President Trump Is Devoted Full-Time to America, Politics as Usual Is for the Swamp

THE NEWS TODAY -- THE ELECTION RESULTS -- AND SESSIONS. The political pundits were right and wrong at the same time about this election. The Democrats re-took the House but with a smaller than touted majority, and the Republicans added to their majority in the Senate. No Blue Wave. No Red Wave. But, we did learn some things. • • • PRESIDENT TRUMP'S REACTION. • We know that President Trump is happy with the result of the elections. He noted that from a negotiating point of view, it will be easier to get things done with the Democrats in the House coming to the GOP Senate and to him with proposals that can then be negotiated, contrasting this with the deadlock that a 2-3 seat GOP majority in the House would have produced because the Democrats would have had no reason to compromise to get their projects agreed to. Maybe this will work -- the President cited DACA, healthcare and the environment as possible areas for compromise. BUT, Representative Maxine Waters still calling for 'violent' protests -- she recently said that she told someone the other day who is trying to say that we’re violent when we protest, protest is about making you feel uncomfortable. I’m not supposed to come to you and say, ‘May I protest you?’ No, absolutely not.” What can Trump do? Can Pelosi put a lid on Mad Maxine?? She has tried without any success so far. AND, in addition, President Trump told the press on Wednesday that if the Democrats pursue the investigations into collusion -- he called the Mueller inquiry a "hoax" -- then he will begin investigations of the real collusion by the "13-14-17" Democrats. I think, at the bottom of much of the American dissatisfaction with the GOP House lurks this issue. The House had the Devin Nunes investigation report in its hands but it has died waiting for support by Speaker Ryan or the Department of Justice under Jeff Sessions to take it up as a federal criminal inquiry. Nunes has now lost his chairmanship of the House Intelligence Committee and a Democrat will take over. Where will that leave the FBI-DOJ-Obama-Brennan-Comey-Lynch-Rosenthal-McCabe investigation concerning the Russian Dossier and their illegal use of FISA warrants to spy on the Trump campaign. Gone with the Election. • President Trump held a Noon news conference on Wednesday and claimed victory. He had already tweeted his congratulations to the people who "worked with me," saying they did "very well" in their mid-term election efforts : "Those that worked with me in this incredible mid-term Election, embracing certain policies and principles, did very well. Those that did not, say goodbye! Yesterday was such a very Big Win, and all under the pressure of a Nasty and Hostile Media!" That sounds very much like the President saw the mid-terms as a housecleaning of sorts that rid the House of what we often call RINOs or #NeverTrumpers. Couple that with his sense that compromise will be easier now and it seems a lot like he was hoping for some GOP losses to get rid of Republicans who were nipping at his heels while smiling to his face. It may also explain why he spent almost no time campaigning for Republican House members. At his press conference, the President said it was because there were too many races to cover them all. But, it could also mean that he wanted, and got, a lean-and-mean fighting squad that he can now fully depend on in the House. And, in that regard, some of the people I talk to are saying that the House loss was entirely Speaker Paul Ryan's fault. It's hard not to agree with that assessment. After all, Ryan opposed Trump on almost every issue, including the Trump format for the tax reform that Ryan originally proposed. Whoever is elected Republican Minority Leader in January -- Kevin McCarthy, the current House Majority Leader has already announced that he is a candidate -- but there will be other names and a lot of private discussion before the vote. • The President later directly attacked the media, saying "any of the pundits or talking heads that do not give us proper credit for this great mid-term Election, just remember two words - FAKE NEWS!" In an earlier morning message, he called the Republican wins a "big victory" : “Received so many Congratulations from so many on our Big Victory last night, including from foreign nations (friends) that were waiting me out, and hoping, on Trade Deals. Now we can all get back to work and get things done!” At his press conference, President Trump repeated that the media bias against him is the main reason there is such a divide in America. He asked the media to try to report about him fairly -- calling him out when he makes mistakes but also reporting his successes. With media coverage of President Trump now at 90% negative according to ongoing analyses, that would be a real shift in current American politics. I don't expect much change. CNN's Jim Acosta was there today, being as obnoxious as ever. And, the President gave it right back to him, finally, after Acosta refused to relinquish the live mic to the next reporter/ The President called him a "rude and terrible person." • • • THE MARKETS ARE HAPPY. A big day on Wall Street was predicted by CNBC early on Wednesday morning. And, it happened. US stocks rose broadly on Wednesday : "after the mid-term election results came in about as expected, lifting a cloud of uncertainty that was weighing on the market....Investors were bullish following the result due to the belief that gridlock in Washington will help the market. Investors expect President Donald Trump's business-friendly policies to continue, while some expressed optimism about Congress providing a larger check on Trump's more disruptive market actions. Historically, equity markets see strong returns when Congress is divided." Dan Deming, managing director at KKM Financial, told CNBC the fact the election played out as expected "gives the administration some ability to keep initiatives alive. I think it will be positive in the near term." • Stocks rallied across many sectors, as shares of Caterpillar, Goldman Sachs, Amazon and Alphabet all rose. Caterpillar is seen getting a boost from continued economic growth and the chance that Democrats can temper Trump's trade war dealings. There's