The Trump Presidency – 2016

[Edward64]

Pretty funny. Need more Trump-Pelosi meetings for entertainment.

I do wonder who setup the meeting if Trump did not? That person probably got an earful.

Pelosi gives play-by-play of ‘meltdown’ meeting with Trump over Syria

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi recapped Wednesday’s tumultuous White House showdown with President Trump over Syria, saying she told him his troop pullout was a gift to Vladimir Putin and questioned him about helping Saudi Arabia before Trump had what she called “a meltdown.”

“I also pointed out to the president I had concerns that all roads seemed to lead to Putin. The Russians have been trying to get a hold in the Middle East unsuccessfully and now the president has given them an opportunity with the Kurds reaching out to them for support in Syria,” she told reporters at a Capitol Hill press conference Thursday.

“Then the president said, ‘Well, the reason I’m taking the troops out of Syria is because I promised in the campaign to bring the troops home.’ My question to him was is Saudi Arabia home? Why are our troops going to Saudi Arabia if you promised to bring them home?” Pelosi continued, referring the Trump’s move to deploy 1,000 troops to the monarchy, a key regional US ally.

She then said the president grew increasingly agitated as she pursued her line of questioning.

“He said, ‘Well, the Saudi Arabians are paying for it.’ Really, we’re putting our troops in harm’s way for Saudi Arabia because they’re paying? It just didn’t add up. But what it did do is cause a meltdown on the part of the president because he was unhappy with those questions,” Pelosi asserted.

Trump, she added, didn’t even seem interested in holding the meeting, which was arranged by the White House.

“And it was unfortunate because we were invited to the meeting. The president started off the meeting by saying ‘I don’t know who asked for this meeting, I didn’t,’ and we’re like, well, let’s proceed anyway. And we had hoped — our real mission was to find out what the plan was,” she said.

Sen. Chuck Schumer then began pressing the president about what the administration’s plan was for Syria and Turkey going forward, Pelosi said.

Trump replied that ‘My plan is to protect America,’ she said, adding that she responded: ‘That’s a goal. It’s not a plan.”

The president then unleashed a barrage of insults directed as the speaker, calling her “a third-grade politician,” and Pelosi, Schumer and Majority Leader Steny Hoyer then left the room.

[JediKooter]

President* Big Brain, ladies and gentlemen! We could have replaced Obama with a stick that had a piece of gum attached to it and would have been better off than with this clown car show of an administration.

[JediKooter]

G7 summit to be held at Trump's struggling golf resort in Florida despite conflict of interest fears

[Ben E Lou]

Rick Perry out?

[miami_fan]

Originally Posted by JediKooter

G7 summit to be held at Trump's struggling golf resort in Florida despite conflict of interest fears

Question #1

Still, he said “the president has been very clear that he does not profit” by hosting world leaders and other political events at his properties.

Why does he keep hosting them then?

Question #2

The acting chief of staff also suggested Mr Trump was the one to suggest his Doral property to members of a team who were seeking out potential venues to host the summit across the country.

Of course he did. Is this supposed to make him look good?

[JPhillips]

Reports are that the Turks have resumed bombing.

Solid work Mr. VP.

[Ben E Lou]

Originally Posted by JPhillips

Reports are that the Turks have resumed bombing.

Solid work Mr. VP.

Trump is winning at everything. Awards such as...



Most inept administration ever.
Most cruel administration ever.
Most corrupt administration ever.

[bronconick]

Originally Posted by JPhillips

Reports are that the Turks have resumed bombing.

Solid work Mr. VP.

Somewhere in a grave the dust that was once Chamberlain is laughing maniacally.

[Ben E Lou]

Completely unsurprising, but what a complete clown show.

#BREAKING French President Macron says learned of US Syria withdrawal 'by tweet' pic.twitter.com/8lEP2uyjIx

— AFP news agency (@AFP) October 18, 2019

[JediKooter]

Originally Posted by miami_fan

Question #1



Why does he keep hosting them then?

Question #2



Of course he did. Is this supposed to make him look good?

Exactly! I mean, I'm sure it's a complete COINCIDENCE that the struggling property would be used for the summit. And knowing how 'charitable' the Grifter in Chief is, everyone that is staying there and using the struggling properties facilities for free and not at all paying to help the struggling property.

[JPhillips]

The mayor of Doral learned about the G7 by tweet. Sure, there was a process and vetting of possible locations.

[RainMaker]

Sad that this country was a superpower. Now taking orders from Turkey and the Saudis.

[JPhillips]

This seems like a potentially big crack in Trump's wall of defenders.

Wow. GOP @RepRooney says he thinks Pelosi "has a point" when she said that with Trump, all roads lead to Russia.

