Tag: Trump Administration

15 Trumpists who did not survive the first 100 days

The following article by James Hohmann with Breanne Deppish was posted on the Washington Post website April 24, 2017:

THE BIG IDEA: In any normal administration, the failure of Andy Puzder to become secretary of labor would be a major data point in accounts of the president’s first 100 days.

Donald Trump meets with Andy Puzder at his golf club in New Jersey last November before naming him as secretary of labor. (Photo by Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post)

It would be difficult, for example, to tell the story of Barack Obama’s first 100 days without mentioning Tom Daschle. Or Bill Clinton’s without mentioning Zoe Baird. Or George H.W. Bush’s without mentioning John Tower.

But nothing about Donald Trump is normal, and the fast food CEO is already a forgotten footnote in the frenzied opening chapter of his administration.

— The first three tumultuous months of Trump’s term have seen a perhaps unprecedented number of personnel casualties. A big part of the problem is that his transition team did a lousy job of vetting. Red flags that might have been discovered by a simple Google search didn’t emerge in some cases until after nominees were named publicly. The president also gravitated toward billionaires as he stocked the government, and the richer someone is the more conflicts they are likely to have. Complying with the requirements of the Office of Government Ethics proved too onerous for some. The premium that this president places on loyalty over experience and qualifications cost others their postings. Backstabbing and palace intrigue – which created a brutal, joyless work environment in the West Wing – drove others away after only weeks in their dream jobs. Continue reading “15 Trumpists who did not survive the first 100 days”

What Trump got wrong on Twitter this week (#8)

The following article by Michelle Ye Hee Lee was posted on the Washington Post website April 21, 2017:

It’s been more than a month since our last roundup of what the president got wrong on Twitter in a given week, an occasional Friday series at The Fact Checker. President Trump has been tweeting less frequently, and his tweets have become more ceremonial — simply sharing photos or videos of memorable events or commemorating a holiday.

But in the past week, Trump tweeted misleading or false claims about several issues that were worth delving into. Here’s a look at what Trump got wrong in 10 tweets since last Friday. Continue reading “What Trump got wrong on Twitter this week (#8)”

Trump’s claim that ‘no administration has accomplished more in the first 90 days’

The following article by Glenn Kessler was posted on the Washington Post website April 20, 2017:


President Trump falsely claimed that “no administration has accomplished more in the first 90 days,” during a speech in Wisconsin on April 18. The Post’s Fact Checker found that other presidents, most notably Franklin D. Roosevelt, accomplished more than he has so far. (The Washington Post)

“No administration has accomplished more in the first 90 days.”

— President Trump, remarks in Kenosha, Wis., April 18, 2017 Continue reading “Trump’s claim that ‘no administration has accomplished more in the first 90 days’”

Blackwater founder Erik Prince said to have advised Trump team

The following article by Keri Geiger with Bloomberg News was posted on the Boston Globe website April 19, 2017:

PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY THE DAILY BEAST

NEW YORK — In the very public, post-election parade of dignitaries, confidantes, and job-seekers filing in and out of Donald Trump’s marquee Manhattan tower, Blackwater founder Erik Prince was largely out of sight. And yet Prince was very much a presence, giving advice to Trump’s inner circle, including his top national security adviser, Michael T. Flynn, according to people familiar with his activities.

Trump was weakest in the area where the stakes were highest — foreign affairs. Among those his aides turned to was Prince, a man whose specialty is paramilitary security forces, and whose company is best remembered after its employees were convicted of killing Iraqi citizens, including children, in the notorious 2007 Nisour Square gun battle. Prince wasn’t implicated in the shootings. In the decade since, Prince has carved out a role as a controversial critic of US policies to fight terrorism, a view often espoused by the incoming Trump administration, which was eager to ramp up its anti-terrorism policies. Continue reading “Blackwater founder Erik Prince said to have advised Trump team”

Trump’s cake and golf presidency

The following column by Eugene Robinson was posted on the Washington Post website April 17, 2017:

President Trump’s spending of public money on his own ease and comfort is lavish and wasteful. His attitude toward taxpayers seems to be, roughly: Let them eat “the most beautiful piece of chocolate cake that you’ve ever seen.”

