Trump rolls out flurry of administration picks including trade boss
President-elect Trump announced a slew of appointments as his team prepares to transition to the White House next year.
The incoming president announced Jamieson Greer as his pick to serve as the next U.S. trade representative. Greer previously served as chief of staff to the trade representative during Trump’s first term, Robert Lighthizer at a time when the administration implemented tariffs on China and other nations.
In announcing Greer’s nomination, Trump said in a statement that Greer was instrumental in his first term in imposing tariffs on China and others and replacing the trade agreement with Canada and Mexico, “therefore making it much better for American Workers.”
If confirmed by the Senate, Greer would be responsible for negotiating directly with foreign governments on trade deals and disputes, as well as memberships in international trade bodies such as the World Trade Organization.
Also nominated will be Jim O’Neill to serve as the deputy secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to work alongside Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has been tapped to lead the agency.
GET TO KNOW DONALD TRUMP’S CABINET: WHO HAS THE PRESIDENT-ELECT PICKED SO FAR?
O’Neill, who served as principal associate deputy secretary of HHS, “will fight in unison to ensure every American, and especially our most precious resource, our children, will live long and healthy lives and, Make America Great and Healthy Again!” said Trump.
Trump also tapped Vince Haley, who served speechwriter during his campaign, to serve as director of the Domestic Policy Council, and Kevin A. Hassett to lead the White House National Economic Council.
“I am proud to announce that Vince Haley, who served as Director of Policy and Speechwriting on my Winning Campaign, will lead my Domestic Policy Agenda as Director of the Domestic Policy Council,” Trump said in a statement.
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“Vince helped lead the Speechwriting Department in my First Administration, working to convey our message to the Public,” he added. “Prior to joining my 2016 Campaign, he worked for twelve years in a variety of roles for Newt Gingrich, a man who I greatly respect.”
Haley served as policy director and campaign manager for Gingrich’s 2012 presidential campaign.
In his new role, Haley will lead Trump’s domestic agenda, the incoming president said.
Economist Kevin Hassett, 62, was named director of the White House National Economic Council, bringing into Trump’s administration a major advocate for tax cuts. He played a crucial role in helping design and pass the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, Trump said.
He will also “will play an important role in helping American families recover from the inflation that was unleashed by the Biden Administration” and that together they would “renew and improve” the 2017 tax cuts, many of which are set to expire after 2025.
Hassett served in the first Trump term as chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers.
“He will play an important role in helping American families recover from the Inflation that was unleashed by the Biden Administration,” Trump said.
Businessman John Phelan will serve as the next secretary of the Navy as well. Phelan is the co-founder of co-founded MSD Capital.
“His Record of Success speaks for itself — A true Champion of American Enterprise and Ingenuity!” Trump said in a statement.
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“John will be a tremendous force for our Naval Servicemembers, and a steadfast leader in advancing my America First vision,” Trump said. “He will put the business of the U.S. Navy above all else.”
X users left stunned by ‘terrible’ video of Harris speaking to supporters
Vice President Kamala Harris’ first video to her supporters after the election stunned social media users Tuesday.
The video, shared by the Democratic Party’s official X account, featured Harris speaking directly to followers discouraged by the recent election.
“I just have to remind you, don’t let anybody take your power from you. You have the same power that you did before Nov. 5, and you have the same purpose that you did. And you have the same ability to engage and inspire. So don’t ever let anybody or any circumstance take your power from you,” Harris said.
Many X users were buzzing about Harris’ appearance in the video, commenting about how there seemed to be something “off” with the vice president and expressing surprise it was publicly shared.
HARRIS CAMPAIGN CHAIR FUMES ABOUT NARRATIVE SHE WAS AFRAID TO DO INTERVIEWS: ‘COMPLETELY BULLS—‘
DC Examiner contributor Kimberly Ross responded, “Is this a…joke? It’s a terrible video. Yikes.”
“I’m not sure you guys want to be amplifying this. There’s something, ummmm, off with the vice president,” Fox News contributor Joe Concha joked.
OutKick columnist Mary Katharine Ham wrote, “When you hand your phone to someone to police your social media posts when y’all go hard, you wanna hand it to someone who likes you.”
Senior National Review Online writer Dan McLaughlin reacted, “No video like this would ever have been released by a politician who is not hated by her staff.”
“The joy is gone,” the Republican Committee of Prince William County surmised.
Former Trump White House advisor Ben Williamson remarked, “I’d read a 5,000 word article on how this got approved for release.”
