The independent newspaper of the University of Iowa community since 1868

The Daily Iowan

The independent newspaper of the University of Iowa community since 1868

The Daily Iowan

The independent newspaper of the University of Iowa community since 1868

The Daily Iowan

Pillard: Trumpland, USA

+Donald+Trump+speaks+during+a+campaign+rally%2C+Sunday%2C+Nov.+6%2C+2016%2C+in+Sioux+City%2C+Iowa.+%28AP+Photo%2F+Evan+Vucci%29
AP
Donald Trump speaks during a campaign rally, Sunday, Nov. 6, 2016, in Sioux City, Iowa. (AP Photo/ Evan Vucci)

By Logan Pillard

[email protected]

Russian spies, inner-circle feuds, weekly bomb threats — the Trump White House has about as much drama as any prime-time Shonda Rhimes’ television show, or, as Trump is accustomed, reality TV. In case you missed last week’s thrilling new episode of “Trumpland, USA,” here is a brief update:

President Trump, after receiving hesitant praise for his missile launch on Syria from supporters and opponents alike, dropped the “mother of all bombs” on a network of underground tunnels located in the Nangarhar Province of Afghanistan. The explosion was said to have been felt more than 10 miles away by local villagers, NBC reports. Could this lead to a new upshot for the already-unfavorable president?Press Secretary and Comic Relief Sean Spicer found himself in hot water after a mic-dropping comment, in which the press secretary referred to Bashar al-Assad as “worse than Hitler” and used “Holocaust centers” as a euphemism for concentration camps. Could this be the end of Lil’ Spicey, or will he be renewed for a second season?

Kellyanne Conway came out of media exile to make an appearance at the annual White House Easter Egg Roll, where she boosted about the president’s limited successes with her typical roundabout speech and tactical turning questions, as well as defending his “historical Electoral College win,” nearly four months after Trump was inaugurated. Will Conway get new talking points, or will she stick to the same “victory” script she’s held onto nearly six months after the election?

Finally, Trump advisers Steve Bannon and Jared Kushner came to a heated clash as tensions over their opposing views on how to run the country have risen over the past few weeks. Kushner, to whom Trump has handed an almost overwhelming amount of work, including the establishment of peace in the Middle East, seems to be gaining favor over Bannon, who refused to cooperate with Kushner because “[he’s] a Democrat,” according to a leak from the White House. After Bannon’s initial first weeks in Trump’s ear landed the president the lowest approval ratings in a president’s first 100 days, Trump has removed Bannon from his seat on the National Security Council. Kushner and wife Ivanka Trump are now pushing for Bannon’s removal from the White House.

Will Bannon bite back against the Kushners with more anti-Semitic slurs, or will Trump cut Bannon’s White House career short? Will Kushner finally accept the title of “President of the United States” now that his father-in-law has shacked all his responsibilities onto the former real-estate broker? Will Trump finally save taxpayers money by spending a weekend in Washington, D.C., instead of golfing at Mar-a-Lago? Tune in to “Trumpland, USA” to find out.

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