Mega-Thread: Trump Focused Discussion

[Crispin]

He did that speaking to the reporters. See the piece I linked.



Thanks, I'll check it all out, but I think you are putting way too much weight into your interpretation of "POTUS asks Greenland if they can be bought - POTUS is rejected by Greenland. - POTUS looks towards Denmark. - POTUS asks Denmark if US can buy Greenland" and what follows. You are making it all sound so big, but in the end we are talking about a couple of tweets, and the most that happened is the cancellation of a visit with Trump being angry regarding the tone of some messages.

Sure, this all looks silly. Sure, Trump says silly things. But this whole supposedly big scandal here is just a lot of hot air, and that hot air is there because the media wanted to make a big scandal out of a tweet.

And no point during his “nasty” interview, does he say that he cancelled because of the rhetoric used by the danish PM. You thinking thats why he cancelled does not make it so.

[Breccia]

WTF is this? Piece after piece with outrage after outrage over nothing which "culminated" in a rescheduling of a damn visit.

I've had enough of this.

Trump is the one who publicly canceled (not rescheduled) the visit.

Trump is the one who expressed outrage.

Trump is the one who attacked an entire country by disrespecting its leaders in public.

That's not "nothing happened" and you know it.

The headlines you posted are about Trump's words and actions. They are about his reactions to being told something that was absurd, was absurd. You are trying to handwave Trump intentionally and publicly alienating an ally, disrespecting them from the highest office in the land, for calling the concept of buying a sovereign country absurd. You are calling that "nothing happened" in the completely disingenuous attempt to defend Trump, you're completely creating a conspiracy theory based on your disingenuous assertions, and you've been spamming the last 2-3 pages of this thread to do it, and have the audacity to say "because the media has nothing better to do" (that's hypocrisy by the way) when they report on Trump's official words and actions.

That's spamming, that's conspiracy theories, that's failing to post constructively, and you started this all with false information ("half-jokingly") followed by asking for information in a false civil tone which was already in the thread multiple times, then ignored what was said. That's Sea Lioning, a form of trolling. Stop violating the rules of the forum.

[Dontrike]

The Danish press being part of the media said something on Twitter.

H-h...hold on....the DANISH are part of the media? What in the blue starfish fuck?

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And later he clarified that the cancellation was not about them not being open to sell Greenland but about them being "nasty" in their response. See the piece I linked above.

And that "nastiness" was from them telling him how fucking stupid it was and therefore not even wanting to discuss.

This isn't rocket science.

[Belize]

Can we not go back to pages after pages of arguing with Russian trolls?

Thx.

[Kiri]

He merely tweeted.

There is no such thing as merely tweeting when it comes to the president. According to both the DOJ and the WH itself, those are to be considered official statements by the Potus.

[Breccia]

So the GOP seems to be increasingly aware that it backed the wrong horsefucker.

Rather than have a payroll tax cut, a slowly increasing number of conservatives are saying, it would make more sense to -- you guessed it -- cut taxes by rolling back Trump's tariffs, something cited by dozens of professional, qualified experts (and even the CBO is on that list) as a leading cause to the heightened risk of recession.

This includes this WSJ opinion piece which flat-out labels Trump's tariffs "the Uncertainty Tax" but that's as far as I get because paywall. But it also includes this:

Repealing the tariffs is about more than just providing tax relief, it’s also about removing economic uncertainty that will lead to investment and job creation

-- the National Taxpayers Union, a conservative group

removing that damage is the most straightforward way to address the weakness

-- American Action Forum, a conservative group currently headed by a former CBO head

It should also be noted that Team Trump is being even more indecisive than ever. This is partly due to Trump claiming he both was, and wasn't, looking at a payroll tax cut within 24 hours (he needs Congress to do that), changing his mind on the statement “We don’t need it. We have a strong economy.” which is what I would say, if I couldn't pass a tax cut deliberately designed to save the weakening economy I caused. No, it's the WH itself. Remember, the first response to all this was the WH responding to the press, reporting that a short-term payroll tax was being considered (which Trump admitted was true) was "no, we're not doing that". Trump immediately contradicted that, of course. Then, Kudlow went on FOX News to say the admin was looking at tax cuts, basically a tax cut for the rich 2.0

Kudlow said a tax-cuts package could be rolled out before the 2020 election and might include lower individual tax rates, lower capital gains rates, changes for noncorporate businesses and relief for residents of high-tax states.