“They wouldn’t let her go on @joerogan but they let her do this,” American Principles Project president Terry Schilling posted with a facepalm emoji.
“Who thought this was a good idea? Who is this for? What is this for? What is she even saying? Once again, I will reiterate that we are ruled by imbeciles,” Atlantic contributing writer Tyler Austin Harper wondered.
National Review senior political correspondent Jim Geraghty wrote, “Besides the, er, vibe of flammability, the message ‘don’t let anyone take your power from you’ is perhaps less than ideal as a theme during the peaceful transfer of power.”
KAMALA HARRIS CAMPAIGN AIDES SUGGEST TRUMP’S SIT-DOWN WITH JOE ROGAN TO BLAME FOR HER NOT JOINING PODCAST
The video reportedly came from a call Harris took with donors and volunteers earlier today where she addressed her election loss for the first time since conceding to President-elect Donald Trump.
“The outcome of this election obviously is not what we wanted. It is not what we worked so hard for. But I am proud of the race we ran, and your role in this was critical. What we did in 107 days was unprecedented,” Harris said.
Harris has mostly kept out of the spotlight since the election and has been vacationing in Hawaii with second gentleman Doug Emhoff since last week.
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EXCLUSIVE: Lawyers for President-elect Donald Trump are demanding that New York Attorney General Letitia James drop her civil fraud case against him, his family and his businesses “for the greater good of the country,” Fox News Digital has learned.
“In furtherance of our conversations with your office, we write to request that you completely dismiss the above-referenced case against President Donald J. Trump, his family, and his businesses, and stipulate to vacate the Judgment and dismiss all claims with prejudice,” Trump attorney D. John Sauer wrote in a letter exclusively obtained by Fox News Digital.
NEW YORK APPEALS COURT APPEARS RECEPTIVE TO REVERSING OR REDUCING $454M TRUMP CIVIL FRAUD JUDGMENT
Trump was ordered to pay a $454 million civil fraud judgment in James’ lawsuit against him.
Trump has appealed the ruling, and judges on a New York appeals court seemed open-minded and receptive to potentially reversing the judgment altogether.
Sauer, though, pointed to Trump’s “historic election victory.”
“President Trump has called for our Nation’s partisan strife to end, and for the contending factions to join forces for the greater good of the country,” Sauer wrote. “This call for unity extends to the legal onslaught against him and his family that permeated the most recent election cycle.”
Sauer, who was nominated as solicitor general in the second Trump administration, called the cases against Trump to have been “a flashpoint of national partisan division.”
“As counsel for President Trump in this appeal—and now as his nominee for Solicitor General of the United States—I have had the opportunity to experience this partisan division personally, and I strongly believe that it is necessary for the health of our Republic for the strife and lawfare to end.”
He added, “You now have the singular opportunity to help cure this division.”
Sauer’s letter comes after a string of legal victories for Trump and his legal team, coordinated by senior legal adviser Boris Epshteyn.
Sauer pointed to Special Counsel Jack Smith’s recent request, which was granted by federal Judge Tanya Chutkan, to dismiss his case against Trump related to the 2020 election. Smith also tossed his appeal in the classified records case on Monday after a federal judge dismissed the charges altogether in July, ruling that he was unlawfully appointed as special counsel.”
In New York v. Trump, Judge Juan Merchan granted Trump’s request to file a motion to dismiss the charges stemming from Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s case and removed the sentencing date for the president-elect from the schedule.
“This case warrants the same treatment,” Sauer wrote.
Sauer reminded that in James’ case “the statute of limitations bars claims and liability.”
TRUMP’S $454M JUDGMENT BOND SLASHED BY MORE THAN HALF IN APPEALS COURT RULING
Sauer also reminded that her case involves “no victims, no complaints, no misstatements, no causation, and no injuries or losses.”
“Instead, President Trump provided clear and unambiguous disclaimers to sophisticated commercial parties who made decisions based on their own due diligence,” Sauer wrote. “Every loan and insurance payment was made in full, and either on time or early.”
Sauer said Trump’s business partners “were delighted with these transactions” and “benefited enormously, making over $100 million in profits.”
Sauer said the evidence “definitively demonstrates that the defendants’ counterparties were not deceived, that they performed their own due diligence and eagerly sought, and embraced, the highly profitable business transactions, and that the challenged statements did not affect the terms of any transaction.”
“As noted above, they were paid back in full, on time or early,” he said.
