Mega-Thread: Trump Focused Discussion

[Strangewayes]

Divide by zero error. He probably won't get impeached, but they're already finding things and his approval ratings are scooting along the ocean floor. It seems vanishingly unlikely that the Democrats will field someone bad enough to lose to him.

If it happens, though, then I won't be mad. I'll be disappointed that America's so stupid as to have not seen through his constant lies, swindling and racism over a four year period.

Hmmm I recall people saying eerily similar things in 2016. I guess we will have to wait and see

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Not going to argue if the screenshot is bullshit or not (it is)

*eyeroll*

You need everything spoonfed to you?

http://thegossiplife.wixsite.com/the...illary-Clinton

[JohnBrown1917]

seriously.. if you want to destroy hillary's image, at least try to be truthful instead of hilarious

In would call her a hyper-capitalist cunt... but Trumpers don't see that as criticism.. I wonder why

[Bullettime]

Finally some reports on why Tillerson called him a moron. Apparently Trump wanted a tenfold increase to the US's nuclear stockpile.

[Breccia]

It's not just the shit show. It's the shit show, sweeps month.

So Trump continues to feud with the NFL for no reason at all, "sacrificing" his own VP to do so, challenges Corker to an IQ test ("What He Meant Was" squad not in time to stop Mensa from calling Trump's bluff), Trump attacks NBC and threatens their license after they run a true story about Trump wanting more nukes, core GOP members like Gingrich attack Bannon for trying to rip the party in half while Bannon runs stories like this one, Puerto Rico still doesn't have water, Iran is still complying with the Nuclear Deal, North Korea continues to taunt Trump damn near daily, GOP poll numbers are in a free fall and Trump's back down to 37.4% down 2% in two weeks.

Trump is running out of friends. And Kelly could be next.

Vanity Fair: Trump relationship with chief of staff could be ‘irreparable’

President Trump's relationship with chief of staff John Kelly could be "irreparable," according to new report in Vanity Fair.

Trump has reportedly become frustrated with his chief of staff, four Republicans close to the White House told the publication.

“They’re fighting a lot,” one source said.

One person close to Kelly said: “He doesn’t love this job. He’s doing it as a duty for the country."

Trump has repeatedly praised Kelly.

This past weekend, Trump predicted Kelly would hold his post for his "seven remaining years" in office.

He told reporters at the White House that Kelly is "one of the best people" he's ever worked with.

"He's doing an incredible job," Trump said.

"And he told me for the last two months, he loves it more than anything he's ever done. He's a military man, but he loves doing this, which is chief of staff, more than anything he's ever done."

"He's doing a great job. He will be here — in my opinion — for the entire seven remaining years," he added.

Kelly assumed the role of chief of staff over the summer after former chief of staff Reince Priebus resigned in July.

Kelly has sought to instill discipline in the White House, and there have been fewer leaks in the months since his takeover.

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Finally some reports on why Tillerson called him a moron. Apparently Trump wanted a tenfold increase to the US's nuclear stockpile.

As briefly mentioned, Trump claims this is a lie and is threatening NBC's license.

Problem is, he can provide no proof, and therefore, would lose every possible lawsuit. In addition, based on Trump's comments about "the nuclear", both officially and unofficially, the story is very likely true, and even if it wasn't, NBC has more credibility and honesty than Trump, so they'd still win a face-off.

Trump spent too much time lying to win this one.

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So who will get fired next episode? Tillerson or Kelly?

Trump doesn't have the balls to fire Kelly. Kelly will walk before Trump fires him.

And as @Skroe has made it clear, that's going to cost him dearly.

Tillerson is the safer bet between those two, but I'm still "voting" for Sessions. Nothing about international relations is going correctly, and Trump doesn't understand this is somehow his fault.

[tyrlaan]

You know exactly what I said. Insulting a person based on skin coloration is at it's core racist and bigotted. You'd never admit that however.

<snipping out the insane stuff>

There's a kernel of legitimacy here but you are presenting it in an absurd way.

Fundamentally, insulting someone because of their appearance is bullshit and should not happen. Calling Trump an orange cheeto is no better than mocking someone over their weight or height or whatever. People should be judged on their merits, not their appearance. In the case of Trump, clearly he gives us PLENTY to take issue with without having to resort to insulting his physical appearance.

