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The Trump Presidency: Part 17

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Segnosaur said:
.... because the chief of staff typically would be in national security meetings leading up to it and tasked with coordinating with other top officials on everything from a communications strategy to a plan in case the raid failed.
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I don't know why the author categorized this as "hard to understand", it's perfectly understandable: Trump just sucks at planning, and never ever considers what may be needed ahead of time, particularly in cases where everything doesn't work out exactly the way he wants it to. It's been this way his whole life, and in particular, his whole presidency. Remember the stories from his transition, when he apparently didn't realize he'd have to hire almost an entire replacement staff at the White House?


Nor did Trump realize he had to hire a staff. The Wall Street Journal wrote that Trump aides “were … as unaware that the entire presidential staff working in the West Wing had to be replaced at the end of Mr. Obama’s term.”
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It's not at all a surprise that he simply never considered what he might need to do if the raid failed. Or even what he'd need to do if it succeeded, come to think of it. He doesn't think any further than "WIN BIGLY!".
 
Stacyhs said:
Fox news toots criminal Democrats
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/who...eason-to-sweat
Maybe because Trump can't lock up Hillary?
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Classic diversion.
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I guess the question now becomes how long will they try to keep it up. Will this be some investigation which quietly disappears after a few days, never to be heard from again after it becomes clear that the investigation is a sham? Or will they try to keep it going into the new year, so it continues to smell up the DoJ like a dead skunk under the porch?
 
Horatius said:
I don't know why the author categorized this as "hard to understand", it's perfectly understandable: Trump just sucks at planning,
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You make the mistake of assuming that he "planned" anything. Clearly the staff treats him on a need to know basis only for doing anything real.

The reason he didn't inform his CoS is because he didn't know anything about it until the last minute, and I think that even means not until he got off the helicopter after returning from the golf course.

I asked above, is there any confirmation that he ordered the attack, or gave the go ahead?

I think it was more likely, "We're going in. Tell the President."
 
Segnosaur said:
Re: The al-Baghdadi raid...

If it helps any, Trump also didn't alert his own chief of staff...

From: https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/white-house/mulvaney-was-left-dark-al-baghdadi-operation-n1073731
Acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney first learned about the U.S. military raid against ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi after the operation was already underway... The extraordinary move by Trump to leave his chief of staff out of the most significant U.S. military operation against the world’s most wanted terrorist since the killing of Osama bin Laden in 2011 represents a major blow to Mulvaney... the exclusion of Mulvaney from a moment of such magnitude in the presidency is difficult to grasp because the chief of staff typically would be in national security meetings leading up to it and tasked with coordinating with other top officials on everything from a communications strategy to a plan in case the raid failed.
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Not so difficult when you recognize Trump doesn't see himself as having a team.
 
TragicMonkey said:
I object less to lies than to the inconsistency in the lies. Either we have an economy booming magnificently that Trump can brag about or we have an economic peril so dire we must have the Fed cut interest rates yet again as Trump keeps insisting. It can't be both simultaneously. Pick a position, even if it's totally untrue, and stick to it!
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What gets to me is that Trump is such a STUPID liar. He tells lies that can be shown as such in about five minutes.
The guy is not even a good liar.
 
dudalb said:
What gets to me is that Trump is such a STUPID liar. He tells lies that can be shown as such in about five minutes.
The guy is not even a good liar.
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A "good" liar has to at least know what the truth is and be intelligent enough to at least tell a convincing story.

I'm not convinced Trump is either.
 
phiwum said:
What legal requirements do you have in mind? You showed me a law that applied to covert actions, but we agree that this was not covert.
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I think Norman might be confused by the word covert. Yes, the attack was planned and launched in secret,but every militaty action of this type..a raid is,since the whole operation is dependent on surprise.
But since we have been in a open state of de facto war with ISIS since 2014,it's hardly covert.
A covert operation would be against somebody or a group we are not openly at war with.
 