Sauer said “the chilling effect generated by this case is crushing to businesses across New York, who are being forced to flee to friendlier States where such standardless enforcement and excessive punishment are not found.”
“President Trump is one of the most successful developers in the history of New York,” Sauer said. “He rebuilt the New York skyline, created thousands of jobs, rescued and rejuvenated historic Wollman Rink, developed the $3 billion West Side Railyards from 59th to 72nd Street in Manhattan, was deeply involved in developing the Jacob Javits Center, and is singularly responsible for many other successes,” Sauer wrote. “This lawsuit against him ‘vindicates no public purpose.’”
Sauer pointed to Trump’s landslide victory and his pending inauguration as the 47th president.
He also noted remarks by past presidents, specifically on Oct. 3, 1863, during “the time of our Nation’s greatest division,” when President Lincoln issued the Thanksgiving Proclamation.
“President Lincoln called for the American people to set aside their bitter divisions so that the blessings of liberty could be ‘solemnly, reverently, and gratefully acknowledged as with one heart and one voice by the whole American people.’” Sauer wrote. “He urged all Americans to ‘fervently implore the interposition of the Almighty hand to heal the wounds of the nation, and to restore it, as soon as may be consistent with the Divine purposes, to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquility, and union.’”
Sauer added, “Invoking the same spirit of unity, we request that you stipulate to the vacatur of the Judgment and dismissal of this case with prejudice.”
TRUMP VOWS TO FIGHT NEW YORK AG CASE ‘ALL THE WAY UP TO THE US SUPREME COURT,’ AS DEADLINE TO POST $454M LOOMS
Sauer’s letter comes after New York Judge Arthur Engoron ruled this year that Trump and other defendants were liable for persistent and repeated fraud, falsifying business records, issuing false financial statements, conspiracy to falsify false financial statements, insurance fraud and conspiracy to commit insurance fraud.
In September 2023, before the non-jury trial began, Engoron ruled that Trump and the Trump Organization had committed fraud while building his real estate empire by deceiving banks, insurers and others by overvaluing his assets and exaggerating his net worth on paperwork used in making deals and securing financing.
Trump was hit with an initial penalty of $355 million. That sum is quickly increasing via interest accruals of approximately $112,000 a day until paid in full, now sitting around $470 million.
Trump’s legal team said the initial requested bond was “unprecedented for a private company” and said to post it in the judgment’s full amount was a “practical impossibility.”
An appeals court slashed Trump’s bond payment in March, and the former president paid $175 million.
Trump has vowed to fight the case “all the way up to the U.S. Supreme Court if necessary.”
Trump and his family denied any wrongdoing, with the former president saying his assets had been undervalued. Trump’s legal team insisted that his financial statements had disclaimers and made it clear to banks that they should conduct their own assessments.
Throughout the trial, Trump attorneys brought witnesses, including former Deutsche Bank top executives, who testified the banks sought additional business from Trump, whom they viewed as a “whale of a client.”
Trump’s defense also brought in expert witnesses, including New York University accounting professor Eli Bartov, who reviewed the Trump financial statements at issue in the case and said he found no evidence of accounting fraud.
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Bartov testified last month that Trump’s financial statements did not violate accounting principles, and he suggested that anything problematic — like a huge year-to-year leap in the estimated value of his Trump Tower penthouse — was simply an error.
“My main finding is that there is no evidence whatsoever of any accounting fraud,” Bartov testified. Trump’s financial statements, he said, “were not materially misstated.”
Tom Cotton slams Secretary Austin’s ‘baseless insinuation’ against Trump
Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., blasted anyone within the Defense Department working to safeguard certain norms or policies that they expect the incoming Trump administration to target.
“It appears that partisans and obstructionists inside the Department of Defense are laying groundwork to defy or circumvent President Trump’s plans for both military and civil-service reform,” Cotton wrote in a letter to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin in reference to reports of such strategizing among DOD employees.
“These actions undermine civilian control of the military and our constitutional structure of government.”
Earlier this month, it was reported that there were “informal discussions” occurring among Pentagon officials on what the department would do if Trump ordered the military for a domestic purpose or if he fired a significant number of employees, per CNN.
One anonymous defense official was quoted in the report saying, “Troops are compelled by law to disobey unlawful orders.”
“But the question is what happens then – do we see resignations from senior military leaders? Or would they view that as abandoning their people?” they reportedly asked.
