Scrutinizing Trump’s tweets
When he says things like DACA and Obamacare are ‘dead,’ is he right?
The tweets are nothing new, coming at all hours and sometimes by the dozens in a single weekend.
President Trump announces policy, castigates critics and touts allies in 280 characters. Amid the onslaught of tweets, a theme has emerged when Trump disagrees with something: He says it’s “dead.”
But when Trump makes these proclamations — an effort to show disregard for people, policy or organizations and dismiss their importance — it does not necessarily mean the person or organization is on life support or worse.
Here’s a look at a few of the things Trump has called “dead,” along with a reality check regarding their status.
Media dinner
Trump, April 30: “The White House Correspondents’ Dinner is DEAD as we know it. This was a total disaster and an embarrassment to our great Country and all that it stands for. FAKE NEWS is alive and well and beautifully represented on Saturday night!” Reality check: While the White House Correspondents’ Assn. dinner on April 28 received criticism for comedian Michelle Wolf ’s roast of White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders and many others, the annual gathering is not dead.
The event, which honors journalists and awards scholarships to students, began in 1921 and is expected to be held next year. Trump did not attend the dinner this year or last, but he did attend before becoming president.
It’s not unusual for the association to hire a comedian to roast the president, his Cabinet, members of the media and news organizations. At times, the administration, and even some in the media, have expressed outrage over the jokes.
In response to the jokes from this year’s dinner, the association, which was founded in 1914, issued a statement, saying, in part, that Wolf ’s roast was not “in the spirit” of the group’s mission to promote a free press and civility.
Obamacare
Trump, May 28, 2017: “I suggest that we add more dollars to Healthcare and make it the best anywhere. ObamaCare is dead - the Republicans will do much better!” Reality check: Well, it’s not dead. In fact, nearly 11.8 million Americans signed up for 2018 health coverage through marketplaces created by the Affordable Care Act — commonly known as Obamacare — according to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
This total was a slight dip compared with last year’s numbers and comes as Republicans and Trump continuously assail the Obama administration’s 2010 signature healthcare law. Throughout the 2016 election, Trump vowed to repeal and replace Obamacare. Yet that has not happened.
Last year, the Republican-controlled Congress failed to repeal Obamacare, as the GOP had planned. A poll released in March by the nonpartisan Kaiser Family Foundation showed that 54% of the public has a favorable view of the law, compared with 42% who have an unfavorable view. It’s the highest favorable rating since the group began polling on the healthcare law in 2010.
Legal privilege
Trump, April 10: “Attorney– client privilege is dead!” Reality check: This tweet came shortly after the FBI raided the offices of Michael Cohen, Trump’s personal lawyer. The raid last month stemmed from special counsel Robert S. Mueller III’s ongoing investigation into possible collusion between the Trump campaign and Russians in the 2016 presidential election.
Of course, attorneyclient privilege still exists, and Trump certainly knows so. It allows clients who have a legal problem to talk candidly with a lawyer. However, there are limitations. The “crime fraud exception” notes that if a person is using the attorney-client relationship to perpetrate a crime, there is no privilege.
“You have a right to talk in confidence with your attorney about criminal activity, but you can’t use your attorney to accomplish a crime,” David Cole, legal director for the American Civil Liberties Union, recently wrote on the group’s website. “A mobster suspected of engaging in bribery can consult his attorney about the facts of his alleged bribery without fear that the attorney will disclose those communications. But he has no right to have the lawyer deliver the bribe for him.”
DACA
Trump, April 2: “DACA is dead because the Democrats didn’t care or act, and now everyone wants to get onto the DACA bandwagon... No longer works. Must build Wall and secure our borders with proper Border legislation. Democrats want No Borders, hence drugs and crime!” Reality check: In September, Trump ordered an end to Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, an Obama-era program that prevents deportation of young immigrants who were brought to the country illegally as children. He called on Congress to act by a March deadline, but no legislation came about. Even so, immigrant rights groups have filed a barrage of lawsuits to keep the program operating.
To date, three federal judges have ruled against the administration’s efforts to end the program. In April, in the latest ruling, U.S. District Court Judge John Bates called the administration’s decision to end DACA “virtually unexplained” and therefore “unlawful.” Collusion Trump, Feb. 3: “This memo totally vindicates ‘Trump’ in probe. But the Russian Witch Hunt goes on and on. Their was no Collusion and there was no Obstruction (the word now used because, after one year of looking endlessly and finding NOTHING, collusion is dead). This is an American disgrace!” Reality check: Trump’s tweet came in response to the release of a Republican House memo focused on FBI intelligence practices during the 2016 election. The partisan memo has been assailed by Democrats and lauded by Republicans. While Trump said the memo vindicates him in the Mueller probe, that investigation remains ongoing, still exploring, among other things, possible collusion.
Cruz and Kasich
Trump, April 24, 2016: “Lyin’ Ted and Kasich are mathematically dead and totally desperate. Their donors & special interest groups are not happy with them. Sad!” Reality check: This tweet foreshadowed what was to come, regardless of the mathematical lives at the time of the presidential campaigns of Texas Sen. Ted Cruz and Ohio Gov. John Kasich. After racking up several victories in the GOP primaries, Trump sought to clear the remaining field with this message. Less than a week after it was sent, both Cruz and Kasich ended their campaigns.
In July 2016, Trump secured the GOP nomination at the party’s convention in Cleveland, and in November defeated Democrat Hillary Clinton.