God Rest Ye Merry....Gentlemen.

Fate of $900 billion coronavirus relief package in doubt as House GOP blocks a vote on Trump's demand for $2,000 stimulus checks https://t.co/FxznwMAXQh

— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) December 24, 2020

There was, uh, something else we're not supposed to call them, but they make it very hard.

Merry Xmas Mitch McConnell

Trump said he wants Congress to amend the coronavirus relief bill to raise the amount of stimulus checks to $2,000 and eliminate certain items, throwing into turmoil a bipartisan effort to provide help for Americans who have been upended by the pandemic https://t.co/svrQnmNRrA pic.twitter.com/tmC66djeGU

— Reuters (@Reuters) December 23, 2020

The White House did not signal any objections to the legislation before it passed and gave every expectation that Trump would sign it. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin was involved in the negotiations over the bill.  

White House officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Trump’s intentions.  

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said in a tweet that Republicans would not say during negotiations what amount Trump wanted the stimulus checks to be. She said Democrats are ready to bring his proposal for $2,000 checks to the House floor for a vote this week. She did not address Trump’s other concerns.

Trump wants to play Santa Claus at just this particular inconvenient moment so that Democrats can remind everyone they were always all for giving folks more money, while direct stimulus makes Senate Republicans dyspeptic? (And. They. Thought. They. Were. Done. Already.)

Merry Christmas, Mitch, it's what you should have--a pain in the ass. 

UPDATE: And Merry Christmas to us all, because Trump is having a tantrum over Confederate-named military bases and vetoed the Defense bill.  He really, really is a pain in the ass. And he still doesn't understand what section 230 does. And the veto will probably be overrode but still. PITA.

Trump on Steroids

 

Right now, Trump thinks he is the Lizard King, and can do anything. He's been on a Twitter roll that simply can't be anything to do with Dan Scavino or anyone else--it's all Trump.  He hasn't just come home to the White House, but has chosen to make weird, conflicting pronouncements whilst still operating as the President, like declaring that negotiations for COVID-19 economic relief are totally off on one hand, but agreeing with Fed Chairman Powell on the other hand that something must be done to prevent disaster, 

Although Trump has used Twitter to wreck the stock market with trash talk before, I don't even know if he did it intentionally this time. (By the by, did you know Trump's economic prowess in the trade war has resulted in an ever-widening trade deficit and man, he does not know how to fix that shit or even whether it is bad or should be fixed? Because those things are totally true.) 

He also declassified a bunch of Russia investigation information either several hours ago or a long time ago. (his sense of time might be a bit, um, unbounded.)Which might even include the redacted bits of the Mueller report, for all I know. I wonder which intelligence agency (he's mad at all of them) he's talking to. He's also in an online relationship with the Hoover Institute's Paul Sperry (sorry Melania--or is that congratulations?).

Anyway, Trump's insistence that he gets what COVID-19 is all about now (When I was a child I caught a fleeting glimpse out of the corner of my eye. I turned to look but it was gone; I cannot put my finger on it now. The child is grown. The dream is gone. I have become comfortably numb.) seems belied by basically everything he's been doing. And his doctors are not telling the truth and the White House hasn't been telling the truth, because we should understand Trump wasn't getting tested regularly for the virus, so we don't know exactly when he was infected, but what we can surmise is that yes, this guy is Donny Crappleseed and yes, he still doesn't understand prophylaxis. 

And he's presidenting under the influence of whatever cocktail the good docs at Walter Reed gave him, and now that he's "home", if rumors are true, whatever additions he might be able to get from "not so good doctors".  I've joked that we might not be able to tell the difference between regular Trump and Trump with special additives. It could behoove him then, to maybe interrupt his responsibilities/campaign until he makes any kind of sense, but let's face it--he never did! 

Also, Pence's Dr's note is awfully nice but I am glad he agreed to the plexiglass barrier. Not just because of COVID. But because having laid down with a dirty dog like Trump for so long, I fear he might have fleas. 

Trump's Lousy Credit

As millions of Americans desperately await $1,200 stimulus checks, Trump decided he wanted his signature on them.

One problem: as we explained, that's not legal.

So now he's printing his name on the memo line, delaying them by weeks.

Legal, but not ok. https://t.co/F86KhsxQjs

— Citizens for Ethics (@CREWcrew) April 15, 2020

It definitely seems like Trump is using his office (again!) to do a little campaign work for himself. The daily press briefings regarding the COVID-19 crisis have taken the place of his arena rallies (although he doesn't get the same mindless adulation, and the pointed questioning and fact checking seem to be wearing on him), and he's even taken the opportunity to use White House staff to create a nice advertisement for his efforts (which actually only highlights the paucity of effort taking place in February). But of all the obvious credit-grabs, having his name on the stimulus checks feels extra-shoddy.

I'm not the first to point out that perhaps it makes up for his name not being on the death certificates or the pink slips, or that it's a pointless bit of vanity since most people will have their stimulus funds direct deposited, and won't see his name on them at all. But it bears inspection that even in a crisis, it is so extremely important to Trump that he gets credit for something, is perceived as having the authority over everyone, but takes no responsibility for anything bad that happens, at all.

And all of this absurd exercise of managing Trump's personal feelings is making everything even worse.