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THE TRUMP DIARIES:
WEEK FOUR
28 Days of Trump
By Jack Random
On the 27th day of the Trump presidency Breitbart
News—gateway to an alternative reality – was seated in the front row of the
White House press corps and concern over gross incompetence was supplanted by
fear that the man elected to represent the American people in fact represents
neither the people nor America.
Donald Trump began his presidency by handing down decree
after decree as if he believed he was the king of the world. Resistance started on the streets of
every major city in America and spread throughout much of the free world. Now the resistance is finding its way
into town hall meetings and congressional offices. The fourth estate is finding a voice and the wall is
beginning to crack.
This is the fourth installment of the Trump Diaries.
DAY 22: CRACKS
IN THE WALL
Friday February 10, 2017
National Security Advisor Michael Flynn is caught in the lie
that he never talked sanctions with Russian ambassador Sergey Kislyak on the
very day former president Barrack Obama imposed sanctions for interference in
the American election. Flynn
publicly denied the charge at the time and handed the lie to press secretary
Sean Spicer as well as vice president Mike Pence. The Washington Post, however, spoke to nine former and
current officials with direct knowledge of the recorded conversation. [1]
In a related story, FBI Director James Comey reportedly
reviewed the conversation and found no evidence of wrongdoing. [2] The plot
thickens and the possibility of a criminal conspiracy to undermine our
democracy comes into focus.
This is the lie that will eventually take down the Trump
presidency. Does anyone believe
Flynn was acting without guidance?
How sweet would it be to take down the vice president and the director
of the FBI as well?
DAY 23: FIRST
WAVE OF MASS DEPORTATION
Saturday February 11, 2017
Under the cover of darkness the Immigration and Customs
Enforcement agency (ICE) conducted raids nationwide in compliance with Trump’s
January 25th executive order, seizing hundreds from their homes and
workplaces. In their efforts to
make America safe again, the deportations included a mother whose only crime
was using false documents to obtain employment eight years ago. [3]
ICE denies the raids are being
conducted on the president’s order.
Whether Trump gave the order or not is beside the point. They are being conducted under his
guidance and under his guidelines you can be deported on suspicion of
jaywalking.
A leaked Department of Homeland
Security report estimates the cost of the Trump Wall at $21.6 billion over
three and a half years. The cost
trumps previous estimates of 12-15 billion. [4] Maybe Japan will pay for it.
Modeled on the Tea Party, the resistance movement organizes
to confront representatives in congress at the local level. Republicans now fear town hall meetings
and open door policies. They are
reluctant to make public appearances.
The pressure will build as they confront a choice: Stick with the president or yield to
their constituents.
It turns out repealing Obamacare is not so popular without a
replacement plan. Surprise us all,
Mr. Trump: Give us universal
Medicare. Reverse the polarity and
watch your ratings rise! If you
continue on the path your walking, nothing good can happen to your presidency
or your brand.
Protesters gather in New York and other major cities to
support Planned Parenthood and a woman’s right to choose.
The resistance is rising.
DAY 24: FLYNN
UNDER FIRE
Sunday February 12, 2017
With the president hosting Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo
Abe in Florida, North Korea fires a ballistic missile into the Sea of
Japan. Mr. Trump pledges to stand
with Japan one hundred percent.
Thousands take to the streets across Mexico to protest
Trump’s policies on immigration and the wall. Hundreds have been rounded up and summarily deported in what
still appears to be the first wave of a mass deportation. Trump praises the actions of ICE while
the ACLU and an army of Mexican immigration lawyers prepare for a fight. [5]
The White House chooses not to defend Michael Flynn
concerning his misleading statements over pre-inauguration communications with
Russia. Flynn may be the first of
the Trump team to step down. He
won’t be the last.
DAY 25: NSA BLOWBACK
Monday February 13, 2017
A former NSA analyst claims that
the intelligence community is withholding sensitive information from the
president’s eyes amid fears that “the Kremlin has ears” inside the White House
circle. In a touch of irony the
story was leaked through the New York Observer’s website, until recently owned
by the president’s son-in-law Jared Kushner. [6]
Trump relates his full support
for Flynn through surrogates. It
has all the markings of a Mafia kiss of death.
Trump meets with Canadian Prime
Minister Justin Trudeau. No one
has presented a stronger contrast to Trump’s immigrations policies than Trudeau
– particularly when it comes to welcoming Syrian refugees. When Toronto Star reporter Tonda MacCharles
inquires if Trump now considers the northern border dangerous, he skirts the
issue. It may be the last time he
takes questions from a legitimate reporter.
Come on, Donald! Go all in! What this country needs is a northern border wall, a
southern border wall and an impenetrable force field in the Atlantic, Pacific
and the Gulf of Mexico. Let Canada
pay for it!
The senate confirms foreclosure
king Steven Mnuchin as Secretary of the Treasury. Mnuchin capitalized on the financial crisis of 2009 by
orchestrating an expedited foreclosure campaign, predating documents and
implementing a robo-signing program to push people out of their homes. [7]
Is this what the president meant
by “draining the swamp”? Mnuchin
is the definitive swamp rat.
Late in the evening the White
House announces Flynn’s resignation.
His interim replacement is Lt. General Joseph Keith Kellogg. Trump loves the generals.
DAY 26: FLYNN BLOWBACK
Tuesday February 14, 2017
Representative Elijah Cummings
of Maryland becomes the first member of congress to ask the critical
question: What did president Trump
know and when did he know it?
This is the beginning of the end
for the beleaguered chief executive.
The evidence will lead directly to his desk. The White House reaction is telling: They do not deny the reports; they
decry the leaks. This is the Nixon
defense.
It is probably not the first
time a president-elect has colluded with an antagonistic foreign nation. A persistent theory holds that Reagan
defeated Carter partly by arranging a deal with Iran not to release American
hostages until after the election.
