Octopus Overlords

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

Kraken wrote: Maybe they were voting "for" Clinton, but they weren't very happy about it.

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

Defiant wrote:

Kraken wrote: Maybe they were voting "for" Clinton, but they weren't very happy about it.

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

Polls on enthusiasm showed Clinton's supporters at least as enthused or more enthused than Trump supporters.

But I suppose that only measures the percent of people enthused. I wouldn't deny the possibility that a minority of Trump's supporters are so enthused for him that it dwarfs the typical enthusiasm of enthusiastic people. That's what helped him weather multiple incidents wherein each would have meant the end of the career for normal candidates.

Defiant wrote:Polls on enthusiasm showed Clinton's supporters at least as enthused or more enthused than Trump supporters.

But I suppose that only measures the percent of people enthused. I wouldn't deny the possibility that a minority of Trump's supporters are so enthused for him that it dwarfs the typical enthusiasm of enthusiastic people. That's what helped him weather multiple incidents wherein each would have meant the end of the career for normal candidates.

Mr. Trump’s transition team scrambled to clarify the president-elect’s tweet, which appeared to support the expansion of America’s nuclear arsenal.

“In his quest to keep us safe and secure, he’s putting the world on notice,” senior adviser Kellyanne Conway said on MSNBC.

“What he’s saying is we need to expand our nuclear capability, really our nuclear readiness or our capability to be ready for those who also have nuclear weapons. … I think that we’re getting a little too far ahead of ourselves that he’s changing policy and making policy in a way that he did not intend,” Conway also said.

Another Trump aide tried to clarify the comments Thursday, saying the president-elect was “referring to the threat of nuclear proliferation and the critical need to prevent it.”

Holman wrote:I can't recall more than once or twice when Obama's team stepped in to walk back something he said.

With Trump, it's a daily ritual.

Isgrimnur wrote:Scramble, minions!

“What he’s saying is "Nice planet you've got there. Pity if something happened to it," senior adviser Kellyanne Conway said on MSNBC.

The Celebrity Apprentice president’s latest PR problem is celebrities. For weeks, reports have indicated that his inauguration team has had trouble booking any star performers: “They are willing to pay anything,” one talent representative reportedly told TheWrap after being approached by Trump’s people. The president-elect’s camp have denied that’s the case, but Elton John, Celine Dion, and KISS are among those who’ve publicly rejected rumors that they’d play the swearing-in celebrations; right now, the confirmed lineup of recognizable performers is the 16-year-old America’s Got Talent contestant Jackie Evancho, the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, and the Rockettes.

Last night, Trump seemed to confirm Hollywood and he weren’t making nice, tweeting, “The so-called ‘A’ list celebrities are all wanting tixs to the inauguration, but look what they did for Hillary, NOTHING. I want the PEOPLE!” It was a remark that flipped the publicized dynamic (Trump’s team approaching A-listers got swiveled the other way around) for a mix of self-congratulation and insults—a familiar maneuver by now. But the tweet also, tellingly, attempted to draw a dividing line between “the PEOPLE” and the entertainment world, making for his latest divide-and-conquer attempt against American popular culture.

[...]

Because even the most seemingly apolitical performers are running into controversy by showing up for Trump, more than they would for most any previous president-elect. On Thursday, Madison Square Garden Company chairman James Dolan announced that The Rockettes—a New York City fixture with wide appeal, steeped in mid-century nostalgia and catering to visitors from outside the city—would perform for Trump. Immediately, individual dancers began to dissent. “The women I work with are intelligent and are full of love and the decision of performing for a man that stands for everything we’re against is appalling,” one wrote on Instagram.

An email from the Rockettes’ union to the performers admonished that they are required to do the job: “You are all employees, and as a company, Mr. Dolan obviously wants the Rockettes to be represented at our country’s Presidential inauguration, as they were in 2001 & 2005.” The email added, “The ranting of the public is just that, ranting.” On Facebook, the writer-performer Amanda Duarte shot back, “It’s perfect, actually. What could be more fitting for this inauguration than forcing a group of women to do something with their bodies against their will?”

Skinypupy wrote:Chris Kluwe (former NFL punter, avid gamer, and excellent author) has a few thoughts on Trump.

