Sound The TRUMPets! A Thread for Presidential Pondering 2016-2020(?)

[Karl Henning]

Five minutes before the event, the deputy probably had the same belief about himself.

Still, the deputy does not have the thick history of public bullshittery that the President does.

[Wendell_E]

Still, the deputy does not have the thick history of public bullshittery that the President does.

Definitely! Though in defense of Trump (as much as it pains me), I just heard a fuller sound clip, and he does say "you don't know 'til you're tested".

[Karl Henning]

The Trump Tower meeting at the center of the Russia investigation, explained

[Karl Henning]

Definitely! Though in defense of Trump (as much as it pains me), I just heard a fuller sound clip, and he does say "you don't know 'til you're tested".

Really does not mitigate his preening self-puffery; but, noted 

[Karl Henning]

This isn't the first time [President Bonespur] has alluded to his own heroics

[President Bonespur] isn't alone in his rightful criticism of the failures in responding to the school shooting in Parkland, Florida. But [Bonespur Boy's] brash comments stand out — especially since this isn't the first time he suggested he could face down a gunman.

In 2015, then-candidate [Bonespur] rallied a crowd at a campaign stop in Tennessee in the aftermath of a mass shooting at Umpqua Community College in Oregon, that left 10 people dead, including the shooter.

[Bonespur Boy] told the crowd that, as holder of a permit to carry a handgun in New York, an attacker would be "shocked" if he encountered him, and that he would act like Charles Bronson in the 1970s action film Death Wish. In the movie, a New York City architect exacts vigilante justice after a man murders his wife and sexually assaults his daughter.

"I have a license to carry in New York, can you believe that?" [Bonespur Boy] said at the 2015 rally in Tennessee. "Somebody attacks me, they're gonna be shocked."

According to the Guardian, he egged the crowd to chant "Death Wish." He also said that "today you can't make that movie because it's not politically correct." (There's actually a reboot set to premiere this week.)

[Bonespur Boy] also boasted about his permit to carry in New York at an early GOP debate, when responding to a question about that Oregon shooting. "I have a permit, which his very unusual in New York — a permit to carry," he said during a CNBC debate in October 2015. "And I do carry on occasion. Sometimes, a lot. But I like to be unpredictable."

[milk]

Survivor: Trump didn't express empathy in call
https://www.youtube.com/v/-nNZTnMczeo

[drogulus]

     I'll give him this, Trump tells a great story, especially when he's telling it to Howard Stern.

"I was at Mar-a-Lago and we had this incredible ball, the Red Cross Ball, in Palm Beach, Florida. And we had the Marines. And the Marines were there, and it was terrible because all these rich people, they're there to support the Marines, but they're really there to get their picture in the Palm Beach Post... so you have all these really rich people, and a man, about 80 years old—very wealthy man, a lot of people didn't like him—he fell off the stage," said Trump.

Trump proceeds to explain that it was a $100,000-per-table fundraiser filled with deep-pocketed billionaires, and that the Marines were—for whatever reason—given tables in the very back of the ballroom ("the worst table in the whole place"). Oh, and that he was more preoccupied with his ballroom's pristine marble floor than the octogenarian bleeding out on it.

"So what happens is, this guy falls off right on his face, hits his head, and I thought he died. And you know what I did? I said, 'Oh my God, that's disgusting,' and I turned away," said Trump. "I couldn't, you know, he was right in front of me and I turned away. I didn't want to touch him... he's bleeding all over the place, I felt terrible. You know, beautiful marble floor, didn't look like it. It changed color. Became very red. And you have this poor guy, 80 years old, laying on the floor unconscious, and all the rich people are turning away. 'Oh my God! This is terrible! This is disgusting!' and you know, they're turning away. Nobody wants to help the guy. His wife is screaming—she's sitting right next to him, and she's screaming."

Thank God for the Marines. "What happens is, these 10 Marines from the back of the room... they come running forward, they grab him, they put the blood all over the place—it's all over their uniforms—they're taking it, they're swiping [it], they ran him out, they created a stretcher. They call it a human stretcher, where they put their arms out with, like, five guys on each side," shared Trump.

