Donald John Trump: 2016 President-Elect

[fishcakes]

Most presidents-elect would be using the time before the inauguration to fill the 4000 vacant political appointee slots, or maybe even just of few of them like, oh say, Secretary of State, but Trump? Nah.

Trump to launch 'thank you' tour with Thursday rally in Cincinnati

[BBDi]

8 hours ago, ruby24 said:

I feel like this too. I know for a fact that I am smarter than this man. I know how the government works and what the three branches actually do. I've actually read the Constitution, because as a poli-sci major in college, I had to. And I know that he has not. That he couldn't name any of the amendments, the departments, or what anyone actually does.

The fact that I genuinely believe that I could do better job as president than the guy that got elected...HORRIFIES me. It makes me feel totally unsafe. And the people around him are no better! So we're even worse off. This is awful.

I am curious whether he and his team honestly don't understand the three branches and how they work (e.g., his spokeswhore's comment how "gracious" Trump is for not prosecuting Hillary, or if they are just banking on Trump supporters' lack of understanding. 

[potatoradio]

9 hours ago, tenativelyyours said:

I mean there is the hilarious meme that he ran to win on the Electoral college even though he claimed that was part of the fix just weeks ago prior to the election and now he is screaming like his little dick is caught in a fold of his double layered Spanx over fraud for the popular vote

OK, I just had to respond to this as soon as I read it - you owe me another cup of coffee. I spit mine out laughing so hard at this.

I like dark roast with room, please. :) If you get it from Starbucks, please place it under the name "Resistance."

Thanks for the laugh.

[windsprints]

Congress May Hold Key to Handling Trump's Conflict of Interest

[stormy]

Some newsy person asked the 16 yr old trump retweeted if he wanted to be SOS.  He said sure if he was old enough.  Give the job anyway.

After meeting with trump yesterday, Patraeus said trump is very knowledgeable about many parts of the world and challenges there.  Patreus, crawl back under your disgraced rock.

I'm trying to picture doughy man baby alone in the White House at night.  What will he do?  Moon the portraits of the presidents?  Watch Arnold as the new Apprentice host and curse and tweet insults at him?  Jump on the beds?  Or just wrap himself up in his blanky, clutch his teddy bear and cry himself to sleep?

[Toomuchsoap]

Quote

Or just wrap himself up in his blanky, clutch his teddy bear and cry himself to sleep?

He doesn't sleep. He tweets.

[ari333]

3 minutes ago, Toomuchsoap said:

He doesn't sleep. He tweets.

And his effing !!! exclamation points make me stabby!!!  ... !!!

[DollEyes]

13 hours ago, galaxygirl76 said:

 it pleases me immensely that one of my favorite actors, Chris Evans, is so very outspoken against anything Orangina on Twitter that it makes me love him even more. Captain America doesn't want anything to do with you, you orange turd.

Here's another tweet you might like, from Ryan Reynolds, posted on November 9th:

Quote

I watched "Frozen" without my 2 year old this morning. Despair reveals itself in many forms.

13 hours ago, galaxygirl76 said:

Looks like Deadpool's not a Trump fan, either.

[ari333]

Example: "Castro is dead!"

Yeah, we know, idiot. We dont have to see you tweet it to know it.

[Chicken Wing]

21 minutes ago, Toomuchsoap said:

He doesn't sleep. He tweets.

He's like a shark. All he does is tweet and poop. Tweet and poop.

[khyber]

1 hour ago, Toomuchsoap said:

Oh, these lovable simpleton Polyannas, these Democrats! Chaffetz only 'investigates' Hillary. Wish in one hand and shit in the other, guys. 

You guys need to start figuring out what to tell your constituents back home when they start receiving letters from Humana, Blue Cross, etc., on January 21st telling them they've been dropped from their health insurance plans ... for reasons. They need to start figuring out how to tell their young adult kids and their friends, that the burden of future eldercare for dear old Mom and Dad- all of it now, from drugs, to housing, to bedpans and feeding, is going to be their leisure time responsibility now, like it was in those glorious "good old golden days" when things were whiter and everything was just fine for all. Everyone who is not now on Social Security and Medicare better start planning very, very judiciously, meticulously, about how they plan to "save" every penny they ever earn, assuming they actually earn anything above what is needed immediately for their day-to-day expenses, so that they'll have a little something stashed away for that cold, rainy day when they're old, hungry, almost destitute, sick and can't afford health care or medicine and there's nobody there to help them. Bye, bye independence, Grampa and Granny! You're going to be living with Jr. now, with Jr's wifey-poo taking care of you, that is if they have an abode that will accommodate you. You old white men and your fat old white wives better start 'splainin to the young'uns  that takin' care of the old folks all of 'em is now in their hands, just like it used to be in the good old days of the Dust Bowls and Hoovervilles. Ah! Good times! Just like the good old days!

Yup.  No more medicaid to pay for nurse home care. No more cheap immigrant labor to change  the diapers, etc. 

[kassa]

I hope people go to the rally and hold up those two fingers like the District people protesting in the Hunger Games. (One finger is tempting, but crass.  He wouldn't know what it meant.  "Boy scouts?  Are the boy scouts saluting me?")

I guess we can be thankful that the new transportation secretary isn't Amish.  

[callmebetty]

1 minute ago, kassa said:

I hope people go to the rally and hold up those two fingers like the District people protesting in the Hunger Games. (One finger is tempting, but crass.  He wouldn't know what it meant.  "Boy scouts?  Are the boy scouts saluting me?")

I guess we can be thankful that the new transportation secretary isn't Amish.  

I think it was three fingers in the hunger games.

[kassa]

1 minute ago, callmebetty said:

I think it was three fingers in the hunger games.

I think you are correct.  

[numbnut]

51 minutes ago, Toomuchsoap said:

He doesn't sleep. He tweets.

