The Hard Landing Of Autocracy

carolyn

7 years ago

For all those who said that Trump would not follow through with his campaign promises, notice the extent to which he is doing exactly as he said he would and more:

THURSDAY, JANUARY 19TH, 2017 (The day before the inauguration)

On January 19th, 2017, DT said that he would cut funding for the DOJ’s Violence Against Women programs. (Source: http://time.com/money/4639544/trump-nea-sesame-street-budget-cut/)
On January 19th, 2017, DT said that he would cut funding for the National Endowment for the Arts. (Source: http://time.com/money/4639544/trump-nea-sesame-street-budget-cut/)
On January 19th, 2017, DT said that he would cut funding for the National Endowment for the Humanities. (Source: http://time.com/money/4639544/trump-nea-sesame-street-budget-cut/)
On January 19th, 2017, DT said that he would cut funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. (Source: http://time.com/money/4639544/trump-nea-sesame-street-budget-cut/)
On January 19th, 2017, DT said that he would cut funding for the Minority Business Development Agency. (Source: http://time.com/money/4639544/trump-nea-sesame-street-budget-cut/)
On January 19th, 2017, DT said that he would cut funding for the Economic Development Administration. (Source: http://time.com/money/4639544/trump-nea-sesame-street-budget-cut/)
On January 19th, 2017, DT said that he would cut funding for the International Trade Administration. (Source: http://time.com/money/4639544/trump-nea-sesame-street-budget-cut/)
On January 19th, 2017, DT said that he would cut funding for the Manufacturing Extension Partnership. (Source: http://time.com/money/4639544/trump-nea-sesame-street-budget-cut/)
On January 19th, 2017, DT said that he would cut funding for the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services. (Source: http://time.com/money/4639544/trump-nea-sesame-street-budget-cut/)
On January 19th, 2017, DT said that he would cut funding for the Legal Services Corporation. (Source: http://time.com/money/4639544/trump-nea-sesame-street-budget-cut/)
On January 19th, 2017, DT said that he would cut funding for the Civil Rights Division of the DOJ. (Source: http://time.com/money/4639544/trump-nea-sesame-street-budget-cut/)
On January 19th, 2017, DT said that he would cut funding for the Environmental and Natural Resources Division of the DOJ. (Source: http://time.com/money/4639544/trump-nea-sesame-street-budget-cut/)
On January 19th, 2017, DT said that he would cut funding for the Overseas Private Investment Corporation. (Source: http://time.com/money/4639544/trump-nea-sesame-street-budget-cut/)
On January 19th, 2017, DT said that he would cut funding for the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. (Source: http://time.com/money/4639544/trump-nea-sesame-street-budget-cut/)
On January 19th, 2017, DT said that he would cut funding for the Office of Electricity Deliverability and Energy Reliability. (Source: http://time.com/money/4639544/trump-nea-sesame-street-budget-cut/)
On January 19th, 2017, DT said that he would cut funding for the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy. (Source: http://time.com/money/4639544/trump-nea-sesame-street-budget-cut/)
On January 19th, 2017, DT said that he would cut funding for the Office of Fossil Energy. (Source: http://time.com/money/4639544/trump-nea-sesame-street-budget-cut/)

FRIDAY, JANUARY 20TH, 2017 (The day of the inauguration)

On January 20th, 2017, DT ordered all regulatory powers of all federal agencies frozen. (Source: http://www.cnn.com/2017/01/20/politics/reince-priebus-regulations-memo/)
On January 20th, 2017, DT ordered the National Parks Service to stop using social media after RTing factual, side by side photos of the crowds for the 2009 and 2017 inaugurations. (Source: http://www.cnn.com/2017/01/21/politics/trump-national-park-service-tweets/)
On January 20th, 2017, roughly 230 protesters were arrested in DC and face unprecedented felony riot charges. Among them were legal observers, journalists, and medics. (Source 1: http://www.cbsnews.com/news/inauguration-day-protests-felony-rioting-charges-federal-prosecutors-say/ Source 2: https://www.theguardian.com/media/2017/jan/24/journalists-charged-felonies-trump-inauguration-unrest?CMP=share_btn_tw)
On January 20th, 2017, a member of the International Workers of the World was shot in the stomach at an anti-fascist protest in Seattle. He remains in critical condition. (Source: https://iww.org/de/content/fellow-worker-and-gdc-member-shot-anti-fascist-protest-seattle)

