The Former Trump Presidency Thread

YellowKing · Post by **YellowKing** » Thu Oct 24, 2019 7:40 pm

Drazzil wrote:It'd be more intresting if it were a more precipitous decline. As it is it seems like it's within 5-7 points of its high in Jan 18.

As fivethirtyeight has pointed out, Trump's remarkably stable approval rating makes any swing of 2 points fairly significant.

Daehawk · Post by **Daehawk** » Thu Oct 24, 2019 8:13 pm

Im surprised the orange moron hasn't been shilling his own Trump Personal Yard Wall or some such for homes and gardens. It would be emblazoned with a gold letters TRUMP name Im sure. $299.99 per foot.

Ill wait to see if he steals my idea then sue him.

noxiousdog · Post by **noxiousdog** » Fri Oct 25, 2019 8:55 am

YellowKing wrote: ↑Thu Oct 24, 2019 7:40 pm
Drazzil wrote:It'd be more intresting if it were a more precipitous decline. As it is it seems like it's within 5-7 points of its high in Jan 18.
As fivethirtyeight has pointed out, Trump's remarkably stable approval rating makes any swing of 2 points fairly significant.

To me, the surprise is that it's Rasmussen. As recently as a month ago, they were polling approval ratings at 54%. If they are now having trouble finding people that approve, it's significant news. We have been looking for Republican cracks and that's a leading indicator.

Kurth · Post by **Kurth** » Fri Oct 25, 2019 11:31 am

Could it be that some of Trump's appeal to significant parts of his base is precisely that he makes these stupid, ridiculous mistakes? These are the kinds of mistakes those in his uninformed base probably make routinely. Seeing the President make these flubs is just validation for them. And in something of a vicious circle, that validation gets reinforced when they see all the liberal elites and the media fixate on Trump's stupidity and ignorance.

Smoove_B · Post by **Smoove_B** » Fri Oct 25, 2019 11:52 am

I don't believe any of it until votes are tallied. I think vocal support for Trump has likely dipped, but when the screen closes and people are making their choices? They'll wring their hands and vote (R) rather than electing a godless, gun-stealing (D).

Holman · Post by **Holman** » Fri Oct 25, 2019 6:30 pm

Smoove_B wrote: ↑Fri Oct 25, 2019 11:52 am I don't believe any of it until votes are tallied. I think vocal support for Trump has likely dipped, but when the screen closes and people are making their choices? They'll wring their hands and vote (R) rather than electing a godless, gun-stealing (D).

Three years of Trump have put him in the hole in the swing states he won by a razor-thin margin in 2016. Reality has shit upon the myth.

We can't let up for a minute, but defeating him is very possible.

Blackhawk · Post by **Blackhawk** » Fri Oct 25, 2019 6:42 pm

Smoove_B wrote: ↑Fri Oct 25, 2019 11:52 am I don't believe any of it until votes are tallied. I think vocal support for Trump has likely dipped, but when the screen closes and people are making their choices? They'll wring their hands and vote (R) rather than electing a godless, gun-stealing (D).

Some. But there are others who won't cross their families and friends by turning against Trump who are secretly ashamed. And when the screen closes , some will vote (D) or (other.) I doubt it will be enough to counter the first group, but it will offset some of it.

Smoove_B · Post by **Smoove_B** » Fri Oct 25, 2019 6:43 pm

malchior · Post by **malchior** » Sat Oct 26, 2019 5:54 pm

White House "CISO" quits. A leaked memo indicates the WH has a brain drain problem in cybersecurity.

hepcat · Post by **hepcat** » Sat Oct 26, 2019 8:17 pm

Baron can’t quit. He’s family, for God’s sake.

pr0ner · Post by **pr0ner** » Sat Oct 26, 2019 9:51 pm

malchior · Post by **malchior** » Sat Oct 26, 2019 9:55 pm

Duh Don. That's what happens when about 100% of your diet comes from KFC and Burger King.

pr0ner · Post by **pr0ner** » Sat Oct 26, 2019 11:13 pm

Apparently US Special Forces killed al-Baghdadi.

