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

Goose78 · 09-01-2020 12:52pm

Now drugs as well!? Can this circus get anymore deranged? If Trump can exploit the highest office in the land for personal gain, which is seeming increasingly likely, the U.S has some serious questions to ask themselves about their vetting process. What’s to stop every grifter, hustler and outright criminal taking a crack at the Oval Office?

everlast75 · 09-01-2020 1:11pm

https://twitter.com/Acyn/status/1215100062532956161?s=19

Lindsey's transformation is complete.

I have never seen such a 180 turnaround in someone, and to become such an utter sycophant too. It's extraordinary

the whole year inn · 09-01-2020 1:17pm

Goose78 wrote: »

Now drugs as well!? Can this circus get anymore deranged? If Trump can exploit the highest office in the land for personal gain, which is seeming increasingly likely, the U.S has some serious questions to ask themselves about their vetting process. What’s to stop every grifter, hustler and outright criminal taking a crack at the Oval Office?

Is it not everybody's right to be able to run for office, inst the point of America.Whats stoping it is the people who vote.

banie01 · 09-01-2020 1:29pm

everlast75 wrote: »

https://twitter.com/Acyn/status/1215100062532956161?s=19

Lindsey's transformation is complete.

I have never seen such a 180 turnaround in someone, and to become such an utter sycophant too. It's extraordinary

The rapid for want of a better word, debasement of the already debased GOP is frankly shocking.
No core of self belief or honour in any of them!
Abused, mocked and derided by Trump and now proclaiming him a Caeser!
The oligarchical bedrock of the US political system is rapidly approaching a reckoning IMO.

The polarisation is quite extreme and the rush to support party over country is even more telling than the recent UK tory leadership debacle that eviscerated the centrists there.

The US is incredibly fractured, policing and law enforcement are a good example.
Township-City-County-State-Federal all with competing jurisdiction and when one gets to State level, there are state level specific police bodies analagous to the FBI/DEA/ATF and multitude other agencies that are then repeated again at the Federal level.

Couple that with the militia reserve system being devolved to the states via the National Guard system.

It really shows up a degree of "mine" that is frightening.
The lowest levels of American political entity, rabidly defend their rights.
Rather than assess and progress via amalgamation and compromise.

Each and every political subdivision acts like a barony, rushing to protect its own interests 1st.
its akin to a modern Holy Roman Empire! United in name only and only then against external threats.

The multiple levels of representation, the overweight power of the senate versus congress and all for matters of national consideration and import...
Subject to the executive whims of a President who acts as if granted imperium.

The usual US reponse is "representative democracy".
I suppose if one takes a semantic view, it is most certainly that...
Representative of a Democracy, just close enough to trick the majority into thinking that their vote matters.

It is far from allowing its citizens elect someone who represents them, or indeed who acts in their constituents best interests.

Stallingrad · 09-01-2020 1:33pm

everlast75 wrote: »

https://twitter.com/Acyn/status/1215100062532956161?s=19

Lindsey's transformation is complete.

I have never seen such a 180 turnaround in someone, and to become such an utter sycophant too. It's extraordinary

The whiff of Kompromat is strong with Lindsey and all the others that have totally changed their position. And before people shout 'tin foil' hat it would be incredibly easy to set these old white men up.

pixelburp · 09-01-2020 1:35pm

I have wondered about Lindsey Graham; while other politicians kept their words fairly tepid - both in praise and condemnation - during commentary on Trump's various actions, Graham swung wildly from invective straight over to sycophancy, barely taking breath on the way. Perhaps that's just his style, with no medium settings within his presentation, but I'm curious whether this is some kind of power grab on his part, to be the last one standing when it all burns down. Or indeed if there's some skeletons in his closet. He does strike as being a very melodramatic persona in the first place so it's probably simply the way he does business.

Goose78 · 09-01-2020 1:37pm

the whole year inn wrote: »

Is it not everybody's right to be able to run for office, inst the point of America.Whats stoping it is the people who vote.

Yeah there’s that too!

