Tweetizen Trump – 2017-04-24 "Tax Reform! Wall! Fake/Good News Polls!

Hope you had a good weekend, Donald. Apparently it was a pretty Twittery one. What's tweet-rocking your world?

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► 'Presidential Executive Order on Identifying and Reducing Tax Regulatory Burdens' Executive Order: http://45.wh.gov/HirRFJ . [1]

This seems to be another of those "Make a big announcement about studying something" executive orders, Donald.[14] It's unclear which Obama-era 2016-2017 regs are being looked at, or why, just that they're all too complicated and unduly burdensome and stuff.

It's also unclear how this fits into your promised Tax Reform bill (below), unless it's simply more Action in lieu of Progress.

► Big TAX REFORM AND TAX REDUCTION will be announced next Wednesday. [3]

Of course, you also promised a "phenomenal" tax plan in a few weeks back in February … but this time for sure!

Word has it, Donald, that this announcement caught some of your team off-guard — which is, I suppose, a great way to stop leaks. Anyway, the BIG stuff will apparently be more along the line of "broad principles and priorities" around cutting tax rates for individuals, simplifying the tax system, and "making American businesses competitive" (i.e., lowering business tax rates, too).[15]

The question, of course, is how to actually pay for all of this, especially if you're looking at ballooning the Defense budget and increasing DHS/ICE/CBP spending with the Great Wall. And especially since word is that you won't be including any Border Adjustment Tax (BAT) this go-through.[16] It looks like you'll be operating under the standard GOP "dynamic scoring" — the trickle-down "voodoo economics" assumption that cutting taxes will actually boost the economy and therefore paradoxically boost tax revenue, making the tax cuts pay for themselves. It's a nifty theory, but experience (see Kansas most recently) and pretty much every expert (including the Congressional Budget Office) indicates it does't quite work that way.– and certainly not at the levels it sounds like your team is assuming in order to make all the math work.[17]

On the other hand, there are also indications that your team isn't worried about keeping tax cuts revenue neutral. That would mean they could only be temporary under congressional rules. Business uncertainty, Donald! We can't have that!

Interesting times ahead …

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► Today on Earth Day, we celebrate our beautiful forests, lakes and land. We stand committed to preserving the natural beauty of our nation. [4P]

A very noble sentiment, Donald.

But later …

► I am committed to keeping our air and water clean but always remember that economic growth enhances environmental protection. Jobs matter! [5]

So far be it from me to say that jobs don't matter, Donald, or that a healthy economy provides the money (if we have the will to spend it) to protect the environment.

But most of our environmental problems (not to mentione the never-to-be-mentioned climate change issues) come from focusing on jobs and, more importantly, corporate profits at the expense of the environment.

It strikes me, Donald, that issuing an Earth Day greeting with a caveat on the end that "jobs matter" is like issuing a Veterans Day greeting with a caveat on the end that "low taxes matter". Mixed messages, Donald.

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► Very interesting election currently taking place in France. [6]

Why, yes — yes it was. I'm dismayed to see your good buddy Marine Le Pen actually come in second in the voting, and thus actually stand a chance of winning in the run-off. Still, it's an inteersting contrast to Macron, the guy who actually placed first — pro-business, like you, but also pro-diplomacy and engagement with the world around his nation. I mean, how weird is that?

► Thank you Lake Worth, Florida. @foxandfriends . [7]

Which was also a weird one, Donald, for the uninitiated. Apparently Lake Worth is just a short ways away from Mar-a-Lago, and when word got out that a Fox News correspondent would be at a local book store reading from his book about Jackie Robinson, a bunch of locals in MAGA hats showed up and talked on camera about nifty you are.[19]

I'm not sure thanking people by Twitter for chanting your name on camera isn't a bit declasse, Donald — but you set your own rules, right?

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You retweeted Fox & Friends:

► Chicago approves new plan to hide illegal immigrants from the feds, plus give them access to city services [2]

So this is about a city ID card scheme being pursued by Chicago, similar to what San Francisco has done. [18]

The ID cards are available to all, not just illegal immigrants — including groups that have difficulty getting IDs, such as the homeless and former prison inmates. It would also be an ID that could be used by domestic violence victims who've had to leave their home but don't want official records showing their location. And because it allows self-identification of gender, it will be helpful for trans individuals.