That is how the president described the dessert he shared with Chinese President Xi Jinping at Mar-a-Lago, Trump’s Florida estate, which has become his weekend White House. Trump chose that moment of indulgence to inform Xi that U.S. cruise missiles had been fired into Syria. War is hell, but I guess Trump also sees it as an opportunity to indulge his sweet tooth. Continue reading “Trump’s cake and golf presidency”

What does Trump have to hide? Secretive White House unapologetic about clawing back transparency

The following article by James Hohmann with Breanne Deppisch was posted on the Washington Post website April 17, 2017:

THE BIG IDEA: Donald Trump appears to have made a cynical calculation that he will not pay a high political price for being the most secretive president since Richard Nixon.

All the leaks about infighting among senior staff and the president’s proclivity for tweeting have created a false sense that the public knows what is happening inside his White House. In fact, the administration has gone to great lengths to conceal pertinent information from the American people.

After dodging questions on the subject for weeks, the administration waited until the afternoon of Good Friday to dump the news that it will not follow former president Barack Obama’s policy of voluntarily disclosing the names of most visitors to the White House complex. The president’s communications director cited “grave national security risks” as a justification, even though Obama had made an exception for national security. Continue reading “What does Trump have to hide? Secretive White House unapologetic about clawing back transparency”

Trump is Hiring Lobbyists and Top Ethics Official Says ‘There’s No Transparency’

The following article by Justin Elliott was posted on the ProPublica website April 15, 2017:

In one case, an official working on energy regulation recently lobbied for oil and coal companies — but the White House won’t say whether he received an ethics waiver.

President Trump has stocked his administration with a small army of former lobbyists and corporate consultants who are now in the vanguard of the effort to roll back government regulations at the agencies they once sought to influence, according to an analysis of government records by the New York Times in collaboration with ProPublica.

The Times adds new details to our previous reporting on Trump’s weakening of ethics rules and former lobbyists working on regulations they opposed on behalf of private clients just months ago.

The Times scrutinized financial disclosures of top White House staffers and found that the lobbyists and consultants in their ranks had more than 300 recent corporate clients and employers, including Apple and Anthem, the insurance company. Continue reading “Trump is Hiring Lobbyists and Top Ethics Official Says ‘There’s No Transparency’”

Trump’s Latest Really Low Poll Numbers And What They Mean

The following article by Jonathan D. Salant was posted on the AlterNet website April 15, 2017:

Less than 4 in 10 U.S. voters approve of President Donald Trump’s performance in office.

Fewer than 4 in 10 U.S. voters approve of President Donald Trump’s performance in office, according to a Marist College poll released after the bombing attack in Syria.

They also expressed dissatisfaction with the way Trump was handling foreign policy, said the country’s international role was diminished under his administration, and said they had little or no trust in the president to make the right decision in an international crisis.

“As tensions mount, President Trump is facing a critical test as Commander in Chief,” said Lee Miringoff, director of the Marist College Institute for Public Opinion. “Instead of a rally ’round the flag effect, Americans are still looking for President Trump to provide leadership and more careful planning to arrive at sound policies.” Continue reading “Trump’s Latest Really Low Poll Numbers And What They Mean”

This brutal new poll shows that fewer and fewer people believe Trump’s lies

The following commentary by Greg Sargent was posted on the Washington Post website April 17, 2017:

THE MORNING PLUM:

The 100-day mark of the Trump presidency is approaching, and his aides are worried that the media narrative will depict his historically awful lack of accomplishments with highly unflattering levels of accuracy. But don’t tell that to President Trump. He knows the real problem is that the news media won’t acknowledge how terrific the start to his presidency has actually been in comparison with his loser predecessors:

Continue reading “This brutal new poll shows that fewer and fewer people believe Trump’s lies”

Swamp

The following article was posted on the TrumpAccountable.org website April 15, 2017:

President Trump reversed course on a major policy on Friday. In a dramatic shift from the Obama White House policy, the Trump White House will not release the names of visitors citing national security and privacy concerns.

Judicial Watch, a government watch dog group, blasted the decision in a statement on Friday: “Judicial Watch is disappointed with the Trump White House decision to keep secret the names of White House visitors.  Unfortunately, this move is perfectly in line with the policy of the Obama White House to prevent these visitors logs from being processed and released under the Freedom of Information Act.  President Trump should simply allow the Secret Service to apply FOIA to its White House visitor logs. The Secret Service can protect the personal privacy of some visitors while upholding the rule of law.   This new secrecy policy undermines the rule of law and suggests this White House doesn’t want to be accountable to the American people.”

Donald Trump campaigned on a promise to “drain the swamp” claiming that special interests have become entrenched in the operation of the federal government and that they work tirelessly to sustain their own interests over the interests of the American people. Continue reading “Swamp”