A report card on the Trump administration

I am trying to be professional in my assessments. I appreciate your support.

 

I have long maintained that Trump is a sociopath. Americans are dying at the rate of a thousand a day and Trump is concerned about states reopening for business and sending our children to school for in-person learning so he will look better come election time.

Trump just proved it!

When confronted with the US' daily death toll and Trump's messaging on the pandemic during an interview with Axios that aired Monday night, Trump got defensive and appeared frustrated by Jonathan Swan's questions about the crisis.

"I've gone to your rallies. I've talked to your people. They love you. They listen to you. They listen to every word you say. They hang on your every word," Swan said. "And so when they hear you say, 'everything's under control. Don't worry about wearing masks,' I mean, these are people -- many of them are older people."

"I think it's under control," Trump replied.

"How? A thousand Americans are dying a day," Swan said.

"They are dying. That's true. And you -- it is what it is," Trump said emphatically. "But that doesn't mean we aren't doing everything we can. It's under control as much as you can control it."

Trump on Covid death toll: 'It is what it is' - CNNPolitics

Under Trump's management of the coronavirus pandemic, the U.S. has a quarter of the world's virus cases and a quarter of the world's deaths caused by the deadly virus.

 

If I had to assess the mindset displayed by these comments, I'd say Trump is sick of the virus and isn't interested in doing anything further.

Trump was asked how the virus is under control when 1,000 Americans are dying each day.

"They are dying, that's true. And you have — it is what it is. But that doesn't mean we aren't doing everything we can. It's under control as much as you can control it. This is a horrible plague," Trump said.
Asked how he thinks 1,000 deaths a day is as much as the U.S. can control the outbreak, the president said, "First of all, we have done a great job. We've gotten the governors everything they needed. They didn't do their (jobs) — many of them didn't, and some of them did.

"Someday, we'll sit down, we'll talk about the successful ones, the good ones ... We had good and bad. And we had a lot in the middle," he added.

Speaking to reporters in the White House briefing room Monday, Trump stated that "the virus is receding" and said that they’ve seen "slow improvements" in hot spots across the South and the West, singling out Arizona, Texas and Florida.

The president said cases have increased in Georgia, Mississippi, Tennessee, Oklahoma and Missouri, but added, "I think you'll find that they're soon going to be very much under control."

As of Tuesday, more than 4.7 million people have tested positive for COVID-19 in the U.S. and more than 156,500 people have died.

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/do...rump-interview-covid-19-death-toll-u-n1235734

 

"They are dying. That's true. And you -- it is what it is," Trump said emphatically. "But that doesn't mean we aren't doing everything we can. It's under control as much as you can control it."

Under Trump's management of the coronavirus pandemic, the U.S. has a quarter of the world's virus cases and a quarter of the world's deaths caused by the deadly virus.

27 states are experiencing an increasing death rate. Today, 1,203 Americans have died and counting.

In today's press conference, Trump, when asked about the death rate, once again insisted that he has the pandemic "under control." He further claimed that the mortality rate from COVID-19 in the United States is among the world’s lowest. We have the seventh-highest mortality rate in the world.

Trump lies so easily now to Americans because he no longer can distinguish reality for fantasy. It is why he subjects himself to these press conferences -- where he stands up there alone facing the White House press corps -- and interviews like the one he had with Axios during which he made an absolute fool of himself.

Since the man believes his own fantasies, it is logical to conclude that he really believes he is helping his cause by such appearances.

It is also logical for others to conclude this man is not mentally capable.

Try to imagine another four years of this President!

 

Yesterday, Trump said a member of his medical team, Dr. Deborah Birx, was pathetic. "In order to counter Nancy, Deborah took the bait & hit us. Pathetic!"

Today, at his press conference, Trump said Dr, Birx is "a person I have a lot of respect for."

Trump has claimed many times that "2020 will be the most inaccurate and fraudulent" vote in history because of mail-in voting.

Now he is approving mail-in voting. Today Trump claimed Florida's election system is "safe and secure" and encourages Floridians to vote by mail.

"Whether you call it Vote by Mail or Absentee Voting, in Florida the election system is Safe and Secure, Tried and True. Florida's Voting system has been cleaned up (we defeated Democrats attempts at change), so in Florida I encourage all to request a Ballot & Vote by Mail! #MAGA," he said.

Try to imagine another four years of this President!

