A Complete Analysis Of Trump’s 93rd Unpresidented Week As POTUS

As the midterms loom, Trump's Republican Party has fully embraced the indecency and white nationalist sentiment they've harbored for decades.

Trump’s first major typo after winning the election was spelling Unprecedented incorrectly. He infamously tweeted “Unpresidented.” This typo is a personification of his administration: An impulsive, frantically thrown together group of characters with virtually no oversight. After Trump was sworn in, I started writing the weekly “Unpresidented” column, analyzing his every move. This is week 93.

“I’m not on the ticket, but I am on the ticket, because this is also a referendum about me. I want you to vote. Pretend I’m on the ballot.” – President Trump at a rally on October 18, 2018

Here we are in the final stretch. The 2018 midterms, and the two year anniversary of Donald Trump’s election, are finally upon us.

The closing argument President Trump has chosen is very revealing of not only how little Trump thinks of his base, but of how little he cares about making any unifying efforts to govern for all Americans.

Trump has opted for fear, and not just any kind of fear. He’s chosen to incite white panic. Trump believes the most effective way to mobilize his base to the polls is to lie to them about a caravan full of hungry, impoverished immigrants seeking asylum in America. Along with fear mongering over Latinos, there are the thinly veiled anti-Semitic attacks on “globalists” and false claims that George Soros is funding the caravan. Even after a neo-Nazi terrorist murdered 11 Jews at a Pittsburgh synagogue, the rhetoric was not toned down by Trump, Republicans, or conservative media.

But we must be clear here. This is not new. What we’re watching is the culmination of decades of racist gaslighting from right-wing media and GOP leaders. Since the civil rights era, the Republican Party pivoted their center of power to southern states by using racial undertones and scapegoating minorities for the white man’s economic plight. This appeal to southern white voters is called the Southern Strategy, and we are now seeing it’s inglorious result.

The only difference is the lack of shame and subtlety. Trump has ripped off the Republican Party’s hood and revealed its white nationalist face. This is not hyperbole. This is our current state of affairs.

What’s worse is the very voters President Trump is gaslighting with racist fear mongering are the very same voters he is harming with his policies that exacerbate income inequality. This is obvious to most of us, but not to the Trump voter.

Beyond the overtly racist rhetoric, we’ve seen President Trump and the GOP push discriminatory policies, roll back environmental regulations meant to combat climate change, target the healthcare of vulnerable Americans, target women’s rights, back a Supreme Court nominee who faced credible allegations of sexual assault, continue to remain beholden to the NRA after far too many shootings, perpetuate corruption, villainize the media and Democrats (which radicalized one of his supporters to send bombs to them), capitulate to our foreign adversaries and antagonize our allies, and not to mention his attacks on Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into his campaign’s potential conspiracy with the Russian government.

This is why there are a record number of women running for office. This is why there is an enormous surge in early voting among young people. This is why Democrats running on inclusive, forward-thinking policies look set to usher in a historic blue wave in the face of seemingly insurmountable voter suppression efforts… But this happens IF, and only if, we each do our part.

For those who have not yet been deluded by Fox News, what lays before us is an easily discernible choice.

President Trump’s indecency is on the ballot.

President Trump’s misogyny is on the ballot.

President Trump’s white nationalism is on the ballot.

President Trump’s lies are on the ballot.

President Trump’s regressive policies are on the ballot.

President Trump’s authoritarian tendencies are on the ballot.

President Trump said it himself. He is on the ballot.

You choose whether this Tuesday will be like 2016 or if we will begin to take our country back.

Choose wisely.

Day 646-647: Saturday-Sunday, October 27-28

Synagogue

MOMENTS OF TERROR: The city of Pittsburgh is in pain after a massacre at the Tree of Life Synagogue left 11 people dead. Officers rushed to the scene within minutes the congregation was under attack and ran right into gunfire. @mattgutmanABC reports. https://t.co/o3Z0cXLLIX pic.twitter.com/uEIafsnGm5 — World News Tonight (@ABCWorldNews) October 29, 2018

On Saturday, tragedy struck. The attack was committed by a neo-Nazi who screamed “all these Jews need to die” as he entered the synagogue. The shooting was at a Bris. The shooter was later identified, and his social media profile on Gab was revealed, showcasing that he was radicalized by the caravan fear mongering. Conservative media had been lying, stating that George Soros was funding the caravan of migrants from Honduras.

