A few busy days on and before the weekend (and, frankly, feeling a bit burnt-out on politics for a few days), so, again, I'm playing catch-up with the POETUS as he regales us about his China policy, his trade barriers policy, his new HUD Secretary, and why SNL and the Press are a bunch of MEANIES.
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The President of Taiwan CALLED ME today to wish me congratulations on winning the Presidency. Thank you!
Interesting how the U.S. sells Taiwan billions of dollars of military equipment but I should not accept a congratulatory call.
[https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/804848711599882240, https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/804863098138005504]
Trump got a number of folk fired up over his calling accepting the call (?) of the President of Taiwan — given that US policy for, oh, forty-odd years has been that the PRC is the official government of China, and we simply do not have official contacts with the government of in Taiwan.
On the one hand, it's a bit refreshing to see Trump willing to challenge this long-held kabuki dance. Pretending that the PRC owns Taiwan, but dealing with government officials and businesses there as separate entities but never quite addressed as they are, seems a particularly egregious bit of appearances-over-reality. Even if the PRC is a major trading partner, a major regional force, and a geopolitical adversary.
That said, the PRC is all those things, and Trump willy-nilly making taking the call, apparently on a whim, seems not just provocative, but negligently reckless. Shaking things up can be good — unless it's fragile, or explosive, or both.
Did China ask us if it was OK to devalue their currency (making it hard for our companies to compete), heavily tax our products going into their country (the U.S. doesn't tax them) or to build a massive military complex in the middle of the South China Sea? I don't think so!
[https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/805538149157969924, https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/805539770864693253]
As I understand it, the whole "devalue their currency" thing is several years old.
But, yeah, sure, China is a geopolitical adversary. So … does this mean your dealings with them will be confrontational economically and militarily? Or are you blowing smoke to look like a big guy? Have you actually considered the consequences? Have you bothered with any of the intelligence briefings about China (or anything else)?
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Rexnord of Indiana is moving to Mexico and rather viciously firing all of its 300 workers. This is happening all over our country. No more!
[https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/804884532671430658]
What are you going to do about it, Donald? Bribe them with tax cuts like you brokered for Carrier?
The next day:
The U.S. is going to substantially reduce taxes and regulations on businesses, but any business that leaves our country for another country, fires its employees, builds a new factory or plant in the other country, and then thinks it will sell its product back into the U.S. without retribution or consequence, is WRONG! There will be a tax on our soon to be strong border of 35% for these companies wanting to sell their product, cars, A.C. units etc., back across the border. This tax will make leaving financially difficult, but these companies are able to move between all 50 states, with no tax or tariff being charged. Please be forewarned prior to making a very expensive mistake! THE UNITED STATES IS OPEN FOR BUSINESS
https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/805376548882776064, https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/805378393537658880, https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/805380553008680961, https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/805382541343653888, https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/805386422807105536, https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/805387038048612356]
Again, this might be more credible if you hadn't arranged (then bragged) about a tax payoff to Carrier (in whose parent company you have an investment) to reduce the number of jobs they were sending to Mexico.
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I am thrilled to nominate Dr. @RealBenCarson as our next Secretary of the US Dept. of Housing and Urban Development: [link redacted]
[https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/805772007220645888]
Thereby demonstrating that (a) Donald Trump doesn't take HUD seriously, and (b) Ben Carson doesn't take cabinet responsibilities seriously.
The man repeatedly demonstrated that he was a lightweight in the campaign, and announced early on that he was uninterested in a cabinet post because he didn't feel qualified for it. And, yet, here he is.
Trump, of course, famously criticized Carson for his obsessive anger issues while on the campaign trail. But, hey, what's criminal-level anger when you have a cabinet seat to fill?
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The Green Party just dropped its recount suit in Pennsylvania and is losing votes in Wisconsin recount. Just a Stein scam to raise money!
[https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/805486509914779649]
Well, you may be right on that one, Donald.
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Just tried watching Saturday Night Live – unwatchable! Totally biased, not funny and the Baldwin impersonation just can't get any worse. Sad
[https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/805278955150471168]
Again with the SNL critique? Venting? Distracting? Riling up protest? Demonstrating thin skin?
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If the press would cover me accurately & honorably, I would have far less reason to "tweet." Sadly, I don't know if that will ever happen!
[https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/805804034309427200]
Really? What statements have you made to the press that were misquoted, that you feel the need to tweet instead? What tweets have you made that have not been reported accurately by the press?
What does "honorable" coverage mean?
Why are you putting "tweet" in quotation marks?
Why are you such a special snowflake when it comes to press coverage?
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Other messages:
– A good wishes note to Tiger Woods. "Special!"
– Trump supports GOP candidate for Senate John Kennedy (two tweets!)
– Fox is rerunning a "ratings hit" Trump profile.
Silly Donald thinks his 140 character tweets are a substitute for press conferences. It looks like he will have to learn the hard way.
+Pete McGowan It will be interesting to see how this evolves once he enters into office (and is technically subject to records retention policies) and as his administration continues. Maybe he'll never hold a press conference. It wouldn't be the biggest oddity of his political activities to date. Or maybe he'll wait to just invite "friendly" press. We'll see.
would you Dave Hill? Saturday Night Live is seen around the world = disgrace and shows no holding progress inside our country before the world in the left …as it shows in France and England
= Jill Stein is a confusion
+lily switch SNL has been running 41 years, and every year people have said "It's not funny" and "This, at last, is the year they'll cancel it."
But all Trump does by complaining about it is draw attention to it. There are plenty of Trump parodies and comedians mocking him out there; he's singling out SNL not because it's particularly bad, but because it's particularly popular.
Dave Hill there is a difference in the reception of a comedy and a leftest result SNL did not start out like this= Trump is a new starter a fresh over old smell and Hollow wood and the old cannot take it or understand
SNL has always been iconoclastic regarding the presidency, and often left-leaning. One of its first classic targets was Gerald Ford, who had the misfortune of stumbling off an airplane right after the show began, to the delight of new SNL star Chevy Chase.
Trump does not assume office completely fresh and unknown. There's the past year of campaigning, and a highly publicized life of several decades before that.
That Trump is so thin-skinned that he feels the need to publicly object to how they are being mean to him says more about him than it does about SNL.
DAVE HILL TRUMP IS NOT EVEN IN OFFICE AND ALEC B IS A DUTY UNDERTAKER WITH A TEMPER HE HAS A BAD REP FOR CRUELTY AND IS A LOSER >>> SNL WAS FUNNY BUT LOST IT = FACE IT
+lily switch He's been a public figure, he's been a presidential candidate, and now he is scheduled to be the next president. He's issuing policy statements, brokering deals, playing around with foreign diplomacy, and nominating cabinet members. I think it's perfectly legit to target him for humor.
Alec Baldwin's various failings have nothing to do with this. I suspect your critique of the SNL pieces wouldn't vary at all even if Baldwin was a paragon of virtue.
As to SNL's funniness, that's in the eye of the beholder (and, effectively, the Nielsen Ratings).
Alec B is in Daily Caller just now looking angry subject of crazy = go away sir