The Trump Presidency 15

[jimbob]

Trump Tweets

China’s 2nd Quarter growth is the slowest it has been in more than 27 years. The United States Tariffs are having a major effect on companies wanting to leave China for non-tariffed countries. Thousands of companies are leaving. This is why China wants to make a deal....


....with the U.S., and wishes it had not broken the original deal in the first place. In the meantime, we are receiving Billions of Dollars in Tariffs from China, with possibly much more to come. These Tariffs are paid for by China devaluing & pumping, not by the U.S. taxpayer!

Ah, from one of my industry comics:

https://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/business/652567-2019-07/

Chinese exports of tariff-hit goods to the US dropped 14% or $18 billion – representing 3% of China’s total annual shipments to the U.S.

American exports of tariff-hit goods to China dropped 38%, or $23 billion – representing 15% of America’s annual exports to China.

The article also points out that the Chinese tariffs targeted goods that China could easily obtain from other countries.

 

[Skeptic Ginger]

Why do people around him allow him to keep gaslighting the American public? You'd think someone would want to put an end to it.

Why? Riding those coattails is a blast, apparently.

 

[JoeMorgue]

The whole "China is one day away from owning the country" thing ranges from dishonestly over simplified to outright lying and we already went through it in the 80s, except it was Japan.

 

[jimbob]

When did he hide it? It seems that the reaction to this is just like the reaction to his campaign announcement that mexico was sending us their rapists. Really why would you expect any different result this time?

This is just Trump being Trump and will have no more lasting result than any of his other racist statements. His voters will brush it off and his critics will again see him as racist. This is just any of a dozen other "scandals" where he showed his racism and it will have no more effect.

Republicans simply don't care.

Good point, it was obvious for a long time, but it is getting harder for his supporters to pretend that he's not openly racist.

Although as Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is from New York, he did have a point about it being crime-infested, having the Trumps and Kushners

 

[ponderingturtle]

Good point, it was obvious for a long time, but it is getting harder for his supporters to pretend that he's not openly racist.

Not really, they have been ignoring it since the beginning, they will continue to do so.

Like his supporters support for him you can't say they accept his racism either because that will never gain any traction either. This is simply the new normal for the republican party.

 

[Trebuchet]

Susan Collins has more balls than Lindsay Graham.

 

[ponderingturtle]

Susan Collins has more balls than Lindsay Graham.

Don't worry when push comes to shove she will totally fold again.

 

[Aridas]

Anarchists aren't left or right wing.

Hmm. I stand corrected. With that said, though... looks like we've got a bit more information, including the guy's manifesto. This particular anarchist sounds left-wing and proclaims himself to be antifa, though not associated with any organization.

I thought that Paul Ryan was a bright, principled Republican.

Many years ago, he was introduced to me as such... and I bought it. He showed me that I was wrong long ago, though, and further made it perfectly clear during the Trump Presidency that he was completely unworthy of being called "principled." An occasional couple empty words isn't going to bring back the trust that I lost in him, regardless.

Remember: in politics silence is consent. There are no economic or practical cost to denouncing Trump's completely unveiled racist attacks, which he has doubled down on.

The fact that Republicans have refused to denounce Trump en masse means they are, at the very least, content with him and accept his conduct as the president of the US let alone the leader of their party.

I'm not sure that it necessarily equates to consent, given the public loyalty factor, but... this is simply just another example to add to the mountain of examples of how vacuous their claims of principles and morals are. It's been past the point for a long time where wide-spread Republican outrage can be safely ignored on moral and principled grounds (and waaaaay too frequently on factual grounds), albeit not necessarily political grounds.

Seems like racism is getting ever bolder in the US.

Bolder? It is making a bit of a resurgence, I suppose, and has been pointedly resurging since the Kochs put a whole bunch of money into putting the Tea Party in power... but this is still a situation where a lot of the examples of racism that one sees in the news are not actually... different from usual. These days, some of the egregious examples of racism are getting more media coverage, but... again, this is likely better considered to be more in line with a plea for help that the MSM finally is taking some note of, in fair part because of Trump's enabling and backlash spotlight on the issue, rather than a change in the status quo.

After all this... Pelosi says House will take up resolution following Trump's 'xenophobic tweets'

Nothing on when they would vote on it or the specific contents yet, though.

In other news...

ACLU to sue Trump administration over latest illegal move attacking the right to asylum

The Trump administration’s attack on the right to asylum continues. “According to a new rule published in the Federal Register, asylum seekers who pass through another country first will be ineligible for asylum at the U.S. southern border. The rule, expected to go into effect Tuesday, also applies to children who have crossed the border alone,” the AP reports.

While most media seems to be framing this Asylum Ban 2.0 as affecting mostly Central Americans, immigration attorney Taylor Levy said it “also applies to the many asylum-seekers who enter at the southern border form other countries, like Cuba, Venezuela, Ecuador, Brazil, DRC, Angola, Cameroon, etc.” What it also is, other experts say, is blatantly illegal, and it will be challenged in court, the American Civil Liberties Union said in a statement.

Yet another move to force asylum seekers to illegally cross the border before being able to legally seek asylum by the Trump administration, on top of all the rest. Intentionally making it illegal to seek a legal way to do something legal is quite condemnation-worthy.

 

[tyr_13]

Patience people. I'm sure someone will be along sooner or later to demand we talk about this one thing someone on the Left said about race that was... *gasp* SLIGHTLY HYPERBOLIC! *faints dead away*

They have to wait for their marching orders.

