BAD BAD WEEK FOR THE TRUMP REVOLUTION

Nothing seem to go right in week three of the Trump Revolution. The centerpieces of his get America White Again and for an Imperial Presidency took several knocks as chaos raged, not in the political square where Bannon wanted it, but rather within the Whitehouse. Without a doubt the biggest setback was the US 4th Circuit Court of Appeals decision that kept in place the temporary ban on his controversial Executive Order. The latter was designed to block entry to citizens of seven predominantly Muslim States to America who had legitimate Visas and even US Residency permits.  To add insult to injury his handpicked Supreme Court nominee, Justice Gorsuch, found his attacks on the Judiciary “demoralizing and disheartening”. 

The revelations that his second closest advisor General Flynn had discussed the sanctions on Putin with the Russian Ambassador, prior to Trump’s assumption of the Presidency threatened a major scandal. Trump's much vaunted deportation policy got off to a raucous start. Adding to his woes his financial policy to enforce America’s new isolationism seem to come adrift when it became obvious that his border tax could not fly and all his numbers could not add up. The stock market rocketed on the belief that his much vaunted border tax was not going to fly. The usual collection of outright lies cropped up and there was so much more……

FOREIGN POLICY

His bellicose foreign policy was unceremoniously modified as he backtracked on demanding "something in return" for a “One China” policy and he meekly conceded the point in a call to the Chinese Premier. A very sensible backdown especially, as even he has worked out that any hope of subduing North Korea is going to need China. Reversing the Iran deal as has the Mexican payment for the wall have not been mentioned for some time. The Israeli policy has changed materially - settlements not helpful, US Embassy in Jerusalem on hold and he will brief Abbas after meeting Bibi. Most significantly the meeting with the Japanese Premier went by without one insult. 

Maybe, even the wicked world victimizes poor America, Trump and Bannon are going to concentrate on messing up America.

THE APPEAL COURT DISASTER

It could not have been worse, following on a devastating ruling by a lower court on his Executive Order on halting travel from seven predominantly Muslim countries, the POTUS was hit with a twenty nine page ruling continuing the ban on the implementation of his Executive Order. Trump followed up his initial belittling of the Justices by crying that it was a political decision. This in the teeth of the fact that two of the four Judges involved in the two decisions were appointed by Republican Presidents. The proceedings as well as the 29 page Judgement brought out many shortcomings of the new regime. 

Firstly, it illustrated a basic lack of comprehension of the Constitution as The Donald had maintained that he had unfettered powers to do what he liked. Then apparently his legal support, if there was any, seemed unaware that they could provide the Federal Judges with information, that was sealed, as to why the ban seemed necessary. (Remember there were amicus communications from previous Secretaries of State, Intelligence and Military Officials who believed that this was not only uncalled for but would have the opposite effect of securing the country’s safety). So all the court had on this gravest threat to security where no citizen from any of the seven countries had caused any death in America since 1970 were reassurances from previous Secretaries' of State, military and intelligence personel that Trump’s ban was unnecessary and counterproductive. 

Trump’s counsel then conceded that had the Executive Order flat out designated a ban on Muslims rather than countries that it would have been illegal. Having recognized that the POTUS had a hopeless case he stated that if the Appeal Court would not allow the whole Executive Order to go forward they should just restrict those that weren’t legal residents and weren’t returning to America on valid visas. In fact, the President’s lawyer argued, that the President’s Counsel had changed the order to effect this. This bizarre suggestion was met with answer that it was not possible to say that the order was not what it said it was and that the President’s Counsel was not entitled to change it. The Judges added rather, untrustingly, that if they accepted that argument what was to stop the President and or his Counsel changing what it meant again? (The Court is apparently unaware that this is the modus operandi of the Trump administration - he says something outrageous and then teams of apologists come out the next day and interpret “what he really said”, In fact Jay H. Ell is surprised that The Donald wasn’t represented by Kellanne Conway his leading advocate. She would have redirected the Court to what Hillary Clinton did in the State Department and enquired why the Court couldn’t focus on all the positive things the POTUS had done!)

Now the President and his new Justice Department are not on the same page illustrating the incompetence of his administration. Trump brags he will win in court while the latter want him to scrap his order and start all over again. Admit defeat Donald they are suggesting. Also being mooted is appealing directly to the Supreme Court. Whatever  they dream up there are two facts still out there that won’t go away - The Donald’s ongoing campaign promise to ban all Muslims from entering America and the fact that he is going to have to provide the judiciary, under seal, his reasons for this draconian order. 