alleged suspect had post 2hrs ago blaming jewish immigration resettlement org for caravan, “likes to bring invaders in that kill our people” — Laura Rozen (@lrozen) October 27, 2018

Spent the past few hours studying the social media of Robert Bowers – the Pittsburgh shooter. Guess what he believed & was actively angry about? Trump’s lie that dangerous men from the Middle East were marching in as a part of the caravan in Mexico & that Jews were funding it. — Shaun King (@shaunking) October 27, 2018

Social media accounts suggest shooting suspect Robert Bowers was a neo-Nazi/white nationalist who loathed Jews, migrants and refugees. He also said he strongly disliked Trump because he thought Trump was too soft on Jews. — Daniel Dale (@ddale8) October 27, 2018

Before President Trump gave his speech condemning the attacks, he had a slightly different tone.

We live in a reality where the President of the United States compulsively makes himself perpetuate the grief Americans are feeling over tragedies with his depraved, unempathetic, counterproductive reactions. To immediately victim-blame? Trump’s behavior is indefensible. https://t.co/uVYa58m8wU — Ahmed Baba (@AhmedBaba_) October 27, 2018

There is scripted Trump (fake) and there’s off the cuff Trump (real) Now speaking as if he didn’t earlier unemphatically say the worshippers should’ve been armed Someone the other day called this a Jekyll and Hyde presidency That’s true, except Jekyll is just his speechwriter https://t.co/V3YalLQLDj — Ahmed Baba (@AhmedBaba_) October 27, 2018

Even after it was known that this is what motivated the shooter, it did not stop President Trump from more anti-Semitic attacks.

Trump casually uses anti-Semitic “globalist” dogwhistle hours after anti-Semitic mass shooting at a synagogue in Pittsburgh leaves at least 11 people dead. “We don’t worry too much about the globalists… we have to take care of ourselves before we start worrying about others.” pic.twitter.com/yS4g6NPPCH — Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) October 27, 2018

And conservative media continued as well, with the specific charge that triggered the shooter.

Thread. A guest on Lou Dobbs’s show on Fox News is pushing a version of the same conspiracy that the Pittsburgh shooter evidently believed in and which may have helped trigger the murders he committed. Been trying not to weigh in on events of the day but this is really dangerous. https://t.co/Dlt4bknm6t — Nate Silver (@NateSilver538) October 28, 2018

A neo-Nazi murdered several Jews at a Pittsburgh synagogue A white supremacist murdered 2 black people in Kentucky A Republican sent bombs to Trump critics That was all this week This is radical right-wing terrorism We must take this threat seriouslyhttps://t.co/TZu4oNrsFZ — Rantt Media (@RanttMedia) October 27, 2018

By the end of the weekend, President Trump was once again targeting the bomb targets.

Tom Steyer was literally sent a bomb by a Trump supporter this week https://t.co/TyaO1wkLDZ — Remy Carreiro (@Remy_Anne) October 28, 2018

Trump calls the media “the enemy of the people” Trump tweeted a video of himself body slamming @CNN After one of his radicalized supporters sent 2 bombs to @CNN, Trump now blames the media for the hatred he’s causing Trump’s depravity is on the ballothttps://t.co/d2N4H9JiCU — Rantt Media (@RanttMedia) October 29, 2018

Day 648: Monday, October 29

Fear

On Monday, we got the news of President Trump ordering 5,200 troops to the southern border for a caravan that is hundreds of miles away. The Washington Post reported:

Homeland Security and Pentagon officials said Monday that they will send 5,200 troops, military helicopters and giant spools of razor wire to the Mexican border in the coming days to brace for the arrival of Central American migrants President Trump is calling “an invasion.” The troop deployment, one week before the U.S. midterm elections, appears to be the largest U.S. active-duty mobilization along the U.S.-Mexico boundary in decades and amounts to a significant militarization of American border security.

This was one of Trump’s most brazen campaign stunts yet, using the U.S. military as a prop to sure up the fear-mongering tactics he’s been utilizing ahead of the midterms. This caravan includes men, women, and children who are seeking asylum but this hasn’t stopped President Trump from falsely framing them as rogue MS-13 members who are somehow also middle easterners.

