Mega-Thread: Trump Focused Discussion

[Paranoid Android]

Ivanka Trump's commencement speech canceled over backlash to President Trump's response to George Floyd's death

Why would you want her to do a commencement speech anyways. There has been many who we can give an example of who should not give a commencement speech. I mean this school, Wichita State University Tech, an affiliate of Wichita State University in Kansas; really needed a celeb.

Now to the good part. Ivanka was told to kick rocks yet in her being clueless, she gave a virtual speech to no one I guess? If you listen to a little bit she is such a drag. A spoiled brat. Again, no idea why you would have her in the first place.

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President Trump: "Washington politicians shipped away your jobs, outsourced your supply chains, and off-shored your industries. It's probably the number one reason I'm here today."


So we are back to this Trumpkins. Trump has his merchandise made overseas. Now you he say he is playing the game, not really. He could lead by example and bring his products back to the states. Cost more? Well, yeah that free market economics and if his products are so superior then people would pay extra. Basically he is a hypocrite.

Now in over 3 years what has Trump done to bring jobs back to the US?

[s_bushido]

Good news, everyone!

I guess better 150 years too late than never...

See? Vicious.

Is that author just now realizing that the GOP has turned that religion into a weapon? It's the bludgeon they break out whenever they want to demonstrate that they're on the wrong side of literally any social issue...so it shouldn't be all that surprising when it gets deployed for non-metaphorical violence as well.

[Breccia]

Is that author just now realizing that the GOP has turned that religion into a weapon?

I don't think so. I think he's pointing out that Trump has no other weapons left.

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Now in over 3 years what has Trump done to bring jobs back to the US?

Indeed. Once again, Trump can't run on his record. He ran on this promise. He gave it a shot -- the tax cut for the rich, and the trade war with China. It failed.

What's interesting is the "number one" comment. Sounds like he's looking through the massive dumpster fire of his tenure, and trying to find the one piece he thinks he can extinguish.

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DC doesn't have a governor, but it does have a mayor. She had a lot to say about the record-breaking crowds of protestors.

Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser said President Trump's rhetoric and the federal response to protests sparked by George Floyd's death led more peaceful protesters to turn out over the weekend.

Bowser told ABC’s Martha Raddatz on “This Week” that the coverage of federal law enforcement using tear gas and to disperse protesters outside of the White House last week prompted more people to attend what became the biggest demonstrations the city has seen in more than a week of protests on Saturday.

“What he actually did, as you saw, for the remaining days would turn out more people and more people who were there for peaceful protests,” she said, referring to Trump.

“People gathered at various locations and walked down to Black Lives Matter Plaza where you saw a lot of people coming together, healing, organizing, strategizing, and thinking about how to make real the frustrations that they brought with them to these demonstrations,” Bowser said.

Meanwhile, let's hear how the head of DHS described it.

I don't exist

Oh. Right. Let's hear how the acting head of DHS described it.

Over the last several days we’ve seen that violent protest and that violent looting and rioting diminish. It’s not by happenstance, it’s not by chance, it’s because we took early action. Can you imagine if we had not done anything, if we had not done anything, if we had not increased our police presence in the D.C. area and cities across the country? The rioting and looting would continue.

I don't think they can both be true at the same time. I'll let you decide what to believe on your own. I'm going out for coffee and eggs -- take out.

[Thepersona]

Good news, everyone!



I officially declare Reconstruction Phase 2 now in session.

Also, the K-Pop stan cyberattacks on conservative social media efforts continue. #KeepTexasRed is now classed as a K-Pop tag.

It seems that everything is blowing up to the conservatives. It would be glorious if there wasnt a fucking plague roaming around

[Captain N]

Isn't it amazing how so very easily the President of the United States is triggered?

I'm more amazed that so many lies can be fit into a single tweet.

[Nellise]

I'm more amazed that so many lies can be fit into a single tweet.

I still don't understand what he thinks he did with healthcare other than letting people buy really crappy insurance plans again.

[Nellise]

And he's still taking credit for Veterans' Choice that Obama got done.... 6 years ago.

