# Trump's first press conference as president-elect **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [January 11, 2017, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-first-press-conference-as-president-elect/776878 "2017-01-11T17:33:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![Chisquirrel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6bbea6/32.png) [@Chisquirrel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chisquirrel)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2017, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-first-press-conference-as-president-elect/776878/101 "2017-01-12T19:51:32Z")
> [@Pearl\_Clutching\_Provocateur](#): > > I’d love to put it to a test. Not to blue collar factory workers but the Trump protesters with blue hair. > > My broader assertion is that a false narrative has been created that overstates our need for immigration. If we need more farm workers, the wages should increase rather than increase the labor supply. By allowing illegals into the country, we’re subverting the free market. If at 30/hr, there are still shortages then let’s increase the immigration. I’m perfectly fine with my affordable food now, thank you very much. ---
**Author:** ![jaycat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jaycat/32/3015_2.png) [@jaycat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jaycat)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2017, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-first-press-conference-as-president-elect/776878/102 "2017-01-12T19:54:22Z")
> [@QuickSilver](#): > > You miss her, don’t you? Every day. It’s okay to admit it. Maybe a toss-off but quite possibly true. Like the way you stand next to a fat person if you want to look skinny. ---
**Author:** ![SenorBeef](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senorbeef/32/2220_2.png) [@SenorBeef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SenorBeef)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2017, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-first-press-conference-as-president-elect/776878/103 "2017-01-12T19:56:25Z")
All business plans come in dozens of unmarked manila envelopes. It’s funny - Trump still thinks he’s producing a TV show. The comically giant stack of envelopes is a sitcom or reality show prop for “important pile of plans” - he thinks he’s still on a reality show. And he is. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2017, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-first-press-conference-as-president-elect/776878/104 "2017-01-12T20:11:45Z")
> [@monstro](#): > > [He has a claque comprised of paid staffers.](http://www.sfgate.com/technology/businessinsider/article/Paid-staffers-were-on-hand-to-cheer-for-Trump-at-10852157.php) > The guy can’t talk in front of a crowd unless he hears applause and cheering. It was funny when he was just a candidate. It’s frightening now that he’s about to be president. > > Also, all those folders were filled with [blank copy paper](http://www.politicususa.com/2017/01/11/trump-busted-empty-fake-folders-conflict-interest-docs-press-conference.html). Trump and his lackies wouldn’t allow the reporters to inspect them (so why even bring them out?!). > I keep thinking to myself, “Are we seriously going to go through with this?!” > [@snoe](#): > > It’s not an unreasonable guess, lord knows, but that’s not what the CNN photo showed. The link you posted is not to a reputable news org, and all I could find searching for confirmation of this was places like Dem Underground and Altleft parroting the same speculation. > > (I will say that the folders look suspiciously clean, crisp, and unlabeled in the photo, though I suppose they could’ve been facedown.) Trump has done the phony press conference before. [Networks Refuse To Air Donald Trump’s Hotel ‘Press’ Tour After Reporters Barred](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/donald-trump-hotel-press-tour_us_57dc0c9fe4b0071a6e06d5ee) > [@](#): > > The major television networks refused Friday to use or distribute footage of Donald Trump’s “press” tour of his new Washington, D.C., hotel because the Republican nominee didn’t allow reporters to attend. > > Trump had just finished playing the cable networks, luring them into carrying 20 minutes of praise from veterans before finally admitting that President Barack Obama was born in the United States. That very brief admission came after he had fueled the lie of birtherism for the past five years. [Trump Doesn’t Own Most Of The Products He Pitched Last Night](http://www.npr.org/2016/03/09/469775355/trump-doesnt-own-most-of-the-products-he-pitched-last-night) > [@](#): > > Despite three more primary and caucus victories on Tuesday, Trump eschewed a traditional victory speech, adding in a press conference — and something else: a table piled high with a veritable Trump-ucopia of Trump-branded products. > > “I have very successful companies,” the New York billionaire told reporters at the event at Trump National Golf Club Jupiter, in Jupiter, Fla., as raw steaks, bottles of wine and vodka, and magazines stood near the man himself. > > **Trump Steaks** > A search for “Trump” on QVC’s website finds various Melania Trump jewelry products, a line of Trump mattresses and one entry for Trump Steaks. But they’re not actual steaks; they’re “Certified Angus Beef Steakburgers” and QVC notes, “We’re sorry, this item is not available at this time.” > > A reporter present at Trump’s press conference notes that the steaks on the table were not actually a Trump brand, but appear, ironically, to have come from a company named “Bush Brothers.” There’s more on his defunct products he displayed but I can’t quote more. Fair use and all that. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2017, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-first-press-conference-as-president-elect/776878/105 "2017-01-12T20:53:17Z")
