Trump 7 - Cheeto in Charge

[GreyhoundFan]

I couldn't bear to watch the press conference shit show. I decided to look at some of the text-based recaps so i don't get too stabby. Unfortunately, I'm already raging, just looking at some of the recaps and the points @Ali posted . Everything that comes out of Cheeto's mouth is a load of crap.

@formergothardite -- thank you for the reminder. I just called the offices of my Senators and Representative, reminding them that many of us feel Agent Orange must release his tax returns NOW. All three are already pushing against Cheeto (they are all vocal Democrats), but I figure every call counts. I remember reading that emails were the least paid attention to of the methods of contact, so I think I need to draft snail mail letters to the local and Capitol offices. Once I come up with the letter, I'll share it, in case anyone wants to do the same. I'm thinking of calling the offices of Mitch McConnell and Paul Ryan, but I figure they will ignore me for two reasons: I am not from their districts and I'm saying something they don't want to hear.

[Audrey2]

Thank you @Ali for your recap of the press conference. Please accept your favorite beverage from me. You've earned it, as Buzzard does for her recaps of the Duggar shows! I just can't watch (plus I lost power for about an hour. About a foot of snow in a city that doesn't get snow all that often will do that to you.)

[formergothardite]

I figured emails and calls are the way to start.  Would sending faxes saying I want to see his tax returns help any? At least annoy them and clog up their fax line? 

[Childless]

1 hour ago, Ali said:

 

• The golden three children are there. Melania is not present.

He favors these kids to the point that I feel sorry for his other two children.  I imagine they don't think highly of their father.  He favors them so much that it makes me wonder if Ivana wasn't the wife that truly had his heart.  She's probably the only one he really loved and it's reflected in how he treats his children by her vs. his children by his other two wives.

[RoseWilder]

I understand the fear and anxiety a lot of my fellow FJers are having because I had it as well. Up until last week, I had trouble falling asleep most nights because I had so much fear for the future. The thing that calmed my anxiety was looking around and seeing how fired up and mobilized the opposition to Trump and the Republicans is. People are finally waking up and realizing that we cannot be complacent and they're fighting hard. 

I have no hope where Trump and the Republicans are concerned. But I have a great deal of hope in all of us who are fighting against the hateful Republican agenda. So, to everyone who is anxious and fearful right now, please pour all your anxiety and fear into action. Make phone calls to your Senators, participate in boycotts of companies that do business with the Trump family, email the media when they do a bad job reporting on Trump (and also thank them when they do a good job), join your local Democratic group and get involved in building back up locally, donate to the NAACP & Planned Parenthood & environmental causes, shop more at stores/companies that are working to protect the environment and boycott those that aren't. There are so many things that we can do. 

I know the amount of work we need to do may seem overwhelming, and things feel really hopeless right now, but we are not helpless right now. And we don't have to be hopeless either. There are so many things we can do, and I believe that every little thing we do can make a difference. 

[Bethella]

50 minutes ago, formergothardite said:

I figured emails and calls are the way to start.  Would sending faxes saying I want to see his tax returns help any? At least annoy them and clog up their fax line? 

I've heard that the best way to contact your representative is in person (like at a town hall meeting). That way you don't have a staffer acting as an intermediary.

Here's an article from a former staffer about how to contact congress http://www.popsugar.com/news/Best-Way-Contact-Congress-42794889

[iweartanktops]

I'm trying to watch this "speech". I can barely follow this fool. 

Why does he refer to the himself in third person and back to first? 

What in the actual fuck is he even talking about? 

He is the worst speaker ever. Especially compared to President Obama. I can't focus, and I did take my Adderall today. 

This is just depressing. 

Oh, BTW, he can't release his tax returns because they're being audited. And the only people who care about them are reporters. K, Donald. K. 

[GreyhoundFan]

Glad Cheeto hasn't improved his grasp of the facts: "Fact-checking President-elect Trump’s news conference". Sorry, I know it's a long article, but quite interesting for those of us who care about truth.

Quote

President-elect Trump finally held a news conference, but as is typical, he often made claims that have been repeatedly debunked or discredited. Here’s a guide to 15 of his more notable statements, in the order in which he made them.

