I know, Donald, I know — people were convinced you were somehow kicking (or kicked off) the Twitter habit, and it's just that nobody would approve an international data plan for you while you were on your Big Adventure Abroad. I jest, of course (though your phone use is drawing a few security concerns[1]). Still, you were Twitter-silent while on your trip, and seem to be determined to make it up now that you're home (at least on your personal @RealDonaldTrump account — your @POTUS account has been kind of quiet).
Let's see what you're on about (tweets, as always, organized for topical clustering and an attempt at coherence).
===
Last night, you tweeted …
► Despite the constant negative press covfefe [4]
And, six hours later …
► Who can figure out the true meaning of "covfefe" ??? Enjoy! [5]
Okay, I can admit it — that was an authentically amusing, even self-deprecating comment. Bravo.
===
► Kathy Griffin should be ashamed of herself. My children, especially my 11 year old son, Barron, are having a hard time with this. Sick! [7]
Kathy Griffin's comedic holding up of a severed and blood-covered dummy head of you [10], Donald, was quite arguably tasteless, and certainly stretches public discourse and satire into territory I don't particularly want it to go. Humor hinting that violence should be part of our political and national culture is, to me, not funny.
Nor was it funny when lynching jokes and memes were made about Pres. Obama.
Ms Griffin has apologized (profusely). [11]
===
You retweeted Fox & Friends:
► Jared Kushner didn't suggest Russian communications channel in meeting, source says [3]
Well, we all know you can't trust news stories that come from anonymous "sources". We have that on good authority. [12]
► So now it is reported that the Democrats, who have excoriated Carter Page about Russia, don't want him to testify. He blows away their…….case against him & now wants to clear his name by showing "the false or misleading testimony by James Comey, John Brennan…" Witch Hunt! [6]
And yet another Fox & Friends story [13], though it's getting a fair amount of play elsewhere in the media at the moment. It's worth a few corrections [14] to your tweet, though, Donald:
— "It is reported" means "Page has written a public letter to the House Intelligence Committee saying staffers told him he "might not be immediately afforded the opportunity" to call Comey and Brennan liars."per our previously scheduled appointment for next week". I haven't actually seen any coverage that he actually was scheduled for next week, that he's been taken off the schedule, or that such scheduling was orchestrated by the Democrats, or why. [18]
— "blows away their case against him" means "Page was under investigation by the FBI last summer, including multiple FISA Court surveillance orders, the results of which have not yet been released" [15] and "doesn't really want to talk to the Senate Intelligence Committee" [16].
But thanks for sharing with us what Fox & Friends has to say about the whole thing. [19] I guess the only question to ask is, do you actually know Carter Page? [17]
===
► The U.S. Senate should switch to 51 votes, immediately, and get Healthcare and TAX CUTS approved, fast and easy. Dems would do it, no doubt! [2]
Except, y'know … they didn't.
The Democrats had a slender super-majority in the Senate in 2009, when the ACA was being thrashed out. They could have done so much more regarding national health insurance reform — ignoring the Blue Dogs, not worrying about getting few GOP votes — if they had simply changed the rules to a simple majority.
They didn't.
The Dems had a majority in the Senate until the 2014 election. There were a lot of times it would have been very convenient for them to abolish the cloture rules on ordinary legislation.
They didn't.
So your suggesting that "Dems would do it, no doubt," Donald, seems unfounded in what the Dems actually did.
And, yeah, if the GOP waved their hands and changed the US Senate rules, they could get stuff passed "fast and easy" (assuming they could get their own members in line). But the GOP Leadership seems cognizant that no party holds onto power indefinitely — and rules changes they make today might bite them in the butt after the mid-terms next year.
I just don't see them eager to do it, even if it would make your glorious legacy life easier, Donald.
And today …
► Hopefully Republican Senators, good people all, can quickly get together and pass a new (repeal & replace) HEALTHCARE bill. Add saved $'s. [8]
I thought you wanted to spend more on health insurance reform, Donald. [20]
===
► I will be announcing my decision on the Paris Accord over the next few days. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN! [9]
We're doomed.
No, but seriously, Donald — the Paris Accord (urged on you by all the other G7 states, as well as even industry folk like the CEO of Exxon) isn't about national "greatness" or some sort of "win". It's about the survival of our civilization, about trying to avert (or at least mitigate) conditions that could lead to the deaths of millions, if not billions.
