Debate Now The Trump Years

[Foxfyre]

This thread is intended to be an ongoing discussion of how President Donald Trump is doing in office.

If you respond to the poll, note that it is allowed to change your vote if your opinion of the President's performance changes for the better or worse over time.

This thread is NOT intended to be a discussion of President Donald Trump's past life, past sins, past successes, or past experiences as these have been and are being discussed ad nauseam elsewhere on the board. A little leeway will be allowed if something in his past is shown to be pertinent to his current performance on the job, but only a little leeway. The focus of this thread is strictly on how he is doing since the inauguration.

It is expected that as time passes, assuming enough people are interested in participating at all, there will be a broad range of discussions on a broad range of topics re how the President's proposals, policies, the people he appoints, etc. are working out. It is possible that some, perhaps grudgingly, will come to appreciate at least some things the current administration does. And it is possible that those who are currently supporting the President will find their loyalty is misplaced. At any rate, all points of view are invited and encouraged so long as it stays civil.

So, in your opinion, how is he doing since the inauguration?

Rules for this thread:

1. Stay on topic and keep it civil. Do not disrespect the President past or present (or anybody past or present) with insulting names or terms and respond to the member's post and not with your opinion of the member making it. Zone 1 (think Clean Debate Zone) rules are in effect.

2. The OP will provide definitions as necessary to keep us from getting bogged down in semantics.

3. Links are not required to participate in the discussion, but if they are used, the member must post a pertinent excerpt from the material linked or at the very least provide a summary in his/her own words what the content of the linked material is intended to show. Please do not post links to large walls of text without referencing where the pertinent material will be found.

SUMMARIZED TOPIC

How is President Trump and/or his administration doing since his inauguration?

 

[Moonglow]

So far it's been okey dokey

 

[Foxfyre]

For me I have been pleased with most of the executive orders so far and with the people he is swearing in as cabinet and staff members. I still wish he would ease up on the Twitter comments but fully understand how they are necessary to get his actual opinion to the people. The media is not prone to accurately portray his intent.

I'm still mulling whether it is okay that Kellyanne said he won't be making his tax returns public.

I felt good that he is clearing the way for the Keystone XL pipeline to proceed--I can't find a real downside to that. And I am glad they are going slow to dismantle Obamacare so as not to create unintended hardships on people.

Apparently many Americans are happy that their confidence is being validated and/or are being pleasantly surprised on how it is going. Going into the Presidency with some of the lowest, if not the lowest, approval ratings for any President ever, according to Rasmussen today, his approval rating is up to 57%.

Tuesday, January 24, 2017

The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll for Tuesday shows that 57% of Likely U.S. Voters approve of President Trump’s job performance. Forty-three percent (43%) disapprove.

The latest figures include 42% who Strongly Approve of the way Trump is performing and 33% who Strongly Disapprove. This gives him a Presidential Approval Index rating of +9 (see trends).​

Daily Presidential Tracking Poll - Rasmussen Reports™

 

[GaryDog]

Terrible. Frankly, a disgrace.

He has lied about releasing his tax returns. There's simply no way around that truth. He said he'd release them, and now he's not going to. That's simply a lie, and not a small one. Without his tax returns, it's far more difficult to gauge possible conflicts of interest and how they will affect his ability to lead. If he owes millions (or billions) to people or companies, foreign or domestic, we need to make sure he doesn't use his office for personal gain to benefit those people in an effort to get out of debt. This is a clear sign that the president has no intention to put the American people at ease with regard to this.

His decision to withdraw from the TPP is something I'm waffling on. On one hand, yes, it's beneficial for us to pick and choose trade deals that benefit American manufacturers. On the other hand, this will almost certainly increase the price of goods and limit the ability of American companies to export said goods. I don't think Trump has been honest (or even mentioned?) the impact this will have on Americans. To his supporters, it seems, just getting rid of trade will mean we all have access to 40k-per-year manufacturing jobs overnight. Or that's the way his rhetoric seems.

Greenlighting the pipelines is a handout to the oil companies, and it is a rebuke of the environmentalists, and the native peoples on whose land the dakota pipeline in particular, will negatively effect. I'd expect nothing less, but I'm no less disappointed.

Next week he'll nominate a SCOTUS judge. I seriously doubt he ever gets one confirmed. He needs 60, and there's just no way he'll get an evangelical with open hostility for reproductive rights past a single Democrat. And he needs 8.

