Ashley Parker

President Donald Trump’s campaign has boasted about efforts to expand the 2020 electoral map and compete in far-flung Democratic territory from OR to NM while along the way winning over some of the voters who have been turned off by aspects of his presidency. The campaign plans to roll out a new mobile application in the coming weeks aimed at engaging its most loyal supporters.

A lawyer representing President Donald Trump sought to stop the publication of a new behind-the-scenes book about the White House that has already led President Trump to angrily decry his former chief strategist Stephen K. Bannon. The legal notice — addressed to author Michael Wolff and the president of the book’s publisher — said President Trump’s lawyers were pursuing possible charges including libel in connection with the forthcoming book, “Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House.” The letter by Beverly Hills-based attorney Charles J.

President Donald Trump shared three inflammatory anti-Muslim videos on Twitter posted by a far-right British activist.  The videos — whose authenticity could not be independently verified — were first shared by Jayda Fransen, the deputy leader of Britain First, which bills itself as a political party but has been widely condemned as an extremist group that targets mosques and Muslims.

President Donald Trump returned from the Thanksgiving holiday with another attack on one of his favorite targets — the news media — suggesting Nov 27 on Twitter a “contest” to determine which television network deserves a “fake news trophy.”

For President Donald Trump — a reality TV star who parlayed his blustery-yet-knowing on-air persona into a winning political brand — television is often the guiding force of his day, both weapon and scalpel, megaphone and news feed. And the president’s obsession with the tube — as a governing tool, a metric for staff evaluation, and a two-way conduit with lawmakers and aides — has upended the traditional rhythms of the White House, influencing many spheres, including policy, his burgeoning relationship with Congress, and whether he taps out a late-night or early-morning tweet. Those Trump tweet-storms, which contain some of his most controversial utterances, are usually prompted by something he has seen on television just moments before.

The president, advisers said, also uses details gleaned from cable news as a starting point for policy discussions or a request for more information, and appears on TV himself when he wants to appeal directly to the public.

President-elect Donald J. Trump has selected Sen Jeff Sessions (R-AL), a conservative from Alabama who became a close adviser after endorsing him early in his campaign, to be the attorney general of the United States. While Sen Sessions is well liked in the Senate, his record as United States attorney in Alabama in the 1980s is very likely to become an issue for Democrats and civil rights groups expected to give it close scrutiny. While serving as a United States prosecutor in Alabama, Sessions was nominated in 1986 by President Ronald Reagan for a federal judgeship. But his nomination was rejected by the Republican-controlled Senate Judiciary Committee because of racially charged comments and actions. At that time, he was one of two judicial nominees whose selections were halted by the panel in nearly 50 years.

The appointment of Sen Sessions is expected to bring sweeping change to the Justice Department as it operated under Loretta E. Lynch and her predecessor, Eric H. Holder Jr., who, when he was nominated to be the first black attorney general, pledged to make rebuilding the civil rights division his top priority. Several former Justice officials predicted that Sen Sessions would reverse the emphasis on civil rights and criminal-justice reform that Holder put in place.

Donald Trump said that he hoped Russia had hacked Hillary Clinton’s e-mail, essentially encouraging an adversarial foreign power to cyberspy on a secretary of state’s correspondence. “Russia, if you’re listening, I hope you’re able to find the 30,000 e-mails that are missing,” Trump said, staring directly into the cameras during a news conference. “I think you will probably be rewarded mightily by our press.”

Trump’s call was an extraordinary moment at a time when Russia is being accused of meddling in the United States’ presidential election. His comments came amid questions about the hacking of the Democratic National Committee’s computer servers, which American intelligence agencies have told the White House they have “high confidence” was the work of the Russian government. Later in the news conference, when asked if he was really urging a foreign nation to hack into the private e-mail server of Clinton, or at least meddle in the nation’s elections, he dismissed the question. “That’s up to the president,” Trump said, before finally saying “be quiet” to the female questioner. “Let the president talk to them.” The Clinton campaign immediately accused Trump of both encouraging Russian espionage against the United States and meddling in domestic politics.

With its glamour and famous catchphrase — “You’re fired” — “The Apprentice,” which debuted in 2004, was the ultimate showcase for Donald J. Trump’s self-styled image as a power-wielding mogul. But it also served as a prequel of sorts for his improbable next act as a presidential nominee, who will return to prime time as the ringmaster of the Republican National Convention.

More than Trump’s real estate deals, the show transformed its star from a New York curiosity into a national sensation, introducing millions of viewers — and, later, voters — to a highly flattering, highly fictionalized version of Trump, more appealing than the real-life developer whose successes were tempered by bankruptcies and personal turmoil. Trump, who had little previous television experience, revealed a showman’s mastery of the medium, which he used in 2016 to confound political opponents and seduce ratings-hungry networks. Those skills will be on full display at the convention in Cleveland (OH), where Trump is personally wooing celebrities and overseeing stagecraft for a blowout spectacle that will be less C-Span, more MTV.