Category Archives: Donald Trump

On Friday afternoon, James Baker, the former general counsel of the F.B.I., felt a tinge of optimism. Almost two years ago, he was ousted from his position as the Bureaus top legal official, after President Trump fired the F.B.I.s director, James Comey. Baker, a career Justice Department official and a longtime Comey ally, had approved the F.B.I.s Trump-Russia investigation and the monitoring of a former Trump campaign advisers communications. Trump welcomed the news of Bakers removal in a tweet: Wow, FBIlawyer James Baker reassigned. In subsequent tweets and retweets, the President accused Baker of lying to Congress and being part of an Unconstitutional Hoax and an attempted coup.

Baker considered Trumps claims about him to be completely false, but he said nothing publicly at the time. (The Republican-controlled Senate Intelligence Committee investigated the origins of the F.B.I.s Trump-Russia investigation and found no wrongdoing.) I believed that, once I was out of the F.B.I., I could resume a normal life and avoid the spotlight, he told me last week, in his office at the R Street Institute, a conservative and libertarian think tank, where he directs the national-security program. But that was inaccurate, because the damage had already been done by the Presidents tweets and stories about me on Fox News and other outlets. Baker, once considered one of the governments most trusted national-security officials, found that Trumps attacks impacted his ability to find a job. Certain corporations and law firms thought that I was too controversial and didnt want to hire me, Baker recalled. It surprised me and was dispiriting. Over time, he became convinced that Trump was improperly using his powers as President to maintain his hold on power. Baker decided to push back. At a certain point, I became unafraid of Donald Trump, he said. I felt, O.K., I can speak out. And also, I have an obligation to speak out. In May, Baker began publicly attacking what he called Trumps false narrative that there was a coup, and a conspiracy, and treason.

On Friday, Baker lauded Marie Yovanovitch, a career foreign-service officer and the former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine, who also decided to push back against Trump. During nearly nine hours of closed-door testimony before the House Intelligence, Foreign Affairs, and Oversight committees, Yovanovitch responded to months of attacks from Trump and his allies. In a blistering opening statement that was released to the press, she said that Trump had pressured State Department officials to remove her from her ambassadorship based on made-up allegations. Although I understand that I served at the pleasure of the president, her statement read,I was nevertheless incredulous that the U.S. government chose to remove an ambassador based, as best as I can tell, on unfounded and false claims by people with clearly questionable motives.Sean Maloney, a Democratic congressman from New York, said that, during the hearings, Yovanovitch grew visibly upset as she gave a gripping and emotional account of abuse of power by the President.

More potentially damaging testimony is expected this week, as House Democrats continue the impeachment inquiry that they launched after a U.S. intelligence official filed a whistle-blowers complaint regarding Trumps dealings with Ukraine. On Monday, Fiona Hill, who served as the top Russia expert in Trumps National Security Council, is expected to testify that Trumps personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, circumvented the normal White House process to pursue a shadow foreign policy in Ukraine. On Thursday, Gordon Sondland, a donor to Trumps Inauguration committee who was named U.S. Ambassador to the European Union, is expected to testify that he does not know if Trump was telling the truth when he denied withholding U.S. military aid to pressure Ukraines President to investigate Joe Biden.

Baker told me that Trumps failure so far to discredit the whistle-blower had weakened his power to silence current and former officials. He tried to smash the whistle-blower, and it didnt work, Baker said. One of the things that Donald Trump has trafficked in is fear. And, once people are no longer afraid of him, I think more people will come forward.

According to Chuck Rosenberga career federal prosecutor who served as a senior adviser to Comey and Robert Mueller at the F.B.Ithe Presidents public attacks are a calculated effort to pressure government officials. Rosenberg, who served as the acting director of the D.E.A. in the Trump Administration but resigned, in 2017, told me that the Presidents repeated denunciations of Mueller and his team were designed to hamper the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election. Rosenberg said that Trumps smears did not impact the probes findings, but didincrease the pressure on Mueller. Trump may lack a sophisticated understanding of the federal government, Rosenberg warned, but the effectiveness of his public diatribes should not be underestimated. I think its very intentional, he said. You can be not well read in a classic sense but very cunning and successful as a street fighter.