“It’s very familiar territory, news conferences, because we used to give them on an almost daily basis.”

Trump is exaggerating. During the primaries, he was a near-constant presence on television because he frequently called into interview shows. But he generally only held news conferences after primary contests were held. He last held a news conference on July 27.

“You saw yesterday Fiat Chrysler; big, big factory going to be built in this country as opposed to another country. Ford just announced that they stopped plans for a billion-dollar plant in Mexico and they’re going to be moving into Michigan and expanding, very substantially, an existing plant.”

Trump claims credit for these announcements, but that’s wrong.

Sergio Marchionne, the Fiat Chrysler chief executive, said the plan had been in the works for more than a year and had nothing to do with Trump; he credited instead talks with the United Auto Workers.

With regards to Ford, analysts say Ford’s decision expand in Michigan rather than in Mexico has more to do with the company’s long-term goal — particularly, its plans to invest in electric vehicles — than the Trump administration. It’s easier for companies to find highly skilled workers to build new products, such as electric cars, in the United States than in Mexico.

“When we lost 22 million names and everything else that was hacked recently, they didn’t make a big deal out of that. That was something that was extraordinary. That was probably China.”

Actually, the Chinese hack of 22 million accounts at the Office of Personnel Management was front page news.

The Russian hacking of the presidential election and the OPM hack are not directly comparable. The Russian campaign, as described by U.S. intelligence, involved more than just hacking, with the aim of disrupting and possibly influencing the political process. The Chinese hack had a more isolated goal — espionage. China appears to have wanted the material to engage in possible blackmail.

Obama administration officials say the China case is different because it was purely a case of spying — something the United States does as well. U.S. officials also say that China responded to U.S. pressure after the hack was discovered, and there are signs its espionage activities have been reduced. China may have been receptive to U.S. pressure at the time because President Xi Jinping was about to visit the United States, and he did not want the hack to mar the visit.

“The Democratic National Committee was totally open to be hacked. They did a very poor job. … And they tried to hack the Republican National Committee, and they were unable to break through.”

This is an example of attacking one of the victims, the Democratic National Committee. But FBI Director James B. Comey says there is evidence that older Republican National Committee domains were also targeted but none of the information that may have been obtained was leaked. Comey said that the Russians “got far deeper and wider into the [DNC] than the RNC,” adding that “similar techniques were used in both cases.”

But Trump’s remarks also ignore the broader implications of the unclassified intelligence report released on Jan. 5 — how the Russian government used Internet trolls and RT (Russia’s state-owned international news channel) to amplify negative reports on Clinton and U.S. democracy.

The Internet trolls started to advocate for Trump as early as December 2015, well before the WikiLeaks revelations began to be released on the eve of the Democratic National Convention.

Meanwhile, “RT’s coverage of Secretary Clinton throughout the presidential campaign was consistently negative and focused on her leaked emails and accused her of corruption, poor physical and mental health, and ties to Islamic extremism,” the report said. (It does not mention that these attack lines mirrored attacks made by the Trump campaign.)

“Look at the things that were hacked, look at what was learned from that hacking. That Hillary Clinton got the questions to the debate and didn’t report it? That’s a horrible thing.”

Trump overstates the disclosure about Clinton getting a debate question. During the Democratic primaries, a debate was held in Flint, Mich., to focus on the water crisis. Donna Brazile, then an analyst with CNN, sent an email to the Clinton campaign saying that a woman with a rash from lead poisoning was going to ask what Clinton as president could do the help the people of Flint.

There’s no indication Clinton was told this information, but in any case it’s a pretty obvious question for a debate being held in Flint. In her answer, Clinton committed to remove lead from water systems across the country within five years. Lee-Anne Waters, who asked the question, later said Clinton’s answer “made me vomit in my mouth” because that was too long to wait in Flint.

“This administration created ISIS by leaving at the wrong time. The void was created, ISIS was formed.”

Trump greatly simplifies a complex situation.

