Trumplandia: Dec. 28 — Jan. 4, 2020

The New Year’s Edition

APPROVAL ALERT AT PRESS TIME:
FiveThirtyEight Poll: 42.5% – down from 42.6% last week
Rasmussen Poll: 50% – up from 48% last week

Welcome to Trumplandia, a place where with a bit of wit and snark, we keep the world caught up on all of the tasty Nuggets-O-Trump you may have heard about but were too busy to care. Because most of this minutia occurs just below the massive headlines about the POTUS, it’s in a land of its own. Here, an infusion of social media, video clips and print media meld with our outdated political views to make more delicious “Fake News” about our Commander-in-Chief.

So just like the president, we start it all with a little tweet like this:

Bringing it in With a Bang!

The week of our Trump – Dec. 28, 2019: Do you remember that queasy, uneasy feeling you used to get whenever you woke to the reality that an Atlantic City conman, a reality TV star, a failed owner of a Summer professional football team was now running our country?

That feeling haunted me for easily a year or so before I found an outlet for my angst. My outlet allowed me to be at ease even though our democratic republic was being destroyed by this same peach colored, septuagenarian who hates democracy, immigrants, minorities and the needy.

Afterall, a new year was ahead of us and the billionaire president had been impeached, what could he possibly do from his resort before returning to work at the White House?

The answer made the sinking feelings of 2017 seem like a celebration.

On the second day of 2020, his 1,078th day in office, Donnie the faux gangster, decided to call in a hit on one of our rivals while at the same time sending us closer to world war. You can imagine, he didn’t have proper permission.

On the evening of Jan. 2 the Pentagon and Trump approved a drone strike at the Baghdad International Airport that killed Iranian Quds Force Commander Qasem Soleimani without notifying many members of Congress and without consulting with our allies in the region fanning fears the attack my have been half-backed and reckless.

The precision strike came just days after Iranian backed protestors stormed the U.S. Embassy compound in Iraq on New Year’s Eve, breaking windows and doors as well as shouting “Death to America” and scrawling graffiti on the walls of the compound. The very public demonstration was in response to U.S. air strikes in Iraq and Syria that killed 25 alleged Hashd fighters. Those strikes were a response to the Dec. 27 attacks on a U.S. contractor and an Iraqi federal police officer near Kirkuk, Iraq.

Annoyed and possibly embarrassed at the destructive protest, President Trump tweeted to 4:19 p.m. on New Year’s Eve a warning to the protestors and/or proxy soldiers as if they were residents living in Trump owned residential living facility – it was ominous:

“Iran will be held fully responsible for lives lost or damage incurred, at any of our facilities. They will pay a very BIG PRICE! This is not a Warning, it is a Threat. Happy New Year!”

Soleimani, a U.S. foe for decades and the top general in Iran, died during the drone strike, that killed him and Iraqi militia commander Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, took out two cars and wounded about nine other people.

The killing of both officials came without warning and worried many around the world that an such provocative act of war could be ordered by Trump without first considering future strategy and how it would impact the world. Trump, a prolific user of social media, only posted the picture of an American flag just prior to the drone strike at 9:32 p.m. EST.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the assassination was necessary to thwart a large-scale attack allegedly being planned. Called reckless by Iraqi officials, the attack was said to have violated international rules by killing a high ranking official in another sovereign nation without warning or clearance.

Iraq’s prime minister said the hit also violated the agreement between the country and the U.S. that calls for American soldiers to remain in the country. He called for American troops to be expelled from Iraq. International leaders did not believe claims for the Trump administration this the strike was necessary and an act of self-defense.

Trump addressed the killing of Soleimani and al-Muhandis during a press conference yesterday at his Florida resort. He said the end result of the strike was to “stop a war.” He said long time enemy Soleimani should have been killed in the past.

“What the United States did yesterday (Thursday) should have been done long ago. A lot of lives would have been saved,” Trump said in his trademark glib, remorseless fashion. “We took action last night to stop a war. We took action last night to stop a war. We did not take action to start war. Soleimani was plotting imminent and sinister attacks on American diplomats and military personal, but we caught him in the act and terminated him.”

