Trump Thread

[CrossLOPER]

That's the best side of it. Nobody (of the living) will ever know whether you or me was right.

Oh, no! Is something going wrong with your life?? Don't do anything permanent to solve something temporary! :(

[HopAlongBunny]

I want the rights to a book titled: Mueller's Web

Gates came back into the fold; European politicians are apparently involved; shell companies the world over; money moving at lightspeed
How is this all going to knit together? I await the next installment

https://slate.com/news-and-politics/...-manafort.html

The paper trail seems to be the result of Manafort's lack of technical savvy.
Documents would be sent to Gates as a pdf; pdf would be converted to Word and edited; the results would be packed into a new pdf and sent back.
The document exchange allowed the process to be tracked:

https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/...d-prosecutors/

[Sarmatian]

Even though it isn't presented as such, this is a case of money laundering and tax evasion (Gates and Manafort). A PR firm being paid by a government to do lobbying is common.

The problem isn't their lobbying but the fact that they didn't pay taxes.

[Gilrandir]

Oh, no! Is something going wrong with your life?? Don't do anything permanent to solve something temporary! :(

Ok. So let me know when China's economy has collapsed.

[Seamus Fermanagh]

Ok. So let me know when China's economy has collapsed.

Which time?

Or are you asking about the current iteration only?

[Strike For The South]

Even though it isn't presented as such, this is a case of money laundering and tax evasion (Gates and Manafort). A PR firm being paid by a government to do lobbying is common.

The problem isn't their lobbying but the fact that they didn't pay taxes.

Let that be a lesson to all of you.

[Montmorency]

Let that be a lesson to all of you.

The only two certain things in life are death, and the IRS.

[Hooahguy]

So this was a surprise statement from Trump:

During the meeting, Trump asked Senator Pat Toomey (R-Pa.)and Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) if they included raising the age limit for some gun purchases in the gun control bill they co-sponsored.

“We didn’t address that, Mr. President,” Toomey said.


“You know why? Because you’re afraid of the NRA,” Trump replied with a chuckle. “It’s a big issue right now. A lot of people are talking about it.”
“A lot of people are afraid of that issue — raising the age for that weapon to 21.”


Trump’s reiteration of support for raising the age for purchasing rifles shakes up the debate in the Senate.


“You can’t buy a handgun at 18, 19 or 20 — you have to wait until you’re 21 but you can buy the gun, the weapon used in this horrible shooting at 18,” he said.

I'd bet that a lot of the people who voted for him solely because of gun rights are scratching their heads right about now.

[Seamus Fermanagh]

So this was a surprise statement from Trump:
I'd bet that a lot of the people who voted for him solely because of gun rights are scratching their heads right about now.

Those of us who were Republicans before Trump was are not so surprised. He is a man for the expedient.

[Montmorency]

Trump: 'Take the guns first, go through due process second'

Take the guns first, go through due process second,” Trump said.

Trump was responding to comments from Vice President Pence that families and local law enforcement should have more tools to report potentially dangerous individuals with weapons.

“Allow due process so no one’s rights are trampled, but the ability to go to court, obtain an order and then collect not only the firearms but any weapons,” Pence said.

"Or, Mike, take the firearms first, and then go to court," Trump responded.

"Due process second"? That's probably not so good coming from a POTUS.

EDIT: Then again...

The law, it seems, provides for indefinite detention of any non-citizen without recourse to bond. Oh, America.

(I hope they find this unconstitutional in the remand)

[a completely inoffensive name]

The only way Trump maintains above 35% approval is by being irrationally devoted to any and all conservative positions. If he can't even get this down, only those deep into the cult of personality will continue to follow.