If you actually do have concerns for Barron and your other children — that's how your "decision" should be influenced.
===
Your Social Media Minions also tweeted on your behalf about …
… giving a speech at Arlington Cemetary.
—-
[1] http://time.com/4798920/donald-trump-mobile-cell-phone/
[2] https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/869553853750013953
[3] https://twitter.com/foxandfriends/status/869458369903566848
[4] https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/869766994899468288
[5] https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/869858333477523458 #covfefe
[6] https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/869865463584620544, https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/869867413776601088
[7] https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/869874798087819264
[8] https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/869902591005741056
[9] https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/869903459511918592
[10] http://www.tmz.com/2017/05/31/kathy-griffin-secret-service-investigation-beheading-donald-trump/
[11] https://twitter.com/kathygriffin/status/869703678550171648
[12] https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/868807754231820291, https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/868810404335673344
[13] http://www.politico.com/story/2017/05/31/trump-democrats-carter-page-testify-238973
[14] https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2017/05/31/trump-defends-former-adviser-carter-page-once-again-declares-the-russia-investigation-a-witch-hunt/
[15] https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/fbi-obtained-fisa-warrant-to-monitor-former-trump-adviser-carter-page/2017/04/11/620192ea-1e0e-11e7-ad74-3a742a6e93a7_story.html
[16] https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2017/05/05/after-promising-to-cooperate-ex-trump-adviser-carter-page-doesnt-immediately-provide-russia-details-to-senate/
[17] http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/trump-defends-carter-page-whom-he-not-supposed-know
[18] http://www.politico.com/story/2017/05/24/carter-page-house-russia-hearing-date-238784
[19] http://talkingpointsmemo.com/dc/donald-trump-carter-page-witch-hunt-fox-friends
[20] https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/868979531641741313
#covfefe
The POTUS account hasn't been ENTIRELY quiet, but I assume that you've already covered this tweet in another entry.
https://twitter.com/POTUS/status/869204433418280961
I'm still imagining the moment when Barron Trump saw the photo.
"Mommy, can I go on the computer?"
"Yes, honey. What are you going to do?"
"I'm going to look up news about Kathy Griffin. She's my favorite comedian!"
"That sounds like a wonderful idea, Barron – uh, Barron? Is something wrong?"
And you have to wonder why President Trump didn't announce his Paris climate accord intentions while he was at the G7 summit, since he probably already knew what he was going to do. Perhaps he was afraid that Chancellor Merkel would take the air out of his golf cart tires.
(I get why Trump pre-announces BIG NEWS COMING LATER – it's an old habit from TV to pump up ratings during sweeps periods. But in terms of coverage, wouldn't he have gotten bigly press if he had made the announcement in front of the rest of the G7, rather than making the announcement in front of Jared Kushner and Steve Bannon? Maybe Ivanka or Kellyanne can put on a red wig and pretend to be Merkel during the announcement to add to the drama.)
#covfefe
https://plus.google.com/photos/…
+John E. Bredehoft Yeah, I noted that one in yesterday's installment of Tweetizen Trump.
Normally, though (though this is not normal), Trump has a bunch of is own stuff on @RDP and a few canned Social Media Minion posts, and the same or other Social Media Minion posts on @POTUS, with maybe a retweet of one of the @RDP. Currently, the latter account is nearly silent, vs the tweetstorm from @RDP.
this is covfefe
https://plus.google.com/photos/…
so is this
https://plus.google.com/photos/…
Well, there's a chance that it actually DID happen that way.
According to TMZ, which claims to get the story from Trump family sources:
"Barron Trump was watching television Tuesday at home with Melania when Kathy Griffin's photo appeared on the screen, and his initial reaction was that something terrible happened to his father.
"Trump family sources tell us Barron was in front of the TV watching a show when the news came on and he saw the bloody, beheaded image. We're told he panicked and screamed, "Mommy, Mommy!""
http://www.tmz.com/2017/05/31/barron-trump-thought-donald-beheaded-image-real/
+John E. Bredehoft I'm actually willing to accept the story was something like that. And, yeah, that's awful.
I don't recall a lot of conservative outrage over TV coverage of racist (and violent) imagery directed toward Barack Obama, or what impact it might be having on Sasha and Malia (arguably worse, given the racist component, but "worse" isn't meaningful here).