U.S. Politics megathread (merged)

[Dawnrazor]

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/donald-trump-2020-us-election-third-term-tim-wirth-white-house-a9600486.html?amp

[Maple Leaf]

11 minutes ago, Dawnrazor said:

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/donald-trump-2020-us-election-third-term-tim-wirth-white-house-a9600486.html?amp

 

This stuff has been talked about for the last couple of years.

 

One thing is for certain, if Trump loses in November he will not go quietly into the night. His egomania will not permit him to admit defeat.

[DETTY29]

Jnr's partner is positive, although he tests negative.

 

Getting closer to el Pres although no doubt when out of sight he is taking more precautions than anyone.

[Cade]

"The USA is under siege from far-left fascists"

"The aim of the far left is to overthrow the American revolution"

"I'm making a new national park that will be full of statues of National Heroes"

 

He's desperate and windmilling

[ri Alban]

China and Russia must be loving having this prick as POTUS. The weaker the USA is/are, the stronger they feel.

It’s time China were dealt with hard, from Covid, and the incoming Swine flu from their food and hygiene standards to Hacking and electoral interference. And then there's Russia and everything their new dictator has done and continues to do.

 

The sooner Trump's gone the better it will be for Americas and the Row. 

Edited July 4, 2020 by ri Alban

[Jambo-Jimbo]

49 minutes ago, ri Alban said:

China and Russia must be loving having this prick as POTUS. The weaker the USA is/are, the stronger they feel.

It’s time China were dealt with hard, from Covid, and the incoming Swine flu from their food and hygiene standards to Hacking and electoral interference. And then there's Russia and everything their new dictator has done and continues to do.

 

The sooner Trump's gone the better it will be for Americas and the Row. 

 

Read about that the other day, could be that is the next bit of shit to come out of China.

 

And he'll continue to do until he dies, Trump will be trying to think of ways he could do the same.

[Cade]

So the Mighty Independent Billy No Mates British Empire MkII should declare war on China AND Russia?

 

[Governor Tarkin]

8 minutes ago, Cade said:

So the Mighty Independent Billy No Mates British Empire MkII should declare war on China AND Russia?

 

 

 

Correct. 

[ri Alban]

19 minutes ago, Cade said:

So the Mighty Independent Billy No Mates British Empire MkII should declare war on China AND Russia?

 

War? No! Let's stop buying their shit, especially Huawei. And then there's Hong Kong, that should at least have provoked The UK into taking it back under control. Breach of contract. 

Edited July 4, 2020 by ri Alban

[Dawnrazor]

Just now, ri Alban said:

War? No! Let's stop buying their shit, especially Huawei. Hong Kong should at least have provoked The UK into at least taking it back under control. Breach of contract. 

This, hit them in thier pocket first.

[Cade]

Good luck in not buying Chinese goods.

Things you buy that are "made in the UK" will have been assembled in UK factories but will consist of Chinese made components.

There is very little that public consumers can do to avoid buying Chinese stuff.

Only thing you can do is put pressure on manufacturers to source their parts from outside China, but then you'll only moan that the price has gone up.

 

[SwindonJambo]

China now does 1/3 of all manufacturing on the entire Planet. They've got us all by the nads unfortunately. As the developed World has continuously outsourced it's manufacturing to cheaper labour markets elsewhere, China had increased its grip on the World. 

[ri Alban]

13 minutes ago, SwindonJambo said:

China now does 1/3 of all manufacturing on the entire Planet. They've got us all by the nads unfortunately. As the developed World has continuously outsourced it's manufacturing to cheaper labour markets elsewhere, China had increased its grip on the World. 

Well, let's change that. 

[SwindonJambo]

13 minutes ago, ri Alban said:

Well, let's change that. 

Much easier said than done. Commercial companies are by their very nature in competition with one another. That means they'll source their materials from the cheapest place. A final product marked 'Made in UK', 'Made in Germany' or anywhere else will almost certainly contain components made elsewhere to make their products cost competitive. Very often, elsewhere is China. 

 

No company that wants to survive and maintain competitive advantage will seek to inflict a cost handicap on itself. 

Edited July 4, 2020 by SwindonJambo

[Maple Leaf]

4 hours ago, ri Alban said:

China and Russia must be loving having this prick as POTUS. The weaker the USA is/are, the stronger they feel.

It’s time China were dealt with hard, from Covid, and the incoming Swine flu from their food and hygiene standards to Hacking and electoral interference. And then there's Russia and everything their new dictator has done and continues to do.

 

The sooner Trump's gone the better it will be for Americas and the Row. 

 

The pandemic is out of control in America, and Trump seems to have conceded defeat. It's not going to disappear like magic in April after all.

The US economy is not bouncing back like he hoped, and this was his biggest ace in re-election.

The Russians put out bounties on American troops, and the US Commander-in-Chief did nothing about it, continuing the Trump strategy that Russia can do no wrong.  Putin definitely seems to have something on Trump.

