Trump says in Bloomberg interview that he will put out of the WTO "if they don't shape up".
Scoop from the Bloomberg @business @economics team just back from the White House.https://t.co/1BHAGuZpuy
— Shawn Donnan (@sdonnan) August 30, 2018
If you can’t see the five-minute clip at the top, it’s well worth clicking over to Bloomberg directly, because it’s a comprehensive (i.e., terrifying) review of what passes the Oval Office Occupant for “thoughts”. And provides, IMO, key insights to some of this week’s agitations among the ‘permanent’ GOP ‘leaders’…
…“If they don’t shape up, I would withdraw from the WTO,” Trump said Thursday in an Oval Office interview with Bloomberg News. Trump said the agreement establishing the body “was the single worst trade deal ever made.”
A U.S. withdrawal from the WTO potentially would be far more significant for the global economy than even Trump’s growing trade war with China, undermining the post-World War II system that the U.S. helped build…
“In the last year, we’re starting to win a lot,” he added. “You know why? Because they know if we don’t, I’m out of there.”
Countries that bring complaints to the WTO tend to prevail and defendants in trade disputes lose…
Since World War II, successive U.S. presidents have led efforts to establish and strengthen global trading rules, arguing that they would bring stability to the world economy.
The WTO was created in 1994 as part of a U.S.-led effort by major economies to create a forum for resolving trade disputes.
Things I noticed, apart from the WTO dick-swinging:
– “He sort of radiates a kind of confidence, which not everyone is going to agree with… but he’s got that sense that he’s winning all the various battles”
– “He still hasn’t stopped thinking up [ed: being spoon-fed by his donors] new big ideas — he’s thinking about the capital gains tax”
– Jeff Sessions’ job is safe “until November, after the midterms”… “I asked how many days after that, and he ignored the question… but I don’t think it’s just Trump, I think there’s a general noise out of the WH at the moment that Sessions is okay through to there.
“What Trump went on, quite a lot, about, was the idea that he wants Sessions to be looking at other things, especially [unclear] the Democrats, and not him. And he returned to the idea that he thinks it’s impossible to impeach a successful president — “
– “Is he aware of, does he understand, his interaction with the stock market? Do you get the sense that he feels omnipotent, in that way? “I think he sees himself… he looks at the stock market as one indicator of how well he’s doing… I think he’s a little bit mystified as to why he might get beaten in the midterms, given how well he sees the economy going…”
– Trump’s “backed off a bit” on attacking the Fed; “He talks a bit about how he wants to be accommodated — if you push him on that, he doesn’t want to step over the line — it looks as though the Fed has begun to win that battle” [again, my impression: He’s been called to heel by the Actually Rich People, his donors/props, who are the only ones he respects]
– “Talk a little bit more, as he says, you can’t impeach a sitting president — ” “No, he thinks it’s very hard to impeach a successful president, which is how, very much, he views himself… He remains, on the midterms, very wary — but he thinks that if the midterms were purely about him, he would do very well.”
***********
Ask President Bill Clinton how hard it was for the GOP to impeach a successful president — of course their manifold wasteful attempts failed to unseat Slick Willy, but you can’t say they didn’t give their and the national treasury’s best in the attempt.
But the general point remains: Trump assumes the world revolves around Trump, who is a Great (if underappreciated) Success, and that as long as he can browbeat his minions into propping up the stock market, he’s literally unimpeachable.
Those midterms, as ever, remain ours to win. And IMO it’s more clear than ever how crucially important — not just for Democrats, or Americans, but for the global financial markets — it is that we do!
Baud
So that’s not a roadblock then.
debbie
That does it. Stop with the impeachment talk, and start demanding a sanity hearing.
Mary G
Brian Beutler at Crooked Media has a piece about Twitlerthat’s scary as hell, because probably true.
At a minimum, he’s going to fire Sessions, Rosenstein, and Mueller (also his latest fixation, Bruce Ohr, who commits the terrible crime of being a Russian specialist at the DOJ who speaks fluent Russian) the day after the election and shut the Mueller probe down.
B.B.A.
