On January 27th, 2017, the Independent’s finance site, The Street, reported that the majority of cement used to build DT’s proposed wall to keep out Mexican people and imports would come from Italy… and Mexico. (Source: https://news.thestreet.com/independent/story/13969444/1/trump-s-wall-will-profit-mexican-and-italian-cement-makers-exane-bnp.html)
On January 27th, 2017, in advance of meeting with across-the-pond right wing hate monger and UK Prime Minister, Theresa May, the DT White House referred to her as Teresa May no less than 3 times. Teresa May is an adult film star. (Source: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/trump-white-house-got-theresa-mays-name-wrong-no-fewer-than-three-times-2017-01-27)
On January 27th, 2017, newly confirmed UN Ambassador Nikki Haley said, in remarks to the press before the presentation of her credentials to the UN Secretary-General, “Our goal with the administration is to show value at the UN, and the way that we’ll show value is to show our strength, show our voice, have the backs of our allies, and make sure that our allies have our back, as well. For those who don’t have our back, we’re taking names – we will make points to respond to that accordingly.” She went on to say that her purpose at the UN would be to go in and evaluate what was working and to change what was not, a rather wild statement considering that she is a representative of a single nation in a council comprised of 193 sovereign nations. (Source: https://usun.state.gov/remarks/7659)
On January 27th, 2017, despite his frequent comments during the campaign that NATO was “obsolete,” Theresa May said in her joint press conference with DT that he had said privately that he was 100% committed to supporting NATO. It is unclear what was said to make her believe that, and DT has not publicly confirmed her assertion. (Source: https://www.theguardian.com/politics/blog/live/2017/jan/27/donald-trump-and-theresa-may-hold-joint-white-house-press-conference-politics-live)
On January 27th, 2017, I was alerted to an article in Buzzfeed regarding DT’s current Health Policy Advisor (a position that does not require congressional confirmation), Katy Talento, who believes that funding for HIV/AIDS research was actually used to support Russian prostitution, in addition to believing that oral contraceptives cause abortion. Talento somehow holds a masters in science from Harvard. (Source: https://www.buzzfeed.com/johnstanton/trump-health-adviser-worked-to-kill-us-funding-for-hivaids-r?utm_term=.xf0nADxVN#.nym8GNLpD)
On January 27th, 2017, Senator John McCain put forth a press release reminding DT ahead of his phone call with Vladimir Putin that the Russian kleptocrat is “a murder and a thug.” DT is expected to lift sanctions on Russia imposed after their attempts to take over the Crimea, an action DT has repeatedly denied or seemed not to understand. (Source: http://theweek.com/speedreads/676375/mccain-reminds-trump-that-putin-murderer-thug-ahead-saturday-phone-call)
On January 27th, 2017, the White House issued a press release in honor of Holocaust Remembrance Day. The statement was conspicuously devoid of any mention of either Jews or anti-semitism, or the staggering numbers of people killed in the Holocaust. Jonathan Greenblatt, CEO of the Anti-Defamation League expressed that this omission was “puzzling and troubling.” In light of the alt-right Neo-nazi support of DT, it is particularly unsettling. (Source 1: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/jan/27/white-house-holocaust-remembrance-day-no-jews Source 2: http://www.thenewcivilrightsmovement.com/davidbadash/trump_s_official_white_house_statement_on_international_holocaust_remembrance_day_doesn_t_mention_jewish_people)
On January 27th, 2017, DT tweeted that Gregg Phillips, the “expert” advisor on voter fraud, asserted that at least 3,000,000 votes were cast illegally, and that a phone app, VoteStand, would prove his claims. The app allows the user to take a photograph and enter in “identifying information” of someone they believe is voting illegally. (Source: http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/article/2613131)
On January 27th, 2017, DT signed 2 executive orders without distributing the text or commenting on their contents publicly before signing. One apparently has to do with military expansion, while the other outlines his often touted “extreme vetting” process for immigrants and refugees. (Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/trump-signs-two-executive-orders-expands-power-military-extreme-vetting-n713336)
On January 27th, 2017, in an interview with the Brody File of Christian right wing CBN, DT asserted that Christian refugees from Syria would be given top priority, and falsely asserted that Christian refugees had a much more difficult time than Syrian Muslims seeking asylum. His exact words, “They’ve [Christians] been horribly treated. Do you know if you were a Christian in Syria it was impossible, at least very tough to get into the United States? If you were a Muslim you could come in, but if you were a Christian, it was almost impossible and the reason that was so unfair, everybody was persecuted in all fairness, but they were chopping off the heads of everybody but more so the Christians. And I thought it was very, very unfair.” Muslims and Christians from Syria seeking refuge in the United States have always been subject to the same 9 step vetting process currently used for screening refugees. (Source: http://www1.cbn.com/thebrodyfile/archive/2017/01/27/brody-file-exclusive-president-trump-says-persecuted-christians-will-be-given-priority-as-refugees)
