El Guapo wrote: Fri Jun 26, 2020 10:04 am
He'd never drop out. He's no doubt making a ton of money off the presidency, plus his ego, PLUS he has a reasonable chance of winding up in prison after he leaves the presidency. The scary part is that the last part gives him a really powerful incentive to cheat and to try to refuse to leave even if he loses.
Win or lose he'll still have leverage and a following in the GOP.
If he walked away that would disappear. I see it much more likely that if he loses he protests the loss and keeps his weaponized base and revenue stream. I also don't believe there is 0% chance that he cheats.
"A man-animal getting leverage over a Psychlo? That'll be the day!"
God I love to watch that film with a decent selection of liquors.
El Guapo wrote: Fri Jun 26, 2020 10:04 am
He'd never drop out. He's no doubt making a ton of money off the presidency, plus his ego, PLUS he has a reasonable chance of winding up in prison after he leaves the presidency. The scary part is that the last part gives him a really powerful incentive to cheat and to try to refuse to leave even if he loses.
I don't think he'd end up in prison after leaving office. Do you think something will come out of the SDNY investigations? Or something else?
There's almost certainly money-laundering and other financial crimes in his portfolio, and his prominence has brought attention to others' crimes and bad practices (e.g. Deutsche Bank). If the Dems hold the WH and both houses of Congress, they'll be in a position to move those investigations forward.
If Trump had stayed out of politics, he and his foul spawn would probably have remained rich and happy and under the radar like most white-collar criminals. But now there's a chance it could all come crashing down around them.
There is a infinitesimal chance they go after a former President. Our system doesn't have the guts for that. Look what happened to Nixon who got caught red-handed committing several crimes. I think that people in his orbit are a different matter and I think they might be worried. And I hope they do that. This has been one of most blatantly corrupt Administrations ever. If it isn't criminal then we need to make it criminal. If it's criminal the public deserves justice. That is the basis of another of my worries about Biden. He is such an old-school 'mender' that there is a good chance he'll think that putting this behind us is best. I think that'd be potentially disastrous. Especially as the economic situation potentially worsens and we find out how much we bailed out the fat cats again.
Of course investigations into Trump's private companies and business practices can turn up all sorts of fun things not related to his stint as president and are fair game for prosecution.
And the state attorney generals may not have the same reluctance about investigating a former president...
"Who's going to tell him that the job he's currently seeking might just be one of those Black jobs?"
-Michelle Obama 2024 Democratic Convention
Wise words of warning from Smoove B: Oh, how you all laughed when I warned you about the semen. Well, who's laughing now?
Any outcome in which Don Jr. finds himself the cellmate of Bob "The Cannibal" Miller for at least a year is okay by me. Eric and Ivanka should just find themselves cut off from the family purse strings as that money goes to the victims of the many Trump family scams (although I'm good with Lara Trump facing jail time for something...she's been a Tokyo Rose for the Trumps far too often). Tiffany and Barron are fairly innocent in all this and should be allowed to continue their lives as normal...but the first time one of them even thinks out loud about entering politics at any level, they should encounter an intervention from friends.
Don Sr. I would love to see in prison. But I suspect he'd throw his own children under the bus before he'd allow that to happen. The man is a sociopath.
malchior wrote: Fri Jun 26, 2020 10:51 am
There is a infinitesimal chance they go after a former President. Our system doesn't have the guts for that. Look what happened to Nixon who got caught red-handed committing several crimes. I think that people in his orbit are a different matter and I think they might be worried. And I hope they do that. This has been one of most blatantly corrupt Administrations ever. If it isn't criminal then we need to make it criminal. If it's criminal the public deserves justice. That is the basis of another of my worries about Biden. He is such an old-school 'mender' that there is a good chance he'll think that putting this behind us is best. I think that'd be potentially disastrous. Especially as the economic situation potentially worsens and we find out how much we bailed out the fat cats again.
I don't think that Biden is going to want to prosecute Trump. However: (1) there's going to be a significant part of the Democratic base that's going to demand it; and (2) once Trump loses control over the pardon power and over the DOJ, Trump associates are going to have a much more powerful incentive to play ball against Trump. I think there's a reasonable chance that a bombshell emerges at some point that forces the Biden administration's hand (similar to how Democratic leadership was very wary of impeaching Trump until the Ukraine bombshell emerged and essentially forced their hand).
In any event, at a minimum Trump has a reasonably plausible fear that he may face criminal prosecution once he leaves office, even if it's far from a certainty.
