Donald Trump presidency discussion thread V

jooksavage

Shaping up to be quite the weekend alright!

I was listening to the new Lawfare podcast on the drive to work this morning. Ben Wittes and Preet Bharara went over a lot of stuff. One of the most interesting things that Bharara pointed out was just how SILENT Mueller is. He's communicating with the public through indictments but otherwise, by Bharara's reckoning, he's the quietest special counsel in history. This kind of disciplined refusal to engage with the crap that's being thrown at him is a brilliant strategy and must frustrate the hell out of Trump. In addition to denying the President the opportunity to get down in the dirt, every day he quietly discharges his duty buys him capital for the day he may have to call that fateful press conference. Both Wittes and Bharara joked about how people might be somewhat startled to finally hear his voice (in spite of him delivering many pressers during his period in the FBI). Bharara opined that, apparently, Mueller has "a very nice voice"!

relax carry on

Reported his Fake News tweet there to Twitter just to see if they ever give a response.

Penn

relax carry on wrote: »

Reported his Fake News tweet there to Twitter just to see if they ever give a response.

They didn't take action over him stoking the fires of WW3 with North Korea. They'll never take action against him. His account keeps them in the news and if they took action against him his followers would revolt, and they're the looney ones who could do something dangerous.

circadian

relax carry on wrote: »

Reported his Fake News tweet there to Twitter just to see if they ever give a response.

Twitter exists solely on the premise of market value. Donald generates traffic, even if a lot of that is from Russian bots which they have no intention of dealing with either since it inflates it's user count.

DrumSteve

Penn wrote: »

They didn't take action over him stoking the fires of WW3 with North Korea. They'll never take action against him. His account keeps them in the news and if they took action against him his followers would revolt, and they're the looney ones who could do something dangerous.

Also keeps the stock price of twitter up when he's on it.

They will do absolutely zero to stop him.

Honestly, the best day his account has had on it was when someone deleted him.

PropJoe10

Call me Al wrote: »

I glanced at a CNN Joe Biden article this morning on Facebook. The comments underneath were fascinating. In summary, DT has brought god to the white house, he prays before meetings q.e.d. he is good, god chose him, he is an amazing god-loving president, and god is now in the white house.

These evangelicals are never going to believe differently.( 25% of the US electorate I think?). They are totally invested in his agenda. Donald was correct, he really could shoot someone on 5th Ave and these people would still support him. 90% of the 10 commandments appear to be optional, as long as he prays and gets as many conservatives on the bench as possible. Its pure hypocrisy on so many levels of course.

The cult of personality is an amazing thing.

mcmoustache

FreudianSlippers wrote: »

His supporters have been unusually quiet on here for a while...

Well, by now, the penny must have dropped that Trump isn't really on the up and up.

Maybe others have realised that there was no clever thinking or consideration behind his decisions and that instead, his decisions were impulsive brain-farts that left his staff scrambling to turn them into policy.

Maybe some have figured out that the media is not fake news nor is it the enemy of the people and that such talk is that of shítty despots.

Maybe they've started to see that Trump and those around him did in fact have a lot of dodgy Russian connections and lied about it.

Maybe they finally understand that he lies all the time and that backing up those lies online is a fool's errand.

Maybe the Mueller investigation is starting to look less like a witch-hunt now after all the indictments and guilty pleas from people who were close to Trump.

Honestly, it could be a lot of things. I'm just impressed that they managed to back him at all over the past few years when his presidency could be summed up as corrupt criminality, bumbling from one controversy to another and unprecedented levels of easily provable dishonesty.

mcmoustache

He seems a bit worried this morning:

https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1071001119697108992

https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1071003598023221248

https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1071006628487540738

BabyCheeses

PropJoe10 wrote: »

The cult of personality is an amazing thing.

I just don't get it. I've liked people, I've hoped they do well but when they don't I think it's a shame or if they do something I dislike I have no problem saying I'm against it. But the level of devotion towards a person who doesn't know you exist and doesn't care either?

PropJoe10

BabyCheeses wrote: »

I just don't get it. I've liked people, I've hoped they do well but when they don't I think it's a shame or if they do something I dislike I have no problem saying I'm against it. But the level of devotion towards a person who doesn't know you exist and doesn't care either?