The Islamic State terror group arose in response to the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003, but it began to fade after the Bush administration surge in 2008. The civil war in Syria breathed new life into what had become a moribund organization. The conflict in Syria created a perfect vacuum in terms of governance, and so the civil war became an opportunity for the restoration of the organization.

ISIS then saw opportunity to rebound in Iraq. One factor was the withdrawal of U.S. troops order by President Obama. But there was also rampant mismanagement by the government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, which greatly degraded the Iraqi military and exacerbated tensions between Sunnis and Shiites.

“I have no deals that could happen in Russia, because we’ve stayed away. And I have no loans with Russia.”

Trump is being misleading when he says he has stayed away from Russia. Trump repeatedly sought deals in Russia. In 1987, he went to Moscow to find a site for luxury hotel; no deal emerged. In 1996, he sought to build a condominium complex in Russia; that also did not succeed. In 2005, Trump signed a one-year deal with a New York development company to explore a Trump Tower in Moscow, but the effort fizzled.

In a 2008 speech, Donald Trump Jr. made it clear that the Trumps want to do business in Russia, but were finding it difficult. “Russians make up a pretty disproportionate cross-section of a lot of our assets,” Trump’s son told a real estate conference in 2008, according to an account posted on the website of eTurboNews, a trade publication. “We see a lot of money pouring in from Russia.”

Alan Garten, general counsel of the Trump Organization, told The Washington Post in May: “I have no doubt, as a company, I know we’ve looked at deals in Russia. And many of the former Russian Republics.”

“I have a no-conflict situation because I’m president.”

This is basically correct. The law doesn’t say the president can’t have a conflict of interest. But Congress, under Title 18 Section 208 of the U.S. code, did exempt the president and vice president from conflict-of-interest laws on the theory that the presidency has so much power that any possible executive action might pose a potential conflict.

“The only one that cares about my tax returns are the reporters. … You learn very little to a tax return.”

Trump is wrong on both counts. A Pew Research Center poll conducted Jan. 4-9 found that 60 percent of Americans believed Trump has a responsibility to release his tax returns.

Meanwhile, tax experts say that tax returns provide insight about a person’s finances in several key areas.

First, the tax return reveals a person’s annual income. A person’s net worth is not disclosed, but voters would gain an understanding of a person’s cash flow. Second, voters would understand the sources of a person’s income, such as how much comes from certain businesses, speeches, dividends, capital gains and so forth.

Third, a tax return would disclose how much a person gives to charity. Mitt Romney gave almost $2.3 million to charity in 2011, while Bill and Hillary Clinton gave $3 million to charity in 2014. We know these figures because of information in their tax returns.

Trump claims he has given $102 million to charity in the past five years, but a Washington Post investigation found not a cent in actual cash — mostly just free rounds of golf, given away by his courses for charity auctions and raffles. Trump’s tax return would clear up exactly how much he has really given to charity — indeed, whether he has given anything at all.

Fourth, a tax return would reveal how aggressive Trump has been on his taxes. There is no black-and-white approach to taxes; there are many gray areas subject to interpretation, especially regarding deductions. Trump frequently suggests that he knows how to game the system, so voters would learn whether he takes the same approach to his taxes.

Finally, the tax returns would disclose what percentage of Trump’s income actually goes to taxes.

“We have hundreds of billions of dollars of losses on a yearly basis — hundreds of billions with China on trade and trade imbalance, with Japan, with Mexico, with just about everybody.”

A trade deficit simply means that people in one country are buying more goods from another country than people in the second country are buying from the first country.

Trump’s comment that there “billions of dollars of losses” in trade reflects a fundamental misunderstanding. Americans want to buy these products from overseas, either because of quality or price. If Trump sparked a trade war and tariffs were increased on Chinese or Mexican goods, then it would raise the cost of those products to Americans. Perhaps that would reduce the purchases of those goods, and thus reduce the trade deficit, but that would not mean the United States would “gain” money that had been lost.

“Some states have over a 100 percent [premium] increase.”