He did actually sign an extension of that bill, so it is a little bit his too, it's the Veterans Choice Program Extension and Improvement Act, but he seems to not have remembered the extension and improvement parts of the name.

Actually, apparently that bill has been overridden and doesn't even exist now (link): "The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) launched its new and improved Veterans Community Care Program on June 6, 2019, implementing portions of the VA Maintaining Internal Systems and Strengthening Integrated Outside Networks Act of 2018 (MISSION Act), which both ends the Veterans Choice Program and establishes a new Veterans Community Care Program." So he did implement something but keeps calling it by the wrong name.

[Clone]

So the trump shitshow finally managed to build that wall.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/wh...ng/ar-BB158t5Y

Protesters arriving in the nation’s capital for the ninth consecutive day of demonstrations found the White House encircled by more than a mile of tall metal fencing.

The previous day, work crews had erected enough fencing — reinforced by white concrete barriers — to bar entry to Lafayette Square and to outline half of the Ellipse, the sloping green lawn that abuts the executive residence. But between Friday night and Saturday afternoon — on a day expected to draw tens of thousands to protest in the District — they added enough fencing to block the rest of the Ellipse.

Subscribe to the Post Most newsletter: Today’s most popular stories on The Washington Post

In total, Google Maps analysis suggests, roughly 1.7 miles of fencing now surrounds the White House, forming a gigantic metal cocoon. There are only two portions of the White House perimeter, on the northeast and northwest corners, that do not have additional fencing and concrete barriers.

Although fortifications increased, the federal presence diminished: Compared with previous days, far fewer police or military officers strolled the streets or stood watch inside the park. There were almost no police officers visible anywhere as of the early afternoon.

Instead, the streets belonged to strolling protesters, many of whom stopped to stare and take pictures of the fencing, muttering to each other, “That’s insane” and “I can’t believe they went to this length.” Several leaned in close, angling phone cameras between the chain links, to snap photos of graffiti left on the Treasury Department, before it was barricaded by tall metal.

“We need justice,” someone had sprayed in black. “We are unarmed,” read a message in red.

The security perimeter around the executive complex started to expand early this week after nighttime demonstrations in Lafayette Square turned violent last weekend. The eight-foot tall black chain-link fence first materialized outside the White House on Tuesday, barring demonstrators from the square.

The Washington Post’s Carol D. Leonnig reported earlier this week that President Trump was rushed to a secure bunker in the White House on Friday, June 1, after a group of protesters breached temporary fences set up near the Treasury Department.

At a news conference Thursday, D.C. Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D) said she’s concerned the extension of security barriers beyond the White House perimeter could become permanent.

“Keep in mind that’s the people’s house,” she said. “It’s a sad commentary that the [White] House and its inhabitants have to be walled off.”

The Secret Service told CNN on Thursday that the additional fencing will remain up until next Wednesday.

Jhonathan Campos, Keima Jenkins and Sharlene Ramos posed for a selfie at 2 p.m. Saturday with their backs against fencing placed just outside the Treasury Department. It was their first day out protesting, and they were midway through walking the perimeter of the Ellipse — they wanted to see how far the fencing went.

They took the selfie to document what they told themselves — signing to each other, because Jenkins and Campos are deaf — was an insane moment in American history. Then they kept walking.

Elsewhere, some demonstrators unfamiliar with the layout of the District decided to put the fencing to practical use.

“How do we get to the White House?” asked a woman, pausing in the middle of 17th Street NW to squint at her phone.

The man standing beside her snorted. “Simple,” he said. “Just follow the fence.”

[Benggaul]

I see Ben Carson has momentarily resurfaced to say some batshit crazy things before disappearing once again into obscurity. I'm convinced he tried to perform brain surgery on himself at some point and rolled a critical failure.

[Breccia]

Isn't it amazing how so very easily the President of the United States is triggered?

I was waiting for the Tower of Powell to get into the fray. Some of you have said that the top brass were talking amongst each other -- this seems like evidence you were right.

