January 11, 2018: Trump Doesn't Want People from Shithole Countries Coming Here

 

1/11/18: President Trump’s morning gets off to a solid start. At 6:33 he is already hard at work, tweet-slamming Hillary. Ten minutes later he cites positive news from a Quinnipiac poll: “…66% of people feel the economy is ‘Excellent or Good.’ That is the highest number ever recorded by this poll.” 

Unfortunately, the Tweeter-in-Chief lacks the attention span to study the poll or he’s being devious in what he passes off as truth. 

 

“The spirit of thuggery, crookedness and dictatorship.” 

You can study the numbers yourself if you don’t see the point. A few additional observations from the same poll: 

By a 57-40 percent margin, American voters say Trump is “not fit to be president.” 

Sixteen percent of voters give the president an “A” for his first year! Yay, Trump! Sadly, 39 percent give him an “F.”

 

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IF TRUMP somehow happened to pick up a copy of The New York Times he might feel a little worse than he already does. In a Times review of David Frum’s book, Trumpocracy, The Corruption of the American Republic, one learns that Frum, a conservative, warns that the Trump administration has “imported the spirit of thuggery, crookedness and dictatorship into the very core of the American state.”  Trump has instituted a “regime of deceit and brutishness.” 

Even assuming Trump doesn’t read any books and won’t read Frum’s, the day only gets worse. In an afternoon meeting with members of both political parties, discussion turns to renewal of DACA and comprehensive immigration reform. Senators Lindsey Graham and Dick Durbin suggest extending protection to various immigrant groups, including people from El Salvador, Haiti, and Africa. 

The president gets frustrated, as he often does. His emotions boil up. “Why are we having all these people from shithole countries come here?” he asks. “Why do we need more Haitians?” he wonders, hearing they’d be protected under the bipartisan deal. “Take them out!” 

What would be great? Less Haitians and, according to Trump, more Norwegians! 

The White House does not initially deny the report about what he said.

Haitian mural in Miami.

January 13, 2018: Even the Norwegians Think Trump is Racist

 

1/13/18: What can Trump do? He can’t apologize (see: 1/12/18). It’s not in his DNA. He’ll have to ride this “shithole” controversy out. Trump tries to tweet his way out of a hole. Not that hole! Some other hole. Twice he tweet-blames Democrats for destroying the chance to save DACA. 

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[He] seems to relish in derogatory remarks about others and praise for himself.” 

Norwegian journalist, commenting on President Trump

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Reaction from around the globe is negative. The African Union, representing 55 nations, says the president’s comments were “clearly racist.” The Union statement continues: “The African Union Mission condemns the comments in the strongest terms and demands a retraction as well as an apology not only to Africans, but to all people of African descent around the globe.” The Vatican calls Trump’s words, “particularly harsh and offensive.” Rupert Colville, United Nations human rights spokesman, tells reporters, “There is no other word one can use but racist. You cannot dismiss entire countries and continents as ‘shitholes,’ whose entire populations, who are not white, are therefore not welcome.” 

Symbol of the African Union.

A European lawmaker suggests Trump “had forgotten to engage his brain before talking.” (That’s pretty much a given.) 

Even Republican leaders feel compelled to say something. House Speaker Paul Ryan looks like he’s sucking a pickle when asked for reaction. Showing that famous Ryan Spine, he says Trump’s words are “unfortunate” and “unhelpful.” 

Most Americans agree. Racist comments are “unhelpful.” 

Former RNC Chairman Michael Steele says the president is a racist. “At this point, the evidence is incontrovertible.” 

Republican Congresswoman Mia Love, herself of Haitian-American descent, says Trump’s remarks were “unkind, divisive, elitist, and fly in the face of our nation’s values.” She adds, “This behavior is unacceptable from the leader of our nation.”

 

Even Norwegians are unimpressed. Says one veteran journalist, Trump’s comments fall “into a pattern of nativist and very unpleasant language from a poorly qualified president, if not worse…. [He] seems to relish in derogatory remarks about others and praise for himself.” 

Meanwhile, on his radio show, right-wing nut job Alex Jones explains his latest conspiracy theory. Someone is covertly drugging Trump. 

Really. I’m not joking.

Homeland Security Secretary Can't Remember what Trump Said!

The ludicrous defenses offered up by sycophants to absolve President Trump of the racist statements he recently made continue to baffle reasonable Americans. It’s just another day in Trumpistan.

For full coverage go to 1-100, 101-200, 201-300 and 301-365. Only three days left till the end of Year One.

1/16: In a Senate hearing today, lawmakers tried to dig out answers about exactly what President Trump said in the recent meeting on immigration. The laughable defense of the Racist-in-Chief continued. Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen (I think that's a Norwegian name, for real), says, well...okay, she did hear “rough language” during the meeting. When his turn to question Nielsen came, Senator Durbin asked what that might have been. Nielsen couldn’t remember. Trump might have said shithole or Shinola or skunk juice, for all she knew.

Durbin probed with a series of questions. Nielsen had a clear member when it came to presidential comments on policy positions. Trump was the best! She admitted Trump had spoken about Norwegian immigrants and talked about how they worked hard.

(Might we surmise, then, that Trump posited the idea that dark-skinned immigrants did not?)

If she heard “tough language” from Trump, could Nielsen remember any specific words the president employed? Nielsen said she couldn’t. Okay, Durbin tried again, did she hear him use “rough language?” Nielsen immediately answered no. How about Senator Graham? Nielsen said yes. What a potty mouth! Durbin asked, “Did you hear Senator Graham repeat exactly the words the president had used?” Nielsen replied, “Uh... what...I think I just went deaf!

“What????” 

What Trump thinks of when he talks about Norwegian immigrants.
(These young ladies are from Sweden. He wouldn't know that.)