CONGRESS HAS JUST WEEKS TO AVOID A PARTIAL GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN AFTER THANKSGIVING
President-elect Trump promised during his campaign to shake up the federal government, whether it be through staffing changes or reorganization. Some reports have indicated specific people are being looked at for termination once he enters office again. An ally of Trump, former presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, has been vocal about his belief that the federal government must be shrunk in size.
Ramaswamy has been tapped by Trump, along with billionaire business magnate Elon Musk, to lead his planned Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) in his new administration. The proposed department has the goal of reducing the size of government, cutting spending and increasing efficiency.
SENATE GOP MOTIVATED TO RAPIDLY CONFIRM TRUMP NOMINATIONS AHEAD OF PARTY TRIFECTA IN WASHINGTON
Cotton criticized Lloyd in his letter for “promulgating false claims that the incoming administration plans to arbitrarily fire uniformed leaders.”
Further, he slammed the secretary for a message after the election that the military would specifically follow “lawful orders” from Trump. Cotton said this was “a thinly veiled and baseless insinuation that President Trump will issue unlawful orders.”
“I have to observe that these actions and reports only prove the need for reform and fundamental change at the Department of Defense. And, of course, while inappropriate and annoying, these tactics are also useless because no action by the outgoing administration can limit the incoming president’s constitutional authority as commander-in-chief,” the Arkansas Republican wrote.
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Cotton was recently elected to serve as chairman of the Senate Republican conference in the new Congress. He is also expected to take Florida Sen. Marco Rubio’s place as the head of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence.
The DOD did not immediately provide comment to Fox News Digital for purposes of this story.
President-elect enjoys significant polling boost, while Biden sinks to new lows
President-elect Trump is enjoying a bump in favorability since winning a second White House term earlier this month, while figures for outgoing President Biden sank to a four-year-low, according to a new poll.
An Emerson College poll found both men trending in opposite directions, with Trump’s favorability jumping six points to 54% after the Nov. 5 election. Biden, on the other hand, has a 36% job approval rating.
Disapproval of Biden remains steady at 52%, the poll found.
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“Trump’s favorability varies significantly by gender, race and age,” said Spencer Kimball, executive director of Emerson College Polling. “Trump’s strongest age cohort is among voters 40-59, with 60% viewing him favorably, compared to 48% among those over 70. Notably, his favorability has risen among younger voters, with 55% of those under 30 expressing a favorable opinion.”
Trump polled best with men at 61%, compared to 48% of women. In terms of race, 59% of White voters viewed Trump positively, compared to 53% of Hispanics and 28% of Black voters.
The incoming president never cracked 50% approval during his first administration or post-presidency before his election win over Vice President Kamala Harris, according to Gallup, the New York Post reported.
When asked if they were surprised by the results of the 2024 election, 46% of respondents said they were, while 54% were not.
HARRIS CAMPAIGN CHAIR FUMES ABOUT NARRATIVE SHE WAS AFRAID TO DO INTERVIEWS: ‘COMPLETELY BULLS—‘
“There is a sharp difference in reaction to the election results based on who voters supported: 67% of Harris voters were surprised by the results, while 71% of Trump voters were not surprised by his victory,” Kimball said.
Looking ahead to 2028, voters were asked about a hypothetical field of candidates.
Vice President-elect JD Vance led the field with support from 30% of respondents. He was followed by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis at 5%, entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy at 3% and Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. and Nikki Haley tied at 2%.
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Harris led the field of Democrats with 37%, followed by California Gov. Gavin Newsom at 7% and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg at 4%.
Al Sharpton facing backlash among MSNBC colleagues over growing scandal
The growing scandal plaguing MSNBC host Rev. Al Sharpton has been “ricocheting around the halls” of 30 Rock with his colleagues calling it a “bridge too far” for them, Fox News Digital has learned.
On Tuesday, MSNBC said it was “unaware” that Vice President Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign paid $500,000 to Sharpton’s National Action Network nonprofit ahead of a friendly interview with the Democratic nominee just weeks before the election.
“MSNBC was unaware of the donations made to the National Action Network,” an MSNBC spokesperson told the Washington Free Beacon, which first broke the story.
Harris sat down for a friendly interview on Oct. 20 with Sharpton, an open supporter of Harris and the Democratic Party. Following Harris’ defeat to President-elect Donald Trump, FEC filings revealed the Harris campaign gave two $250,000 donations to Sharpton’s nonprofit organization in September and October. However, the MSNBC weekend host did not disclose to viewers the apparent conflict of interest before or after the interview. Neither did he disclose the donations to his bosses at the network, according to the Free Beacon.
