Mega-Thread: Trump Focused Discussion

[Kaleredar]

The other guy his state sent was Rand Paul.

There's been competition, Kentuckians don't seem to much give a fuck though. I guess they may hate the bastards they elect to the Senate, but they're their bastards and god damnit they're not gonna part with them.

I don’t have any exact figures, but it wouldn’t surprise me if McConnell was still supremely popular in Kentucky... because, in a similar vein, For as much as republicans hate pelosi nationwide, she’s still quite popular in her district. So nationwide chagrin doesn’t amount to much in getting someone like McConnell out. He’s only gotta remain popular in Kentucky to keep getting re-elected.

[Fugus]

I think Kentucky has straight ticket voting. more and more states are getting rid of it. In fact, state republicans in pennsylvania were so terrified of losing power due to straight ticket that they got rid of it to allow mail in voting expansion. GoP is so fucked.

I truly hope so, we already have a center to moderate right party with the Democrats, we don’t need an even further right party than that until we get some on the other end of the spectrum.

Would LOVE to one of the parties get power and the push for ranked choice voting and outlawing gerrymandering before they know they were losing power even if it was just to give the other side the middle finger and flip the board.

[Benggaul]

McConnell said a few mean things after voting not guilcup.

*mimes*
"Call...the...next...deaf...end..."*SLAMS GIANT ANT ON TABLE*

[Fugus]

I don’t have any exact figures, but it wouldn’t surprise me if McConnell was still supremely popular in Kentucky... because, in a similar vein, For as much as republicans hate pelosi nationwide, she’s still quite popular in her district. So nationwide chagrin doesn’t amount to much in getting someone like McConnell out. He’s only gotta remain popular in Kentucky to keep getting re-elected.

Well Russia did funnel over 200 million into his state after he protected Trump and Manuchin lifted sanctions on their oligarchs.

[Breccia]

So to add what everyone else has been saying, not only has Trump called McConnell a hack, but promises to have rabid fanbase members primary him and his friends.

Ninety-nine bottles of beer on the wall,
Ninety-nine bottles of beer,
I never thought Trump would turn on me,
Ninety-nine bottles of beer on the wall..

[Omega10]

And the lines have been officially drawn. In no way shape or form do you want McConnell as a literal enemy. Trump is such a fucking idiot he doesn't even recognize that most/all of the few "victories" came from McConnell's machinations.

McConnell continues to seize the reigns of the GOP as more Republicans distance themselves from dipshit-dictator Trump.

McConnell will CRUSH Trump. I will enjoy the carnage

Well.. I guess I need to root for McConnell for a while! Though keeping in mind that his number one priority right now is to block Biden from being able to accomplish anything. To be fair to him, his party is badly fractured, and he is 100% correct in that the only realistic way to keep the party from destroying itself is to unite on fighting Biden.

If I were in his shoes, I can see his number 1 strategy is to unite republicans against Biden. There IS no number 2, nothing even close.

Edit: Make fun of McConnell all you want. Remember he just won his Senate seat by a large margin, and won't be running again for 6 years. NEVER EVER underestimate McConnell.

And I agree with what Cubby said earlier. His destruction of Trump will be subtle, Trump will never see it coming, and McConnell will be the one to pick up the pieces.

[Kaleredar]

McConnell will CRUSH Trump. I will enjoy the carnage

Well.. I guess I need to root for McConnell for a while! Though keeping in mind that his number one priority right now is to block Biden from being able to accomplish anything. To be fair to him, his party is badly fractured, and he is 100% correct in that the only realistic way to keep the party from destroying itself is to unite on fighting Biden.

If I were in his shoes, I can see his number 1 strategy is to unite republicans against Biden. There IS no number 2, nothing even close.

Edit: Make fun of McConnell all you. Remember he just won his Senate seat by a large margin, and won't be running again for 6 years. NEVER EVER underestimate McConnell.

And I agree with what Cubby said earlier. His destruction of Trump will be subtle, Trump will never see it coming, and McConnell will be the one to pick up the pieces.

And luckily, working against McConnell is the fact that a lot of the stuff Biden is pushing for out the gate... Stimulus relief, COVID measures, vaccine distribution... is incredibly popular. McConnell can't offhandedly label it as being socialist nonsense and it'd be very difficult for him and the GOP to effectively start pearl-clutching about "the cost of things" when people are dying and/or can't pay their rent.

