Trump 33: Making Norman Bates Look Like a Choir Boy

[GreyhoundFan]

From Jennifer Rubin: "America is strong. Trump, meanwhile, is looking more and more pathetic."

Spoiler

The great falsehood that was at the root of President Trump’s candidacy was that he was very strong and America was very weak. We were losing, having our jobs stolen, getting ripped off by allies, etc. We were supposedly awash in crime and illegal immigration, and the latter, we were told, contributed to the former. It was all untrue. We got a welcome reminder this week that both halves of that equation are false — Trump is weak and getting weaker by the day, while the United States has never been a basket case — and is regaining its strength in opposing Trump and Trumpism.

Trump cuts such a pathetic figure, so very desperate for approval from those who have always snubbed him. He still rants at the “elites” who never accepted him in polite society. “You ever notice they always call the other side ‘the elite’?” Trump asked at a rally in Duluth, Minn. “The elite! Why are they elite? I have a much better apartment than they do. I’m smarter than they are. I’m richer than they are. I became president, and they didn’t.” Actually, many of them are richer, have more tasteful homes and are smarter — and have no desire to bow and scrape before the crass Queens operator, even if he is in the White House.

Trump talks tough, but when criticism rains down, he blames others (the Democrats!) or lies that his hands are tied or that his predecessor did the same. And when he retreats, he pretends he never wanted what he implemented anyway. Because he does not know what he wants or what is in various legislative options, he cannot provide clear direction in Congress. The result was a lost vote on a hard-line immigration bill and two postponements (first until Friday, and then until next week) on a compromise that has no chance of passing the Senate.

Trump’s grasp of policy is so shaky that it’s far from clear whether he understands the current legal and logistical situation, the policy he tried to implement or the consequences of pulling the plug on what he tried to implement.

And this time, the damage done to him and the anti-immigrant cause that is foundational to his presidency and the new Republican Party of right-wing populists may be considerable.

Meanwhile, the press did its job impressively — allowing Americans to see and even hear what was going on, definitively calling out Trump’s lies and doggedly pursuing Republicans to either defend or oppose the policy. Humanitarian groups, religious organizations, mayors and governors all stepped forward to denounce the president. Democrats were entirely unified and precise: Trump’s policy was inhumane and bringing disgrace on the United States. Certainly, any argument in which the suffering of toddlers and babies is tolerated (let alone sought as a deterrent) is going to lose and lose badly.

The crisis is not over, and Trump does have a knack for exhausting his critics. The following remain major concerns:

• The speedy and complete reunification of all families. Unless Trump wants to be the president who created a fleet of orphans, the government better work fast to identify and reconstitute families it tore apart.
• The health, both physical and mental, of the children in custody. As we previously suggested, state and local child welfare agencies and members of Congress must demand access to the children and a full accounting of their condition. (If children are receiving medical care, have the authorities obtained consent from their parents who are also in our custody? If not, under what authority do they deny parents the right to make health-care decisions for their sons and daughters?)
• Once the families are reunited, will they be subject to indefinite incarceration? Will the government seek to overturn Flores so families can remain locked up for months or years?
• Since the entire fiasco has not deterred the influx of refugees, what is our plan going forward?

The press, child advocates, religious organizations, and local and state governments must persist. They have seen how strong they are and how weak the president is. Now is no time to let up.

 

[Howl]

20 hours ago, fraurosena said:

I have one. Sort of. I think that the presidunce got scared out of his wits at the backlash of the Comey firing. He thought he would get praise, especially from the Dems, because of the Killary butter emails and the fact that she lost the election because of Comey. Nothing of the sort happened. Quite the opposite, because almost immediately there were accusations of obstruction of justice and suddenly this Mueller fellow was appointed to investigate him. He never saw that coming, and now he's too afraid to fire Mueller or his boss Rosenstein, because who the hell knows what would happen then? 

So there is only one thing he can do, and what he has been continuously doing from the very start: discredit the investigation, discredit the FBI, discredit Mueller, Rosenstein, and Sessions at every turn, do some strutting and posturing and bluffing, and cry wol--- eh witch hunt all the time. 

