The Trump Presidency – 2016

[nol]

Originally Posted by Ben E Lou

Some of his *supporters* don't give a crap about the opposition's opinions of them, but Trump himself sure seems to care.

Trump's base (mostly poorly-educated whites) has a pretty strong track record of having no real opinion on something until they find out what minorities and/or academics think and then taking the opposite position.

How G.O.P Leaders Came to View Climate Change as Fake Science

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by Ben E Lou

"Desire to be liked/respected by the overwhelming majority of people" is a personality trait that typically isn't all that strong in politicians, but Trump really does seem to live for the approval of the masses,

I'm not so sure that it's so much that as it is more akin to one of the greatest compliments I was ever paid. An old boss of mine, asked to explain me, replied "Jon doesn't suffer fools well, nor long."

I can see a similar streak in Trump, with the difference being that he's had a lot less practice than me.

[Ben E Lou]

A leaker has been arrested. The name of the leaker???

Reality Winner.

You can't make this stuff up.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by Ben E Lou

A leaker has been arrested. The name of the leaker???

Reality Winner.

You can't make this stuff up.

This pretty much renders The Onion redundant, doesn't it?

[Julio Riddols]

It's all so stupid I legitimately question my reality.

[molson]

On the surface, it looked like pretty big stuff she leaked, but I guess there's pieces missing that stop it short from being a smoking gun. Probably not worth the felony conviction, but maybe combined with other stuff later, it can tell a bigger story about Russia's role in the election.

https://theintercept.com/2017/06/05/...2016-election/

Edit: And apparently "Winner" is a surname of German origin, it's a variant of Wiener. Who knew.

[whomario]

Originally Posted by molson

Edit: And apparently "Winner" is a surname of German origin, it's a variant of Wiener. Who knew.

And while i never have come across the Name, a "Wiener" as a description can be a) a person coming from the city of Vienna or b) a rather tasty type of saussage named after the city (except everybody but us germans calls them "Frankfurter" after the city of Frankfurt in Germany)

You are welcome

[Shkspr]

Trump is apparently winning so much he's getting tired of Winner.

[Ben E Lou]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

This pretty much renders The Onion redundant, doesn't it?

When scrolling through my Twitter feed last night in bed shortly before posting here about it, I kept seeing various versions of "Reality Winner arrested for leaking classified information," and my interpretation was that someone had won a reality show, told all their friends before it aired, and had been *arrested* for breaking some stupid TV show's NDA. As a result, I wasted ~3 minutes of my life being pissed off about a combination of gubmint overreach and that people/news sites that I follow would be forcing me to scroll past such inanity, all because of this bimbo's idiot parents.

[JPhillips]

I’ve spoken to contacts in the defense business and on the Hill, and all of them say the same thing: There is no $110 billion deal. Instead, there are a bunch of letters of interest or intent, but not contracts. Many are offers that the defense industry thinks the Saudis will be interested in someday. So far nothing has been notified to the Senate for review. The Defense Security Cooperation Agency, the arms sales wing of the Pentagon, calls them “intended sales.” None of the deals identified so far are new, all began in the Obama administration.

Everything's a con.

[Thomkal]

Originally Posted by whomario

And while i never have come across the Name, a "Wiener" as a description can be a) a person coming from the city of Vienna or b) a rather tasty type of saussage named after the city (except everybody but us germans calls them "Frankfurter" after the city of Frankfurt in Germany)

You are welcome

My eye doctor when I was a kid-his last name was Weiner.

[Radii]

Trump Calls Democrats 'Obstructionists,' But He's Only Nominated 11 Ambassadors : The Two-Way : NPR

[Atocep]

Originally Posted by molson

On the surface, it looked like pretty big stuff she leaked, but I guess there's pieces missing that stop it short from being a smoking gun. Probably not worth the felony conviction, but maybe combined with other stuff later, it can tell a bigger story about Russia's role in the election.

https://theintercept.com/2017/06/05/...2016-election/

Edit: And apparently "Winner" is a surname of German origin, it's a variant of Wiener. Who knew.

