March 29, 2019

Quote of the Day: The Great Lakes Are Indeed Very Great

The Great Lakes are frozen solid! But under President Trump's leadership they will all be thawed out for the enjoyment of the people. And thanks to Trump's expertise in building things, this thaw will take months, not years.MODIS/NASA/ZUMA Wire/ZUMA

Get your news from a source that’s not owned and controlled by oligarchs. Sign up for the free Mother Jones Daily.

From President Donald Trump, speaking to the good citizens of Michigan:

I support the Great Lakes. Always have! They are beautiful. They are big, very deep, record deepness, right?

Well, no. Lake Baikal is the deepest lake in the world and Crater Lake is the deepest lake in the US. According to Wikipedia, Lake Superior is the deepest Great Lake, making the list at the 37th deepest lake in the world.

Which is not to say that the Great Lakes aren’t great! They are. And President Trump, as usual, is right to point that out, even if nitpicking naysayers like me are inevitably going to attack him.

And why was Trump talking about his love for the Great Lakes? James Hohmann explains:

In Grand Rapids last night, Trump announced that he’s going to make sure the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative is fully funded. Trump’s budget earlier this month proposed slashing that program, which funds the cleanup of the Great Lakes, by 90 percent — from $300 million to $30 million….During his first year in office, Trump called for eliminating the program entirely.

Apparently this is Trump’s new MO: allow his staff to propose huge budget cuts, and then loudly “override his people” when they turn out to be unpopular. That produces headlines like this one:

Yes indeedy. But remember: the cossacks work for the czar.

DECEMBER IS MAKE OR BREAK

A full one-third of our annual fundraising comes in this month alone. That’s risky, because a strong December means our newsroom is on the beat and reporting at full strength—but a weak one means budget cuts and hard choices ahead.

The December 31 deadline is closing in fast. To reach our $400,000 goal, we need readers who’ve never given before to join the ranks of MoJo donors. And we need our steadfast supporters to give again—any amount today.

Managing an independent, nonprofit newsroom is staggeringly hard. There’s no cushion in our budget—no backup revenue, no corporate safety net. We can’t afford to fall short, and we can’t rely on corporations or deep-pocketed interests to fund the fierce, investigative journalism Mother Jones exists to do.

That’s why we need you right now. Please chip in to help close the gap.

DECEMBER IS MAKE OR BREAK

A full one-third of our annual fundraising comes in this month alone. That’s risky, because a strong December means our newsroom is on the beat and reporting at full strength—but a weak one means budget cuts and hard choices ahead.

The December 31 deadline is closing in fast. To reach our $400,000 goal, we need readers who’ve never given before to join the ranks of MoJo donors. And we need our steadfast supporters to give again—any amount today.

Managing an independent, nonprofit newsroom is staggeringly hard. There’s no cushion in our budget—no backup revenue, no corporate safety net. We can’t afford to fall short, and we can’t rely on corporations or deep-pocketed interests to fund the fierce, investigative journalism Mother Jones exists to do.

That’s why we need you right now. Please chip in to help close the gap.

We Recommend

Latest

Sign up for our free newsletter

Subscribe to the Mother Jones Daily to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

Get our award-winning magazine

Save big on a full year of investigations, ideas, and insights.

Subscribe

Support our journalism

Help Mother Jones' reporters dig deep with a tax-deductible donation.

Donate