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Donald Trump told approximately 5,400 lies this year and around 30% of Americans believe his lies. Don't ask me why. As Ray Stevens sang in his 1970 hit Everything Is Beautiful, "There is none so blind as he who will not see." Here is an excerpt of a Los Angeles Times opinion piece by Scott Martelle. The complete essay is linked below.
Trump's constant lying might forever damage the Presidency
It's fitting that President Trump is finishing up 2018 with inaccurate statements launched at the nation via Twitter. And it's also pathetic. The government is partially shut down because the President insists, like an intemperate 4-year-old, that he must have his way and waste billions of dollars in tax money on a border wall. He tweeted again today about the "open border" which he described as an "Open Wound, where drugs, criminals (including human traffickers) and illegals would pour into our Country."
In fact, the number of illegal border crossers has been steadily decreasing and most drugs come across at ports of entry smuggled inside of motor vehicles, through tunnels beneath the existing walls and fences, and by boat. Not much impact from a wall there.
That the President lies, or at a minimum distorts the truth, has become so common that what once was received as outrageous now gets a shoulder shrug, a recognition that the President cannot be shamed for his falsehoods because he's impervious to personal embarrassment.
The Washington Post has doggedly tracked the President's utterances and reports that Trump has made an average of 15 errant statements per day since the start of the year. Fewer than a third of Americans believe the President's untruths, according to a Post poll, which means that an overwhelming majority of Americans know their President lies. Yet few of them seem interested in holding him to account.
Whatever happens in the 2020 election, Trump has perhaps irretrievably damaged the relationship between the Presidency and the people. Yes, Richard Nixon lied, as did Bill Clinton, but no other President has lied with the persistence and impunity of Trump.
So here’s a wish for the new year: That more of Trump’s fellow Republicans in Congress call out his lies for the damage they do to the country and to the Presidency and that his voters finally begin to care that he lies to them, too, and start holding him accountable for it.
https://www.latimes.com/opinion/la-o...htmlstory.html
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A North Carolina Representative just came up with an idea that's so simple and so sensible, I don't know why no one else thought of it long ago:
Republican lawmaker Walter Jones suggests Trump use some of his own money to help pay for border wall
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/polit...EVHQ?ocid=AMZN
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Today, Hillary Clinton posted a picture of herself, Bill and Chelsea on Instagram, accompanied by this message:
"In many ways, 2018 was a dark time for our country. As it ends*, I'm grateful to everyone who brought light into it: activists who protected kids at the border, journalists who stood up for truth, organizers who mobilized voters for the 2018 elections, candidates who ran races with grit and inspiration, voters who made their voices heard and absolutely everyone who marched, donated, called, and protested to fight for the values we share. Here's to more light in 2019 and to a shared commitment to make it as bright as possible. Happy New Year."
*I assume she's referring to 2018 and not to our country.
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The partial government shutdown is now in its 11th day. Democrats set forth a funding plan that would re-open government and allow for negotiations over Trump's stupid wall. Of course Trump rejected the proposal and he will continue to blame the shutdown on Democrats. And, in an idiotic tweet, he wished Happy New Year to the "haters" and the "fake news media." Happy New Year to you, too, Fake President.
Donald Trump rejects Democratic funding plan
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/polit...FVUn?ocid=AMZN
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In an opinion piece written for The Hill, former New York Representative John LeBoutillier makes several predictions for 2019. Among them: declining support for Trump among the GOP, the "crash-and-burn" of the Trump Presidency, a reshuffling of the GOP, a recession that will last into 2020 and Mueller investigation findings that are "much worse for Trump than anyone has anticipated." By the way, LeBoutillier is a Republican.
