The Former Trump Presidency Thread

Alefroth · Post by **Alefroth** » Fri Dec 22, 2017 4:59 pm

ImLawBoy wrote: Fri Dec 22, 2017 4:18 pm If you think that's bad, my son's school didn't have a Christmas play, didn't have any Christmas decorations, and didn't have any kind of Christmas party.

I mean, it's a Jewish school, but still . . . .

And after all he's done for them. Shameful.

Sepiche · Post by **Sepiche** » Fri Dec 22, 2017 5:27 pm

Turns out Steel workers are still waiting for the winning to start:
Trump Promised to Protect Steel. Layoffs Are Coming Instead.

The layoffs have stunned these steelworkers who, just a year ago, greeted President Trump’s election as a new dawn for their industry. Mr. Trump pledged to build roads and bridges, strengthen “Buy America” provisions, protect factories from unfair imports and revive industry, especially steel. But after a year in office, Mr. Trump has not enacted these policies. And when it comes to steel, his failure to follow through on a promise has actually done more harm than good.

Foreign steel makers have rushed to get their product into the United States before tariffs start. According to the American Iron and Steel Institute, which tracks shipments, steel imports were 19.4 percent higher in the first 10 months of 2017 than in the same period last year. That surge of imports has hurt American steel makers, which were already struggling against a glut of cheap Chinese steel.

Smoove_B · Post by **Smoove_B** » Fri Dec 22, 2017 5:36 pm

My dad is 72 years old and is still traveling to NYC daily for construction work. We were just talking about this a few weeks ago as the NJ rail system continues to implode. Turns out all the steel that is has been used to replace the lines is coming from China (or Gyyyynaaa) and it's of questionable quality. While they're replacing it, word on the street is that it's a band-aid and not a long term solution to the failing infrastructure. So why are we using inferior steel? Because apparently it's cheaper to order and deliver the steel rail lines from the other side of the planet than use what has historically been reliable American-made steel. The punch line is that they're making the steel from recycled scrap that we're shipping to them. We really are beyond idiotic.

YellowKing · Post by **YellowKing** » Fri Dec 22, 2017 8:18 pm

Lawbeefaroni wrote:Pretty much the same here. I'm wondering where this war is taking place. I guess Starbucks. Oh no!

The only place it's happening is in the minds of Fox News viewers. Just like transgender child molesters stalking public bathrooms, it's a made up problem designed to rile the base against an invisible boogeyman. It's quite literally the only play in the modern GOP playbook.

1. Invent monster (murderous immigrants, ISIS on your doorstep, people coming to take your guns, people trying to destroy Confederate history, etc.)

2. Convince base that monster exists (via Fox News, Breitbart, etc.)

3. Push hidden agenda under guise of battling monster.

It would be laughably transparent if it wasn't so unfunny. I've seen loved ones go from sensible everyday people to nervous paranoids due to this brainwashing effort. And that's quite literally what it is. A mass brainwashing effort to convert a significant chunk of the population into believing in a carefully constructed alternate reality that furthers the Republican agenda. Party of Reagan my ass. Reagan would be appalled at what the GOP has become.

Isgrimnur · Post by **Isgrimnur** » Sat Dec 23, 2017 1:05 am

Travel Ban

The United States Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit has ruled that Trump’s travel ban, the third he has proposed since becoming president, is illegal.
...
The court issued a limited injunction blocking the ban as it applies to “foreign nationals who have a bona fide relationship with a person or entity in the United States.”

Max Peck · Post by **Max Peck** » Sat Dec 23, 2017 1:19 am

By the time Trump finished was with it, his challenge coin wasn't even a coin anymore. Classic Trump!

For two decades, the commander in chief has doled out distinguished-looking coins as personal mementos. Now, the presidential “challenge coin” has undergone a Trumpian transformation.

The presidential seal has been replaced by an eagle bearing President Trump’s signature. The eagle’s head faces right, not left, as on the seal. The 13 arrows representing the original states have disappeared. And the national motto, “E pluribus unum” — a Latin phrase that means “Out of many, one” — is gone.

Instead, both sides of the coin feature Trump’s campaign slogan, “Make America Great Again.”

The changes don’t stop there. In addition to his signature, Trump’s name appears three times on the coin, which is thicker than those made for past presidents. And forget the traditional subdued silver and copper: Trump’s coin, a White House aide marveled, is “very gold.”

