Remember last week when President Trump’s tweets started to look semi-normal, emphasizing what he saw as the positive things that had happened on his watch? We regret to inform you that the president is back on his bullshit.
In hindsight, it seems foolish that we thought it would go any other way. President Trump has never been able to maintain a modicum of decency for longer than 45 minutes. But there was some speculation that new Chief of Staff John Kelly had perhaps convinced Trump that it was a bad idea to whine on social media about “fake news” and “phony polls.”
President Trump, who’s now on vacation at his golf property in Bedminster, New Jersey, started the morning by attacking The New York Times.
The failing @nytimes, which has made every wrong prediction about me including my big election win (apologized), is totally inept!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 7, 2017
He then went on about the fake news polls (the same polls that Kellyanne Conway admitted were real yesterday) showing that the president’s support among Republicans is dwindling.
The Trump base is far bigger & stronger than ever before (despite some phony Fake News polling). Look at rallies in Penn, Iowa, Ohio…….
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 7, 2017
Trump then segued into talk of the Russia investigation before getting back into things he saw as strengths that had been enabled by his regime.
…and West Virginia. The fact is the Fake News Russian collusion story, record Stock Market, border security, military strength, jobs…..
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 7, 2017
And finished that idea off with a claim that his base will always be there for him, through thick and thin.
… Supreme Court pick, economic enthusiasm, deregulation & so much more have driven the Trump base even closer together. Will never change!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 7, 2017
Then for some reason, Trump started threading his next tweet off his second tweet of the day.
Hard to believe that with 24/7 #Fake News on CNN, ABC, NBC, CBS, NYTIMES & WAPO, the Trump base is getting stronger!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 7, 2017
The president insisted that he’s working hard, despite the fact that he’s on a 17-day vacation.
Working hard from New Jersey while White House goes through long planned renovation. Going to New York next week for more meetings.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 7, 2017
The White House is undergoing renovations, which the Trump regime has used as the lone excuse for his absence from Washington. They keep insisting that he’s not on vacation, despite the fact that he pops up on social media golfing and greeting guests to his property—something that was even used in marketing materials for his golf courses.
“If he is on-site for your big day, he will likely stop in & congratulate the happy couple. He may take some photos with you but we ask you and your guests to be respectful of his time & privacy,” one brochure still circulating as recently as this year said.
Then, at 7:47am ET, Trump sent a direct attack at Senator Richard Blumenthal.
Interesting to watch Senator Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut talking about hoax Russian collusion when he was a phony Vietnam con artist!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 7, 2017
Senator Blumenthal served in the United States Marine Corps Reserve from 1970 to 1976, but was attacked by conservatives in 2008 when he implied that he had gone to Vietnam, which he hadn’t.
And in case you were wondering, yes, Blumenthal was on CNN this morning. Trump has previously insisted that he doesn’t have much time for watching TV despite the fact that he obviously watches cable news TV constantly.
.@SenBlumenthal reacts to crackdown on leaks: "I'm very concerned that [DOJ] is weaponizing … laws" https://t.co/sOHDh0IcW9
— CNN This Morning with Kasie Hunt (@CNNThisMorning) August 7, 2017
Trump continued tweeting about Blumenthal, saying that “never in US history has anyone lied or defrauded voters” like him.
Never in U.S.history has anyone lied or defrauded voters like Senator Richard Blumenthal. He told stories about his Vietnam battles and….
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 7, 2017
That, of course, is a pretty bold claim. President Trump received five deferments during the Vietnam War, one for alleged bone spurs in his feet.
…conquests, how brave he was, and it was all a lie. He cried like a baby and begged for forgiveness like a child. Now he judges collusion?
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 7, 2017
Kelly has reportedly been trying to curtail’s Trump’s worst social media tendencies. Multiple news outlets have reported that Kelly now consults with Trump about his tweeting, but there’s been some recognition that he can’t babysit the president 24/7. From Bloomberg:
While Kelly isn’t vetting every presidential tweet, Trump has shown a willingness to consult with his chief of staff before hitting “send” on certain missives that might cause an international uproar or lead to unwelcome distractions, according to three people familiar with the interactions. Kelly has been “offering a different way to say the same thing,” one person said.
That “different way to say the same thing” is definitely in line with speculation from last week that the president was being encouraged to emphasize what he sees as positive developments in the country rather than harping on negative things like “fake news” and “failing” newspapers.
The president’s vacation obviously presents plenty of challenges for Chief of Babysitting Kelly, not least of which is Trump’s desire to tweet between 6:00am and 8:00am Eastern time as he watches Fox News and other morning shows.
And with Stephen Miller in the running to become head of the communications office, it seems unlikely that the White House will truly soften its stance in the near future. If anything, we can probably expect Trump’s messaging, from Twitter to the White House briefing room, to become more caustic as he embraces the Miller-esque parts of his regime.
One need look no further than a video of Miller from high school that surfaced over the weekend where he complains that he shouldn’t have to pick up his own trash since there were janitors for that.
Vid: "sick & tired of being told to pick up my trash when we have plenty of janitors who are paid to do it for us" Trump Adv Stephen Miller pic.twitter.com/cpoSGAdOGv
— Scott Dworkin (@funder) August 5, 2017
Yes, it seems that President Trump’s claim that he only hires the best people may not have been 100 percent accurate. If anything, Trump hires people like himself. Which is to say those that are entitled, petty, and have a persecution complex.
