Monday Megalomaniac (Monday Trump thread)

[prettyinpearls]

What are the odds Trump could have a Dem controlled House and Senate in 2020? There's quite a few GOP seats up for election, correct? I'm not very savvy to this kind of stuff.

[wambam]

May 6, 2019 11:44:23 GMT -5 isabel said:

May 6, 2019 11:34:21 GMT -5 wambam said:

What is this?

The people who are all in on the 2A for the purposes of being an armed militia generally say they are in favor of it because we need citizens who can overthrow the government if things get out of hand. I assume she's making a joke about Trump refusing to transition the power because that's exactly the scenario that would get a bunch of 2A people yelling about overthrowing the government if it were a Democrat. But, you know, all those idiots support him, so they wouldn't do this.

Ooooooh, it took me several minutes to figure out what 2A meant. Got it, never mind, carry on.

[Jalapeñomel]

May 6, 2019 11:31:52 GMT -5 downtoearth said:

May 6, 2019 11:08:53 GMT -5 sonrisa said:

On the flip side, it would be helpful in the highly unlikely event Trump tries to get the military to help him stay in office. There are no strong men at the top to stand by him. When someone else gets sworn in, and immediately appoints new acting secretaries of defense and homeland security the lack of legitimacy of the current ones lends to the legitimacy of the new ones.

And while those who support Trump in the military are digging in, he (as of October) is losing support overall:

www.militarytimes.com/news/pentagon-congress/2018/10/15/support-for-trump-is-fading-among-active-duty-troops-new-poll-shows/

This BBC article has the same info on popularity of Trump with military - enlisted like him way more than others:

He has sprung other ideas onto military leaders - his announcement of a US Space Force, an additional branch of the military, was unexpected, and so was his promise to end military exercises on the Korean Peninsula.

The troops are his "toy soldiers", says Gordon Adams, a former White House budget official for national security who has co-authored a column about the president's "betrayal" of the military.

Since 2016, the percentage of troops who disapprove of President Trump has gone up from 37-43%, according to Military Times.

But those are overall numbers, showing how he is seen among officers and the rank and file. He is popular among enlisted men, with a 47% favourable rating in that category.

www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-46283775

Somewhat unrelated toTrump's popularity with the military, I also found some interesting armed service member poll statistics on gender, sexual assault, and support of non-US Citizens who are serving in this article: www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/new-poll-us-troops-veterans-reveals-thoughts-current-military-policies-180971134/

Disapproval doesn't mean that these people won't go out and vote for him again though. 

[Velar Fricative]

May 6, 2019 11:48:42 GMT -5 prettyinpearls said:

What are the odds Trump could have a Dem controlled House and Senate in 2020? There's quite a few GOP seats up for election, correct? I'm not very savvy to this kind of stuff.

They probably won't lose the House. Their chances look better in the Senate than they did in 2018 but still not great so far, especially because the Ds might also lose a seat they already have control of right now (AL). 

[sparrowsong]

May 6, 2019 12:02:57 GMT -5 Jalapeñomel said:

May 6, 2019 11:31:52 GMT -5 downtoearth said:

And while those who support Trump in the military are digging in, he (as of October) is losing support overall:

www.militarytimes.com/news/pentagon-congress/2018/10/15/support-for-trump-is-fading-among-active-duty-troops-new-poll-shows/

This BBC article has the same info on popularity of Trump with military - enlisted like him way more than others:

www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-46283775

Somewhat unrelated toTrump's popularity with the military, I also found some interesting armed service member poll statistics on gender, sexual assault, and support of non-US Citizens who are serving in this article: www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/new-poll-us-troops-veterans-reveals-thoughts-current-military-policies-180971134/

Disapproval doesn't mean that these people won't go out and vote for him again though. 

Republicans literally have the dumbest, perverted, corrupt, criminal, lazy blowhard as their man... and to them that’s still better than a democrat. At this point I’m pretty sure dems could run against an actual pile of shit and the election results would still be near 50/50.

[atexan]

May 6, 2019 11:44:23 GMT -5 isabel said:

May 6, 2019 11:34:21 GMT -5 wambam said:

What is this?