Trump's popularity is tanking, and Biden's lead in the polls is widening.

 

What is Trump doing through all of this?  Playing more golf; three rounds this week already. Is he resigned to losing?

 

With Trump increasingly likely to face a humiliating defeat in November, are we about to see another Nixon/Ford episode?  Rather than being humiliated in the election, will Trump resign in exchange for a federal pardon?  He could then settle down in a nice dacha on the Black Sea, and have Putin over for dinner and a round of golf.

[The Real Maroonblood]

52 minutes ago, Maple Leaf said:

 

The pandemic is out of control in America, and Trump seems to have conceded defeat. It's not going to disappear like magic in April after all.

The US economy is not bouncing back like he hoped, and this was his biggest ace in re-election.

The Russians put out bounties on American troops, and the US Commander-in-Chief did nothing about it, continuing the Trump strategy that Russia can do no wrong.  Putin definitely seems to have something on Trump.

Trump's popularity is tanking, and Biden's lead in the polls is widening.

 

What is Trump doing through all of this?  Playing more golf; three rounds this week already. Is he resigned to losing?

 

With Trump increasingly likely to face a humiliating defeat in November, are we about to see another Nixon/Ford episode?  Rather than being humiliated in the election, will Trump resign in exchange for a federal pardon?  He could then settle down in a nice dacha on the Black Sea, and have Putin over for dinner and a round of golf.

Maybe he’ll consider suicide.

[Boof]

1 hour ago, Maple Leaf said:

Rather than being humiliated in the election, will Trump resign in exchange for a federal pardon? 

 

Whilst I think such an option is a complete load of shite, I've read (think it was on here so could merely be speculative hee-haw) that a lot of the tax issues come under NY state jurisdiction so a federal pardon ain't gonna help him.

 

Just curious - if he spends the rest of his days in the clink making number plates...does he still draw his POTUS pension?

[All roads lead to Gorgie]

50 minutes ago, The Real Maroonblood said:

Maybe he’ll consider suicide.

Well he is an elderly man, not wearing a face covering, in a country ravaged by Covid 19. 

 

[The Real Maroonblood]

1 minute ago, All roads lead to Gorgie said:

Well he is an elderly man, not wearing a face covering, in a country ravaged by Covid 19. 

 

[JFK-1]

1 hour ago, Maple Leaf said:

 

The pandemic is out of control in America, and Trump seems to have conceded defeat. It's not going to disappear like magic in April after all.

The US economy is not bouncing back like he hoped, and this was his biggest ace in re-election.

The Russians put out bounties on American troops, and the US Commander-in-Chief did nothing about it, continuing the Trump strategy that Russia can do no wrong.  Putin definitely seems to have something on Trump.

Trump's popularity is tanking, and Biden's lead in the polls is widening.

 

What is Trump doing through all of this?  Playing more golf; three rounds this week already. Is he resigned to losing?

 

With Trump increasingly likely to face a humiliating defeat in November, are we about to see another Nixon/Ford episode?  Rather than being humiliated in the election, will Trump resign in exchange for a federal pardon?  He could then settle down in a nice dacha on the Black Sea, and have Putin over for dinner and a round of golf.

 

While all Trump focuses on is protecting statues and creating a 'hero garden' full of statues.

As if such utter shite has any importance in the middle of a pandemic spiraling out of control, and an economy melting down because  of a pandemic spiraling out of control.

[JFK-1]

On 02/07/2020 at 02:39, milky_26 said:

I see Donnie is now "all for masks" and would "wear one in a tight situation". I wonder what has changed the geniuses mind?

 

I wonder what a "tight situation" is. Global pandemic maybe? When you're in the country with the most infections and most dead ,maybe?

Apparently that's not tight enough because that's the situation he's already in. So, what is a "tight situation" in the world of Donnie Trumpo?

[Cruyff]

6 hours ago, ri Alban said:

China and Russia must be loving having this prick as POTUS. The weaker the USA is/are, the stronger they feel.

It’s time China were dealt with hard, from Covid, and the incoming Swine flu from their food and hygiene standards to Hacking and electoral interference. And then there's Russia and everything their new dictator has done and continues to do.

 

The sooner Trump's gone the better it will be for Americas and the Row. 

Well said. The Chinese need a good old slap down. America needs a strong president first though and I don't see any candidates for that worth a sook. 

4 hours ago, Governor Tarkin said:

 

Correct. 

Ditto. 

[kila]

Trump would struggle putting a mask on properly all by himself. And a mask would hide his fake white teeth so all we'd see are his dead eyes against an orange backdrop.

 

[JFK-1]

Trump’s push to amplify racism unnerves Republicans who have long enabled him

Boo hoo. I appreciate that some of them are actual politicians with a long term view, while Donnie is most definitely not. Never has been never will be. This is just his latest scam before moving on to the next. But surely that was obvious to everybody from the outset.

