Spurs coach Popovich pops off at 'racist' Trump

CLEVELAND -- San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich took aim at Donald Trump Saturday, devoting nearly half of his pre-game news conference to describing his contempt for the newly sworn-in American President.

Popovich called Trump a bully who spends more time attacking his critics than trying to bring the country together by ending the racial and political polarization in the United States.

"It does boggle the mind how somebody can be so thin-skinned," Popovich said. "It's all obvious -- it's about him .... It doesn't matter what it is, there's a pattern there. And that's dangerous.

"I'd like to have someone with gravitas, but he got there through the Electoral College, which is part of our system, and I hope he does some good things."

Popovich was speaking on a day that more than one million people protested Trump's presidency by marching in North America and across the world at a series of women's rallies.

"The march today was great," Popovich said. "That message is important and it could have been a whole lot of groups marching. And somebody said on TV, 'What's their message?' Well, their message is obvious.

"That is our president comes in with the lowest rating of anybody who ever came into the office.

"And there's a majority of people out there, since Hillary (Clinton) won the popular vote, that don't buy his act.

"And I just wish that he was more mature enough to do something that really is inclusive rather than just talking and saying, 'I'm going to include everybody.'

"He could talk to the groups that he disrespected and maligned during the primary and really make somebody believe it. But so far, we've got to a point where you really can't believe anything that comes out of his mouth."

Popovich said he worries about the effect a Trump presidency will have on young Americans.

"I hope he does a great job, but there's a difference between respecting the office of the presidency and who occupies it.

"And that respect has to be earned. But it's hard to be respectful of someone when we all have kids and we're watching him be misogynistic and xenophobic and racist and make fun of handicapped people."

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Trump speaks to Taiwan's leader in move likely to anger China

WASHINGTON/NEW YORK - US President-elect Donald Trump spoke by phone on Friday with President Tsai Ing-wen of Taiwan, a move that is likely to infuriate China, which considers the self-ruled island its own, and complicate US relations with Beijing.

The conversation was the first such contact with Taiwan by a US president-elect or president since President Jimmy Carter switched diplomatic recognition from Taiwan to China in 1979, recognizing Taiwan as part of "one China".

Trump said on Twitter that Tsai had initiated the call. "The President of Taiwan CALLED ME today to wish me congratulations on winning the Presidency. Thank you!" he said.

The President of Taiwan CALLED ME today to wish me congratulations on winning the Presidency. Thank you!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 3, 2016

Alex Huang, a spokesman for Tsai, said: "Of course both sides agreed ahead of time before making contact."

The two noted that "close economic, political and security ties exist between Taiwan and the United States," the Trump transition team said in a statement. Taiwan's presidential office said the two discussed strengthening bilateral interactions and establishing closer cooperation.

There was no immediate comment from China, which is likely to be angered because it views Taiwan as a renegade province, to be united by force if necessary.

Washington is Taiwan's most important political ally and sole arms supplier, despite the lack of formal diplomatic ties.

"Interesting how the U.S. sells Taiwan billions of dollars of military equipment but I should not accept a congratulatory call," Trump said in another tweet.

Interesting how the U.S. sells Taiwan billions of dollars of military equipment but I should not accept a congratulatory call.

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 3, 2016

Trump has eschewed tradition in other calls with foreign leaders since he won the US election, prompting the White House to encourage him to make use of the diplomatic expertise and counsel of the State Department.

The call comes at a time of worsened Taiwan-China relations since the election of Tsai's pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) earlier this year.

The White House responded to the call by saying that "longstanding policy" on China and Taiwan had not changed.

"We remain firmly committed to our 'one China' policy," said Ned Price, a national security spokesman for President Barack Obama. "Our fundamental interest is in peaceful and stable cross-Strait relations."

Trump adviser Kellyanne Conway said on CNN that Trump was "well aware of what US policy has been" on Taiwan.

Administration officials said Trump's team did not alert the White House about the call ahead of time.

Randy Schriver, a former deputy assistant secretary of state responsible for East Asia, including Taiwan, under former President George W. Bush said he believed the call was "primarily a courtesy."

"China should have no objection ... They know better than anyone that contact between leaders does not violate a US One China Policy," he said.

"SEAT OF HIS PANTS"

However, Gerrit van der Wees, a former Dutch diplomat who lobbies on behalf of Taiwan, said the call indicated Trump would be less bound by conventions and restrictions in foreign policy and was "signaling a broader change in US policy towards Taiwan."

Advisers to the Republican president-elect have indicated that he is likely to take a more robust policy toward China than Obama, a Democrat, and that Trump plans to boost the US military in part in response to China's increasing power in Asia. However, details of his plans remain scant.

Senator Chris Murphy, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said Trump was entitled to change policy, but his approach was potentially dangerous.

"Foreign policy consistency is a means, not an end. It's not sacred. Thus, it's Trump's right to shift policy, alliances, strategy," Murphy, a Democrat, said in a note on Twitter.

But he added: "What has happened in the last 48 hours is not a shift. These are major pivots in foreign policy w/out any plan. That's how wars start."

