Trump rants while 'all alone' in White House on Christmas Eve

[covertbriar]

It's Christmas in America: The President is home alone in the White House, ranting at his foes inside and outside; an administration lurching deeper into crisis; stock markets are in free fall and the government is paralyzed by a partial shutdown.

Donald Trump is spending the festive season as he did much of the year, sparking chaos and raising concerns in the capital and around the world about his impulsive behavior and boiling with frustration as he barges right up to the limits on his power.

One reason for his fury: A favorite barometer of his own success has been stripped away by days of savage losses on the markets. In a shortened Christmas Eve session, the Dow Jones Industrial Average tumbled more than 600 points after a bizarre attempt by Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin on Sunday to calm investors by consulting with the CEOs of top banks backfired. Losses were compounded by another of Trump's Twitter attacks on the Federal Reserve -- following revelations that he has asked if he can legally fire the independent central bank's chairman, Jerome Powell.

The Dow fell 2.91% and the S&P 500 dipped 2.71% in the biggest Christmas Eve declines in the two indices' history. The slump came after the stocks last week had their worst week since the Great Recession a decade ago, and the last time the market fell so far in December was in 1931, during the Great Depression.

More at https://tinyurI.com/y8u6ado6

 

[zhihau]

Ang Mohs are the best!

Trump will become stronger after this. 无敌是寂寞的。

 

[AhMeng]

In before some sources say that the mainland Chinks or Russians are manipulating the markets... Lol

 

[syed putra]

Who controls the federal reserve boss? He can be a lone wolf rogue banker.

 

[KuanTi01]

Dotard is just waiting for his impeachment proceedings to begin. He better get used to being alone.

 

[eatshitndie]

that was a decoy while he and melania flew to iraq to meet the troops on christmas day. you very gullible and kena fooled.

 

[Hypocrite-The]

that was a decoy while he and melania flew to iraq to meet the troops on christmas day. you very gullible and kena fooled.
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DONALD TRUMP'S AMERICA
Donald Trump makes his first visit to US troops in Iraq amid planned withdrawal in Syria
UPDATED 58 MINUTES AGO
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VIDEO 0:46 US President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump visit troops in Iraq.
ABC NEWS
US President Donald Trump has made his first visit to soldiers stationed in a troubled region, flying in to Iraq on Boxing Day in an unannounced trip.

Key points:
Mr Trump had been criticised for not yet visiting overseas troops
He had said he did not see such a trip as "overly necessary"
The US Government remains partially shut down amid a funding stalemate over a border wall
It comes a week after Mr Trump stunned his national security advisers by announcing he would withdraw US troops from neighbouring Syria where they have been fighting Islamic State (IS) militants.

Defence Secretary Jim Mattis abruptly resigned following the announcement, and Mr Trump's decision rattled allies around the world, including in Iraq.

The president travelled with first lady Melania Trump and their trip was shrouded in secrecy.

Air Force One flew overnight from Washington, landing at an airbase west of Baghdad under the cover of darkness on Wednesday evening (local time).

A man in a business shirt, tie and casual jacket speaks at a podium
PHOTO Mr Trump had faced criticism for not visiting overseas troops.

AP: ANDREW HARNIK
Fifteen years after the 2003 invasion, the US still has more than 5,000 troops in Iraq as the fight against remaining pockets of resistance by the Islamic State group continues.

IS has lost a significant amount of territory in Iraq and Syria but is still seen as a threat.

Mr Trump said he wanted US soldiers home from Syria and that Iraq could still be used as a base to stage attacks on IS militants if needed.

He told reporters travelling with him that if needed, the US can attack IS "so fast and so hard" that they "won't know what the hell happened".

Mr Trump, who speaks often about his support for the US military, had faced criticism for not yet visiting troops as he comes up on his two-year mark in office.

Mr Trump and first lady Melania
PHOTO The unannounced trip comes as the US government remains partially shut.

AP: ANDREW HARNIK
In an interview in October he said he "will do that at some point, but I don't think it's overly necessary".

He later began to signal that such a visit was in the offing.

Mr Trump had planned to spend Christmas at his private club in Florida, but stayed in Washington due to the shutdown.

It is unclear whether his trip to Iraq was added after it became apparent that the government would be shut down indefinitely due to a stalemate between over the President's demand for a wall along the US-Mexico border.

Mr Trump's Middle East policy is in flux
Mr Trump went against the views of his top national security advisers in announcing the Syria withdrawal, a decision that risks creating a vacuum for extremists to thrive.

There are dire implications in particular for neighbouring Iraq.

The Iraqi government now has control of all of its cities, towns and villages after fighting its last urban battles against IS in December 2017.

But its political, military and economic situation remains uncertain, and the country continues to experience sporadic bombings, kidnappings and assassinations, which most people attribute to IS.

Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul-Mahdi recently said Iraqi troops could deploy into Syria to protect Iraq from threats across its borders.

Iraq keeps reinforcements along its frontier to guard against infiltration by IS militants, who hold a pocket of territory along the Euphrates River.

Donald Trump, his wife Melania and government and military advisers sit around a table in a military tent at an airbase in Iraq.
PHOTO Donald and Melania Trump meet with government and military advisers at Al Asad Air Base.

AP: ANDREW HARNIK
Two of Mr Trump's recent predecessors visited Iraq early in their terms.

President George W Bush visited Iraq in November 2003, about eight months after that conflict began.

Barack Obama visited Iraq in April 2009, the first year of his eight years in office, as part of an overseas tour.

Vice-President Mike Pence visited Afghanistan in December 2017, not long after Mr Trump outlined a strategy to break the stalemate in America's longest war.

AP