The Trump Administration may have ended 2017 with a bang (passage of tax bill) but 2018 began with a bust. It has been a little over a year since Donald Trump was sworn in as President, and he has already racially insulted countries, reneged on his “bill of love” promise, and blamed the Democrats for the recent government shutdown. On top of all of that, it was revealed that he had a year long sexual affair with a porn star who goes by the name “Stormy Daniels”. The Political Great Whine can hardly keep up with everything that is going on in the Trump White House, but this post will quickly discuss some highlights of the first three weeks of January 2018.
“S-hole” vs “S-house”
After becoming frustrated with Congress members during a discussion about protection for immigrants from Africa, Haiti, and El Salvador, Trump called the countries “shithole countries”. According to the Washington Post, the President asked “Why are we having all these people from shithole countries come here?” The uttering of such ignorance by Trump comes as no surprise to those who have long given up on expecting him to act “presidential”. However, it is the nonchalance of his staff, his “base”, and fellow Republicans that is really concerning. After a few days, a couple of Republican lawmakers who were in the meeting attempted to clarify Trump’s comments by saying that they did not recall him saying “shit-hole countries but that he said “shit-house countries”. Well, as many have already pointed out, it is the FIRST part of the adjective used to describe African and Caribbean countries that is troubling. Whether or not “hole” or “house” followed the s-word is irrelevant. To add insult to injury, Trump followed his insult by asking out loud why the United States was not doing more to get people from countries like Norway. Still, many Republicans were either silent or defended him by saying things like “The President may have used harsh language, but he believes that people should come here based on merit…” or “What the President meant is that the United States should be getting the “best” people.” The most troubling thing about all of this, is the large number of everyday working-class Americans who agree with Trump that African and Caribbean countries are indeed s-holes or s-houses!
It is interesting that many of the people who think Trump was right in referring to African and Caribbean countries as s-holes/s-houses have no problem traveling to those places on cruises or going on African safaris. In fact, trips to those very countries are considered “dream vacations”! Millions of Americans travel to those countries every year looking to take advantage of the poor economy and get valuable, hand-made items for cheap. Then they return to the United States to sell those items for four or five times what they paid for it. Now THAT is a shit-hole thing to do. Oh wait a minute, the Political Great Whine is getting an epiphany! If skilled craftsmen from those countries who lack formal education but have amazing skills are no longer allowed to come to the United States to sell their skills for decent wages, then corporations and travelers can continue to exploit them and earn major profits off of their backs. Got it. That makes sense, after all Donald Trump is a businessman which is what the voters wanted. He may not be an honest businessman or have integrity, but then again…rich businessmen seldom do. It is just interesting that some Americans think that such qualities are befitting for a president.
To be fair the leadership in many African and some Caribbean countries are indeed corrupt and should not be allowed to lead the beautiful countries and people that they are robbing. Wait a minute, THAT sounds like another country I know.
The Government Shutdown and a DACA Deal
Democrats and Republicans could not agree on a bill to fund the federal government by the end of the day Friday, January 19th so the government was shutdown over the weekend. Since most federal workers and services are closed on the weekends, no one was harmed. On Monday, January 22nd, an agreement was reached and legislation to fund the government for a few more weeks was signed. The debate is over the provisions for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) participants who are known as “Dreamers”. Hence the name “deferred action” the policy allows the children of illegal immigrants to receive a two-year reprieve from deportation. This deferred action must be renewed every two years. In September 2017, President Trump issued an executive order to end the DACA program which meant no new applications are being accepted and the permit for existing recipients is set to expire in March 2018. Congress must now draft legislation to permanently protect these dreamers or else they will be forced to leave the United States to go to a country they may not know. To be fair, DACA was supposed to be a temporary solution that was established by President Obama via a 2012 executive order, so it really is time for Congress to create a permanent one. In all honesty, Democrats should have been working a permanent solution for Dreamers right after Trump won the general election because his agenda has always been to just undo everything that President Obama did.
After a brief shutdown, the government is now open for business. It will be interested to see what Democrats and Republicans will agree on regarding the Dreamers.
…And the Forecast for Trump is — Stormy Weather
If all of the above is not enough for the first month of 2018, it was revealed that Trump cheated on the First Lady back in 2006 with a porn star who goes by the name “Stormy Daniels”. Trump’s personal lawyer reportedly paid her $130,000 just one month before the presidential election to keep quiet about Trump’s infidelity. Little did he know that she had already sang like a canary to In Touch magazine in 2011. While most voters may not be giving this much attention, Melania Trump has taken notice. It was reported that, in celebration of her one year anniversary as First Lady, she shared a photo of herself with a handsome military cadet rather than her husband. Also, she was originally scheduled to travel with Trump to Davos, Switzerland for support and also to celebrate their wedding anniversary…but she cancelled and the President will be traveling alone with just his staff. Who can blame her? After all, according to Stormy, she and Trump began their affair just four months after Melania gave birth to their son.
Wow…if Trump could not be loyal to any of his wives, then why should Americans expect him to be loyal to them? If former presidents, Barack Obama or George W. Bush, had cheated with a porn star before they became president…the country would be in a tizzy! In the case of Obama, Democrats would have disowned him and the Republicans would have impeached him. It is very interesting how news of marital infidelity with a porn star would have been very damaging to prior presidents, but it is quite acceptable for Trump. It is the position of the Political Great Whine that this sort of thing should be dealt with privately between the couple involved anyway, but in politics…there is always a blurred line between your public and private life. Ironically though, it is Trump’s private life that he made public which catapulted him to the presidency (e.g. his business, his well-raised children, etc.). In fact, his supporters often say that he acts like regular folk…just like them. Well if regular Americans are loudmouth liars and cheaters, then this country has a lot more to worry about than the economy.
Thanks for “listening” to me whine. Hopefully my whining has made you think. If so, tell your friends/family/colleagues that you heard it through the Political Great Whine!
politicalgreatwhine.com 