The Pentagon had already deployed 3,000 troops to the Middle East, along with 650 others who were sent during the protests outside of the U.S. embassy in Baghdad. The Immediate Response Force brigade of the 82nd Airborne Division had been sent to Kuwait and are expected to inhabit the region for at least the next 60 days.

The assassination has pleased some Iraqi’s but forced Iran to threaten retaliation. Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei paid tribute to the Soleimani as a “martyr,” and promised to exact a harsh revenge against the United States. In fact, such a murder, essentially means all U.S. diplomats and leaders anywhere and their allies are subject to a retaliatory strike by Iran.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D- Ca.) said the move could indeed provoke retaliation in the region, she said the attack risks escalating tensions. She wondered why Congress was not informed about the intention to kill the Iranian official?

Yesterday Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) also criticized the strike, stating he thought it could lead to escalated hostilities in the already volatile region and endanger U.S. soldiers. Meanwhile, some wondered if Trump had briefed his children and family about his plans to strike the Iranian leaders between a meatloaf meal and scoops of ice cream desert.

Reports in the Daily Beast suggest while on vacation at Mar-a-Lago, Trump may have immaturely bragged about the planned attack for days before it was carried out. Many interviewed said Trump kept teasing major military action in the region and continually teased his guests to wait, “you’ll see.”

Concerned about why it appears the aristocrats and guests of the President received more warning than world leaders and Congress, some were further dismayed the sophomoric world leader from New York may have first leaked news of the attack to his family.

Although the above tweet took place after Marines were dispatched to Baghdad, some worried Trump’s middle son’s braggadocio may have come after learning of the imminent attack that was to take place days later. Casually shared on Twitter, the tweet was later deleted by Eric Trump.

Unlike his sister Ivanka, and brother-in-law Jared Kushner, Eric Trump is not a federal employee.

I Petty the Fools

Former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine Bill Taylor

Vindictive President Donald Trump did his version of witnesses intimidation months ago when the likes of Fiona Hill, Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman and Ambassador Bill Taylor all testified before Congress during the impeachment inquiry in the House of Representatives.

All three diplomats, who shared their memories of the July 25th telephone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and the circumstances that led up to the call, were drubbed in social media as being less than patriotic for sharing what they knew of the White House’s dealings with the former eastern bloc nation under oath.

Usually lauded for telling the truth and upholding their civic duty, the three were instead subjected to death threats and taunts after they exposed the shakedown of Ukraine by Trump, his personal attorney Rudolph Giuliani, and several members of the President’s inner circle. Their testimonies were some of the strongest testimony that ultimately led to Trump becoming the third president in history to be impeached.

Hill left the administration last July, just ahead of Trump and Zelensky’s call. She had signed on with the National Security Council in 2017 as a Russian analyst specializing in providing insight on President Vladimir Putin. Her testimony in November of last year dispelled right wing conspiracy theories about Ukraine’s alleged role in election interference.

Vindman, an Iraq War vet who was called “human scum” by the President after testifying in October about secret dealings in the Ukraine in the search for dirt on Democratic presidential front-runner Joe Biden, found out he was canned just before Veterans Day. His removal from the National Security Council was the end result of what had been a devastating time for he and his family who dealt with mean tweets from Trump and his trolls.

This week it was Bill Taylor’s turn to leave his post.

The U.S. diplomat to Ukraine and key witness in the impeachment hearings, was told he had to hand over his duties before Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s planned meeting in the Ukraine, which was slated for Jan 3 – 7. Termed a “Never Trumper” by the President, Taylor, who was hand-picked for the Ukrainian job by Pompeo, announced his resignation on Jan. 2, just ahead of the planned trip.

The Wall Street Journal reported that Ulrich Brechibuhl, an aide to Pompeo, told Taylor that the Secretary of State did not want to be photographed with him during his planned visit and that he should resign on Jan. 2 so their paths never crossed. Taylor obliged and resigned ahead of the planned meeting.

Ironically, Pompeo’s trip the Ukraine, Belarus, Kazakhstan and other former Soviet Union nations, was cancelled following the killing of Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani later that day.