> [@Pearl\_Clutching\_Provocateur](#): > > My broader assertion is that a false narrative has been created that overstates our need for immigration. If we need more farm workers, the wages should increase rather than increase the labor supply. :rolleyes: You know, **PCP** , the reason it doesn’t work out that way in practice is not because it’s never occurred to the employers who pay the wages. The reason is that employers have figured out that if they instead encourage downward pressure on wages by employing undocumented workers, then their profits go up. Mind you, [Immigration and Customs Enforcement under the Obama administration has made significant progress in opposing this strategy by cracking down on employers of undocumented workers](http://www.politifact.com/florida/statements/2013/jul/03/debbie-wasserman-schultz/obama-holds-record-cracking-down-employers-who-hir/), as opposed to the Bush administration’s showier but less effective focus on conducting workplace raids to crack down on the workers themselves. But for many unscrupulous employers, the profit from hiring cheap undocumented workers is still well worth the risk. ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2017, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-first-press-conference-as-president-elect/776878/106 "2017-01-12T21:07:08Z")
> [@jaycat](#): > > Maybe a toss-off but quite possibly true. Like the way you stand next to a fat person if you want to look skinny. Good thing your man Donald has the required gravitas and quiet authority that a president needs. Really, his behaviors, actions and words just command respect. Oh, and a complete and utter lack of ethics problems in his past, amIright? ---
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2017, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-first-press-conference-as-president-elect/776878/107 "2017-01-12T21:10:13Z")
At the hearing on Ben Carson for HHS secretary, Senator Elizabeth Warren said that she wanted assurances from Carson that not one dollar of any of the millions of dollars he would administer would go to benefit Donald Trump or any member of his family. Carson replied, “It is not my intention to benefit any American.” ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2017, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-first-press-conference-as-president-elect/776878/108 "2017-01-12T21:16:55Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > At the hearing on Ben Carson for HHS secretary, Senator Elizabeth Warren said that she wanted assurances from Carson that not one dollar of any of the millions of dollars he would administer would go to benefit Donald Trump or any member of his family. > > Carson replied, “It is not my intention to benefit any American.” Poorly stated or accidental confession? ---
**Author:** ![Chisquirrel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6bbea6/32.png) [@Chisquirrel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chisquirrel)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2017, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-first-press-conference-as-president-elect/776878/109 "2017-01-12T21:21:20Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > Poorly stated or accidental confession? I’m going with a poor choice of words. Carson has never struck me as unequivocally evil, just braindead stupid. ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2017, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-first-press-conference-as-president-elect/776878/110 "2017-01-12T21:35:34Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > At the hearing on Ben Carson for HHS secretary, Senator Elizabeth Warren said that she wanted assurances from Carson that not one dollar of any of the millions of dollars he would administer would go to benefit Donald Trump or any member of his family. > > Carson replied, “It is not my intention to benefit any American.” I think he was speaking truth here. He and his Republican buddies are of the firm opinion that the government should not function to benefit it’s citizens. In fact for the most part, they think most government functions should be eliminated. So he is just speaking his mind here. Henceforth, HHS will operate in a way that will not benefit any American. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2017, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-first-press-conference-as-president-elect/776878/111 "2017-01-12T22:19:57Z")
We have survived other Republican administrations. Well will survive this one. Probably. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2017, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-first-press-conference-as-president-elect/776878/112 "2017-01-13T01:05:29Z")
I’d like some insight into some of the remarks made at the press conference by Trump’s lawyer Sheri Dillon, she of the [impressive pile of paperwork](http://www.snopes.com/trump-busted-using-empty-folders/), about some of the issues involved in Trump’s alleged “isolation from his business interests”. > [@Dillon](#): > > No one would have thought when the Constitution was written that paying your hotel bill was an emolument. Instead, it would have been thought of as a value-for-value exchange; not a gift, not a title, and not an emolument. > > But since President-elect Trump has been elected, some people want to define emoluments to cover routine business transactions like paying for hotel rooms. They suggest that the Constitution prohibits the businesses from even arm’s-length transactions that the president-elect has absolutely nothing to do with and isn’t even aware of. > > These people are wrong. This is not what the Constitution says. Paying for a hotel room is not a gift or a present and it has nothing to do with an office. It’s not an emolument. Is this intended to deflect criticism of [foreign diplomats’ choosing to stay at Trump-owned hotels in order to curry favor with Trump](http://fortune.com/2016/11/19/donald-trumps-new-dc-hotel-foreign-diplomats/)? > [@](#): > > Donald Trump’s new hotel in Washington, D.C., located blocks from the White House, threatens to become a way for foreign diplomats to ingratiate themselves with the new president. > > A Washington Post report published Friday featured interviews with dozens of diplomats, many of whom requested anonymity and some of whom said they would stay at the new Trump International Hotel in order to please Trump. About 100 foreign diplomats gathered at the hotel this week to discuss building ties with Trump’s administration, the Post reported. While there, many heard sales pitches about the hotel. In that context, Dillon’s remarks sound disingenuous to me. Sure, paying a hotel bill for value received in accommodation is not in itself a bribe or emolument to the hotelkeeper. But the fact of **choosing** to spend your money, or your country’s money, in a **particular** hotel owned by the head of state you’re trying to impress favorably, is a rather different matter. And it appears that Trump’s crew is aware of that, since Dillon claimed that “President-elect Trump has decided, and we are announcing today, that he is going to voluntarily donate all profits from foreign government payments made to his hotel to the United States Treasury”. So, is Dillon correct that Trump the businessman getting lucrative hotel business from foreign diplomats trying to get in good with Trump the President wouldn’t be any kind of a problem as far as the Emoluments Clause is concerned? Or is she just blowing smoke? ---
