The Trump Presidency – 2016

[AENeuman]

I guess I everything is back to normal...

n’t!

[bhlloy]

The new Air Force One will be red, white and blue, although not necessarily in that order. Need to check with Putin to make sure he's happy putting the Russian flag on our airplanes first.

[mckerney]

When I saw Trump wanted it repainted I was assuming it would be gold.

[stevew]

Wouldn’t and Would both mean the same thing when you’re smart apparently

[miked]

[RainMaker]

Real wages fell again. Seems like all those companies didn't get the memo that those tax cuts were supposed to trickle down to their employees.

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/wa...nds-2018-07-17

[RainMaker]

Originally Posted by corbes

What If Trump Has Been a Russian Asset Since 1987?

This stuff is pretty out there.

I think it probably comes down to his businesses. Looks like they've been doing a lot of money laundering over the years for Russian oligarchs and they can kind of hold that over him. His loans have always been sketchy too. I don't think it's overt or anything, but he knows he can't really fuck with them.

There's also the part of him that admires authoritarians. And there is a sizable portion of the US who likes that style of rule despite talking pretending to be for democracy and freedom.

[cartman]

KGB vs. KFC

[JPhillips]

Originally Posted by stevew

Wouldn’t and Would both mean the same thing when you’re smart apparently

I'm shocked that this seems to be good enough for GOP electeds to move on.

edit: Should be NOT SHOCKED

[Drake]

Originally Posted by NobodyHere

They'll turn on Rush Limbaugh tomorrow who'll spin the issues in such a fashion that the liberal media is to blame and then they'll be happy angry Republicans again.

This is literally my FB feed today...all about the DNC server and the lies of the Obama administration and this summit reaction was all manufactured media outrage.

[AlexB]

Originally Posted by JPhillips

I'm shocked that this seems to be good enough for GOP electeds to move on.

edit: Should be NOT SHOCKED

Sounds fair enough to me

[whomario]

Originally Posted by stevew

Wouldn’t and Would both mean the same thing when you’re smart apparently

This is going to revolutionize speech-writing, watch for people to purposefully construct sentences this way in the future. One, you can just adjust on the fly based on the feel of the room and two, retroactively claim you misspoke.

Originally Posted by mckerney

Apparently the only other option was for Trump to declare an all out war on Russia that would have already killed is after the nukes were fired, so it's hard to argue that Trump didn't do a great job.

Any chance you have a link at hand ? Really don't want to go off into that particular wilderness right now but would still like to read an article like that.

[mckerney]

Originally Posted by whomario

Any chance you have a link at hand ? Really don't want to go off into that particular wilderness right now but would still like to read an article like that.

I was referring to the comments from those supporting how he handled the meeting with Putin, like the commentator on Fox saying "Come on, snap out of it, everybody. The guy is doing what he is supposed to be doing, and that is protecting us… What was he supposed to do? Take a gun out and shoot Putin? Putin said ‘I didn’t meddle in your election.’ So the president should say, ‘Hang on, let me execute this guy.'"

[stevew]

Originally Posted by whomario

This is going to revolutionize speech-writing, watch for people to purposefully construct sentences this way in the future. One, you can just adjust on the fly based on the feel of the room and two, retroactively claim you misspoke.



Any chance you have a link at hand ? Really don't want to go off into that particular wilderness right now but would still like to read an article like that.

I forget, German does not have contractions, right? Been a minute since I studied it, only thing I really remember is Sheiskopf. Which seems like it should have been Trump's nickname in college.

[whomario]

Thanks for the link

Originally Posted by stevew

I forget, German does not have contractions, right?

There are a few, but not really as many as in the english language and definitely not as 'funky' as yours with the apostrophe and all And none in a way where you turn a 'positive' into a 'negative' like that , more like to differentiate between persons and places/things while still keeping the preposition short and general.