When he's not having a Twitter tantrum after being insulted, he's using Twitter to be controversial and deflect from news that can damage him. He also enjoys watching the frenzied reactions to his tweets. He's treating the presidency like a reality show, and I'm not buying in. Anyone with a 4 year old knows how to handle a child's tantrum. My focus will now stay on his actions (or lack of action) outside of Twitter.

Edited November 29, 2016 by numbnut

[callmebetty]

2 minutes ago, numbnut said:

When he's not having Twitter tantrum when he's insulted, he's using Twitter to be controversial and deflect from news that can damage him. He also enjoys watching the frenzied reactions to his tweets. He treating the presidency like a reality show, and I'm not buying in. Anyone with a 4 year old knows how to handle a child's tantrum. My focus will now stay on his actions (or lack of action) outside of Twitter.

I imagine that when whiny baby Thing starts throwing a fit much like like giving a baby or toddler a pacifier, they give him Twitter, probably calms and soothes him.

[Ocean Chick]

1 hour ago, fishcakes said:

Most presidents-elect would be using the time before the inauguration to fill the 4000 vacant political appointee slots, or maybe even just of few of them like, oh say, Secretary of State, but Trump? Nah.

Trump to launch 'thank you' tour with Thursday rally in Cincinnati

But see?  Most presidents-elect would actually be trying to find qualified candidates for the jobs.  All the Orange Obscenity has to do is throw darts at a board covered with the names of people who kiss his @ss.  He doesn't care if they're qualified or not.  Saves him tons of time, which he can now fill with his beloved rallies filled with cheering people.

[candall]

On ‎11‎/‎27‎/‎2016 at 2:51 PM, Padma said:

ETA: Per KAC, Trump and Obama spoke for 45minutes yesterday.

She's not saying what the two discussed, but she says the two men "talk regularly" and "get along nicely" despite strong disagreements on policy. Conway tells NBC's "Meet the Press" that "there's a respect there."

WTH? After the birther nonsense? And Tubby calling Obama the "most incompetent president in history" and "literally, the founder of ISIS", there's now "a respect"?  I find that nauseating.

At first, I thought:  how can she condemn Romney's . . . uh, "smack talk" when it's identical to what DT did to Obama for years?  But then Michael Steele screwed my head back on by pointing out that KAC is the most loyal of T Loyalists.  She's not out there independently "off the rails," and DT's not "furious."  Steele had a good give-me-a-break snort for the world of journalism at large leeching onto this "Kellyanne goes rogue" story.

It got more serious when Steele pointed out exactly how few news outlets reported the "popular vote win" claim WITHOUT adding there was zero evidence to support it.  Has the Fourth Estate completely gone belly up and squirted a little pee into the air to show surrender?  Do we have to rely on people like the Heatstreet.com guy to say, "If DT's mouth hole is moving, lies are coming out"???

Add another check mark in "the end of the world as we knew it" category.

 

On ‎11‎/‎27‎/‎2016 at 7:08 PM, Macbeth said:

 I clicked on the link and Alex Jones, a infamous right-wing conspiracy generator, is one of the sources. 

Yes.  Some rando loony tweeted--TOTALLY UNSUBSTANTIATED--that "three million" votes were fraudulent.  The infamous Alex Jones picked it up, it went to that crackhead site "Info Wars" and DT glommed on from there.  From some idiot nutjob in his mom's basement to the President-Elect's "truth" to the headlines of the Wall Street Journal, in nothing flat.

Another check mark.

 

17 hours ago, windsprints said:

Will he look to block the recount? If he is so confident he's won fair and square then why hire lawyers, etc?

 

14 hours ago, KerleyQ said:

I just saw that Roger Stone said that Trump would re-examine prosecuting Hillary if she goes along with the recount.   

Everyone who has a stake in the election results sends their own representatives in the event of a recount--it's standard operating procedure.  DT's doing it, HRC's doing it:  same-same.  It's so basic and simple.  But of course DT sees another opportunity to land a few more blows on Hillary, his favorite whipping boy.  His fans eat that up; it's by far his most popular move.

Like:  Hillary's private email server made her a criminal, but Petraeus handing his mistress code words, spy names and classified presidential briefings makes him a good candidate for a cabinet position.  And everyone just goes, "Yeah!"

*****************

 

I'm very depressed and demoralized today.  I was thinking this morning that I don't know whether this clown and his cronies will even have a chance to ruin the country before someone drops a nuke because he wasn't paying attention, or he actively does something to compel it.

I depend on you guys to give me a slap and a shake and get me back to fighting form.

[izabella]

I wish WaPo or NYT or whoever had a running tally of Trump's lies as a daily column, with each days' lying tweets added.  Of course, by January, the whole front page would be filled with the list of lies, but it would be a nice poke in they eye to Trump to have that Presidential Daily Lie column.

[KerleyQ]

15 hours ago, Toomuchsoap said:

You're right. Certainly, Pence isn't better, BUT he will never own the bully pulpit like tRump does. If tRump isn't the rallying point, their megaphone mouthpiece vanishes and the people that voted for their sleazebag savior are left with the the people they've left in the dust before but with the same policies that we're all about to be butt-raped with that tRump and the rethugs will be cramming down, on, in around for the rest of eternity anyway. How popular will that be? How popular will this bankrupt, corrupt so-called party and their agenda be when their Social Security payments and Medicare coverage ends? Without their mini Hitler-wannabe, they got nothin' but butt fucks for all. How long will that stay popular and trending with a hashtag?

