President Donald Trump delivers remarks on US military involvement in Afghanistan at the Fort Myer military base on August 21, 2017, in Arlington, Virginia. (Photo: Mark Wilson / Getty Images)
A presidency that began as something of a historical accident now has one-time allies looking for the exits, while a Justice Department investigation hangs over its head. So will the Trump administration be over almost before it barely began?
Donald Trump has caused mass outrage before, but reactions to his racist rant on August 15 — where he equated neo-Nazis and anti-racist activists at the deadly Charlottesville, Virginia, rally, opined that “good people” were among the white supremacists, and complained about attempts to take down monuments to slavery — took things to a new level, leaving the administration in disarray.
The comments of ABC News’ Mary Alice Parks reflect the media’s stunned disbelief:
Left alone and shunned this week, President Trump has taken to screaming and lobbing insults at folks from his Twitter account as they turn their backs and head for the door.
Isolated, he has retreated to extreme nativist and racially charged language. He began [August 17 by] verbally spitting on two Republican lawmakers, an astounding move considering that, despite their rebuke of his recent comments, party members remain some of the only potential allies he has left. Hours later, Trump doubled down on his defense for Confederate statues, echoing phrases used by white nationalists over the weekend about the country’s “culture” being under attack.
He ended the day tweeting a discredited legend about a World War I-era US general’s killing Muslims with bullets dipped in pig’s blood. The timing appeared to be in reference to the attack in Barcelona, begging the question: Was the president of the United States suggesting that tactic? This week has arguably been the worst in his presidency and has left members of his party unsure how to pick up the pieces.
As a result, discussion of…