The IDs are designed to help city residents get a unified ID card that can access city services, including transportation and the library. While the Fox article indicates is all about "illegal immigrants" being able to get "American jobs," I wasn't able to find anything about it that involved employers being able to use it in lieu of other IDs for employment.

And, yes, the city won't be sharing information with the Federal Government about who has cards, because they won't retain any information about it after the initial vetting.

So, yeah, I know it all sounds like Chicago is thumbing its nose at you, Donald (because, to some degree, it is). But I'd really look at it with a bit more care than the Fox News footage (which features a couple of people climbing over a really big wall — which brings us to …

► ObamaCare is in serious trouble. The Dems need big money to keep it going – otherwise it dies far sooner than anyone would have thought. [8]

Wait, what does the ACA have to do with immigration?

Ah. Because you're trying to broker a deal where the Dems approve money for the Great Wall, and you promise to not withhold federal risk-sharing payments to insurance companies under the ACA and cause it to have further problems. Classy!

► The Democrats don't want money from budget going to border wall despite the fact that it will stop drugs and very bad MS 13 gang members. [9]

Which is a remarkable way of accusing the Dems of being in favor of drugs and street gangs. As opposed to their simply thinking that the wall is a waste of money, that it's not going to be effective, and that holding the federal government's operating budget (and people's health insurance) hostage in order to get money to build it is a despicable act. I'm guessing it's probably more the latter Donald — especially since Senators and House members in border states and districts aren't backing your Great Wall plan right now … both Dems and Republicans.[20]

I mean, you've got Rep. Will Hurd (R-Tex), whose district runs along 40% of the US-Mexico Border, saying things like "Building a wall is the most expensive and least effective way to secure the border." You've got the Number 2 Republican in the Senate, John Cornyn of Texas, also declining to back the Wall at this point. [22]

I mean, I know you want that Big 100 Days Achievement, Donald — but is shutting down the government, embarrassing your party, and acting like a six-year-old really the right way to do it?

► Eventually, but at a later date so we can get started early, Mexico will be paying, in some form, for the badly needed border wall. [10]

"I will gladly pay you Tuesday for a hamburger today." It didn't work for Wimpy, Donald. It's not working for you.

And then, today …

► The Wall is a very important tool in stopping drugs from pouring into our country and poisoning our youth (and many others)! If [13]

Hey, Donald — know what's a great way to stop our youth from being poisoned by drugs? Make them not interested in drugs. [21]

But tell me, Donald — how much in the way of drug smuggling into this nation actually comes across unfenced portions of the Mexican border … and how much comes through other means? Because spending $25 billion on a wall that will only slow that drug smuggling down a little sounds like not a good way to spend our money.

Also, I think you hit Enter too soon, Donald. "If"?

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► New polls out today are very good considering that much of the media is FAKE and almost always negative. Would still beat Hillary in ……..popular vote. ABC News/Washington Post Poll (wrong big on election) said almost all stand by their vote on me & 53% said strong leader. [11]

I love, Donald, not just how you cherry-pick information you like, but how open you are about it. Polls are horrible! Polls are fake! ABC News/WaPo polls were wrong! Hey, here's a result from ABC News/WaPo I like! It must be real!

The poll results aren't all that promising, Donald:

'The president’s approval rating stands at 42 percent, the lowest recorded at this stage of a presidency dating to Dwight Eisenhower. Trump’s 53 percent disapproval rating is 14 percentage points higher than Bill Clinton’s 39 percent disapproval in April 1993, the worst before Trump. Eight years ago, then-president Barack Obama’s approval was 69 percent, his disapproval 26 percent.

The Post-ABC poll finds 43 percent of Americans said they strongly disapprove of Trump’s performance. That’s also the worst by far of any president since George H.W. Bush by more than double. In the spring of 1993, 21 percent said they strongly disapproved of Clinton’s performance.