Ben Smith finally realizes what he hath wrought and screams in horror.
petesh
He’s been gaslighting all his life, and it worked well enough that he sees no reason to stop now. But this time he’s not just gaslighting rubes he wants to fleece or other mob bosses who discount what he says quite happily, he’s gaslighting the entire nation, a majority of whom are getting sucking fick of it. He might see out his term, but I doubt it. My money is on a stroke.
Gelfling 545
When did a little bit mystified become a synonym for totally clueless?
Villago Delenda Est
Of course he thinks he’s a “successful president”. He’s in the Oval Office, yes? That’s the standard. For him.
What the rest of us think is utterly irrelevant to this vile creature.
I’m thinking that when we get around to punishment for him, we toss the Eighth Amendment into the “we’re ignoring you” basket.
cynthia ackerman
We are so fucked.
This moron is destroying all good will the US can ever hope to regain.
Please, jackals, work for Democrats in the November election.
It’s truly existential.
debbie
Fox News, knock some sense into this clown!
ruemara
Obama’s out of office, loser. I hate that post election, there’s a window of time for these traitors to let loose.
Villago Delenda Est
@B.B.A.: Karma is a bitch, Ben. You will be held accountable, as will every vile sack of shit you mentioned.
TenguPhule
@Baud:
Its a giant painted tunnel on the side of the mountain.
Pray we are the Roadrunners in this scenario.
TenguPhule
@debbie:
FTFY.
TenguPhule
@Villago Delenda Est:
We can Netherlands it. Briefly repeal it for a special occasion and then reinstate it with proper safe guards.
Ber
Platonailedit
Checks and balances. Such a naivete.
Ken
@petesh:
My money is on a “stroke”.
Not sure if it’ll be a Russian “stroke”, CIA “stroke”, or Wall Street “stroke”.
TenguPhule
@Mary G: So Civil War it is then. Can’t say we weren’t warned.
TenguPhule
@Ken: IC strokes are swift and sure.
DCrefugee
@Mary G: One unknown in Brian’s scenario is what Mueller will do next, and when. We’re coming up on 60 days before the midterms, which traditionally meant by DoJ policy no political indictments/reports would be released. Comey threw that out the window, but I’d be surprised if Mueller does.
Mueller has some arrows in his quiver, if he chooses to use them. But time is short.
The midterms are everything.
raven
@TenguPhule: armed
Steeplejack
@Villago Delenda Est:
I forced myself to read that whole piece but briefly blacked out when I got to this:
Those are the movement outlets on the left?! Man, I am out of touch.
NotMax
Hollow Dolt 45 blather, as per usual.
Also too, neophyte stage magician misdirection. Anything to take the focus off the proverbial eight thousand pound gorilla.
ruemara
@TenguPhule: good. No need to outsource it.
Brachiator
Wow. Trump clearly acts from the belief that if you repeat bullshit often enough, other people will believe it.
Also, I’ve mentioned before and keep seeing him making proclamations as if US history should begin with him. So he’s going to pull out of the WTO and recreate the modern economy in his image.
Who knew that having a god king as president would be so fucking tiresome.
NotMax
@DCrefugee
AFAIK, DOJ guidance is silent about filing sealed indictments within the pre-election window, to be unsealed after the election.
Omnes Omnibus
@Steeplejack: Off of a long ago rec from DougJ, I have Jacobin in my Twitter feed. Can be interesting; can be annoying.
dmsilev
Basically true. Yes, the GOP impeached Clinton, but they got hammered for it by the voters in the 1998 midterms.
Sort of a moot point in this case, however.
TaMara (HFG)
What’s the over/under that he cannot help himself and he won’t wait until after the midterms to a) fire sessions b)pardon manafort. The man has no self-control whatsoever. And he’s clearly obsessing on this.
Gvg
So if the stock market tanks, will this moron lose confidence? Or will he move the goal posts. What an idiot.
I am now really against the idea we can’t indict a sitting President. It is a principle that leads to arrogance and needs to be knocked down.
We need a Congress with a spine too. It’s not a spine to oppose everything on a partisan basis. Coequal branches come up with budgets every year like they are supposed to and don’t abdicate war responsibility nor treaties.
