Trump 41: Waiting For My Impeachment

[HerNameIsBuffy]

5 minutes ago, formergothardite said:

I hope no one goes, in reality most Trumpsters aren't going to head to D.C., and that it pours and pours rain. 

I hope the decent people break tradition and stay home to make the point of low numbers. Not fair for DCers who always go but best to give him less audience.

[WiseGirl]

1 hour ago, GreyhoundFan said:

Dumpy is spending millions of taxpayer money for his ego-stroking "celebration" tomorrow. And, as a bonus, he gets to line his pocket. He needs to go.

Because you know why not spend millions on a stupid ego-stroking parade so he can look like his comrades.  Because where else could this money go?  Oh, I know, to true heroes like this man.  In case you don't know, this is the first responder that was pleading for more funding with Jon Stewart a few, short weeks ago.  

https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/911-Responder-Luis-Alvarez-Congress-Victims-Find-Death-Funeral-Watch-Livestream--512160832.html

[HerNameIsBuffy]

35 minutes ago, WiseGirl said:

Because you know why not spend millions on a stupid ego-stroking parade so he can look like his comrades.  Because where else could this money go?  Oh, I know, to true heroes like this man.  In case you don't know, this is the first responder that was pleading for more funding with Jon Stewart a few, short weeks ago.  

https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/911-Responder-Luis-Alvarez-Congress-Victims-Find-Death-Funeral-Watch-Livestream--512160832.html

This breaks my heart.  And why I hate congress as well ....there should be none of this extraneous celebratory shit from anyone while they are claiming they don’t have money for real problems.

and the fact that every member of Congress isn’t camped out at the concentration camps demanding transparency and distribution of necessities and doctors is a fucking disgrace. 

[WiseGirl]

CNN's take on this 4th of July debacle 

https://www.cnn.com/2019/07/03/politics/donald-trump-july-4-military-politics-parade/index.html

The military has concerns 

https://www.cnn.com/2019/07/03/politics/military-concerns-trump-july-4th-event/index.html

And boo, baby 45 blimp won't fly

https://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/451505-code-pink-denounces-no-helium-decision-for-trump-baby-blimp

"The permit does not allow the group to fill the 20-foot representation of Trump with helium and float it off the ground."

[GreyhoundFan]

1 hour ago, WiseGirl said:

And boo, baby 45 blimp won't fly

https://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/451505-code-pink-denounces-no-helium-decision-for-trump-baby-blimp

"The permit does not allow the group to fill the 20-foot representation of Trump with helium and float it off the ground."

It's going to be tethered close to the ground, so at least it will make an appearance.

2 hours ago, HerNameIsBuffy said:

I hope the decent people break tradition and stay home to make the point of low numbers. Not fair for DCers who always go but best to give him less audience.

The regular celebration, "A Capitol Fourth", will still be going on at the U.S. Capitol building, hosted by no other than Uncle Jesse. I'm sure the tangerine toddler will include the attendees at that event in "his" numbers.

[GreyhoundFan]

I'm glad to read this. I hope CNN, NBC, ABC, and CBS follow suit: "MSNBC not planning to air Trump's July Fourth celebration live"

Spoiler

President Donald Trump’s takeover of the Fourth of July celebration at the National Mall won’t completely take over the cable airwaves.

MSNBC, for one, doesn’t plan to carry his “Salute to America” live, though the network will assess in real time whether to air clips of the event, a spokesperson told POLITICO.

Fox News is planning to cover “Salute to America” during a two-hour edition of “Special Report,” which airs from 6 to 8 p.m. And C-SPAN is planning to carry the event live, beginning at 6:15 p.m.

CNN representatives did not respond to requests for comment. The network is slated to air “The Situation Room” at 6 p.m. and a special report on the rise of white nationalism at 7 p.m., according to TV listings.

The question of whether networks provide airtime comes as Trump’s event has been dogged by criticism for politicizing the typically nonpartisan celebration of America’s independence andmilitarizing it with fighter jets flying overhead and tanks on the ground.

Trump has said he was inspired by Bastille Day in France, though his desire for tanks rolling through Washington has drawn comparisons to military parades in authoritarian regimes.