[HopAlongBunny]

Poor Jared, he's been downgraded.
How can a guy responsible for Peace in the Middle East not have the highest security clearance?
Well, it seems to come down to serial failure to disclose, just about everything
Foreign meetings? Ooops
Financing? (as above)
It seems if he were not Trump's son-in-law his clearance would have been bounced almost from the outset:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/...ral-employees/

How will we ever get peace in the Middle East, rebuilt infrastructure, justice reform,...etc.?

http://www.businessinsider.com/what-...tration-2017-4

[rory_20_uk]

Poor Jared, he's been downgraded.
How can a guy responsible for Peace in the Middle East not have the highest security clearance?
Well, it seems to come down to serial failure to disclose, just about everything
Foreign meetings? Ooops
Financing? (as above)
It seems if he were not Trump's son-in-law his clearance would have been bounced almost from the outset:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/...ral-employees/

How will we ever get peace in the Middle East, rebuilt infrastructure, justice reform,...etc.?

http://www.businessinsider.com/what-...tration-2017-4

With all due respect (i.e. none) he is the one of the worst type of Trust-fund non-entities who would be the deputy manager of a small burger franchise based on his own abilities.

But due to his family's wealth and connections he has not so much ascended as been propelled upwards and now is an ornament in meetings.

Lots of foreign leaders like him since they understand nepotism and like easy ways of bribing for influence. And he is probably the best target for that - he can't even fill a form in correctly!

[HopAlongBunny]

Is America going back for the future?

https://www.thedailybeast.com/the-ri...uture?ref=home

Trump sounds like someone from the late 40's-early 50's, but is he really trying to make it happen?
The policies he appears most committed to certainly give that impression. Policies which "restore coal and steel" may certainly help some, but they no longer represent the bulk of the economy. For the majority (who are doing other things) the pay-off will be very weak indeed.

[edyzmedieval]

Imposing tariffs will cause only problems in the long term and as you've seen, EU immediately reacted to this.

http://www.euronews.com/2018/03/03/j...lso-do-stupid-

[Montmorency]

Trump: 'Take the guns first, go through due process second'



"Due process second"? That's probably not so good coming from a POTUS.

Trump talks to donors

President Donald Trump bemoaned a decision not to investigate Hillary Clinton after the 2016 presidential election, decrying a "rigged system" that still doesn't have the "right people" in place to fix it, during a freewheeling speech to Republican donors in Florida on Saturday.

In the closed-door remarks, a recording of which was obtained by CNN, Trump also praised China's President Xi Jinping for recently consolidating power and extending his potential tenure, musing he wouldn't mind making such a maneuver himself.
"He's now president for life. President for life. No, he's great," Trump said. "And look, he was able to do that. I think it's great. Maybe we'll have to give that a shot some day."

The remarks, delivered inside the ballroom at his Mar-a-Lago estate during a lunch and fundraiser, were upbeat, lengthy, and peppered with jokes and laughter. But Trump's words reflected his deeply felt resentment that his actions during the 2016 campaign remain under scrutiny while those of his former rival, Hillary Clinton, do not.

"I'm telling you, it's a rigged system folks," Trump said. "I've been saying that for a long time. It's a rigged system. And we don't have the right people in there yet. We have a lot of great people, but certain things, we don't have the right people."

If this man understood the things he he says, the logical next step would be to scream into a microphone at a campaign rally (which he is still permitted to hold for some reason) about <you know what>.

[Seamus Fermanagh]

...the logical next step would be to scream into a microphone at a campaign rally (which he is still permitted to hold for some reason) about <you know what>.

No US political campaign is ever really at an end, so long as one dollar remains to be spent. Zombie Campaigning

[CrossLOPER]

If this man understood...

He does not have the mental capacity for that function.

[a completely inoffensive name]

Trump talks to donors



If this man understood the things he he says, the logical next step would be to scream into a microphone at a campaign rally (which he is still permitted to hold for some reason) about <you know what>.

The president for life quip legit scares me. The man doesn't really have a sense of humor, unless you consider tales of crude mannerisms to be jokes.

[HopAlongBunny]

"I won't testify and you can't make me!!!"
Famous last words of defiance, or a clever ploy?
Sam Nunberg on receiving a subpoena by Mueller's grand jury spurted out a lot of stuff that was barely coherent:

https://www.npr.org/2018/03/05/59100...-in-tv-tirades

As the circle tightens this sort of stonewalling and evasion might become more common.