 

Roberts replaced Hemmer again today on the noon news on Fox. Roberts is a far better news correspondent than Hemmer. Roberts is more discreet concerning his bias toward Trump while Hemmer's approach is to provide a one hour campaign ad for Trump without mentioning what the President says and does. Roberts provides news concerning Trump. Hemmer does not for the most part.

That said, Roberts avoided any mention of the embarrassing interview Trump had on Axios. In various forms portions of that interview are on every major network except Fox.

Even Roberts has his limitations.

Then there is this.

President Trump's recent interview with Jonathan Swan of Axios showed why he is on track to lose his bid for reelection, Fox News contributor Guy Benson wrote Tuesday in a TownHall.com op-ed.

Benson, TownHall.com's political editor is the host of Fox News Radio's "The Guy Benson Show."

Guy Benson knocks Trump over '''terrible''' interview, says president '''woefully underprepared''' for criticism | Fox News

 

The historian who has correctly predicted every presidential election since 1984 – including President Donald Trump’s win in 2016 – has announced his pick for 2020: Presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden.

Allan Lichtman, an author and history professor at American University, revealed his prediction in an op-ed video for The New York Times published Wednesday.

Biden will beat Trump, says historian who predicted every race since 1984

Trump's followers know this. They have given up.

 

Fact checkers were unanimous in their assessments when President Trump began claiming in June that Democrat Joe Biden wanted to “defund” police forces. Politifact called the allegations “false,” as did CheckYourFact. The Associated Press detailed “distortions” in Trump’s claims. FactCheck.org called an ad airing them “deceptive.” Another site, The Dispatch, said there is “nothing currently to support” Trump’s claims.

But these judgments, made by five fact-checking organizations that are part of Facebook’s independent network for policing falsehoods on the platform, were not shared with Facebook’s users.

That’s because the company specifically exempts politicians from its rules against deception.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/techn...ook-ads-false/

 

How many ways can our President be wrong in two short days?

Trump said Tuesday that generals had told him that the powerful explosions which rocked Beirut appeared to have been caused by a "bomb of some kind."

"It looks like a terrible attack," Trump told reporters at the White House, adding, "It would seem like it, based on the explosion. I met with some of our great generals and they just seemed to feel that it was."

Many smiled at that. "Our great generals?" Obviously, Trump was inflating his own self-importance to his base. They will believe it.

Since when does our President get an intelligence briefing from "our great generals?" Generals act on intelligence, not provide it. That is the purview of the intelligence agencies who we never hear from anymore.

Trump's intelligence from the generals quickly changed the next day. U.S. officials said Wednesday there is no indication the massive explosion in Lebanon that killed at least 100 people was an attack.

Defense Secretary Mark Esper was asked about the situation, and he stated, "Most believe it was an accident as reported, and beyond that I have nothing further to report on that." Esper was not eager to contradict his boss, the one who chose him for his current assignment.

Today, Trump said, "They really don't know what it is." Is our President in the habit of divulging raw intelligence or outright lies concerning intelligence publicly? It is one or the other.

A Senate GOP leader raised concerns on Wednesday over Trump's unsubstantiated claims that mail-in-voting leads to mass fraud, arguing that Republicans should instead be encouraging voters to use the method. "Mail-in voting has been used in a lot of places for a long time," Senate Majority Whip John Thune, the No. 2 Senate Republican, said.

CNN reports, "The comments come as a range of Republican officials throughout the country have reacted with growing alarm to the President's attacks on mail-in ballots, saying his unsubstantiated claims of mass voting fraud are already corroding the views of GOP voters, who may ultimately choose not to vote at all if they can't make it to the polls come November."

“This thing’s going away – It will go away like things go away," Trump said during an interview on "Fox & Friends" a day after 1,382 Americans died of the virus. Technically, Trump is right, but the virus won't disappear any time soon. Trump's timing is way off.

"The fact is they [school children] are virtually immune from this problem," Trump also told Fox & Friends. Children, under the age of 18, to date, account for:
more than 200,000 of reported COVID-19 cases. (source CDC)

No one knows why Trump is doing this, day after day, multiple times a day, making a complete fool of himself. His followers have abandoned him, tired of making excuses for him. Why does this highly vulnerable President subject himself to many interviews and press conferences where he makes things worse ... as shown here?

Only one explanation makes any sense. Trump is not well from a mental standpoint.

Try to imagine another four years of this President!

 

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday it was possible the United States would have a coronavirus vaccine before the Nov. 3 election.

