Trump’s unpresidential tweets about McChrystal

Little Donald just has to throw a tantrum and fight back. You’re the president. Act like it.

See the Jake Tapper thread below by clicking on the tweet.

.@McCormickProf is exactly right. This is precisely what GOP leadership should be saying to Trump and the nation. Their silence and failure to criticize or counter Trump's outrageous behavior speaks volumes. cc: @RadioFreeTom @Peter_Wehner @matthewjdowd @SykesCharlie pic.twitter.com/nmtW4BcPFG

— Ray Glennon (@RayGlennon) January 1, 2019

Oh, yes. https://t.co/ZZhsn1kQRN

— Norman Ornstein (@NormOrnstein) January 1, 2019

It's easy to laugh at this, but it's dangerous in many ways. It undermines our civil-military foundations, and it's a bonanza for the enemies and foreign intelligence services who track not only the workings of our govt, but who keep careful tabs on the president's state of mind. https://t.co/m9AqPW2AYU

— Tom Nichols (@RadioFreeTom) January 1, 2019

Retired four-star Admiral William McRaven, the commander of U.S. Special Operations Command from 2011 to 2014 (which included the OBL mission), just issued the following statement to CNN in response to POTUS attacking GEN McChrystal on twitter:

1/4

— Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) January 1, 2019

The Trump shutdown

He owns it.

The majority doesn’t want the wall and more people blame Republicans than Democrats for the shutdown.

For the last time, Nancy Pelosi is not the Speaker of the House. Until she becomes Speaker on January 3, 2019, she cannot convene the House, schedule a vote or open the government. Republicans control all three branches of government. The #TrumpShutdown is entirely on them. pic.twitter.com/4N1W16IIXF

— Keith Boykin (@keithboykin) December 29, 2018

It’s always a woman’s fault™️ https://t.co/KcVnLQR4z6

— Judd Legum (@JuddLegum) December 29, 2018

Americans are blaming Trump for shutdown that is likely to last into 2019. https://t.co/0A2mY3jZtK

— Slate (@Slate) December 29, 2018

Read some of the sample letters the government suggests federal workers could send to their creditors, as hundreds of thousands of them are expecting to begin the new year furloughed or working without pay due to the partial shutdown https://t.co/1AlbeNwilw pic.twitter.com/k5pFeuR9Yc

— CNN (@CNN) December 29, 2018

Narrator: Ths is a lie, the Democrats had already offered $1.6 billion for border security in exchange for DACA, everyone was on board, and Trump killed the deal at the last minute.

PS Note that Trump once again admits that it is HE who shut down the government. https://t.co/bm0q3mkKik

— John Aravosis 🇺🇸 (@aravosis) December 29, 2018

Our President is threatening to shut down the southern border over funding for his $5,000,000,000 wall. Experts say doing so would cost our economy hundreds of millions of dollars a day, maybe over a billion.

This isn't leadership, it's the world's most expensive temper tantrum.

— Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) December 28, 2018

“Donald Trump suggesting that President Barack Obama should have been fired for a government shutdown. Priceless.” https://t.co/5zjiaFooIe

— HuffPost (@HuffPost) December 29, 2018

Poll: Most Americans don’t understand scope of the government shutdown @HillTVLive https://t.co/jcKnIXTVnx pic.twitter.com/AwGRr1aOlw

— The Hill (@thehill) December 29, 2018

Donald Trump too busy watching Fox News to contact Nancy Pelosi about ending government shutdown, senator suggests https://t.co/R2F6NGlzTj pic.twitter.com/rHRs6juUxV

— Newsweek (@Newsweek) December 29, 2018

Some pundits argue that the shutdown is no big deal because federal employees will eventually receive back pay.

