The Trump Presidency – 2016

[ISiddiqui]

I'd also argue if this change was to happen immediately then Marianne Williamson's odds just doubled.

[larrymcg421]

Originally Posted by ISiddiqui

I'd also argue if this change was to happen immediately then Marianne Williamson's odds just doubled.

Maybe if they were LSD filled rooms.

[Atocep]

Originally Posted by ISiddiqui

I'd also argue if this change was to happen immediately then Marianne Williamson's odds just doubled.

To 2%?

[miami_fan]

Originally Posted by JPhillips

We have to be pretty close to Ted Cruz or Marco Rubio saying the hurricane was a threat to Alabama.

edit: lol

Counter terrorism adviser releases a statement saying the hurricane was indeed a threat to Alabama.

Having just gotten home from a local NXT event and this whole thing seems like a work, I think the appropriate chant for this is "THIS IS AWESOME!"

https://www.cnn.com/2019/09/06/polit...ama/index.html

[stevew]

He obviously confused Georgia and Alabama on the map, right?

[Brian Swartz]

Sharpiegate is the single dumbest 'scandal' that I can recall ever seeing. And that's saying something. I agree with the fact that Trump needs to just let it drop, but the same thing can be said of the media. Another fine example that a free country always, always gets the government it deserves.

[albionmoonlight]

Originally Posted by stevew

He obviously confused Georgia and Alabama on the map, right?

I think he just mis-spoke, He was getting lots of briefings. At some earlier point, Alabama was in the path. That had changed, but Alabama was still in his head.

What makes the whole thing so fascinating is just how harmless and understandable his mistake was.

[albionmoonlight]

Originally Posted by Brian Swartz

Sharpiegate is the single dumbest 'scandal' that I can recall ever seeing. And that's saying something. I agree with the fact that Trump needs to just let it drop, but the same thing can be said of the media. Another fine example that a free country always, always gets the government it deserves.

The slow news week will be the death of us all :-)

[NobodyHere]

Originally Posted by Brian Swartz

Sharpiegate is the single dumbest 'scandal' that I can recall ever seeing. And that's saying something. I agree with the fact that Trump needs to just let it drop, but the same thing can be said of the media. Another fine example that a free country always, always gets the government it deserves.

I think this whole sharpie thing is just a case of Trump dangling his keys and the media/internet jumps...again.

[JPhillips]

The essence Conservatism in 2019 captured in a picture.

This is art. pic.twitter.com/0ZnaNoSNEW

— Scott Lincicome (@scottlincicome) September 7, 2019

[PilotMan]

Brian's right. We really need to let more slide with djt. Constantly trying to hold him to a standard... any standard, as low as you can conceive is really asking a lot. He's old, senile, has some major racist tendencies, best to just pretend he's like a powerless, dottering, old fool king and know that the real adults in the room know better. It's just not fair otherwise.

[PilotMan]

Originally Posted by JPhillips

The essence Conservatism in 2019 captured in a picture.

This is art. pic.twitter.com/0ZnaNoSNEW

— Scott Lincicome (@scottlincicome) September 7, 2019

Straight PWNED! The libs are so fucked!

[Thomkal]

So this would mean Trump was thinking ahead and a possible impeachment battle coming at some point, but he's going to need every Republican senator he can find then-so was this to show the great state of Alabama that he was their friend, not the Democrats and should vote out the Democrat in the next election? Crazy I know but in today's political world, maybe not?

[Chief Rum]

Originally Posted by Thomkal

So this would mean Trump was thinking ahead and a possible impeachment battle coming at some point, but he's going to need every Republican senator he can find then-so was this to show the great state of Alabama that he was their friend, not the Democrats and should vote out the Democrat in the next election? Crazy I know but in today's political world, maybe not?

No way in hell. He's not capable of strategizing that far ahead.

Plus, that would call for him seeing impeachment as a real possibility, and his ego would never accept that.

[Brian Swartz]

Originally Posted by PilotMan

We really need to let more slide with djt. Constantly trying to hold him to a standard... any standard, as low as you can conceive is really asking a lot. He's old, senile, has some major racist tendencies, best to just pretend he's like a powerless, dottering, old fool king and know that the real adults in the room know better. It's just not fair otherwise.

LOL. I've been taken to task by multiple people on this board for being too pro-impeachment, have opposed Trump's nomination and election from the start, and so on. It's absolutely hilarious that anyone would think I don't want him held to any standard at this point.

[Atocep]

Originally Posted by Thomkal

So this would mean Trump was thinking ahead and a possible impeachment battle coming at some point, but he's going to need every Republican senator he can find then-so was this to show the great state of Alabama that he was their friend, not the Democrats and should vote out the Democrat in the next election? Crazy I know but in today's political world, maybe not?