Trump seems likely to continue to declare any current and former officials who criticize him part of a secret cabal trying to remove him from office. After the Times reported that Giuliani was under criminal investigation for possibly breaking lobbying laws in his dealings with Ukraine, Trump tweeted, Such a one sided Witch Hunt going on in USA. Deep State. Shameful! A former National Security Council aide, who asked not to be named, scoffed at Trumps claim of a plot. The aide described the vast majority of State Department officials as loathe to publicly criticize a President and as risk-averse. It has to be really bad for people to speak out, the former aide said. Its a mentalitydont break anything.

The likelihood that the testimony of Yovanovitch or other government officials will significantly undermine Trumps messaging is low. The Presidents willingness to traffic in conspiracy theories, and to play on Americans long-running suspicions of government, together with his vast social-media following give him far more power to sway public opinion. Baker, though, believes that it is worth trying to counter Trumps narrative. As part of his personal effort, he published an essay, in May, on the Lawfare Web site: Why I Do Not Hate Donald Trump. In it, he argues that deriding the President and his supporters is the wrong tactic. Instead, citing Martin Luther King, Jr.,s Letter from a Birmingham Jail, Baker suggests responding with grace, decency, and fact. He concedes that this approach may strike many as foolish or nave. All I know is that I have a small grain of sand that I can contribute to the effort, and I want to put it on the right side of the scale, he told me. If many people do that, then it can make a difference. He commended Yovanovitch, saying, Shes taking a risk and putting her grain of sand on the scale. It sounds like she is pursuing the truth with the goal of helping protect the American people and upholding the Constitution.

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Public Servants Are Starting to Respond to Donald Trumps False Attacks - The New Yorker

Impeaching a U.S. president might not be the be-all-end-allfor their career. We explain why this is the case. Just the FAQs, USA TODAY

We've never had a president like Donald Trump. He falls into every single sleaze category, from women to profiteering to attacking the Bill of Rights.

Weve had presidents who were used by members of their own family for personal gain, likeUlysses S. Grant.

Weve had presidents who stocked their Cabinet with greedy, self-serving mediocrities who took advantage of the public trust, like Warren G. Harding.

Weve had presidents who swore to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution, only to then abuse it, like Richard Nixon.

And weve had presidents who, thanks to a presumptive sense of entitlement, lived slimy private lives, using countless women before tossing them aside Harding again, plus John F. Kennedy and Bill Clinton.

President Donald Trump fallsinto every single sleazy category, squarely and shamelessly. Just Thursday, we learned that he'll hold next year'sGroup of Seven meeting (with leaders of Canada,France,Germany,Italy,Japan and theUnited Kingdom)at his own Doral golf resort in Miami.

Trump National Doral golf resort in Miami(Photo: Michele Eve Sandberg/AFP/Getty Images)

Its the latest example of how Trump, who never divested from his businesses,continues to make millions from them. Its also the latest reminder that he constantly violates the Constitutions emoluments clause, which is supposed to ban presidents from accepting money fromforeign governments. This whilethe House is in the middle of an impeachment inquiry and there are two lawsuits pending over the emoluments clause.

"This is unbelievable," said Noah Bookbinder, executive director of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, which filed one of those suits, speaking for much of America.

Grant was an honest man, yet under his nose, his own brother-in-law and two other grifters tried to corner the gold market. The financial panic that followed was called Black Friday.Then there was the Whiskey Ring Scandal,in which the presidents own secretary played a role in attempting to defraud the government of millions.

And Trump? Unlike other presidents, he never bothered to place his assets in a blind trust. Instead he allowshis family to run his trust, and heremains its one and only beneficiary.

Unconstitutional: G-7 at Trump's Doral resort? The original sin of this presidency is failure to divest

Andthe emoluments clausehasnt stopped diplomats, representatives of government-owned businesses and other foreign visitors from buying his properties andrunning up big tabs at his resorts and hotels. That's stuffing cash, albeit indirectly, into Trump's pocket.

Meantime, finger-pointingat Hunter Biden diverts mediaattention a time-honored Trump tactic from his own children'sbrazen exploitation of their fathers office. As Bloomberg'sStephanie Baker notes, they"have continued working with foreign business partners from Dubai to Indonesia and India while theirfather sits in the White House." First daughter Ivanka and hubby Jared Kushner raked in an estimated $82 million in 2017 alone, records show.