Trump exaggerates here, and appears to misunderstand a fundamental part of the Affordable Care Act. State-by-state weighted average increases range from just 1.3 percent in Rhode Island to as high as 71 percent in Oklahoma. But the most common plans in the marketplace will see an average increase of 9 percent, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation. These plans have been used as the benchmark to calculate government subsidies.

The vast majority of marketplace enrollees (about eight in 10) receive government premium subsidies. They are protected from a premium increase (and may even see a decrease) if they stay with a low-cost plan. According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, “anecdotal examples of premium hikes or averages across insurers can provide a skewed picture of the increases marketplace enrollees will actually face.”

“I want to thank United Technologies which owns Carrier, but we saved close to a thousand jobs.”

Trump keeps counting jobs that were never going to go to Mexico in the first place.

Union officials say the number of jobs saved at Carrier shrank to 730, once the official paperwork was submitted. Meanwhile, 553 jobs, focused on making fan coils, will go to Mexico, as well as 700 jobs from a United Technologies Electronics Controls (UTEC) facility. Another 400 jobs in the two facilities, mostly administrative, were never going to leave.

In effect, Trump saved 37 percent of the jobs slated to depart. But Greg Hayes, chief executive of United Technologies, told CNN that even more jobs at Carrier eventually would be lost through automation.

“96 million really wanting a job and they can’t get. You know that story. The real number — that’s the real number.”

This is an absurd claim, based on a real number. The Bureau of Labor Statistics, relying on a monthly survey known as the Current Population Survey (CPS), shows that, as of December 2016, 95.1 million Americans 16 years and older were “not in labor force.”

How is this number developed? Well, there is a civilian noninstitutional population of 253.9 million people, and 159.5 million are in the labor force. The difference yields the 95.1 million figure.

But the unemployment rate is only 4.7 percent because just 7.5 million people actively are looking for a job and cannot find one. They are considered part of the overall labor force. In other words, you have to be seeking a job to be counted in the labor force.

Who are the 95 million not in the labor force? The BLS has data for the year 2015. It turns out that 93 percent do not want a job at all. The picture that emerges from a study of the data shows that the 95 million consists mostly of people who are retired, students, stay-at-home parents or disabled.

Trump is doing a real disservice by claiming 96 million really want a job that “they can’t get.”

“I think it’s a disgrace that information that was false and fake and never happened got released to the public.”

We cannot resist noting that Trump was the leading purveyor of false “birther” claims questions, based on no evidence, that President Obama was not born in the United States. He frequently claimed that Obama had spent $2 million to cover this up — a number he plucked out of World Net Daily, which promotes conservative-leaning conspiracy theories.

How do you know Cheeto is lying? His lips are moving.

[AuntK]

On 1/9/2017 at 7:42 PM, HeathenBlondie said:

 

Maybe his heart is full of cholesterol from the fast food and that's why he acts the way he acts

From your mouth to God's ear.

 

[onekidanddone]

5 hours ago, GreyhoundFan said:

I couldn't bear to watch the press conference shit show. I decided to look at some of the text-based recaps so i don't get too stabby. Unfortunately, I'm already raging, just looking at some of the recaps and the points @Ali posted . Everything that comes out of Cheeto's mouth is a load of crap.

@formergothardite -- thank you for the reminder. I just called the offices of my Senators and Representative, reminding them that many of us feel Agent Orange must release his tax returns NOW. All three are already pushing against Cheeto (they are all vocal Democrats), but I figure every call counts. I remember reading that emails were the least paid attention to of the methods of contact, so I think I need to draft snail mail letters to the local and Capitol offices. Once I come up with the letter, I'll share it, in case anyone wants to do the same. I'm thinking of calling the offices of Mitch McConnell and Paul Ryan, but I figure they will ignore me for two reasons: I am not from their districts and I'm saying something they don't want to hear.

Stabby. Same word I used right after the election. Told my husband I'm getting all "stabby".  My state has all blue for the House and Senate.  So calling while it is a good thing, probably means I'm just preaching to the choir. I've heard, but don't remember the source ,  that calling the head of a particular committee is effective even if they are not from your district. Hubby says that if an office of an elected official receives a bunch form letters all saying the same thing, they count that as one letter.  Not 50 or 100 or whatever.  As with calling the  committee I don't know the form letter thing is true  either.  Maybe if everybody alters the letter a bit so they are not all exactly the same, that might help.  I've might have said this before but... not enough Xanax in the world ..not enough to get me through this.