On January 27th, 2017, a US judge blocked a Texas law that requires women who have miscarriages or abortions to bury the resulting fetal tissue. (Source: http://www.statesman.com/news/judge-blocks-texas-fetal-tissue-burial-rule/JMKmG5SzydGZxY7asPwrNI/)
On January 27th, 2017, the 4chan board, /pol/ started an operation to encourage undocumented immigrants to out themselves on Twitter using a hashtag they created-- #undocumentedunafraid-- with the intention of reporting those who revealed themselves to ICE. (Source 1, tweet: https://twitter.com/girlswithtoys/status/825029540904787968 Source 2 and 3, screenshots: https://pbs.twimg.com/media/C3MX6x2UMAA1Pu9.jpg https://pbs.twimg.com/media/C3MX7HkVMAEdOYO.jpg)
On January 27th, 2017, the cover for Vanity Fair Mexico featuring Melania Trump rolling a diamond necklace onto a fork like a piece of spaghetti, was revealed, one day after Spicer announced a potential 20% tax on all Mexican imports and two days after reports that he will sign an executive order to build a wall along the border between Mexico and the United States. The cover also perpetuates the ludicrous idea that Melania is “The New Jackie Kennedy,” despite the 1962 First Lady being a Prix-de-Rome winning writer who studied at the Sorbonnne and graduated with a degree in French literature from Georgetown Univeristy, and became an accomplished editor and philanthropist. Mrs. Trump attended one year of college before dropping out to become a model, plagiarised a speech given by Michelle Obama, and was a vocal proponent of the racist “birther” conspiracy that President Barack Obama was born outside of the US. (Source: http://money.cnn.com/2017/01/27/media/melania-trump-vanity-fair-mexico/index.html)
On January 27th, 2017, Kellyanne Conway apparently told Dan Merica on CNN that “We are not revealing what he signed today,” in reference to the two unknown executive orders DT signed earlier. To be confirmed. (Source: https://twitter.com/JDiamond1/status/825128816938991616)
On January 27th, 2017, @RoguePOTUSStaff, a Twitter user claiming to be a member of the White House Staff posted the tweet below indicating that DT plans to use an executive order to force the IRS to end the audit of his taxes (Source 1: https://twitter.com/RoguePOTUSStaff/status/825108681024999424 Source 2, screenshot below because these accounts continue to be taken down)
On January 27th, 2017, in concert with Holocaust Remembrance Day, DT signed and filed an executive order, effective immediately, that would ban all immigrant and non-immigrant visa holders whose country of origin is Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, or Yemen from entering the US. The language of the executive order, despite reports, is not vague in reference to green-card holder, as “immigrant visa” covers those who are permanent residents. It is likely that thousands of children will die as a result of this executive order, and many currently traveling abroad will be separated from their families in the US. The order also prioritizes religious minorities seeking refuge from these countries (meaning non-Muslims) over any Muslims at all, and suspends the interview waiver program for multiple allied nations. This is the most disgraceful day I have ever personally known in my country’s history when we had not declared war. (Source, text of the executive order: https://www.justsecurity.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/EO-ProtectingtheNationfromTerroristEntryintotheUnitedStates-eo-Rel.pdf Source: https://www.propublica.org/article/trump-executive-order-could-block-legal-residents-from-returning-to-america)
On January 27th, 2017, DT also signed an executive order to “strengthen our military.” I have yet to find the full text for this, but Washington Post reports that, “The order calls for new Defense Secretary Jim Mattis to carry out a 30-day ‘readiness review’ that is expected to examine needs for the war against the Islamic State, along with training, equipment maintenance, munitions, modernization and infrastructure.” (Source: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/checkpoint/wp/2017/01/27/draft-executive-order-shows-how-trump-wants-to-grow-the-u-s-military-significantly/?utm_term=.5bf054a9bd04)
On January 27th, 2017, audio leaked to the Washington Post from the GOP’s retreat in Philadelphia revealed that the Republican leadership is wrestling with how to repeal and replace the ACA, while destroying literally all of their talking points about why it should be repealed. (Source: https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/wp/2017/01/27/in-leaked-audio-republicans-destroy-their-own-public-talking-points-on-obamacare/?utm_term=.dae123181ab8)
On January 27th, 2017, immediately after DT issued his executive order banning all visa holders, including those with permanent resident status, who country of origin is Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, or Yemen, returning permanent residents were held at border control and immigration. Among the detained is Hameed Khalid Darweesh, an Iraqi who had worked in conjunction with the US military in Iraq for 10 years, and Haider Sameer Abdulkhaleq Alshawi, who was coming to join his wife and child whom he had not seen in 3 years. Multiple green card holders returning from Iran were removed from a plane in Istanbul that was traveling to the US, and several people with visas were denied boarding in Egypt. Their specific visa status is unknown. (Source: https://mobile.nytimes.com/2017/01/28/us/refugees-detained-at-us-airports-prompting-legal-challenges-to-trumps-immigration-order.html?smprod=nytcore-iphone&smid=nytcore-iphone-share&referer=https://t.co/0WhwbxBx2k)