HOLIDAY/MILITARY/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “President Donald Trump used a Thanksgiving Day call to troops deployed overseas to pat himself on the back and air grievances about the courts, trade and migrants heading to the U.S.-Mexico border. Trump’s call, made Thursday [11-22-18] from his opulent private Mar-a-Lago club, struck an unusually political tone as he spoke with members of all five branches of the military to wish them happy holidays…Trump later threatened to close the U.S. border with Mexico for an undisclosed period of time if his administration determines Mexico has lost ‘control’ on its side. The call was a uniquely Trump blend of boasting, peppered questions and off-the-cuff observations as his comments veered from venting about slights to praising troops — ‘You really are our heroes,’ he said — as club waiters worked to set Thanksgiving dinner tables on the outdoor terrace behind him. And it was yet another show of how Trump has dramatically transformed the presidency, erasing the traditional divisions between domestic policy and military matters and efforts to keep the troops clear of politics.”
–The Associated Press, “Trump’s Thanksgiving Menu Includes Turkey and Grievances,” The New York Times online, Novemebr 22, 2018