The thing is, though, the GOP have become masters of getting their supporters to always blame whoever they tell them to blame.  And they fall for it.  That's how the GOP exists and hasn't either been forced to change or gone into extinction.  Even though they have control now (or will come 1/20), they will still find someone else to blame for their mistakes.  It won't be logical to any of us who weren't buying the GOP's bullshit to begin with, and it may result in a small portion of their voting base saying "hey, how can this be Elizabeth Warren's fault when you guys have control of both houses?"  But, overall, their base will believe them when they say that their policies are being undermined by something Warren, Sanders, et al, are pushing for, or that their changes would work if only they're allowed to make this one more change, or their policies would work if it wasn't for the illegals/poor/elderly/Muslims/gays/minorities who aren't pulling their weight.  And, of course, "this policy will work once we've had a few years to undo the damage President Obama caused."  You know that's coming.  They'll buy themselves enough time to win the midterms, ensuring their majority remains intact.  

14 hours ago, calliope1975 said:

Are nightly crazeballs Twitter rants what we have to look forward to for the next 4 years? Can someone 5150 his ass? 

This is what his grasping son-in-law should be working on - suck up enough to make sure that he and Ivanka are the ones to be in charge if something happens to him, then 5150 his ass.  

14 hours ago, bittersweet4149 said:

OMG, when is Ashton Kutcher going to jump out and yell, "Punk'd"?

At this point, we've moved beyond Punk'd.  Now we need Andy Kaufman to rip off his Trump mask.  

13 hours ago, sistermagpie said:

You know, whether or not there is any strategy involved in the Tweets, I honestly believe this is genuinely what he’s interested in. It’s always been his focus: winning. I’ve never seen any evidence that he really cares whether or not Medicare or Social Security goes down—remember this is a guy who railed against Obamacare without seeming to understand what it was. I could believe that this is actually what he’d rather be doing, and that all this other stuff that’s so awful is just the distraction for him.

Like he’s hiring terrible people, but not because he really wants to gut public schools or whatever. It’s just this person is nice to him and gave money to the campaign. And he knows she has something to do with schools. It’s not completely random since all of these people have a pattern, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s the people around him who are really directing this stuff while he’s far more interested in what he’s always been interested in: his personal triumph and gain. So it really does bother him that people say he lost. He really does want to pretend he, personally, kept plants that were never leaving the country in the country, or that he’s trying to get another one to stay here just by calling people on the phone. I think all his other decisions are based on a) what he's convinced will make him impressive to the people right in front of him at that moment and b) what will make him money.

I still believe (and his behavior since the win reinforces it) that he never wanted the job.  He just wanted the win.  He hates that the other billionaires don't take him seriously.  He's considered a grasping joke among their circle, especially among the really wealthy real estate developers (a group he likes to consider himself the leader of, even though they don't even like to claim him as a member).  He wanted to prove that people love him and that he's a winner.  That's why he's embarking on this victory tour - to bask in more of the adulation he received at his rallies and to reinforce that he won.  

13 hours ago, bittersweet4149 said:

Right! How the hell will rump and his thugs spin selling out the very people who fight for our country, and will that finally wake up his legion on lemmings?

It won't wake them up at first.  He'll spin it as another example of what a great business man he is, and how of course he knows how to do this, because business is his thing.  And one of the things about him that his supporters have cited from the get go has been that he's a successful business man, so, of course, he'd be great at running the country.  Since a decision to privatize the VA would fall under the heading of a "business decision" in their eyes, then he's just trying to do the right thing to fix the system that the politicians haven't been able to run right.  

11 hours ago, backformore said:

Yes, that's exactly how I feel.  There have been presidents I haven't agreed with, and haven't respected,  but I was able to respect that they held the office and were doing what they thought was best for the country.   They might have flaws, but they were driven to serve the country.

Wit Trump, I can't say that.  He is completely , 100% driven by his ego.   People around him kiss up to him, and they are then in positions of influence.  He doesn't see through bullshit and ass-kissing,  because his need for ass-kissing is so great. 

Agreed.  I wouldn't be happy if, say, Kasich, Bush, or Romney had won, but I wouldn't fee like we were careening towards an epic disaster.  I think they're all basically decent men who want to do what they think is best most of the time (and sometimes let themselves be misguided by party leadership or the interests of their biggest donors), even if I don't necessarily agree with them on what is "best".  I'd just figure we were in for at least four more years of W.  We survived 8 of those, we'd survive 4 more.  Trump is a whole other animal.  His ego will always come first.  And that is a very dangerous way to run a country.  

11 hours ago, Padma said:

How does he have no interest in this? Aleppo is in crisis. 

I'd be willing to bet that, before Johnson's infamous "Aleppo" moment, Trump had exactly zero idea what Aleppo was either.  

10 hours ago, ruby24 said:

I feel like this too. I know for a fact that I am smarter than this man. I know how the government works and what the three branches actually do. I've actually read the Constitution, because as a poli-sci major in college, I had to. And I know that he has not. That he couldn't name any of the amendments, the departments, or what anyone actually does.

The fact that I genuinely believe that I could do better job as president than the guy that got elected...HORRIFIES me. It makes me feel totally unsafe. And the people around him are no better! So we're even worse off. This is awful.

I'd like to think that, at minimum, our President should be required to know at least as much about our Constitution as I needed to know to pass 8th grade.  Unfortunately, that is not the case.  

5 hours ago, mythoughtis said:

 The next 4 years are going to be a constant stream of explaining to him what freedom of speech and expression means. As low class as burning the flag is, it's legal to do so and a symbol that we DO have freedom of expression. 

Seriously.  I think his tweet this morning about flag burning may actually be his scariest moment yet.  That is some serious totalitarian regime stuff there.  He actually tweeted that he wants to imprison people for a year or revoke their citizenship if they exercise their Constitutionally protected right to free speech.  Ironically, he figuratively burned ALL the flags with that tweet.  I'm sure he wouldn't get that, though.  

Side note: I love this country and I love our flag, but I'm so sick of how some on the right have fetish-ized the flag.  

