The Trump Presidency

Discussion in 'Politics' started by joepistole, Jan 17, 2017.

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  1. joepistole Deacon Blues Valued Senior Member

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    A funny thing happened today, Russia publicly criticized Trump as weak, and what has Trump done about it? Nothing, uncharacteristically, Trump has done absolutely nothing...not a word. Trump has always quickly responded when attacked. But in this case, when the attacker is Russia....nothing, not a damn thing. One has to wonder why. What does Russia have on Trump? It looks like Russia is about to write the Thrumper off. Trump has bent over backward for Putin...running around trying to meet with him at the G20 meeting. Putin's got something on Trump. For someone to be greater than Trump; well, in Trump's world, that ain't easy. http://www.latimes.com/politics/la-na-pol-russia-sanctions-20170802-story.html
     
    Last edited: Aug 4, 2017
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  3. spidergoat pubic diorama Valued Senior Member

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    Maybe it's not a real attack, just a show.
     
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  5. Tiassa Let us not launch the boat ... Valued Senior Member

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    #groveling | ¿#WhatTheyVotedFor?

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    When I picked up on the story earlier today, an msnbc guest on former Republican strategist Nicole Wallace's daytime show was saying something or other about how plaintive and desperate Trump's part seemed in a discussion with the President of Mexico. And that actually seems the resounding echo, how pathetic and weak the tough-talking, wannabe gangster, New York businessman and television star apparently is under pressure.

    President Trump made building a wall along the southern U.S. border and forcing Mexico to pay for it core pledges of his campaign.

    But in his first White House call with Mexico's president, Trump described his vow to charge Mexico as a growing political problem, pressuring the Mexican leader to stop saying publicly that his government would never pay.

    “You cannot say that to the press,” Trump said repeatedly, according to a transcript of the Jan. 27 call obtained by The Washington Post. Trump made clear that he realized the funding would have to come from other sources but threatened to cut off contact if Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto continued to make defiant statements.

    The funding “will work out in the formula somehow,” Trump said, adding later that “it will come out in the wash, and that is okay.” But “if you are going to say that Mexico is not going to pay for the wall, then I do not want to meet with you guys anymore because I cannot live with that.”

    He described the wall as “the least important thing we are talking about, but politically this might be the most important.”

    The heated exchange came during back-to-back days of calls that Trump held with foreign leaders a week after taking office. The Post has obtained transcripts of Trump's talks with Peña Nieto and Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull.


    (Miller↱)

    In truth, one of the reasons I want these reports to be wrong is that I get that a bunch of conservatives, masking their fear and anger as ennui, voted a game show host into the White House, as a cure for their alleged boredom, and thus invoked the sort of disaster they never, ever, ever want to be associated with. They deliberately betrayed their country because the staid politics of realistic compromise that their leaders insisted on, and everyone else has been sick of for generations, made them sad and angry and afraid enough that they had to pretend they were bored and go setting the place on fire for kicks. Yeah, we get it. In basic terms, doing stupid shit is part of being human, but, you know, there comes a point at which it's not just stupid shit, and oh, wasn't that hilarious. There comes a point at which it's not just stupid shit, you fucked up badly and people are hurt because of you, and if you really want us to believe it's not your fault because you're just that damnably stupid, then you better get your fucking shit together right fucking now!

    Do, do you get it? Because, yeah, we get it. You were bored. And other human beings, and ideas like civilized society, and these United States of America, these were just trashy kitsch fucking up your view of an imagined landscape.

    Look what you elected.

    Look at the sniveling, weak, wannabe swindler who isn't even smart enough to deal with the Mexicans you want us to believe you don't actually hate, but he was smart enough to con you.

    By Columbia's light, not a single one of you has an excuse. But what absolutely cracks me up in this moment is that you solved your ennui problem by electing a fragile, whimpering, groveling poseur who never could measure up to any of the merits he inherited, and who now cannot help but continue to diminish American prestige while fretting over some pretense that he can still hide from the world the fact of his utter deficiency.

    Though I really must admit, eighty-two percent is an impressive low. I mean, you know, as long as we're handicapping.

    Still, I want these reports to be wrong because, you know, look at what you elected; and at some point, that means you cannot ever again be trusted.

    No really. He's not a very good swindler; he's relied on hustle and juristic brutality throughout. And yet, you fell for it.

    Oh, right, right. No, you didn't. You were just bored.