On the other hand:

'There are no signs of major slippage in support among those who voted for Trump. His approval rating among those who cast ballots for him stands at 94 percent. Among Republicans, it is 84 percent. Asked of those who voted for him whether they regret doing so, 2 percent say they do, while 96 percent say supporting Trump was the right thing to do.When asked if they would vote for him again, 96 percent say they would, which is higher than the 85 percent of Hillary Clinton voters who say they would support her again.'

Those are the results you like, so they must be real, right, Donald?

► The two fake news polls released yesterday, ABC & NBC, while containing some very positive info, were totally wrong in General E. Watch! [12]

Yes, Donald. They're all fake news polls, except the parts with "very positive info."

The big question in my mind, Donald is … do you really believe this? Is it a grand media conspiracy, or just a demand for respect? Is it simply a message you're trying to push to your followers? Do you think they don't or won't see what you're doing?

It is a puzzlement.

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Your Social Media Minions also tweeted about …

… a freed Egyptian American charity worker, Aya Hijazi,[26] who had been imprisoned in Egypt (complete with a slick photo-montage and a "I'm Proud to Be an American" sound track[25]). Also, a retweet from Dan Scavino about it. Both also retweeted on the POTUS account.
… more coverage of your talking to the New England Patriots at the White House.
… your Weekly Address!
… a retweet from Fox & Friends about how much PM Netanyahu likes your policy changes.
… a retweet about the spring garden tour at the White House.
… going to visit Walter Reed Medical Center with Melania. [P]
… welcoming home VP Pence (with a retweet of his meeting with Aussie business and political leaders).
… a big rally in Pennsylvania next Saturday.
… the 109th anniversary of the US Army Reserve. (signed DJT)
… a retweet from NASA about your calling an American astronaut who's beaten the US record for total days in space [p]. Also a retweet from the International Space Station account about it, and a retweet from the White House about it.

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[1] https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/855582764418162690
[2] https://twitter.com/foxandfriends/status/855378584390647808
[3] https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/855817226078879748
[4] https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/855859245023211520
[5] https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/855901315305795584
[6] https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/856146924705120256
[7] https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/856147612952612864
[8] https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/856150719656755200
[9] https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/856171332521820165
[10] https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/856172056932700164
[11] https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/856233279841849344,
https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/856234989591121922
[12] https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/856481786938916865
[13] https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/856484873133060101
[14] https://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2017-04-21/mnuchin-says-2016-17-tax-rules-to-be-reviewed-under-trump-order
[15] http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-tax-trump-idUSKBN17O0KY
[16] https://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2017-04-22/trump-tax-plan-seen-as-temporary-cut-without-border-tax-revenue
[17] http://money.cnn.com/2017/04/24/news/economy/trump-tax-cuts-growth/
[18] http://chicago.suntimes.com/news/city-council-approves-municipal-id-after-emotional-debate/, http://www.npr.org/2017/04/22/525250841/city-municipal-id-cards-in-chicago-would-benefit-more-than-undocumented-groups, http://chicago.cbslocal.com/2017/04/19/id-program-for-immigrants-and-others-passes-chicago-city-council/
[19] http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/breaking-news/what-did-lake-worth-earn-trump-twitter-thanks/JojGis2XHUuRNLRRjDP9tM/
[20] https://www.wsj.com/articles/border-lawmakers-balk-at-donald-trumps-wall-request-1492802294
[21] http://www.abc.net.au/triplej/programs/hack/iceland-teen-substance-abuse/8208214
[22] https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/nearing-100-days-trumps-approval-at-record-lows-but-his-base-is-holding/2017/04/22/a513a466-26b4-11e7-b503-9d616bd5a305_story.html?utm_term=.2d1736882cb7
[23] http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/330180-trump-says-recent-fake-news-polls-contained-some-very-positive-info, http://www.politico.com/story/2017/04/24/trump-polls-fake-news-237520
[24] https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2017/04/24/4-reasons-trumps-border-wall-is-already-going-south-on-him/?utm_term=.fe35ef9b775a
[25] http://www.vox.com/world/2017/4/21/15389362/trump-video-aya-hijazi
[26] https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2017/04/21/who-is-aya-hijazi-the-american-freed-from-jail-in-egypt/?utm_term=.c53b8a89a61a

[P] Also so amazing that it had to be not just posted on RealDonaldTrump, but also posted on the official POTUS account.

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