Mega-Thread: Trump Focused Discussion

[Poopymonster]

Anyone care to bet how close to election time one candidate promises to make all the world spanning problems go away instantly?
All the conflicts going on or on the brink of it. Russia v Ukraine, Best Korea v South Korea, China v Taiwan, Kentucky v First cousin incest laws.
Bigly.

[Edge-]

Truth Social has posted their Q3 results, their fiscal doesn't align with the calendar year which isn't uncommon.

Former President Trump's social media platform, Truth Social, generated just $1.07 million in revenue during the third quarter of 2023, according to SEC filings.

That's...not much money at all.

Truth Social's parent company, Trump Media & Technology Group, generated a total of $3.38 million in revenue for the first nine months of 2023.

Those numbers aren't great.

It reports a $49 million net loss during the same period, including around $26 million in Q3.

And we're supposed to believe that the guy who spearheaded his company, Donald Trump, is good with money?

The man is the self-dubbed "King of debt", this is as on-brand as you can get.

The company's cash-on-hand dwindled to just $1.8 million at the end of September, compared to $2.4 million at the end of June, while its total liabilities climbed nearly 72% to $60.5 million.

While they may have other non-cash assets and all, that seems like a really, really, really, really not good ratio.

The bottom line: Truth Social's financial future is tied to a proposed reverse merger with a blank-check company called Digital World Acquisition Corp., which raised around $300 million in its IPO.

That deal was first signed in October 2021, but has faced numerous challenges. Last fall, DWAC shareholders agreed to extend the merger closing date to this coming September, which also is shortly before the presidential election.

Hopefully it won't be much longer for this world. Honestly all of the right wing social media grifts have been really pathetic and pointless.

[Evil Midnight Bomber]

Trump continued by claiming Biden was running the show.

[Paranoid Android]

All in all, I will say if Trump can push these boundaries with no consequences and we survive him. One day some famous billionaire or what public percieves, will be more dangerous.

[Breccia]

He then goes on to say the test includes some algebra

If anyone's going to call Trump out for lying about his big numbers, it will be Forbes.

Cognitive testing typically takes around 15 minutes and involves “simple tasks” like spelling words backwards or repeating lists, which are used in people who’ve shown signs of problems with thinking, memory or other brain functions, according to the National Library of Medicine.

Though he didn’t specify which test he took, a mock exam of the Montreal Cognitive Assessment—one of the most common cognitive tests—includes a similar question about identifying animals, as well as questions involving word similarity and drawing a given time on a clock.

https://www.parkinsons.va.gov/resour...st-English.pdf

That's the example they used. Funny story, while it does not have a whale, it does have a RINO.

During a New Hampshire campaign stop Wednesday, Trump boasted about how he “aced” a cognitive test with questions including identifying animal shapes that progressively “got harder,” and included complex math problems.

The only math problem on the mock assessment was a serial sevens test, which requires the subject to count backwards in increments of seven, starting with the number 100.

Yeah, that's not complex math (at least i don't think so HARDEE HAR HAR) and that's not really algebra. I mean, technicaly you can make any math problem algebra, but technically, a whole number is also a polynomial, you just don't call it that. I can only guess what a Trump doing algebra test would look like.

"Okay, solve for x."
"It's Marla."
"...no."
"Oh, then it's Ivana."

As far as a math test, that isn't the GRE. It's not even the SAT. That's the kind of test that follows "Sir, do you know why I pulled you over?" As someone who teaches algebra for a living, I don't think you should be judged mentally incompetent because you can't do the Quadratic Equation when you're 80, but you should be able to count.

- - - Updated - - -

Let's talk about Truth Social. Oddly enough, it's not fucked.

The SEC filings are in. TMTG, the parent company, took in $3.38 million in 2023 "so far" meaning third quarter, these filings lag I guess.

"That's not a horrible profit."

That's revenue.

"...I think I see where this is going."

TMTG lost $49 million in 2023 "so far" and $26 million of that was in the third quarter alone.

But, gosh, kind of a lot's changed. Namely, Trump's victory in Iowa.

DWAC stock is actually $25 now. Yes, there were some recent stories earlier involving DWAC votes failing and investments falling off. But there's no proof that the deal is dead and, as of three days ago, the stock price surged.

