As the UK digested the latest Brexit news from Brussels, Donald Trump had a relatively quiet weekend for a change.
But that’s not to say there wasn’t lots out there for the casual observer of all-things political – another new insider book, interviews with former employees and of course, his ubiquitous Twitter account, all provided further insight into the President.
Here are five highlights...
Not content with periodically referring to himself in the third person, Trump on Sunday thanked “President T” in a tweet about the economy, writing: “So great that oil prices are falling (thank you President T). Add that, which is like a big Tax Cut, to our other good Economic news. Inflation down (are you listening Fed)!”
What Trump didn’t mention in his tweet is that falling oil prices reflect growing unease among investors worried about the threat to global growth from the escalating trade dispute between the United States and China.
The self-imposed nickname prompted a number of mocking responses including this rather terrifying mash-up.
Another week, another book about the inner workings of the White House. This time it’s Trump’s Enemies: How The Deep State Is Undermining The Presidency and this one is slightly different.
The authors are two close associates of Trump, former campaign manager Corey Lewandowski and ex-deputy manager David Bossie.
They repeatedly blame Trump’s woes on the “Deep State” — the heart of a popular right-wing conspiracy theory that the federal government is secretly being manipulated by a group of officials in Congress, the White House, intelligence agencies and the Department of Justice.
But the most intriguing aspect is what he thinks of the Special Counsel investigation into possible links with Russia. While on Twitter he regularly decries the probe, calling it a “witch hunt”, the book claims he actually sees it overall as a boon.
“I think it makes my base stronger,” Trump said, according to the transcript in the book. “I would have never said this to you. But I think the level of love now is far greater than when we won.”
Trump also said he believes that one of the most important things he has accomplished is to “explain” to the public that “a lot of the news is indeed fake.”
As of August of this year, Trump had made 4,229 false or misleading claims since taking office.
The latest, made just this weekend, was that his administration’s separation policy regarding asylum seekers is the same as President Obama’s policy.
France has been rocked in recent days by a series of violent protests with police responding with water cannon and tear gas.
The “yellow vest” movement, so-called due to the protestors donning of hi-vis jackets, is venting anger against rising fuel taxes and Emmanuel Macron’s presidency.
“It’s going to trigger a civil war and me, like most other citizens, we’re all ready,” said Benjamin Vrignaud, a 21-year-old protester from Chartres.
But for Trump this is all wrong - what the protestors should be angry about the trade deficit between France and US because... well, that’s what he’s angry about.
On Twitter he wrote: “The large and violent French protests don’t take into account how badly the United States has been treated on Trade by the European Union or on fair and reasonable payments for our GREAT military protection. Both of these topics must be remedied soon.”
Speaking to Axios for HBO, former director of White House message strategy, Cliff Sims, gave an insight into how Trump crafts his tweets.
He said: “He goes into the private dining room and within about 5 minutes, he can see this creation ... how it’s playing out on the television.
“He’s meticulous with not just the words that he wants to use but the punctuation. So he’ll say, you know, ’Jonathan Swan at Axios is an awful terrible reporter dash dash capital S capital A capital D exclamation point.”
Which makes you wonder what he was shouting to his aides when he wrote his infamous “covfefe” tweet.
To finish we end with an insight into Trump’s psyche in the near-future.
Alan Dershowitz, a Harvard law professor and frequent defender of Trump, had a foreboding warning for the President this weekend, saying the outcome of special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation would be “devastating”.
Speaking to ABC’s “This Week” on Sunday, he added: “And I know that the president’s team is already working on a response to the report. ... When I say devastating, I mean it’s going to paint a picture that’s going to be politically very devastating.”
But Dershowitz said he did not think it would make a criminal case but said Mueller would lay down the facts and let Congress decide on action.
Expect fireworks if this turns out to be true.