**Author:** ![Ulfreida](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ulfreida/32/8014_2.png) [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2017, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-first-press-conference-as-president-elect/776878/113 "2017-01-13T01:09:07Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > Did his election come about because-I don’t want to insult red necks-unintelligent, largely rural people who focus only on their own issues were willing to vote for him, or did that many voters hate Hillary Clinton? combo. ---
**Author:** ![Emily\_Litella](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/emily_litella/32/3370_2.png) [@Emily\_Litella](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Emily_Litella)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2017, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-first-press-conference-as-president-elect/776878/114 "2017-01-13T03:21:48Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > Good thing your man Donald has the required gravitas and quiet authority that a president needs. Really, his behaviors, actions and words just command respect. Oh, and a complete and utter lack of ethics problems in his past, amIright? That reminds me, any and all substance and issues aside, is there any way to stop him waving his little hands around when he talks? He looks like he’s going to pull a rabbit out of a top hat. Tie his hands to the podium? ---
**Author:** ![UDS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecae2f/32.png) [@UDS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UDS)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2017, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-first-press-conference-as-president-elect/776878/115 "2017-01-13T03:33:22Z")
> [@Emily\_Litella](#): > > That reminds me, any and all substance and issues aside, is there any way to stop him waving his little hands around when he talks? He looks like he’s going to pull a rabbit out of a top hat. Tie his hands to the podium? A bilateral handectomy would not only stop his gestures while speaking, but would also stop him tweeting. Just sayin’. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2017, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-first-press-conference-as-president-elect/776878/116 "2017-01-13T03:54:22Z")
> [@UDS](#): > > A bilateral handectomy would not only stop his gestures while speaking, but would also stop him tweeting. Just sayin’. Voice to text. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2017, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-first-press-conference-as-president-elect/776878/117 "2017-01-13T20:30:08Z")
> [@Kimstu](#): > > I’d like some insight into some of the remarks made at the press conference by Trump’s lawyer Sheri Dillon, she of the [impressive pile of paperwork](http://www.snopes.com/trump-busted-using-empty-folders/), about some of the issues involved in Trump’s alleged “isolation from his business interests”. > > … Dillon claimed that “President-elect Trump has decided, and we are announcing today, that he is going to voluntarily donate all profits from foreign government payments made to his hotel to the United States Treasury”. “Profits,” eh? In the movie industry, the naïve accept contracts in which they get a percentage of the NET profits. As it turns out, in ‘Hollywood accounting,’ there basically are never any _net_ profits. (Smart negotiators demand a percentage of the _gross_ profits.) So my guess is that the Profits Trump will be donating will be ALL the _net_ profits! (In other words: zip.) > [@Kimstu](#): > > So, is Dillon correct that Trump the businessman getting lucrative hotel business from foreign diplomats trying to get in good with Trump the President wouldn’t be any kind of a problem as far as the Emoluments Clause is concerned? Or is she just blowing smoke? The latter. ---
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2017, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-first-press-conference-as-president-elect/776878/118 "2017-01-13T20:57:16Z")
Republican Congressman Randy Weber wants the CNN reporter fired for asking questions. [GOP Congressman Wants CNN Reporter Fired For Doing His Job | HuffPost Latest News](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/texas-rep-says-cnn-reporter-at-trump-press-conference-should-be-fired-hes-wrong_us_5877a321e4b03c8a02d5b885)? ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2017, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-first-press-conference-as-president-elect/776878/119 "2017-01-13T21:17:40Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > Republican Congressman Randy Weber wants the CNN reporter fired for asking questions. > > [GOP Congressman Wants CNN Reporter Fired For Doing His Job | HuffPost Latest News](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/texas-rep-says-cnn-reporter-at-trump-press-conference-should-be-fired-hes-wrong_us_5877a321e4b03c8a02d5b885)? Lets just get rid of that whole pesky first amendment thing while we are at it, it’s like a free license to criticize dear leader Trump, and we can’t have that. ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2017, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-first-press-conference-as-president-elect/776878/120 "2017-01-13T21:49:06Z")
> [@k9bfriender](#): > > Lets just get rid of that whole pesky first amendment thing while we are at it, it’s like a free license to criticize dear leader Trump, and we can’t have that. I would guess that they won’t actually try to _repeal_ the First Amendment until the reign of Barron. While DJT is Prez-for-Life they’ll simply rely upon _suspending_ it during the upcoming\* War On Islam. \*Which could begin as early as one week from today! Huzzah for martial law! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-first-press-conference-as-president-elect/776878.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-first-press-conference-as-president-elect/776878.md?page=7)