Mega-Thread: Trump Focused Discussion

[Felya]

https://twitter.com/ndrew_lawrence/s...68897183051776

Y'all...I regret to share with you...the "comedy" stylings of Greg Gutfeld. It's not funny. Conservative humor so rarely is.

I couldn’t even watch it... the concept of... ‘other news will find any reason to talk about Trump, so here is a sketch about Trump’... just hurts the brain...

[Blur4stuff]

Conservatives being good at comedy is extremely rare. Only one that I can even think of is Kelsey Grammer.

[Kaleredar]

Conservatives being good at comedy is extremely rare. Only one that I can even think of is Kelsey Grammer.

And Kelsey grammar isn’t doing comedy from a conservative standpoint, he’s a comedian who is also a conservative.

“Conservative comedy” would basically have to be comedy condemning liberal policies or supporting conservatives policies... all of which requires, essentially, punching down, as others have noted. Which doesn’t fly all that well in comedy.

[Edge-]

Apparently, Mike Pompeo has now also joined Fox as a contributor. So glad Trump officials have themselves a little employment program.

Usually former Secretaries of State and CIA Chiefs can find slightly more lucrative work than yapping on Fox.

[Benggaul]

Wednesday's report:

75,183 new cases, about 5k more than last Wednesday.

Top 5:

Michigan: 9,369 new cases; 30 deaths
New York: 7,443 new cases; 83 deaths
Fuck Florida.
Pennsylvania: 4,604 new cases; 52 deaths
New Jersey: 4,243 new cases; 49 deaths
Texas: 4,055 new cases; 108 deaths

Oops that's 6. Oh well.

Michigan is knocking on the door of 10k cases, posting about 2.5k more than last Wednesday. Out of all of the states experiencing an increase the past couple weeks, Michigan appears to be by far the worst. Dr. Nandi can tell you why. The gist of it is that there are numerous reasons including several outbreaks among "kids", pandemic fatigue making people sloppy and, probably most importantly, "Michigan has the second most recorded cases of this very contagious [UK] variant in the US." If it weren't for Michigan's numbers the national new case total might actually be pretty flat.

873 deaths is a little under 200 fewer than last Wednesday and brings the total to 572,849. There's a good chance this will be the first week since the beginning of October where we don't break 1k deaths in a day. The 7-day average is down to about 770.

Related news:

UK variant has become most dominant COVID strain in US, CDC says--As a reminder, this is the more contagious one. Be extra vigilant with your precautions.

Stay safe, folks.

[Edge-]

https://www.kansascity.com/news/poli...250524564.html

Ya'll remember that the Senate Majority leader in Kansas got picked up for DUI? And Republicans kinda stood by and didn't condemn him for allegedly driving the wrong way, speeding, and being drunk? Yeah...

Kansas Senate Majority Leader Gene Suellentrop had a blood alcohol level over twice the legal limit after his arrest, according to court documents released Thursday that allege he refused a Breathalyzer test and told an officer he could “take” him in a fight.

Suellentrop faces a felony charge of fleeing and eluding law enforcement and multiple misdemeanors related to an alleged early morning wrong-way chase on Topeka highways last month. The Wichita Republican has been mostly silent about the allegations against him.

But court documents released to The Star and other outlets reveal new details, including allegations that Suellentrop failed to respond to an officer’s repeated commands to turn off his vehicle once he finally stopped. The documents say his blood alcohol level was 0.17. The legal limit is 0.08.

...

Suellentrop “made reference to physically going up against me. He looked me up and down stating he played state sports competitively in high school. He stated he could ‘take me,’” the affidavit says.

He was then taken to jail.

Man, threatening a cop, refusing to listen to commands, and they didn't even shoot him! He must have done something white.

I wonder of Kansas Republicans will start demanding his resignation now or if they'll wait to see if he's convicted because CANCEL CULTURE HAS RUN AMOK

[Felya]

https://www.kansascity.com/news/poli...250524564.html

Ya'll remember that the Senate Majority leader in Kansas got picked up for DUI? And Republicans kinda stood by and didn't condemn him for allegedly driving the wrong way, speeding, and being drunk? Yeah...



Man, threatening a cop, refusing to listen to commands, and they didn't even shoot him! He must have done something white.

I wonder of Kansas Republicans will start demanding his resignation now or if they'll wait to see if he's convicted because CANCEL CULTURE HAS RUN AMOK

This HS athlete, needs to be a new Blue Lives Mater slogan... it is right out of married with children... did he score 4 touchdowns in one game, so the cop has no shot?

