This article is from the source 'nytimes' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/07/us/politics/trump-breaks-from-vacation-to-tweet-outrage-at-media-and-rally-his-base.html

The article has changed 7 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 3 Version 4
Trump Breaks From Vacation to Tweet Criticism of Media and Rally His Base A Trump Vacation Formula: Work Hard, Play Hard, Tweet Hard
(about 11 hours later)
BRIDGEWATER, N.J. — President Trump broke away from his summer vacation on Monday for a barrage of Twitter posts lashing out at the “Fake News” media and insisting that his political base was “getting stronger” despite investigations into possible collusion between Russia and his associates. BRIDGEWATER, N.J. — Here is how a vacation day starts for President Trump. He wakes up, he turns on the television, he sees something that makes him mad, and he reaches for his Twitter-enabled smartphone to vent.
Rising early at his golf resort in nearby Bedminster, N.J., where he arrived on Friday for the start of a 17-day escape from Washington, Mr. Trump vented his frustration that he is not getting sufficient credit for his political strength and the accomplishments of his six-month presidency. In other words, it’s an awful lot like the way he starts his workday.
“The Trump base is far bigger & stronger than ever before (despite some phony Fake News polling). Look at rallies in Penn, Iowa, Ohio and West Virginia,” he said on Twitter in a string of messages. “The fact is the Fake News Russian collusion story, record Stock Market, border security, military strength, jobs, Supreme Court pick, economic enthusiasm, deregulation & so much more have driven the Trump base even closer together. Will never change!” So when Mr. Trump protests that he is not really on vacation, as he spends 17 days this month away from Washington, he has a point. For Mr. Trump, there is no vacation from grievance and frustration. He does not define daily life by such easy delineations as office hours and home hours. He may take a relaxed approach at work, and he may engage in politics from his bedroom in Bedminster, N.J.
He added: “Hard to believe that with 24/7 #Fake News on CNN, ABC, NBC, CBS, NYTIMES & WAPO, the Trump base is getting stronger!” To be sure, no president is ever really on vacation, not in the sense of escaping to the beach, clearing out the head and genuinely leaving the office behind. Whether it was Bill Clinton at his luxury rental in Martha’s Vineyard or George W. Bush at his ranch near Crawford, Tex., the world has a way of following a president. Barack Obama was singing Christmas carols in Hawaii when an aide interrupted to tell him that a man with explosives in his underwear had tried to blow up a passenger plane.
Mr. Trump traveled to New Jersey while the West Wing undergoes a renovation to upgrade the air conditioning. The furniture has been removed from the Oval Office and most of the staff relocated to an office building next door. As other presidents have done, Mr. Trump had his daily intelligence briefing on Monday. He followed it up with an hourlong telephone call with Secretary of State Rex W. Tillerson to talk about the confrontation with North Korea over its ballistic missile program.
The president, who has not been seen in public since arriving, cited this to argue that he was not really on vacation and noted that he will travel to New York for work during the second half of his getaway. He had earlier insisted that Congress not go on vacation until it passed legislation repealing and replacing President Barack Obama’s health care law, but the bill was defeated in the Senate and lawmakers have now left town. His chief of staff, John F. Kelly, spent the weekend with him, and aides said Vice President Mike Pence; Lt. Gen. H. R. McMaster, the national security adviser; and various cabinet secretaries and policy advisers would make the trek to the president’s golf club to talk about health care, taxes and Afghanistan.
“Working hard from New Jersey while White House goes through long planned renovation,” he wrote. “Going to New York next week for more meetings.” “Working hard from New Jersey while White House goes through long planned renovation,” Mr. Trump wrote on Twitter. “Going to New York next week for more meetings.”
His staff later reported that he received his daily intelligence briefing and held an hourlong call with Secretary of State Rex W. Tillerson who updated the president about his trip to Asia and discussed North Korea with him. John F. Kelly, the new White House chief of staff, who spent the weekend in New Jersey with the president, also joined the call. His staff is eager to schedule more meetings and public announcements or statements. For one thing, they want to show the public that Mr. Trump is still working hard, just as White House officials did during other presidents’ vacations. For another, they want to make sure he is kept as busy as possible, understanding that an idle president has a way of creating trouble.
Mr. Trump’s boasts about his support among his base illustrated his focus on holding his core backers even as polls show that his approval ratings have continued to fall across the board. The latest Quinnipiac University survey earlier this month showed that 33 percent of Americans approved of the job that Mr. Trump is doing, the lowest of his presidency. So far, though, it has been a vacation out of the public eye. Mr. Trump arrived Friday evening along with his daughter Ivanka Trump and son-in-law, Jared Kushner; Mr. Kelly; and other White House aides. He has not been seen publicly since. He reportedly dropped by a wedding celebration at the club over the weekend, but the journalists in the pool assigned to cover him have not been allowed to set foot on the property, nor have they laid eyes on him since Friday.
His approval remains stronger among Republicans than the general public, although his support has fallen within his own party as well. Seventy-six percent of Republicans approved of Mr. Trump’s performance in the Quinnipiac survey, down from 81 percent in June. White Americans with no college degrees, often considered central to his political support, now disapprove of his performance more than they approve, 50 percent to 43 percent. Just two months ago, it was the opposite: 46 percent approved and 43 percent did not. With driving rain on Monday making golf unappealing, it remained unclear what the president did to enjoy himself. Other presidents, including Mr. Clinton, Mr. Bush and Mr. Obama, brought stacks of books with them on vacation, dutifully reported by aides. Mr. Trump is not known as much of a book reader. Mr. Bush loved clearing brush and bicycling on his ranch, while Mr. Clinton and Mr. Obama liked to play cards. Mr. Trump is not often spotted with a chain saw or a deck of cards.
