The Trump Presidency – 2016

[Ben E Lou]

Originally Posted by Radii

North Carolina has a bunch of white people, so they'll get the attention and aid if its needed after this week.

As for me, I'm thrilled to know that recovery in my area is in the hands of the utterly competent Trump Administration.

[cartman]

The poor East Coast

"I think Puerto Rico was incredibly successful" @POTUS "I actually think....I actually think it was one of the best jobs ever done" Answering questions about #HurricaneFlorence preparedness

— Denise Koch WJZ (@DeniseWJZ) September 11, 2018

[PilotMan]

I don't think there's anything to worry about.


Pat Robertson Casts 'Shield Of Protection' Ahead Of Hurricane Florence | HuffPost

[BYU 14]

Originally Posted by PilotMan

I don't think there's anything to worry about.


Pat Robertson Casts 'Shield Of Protection' Ahead Of Hurricane Florence | HuffPost

Fuck, I'll take a Bud Light Orange while he is at it then.

[GoldenCrest Games]

Originally Posted by BYU 14

Fuck, I'll take a Bud Light Orange while he is at it then.

O..M..G

I just now learned that is a real thing.

[cartman]

DILLY DILLY

[Toddzilla]

Originally Posted by stevew

We have an A+ record on handling hurricanes affecting American citizens.

Puerto Ricans *are* American citizens, you ding dong.

[ISiddiqui]

You missed the sarcasm there.

[Toddzilla]

Originally Posted by ISiddiqui

You missed the sarcasm there.

Well then who's the ding dong now?

<----------

[bronconick]

Well, the Marines are bailing out of Parris Island. When the Marines say "Screw this, we're out of here, it should be a hint to everyone else nearby.

[NobodyHere]

I remember I was in Air Force tech school in Biloxi Mississippi the year hurricane Ivan decided to come through. They let all the teachers leave but all students had to shelter in the school buildings. Luckily the hurricane missed us however the base was devastated next year when Katrina came through.

[miami_fan]

Originally Posted by bronconick

Well, the Marines are bailing out of Parris Island. When the Marines say "Screw this, we're out of here, it should be a hint to everyone else nearby.

At some point, SOMEBODY is going to come in and say that the Marines have gone soft for all this "overreacting".

[Comey]

Originally Posted by miami_fan

At some point, SOMEBODY is going to come in and say that the Marines have gone soft for all this "overreacting".

Trump will. Trump will say that

[digamma]

Somehow I still manage to be surprised...

3000 people did not die in the two hurricanes that hit Puerto Rico. When I left the Island, AFTER the storm had hit, they had anywhere from 6 to 18 deaths. As time went by it did not go up by much. Then, a long time later, they started to report really large numbers, like 3000...

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 13, 2018

[digamma]

Second half...

.....This was done by the Democrats in order to make me look as bad as possible when I was successfully raising Billions of Dollars to help rebuild Puerto Rico. If a person died for any reason, like old age, just add them onto the list. Bad politics. I love Puerto Rico!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 13, 2018

[Kodos]

Jesus. How did we end up with this buffoonish monster?

[BYU 14]

Those tweets sink to a new level of ignorance and arrogance. Someone needs to hold this motherfucker accountable.

[Lathum]

Originally Posted by digamma

Somehow I still manage to be surprised...

3000 people did not die in the two hurricanes that hit Puerto Rico. When I left the Island, AFTER the storm had hit, they had anywhere from 6 to 18 deaths. As time went by it did not go up by much. Then, a long time later, they started to report really large numbers, like 3000...

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 13, 2018

Me too. I just really don’t know how to even respond to people who still support this guy. I’m trying really hard not to let it get in the way of personal relationships but I’m struggling at this point. My wife’s uncle routinely posts memes and other right wing propaganda while toeing the line, and sometimes crossing over, into racism. I’ve promised my wife I won’t engage but it’s really getting harder. My mother in law supports him also but is far less vocal .