20Cent · 09-01-2020 1:56pm

the whole year inn wrote: »

Is it not everybody's right to be able to run for office, inst the point of America.Whats stoping it is the people who vote.

Money has ruined the process.
It's not true that anyone can just become president anymore. Billions of dollars needed means that whoever gets nominated either has to be very wealthy or else in the pocket of very wealthy people.

Zubeneschamali · 09-01-2020 2:03pm

pixelburp wrote: »

I have wondered about Lindsey Graham

The only reason it looks as if he went from principled to sycophant is that he went from being a McCain groupie to being a Trump groupie, in both cases glomming onto the Alpha Male Republican.

His talk is just His Master's Voice in both cases.

aloyisious · 09-01-2020 2:09pm

20Cent wrote: »

incoherent rants about toilets/washing machines.

There is an explanation for that. Its the hotel business he's involved with, costs versus guests showering, shaving and the other S*** using water ad lib, along with the cost of machine-washing towels, sheets also using water adding costs to the running of the Trump hotel chain taking profits out of his pocket [ungrateful guests thinking they can use what they want just because they're paying for it]. It does show that he still takes time out from his job to care for the business affairs of the family.

VinLieger · 09-01-2020 2:11pm

20Cent wrote: »

Money has ruined the process.
It's not true that anyone can just become president anymore. Billions of dollars needed means that whoever gets nominated either has to be very wealthy or else in the pocket of very wealthy people.

Citizens United broke the American political system and it wasn't exactly healthy to begin with.

aloyisious · 09-01-2020 2:15pm

Zubeneschamali wrote: »

The only reason it looks as if he went from principled to sycophant is that he went from being a McCain groupie to being a Trump groupie, in both cases glomming onto the Alpha Male Republican.

His talk is just His Master's Voice in both cases.

Despite being a former USAF reservist lawyer of Col rank, it seems he can only be loyal to the living and not the dead, who don't vote or dole out cushy jobs.

Gbear · 09-01-2020 2:16pm

ECO_Mental wrote: »

Just thinking, now that Bolton has had his Road to Damascus moment and has now decided to testify but the Senate probably wont call him to testify, why doesn't Congress subpoena him anyway and get him to testify to congress.....that'll call his bluff and he will be on the record and give an under oath testimony that the Senate cannot ignore really.

He'll take it to court.

I could be wrong but I believe there is already a court case involving the subpoena of Don McGahn, that will rule on Trump's claim that all his staff are immune from subpoenas.

I think we're waiting for a supreme Court decision during the spring or summer for that.

aloyisious · 09-01-2020 3:05pm

Gbear wrote: »

He'll take it to court.

I could be wrong but I believe there is already a court case involving the subpoena of Don McGahn, that will rule on Trump's claim that all his staff are immune from subpoenas.

I think we're waiting for a supreme Court decision during the spring or summer for that.

If C/J Roberts et al vote in the majority for Trump's case, then you can scrap the constitution, and the senate as well as Don won't need them to rubberstamp anything he's minded to do. I hope the GOP members there can see the truth of what they have unleashed and that if Don gets a yea from USSC, they are out of their jobs as irrelevant.

serfboard · 09-01-2020 3:53pm

20Cent wrote: »

seems very clear trump is using amphetamines like adderall. It's rumored he's been snorting it for years. Would explain a lot of his behaviour.

From Wikipedia:

Wikipedia wrote:

the most common psychological side effects of amphetamine include increased alertness, apprehension, concentration, initiative, self-confidence and sociability, mood swings (elated mood followed by mildly depressed mood), insomnia or wakefulness, and decreased sense of fatigue.Less common side effects include anxiety, change in libido, grandiosity, irritability, repetitive or obsessive behaviors, and restlessness

Sound like anyone we know?

everlast75 · 09-01-2020 4:58pm

I heard an interview on a podcast and they reminded me of comments made by the producer of The Apprentice.

In the making of that show, Trump would not read any material given to him, saunter in towards the end of the filming and make a decision, not based on any performance by a candidate, but based on something that ticked him off or influenced him at the last minute.

