A Complete Analysis Of Trump’s 106th Unpresidented Week As POTUS
Trump’s first major typo after winning the election was spelling Unprecedented incorrectly. He infamously tweeted “Unpresidented.” This typo is a personification of his administration: An impulsive, frantically thrown together group of characters with virtually no oversight. After Trump was sworn in, I started writing the weekly “Unpresidented” column, analyzing his every move. This is week 106.
The government shutdown is over, for now, but the economic and human impact will be long felt. If you compound this with the effects of the GOP tax cuts, a clear picture of the recurring harmful impact Republican administrations have on the US economy crystalizes.
President Trump’s feud with the US Intelligence Community continued this week as Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats and CIA Director Gina Haspel contradicted Trump’s beliefs on Iran, North Korea, and ISIS.
President Trump continued his ignorant, climate change denying rhetoric that ignores the reality of the existential threat climate change poses to humanity and pushes the interests of the fossil fuel industry.
While appropriators negotiate a potential deal to avert another government shutdown on February 15th, President Trump can’t help but attempt to insert himself into the talks at every turn, spearing fear-mongering lies about immigrants.
Virginia Governor Ralph Northam began a stunning fall from grace. After admitting to wearing blackface, he refuses to resign even after losing support from the entire Democratic Party. President Trump and the Republican Party have responded with about as much hypocrisy you’d expect from the party who still has Steve King, Cindy Hyde-Smith, and Donald Trump himself holding office.
And as the 2020 Democratic field continues to grow, it’s become the most diverse field of candidates in U.S. history.
Let’s dive into yet another Unpresidented week.
This comprehensive column sources great reporting from top news organizations, but it’s also built on brilliant analysis from my team at Rantt Media. We are independently-owned and strive for quality, not clicks. But the only way to truly have a media for the people is for media to be funded by the people. We take pride in being reader-funded so that we are beholden to you, not corporate interests. If you like the work we do, please consider supporting us by signing up for a monthly subscription:
The Party Of Fiscal Irresponsibility
Day 739: Monday, January 28
As airports on the east coast began to shut down some of their operations, President Trump caved in a Friday speech in the Rose Garden, announcing he would agree to open the government for 3 weeks without border wall funding.
After millions were impacted by the government shutdown.
After 800,000 federal workers went without pay.
After contractors lost $ they won’t get back.
After thousands stood in line at food banks.
After 35 days, @realDonaldTrump agreed to a deal that he rejected a month ago.
— Rantt Media (@RanttMedia) January 25, 2019
Just throwing it out there…
Had Paul Ryan and Trump accepted the clean CR the Senate approved before Christmas, we’d be in the same place we are after this deal (gvt open thru Feb, separate discussion on immigration) — WITHOUT the 35-day shutdown
— Mark Murray (@mmurraypolitics) January 25, 2019
We learned more about the impact the shutdown had.
BREAKING: The longest government shutdown ever cost the economy $11 billion, and $3 billion could be permanently lost, Congressional Budget Office says. https://t.co/l2cMfG38ME
— CNBC Now (@CNBCnow) January 28, 2019
And more information from the CBO touched on the GOP tax cuts.
Trump/GOP said tax-cuts would pay for themselves by lifting growth to 3% level Obama couldn’t reach
CBO projections today:
–2019-2023 deficits $1-trillion higher than forecast in 1/17 as Trump took office
–2024-29 growth of 1.8%, down from 1.9% for 2021-27 forecast in 1/17
— John Harwood (@JohnJHarwood) January 28, 2019
In other news…
- CNBC: Pelosi invites Trump to hold State of the Union on Feb 5
- NBC News: Trump golf club fired 10 workers living in the U.S. illegally, lawyer says
- The New York Times: Treasury Dept. Lifts Sanctions on Russian Oligarch’s Companies
- CNN: Michael Cohen agrees to testify February 8 behind closed doors, House Intel chairman says
- Reuters: Roger Stone open to talking with Mueller in Russia probe
- The Washington Post: ‘5,000 troops’: Photo of John Bolton’s notes raises questions about U.S. military role in Venezuela crisis
- USA TODAY: Attorney General says Mueller investigation ‘close to being completed’
- The Washington Post: Top GOP senators propose repealing estate tax, which is expected to be paid by fewer than 2,000 Americans a year
- NPR: Trump Administration Begins Production Of A New Nuclear Weapon
- The New York Times: Trump Thought Firing Flynn Would End ‘Russia Thing,’ Chris Christie Writes in Book
- CNN: Kamala Harris defines her fight against Trump in CNN town hall
A Polar Vortex Of Lies
Day 740: Tuesday, January 29
As the polar vortex swept the nation, Americans were grappling with sub-zero temperatures and the at least 20 deaths reported so far. While many areas in the midwest are seeing temperatures well below zero, by Super Bowl Sunday, some temperatures will go up into the 60s. President Trump took to Twitter on Monday night to remark on the polar vortex, tweeting: “What the hell is going on with Global Waming?” (That “waming” typo is his, not ours.) As we’ve seen, global warming is actually the cause of this and many other extreme weather events, as it speeds up climate change. Global warming is being exacerbated by human-driven carbon emissions, which President Trump is doing everything in power to increase to benefit fossil fuel companies. Note to media: if you report on the polar vortex without mentioning climate change, you’re doing it wrong.