History will attest the hostages were released on inauguration day. Reagan later dealt arms to Iran to win
the release of hostages held in Lebanon and to finance the Contras in Nicaragua
in defiance of congress. [8] As so often happens, failure to address high
crimes makes repetition of high crimes possible.
Trump is not Reagan. His support in congress is tenuous
despite the GOP majorities. His
support with the public is in decline.
Maybe this time we’ll get it right and the president will pay the
price.
Trump loses another round in
federal court over the Muslim travel ban.
District Judge Leonie Brinkema of Virginia finds that the ban violates
first amendment protection against religious discrimination. No kidding.
DAY 27: PUTTING PALESTINE ON NOTICE
Wednesday February 15, 2017
In a joint news conference,
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Trump serve notice that neither
Israel nor America considers an independent Palestinian state essential to a
peace settlement.
The rightwing Israeli leader
proclaims two conditions to peace with the Palestinians: Unconditional recognition of the
Israeli state’s right to exist and Israeli control “over all areas west of the
Jordan River.” That designation
encompasses all of the West Bank as well as the Gaza Strip.
It is doubtful that our
president understands any of the issues regarding the Israeli-Palestine
conflict. If he did he would know
that Netanyahu is advocating perpetual occupation of all Palestinian
lands. That is a prescription for
perpetual war.
The president avoided questions
concerning Flynn and the Russians except to say that the media has treated his
good friend very unfairly.
With fresh reports that Trump’s
staff had “repeated contacts” with Russian agents during the campaign, the
pressure for an independent investigation only grows. [9]
Anti-labor CEO Andrew Puzder
withdraws from consideration as Trump’s nominee for Secretary of Labor.
DAY 28: THE RUSSIAN RUSE
Thursday February 16, 2017
In his first solo press
conference, Trump stands before the press and takes question after question,
like a cornered pugilist, absorbing body blows and throwing punches at virtually
every media institution and painting himself as the victim of unfair
treatment. It seems he
particularly disdains CNN, the Times and the BBC.
When all is said and done, Trump
denies any wrongdoing in what he calls a ruse. He denies giving Flynn the order to contact Russia on the
day of the sanctions. He denies
knowledge of any Russian contacts by his staff during the campaign. He denies owning anything in Russia. He denies any Russian debts. He denies having any deals in
Russia.
The president fired his good
friend Flynn for misleading the vice president. As far as he’s concerned, contacting the Russian ambassador
to undermine President Obama’s action was perfectly okay – so okay he would
have ordered Flynn to make the contact if he hadn’t done so on his own.
Trump hasn’t worked out his
argument. He saves all his venom
for the illegal leaks of classified information. The problem is:
It is not illegal to leak fictional information; it is only illegal if
the information is both valid and classified.
The cards are on the table. The bets are placed. Either the president has told the truth
and the story will pass or the president has lied and the truth will undo him.
Protesters march in support of
“A Day Without Immigrants.”
Documented and undocumented immigrants are called upon to miss work,
skip school and forego shopping.
The action is partly in response to the first wave of deportations.
The president promises to deal
with the dreamers “with heart.”
Tell that to the families your mass deportation raids have already
divided.
He describes his administration
as a “fine-tuned machine.” We
would like to see what dysfunctional looks like if this is a fine-tuned
machine.
In a departure from his norm the
president nominates a highly qualified individual in Alexander Acosta to be
Secretary of Labor. He will also
be the first Hispanic in Trump’s cabinet.
After 28 days we are beginning
to understand how much damage an unprepared president can do in a very short
time. We wait for the Republicans
in congress to initiate the investigations that will bring this president
down. We will then continue the
resistance against the new president.
There are two years to the
midterm elections and congressional districts are still gerrymandered for
Republican control. Any way you
look at it, in the words of former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld: It’s going to be a long, hard slog.
But we’re still here and we’re
growing stronger.
Jazz.
1. “National security advisor Flynn discussed
sanctions with Russian ambassador, despite denials, officials say” by Greg
Miller, Adam Entous and Ellen Nakashima.
Washington Post, February 9, 2017.
2. “FBI reviewed Flynn’s calls with
Russian ambassador but found nothing illicit” by Ellen Nakashima and Greg
Miller. Washington Post, January
23, 2017.
3. “Federal agents conduct immigration
enforcement raids in at least six states” by Lisa Rein, Abigail Hauslohner and
Sandhya Somashekhar. Washington
Post, February 11, 2017.
4.
“Exclusive - Trump border 'wall' to cost $21.6 billion, take 3.5 years to
build: internal report” by Julia Edwards Ainsley. Reuters, February 9, 2017.
5. “Can an army of lawyers stop Trump’s
mass deportations?” by David Iaconangelo.
Christian Science Monitor, February 11, 2017.
6. “NSA so concerned over Donald Trump’s
ties to Russia they’ve ‘withheld information from presidential briefings’” by
Jon Sharman. Independent, February
13, 2017.
7. “Treasury Nominee Steve Mnuchin’s Bank
Accused of ‘Widespread Misconduct’ in Leaked Memo” by David Dayen. The Intercept, January 3, 2017.
8. “Did Iran Delay Hostages Release To
Ensure Reagan’s Election?” Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, October
1987.
9. “Trump Campaign Aides Had Repeated
Contacts With Russian Intelligence” by Michael S. Schmidt, Mark Mazzetti and
Matt Apuzzo. NY Times, February
14, 2017.
JACK
RANDOM IS THE AUTHOR OF THE JAZZMAN CHRONICLES - VOLUMES I-X, GHOST DANCE
INSURRECTION, PAWNS TO PLAYERS, WASICHU AND A PATRIOT DIRGE.