Isgrimnur · Post by **Isgrimnur** » Sat Oct 26, 2019 11:19 pm

pr0ner wrote: ↑Sat Oct 26, 2019 11:13 pm Apparently US Special Forces killed al-Baghdadi.

Newsweek

Kraken · Post by **Kraken** » Sun Oct 27, 2019 1:06 am

Isgrimnur wrote: ↑Sat Oct 26, 2019 11:19 pm
pr0ner wrote: ↑Sat Oct 26, 2019 11:13 pm Apparently US Special Forces killed al-Baghdadi.
Newsweek

Based on that info: props to the army for the operation, and grudging props to trump for greenlighting it. It's not a "we got bin Laden" moment, but one must congratulate one's adversary's victories when they serve our collective interests.

Drazzil · Post by **Drazzil** » Sun Oct 27, 2019 1:19 am

Kraken wrote: ↑Sun Oct 27, 2019 1:06 am
Isgrimnur wrote: ↑Sat Oct 26, 2019 11:19 pm
pr0ner wrote: ↑Sat Oct 26, 2019 11:13 pm Apparently US Special Forces killed al-Baghdadi.
Newsweek
Based on that info: props to the army for the operation, and grudging props to trump for greenlighting it. It's not a "we got bin Laden" moment, but one must congratulate one's adversary's victories when they serve our collective interests.

/onion

"ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was replaced today, mere minutes before he was killed in a raid.

/onion

Daehawk · Post by **Daehawk** » Sun Oct 27, 2019 8:13 am

Heck the orange moron probably wasn't even told about the raid until it was over. Im sure he'll take full credit for it on tv this morning though. According to him he most likely planned it all on his Stratego board while on the toilet, flew the helicopters, and gave candy out to the children afterwards.He'll claim its the first catagory 5 raid in history and nothing like this has ever been done before and he'll use a Sharpie on the board to prove that falsehood.errrr fact. I hate the orange moron so much.

pr0ner · Post by **pr0ner** » Sun Oct 27, 2019 9:25 am

Just because you hate Trump doesn't mean what you just wrote there is even remotely close to true.

Max Peck · Post by **Max Peck** » Sun Oct 27, 2019 9:36 am

I've lost track of how many times al-Baghdadi has been reported killed. Hopefully this time he stays dead.

Unagi · Post by **Unagi** » Sun Oct 27, 2019 9:43 am

Reported by the US Military ?
Never before.

hepcat · Post by **hepcat** » Sun Oct 27, 2019 10:03 am

pr0ner wrote: ↑Sun Oct 27, 2019 9:25 am Just because you hate Trump doesn't mean what you just wrote there is even remotely close to true.

No, I’m pretty sure Daehawk nailed it.

Max Peck · Post by **Max Peck** » Sun Oct 27, 2019 10:05 am

I'm not saying I don't believe that he's dead, just noting that he's been reported killed several times. IIRC, the previous reports were that he was killed in airstrikes, so being killed up close and personal by special forces who could identify the body first hand should be conclusive. Assuming there was a body to identify, of course -- the reports I'm seeing state that he detonated an explosive vest.

$iljanus · Post by **$iljanus** » Sun Oct 27, 2019 10:38 am

The Appeaser in Chief is going to be even more insufferable after this unfortunately. Also, with the chaos that he brought about in Syria I’m sure the new vacancy will be filled shortly.

Blackhawk · Post by **Blackhawk** » Sun Oct 27, 2019 10:59 am

Trump approved it. His staff almost certainly planned out every detail in a manner so as to avoid his interference, then presented it as a pre-election PR opportunity, but he put his giant rubber stamp on it.

Max Peck · Post by **Max Peck** » Sun Oct 27, 2019 11:32 am

The important thing to remember is that killing the leader of IS is a much bigger deal than killing the leader of Al-Qaeda.

Holman · Post by **Holman** » Sun Oct 27, 2019 12:06 pm

Reporters are noticing that Trump was golfing when the raid began at 3:30 pm Washington time. His motorcade returned to the WH at 4:18 or something.