also some optimism the President will work with Democrats on an infrastructure plan. • CNBC noted that : "Trade remains one area where Trump still has most control as tariffs are on foreign goods are implemented through the executive branch....Meanwhile, the Federal Reserve is kicking off a two-day meeting on Wednesday. Worries around the pace of interest rate hikes last month saw global markets hit with sharp bouts of volatility. Markets have been pricing in a higher probability of the Fed raising rates again in December, with further tightening seen through 2019." • But, overall, market sentiment was very positive. Late in the afternoon in New York the Dow Jones crossed above 26,000. "This is your entry point," according to one market pro. • • • TRUMP vs OBAMA. American Thinker's Monica Showalter wrote on Wednesday : "The big loser who stands out here is hard-campaigning President Obama, the guy who thought he was the star of the Democratic Party and who, throwing the tradition of former Presidents staying aloof from politics out the window, campaigned hard, long, and loud, for Democrats in this mid-term. Turns out the ones he fought the hardest for lost. Now he stands exposed as politically irrelevant, powerless, an embarrassment. Sorry 'bout that legacy thing, Barry-O.' First, he did some easy ones and those candidates marched right through, Obama or no Obama : Tim Kaine of Virginia and Joe Manchin of West Virginia for the Senate, Jennifer Wexton of Virginia for the House. J.B. Pritzker for the Illinois governorship. A couple of minor leaguers for the House in Illinois as tag-alongs. Kaine and Pritzker, given their ties to the Obama administration, were probably favors repaid, and they ran in blue states, anyway, as did the Illinois pickups. Manchin, meanwhile, was primarily re-elected on his Kavanaugh vote, so Obama was likely irrelevant. " • That's almost politics as usual, says Showalter : "But then there were the mid-term campaigns that weren't gimmes, some very high profile, and high media-exposure ones : Joe Donnelly of Indiana for Senate. Bill Nelson of Florida for Senate. Andrew Gillum of Florida for governor. Stacey Abrams of Georgia for governor. Those were the ones Obama went hoarse campaigning for, yelling and waving his arms, voice cracking, speeches described as fiery, telling voters to vote for these guys or die. With Gillum in particular, racial appeals were a factor and Obama's presence was supposed to help. Gillum had a big media buildup about being a first black governor of Florida as an argument to draw votes, and he later cried racism to fend off corruption allegations. Adding Obama to campaign was obviously part of the appeal. This time, the race-politics identity card simply failed. And Obama? What did he get? Zilch. Zip. Zero. Nada. The voters rather noticibly rejected the ex-president's appeal for votes. Been there, done that." • With what used to be a coveted Obama endorsement or campaign stop now worth very little, the Democrat brokers in Washington will surely notice. As Showalter says : "Obama will be not be easy to get off the stage, given his love for the limelight. But I suspect we will be hearing a lot less about Obama on the campaign trail, except in the easiest of races, as the reality of what happened among Democrats starts to sink in." • Compare that to President Trump's support for GOP candidates in tough races -- DeWine in Ohio, Braun in Indiana, Scott and DeSantis in Florida, Kemp in Georgia -- pure winning gold. • • • SESSIONS OUT AS ATTORNEY GENERAL. It didn't take even 24 hours after the mid-terms. Just hours after his press conference on Wednesday, President Trump announced that Jeff Sessions's has resigned as Attorney General and that Sessions' chief of staff, Matthew Whitaker, will take over temporarily as his top law enforcement officer. The President tweeted : "We are pleased to announce that Matthew G. Whitaker, Chief of Staff to Attorney General Jeff Sessions at the Department of Justice, will become our new Acting Attorney General of the United States. He will serve our Country well. We thank Attorney General Jeff Sessions for his service, and wish him well! A permanent replacement will be nominated at a later date." • In his resignation letter, Sessions said he was submitting his resignation at Trump's request : "I have been honored to serve as Attorney General and have worked to implement the law enforcement agenda based on the rule of law that formed a central part of your campaign for the Presidency," Sessions said. • That was true in all matters where anybody with a law degree could have done as much. Where Jeff Sessions failed miserably was in his support for the President, whose legal advisor is the Attorney General, both in the Constitution and in the statutes that codify that role. The decision, said TheHill, "punctuates months of criticism by President Trump of his top law enforcement officer over his recusal from the ongoing Russia investigation. And it confirms widespread speculation that Trump would move to fire Sessions sometime after the midterms." • AG Sessions took a lot of heat from President Trump from the beginning -- when Sessions announced days after his swearing-in that he was recusing himself from all matters related to Russia. He told the President that he had made that determination prior to being named Attorney General. That spells disloyalty in any era. And in the Trump era, it also spells RINO and Swamp. And, it hit the President from left field, since Sessions had been a stalwart during the 2016 campaign and was the first Senator to endorse Trump. The rancor over special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into potential collusion between his campaign and Moscow never died, as President Trump repeatedly lashed out at Session over his recusal from the investigation and other alleged failures, including President Trump's August Fox News interview statement that blamed Sessions for failing to take control of “corruption” at the Justice Department and suggested he had only brought him onto the administration because he demonstrated “loyalty” during the presidential campaign. That episode prompted a rare, public rebuke from Sessions, who in a statement asserted he would not be “improperly influenced” by