[Radii]

What a horrible piece of shit human being. "New Low" is a pretty tough case to make, but dear god, how awful.

[Lathum]

I posted about it on Facebook and of course a soon to be Unfriended person chimes in with an article about inflated numbers. When I inform him my post was about trumps replies, not the actual numbers he then posts the story about bottled water. I directly asked him if he is ok with trumps responses and instead of answering the question he continues to deflect.

[Ben E Lou]

BREAKING NEWS:


Scumbag President Says Things A Scumbag Would Say

[molson]

I didn't realize the Maria death toll was such a controversy (though Trump watches more Fox News than I do), but it is:

Hurricane Maria death toll controversy - Wikipedia

This is how conspiracies theories get started. Puerto Rico vastly under-reported fatalities at first and CNN and others sued to get the real number. It wasn't until last week that Puerto Rico finally released the official number, following investigations from the New York Times and George Washington University. Just like the 9/11 truthers who cling to the chaotic early reports about explosions as somehow being the most accurate accounts.

[stevew]

Attempted rape allegations against Kavanaugh?

[Lathum]

Originally Posted by stevew

Attempted rape allegations against Kavanaugh?

Link?

[Atocep]

Originally Posted by stevew

Attempted rape allegations against Kavanaugh?

Nothing is coming of this. The alleged incident was in high school and there doesn't seem to be any proof other than this letter Feinstein had.

[BYU 14]

Originally Posted by stevew

Attempted rape allegations against Kavanaugh?

Originally Posted by Atocep

Nothing is coming of this. The alleged incident was in high school and there doesn't seem to be any proof other than this letter Feinstein had.

I don't get this mentality, something from 30+ years ago that will be almost impossible to substantiate and makes the Dems look desperate. The mid terms by this point should have been a lock for Dems to regain at least one majority and they seem intent on tripping themselves up when they really just need to STFU and let Republicans self destruct.

The heavily edited Kamala Harris video is another head scratcher, she needs to be put on the back burner because shit like that does not help the party cause.

[JPhillips]

Originally Posted by BYU 14

I don't get this mentality, something from 30+ years ago that will be almost impossible to substantiate and makes the Dems look desperate. The mid terms by this point should have been a lock for Dems to regain at least one majority and they seem intent on tripping themselves up when they really just need to STFU and let Republicans self destruct.

Fundraising is good. They are up in the polls. Polls are trending in their direction. Turnout for primaries has been very high.

The Senate is tough due to the map, but I'm not sure how they are tripping themselves up.

[BYU 14]

Originally Posted by JPhillips

Fundraising is good. They are up in the polls. Polls are trending in their direction. Turnout for primaries has been very high.

The Senate is tough due to the map, but I'm not sure how they are tripping themselves up.

By that I mean stooping to Trumps level, which only fires up his base and may discourage some independents from turning out Dem. A lot of the public is sick and tired of the childish bullshit, so take the high road or focus on what you will/can fix.

I am not saying it is going to cost them, but at this point it shouldn't even be close.

[Edward64]

Originally Posted by Atocep

Nothing is coming of this. The alleged incident was in high school and there doesn't seem to be any proof other than this letter Feinstein had.

I agree with this. It may well have happened but unless there is real proof (very hard after so many years) or a pattern, don't think much will come out of this.

[ISiddiqui]

OTOH, it does likely push the Kavanaugh procedures back a bit, which allows for additional pouring over the confidential emails were just dropped on the Senate a week ago. Maybe that was the plan by announcing it (the letter was received in July, I think).

[BishopMVP]

Originally Posted by BYU 14

By that I mean stooping to Trumps level, which only fires up his base and may discourage some independents from turning out Dem. A lot of the public is sick and tired of the childish bullshit, so take the high road or focus on what you will/can fix.

I am not saying it is going to cost them, but at this point it shouldn't even be close.