    (No, seriously; don't tell us about corruption, or betrayal of Main Street, or anything like that. Just look at what you elected. Any of those principles you might purport, you betrayed. Either you fucked up that badly, or you're just that awful. In other words, never again can you be trusted. I mean, seriously, when we cut through it, even the bluster is bullshit; he's just a blithering, cowardly, cheap, halfwit hustler. And you either fell for it, or wanted it. That is to say, when you betrayed your country, you either didn't realize what you were doing, or you did, but in either case, you don't really have any excuse. Just tell everyone ennui, and, I don't know, maybe you can plead depression and say you didn't think it through because you were otherwise predisposed.)​
    ____________________

    Notes:

    Miller, Greg. "Trump urged Mexican president to end his public defiance on border wall, transcript reveals". The Washington Post. 3 August 2017. WashingtonPost.com. 3 August 2017. http://wapo.st/2vuTJnp
     
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  7. Quantum Quack Life's a tease... Valued Senior Member

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    A federal grand jury?
     
  8. Tiassa Let us not launch the boat ... Valued Senior Member

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    Oh, yes. A very special federal grand jury.

    (Okay, okay ... the only thing that makes it "special" is that it comes through special investigation. Still, sounds great, doesn't it?)

    Ari Melber↱ attempted a twit thread, er ... ah ... tweetstorm ... on the grand jury, and it's fine information, but just not very long, yet. Even he, most likely, feels underwhelmed. I don't know if he botched his thread, or intended a separate part↱, but the sum total of the two parts is a thumbnail FAQ.

    Preet Bharara↱, meanwhile, tweeted the reality check:

    Not sure why all the hyperventilating re: Russia grand jury. Mueller hired 16 prosecutors. Of course there would be GJ. This will take time.
    ____________________

    Notes:

    @PreetBharara. "Not sure why all the hyperventilating re: Russia grand jury. Mueller hired 16 prosecutors. Of course there would be GJ. This will take time.". Twitter. 3 August 2017. Twitter.com. 3 August 2017. http://bit.ly/2vnDgSk

    @TheBeatWithAri. "Some of the rights that protect people in other parts of the legal system do *not* apply within grand juries. So GJs can be scary. AM". Twitter. 3 August 2017. Twitter.com. 3 August 2017. http://bit.ly/2v3F3JH

    —————. "The DC grand jury news is big because it suggests the Russia probe will use Mueller's full prosecutorial powers. AM". Twitter. 3 August 2017. Twitter.com. 3 August 2017. http://bit.ly/2v2mQhd
     
  9. Beer w/Straw Transcendental Ignorance! Valued Senior Member

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    Was just looking at some headlines and then doing sloppy conjecturing (U.S. has 10x population of Canada.) The headlines of Trump doing good for employment seemed to be misleading.

    Milestone for Trump: 1 million new jobs in six months... The U.S. economy gained a strong 209,000 jobs in July, more than economists had expected. The unemployment rate fell to 4.3%, matching a 16-year low. Just after the Great Recession in 2009, unemployment peaked at 10%. http://money.cnn.com/2017/08/04/news/economy/july-jobs-report/index.html

    July's figure means the Canadian economy had added more than 387,000 jobs in the past 12 months... Canada adds 11,000 jobs in July, jobless rate ticks down to 6.3% http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/jobs-july-economy-1.4235084

    The correlation made me wonder - think Trump would sooner build a wall with Canada and care less. I'm not an economist, but is it him, or something else? I'm thinking Trump will take credit for something he didn't do.
     
    Last edited: Aug 4, 2017
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  10. spidergoat pubic diorama Valued Senior Member

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    You think?
     
  11. iceaura Valued Senior Member

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    This is the last year of Obama's direct influence on the economy - Trump's structural influence, other than mood swings, starts in January of next year - if he actually makes any structural changes. Aside from cutting taxes and regulations for rich people, he has no agenda.

    The Republican Recession peaked in 2009, for comparison - Obama's structural influence, such as it was, started taking hold in the latter half of 2010.
     
  12. Tiassa Let us not launch the boat ... Valued Senior Member

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    #blitheringignorance | #WhatTheyVotedFor

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    Hey, I have a question:

    When the Fox host suggested that Chinese officials may not be swayed by presidential tweets, Gorka responded, "If you can win a U.S. election with it, I think it's pretty powerful."

    I don't think he was kidding.

    And that's a shame because the argument is plainly bonkers. China is a major global power, which in recent months has come to see Donald Trump, in a rather literal sense, as a joke. The American president has struggled to maintain a coherent line on all kinds of issues related to China—currency manipulation, North Korean diplomacy, the fate of the "One-China" policy, etc.—and by all appearances, the foreign-policy dynamic is getting worse, not better.


    (Benen↱)

    Do you really want to know?
    ____________________

    Notes:

    Benen, Steve. "White House expects to pressure China through Trump's Twitter feed". msnbc. 4 August 2017. msnbc.com. 4 August 2017. http://on.msnbc.com/2wgocng
     
  13. douwd20 Registered Senior Member

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    The corruption out of the Trump administration is setting new lows for american democracy while Congress says and does nothing. We know the Republicans just look down but why aren't the democrats raising hell? If the situation were reversed I'm certain Fox would be on 24/7 breaking news:

    This is nothing Washington has ever seen. For the first time in presidential history, a profit-making venture touts the name of a U.S. president in its gold signage. And every cup of coffee served, every fundraiser scheduled, every filet mignon ordered feeds the revenue of the Trump family’s private business.

