Cont: The Trump Presidency: Part 23

[Darat]

Actually I don't think he "understands" anything. He does have an ability to con them but I doubt there is much thought involved. He is like a microbe... mindlessly reacting to stimulus. ("They are cheering when I say lock her up and drain the swamp... Better keep doing that.")

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Thats it. Watch his speech when he declared Obama created ISIS. He is reacting to the feedback of cheering and applause, there is no thought behind it.

 

[Darat]

Has he always been like that? I didn't pay much attention to him pre-campaign.

He has always been stupid, willfully ignorant and self centered but he could string a sentence together 20 years ago.

 

[Darat]

I wonder if someone in the Navy is engaging in a classic "manage the manager" maneuver. There's a theory that whenever you need to get a manager to approve a plan, you should include one really obvious bad idea for them to change. Because a lot of people won't approve something if they haven't "contributed" to the design, you give them something irrelevant to change, so they don't change something important just so they feel like they've done their job.



"Can you believe they wanted to put a giant purple dildo on the front of every ship? Well, I put a stop to that, let me tell you! This whole project would have been a disaster without me."

Problem in this case is they are still trying to work out how to make faux-gold plating work as camouflage.

 

[zorro99]

Trump is allowing the Russians to kill our troops in Afghanistan. Hillary was right. He is Putin’s puppet.

 

[timhau]

Trump is allowing the Russians to kill our troops in Afghanistan. Hillary was right. He is Putin’s puppet.

No, you're the puppet. Benghazi! Her e-mails!

 

[Safe-Keeper]

Not enough mirrors on the ceiling and gold shag carpeting?

It probably looked to much like that hideous ship named after his political opponent .

 

[Aridas]

Russian operation targeted coalition troops in Afghanistan, intelligence finds

John Hudson

A Russian military spy unit offered bounties to Taliban-linked militants to attack coalition forces in Afghanistan, including U.S. and British troops, in a striking escalation of the Kremlin’s hostility toward the United States, American intelligence has found.

The Russian operation, first reported by the New York Times, has generated an intense debate within the Trump administration about how best to respond to a troubling new tactic by a nation that most U.S. officials regard as a potential foe but that President Trump has frequently embraced as a friend, said the officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive intelligence matter.

The officials said administration leaders learned of reported bounties in recent months from U.S. intelligence agencies, prompting a series of internal discussions including a large interagency meeting that was held in late March. According to one person familiar with the matter, the responses discussed at that meeting included sending a diplomatic communication to relay disapproval and authorizing new sanctions.

Russian involvement in operations targeting Americans, if confirmed, is likely to lead to outrage on Capitol Hill and questions about why the administration hasn’t responded to it.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/nati...710092-b80f-11ea-9b0f-c797548c1154_story.html

Thanks for beating me to it.

If we go back a while, though... there was that attack on US troops by "pro-Assad" Russian mercenaries, though that had a layer of plausible deniability, paper thin as it was.

On 22 February 2018, The Washington Post cited unnamed sources in the U.S. intelligence as alleging that the communications intercepted days before and after the incident between Russian businessman Yevgeniy Prigozhin, who was believed to finance the Wagner Group, and senior Syrian officials, such as Mansour Fadlallah Azzam, as well as Kremlin officials, suggested that Prigozhin had "secured permission" from an unspecified Russian minister to go ahead with a "fast and strong" move in early February and was awaiting approval from the Syrian government.

To my knowledge, Trump and his Administration have been completely silent in response to that. I would be completely unsurprised if they choose the same lack of response for this. I haven't heard virtually any outrage on that from the Democratic politicians, though. I could have missed it, of course, but it's probably just been overshadowed. ETA: Oh, Yevgeniy Prigozhin is closely connected to Putin, for the record. He's often called "Putin's Chef," apparently, just to highlight how paper thin that layer of plausible deniability is.

Thats it. Watch his speech when he declared Obama created ISIS. He is reacting to the feedback of cheering and applause, there is no thought behind it.

Same tactic as Hitler, by the look of it. I find myself wondering whether that was natural or a learned tactic.

 

[Mader Levap]

I think the closer we are to Nov, the less usual suspects will be on this thread. Looks like it is too embarrassing even by rethuglican standards.

 

[Safe-Keeper]

I think the closer we are to Nov, the less usual suspects will be on this thread. Looks like it is too embarrassing even by rethuglican standards.

I really hope the weak Tulsa turnout will make Trump even more unattractive. Humans are pack animals, and if we perceive something to be past its peak point and on its way out of popularity, we tend to instinctively start to distance ourselves from it. Many Trump supporters, also, seem to relish in being part of a big movement that finally recognized them and shook things up, shocking the elite that had ignored, ridiculed, and neglected them for so long. Or just you know, triggered liberals and minorities. A half-empty stadium and a low-energy leader who failed to live up to his strongman/bully image by hiding in a bunker doesn't really deliver.

Of course, they might still vote R rather than D come November, but they might leave their MAGA hats at home more often, put less effort into promoting Trump, and spending their money on other things than donations to the Republican party.

