The Trump Top 20 Countdown for the Week of 7/23/18

Welcome to the Weekly Top 20 Countdown of Trump's ineptitude and stupidity for the week of 7/23/18 to 7/29/18.

These are the 20 largest incompetence bombs coming from Trump and his Administration for last week alone.  The things on this list should lead to absolute mockery, investigations, committee hearings, firings, resignations and even one or two impeachment charges.  But because Republicans are trying their hardest to figure out if they do or do not like Trump heading into the November elections (like a deer, standing still, not moving, hoping we don't see them) nothing is being done.  They're failing our country.

A quick internet 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 - Eric Trump (Tweedle Dum) bragged on Twitter about a poll which showed the vast majority of Americans disapproving of his dad. (7/24)

19 - Trump told numerous lies at his rally in Illinois, but one in particular was a doozie.  He claimed he won the female vote in 2016.  NOT EVEN CLOSE! He barely squeaked a victory with white women only, but that's not what he claimed.  He claimed he captured the women vote, all women.  He lost the women vote by 13%. (7/26)

18 - Apparently Trump flew into a rage on Air Force One during his trip to Europe when he noticed one of the TV's was turned to CNN, and not Fox News.  He bellowed at staff for an extended period of time because they were "violating the rule." (7/25)

17 - In a pathetic attempt at...something, Trump insists he now is "very concerned" the Russians are going to interfere in the 2018 elections on behalf of...the Democrats(!).  Considering it's looking like a monumental landslide against him, this is an attempt to start planting a seed with his followers, hinting any massive turnout against him will be fraudulent. Trump also finally heard the screams of the Republicans terrified of the pre-election optics of a million people descending on Washington DC to protest a potential Putin visit.  He's decided to postpone the promised state visit with the Russian evil dictator until next year. (7/24-25)

16 - The Feds have subpoenaed the Trump Organization CFO Allen Weisselberg in their criminal probe of Michael Cohen.  This is BIG trouble for Trump as Weisselberg knows where all the money is, and where it originally came from.  He was netted after it was discovered Cohen spoke with him to get information on how to set up an LLC, the type of corporation the Trump camp used to funnel money to the National Enquirer in order to kill potential affair stories against Trump. (7/26)

15 - Trump claims he has higher polling numbers of any Republican president ever; more than Reagan and more than Lincoln.  Once again, Presidential polls didn't exist in ANY form until 80 years after Lincoln died, and Trump's numbers are very much behind Reagan's.  Trump doesn't actually mention which poll claims this. (7/29)

14 - Secretary of State Mike Pompeo tried to play coy when asked what progress has been made in regards to negotiations with North Korea to remove their nuclear capability.  "I cant answer that for you." It's clear Trump's Singapore Summit was a massive failure, as Pompeo eventually admitted North Korea is still producing nuclear bomb fuel. (7/25)

13 - The latest casualty for Trump's trade war is dairy famers, particularly California Dairy farmers who've seen their Mexican market disappear after Mexico leveed tariffs on American dairy in direct response to the Trump tariffs placed upon them.  Considering the perishable nature of dairy, and the lack of foreign markets Trump can create for the product, many California dairy farmers are looking at operating at a loss in 2018, possibly shutting down operations entirely. (7/28)

12 - Trump's White House, in an official release about the economy, misspelled the phrase 'United States.'  Reminder: Trump has repeatedly stated his White House was the smartest, most competent Administration EVER. (7/27)

11 - In a doozy of an interview, Trump biographer David Clay Johnston stated he's aware of multiple other affairs Trump has had, recognizable names, who might eventually come to light in regards to investigations into Trump.  He also hinted, but didn't outright state, there might even be multiple abortions in Trump's torrid past.  So far Johnston is refusing to name names.  Stormy Daniels' lawyer Micahel Avenatti has stated there's new evidence than Cohen and Trump were concerned about a pregnancy as recently as 2016.  Then later on Thursday, Avenatti claimed to be represent three other women who state they were paid off by Trump to stay quiet about their alleged affairs. (7/25-26)

