Mega-Thread: Trump Focused Discussion

[cubby]

did he hide it and fool you during the election campaign, or did you think "what the heck, let's elect a moron"?

I think that's the worst part of an already horrific situation. We knew going in what kind of a human being he was, and we still elected him (well, with the help of Russia). The good news is we'll also be the ones to jail him.

[Dontrike]

This is going to be the first State of the Union I don't watch live or after the fact since I was like 14 or something.

Nothing that man says can possibly interest me other than a full confession for his crimes.

I don't know, after he says what he says you know we'll all be on here shitting on the dumbass shit he says. Then again we know exactly what he'll say with "fake news", "record economy", "record <noun>", "witch hunt", "wall", "the best", and then a bunch of lies that are so easy to see through it might as well be glass.

[Cthulhu 2020]

I'm glad we can agree the US economy is doing well. What we don't agree on, unfortunately, is the current president having nothing to do with it. I would argue that he has had a pretty obvious effect on the US economy's gradual pickup; not just because of his confident blustering (something that factually works as we saw during the election) but also his various tax cuts, which I would need a more in-depth explanation for before I believe they pose any serious risk down the line.

The "gradual pick up" that you refer to has been happening since 2010. In fact, Trump's economy trend line is almost exactly in sync with every year since 2010. Trump himself has not passed any policy in regards to the economy. The tax bill was one crafted by Senate and Congressional Republicans with a few things they knew Trump wanted thrown in. It was confirmed that he never went down to help with write a single line of it. They just wanted something that he would sign without even reading as it passed by his desk.

As far as the effects of the tax breaks, it will be nice to know what this tax bill does to worker wages. Maybe the bottom 60% of workers will see their hourly compensation (adjusted for inflation) be stable for a year, then continue to decline, like it has been for the last 40 years?

It's funny that someone who so adamantly insists to be outside the US seems to pretend to know so well about the intricacies of the US economy. Our economy didn't go to significantly depressed in 2009 to suddenly better than before the recession in the period of November 9 2016 to Jan 2017, nor has growth since Trump taking office even been something spectacularly amazing. It's AVERAGE.

[Edge-]

https://www.sfchronicle.com/news/us/...y-12534651.php

Amusing sidebar -

It seems that the Palm Beach course Trump owns thinks that they're not worth $19M they were assessed at and are suing over the tax bill.

Trump seems to think it's worth $50M per his disclosure forms, so not sure why the course is suing and claiming that the value was overestimated.

[Elegiac]

https://www.sfchronicle.com/news/us/...y-12534651.php

Amusing sidebar -

It seems that the Palm Beach course Trump owns thinks that they're not worth $19M they were assessed at and are suing over the tax bill.

Trump seems to think it's worth $50M per his disclosure forms, so not sure why the course is suing and claiming that the value was overestimated.

Man, it's almost as if the President is a known fraud with shady financial dealings.

[Edge-]

Man, it's almost as if the President is a known fraud with shady financial dealings.

And a man who arbitrarily bases the value of his businesses and properties based primarily on his feelings : P

[Elegiac]

And a man who arbitrarily bases the value of his businesses and properties based primarily on his feelings : P

Hey, you know what would be a real hoot?

If the state of New York revoked Trump's business license on the grounds of emolument.

[Breccia]

In the ongoing effort to fulfill his promises about tackling the opioid epidemic, Trump slashes the responsible federal department ONDCP by 95% of their budget.

ONDCP administers two main grants, the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas (HIDTA) and Drug-Free Communities (DFC). OMB has proposed moving those to the Department of Justice and the Department of Health and Human Services, respectively, according to Politico.

HIDTA helps federal, state, local and tribal law enforcement in areas with high drug trafficking. DFC is a federal drug prevention program, doling out dollars to community coalitions in an effort to reduce substance abuse in youth.

“Not only would such a move drastically weaken these vitally important programs, and force them to compete for priority, direction, and funding in larger agencies with competing and higher priorities, but it would significantly impact ONDCP’s ability to effectively carry out its mission,” the groups, lead by the Addiction Policy Forum, wrote.