SATURDAY, JANUARY 21ST, 2017 (The day of the Women’s March)

On January 21st, 2017, DT brought a group of 40 cheerleaders to a meeting with the CIA to cheer for him during a speech that consisted almost entirely of framing himself as the victim of dishonest press. (Source: http://www.cbsnews.com/news/sources-say-theres-a-sense-of-unease-in-intel-community-after-trump-cia-visit/)
On January 21st, 2017, the Facebook page of the College Republicans at the University of Washington who hosted the event where a protester was shot in the stomach issued a statement that, among other things, contained the threat “If you keep prodding the right you may be unpleasantly surprised what the outcome will be. Youve obviously learned nothing after Trump’s election..” [all punctuation errors and omissions in original statement] (Source: https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=1181178281989153&id=171403456299979)
On January 21st, 2017, White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer held a press conference largely to attack the press for accurately reporting the size of attendance at the inaugural festivities, saying that the inauguration had the largest audience of any in history, “period.” (Source: http://www.cnn.com/videos/politics/2017/01/21/sean-spicer-entire-defends-inauguration-crowd-size-sot.cnn)

SUNDAY, JANUARY 22ND, 2017

On January 22nd, 2017, White House advisor Kellyanne Conway defended Spicer’s lies as “alternative facts” on national television news. (Source: http://www.cnn.com/2017/01/22/politics/kellyanne-conway-alternative-facts/)
On January 22nd, 2017, DT appeared to blow a kiss to director James Comey during a meeting with the FBI, and then opened his arms in a gesture of strange, paternal affection, before hugging him with a pat on the back. (Source [reporting is debatable, but video is available here]: https://www.rawstory.com/2017/01/pres-trump-nuzzles-fbi-director-james-comeys-cheek-after-blowing-him-a-kiss-at-white-house-event/)

MONDAY, JANUARY 23RD, 2017

On January 23rd, 2017, DT reinstated the global gag order, which defunds international organizations that even mention abortion as a medical option. (Source 1: http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/politics/2017/01/trump_s_global_gag_rule_is_even_worse_than_it_seemed.html Source 2: http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/trump-reinstates-reagan-era-anti-abortion-policy-n710081)
On January 23rd, 2017, Spicer said that the US will not tolerate China’s expansion onto islands in the South China Sea, essentially threatening war with China. (Source: http://www.cnn.com/2017/01/23/politics/sean-spicer-press-briefing-day-one/)
On January 23rd, 2017, DT repeated the lie that 3-5 million people voted “illegally” thus costing him the popular vote. (Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/23/us/politics/donald-trump-congress-democrats.html?_r=0)
On January 23rd, 2017, it was announced that the man who shot the anti-fascist protester in Seattle was released without charges, despite turning himself in. (Source: http://patch.com/washington/seattle/uw-police-release-suspect-shooting-yiannopolous-protest)
On January 23rd, 2017, DT files an executive order full of nationalist language and ethno-centric dog whistling proclaiming January 20th, 2017, the day of his inauguration, as a national holiday, “National Day of Patriotic Devotion, in order to strengthen our bonds to each other and to our country — and to renew the duties of Government to the people.” (Source: https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2017/01/24/2017-01798/national-day-of-patriotic-devotion)
On January 23rd, 2017, DT names Ajit Pai to Director of Federal Communications Commission. Pai is an outspoken opponent of net neutrality, and has said that its “days are numbered.” (Source: http://nymag.com/selectall/2017/01/say-goodbye-to-the-last-pillar-of-the-free-open-internet.html?mid=twitter_nymag)