The president’s appearance and portions of the parade will air on ABC’s streaming channel, ABC News Live, while the network will also provide a television feed of the event that may be used by local stations. CBS’ streaming channel, CBSN, will carry the event live, as will NBC's site, NBCNews.com, and streaming platform NBC News NOW.

Trump, who told reporters he plans “to say a few words” at Thursday's gathering, has promised it "will be like no other.”

 

[Audrey2]

I don't live any place close to Washington to see, so the point is moot, but if I did I would not go downtown that day and I wouldn't want to take my family anywhere close to the National Mall. It makes me too nervous to have all of these military vehicles and the commander and chief right there. Well I strongly support the military my fear would be that Trump would make the situation too dangerous and life-threatening.

[Flossie]

I'm terrified he's going to use the day to declare himself king and name Treason Barbie as his heir.

[GreyhoundFan]

A good analysis from Philip Bump: "Now even public statements from Cabinet members aren’t true unless Trump says they are"

Spoiler

Late Tuesday afternoon, it appeared that the Trump administration had conceded defeat on its effort to include a citizenship question on the 2020 Census. After the Supreme Court temporarily blocked the Commerce Department’s efforts to include a question to respondents about their citizenship status and with a deadline for printing census forms looming, the government backed down.

“We can confirm that the decision has been made to print the 2020 Decennial Census questionnaire without a citizenship question, and that the printer has been instructed to begin the printing process,” a lawyer for the Justice Department wrote in an email to groups challenging the legality of the question in court.

In a statement, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross lamented the necessary decision.

“I respect the Supreme Court but strongly disagree with its ruling regarding my decision to reinstate a citizenship question on the 2020 Census,” Ross said. “The Census Bureau has started the process of printing the decennial questionnaires without the question. My focus, and that of the Bureau and the entire Department is to conduct a complete and accurate census.”

With confirmation from Commerce, news outlets ran with the story. No citizenship question on the 2020 Census. Sure, allies of the president weren’t happy — one Texas congressman suggested that the administration should just ignore the lawyers’ advice — but the issue was settled.

In the era of President Trump, though, nothing is truly settled until Trump himself weighs in — and even then it's iffy.

On Wednesday morning, well after Justice and Commerce conceded defeat, Trump didn't.

“The News Reports about the Department of Commerce dropping its quest to put the Citizenship Question on the Census is incorrect or, to state it differently, FAKE!” the president wrote on Twitter. “We are absolutely moving forward, as we must, because of the importance of the answer to this question.”

After the court’s decision last week, Trump said that he was seeking to delay the census, so that the Commerce Department could come up with a better explanation of why the citizenship question should be included, as the justices required.

Experts argue that the question is not only not critical to include but would, in fact, result in a less accurate accounting of the country’s population. But that’s incidental to this particular tweet; more important is how Trump has extended his use of the term “fake” to describe news he doesn’t like.

Trump has, in the past, been more circumspect about simply slapping the “fake” label on things he doesn't like. His typical pattern with such things is to make sweeping claims and then walk them back a bit, letting his supporters embrace the extreme version and mollifying critics with the partial retraction.

He slipped a bit in May of last year, when he declared explicitly in a tweet that “91% of the Network News about me is negative (Fake).” Usually, he simply takes issue with anonymously sourced stories by calling them fake, even when they are later shown to be accurate.

But this Commerce Department thing? This is a new level.

Sure, it’s possible that Trump phoned Ross and told him to halt printing of the census forms while the legal fight plays out. Such a last-minute change would also not be the first such incident for the Trump White House and, in fact, seems quite possible.

Update: So it was. See below.

Even if that is the case, which isn't yet established, Trump is setting a remarkable bar for what he demands of the media: Even statements from members of his Cabinet or attorneys working for his Justice Department shouldn't necessarily be reported as fact.