What they forget to mention is that it also means that government contractors will be forced to work without pay or even be laid off. https://t.co/b6s3uk5n3i

— Ro Khanna (@RoKhanna) December 29, 2018

Except there’s no amount of salesmanship that can change the fact that the shutdown is Trump’s fault. He asked for it, he said he’d take the blame for it, and he can end it by dropping his demand for a wall that the majority of Americans and Congress don’t want. https://t.co/j5vntnkHuL

— Jon Favreau (@jonfavs) December 29, 2018

Trump’s pathetic attack on Democrats over deaths of two migrant children

He is way out of bounds by blaming Democrats for the death of two migrant children. They died because of his inhumane policies if you’re going to blame anyone. This tragedy should not be politicized.

Exactly, @MalcolmNance. Good for you for pulling no punches. Trump aids, abets, and enables the needless deaths of innocent children. And does so without pity or responsibility, blaming anyone but himself. Donald Redrum Trump. Pathetic excuse for a human being. https://t.co/jRMEYl9cKp

— Laurence Tribe (@tribelaw) December 29, 2018

Pretty sure this is a new low. (Also, what he calls Democratic policies were in place for decades and kids weren’t dying in US govt custody.) https://t.co/0Zig4dqNZh

— Karen Tumulty (@ktumulty) December 29, 2018

President Trump didn’t just wrongly blame Democrats for two Guatemalan children dying in @CBP custody, on his watch. He also blamed the father of 7-year-old Jakelin Caal for her death, telling an outright lie about how “he hadn’t given her water for days.” https://t.co/53ThXccV3y

— Jamil Smith (@JamilSmith) December 29, 2018

This is pretty depraved but also an amazing window into his mind. It’s not that the government bureaucracy has failed or the system is overwhelmed and needs to be changed. It’s that his opponents are to blame. https://t.co/mJqhkUXFnC

— Sam Stein (@samstein) December 29, 2018

The tweets marked Trump’s first public comments about the deaths of the immigrant children, and he offered no empathy to the families and took no responsibility for the government’s handling of their cases. https://t.co/AOlg6EEKWv

— David Nakamura (@DavidNakamura) December 30, 2018

Think about this for a second. The guy is supposed to be President of the United States of America…all of America. Think about what he’s saying here. There are no more lines to be crossed. https://t.co/yoy3bsJvvj

— Mike Barnicle (@mikebarnicle) December 29, 2018

"White House officials say that the president, who is concerned about the collapse of his own political support, feels good about his stance on the shutdown, and sees no urgency toward making a deal with the incoming Democratic majority." https://t.co/GwVuFBUIaa

— Maggie Haberman (@maggieNYT) December 29, 2018

This isn’t what either the families nor CBP are saying. CBP is investigating both deaths. The extent to which Trump, in the name of defending Border Patrol, runs roughshod over what the people closer to the ground are actually doing is really underappreciated. https://t.co/FF5RF6LAlq

— Dara Lind (@DLind) December 29, 2018

Trump’s casual cruelty is always breathtaking. We can’t become immune to it. https://t.co/u3rPsMVSMq

— Elise Jordan (@Elise_Jordan) December 29, 2018

What would be the reaction if another president blamed another political party for children who died in his government’s custody?

— Josh Dawsey (@jdawsey1) December 29, 2018

Any sympathy for the dead child? https://t.co/Y87K2dqVYc

— Josh Dawsey (@jdawsey1) December 29, 2018

Donald Trump implemented a series of new policies that resulted in the deaths of two young children in a few weeks and Trump’s first comment was to blame Democrats and use their deaths to push for his “wall” rather than expressing any sympathy that two kids died in US custody.

— Brian Klaas (@brianklaas) December 29, 2018

Democrats in power for 10 years – 0 deaths, Trump in power for 2 years – 2 children dead. But sure, blame the democrats for the deaths you caused. pic.twitter.com/L58rKjmX5j

— James Felton (@JimMFelton) December 29, 2018

Trump tried to blame the recent deaths of two migrant children on Democrats. Before the two incidents this month, it had been more than a decade since a migrant child died in CBP custody.

