Dear Readers,
It has been an eventful week. For all past newsletters (and more), make sure to go to the blog at http://www.electreport.blogspot.com
Afghanistan
This week opened with a speech Trump gave regarding Afghanistan policy. The speech was awkward and, while he stayed calm and on-script for once, it was boring. But the content was the important part: Trump announced he will continue efforts in Afghanistan, including an increase in troops. He has announced very few specifics of his plan but would like to win the war and stabilize Afghanistan... somehow. This has displeased some of his supporters and represents a difference from his rhetoric against foreign entanglements during the campaign.
Personnel Changes, Yet Again
-Trump assistant Sebastian Gorka, who has been linked to Nazi groups in Hungary, resigned from his post and returned to Breitbart
-Eight of the 28 members of the National Infrastructure Advisory Council, which deals with cybersecurity, resigned this week.
Arizona Madness
Trump headed to Phoenix, Arizona this week to make a speech. Said speech was unhinged, rambling, and over an hour. I’m not going to choose the “highlights” but I will note the CNN article listing the 57 “most outrageous” quotes, which should give you a sense of how the speech went. He yet again defended his remarks on Charlottesville, insulted members of his own party, and bragged about his crowd size.
His attention then turned to Joe Arpaio, former sheriff of Maricopa County, containing Phoenix, Tempe, Mesa, Scottsdale, and other near suburbs. If you need a refresher on Sheriff Joe, here’s a nice long article about all the terrible things he did. He was finally ousted from office after 24 years and six elections, losing re-election by 13 points while Trump won the county by 3. Trump decided now would be a good time to pardon Sheriff Joe from his conviction for criminal contempt of court after he failed to stop racial profiling in accordance with the court order of Melendres v. Arpaio and rule 5 on the list of “how to be a decent human being.”
Harvey
And Trump did all this as Hurricane Harvey headed toward Texas, where five are now reported dead, dozens are injured, and the downtown of Houston is severely flooded. Trump has already tweeted several dozen times on the matter and has yet to offer any advice for those affected. I’ll keep it brief, as I’m not a meteorologist and don’t want to delve into this area too much, but it should be noted that both of Texas’ Senators, Ted Cruz and John Cornyn, voted against relief funding for Hurricane Sandy.
Want to help the victims of Hurricane Harvey? Donate to the Red Cross here, Donate to Feeding Texas, the main food bank in Texas here, or Donate to a crowdfunded relief fund here
Thanks for reading! As always, feel free to reply or comment.
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