Look, I can't explain it either. When I look at Trump, all I see is a serial lying narcissist that doesn't even care about his own family. But he's obviously tapped into something. I honestly can't even comprehend what so many people see in this man, but there you go.

circadian

There's more tweets and more to come


https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1071009820575186945?s=19

Looks like he's writing an essay on twitter.

aloyisious

The North Carolina absentee voter ballot investigation is ongoing, apparently with the incumbent [R] willing to go for another election to sort out who gets the seat.
There may have been more than one person asking for and getting possession of several hundred blank ballot papers that were allotted to voters and not using them. https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/republican-officials-had-early-warnings-of-voting-irregularities-in-north-carolina/2018/12/06/b3e5c6d4-f8bf-11e8-8c9a-860ce2a8148f_story.html

There are rules covering how to get an absentee ballot paper. https://www.ncsbe.gov/absentee-voting-mail

It seems that its an accepted rule that unaffiliated voters can get such ballots. It sounds strange to me that one must be affiliated to one party or another [I'm a registered Republican/Democrat] in order to get a ballot paper but maybe I misunderstand what the rule actually is.

Penn

PropJoe10 wrote: »

Look, I can't explain it either. When I look at Trump, all I see is a serial lying narcissist that doesn't even care about his own family. But he's obviously tapped into something. I honestly can't even comprehend what so many people see in this man, but there you go.

He's a means to an end. He has emboldened people to do and say things that society had been deeming to be unacceptable by not being 'politically correct'. Since he wasn't a politician, he gave people an idea to vote for as they hated politicians.

The trouble is, the deeper down the rabbit hole they've followed him, the harder it is to climb out. It's the sunken cost. The belief that they've supported him so much that they're about to climb out of the rabbit hole through the other side any time now, and it's the politicians and media who are preventing them from doing so and trying to pull them back to a place where you can't say racist things and where you and politicians are expected to be decent to other people and not just self-serving for yourself.

They're following Trump not out of admiration or respect for him or anything, but because they see him as the one who will lead them to where they want to be, where they can do or say anything they want and be rich. Trouble is just because they follow Trump there (and arguably he is already there) doesn't mean they will share in the spoils.

Gbear

PropJoe10 wrote: »

Look, I can't explain it either. When I look at Trump, all I see is a serial lying narcissist that doesn't even care about his own family. But he's obviously tapped into something. I honestly can't even comprehend what so many people see in this man, but there you go.

A sizable chunk of people are happy to go feet first into fascism. They don't have a problem with it.

They are fully behind lying and hypocrisy, because they place no value in truth for its own sake.

They don't believe in humanism or pluralism. They believe in protecting the in-group at all costs.

It's the intersection of personalities of those who believe they know better with those who believe might makes right.

Call me Al

BabyCheeses wrote: »

I just don't get it. I've liked people, I've hoped they do well but when they don't I think it's a shame or if they do something I dislike I have no problem saying I'm against it. But the level of devotion towards a person who doesn't know you exist and doesn't care either?

These evangelist voters want a theocracy, they just don't realise that's what it's called, and believe it's democracy. He's their fast-track ticket unfortunately.

Quin_Dub

aloyisious wrote: »

The North Carolina absentee voter ballot investigation is ongoing, apparently with the incumbent [R] willing to go for another election to sort out who gets the seat.
There may have been more than one person asking for and getting possession of several hundred blank ballot papers that were allotted to voters and not using them. https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/republican-officials-had-early-warnings-of-voting-irregularities-in-north-carolina/2018/12/06/b3e5c6d4-f8bf-11e8-8c9a-860ce2a8148f_story.html

There are rules covering how to get an absentee ballot paper. https://www.ncsbe.gov/absentee-voting-mail

It seems that its an accepted rule that unaffiliated voters can get such ballots. It sounds strange to me that one must be affiliated to one party or another [I'm a registered Republican/Democrat] in order to get a ballot paper but maybe I misunderstand what the rule actually is.

Well..Not exactly , what they've said is that they are willing to support a new election if the fraud is shown to have impacted the result.

In other words, regardless of how much evidence of actual material fraud is found , unless it can be explicitly shown that the fraud successfully shifted the requisite 900+ votes over to their guy, as far as they are concerned everything is fine and their guy should keep his seat..

check_six

aloyisious wrote: »

There are rules covering how to get an absentee ballot paper. https://www.ncsbe.gov/absentee-voting-mail

It seems that its an accepted rule that unaffiliated voters can get such ballots. It sounds strange to me that one must be affiliated to one party or another [I'm a registered Republican/Democrat] in order to get a ballot paper but maybe I misunderstand what the rule actually is.

Does this suggest that you must declare who you are going to vote for before you get an absentee ballot paper? There are a lot of strange quirks to the version of democracy they use in the U.S..
Do they not want to fix up their system as it suits everybody to stay the way it is?
The transparent gerrymandering all over the place seems outrageous to my eyes too. Could it be that it was always done like this so they're happy to keep the tradition going?

relax carry on

Auto reply from Twitter attached. Love the line "If we take further action, we’ll let you know".

As you all pointed out, they won't take any action as it benefits them to give him this platform. As Trumpelstilskin would say, "Sad".

everlast75

In the flynn case, there was a deadline set regarding the filing of it.