I love hating on the Dem establishment, but midterms are all about firing up the base & you rarely have ambivalent people in the middle turning out. I don't see any way they don't get a majority in the House this fall. Senate is tough since they won some tough seats in 2012 on the back of Obama & they'd need a clean sweep of the 9-10 races that are close right now. https://www.realclearpolitics.com/ep...house_map.html

Will the Dems carry this momentum through to 2020 or actually strengthen the party at the base and win more state legislatures so they can control the next re-districting? Doubtful, but Trump is the gift that keeps on giving.

[SackAttack]

Originally Posted by ISiddiqui

OTOH, it does likely push the Kavanaugh procedures back a bit, which allows for additional pouring over the confidential emails were just dropped on the Senate a week ago. Maybe that was the plan by announcing it (the letter was received in July, I think).

I would bet that Republican leadership won't even blink at this. It would take 67 votes to impeach and remove Kavanaugh once confirmed.

Find me a plausible scenario where either Democrats have that kind of majority, or else sufficient Republican support to undo a conservative majority on the Court.

No, they're going to press ahead and get Kavanaugh, and as many additional federal judges as possible, confirmed before the midterms just on the off chance that Democrats flip the Senate after all. There will be no delay.

[JPhillips]

Originally Posted by BYU 14

By that I mean stooping to Trumps level, which only fires up his base and may discourage some independents from turning out Dem. A lot of the public is sick and tired of the childish bullshit, so take the high road or focus on what you will/can fix.

I am not saying it is going to cost them, but at this point it shouldn't even be close.

I think this ignores the fact that tens of millions of people like Trump and want to vote for him or reps that support him. Trump's floor, at least with this economy, seems to be @38%. That's a lot of people that are pro-Trump regardless of anything the Dems do or don't do.

[JPhillips]

dola

Manafort flipped. The agreement includes this:

"in any and all matter as to which the government deems the cooperation relevant"

Should get some high quality tweeting sometime soon.

[stevew]

Checkmate: The Manafort Cooperation Is Pardon Proof – emptywheel

[Kodos]

But Trump is playing 3D Chess!

[NobodyHere]

Well this might make Trump happy

Federal prosecutors weigh charges against Democratic powerbroker in Manafort-linked probe

[NobodyHere]

Sad story that's going to end up as meat to Trump supporters. In fact I think he's already tweeted about it.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news...morial-n909826

[Edward64]

Something else to make Trump happy. I believe his comment is in context of refugees fleeing danger but could be expanded to other types of refugees also.

I agree with it in concept, do think there should be exceptions, and can see real-world constraints on its execution ... the most obvious is when will it really be safe for them to return.

Dalai Lama says 'Europe belongs to Europeans' and refugees should ultimately go back home | Fox News

The Dalai Lama said this week that “Europe belongs to the Europeans” and that refugees should eventually return to their native countries to rebuild them.
:
He noted that although Europe was “morally responsible” for helping those refugees fleeing danger in their home countries, the countries should let the immigrants know that “they ultimately should rebuild their own country” and go back.

“Receive them, help them, educate them … but ultimately they should develop their own country,” the 1989 Nobel Peace Prize winner added.
:
The Dalai Lama, who’s been living in exile since 1959 after escaping Tibet and settling in India following the Chinese communist takeover of the region, also echoed his remarks he made in 2016 concerning Germany and the influx of migrants from the Middle East.
:
“Europe, for example Germany, cannot become an Arab country,” he said, according to the Washington Post reported. “Germany is Germany. There are so many that in practice it becomes difficult.”

“From a moral point of view, too, I think that the refugees should only be admitted temporarily,” he continued, adding that “The goal should be that they return and help rebuild their countries.

[Edward64]

Originally Posted by stevew

Checkmate: The Manafort Cooperation Is Pardon Proof – emptywheel

I'm asking because I don't know.

Was there a way for Trump to "legally, not break the law, play in the grey area" and tell/hint to Manafort that he would pardon him at the appropriate time (e.g. end of his first term) and it not be illegal?

Because I find it hard to believe that, if Manafort has the smoking gun evidence, Trump would not "somehow" tell Manafort to keep quiet.