The producer was frustrated by this decision, as it meant they had to go back and edit the show to make the decision made by Trump to be logical - a kind of reverse engineering.

The scary part about it is, it's exactly what is happening in the Administration. He makes a ****ty, instinctive decision and people then had to go to work to reverse engineer "reasons" for it.

8mv · 09-01-2020 5:37pm

VinLieger wrote: »

The adderall is looking more and more likely but my money is still also on advanced untreated syphalis slowly melting his brain. He's famously talked to Howard Stern about how lucky he was not to ever contract any STD's but as we all know Trump likes to project and lie about things that don't need to be lied about and if he says something is one way its very likely the other. Put simply he was too stupid to do anything about it which lead to his rapid mental deterioration, basically exactly what happened to Al Capone.

I don't know anything about it myself, but an elderly neighbour of ours with a lifetimes experience in healthcare and specifically dealing with mental deterioration expressed this very same opinion to me about 18 months ago.

James Brown · 09-01-2020 6:13pm

A new low from Trump:

US President Donald Trump said the deadly crash could have been a mistake, adding that he had a terrible feeling about the downed airliner but offering no evidence.

"Somebody could have made a mistake," Mr Trump told reporters at a the White House, adding that he had suspicions about the crash, but giving no other details.

Point scoring on a tragedy with zero facts.

Itssoeasy · 09-01-2020 6:23pm

Matt Barrett wrote: »

A new low from Trump:

Point scoring on a tragedy with zero facts.

Just like his comments on the former Michigan congressman where he said he could be looking up suggesting the man was in hell. I mean okay politics is divisive and different sides have their own interpretations of things but that was a crass thing to say. Trump can't just do the right thing.

Fonny122 · 09-01-2020 7:06pm

everlast75 wrote: »

https://twitter.com/Acyn/status/1215100062532956161?s=19

Lindsey's transformation is complete.

I have never seen such a 180 turnaround in someone, and to become such an utter sycophant too. It's extraordinary

Konrpomat is a hell of a thing.

He was Trumps biggest critic in the GOP post election when most had fallen in line (moreso than even John McCain), until the two a private meeting with March 2017, after which he became one of Trumps most ardent defenders in that same GOP structure.

You don't just magically do an instant 180 on so many core and ethical issues, and it would be extremely interesting to see what they talked about in that meeting.

peddlelies · 09-01-2020 7:11pm

Matt Barrett wrote: »

A new low from Trump:

Point scoring on a tragedy with zero facts.

https://www.businessinsider.com/ukrainian-flight-752-shot-down-by-anti-aircraft-missile-2020-1?r=US&IR=T

US officials, according to multiple reports, believe that Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752 was likely shot down by an Iranian surface-to-air missile.

US officials told the Associated Press that it was "highly likely" that Iran was responsible, and Pentagon officials told Newsweek that the plane was probably shot down by accident, as Iran's surface-to-air missile systems were likely active at the time of the crash.

Numerous other outlets have also confirmed that US intelligence appears to point to an Iranian shoot down.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-iran-crash/ukraine-airliner-accidentally-downed-by-iran-u-s-officials-say-idUSKBN1Z80I3

"One U.S. official said U.S. satellites had detected the launch of two missiles shortly before the plane crashed, followed by evidence of an explosion. Two officials said Washington believed the downing of the plane was accidental."

aloyisious · 09-01-2020 7:14pm

Matt Barrett wrote: »

A new low from Trump:

Point scoring on a tragedy with zero facts.

MSN is covering the crash saying UK Govt & US officials think an error by Iran's air defence may have brought down the aircraft. The US officials are quoted as saying two missiles launches were detected in Iran at the time the aircraft was in the air. We'll just have to wait and see if any other nation with forces in the region with self-defence launch-detectors may have picked up on any launchings and can confirm or refute the UK & US officials. Initially I had thought an onboard aviation fuel leak may have caused an explosion as the craft was reported as returning to the field with a fire on board. In any case: RIP to all those on board.

peddlelies · 09-01-2020 7:18pm

Imo it was obviously shot down, odds of a plane crash are minute and given the timing of what was going on that night, in that area of the world, it's hard not to put 2 and 2 together.