Fuck you Donald Trump

Federal ethics experts for former Democratic and Republican administrations warned Thursday that President-elect Donald Trump is creating a major conflict of interest by allowing his Virginia vineyard to seek special temporary visas for foreign workers.

Trump, who is president of the Charlottesville vineyard that applied this month for H2 visas for six foreign workers, will soon run the U.S. government, which determines whether to grant those visas.

“This is a powerful example of why Donald Trump needs to make a definitive break, not just with his operational interests but his ownership interests, by appointing an independent trustee to liquidate all that,” said Norm Eisen, a visiting fellow at the Brookings Institution who was chief White House ethics lawyer for President Obama from 2009 to 2011.

He called the situation “a classic conflict of interest.”

tgb wrote:We assume he never thought he would win. Now that he sees how much work it is, could it be that he's actively trying to be impeached and convicted by the end of January?

Blackhawk wrote:So you're saying we should throw him into a volcano?

Kraken wrote:I'm sure that Trump would have been the very embodiment of grace and decorum had he lost.

Skinypupy wrote:Honestly, can you even begin to imagine the shrieking and howling if Obama or Hillary had posted something like that? The fact that it simply gets shrugged off is amazing to me.

SkinyPupy wrote:The fact that it simply gets shrugged off is amazing to me.

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich posted a video apology Thursday after President-elect Donald Trump subtly rebuked him for saying he had softened on his promise to "drain the swamp."

"I want to report that I made a big boo boo," Gingrich said at the outset of his video apology. "I talked this morning with President-elect Donald Trump and he reminded me that he likes draining the swamp, I mischaracterized it the other day."

"He intends to drain the swamp," Gingrich continued. "He describes it as 'DTS.' He thinks taking on Boeing in price is an example of draining the swamp."
...
Gingrich concluded: "I thought I owed it to all the folks who follow me, that when I make a mistake, I will be straightforward and tell you: I blew that one. Draining the swamp is in, President-elect Trump wants to do it, and you're going to get to be part of it."

Isgrimnur wrote:Business Insider

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich posted a video apology Thursday after President-elect Donald Trump subtly rebuked him for saying he had softened on his promise to "drain the swamp."

"I want to report that I made a big boo boo," Gingrich said at the outset of his video apology. "I talked this morning with President-elect Donald Trump and he reminded me that he likes draining the swamp, I mischaracterized it the other day."

"He intends to drain the swamp," Gingrich continued. "He describes it as 'DTS.' He thinks taking on Boeing in price is an example of draining the swamp."
...
Gingrich concluded: "I thought I owed it to all the folks who follow me, that when I make a mistake, I will be straightforward and tell you: I blew that one. Draining the swamp is in, President-elect Trump wants to do it, and you're going to get to be part of it."

hepcat wrote:I'm surprised that didn't end with Newt screaming "Y-You... You are the Duke of New York! You're A-Number One!" at a photo of Trump.

RunningMn9 wrote:Trump knows that he doesn't buy planes (or negotiate pricing) from Boeing, right?

Just as the three wise men did on that night, this Christmas heralds a time to celebrate the good news of a new King.

Jason Miller, who was named as White House communications director by President-elect Donald J. Trump two days ago, has informed Mr. Trump that he will not take the job, according to a statement from Mr. Miller.

Donald Trump’s newly tapped White House communications director, Jason Miller, backed out of the job following claims that he had an affair with another transition official, according to three sources close to the Trump transition.

Two days after his appointment as communications director was announced, Miller told POLITICO on Christmas Eve that he was stepping down because the White House job would be too demanding at a time when he needed to devote attention to his family. He and his wife are expecting their second child next month.
...
But around the same time, campaign surrogate and transition aide A.J. Delgado began directing comments at Miller on Twitter. On Thursday, Delgado congratulated “the baby-daddy” on his promotion, and cryptically wrote: “The 2016 version of John Edwards.”
...
By Saturday, Delgado used Twitter to call for Miller to resign and then deactivated her account once he had announced he wouldn’t join Trump’s White House.

Defiant wrote:IMO, ... Obama's behavior has been acting childish with regards to this