Trump Presidency Is Dragging Us Down by marilyn salenger

Photo by Gage Skidmore/CC By-SA2.0

Photo by Gage Skidmore/CC By-SA2.0

I now understand why watching dog and cat videos online has become so popular. These wonderful critters simply make us feel a little better no matter what, and as a country we sure need something to smile about.

Four months of Donald Trump's time in office have left us reeling. The intensity of the daily dose of stress emanating from the White House is taking a toll greater than I believe most anyone expected. He talks the talk and walks the walk of a man who, as I noted months ago, is out of his league. The stakes were high when we elected a man with no governing experience as President. They have now reached close to a number 9.0 on the Richter Scale.

Diplomacy is not conducted like a business. Government is not just about brokering deals. The nuance so badly needed in a president is something that comes with experience and knowledge, neither of which our President has shown interest in accumulating. 

Our allies are questioning the future sharing of intelligence with the United States after Trump's unfathomable breech of sharing classified information during his White House meeting with the Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Ambassador Sergei Kislyak. One day after firing FBI Director James Comey, Putin apparently called Trump asking for the meeting, and now appears emboldened by the move. President Trump is reeling from its fallout. 

Russia and Trump. This is the relationship that stands out above all else in the Trump administration, and it will become its historic marker. No matter what Russia is accused of doing to challenge our democracy, the president continues to view them as an ally and treat them as a partner. They have become the diversion extraordinaire.

None of this makes us feel good or tended to. The polls that Trump used to love to tout are blasting out numbers bound to haunt him. The latest poll released by Public Policy Polling shows nearly half (48%) of Americans now say they support impeachment proceedings for the president. That in itself is astounding but not unexpected. 

We're reaching a limit as to how much we can take. President Trump has become a walking crisis machine, and our country deserves better. We have been floundering in the midst of too many days of crisis and too few days of governance under his so-called leadership.

The appointment of Robert Mueller, a former FBI Director under Presidents George Bush and Barack Obama, as special counsel sets the underlying tone going forward. With investigations into the alleged involvements by Russia in the 2016 election and Trump's campaign as well as the potential of presidential obstruction of justice, the Trump White House has been compromised. His presidency has reached a critical turning point, and we can't even be sure that he recognizes it. The incompetence level continues to shock.

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"I Am Not A Crook" - Second Generation by marilyn salenger

May 10, 2017 President Donald Trump and Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak/Russian Embassy photo

May 10, 2017 President Donald Trump and Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak/Russian Embassy photo

President Trump's extraordinary move firing FBI Director James Comey in the midst of an investigation into potential Russian involvement with Trump aides and the 2016 election has ramifications that are only beginning to unfold. Comey is the second FBI Director to ever be fired. Trump’s action has potentially set up his own downfall. 

As timelines continue to unfold, it's becoming clear that Trump apparently made the decision to fire the FBI Director after learning of Comey's request for increased resources to continue the Russia investigation. President Trump was aware Federal prosecutors had recently issued grand jury subpoenas to associates of former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn.

It’s a swirl of presidential firings and investigations that repeatedly focus on Russia. Trump is doing whatever he can to shut them down.

On Monday the president, along with the rest of the country, watched the testimony of two additional people he's fired, former Acting Attorney General Sally Yates and former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper. They appeared before a Senate Judiciary Committee not only providing details about Flynn, but revealing the intelligence community was looking into Trump's business ties to Russia. 

The plausibility of President Trump's continued denials of Russian involvement in the election or his business dealings has become increasingly difficult to believe. The man doth protest too much. He went so far as to allude to his innocence in the second paragraph of his curtly worded termination letter sent to James Comey:

"May 9, 2017

Dear Director Comey,

I have received the attached letters from the Attorney General and Deputy Attorney General of the United States recommending your dismissal as the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, I have accepted their recommendation and you are hereby terminated and removed from office, effective immediately.