I have to say this is a very credible analysis of the situation! 

At first I thought that power would be the thing that Trump couldn't bear to lose, but the amount of attention that he commands as a leader of the US provides the biggest blood meal for the sucking vortex of his narcissistic needs;  he simply cannot bear the thought of losing that.  Hence, the rallies to ensure that he's on the winning ticket for 2020. 

[Cartmann99]

 

[GreyhoundFan]

A good analysis: "Trump’s dislike of — and desire to be a part of — the ‘elite’"

Spoiler

A regular talking point of conservatives when criticizing their political opponents is to characterize them as “elites.” It's often used as a slur to suggest that those who disagree with conservative values on guns, marriage, abortion and immigration are out of touch and have little in common with the average American.

But President Trump's use of the term Wednesday at a rally in Duluth, Minn., makes one wonder whether there could be more behind some conservatives blasting of those deemed “elite.” He told the crowd:

You ever notice they always call the other side “the elite”? The elite! Why are they elite? I have a much better apartment than they do. I’m smarter than they are. I’m richer than they are. I became president, and they didn’t. And I am representing the greatest, smartest, most loyal, best people on Earth, the deplorables.

It appears that Trump doesn't just have a problem with those in the exclusive club of elites. It sounds as if he's expressing frustration that he is not a part of that select group. His boasts about his residence, bank account and intelligence sound like someone who wants membership in a club that has repeatedly rejected him.

The Atlantic's McKay Coppins unpacked the possible reasons for this in 2017, early in Trump's presidency, in a piece titled “The Outer-Borough President.” He wrote:

The president’s behavior begins to make more sense once you understand the stories he’s long told himself — about his roots, his rise, and, especially, his “haters.” That he is easily provoked and perpetually aggrieved is not a revelation, of course. But Trump harbors a very specific kind of class anxiety that’s rooted in the topography of his native New York City.

Though he was born into a wealthy family, partaking of the various perks and privileges afforded to millionaires’ offspring, Trump grew up in Queens — a pleasant but unfashionable borough whose residents were sometimes dismissed by snooty Manhattanites as “bridge-and-tunnel people.” From a young age, he was acutely aware of the cultural, and physical, chasm that separated himself from the city’s aristocracy. In several interviews and speeches over the years, he has recalled gazing anxiously across the East River toward Manhattan, desperate to make a name for himself among the New York elite.

Trump has since made a name for himself — in New York City and, more unexpectedly, in Washington. As he reminded his Minnesota supporters, he won the presidency — which by one definition automatically puts him among the elites: "a group of persons exercising the major share of authority or influence within a larger group."

By all accounts, Trump supporters — or as Trump called them, "the deplorables" — exercise the major share of authority and influence within the Republican Party, which is the governing party in the United States. The group's values on racial issues, the economy, immigration and other cultural issues has a louder and bolder advocate in the Oval Office than at any other time in recent history.

But perhaps the reason it is difficult to embrace that definition is because Trump and many of his supporters believe that winning isn't all that matters. It matters that you be viewed as a winner. And for a president who has been quick to lob the label “loser” at those with whom he didn't find favor, knowing that there are many Americans who don't want him in their club is a great source of anger.

 

[Audrey2]

1 hour ago, Cartmann99 said:

 

Oh really? For some reason, this doesn't make me feel better, as I live in the Pacific Northwest.

As a side note, I chose my screen name and avitar because I love Little Shop of Horrors, and the only way you'd ever get me up on stage would be as the Audrey 2 or the Wicked Witch of the West (I hate to be the center of attention). Sadly, with this administration, I see a lot of people who remind me of the awful dentist. I sure see a lot of plant food!

[fraurosena]

Rhode Island bill would keep Trump off 2020 ballot unless he releases his tax returns

Quote

Rhode Island’s state Senate passed a bill this week that would keep candidates off the presidential ballot in their state if they don’t release five years' worth of tax returns, according to the Providence Journal.

