Trump 23: The Death Eaters Have Taken the Fucking Country

[GreyhoundFan]

Okay, this made me laugh. All I could think is that now the TT will say he's a Super Bowl winning QB or some such nonsense: "Patriots owner Robert Kraft comes up with the perfect gift for Trump: A Super Bowl LI ring"

Spoiler

The New England Patriots and President Trump have long had a special relationship, so it was no surprise that the team brought along a little somethin’ extra nice when the team celebrated its Super Bowl LI victory with a White House visit in April.

Oh, there was the obligatory helmet and personalized jersey that every president gets, yawn, but, because this president has long been a bud to owner Robert Kraft (as well as to Coach Bill Belichick and quarterback Tom Brady) he got a personalized Super Bowl ring. Along with the 283 diamonds — a nod to the deficit the Patriots faced in Super Bowl LI — the ring is engraved with the president’s name.

Anthony “The Mooch” Scaramucci actually broke that news, sending a direct message on Twitter to user @rslashpatriots, the Boston Herald reported, and Stacey James, the team’s vice president of media relations, confirmed it, noting that Trump put his own stamp on the first trip by a championship team to the White House in his administration. And, because of Kraft’s long friendship with Trump, James said, the president gave the team tours of parts of the mansion that the team’s previous winners did not visit.

But the ring…ooh, that ring.

... < picture of the ring in question >

Now perhaps Kraft can get his friend to do him a little favor in return. Kraft’s Super Bowl XXXIX ring ended up on the finger of Vladimir Putin, either as a gift as the Kremlin says, or by heist when the Russian leader tried it on and never removed it in 2005. It’s worth $25,000 and has 124 diamonds, but it’s the symbolism that counts. The team earned that ring with its repeat championship and third in four years.

“I do have an emotional attachment to that ring,” Kraft told Fox Sports before Super Bowl LI.

Maybe he’ll get it back now.

There's a picture of the gaudy monstrosity (well, two gaudy monstrosities, if you count the TT) in the article. Of course, he may not like it because it's not gold. But, I bet he'll be thrilled to have a ring like the one his boss, Putin, has.

[GreyhoundFan]

There's a video embedded in the article. "5,000 ecstasy tablets shaped like Trump’s face seized in Germany"

Spoiler

(BERLIN) — This Trump trip was a bust. German authorities arrested a father and his teenage son for allegedly carrying bags full of the psychedelic party drug ecstasy that featured President Donald Trump’s likeness, police said in a statement.

Five thousand orange tablets with an estimated street value of about $46,000 were seized and tagged as evidence in the northern German city of Osnabruck, according to a police statement.

They were allegedly being brought into Germany from the Netherlands by a 51-year-old man and his 17-year-old son.

Around 9 p.m. on Saturday, according to the statement, the men were pulled over during a traffic stop while traveling in an Austrian-registered Peugeot 307 car along A30, a highway that runs adjacent to Osnabruck.

The men were allegedly driving back from the Netherlands where they had been looking to buy a car but didn’t find one, according to police.

It was during their return home through Hanover that cops pulled them over and found a large, undisclosed amount of cash and 5,000 pills featuring the 45th president’s face.

The father and son were both arrested and their car was impounded, according to the police statement, and on Sunday, a judge ordered both to be remanded.

Copyright © 2017, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.

 

[Bethella]

@GreyhoundFan If the implication is that these drugs will turn you in to Cheeto (or at least make you as bat-shit crazy as he is), there's no way in hell you could pay me enough to take them.

[GreyhoundFan]

Just now, Bethella said:

@GreyhoundFan If the implication is that these drugs will turn you in to Cheeto (or at least make you as bat-shit crazy as he is), there's no way in hell you could pay me enough to take them.

I agree. I can't imagine why anyone would take any such drug. What really disturbed me is the guy had his 17 year old son helping him.

[louisa05]

11 hours ago, sawasdee said:

 

I'd like it if the president and family got protection at all times, but expenses other than wages and security when not on official business, and not on Government property, were the responsibility of the incumbent.

Then the TT and his horrid offspring would be paying the per diem when off golfing, vacationing, cutting ribbons in Dubai etc. If the Orange Nightmare were paying the per diems at Bedminster, Mar-a-Lardo etc - would he go as often? Or would he do an Obama and play golf at Andrews Air Force Base?

 

I think it is a very difficult situation because whatever is done sets a precedent for all future presidents as well. Should a president be paying all expenses for protection for his or her children who attend school or college? That is not official business. Should a president and family be obligated to pay for mandatory security just to have vacations? Most presidents have not taken an extreme amount of vacation time until now--or have utilized secure locations such as Camp David or locations that are not public and require less for protection like Bush's ranch. Should a president with grown children be on the hook to pay all of their security expenses? None would normally be official business. 

Not everyone who has held the office has been independently wealthy, certainly not enough to foot the kinds of bills that would be accrued with families just living normal lives--particularly for those that had grown or college aged children. 