While I greatly appreciate you informing me, on three separate occasions, that I am not under investigation, I nevertheless concur with the judgment of the Department of Justice that you are not able to effectively lead the Bureau.

It is essential that we find new leadership for the FBI that restores public trust and confidence in its vital law enforcement mission.

I wish you the best of luck in your future endeavors,

Donald J. Trump"

President Trump has let his paranoid insecurity show to the world in a historically important action. It is something we have witnessed before in a president, and it did not turn out well.

President Richard Nixon's well documented paranoia took over during the Watergate investigation even though the actual Watergate events did not involve the firing of then FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover. The three times Trump's letter states his thanks to Comey for letting him know that he's not under investigation is as close as you can come to Nixon's now infamous words that preceded his downfall.

On November 18, 1973, President Nixon held a news conference defending his record in the Watergate case, and stating he had never profited from his years in public service.

“I have earned every cent. And in all of my years of public life I have never obstructed justice.”

“People have got to know whether or not their President is a crook. Well, I’m not a crook. I’ve earned everything I’ve got.”

Reading The Washington Post reporting of that event now becomes slightly eerie:

“Mr. Nixon was tense and sometimes misspoke. But he maintained his innocence in the Watergate case and promised to supply more details on his personal finances and more evidence from tapes and presidential documents.”

Summing up, he declared that the White House tape recordings would prove that he had no prior knowledge of the Watergate break-in, that he never offered executive clemency for the Watergate burglars, and in fact turned it down when it was suggested, and had no knowledge until March 21, 1973, of proposals that blackmail money be paid a convicted Watergate conspirator."

Nixon resigned from office on August 8th, 1974.

President Trump’s judgement is becoming clouded. The morning after firing former FBI Director Comey, he began his day meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Russian Ambassador, Sergei Kislyak, who has been a focal point in the Russian investigation. The only way we found out about the strange meeting was through pictures taken by Russia’s state news agency and put on Twitter. No American journalists were allowed in.

And if that wasn't enough mingling with the wrong people at the wrong time, the president held another White House meeting shortly after with Richard Nixon's former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger. All within a matter of hours. The photo op of President Trump sitting next to Henry Kissinger in the Oval Office with investigations focusing on yet another White House feeds the worst fears of a presidency in danger. 

 

 

A Unique Anniversary of Gender Equality by marilyn salenger

Religions have not always been known for equal opportunity practices. They remain the focus of an evolutionary process of defining the growing roles for women in each faith. As a Jewish woman born to parents who believed that girls should have the same opportunities as boys long before it was fashionable, today is an important marker in my personal and spiritual life that creates unique historic perspective. Sixty years ago on May 3, 1957, I became one of the early girls in the country to have a Bas Mitzvah.

It was the first Bas Mitzvah in our small Jewish community in northern Indiana. Don't get carried away thinking it was about the party. In fact there really wasn't one, but instead a very special small reception with four generations of our family surrounded by friends in the downstairs hall of our synagogue. I vivdly recall my cake being like something I had never seen. A beautiful opened Bible. The entire event was considered almost radical at the time with my parents forging brave new terriority as a young couple. I remember them asking me how I felt about having a Bas (spelling eventually changed to Bat) Mitzvah and obviously saying "Yes, I'll study". They then set about having to convince the Rabbi, my father's father who was a founding member of the B'Nai Israel synagogue, the Board (all men), and the Board of Education over which my father presided. My mother pulled in her own clout as head of the synagogue women's organization.

My mother and father were quite a team. They worked hard to assure the traditionalists that tradition would be upheld which meant that it wouldn't be like a traditional boy's Bar Mitzvah that was held on Saturday, the Jewish Sabbath, and I wouldn't read from the sacred Torah in Hebrew as only the men in those years could do. They carefully crafted a scenario that allowed me to have a Bas Mitzvah at the age of 13 to be held on Friday night (the beginning of the Sabbath), read a separate portion of Hebrew scripture, lead some responsive reading and give a speech addressing the entire congregation. For a young girl to be allowed to stand on the Pulpit and lead and participate with such responsibility was indeed standing where no young girl in my hometown had stood before and where few across the country were standing. I was simply very nervous.  