On the other hand, mocking Trump over his skin color isn't racist because it doesn't resemble a race and it's not an attempt to lump him into some racist stereotype. So yeah, it's crap and we could do better than insult his appearance, but racist isn't the right label here.

<assorted Hillary BS posts>

So basically we can assume you can't explain why you support Trump so instead you are following the standard "but her emails" playbook and railing against Clinton. You're wasting everyone's time.

[Breccia]

Fundamentally, insulting someone because of their appearance is bullshit and should not happen.

Maybe, but once Trump specifically says during an interview that one of his opponents is too ugly to be voted for, and of course "stamina", then all bets are off.

If Trump is willing to open that door, he should be prepared to deal whatever walks through it. Sorry. I don't make the rules. Until then, I will continue to point out how he was the only world leader who needed a gold cart to climb a small hill, every chance I get.

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Also forgot to mention: Trump is taunting China and North Korea with flybys. Because Trump is acting like a toddler.

[Enthusiastic Steward]

Maybe, but once Trump specifically says during an interview that one of his opponents is too ugly to be voted for, and of course "stamina", then all bets are off.

Not to mention during the campaign when accused of sexual assault his response was that one of his accusers wasn't attractive enough for him to assault anyway. If you're going to tout that shit at a campaign rally (or defend someone who does) then you don't get to pretend that someone saying "Your fake tan looks bad" is somehow the height of indignation (let alone somehow racist).

[Breccia]

Trump expected to say his tax plan will save the average American family $4,000, nearly six times what public reports have said, in an upcoming speech.

He specifically called out the new lower rate -- that's $760 -- and the repatriotization of money from overseas, and returned future earnings. Neither affect the average American. Especially not the truck drivers he's expected to focus on.

The White House could not explain the number. Probably because it's fiction. Just like his Pants On Fire claim that removing the estate tax would help millions of small businesses.

[Paranoid Android]

Finally some reports on why Tillerson called him a moron. Apparently Trump wanted a tenfold increase to the US's nuclear stockpile.

Yeah. Wow! This is in the "Trump Shit show" thread. I mean any other President this is serious. I can't believe this guy is president.

[Breccia]

Not to mention during the campaign when accused of sexual assault his response was that one of his accusers wasn't attractive enough for him to assault anyway. If you're going to tout that shit at a campaign rally (or defend someone who does) then you don't get to pretend that someone saying "Your fake tan looks bad" is somehow the height of indignation (let alone somehow racist).

Twitler's rabid fanbase have no choice. They are forced to resort to lying and hypocrisy to defend Trump. Trump's proven words and actions have left them with no other options. They are going from desperate to panicked, that they might have backed someone who was not only as dishonest as everyone proved he was, just as incompetent as everyone proved he was, but now also just as much as a failure as everyone said he would be. There is nothing coming out of the White House but bad news. No tax plan. No infrastructure. Trump couldn't even repeal DACA correctly. And now, the GOP is taking a swing at the NRA. That's why we're seeing things like "oh yeah? well...it took a few days for Clinton, who is not running for anything and has no public seat, to say something about another person! It's the same moral outrage when Trump defended American Nazis and the KKK!" That's why we're seeing "Oh yeah? Well, the NFL should fire anyone who shows our flag the same disrespect as the people marching in Charlottesville did!" That's why you're seeing "Oh yeah? Well, at least Trump will renegotiate NAFTA! Any day now! Aaaaaaaaaaaany day now! You'll see! I'm not a loser! I'm not a loser!" before they collapse, crying, into their single scoop of ice cream.

If it wasn't self-inflicted, I'd feel pity for them.

[Paranoid Android]

Trump expected to say his tax plan will save the average American family $4,000, nearly six times what public reports have said, in an upcoming speech.

He specifically called out the new lower rate -- that's $760 -- and the repatriotization of money from overseas, and returned future earnings. Neither affect the average American. Especially not the truck drivers he's expected to focus on.

The White House could not explain the number. Probably because it's fiction. Just like his Pants On Fire claim that removing the estate tax would help millions of small businesses.

This piece of bleep casual rattled off that US has one of the highest tax rate in the world. I mean this is a simple fact check. But hey, Trumpkins probably believe it.