As much as a number Republicans severely disliked Obama, I wouldn't support an idea put forward that they would purposely jeopardize an operation to get Bin Laden just to make him look bad. I feel the same way in this situation. Pointing to Democrats on the gang of eight and painting them in that way is a real low move and surprisingly seems to be accepted by Republicans.

I wonder if the partisan level during the Obama years would have shown Democrats as willing to accept this kind of view or if we have come that much further in the years since.
 
dudalb said:
A covert operation would be against somebody or a group we are not openly at war with.
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The way I understood the definition given, a covert operation is when the instigating government does not make the information public until possibly decades later when documents are declassified.
How many here think Trump wasn’t notified until the operation was already in progress?
 
dudalb said:
What gets to me is that Trump is such a STUPID liar. He tells lies that can be shown as such in about five minutes.The guy is not even a good liar.
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If that.

What bothers me most about the present culture of the Republicans, is that regardless of whatever lie Trump has uttered, the party is expected to back him up. And if you don't, you're a traitor. I swear if Trump said the sky was green and **** tastes good, the whole Republican party would be talking about the beautiful green sky and lining up to eat **** sandwiches and then complimenting the chief for informing them of such a delicacy.
 
This article seems relevant to what people are discussing here:

The Hill said:
“It should be noted here that there is no statutory obligation for us to brief members of Congress,” Gidley told reporters. “So it’s another example of where Congress sets the rules but doesn’t want to play by their own rules.”

Statute requires the president to keep the congressional intelligence committees “fully and currently informed of all covert actions,” but not “traditional ... military activities” under which the raid could arguably fall.

According to reports from 2011, former President Obama and other administration officials called congressional leaders in both parties immediately after the Osama bin Laden raid but before Obama’s public remarks.
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You know what we need? Another government shutdown!

Congress could navigate a shutdown and a presidential impeachment inquiry if lawmakers and the Trump administration can’t reach an agreement on government funding during the next three weeks.

The two events haven’t overlapped before in the nation’s history. If that happens next month, however, roughly 2 million federal workers would get hit in their wallets as the holiday season begins, including staffers working on the impeachment proceedings.

Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer on Tuesday preemptively blamed President Donald Trump.

“I’m increasingly worried that President Trump may want to shut down the government again because of impeachment,” the New York Democrat said. “I hope and pray he won’t want to cause another government shutdown because it might be a diversion away from impeachment.”

For their part, top Republicans have been accusing Democrats on a near-daily basis of focusing on impeachment rather than legislation, affecting not just appropriations but other priorities like a prescription drug pricing bill and the U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade pact.

“My friends in Democratic leadership insist over and over their focus on undoing the 2016 election will not keep them from the substantive legislation that American families need,” Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said late last week.

None of the dozen fiscal 2020 spending measures have been enacted, and top appropriators aren’t particularly hopeful for resolution in the 10 legislative days left when both chambers are in session before Nov. 21, when current stopgap funding expires.

And unlike the 34-day shutdown that began last December, which affected about 40 percent of federal workers, a shutdown starting Nov. 22 would affect all Cabinet departments and congressional staff, just as they are about to receive their last paychecks before the holiday shopping season begins.
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Linky.
 
Trump Tweets

My friend Mike @GovDunleavy of the Great State of Alaska, is being treated very unfairly by the Democrats because he is doing an unbelievable job and fulfilling every one of his promises. Now they are trying to Recall him because his agenda is the Economy, Jobs, and protecting...

...our Military, 2nd Amendment, Energy, and so many other things that the Democrats don’t care about. Please stop the Dems from hurting a very good and hard-working man!

Early voting in Louisiana for a man who will be a Great Governor, @EddieRispone, on Saturday, November 2nd. He will get your Auto Insurance and Taxes way down. He will protect your Military, Vets, Second Amendment and Energy....

....Your current Governor, John Bel Edwards, has done a poor job with economic development (last in nation) and auto insurance (highest in nation) wants to raise your taxes BIG - vote for Eddie starting Saturday!
 
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