The people who are all in on the 2A for the purposes of being an armed militia generally say they are in favor of it because we need citizens who can overthrow the government if things get out of hand. I assume she's making a joke about Trump refusing to transition the power because that's exactly the scenario that would get a bunch of 2A people yelling about overthrowing the government if it were a Democrat. But, you know, all those idiots support him, so they wouldn't do this.

You are correct.

I mean, that was literally (one of the) reasons for the second amendment in the first place.  So the people could protect themselves from tyranny.  But it turns out tyranny is cool so long as it's the right kind of tyrant.

[pitta12]

Even if 45 did leave office after being defeated, unless the Senate goes blue (which seems pretty unlikely), the Rs will still call everything illegitimate and refuse to do anything for 4 years. Why not? Their base loves that.

[cville]

May 6, 2019 13:54:14 GMT -5 pitta12 said:

Even if 45 did leave office after being defeated, unless the Senate goes blue (which seems pretty unlikely), the Rs will still call everything illegitimate and refuse to do anything for 4 years. Why not? Their base loves that.

Sure. But we won't have a lazy psycho Russian troll for our president. Nothing but upside to ousting his orange ass.

[5kcandlesinthewind]

May 6, 2019 12:04:42 GMT -5 Velar Fricative said:

May 6, 2019 11:48:42 GMT -5 prettyinpearls said:

What are the odds Trump could have a Dem controlled House and Senate in 2020? There's quite a few GOP seats up for election, correct? I'm not very savvy to this kind of stuff.

They probably won't lose the House. Their chances look better in the Senate than they did in 2018 but still not great so far, especially because the Ds might also lose a seat they already have control of right now (AL). 

I think it's likely they'll lose some of the House seats, (because fickle people are fickle), but not enough to lose the majority. But until and unless McConnell is out of power, nothing is getting done regardless of who has the House or the WH. They need to pick up at least 4 seats (in addition to holding on to Doug Jones's seat), and it's a tough map. Not improbable, but not great. People are really going to have to work their asses off for more than just the top of the ticket in the next year and a half.

[aliciabella]

May 6, 2019 14:04:48 GMT -5 cville said:

May 6, 2019 13:54:14 GMT -5 pitta12 said:

Even if 45 did leave office after being defeated, unless the Senate goes blue (which seems pretty unlikely), the Rs will still call everything illegitimate and refuse to do anything for 4 years. Why not? Their base loves that.

Sure. But we won't have a lazy psycho Russian troll for our president. Nothing but upside to ousting his orange ass.

They pulled this shit with Obama for eight years but I think we would all agree to have another Obama type situation than the orange fucker in there.

[msmerymac]

Did we see the new DCCC vendor requirements? Basically, if you want to be a vendor for the DCCC, you have to sign an agreement to not work with candidates who are running against an incumbent Dem:

www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2019/05/college-democrats-protest-new-dccc-vendor-policy/588715/?utm_term=2019-05-06T16%3A03%3A43&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook&utm_campaign=the-atlantic&utm_content=edit-promo&fbclid=IwAR3Sk2H76BpXQcB77prOtDU1h9ahrHzDNiUzS7iUY-_awycaoIAxS7wupyQ

[miniroller]

Trump would have been charged with obstruction were he not president, hundreds of former federal prosecutors assert
www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/trump-would-have-been-charged-with-obstruction-were-he-not-president-hundreds-of-former-federal-prosecutors-assert/2019/05/06/e4946a1a-7006-11e9-9f06-5fc2ee80027a_story.html
The statement — signed by myriad former career government employees as well as high-profile political appointees — offers a rebuttal to Attorney General William P. Barr’s determination that the evidence Mueller uncovered was “not sufficient” to establish that Trump committed a crime.