TenguPhule
@Brachiator:
Mayans would ritually cut out their heart after a year to present to the Sun God and get a replacement. This may have been why.
Steeplejack
@Anne Laurie:
I sent you an e-mail at the G place.
NotMax
@TaMara (HFG)
Oh lawdy, pardon porn again? It’s almost as if some here want that to happen.
Steeplejack
@Omnes Omnibus:
I’ll check out the Twitter feed. I’ve read a couple of interesting articles at the site, but I didn’t think they were remotely close to “thought leader” status.
Gvg
@TaMara (HFG): I’d say he was obsessing about pardons all along. He wanted to use that power so bad. He was going to use it even if he hadn’t been a crook trying to evade the law. The three he did issue have turned out to be kind of nothing burgers people forget in the face of more infantile behavior from him. He can’t understand why every body isn’t impressed with him.
Mike in NC
@Brachiator: Trump’s long fascination with dictators and strongmen — who basically have no free press — made him somehow think he’d be greeted by the media and the general public as a New Messiah, ready to be fawned over for every idiot syllable that fell out of his mouth.
Shalimar
@cynthia ackerman: Trump is burning everything to the ground, but we aren’t totally screwed by that. It all depends on the quality of leadership we have during the post-Trump years putting together the world order that comes after. So yeah, probably a Chinese-led world and we’re pretty screwed.
Platonailedit
Apparently, the traitorous thug is at his weekly kkk rally. Remember when the rwnj’s cried hoarse that Obama was misusing presidency for campaigning ?
TaMara (HFG)
@NotMax: ???? No idea what that means
SiubhanDuinne
A friend in a private discussion equated Trump to Heliogabalus. I responded with “O for a Prætorian Guard!”
Now I am nervously awaiting the Secret Service knock upon my door.
dexwood
Gee, too bad for him presidential success is so far out of reach. Fucking traitor wacko needs sedation and removal from office.
Mary G
When even Sarah Sanders thinks you’re an absolute asshole:
Omnes Omnibus
@SiubhanDuinne: Stay at the bar.
Steeplejack
@Mary G:
Source?
?BillinGlendaleCA
@DCrefugee: Trump’s not on the ballot in November, no problem there.
Aleta
@SiubhanDuinne: I wish you were on the radio tonight. Or would write a play. Or a radio play.
Mary G
@Steeplejack: The Bloomberg article that is the subject of the post.
Brachiator
@TaMara (HFG): I’m not sure when Trump might act, but typically he will tip his hand about his intentions to fire Sessions or issue a pardon at one of his supporter pep rallies.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Brachiator:
Fixed it for ya.
Mary G
@Steeplejack: @Mary G: Scratch that, my bad. Another Bloomberg article from the same interview: Trump Defends His Handling of McCain’s Death
Lee
@B.B.A.:
I’m not sure The Intercept is on anyone’s side other than Russia’s.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Lee:
I’d put The Young Turks in that category as well.
Brachiator
@Mike in NC: Yeah, I agree that Trump has a strange fascination with strongmen. But he was always anxious to play to the media when he was a private citizen.
He is teetering out of control. He thought that when he bcame president, everyone would love him, as you suggest. But as that naturally failed to happen, he is moved to abuse the power of the presidency to compel affection.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Brachiator: You can’t compel affection, you can compel compliance.
Brachiator
@?BillinGlendaleCA: The Young Turks are annoying purity ponies. They still love Bernie.
But Glenn Greenwald is a willing stooge for Putin. I don’t know what anyone else on the Intercept staff is trying to accomplish.
??? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ??
Saw an article in USA Today about all of the recent “comebacks” from #MeToo this year. Louis CK got a standing ovation. Fuck that audience. Also, more OT, in the same paper, only 44% of those surveyed thought Trump should be impeached given everything that is known now. 47% thought he should not be and 9% didn’t know.
Smedley Darlington Prunebanks (formerly Mumphrey, et al.)
