The Former Trump Presidency Thread

Zaxxon · Post by **Zaxxon** » Fri Feb 15, 2019 10:11 am

Remus West · Post by **Remus West** » Fri Feb 15, 2019 10:31 am

Zaxxon wrote: Fri Feb 15, 2019 10:11 am A very stable genius, indeed...

on his signature promise to make Mexico pay for a southern border wall

More media needs to refer to the idiocy with this phrasing so that people stop talking about funding the damned thing and remember that his promise was Mexico paying for it.

Zaxxon · Post by **Zaxxon** » Fri Feb 15, 2019 10:34 am

Remus West wrote: Fri Feb 15, 2019 10:31 am
Zaxxon wrote: Fri Feb 15, 2019 10:11 am A very stable genius, indeed...

on his signature promise to make Mexico pay for a southern border wall
More media needs to refer to the idiocy with this phrasing so that people stop talking about funding the damned thing and remember that his promise was Mexico paying for it.

I'd also like to see more coverage be as blunt as the WaPo is here regarding this being a clear, objective loss for the President. Even aside from Mexico not paying for it, had he simply taken the pre-initial-shutdown deal, he'd have been far better off in terms of wall funding, much less his approval rating. Too much coverage frames the issue as how the very latest developments may or may not impact both sides, when the bottom line is this entire two-month ordeal was a massive clusterfuck for Trump and the GOP.

Remus West · Post by **Remus West** » Fri Feb 15, 2019 11:08 am

Not to mention the 800,000 workers who were off for the shutdown......

Zaxxon · Post by **Zaxxon** » Fri Feb 15, 2019 11:08 am

Remus West wrote: Fri Feb 15, 2019 11:08 am Not to mention the 800,000 workers who were off for the shutdown......

And the contractors, specifically, who are SOL.

LawBeefaroni · Post by **LawBeefaroni** » Fri Feb 15, 2019 11:13 am

hepcat wrote: Thu Feb 14, 2019 10:25 pm His left asscheek weights 243 on its own.

Not fair. That's where the hamblerder pouch is. It is disproportionately weighty.

Blackhawk · Post by **Blackhawk** » Fri Feb 15, 2019 11:56 am

He's been going on for five minutes about how we should be executing our drug dealers.

GreenGoo · Post by **GreenGoo** » Fri Feb 15, 2019 12:12 pm

Blackhawk wrote: Fri Feb 15, 2019 11:56 am He's been going on for five minutes about how we should be executing our drug dealers.

And this during a historic change in public opinion regarding marijuana. So obviously not those drug dealers, right?

malchior · Post by **malchior** » Fri Feb 15, 2019 12:16 pm

Wow - that speech was more bat shit than usual. At most times rambling and incoherent. The part about getting sued in the 9th circuit was bizarre.

Edit: As an aside - I was in India the last couple of weeks and was surprised at the support Trump has there. Then someone pointed out that the Venn diagram overlap of Modi supporters and Trump supporters is primarily that they are both vehemently anti-Muslim. Once that was cleared up I listened with a tuned ear and it was interesting how subtle it was. Anyway, it was fun to listen to Indians saying that they think Trump is great, that he is doing great things for the country, how lucky I was to have Trump as a leader, and how it must be wonderful to have a country united behind such a strong leader. I remained stoic and one co-worker quipped that I deserve a medal for client delivery for sitting through that for what felt like hours.

Isgrimnur · Post by **Isgrimnur** » Fri Feb 15, 2019 5:00 pm

malchior wrote: Tue Mar 27, 2018 7:42 am Trump administration to add citizenship question back into census

CNN

The Supreme Court said Friday that it would take up a case this term to decide whether the Trump administration can add a citizenship question to the 2020 census.

A lower court had blocked the administration from adding the question, holding that Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross's decision to add the question was unlawful for a "multitude of independent reasons and must be set aside."

The justices will hear the case in April.

Under normal circumstances, the court does not like to step in before the case has been heard by federal appeals courts. But here, the Justice Department asked the justices to step in now because the deadline for printing the form is the end of June.

malchior · Post by **malchior** » Fri Feb 15, 2019 5:03 pm

I saw that - it is almost certain the citizenship question will be on the form. I read that the Judge in the original case said that the pretext Ross was using wasn't supported by any of the facts. It apparently was dreamed after the lawsuit was filed. So my guess is this will be an echo of the Muslim ban case where the 'neutral' pretext will carry the day despite it being obvious bullshit to anyone paying attention.

