The Trump Presidency – 2016

[Ben E Lou]

LaVar Ball vs. Donald Trump is the epic clash of the intellectual titans America deserves.

— Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) November 19, 2017

[PilotMan]

Forbes of all places.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/stancol.../#6e1d60ef493a

In other words, if the GOP tax bill is enacted, Congress and the president this year will give up almost all ability to deal with the U.S. economy for at least a decade even when, as almost certainly will happen, there's a downturn. No one else will be able to fulfill this role.
That's almost a textbook definition of economic insanity.

[mauchow]

Wow.

He decides to talk about Lavar Ball...again.
Then backtracks on the elephant ordeal.
Oh and it's been awhile since we've discussed a key proponent in his platform...the wall. We hit a nice trifecta this evening with his tweets.

[Jas_lov]

And he attacked Flake again despite needing his vote for tax reform. And then he dredged up the NFL kneeling issue again. Don't even his supporters get tired of this?

[JPhillips]

Trump v. Ball might never end. It keeps Ball in the spotlight and allows Trump to attack "those people."

[Marc Vaughan]

Originally Posted by JPhillips

Trump v. Ball might never end. It keeps Ball in the spotlight and allows Trump to attack "those people."

Trump (and his propoganda arm at Fox News) are fairly predictable anything negative about people outside of his base is promoted and fanned as much as possible.

Thus in recent days I've seen - "Border Patrolman dies", "Player not respecting Trump single handedly rescuing him from China", "NFL player not respecting anthem", "Non-Republican is sex scandal" and such with dripping diatribe ... while wholly ignoring anything involving the republican party, their core base or Trump himself ...

[Ben E Lou]

I have long suspected this to be true of many who claim to be followers of Christ. At least this guy has the guts to admit it.

Russia probe: Donald Trump supporter says he would believe US President over Jesus | The Independent

[Ben E Lou]

Originally Posted by JPhillips

Trump v. Ball might never end. It keeps Ball in the spotlight and allows Trump to attack "those people."

Yeah, there's little/no downside for either of them on this one.

[Ben E Lou]

WARNING: You will feel yourself getting dumber with every second of this that you watch.



(Seriously, I couldn't watch any more after about 3 minutes in.)

[Draft Dodger]

Originally Posted by Ben E Lou

I have long suspected this to be true of many who claim to be followers of Christ. At least this guy has the guts to admit it.

Russia probe: Donald Trump supporter says he would believe US President over Jesus | The Independent

one of the most brilliant Onion articles ever!

[JPhillips]

WaPo lays out all the known Russian contacts by Trump campaign folks:

October 2015: Russian developer Giorgi Rtskhiladze emails Michael Cohen hoping to begin a development deal with the Trump Organization. Cohen passes, because the organization was already working on a project in Moscow.

Dec. 10: Michael Flynn, an early Trump supporter who would eventually be named national security adviser, travels to Moscow for an event honoring the Kremlin-backed news outlet RT. There, he participates in a banquet during which he shares a table with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

January 2016: Cohen emails Putin’s spokesman seeking help with the real estate development project in Moscow. That project is eventually abandoned.

March 24: George Papadopoulos, recently tapped by the campaign to serve as a foreign policy adviser, meets in London with a Russia-connected professor and a woman introduced to him as “Putin‘s niece” — in reality, a student named Olga Polonskaya.

April 11: Paul Manafort emails Konstantin Kilimnik about leveraging his position with the campaign.

April 18: Papadopoulos is introduced to Ivan Timofeev of the Russian International Affairs Council. Over the next few weeks, Timofeev and Papadopoulos try to work out a meeting between Trump and Putin.

April 26: Papadopoulos is told that the Russians have “dirt” on Clinton in the form of emails.

April 27: Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law, meets with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak at a campaign event at Washington’s Mayflower Hotel. Jeff Sessions, then a senator and eventually Trump’s attorney general, may have greeted Kislyak as well.