10 - As Trump insists "tariffs are the greatest," a bizarre defense to his unnecessary trade war, a new report shows the US currently has a 2.5 billion pound meat surplus, the largest ever on record.  The reason why is the largest importers of American meats are China and Mexico, countries currently part of Trump's trade war.  Although this will undoubtedly mean lower consumer prices in the short term, this will likely lead to shuttered ranches, far fewer American meat producers, and much higher prices. (7/24)

9 - Trump has asked his aides to try to find a way to ban reporters from CNN and the Urban Radio Network from attending his press events.  Apparently he's bothered they shout questions at him, questions he doesn't like (7/27)

8 - The GDP numbers came in at a respectable 4.1%, but then Trump proceeds to insist the economy is fantastic, making boastful, grossly exaggerated comments and outright lies.  He claimed former President Obama's GDP numbers were never over 2%.  This is a laughably easy to refute.  4.1% would rank as Obama's fifth best GDP number.  Trump then insisted the US will eventually get to an 8 or 9% under his trade war.  Pretty much every economist laughed at that suggestion.  Most economist's post speech analysis pointed to multiple signs the economy is on the verge of a major slowdown. (7/27)

7 - Trump starts out the week with an all caps Twitter tweet directed towards Iran. "To Iranian President Rouhani:  NEVER, EVER THREATEN THE UNTIED STATES AGAIN OR YOU WILL SUFFER CONSEQUENCES THE LIKES OF WHICH FEW THROUGHOUT HISTORY HAVE EVER SUFFERED BEFORE."  For the record, Iran has banned Twitter, so they didn't see it.  Trump's tweet seems to only have been for his followers.  It's unknown what exactly triggered Trump's rage tweet, but it's likely an attempt to further cover up his disastrous Putin week from before.  National Security Advisor John Bolton also alluded to an upcoming attack on Iran. (7/23)

6 - CNN aired one of the tapes Michael Cohen made of his conversations with former client Trump, and Trump's likely created a new bunch of legal trouble for himself.  In a conversation which sounded cavalier, the two can be heard discussing payouts to former Playboy Playmate Karen McDougal, a woman Trump had an affair with in the months after his wife gave birth to his youngest son. In the conversation, they talk about payouts to McDougal, and to AMI, the National Enquirer's parent company who purchased McDougal's story so they could bury it before the election (so it wouldn't hurt Trump).  They then discussed timelines.  All analysis of the tape point to Trump being guilty off at least some level of fraud, and possibly an intention to violate campaign finance laws. (7/24)

5 - While speaking to veterans in Kansas City, Trump made one of the most remarkable statements ever in the history of politics:  "Just remember, what you are seeing and what you are reading is not what's happening."  WOW!  Trump told his followers to ignore reality, and sadly many of them will. (7/24)

4 - Trump is reportedly considering revoking the security clearance for numerous former law enforcement officials who have been critical of Trump's Russia connections and other elements of the Presidency.  Former CIA Directors John Brennan and Michael Hayden, Former FBI Director James Comey, Former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, Former National Security Advisor Susan Rice and Former Deputy FBI Director Andrew McCabe are all being threatened with the stripping of their clearances because they were not nice to Trump.  Trump doesn't understand what exactly he is threatening. McCabe and Comey no longer even have a security clearance to revoke.  Hayden states he doesn't receive classified briefings so he's in no way benefiting from a security clearance. (7/23)

3 - It's been revealed 463 parents who were imprisoned at the border have been deported WITHOUT the kids they came to the border with.  The government is stating the parents left after being given the opportunity to reunite with their kids, but the problem with that story is the US has completely lost track of whose children are whose.  At no point were the kids ever ready to leave with their parents.  The US found this out after they started DNA testing and realized they had deported some of the parents without the kids. The US Government currently does not have any idea on how to track these parents down.  Some parents have reported the US Government ordered them to sign away the rights to their kids without telling them what exactly they were signing, leaving them no recourse in getting their children returned. (7/23)

