It’s a National Non-Emergency: Trump thread 91

[TheClaws]

Here we are in February 2019 - Trump has declared a National Emergency to funnel the funds for his border wall, he’s just come off a ridiculous SOTU that contained more lies than not, and he’s just tweeted this:

Donald J. Trump @realDonaldTrump 2h2 hours ago
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“These guys, the investigators, ought to be in jail. What they have done, working with the Obama intelligence agencies, is simply unprecedented. This is one of the greatest political hoaxes ever perpetrated on the people of this Country, and Mueller is a coverup.” Rush Limbaugh

But here’s a reminder he’s not one of the sharpest tools in the box.

TheNorthWestPawsage Thank you for links to Daniel Dale page. Have bookmarked it and will now be following the sad story there as well as here. (Really, I can stomach Trump news only in such tiny bite-sized chunks.)

... and indulged in things he shouldn't have touched.

www.newsweek.com/former-trump-executive-recalls-racism-anti-semitism-1348275?utm_source=Twitter&utm_medium=Social&utm_campaign=NewsweekTwitter

Prepare to See a Whole Lot More of Don Jr.
The presidential son makes the case for his father better than his father can.
www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2019/03/donald-trump-jrs-warm-reception-cpac/583981/

NEW: House judiciary chairman Jerry Nadler says "tomorrow we will be issuing document requests to over 60 different people and individuals from the White House, to the Dept. of Justice, Donald Trump Jr. ... to begin investigations" abcn.ws/2VzxYfN #ThisWeek
twitter.com/abcpolitics/status/1102209823607681026?s=21

Yes, Don Jr is more articulate. Same lies though.

Less canny.

www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/mar/03/donald-trump-2020-defeat-michael-cohen

www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/texas-border-wall-trump-land-mexico-a8802336.html

I agree about 45 not going 'quietly'.

There is no mechanism in the Constitution to 'void' a presidential election, fraud or no. So just as Russian collusion won't result in a 'do over' or automatically remove Scrotus from office (he'd have to be impeached), neither will him screaming fraud' in 2020 invalidate those results. He would still have to leave office and the new POTUS would take over. If fraud were proven, that POTUS would have to be impeached.

Honestly, I don't know what would happen if he refused to accept the results of an election and planted himself in the WH and refused to leave. I don't know if there's even a mechanism for forcible removal. He'd need the military to back him up and I just don't think that's going to happen. The generals he's surrounded himself with pay him lip service, but would they honestly order troops to surround the WH to protect him? Would they order troops out to quell the populace and put down protests with gunfire? Would they shoot Congress members who passed legislation to physically remove him? I just don't think so.

I don't think his leaving office will be 'peaceful', but I think it'll be vitriol, accusations, and lawsuits.

Of course, I never thought he'd be elected in the first place.

I have to admit that the mental picture of Scrotus being dragged kicking and screaming like a recalcitrant toddler out of the WH (presumably by the ear, and presumably by Nancy Pelosi) has kept me entertained for the last 15 minutes.

Where is ............Mad Dog?

There will be no jaunty wave from the steps of Marine 1.

No, more like a hands on hips, bottom lip outthrust shout of "You're not the boss of me!!!!", cozie

Handcuffs and a prolonged scuffle would be satisfying.

thinkprogress.org/melanias-spokeswoman-donald-trumps-bullying-has-nothing-to-do-with-be-best-e35369ef49d4/

OK, last week I managed to not notice those words by Cohen you're referring to:

“given my experience working for Mr Trump I fear that if he loses the election in 2020 that there will never be a peaceful transition of power, and this is why I agreed to appear before you today”.

I was hoping that was just my secret, pessimist's nightmare – rather than a scenario deemed likely by someone who knows Trump extremely well.

Handcuffs and a prolonged scuffle

I'll dream of that instead...

I read that article, lion. Melania is certainly (intentionally) tone deaf, isn't she?

Yes, I wonder if we'll ever find out what goes through her head. From the obvious repulsion she expressed early on to the 'I don't care' thing and all of this 'Be Best' nonsense ...

I'm right there with you with regard to that particular vision, Across.

A trial run involving Jr. and Kushner would be good as a warm up.

Sorry, lion. They have to let him go if they are to avoid.........trouble.

Don Jr. has been making some 2020 presidential bid murmurings I the last week or so. I haven’t posted about it as he is so odious and that would make it more true IYSWIM.

Anyway ... things aren’t looking good in the Ukraine. Expect conflict to break out in coming weeks, given the below. Arresting the figurehead of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church is a highly politically and militarily motivated act, designed to demotivate The Ukrainian people.

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
@RFERL
Russian security officials have detained the head of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church in the Russia-annexed Crimean Peninsula. (link: ow.ly/gv5O30nU3ka) ow.ly/gv5O30nU3ka

Blow.

A good leader doesn’t refer to the experts in the organisation as “his generals”, as they are not his. They are employed by the organisation - in this case, the United States military. An excellent leader listens to the advice of experts, as that is what they are employed to give. A poor leader is one that attempts to wear many hats and fails at them all.

‘“My generals don’t understand business,” Trump reportedly complained after national security briefings, a former administration official told the Times.‘

thehill.com/homenews/administration/432397-trump-complains-my-generals-dont-understand-business-report

The neo-Nazi plot against America is much bigger than we realize
www.theguardian.com/world/2019/mar/02/christopher-hasson-coast-guard-neo-nazi-far-right

In the early summer of 2017, US coast guard lieutenant Christopher Hasson had an idea. He had been trying to figure out an effective way of killing billions of people – “almost every last person on Earth”
[...]
His tentative plans, outlined mostly in emails to himself, were thwarted when he was arrested last month on firearms and drugs charges and investigators discovered his inner life as a neo-Nazi and his plans for mass murder – along with a huge cache of weapons and a hit list of prominent Democrats and media figures.

What is clear, however, is that Hasson was inspired by others who came before him, and that he is likely very far from alone.

Hasson is the product of both established traditions within white supremacist circles as well as new developments.
[...]
“It’s clearly gathering steam,” said JM Berger, an expert on extremism and research scholar at Vox-Pol. “Success breeds success, and we’re seeing people operationalize the self-education process. People are beginning to understand that they can emulate the actions of someone who went before them to work out whatever they want to work out.”

According to documents filed in the investigation of Hasson, he was not only inspired by terrorists who came before him – he is deeply influenced by Norwegian mass-murderer Anders Behring Breivik – but also driven by a loathing for what he perceives as Trump’s enemies as well as a paranoid fear that Trump will be removed from power.

This certainty that evil forces are working against Trump has become prevalent within the far right, breeding conspiracies such as QAnon, which posits Trump is fighting a “deep state” conspiracy that seeks to thwart his patriotic agenda. As such, Trump plays a dual role within the world of rightwing violence: while a “sympathetic” administration can spur a rise in violence, the perceived persecution of Trump – in large part an image created by the president himself – can fuel the paranoid and violent fantasies of people like Hasson.

Both ideas can breed violence, especially if Trump is defeated in the 2020 elections.

This is just one of the tweets Trump has sent in the last three hours on various topics. In this one, he attempts to blame the failure of the Vietnam summit on the Cohen hearings.

Donald J. Trump @realDonaldTrump
3h3 hours ago
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For the Democrats to interview in open hearings a convicted liar & fraudster, at the same time as the very important Nuclear Summit with North Korea, is perhaps a new low in American politics and may have contributed to the “walk.” Never done when a president is overseas. Shame!