[Edge-]

This HS athlete, needs to be a new Blue Lives Mater slogan... it is right out of married with children... did he score 4 touchdowns in one game, so the cop has no shot?

Imagine being Senate Majority Leader in your state, and you still think about your glory days when you were All-State in highschool.

How fuckin pathetic of a life is that.

[cubby]

https://www.kansascity.com/news/poli...250524564.html

Ya'll remember that the Senate Majority leader in Kansas got picked up for DUI? And Republicans kinda stood by and didn't condemn him for allegedly driving the wrong way, speeding, and being drunk? Yeah...

Kansas Senate Majority Leader Gene Suellentrop had a blood alcohol level over twice the legal limit after his arrest, according to court documents released Thursday that allege he refused a Breathalyzer test and told an officer he could “take” him in a fight.

Suellentrop faces a felony charge of fleeing and eluding law enforcement and multiple misdemeanors related to an alleged early morning wrong-way chase on Topeka highways last month. The Wichita Republican has been mostly silent about the allegations against him.

But court documents released to The Star and other outlets reveal new details, including allegations that Suellentrop failed to respond to an officer’s repeated commands to turn off his vehicle once he finally stopped. The documents say his blood alcohol level was 0.17. The legal limit is 0.08.

...

Suellentrop “made reference to physically going up against me. He looked me up and down stating he played state sports competitively in high school. He stated he could ‘take me,’” the affidavit says.

He was then taken to jail.

Man, threatening a cop, refusing to listen to commands, and they didn't even shoot him! He must have done something white.

I wonder of Kansas Republicans will start demanding his resignation now or if they'll wait to see if he's convicted because CANCEL CULTURE HAS RUN AMOK

I cannot express in words how well that was phrased. And had he not been white, he would be dead now, almost assuredly.

[Breccia]

Michigan is knocking on the door of 10k cases,

The other day I saw an article "five states with the most cases" It was not per-capita so I ignored it.

Perhaps I should not have, because it was four states everyone here would guess and also Michigan, which is not big enough of a state to be in the top five. Unless they're fucking it up.

- - - Updated - - -

DeSantis sues the CDC for keeping cruise lines locked down.

We don’t believe the federal government has the right to mothball a major industry for over a year based on very little evidence and very little data. I think we have a great chance for success

"How long has Biden been President?"

About two months.

"Didn't Trump lock down the cruise lines?"

Yes.

"Did DeSantis sue Trump?"

No.

"Very little evidence?"

DeSantis is probably trying to use a smokescreen that there's little data from cruise lines because they were locked down. It's the same as me saying "nobody was playing pandarians in Wrath, they need to be uptuned!"

Also that "very little evidence" is mostly [urlhttps://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/22/us/politics/trump-coronavirus-cruise-ship.html=]that one cruise liner that Trump allowed passengers to leave from[/url]. It was Feb 26th.

Trump was infuriated that 14 American citizens who had tested positive for coronavirus were permitted to return this week to the United States, said two senior administration officials. The decision had taken the president, a self-declared “germophobe,” by surprise.

Officials at the State Department decided to bring back the citizens, who had been quarantined on the Diamond Princess cruise ship in Japan, after consulting with a senior official at the Department of Health and Human Services. But officials at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention objected, concerned that the passengers, among hundreds of Americans being evacuated from the ship, could spread the virus. News organizations reported on the decision on Monday, and the passengers arrived in the United States that day.

Mr. Trump, furious at not having been briefed on the Americans who had tested positive, relayed his anger to Alex M. Azar II, the health and human services secretary, and other top officials. They then alerted the White House interagency task force on the coronavirus, which Mr. Azar oversees. One official said Mr. Trump views shutting the borders to infected people as critical to keeping the country safe and wants to be seen as managing a proper response.

"Wow, that last part actually looks fairly intelligent."

Maybe, but it wasn't done, and it wasn't done under his watch. Maybe I'm the best teacher in the world (LOL not even close) but if I leave the classroom for 15 minutes to check AH prices and students cheat during the test while not observed, guess what? I take the blame as much as the students.

Aslo before we praise Trump's motives on this one, as a reminder, he did pretty much everything else wrong. Travel from China? Travel from EU? Packed churches on Easter? 15 I mean 45 days to stop the spread? Forced re-opening of businesses? Take out COVID and "Trump wants to close the borders" sounds like any other day.