There would be no reason at all for reporters to assume that the president's view on the subject differed from Ross's. After all, there is good reason for the Commerce Department to move forward with printing the forms (the timeline) and good reason to believe that the administration would give up the fight (the Supreme Court decision). As with the budget fight last December which seemed settled but then spurred a lengthy government shutdown, Trump seems to have had a change of heart — perhaps after hearing criticism from allies for whom the two preceding considerations are less important than the political aesthetics at play.

This says something about how Trump uses the term “fake,” certainly. Trump is demanding, in essence, that any report (well, any potentially embarrassing report) only be considered legitimate once he’s personally greenlit it — or risk being described using that pejorative term. It’s an extension of his “coverage is negative and therefore fake” line from last year: If it’s not something that his base wants to hear, it’s fake as well.

But this also says something important about Trump’s administration. Imagine being the commerce secretary and being undercut so directly and publicly. It reveals not only tension within the government but also his own relative impotence. If the guy in charge of the census can’t make a decision in concert with other agencies without being kneecapped by Trump, who in the government can have confidence that the same won’t happen to them?

The answer, of course, is: Only Trump, which is how he likes it.

It’s possible that the census forms won’t be printed over the short term without the citizenship question. That doesn’t mean that Tuesday’s reports were “fake.” It just means that the administration is often a mess.

Update: Late Wednesday, the government asked a court to allow it to reconsider the issue. An attorney for the Justice Department told the court that the “tweet this morning was the first I had heard of the President’s position on this issue.”

“If you were Facebook and an attorney for Facebook told me one thing,” the judge later replied, “and then I read a press release from Mark Zuckerberg telling me something else, I would be demanding that Mark Zuckerberg appear in court with you the next time because I would be saying I don’t think you speak for your client anymore.”

As we said: A mess.

 

[GreyhoundFan]

"Inside the effort to build suspense — and crowds — for Trump’s Fourth of July"

Spoiler

As President Trump’s appointees have worked doggedly to assemble the most ambitious and costly Fourth of July ceremony the nation’s capital has ever seen, they have been guided by one overriding principle: It cannot be a repeat of his 2017 inauguration.

The transformation of the Lincoln Memorial’s grounds into a made-for-TV setting, complete with a VIP seating section for donors and other political supporters, represents the culmination of a four-month-long effort to produce the military celebration the president has envisioned for nearly two years.

For a public gathering that is ostensibly targeting an audience of hundreds of millions of Americans, the display of weaponry, aircraft and pyrotechnics has been scripted primarily to satisfy an audience of one. By having Trump speak to a select audience, flanked by armored tactical vehicles, organizers hope he will avoid the prospect of facing a smaller crowd of the sort that gathered on the Mall for his swearing-in.

But the White House has also been scrambling in recent days to line up enough attendees, as Trump’s aides fret that either thunderstorms or the traditional free concert on the other end of the Mall could diminish the crowd for Trump’s 6:30 p.m. speech. The issue of crowd size has been a sore point with Trump since his inauguration, when far fewer people showed up compared with Barack Obama’s 2009 inaugural ceremony and the president pressed National Park Service officials for nonexistent photographic evidence of a larger audience.

The administration has provided 5,000 tickets to the military, the Pentagon announced Wednesday. Trump’s reelection campaign has handed passes out to allies, donors and trade associations — from the American Bankers Association to the British Embassy, according to people familiar with the matter, while several fundraisers and operatives also were tasked to hand out tickets.

The White House has been a bit clumsy in some of its attempts to give away the passes, however, and officials said there were plenty of tickets still available this week. Members of one nonprofit advocacy organization — which does not accept any gifts from the government — received an email from the Office of Public Liaison this week, offering up to five tickets to attend Trump’s speech.

The event will easily be the most expensive Independence Day fete on the Mall in history. The Park Service has committed to spending nearly $2.5 million for Trump’s involvement alone, and the air show and transport of tanks and other heavy machinery will also run into the millions. The president, however, described it Wednesday as a bargain.

“The cost of our great Salute to America tomorrow will be very little compared to what it is worth,” the president tweeted. “We own the planes, we have the pilots, the airport is right next door (Andrews), all we need is the fuel. We own the tanks and all. Fireworks are donated by two of the greats. Nice!”