EDIT: U.S. Navy Adm. James Stavridis adds to the list -- a retired former NATO commander.

There are sufficient forces to do that, and I think the military is very concerned about getting pulled into the maelstrom of politics in an election year in order to push protesters, as they were at Lafayette Square, That was wrong.

Add Condaleeze Rice to the list.

I would ask the president to first and foremost speak in the language of unity, the language of empathy. Not everyone is going to agree with any president, with this president, but you have to speak to every American, not just to those who might agree with you,

I've heard the president talk about the resilience of Americans. I'd love to hear more of that. Twitter and tweeting are not great ways for complex thoughts, for complex messages. When the president speaks, it needs to be from a place of thoughtfulness, from a place of having really honed the message so that it reaches all Americans.

Also add whatever the fuck is this is to the list:



That is a side-by-side of two CBS News articles. That picture is not edited in any way other than being cropped.

Add the Republican party to the list.

Reuters looked at a poll, the percent of Republicans who say the country is going the right way is down to 46%. It was 70% in March. 17% said if the election was held today, they'd vote for Biden. Only 63% said Trump. Maybe the rabid fanbase is still holding steady...for now...but what's left of the party is having second, third, and fifth thoughts.

"What's the fourth?"

If they can find $130,000 to take their mind off things.

Unrelated: this article isn't spelled out as OP ED but has some conjecture. The title is "Why Republicans aren't likely to move their convention out of Charlotte"

But organizing a political convention is a massive undertaking, one that takes two years or more and costs tens of millions of dollars. The logistics range from the mundane task of assigning delegations to specific hotels and then organizing bus routes that can deliver them to an arena to the physical design and construction of platforms, stages and sight lines that will deliver the best optics for what is in effect a four-day infomercial for a political party's nominee and its rising stars.

"All of these just take an enormous amount of planning and community bandwidth. It is every bit of the full two years of planning," said David Gilbert, who ran Cleveland's host committee in the run-up to the 2016 convention where Trump was nominated. "It's one of the largest events that takes place every four years in the country in terms of numbers of people, and it probably is the most intricate when it comes to security planning."

Behind the scenes, the Secret Service long ago deployed a special team to a host site to coordinate with local and state law enforcement, and Congress appropriates tens of millions of dollars to ensure the safety of delegates, party leaders, volunteers and the protesters who are sure to show up.

"Let’s be clear: It is simply not feasible to replicate the efforts needed, in a new city and in just two months' time, to put on a convention that would look or feel in any way similar to today’s modern nominating meetings," said Clark Jennings, who directed operations at the 2012 Democratic convention.

"Producing these complex events requires an enormous scale of sophisticated planning and intergovernmental coordination, the buildout of niche infrastructure within the convention hall and across the host city, and the negotiation of hundreds, if not thousands, of contracts to provide housing and transportation, alone, for the tens of thousands of delegates, elected officials, media, supporting staff and volunteers that descend on a convention city," he added.

Then there is the matter of the 15,000 members of the media who descend on a convention city. Those reporters, producers and anchors require the space to report and file their stories, the camera angles to capture the action and, in some cases, the VIP facilities, some custom-built, to woo potential advertisers and elected officials coming in for interviews.

A senior staffer at the 2012 Republican convention recalled having to move a television network's camera two days before the convention began, a seemingly simple task that became a substantial headache.

"The retrofitting of the arena, alone, to turn it into the equivalent of a custom-designed combination movie set, media and communications studio, [and] political rally takes many months. The amount of fiber-optic cabling that gets installed into a convention arena is extraordinary and takes significant time," Jennings said. "Rome wasn’t built in a day; neither can a convention hall in 2020."

Trump and the RNC are saying things like "We have a highly skilled team and many states are eager for the revenue and economic advantages that this celebration will bring" but at this point, that's sounding more and more like a feint, trying to get NC to change its mind. I'm starting to wonder if -- and this is not figurative here -- I've had sex with more NC state government officials than the RNC has met.