It does show that the "tinfoil" shit thrown at dems for suggesting Russia was heavily involved in our election was wrong.

It's ridiculous that some don't see Russia as a primary threat to us and are ok with us being allies.

[Logan]

Originally Posted by Atocep

It's ridiculous that some don't see Russia as a primary threat to us and are ok with us being allies.

They're not. They're either lying or lying to themselves.

[JPhillips]

Washington Post reporter Robert Costa told MSNBC on Tuesday that the president would directly respond to Comey on Twitter as the testimony is underway.

“I was just talking to some White House officials this morning and their view is that the president himself wants to be the messenger, his own warrior, his own lawyer, his own spokesman,” Costa explained. “Some outside people, some surrogates will be available.”

“But the president is expected to be tweeting on Thursday in response to Comey, not to stay quiet during the testimony,” he added. “Because he himself wants to be the one driving the process.”

What's that about a fool for a client? But Thursday should be fun.

[Ben E Lou]

Sen Graham: "I don't believe Trump colluded with the Russians because I don't think he colludes with his own staff."

— Erica Werner (@ericawerner) June 6, 2017

[Ben E Lou]

Originally Posted by JPhillips

Washington Post reporter Robert Costa told MSNBC on Tuesday that the president would directly respond to Comey on Twitter as the testimony is underway.

{Goes to buy popcorn stock.}

[cartman]

$20 says he actually sends tweets to our Comey instead of the former FBI director.

[Thomkal]

Originally Posted by cartman

$20 says he actually sends tweets to our Comey instead of the former FBI director.

I think we should all do that

[Atocep]

Trump has scheduled a speech to religious conservatives during the Comey testimony and outside of that reportedly plans to live tweet his responses to the testimony.

What a time to be alive.

[Ben E Lou]

Originally Posted by Atocep

Trump has scheduled a speech to religious conservatives during the Comey testimony and outside of that reportedly plans to live tweet his responses to the testimony.

What a time to be alive.

Looks like the open session starts at 10am EDT, and a non-television closed session starts at "around 1pm." Trump's speech to the Faith and Freedom Coalition is scheduled to begin at 12:30pm, so it sounds like he'll be available for the large majority of the public testimony.

[Brian Swartz]

Originally Posted by Atocep

It's ridiculous that some don't see Russia as a primary threat to us and are ok with us being allies.

Those are two different questions.

1. I don't think Russia is a primary threat. China is a much bigger concern, for example. Terrorism in general is a bigger concern.

2. Allies, no. Cooperating when our interests converge, yes. Allies in the traditional sense seem to virtually not exist anymore. The only nations I'd call allies are the UK, Australia, and Israel, and even that list may not last much longer.

[NobodyHere]

Originally Posted by Atocep

Trump has scheduled a speech to religious conservatives during the Comey testimony and outside of that reportedly plans to live tweet his responses to the testimony.

What a time to be alive.

Donald Trump To Dine With Two Senators Who Will Question James Comey

[Atocep]

Originally Posted by Brian Swartz

1. I don't think Russia is a primary threat. China is a much bigger concern, for example. Terrorism in general is a bigger concern.

I think people sleep on Russia because they're more of a covert than overt threat. As far as impact on our country Russia and China are 1a and 1b as far as threats go. Terrorism would be a very, very distant 2nd at best.

[AlexB]

Originally Posted by Brian Swartz

Those are two different questions.

1. I don't think Russia is a primary threat. China is a much bigger concern, for example. Terrorism in general is a bigger concern.

Terrorism has a very minuscule chance of directly affecting you, but you do have a tiny tiny chance of being killed by terrorism. You are far more likely to be killed by basically anything other than terrorism in the USA.

You are even less likely to be killed by Russia, but they are far more likely to materially and negatively affect your country, your politics, and therefore your daily life.

A statistically insignificant chance of dying v. a quite likely, perhaps even probable, chance of your life being negatively affected - which is the bigger threat?

