Week 137: September 1-7

More poor economic indicators: “The American manufacturing sector contracted last month, a key measure showed on Tuesday, heightening fears that the trade war with China could bring on a recession.”

In one of the weirdest stories of the week, to cover for having erroneously reported that Dorian would affect Alabama, he took a sharpie to a NOAA hurricane projection map and showed it to reporters.

Trump continued argue he was justified about the Alabama tweet through the end of the week, including having the NOAA release an unsigned statement backing up the statement.

On Friday night Politico reported that the Air Force diverted flights to support a failing airport near the also struggling Trump resort in Scotland. The New York Times confirmed the story, adding that the military contract to use the airport was signed in August 2016.

The New York Times reported on how Trump’s properties have been cashing in: “To ethics lawyers, the most extraordinary aspect of the daily merging of Mr. Trump’s official duties and his commercial interests both in Washington and around the world is that it has now become almost routine…. At least 90 members of Congress, 250 Trump administration officials and more than 110 foreign officials have been spotted at Trump properties since 2017, according to social media posts and counts by various watchdog groups.”

Pence’s visit to Ireland included a stay at a Trump hotel even though it is on the opposite side of the country from his meetings with leaders in Dublin. There were also shifting explanations for the stay. Congress is investigating.

Trump tweeted that he called off a Camp David summit with the Taliban due to an American solider killed in Afghanistan.

Immigration

The Pentagon is shutting down programs to reallocate money to Trump’s border wall. Here is a list of all the programs being cut: “Nearly every facet of military life, from a canceled dining center in Puerto Rico to a small arms firing range in Tulsa, Okla., to an elementary school in Wiesbaden, Germany, will be affected by the transfer of $3.6 billion”

The deportation orders on medical cases was reversed.

Trump’s Job Approval: 41.5%