"I was skeptical of it like most Republicans were, but I gotta say this business about the Ukraine server ... tells me, what, are we trying to exculpate Russia?" pic.twitter.com/CGXKxTO3m9

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) October 18, 2019

[stevew]

Kasich calling for impeachment now?

[JPhillips]

State Department probe of Clinton emails finds no deliberate mishandling of classified information - The Washington Post

I'm sure this will all go away now.

[NobodyHere]

Originally Posted by stevew

Kasich calling for impeachment now?

He's always been a never trumper

[GrantDawg]

Originally Posted by JPhillips

I'm sure this will all go away now.

I am sort of shocked. It just goes to prove how stupid this whole thing was. If there was even the tiniest bit of anything they could find, they would have made a mountain out of it. Instead, they couldn't even come up with a crumb.

[miami_fan]

Originally Posted by JPhillips

I'm sure this will all go away now.

Didn't we just get a story that Ivanka also had potential classified emails on her own personal server? I may be off on the specifics but I believe that was the case. If I am right then it seems inevitable that in order to clear Ivanka they would have to clear HRC.

Then again, I have no idea what the "have to's" are for this and future administrations.

[Thomkal]

Originally Posted by GrantDawg

I am sort of shocked. It just goes to prove how stupid this whole thing was. If there was even the tiniest bit of anything they could find, they would have made a mountain out of it. Instead, they couldn't even come up with a crumb.

Well I wouldn't say nothing-38 people cited in violations for their handling of classified information-does not appear to be anything significant enough to get arrested though-some may get fired/not be able to get security clearances in the future. But yeah mostly nothing.


https://www.apnews.com/14b14afc5d8647858489a2cf5385c28d

[GrantDawg]

Originally Posted by Thomkal

Well I wouldn't say nothing-38 people cited in violations for their handling of classified information-does not appear to be anything significant enough to get arrested though-some may get fired/not be able to get security clearances in the future. But yeah mostly nothing.


https://www.apnews.com/14b14afc5d8647858489a2cf5385c28d

The rest of that story: they where almost all classified after (in most cases years after) they where sent. It is being used by this administration to keep left-leaning state department officials from ever being able to return to their jobs.

[Atocep]

Originally Posted by JPhillips

This seems like a potentially big crack in Trump's wall of defenders.

And he announces he's retiring after this term.

[Thomkal]

....Therefore, based on both Media & Democrat Crazed and Irrational Hostility, we will no longer consider Trump National Doral, Miami, as the Host Site for the G-7 in 2020. We will begin the search for another site, including the possibility of Camp David, immediately. Thank you!

[JPhillips]

Can't they just go to the second place finisher from the process they claim to have had?

[Atocep]

Originally Posted by JPhillips

Can't they just go to the second place finisher from the process they claim to have had?

You mean another Trump property?

[cartman]

Pelosi is currently with a bipartisan group in Jordan working with King Abdullah on the Turkey/Kurdish issue.

[Flasch186]

Originally Posted by JPhillips

Can't they just go to the second place finisher from the process they claim to have had?

Well no, according to Mulvaney, Doral was so Far and Away better then everything else they literally have no other choices now from what they saw. The only options now are Trump Tower Moscow and Burning Man.

[GrantDawg]

Originally Posted by Flasch186

Well no, according to Mulvaney, Doral was so Far and Away better then everything else they literally have no other choices now from what they saw. The only options now are Trump Tower Moscow and Burning Man.

I would love to see the g7 at Burning Man. There's you a great combination.

[Edward64]

A victory for Trump. I do think this is a pretty good model (e.g. threaten, payoff etc. Mexico and let them get serious about doing the policing of their own borders).

Unfortunately this news is overwhelmed by all the other careless controversy that Trump & Co. has caused.

Trump's border wall: Why some say Mexico already built it -- and paid for it - CNN

... military police from Mexico's National Guard blocked a large group of migrants in Tuzantán, Mexico, who had been trying to head north. The caravan, made up of thousands of migrants largely from Africa, Central America and the Caribbean, was disbanded and sent to an immigrant detention camp in southern Mexico.

A video of the October 12 operation went viral and stirred a mix of reactions in Mexico, adding fresh fuel to a point critics of President Andres Manuel López Obrador have been making for months.

Mexico, they argue, actually built US President Donald Trump's border wall after all -- not with concrete or bricks or steel, but with thousands of federal forces like this camouflage-clad commander and the troops following his orders.

And Mexico, they argue, is paying for it.
:
:
Yes, US taxpayers have been footing the bill for efforts to build new physical barriers at the US-Mexico border.

But experts note that Mexico's massive deployment of National Guard troops over the past few months has played a major role in blocking migrants from reaching the US border in the first place.
:
Asked to respond to claims that Mexico is effectively paying for the wall Trump wanted, foreign ministry spokesman Roberto Velasco told CNN that migration flows have notably decreased in recent months, and that efforts continue for a regional development plan to address the root causes of migration in Mexico, El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras.