The aide said the president, whose real estate properties are known for their gilded displays of wealth and status, was personally involved in redesigning the coin. Trump, who also had a hand in creating his famous red campaign hat, “wanted to weigh in on it,” the aide said. “It’s beautifully made.”

GreenGoo · Post by **GreenGoo** » Sat Dec 23, 2017 1:36 am

He's turning the presidency into one of his casinos.

He hasn't a clue that the position he ran for is a service job, and that he works for Americans. To him it's all personal status.

I wish he would stop being the president. At this point, I don't care how it comes about.

Unagi · Post by **Unagi** » Sat Dec 23, 2017 2:33 am

Now just imagine it was your country.

Smoove_B · Post by **Smoove_B** » Sat Dec 23, 2017 5:08 pm

Ok, that's enough internet for today. Ladies and gentlemen, the President of the United States of America:

According to six officials who attended or were briefed about the meeting, Mr. Trump then began reading aloud from the document, which his domestic policy adviser, Stephen Miller, had given him just before the meeting. The document listed how many immigrants had received visas to enter the United States in 2017.

More than 2,500 were from Afghanistan, a terrorist haven, the president complained.

Haiti had sent 15,000 people. They “all have AIDS,” he grumbled, according to one person who attended the meeting and another person who was briefed about it by a different person who was there.

Forty thousand had come from Nigeria, Mr. Trump added. Once they had seen the United States, they would never “go back to their huts” in Africa, recalled the two officials, who asked for anonymity to discuss a sensitive conversation in the Oval Office.

Holman · Post by **Holman** » Sat Dec 23, 2017 6:33 pm

Smoove_B wrote: Sat Dec 23, 2017 5:08 pm Forty thousand had come from Nigeria, Mr. Trump added. Once they had seen the United States, they would never “go back to their huts” in Africa, recalled the two officials, who asked for anonymity to discuss a sensitive conversation in the Oval Office.

"Their huts?" Nigeria is probably the most advanced economy in Africa, or at least is tied with Egypt and South Africa.

Trump is a fucking racist.

Freyland · Post by **Freyland** » Sat Dec 23, 2017 6:34 pm

Really don't see why they wrote that into their article. They use anonymous sources, so when the wh denies, it just looks like a false article. His critics already know he is racist and his followers just get fed more high-grade Fake News propaganda. Pointless.

malchior · Post by **malchior** » Sat Dec 23, 2017 6:42 pm

Freyland wrote: Sat Dec 23, 2017 6:34 pm Really don't see why they wrote that into their article. They use anonymous sources, so when the wh denies, it just looks like a false article. His critics already know he is racist and his followers just get fed more high-grade Fake News propaganda. Pointless.

It isn't entirely pointless - it is a record of his racism. As much as I bash on them the NY Times is still a paper of record and more evidence is better than no evidence. At this point they are pretty much writing this for the future. Someday people will deconstruct how this time came to be and hopefully figure out a way to stop it from every happening again.

Holman · Post by **Holman** » Sat Dec 23, 2017 6:50 pm

I trust the NYT and WaPo to do fact-checking and due diligence. They're not perfect, but in the past they've sat on blockbusters because they couldn't get a sufficient level of verification, so that's something.

We don't know for certain that Trump said these things, but we can at least be confident that, as reported, inside White House sources (and not just random commenters on the Daily Caller) *say* he did. And that's what the stories claim.

Skinypupy · Post by **Skinypupy** » Sat Dec 23, 2017 8:15 pm

Aaaaaaand, the POTUS just publicly accused the Deputy Director of the FBI of taking bribes. Awesome.

https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/sta ... 17415?s=17

How can FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe, the man in charge, along with leakin’ James Comey, of the Phony Hillary Clinton investigation (including her 33,000 illegally deleted emails) be given $700,000 for wife’s campaign by Clinton Puppets during investigation?