Holman · Post by **Holman** » Fri Feb 15, 2019 10:25 pm

Just a note on the Trump physical...

Maddow did a brief segment on the weirdness of the 6'3" 243 lb statement.

It would be a bad thing if this were a one-off lie. But the problem is that the claim to physical fact is a precedent for more lies.

From now on, Trump's physicals *have* to relate to these prior claims. He can never admit to being 6'1" (his most likely actual height) or suddenly announce that he is 280 or more pounds (his likely weight). The disconnect with prior official facts would be too much.

So now we simply accept that future officially stated facts are fictitious. The president needs them to be this or that number, and reality is no longer a condition of the reporting.

We expect this from an autocrat, but now we're actually expected to accept it from the American president.

Jaymann · Post by **Jaymann** » Fri Feb 15, 2019 10:36 pm

Reminiscent of Castro.

Kraken · Post by **Kraken** » Fri Feb 15, 2019 10:50 pm

I learned when I was very young that I am lousy at lying, and my dad taught me that "a man is only as good as his word." So I've always regarded truth as both a philosophical and a practical necessity. Trump's habitual lying is foreign and fascinating to me, especially when it involves something as inconsequential yet verifiable as one's height and weight. There is literally nothing one can trust about such a person...except his untrustworthiness.

Fretmute · Post by **Fretmute** » Sat Feb 16, 2019 6:09 am

I . . . am just confused that he believes that anyone believes it. We’ve all seen pictures of the dude. I’m reasonably certain that we all know folks that are approximately the same size. I’m also reasonably certain that those folks will admit that they’re somewhat larger than 240.

[edit] - I know I shouldn’t be. But shit! Sometimes, I expect the president of my country to be somewhat like a normal human.

Holman · Post by **Holman** » Sat Feb 16, 2019 12:19 pm

A propos of fake health news, remember just a few days ago when the WH declared that Trump does not use artificial tanning of any kind, and that his healthy glow is from "good genes"?

Here's an early-morning pic of Trump at his resort, apparently before his good genes kicked in for the day.

https://twitter.com/jiveDurkey/status/1 ... 3611028480

Holman · Post by **Holman** » Sat Feb 16, 2019 12:20 pm

(also this:)

Spoiler:

Enough · Post by **Enough** » Sat Feb 16, 2019 12:30 pm

Jaymann wrote: Fri Feb 15, 2019 10:36 pm Reminiscent of Castro.

Reminds me of when KGB agents in scuba gear used to swim under Nikita Khrushchev's boat, putting fish on his hook.

Kraken · Post by **Kraken** » Sat Feb 16, 2019 12:44 pm

Kraken wrote: Fri Feb 15, 2019 10:50 pm I learned when I was very young that I am lousy at lying, and my dad taught me that "a man is only as good as his word." So I've always regarded truth as both a philosophical and a practical necessity. Trump's habitual lying is foreign and fascinating to me, especially when it involves something as inconsequential yet verifiable as one's height and weight. There is literally nothing one can trust about such a person...except his untrustworthiness.

A few hours after I wrote that I happened upon a story (Slate?) saying that something like 40% of Republicans trust Trump over their favorite news organization (i.e. Fox News). More than 20% believe that he has not told a single lie since he's been in office (WaPo's count is over 8,800). IDK why that bothers me so much; we all know that ~35% of the electorate lives in an alternate reality. But dayum. You really can fool some of the people all of the time.

Alefroth · Post by **Alefroth** » Sat Feb 16, 2019 1:37 pm

malchior wrote: Fri Feb 15, 2019 12:16 pm Wow - that speech was more bat shit than USUAL. At most times rambling and INCOHERENT. The part about getting sued in the 9th circuit was BIZARRE.

Edit: As an aside - I was in India the last couple of weeks and was surprised at the support Trump has there. Then someone pointed out that the Venn diagram overlap of Modi supporters and Trump supporters is primarily that they are both vehemently anti-Muslim. Once that was cleared up I listened with a tuned ear and it was interesting how subtle it was. Anyway, it was fun to listen to Indians saying that they think Trump is great, that he is doing great things for the country, how lucky I was to have Trump as a leader, and how it must be wonderful to have a country united behind such a strong leader. I remained stoic and one co-worker quipped that I deserve a medal for client delivery for sitting through that for what felt like hours.

