The Former Trump Presidency Thread

[naednek]

Inside the minds of some die-hard Trump supporters.

I watched the first segment, and I can't believe what I'm hearing. I mean, I know there's people like it, but holy shit.

[Fretmute]

Inside the minds of some die-hard Trump supporters.

I watched the first segment, and I can't believe what I'm hearing. I mean, I know there's people like it, but holy shit.

[Skinypupy]

I made it to the part (at the 11:00 mark) where the wife says there should be another genocide so her children can "grow up with a chance"...all while cradling her infant and holding the hand of her toddler (who previously was giving Sig Heil salutes)

That was enough deplorable for me for one day.

[Captain Caveman]

I made it to the part (at the 11:00 mark) where the wife says there should be another genocide so her children can "grow up with a chance"...all while cradling her infant and holding the hand of her toddler (who previously was giving Sig Heil salutes)

That was enough deplorable for me for one day.

I saw that. Seems strange for a white supremacist to believe that Jews are so superior that they only way her children can compete is for all Jews to be exterminated. But then again, I get the sense that she isn't the most sophisticated of thinkers.

[naednek]

I stomached through the rest. The hypocrisy is astounding. His children are mixed, but doesn't see what he says is wrong.

[tgb]

CNN called fake news again - by Russian official.

[milo]

I suspect that the thinking is that Jews (or insert other out-group here) do not succeed on merit, but because they all stick together and promote one another even though there are equally-or-better qualified white people available for the job.

[Captain Caveman]

I suspect that the thinking is that Jews (or insert other out-group here) do not succeed on merit, but because they all stick together and promote one another even though there are equally-or-better qualified white people available for the job.

Man, white people just can't catch a break. Maybe we need affirmative action for them, or at least a White History Month to highlight their contributions to society.

[tgb]

Inside the minds of some die-hard Trump supporters.

I watched the first segment, and I can't believe what I'm hearing. I mean, I know there's people like it, but holy shit.

I hate to say it, but that Jamali guy reminded me a bit of Ali G.

[El Guapo]

So Sessions has officially recused himself from Trump investigations.

[Max Peck]

Not wanting to be an outsider, McMaster now has his own minor scandal. Team player!

President Trump’s new national security adviser, Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster, was investigated by the Army and admonished two years ago for mishandling a case involving two junior officers accused of sexual assault, military documents show.

McMaster violated Army regulations by permitting the two lieutenants to attend the service’s elite Ranger School even though they were under criminal investigation, according to a report by the Army inspector general. The case against them was dropped months later after the Army determined the alleged victim was not a credible witness.

For his oversight of the case, McMaster received a light rebuke, known as a “memorandum of concern,” from Gen. Daniel Allyn, the Army’s vice chief of staff, in February 2015. The Washington Post obtained a copy of the documents from the Army under the Freedom of Information Act.

“I am disappointed with your actions,” Allyn wrote in the memorandum, which was not included in McMaster’s personnel file. “As a senior leader in the United States Army, you are expected and required to understand and comply with all laws and regulations.”

McMaster declined an interview request. In a statement on his behalf, White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders said:

“Lt. Gen. McMaster has served alongside women, and benefited from their bravery and dedication, his entire career. As a commander he has been a leader in sexual assault prevention in each of his commands. To suggest otherwise is to unfairly impugn the character and integrity of a true American hero.”

[LawBeefaroni]

Not wanting to be an outsider, McMaster now has his own minor scandal. Team player!

“Lt. Gen. McMaster has served alongside women, and benefited from their bravery and dedication, his entire career. As a commander he has been a leader in sexual assault prevention in each of his commands. To suggest otherwise is to unfairly impugn the character and integrity of a true American hero.”

So McCain isn't a hero, this guy is. What did he do again? Take M1 Abrams into battle against T62s?

Nothing against him, just trying to figure out the Administration's definition.

[Max Peck]

Not wanting to be an outsider, McMaster now has his own minor scandal. Team player!

“Lt. Gen. McMaster has served alongside women, and benefited from their bravery and dedication, his entire career. As a commander he has been a leader in sexual assault prevention in each of his commands. To suggest otherwise is to unfairly impugn the character and integrity of a true American hero.”