While work on the project has accelerated in recent weeks, it can be traced directly back to the president’s July 2017 visit to Paris, where he attended a Bastille Day parade along the Avenue des Champs-Elysees. Current and former aides recalled that they were texting during the parade as they watched Trump’s reaction to the jet booms, gun trucks and marching troops, aware that he would want to replicate it back home.

Riding in the president’s specially armored limousine on the way to Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris, Trump again brought up a celebration of military might — and began sketching out a parade with tanks, flyovers and more before Air Force One even took off. Aides who warned him that tanks would tear up the streets said he dismissed such concerns — and said there would be ways around them.

“There were many long conversations with the boss about this,” said one former senior administration official.

Trump’s initial idea, to hold a military parade coinciding with Veterans Day last year, was scuttled after its projected cost of up to $92 million became public.

One former White House official said that then-Chief of Staff John F. Kelly, who was sensitive to pushback he received from the Pentagon, helped put the brakes on the military parade that Trump has wanted for “forever.” But under current acting chief of staff Mick Mulvaney, this person added, Trump has more leeway to indulge his whims and impulses.

During Polish President Andrzej Duda’s visit to the White House last month, Trump arranged for an F-35 fighter jet to fly over the complex — and the president loved the display, one White House official said.

Discussions around the current event began at least as early as Feb. 21, when Trump brought it up in a lunch with Interior Secretary David Bernhardt, according to an individual familiar with the matter. Three days later, Trump urged Americans to prepare for “one of the biggest gatherings in the history of Washington, D.C., on July 4th . . . Major fireworks display, entertainment and an address by your favorite President, me!”

Since then, White House, Interior and Pentagon staffers have engaged in extended negotiations over what sort of commemoration the federal government could undertake without additional appropriations from Congress. Officials from both the Park Service and the Defense Department have raised logistical and budgetary concerns at several points, according to several government officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive matter. Many of those concerns have been brushed aside.

Two U.S. defense officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue, said the Pentagon has been planning for the July 4 celebration since at least February, when specific requests for aircraft such as the B-2 Spirit stealth bomber were made by the White House.

Military officials did not see a problem with the requests, considering them to be part of a civic event that the Pentagon would typically support. Briefing slides with aircraft on them were created and distributed in some parts of the Pentagon, one of the defense officials said.

But as July neared, the Pentagon ran into a challenge: The White House did not want defense officials to detail the military’s involvement out of deference to the president’s desire to have surprises for observers during the aerial show. The situation created a dynamic in which it appeared the Pentagon was less organized for the celebration than it really was, one of the defense officials said.

One apparent exception was the president’s desire to include tanks in the celebration. A third defense official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said many top military officials were not aware that the president definitely wanted tanks involved until last week. Two M1A2 Abrams tanks were shipped up on rail cars from Fort Stewart in Georgia over the weekend along with other armored vehicles, including M2 Bradley Fighting Vehicles.

National Park Service officials remain concerned that the deployment of tanks on the Lincoln Memorial’s grounds could damage its curbs and sidewalks, which are not designed to hold the weight of a vehicle weighing more than 60 tons. The federal government spent $30.7 million to refurbish the memorial under the Obama administration, including its sidewalks, and the Trump inaugural committee still hasn’t reimbursed the agency for damage it inflicted to the memorial during its setup in January 2017.

With the event less than a day away, some details were still being worked out. White House officials have repeatedly urged Trump to stick to the script his staff has prepared for him to deliver Thursday, which includes a unifying message about patriotism and avoids political taunts or attacks, and aides say he has agreed not to give a political speech. But his aides were tentatively planning to play campaign music when he takes the stage, according to one individual familiar with the plan.

And while the Park Service has dipped into a pot of entrance and recreation fees to transfer nearly $2.5 million for the White House portion of the event, it is unclear which parks will end up losing funds as a result. At one point, Interior officials raised the idea of taking money from sites located in liberal communities such as San Francisco’s Golden Gate National Recreation Area, according to a person familiar with the discussion, but that has yet to take place.