What actually needs to change immediately is what Trump can charge the Secret Service for any expenses that are paid directly back to his own businesses. If agents are staying at, eating at and using golf carts on properties that he owns, he should be required to charge only a minimal amount for those services (proof of actual expenses with no mark up for profit--so it should be much less than for regular clients), if anything at all since the money is going straight back into his own pocket. He should not be profiting off of his own protection. 

[JMarie]

1 hour ago, GreyhoundFan said:

There's a video embedded in the article. "5,000 ecstasy tablets shaped like Trump’s face seized in Germany"

  Reveal hidden contents

(BERLIN) — This Trump trip was a bust. German authorities arrested a father and his teenage son for allegedly carrying bags full of the psychedelic party drug ecstasy that featured President Donald Trump’s likeness, police said in a statement.

Five thousand orange tablets with an estimated street value of about $46,000 were seized and tagged as evidence in the northern German city of Osnabruck, according to a police statement.

They were allegedly being brought into Germany from the Netherlands by a 51-year-old man and his 17-year-old son.

Around 9 p.m. on Saturday, according to the statement, the men were pulled over during a traffic stop while traveling in an Austrian-registered Peugeot 307 car along A30, a highway that runs adjacent to Osnabruck.

The men were allegedly driving back from the Netherlands where they had been looking to buy a car but didn’t find one, according to police.

It was during their return home through Hanover that cops pulled them over and found a large, undisclosed amount of cash and 5,000 pills featuring the 45th president’s face.

The father and son were both arrested and their car was impounded, according to the police statement, and on Sunday, a judge ordered both to be remanded.

Copyright © 2017, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.

 

In the words of Nancy Reagan:  Just Say No

[Cartmann99]

 Toddler-in-Chief threatens to have a tantrum, again:

Quote

President Donald Trump on Tuesday said he would be willing to shut down the government in order to get the funding needed for his proposed border wall.

"If we have to close down our government, we're building that wall," Trump said at a rally in Arizona.

If Congress does not reach a funding deal that the president signs into law by a Sept. 30 deadline, the government will shut down. Congressional Democrats have explicitly said they will not support a deal that includes money for the wall.

Trump could, in theory, veto or choose not to sign a spending measure that Congress passes without funding for the barrier, causing a shutdown.

https://www.cnbc.com/2017/08/22/trump-says-hes-willing-to-shut-down-the-government-to-get-his-border-wall.html

[apple1]

I suppose last night's Phoenix "rally" was so expected and such a non-event that it hasn't even earned a mention on FJ.

Terrifying. What have we come to in the US?

 

Aside: Franklin Graham, shame on you. (paraphrased words next) - "When you pray, go in to your closet and pray to your father in heaven." "If you do your deeds to be seen and heard of men, you have your reward."

As a self-described Christian, this pains me deeply. This is not my Christianity. I could cry.

[GreyhoundFan]

"As Trump ranted and rambled in Phoenix, his crowd slowly thinned"

Spoiler

PHOENIX — Just before President Trump strolled onto the rally stage on Tuesday evening, four speakers took turns carefully denouncing hate, calling for unity and ever so subtly assuring the audience that the president is not racist.

Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson proclaimed that “our lives are too short to let our differences divide us.” Alveda King, the niece of Martin Luther King Jr., led everyone in singing a few lines of “How Great Thou Art.” Evangelist Franklin Graham prayed for the politically and racially divided nation and asked the Lord to shut the mouths of “those in this country who want to divide, who want to preach hate.” And Vice President Pence declared that “President Trump believes with all his heart … that love for America requires love for all its people.” Meanwhile, a supporter seated directly behind stage even wore a T-shirt that stated: “Trump & Republicans are not racist.”

Then Trump took the stage.

He didn't attempt to continue the carefully choreographed messaging of the night or to narrow the ever-deepening divide between the thousands of supporters gathered in the convention center hall before him and the thousands of protesters waiting outside.

Instead, Trump spent the first three minutes of his speech — which would drag on for 75 minutes — marveling at his crowd size, claiming that “there aren't too many people outside protesting,” predicting that the media would not broadcast shots of his “rather incredible” crowd and reminiscing about how he was “center stage, almost from day one, in the debates.”

“We love those debates — but we went to center stage, and we never left, right?” the president said, reliving his glory days. “All of us. We did it together.”

Over the next 72 minutes, the president launched into one angry rant after another, repeatedly attacking the media and providing a lengthy defense of his response to the violent clashes in Charlottesville, between white supremacists and neo-Nazis and the counterprotesters who challenged them. He threatened to shut down the government if he doesn't receive funding for a wall along the southern border, announced that he will “probably” get rid of the North American Free Trade Agreement, attacked the state's two Republican senators, repeatedly referred to protesters as “thugs” and coyly hinted that he will pardon Joe Arpaio, the former sheriff of Maricopa County who was convicted in July of criminal contempt in Arizona for ignoring a judge’s order to stop detaining people because he merely suspected them of being undocumented immigrants.

Three times, the crowd burst into chants of “USA! USA! USA!” And once, at the mention of Trump's former rival Hillary Clinton, they chanted: “Lock her up! Lock her up! Lock her up!” Several parents put their young children on their shoulders so they could get a good look at the president.

But as the night dragged on, many in the crowd lost interest in what the president was saying.