Using the military as campaign props should outrage every American. Instead we have a radicalized faction that thinks these troops will be going to war with the caravan when in reality they’ll put up wire, help with surveillance and twiddle their thumbs for the next couple months — Adam (@aalali44) October 29, 2018

In other news…

As another package was intercepted at CNN, President Trump continued his attacks on the media.

Another suspicious package addressed to CNN has been intercepted. This time in Atlanta. All mail is being screened off site. Note from Jeff: pic.twitter.com/I6TXSkoluQ — CNN Communications (@CNNPR) October 29, 2018

Trump just called the media the “enemy of the people” & said “fake news must end!” Last week, a Trump supporter sent 14 bombs to people Trump has vilified (2 were sent to CNN) Trump’s reckless rhetoric helped radicalize a terrorist & he STILL won’t stop https://t.co/LuHLgeeZRy — Rantt Media (@RanttMedia) October 29, 2018

President Trump sat down with Fox News‘ Laura Ingraham.

.@IngrahamAngle is interviewing @realDonaldTrump tonight. This is two days after a massacre at a synagogue by a white supremacist that believed Jews were destroying America by supporting refugees and week after Soros was mailed a bomb. pic.twitter.com/wqznF8oYVw — Adam (@aalali44) October 29, 2018

Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders held her first press conference in weeks. Her facts were set straight by CNN.

No @PressSec, CNN did not say @realDonaldTrump was directly responsible for the bomb sent to our office by his ardent and emboldened supporter. We did say that he, and you, should understand your words matter. Every single one of them. But so far, you don’t seem to get that. pic.twitter.com/ZbH5DQggWq — CNN Communications (@CNNPR) October 29, 2018

Trump attacked Florida Democratic gubernatorial candidate Andrew Gillum.

He’s not “using race to rile up his base.” He’s not “playing to his base’s racial anxieties.” Donald Trump is a racist. Stop beating around that pervasive fact. https://t.co/qqJROZXQ2q — Ahmed Baba (@AhmedBaba_) October 29, 2018

Day 649: Tuesday, October 30

A BS Threat To Birthright Citizenship

On Tuesday morning, Axios released the first clip from their upcoming HBO series. It showed Jonathan Swan incredibly eager to hear about President Trump’s planned attempt to unilaterally sign away birthright citizenship for non-citizens.

Not only is this unconstitutional, @jonathanvswan seemed way too happy in this. If this is the tone of the show, presenting attacks on constitutional rights with the vibe of “I’m so happy I’m about to get this scoop,” I won’t be watching the show @axios.#BirthrightCitizenship https://t.co/Eyp5pojfJJ — Ahmed Baba (@AhmedBaba_) October 30, 2018

I really need y’all to watch this again, and understand how disturbing this clip is. Birthright citizenship is in 14th Amendment—which guaranteed the right of citizenship to all African Americans in 1868. Trump wants to bypass that with an executive order. pic.twitter.com/eiug0L13HP — Jamil Smith (@JamilSmith) October 30, 2018

If Trump’s proposed gutting of the 14th amendment/ending of birthright citizenship was active 25 years ago, I wouldn’t be a U.S. citizen. Both my parents came here from Sierra Leone. Proposals like this might rile up his base, but it hits very close to home for most Americans. — Ahmed Baba (@AhmedBaba_) October 30, 2018

But obviously, Trump cannot do this. Even House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) chimed in.

Be smart: you can’t cancel a constitutional amendment with an executive order Be smarter: don’t report it as if you can, making you a tool of the WH press shop — FLIP THE HOUSE🗽 (@Anthony) October 30, 2018

This is such an irresponsible tweet. No context. And really—we get it, you’re promo-ing your new tv show, and that’s why your reporter laughs thru the interview. Class A example if shitty journalism. https://t.co/TW3gawABcA — Soledad O’Brien (@soledadobrien) October 30, 2018

Paul Ryan breaks from President Trump on birthright issue: ‘You obviously cannot do that’ https://t.co/L7yQpjWfEB — TIME (@TIME) October 30, 2018

In other news…

Trump isn’t an accident. He’s the natural outcome of the @GOP‘s Southern Strategy. Since it began, Republicans have gaslit their base into believing minorities are to blame for their economic woes, all while filling their donors’ pockets. It’s the biggest con job in US history pic.twitter.com/VMaM1XL0v0 — Rantt Media (@RanttMedia) October 31, 2018

Day 650: Wednesday, October 31

Self-Fire

On Wednesday, President Trump sent out a tweet targeting the Speaker of his own party in the House.