“If you look at children, children are almost — and I would almost say definitely — but almost immune from this disease.”

Trump claimed that Joe Biden wanted to, "Take away your guns, destroy your second amendment, no religion, no anything. Hurt the bible, hurt God. He's against God, he's against guns."



Trump's lying has become so prevalent it is comical. My God, this man is our President.

Try to imagine another four years with this President!

 

Fox reports, "Facebook and Twitter's clampdown on President Trump's social media posts may backfire with the American people, one GOP official told Fox News."

"If Twitter and Facebook and any other social media entity is going to choose to subjectively censor free speech, that doesn't sit well with the American people," Cassie Smedile, Republican National Committee Deputy Communications Director, told Fox News. "And so it's really at their peril ... [and] at the peril of our opponents to not come out against doing that because that's, I think, going to backfire."

Smedile is wrong.

But, of course we all know her remarks were totally political, thus lacking any common sense.

Twitter and Facebook are censoring the lies from our President. Americans are cheering for the social media giants because they are sick and tired of our President's lies.

Trump lies with ease now. He can no longer distinguish the difference between reality and his fantasies. He actually believes his lies. He uses his lies to substantiate his arguments.

And Americans are sick of it.

How do we know that? Trump is losing to Biden in every major poll. and all Biden is doing is campaigning from his basement and allowing Trump to lose his reelection.

 

Trump is playing a dirty trick on unemployed Americans, all 30 million of them.

The Democratic House passed a three trillion dollar stimulus package for unemployed Americans three months ago.

Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is trying to pass a one trillion dollar package in the Senate, but there are a number of Republicans who are opposed to the bill. Mitch needs the help of Democrats to pass his bill.

Ordinarily, before Trump became President, differences between the House and the Senate are hammered out by the leaders in the House and in the Senate. That is just plain common sense. But -- as I said -- that was before Trump.

The talks on the stimulus package are not between the leaders of the House and Senate, but between Democratic leaders and White House negotiators, Trump's White House negotiators.

Trump is behind the 78-year old man in the basement, Joe Biden, in every major national poll. His overall approval rating ranges between 38 to 42%, and that won't get him elected. Trump's approval rating on our national crisis, the pandemic, is even lower, ranging between 34 to 36%, and that won't get him elected. The election is less than 90 days away, and Trump is desperate.

Senate leaders like Mitch pretty much allow Trump to do whatever he wants. Trump wanted his own negotiators on the bill, not the Senate negotiators, which is the case in ordinary times. These are not ordinary times. Trump is President, and Mitch shines his shoes.

There was no possible way that Trump would allow his negotiators to make a deal with Nancy. He ordered them to stall until negotiations broke down, which has now happened.

Why? It is very simple. Trump is using the misfortune of 30 million Americans to gain a minor advantage in the election campaign.

Trump intends to ride up on his white horse and save the day for the unemployed American and hoping, as a result, that he will his/her vote.

USA Today reports, "White House negotiators say talks with congressional Democrats have fallen apart over a coronavirus stimulus package and they will recommend President Donald Trump take executive action this weekend on a number of programs aimed at helping Americans.

"House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., met for more than two hours Friday with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and White House chief of staff Mark Meadows in a last-ditch attempt to salvage discussions now in their second week. But the effort was fruitless, with both sides admitting they were at a standstill with no real pathway forward."

"The chief and I will recommend to the president, based on our lack of activity today, to move forward with some executive orders," Mnuchin said.

It is a cheap, dirty trick on Americans facing both unemployment and a pandemic.

 

Regarding the pandemic which has averaged a thousand American lives lost in the past ten days, Trump had this to say. “Right now, I think it’s under control,” Trump said during an interview with Axios. He added, “We have done a great job.”

In a Twitter post, Trump said: “Great reviews on our handling of Covid-19, sometimes referred to as the China Virus.”

“I don’t take responsibility at all.”

On Thursday the U.K. counted 49 dead, Germany, two dead; South Korea, one dead; Spain, one dead; Canada, three dead.

On Thursday 1,250 Americans lost their lives to the coronavirus.

Try to imagine another four years with this President!

 

I have said this many times. Trump's worst enemy is Trump. He has proven that once again.

Politico writes, "When President Donald Trump connected by phone last week with Republican megadonor Sheldon Adelson — perhaps the only person in the party who can cut a nine-figure check to aid his reelection — the phone call unexpectedly turned contentious.