Simply put, people are gambling on Trump not just continuing to campaign, but doing so on his social media platform and not Twitter.

Just so we're clear: this is a dumb gamble. But, you could take advantage of the price upswing now, buy, wait till he wins another caucus but before he's found guilty of something, and dump.

I find it highly unlikely that Trump will campaign seriously without taking to Twitter. He needs an audience, and even a renewed Truth Social isn't it.

[Flarelaine]

How many more defamation lawsuits and judgements can he rack up?

He's gonna bankrupt himself on Carroll alone.

You are assuming he pays.

[Breccia]

Well, Giuliani is back in court.

Bankruptcy, this time.

As a reminder, this is just a clumsy attempt at getting out of paying. Simply put, bankruptcy is when you admit to the world you cannot pay all your debts and, therefore, cannot be trusted to handle money, and you're begging someone else to do it for you. Not only does Giuliani have "mandatory" debts to the election workers he defamed, he's also claiming a special exemption for a piece of his money to continue to fight his other court case(s).

"Well at least the election workers aren't there."

No, they are. And they're being very vocal in court. They say Giuliani is trying to abuse the system, and I'm just going to guess the judge agrees.

[Edge-]

Today I learned that Donald Trump averted a nuclear holocaust. At least he claims he did in a deposition for his fraud trial. This was back in April, 2023.

[masterhorus8]

Today I learned that Donald Trump averted a nuclear holocaust. At least he claims he did in a deposition for his fraud trial. This was back in April, 2013.

2013... Before the thought of running for President even crossed what's left of his mind?

[Edge-]

2013... Before the thought of running for President even crossed what's left of his mind?

Mistake on my part, April 13, 2023 in my brain caused an apparent misfire. Description of video has the correct date clearly listed.

- - - Updated - - -

Now that we've seen quite a bit of Alina Habba's courtroom prowess, what does the law school she graduated from, Widener Commonwealth University, have to say about her?

https://archive.is/eC1d6

“Widener Commonwealth deans, professors and alumni contacted by Raw Story had effectively nothing to say about Habba. There’s also no mention of Habba on the “alumni spotlight” of Widener Commonwealth’s website, and she has not been the subject of any stories in the “alumni news” section.”

As noted in the article, people are fairly certain she got her law degree from Trump University and her very public performance is absolutely not doing her alma mater any favors.

- - - Updated - - -

Donald's racist attacks on Nikki Haley have begun.

He's mocking her first name, which is actually Nimarata, by repeatedly calling her "Nimbra", in a very clear and obvious attempt to highlight her Indian heritage. Which we already know is a liability as we've seen some of the racists comments and criticism of Vivek Ramaswamy from Republican voters already.

Racism continues to be a core, tentpole feature of the Republican party platform. It is not a bug.

[Breccia]

As noted in the article, people are fairly certain she got her law degree from Trump University and her very public performance is absolutely not doing her alma mater any favors.

Taking credit for Habba's law degree is a lot like admitting to a fart in an elevator at this point. We all know it was you, stop pretending you don't smell it and apologize.

Oh, and Trump did avert a nuclear holocaust -- the one he was going to cause. You don't get credit for not following through with your own bad idea.

- - - Updated - - -

Habba files for a mistrial on the grounds that Carroll destroyed evidence before the lawsuit had even started and it wasn't evidence yet. Oh, and also, because her Junk folder gets swept every 30 days, you know, fairly standard stuff.

"Didn't you post this yesterday?"

Technically, no, she brought it up to the judge and he slapped it down. She hadn't actually filed anything.

"So, the judge said it--"

Look, I know what the judge said and I know what she filed anyhow. This is just stupid.

[zorkuus]

Today I learned that Donald Trump averted a nuclear holocaust. At least he claims he did in a deposition for his fraud trial. This was back in April, 2023.

Okay, but what does that have to do with his fraud case?

"I once beat up this bully guy" doesn't protect me if I'm caught stealing money from a bank.

[Breccia]

Okay, but what does that have to do with his fraud case?

To Trump, everything. Like you suggested, Trump honestly (insanely) believes that he's such a great person who's done so many great things, that he should be allowed to get away with, well, raping women. It's the same thing he's claiming in his "absolute immunity" claims.

