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

[71 dB]

Tax season here in the US. Until April 15th, when all income tax returns are due, is the busiest time for tax attorneys and accountants . I don't know Todd's exact profession, but it is tax related. He normally disappears from the forum at this time of year for a couple of months.

Oh, that's a good explanation. A time-wise taxing season for Todd. 

[SimonNZ]

Trump's legal team gave thousands in contributions to Republican senators ahead of impeachment trial
Trump's lawyers also gave thousands to Mitch McConnell, Lindsey Graham, and Ted Cruz before the trial began


House GOP leaders warn of fundraising crisis ahead of 2020
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy put it bluntly: "They are kicking our ass," he said, referring to Democrats.

[Karl Henning]

Trump's legal team gave thousands in contributions to Republican senators ahead of impeachment trial
Trump's lawyers also gave thousands to Mitch McConnell, Lindsey Graham, and Ted Cruz before the trial began

The guy who was supposedly going to end corruption in Ukraine.

[Herman]

Impeachment trial live updates: McConnell tells Republican senators he does not have the votes to block witnesses

They'll block witnesses just the same.

Sad to say, but Kobe Bryant's death has been a blessing for Trump and the GOP.

Just when things got a little anxious with the Bolton story, the news media (our Finnish friend would say, the corporate media) got a chance to refocus on some riveting non-news.

[Karl Henning]

They'll block witnesses just the same.

I'll believe that there will be witnesses, when one is sworn in.

[Herman]

The Great Leader wants this thing over before The State of the Union, which he will then turn into the most horrible thing ever since that "American Carnage" party convention speech, turning the US definitively into an autocrat banana republic.

[SimonNZ]

Strong winds push portion of US border wall into Mexico
Newly installed panels from the US border wall fell over in high winds, landing on trees on the Mexican side of the border.

[Roasted Swan]

What with the UK leaving the EU (forget economics, forget political "freedoms"- the simple truth is every community of any size is better for collaborating rather than promoting individual needs) and the bizarre descent into authoritarianism in the US these are dark times. Does the Republican Party in the US really not see what they are unleashing by giving someone like Trump literally unfettered power.........

[Mirror Image]

What with the UK leaving the EU (forget economics, forget political "freedoms"- the simple truth is every community of any size is better for collaborating rather than promoting individual needs) and the bizarre descent into authoritarianism in the US these are dark times. Does the Republican Party in the US really not see what they are unleashing by giving someone like Trump literally unfettered power.........

Every major president in US history has stretched their political muscle at some point or another to get what they wanted. Trump is no different than Reagan, Clinton, Bush, or Obama. What truly bothers me is when the Democrats want Trump to fail. Ummm...no, if he fails, we fail as a nation. People don't have to accept him or even like him, but to hope his term is plagued by significant setbacks only promotes an unpatriotic attitude that should really be kept to themselves. I mean the Democrats are struggling enough as it is in their own party to come up with solutions to problems, but all they seem to have done since Trump took office was 'Get him!" or "Find a way to impeach him!" This is their current platform and it's truly pathetic.

[Karl Henning]

What with the UK leaving the EU (forget economics, forget political "freedoms"- the simple truth is every community of any size is better for collaborating rather than promoting individual needs) and the bizarre descent into authoritarianism in the US these are dark times. Does the Republican Party in the US really not see what they are unleashing by giving someone like Trump literally unfettered power.........

They only consider themselves as beneficiaries.

[Karl Henning]

Every major president in US history has stretched their political muscle at some point or another to get what they wanted. Trump is no different than Reagan, Clinton, Bush, or Obama.

I respectfully disagree.

[Mirror Image]

I respectfully disagree.

That's fine that you do. You're a Democrat, so no matter what pro-Trump opinion I have, you'll refute it. Accept it or not, Trump is going back in for another term.

[Ratliff]

That's fine that you do. You're a Democrat, so no matter what pro-Trump opinion I have, you'll refute it. Accept it or not, Trump is going back in for another term.