May: Alexander Torshin, a senior official in the Russian central bank, expresses his desire for a Trump-Putin meeting by asking a friend to contact the campaign. The emailed offer is titled, “Russian backdoor overture and dinner invite,” and includes an invitation for Trump to meet Torshin at an NRA convention in Louisville, later in the month.

Kushner rejects the overture, reportedly writing: “Most likely these people then go back home and claim they have special access to gain importance for themselves. Be careful.”

May 20 or 21: Donald Trump Jr. sits next to Torshin at an event associated with the National Rifle Association convention.

May 21: Manafort forwards an email from Papadopoulos about a Trump-Putin meeting to his colleague, saying that any such trip “should be someone low level in the campaign so as not to send any signal.”

June: Cohen is invited to attend an economic forum in St. Petersburg, where “he could be introduced to Dmitry Medvedev, the Russian prime minister, top financial leaders and perhaps to Putin.” He declines.

June 6: Trump Jr. may have spoken by phone with Emin Agalarov, a musician and developer who worked with the Trumps on the 2013 Miss Universe pageant in Moscow. Trump Jr. and Agalarov each claim not to remember speaking, but the following day a meeting is set up between Trump Jr. and other campaign staffers predicated on the sharing of information detrimental to Democrat Hillary Clinton from the Russian government.

June 9: That meeting happens. It includes Trump Jr., Kushner and Manafort. They meet with Natalia Veselnitskaya, a lawyer linked to the Russian government, and Rinat Akhmetshin, who has ties to Russian intelligence.

July 7: Manafort offers to brief Deripaska.

July 7: Carter Page, identified by Trump as an adviser on foreign policy, travels to Moscow — with the campaign’s blessing — for an event.

July 18: At an event at the Republican National Convention, Sessions and Kislyak greet each other.

July 20: At another convention event, Page and Kislyak talk.

Sept. 8: Sessions and Kislyak meet again, this time in Sessions’s Senate office. At some point, Sessions and Kislyak apparently discuss the campaign.

Oct. 11: Trump Jr. gives a speech in Paris to a group linked to Russian interests. One of the organizers later briefs the Kremlin on the event.

Dec. 1: Flynn and Kushner meet with Kislyak at Trump Tower. At this meeting, they allegedly discuss setting up a secret communications system between Trump’s team and Moscow.

Dec. 8: Page again travels to Moscow for an event.


Dec. 13: Kushner, apparently at Kislyak’s urging, meets with Sergey Gorkov, head of the Russian bank VEB, which is under sanctions. The next day, Gorkov travels to Japan, where Putin was visiting.

Dec. 25: Flynn texts Kislyak.

Dec. 29: Flynn speaks with Kislyak multiple times, apparently discussing the imminent imposition of new sanctions by the U.S. government, partly in response to Russian meddling in the campaign.

[mckerney]

DC rumor mill: Hill Rs are plotting to abolish the debt ceiling & instead automatically increase the nat'l debt with each new spending bill.

— Dean Clancy (@DeanClancy) November 20, 2017

This would be good if they could actually get it passed the Tea Party wing of the house and hopefully it's not something Dems would try to hold up.

[BBT]

Trump, Ted Cruz, Gov Abbott all have said Border Patrol agent Rogelio Martinez was killed/murdered in an attack over the weekend. But new FBI statement does not confirm they were attacked, and sheriff says Martinez and another agent could have fallen down a culvert. Story coming

— Nick Miroff (@NickMiroff) November 21, 2017

[Thomkal]

Trump order on sanctuary cities permanently blocked by federal judge | Fox News

[mckerney]

Also in Trump executive order blocked by a federal judge news

Federal judge says Trump administration can’t stop funding sex-reassignment surgery for military members - The Washington Post

[RainMaker]

Originally Posted by mckerney

DC rumor mill: Hill Rs are plotting to abolish the debt ceiling & instead automatically increase the nat'l debt with each new spending bill.

— Dean Clancy (@DeanClancy) November 20, 2017

This would be good if they could actually get it passed the Tea Party wing of the house and hopefully it's not something Dems would try to hold up.

Now that they're in power, they don't care about debt. I mean the whole tax plan the Tea Party wing loves is going to dramatically increase the national debt.