I think this is mental deterioration combined with Trump's stubbornness and inability to accept defeat.

This would normally be a case to at least explore using the 25th amendment, but for Trump it's out there but not so far out there to cause that level of alarm yet.

[PilotMan]

Originally Posted by Brian Swartz

LOL. I've been taken to task by multiple people on this board for being too pro-impeachment, have opposed Trump's nomination and election from the start, and so on. It's absolutely hilarious that anyone would think I don't want him held to any standard at this point.

Isn't holding to standard exactly what is happening? It's like the my dog ate my homework and then it's found out that you don't have a dog, so you get one 2 days later, then say you were right because you were thinking about getting one and that's why your homework didn't get done, so you were right all along and people are just making up lies about you and being mean and unfair.

[miami_fan]

So the President of the United States of America invited the Taliban to meet with him at the Presidential retreat four days before September 11th?

All right then.

[cartman]

Remember, there is always a tweet

While @BarackObama is slashing the military, he is also negotiating with our sworn enemy the Taliban--who facilitated 9/11.

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 13, 2012

[Edward64]

Not sure I believe this meeting was really going to happen or at the level he seem to imply but assuming its accurate, I'll give Trump credit for trying to end the war and move the dial.

I do want to understand what was being negotiated but pretty obvious to me its time to end it somehow.

https://www.cnn.com/2019/09/07/polit...ent/index.html

President Donald Trump said Saturday that Taliban leaders were to travel to the US for secret peace talks this weekend but that the meeting has been canceled and he's called off peace talks with the militant group entirely.

Trump tweeted that he scrapped the meeting after the Taliban took credit for an attack in Kabul, Afghanistan, that killed a dozen people, including an American soldier.

Inviting Taliban leaders onto American soil is an unprecedented move and a significant development in America's longest running war just days from the anniversary of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. It comes after Trump said as recently as late last month that he is planning to withdraw thousands of US forces from Afghanistan but will keep 8,600 troops in the country at least for the time being. It's not clear if Trump's Saturday night announcement will impact that plan.

"Unbeknownst to almost everyone, the major Taliban leaders and, separately, the President of Afghanistan, were going to secretly meet with me at Camp David on Sunday," Trump tweeted Saturday night.

Trump claimed that before traveling to the US on Saturday evening, "Unfortunately, in order to build false leverage, they admitted to......an attack in Kabul that killed one of our great great soldiers, and 11 other people."

"I immediately cancelled the meeting and called off peace negotiations," Trump added.

[miked]

Is there anything he could do where you would jerk off his "effort" or "ideas"?

[Edward64]

Originally Posted by miked

Is there anything he could do where you would jerk off his "effort" or "ideas"?

In general, I'm supportive (nothing is 100% but let's say 70-80%) of his foreign policy including China & immigration (I would have included the initial NK outreach but that seems to have fizzled out). Definitely against his domestic health care, gun policy, over turning Roe v Wade. Won't call this a policy but will add his overall antagonistic approach to everything.

How about yourself, see any Trump policy that you would support 70-80% of?

[JPhillips]

Trump smiling and thumbs upping in photos with the Taliban just before 9/11 would have been obscene. Yes, end the war, but don't bring the people that still defend 9/11 to American soil and never let the President convey legitimacy on them by appearing with them.

[Edward64]

Originally Posted by JPhillips

Trump smiling and thumbs upping in photos with the Taliban just before 9/11 would have been obscene. Yes, end the war, but don't bring the people that still defend 9/11 to American soil and never let the President convey legitimacy on them by appearing with them.

That is a good point, I don't know why Trump thought it was a good idea to bring them to US to do this, plenty of other neutral third party countries that would have accomplished the same thing.

I assume its because of the photo op but would have to believe his advisers told him otherwise. In the big scheme of things, does it really matter if it did result in a nice deal? IMO its less harmful than Obama's line in the sand with Syria.

[miked]

Why would anyone trust the Taliban to abide by a deal. If Obama had proposed a "truce" and negotiating peace, they would move to impeach. This is not a foreign government, but a terrorist organization. Maybe pull out, maybe end it on some terms of your own, but negotiating with the Taliban seems pretty stupid.

[Edward64]

Now if he can only bully Mexico in paying for the Wall.

Trump’s plan to stem border crossings gets results - POLITICO

President Donald Trump’s plan to force Mexico to stem the flow of migrants across the southwest border of the U.S. appears to be working.

Border arrests, a metric for illegal crossings, plummeted to 51,000 in August, according to preliminary government figures obtained by POLITICO Wednesday, down more than 60 percent since a peak in May. And border watchers say it’s largely because of an agreement Trump struck with Mexico in June. Mexican authorities, backed by the newly formed National Guard, are now cracking down on migrants traversing Mexico’s southern border with Guatemala, monitoring river crossings and stopping buses carrying migrants from Central America through Mexico. At the same time, the U.S. is making tens of thousands of asylum seekers wait in Mexico while their applications are considered.