— Jane’s not Tame (@JksKathryn) December 29, 2018

President Trump, lying? Naming fake scapegoats? No, not possible! https://t.co/iCdnA2NqIk

— Laurence Tribe (@tribelaw) December 29, 2018

Fact check from June: "The Trump administration owns this family-separation policy, and its spin deserves Four Pinocchios." https://t.co/fEB7NAMKIQ https://t.co/UoaBK1YpYe

— Glenn Kessler (@GlennKesslerWP) December 29, 2018

McGurk, top US envoy in fight against ISIS, resigns

Another departure based on Trump’s new Syria and Afghanistan policies.

Of course, Trump trashes him on the way out. Why would anybody work for Trump?

The fact that you say you don’t know @brett_mcgurk speaks volumes about your commitment to fighting ISIS @realDonaldTrump. Why don’t you know the man who has done more than any civilian to degrade ISIS? I can assure you @BarackObama knows him well. https://t.co/OzvKRrmVF5

— Susan Rice (@AmbassadorRice) December 23, 2018

Uhhhh…you don’t know your own coordinator of the anti-ISIS campaign?

Over the past 5 years, no one has done more to put ISIS on its heels than Brett. We all know and rely on him. The fact that our President has no clue who Brett is should scare the hell out of every American. https://t.co/m7SNU1SA7z

— Chris Murphy (@ChrisMurphyCT) December 23, 2018

Trump tonight tweeted that he doesn't know who Brett McGurk is, the U.S. envoy to the coalition fighting the Islamic State.

McGurk has literally been the American leading the fight against ISIS.

— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) December 23, 2018

Brett McGurk clerked for Rehnquist, worked in the Bush Administration, and once co-authored a @FedSoc white paper with Trump's 5th Circuit appointee Jim Ho and other young conservative lawyers. Thanks for your public service, Brett, in all administrations. https://t.co/DyXm2aXB6L

— Orin Kerr (@OrinKerr) December 23, 2018

And McGurk’s departure is equally major. https://t.co/wfq3nea1q1

— Maggie Haberman (@maggieNYT) December 23, 2018

As an American Citizen directly impacted by @brett_mcgurk’s work as a diplomat, I thank him deeply for his years of dedicated service. Without his relentless efforts @YeganehSalehi and I would not be here. That’s a fact. https://t.co/Ba0d9M8WVJ

— Jason Rezaian (@jrezaian) December 22, 2018

This is a very big deal. And if President Trump doesn’t know Brent McGurk that’s not a demonstration that McGurk’s departure is a nothing burger, it’s a demonstration the president has a stunning disinterest in the foreign policy of his country. https://t.co/yNxx1PqNNJ

— Brianna Keilar (@brikeilarcnn) December 23, 2018

Actually, after he clerked for Chief Justice Rehnquist in 2001, McGurk was appointed by George W. Bush to be special assistant to the president and senior director at the NSC for Iraq & Afghanistan. He served under both Bush and Obama. Like Bob Gates. https://t.co/yDcZefGaxA

— Jay Carney (@JayCarney) December 23, 2018

Tweeting that you don’t know the head of the government’s effort to combat ISIS is an amazing self own https://t.co/NdNG5H5tsY

— Chris Cillizza (@CillizzaCNN) December 23, 2018

More on Trump calling Cohen a “Rat”

I’ve never heard a public official call someone cooperating with law enforcement a “rat” until Trump did. That is a term criminals use. https://t.co/JgfEDpXUXW

— Renato Mariotti (@renato_mariotti) December 16, 2018

When a Republican president floats breaking into the DNC w no apparent irony https://t.co/0PQgDlOLHj

— Jonathan Martin (@jmartNYT) December 16, 2018

Media should remember not to normalize the President of the United States calling someone who cooperates with law enforcement “a rat.” Language of organized crime debases the office.

— Gabriel Sherman (@gabrielsherman) December 16, 2018

Sir, in mobster lingo, a ‘rat’ is a witness who tells prosecutors real incriminating info. Perhaps a different word? Searches of lawyer’s offices common enough that DOJ has a procedure for them. Here it yielded evidence of crimes you said he should be jailed for. You should stop. https://t.co/EV1txBYrhz

— Andy McCarthy (@AndrewCMcCarthy) December 16, 2018

The tenor and fever-pitch of these tweets are markedly different than they were even a few weeks ago https://t.co/i6DTwj7fxz

— Glenn Thrush (@GlennThrush) December 16, 2018

Executing a legally obtained search warrant is precisely the opposite of breaking into an office. And it’s increasingly clear that the President of the United States committed a series of serious crimes. https://t.co/VUT55hqmgF

— Brian Klaas (@brianklaas) December 16, 2018

Mob boss Trump calls Cohen a “Rat”

Trump speaks like a gangster instead of a president. That’s because he is a mob boss.

