This past week was a bit quieter in some respects, but only because the consequences of some events are still playing out, and the groundwork for others is still being laid.
So, here’s a rundown of the past week or so in Trump news:
* Despite how much attention Trump brings to Twitter, the company had a bad quarter with lousy earnings, which precipitated a stock plunge. Sad!
* Trump Counselor Kellyanne Conway claimed she couldn't do any Sunday talk shows because of "family." CNN called her out, noting that the administration has offered to have her appear on Jake Tapper's _State of the Union_ that day, but the network turned her down. To be fair, I guess being turned down by CNN is kind of embarrassing.
* On Wednesday, Trump made the bizarre claim that the murder rate in the US is at its highest in 47 years. This is not true--not even close.
* Kellyanne Conway also invented the "Bowling Green Massacre," a thing which absolutely did not happen. Fun fact, though: a white supremacist [planned to create one](https://www.democracynow.org/2017/2/10/white_supremacists_linked_to_the_real).
* Trump doubled (tripled? quadrupled?) down on his Muslim ban, which may now reach the Supreme Court since the administration keeps appealing its now nationwide suspension.
* Republicans, once so gung-ho about repealing Obamacare, are now looking to "repair" it. Perhaps they've finally gotten acquainted with what the law actually does?
* Iran tested a ballistic missile, so the US imposed sanctions. This seems like the most "normal" thing to have happened all week.
* Evidently, chief advisor (and former _Breitbart_ shit-shoveler) Steve Bannon's elevation to the National Security Council was embedded in an executive order that Trump didn't even read, and Trump has been none too happy about noticing the strings attached to his back by noted Darth Vader fan Bannon.
* Trump, of course, claimed any allegations of having a puppetmaster were "FAKE NEWS."
* Betsy DeVos is now our Secretary of Education. God help us all. Especially the children.
* And Jeff Sessions is now Attorney General. Insert similar sentiments. He sucks.
* Trump tweeted during a security briefing that Nordstrom's shouldn't have dropped daughter Ivanka's clothing line. Kellyanne Conway did her part by publicly exhorting people to buy Ivanka's stuff to make her happy again. For those keeping track, this is super inappropriate behavior by a public official.
* _Saturday Night Live_ seems to be experiencing a renaissance thanks to Trump, at least. First, Alec Baldwin found the role of a lifetime in lampooning the President. Then, Melissa McCarthy killed it as Press Secretary Sean Spicer. Now, it seems we might get Rosie O'Donnell playing Steve Bannon, although the skeletal figure they have playing him now does a credible job.
Sources: The New Republic, New York Times,
Photo by DHuiz 