2 - Trump's former lawyer Micahel Cohen has stated Trump indeed did know about the Trump Tower meeting between the Russians, multiple Campaign staffers and his son, Donald Trump Jr. (Tweedle Dee) prior to the meeting taking place.  This directly contradicts the Trump claim, AND the sworn testimony of Trump Jr., that Trump was unaware of the meeting beforehand.  This is just the latest outright lie the Trump campaign has been caught stating about the Trump Tower meeting. (7/26)

1) - Trump has ordered the US military in Afghanistan to surrender large swaths of territory the US has claimed from the Taliban and give it back to the Taliban, territory we won with our own blood, territory we had occupied justifiably.  The Taliban helped Al-Qeada attack the US on 9/11. Trump and his diplomatic team, undermining the established US backed government of Afghanistan, have been meeting directly with the Taliban, a group still actively waging war against US and coalition troops.  The two groups met in Qatar last week.  Trump has surrendered large swaths of rural and sparsely populated lands to the Taliban, leaving the US and coalition forces to "retreat," only concerning themselves with protecting the capital and the larger cities.  Not only is this strategy similar to the one which got the US forces in big trouble in Vietnam, it ensures the Taliban will hold onto land they seized in combat with the US forces.  Many military experts are taking this as Trump quitting the conflict, a war which has taken the lives of 2372 US military members.  It also gives a stunning victory to the Taliban, who once again were part of the 9/11 attacks on the US.  During his campaign, Trump stated he had a strategy to defeat the Taliban, stating the Taliban had "nowhere to hide."  It's apparent now Trump himself is eagerly giving the Taliban plenty of places to hide.  If a Democratic President would have done such a thing, they'd been removed by their own party. Republicans, especial the far right war hawks, are clearly ignoring this betrayal of the military and the American people. (7/28)

You might have missed #1.  That is really disturbing on a lot of levels.

It was actually a lighter week than normal.  Taking that into account, it's remarkable; Trump's lighter weeks would be the worst week for any other President.

In August, go help a Democrat running in a Republican held district.  They need door knockers and phone bankers! And make a donation too.  Get registered to vote and start getting ready for Autumn!

#2108IsEverything!

The Friday Link for 7/27/18

A bevy of Late Night clips for you tonight.

It was just announced today Trump tried to ban CNN and the Urban Radio Network from press conferences.  He says he hates when they yell questions.  He has made "fake news" the main tentpole of his freak show rallies, and he has often criticized the Late Night hosts for not praising him.  Someone has to tell him that's not how all of this works.

Trump is a snowflake. 

Trump would take all of these shows off the air if he could.

Samantha Bee is up first with a brilliant takedown of the treasonous jerks at the NRA. WARNING - Rough language.

Next up, Trevor Noah pointing out Trump's great successes are all fixing the mistakes he's made.



Next up Colbert and friends telling you to take a break from Netflix to have sex.



And finally, Our Cartoon President is so terrified from Shark Week, he calls is best-est buddies to make himself feel better.



If that doesn't put a smile on your face, you're a far right Trump righto who is not even on this blog anyway!

Have a great weekend everyone.  Watch out for all the Twin Cities metro area road closures!

The Trump Top 20 Countdown for the Week of 7/9/18

Welcome to the Weekly Top 20 Countdown of Trump's ineptitude and stupidity for the week of 7/9/18 to 7/15/18.

First off.  I KNOW THIS IS REALLY LATE!  Like I mentioned on my radio show, I had all intention of posting this a week ago, and then doing a Countdown for the week of the 16th, but then I had hernia surgery last Tuesday.

I thought I'd be able to type and edit from bed, but there is some sort of war between tablets and Blogger.  I sided with Blogger, so I postponed this until I had time to get it done.  I scrapped the 16th Countdown and am currently in my own personal hell, tracking the top events for Countdown 7/23.

