President Trump probably didn’t write out this whole document. My guess is that he ranted and snarled into some sort of recording device, probably banging the table every now and then to really make a point, and then some minions typed it all up and made sure everything was spell-checked and arranged into some coherent order.
A great deal of it re-litigates his first impeachment. Lots of details I take issue with, but this is an especially interesting one.
Fortunately, there was a transcript of the conversation taken, and you know from the transcript (which was immediately made available) that the paragraph in question was perfect.
Actually, it wasn’t a transcript that was made available. It was an informal summary. The documents that described the call to Ukraine President Zelensky were not made public. They were instead placed on a super-duper top secret server.
White House lawyers allegedly buried records of the call in a highly classified “super secret” server reserved for information regarding covert operations and other sensitive intelligence actions.
To my knowledge, the documents that were stored there have never been made public. The information that was released on the “perfect” call was 1. not released until after people were tipped off on the call by the whistleblower and 2. the summary was quite enough to caused shock and outrage across the country. I mean, why would someone who made a “perfect” call not wish to share all of the details with the world?
This is a big problem with the whole assertion that the President was innocent. The document asserts that Special Counsel Robert Mueller didn’t find any evidence, that the whole case against Trump was a matter of “Trump Derangement Syndrome.” Actually, Mueller found a great deal of Obstruction of Justice. Trump was very energetically hiding whatever he could. Again, not the action one would expect from an innocent man.
More due process was afforded to those accused in the Salem Witch Trials.
Nothing prevented the Trump Administration from publishing information on their own that would have exonerated them. When the Republican-led Senate refused to allow much in the way of testimony, the Trump Administration could have used a wide variety of forums in which they could have presented their case. It’s hardly the fault of the Democratic Party that Trump refused to do so.
A few claims by the off-going, one-term President:
7 million new jobs; the lowest-ever unemployment for African Americans, Hispanic Americans, and Asian Americans
Yes, Barack Obama left the economy in good shape at the beginning of 2017.
more than 170 new federal judges and two Supreme Court Justices
Actually, it was three Justices, but this record has far more to do with the energetic Republican Senate. The President was pretty much just a bystander in that process.
the elimination of the individual mandate
Theoretically, this was supposed to cause the collapse of the ACA/Obamacare. The ACA has survived quite nicely, thank you very much.
the first decline in prescription drug prices in half a century
Which had to do with the ACA. Actions taken by the Trump Administration had nothing to do with that decline.
criminal justice reform
This had far more to do with the House and Senate than it did with the President. There’s little indication that he did much more than to sign the final document.
a defeated ISIS caliphate
This happened because the military insisted that the President needed to simply maintain the Obama policy and ISIS would be defeated. Trump did not change the policy and ISIS was eventually defeated.
the replacement of the disastrous NAFTA trade deal with the wonderful USMCA (Mexico and Canada)
Trump made a few minor changes to NAFTA and then proclaimed that the “all-new” policy was a success.
withdrawal from the terrible Iran Nuclear Deal
An extremely stupid and unproductive policy that has not produced any positive results. By increasing trade with China, Iran has made up quite a bit of their economic losses.
cancellation of the unfair and costly Paris Climate Accord
Again, an extremely stupid and short-sighted policy that has exacerbated climate change.
recognition of Israel’s capital, opening the American Embassy in Jerusalem
A stupid and short-sighted policy that has infuriated Palestinians and has put peace with them further out of reach.
a colossal reduction in illegal border crossings, the ending of Catch-and-Release, and the building of the Southern Border Wall
What most people will remember about the reduction of immigrants coming to the US from Mexico, Central and South America will be “kids in cages” and the degradation of international laws on asylum. No one will remember any positive impacts. They’ll just remember the horrible cruelty.
Is it true that “[The Democratic Party] simply cannot compete with our record” or is it that the Trump Administration built a very modest and forgettable record that will quickly be overtaken by the incoming Biden Administration?
Side note: The First Lady Melania Trump wrote a piece that had an extremely odd list in it:
Paragraph four: “Most recently, my heart goes out to: Air Force Veteran, Ashli Babbit, Benjamin Philips, Kevin Greeson, Rosanne Boyland, and Capitol Police Officers, Brian Sicknick and Howard Liebengood. I pray for their families comfort and strength during this difficult time.” Note that the woman who was shot by police as she was part of a violent group attempting to enter a secured area comes first on this list. Interesting choice there.
The Capitol Police Officers are listed last. This can’t be attributed to her lack of proficiency in English. Raises a question as to who Melania thought were the heroes in the violent invasion and occupation of the Capitol.
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