Marking the right of passage into Jewish adulthood had long been a ceremony reserved only for boys. A Bar Mitvazh culminated a period of study after which a 13 year old boy came to the Synagogue and fully participated in the service. He then officially would be counted as part of the adult community and considered a man. Girls received no such community recognition and for many years were segregated into the women's gallery where they could listen and pray, separate from the men. The tradition of a Bar Mitzvah has come down through the ages. Until the 'ages' caught up with tradition.

On this day so many years ago I officially became a woman in the eyes of my religion just like the boys who took on their role. They may have gotten to wear their first suits, but I got to shop for a new dress with my mom. It was appropriately conservative and very pretty. The really big deal was the service.

My parents were smart. They made religion fun for my brother and I as well as an important part of our lives. They led by example fighting for what they believed in, and knowing that equality for everybody is an important part of life. Today I treasure it all as part of my living heritage.  

 

 

 

The Old Boy's Club: Bill, Roger and Donald by marilyn salenger

Yes, I have met Bill O'Reilly, Roger Ailes and Donald Trump. It was part of my life as a television newswoman in New York City in the '70's and '80's. The three men appear to have changed little since those days except for their increased amounts of power in business and enormous amounts of money earned. Today they are reunited in that special club of men who have been accused of sexually harassing women in their workplaces.

The media business has been a place of rampant sexual harassment for an embarrassing amount of time. And it's not the men who have been embarrassed, but the women left to deal with the consequences of their bad behavior. A woman’s choice has been to either keep what went on to herself, or speak up and risk losing her job and reputation. I should know. I was a victim of sexual harassment while in television news.

Victimized. There is no other way to describe how women feel when they are confronted at work with unwanted sexual propositions or innuendo, lewd behavior, or the subtlety of inappropriate words and actions by men.

The business of media is not alone in quietly fostering questionable environments for women. Other sectors of business, large and small, too often unofficially allow employees to sexually harass and victimize women. 

The old boys club mentality did not go out of existence with the "Madmen" era of the 50’s and 60’s. It carried over to the three high profile men, Bill, Roger and Donald, who came of age during that time and are now accused of allegedly sexually harassing women. The first to go down as a result of his apparent behavior was the former head of Fox News and long time Republican consultant, Roger Ailes. Ailes is 76 years old. Next to be outed for his outrageous behavior boasting about assaulting women on an Access Hollywood tape is Donald Trump. Months later he was elected President of the United States. Trump is 70 years old. Now it's Bill O'Reilly's turn to have his behavior toward women exposed for what it allegedly is. Disgusting. O'Reilly is 67 years old.  

All three men are friends. Trump hired Ailes as a campaign advisor after Ailes was fired by Fox. The president publicly came to O'Reilly's defense in an Oval Office interview with the New York Times describing O'Reilly as “a good person” adding, “I don’t think Bill did anything wrong,”

That's how the old boys club operates. Defend. Distract. Hire.

Millions of dollars have been paid to women who settled their cases with Fox News. $13 million was paid to women who accused O'Reilly of harassment. $20 million was paid to Gretchen Carlson formerly of Fox News.

Roger Ailes, the man who harassed Carlson and was her former boss, received $40 million as part of his “exit” package when he was fired by Fox News. And yes, millions more will be paid to Bill O'Reilly as part of his farewell financial reward. 

As for the third amigo, we'll probably never know how many claims President Donald Trump has quietly settled. It's absolutely worth quoting part of Donald Trump's 2005 recorded conversation with Access Hollywood's Billy Bush describing his actions with women:

“I’m automatically attracted to beautiful — I just start kissing them. It’s like a magnet. Just kiss. I don’t even wait. And when you’re a star, they let you do it. You can do anything.”

“Grab ’em by the pussy. You can do anything.”