[Brian Swartz]

I think you are, and possibly Atocep as well, selling the impact of terrorism far, far short. The steps that various governments do or do not take in reaction to it affect life negatively, in a similar way to the actions of a nation like Russia. To the extent terrorism has an impact on other countries, it has a ripple effect here. I also am an 'anti-patriot' to the extent that I do not believe one should make decisions based on how they affect America only; how they affect the world ought to matter more. That's something that I think will become more and more prevalent for practical reasons(globalism isn't going away), but there's a moral component to it as well IMO.

[JPhillips]

Originally Posted by Brian Swartz

Allies in the traditional sense seem to virtually not exist anymore. The only nations I'd call allies are the UK, Australia, and Israel, and even that list may not last much longer.

Certainly NATO countries are allies in the traditional sense unless we decide not to honor Article 5.

[JPhillips]

In the meeting at the White House today with Republican Congressional leaders, President Trump spent some time talking up his latest idea for the border wall. According to 3 people with direct knowledge of the meeting, Trump floated the idea that the wall could be covered in solar panels and the electricity generated used to pay for the cost.

Trump said his vision was a wall 40 feet to 50 feet high and covered with solar panels so they'd be "beautiful structures," the people said. The President said that most walls you hear about are 14 feet or 15 feet tall but this would be nothing like those walls. Trump told the lawmakers they could talk about the solar-paneled wall as long as they said it was his idea

And fill the Rio Grande with sharks with friggin laser beams.

[Radii]

"Trump told the lawmakers they could talk about the solar-paneled wall as long as they said it was his idea"

Easily the best part of all of that.

[Ben E Lou]

Originally Posted by Radii

"Trump told the lawmakers they could talk about the solar-paneled wall as long as they said it was his idea"

Easily the best part of all of that.

[Atocep]

Originally Posted by Radii

"Trump told the lawmakers they could talk about the solar-paneled wall as long as they said it was his idea"

Easily the best part of all of that.

Instead Of Trump's Wall, Let's Build A Border Of Solar Panels | HuffPost

[RainMaker]

Originally Posted by JPhillips

And fill the Rio Grande with sharks with friggin laser beams.

That would have to cost a lot of money.

[bronconick]

That's as good as the other idea of making the wall out of coal, giving the miners something to do , and then you can set the wall on fire.

[BYU 14]

Originally Posted by Radii

"Trump told the lawmakers they could talk about the solar-paneled wall as long as they said it was his idea"

But wait, that won't work

Rick Santorum on Twitter: "Sad to be criticized by the left for something as obvious as solar (clouds & darkness) and wind (calm winds) are not reliable or consistent. https://t.co/tkNrTRbk1u"

[Edward64]

Originally Posted by Ben E Lou

Sen Graham: "I don't believe Trump colluded with the Russians because I don't think he colludes with his own staff."

— Erica Werner (@ericawerner) June 6, 2017

That actually is a good argument.

But that doesn't absolve his lieutenants.

[Edward64]

Originally Posted by Brian Swartz

Those are two different questions.

1. I don't think Russia is a primary threat. China is a much bigger concern, for example. Terrorism in general is a bigger concern.

2. Allies, no. Cooperating when our interests converge, yes. Allies in the traditional sense seem to virtually not exist anymore. The only nations I'd call allies are the UK, Australia, and Israel, and even that list may not last much longer.

I agree that China is a bigger threat long term - economic and extending its sphere of influence.

I would add Canada to your list.

[Fidatelo]

Originally Posted by Edward64

I would add Canada to your list.

Trudeau decides it’s just not worth appeasing Trump in foreign-policy shift - The Globe and Mail

America has left the world, Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland signalled in Tuesday’s landmark foreign policy address. Canada and its allies will hang together, she vowed, awaiting its return.

[digamma]

Trump says he's meeting with Obamacare "victims" today in Ohio. Has yet to address victims of Orlando shooting Monday. NRABucks are powerful.

[Edward64]

AQ striking back ... wonder what took them so long.

http://www.cnn.com/2017/06/07/middle...ing/index.html

Attackers have mounted simultaneous gun and suicide bomb assaults on Iran's parliament building and the tomb of the republic's revolutionary founder, in one of the most audacious assaults to hit Tehran in decades.

