Donald Trump: Another big week in the US President's 'fine-tuned machine'
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"I'm here again to take my message straight to the people. To be honest, I inherited a mess. It's a mess. At home and abroad, a mess."
Vintage Donald Trump at a press conference in a style rarely, if ever, seen from a US President.
It was a hastily convened affair. I was sitting at my desk in our office in downtown DC when there was a newsflash that the President would hold a news conference within the hour.
Let's do a press conference today, he apparently told top advisers.
"The President's idea, 100 per cent," CNN reported.
Moments later I was at the White House with dozens of other reporters who had emerged from their offices across the city into the frigid Washington day to see what the Commander in Chief had to say.
He railed against media organisations he says are peddling "hatred" in their coverage of his administration.
He listed what he says he and his team have achieved since the inauguration, talking up strong border policies, productive talks with foreign leaders, removal of business regulations, tackling violent crime and removing criminal "illegal aliens" and protecting law enforcement.
He described the 9th US Circuit Court in San Francisco that's suspended his Executive Order on immigration as in "chaos" and "turmoil".
As for his White House:
"I turn on the TV, open the newspapers, and I see stories of chaos. Chaos. Yet it is the exact opposite.
"This administration is running like a fine-tuned machine."
What was this about?
Was it Mr Trump airing his frustrations at the negative coverage over a chaotic fortnight that saw his national security adviser dumped?
Was it designed to talk to his base which loves to see the news media dressed down?
Or did he just have not much on today and wanted some attention?
All of the above?
I'll leave that with you to ponder.
He said
"You're going to see a lot of love. A lot of love." — in another extraordinary press conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu this week.
The romance between the United States and Israel is back on after some frosty years under Barack Obama.
In Mr Netanyahu's first visit to the White House since 2015, the Israeli Prime Minister came bearing gifts — many gifts — as the US-Israel relationship hits reset.
The family ties between the two governments are strong. The family of Jared Kushner — Mr Trump's son-in-law — and the Netanyahus are old friends.
In fact, it was a real family affair on Wednesday with Melania Trump returning to the White House for the first time since her husband's inauguration.
Speaking of love ins...
Here's Vice-President Mike Pence spotted at his local Whole Foods in Washington DC buying flowers for his wife on Valentine's Day:
Nice one Mike.
Aw-bama
Not to be outdone, Mr Obama and the former first lady each delivered touching tributes via social media:
Capitol Hill was feeling the love too
Here's Ashton Kutcher — yes — Ashton Kutcher blowing a kiss to John McCain.
But it wasn't all love and happiness this week:
National security adviser Michael Flynn got the axe for being too cosy with the Russian ambassador.
Here's a touching poem to mark the first scalp of Mr Trump's White House:
Labor Secretary nominee Andy Pudzer also experienced rejection — withdrawing his nomination before it even got to a vote.
The new nominee is more in the establishment vein. If approved Harvard law educated Alexander Acosta would also be the first Hispanic American in cabinet.
He was previously successfully vetted by the Bush administration for various roles so his confirmation should be a little easier than Mr Pudzer's.
Where's Bernie?
Throwing out some stern words to Mr Puzder on his way out:
There was letter writing too — although it wasn't of the affectionate kind.
First, the Government of Office Ethics urged the White House to punish senior counsellor Kellyanne Conway for spruiking Ivanka Trump's fashion label on TV last week:
The second piece of mail pertaining to the White House was penned by Republican Jason Chaffetz of the House Oversight Committee.
He wanted to know what the security protocols were surrounding sensitive information after it was revealed that members of the public were nearby while Mr Trump discussed policy (and a North Korean nuclear test) while al-fresco dining with the Japanese Prime Minister last weekend at Mar-a-Lago:
Don't feel neglected, you can find out who your White House romantic match is thanks to Samantha Bee, if you dare.
Whispers within the White House
On the topic of White House staff — rumours of a rift between Ms Conway and Sean Spicer continue. Credit to Mr Spicer who continues to scrap his way through daily press briefings against the odds.
Here's a great profile from CNN.
After CNN last week said they refused Ms Conway on their network, MSNBC's Morning Joe is planning to take a similar route.
Morning Joe may run out of representatives of Team Trump to talk too soon, with Joe Scarborough himself going after senior adviser Stephen Miller in this 1984-esque video:
Meanwhile, Breitbart reported that there are whispers White House chief of staff Reince Priebus may be next to be shown the door.
According to Axios, chief strategist Steve Bannon, who ran the right-wing news website before joining the Trump team, was not impressed.
We find it hard to believe after the President lauded his COS in his press conference, but hey, it's an unpredictable world we're living in folks.
18 holes
The President is planning to head to the "Winter White House" again this weekend — for the third week in a row.
The avid golfer works while he's in Florida but it's an interesting look for a President who was repeatedly critical of Mr Obama when he took to the links:
Life Imitates Art
After months of refining his impersonation of Mr Trump, Alec Baldwin seems to have officially acquired the identity of the President — at least this Dominican Republic newspaper thinks so after mistakenly printing Baldwin and not Mr Trump on its front page.
Whoops:
Mr Trump is holding a rally in Melbourne (the one in Florida as opposed to the city of my birth) this weekend.
We expect a large crowd and a lot of the kind of shouty showmanship that only the Donald can deliver.
Next week (he says) he'll deliver a new executive order.
It's expected to supersede his stalled order on immigration banning people from seven Muslim-majority nations that's stuck in the courts.
By the way, did you know 2020 is already in the President's sights? In one of his press conferences this week he referred to how much better he plans to make things in the next three, four or eight years.
There's also this.
It's a long weekend in America for... drum roll... President's Day.
Until next week folks.
Topics: foreign-affairs, world-politics, united-states