In other news…
- ABC News: Roger Stone pleads not guilty to Mueller charges
- Politico: Senate Judiciary Committee delays vote on Barr
- The Washington Post: The lowest-paid shutdown workers aren’t getting back pay
- The New York Times: Steven Mnuchin Draws Claims of Conflict of Interest in Decision on Russian Oligarch
- Washington Examiner: Trump campaign says it is preparing to sue Cliff Sims for tell-all book after president rips ‘low level staffer’
- The Hill: Bipartisan bill would withhold pay for president, lawmakers during shutdowns
- The Washington Post: Trump’s company plans to expand check of employees’ legal status following report that it hired undocumented workers for years
Contradicting Donald
Day 741: Wednesday, January 30
Donald Trump attends a rally, Wednesday, Sept. 28, 2016, in Council Bluffs, Iowa. (AP Photo/John Locher)
In a congressional testimony on Tuesday, Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats and CIA Director Gina Haspel contradicted President Trump’s messaging on ISIS, Iran, North Korea, and other topics.
At threats hearing, DNI Dan Coats contradicted @realDonaldTrump by saying that ISIS is not defeated and that North Korea is unlikely to give up its nuclear weapons. And in other news, U.S. intelligence says Russia and China are working together against us. Have a nice day.
— Ken Dilanian (@KenDilanianNBC) January 29, 2019
On Wednesday, President Trump called them “passive and naive” on and later claimed the media misreported their statements, even though the entire country saw the live footage with their own eyes.
The Intelligence people seem to be extremely passive and naive when it comes to the dangers of Iran. They are wrong! When I became President Iran was making trouble all over the Middle East, and beyond. Since ending the terrible Iran Nuclear Deal, they are MUCH different, but….
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 30, 2019
Here is Donald Trump, President of the United States, taunting and insulting the American intelligence community by telling them to “go back to school” all the while using the wrong “there/their” only two sentences prior.
I have no snark left in me. Absolutely tapped out. https://t.co/ZjOk4zmgWC
— Bob Cunningham (@BCunningham215) January 30, 2019
It culminated with Trump tweeting a photo on Thursday of him, Coats, and Haspel in the Oval Office, claiming they also said their testimony was mischaracterized. That claim should be taken with several grains of salt.
In other news…
- Roger Stone, President Trump, and Republicans continued complaining about alleged mistreatment by law enforcement.
When you look, walk, and act like a flight-risk who is capable of destroying evidence in advance you get treated like one ??♂️ https://t.co/PkPknGk8ed
— Zak Ali (@_zakali) January 30, 2019
Roger Stone has y’all talking about reviewing use of force guidelines.
Not Alton Sterling
Not Eric Gardner
Not Walter Scott
Not Sandra Bland
Not Keith Lamont Scott
Not Philando Castile
Not Terence Crutcher
Not Dontre Hamilton
……….But Roger Stone!!! Think about that.
— Bakari Sellers (@Bakari_Sellers) January 31, 2019
- Vox: Trump met Putin without staff or note takers present — again
- The Daily Beast: Mueller Witness’ Team Gamed Out Russian Meddling … in 2015
- Salon: With sanctions lifted, Trump transition member gets board position on Russian oligarch’s company
- NBC News: Mueller says Russians are using his discovery materials in disinformation effort
- ABC News: NRA says 2015 Moscow trip wasn’t ‘official.’ Emails, photos reveal gun group’s role
- Rantt Media: Howard Schultz’s Presidential Run Could Hurt Starbucks
- Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell made a foolish claim.
Mitch McConnell called the bill to make election day a federal holiday a “power grab” by Democrats.
You want to talk about power grabs @senatemajldr?
Fine. Let’s talk about the nefarious tactics the @GOP has used for decades to engineer minority rule. https://t.co/LFarGWCPQu
— Rantt Media (@RanttMedia) January 31, 2019
- Some comedic relief: Sarah Sanders: God ‘wanted Donald Trump to become president’
Kate Sullivan byline
Build The Wall That’s Already Built
Day 742: Thursday, January 31
President Donald Trump listens to a question during a signing ceremony of the “Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency Act,” in the Oval Office of the White House, Friday, Nov. 16, 2018, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
Appropriation negotiations are underway, in an effort to avoid a February 15th government shutdown. President Trump sent a series of tweets attempting to make the case for his border wall, including one that announced the more troops being sent to the southern border. President Trump also falsely claimed much of his border wall is already built. Meanwhile, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) said at a press conference that there will be no money for a wall in the deal, but she is open to some barriers. President Trump responded by claiming if that’s the case, the negotiators are wasting their time. This isn’t helping his support.
