(239 pounds = he has birthing hips)
These are the 20 meatiest morsels of incompetence coming from Trump and his Administration for this week alone. All the things on this list should lead to investigations, committee hearings, firings, resignations and even one or two impeachment charges. Instead we are subject to a Republican shrugging of the shoulders, as they pathetically march towards November, hoping they aren't voted out in mass.
A quick Google search will give you plenty of news options on all of these stories. The ranking is purely on me. Please feel free to disagree and comment why below.
On with the countdown!
20. After Former FBI Director James Comey's stunning interview on ABC News about his book, 'A Higher Loyalty,' where he questions the mental stability of the 'Commander and Chief,' Trump attacks Comey, as well as former FBI Director Andrew McCabe, in a deranged tweet accusing the both of them of committing crimes. (4/16)
19. South Korea and China, on their own, have successfully negotiated with North Korea, getting closer to finally ending the Korean conflict, and laying the foundations for a possible nuclear free Korean peninsula. Meanwhile, Trump's still insisting he's going to make "all of it happen," but reveals he has no game plan or agenda in place to deal with already progressing negotiations. "Just get me in at the room with the guy [Kim Jung-Un] and I'll figure it out." (4/19)
18. Trump's EPA Director Scott Pruitt's outrageous spending habits are back in the spotlight. It's determined Pruitt broke federal law when he installed his $43,000 sound-proof, phone booth in the EPA Headquarters. The cost of the phone booth exceeded the department's authorization ability, meaning the costs should've been submitted to Congress first. Pruitt also upgraded his official government car to a FAR more expensive model. The old EPA Director's vehicle, a Chevy Tahoe, is sitting at the EPA parking lot, ready to use, but Pruitt has gone with a new Chevy Suburban, one with all the bells and whistles. It's a far more expensive vehicle. Plus Pruitt demanded a major upgrade; kevlar like car seat covers which are bullet proof. (4/17)
17. Cambridge Analytica, the London based data mining firm who helped Trump win in 2016 by lying to numerous social media companies as they accumulated personal data on their customers, and somehow (mysteriously) had most of their data end up in the hands of the Russians, might even be worse. A Cambridge Analytica whistleblower says the initial report the company created a database of 87 million people is actually grossly underreporting the data collection operation, putting the number of people impacted by their information gathering operation well into the hundreds of millions. The implication is there are other apps and programs which illegally harvested data, data which was used with surgical precision to manipulate the voting base in the US, apps and programs which haven't been discovered/revealed yet. (4/17)
16. Secretary of the Interior, Ryan Zinke, is caught doing something weird and dishonest, AGAIN. Multiple times Zinke has claimed to be a geologist. While he did take a few geology courses in college, he's in no way an actual geologist. Not only has he made these claims in public, he's also said this during sworn testimony. (4/19)
15. As Rudy Giuliani joins Trump's personal legal team, many people are speculating this might be a sign of Trump's potential removal of Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, the first step needed to shut down of the Mueller investigation. Attorney General Jeff Sessions has threatened to quit his position if Trump fires Rosenstein. It's also noted Trump has had to 'settle' for Giuliani, one of the few lawyers willing to represent Trump with his legal troubles. (4/20)
14. In a blow to Trump's anti-immigrant agenda, the Supreme Court has limited the amount of immigrants who can be deported due to their criminal records. The case has more to do with what charges are considered violent and which ones aren't (as opposed to the individual rights of immigrants), but the real shocker is that the four liberal judges were joined by Trump Appointee Neil Gorsuch in the 5-4 ruling. (4/17)
13. Trump has personally blocked new sanctions which were to be imposed on Russia, in response to Russia's continued support of the Assad regime in Syria, especially in the wake of the most recent chemical weapons attack by Assad on his own people. New sanctions were announced by UN Ambassador Nikki Haley, but Trump quietly ordered the sanctions to be disregarded. (4/16)
12. When Trump attacked Maggie Haberman and the New York Times for their story on whether or not Trump personal lawyer Michael Cohen will cooperate in the Mueller investigation, Trump specifically attacked one of the sources as a "drunk/drugged up loser." He didn't specify which source he was referring too, but the only two sources for the story were Trump BFF Roger Stone and former Trump aide Sam Nunberg. Haberman has revealed Trump was clearly referring to Nunberg. It's also pointed out Trump would never go after Roger Stone, because Stone knows "where all the bodies are buried." (4/21)
11. Trump, who twice has said he fired former FBI Director James Comey because of the Russian investigation (Once on NBC News and once to Russian officials in the Oval office, according to official transcripts of that meeting) has once again changed his story, insisting on Twitter Comey was NOT fired for the Russian Investigation. He's such a bad liar he can't remember what story he's told. (4/18)
10. A war is breaking out between UN Ambassador Nikki Haley and White House Economic Adviser Larry Kudlow. After Trump 'swept the leg' on Haley, publicly contradicting her claim of new US sanctions against Russia, Kudlow stated she was 'ahead of the curve,' and Haley was having some 'momentary confusion.' Haley's immediate response (in a very terse manner), "I don't get confused." (4/17)
9. Former First Lady Barbara Bush passed away on Tuesday, April 17th, 2018. The White House immediately released a statement which said she passed away on April 17th, 2017. Reminder: Trump claimed his Administration is 'detail oriented,' but, CLEARLY, no one in the Administration actually proofreads anything. By the way, Barbara Bush, who was known for her literacy work, privately and repeatedly slammed Trump. (4/17)
8. The Trump Administration, quietly hoping no one would notice, has gut an anti discrimination statute designed to guarantee health care access for transgender patients. The rules were designed to stop health care providers from getting federal financial assistance if they were found to be discriminating on the basis of gender identity. Now, according to Trump, it's legal to openly discriminate in the health care profession. (4/22)