Dude is profoundly damaged. It’s terrifying that somebody so manifestly unfit could ever have oozed into the presidency this way. We’re really going to have to tighten things up from here on out. At the least, nobody should ever get on the ballot for a federal office who hasn’t let us all see their tax returns.
opiejeanne
@??? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ??: They didn’t interview me.
Ruckus
@Brachiator:
Well at least most everyone on this lowly blog. I’m guessing though that the number is probably about 65 million.
BTW did anyone else notice that the blog now has had over 7 million comments?
Aleta
If he loses (*his* candidates lose) in the midterms, it’s the Deep State. That is, the Justice Dept. (argghh). He talks about the stock market I think because that’s his way of buying votes — promising a payoff. If that tanks it’s the Deep State again, controlling the Fed.
He’s counting on ‘stick with me and you’ll get even more money’ continuing to work. The US drunken stupor of hope for more money isn’t going to go away til the heat, water and electricity are turned off, so to speak.
NotMax
@TaMara (HFG)
Not directed at you specifically, more a general note of fed up-edness with the drumbeat of those obsessed with a Manafort pardon (and convinced of it as a given), without a scintilla of evidence backing the claim and entirely ignoring that (a) Dolt 45 has already disavowed him and (b) there is no, nada, zilch upside for Defecta Glide in Orange, politically or personally.
Amir Khalid
@Smedley Darlington Prunebanks (formerly Mumphrey, et al.):
It’s even more terrifying, I reckon, that he was helped into the presidency by voters who decided that his manifest unfitness made him precisely the man rhey wanted in the Oval Office.
??? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ??
@Mary G:
How many times has this been predicted and never come to pass?
Patricia Kayden
@debbie: He has never been sane. That has never been the issue. Trump is no less saber today than he was on the campaign trail. He has engaged in obstruction of justice and violations of emolument clause and probably loads of high crimes and misdemeanors.
NotMax
@BillinGlendaleCA
Can’t resist the link.
:)
Ruckus
Trying to predict what shitgibbon will do at any time is an absolute waste of brain cells. He has no idea what he will do or say at any particular moment. We do know that it will be monumentally ignorant and wrong. We know that anything he actually does will be the exactly wrong thing, even if only because of the timing but probably for it’s effect as well which will be exactly the opposite of any thing close to reasonable.
The knowns are that he is highly unstable.
That he is highly ignorant.
That he is racist as all fuck.
That he has no idea how the world actually works.
That no one actually likes him that is not as insane, racist and ignorant as he is.
Anne Laurie
@Steeplejack:
Jacobin is the salary site for paycheck-to-paycheck “True Progressives”, the poor schmucks who don’t have trust funds to support their Chapo-trap Patreon goals. Used to see some interesting articles, there, but the closer we get to midterms, the more the publication as a whole has devolved into #ButHerEmails as a real-world examplar for #NotAllMen / #NotAllWhitePeople.
A Ghost To Most
@NotMax: I’m actively preparing to not comply. Hopefully, the midterms will render my plan purely recreational.
Ladyraxterinok
@Smedley Darlington Prunebanks (formerly Mumphrey, et al.): Didn’t Romnet get away not showing complete tax returns? He set a v bad precedent. And Wilmer?
Anne Laurie
@Lee:
AFAICT Jim Risen is still an honest, and excellent, reporter. The Intercept as a whole has broken useful news on non-Russia-related topics like immigration abuses and global financial malfeasance. Omidyar’s initial mistake was letting the horseshoe-theory ‘far left’/libertarian yappers hijack his earnest reportorial project… and it looks like those guys are now digging their own graves and/or sidling towards the USA-worse-than-Russia exit (speaking of the NewYorker Ian Parker profile of a certain GG… )
Ken
@??? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ??:
All of them, Katie.
NotMax
@Ladyraxterinok
All the more egregious because his own father set the precedent during his run.
Amir Khalid
@Ladyraxterinok:
What makes Mitt Romney’s secrecy about his tax returns egregious is that the Republican presidential Candidate who in 1968 started the tradition of tax-return disclosure was his dad George.
Amir Khalid
@NotMax:
Pout.