"But he's moving their primary function to HHS."

Whose budget is also being cut.

The Office of National Drug Control Policy is kind of like the NSA, but for drugs: they do a lot of work keeping various departments in line when forming an anti-illegal-drug policy and execution of said policy. 150 different groups have signed a mutual letter to Kellyanne Conway, who is managing the opioid crisis with the amount of money that would fit in a Vault-Tec lunchbox and a lack of any relevant degree, training, or professional experience.

[Kujako]

In the ongoing effort to fulfill his promises about tackling the opioid epidemic, Trump slashes the responsible federal department ONDCP by 95% of their budget.

I thought they were done with that? It was Obamacare that causes the opioid problem.

[Paranoid Android]

Macaulay Culkin prefers the first "Home Alone" movie because the second one has a Trump cameo https://t.co/JKqP3EN7Ec https://t.co/L67LJPKQWc

https://twitter.com/thehill/status/958377780051431424

Enough said.

[Dontrike]

Not that this is insane, but I like how even in golf this man can't play by the rules.

“[I]n all the times I’ve played him, he’s never come close to breaking 80,” Pettersen says of the president, who golfs with a 3 handicap.

“But what’s strange is that every time I talk to him he says he just golfed a 69, or that he set a new course record or won a club championship some place.”

Every time I hear something new Trump finds ways to take the bar further into a shithole.

[NYC17]

Not that this is insane, but I like how even in golf this man can't play by the rules.



Every time I hear something new Trump finds ways to take the bar further into a shithole.

Yea, there are a few stories like that from celebrities and such. A pro-golfer friend saying it though has to bruise the ole ego. Twitter insult directed at her in 3...2..

[Dontrike]

Yea, there are a few stories like that from celebrities and such. A pro-golfer friend saying it though has to bruise the ole ego. Twitter insult directed at her in 3...2..

I'd love if Trump was in an actual tournament, or just a game, that was streamed in real time. I want to see how "well" he would do. Hell, I'm still wondering when he'll actually take an IQ test like he said he was willing to do.

[NYC17]

I'd love if Trump was in an actual tournament, or just a game, that was streamed in real time. I want to see how "well" he would do. Hell, I'm still wondering when he'll actually take an IQ test like he said he was willing to do.

I'd be surprised if he had no golf skill. The sheer amount of time he spends on courses...

He needs to oversell everything though, so beating someone at golf isn't enough. He needs to believe, that they believe, that he's the best golfer ever. He really is such a pathetic person.

[Edge-]

https://twitter.com/thehill/status/958377780051431424

Enough said.

I mean, that's probably not the only reason he prefers the first movie...and he's far from alone in that opinion. Even if Tim Curry did his best to make that sequel tolerable.

[Breccia]

Every time I hear something new Trump finds ways to take the bar further into a shithole.

If I were to continue being a non-professional golfer/athlete, age 30 years, not do any exercise for those 30 years, gain 100 pounds, and then wander onto some high-end professional golf course and claim to set a new course record, I would expect, nay, demand people to challenge that statement or just blatantly laugh in my face for such an obvious lie. Then, of course, when asked for proof, I would have few choices left -- claim I misspoke, claim I was joking, have multiple people What I Meant Was, or do the honest, ethical thing and admit I just flat-out lied.

Other news:

Mnuchin promises more sanctions on Russia after outrage over report

Mnuchin said that a report issued Monday on suspected financiers of Russian government political efforts is not a substitute for financial restrictions Congress mandated in a bill passed last year.

"This should in no way be interpreted as we’re not putting sanctions on anyone in that report,” Mnuchin said at a Senate Banking Committee hearing.

So, yeah.

White House admits the list of names copied from Forbes doesn't have any actual legal meaning or standard (even as Putin decries it as an act of aggression). They're just late when it comes to following the law -- again -- and they're going to do something to punish Russia for attacking the election any day now no really this time super duper pinky swear.