Smaller things: He's doing his darndest to destroy his administration's credibility by sending his press secretary out there to lie about the crowds who attended his inaugural. To what end? He ended up looking petty and small to all but his most devout supporters.

And apparently the polls reflect that:

Trump Sets New Low Point for Inaugural Approval Rating

President Donald Trump is the first elected president in Gallup's polling history to receive an initial job approval rating below the majority level.

If we're grading things, he's at a D+. And I feel I'm being generous.

 

[Foxfyre]

Terrible. Frankly, a disgrace.

He has lied about releasing his tax returns. There's simply no way around that truth. He said he'd release them, and now he's not going to. That's simply a lie, and not a small one. Without his tax returns, it's far more difficult to gauge possible conflicts of interest and how they will affect his ability to lead. If he owes millions (or billions) to people or companies, foreign or domestic, we need to make sure he doesn't use his office for personal gain to benefit those people in an effort to get out of debt. This is a clear sign that the president has no intention to put the American people at ease with regard to this.

His decision to withdraw from the TPP is something I'm waffling on. On one hand, yes, it's beneficial for us to pick and choose trade deals that benefit American manufacturers. On the other hand, this will almost certainly increase the price of goods and limit the ability of American companies to export said goods. I don't think Trump has been honest (or even mentioned?) the impact this will have on Americans. To his supporters, it seems, just getting rid of trade will mean we all have access to 40k-per-year manufacturing jobs overnight. Or that's the way his rhetoric seems.

Greenlighting the pipelines is a handout to the oil companies, and it is a rebuke of the environmentalists, and the native peoples on whose land the dakota pipeline in particular, will negatively effect. I'd expect nothing less, but I'm no less disappointed.

Next week he'll nominate a SCOTUS judge. I seriously doubt he ever gets one confirmed. He needs 60, and there's just no way he'll get an evangelical with open hostility for reproductive rights past a single Democrat. And he needs 8.

Smaller things: He's doing his darndest to destroy his administration's credibility by sending his press secretary out there to lie about the crowds who attended his inaugural. To what end? He ended up looking petty and small to all but his most devout supporters.

And apparently the polls reflect that:

Trump Sets New Low Point for Inaugural Approval Rating

President Donald Trump is the first elected president in Gallup's polling history to receive an initial job approval rating below the majority level.

If we're grading things, he's at a D+. And I feel I'm being generous.

I'm sure you aren't alone in your opinion GaryDog however much I don't share it. I liked the names I checked out on Trump's potential SCOTUS nominee list. I WANTED him to approve the pipeline and most Americans want no part of the TPP or any other large scale trade agreements like that.

So far he personally has not commented on his tax returns--not since the inauguration--but I have no reason to believe he didn't intend to release them under the conditions he stated in his campaign. And since then he may have changed his mind. Until he says so, I think it could go either way. But I allow him to change his mind on something that has no affect on us and doesn't affect my reasons to vote for him. I could care less what is in those tax returns so long as he made all financial disclosures required by law and nobody has said he didn't do that. 38 of our 45 presidents did not release tax returns for scrutiny by the general public so it isn't like he's breaking with any long tradition.

And I don't care what the ratings were for his inaugural or before then. What I am interested in is how he is doing since the inaugural. And apparently, most Americans are okay with it.

But it's okay to disagree on that too. if we all thought exactly alike we wouldn't need more than one political party, one candidate for President, etc.

 

[GaryDog]

Terrible. Frankly, a disgrace.

He has lied about releasing his tax returns. There's simply no way around that truth. He said he'd release them, and now he's not going to. That's simply a lie, and not a small one. Without his tax returns, it's far more difficult to gauge possible conflicts of interest and how they will affect his ability to lead. If he owes millions (or billions) to people or companies, foreign or domestic, we need to make sure he doesn't use his office for personal gain to benefit those people in an effort to get out of debt. This is a clear sign that the president has no intention to put the American people at ease with regard to this.

His decision to withdraw from the TPP is something I'm waffling on. On one hand, yes, it's beneficial for us to pick and choose trade deals that benefit American manufacturers. On the other hand, this will almost certainly increase the price of goods and limit the ability of American companies to export said goods. I don't think Trump has been honest (or even mentioned?) the impact this will have on Americans. To his supporters, it seems, just getting rid of trade will mean we all have access to 40k-per-year manufacturing jobs overnight. Or that's the way his rhetoric seems.

Greenlighting the pipelines is a handout to the oil companies, and it is a rebuke of the environmentalists, and the native peoples on whose land the dakota pipeline in particular, will negatively effect. I'd expect nothing less, but I'm no less disappointed.