So McCain isn't a hero, this guy is. What did he do again? Take M1 Abrams into battle against T62s?

Nothing against him, just trying to figure out the Administration's definition.

His action at 73 Easting was pretty damn heroic by my standards. And it has absolutely nothing to do with his botched Old Boy Network handling of the subjects of the sexual assault investigation.

[Holman]

Portrait of an American Hero:



It's tragic how bone spurs kept such a promising leader out of Vietnam despite allowing him all those years of varsity athletics.

[Skinypupy]

How dare you impugn his service in Intramural Softball '61, sir. He earned a medal for that sacrifice, dammit!

[Skinypupy]

So Sessions has officially recused himself from Trump investigations.

Sort of. He said, "I have recused myself in the matters that deal with the Trump campaign," So, he's recusing himself from investigation into the campaign, but not anything that has happened since.

Baby steps, I suppose.

[Moliere]

Portrait of an American Hero:



It's tragic how bone spurs kept such a promising leader out of Vietnam despite allowing him all those years of varsity athletics.

Interesting how much he looks like his son.

[Defiant]

Kushner and Flynn Met With Russian Envoy in December, White House Says

[Pyperkub]

I didn't shit in my pants on the way to work this morning. Where are my accolades minions?

I applaud your efforts, and appreciate your restraint.

If you can continue this trend for another 4 years, I'll stop calling you ShittyPants McShitterson, but won't forget what you used to do and how much you seemed to enjoy it. Under no circumstance will I vote for you to get "Clean Pants of the Year" at any point in the future, nor will I forget that you earned your nickname by backdoor dealings with Taco Bell, regardless of how you say you got it or who was buying it for you.

Where's the original metalhed when you need him?

[tgb]

So McCain isn't a hero, this guy is. What did he do again?

Not get captured. Trump likes guys who weren't captured, ok?

[LordMortis]

Not one of you mentions his opening by denouncing of anti jewish threats and the nut in KC. That was a major thing we've been collectively asking for, if not demanding since the conclusion of the primaries.

[$iljanus]

Kushner and Flynn Met With Russian Envoy in December, White House Says

At this point who hasn't talked to the Russians?

[tgb]

Not one of you mentions his opening by denouncing of anti jewish threats and the nut in KC. That was a major thing we've been collectively asking for, if not demanding since the conclusion of the primaries.

And it had finally gotten to the point where he couldn't put it off any longer, so he had to. By reading someone else's words off a teleprompter, with no emotion or feeling behind it at all. The same day he told the Pennsylvania AG that the Jews were probably doing it themselves to make him look bad.

Big fucking whoop.

[Holman]

Statement from the president! Slightly too long for a tweet!

https://twitter.com/CBSEveningNews/stat ... 7513105408

He writes like a third-grader.

[Kurth]

A couple quick thoughts:

(1) That "Inside the Minds of Trump die-hards" thing is utter crap. Be honest, if we went out and rounded up the dregs of the Bernie (or Obama) supporters, we'd probably see some pretty objectionable shit there, too. We are doing ourselves a disservice if we try to paint all Trump "die-hards" (whatever that means) as anti-Semitic, neo-Nazi scum.

(2) Trump finally came out and gave a semblance of a Presidential sounding speech the other night, especially in denouncing anti-Semitic attacks and hate crimes generally. This IS what we've all been asking for. To sit here now and say, "so what" or "too little, too late," is lame. I'm not saying we should TRUMP it up into more than it is. Right now, it's just words, many of which are contrary to prior words Trump has uttered. But it's a step in the right direction at least.

(3) Sessions. Holy shit. I don't see how his testimony before Congress is not flatly contradicted by the reports of him meeting with the Russians in July on the sidelines of the Republican National Convention. If that's true, how is he not toast???

[Skinypupy]

(1) That "Inside the Minds of Trump die-hards" thing is utter crap. Be honest, if we went out and rounded up the dregs of the Bernie (or Obama) supporters, we'd probably see some pretty objectionable shit there, too. We are doing ourselves a disservice if we try to paint all Trump "die-hards" (whatever that means) as anti-Semitic, neo-Nazi scum.

