This past week wasn’t the complete trainwreck that has characterized Trump’s previous weeks in office. This is not a good sign.
It was a notable week precisely because of how non-notable it was. Compared to his first month in office, last week was practically a breeze for Trump. No major scandals erupted. New executive orders and other actions came through which, while eliciting derision, weren’t blatantly illegal in conception or implementation. In other words, he used his Presidential power more or less how it’s supposed to be used, rather than how he wishes it could be used.
To cover the major points of the past week:
* Trump held a weird really on Saturday.
* The Associated Press reported that the White House was considering mobilizing up to 100,000 National Guard troops to round up immigrants, which the White House immediately denied.
* He flew to Melbourne, Florida to hold a rally that was apparently meant to kick off his 2020 campaign.
* Trump claimed a terrorist attack had occurred in Sweden. (It hadn't.)
* Vice President Mike Pence went to the Munich Security Conference and essentially promoted a status quo attitude to our allies, which is weird since Trump has promised virtually everything _but_ status quo. Suffice it to say, probably nobody believed him.
* The US ambassador to Somalia gave the Somali President a "Make Somalia Great Again" hat. You can't make this stuff up, folks.
* Trump finally came out against anti-Semitism, despite _months and months_ of it being brought to his attention and him dismissing it or calling it an unfair issue to question him on.
* On a similar note, Press Secretary Sean Spicer attacked the Anne Frank Center for criticizing Trump's inadequate comments against anti-Semitism, upset that the Center refused to acknowledge Trump's "leadership" on this issue.
* Trump endorsed Keith Ellison, who is running to head up the Democratic National Committee, no doubt to sink his chances.
* Trump got rid of Obama's transgender directive, which required schools to accommodate the bathroom needs of transgender students. It's such a petty move to placate conservatives and fundamentalists that it beggars belief.
* Trump called his immigration policy a "military operation." Hours later, the Director of Homeland Security stated that it's not.
* The White House held a press "gaggle" on Friday, in place of the usual daily briefing, and forbade the New York _Times_, Politico, CNN, Buzzfeed, BBC, the _Daily Mail_, and others from attending--all outlets which have been critical of Trump. This bodes well.
What will next week bring? Oh, I can hardly wait.
Source: The New Republic, The Guardian