The stern situation room pic with Trump and the generals is timestamped after 5:00.

gilraen · Post by **gilraen** » Sun Oct 27, 2019 12:12 pm

hepcat wrote: ↑Sun Oct 27, 2019 10:03 am
pr0ner wrote: ↑Sun Oct 27, 2019 9:25 am Just because you hate Trump doesn't mean what you just wrote there is even remotely close to true.
No, I’m pretty sure Daehawk nailed it.

Yeah, I'm willing to bet money that Trump was never told about the details or the timing of the operation, because US intelligence can no longer trust him not to tweet it or blurt it out on the South Lawn. I'm sure he rubber-stamped some document that they gave him about "anti-ISIS operation in Syria" without even reading it.

naednek · Post by **naednek** » Sun Oct 27, 2019 12:18 pm

damn i thought i had the scoop

I updated it in the ISIS thread (the logical place) and then I see it's being discussed here...

Convenient that the cave caved in. And nice touch... he was crying and wimpering the whole time he was fleeing. Right...

Smoove_B · Post by **Smoove_B** » Sun Oct 27, 2019 12:33 pm

Holman wrote: ↑Sun Oct 27, 2019 12:06 pmThe stern situation room pic with Trump and the generals is timestamped after 5:00.

And on top of that, Russia is adding their thoughts on what Trump shared:

Trump thanked Russia, claiming that the US forces had to fly through certain Russian-controlled areas.

The Russian Defence Ministry stated that they are unaware of providing cooperation to US air units entering the airspace over the Idlib deescalation zone during that mission.

Alefroth · Post by **Alefroth** » Sun Oct 27, 2019 1:01 pm

naednek wrote: ↑Sun Oct 27, 2019 12:18 pm I updated it in the ISIS thread (the logical place)

It would have been had it not started with a teaser Tweet.

Skinypupy · Post by **Skinypupy** » Sun Oct 27, 2019 1:45 pm

So it looks like the "victory" photo was staged well after the raid took place because...wait for it...they had to wait for Trump to get back from the golf course.

Either Trump couldn't be bothered to quit golfing and watch what was going on in real time, or they didn't trust him enough to not screw things up.

Daehawk · Post by **Daehawk** » Sun Oct 27, 2019 2:28 pm

naednek wrote: ↑Sun Oct 27, 2019 12:18 pm damn i thought i had the scoop I updated it in the ISIS thread (the logical place) and then I see it's being discussed here...

Convenient that the cave caved in. And nice touch... he was crying and wimpering the whole time he was fleeing. Right...

Orange moron talks like a coward bully child.

Holman · Post by **Holman** » Sun Oct 27, 2019 2:29 pm

So this succeeded despite Trump almost ruining it.

And so telling that he thanked the Russians first and the Kurds last.

Skinypupy · Post by **Skinypupy** » Mon Oct 28, 2019 10:05 am

Skinypupy wrote: ↑Sun Oct 27, 2019 1:45 pm So it looks like the "victory" photo was staged well after the raid took place because...wait for it...they had to wait for Trump to get back from the golf course.

Either Trump couldn't be bothered to quit golfing and watch what was going on in real time, or they didn't trust him enough to not screw things up.

It's worth noting that there has been some further clarification around the timeline on this. It appears that this photo may have actually been taken during the raid instead of after, as had been claimed.

But still...Trump's press conference about it was b-a-n-a-n-a-s. An actual quote:

"You know, if you read my book, there was a book just before the World Trade Center came down. And I don't get any credit for this but that's OK. I never do. But here we are. I wrote a book, a really very successful book and in that book about a year before the World Trade Center was blown up, I said there is somebody named Osama bin Laden, you better kill him or take him out, something to that effect, he's big trouble. Now, I wasn't in government. I was building buildings and doing what I did but I always found it fascinating. But I saw this man, tall, handsome, very charismatic making horrible statements about wanting to destroy our country. And I'm writing a book. I think I wrote 12 books. All did very well. And I'm writing a book, World Trade Center had not come down. I think it was about, if you check it was a year before the World Trade Center came down. And nobody heard of al-Baghdadi. And no one heard of Osama bin Laden until really the World Trade Center. But about a year, a year and a half before the World Trade Center, before the book came out, I was talking about Osama bin Laden, you have to kill him, you have to take him out. Nobody listened to me. And to this day I get people coming up to me and they said you know what, one of the most amazing things I've seen about you is that you predicted that Osama bin Laden had to be killed before he knocked down the World Trade Center. It's true. Most of the press doesn't want to write that but it is true. If you go back and look at my book, I think it's 'The America We Deserve.' I made a prediction — let's put it this way, if they would have listened to me, a lot of things would have been different."