State Sen. Gayle Goldin (D), who sponsored the bill, noted that every presidential candidate since Richard Nixon had released their tax returns voluntarily until President Trump ran for office.

 

Trump has repeatedly claimed that he cannot release his tax returns because he is under audit, but the IRS said an audit does not prevent a candidate from releasing their personal tax information. Goldin argued that “tax returns provide essential information about candidates’ conflicts of interest.”

Tax returns, she continued, are vital information a voter needs to know about a candidate at the ballot box.

The bill passed the Democratic-majority Senate on a 34-3 vote. It now moves to the Rhode Island state House.

 

[JMarie]

Can you imagine any other president autographing pictures of murder victims?

https://www.aol.com/article/news/2018/06/22/trump-invited-permanently-separated-families-to-speak-about-loved-ones-allegedly-killed-by-unauthorized-immigrants-and-he-autographed-posters-of-the-victims-faces/23466025/

Quote

President Donald Trump spoke Friday at an event with families he said had been "permanently separated" from loved ones who were allegedly killed at the hands of unauthorized immigrants.

His remarks came in the wake of nationwide outrage over the Trump administration's recently halted practice of separating migrant families at the border. More than 2,300 children were split from their parents since May, and stories of traumatized children and desperate parents have been highlighted by the national media for weeks.

But one by one, Trump brought up family members to speak at a podium before an audience of law-enforcement officers. Each family member held large posters of their loved ones' faces, which Trump had autographed.

 

[onekidanddone]

1 hour ago, fraurosena said:

Rhode Island bill would keep Trump off 2020 ballot unless he releases his tax returns

 

I've lived in Maryland since I was 12, but before that I lived in Providence. My heart will always be in Rhode Island. 

50 minutes ago, JMarie said:

Can you imagine any other president autographing pictures of murder victims?

https://www.aol.com/article/news/2018/06/22/trump-invited-permanently-separated-families-to-speak-about-loved-ones-allegedly-killed-by-unauthorized-immigrants-and-he-autographed-posters-of-the-victims-faces/23466025/

 

Do we get to call them Crisis Actors?  

[Cartmann99]

I just noticed that this Trump thread and the last one are both designated as part 32:

Can one of our friendly neighborhood helpmeets fix this please?

Thank you!!

[hoipolloi]

The Dutch King burned blow-torched tRump's ass on Twitter:

 

[AmazonGrace]

 

1 hour ago, hoipolloi said:

The Dutch King burned blow-torched tRump's ass on Twitter:

 

I think that's a fake account. Not verified and it says "parodierende" in the bio

[AmazonGrace]

 

[AmazonGrace]

 

[fraurosena]

44 minutes ago, AmazonGrace said:

 

I think that's a fake account. Not verified and it says "parodierende" in the bio

Yep, it’s fake. As far as I know, our king doesn’t tweet. At least not as himself. He could very well have an anonymous account, cause he’s chill like that.

[AmazonGrace]

 Is Trump aware that neither he or any of his wives and children are Native American?

[fraurosena]

21 minutes ago, AmazonGrace said:

 Is Trump aware that neither he or any of his wives and children are Native American?

I loved your post because of your comment. This is what people always seem to forget. America was invaded by Europeans, who conquered the land by decimating most of the indiginous people.

[AmazonGrace]

 

[Cartmann99]

Don't miss this hard-hitting interview where Daddy Huckabee will help advance the lies of this administration! 

 

[AmazonGrace]

 

[fraurosena]

Oh dear, something's happened in the Mueller investigation that's got him riled again. Wouldn't it be wonderful if it's because Cohen flipped?

 

[AmazonGrace]

 

[AmazonGrace]

There is nothing he won't lie about

 

[fraurosena]

We really need an eye-roll 'like' option. 

[AmazonGrace]

Be Best, Mr. President...

[Cartmann99]

Did Melania go with him today? Are they going to stop by a homeless shelter so she can wear her "Screw you, I've got mine! " jacket?