June 11-16, 2017: Life in Trumpistan - Jobs Added, Witches Hunted, Creepy Cabinet Meetings

 

6/11/17: As usual, Trump has a bee in his bonnet – or under that weird shock of swept-back orange hair. He tweets:

 

“The #FakeNews MSM doesn’t report the great economic news since Election Day. #DOW up 16%. #NASDAQ up 19.5%. Drilling & energy sector...”

 

“...way up. Regulations way down. 600,000+ new jobs added. Unemployment down to 4.3%. Business and economic enthusiasm way up - record levels!”

 

This good news is being reported. By the end of the June the Bureau of Labor Statistics will note that under Trump, 1,081,000 jobs have been added to the economy in the first six months of 2016. 

These numbers, duly noted by the mainstream media every month, are almost as good as the numbers for the last six months of 2016, when, under Obama, 1,254,000 jobs were added.

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6/12/17: For once, as the sun sets over the White House, Orange Leader is content. Today he presided over a cabinet meeting for the ages. Sure, it had a creepy, Kim Jong-un kind of feel. 

But such praise for Orange Leader! 

Vice President Jesus kicked off the lovefest. “The greatest privilege of my life is to serve as vice president to the president who’s keeping his word to the American people,” Mr. Pence opined. Next up was Secretary of Labor Alexander Acosta: “I am privileged to be here – deeply honored – and I want to thank you for your commitment to the American workers.” Sonny Perdue took his turn. The Secretary of Agriculture said he had a message from Mississippi, from whence he had just returned. “They love you there,” he assures Orange Leader. He thanks him for his greatness, and congratulates him for selecting so much other greatness, “the men and women you have gathered around this table.” 

Reince Priebus sums it up, “We thank you for the opportunity to serve your agenda.” (See: 7/29/17.) 

In a glow of pleasure, Trump decides to talk about his favorite subject. Has there ever been a greater president? he asks. He can’t think of one. Oh, maybe FDR did more in the first months of his first term, but no one else is close.

Trump loves to hear about Trump.

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6/13/17: Trump surrogates spend the week floating the idea that the president may fire Special Counsel Robert Mueller. 

__________ 

“His reputation is impeccable for honesty and integrity.” 

Newt Gingrich

__________ 

 

Newt Gingrich, known for lying to his wives and getting kicked out as Speaker of the House due to ethics violations, attacks Mueller. “Republicans are delusional if they think the special counsel is going to be fair.” 

This is odd. A month earlier, Gingrich tweeted: “Robert Mueller is superb choice to be special counsel. His reputation is impeccable for honesty and integrity. Media should now calm down.”

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6/14/17: Trump takes a fresh look at the healthcare plan passed by Republicans in the House of Representatives (See: 5/4/17.)  

Now he calls it “mean.” 

Displaying his typical lack of understanding of policy details, he insists the Senate “should add some money to it.” (See: 6/28/17.)

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6/15/17: It turns out not everyone in the world loves Donald J. Trump, self-proclaimed best president ever (possibly excepting FDR, but, yes, way better than Washington and Lincoln). 

Great Britain has placed on hold a plan to host a state visit for the president. Why? After all, Theresa May, visited Washington D.C. Now, The Guardian reports, Trump is worried about his image. 

He won’t come to Britain if he’s going to have to face large-scale demonstrations. A British reporter explains: 

Some may be surprised by this. From the violence and menace that became features of his ugly campaign, it was easy to assume that he liked a bit of edge at his public appearances. But on those occasions, he knew he would always have the support of far-right thugs and hangers-on who could drown out dissent and, if need be, throw a few punches at protesters, passers-by, anyone who would dare to question him. That intimidation, unprecedented in recent history, would have been more difficult to replicate here; he could hardly bring his street fighters with him. There are only so many seats on Air Force One.

 

The HeraldScotland piles on the “Fake News” with a similar anti-Trump story headlined “Victory for ‘people power’ as Trump puts UK Visit on Hold.” (See: 6/27/17.)

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6/16/17: The president fumes and tweets. This time the target of his wrath is Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein. “I’m being investigated for firing the FBI director by the man who told me to fire the FBI Director!” In case his loyal followers miss it, he adds: “Witch Hunt.” 

For anyone who can remember what happened a month ago, this tweet makes sense only if we ignore the fact the president was going to fire Comey regardless. (See: 5/11/17.)