A Complete Analysis Of Trump’s 201st Unpresidented Week As POTUS

Trump spent Thanksgiving behind a tiny desk undermining democracy while 260k+ families spent the holiday without a loved one.

by: Ahmed Baba on November 30, 2020

President Donald J. Trump speaks with reporters on Thursday, Nov. 26, 2020, during a Thanksgiving video teleconference call from the Diplomatic Reception Room of the White House. (Official White House Photo by Shealah Craighead)

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 week of his presidency. This is week 201.

Donald Trump sat behind his tiny desk, fuming like a petulant child without the innocence and decency. The scene epitomized his one and only term: a small self-centered man, unfit for the office he holds, degrading the greatness of the presidency. Lie after lie cascaded out of his mouth as he targeted America’s faith in the electoral process. He pointed at a reporter who challenged him on his lies about the election he lost, snarling: “You’re just a lightweight. Don’t talk to me that way. I’m the President of the United States. Don’t ever talk to the President that way.” Thankfully, he won’t be President for much longer.

This unhinged tirade came on Thanksgiving day, as Americans tried to safely spend time with their families. Over 260,000 families had an empty seat at the table because of the pandemic Trump mishandled. With this cloud of grief hanging over much of America, what was on Trump’s mind? Only himself and his conspiracy theories. Trump spent his Thanksgiving holiday spreading dangerous lies about the election he lost, after already greenlighting the Biden transition on Monday. Biden spent his time quite differently.

On Wednesday, while Trump called into a Pennsylvania hearing with Rudy Giuliani and Jenna Ellis to complain about fake voter fraud, President-elect Joe Biden was busy rising to the moment. Biden delivered a powerful speech advocating unity, notably asserting: “We’re at war with the virus, not with one another.” The contrasts didn’t end there.

On Tuesday, Biden took to the podium announcing his newly selected foreign policy team, including John Kerry as his climate change czar. Biden began the event by simply saying, “America is back.” Then, each person came to the podium to speak. Hearing these dedicated public servants on Biden’s team talk about how they’ll address the greatest challenges we face was refreshing. It’s good to see character-based governing with people who genuinely care about the work and serving the people, not themselves. By the end of the week, we were reminded of who Trump has chosen to surround himself with.

On Wednesday evening, Donald Trump announced that he would grant his former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn a full pardon. Flynn had already pleaded guilty twice to lying to the FBI about his Russia contacts. Absolute lawlessness and a relentless effort to undermine the rule of law is one of the defining components of Trump’s legacy. This pardon was just the latest example of that. When the dust settles and disinformation subsides, history will judge this accordingly.

This was a shorter intro for an even shorter holiday. Let’s dive into yet another Unpresidented week.

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Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thanksgiving Weekend

The Transition Begins

Day 1,404: Monday, November 23

Monday’s top stories:

The Cabinet Begins To Form

Day 1,405: Tuesday, November 24

Tuesday’s top stories:

The Flynn Pardon

Day 1,406: Wednesday, November 25

FILE – In this Feb. 1, 2017 file photo, National Security Adviser Michael Flynn speaks during the daily news briefing at the White House, in Washington. Trump says his former national security adviser is right to ask for immunity in exchange for talking about Russia. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Wednesday’s top stories:

Thanksgiving Weekend

Day 1,407-1,410: Thursday, November 25 – Sunday, November 29

JUST IN: President Trump snaps at reporter objecting to the President’s false claims about the election: “You’re just a lightweight. Don’t talk to me that way. I’m the President of the United States. Don’t ever talk to the President that way.” pic.twitter.com/RbTKItjs9L

— The Hill (@thehill) November 26, 2020

Thanksgiving weekend’s top stories:

Unpresidented // 2020 / Democracy / Donald Trump / Elections / Joe Biden / Thanksgiving

by: Ahmed Baba

Ahmed Baba is the Co-Founder and President of Rantt. Writer of Unpresidented, Ahmed documented and analyzed every day of the Trump presidency. He's also a columnist at The Independent and his work has been cited in The New York Times, The Washington Post, BBC, Rolling Stone, BuzzFeed, The New York Post, The Huffington Post, Yahoo News, Blavity, Newsweek, The Telegraph, and more. He can be reached at [email protected] or found on Twitter @AhmedBaba_.

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