This is from the President of our country, lying about the lawful execution of a search warrant issued by a federal judge. Shame on Republicans who don’t speak up at this moment — for the FBI, the rule of law, and the truth. pic.twitter.com/c5dhQBnmyi

— James Comey (@Comey) December 16, 2018

They didn’t break into his office. They had search warrants authorized by a federal judge – who would need to find probable cause – for his office, home and hotel he was staying at https://t.co/dL0L3ynQkl

— Manu Raju (@mkraju) December 16, 2018

I know it’s hard when you try and hide behind a lawyer & attorney client privilege & it doesn’t work because two different Judges said very little was privileged because he wasn’t really your lawyer but your fixer. Saw it all the time in Mafia cases, so I get that it’s scary. https://t.co/br4kLZdXWn

— Mimi Rocah (@Mimirocah1) December 16, 2018

FACT-CHECK: Rank & file FBI agents were executing a lawful court order.

Now would be a good time for rule of law Republicans & DOJ leadership to slam this alarming shot at FBI agents and government cooperators. Your deafening silence permits this corrosive narrative to continue. https://t.co/dv2wZwgLZu

— Josh Campbell (@joshscampbell) December 16, 2018

To recap, the President of the United States is calling someone a rat for cooperating with *the Justice Department he oversees*

When Trumpers harrumph about "show me the attacks on the rule of law," this is a prime example.

— Tom Nichols (@RadioFreeTom) December 16, 2018

Wow. Andy is a strong conservative former Federal prosecutor who Trump himself invoked and retweeted earlier to try to bolster his defense. https://t.co/ri4xEaQ6en

— Neal Katyal (@neal_katyal) December 16, 2018

Wrote back in August, this president uses lexicon of a gangster. Whatever one thinks of M. Cohen — for @POTUS to call him a “rat” — utterly disgraceful & unconscionable.

And, DOJ doesn’t “break into” attorney offices w/o cause, warrant approved by judge. https://t.co/wahhQ3WDx1

— James A. Gagliano (@JamesAGagliano) December 16, 2018

My former colleague Andy McCarthy, one of the President's most steady and articulate defenders, is starting to take the measure of the man he has so vigorously defended. POTUS's language reflects the mentality of an at risk mob boss, not of a President.There is a reason for that. https://t.co/FXTVqt1Rdf

— Michael R. Bromwich (@mrbromwich) December 16, 2018

Fact check

1. This is obvious but the FBI didn’t “break into” anything. They executed court-approved search warrants.

2. The Mueller investigation was not “illegally started.” Four separate federal judges have upheld Mueller’s appointment and authorities. https://t.co/zLDUe1lWmk

— Marshall Cohen (@MarshallCohen) December 16, 2018

I worked mafia cases for years in SDNY, mainly Gambino and Genovese. I usually hesitate to make this comparison but here it is completely warranted. This – calling somebody who provides information to law enforcement a “rat” – is straight up mob boss language. https://t.co/K8w46rVMP5

— Elie Honig (@eliehonig) December 16, 2018

Trump appears to obstruct justice

Trump criticizes Cohen for cooperating with law enforcement – Trump is the top law enforcement official in the country. This sure looks like obstruction and the tweets were not a good idea.

Trump is the only guy that would try to describe a jail sentence as GREAT while simultaneously attempting to describe telling the truth about crimes committed as TERRIBLE. https://t.co/sHAqV8Wmdt

— Demitri Dawson (@DemitriDawson) December 3, 2018

Trump’s tweets about Cohen and Stone will be used as exhibits supporting a corrupt intent to obstruct justice and/or tamper with witnesses in Mueller’s report.