A reminder about this Countdown:  these are the 20 most boneheaded things coming from Trump and his Administration for the week of 7/9 to 7/15.  This list should lead to, AT THE VERY LEAST, a censuring of Trump an most of his Administration.  There are a few things which should be the end of his term in office; but that's the story EVERY FREAKING WEEK!

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 - More downside to Trump's "winning" trade war strategy.  Automaker Volvo is looking at pulling back on expansion at a South Carolina manufacturing plant by 4000 jobs.  This is solely due to Trump's tariffs. (7/10)

19 - In a newspaper interview, Trump bragged his polling numbers amongst Republicans (collected via telephone calls) are better than Lincoln's were.  The telephone wasn't even invented until 10 years after Lincoln was killed.  Presidential approval polling of any type wasn't begun until 80 years after Lincoln died.  This is just stupid. (7/12)

18 - Trump has been proudly bragging about golfing in Scotland during his trip to Europe, mentioning it over and over again.  It's suspected he's trying to use the office of the Presidency to promote his Scottish golf course, a golf course which has lost millions.  A few thousand Scottish protestors showed up to tell him he wasn't welcome in Scotland when he was golfing.  No pro-Trump rally was reported. (7/14)

17 - Farmers in Minnesota, North Dakota and Michigan (among many other states) have vocally called for a change in Trump's trade policies.  They're rightfully concerned the Trump policies will wipe out their farms. (7/14)

16 - Not only has North Korea expanded their nuclear program AFTER Trump stated he'd solved the Korean Peninsula nuclear crisis, apparently the North Koreans have also thumbed their noses at the Trump initiative to return Korean War veterans remains back to the US.  A meeting was supposed to take place between the US and North Korean dignitaries at the DMZ, but the North Koreans never showed up. The North Koreans so far have yet to explain their absence.  Reminder:  Trump insisted the North Korean crisis was completely solved.  (7/12)

15 - The Federal Government is apparently spending close to a billion dollars this year alone housing children and babies away from their parents at immigration prison sites.  Roughly 12,000 children are currently being held in nearly 90 prison camps across America. (7/12)

14 - Trump is furious over former FBI employee Lisa Page ignoring the subpoena from Congressional investigators.  He's so upset with her, he isn't even trying his spellcheck anymore.  Ladies and Gentlemen, the President of the United States: "Ex-FBI LAYER Lisa Page..." (lawyer?, liar???)  He goes onto imply the Mueller investigation is no longer a 'witch hunt,' but rather a 'rigged witch hunt.'  FYI - the investigation is VERY legitimate. (7/11)

13 - Clearly embolden by Trump, the US is seeing a spike in the number of cases where white people call the police to report African American people for being black.  At least a dozen cases of such unnecessary harassment of the African American community have happened nationwide in the last two weeks, a clear sign Trump is emboldening racists.  The good news: most of the people doing the harassing are either fired, arrested and/or they're publicly shamed. (7/9-15)

12 - There have been numerous negative comments about Trump's interaction with Queen Elizabeth and the rest of the British Royal Family during his official state visit to Great Britain.  Trump repeatedly screwed up ceremonial process, even cutting in front of the elderly queen (in her own country!) as she got ready to review the British troops.  The Queen's entire visit with Trump lasted about 15 minutes (in contrast, former President Obama was often visiting with the royal family for hours, even having meals with them).  For the record, the rest of the British Royal Family outright refused to even be around Trump. Meanwhile, hundreds of thousands of protestors flooded the streets of London to protest Trump's visit.  Even Fox News noted the pro-Trump supporters were pretty quiet, "if there are any." So far, no one has been able to identify any pro-Trump rallies occurring.  Still, Trump insists many people were protesting in support of him. (7/14)