Hundreds left early, while others plopped down on the ground, scrolled through their social media feeds or started up a conversation with their neighbors. After waiting for hours in 107-degree heat to get into the rally hall — where their water bottles were confiscated by security — people were tired and dehydrated and the president just wasn't keeping their attention. Although Trump has long been the master of reading the mood of a room and quickly adjusting his message to satisfy as many of his fans as possible, his rage seemed to cloud his senses.

Early in his speech, when Trump still had the attention of his followers, he recited his definition of what it means to be a Trump supporter.

“This evening, joined together with friends, we reaffirm our shared customs, traditions and values,” Trump began. “We love our country. We celebrate our troops. We embrace our freedom. We respect our flag. We are proud of our history. We cherish our Constitution — including, by the way, the Second Amendment. We fully protect religious liberty. We believe in law and order. And we support the incredible men and women of law enforcement. And we pledge our allegiance to one nation under God.”

Minutes later, Trump transitioned to a topic that he would return to again and again.

“What happened in Charlottesville strikes at the core of America,” Trump said, appearing to read from the teleprompters placed on stage. “And tonight, this entire arena stands united in forceful condemnation of the thugs who perpetrate hatred and violence.”

Many in the crowd lit up at the use of the word “thugs” and applauded. Later in the evening, Trump would repeatedly use the same word to describe the protesters who showed up to his campaign rallies.

“But the very dishonest media,” Trump continued, “those people right up there, with all the cameras.”

He was cut off by loud booing. He smirked and nodded in agreement. A few people shouted, “Fake news!” A young girl in the crowd, who was wearing a white Make America Great Again hat, looked down at the handmade credential round her neck that stated in blue marker: "4th grade press.”

“I mean truly dishonest people in the media and the fake media, they make up stories,” Trump said. “ … They don't report the facts. Just like they don't want to report that I spoke out forcefully against hatred, bigotry and violence and strongly condemned the neo-Nazis, the white supremacists and the KKK.”

Trump reached into his suit pocket and removed a different set of talking points.

“I'm really doing this to show you how damned dishonest these people are,” Trump said, promising that this would take “just a second” and would be “really fast.”

Trump then took more than 16 minutes to read the various statements that he made about Charlottesville over several days, noting the use of all-caps for one word and skipping over the part where he said that “many sides” were responsible for the violence. After reading each snippet, Trump would detail why that response was not good enough for the media.

“Why did it take a day? He must be a racist,” Trump said, the first of the five times he imitated people calling him a racist.

Along the way, Trump defended his use of Twitter and bragged that he went to “better schools” and lives “in a bigger, more beautiful apartment” than those who are considered elites. He said the “failing New York Times … is like so bad,” mocked CNN for its ratings and accused The Washington Post of being “a lobbying tool for Amazon” because the newspaper is owned by Jeffrey P. Bezos, who founded Amazon. The crowd repeatedly booed the reporters in their midst and chanted: “CNN sucks! CNN sucks!”

At one point, Trump was interrupted by two protesters, who were quickly led out of the arena by security, giving Trump's supporters something to videotape and share on Facebook or Snapchat.

“Don't bother,” Trump said, as the crowd booed. “It's only a single voice. And not a very powerful voice.”

He returned to reading aloud his own statements and recounting the resulting media coverage, which led to commenting on CNN's panels of “real lightweights,” which led to him defending a surrogate who was fired by CNN earlier this month for tweeting the Nazi salute, “Sieg Heil!”

“And they fired Jeffrey Lord. Poor Jeffrey. Jeffrey Lord,” Trump said. “I guess he was getting a little fed up, and he was probably fighting back a little bit too hard.”

Without even taking a breath, Trump resumed reading a statement from Aug. 14 in which he condemned violence caused by “the KKK, neo-Nazis, white supremacists and other hate groups that are repugnant to everything we hold true as Americans.” That statement came two days after the violence in Charlottesville.

“So they were having a hard time with that one, because I said everything,” Trump said, then flippantly launching into a laundry list of hate groups. “I hit 'em with neo-Nazi. I hit 'em with everything. I got the white supremacists, the neo-Nazi. I got them all in there. Let's see: KKK? We have KKK. I got 'em all.”

Trump eventually wrapped up this defense by saying, in part: “The words were perfect.”

The president then tried to connect this lengthy self-examination to his supporters. Meanwhile, a growing number of them were calling it a night and heading to the exits.

“The media can attack me, but where I draw the line is when they attack you, which is what they do. When they attack the decency of our supporters,” Trump said, without explaining what he meant. “You are honest, hard-working, taxpaying — and by the way, you're overtaxed, but we're going to get your taxes down.”

Trump would return to tax reform later — but first, he had to blame the media for “fomenting divisions” in the country, “trying to take away our history and our heritage” and “giving a platform to these hate groups.” He called reporters “sick people” and “really, really dishonest” and accused them of turning “a blind eye” to gang violence, public school failures and “terrible, terrible trade deals.”

“You would think they'd want to make our country great again, and I honestly believe they don't,” he said. “I honestly believe it.”

Trump took a brief detour into immigration, prompting him to ask the crowd: “By the way, I'm just curious. Do the people in this room like Sheriff Joe?”

