How US Leaders Responded to Charlottesville

Before we get to the formal article tonight concerning the clash between alt-right neo-Nazis and counter-protesters today in Charlottesville, Virginia I wanted to show you the difference between a dignified response and an undignified response.  This would also be known as "How everyone but Trump responded today."

Trump's Downward Spiral

Mark Wilson/Getty Images

I went on vacation the Saturday before last and although I quite enjoyed being away from home I just couldn't stay away from writing for TMB.  As many of you that follow politics know, quite a lot has happened in the past two weeks involving President Trump, so much that it would take at least twenty pages to write!  With that said I think this calls for a simple timeline by using tweets and commentary. Let's go!

Year in Review: 2016

I want to start things off by thanking every person that has come to the blog and read my articles!  Words cannot describe how thankful I am to each reader!  With that said, it is New Year's Eve and if you're like me, you just want this dumpster fire of a year to go away.  As worrisome of a feeling that 2017 will be, we do have to stay optimistic about the current climate.  We need to remember that the People of these United States have the final say in all decisions in this land and shall continue to let our voices be heard and considered!

This blog officially started this month and during that time there were 14 articles written for the site.  There will be many more for sure in the next year!  So let's do the Year in Review and highlight the Top 5 articles published in the year 2016!

Top Five Articles of 2016

1. Buddy System- How picking your really rich friends and campaign contributors is not "Draining the Swamp."
2. A Letter to Donald Trump and His Tweets- Donald Trump needs to be more diplomatic in his tweets.  What he posts matters more so now than it did when he was just a businessman.
3. Science: There's a Reason For It- Creationists and climate deniers need to understand that their views will lead to a lot of destruction in this world.
4. GOP Ambushes NC Politics aka Reichstag Fire Pt. 2- How a last-minute power grab by the North Carolina GOP showed the world that democracy does not matter when you lose.
5. Trump and Netanyahu: Partners in Crime- The worrisome tale of Israel and the rejection of the Two-State Solution.

Let's all have a great New Years and I look forward to writing more for Trump Monitor in 2017!  Thank you everyone!

Russian Sanctions and How They Will Affect Trump

For the joint FBI-DHS report on Russian hacking click here.

In a report released after a joint investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) they noted that there were two notable cyber attacks on the Democratic Party; one in the summer of 2015 and another in the spring of 2016.

For his response President Obama issued new sanctions yesterday against Russia in concerns of Russian involvement in the 2016 US election.  In an executive order he has given all Russian diplomats in the United States 72 hours to leave the country as well as shutting down two Russian Government-owned compounds that are located in Maryland and New York.  Vladimir Putin, on the other hand, has decided to not play tit-for-tat and will not force American diplomats in Russia to vacate.

This whole saga leads to a bigger question: What effect does this have on Trump and Republicans?

Game of Hacks

Chances are, if you have been reading the news post-election you have seen all the news articles about Russian hacking during the election.  If you haven't noticed here are some articles to get acquainted:

• Russian hacking and the 2016 election:  What you need to know (CNN)
• Russia's View of the Election Hacks: Denials, Amusement, and Comeuppance (The New Yorker)
• Russia Had Every Reason to Hack the U.S. Presidential Election (Alternet)
• Prominent Republican Joining Democrats to Solve Russian Election Hacking (Fox News Radio)

It's Official

That's it, Donald Trump is officially the President of the United States of America.  The Electoral College placed their votes today and the count was 304-228 for Trump.  What is curious to note was that there were six faithless electors, but none of them gave their votes to Hillary Clinton.  Their votes went to Colin Powell (3), John Kasich (1), Ron Paul (1), and Faith Spotted Eagle (1).  It would have have taken more than 30 electors to change their votes in order to swing the vote towards Clinton.  While Clinton did have the popular vote by almost 3 million votes, the electoral college is what determines our President.  

The electoral college is designed to make sure the people do not elect the wrong candidate which, depending on the person, becomes a hotly contested debate on whether or not we should continue it.  I, for one, am still on the fence about using just the popular vote.  I think with this election it almost feels evil to beg the electors to change their vote to let Clinton win.  This is the system we have always used and yes, there are times when the popular vote and the electoral vote do not match, but we have to respect the system.  

So, for right now, until further notice, we have to accept the fact that we need to deal with Trump and see what will happen.  As long as we still have the Constitution and our rights to free speech and press I will continue to make articles about him.  Yes, this is a rare time that I am defending him, but it's only because we have a system in place that gives him a chance to have the spot.