As the U.S. settled back into its weekday routine Tuesday following the three-day Memorial Day weekend, President Donald Trump took to Twitter to tackle a number of issues, including urging the Senate to expedite actions to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act and slamming the U.S.' trade deficit with its ally Germany.
But first, a note about Trump's Twitter habits this month. His account has produced so far in May 144 Twitter posts (including re-Tweets) at his personal and often outspoken Twitter account that has about 31 million followers, and 121 posts at his more subdued, official @POTUS account, which has about 18 million followers. Trump produced five Twitter posts on his personal account and none on the official one as by early Tuesday afternoon.
[salon_video id="14773245"]Though it’s unknown publicly how many of these posts Trump personally wrote or shared himself, it seems clear that the prolific tweeter-in-chief isn’t slowing down his social-media activity as he settles into his presidency.
Here’s a rundown of Trump’s Tuesday tweets:
We have a MASSIVE trade deficit with Germany, plus they pay FAR LESS than they should on NATO & military. Very bad for U.S. This will change
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 30, 2017
Apparently Trump wasn’t done talking about Europe following his return on Saturday from his first international tour. Trump is referring to the sizable trade deficit that the U.S. has with Europe’s largest economy. According to the U.S. trade representative, the U.S. imports nearly $115 billion worth of goods and services from Germany while it exports about $47 billion to Germany.
Of course, the U.S. doesn't trade with Germany. It trades with the European Union, which Germany is a member of. That's something that German Chancellor Angela Merkel had to point out to him.
The trade deficit tweet is a continuation of harsh remarks that Trump has levied against Germany, including accusations its automakers were flooding the U.S. market and hurting the U.S. auto industry. This might be news to U.S. auto workers in South Carolina, home to BMW’s largest car factory; Alabama, where three models of Mercedes-Benz vehicles are made; and Tennessee, where Volkswagen makes its Passat luxury sedan and its all-new Atlas SUV.
Trump also criticized Germany’s contribution to NATO, the 68-year-old political and military alliance. Member states are supposed to contribute the equivalent of at least 2 percent of their gross domestic product, but only the U.K., Greece and Estonia meet that minimum, while the U.S. contribution is the largest, at 3.6 percent. Defense Secretary James Mattis has also called on Europe to contribute more to its own defenses. Trump’s insinuation that Europe somehow owes the U.S. on the NATO issue is wrong, however; the U.S. could simply decide to unilaterally reduce its contribution, but America has already been acting on its interest in maintaining a robust military presence in Europe to counter Russia’s influence.
Russian officials must be laughing at the U.S. & how a lame excuse for why the Dems lost the election has taken over the Fake News.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 30, 2017
The “fake news” theme has been one of Trump’s most popular. The premise is that mainstream journalists are lying to the public about major controversies, including the ties the president or his aides might have to the Russian government or any conflicts of interest he or his family might have in their business dealings abroad.
Tuesday’s “fake news” tweet is likely referring to a report that emerged early on Tuesday, citing anonymous former U.S. intelligence officers and a congressional official and suggesting that Russian officials had been discussing potentially damning financial information about Trump or his advisers. Even if the Russians were exaggerating, should the report turn out to be true, it offers more evidence of Russia’s attempts to undermine the U.S. political system with a misinformation campaign aimed at favoring Trump against his Democratic Party rival Hillary Clinton during the last presidential campaign.
Later on Tuesday morning, Trump seemed to be OK with media outlets' use of anonymous sources as long as the coverage seemed favorable to him. Trump re-tweeted a Fox News story citing “a source familiar with the matter” saying that Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law and closest official advisor, did not suggest developing a secret and secure communications line with Moscow. The anonymously sourced denial came after The Washington Post reported last week, also citing anonymous sources, claims that Kushner had discussed developing this back channel line with the Russians.
The U.S. Senate should switch to 51 votes, immediately, and get Healthcare and TAX CUTS approved, fast and easy. Dems would do it, no doubt!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 30, 2017
This is Trump’s call to the Senate to once again deploy the “nuclear option,” as it recently did to confirm Justice Neil Gorsuch's appointment to the Supreme Court. The president wants Senate Republicans to override the Senate Democrats' legislative filibuster approach that they’re planning to deploy in an attempt to block most of Trump’s agenda.
Trump has said he needs to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, before he can move on to efforts to overhaul federal tax policy, slashing taxes on companies and the wealthy. His budget plan would then offset the losses in public revenue through crippling cuts to aid to the poor and elderly, education, environmental protection and other public programs.
Senate Republicans could deploy the nuclear option on the health care proposal, but they still lack the 51 votes needed to pass a replacement to Obamacare that, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office would result in 23 million people being without health insurance, jack up premiums to the elderly and sequester sick people into their own insurance pools.
Republicans have 52 seats in the Senate, but that legislative body seems to be more intent on crafting its own bill and having Republicans vote on that.
President Trump pays respects and delivers #MemorialDay remarks at Arlington National Cemetery. pic.twitter.com/D5rl948J6u
— Dan Scavino Jr. (@Scavino45) May 29, 2017
The president also re-tweeted a post by his assistant Dan Scavino Jr., depicting the crowd size that had gathered at Arlington National Cemetery’ Memorial Amphitheater for his Memorial Day speech. Trump is barely seen in the images, but the photo shows a packed audience at the 5,000-seat venue.
While there are numerous images of the president laying a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, an annual tradition when the nation’s leader pays tribute to those who were killed in combat, Trump’s choice to show the crowd during his speech seems to reflect the president’s obsession with the turnout at his public speaking engagements.
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