Donald Trump's transition team expects the president-elect to nominate someone for the secretary of state post within the next two weeks, although the field of candidates appears to be getting larger.

Former Utah governor and ambassador to China Jon Huntsman may be among that expanded field, according to the Associated Press. He was among the politicians who called for Trump to drop out of the race this fall in the wake of his leaked comments on his treatment of women. Additional candidates include John Bolton, former ambassador to the United Nations, and Rex W. Tillerson, the CEO of Exxon Mobil, according to the New York Times. They join a list of possibilities that has included former presidential candidate Mitt Romney, ex-New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, retired general David Petraeus and Tennessee Senator Bob Corker.

Petraeus, who also served as CIA director, saw his career seemingly end in disgrace when he accepted a plea deal in 2015 after being prosecuted for sharing classified information with his lover, who was writing a biography of him. Vice President-elect Mike Pence said on ABC's "This Week" that Trump will "factor the totality of General Petraeus' career in making that decision" when asked how his conviction—and "clearly intentional conduct," in the words of FBI Director James Comey—wouldn't disqualify him from consideration as the nation's top diplomat.

"I think the person who will make the decision about our next secretary of state is the president-elect...whether it be General Petraeus or Mitt Romney or Rudy Giuliani or Senator Bob Corker or John Bolton or others who may be added to the list, what people are seeing is an extraordinary capacity of an executive to bring the broadest range of people around him...I'm very confident as he's done so far our president-elect is going to continue to assemble a cabinet, people that will be the best for that position and it'll be a team that will make America strong and prosperous again."

http://www.rawstory.com/2016/12/trump-transition-field-widens-in-search-for-secretary-of-state-candidates/

Trump’s team is lying about Taiwan call: It reportedly took months to plan
David Ferguson DAVID FERGUSON
04 DEC 2016 AT 22:28 ET

However, Trump advisor Stephen Yates — a former national security official under Pres. George W. Bush — said that establishing contact with Taiwan has been high on the transition team’s list of priorities.

“Very early on, Taiwan was on that list,” Yates told the Post. “Once the call was scheduled, I was told that there was a briefing for President-elect Trump. They knew that there would be reaction and potential blowback.”

Tsai spokesman Alex Huang told Reuters, “Of course both sides agreed ahead of time before making contact.”

Trump’s mouthpieces and defenders say that all head-of-state calls with the president-elect have been well-planned and cleared through the proper diplomatic channels, but on Sunday, Secretary of State John Kerry said that Trump made no efforts to contact the State Department before the calls.

http://www.rawstory.com/2016/12/trumps-team-is-lying-about-taiwan-call-it-reportedly-took-months-to-plan/

Audience gasps at Kellyanne Conway’s absurd claim: Trump won ergo his tweets are ‘presidential’

http://www.rawstory.com/2016/12/audience-gasps-at-kellyanne-conways-absurd-claim-trump-won-ergo-his-tweets-are-presidential/



During a forum at the Harvard Kennedy School’s Institute of Politics last week, a student questioned Trump’s use of Twitter as a communications strategy. In recent tweets, Trump made false claims about election fraud, attacked reporters and complained about his portrayal on Saturday Night Live.

“I will tell you that the president-elect looks at his social media accounts — combined 25 million, probably more at this point, users on Twitter and Facebook — as a very good platform which to convey his messages,” Conway explained. “He’s a unique person who’s been following his instincts and his judgement from the beginning.”

But CNN host Jake Tapper questioned whether Trump’s use of Twitter was “presidential behavior.”

“Well, he’s the president-elect,” Conway shrugged. “So that’s presidential behavior, yes.”

In an interview that aired Sunday on CBS’ “60 Minutes,” Ryan said he could not prove Trump’s baseless claim that “millions of people voted illegally,” which the president-elect tweeted to his millions of followers last Sunday.

“I don’t know. I’m not really focused on these things,” Ryan said when anchor Scott Pelley asked him about Trump’s blatant lie.

“It doesn’t matter to me. He won the election,” he said. “The way I see the tweets you’re talking about, he’s basically giving voice to a lot of people who have felt that they were voiceless. He’s communicating with people in this country who’ve felt like they have not been listened to. He’s going to be an unconventional president.”

“Who cares what he tweeted, you know, on some Thursday night, if we fix this country’s big problems?” he added. “That’s just the way I look at this.”

