President Donald Trump praises himself as “doing great” but also complains that “it’s war every day” in the White House.

Trump lashes out against his foes, some who were previously his friends, and laments that they have betrayed him, The New York Times reported on Saturday, after having interviewed about 30 current and former administration officials, congressional aides, lawmakers, Trump allies and friends.

“Can you believe this?” Trump reportedly said as he read through headlines. “I’m doing great, but it’s a war every day.”

President Donald Trump speaks at the 119th Veterans of Foreign Wars National Convention on July 24, in Kansas City, Missouri. Trump reportedly said, “I’m doing great, but it’s a war every day,” as he faces more challenges. BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP/Getty Images

The president is consumed by various investigations surrounding him that have seen the fall of his former lawyer Michael Cohen, campaign manager Paul Manafort, former national security adviser Michael Flynn and his family foundation.

“Why is it like this?” Trump reportedly asked his aides. Trump is said to agree with the response that the news media has not treated him fairly and that journalists are upset he won the election and are trying to prove he is wrong.

Trump has reportedly called his aides “freaking idiots!” and sometimes even worse. He apparently has also become increasingly frustrated with his advisers and scowls at them in meetings.

The president’s growing agitation with his inner circle comes as he faces more challenges. The government is in a partial shutdown since Trump said he would not back down from his demand for border wall funding. His major bragging points are the economy and stock market, which has taken a huge dip owed in large part to his trade decisions, and the consequent uncertainty.

And then there’s special counsel Robert Mueller’s mounting investigation into Russian inference and possible conspiracy between the Trump campaign and the Kremlin in the 2016 presidential election. Prosecutors in New York said that Trump directed Cohen to make payments shortly before the 2016 election to two women who claimed they’d had affairs with Trump, in violation of campaign finance laws.

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Newsweek on Monday.

Yet Trump has consistently tweeted as if all is well in the presidency.

“‘The President has been remarkable. I do not doubt that he will thrive in this new environment, and he will be a constant reminder of what populism is.’ Thank you to Tammy Bruce and Steve Hilton,” Trump tweeted on Sunday night, quoting Fox News personalities. “Presidential Harassment has been with me from the beginning!”

On Monday morning, Trump tweeted, “AMERICA IS RESPECTED AGAIN!” and claimed that “the only problem our economy has is the Fed.

“They don’t have a feel for the Market, they don’t understand necessary Trade Wars or Strong Dollars or even Democrat Shutdowns over Borders,” the president tweeted, placing blame rather than taking responsibility. “The Fed is like a powerful golfer who can’t score because he has no touch – he can’t putt!”

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Source Article from https://www.newsweek.com/donald-trump-war-great-media-1270595

President Trump took to Twitter early Christmas Eve evening to brag about his latest border-wall accomplishment while blaming Democrats for the stalemate that has shut down part of the federal government.

He tweeted Monday: “I am in the Oval Office & just gave out a 115 mile long contract for another large section of the Wall in Texas. We are already building and renovating many miles of Wall, some complete. Democrats must end Shutdown and finish funding. Billions of Dollars, & lives, will be saved!”

It’s unclear whether Trump’s tweet means a new contract or an existing one.

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Little headway has been made on the wall, despite Trump’s tweet, echoing one of his original promises as president while on the campaign trail.

A March bill included money for 33 miles of barrier construction in South Texas’ Rio Grande Valley, but work there has yet to begin.

Customs and Border Protection announced in early November a $145 million construction project was awarded to build roughly six miles of border wall in Texas. The agency, in conjunction with the Army Corps of Engineers, gave the multimillion-dollar job in the Border Patrol’s Rio Grande Valley Sector to SLSCO, which is expected to kick off in February.

Other work has merely replaced existing barriers that had been deemed “ineffective,” not added miles.

It looks like Christmas will be over and done with before the government will have a chance to get fully back to business. The incoming acting White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney said the partial shutdown could drag into the New Year.

Monday and Tuesday, Christmas Eve and Christmas, respectively, are federal holidays, meaning the government is closed anyway. That means Wednesday is the first day the public could begin to feel the effects of lost government services, Mulvaney said.

Funding for numerous departments and agencies expired Saturday.

The disruption is affecting many operations and some 800,000 federal employees.

Both the House and Senate have adjourned until later in the week.

The president’s border-security meeting Monday afternoon included Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen and other department officials, White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said.

Senate negotiators continued talks behind the scenes with Democrats and Republicans. The House and Senate briefly gaveled into session on Christmas Eve before closing again with no further action.

The White House insisted Trump will reject any deal that does not include money for a wall or fence; Democrats held firm in their opposition to a wall or other physical barrier.

As Republicans prepare to relinquish their hold on government, with Democrats taking control of the House in January, the opportunities — and limits — of the GOP alliance with the Trump White House may be running their course.

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No sooner had Trump signaled he might be backing off his demand for $5 billion to build a border wall with Mexico — easing away from a partial government shutdown — than he took a U-turn after being scolded by conservative allies and pundits, who accused him of wavering on a campaign promise.

“Trump is plunging the country into chaos,” the Democratic leaders Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer said in a joint statement on Christmas Eve. “Instead of bringing certainty into people’s lives, he’s continuing the Trump Shutdown just to please right-wing radio and TV hosts.”

Trump told Republican leaders at the White House last week he wouldn’t sign a Senate-passed compromise bill, which would have kept border security money at $1.3 billion.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Source Article from https://www.foxnews.com/politics/trump-brags-about-contract-for-wall-texas-blames-dems-for-partial-shutdown

The government may have partially shut down, but the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) is still tracking Santa Claus’ journey across the globe. NORAD will be fielding calls throughout the night and day from children, trying to pinpoint exactly where Santa is and when he will make his long awaited arrival.

NORAD has been following Santa for decades with the help of nearly 1,500 military personnel and volunteers. In the past, some of Santa’s helpers included former first lady Michelle Obama, who answered calls for more than six years running. President Trump and first lady Melania Trump assisted NORAD during the 2017 and current holiday seasons, as she noted on Twitter on Christmas Eve:

At one point, the president told a seven year old that believing in Santa at that age is “marginal.” He asked the boy, named Coleman, if he’s still a believer in Santa. After listening, Mr. Trump said, “Because at 7, it’s marginal, right?” He listened again and chuckled before saying, “Well, you just enjoy yourself.”

Maj. Andrew Hennessey of the Canadian military said NORAD began tracking Santa 63 years ago and started as a local advertisement in a local Colorado Springs newspaper.

“It was a Sears administration printed a phone number that was meant to be calling Santa directly and it ended up calling our operations director at the time. He took a call from the child, thought it was a prank and kind of figured out what was going on. Quickly after that, and ‘NORAD Tracks Santa’ continues that tradition today.”

This 2014 image shows first lady Michelle Obama answering children’s calls to the NORAD Santa Tracking program on Christmas Eve.

White House Photo


As of Monday afternoon, Santa was spotted traveling over Saudi Arabia, Hennessey said.

“Generally, he starts around the international dateline, goes to New Zealand, Australia, Asia pacific, Europe and finally into North America, where we will escort him with NORAD fighter jets in Canada and the United States. We’re locked right onto him with our radars in the systems we use every day to defend North America.”

For those looking for live updates on Santa’s journey, NORAD offers live updates by phone, Facebook, Twitter and email. If you call 877-HI-NORAD, someone will give you an update. 

Source Article from https://www.cbsnews.com/news/norad-santa-tracker-unaffected-by-government-shutdown-where-is-santa-christmas-2018-12-24/

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