Mega-Thread: Trump Focused Discussion

[Nellise]

Trump suspends travel from Brazil as coronavirus pandemic worsens in South America

I'm so happy that Trump is being proactive and keeping that deadly disease from reaching the US. Now let me go close that barn door.

[Odinfrost]

Trump suspends travel from Brazil as coronavirus pandemic worsens in South America

I'm so happy that Trump is being proactive and keeping that deadly disease from reaching the US. Now let me go close that barn door.

Wait... Haven't Trump repeatedly stated that he has closed all travel to the US, or invoked a travel ban or something? Why was Brazil exempt from this until now? Are there other countries whom haven't had a travel ban evoked on them, despite the words of the President?

[Beefhammer]

Wait... Haven't Trump repeatedly stated that he has closed all travel to the US, or invoked a travel ban or something? Why was Brazil exempt from this until now? Are there other countries whom haven't had a travel ban evoked on them, despite the words of the President?

Nothing but lies and BS from him. I'm still waiting for one of his cucks to come defend Trump performing voter fraud while voting in FL. He was barred from using Mar-a-lago as his residence due to tax breaks he received. But yet used Mar-a-lago as his residence when he voted in 2018. That by definition is voter fraud. But it seems his fellators are more worried about black and brown people voting illegally even though there is no evidence to support such claims.

[Zaydin]

This is your reminder that the GOP is terrified by the idea of people voting, with the RNC and other GOP entities suing California to stop them from mailing absentee ballots to all registered voters in the state.

Remember people, the Republican party doesn't want you voting so the best way to spite them is to make sure you vote.

[Benggaul]

99,300 dead, 617 on the 24th (GMT). Today and tomorrow are the two days that are usually very underreported, but even so this is the lowest the total has been since the end of March. An encouraging sign.

This won't stop us from hitting 100k tomorrow (or Tuesday at the latest), but the numbers from the past couple weeks are strong indicators that it's slowing winding down--at least in most of the areas that were hit first. The flareups in the South and Midwest will likely keep the numbers higher than they would have been under more competent leadership.

One outlier today was Illinois; they reported over 2.5k new cases, which is higher than usually report on a "normal" day. Increased testing accounts for higher numbers coming out of there usually, but for the number to be that high on a Sunday doesn't bode well, particularly when the death total is 1/2 to 1/3 of their usual. Either new cases were reported accurately while deaths weren't or there were a LOT more cases than normal and even the underreporting doesn't make it go away.

Fuck Florida.

Nationwide new cases is about the same it was the previous Sunday and ACTIVE cases, which had another one-day dip a few days ago, continues to climb--again most likely due to increased testing and the outbreaks in the South and Midwest combined.

While the Resident is out golfing and Tweeting conspiracy theories, Americans are going to be having a pretty grim Memorial Day. Just another day in this TRUMP SHITSHOW.

Stay safe, folks.

[Gestopft]

Hey @Breccia

I remember the weekly(?) roundups you did- aren't you glad you stopped?

That said, I think we will all need to know what sources to go to that are keeping tabs on the constant insanity. Because with Orange Moron, it just doesn't stop.

But it seems his fellators are more worried about black and brown people voting

Could've stopped right there, really.

[Breccia]

I remember the weekly(?) roundups you did- aren't you glad you stopped?

Ah, back in the day when I linked like 10 articles a week.Good times...good times...the governor of Michigan (MQ) says she censors herself with regard to Trump because she's afraid he'll cut aid to her state because of a policy disagreement or criticism. Yep, an actual elected official actually said in public she thought Trump would cut federal aid during a lethal outbreak, made more lethal by armed protesters Trump supported, because Trump's widdle feewings would be hurt.

Back in the day, I would have spent a few moments trying to decide if that was the second or first worst thing Trump did that week. Now? It's something I scrolled through on my feed to get to the number of people Trump murdered today while golfing.

The thread hasn't ended, it's just got a new name. Kind of like it's not the Republican Party anymore, it's the Party of Trump.

No, really. Kushner's trying to change it personally. And to drive the point home:

The president's son-in-law and top adviser has told confidants he wants to shrink the GOP's extensive platform of policy beliefs and principles down to a single card that fits in people's pockets. That's a huge change. The 2016 platform runs 58 pages — the product of extensive debate and heated negotiations.

Kushner is making a drive to change the Republican Party's goals and ideals cut down to fit on a single tweet. I would say "congratulations Republicans, you got what you wanted" but there aren't any Republicans, not anymore. They're in the Part of Trump now. Because this is what they asked for. This is what they chose, what they voted for, what they applauded, and what they defend...well, try to defend. So now, they're the Party of Trump.

Call it what you want, it's still reality TV entertainment packaged as leadership and smelling like downwind of Amish country in planting season. The Shitshow goes on.

