phiwum
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The rest of the world fears the unpredictable and arbitrary actions of the US now. Do you think that Trump distinguishes between that and respect?
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The Trump Presidency: Part 18
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The rest of the world fears the unpredictable and arbitrary actions of the US now. Do you think that Trump distinguishes between that and respect?
phiwum
Penultimate Amazing
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Surely, that's a reasonable discussion to have.
The Great Zaganza
Maledictorian
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He does.
He is a pariah in New York, and now on the World Stage.
He owns exactly when people have nothing but disdain for him.
Trump's life has a strong "they laughed at me, but I'll show them - I'll show them ALL! BUHHUUWHAAA!" streak to it.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news...orce-deal-federal-workers-paid-parental-leave
American's would still not have a legal right to paid parental leave, since only federal workers would be covered.
Fast Eddie B
Philosopher
A discussion that’s being had in Venice right now.
Again it doesn't matter. "Technically true" soundbites have far, far, far more political power then detailed, more accurate explanations.
Over a quarter million jobs added (way outside even the most optimistic predictions), unemployment at a 50 year low, record unemployment in most all of the key swing stages. In election after election voters cite the economy, not political policies and certainly not a bunch of culture war nonsense, as the most important factor in their decision making. And most street levels voters don't understand the economy well enough to understand it outside of sound bites. The "whole story" isn't going to sway them because they either don't understand it or don't care.
Beating an incumbent President who can sell the narrative of a strong economy is almost unheard of.
Over a quarter million jobs added (way outside even the most optimistic predictions), unemployment at a 50 year low, record unemployment in most all of the key swing stages. In election after election voters cite the economy, not political policies and certainly not a bunch of culture war nonsense, as the most important factor in their decision making. And most street levels voters don't understand the economy well enough to understand it outside of sound bites. The "whole story" isn't going to sway them because they either don't understand it or don't care.
Beating an incumbent President who can sell the narrative of a strong economy is almost unheard of.
Andy_Ross
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Trump Tweets
Taken during the Obama Administration (despite $150 Billion gift), returned during the Trump Administration. Thank you to Iran on a very fair negotiation. See, we can make a deal together!
The Associated Press
@AP
Iran's foreign minister says a detained Princeton graduate student will be exchange for an Iranian scientist held by the U.S. The trade involves graduate student Xiyue Wang and scientist Massoud Soleimani. http://apne.ws/lEAvUQH
Taken during the Obama Administration (despite $150 Billion gift), returned during the Trump Administration. Thank you to Iran on a very fair negotiation. See, we can make a deal together!
The Associated Press
@AP
Iran's foreign minister says a detained Princeton graduate student will be exchange for an Iranian scientist held by the U.S. The trade involves graduate student Xiyue Wang and scientist Massoud Soleimani. http://apne.ws/lEAvUQH
Trump is entirely unheard-of. It's true that by standard metrics the economy is in great shape. But smart people have been claiming for quite awhile that the stock market is overdue for a "correction," which could happen pretty much any time, especially if Trump keeps pushing his tariffs.
And more important, the people who voted for Trump because they were hurting are no better off, often worse. Midwestern farmers have lost billions of dollars of foreign business. Coal mines keep closing, the domestic auto industry is shrinking, and overseas factories are not moving back to the U.S.
A certain percentage of Trump voters never loved him, but they rejected the old politics and wanted to give "the new guy" a chance. Trump's not the new guy anymore, and they might decide that the next "new guy" deserves their vote.
Fast Eddie B
Philosopher
True, but some other “smart people” predicted a huge sell off if Trump got elected. I recall some rich guy lost billions by shorting the market when Trump won.
Sure, there’s always an eventual “correction” - markets go up and markets go down (and who can explain that?). But nobody knows the timing of these things, so I’m not sure saying it’s overdue for anything has any real weight.
Edited to correct: It was only one billion, and it was George Soros.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/billi...lion-in-weeks-after-trump-election-1484227167
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The prediction by itself doesn't matter much. But it'll be bad for Trump if the prediction comes true in the next eleven months.