political pressures -- which was the clearest indication that Jeff Sessions simply did not understand what the Constitution says about the role of the Attorney General. The President told Hill.TV in September that he didn’t “have an attorney general” and suggested he was unhappy with Sessions efforts on border security and other matters. • Sessions lingered at Justice for two years because of the support he received from Congress -- especially Democrats who said his removal could trigger an impeachment. BUT, the President’s Republican allies, including Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, have signaled it would be appropriate for Trump to remove Sessions following the mid-terms. Nevertheless, the decision may irritate some Republicans in the Senate and trigger criticism among Democrats and others who view it as an effort to interfere with the Mueller investigation. • And, to further heighten the tension over the Attorney General decision, President Trump added on Wednesday that Acting Attorney General Whittaker will also take over from Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein the oversight of the Mueller special counsel probe. Rosenstein was expected by many to take over as acting attorney general if and when Sessions left. President Trump has made his point in naming Whittaker -- the point being that the Attorney General is the President's lawyer. Not Congress's lawyer. End of discussion. • Of course, the Senate will have to confirm President Trump’s eventual nominee, who is likely to face a difficult confirmation battle as Democrats and Republicans try to eke out his or her positions on Mueller and the Russia investigation. • • • DEAR READERS, I leave you to peruse the results of the mid-terms. Everyone has special names and states they follow. Suffice it to say that with a deeper GOP majority in the Senate and with many GOP #NeverTrump or RINO House members gone, the President will have an easier job in marshalling his Party for issue and budget negotiations leading up to 2020. You can find everything you want to know, including a comprehensive voter analysis at < https://www.foxnews.com/midterms-2018 >. • I want to share with you this Candidate Trump speech delivered at West Palm Beach, Florida on October 13, 2016. It reminds us that Donald Trump is a man on a mission. While he has labeled himself Republican and runs on the Party ticket, he often is neither Republican nor Democrat. And, he is not a politician. He is an American. He made his run for the presidency for only one reason -- to give America back to her citizens. If we move past all the campaigning and noise at rallies and jousting with Congress, one image of President Trump emerges. That of a man determined to save America and to make sure that it is her citizens who make the decisions -- not elite politicians and certainly not the Swamp. He stands with us and he stands in front of us to take the heat only a man of his stature and grit can. • Here is an excerpt from Donald Trump's 2016 West Palm Beach speech : "Our movement is about replacing a failed and corrupt political establishment with a new government controlled by you, the American People. There is nothing the political establishment will not do, and no lie they will not tell, to hold on to their prestige and power at your expense. For those who control the levers of power in Washington, and for the global special interests they partner with, our campaign represents an existential threat. Let's be clear on one thing: the corporate media in our country is no longer involved in journalism. They are a political special interest, no different than any lobbyist or other financial entity with an agenda. This is a struggle for the survival of our nation. This election will determine whether we are a free nation, or whether we have only the illusion of Democracy but are in fact controlled by a small handful of global special interests rigging the system. The establishment and their media enablers wield control over this nation through means that are well known. Anyone who challenges their control is deemed a sexist, a racist, a xenophobe, and morally deformed. They will attack you, they will slander you, they will seek to destroy your career and reputation. And they will lie, lie, and lie even more. But the central base of world political power is here in America, and it is our corrupt political establishment that is the greatest power behind the efforts at radical globalization and the disenfranchisement of working people. Their financial resources are unlimited. Their political resources are unlimited. Their media resources are unlimited. And, most importantly, the depths of their immorality is unlimited. This is a conspiracy against you, the American people. This is our moment of reckoning as a society and as a civilization. I've seen firsthand the corruption and the sickness that has taken over our politics. They knew they would throw every lie they could at me, and my family and my loved ones. They knew they would stop at nothing to try and stop me. But I never knew it would be this vile, that it would be this bad, that it would be this vicious. Nevertheless, I take all of these slings and arrows gladly, for you. I take them for our movement so that we can have our country back. Our great civilization, here in America and across the civilized world, has come upon a moment of reckoning. We will vote to put this corrupt government cartel out of business. We will remove from our politics the special interests who have betrayed our workers, our borders, our freedoms, and our sovereign rights as a nation. We will end the politics of profit, we will end the rule of special interests, we will put a stop to the raiding of our country -- and the disenfranchisement of our people. The only thing that can stop this corrupt machine is you. The only force strong enough to save our country is us. The only people brave enough to vote out this corrupt establishment is you, the American people." • Nothing about Donald Trump changed on Tuesday. President Trump may try to negotiate with the Democrats for our benefit. He may sound conciliatory. But, in October, 2016, he told them and us who he is. America is lucky in the extreme to have him devote himself to her Republic.