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A FORMER NAVY admiral reportedly tapped by President Donald Trump to be his national security advisor has declined the post, US media reports.
Robert Harward’s rejection of the position leaves the Trump administration without a replacement for Michael Flynn, who was forced to resign earlier this week amid a scandal over pre-inauguration phone conversations he allegedly had with Russian officials.
In a statement read on CNN, Harward said he had turned down the job because he “could not make that commitment.”
“This job requires 24 hours a day, seven days a week focus and commitment to do it right. I currently could not make that commitment,” the statement read.
The rejection capped a riotous day for the 70-year-old US president, who earlier lambasted his critics in the media and in politics in a wide-ranging one hour, 16-minute-long press conference.
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This will go down as his wisest decision ever.
I really don’t care about trump.its all media nonsense.
What’s media nonsense Bobby?
I’d say Harward made up his mind after saw that press conference yesterday
@Bobby Phelan: spot on and ridiculous trolls like OpenBorders.
He should ask Putin if he has anyone spare to step in for awhile
@Christopher Richardson: LOL
Funny caption
Trump may as well be looking for a bar manager on the Titanic with the added description the “Due to a recent collision with an iceberg, copious ice will be supplied with the position”.
The ship’s going down Donnie, how does “winning” all the time feel?
@Ciaran Ó Fallúin: That brightened up my morning!
@Ciaran Ó Fallúin: keep telling yourself that sh*t if it comforts you, but Trump’s ship won’t be sunk until at least the next election.
@TehJurolan: It’s a shame I can’t post images, but you are quite clearly the moustache wearing guy from the Titanic movie looking flabbergasted saying, “but this ship can’t sink”.
https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/564x/e4/3b/3c/e43b3cf163a0fa39e10b2a3df06fd577.jpg
There it is anyway.
The failing @realDonaldTrump is a FAKE PRESIDENT. SAD
Watched the press conference live. It was surreal. He’s suddenly found out that he’s not able to do everything he wants to do just because he wants to do it & he doesn’t like it. The pressure is mounting & he’s going for deflection all the time calling out “Fake News” & enemies out to get him. Of which I’m sure there are some, but it’s unbalancing seeing the amount of people who agree with him.
I’ve no doubt everything “achieved” so far will be of benefit to him or someone in his circle and is not for the benefit of the nation. Unfortunately, it’s going to take years to reverse what he’s done so far (a bit like our lot).
My main concern is the next guy will be worse than the current guy, because I can’t see 45 lasting the whole term.
Spot on, I think whoever takes over when he is eventually gets impeached or steps down will be worse in the long run
@willypearson: Trump definitely won’t step down, as that would mean admitting defeat, something he’s unable to do
He won’t step down. Will be impeached within the year for serious lack of confidence on both sides or some new scandal that comes to light. Pence will take over, and while he’s no shining light of tolerance and progression, at least he doesn’t have genuinely concerning mental issues like Donald.
@Danny: within a yeat? You realise the GOP controls both houses of Congress?
Squarepeg you’re assuming he has the full support of the Republican Party. He doesn’t.
The Twenty-fifth Amendment (Amendment XXV) to the United States Constitution deals with succession to the Presidency and establishes procedures both for filling a vacancy in the office of the Vice President, as well as responding to Presidential disabilities.
Section 4. Whenever the Vice President and a majority of either the principal officers of the executive departments or of such other body as Congress may by law provide, transmit to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives their written declaration that the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, the Vice President shall immediately assume the powers and duties of the office as Acting President.
^
I think this is what they’re going for.
The surest qualification for this job is having the good sense not to take it.
You can nearly smell an assassination on so many levels followed by radical retaliation against everyone who challenged the US power position.
It’s just so stupid and bizarre to actively call out your own intelligence agencies.
@Old: everyone should call them out now, if they are monitoring private conversations involving private citizens and illegally leaking them to the press. The deep state is on very dodgy ground if it is trying to undermine the democratically elected representatives of the people.
@Squarepeg01: The problem being that 45 wasn’t democratically elected, as he lost the popular vote, the electoral college quango isn’t how democracy works.
Squarepeg01. That’s the thing. The FBI were monitoring the phones of the Russian Embassy just as every country taps the phones of embassies in their respective countries. Now when a former 3 star general and former head of military intelligence rings the Russian Ambassador as a Private citizen with zero official authority, then they are going to sit up and take a keen interest. Especially if said General rings the Russians 6 times.
@Larissa: everyone knew the rules going into the election. Do you think if Trump had won the popular vote and Hillary won the EC, we would be hearing of her ‘illegitimacy’?
@Mick: if he did spmething wrong he should be prosecuted. That the intelligence services can do what they did opens every citizen up to potential blackmail. It’s how police states operate.
