Stormy Weather

I guess I am dating myself when I say that almost every time I hear about Stormy Daniels that song pops into my head. But stormy weather is what the Trump White House is sailing into and dragging the country with it. It certainly remains to be seen whether the Stormy Daniels case and Karen Mcdougal’s and other women’s recent allegations of previous affairs move the political needle at all, since Teflon Don has so far been impervious to things like that. In fact, although I find it amazing, Trump‘s approval rating has actually been inching upward, now as high as the low to mid 40s! Any legal proceedings involving Trump and these women will probably drag on for many months with no major effect, until or unless Trump is forced to give a deposition. 

However, the upheaval in the White House continues. Now, despite the usual complete denials as fake news as recently as last week, which reconfirms the total lack of White House credibility (as if we needed more confirmation), National Security Advisor McMaster is out and being replaced by former UN ambassador and Fox News commentator John Bolton, an extremist hawk (and apparent Islamophobe) who has persistently supported the Iraq war, advocated bombing Iran and attacking North Korea to accomplish regime change with takeover by South Korea! Just what we need being whispered into the president’s ear! So the number of rational adults around the president keeping his finger away from the button keeps dwindling. It’s becoming pretty likely that the US will pull out of the Iran deal in May, and the possibility of actual armed conflicts is rising. Nobody yet knows who is next on the chopping block, with chief of staff John Kelly still likely in jeopardy. 

The other big shake up is the resignation of Trump’s lead personal attorney John Dowd after the reported addition to the legal team of Fox News conspiracy theorist lawyer Joe DiGenova. This coincides with Trump’s own more aggressive Twitter campaign against Mueller‘s investigation beginning last weekend, all signaling a more aggressive policy toward the special prosecutor and stoking new concerns over Mueller’s job security. It will be interesting to see whether Ty Cobb, the other voice of reason on the legal team, stays on board. Meanwhile multiple other lawyers are turning down offers to join the team… smart move! As pointed out by a CNN commentator, the reality TV president is in the process of choosing a reality TV cabinet and legal team. 

As if all that wasn’t enough, the Dow dropped 724 points today (March 22) as a reaction to Trump announcing billions in tariffs against China, sparking fears of a trade war.

Just another day in Trumpland!