Trying times in Trumpland (Washington Diary)

The thrice-married President didn't get any time for his "political honeymoon". But Donald Trump is all set for an extended "court-ship" of a different kind.

"SEE YOU IN COURT, THE SECURITY OF OUR NATION IS AT STAKE!" an angry President thundered in all caps -- the equivalent of shouting.

The tweet came minutes after an appeals court refused to restore his controversial ban on travel from seven terror-strewn Muslim majority nations.

"A disgraceful decision!" he tweeted again hours later, amazed that the court had failed to appreciate his "beautifully written" executive order that even "a bad high school student" would understand.

In leaving alone a nationwide halt on the ban by a "so-called judge" in Washington state, as Trump called him to the horror of chatteratti, the court saw "no evidence" that immigrants from the seven nations had committed acts of terror in the US.

It also did not buy the argument that the President's decisions on immigration policy, particularly when motivated by national security concerns, were "unreviewable."

An elated Hillary Clinton, Trump's Democratic presidential rival, quickly chimed in with a short and sweet tweet, "3-0," a reference to the three-judge panel's unanimous decision.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer also advised the President "to see the writing on the wall, abandon the proposal, roll up his sleeves and come up with a real, bipartisan plan."

But even as Trump's own Supreme Court pick Neil Gorsuch appeared to express dismay over his tweets about the judiciary as "demoralizing" and "disheartening," Trump showed no signs of stepping back.

As the Justice Department under his just-sworn-in Attorney General Jeff Sessions mulled its options, Trump asserted onboard Air Force One: "We will win that battle."

"The unfortunate part is that it takes time statutorily, but we will win that battle," he declared.

Instead of appealing to a one judge short of an evenly-divided Supreme Court, Trump "very well could" issue a brand new executive order after dotting the i's and crossing the t's.

In the midst of the court battle, media reports said immigration authorities had, over the last couple of days, made a series of arrests in at least half-a-dozen states across the US to sweep up scores of illegal immigrants.

Trump has vowed to deport some three million "bad dudes" first, but reports suggested that raids targeted even those without criminal records in an apparent departure from the Obama administration's policy of focusing on criminals.

In the face of dogged opposition of the Democrats to all things Trump, he also won the Senate confirmation of three more cabinet picks.

Vice President Mike Pence had to come in to cast a tie-breaking historic vote to get Education Secretary Betsy DeVos across the line after two Republicans declined to vote for the wealthy Republican donor.

Outside the political arena, Trump courted another controversy with a presidential tweet when a major mall stopped selling his daughter Ivanka's clothing line, citing poor sales.

"My daughter Ivanka has been treated so unfairly by @Nordstrom. She is a great person -- always pushing me to do the right thing! Terrible!" he wrote.

And following the boss' lead, his close adviser Kelly Conway went on TV from the White House briefing room to urge viewers to "go buy Ivanka's stuff."

But unlike the President, who is exempt from the conflict of interest rules, Conway ran afoul of the ethics police. However, Trump graciously accepted her "apology" after she was "counselled" by the White House on her lapse.

Nordstrom, according to the conservative Washington Times, is just one of more than 250 companies and products who have landed in the Democratic crosshairs.

Trump opponents have called for a boycott of stores like Walmart and Kmart to online shopping sites like Amazon or Zappos selling Trump brands and products from Miller or Coors beer to See's candies.

A few Trump supporters have also called for their own boycotts like those of Budweiser beer over a pro-immigration ad.

"At this rate, you may need to churn your own butter, brew your own beer and cobble your own shoes" to avoid annoying the boycott brigades of either hue, warned the Times.

(Arun Kumar can be contacted at arun.kumar@ians.in)

--IANS

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