Time and again, notes the Los Angeles Times,Trumps children have blurred the lines of family, nation and business essentially the charge the president makes against the Bidens.

Perhaps youve heard of Teapot Dome, a huge oil reserve scandal involving Warren G. Hardings Interior secretary, Albert Fall.Fall was convicted of accepting a bribeand went to prison.Meanwhile, Hardings Veterans secretary, Charles Forbes, looted the 2019 equivalent of $2.8 billion in a string of shady deals; he, too, was convicted ofbribery and went to prison.

No one in Trumps revolving-door Cabinet has ripped off taxpayers on that scale, but many have fleeced we the people for everything from private air travel (former Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin), running up big tabs in Europe for spouses (former Veterans Affairs Secretary David Shulkin), and ripoffs for everything from new office doors (ex-Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke), dining room furniture (Housing Secretary Ben Carson)and more. Then there is fellow swamp monster Scott Pruitt, whose list of grifting while he headed the Environmental Protection Agencywas almost as long as the list of clean water and clean air regulations he helped the president gut.

And need I mention that Trumps campaign chief (Paul Manafort) and first national security adviser (Michael Flynn) are now convicted felons?And thatone of his top Oval Office aides (Rob Porter) had to leave after it became known that not one but both of his former spouses accused Porter of physical and verbal abuse.

Even a president as shameless as Trump has had to ditch many of theselet-them-eat-cake mediocrities to appease critics. Isn't this the guy who bragged that he hires only the very best? And his base still buys this claptrap.

We all know what Nixon did. AndTrump? It goes well beyond ignoring the emoluments clauseto monetize the presidency.

Trump took an oath to preserve, protect and defendthe Constitution of the United States. But just this month he publicly invitedan adversary,China, to interfere in the 2020 presidential election. Hehas attacked the First Amendmentby tryingto ban reporters whoask unpleasant questions from the White House and suggestingthat TV networks he dislikes lose their broadcast licenses.He has suggested cutting corners on due process for illegal immigrants,aviolationof the Fifth Amendment. He has suggested ending birthright citizenship, a violationof the Fourteenth Amendment.

Preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States? Rubbish.Trump only wants to bother with the parts that are convenient to him.

Harding was so sleazy that as president he once had sex with one of his mistresses in Central Park.He had an illegitimate daughter with one woman, a long affair with another who was suspected of being a German agent during World War I, and trysts in the Oval Office itself.Kennedy'svoluminous affairs were beyond sleazy. One with the girlfriend of a Mafia kingpin,and another with a woman believed to be an East German spy, even exposed him to potential blackmail.

Then there is our most recent philanderer in chief, Bill Clinton, whose lies about an affair with a White House intern got him impeached. Clintons liaisons showed him to be impulsive and sexually reckless in way that left a stain (literally and figuratively) on the presidency.

Making Nixon look good: Donald Trump is much worse than Richard Nixon. He may even have committed treason.

Trumps infidelities fall short of Harding and Kennedy. But sleaze is sleaze: He has cheated on all three wivesand, in the case of porn star Stormy Daniels, did it right after his third wife, Melania, gave birth to their son, Barron.And at last count, no fewerthan 25 women accuse him of either misconduct or flat-out assault.It's certainly obvious why evangelicals continue to call Trump a good, God-fearing Christian, isn't it?

Trump, who even lies about the weather, says every single one of these women is making it all up.Trump, as you know, is a Boy Scout and would never lay so much as an orange finger on anyone. And that Access Hollywood tapethat surfaced in 2016, in which he bragged about assaulting women? Fake. Sure.

A grifting family. A sleazy whats-in-it-for-me Cabinet. Trampling on our beloved Constitution. And all these women. All the boxes, checked.

Paul Brandus, founder and White House bureau chief of West Wing Reports, is the author of "Under This Roof: The White House and the Presidency" and is a member of USA TODAY's Board of Contributors. Follow him on Twitter: @WestWingReport

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Trump's unmatched sleaze: Grifters, women, trampling Constitution and now G-7 at Doral - USA TODAY

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This week was busier than most for the Trump administration. Trevor Noah and Jimmy Kimmel take a look.

