The Former Trump Presidency Thread

Jeff V · Post by **Jeff V** » Thu Dec 22, 2016 4:28 pm

Of course he's going to drain the swamp. Where else is he going to put that YUGE cesspool?

Defiant · Post by **Defiant** » Thu Dec 22, 2016 4:44 pm

More like Kai Winn, thinking she could play with evil fire and not get her hands burned.

El Guapo · Post by **El Guapo** » Thu Dec 22, 2016 4:47 pm

Kai Winn is definitely the better comparison.

Defiant · Post by **Defiant** » Thu Dec 22, 2016 4:51 pm

Defiant wrote:

Was a second.

"expand its nuclear capability"

Does that mean make his tiny fingers bigger so they can press the giant red button?

Max Peck · Post by **Max Peck** » Thu Dec 22, 2016 6:06 pm

Defiant wrote:

At this rate, Trump's successor (if there is one) will be getting a Nobel prize just like Obama, simply for being not-his-predecessor.

Defiant · Post by **Defiant** » Thu Dec 22, 2016 6:25 pm

Max Peck wrote:
Defiant wrote:
At this rate, Trump's successor (if there is one) will be getting a Nobel prize just like Obama, simply for being not-his-predecessor.

At this rate, Bush will get a Nobel prize retroactively, simply for being not his successors successor.

Holman · Post by **Holman** » Thu Dec 22, 2016 7:30 pm

Remember how regular Republicans were going to act as a check on Trump and keep him from being the most powerful out-of-control executive in American history?

Politico: Trump posse browbeats Hill Republicans.

Since the election, numerous congressional Republicans have refused to publicly weigh in on any Trump proposal at odds with Republican orthodoxy, from his border wall to his massive infrastructure package. The most common reason, stated repeatedly but always privately: They're afraid of being attacked by Breitbart or other big-name Trump supporters.

"Nobody wants to go first," said Rep. Mark Sanford (R-S.C.), who received nasty phone calls, letters and tweets after he penned an August op-ed in The New York Times, calling on Trump to release his tax returns. "People are naturally reticent to be the first out of the block for fear of Sean Hannity, for fear of Breitbart, for fear of local folks."

An editor at Breitbart, formerly run by senior Trump adviser Steve Bannon, said that fear is well-founded.

“If any politician in either party veers from what the voters clearly voted for in a landslide election … we stand at the ready to call them out on it and hold them accountable,” the person said. (Trump won the Electoral College handily but lost the popular vote by 2 percentage points.)

The TruthFeed post linked to Flores' Twitter handle and Facebook page and listed his office phone number. Soon people were threatening his physical safety and warning that his political career was on the line. The outgoing leader of the conservative Republican Study Committee ranks as the 47th most right-leaning member of the House, according to the Club for Growth's 2015 scorecard.

But we should probably assume that anyone calling a GOP representative and threatening their life is actually a liberal running a false-flag hoax, right?

Kraken · Post by **Kraken** » Thu Dec 22, 2016 8:38 pm

They are going to keep repeating "landslide" until it becomes true. Eventually we'll get tired of it and give up on correcting them.

I don't expect the intraparty dance to start until Trump takes office. So far it's all bluster and nobody knows what to take seriously. It's too early to choose a hill to die on. But if you listen, you can hear the knives being sharpened. The Ides of March will be about the right time to bring them out.

hepcat · Post by **hepcat** » Thu Dec 22, 2016 11:25 pm

We are so screwed.

El Guapo · Post by **El Guapo** » Thu Dec 22, 2016 11:50 pm

I don't know how anyone would expect the Republicans in Congress to constrain Trump when they were afraid to criticize him *before* he assumed the most powerful office in the world.

Remus West · Post by **Remus West** » Fri Dec 23, 2016 7:06 am

El Guapo wrote:I don't know how anyone would expect the Republicans in Congress to constrain Trump when they were afraid to criticize him *before* he assumed the most powerful office in the world.

Sadky this. Given the quote about being afraid of being attacked by Breitbart it just becomes sadder. Essentially they are saying they have surrendered to the alt-right white supremacists. Pathetic.