Some of the Fox people or GOP in Congress will throw out a bunch of things till they settle on one or two.

My bets are 'They are the real racists,' or, 'They're actually evil/commie/etc' (ignoring that it wouldn't actually change a thing if they were), or perhaps 'the don't act like Americans'.

By the end they'll be demanding the Congresswomen apologize.

 

[phiwum]

I thought that Paul Ryan was a bright, principled Republican. At one time I thought he would have made a good president.

I stand corrected.

Criticizing Trump now reeks of hypocrisy. When he was actually in a position to do something - call for censure or even just speak out - he took the coward’s path and essentially stood mute, which made him an enabler. An accomplice.

And that goes for all the republicans now who just go along with this freak show. I’m disgusted.

I'm with you on Ryan. Saying that you really disliked Trump but kept mum while in office so you could have a good effect on the administration is weak. He could've had the moral fortitude to speak out.

I'm not impressed with his courage at this late date.

 

[JoeMorgue]

I'm not going to get overly concerned with Republicans, active or not, not taking every chance to criticize Trump. He's in their tribe, he gets some slack, that's how it works.

But like you can do sometimes. Like now. The times where he says things so outrageous they are to normal Trump speak what normal Trump speak is to normal human speech. You can criticize him then. It's fine you can go back to sucking up to him tomorrow.

Fine, if he's on "your side" he gets the benefit of the doubt, even to insane levels. I'm not stupid I know how the world is. But this isn't even benefit of the doubt anymore. There's no good spun version of this.

 

[Mojo]

Good point, it was obvious for a long time, but it is getting harder for his supporters to pretend that he's not openly racist.

Although as Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is from New York, he did have a point about it being crime-infested, having the Trumps and Kushners

And he did say that the Congresswomen were from somewhere with a government that is “the worst, most corrupt and inept anywhere in the world (if they even have a functioning government at all)”.

It all fits.

 

[Skeptic Ginger]

Susan Collins has more balls than Lindsay Graham.

She's still trying to get past her disgusting Kavanaugh speech.

 

[Aridas]

There's no good spun version of this.

All it takes is accepting it as truth. Truth doesn't have to be pleasant, but has value simply by virtue of being true.

 

[JoeMorgue]

Graham declines to condemn racist Trump tweets and calls Democratic congresswomen 'a bunch of communists'

CNN: https://www.cnn.com/2019/07/15/poli...ommunists-democratic-congresswomen/index.html

Washington (CNN)Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham, one of President Donald Trump's strongest allies on Capitol Hill, declined on Monday to condemn the President over his racist tweets against several minority members of Congress, instead calling them a "bunch of communists."

Graham's comments, which were later tweeted out by Trump, are the latest example of congressional Republican alignment with Trump in the face of fierce controversy.

"Well, we all know that (New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez) and this crowd are a bunch of communists, they hate Israel, they hate our own country," Graham said during an appearance on "Fox and Friends." "They're calling the guards along our border, the border patrol agents, 'concentration camp guards.' They accuse people who support Israel of doing it for the Benjamins. They're anti-Semitic. They're anti-America."

 

[Fast Eddie B]

CNN has compiled a list of GOP lawmakers taking issue with Trump’s recent tweets:

https://www.cnn.com/2019/07/15/politics/republican-members-of-congress-trump-tweets/index.html

 

[Andy_Ross]

Rep. Ralph Abraham
‏Verified account
@RepAbraham

There’s no question that the members of Congress that @realDonaldTrump called out have absolutely said anti-American and anti-Semitic things. I’ll pay for their tickets out of this country if they just tell me where they’d rather be.

 

[Segnosaur]

CNN has compiled a list of GOP lawmakers taking issue with Trump’s recent tweets:

https://www.cnn.com/2019/07/15/politics/republican-members-of-congress-trump-tweets/index.html

Not that any of that will actually have an effect, as every one of those congress-critters will fall lock-step behind the rest of the republican party.

But note that in at least 3 cases, the republicans quoted took the opportunity to attack the democrats:
Sen. Roy Blunt of Missouri
Just because the so-called squad constantly insults and attacks the president isn't a reason to adopt their unacceptable tactics

i.e. "the president is wrong but the Democrats started it."

Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina
Instead of sharing how the Democratic Party's far-left, pro-socialist policies -- not to mention the hateful language some of their members have used towards law enforcement and Jews -- are wrong for the future of our nation, the President interjected with unacceptable personal attacks and racially offensive language

So the Democrats engaged in 'hateful language'. And against Jews! (Which, I assume is code-word for "they aren't agreeing with everything Israel does)

Rep. Fred Upton of Michigan
Frankly I'm appalled by the President's tweets...There's no excuse. Inflammatory rhetoric from both sides of the aisle that is used to divide us just isn't right. It's not helpful.

"Democrats are doing it too!"

 

[Andy_Ross]

Trump Tweets


We will never be a Socialist or Communist Country. IF YOU ARE NOT HAPPY HERE, YOU CAN LEAVE! It is your choice, and your choice alone. This is about love for America. Certain people HATE our Country....

....They are anti-Israel, pro Al-Qaeda, and comment on the 9/11 attack, “some people did something.” Radical Left Democrats want Open Borders, which means drugs, crime, human trafficking, and much more....

...Detention facilities are not Concentration Camps! America has never been stronger than it is now – rebuilt Military, highest Stock Market EVER, lowest unemployment and more people working than ever before. Keep America Great!

 

[Andy_Ross]

What's his obsession with Israel about?

Why do Americans have to love Israel?