There's also the chance that random Trump associates and underlings who are under investigation will no longer feel the need to protect him once he's out of power, and will gladly feed him to the sharks to get themselves out of hot water.
The London-based consumer packaged goods giant said it would maintain its planned media investment in the U.S. by shifting to other media. Unilever makes Breyers and Ben and Jerry’s ice cream, Hellmann’s mayonnaise, Lipton and Pure Leaf teas, along with consumer staples like Dove products.
Wait, a London soap company makes Ben and Jerry's?
So does Trump attack Unilever for hurting "the economy" or Facebook and Twitter for not doing anything with regard to "divisiveness and hate speech during this polarized election period in the U.S.”
In the week since a group of organizations called on Facebook advertisers to pause their ad spend during the month of July, more than 90 marketers including Verizon, Patagonia, REI, Lending Club, The North Face, Ben & Jerry’s have announced their intention to join, according to a running list from Sleeping Giants. The group of organizations includes the Anti-Defamation League, the NAACP, Sleeping Giants, Color of Change, Free Press and Common Sense.
The organizations said they’re asking Facebook to more stringently police hate speech and disinformation by taking a number of actions, including creating a “separate moderation pipeline” for users who say they’ve been targeted because of their race or religion, or to let advertisers see how frequently their ads appeared near to content that was later removed for misinformation or hate, and allow them refunds for those advertisements.
The London-based consumer packaged goods giant said it would maintain its planned media investment in the U.S. by shifting to other media. Unilever makes Breyers and Ben and Jerry’s ice cream, Hellmann’s mayonnaise, Lipton and Pure Leaf teas, along with consumer staples like Dove products.
Wait, a London soap company makes Ben and Jerry's?
Yup. I've toured the Ben & Jerry's factory at their original location near Stowe, VT. They have a segment in their "history of Ben & Jerry's" video where they talk about Unilever doing a hostile takeover of Ben & Jerry's. It's basically 'we fought to keep the company independent, but we lost, so we make the best of it and take advantage of their global footprint to distribute Ben & Jerry's."
The London-based consumer packaged goods giant said it would maintain its planned media investment in the U.S. by shifting to other media. Unilever makes Breyers and Ben and Jerry’s ice cream, Hellmann’s mayonnaise, Lipton and Pure Leaf teas, along with consumer staples like Dove products.
Wait, a London soap company makes Ben and Jerry's?
[/quote]
What's more disturbing is that the foul monstrosities that are Lipton and Pure Leaf come from the same town as Twinings.
In the week since a group of organizations called on Facebook advertisers to pause their ad spend during the month of July, more than 90 marketers including Verizon, Patagonia, REI, Lending Club, The North Face, Ben & Jerry’s have announced their intention to join, according to a running list from Sleeping Giants. The group of organizations includes the Anti-Defamation League, the NAACP, Sleeping Giants, Color of Change, Free Press and Common Sense.
The organizations said they’re asking Facebook to more stringently police hate speech and disinformation by taking a number of actions, including creating a “separate moderation pipeline” for users who say they’ve been targeted because of their race or religion, or to let advertisers see how frequently their ads appeared near to content that was later removed for misinformation or hate, and allow them refunds for those advertisements.
Starbucks, Coca-Cola and Levi's have become the latest big brands to publicly join a growing Facebook ad boycott at the urging of the NAACP and other civil rights organizations.
Hershey's has become one of the latest companies to announce it would be pausing its Facebook ads for the month of July as part of a campaign calling on the social media giant to do more to combat hate speech.
The Clorox Company will suspend advertising on Facebook through the end of the year, joining a growing list of companies participating in a boycott of the social media giant in response to its policies on hate speech and misinformation.
Also this made it to the Bezinga investment page (Can't link)
President Donald Trump shared a video on Sunday, showing supporters chanting "white power" on Twitter Inc.'s (NYSE: TWTR) social media platform.
What Happened
"Thank you to the great people of The Villages. The Radical Left Do Nothing Democrats will Fall in the Fall. Corrupt Joe is shot. See you soon!!" the president said in the tweet accompanying the video, which has since been deleted.
Senator Tim Scot of South Carolina, the only black Republican in the Senate, criticized Trump's move of sharing the video.
"There's no question. He should not have retweeted it and he should just take it down," Scott, who also drafted the Republican police reform bill in the aftermath of George Floyd's death, told CNN. "The entire thing was offensive. Certainly, the comment about the white power was offensive."
White House Deputy Press Secretary Judd Deere said in a statement that the president hadn't heard the "one statement made on the video."