— Daniel Goldman (@danielsgoldman) December 3, 2018

I’ve never heard a public official speak this way before Trump. This sounds like something the criminals I used to prosecute would say. https://t.co/WVqoz2taVh

— Renato Mariotti (@renato_mariotti) December 3, 2018

George is right. This is genuinely looking like witness tampering. DOJ (at least with a nonfake AG) prosecutes cases like these all the time. The fact it's done out in the open is no defense. Trump is genuinely melting down, and no good lawyer can represent him under these circs https://t.co/zqFUoQvWTf

— Neal Katyal (@neal_katyal) December 3, 2018

Bravo to President Trump for calling for judges to throw the book at associates of his who commit crimes. I'm sure he will maintain this consistent position throughout his time in office. https://t.co/SWjQhb2aOJ

— Matthew Miller (@matthewamiller) December 3, 2018

President Trump incorrectly claimed in a tweet that Michael Cohen's crimes were not related to him, and called for his former personal attorney to serve a "full and complete sentence." https://t.co/WuauJIdh6C

— Axios (@axios) December 3, 2018

Is Donald Trump's Tweet About Roger Stone Witness Tampering? – Lawfare https://t.co/iJLBWypNZk

— Jack Shafer (@jackshafer) December 3, 2018

Highest elected official in the country appears to be trying to interfere in the sentencing of former lawyer who has implicated the president in guilty pleas. https://t.co/5RJWg07M1l

— Maggie Haberman (@maggieNYT) December 3, 2018

Should not be?? It’s one thing to avoid loose talk of impeachment. I’m all for that. But let’s not mince words in describing this crooked president’s witness tampering and attempts to obstruct justice. https://t.co/3BVnTRkSzi

— Laurence Tribe (@tribelaw) December 3, 2018

This one’s hilarious:

Leave me outta this https://t.co/oWt7sh0UGz

— Scott Free (@gbabyflt) December 3, 2018

update 12/3

President Trump publicly praises Roger Stone for having “guts!” to not testify against the president. Is that witness tampering? Experts weigh in.
https://t.co/VRZnzA8HUE

— MSNBC (@MSNBC) December 4, 2018

Happening right in front of us https://t.co/BqB26ltf45

— Brendan Nyhan (@BrendanNyhan) December 4, 2018

Trump’s Twitter rant 11/28/18

All kinds of lies and other garbage today:

It's sort of remarkable that we treat as normal the president's sharing false memes on Twitter, but, in this case, that it's false information about *government programs* kicks it up a notch. https://t.co/H0afwDoIpg

— Philip Bump (@pbump) November 28, 2018

The president just retweeted a vice presidential parody account. https://t.co/HDNMo2y46m

— Josh Dawsey (@jdawsey1) November 28, 2018

This insane thing was retweeted by the president. Presidential panic isn’t pretty. https://t.co/QRonI3jg9z

— Bill Kristol (@BillKristol) November 28, 2018

Trump retweeted a claim this morning that "Illegals can get up to $3,874 a month under Federal Assistance program[s]." Not only is this based on a document about a refugee family (not illegal immigrants), but the case was in Canada, not in the U.S. pic.twitter.com/LZ6E6k3qDb

— David Martosko (@dmartosko) November 28, 2018

The president's morning on Twitter:
– Retweeted call to imprison his deputy attorney general and various former officials for treason
– Retweeted a fake Mike Pence
– Retweeted a lie about assistance for illegal immigrants
– Retweeted dishonest criticism of a Hillary Clinton joke

— Daniel Dale (@ddale8) November 28, 2018

"Donald Trump is a president who acts like an Internet troll. He finds nuggets, shapes them to his liking and then shares them. Facts, context and fairness are secondary concerns — if they are concerns at all."https://t.co/k4vbEAIgpU

— Chris Cillizza (@CillizzaCNN) November 28, 2018

Last 24 hours, Trump has:

-Suggested Clinton campaign emails may not have actually been stolen (a nod to Seth Rich conspiracy)
-Cited Jerome Corsi as a “major player” whose word can be trusted over Mueler
-Accused his own deputy AG of treason

— Kyle Cheney (@kyledcheney) November 28, 2018

Trump administration wants to bypass appeals courts

They think they can get a more favorable ruling from the Supreme Court so they want to bypass the appeals courts and normal process. Trump recently trashed the 9th Circuit but they are not the most overturned court.