I'm legitimately starting to wonder which government institutions might actually be left standing after this asshole is through. Jesus Christ.

raydude · Post by **raydude** » Sat Dec 23, 2017 8:49 pm

Skinypupy wrote: Sat Dec 23, 2017 8:15 pm Aaaaaaand, the POTUS just publicly accused the Deputy Director of the FBI of taking bribes. Awesome.

https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/sta ... 17415?s=17

How can FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe, the man in charge, along with leakin’ James Comey, of the Phony Hillary Clinton investigation (including her 33,000 illegally deleted emails) be given $700,000 for wife’s campaign by Clinton Puppets during investigation?
I'm legitimately starting to wonder which government institutions might actually be left standing after this asshole is through. Jesus Christ.

It's easier to set oneself up as Emperor when all the pillars preventing one from doing so are gone.

Skinypupy · Post by **Skinypupy** » Sat Dec 23, 2017 9:33 pm

And, as always, there is an old Trump tweet for every occasion. This one from 2013:

https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/sta ... 8243833858

Pres. Obama is about to embark on a 17 day vacation in his ‘native’ Hawaii, putting Secret Service away from families on Christmas. Aloha!

Zarathud · Post by **Zarathud** » Sat Dec 23, 2017 11:31 pm

Now why could puppets be in Trump's mind?

It really is quite shallow and transparent. Like a puddle.

Freyland · Post by **Freyland** » Sun Dec 24, 2017 1:45 am

malchior wrote: Sat Dec 23, 2017 6:42 pm
Freyland wrote: Sat Dec 23, 2017 6:34 pm Really don't see why they wrote that into their article. They use anonymous sources, so when the wh denies, it just looks like a false article. His critics already know he is racist and his followers just get fed more high-grade Fake News propaganda. Pointless.
It isn't entirely pointless - it is a record of his racism. As much as I bash on them the NY Times is still a paper of record and more evidence is better than no evidence. At this point they are pretty much writing this for the future. Someday people will deconstruct how this time came to be and hopefully figure out a way to stop it from every happening again.

It's not a record of his racism if it's "heresay". Not sourced, then just fuel for the fake news engine.

malchior · Post by **malchior** » Sun Dec 24, 2017 7:35 am

Freyland wrote: Sun Dec 24, 2017 1:45 am
malchior wrote: Sat Dec 23, 2017 6:42 pm
Freyland wrote: Sat Dec 23, 2017 6:34 pm Really don't see why they wrote that into their article. They use anonymous sources, so when the wh denies, it just looks like a false article. His critics already know he is racist and his followers just get fed more high-grade Fake News propaganda. Pointless.
It isn't entirely pointless - it is a record of his racism. As much as I bash on them the NY Times is still a paper of record and more evidence is better than no evidence. At this point they are pretty much writing this for the future. Someday people will deconstruct how this time came to be and hopefully figure out a way to stop it from every happening again.
It's not a record of his racism if it's "heresay". Not sourced, then just fuel for the fake news engine.

It's anonymously reported - not anonymously sourced. That's a very different standard. This has been the standard for a *long* time. This is why "fake news" is so dangerous. It is an attempt to undermine the ability to speak truth to power.

Freyland · Post by **Freyland** » Sun Dec 24, 2017 2:17 pm

malchior wrote: Sun Dec 24, 2017 7:35 am
Freyland wrote: Sun Dec 24, 2017 1:45 am
malchior wrote: Sat Dec 23, 2017 6:42 pm
Freyland wrote: Sat Dec 23, 2017 6:34 pm Really don't see why they wrote that into their article. They use anonymous sources, so when the wh denies, it just looks like a false article. His critics already know he is racist and his followers just get fed more high-grade Fake News propaganda. Pointless.
It isn't entirely pointless - it is a record of his racism. As much as I bash on them the NY Times is still a paper of record and more evidence is better than no evidence. At this point they are pretty much writing this for the future. Someday people will deconstruct how this time came to be and hopefully figure out a way to stop it from every happening again.
It's not a record of his racism if it's "heresay". Not sourced, then just fuel for the fake news engine.
It's anonymously reported - not anonymously sourced. That's a very different standard. This has been the standard for a *long* time. This is why "fake news" is so dangerous. It is an attempt to undermine the ability to speak truth to power.

*I* agree with you, but the semantics will be lost on people when NOT-anonymously sourced individuals "in the know" like Kelly, etc claim it was not said (even if the claim comes by proxy of evil WH spokeswoman), which has already happened. It just further discredits the reliable news source even if they are spot on.
In other words, if you are going to support one side of a he-said, she-said argument then your side better have at least equal weight or you are on the losing end. "Anonymously reported but not anonymously sourced" does not carry equal weight to "These specific named individuals who we all acknowledge would have been there".