"The 87-year-old casino mogul had reached out to Trump to talk about the coronavirus relief bill and the economy. But then Trump brought the conversation around to the campaign and confronted Adelson about why he wasn’t doing more to bolster his reelection, according to three people with direct knowledge of the call. One of the people said it was apparent the president had no idea how much Adelson, who’s donated tens of millions of dollars to pro-Trump efforts over the years, had helped him.

"When word of the call circulated afterward, Republican Party officials grew alarmed the president had antagonized one of his biggest benefactors at a precarious moment in his campaign. They rushed to smooth things over with him, but the damage may have been done.

"Adelson's allies say it’s unclear whether the episode will dissuade the Las Vegas mogul — long regarded as a financial linchpin for Trump’s reelection — from helping the president down the home stretch.

"A White House spokesman declined to comment."

 

Please take two to three minutes to review this analysis. It's important.

The Post reports, "Trump on Saturday attempted to bypass Congress and make dramatic changes to tax and spending policy, signing executive actions that challenge the boundaries of power that separate the White House and Capitol Hill.

"[He] said the actions would provide economic relief to millions of Americans by deferring taxes and, he said, providing temporary unemployment benefits. The measures would attempt to wrest away some of Congress’s most fundamental, constitutionally mandated powers — tax and spending policy.

"A leading national expert on unemployment benefits said one of the actions would not increase federal unemployment benefits at all. Instead, the expert said it would instead create a new program that could take “months” to set up. And Trump’s directive to halt evictions primarily calls for federal agencies to “consider” if they should be stopped.

"Trump also mischaracterized the legal stature of the measures, referring to them as “bills.” Congress writes and votes on bills, not the White House. The documents Trump signed on Saturday were a combination of memorandums and an executive order."

There are consequences to this action, two, in fact, and both are disastrous for out country.

Thirty million Americans are suffering through the ravages of a highly contagious virus along with the destructive nature of unemployment. They need relief and they need it now. Without Trump's interference -- because lawmakers want to help desperate Americans -- it is quite likely that the differences between the House version of the bill and the Senate version could have been reconciled. But Trump did not want that to happen (see analysis above). He wanted to be the hero just in time for the election.

However, because of the numerous Constitutional questions and federal law, the jobless Americans will not see relief any time soon.

Trump is usurping the powers of Congress to help desperate Americans just in time for the election. He is testing the waters, and it is a power grab. He set this up (see analysis above).

If Trump gets away with this, the next time he usurps power from Congress could easily be devastating to our nation as we know it.

For example, what if Trump loses the election, an extremely likely possibility. Defying our Constitution, our laws, and Congress again, Trump could declare the election was rife with fraud and refuse to step down on January 20th.

If Trump is successful in a power grab once, there is little doubt he will do it again.

 

Not only is Trump attempting to usurp the powers of Congress to tax and spend, his executive action orders states to pay up as well.

One executive action he signed would extend expanded unemployment benefits at as much as $400 per week -- 25% of which states are being asked to cover.

The more one looks at what Trump is trying to do the more ridiculous it looks.

This is simply still another Constitutional crisis Trump has conjured up. It is nothing more than that. He does these things to draw attention to himself.

 

Others see it just the way I do. This is just another photo op, for which Trump is famous. He is all show and no go.

President Donald Trump's big executive power move ostensibly meant to support laid-off workers and stimulate the economy is already mired in confusion that threatens to leave millions of jobless Americans waiting in vain for help from Washington.

White House advisers struggled to explain Sunday exactly what the flurry of presidential actions, signed by Trump after the breakdown of talks with congressional Democrats on a new coronavirus rescue package, actually do or how quickly they might work. But it's already clear the measures fall well short of the President's billing.

In many ways, his intervention on Saturday is a typical Trump gambit. His executive actions appear hurriedly written and thought out — designed for a political flourish rather than as a sound foundation for governing.

While the President claims to have stepped in to protect American workers, his actions may not deliver the help Americans need. His decision to unveil the measures Saturday in a rambling, hyper political news conference at his New Jersey golf club, playing to a gallery of well-heeled members, bolstered the impression of a political stunt.

Trump's big power move leaves workers in limbo - CNNPolitics

Had not Trump interfered, it is quite likely that House and Senate leaders would be negotiating over the badly needed stimulus bill. Both parties feel it would be politically expedient to help 30 million desperate Americans.

But that isn't happening. Trump did interfere, and it is not known when these Americans will get some relief. In the meantime -- because of Trump's interference -- many could lose their homes.