Squarepeg01. Trump knew what he did 3 weeks prior to Flynn’s resignation and did nothing about it. In fact claimed in his news conference that Flynn did nothing wrong. So when the President refuses to deal with the situation without being forced to when it became public what are the Security Services to do. Ignore a problem just because the President would like to ignore it? Their sworn duty is to protect the US and the Constitution from all threats both Domestic and Foreign no matter who is President.
@Mick: did the intelligence service exhaust all other channels? We don’t even know what Flynn did that was so wrong beyond misinforming the VP. Maybe it was nefarious and Trump knew about it and was covering his own culpable a$$ by firing him. We just don’t know. But what it looks like is that powerful people in the intelligence services are attempting to sabotage this administration.
Squarepeg01. To begin with he had no authority to negotiate anything with the Russian Government on behalf of the US. Secondly what he did was illegal. Thirdly he openly lied to the VP who went on to publicly defend him. Now if Trump told him to ring the Russians he to then is guilty of a criminal offence which would leave him open to impeachment.
@Mick: don’t parrot the nonsense every other anti-Trumper has been spouting. The Logan Act refers to private citizens – Flynn was the incoming NSA. Hardly a private citizen. It’s quite normal for incoming administrations to meet with their foreign counterparts before entering office. Whether Flynn did any more than that hasn’t come out. We just don’t know the facts.
You seem to be having trouble understanding the legalities of this so I will try and explain it in simple terms for you. Flynn made his phonecalls in early December. Trump was only the President Elect at that time. Now there can only be one President at a time and at that time Obama was still the President. And only he and his Officials had the legal right to negotiate with anyone on behalf of the US Government. Now Trump as President Elect was still legally a private citizen and so was Flynn. Thus had no legal right to negotiate anything on behalf of the Government. Remember this is December. On January 17th Trump became the legal President with all the powers that go with it. His nominee Flynn on the other hand was still a private citizen and remained so until the Congress ratified his nomination. Now as all this happened in December when both Trump and Flynn were still private citizens he or they had no legal right to negotiate any part of Government policy with any foreign government. And as such Flynn’s conduct was illegal. And if Trump asked him to do it he would also be involved in a criminal offence as he was still a Private Citizen at that time.
Sensible decision. Who’d want to work for a bu11shiffing idiot!
Trump claims his administration is a well oiled machine but doesn’t he know that you never publicly offer a job to someone without being sure they will accept. The admiral saw this press conference and said “I’m outta here!”
Narcissistic Personality Disorder. Symptoms of NPD: an exaggerated sense of self-importance, fantasies of success, power, brilliance or beauty, belief in being “special”, requiring excessive admiration, a sense of entitlement, selfish in taking advantage of others, lacking empathy, envious of others, arrogant, haughty, patronising or contemptuous. I think Trump covers nearly everyone one of those symptoms.
We have enough to be worrying about with our lot and the shambles of a banana Republic they are turning us into.
We’ve been a banana republic since day 1
While that’s true, the current lot are dragging us deeper and deeper into it
Fear Uisce, there are other stories on the journal covering the Irish government whereas this story is about the US President, maybe try reading the headline at least before taking the time to comment.
They need the #Dango in there. Tell Donald I’m ready #FearTheDango
It’s the truth though.
The Alt-Left have completely lost the plot.
The lies emanating from the liberal press are astounding, absolutely astounding.
Apologies, this was meant for the other Trump article, the one where he ripped the press to shreds.
What lies about him or his administration have they told so far?
@Mick Jordan: for example the fake news that Trump admin planning to use 100000 national guards for deportation
Rosa. The operative word here is “Planning”. They are not saying he has done it. But has plans in place to do it. Now until it can be proven conclusively that he has no such plan it cannot be claimed as lies or Fake News.
Trumpiada mass hysteria, you better look after your own politicians, what they do right under your nous.
@Natasha Nk: In English, please?
Just listened to Larry Donnelly on Sean O Rourke RTE seem to think he is balanced because he said one just good thing about Trump before Christmas. …Total bias….
John, that’s clearly your biased opinion. See how that works?
Just mean Eoghin Harris in the Sunday Independent said one good thing about SF last July….No way would RTE have Harris on with an analysis of SF…In general they would look for a more balanced person…
John003. When the subject of the conversation is a narcissist with no redeemable qualities, it is asking a lot from normal reasonable people to side with him.
Trump is back peddling on everything he promised as all politicans do lincoln wodrow Wilson kenny Blair. In 6 months his presidency will look like Obama’s
@Patrick Gough: Trump would be delighted if he ever gets to match Obama’s record.
Trump took over the party in the teeth of opposition from the GOP Establishment. Consequently unlike Bush he doesnt have a natural constituency among the GOP elite class.
have your say