The thread where we meet to discuss the unfolding Trump administration catastrophe, but end up discussing adoptions from Russia

[illegitimateMortificadospawn]

If we can get our hands free to type from the constant facepalming, we should be able to post on this topic.

Continuation of the previous thread: www.mumsnet.com/Talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/2968382-The-one-where-Trump-just-cant-stop-being-Trump

Dumde--I think he might bve preparing his base for the fact that it might be more fence than wall.

Matthew Yglesias
Matthew Yglesias @mattyglesias
Fascination with reactions from Trump’s base is odd.

Herbert Hoover retained 80% of his 1928 voters during his landslide defeat in 1932.

(I don't find I think odd - I think it's interesting to see how people reach different conclusions but I suppose the point is which of these people interviewed are "the base" and which of those are voters who would consider voting another way)

Depressing op ed in NYT

[Trump] is not at the end of his string, not by a long shot.

he has in fact tapped into vast anger over immigration, which has shot up over the past 50 years — and there is no good reason to believe that this anger will dissipate by 2020.

https://mobile.nytimes.com/2017/07/13/opinion/republicans-elites-trump.html?smid=tw-nytimes&smtyp=cur&referer=

I can't get over the suggestion that Putin may have compromising material on Theresa May similar to that which he allegedly has on Trump. I am far from Mrs May's greatest fan, but I just can't imagine it somehow - even discounting the more salacious aspects.

Meanwhile, Trump tells daily, barefaced, transparent, obvious lies; tweets incontinently (on an unsecure phone); happily gives away secret intelligence in openly reported meetings; quite blatantly has his hand, along with his wife's and children's hands, in the till; fills his cabinet with a bunch of completely unsuitable and possibly criminal assholes; buggers off to his golfing retreat at vast expense to the taxpayer every weekend whilst sneering at the previous incumbent for very occasionally doing the same, oh, and whilst there, conducts highly sensitive presidential business in full hearing of foreign heads of state and random diners; has been bankrupt more than once despite inheriting an impressive fortune; ran a fraudulent educational establishment; shoulder charged another head of state in his rush to be at the front of the photo line-up, and generally offends someone pretty much everywhere he goes; and grabs women with or without permission.

And Hillary? Hillary kept her emails on an unapproved server. Clearly much worse. It's not as if any of Trump's inner circle would do anything so... wait, what's that, they did?

Let's face it, it's got to be about the policies. Or is it just that you can't sit in the White House without a penis (size immaterial)?

Annie, I can't imagine Putin has compromat on May either but he is likely to have info on the Tory party, the Brexit campaign and Boris. May may not be interested in Boris but she may be trying to protect the Tory party. And there have been allegations circling round her husband's business activities for a while.

I would add the rage about Obama in the White House to that list Annie and the vicious racism/general affront that his existence as President produced amongst certain people.

Yep, Eric is definitely his father's son.

wall

Drip.

shareblue.com/newly-released-security-document-confirms-jeff-sessions-successfully-misled-the-fbi/