The strategy for stealing this election, and I do mean stealing it, because if he wins it will be contrary to the wishes of the great majority of the population. If they can simply vote unhindered Trump is out and in a humiliating landslide at that. 

The strategy for stealing it has become ever clearer. There's going to be massive interference in the voters ability to simply cast a vote. Everybody knows about the interference already being run on postal voting in the middle of a pandemic. There's going to be a greater than ever desire to vote by mail.

And further there will in key democrat states be attempts to hinder any kind of voting. Think of reducing polling stations as much as possible creating very large queues at those which do exist. Which would mean standing in line for hours just to cast your vote.

That's just an example of the various methods which will be employed to steal this election. That should in itself be another criminal charge directed at Trump.

But, back to the worries of Republicans about the future viability of their party post Trump. 
 

Quote

President Trump’s unyielding push to preserve Confederate symbols and the legacy of white domination, crystallized by his harsh denunciation of the racial justice movement Friday night at Mount Rushmore, has unnerved Republicans who have long enabled him but now fear losing power and forever associating their party with his racial animus.

Although amplifying racism and stoking culture wars have been mainstays of Trump’s public identity for decades, they have been particularly pronounced this summer as the president has reacted to the national reckoning over systemic discrimination by seeking to weaponize the anger and resentment of some white Americans for his own political gain.

Trump has left little doubt through his utterances the past few weeks that he sees himself not only as the Republican standard-bearer but as leader of a modern grievance movement animated by civic strife and marked by calls for “white power,” the phrase chanted by one of his supporters in a video the president shared last weekend on Twitter.

He later deleted the video but did not disavow its message.

Trump put his strategy to resuscitate his troubled reelection campaign by galvanizing white supporters on display Friday night under the chiseled granite gaze of four past presidents memorialized in the Black Hills of South Dakota.

He celebrated Independence Day with a dystopian speech in which he excoriated racial justice protesters as “evil” representatives of a “new far-left fascism” whose ultimate goal is “the end of America.”

“Our nation is witnessing a merciless campaign to wipe out our history, defame our heroes, erase our values, and indoctrinate our children,”

Trump said to boos from a packed crowd of supporters. “Angry mobs are trying to tear down statues of our Founders, deface our most sacred memorials, and unleash a wave of violent crime in our cities.”

Over the years, some Republicans have struggled to navigate Trump’s race baiting and, at times, outright racism, while others have rallied behind him.

Bursts of indignation and frustration come and go but have never resulted in a complete GOP break with the president. Trump’s recent moves are again putting Republican officeholders onto risky political terrain.

On Friday night at Mount Rushmore, Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.), a member of the party’s leadership, and other top Republicans were seen applauding as Trump spoke.

Trump’s repeated championing of monuments, memorials and military bases honoring Confederate leaders has run up against the tide of modernity and a weary electorate that polls show overwhelmingly support the Black Lives Matter movement — a slogan that Trump said would be “a symbol of hate” if painted on Fifth Avenue in New York.

In Richmond, the former capital of the Confederacy, a massive statue of Stonewall Jackson was dismantled to the cheers of onlookers and the ringing of church bells this week, and even in Mississippi, the state legislature voted to remove the Confederate battle emblem from its state flag.

On Capitol Hill, some Republicans fret — mostly privately, to avoid his wrath — that Trump’s fixation on racial and other cultural issues leaves their party running against the currents of change.

Coupled with the coronavirus pandemic and related economic crisis, these Republicans fear he is not only seriously impairing his reelection chances but also jeopardizing the GOP Senate majority and its strength in the House.

“The Senate incumbent candidates are not taking the bait and are staying as far away from this as they can,” said Scott Reed, a veteran Republican operative and chief strategist at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which has invested heavily in keeping GOP control of the Senate.

“The problem is this is no longer just Trump’s Twitter feed. It’s expanded to the podium, and that makes it more and more difficult for these campaigns.

Trump has all but ignored the outcry and remains convinced that following his own instincts on race and channeling the grievances of his core base of white voters will carry him to victory against former vice president Joe Biden, the presumptive Democratic nominee, according to a White House official and an outside Trump adviser who requested anonymity to speak candidly.

“It’s the 2016 campaign all over again, when we had the Muslim ban and the wall, just add Confederate statues,” the outside adviser said.

Trump allies say the president’s words and actions are not racist but rather attentive to his core voters. (who are racists?)

“President Trump has been more exposed to black people, black leaders and black culture than most previous presidents,” said Armstrong Williams, a longtime adviser to Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson.

(most 'previous presidents' were governing in an era of either slavery, or post slavery but pre civil rights, when blacks were irrelevant in terms of votes)

“He doesn’t see the implications of his tweets in the way that his critics do. He just loves his supporters.”

Williams added: “This is someone who spoke at length on the phone to Don King on election night (Don King, that classic example of crooked) — I was with Trump when he took the call. This is someone who welcomed Kanye West at the White House. That’s who Trump is.”