TUESDAY, JANUARY 24TH, 2017

On January 24th, 2017, Spicer reiterated that DT believes the lie that 3-5 million people voted “illegally” thus costing DT the popular vote. (Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/24/us/politics/donald-trump-administration.html)
On January 24th, 2017, DT tweeted a picture from his personal Twitter account of a photo he says depicts the crowd at his inauguration and will hang in the White House press room. The photo is curiously dated January 21st, 2017, the day AFTER the inauguration and the day of the Women’s March, the largest inauguration related protest in history. [Transparency note: a previous version of this item took for granted a tweet claiming this was a photo of Barack Obama’s first inauguration. Since comparing the photos side by side, it does not appear that this is the case.] (Source 1, original tweet: https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/823937936056008704 Source 2, screenshot: https://pbs.twimg.com/media/C29SZfMXUAA8HN_.jpg:large)
On January 24th, 2017, the EPA was ordered to stop communicating with the public through social media or the press and to freeze all grants and contracts. (Source: http://www.cbsnews.com/news/president-trump-administration-orders-epa-media-blackout-contract-freeze/)
On January 24th, 2017, the USDA was ordered to stop communicating with the public through social media or the press and to stop publishing any papers or research. All communication with the press would also have to be authorized and vetted by the White House. (Source: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/president-trump-institutes-media-blackouts-epa-usda-article-1.2954647 Source 2: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-epa-biofuels-idUSKBN1582M3?il=0)
On January 24th, 2017, HR7, a bill that would prohibit federal funding not only to abortion service providers, but to any insurance coverage, including Medicaid, that provides abortion coverage, went to the floor of the House for a vote. (Source 1: http://www.cosmopolitan.com/politics/a8635781/house-passes-hr7/ Source 2, text of the bill: https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/house-bill/7/text)
On January 24th, 2017, Director of the Department of Health and Human Service nominee Tom Price, who characterized federal guidelines on transgender equality as “absurd,” continues his confirmation hearing. (Source 1, Facebook post by Tom Price: https://www.facebook.com/reptomprice/posts/10154118633590421 Source 2, confirmation hearing: http://www.cnn.com/2017/01/24/politics/tom-price-nomination-hearing-finance/)
On January 24th, 2017, DT ordered the resumption of construction on the Dakota Access Pipeline, while the North Dakota state congress considers a bill that would legalize hitting and killing protesters with cars if they are on roadways. (Source 1, Dakota Access Pipeline executive order: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/24/us/politics/keystone-dakota-pipeline-trump.html Source 2, North Dakota protester assault legalization bill: http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/dakota-pipeline-protests/pipeline-protesters-decry-north-dakota-bills-criminalize-protests-n706681)
On January 24th, 2017, it was discovered that police officers had used confiscated cell phones to search the emails and messages of the 230 demonstrators now facing felony riot charges for protesting on January 20th, including lawyers and journalists whose email accounts contain privileged information of clients and sources. (Source: http://www.citylab.com/crime/2017/01/are-police-searching-inauguration-protesters-phones/514244/)
On January 24th, 2017, responding to criticism from the NAACP about a lack of attention to Civil Rights policy and bridge-building by the current administration, Spicer claimed of DT, “Just the other day, he sat down with Martin Luther King, Jr.,” clearly unaware that Martin Luther King, Jr. is long dead, and that the man that DT met with was his son, Martin Luther King, III. (Source: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/spicer-trump-met-martin-luther-king-jr-article-1.2954571)
On January 24th, 2017, the Badlands National Park Service, perhaps as an act of resistance in response to DT’s order last week to shut down all Twitter accounts temporarily in response to the main National Parks Service’s sharing of photos comparing the size of the inauguration crowds in 2009 and 2017, tweeted 3 times from their account (@BadlandsNPS) on the subject of global warming, particularly ocean acidification and carbon dioxide levels. Captured in screenshots and shared by Twitter user @leahmcelrath, the tweets were deleted less than an hour after she shared them. (Source 1: http://nymag.com/selectall/2017/01/national-park-service-tweets-about-climate-change-over-trump.html Source 2: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-38740205)
On January 24th, 2017, DT threatened a federal takeover of the city of Chicago from his personal Twitter account, proving that he has zero grasp of the constitution, states rights, or the 10th amendment. The information in his tweet and much of the wording is taken nearly word for word from a Bill O’Reilly segment on Fox News. (Source 1, original DT tweet: https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/824080766288228352 Source 2, screenshot of DT tweet: https://pbs.twimg.com/media/C2-_E9BWIAQhYUz.jpg:large Source 3, tweet referring to Fox News Segment: https://twitter.com/mlcalderone/status/824084122561871872 Source 4, screenshot of tweet referring to Fox News segment: https://pbs.twimg.com/media/C2-8B87XcAEYiru.jpg)
On January 24th, 2017, DT specifically praised Fox News for their ratings during the inauguration coverage, while criticizing CNN’s and calling the latter “FAKE NEWS.” (Source 1, original tweet: https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/824078417213747200 Source 2, screenshot of tweet: https://pbs.twimg.com/media/C2_Jfq6WIAAdK0j.jpg)
On January 24th, 2017, the White House orders the EPA to take down its climate change webpage, fulfilling the fears of government climate scientists who scrambled to save their research before the inauguration. (Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-epa-climatechange-idUSKBN15906G)
On January 24th, 2017, scientists begin organizing a march on Washington to protest the administration’s hostility toward science. (Source 1, website: http://www.scientistsmarchonwashington.com/ Source 2, Twitter account: https://twitter.com/ScienceMarchDC Source 3, Washington Post: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/speaking-of-science/wp/2017/01/24/are-scientists-going-to-march-on-washington/?postshare=7811485307292866&tid=ss_tw-bottom&utm_term=.c8dda0b1dc29)
On January 24th, 2017, DT announced that he will have a “big day” for National Security tomorrow, including the building of the wall, in a misspelled tweet, since deleted and reposted. God help us. (Source: http://mashable.com/2017/01/25/trump-border-wall-amoung-tweet/?utm_cid=mash-com-Tw-main-link#u5k.KijOQiqD)
On January 24th, 2017, in response to public outcry, the Department of Agriculture lifted the gag order on its scientists. No such rescinding of media blackout has been granted to the Environmental Protection Agency. (Source: https://www.buzzfeed.com/dinograndoni/trump-agriculture-department?utm_term=.smrGAKagV#.fqEWg1j8Z)

