What stupid shit has Trump done today?

[chandlerp]

Utterly barking mad and shameless. If you are asking whether or not you can pardon yourself you may as well be admitting you're guilty of the charges laid against you.

 

[camouflage]

Here's Donald Trump desperately, pathetically trying to get Putin's attention at the G20 dinner

I think Putin's sound, specially after watching Oliver Stones The Putin Interviews.

So I'd just like to point out that it's not Putins fault that Trump appears to be offering a blow-job. Seriously though if the leaders of the US and Russia are on speaking terms I can't consider that a bad thing. I'm not surprised that suddenly there's this Deutche Bank thing and the Sessions thing and the Kushner thing happening now, bound to be panic in certain circles ("Qwik! Stink up the place!"). CNN has gone manic, they may as well change thir name to the Trump-Russia-Sport channel tbf, it's all they ever talk about. I bet like usual though it all comes to nothing special.

 

[CrabbedOne]

Utterly barking mad and shameless. If you are asking whether or not you can pardon yourself you may as well be admitting you're guilty of the charges laid against you.

Presidents issuing pardons to erring staff or hinting they might I think is not unusual. What's odd is it's leaking out from within the Whitehouse that it's been discussed so early. Dangling pardons is a way of keeping folk who might turn tout from fear they're in personal legal jeopardy shtum. These people really don't trust each other at all and that probably displays good judgement. It's like the Borgias as scripted by Mel Brooks.

There's a whiff of fear coming off Trump about the scope of the Mueller investigation and his family affairs. I think they've got something to hide but it may simply be they've rather compromised themselves in some dodgy deals that may not even be directly related to Russia. The family has done a lot of business in the Russian periphery and with shady Oligarch emigres. Both the Trumps and Kushners have had desperate needs for credit. With this lot there's an inherent seediness, poor security and a lot of stupidly careless behaviour that you often get with very entitled wealthy people.

 

[chandlerp]

Yes but that is all well and good. I was referring to the idea of pardoning HIMSELF, not staff. It's fucknig incredible

 

[taffboy gwyrdd]

Washington Post, who broke the pardoning story:
Analysis | The Daily 202: Asking about a pardon for himself is a quintessentially Trumpian move

 

[Tankus]

Yes but that is all well and good. I was referring to the idea of pardoning HIMSELF, not staff. It's fucknig incredible

family !!

 

[CrabbedOne]

On Bloomberg Trump’s Modest Proposal for a Nafta Revamp

...
In fact, many provisions the administration is seeking in a new Nafta were negotiated into the Trans-Pacific Partnership—ironic, since one of Trump’s first acts was to pull the U.S. out of it. Among those provisions: unfettered cross-border data flows; regulatory harmonization; stronger labor and environmental standards; and a ban on currency manipulation (which Canada and Mexico don’t do anyway). “He’s taking Nafta and making it look more like the TPP but with fewer countries,” says Todd Tucker, a fellow at the Roosevelt Institute, a think tank in New York.

Canada and Mexico responded positively, with Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland saying her country welcomed the opportunity to modernize the treaty to “reflect new realities” and Mexico’s economy ministry saying in a statement it “will contribute to defining with greater clarity the subjects to negotiate and the timing for the modernization process.” Congress now has a chance to shape the administration’s negotiating strategy before the talks, which will begin on Aug. 16.
...

Unless of course Trump flip-flops again.

 

[Johnny Canuck3]

Trump's been asking his people whether or not he can pardon himself, family members, aides, etc.

But why? He keeps telling us they've done nothing wrong, that the whole Russia thing is just false news...

Analysis | Can Trump pardon anyone? Himself? Can he fire Mueller? Your questions, answered.

 

[CrabbedOne]

On Reuters One in eight people who voted for Trump having second thoughts - Reuters/Ipsos poll

Bit of a misleading headline. Actually firming up his base.

 

[DotCommunist]

he should just do a tupac and claim 'only god can judge me'

 

[spring-peeper]

On Bloomberg Trump’s Modest Proposal for a Nafta Revamp
Unless of course Trump flip-flops again.