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OPINION

This week was busier than most for the Trump administration. Trevor Noah and Jimmy Kimmel take a look. Eileen Rivers, USA TODAY Opinion

This was a busy week for President Donald Trump or, as late-night comic Trevor Noah points out, a busy 24 hours. In that time, he and his administration racked up about half-a-dozen scandalous moments (a potential record).

Among them: Energy Secretary Rick Perry resigned (causing Jimmy Kimmel to wonder how one of the longest-standing members of Trump's Cabinet willreact); House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Trump got into an "I know you are but what am I" contest (Noah explains, above); and an ambassador drops a bomb during his testimony about the Ukraine scandal.

Trevor Noah(Photo: Todd Plitt/USA TODAY)

And all of this somehow contributes to Trump's genius. How? Noah reveals allin today's Best of Late Night, above.

After you watch our favorite jokes from last night's late-night lineup, vote for yours in the poll below.

Follow Eileen Rivers on Twitter @msdc14.

Want more laughs? Check out these cartoon galleries:

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Noah reveals the genius of Donald Trump in Best of Late Night - USA TODAY

Tech entrepreneur, author and Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang says the impeachment inquiry being conducted by House Democrats "is the right way to go."

But he also cautions that those who support impeachment should be realistic about the chances of a GOP-controlled Senate voting to remove President Trump from office.

"I think impeachment is the right way to go, but I do not think that we should have any illusions that it's necessarily going to be successful," Yang told NPR's Noel King on Saturday as part of NPR's Off Script series of interviews with 2020 presidential candidates.

"When we are talking about Donald Trump, we are losing to Donald Trump, even if it's in the context of talking about impeaching him," Yang said.

Instead, Yang said, Democrats should be articulating a new vision for the United States.

"That's how we move the country forward. That's how we'll win in 2020," Yang said.

Entrepreneur and presidential hopeful Andrew Yang prepares for a meeting with undecided voters in Manhattan. A.J. Chavar for NPR hide caption

Entrepreneur and presidential hopeful Andrew Yang prepares for a meeting with undecided voters in Manhattan.

On the subject of winning, King pushed Yang on whether he can actually secure the Democratic nomination.

"Are you running for president to win?" King asked. "Or are you running for president to introduce ideas into the conversation?"

In response, Yang struck a confident tone.

"I 100% can win," he said. "I'm running to solve the biggest problems of our time."

Yang has never run for public office and was a relative unknown before he launched his Oval Office bid. He has managed to break through a crowded Democratic field with a sobering message that new technologies are already responsible for killing millions of American jobs.

His signature proposal of a universal basic income, which his campaign calls a "freedom dividend," would give every American adult $1,000 a month, no strings attached. Yang says he would pay for it by consolidating certain welfare programs and implementing a 10% tax on the goods and services that businesses produce.

A universal basic income is necessary, Yang argues, to mitigate "an unprecedented crisis" of wide-scale job losses due to automation.

King pointed to the fact that Yang is garnering single digits in presidential preference surveys.

Presidential hopeful Andrew Yang, NPR host and correspondent Noel King (center, right), and undecided voters Hetal Jani and John Zeitler talk politics over fried soup dumplings at Baodega in Manhattan. A.J. Chavar for NPR hide caption

Presidential hopeful Andrew Yang, NPR host and correspondent Noel King (center, right), and undecided voters Hetal Jani and John Zeitler talk politics over fried soup dumplings at Baodega in Manhattan.

According to RealClearPolitics, Yang is polling at roughly 2%, putting him slightly ahead of other presidential hopefuls, such as New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker and former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julin Castro and about even with former Texas congressman Beto O'Rourke.

But he lags far behind top-tier candidates like former Vice President Joe Biden, Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts.

King floated the possibility of Yang serving in different ways commerce secretary, perhaps. He was noncommittal but left the door open.

"I'm open to contributing in any of a range of roles," Yang said.

The interview took place in New York City's Flatiron District, roughly 2 miles away from Trump Tower, at a dim sum restaurant Yang selected called Baodega.

As the American-born son of Taiwanese immigrants, Yang's Asian heritage is central to his campaign, something he reflected on during the interview.