"I was saying, 'Get that blood cleaned up! It's disgusting!' The next day, I forgot to call [the man] to say he's OK," said Trump, adding of the blood, "It's just not my thing."

     Yes, a lot of people really didn't like this old bleeding man. That's important to remember when deciding how to react. Do you like him, is he rich and old, is he bleeding on a beautiful marble floor?

[(poco) Sforzando]

     I'll give him this, Trump tells a great story, especially when he's telling it to Howard Stern.

"I was at Mar-a-Lago and we had this incredible ball, the Red Cross Ball, in Palm Beach, Florida. And we had the Marines. And the Marines were there, and it was terrible because all these rich people, they're there to support the Marines, but they're really there to get their picture in the Palm Beach Post... so you have all these really rich people, and a man, about 80 years old—very wealthy man, a lot of people didn't like him—he fell off the stage," said Trump. . . .

     Yes, a lot of people really didn't like this old bleeding man. That's important to remember when deciding how to react. Do you like him, is he rich and old, is he bleeding on a beautiful marble floor?

This would be excellent for Karl or Jessop to set to music.

[Baron Scarpia]

Jared Kushner's loses access to top-secret briefings

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-43216602

Oh dear, I remember Trump saying that Kelly would be making the decision, and pointedly saying something to the effect that "I'm sure he'll make the right decision."

The next question is whether or not this is the right decision Trump was after and whether Kelly will be pushed out next...

[SimonNZ]

No apologies for quoting the whole thing;

Trump officials fight eviction from Panama hotel they manage

"PANAMA CITY (AP) — One of President Donald Trump's family businesses is battling an effort to physically evict its team of executives from a luxury hotel in Panama where they manage operations, and police have been called to keep the peace, The Associated Press has learned. Witnesses told the AP they saw Trump's executives carrying files to a room for shredding.

Representatives of the hotel owners' association formally sought to fire Trump's management team Thursday by hand-delivering termination notices to them at the Trump International Hotel and Tower, according to a Panamanian legal complaint filed by Orestes Fintiklis, who controls 202 of the property's 369 hotel units. Trump's managers retreated behind the glass walls of an office where they were seen carrying files to an area where the sounds of a shredding machine could be heard, according to two witnesses aligned with the owners. The legal complaint also accused Trump's team of improperly destroying documents.

The witnesses spoke on condition of anonymity over concerns they would be drawn into an expensive and protracted legal fight.
Elsewhere in the building, the hotel owners' team and its allies were barred by Trump Hotel staff from entering the room containing the building's closed-circuit TV system as well as key computer servers for the hotel and apartments that share the property. In response, they shut off power to the room — temporarily bringing down phone lines and internet connections within the building.

According to the legal complaint, Trump's chief of security and six security guards "pushed and shouted at" Fintiklis when he came to deliver the termination notices. The complaint said the hotel employees then called the police.

A new confrontation appeared likely to arise during the weekend, as Trump's security staff set up early Saturday in the hotel lobby, witnesses said. But by Saturday afternoon the lobby was again quiet.

Representatives of the Trump Organization declined to comment, but have previously called attempts to fire their management company illegal and said no change in the building's control would be appropriate without a decision from arbitrators or a judge.
Fintiklis did not respond to messages left by text or email.

On Friday night, lawyers, notaries and rival security personnel gathered at the hotel in Panama City while talks were underway to prevent the conflict from deteriorating further.

The showdown is the newest low in a months-long fight over control of the property. Last August, Fintiklis' Miami-based Ithaca Capital Partners bought the 202 units in a fire sale from the property's struggling developer. As part of the deal, Trump Hotels sought and received some assurances that Ithaca would not seek to act against its interests as hotel manager.

Relations quickly soured amid abysmal hotel occupancy numbers and allegations by Ithaca and other hotel unit owners of financial mismanagement or misconduct. In October, Ithaca Capital led a push to terminate Trump Hotel's management contract and seek compensatory damages. Trump's company — which he still owns but does not directly control — refused to hand over control of the property, arguing that the vote to fire Trump Hotels was invalid.