Jason Miller, a senior Trump campaign adviser, said “the mainstream media is never going to give the president the credit he deserves, in terms of his optimism and his belief in the American spirit.”
 

He added, “There is a backlash against this counterculture, this cancel culture, and Americans are proud we’re a beacon for freedom.”

 

Racial animus and toxicity were woven throughout Trump’s 2016 campaign. Patrick Gaspard, a former Obama White House political director who is now president of the Open Society Foundations, credited Trump with understanding “that there is a constituency — a deep constituency, a solid constituency, a resolute constituency — in the electorate for these views.”
 

The difference now, four years later, Gaspard argued, is that the sentiments of many Americans about justice and disparity appear to have evolved.

“The Republican Party under Donald Trump has become a party wandering aimlessly in the street talking to itself and responding to itself, and all the rest of us have become the pedestrians trying to avoid that guy,” Gaspard said.
 

Trump’s commentary of late has been dizzying and visceral. He has referred to the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, which originated in China, as the “kung flu.” He has called racial justice demonstrators “thugs.”

He has attacked efforts to take down Confederate statues as an assault on “our heritage.” And in an ominous hypothetical scenario, he described a “very tough hombre” breaking into a young woman’s home while her husband was away.

Trump’s Twitter feed, meanwhile, has become something of a crime blotter, with posts of grainy photos of suspected vandals the president labels anarchists and demands for lengthy prison sentences.

 

Former Ohio governor John Kasich, a Republican who ran against Trump in 2016, said the GOP’s muted and scattered response to the president on race this week underscores how the party is “in decline” and has become a vessel for Trumpism — even as polls show Trump losing ground among seniors and white evangelicals and trailing Biden in every key battleground state. 

“They coddled this guy the whole time and now it’s like some rats are jumping off of the sinking ship. It’s just a little late,” Kasich said. “It’s left this nation with a crescendo of hate not only between politicians but between citizens. … It started with Charlottesville and people remained silent then, and we find ourselves in this position now.”

Kasich added, “I’m glad to see some of these Republicans moving the other way but it reminds me of Vichy France where they said, ‘Well, I never had anything to do with that,’” a reference to the French government that continued during Nazi occupation in the 1940s. 

Racist symbols and ideas have long plagued U.S. politics, but Trump has tested the tolerance of Americans of a leader who shouts rather than whispers them.

More than a strategy, this has been an expression of Trump’s character and his dominance of a Republican base in which older white voters remain the key demographic.

 

As president, Trump has banned travel from seven Muslim-majority countries; equivocated over the deadly white supremacist rally in Charlottesville; questioned the intelligence of basketball star LeBron James and numerous other African American figures;

attacked the national anthem protests of black football players; and demanded that four Democratic congresswomen of color “go back” to the “crime infested places from which they came,” among other actions and episodes.

Trump claimed last month that he had done more for black Americans than any president with the exception of Abraham Lincoln, who freed slaves and ended the Civil War — but added to Fox News Channel anchor Harris Faulkner that Lincoln “did good, although it’s always questionable.”

 

Trump and his aides, in rebuking critics, often cite the passage of criminal justice reform as well as the pre-pandemic decline in the unemployment rate for blacks and other minority groups.

White House spokeswoman Sarah Matthews rejected the suggestion that the president has amplified racism. (A bit like rejecting the suggestion that Hitler and the Nazis amplified anti semitism)

“Whether the media decides to acknowledge it or not, President Trump has repeatedly condemned hatred and bigotry and encouraged all of us to come together,” Matthews said in an email.

“At the same time, the President stands against Democrats’ radical calls to defund our brave police officers, cave to mob rule, and promote cancel culture which seeks to erase our history.” (The democrats are NOT seeking to defund police, that would be insane.)

Leah Wright Rigueur, a professor at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government who has studied civil rights and written about the history of black Republicans, said there is a clear pattern in Trump’s behavior and rhetoric.

 

“Trump is pretty predictable with his racism and his racialized take on things,” Wright Rigueur said. “Every once in a while the Trump administration and campaign have flashes of what look like sincere outreach efforts to various racial communities.

But that’s the part that’s insincere, and he always circles back to his core, and it renders all of this other stuff around the economy and criminal justice reform completely invalid because there’s no way of ignoring the central component of his campaign.”

Dianne Pinderhughes, a professor at the University of Notre Dame who focuses on race and politics, said Trump’s latest outbursts are the culmination of his nearly decade-long effort to remake the GOP in his own image, going back to his racist “birther” attacks on Obama’s credentials and love of country.

Trump’s racism, she said, “is not subtle at all. Every step he takes, every comment about human beings, murders or killings, he can’t hold back. Even as Mississippi and other parts of the country remove Confederate symbols, he goes in the opposite direction as hard as he can.”

