Please see Styx thread on the Registered Shipmates consultation for the main discussion forums - your views are important, continues until April 4th.

Purgatory: Oops - your Trump presidency discussion thread.

1145146148150151168

Comments

  • Dave WDave W Shipmate
    Eirenist wrote: »
    A competent demolition job, and as such, I suppose, unlikely to be accessable in the US.
    Are you under the impression that criticism of the Trump administration is somehow banned in the US?
  • stetsonstetson Shipmate
    edited October 2020
    Penny S wrote: »
    But what is the point of showing it over here? There are a few US voters, but they won't be the ones who need to switch.

    I'm not sure about the BBC, but I know that in Canada, reporting on American wackadoodlery often has an undertone of "See how much superior our system up here is?"

    So probably not really presented with a US audience in mind.



  • I can stream The Trump Show on line. No American network has picked it up that I know of though.
  • On another level, Dear Mr. T has announced that if he loses the election he will move out of the country. I saw a meme the other day that showed him calling Vlad(imer) pleading for him to not hang up. Vlad did, so he calls Kim Un wondering if Kim has a place for him to stay. If he moves out of the country, it will have to be a place that does not have an extradition treaty with the US, IMHO.
  • His private plane would still need takeoff clearance.
  • His private plane would still need takeoff clearance.

    Or he can try to sneak into Mexico. Since he claims he is an excellent swimmer (He is excellent at everything), maybe he can swim to Cuba. It is only 90 miles (145 klicks) away. He can swim it in a day :wink:
  • I don't think Raúl Castro would let him in.
  • Golden KeyGolden Key Shipmate, Glory
    edited October 2020
    Raul: "But, you know, at the south end of our island, there's this lovely bay with a lovely resort. I'm sure they'd love to have you--in fact, I bet you could make a deal to have the whole place to yourself! Buena suerte! (Good luck!)"

    {Raul whistles a strangely-familiar tune as he hangs up.}
  • Barnabas62Barnabas62 Shipmate, Host Emeritus
    edited October 2020
    I thought the broadcasting tangent deserved a thread of its own so I've split the comments away. New thread title "The Independence and Objectivity of State Broadcasters".

    Barnabas62
    Purgatory Host
  • So the latest revelation from the New York Times' analysis of Trump's tax returns is the existence of a secret Chinese bank account.
    And it turns out that China is one of only three foreign nations — the others are Britain and Ireland — where Mr. Trump maintains a bank account, according to an analysis of the president’s tax records, which were obtained by The New York Times. The foreign accounts do not show up on Mr. Trump’s public financial disclosures, where he must list personal assets, because they are held under corporate names. The identities of the financial institutions are not clear.

    The Chinese account is controlled by Trump International Hotels Management L.L.C., which the tax records show paid $188,561 in taxes in China while pursuing licensing deals there from 2013 to 2015.

    The tax records do not include details on how much money may have passed through the overseas accounts, though the I.R.S. does require filers to report the portion of their income derived from other countries.

    Well, I'm sure this secret, never disclosed financial tie to a sometimes hostile foreign country is completely above board with no suspicious activity at all, right?
    In 2017, the company reported an unusually large spike in revenue — some $17.5 million, more than the previous ten years' combined. It was accompanied by a $15.1 million withdrawal by Mr. Trump from the company's capital account.

    On the president's public financial disclosures for that year, he reported the large revenue figure, and described it only as "management fees and other contract payments."

    What could possibly have happened in 2017 that made people want to give Donald Trump a bunch of money, I wonder?
  • His private plane would still need takeoff clearance.

    Well, yes, but surely you wouldn't want to prevent him leaving?
    :flushed:

    Unless it was to haul him off to jail, of course...
    :naughty:

  • This seems like the perfect metaphor for both the Trump campaign and the Trump administration*.
    Omaha Trump Rally Attendees Stranded, Several Taken to Hospital Suffering Hypothermia

    Backers of President Donald Trump were left stranded overnight, with several taken to hospital for hypothermia after an Omaha campaign rally ended in chaos.

    Hundreds were bussed in to the Eppley Airfield site, leaving their cars in parking lots, but were left wandering up to four miles in the cold after coaches failed to pick them up.

    "President Trump took off in Air Force One 1 hr 20 minutes ago, but thousands of his supporters remain stranded on a dark road outside the rally," CNN reporter Jeff Zeleny tweeted at 10:21 p.m. CDT.
    Jeff Zeleny
    President Trump took off in Air Force One 1 hr 20 minutes ago, but thousands of his supporters remain stranded on a dark road outside the rally. “We need at least 30 more buses,” an Omaha police officer just said, shaking his head at the chaotic cluster that is unfolding.

    Zeleny, who was at Tuesday night's event, described the scene as a "chaotic cluster" as Omaha police officers scrambled to provide transportation for those stranded.

    "It's hundreds and hundreds of people who came on buses - forced to park miles away - who were stranded," he wrote.