(One)

Because this bluff seems especially transparent, and worse, the RNC is going with "you will miss the money we spend more than the lives risked by a lethal virus". And it's not even about how NC is handling things so far -- this would be a ton of people coming from all over, including states like Florida who have been pretty cavalier and seeing jumping cases at a @Benggaul is laughing at your 47s rate. That, and of course the hospitality industry is already damaged in NC like everywhere else. Making an exception that gets a bunch of people sick or killed will kill NC tourism.

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I see Ben Carson has momentarily resurfaced to say some batshit crazy things before disappearing once again into obscurity. I'm convinced he tried to perform brain surgery on himself at some point and rolled a critical failure.

HAHAHAHAHAHA he went on CNN HAHAHAHAHAHA

Yeah Carson said Trump would have something to say in a week. No, really.

When Housing and Urban Development Secretary Dr. Ben Carson was pressed on Sunday about President Donald Trump's retweet of a post attacking the character of George Floyd, Carson said to "reserve judgment" until the President speaks on the topic this week.

"I believe you're going to be hearing from the President this week on this topic in some detail. And I would ask you maybe to reserve judgment until after that time," Carson told CNN's Jake Tapper on "State of the Union."

The White House has declined to comment to CNN about Carson's comments on the show.

Biden was at the funeral. Trump secured a route, through military force on unarmed civilians but bear with me, to a church with a full camera crew. Why the fuck do we need to wait a week?

"You talked about how you don't like to demonize people," Tapper said Sunday. "I know you didn't retweet this, but the President did. Does that help the nation heal?"

"What will help the national heal is if we engage in dialogue together," the Trump Cabinet member said. "Let's not make the solution be a Democrat solution or a Republican solution. Let's make it be an American solution and recognize that our country is extraordinary."

Do you know who says "let's not talk about who's at fault here"? The people who are at fault. Do you know who says "let'snot make this partisan"? The party to blame. Do you know what "recognize that our country is extraordinary" translates to? MAGA. Which is a stupid fucking thing to try after "let's not make this partisan".

Oh, but Carson wasn't done.

My personal feeling is, if those players were to come out and say, we love our nation, we are patriots, we love our flag, we honor the memory of those who died to give us our freedom, but we are protesting some of the brutality that has occurred, and that's why we're doing this, I think it would solve the problem, And I suggest that they do that.

*ahem*

Kaepernick already did that. For an entire year. It is way too late to say "well why didn't you say so?" Everyone, even the members of the rabid fanbase, knew why Kaepernick knelt. Knealt. Kneeled? Whatever. We know why. We've known why. Carson is either more comically ignorant than we've said, or worse, is lying directly to the American people.

Trump doesn't get a week. He's weak enough as it is.

[Breccia]

@Breccia they're doing a full court press right now and while it'll play to their base, the rest of us have been paying attention.

The parallel between "Trump is doing a full-court press to keep the rabid fanbase" and "the GOP/RNC is falling back to protect Texas, Florida and Ohio" could not be any more blatant.

[Elegiac]

It seems that everything is blowing up to the conservatives. It would be glorious if there wasnt a fucking plague roaming around

I mean, the two are entirely linked.

The myth of conservatism has been put to rest. The idea that "the government which governs best is that which governs least" - we're seeing the results of that in the tax cuts, the bungled response to COVID-19, the mishandling of the resulting economic crash. Cut after cut after to cut service has been justified under the belief that "government makes no difference but a bad one, just take it away and things will sort themselves out".

Well, we're seeing the result of 'things sorting themselves out', and the conservative response has been singular: rule by force, something entirely antithetical to the sales pitch. They cannot guarantee public welfare, and can't even guarantee public order.

That resulting loss of clout and a myriad of other factors are why these protests are breaking out in such a concerted way and why local and state governments finally feel they have the leeway to act on things like monument removal. Because, suddenly, white Boomers are more afraid for their businesses and lives than they are attached to their Confederate participation trophies.

Speaking of, protesters in Richmond pulled down another statue, the victim being the monument to Confederate General Willians Carter Wickham. Protesters vandalised the statue before pulling it down with ropes, one demonstrator even urinating on the fallen monument before departing.

