Trump 39: The Return of the Wall

[GreyhoundFan]

I like this snarky take from Dana Milbank: "Trump is the best thing since sliced bread. And he invented sliced bread!"

Spoiler

Have you heard the news?

“HOLD THE DATE!” President Trump tweeted Sunday. “We will be having one of the biggest gatherings in the history of Washington, D.C., on July 4th. It will be called ‘A Salute To America’ and will be held at the Lincoln Memorial. Major fireworks display, entertainment and an address by your favorite president, me!”

Fireworks in Washington on Independence Day? This is a brilliant idea! It’s a wonder nobody thought of this before.

The Twitterverse replied with various follow-on observances the president could initiate: A party in Times Square on Dec. 31? Mass distribution of candy on Oct. 31? And indeed, executive authority would appear to be boundless in this area:

“We will be having one of the biggest meteorological phenomena in the history of Washington, D.C., at 6:45 am tomorrow. It will be called ‘Sunrise.’ ”

“We will be having one of the biggest reprieves from work in American history on Saturday and Sunday. It will be called ‘The Weekend.’ ”

By reelection time, he will have given Americans indoor plumbing, ice cream and Christmas. Strike that: He already gave us Christmas, in 2017. “People are proud to be saying Merry Christmas again,” he tweeted. “I am proud to have led the charge against the assault of our cherished and beautiful phrase.”

Man has taken credit for achievements not his own since long before Al Gore invented the Internet. (Yes, I know, he didn’t really say that.) But Trump’s boasts are so manic that it almost seems as though, tired of losing, he is trying to win by crediting himself with happenings that have nothing to do with him.

Trump claimed credit for squeezing more money out of NATO partners when they reiterated their previous spending commitments. He took credit for building the U.S. military into the most powerful on Earth (previous rank: No. 1) and for a $12 billion drop in the U.S. debt after his first month in office. (It has since grown by $2 trillion.)

He gave himself props for the “safest year on record” in aviation in 2017, even though no U.S. airline had had a fatality since 2009. And he claimed credit for inventing the 19th-century economic phrase “prime the pump.” This would appear to be a pure example of “fake news” — a phrase for which Trump has also awarded himself authorship.

He has most prominently claimed credit for low unemployment (particularly for African Americans and Hispanics), high stock values and the “greatest economy in the history of our country,” though he previously said the expansion, which began under President Barack Obama, was the weakest in history, with fake unemployment figures and a stock-market “bubble.”

“Since my election as president the Dow Jones is up 43%,” Trump tweeted Monday morning, nearly 10 years into a bull market that grew some 150 percent under Trump’s predecessor. But when stocks plunged in December, Trump blamed the Federal Reserve.

Likewise, Trump has for months taken credit for falling gas prices: “Thank you President T,” he wrote, and “Do you think it’s just luck that gas prices are so low, and falling?” More recently, with prices rising, Trump blamed OPEC. “Please relax and take it easy,” he instructed the oil cartel Monday.

This week, Trump is to have nuclear talks with North Korea, after previously claiming credit for eliminating the country’s nuclear threat — even though it has not given up its weapons. This led to an amusing exchange Sunday between CNN’s Jake Tapper and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo:

Tapper : Do you think North Korea remains a nuclear threat?

Pompeo : Yes.

Tapper : But the president said he doesn’t.

Pompeo : That’s not what he said. . . .

Tapper : He tweeted: “There’s no longer a nuclear threat from North Korea.”

Trump took credit for a “terrific” new trade deal with Canada and Mexico that is largely the same as the previous pact, which he called “the worst.” Calling off threatened tariff increases against China, he appears to be preparing to do the same there. He claimed credit for a drop in generic drug prices unrelated to actions he took, for savings on military contracts and for corporate expansions that pre-dated him and for environmental cleanups done by a previous administration.

“How about the word ‘caravan?’ ” he said at a rally last week. “ ‘Caravan.’ I think that was one of mine.” The Post’s JM Rieger, who traced the origin of “caravan” to 1588, observed that Trump has also awarded himself credit for, among other things, a veterans’ health-care law enacted in 2014.

And as Congress blocked his border wall, Trump claimed credit for segments of wall built years ago. “A lot of the wall is built,” he announced.

And that wall is the greatest thing since sliced bread — which, it so happens, Trump also invented.

 

[47of74]

I see fuck head is finally over in Vietnam.

One question.  Could he please stay in Vietnam? 

[Ali]

4 hours ago, fraurosena said:

Sweet Rufus. I don't like the name of the thing, so you can explain what the thing is, and I agree that the thing is what we want to do, but I don't like the name, so we're not going to do it. Oh, you're changing the name? Good, then we can do the thing. But not if it's that other name, because I don't like that name and I don't agree with it.

 

Could you imagine being the translator for this meeting?

[smittykins]

19 hours ago, HerNameIsBuffy said:

He’s a child.  A giant, gross, dangerous child.