CHARITY BEGINS IN TRUMP TOWERS

The legendary Richard J. Daley Mayor of Chicago, who was involved in many corruption scandals, was credited with maintaining if you can’t help your family who can you help?  Forty years later Daley has found a disciple in the POTUS. Amongst the many ethical problems he faces he added another one by unashamedly misusing his Presidential clout to attack a retail company, Nordstrom, for not renewing a contract with his daughter Ivanka’s for her clothing line. Nordstrom claimed, like TJMAX and Marshalls, that the line was not going well. Trump tweeted that his daughter had been treated unfairly - terrible!. More egregious than this was the official POTUS account retweeted Trump’s nepotism giving it an official stamp. His ever faithful glib lapdog Kellyanne Conway then went on Fox News and exhorted everyone to go out and buy Ivanka’s clothing.  This flagrant breech of Federal regulations by a Federal employee finally shook the Republican leader of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, Jason Chaffetz, to shove off a referral to the White House and Government Office of Ethics, calling her behavior inappropriate and over the line. Needless to say in spite of his Press Secretary , Sean Spicer, claiming that the indefatigable Kellyanne had been “counseled”, The Donald, walked that back and gave his full unconditional support for his lady in waiting.

IT ONLY GETS WORSE ON THE HOME FRONT

Donald J.Trump Jnr. got himself into a big real mess as his father, the senior, before him was want to do. It is the family tradition to bale out sons even if the law is not quite followed. The Jnr’s manufacturing company, Titan Atlas, situated in North Charleston, degenerated into a total shambles and was bought out by a company D. C. Pace that coincidentally was owned by Donald J. Trump Snr. The price paid was a generous $3.65 million which just happened to be the sum his son owed the bank for the Company.

The Titan Atlas site was polluted with chemicals and D. C. Pace applied for South Carolina State assistance for the cost of cleaning it up. Before receiving aid the company must declare no involvement in the property or with its former owner which of course it did. This week the State of South Carolina declined D. C. Pace’s request. 

DEPORTATION OF “ILLEGALS”

Trump’s next stab at Making America White again having been stalled by the Federal Court he moved onto another component,  namely, the deportation of eleven million “browns”. The sordid story of the first deportation needs to be detailed because it portends of what is to come. 

Ms. Guadelupe Garcia de Rayos is a thirty  - five year old undocumented Mexican who is the mother of two teenage girls who are American citizens. She has been in the country for twenty one years. Ten years ago she used a false social security number so to be able to work. Subsequently she was caroled in by the zealous Sheriff Arpaio who was recently voted out as Sheriff in Arizona. There is an appeal against her conviction on technical grounds. 

In view of the nature of her non violent crime, she contended she needed to work to support her American children, she was told to visit the Immigration and Customs Department every six months which she dutifully did. However this time she was unceremoniously bundled into a black, (sic ), mariah and her America daughter was told to pack a bag of her belongings post haste. The iconic photo of her terrified face peering through the caged netting was reminiscent to me of the Black South Africans who were rounded up by the apartheid government as they too had no permits to work in the city. Her articulate daughter gave a painful rendition of how aching it was to pack her bag and chose what to put in or leave out. “No daughter should ever have to go through what I went through”.

Ms. de Rayos's arrest precipitated protests which are still ongoing in Phoenix and there have been several arrests. Good job Donald only 10,999,999 to go before America is nearly White Again.

FLYNN AND MOTHER RUSSIA

Both the New York Times and the Washington Post ran stories that Trump’s National Security Advisor, Mike Flynn had discussed Obama’s sanctions on Russia with the Russian Ambassador prior to his boss inauguration. The implications are massive as it is yet one other shoe that has dropped in the saga of Russia’s hacking and Putin helping to get Trump elected President. There are currently investigations underway which just has to connect the dots and this will be the scandal to end all scandals. Flynn who is coupled with the chief oddball Bannon as one of the two men closest to the POTUS, has extensive connections to Russia.

The allegations of the content of Flynn’s inappropriate communications with Russia have previosly been denied. The Trump Administration believed it important enough to trot out Vice President Mike Pence, Chief of Staff Reince Priebus and Press Secretary Sean Spicer all to confirm that Flynn did not abridge the Logan Act which forbids unauthorized citizens from having negotiations with foreign governments which are having disputes with America. The internal friction in the Trump Administration as a result of this development has leaked into the media as one might expect as his administration is leaking like a sieve.

Jay H. Ell has to guess they are going to throw Flynn under the bus.

AND THE REST

Then there were the run of the mill lies all faithfully documented by fact checkers. The fraudulent voter story expanded now to include a million or so voters bussed in from Massachusetts to New Hampshire to vote for Hillary. Then the murder rate is at its highest ever and so forth and so on. This is such obvious insanity that it has lead a few pundits to question the POTUS’S sanity. Bernie Sanders has maintained that a number of Republicans have questioned Trump's sanity. Al Franken the Minnesota Senator has just outright called him a pathological liar.  

Then there is the wall cost which is now estimated to be up to be twenty five billion dollars and would take nearly Trump’s whole first term to build….. (Gonna need Mexican labor!)

All and all a bad week for Trump but if you tell him he will deny this and the polls. As Hitler once said when he was debriefed in the bunker, “Don’t bring me defeatist statistics”.

PAUSE FOR THOUGHT.

Only two hundred and five weeks to go.