Trump had a pretty bad day

[billvon 2,381]

Yesterday was a pretty bad day for Individual 1.  Not as bad as the day that the press discovered that his campaign secretly met with a Russian agent to get dirt on Clinton, and not as bad as when he got named in an indictment as "Individual 1."  But still pretty bad.  Yesterday:

-Trump's former attorney general refused to deny that he talked to Trump about the Cohen case during a closed hearing, contradicting what he had said publicly.

-Cohen produced emails suggesting Trump's lawyers had dangled a pardon in front of him if he'd refuse to cooperate - clear obstruction of justice.  If he refused to cooperate, per the email, he could "sleep well tonight" because he had "friends in high places."

-His former campaign manager was sentenced to an additional three years for colluding with a Russian agent to tamper with witnesses.  And New York State announced new charges against Manafort, which Trump will not be able to pardon away.

-A big propaganda opportunity was taken away from him when a right wing activist and Trump supporter was found to have faked "terroristic" death threats.  This will tend to dull his use of Smollet to rally support against the left.

It will be interesting to see how FOX News et al spin the above.

[DJL 232]

23 minutes ago, billvon said:

 

It will be interesting to see how FOX News et al spin the above.

Oh, they'll just dig up some single line of the Page testimony to claim Obama did something and claim that a new report (that will go unreferenced) exonerates Trump and  implicates Clinton.

[billvon 2,381]

1 hour ago, DJL said:

Oh, they'll just dig up some single line of the Page testimony to claim Obama did something and claim that a new report (that will go unreferenced) exonerates Trump and  implicates Clinton.

Probably.

Today isn't shaping up too well either.  A court ruled that the defamation suit against Trump can proceed, brought by a former actress on his show who claims he sexually assaulted her.

And the Senate and House both passed a resolution ending the "wall emergency."  Trump will veto it, of course, but there is now no doubt that the people of the US _and_ the legislature - democratic and republican alike - oppose Trump's power grab.

So of course he's lashing out.  During a Breitbart interview, he threatened liberals with the military, the police and gangs of bikers. "I have the support of the police, the support of the military, the support of the Bikers for Trump.  I have the tough people, but they don’t play it tough—until they go to a certain point and then it would be very bad, very bad.” 

[billvon 2,381]

After the past two days Trump really needs some feel-good photo ops.  So he announced he's heading for the border for another photoshoot.  Only problem is that he wants "to do it in areas where we're building large stretches of wall."   And those areas don't exist.  Down here in San Diego they are replacing some old fences.  In Texas they are building some river levees near the border, but they've only started clearing the land.  In Yuma they are going to replace 14 miles of fence, but they're not starting until April.

And his last photo op?  The one that showed him next to the wall he REALLY wants?  All torn down after the last photoshoot.

 

[obelixtim 100]

5 hours ago, billvon said:

Probably.

Today isn't shaping up too well either.  A court ruled that the defamation suit against Trump can proceed, brought by a former actress on his show who claims he sexually assaulted her.

And the Senate and House both passed a resolution ending the "wall emergency."  Trump will veto it, of course, but there is now no doubt that the people of the US _and_ the legislature - democratic and republican alike - oppose Trump's power grab.

So of course he's lashing out.  During a Breitbart interview, he threatened liberals with the military, the police and gangs of bikers. "I have the support of the police, the support of the military, the support of the Bikers for Trump.  I have the tough people, but they don’t play it tough—until they go to a certain point and then it would be very bad, very bad.” 

He's not being very subtle. This is a clear threat to law and order, and a clear green light to any nutcases out there. Mob boss talk. He really needs to see the inside of a prison cell sometime in the future.

[kallend 1,621]

14 hours ago, obelixtim said:

He's not being very subtle. This is a clear threat to law and order, and a clear green light to any nutcases out there. Mob boss talk. He really needs to see the inside of a prison cell sometime in the future.

Unfortunately the green light extends beyond US borders, as we see in New Zealand today.

[obelixtim 100]

Scumbags like the POS who carried out that attack will never win. But they need to be called out by all decent people, at every opportunity.

[billvon 2,381]

2 hours ago, kallend said:

Unfortunately the green light extends beyond US borders, as we see in New Zealand today.

I fear that the right wing will immediately go into denial over this; they will claim Trump had nothing to do with this, it's not related, the left is insane, it's Obama's fault.  And the problem will just get worse.

With that in mind, it is notable that the killer documented his rampage with a livestream, and called out Trump “as a symbol of white identity and common purpose” during that livestream.

[billvon 2,381]

How bad was Trump's week?  Bad enough that his acting chief of staff had to go on a PR tour to claim "the president is not a white supremacist!"

Reminds me of the SNL skit where President Carter is irradiated somehow and grows to an enormous height.  A reporter asks "is the president is 100 feet tall?"  Spokesman says "No!  Of course not!  Absolutely not!"  Second reporter asks "is the president 90 feet tall?"  There's a pause and then the spokesman says "no comment."

[kallend 1,621]

18 hours ago, billvon said:

How bad was Trump's week?  Bad enough that his acting chief of staff had to go on a PR tour to claim "the president is not a white supremacist!"

Reminds me of the SNL skit where President Carter is irradiated somehow and grows to an enormous height.  A reporter asks "is the president is 100 feet tall?"  Spokesman says "No!  Of course not!  Absolutely not!"  Second reporter asks "is the president 90 feet tall?"  There's a pause and then the spokesman says "no comment."

In the space of 24 hours, two of the top officials in the White House went public to claim that the President isn't a) crazy b) a white supremacist or c) anti-Muslim.