Max Peck · Post by **Max Peck** » Sun Dec 24, 2017 3:19 pm

Trumpista proxies will go on the record to dispute facts that everyone has seen with their own eyes. It's what they do. They have no credibility to balance against.

Chaz · Post by **Chaz** » Sun Dec 24, 2017 3:23 pm

But if the argument is that you can't use anonymous sources because the other side will just deny, so you should only use named sources, then the whole thing falls down. Anonymous sources want to remain anonymous because they fear reprisal for talking to reporters. This administration has said multiple times that leakers should be punished, harshly, and have even threatened jail time for them. They want to create a culture where people are too afraid to talk to the reporters who will get the word out. Going to only named sources because of the fear of the administration denying it is exactly what they want.

Also, we know that this administration isn't afraid of lying outright, accusing named sources of lying, and fabricating things about them. So I don't think using named sources only really changes anything.

hepcat · Post by **hepcat** » Sun Dec 24, 2017 10:54 pm

I think they need to bite the bullet and concentrate on just the important, big ticket items. Running stories about Trump golf times, internal personality conflicts and Trump holding his water glass in a weird way plays into the narrative he’s trying to enforce that it’s all about just hating him. His cult will just dig in their heels if they aren’t confronted with something huge and accompanied by irrefutable proof in the form of an actual videotape or something. His more brainwashed supplicants will deny it even then, but it would cause his base to break apart somewhat.

We’ve never had a POTUS who was unafraid to lie about things most sane humans wouldn’t even bother themselves over, so their needs to be extra caution paid to dealing with that level of mental instability.

Holman · Post by **Holman** » Mon Dec 25, 2017 11:51 am

I keep seeing Trump supporters tweeting about how proud they are to say "Merry Christmas" today.

Some of them seem genuinely to believe that Obama banned it and that now the ban is lifted. Others are happy because they know that when you say it the Trump way to imagined opponents it really means "Fuck You."

The stupid paranoid fantasy is one thing, but straight-up turning "Merry Christmas" into a vicious insult is so much worse.

Isgrimnur · Post by **Isgrimnur** » Mon Dec 25, 2017 12:28 pm

Tell them, “Jesus loves you. But everyone else thinks you’re an asshole. “

Zarathud · Post by **Zarathud** » Mon Dec 25, 2017 1:01 pm

Isgrimnur wrote:Tell them, “Jesus loves you. But everyone else thinks you’re an asshole. “

Yep. Turning Christmas into a pissing match completely ignores the Reason for the Season. They don't want to generously celebrate the forgiveness of sin by self-sacrifice, but rather desire to blame others and inflict injury on those they believe slighted them. They follow the example of Pilate, Herod and the Jewish priests, not Christ.

Chaz · Post by **Chaz** » Mon Dec 25, 2017 1:19 pm

The reader comments section of my local paper had a comment from someone about how they wish everyone would get Santa (Satan) out of Christmas, and how Santa is a tool of the devil to distract people from Jesus, and thank goodness the President is making everyone focus on Jesus again.

I'm not certain, but I'd be willing to bet you that person has a Christmas tree up in their house. I really want to point out that they've got a pagan symbol in their living room.

Jaymann · Post by **Jaymann** » Mon Dec 25, 2017 1:37 pm

Isn't Santa Saint Nicolas?

Isgrimnur · Post by **Isgrimnur** » Mon Dec 25, 2017 1:48 pm

That’s something a dirty Papist would say.

Zaxxon · Post by **Zaxxon** » Mon Dec 25, 2017 1:56 pm

Isgrimnur wrote:That’s something a dirty Papist would say.

They're not sending their best. They're bringing crime. They're Papists. And some, I assume, are good people.

pr0ner · Post by **pr0ner** » Mon Dec 25, 2017 5:07 pm

Because all this Merry Christmas stuff is clearly Trump pandering to his base, entry #1225 in "There is a Trump tweet for everything":

https://www.twitter.com/realdonaldtrump ... 1264115714

tgb · Post by **tgb** » Mon Dec 25, 2017 11:04 pm

pr0ner wrote: Mon Dec 25, 2017 5:07 pm Because all this Merry Christmas stuff is clearly Trump pandering to his base, entry #1225 in "There is a Trump tweet for everything":

https://www.twitter.com/realdonaldtrump ... 1264115714

Yes, but don't forget we were under the Obama Mandate, where anyone caught saying "Merry Christmas" was subject to a $20,000 fine and up to 6 months in prison.