Caution: Genius at work.
“After a 35-day partial shutdown [over Trump/GOP demands for] a border wall, a new Quinnipiac poll finds Americans trust Democrats more than Trump on border security, 50% to 41%.”https://t.co/ZkxITwuHjb
— Rachel Maddow MSNBC (@maddow) January 30, 2019
As this back and forth was playing out, US Border Patrol made the largest fentanyl bust in its history. Important to note that this, like the majority of drugs apprehended at the border, happened at a port legal of entry. A wall wouldn’t have prevented that.
Great job interdicting highly lethal Fentanyl, at a border checkpoint. Trump’s wall won’t prevent trafficking thru crossings. Putting resources towards better technology & more law enforcement officers will enable future seizures. We need policy that’s smart, not a vanity wall. https://t.co/VJH1hPdWsK
— Joyce Alene (@JoyceWhiteVance) January 31, 2019
In other immigration news, the Associated Press reported that ICE has force-fed detainees who were on a hunger strike.
A quick Muller update: In a court filing, Special Counsel Robert Mueller revealed just how much evidence they raided from newly indicted Roger Stone. Mueller has seized several years of “multiple hard drives containing several terabytes of information consisting of, among other things, FBI case reports, search warrant applications and results (e.g., Apple iCloud accounts and email accounts), bank and financial records, and the contents of numerous physical devices (e.g., cellular phones, computers, and hard drives).” This comes as Roger Stone, who was released on bail he could afford unlike hundreds of thousands of poor Black Americans, and Republican allies claimed he was mistreated by investigators. In related news, ABC News reported that the identity of the block calls Donald Trump Jr. had around the time of the June 2016 Trump Tower meeting were with Nascar CEO Brian France and real estate developer Howard Lorber.
In other news…
- In a bipartisan 68-to-23 vote, the Senate sent a clear rebuke to President Trump. The vote advanced legislation, written by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell himself, that strongly opposes Trump’s troop withdrawal from Afghanistan.
- After days of negotiations between American and Chinese negotiators, the talks end for now with no new deal. Trump plans to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping amid the tariff war that has rattled markets and ratcheted up global economic uncertainty. If a deal isn’t reached by March 1st, China tariffs will increase to 25% on March 2nd.
- NBC News: ‘Whistleblower’ in White House security clearance office gets suspended
- Rantt Media: In Memphis, A Battle Over The First KKK Leader’s Statue
“Coonman”
Day 743: Friday, February 1
Virginia Gov. elect Ralph Northam addresses supporters and at the Northam For Governor election night party at George Mason University in Fairfax, Va., Tuesday, Nov. 7, 2017. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen)
On Friday, we saw the beginning of the stunning fall of Democratic Virginia Governor Ralph Northam.
This is unnacceptable.@_zakali, @aalali44, and I interviewed Ralph Northam before he won the governorship in 2017 and his response to our question on Charlottesville was his strongest answer.
I’d never expect to see this from him but there is no defending this. https://t.co/JolE4sjixJ
— Ahmed Baba (@AhmedBaba_) February 1, 2019
“coonman” pic.twitter.com/KUx5JNycZy
— b-boy bouiebaisse (@jbouie) February 2, 2019
We interviewed Ralph Northam and pressed him on racism in the past.
In 2017, we pressed Ralph Northam on Charlottesville.
We asked, “what would you do to ensure that all Virginians feel at home?”
You responded forcefully @GovernorVA. In light of the newly surfaced racist photos in your yearbook, what is your response to that same question now? pic.twitter.com/52aCtZHfTQ
— Rantt Media (@RanttMedia) February 1, 2019
Northam’s initial statement and subsequent video statement took ownership over himself being in the photo.
NEW: Governor Northam releases statement after KKK/blackface picture. Says he is “deeply sorry” but does not say if he is on the left or right in the picture. pic.twitter.com/8lcts8Oj4t
— Nancy Chen (@NancyChenNews) February 1, 2019
My fellow Virginians, earlier today I released a statement apologizing for behavior in my past that falls far short of the standard you set for me when you elected me to be your governor. I believe you deserve to hear directly from me. pic.twitter.com/1rSw1oxfrX
— Ralph Northam (@GovernorVA) February 2, 2019
We called for Northam’s resignation.
In 2017, as a Virginia-founded media company, we interviewed and endorsed Ralph Northam.
Today, we’re calling on him to resign as Virginia Governor.