[VixenToast]

I told myself I have to watch it, but I hate his voice sooooo much. So my kid is at his Dad's house.... I'm getting stoned before subjecting myself to this. Plus there is Christmas wine that needs drinking before it becomes vinegar. Send me a ferret, preferably the cuddliest one. 

[47of74]

At least I have law school to keep me busy during the run up to and the reign of the Golden Showers Toxic Megacolon. 

Like I told my writing professor when I was up for the on-campus week being up at school that evening for the conference with her beat the hell out of sitting around waiting for the election to be over.

[Howl]

A few things.  First, this evening our local Fox news station was not covering the Trump presser; every other local station was.  They did show a clip of Trump walking onto a stage with Barron in tow while discussing that there may be tapes of Trump frolicking with prostitutes.  The juxtaposition was a bit jarring, as in "da fuq I just see?"  Yes, FOX! 

From the TalkingPointsMemo.com editor's blog titled "What you didn't see"!

Quote

For all the high octane and historic news we've seen over the last twelve hours, what may be the most significant news of the day barely made a ripple over the waves. That was a number produced by the Quinnipiac University polling organization: Donald Trump, ten days from becoming President, has an approval rating of 37%. Most presidents seldom get so low. Some never do. Days away from inauguration it's totally unprecedented. For some perspective, by Gallup's numbers, each of the last three presidents had approval ratings of at least 65% during their presidential transitions.

Of course, Trump doesn't have to face voters for four years and members of his party don't for two. But this tells us something that has been curiously absent from press coverage: Trump, his agenda and his party are deeply unpopular. Indeed, Trump's gotten steadily more unpopular over the last four weeks. All of this tells us that political gravity still exists. Indeed, it is already shaping events on Capitol Hill.

And last, Marco Rubio ripped Rex Tillerson a new one during Senate hearings.  This is how it was reported by the New York Times: 

Quote

Mr. Rubio set off on an aggressive line of questioning, initially posing a simple query: “Is Vladimir Putin a war criminal?”

“I would not use that term,” Mr. Tillerson said.

Mr. Rubio, outlining a list of grievous Russian offenses in Syria, said he hoped Mr. Tillerson might adjust his answer.

“Those are very, very serious charges to make, and I want to have much more information,” Mr. Tillerson said.

Mr. Rubio, saying there was plenty of public information — “the videos and pictures are there,” he noted — said that “it should not be hard to say that Vladimir Putin’s military has conducted war crimes in Aleppo.”

Mr. Tillerson did not budge.

“I find it discouraging, your inability to cite that,” Mr. Rubio said.

As the senator continued to cite the deaths of Mr. Putin’s opponents, Mr. Tillerson said he hoped to learn more once he could receive classified information on the matters.

“None of this is classified, Mr. Tillerson,” Mr. Rubio shot back. “People are dead.

Apparently there a good possibility that Rubio will not vote for Rex Tillerson's confirmation. Don't know what Rubio's long game is here.  I think Tillerson is an awful choice for many reasons, but Rubio is certainly going against what is likely strong Republican backing for Tillerson.  

[Mecca]

I wonder when Melania heard about Trump and the pee pee incident if she said to him, "Donald, urine trouble." Donald is 70, so I guess you could say he is in his "golden" years. 

I missed the news conference this morning, but I did listen to some of the conformation of Tillerson this afternoon. Holy crap are we in trouble when Tillerson and his supporters keep listing his Eagle Scouting on his resume as a qualification to be Secretary of State. 

[AuntK]

I'm just hoping that nature will take it's course, because even if they have Russian sex tapes and broadcast them on every media outlet, Trump's idiot supporters will stand by him and Congress won't do anything.