[aliciabella]

May 6, 2019 15:54:18 GMT -5 miniroller said:

Trump would have been charged with obstruction were he not president, hundreds of former federal prosecutors assert
www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/trump-would-have-been-charged-with-obstruction-were-he-not-president-hundreds-of-former-federal-prosecutors-assert/2019/05/06/e4946a1a-7006-11e9-9f06-5fc2ee80027a_story.html
The statement — signed by myriad former career government employees as well as high-profile political appointees — offers a rebuttal to Attorney General William P. Barr’s determination that the evidence Mueller uncovered was “not sufficient” to establish that Trump committed a crime.

This is where Trump's amazing skill at changing the narrative is so evident. Mueller and co. should have made this crystal clear that he DID obstruct and but for the practice of not charging a sitting President he would have been arrested. Traditionally, a sitting President would be impeached and removed then charged, like Nixon. Democrats are sooooo, sooooo fucking bad at controlling the narrative and belittling the bullshit that comes from that house, which is white. It infuriates me how good Trump is at this.

[miniroller]

Mike Pompeo Praises Climate Change in the Arctic as ‘New Opportunities for Trade’
observer.com/2019/05/mike-pompeo-arctic-climate-change-trade-opportunities/


*Best analogous comment: Stage IV cancer is also an excellent way to lose weight 😐

[redheadbaker]

May 6, 2019 16:49:12 GMT -5 miniroller said:

Mike Pompeo Praises Climate Change in the Arctic as ‘New Opportunities for Trade’
observer.com/2019/05/mike-pompeo-arctic-climate-change-trade-opportunities/


*Best analogous comment: Stage IV cancer is also an excellent way to lose weight 😐

[miniroller]

To negate my negativity for the day- this gave me a chortle:

[miniroller]

Mnuchin rejects Democrats’ demand to hand over Trump’s tax returns, all but ensuring legal battle
www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/mnuchin-rejects-democrats-demand-to-hand-over-trumps-tax-returns-all-but-ensuring-legal-battle/2019/05/06/5483f8ac-7022-11e9-9eb4-0828f5389013_story.html

[pitta12]

I just watched Knock Down the House on Netflix and it was so good! If anyone needs some hope right now, it’s worth a watch. It follows some of the Ds who primaried incumbents in 2018, including AOC.

[mrsukyankee]

In my holy crap moment of the day:

By Ken Klippenstein on twitter: Member of border militia that detained 200 migrants at gunpoint told police another member had said, “Why are we...not lining them up and shooting them? We have to go back to Hitler days and put them all in a gas chamber” per report I obtained under FOIA: tyt.com/stories/4vZLCHuQrYE4uKagy0oyMA/55ZimtgirWgUh9ZgMSPirI …

[4speedy]

May 6, 2019 9:00:48 GMT -5 penguingrrl said:

Honest question. Does anyone know if we have mechanisms in place to address the risk of a president refusing to give up power? Like, does the secret service have the right to then arrest him to ensure a smooth transition?

Yes.  We have the constitution.  It spells it out pretty clearly.  It doesn’t matter what Trump does, as of noon on Inauguration Day, he has no power. The new president takes office and the military reports to him. 

Pelosi’s comments were idiotic and I’m so disappointed that she made that comment out loud.

[katieinthecity]

May 6, 2019 12:02:57 GMT -5 Jalapeñomel said:

May 6, 2019 11:31:52 GMT -5 downtoearth said:

And while those who support Trump in the military are digging in, he (as of October) is losing support overall:

www.militarytimes.com/news/pentagon-congress/2018/10/15/support-for-trump-is-fading-among-active-duty-troops-new-poll-shows/

This BBC article has the same info on popularity of Trump with military - enlisted like him way more than others:

www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-46283775

Somewhat unrelated toTrump's popularity with the military, I also found some interesting armed service member poll statistics on gender, sexual assault, and support of non-US Citizens who are serving in this article: www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/new-poll-us-troops-veterans-reveals-thoughts-current-military-policies-180971134/

Disapproval doesn't mean that these people won't go out and vote for him again though. 

100% this. My Mom hates the guy but will vote for him again over a Democrat. She was lamenting a week or two ago about how she can't believe no one could successfully primary him because she doesn't want to have to vote for him again. Cry me a freaking river. But she's been brainwashed by Fox News and the Church that any republican is better than any democrat, HARD STOP.