Jay
@Ruckus:
When the truth comes out, it will turn out that everybody in the Insane Clown POSus’s Administration joined up to work for their own agenda’s,
And all The Insane Clown POSus is in control of is his bowel movements and sometimes his twitter posts.
Yarrow
@B.B.A.: Gawd…that article. The ending:
No, you assholes. It was never a game for real people. I hate these insider media people so much.
Doug R
@DCrefugee:
My interpretation is nothing that can damage someone on the ballot and to err on the side of caution. Someone like Manafort or Cohen or Pence who aren’t in campaigns, I think they’re fair game.
Duncan Hunter and Dana Rohrbacher not so much.
Eljai
@Yarrow: I’m with you there. And I do not appreciate him fluffing Chris Cilliza as some sort of paragon of journalistic virtue.
L85NJGT
Trump doesn’t know shit. This is wishful thinking from whatever fifth rate hangers on are advising him.
…if only Tricky Dick had hung on like Clinton….
Anyone recommending this course of action is committing malpractice.
eemom
@Amir Khalid:
As I understand it his Dad was one of the last of that vanished species, The Honorable Republican, last seen in _____?
Fair Economist
@Doug R: Well, Comey didn’t throw out the window for indictments, because there was nothing to indict Hillary for, so of course Mueller will respect that rule.. He “reported” in ways that would be inappropriate any time. No-leak Mueller won’t do that.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
this is some good trolling, assuming whoever thought of this has some good questions prepared
Yarrow
@Eljai: Me either. How ridiculous is that!
Doug R
@NotMax:
Aides expect Trump to go rogue on Manafort pardon
efgoldman
@Doug R:
Why the fuck not? The voters have a right to know their elected officials are corrupt.
Fuckem
efgoldman
@efgoldman:
And yes, I know an indictment is not a conviction.
Fuckem amyway
Aleta
@Fair Economist: And now it’s time for Comey to step up and testify to Trump’s obstruction of justice. (Hopefully without pretending he’s the star of the entire show, but more likely he’ll be all aglow.) What matters is his testimony though, and I think he’s been clear on the facts already.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Doug R:
Duncan has already been indicted and I saw an ad for Dana’s opponent, Harley Rouda while watching the local news last night.
oldgold
For what it is worth:
@Mediaite
Chuck Todd Warns of Possible Mueller Bombshell: ‘I Wouldn’t Miss Work Tomorrow’
@SethAbramson
Tomorrow, according to NBC News’ Chuck Todd, is the last day we should expect Mueller to make a major move in the Trump-Russia investigation before Election Day. For what it’s worth, I concur with Chuck—I’m confident there will be Trump-Russia items worth talking about tomorrow.
Time and timing!
?BillinGlendaleCA
@efgoldman:
How long before you start teaching the grandson that phrase? Heh, probably be the kid’s first words.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@oldgold:
What ya paid for it.
Aleta
I read about the first part of this, but it goes even further than the story I read.
Yarrow
The kids are alright. And there’s that number again…
Jay
@Doug R:
When the calls are coming from inside the House, you arn’t supposed to take them,
There’s so much gaslighting coming from inside the House, it should have blown up by now,
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Yarrow:
There’s that number again.
bluehill
The fix is in. There’s a reason the repubs are jamming Kavanaugh through and it’s important enough to keep Trump in check until after the midterms.
Yarrow
@?BillinGlendaleCA: That’s what I said!
John Revolta
@?BillinGlendaleCA: It persists across all demographics! Scary!
MomSense
@DCrefugee:
People keep bringing up the 60 days policy but Cohen, Manafort, Javanka Tangerine Tinpot, jr, and many more are not running for office in this election. Does the 60 day rule apply for people who aren’t candidates?
Jay
@MomSense:
Nope.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@MomSense: Nope, unless you have email sever management issues.
Fair Economist
@MomSense: And I expect Mueller will put in some indictments on Trump’s inner circle over the next 60 days.
MomSense
@Jay:
Good. I hope we have a lot of them.
oldgold
@MomSense:
A common sense interpretation of this “guideline” would strongly suggest it would apply.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@MomSense: also, does Barbara Underwood feel bound by Justice Dept. guidelines?