China has claimed sovereignty over Taiwan since 1949, when Mao Zedong's Communist forces won the Chinese civil war and Chiang Kai-shek's Nationalists fled to the island. Beijing has vowed to bring Taiwan under its rule.

Earlier this week Trump spoke to Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and praised him, according to the Pakistani leader's office, as a "terrific guy." Islamabad and Washington have seen relations sour in recent years over US accusations that Pakistan shelters Islamist militants who kill US soldiers in Afghanistan, a charge denied by the South Asian nation.

Also on Friday, Trump invited Philippine leader Rodrigo Duterte to the White House next year during what a Duterte aide said was a "very engaging, animated" phone conversation. Duterte has openly insulted Obama, who canceled a planned meeting with him in September.

A statement issued by Trump's transition team made no mention of the invitation. The transition team said that Trump also spoke on Friday to Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.

Winston Lord, who was US ambassador to China from 1985-89 and is a former assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs, said the strategic importance of Trump's Taiwan call was unclear.

"Like so many things with Trump, who knows? This man is ignorant about foreign policy and is flying by the seat of his pants, so it is difficult to assess the significance.

"Having said that, I have no problem with his talking to Madame Tsai; Taiwan is a good friend and although our relations are unofficial, I think it's important to maintain close bonds with Taiwan."

Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping spoke by telephone on Nov. 14. Xi stressed that cooperation was the only choice for relations between the world's two largest economies, and Trump said that the two had established a "clear sense of mutual respect."

Trump lambasted China throughout the US election campaign, drumming up headlines with pledges to slap 45 percent tariffs on imported Chinese goods and label the country a currency manipulator on his first day in office.

Douglas Paal, a former official of the US National Security Council who served as US representative to Taiwan from 2002-2006, said nothing Trump had said in the campaign suggested he wanted to rebuild the relationship with Taiwan at the expense of the China relationship.

"From the information I have so far, this is a standalone item," Paal said, "but the Chinese will feel the need to make a major protest so there isn't more of this." - With additional reporting by Valerie Volcovici, David Alexander, Yara Bayoumy, John Walcott, Arshad Mohammed, Eric Beech, Jeff Mason and JR Wu

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Thousands march in US against Trump presidency

NEW YORK/LOS ANGELES -- Chanting "Not my president" and "love trumps hate," thousands of demonstrators took the streets in cities across the United States at the weekend to protest against President-elect Donald Trump, who they say threatens their civil and human rights.

Police in Portland, Oregon, where a protester was shot early on Saturday but not seriously injured, said they arrested more than 20 people late on Saturday after protesters tossed burning flares and bottles at them and refused orders to disperse.

The biggest rallies were in New York, Los Angeles and Chicago, where organizers said they wanted to build on the momentum after several nights of protests triggered by the real-estate mogul's surprise win in Tuesday's presidential election.

In New York, several thousand protesters marched peacefully up Fifth Avenue past its glitzy store fronts, some already bearing Christmas decorations, before filling the streets at the foot of Trump Tower, the president-elect's skyscraper home.

"We're horrified the country has elected an incredibly unqualified, misogynist, racist on a platform that was just totally hateful," said Mary Florin-McBride, 62, a retired banker from New York who held a sign reading, "No Fascism in America."

There were also demonstrations in Chicago and Los Angeles, where several thousand protesters gathered beneath MacArthur Park's palm trees holding placards including "Dump Trump" and "Minorities Matter," before marching toward downtown.

Some waved American, Mexican or rainbow flags. Holding a "Keep Love Legal" sign, 25-year-old gay Los Angeles resident Alex Seedman called Trump a fascist and feared he would repeal marriage equality.

Evelyne Werzola, 46, an immigrant from South Africa, said she had seen what a police state could do.

"I've seen people oppressed. And this is like a heartbreak of the American dream for me," Werzola said. "So I'm fighting to keep what America has stood for alive."

In Portland, the protester who was shot had been taking part in a march across the city's Morrison Bridge. Portland police said four people had been detained in connection with the shooting, and were believed to be criminal gang associates.

Police also said some protesters attacked a film crew in the city on Saturday night and at least two people were assaulted. They began making arrests when the crowd refused to disperse.

PROTESTS LARGELY PEACEFUL

Since Trump's victory, demonstrators in several cities have decried the Republican's campaign promises to restrict immigration and register Muslims, as well as allegations that the former reality-TV star sexually abused women.

Dozens of protesters have been arrested and a handful of police injured.

The demonstrations since the election have been impromptu affairs, quickly organized, with weekend protests expected to swell in size.

Trump initially denounced the protests, saying they were "incited" by media, but later praised the demonstrators' "passion for our great country."

"We will all come together and be proud!" he said on Twitter.

Many voters were shocked by the outcome, after polls predicted a Clinton victory.

Some 60.3 million people voted for Trump, fewer than the 60.8 million who chose Clinton. But Trump's strong showing in swing states including Michigan meant he triumphed in the Electoral College which ultimately picks the president.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com