www.google.co.uk/amp/s/amp.ft.com/content/b46d003e-67a9-11e7-8526-7b38dcaef614

Donald Trump, Russia and a mob of comedy Corleones

They are interrupted by an aide carrying a package. Opening it, the US president sees three-star epaulettes and a haddock.
Trump: What does it mean?
Jared Kushner: It’s a Sicilian message. It means General Flynn sleeps with the fishes.
Trump: Who are the Fishes? Are they Jewish girls? Are they twins? Did I ever sleep with them? Was it at the Miss Universe? Now Flynn’s with them?
Ivanka: No, Pop, it means he’s politically dead.
Trump: Why couldn’t they just say that? They had to send me a fish? Why couldn’t they just send me a tweet? I can’t believe the fuss over this Russia thing. I talked to Putin about this last week. He was amazed. He said it was like a witch-hunt.
Steve Bannon: We should go after them all. Wipe ’em out . . . 
Trump: I called in FBI director Comey and said I needed his loyalty. I made him an offer he couldn’t refuse. I don’t know what happened.
Kushner: He refused.
Trump: I said to him. “One day, and this day may never come, I will ask a service of you. It might be to go to Mexico and build a wall. Or maybe it won’t. Or it could be to look the other way over General Flynn. Maybe it will never happen. But it could happen. It probably will, I don’t know. But until that day accept your job as a gift from me on my daughter’s wedding.”
Ivanka: I’ve been married for seven years already, Pop.
Trump: Look at her, she’s so hot. I mean smart. Did you see her stand in for me at the G20? First woman president, I’m telling you. But now we have Robert Mueller on our case with this whole investigation.
Bannon: We could make him an offer he can’t refuse.
Trump: Oh yeah? Like a suite at the Trump DC or a cabana at Mar-a-Lago?
Bannon: Not that kind of offer.
Trump: No one would turn down a cabana at Mar-a-Lago. It has the best beds in the world, best in the world.
Kushner: I think it’s best not to make former FBI director Mueller any offer.
Trump: Now this thing with Don Jr.
Kushner: Junior’s got a good heart, but he’s weak and he’s stupid and this is life and death.
Trump: Get him in here.
Don Jr: Did you see me on Fox, Pop?
Trump: You met with the Russians and you sent emails about it. You’re so stupid. Why can’t you be like Jared. He’d never make this mistake.
Don Jr: Jared was there too.
Trump: It was your idea. I know it was you, Junior. You broke my heart.
Don Jr: I was trying to help. I’m smart, not like everybody says. I’m smart and I want respect. It’s what you taught me, keep your friends close but the Russians closer still.
Trump: You’re a high quality person but never take sides outside the family
Don Jr: I didn’t. I took your side.
Trump: OK. Then never takes sides with the family again. Now get out, take the fish . . . leave the cannoli.
Turns to Bannon. Nothing happens to him while his mother’s alive.
Ivanka: Pop!
Trump: OK, nothing happens to him. Probably. It could happen, but it probably won’t. Now what else?
Ivanka: The Qataris want your help with the Saudis. They say they’re ready to reconsider the money for Jared’s Fifth Avenue property.
Trump: If only they had come to us with respect — and the half billion — then the Saudis would be suffering this very day. I’ll see what I can do.
Now I want a world peace summit with all my enemies. Kim Jong Un, Hassan Rouhani, Xi Jinping, Rand Paul, John McCain. Get them all here. Make sure they stay in my hotel.
Bannon: Then we go to the mats?
Trump: Not till they’ve paid their bills.
Kushner: What about the Russia thing.
Trump: We need to end this. What we need is leverage, something we can hold over Mueller, Comey, McCain, all those guys. (Yelling) Junior!
Don Jr: Yes, Pop.
Trump: Call your guy, see if Putin knows anything we could use.

That is great.

So, that transparent wall will be like the wire fence that already exists?
It sounds great. And cheaper. Because it won't cost anything.

And do people really fall for this crap?

Gumpendorf

It all sounds very plausible.

Yep to the not really a wall at all wall.
Gum

The Associated Press‏Verified account @AP 7h7 hours ago
More
BREAKING: Judge in Hawaii rules grandparents are exempt from President Donald Trump's travel ban enforcement.

.@NBCNews reports on the Russian-American lobbyist—a former Soviet counter-intelligence officer—was also in Don Jr.-Russian lawyer meeting. https://twitter.com/kylegriffin1/status/885827514794487809/video/1

http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/russian-lawyer-brought-ex-soviet-counter-intelligence-officer-trump-team-n782851?cid=smnpddnntwwma

Apologies to anyone here in the UK and elsewhere who doesn't get the reference but it made me snort out loud and I haven't watched Corrie for years!

Why does it look like Donald Trump has just bought the knicker factory on Coronation Street?
twitter.com/theboywhoslept/status/885529046846779401

From www.yahoo.com/amphtml/news/sources-trump-lawyers-knew-russia-emails-back-june-000320831.html Such competence!

Aside from questions about the credibility of White House statements, the disclosure of the emails potentially has raised new questions about Kushner’s security clearance. He initially filed his SF-86 on Jan. 18, leaving out any mention of meetings with foreign government officials during the transition and the campaign. His lawyers have said this was inadvertent and that a member of his staff had prematurely hit the “send” button for the firm before it was completed. Within twelve hours, they have said, Kushner notified the FBI that he would make amendments and disclose his meetings with foreign officials.

This was followed by a revised security clearance submission on May 11 in which Kushner reported more than 100 meetings with officials from over 20 countries, including a meeting with the Russian ambassador Sergey Kislyak and another with Sergey Gorkov, the head of Russian state-owned bank.

The way that lots of the media are highlighting this has raised a smile this morning:

From www.washingtonpost.com/news/powerpost/paloma/daily-202/2017/07/14/daily-202-trump-s-children-become-bigger-liabilities-for-the-white-house-complicate-damage-control-efforts/5967dc63e9b69b7071abcb2e/?tid=sm_tw&utm_term=.92a5cfda40fd

“My son is a wonderful young man,” the president said during a news conference in Paris.

“He's a good boy,” the president added during a gaggle on Air Force One. “He's a good kid.”

In fact, Don Jr. is 39. He’s the same age as the president of France, Emmanuel Macron, who was standing next to Trump when he gave that quote. Both kids/boys/young men — whatever he wants to call them — were born in 1977.

So there was another person at the meeting - Jr Trump certainly challenges the definition of transparency.

Trump and Macron watch marching band do Daft Punk medley.

The room gets bigger with each telling:

Amy Siskind‏Verified account
@Amy_Siskind
Following
More
.@NBC now saying there was a 6th person in the Veselnitskaya/Donald Jr meeting: Russian GRU officer Rinat Akhmetshin. Prison & impeachment!

This is like the "How many people can you fit inside a mini" game except with less car and more treason!

At some point we'll find out that they were facetiming Putin.

Pain