A Complete Analysis Of Trump’s 166th Unpresidented Week As POTUS

Trump has used coronavirus press briefings to spread lies, attack journalists, and solicit praise for himself. They further expose his inadequacies.
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by: Ahmed Baba on March 30, 2020

President Donald J. Trump, joined by Vice President Mike Pence and members of the White House Coronavirus Task Force, listens to a reporter’s question at the coronavirus (COVID-19) update briefing Thursday, March 26, 2020. (Official White House Photo by Tia Dufour)

President Donald J. Trump, joined by Vice President Mike Pence and members of the White House Coronavirus Task Force, listens to a reporter’s question at the coronavirus (COVID-19) update briefing Thursday, March 26, 2020. (Official White House Photo by Tia Dufour)

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 166.

“I think they should be appreciative… [Pence] calls all the governors. I tell him… I mean, I’m a different type of person. I say, ‘Mike, don’t call the Governor of Washington. You’re wasting your time with him. Don’t call the woman in Michigan.’ It doesn’t make any difference what happens… You know what I say? If they don’t treat you right, I don’t call.” – President Donald Trump, March 27, 2020

You read that right. The President of the United States is seeking praise in exchange for engaging with governors at the center of the coronavirus pandemic. Donald Trump, the supposed leader of the free world and alleged grown 73-year-old man, spent time during a briefing complaining about how governors and the media do not appreciate him and said he doesn’t call governors who aren’t nice to him… in the middle of a once-in-a-century pandemic.

President Trump thinks his press briefings make him look competent, but they only serve to highlight his profound inability to effectively carry out the duties of the president. The briefings are supposed to be used to give crucial details about the coronavirus pandemic to the American people. Instead, they’re being exploited as campaign events. They’re a series of self-congratulatory, self-contradicting, egomaniacal ramblings that showcase a President who is incapable of showing empathy, telling the truth, and seeing past himself.

On Sunday morning, and during Sunday’s briefing, President Trump touted his rating, proclaiming that they are watched by millions of viewers. There are now over 140,000 cases and 2,400 deaths in the United States at the time of this writing, and the President of the United States is talking about the fact this pandemic is garnering him a large audience…

Any American watching these press briefings can see that the President of the United States is completely unfazed by the fact over thousands of Americans have died due to COVID-19. Not only is he unfazed by the deaths, he’s unwilling to admit the fact his own incompetence was partially responsible for this rapid spread.

President Trump also appears incapable of restraining his pettiest impulses. From attacking governors to journalists that merely quote his own statements back to him, these briefings repeatedly go off the rails. When PBS Newshour reporter Yamiche Alcindor presented Trump with his own quote from an interview on Hannity, he unleashed on her once again.

If President Trump doesn’t want to be asked about his idiotic statements and lies, he should stop making idiotic statements and lying. Trump is so frustrated with his own intellectual inadequacies and lack of discipline he’s taking it out on brilliant journalists like Alcindor.

These press briefings also highlight President Trump’s inconsistencies. On Tuesday, President Trump was recklessly calling for the economy to be reopened by Easter, telling Fox News: “Wouldn’t it be great to have all of the churches full? …Easter Sunday and you’ll have packed churches all over our country.” No, it wouldn’t be great, it would be deadly.

Amid these calls, there were several prominent Republicans calling for this to happen. Texas Lt. Governor Dan Patrick said that grandparents would be willing to die to save the economy for their descendants. Right-wing commentator Glenn Beck said something similar, saying he would die for the economy. It’s been really something to watch alleged “pro-life” conservatives dead silent or participating in the flurry of calls on the right explicitly advocating for the sacrifice of lives in order to reopen the economy too soon. Going from being fake “pro-life” to being “pro-death for the Dow” is quite the shift in the Republican Party platform.

Of course, by the weekend, President Trump had listened to Dr. Anthony Fauci and Dr. Deborah Birx who guided him towards extending the current CDC guidelines until April 30. When asked if broaching his Easter deadline was a mistake, Trump said “no” and that the goal was merely “aspirational.” Once again, incapable of admitting when he is wrong.

Then there are the lies. President Trump has repeated the same lie blaming past administrations for his own testing failures so many times unchecked in these briefings, I wouldn’t be surprised if many average Americans believe it. The CDC rejected WHO tests, created unreliable kits of their own, then had to fix them. This set us back. We all know this.

There was also the revelation that one of President Trump’s lies was deadly. After President Trump lied and said chloroquine was approved by the FDA, it wasn’t yet, Fox News spread that lie and told readers where to find it. A man and his wife self-medicated with the drug. The man died and his wife was put in critical care. She said they heard about it at the press conferences.

Needless to say, networks need to reconsider how they’re broadcasting these. Much like his rallies in 2016, broadcasting these press conferences live with no fact-checking is proving to be dangerous. But this time the stakes are life and death.

Let’s dive into yet another Unpresidented week.

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Trump Calls For A Premature Reopening Of The Economy

Day 1,159: Monday, March 23

President Donald J. Trump, joined by Vice President Mike Pence and members of the White House Coronavirus Task Force, delivers remarks at a coronavirus (COVID-19) press briefing Friday, March 20, 2020, in the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room of the White House. (Official White House Photo by Shealah Craighead)

President Donald J. Trump, joined by Vice President Mike Pence and members of the White House Coronavirus Task Force, delivers remarks at a coronavirus (COVID-19) press briefing Friday, March 20, 2020, in the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room of the White House. (Official White House Photo by Shealah Craighead)

Monday’s top stories:

If You Need More Income During The Coronavirus Pandemic, Search For Jobs With Our Zip Recruiter Tool

Trump’s Dangerous Easter Deadline

Day 1,160: Tuesday, March 24

Tuesday’s top stories:

Coronavirus Deaths Continue to Surge

Day 1,161: Wednesday, March 25

Civil protection volunteers engaged in health checks at the “Milano Malpensa” airport. – Milan, Italy, 5 February 5, 2020 (Dipartimento Protezione Civile/Creative Commons)

Civil protection volunteers engaged in health checks at the “Milano Malpensa” airport. – Milan, Italy, 5 February 5, 2020 (Dipartimento Protezione Civile/Creative Commons)

Wednesday’s top stories:

America First… In Coronavirus Deaths

Day 1,162: Thursday, March 26

President Donald Trump pauses during the 9/11 Observance Ceremony at the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., Sept. 11, 2017. (Source: Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff)

President Donald Trump pauses during the 9/11 Observance Ceremony at the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., Sept. 11, 2017. (Source: Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff)

Thursday’s top stories:

100,000 Coronavirus Cases Surpassed

Day 1,163: Friday, March 27

President Donald J. Trump addresses the nation from the Oval Office of the White House Wednesday evening, March 11, 2020, on the country’s expanded response against the global Coronavirus outbreak. (Official White House Photo by Joyce N. Boghosian)

President Donald J. Trump addresses the nation from the Oval Office of the White House Wednesday evening, March 11, 2020, on the country’s expanded response against the global Coronavirus outbreak. (Official White House Photo by Joyce N. Boghosian)

Friday’s top stories:

Rantt Media and ZipRecruiter


Unpresidented // Coronavirus / Donald Trump
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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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