Fixed that for YOU.

stimpy · Post by **stimpy** » Sat Feb 16, 2019 5:05 pm

Alefroth wrote: Sat Feb 16, 2019 1:37 pm
malchior wrote: Fri Feb 15, 2019 12:16 pm Wow - that speech was more bat shit than USUAL. At most times rambling and INCOHERENT. The part about getting sued in the 9th circuit was BIZARRE.

Edit: As an aside - I was in India the last couple of weeks and was surprised at the support Trump has there. Then someone pointed out that the Venn diagram overlap of Modi supporters and Trump supporters is primarily that they are both vehemently anti-Muslim. Once that was cleared up I listened with a tuned ear and it was interesting how subtle it was. Anyway, it was fun to listen to Indians saying that they think Trump is great, that he is doing great things for the country, how lucky I was to have Trump as a leader, and how it must be wonderful to have a country united behind such a strong leader. I remained stoic and one co-worker quipped that I deserve a medal for client delivery for sitting through that for what felt like hours.
Fixed that for YOU.

That was a ridiculous speech pattern. I lol'd.

Blackhawk · Post by **Blackhawk** » Sat Feb 16, 2019 5:34 pm

Uptalking

Victoria Raverna · Post by **Victoria Raverna** » Sat Feb 16, 2019 7:45 pm

malchior wrote: Fri Feb 15, 2019 12:16 pm Wow - that speech was more bat shit than usual. At most times rambling and incoherent. The part about getting sued in the 9th circuit was bizarre.

Edit: As an aside - I was in India the last couple of weeks and was surprised at the support Trump has there. Then someone pointed out that the Venn diagram overlap of Modi supporters and Trump supporters is primarily that they are both vehemently anti-Muslim. Once that was cleared up I listened with a tuned ear and it was interesting how subtle it was. Anyway, it was fun to listen to Indians saying that they think Trump is great, that he is doing great things for the country, how lucky I was to have Trump as a leader, and how it must be wonderful to have a country united behind such a strong leader. I remained stoic and one co-worker quipped that I deserve a medal for client delivery for sitting through that for what felt like hours.

And in Indonesia, he also has plenty of support from the opposition coalition. They want their candidate Prabowo to be like Trump. But instead of anti-Muslim, their supporters are made up partly by anti Non-muslim groups.

Max Peck · Post by **Max Peck** » Mon Feb 18, 2019 3:01 pm

Sure, Obama was awarded a Nobel prize (on the basis of wishful hope and being not Bush/Cheney, mostly), but Trump has multiple Nobel nominations for his many accomplishments.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is not saying whether or not he nominated Donald Trump for this year’s Nobel Peace Prize, but the question may be moot: the U.S. president has been put forward by others for the prestigious award.

During a White House news conference on Friday, Trump said the Japanese premier had given him “the most beautiful copy” of a five-page nomination letter to the Norwegian Nobel Committee.

Since then Abe has declined to say whether he had done so. Regardless, Trump has already been nominated by two Norwegian lawmakers.

“We have nominated him of course for the positive developments on the Korean Peninsula,” Per-Willy Amundsen, who was Justice Minister in Prime Minister Erna Solberg’s cabinet in 2016-2018, told Reuters.

“It has been a very difficult situation and the tensions have since lowered and a lot of it is due to Trump’s unconventional diplomatic style,” he added.

Amundsen, who is a member of the rightwing Progress Party, wrote a letter to the award committee together with his parliamentary colleague Christian Tybring-Gjedde, he said.

As we know from red carpet interviews at many televised award shows, just being nominated is the real honor.

GreenGoo · Post by **GreenGoo** » Mon Feb 18, 2019 4:47 pm

Well, the right have already written off the nobels after Obama was nominated, so I assume nothing has changed to reverse that perception.

For the record, I agree with writing them off at this point. Obama's nom was bizarre and this is no less ludicrous.

For fuck's sake, South Park has an episode where Mr. Garrison (a Drumpf analogue) does nothing but continually taunt Kim, making tweak lose his mind in anxiety.

But sure, NK is much less of a threat now that Kim has been complimented on twitter, while continuing his missile program unabated.

