Week 31, in one sentence: President Trump
fired Steve Bannon;
saw at least 69 members of his advisory councils, including
a pastor on his evangelical advisory board and
at least three from his digital economy board of advisers, quit over his incendiary comments about Charlottesville;
praised the “many protesters in Boston speaking out against bigotry and hate”;
promised to keep U.S. troops in Afghanistan, a situation he once called futile;
smeared the media in a 77-minute speech at a campaign-style rally in Phoenix, where he selectively quoted himself — leaving out the part where he equated counterprotesters to white supremacists;
said progress was being made in the standoff with North Korea, which a day later announced it was accelerating its weapons program;
prepared a memo that will move his transgender military ban forward; fired off some tweets that insulted
Mitch McConnell and
James Clapper; and was
criticized by his own economic adviser, who said he almost quit after Trump defended white supremacists last week.