Trump's followers remain totally silent. One can hardly blame them.

 

Donald J. Trump
@realDonaldTrump
So now Schumer and Pelosi want to meet to make a deal. Amazing how it all works, isn’t it. Where have they been for the last 4 weeks when they were “hardliners”, and only wanted BAILOUT MONEY for Democrat run states and cities that are failing badly? They know my phone number!
6:10 AM · Aug 10, 2020

Trump was lying again.

The Hill writes, "Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) on Monday denied that top Democrats had reached out to the White House to restart negotiations on coronavirus aid despite claims from President Trump that they had.

"Fables from Donald Trump. Fables. That's what he seems to specialize in. I didn't call him. Speaker Pelosi didn't call him. No, we didn't call him," Schumer said on MSNBC's "Morning Joe" when asked about the president's assertion."

"He makes these things up or hears from somebody at one of his fundraisers or at his country club," Schumer continued. "'Oh, the Democrats are calling you.' He acts like it's true."

It is Trump who wants to negotiate with Schumer and Pelosi. He knows his E.O.'s aren't worth the paper they are printed on.

The White House signaled Monday it is open to more negotiations with opposition Democrats on a coronavirus aid package and willing to spend more money to reach a deal.

“We’re prepared to put more money on the table,” Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin told CNBC. “The president is determined to spend what we need to spend.”

White House Open to More Coronavirus Aid Talks | Voice of America - English

 

167 posts (most by you)
1674 views

Now this is a debate!

 

There appear some that spend their day admiring their own shadow.

 

Not unlike many other Americans, I am going to miss college football. Thank you, Mr. President.

For his reelection purposes Trump demanded a return to class and for college football to kick off. The former has already caused severe problems in the Republican South, and the latter is very unlikely.

First Trump said the pandemic would not take hold of the United States, but it did. Then he said it would simply disappear and it didn't. Then Trump said it was safe to open state economies before the pathogen was fully under control -- steps which helped cause a viral eruption across southern and western states. He's argued against all the principles of epidemiology that testing doesn't matter -- even though nations that have done better than the US have used that route to get the virus under control. Last week, Trump said that there might be a vaccine before Election Day in another self-serving political comment. Firms developing the vaccine and experts say that's impossible.

On Trump's watch Americans are facing the worst public health crisis in 100 years.

Matters are only getting worse. Now there are hardening indications that the 2020-21 college football season will not take place in the fall.

Oh, well, there is still pro football.

Or, is there?

 

Politico reports, "Trump signed an executive order Saturday to shield tenants from the threat of eviction, he said it would “solve that problem largely, hopefully completely.”

"Yet not only would his action fail to halt evictions, it wouldn't do much of anything to immediately help the 20 million or so Americans who face the loss of their homes in the next few months amid the coronavirus crisis.

"Trump’s order does not extend the lapsed four-month eviction moratorium, which itself covered only about a quarter of the nation’s 44 million rental units. Instead, it merely directs the Department of Health and Human Services and the Centers for Disease Control to “consider whether any measures temporarily halting residential evictions” are necessary to halt the spread of Covid-19.

"It also provides no direct money to aid tenants in distress, who will eventually have to pay months of back rent."

Trump pledged on Saturday to pursue a permanent cut to the payroll taxes that fund Social Security and Medicare if he wins reelection in November.

It's obvious. This is all a con from the Con Man-in-Chief. Trump's move is childish because of a total lack of discretion.

How in the world did we allow this man to become our President?

 

Yes, it is unfortunate that Trump's fans do not defend him.

 

Or believe they are changing the world.

 

“The closest thing is in 1917, they say, the great pandemic,” Trump told reporters, adding, “It certainly was a terrible thing where they lost anywhere from 50 to 100 million people, probably ended the Second World War.” Trump says Spanish Flu of 1918 ended WWII – a conflict that didn’t start until two decades later | The Independent

The "Great Pandemic" took place in 1918, and World War Two ended in 1945.

Imagine that, our President does not know when World War Two took place.

“The Obama administration made a decision on testing [for Covid-19] that turned out to be very detrimental to what we’re doing, and we undid that decision a few days ago so that the testing [for Covid-19] can take place in a much more accurate and rapid fashion,” Trump said. Criticized for Coronavirus Response, Trump Points to Obama Administration - The New York Times

Covid-19 did not exist during the Obama administration. The coronavirus pandemic began three years later during the Trump administration.