A couple of weeks ago, Rachel Maddow spent a small segment of her show reviewing some early errors and misdeeds of the Trump administration, asking viewers to label each one “stupid” or “nefarious.” Although it’s impossible to overstate 45’s ignorance and incompetence, more and more, his actions must be seen as deliberately malicious; then again, almost three months into the train wreck that is this “presidency,” it ceases to matter what is clueless and what is evil, because the results are the same: the destruction of our way of life, families living in fear, and rising anger and hopelessness at every level of our society.
We live in an era of firsts, a time when “unprecedented” is a word included in every news article and broadcast. This week, we for the first time heard a “president” at an official Rose Garden ceremony utter the exclamation: “You know, coming from a different world and only being a politician for a short period of time, how am I doing? Am I doing ok? Hey, I’m the president, can you believe it?” No, we can’t. Refusal to release his tax returns, nepotism in the White House, threatening to break up a circuit court, threatening to hold people’s health insurance hostage to pressure congress to fund his border wall, maintaining interest in his businesses while serving as “president,” violating the Constitution’s Emoluments Clause—the list is endless. These unprecedented actions signal clearly that 45 has no intention of playing by the rules; and we all stand to lose as a result, but those with the most to lose are his supporters. It’s a strange, strange world we’ve entered.
Here’s a recap of Week 15.
- Speaking of unprecedented, Trump’s 100-day love fest Saturday night in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, was like nothing anyone has ever seen before from a president. According to news reports, he once again “savaged” the media. David Gergen, astute political analyst and former presidential adviser, responded: “This was the most divisive speech I have ever heard from a sitting American president. Others may disagree about that. He played to his base and he treated his other listeners, the rest of the people who have been disturbed about him or opposed him, he treated them basically as, ‘I don’t give a damn what you think because you’re frankly like the enemy.’ I thought it was a deeply disturbing speech.” Well, so much for that “pivot” we kept hearing about! Fifteen weeks in, 45 still hasn’t caught on that he’s supposed to be the “president” of all Americans, not just the deluded ones who voted for him.
- Also this week, Trump made a new BFF: this time, Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte. After a “very friendly [telephone] conversation with Mr. Duterte,” Trump extended an invitation for Mr. D to visit the White House so that they can talk up close and personal about how “the Philippines is fighting very hard to rid its country of drugs.” Well, that part is true. According to an April 30 article by Mark Landler, “Mr. Duterte’s war on drugs has resulted in the deaths of several thousand people suspected of using or selling narcotics, as well as others who may have had no involvement with drugs.” Like all the others in 45’s gallery of most admired people, Duterte is a bloody strongman with no regard for morality or human rights. And 45 probably loves him even more for calling President Obama “a son of a whore.” Any enemy of Obama is a friend of Trump.
- In perhaps the most sickening story of the week, it’s reported that Jerry Falwell Jr., president of Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia, told Judge Jeanine on Fox News: “I think evangelicals have found their dream president.” First off, shame on evangelicals! From now on, “evangelical Christian” is an oxymoron. But back to Trump, who is not a real Republican or conservative, we’re learning a lot about why he chose the Republican party as the vehicle for his rise to power. The marriage between the Republican Party and the evangelical community is a large part of the reason he is not held more accountable for his misdeeds. As long as he keeps disparaging Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood and appointing people who will work to carry out the evangelical agenda, he can grab all the crotches he likes and it won’t ruffle their saintly feathers one bit. Although 45’s approval rating continues to hover in the low 40s among the general population, he scores a whopping 78% among churchgoing white evangelicals, according to Pew Research Center.
- Proving once again that the depth of 45’s ignorance has not yet been measured, the New York Times reported these remarks which aired on Monday: “People don’t realize, the Civil War, if you think about it, why? People don’t ask that question, but why was there the Civil War? Why could that one not have been worked out?” He went on to comment on his hero President Andrew Jackson: “He was really angry that he saw what was happening with regard to the Civil War. He said, ‘There’s no reason for this.’” Donald, I have no idea who these “people” are whom you refer to so often; but lots of people have been discussing the reasons for the Civil War for about 152 years now. And since Andrew Jackson died 16 years before the war started, he didn’t really have much of an opinion on it. And your 5th-grade history teacher is weeping in his/her grave right now.
- Poor Donald just can’t seem to find a secretary of the Army. On Friday, his second nominee, Mark E. Green, dropped out, saying his nomination was a distraction because of “false and misleading attacks against me.” The New York Times reports this statement from Mr. Green: “Tragically, my life of public service and my Christian beliefs have been mischaracterized and attacked by a few on the other side of the aisle for political gain.” According to the Huff Post, “He has also said he believes being transgender is a disease and said part of the reason he opposes allowing transgender people to use the restroom corresponding to their gender identity is because he has a mission to ‘crush evil.’” Yep, those “Christian” attitudes will get you in trouble every time!