Like for example: Ich gehe zu Marko (going to see Marko) // Ich gehe zum Training (Going to practice) --> Normally it would have to be "Ich gehe zu dem Training" but that would be a useless specification (essentially: Going to that practice), so it's left out.

And now you have a talking point the next time you meet a german and want to prove you actually did take german

[RainMaker]

Coincidence that this allows non-profits like the NRA to easily commit treason.

Dark Money Groups Get A Little Darker, Thanks To IRS : NPR

[JPhillips]

Originally Posted by RainMaker

Coincidence that this allows non-profits like the NRA to easily commit treason.

Dark Money Groups Get A Little Darker, Thanks To IRS : NPR

Kavanaugh's opinion on foreign donations has already come up in a Mueller case.

And this gives corporations a way to dump millions without their shareholders or customers ever knowing. But that's freedom, right?

[Edward64]

Don't know if requesting immunity for five witnesses is unusual in a case like this but it sounds like alot.

https://www.cnbc.com/2018/07/17/muel...fort-case.html

Special counsel Robert Mueller is asking a judge to grant immunity from prosecution for five potential witnesses whose testimony Mueller wants to compel at the upcoming federal criminal trial of former Trump campaign chief Paul Manafort, according to a court filing Tuesday.

If the five unidentified people are not granted immunity — and compelled to testify against Manafort — they would either refuse to take the witness stand or refuse to answer questions by citing their Fifth Amendment right against being forced to incriminate themselves, according to Mueller's filing in U.S. District Court in Alexandria, Virginia.

Mueller has also asked Judge T.S. Ellis to seal from public view the court motions detailing the witnesses' identities.

"The five individuals identified in the motions at issue are third parties who have not been charged in this matter, and who have not been identified publicly with the case," Mueller's team argued in a filing asking for that sealing order.

[JPhillips]

Trump told Tucker Carlson that he didn't understand the mutual defense obligations of NATO.

[whomario]

Originally Posted by JPhillips

Kavanaugh's opinion on foreign donations has already come up in a Mueller case.

And this gives corporations a way to dump millions without their shareholders or customers ever knowing. But that's freedom, right?

And how exactly can a law like this be said to "in no way limit transparency" ? I mean, isn't it enough to say that this is to protect "personal information" and be done with this ? Since when has it become mandatory to not only tout the (real or imagined) positive changes AND then spout nonsense about the negative aspects ?
(certain political parties are doing the same song and dance in germany)

[Thomkal]

So the DNC has been trying to serve Jared Kushner with a subpoena in their lawsuit against the Trump campaign. He's ignored them or had the Secret Service block any one attempting to serve him. They've had to go to a judge and ask for the US Marshal's service to serve him.


https://www.politico.com/f/?id=00000...4-ee7f62cc0000

[Edward64]

Thanks Comey but no thanks.

Don't know if Comey caused Hillary the election but he certainly adversely impacted her in the last days. It was certainly a situation where "damned if you do and damned if you don't" but I think "don't" would have been better for the country (and our allies).

https://www.cnn.com/2018/07/17/polit...eet/index.html

Former FBI Director James Comey is urging "all who believe in this country's values" to vote for Democrats in the upcoming midterm elections.

In a tweet on Tuesday evening, Comey called the Republican-held Congress "incapable of fulfilling the Founders' design."

"This Republican Congress has proven incapable of fulfilling the Founders' design that 'Ambition must ... counteract ambition.' All who believe in this country's values must vote for Democrats this fall. Policy differences don't matter right now. History has its eyes on us," he wrote.

Comey, who was fired by President Donald Trump in May 2017, also spoke out Monday against the President's comments at his joint news conference with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

"This was the day an American president stood on foreign soil next to a murderous lying thug and refused to back his own country. Patriots need to stand up and reject the behavior of this president," Comey said on Twitter.

Comey served under both Republican and Democratic administrations, but during 2016 testimony before Congress he noted he had been registered as a Republican most of his life, adding that he was no longer registered.