Oh, mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord; he is trampling out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored...

[Breccia]

Adding to an earlier post: if the RNC wants to move to Atlanta, a move previously discussed on these forums, they may have missed their chance.

Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms (D) said Sunday she was “simply disgusted” by President Trump invoking George Floyd’s name Friday as he declared it a “great day for equality” while announcing a report that showed unemployment rates falling.

“I think if the president is going to say anything it may have been more appropriate to talk about his family, and perhaps him looking down on his children, and perhaps him being proud of the movement that's happening in this country,” Bottoms said Sunday on CNN.

“Again, it shows that this president is incapable of showing any type of empathy. He always gets it wrong, time and time again, and I think we've got to stop expecting any more from him,” Bottoms added.

Meanwhile th--

Bottoms also noted that George Floyd’s brother, Philonise Floyd, said Trump didn’t give him an opportunity to speak when Trump called Floyd’s family.

“I didn't know George Floyd either, but I’ve been able at least to watch his family and those who knew him and get a glimpse of the type of man he was,” Bottoms said.

It should also be noted that this NBC poll asked which Americans were troubled by more: Floyd's death or the protests. More than 2-1 the answer was Floyd's death. Just so we're clear: even white Americans voted 59% for Floyd's death. The poll also showed 80% of Americans think America is "out of control" which never reflects well on that country's leader.

Also, making it official, neither W nor Romney will support Trump in the election. Yeah, you probably guessed it, but they outright said it. Jeb is on the fence...for some reason.

It should also be noted that ABC News asked the head of DHS if there was systemic racism in America's law enforcement, and the reply was "I don't exist".

But ABC News also asked the acting head of DHS, who said

I do not think we have a systemic racism problem with law enforcement officers across this country.

Do I acknowledge that there are some law enforcement officers that have abused their job? Yes, And, again, we need to hold those accountable. There are individuals in every profession across this country that have probably abused their authority and their power, and we need to hold them accountable.

Can we do better? Can we do more? Can we continue to do more in the law enforcement arena — outreach to our communities, specifically those that feel slighted — absolutely. I think there is always things that we can do more.

But, again, painting law enforcement with a broad brush of systemic racism is really a disservice to the men and women who put on the badge, the uniform, every day.

Now that reads like a carefully-constructed, well-planned answer. And it's a stark contrast from "very fine people" or "all Mexicans are rapists".

(clears throat)

But.

Re-read that first line, the one whoever this guy is (wake me when the Senate confirms him) says "there are racist individuals in law enforcement, like there are racist individuals in any other profession".

That is "all lives matter". That's handwaving. Yes, all lives matter, but not "all lives" are being choked to death on camera.

If the pizza delivery guy is a racist, you don't die.

If the guy selling F-150's on Memorial Day is a racist, you don't die.

If your boss' secretary, or your garbage truck's driver, or your kid's teacher is a racist, you don't die.

White law enforcement murdering the wrong color American? We see that as often as school shootings.

I saw a good example of what "all lives matter" looks like the other day: imagine you're at a funeral because someone's child has died. A family member, the priest, or someone is giving a eulogy with a touching anecdote about how loving and caring the child was...and someone rushes the stage, grabs the mic, and says "all children are loving and caring."

That is "all lives matter". That is what Whatshisface McDoesn'texist is trying to placate America with. And that is why the country is up in arms --



-- in every meaning of the word.

The best the White House could do, even with days to carefully construct something, was a handwaving attempt.

That's not good enough. America deserves better.

[Elegiac]

The Trump Shitshow continues to transcend national boundaries as BLM protesters in Bristol tore down a statue of 17th century slaveownder Edward Colston and threw it into the harbor, just like Colston used to throw sickly African slaves overboard to collect on the insurance.

Don't worry, though. For all the people who want to celebrate this jackass, his statue is still on Google maps:

[Smitzelplix]

As Trump touts increased production, coronavirus swabs made during his Maine factory tour will be tossed in the trash

"The running of the factory machines is very limited today and will only occur when the president is touring the facility floor," Virginia Templet, the company's marketing manager told USA TODAY in response to questions about the event. "Swabs produced during that time will be discarded."

