Trump’s 1st Year Littered with Memorable Blunders

Amanda Young, Staff Writer

January 20 marked President Donald Trump’s 365th day in office, and it has been a year filled with a whirlwind of odd incidents, questionable tweets, false claims, feuds with politicians, nuclear war threats, and more. Numerous White House employees, travel bans, health care bills, border walls, and the Russia investigation clogged news cycles. Whether you support Trump or not, you have to admit that this has been an unprecedented 1st year. Here are some of the most bizarre, almost-laughable things that should not be forgotten:

1. Inauguration Day: Perhaps the event that set the tone for the rest of the year was Inauguration Day. Then-press secretary Sean Spicer claimed that Trump’s crowd was the “the largest audience to ever witness an inauguration — period — both in person and around the globe.” However, aerial pictures from The New York Times show that Barack Obama’s crowd extended far beyond Trump’s. In addition, Trump stated that the rain stopped falling as soon as he started his speech, but others dispute this. In a speech at CIA headquarters on January 21, Trump said, “First line, I got hit by a couple of drops. And I said, ‘Oh, this is, this is too bad, but we’ll go right through it.’ But the truth is that it stopped immediately. It was amazing. And then it became really sunny, and then I walked off and it poured right after I left.” Unfortunately for him, the rain didn’t actually stop immediately, and many people pulled out ponchos and umbrellas to shield themselves from the weather as he spoke.

2. The call with the Australian Prime Minister: A few days later, Trump abruptly ended a call with Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull. According to The Washington Post, the call was supposed to last 1 hour but finished after just 25 minutes. “I have been making these calls all day and this is the most unpleasant call all day. Putin was a pleasant call. This is ridiculous,” Trump told Turnbull over the phone.

3. Wiretapping claims: In March, President Trump accused his predecessor of wiretapping the Trump Tower during the 2016 election. “How low has President Obama gone to tapp [sic] my phones during the very sacred election process. This is Nixon/Watergate. Bad (or sick) guy!” he said.

4. “Covfefe:” Trump then befuddled the entire nation in May when he tweeted, “Despite the constant negative press covfefe.” Social media users immediately speculated about what President Trump meant, and then-press secretary Sean Spicer responded, “The president and a small group of people know exactly what he meant,” instead of confirming the obvious, it was merely a typo.

5. The solar eclipse: On August 21, a total solar eclipse was visible across much of the United States. Campolindo students used protective eyewear to view it safely. Though Trump did eventually don a pair of specialized glasses, photos of him looking directly at the eclipse without protective eyewear surfaced. Dr. Christopher Quinn, president of the American Optometric Association, told The New York Times that effects of looking at the sun during the eclipse “can range from blurry vision to absolute permanent vision loss.”

6. Hurricane Maria: In the fall, Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico. When President Trump visited, he told the Puerto Ricans to be “proud” that only 16 people had died, and he joked that they had thrown the federal budget “a little out of whack.” Videos of Trump shooting paper towel rolls like basketballs into the crowd also circulated.

7. Trading insults with Kim Jong Un: President Trump’s baffling tweets are not uncommon, but reached an entirely new level when he insulted North Korea’s Kim Jong Un via Twitter. “Why would Kim Jong-un insult me by calling me ‘old,’ when I would NEVER call him ‘short and fat?’ Oh well, I try so hard to be his friend – and maybe someday that will happen!” he wrote.

8. Trump’s Nuclear Button: Another tweet that raised concern for Americans featured Trump’s “nuclear button” that is supposedly sitting on his desk. According to Trump, his button is “bigger and more powerful” than Kim Jong Un’s, and it actually works. According to a Washington Post-ABC News poll, approximately one-half of Americans are genuinely worried that our president will arbitrarily launch a nuclear attack.

9. A “Very Stable Genius:” Trump addressed speculation about his mental stability by saying he is “very stable genius” and “like, very smart.” He cited his success as a businessman, T.V. star, and the fact that he was elected President (on his 1st try) to justify this.

The past 365 days have been interesting, to say the least. And, if it is any indication, it seems as if the next 3 years will certainly keep us on our toes.