Kudlow said this yesterday, making it (at time of writing, the shit flows fast out of the dysenteric administration) the last word on the subject.

If the economy is strong, why make long-term cuts? Also aren't we in a record-breaking deficit? The tax cuts are demonstrably not paying for themselves, how is more going to help?

Kudlow knows damn well that no tax cut will pass in 2020. This is showmanship, designed to say "hey, we tried to give you free money, but the Democrats said no" after passing the largest tax increase in history unilaterally under the guise of National Security Lol.

And for added fun, while I was writing this, TheHill and many others posted breaking news that China was retaliating with, you guessed it, more tariffs. On $75 billion, including 25% on US cars. Which means the trade talks aren't just stalled, not just dead, not just dead and buried, but now it's a fucking zombie run you fools run.

EDIT: Shit, forgot one more thing: let's pretend, for the moment, that Trump is right that his tariffs are taking Chinese money. We all know that's not true, including Trump, but let's pretend. This means that China is, to continue that line of thinking, now taking a bunch of American taxpayer money, and we still lose either way. There is no defense that can be raised here. The American taxpayer is losing.

[Felya]

And for added fun, while I was writing this, TheHill and many others posted breaking news that China was retaliating with, you guessed it, more tariffs. On $75 billion, including 25% on US cars. Which means the trade talks aren't just stalled, not just dead, not just dead and buried, but now it's a fucking zombie run you fools run.

Trump takes a break from a trade war he started, for Christmas to avoid hurting holiday shoppers. Even though we are “winning”... China isn’t doing the same. Giving China an open battle field, as Trump literally tries to stave off the damage he caused.

... and a Koch just died.

[kaelleria]

Would today be a great day for China to put on retaliatory tariffs? With the G7 starting up and all... Oh it looks like they did.

10% on September 1st and 5% on December 15th on $75b on products.

Seems like they know Trump has no idea what he's doing and trade wars are easy to win... For the Chinese.

[Felya]

Would today be a great day for China to put on retaliatory tariffs? With the G7 starting up and all... Oh it looks like they did.

10% on September 1st and 5% on December 15th on $75b on products.

Seems like they know Trump has no idea what he's doing and trade wars are easy to win... For the Chinese.

By holding the trade war until after holidays, Trump drew a giant target on the holiday season, as the right time for China to impose tariffs to cause the most damage.

Edit: Imagine in an actual war, announcing that an area is too important for combat, so you are avoiding having it as a battle field. What do you think will be the first area the enemy bombs? These tariffs are the said bomb in this trade war, with Trump being the guy to point out the right time to do most damage.

[kaelleria]

And Kudlow is making the rounds claiming that the Fed interest rates are what is causing the downturn... Ignoring that 2.5% is basically lower than they've been in any point in history that wasn't a recession or directly following a recession.

[Felya]

And Kudlow is making the rounds claiming that the Fed interest rates are what is causing the downturn... Ignoring that 2.5% is basically lower than they've been in any point in history that wasn't a recession or directly following a recession.

Who ever appointed the guy imposing interest rates, is obviously a moron. I’m with Kudlow, who ever chose the guy and all of his cabinet, needs to be fired for incompetence. Drain the swamp...

[Breccia]

SO this article goes into even more details that are worth noting.

1) Trump is going to G7. As mentioned before, Trump has recently said that Russia should be allowed back in. What I missed was, Trump apparently recently said it was Obama's fault for letting Russia take Ukraine. This, apparently, is his defense for removing the penalty for Russia taking Ukraine.
1b) Even if that was true...wouldn't that mean the US would be kicked out?