Next week he'll nominate a SCOTUS judge. I seriously doubt he ever gets one confirmed. He needs 60, and there's just no way he'll get an evangelical with open hostility for reproductive rights past a single Democrat. And he needs 8.

Smaller things: He's doing his darndest to destroy his administration's credibility by sending his press secretary out there to lie about the crowds who attended his inaugural. To what end? He ended up looking petty and small to all but his most devout supporters.

And apparently the polls reflect that:

Trump Sets New Low Point for Inaugural Approval Rating

President Donald Trump is the first elected president in Gallup's polling history to receive an initial job approval rating below the majority level.

If we're grading things, he's at a D+. And I feel I'm being generous.

I'm sure you aren't alone in your opinion GaryDog however much I don't share it. I liked the names I checked out on Trump's potential SCOTUS nominee list. I WANTED him to approve the pipeline and most Americans want no part of the TPP or any other large scale trade agreements like that.

So far he personally has not commented on his tax returns--not since the inauguration--but I have no reason to believe he didn't intend to release them under the conditions he stated in his campaign. And since then he may have changed his mind. Until he says so, I think it could go either way. But I allow him to change his mind on something that has no affect on us and doesn't affect my reasons to vote for him. I could care less what is in those tax returns so long as he made all financial disclosures required by law and nobody has said he didn't do that. 38 of our 45 presidents did not release tax returns for scrutiny by the general public so it isn't like he's breaking with any long tradition.

And I don't care what the ratings were for his inaugural or before then. What I am interested in is how he is doing since the inaugural. And apparently, most Americans are okay with it.

But it's okay to disagree on that too. if we all thought exactly alike we wouldn't need more than one political party, one candidate for President, etc.

My gallup poll was his rating AT inaugural time. And it's the lowest ever. Unless you really don't think a poll from last week is relevant this week. I do. Most reasonable people do.

You really do not care about his conflicts of interest? Seriously? I find that hard to believe. He used his spokesperson to state unequivocally that he would not release his returns. His excuse for not releasing them before was specious at best (audits prevent you from releasing nothing), and that leads me to believe he absolutely did not change his mind. He lied. He never had any intention of releasing his returns, most likely because his debts are massive, his income not all that impressive (nowhere near what he claims), and his tax burden precisely zero. Hell, he even admitted as much in a debate that he has paid no taxes for years. Again, simply put, he lied. This is fact.

Which is something he seems chronically unable to stop doing. This is a man who is so petty and insecure, he needs to bring a cheering section with him to speeches at the CIA:

CBS Confirms Trump Brought His Own Studio Audience To Clap For Him At CIA Speech

He also lied, repeatedly, in his speech.

Trump's Speech to the CIA Made America Less Safe


You're right, we don't all need to think alike. But we definitely should all agree on the facts. And contrary to this administration's position, there is only ONE set of facts. It's too bad this administration refuses to stick to these facts.

 

[Foxfyre]

Terrible. Frankly, a disgrace.

He has lied about releasing his tax returns. There's simply no way around that truth. He said he'd release them, and now he's not going to. That's simply a lie, and not a small one. Without his tax returns, it's far more difficult to gauge possible conflicts of interest and how they will affect his ability to lead. If he owes millions (or billions) to people or companies, foreign or domestic, we need to make sure he doesn't use his office for personal gain to benefit those people in an effort to get out of debt. This is a clear sign that the president has no intention to put the American people at ease with regard to this.

His decision to withdraw from the TPP is something I'm waffling on. On one hand, yes, it's beneficial for us to pick and choose trade deals that benefit American manufacturers. On the other hand, this will almost certainly increase the price of goods and limit the ability of American companies to export said goods. I don't think Trump has been honest (or even mentioned?) the impact this will have on Americans. To his supporters, it seems, just getting rid of trade will mean we all have access to 40k-per-year manufacturing jobs overnight. Or that's the way his rhetoric seems.

Greenlighting the pipelines is a handout to the oil companies, and it is a rebuke of the environmentalists, and the native peoples on whose land the dakota pipeline in particular, will negatively effect. I'd expect nothing less, but I'm no less disappointed.

Next week he'll nominate a SCOTUS judge. I seriously doubt he ever gets one confirmed. He needs 60, and there's just no way he'll get an evangelical with open hostility for reproductive rights past a single Democrat. And he needs 8.