"What he did see was tremendous enthusiasm from his many supporters," Deere said, according to CNN.
Why It Matters
Over the last month, Twitter has restricted several of Trump's tweets over "misinformation" and "inciting violence" claims, and Facebook Inc. (NASDAQ: FB) recently followed suit.
The president has, in turn, accused social media companies of bias against conservative voices, and threatened to remove legal immunity over third-party content posted on their platforms.
President Trump’s reelection campaign is suing Pennsylvania's secretary of state and 67 county election boards in an effort to change how mail-in ballots are sent and counted.
The federal lawsuit was filed in Pittsburgh on Monday by the Trump campaign, the Republican National Committee, and four Pennsylvania Republican members of Congress: Glen Thompson, Mike Kelly, John Joyce and Guy Reschenthaler.
I would’ve loved to have been in the room when someone had to explain to Trump that Pennsylvania is in America and is not, in fact, the home of Dracula.
hepcat wrote: Mon Jun 29, 2020 9:01 pm
I would’ve loved to have been in the room when someone had to explain to Trump that Pennsylvania is in America and is not, in fact, the home of Dracula.
They just reminded him that was the place he hung out when he had 'bone spurs'.
hepcat wrote: Mon Jun 29, 2020 9:01 pm
I would’ve loved to have been in the room when someone had to explain to Trump that Pennsylvania is in America and is not, in fact, the home of Dracula.
When darkness veils the world, four Warriors of Light shall come.
I think Biden would still win, but it could narrow the race quite a bit. Pence would at least have the possibility of bringing back #NeverTrumpers and Lincoln Project voters.
But even if Trump dropped out today, it would be a massive clusterfuck trying to cobble together any sort of coherent campaign in four months. Pence would not be able to run on Trump's "accomplishments" if he wanted to win. He'd have to pivot into "I'm a Republican, but I'm not Trump" and I'm not sure he has time to get that messaging across. Particularly from someone who lacks any charisma whatsoever.
Pence would be a disaster. He'd lose the Trump base and I think he would be ineffective at getting back the never Trumpers as he's worked the last four years as Trump's lap dog. That said, I think it's highly unlikely that Trump drops out and slinks away with his tail between his legs (although I'd love to see it!).
Trump has spent his entire time in office marginalizing Pence. I can't possibly see how he'll be an effective politician in any capacity at this point.
As much as I'd love to see my longstanding "trump won't be the nominee" position borne out, the report in the Independent is unsourced gossip.
Which would damage trump's fragile ego more -- becoming only the second president to ever resign, or losing in a landslide as an incumbent? He would have to believe not only that he can't win, but that he can't steal it either.
Kraken wrote: Tue Jun 30, 2020 9:08 am
As much as I'd love to see my longstanding "trump won't be the nominee" position borne out, the report in the Independent is unsourced gossip.
Which would damage trump's fragile ego more -- becoming only the second president to ever resign, or losing in a landslide as an incumbent? He would have to believe not only that he can't win, but that he can't steal it either.
Yeah, even if it's true, I would take this as more Trump venting self-pity then of any actual consideration of dropping out.
Does he really think chasing after people damaging monuments is going to up is ratings? People are dying and he's trying to be the Bloodhound Gang.
Capitalism tries for a delicate balance: It attempts to work things out so that everyone gets just enough stuff to keep them from getting violent and trying to take other people’s stuff.
Kraken wrote: Tue Jun 30, 2020 9:08 am
As much as I'd love to see my longstanding "trump won't be the nominee" position borne out, the report in the Independent is unsourced gossip.
Which would damage trump's fragile ego more -- becoming only the second president to ever resign, or losing in a landslide as an incumbent? He would have to believe not only that he can't win, but that he can't steal it either.
Even if it was sourced, I wouldn't trust it. How many times in the last 5 years have top Trump spokespeople/advisors/cabinet/you name it come out and said one thing only to be contradicted by the man's own words. How many times has Trump himself twofaced his own statements in the same appearance? I'd happily take a bet where the only two things that could see Trump drop out are 1) a bombshell of not even MAGA can twist it proportaions that forces him out. 2) Health. As elections are four months away, I don't see either as probable.
If Trump dropped out "successfully" (eg, keeping his support, not seeming like a total coward, etc) and gave a solid endorsement of Pence, I think the Trump base would get behind Pence, though I think the turnout would be lower (although maybe enough Never Trumpers return to the fold to make up for the loss). I think it would make for a much closer race. If we had a quiet race (eg, no major news, scandals, etc,) then I think Pence would have a better chance for winning as the candidate than Trump would have.