 But consider, he will be 71 years old in a few months, he is overweight, I seriously doubt that he gets ANY exercise, (he has no patience for it, and can you even imagine him listening to a trainer?)  He is obviously very stressed, in a stressful job, thin-skinned, can't handle critics, tweeting at all hours, he doesn't eat a healthy diet, and he is an unhappy person, judging by his constant scowl. Happy people live longer. And he LOOKS extremely UNHEALTHY.  I'm thinking he is a prime candidate for a massive coronary. Yeah, I know Pence is a nightmare, but Congress might get rid of him! Wishful thinking? Maybe, maybe not.

[AuntK]

 Don't know where to put this but FLOTUS is on Jimmy Fallon right now! I LOVE MICHELLE OBAMA!

[Mecca]

I think it is rather humorous that the same people that rip on Kim Kardashian for being a reality star with a sex tape voted for a reality star with a sex tape. 

[Mecca]

I guess to be fair, the pee story cannot be completely varifed, but why is Trump losing his shit over this and foaming at the the mouth about fake news? Isn't he the one that relied on fake news during his campaign to vilify Hillary through Breitbart and Alex Jones? Didn't Trump, just today, shout down Jim Acosta of CNN and then took a question from Breitbart right after? Trump is employing Steve Bannon, for crap's sake.

Trump can't go around screaming, "FAKE NEWS!! FAKE NEWS!!" when all he has done is surround himself with fake news. This is just another example of Trump and his long list of hypocrisies. 

[Smash!]

Thank you so much FJ to keep us updated what's going on with Trump. What scares me is that people suddenly feel free to speak up against abortion, use hateful words etc. It's not just in the US, it affects the whole world, or at least Europe a lot. It's this cultural change in society that makes me worry. Trump possibly won't get elected for a second round in office, but the cultural changes will stay a lot longer.
 

[Howl]

9 hours ago, AuntK said:

Yeah, I know Pence is a nightmare, but Congress might get rid of him! Wishful thinking? Maybe, maybe not.

Republicans are already using the chronic Trump fireworks as a smokescreen to do all sorts of nefarious crap.  I don't think they would want Pence as POTUS; Trump is a weak and oblivious leader who can be easily manipulated, so is too useful to be done away with -- at least for now.  That could change at the point where Trump becomes a liability and starts making the Republicans look really bad -- in a way that can't be spun or controlled. 

Yes, I do understand how crazy this sounds:  "That could change at the point where Trump becomes a liability and starts making the Republicans look really bad".  The current clusterf**k will likely devolve when Trump actually becomes POTUS and makes idiotic decisions that cause massive damage in some way. 

As noted upthread, one poll shows Trump's approval rating is staggeringly low, meaning many, many people who voted for Trump are starting to realize exactly what they have done.  

[formergothardite]

So it looks like all those folders might have been empty. Trump's team wouldn't let anyone take a look. 

 

[Howl]

Empty folders.  Perfectly symbolizes all things Trump. 

[GreyhoundFan]

8 hours ago, Mecca said:

I guess to be fair, the pee story cannot be completely varifed, but why is Trump losing his shit over this and foaming at the the mouth about fake news? Isn't he the one that relied on fake news during his campaign to vilify Hillary through Breitbart and Alex Jones? Didn't Trump, just today, shout down Jim Acosta of CNN and then took a question from Breitbart right after? Trump is employing Steve Bannon, for crap's sake.

Trump can't go around screaming, "FAKE NEWS!! FAKE NEWS!!" when all he has done is surround himself with fake news. This is just another example of Trump and his long list of hypocrisies. 

Yes, he can go out shouting "fake news" when it's stuff about him. That's how hypocrites work. Also, junior high schoolers.

[Cleopatra7]

I remember when the Republicans were foaming at the mouth because Bill Clinton's behavior during the Monica Lewinsky scandal supposedly disgraced the office of President. Trump isn't even in office and he's done more to disgrace the presidency in two months than any person in American history. He will probably make Nixon seem like a paragon of mental stability and restraint, and make Harding (generally considered the most corrupt president thus far) look like a model of virtue and probity.

[Penny]

I hate the fact that Trump, and Kelleyanne blamed Hillary during the campaign and now blame the press. I hope at some point they will have to take ownership of their mistakes. 

 

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