July 28-30, 2017: Trumpcare is Still Dead; North Korea Can Hit the West Coast

 

7/28/17: GOP Senators stay up way past Mitch McConnell’s bedtime to put the finishing touches on their latest Trumpcare plan. The “replace” part of “repeal and replace” is finally ready. John McCain has made a special trip back from Arizona, following an operation for a cancerous tumor behind his left eye. 

Trump himself has called him – finally – a hero. 

At 1:24 a.m. McCain strides across the well of the Senate. His vote is called by the clerk – and McCain turns one thumb down. 

“No,” he says. 

Trumpcare is still dead. And Trump is back to hating the hero.

 

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NORTH KOREA caps a truly terrible day when it launches another long-range missile, this one capable of hitting the West Coast of the United States. Clearly, there are no good choices, moving forward. 

Trump blames previous administrations for leaving him to deal with a mess. With this guy, the buck never stops on his desk.

The buck stops in the past.

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7/29/17: The planet is burning. North Korean missiles threaten the continental United States. The Tweeter-in-Chief responds in a powerful Twitter rampage. Ten times he taps away furiously. At 6:07 a.m. he begins his day with another complaint about the Russian “witch hunt.” 

Trump also insists that the Senate must go to a 51-vote rule on everything so the GOP can pass any legislation it wants. He doesn’t like the 60-vote rule required to pass various bills in the upper house. 

At 6:39 a.m., he’s riled and ready to get down to running the country exactly the way he wants. The Republicans have a 52-48 margin in the Senate. So do the math, people! He complains: “....8 Dems totally control the U.S. Senate. Many great Republican bills will never pass, like Kate’s Law (see: 6/25/17) and complete Healthcare. Get smart!”

Later, Trump complains about “our foolish past leaders” because they couldn’t get China to help rein in North Korea. At 6:35 p.m. he brings a long tweeting day to an end, admitting his disappointment with China: “...they do NOTHING for us with North Korea, just talk. We will no longer allow this to continue.”

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7/30/17: The steamy bromance between Putin and Trump, making headlines as recently as July 7, reaches a sad denouement. In the face of new congressional sanctions, Putin expels 755 American diplomats.