Trump is trying to gin up personal fight between himself and the courts in order to delegitimize them in eyes of his base. Once he does that, it'll be hard for GOP to defend independent judiciary. Then it becomes a partisan football. Then rule of law dies. https://t.co/Tw4Pfepw6Y

— Ian Bassin (@ianbassin) November 21, 2018

Trump’s goal is not to make a point about the Ninth Circuit. It is to delegitimize the courts (and the Chief Justice) because they, like the media and like DOJ, are an institution that serves as a check & balance against his impulsivity and reckless disregard for the rule of law. https://t.co/2rw73632Rq

— Neal Katyal (@neal_katyal) November 21, 2018

as predicted! "vast number" overturned…. The 9th Circuit is not the most overturned court by the annual reversal rate. here are the facts –> https://t.co/Wztbm1A09j https://t.co/yOS2Gv0wMl

— Glenn Kessler (@GlennKesslerWP) November 21, 2018

This @JoshuaMatz8 post on the Solicitor General repeatedly asking #SCOTUS for emergency relief against district courts is worth reading.

It's not just that these moves disrespect the courts of appeals; they could also cause long-term harm to the SG's credibility with the Court. https://t.co/j54mFuk5aa

— Steve Vladeck (@steve_vladeck) November 12, 2018

Trump administration asks Supreme Court to immediately take up transgender military ban https://t.co/H8t18EhogL

— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) November 23, 2018

This manifestly unjustified petition urging SCOTUS to leapfrog the lower courts to uphold the #TransBan has just landed. It should be tossed out instantly, ideally with a reminder that the SG’s credibility is already a fully depreciated asset. @JoshuaMatz8 https://t.co/XeRJpPQuAu

— Laurence Tribe (@tribelaw) November 23, 2018

The disrespect DOJ has been showing to the courts comes from the top-down, as we vividly witnessed this week. It's tragic. https://t.co/wgXrRxhTIN

— Neal Katyal (@neal_katyal) November 23, 2018

Read this totally devastating shredding by @steve_vladeck of Trump’s imbecilic (and threatening to the very idea of an independent judiciary) attack on the asylum ruling against his clearly lawless order and on the Ninth Circuit. https://t.co/aXA181obht

— Laurence Tribe (@tribelaw) November 22, 2018

Adam Schitt

Trump can’t talk about decorum after his insult of Adam Schiff. This is his latest disgusting attack on people. I think it was intentional – he hasn’t retracted it. The T and F keys aren’t next to each other.

Republicans say nothing. Sad!

Trump calls for “decorum” at the White House and then a couple days later calls the incoming chairman of the House Intelligence Committee “Schitt”

— Manu Raju (@mkraju) November 18, 2018

Of course it was intended. And it’s Trump who’s the “schitt.” Plus Mueller, unlike the acting AG, needed no Senate confirmation because, as the courts have held, he has a boss below the president. Trump’s ignorance is boundless, as is his depravity. @GenMhayden @RepAdamSchiff https://t.co/4X9aaCyCgS

— Laurence Tribe (@tribelaw) November 19, 2018

"Little Adam Schitt"https://t.co/XAR04Ih9mA

— Chris Cillizza (@CillizzaCNN) November 19, 2018

A new nickname or just a typo? Trump tweet calls Democratic Representative Adam B. Schiff "Little Adam Schitt." https://t.co/t50h7ZapKc

— The New York Times (@nytimes) November 19, 2018

Just want to point out all the kids in school with the last name #Schiff getting bullied and name called #Schitt today because of the president of the US. I know because my neices are Schiffs. #BeBest

— Laurie David (@Laurie_David) November 19, 2018