2 hours ago, Toomuchsoap said:

Everyone who is not now on Social Security and Medicare better start planning very, very judiciously, meticulously, about how they plan to "save" every penny they ever earn, assuming they actually earn anything above what is needed immediately for their day-to-day expenses, so that they'll have a little something stashed away for that cold, rainy day when they're old, hungry, almost destitute, sick and can't afford health care or medicine and there's nobody there to help them. Bye, bye independence, Grampa and Granny! You're going to be living with Jr. now, with Jr's wifey-poo taking care of you, that is if they have an abode that will accommodate you. You old white men and your fat old white wives better start 'splainin to the young'uns  that takin' care of the old folks all of 'em is now in their hands, just like it used to be in the good old days of the Dust Bowls and Hoovervilles. Ah! Good times! Just like the good old days!

If there is anyone out there who is eligible for Medicare who hasn't enrolled (because they still have coverage through a spouse's plan, for example), they should absolutely enroll as of 1/1, to make sure they are covered under it before Ryan gets his hands on it and makes any changes that might make it difficult for them to enroll or might kick the can further down the road so that they aren't eligible to enroll for several years.  Ditto to anyone who has put off receiving their SS benefits.  You may want to start receiving them now (and invest them if you don't currently need them) before the age where you can receive them gets pushed back.  You might find yourself in a situation where you need them in a couple years, but you can't start receiving them yet.  

1 hour ago, BBDi said:

I am curious whether he and his team honestly don't understand the three branches and how they work (e.g., his spokeswhore's comment how "gracious" Trump is for not prosecuting Hillary, or if they are just banking on Trump supporters' lack of understanding. 

I think it's a little of each.  I am one hundred percent positive that he doesn't understand any of it.  But, I'd be willing to bet that some of his team does.  They've just witnessed how his supporters don't get that he doesn't understand it, so they figure they may as well play along with him and use that to their advantage. 

1 hour ago, stormy said:

I'm trying to picture doughy man baby alone in the White House at night.  What will he do?  Moon the portraits of the presidents?  Watch Arnold as the new Apprentice host and curse and tweet insults at him?  Jump on the beds?  Or just wrap himself up in his blanky, clutch his teddy bear and cry himself to sleep?

I cannot wait until Arnold's version of Apprentice starts airing.  We are going to get some comedy gold out of Trump's Twitter account.  

55 minutes ago, ari333 said:

And his effing !!! exclamation points make me stabby!!!  ... !!!

That and his tendency to use one word declarations (like "Sad") as punctuation.  

37 minutes ago, Chicken Wing said:

He's like a shark. All he does is tweet and poop. Tweet and poop.

And I just got an ugly mental image of him sitting on his (no doubt gold) toilet at 4 AM, tweeting his little fingers off.  You just know that's what he's doing.  That's why nobody manages to grab his phone from him once he starts these Twitter rants.  He's locked away in his bathroom with his phone.  

[Padma]

So stupid Tubby is taking time from his busy schedule for a victory rally to salve his ego, but is too busy to read the Presidential Daily Brief!!!!

The last time he had an unexpected rally it was because he was a little "down" in Tubby Tower. KAC asked what he thought would make him happier and he told her, "I miss the rallies".

I really, really, really hope that's the reason for this one. That, like Twitter, rallies have become a drug for his monstrous ego and, bereft of any principles or issues he cares about, he feels depressed and miserable without them. I hope he feels deeply depressed to the point where people are worried about him.  Sign of things to come.

And scheduling a rally for Thursday will give protesters a little time to organize. I hope its massive.

[Ceindreadh]

Arnold's doing the Apprentice? Oh please let the show win an Emmy!

[MulletorHater]

2 hours ago, fishcakes said:

Most presidents-elect would be using the time before the inauguration to fill the 4000 vacant political appointee slots, or maybe even just of few of them like, oh say, Secretary of State, but Trump? Nah.

Trump to launch 'thank you' tour with Thursday rally in Cincinnati

But, see, he NEEDS the adulation of the crowds of adoring cult members.  They will cheer, cry, pledge their allegiance to him--all while he and his team of swamp dwellers are picking their pockets.  Never mind that the new overtime rules are all but kaput and that the ACA is under attack.  But, that won't matter to the Narcissist-in-Chief.  He needs that fix from people willing to overlook his lies, corruption and that disease he calls a mind.

I remember how excited a lot of us were at the prospect of applying for jobs with the new Obama administration and we understood that the competition was fierce because they only wanted the best people.  I'll just let y'all digest that for a moment...

Evidently, all one needs for a job in the Drumpf Reich is to have been a millionaire donor, a deplorable supporter, ethically challenged or to be grossly unqualified for the position sought.

[Padma]

6 hours ago, windsprints said:

Looks who is at it already today. He's moved on from "the failing NY Times" to CNN. I really want CNN and other media outlets to hammer the point that he hasn't yet done a press conference. Let's get him up there alone in front of the press with questions being thrown at him instead of him sitting with his phone tweeting his nonsense.

 

Wow, burn the American flag and lose citizenship or go to prison for a year?  What happens if you tear up one of Tubby's hats?  His picture?

How does the press not scald him over his complete lack of understanding of the First Amendment?  He's "gracious" for "not prosecuting" Hillary for her "crimes"?  If I were HRC, I'd respond to that. I'd hold a press conference to point out (1) no crimes; (2) not the president's job to prosecute Americans; (3) Bring it on, bitch!

I know this elector could have voted for HRC instead, but I respect that he was even willing to go this far (you know he's already getting death threats--probably also a threatening nasty legal letter from Tubby himself). It takes a lot to stand up at this point, as a Trump elector, and say, "I can't. I won't."

https://www.yahoo.com/news/texas-elector-quits-says-pledge-binding-trump-not-152847695.html

[AntiBeeSpray]

12 hours ago, Padma said:

Drumpf doesn't appear to be curious, isn't knowledgeable, and isn't even hard-working. (His strong suit--"manipulative"--really isn't a great recommendation for a president with no principles and no interest in helping people.)