[Breccia]

The NYTimes reports that Rep. Kinzinger [R (not T) IL] has not only been condemned by the GOP of his ccounty and state, but also by his own family, for turning on Trump.

So, if there are any cultist rabid fanbase members saying "we should move on from Trump" you should probably stop saying that. Trump is not ready to move on from Trump. Therefore, neither should we. Sorry. I don't make the rules. Your fat orange god makes your rules, you need to blindly obey. I'm just here to point that out while laughing as what's left of your party tears itself to shreds.

[Edge-]

The NYTimes reports that Rep. Kinzinger [R (not T) IL] has not only been condemned by the GOP of his ccounty and state, but also by his own family, for turning on Trump.

So, if there are any cultist rabid fanbase members saying "we should move on from Trump" you should probably stop saying that. Trump is not ready to move on from Trump. Therefore, neither should we. Sorry. I don't make the rules. Your fat orange god makes your rules, you need to blindly obey. I'm just here to point that out while laughing as what's left of your party tears itself to shreds.

I commented on this elsewhere.

It's wild to see this. Seriously. Like, there was totally Obamamania and whatnot but like...it never held a candle to this kind of slavish cult-like devotion.

Hell, not even the Jesus of the modern Republican party Ronald Regan inspired this level of cult-like devotion. And on the flip side, neither did JFK.

It's freakin wild to see people who claim to be some of the most religious folk around proudly place a man as more important than the metaphysical.

[Shadowferal]

The spat between Trump and McConnell doesn't feel genuine enough for me. Maybe if Mitch says...paraphrases something like "just remember who lost his election...it wasn't me." Because that's a punch in Trump testicles that should get him crying loud and nasty.

[DarkTZeratul]

And luckily, working against McConnell is the fact that a lot of the stuff Biden is pushing for out the gate... Stimulus relief, COVID measures, vaccine distribution... is incredibly popular. McConnell can't offhandedly label it as being socialist nonsense and it'd be very difficult for him and the GOP to effectively start pearl-clutching about "the cost of things" when people are dying and/or can't pay their rent.

I mean, he COULD just get on board with it and support it and reap the benefit of popularity by helping, but apparently working with a Democrat on anything is where he draws the line.

[draynay]

So to add what everyone else has been saying, not only has Trump called McConnell a hack, but promises to have rabid fanbase members primary him and his friends.

At least he didn't tell them to kill him this time.

[Katchii]

The shit stain is STILL crying about election results being faulty..... from the link cubby provided earlier.

https://www.thv11.com/article/news/n...6-47717faf3bc7

Many Republicans in Georgia voted Democrat, or just didn’t vote, because of their anguish at their inept Governor, Brian Kemp, Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, and the Republican Party, for not doing its job on Election Integrity during the 2020 Presidential race,"

And I saw THIS the other day and could only shake my head. As if I needed any more reasons to despise the clown. LOL.

[Breccia]

The shit stain is STILL crying about election results being faulty.

Surely he provided evidence this time?

(snicker)

[Edge-]

And I saw THIS the other day and could only shake my head. As if I needed any more reasons to despise the clown. LOL.

Knew I shoulda gone all in on the semiconductor industry and been DIAMOND HANDS at the start of the trade war.

[Benggaul]

So, against my better judgement, I went ahead and read some of that Trump rant. There is NO doubt in my mind he is still having his shit written by Stephen Miller.

[Edge-]

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/w...-b1803144.html

Amusing reporting on the dysfunction within Trump's legal team. It's a good thing you don't need a competent, functional team of lawyers when you already have the jury in your pocket.

[Breccia]

Amusing reporting on the dysfunction within Trump's legal team.

"Trump’s lawyers turn on each other"

And Giuliani is also fired.

I mean...we knew their job was literally to dispute factual evidence, but they have to know about its existence. Did Trump's words and actions actually slip by all of them?

[Thelxi]

Well he's now officially moved on from being everyone's problem to being the GOP's problem, and it's beautiful and just. This will be a dramatic and very entertaining couple of years.

