| | | | This was a very Donald Trump week |  | | Consider how you might try to explain the personality and presidency of Donald Trump to someone who knows nothing about him or how he has governed.
It's not as easy as you might think. He's hugely abnormal in his approach. He has smashed conventional wisdom over and over again. He has undermined the idea of objective facts. He has transformed how social media is used in politics.
Showing, my English teachers always told me, is better than telling. So, rather than try to explain Trump in words, I would suggest you could simply show this unknowing person trying to understand the President the events of the past week.
Consider:
* Trump backs off his threat, made via Twitter, that he would close the border with Mexico unless the country works more aggressively to stop caravans of immigrants moving toward the United States. Trump gives Mexico a one-year reprieve after Republican elected officials panic at the economic impact of such a move. Trump insists his position never changed.
* Trump promises voters that he -- along with Republicans in Congress -- will propose and pass a replacement health care law to get rid of the Affordable Care Act. Republicans panic, knowing they a) have no legislation and b) couldn't pass anything even if they had it. Trump recants, insisting he said all along the legislation would be passed after Republicans retake the House in 2020.
* Trump delivers a nearly 90-minute speech to House Republicans in which he veers wildly off script -- claiming, among other things, that the noise from wind turbines can cause cancer and that Democrats are winning close elections because of election fraud, an allegation for which he provides no evidence.
* Trump tweets Joe Biden's video explaining his conduct around women -- altered so that Biden appears to be massaging his own shoulders (among other things).
There's more, but you get the idea. For any other president, a week like this one would set off a slew of stories about the chaos in the White House and the dangers of a chief executive who says and does whatever the hell he wants.
For Trump, it's sort of a normal week.
The Point: Trump has so drastically changed what we expect out of a president and a White House that it's sometimes hard not to lose sight of just how enormous the chasm is between how he acts and how all of our past presidents have acted. But, make no mistake: It a MASSIVE gap.
-- Chris
Below, the week that was in 24 headlines.
Monday: Tuesday: Wednesday: Thursday: Friday: | | "I have heard that she was nasty to me, but she should be. Look what I did to her sons."
-- President Donald Trump on Barbara Bush's criticism of Trump in an Oval Office interview with The Washington Times. | | | President Donald Trump is skipping the White House Correspondents' Dinner for the third year in a row. Instead of attending the tony Beltway fete on April 27, Trump plans to hold a rally.
"Yeah, because the dinner is so boring and so negative that we're going to hold a very positive rally," the President said this morning.
The rally location is still TBD -- Trump says they're choosing from three different locations, but "it'll be a big one," he promised. | | What would you say you do here, Steve King?
Joe Biden and the question of how close is too close
Donald Trump worked with the Freedom Caucus to shut down the government
How to deal with jerks
"Critical Carlos" reads "Healthy Holly"
Messi Messi Messi! | | | The National makes beautiful, haunting music. Their new one -- "Light Years" -- is no exception | | Another sign Joe Biden is probably close to his presidential announcement: He's being trailed by a camera crew.
That camera crew was spotted filming Biden outside of his childhood home in Scranton, Pennsylvania.
The former vice president is expected to announce his plans for a presidential run later this month (and we can probably expect a slick video featuring Biden in front of his childhood home). | | With nearly two dozen Democrats running for president, there is a WHOLE LOT of campaign swag for sale. And lucky for you, Lauren combed through all of it -- and you'll never guess who's actually selling an eraser.
Need a helpful pronunciation guide?
Look no further than this handy Pete Buttigieg T-shirt featuring a VERY LARGE and therefore VERY HELPFUL guide on how to pronounce the South Bend mayor's last name. | |
LAUREN'S CAMPAIGN SCHEDULER | | | On tap for next week: Tim Ryan makes his Iowa debut, Eric Swalwell (probably) jumps into the race, Julián Castro holds his own San Antonio rally to counter Donald Trump, plus a whole lot of CNN town halls.
Sunday, April 7: - Andrew Yang: Holds a town hall in Concord, New Hampshire, with former presidential candidate Lawrence Lessig
- Pete Buttigieg: Speaks at the LGBTQ Victory Fund National Champagne Brunch in Washington
- Tim Ryan: The latest 2020 entrant will campaign in Iowa a day after kicking off his campaign in Youngstown, Ohio
Monday, April 8: Tuesday, April 9: Wednesday, April 10: - Jay Inslee: Has his CNN town hall, moderated by Wolf Blitzer
- Julián Castro: Is also holding a competing San Antonio rally of his own (a la Beto) while President Trump is scheduled to hit both San Antonio and Houston that day for fundraisers
- Kamala Harris: Holds a town hall at the University of Iowa
Thursday, April 11: - Julián Castro: Participates in a CNN town hall moderated by Don Lemon
- Stacey Abrams: Participates in an interview titled "What's next for Stacey Abrams?" at the 92nd Street Y in New York
- Joe Biden: Participates in a panel about curing the opioid epidemic in Philadelphia
- Eric Swalwell: Holds two town halls in his native Iowa -- one at Iowa State University and the other at nearby Torrent Brewing Company
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