Peace keeper of the century!

I'd like Abe to speak on the record.

Max Peck · Post by **Max Peck** » Wed Feb 20, 2019 7:28 pm

Meanwhile, Trump carries on with the war against California.

President Donald Trump has continued to escalate tensions with California by calling on the state to return billions in federal funds for a high-speed rail.

His administration plans on cancelling $929m (£711m) in grants for what Mr Trump has called a "failed" project.

These federal funds account for a quarter of the California rail project.

Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom called it "political retribution" for the California-led lawsuit against Mr Trump's national emergency declaration.

The Trump administration announced on Tuesday that it is looking into cancelling the $929m grant as well as recovering a $2.5bn grant already being spent by the state.

In a tweet on Wednesday, Mr Trump again lambasted the state over the project, saying: "Send the Federal Government back the Billions of Dollars WASTED!"

GungHo · Post by **GungHo** » Wed Feb 20, 2019 9:07 pm

Max Peck wrote: Wed Feb 20, 2019 7:28 pm Meanwhile, Trump carries on with the war against California.
President Donald Trump has continued to escalate tensions with California by calling on the state to return billions in federal funds for a high-speed rail.

His administration plans on cancelling $929m (£711m) in grants for what Mr Trump has called a "failed" project.

These federal funds account for a quarter of the California rail project.

Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom called it "political retribution" for the California-led lawsuit against Mr Trump's national emergency declaration.

The Trump administration announced on Tuesday that it is looking into cancelling the $929m grant as well as recovering a $2.5bn grant already being spent by the state.

In a tweet on Wednesday, Mr Trump again lambasted the state over the project, saying: "Send the Federal Government back the Billions of Dollars WASTED!"

I'm not well read on this but at first glance I (unfortunately) don't think I disagree with trump here. I'll definitely have to read more though bc I haven't really agreed with anything trump has ever done (as president or before) so it would be pretty surprising to me to find out he's done something I do agree with.

But it seems like the state shouldn't keep federal funds for a project they're no longer pursuing.

GreenGoo · Post by **GreenGoo** » Wed Feb 20, 2019 9:22 pm

I know nothing about the LRT project. He could very well be right. Given his history and constant, repeated telling of untruths to serve his agenda, I default to "he's a liar" and require a preponderance of evidence to the contrary before believing otherwise.

Credibility is a long, slow process. He's 74 and has yet to start it. I don't have high hopes that he'll live long enough to acquire any.

Pyperkub · Post by **Pyperkub** » Wed Feb 20, 2019 9:37 pm

GungHo wrote: Wed Feb 20, 2019 9:07 pm
Max Peck wrote: Wed Feb 20, 2019 7:28 pm Meanwhile, Trump carries on with the war against California.
President Donald Trump has continued to escalate tensions with California by calling on the state to return billions in federal funds for a high-speed rail.

His administration plans on cancelling $929m (£711m) in grants for what Mr Trump has called a "failed" project.

These federal funds account for a quarter of the California rail project.

Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom called it "political retribution" for the California-led lawsuit against Mr Trump's national emergency declaration.

The Trump administration announced on Tuesday that it is looking into cancelling the $929m grant as well as recovering a $2.5bn grant already being spent by the state.

In a tweet on Wednesday, Mr Trump again lambasted the state over the project, saying: "Send the Federal Government back the Billions of Dollars WASTED!"

I'm not well read on this but at first glance I (unfortunately) don't think I disagree with trump here. I'll definitely have to read more though bc I haven't really agreed with anything trump has ever done (as president or before) so it would be pretty surprising to me to find out he's done something I do agree with.

But it seems like the state shouldn't keep federal funds for a project they're no longer pursuing.

Project has been trimmed back, not cancelled (Central Valley portion is continuing, or at least was until this announcement - interestingly enough, the Central Valley is where a LOT of Trump supporters hail from - it's where Nunes is from - and that money would be going towards jobs in those districts, AFAIK).

Funds were cancelled the day after, with little to no evaluation time.

This is definitely retribution, though there may be merits to cancelling the funds, once actually evaluated.

Alefroth · Post by **Alefroth** » Wed Feb 20, 2019 9:58 pm

GungHo wrote: Wed Feb 20, 2019 9:07 pm
Max Peck wrote: Wed Feb 20, 2019 7:28 pm Meanwhile, Trump carries on with the war against California.
President Donald Trump has continued to escalate tensions with California by calling on the state to return billions in federal funds for a high-speed rail.