    In conversations with The Washington Post, the hotel’s management described its strategy to capitalize on the president’s popularity. It markets the hotel to Republican and conservative groups that embrace Trump’s politics but takes care not to solicit business from fringe groups that would embarrass the president. Trump supporters in red “Make America Great Again” caps get a chance to rub elbows with White House officials against an American flag backdrop at the Benjamin Bar, where a signature concoction of winter wheat vodka, oysters and caviar goes for $100.

    How the Trump hotel changed Washington’s culture of influence
     
  14. Kittamaru Ashes to ashes, dust to dust. Adieu, Sciforums. Valued Senior Member

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  15. iceaura Valued Senior Member

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    This has long been a standard pattern among the conservative intellectual class and public discourse. In the old days we had the buyers of conservative books, the writers of conservative letters of support, and so forth - does anyone think David Brooks's twitter support and book sales and so forth represent actual retail level human beings? That the positions of rightwing punditries on the New York Times bestseller lists represent individual reader purchases?
     
  16. Tiassa Let us not launch the boat ... Valued Senior Member

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    #PutiTrump | #WhatTheyVotedFor

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    It's hard to Make America Great Again if you voted for Vladimir Putin's poodle.

    President Donald Trump today thanked Russian President Vladimir Putin for demanding the US Embassy eliminate roughly 755 jobs—Putin's response to the United States' newly imposed Russia sanctions.

    Trump's reasoning for thanking Putin: The move would "save a lot of money" by cutting the federal payroll. (This is not entirely the case.)

    "I want to thank him because we're trying to cut down our payroll, and as far as I'm concerned, I'm very thankful that he let go of a large number of people because now we have a smaller payroll," Trump told reporters at the Bedminster National Golf Club Thursday. "There's no real reason for them to go back. I greatly appreciate the fact that we've been able to cut our payroll of the United States. We're going to save a lot of money."


    (Golshan↱)

    Trump voters should be extremely proud to have voted for surrender. Why these Americans hate their country so much is a mystery for future historians to solve.

    But, yes, kowtowing to Russia is #WhatTheyVotedFor.
    ____________________

    Notes:

    Golshan, Tara. "Trump just thanked Putin for slashing America's diplomatic presence in Russia". Vox. 10 August 2017. Vox.com. 10 August 2017. http://bit.ly/2vrbUbK
     
  17. Kittamaru Ashes to ashes, dust to dust. Adieu, Sciforums. Valued Senior Member

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    All I can say is that Trump has confirmed that he isn't the boss of American embassy employees - Putin is. Putin fired these people, and Trump, like a good little minion, is all "Yes sir, thank you sir, very good sir!"

    Specifically: "he let go of a large number of people"

    Putin is the boss y'all...
     
  18. Tiassa Let us not launch the boat ... Valued Senior Member

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    So instead of maga centipedes, can we start calling out maga traitors?

    There was this lidwagger behind Trump in the West Virginia audience last week; I wonder if he heard what the president said and wagged his lid in support.

    It's one thing to suggest, as the circumstance seems to be, that the chief driver of the president's support is an anti-identification—they oppose those who oppose Trump—but if the question is sinister or stupid, I'll go with the latter.
     
  19. iceaura Valued Senior Member

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    Trump's appointee to be head of scientific research and such in the US Department of Agriculture:
    http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2017...ost-has-drawn-darts-lack-technical-background
    He has no science background.
    http://www.cnn.com/2017/08/10/polit...on-the-radio/?iid=ob_article_footer_expansion
    He's a birther, and racist, as well.
     
  20. joepistole Deacon Blues Valued Senior Member

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    CNN has just reported Bannon is on his way out. According to CNN, the NYT has just tweeted Trump has informed his staff Bannon is out. If Trump keeps firing his staff; he will quickly run out of staff to fire.
     
  21. ElectricFetus Sanity going, going, gone Valued Senior Member

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  22. Kittamaru Ashes to ashes, dust to dust. Adieu, Sciforums. Valued Senior Member

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  23. iceaura Valued Senior Member

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    Bannon was the most significant voice of insularity, in particular for reducing foreign military involvements and cutting bait on errors of military venture, in this White House. His long-anticipated going away (how will it be spun? Bannon has media influence) shifts more power to the Generals - a familiar development in fascist governance, and in this case marking the single most unusual feature of Trump's ascendancy: his lack of a personal power base in the miliary command.

    The Republican Party, sure, and Pence of course through his Christian fundamentalism - but not Trump himself.
     
    Last edited: Aug 18, 2017
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