The Special Counsel filed it late in the night.

In Cohen's case today, the judge directed it be filed by 5pm.

humberklog

circadian wrote: »

Looks like he's writing an essay on twitter.

THREAD!!

Hurrache

CNN saying that Kelly is expected to resign over the next couple of days.

everlast75

Hurrache wrote: »

CNN saying that Kelly is expected to resign over the next couple of days.

1) distraction? Its been said before
2) if true, has he washed his hands because the last shoe is about to drop or
3) trump is about to do something beyond stupid

TomOnBoard

everlast75 wrote: »

Cohen is in regarding two matters - SDNY and Mueller. Details of his cooperation will be made public - well, as much as the investigators want to be made public. Serious potential for more incriminating acts of Trump to be broadcast.

Manafort's case will be in today. Details of how he mislead the investigators and why his plea deal was revoked. Again, more bad publicity for DJT.

Finally, Comey was summonsed to appear to give evidence behind closed doors before the Senate today. He fought it in Court and the deal struck was that his evidence would be released tomorrow.

All in all, not gonna be a good Friday for DJT

I reckon there's going to be so much black ink used to cover the crimes and misdimeanours contained in these documents from Mueller to the court, that today will be forever known as another Black Friday or simply Redaction Day...

TomOnBoard

FreudianSlippers wrote: »

His supporters have been unusually quiet on here for a while...

Probably in Moscow getting re-booted...

Hurrache

everlast75 wrote: »

1) distraction? Its been said before
2) if true, has he washed his hands because the last shoe is about to drop or
3) trump is about to do something beyond stupid

Apparently the two of them have reached an impasse in their relationship and aren't speaking anymore.

pixelburp

Hurrache wrote: »

Apparently the two of them have reached an impasse in their relationship and aren't speaking anymore.

And remember, Trump is the dealmaker, a businessman canny and wise in the art of business and success. Or so it goes. That he can't even get his own administration to work with him (or together), must surely be another nail in the coffin of the myth of Trump as master businesdman. He couldn't manage a McDonalds.

PropJoe10

pixelburp wrote: »

And remember, Trump is the dealmaker, a businessman canny and wise in the art of business and success. Or so it goes. That he can't even get his own administration to work with him (or together), must surely be another nail in the coffin of the myth of Trump as master businesdman. He couldn't manage a McDonalds.

Didn't he also promise to only hire "the very best people"? What a joke! Kelly has been reduced from a well-respected army General to a laughing stock. He must regret the day he ever got involved.

Penn

PropJoe10 wrote: »

Didn't he also promise to only hire "the very best people"? What a joke! Kelly has been reduced from a well-respected army General to a laughing stock. He must regret the day he ever got involved.

By most reports Kelly has been the only one keeping the White House in any sort of functioning condition. I think his reputation will be tarnished by having been Trump's CoS, and very much so if Trump ends up being indicted or anything, but I thought Kelly was one behind the scenes keeping some semblance of order on the WH and some restraint on Trump's worst impulses. Laughing stock would be a bit much.

Tell me how

Proposed Attorney General

William Barr

Democrats would presumably want reassurances that Barr, who as attorney general would be in position to oversee Mueller’s investigation, would not do anything to interfere with the probe.

Still, while in private practice, Barr has occasionally weighed in on hot-button investigative matters in ways that could prompt concerns among Democrats.

He told The New York Times in November 2017, in a story about Sessions directing his prosecutors to look into actions related to Trump rival Hillary Clinton, that “there is nothing inherently wrong about a president calling for an investigation” — though Barr also said one should not be opened just because a president wants it.

He said there was more basis to investigate a uranium deal approved while Clinton was secretary of state in the Obama administration than potential collusion between Russia and the Trump campaign.

“To the extent it is not pursuing these matters, the department is abdicating its responsibility,” Barr told the newspaper.

He also wrote an op-ed for The Washington Post in May 2017 defending Trump’s decision to fire former FBI Director James Comey, one of the actions Mueller has been examining for possible obstruction of justice.

Penn

Tell me how wrote: »

Proposed Attorney General

William Barr

Confirmed now apparently. I'll look for a proper source.

Edit: https://edition.cnn.com/2018/12/07/politics/william-barr-attorney-general-nomination/index.html

President Donald Trump has decided to nominate former attorney general William Barr to be the next permanent head of the Justice Department, the President told reporters Friday.
Barr, a former attorney general under President George H.W. Bush, has been emerging this week as a consensus candidate to succeed Jeff Sessions as attorney general, two sources familiar with Trump's thinking told CNN on Thursday.
Trump picked Matthew Whitaker to be acting attorney general after Sessions was fired last month.
This story is breaking and will be updated.