Smoke is clearing and the lines are being drawn. First Sessions is in, then he’s out, then back in again. Democrats quickly supported Trump’s nominee, FBI Director Christopher Wray. Yet, Trump is always about to be “finished this time”, oops, wait, not this time, but “next time for sure”. The DOJ is going after the press to crackdown on leakers, or well, not quite exactly. Greenspan finally figured out how to have an opinion on the economy, or maybe not; it was just “irrational exuberance”, again. Would he be surprised if the market cracked? No. Would he be surprised if the market didn’t crack for a while? No. The stories change, or not, all depending on the day of the week.
Sheriff Joe could be in trouble for profiling illegals before he caught them, but expect a pardon from Trump if Joe Arpaio only detained illegal immigrants. A pardon for Sheriff Joe could even lead to renewed popular support for mild profiling as a way of “softening” security screening in many venues, not just with immigration, but also with airport security and others. If Joe Arpaio hit his mark, there is no way the Trump administration would turn a blind eye.
The feds and the States are clashing over procedures. Democratic-controlled States are learning to assert “States rights”, a position usually reserved for Conservatives. Still sanctuary cities aren’t as easy to pull off as they once were.
New Chief of Staff Kelly is laying down the law, implementing procedures that should be expected in any White House. Reince Priebus not having implemented such rules restricting Oval Office access begs questions about Republican Party infighting, that as RNC Chairman he may have caught a contagious “smile and ignore the chaos” bug.
The economy is up, for now. Bible studies are starting at the White House. Hannity is making a “Christian” movie. MSNBC is pounding Fox News in ratings. Apple gave in to China’s demands to remove VPN support apps; some think this will have “capitulation” backlash and hurt Apple’s business in its second-largest market to the US. Maryland is thinking about letting non-citizens vote in local elections, but not national or State. Then, there’s the transgender issue…
Trump never said the US military would not protect transgenders; he said, mostly, that they were too burdensome to do the protecting. People oppose Trump’s decision, arguing it is a violation of their “rights”. Usually people who serve their countries in uniform seek to lay down their rights to preserve the rights of others. Transgenders will still be protected by the US Armed Services, along with everyone else on the shores of America. The US situation is certainly better than in Thailand, where all transgenders are expected to appear for military draft physical exams. Perhaps transgenders could start the “trans-corps”, as minorities overlooked for military service in the past have. But, putting anything high-maintenance in the military isn’t an option for lean-steam Trump. If transgenders force the issue, they could alienate themselves further and lose ground.