I resent it that he spent so much time today tweeting his nonsense and outright lies, but turned down the PDB that intelligence officers work hard to prepare so that our Commander-in-Chief is able to understand what is happening in the world--including the dangers.

How does he have no interest in this? Aleppo is in crisis. North Korea is close to arming a nuclear warhead with a delivery system that could reach the U.S.  Iran and the Soviets are helping Assad--doesn't he care about his buddy and his, supposed, #1 enemy working together? What is happening on the "most dangerous border in the world"--India and Pakistan?  We're still fighting in Afghanistan. How is that going? What is happening with the Iraqis effort--helped by the U.S.--in Mosul?  And in Europe... trends, the leaders--who, what, their issues.

It's impossible to understand why Donald Drumpf, president-elect, doesn't care about any of this but is glad to spend lots of hours watching television and tweeting his criticisms of CNN.

Easy. He's a narcissist. He doesn't give a shit about anyone but himself. He only sees himself. No one else. No one's interests matter to him, only his own. Combine that with being a mentally unstable sociopath and that equals a possible road to destruction.

[KerleyQ]

1 minute ago, MulletorHater said:

Never mind that the new overtime rules are all but kaput and that the ACA is under attack.  But, that won't matter to the Narcissist-in-Chief.  He needs that fix from people willing to overlook his lies, corruption and that disease he calls a mind.

The overtime rule thing is a great example of what I was saying in my last post - that the GOP manage to control the narrative and get their supporters to place blame where it doesn't belong.  I've honestly seen GOP voters saying things like "well that rule was going to ruin small businesses.  You can't force a small business to give anyone who makes $30,000 per year an instant raise to $47,000 per year."  They managed to pick a couple numbers out of the actual rule, and then they rearranged them to make the rule look like something it isn't, to justify taking a sledge hammer to it.  A lot of those voters have no idea how close they came to having something good happen for them, something that could make a real positive difference in their economic situation, only to have Ryan kill it before they can experience it.  Trump may be the master at manipulating the narrative, but the GOP has been working up to him for years.  

[bittersweet4149]

40 minutes ago, candall said:

At first, I thought:  how can she condemn Romney's . . . uh, "smack talk" when it's identical to what DT did to Obama for years?  But then Michael Steele screwed my head back on by pointing out that KAC is the most loyal of T Loyalists.  She's not out there independently "off the rails," and DT's not "furious."  Steele had a good give-me-a-break snort for the world of journalism at large leeching onto this "Kellyanne goes rogue" story.

It got more serious when Steele pointed out exactly how few news outlets reported the "popular vote win" claim WITHOUT adding there was zero evidence to support it.  Has the Fourth Estate completely gone belly up and squirted a little pee into the air to show surrender?  Do we have to rely on people like the Heatstreet.com guy to say, "If DT's mouth hole is moving, lies are coming out"???

Right! I can't stand the guy, but that snort (which I interpreted as, "Bitch, please!") had me cracking up. Y'all know things are ridiculous when a repub calls shenanigans on Cackling Conway and the rest of the media still won't buy a clue.

45 minutes ago, Ocean Chick said:

Most presidents-elect would be using the time before the inauguration to fill the 4000 vacant political appointee slots, or maybe even just of few of them like, oh say, Secretary of State, but Trump? Nah.

Trump to launch 'thank you' tour with Thursday rally in Cincinnati

Speaking of clues, will somebody tell this crazy motherhubbard that the campaign is over, he freaking won, and it's time to stop being a raging narcissistic jackhole at least try to act a little bit presidential?

Edited November 29, 2016 by bittersweet4149

[Padma]

4 minutes ago, stewedsquash said:

 This was some of the  talk back in 2005 about Hillary's co-sponsoring of a flag burning ban bill:

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/07/opinion/senator-clinton-in-pander-mode.html

I'd have to read more about it, but from that op/ed it does seem to be a reminder of the downside of Hillary at times, her pandering.  (Of course, in the context of Trump, she HAS no downside.)  I don't actually know what the penalty for cross burning is, come to think of it.  I'm guessing its illegal as a hate crime (which burning the flag isn't).   

[sistermagpie]

14 hours ago, AntiBeeSpray said:

Exactly. Will they just continue to be sheeple or will they wake up?

I don't really see them waking up. Their whole world view is based on believing what they want to believe and saying that anybody who trusts in things like ordinary facts are the sheeple. They're super smart because they believe in conspiracy theories and "know" that Trump is really this good man who's very generous and feeding children in secret and totally cleaning up government--because he is "their voice" and they're the best.

What may happen is just that they'll decide that Trump wasn't the savior he should have been--I always figure it'll be like Bush. People supported him completely no matter what he did, and when it really started to hit them how much he was actually hurting him they decided that it was Bush personally who'd betrayed their cause instead of admitting that Bush was exactly who they'd voted for, and did exactly what they wanted him to do, and those things actually suck. They won't ever just be wrong about something (like, for instance, Hilary Clinton could own up to being wrong on the crime bill). It'll be somebody else who was wrong and they'll just go looking for their next Trump-like candidate. 

And of course Trump himself will be doing the same thing. Any criticism he gets it'll be because other people stopped him from doing it. Or he'll deny he did it.

2 hours ago, stormy said:

Watch Arnold as the new Apprentice host and curse and tweet insults at him?  J

Totally will do that. At until he loses interest watching the show because he's not on it.