“No one’s surprised that anybody at MSNBC was rooting for Harris. This feels like another level of nonsense. Like, you’re kidding me, right? This is weird,” a current MSNBC employee reacted to Fox News Digital.
“Harris could have given Al Sharpton an interview, and it would have gone the same way,” they continued. “But what are you paying for?… There’s no way that this can’t seem weird.”
MSNBC WAS ‘UNAWARE’ HARRIS CAMPAIGN. GAVE $500K TO AL SHARPTON’S GROUP AHEAD OF FRIENDLY INTERVIEW
“Everybody knows who Al Sharpton is… but this feels like a bridge too far. A big bridge too far… This is not landing well,” the MSNBC staffer said.
“This has a bit of a dirty feel to it… These things happen and they don’t bounce around MSNBC all that much. Like people just don’t care,” they continued. “This one feels, I’d say, there’s a deeper disappointment. There’s a sense of like, ‘Ugh, we don’t need this. This feels kind of grifty and gross.'”
The insider says everyone at MSNBC knows Sharpton is given a “wide berth” and that he’s “not heldto the same journalistic standard” as others at MSNBC since he’s far more known outside the network for his high-profile political and social activism. That said, the controversy reeks of a “pay-to-play” scheme.
“There is a sense among the people I’ve spoken to that this feels like something wrong and that something should be done about it,” the MSNBC employee said. “I don’t know what that something is… That’s a lot of money! That’s not a small matter… It just doesn’t sit well with people.”
KAMALA HARRIS INTERVIEWERS RECEIVED LARGE CAMPAIGN DONATIONS TO THEIR GROUPS AHEAD OF SIT-DOWNS
They, however, cast doubt that Sharpton will face any consequences, telling Fox News Digital “Generally speaking, people do things and they kind of get away with them at MSNBC, I mean, other than in the Me Too era.”
“I don’t care whether somebody does something to Al. I’m more interested in where does this fit into who we are,” the MSNBC insider said. “How does this s— happen? How does half a million dollars change hands?… How can you possibly think you’re holding somebody to account in an interview when they donate money to you? We’re told not to take tickets to a ballgame!”
“It’s got a real bulls— feel to it. People who like Al and respect him and understand what his value is… it ranges from disappointment to disgust. Not a whole ton of surprise, I will tell you that,” they continued. “There are some organizational rules- I understand he has different rules, but they can’t be that, that you donate money and then you get an interview. That can’t be acceptable… I think a three-year-old would see a potential conflict in this.”
MSNBC’S FUTURE A ‘BIG CONCERN’ FOR STAFFERS AS COMCAST MOVES TO SEPARATE LIBERAL NETWORK FROM NBCUNIVERSAL
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The MSNBC staffer was taken aback by the network being caught flat-footed by the controversy.
“For MSNBC to start by saying they weren’t aware of otto start with, like, wow. That’s something… Everything about this stinks,” they said. “Like, why did the campaign not think that this would come out and be a really bad look for them? I mean, if Kamala Harris had become president, it’d be a scandal!… You’re not gonna sway my opinion for tickets to a ballgame but for half a million dollars? You might!”
“That kind of money should not be changing hands to people who are cosplaying being a journalist. Maybe that’s not a fair term because I don’t know, is he a journalist? I don’t know. But that just feels a little bit like pay to play, and it doesn’t feel right in an organization that we’re all still part of. I understand that not everyone is held to the same standard, but there should be a set of common rules. And my understanding of this is that this would be breaking a rule… it feels like I couldn’t get away with that,” the employee added.
MSNBC did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
‘The View’ co-host Sunny Hostin makes flagrantly false claim about Trump’s campaign
“The View” co-host Sunny Hostin claimed that President-elect Donald Trump’s 2024 campaign didn’t discuss high egg prices during the latest episode of the daytime ABC talk show.
While expressing frustration over voters prioritizing kitchen table issues over Trump’s alleged threat to democracy, Hostin declared that Trump didn’t even talk about core economic issues – such as the price of eggs – during his campaign.
“Most people are saying, ‘Well this was a kitchen table issue, this was about the cost of eggs.’ Donald Trump never talked about the price of eggs,” Hostin said on Tuesday.
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Despite Hostin’s allegation, Trump spoke about the high cost of eggs multiple times during his campaign. He shared an infographic to Truth Social in September showing how various grocery staples were more expensive under the Biden administration than they were under Trump.