I reeeeaaaally want Junior to see the inside of Rikers Island
SiubhanDuinne
@Aleta:
I really miss being on the radio.
Jay
@oldgold:
Only for people running for election or re-election.
SiubhanDuinne
@Omnes Omnibus:
I did as long as they were open.
Bonnie
Let’s make a pact and not have any state funeral for Trump when he dies. Let’s pretend he was never president*.
westyny
OT, but BJ is still borked on my iPhone. It hasn’t been the same since the implosion last week. Anyone else having problems? Also, even on the computer browser it’s not remembering my nym and email. Is this a Safari thing?
?BillinGlendaleCA
@SiubhanDuinne: There’s a bill in the legislature here to keep them open until 4am.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@westyny: On Chrome on Win10 it’ll remember your nym, email, etc for about 30 minutes and then you have to re-enter them.
Jay
@Bonnie:
That’s the ReThugs plan.
There’s a twitter movement to try to make all references to D’nesh, convicted felon D’nesh.
westyny
@?BillinGlendaleCA: Hmph. That’s what I get. Poor Alain TSF. I hope he’s still working on FTS.
oldgold
@Jay:
Consider the basis for this guideline. It is the the DOJ does not want to initiate criminal prosecutions that could reasonably be expected to impact an upcoming election.
There is no way Mueller would ask for permission or, even if he did, Rosenstein would allow an indictment to issue against a Trump family member within 60 days of this election.
efgoldman
@oldgold:
Bull.
Also shit.
No Trump is on any ballot anywhere.
Fuckem
Aleta
The corrupt political news outlets seem especially rabid tonight, even after yet another week of ‘DOJ corruption,’ ‘Orr-Weissman-Manafort,’ and ‘endofMuellerinvestigation.’
burnspbesq
Larison:
https://www.theamericanconservative.com/larison/iran-is-complying-with-the-nuclear-deal-despite-u-s-violations/
James E Powell
@Amir Khalid:
That’s terrifying for sure, but it is known that a very large portion of the American electorate are hateful bigots and morons. What shocked me at the time and what terrifies me to this day is that so many, nearly all, of the people who certainly know better, the people who control institutional power – the NYT, the FBI, the cable networks, the handful of non-insane Republicans – were all so consumed by their hatred and contempt for Hillary Clinton that they produced this result.
We may not forgive the voters for being stupid assholes, but we knew that’s what they were. It’s the people who knew better but made this happen anyway just so they could dance on Hillary’s political grave. They are the worst people in the world.
jl
@oldgold: I don’t understand. Trump is not on the ballot. Seems like creeping disabling of the justice system’s ability to function against the powerful (which makes sense given the way the country has been going recently).
I find it impossible to believe it is an absolute rule with no exception, even in the case of officials running for office. So, for example, a candidate commits a murder with witnesses.
If the Constitution is not a suicide pact, then DOJ guidelines should not be a suicide pact either.
oldgold
@efgoldman:
Trump is on every national ballot.
Martin
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: DOJ guidelines only apply to federal cases. States only have to follow the state guidelines. Gonna go out on a limb and say they’re all fair game as far as NY is concerned.
Jay
@James E Powell:
Less than 80,000 voters, in three states, 7 corrupt Electors, and a whole bunch of ratfucking came together in The Perfect Storm.
Checks and Balances got blindsided.
oldgold
@jl:
I did not say it is a “rule.” I carefully labeled it a “guideline.” That expressed, a cautious i dotter, t crosser and straight-arrow like Mueller will follow the guideline. Plus, Rosenstein, Mueller’s gatekeeper, given his perilous political situation, is going to avoid any appearance of violating this guideline.
efgoldman
@oldgold:
No such thing. There are 435 individual congressional elections, with no-one named Trump on any ballot, and 33 statewide elections.
Yes, all midterms are referenda on the presidency; Obama wasn’t. on any ballot in 2010 either. Your point?
Steve in the ATL
@efgoldman: his point is “aren’t you thankful for the pie filter?”
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Steve in the ATL: Heh.