34 minutes ago, KerleyQ said:

I still believe (and his behavior since the win reinforces it) that he never wanted the job.  He just wanted the win.  He hates that the other billionaires don't take him seriously.  He's considered a grasping joke among their circle, especially among the really wealthy real estate developers (a group he likes to consider himself the leader of, even though they don't even like to claim him as a member).  He wanted to prove that people love him and that he's a winner.  That's why he's embarking on this victory tour - to bask in more of the adulation he received at his rallies and to reinforce that he won.  

Totally agree. It was someone on this board who really explained so much to me when they said that the one thing about Trump that is real and that he does share with his supporters is an endless resentment for people who seem to look down on him, even if it's for good reason. The crowds at his thank you rally are totally second string, the sour grapes he's trying to throw in the face of all the people he actually wants to impress. And yet it will still never work. I remember that clip of the British Parliament laughing at Trump's Twitter request to make LeFarge ambassador. That's the kind of mocking laughter he gets from everyone actually accomplished unless they're sucking up to him for a reason. He doesn't want to be a blue collar billionaire. He wants to be respected by people like Obama and yet with all the advantages he's had, he's not.

38 minutes ago, KerleyQ said:

12 hours ago, Padma said:

How does he have no interest in this? Aleppo is in crisis. 

 

Hey, he said we had to fix that craziness in Syria. What else do you want? He's totally on it!

[backformore]

1 hour ago, callmebetty said:

I imagine that when whiny baby Thing starts throwing a fit much like like giving a baby or toddler a pacifier, they give him Twitter, probably calms and soothes him.

Yes - I think there are people who kiss his ass, tell him he's brilliant.  Then, to distract him from an important issue,  they make some inflammatory statement and conveniently leave his phone lying around where he can't resist it.   Trump is addicted to tweeting out bullshit, then refreshing the page over and over, yelling "30,00 Likes!  Yes!"

Meanwhile, the grownups around him are making the real decisions.

[Padma]

I wonder when the SS is going to ask Ivanka to tell him that he won't be watching television all day once he's president and that they'll have to take his smartphone away and limit his tweets to things that are presidential.  (His recent 24 hours on Twitter is typical "All About Me--My Awesomeness and My Greivances" with one threat to Cuba thrown in to remind us that he's got power.

They need to get him off Twitter and away from the television.  Can it be done?

[KerleyQ]

5 minutes ago, Padma said:

I wonder when the SS is going to ask Ivanka to tell him that he won't be watching television all day once he's president and that they'll have to take his smartphone away and limit his tweets to things that are presidential.  (His recent 24 hours on Twitter is typical "All About Me--My Awesomeness and My Greivances" with one threat to Cuba thrown in to remind us that he's got power.

They need to get him off Twitter and away from the television.  Can it be done?

I really don't think so.  And he (and his kids and Kellyanne) will argue that his being so "accessible" and "of the people" is why he has the job.  If all else fails, he'll be hiding phones around the White House or grabbing Jared's phone when he's not looking.  He won't stop.  

[izabella]

15 minutes ago, sistermagpie said:

Hey, he said we had to fix that craziness in Syria. What else do you want? He's totally on it!

He's going to break his little fingers off tweeting when ISIS starts laughing at him, on the Internet, in YouTube videos, and directly onto his tweets.  

[bittersweet4149]

1 hour ago, callmebetty said:

I imagine that when whiny baby Thing starts throwing a fit much like like giving a baby or toddler a pacifier, they give him Twitter, probably calms and soothes him.

And if all else fails, they put him back under...

Edited November 29, 2016 by bittersweet4149
wrong link

[Padma]

Wait until he discovers that he now has real power. If he orders a navy SEAL raid, it happens. If he sends bombers and troops into Syria, they go. It's a kind of power he has never had.

If he winds up with Flynn and Giuliani and a SOD who is not any more sane than those two, he will start having fun playing at war and tweeting about how strong and powerful he is "protecting America".

At least we know he won't be bombing Istanbul or invading places like Qatar--the bombs might hit a Trump hotel. Maybe ISIS will even start buying up some Trump franchises to put up in Syria--good insurance.

Edited November 29, 2016 by Padma

[backformore]

51 minutes ago, KerleyQ said:

I still believe (and his behavior since the win reinforces it) that he never wanted the job.  He just wanted the win.  He hates that the other billionaires don't take him seriously.  He's considered a grasping joke among their circle, especially among the really wealthy real estate developers (a group he likes to consider himself the leader of, even though they don't even like to claim him as a member).  He wanted to prove that people love him and that he's a winner.  That's why he's embarking on this victory tour - to bask in more of the adulation he received at his rallies and to reinforce that he won.  

Yes - he wanted the POWER, not the actual responsibility.   he likes being in front of crowds who applaud him, it feeds his ego.  that's why he gets so bent out of shape when his rallies were disrupted by protestors.  He LIKED the idea that his fans and supporters were willing to beat up anyone who disagreed with him.

The billionaire thing -   Two things struck me recently, that were similar.   When Trump was on the Celebrity Roast show, being roasted by comedians, someone revealed that he was given the opportunity to veto certain subjects.  I guess this is standard, that a celeb can ask that a failed marriage, or arrest, not be brought up.   according to what I read, Trump had ONE caveat  - that they not imply or say that he's not as rich as he claims.  Not infidelity, not lusting after his daughter, just that one weak spot - being called Not a billionaire.  It reminded me of reading about how he did a guest spot on the TV show "The Nanny"  many years ago.  Fran Dresher had a line that was something like "all you millionaires are alike"  directed at her boss and Trump.  Trump demanded that the line be changed to "all you BILLIONAIRES are alike."   It may seem like a small thing, but it gives a glimpse into his psyche.  He didn't want to be referred to as a mere millionaire, even in a fictional TV sitcom.

His weak spot is that people will think he is not wealthy.    That's why he has to have his own plane, why he has to have his apartment decked out in gold, why his name has to be so big on all his buildings.  It's his public declaration that he is, indeed the richest, most prominent man in America.  Now he won the presidency.  that's what he wanted. To win.  He doesn't want the JOB. 