The decline in border traffic — if sustained — could amount to a major victory for Trump as he heads into the 2020 election. Perhaps more important, the experimental measures taken by his administration could reshape immigration enforcement for years to come.

“I think that they are getting exactly what they said they would get, by forcing the hand of Mexico,” said Oscar Chacón, executive director of Chicago-based pro-migrant group Alianza Americas. “But the question is, ‘Is it sustainable?’”
:
:
The Mexico agreement followed threats from Trump to impose across-the-board escalating tariffs on Mexican goods that would likely have resulted in severe economic costs on both sides of the border. When the agreement was announced, it was widely interpreted as a fig leaf that would allow Trump to back down but wouldn’t likely have much impact on migration.

But the deal's components appear to have contributed to the steep drop in border arrests, according to interviews with six former officials and advocates both for and against greater levels of immigration, as well as a POLITICO analysis of enforcement data.

[Edward64]

Originally Posted by miked

Why would anyone trust the Taliban to abide by a deal. If Obama had proposed a "truce" and negotiating peace, they would move to impeach. This is not a foreign government, but a terrorist organization. Maybe pull out, maybe end it on some terms of your own, but negotiating with the Taliban seems pretty stupid.

I honestly disagree. Can we trust them? I think the odds are against it.

But I don't see a choice with negotiating with Taliban unless the plan is to (1) stay and help support Afghanistan government for another 20 years and/or (2) ramp up war effort and try to destroy Taliban once and for all.

AQ and like, Islamic terrorism have expanded beyond the Taliban in Afghanistan.

[JPhillips]

Generally Bahamians can come to the U.S. with a passport, but now we're denying entry to anyone without a visa. Bahamians trying to evacuate Freeport were told to leave the ferry if they don't have a visa.

Shameful.

[Brian Swartz]

Originally Posted by PilotMan

Isn't holding to standard exactly what is happening? It's like the my dog ate my homework and then it's found out that you don't have a dog, so you get one 2 days later, then say you were right because you were thinking about getting one and that's why your homework didn't get done, so you were right all along and people are just making up lies about you and being mean and unfair.

Originally Posted by NobodyHere

I think this whole sharpie thing is just a case of Trump dangling his keys and the media/internet jumps...again.

What the second person said. As to the first …

No that's not exactly what's happening, except in very small part. Trump said something that was wrong and refused to admit it. Something that isn't even close to the 100 worst things that he's said as President. Then the media made it a focus of their coverage, often overshadowing the hurricane itself, for a solid week. And then you have the fact that so much of it has not just criticized the really dumb things Trump actually said on this, but gone out of their way to claim falsely that Dorian was never headed towards Alabama, imply Trump doesn't know where the state is, etc. When the media lets Trump control the narrative and then can't even stick to the facts on those subjects, they're not doing anything resembling reporting the news - they're being useful enablers.

[miami_fan]

Originally Posted by JPhillips

Generally Bahamians can come to the U.S. with a passport, but now we're denying entry to anyone without a visa. Bahamians trying to evacuate Freeport were told to leave the ferry if they don't have a visa.

Shameful.

Muslims... check
Mexicans...check
Bahamians... check

[PilotMan]

Brian, c'mon, you know as well as I do, that by the time he had tweeted the storm was categorically going to make a hard right. That board from the briefing was not the most up to date forecast. There's not even an ounce of truth in the idea that bama was a target. Maybe a few days earlier, but c'mon.

This whole thing makes me wonder if someone had to answer a question like, why won't the hurricane just keep going across the us? Because stupid, ignorant questions like that are exactly the kind this president is knowledgeable enough to ask.

[QuikSand]

Originally Posted by JPhillips

Generally Bahamians can come to the U.S. with a passport, but now we're denying entry to anyone without a visa. Bahamians trying to evacuate Freeport were told to leave the ferry if they don't have a visa.

Shameful.

It's a sort of parlor trick. Mr. Miller can reliably determine where a country lies on the Norway-to-shithole spectrum merely by looking at the color of its residents' skin. Very efficient.

[JPhillips]

The big problem is not the map, but the fact that NOAA officials sent out at least two letters telling the NWS folks not to contradict the President. If he's willing to screw around with the NWS, what other agencies is he willing to demand loyalty from? What will we not be able to trust in the midst of an election year?

[QuikSand]

Originally Posted by JPhillips

...what other agencies is he willing to demand loyalty from? What will we not be able to trust in the midst of an election year?

We already know the answer to this.

[Edward64]

Originally Posted by miami_fan

Muslims... check
Mexicans...check
Bahamians... check

Good opportunity to "buy" the Bahamas, make it our 51st state, and cement Trump's legacy.

