Tuesday featured Donald Trump's first joint address to Congress, and like the masochist I apparently am, I watched it from start to finish. Upon its completion, my first three thoughts were: 1) "I see specificity isn't his native language," 2) "How?," and 3) "Well, that was a load of chronic diarrhea,"
1) When's the last time Donald Trump has said anything specific? With all three marriage proposals, I imagine him saying something along the lines of, "So, like, do you want to?" From beginning to end, Trump uttered lines like the following: "We're gonna do stuff," "You know what I was talking about earlier? We're gonna like do that even biglier than I said before," and "I know a guy who took a class at this one college and he told me something really really cool." If Donald Trump had to go back to school himself, I'd recommend, for his foreign language class, he opts to go the way of specificity. As the kids nowadays are saying, "I'm just sayin'..."
2) Segueing from that, all night, Trump talked about what he wanted to get done while in the Oval Office. He went from wanting to end gun violence to creating "meeeelions" of jobs to fulfilling all Miss Universe contestants' dreams by prompting world peace. However, one thing was missing from all these goals - a route on how to achieve them. Sure, it's great to have dreams in life, but if one says his dream is to become a professional musician, but when asked how he's going to accomplish that, he shrugs his shoulders, then that could pose a problem somewhere down the line. I'm really starting to wonder if Nike took their slogan from a Donald Trump speech, because without providing any details on how he's going to accomplish something, Trump's philosophy seems to be, "Just do it."
3) It's ironic that Kellyanne Conway uttered the term "alternative fact" while being interviewed on MSNBC a few weeks ago, because her boss, Donald Trump, appears to let an "alternative fact" loose every time he opens his mouth, and his speech on Tuesday night was no exception.
Trump: "We have begun to drain the swamp of government corruption by imposing a five-year ban on lobbying by executive branch officials - and a lifetime ban on becoming lobbyists for a foreign government."
Facts: This 5-year ban wasn't extended to congressional officials and only applies to lobbying one's former agency. Not only that, but we'd be remiss if we didn't acknowledge it seems as though 75% of Trump's appointees are Vladimir Putin clones. It doesn't do much good to "drain the swamp of government corruption" if one refills it with even more corruption than had been there in the first place. Yeah, I don't think a doctor would approve if she told a patient he should quit smoking cigarettes and he substituted cigarettes with crack.
Trump: "We've defended the borders of other nations, while leaving our own borders wide open, for anyone to cross - and for drugs to pour in at a now unprecedented rate."
Facts: Marijuana seized at the border reached its peak in 2009 at 4 million pounds. That number fell to 1.5 million in 2015 and again in 2016, at 1.3 million. Not only that, but with 2011 being the exception, in 2015 we saw the lowest level of immigration from our southern border since 1972, at 331,333, down significantly from its peak in 2000, where 1.6 million such immigrants were tallied. Perhaps, when Trump said "unprecedented rate," he meant "'unpresidented'..."
Trump: "Since my election, Ford, Fiat Chrysler, General Motors, Sprint, SoftBank, Lockheed, intel, Walmart and many others have announced that they will invest billions of dollars in the United States and will create tens of thousands of American jobs."
Facts: These decisions were made prior to the November election. While Trump's at it, he might as well take credit for: the interstates, postal service, the Constitution, Declaration of Independence, Gone With the Wind, McDonald's, and the Great Wall of China.
Trump: "We've saved taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars by bringing down the price of the fantastic new F-35 jet fighter, and will be saving billions more dollars on contracts all across our government."
Facts: This cost reduction was decided prior to Trump's meetings with Lockheed Martin's chief executive, so yeah, chronology bites Trump in the rump yet again.
Trump: "Officer, I saved that man who was in the accident! That's why I was speeding!"
Officer Nofukingway: "He was already in the hospital when you reached that point. Nice try, though."
Trump: "We have cleared the way for the construction of the Keystone and Dakota Access Pipelines - thereby creating tens of thousands of jobs - and I've issued a new directive that new American pipelines be made with American steel."
Facts: First off, I find it highly ironic Trump likes to shout, "Made in America," when many of he and his daughter Ivanka's products are made anywhere but here, but I digress. Approximately 230,000 jobs were added in January of this year and it's estimated there will be only 3,900 temporary construction jobs added via the Keystone pipeline. Not only that, but the only U.S. plant which could build the pipe gets its steel from India. Maybe, like Columbus, Trump mistakenly believes the U.S. to be India as well. Hey, I love curry, so if that's the case, I'm not going to argue too much, but like with most everything else that Trump spews, I have a feeling this is bullsh*t as well.
Trump: "As we speak, we are removing gang members, drug dealers and criminals that threaten our communities and prey on our citizens. Bad ones are going out as I speak and as I have promised throughout the campaign."
Facts: Arrests made by Immigration and Customs Enforcement is routine, so it's not as if, right when Trump waltzed into the Oval Office, such arrests went from nil to countless. God doesn't have that kind of power, let alone an Oompa Loompa named Trump. Also, I hate to burst the human cheeto's bubble, but approximately 25% of these arrests were for lesser crimes, like traffic violations.
Trump: "Yeah, but it was like the best traffic violation arrest the world has ever seen, believe me!"
Eh, no... Next...
Trump: "By finally enforcing our immigration laws we will raise wages, help the unemployed, save billions and billions of dollars and make our communities safer for everyone."
