This Week’s Edition of the Swamp News
Chaos in The Swamp continues into its sixth week. The slightly better news of the week is that Kellyanne Conway was, for the most part, missing from it. That’s not to say, however, that she didn’t get her usual share of notoriety, this time resulting from a shot by the White House photographer of her sitting in an impressive yoga pose on the Oval Office sofa while the “president” and a crowd of honored guests—leaders of our country’s historically black colleges and universities—were standing around the desk. She looked more like a teenager texting her BFFs from Daddy’s office than a top aide to the president of the United States. Though the outrage over her lack of decorum may seem petty, I don’t have to tell you what my mother would have done had she seen me in such an unseemly position because you’re probably imagining your own mother’s reaction. Enough said.
On to the main events:
- On Saturday, the day after the White House had blocked major news organizations from attending a briefing, Trump announced via his usual communication outlet—Twitter—that he will not attend this year’s White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner: “I will not be attending the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner this year. Please wish everyone well and have a great evening!”So there! Take that, media! I owe you no explanation or courteous chitchat; I’m just staying away. The last president to miss the annual event was Ronald Reagan who did, however, offer an excuse: it was 1981 and he was recovering from bullet wounds received in the attempt to assassinate him. We can only hope Alec Baldwin will accept the suggestion of replacing Trump at the event.
- In yet another blatant display of his deep ignorance, Trump declared in exasperation on Monday: “Nobody knew health care could be so complicated.” This followed an announcement that the Republicans have a “solution” in hand that is “really really I think very good” but that “it’s an unbelievably complex subject.” Um, I think what you meant to say, Donald, is “Everybody on the planet except me and a few Republican lawmakers fully understand the complexities of health care and government’s role in it; and we might have known, too, if trashing our previous president’s legacy were not far more important to us than providing lifesaving care to our citizens.” If health care were easy, we’d have had the perfect plan in place decades ago.
- In news which comes as no surprise to anyone, Jeff Sessions—our newly anointed Attorney General—may have lied under oath regarding his contacts with Russian officials in the days just preceding the 2016 election. What we now know for sure, according to the Washington Post, is (1) Sessions had two conversations with the Russian ambassador to the U.S. just before the election and (2) he twice denied the contact to his questioners during his January confirmation hearings. Equally unsurprising is the fact that his boss, DJT, is denying Sessions has committed any wrongdoing. Yet many members of congress do not share Trump’s confidence and are calling for Sessions’ resignation, which of course he is unlikely to tender; but he has agreed to recuse himself from the ongoing DOJ investigation into the scope of Russia’s influence on the election.
- Whew! And it’s still only Tuesday. Tuesday was the highlight of Week 6 in The Swamp. That evening, Trump gave his first address to a joint session of congress, and it was Reality TV at its finest. On the positive side, 45 managed to give a whole one-hour speech using a moderate tone, without cursing, without calling anyone a childish name, and without directly attacking anyone personally. On the less positive side, he spoke in glowing terms about the future of America (in sharp contrast to the doom-and-gloom talk of American carnage in his inaugural address) yet, as is his habit, forgot to add any specific plans or strategies for implementing that rosy vision. In other words, it was just more empty talk. And in the crowning moment, he recognized the widow of Navy Seal Ryan Owens who died in Trump’s botched raid in Yemen and—in the opinion of many, including me—exploited her in order to defend himself and deny responsibility for Owens’s death. The most surreal part of the evening was the media’s response to the speech: gushing over the “presidential” behavior, warning skeptics that we’d better look out now because there’s a new Donnie in town. So much more to say about that evening but so little space. I move on.
- CNN gave us a first glimpse of Trump’s proposed budget plan, which shows a 10% hike in military spending, the cost of which is to be covered by deep cuts to other departments, with the State Department and the Environmental Protection Agency taking especially hard hits. Since spending always reflects values and priorities (I want those super-cute shoes, but the kids need school supplies, so I’ll forgo the shoes this week), a president’s budget is a blueprint for shaping the government he/she wishes to create. And it’s no surprise that Trump’s priorities strike many of us as skewed.
- Politico and other outlets have reported that the cuts to the EPA’s budget will be about 25%, accompanied by a 20% reduction in staffing. Environmental concerns which will not be funded are climate change initiatives and programs aimed at preventing water and air pollution, including lead contamination. So at least the children in Flint won’t have to die from enemy attacks; they’ll be killed by their own “president.”
- Robert Reich reports: “The number of close Trump associates who have been accused of having undisclosed contact with Russian agents, or who have reportedly been investigated by the F.I., now stands at 7.” He listed Paul Manafort, Michael Cohen, Roger Stone, Carter Page, Michael Flynn, Jeff Sessions, and Jared Kushner. Reich raises the questions why there were so many and such frequent contacts and why the entire campaign and administration felt compelled to deny and conceal the contacts.
- CNN reported on Thursday, March 2: “President Donald Trump’s transition team, days before he took office, nixed plans for an orientation class that would have prepared political appointees and White House staff for a series of ethical and legal issues, documents provided to CNN show. The ethics program proposed by the General Services Administration would have helped White House staff and political appointees get through Senate confirmation hearings, work with Congress and corresponding agencies and comply with laws and executive orders — all issues Trump nominees and staff have confronted during their first six weeks in office.” HA! We don’t need no stinking ethics training! We have our own standards, thank you very much.
- On Tuesday, Trump signed a bill reversing the Obama administration’s effort to tighten background checks to keep guns out of the hands of unstable people. Thanks to Trump’s generous measure, people who “receive government checks for being mentally disabled and others who have been deemed unable to handle their own financial affairs to the FBI office that runs the national background check database” (around 75,000 in all) can once again purchase firearms. Sleep tight!
- And finally, on Friday the 3rd, we learned that Mike Pence used a private email server to conduct state business during his tenure as Governor of Indiana. Gee, why does that sound so familiar? Oh, yes, that’s the same thing Hillary Clinton did and the Republicans lost their minds over it. But relax; Pence says his case was entirely different. No comparison at all. Nothing to see here, folks. Just move along.
In an interesting footnote to this colorful week, Trump made himself a report card. Back in our day, report cards were issued every six weeks, so I suppose it’s appropriate. He awarded himself an A+ for effort, an A for achievement, and a C or C+ for messaging. Yet instead of working to improve the message, he continues to shoot the messenger: the press, whom he has named “the enemy of the people.”
Looks like we’re going to have to wait another week for the swamp draining to begin. I’m not holding my breath.