His administration plans on cancelling $929m (£711m) in grants for what Mr Trump has called a "failed" project.

These federal funds account for a quarter of the California rail project.

Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom called it "political retribution" for the California-led lawsuit against Mr Trump's national emergency declaration.

The Trump administration announced on Tuesday that it is looking into cancelling the $929m grant as well as recovering a $2.5bn grant already being spent by the state.

In a tweet on Wednesday, Mr Trump again lambasted the state over the project, saying: "Send the Federal Government back the Billions of Dollars WASTED!"

I'm not well read on this but at first glance I (unfortunately) don't think I disagree with trump here. I'll definitely have to read more though bc I haven't really agreed with anything trump has ever done (as president or before) so it would be pretty surprising to me to find out he's done something I do agree with.

But it seems like the state shouldn't keep federal funds for a project they're no longer pursuing.

They are still pursuing it.

GungHo · Post by **GungHo** » Thu Feb 21, 2019 2:05 pm

Alefroth wrote: Wed Feb 20, 2019 9:58 pm

They are still pursuing it.

Interesting. I've driven that stretch of highway from Fresno to Bakersfield many times, I can very well imagine people wanting a rail line to bypass that; are the ridership numbers expected to be migrant workers going to the fields around Fresno/Madera/Merced from Bakersfield? I'd be surprised to learn that the cost of living is significantly different between Fresno and Bakersfield, so I'm wondering why would people want to go from one of those cities to the other, on a regular rail-sustaining basis(I get the idea of lots of freight being shipped between the 2, just curious about the people aspect)?

But to your larger point, it doesnt sound like they're cancelling it so yeah, trump sucks. I feel better. Thanks.

Kraken · Post by **Kraken** » Thu Feb 21, 2019 3:35 pm

GungHo wrote: Thu Feb 21, 2019 2:05 pm (I get the idea of lots of freight being shipped between the 2, just curious about the people aspect)?

High-speed rail = passenger rail, and requires a dedicated track to run at speed. Which is not to say that they couldn't add a second freight line next to the passenger line, but freight is generally not a consideration when speaking of high-speed rail. Lettuce doesn't care if you cut its commute from four hours to two.

stessier · Post by **stessier** » Fri Feb 22, 2019 9:42 am

All one can do is shake one's head.

https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/sta ... 9233344512

Explanation of the stupid at the link.

LordMortis · Post by **LordMortis** » Fri Feb 22, 2019 9:54 am

This G goes to 11!

GreenGoo · Post by **GreenGoo** » Fri Feb 22, 2019 10:28 am

He's a moron with no understanding or perspective, but this is one of his least egregious tweets. 6G isn't even in the vicinity of being ready to roll out, but it exists.

pr0ner · Post by **pr0ner** » Sun Feb 24, 2019 10:14 am

One has to wonder what's going on here. DC already has an epic Independence Day celebration and fireworks display. Is Trump going to shut that down to run his own? Are there going to be competing celebrations? What the bloody hell.

https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/sta ... 1088466946

Unagi · Post by **Unagi** » Sun Feb 24, 2019 10:26 am

I've already got plans. Doesn't he realize that's over Independence Day?
Don't tell me what to do on Independence Day.

Default · Post by **Default** » Sun Feb 24, 2019 1:53 pm

Unagi wrote: Sun Feb 24, 2019 10:26 am I've already got plans. Doesn't he realize that's over Independence Day?
Don't tell me what to do on Independence Day.

You don't want to witness how he stops an alien invasion by jumping into a fighter plane? The parts of Will Smith and Jeff Goldblum will be played by Tucker Carlson and Sean Hannity, respectively.

pr0ner · Post by **pr0ner** » Mon Feb 25, 2019 9:59 am

There's always a tweet.

https://www.twitter.com/realDonaldTrump ... 8945692672

$iljanus · Post by **$iljanus** » Mon Feb 25, 2019 10:05 am

pr0ner wrote: Mon Feb 25, 2019 9:59 am There's always a tweet.

https://www.twitter.com/realDonaldTrump ... 8945692672

LOL how did he know this would come to pass? He truly is the Kwisatz Haderach.