So, 3 weeks in now to the Donald Trump presidency. Let’s review.
- Trump has not even diversified and distanced himself from his businesses to the degree that he promised.
Which in itself would be completely insufficient to meet the Constitution anyway. Just noting he hasn’t even followed through on his completely insufficient lie.
- Trump confirmed through his spokesperson that he will simply never release his tax return.
- Trump, who is utterly reckless in every other subject he talks about, refused to criticize Putin to the point where he *equated the US with Putin’s dictatorship*. Repeatedly. On video.
This stands out enough that it seems likely there is some truly awful blackmail on Trump, or that $19b payment suggested in the intelligence memo is true. It could also be that he just has that huge a man-crush on Putin. Maybe all three.
Most importantly, regardless of why, it is 100% clear that Trump can’t be trusted *even more than usual* on any topic involving Putin and thus Russia.
- Trump just confirmed Betsy Devos for Secretary of Education – an appointee so completely unqualified that she couldn’t answer simple questions a grade school principal would have to know. Note that this goes far beyond politics. If she disagreed with politics she would have an answer that was disagreeable. *She lacked answers that would even show a basic knowledge.*
Devos has also contributed more to Trump and Pence than any other cabinet appointee in history.
It thus becomes pretty clear that she purchased this appointment, which will directly and negatively affect the futures of our nation’s children.
- Trump has confirmed his complete and total disrespect for the rule of law, by:
a) attacking judges who ruled against him
b) publicly offering to attack state Senators who make things difficult for his buddies - Trump has confirmed his complete and total disrespect for simple facts, with not only the amazing “alternative facts” marathon, his attempts to dispute simple arithmetic with the inauguration count on which he *quadrupled* down – but the fact that Kellyanne Conway repeated the “Bowling Green Massacre” falsehood *three separate times* before she was busted on it.
Also note that Sean Spicer tried to say there was an Islamist attack in Atlanta *three times* before he was finally busted on it. The only terror attacks in Atlanta have come from right-wing Christians, who of course are always lone wolves.
- Trump is not even *running* his administration. It appears that he didn’t even read the Executive Order he signed that put Bannon on the National Security Council.
He spends more time watching CNN and Fox than on policy, and his own people have confirmed repeatedly that he doesn’t like to read.
So once again, like GWB, his staff are running things. And they are apparently divided in two camps – Bannon’s camp and Priebus’ camp.
My takeaways:
- We must continue to be focused on facts, and pursue them. But we also should not ever expect anything straightforward from this administration, or even anything consistently logical with their own perceived self interest.
We must walk the line of not normalizing this shit show, while also not being distracted from a pragmatic focus of what they’re doing behind the scenes.
- We lost the Devos fight – the right way. We focused attention on what was exactly wrong about it, and we made sure it happened without any Democratic party help.
We need to continue this the entire way. If something is unacceptable, we must not accept it and we must make very clear why it is unacceptable.
- They snuck in with a minority, and are governing like they’re a majority. They and their followers want to put a lot of things through while they have this chance. We must keep on top of these actions, and resist every inch of it.
This is the work.