Donald John Trump

Stories and links about our 45th President, Donald John Trump, to help you keep informed on what our president is up to these days.

‘Covfefe’ tells you all you need to know about Donald Trump

‘Covfefe’ tells you all you need to know about Donald Trump

"At 12:06 a.m. ET, the President of the United States tweeted this: "Despite the constant negative press covfefe."

By 6 a.m., that tweet had been deleted. Shortly after, Trump tweeted this: "Who can figure out the true meaning of "covfefe" ??? Enjoy!"

To be clear: This is, on its face, dumb. Trump seemed to be trying to type "coverage" and misspelled it. As he often does. Then he fell asleep and didn't correct the mistake until he got up in the morning. We've all been there! (OK, not all of us. But me.)"

Trump’s obsession over Russia probe deepens

Trump’s obsession over Russia probe deepens

"Two White House officials said Trump and some aides including Steve Bannon are becoming increasingly convinced that they are victims of a conspiracy against Trump's presidency, as evidenced by the number of leaks flowing out of government — that the crusade by the so-called “deep state” is a legitimate threat, not just fodder for right wing defenders."

My Take President Donald Trump

I’m not really into politics nor do I follow every news story or tweet, but my grotesque obsession over Donald Trump continues. He’s one part horror show, one part freak show, one part agent of change. I can’t decide if I hate or love the man or for that matter have much of an opinion of his presidency.

There are some things I think are just awful about Trump. He seems to have a very poor understanding of economics, international relationships, climate change and science. It’s fine to have an opinion and be a conservative, but you should have a basic understanding of the concrete facts your dealing with as our nation’s chief executive. Sometimes liberals insist on policy outcomes not based on the facts but their own values without considering values and priorities of other Americans — but they sometimes are more grounded in reality rather then rhetoric.

And I think Trump is just wrong on immigration. Immigrants are the fabric of our community, and while illegal immigration is problematic, we should find solutions to integrate immigrants already here, and go after employers who break immigrant law. Immigrants rarely take American’s jobs, because most of the lowest skilled jobs aren’t that attractive to Americans. If we want more jobs, we should have taxpayer-support of public colleges and training, so people can get the skills needed to succeed in our economy. We shouldn’t discourage international trade, we should encourage fair trade.

At the same time, I like the idea that Donald Trump is pushing a smaller government – I think the government at all levels had gotten too involved in too many people’s lives, pushing the trendy social causes of the day, spending too much time and money to save puppies and cute children. Government has core responsibilities, but we should empower private citizens rather then state to mediate conflicts. We don’t need more laws, we just need simpler, more enforceable laws, and fewer of them. Government needs to spend less time trying to stop the next so-called tragedy, and focus on making people’s lives better today.

To that matter, I am not that horrified by his budget proposal, as much as I’m amused by it, even if it spends too much on military defense and the police state. We need an honest discussion of government programs, and those that are absolutely necessary, Congress should reinstate.  Sometimes it’s better to start at ground zero, and build back up. Maybe they shouldn’t keep doing things the same way in government, because that’s the way they’ve always done it.

To be sure, I’m not thrilled by Donald Trump. I thought Barack Obama had a better grasp of the facts, and delivered a healthcare program, while not perfect, helped out a lot of people. But as they say, there is always more to do. Mr. Trump has three years left to prove himself, and ultimately governing is not defined by who has the best rhetoric, but who gets the best results. People need to learn that things need to change, so we can make life better for people.

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The Pitfalls of ‘Buy American’

Interview: The Pitfalls of ‘Buy American’

"Like people in the 1970s, people today want to return to the so-called “Golden Age” when there were lots of jobs in heavy industry that were union, paid really well, and provided excellent benefits. They imagine that “Buy American” might help to bring all that back."

"The problem is that employers have long since turned on the labor movement and driven down working conditions so far that is very hard to return to that world. The strategy being pursued by employers today is totally different from what unions faced in the 1950s and 1960s, when the Steelworkers and Auto Workers had these great jobs."

"And, of course, that seeming “Golden Age” puts the focus on only one particular sector. Steel jobs were not naturally wonderful jobs with pensions and health care and high salaries. They had been hideous jobs where people worked 12 hours a day, seven days a week, until the Congress of Industrial Organizations built powerful unions in the 1930s and changed all that."

"Manufacturing is only 8 percent of all employment in the United States. What we need is a massive grassroots movement that makes all jobs—whether they are in manufacturing, or in service, or in agriculture—into really great jobs with union protections."