Ralph-Wiggum · Post by **Ralph-Wiggum** » Fri Dec 23, 2016 7:11 am

Holy shit - the dude is on the verge of restarting a nuclear arms race and he's not even president yet. There's is almost no chance that at least one of his Tweets while president doesn't cause a major international incident, is there?

malchior · Post by **malchior** » Fri Dec 23, 2016 8:57 am

Putin was all like Trump's missiles are too small. And Trump was like...oh no he didn't...my nukes are big and going to be bigger. And we were all like oh my god this is way worse already than we thought - he went right to saber rattling about nukes before day 1.

Defiant · Post by **Defiant** » Fri Dec 23, 2016 10:38 am

President-elect Donald Trump on Friday morning escalated his calls for a stronger U.S. nuclear arsenal, saying he was fine with an “arms race” if it puts the U.S. in a stronger position against foreign adversaries.

“Let it be an arms race … we will outmatch them at every pass and outlast them all,” Trump told MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” during an off-air conversation on Friday.

link

Holman · Post by **Holman** » Fri Dec 23, 2016 11:02 am

Even Ronald Reagan saw the idiocy of that course. Ronald Fucking Reagan.

Dems on the Hill should start campaigning hard for "Pence Now," promising that they'll support any effort to fast track Trump's impeachment and removal. Pence will suck, but he's far less likely to go for world annihilation just because it sounds impressive.

malchior · Post by **malchior** » Fri Dec 23, 2016 11:40 am

I'm becoming more and more concerned about the tariff discussions - a 10% tariff on imports is an instant 5-10% increase in prices on vast quantities of goods overnight. The actual increase will depend how much profit will be traded back to retain sales. That'll certainly put a lot of strain on the poor instantly. It could tip us right over into a recession. It could lead to retaliatory actions by other countries that'll spiral. It is incredibly dangerous.

And the rub in my mind is that it has almost no chance of success. The tariff is supposed to spur a return of manufacturing to the US but that work was lost almost completely to automation. There is no reason to believe manufacturing 'forced' back into the country by interfering in the market wouldn't be highly automated as well. Especially if it that capability has to be built/retooled. Plus there is ramp up time while people are theoretically reeling from increased market prices *and* perhaps simultaneously losing health care. That is a lot of stress on a system that is already not meeting the needs of the citizenry. High risk / low rewards (unless you are an owner of capital) / low chance of success. Fucking hell.

*Cynical thought - if you were designing a crisis to capitalize on - this would be a great start. Just make sure you start externalizing the blame early and often.

Kurth · Post by **Kurth** » Fri Dec 23, 2016 11:56 am

Defiant wrote:
President-elect Donald Trump on Friday morning escalated his calls for a stronger U.S. nuclear arsenal, saying he was fine with an “arms race” if it puts the U.S. in a stronger position against foreign adversaries.

“Let it be an arms race … we will outmatch them at every pass and outlast them all,” Trump told MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” during an off-air conversation on Friday.
link

I don't know. I just cannot get too excited about anything Trump says or does these days. We elected a reality TV personality to be president. This is exactly what we should have all expected.

Maybe it's the end of the world. Probably not. Either way, I strangely feel rather . . . Meh.

Rip · Post by **Rip** » Fri Dec 23, 2016 12:11 pm

You guys are making it too easy. If Trump doesn't totally destroy everything he comes out looking good.

I look forward to four years of angst over his failure to fail.

raydude · Post by **raydude** » Fri Dec 23, 2016 12:21 pm

Rip wrote:You guys are making it too easy. If Trump doesn't totally destroy everything he comes out looking good.

I look forward to four years of angst over his failure to fail.

So if he's only as bad as Caligula and not as bad as Nero then you consider him a success? New flash: Caligula also sucked. Hard.

Ralph-Wiggum · Post by **Ralph-Wiggum** » Fri Dec 23, 2016 12:23 pm

raydude wrote:
Rip wrote:You guys are making it too easy. If Trump doesn't totally destroy everything he comes out looking good.

I look forward to four years of angst over his failure to fail.
So if he's only as bad as Caligula and not as bad as Nero then you consider him a success? New flash: Caligula also sucked. Hard.

Perhaps, but his horse was awesome.