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/paul-ryan-donald-trump-tweets_us_5844b2f2e4b0c68e04818206

http://thedailymeal.com/news/eat/david-chang-says-security-trump-tower-killing-midtown-businesses/113016

President-elect Donald Trump’s residency in his Midtown penthouse in Trump Tower has caused concern among not only residents but also retail and restaurant businesses.





Chang’s Chambers Hotel compound — which features Má Pêche, Fuku+, and Milk Bar on West 56th Street between Fifth and Sixth avenues — is in close proximity to Trump Tower, at 56th Street and Fifth Avenue, and will likely see the effects of minimized foot traffic in the area.

Other critics have compared the increased security of Trump Tower and the surrounding area to an “armed encampment,” predicting a bleak future with “clogging streets” and “retail businesses shriveling,” wrote Justin Davidson of New York Magazine.

President-elect Donald Trump’s team insists it’s not a big deal that he spoke directly with Taiwan’s president, breaking with years of delicate foreign policy precedent and leading to the Chinese government lodging a complaint over the matter with the U.S.

Vice President-elect Mike Pence said Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press” that the Trump campaign had “not to his knowledge” reached out to China following the outcry. He told host Chuck Todd that he “wouldn’t expect” a call this week, either.

“To be honest with you, the waters here seem like a little bit of a tempest in a teapot,” Pence said, arguing the media had stirred up any controversy.

“I think most Americans and frankly most leaders around the world know this for what it was,” he said. “And it’s all part and parcel. I think you’re going to see in a President Donald Trump a willingness to engage the world but engage the world on America’s terms.”

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/mike-pence-trump-taiwan_us_58443355e4b017f37fe536ed?ka2re0uusegzdj9k9

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/donald-trump-snl-alec-baldwin-tweets-anger_us_5843bbfce4b017f37fe52cbb

Following this weekend’s show, the president-elect didn’t waste any time in blasting it as “unwatchable,” “totally biased” and “not funny” ― while saying Baldwin’s impersonation “just can’t get any worse.”



Here’s how the clearly thicker-skinned Baldwin replied:



“There is a reason actually that Donald tweets so much,” said “SNL” cast member Kate McKinnon as Trump’s campaign manager and top aide Kellyanne Conway. “He does it to distract the media from his business conflicts and all the very scary people in his cabinet.”

To which Baldwin as Trump replied: “Actually, that’s not why I do it. I do it because my brain is bad.” Trump’s chief strategist Steve Bannon even made an appearance, as the Grim Reaper.

Conway later insisted the president-elect is “well aware of the U.S. policy,” scolding Cooper for presuming that he’s not.

“I don’t remember any discussions ever being asked about President Obama or president-elect Obama eight years ago at this time,” Conway said.

“Well he’s never spoken to the president of Taiwan. It is new so that is why i’m asking,” Cooper explained.

Conway responded she’s “pretty sure” President Obama made diplomatic calls as president-elect, adding she “can’t imagine” the press was as outraged as they are presently to Trump.

http://www.rawstory.com/2016/12/cooper-hammers-kellyanne-conway-on-trumps-taiwan-flub-obama-never-spoke-to-the-president-of-taiwan/

Trump risks showdown with China after call with Taiwan
By Stephen Collinson, Nicole Gaouette and Elise Labott, CNN
Updated 8:54 PM ET, Fri December 2, 2016

http://www.cnn.com/2016/12/02/politics/donald-trump-taiwan/index.html

(CNN)President-elect Donald Trump spoke with the President of Taiwan Friday, according to a statement from his transition team, in a move that threatens to trigger a diplomatic showdown with China.

"President-elect Trump spoke with President Tsai Ing-wen of Taiwan, who offered her congratulations," Trump's transition team said in a statement. "During the discussion, they noted the close economic, political, and security ties exists between Taiwan and the United States. President-elect Trump also congratulated President Tsai on becoming President of Taiwan earlier this year."

Trump's conversation marks the first publicly reported call between a US President or President-elect and the leader of Taiwan since Washington established diplomatic relations with Beijing in 1979, said Bonnie Glaser, a China expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

The telephone call is certain to incense China, which considers Taiwan a renegade province. It is the first major sign of the unpredictability that Trump has vowed to bring to long-held US relations with the rest of the world.