Smaller things: He's doing his darndest to destroy his administration's credibility by sending his press secretary out there to lie about the crowds who attended his inaugural. To what end? He ended up looking petty and small to all but his most devout supporters.

And apparently the polls reflect that:

Trump Sets New Low Point for Inaugural Approval Rating

President Donald Trump is the first elected president in Gallup's polling history to receive an initial job approval rating below the majority level.

If we're grading things, he's at a D+. And I feel I'm being generous.

I'm sure you aren't alone in your opinion GaryDog however much I don't share it. I liked the names I checked out on Trump's potential SCOTUS nominee list. I WANTED him to approve the pipeline and most Americans want no part of the TPP or any other large scale trade agreements like that.

So far he personally has not commented on his tax returns--not since the inauguration--but I have no reason to believe he didn't intend to release them under the conditions he stated in his campaign. And since then he may have changed his mind. Until he says so, I think it could go either way. But I allow him to change his mind on something that has no affect on us and doesn't affect my reasons to vote for him. I could care less what is in those tax returns so long as he made all financial disclosures required by law and nobody has said he didn't do that. 38 of our 45 presidents did not release tax returns for scrutiny by the general public so it isn't like he's breaking with any long tradition.

And I don't care what the ratings were for his inaugural or before then. What I am interested in is how he is doing since the inaugural. And apparently, most Americans are okay with it.

But it's okay to disagree on that too. if we all thought exactly alike we wouldn't need more than one political party, one candidate for President, etc.

My gallup poll was his rating AT inaugural time. And it's the lowest ever. Unless you really don't think a poll from last week is relevant this week. I do. Most reasonable people do.

You really do not care about his conflicts of interest? Seriously? I find that hard to believe. He used his spokesperson to state unequivocally that he would not release his returns. His excuse for not releasing them before was specious at best (audits prevent you from releasing nothing), and that leads me to believe he absolutely did not change his mind. He lied. He never had any intention of releasing his returns, most likely because his debts are massive, his income not all that impressive (nowhere near what he claims), and his tax burden precisely zero. Hell, he even admitted as much in a debate that he has paid no taxes for years. Again, simply put, he lied. This is fact.

Which is something he seems chronically unable to stop doing. This is a man who is so petty and insecure, he needs to bring a cheering section with him to speeches at the CIA:

CBS Confirms Trump Brought His Own Studio Audience To Clap For Him At CIA Speech

He also lied, repeatedly, in his speech.

Trump's Speech to the CIA Made America Less Safe


You're right, we don't all need to think alike. But we definitely should all agree on the facts. And contrary to this administration's position, there is only ONE set of facts. It's too bad this administration refuses to stick to these facts.

If a person's tax returns were necessary to avoid conflict of interest, it would be a legal requirement that the President provide them. There is no such law. Trump has resigned all his associations with all Trump businesses and assigned the whole empire to his two oldest sons which he said he would do weeks ago. And he has filed a complete financial disclosure. That is all he is required to do. If I say I'm going to the movies today and later decide that I won't, I was not lying at the time I said it.

And as for your story re Trump padding his audience at the CIA, I went to the CBS website--a media group who despises Trump--and scoured it for anything about that. Nothing. That appears to be an entirely fake news story being perpetuated on anti-Trump hate sites.

Trump has no studio audience. And even if he did, it would have been entirely illegal for him to take it into the CIA. The identities of the people in that organization are fiercely protected--no photos of the personnel of any kind are permitted and certainly a studio audience would not be privy to observe them. And I don't trust Politicus, a decidedly hate-Trump or anything non-progressive site, to be very good at reporting anything.

And it is a small thing but you violated the thread rules for posting links with the links you posted.

The topic is not his inauguration ratings but:

SUMMARIZED TOPIC

How is President Trump and/or his administration doing since his inauguration?

Overall, most Americans seem to be quite satisfied with the way things are going, and I fully expect that 57% approval rating today to improve.

 

[GaryDog]

Terrible. Frankly, a disgrace.

He has lied about releasing his tax returns. There's simply no way around that truth. He said he'd release them, and now he's not going to. That's simply a lie, and not a small one. Without his tax returns, it's far more difficult to gauge possible conflicts of interest and how they will affect his ability to lead. If he owes millions (or billions) to people or companies, foreign or domestic, we need to make sure he doesn't use his office for personal gain to benefit those people in an effort to get out of debt. This is a clear sign that the president has no intention to put the American people at ease with regard to this.