    It's the overly obvious and on-the-nose symbolism that makes me think that the hacks writing this dark political satire we're all living through have given up and are just phoning it in now.
  • Barnabas62Barnabas62 Shipmate, Host Emeritus
    It should kill some of the idolising of this selfish, worthless, deeply flawed man.
  • Wesley JWesley J Circus Host
    Not sure about that. Remember Nazi Germany: Hitler'a most fervent supporters said, had the Führer known about the atrocities, he would have stopped them; so there's always mad people willing to defend the undefendable.
  • Crœsos wrote: »
    This seems like the perfect metaphor for both the Trump campaign and the Trump administration*.
    Omaha Trump Rally Attendees Stranded, Several Taken to Hospital Suffering Hypothermia

    Backers of President Donald Trump were left stranded overnight, with several taken to hospital for hypothermia after an Omaha campaign rally ended in chaos.

    Hundreds were bussed in to the Eppley Airfield site, leaving their cars in parking lots, but were left wandering up to four miles in the cold after coaches failed to pick them up.

    "President Trump took off in Air Force One 1 hr 20 minutes ago, but thousands of his supporters remain stranded on a dark road outside the rally," CNN reporter Jeff Zeleny tweeted at 10:21 p.m. CDT.
    Jeff Zeleny
    President Trump took off in Air Force One 1 hr 20 minutes ago, but thousands of his supporters remain stranded on a dark road outside the rally. “We need at least 30 more buses,” an Omaha police officer just said, shaking his head at the chaotic cluster that is unfolding.

    Zeleny, who was at Tuesday night's event, described the scene as a "chaotic cluster" as Omaha police officers scrambled to provide transportation for those stranded.

    "It's hundreds and hundreds of people who came on buses - forced to park miles away - who were stranded," he wrote.

    It's the overly obvious and on-the-nose symbolism that makes me think that the hacks writing this dark political satire we're all living through have given up and are just phoning it in now.

    Oddly, just a few days later, Trump held a similar rally in Florida where the heat was so oppressive that several people succumbed and had to be taken to the hospital. At that point, the local fire department began spraying the people with water to help cool them down. Huffington Post video story here.
  • Leading chants to fire the top medical expert in the middle of a pandemic?
  • Re the Huff post story:

    What a bunch of...people rhyming with bankers!

    Evolution in action.

  • Wesley JWesley J Circus Host
    And three - this time it's 45-supporters in Georgia:
    Hundreds of fans were left waiting in 46-degree [F; i.e. 7.7°C] temperatures for hours
  • Wesley JWesley J Circus Host
    He's a goner.
  • Wesley J wrote: »
    He's a goner.

    When you break it down, he's just a broke guy, with outstanding warrants, five kids from three different women, who's about to be evicted from public housing.
  • Golden KeyGolden Key Shipmate, Glory
    edited November 2020
    LC--

    OMG, that's *real*? With the neighboring businesses mentioned? I feel sorry for whoever accidentally scheduled it wrong (if it was an accident--and *more* sorry for them if not). Maybe Giuliani???

    I'd heard T was playing golf, and didn't look so good when he got back to the WH. Handling this is beyond him. Maybe he'll take a trip down to Mar-a-Lago?

    *LC*, thank you so much for this. Had many laughs!
    :)

    ETA: I think "Saturday Night Live" is new tonight. I wonder if they've had a chance to work this into the opening?
  • It's been reported, in a much, um, blander style, in USA Today, among others. I chose the most amusing version.

    Yes, I'm sure heads will roll, but that was going to happen anyway in the wake of the election loss.
  • The porn shop is called Fantasy Island. Appropriate, given the content of Giuliani's harangue.
  • Trump will be busy firing his entire team and expecting to run the election again with a new one. Maybe he's having some kind of breakdown. In denial anyway.
  • Golden KeyGolden Key Shipmate, Glory
    Has anyone heard anything about Pence's reaction to T's loss? I did a quick look just now, and didn't see anything. I'm not sure total silence is a good sign.
  • Bishops FingerBishops Finger Shipmate
    edited November 2020
    Golden Key wrote: »
    Has anyone heard anything about Pence's reaction to T's loss? I did a quick look just now, and didn't see anything. I'm not sure total silence is a good sign.

    Might Pence be trying to make himself invisible, so as to distance himself as much as possible from Trump?

    For the time being, anyway.

  • Golden Key wrote: »
    Has anyone heard anything about Pence's reaction to T's loss? I did a quick look just now, and didn't see anything. I'm not sure total silence is a good sign.

    Might Pence be trying to make himself invisible, so as to distance himself as much as possible from Trump?

    For the time being, anyway.

    Or is he a rat abandoning a sinking ship?
  • Well, I was trying to be polite (dunno why), but yes, ISWYM.

    I did also wonder if Pence was biding his time until Trump goes completely and utterly bananas, when he (Pence) would step forward to save the Republican party.
  • Golden Key wrote: »
    Has anyone heard anything about Pence's reaction to T's loss? I did a quick look just now, and didn't see anything. I'm not sure total silence is a good sign.
    He did make a statement about standing by Trump a few days ago.
  • Martin54Martin54 Deckhand, Styx
    I'm amazed at how relieved, delighted I am. Thank God the Pfizer announcement didn't come a week ago!
  • Should we be worried that Trump has decided at this late date to fire the Secretary of Defense?
    Esper had been on shaky ground with the White House for months, a rift that deepened after he said in June that he did not support using active-duty troops to quell the large-scale protests across the United States triggered by the death of George Floyd at the hands of police. Esper also said military forces should be used in a law enforcement role only as a last resort.