Predictions: Trump goes, unexpected candidate emerges in 2019
https://thehill.com/opinion/white-ho...merges-in-2019
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NBC's Savannah Guthrie today asked Nancy Pelosi about Trump's demand for $5 billion of taxpayer money so he can build a stupid wall. Pelosi responded, "How many more times can we say no? Nothing for the wall." Pelosi and the Democrats want more border security -- not a wall -- but Trump refuses to work with them. He wants his wall and if he doesn't get it, he'll continue to whine and moan like a six-year-old spoiled brat. He will also continue to blame Democrats for his shutdown of government.
Source: Trump tells Schumer he can't accept Democrats' offer to re-open government because he'd 'look foolish'
https://www.cnn.com/2019/01/02/polit...ing/index.html
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Donald Trump held a cabinet meeting today. He said we need to build a wall. (Actually, illegal immigration is declining.) He said 30 to 35 million undocumented immigrants live in the US. (Actually, the number is around 11 million.) He said we need to build a wall. (Actually, a majority of immigrants cross at legal points of entry and many simply overstay their visa.) He said illegals are costing the US 250 billion dollars. (Actually, the cost is around 100 billion.) He said we need to build a wall. (Actually, building a wall would have no effect on the illegals who are already here.) And did I mention that Trump said we need to build a wall? In psychiatric terminology, his obsession with the wall is a prime example of monomania.
Trump's freewheeling and fact-free cabinet meeting
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/factc...JIbd?ocid=AMZN
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For Donald Trump, nothing is more important than building that stupid border wall. The 800,000 federal employees who, as a result of the shutdown which is now in its 13th day, are either not working or are working without pay are not important to him at all. Trump is refusing to re-open government until he gets $5 billion of US taxpayer money for a border wall that he initially said Mexico would pay for. And today the Narcissist-In-Chief declared, "I think the American people think I'm right." No, Donald, the majority of us do not.
Washington's new power play means shutdown won't end soon
CNN, Jan 3 2019 5:48 PM ET
Democrats will grab significant leverage against President Donald Trump when they claim the House of Representatives today in a historic reshuffling of Washington's balance of power. But as they gear up to make life miserable for the White House, the first consequence of the new era of divided government will be to make a solution to the partial shutdown of federal agencies, now well into its second week, more elusive.
The showdown between Trump and newly empowered Democrats will end only when both sides have an incentive to move. Trump is refusing to water down his demand for $5 billion in funding for his border wall in return for agreeing on a federal funding package and appears to think he's winning the showdown. The huge shift in power today only solidifies the position of the Democrats against additional funding. They may yet disagree on much but they appear in lockstep over opposing Trump on the wall. And Senate Republicans won't act on anything until a deal is reached that Trump will actually sign.
Barring a miracle, the partial shutdown is not ending any time soon. Senate Republican Majority leader Mitch McConnell said Wednesday it could take "weeks" for government to reopen. Trump told reporters a resolution could take "a long time." The political logic that prompted Trump to allow the government to close -- heavy pressure from conservative pundits and House lawmakers -- has not yet changed. He's in no position to blink. If he caves now, he will get the backlash he feared before, with extra intensity.
https://www.cnn.com/2019/01/03/polit...own/index.html
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Many House Republicans sided with Democrats today in passing seven funding bills that drew bipartisan approval in the Senate and will allow government to reopen. Republican Senators Cory Bergman and Susan Collins said ending the impasse is more important than Trump's wall -- but Mitch McConnell insists Trump will never sign any funding bill that doesn't include billions of dollars of taxpayers' money for that wall. After all, our immigrant-hating President promised his immigrant-hating followers that he would build a wall. He's broken dozens of promises but he refuses to break that one.
House Democrats vote to reopen government and deny Trump wall money, defying veto threat
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/polit...McQr?ocid=AMZN
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The recent huge tax cuts for banks, big corporations and the wealthiest Americans (including Trump) proved Trump and the Republicans do not care about the middle class. They care only about themselves, big business and their wealthy donors. In 2019, that hasn't changed.
While federal workers go without pay, senior Trump administration officials are poised to get a $10,000 raise
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/polit...NQP3?ocid=AMZN
