Happy Birthday President Trump

Anyone who wonders why President Trump has such a passion for showing respect for the American flag might want to consider the fact that he shares a birthday with Flag Day.

President Trump, the oldest man to ever become the President of the United States, turned 72 years old yesterday. Yesterday also marks the 241^st anniversary of the adoption of the United States flag by the Second Continental Congress.  The flag has obviously evolved quite a bit over the years as the number of states has nearly quadrupled from the thirteen original colonies to fifty states today.

Exactly two years before the adoption of the United States flag, the United States Army formed on June 14, 1775. President Trump made sure to wish the United States Army a happy birthday on Twitter. 

President Trump’s first birthday in the White House definitely could have gone better.  Before most Americans had even had breakfast on June 14, 2017, shots rang out at a baseball field in Alexandria, Virginia where members of Congress practiced for the annual Congressional baseball game.  The shooter badly injured House Majority Whip Steve Scalise, whose presence on the field meant that he had a security detail with him that quickly sprang into action and prevented further loss of life.   

It looks like this birthday went a little bit better; especially considering the fact that the Inspector General at the Department of Justice released a report highlighting misbehavior from the Department of Justice and the FBI related to the Hillary Clinton e-mail investigation.  The IG report described Former FBI Director James Comey as “insubordinate”, effectively indicating that President Trump made the right decision by firing him.  The report also points out that Comey had no business prosecuting Hillary Clinton for using a non-secure e-mail account to conduct State Department Business because he himself had used personal e-mail to conduct FBI business.   

The IG Report also highlighted some profound examples of anti-Trump bias within the upper echelon of the FBI.  The report unearthed a new text message from FBI lovebirds Peter Strzok and Lisa Page, where Page asked Strzok “(Trump’s) not ever going to become president, right?  Right?!” Strzok responded by saying “No, no he won’t.  We’ll stop it.”  The American public also became aware of five unnamed FBI agents whom Inspector General Michael Horowitz recommends investigation into as a result of their anti-Trump text messages.  One of these FBI agents, known only as Agent 2, ended up working on the Mueller investigation until earlier this year.  Two of these agents, known only as Agent 1 and Agent 5, referred to Trump supporters as “retarded.”  Many of these same people would slam the “vulgar” President Trump for using “unkind” words to describe others.   

President Trump weighed in on the IG Report during a surprise appearance on “Fox & Friends” this morning.  He believed that the IG Report incorrectly concluded that no political bias played a role in the FBI’s final decision in the Clinton e-mail probe but he claimed the report “totally” exonerated him from any wrongdoing in the firing of Comey.    

President Trump also received some news that could not have made him too happy on his special day.  Even though one of President Trump’s archenemies, New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, resigned in disgrace last month, it looks like his successor remains just as committed to making President Trump’s tenure in the White House as difficult as possible.  New York Acting Attorney General Barbara Underwood announced that she has filed a lawsuit against the Trump foundation with the ultimate goal of shutting it down.  Not surprisingly, President Trump fought back on Twitter, “The sleazy New York Democrats, and their now disgraced (and run out of town) Eric Schneiderman, are doing everything they can to sue me on a foundation that took in $18,800,000 and gave out to charity more money than it took in, $19,200,000.  I won’t settle!...”  Does Underwood really expect people to see the fact that the lawsuit announcement came on the same day as the release of the IG report that many thought would reflect poorly on the Democrats as a coincidence? 

Voters in New York will have the opportunity to select a permanent replacement for Schneiderman this fall.  One candidate, Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney, had previously run for the post in 2010; losing to Schneiderman in the Democratic Primary.  Should he manage to win the nomination for Attorney General, he will have to forego re-election to the United States House of Representatives, as the primaries for state elections take place two and a half months after the primaries for Federal offices.  On the bright side, Maloney’s last-minute exodus from the House in a district President Trump won could help with Republicans’ hopes to maintain control of the House of Representatives.  On the flip side, Maloney would surely become a formidable foe of the Trump Administration. While Republicans control 33 of the 50 governorships, 22 of the 50 states have Democratic Attorney Generals, most of whom have made it their mission to sue the President at every turn.

