Donald Trump spent Martin Luther King Jr. Day golfing, received a clean bill of health from his doctor, and continued his attacks on the media by revealing his promised “Fake News Awards.”
Trump also had a busy week on Twitter, contradicting his chief-of-staff regarding his views on the Border Wall and disrupting the GOP’s attempt to pass a temporary spending bill to keep the government open past Friday night.
WATCH: U.S. President Donald Trump said a potential U.S. government shutdown would be a “disaster” for the military, while also saying any shutdown would be the Democrats’ fault
Here’s what you missed in the world of Donald J. Trump.
Jan. 18: The race to avoid a shutdown
Republicans scrambled Thursday to round up the votes to avoid a government shutdown, to keep federal offices open and hundreds of thousands of workers on the job.
Unless both houses of Congress can pass a spending bill, government operations would be shut down.
The House passed a short-term funding measure on Thursday night, and the Senate has until Friday night to pass the bill.
Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) predicted that the House would be able to avoid a shutdown.
“We’re doing fine,” Ryan said of the bill heading for a vote in his chamber on Thursday night. “I have confidence we’ll pass this.”
But Democrats have insisted that a long-term spending bill include protections for so-called Dreamers — young adults brought to the country illegally as children.
Trump ordered that DACA expire in March and asked Congress to come up with a legislative fix.
WATCH: President Trump doesn’t want government shutdown
And while Trump’s doctor has declared him to be in “excellent health,” some are questioning his vital statistics and have sparked an online conspiracy theory – the girther movement.
Trump’s height is recorded as six-foot-three inches and his weight as 239 pounds, making the president’s BMI 29.9 A single pound heavier, and he would medically be considered obese.
From MLB all-star Mike Trout to NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick, many on Twitter posted images of athletes of similar size next to unflattering images of the U.S. president.
The term “girther” is a play on the “birther” movement, the common name for someone who, like Trump, maintained that Barack Obama was born in Kenya.
WATCH: White House physician says Trump’s health is ‘excellent’
Jan. 17: Fake News “awards”
Late Wednesday night, Trump tweeted a link to the highly-anticipated “winners” of his fake news awards.
The New York Times, the Washington Post, ABC News and CNN were among the “winners” cited by Trump. The Times “won” first place for an op-ed about Trump’s effect on the markets, published right after the election.
Trump’s list included some of the biggest journalistic errors of the past year, including an ABC News’ piece by Brian Ross and a report by CNN that falsely stated Donald Trump Jr. received an email from Wikileaks.
In most cases, a correction was issued or an apology was given.
Republican Senators Jeff Flake and John McCain excoriated Trump for his repeated attacks on the free press.
“It is past time to stop excusing or ignoring or worse, endorsing these attacks on the truth,” Flake said, adding that the U.S. president is emboldening authoritarian leaders around the world by dismissing media coverage of his administration as “fake news.”
“Whether Trump knows it or not, these efforts are being closely watched by foreign leaders who are already using his words as cover as they silence and shutter one of the key pillars of democracy,” McCain wrote in a Washington Post op-ed.
Jan. 16: ‘It’s called genetics’
- Suspect in killing of temple leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar got student visa in ‘days’
- Cruise ship worker arrested, accused of stabbing 3 people with scissors
- RFK Jr. said worm ate part of his brain, died inside his head: 2012 deposition
- Canadian-Israeli citizen dead in Egypt, local authorities say probe is open
Faced with questions surrounding the mental health of the 71-year-old U.S. president, Navy doctor Ronny Jackson said Trump is in “excellent health,” including his cognitive abilities.
“It’s called genetics,” Jackson said. “Some people have just great genes. I told the president that if he had a healthier diet over the last 20 years, he might live to be 200 years old.”
Jackson did say he had concerns about Trump’s diet and exercise and has recommended some changes.
“He would benefit from a diet that is lower in fat and carbohydrates,” Jackson said, saying he’d like to see Trump lose 10-15 lbs within the next year.
Meanwhile, Former White House strategist Steve Bannon has struck a deal to be interviewed by U.S. Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s team rather than appearing before a grand jury.
Bannon had been subpoenaed to testify before a grand jury in Mueller’s probe of alleged Russian meddling in the 2016 U.S. presidential election and any ties with Trump’s campaign.
An interview with prosecutors would allow Bannon to have an attorney present during his appearance, as lawyers are not permitted in grand jury rooms.
Jan. 15: Trump goes golfing to honour MLK
President Trump ignored his own calls for Americans to mark Martin Luther King Jr. Day with “acts of civic work and community service” by instead arriving Monday morning at his golf club in West Palm Beach, Fla.
Trump did not take part in any service projects on the federal holiday, a first for a U.S. president since 1994. The only event on the public schedule released daily by the White House is the flight that will take him back to Washington in the afternoon.
While former presidents like George Bush and Barack Obama worked in a soup kitchen, painted a mural at a family shelter and attended cultural services honouring King, Trump hit the links.
His absence from public events came amid the backlash over his “shithole countries” remark and accusations of racism.
“No, no, I’m not a racist,” Trump said on Sunday, in response to the controversy. “I am the least racist person you have ever interviewed.”
Trump also managed to squeeze in a tweet targeting a Democrat Senator over the “shithole” remarks.
WATCH: ‘I am the least racist person you’ve ever interviewed’, Trump tells reporters
“Senator Dicky Durbin totally misrepresented what was said at the DACA meeting,” Trump tweeted, using a nickname to needle the Illinois senator. “Deals can’t get made when there is no trust! Durbin blew DACA and is hurting our Military.”
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