| | | | Is Donald Trump losing control? | | | In the space of 48 hours, Donald Trump has: Now. Trump is someone who prides himself on a sort of everywhere-all-at-once approach to governance. He throws lots and lots of things at the wall every day -- through tweets, public statements and policy maneuvers. Even with all that said, the last few days Trump feels even more unmoored than usual. More erratic. More wild.
"Something is unleashed with him lately," Times reporter Maggie Haberman said on CNN Wednesday. "I don't know what is causing it, I don't know how to describe it."
What's most concerning about all that is the fact that -- even amid this impulse-laden 48 hours -- Trump has also dealt with North Korea's latest provocation via a public statement and spoken with the President of China.
The same man who is stoking conspiracy theories, fomenting gossip and retweeting violent anti-Muslim videos from questionable sources is also on the phone -- almost concurrently! -- with world leaders trying to avoid a war in the Korean Peninsula.
Trump's supporters will argue: That's the whole point! Trump was elected to do things differently. To shake up stodgy old Washington and actually get things done. Unpredictability is the new predictability!
Sure -- but only to a point. What that argument presumes is that this is all controlled fury and contained chaos -- that Trump, deep down, knows exactly what he's doing. That he is operating off a strategic plan that plays the media and Democrats for chumps even while, somehow, #winning.
But, what if he isn't? (And all available evidence suggests he isn't.) What if Trump is just spinning ever faster -- lashing out here, issuing a statement there -- as he twirls and twirls and twirls?
What then?
-- Chris | | TRUMP'S ANTI-MUSLIM TWITTER FEED | | In case you missed it: Early on Wednesday morning, President Donald Trump retweeted three inflammatory videos from a British far-right account rife with anti-Muslim content.
The videos were originally posted by Jayda Fransen, the deputy leader of Britain First, a far-right and ultranationalist political group. They show purported Muslims assaulting people. (Read more on this in CNN's story by Liz Landers here).
The White House's response? "Whether it is a real video, the threat is real," Sanders told a small group of reporters after appearing on Fox News. "That is what the President is talking about, that is what the President is focused on is dealing with those real threats, and those are real no matter how you look at it."
Trump's retweets come as courts are weighing the legality of Trump's travel ban. Government lawyers have argued the policy is not a "Muslim ban." | | "Well, the President is racist. There's no doubt about that in my mind."
-Rep. Keith Ellison to Guardian political reporter Sabrina Siddiqui re: Trump's anti-Muslim tweets. | | | | Merry Christmas! DMX just released a cover of "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer." This is not a test. | | | On Tuesday, North Korea conducted an intercontinental ballistic missile test. The nation's leader, Kim Jong Un, said after the test that the country could strike the United States. Now the United States is planning on putting "maximum pressure" on the country, per White House press secretary Sarah Sanders.
CNN's Donna Borak reported Wednesday that Trump plans to impose further sanctions on North Korea. "Just spoke to President XI JINPING of China concerning the provocative actions of North Korea," Trump tweeted. "Additional major sanctions will be imposed on North Korea today. This situation will be handled!" | | KIMMEL & FRIENDS FUND-RAISE | | | Photo courtesy: Screengrab/YouTube/Jimmy Kimmel Live! | | | President Barack Obama on Tuesday night joined a handful of celebrities in participating in Jimmy Kimmel's annual (RED) shopathon special. The fund-raiser -- which included guests such as Bono, Kristen Bell, Ashton Kutcher and Bryan Cranston -- encourages viewers to join the fight against AIDS. The former POTUS made a special video message for the event. "More than half of all people living with the virus are on lifesaving medication and AIDS-related deaths have been cut in half since their peak," Obama said. "It wasn't down to mysterious forces or chance, but the countless people working for years who chose to make this progress."
To try to coerce people to donate, the President joked that people who help fund-raise can pilot Air Force One for a day or access classified alien files. "No? We can't do that either?" he said, when a camera crew said he couldn't offer those prizes.
Kimmel said during the telecast that in the last two years, the (RED) shopathons have raised about $97 million. Like last year, Kimmel and some of the participating Hollywood A-listers wrote and performed an original song for the special. This year's was titled "We're Going to Hell." | | CNN's Caroline Kenny flagged a Monday night interview between former Vice President Joe Biden and the "Today" show's Al Roker during Biden's book tour. During the Q&A, which took place in Westbury, New York, Biden addressed hot topics such as potentially running in 2020 and dealing with the Trump presidency. Caroline highlighted a few noteworthy moments: - Regarding future political goals, Biden said: "If the Lord almighty came down right this moment, I gave him my word as a Biden, and said the nomination is yours, but you have to take it right now, I would say no."
- Following chants of "If not you, then who?" Biden's reaction was: "It's extremely, extremely flattering."
- But his bottom line: "Silence is complicity."
On Wednesday, Biden also announced on Twitter the launch of a new initiative called The Biden Forum, "a new online conversation about the well-being of the American middle class." | | | It's November 29, but there was still a whole lot of Christmas decor on the stage President Trump spoke in Missouri on Wednesday. Get in that holiday spirit (early) and tell everyone you know to subscribe to The Point. | | We'd love to share our other newsletters with you. Follow this link for daily coverage of the world's top stories, savvy market insights, an insider's look into the media, and more. Our authors for The Point are Chris Cillizza and Saba Hamedy. Send your tips and thoughts via email to Chris or Saba. Follow on Twitter: Chris and Saba. | | | | | | |
No comments:
Post a Comment