Did Trump use his transgender ban â€“ an attack on the transgender community, the LGBT community, and our allies â€“ as an attempt to detract from possible news that the FBI had raided his campaign chief’s home?Â

In a pre-dawn raid just two weeks ago, on July 26, law enforcement officials from the FBI executed a search warrant and scoured one of the homes of former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort.

“Federal agents appeared at Paul Manafortâ€™s home without advance warning in the predawn hours of July 26, the day after he met voluntarily with the staff for the Senate Intelligence Committee,”Â as The Washington Post just reported.Â

But just hours after the raid, in an entirely unexpected attack, PresidentÂ Donald Trump took to Twitter and announced, with no forewarning nor in consultation with the Pentagon, he was institutingÂ a ban on all transgender service members in the U.S. armed forces.

“After consultation with my Generals and military experts, please be advised that the United States Government will not accept or allowÂ Transgender individuals to serve in any capacity in the U.S. Military,” Trump tweeted. “Our military must be focused on decisive and overwhelmingÂ victory and cannot be burdened with the tremendous medical costs and disruption that transgender in the military would entail. Thank you.”

Many have been curious as to what prompted the new policy. Various reports have claimed Trump was debating it in the days prior, but if there’s one thing Americans have come to expect from this Commander-in-Tweet, it’s that he is a master of deflection and obfuscation.

Was Trump scared that the FBI had just searched Manafort’s home? Did he want to ensure Americans would not be talking about the raid? Is his transgender ban merely another attempt to deflect attention from the Russia investigation, which is clearly closing in?

In case you’re not convinced, the transgender ban was not the only extreme act Trump took that morning. It was, in fact, a day many thought Trump was behaving off-the-rails, even for Trump.

Let’s take a look at his tweets:

6:49 AM: Trump seems very pleased with his campaign rally the night before, but minutes later, he lashes out at Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski for helping block ObamaCare repeal:

Senator @lisamurkowski of the Great State of Alaska really let the Republicans, and our country, down yesterday. Too bad! â€” Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 26, 2017

Less than two hours later, 8:55 AM, the transgender ban, out of the blue:

After consultation with my Generals and military experts, please be advised that the United States Government will not accept or allow…… â€” Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 26, 2017

….Transgender individuals to serve in any capacity in the U.S. Military. Our military must be focused on decisive and overwhelming….. â€” Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 26, 2017

….victory and cannot be burdened with the tremendous medical costs and disruption that transgender in the military would entail. Thank you â€” Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 26, 2017

40 minutes later, an attack on his attorney general and acting FBI director:

Why didn’t A.G. Sessions replace Acting FBI Director Andrew McCabe, a Comey friend who was in charge of Clinton investigation but got…. â€” Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 26, 2017

…big dollars ($700,000) for his wife’s political run from Hillary Clinton and her representatives. Drain the Swamp! â€” Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 26, 2017

A few hours later, an attempt to re-live the night before’s thrill:

IN AMERICA WE DON’T WORSHIP GOVERNMENT – WE WORSHIP GOD!ðŸŽ¥https://t.co/jIejSgVnnA â€” Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 26, 2017

Hours later, perhaps relieved the Manafort raid hadn’t hit the news,Â a few attempts at “good news”:

Congratulations to Boys and Girls Nation. It was my great honor to welcome you to the WH today! Full Remarks: https://t.co/Pb5FTTOyWf pic.twitter.com/U6tfV93dDG â€” Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 26, 2017

Thank you Foxconn, for investing $10 BILLION DOLLARS with the potential for up to 13K new jobs in Wisconsin! MadeInTheUSAðŸ‡ºðŸ‡¸ pic.twitter.com/jJghVeb63s â€” Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 27, 2017

Did Trump use his transgender banÂ â€“ and the transgender community, the LGBT community, and our alliesÂ â€“ as an attempt to detract from possible news that the FBI had raided his campaign chief’s home?Â

There’s still timeÂ â€“ join the more than 1000 people who have signed our petition:Â Tell President Trump You Support Our Transgender Service Members and Oppose His New Ban

UPDATE: 12:03 PMÂ â€“

Raw Story’s Travis Gettys makes a similar connection in a report titled, “Coincidence? Trump and Scaramucci kicked off a bonkers news cycle in the hours after Manafort raid.” GettysÂ adds that on that same day, July 26, Trump and his now-former Communications Director Anthony Scaramucci “soaked up most of the dayâ€™s news coverage with their outrageous tweets andÂ bizarre CNN interviewsÂ â€” and Anthony Scaramucci later that nightÂ threatenedÂ an FBI investigation against then-chief of staff Reince Priebus.”

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Image by Ted Eytan via Flickr and a CC licenseÂ

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