[Twdft]

he wants to shrink the GOP's extensive platform of policy beliefs and principles down to a single card that fits in people's pockets

Is he saying the quiet thing out loud again? There is no policy, just beliefs

[Beefhammer]

Hey @Breccia

I remember the weekly(?) roundups you did- aren't you glad you stopped?

That said, I think we will all need to know what sources to go to that are keeping tabs on the constant insanity. Because with Orange Moron, it just doesn't stop.



Could've stopped right there, really.

Yeah, but pointing out the hypocrisy of Trump supporters and how the president is involved in the illegalities he projects onto drms is something that needs to be addressed.

[draynay]

Kushner is making a drive to change the Republican Party's goals and ideals cut down to fit on a single tweet. I would say "congratulations Republicans, you got what you wanted" but there aren't any Republicans, not anymore. They're in the Part of Trump now. Because this is what they asked for. This is what they chose, what they voted for, what they applauded, and what they defend...well, try to defend. So now, they're the Party of Trump.

Maybe just shorten it all to a slogan or two, like "MAGA" or "Blood and Soil".

[Poopymonster]

Maybe just shorten it all to a slogan or two, like "MAGA" or "Blood and Soil".

"Fuck the poor", it's got an old timey feel combined with their modern sensibilities.

[Milchshake]

Credit to illustrator MArk Dolk

Really captures the zeitgeist. The morbidly obese Grim Reaper for our Gilded Age 2.0

[Breccia]

Double whammy this morning, as Trump finds two important groups -- the Pentagon and North Carolina -- are taking steps to protect their own people, even if it goes against Trump's tweeted demands.

The Pentagon, for example, is being careful with its troop movements and ships at sea. They also sent around a memo detailing how they'd handle coronavirus-related actions next year, which of course, flies in the face of Trump's messaging about it being killed by the warm weather and vanishing like a miracle and also it'll be cured by Duke Hydraxis. But it's the lesser of the two stories.

NC got the worst of it, as measured in Trump tweets (four). There's a Republican convention scheduled to be there in August, and Trump is threatening to move it somewhere else if social distancing rules aren't lifted. Incidentally, you'd think he'd be used to empty seats by now. Anyhow, I won't quote Trump's tweets when I can link the response:

State health officials are working with the RNC and will review its plans as they make decisions about how to hold the convention in Charlotte. North Carolina is relying on data and science to protect our state's public health and safety

Trump also spent four tweets saying "Well so what if I went golfing? Obama went golfing too and nobody talked about that! Obama Obama Obama" Which is a blatant lie, of course, but at this point who's counting?

Oh, right. WaPo is.

Anyhow, Trump sure sent a lot of tweet threads today. Between that, and spending the last two days golfing (hence the need to defend himself) it sure sounds like he has a lot of free time, doesn't it?

- - - Updated - - -

Oh, and Trump scores a partial victory: Politifact gave him a Mostly True.

Specifically, Trump said farm income is up 50% since he took office. And that's correct.

Of course, Trump failed to mention the "large majority" of that income was, yes, socialist bailouts. And that's not even COVID-19 relief, it's the trade war we're talking about. Based on the figures we've seen so far, 2020 could be a year in which literally the majority of money made by farmers was handed to them by the federal government. Except for those that went bankrupt, of course, Farm bankruptcies rose 23% in the last 12 months and are predicted to rise further still. The trade war wasn't good to farmers -- and the broken supply chain of Trump's lethal virus outbreak just made things far worse.

But hey, what he said was technically true. Can't wait for him to try that in the debates.

- - - Updated - - -

Acting Director of National Intelligence Richard Grenell is fully on board the MAGA train.

(six weeks later)

Acting Director of National Intelligence Richard Grenell is leaving the White House. Will be replaced as acting DNI by Ratcliffe (as in "what will Team Trump fall off of in November?") and as ambassador to Germany, yes he was both this is Team Trump we're talking about, by an empty chair.

"We'll be sad to see him go," said an estimated 0.7 Germans. "He was combative, adversarial, and disrespectful -- truly nobody better portrayed Donald Trump's message of diplomacy more accurately than he. Incidentally, we have under 9,000 deaths, a disproportionately low death rate, and universal health care, how's it going over there? We're all concerned we won't be getting that (snicker) American beer that's so famous around the world."

[Redwyrm]

Anyhow, Trump sure sent a lot of tweet threads today. Between that, and spending the last two days golfing (hence the need to defend himself) it sure sounds like he has a lot of free time, doesn't it?

In a related story (fabrication)

https://crooksandliars.com/2020/05/n...r-claims-trump

National Security Adviser Claims Trump Is Working '18 Hours A Day' While Taking Hydroxychloroquine

"I think the president is under great medical care," O'Brien said. "And I think he's doing the right thing that he and his physician believe is good for the president."

"I'm not concerned about his health," he added. "The guy has got more energy than anyone I've ever seen. He works 16, 18 hours a day. So I don't see any change in his strong performance as a result of whatever health regimen he's under."