Wasting materials so Trump can have another one of his photo ops.

[Thepersona]

The Trump Shitshow continues to transcend national boundaries as BLM protesters in Bristol tore down a statue of 17th century slaveownder Edward Colston and threw it into the harbor, just like Colston used to throw sickly African slaves overboard to collect on the insurance.

Don't worry, though. For all the people who want to celebrate this jackass, his statue is still on Google maps:

You could put a statue of negro matapacos instead (or the US counterpart)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Negro_Matapacos

[Elegiac]

As a result of the massive shitshow started when the New York Times ran Tom Cotton's little 'Send in the Troops' op-ed and was quite rightfully called out for being facile idiots for fascists resulting in their biggest drop in subscriptions to date, noted sewage golem James Bennet is "resigning effective immediately" to be replaced by Katie Kingsbury as editor up through the conclusion of the November elections.

Senator Cotton had this to say regarding his impact on the NYT:



See when you do clownery, the clown comes back to bite.

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Barr lying and claiming that Trump never demanded 10,000 active-duty troops to be mobilised in response to the protests.

Barr lying about the time he organized a group of chuds as opposition to civil rights protesters in school, claiming that his 'carefully picked' Majority Coalition counterprotesters sent several people to the hospital despite their being no record of such.

Barr lying and claiming that the orders to clear Lafayette Park mysteriously emerged from nowhere and were given by no one.

Someone's sweating.

[Breccia]

Speaking of sweating (nice catch @Elegiac with those cancellations)...

Huckabee the Elder went on FOX News to declare "this isn't about electing a personality".

Well, let's count 'em down.

1) Ha ha, Mike Huckabee still thinks he's relevant.

2) Trump is a cult of personality, so yes, it is.

3) That's something I would say, if I knew my personality was that of a deplorable person, but I still wanted to win.

4) Ordering tens of thousands of troops to patrol the streets to protect your house, while also ordering military force on unarmed civilians to have a photo op, is not "personality". Those are actual actions taken. If the guy shows up with my medium red/green bell pepper pizza rolling his eyes sarcastically, the sarcasm is the personality, but the professionalism is if the pizza is still hot.

And they know that. Which is why they're deflecting. We are well past "oh, he's just telling it how it is". You don't get to say that when "how it is" is "fire tear gas at those protestors and find me a Bible to hold".

The Republican Party needs to make this election about anything other than Trump being a vile human being. And maybe they can get away with handwaving some of his words as "personality". You can't call tear gas "personality". You can't call dictator/gestapo actions "personality". And besides, even if you could -- which you can't -- but even if you could, Trump has no record to run on. "Transitioning into greatness" is proof of that, because it's admission things suck and Mr. Only I Can Fix This didn't fix this.

It is harder and harder to support Donald Trump. Partly because he's morbidly obese. But mostly, because everything he's done has failed, and also, he's intentionally doing worse and worse things. Honestly, ordering military force on unarmed civilians isn't even the worst thing he's done -- there are tens of thousands of deaths he'd have to wade through first. Firing the people investigating him isn't personality. Starting a trade war and then giving up because you can't win isn't personality. The biggest tax increase in American history paired with the biggest deficit in American history, that's far more contradictory than it sounded at first, isn't personality.

If he has no record and he's increasingly a vile, evil person...well, then there's only one thing left to vote for.

[Elegiac]

You could put a statue of negro matapacos instead (or the US counterpart)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Negro_Matapacos

Well, take your pick.

We've got Elmo dancing next to burning stores in Minneapolis.

We've got Master Chief defending protesters from police in New York.

Oh, and the Amish.



You know shit is about to go down when the Amish are out protesting.

[Breccia]

You know shit is about to go down when the Amish are out protesting.

I grew up around the Amish. You say that like a joke -- it isn't. The Amish I know (at least) have two major defining features: they're very hard-working, and they're incredibly moral. If they're leaving their homes to protest, not only is it that important, they're going to do it right the first time.