Money and power can buy a great deal. But not everything.

Thousands of women in every workplace where harassment is allowed to thrive receive no payment for grievances reported or kept private. It's a national outrage and tragedy. To women today I say ... Speak out. Speak up. Loudly.

 

 

 

Trump's Media Bashing As A Ploy by marilyn salenger

Marilyn Salenger private collection

Marilyn Salenger private collection

Once Donald Trump became president, his complex relationship with the media became inseparable from the news of the day. Trump has always been a man who loved the media spotlight while at the same time being conflicted about the role it played in his life. He often courted the New York City media going so far as to plant news stories about his personal or professional life when it suited him, and the media played along when it suited them.  A rather cozy affair until it wasn't. Those days are now over.

The White House is a stage not easily played, and freedom of the press is an amendment not taken lightly in Washington, D.C. A substantial group of journalists take their work quite seriously understanding they are charged with being the eyes and ears of our country. Questions are asked that produce answers that the public has a right to know.  

Politicians may not always like the press, but most understand reporters have a job to do. As president, Trump now views that job as a target to be used without discretion whenever it works to his advantage. The issue is not what he calls fake news. It’s that he can't stand criticism or anybody looking into his business. So media bashing is part of Trump’s play of the day.

What began on the campaign trail as a way to rev up his audiences, has translated to a declaration of a White House war on the media. His overt and very public disdain for journalists reached a peak when he called them "the enemy of the people". That’s a statement generally reserved for tyrants.

Trump purposely and strategically plants seeds of distrust with the words he uses in his rants against reporters. It's a sad and rather pathetic maneuver if it wasn't so dangerous. It’s become another weapon in his arsenal of distractions from the real substance at hand.

No matter whether it’s global conflicts or congressional investigations, the president remains committed to distraction and making headlines via his new favorite form of media, Twitter. At a news conference last month with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Trump talked about how he can use Twitter to his advantage saying, "I can get around the media when they don't tell the truth. I like that".    

The "truth" according to Trump is not, however, always the truth. He's no longer operating behind the closed doors of Trump Tower, but in the very public house that belongs to all of us. And we're not as dumb as some may think us to be.

According to a newly released report by Pew Research Center, Americans feel that the current relationship between Trump and the news media is hindering their access to political news. It's apparently not making people happy or feeling reassured, and these views cross almost every demographic group:

Large majorities of both Democrats and Republicans feel the relationship between Trump and the news media is unhealthy and that the ongoing tensions are impeding Americans’ access to important political news. 88% of Democrats say the relationship is unhealthy, as do 78% of Republicans.

If nobody else in Washington is crossing party lines, it's important to know the public is, at least for now, taking the lead. That's the most reassuring news I've heard in a while.

Our System Is Rising Up To Challenge Trump by marilyn salenger

Amidst the chaos Trump's presidency continues to create, one thing appears to be coming out the winner - the checks and balances set up by our democracy. As much as Donald Trump is trying to rule by dictate, the pushback has begun.

The Republican party successfully deepened its own party divisions by bungling their promise to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act. What became their campaign battle cry has been defeated. The Freedom Caucus, the same hard line conservative group that pushed John Boehner out of the picture, has again made their voices loudly heard going up against Speaker of the House Paul Ryan and President Trump. They remained unsatisfied with the proposed healthcare bill wanting more drastic cuts, including an end to what’s called "essential health benefits".

Trump threw down the gauntlet and Republicans threw it back. Obamacare remains the healthcare law of the land. Our President has learned that using "Repeal and Replace" as a campaign slogan is a lot easier than turning it into reality.

We are seeing glimpses of a two party system at work again despite Republican control of the House and Senate. While fractious debate does not always lead to victory nor is it always the right course, Democrats appear determined to challenge the Trump nomination of Judge Neil Gorsuch to fill the current Supreme Court vacancy.