While I'd disagree that it's "utter crap" (it seemed like an interesting and frightening look into the mind of these nuts), I do agree that you can certainly find deplorables at the extremes of both sides, and painting everyone with that brush does a disservice to the discussion. That was a documentary on Nazi assholes, not one about Trump supporters. It never crossed my mind as I watched it that it represented the average Trump supporter in any way.

The problem, however, is that there is a near 100% overlap between those two groups. Not all Trump supporters are Nazi's, but 99.9% of all Nazi's are Trump supporters. And his rhetoric has them feeling very emboldened to act out on their asshole Nazi ways. That's definitely an issue, one that already has dead bodies in it's wake.

(disclaimer: I only watched the first 12 minutes. Maybe there's something further in that tries to draw some broader connection between the two groups)

(2) Trump finally came out and gave a semblance of a Presidential sounding speech the other night, especially in denouncing anti-Semitic attacks and hate crimes generally. This IS what we've all been asking for. To sit here now and say, "so what" or "too little, too late," is lame. I'm not saying we should TRUMP it up into more than it is. Right now, it's just words, many of which are contrary to prior words Trump has uttered. But it's a step in the right direction at least.

Fine, I'll give him some credit for finally saying it. I still think it's pathetic that it required multiple incidents and a metric shitload of public pressure for him to actually do so.

[Holman]

(2) Trump finally came out and gave a semblance of a Presidential sounding speech the other night, especially in denouncing anti-Semitic attacks and hate crimes generally. This IS what we've all been asking for. To sit here now and say, "so what" or "too little, too late," is lame. I'm not saying we should TRUMP it up into more than it is. Right now, it's just words, many of which are contrary to prior words Trump has uttered. But it's a step in the right direction at least.

I'll believe it when he walks the walk. You don't credit for bringing America together when you're the one sowing division.

[Skinypupy]

BUT...HER...E-MAILS!!!!

Vice President Mike Pence routinely used a private email account to conduct public business as governor of Indiana, at times discussing sensitive matters and homeland security issues.

Emails released to The Indianapolis Star, part of the USA TODAY Network, in response to a public records request show Pence communicated via his personal AOL account with top advisers on topics ranging from security gates at the governor’s residence to the state’s response to terror attacks across the globe. In one email, Pence’s top state homeland security adviser relayed an update from the FBI regarding the arrests of several men on federal terror-related charges.

Cybersecurity experts say the emails raise concerns about whether such sensitive information was adequately protected from hackers, given that personal accounts like Pence's are typically less secure than government email accounts. In fact, Pence's personal account was hacked last summer.

And the best part:

Pence's office in Washington said in a written statement Thursday: "Similar to previous governors, during his time as Governor of Indiana, Mike Pence maintained a state email account and a personal email account. As Governor, Mr. Pence fully complied with Indiana law regarding email use and retention. Government emails involving his state and personal accounts are being archived by the state consistent with Indiana law, and are being managed according to Indiana’s Access to Public Records Act.”

Isn't that literally the exact same defense Clinton offered, and was shot down time and again by Trump and his cronies?

[Default]

But she was a woman!!!!

We can't be governed by a woman!!!!

[RunningMn9]

This IS what we've all been asking for.

I can't speak for everyone, but sounding Presidential isn't what I've been asking for. BEING Presidential is what I've been asking for. And he constantly fails miserably at that. That he didn't vomit word salad again during a speech to Congress isn't the sort of thing that I have been desperately hoping for.

[malchior]

This IS what we've all been asking for.

I can't speak for everyone, but sounding Presidential isn't what I've been asking for. BEING Presidential is what I've been asking for. And he constantly fails miserably at that. That he didn't vomit word salad again during a speech to Congress isn't the sort of thing that I have been desperately hoping for.

Exactly and he gave hundreds of hours of rambling crazy speeches but we're supposed to fall over because he read for an hour. Good grief. The bending over backwards to give this guy a break continues to be the biggest shock of all this.

[Defiant]

(2) Trump finally came out and gave a semblance of a Presidential sounding speech the other night, especially in denouncing anti-Semitic attacks and hate crimes generally. This IS what we've all been asking for. To sit here now and say, "so what" or "too little, too late," is lame. I'm not saying we should TRUMP it up into more than it is. Right now, it's just words, many of which are contrary to prior words Trump has uttered. But it's a step in the right direction at least.