"It's given me a lot of joy and pride to think about an Asian child turning on the Democratic debates and seeing me up on that stage," Yang said. "Hopefully, it gives them a sense that we're just as American as anyone else."

On the campaign trial, Yang has received criticism for playing up Asian stereotypes, which has produced mixed reactions from Asian Americans, as a recent Vox report detailed. In one debate, he said, "The opposite of Donald Trump is an Asian man who likes math."

Yang has taken a jaunty approach to campaigning, including at times donning a blue and white hat with "MATH" on it an acronym for "Make America Think Harder." It's a tongue-in-cheek play on Trump's slogan "Make America Great Again," and it has been a hit with his followers.

His most devoted supporters even have a moniker the Yang Gang.

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Andrew Yang Says There Is No Guarantee Impeaching Trump Will Be Successful - NPR

Donald Trump warned his counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdoan dont be a fool and said history risked branding him a devil in an extraordinary letter sent the day Turkey launched its incursion into north-eastern Syria.

The letter, first obtained by a Fox Business reporter, was shorn of diplomatic niceties and began with an outright threat.

Lets work out a good deal! Trump wrote in the letter dated 9 October, whose authenticity was confirmed to various news outlets by the White House.

Days after appearing to greenlight an invasion by pulling US troops from the Kurdish-dominated region, Trump told the Turkish president he would wreck Ankaras economy if the invasion went too far.

You dont want to be responsible for slaughtering thousands of people, and I dont want to be responsible for destroying the Turkish economy and I will, he wrote.

History will look upon you favorably if you get this done the right and humane way, Trump continued. It will look upon you forever as the devil if good things dont happen.

Dont be a tough guy. Dont be a fool! he finished, adding: I will call you later.

International and domestic reaction was for the most part incredulous.

Erdoan received the letter, thoroughly rejected it and put it in the bin, Turkish presidential sources told the BBC on Thursday. There was no immediate comment from Turkish officials on the BBC report.

The Kremlin questioned the letters tone. You dont often encounter such language in correspondence between heads of state. Its a highly unusual letter, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on a conference call.

In the US, many at first questioned the letters legitimacy. Some called it a joke and an embarrassment.

I actually thought it was a prank, a joke, that it couldnt possibly come from the Oval Office, the Democratic congressman Mike Quigley said to CNN. It sounds all the world like the president of the United States, in some sort of momentary lapse, just dictated angrily whatever was on the top of his head.

Quigley, a member of the House intelligence committee, continued: For him to write this and to also say that it doesnt affect us is ignorance at the highest level.

The release of the letter came on the heels of an overwhelming House vote to condemn Trumps troop withdrawal from Syria.

Today in the House, we voted 354-60 to condemn Trumps actions with regard to Syria, the Democratic congressman Mike Levin said on Twitter. Also, this letter is an embarrassment to the office.

It also came out on the day of a heated White House meeting that ended with Trump allegedly calling the House speaker, Nancy Pelosi, a third-rate politician and Pelosi saying: I pray for the president all the time I think now we have to pray for his health this was a very serious meltdown on the part of the president.

Trump reportedly handed out copies of the letter at the meeting.

The letter was quickly parodied.

On Wednesday, Trump also hailed his own decision to withdraw US troops from Syria as strategically brilliant and declared the Kurds were much safer now, contradicting the official assessment of both the state and defense departments that the Turkish offensive was a disaster for regional stability and the fight against Isis.

Former officials said the most significant point about the letter was Trumps readiness to share a supposedly confidential letter from the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) leader, Mazloum Kobani, with Erdoan, whose forces were launching an attack on the SDF.

General Mazloum is willing to negotiate with you, and he is willing to make concessions that they would never have made in the past. I am confidentially enclosing a copy of his letter to me, just received, Trump wrote.

These words on White House stationary [sic] should embarrass all Americans, but Trumps confidential enclosure of the SDF commanders letter will give our allies even less reason to trust America, said Ned Price, a former CIA officer and National Security Council spokesman. How much Nato correspondence has been forwarded to Putin?

Julian Borger contributed reporting

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Donald Trumps bizarre, threatening letter to Erdoan: Dont be a fool - The Guardian

Renowned entertainer Barbra Streisand tweeted a gruesome cartoon on Saturday in an apparent attempt to express her displeasure with President Trump during his ongoing feud with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.

