Typically, the news cycle is rather slow during the holidays. However, with Donald Trump in the Oval Office, the Holiday Roundup 2018 is overflowing with news. Let’s take a look.
Top News Today
Since our last official news story before the Christmas holiday, it has not been a silent night. A lot has happened since last week and there’s a lot to discuss. Here’s the Holiday Roundup 2018:
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GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN
As of midnight last Friday, the US government officially shut down. Although Democratic and Republican members of Congress agreed on a spending bill, Donald Trump refused to sign it.
Despite coming to an agreement earlier in the week, ‘The Donald’ threw a temper tantrum at the 11th hour and refused to allow the US government to operate unless he was given $5 billion dollars to build his beloved wall along the border of Mexico. If his actions appear to resemble highway robbery, you’d be correct.
In a now-viral Oval Office video, Trump promised Senate Leader Chuck Schumer and House Leader Nancy Pelosi that he’d shut down the government over his wall AND that he would take full responsibility for doing so. However, Trump has spent a considerable amount of time attempting to walk back that promise and to make Democrats appear to be the bad guys. Fortunately, Democrats will control the US House of Representatives in a matter of days and then the joke will be on ‘The Donald.’
Holiday Roundup 2018 video:
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DEFENSE SECRETARY MATTIS RESIGNS
Long considered “the adult in the room,” Defense Secretary James Mattis tendered his resignation late last week, in a bitter dispute with Donald Trump over removing troops from Syria.
Trump oddly claims that ISIS has been defeated in Syria. However, Secretary Mattis was quick to correct him that the battle is not yet won and that any withdrawal from the region would only embolden ISIS even further.
According to Trump, he knows more about the military and foreign policy than anyone, so he decided to go with his gut and pull the troops out against the wishes of his own defense secretary, military generals, and members of Congress. Realizing that he and his boss are on 2 different pages, Mattis had no other choice but to step aside and let Trump be Trump.
READ THE MATTIS RESIGNATION LETTER HERE
Originally, Mattis agreed to stay on the job until late February. However, once Donald Trump actually read the resignation letter and realized how little confidence Mattis and others have in his abilities, he decided to replace Mattis effective immediately.
Trump has announced that he has chosen Patrick Shanahan to become Acting Secretary of Defense as of January 1st. Interestingly, Shanahan has ZERO military, defense, or foreign policy experience.
I am pleased to announce that our very talented Deputy Secretary of Defense, Patrick Shanahan, will assume the title of Acting Secretary of Defense starting January 1, 2019. Patrick has a long list of accomplishments while serving as Deputy, & previously Boeing. He will be great!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 23, 2018
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STOCK MARKET TUMBLE
Since taking office, Donald Trump has ridden the coattails of Barack Obama’s booming economy. However, Trump’s blunders have since created instability in the world and sent the stock markets into a nosedive.
As of Christmas Eve, the Dow dropped another 500 points, in response to Trump’s trade relationship with China and other economic missteps. Skittish investors are selling off stock and running for cover with their cash. Economic pundits say it’s anyone’s guess when or if the market will recover.
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GoFundMe CAMPAIGN RAISES $12 million
Trumpies really want Trump to get his wall — so much so, they’ve launched a GoFundMe page to solicit donations to keep those dirty Mexicans out.
Trump needs $5 billion to build his wall and so far, the fund has raised just over $17 million dollars — nowhere near the amount needed.
The man who launched the GoFundMe page, Brian Kolfage, is a triple-amputee Iraq war vet with a questionable past. He was kicked off Facebook for pushing right-wing conspiracy theories and potential scams.
Ironically, since Kolfage is the person who started the donation page, he could actually walk away with all of the cash. Regrettably, there’s no way to force GoFundMe to give the government (and not Kolfage) the collected funds.
Stay tuned…