Post by **ImLawBoy** » Fri Dec 23, 2016 12:24 pm

Also, to be fair, wasn't sucking hard part of Caligula's charm?

hepcat · Post by **hepcat** » Fri Dec 23, 2016 12:30 pm

Rip wrote:You guys are making it too easy. If Trump doesn't totally destroy everything he comes out looking good.

I look forward to four years of angst over his failure to fail.

He failed before he even took office. It's just too hard for you to admit it. I look forward to 1 year of you spinning like a top, and three years of embarrassed silence after the impeachment.

Zarathud · Post by **Zarathud** » Fri Dec 23, 2016 12:51 pm

Every potential cabinet member should be asked whether they would vote to remove the President if he ever presented a danger to the US or was otherwise unfit for office. All it takes is a majority of the cabinet and Pence to Dump Trump. And a 2/3 vote of Congress.

Jeff V · Post by **Jeff V** » Fri Dec 23, 2016 12:58 pm

Rip wrote: I look forward to four years of angst over his failure to fail.

Assuming his proposed minions are all confirmed, he's already failed plenty for the stench to last 4 years.

He's failed to protect the environment.
He's failed public education.
He's failed to protect the Carrier jobs that are still going to Mexico (as well as those that will be eliminated via automation thanks to the sweet bribe he gave them).
He's failed to make the world safer.
He's announced his intent to fail at imprisoning Hillary Clinton.
He's failed to improve foreign relations.

This list is going to be quite long very soon.

Zarathud · Post by **Zarathud** » Fri Dec 23, 2016 12:58 pm

I have bought all my technology upgrades for Christmas this year because I believe the tariff is the one thing Trump will actually back.

A foreign goods tariff makes Trump look like a "winner" for the US worker while he blows up the economy. It punishes Trump's foreign enemies. That's what Rip and the midwest Trump voter wants, after all. More importantly, it makes US real estate more valuable.

malchior · Post by **malchior** » Fri Dec 23, 2016 1:00 pm

Putin writes Trump a letter. Wisely strokes Trump's trigger point (his ego) by ending the letter with Your Excellency and now we're signaling alignment to a brutal authoritarian thug. I wonder if we should start waiting for the melt down on the right? Probably not since they are craven hypocrites and sell outs.

Jeff V · Post by **Jeff V** » Fri Dec 23, 2016 1:03 pm

But those same Trump voters shop at Walmart, where the sticker shock from his policies will be hard to ignore.

Ralph-Wiggum · Post by **Ralph-Wiggum** » Fri Dec 23, 2016 1:15 pm

hepcat wrote:
Rip wrote: I look forward to 1 year of you spinning like a top, and three years of embarrassed silence after the impeachment.

When does Rip ever get embarrassed about anything?

malchior · Post by **malchior** » Fri Dec 23, 2016 1:19 pm

Jeff V wrote:But those same Trump voters shop at Walmart, where the sticker shock from his policies will be hard to ignore.

And Trump will tell them who to blame. (Hint: Not Trump)

Holman · Post by **Holman** » Fri Dec 23, 2016 1:19 pm

Lots of Rips and Rip-alikes will cheer for Trump as long as he's fun. Once he starts to look like a loser with indictment problems, they'll bolt right back to Ted Cruz or Rand Paul and claim to have considered Trump an unConservative/unLibertarian aberration all along.

hepcat · Post by **hepcat** » Fri Dec 23, 2016 1:30 pm

I think you underestimate just how much Rip has put into Trump. For him to admit the orange orangutan has failed would require a mea culpa that I don't believe Rip could muster.

Jeff V · Post by **Jeff V** » Fri Dec 23, 2016 2:08 pm

malchior wrote:
Jeff V wrote:But those same Trump voters shop at Walmart, where the sticker shock from his policies will be hard to ignore.
And Trump will tell them who to blame. (Hint: Not Trump)

Blame themselves for not working for $2 per day like the Chinese so we can have cheap shit at Walmart?

Post by **ImLawBoy** » Fri Dec 23, 2016 2:10 pm

hepcat wrote:I think you underestimate just how much Rip has put into Trump. For him to admit the orange orangutan has failed would require a mea culpa that I don't believe Rip could muster.

I think you underestimate Rip's ability to spin. He'll simply point back to all the posts about Trump wasn't his first choice - he's just better than Hillary. He'll ignore any posts he made praising Trump, as he traditionally ignores facts that don't fit his world view.

