You’d think that after bombing Syria, Not My President Donald Trump would be monitoring updates in the Situation Room. Nope. He’s flown off to Mar-a-Lago, as usual.

Late Thursday night, he stunned his fellow Republicans and the world by dropping 59 tomahawk missiles on Shayrat Airfield — just outside of Homs — in response to Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad’s appalling chemical weapons attack against his own people on Tuesday.

CNBC reports that before Mein Trumpf left for some more rounds of golf at Mar-a-Lago, he gave a statement:

Officially announcing the strike, President Donald Trump said that the targeted airfield had launched the chemical attack on a rebel-held area, and he called on other nations to oppose Syria’s embattled leader.

In a bizarre attempt to act presidential, Donald Trump’s statement came across as so leaden and weighed down, he seemed nearly catatonic.

“On Tuesday, Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad launched a horrible chemical weapons attack on innocent civilians. Using a deadly nerve agent, Assad choked out the lives of helpless men, women and children. It was a slow and brutal death for so many. Even beautiful babies were cruelly murdered in this very barbaric attack.”

Even beautiful babies. Who will now never grow old enough to date him.

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson backed Trump and also slammed Russia for being either “complicit or simply incompetent” on upholding their 2014 agreement to ensure Syria has no chemical weapons. Meanwhile, Vladimir Putin denounced the bombings as an “aggression against a sovereign state in violation of the norms of international law” that was done on a “trumped-up pretext.”

See what he did there?

But Donald Trump doesn’t seem to be losing any sleep over his abuse of executive power. Insted, he hosted a lavish dinner for China’s President Xi Jin Ping at Club Mar-a-Lago.

POLITICO‘s White House reporter Josh Dawsey very kindly stopped by to snap a photo of the opulent setting for the event.

Donald Trump could have just as easily met with Xi Jinping at the White House or Camp David, both of which are equipped and staffed for these occasions. Instead, he prefers to bleed taxpayers dry with his weekends at the “Winter White House.”

Meanwhile, MNSBC’s Chris Hayes wonders who’s paying for the dinner…And for Xi Jinping and his entourage to stay at Mar-a-Lago.

Presumably, members of the Secret Service have to pay for their rooms as well.

It looks like Donald Trump could be making a lot of money while spending all of his weekends at Mar-A-Lago.

Quartz notes that far from impressing Xi Jinping, there’s a strong possibility China’s leader may find the opulence offensive. Back home, he’s been cracking down on the nouveau riche “tuhauos” and their garish (and “often corruption derived”) wealth.

Tuhao style is epitomized by Apple’s gold iPhone, which is designed especially for Chinese consumers who can afford the pricey product […] The quintessential tuhao is a Rolex-clad Chinese guy wielding a gold iPhone 7 while dining at the Venetian Hotel in Macau.

But Xi Jinping won’t likely say anything about it, because both he and the GOP’s president have a strong interest in continued good relations.

Back in 2013, President Barack Obama sought approval from the GOP-led Congress for bombing Syria after a similarly horrific chemical attack. The New York Times reported the GOP-led Congress was “deeply skeptical,” and refused. Strangely, many in this not-so-august body are now okay with it.

House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wisc.) called the bombing “appropriate and just.”

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) is similarly hawkish.

And, disturbingly, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich sees Donald Trump’s bombing as a stellar feat in “community organizing.”

Hillary Clinton has also spoken out in support of an air strike against Syria, though she likely doesn’t think Donald Trump should have done it without approval from Congress.

This is the most “united” we’ve been in ages.

https://twitter.com/bakedalaska/status/850196270140366848

Yet many remain skeptical. For starters, Donald Trump has no brakes and should have consulted Congress before giving such drastic orders.

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) also thinks Donald Trump has gone too far.

Meanwhile, Fox’s Sean Hannity’s words from 2013 are already coming back to haunt him.

https://twitter.com/johnlundin/status/850225952445538305

Meanwhile, the cost of this massive strike on an empty airport comes to a staggering $14,750,000. At a time when the GOP’s claiming we need to cut costs on education, nutrition programs, healthcare, national parks, and other essential public services. The Fiscal Times reports:

Fifty-nine tomahawk missiles launched from an aircraft carrier hit their target. At $250,000 a piece, the attack cost the Defense Department $14,750,000.

Donald Trump delivers statement on bombing Syria, then heads off to Mar-a-Lago.

Featured image: Video screen grab via the White House (with explosion added).