Body Language

I've been on YouTube, looking at footage of Obama signing executive orders, and I haven't seen any yet where he holds an order up after he signs it, the way Trump does.

Have any US Presidents held up signed orders like this?

What is Trump saying with this sort of gesture?

Maybe he's saying,

"Look at me, I'm a big boy, I wrote my name all by myself!"

In all seriousness -- I think that might be the explanation. Or maybe he's saying,

"Remember how I campaigned saying that Obama was a tyrant because of the number of executive orders he signed? Ha, ha! I can't believe you bought all of my bullshit. I can't believe you all voted for me. You're such losers. You're so pathetic. Sad. My hands are big."

That would be a logical reaction to his voters, but it would also mean that he can remember things he said months ago during the campaign, and there's very little evidence that he can remember what he says from one minute to the next, or that he cares if he does remember.

I'm so tired of this clown.

Trump' s Executive Orders

The Supreme Court can rule that an Executive Order made by a President is unconstitutional. And Congress can effectively nullify an executive order by not funding the action ordered.

I think Trump is up to 11 executive orders now. The first one, as you may know, did or didn't do something to Obamacare, it's not yet clear. The most recent one I know of orders that that wall be built (I'm not sure whether Donald has actually ordered Mexico to pay for it), and also orders tougher measures against illegal immigration. Others have rescinded funding for abortions provided by international organizations, put gag orders on EPA employees and peer-reviewed articles by USDA scientists, and approved construction of the Keystone XL and Dakota Pipelines.

Do we still have checks and balances in this country? How extreme and crazy will Trump get before (a Republican-majority, I know) Congress and the (deadlocked, 4 to 4, I know) Supreme Court begin to oppose him?

This page on Paste Magazine's website says they'll be keeping track of all of Trump's executive orders. I'm not familiar with Paste Magazine or how well they keep their promises, but that's what they say they'll do. They're at least one order behind as of 3 PM, 25. January 2017: they don't mention the order about the wall yet. Maybe the page is a one-time thing, not a running list updated as we go.