And those farmers and factory laborers and retail workers who don't own stock and don't see themselves benefiting much from a generally strong economy are the ones most likely to be disappointed by Trump.
Minoosh
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I'm not sure what headline you're critiquing. Who specified Saudi Arabia for the troops? I'm still not clear on that. Trump might have cited the "fact" solely because that way he could call it fake news.
In looking at a 2017 article I was struck by how few troops were in Saudi compared to Kuwait, Qatar and the UAE. It's out of date, of course. But I think maybe Saudi did not want a high number because a heavy presence would be unpopular internally.
Minoosh
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Plus, I doubt if his supporters would mind if he did use a personal phone. It might alarm the Pentagon, the intelligence community and even Senate Republicans, but Trump personally can do no wrong in the eyes of his followers. He is God's chosen, so who cares what phone he uses? Saying "grab them by the ******" and cheating on his new-mom wife with a porn star didn't bother them; why would this?
I would like to get to the truth of the matter though. It's not the first time this has come up and IIRC the administration declined to comment at that time. Maybe he's working with different meanings of "personal" and "government."
It's interesting to see what triggers him and this apparently does. And for all my criticism of CNN, their credibility is a lot higher than Trump's IMO.
Steve
Penultimate Amazing
My wife tells me I am not dead yet!
And again I think the problem is Trump supporters understand that and did not elect Trump to (or at least in the actual hope that he would) "make things better."
When you put a bag of flaming dog poop on your ex's doorstep, it's not in the hope that it's going to make them get back together with you.
Trump is, in every way, a bag of flaming dog poop.
He wasn't elected to fix anything and people keep missing the point variously either scratching their heads in confusion or waving their arms in frustration about how Trump isn't fixing any of the problems his supporters are (either genuinely or ostensibly) angry about.
The fact that Trump isn't making anything better is not hurting him. Because he wasn't elected to make things better. He was elected to hurt/confuse/rile up/get back at/troll this vague, poorly defined, mythical "Elite out of touch liberal intellectuals" that Trump's base was told caused it all.
You said it yourself, Trump is unprecedented. Because he is, I honestly believe, the first President ever elected specifically to break the system.
That's why I still say he's winning. Everything he's done wrong is the point.
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Minoosh
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The CNN personal-phone story does have a problem: The examples included right after the lede aren't about Trump's personal phone use, but about concerns at Giuliani and Sondland's end of things. Later in the article it does refer to officials claiming Trump still uses a personal phone, but it's thin on specifics. Then CNN cited concerns from last year. It's an oddly structured story IMO. I think CNN knew their story was thin on supporting details - otherwise the beginning wouldn't have focused on Sondland and Giuliani.
A different headline might have been better. "Trump conversations may not have been secure" isn't too sexy, though.
Also the headline lacks attribution - meaning CNN is treating it as a flat-out fact. Which means they may have proof or at least a VERY high level of confidence. But the story itself doesn't treat it that way.
A different headline might have been better. "Trump conversations may not have been secure" isn't too sexy, though.
Also the headline lacks attribution - meaning CNN is treating it as a flat-out fact. Which means they may have proof or at least a VERY high level of confidence. But the story itself doesn't treat it that way.
Venom
Philosopher
I think he was elected by some of his "white working class" base because he was white and a no-nonsense white guy is going to help them in the end...somehow. If he says it's his economy, they believe it. When we say the economy recovery began in late 2010, 2011, erm....we'll it wasn't as strong under the black guy than Pres Trump. He's more believable because he's "one of us".
Matthew Best
Penultimate Amazing
He probably just means he didn't personally pay for the phone, someone who works for him (and is therefore part of "the government") gave it to him.
Matthew Best
Penultimate Amazing
It's true, it's all true
(Click for larger version)
(Click for larger version)
Stacyhs
Penultimate Amazing
"It's called rain."
So that's what it's called! I've just been calling it the 'falling wet stuff'. 'Rain' is so much easier. Thanks, Trump!
And this is the man the GOP thinks is so wonderful.
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