[Edward64]

Originally Posted by JPhillips

Trump told Tucker Carlson that he didn't understand the mutual defense obligations of NATO.

It's incredible the incredible ease that he flip-flops and how he says so many things without true conviction (or he forgets about them). It's like lying to get what you want or to sound good and then forgetting what you said before.

https://www.cnn.com/2018/07/17/polit...fox/index.html

"I understand, but that's the way it was set up," he continued. "Don't forget, I just got here a little more than a year and a half ago, but I took over the conversation three or four days ago and I said you have to pay."

While at the NATO summit last week, Trump signed the NATO communique, which explicitly endorsed Article 5.

"Any attack against one Ally will be regarded as an attack against us all, as set out in Article 5 of the Washington Treaty," the communique reads.
In 2017, Trump said he agreed with the commitment that members will come to one another's aid if they're attacked, which is Article 5 of the NATO charter. Article 5 has been invoked only once -- by the United States after the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

"I am committing the United States to Article 5," Trump said at the time.
"And certainly we are there to protect," he then added, saying this is why the US is "paying the kind of money necessary to have that force."

"Yes, absolutely I would be committed to Article 5," he said at the time.

[Butter]

Originally Posted by RainMaker

Real wages fell again. Seems like all those companies didn't get the memo that those tax cuts were supposed to trickle down to their employees.

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/wa...nds-2018-07-17

It only took a few months for this second obvious rebuke of "trickle down" to come out.

What a shock.

[Edward64]

Never too soon to speculate for 2020 for the Dem nominee.

73% of Democrats Want ‘A Fresh Face’ As 2020 Nominee - Rasmussen Reports®

Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders and Joe Biden are among those touted as serious Democratic presidential contenders in 2020, but three-out-of-four Democrats think their party needs to turn to someone new.

A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone and online survey finds that 73% of Likely Democratic Voters believe their party should look for a fresh face to run for president in 2020. Just 16% disagree and think the party should promote a candidate who has already run in the past. Eleven percent (11%) are undecided. (To see survey question wording, click here.)

By comparison, with Clinton seen as a shoo-in for the 2016 nomination, just 36% of Democrats were calling for a new face in that election, but an unusually high 21% were undecided.

Among all likely voters, 65% say Democrats should find a new face for 2020, while only 19% think it should go with someone who has run for the White House before. Sixteen percent (16%) are not sure.

As for Clinton, 58% now believe she has been bad for the Democratic Party. Only 22% think she’s been good for Democrats, while 12% say she’s had no impact on the party.

Of the three listed, I don't see Hillary or Bernie. Biden is probably the best of the three since he is relatively untainted by 2016.

I would prefer someone new (Dem or Rep, anyone but Trump).

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/15/u...ates-2020.html

Ms. Warren, 69, now leads a small advance guard of Democrats who appear to be moving deliberately toward challenging President Trump. Former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr., wielding a political network cultivated over decades, has been reasserting himself as a party leader, while Senators Cory Booker of New Jersey and Kamala Harris of California have emerged as fresher-faced messengers for the midterms. And Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont, the runner-up in the 2016 primaries, has been acting like a candidate as he considers another race.
:
Yet absent, at least so far, is either an obvious political phenom like former President Barack Obama or an establishment-backed juggernaut in the mold of Hillary Clinton. Unlike the last few Democratic primaries, the unsettled race evokes the sprawling nomination fights of earlier decades — lacking a dominant figure and seemingly inviting new leaders to rise.

“The opportunity for somebody to emerge and catch a wave hasn’t been this high since 1976,” said Anita Dunn, a veteran Democratic strategist, referring to another unpredictable primary featuring a multitude of candidates and a party wrestling with its identity.

[JPhillips]

Trump said the US was continuing its discussions with North Korea over the future of the regime’s nuclear weapons arsenal “and they’re going very, very well”.

The US president said there was “no rush for speed” because North Korea had not tested any ballistic missiles over the past nine months.

