U.S. President Donald Trump is coming under fire for taking the time to complain that lifestyle and fashion magazines don’t feature his wife enough, all while critics accuse him of ignoring the deadline on a COVID-19 relief bill and a potential government shutdown now just hours away.
As The Independent reported, the Christmas holiday came with a number of looming crises for the United States, including what appeared to be a completed COVID-19 relief measure that was thrown into uncertainty when Trump rejected the stimulus deal and made an unexpected demand that direct payments to Americans be increased to $2,000 from $600. It is not clear where the bill goes next, as Politico reported that congressional leaders are now racing to come up with a new deal and avoid a pending government shutdown.
Even some members of his own party are calling on Trump to sign the legislation.
“The best way out of this is for the president to sign the bill and I still hope that’s what he decides to do,” said Republican Sen. Roy Blunt.
While leaders from both parties are reportedly working on a solution, Trump has been spending the holiday at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, where The Independent noted he took time to complain that wife Melania has not been treated well by magazines.
He took to Twitter to share an article from Breitbart News that called out the fashion industry for not featuring his wife on magazine covers.
“The elitist snobs in the fashion press have kept the most elegant First Lady in American history off the covers of their magazines for 4 consecutive years,” the post read.
Trump has often spoken out against what he believes to be unfair treatment by the press, often complaining that no other president in American history has been treated worse. This has drawn strong pushback from Trump’s critics, who point out that several presidents had been assassinated, and that he himself was a leader in the movement claiming that Barack Obama was not born in the United States.
While the president used the Christmas holiday to lash out at perceived opponents, he could be facing off against allies in the coming days, Politico noted. Top Democrats seized on his call for larger stimulus checks to Americans, holding a vote this week to increase the amount to $2,000 but being blocked by Republicans. As the outlet noted, the situation could now set up a “dramatic showdown” in Congress where Trump would be at odds with members of his own party.