The cartoon showed massive high heels, including one labeled "Pelosi." Impaled on the black heel was a tiny Trump with what looked like blood flowing from his chest.

Streisand'stweet came afterTrump and Pelosi faced off over a number of issues, with the latter leading an official impeachment inquiry in the House of Representatives. Tensions seemed to flare on Wednesday when she stood during a White House meeting and appeared to scold President Trump.

The two were set to discuss administration's position on Syria after her chamber had voted to oppose his decision to pull U.S. troops out of the war-torn nation.

PELOSI USES IMAGE IN TRUMP TWEET AS TWITTER COVER PHOTO

Both attempted to use the incident to their advantage. While Trump tweeted the photo as proof Pelosi had a meltdown, Pelosi owned the photo by placing it in her Twitter profile.

Streisand's tweet was just the latest attack on Trump, whoshe also called a "moron-in-chief" on Saturday morning. In another tweet on Thursday, the singer claimed that Trump continually showed he was unfit to serve as president.

Also on Saturday, Streisand tweeted out an article arguing for Trump's impeachment. The featured image showed a giant peach crushing the president.

Streisand previously claimed Trump made her "gain weight," said she was thinking about moving to Canada if Republicans won the House, and released a song expressing her frustration with the administration.

PELOSI-TRUMP FEUD AT BOILING POINT AFTER 'MELTDOWN' AT WHITE HOUSE

On Saturday, Donald Trump Jr., Trump's son, joined others in calling out Streisand's tweet.

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"These undercover threats that echo innuendos of harming the POTUS will not and should not be tolerated!" commentators Diamond and Silk tweeted.

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Barbra Streisand tweets cartoon of Nancy Pelosi impaling Trump with giant high heel - Fox News

Donald Trump has said or done something certifiably insane nearly every day of his presidency. And not like, This guys a little kooky-level insane, but full-on Mr. President, put down the stapler and unhand the president of Finland-level insane. But last week, apparently seeking to prove to the world that we aint seen nothing yet re: the depths of his mental instability, he wrote and reportedly proudly distributed the following letter to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoan, for all the world to see:

Each line of the letter contains an obvious Trumpismtalk of deals, reference to tough guysbut packaged together, in all its batshit glory, in an official letter to another world leader, it seemed unbelievable even for a guy who most people agree shouldve been placed under conservatorship some time ago. The immediate reaction from the media was HOW IS THIS THING REAL, and yet, according to the White House, it totally is! That means that the president of the United States sat down and either pennedor more likely dictateda letter in which he told the president of Turkey, Dont be a tough guy, Dont be a fool, history will look upon you forever as the devil if good things dont happen, and then, in what might be the absolute craziest way to end a piece of correspondence that references slaughtering thousands of people, signed off with: I will call you later.

Its the kind of thing that even Donald Trump Jr. will have to admit is a sign someone needs to place an emergency phone call to Dr. Bornstein, and that we assume has caused Ivanka to tell aides that Daddy is resting and isnt to be disturbed.

Incredibly, the Erdoan letter wasnt the only example of Trumps mental decline on Wednesday afternoon, which also saw the president lash out at Democrats like a machete-wielding madman on the subway and claim that he personally defeated ISIS:

He was insulting, particularly to [Nancy Pelosi]. She kept her cool completely. But he called her a third-rate politician.... It was sort of a diatribea nasty diatribe not focused on the facts, Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) told reporters after the meeting, which focused on Syria and during which impeachment was not discussed.

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Is This Real?: Trump Sends Third-Grade Reading-Level Letter to Erdoan - Vanity Fair

When he took the stage at campaign rallies across the country, presidential hopeful Donald Trump often had a piece of paper in his pocket, ready to go if the moment seemed right.

On it was printed something unlikely: the lyrics to a song written in the 1960s by civil rights activist Oscar Brown Jr. Based on a fable, The Snake tells the story of a kind woman who takes an injured snake into her home to nurse him back to health only to be shocked when she is fatally bitten.

In Trumps hands, however, Browns words were imbued with a new and specific meaning.