2) This quote:

Our allies take advantage of us far greater than our enemies

3) This quote:

And, by the way, we're holding thousands of ISIS fighters right now, and Europe has to take them. And if Europe doesn't take them, I'll have no choice but to release them into the countries from which they came, which is Germany, and France, and other places

Just before going to G7. I thought we were winning the war on ISIS? Even if the prisoners should be held in other countries, how is releasing them going to help? If we have enough dog cages for children to die in, surely we have enough dog cages for ISIS? I mean, if we're going to lock brown people up in a dog cage without clean water or hygene until they die of neglect, maybe it could be an actual criminal?

4) This quote:

France just put a digital tax on our great American technology companies. If anybody taxes them, it should be their home Country, the USA. We will announce a substantial reciprocal action on Macron's foolishness shortly

One, this is a stupid thing for Only Tariffs Will Fix It to say.

Two, did Trump just threaten to raise taxes on American tech?

Three, G7 is in France. Why insult the host country?

5) This quote:

I've always said American wine is better than French wine!

One, G7 is still in France!

Two, Trump doesn't drink. Of all the times for him to use "I hear, everyone's saying it, lots of people tell me" this time it would have made sense.

So, on his way to G7, he's insulted the host country and a few other attendees, and suggested they rescind Russia's removal, the penalty for attacking another country with troops out of uniform (a war crime), because it was Obama's fault they did it.

What's even more mind-boggling is Putin is really not happy with Trump right now. @Skroe has been kind enough to tell us about the recent missile treaty the US left that the Russians weren't following anyhow. Putin is not happy about it, and has vowed “exhaustive measures to prepare a reciprocal response”. So, is Trump trying to apologize to Russia with this G7 bit? Or is this just a bunch more crazy nonsense, like his response to Denmark, which we now see is part of a greater theme?

[rda]

H-h...hold on....the DANISH are part of the media? What in the blue starfish fuck?

The Danish press. It's right in the text that you quote.

[Felya]

The Danish press. It's right in the text that you quote.

Yeah, someone said something, which lead Trump to tarnish a relationship with an ally. Is he a fucking child?

[rda]

There is no such thing as merely tweeting when it comes to the president. According to both the DOJ and the WH itself, those are to be considered official statements by the Potus.

They might be official statements by the POTUS, but they are not a replacement for formal talks. I don't know what's controversial about that.

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Yeah, someone said something, which lead Trump to tarnish a relationship with an ally. Is he a fucking child?

Nothing tarnished, but yes, he says dumb things and shouldn't have canceled the visit.

[Breccia]

Trump takes a break from a trade war he started, for Christmas to avoid hurting holiday shoppers.

Trump isn't taking a break. He's postponing escalating it. There's a difference. He's not removing the penalties he imposed, he's just waiting before putting the new ones on.

And, as we're now seeing, China's retaliating. So even that delay might not happen.

Look, Trump has put himself into a bad situation with China. Besides the fact that he chose to enter the Oval Office while China's tech and military aggression were escalating, now he has no trade deal and no route to a trade deal visible. Problem is, even if he wanted one, China's crackdown on peaceful protests is a human rights violation that even Republicans can't ignore. Postponing his responses makes him look weak, and clearly, China is taking advantage. But the most realistic responses only make a successful resolution harder. And we all know Trump doesn't do hard.

He can't cut taxes. Okay that's a lie, he can, he can remove the tariffs he unilaterally imposed out of National Security Lol. But removing them undoes his entire policy on the situation and leaves him with literally less than nothing.

I think we can all agree that military action isn't called for.

The Chosen Individual-One has nothing he can use. And it's all his fault for starting a trade war with no end game in sight.

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All polls except Zogby are now fake

Rasmussen can't even break 50% anymore. They haven't for some time.

[Breccia]

Following the Trump trend, it took the DoJ 24 hours to condemn the white supremacists they themselves linked.

I'm so glad they got around to it...eventually. I mean, if I accidentally (that's their claim, it was an accident) sent out KKK propaganda to my students, because I let a third party write my emails and didn't bother checking them, the second I found out, I'd be screaming "NO! Those guys are terrorists! That's not what I meant at all, holy shit this is embarrassing!" Also I might be fired.

[rda]

Trump has put himself into a bad situation with China]. Besides the fact that he chose to enter the Oval Office while China's tech and military aggression were escalating, now he has no trade deal and no route to a trade deal visible. Problem is, even if he wanted one, China's crackdown on peaceful protests is a human rights violation that even Republicans can't ignore. Postponing his responses makes him look weak, and clearly, China is taking advantage. But the most realistic responses only make a successful resolution harder. And we all know Trump doesn't do hard.