[JPhillips]

Originally Posted by RainMaker

Now that they're in power, they don't care about debt. I mean the whole tax plan the Tea Party wing loves is going to dramatically increase the national debt.

They'll care the day after it passes and demand entitlement cuts to stave off the looming debt crisis.

[cartman]

Angry Trump supports are sending tweets to LeVar Burton.

[RainMaker]

Originally Posted by JPhillips

They'll care the day after it passes and demand entitlement cuts to stave off the looming debt crisis.

Nah, they'll care when a Democrat wins the Presidency.

[JPhillips]

They've already said they are going after entitlements next. The justification for that will be massive, unsustainable debt.

[RainMaker]

Originally Posted by JPhillips

They've already said they are going after entitlements next. The justification for that will be massive, unsustainable debt.

They'll never get the votes. It'll just be their excuse for why there is debt. "The debt wasn't from our rich guy tax cuts, it was from welfare queens!".

[Ben E Lou]

Someone woke up on the wrong side of his playpen this morning.

It wasn’t the White House, it wasn’t the State Department, it wasn’t father LaVar’s so-called people on the ground in China that got his son out of a long term prison sentence - IT WAS ME. Too bad! LaVar is just a poor man’s version of Don King, but without the hair. Just think..

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 22, 2017

...LaVar, you could have spent the next 5 to 10 years during Thanksgiving with your son in China, but no NBA contract to support you. But remember LaVar, shoplifting is NOT a little thing. It’s a really big deal, especially in China. Ungrateful fool!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 22, 2017

[corbes]

In case you'd forgotten:

President Trump and accusations of sexual misconduct: The complete list - The Washington Post

[RainMaker]

Lavar is the greatest troll ever. He got the President of the United States to meltdown over his interview. Not sure how anyone can ever top that.

[Logan]

He seems to think LiAngelo is the kid playing for the Lakers.

[Ben E Lou]

Originally Posted by Logan

He seems to think

no

[Logan]

[BYU 14]

Originally Posted by Ben E Lou

Someone woke up on the wrong side of his playpen this morning.

It wasn’t the White House, it wasn’t the State Department, it wasn’t father LaVar’s so-called people on the ground in China that got his son out of a long term prison sentence - IT WAS ME. Too bad! LaVar is just a poor man’s version of Don King, but without the hair. Just think..

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 22, 2017

...LaVar, you could have spent the next 5 to 10 years during Thanksgiving with your son in China, but no NBA contract to support you. But remember LaVar, shoplifting is NOT a little thing. It’s a really big deal, especially in China. Ungrateful fool!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 22, 2017

This dumb fucks twitter account has long since replaced the morning comic strips for me. As I read through the comments on much of his stuff, it continues to amaze how many women still support this guy.

[PilotMan]

It just goes to show that no matter how stupid you think something you said was, or how many people might realize you a fool for saying it, there will still be lot of people who completely agree and ignore the fact that you're an idiot.

[molson]

His handlers must love when something like this comes up. It's probably like when your dog is bothering everyone at Thanksgiving but then finds a new toy to play with for a little bit and occupy him.

[BBT]

Tweets about Lavar Ball and the NFL this morning.

Last night, Navy aircraft went down and 11 are missing.

Yesterday, more of Army Sgt Johnson's remains were found in Niger. You may remember Sgt Johnson from the president's feud with his family after the "phone call." I'm guessing Gen Kelly won't come to the podium for this one.

But, yes, feuding with Lavar Ball and the NFL is much more important to focus your attention on.

[Logan]

TODAY--
8:01 -- White House tells press to expect a "low-key day"
8:07 -- White House instructs pool to clarify that the PRESS will have a low-key day; pool says Trump will have "full schedule of meetings and phone calls"
8:26 -- Trump arrives at his golf course to play 18 holes

— David Martosko (@dmartosko) November 22, 2017

[Ben E Lou]

Originally Posted by molson

His handlers must love when something like this comes up. It's probably like when your dog is bothering everyone at Thanksgiving but then finds a new toy to play with for a little bit and occupy him.