"The number of migrants presented before Mexican authorities has decreased by 70% from June to September," he said.

The decrease, he wrote in a recent letter to the editor published in Mexico's El Universal newspaper, came as a result of Mexican legislative efforts and a push to strengthen the rule of law in southern Mexico.
:
In fact, public opinion toward migrants in Mexico appears to be shifting, too.

A poll conducted by the Washington Post and Mexican newspaper Reforma over the summer showed a sizable majority of Mexicans felt that increased migration through the country from Central America was a burden on Mexico's economy and services. Just over half favored deporting more migrants.

[PilotMan]

Edward, that's mostly moving the goalposts and Mexico's president answering calls from his own people in their drug war.



It's also a win for the president for how he has saved 'thousands if not, tens of thousands of lives', with his Syria peace plan.



Same difference, afaic.

[Edward64]

Originally Posted by PilotMan

Edward, that's mostly moving the goalposts and Mexico's president answering calls from his own people in their drug war.

Oh I agree that its not the same as Mexico will pay for the Wall. The win here is Trump has reduced illegal immigration south of the border (at least for now).

Mexico putting troops on the border to slow down illegal immigration is not a result of Mexico wanting to stop the drug war/violence, it was a result of Trump strong arming Mexico with threats to stop the illegal inflow. In retrospect, this is a pretty good alternate solution if he is not able to get wall funding (from the US). Its actually a better solution assuming Mexico keeps it up and the US enables Mexico to continue doing so (e.g. economic funds vs plain threats).

[GrantDawg]

Originally Posted by Edward64

A victory for Trump. I do think this is a pretty good model (e.g. threaten, payoff etc. Mexico and let them get serious about doing the policing of their own borders).

Unfortunately this news is overwhelmed by all the other careless controversy that Trump & Co. has caused.

Trump's border wall: Why some say Mexico already built it -- and paid for it - CNN

We send about $200 million a year to help pay for those troops. So, we paid for this as well.

[PilotMan]

Which is money well spent, in reality. We benefit from a strong, healthy, Mexican government and economy. That is good foreign policy, imo.

[JediKooter]

Lucky for him, there's no way to prove him wrong...

The President of the United States Just Called the Emoluments Clause of the Constitution ‘Phony’

[Thomkal]

Netanyahu fails to form a unity govt in Israel-now it looks like the largest party in the Knosset-Kahol Lavan and its leader Benny Gantz may now have 28 days to form one:


Netanyahu announces he can't establish government | TheHill

[HomerSimpson98]

I dont want to get into the religious discussion that tarcone did earlier, but the fact that traditional world superpower allies are being eaten alive from within is starting to get worrisome. US, UK, and Israel. I am sure there are others. All you have to do to find the root cause is to ask who is/would benefit from instability.

[Ben E Lou]

The Pentagon is now actively preparing contingencies to deal with the President's whims.


https://www.nbcnews.com/news/militar...sides-n1069611


If officials are admitting this, then surely there has been--at least informal--talk of ignoring an order to fire off nukes, no?

[Thomkal]

House voted not to censure Adam Schiff 218-185


House rejects GOP measure censuring Schiff | TheHill

[Edward64]

Originally Posted by Ben E Lou

If officials are admitting this, then surely there has been--at least informal--talk of ignoring an order to fire off nukes, no?

Unless the threat is very clear (e.g. tracking of inbound missiles), I would hope our military generals would refuse such an order. I think Trump knows this.

The greater threat is Trump starting some sort of shooting conflict to distract, solidify base, gain undecideds etc. during election year.

[Edward64]

Interesting article. Not sure that Turkey was ever a good fit for NATO and hasn't been accepted into the EU. Its been frenemies under Erdogan.

He wants a return of an "Ottoman Empire". Not sure how it would play out but sure is fascinating to contemplate what could happen with all the different Muslim world dynamics.

https://www.cnn.com/2019/10/21/middl...ntl/index.html

It's no secret that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan sees his country as the pre-eminent Muslim power in the Middle East. He regards his vision of political Islam as competing with that of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. He frequently accuses the United States of trying to belittle his country, and ruminates about a "greater Turkey."

But does Erdogan believe that Turkey has the right or need to acquire nuclear weapons to cement its status?

Last month the Turkish leader suggested as much, saying that "some countries have missiles with nuclear warheads, not one or two. But we can't have them. This, I cannot accept." He went on to single out Israel, saying: "We have Israel nearby, almost as neighbors. They scare others by possessing these. No one can touch them."
:
:
Under Erdogan, Turkey is no longer the obedient NATO ally guarding the alliance's southern flank against Russian expansionism. Partly in response to Europe's less than wholehearted embrace, Erdogan has imagined a new place for Turkey, one where it will pick and choose its allies and project power thousands of miles from its coast.