— Rantt Media (@RanttMedia) February 2, 2019
Of course, the right was incapable of acting on this in good faith.
“Very fine people”
Central Park Five.
Housing discrimination.
“Shithole countries.”
“Islam hates us.”
Mexicans are “rapists”
We don’t have to imagine junior.
We have memories of your father and unfortunately, we hear from him every day. https://t.co/hsDBapiKrF
— Ahmed Baba (@AhmedBaba_) February 2, 2019
Oh please. Spare us the platitudes chairwoman of the party of Trump, Steve King, the Southern Strategy, and “very fine people.” https://t.co/5mCv8WQ91l
— Ahmed Baba (@AhmedBaba_) February 2, 2019
By Saturday morning, several prominent Democrats also called for his resignation, including presidential candidates Kamala Harris, Julian Castro, and Kirsten Gillibrand. Other big names like Joe Biden had chimed in as well.
Northam still didn’t resign, and instead had a disastrous press conference.
Gov. Northam says he does not plan to resign over racist yearbook photo.
“I plan to continue to lead. If we get to the point where we feel that we’re not effective … not only for our caucuses but the Commonwealth of Virginia, then we will revisit this.” https://t.co/tlUh2mGeAZ pic.twitter.com/ABEGAFD7xD
— CNN (@CNN) February 2, 2019
“Even though I said it was me yesterday, that was not me in black face in that 1984 photo, but I did wear black face a different time that year and moonwalked my ass off as Michael Jackson” is essentially a summation of Northam’s press conference.
— Ahmed Baba (@AhmedBaba_) February 2, 2019
This whole thing was a disaster.
If I ran his comms, yesterday, I’d tell him he had 2 choices:
1) Own up to being in the photo, apologize, and resign.
2) *Immediately* say the photo is not him, apologize, and prove it’s not him.
Yesterday’s statement sealed his fate.
Resign.
— Ahmed Baba (@AhmedBaba_) February 2, 2019
If Ralph Northam immediately said “that’s not me in the photo” and had contemporary evidence of him telling the school to remove it, this would be different.
Instead, he waited while folks called for him to resign, admitted it was him, and is now backtracking saying it wasn’t.
— Ahmed Baba (@AhmedBaba_) February 2, 2019
Not only is it morally right for Ralph Northam to resign, he has no choice politically
The Democratic Party has called for him to resign
Virginia is a key state in 2020 and a Super Tuesday primary state
This only divides and erodes the progress we’ve made in Virginia for years
— Ahmed Baba (@AhmedBaba_) February 2, 2019
Trump responded.
Democrat Governor Ralph Northam of Virginia just stated, “I believe that I am not either of the people in that photo.” This was 24 hours after apologizing for appearing in the picture and after making the most horrible statement on “super” late term abortion. Unforgivable!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 3, 2019
By the end of the day Saturday, Northam’s own Attorney General called for his resignation as well as his key allies Mark Warner, Tim Kaine, and Terry McAuliffe.
NEW: Virginia @AGMarkHerring calls on @RalphNortham to step down —> pic.twitter.com/HnMA7VPrxL
— Frank Thorp V (@frankthorp) February 2, 2019
Northam has now lost every major Democrat in Virginia. And the folks who wired this statement from Kaine/Warner/Scott are at the highest levels of the state party – the Dems who were once his close allies.
— Jonathan Martin (@jmartNYT) February 2, 2019
Justin Fairfax, who would be made the 2nd black governor in Virginia history, released a statement.
— Justin Fairfax (@LGJustinFairfax) February 2, 2019
As of the time of this writing, Ralph Northam still hasn’t resigned.
In other news…
- The New York Times: Trump, in Interview, Calls Wall Talks ‘Waste of Time’ and Dismisses Investigations
- The Washington Post: U.S. to withdraw from nuclear arms control treaty with Russia, raising fears of a new arms race
- The New York Times: Cory Booker Announces Presidential Bid, Joining Most Diverse Field Ever
- Politico: Trump campaign spending erupts as president enters reelection mode
- Ellen Page made a powerful statement.
Ellen Page powerfully calls out @realDonaldTrump & @VP for their bigotry
“Connect the dots. If you are in a position of power and you hate people, and you want to cause suffering to them…what do you think is going to happen?
This needs to fucking stop.” pic.twitter.com/taS8xz6aN2
— Rantt Media (@RanttMedia) February 1, 2019
Rantt Media’s comprehensive articles source reporting from top news organizations, but they’re also built on brilliant analysis from our team. We are independently-owned and strive for quality, not clicks. But the only way to truly have a media for the people is for media to be funded by the people. We take pride in being reader-funded so that we are beholden to you, not corporate interests. If you like the work we do, please consider supporting us by signing up for a $1 monthly subscription.