As always, imagine listening to this word salad and thinking "Wow, that is a remarkable and well-spoken leader!".

And, of course, there is always a Tweet.

Stop congratulating Obama for killing Bin Laden. The Navy Seals killed Bin Laden.

LawBeefaroni · Post by **LawBeefaroni** » Mon Oct 28, 2019 10:19 am

It's also bullshit. He didn't say that in his book and lots of people knew who Bin Laden was. And several of them actually did warn about him and another attack on WTC.

Isgrimnur · Post by **Isgrimnur** » Mon Oct 28, 2019 10:20 am

MSNBC

Key Democratic congressional leaders, however, were deliberately kept out of the loop.

President Donald Trump said he did not give many congressional leaders advance notice of the raid that killed ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi on Saturday because he was afraid of “leaks,” he told reporters at a Sunday news conference. […]
...
Trump kept Lindsey Graham informed – the Senate Judiciary Committee chairman is not a member of the Gang of Eight, and there was no procedural reason to brief him in advance of highly sensitive intelligence – but he kept House leaders, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff in the dark.
...
First, if the White House was determined to limit the number of lawmakers aware of the mission for security reasons, it doesn’t explain why Republican members of Congress – including one GOP lawmaker outside the Gang of Eight – were notified and Democrats weren’t. This was not supposed to be a partisan exercise.

Second, given the frequency with which Trump blurts out sensitive information – including, in one instance, his decision to leak highly classified intelligence with Russians for no reason – it was kind of hilarious to hear him whine yesterday about leaks, as if others have been careless.

And third, as part of the same White House event in which he suggested Democrats might not be trustworthy to be discrete with sensitive intelligence, Donald Trump shared all kinds of operational details that he could’ve easily kept to himself, including the precise number of commando helicopters used and the route they took to the raid.

LawBeefaroni · Post by **LawBeefaroni** » Mon Oct 28, 2019 10:26 am

And that is why the GOP continues to back him. He is a shameless moron but he's still their shameless moron.

Scoop20906 · Post by **Scoop20906** » Mon Oct 28, 2019 9:27 pm

Booooooooo

milo · Post by **milo** » Mon Oct 28, 2019 11:59 pm

Isgrimnur · Post by **Isgrimnur** » Tue Oct 29, 2019 12:39 pm

DC Report

Trump administration officials have admitted that last summer they knowingly withheld billions of dollars Congress appropriated to help Puerto Rico recover from Hurricane Maria. House Democrats say withholding the relief money violates the law.

Federal law requires that our government help Americans hit by natural disasters. But two Housing and Urban Development officials acknowledged at a House Appropriations subcommittee hearing on Oct. 17 that HUD blocked the Puerto Rico relief funds.

The HUD delay meant the island missed a deadline to apply for billions of dollars in disaster relief funds, raising doubts about when, if ever, the money will flow to the island devastated in September 2017 by a Category 5 hurricane.

The federal money is part of a $19 billion supplemental disaster relief bill that Congress passed in June. It came with stipulations requiring HUD to provide funding notices to nine states and two American territories, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

The agency published the required guidance in the federal register for 9 states and the U.S. Virgin Islands on Aug. 30, 2019. But HUD intentionally left Puerto Rico out of the notices, the HUD officials admitted.

Without the required guidance, the island territory could not apply for the disaster money appropriated by Congress. The guidance required the nine states and the U.S. Virgin Islands to submit detailed plans on how each jurisdiction would spend HUD Community Development Block Grant-Disaster Recovery Program funds.