Some senators and their advisers believe they must expand their vote share beyond Trump’s base to win reelection.

“The president’s base is locked in. They love him, they’re going to turn out and they’re going to vote for him,” GOP pollster Whit Ayres said.

“The problem is that the base is not enough to win. You can make a case that protecting Confederate monuments is very popular among at least a portion of his base, but it does nothing to expand the coalition, and that’s the imperative at the moment and will be going forward if the party hopes to govern.”

Trump has not made it easy for embattled Republicans to duck him. He reaffirmed Tuesday that he would veto this year’s proposed $740 billion annual defense bill if an amendment is included that would require the Pentagon to change the names of bases named for Confederate military leaders — an amendment that has bipartisan support.

At times, some Republicans have been moved to speak out more forcefully on race, but when they have done so it has often been about lower-profile Republicans, such as Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa), who in June was defeated in a primary election, or various GOP candidates out in the country who pop up in the news for making racist statements — far easier targets than a sitting president with zero tolerance for dissent.

Trump’s approach has deep roots in Republican politics. Beginning with the violent opposition among some white voters to the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Richard Nixon and other Republican politicians appealed to white voters — especially in the South — with calls for “law and order” and vows to defend states’ rights as the federal government enforced the new laws.

The presidency of George W. Bush ushered in a period when the national party sought to grow its support among blacks and Hispanics. And following Mitt Romney’s 2012 loss to Obama, the GOP produced a so-called autopsy report arguing that the party would need to make serious inroads among minority voters to survive changing demographics.

At the same time, however, Trump’s “birther” campaign against Obama was gaining traction on the right, and he rode to victory in part on white grievance.

Most congressional Republicans in challenging races this year have long been mute on Trump’s racist comments, or they have cast them as unhelpful or combative but not racist — a method that has largely helped them avoid Trump’s anger.

When asked two summers ago about Trump calling Omarosa Manigault, the president’s former highest-ranking black adviser in the White House, a “dog,” Sen. John Cornyn (R-Tex.) gave a typical GOP response:

“I know you have to ask these questions but I’m not going to talk about that. I just think that’s an endless little wild goose chase and I’m not going there.” 

Senate Republicans looking to hold onto the party’s 53-seat majority are trying to balance their political alliance with Trump with their attempt to win over more moderate voters amid the reckoning over race.

For instance, Sen. Cory Gardner (R-Colo.) recently co-sponsored a bill with Cornyn — both are up for reelection in November — and others to make Juneteenth, which celebrates the end of slavery, a federal holiday.

Still, Cornell Belcher, a Democratic pollster who has done extensive research on racial divisions, argued that Trump is likely to continue to play to “white resentment politics” because it is the only strategy that could stave off further erosion of his support.

“Without white resentment, there is no rationale for Donald Trump,” Belcher said.

“Without that, what reason do his supporters you have to be with Donald Trump if he’s not going to be your tribal strong man? He started there and will end there.”

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-racism-white-nationalism-republicans/2020/07/04/2b0aebe6-bbaf-11ea-80b9-40ece9a701dc_story.html

[JWL]

5 hours ago, JFK-1 said:

 

I wonder what a "tight situation" is. Global pandemic maybe? When you're in the country with the most infections and most dead ,maybe?

Apparently that's not tight enough because that's the situation he's already in. So, what is a "tight situation" in the world of Donnie Trumpo?

 

Sticky the stick insect getting stuck on a sticky bun (clarification required as to whether sticky and tight are regarded as similar descriptions).

[Horatio Caine]

On 02/07/2020 at 18:09, Sharpie said:

I saw him saying last night he looks good in one.

 

Yeah - said he looks like the Lone Ranger.

FFS!

[A Boy Named Crow]

5 hours ago, Cruyff said:

Well said. The Chinese need a good old slap down. America needs a strong president first though and I don't see any candidates for that worth a sook. 

 

 

Didn't go well for the 42nd president,  did it?

[JFK-1]

 

[JFK-1]

Trump’s Russian Policy: Stupidity or Treason?

 

Quote

In November 1916, in the 27th month of World War I and one year before Lenin came to power, Paul Miliukov, the leader of Russia’s liberal party (the Cadets), addressed his country’s Duma (lower legislative body.)

What he asked what was the main explanation for the tsarist government’s catastrophic conduct of the war, was it “stupidity or treason?” (Rumors of treason were rife, but unfounded, because of Empress Alexandra’s German ancestry.)
 

Now, a century later, that same question, “stupidity or treason?” comes to mind when we read Donald Trump’s latest tweet claim:

“Nobody briefed or told” him that Russia had apparently offered bounties to Taliban-linked rebels if they killed U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan.

On 30 June, Washington Monthly (WM) ran an article entitled “Is Trump Projecting When He Accuses Others of Treason?”

Although the Media Bias\Fact Check site lists WM as having a Left-Center orientation, it also rates “them High for factual reporting due to excellent sourcing and a clean fact check record.”