I doubt it will be as easy as Trump thinks it will be.

Five key NAFTA issues bound to spark friction between Canada, U.S. | Toronto Star

eta: add link

 

[Johnny Canuck3]

The Russian lawyer who met Donald Trump Jr. after his father won the Republican nomination for the 2016 U.S. presidential election counted Russia's FSB security service among her clients for years, Russian court documents seen by Reuters show.

Exclusive: Moscow lawyer who met Trump Jr. had Russian spy agency as client

 

[Tankus]

Spicer

why so long .......?

I wonder how that book is coming ?

 

[spring-peeper]

.

 

[taffboy gwyrdd]

Christ, there's a funny side to this.

 

[Yuwipi Woman]

I wonder how that book is coming ?

My I suggest a cover design?

 

[bimble]

I love this idea of Trump pardoning himself. I hope that's what he'll try to do at some point.

 

[CRI]

On Reuters One in eight people who voted for Trump having second thoughts - Reuters/Ipsos poll

Bit of a misleading headline. Actually firming up his base.

Yup, not surprised by this a bit. Definitely chimes with what my sister is saying - that if anything, faith in and affection for him is growing in the county voted for him by the largest margin in Illinois.

Does anyone still genuinely believe the Democrats can "win over" white rural working class fundamentalist Christian devotees of Trump, if they just pick the right candidate?

Hell, even if the Democrats ran Jesus Christ, people there would vote for whoever ran against him as a Republican. Not helped of course by the fact that Mr Christ, being a dark complected, 30 something but never married, Jewish guy with long hair and a beard, wearing a long dress and hailing from the Middle East, ticks so many boxes on their list of "people we hate."

 

[CrabbedOne]

On Politico Spicer quits amid White House feud

...
"He's never done communications in his life," said another person who spoke to Spicer about his thoughts on Scaramucci.

Scaramucci's expected appointment has caused great upheaval in the West Wing, with chief of staff Reince Priebus and chief strategist Steve Bannon also expressing opposition to him getting the high-profile job.

"This was a murdering of Reince and Bannon. They said Anthony would get this job over their dead bodies," said one top White House official.

Another White House official disputed that Priebus used these words and said the chief of staff has a long-standing and good relationship with Scaramucci. The official said Priebus did not want to stop Scaramucci's appointment but instead just wanted to slow the process down.

The first official added that Scaramucci had the backing of Trump son-in-law and top adviser Jared Kushner, Ivanka Trump, National Economic Council Director Gary Cohn, and Deputy National Security Adviser Dina Powell.

A third White House official said Spicer was gracious while breaking the news of his departure, offered some praise for Scaramucci, while saying he would help with a transition.

In the press office there was a round of applause on Friday morning for Spicer and then for Scaramucci, led by Priebus, according to a White House official.

But a source close to the White House press operation said there are serious doubts among some aides that Scaramucci will be able to handle the full scope of the job. “The challenge really here is that Scaramucci was being given a ceremonial title as communications director with absolutely no understanding of what that position means and with no understanding of how government works. So it’s really more of a joke that he’s being offered this position."

The source added, “Trump simply wants a high level White House surrogate on television and wanted Mooch to have something nice to do.”
...

Best soap opera since Pigs In Space if not as realistic. At least Spicer finally went down with a little dignity.

 

[J Ed]

Yup, not surprised by this a bit. Definitely chimes with what my sister is saying - that if anything, faith in and affection for him is growing in the county voted for him by the largest margin in Illinois.

Does anyone still genuinely believe the Democrats can "win over" white rural working class fundamentalist Christian devotees of Trump, if they just pick the right candidate?

Hell, even if the Democrats ran Jesus Christ, people there would vote for whoever ran against him as a Republican. Not helped of course by the fact that Mr Christ, being a dark complected, 30 something but never married, Jewish guy with long hair and a beard, wearing a long dress and hailing from the Middle East, ticks so many boxes on their list of "people we hate."