This expansionist role includes a garrison of troops in Qatar, a growing naval role in the Red Sea, support for Libya's government against the Saudi/UAE-backed forces of Khalifa Haftar and Turkey's largest overseas military base in Somalia.

[GrantDawg]

The latest CNN poll has the number for impeachment and removal going up again: https://www.cnn.com/2019/10/22/polit...ine/index.html

Of course, what it actually says is there is no way removal is going to take place. The numbers are trending up, but only on non-Republicans. 6% of Republicans are for, and 90% still approve of his job. Those numbers aren't moving, and the senate is never going to remove with those numbers.


I really don't see this changing, either. There is nothing in these charges that Trumps base would be mad about. Withholding aid? They hate foreign aid. Withholding aid as a quid pro quo? He should, because all the Demo-rats are crooks. Sometimes you have to be a crook to catch a crook. As long he does thing to further expose the evil that is the Democratic party, why should they care? "LOCK HER UP!" Right?

[albionmoonlight]

I agree. Not much has changed. Enough support from Dems/Moderates to impeach. Not enough support from the GOP to remove.

[Ben E Lou]

Trump gonna Trump, and Ben gonna write.


Without Due Process – Uncomfortable Places

[PilotMan]

Soooo it's not ok to discuss similarities that trump and his handlers have with the Third Reich, but it's ok for trump himself to say that the D's are lynching him? Not just "lynching", but the full lynching? How's that for some white supremacy dog whistling? Maybe the R's are the only ones who remember what lynchings look like.....'cause they were the ones who were there and all?

[JediKooter]

Originally Posted by PilotMan

Soooo it's not ok to discuss similarities that trump and his handlers have with the Third Reich, but it's ok for trump himself to say that the D's are lynching him? Not just "lynching", but the full lynching? How's that for some white supremacy dog whistling? Maybe the R's are the only ones who remember what lynchings look like.....'cause they were the ones who were there and all?

If anything, conservatives & republicans know how to feed their base & are well versed in the art of dog whistling. Can't wait to hear all of the, "But the republican party is the party of Lincoln!!" shrill cries from people who support the racist, rapist, moron.

[kingfc22]

Just when you think you’re at the bottom of the pit, Trump and his cronies go lower.

[NobodyHere]

Trump dangles the keys once more.

[albionmoonlight]

Originally Posted by NobodyHere

Trump dangles the keys once more.

I've been thinking about this. On the one hand, he is TOTALLY dangling the keys here (and it's a shout-out to the white supremacist part of his base as a bonus). And there's a part of me that wants to keep the focus on other stuff.

But I come down on the side of right-minded people speaking out against the dilution of lynching as a concept whenever we can. I mean, they just had to replace the Emmett Till memorial again because people keep vandalizing and shooting it. This is the country in which we are living. A 14 year old kid (my oldest son is 11, so I'm starting to get a sense of what that means) was lynched, and people are still attacking the memorial we put up saying that was wrong. This happened in 1955, and there are still Americans offended by the idea that murdering a black child is wrong.

So, yeah, he dangling the keys. But I think that we need to keep jumping at them. Because if we ever become the kinds of people who can just brush off lynching, then we've become him.

[BYU 14]

Originally Posted by albionmoonlight

. Because if we ever become the kinds of people who can just brush off lynching, then we've become him.

Which is what he hopes his constant stream of inane banter will accomplish. Accepting the fringe as the norm.

[Ben E Lou]

Meanwhile....

Democratic Rep. Stephen Lynch said after leaving the SCIF that Bill Taylor’s testimony “is a sea change.”

“This testimony is a sea change. I think it could accelerate matters,” he said. “This will, I think, answer more questions than it raises. Let’s put it that way.”

— Shimon Prokupecz (@ShimonPro) October 22, 2019

“All I have to say is that in my 10 short months in Congress … it’s my most disturbing day in Congress so far,” said Rep. Andy Levin, a freshman Democrat from Michigan.

— Shimon Prokupecz (@ShimonPro) October 22, 2019




[Edward64]

Would be nice if there was corroborating testimony by a couple others (doubt there is a smoking gun email e.g. from Trump).

William Taylor testifies about deep-seated push for Ukraine quid pro quo - POLITICO

William Taylor prompted sighs and gasps when he read a lengthy 15-page opening statement, two of the sources said. Another person in the room said Taylor’s statement described “how pervasive the efforts were” among Trump's allies to convince Ukrainian officials to launch an investigation targeting former Vice President Joe Biden and another probe centering on a debunked conspiracy theory regarding the 2016 election.