I have been watching too much cable news lately and someone sent me a copy of “Fire and Fury” which reports Trump and has campaign team were careless because they were sure he was going to lose. I watched the 55-minute meeting with Trump and some members of the U.S. Senate and it seemed a bipartisan fix on DACA with the president’s support was in the works. Then, someone changed his mind and the president uttered nasty racist words about some immigrants and their country of origin, and we had a government shutdown, now temporarily resolved. A lot to digest in the last days of Trump’s first year in office and the first weeks of his second year. After listening to so many experts express their opinions, here’s my take on these wild events.
Trump is neither stupid nor smart. Much of what he tweets and says is meant to rev up his base. Maybe that’s crafty. But many of his actions are stupid and land him in trouble and always in the news. Maybe that’s what he wants. To be the headline even though the news is negative. For example, in his interview with Lester Holt on NBC news, Trump said the real reason he fired FBI Director James Comey was because he wouldn’t pledge loyalty to Trump nor would he promise to give up on the Russian investigation. That was stupid because it led to the appointment of special counsel Robert Mueller and provided some evidence of Trump trying to obstruct justice. But his base loved it because it showed their man could push people around, even the head of the FBI.
When Trump has his racist rants and actions he is only making his base happy while demeaning the presidency and the people he serves.
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The best analysis of Trump was from the ghost writer of “The Art of the Deal.” He warned that the biggest danger of a Trump presidency was that the man was a narcissist. The most important thing in Trump world is Trump. He, the man, is more important than the office of the president, more important than the Constitution, more important than any tradition. He has no use for history or political analysis or even briefing papers. Because his own instinct is the best. He believes he is a genius, a salesman, the best negotiator. He doesn’t waste any time worrying about what decisions to make. He leaves that to staff. He says one thing and then changes his mind the next day. He is erratic.
What bugs him the most are questions about the legitimacy of his election. He doesn’t want it to be proven that the Russians played a critical role in providing voters in key areas with false information which in turn led to his electoral victory. The San Francisco Chronicle summed it up in a Jan. 19 editorial, “His lone legislative accomplishment, a tax cut, divides us by other means, punishing states that voted for his opponent and undermining health coverage for those of modest means ... . His environmental policies have perpetuated divisions which should have faded ... . It’s no wonder this president already faces unprecedented unpopularity, portends of political backlash and an investigation that has ensnared a former campaign chairman and his first national security adviser. What’s next? Unfortunately with hundreds of channels but only one country, we have no choice but to stay tuned.”
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The pope has likened the tellers of fake news to the snake in the Garden of Eden. Fox cable is full of snakes spinning tales of an FBI hoax on the Trump Russian investigation.
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I received a call from former San Carlos mayor Don Eaton about an activity he has nurtured over the past 19 years. It’s called San Carlos Week of the Family. The idea is to provide fun activities for the entire family, parents and kids. It started Jan. 26 and ends Feb. 3 and includes a free night at the Hiller Aviation Museum, a three-hour volunteer stint for a teenager and parent at the Second Harvest Food Bank, a cooking school, a family hike, service opportunities for middle school students at a local senior living facility, a downtown scavenger hunt and a concert by Purple Fox and the Heebie Jeebies. Check it out at sancarlosweekofthefamily.org.
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Congratulations to Assemblyman Kevin Mullin, D-South San Francisco, and wife Jessica on the birth of twin boys!
Sue Lempert is the former mayor of San Mateo. Her column runs every Monday. She can be reached at sue@smdailyjournal.com.
Sue- let me guess, you are still with her. You know the one that coordinated with the DNC to oust any chance of Bernie getting the nomination. The one who used unsecured communication and then smashed and/or wiped clean devices when under a seriously inadequate interview by the FBI. The one whose campaign paid $12 million for a phony dossier that was used to get a FISA warrant to spy on the Trump campaign and finally the one whose foundation got $145 million in bribes when handing over 20% of the US Uranium supply. This country dodged a bullet not electing the criminal Hillary. We are now draining the swamp and none of us knew just how smelly and how ugly the creatures are that are being exposed by shining a light into Washington DC. Yes Sue- we do read and that is why president Trump won is a landslide, you might want to get on the right side of history and stop showing your support for the swamp and the creatures that inhabit it.
When I read Sue Lempert's excellent column yesterday, I couldn't help but wondering what the regular anti-column objectionist Mr. Conway would come up with this time, to again demonstrate that he didn't have a clue to what the points of the column were. Sure enough, came through as usual with some utter nonsense. As predictable as Trump's lies.
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Sue- let me guess, you are still with her. You know the one that coordinated with the DNC to oust any chance of Bernie getting the nomination. The one who used unsecured communication and then smashed and/or wiped clean devices when under a seriously inadequate interview by the FBI. The one whose campaign paid $12 million for a phony dossier that was used to get a FISA warrant to spy on the Trump campaign and finally the one whose foundation got $145 million in bribes when handing over 20% of the US Uranium supply. This country dodged a bullet not electing the criminal Hillary. We are now draining the swamp and none of us knew just how smelly and how ugly the creatures are that are being exposed by shining a light into Washington DC. Yes Sue- we do read and that is why president Trump won is a landslide, you might want to get on the right side of history and stop showing your support for the swamp and the creatures that inhabit it.
When I read Sue Lempert's excellent column yesterday, I couldn't help but wondering what the regular anti-column objectionist Mr. Conway would come up with this time, to again demonstrate that he didn't have a clue to what the points of the column were. Sure enough, came through as usual with some utter nonsense. As predictable as Trump's lies.
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Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who make comments.
Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
Don't threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Anyone violating these rules will be issued a warning. After the warning, comment privileges can be revoked.