Paul Ryan should be focusing on holding the Majority rather than giving his opinions on Birthright Citizenship, something he knows nothing about! Our new Republican Majority will work on this, Closing the Immigration Loopholes and Securing our Border! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 31, 2018

Although many try and place rhyme and reason on everything President Trump does, a tweet of this nature can be placed in the “ego” category. There is no strategic value in attacking the leader of your party’s House majority less than a week before the midterms. Perhaps it will give Trump someone to blame if they lose, but it does little else.

In other news…

The nation is mourning the deadliest attack on Jews in U.S. history. This hasn’t stopped @realDonaldTrump, the @GOP, and @FoxNews from spreading anti-Semitic conspiracy theories. “Globalist” “Soros-funded” Make no mistake about what they mean. https://t.co/QDspdkmKX8 — Rantt Media (@RanttMedia) October 31, 2018

A Halloween fact-check for you:

Let’s dissect @GOPChairwoman’s gaslighting lies, shall we 1) Classic case of projection by accusing Dems of fear mongering 2) @GOP tried multiple times to get rid of protections for pre-existing conditions 3) McConnell literally said Medicare and Social Security need to be cut https://t.co/9oXGtx3mnP — Ahmed Baba (@AhmedBaba_) November 1, 2018

Day 651: Thursday, November 1

Roger Stone’s Time In The Barrel Is Coming

On Thursday, The New York Times reported yet another development that showcased Roger Stone’s possible back-channel collusion with Wikileaks during the 2016 election.

When the WikiLeaks founder, Julian Assange, appeared on a video link from Europe a month before the 2016 presidential election and vaguely promised to release a flood of purloined documents related to the race, the head of Donald J. Trump’s campaign, Stephen K. Bannon, was interested. He emailed the political operative Roger J. Stone Jr., who had been trying to reach him for days about what Mr. Assange might have in store. “What was that this morning???” Mr. Bannon asked on Oct. 4. “A load every week going forward,” Mr. Stone replied, echoing Mr. Assange’s public vow to publish documents on a weekly basis until the Nov. 8 election. The email exchange, not previously reported, underscores how Mr. Stone presented himself to Trump campaign officials: as a conduit of inside information from WikiLeaks, Russia’s chosen repository for documents hacked from Democratic computers. Mr. Bannon and two other former senior campaign officials have detailed to prosecutors for the special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III, how Mr. Stone created that impression, according to people familiar with their accounts. One of them told investigators that Mr. Stone not only seemed to predict WikiLeaks’ actions, but that he also took credit afterward for the timing of its disclosures that damaged Hillary Clinton’s candidacy.

We’ve already seen multiple reports that Mueller is probing this and also evidence that Roger Stone directly communicated with Wikileaks over Twitter DM.

In other news…

Arpaio received Trump’s first presidential pardon. https://t.co/l0dKO61Dmu — Maggie Haberman (@maggieNYT) November 2, 2018

Day 652: Friday, November 2

Surprise, Trump Is Racist

On Friday, a report in Vanity Fair revealed that Michael Cohen, Trump’s former fixer who has since cooperated with federal investigators against him, was triggered by Trump’s response to the Pittsburgh synagogue attack and has come out with more damning anecdotes of Trump’s racist remarks.

4 racist things Trump has said, per Michael Cohen: -“Black people are too stupid to vote for me.” -“Name 1 country run by a black person that’s not a shithole.” -“Only the blacks could live like this.” -“There’s no way I can let this black f-ing win.”https://t.co/hABkB09eSO — Aaron Blake (@AaronBlake) November 2, 2018

This should surprise no one.

In other news…

On the one month anniversary of Jamal Khashoggi’s death, we published Rantt Editor Jossif Ezekilov’s interview with Rula Jebreal, one of the last people to interview Khashoggi.

One month ago, Jamal Khashoggi was murdered by Saudi Arabia for speaking truth to power In spite of the evidence MBS ordered his death, @realDonaldTrump still cozies up to the regime@rulajebreal on his response: “Weak…he values money over human rights” https://t.co/3SQHEcTV0u — Rantt Media (@RanttMedia) November 2, 2018