President Trump's ban restricting travel from Muslim countries has twice been struck down by federal judges in Hawaii and Maryland. Despite a federal judge in Virginia recently backing the travel ban, the previous injunctions are said to remain unaltered. Trump is finding his use of executive orders not above the check and balance of our judicial branch of government.

Russia and Trump continue to be up front and personal despite Republican attempts to counter it. FBI Director James Comey has confirmed the FBI is investigating possible collusion between Russia and the Trump campaign. The House and Senate Intelligence Committees are also conducting investigations into Russian involvement in the 2016 election, with the House Committee becoming increasingly politicized on the issue. The push for an independent investigation has become even stronger.

President Donald Trump is watching his poll numbers drop to their lowest point, hitting a 37% approval rating. The same poll showed 60% of Americans believing the President is dishonest. For a man who has a devoted love of poll numbers and ratings, a wake up call should replace his early morning Tweets. 

 

 

 

 

 

Failing At Presidential Leadership by marilyn salenger

Photo by Gage Skidmore/CC BY-SA 2.0

Photo by Gage Skidmore/CC BY-SA 2.0

We elected him.  We're now paying for it. President Donald Trump is working hard to succeed at the one thing our enemies crave and our friends fear. Destabilization.

We have become a nation filled with too much fear and not enough hope. In Trump we have a leader who appears almost incapable of showing the leadership we need at home and abroad, and sees not the error of his ways. Our global allies share in amazement as they try to shore themselves up in preparation for what the next day with our new leader at the helm will bring.

After President Trump's repeated and very public swipes at France and their security issues, President François Hollande diplomatically said, ‘‘I think that it is never good to show the smallest defiance toward an allied country". There is little diplomatic about Donald Trump.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel will arrive in Washington on March 14th for a meeting with the President. Trump wasted no time repeatedly challenging our relationship with Germany, while advisors to the Chancellor have reportedly "given up hope that the President Trump will act in a statesmanlike manner."

A President's cabinet and close advisors should represent an administration's strength. We have yet to see such strength emanating from a White House that apparently thrives more on chaos than anything else.

During the first weeks of the Trump administration National Security Advisor Michael Flynn resigned or was dismissed from his position. Then on March 9th Attorney General Jeff Sessions abruptly recused himself from investigations into any Russian interference related to the 2016 presidential campaign. He admitted to having conversations with the Russian Ambassador. Sessions, an early and vocal Trump campaign surrogate, was pressured by Congress to either resign or recuse. The President reportedly became furious that Sessions would dare take such action. 

Many had pinned their hopes for strong leadership on Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, but Tillerson has quickly assumed the lowest profile of any Secretary of State in recent history. He was denied his choice of Deputy Secretary of State by the Trump White House, and is still operating without a full house of critical staff support. Trump, meanwhile, is calling for severe cuts to the State Department budget apparently listening more to his son-in-law Jared Kushner on foreign policy than the Secretary of State. No wonder Tillerson has gone into hiding.  

Trump took no interest in learning the business of governing during his long run to the election. Today his words and actions continue to show too limited a knowledge base for a man normally viewed as the leader of the free world. 

Our country is crying out for real leadership. Instead we see a President floundering under pressure. We see a man lashing out, blaming everyone and everything but himself as he becomes more mired in dysfunction. A true sign of a leader is a person who rises to the occasion of challenge. President Trump appears to be sinking.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg on Women, Immigration and the Nominee by marilyn salenger

Ruth bader ginsburg formal.png

Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg has been called frail, old, and too old for her job on the Supreme Court. Don't tell her that. "I’m feeling fine," she said crediting her trainer during a February 23 appearance at George Washington University in Washington, D.C. "I'll do this job as long as I can do it at full speed." At 83 her voice may be soft, but her words are strong.

Justice Ginsburg is a judicial pioneer who became the second female justice on the Supreme Court when she was appointed by President Bill Clinton in 1993. As a powerful legal advocate for women’s equality, gender and racial equality throughout her career, she has now sits on the bench with Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan. "Three women on the court makes a great difference,” she told her audience. “We're one third of the Court and it looks like we're there to stay. Now school children can visit the court and say this is something to which I can aspire."