A distinction can be made between Trump actions which are stupid and Trump actions which are criminal. We can disagree about what is stupid, but Reagan, Clinton, Bush, or Obama never used a suspension of Congressional enacted military aid to an ally to extort that ally into interfering with a US election. Reagan, Clinton, Bush, or Obama never fired a law enforcement agent to prevent investigation of themselves (Nixon did that). To claim that Trump is just more of the same is not supportable.

On the topic of stupid, Trump has disbanded or sidelines almost all scientists working in advisory roles in the government, including one which advised on global pandemics. Now we have the coronavirus crisis. Smart or not smart?

[Karl Henning]

That's fine that you do. You're a Democrat, so no matter what pro-Trump opinion I have, you'll refute it.

That, my friend, is not merely incorrect, it is deeply insulting.

I am appalled that you would say so, but I now understand how low an opinion you entertain of my character.

[Karl Henning]

Look at it this way: The Senate was never going to reach a two-thirds supermajority to remove President Trump from office. By refusing to call witnesses, by advancing a frightful theory of unlimited presidential power, by endorsing the right of presidents to enlist foreign powers, by misstating evidence and making scurrilous attacks on everyone from House manager Rep. Adam B. Schiff (D-Calif.) to former vice president Joe Biden, Senate Republicans have demonstrated the lengths to which they will go to hold on to raw power and to bolster a deeply unfit president who does not know right from wrong.

[Karl Henning]

The public should understand fully that the Republican Party has become the authoritarian party. Instead of limited government, separation of powers and self-rule, Republicans embrace — when it suits their fancy — unlimited executive power, executive domination of the other branches and selling our democracy to the highest foreign bidder. They have mutilated the Constitution so they can claim its broken remains. They have been willing to sacrifice an ally to Russian domination, a signal to the Kremlin and others that we are feckless friends. Voters should be forewarned that neither the legislative branch nor executive branch can be entrusted to this crowd.

Americans who actually adhere to conservative beliefs should give up the fantasy that the GOP can be rescued. In not only electing and defending Trump but also shredding long-held constitutional principles, it poses a threat to the rule of law, equal justice under the law and the American creed ("All men ..."). Their energies are best spent in the short run trying to nominate and help elect a centrist Democrat and then creating a principled center-right party from the ground up.

[Christo]

That, my friend, is not merely incorrect, it is deeply insulting.

I am appalled that you would say so, but I now understand how low an opinion you entertain of my character.

Fully supported (very sorry John, but you're wrong this time). 

[Daverz]

Fully supported (very sorry John, but you're wrong this time). 

I'll have to pile on.  It's 2020, there's no way to justify this rancid both-siderism anymore.

(It may be true that Trump has not caused the deaths of as anywhere near as many people as GWB, but let's not give him another 4 years to catch up while destroying what little is left of American democracy.)

[Mirror Image]

That, my friend, is not merely incorrect, it is deeply insulting.

I am appalled that you would say so, but I now understand how low an opinion you entertain of my character.

Karl, you're always posting negative things about Trump. I may be far off the mark calling you a Democrat, but, let's be honest, you haven't exactly given anyone here who has given a pro-Trump opinion a reason to think otherwise. I'm sorry if I was wrong about you. Let me say this: when Obama was in office, I never uttered a word against him, because I wanted him to do a good job even if my political beliefs didn't align with his own. I think what's deeply insulting is how the Democratic Party has been acting since day one of Trump's presidency. I'm certainly not claiming Trump is a good person (he's far from that), but a president is someone that we don't necessarily have to like, but I can only hope he makes decisions that are good for the country. Disagree or not, but wishing him to fail (not saying you have done this) means that you basically want the country to fail. We should wish him well and that's all there is to it.

[SimonNZ]

"Day one" was when he said he had the biggest crowd numbers ever - don't believe what you can see with your own lying eyes.

This is why there has been pushback since day one.