The decision to tap funds normally reserved for projects aimed at enhancing visitors’ experience has sparked howls of protest from Democratic lawmakers and National Park Service advocates, who note the agency has a $11.9 billion deferred maintenance backlog.

Rep. Betty McCollum (D-Minn.), who chairs the House Appropriations subcommittee on environment appropriations, said Wednesday that she plans to “schedule a hearing to get a full accounting from Interior Secretary Bernhardt on the use of National Park fees to pay for this event.”

“This administration needs to be reminded that the power of the purse belongs to Congress,” she said.

Will Ritter, co-founder of Poolhouse, a Republican ad agency, said that while Thursday’s event is more elaborate than past July 4 observances, some of the criticisms are overblown.

“Panicking partisans that think this is the cinematic beginning of a military state need to grab a sparkler and a Bud,” Ritter said. “It’s much bigger than one person, much more important than showing off metal, nailing the president or ‘owning the libs.’ It should be an unapologetic celebration that we are blessed to live in the greatest nation on earth, during the best time in human history. Have a hot dog!”

The president’s advisers say Trump sees the event as a way to associate himself with the flag and patriotism, which will resonate with many Americans the way his comments criticizing National Football League players for kneeling during the national anthem did.

After wading into the anthem debate, according to two former senior administration officials speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss private conversations, Trump told his aides, “It’s a winning issue for me.”

“What are they going to say? I’m being too patriotic? I believe in America?” one official recounted Trump saying. “Give me a break.”

Asked about the event Wednesday, Trump campaign communications director Tim Murtaugh was unapologetic. “President Trump loves this country,” Murtaugh said. “He’ll never apologize for that.”

So the idea was to take money from "liberal communities" to pay for this crap? You couldn't make this up.

[FloraKitty35]

This whole shit show should be called Nuremberg on the Potomac.

[Jana814]

4 hours ago, Flossie said:

I'm terrified he's going to use the day to declare himself king and name Treason Barbie as his heir.

This is totally something he would do. 

[fraurosena]

Happy Fourth of July to all American FJ'ers! I hope you all have a good day filled with lots of fun and cheer whilst remembering how America gained her independence from tyranny. Celebrate that historical victory, and make a vow and prepare yourselves to once again win back independence, this time from the yoke of Trumpism and the Repugliklan party.

Edited July 4, 2019 by fraurosena

[formergothardite]

Not feeling particularly proud to be an American this year. It is like a thousand degrees with 100% humidity and with  million biting insects outdoors right now so I personally will be huddled inside, in my pajamas watching Stranger Things. We don't typically go see fireworks since my family hates crowds and hates sitting outdoors for hours in miserable weather. We usually watch the Capital Fourth but I don't know if we will this year. 

But I hope those who enjoy this holiday more than me will have fun. Just remember alcohol and fireworks don't mix! 

[WiseGirl]

Punch Pops are my go to this summer. I will use them to get me through. We watch the Macy's Fireworks and the Capitol Fourth but if it pans to 45, nope, nope, nope. Hmmm who thinks 45 will claim that crowd as his crowd?

Anyway with members in my family on the Autism Spectrum and 3 dogs fireworks are a no go. 

I shall also celebrate my freedom this year by donating to the charities that are actively trying to help those in detention camps. I also make regular contributions to the ACLU who are fighting mistreatment of immigrants on legal grounds.

Happy 4th US FJers!

Edited July 4, 2019 by WiseGirl
Spelling

[formergothardite]

41 minutes ago, WiseGirl said:

Hmmm who thinks 45 will claim that crowd as his crowd?

He for sure will. One of the reasons I'm not watching Capital Fourth is because I'm worried it will pan to him and my entire evening will be ruined. 

[WiseGirl]

34 minutes ago, formergothardite said:

He for sure will. One of the reasons I'm not watching Capital Fourth is because I'm worried it will pan to him and my entire evening will be ruined. 

Macy's Fireworks it is then.  Oh and isn't there usually something from the Boston Pops?  Hmmm, yes there is.  Alternative plans, done!

https://patch.com/massachusetts/boston/boston-fireworks-2019-how-watch-online-tv

[formergothardite]

I see that Trump's celebration ends at 7:30 and the Capital Fourth begins at 8 followed by fireworks which are for both events. So Capital Fourth will be counted by him since it is sandwiched between his events and what he views as his fireworks. Thanks for the suggestion @WiseGirl, we will be watching those. 