"No, I mean it," Mnuchin said to a crowd of reporters, rolling their eyes in unison, "we'll get right on that as soon as Trump gets back from setting another golf course record."

- - - Updated - - -

So Oversight Chairman Gowdy --

"Didn't he quit?"

No, he just left the ethics committee because it was too much work. Read into that what you will.

Anyhow, Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.) said Monday the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has failed to fully cooperate with requests for information from his committee, threatening to subpoena the agency.

Gowdy wrote in a letter to HHS Secretary Alex Azar Monday that his agency has taken a "posture of nonchalance" to requests from the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.

"Rather than work in good faith to accommodate the committee's oversight and investigative requirements and constitutional prerogatives, and despite the committee's effort to accommodate HHS's legitimate interests, the department has missed mutually-agreed deadlines, produced meager and incomplete sets of information (much of what is available publicly), and taken a posture of nonchalance with respect to the committee's requests," Gowdy wrote.

"The department's pattern of nonresponsiveness and wanton disregard for the committee's requests for information undermines our ability to perform our oversight duties of the department and its programs.

The committee has requested a number of documents from the agency, including information on cost-sharing reduction payments and the agency's response to the opioid epidemic.

Gowdy said the department hasn't provided any compelling reason for why it's withholding documents from the committee.

"This creates the appearance the department's legislative affairs function has fallen into a state of permanent disrepair," he wrote.

He said the agency must either comply with its requests by Feb. 5 or give a legitimate, legal basis for withholding information from the committee, or face a subpoena.

He said that HHS has been unable to produce documents related to the committee's oversight of the federal government's response to the opioid epidemic.

The committee's ranking Democrat Elijah Cummings also asked Gowdy to subpoena HHS for information related to reports that the agency's reported use of nondisclosure agreements.

Bolded for emphasis. It appears, combined with the Russia sanctions maybe eventually maybe thing, that Trump's admin chose today to really demonstrate they're only interested in the rule of law if they feel like it that day.

[Edge-]

It's amazing how hard it is for Republican led committees to get information from departments run by Republican appointed Secretaries.

[mvaliz]

In other news, the creators of The Purge just released their movie poster for apparently the Prequel to the franchise:

[Paranoid Android]

Daniel Pollack, appointed by White House as a senior adviser at the Corporation for National and Community Service, was banned by Uber over allegations of racial comments https://t.co/P4CojJOXsm https://t.co/90eeR4JAEa

https://twitter.com/JeffreyGuterman/...62213387423744

When you are too racist for Uber but just not racist enough for this White House.

[Mormolyce]

https://twitter.com/JeffreyGuterman/...62213387423744

When you are too racist for Uber but just not racist enough for this White House.

"As our Community Guidelines make clear, we have zero-tolerance for any discrimination. This rider has been banned from Uber," a spokesperson told CBS46 at the time.
According to the CBS46 report, Pollack's driver, Jasmine Coer, called the police after an "aggressive ride" that she says began with Pollack asking if she was Muslim because of her headwear. Pollack was one of multiple passengers in the vehicle at the time. The driver said she was not Muslim.
According to a copy of the police report obtained by CNN, Pollack "began yelling and cursing at her (Coer) and other customers" during his ride before being asked to leave the vehicle.
"He looks at me and I'm like, 'Sir, get out of my car. I'm calling the cops,' and he goes 'I'm white. I'm a white attorney and you're black,'" Coer said, according to CBS46.

http://edition.cnn.com/2018/01/30/po...ncs/index.html

Jesus.

- - - Updated - - -

As for the racist stuff, I have to admit that question was a joke. I knew exactly what you were going to say (you even mentioned the Charlottesville thing, which we know for a fact had a big violent antifa presence) and I knew I was going to roll my eyes at it. Mexico is a country, not a race. He didn't favor white nationalists, he specified both sides are to blame.

That is an impressive pile of insane bullshit right there.