Jay
@oldgold:
Trump’s not on the ballot anywhere.
oldgold
The election is in large measure a referendum on Trump.
The DOJ, correctly by the way, does not like to bring criminal prosecutions close in time to an election that might materially impact the election. This is the reason for the “guideline.”
An indictment of a Trump family member within 60 days of this election could reasonably be expected to impact this election. For that reason I believe Mueller will not indict any member of the Trump family within 60 days of November 6.
oldgold
@Steve in the ATL:
I thought you were s lawyer?
Bill Arnold
@Ken:
Just an addendum:
(1) He has many other enemies.
(2) Heart attack is also a possibility. His heart health is not great IMO based on his tendency to get winded (but see [0]). So sudden death due to heart attack would be accepted as simply unfortunate by most (excepting the gleeful), though not the conspiracy-minded, or some evangelicals who have tasked themselves with defending POTUS DJ Trump from hostile witchcraft.
(3) An aneurysm is Old School.
Personally, I think he should declare victory and resign (the best resignation ever) to spend more time with his companies.
(This outcome would be in his best interests for health and other reasons, if he made his resignation conditional on dropping of Federal charges.)
[0] A lowball estimate of his heart attack/stroke risk (I’ve seen higher estimates):
Donald Trump Has Moderate Coronary Plaque: This Is Normal For His Age And We Already Knew It (January 18, 2018)
We should ignore Ronny Jackson’s opinions about DJ Trump’s health, IMO.
Jay
@oldgold
It won’t be a Trump family member,
James E Powell
@Jay:
Checks and Balances got blindsided.
We differ in this regard. I don’t think they were blindsided. It was willful. They just didn’t care about the consequences. They were determined that the woman they hated would not get the White House.
SiubhanDuinne
@?BillinGlendaleCA:
Which would be 7:00 am my time. That seems excessive.
Jay
@James E Powell:
While there were chunks of Checks and Balances, like the FTFNYT, the New York FBI consumed with Clintonitis,
There were also big chunks quietly doing their Jobs.
Whocoodanood that when confronted with Russian ratfucking and Insane Clown POSus’s penetration, Yurtle the Turtle would pick Russia?
A few American’s and a few Democrats have finally started to clue in that all ReThugs are traitors.
efgoldman
@oldgold:
He is. Are you?
You’ve totally missed the distinction. HRC WAS ON THE BALLOT IN EVERY STATE. Of COURSE Comey flapping his yap had a material effect. on the election. If some random asshole congresscritter gets indicted a week before election day, of COURSE it will have a material effect in his/her district. Apples and kumquats.
You’ve made up a “guideline” that fits your (incorrect) view.
oldgold
@efgoldman:
Yes, Comey violated the premise underlying this guideline. The consequences were disastrous.
This is precisely why Mueller and Rosenstein will be careful not to commit the same mistake.
NotMax
@Doug R
A Politico (a/k/a Clickbait R Us) link? Really?
?BillinGlendaleCA
@SiubhanDuinne: I don’t know, I used to tie on a few at 7am.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@oldgold: Again, you’re missing the whole point, TRUMP IS NOT ON ANY BALLOT!
Jay
@oldgold:
Like I said, if Meuller drops indictments, it will be lower down in Insane Clown POSus’s Mob Family, like Stone.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Jay: Tend to agree.
NotMax
@SiubhanDuinne
Just for grins, a flash from the past.
:)
oldgold
@?BillinGlendaleCA:
That is literally true but absolutely false.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@oldgold: Being literally true is what counts here.
Aleta
THE WARS LOST AND WON IN TEXAS, By Bárbara Renaud González
https://www.oxfordamerican.org/item/1576-the-wars-lost-and-won-in-texas
oldgold
It is true that the orthodox tend to favor literal interpretations.
NotMax
@oldgold
Tap dancers gotta tap dance.
Citizen Alan
@Amir Khalid:
To me, the saddest thing about Mitt Romney is that his campaign caused me to learn about George Romney, who I now think would have made a great President. I can only assume he would be utterly humiliated if he’d lived to see how his offspring have conducted themselves.