If the Special Prosecutor wants to talk you, it's a good idea to sing like a canary.
Lawfare gives a little overview of what can happen:

https://www.lawfareblog.com/sam-nunbergs-media-meltdown

I can't find it, but it sounds like Nunberg is now singing a different song.
The shift from "No" to "Probably" over the course of a day is a miraculous conversion

[CrossLOPER]

"Arrest me."

Kek. This is going to be a meme.

[Seamus Fermanagh]

If you are gonna be the "hardass" when facing that kind of an investigation, the model for doing so is probably G. Gordon....

[Hooahguy]

And another one bites the dust.

Gary D. Cohn, President Trump’s top economic adviser, said on Tuesday that he would resign, becoming the latest in a series of high-profile departures from the Trump administration.

It makes sense though with all the fuss abut tariffs and whatnot. I could see how this may be the last straw, especially if this quote from Cohn is true from Fire and Fury:

It's worse than you can imagine. An idiot surrounded by clowns. Trump won't read anything - not one-page memos, not the brief policy papers; nothing. He gets up halfway through meetings with world leaders because he is bored. And his staff is no better. Kushner is an entitled baby who knows nothing. Bannon is an arrogant prick who thinks he's smarter than he is. Trump is less a person than a collection of terrible traits. No one will survive the first year but his family. I hate the work, but feel I need to stay because I'm the only person there with a clue what he's doing. The reason so few jobs have been filled is that they only accept people who pass ridiculous purity tests, even for midlevel policy-making jobs where the people will never see the light of day. I am in a constant state of shock and horror.

[Fragony]

This is unexpected, Trump is going to meet Kim in North Korea

[rory_20_uk]

This is unexpected, Trump is going to meet Kim in North Korea

Really? He loves dictators - they know how to flatter him properly, how to remove all demonstrators and he really appears to envy their ability to do basically what they want without "rules" and all that democratic baggage. He will also be the first President to do this which again flatters his ego.

I doubt anything will be achieved since North Korea would be mad to give up nukes for a pinkie promise that the USA will try really hard this time not to interfere at a later date.

[Fragony]

Talking is good. As for Trump, I think his ego is a facade, it's too much

[Seamus Fermanagh]

Talking is good. As for Trump, I think his ego is a facade, it's too much

An interesting comment Frags, and certainly at least partially true. Trump does/has/will use his bombast and overt egotism to try to manipulate people with whom he negotiates. The problem is that he does this all in his own head, with very little coordination with his team. I suspect very few of that team know what's "real" ego and what's "show" ego. At times I worry that Trump isn't sure of that line either.

It is a very 'poker player's' approach to foreign policy. And I have known too many poker player's who were so enamored of their own "poker-face" abilities that they forgot the part about needing to have a decent hand...

[spmetla]

I'm all for them talking to each other, better than talking about preventative strikes.

I just hope really hard that Trump doesn't go in there alone and start making his 'deals' seeing as he hasn't a clue what's important over there. I'd be worried that he negotiate our complete withdrawal from South Korea for unenforceable nuclear/ICBM agreements which allow the ROK to fall easily into the orbit of the PRC once we have no skin in the game. Everyone knows that if we don't have boots on the ground to unfortunately be in harms way and guarantee our entry on the side of our allies that we'd probably weasel out like we did for South Vietnam in 1975. If we were to pullout and then a conflict break out a few years later it'd be very easy to try and just leave it at further tough talk and sanctions rather than confront a nuclear North Korea in its consolidation of the peninsula.

After over a year of his ego I think it's anything but a facade. If it were just a front I'd imagine a smooth business machine running the white house which is the opposite of what we've seen. His 'front' might have been useful for business and investors when you saying good things to boost confidence can be enough but it's clearly not working on the scale of POTUS which allows enough scrutiny to ensure that no amount of bombast can whitewash the BS. His ego seems to be the only constant in his policies, it's not America First, it's Trump First.

[HopAlongBunny]

... it's not America First, it's Trump First.

He does more changes than a fashionista shopping for a new outfit.
No matter what you do Mr. Trump, your butt will still look fat

[Montmorency]

Trump on virtual violence





Dovetails with Trump on actual bodily violence





[this could be a very long list]