11 - In an announcement many believe was timed specifically to try to help Fox News host Sean Hannity's ratings, Trump announced Brett Kavanaugh as his choice to be the next US Supreme Court judge.  This pick is somewhat shocking, as it goes away from the far right's choices, and seems based on Kavanaugh's previous statements on how he believes a President is exempt from any criminal prosecution and investigation.  Kavanaugh seems to feel the office of the President is above the law.  NBC News reported the Kavanaugh pick might have been pre-negotiated with retiring Supreme Court Justice Kennedy.  Kavanaugh is a former clerk of Kennedy, and the story implies Kennedy's retirement was based on Trump picking from a specific list of Kennedy-approved judges, which included Kavanaugh.  It was only last November Kavanaugh was listed with the Federalist Society, a must for a Republican pick to be considered.  The White House didn't deny there was a possible deal in place. (7/9)

10 - Trump, in an interview with a British journalist, stated he thought Russian dictator Vlad Putin was indeed ruthless, but defended his upcoming meeting with him by implying pretty much everyone else he deals with is ruthless too, so it's no big deal.  In response to 'is Putin ruthless?':  "I can't tell you that, I assume he probably is.  But I could name others also."  Putin has had people killed in his country and in foreign countries, he's jailed his political opponents, has violently turned Russians against certain groups in his country, squashed freedom of speech and the free press...oh and Putin definitely helped throw the US election of 2016 towards a candidate who would give him whatever he wants, while downplaying his evil acts. (7/15)

9 - Welcome to England! Trump, in an interview with the Sun Newspaper, immediately attacked British Prime Minister Teresa May as soon as he arrived in Great Britain. Trump went over the top in his ridicule and belittling of May.  He implied the Brexit negotiations have failed because May didn't do what Trump told her to do, and Trump openly supported ousted British Foreign Minister Boris Johnson as May's replacement.  He also stated Britain loves him, which shows you Trump's mental state is still in question. Soon after the interview became public, during a joint news conference with Prime Minister May, Trump started claiming his interview with the Sun was "fake news," that he never said the things he was quoted as saying.  The Sun interview was recorded, and they still have the tapes.  As Trump was questioned about his interview denial, he then did another 180, praising May's former cabinet member Boris Johnson, reiterating he'd be a great Prime Minister. (7/12 and 13)

8 - The ALCU is reporting the Trump Administration will fail spectacularly at fulfilling the court order to re-unite all the young children and infants separated from their parents at the US border.  Of the 1032 kids, 5 years old and younger, less than half have been united.  This is a small portion of the total amount of kids separated at the border.  A major problem is the Trump Administration quite literally ripped the kids away from their parents with zero thought on ever re-uniting them in the future.  There's almost zero in the way of US documentation identifying which child goes with which parent, leading to the government having to pay for expensive DNA testing to determine whose kids belong to which parents. (7/9)

7 - Over the last few decades, soldiers and families at Camp Lejeune Marine Base in North Carolina, the nation's largest Marine Corp base, have been exposed to toxic chemicals which have seeped into the water supply of the base.  Some of the chemical contaminants are as high as 3400 times the levels permitted by US safety standards.  The rates of cancer and other health problems experienced by residents was dramatically higher than the US average, leading former President Obama to sign legislation in 2012 to give addition medical care to veterans and families exposed to the contaminated water.  Trump has since blocked the study on the water toxicity levels at the base, and has prioritized excusing the chemical companies responsibility for this health crisis, an industry which labeled the regulations at Lejuene "burdensome." Trump has decided to not take care of the poisoned Marines and their families.  Although Trump finally relented and released the study, he's still siding with the corporations who've created some of the most contaminated water in US History, water Marines consumed and bathed in. (7/13)

6 - In a frightening interview, Trump told CBS News he considers the European Union a "foe."  "I think the European Union is a foe, what they do to us in trade.  Now you wouldn't think of the European Union, but they're a foe." This is another example of Trump trying to destabilize NATO and the EU, likely on behalf of Russia, who would be the prime benefactor of NATO and the EU falling apart. (7/15)