At least 12 people were killed and dozens more injured in the twin assaults on the Iranian capital, state media reported. A third attack was foiled, Iran's Intelligence Ministry said.

ISIS issued a swift claim of responsibility. Its media wing, Amaq, claimed "fighters with the Islamic State" carried out the attack, but did not offer evidence.

The attack was highly unusual: Until now, Tehran has been a safe city for its residents as Iran has largely escaped the regular attacks launched against other participants in neighboring Syria's civil war.

[Marc Vaughan]

Originally Posted by Radii

"Trump told the lawmakers they could talk about the solar-paneled wall as long as they said it was his idea"

Easily the best part of all of that.

It worked though and its being reported as 'his idea' ... despite the fact that it blatantly wasn't .. this was one of the reported concepts presented for the wall by a company.

https://apnews.com/aadd3018366346568...n-solar-panels

[albionmoonlight]

I don't think that Trump is long-gamey enough for this, but if he does not tweet during Comey's testimony, that would be a huge win for him.

He's signaled that he will. The media loves him and can't wait for him to tweet. NO ONE is going to pay attention to what Comey says. EVERYONE is instead waiting to see what Trump tweets.

And, if he does not tweet, then the story becomes that he showed a "Presidential" level of restraint.

In any event, the actual testimony gets ignored.

[JPhillips]

The Qatar issue is shaping up to be a serious crisis. The Saudis sent a list of demands to Qatar, and the Turks are planning to fast track legislation to send troops in support of Qatar. The Russians have supposedly called Qatar to voice support.

Meanwhile Trump is escalating while the DoD is desperately trying to deescalate.

[Atocep]

For someone trying to get rid of a Russia investigation Trump loves to surround himself with people with Russia ties. His FBI pick works for the lawyers that represents Rosneft.

He may be more than qualified for the position but you'd think we've hit the point where Trump would be specifically looking for guys that don't have strong ties to Moscow.

[jeff061]

Trump is less concerned about being an effective president than making sure the only people that say nice things about him, his hardcore base, continue to make him feel good about himself.

That means tweets. Even if it torpedoes everything the administration is trying to accomplish.

Every single problem he has, including the media spotlight on the Russian investigation, is 100% his fault and his inability to shut his trap. However if it leads to a vocal contingent loudly applauding him, he'll gladly take that tradeoff.

[Logan]

Originally Posted by Atocep

For someone trying to get rid of a Russia investigation Trump loves to surround himself with people with Russia ties. His FBI pick works for the lawyers that represents Rosneft.

He may be more than qualified for the position but you'd think we've hit the point where Trump would be specifically looking for guys that don't have strong ties to Moscow.

I'm certainly not looking to mitigate anything for the guy but I'd imagine the firm that represents a company like that would be a monster firm that operates in many countries. Unless this guy was THE guy I think that's likely a non-issue.

[JPhillips]

I expected the Comey testimony to be a bust, but the transcript of his opening statement is full of bullets. Tomorrow is going to be a nightmare for the WH.

https://www.intelligence.senate.gov/...mey-060817.pdf

[King of New York]

Originally Posted by JPhillips

I expected the Comey testimony to be a bust, but the transcript of his opening statement is full of bullets. Tomorrow is going to be a nightmare for the WH.

https://www.intelligence.senate.gov/...mey-060817.pdf

Russian hookers

That should stir the pot.

[jeff061]

Not one bit of new info in there. Which makes CNN's current front page humourous and sad.

[Marc Vaughan]

Originally Posted by JPhillips

I expected the Comey testimony to be a bust, but the transcript of his opening statement is full of bullets. Tomorrow is going to be a nightmare for the WH.

https://www.intelligence.senate.gov/...mey-060817.pdf

Nothing there which wasn't at least partially known already imho and while it makes Trump look a bit of a prat, I don't think there is enough to 'down him' ... fingers crossed he tweets live tomorrow as I'm fully expecting (as with most Trumpian issues) that Trump himself will be his biggest enemy ..

[cartman]

While most of it indeed has been mentioned already, this will be the first time that it is "on record".