I wonder, could it be that people know that people like CRI talk about them in this way be a motivating factor in them voting another way to spite them? Just maybe...

 

[Tankus]

I would be tempted to vote for him ........just to keep the batshit coming .......

.....just maybe... Im one of the quiet bat people

 

[CRI]

Former Trump adviser Flynn consulting again, says brother

Embattled former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn has opened a new consulting firm called Resilient Patriot, LLC that is advising private equity firms, according to one of his brothers, who says Flynn is “moving on with his life.”

Joe Flynn said his family also is in the early stages of starting a fund to pay for the legal bills his brother is racking up as he sits at the center of multiple probes into Russia’s interference in the 2016 presidential election.

Resilient fucking patriot my fat ass!

 

[CRI]

 

[twentythreedom]

I heard James O'Brien on LBC this morning reading a quote from Trump about the balloons he saw in France recently, having trouble locating it though, it was brilliant. Is it real?

 

[Yossarian]

According to the Washington Post: "Scaramucci has coined a particularly crude nickname for Priebus, and Priebus previously blocked the financier from several other top White House roles."

I can't think of an especially crude nickname for Reince Priebus - "Reince Penis?" That would probably be enough to get a job in the Trump administration.

 

[Yossarian]

I wonder, could it be that people know that people like CRI talk about them in this way be a motivating factor in them voting another way to spite them? Just maybe...

"Maybe it's the anti-racist's fault that people voted for a racist."

 

[redsquirrel]

So being a long term hard core democrat supporter makes you an "anti-racist" does it?

Nevermind that one of the criticisms from socialists (or even social democrats) of the Democrats/Clinton was that their neo-liberal policies were/are racist, and that's why an alternative is needed. But no if you "oppose" (by which I mean post a load of crappy shite on the internet) Trump then you must be an "anti-racist".

 

[Maltin]

So being a long term hard core democrat supporter makes you an "anti-racist" does it?

 

[J Ed]

"Maybe it's the anti-racist's fault that people voted for a racist."

Which one? The one who had black people who were forced to do her dishes or the other one?

 

[CrabbedOne]

On Politico Scaramucci, repeatedly denied a White House role, finally sees a reward

...
Now the telegenic Scaramucci, a fast-talking fixture on the international circuit from Davos, Switzerland, to his own lavish hedge fund conference in Las Vegas, is at the center of power in the chaotic Trump White House. He is now charged with repairing a toxic relationship between the press and a president who regularly rips what he calls the “fake news media.”

At a White House briefing on Friday, Scaramucci—widely referred to as “The Mooch”—spoke repeatedly of his “love” for the president, to whom he said he will report. “I think there has been at times a disconnect between the way we see the president and how much we love the president and the way perhaps some of you see the president,” he said.

Invoking Wall Street lingo, he added that there might an “arbitrage spread between how well we are doing and how well some of you guys think we are doing and we are going to work hard to close that spread.”

Scaramucci said he hopes that press secretary Sean Spicer – who resigned Friday after registering his own opposition to Scaramucci’s appointment – will go on “to make a tremendous amount of money.” He also repeatedly expressed his desire to work closely with Priebus, who he said he’d been “personal friends” with for years. “We are a little bit like brothers where we rough each other up once and a while,” he said, noting that he once offered Priebus a job at his hedge fund firm.
...

Trump's swamp was already overflowing with wallowing Wall St critters. It just got a good deal richer. A big GOP and Trump donor the "Mooch" wasn't always a fan. Article says he once called Trump “president of the Queens County Bullies Association.” He may have little relevant experience but here's a man who chooses his words well. That's a very accurate rendition of how the lofty masters of the universe perceived a preposterously erratic, small fry, real estate mogul.

How the mighty haven't fallen. An eager to please Trump's now panderer in chief to Wall St. They've always held a few key positions but the "populist" Trump administration is really the first proper Goldman Sachs alumni Presidency. Even the very public facing Comms Director being one of theirs.