[JPhillips]

JFC, other countries aren't for sale.

[NobodyHere]

[Kodos]

That's a pretty good one!

[Thomkal]

Jerry Falwell Jr not having a good day:


‘Someone’s Gotta Tell the Freakin’ Truth’: Jerry Falwell’s Aides Break Their Silence - POLITICO Magazine

[Edward64]

Not really Trump or politics (anymore), FWIW ...

Todd Palin files for divorce from former Alaska governor Sarah Palin - Anchorage Daily News

Todd Palin appears to have filed for divorce from former Alaska governor and one-time vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin, his wife of 31 years.

In a document filed Friday in Anchorage Superior Court, Todd Palin, 55, asked to dissolve the marriage, citing an “incompatibility of temperament between the parties such that they find it impossible to live together as husband and wife.”

The divorce filing uses initials rather than full names, but identifies the couple’s marriage date and the birth date of their only child who is a minor, Trig Palin. The filing asks for joint legal custody of the child.

Anchorage attorney Kimberlee Colbo is representing Todd Palin in the divorce. In a filing, Colbo said she would ask the court to designate the divorce confidential as it moves forward.

Colbo did not immediately respond Monday to a request for comment from Todd Palin.

[Brian Swartz]

Originally Posted by PilotMan

Brian, c'mon, you know as well as I do, that by the time he had tweeted the storm was categorically going to make a hard right.

Did you read what I posted?

Originally Posted by me

Trump said something that was wrong and refused to admit it.

Pretty sure we're on the same page on that.

I also think you're doing the same thing the media did when you say 'maybe a few days earlier … ' … given that the forecasts didn't show the northward turn until less than 48 hours prior to Trump's original tweet. He also mentioned four other states, all of which were forecasted to get hit. But nevermind that, we've got to have wall-to-wall coverage of the one part he did get unambiguously wrong, exaggerate the wrongness of it, and engage in a juvenile playground dispute containing the precise maturity of 'Yes you did - no you didn't - yes you did' with the petulant adult child occupying the Oval Office.

Stuff that has been mentioned rightly by others; strong-arming the NOAA, the Bahamas visa issue, etc - these are exactly the kind of things along with tracking reports on the hurricane, recovery efforts in the Bahamas … if the media had focused on that stuff instead they'd have my applause.

[bronconick]

New tonight: Given NYT has now made details on Russian spy public, I can now report additional info we had withheld. Asset had direct access to Vladimir Putin, including the remarkable ability to take photos of presidential documents, and had served US for more than a decade. 1/ https://t.co/gyk8hA79k1

— Jim Sciutto (@jimsciutto) September 10, 2019

Almost as impressive as the Russians elevating one of their assets to President of the United States

[larrymcg421]

Every time someone complains about the media focusing on trivial stuff or claims that Trump purposely does stupid stuff to distract the media from serious scandals, I see tons of media coverage of all the stuff people say the media isn't covering.

[QuikSand]

In case you're not depressed enough... thread worth reading. Nothing really new here, but his synthesis is pretty effective.

Ian Bassin on Twitter: "This tweet is far more disturbing then it appears on the surface (which is already disturbing). Let me explain with a thread. /1… https://t.co/zCYwVcrcYG"

[BishopMVP]

NC-09 re-election finally happens today. McCready still running on the Dem side, Republicans replaced Harris with Dan Bishop (the unrepentant author of HB-2 & a full on Trump supporter.) It'll be interesting.

[BYU 14]

From the even a stopped clock is right twice a day category, Trump cans Bolton. Probably the second most dangerous guy in this administration, good riddance!

[Ben E Lou]

Originally Posted by BYU 14

From the even a stopped clock is right twice a day category, Trump cans Bolton. Probably the second most dangerous guy in this administration, good riddance!

GUYS. HE IS STILL IN THE BUILDING. pic.twitter.com/jgFATP7XFV

— Doug Stafford (@dougstafford) September 10, 2019

[Ben E Lou]

Oh my. Trump and Bolton are going to have a public break-up war.

This is amazing:

"John Bolton just texted me. Just now, he's watching. He said 'let's be clear: I resigned.'" pic.twitter.com/ebMIM1oUhV

— Dave Brown (@dave_brown24) September 10, 2019

[Atocep]

Originally Posted by BYU 14

From the even a stopped clock is right twice a day category, Trump cans Bolton. Probably the second most dangerous guy in this administration, good riddance!

Let's see who the replacement is before we celebrate this. Bolton was awful, but it can get worse.

[BYU 14]

Originally Posted by Atocep

Let's see who the replacement is before we celebrate this. Bolton was awful, but it can get worse.

Good point, curbing my enthusiasm!