“We have no time limit. We have no speed limit,” Trump said at a meeting with members of Congress on Tuesday.

“We’re just going through the process, but the relationships are very good.”

At some point the sun will burn out, so eventually NK will denuclearize.

[Thomkal]

Originally Posted by Edward64

Never too soon to speculate for 2020 for the Dem nominee.

73% of Democrats Want ‘A Fresh Face’ As 2020 Nominee - Rasmussen Reports®


Of the three listed, I don't see Hillary or Bernie. Biden is probably the best of the three since he is relatively untainted by 2016.

I would prefer someone new (Dem or Rep, anyone but Trump).

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/15/u...ates-2020.html

Count me in as wanting someone new for the Dems. Clinton just has too much controversy and "smell" about her. Most of the stuff about her was made up by fear-mongering Republicans, but people both Dem and Rep just outright hate her. Biden, Bernie, Warren are just too old for me. Harris and Booker are sure to have the same white supremacist factor against them as Obama, but I need to see more from them in a leadership role if they want to be a serious candidate for me.



There is a guy I've been seeing on CNN and MSNBC (and Fox apparently) recently that I'm intrigued by, but can't remember his name. Think he is from California-Eric maybe, Swarell?

[NobodyHere]

Originally Posted by Thomkal

Count me in as wanting someone new for the Dems. Clinton just has too much controversy and "smell" about her. Most of the stuff about her was made up by fear-mongering Republicans, but people both Dem and Rep just outright hate her. Biden, Bernie, Warren are just too old for me. Harris and Booker are sure to have the same white supremacist factor against them as Obama, but I need to see more from them in a leadership role if they want to be a serious candidate for me.

You mean against the guy that won two terms in office?

[NobodyHere]

dola,

Count me in the group that wants a fresh face from the Democrats for president. They seem to do better when there's a youthful idealistic energy from the candidate. See Obama and Bill Clinton.

[JPhillips]

We all know it's going to be Trump vs Avenatti

It's what we deserve.

[lungs]

The baby boomers have had their chance to run this country. Time for the next generation to take over.

[Bee]

Originally Posted by Thomkal

Count me in as wanting someone new for the Dems. Clinton just has too much controversy and "smell" about her. Most of the stuff about her was made up by fear-mongering Republicans, but people both Dem and Rep just outright hate her. Biden, Bernie, Warren are just too old for me. Harris and Booker are sure to have the same white supremacist factor against them as Obama, but I need to see more from them in a leadership role if they want to be a serious candidate for me.



There is a guy I've been seeing on CNN and MSNBC (and Fox apparently) recently that I'm intrigued by, but can't remember his name. Think he is from California-Eric maybe, Swarell?

Eric Swalwell, but he has that lip thing going on that bugs me so I can't vote for him.

[Noop]

I hope the Democrats put someone in who is more moderate and younger. I want someone who is a social liberal but fiscally conservative/moderate. I do not want to pay crazy taxes but I am okay if there is a defined plan for the money.

[Edward64]

Originally Posted by lungs

The baby boomers have had their chance to run this country. Time for the next generation to take over.

Isn't Obama a Gen X? I know there are not clear lines but always thought 1964 was the last of the boomers.

[Edward64]

Originally Posted by Noop

I hope the Democrats put someone in who is more moderate and younger. I want someone who is a social liberal but fiscally conservative/moderate. I do not want to pay crazy taxes but I am okay if there is a defined plan for the money.

I'm kinda like you but it doesn't seem "fiscally conservative" survives the first year of the Presidency.

[molson]

Sanders is 150 years old but, but still worshiped by young far-left liberals who consider him a victim of 2016, not part of the problem like Clinton. He seems to be gearing up for another run and I could see him as the early frontrunner unless someone else steps up to get the angry liberal vote. I don't know how "anybody but Trump" will play out in 2020, whether that's enough to get people to the polls in the way a boring Democrat like Clinton could not, but I think a lot of people will be looking for something "exciting" to oppose him, and that's more important the chronological age.

