Remember when Trump…

abruptly ordered the withdrawal of US forces from a base in Syria, abandoning Kurdish allies to be attacked by Turkey?

The base had been so hastily abandoned that photographs show it was still powered and stocked with food. Russian journalists took footage of the abandoned base and claimed in media broadcasts, “Manbij is ours!” Turkey immediately began an offense against Kurdish militias in the region, who had lost over 10,000 soldiers fighting alongside the US against ISIS. Trump later tweeted about his own “great and unmatched wisdom” regarding the matter.

Though the Kurds had long been US allies in the region, Trump dismissed concerns about them by saying they are “no angels.” He also suggested that the Kurds were releasing ISIS prisoners, though other US officials have said that this was being done by Turkish-backed forces. Concerns about the released ISIS prisoners were dismissed as being a problem for Europe instead of the United States. Trump claimed that allies like the United Kingdom’s were “thrilled” with his decision, though the UK government has denied this, and opposed any Turkish incursion. Other reports with sources in Trump’s administration assert that he believed Turkey to be bluffing, and that it wouldn’t actually attack Syria.

Trump also claimed that the soldiers that had been stationed in Syria would be coming home, when in fact they were just to be redeployed to Iraq.

Newsweek – RUSSIANS SHARE VIDEOS FROM HASTILY ABANDONED U.S. BASE IN SYRIA: ‘MANBIJ IS OURS!’
Independent – Trump says Kurds are ‘no angels’, after US allies helped defeat Isis
Business Insider – Trump suggested the Kurds were releasing ISIS prisoners, but US officials say Turkish-backed forces are actually doing this
Independent – ‘No idea where that came from’: Government denies Trump’s claim UK was ‘thrilled’ with his Syria decision
Axios – Behind the scenes of the Trump bluff that kicked off Turkey’s invasion
The Washington Post – Trump isn’t ‘bringing our soldiers back home’ from Syria

referred to his own “great and unmatched wisdom”?

The Trump failed to elaborate on what “I’ve done before!” meant in reference to totally destroying and obliterating an economy.

The tweet came following Trump’s decision to withdraw US forces from a base in Syria, the occupation of the base by Russian forces, and Turkey’s subsequent operations against Kurdish militia groups that had long been US allies.

The New York Times – Trump Orders Withdrawal of U.S. Troops From Northern Syria

removed 1 million children from a food stamps program with free school lunches?

The Department of Agriculture estimated that 982,000 children no longer automatically qualify for free school lunches. 45% will have additional application requirements, while the rest will no longer qualify at all.

Business Insider – A new Trump administration rule will deprive nearly 1 million school kids of automatic free lunches, official figures say
ABC News – Trump rule may mean 1 million kids lose automatic free lunch
CBS News – Half a million kids could lose free school lunches under new Trump administration rule

awarded the 2020 G7 summit to his Miami-area golf resort?

The decision was immediately met with widespread backlash. The G7, an organization representing the world’s most developed economies, meets annually.

Trump later reluctantly changed the location to Camp David, though he maintained that the Emoluments Clause of the Constitution that prohibits Presidents from personally profiting from their office is “phony.”

Politico – Shrugging off allegations of self-dealing, Trump picks his Doral resort for G-7 summit
Reuters – Trump to host G7 summit at his Florida golf resort, sparking criticism
Time – 2020 G7 Summit to Be Held at Camp David Retreat, President Trump Says

called the investigation into Russian election interference an “attempted coup”?

He made the claim multiple times, including on Fox News and on the White House lawn to reporters.

He explained to reporters, “It was an illegal investigation…Everything about it was crooked — every single thing about it. There were dirty cops. These were bad people. If you look at McCabe and Comey, and you look at Lisa and Peter Strzok, these were bad people.” He continued, “And this was a — an attempted coup.  This was an attempted takedown of a President.”

Since then, Trump’s own Department of Justice has determined that the FBI acted appropriately when they first launched the probe into election interference in July 2016, before Trump was elected, and that it was not tainted by political bias.

WhiteHouse.gov – Remarks by President Trump Before Marine One Departure
The Washington Post – Trump says he was the target of ‘an attempted coup’ with Mueller investigation
Politico – Trump: Russia investigations an attempted ‘coup’
The Wall Street Journal – Justice Department Watchdog Finds Proper Legal Basis, But Errors, in Russia Probe
CNBC – Justice Department watchdog finds Trump-Russia probe was not tainted by political bias

called the Emoluments Clause of the Constitution “phony”?

Trump gave no elaboration as to how the clause from the Constitution that he has sworn to uphold is phony. The clause, from Article I, Section 9 of the Constitution reads,

No Title of Nobility shall be granted by the United States: And no Person holding any Office of Profit or Trust under them, shall, without the Consent of the Congress, accept of any present, Emolument, Office, or Title, of any kind whatever, from any King, Prince or foreign State.

Trump has also said that Article II of the Constitution gave him “the right to do whatever I want.”

The emoluments remark came two days after he reversed his decision to host the 2020 G-7 meeting at his Doral, Florida golf resort amid widespread media and political backlash.

The claim was part of a larger statement that that evokes the infamous “having nuclear” speech. In it, Trump said no other President gave up his salary and boasted about his prowess at real estate and his financials, despite never having released tax returns as promised. He complained about Obama’s book and Netflix deals and claimed that being President has already cost him $2 to $5 billion dollars.

Trump reiterated that he had placed his private interests in trusts, referencing when he claimed that he divested himself from potential conflicts of interest using stacks of unlabeled folders as proof.

He then launched into a deviation about rallies that echoed other remarks on setting greater records than Elton John, attacked Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer, and claimed that Obama failed to solve the North Korea problem because of a lack of respect, unlike what they had for Trump and he had for them.

Law and Crime – The President of the United States Just Called the Emoluments Clause of the Constitution ‘Phony’
The New York Times – Trump Dismisses ‘Phony Emoluments Clause,’ Defending Doral
C-SPAN – Trump Administration Cabinet Meeting
The Washington Post – Fact-checking Trump’s wild Cabinet session

tweeted, “Louisiana, I’ll see you tonight,” despite being headed to Mississippi?

The tweet was later deleted, though it can still be found in Twitter’s archives.

"Louisiana, I'll see you tonight," Trump tweeted Friday. But Trump's schedule said he's holding a rally Friday in Tupelo, Mississippi.

“The Democrat party has gone completely insane,” he later told the Mississippi audience.

USA Today – ‘Louisiana, I’ll see you tonight’: Trump tweets he’s visiting Louisiana Friday – but he’s going to Mississippi
The New York Times – Trump Rails Against Impeachment in First Rally Since House Vote
Trump Twitter Archive

shared classified intelligence with Russia?

Trump discussed counter terrorism operations in Syria with two Russian officials that he met with in the Oval Office the day after firing FBI Director James Comey, which he claimed would ease pressure from the Russia investigation. Russia’s ally in the region, Iran, is a longtime enemy of Israel, and funds the terrorist organization Hezbollah. The CIA was so concerned with security leaks that they later withdrew a high level informant from the Russian government.

Trump also told the officials that he was unconcerned with Russian interference in US elections.

The Wall Street Journal – Israel Provided Intelligence Trump Shared With Russia, Officials Say
The New York Times – Israel Said to Be Source of Secret Intelligence Trump Gave to Russians
Vanity Fair – Exclusive: What Trump really told Kislyak after Comey was canned
The Washington Post – Trump told Russian officials in 2017 he wasn’t concerned about Moscow’s interference in U.S. election

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