Sen. Tom Carper says W.H. econ adviser Gary Cohn faked a bad connection to get Trump off the phone so they could have a talk on tax reform without him. (via CNN) https://t.co/Wzc2SwZREF

— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) November 22, 2017

[corbes]

The Hidden History of Trump’s First Trip to Moscow - POLITICO Magazine

[NobodyHere]

What are the odds that Trump pardons a turkey this year and then afterwards tweets that it wasn't thankful enough?

[BBT]

Per pool, Trump’s motorcade has arrived at Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach.

This is his 78th day at a golf club, 100th day at a Trump property as president.

— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) November 23, 2017

[kingfc22]

He can spend all his days there at this point. Probably better off for all of us if he’s just golfing.

[molson]

Originally Posted by kingfc22

He can spend all his days there at this point. Probably better off for all of us if he’s just golfing.

I hope he develops all kinds of new hobbies that keep him away from work.

[whomario]

Originally Posted by molson

I hope he develops all kinds of new hobbies that keep him away from work.

maybe someone can endear him to Instagram

[albionmoonlight]

Signs coming out that Flynn is cooperating.

It won’t matter a lick to the MAGAs or GOP in Congress, but the case against the Trumpkins will be airtight if it ever is made.

[PilotMan]

Originally Posted by albionmoonlight

Signs coming out that Flynn is cooperating.

It won’t matter a lick to the MAGAs or GOP in Congress, but the case against the Trumpkins will be airtight if it ever is made.

I prefer Trumpettes.

[CrimsonFox]

Trump Supporters Are Angrily Tweeting At The Wrong

And ....dumb people....mad at Levar Burton.

Brent Spiner wins...

[mckerney]

Trump is already tweeting that Black Friday is the most ungrateful of all the Fridays.

— Conan O'Brien (@ConanOBrien) November 24, 2017

[PilotMan]

Originally Posted by mckerney

That had me rolling on the floor. It wins the day for sure.

[digamma]

Imagine if Obama's press secretary had tried to pass off a Martha Stewart pie as her own on Thanksgiving. That doesn't even register here--much less a first lady who cribber her only notable speaking appearance from the prior first lady.

And, well, as silly and ridiculous as that stuff is, it probably shouldn't move the needle when you have stuff like this going on. (Sorry if there's a pay wall.)

Diplomats Sound the Alarm as They Are Pushed Out in Droves - The New York Times

[whomario]

Originally Posted by digamma

Imagine if Obama's press secretary had tried to pass off a Martha Stewart pie as her own on Thanksgiving. That doesn't even register here--much less a first lady who cribber her only notable speaking appearance from the prior first lady.

And, well, as silly and ridiculous as that stuff is, it probably shouldn't move the needle when you have stuff like this going on. (Sorry if there's a pay wall.)

Diplomats Sound the Alarm as They Are Pushed Out in Droves - The New York Times

who needs diplomates when you have the biggest, baddest and most expensive military and of course the deal-maker ...

[BBT]

Ummmm.....



https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/...=.5c5c742e6589

[NobodyHere]

Originally Posted by digamma

Imagine if Obama's press secretary had tried to pass off a Martha Stewart pie as her own on Thanksgiving. That doesn't even register here--much less a first lady who cribber her only notable speaking appearance from the prior first lady.

And, well, as silly and ridiculous as that stuff is, it probably shouldn't move the needle when you have stuff like this going on. (Sorry if there's a pay wall.)

Diplomats Sound the Alarm as They Are Pushed Out in Droves - The New York Times

Here's a non paywall to the article

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/di...I7T?li=BBnb7Kz

I do have to wonder how many diplomats we actually need.

[cuervo72]

Things like that plus corbes' link really get you wondering if there's a whole crew of Soviet sleepers. I mean, it's really far-fetched, but I'm not sure you could actively sabotage government function any better.

(I know Jon would say that's a feature, not a bug, but when things are headed probably right where your main opposition for the past 75 years wants them, it doesn't look great.)

[Atocep]