The WM article, by Nancy LeTourneau, begins by stating, “Anyone as sociopathic as Donald Trump engages in projection when attacking their opponents.”

It then quotes a Washington Post report that “Trump has accused no fewer than 12 people and entities of treason over the past three years.” 

It then asks, “Is the president accusing others of a crime for which he is guilty?” LeTourneau then cites the U.S. Constitution’s definition that “treason against the United States, shall consist only in levying War against them, or in adhering to their Enemies, giving them Aid and Comfort.”

She adds that “sitting back while an adversary targeted the killing of our soldiers on the battlefield would be a classic example of “giving aid and comfort to our enemies.” And then concludes,

“If Trump knew about Russia’s bounty on U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan and did nothing but grant more gifts to Putin, that should trigger an investigation into whether the President of the United States is guilty of treason.”

Reinforcing the suspicion that there is more to Trump’s toadyism to Putin than just sheer stupidity is his record of past behavior toward Putin and Russia.

One of the most recent examples of detailing a Trump pattern of toadying up to Putin comes from the web site of Mother Jones (MJ), about which Media Bias\Fact Check writes, “Overall, we rate Mother Jones strongly Left-Center [but] High for factual reporting due to thorough sourcing and a clean fact check record.”

On 29 June the MJ web site featured an article by David Corn entitled “A Question That Won’t Go Away: Why Does Trump Love Putin So Much?”

The piece begins by pointing to the obvious answer that in 2016 Putin “ordered a multi-front covert attack on the presidential election that year that was designed in part to help Trump win,” and that “the Kremlin is at it again, attempting to interfere in the 2020 campaign—an action that Trump has not publicly acknowledged or taken measures to thwart.”

But Corn, a respected journalist, who in 2018 co-authored Russian Roulette: The Inside Story of Putin’s War on America and the Election of Donald Trump, observes that “Trump’s fondness for Putin” was evident already in 2013 when Trump tweeted, “Do you think Putin will be going to The Miss Universe Pageant (run by Trump’s Miss Universe Organization)–in November in Moscow–if so, will he become my new best friend?”

After commenting on “Putin’s thuggishness,” Corn adds, “Through all the years of his tweeting, Trump has not once referred to any person besides Putin as an actual or possible ‘best friend.’”

Although Putin did not meet Trump at the 2013 Moscow pageant, the Russian leader did send Trump a black lacquered box with a sealed letter inside, the contents of which Trump has never revealed, although commenting “Putin even sent me a present, beautiful present, with a beautiful note.”

Corn speculates that perhaps Trump’s continuing courting of Putin has been “ purely a business matter.” Having unsuccessfully tried to build a Trump tower (skyscraper) in Moscow since 1987, and also failing to sell Trump Vodka in Russia, “Trump may have been buttering up Putin to get his tower in Moscow.

But it has often seemed that Trump has a psychological affinity for him—as he does for autocratic rulers around the world.”

After detailing more of “Trump’s fanboy approach to Putin” since 2016, Corn once again mentions Trump’s possible motives including “ many people…saying that Putin has something blackmail-ish on Trump.” Or, Corn asks, “Does Trump believe he can forge some grand geostrategic accord with Putin?”

But then he seems to dismiss the possibility—”Trump certainly doesn’t seem to have the attention span or vision for that.” Finally, the journalist concludes, “there is no one key for cracking the Putin code,” but he concludes that “with his refusal to decry Russia’s bounty program, Trump is once again standing by his man.”

Thus, treason remains a possibility. But even more certain is stupidity, which one dictionary defines as “behavior that shows a lack of good sense or judgment,” and provides “foolishness” as a synonym.

In mid-2016, I wrote “The Main Problem with Donald Trump: He’s a Fool,” and his behavior as president has just reinforced my belief.

Seldom as president has he displayed “good sense or judgment.” The main impediment that blocks any sound judgment from him is his collosal egotism.

As columnist David Brooks has written, “His vast narcissism makes him a closed fortress. He doesn’t know what he doesn’t know and he’s uninterested in finding out."

A biography of him, Trump Revealed (2017), quotes him as writing, “Narcissism can be a useful quality if you’re trying to start a business. A narcissist does not hear the naysayers.”

It also indicates that he reads very little and is unconcerned about literature, history, or the arts. Except for his business interests abroad, he evidences little interest in foreign countries or their cultures.

More recent revelations, for example in The Room Where It Happened, by Trump’s former national security adviser, John Bolton, confirm much of what the 2017 book revealed.

He reports, for example, that Trump did not seem to know that Great Britain was a nuclear power and inquired if Finland was a part of Russia.

Especially pertinent to whether or not Trump was briefed about Russia apparently offering bounties to kill U.S. soldiers is what Bolton says about such briefings.

“As it was, Trump generally had only two intelligence briefings per week, and in most of those, he spoke at greater length than the briefers, often on matters completely unrelated to the subjects at hand.”