The crowd burst into wild cheers, thinking that Trump was about to pardon Arpaio — something the press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders had said just hours earlier would not happen that day.

“So, was Sheriff Joe convicted of doing his job?” Trump continued. “You know what? I'll make a prediction. I think he's going to be just fine, okay? But I won't do it tonight, because I don't want to cause any controversy. Is that okay?”

Back on his immigration talking points, Trump detailed a trip he made earlier that day to Yuma, Ariz., for a briefing on border security — and he casually threatened to “close down our government” to get funding for a wall along the southern border. He again called for getting rid of the filibuster rule requiring more than a simple majority — a change that congressional Republicans have said won't magically lead to the president's agenda passing. And he went after the state's two Republican senators without naming them.

“They all said, 'Mr. President, your speech was so good last night. Please, please, Mr. President, don't mention any names,'” Trump said, referring to a Monday night speech about Afghanistan. “So I won't. I won't. No I won't … I will not mention any names. Very presidential, isn't' it? Very presidential.”

Trump listed what he sees as accomplishments during his first seven months, including nominating a new Supreme Court justice and 31 federal judges.

“We've ended the war on beautiful, clean coal, and it's just been announced that a second, brand-new coal mine, where they're going to take out clean coal — meaning, they're taking out coal, they're going to clean it — is opening in the state of Pennsylvania,” Trump said, completely misrepresenting what clean coal is.

Trump noted that West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice switched back to being a Republican after a brief stint as a Democrat, which somehow segued into his thoughts on the removal of Confederate statues from many cities.

“They're trying to take away our culture. They are trying to take away our history,” Trump said. “And our weak leaders, they do it overnight. These things have been there for 150 years, for 100 years. You go back to a university, and it's gone. Weak, weak people.”

His next sentence: “We are going to protect American industry. We are going to protect the American worker.”

Trump apologized that it is taking so long to renegotiate NAFTA and commented that “we'll end up probably terminating NAFTA at some point.” He added for emphasis: “Probably.” Trump talked about climate change, adding jobs to the private sector, decreasing the unemployment rate and getting rid of regulations.

He acknowledged that he has had to disband some of his business advisory board following protests of his reaction to Charlottesville — although he claimed that some of these business leaders will still meet with him privately.

“These people just don't get it. They are calling, and they're saying, 'How about getting together privately?' They like it better. Why should they be on a council?” Trump said. “You know, that's the way it is, folks. That's the way it is.”

Trump finally got back to promising to pass tax reform, along with a major infrastructure package, and called for Congress to help him with both.

“This is our moment. This is our chance,” Trump said. “This is our opportunity to recapture our dynasty like never before.”

He ended the rally by declaring: “Thank you, Arizona. God bless you. Thank you. Thank you.”

Those who still remained filed out of the convention center, stepping outside and into what at times felt like a war zone. Hundreds of protesters shouted: “Racists go home!” Police wearing riot helmets formed a line between the two groups. Further down the street, small clumps of supporters and protesters started heated debates, with each side holding up their smartphones to record the interaction. Police released pepper balls and made three arrests. A helicopter circled overhead as police warned that those who stayed in the area risked arrest.

“Oh boy. Oh Lord,” said Kelly Coombs, a 42-year-old data administrator from Phoenix, as she stepped outside, holding a pink sign saying “Women for Trump” and trying to ignore the things yelled at her. “Here we go.”

I couldn't watch the speech, since I didn't want to throw things at my TV, but I watched the recap on MSNBC. He's getting more and more unhinged.

[Howl]

I'm now wondering if at least some of the die-hard Trump fans left that rally thinking, "Da f**k I just listen to?" and starting to wonder if Trump isn't who they think he is. 

Trump will pardon Arpaio before his sentencing in October or maybe this week, who knows.  As a commenter noted on another Web site, "The week is still young." 

Trump's promise to shut down the government if The Wall isn't funded won't be well received.  Shutting down the government has been a damn disaster every time it's happened and I suspect the Republicans will do everything they can to NOT let that happen, short of funding The Wall.  They can't blame Kenyan-born Muslim Obama! because IT'S ALL ON THEM now.   The Wall will be a disaster in South Texas, where it is close to being erected through not one but TWO different wildlife refuges, including the Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge.

[GreyhoundFan]

"Trump’s Afghanistan strategy isn’t to win. It’s to avoid losing."

Spoiler

Will President Trump’s new Afghanistan strategy alter the dynamics of America’s longest and most frustrating war? Do commanders really have any better chance of succeeding now than when this conflict began 16 years ago?

I put those questions by phone Tuesday to Gen. John “Mick” Nicholson Jr., who for more than 18 months has commanded U.S. forces in Kabul. This is his fourth tour in Afghanistan and his sixth year of service there. He probably knows as much about this difficult and costly war as any American in uniform.

Nicholson answered by describing what he has learned about Afghanistan since we first met 10 years ago in Jalalabad, when he was a colonel commanding a brigade of the 10th Mountain Division. Those were heady, optimistic days when Nicholson would take visitors to a provincial “loya jirga” tribal council, where the turbaned leaders professed support for the U.S. mission; when U.S. development teams were building roads and schools, confident that stability would follow economic development.