5 - Not only has the Trump Administration failed at re-uniting refugee babies/toddlers with their parents, now they're telling refugee parents they need to pay $1900 to get their kids back.  The money is apparently for expensive DNA testing.  They need to do this because the US Government failed to keep track of everyone they threw into a prison, regardless of age.  Almost immediately, a judge ordered the Trump Administration to halt their extortion scheme and to pay for ALL reunification costs. (7/13)

4 - Trump starts off his NATO summit by attacking some of our closest allies over breakfast.  He first demanded that NATO allies spend more money to offset US taxpayer commitments to NATO, a defense organization which the US greatly depends on.  He then attacked Germany for doing business with Russia, attacking them because they, as a country, have decided to move away from hazardous coal and nuclear power, and in turn are moving more towards natural gas, a product the Russians supply.  Trump actually criticized Germany for working with the Russians...that's rich! Trump insists Germany is completely controlled by Russia, another laughable statement from Trump.  Trump's comments seem like a weird attempt at 'good cop, bad cop' with Germany, only Trump is the insane cop who might hurt himself with a spoon, while Russia plays the 'hey I'm evil, but at least I'm not incompetent' cop.  Trump's breakfast rant was also noteworthy for the insane amount of factual errors he put forward.  Needless to say, our allies are not taking this well. (7/11)

3 - In a very strange series of events, Trump strongly implied he would pull the US out of the NATO alliance unless the other member countries paid more money.  Our NATO allies all said no.  Then Trump put forward a 'you'd better or else' argument, to which the NATO allies once again called his bluff.  It was then Trump made up a lie, stating NATO leaders agreed to increase their spending.  He then jumped on a plane a fled before the French President came out and stated no one knows what Trump is even talking about, as no one made any concessions to him.  His claim he got the NATO member countries to commit more money is an outright, boldface lie which only hurt America's standing. (7/12)

2 - In a stunning pardon, Trump fully pardoned Dwight and Steven Hammond, the anti-American ranchers who sparked the militant takeover of the Oregon Wildlife Refuge Headquarters in 2016.  The Hammonds were charged with arson after they had squabbled with the Federal Government over usage rights on Federal land.  In the pardon, Trump called the Hammonds "...respected contributors to their local community..." That's sure a funny way to spell 'treason.' (7/10)

1 - In a stunning announcement, Robert Mueller's investigation has led to a grand jury indicting 12 Russian government officials for criminal hacking related to the 2016 election.  They were responsible for hacking the emails of Hillary Clinton, the DNC and the DCCC.  Voting data for 500K was compromised.  The individuals indicted are all tied to the GRU, the Russian intelligence agency, meaning they were being coordinated via the Russian government.  They interacted with people under the name Guccifer 2.0 and leaked the information through Wikileaks.  The day Trump asked for someone to hack Hillary Clinton's campaign, July 27, 2016, the Russians worked hard to add to their already large collection of stolen information by hacking Hillary Clinton directly.  They also hacked the Clinton campaign's analytics, which would be needed to help micro-target specific districts, something the Trump Campaign managed to do effectively during the 2016 election(!).  On top of that, the indictments refer to a person close to the Trump Campaign, Roger Stone, as being in direct contact with the Russians, in an effort to get the leaked documents, making a definitive direct line connection between the Russian and the Trump campaign(!!!).  Stone has admitted he's the person mentioned in the indictments.  Politicians are calling for Trump to cancel his private meeting with Putin due to the new indictments.  (7/13)

This almost seems like a time capsule now.  This was before Trump's disastrous Helsinki Summit, and his buffoonish week of trying to change the outcome.  Trump is a nightmare, but the rest of the world, outside of evil dictators, are standing with his opposition.

Forget about clever social media posts.  Forget about scrawling a word or phrase on a cardboard box and holding it over your head.  You're not really doing anything!!!  Instead, volunteer for a campaign to go door knock for a Democrat.  Make a donation to a Democrat running in a district currently held by a Republican.  Make sure you're registered to vote, and make sure your entire family and all your friends are registered to vote.

THEN MAKE SURE EVERYONE VOTES IN NOVEMBER!!!

All we're doing is trying to save the Democracy...