[Rasulis]

Usually former Secretaries of State and CIA Chiefs can find slightly more lucrative work than yapping on Fox.

Headhunters having hard time finding jobs for former Trump officials: report

Headhunters have indicated difficulties in finding jobs for former Trump Cabinet officials in the months since leaving their posts, The Washington Post reported Wednesday.

Recruiters who spoke on the condition of anonymity told the Post that former President Trump’s significantly low approval rating upon leaving office, as well as being the only president in U.S. history to be impeached twice, has deterred companies from hiring former administration officials.

The headhunters said that offering a board seat to someone associated with the Trump administration could trigger a revolt from customers, employees or shareholders.

The Post noted that one of the former officials struggling to find work is Elaine Chao, Trump’s Transportation secretary, despite the fact that she previously gained roles on the boards for companies such as Dole Foods, Protective Life and Wells Fargo following her role as Labor secretary under former President George W. Bush.

Two headhunters who personally consulted Chao told the Post that top executives have been hesitant to bring on Chao and others.

One of the headhunters who spoke anonymously to the Post due to the sensitive nature of the discussions said that some companies that had been contacted regarding a position for Chao said it was “too soon” after Trump’s presidency to bring her on.

The Post on Wednesday noted that at this point in 2009, four major companies had acquired members of George W. Bush’s Cabinet to serve as directors.

By contrast, out of the approximately half of S&P 500 companies that have filed their 2021 investor disclosure reports, no former Trump Cabinet official is listed among the 108 new or prospective board members, according to Insightia data reviewed by the Post.

[Edge-]

https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2021...ing-over-money

Oh joy, and now Republicans are worried that Trump may be cutting into the GOP's fundraising efforts. Man it'd be sad if the GOP found themselves looking for money because Trump grifted it all away from their base on shitty doormats.

[Breccia]

Republicans are worried that Trump may be cutting into the GOP's fundraising efforts.

Too little, too late. The time to be worried about the damage a non-Republican would do to their party by insisting on loyalists over competence, was in 2016. They had 14 months of warnings and continued to back him at every single option.

Yes, Trump is going to "Fund raise" and yes, he is going to keep the money.

- - - Updated - - -

NY AG starts seizing documents in the ongoing effort to make Trump suffer consequences for all that stuff he did.

The current target is the Weisselberg family, which we already suspected of course. Specificaly, Allen Weisselberg has a son Barry, who until 2018 was married to Jennifer. The divorce was not especially friendly, and last month we knew she not only got Trump Org documents in the divorce, but was also cooperating with NYState. Even if she had no such documents, she is fully aware of what her former father-in-law would have received as under-the-table bribes that somehow didn't get reported on tax filings.

Speaking of which, some of those documents she claims to have, are Trump Org tax returns. Guess we won't need SCOTUS for those, considering she's the lawful owner and is handing them over willingly. It should be noted that not only is Allen Weisselberg accused by Cohen of being involved with the Stormy Daniels illegal payout (both because she took money to have sex with Trump, but took even more money not to tell anyone about it -- something Graham's wife is doing for free) but he's also 73. He's staring down the double-barrel of even a short prison term being a life sentence, and also having all his money taken for all those laws he broke.

This is a tough call.

Weisselberg has been a friend of the Trump family for decades.

But he also knows what loyalty to Trump is worth.

This one's a coin flip. Place your bets.

- - - Updated - - -

Related: the Trump Org is now hiring criminal defense lawyers.

Yep.

Alan Futerfas, an attorney for the company, confirmed in--

"Whoa whoa whoa! Hiring a defense attorney is not proof or even evidence of guilt. Everyone is entitled to a defense."

That's true. And one would assume Trump and his businesses have dozens of lawyers. But, um, two things.

1) This probe has been going since 2018, when Cohen started publicly cooperating eagerly. "No really, it's my pleasure," Cohen's not quoted as saying but I'm paraphrasing, "please don't take all my illegal money." No criminal lawyer, or at least none worth making the news, was hired. Nor were Giuliani, the Kraken, or other familiar names moved.

2) As I just posted, the Weisselbergs made the news a few days ago and just today we have confirmation of Trump Org documents being handed over. That same day, BOOM, hired a criminal lawyer.

I am not buying that Trump is hiring a criminal lawyer now because everyone should have one. I'm buying that he's hiring one, because he knows without it he's fucked.

Futerfas (the guy) is no noob. I expect him to take payment in advance.