- - - Updated - - -

Lawrence Joseph, lawyer for Sidney Powell, is facing disciplinary charges.

Specifically, Joseph sued Mike Pence, saying Pence had both the ability, and the duty, to unilaterally declare Trump the winner. If you don't remember, I'm not surprised, there were sixty lawsuits and they all failed. This is the case in question.

"Why didn't you link the SCOTUS ruling?"

There wasn't one. They refused to hear it. The case wasn't just meritless, it was based on damn near objective falsehoods. The single issue of the lawsuit was that Pence, who was running, could determine who won, bypassing the E.C. and Congress and doing so on whim.

"Is this the Bar Association?"

Yeah but Forbes makes it sound odd.

D.C. investigators with the Office of Disciplinary Counsel allege that Joseph’s claim “had no factual basis and was false,” and that Joseph’s conduct violated rules of professional conduct and “constituted conduct unbecoming of an attorney.”

The charges against Joseph will be heard by a D.C. Bar committee, which will decide if he is culpable of the charges, as well as potential sanctions that could include suspension, reprimand or disbarment, Politico reported.

In a separate filing, investigators allege two other attorneys—Julia Haller and Brandon Johnson—also “violated the standards governing the practice of law” after filing federal lawsuits in the wake of the 2020 election in four states won by President Joe Biden (Arizona, Georgia, Michigan and Wisconsin). Plaintiffs in those cases attempted to overturn the results of the election in those states, claiming the election was fraught with “fraud on a vast scale as a result of a conspiracy to falsely inflate or increase” Biden’s vote count.

Being an ally of Trump costs you. Now, being an ally of an ally of Trump also costs you. Pretty soon, the DC Bar will go after Kevin Bacon.

Should matter, they all should have seen this coming. Shortly after they started this lawsuit and others, even Team Trump backed away.

Ms. Powell, who was not directly involved in cases the Trump campaign filed in court, appeared with its legal team at a news conference just last week, and had been embraced by the president and many of his allies because of her emphatic and unconditional defense of an array of baseless claims.

On Sunday, though, the Trump campaign reversed course.

“Sidney Powell is practicing law on her own,” it said in a statement. “She is not a member of the Trump legal team. She is also not a lawyer for the president in his personal capacity.”

-- Dec 19, 2020 article

Which is going to cause trouble if she tries "I was working for Trump in an official capacity" in Georgia, I suppose.

Everyone who tried to use the law as a weapon to destroy democracy should have that weapon taken from them.

[Edge-]

““Look at all the people back there — you got a lot of people. This is supposed to be a quaint little area. This is not quaint at all,” Trump told a crowd of supporters in Concord, N.H., remarking about the crowd size, adding later. “You know when [Haley] comes here she gets like nine people, and the press never reports the crowds you know.”

“By the way, they never report the crowd on Jan. 6. You know Nikki Haley, Nikki Haley, Nikki Haley, you know, they — do you know they destroyed all of the information, all of the evidence, everything, deleted and destroyed all of it. All of it,” Trump baselessly claimed. “Because of lots of things … like Nikki Haley is in charge of security — we offered her 10,000 people, soldiers, National Guards, whatever they want. They turned it down. They don’t want to talk about that. These are very dishonest people.”

Donald Trump might be sundowning again. He's confusing Nikki Haley, Republican former governor of North Carolina and his former ambassador to the UN, with Nancy Pelosi, the Democratic former Speaker and current House Rep from California. Who is much older and whiter to Haley who is much younger and of Indian decent.

I guess it's easy to understand how one could confuse those two women. They are both women, after all. Aren't all them dames the same?

[Breccia]

Giuliani's bankruptcy is not going well.

The motion itself that I received is exceedingly brief. It's fairly pro forma. I think it's probably 5 pages of content. There's only really two paragraphs about what it is, how those apply, what's going to happen or what the debtor wants to do.

A lot of the concerns are heightened by the fact that people don't know what it is that the debtor wants to do, and that really affects how you look at the motion and how you analyze what should happen, whether the motion should be granted.

Hoo boy.