- In a seeming contradiction to his own health-care agenda, on Thursday evening, 45 said this to Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull: “I shouldn’t say this to our great gentleman and my friend from Australia, because you have better health care than we do.” Oh, so this means you’re going to advocate for a government-run, universal insurance system like the one Australia has? I guess not. In response to those who saw the irony in Trump’s statement, he tweeted, “Of course the Australians have better healthcare than we do—everybody does. But our healthcare will soon be great.” Mmmm, you may find some disagreement on that, Donald. Keep watching out your White House windows; something tells me another march is brewing.
- FBI Director James Comey made some public statements this week. He says he’s “mildly nauseous over the suggestions that he may have influenced the 2016 election.” MAY have? He felt morally compelled to speak out about his possession of some emails from Hillary Clinton’s aide’s ex-husband but not about the fact that the Republican candidate was under investigation for collusion with a foreign power. He invited us all, “Come back with me to October 28 and tell me what you would do.” Okay, thanks for asking. I’d keep quiet about the candidate’s aide’s ex-husband’s inconsequential emails and shout from the housetops that a candidate for President of the United States had for five months been under investigation for collusion with a foreign power. On a positive note, that investigation continues and according to some sources appears to be gaining momentum, so we continue to hope that justice will eventually prevail.
- For those who may have thought Steve Bannon had lost power and influence, I wouldn’t count him out just yet. A photo released this week shows Bannon standing in front of his much-reported but never before publicly seen whiteboards. The Guardian reports: “In a recent piece to mark Trump’s first 100 days in office,CNN described how ‘giant whiteboards’ had been arranged in Bannon’s West Wing office, ‘lined up in four columns beneath the campaign theme: Make. America. Great. Again.’ Floor-to-ceiling bookshelves and a sofa had been removed to make way for them, because who needs to sit and read and reflect when you’ve got policies such as ‘suspend Syrian refugee program’ and ‘repeal and replace Obamacare’ to be getting on with?” Among other items spotted on Bannon’s to-do list are “cancel federal funding for sanctuary cities, . . . cut corporate tax rate from 35% to 15%, and build that wall.” No wonder he hasn’t had time for public appearances.
- The most devastating news of the week happened on Thursday afternoon, when the House of Representatives finally mustered the votes to make Paul Ryan’s fondest dreams come true and—by the very slimmest of margins—passed their bill to replace the Affordable Care Act. They needed 216 votes; they got 217, including zero votes from Democrats. This horrible bill, which most House members didn’t even bother to read, if passed, would deprive 24 million people of the health care coverage they now have, raise premiums for millions more, and decimate coverage for those with pre-existing conditions. The bill balances Medicaid cuts for the poorest Americans with a $600 billion tax cut for the wealthiest. Seems fair, right? Trump gets his win; lots of other people die. Art of the deal!
- And then in another unprecedented move, the Republicans who voted for this atrocity zoomed right over to the White House to have a victory celebration with the prez. Never before in our history has there been such a celebration for passing a bill through one house of Congress. Such celebrations are normally reserved for the signing ceremony which takes place after the long process of passing the bill through the Senate, the committees, back to the House, etc., is complete. But Preznit Shortgloves, as one of my Facebook friends is fond of calling him, is so desperate for a win that he was ready to party hearty alongside Ryan who was sporting his best Cheshire Cat grin. Predictions are that the Senate will be able to tone down the premature enthusiasm when they begin their work on the bill. Their constituents will also help to put a damper on the partying mood now that Congress is in recess for the next 11 days. The protests and demonstrations have already begun, and the Indivisible website has posted a “die-in planning guide.” That sounds like fun!
I don’t need to tell you what’s number one on our agenda for the foreseeable future: we must do everything in our power to prevent the dismantling of our health care system. Floridians, Marco Rubio needs to hear from every single one of us. Daily. Every Republican senator needs to hear from his/her constituents early and often. Jimmy Kimmel’s heart-rending story of his infant son has touched hearts all over the world, and many of us have our own stories to tell.
My five-year-old granddaughter was diagnosed with cancer at age 2, went through treatment from age 2 to age 3, and has thankfully been in remission for three years. However, for our precious Kayla, cancer and all of the far-reaching side effects of her treatment will for her entire lifetime be pre-existing conditions. My son-in-law has excellent health insurance through his employer which has covered the enormous costs of Kayla’s treatment. If congress passes a law which reverses the mandate on pre-existing conditions, however, my son-in-law will not be able even to consider a career change for decades. And when our little girl does go out on her own, finding affordable health coverage will be next to impossible. This is our family’s story. Millions of families have stories that demand we fight this battle with everything we have.
Until next week, signing off from The Swamp.