In the world of formality that the Supreme Court of the United States inhabits, Justice Ginsburg's university stage provided a more casual setting for some serious thoughts that were frequently intertwined with personal anecdotes.

Ginsburg made no direct mention of President Donald Trump or his immigration policies, but made clear how she feels. "We are not as mindful of what makes America great. One example is the right to speak one’s mind, and the idea of our nation being receptive to all, welcoming all people." She added, "The notion that in our nation we are many and yet we are one." That last comment reads as if it were part of a Supreme Court decision.

With Trump's executive order banning travel from seven Muslim countries now temporarily stopped by a federal court order, the role the courts will play on immigration has just begun. Justice Ginsburg provided an important clue should the case reach the Supreme Court.

She spoke warmly of her own heritage as a direct example of personal experience concerning immigration. “I am the beneficiary myself of my father being able to leave the Old World where the conditions were not good, to come here and make a living and raise a family,” Ginsburg said. “That is America to me.” Using her personal experiences to make an important point, we began to see, in part, how she shapes her opinions.

As for the President's Supreme Court nominee, Judge Neil Gorsuch, she was once again surprisingly candid saying, "I've worked with him and I think he's very easy to get along with." She then paused before adding, "He writes very well." Justice Ginsburg's voice trailed off, and it was clear that the sentence was ended at that point very purposely.

Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg left the stage to a rousing round of applause. It was a pleasure spending part of the afternoon with her. She is, after all, “The Notorious R.B.G.”

 

 

"Evolving and Eroding Trust" by marilyn salenger

Photo by Gage Skidmore/CC BY SA2.0

Photo by Gage Skidmore/CC BY SA2.0

The flagrant disregard for ethics and laws is catching up with President Donald Trump less than one month into his term of office. Richard Nixon's paranoia did him in. Donald Trump's self- righteous self-absorption may do the same to him.

The resignation of National Security Advisor Michael Flynn is just the beginning. It happened at this point in time because of superb journalistic reporting by The Washington Post exposing Flynn’s connections to Russia. On February 9, the Post broke the story revealing that Flynn privately discussed sanctions against Russia with the Russian Ambassador to the United States, Sergey Kislyak, weeks before Trump took office. This was contrary to public statements made by Trump officials and Vice President Mike Pence. Reports now state that Pence did not find out the truth until February 9, well after his Face the Nation appearance defending Flynn on January 15.

The Post took the story a step further when it reported that acting Attorney General Sally Yates informed the Trump White House late last month that she believed Flynn not only misled senior administration officials about the nature of his communications with the Russian ambassador, but warned them that he was potentially vulnerable to Russian blackmail. 

White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer let us know his version of what the President knew and when he knew it, but left more questions unanswered. He said Trump knew "for weeks" that his National Security Advisor had misled White House officials and Vice President Mike Pence before he was forced to resign.

If the White House knew about Flynn and Russia weeks earlier why did they do nothing about it until a major newspaper broke the story?

Trump only dug himself in deeper on Friday, February 10, the day after The Washington Post story first appeared. When questioned about the Flynn story by reporters onboard Air Force One, the president responded,

"I don't know about that. I haven't seen it. What report is that? I haven't seen that. I'll look into that,"

But Trump did know about it. The truth was withheld.

White House Counsel Don McGahn reportedly told Trump the details in a briefing late last month after he was informed by acting attorney general Sally Yates on Jan. 26. Spicer now says the president and a small group of senior aides were briefed by McGahn about Flynn that same day.  

Trump's relationship with Russia has raised serious questions since the early days of his campaign. Flynn's contacts with the Russian Ambassador initially became of interest because their timing centered around the latest sanctions against Russia. Those sanctions were imposed when U.S. intelligence agencies concluded that Russia had waged a cyber campaign to help elect Donald Trump.