His decision to withdraw from the TPP is something I'm waffling on. On one hand, yes, it's beneficial for us to pick and choose trade deals that benefit American manufacturers. On the other hand, this will almost certainly increase the price of goods and limit the ability of American companies to export said goods. I don't think Trump has been honest (or even mentioned?) the impact this will have on Americans. To his supporters, it seems, just getting rid of trade will mean we all have access to 40k-per-year manufacturing jobs overnight. Or that's the way his rhetoric seems.

Greenlighting the pipelines is a handout to the oil companies, and it is a rebuke of the environmentalists, and the native peoples on whose land the dakota pipeline in particular, will negatively effect. I'd expect nothing less, but I'm no less disappointed.

Next week he'll nominate a SCOTUS judge. I seriously doubt he ever gets one confirmed. He needs 60, and there's just no way he'll get an evangelical with open hostility for reproductive rights past a single Democrat. And he needs 8.

Smaller things: He's doing his darndest to destroy his administration's credibility by sending his press secretary out there to lie about the crowds who attended his inaugural. To what end? He ended up looking petty and small to all but his most devout supporters.

And apparently the polls reflect that:

Trump Sets New Low Point for Inaugural Approval Rating

President Donald Trump is the first elected president in Gallup's polling history to receive an initial job approval rating below the majority level.

If we're grading things, he's at a D+. And I feel I'm being generous.

I'm sure you aren't alone in your opinion GaryDog however much I don't share it. I liked the names I checked out on Trump's potential SCOTUS nominee list. I WANTED him to approve the pipeline and most Americans want no part of the TPP or any other large scale trade agreements like that.

So far he personally has not commented on his tax returns--not since the inauguration--but I have no reason to believe he didn't intend to release them under the conditions he stated in his campaign. And since then he may have changed his mind. Until he says so, I think it could go either way. But I allow him to change his mind on something that has no affect on us and doesn't affect my reasons to vote for him. I could care less what is in those tax returns so long as he made all financial disclosures required by law and nobody has said he didn't do that. 38 of our 45 presidents did not release tax returns for scrutiny by the general public so it isn't like he's breaking with any long tradition.

And I don't care what the ratings were for his inaugural or before then. What I am interested in is how he is doing since the inaugural. And apparently, most Americans are okay with it.

But it's okay to disagree on that too. if we all thought exactly alike we wouldn't need more than one political party, one candidate for President, etc.

My gallup poll was his rating AT inaugural time. And it's the lowest ever. Unless you really don't think a poll from last week is relevant this week. I do. Most reasonable people do.

You really do not care about his conflicts of interest? Seriously? I find that hard to believe. He used his spokesperson to state unequivocally that he would not release his returns. His excuse for not releasing them before was specious at best (audits prevent you from releasing nothing), and that leads me to believe he absolutely did not change his mind. He lied. He never had any intention of releasing his returns, most likely because his debts are massive, his income not all that impressive (nowhere near what he claims), and his tax burden precisely zero. Hell, he even admitted as much in a debate that he has paid no taxes for years. Again, simply put, he lied. This is fact.

Which is something he seems chronically unable to stop doing. This is a man who is so petty and insecure, he needs to bring a cheering section with him to speeches at the CIA:

CBS Confirms Trump Brought His Own Studio Audience To Clap For Him At CIA Speech

He also lied, repeatedly, in his speech.

Trump's Speech to the CIA Made America Less Safe


You're right, we don't all need to think alike. But we definitely should all agree on the facts. And contrary to this administration's position, there is only ONE set of facts. It's too bad this administration refuses to stick to these facts.

If a person's tax returns were necessary to avoid conflict of interest, it would be a legal requirement that the President provide them. There is no such law. Trump has resigned all his associations with all Trump businesses and assigned the whole empire to his two oldest sons which he said he would do weeks ago. And he has filed a complete financial disclosure. That is all he is required to do. If I say I'm going to the movies today and later decide that I won't, I was not lying at the time I said it.

And as for your story re Trump padding his audience at the CIA, I went to the CBS website--a media group who despises Trump--and scoured it for anything about that. Nothing. That appears to be an entirely fake news story being perpetuated on anti-Trump hate sites.

Trump has no studio audience. And even if he did, it would have been entirely illegal for him to take it into the CIA. The identities of the people in that organization are fiercely protected--no photos of the personnel of any kind are permitted and certainly a studio audience would not be privy to observe them. And I don't trust Politicus, a decidedly hate-Trump or anything non-progressive site, to be very good at reporting anything.

And it is a small thing but you violated the thread rules for posting links with the links you posted.