 

[Squeegee Beckenheim]

I wonder if someone in the Navy is engaging in a classic "manage the manager" maneuver. There's a theory that whenever you need to get a manager to approve a plan, you should include one really obvious bad idea for them to change. Because a lot of people won't approve something if they haven't "contributed" to the design, you give them something irrelevant to change, so they don't change something important just so they feel like they've done their job.

"Can you believe they wanted to put a giant purple dildo on the front of every ship? Well, I put a stop to that, let me tell you! This whole project would have been a disaster without me."

In the film industry this is phrased as "allow actors to choose their hats". In other words, if a director lets an actor choose accessories for their character, then the actor can feel like they had a real hand in who the character is, while the director can actually dictate everything important without letting the actor know that that's what they're doing.

Mind you, WRT Trump, when all the Iran stuff was going on (remember that? It was only January. Seems like a lifetime ago), the rumours were that the airstrike was exactly what you were describing - an obviously extreme and stupid idea put forwards to be rejected, and that everybody was surprised when Trump went for it.

 

[shemp]

 

[grunion]

Like most people, I tend to avoid bringing up politics in a business setting, especially with people I don’t know well. But right now, there is so much scenario planning among local small business owners whenever we congregate that the impact of the elections is foremost on everyone’s mind. I was on a Zoom call yesterday on which someone expressed the thought that a Democratic government would increase funding to schools, hospitals and local governmental programs where they would do the most good for us, and a Republican government would prioritize spending on military and more tax cuts for the rich. Nobody disagreed but the response from the Trumpsters was “you seriously think Biden can win? That would be the biggest scam in history, the guy can’t even string two coherent sentences together.” Mind you,this is the morning after Trump’s embarrassing interview on Hannity.

I will hastily agree that both candidates can be described as dotards. Yet to jump on speaking ability as clearly favoring Trump just boggles the mind.

 

[Ladewig]

Trump Tweets
I was going to go to Bedminster, New Jersey, this weekend, but wanted to stay in Washington, D.C. to make sure LAW & ORDER is enforced. The arsonists, anarchists, looters, and agitators have been largely stopped...

I am rather surprised that President Trump believes that he can’t do his job if he leaves Washington to go golfing.

I expect that some Trump supporter will come along to challenge my conclusion by asserting “you’re wrong - he’s not going because rain is forecasted for the entire weekend.”

 

[Trebuchet]

It probably looked to much like that hideous ship named after his political opponent .

I like ships that didn't get rammed by a freighter!

 

[Paul2]

He hasn't, but I do wonder sometimes if it's deliberate, a kind of chewbacca defense where he gives an answer that makes no sense, rather than just saying "no comment" or trying to come up with some coherent, rational answer. If your answer has no actual content or meaning, there's nothing to pick apart.

What with the other symptoms he's exhibiting, though -- problems with walking, not managing to lift a glass of water with only one hand, etc., I'm leaning towards it being an actual mental decline.

Overlapping with dissembling.

 

[Craig4]

I am rather surprised that President Trump believes that he can’t do his job if he leaves Washington to go golfing.

I expect that some Trump supporter will come along to challenge my conclusion by asserting “you’re wrong - he’s not going because rain is forecasted for the entire weekend.”

Few things would make me happier than Trump raising a metal rod over his head in a thunderstorm.

 

[Andy_Ross]

Trump Tweets

Do not believe the Fake News Media. Oklahoma speech had the highest Saturday television ratings in @FoxNews history. @seanhannity dominated T.V. with my interview on Thursday night, more than @CNN & MSDNC COMBINED. These are the real polls, the Silent Majority, not FAKE POLLS!


....We will win the Election against Corrupt Joe Biden, Nancy Pelosi, and Schumer. We will save the Supreme Court, your 2nd Amendment, permanent damage from the ridiculous Green New Deal, and you from massive Tax Hikes. Also, our Heritage, History and LAW & ORDER!

 

[Andy_Ross]

Trump Retweeted

LORI HENDRY
@Lrihendry
The silent majority are watching all this insanity perpetrated by Democrats and plan to take action on November 3, 2020. #Trump2020
Raise your hand if you are one of the silent majority. Happy woman raising one hand

 

[Andy_Ross]

Trump Retweeted

LORI HENDRY
@Lrihendry
IT’S TIME TO #PardonRogerStone
As Prosecuting Attorneys Resign, Over 110,000 Sign Petition to Pardon Roger Stone via @nationalfile
https://nationalfile.com/as-prosecu...r-110000-sign-petition-to-pardon-roger-stone/ .


Been out all day putting Trump stickers on rioters cars, then sitting back watching them destroy each other’s cars.
I have been Quarantined for so long i needed a little entertainment and had time to be creative.

 

[Andy_Ross]

Trump Retweeted

Donald J. Trump
@realDonaldTrump
Jun 26
If I ever said something so mortifyingly stupid, the Fake News Media would come down on me with a vengeance. This is beyond a normal mistake. Why isn’t the media reporting it?