Speaking for the White House about Flynn's departure, Sean Spicer said "the evolving and eroding level of trust" is what led the president to ask for Flynn's resignation. Those same words - evolving and eroding level of trust - could be applied to the Trump presidency.  

Russia and the White House have not gone away.

The Trump Approach by marilyn salenger

Donald Trump had never professionally answered to anyone but himself or his bankers before he became President of the United States. He's ruled the Trump businesses by sheer force of personality. Since his election, Trump has shown little interest in learning the ways of his new job, choosing instead to continue operating in the same old "I'm the boss" mode.

The depth, breadth and responsibility accompanying the presidency appears of little interest as he transitions from running a private company to being the leader of our very public country. He remains focused on showmanship, one-upmanship and retaliation against those who disagree. President Trump has positioned himself to become an empty vessel at the helm of our government.

Days before assuming office he described his preferred approach to learning about a subject - very short briefings:

"I like bullets (points) or I like as little as possible. I don't need, you know, 200 page reports on something that can be handled on a page. That I can tell you."

Tell that to the millions of people affected by his first round of executive orders that included an immigration order, a healthcare order, an order stripping sanctuary cities of federal money, and a hiring freeze on a swath of federal employees. Trump’s executive orders rewrote policy and began to undo President Barack Obama’s decisions. In less than two weeks Trump has shown us that he can wreak havoc domestically and internationally.

Executive orders rule for Trump. Signing a document is something he knows. Legislating takes time and a knowledge base. Making a public spectacle of the signings is also something he knows. They feed into his comfort zone of assumed power. Sitting behind a desk is his prop of power recycled from his television days, and his Trump Tower office. He's also recycled his "You're fired" Apprentice TV show line, and brusk dismissal style when firing Acting Attorney General Sally Yates. He fired Yates after she declined to defend his executive order on immigration which suspends all refugee admission for 120 days, restricts immigration from seven Muslim countries, and bars all Syrian refugees indefinitely. Trump added a dramatic phrase to describe his reasoning for her dismissal. The White House statement said that she "betrayed" the Department of Justice."

The starkness of the word 'betrayed' may have come from his closest advisor, Steve Bannon. This is the man who became CEO of the Trump campaign during its August internal coup. As the extremist former head of the alt-right Breitbart news site, Steve Bannon has made it clear that he walks on the dark side and thinks on the dark side. Increasingly he seems to have found a willing subject in Donald Trump to help activate his style of thinking. Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani says Bannon "has a great understanding of the American public and why Trump won the election, and he tells Trump about what people are really upset about and what they're really concerned about. Trump generally agrees with him."    

It’s apparent that Steve Bannon has increased his clout on an almost daily basis, becoming the man now closest to the president. Bannon is widely reported to be responsible for drafting President Trump's executive orders. In the latest White House power play, Trump has moved the senior White House advisor even closer, naming Bannon to the National Security Council Principals Committee. It is the first time in history that a president's chief political strategist will have a formal seat in the Situation Room. The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the Director of National Intelligence have been moved out, except when needed. The most sensitive of security decisions are made by the NSC. Many have expressed concern about the re-shuffling, as well as Bannon's new position. With good reason.

Here are some of Bannon's thoughts in his own words. It's important to repeat these statements. They have been reported in numerous media publications.

"Darkness is good. Dick Cheney, Darth Vader, Satan. That's Power."

"We're going to build an entirely new political movement."

"The media should keep its mouth shut"

"The media bubble is the ultimate symbol of what's wrong with this country."

"I'm a Leninist. Lenin wanted to destroy the state, and that's my goal too. I want to bring everything crashing down, and destroy all of today's establishment.

We're just beginning to see the impact of electing a president who has had no previous government experience. The White House inner circle has become even smaller with Bannon's voice ringing the loudest. It's a voice that matters only as much as Trump allows it to matter, but it is clear that Steve Bannon has become whisperer-in-chief.