A Complete Analysis Of Trump’s 153rd Unpresidented Week As POTUS
Trump’s first major typo after winning the election was spelling Unprecedented incorrectly. He infamously tweeted “Unpresidented.” This typo is emblematic 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 every day of his presidency. This is week 153.
This year ended like it began: with President Trump rage-tweeting into the void after being thoroughly outmatched by Speaker Pelosi.
2019 started with a government shutdown fight in which President Trump essentially launched a shakedown plot where he held federal workers and contractors hostage in his pursuit of the border wall. President Trump lost that fight to a disciplined Speaker Pelosi and Democratic Party who successfully moved public opinion against him.
2019 ended with President Trump enthralled in a scandal where he launched a literal shakedown plot against Ukraine by withholding $391 million in military aid in the pursuit of foreign election interference. President Trump got caught and lost the impeachment fight against a disciplined Speaker Pelosi and Democratic Party who successfully moved public opinion against him.
This week was relatively quiet in the White House aside from President Trump’s continued Twitter meltdown, from which he did not take days off on Christmas or Christmas Eve. On the congressional front, Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) made some noise when she said she is “disturbed” by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s (R-KY) impeachment trial coordination with the White House.
With the timing of when Speaker Pelosi will transmit Trump’s articles of impeachment to the Senate up in the air, we’re in for a volatile start to 2020.
Let’s dive into the final Unpresidented week of 2019.
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MBS Shifts Responsibility
Day 1,068: Monday, December 23
Monday’s top stories:
- The Washington Post: Saudi Arabia says five sentenced to death in killing of Jamal Khashoggi
- BBC: Trump impeachment: White House withheld Ukraine aid just after Zelensky call
- CNN: North Korea’s ‘Christmas gift’ potentially a new anti-US hard-line policy, source says
- Axios: John Bolton hits Trump for bluffing on North Korea nuclear policy
- CNN: Holiday stalemate grips Senate impeachment trial
- AP: Giuliani pals leveraged GOP access to seek Ukraine gas deal
- The Daily Beast: Team Trump Fights Sanctions on Turkey That Would Help Kurdish Refugees
- ABC News: Trump administration raises legal age to buy tobacco in US to 21
- The Washington Post: Ram Dass, spiritual seeker who brought Eastern mysticism to the masses, dies at 88
Christmas Tantrums
Day 1,069-1,070: Tuesday-Wednesday, December 24-25
Top stories:
- ABC News: Sen. Lisa Murkowski said she’s ‘disturbed’ by McConnell’s comments on White House coordination
- TheHill: Trump lashes out at Pelosi on Christmas, decries ‘scam impeachment’
- TheHill: Lawyer for Giuliani associate to step down, citing client’s financial ‘hardship’
- USA TODAY: Analysis: Trump more negative, prolific on Twitter amid Democratic impeachment inquiry
- TheHill: U.S. flies four spy planes over North Korea amid Christmas threat: report
- Reuters: Hong Kong marchers target malls in third day of Christmas protests
- Bloomberg: Iraq President Saleh Submits Resignation to Parliament, Jazeera Reports
- Al Jazeera: Erdogan announces plan to send troops to Libya
- CNN: Netanyahu rushed offstage as rocket fired from Gaza into Israel
Trump Exposes The Alleged Whistleblower
Day 1,071: Thursday, December 26
Thursday’s top stories:
- The Daily Beast: Trump Pushes Out Tweet Naming Alleged Whistleblower
- The Independent: Public support for Trump conviction at all-time high, poll finds
- NBC News: ’Liars!’: Trump fires off post-Christmas tweetstorm over impeachment impasse
- Rantt Media: Rabbi: Trump’s Anti-Semitism Executive Order Is Anti-Semitic
- Politico: Democrats seize on anti-Obamacare ruling to steamroll GOP in 2020
- Reuters: After Cabinet opposed Mexican cartel policy, Trump forged ahead
- Axios: Survey: Germans say Trump is more dangerous than Putin, Kim or Xi
- BBC News: Israel’s PM Benjamin Netanyahu claims win in party leadership challenge
- TheHill: China, Russia, Iran to hold joint naval drills starting Friday
- Axios: High court rules Turkey’s ban on Wikipedia is unconstitutional
Pelosi Bests Trump In 2019
Day 1,072: Friday, December 27
Friday’s top stories:
- Business Insider: ‘Trump is powerless’: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is doing to the president what no one else has in the 3 years since he took office
- Newsweek: Kellyanne Conway Violated the Hatch Act 60 Times, Ethics Watchdog Claims in New Lawsuit
- The Guardian: Betsy DeVos: the billionaire Republican destroying public education
- NBC News: Federal judge to block latest North Carolina voter ID mandate
- CNN: Immigration judges quit in response to administration policies
- The Daily Beast: Trump’s New Legal Adviser Is an Anti-LGBT, Fox News-Ready Bomb Thrower
- Axios: FDA officially raises age to buy tobacco to 21
- CNN: No, Justin Trudeau didn’t get Trump edited out of ‘Home Alone 2’
- Rolling Stone: Eddie Gallagher ‘Is Freaking Evil’ Says Fellow Navy SEAL in Damning Leaked Videos
- BuzzFeed News: Right-Wing Publishers Have Found A Way To Post The Supposed Trump Whistleblower’s Name To Facebook
- Reuters: Philippines bans two U.S. senators, mulls new visa rules for Americans
- The Guardian: Mexican police chief arrested in connection with Mormon family killings
- CNN: US civilian contractor killed in rocket attack in Iraq
- Time: North Korea’s ‘Christmas Gift’ Statement Put the U.S. on Alert Despite No Missile Launch. That May Be the Point
- Los Angeles Times: Trump’s North Korea gamble leaves U.S. back at square one. Where’d it go wrong?
- BBC News: Russia deploys Avangard hypersonic missile system
- The Daily Beast: Russians Take Over 3rd U.S. Base in Northern Syria
- Law & Crime: Ukraine Whistleblower’s Attorney Calls for Sen. Blackburn’s Resignation from Protection Caucus
- CNN: Kazakhstan flight with almost 100 onboard crashes, killing at least 12 people
- BBC News: Australia fires: Crews brace for dangerous heatwave