Facts: Studies consistently show noncitizens aren't more prone to crime than citizens. A large majority of such immigrants aren't criminals, so it'd be wrong to generalize them as so. When it comes illegal immigrants' impact on our economy, well renowned economists generally believe illegal immigrants to have a net-positive affect. So like his hair, Trump's claims here are once again no bueno.
Trump: "Millions lifted from welfare to work is not too much to expect."
Facts: The Donald's big problem here is his ignorance on welfare. He implies if one is on welfare, he or she obviously isn't working, but that's not true. As of 2012, only 13.2% of families receiving food stamps had present no working adults. The US Department of Agriculture also reported that 76% of SNAP households included a child, elder, or disabled person. So Trump's statement should have read, "Millions working while on welfare should be paid more so they no longer need government assistance."
Trump: "Ninety-four million Americas are out of the labor force."
Facts: This is an extremely misleading claim. Of the 94 million Americans not working, 93% of them aren't looking for a job. They're: Retired, students, stay-at-home parents, or disabled. So, if Drumpf wants to be completely honest when spouting these numbers, he should perhaps add, "Ninety-four million Americans are out of the labor force. So you know what I'm gonna do? Make millions and millions of jobs for all of you! If you're 90 and retired, I'm gonna send you back to work! If you're a stay-at-home mom who's also going back to school part-time, I'm gonna force you to get off your lazy butts and get a job! If you're in a coma, I'll even find a job for you, believe me!"
Trump: "America has spent approximately $6 trillion in the Middle East, all this while our infrastructure at home is crumbling. With this $6 trillion we could have rebuilt our country - twice."
Facts: Between the years of 2001 and 2014, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have totaled a combined $1.6 trillion, $4.4 trillion less than Trump claimed. With that kind of math, Trump may also declare the following to be true:
- "The month of February only has 7.48 days!"
- "America is the greatest country in the history of the world! Nobody has 13.35 beautiful states like we do!"
- "I'm honored to be the 12th president of the United States!"
- "In order to be a millionaire, you need to have $267,000!"
- "If centuries are 26.7 years long, which they are, I've been alive over 2 1/2 centuries!"
Trump: "The murder rate in 2015 experienced its largest single-year increase in nearly half a century. In Chicago, more than 4,000 people were shot last year alone - and the murder rate so far this year has been even higher. This is not acceptable in our society."
Facts: While Trump may be more on the mark here than he had been with his before-mentioned claims, he's still missing the larger picture. Even with an increase of it in 2015, violent crime has been in decline since the early '90s, so while something definitely needs to be done to decrease crime in this country, he shouldn't mislead viewers and listeners by making it sound as though violence is as frequent today as it was 25 years ago. Yeah, I know I shouldn't be so nit-picky. Trump didn't completely fabricate the truth, so I should reward him with a gold star, yellow smiley face, and a Willy Wonka DVD...
Trump: "Jamiel's 17-year-old son was viciously murdered by an illegal immigrant gang member, who had just been released from prison. Jamiel Shaw Jr. was an incredible young man, with unlimited potential who was getting ready to go to college where he would have excelled as a great quarterback. But he never got the chance. His father, who is in the audience tonight, has become a good friend of mine."
Facts: Once again, a large majority of noncitizens aren't criminals. So while awful stories like Mr. Shaw's do exist, it's absurd to paint all unauthorized immigrants in this kind of light. Just because one man named Donald Trump often comes across like a 3-year-old, would it be right for me to believe all individuals with the surname Trump behave in such a manner? No. ...well, probably not... Okay, maybe...
Trump: "I can tell you the money is pouring in. Very nice."
Facts: Yeah, as Washington Post fact-checker Glenn Kessler puts it, "...the money would not be going to the United States or even necessarily to NATO; this is money that countries would spend to bolster their own military forces." He goes on to call Trump's statement "a bit nonsensical." Yeah, if Trump's consistent with anything, it's being nonsensical...
Final grade: I refuse to grade Donald Trump on a curve. He's President of the United States of America. He's supposed to be leader of this country. I'm not going to say, "Donald, since you don't have any political experience nor military experience and have a lower IQ than any president before you, I'm going to go easy on you with my critiques." I don't think so. This speech, like most of his others, was incredibly vague, full of plotholes, and more times than not, he placed Pinocchio's nose to shame with his whoppers. However, I will give the guy some credit for appearing more calm than is typical of him and attempting to reach out to Democrats on occasion. So I'll give his speech a D+ grade. Congratulations, Mr. President; you didn't fail this time!
Final grade: I refuse to grade Donald Trump on a curve. He's President of the United States of America. He's supposed to be leader of this country. I'm not going to say, "Donald, since you don't have any political experience nor military experience and have a lower IQ than any president before you, I'm going to go easy on you with my critiques." I don't think so. This speech, like most of his others, was incredibly vague, full of plotholes, and more times than not, he placed Pinocchio's nose to shame with his whoppers. However, I will give the guy some credit for appearing more calm than is typical of him and attempting to reach out to Democrats on occasion. So I'll give his speech a D+ grade. Congratulations, Mr. President; you didn't fail this time!
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/fact-checker/wp/2017/02/28/fact-checking-president-trumps-address-to-congress/?utm_term=.d3b4b457e1be
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/gary-stein/where-are-all-the-couch-p_b_4085773.html
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