7. After a stunning day of Twitter stupidity on Friday (called Debbie Wasserman Schultz 'Wendy,' deletes 'Wendy' tweet, misspelled 'shady,' misspelled 'Special Counsel' TWICE(!), and floats the dumbest, most laughable James Comey conspiracy yet, implying The Press generated the Special Counsel, not the DOJ...WOW!!!) Trump is at it early on Saturday. Trump, clearly concerned his horrible treatment of Michael Cohen might come back to bite him, attacks reporter Maggie Haberman (Trump spelt it Habberman) and the New York Times for printing a story about how Michael Cohen might be enticed to flip for the Mueller's investigation. Trump attacks the sources for the story, implies the story is completely false, and then attempts to suck up to Cohen. (4/21)
6. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has warned the USA, due to Trump's tax bill, the US is the only advanced economy who will see their public debt ratio increase over the next three to five years, an increase which could have a major destabilizing effect on the country's economy. (4/19)
5. Appearing in court on Monday, Trump's personal lawyer Michael Cohen had to publicly state the name of his third client, after (1) Trump and (2) the former RNC Financial Chair whom Cohen paid off a Playboy model for, to keep her quiet. An audible gasp accompanied Cohen's reveal, as Fox News host Sean Hannity was named the third client. Hannity has not revealed his connection to Trump's lawyer, and hence Trump, even though he spends most weeknights defending Cohen and Trump specifically against the encroaching investigations. The judge on Monday also ruled against Cohen reviewing the evidence against him prior to law enforcement getting it. Can you imagine what the response would be if it was discovered Rachel Maddow or Keith Olbermann shared former President Obama's personal lawyer, while he was in office, even though he was NEVER investigated for personal malfeasance? (4/16)
4. EPA Director Scott Pruitt, in 2003, while a state senator in Oklahoma, bought a house. Technically a shell company bought the house, which Pruitt eventually became the owner of. The shell company was linked to one of his business partners, Kenneth Wagner. The mortgage was financed by another personal friend, former banker Albert Kelly, a man who's currently banned from the banking industry FOR LIFE, because he repeatedly broke federal banking laws. Both Wagner and Kelly are current employees of...wait for it...the EPA! Wagner is a Senior Advisor for EPA Regional and State Affairs. Kelly is currently the Director of the EPA's Superfund Program. (4/22)
3. The Sean Hannity story keeps getting weirder. Not only is Hannity, a man who has religiously defended Trump and his lawyer Michael Cohen, outed as being one of Cohen's clients, but now we hear another of Trump's lawyers, Jay Sekulow, is also one of his lawyers. On top of that, apparently Trump and Hannity talk quite regularly, with his calls getting connected wherever Trump is, with one White House official stating it's as if Hannity is an unofficial Chief of Staff. More attention is being focused on Hannity's potential role in the Trump/Russia affair. Not only are there clear connections between Hannity and Wikileaks (Reminder: Wikileaks founder Julian Assange, the main supplier of Russian propaganda during the 2016 campaign, was actively trying to get in touch with Hannity, actually direct messaging a fake Hannity Twitter account, with Assange implying there was a long standing relationship between the two men), Hannity has been the source for numerous stories which seem to have originated from Russia, and has used his TV show as a main outlet for Trump and his people to get an uncontested platform to deny allegations. (4/18)
2. After claiming the Administration would never participate in such cruel behavior, it's reported the Department of Homeland Security, since October, has separated 700 children from their immigrant parents at the border. At least 100 of the kids separated from their parents are under the age of 4. The Trump Administration has bragged they'd install such harsh tactics, but have downplayed and denied their actions, knowing these methods are so cruel, even a majority of Trump's supporters don't endorse such mean spirited, anti-Christian tactics. (4/21)
1. The Tump Administration released the Comey memos, claiming they clear Trump's name, but almost immediately their big reveal backfired spectacularly. Trump's claiming the memos exonerate him, but they don't even come close to that. Comey wrote Trump himself claimed there was no collusion, but Comey never once said that. What the memos do show is a wildly paranoid Trump, insisting the Russian prostitute story wasn't true, bringing it up on his own at least three times. Trump lied to Comey about the prostitute story, claiming he never stayed in the hotel that night, even though others have testified, under oath, he did indeed stay there. Trump was obsessed with Former FBI Director Andrew McCabe's wife, and with defending Russia, who Trump himself brought up five different times. Trump also blamed the Russia scandal for his failure to repeal Obamacare, Trump pushed the idea of jailing journalists who fail to give up their anonymous sources, and Trump was furious with Former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn when he found out about a Putin congratulatory call after the fact. The memos also show Trump praised Comey repeatedly, especially during the transition and in the early days of his Administration. After the memo move backfired, Trump attacked Comey via Twitter with name calling, implying Comey is un-American. Once again, his own Administration released the Comey memos! (4/19-20)
Once again, that was only one freaking week...
For the record, I think his hiring of Pompeo and Bolton signifies Trump's intent on starting a war in a Hail Mary attempt to hold the House in 2018.
That is why #2018IsEverything! Get registered. Get three of your friends registered. Be ready to vote in November! Have a great week everyone.
Another wrinkle to add and seems to be overlooked by everyone is the fact that Newt Gingrich has been Hannity's mentor since the 80's. He's Sean's favorite guest commentator. Go back and look at Newt's arguments and you can draw a direct line fron Gingrich to Trump via Hannity.
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