Trump gets gagged, McCarthy gets booted. What's next in Trumpworld?

[AcrossthePond55]

Roll up, roll up for the GOP Mystery Tour!! Trump thread lost-the-count!!!

Trump (in a recent post) wrote "I defeated ISIS, Rebuilt our Military, and brought our soldiers back home."

Where did he bring our soldiers home from? The troops from Syria were re-deployed to Iraq immediately; where else? Because it does look a bit as if he is admitting that he was the one who was responsible for the disastrous pull-out from Afghanistan.

Other than that he seems not to have reduced US commitments abroad: https://www.foreignaffairs.com/united-states/trump-didnt-shrink-us-military-commitments-abroad-he-expanded-them And that one example, he left lying around for someone else to have to do.

Zelensky to Trump on C4 news today

Donald Trump, I invite you to Ukraine, to Kyiv. If you can stop the war in 24 hours it will be enough to come.. I mean, who knows. Maybe Donald Trump really has an idea to stop the war"

DeSantis is ending his presidential campaign, which leaves Nikki Hayley as the only major challenger to Trump in the Republican New Hampshire primary.

I've started to appreciate nikki hayley.

but she will come up against 'anyone but a woman' which sadly is still a thing.

What a lot of money has been wasted on his campaign! But he wouldn't have spent it on anything worth having if he hadn't frittered it like that, I suppose.

I think De Santis has actually been 'prepping' for 2028. And that Trump has just cinched the nom. GOP isn't going to nominate a woman.

What's happening with the Immunity issue with the DC appeal court? The media consensus expected a fairly quick decision, it's been nearly 2 weeks.

Well, we're waiting for it. It may be this week.

I hope it comes soon. I see Trump has moved beyond what he lawyers argued and is now claiming that Presidents should have immunity even if they "cross the line" and commit crimes.
I'm surprised that Trump even recognises that there is a Line

I hope it comes soon, too. But if they rule against Trump, it'll be appealed to SCOTUS anyway.

Not necessarily. If they write it up carefully (making sure they're all in unison) and their reasoning is sound, the Court may well decline to hear it.

Or SCOTUS may hear it and decide that long-term for their own benefit, the law is more important than he is.

@AskingQuestionsAllTheTime

I'm sure the appeals court will write up an 'airtight' decision. But Doofus will still appeal to stall the trial as the trial can't start until SCOTUS decides whether or not they'll hear the case and/or rules on the issues. All things considered, I think they'll agree to hear it in order to stall the trial even longer. I have no faith whatsoever in the ethics of Thomas or any of the Trump appointees.

Doofus wants the trial(s) stalled until after the election so there will be no convictions prior to Election Day. And if he wins (God Forbid*) he can preemptively pardon himself from all federal charges. I know that a sitting POTUS can't be tried on federal charges anyway, but I don't know if that applies to a State case (GA).

*did the spin around 3 times, spit on the ground and stomp on it thingy.

I was a little surprised Nikki Haley did so well in the New Hampshire primary. But my interpretation of “well” might not be sound.

What's so annoying is the the covid "excuse" allowed Trump to not testify (e jean carroll case) before the primary without actually refusing to testify.

Trump's "testimony" would just have been a political rant until the judge shut him down, and the shutting him down would have given him the excuse to tell his base all over again how victimised he is.

I'm slightly amused by his hailing 54% as if it were 74% and a massive landslide. It really isn't. And more and more people who voted for Nikki Haley (and others, in Iowa) seem to be saying out loud that if Trump gets the nomination, they won't be voting for him; that is probably good news for the Democrats.

I greatly hope Haley wins nomination.
Biden has said he won't run if Trump isn't nominee.
We could have a whole 'other soap opera about who becomes Dem candidate, if Haley wins.

oooh I like this

It would be nice, but unfortunately there’s no one effective running against Biden in the Democratic primary, so who would the nominee be and who would choose them? It’s rather late at this stage to have input from the American people.

Personally I don’t want someone rammed down my throat, I’d like some options.

Trump’s original message was that he was the outsider, the maverick, scourge of the elites. Now he’s the darling of the GOP, an ex-President, very much of the elite. Haley, like her or not, is the epitome of the ballsy lady who won’t back down, an enduring Hollywood trope recognisable to many. This might play in her favour, especially as she’s hard right wing enough to please most right wing Republicans.
I understand why Biden will run if Trump does. Any younger Democrat standing against him would probably be ruined by the experience, win or lose, because Trump poisons everything he touches.

Can you give a source (recent) for this?

Trump's testimony today was about three minutes long.

He's spent longer on a single rambling sentence during his rallies!

I probably heard it on a podcast, but here is a source that softens the situation:

https://www.reuters.com/world/us/biden-not-sure-he-would-seek-re-election-if-trump-was-not-2023-12-05/

Fascinating dive into demographics.

Yes, that is a bit 'softer'. I can understand Joe's position, I don't think he really felt the 'drive' to become POTUS. If he had, he'd have run in 2016. He didn't declare for 2020 until it became clear that a 2nd Trump term was a possibility and that there was no viable Dem candidate on the horizon. He termed it a 'battle for the soul of the country. IIRC he even said he thought he'd probably be a 'one term POTUS'. I think he thought that by now there would be a 'rising star' in the Dem Party to take his place.