It didn’t happen that way, and Nicholson now cites two illusions of that period that he says undermined the war effort. The first was that U.S. commanders didn’t realize just how crucial external support from Pakistan was in allowing an unpopular Taliban insurgency to survive. The second was that commanders didn’t understand how corruption was rotting the Afghan security structure the United States was trying to build.

Both problems are addressed, at least modestly, by Trump’s strategy. First, Trump warned: “We can no longer be silent about Pakistan’s safe havens for terrorist organizations.” This will likely mean more sticks and fewer carrots for Islamabad — perhaps including new sanctions that punish Pakistan for aiding terrorist groups such as the Haqqani network that kill Americans and their allies. (Unfortunately, Trump may have undermined his Pakistan pitch by urging a closer “strategic partnership” with its archenemy, India.)

Second, Trump promised support for an Afghan government under President Ashraf Ghani that is seeking to combat corruption and is planning provincial elections next summer. Stronger, better leadership will, in theory, bolster the campaign against the insurgents. “The American people expect to see real reforms, real progress and real results,” Trump said. (In addition to being a long shot, this sounds suspiciously like the nation-building Trump insists he’s abandoning.)

But will it work? Many observers doubt the strategy will “push onward to victory,” as Trump said, but they think it may avoid an outright defeat. The consensus among these experts is that by adding troops and other measures, the United States can sustain the current stalemate, in which the Taliban controls about half of the countryside and the central government holds Kabul and other major cities.

The Trump strategy reduces the probability that the Kabul government will collapse over the next two to three years. This is a very limited version of success.

So why did Trump reverse his early, skeptical view and back Nicholson and the other generals who dominate his national security team? Why did this Wharton School graduate ignore the advice often offered by business professors that “sunk cost” — the money and effort already spent — does not by itself justify further investment?

The answer isn’t really very complicated. Trump doesn’t want to be the president to pack up and go home. He doesn’t want the stain of defeat.

The best argument for Trump’s Afghanistan policy is that it avoids losing, and at relatively low cost. It maintains a platform that can operate against what Trump said are 20 terrorist groups in the region; it sustains a base that will allow the United States to keep watch on nearby Pakistani nuclear weapons. It avoids a quick win by the Taliban and allows eventual reconciliation. Those are all worthy goals.

“I don’t know that we have a choice to walk away,” argues Nicholson. “It would inspire other jihadis around the globe.” He likens Afghanistan and Pakistan to a “petri dish” in which dangerous terrorist groups have thrived. Across the U.S. government, even skeptics of the policy share his concern about the risks of a hasty U.S. withdrawal.

Trump was once said to be so frustrated with the slow pace of the U.S. campaign in Afghanistan that he wanted to fire Nicholson as commander. “The American people are weary of war without victory,” he said Monday night. But as he has weighed the terrible dilemma of the war in Afghanistan, Trump seems to have opted for a stay-the-course policy to “seek an honorable and enduring outcome worthy of the tremendous sacrifices that have been made.”

No victory parades, but no defeat, either.

No big surprise.

[NotQuiteMotY]

Ah, the irony of Franklin Graham asking for the mouths of those who preach hate to be shut. If that prayer is answered with a yes, quite a few "good Christians" are going to be struck dumb in short order.

[Penny]

I did not see either speech but I can just imagine how hard it was for TT to read from a teleprompter and go off script. I imagine he went off an a tantrum afterward which most likely resulted in what we heard last night. He needs to be checked into a mental hospital for full evaluation. Can someone stage an intervention? I know his family won't. But again I don't want Pence in office. 

[GreyhoundFan]

"James Clapper questions Trump’s fitness, worries about his access to nuclear codes"

Spoiler

James R. Clapper Jr., former national intelligence director, questioned President Trump’s fitness for office following his freewheeling speech in Phoenix on Tuesday night, which Clapper labeled “downright scary and disturbing.”

“I really question his ability to be — his fitness to be — in this office,” Clapper told CNN’s Don Lemon early Wednesday morning. “I also am beginning to wonder about his motivation for it — maybe he is looking for a way out.”

In Trump’s remarks, delivered without a teleprompter, the president threatened to shut down the government over funding for the border wall he promised, opined that the North American Free Trade Agreement will likely be terminated and hinted he might pardon former Arizona sheriff Joe Arpaio, convicted last month of criminal contempt.

Clapper said watching Trump’s speech, he worried about the president’s access to nuclear codes.

“In a fit of pique he decides to do something about Kim Jong Un, there’s actually very little to stop him,” Clapper said, referencing North Korea’s leader. “The whole system is built to ensure rapid response if necessary. So there’s very little in the way of controls over exercising a nuclear option, which is pretty damn scary.”

Clapper has become a regular critic of Trump, who routinely disparaged the intelligence agencies during his campaign. But such a statement about a president by a lifelong military and intelligence professional — who has served at the highest levels of government under Republicans and Democrats alike — is extraordinary and perhaps unprecedented.

