Here’s Every Action Trump Took In His Sixth Unpresidented Week As POTUS
Although it may feel like years have passed, it has only been six weeks since President Trump took office.
The flurry of activity continued this week. Trump gave a speech that made the media fall in love with him (for about a day), Attorney General Jeff Sessions recused himself from Russia investigations, and Trump continued his disinformation campaign.
As President Trump continues to deflect, distract, and cry “FAKE NEWS,” the very real story surrounding his campaign’s ties to Russia and their interference in our democracy continues to unfold.
Here is every action President Trump, and his administration, took during his sixth week as President of the United States while the already “tremendous” Trump-Russia plot thickens:
Sixth Weekend (Feb 25–26)
- President Trump started his weekend by barring certain news organizations from a White House press briefing and subsequently refusing to attend the White House Correspondents’ dinner
I will not be attending the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner this year. Please wish everyone well and have a great evening!
- The Trump administration took it’s first step towards building the boarder wall (if it even gets congressional funding). Bloomberg reports: “U.S. Customs and Border Protection issued a preliminary request for proposals Friday, saying it plans to release a formal solicitation around March 6 ‘for the design and build of several prototype wall structures in the vicinity of the United States border with Mexico’”
- President Trump’s newly appointed national security advisor Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster broke with the administration when it comes to the use of the phrase “radical Islamic terrorism.” According to CNN, McMaster “said jihadist terrorists aren’t true to their professed religion and that the use of the phrase ‘radical Islamic terrorism’ doesn’t help the US in working with allies to defeat terrorist groups”
- In an attempt to crack down on leaks, Press Secretary Sean Spicer is implementing random phone checks and other increased security measures for White House staffers. The funny thing about that is the report that revealed this info, was sourced from a leak from the White House
- President Trump ended his sixth weekend in office by attacking the media, bashing The New York Times’ new “Truth” marketing campaign and calling the stories pertaining to Russia “FAKE NEWS put out by the Dems”
For first time the failing @nytimes will take an ad (a bad one) to help save its failing reputation. Try reporting accurately & fairly!
Russia talk is FAKE NEWS put out by the Dems, and played up by the media, in order to mask the big election defeat and the illegal leaks!
Sixth Week Feb 27 — March 3
Monday Feb 27
- President Trump’s federal budget will propose a $54 billion increase in military spending while cutting other federal agencies by that same amount
- According to Axios, Press Secretary Sean Spicer personally arranged the attempt to discredit The New York Times’ Feb 14 report alleging communications between Russia and Trump campaign officials. On Feb 15, Spicer reportedly reached out to CIA Director Mike Pompeo and Senate Select Intelligence Committee Chair Richard Burr (R-N.C) and connected them with reporters from The Washington Post and The Wall Street Journal in an unsuccessful effort to push back on the NYT report
- The Justice Department is dropped its opposition to a controversial Texas voter ID law that would make it harder for minorities to vote
- President Trump’s choice to be secretary of the navy withdrew from consideration for the post, citing concerns about privacy and separating himself from his business interests — The Guardian
- The Washington Post reported that, “Henry Rousso is one of France’s most preeminent scholars and public intellectuals. Last week, as the historian attempted to enter the United States to attend an academic symposium, he was detained for more than 10 hours — for no clear reason”
- President Trump apparently just learned the complexity of healthcare policy and assumed no one knew this fact
TRUMP: “Nobody knew that health care could be so complicated.
Tuesday Feb 28
- President Trump delivered his first speech to a joint session of Congress. Despite being riddled with lies and fear-mongering about illegal immigrants, the speech set off almost universal praise from the press. He was called “Presidential” and there was talks of a “reset” and “pivot” in tone. The press also praised his honoring of the Widow of Chief Petty Officer William “Ryan” Owen who died in the recent Yemen raid. Yes, that was a much deserved beautiful moment for Carryn Owens, but it is also important to note that just earlier that day Trump was passing off the blame of the loss of Ryan’s life on his generals. The media praise Trump received caused his administration to postpone the signing of the new immigration executive order to bask in the positive news cycle. Unfortunately for the Trump administration, that praise would soon turn to scrutiny
- President Trump made a bogus claim that former President Obama has been secretly organizing protests and the overall opposition against his presidency
- “President Donald Trump signed an executive order Tuesday aimed at rolling back an Obama-era rule that designates what smaller bodies of water, tributaries and wetlands are under the control of the Environmental Protection Agency and the Army Corps of Engineers” — NBC News
- “Trump also signed into law measures designed to promote women entering science, technology, engineering, and math (or STEM) fields, called the INSPIRE Women Act. The act encourages NASA to recruit women to STEM-related and aerospace positions — NBC News
- “Trump also signed a measure called the Promoting Women in Entrepreneurship Act, which Trump said enables the National Science Foundation to support women inventors”— NBC News
- “President Trump signed an executive order Tuesday aimed at signaling his commitment to historically black colleges and universities, saying that those schools will be “an absolute priority for this White House” — PBS
- Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos said historically black colleges and universities were “real pioneers” of school choice. She then backtracked on the the controversial statement and highlighted the institutions’ roots in racism and segregation
Wednesday March 1
