Trump takes lying to whole new level
THE NATIONAL POST’S JO-ANNE MACDONALD LOOKS AT THE NEW U.S. PRESIDENT’S INITIAL ACTIONS
1) Pulled the United States out of the proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership trade pact. Basically a formality, since the agreement with 11 Pacific Rim countries had yet to receive required Senate ratification. “Great thing for the American worker that we just did,” Trump said.
2) Confirmed intentions to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement. Mexico’s foreign minister and economy minister will be in Washington on Wednesday.
3) Using his personal account he tweeted: “Busy week planned with a heavy focus on jobs and national security. Top executives coming in at 9 a.m. to talk manufacturing in America.”
4) Signed an executive order that would implement a hiring freeze for jobs in the federal government. “Except for the military,” Trump said, as he signed the order. “Except for the military.”
5) Resurrected an abortion-related rule known as the Mexico City policy, which bans giving taxpayers’ money to international groups that perform or provide information on abortions.
6) Delayed implementation of a rule allowing Argentine farmers to export lemons after a decade of talks, putting into doubt trade negotiations between the two countries. The White House ordered a stay of 60 days “on its final rule to allow the importation of fresh lemon fruit from northwest Argentina.”
7) Asked a group of top business leaders — among them Tesla’s Elon Musk, the executives from Dell, Johnson & Johnson and Lockheed Martin — to come up with ways to stimulate the American manufacturing sector. Andrew Liveris, the CEO of Dow Chemical, says Trump has given them 30 days.
8) Warned the group of top business leaders he would impose a “substantial border tax” on companies moving their manufacturing out of the U.S., and promised tax breaks for those producing in America. He said he would like to cut corporate taxes to 15-20 per cent, down from 35 per cent and cut red tape by 75 per cent. “All you have to do is stay,” he said.
9) Selected former Republican congresswoman Heather Wilson of New Mexico to be secretary of the Air Force. Wilson, an Air Force Academy graduate, served as an Air Force officer in Europe during the 1980s and was on the National Security Council staff under President George H.W. Bush during the fall of the Berlin Wall.
10) In a phone call with Egypt’s president, Trump pledged to continue providing military assistance to his country. He and Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi also discussed ways to deepen the bilateral relationship between the two countries, fight terrorism and boost Egypt’s struggling economy.
11) Dismissed as “totally without merit” a lawsuit filed against him Monday for breaching the emoluments clause of the Constitution that forbids a U.S. president from accepting foreign payments. Trump says he has handed over control of his global real estate and licensing empire to his two adult sons. But he is retaining his financial stake in the business even while in the White House.
12) Announced an immigration crackdown will focus first on criminal immigrants in the country illegally and who pose a threat, not on the three-quarters of a million young immigrants granted amnesty by Barack Obama. “That’s where the priority’s going to be, and then we’re going to continue to work through the entire number of folks that are here illegally,” said spokesman Sean Spicer.
13) Tapped Republican Commissioner Ajit Pai to head the U.S. Federal Communications Commission. The son of Indian immigrants who grew up in Kansas, Pai said last month the commission should take a “weed whacker” to unneeded rules and was harshly critical of many FCC regulations imposed during the Obama administration.
14) Sent his spokesman, Sean Spicer, back in front of the press gallery to patch things up. Spicer admitted he misled reporters on the weekend by exaggerating the number of Washington subway riders on the day of Trump’s inauguration. He said it was an honest mistake and that he had received bad numbers. Spicer did continue to insist that Trump’s inauguration crowd was the largest of all time — but he clarified that the claim included live participants and those watching on TV and online.
15) Invited the chief executives of Ford, GM and Fiat Chrysler to breakfast at the White House Tuesday. Auto industry officials expect Trump to urge Canada and Mexico to agree to new tougher “rules of origin” that would require a higher percentage of North American content to be considered tariff free. Under NAFTA, at least 62.5 per cent of a passenger car or light truck’s net cost must originate in North America — defined as the United States, Canada or Mexico — to avoid tariffs.