Clapper, who said he has “toiled in one capacity or another” for every president from John F. Kennedy through Barack Obama, said Trump’s Phoenix speech is the most disturbing performance he has ever watched. Clapper said the president should “have quit while he was ahead” after his speech on U.S. military strategy in Afghanistan. In that speech, the president read from a teleprompter.

In May, after Trump fired FBI Director James B. Comey, Clapper said the country’s core institutions were under assault from Trump.

“I think the Founding Fathers, in their genius, created a system of three co-equal branches of government and a built-in system of checks and balances,” Clapper told CNN’s Jake Tapper. “And I feel as though it’s under assault and eroding.”

The issue of Trump’s fitness for the presidency has, until recently, mostly been raised by academics and partisan Democrats such as Hillary Clinton and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.).

In May, conservative New York Times columnist Ross Douthat, following revelations about Trump revealing classified information to Russian diplomats, suggested that the 25th Amendment be used, which provides for removal of a president who is “unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office …”

Following the president’s erratic responses to the deadly unrest in Charlottesville, the criticism came from his own side of the aisle, with Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) questioning whether Trump has the “stability” and “competence” that are necessary to lead the country.

“The president has not yet been able to demonstrate the stability nor some of the competence that he needs to demonstrate in order to be successful,” the senator told reporters in Tennessee last week. “And we need for him to be successful.”

 

[GreyhoundFan]

"President Trump is deteriorating before our very eyes"

Spoiler

Were you deeply alarmed by President Trump’s performance in Arizona on Tuesday night? If so, that is understandable. Trump is getting worse. He rambled and ranted with abandon. He hinted that he will pardon Joe Arpaio. He escalated his attacks on the media, accusing them of misrepresenting his response to the violence in Charlottesville. Yet he also doubled down on his defense of Confederate monuments, claiming that “they” are trying to “take away our heritage and our history.” (Emphasis added.)

All of this appeared to signal a growing contempt for the rule of law and an increasing indifference to the health of our democracy and institutions, and to his own responsibilities and duty to the public to try to calm the antagonisms unleashed in Charlottesville’s aftermath. If anything, at this difficult moment of national introspection, Trump conspicuously sought to further inflame those antagonisms. Some reacted with deep panic: Former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper labeled the speech “downright scary and disturbing,” adding: “I really question his ability to be — his fitness to be — in this office.”

But without minimizing the dangers that Trump still poses, it’s worth considering Trump’s act in a somewhat less alarming light, by comparing it with another, similar performance: Dustin Hoffman’s powerful depiction of the public deterioration of legendary political satirist and comedian Lenny Bruce, in the movie “Lenny.” And this hints at where this could — could — all end up.

It is true that Trump’s performance did energize the crowd at key moments, such as when he hinted that the Arpaio pardon is coming and when he attacked the media (“CNN sucks! CNN sucks!” chanted the crowd). But The Post’s Jenna Johnson captures another side of the crowd’s reaction with this memorable description:

As the night dragged on, many in the crowd lost interest in what the president was saying.

Hundreds left early, while others plopped down on the ground, scrolled through their social media feeds or started up a conversation with their neighbors. After waiting for hours in 107-degree heat to get into the rally hall — where their water bottles were confiscated by security — people were tired and dehydrated and the president just wasn’t keeping their attention. Although Trump has long been the master of reading the mood of a room and quickly adjusting his message to satisfy as many of his fans as possible, his rage seemed to cloud his senses.

Obviously, the comparison between Trump and Lenny Bruce, as portrayed by Hoffman, is imperfect in all kinds of ways. But not in this one way. Bruce was arrested for various low-level charges, including obscenity and drug possession, and in the movie “Lenny,” Hoffman depicts Bruce’s later performances as public displays of increasing grievance, resentment and self-absorption over his legal plight, and deteriorating awareness of his audience.

In one of these, Bruce is muttering to himself unintelligibly as audience members shift uncomfortably and begin to leave. “Where you going?” Bruce says, despairingly. Then he slips into sardonic self-pity over his persecution for obscenity: “Hey, where you people going? Oh, come on, man! I haven’t even said [expletive depicting sexual act] yet!”

In another, Bruce is reading to his audience from documents involving his legal troubles, and he is so deep in the legal weeds (and in his self-absorption) that people again begin leaving. “Oh, come on, man!” Bruce says to the departing patrons. “Where you going? No, I don’t wanna do t––– and a––!”

There were hints of this sort of deterioration from Trump last night. There was the self-pity, the self-absorption, the outsize resentment and grievance. And it could get worse. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky) reportedly has confided that he isn’t sure Trump’s presidency can be saved. Degenerating relations with congressional Republicans could imperil other pieces of his agenda, leading to more anger and frustration. Special counsel Robert S. Mueller III’s probe continues, meaning more revelations lie ahead.

Last night, Trump actually read aloud from his previous comments on Charlottesville, to illustrate how unfair the media is being to him. It’s not hard to imagine the dynamic that Johnson describes above getting worse over time, with Trump increasingly wallowing in the details of his persecution while his audiences increasingly lose interest.