JANUARY 25TH, 2017

On January 25th, 2017, DT announced in a pair of tweets from his personal Twitter account that he will order an investigation into “massive voter fraud” for an election he won, setting the stage for further legal undermining of voting rights. Of note is that he specifically mentions those who are registered to vote in two states. Steve Bannon, Chief White House Strategist and noted white supremacist, is registered to vote in 2 states. (Source, tweet 1: https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/824227824903090176 Source, tweet 2: https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/824228768227217408 Source 3, RE: Steve Bannon: http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/pages/ciyd1t8md005sojy69w6c5jmu.html)
On January 25th, 2017, DT announced on Twitter, again from his personal Twitter account, that he will be announcing his Supreme Court nomination on Thursday of next week. (Source, tweet: https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/824229586091307008)
On January 25th, 2017, National Public Radio publicly announced that they would not call lies on the part of DT and White House representatives “lies.” (Source: http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/01/25/511503605/npr-and-the-l-word-intent-is-key)
On January 25th, 2017, Politico published a story highlighting 3 prominent DT acolytes, bolstered by DT’s success, now mounting campaigns of their own to run for office in much the same way that DT did and on the same platforms. Among them are Alan Cobb, who will be running for the 4th district of Kansas congressional seat, who was quoted as saying, “I would wholeheartedly support the Trump agenda. It’s all consistent with what’s best for the 4th District,” and Bruce Levell, who plans to run for a suburban district of Atlanta, who was quoted as saying, “I’d like to see someone in that seat who’s a champion of Trump’s policies. I’d like to be that champion.” (Source: http://www.politico.com/story/2017/01/trump-boosters-seek-office-234134)
On January 25th, 2017, in full view of the White House, Greenpeace protestors unfurl a banner on a crane that reads, simply, “RESIST.” (Source: https://twitter.com/marikatogo/status/824278392149344256)
On January 25th, 2017, the Washington Post and New York Times both reported that a draft of an executive order by DT would lift the ban on CIA “black site” prisons to detain and torture suspects of terrorism. (Source 1: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/25/us/politics/cia-detainee-prisons.html?_r=0 Source 2: https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/white-house-draft-order-calls-for-review-on-use-of-cia-black-sites-overseas/2017/01/25/e4318970-e310-11e6-a547-5fb9411d332c_story.html?utm_term=.b5438f79f9d1)
On January 25th, 2017, clearly upset by negative press related to all of the above, the White House issues a press release with pull quotes from various ring wing media praising DT, as well as neutral commentary by other outlets. (Source 1: http://www.politico.com/blogs/donald-trump-administration/2017/01/trump-team-sends-press-a-note-about-how-much-the-press-loves-trump-234160 Source 2: https://twitter.com/mmurraypolitics/status/824264894606442496)