[bhlloy]

Or put another way, the top 5 candidates right now include 2 of the leaders of the group who want to disband ICE, Bernie Sanders and Biden, who has said he won't run and will be in his late 70s by the time the election comes around.

The Dems should be able to put forward a moderate candidate and get 50% of the country as a never Trump vote relatively easily, but good luck doing that and not getting torn to shreds by the liberal wing of the party. I can't wait.

[PilotMan]

Originally Posted by lungs

The baby boomers have had their chance to run this country. Time for the next generation to take over.

+1000

[lungs]

Originally Posted by Edward64

Isn't Obama a Gen X? I know there are not clear lines but always thought 1964 was the last of the boomers.

I'd have considered Obama a damn good start to passing the torch to the next generation if we didn't backslide to the current jackass in the White House.

[lungs]

Dola

I would add that I don't want to see an Obama clone next time in terms of leadership style. I personally like Obama's leadership style but think the Dems need somebody with the political capabilities of somebody like Lyndon Johnson. A ruthless politician.

[JPhillips]

Remember how the Trump folks savaged the CBO for its "partisan" deficit projections? Well the OMB is now projecting a trillion dollar deficit for 2019, and it will only be that low if GDP growth in 2018 and 2019 is greater than 5% annually.

And did I mention that this is with a booming economy and full employment? We're so fucked when the next recession hits.

[JPhillips]

dola

Holy fuck. Sanders said that Trump is considering handing over the former ambassador to Russia for questioning by Putin.

[Thomkal]

Originally Posted by Bee

Eric Swalwell, but he has that lip thing going on that bugs me so I can't vote for him.

Thanks for giving me the right name-guess I will have to not look at his lips

[Thomkal]

Manafort loses motion to move trial to Roanoke:


Judge turns down Manafort's bid to move Virginia trial - POLITICO


Edit: And lost a motion to suppress evidence from his home in VA.

[JPhillips]

Originally Posted by Bee

Eric Swalwell, but he has that lip thing going on that bugs me so I can't vote for him.

If the Presidency doesn't work, he'd make a killer LAX coach.

[Edward64]

Biden apparently is the front runner right now.

I don't know how well Biden and Warren mesh but that may be an interesting combination for optics.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/...oll/740370002/

With more than two years to go before the next presidential election, former Vice President Joe Biden is the early favorite to represent the Democrats and try to unseat President Donald Trump in the 2020 election, according to a new poll.

Biden was the choice of 32 percent of Democrats in a Harvard CAPS/Harris June poll that was obtained by The Hill. The party's 2016 standard bearer, Hillary Clinton, came in second with 18 percent and Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., was third with 16 percent.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., was fourth with 10 percent of the vote.

Biden, who would be 77 on Election Day in 2020, has been one of Trump's most vocal critics since the 2016 campaign.
:
Although Clinton has given no indication she intends to run again, both Biden and Sanders have not ruled out a run in 2020.
:
Among other Democrats included in the poll, The Hill reported that Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., got 6 percent, former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg got 3 percent, Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., got 2 percent, while Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., and New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo each got 1 percent.

[molson]

Predict It has it: Harris, Biden, Sanders as the clear top three, Warren, Booker, Gillibrand, below them, and then a drop off to everyone else. No Clinton anywhere, people buy that she's disappeared and/or wouldn't be welcomed back.

[PilotMan]

I can't do Biden, I can't do Sanders. It's got to be strong, fresh blood I'm so tired of the also-rans that they feel like trotting out. It's time to move on.

[JPhillips]

1 Trump's staff's denials since then take on a whole new light.

2 Mueller's got all of this. They're all fucked.

[PilotMan]

Originally Posted by JPhillips

1 Trump's staff's denials since then take on a whole new light.

2 Mueller's got all of this. They're all fucked.

I still think patience is the name of the game. Speculation only sows the seeds of disappointment and folly.