[pathora44]

This HS athlete, needs to be a new Blue Lives Mater slogan... it is right out of married with children... did he score 4 touchdowns in one game, so the cop has no shot?

That is what I was thinking, how pathetic can you be when Al Bundy is your role model.

[Edge-]

https://www.al.com/news/2021/04/alab...no-excuse.html

Yo, this shit is off the chain.

Alabama SOS is accused of extramarrital affair, amongst other accusations. Denies it vigorously, accuses his accuser of "stalking" and "harassing" him.

McPherson provided Al.com with a recording of an October 2020 conversation between her and Merrill, who is a Republican. In the 17-minute recording, Merrill and McPherson discuss various sexual acts they performed during dozens of romantic encounters that McPherson says took place between November 2017 and November 2020. During the conversation, Merrill seems to try to end his relationship with McPherson, who was reluctant to break off the affair. He told her they had met for the last time and that he was seeking help from the Lord to stay away from her.

After being played a portion of the recording Wednesday, Merrill, who is married with two children, told AL.com “there’s no excuse” for his extramarital relationship.

Man, imagine hearing your dirty talk with your mistress from a reporter calling you out on your bullshit.

In 2015, Merrill was involved a separate scandal after a woman alleged that she performed oral sex on him in 2010. He denied the encounter went that far, but admitted in an interview with AL.com that he and the woman kissed and that she unbuttoned his shirt, took off his belt and fondled him.

Sounds like a repeat problem with this fuck.

[Poopymonster]

https://www.kansascity.com/news/poli...250524564.html

Ya'll remember that the Senate Majority leader in Kansas got picked up for DUI? And Republicans kinda stood by and didn't condemn him for allegedly driving the wrong way, speeding, and being drunk? Yeah...



Man, threatening a cop, refusing to listen to commands, and they didn't even shoot him! He must have done something white.

That really is qwhite something I have to say.

[Breccia]

Hey remember when Trump said more people would die due to lockdowns than COVID itself?

WE CANNOT LET THE CURE BE WORSE THAN THE PROBLEM ITSELF. AT THE END OF THE 15 DAY PERIOD, WE WILL MAKE A DECISION AS TO WHICH WAY WE WANT TO GO!

-- March 2020 (heh, 15 days)

"Okay, but what does that say about--"

Fact checking Trump's claim about suicides if the economic shutdown continues
-- also March 2020

"Oh. Of course."

As some in President Donald Trump's inner circle push for loosening social distancing guidelines amid economic fallout from the novel coronavirus outbreak, he has predicted "tremendous death" and "suicide by the thousands" if the country isn't "opened for business" in a matter of weeks.

"You're going to lose more people by putting a country into a massive recession or depression." Trump said Tuesday in a Fox News town hall. "You're going to lose people. You're going to have suicides by the thousands."

One night before, at a coronavirus task force briefing, the president said, "I'm talking about where people suffer massive depression, where people commit suicide, where tremendous death happens… I mean, definitely would be in far greater numbers than the numbers that we're talking about with regard to the virus."

Ah good times...good times...the US suicide rate dropped in 2020.

Specifically, the number of suicides last year was 45,000 and as @Benggaul will surely tell us, the number of COVID deaths in 2020 was, um, just a liiiiiiiiiiiiiiittle bit higher than that. He might use terms like "not even close" or "order of magnitude" or "Breccia for fuck's sake, Trump being that wrong is hardly news anymore"

[PhaelixWW]

There's a good chance this will be the first week since the beginning of October where we don't break 1k deaths in a day.

Totally jinxed it.

[Breccia]

Our investigation has shown that Trump Administration officials engaged in a persistent pattern of political interference in the nation’s public health response to the coronavirus pandemic, overruling and bullying scientists and making harmful decisions that allowed the virus to spread more rapidly

-- House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis

This committee is now asking for documents for these changes. Considering Team Trump was using personal email addresses for this -- yeyp, that's that hypocrisy again -- trying to alter or block MMWR numbers that made Trump look bad, and to present evidence that opening businesses was actually a good move, such documents exist. I don't know which specific laws you break, when you alter government reports in a way specifically designed to get people killed, but the House committee will, and they have every reason to apply them.

[Edge-]

https://twitter.com/NikkiMcR/status/1380309798957285376

And Tucker Carlson goes all in on the "great replacement theory".

Fuck this white supremacist piece of shit, cable companies need to start dropping Fox from their packages, because that's where most of Fox's money comes from. Force them to actually rely on advertisers and worry about advertiser boycotts.