2018 Day 578: The White House counsel has cooperated extensively with Robert Mueller's obstruction of justice investigation; Trump's lawyers don't know what he's told Mueller; Trump retaliated, calling Mueller "disgraced and discredited" and his investigators "thugs"; Giuliani, meanwhile, claimed that "truth isn't truth"; Michael Cohen is under investigation for more than $20 million in bank and tax fraud and his attorney has been talking to John Dean, the former White House counsel who was a witness to Nixon's crimes. Aug 20, 2018
2019 Day 943: Trump confirmed that he is considering "various tax reductions" to stimulate a weakening American economy; Kellyanne Conway insisted that "the fundamentals of our economy are very strong"; Trump appeared to withdraw his support for additional background checks and gun legislation after speaking with the NRA; and the U.S. won't vaccinate migrant families and has no plans to do so ahead of this year's flu season. Aug 20, 2019
2020 Day 1309: More than 1.1 million people filed for unemployment last week; a federal judge rejected Trump’s effort to block the Manhattan district attorney from obtaining eight years of his tax returns; Stephen Bannon and three other men were arrested and charged with defrauding donors to a crowdfunding campaign that claimed to be raising money for the construction of a private border wall; Obama called out and criticized Trump during his speech at the Democratic National Convention, warning that Trump represents an existential threat to American democracy; and Trump praised supporters of the QAnon internet conspiracy theory because he heard "they like me very much, which I appreciate." Aug 20, 2020
2021 Day 213: A North Carolina man who threatened to blow up the U.S. Capitol surrendered after an hours-long standoff with police; Trump is getting flak from his allies over his withdrawal deal with the Taliban; Rep. Boebert pushed to loosen drilling restrictions but failed to disclose her husbands energy consulting income; Rep. Harshbarger failed to disclose more than 700 stock trades; the FBI can't find much evidence that the 1/6 insurrection was centrally coordinated; and the White House is backtracking after Biden suggested that the U.S. would defend Taiwan against China. Aug 20, 2021
2024 Day 1309: Biden passed the torch to Vice President Kamala Harris on the first night of the Democratic National Convention, saying: "America, I gave my best to you"; House Republicans released their initial impeachment inquiry report on Biden, accusing him – without evidence – of "impeachable conduct" related to his family's "egregious" business dealings; in March, Biden approved a highly classified nuclear strategic plan to shift America’s deterrent strategy to China's expansion of its nuclear arsenal; the running mate of the Los Angeles man, who launched an independent campaign for president after discovering a dead worm in his brain and confessed to leaving a dead bear cub in Central Park in 2014 because he thought it would be “amusing,” revealed that the campaign may drop its bid and “join forces” with Trump; Republican George Santos pleaded guilty to wire fraud and aggravated identity theft charges; Democrat Bob Menendez will resign from Senate after bribery convictions; and U.S. intelligence officials concluded that Iran was behind the hack of Trump’s presidential campaign and the attempted attack on the Biden-Harris campaign. Aug 20, 2024
2025 Day 1674: A federal judge refused to release the Jeffrey Epstein grand jury transcripts and accused the Trump administration of using the request as a “diversion”; Trump demanded that Federal Reserve governor Lisa Cook resign after his housing regulator Bill Pulte accused her of mortgage fraud; Jeanine Pirro – then a Fox News host, now the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia – told RNC chair Ronna McDaniel in a 2020 text that she was working to help Trump and Republicans; more than 750 current and former Health and Human Services employees accused Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. of spreading misinformation that led to the Aug. 8 mass shooting at the CDC in Atlanta; Elon Musk backed off plans to launch the “America Party,” telling allies he needed to protect his companies and his relationship with JD Vance; and Trump claimed he’s ended “six wars” – or “seven,” depending on the day – and called himself a “war hero.” Aug 20, 2025