President's Thanksgiving Full Of Turkey, Troops & Tweets
Follow CBSMIAMI.COM: Facebook | Twitter
PALM BEACH (CBSMiami) -- The first family shared a traditional Thanksgiving meal at the Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach Thursday.
Earlier, President Donald Trump took time out to speak with U.S. troops both in South Florida and abroad, and engaged in some braggadocio and politics, as well.
He offered a message of history and thankfulness in a Thanksgiving Day speech to the nation.
He also visited with U.S. troops. He met with members of the Coast Guard in Riviera Beach and commended the agency for its efforts during Hurricane Harvey. He brought the local Coast Guard members food and warm wishes and he also joked with one Coast Guard member about challenging him to an arm wrestling match.
Late, he visited virtually with troops stationed overseas.
"We want to thank you very much," he said. "Very, very special people."
He singled out those fighting in Afghanistan for their work in that country. But he couldn't resist a little bragging and patting himself on the back.
"Everybody's talking about the progress you've made in the past few months since I opened it up," he said. "We opened it up and said we're going to fight to win."
He also spoke to the troops about the economy ("The economy is doing really great."), the stock market ("The stock market hit a record high.") and prosperity in general ("A lot of things have happened in the country over the last very short period of time.").
And just after Thanksgiving dinner time, the President took a few digs at Obamacare.
But reports show that Obamacare sign ups are going strong.
Thehill.com reports that a government agency, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, found that 2.3 million people signed up for Obamacare in the first 18 days of open enrollment, an unexpectedly high number.
However, thehill.com reports that some experts say that may not continue. They say the Trump administration has loosened the rules for Obamacare and cut back on advertising the program. There are also fewer days this year to sign up for the program.
Not everyone liked what they heard from President Trump regarding his accomplishments.
David Axelrod, one of former President Obama's top advisers, tweeted at President Trump saying that Thanksgiving is not about his accomplishments but rather about family, friends and blessings of life.