In his morning tweets, Mr. Trump went after some of his most consistent targets, including The New York Times and Senator Richard Blumenthal, Democrat of Connecticut. CNN cheekily contrasted Mr. Trump’s vacation with that of his Russian counterpart, Vladimir V. Putin, who was shown fishing bare chested in Siberia. Mr. Trump is not much of a fisherman nor does he often take his shirt off in public.
“The failing @nytimes, which has made every wrong prediction about me including my big election win (apologized), is totally inept!” he wrote. He did not specify any particular article that angered him, although Vice President Pence issued an sharp statement on Sunday rejecting a Times story reporting that he was positioning himself to run for president in 2020 if Mr. Trump did not seek re-election. He does watch cable television. Around 7:30 a.m. on Monday, Senator Richard Blumenthal, Democrat of Connecticut, went on CNN to talk about the special counsel investigation into possible ties between Mr. Trump’s associates and Russia during and after last year’s election. Mr. Trump presumably was watching, because within 15 minutes he was flaming Mr. Blumenthal.
The assertion that the newspaper apologized for its coverage last year is not true, but Mr. Trump has continued to say it even after being repeatedly corrected. In a letter to readers after the election, Arthur Sulzberger Jr., the publisher, and Dean Baquet, the executive editor, wrote that the surprise election result raised a question: “Did Donald Trump’s sheer unconventionality lead us and other news outlets to underestimate his support among American voters?”
They added: “As we reflect on the momentous result, and the months of reporting and polling that preceded it, we aim to rededicate ourselves to the fundamental mission of Times journalism. That is to report America and the world honestly, without fear or favor, striving always to understand and reflect all political perspectives and life experiences in the stories that we bring to you.”
Mr. Trump has regularly assailed Mr. Blumenthal when he has seen him on television criticizing him. Mr. Blumenthal appeared on CNN on Monday morning talking about the Russia investigations minutes before the president’s tweets.
“Interesting to watch Senator Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut talking about hoax Russian collusion when he was a phony Vietnam con artist!” he wrote on Twitter. “Never in U.S. history has anyone lied or defrauded voters like Senator Richard Blumenthal. He told stories about his Vietnam battles and conquests, how brave he was, and it was all a lie. He cried like a baby and begged for forgiveness like a child. Now he judges collusion?”“Interesting to watch Senator Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut talking about hoax Russian collusion when he was a phony Vietnam con artist!” he wrote on Twitter. “Never in U.S. history has anyone lied or defrauded voters like Senator Richard Blumenthal. He told stories about his Vietnam battles and conquests, how brave he was, and it was all a lie. He cried like a baby and begged for forgiveness like a child. Now he judges collusion?”
Mr. Blumenthal received at least five deferments from military service during the Vietnam era and then went into the Marine Reserve, where he served in a unit in Washington. But as a politician, he referred to himself as having “served in Vietnam” or “served during the Vietnam era.” The article exposing these false statements in 2010 did not, however, report that he told stories about Vietnam battles or conquests. Mr. Trump received five deferments from the draft: four for college and one for bad feet. Mr. Blumenthal received at least five deferments from military service during the Vietnam War era and then went into the Marine Reserve, where he served in a unit in Washington. But as a politician, he referred to himself as having “served in Vietnam” or “served during the Vietnam era.” The New York Times article exposing these false statements in 2010 did not, however, report that he had told stories about Vietnam battles or conquests, nor that he had cried when exposed. Mr. Trump received five deferments from the draft: four for college and one for bad feet.
As it happens, the article that Mr. Trump relied on for his attack on Mr. Blumenthal ran in The New York Times. Mr. Blumenthal responded, using Mr. Trump’s own favorite medium. “Mr. President: Your bullying hasn’t worked before and it won’t work now. No one is above the law,” he wrote on Twitter. “This issue isn’t about me — it’s about the Special Counsel’s independence and integrity.”
Mr. Blumenthal responded using Mr. Trump’s own favorite medium. “Mr. President: Your bullying hasn’t worked before and it won’t work now. No one is above the law,” he wrote on Twitter. “This issue isn’t about me - it’s about the Special Counsel’s independence and integrity.” Mr. Trump was still stewing about it nine hours later. “I think Senator Blumenthal should take a nice long vacation in Vietnam, where he lied about his service, so he can at least say he was there,” he wrote on Twitter.
All told, Mr. Trump blasted out 13 Twitter posts before dinner, going after other favorite targets as well, including the “failing” New York Times. As often happens, his posts included false assertions. He said that The Times had apologized for its coverage of the election last year. (It did not.) And he said the newspaper has “big losses.” (Revenue was up 9 percent in the last quarter.)
In a statement from a spokeswoman, Danielle Rhoades Ha, The Times called Mr. Trump’s claims “incorrect” and noted that the newspaper has 3.3 million paid subscriptions — its most ever — and growing profit, income and revenues. “NYT’s business is thriving,” The Times said on Twitter.
Mr. Trump complained that the “Fake News Media” was not paying enough attention to the United Nations Security Council vote to add more sanctions against North Korea, and he grumbled that he was not getting sufficient credit for the accomplishments of his 200-day-old presidency. He seemed particularly intent on making the case that he still has his base behind him despite overall low poll numbers.
“The Trump base is far bigger & stronger than ever before (despite some phony Fake News polling). Look at rallies in Penn, Iowa, Ohio and West Virginia,” he said in a string of Twitter posts. “The fact is the Fake News Russian collusion story, record Stock Market, border security, military strength, jobs, Supreme Court pick, economic enthusiasm, deregulation & so much more have driven the Trump base even closer together. Will never change!”
And neither, he seemed to be saying, will he, whether the day is called a vacation or not.