Trump an agent of chaos in the last days as president, even more than usual

• President Donald Trump has been a historically chaotic and destructive Commander-in-Chief, and he seems determined to take that to new levels in his final days.
• Trump has sparked a battle with Republicans in Congress over bigger COVID-19 stimulus checks and is dividing the party over its undemocratic effort to overturn the election result.
• Trump’s antics could cost the GOP its majority in the Senate.
• The president also launched new threats against Iran as the United States sent B-52 bombers into the Persian Gulf in a show of force, raising fears of yet another war in the Middle East.
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President Donald Trump has caused immeasurable damage to the United States throughout his tenure, his administration moving from one self-induced crisis to another. But with less than a month left, Trump has apparently decided to turn things around a notch.

The president escalates his penchant for chaos in his final days, opposing Republicans in Congress, wreaking havoc in Washington, sparking fears of conflict with Iran and continuing his futile and disorderly efforts to reverse the outcome of the 2020 elections.

Presidents usually don’t remember what they’re doing when they walk out the door. Lame presidents tend to slow down to promote a peaceful transfer of power. But as he has done with virtually every other democratic norm, Trump is breaking away from it in a major way by rejecting the election result and compulsively seeking attention.

The president’s unorthodox antics have serious consequences that go beyond the headlines.

Trump starts brawl over COVID-19 stimulus checks that could cost GOP Senate majority

Doug Mills-Pool / Getty Images

Although he has shown little interest in governing since losing the election to Joe Biden, the president came close to derailing the latest COVID-19 stimulus package this month.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin played a key role in the painstaking negotiations behind the $ 900 billion bill, and Republican lawmakers have firmly backed the legislation. When Trump initially refused to sign the bill, it sent shockwaves through Washington.

The president demanded that the direct payments of $ 600, which Mnuchin had personally claimed, be increased to $ 2,000. By calling for thicker controls, Trump has effectively aligned himself with the Democrats. The president finally gave in and signed the bill on Sunday. But with the delay, Trump may have cost Americans millions in unemployment benefits when they desperately needed help.

In light of Trump’s backing, the Democratic-led House passed a stand-alone bill to increase payments to $ 2,000.

Trump continued to push for $ 2,000 checks, telling congressional Republicans who oppose them that they must have a “death wish“He put his own party in a terrible position ahead of the Georgia Senate runoff, which will determine whether Republicans maintain their upper house majority.

$ 2,000 checks are extremely popular with Americans, but leading Republican lawmakers have raised concerns about the deficit by pushing against larger payments. By backing the $ 2,000 checks, Trump essentially ensured that Republicans would be portrayed as bad guys for opposing a proposal that would help millions of Americans.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who is leading the charge against the checks, has pulled one of his Machiavellian maneuvers to make sure the proposal is dead in the water. McConnell injected poison pills into the bill, packing checks for $ 2,000 with Trump’s demands to repeal legal protections for social media companies and open an investigation into his allegations of electoral fraud.

McConnell knows Democrats would never agree to such a package, and that’s the point. The Kentucky Republican said the bill passed by the House had “no realistic path to quickly pass the Senate.”

But Trump is not giving up. “$ 2000 ASAP!” he tweeted wednesday. The president is pushing a wedge in the GOP on the issue. Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, one of Trump’s main allies, is now urging McConnell to support a stand-alone vote on the checks. The senses. Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue, who are fighting for their political life in the second round of elections in Georgia, have also spoken out in favor of the checks.

Trump’s rejection of election result also tears GOP apart

Morry Gash-Pool / Getty Images

Trump’s rejection of the election result also led to divisions within the GOP.

Congress is expected to certify the Electoral College’s vote on January 6. A group of House Republicans plan to oppose certification – which is usually a formality – and GOP Senator Josh Hawley of Missouri on Wednesday became the first senator to say they object.

Hawley’s decision would mean Biden’s certification of victory is delayed, but that won’t affect the outcome of the election. The Missouri senator imposes an unnecessary vote that would put Republican lawmakers on the verge of whether they are willing to accept or reject Trump’s efforts to quash the election, based on conspiracy theories and unsubstantiated claims. basis of mass electoral fraud.

McConnell privately urged senators not to oppose certification, citing political ramifications. Other Republicans excoriated Hawley and any other GOP colleagues who would support the effort.

“The president and his allies are playing with fire,” GOP Senator Ben Sasse of Nebraska said in a Facebook post on Wednesday. “They asked – first the courts, then the state legislatures, now Congress – to overturn the results of a presidential election.

“They have unsuccessfully called on judges and are now calling on federal officials to strike down millions and millions of votes. If you are making big claims, you better have proof,” Sasse added. “But the president is not doing it and neither are the institutional inflammatory members of Congress who will oppose the Electoral College vote.”

As he wreaks havoc in Washington, Trump renews fears of war with Iran

Reuters

Beyond his battles with Congress over stimulus checks and election results, Trump raises fears of conflict with Iran. This week, the United States sent B-52 bombers to fly over the Persian Gulf region to send a message to Tehran after a rocket attack on the United States embassy in Baghdad that the Trump administration called work of Iranian forces by proxy.

Trump has also threatened Iran through his preferred means of communicating official government affairs. “Our embassy in Baghdad was hit on Sunday by several rockets”, Trump tweeted December 23. “Three rockets could not be launched. Guess where they came from: IRAN.”

“Some friendly health advice to Iran: If an American is killed, I will hold Iran responsible. Think about it,” Trump added.

In one Tweeter On Thursday, the senior Iranian diplomat accused Trump of being involved in a “plot to MAKE the pretext of war.”

About a year ago, Trump ordered a drone strike that killed senior Iranian General Qassem Soleimani and nearly sparked a new conflict in the Middle East.

Biden accused the Pentagon of blocking him on vital national security issues and refusing to provide full information.

“Make no mistake, this lack of cooperation has real-world implications, especially when it comes to our national security,” Yohannes Abraham, head of Biden’s transition team, said on Wednesday. “This intentionally generated opacity makes it more difficult for our government to protect the American people in the future.”

Just 20 days away from his tenure – and during a pandemic that has already killed at least 343,000 people under his leadership – Trump appears determined to take the country with him. A lot can happen in 20 days.