No, to give him applause for saying two sentences weeks or months later than he should have, on the same day he claimed that some of the attacks were false flags is lame, especially when he can tweet a response to SNL or other non-issues within a few hours.

He needs to make it clear to everyone, including his supporters, that hate crimes won't be tolerated, and his administration has to come up with a plan to address the incitement against minorities, to find the perpetrators, and ensure that communities that are being threatened feel safe.

That's what he has to do.

[Chaz]

When I was a kid, sometimes I hit my siblings, or did other things that got me in trouble. When confronted by my mother about them, since I was a kid, I'd deny doing them. Then I'd try and blame someone else ("She deserved it!"). Then I'd say I wasn't sorry. Eventually, my mother would either yell or threaten me long enough that I'd grudgingly repeat after her, and say "I'm sorry." When I got a little older, I figured out that after I did something that got me in trouble, I could shortcut that whole conversation by saying "I'm sorry" as soon as I got caught. I didn't have to mean it, I just had to say it.

When I was a kid, I thought I was getting away with something, and that my mom believed I was sorry. Now that I'm an adult, it's obvious she knew the whole time that I was never actually sorry, and the yelling was really to try and get me to realize that I actually should feel sorry for what I did. I didn't get to the feeling sorry stage until many years more of growing up.

Our President is still at that first stage. Hopefully he'll move through the second and into the third at some point, though he's 70 and hasn't gotten there, so chances he'll finish growing up soon look real slim.

[Paingod]

(1) That "Inside the Minds of Trump die-hards" thing is utter crap.

Which is why I didn't label it as "Inside the Minds of Trump Die-Hards" and instead called it "Inside the Minds of SOME Trump Die-Hards" - and if you doubt that, let me skip you to this soundbyte where Trump is mentioned and the Nazis state that he's legitimizing them. Who doesn't love being legitimized?

I'm not calling every Trump die-hard a Nazi - but at this point I think you've got to have a seriously broken agenda to be backing the guy blindly.

[Remus West]

Not one of you mentions his opening by denouncing of anti jewish threats and the nut in KC. That was a major thing we've been collectively asking for, if not demanding since the conclusion of the primaries.

Yes it is and no it isn't. Until he actively takes steps to back up those words I will only see them as hollow gestures to repair the tatters of his image on a national stage. Until he repudiates the white nationalist movement he has empowered he can spew all the words he wants. He has proven over and over that he is the biggest liar of my lifetime and I won't believe a single thing he says until it is coupled with action because his actions thus far say the exact opposite of those words.

[Carpet_pissr]

Amen

[Smoove_B]

In a move that likely surprises no one, a watchdog group is alleging the Trump campaign is illegally using donations:

The Campaign Legal Center and left-leaning non-profit Common Cause allege that the campaign violated federal election laws designed to prevent campaigns from circumventing contribution limits. The groups are accusing Team Trump of attributing donations for his 2020 campaign—yes, he’s already a declared candidate—to his previous, 2016 run, freeing up donors to give more down the line.

...

By earmarking those donations for debt reduction, the campaign classified them as 2016 receipts, meaning those contributions will not count towards the donors’ 2020 contribution limits.

At least financial crime is a nice change of pace, right?

[Carpet_pissr]

Corrupt Trump > Corrupt Hillary

[AjD]

Plot thickens:

Jeff Sessions used campaign funds, not Senate account, when meeting Russian ambassador

Sessions met (Russian Ambassador) Kislyak at a Heritage Foundation event during the Republican National Convention in Cleveland, and campaign finance records show that he paid for his lodging with funds from his re-election campaign, suggesting he was not in Cleveland on official Senate business. Also, a person at the event tells the Wall Street Journal that Sessions and Kislyak discussed the Trump campaign at the event, specifically Trump's trade policy, and that Sessions gave the impression he was there as a Trump campaign official.

(Story breaking via Wall Street Journal, but excerpting here from The Week's summary to avoid the WSJ paywall.)

[Smoove_B]

Definitely go back and read stuff from last summer. It certainly makes all these new stories much more interesting. But then again, the election is over and maybe we should just forget all this noise and move on - there are laws to repeal and justices to appoint.