The only issue I see with that is children(up to a certain age anyway)often do these things because they genuinely don’t know any better, and need adults to tell them “That’s not okay.”  Trump is 72 years old.  He doesn’t have that excuse.

[GreyhoundFan]

 

[AmazonGrace]

 

Kimbo had family members murdered but no biggie.

[front hugs > duggs]

4 hours ago, 47of74 said:

I see fuck head is finally over in Vietnam.

One question.  Could he please stay in Vietnam? 

Vietnam is supposedly a beautiful country (I haven't been, but my little sister was adopted from there). Let's not do that to the people of Vietnam!

He can fly back to North Korea with his BFF instead.

[GreyhoundFan]

9 minutes ago, front hugs > duggs said:

Vietnam is supposedly a beautiful country (I haven't been, but my little sister was adopted from there). Let's not do that to the people of Vietnam!

He can fly back to North Korea with his BFF instead.

KJU took the train, which takes 56 hours. Plenty of time for the best buds to have "together time".

[AmazonGrace]

 Spike Lee didn't mention Trump at all. He said people should do the right thing and love, not hate. Interesting that Trump took it as a personal slam.

[AnywhereButHere]

Boom. Nice seeing a branch of government do the right thing. 

https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.cnn.com/cnn/2019/02/26/politics/house-vote-trump-national-emergency/index.html

Quote

The House on Tuesday rebuked President Donald Trump over one of his signature issues, passing a resolution to overturn his emergency declaration to unlock money for wall construction at the US southern border.

The vote was 245-182. Thirteen Republicans voted with Democrats to pass the measure.

The resolution will next be taken up by the Senate, where it will put Republican unity to the test, though Senate leaders have signaled they will not bring it to a vote immediately.

It is not yet clear how many Republicans will vote for the resolution in the Senate, but it looks likely to pass the upper chamber, despite the fact that Republicans hold a majority. That would be yet another blow to the President, who has said he will veto the resolution if it comes to his desk.

I don’t think the senate will have the votes to overturn a veto, but a gap in the armor anyway!

[Dandruff]

1 hour ago, AmazonGrace said:

 Spike Lee didn't mention Trump at all. He said people should do the right thing and love, not hate. Interesting that Trump took it as a personal slam.

Trump shouldn't be lecturing anyone about reading notes...

[SilverBeach]

On 2/25/2019 at 10:40 AM, AmazonGrace said:

 

That motherfucker really is a sonofabitch. Quota of cuss words used up.

[onekidanddone]

19 minutes ago, SilverBeach said:

That motherfucker really is a sonofabitch. Quota of cuss words used up.

When it comes to orange shit stain there is no quota. Nope. The skies the limit, so let her rip. I'll start us off.

Dear Not my President; Fucking shit white trash fucking nut fuck fuck stick ass hat. 

[Dandruff]

I don't believe that his verbal garbage has any value, or particular impact, to most folks - other than increasing the stench of the dumpster they came from.  This isn't "reality TV" any more and I suspect that his reputation and businesses won't ever fully recover from his actions.  I do think it matters to him.  How many millions of people currently wouldn't consider staying at one of his hotels, or buying one of his products, or playing golf at one of his clubs?  If things were getting better then people would be more likely to forget, but that doesn't appear to be the direction things are headed.

[AmazonGrace]

Blumenthal wasn't who I expected him to attack the most 

 

[fraurosena]

Oh. Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't you state -- very firmly -- that DPRK was already denuclearized after your meeting last year? Or are you now admitting you lied? 

 

[Ozlsn]

2 hours ago, AmazonGrace said:

Blumenthal wasn't who I expected him to attack the most 

 

I find it fascinating how insecure he is. He goes after any and everyone that threatens him in any way, shape or form. A random senator fought in Vietnam? Attack! A respected man who worked his way up and is now terminally ill is getting positive press? Attack! The media published something mildly critical? Attack!

[fraurosena]

1 hour ago, Ozlsn said:

I find it fascinating how insecure he is. He goes after any and everyone that threatens him in any way, shape or form. A random senator fought in Vietnam? Attack! A respected man who worked his way up and is now terminally ill is getting positive press? Attack! The media published something mildly critical? Attack!

It's the only thing he knows how to do. If threatened, attack. It doesn't matter who or what, just attack. And the more you are threatened, the more you attack. He is indeed incredibly insecure and infantile.

[fraurosena]

The face you make when you have to listen to a moron telling you you have the potential to be a great leader, when you have already held the position of your people's 'Great Leader' since 2011.

[fraurosena]

State censure much?

Afraid to get questions you don't want to answer?

[GreyhoundFan]

 

[AmazonGrace]

 

[AmazonGrace]

 

[AmazonGrace]

I guess this is progress. Rick Santorum now admits that Trump lies about everything all of the time. (It still doesn't matter because Trump. ) 

 

[fraurosena]

2 hours ago, AmazonGrace said:

 

I see nobody gave a reason why they decided to drop this demand, but I guess we all know the answer: he desperately wants a ‘win’ he can tout and Putin whispered in his ear that this is the way to do it.