[Jotaux]

In a related story (fabrication)

https://crooksandliars.com/2020/05/n...r-claims-trump

National Security Adviser Claims Trump Is Working '18 Hours A Day' While Taking Hydroxychloroquine

It's just hilarious how similar this is to North Korea. Kim Jong Un is the picture of perfect health! I wonder how long before Trump claims he doesn't poop.

[Lenonis]

In a related story (fabrication)

Naw, it's not a fabrication but rather a reclassification of tweeting conspiracy theories and personal attacks as "working."

[Breccia]

Trump's SBA says it is becoming "more transparent, participatory and collaborative through open government" as it handles the PPP loans.

"Oh, so, they've given a list of businesses that got loans?"

Fuck, no.

"Aren't they required by law to do so?"

Yes, but they just...haven't. They honestly said

At this time, the agency is focusing its efforts on assisting small businesses during this unprecedented disruption to the economy. The agency recognizes the need to balance the interests of transparency with the privacy and confidentiality issues release of loan information raises

So they're either too busy, or too concerned with privacy, to say which companies have gotten billions of taxpayer dollars.

"Weren't they already caught multiple times giving money to large businesses?"

Yes.

The loans made to big deep-pocketed companies in the Paycheck Protection Program meant that less money was available for smaller businesses that dot the Main Streets of America. Publicly shamed, the big corporations, including national restaurant chains Shake Shack, Ruth's Chris Steakhouse and Potbelly Sandwich Shop, said they would return their loans.

It was news reports of big companies receiving loans that sparked the public outcry. CBS News, the Associated Press and other news organizations combed through voluminous filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission to unearth public companies that had received PPP loans. The SBA did not make the information public.

That may be surprising because, until now, the SBA has regularly released information on businesses that have borrowed under its main lending program, the so-called 7(a) program.

In fact, the loan application for the Paycheck Protection Program includes this notice to potential borrowers: Under the Freedom of Information Act and with certain exceptions, the SBA "must supply information reflected in agency files and records to a person requesting it."

Several news organizations, including the Washington Post and the New York Times, have sued the SBA in federal court over its not having released the loan data despite several FOIA requests. They accuse the agency of violating the FOIA law. The SBA has declined to comment on the lawsuit.

The SBA says they'll release the information eventually. They're just choosing not to. Which is illegal.

"So, for all we know it's going to big companies. I hope when they're caught, they're prosecuted."

Nope.

Amid the public outcry, Mnuchin recently threatened criminal prosecution and warned companies they must return the money if they falsely certified that they needed federal aid to operate and couldn't get it elsewhere. But last week, SBA issued revised guidance indicating that criminal action won't be pursued if companies found to have falsely certified their needs return the money.

This is along the same lines as "it's okay to ask Russia to attack the election as long as they don't change voting machine results". Under normal circumstances, filing false federal documents is a felony. This one.

"Was there anything else in the article you found especially ironic?"

Our swift action supported or saved 30 million American jobs at least

-- Trump, last month

Trump continues to cite hypotheticals, because real data shows he's a lying loser. Truly he is the best bestiest best president in all the land of make believe.

"That's not ironic."

It is if you read this May 21 article.

Some furloughs at a Trump golf resort in South Florida are becoming permanent layoffs.

A notice that the Trump National Doral Miami filed with the State of Florida last week says it is permanently laying off 250 workers out of 560 employees who were furloughed in March.

The positions include cooks, housekeepers, servers, engineers, golf concierges and service attendants. None of them are union jobs.

Last month, President Donald Trump’s private Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida said it was temporarily laying off 153 workers because of the new coronavirus.

Credit where it's due, Trump couldn't use the PPP program. He is prohibited from doing so by law, as is Pence, every Senator, and every Representative. But Trump claims to be worth ten billion dollars. And he's choosing to fire people, rather than pay them.

[Kiri]

In a related story (fabrication)

https://crooksandliars.com/2020/05/n...r-claims-trump

National Security Adviser Claims Trump Is Working '18 Hours A Day' While Taking Hydroxychloroquine

Probably not fabrication. They just count him being awake as president as 'working'.
You know, because he defines his job as 'being president', as if him just existing already counts as something he should be paid for.

[Kheirn]

Probably not fabrication. They just count him being awake as president as 'working'.
You know, because he defines his job as 'being president', as if him just existing already counts as something he should be paid for.

To be fair, if you're the president you're basically working 24/7 for 4 years. It's not like you can go "Nope, I'm off the clock now." when there's a problem to handle. Doing actual work though, that's another matter. And I sincerely doubt he's actively working 18 hours a day.

[Xyonai]

Human capital stock. Doesn't that just make you feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

It's a real term btw:

Human Capital is the Stock of habits, knowledge, social and personality attributes (including creativity) embodied in the ability to perform labour so as to produce economic value.

Like I get it's a clinical term but it's one of those things that - without a semblance of tact - just ends up sounding entirely dehumanizing when talking about your work force? Especially when going back to work can put them in danger right now.