President Donald Trump will remain in Florida for Presidents Day, but his search for a new national security adviser continues. The president also took to Twitter to clarify the remark he made about a terror attack in Sweden.
HAPPY PRESIDENTS DAY - MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 20, 2017
What's happening today:
New national security adviser announced
-- The president has named retired Army Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster as his new national security adviser, replacing the departing Michael Flynn.
Trump said, "He is a man of tremendous talent and tremendous experience, and I have read a lot over the last two days, he is highly respected in the military."
Flynn resigned last week after reports surfaced that he misled Vice President Mike Pence about his contact with Russian officials.
"Not My Presidents Day" rallies held around U.S. on Presidents Day
-- Protesters in cities across the country took to the streets on Monday for "Not My President's Day" rallies with a strong anti-Trump message.
The rallies on Monday came amid what has been a fierce backlash from liberal grassroots groups to the Trump administration. That opposition has been voiced on a broad range of issues, including women's reproductive rights, immigration, and climate change.
The #SwedenIncident that never was
-- It was the reference heard around the world: President Trump noting a terror attack in Sweden during a rally in Florida on Saturday.
The president said: "Here's the bottom line. We've got to keep our country safe. You look at what's happening. We've got to keep our country safe. You look at what's happening in Germany, you look at what's happening last night in Sweden. Sweden, who would believe this. Sweden. They took in large numbers. They're having problems like they never thought possible. You look at what's happening in Brussels. You look at what's happening all over the world. Take a look at Nice. Take a look at Paris. We've allowed thousands and thousands of people into our country and there was no way to vet those people. There was no documentation. There was no nothing. So we're going to keep our country safe."
Click here for a full transcript of Trump's Florida rally speech
Trump's comment prompted a barrage of social media reaction Sunday, with hundreds of tweets, and a local newspaper published a list of events that happened on Friday that appeared to have no connections to any terror-like activity.
On Sunday, Trump addressed his remark on Twitter:
My statement as to what's happening in Sweden was in reference to a story that was broadcast on @FoxNews concerning immigrants & Sweden.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 19, 2017
The president might be referring to a segment aired Friday night on the Fox News Channel show "Tucker Carlson Tonight" that reported Sweden had accepted more than 160,000 asylum-seekers last year but that only 500 of the migrants had found jobs in Sweden. The report went on to say that a surge in violence had followed.
Trump criticizes Sweden's immigration policies
-- Regarding Sweden's immigration policies, the president tweeted Monday morning:
Give the public a break - The FAKE NEWS media is trying to say that large scale immigration in Sweden is working out just beautifully. NOT!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 20, 2017
VP Pence "disappointed" that Flynn misled him about Russia contacts
-- At a news conference at NATO headquarters in Brussels, Vice President Mike Pence addressed last week's resignation of Michael Flynn as national security adviser.
"I was disappointed to learn that ... the facts that had been conveyed to me by Gen. Flynn were inaccurate. But we honor Gen. Flynn's long service to the United States of America, and I fully support the President's decision to ask for his resignation," Pence said.
VP Pence "disappointed" that Flynn misled him about the nature of his conversations with Russian officials. https://t.co/aMA9KHZLm9 pic.twitter.com/58t1yYmMrg
— ABC News (@ABC) February 20, 2017
President meeting with national security adviser candidates
-- President Trump is still looking to replace retired Gen. Michael Flynn, who was fired last week as national security adviser. Over the weekend in Florida, Trump met with four candidates: his acting adviser, retired Army Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg; John Bolton, a former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations; Army Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster and the superintendent of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, Lt. Gen. Robert Caslen.
The president said he is hoping to make a decision in the next few days.
Trump's first choice to replace Flynn, retired Vice Adm. Robert Harward, turned down the offer.
WH chief of staff: No collusion between Trump campaign and Russian officials
-- White House chief of staff Reince Priebus, in an interview with Fox News' Chris Wallace on Sunday, said there was no collusion between anyone involved in President Donald Trump's 2016 campaign and Russian officials.
Priebus complained about the use of anonymous sources in news stories about contact between Trump campaign officials and Russian officials during the 2016 presidential race, saying intelligence leaders have told him those reports are "complete garbage."
Administration official fired over critical comments
-- Craig Deare, appointed by the president to lead the National Security Council's Western Hemisphere Division, was fired for his criticism of Trump's policies and inner circle of advisers
He was escorted out of the Executive Office Building in Washington, D.C., on Friday.
Trump wigs are "a thing" in Austria
-- The president's hairstyle is really popular in Austria, with many costume rental shops running out of Trump hair wigs as Carnival season approaches.
Austria celebrates the pre-Lenten Carnival season with scores of balls and other masked events in the winter.