You seem to be arguing that China have problems because they are having a "crackdown on peaceful protests" and somehow you conclude that this is bad for Trump. If China have problems that increase the pressure on them, they are more likely to cut a deal on worse terms to them. If China didn't have problems that could create additional pressure on them, you'd have argued that this is bad for Trump because Trump's pressure on China is not enough. But since there might be an additional pressure on China due to HK protests, you are somehow arguing that this is bad for Trump, too. You seem to just be taking what happens and concluding that whatever this is, it is bad for Trump.

[Breccia]

No wonder he needs the joke that is Zogby then, probably the only one that high.

I want to add to this.

Dirty little secret: I sometimes write material in the late evening that will be posted the following morning. This is one of those instances. The early word, however, is that a Zogby poll to be released today will show Barack Obama’s presidential approval numbers at around 50-50.

As of this writing, the Pollster.com average has Barack Obama’s numbers at 59.3 percent approve and 33.8 percent disapprove; the Real Clear Politics average is slightly more favorable to Obama, at 61.2 percent approve and 30.5 percent disapprove.

So a Zogby poll that put Obama’s numbers at roughly 50-50 would be a significant outlier. Outliers are nothing new, however, when it comes to Zogby polls. They are, in fact, the rule and not the exception.

Bla bla bla evidence bla bla bla

All told, between 48 contests that he’s surveyed over the past two election cycles, Zogby’s Internet polls have been off by an average of 7.6 points. This is an extreme outlier with respect to absolutely anyone else in the polling community.

A few things:

1) The author was right. Zogby said 50/50 on March 24, 2009.

2) Zogby does internet polls, but only to people who sign up on their website. This is called Voluntary Response Bias. Incidentally, it's polls like these Trump cited during the primaries that even Papa Bear said weren't scientific.

3) Apparently, Zogby has been a joke for an entire decade.

I'll also remind everyone I recently linked an AP poll that had 36% approval. I also called it out as an outlier. Since Trump has a 41.5% aggregate, Zogby is actually twice as far off as the poll which, and c'mon y'all know I love me some "lame-ass limp-dick IMPOTUS" quoting, even I said was too far off.

That's "holy shit" levels of embarrassing.

4) Also, find any time other than this week Trump quoted Zogby. Like, even once. Throwing it open to the floor here. I'd be willing to bet my entire IRS refund (not bluffing, but I live in NYState, so, it wasn't that much) that Trump didn't even know what Zogby was before they posted that poll and it was brought to his attention because every other poll sucked. He probably thinks Zogby are the bad guys on The Walking Dead.

5) And finally...how bad do things have to be, to brag about "I technically have the slimmest majority possible!" Bragging about 51% is like bragging about getting a C-. Did you pass? Yes. Barely. And you have a 1.70 GPA from that shit, which is academic warning spots for a lot of schools out there (1.75 or lower).

This is how sad Trump's tenure is, ladies and gentlemen. He's so desperate for praise, he'll go out of his way to cite the worst pollster there is.

Wondering how Rasmussen's going to react to this. Kind of curious what their next three results will be, now that they're no longer his go-to and they have no reason to defend him.

[Thekri]

So this is interesting. It seems Brad Parscale, Trump's 2020 campaign manager, is getting very, very rich for unknown reasons that might be related to the fact that he outright owns several political strategy firms that are somehow the sole vendor for several key Trump campaign activities. Apparently Parscale's companies have billed the RNC and Trump campaigns over $100 million since 2015, and he is now going on a real estate buying spree.

A couple interesting things here. First, this guy was a classic example of the sort of people that get very wealthy running "Strategy" firms that soak up so much nebulous cash during our political campaigns, and have turned campaign season into a massively profitable operation. Second, Trump hired this dude to be his campaign manager.

I personally don't mind, the more cash this guy steals from Trump and the RNC, the better off everyone will be. They don't seem to mind, since enriching themselves has always come before any sort of principles anyway.