As the opening scene from the upcoming FRONTLINE documentary Zero Tolerance explores, Trump recast the lyrics as an anti-immigration allegory equating people seeking to enter America with killer snakes who would inevitably cause harm to those who welcomed them. Trump built to a crescendo around the songs last lines, an exchange between the dying woman and the snake:

I saved you, I saved you, I saved you, cried that woman.And youve bit me, heavens why?You know your bite is poisonous and now Im going to die.Oh shut up, silly woman, said the reptile with a grin.You knew damn well I was a snake before you took me in.

Trumps embrace of that comparison kicks off Zero Tolerance, a FRONTLINE documentary premiering Tuesday, Oct. 22, that investigates how the president turned anti-immigration fervor into a powerful political weapon. The films opening moments depict Trumps use of The Snake in such a way that its never before been seen juxtaposing the then-candidates reading with stark images of men, women and children struggling to reach the U.S.-Mexico border.

As the documentary explores, Trumps comparison of immigrants to killer snakes was just the beginning. He would go on to make opposition to immigration the signature policy of his presidency, using virulent anti-immigration sentiment to animate his supporters and fuel a political movement. He continued to recite the lyrics to The Snake at several public events as president.

He tapped into something in a very profound way that began to redefine the debate in the political year of 2016 and continues to redefine the politics of the country today, Dan Balz of The Washington Post tells FRONTLINE in the above clip.

Trump didnt do it alone. The documentary, from veteran FRONTLINE filmmaker Michael Kirk and his team, tells the inside story of how an improbable group of outsiders Stephen Miller, Jeff Sessions and Steve Bannon became the driving force behind Trumps most controversial initiatives, as part of a grand anti-immigration strategy they would call Zero Tolerance.

Miller is the only one still left in the Trump administration, but the film shows how the trios years of planning around immigration are still shaping decisions. Zero Tolerance is a must-watch look at how Americas immigration policies and the rhetoric surrounding them reached this moment.

Zero Tolerancepremieres Tuesday, Oct. 22 at 10 p.m. EST/9 p.m. CST. Tune in or stream onPBS (check local listings), at PBS.org/frontline and on thePBS Video App. More than 30 interviews from the making of the documentary will go live on FRONTLINEs website in tandem with the premiere, in the newest installment of The FRONTLINE Transparency Project.

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WATCH: Donald Trump and The Snake | Zero Tolerance | FRONTLINE - FRONTLINE

Donald Trump has made a lot of exceedingly stupid decisions in the 78,000 dog years hes been in office, but few compare, in impact and the speed with which they blew up in his face, than the one to withdraw troops from northern Syria, paving the way for Turkey to invade the region and kill our Kurdish allies, leading to one (completely predictable) consequence after the next. Roughly 785 people affiliated with ISIS have escaped; an estimated 100,000 people have been displaced; at least 81 Kurdish fighters and 60 civilians have been killed; the American-allied Syrian Democratic Forces, abandoned by Trump and under attack by Turkey, have teamed up with Bashar al-Assads Russian- and Iranian-backed government, giving Vladimir Putin major influence over the region; and approximately 50 nuclear weapons that the the U.S. has stored in the area have now effectively become Recep Tayyip Erdoans hostages, which isnt a great turn of events considering the Turkish president has said as recently as last month that he would like to acquire such ammunition. To be clear, all of this was anticipated; Trump was warned by advisers for months that such disastrous outcomes would result if he followed his vaunted instinctsthe ones he thinks tell him more than any dumb intelligence memos or briefing books canand pulled out of Syria, telling the Kurds, who helped us defeat ISIS, that they were on their own because they sat out D-Day like a bunch of bone spur victims. And on Monday, perhaps the most predictable outcome occurred when Trump announced that he would punish Turkey for the bloody mess he created.

In a statement released on Twitter, the president said that he will soon be issuing an Executive Order authorizing the imposition of sanctions against current and former officials of the Government of Turkey and any persons contributing to Turkeys destabilizing actions in northeast Syria. As a reminder, theres one person in particular who made a significant contribution to Turkeys destabilizing actions and his name rhymes with Ronald Grump. According to Axios, the president basically told Erdoan that the U.S. was fine with him invading Syria, thinking Turkey wouldnt do it. Trump basically said, Look, if you want it you own it, but dont come looking to me for help. You can take it, its yours, a former senior administration official recounted to Jonathan Swan.

