

SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
To donate by check, phone, or other method, see our More Ways to Give page.


Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.

President Donald Trump jokes with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), Sen. Mike Enzi (R-Wy.), Vice President Mike Pence, Spaker of the House Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) and Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) during an event celebrating the passage of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act on the South Lawn of the White House December 20, 2017 in Washington, DC. (Photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
Many words have been used to describe the first year of Donald Trump's presidency and, before Wednesday, "exquisite" was not one of them. That, nonetheless, is the word House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) reached for when effusively praising Trump's "leadership" shortly following the GOP's final tax victory.
"There are ass kissers, there are sycophantic ass kissers, there are shameless ass kissers, there are embarrassing ass kissers...and then there's Mike Pence."
--Fernand Amandi
Despite the fact that "by all accounts, the president did not participate in the legislative deliberations," praise for the president after the GOP's passage of a $1.5 trillion tax bill quickly became the theme of the day.
Vice President Mike Pence kicked off the "sycophantic" lovefest with what commentators could only describe as a sort of "prayer of thanks to Trump"--reminiscent of that infamous White House cabinet meeting over the summer, during which administration officials hailed what an "opportunity and blessing" it is to work alongside the president.
"I'm deeply humbled, as your vice president, to be able to be here," Pence said.
And that was just the beginning. During a gathering in front of the White House Wednesday, congressional Republicans stepped to the podium one-by-one to christen the least popular first-year president in modern American history as "one heck of a leader."
Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah)--the author of a provision in the GOP tax bill that will further enrich himself, Trump, and more than a dozen other Republican senators--outdid them all, fawning over the president's "sheer will" and saying "I just hope that we all get behind him every way we can, and we'll get this country turned around in ways that will benefit the whole world."
"We're going to make this the greatest presidency that we've seen, not only in generations, but maybe ever," Hatch added.
"I think the exaggeration of having to kiss the ring of Donald Trump--it almost seems like a scene out of 'The Godfather' we just saw, not what you would expect from the president of a democracy," said historian Douglas Brinkley.
The social media world had enough of the endless praise, as well:
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Many words have been used to describe the first year of Donald Trump's presidency and, before Wednesday, "exquisite" was not one of them. That, nonetheless, is the word House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) reached for when effusively praising Trump's "leadership" shortly following the GOP's final tax victory.
"There are ass kissers, there are sycophantic ass kissers, there are shameless ass kissers, there are embarrassing ass kissers...and then there's Mike Pence."
--Fernand Amandi
Despite the fact that "by all accounts, the president did not participate in the legislative deliberations," praise for the president after the GOP's passage of a $1.5 trillion tax bill quickly became the theme of the day.
Vice President Mike Pence kicked off the "sycophantic" lovefest with what commentators could only describe as a sort of "prayer of thanks to Trump"--reminiscent of that infamous White House cabinet meeting over the summer, during which administration officials hailed what an "opportunity and blessing" it is to work alongside the president.
"I'm deeply humbled, as your vice president, to be able to be here," Pence said.
And that was just the beginning. During a gathering in front of the White House Wednesday, congressional Republicans stepped to the podium one-by-one to christen the least popular first-year president in modern American history as "one heck of a leader."
Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah)--the author of a provision in the GOP tax bill that will further enrich himself, Trump, and more than a dozen other Republican senators--outdid them all, fawning over the president's "sheer will" and saying "I just hope that we all get behind him every way we can, and we'll get this country turned around in ways that will benefit the whole world."
"We're going to make this the greatest presidency that we've seen, not only in generations, but maybe ever," Hatch added.
"I think the exaggeration of having to kiss the ring of Donald Trump--it almost seems like a scene out of 'The Godfather' we just saw, not what you would expect from the president of a democracy," said historian Douglas Brinkley.
The social media world had enough of the endless praise, as well:
Many words have been used to describe the first year of Donald Trump's presidency and, before Wednesday, "exquisite" was not one of them. That, nonetheless, is the word House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) reached for when effusively praising Trump's "leadership" shortly following the GOP's final tax victory.
"There are ass kissers, there are sycophantic ass kissers, there are shameless ass kissers, there are embarrassing ass kissers...and then there's Mike Pence."
--Fernand Amandi
Despite the fact that "by all accounts, the president did not participate in the legislative deliberations," praise for the president after the GOP's passage of a $1.5 trillion tax bill quickly became the theme of the day.
Vice President Mike Pence kicked off the "sycophantic" lovefest with what commentators could only describe as a sort of "prayer of thanks to Trump"--reminiscent of that infamous White House cabinet meeting over the summer, during which administration officials hailed what an "opportunity and blessing" it is to work alongside the president.
"I'm deeply humbled, as your vice president, to be able to be here," Pence said.
And that was just the beginning. During a gathering in front of the White House Wednesday, congressional Republicans stepped to the podium one-by-one to christen the least popular first-year president in modern American history as "one heck of a leader."
Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah)--the author of a provision in the GOP tax bill that will further enrich himself, Trump, and more than a dozen other Republican senators--outdid them all, fawning over the president's "sheer will" and saying "I just hope that we all get behind him every way we can, and we'll get this country turned around in ways that will benefit the whole world."
"We're going to make this the greatest presidency that we've seen, not only in generations, but maybe ever," Hatch added.
"I think the exaggeration of having to kiss the ring of Donald Trump--it almost seems like a scene out of 'The Godfather' we just saw, not what you would expect from the president of a democracy," said historian Douglas Brinkley.
The social media world had enough of the endless praise, as well: