8/5/18: A check of the president’s vacation schedule shows he’ll have all day to hit the links. There are no public events on tap and Trump can putter around Bedminster all day if he likes.
What to do with all that time hanging heavy on his hands? He could read the Constitution. He could read a book. He could read a policy paper. Not going to happen. The man does not read.
 |
Sen. Lindsey Graham and FBI Director Christopher Wray. |
____________________
“You want to be director of the F.B.I., pal. So here’s what I want you to tell every politician: If you get a call from somebody suggesting that a foreign government wants to help you by disparaging your opponent, tell us all to call the F.B.I.”
Sen. Graham to
Christopher Wray
____________________
Suddenly, a light bulb flickers dimly in his head. Why not tweet! Anyone he’d like to insult today?
Yes, reporters!
The
Fake News hates me saying that they are the Enemy of the People only because
they know it’s TRUE. I am providing a great service by explaining this to the
American People. They purposely cause great division & distrust. They can
also cause War! They are very dangerous & sick!
Is this fool hinting that
his supporters should go to war against reporters? The man is losing his
marbles. (See: 8/29/18.)
*
TRUMP DECIDES to tout the joys of tariffs. Once again, he boils down complicated issues into tweets. He says if other countries “don’t want to be taxed” they can start building their products in the United States. This protectionist approach means foreign goods will cost more compared to American-made goods. The American consumer will pay more if he or she wants to buy – for example – a dustpan, electric drill or set of grill tools made in China.
(This blogger cites these items from experience, since he tries hard to buy U.S.-made products and not, in buying Chinese, support a communist regime.)
President Twitter Thumbs claims tariffs will help bring down the federal deficit. “Because of Tariffs,” he tweets, “we will be able to start paying down large amounts of the $21 Trillion in debt that has been accumulated, much by the Obama Administration.”
Yes, yes. We know. Obama did it.
In Obama’s last five fiscal years (2013-2017) deficits ran: $679 billion, $485 billion, $438 billion, $585 billion, and $665 billion. Fiscal Year 2017 is listed under Obama since policies are set the previous year.
Trump promises to erase $19 trillion federal debt in eight years.
Along came Trump, businessman extraordinaire. In April 2016 he sat down for an interview with the Washington Post. Trump warned that a “massive recession” was coming. It was a “terrible time” to invest in stocks. (See: 12/17-21/18.)
The businessman extraordinaire was wrong. Stocks continued to go up.
No matter. Trump had a plan. His plan was fantastic. He promised if elected he’d get rid of the entire $19 trillion federal deficit (which then existed) “over a period of eight years.” How would he pull a magic money rabbit out of a MAGA cap? He was going to do it through trade deals: “I’m renegotiating all of our deals, the big trade deals that we’re doing so badly on.”
Lo, it came to pass. The businessman extraordinaire was sent to Washington to drain the swamp. Trump put his plan in place. He cut taxes as promised, save for the fact that he did not raise them on the “very rich” as he had said he would. That would have meant the businessman extraordinaire and most of his cronies and all of family members, except Barron, would have had to pay higher taxes. The economy added jobs as he said it would, although at a slightly slower pace than under Obama during his last six years as president.
The unemployment rate did fall, and the federal deficit began to…
WTF!
Fiscal Year 2018 is Trump’s first budget baby. The baby is roly-poly, like Orange Leader, himself.
The deficit is expected to surpass $800 billion.
*
“That’s a great answer.”
WHAT ELSE was the president tweeting about while on vacation? You had the obligatory howls about “Fake News.” But one howl turns into a bizarre tweet-admission. Trump’s thick digits tap furiously at his phone:
Fake News reporting, a complete
fabrication, that I am concerned about the meeting my wonderful son, Donald,
had in Trump Tower. This was a meeting to get information on an opponent,
totally legal and done all the time in politics - and it went nowhere. I did
not know about it [emphasis added]!
What makes this tweet so telling? This is the infamous meeting in June 2016 in Trump Tower.
Two years later you have the president admitting the “Fake News” people have been right all along. The meeting was held. The purpose was clear: “To get information on an opponent, totally legal and done all the time in politics.”
Yet, for some reason, Mr. Trump is at pains to say that, even though the meeting was legal, he didn’t know about it.
It was time to do a little “Fake News” digging. I went back to July 12, 2017. News of Don Jr.’s emails, showing he met with Russians to get dirt on Hillary, had just broken in the press. Christopher Wray, Trump’s choice to head the F.B.I., was answering questions in a Senate confirmation hearing.
Clearly
upset, Senator Lindsey Graham read parts of the emails, including one where Don
Jr. is told the Russian visitors will have the goods on Clinton. If that’s
true, he responds, “I love it.”
This exchange between Graham and Wray followed:
“Should Donald Trump Jr. have taken that meeting?” Graham inquired. Wray said he didn’t know the details and was not in position to speak.
“Well, let me ask you this: If I got a call saying the Russian government wants to help Lindsey Graham get re-elected, they’ve got dirt on my opponent, should I take that meeting?”
Wray admitted he would want Graham to consult with “some good legal advisers before you did that.”
“Should I call the F.B.I.?” Graham continued.
“I think it would be wise to let the FBI know,” Wray responded.
“You want to be director of the F.B.I., pal,” Graham said
with a hint of anger. “So, here’s what I want you to tell every politician: If
you get a call from somebody suggesting that a foreign government wants to help
you by disparaging your opponent, tell us all to call the F.B.I.”
A smile flickered on Wray’s face. He scanned the senators on the panel. “To the members of this committee,” he said, “Any threat or effort to interfere with our election, from any nation state, or any non-state actor, is the kind of thing the FBI would want to know.”
“Alright, so I’ll take it we should call you – that’s a
great answer,” Graham beamed.
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