Reality bites Trump (opinion)
Donald Trump Jr.
Trump 's response  to blame Gillespie  was the latest example of how he responds to reality with yet more denial. While most in politics recognized the results in Virginia as a repudiation of the President   Trump  remained in  his  own universe. It's a place  he  had stubbornly occupied  despite other reality bites  since assuming office in January.
Beginning with the sparse turnout at  his  inauguration  which White House staff insisted was a vast throng   Trump  has practiced denial like a champion even in the face of irrefutable facts. The examples are many  but a small number considered in chronological order make the point well.
Although it seems like ages ago  it was only last January when  President Trump 's order barring visitors from seven Muslim-majority countries was suddenly announced. "It's working out very nicely "  he  said on the weekend when it was put into force. "You see it in the airports."
In reality  all was chaos at the major arrival hubs for airlines serving the named countries. Thousands of protesters gathered inside and outside terminals. Lawyers rushed to court to block  Trump 's orders and even Theresa May  Prime Minister of America's most reliable ally  Great Britain  disagreed with the ban. The order  and two subsequent ones  were blocked by federal judges
Next came the revelations that ended Michael Flynn's brief tenure as his national security adviser.  Trump  insisted   despite mounting evidence  that Flynn was a "wonderful man." The real problem  according to  Trump   was that " he  has been treated very  very unfairly by the media  as I call it  the fake media in many cases." In fact Flynn had misled others in the administration about his recent contacts with Russian officials and he has been under scrutiny by special counsel Robert Mueller.
Flynn's exit would be followed by the departure of other people  Trump  regarded highly  including Sean Spicer  Reince Priebus  Anthony Scaramucci  Steve Bannon  Tom Price and Sebastian Gorka. Amid all the turmoil  on the day he appointed retired Marine Gen. John Kelly to be his chief of staff  he insisted "No WH [White House] chaos!"
As reality revealed a White House in disarray   Trump 's policy plans didn't fare much better.  Candidate Trump  promised to "repeal and replace" Obamacare immediately. Immediately didn't happen  but as late as March 7 he said  "Our wonderful new Healthcare Bill is now out for review and negotiation. ObamaCare is a complete and total disaster - is imploding fast!" By March 24  the facts of life in Congress led  Trump  and House leaders to withdraw the proposal. Eight months later  Obamacare remains the law of the land and collapse is not at hand.
Bizarrely   Trump  has even battled reality when things have gone well for him. In June he had a friendly meeting with the President of South Korea and his aides were hoping an appearance at the Department of Energy would boost serious policies. Instead he used the opportunity to complain of "fake news" and took to Twitter once again to rant about TV hosts Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski. Calling them "Low I.Q. Crazy Mika" and "Psycho Joe " the President drew attention to his own intellectual and mental condition and away from his more presidential acts.
Any list of  Trump  collisions with reality must also include the commission on voter fraud that is addressing a nonexistent problem  Mexico's refusal to pay for a border wall he said it would fund  a court ruling that blocked his attempt to ban transgender troops from the military  his assertion that good people were among neo-Nazis rallying in Charlottesville  Virginia  and his counter-factual claim after Hurricane Maria that "San Juan mayor and others haven't pitched in with Puerto Rico relief."
Looming over all the problems listed here has been  of course  the issue of Russian interference in the 2016 election. Throughout his time in office   Trump  has insisted the matter is "fake news" and that no one in  his  campaign or administration colluded with Russian operatives. Reality has bitten  him  time and again as evidence connecting members of  his  campaign team -- Michael Flynn  Jeff Sessions  Donald Trump Jr.  Paul Manafort  George Papadopoulos  and Carter Page -- has emerged in the press and in court filings made by independent counsel Robert Mueller.
Trump 's response  to blame Gillespie  was the latest example of how he responds to reality with yet more denial. While most in politics recognized the results in Virginia as a repudiation of the President   Trump  remained in  his  own universe. It's a place  he  had stubbornly occupied  despite other reality bites  since assuming office in January.
Beginning with the sparse turnout at  his  inauguration  which White House staff insisted was a vast throng   Trump  has practiced denial like a champion even in the face of irrefutable facts. The examples are many  but a small number considered in chronological order make the point well.
Although it seems like ages ago  it was only last January when  President Trump 's order barring visitors from seven Muslim-majority countries was suddenly announced. "It's working out very nicely "  he  said on the weekend when it was put into force. "You see it in the airports."
In reality  all was chaos at the major arrival hubs for airlines serving the named countries. Thousands of protesters gathered inside and outside terminals. Lawyers rushed to court to block  Trump 's orders and even Theresa May  Prime Minister of America's most reliable ally  Great Britain  disagreed with the ban. The order  and two subsequent ones  were blocked by federal judges
Next came the revelations that ended Michael Flynn's brief tenure as his national security adviser.  Trump  insisted   despite mounting evidence  that Flynn was a "wonderful man." The real problem  according to  Trump   was that " he  has been treated very  very unfairly by the media  as I call it  the fake media in many cases." In fact Flynn had misled others in the administration about his recent contacts with Russian officials and he has been under scrutiny by special counsel Robert Mueller.
Flynn's exit would be followed by the departure of other people  Trump  regarded highly  including Sean Spicer  Reince Priebus  Anthony Scaramucci  Steve Bannon  Tom Price and Sebastian Gorka. Amid all the turmoil  on the day he appointed retired Marine Gen. John Kelly to be his chief of staff  he insisted "No WH [White House] chaos!"
As reality revealed a White House in disarray   Trump 's policy plans didn't fare much better.  Candidate Trump  promised to "repeal and replace" Obamacare immediately. Immediately didn't happen  but as late as March 7 he said  "Our wonderful new Healthcare Bill is now out for review and negotiation. ObamaCare is a complete and total disaster - is imploding fast!" By March 24  the facts of life in Congress led  Trump  and House leaders to withdraw the proposal. Eight months later  Obamacare remains the law of the land and collapse is not at hand.
Bizarrely   Trump  has even battled reality when things have gone well for him. In June he had a friendly meeting with the President of South Korea and his aides were hoping an appearance at the Department of Energy would boost serious policies. Instead he used the opportunity to complain of "fake news" and took to Twitter once again to rant about TV hosts Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski. Calling them "Low I.Q. Crazy Mika" and "Psycho Joe " the President drew attention to his own intellectual and mental condition and away from his more presidential acts.
Any list of  Trump  collisions with reality must also include the commission on voter fraud that is addressing a nonexistent problem  Mexico's refusal to pay for a border wall he said it would fund  a court ruling that blocked his attempt to ban transgender troops from the military  his assertion that good people were among neo-Nazis rallying in Charlottesville  Virginia  and his counter-factual claim after Hurricane Maria that "San Juan mayor and others haven't pitched in with Puerto Rico relief."
Looming over all the problems listed here has been  of course  the issue of Russian interference in the 2016 election. Throughout his time in office   Trump  has insisted the matter is "fake news" and that no one in  his  campaign or administration colluded with Russian operatives. Reality has bitten  him  time and again as evidence connecting members of  his  campaign team -- Michael Flynn  Jeff Sessions   [TGT]   Paul Manafort  George Papadopoulos  and Carter Page -- has emerged in the press and in court filings made by independent counsel Robert Mueller.