It looks like House Republicans had planned to write an amnesty bill, wrap a bow on it, and present it to him as a birthday present.  Republicans should have learned by now that President Trump and Republican voters react to amnesty bills the same way ordinary Americans react to socks and underwear as birthday gifts.  This announcement comes after moderate, politically suicidal Republicans failed to gain enough support for a discharge petition, where a series of immigration bills would come up to the House floor for a debate against the wishes of Speaker Paul Ryan, who has said that he wants any immigration bill to reflect the President’s wishes.

Depending on the contents of the final bill, he should definitely think about “regifting” this birthday present.  The discharge petition only failed because House leadership promised two on-the-fence Republicans that a vote would take place on a guest worker program. One of the Congressman, Rep. Dan Newhouse, commended House Leadership for “committing to me personally to bring forward an immigration bill that address agriculture’s labor needs before the August district work period.”  Did it ever occur to Rep. Newhouse that agriculture’s labor needs directly correlate with the Democratic Party’s voting needs?    

In order to placate the discharge petition blowhards, the House announced plans to hold votes on two immigration proposals next week.  One of the two bills that the House will vote on, the Goodlatte bill, also known as the “Securing America’s Future Act,” addresses President Trump’s immigration priorities.  Provisions of the bill call for reducing overall immigration levels by 25 percent, ending chain migration and the diversity visas, authorizing construction of the border wall, mandating E-Verify, defunding sanctuary cities, and passing Kate’s Law.  The bill would allow the DACA recipients to stay in the country but does not give them a “fast track” to a green card, making clear that “recipients may only make use of existing paths to green cards.”

The House had planned to hold a vote on a more “moderate” version of the Goodlatte Bill  which they describe as a “compromise” but President Trump has already indicated he will not sign such a bill.  While the “compromise” bill ends the diversity visa and fully funds the border wall, it does not roll back chain migration as much as the Goodlatte bill and it would not mandate the use of E-Verify. 

He might enjoy his last birthday present most of all, which will come about a week late.  President Trump will hold a rally in Duluth, Minnesota on Wednesday.  Duluth serves as the population center in Minnesota’s 8^th Congressional District, one of the Republicans’ two best pickup opportunities in this year’s House of Representatives elections.  Democratic Congressman Rick Nolan, a Bernie Sanders ally, will not seek re-election in a district that President Trump won by double digits after President Obama won it during both of his Presidential elections.  In addition, Republicans have at least some chance of picking up the open governorship and the Senate seat formerly held by Al Franken.  Before she has a chance to face off against Republican State Senator Karin Housley in the general election, appointed Senator Tina Smith will have to face off against Former White House Ethics lawyer and Mueller probe cheerleader Richard Painter in the Democratic Primary.  President Trump really enjoys these campaign-style rallies where he has an opportunity to get out of the Swamp and interact with the people who helped him pull off his unexpected victory.

If history serves as any guide, Republicans in Minnesota’s Congressional delegation will join President Trump at his rally.  Republicans currently hold three of the state’s eight seats in the United States House of Representatives.  I don’t think any of the three Republican Congressmen representing the state of Minnesota have jumped on the anti-Trump or RINO bandwagon enough to warrant any booing along the lines of what took place at the Tennessee rally in support of Marsha Blackburn, where the crowd booed retiring Senator Bob Corker as President Trump announced his presence at the rally.   

President Trump should definitely head back to Minnesota sometime later this year to hold a rally in Minnesota’s 1^st Congressional District, the Republicans’ other ripe House target in the 2018 election.  President Trump won Minnesota’s 1^st District by double digits as the Democratic incumbent, Rep. Tim Walz, narrowly won re-election by less than a percentage point, a far closer margin than the forecasters predicted.  Walz has decided to forego running for re-election, instead choosing to run for Governor.  The primaries will take place on August 14. 

Hopefully, by the time President Trump celebrates his 73^rd birthday next year, the Russia witch hunt will have come to a close, construction on the border wall will have actually begun, he will enjoy a larger majority in the Senate, still have a majority in the House, and maybe even have a Nobel Peace Prize.  Hopefully, he’ll have also crafted a list of nicknames for some of his prospective Democratic opponents.   

In addition to wishing a happy birthday to President Trump, I would also like to wish a very happy birthday to the irreplaceable Lauren Southern, my favorite fellow millennial.