[Benggaul]

So, Mother Nature is screwing with the COVID-19 numbers as huge swathes of the US are closing testing sites in the face of the weather. Unless you live in Texas, where you're currently probably more likely to freeze to death due to lack of power in sub-zero temperatures before succumbing to the virus. I guess that's what happens when you isolate your power grid from the federal grid to avoid federal regulations and line the pockets of a few rich folks. Yay secessionism, eh? Fuck you, Cruz, Crenshaw et al.

That said, I'll just keep the reports for the next few days short and without comparisons to previous weeks since the numbers are no longer completely reliable:

63,398 new cases reported. 1,787 deaths reported, bringing the total to 499,991. This will undoubtedly scoot past the 500k mark once the last couple of states report. Both of these totals are way underreported so we can expect corrections once the nation is able to shovel itself out from under the winter weather. I still fully expect the deaths to be in the region of at least 2.5k for the normal peak days, for example. As per usual the corrections will most likely be back-dated on worldometers and show as huge spikes on JH when they eventually get reported.

Stay warm, folks.

- - - Updated - - -

Meanwhile, as the TRUMP SHITSHOW continues...

Explainer: Trump's acts as president are 'fair game' for criminal charges

This is a pretty good explanation of several of the types of trouble Trump is likely to find himself in. I'm sure Turtle McGee is treating himself to an extra leaf of lettuce in pure glee.

Can Trump be prosecuted for acts he engaged in as president?

Yes. Now that Trump has left office, any misconduct he engaged in as president is “fair game” for criminal charges, said Brian Kalt, a constitutional law professor at Michigan State University.

Trump enjoyed more protection from prosecution while he was president because the U.S. Justice Department has concluded it would be unconstitutional to indict a sitting president. But there is no federal prohibition on charging a former president for acts committed while in office.

“The immunity argument is about the timing of the trial; it is generally accepted that ex-presidents can be prosecuted for crimes committed in office,” Kalt said.

Do Trump’s official acts enjoy special protection from prosecution?

No.

In some contexts, U.S. courts have drawn a distinction between a president’s “official acts” and actions unrelated to the job of president. For example, in a 1982 case the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that, in civil lawsuits, presidents are immune from liability arising from their official acts.

But if Trump violated criminal laws, the fact that he took those actions while president would not shield him from liability, said Randall Eliason, a law professor at George Washington University and a former federal prosecutor.

As a practical matter, prosecutors will be careful not to criminalize “policy disagreements or exercises of discretion,” he said.

Eliason said it would be appropriate for prosecutors to investigate Trump’s role in the Jan. 6 riot, as well as his attempts to undermine Democratic President Joe Biden’s election victory.

What criminal investigations does Trump face so far?

For more than two years, Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance has been probing Trump’s real estate business for possible insurance and tax fraud. There is a separate civil investigation by New York state Attorney General Letitia James into whether the business falsely reported property values.

The Trump Organization has denied in court filings that the company falsified property values, and has rejected other allegations made by Vance and James, both Democrats.

Trump, a Republican, has said the probes are politically motivated.

Prosecutors in Georgia’s biggest county recently opened a criminal investigation into Trump’s attempts to influence the state’s 2020 election results, ordering government officials to preserve documents in the second known criminal probe of Trump.

The investigation by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, a Democrat, is the most serious probe facing Trump in Georgia after he was recorded in a Jan. 2 phone call pressuring a top state official to overturn the state’s election results based on unfounded voter fraud claims.

In a statement, Jason Miller, a senior Trump adviser, accused Democrats of attempting “to score political points by continuing their witch hunt against President Trump.”

What about civil lawsuits?

Trump faces several civil lawsuits, including two defamation lawsuits filed by women who accused him of sexually assaulting them before he was elected president in 2016. Trump has denied the encounters.

These lawsuits proceeded during Trump’s presidency, but could unfold more quickly now that he is out office because he cannot use his status as president to postpone deadlines.

A Democratic congressman, in a lawsuit filed on Tuesday, accused Trump, his personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani and two right-wing groups of conspiring to incite last month’s deadly riot at the U.S. Capitol.

The congressman, U.S. Representative Bennie Thompson, said in the lawsuit that “Trump acted beyond the outer perimeter of his official duties and therefore is susceptible to suit in his personal capacity.”