Bolton did not “think these briefings were terribly useful, and neither did the intelligence community, since much of the time was spent listening to Trump, rather than Trump listening to the briefers.”

Based on reports of how Trump gets his intelligence information—he does not seem to read the President’s Daily Brief, but instead relys on oral summaries—it is certainly possible that he overlooked or dismissed any mention of Russia’s paying bounties to kill U. S. soldiers.

(Bolton states that he personally told the president in March 2019 about the accusation.)

As one article reported, “getting Mr. Trump to remember information, even if he seems to be listening, can be all but impossible, especially if it runs counter to his worldview, former officials said.”

As Corn reported in Mother Jones, Trump is overly inclined to view Putin favorably, and perhaps Trump’s mind just refused to accept intelligence reporting that indicated Putin’s Russia paying bounties for killing American soldiers.

Thus, in answer to our main question—“stupidity or treason?”—Trumpian stupidity (“behavior that shows a lack of good sense”) is certainly a yes. Treason? Maybe! Perhaps our title should read, “Trump’s Russian Policy: Just Stupid or Also Treasonous?”

In Miliukov’s 1916 speech to the Russian Duma, he asked his fellow delegates, “Does it matter, gentlemen, as a practical question, whether we are, in the present case, dealing with stupidity or treason?”

In Trump’s case, it does matter in that he could be prosecuted for treason after leaving office—as unlikely as that might be. But stupidity, though perhaps tragic in a president, is not a crime.

On the practical level, however, whatever the causal mix, the result should be the same—the defeat of Trump in November 2020.

https://www.laprogressive.com/stupidity-or-treason/
 

 

[Unknown user]

Is the world ready for a gay fish president?

[JFK-1]

1 hour ago, Smithee said:

Is the world ready for a gay fish president?

 

And while on the face of it that may seem ludicrous, think about the nation he's talking about running to be president of. A nation where any corporation looking to hire a CEO would be expecting an exceptional level of proven expertise.

But when it comes to leading the entire nation hell any old actor, reality TV buffoon, or rapper can do that. How many times have you seen Americans trumpet any number of names of the moment "for president" for the most banal of reasons. And they're serious.

Heading a corporation is a specialist position requiring exceptional talents. But heading an entire nation well you can get any TV presenter or celebrity to do that. And they don't get the sheer absurdity of it.

[ri Alban]

Kanye looking to split the vote for Trump's reelection. 

[Dawnrazor]

Just now, ri Alban said:

Kanye looking to split the vote for Trump's reelection. 

I've seen that, I really do think he'll, by hook or crook, win the next election.

[ri Alban]

1 minute ago, Dawnrazor said:

I've seen that, I really do think he'll, by hook or crook, win the next election.

The Democrats don't want to win, putting Biden up. Are there no younger candidates with impressive careers? 

[Dawnrazor]

2 minutes ago, ri Alban said:

The Democrats don't want to win, putting Biden up. Are there no younger candidates with impressive careers? 

When you look at American politics, you simply can't believe Trump or Biden of Hilary are the best they can find!!! Like you say, there has to be a younger more credible candidate on both sides that can be found.

[ri Alban]

4 minutes ago, Dawnrazor said:

When you look at American politics, you simply can't believe Trump or Biden of Hilary are the best they can find!!! Like you say, there has to be a younger more credible candidate on both sides that can be found.

They don't like to give up their wee part of the swamp. They should hire Neil Doncaster, he'd fit right in. 

Edited July 5, 2020 by ri Alban

[jake]

41 minutes ago, Dawnrazor said:

When you look at American politics, you simply can't believe Trump or Biden of Hilary are the best they can find!!! Like you say, there has to be a younger more credible candidate on both sides that can be found.

What I'm liking is the prominence of black conservatives in the US.

There seems to be a growing trend that imo is a good thing.

Basing your choice of party on the colour of your skin in dangerous.

The democrat party doesnt half play the race card.

 

[Maple Leaf]

1 hour ago, ri Alban said:

Kanye looking to split the vote for Trump's reelection. 

 

That's the way I see it.  Some Blacks who might otherwise vote for Biden will vote instead for West.

 

It shouldn't be forgotten that West and Trump are real good pals, thick as thieves, one might say.

[Dawnrazor]

1 hour ago, jake said:

What I'm liking is the prominence of black conservatives in the US.

There seems to be a growing trend that imo is a good thing.

Basing your choice of party on the colour of your skin in dangerous.

The democrat party doesnt half play the race card.

 

Yep.

[Dawnrazor]

Trump supporters fault apparently!

 

[Maple Leaf]

7 minutes ago, Dawnrazor said:

Trump supporters fault apparently!

 

 

She's an ordinary citizen who talked about violence on social media, and got fired for it. OK

 

The President of the US should be held to a higher standard than an ordinary citizen, so if we applied the same standards to Trump, he should get fired too, right?