To be clear, Trump still commands immense control over the news cycle, which means he could very well turn things around. And whatever is to be on that front, I don’t want to minimize the dangers Trump still poses. It is horrifying that Trump continues to stoke racial division for what appear to be deeply cynical purposes (as former chief strategist Stephen K. Bannon openly revealed to be the case). Trump may expand his deportation dragnet, and last night Trump threatened a government shutdown over his Mexican wall. This and the Arpaio pardon could maximize the ugliness. The attacks on the press could further erode public faith in the news media’s legitimate institutional role and could conceivably end in violence. An effort to remove Mueller remains a very real possibility. Trump controls our nuclear arsenal, and he still has not faced a full-blown crisis.

Meanwhile, The Trump Show — such as the one witnessed last night — poses a threat in another way, too. It is a distraction from all of the various damage the Trump administration is doing on the deregulatory front (which Matthew Yglesias summarizes here), and from his continued self-dealing and naked profiting off of the presidency, which is itself a serious threat to the future health of norms governing the conduct of our public officials.

But for all that, further deterioration into an increasingly buffoonish and self-absorbed figure (again, with apologies to Bruce for the imperfect comparison) also remains a possibility. Hoffman may not look the part, but it’s seductive to imagine an actor of his ability and depth playing it.

...

I agree with the author that the lunacy is a distraction from the damage this sham administration is doing.

[AuntK]

On 8/21/2017 at 9:11 PM, JMarie said:

He probably didn't want to put them on because they weren't Trump brand sunglasses.

I hope he goes blind!

[JMarie]

2 hours ago, apple1 said:

I suppose last night's Phoenix "rally" was so expected and such a non-event that it hasn't even earned a mention on FJ.

Terrifying. What have we come to in the US?

 

Aside: Franklin Graham, shame on you. (paraphrased words next) - "When you pray, go in to your closet and pray to your father in heaven." "If you do your deeds to be seen and heard of men, you have your reward."

As a self-described Christian, this pains me deeply. This is not my Christianity. I could cry.

I wouldn't give too much credit to those who were at the rally. 

http://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/phoenix-breaking/2017/08/20/questionable-craigslist-ad-offers-pay-actors-donald-trump-supporters-phoenix-rally/584350001/

Quote

Two days before President Donald Trump arrives in Phoenix for his first "outside-the-swamp" rally in Arizona, a phantom Craigslist ad popped up. 

“Actors needed,” itread.

The ad, posted early on Sunday, wanted to hire people to pose as Trump supporters for the rally, with “minorities especially desired to hold pro-Trump signs, cheer on command, and show diversity.” 

Those interested were asked to reply with a head-shot photo and a resume. The rate? Ten dollars per hour to stand in Phoenix’s predicted 105-degree heat Tuesday. 

After 30 minutes, the post was deleted. Four hours later, it popped up again. Five minutes later, it was gone again.

And here's a good article about that token black guy standing behind Trump last night

http://nationalpost.com/news/world/michael-the-black-man-the-strange-story-of-the-blacks-for-trump-guy-in-phoenix

 

[Palimpsest]

38 minutes ago, GreyhoundFan said:

I agree with the author that the lunacy is a distraction from the damage this sham administration is doing.

So do I.  It is truly frightening.

When I look at some of the reports of TT's sorry performance last night I think we may be seeing massive decompensation.  I think he's always had a fragile grasp on reality (and sanity) and I think he is losing it big time.  It's as though we are looking at outright panic barely concealed by the bombast, blustering, and ranting attacks - on everyone!

I've always thought that Trump did not expect to be President, did not really want to be President, and he certainly never showed the slightest understanding of what the job entailed.  

Right now, the best outcome I can see is for Trump to be found catatonic and curled into a fetal position under his desk in the Oval Office necessitating his removal from office.

Of course that will leave us with Pence.  

Oh, shit.

[GreyhoundFan]

6 minutes ago, Palimpsest said:

Of course that will leave us with Pence.  

Oh, shit.

Hopefully Mueller will have dug up enough dirt on Pence...wait, that will leave us with Ryan. Things aren't looking good.

[JMarie]

The 57 most outrageous quotes from last night's rally

http://www.cnn.com/2017/08/23/politics/donald-trump-arizona/index.html

Quote

39. "How good is Hannity? How good is Hannity? And he's a great guy, and he's an honest guy. And 'Fox and Friends in the Morning' is the best show, and it's the absolute, most honest show, and it's the show I watch."

Simple truth: Trump likes Hannity and "Fox and Friends" because they say nice things about him. He likes people who like him.

I guess I have to watch Hannity tonight, to see how excited he is about the shoutout 

[fraurosena]

1 hour ago, GreyhoundFan said:

Hopefully Mueller will have dug up enough dirt on Pence...wait, that will leave us with Ryan. Things aren't looking good.

I seem to remember (but don't have time to look it up) that Ryan made some comments to some other repugs during the campaign, indicating he knew TT is in the Russians pockets. He later laughed it off, saying it was just a joke. I would not be surprised one little bit if Ryan will also be implicated in Mueller's investigation. If only as an accomplice after the fact. 