A Panamanian court declined to support that claim in December, and the parties have since been fighting in court. The AP reported that the Trump management team ran off a group of Marriott executives who had been invited to tour the property amid a search for a replacement hotel operator.

On Thursday, Fintiklis arrived at the property with management staff and lawyers intending to take over the hotel immediately. The Trump management team again refused to yield control of the property, and according to the legal complaint filed by Ithaca's lawyers, refused to allow Fintiklis to check into any of his company's 202 hotel rooms."

-

Follow with this:

NARCO-A-LAGO: MONEY LAUNDERING AT THE TRUMP OCEAN CLUB PANAMA

[kishnevi]

No apologies for quoting the whole thing;

Trump officials fight eviction from Panama hotel they manage

"PANAMA CITY (AP) — One of President Donald Trump's family businesses is battling an effort to physically evict its team of executives from a luxury hotel in Panama where they manage operations, and police have been called to keep the peace, The Associated Press has learned. Witnesses told the AP they saw Trump's executives carrying files to a room for shredding.

Representatives of the hotel owners' association formally sought to fire Trump's management team Thursday by hand-delivering termination notices to them at the Trump International Hotel and Tower, according to a Panamanian legal complaint filed by Orestes Fintiklis, who controls 202 of the property's 369 hotel units. Trump's managers retreated behind the glass walls of an office where they were seen carrying files to an area where the sounds of a shredding machine could be heard, according to two witnesses aligned with the owners. The legal complaint also accused Trump's team of improperly destroying documents.

The witnesses spoke on condition of anonymity over concerns they would be drawn into an expensive and protracted legal fight.
Elsewhere in the building, the hotel owners' team and its allies were barred by Trump Hotel staff from entering the room containing the building's closed-circuit TV system as well as key computer servers for the hotel and apartments that share the property. In response, they shut off power to the room — temporarily bringing down phone lines and internet connections within the building.

According to the legal complaint, Trump's chief of security and six security guards "pushed and shouted at" Fintiklis when he came to deliver the termination notices. The complaint said the hotel employees then called the police.

A new confrontation appeared likely to arise during the weekend, as Trump's security staff set up early Saturday in the hotel lobby, witnesses said. But by Saturday afternoon the lobby was again quiet.

Representatives of the Trump Organization declined to comment, but have previously called attempts to fire their management company illegal and said no change in the building's control would be appropriate without a decision from arbitrators or a judge.
Fintiklis did not respond to messages left by text or email.

On Friday night, lawyers, notaries and rival security personnel gathered at the hotel in Panama City while talks were underway to prevent the conflict from deteriorating further.

The showdown is the newest low in a months-long fight over control of the property. Last August, Fintiklis' Miami-based Ithaca Capital Partners bought the 202 units in a fire sale from the property's struggling developer. As part of the deal, Trump Hotels sought and received some assurances that Ithaca would not seek to act against its interests as hotel manager.

Relations quickly soured amid abysmal hotel occupancy numbers and allegations by Ithaca and other hotel unit owners of financial mismanagement or misconduct. In October, Ithaca Capital led a push to terminate Trump Hotel's management contract and seek compensatory damages. Trump's company — which he still owns but does not directly control — refused to hand over control of the property, arguing that the vote to fire Trump Hotels was invalid.

A Panamanian court declined to support that claim in December, and the parties have since been fighting in court. The AP reported that the Trump management team ran off a group of Marriott executives who had been invited to tour the property amid a search for a replacement hotel operator.

On Thursday, Fintiklis arrived at the property with management staff and lawyers intending to take over the hotel immediately. The Trump management team again refused to yield control of the property, and according to the legal complaint filed by Ithaca's lawyers, refused to allow Fintiklis to check into any of his company's 202 hotel rooms."

-

Follow with this:

NARCO-A-LAGO: MONEY LAUNDERING AT THE TRUMP OCEAN CLUB PANAMA

an old lawyer's proverb

When the facts are against you, argue the law.
When the law is against you, argue the facts.
When both are against you, just argue.