In addition to showing that milk prices were up, as well as the price of ham and chicken, Trump’s graphic pointed out that the price of a case of eggs was up $2 from during his administration.
During a campaign stop at a Pennsylvania grocery store that same month, then-vice presidential candidate JD Vance lamented about the price of eggs to reporters, stating, “Eggs, when Kamala Harris took office, were short of $1.50 a dozen. Now, a dozen eggs will cost you around $4 thanks to her inflationary policies.”
Both Trump and personal finance expert and radio host Dave Ramsey discussed “$8 eggs, $5 gas, 7% interest rates and a house they can’t afford, with wages not going up as fast as house prices,” during an October interview.
High grocery prices and inflation in general were a key topic throughout the campaign.
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Hostin’s complaint came while discussing Special Counsel Jack Smith dismissing the federal charges against Trump in his Washington, D.C., case over the president-elect’s alleged 2020 election interference.
The co-host argued that throwing out the case dashed the hopes of voter groups like Black female voters who viewed democracy as a top issue.
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She added, “But when the exit polls were taken, the 92% of Black women that voted for the vice president said that the number one issue for them was January 6 and the fall of democracy. So, there were some voters that felt that was very, very important to them.”
All six of the co-hosts of “The View” voted for Kamala Harris.
Sharon Stone rants about ‘uneducated’ Americans after Trump victory
Sharon Stone, a vocal supporter of 2024 Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris, blasted American politics while attending the Torino Film Festival in Italy.
During a panel discussion, Stone, 66, was asked her thoughts on the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, which the award-winning actress said was “a big” question to think about.
“We have to stop and think about who we choose for government,” Stone said in a thinly veiled swipe at President-elect Trump. “And if, in fact, we are actually choosing our government or if the government is choosing itself.
ALEC BALDWIN BELIEVES ‘AMERICANS ARE VERY UNINFORMED ABOUT REALITY’
“You know, Italy has seen fascism. Italy has seen these things, you guys. And you understand what happens. You have seen this before.
“My country is in the midst of adolescence. Adolescence is very arrogant. Adolescence thinks it knows everything. Adolescence is naive and ignorant and arrogant. And we are in our ignorant, arrogant adolescence.”
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Stone, who picked up the Stella della Mole lifetime achievement award, added that Americans had never witnessed these events in the country before.
“So, Americans who don’t travel, who 80% don’t have a passport, who are uneducated, are in their extraordinary naïveté,” she said. “What I would say is that the only way that we can help with these issues is to help each other.”
She discouraged the notion that only “women should help women, because that’s the only way we have survived so far.”
Instead, Stone offered, “We must say that good men must help good men, and those good men must be very aware that a lot of their friends are not good men.
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“We can’t continue to pretend that your friends are good men when they’re not good men. And you must be very clear minded and understand that your friends who are not good men are dangerous, violent men. And you have to keep them away from your daughters, your wives and your girlfriends, because this is the time when we can no longer look away, when bad men are bad.”
The “Basic Instinct” actress reflected, “I was watching a comedian the other night, and he said, ‘I asked a woman to dinner and she said yes. And it was such a brave thing for her to do because the only real thing, the No. 1 killer in the world today is men. For men, the No. 1 killer is heart disease.’
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“The No. 1 killer for women is men. It is very important to remember that. It’s very important to remember that.”
Shortly after Stone’s appearance at the film festival, Alec Baldwin, who was in town to screen his ’90s classic, “The Hunt for Red October,” admitted it’s a “very important time for filmmaking” due to “a very difficult time in the United States.”
“Television news in the United States is a business. They have to make money,” Baldwin said at a press conference. “There’s a hole. There’s a vacuum. There is a gap, if you will, in information for Americans.
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“Americans are very uninformed about reality — what’s really going on. With climate change, Ukraine, Israel … you name it. All the biggest topics in the world, Americans have an appetite for a little bit of information.
“Americans are very uninformed about reality — what’s really going on. With climate change, Ukraine, Israel … you name it. All the biggest topics in the world, Americans have an appetite for a little bit of information.”
“That vacuum is filled by the film industry. Not just the independent film industry, not just the documentary film industry, which are very important around the world. But by narrative films, as well where the filmmakers and the buyers, the studios and the networks and the streamers are willing to go that way.
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“I think right now is probably one of the most significant times in our history. Since film began, since the film experience began, it became an art form. It became a business, a huge business. Now is probably one of the most important times in our history for us to make films that will teach people what reality is around the world.”