Donald Trump’s new executive orders don’t stand a chance – and that’s probably the entire point

| 9:09 am EDT August 9, 2020
Dear Palmer Report readers, we all understand what a dark era we're heading into. Major media outlets are caving to Trump already. Even the internet itself and publishing platforms may be at risk. Advertising networks can't be counted on. But Palmer Report is nonetheless going to lead the fight, because someone has to.

In that regard we're funding our 2025 operating expenses now, so we can keep publishing no matter what happens. We've launched a reader supported fund, and we've already raised $3760 and counting. I'm asking you to contribute if you can, because the stakes are just so high. You can contribute here. Thank you in advance.
Sincerely,
Bill Palmer
Palmer Report

Last night Donald Trump enacted a coronavirus financial relief package by executive order. The thing is, he literally can’t do this. Financial appropriations can’t be done by executive order, any more than Trump can make an elephant fly by executive order. He’ll get struck down rather quickly – and that may be the point.

Trump and his handlers appear to have put very little thought into these executive orders, as evidenced by the gaping hole they create in Social Security and Medicare funding. This suggests that Trump didn’t care what his executive orders actually said or did, because he knows they’ll get likely get shut down by the courts via emergency injunction anyway. Then Trump will be able to say that he tried to give everyone financial relief, and someone else took it away from everyone.

It’s a strategy that sounds fairly clever on its face, considering Trump gets to paint himself as the only one who even tried to help people. The trouble for Trump is that the average nonpartisan voter doesn’t much care why they never got their relief check, they only care that it never arrived, and they tend to blame both sides equally for the fact that it didn’t happen. So it’s not clear how this stunt gains Trump even a single vote.

And because this has been slapped together as ineptly as any other Donald Trump stunt, it’s handed the Democrats a potential gift. They’re already trying to amplify the fact that Trump is trying to cut Social Security and Medicare with his illegal executive orders. If the media is willing to cover this accurately, this stunt could backfire on Trump. Of course the real losers are the American people. Vote this clown out in record numbers.

Dear Palmer Report readers, we all understand what a dark era we're heading into. Major media outlets are caving to Trump already. Even the internet itself and publishing platforms may be at risk. Advertising networks can't be counted on. But Palmer Report is nonetheless going to lead the fight, because someone has to.

In that regard we're funding our 2025 operating expenses now, so we can keep publishing no matter what happens. We've launched a reader supported fund, and we've already raised $3760 and counting. I'm asking you to contribute if you can, because the stakes are just so high. You can contribute here. Thank you in advance.
Sincerely,
Bill Palmer
Palmer Report