<Shakes head>

[wolfriverjoe 1,340]

32 minutes ago, kallend said:

In the space of 24 hours, two of the top officials in the White House went public to claim that the President isn't a) crazy b) a white supremacist or c) anti-Muslim.

<Shakes head>

So that means he is, right? 
All three?

[kallend 1,621]

7 hours ago, wolfriverjoe said:

So that means he is, right? 
All three?

Remember "I am not a crook"? 

[billvon 2,381]

Today's bad news for Trump is that the FBI may start looking into whether a Florida madam (Li Yang) sold presidential access to foreign nationals.  (Robert Kraft was busted at one of Li Yang's brothels.) 

"I Never met Her!" may not work this time for Trump, since there are several pictures of them together.

[Coreece 189]

33 minutes ago, billvon said:

Today's bad news for Trump is that the FBI may start looking into whether a Florida madam (Li Yang) sold presidential access to foreign nationals. 

I'm curious about that as well.

36 minutes ago, billvon said:

Robert Kraft was busted at one of Li Yang's brothels.

Either you're just flat out lying or you're regurgitating another lie.  This is why it's so hard to take what you say at face value anymore.

 

[wolfriverjoe 1,340]

46 minutes ago, billvon said:

Today's bad news for Trump is that the FBI may start looking into whether a Florida madam (Li Yang) sold presidential access to foreign nationals.  (Robert Kraft was busted at one of Li Yang's brothels.) 

"I Never met Her!" may not work this time for Trump, since there are several pictures of them together.

Technically, it wasn't 'one of Li Yang's brothels'. She sold the chain some time ago.

 

However, she founded the chain and it was widely known for providing 'special services' during her ownership.

[billvon 2,381]

10 minutes ago, wolfriverjoe said:

Technically, it wasn't 'one of Li Yang's brothels'. She sold the chain some time ago.

 

Yeah, looks like she sold them in 2013 and Kraft 'did the deed' in 2018.  I thought she had sold it more recently than that.

[Coreece 189]

Just now, billvon said:

11 minutes ago, wolfriverjoe said:

Technically, it wasn't 'one of Li Yang's brothels'. She sold the chain some time ago.

 

Yeah, looks like she sold them in 2013 and Kraft 'did the deed' in 2018.  I thought she had sold it more recently than that.

There doesn't seem to be much evidence that she was "running a brothel" other than one internet review that I've found.

Another review reported by the Miami Herald that was posted shortly after Yang sold the chain mentioned that the same girls were still working there.  I wonder if some of those same girls were among those believed to have been trafficked in the recent sting.  I'm sure that would be part of the investigation as well if they decide to move forward.

[kallend 1,621]

21 hours ago, billvon said:

Today's bad news for Trump is that the FBI may start looking into whether a Florida madam (Li Yang) sold presidential access to foreign nationals.  (Robert Kraft was busted at one of Li Yang's brothels.) 

"I Never met Her!" may not work this time for Trump, since there are several pictures of them together.

She was just bringing the coffee.

[DJL 232]

On 3/19/2019 at 12:58 PM, billvon said:

"I Never met Her!" may not work this time for Trump, since there are several pictures of them together.

I'm of the opinion that taking a picture with someone doesn't signify knowledge of their illegal activities.  That said, if Trump knew he could go get a rub and tug he probably went and got a rub and tug.

[billvon 2,381]

15 minutes ago, DJL said:

I'm of the opinion that taking a picture with someone doesn't signify knowledge of their illegal activities.  That said, if Trump knew he could go get a rub and tug he probably went and got a rub and tug.

Oh, agreed.  And saying "I never met her!" actually weakens his argument that he didn't know of her illegal activities, because it's demonstrably a lie.  Unfortunately it's the go-to argument for Trump.

[DJL 232]

37 minutes ago, billvon said:

Oh, agreed.  And saying "I never met her!" actually weakens his argument that he didn't know of her illegal activities, because it's demonstrably a lie.  Unfortunately it's the go-to argument for Trump.

Ah yes.

[gowlerk 1,903]

2 minutes ago, DJL said:

Ah yes.

But did he inhale? Or more to the point, did she swallow?

Edited March 20, 2019 by gowlerk

[billvon 2,381]

This is just funny:

The Economic Report of the President was just released.  It listed all the people who worked on it, including a lot of interns:

"Interns during the previous year were Brittany Amano, Jackson Bailey, Rana Bansal, Christian Brown, Lydia Byrom, John Cleese, Alexis Cirrotti, Jesse Dennis, Mackenzie Dickhudt, Adam Donoho, Troy Durie, Michael Everett, Isabelle Holland, Wesley Huang, J. T. Hutt, Kathryn Janeway, Mostafa Kamel, Ayesha Karnik, David Laszcz, John Leo, Eugene Liu, Kacey Manlove, Aunt May, Kevin Nguyen, Katherine Olsson, Sarah Park, Peter Parker, Pragya Parthasarathy, Arjun Ramani, Kriyana Reddy, Steve Rogers, Jake Rosen, Joshua Siegel, John Snow, Nirali Trivedi, Bruce Wayne, Amanda Wilcox, and Jacob Ziemba."

So apparently Nearly Headless Nick, Jabba the Hutt, Captain Janeway, Spiderman (and his Aunt May too) Captain America and Batman worked on it.  I mean, Captain America, that's great; I am sure he kicked anyone's ass who wasn't contributing to the team.  But Jabba the Hutt?  He's well known for being sort of  . . . shady and murder-y about economic plans.

[ryoder 1,381]

"Nearly Headless Nick" will always be Basil Fawlty to me.

 

[jakee 1,254]

But he does have extensive government experience in the Ministry...