both have made similar claims alleging charges against them have been politically motivated. Trump has said he’d consider pardoning Adams, who also avoided sharp attacks on Trump during the campaign, unlike other Democrats.
Adams’s decision to sit for an interview with Carlson marks a possible shift in his view of the controversial commentator. After Carlson praised
Adams in 2021, Adams responded
that he doesn’t “want or need the support of Tucker Carlson, or anyone else who perpetuates racist, anti-immigrant propaganda.”
At the conclusion of Carlson’s interview, Adams said he looked forward to winning reelection and spending time with Carlson had been a “real pleasure.”
Trump vehemently opposed TikTok but is now embracing it. And in its message to users on going dark, TikTok included a paragraph that said it was “fortunate” that Trump was looking for a way to save it. Trump said he’ll sign an executive order that will allow TikTok 90 more days to find a solution.
Voila: now reports indicate TikTok is now coming back online.
This is an incredibly sharp about-face for Trump and many Republicans who steadfastly supported the ban. Here’s the sequence of events:
2. According to various reports, Trump’s son Baron is the one who encouraged his dad to get on TikTok to reach young male voters. Baron also reportedly advised his dad to do podcasts and other social media. Trump got on TikTok and received an avalanche of views and followers. Trump and others have said this helped him win many votes.
3. Although TikTok did not directly contribute to Trump’s 2024 campaign some people associated with ByteDance donated big bucks. For instance, William Ford, a member of the ByteDance board, together with his wife, gave Trump $1.4 million.
4. In 2020 Trump was strongly criticizing China. Now he’s not.
5. TikTok is a major contributor to Trump’s inauguration.
6. TikTok’s CEO will have a prime seat at Trump’s swearing in.
Trump now indicates he’ll move to keep TikTok alive by executive order as soon as he’s sworn in but will require 50% U.S. ownership.
The raging question is: does this mean Elon Musk? Does he mean private American ownership or American government ownership?
Trump, meanwhile, has changed his tune about TikTok, but not because he disbelieves the intelligence reports or because he is a free trade absolutist. (Hardly that, as his love of tariffs demonstrates.) No, it’s because he’s learned in the past four years that TikTok is a shockingly efficient disseminator of disinformation, which is Trump’s main stock-in-trade. “I’m now a big star on TikTok,” he bragged in September, vowing to protect the site from being banned. He’s also buddied up with the chief executive of the American division of TikTok, Shou Chew, inviting him to join the murder’s row of tech billionaires attending the inauguration.
“It’s been a great platform for him and his campaign to get his America first message out,” Mike Waltz, an incoming national security advisor to Trump, said Thursday. “We will put measures in place to keep TikTok from going dark.” Chew then took to TikTok to publicly credit Trump with working to save the platform.
On Sunday, Tik Tok rewarded Trump for his support with blatant propaganda. The app went dark, as expected, but when users tried to open it, they got this message: “We are fortunate that President Trump has indicated that he will work with us on a solution to reinstate TikTok once he takes office.”
So the likely outcome is this:
Trump, who started the push to have TikTok banned, used it extensively in his 2024 Presidential campaign, found it worked and got donations from people associated with ByteDance. Because TikTok helped him get re-elected and got big bucks from people associated with it, he is now doing what he can to save it. And, in the end, he’ll get credit for saving TikTok even though he started the move to ban it.
I completely understand TikTok creators being upset that they are losing income. I don’t understand being upset at Dems when Trump & Rs are the ones who started this. Now they suddenly reverse their position to enrich themselves. Wake up, open your eyes, you’re being conned.
Trump is just pathetically weak about this already. TikTok is already dark! A 50% ownership with the People’s Republic of China won’t work under the law. If he doesn’t like it, ask Congress to write a new law. Otherwise, it’s full divestment within 90 days or a ban. https://t.co/pAlM7p4Xzu
At first, their dear leader demanded we ban TikTok. So Republicans voted to ban TikTok. Now dear leader, realizing he’ll benefit from TikTok, wants to save TikTok. So Republicans scream “save TikTok!” Proving yet again, Republicans believe in nothing but serving dear leader.? https://t.co/oAFEsuSrMY
When did conservatives become defenders of TikTok? Not even a year ago it was CCP propaganda, every influencer called for it to be banned, and Vivek got major flak for joining. Trump was the first one to call for its ban until it was an unpopular opinion, and now it’s a good app?
Within a week, I believe we will see the President Elect find a way to bring it back & for the millions of people who love the app, it will be seen as a heroic move – defeating “big govt overreach”
The bill was originally brought by house republicans – met/passed with…
Fact: Trump previously signed an Executive Order banning TikTok, concerned it would ruin his reelection chances.
If he “saves” it, he will have simply undone what he originally did, keeping his pattern of creating a non-existent threat, creating an unnecessary emergency, and… pic.twitter.com/C9k2ot0hUd
And there it is. Scam and grift revealed. Watch who gets rich off this. Interested also to see how legacy media covers this, which has been putrid so far. pic.twitter.com/dVMVwcYCSk
As I’ve predicted every day for the last two weeks. A prearranged scam between Trump and the CCP to deceive the American people, enrich himself, and fool users. And it will work because there are plenty of rubes & suckers in this country and Trump has had their number for years. pic.twitter.com/VUyC9ew16e
TikTok tucking itself in with Trump. Twitter under control of the White House. Facebook making major changes to placate MAGA, doing PR campaign to align w Trump.
Ichiro Suzuki became the first Japanese player chosen for the Hall of Fame, falling one vote shy of unanimous when he was elected Tuesday along with CC Sabathia and Billy Wagner.
