White House Weekly: July 13

We begin on Friday, July 3rd, President Trump travels to South Dakota to deliver an Independence Day-themed speech in front of Mt. Rushmore, railing against “far-left fascism” promoting “cancel culture.” In addition to pledging to protect statues, Trump announces a new executive order to build new statues to honor the heroes of this country.

Saturday, July 4th, on the nation’s 244th birthday, Trump gives a speech at a White House celebration, echoing his message from the day before. Critics called both speeches “dark and divisive,” particularly during a time when the nation should focus on unity.

Skipping ahead to Monday, July 6th, Trump gives an easy out to his critics who were suggesting that he was expressing sympathies to the Confederacy in his speeches over the weekend by posting a tweet that can reasonably be interpreted as him expressing sympathies for the Confederacy in relation to NASCAR banning the Confederate flag from its events.

Meanwhile, Simon & Schuster announces they’re moving up the release date of Mary Trump’s tell-all book about her uncle, President Trump, two weeks ahead of schedule.

Tuesday, July 7th, the Trump administration officially notifies the World Health Organization that the United States is leaving in the wake of the organization’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic.

Meanwhile, President Trump says that K-12 schools must re-open in the fall semester, and he’ll put pressure on governors who refuse to do so.

Wednesday, July 8th, the Supreme Court hands the Trump administration a win, ruling, 7-2, to uphold a rule that lets employers with religious or moral objections to opt out of providing no-cost birth control coverage.

Trump later hosts Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador at the White House to celebrate the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement being implemented on July 1st.

Thursday, July 9th, the Supreme Court rules against President Trump, 7-2, that he does not have immunity from grand jury investigations in New York. The ruling relates to the New York district attorney requesting subpoenas of the president’s tax and financial records. The Supreme Court, however, would not allow Congress to obtain these records and kicked the issue back to the lower courts. The president reacted to the decision by saying he’s being unfairly targeted.

So, while Trump is no longer immune to subpoenas for his tax returns, Congress won’t have access to them now or before the election in November. Guess Democrats will have to re-elect Trump in order to ensure that whatever they find is more damaging to his presidency.

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