| | | | 3 of the unpresidential things Donald Trump tweeted over Presidents Day weekend | | It's become almost de rigueur at this moment in time to note that President Donald Trump is the least presidential president who has ever presidented.
From the campaign he ran to get to the White House to how he has acted since arriving there 395 days ago, Trump seems to take pride in dashing expectations of how a president should act, speak or tweet. He views his election as a middle finger from the average Joe or Jane to the "elites" -- political, media, etc. -- and seems to take as his guiding light a healthy disrespect for even the idea of being "presidential."
While this unpresidential phenomenon is nothing new, Trump seemed to take it to new -- and dangerous -- heights over the long Presidents Day weekend. While cooped up at Mar-a-Lago, Trump reportedly was fuming at the coverage of the indictments of 13 Russians by special counsel Bob Mueller. And when he fumes, bad stuff happens.
Here's a quick whip-around of three of the nine unpresidential things Trump tweeted this weekend -- in reverse chronological order. I rated each one by its magnitude of unpresidentialness with 1 being President Abraham Lincoln and 10 being Presidents Beavis and Butt-Head.
Unpresidential rating: 7. Imagine George W. Bush tweeting this. Or Barack Obama. Or, well, any president. Also, it sort of seems like Trump is blaming Oprah for the fact that some people said nasty things about him? Unpresidential rating: 3. Yes, Trump was watching TV even though he has long maintained that he very rarely has time to do that because he is so busy reading "documents." And, yes, he only liked what Starr said because it aligned with his belief that this whole Russia investigation is a red herring for a clueless Justice Department that is missing the real story of Hillary Clinton's crime(s). Still, for Trump, this was nothing close to the least presidential thing he tweeted this weekend.
Unpresidential rating: 8. Trump linked here to a pro-Trump Twitter handle that showed a cartoon of an aged Wolf Blitzer in the year 2038 saying: "Update! We should see evidence of Russia-Trump collusion any day now." (I actually wasn't able to see this tweet because the "rrealdjtrump" has blocked me!) This same Twitter handle also tweeted a cartoon featuring Hillary Clinton in blackface during the 2016 election.This is a total troll move that lots and lots of conservatives on Twitter would do. But none of them are the President of the United States. Best case scenario: Trump was unaware of the cartoonist's controversial past. Worst case scenario: He was totally aware of it.
Read my full list here.
--Chris | | CNN's Brenna Williams took a look at some of the things President Donald Trump has said about the men who came before him. For example, on former President Abe Lincoln. "With the exception of the late, great Abraham Lincoln, I can be more presidential than any president that's ever held this office." Read more here.
BTW, what is Trump up to on this holiday?
CNN's Dan Merica noted on Twitter that the President is spending the day at Trump International Golf Club, making the sunny Presidents Day his 99th visit as President to a golf club that bears his name, per CNN's count. In total, Trump has spent 129 days as President at a property he owns or that bears his name. | | | Fun fact about Saba: She can sing all the presidents in a row, thanks to this 2006 song "Presidents of the United States" from Creator Kids' album "History Rocks." AP US History nerds FTW. (BTW, the song stops at former President George W. Bush #43). TIME Magazine has a quiz related to this jam: Can You Put the US Presidents in Order? | | In case you were unsure about why we celebrate Presidents Day, CNN has you covered with some fun facts: - The day celebrates the nation's first president, George Washington.
- His birthday was on February 22, 1732.
- In 1885, February 22 became designated a federal holiday to honor Washington.
- In 1968, Congress debated whether to combine former President Abe Lincoln's birthday (February 12, 1809) and Washington's into one holiday but decided against it.
- Eventually, the legislative body passed the Monday Holidays Act, which went into effect in 1971, and said existing federal holidays would now be observed on Mondays to give government workers a long weekend.
| | This time last year, protesters in cities across the country took to the streets on Monday for "Not My President's Day" rallies with a strong anti-Trump message. Protests were held in several cities, including New York, Chicago and Los Angeles.
As CNN reported last year: "Historically, protests against new presidents are not unusual," said David Meyer, a sociology professor at the University of California, Irvine.
"What is unusual is the vigor, speed, size and number of issues that they're challenging Trump on," Meyer said. "To have a sustained (protest), every weekend, every couple of days, and it's a different issue -- I've never seen anything like this before."
Monday's marches, and other similar rallies, do not have a clear and concise policy proposal, but Meyer said they still had a unifying message to the White House: "No." | | We decided to take this Washington Post quiz: "How well do you know our commanders in chief?"
Chris' score: 13/20
Saba's score: 15/20
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How'd you do? Email us your results: Saba.hamedy@cnn.com and chris.cillizza@cnn.com, and share your favorite Presidents Day trivia. | | | Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren and California Sen. Kamala Harris were among the masses who trekked to the movies over Presidents Day weekend to see "Black Panther." Per CNN's Frank Pallotta, "Marvel's first film directed by an African-American brought in an estimated $192 million for its three-day debut in North America this weekend. That's the fifth biggest opening of all time." It broke multiple box office records. | | HERE'S WHAT EVERYONE'S REALLY TALKING ABOUT TODAY | | | While it's a federal holiday, news never stops. Today, many still have gun control legislation on their minds in the aftermath of the horrific shooting at a Florida high school last week that left 17 people dead. The students of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High have been vocal about the massacre, and are hoping their efforts will dovetail with other events, national and local, aimed at persuading leaders to take meaningful action to keep schools safe. Women's March organizers are encouraging students, teachers and their allies to walk out of schools on March 14 to protest gun violence. They're demanding that Congress take legislative action on gun control in the wake of last week's deadly school shooting in Florida instead of merely tweeting their thoughts and prayers. On Monday, CNN reported President Donald Trump "is supportive of efforts to improve the federal background check system" for gun purchases. Principal deputy press secretary Raj Shah said in a statement that Trump spoke with Sen. John Cornyn, a Texas Republican, on Friday about a bill he introduced with Sen. Chris Murphy, a Connecticut Democrat, that aims to strengthen how state and federal governments report offenses that could prohibit people from buying a gun.
CNN will hold a town hall with the victims' classmates, parents and community members. "Stand Up: The Students of Stoneman Douglas Demand Action" will air live on Wednesday at 9 p.m. ET. | | | Throwback to December, when The Hall of Presidents at Magic Kingdom Park at Disney World in Florida unveiled a life-sized animatronic President Trump. We hope you had a good day! Please tell others 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. | | | | | | |
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