[windsprints]

Law Professor: Trump Can't Hold Lease On His Hotel Near White House

[backformore]

Trump walks away from things all the time.   The Football league he was instrumental in starting and then quitting (leaving a lot of people broke) the Atlantic City casinos that he opened, mismanaged, then left for other people to clean up the mess.  A lot of his smaller enterprises - after an investment, he sells it off to others, makes his profit, leaves others holding the bag while he walks away.  

Given all that -   there's NO WAY he wants the commitment of 4 years being in charge of a country where he can't brag about making himself a profit, where his popularity will dip over time, where people will hold him to a high standard of behavior and blame him for everything that goes wrong.   he can't do it. 

[ClareWalks]

1 hour ago, KerleyQ said:

That and his tendency to use one word declarations (like "Sad") as punctuation.

APOLOGIZE

;)

[AntiBeeSpray]

39 minutes ago, sistermagpie said:

I don't really see them waking up. Their whole world view is based on believing what they want to believe and saying that anybody who trusts in things like ordinary facts are the sheeple. They're super smart because they believe in conspiracy theories and "know" that Drumpf is really this good man who's very generous and feeding children in secret and totally cleaning up government--because he is "their voice" and they're the best.

What may happen is just that they'll decide that Drumpf wasn't the savior he should have been--I always figure it'll be like Bush. People supported him completely no matter what he did, and when it really started to hit them how much he was actually hurting him they decided that it was Bush personally who'd betrayed their cause instead of admitting that Bush was exactly who they'd voted for, and did exactly what they wanted him to do, and those things actually suck. They won't ever just be wrong about something (like, for instance, Hilary Clinton could own up to being wrong on the crime bill). It'll be somebody else who was wrong and they'll just go looking for their next Drumpf-like candidate. 

And of course Drumpf himself will be doing the same thing. Any criticism he gets it'll be because other people stopped him from doing it. Or he'll deny he did it.

Totally will do that. At until he loses interest watching the show because he's not on it.

Totally agree. It was someone on this board who really explained so much to me when they said that the one thing about Drumpf that is real and that he does share with his supporters is an endless resentment for people who seem to look down on him, even if it's for good reason. The crowds at his thank you rally are totally second string, the sour grapes he's trying to throw in the face of all the people he actually wants to impress. And yet it will still never work. I remember that clip of the British Parliament laughing at Drumpf's Twitter request to make LeFarge ambassador. That's the kind of mocking laughter he gets from everyone actually accomplished unless they're sucking up to him for a reason. He doesn't want to be a blue collar billionaire. He wants to be respected by people like Obama and yet with all the advantages he's had, he's not.

Hey, he said we had to fix that craziness in Syria. What else do you want? He's totally on it!

I don't see them waking up either. As for being like Bush, I think it'll be worse. Just hoping that the Dems and what not can hold ground against the really bad crap coming down the pipeline.

[sistermagpie]

I just realized I wrote "Drumpf" the whole time in that post. I did not do that intentionally. Don't know what that means... I guess I unconsciously just don't even want to say Trump at this point?

[Chicken Wing]

Quote

His weak spot is that people will think he is not wealthy.    That's why he has to have his own plane, why he has to have his apartment decked out in gold, why his name has to be so big on all his buildings.  

And one of the many speculated reasons why he refuses to release his tax returns. Either he's not nearly as rich as he purports himself to be and doesn't want to get caught in that lie (since when does he care about being called a liar?) or he is indeed quite wealthy, quite the billionaire, but he doesn't want to give people the chance to consider whether or not the numbers make him billionaire "enough." He wants to control everyone's perspective, so he refuses to give them the opportunity to decide for themselves.

[ari333]

29 minutes ago, izabella said:

He's going to break his little fingers off tweeting when ISIS starts laughing at him, on the Internet, in YouTube videos, and directly onto his tweets.  

I'm guessing that ISIS is already laughing their asses off and making plans. We're sitting ducks with this idiot.

[backformore]

Flag-burning.   I was involved with my sons' boy scout troop.   They had a flag-burning ritual.  They collected the worn out torn, faded flags from municipal buildings, from the VFW,  American Legion,  other groups.  They had a respectful ceremony, including folding the flags, saying the pledge of Allegiance, then placing the worn out flags on a fire and standing at attention until they burned.    There is a U.S.  Flag code which says that Flags must be disposed of this way.  You're not supposed to throw an old flag in the trash. 

Anyway - each year, when the flyer went out, there were parents of scouts who objected, saying that it was wrong.  the ceremony had to be explained, but some people have that knee-jerk reaction to "flag-burning" and cannot listen to anything that disputes what they think.   That is what I thought of when I read Trump's tweet.  he has no clue.   people burn flags to dispose of them, people burn flags in protest.   You cannot criminalize the action, because there are times when it is appropriate.  

AND - anyone who burns a flag in protest can say they were properly disposing of a flag that was torn. 

And there's that first amendment thing.  at least, for now there is.

Edited November 29, 2016 by backformore

[ari333]

Ok, I'll say it. I predict that at some point soon tubby rump will find an excuse to get out of this. Wait for it. It will be some fabricated whopper of a lie, but he'll use it as an excuse not to do this job that he did not want in the first place. 

[Rapunzel]

44 minutes ago, Chicken Wing said:

And one of the many speculated reasons why he refuses to release his tax returns. Either he's not nearly as rich as he purports himself to be and doesn't want to get caught in that lie (since when does he care about being called a liar?) or he is indeed quite wealthy, quite the billionaire, but he doesn't want to give people the chance to consider whether or not the numbers make him billionaire "enough." He wants to control everyone's perspective, so he refuses to give them the opportunity to decide for themselves.