[André]

GOP tax cuts used to buy back shares and make the rich richer.

It was written in the sky from the first minute. Only an idiot or a trumpist didn't see it coming. Voodoo economics all over again. Take your pick !


https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/wp/2018/02/27/shocker-democrats-predictions-about-the-gop-tax-cut-are-coming-true/?utm_term=.82edafe680c4

[Karl Henning]

Nepotism is a beautiful thing; Eric Trump said so!

[El Tupé] isn't hiring enough friends and family

Once again, the dishonest haters in the fake news media are dishonestly and fakely hating on [El Presidente Tupé], this time by falsely claiming that nepotism and cronyism are bad.

They say the president should not name his personal pilot, John Dunkin, to run the $16 billion, 47,000-person Federal Aviation Administration. And they are offended because Ivanka Trump, asked whether she believed her father's denials of sexual misconduct, called this an "inappropriate question to ask a daughter."

So unfair!

[Florestan]

And they are offended because Ivanka Trump, asked whether she believed her father's denials of sexual misconduct, called this an "inappropriate question to ask a daughter."

And yet she's right. Why should this be cause for offense? What am I missing here?

[North Star]

And they are offended because Ivanka Trump, asked whether she believed her father’s denials of sexual misconduct, called this an “inappropriate question to ask a daughter.”

And yet she's right. Why should this be cause for offense? What am I missing here?

They actually asked that from a White House senior adviser who has focused specifically on "policies geared toward women".

As a White House senior adviser, Ivanka Trump has addressed a range of issues, including policies specifically geared toward women. She pushed for a child tax credit in Congress, rolled out a women's entrepreneurship initiative, and has used her official platform to discuss sexual harassment in the workplace.
At the World Assembly for Women in Japan last year, she said that "all to often, our workplace culture fails to treat women with appropriate respect. This takes many forms, including harassment, which can never be tolerated."

https://edition.cnn.com/2018/02/26/politics/ivanka-donald-trump-sexual-misconduct-accusers/index.html

[BasilValentine]

And they are offended because Ivanka Trump, asked whether she believed her father's denials of sexual misconduct, called this an "inappropriate question to ask a daughter."

And yet she's right. Why should this be cause for offense? What am I missing here?

She wasn't being asked as Trump's daughter. She was being asked in her capacity as White House denizen and a close advisor to the president, one who has posed as a champion for women's issues. She is there because of nepotism, so it is doubly absurd to claim immunity from inquiry because of her family relationships.

North Star got there first!

[Florestan]

They actually asked that from a White House senior adviser who has focused specifically on "policies geared toward women".https://edition.cnn.com/2018/02/26/politics/ivanka-donald-trump-sexual-misconduct-accusers/index.html

Ah, okay, thanks. It is not clear, though, from the article whether she was interviewed as a White House senior adviser who has focused specifically on "policies geared toward women" or simply as Ivanka Trump. Nevertheless, I agree that she shouldn't have been nominated for the position in the first place.

[71 dB]

GOP tax cuts used to buy back shares and make the rich richer.

What did people expect from a tax plan written by Goldman Sachs? A tax plan that would benefit the poor and middle class? Dream on suckers! 

GOP keeps telling how they are the party that lowers taxes so people think voting for them will lower their taxes, but they don't understand it's lower taxes only for the rich and everyone else's taxes will raise to fill the gap. Democrats could expose GOP for that lie easily, but of course they don't because they are corporate, spineless and total losers when it comes to fighting for people.

[SimonNZ]

Well I for one am also very interested in assessing Ivanka Trump the daughters level of Stockholm Syndrome.

It would be an inappropriate question to ask Tiffany, but even without the Senior Advisor job Ivanka has continually publicly campaigned for and vouched for father Trump, so should expect questions when the facts contradict her claims..

[Karl Henning]

Ah, okay, thanks. It is not clear, though, from the article whether she was interviewed as a White House senior adviser who has focused specifically on "policies geared toward women" or simply as Ivanka Trump. Nevertheless, I agree that she shouldn't have been nominated for the position in the first place.

In the new banana-republic America . . . .