[bronconick]

Omerta only exists in movies in the 21st century.

[SackAttack]

Originally Posted by Edward64

I'm asking because I don't know.

Was there a way for Trump to "legally, not break the law, play in the grey area" and tell/hint to Manafort that he would pardon him at the appropriate time (e.g. end of his first term) and it not be illegal?

Because I find it hard to believe that, if Manafort has the smoking gun evidence, Trump would not "somehow" tell Manafort to keep quiet.

The problem for Manafort is, it effectively doesn't matter. The President's clemency power extends only to federal crimes, and Manafort was charged with stuff that has state equivalents as well. So even if Trump pardoned him, New York or Virginia could still go after him on equivalent charges, and he'd still face the prospect of spending a goodly portion of the rest of his life behind bars.

For Trump to tell anybody facing charges that a pardon is coming if they keep their mouths shut would probably be witness tampering/obstruction of justice, but there's a legal question as to whether a sitting President can be indicted for crimes committed while in office. So it might be that he could tweet that out, blatantly, and not face the music unless Congressional Republicans got shamed into impeaching him on the spot.

But because the charges Mueller has been bringing pursuant to his investigation so far have been either charges against Russian nationals, or charges with both federal and state equivalents insofar as Americans have been charged, it's taken some of the thunder out of Trump's pardon power.

[stevew]

Manafort forfeiture already pays for the investigation so far.

[Edward64]

Originally Posted by SackAttack

The problem for Manafort is, it effectively doesn't matter. The President's clemency power extends only to federal crimes, and Manafort was charged with stuff that has state equivalents as well. So even if Trump pardoned him, New York or Virginia could still go after him on equivalent charges, and he'd still face the prospect of spending a goodly portion of the rest of his life behind bars.

For Trump to tell anybody facing charges that a pardon is coming if they keep their mouths shut would probably be witness tampering/obstruction of justice, but there's a legal question as to whether a sitting President can be indicted for crimes committed while in office. So it might be that he could tweet that out, blatantly, and not face the music unless Congressional Republicans got shamed into impeaching him on the spot.

But because the charges Mueller has been bringing pursuant to his investigation so far have been either charges against Russian nationals, or charges with both federal and state equivalents insofar as Americans have been charged, it's taken some of the thunder out of Trump's pardon power.

Thanks for the explanation.

[JPhillips]

Wouldn't Manafort also have to testify if he's pardoned and subpoenaed? He'd have to hope Trump pardoned him at some later point, and I'm not sure that's a bet worth making.

[cuervo72]

“Receive them, help them, educate them … but ultimately they should develop their own country,” the 1989 Nobel Peace Prize winner added.
:
The Dalai Lama, who’s been living in exile since 1959 after escaping Tibet and settling in India following the Chinese communist takeover of the region

I feel like that's a little bit of shade, there.

[Edward64]

Originally Posted by cuervo72

I feel like that's a little bit of shade, there.

Care to elaborate? Richard Gere would want to understand.

[SackAttack]

Originally Posted by Edward64

Care to elaborate? Richard Gere would want to understand.

'Europe belongs to Europeans', says Dalai Lama

The larger context for the quote. Not quite sure how to interpret shade in this context, considering he's been a refugee himself for almost 60 years.

[cuervo72]

Fox News headline: Lisa Page testimony: Collusion still unproven by time of Mueller's special counsel appointment

Well...yeah? That's why they appointed a special counsel? Obviously you can't prove something before you investigate it.

[cuervo72]

Originally Posted by SackAttack

'Europe belongs to Europeans', says Dalai Lama

The larger context for the quote. Not quite sure how to interpret shade in this context, considering he's been a refugee himself for almost 60 years.

Because they imply that he believes refugees should return to their countries to help rebuild them...while at the same time, he's been a refugee going on 60 years.

(I assume that yes, he'd like to go back, but he has reasons for taking his time -- as might some other refugees.)