President Donald Trump sits at his desk after a meeting with Intel CEO Brian Krzanich, left, and members of his staff in the Oval Office. Pablo Martinez MonsivaisAP
President Donald Trump sent Twitter into a flurry of speculation on what he meant by “Easy D,” a phrase he used in a tweet Wednesday afternoon.
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The president presumably meant “easy decision,” a reference to the pending court decision regarding his executive order suspending the U.S. refugee resettlement program for 120 days and banning travel from seven majority-Muslim nations. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit heard arguments from the Justice Department Tuesday, which is arguing for the executive order to go back into effect. It has been temporarily suspended due to multiple legal challenges around the country that allege it is unconstitutional.
Trump had earlier Wednesday repeated that his executive order was signed in the name of national security, and if the courts refused to reinstate it the nation could be at risk.
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The president also tweeted his displeasure at department store chain Nordstrom, which announced last week it would no longer carry his daughter Ivanka’s label because of poor sales.
The Trump administration has taken to calling any stories critical of the president and his policies as “fake news.” He tweeted a link to an article in The Federalist, a conservative online magazine, that chronicled examples of the mainstream press promoting “fake news.”
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Also Wednesday, Trump tweeted about a speech given to sheriffs and police chiefs gathered in Washington for the Major Cities Chiefs Association winter conference.
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Trump, a fan of polls, tweeted a poll that showed his 55 percent of voters approve of Trump’s immigration ban. The tweet does not include a link for more information about the poll, which was conducted by Morning Consult and Politico.
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The national survey reached 2,070 registered voters and found that 47 percent approve of the job Trump is doing, while 46 percent disapprove. The approval number is down two points from the last week’s survey and the disapproval number is up five points.
The president tweeted a link to a news story about a third poll — showing that his administration is “seen as more truthful than news media.” The poll, conducted by Emerson College, found that the Trump administration is considered truthful by 49 percent of voters while the media is considered truthful by 39 percent of voters.
The poll includes other results that are less promising for the Trump administration, including negative favorability ratings for Trump advisers Kellyanne Conway and Steve Bannon and Education Secretary Betsy DeVos. The poll found positive favorability ratings for Attorney General Jeff Sessions, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch.
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Trump also congratulated Jeff Session after he was confirmed by the Senate to be attorney general. Sessions was confirmed 52-47 on Wednesday evening.
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From his @POTUS account, Trump retweeted congratulatory messages about Sessions from three senators, a House member and the House Republicans.
The Trump administration is expected to take steps to block a historic agreement that would allow Cuban baseball players from joining Major League Baseball in the United States without having to defect, according to an official familiar with the discussions.