- News broke that Attorney General Jeff Sessions spoke with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak twice last year while he was a Senator. Sessions lied about this while under oath at his confirmation hearing. This is the same Russian ambassador that Michael Flynn communicated with about lifting sanctions. Those communications led to Flynn being fired as national security advisor. The Washington Post reported that “one of the meetings was a private conversation between Sessions and Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak that took place in September in the senator’s office, at the height of what U.S. intelligence officials say was a Russian cyber campaign to upend the U.S. presidential race”
- The New York Times reported that European allies confirmed meetings between Russian officials and Trump’s campaign in various European cities and Obama officials tried to preserve the evidence in their final days
- House Intelligence Committee established investigation parameters for Russia’s interference in the US election — All aspects of Russian active measures including any collusion with the Trump campaign
- Despite President Trump’s claims that the Yemen raid was a success and gathered meaningful intelligence, “multiple U.S. officials told NBC News that none of the intelligence gleaned from the operation so far has proven actionable or vital”
- The White House has concluded that Kellyanne Conway, a top adviser to President Trump, was acting “without nefarious motive” when she plugged Ivanka Trump’s products in a TV interview — CNN
Thursday March 2
- After facing a firestorm of calls for his resignation from Democrats and his recusal from both Democrats and Republicans, Attorney General Jeff Sessions recused himself from handling any investigations regarding Russia’s interference in the 2016 election
- The White House confirmed that Jared Kushner and former national security advisor Michael Flynn met with Ambassador Kislyak at Trump Tower in December. Given the exhaustive media coverage at Trump Tower that month, this revelation has led many to believe Kislyak must have been snuck onto the premises
Remember the coverage at Trump Tower in Dec? NOBODY passed thru w/o press noticing. CSPAN had a freaking pool cam. They snuck Kislyak in. https://t.co/KlL98KD0SD
- USA TODAY reported that two more Trump campaign officials met with Russian Ambassador Kislyak, but this time it was at the Republican National Convention:
Attorney General Jeff Sessions is not the only member of President Trump’s campaign who spoke to Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak at a diplomacy conference connected to the Republican National Convention in July. At least two more members of the Trump campaign’s national security officials also spoke with Kislyak at the event, and several more Trump national security advisers were in attendance. It’s unknown what the Trump campaign officials who spoke with the ambassador — J.D. Gordon and Carter Page — discussed with him.
These revelations continue to contradict Trump officials’ denial that there were any contacts whatsoever between the Trump campaign and Russian officials. Carter Page admitted to the meeting on CNN despite having previously denied it. This development is noteworthy, given Page’s extensive Russia ties and repeated trips to Moscow throughout 2016
- Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA), the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, “accused FBI Director James Comey of withholding crucial information about its investigation into Russian interference in the election and raised the prospect of subpoenaing the agency”
- “Vice President Mike Pence routinely used a private email account to conduct public business as governor of Indiana, at times discussing sensitive matters and homeland security issues.” Pence’s account was hacked
- “New EPA head Scott Pruitt told Congress he never used personal email for government business. But it turns out he did.” — The Washington Post
- “Trump administration officials fed news outlets misinformation ahead of President Trump’s address to Congress Tuesday night, hoping to get more positive press coverage, CNN reported Wednesday afternoon.” — The Hill
- President Trump vented his frustrations regarding Jeff Sessions’ recusal on Twitter, calling it all “witch hunt”
Friday March 3
- President Trump “demanded” investigations into Democratic House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer’s Russia ties. Two completely irrelevant cases, seeing how these two leaders met with Russian representatives in public places in line with their duties of their given positions, and aren’t currently under investigation for potential collusion with Russia
We should start an immediate investigation into @SenSchumer and his ties to Russia and Putin. A total hypocrite!
I hereby demand a second investigation, after Schumer, of Pelosi for her close ties to Russia, and lying about it. https://t.co/qCDljfF3wN
- The Washington Post reported that “the Trump administration is seeking to slash the budget of one of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, one government’s premier climate science agencies, by 17 percent, delivering steep cuts to research funding and satellite programs”
- “Secretary of State Rex Tillerson alarmed human rights advocates when he did not appear in person to present the State Department’s annual human rights report” — The Washington Post
- President Trump headed out to Mar-a-Lago for the weekend, where he woke up early Saturday and sent out a series of tweets accusing former President Obama of wiretapping his phones. These accusations were made without any evidence or credible sources corroborating them. They reportedly came from commentary on Breitbart and conservative talk radio. Obama released a statement denying this, calling the claims false. Adding to this is the fact that the president can’t order wiretapping. But some have pointed to this a confirmation of the FBI’s October FISA warrant request to investigate Trump’s ties to Russia
President Trump started his week complaining about “FAKE NEWS” and ended it by spreading some fake news of his own.
As the tumultuous first days of Trump’s presidency drag on, one thing is clear: Trump is paranoid. Trump’s attempts to clamp down on leaks, continuous deflections, and wild claims are indicative of a guilty man who has something to hide.
Confirmation of more contacts and meetings between Russian officials and Trump’s campaign have made the President nervous, as he continues to try and corrode trust in the media that is reporting on these developments.
As the weeks go by, the possibility of collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia continues to become more likely.
Catch up on the last 5 weeks of Unpresidented
- Here’s Every Action Trump Took In His Fifth Unpresidented Week As POTUS
- Here’s Every Action Trump Took In His Fourth Unpresidented Week As POTUS
- Here’s Every Action Trump Took In His Third Unpresidented Week As POTUS
- Here’s Every Action Trump Took In His Second Week As POTUS
- Here’s Every Action Trump Took In His First Week As POTUS
