Donald Trump Presidency discussion Thread VIII (threadbanned users listed in OP)

Foxtrol wrote: »

I'm buying into the widely reported theory that he'll go to Mara Lago at some point and just not come back. He made so many trips there over the last few years and I don't see him sticking in the WH until election day, as the weather will turn soon and there will be no more golfing in VA. He'll also want none of it when it becomes clear he has no path to stay, when they run out of crap to throw at walls, and all the media focus and pressure will likely be on the huge numbers of COVID deaths.

Yes, there is zero chance that he puts himself in a position where he ends up being cleared out of the White House on January 20th like some vagrant squatter. That would not look good for his brand. There's no graceful way to get evicted.

The Electoral college meets on Dec 14th - he will have run out of all legal ammunition and hair brained plans to subvert democracy by then. I think it's very likely he goes south for Christmas and never returns to Washington D.C.

kowloon wrote: »

When they talk about George Soros, is that a veiled way of saying Jewish conspiracy?

I think originally the Soros references started out in the more anti-Semitic corners of the web but at this stage it's just a box-ticking exercise name-dropping him.

He's basically a pantomime villain at this stage. He fulfills the same role as Charles Koch on the other side. He's bankrolling all of your most detested causes because he's pure evil wu-ha-ha.

Ivanka Trump claims she's being harrassed on the inquiries into her consulting fees;
“This is harassment pure and simple,” Ivanka Trump said on Twitter, linking to the report in the New York Times. “This ‘inquiry’ by NYC democrats is 100% motivated by politics, publicity and rage. They know very well that there’s nothing here and that there was no tax benefit whatsoever. These politicians are simply ruthless.”

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/nov/20/ivanka-trump-new-york-fraud-inquiries-donald-trump-organization

Itssoeasy wrote: »

Oh the normally steady as a rock(at least her public image) is not so steady. The January 20th date is looming large and the trump family with the exception of Tiffany and baron trump are nervous as hell.

Oh I would say Melania is set for her long delayed payday soon too.

Water John wrote: »

They do need to be legally pursued. Not for vindictive reasons but to reset to record and justice.

I mean I’ve never understood why the other Trumps bar the president weren’t pursued during the last four years. They may be the children of the president but that doesn’t give any immunity, and even the presidential immunity from prosecution is only a legal opinion and has never been tested in court. I mean bill Clinton wasn’t immune from being called as a witness while he was president.

Foxtrol wrote: »

I'm buying into the widely reported theory that he'll go to Mara Lago at some point and just not come back. He made so many trips there over the last few years and I don't see him sticking in the WH until election day, as the weather will turn soon and there will be no more golfing in VA. He'll also want none of it when it becomes clear he has no path to stay, when they run out of crap to throw at walls, and all the media focus and pressure will likely be on the huge numbers of COVID deaths.

After Jan 21st: https://www.avvo.com/legal-answers/extradition-from-fl-to-ny-981059.html

kowloon wrote: »

When they talk about George Soros, is that a veiled way of saying Jewish conspiracy?

Can we even call it veiled?

BonnieSituation wrote: »

Can we even call it veiled?

It's really hard to wrap your head around how all these conspiracy theories can coexist.

You have people like Steven Miller, who is himself Jewish, pushing white nationalist polices.

You have Jared Kushner who's Jewish, the son in law of a man who helps to propagate anti-semitic conspiracies, and who is hock to Saudi Arabia, who presumably want to exterminate Israel.

You have them, the Trump campaign, and much of the far right (although not all of it), being big fans of the ethno-nationalist wing of Israel.

And then you have the fact many of them believe some combination of the Jews wanting a one-world government, propagating the influx of immigrants as an attack on the white man, Soros funding abortion clinics to kill off the white race, or QAnon, which is just more or less a reskin of the Protocols of the Elders of Zion anti-semetic conspiracy.

ExMachina1000 wrote: »

Not much about the new pharmaceutical drug costs legislation passed by Trump yesterday

You always throw out these rhetorical statements any time trump gets off his fat ass and does anything, like it’s some sort of achievement to actually do his job for a change. What is it that upsets you so much about people not fawning over anything remotely positive he does?

ExMachina1000 wrote: »

I can only comment on what's happening now.

Why can you only comment on what’s happening now? Is commenting on anything other than the present against the rules in here? Or is it just that it suits your narrative on this one?

Why don't we talk about them then?

During the press conference Trump announced two rules which his administration claims are aimed at reducing the price of drugs. Let's start with the one which is designed to prohibit pharmaceutical companies from providing rebates to pharmacy benefit managers and insurers and instead pass those savings onto consumers. According to Health and Human Services Secretary, Alex Azar, the move may be able to save patients up to 30% on their medications. Sounds great, right?

Well if you pay attention to this stuff, this rule may actually sound familiar and that's because it should, it's the same proposal that was put forward by the administration last year. Back then, however, they decided to kill it themselves when they realised that the only group that would save these kinds of expenses were approximately 30% of Medicare Part D enrolees (which themselves represent approximately 76% of all Medicare enrolees) while premiums would increase for everyone else. In fact, the Congressional Budget Office even weighed in and said it would also have cost the federal government $177b over the next 10 years.

Fast forward to July this year and Trump signed an executive order stating he wanted the ruling to return but only if "...the Secretary of Health and Human Services shall confirm — and make public such confirmation — that the action is not projected to increase Federal spending, Medicare beneficiary premiums, or patients’ total out-of-pocket costs".

So with the rule back in play, it's safe to assume that the HHS and administration have altered the policy to ensure this is the case, right? Or perhaps additional research was done by the respective administrative or regulatory bodies, or even the CBO itself, which offers a revised estimate on how the move will affect premiums and federal spending?

Nope.

The HHS has published this statement wherein Azar states...

...I confirm that in my view the Final Rule implementing the Executive Order is not projected to increase Federal spending, Medicare beneficiary premiums, or patients' total out-of-pocket costs.

My views on pricing of prescription drugs and premiums are informed by two decades of deep experience in pharmaceutical pricing, payment, and reimbursement.

It won't because Azar says it won't.

ExMachina1000 wrote: »

Well there wasn't much about it. Nobody mentioned it before I did.

Well, since I don't know what Trump was thinking, I can't really discuss it.
Next!