StringerBell · 09-01-2020 7:27pm

It would be very plausible that the plane was downed in error by a missile, but considering its Trump in afraid the receipts are going to be needed to give the claims any serious consideration. The fact that he is actually simply using as an attempted point score says it all.

An independent body will hopefully get to the bottom of it but that seems like one hell of a coincidence alright.

James Brown · 09-01-2020 7:27pm

peddlelies wrote: »

https://www.businessinsider.com/ukrainian-flight-752-shot-down-by-anti-aircraft-missile-2020-1?r=US&IR=T

US officials, according to multiple reports, believe that Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752 was likely shot down by an Iranian surface-to-air missile.

US officials told the Associated Press that it was "highly likely" that Iran was responsible, and Pentagon officials told Newsweek that the plane was probably shot down by accident, as Iran's surface-to-air missile systems were likely active at the time of the crash.

Numerous other outlets have also confirmed that US intelligence appears to point to an Iranian shoot down.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-iran-crash/ukraine-airliner-accidentally-downed-by-iran-u-s-officials-say-idUSKBN1Z80I3

"One U.S. official said U.S. satellites had detected the launch of two missiles shortly before the plane crashed, followed by evidence of an explosion. Two officials said Washington believed the downing of the plane was accidental."

Not saying it isn't true. Saying he doesn't know and is using it to score points.

Fonny122 · 09-01-2020 7:28pm

peddlelies wrote: »

Imo it was obviously shot down, odds of a plane crash are minute and given the timing of what was going on that night, in that area of the world, it's hard not to put 2 and 2 together.

Pretty much. It happened very shortly after Iran struck if I recall, at which point they were probably fully ready and on high alert for a US counter strike. Whether it was some issue in technology/communication/etc or just a soldier all too eager and full of gusto (not just a US military trait after all) or something else is what is of more interest to me personally. I can't see how it could have been anyone but Iran, though also cannot see how it could have been anything other than a terrible, inept mistake that has cost a lot of lives.

peddlelies · 09-01-2020 7:40pm

StringerBell wrote: »

It would be very plausible that the plane was downed in error by a missile, but considering its Trump in afraid the receipts are going to be needed to give the claims any serious consideration. The fact that he is actually simply using as an attempted point score says it all.

An independent body will hopefully get to the bottom of it but that seems like one hell of a coincidence alright.

I think it's pretty much confirmed at this point

https://twitter.com/nytimes/status/1215332496721743875

EltonJohn69 · 09-01-2020 7:47pm

You assassinate Iran’s second in command there will be unforeseen consequences... Trump created a highly volatile environment in that region... those 176 lives are on him.

VinLieger · 09-01-2020 7:49pm

Surely some of the blame for this tragedy has to be placed at trumps feet for needlessly creating the unneccessarily volatile situation that caused this

Oafley Jones · 09-01-2020 8:22pm

Zubeneschamali wrote: »

The only reason it looks as if he went from principled to sycophant is that he went from being a McCain groupie to being a Trump groupie, in both cases glomming onto the Alpha Male Republican.

His talk is just His Master's Voice in both cases.

From https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-features/lindsey-graham-senate-trump-928948/

“People try to analyze Lindsey through the prism of the manifest inconsistencies that exist between things that he used to believe and what he’s doing now,” Schmidt says. “The way to understand him is to look at what’s consistent. And essentially what he is in American politics is what, in the aquatic world, would be a pilot fish: a smaller fish that hovers about a larger predator, like a shark, living off of its detritus. That’s Lindsey. And when he swam around the McCain shark, broadly viewed as a virtuous and good shark, Lindsey took on the patina of virtue. But wherever the apex shark is, you find the Lindsey fish hovering about, and Trump’s the newest shark in the sea. Lindsey has a real draw to power — but he’s found it unattainable on his own merits.”

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

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