Seth Meyers checks in to see how Trump's swamp-draining is going
"President Trump made a lot of promises throughout his campaign, and in general he kept them very simple, as evidenced by their ability to be expressed in three-sylable chants," Seth Meyers said on Tuesday's Late Night. There was "build that wall" and "lock her up," but the one chant "that really summed up the mission statement of the Trump campaign" was "drain the swamp," Meyers said. So how's the swamp-draining going? Would you believe, not great?
In October, Trump explained that, like Frank Sinatra and "My Way," he hated the "drain the swamp" phrase but grew to love it when the crowd lapped it up. "The problem with the Trump analogy is that Sinatra was singing a song in hopes that people would like it, whereas Trump was making a promise that he would have to follow through on," Meyers said. "And so far, he has not." In fact, he has merely stocked it with different, arguably worse creatures, he said. "It seems a more accurate three-word campaign promise would have been 'Run! Swamp monsters!'"
Trump did create new rules to prohibit lobbyists from working in his administration, but several transition officials jumped through the gaping loopholes, other administration officials have reportedly been given secret waivers, and others are just calling themselves "consultants" instead of lobbyists. "So, as usual with Trump, his insistence on changing the way Washington works was overhyped, mainly just empty promises and all talk," Meyers said. Watch below. Peter Weber
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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
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