Giuliani is also asking this same bankruptcy judge to change/remove the findings of the lawsuit. I don't think he can do that, even if there was a good reason to. It may be possible for the bankruptcy overseer to change some of the priorities of the payments, but I don't think anyone can take the result of a trial they were not part of and just decide to change the outcome. Other than an appeals court, which this isn't.

I guess it's easy to understand how one could confuse those two women.

Let's add to that, Trump is lying either way. No, they didn't destroy the evidence. No, Trump didn't offer troops. No, if he had, it wouldn't have been turned down, but that's not a lie, that's a hypothetical, Trump never offered troops.

National Guard troops were already activated and deployed to checkpoints around Washington before the violence began. When the rioting started, Bowser requested more Guard help, on behalf of the Capitol Police. That request was made to Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy, who then went to Miller, who approved it.

The Pentagon said Miller approved the request without speaking with the White House because he had gotten direction from Trump days earlier to do whatever he deemed necessary with the Guard.

Neither Pelosi nor the House sergeant at arms could have stopped an ordered deployment of National Guard troops because Congress doesn’t control the National Guard, legal experts say. Guard troops are generally controlled by governors, though they can be federalized, said William C. Banks, a law professor at Syracuse University.

Banks added, “The House sergeant at arms, he or she is not in the chain of command. Nor is Nancy Pelosi.”

“The speaker was no more in charge of the security of the U.S. Capitol that day than Mitch McConnell,” Drew Hammill, Pelosi’s deputy chief of staff, told the AP in an email.

Miller testified further in front of Congress.

In testimony shared by the committee Tuesday evening, Miller was asked about an assertion made by former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows that as many as 10,000 National Guard troops were told to be “on the ready” that day.

Miller said he was “never given any direction or order or knew of any plans of that nature.”

“Obviously, we had plans for activating more folks, but that was not anything more than contingency planning,” he added. “There was no official message traffic or anything of that nature.”

When specifically asked about whether there was a direct order from Trump to have Guard troops ready, Miller said there was not.

“There was no order from the president,” he told the House select committee.

Miller was under oath. Trump has not yet said anything under oath on the matter. You know what that means.

"Wait, you said Trump told Miller he could do whatever he wanted. Doesn't that mean he was telling the truth?"

No. Trump said he offered. This is suspicious in its own right, as Trump is claiming he did not have power. Trump routinely claims he has power he doesn't, so when he claims he can't do something, it is rarely true. And, as cited, "offered" is impossible. Trump could not "offer" troops to Congress, they can't command them. The fact that he told Miller he had the authority does not change the fact that Trump is lying about what he said and what happened later.

So it doesn't matter if Trump said Pelosi, Haley, Biden, Obama, Jimmy Carter, Al Capone, or Scooby Dooby Doo. He lied about offering troops to anyone at all.

Yes, it should be troubling to Trump supporters that Trump can't remember the difference between Nancy Pelosi who did not work in the WH, and Nikki Haley that Trump hired on purpose. But if I had to choose which was worse, mixing up names or blatantly lying about your role in the attack on democracy, I know which one's the federal crime.

[NatePsy]

No, they are. And they're being very vocal in court. They say Giuliani is trying to abuse the system, and I'm just going to guess the judge agrees.

The irony is strong, given how he used to target the Mafia like crazy for doing illegal shit, now the tables have turned and it's him doing questionable shit.

[Masark]

The irony is strong, given how he used to target the Mafia like crazy for doing illegal shit, now the tables have turned and it's him doing questionable shit.

I'm beginning to think that he only went after the mafia so the mafiya would have less completion.

[Drutt]

The irony is strong, given how he used to target the Mafia like crazy for doing illegal shit, now the tables have turned and it's him doing questionable shit.

No one knows how to gum up a system better than a guy who used to maintain it.

[Lanrefni]

The irony is strong, given how he used to target the Mafia like crazy for doing illegal shit, now the tables have turned and it's him doing questionable shit.

He wasn't doing it to do the right thing,he did it to make himself look good to his bosses and further his political ambitions,any little gifts he got from the Russian mob for removing their competition with the information they provided was purely incidental.

[Breccia]

No one knows how to gum up a system better than a guy who used to maintain it.

I mean, he's not gumming up anything very well right now, is he? I think the sunset of his ability is causing the cold dark night of his career and relevance.