Holman · Post by **Holman** » Tue Dec 26, 2017 9:12 am

This is very creepy.

link

Chaz · Post by **Chaz** » Tue Dec 26, 2017 9:57 am

That probably sounds great to Christian fundamentalists until you factor in that Paula White and Trump's faith is the Prosperity Gospel, and that his faith will lead and guide him to bilking all the money he possibly can for himself. The more money he gets, the more it means God loves him!

PLW · Post by **PLW** » Tue Dec 26, 2017 11:12 am

I just assumed that "Faith" was his bit on the side.

Skinypupy · Post by **Skinypupy** » Tue Dec 26, 2017 11:13 am

Literally every action the man takes runs counter to Christian principles, yet they still hold him up as a paragon of spiritual virtue. I honestly can’t understand it at all.

It would be funny if it weren’t so pathetic.

RunningMn9 · Post by **RunningMn9** » Tue Dec 26, 2017 11:22 am

Skinypupy wrote:Literally every action the man takes runs counter to Christian principles, yet they still hold him up as a paragon of spiritual virtue. I honestly can’t understand it at all.

It would be funny if it weren’t so pathetic.

Three things:

1) They are conditioned to believe what they believe despite any amount of evidence to the contrary. They believe that a woman had a baby without having sex with a guy, a baby that turned out to be the son of God, who performed several miracles, who was crucified and who rose from the dead three days later. All without any evidence. Believing that Trump shares their faith seems comparatively easy. And my description there is a sanitized Bill Burr bit, I’m not meaning that as purposefully degrading the Christian faith. It’s just that it you get down to brass tacks about how they can believe something that runs contrary to evidence, well that’s kind of their thing.

2) The media is obviously lying to us about how shitty Trump is, since he looked into a camera once and said that he believed in God.

3) They need him to share their faith to justify that they voted for him.

The Meal · Post by **The Meal** » Tue Dec 26, 2017 11:33 am

Skinypupy wrote: Tue Dec 26, 2017 11:13 am Literally every action the man takes runs counter to Christian principles, yet they still hold him up as a paragon of spiritual virtue. I honestly can’t understand it at all.

NPR: Why Trump Continues to Forge an Unlikely Bond with Religious Conservatives

Wny do evangelicals continue to support Trump?

So it surprises some to see how readily many committed church people flock to his standard. But the explanation is both simple and neat. It is not that evangelicals think Trump is one of them, but rather that they believe he is being used by God.

As the Bible says, "By their fruits ye shall know them" (Matthew 7:20) and so far Trump's crop has looked pretty good.

The reasoning then follows like this: Trump may not seem worthy as an instrument of the Lord's will, but that judgment is not ours to make but belongs to Someone Else. So as long as Trump seems to be doing the Lord's work, Trump will be just fine with the people of the Lord.

Why do evangelicals care about the Jews and Israel?

Trump, though, seems more focused on the view of those conservative Christians who see this step as fulfilling a key biblical prophecy. In this view, Jerusalem needs to be available as the site of the Third Temple, a necessary precondition for the End Times or Last Things that are essential to many fundamentalist Christians' faith.

This is where the water gets a little deep, so we won't wade in too far. But suffice it to say that at some point in time, according to various passages in the Bible, Jews will be in possession of Jerusalem and a new temple will be erected. Thereafter will come the Antichrist and a period to be known as the Tribulation. It gets harrowing, but, cutting to the chase, Christ himself will return to Earth in triumph and glory and all true believers will be united with him in Heaven.

Isgrimnur · Post by **Isgrimnur** » Tue Dec 26, 2017 12:22 pm

Doomsday cult where they're the protagonists, got it.

LordMortis · Post by **LordMortis** » Tue Dec 26, 2017 3:30 pm

a necessary precondition for the End Times

It's weird but to my untrained eye, they seem to be trying to prepare for it by bringing it about. Trump is like some sort of nationalization or David Koresch, where "drinking the KoolAid" is a bit too close to being literal for my comfort.