 

[fraurosena]

Trump's all excited.

Anyone else think he identifies with the Sun King's adage 'L'etat, c'est moi''?

Whatever he thinks, I'm keeping my finger's crossed it rains on his parade. 

If Rufus is kind, rain will burst torrentially above his head just after he begins his speech.

Russia's not so impressed though.

I'm sniggering at the thought of Trump's reaction when he sees this tweet.

[fraurosena]

Way to go Trump. Gotta hand it to you, you know how to make a buck. Throw a self-aggrandizing parade, paid for by taxpayers, and get guests to buy tickets to see them. Ka-ching!

 

[fraurosena]

 

[GreyhoundFan]

 

[fraurosena]

Trump’s “Salute to America” speech wasn’t as bad as some feared. But it was still weird.

Quote

If you were worried President Donald Trump would use his July 4 “Salute to America” event as an opportunity to blast Democrats or the FBI in front of the Lincoln Memorial, you can rest easy. During the rain-soaked event, Trump avoided partisan politics, and instead focused on glorifying the US military — occasionally in completely and amusingly ahistorical ways.

At one point Trump, struggling to read his speech, claimed that the US military “took over the airports” during the Revolutionary War, which of course took place well over a century before airplanes were even invented.

“The Continental Army suffered a bitter winter of Valley Forge, found glory across the waters of the Delaware and seized victory from Cornwallis of Yorktown,” Trump said, before things went off the rails. “Our Army manned the air, it rammed the ramparts, it took over airports, it did everything it had to do. And at Fort McHenry, under the rockets’ red glare, had nothing but victory. When dawn came, the star-spangled banner waved defiant.”

Watch:

The substance of Trump’s speech largely consisted of him detailing memorable moments from US military history, then pausing for flyovers while a military band played. The tanks Trump controversially demanded be a part of the event were parked somewhat inconspicuously around the stage.

Trump vowed to “plant the American flag on Mars” and urged young people to “join our military and make a truly great statement in life. And you should do it.” What Trump didn’t mention, of course, was that he infamously received a number of draft deferments that allowed him to avoid serving during his youth.

Downpours in Washington DC earlier during the day on Thursday led some to surmise the “Salute to Service” event would draw a relatively small crowd and end up being a reprise of his inauguration. But in the end a decent audience turned out.

Predictably, Trump took to Twitter to celebrate the crowd size shortly after his speech ended.

Trump also retweeted a post featuring bizarre artwork by Dinesh D’Souza showing Abraham Lincoln’s face morphing into his.

 

Still, however, the rain produced the less-than-ideal visual of Trump delivering a speech behind a wet protective enclosure.

Although Trump’s speech was inoffensive, he did boast that “our nation is stronger today than it ever was before” and touted his “Space Force.” And considering the Trump administration’s fight against reproductive and LGBT rights and his own equivocal comments about white supremacists, his invocation of the women’s suffrage movement and Martin Luther King, Jr. as things Americans should be proud of on July 4 fell flat.

As was the case with the D-Day commemoration speech he delivered last month in France, Trump “Salute to America” address wasn’t altogether terrible, but he was the wrong person to deliver it. His deification of the military also felt more like something you’d see in Pyongyang or Moscow then along the National Mall in Washington, DC.

But at least Trump didn’t use the Lincoln Memorial as a prop to deliver the campaign-style screed some expected. Such are the things that qualify as normal in the Trump era.

The big wuss had a protective shield against the rain. A pity he didn't get wet, but it did serve to demonstrate his hydrophobia.

I loved the caption Aaron Rupar gave to this picture. "Worst Sgt. Pepper remake ever"

 

[GreyhoundFan]

Here are a couple of good reactions to the mango moron's assertion that there were airports in the 1700s:

[fraurosena]

Disinformation is the only thing they know how to do, so they're going with it even when it isn't necessary and it makes them look stupid.