Plus, if Trump isn't on the ballot, Trumpism never gets the smackdown it deserves to get.
Defiant wrote: Tue Jun 30, 2020 9:51 am
If Trump dropped out "successfully" (eg, keeping his support, not seeming like a total coward, etc) and gave a solid endorsement of Pence, I think the Trump base would get behind Pence, though I think the turnout would be lower (although maybe enough Never Trumpers return to the fold to make up for the loss). I think it would make for a much closer race. If we had a quiet race (eg, no major news, scandals, etc,) then I think Pence would have a better chance for winning as the candidate than Trump would have.
Plus, if Trump isn't on the ballot, Trumpism never gets the smackdown it deserves to get.
Pence is very tightly tied to Trumpism. Remember, this is the man who flew to Indianapolis in order to walk out of the game during the national anthem when the players knelt then turned around and claimed he totally supported peaceful protests during the current issues. I think Pence would get completely blown out of the water. His record in Indiana was horrid and showed him to be a horrible person. I think a lot of us forget just how disgusting he is simply because he stands next to the walking ball of orange feces.
“As democracy is perfected, the office of president represents, more and more closely, the inner soul of the people. On some great and glorious day the plain folks of the land will reach their heart's desire at last and the White House will be adorned by a downright moron.” - H.L. Mencken
Remus West wrote: Tue Jun 30, 2020 9:55 am
Remember, this is the man who flew to Indianapolis in order to walk out of the game during the national anthem when the players knelt then turned around and claimed he totally supported peaceful protests during the current issues.
Having not really associated him as the person with his actions as governor of Indy and their effects, this is forever how he will associated in my brain. That is his legacy.
Defiant wrote: Tue Jun 30, 2020 9:51 am
If Trump dropped out "successfully" (eg, keeping his support, not seeming like a total coward, etc) and gave a solid endorsement of Pence, I think the Trump base would get behind Pence, though I think the turnout would be lower (although maybe enough Never Trumpers return to the fold to make up for the loss). I think it would make for a much closer race. If we had a quiet race (eg, no major news, scandals, etc,) then I think Pence would have a better chance for winning as the candidate than Trump would have.
Plus, if Trump isn't on the ballot, Trumpism never gets the smackdown it deserves to get.
It would take someone outside of Trump's orbit (Hogan or Baker or even Romney) to get me to vote GOP in 2020. Pence wouldn't be enough.
Trump quitting before the election if it looks like it's going to be an absolutely historic landslide is actually something I could see him doing. It's the same thing a small child does when they realize they're outmatched by a peer. "I can't loose because I'm not playing with you anymore." /throws sand and screams, turning red with rage.
Black Lives Matter
2021-01-20: The first good night's sleep I had in 4 years.
2025-01-20: The nightmares continue.
If he did quit though, I can absolutely guarantee it would be for some bullshit reason other than "I think I'm going to lose in a landslide." It would be a bone spurs situation in which some imaginary health problem or family issue would "force" him to step down. And somehow he'd figure out a way to blame it on the Democrats.
YellowKing wrote: Tue Jun 30, 2020 10:28 am
If he did quit though, I can absolutely guarantee it would be for some bullshit reason other than "I think I'm going to lose in a landslide." It would be a bone spurs situation in which some imaginary health problem or family issue would "force" him to step down. And somehow he'd figure out a way to blame it on the Democrats.
It would involve some delusional statement where he says "Despite the Democrats and the Fake News, I made America Great Again, I did it all in one term because I'm so amazing, and because I've already one I don't need a second term."
I have a hard time seeing Trump giving anyone else anything more than the most tepid endorsement. He truly doesn't believe that anyone else could do a better job than him, so why what sort of endorsement could he give?
I think the looming threat of ruin and prison will keep him running one way or another.
“As democracy is perfected, the office of president represents, more and more closely, the inner soul of the people. On some great and glorious day the plain folks of the land will reach their heart's desire at last and the White House will be adorned by a downright moron.” - H.L. Mencken
pr0ner wrote: Tue Jun 30, 2020 10:19 am
It would take someone outside of Trump's orbit (Hogan or Baker or even Romney) to get me to vote GOP in 2020. Pence wouldn't be enough.
Oh my god.
You would hand this GOP a 2020 president, (yes, yes) even with one of them 'in charge' ! ?
I mean? what !?
Sorry - the GOP is a large group and they cannot be trusted as a whole.... I'm happy Romney stood up once or twice, but - no.
