Trump Timeline ... Trumpocalypse



The reign of Hope Hicks, the unflappable White House communications director and the right side of President Trump's brain, comes to an end this week, leaving a communications team bitterly divided and an impetuous president increasingly isolated.

The enigmatic aide-de-camp who has earned the ear and trust of Mr. Trump — and equally as important, his family — bridged the gulf between the president and the rest of his political staffers, many of whom he has consistently viewed with skepticism throughout his presidency.

And for a president who spends much of his time fuming at cable television or at one staffer or another, from his various chiefs of staff to his national security advisers, Hicks has stood apart in that "he genuinely likes and respects her," a source close to the president said.

Staffers are approaching the post-Hicks era with trepidation, unsure what to expect in a lawless White House with a president who thrives on chaos and resents authority, process and order. Hicks even used her standing to shield others from the wrath of Mr. Trump's explosive outbursts.

"She's the glue to the entire place," a White House source said. "She helps keep the White House from fracturing. I don't think people realize what's about to happen once she leaves."
 


Just when you thought Donald Trump Jr.’s alleged affair with Danity Kane singer and former Celebrity Apprentice contestant Aubrey O’Day couldn’t get any more dramatic, Us Weekly is now reporting that the maybe-feet-cuddling couple had been “trying” for a baby while he was still married to Vanessa.

In an “exclusive” report published on Wednesday, a source tells Us Weekly that O’Day and Don Jr. considered starting a family together during their affair, which allegedly lasted from late 2011 to March 2012. “Don told Aubrey he wanted to have a baby with her,” the “insider” told the tabloid. “They were trying for one.”

Don Jr. reportedly pursued the affair with O’Day when his now-estranged wife, Vanessa, was pregnant with their third child. The soon-to-be-divorced couple also welcomed their fourth child in the fall of 2012 — just a few months after the affair ended (and after Vanessa found some sexts on Don Jr.’s phone while he was in the shower and allegedly confronted O’Day about the relationship).
 




Examining the White House physician’s briefing on President Trump’s physical, I was alarmed — not about the president’s health, but the doctor’s.

Rear Adm. Ronny Jackson was so effusive in extolling the totally amazing, surpassingly marvelous, superbly stupendous and extremely awesome health of the president that the doctor sounded almost Trumpian. “The president’s overall health is excellent,” he said, repeating “excellent” eight times: “Hands down, there’s no question that he is in the excellent range. . . . I put out in the statement that the president’s health is excellent, because his overall health is excellent. . . . Overall, he has very, very good health. Excellent health.”

And just how excellent is His Excellency’s excellent health, doctor? “Incredible cardiac fitness,” was Dr. Jackson’s professional opinion. “He has incredible genes. . . . He has incredibly good genes, and it’s just the way God made him.”

Dr. Sanjay Gupta of CNN, making a rare house call to the White House briefing room, offered a second opinion. “He is taking a cholesterol-lowering medication, he has evidence of heart disease, and he’s borderline obese,” Gupta pointed out, citing Jackson’s own findings. “Can you characterize that as excellent health?”

Jackson replied that Trump’s heart is “in the excellent category.”

And not just his heart! The doctor rhapsodized about Trump’s vision, his stamina (“more energy than just about anybody”) and above all his mental acuity, which, Jackson made sure to note, he examined only “because the president asked me to.” Trump is “very sharp, and he’s very articulate. . . . Very, very sharp, very intact. . . . Absolutely no cognitive or mental issues whatsoever. . . . The president did exceedingly well.”

Sure, the guy could exercise and lose a few pounds. But “if he had a healthier diet over the last 20 years, he might live to be 200 years old,” the White House physician proclaimed. Jackson even blessed Trump’s habit of sleeping only four or five hours a night — “probably one of the reasons why he’s been successful” — and his couch-potato tendencies: “He can watch as much TV as he wants.”
 


Examining the White House physician’s briefing on President Trump’s physical, I was alarmed — not about the president’s health, but the doctor’s.

Rear Adm. Ronny Jackson was so effusive in extolling the totally amazing, surpassingly marvelous, superbly stupendous and extremely awesome health of the president that the doctor sounded almost Trumpian. “The president’s overall health is excellent,” he said, repeating “excellent” eight times: “Hands down, there’s no question that he is in the excellent range. . . . I put out in the statement that the president’s health is excellent, because his overall health is excellent. . . . Overall, he has very, very good health. Excellent health.”

And just how excellent is His Excellency’s excellent health, doctor? “Incredible cardiac fitness,” was Dr. Jackson’s professional opinion. “He has incredible genes. . . . He has incredibly good genes, and it’s just the way God made him.”

Dr. Sanjay Gupta of CNN, making a rare house call to the White House briefing room, offered a second opinion. “He is taking a cholesterol-lowering medication, he has evidence of heart disease, and he’s borderline obese,” Gupta pointed out, citing Jackson’s own findings. “Can you characterize that as excellent health?”

Jackson replied that Trump’s heart is “in the excellent category.”

And not just his heart! The doctor rhapsodized about Trump’s vision, his stamina (“more energy than just about anybody”) and above all his mental acuity, which, Jackson made sure to note, he examined only “because the president asked me to.” Trump is “very sharp, and he’s very articulate. . . . Very, very sharp, very intact. . . . Absolutely no cognitive or mental issues whatsoever. . . . The president did exceedingly well.”

Sure, the guy could exercise and lose a few pounds. But “if he had a healthier diet over the last 20 years, he might live to be 200 years old,” the White House physician proclaimed. Jackson even blessed Trump’s habit of sleeping only four or five hours a night — “probably one of the reasons why he’s been successful” — and his couch-potato tendencies: “He can watch as much TV as he wants.”


 
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