The New York Times posted an article titled “A Visit Behind Enemy Lines” about Trump visiting California this week. A headline like that, you might expect it to be about Trump’s upcoming visit to North Korea, but instead, it’s the state his administration has basically declared war on, with Sessions mounting legal attacks against their immigration laws. The rhetoric is funny, but not necessarily incorrect. One gets the feeling he won’t feel very welcome in California, especially as his visit is to see progress on his stupid wall. That said, I’m absolutely sure that we’ll be hearing tweets coming from Trump soon enough about how welcome and beloved he is California.
I don’t actually know that if Trump’s porn star affair gets validated that anything substantial will actually happen. I don’t expect it would honestly change anyone’s mind about the man one way or the other. I’m 100% sure it will ultimately lead to nothing….yet at the same time, I just want to see it run it’s course. I mean, it’s a fascinating story, and the fact that some poor lawyer had to get a home equity loan to pay off this porn star, ultimately to be stiffed by his boss is just amazing to me, and now there is this 60 Minutes interview that the White House is trying to kill, and by god, at this point, I just want to hear the story! And regardless of what happens if the story finally breaks, the fact that Trump can’t run away from this story fast enough is somewhat gratifying as well.
Trump went to a rally in Pennsylvania for a Republican named Rick Saccone, the Republican running for the Republican seat in their special election for the House. Trump spoke for 80 minutes, 2 of which were for the reason he came for: Endorsing Saccone. The rest of the time…well it was pretty whacky. I mean, when it comes to an off the cuff Trump speech, it usually is, but come on! Calling Chuck Todd a “sleepy son of a bitch”? That’s crazy.
So, Trump is trying to sell his hasty tariff proclamation by playing the victim card again. I forgot that great businessmen whine about how they’re being taken advantage of on trade deals. But he says he won’t get rid of these tariffs unless a new, fairer NAFTA deal is put together. I dunno. I can’t seem to figure out what his idea of fair is. But I’m willing to bet the builders and construction companies who rely on Canadian imports for materials don’t think things are terribly fair at this point. Did you know that 40% of frame building lumber for Texas comes from Canada? Eddie Martin from the Tilson Housing Corp. does.
White House Economic Advisor Gary Cohn, a man considered to be a “stable presence” in the White House, resigned a mere 2 hours after Donald Trump assured the nation that everyone wanted work for him in the White House. He obviously came out and said this amid rumors and suggestions that his White House was in turmoil. I can see why people might think that, what with scandals arising every other day, and just the boat load of employment turnover which might seem to already undercut Trump’s statement. But Cohn resigning so quickly afterward had to really makes a profound point. I can’t imagine that Trump had a good Tuesday.
I mean, Sam Nunberg, the ex-Trump aid we’re only just found out existed, went on a full scale media meltdown on Monday. The whole thing was bizarre and weird, and illuminating into the psyche of a guy who clearly deals with many of his problems by displaying overconfidence and bravado, and it had to come as a stark realization that in this one instance, it was clearly going to bite him in the ass. But I’m more curious how the White House staff deals with a day like Monday. Are they inoculated to that level of insanity by this point, or can days like Monday still surprise them?
So, Roy Moore asking we, the people, to foot his legal fees, because as it turns out, the people coming after him for sexual assault have a pretty freaking good case against him. So he’s out on the warpath blaming gays, trans, sodomists, abortionists and liberals for his current legal predicament. He’s out to raise a whopping $250,000 so he can mount his defense. Sadly, I think it’s entirely possible he’ll bilk people out of that money, but I sure hope a lot of them only contribute their thoughts and prayers…
So Trump is…I don’t know if I’d call it a 180 on gun control provisions…but he’s definitely sounding…dare I say…somewhat reasonable? It’s weird to see him step so far away from his base’s views on anything. I mean, the VAST majority of Americans overwhelmingly favor some new measure of gun control. That is indisputable, but the very vocal minority, the people who comprise the loudest segment of Trump’s base, do not. So for Trump to come out and say he’s down for confiscating guns from mentally ill people, and for raising the age of purchase on certain firearms…I mean it’s a weird pivot that I’m not sure anyone saw coming. It’s a welcome one. But it also is so out of character for him that I would feel weird trusting it. I don’t know whether to expect him to go back on it tomorrow and say he never said any such thing in the first place.
Hope Hicks, the now ex-director of strategic communications for the White House, said that it was part of her job to tell “white lies” for the President. Given her lack of elaboration on that fact, people are left with a lot of questions about such a response. What does she consider a “white lie”? Who exactly was she lying to? If she saw it as part of her job, then how often was she lying? On what topics did she lie whitely over? If she admitted to lying, was she lying about the lying? She claims that she hasn’t lied over matters relating to the Russian Investigation, but is that a White Lie too? So many questions…
So the Republicans and Right Wing Media outlets are really trying to push this narrative that the Russians colluded with the Democrats. That THAT is the real story and not potential collusion with Trump. I mean they make a good point. I mean, only by working with the Russians could they have tanked the 2016 elections so hard. It’s a damn goofy claim that flies in the face evidence and…you know, reality? I mean, I’m willing to take the word of right-wing armchair philosophers over a vast network of non-partisan intelligence gatherers whose job and expertise involve this very thing.
Mind the Exit 