Sepiche · Post by **Sepiche** » Fri Dec 23, 2016 2:17 pm

ImLawBoy wrote:as he traditionally ignores facts that don't fit his world view.

Exactly like a host would! Just remember when Rip is revealed to be a malfunctioning prototype host, I called it first.

malchior · Post by **malchior** » Fri Dec 23, 2016 2:31 pm

Just video of Trump talking about a Muslim registry. When asked how we'd get the Muslims into the database...he said, "Good management practices." No wonder Scott Adams loves him. He is his prototypical PHB.

malchior · Post by **malchior** » Fri Dec 23, 2016 2:32 pm

Jeff V wrote:
malchior wrote:
Jeff V wrote:But those same Trump voters shop at Walmart, where the sticker shock from his policies will be hard to ignore.
And Trump will tell them who to blame. (Hint: Not Trump)
Blame themselves for not working for $2 per day like the Chinese so we can have cheap shit at Walmart?

He might and they'll probably just feel sad that their cheeto benito is displeased with them for being so worthless compared to him.

Rip · Post by **Rip** » Fri Dec 23, 2016 2:36 pm

Well now that the airing of grievances is over, can we get started on the feats of strength?

Kraken · Post by **Kraken** » Fri Dec 23, 2016 2:55 pm

Defiant wrote:
Kraken wrote: Well sure. Very few people beyond partisan Democrats actively looked forward to President Hillary, and if she had won we would be feeling collective buyer's remorse..."but at least she stopped Trump" because that would be a disaster.
Except that the percentage of Clinton voters saying they were explicitly voting for Clinton as opposed to against Trump was completely consistent with prior elections, like 1980, 1988 and 1992.

Maybe they were voting "for" Clinton, but they weren't very happy about it. Or so observes Joe Biden.

In an interview with the Los Angeles Times, Biden said Clinton lost because she never knew why she was running for the presidency in the first place.

“I don’t think she ever really figured it out,” Biden said. “And by the way, I think it was really hard for her to decide to run.

“She thought she had no choice but to run. That, as the first woman who had an opportunity to win the presidency, I think it was a real burden on her,”

Biden recalled how little enthusiasm he would see among the audiences who showed up at Hillary Clinton’s rallies during the campaign.

“You didn’t see any Hillary signs,” Biden said. “Every time I talked about Hillary they listened. But …”

He said of Hillary’s campaign, “you didn’t hear a word about that husband and wife working, making 100,000 bucks a year, two kids, struggling and scared to death. They used to be our constituency.”

Those are some pretty damning statements from the vice president. However, while he’s further along in understanding Hillary’s loss than most of the left is, he’s only halfway there.

Hillary Clinton had figured out why she wanted to run for president: She wanted to run for president because she wanted to be president. She wanted the power. She wanted the office. She wanted the place in the history books.

That’s it. That was her whole raison d’etre.

In other words, Hillary Clinton most certainly had a reason to run for the presidency. She just didn’t have a good reason to run for the presidency.

Every problem she had eventually sprang from that. Hillary Clinton “cared” about the problems of everyday Americans because that’s what politicians are supposed to do, not because those problems actually meant something to her.

She assumed minorities would come out and vote Democratic, because that’s what minorities do — right? The struggling middle class, especially the lower middle class — they always go Democrat. Why wouldn’t they?

Where Trump's voters were enthused, Clinton's were resigned.

Jeff V · Post by **Jeff V** » Fri Dec 23, 2016 3:04 pm

Rip wrote:Well now that the airing of grievances is over, can we get started on the feats of strength?

Over? OVER? 4 more years of grievances, buddy! Trump will probably be best known for ushering in the longest Festivus season ever.

tgb · Post by **tgb** » Fri Dec 23, 2016 3:14 pm

Kurth wrote:

I don't know. I just cannot get too excited about anything Trump says or does these days. We elected a reality TV personality to be president. This is exactly what we should have all expected.

Maybe it's the end of the world. Probably not. Either way, I strangely feel rather . . . Meh.

Yeah, well you just wait until we're at Defcon 2 and this idiot plays Olympic Games for the event.