Reading on Twitter, it's dispiriting how much of liberal energy is spent roasting Donald Trump. It's exhausting. In the beginning it was a defense mechanism, but after three and a half years, and many atrocities large and small, it seems tired, especially with Democrats so close to nominating Joe Biden. The prominent people on Twitter, still trying to own the President are desperate for clicks. Hopefully readers agree that the Presidential Events are more about recording the substance of the President, and holding his past behavior to account. If I slip into witticisms once or twice, I believe readers will forgive me.
So, when I see people reprimanding the President on Twitter, it's self promotion and waste. Everyone knows he is a narcissistic con-artist who can't act presidential, nor fulfill his duties, but there is no winning the war of Owning the Libs or the Conservatives.
Here is the list of the Presidential Events of April, 2020.
Inspectors General:
The President continued his rampage through the independent federal oversight, firing another Inspector General, Michael Atkinson, who had informed Congress of the Ukraine whistleblower complaint. Atkinson claimed his firing was in retaliation for informing the House.
Immigration:
Using the coronavirus as a pretext, the White House stopped issuing green cards, and ultimatly suspended all immigration. Meanwhile it was revealed that ICE could access the records of DACA applicants, even though Trump claimed they couldn't, and DHS withheld this information from Congress.
Iran:
Trump ordered the Navy in a tweet to destroy any Iranian boat harassing US ships. Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, pressured the UN Security Council to impose economic sanctions on Iran for violating the 2015 Iran Nuclear Deal, even though the United States withdrew in 2018.
Naval Incident:
It began when Navy Secretary Thomas Moody removed Captain Brett Crozier from command of a nuclear powered aircraft carrier, after a letter he wrote to officials pleading for help with the coronavirus leaked to the press. President Trump defended the firing of Crozier. Then the Navy Secretary Moody visited Crozier's aircraft carrier, and spoke to the crew. A crew member recorded the speech in which Moody repeatedly insulted Crozier. Moody resigned days later, and the Navy recommended reinstating Crozier to full command.
Mike Pence:
The Vice President visited the Mayo Clinic without wearing a mask, ignoring hospital policy. Everyone else with him wore a mask. On the same day Pence lied about past statements of his related to testing by the United States.
Weapons:
In the midst of the coronavirus, the United States launched more airstrikes against Somalia in four months than it did through all of 2008 to 2016. And the Trump administration considered abandoning the New START nuclear deal, which limited the number of long-range nuclear weapons of the US and Russia.
Under a Cloud:
Also under the cover of the pandemic; the White House reduced fuel efficiency standards from 54 mpg to 40 mpg, revoked the reservation status for the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe of Massachusetts, and hired a new press secretary who supports both birther and COVID-19 conspiracy theories.
The President also lied about the state of the National Deficit, claiming it was decreasing before the Coronavirus, when in fact it was increasing, due to the Republican Tax Cuts and increased military spending (voted for by most Democrats).
The President threatened to adjourn Congress when they left Washington D.C. for a few weeks, but continued to hold pro forma sessions. He planned to veto one of the coronavirus relief bills because it funded the U.S. Postal Service.
And reporting from Politico revealed that the President, through his real estate empire, owes millions to the Bank of China with the bill due in Trump's second term, if he wins in November.
Finally, before discussing the coronavirus related news, Trump accused the FBI of illegally prosecuting former National Security Advisor, Michael Flynn. New documents detailed how FBI officials interviewed Flynn during which he lied about interactions with Russian officials. Some notes appear to indicate that the FBI, who already had evidence of Flynn's guilt, considered whether him lying to them would be better or worse for their case. Trump admitted in 2017 that Flynn lied to the FBI and the VP. In April Trump retweeted a call for FBI leaders and agents to be sent to jail.
Coronavirus in the Past:
And before reviewing what happened in April, there were a few events from December, January, February, and March that the public only learned about recently.
It's important to remember that President Trump and National Security Advisor John Bolton dismantled the Pandemic Response Team in 2018, which President Obama set up after the Ebola outbreak. Trump downplayed the threat and didn't order supplies until March. But economic advisor Peter Navarro wrote a memo in January that warned of 500,000 dead Americans, and a cost of $6 trillion. Though the January memo (and a second written in February) explicitly say “Memorandum to President” on top, Trump claimed he had never seen them. Yet, Trump definitely received repeated briefings on the coronavirus in January, even if they didn't explicitly mention the memos.
And new reporting revealed that the first coronavirus related death in the United States was not in Washington State on February 29th, but on February 9th in California.
Coronavirus in the Present:
In the beginning of April, the Trump Administration struggled to roll out the small business relief program, and chaos ensued. The federal stockpile was depleted swiftly, and Jared Kushner said at a press conference, “The notion of the federal stockpile was it’s supposed to be our stockpile. It’s not supposed to be states’ stockpiles that they then use.” The statement confused observers: who is the “our” in that statement? The same day the website of the Strategic National Stockpile changed the description on its website to match Kushner's statement.
The President continued to appear in press briefings, but failed to coordinate a response, forcing states to fight among themselves for scarce resources. After Congress passed its third coronavirus relief bill, the CARES Act, Trump fired the IG intending to oversee a $500 billion fund for big businesses and installed a White House lawyer instead. Similarly, Trump removed a independent panel tasked with overseeing the total $2 trillion bill, and replaced them with a Pentagon official.
The President blamed the World Health Organization for coronavirus deaths in the United States, threatened to withhold funding, backtracked, and then carried through with his plan. Dr. Fauci criticized the administration's mess on TV, saying the delayed response cost lives. Then Trump retweeted a call for him to be fired. At a deranged press conference, Trump used federal resources for his political agenda, and claimed, “When somebody is the president of the United States, the authority is total.” At another press conference on April 16th, the President declared victory over the coronavirus, saying, “Now that we have passed the peak in new cases, we are starting our life again,” as 2,000 Americans died daily. This was as Trump continued to misrepresent his record on the coronavirus.
As unemployment soared to 15%, the White House approved a preliminary $25 billion bailout for airlines.
Earlier in the pandemic the President repeatedly touted various miracle cures including hydroxychloroquine. Dr. Rick Bright of the Department of Health and Human Services, who oversaw the development of a coronavirus vaccine, claimed he was fired after refusing to promote the use of hydroxychloroquine. Meanwhile, the President, after repeatedly hyping hydroxychloroquine, suddenly stopped talking about it. Instead he spent a press conference suggesting Americans use bleach or other disinfectants to treat the coronavirus. When called out on this inane idea, the President suggested he was being sarcastic, demonstrating that he, like most of the students I taught as a High School English teacher, didn't understand the term.
The President wrapped up the month by threatening to withhold relief to states unless they rescinded sanctuary protections for immigrants, and accusing China of creating the coronavirus at the Wuhan Institute of Virology.
As a final coda, Assistant Secretary of Health Adm. Brett Giroir contradicted the President's claim that the U.S. could conduct 5 million coronavirus tests by mid June, saying, “there is absolutely no way,” this would happen, as scientific studies called for mass testing before reopening the country.
Recent:
Bad North: Fleeing into a Fight
Relevant:
The Presidential Events: March 2020
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