Now that the situation has descended into unstoppable chaos, Trump is naturally acting as though no one could have predicted any of this, and threatening retribution that experts say will do little to stop the unmitigated disaster he set into motion. I think the likelihood of Turkey invading Northern Syria with U.S. troops there was zero, Senator Tim Kaine told CNNs Poppy Harlow on Monday. And with the U.S. pulling out now, they feel like they have a green light and they're doing exactly what everybody told President Trump that they would do.

In addition to vowing sanctions and other measures intended to swiftly destroy Turkeys economy, Trump also spent the afternoon claiming that undocumented immigrants are a bigger threat to the United States than ISIS:

And making it abundantly clear that reports of a tiny cluster of cells in his chest resembling a human heart were a false positive; in fact, he could not give less of a fuck about living beings that are not Trumps, if this comedy routine is any indication:

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Trump: Mexicans Are a Bigger Threat Than the ISIS Prisoners I Let Escape in Northern Syria - Vanity Fair

Was that just a year ago when Donald Trump provoked Stormy Daniels, only to get dragged to filth? In this upending, time-warping presidency, minutes feel like hours, hours like days, days like weeks.

Heres where we were just a year ago:

Trump mocked Christine Blasey Ford. He cast doubt on Saudi Arabias obvious involvement in the murder of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi. He falsely hyped a migrant caravan moving toward the southern border to ramp up racist resentment before the midterm elections. At a Houston rally, Trump declared, You know what I am Im a nationalist.

Compared to the quicksand in which our nation is now rapidly sinking, history may remember last October as the halcyon days of the Trump administration. In this new dark age, there is no limit to Trumps stunning depravity or incompetence.

This has been an especially hideous time in an ugly presidency. With Trump facing an impeachment inquiry, he is terrified by the thought that, for the first time in his life, he may be held accountable for his actions. He reportedly had a meltdown during a meeting with House Democrats, prompting Speaker Nancy Pelosi to tell reporters, I think now we have to pray for his health. Trump, she said, seemed very shaken up by recent events.

That includes Wednesdays nonbinding resolution condemning Trumps craven betrayal of the Kurds. By an overwhelming 354 to 60, including two-thirds of Republicans, the measure highlighted not only Trumps disastrous approach to foreign policy, but also his callousness toward the Kurdish people who fought ISIS for years alongside now-withdrawn American troops.

(Vice President Mike Pence claimed Thursday that the administration negotiated a cease-fire, while Turkey, which has been killing Kurdish civilians, is using the more ominous phrase, a pause.)

Trumps foul decision in northern Syria, and its barbarous consequences, is even garnering a reaction from Senator Lindsey Graham, who was famously against Trump the candidate before he was infamously for him as president. Graham called it the biggest mistake of Trumps presidency. (FYI: Graham did not suddenly grow a conscience. Even as the death toll rises, Graham will continue to support Trump because, At least hell appoint better judges and hell do other things.)

Meanwhile, the Ukraine scandal metastasizes every day. Against Trumps wishes, more members of his administration are helping various investigations. Gordon Sondland, the US ambassador to the European Union, told Congress that Trump directed diplomats to work with Rudy Giuliani on matters related to Ukraine. I did not understand, until much later, that Mr. Giulianis agenda might have also included an effort to prompt the Ukrainians to investigate Vice President Biden or his son or to involve Ukrainians, directly or indirectly, in the Presidents 2020 reelection campaign, according to a copy of his prepared statement obtained by several news outlets. The wall Trump built around his administration is crumbling, and hes paying for it.

From his erratic press conferences to that bizarre, childish letter he wrote to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey, Trump is a man undone. It has become harder for him to gaslight anyone (other than his unmovable base) into believing a criminal act isnt a criminal act when the president commits it. Even Republicans are bristling at this presidents boldface corruption, not that anyone should bank on GOP senators, led by majority leader Mitch McConnell, to do the right thing, such as removing Trump from office.

Trumps downward spiral, and its gravitational pull on the nation, is growing perilously deeper. And this much we know he will get worse. He can only get worse.

Rene Graham can be reached at renee.graham@globe.com. Follow her on Twitter @reneeygraham.

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The gravitational pull of Donald Trumps downward spiral - The Boston Globe