[Strangewayes]

If it wasn't self-inflicted, I'd feel pity for them.

Don't worry, maybe if you stick your gameplan of calling Trump supporters idiots it will work next election, since it worked so well last time. Just keep at it, maybe after 4 more years of Trump, maybe then you will learn calling people morons, racists or nazis will not help bring people on side.

[tyrlaan]

Maybe, but once Trump specifically says during an interview that one of his opponents is too ugly to be voted for, and of course "stamina", then all bets are off.

If Trump is willing to open that door, he should be prepared to deal whatever walks through it. Sorry. I don't make the rules. Until then, I will continue to point out how he was the only world leader who needed a gold cart to climb a small hill, every chance I get.

Not to mention during the campaign when accused of sexual assault his response was that one of his accusers wasn't attractive enough for him to assault anyway. If you're going to tout that shit at a campaign rally (or defend someone who does) then you don't get to pretend that someone saying "Your fake tan looks bad" is somehow the height of indignation (let alone somehow racist).

Oh I get that Trump is not some innocent or anything, don't get me wrong. I don't see that as justification to let me off the hook for appearance shaming him though (it's just more reasons to call out why he's incredibly unfit for office and arguably unfit for humaning). But that's me. You do you, and all that

Don't worry, maybe if you stick your gameplan of calling Trump supporters idiots it will work next election, since it worked so well last time. Just keep at it, maybe after 4 more years of Trump, maybe then you will learn calling people morons, racists or nazis will not help bring people on side.

So then you want to stick with the Trumpist gameplan of calling other people snowflakes because they can't handle labels etc but then get all bothered when people throw labels etc your way?

Also, by this admission, you consider it sound voting strategy to pick your candidate based on what insulting words other people call you. That seems wise.

[Dead Moose Fandango]

I suppose calling him an orange cheeto isn't so true anymore. If only because Trump has apparently has a professional doing his make-up and such now. Rumor is before, when he really looked terrible, Trump was doing all of it himself, especially the spray-on tan. Hence why it looked so awful.

[Jeezy911]

Ahahahahahah!

It was so worth making him president.

I agree, our president is literally the greatest shitposter on the planet.

[Breccia]

I don't see that as justification to let me off the hook for appearance shaming him though (it's just more reasons to call out why he's incredibly unfit for office and arguably unfit for humaning).

Not to worry. A lot of us can/will do both. For example, Paul Ryan tells fat orange cheeto Trump to talk out his issues with Corker privately, because it's doing nothing but hurt the GOP to continue this stupid childish tantrum.

[Enthusiastic Steward]

Oh I get that Trump is not some innocent or anything, don't get me wrong. I don't see that as justification to let me off the hook for appearance shaming him though (it's just more reasons to call out why he's incredibly unfit for office and arguably unfit for humaning). But that's me. You do you, and all that

Well I don't, I consider it petty and pointless given his other much more pertinent topics warranting criticism. I'm mostly just saying that given how often he digs into that sort of juvenile mud slinging there isn't much in the way of a legitimate defense against the same being levied at him. "I can say this person is ugly because I say so, you can't say I'm ugly because its inappropriate childish insults" isn't a resounding argument.

[DarkTZeratul]

I agree, our president is literally the greatest shitposter on the planet.

That isn't a good thing.

[JohnBrown1917]

That isn't a good thing.

It is to them.

[Breccia]

It is to them.

It's all they have left. And North Korea is still better than Trump is.

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Kellyanne Conway, desperate to prove to the media that she still exists and is relevant, tried to defend Trump by saying she never used the term "fake news".

Naturally, it took 60 seconds to find multiple such examples on her Twitter feed alone.

She's also upset that no President has been covered the way Trump has. Which, heh, is not the helpful defense she thinks it is.

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From Trump's good friends at NBC:

Trump’s Estrangement From the GOP One Republican at a Time

In the ongoing war between President Donald Trump and Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., both sides have been bloodied — and the president's relationship with the establishment GOP has deteriorated further.

There also may be no immediate relief from the political carnage for the many Republicans who are averting their eyes and hoping Trump's attacks don't upend his agenda, or theirs.