Plus, even If the presidunce were to be removed from office, that wouldn't suddenly mean Muellers investigation stops in its tracks. So even if Pence, (or Ryan, or Hatch after that) became president, the investigation will continue, and eventually every corrupt and colluding repug will be ousted. 

 

[WiseGirl]

59 minutes ago, fraurosena said:

"....I would not be surprised one little bit if Ryan will also be implicated in Mueller's investigation. If only as an accomplice after the fact. .... the investigation will continue, and eventually every corrupt and colluding repug will be ousted."

 

Please, please may both of these come true.......

[sawasdee]

3 hours ago, GreyhoundFan said:

Hundreds left early, while others plopped down on the ground, scrolled through their social media feeds or started up a conversation with their neighbors. After waiting for hours in 107-degree heat to get into the rally hall — where their water bottles were confiscated by security — people were tired and dehydrated and the president just wasn’t keeping their attention. Although Trump has long been the master of reading the mood of a room and quickly adjusting his message to satisfy as many of his fans as possible, his rage seemed to cloud his senses.

Please, Rufus, this is a sign that his rhetoric is beginning to fail. If he is now BORING his audience - yeah!

Most of them are not exactly a sophisticated political group with a long attention span to understand a manifesto. tRump has never actually produced any kind of manifesto - just a generalised disdain of the 'other' - be it racial, economic or political.

He rarely produces a way forward - just a condemnation of the way things have been done. He offers no alternatives. If his supporters, to even the most minor degree, are beginning to see this - then it can only be good.

ETA His only original idea was The Wall - to be paid for by Mexico.  Now he threatens to close down the government in order to force the US to pay for it - this just about sums up his chaotic approach to his role.

[sawasdee]

Jennifer is at it again!

https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/right-turn/wp/2017/08/23/trump-might-manage-to-lose-every-ally-he-has/?utm_term=.ddb586a9ce0c

Spoiler

President Trump has fired nearly all the White House senior staff (aside from his daughter and son-in-law) with whom he began his presidency. He has declared war on the media so many times, it’s no longer noteworthy. His former senior strategist Stephen K. Bannon’s Breitbart News operation excoriated Trump for a middle-of-the-road Afghanistan plan and openly attacks Ivanka and Jared Kushner.

Meanwhile, some Senate Republicans are openly criticizing Trump, suggesting he lacks the capacity and moral authority to govern. His war of words with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) plays out in the pages of the New York Times:

Mr. McConnell has fumed over Mr. Trump’s regular threats against fellow Republicans and criticism of Senate rules, and questioned Mr. Trump’s understanding of the presidency in a public speech. Mr. McConnell has made sharper comments in private, describing Mr. Trump as entirely unwilling to learn the basics of governing. 

In offhand remarks, Mr. McConnell has expressed a sense of bewilderment about where Mr. Trump’s presidency may be headed, and has mused about whether Mr. Trump will be in a position to lead the Republican Party into next year’s elections and beyond, according to people who have spoken to him directly.

Apparently, Trump thinks it is in McConnell’s power (and job description) to protect him from the Russia probe

Critics of Trump are frustrated by mere fuming behind closed doors, but honestly, McConnell has left little doubt what he thinks about Trump. Unlike House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.), he avoids public apple-polishing for the president. One almost gets the sense that if special counsel Robert S. Mueller found real evidence of wrongdoing, McConnell would preside — if not happily, then with much relief — over an impeachment trial.

To recap: A president who lost the popular vote, winning only 46 percent of the electorate, has picked fights with and/or been rebuked by some of the alt-right, the business community, organized labor, many if not most GOP senators, GOP moderates (in federal and state offices), the mainstream media, a chunk of the conservative media, the vast majority of nonwhite voters, a majority of college-educated whites, Rust Belt voters and independents. It’s increasingly difficult for TV bookers to get Republicans to go on the air to defend him. And all of this is at the seven-month mark of his presidency.

Consider how much worse things could get in just the next month or so — even apart from the Russia investigation (which now reportedly includes squeezing Paul Manafort in an effort to “flip” him). In order to keep his presidency from going completely off the rails, he will need to get the debt ceiling increased and a budget. He will need to be well on his way with a tax reform bill, which is hard to do with reconciliation instructions for the budget when there is no budget. He’ll also need to decide if he wants to keep funding Obamacare subsidies (a month at a time, which further destabilizes markets). There are, to put it mildly, many pitfalls directly ahead at a time when his administration is in critical condition.

Trump could very well end the year with no health-care repeal (other than an Obamacare fix), no tax bill, no infrastructure bill and no border wall, despite his promises to his die-hard fans. (His Muslim ban has not resulted in a revamped “extreme vetting” program — or has it? — and remains partially disabled.) As has been the case his entire adult life, only his family and paid staff (and only some of those) may be left to defend him. For both his lack of accomplishments and his lack of support, he will have only himself to blame.

Go, Jennifer! She is writing some of the most incisive and coherent criticism of this "presidency" - I can almost forgive "Jenghazi"!

 

[GreyhoundFan]

6 minutes ago, sawasdee said:

Jennifer is at it again!

She was on Lawrence O'Donnell's show last night on MSNBC. She was just as pointed as her articles have been since the TT invaded.