Donald Trump's first week as President: Alternative facts, rogue tweets and protests
Updated
*Roll theme. Roll titles. 3 ... 2 ... 1 ... cue*
Welcome to series two of the most watched reality TV series of our time.
Series one ended with the Washington outsider triumphant, taking the presidential oath under cloudy skies on the steps of the DC Capitol building in the presence of the vanquished political establishment.
"Mothers and children trapped in poverty in our inner cities; rusted-out factories scattered like tombstones across the landscape of our nation; an education system flush with cash, but which leaves our young and beautiful students deprived of knowledge; and the crime and gangs and drugs that have stolen too many lives and robbed our country of so much unrealised potential.
"This American carnage stops right here and stops right now."
Series two begins with last season's winner Donald J. Trump now the President of the United States of America and wasting no time making his mark.
He gave notice that the new administration would:
- repeal Obamacare
- stop funding NGOs that support or perform abortions abroad
- construct a wall along the Mexican border and employ more border agents
- stop funding for so-called sanctuary cities that don't enforce immigration laws
- deport those in the country illegally who have criminal records
- review manufacturing industry approval processes
- ensure American pipelines are made with American steel, where possible
- speed up environmental reviews for infrastructure projects including the Dakota Access and Keystone oil pipelines
- freeze hiring in all federal agencies, except the military and public safety positions
- pull out of the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal
So that was week one, episode one. Phew. Are you keeping up?
Executive orders, just FYI, are unilateral actions taken by the President that have much the same weight as federal laws.
Usually they give policy direction to federal departments, although some can be subject to repeal or change by Congress and Supreme Court review. Here's a good primer if you're a nerd for constitutional technicalities.
It was a week in which Mr Trump went hell for leather to meet commitments made to those who voted for him that he will be an action man when it comes to leadership.
Many of these orders, however, merely indicate intent. Results on many of these things may take some time, as they do in any administration.
The small matter of 'alternative facts'
So, I guess you're wondering how many people were at the inauguration? No?
It was the prevailing question for a few days after the big event and even became a question in the confirmation hearings for the position of Office for Management and Budget:
White House press secretary Sean Spicer was trotted out to give news outlets a dressing down over coverage of the inauguration and crowd sizes the following day.
The jarring performance instantly became a viral meme, which probably isn't a good start for a press secretary.
(For the record, even Mr Trump, who told Spicer to deliver the press conference, thought his press secretary was pretty rough and ready, according to The New York Times).
The next day Spicer got a new suit and Mr Trump's senior adviser called his false statements "alternative facts".
Alternative facts have caught on — particularly when it comes to crowd sizes. Here's the Dallas Stars attendance figure from last Saturday night:
By the way, this blog has at least 1.5 million readers. Believe me.
(See what I did there?)
I have the best words
Speaking of the President's inauguration speech, per The Washington Post, these are the words Mr Trump introduced into the lexicon of inaugural addresses for the first time:
ICYMI
And here's George W. Bush adorably struggling with his rain poncho:
You're welcome.
Cake-gate
So, about the cake at one of the inaugural balls last week...
It was later confirmed by the cake replicators.
And the kicker? Only a small part was edible — the rest was styrofoam. I guess you can't have the same cake and eat it too.
Badlands by name...
According to The Washington Post, the Trump administration, which is seeking to have climate doubter Scott Pruitt confirmed as the next Environmental Protection Agency administrator, has put a gag order on the agency's public presence until a review of policy is complete.
That includes a ban on social media, including Twitter.
But defying the order, the Badlands National Park went rogue and went on a climate educating exercise through a series of tweets.
The account's following grew tenfold.
According to a National Park Service official, the tweets were posted by a former employee who still had access to the account.
The act of defiance triggered more revolt from the science community so there's now an "Alternative National Park Service" Twitter account, which continues the work of Badlands:
That has inspired a few "alt" accounts for Federal Government science agencies:
Dippin' Dots
Sean Spicer may be at odds with the press corps on the size of inauguration crowds but his defiant stand against Dippin' Dots ice cream has won him admirers from all sides of politics.
In a series of tweets from 2010-2015, Mr Spicer railed against the tiny ice-cream balls (why, nobody knows). The company has now penned an open letter to Mr Spicer asking to be friends, not foes.
Right then.
Now, back to the inauguration.
Best signs from the weekend
In a long week of political activism, witty and sometimes poignant signs were the real winners. Here are some of the best from the Women's March on Saturday:
Michael Moore energy
After predicting a Trump presidency last year, Michael Moore is now leading the charge to stop him. Here he is ripping up a newspaper at the Women's March the day after the inauguration:
I know.
Best dressed Trump supporter
Not to be outdone, Trump supporters made sure they stood out from the crowd too. Check out this guy's T-shirt:
And for those who didn't have a T-shirt when they got to Washington, this one was popular:
Gif of the week
The former first lady receiving a gift from the future First Lady and having no idea where to put it. Awkward.
Team Trump
Meanwhile, the President's cabinet continues to come together.
General James "Mad Dog" Mattis was first as Secretary of Defense. Since then other big postings such as Mike Pompeo for CIA director have been confirmed.
The controversial pick for Secretary of State, Rex Tillerson, has also been approved by Senate committee — even after some Republicans said they weren't convinced last week.
Former presidential candidate Marco Rubio came out particularly strongly against Mr Tillerson, but ultimately voted along party lines.
Afterwards, a spine was spotted behind him in a press conference...
Speaking of Team Trump, here's future Energy Secretary Rick Perry blowing bubbles in the crowd on inauguration day:
Quote of the week
"There's an old saying backing in Indiana: When you see a box turtle on a fence post, one thing you know for sure is he had help getting there." — Vice-President Mike Pence.
Clips of the week
We're spoilt for choice in this inauguration week. Here's the top three:
#3: Fans of The Office will love this light-hearted mash up of the Trump administration as the cast of the British/American sitcom:
#2: Were you wondering what Mr Trump and Barack Obama said to each other on inauguration day? Well, the team from Bad Lip Reading have given their interpretation — and it's hilarious:
#1: While countries around the world are bracing for what comes next in the Trump administration, Zondag met Lubach — a satirical news program from The Netherlands — has gone ahead with an introductory video of their own to the new President.
He says "America first". They say that's fine, if The Netherlands is second:
Obama out
After passing the baton, Mr Obama boarded Marine One from the Capitol, did one last flyover of the place that for the past eight years he's called home en route to a family vacation in California.
Mr Obama's photographer, Pete De Souza, captured this shot on the way out:
Presidential rotations aside, what an extraordinary eight years work by Pete Souza. You have to pay that.
Veep out
As for former vice-president Joe Biden, well, he headed out to Delaware as he always did — on the train:
Tweet of the week
Mr Obama didn't just hand over the power of the presidency, he also had to hand over his Twitter handle. Returning to his old account, Mr Obama reached out to the world.
That concludes our first week under President Donald J. Trump
It's going to be another whirlwind of a year if it continues at this pace. How will series two end? You know how reality shows succeed right?
To quote former Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski from one of our interviews this week:
"Unpredictability. Unpredictability is good. Unpredictability is good in everything. You want to keep your enemies guessing about what you're going to do."
Until next week!
Topics: world-politics, us-elections, united-states
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