Most think he's quite cash poor and not very liquid at all. I posted about this several pages back now. This is part of the reason he's had to rely heavily on foreign investors for his hotels and things, which likely includes taking money from Putin and Russian Banks. This would help explain why he is adamant that his tax returns not be released.

In addition, he had the whole issue with the abuse of his "charity" that he has now had to come clean about. He has admitted to violating the "Self Dealings" provision when it comes to charities and used money from said charity to buy two large portraits of himself, one of which hangs at the bar and grill in one of his golf clubs. He's also used money from the charity to settle various lawsuits completely unreleated to the charity, among other things.

By doing this, Trump also committed perjury. He signed off on the IRS forms and other paperwork stating that he was not doing any of these activities. Those forms are signed and must be truthful under penalty of perjury or law. He signed these knowing he violated the rules.

In addition to all of his other issues, the man has admitted to being guilty of an offense for which you can be jailed. He won't be, of course, which is why his people are trying to get in front of this by admitting to it and hope that he just has to reimburse the misappropriated funds and pay some fines.

In any case, how can we have this in the White House? This is trivial compared to so many other things he's already done or has said he will do, yet it is a major issue. If anyone of us cheated on our taxes or didn't pay them for close to 20 years, we would be in jail. He should have been locked up ages ago, plain and simple.

37 minutes ago, backformore said:

Flag-burning.   I was involved with my sons' boy scout troop.   They had a flag-burning ritual.  They collected the worn out torn, faded flags from municipal buildings, from the VFW,  American Legion,  other groups.  They had a respectful ceremony, including folding the flags, saying the pledge of Allegiance, then placing the worn out flags on a fire and standing at attention until they burned.    There is a U.S.  Flag code which says that Flags must be disposed of this way.  You're not supposed to throw an old flag in the trash. 

Anyway - each year, when the flyer went out, there were parents of scouts who objected, saying that it was wrong.  the ceremony had to be explained, but some people have that knee-jerk reaction to "flag-burning" and cannot listen to anything that disputes what they think.   That is what I thought of when I read Trump's tweet.  he has no clue.   people burn flags to dispose of them, people burn flags in protest.   You cannot criminalize the action, because there are times when it is appropriate.  

AND - anyone who burns a flag in protest can say they were properly disposing of a flag that was torn. 

I can see it now - Trump arresting boy scouts around the Country for burning flags and threatening to take away their citizenship and send them... where exactly? Antarctica? Some island somewhere?

Every day I become more and more amazed at the sheer ignorance of this man and his toddler like behavior. He is so far from being Presidential that it's absurd - but that is supposedly what a lot of his people wanted. Well, Trumpsters, enjoy it when your OT, healthcare, social security, medicare, etc. are taken away, your taxes go up, your job never comes back to America, your house is foreclosed on, etc. You have no one to blame but yourselves for not educating yourselves and falling for a cheap, misogynistic, racist, homophobic, egomaniacal, con man. He sold you a bill of goods and you were too stupid to even bother to see or listen to any alternative view point or look into his damn history.

Edited November 29, 2016 by Rapunzel

[Padma]

31 minutes ago, windsprints said:

Law Professor: Trump Can't Hold Lease On His Hotel Near White House

That's very interesting: "In 2013, he signed a 60-year lease [for the DC post office building that is now his hotel] with the General Services Administration,...

Steven Schooner, a government procurement expert who is also a law professor at the George Washington University School of Law, says there's a clause [in the contract] that clearly states elected officials should have no role in the lease.  "The contract between GSA and the Trump Organization specifically says that no elected official of the United States government shall be party to, share in, or benefit from the contract," he says, citing clause 37.19 of the contract.

Schooner says the GSA should terminate the lease before Trump becomes president."

Edited November 29, 2016 by Padma

[backformore]

7 minutes ago, ari333 said:

Ok, I'll say it. I predict that at some point soon tubby rump will find an excuse to get out of this. Wait for it. It will be some fabricated whopper of a lie, but he'll use it as an excuse not to do this job that he did not want in the first place. 

Yes -   I hope he is spending most of his time trying to find a way of wriggling out of the deal without feeling like a fool.     And I say "wriggling out of the deal"   because I believe that he sees the presidency much like he has seen real estate deals that he lost interest in.   he's like a kid who keeps joining sports teams, proclaiming himself the best, and then finding an excuse to quit when it gets hard. 

[Rapunzel]

2 hours ago, backformore said:

Yes -   I hope he is spending most of his time trying to find a way of wriggling out of the deal without feeling like a fool.     And I say "wriggling out of the deal"   because I believe that he sees the presidency much like he has seen real estate deals that he lost interest in.   he's like a kid who keeps joining sports teams, proclaiming himself the best, and then finding an excuse to quit when it gets hard. 

I hope this is the case. It might help explain why there doesn't appear to be any sense of urgency whatsoever in filling all those cabinet and administrative positions. Of course, we also know he's just flat out lazy...

In any case, he's going to have to find a reason to leave that makes him look like a hero so he can still be adored and still have rallies and things. Anything that makes him look a quitter or alludes to what we already know in that he isn't capable of doing the job, won't work for him at all. He and his group of deplorables are going to have to come up with a really good reason for him to voluntarily walk away and to spin something like this won't be easy.

Edited November 29, 2016 by Rapunzel

[AntiBeeSpray]

13 hours ago, backformore said:

Yeah,  I have found a bunch of celebs to be very smart and outspoken on Twitter.  Debra Messing has earned my respect.   And a favorite author,  Joyce Carol Oates is brilliant on twitter.  

(Joyce Carol Oates once re-tweeted me!  I was in fangirl heaven!) 

Trevor Noah did an excellent piece on Drumpf's conflict of interest tonight. 

Bless them. And thanks for mentioning about Debra Messing. She's retweeted some good articles. And Sessions... he's even more of a threat.