That's because neither man has an incentive to back down. Corker is freed from the constraint of needing the president's political support after having announced that he won't seek re-election, and there's a certain logic behind Trump's itchy Twitter finger, which tapped out the mocking sobriquet "Liddle' Bob Corker" Tuesday morning.

"The president is channeling the views of a lot of conservatives who still feel burned by the Iran nuclear deal and who feel that (Corker) is a bit of a chickenhawk when it comes to conservative issues," said Matt Schlapp, the chairman of the American Conservative Union and a Trump ally.

"He clearly is demonstrating that his party does not dominate his judgment on everything, so he’s OK with going after these Republicans who are unreliable on key issues," Schlapp added. "He tends to pick targets that have been bothering Republicans for a long period of time."

The tiff with Corker is a classic Trump fight — public, brash and with a member of his own party. But it's one that some Republicans see as particularly dangerous, given Corker's centrality to the GOP’s hopes of getting anything big done in Congress by the end of the year and the dwindling patience of Corker's colleagues.

"I don’t think anyone wins," said Christian Ferry, founder of the Trailblazer Group and manager of Sen. Lindsey Graham's 2016 presidential campaign. "It just continues us on the path of complete dysfunction."

Sarah Huckabee Sanders, the White House press secretary, continued the dispute Tuesday afternoon, framing Corker as an architect of the Iran nuclear deal that Trump has trashed and advising the senator to "stop taking vacations." A spokesperson for Corker disputed he was responsible for the Iran deal and the senator’s chief of staff stepped out from behind the scenes to try to set the record straight on Twitter.

Corker was actually one of Trump’s closer allies in the Senate

Not anymore, motherfuckers!

and reportedly put on short-lists for both the vice presidency and secretary of state. During the campaign, he reliably defended Trump from what he called the "fecklessness and ineptness of the Washington establishment."

Corker, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, certainly has more friends in the GOP cloakroom than Trump. And the president's picking yet another fight with yet another GOP senator is unlikely to shore up the party's narrow two-seat majority in the Senate.

So their falling out is another sign of Trump’s isolation from his own party in Washington. That’s lamentable, perhaps, for the GOP policy agenda, but it’s a comfortable political position for an outsider who has to find a way to run against a capital city he and his party now control.

That's the strategy employed by former Trump chief strategist Steve Bannon, who is trying to recruit primary challengers to sitting GOP lawmakers. In an interview with Sean Hannity on Fox News, Bannon said Corker should "resign immediately" and take the rest of the "establishment globalist clique on Capitol Hill" with him.

It's getting crowded in Trump’s Twitter doghouse.

Among Senate Republicans, there’s Majority Leader Mitch McConnell ("he failed!") and Rand Paul ("such a negative force"), both of Kentucky; Jeff Flake ("He's toxic!") and John McCain ("Let Arizona down!"), both of Arizona; and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska ("really let the Republicans, and our country, down").

The president has gone after so many fellow Republicans that he’s started re-using epithets. “Little” was his dig at Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida, but he told The New York Times that the proper spelling was, "L-I-D-D-L-E. Liddle, Liddle, Liddle Marco," which he has now been repurposed for Corker.

But even some Democrats, who often cheer on Republican infighting, are cringing at this latest mess.

"It’s really unfortunate that the president has chosen to blast him in a series of tweets that were both distracting and disrespectful," Sen. Chris Coon of Delaware, a member of the Foreign Relations Committee, said on a conference call Tuesday, referring to Corker.

Tom Griscom, a Chattanooga-based Republican strategist, said Trump's manner of trying to influence lawmakers — often going after them personally, and not sparing those in his own party — comes with risks.

"This is his way of thinking that he can impact policy and move people in a certain direction, and this is his way of doing it," Griscom said. "Does this really help us in formulating public policy and building reassurance for the things that are important for America, not just here but around the world?"

The tensions, lawmakers and outsiders agree, are unlikely to restore any sense of order as Congress prepares to again debate the Iran nuclear agreement and deal with ongoing threats from Iran, Russia and North Korea.

"It doesn't really matter what he says about Corker, and it doesn't really matter what Corker says about him," Graham told MSNBC on Tuesday. "I don’t think it’s good. I don’t think it is healthy."

Bolded for second thoughts.