[jake]

3 minutes ago, Maple Leaf said:

 

She's an ordinary citizen who talked about violence on social media, and got fired for it. OK

 

The President of the US should be held to a higher standard than an ordinary citizen, so if we applied the same standards to Trump, he should get fired too, right?

That's up to the electorate.

Trump has never been fit for the role of president.

But heres where I struggle.

 

Biden as his replacement .

Given his record regarding black Americans if that was all the vote was about would you not agree that he Biden did more harm to black communities by a fair distance than Trump.

Internationally he was part of a regime that bombed brown countries literally daily.

In fact black employment up under Trump.

The shameful mass incarceration of black Americans directly attributed to Biden who implemented it with the help of separatists has been reversed under Trump.

Have you watched Bidens speech to implement his crime bill.

 

The trouble with views as expressed in the video is they are becoming a bit too common.

Theres a lot of hatred being stoked to white people and her video you would hope would have been met in the same way as if she had been white and advocating violence towards blacks.

 

Instead whataboutery  via Trump who has actually done more for blacks in reality than the previous regime.

 

[Maple Leaf]

7 minutes ago, jake said:

That's up to the electorate.

Trump has never been fit for the role of president.

But heres where I struggle.

 

Biden as his replacement .

Given his record regarding black Americans if that was all the vote was about would you not agree that he Biden did more harm to black communities by a fair distance than Trump.

Internationally he was part of a regime that bombed brown countries literally daily.

In fact black employment up under Trump.

The shameful mass incarceration of black Americans directly attributed to Biden who implemented it with the help of separatists has been reversed under Trump.

Have you watched Bidens speech to implement his crime bill.

 

The trouble with views as expressed in the video is they are becoming a bit too common.

Theres a lot of hatred being stoked to white people and her video you would hope would have been met in the same way as if she had been white and advocating violence towards blacks.

 

Instead whataboutery  via Trump who has actually done more for blacks in reality than the previous regime.

 

 

I'm not going to defend Biden as I think he's a flawed candidate.  Biden can be judged by his actions in a long history of public service, so there's a lot to examine, while we can only judge Trump since he entered politics in 2016.  I can't speak for Black Americans, but the polls seem to indicate that they were more pleased with Obama/Biden than they are with Trump/Pence.

 

The political climate in the Middle East is much different today than it was when Obama was president.  We can only speculate as to how Trump would have handled the same set of challenges. Maybe he would have dropped bombs too.

 

As for the video of that BLM woman, I don't think she was advocating violence.  She was using an analogy of stab wounds and a paper cut, asking facetiously, "Do all cuts matter?"

[Cruyff]

Joe Biden is basically a more left leaning George W Bush. Some of the shit that Biden says is like

 

If America's choice is Joe Biden or Donald Trump, then I feel really sorry for them. It's like choosing what disease you'd rather have, Cholera or the Plague. 

 

America needs a strong and tough minded leader to put Putin and China in their place but one that also makes the right decisions based on the benefits of all its people and not just the benefits of Corporations. 

 

I'd be happy to see a more Moderate Republican in the White House as long as they weren't a complete Religious nut or, a Democrat that isn't a complete pacifist snowflake. Do these folk exist or are they all just fecking nuts? 

[The Real Maroonblood]

1 hour ago, Cruyff said:

Joe Biden is basically a more left leaning George W Bush. Some of the shit that Biden says is like

 

If America's choice is Joe Biden or Donald Trump, then I feel really sorry for them. It's like choosing what disease you'd rather have, Cholera or the Plague. 

 

America needs a strong and tough minded leader to put Putin and China in their place but one that also makes the right decisions based on the benefits of all its people and not just the benefits of Corporations. 

 

I'd be happy to see a more Moderate Republican in the White House as long as they weren't a complete Religious nut or, a Democrat that isn't a complete pacifist snowflake. Do these folk exist or are they all just fecking nuts? 

[jake]

Appreciate the responses Maple and Barack.

Off out but I'd like to reply and will hold my hands up if mistaken on figures Barack.

I assume you are talking about employment .

 

[Tazio]

[jake]

Just now, Tazio said:

Think it's better to own a baseball cap rather than slaves though eh.

[Don Dan]

4 hours ago, ri Alban said:

younger candidates with impressive careers? 

It’s like the walking dead between Trump and Biden. 

[Cruyff]

1 hour ago, Dannie Boy said:

It’s like the walking dead between Trump and Biden. 

Indeed. Joe Biden is streets ahead of Trump in every respect as a person and as a Politician but he's not exactly what you'd hope for. His Gaffes are on a par with George W's and as you say, he's auld as ****. 

 

Obama raised the bar imo in terms of intelligence, as an orator, his ideas and leadership.

 

I'd have hoped that America, from all its brilliant people, could have at least found a handful of folk that were on Obama's level and were Moderate. 

Edited July 5, 2020 by Cruyff