    On the other hand, maybe this is just Trump having a tantrum and lashing out at someone he never much liked anyway.
  • Barnabas62Barnabas62 Shipmate, Host Emeritus
    edited November 2020
    Venting his frustration. What a nasty human being he is. Talking about holding rallies to sound off and undermine the new President.

    "No class" as someone once observed about Nixon. But Nixon was pretty classy compared with Trump.
  • Martin54Martin54 Deckhand, Styx
    edited November 2020
    Nixon was! And he was a deranged, drunken, lying son of a bitch. At least he had the sense to resign.

    I'm afraid that Trump will pretend to have won all the way to inauguration day, as Pompeo is pretending. There will be no transition. Who will the Secret Service obey? The armed forces?
  • Martin54 wrote: »
    Nixon was! And he was a deranged, drunken, lying son of a bitch. At least he had the sense to resign.

    I'm afraid that Trump will pretend to have won all the way to inauguration day, as Pompeo is pretending. There will be no transition. Who will the Secret Service obey? The armed forces?

    They will obey the President as soon as he is sworn in. I don't think there's serious doubt about that.
  • Martin54 wrote: »
    Nixon was! And he was a deranged, drunken, lying son of a bitch. At least he had the sense to resign.

    I'm afraid that Trump will pretend to have won all the way to inauguration day, as Pompeo is pretending. There will be no transition. Who will the Secret Service obey? The armed forces?

    They will obey the President as soon as he is sworn in. I don't think there's serious doubt about that.
    SO as long as the Supreme court is not as mental as the president...

  • Martin54Martin54 Deckhand, Styx
    edited November 2020
    Ohhhhhh! It's all about the two Georgia seats and control of the Senate.
  • Robert ArminRobert Armin Shipmate, Glory
    There's a lot of concern in American media that Biden won't get the full transition experience, thanks to Trump's sulks. While I appreciate a handover is useful, from an outside perspective it seems like a luxury. In the UK one PM goes, and another starts at once. What happens in other countries?
  • True, but the Leader of the Opposition is kept up to date with various issues to allow proper scrutiny of government and in case of sudden changes.
  • JLBJLB Shipmate Posts: 45
    And the civil service stays in place.
  • There's a lot of concern in American media that Biden won't get the full transition experience, thanks to Trump's sulks. While I appreciate a handover is useful, from an outside perspective it seems like a luxury. In the UK one PM goes, and another starts at once. What happens in other countries?
    In a normal transition, it would be bad enough as there is loads to be aware of and decisions to be made and those don't stop coming, so the catching up is spread over a longer time. But I am fairly sure that Trump never fully completed his own presidency. As I recall, he never filled all the offices he was supposed to. And he has staffed many offices with loyalists who will all have to be evaluated and replaced. And the people they appointed/hired will have to be evaluated and potentially replaced.
    This was going to be a tougher transition than normal even if the bastard had cooperated.
  • Robert ArminRobert Armin Shipmate, Glory
    Are there other countries which have such a generous overlap between leaders?
  • Wesley JWesley J Circus Host
    No, that's just the incumbent's wig.

  • Are there other countries which have such a generous overlap between leaders?

    Prior to 1937, new US Presidents were not inaugurated until March 4 of the year following the election, so the overlap used to be bigger.
  • Golden KeyGolden Key Shipmate, Glory
    Some of that overlap may have been to accommodate slower methods of travel and winter weather.
  • Golden KeyGolden Key Shipmate, Glory
    Re side-effects of delayed transition period:

    Heard someone on NPR say that it was a factor in 9/11. Evidently, there was a delayed transition between Clinton and Bush 43. (That seems vaguely familiar, but I don't remember it.) The 9/11 commission said that delay was a factor in the new administration not getting up to speed on terrorism dangers, and thus not catching on to what was developing.
  • The One Million MAGA March brought in far fewer people than they organizers claim.
    As one twitter user put it:
    Lol, not only is that not 1 million people, I’ll wager there aren’t even one million teeth in that "crowd,”
  • Golden Key wrote: »
    Re side-effects of delayed transition period:

    Heard someone on NPR say that it was a factor in 9/11. Evidently, there was a delayed transition between Clinton and Bush 43. (That seems vaguely familiar, but I don't remember it.) The 9/11 commission said that delay was a factor in the new administration not getting up to speed on terrorism dangers, and thus not catching on to what was developing.

    The deal of it is the Bush administration had retained the Clinton counterterrorism expert and he did warn Bush on 9/10 that all indications were that there was a pending attack. Bush reportedly thanked him for the warning and then went fishing! Bush did not raise the alert status until after the fact on 9/11.
  • Golden KeyGolden Key Shipmate, Glory
    Thx.
  • BoogieBoogie Heaven Host
    Regarding how to get the Orange one out once all the legal stuff is done with. He won’t miss out on his golf - so change the locks while he’s out. 🤣
Sign In or Register to comment.