Overall, most Americans seem to be quite satisfied with the way things are going, and I fully expect that 57% approval rating today to improve.

No, providing tax returns is not a legal requirement for president. But then again, neither is having a conflict of interest. Ethical rules would dictate that avoiding conflicts of interest and providing tax returns would be the best way to put any doubters at ease. Point being, Trump has no consideration for any of his doubters. He's not here to represent all of America. He's here to represent only his most rapid supporters. If his first few days in office is any indicator.

It is illegal, however, for the president to receive renumeration's from any foreign government, prince, or king.

You either didn't read the cbs link or you're lying.


"Authorities are also pushing back against the perception that the CIA workforce was cheering for the president. They say the first three rows in front of the president were largely made up of supporters of Mr. Trump’s campaign."

Trump CIA Speech may have made worsened intel community relations

I did not violate the thread rules and I'm annoyed that you would even say that.

Trump does not have a 57% approval rating. The Gallup rating is at 45%, the lowest for any incoming president. Ever.

 

[GaryDog]

"How his administration is doing" is a pretty vague topic. If you meant for that topic to not include any discussion of his popularity with constituents, you probably should've specified that.

 

[Foxfyre]

Terrible. Frankly, a disgrace.

He has lied about releasing his tax returns. There's simply no way around that truth. He said he'd release them, and now he's not going to. That's simply a lie, and not a small one. Without his tax returns, it's far more difficult to gauge possible conflicts of interest and how they will affect his ability to lead. If he owes millions (or billions) to people or companies, foreign or domestic, we need to make sure he doesn't use his office for personal gain to benefit those people in an effort to get out of debt. This is a clear sign that the president has no intention to put the American people at ease with regard to this.

His decision to withdraw from the TPP is something I'm waffling on. On one hand, yes, it's beneficial for us to pick and choose trade deals that benefit American manufacturers. On the other hand, this will almost certainly increase the price of goods and limit the ability of American companies to export said goods. I don't think Trump has been honest (or even mentioned?) the impact this will have on Americans. To his supporters, it seems, just getting rid of trade will mean we all have access to 40k-per-year manufacturing jobs overnight. Or that's the way his rhetoric seems.

Greenlighting the pipelines is a handout to the oil companies, and it is a rebuke of the environmentalists, and the native peoples on whose land the dakota pipeline in particular, will negatively effect. I'd expect nothing less, but I'm no less disappointed.

Next week he'll nominate a SCOTUS judge. I seriously doubt he ever gets one confirmed. He needs 60, and there's just no way he'll get an evangelical with open hostility for reproductive rights past a single Democrat. And he needs 8.

Smaller things: He's doing his darndest to destroy his administration's credibility by sending his press secretary out there to lie about the crowds who attended his inaugural. To what end? He ended up looking petty and small to all but his most devout supporters.

And apparently the polls reflect that:

Trump Sets New Low Point for Inaugural Approval Rating

President Donald Trump is the first elected president in Gallup's polling history to receive an initial job approval rating below the majority level.

If we're grading things, he's at a D+. And I feel I'm being generous.

I'm sure you aren't alone in your opinion GaryDog however much I don't share it. I liked the names I checked out on Trump's potential SCOTUS nominee list. I WANTED him to approve the pipeline and most Americans want no part of the TPP or any other large scale trade agreements like that.

So far he personally has not commented on his tax returns--not since the inauguration--but I have no reason to believe he didn't intend to release them under the conditions he stated in his campaign. And since then he may have changed his mind. Until he says so, I think it could go either way. But I allow him to change his mind on something that has no affect on us and doesn't affect my reasons to vote for him. I could care less what is in those tax returns so long as he made all financial disclosures required by law and nobody has said he didn't do that. 38 of our 45 presidents did not release tax returns for scrutiny by the general public so it isn't like he's breaking with any long tradition.

And I don't care what the ratings were for his inaugural or before then. What I am interested in is how he is doing since the inaugural. And apparently, most Americans are okay with it.

But it's okay to disagree on that too. if we all thought exactly alike we wouldn't need more than one political party, one candidate for President, etc.

My gallup poll was his rating AT inaugural time. And it's the lowest ever. Unless you really don't think a poll from last week is relevant this week. I do. Most reasonable people do.

You really do not care about his conflicts of interest? Seriously? I find that hard to believe. He used his spokesperson to state unequivocally that he would not release his returns. His excuse for not releasing them before was specious at best (audits prevent you from releasing nothing), and that leads me to believe he absolutely did not change his mind. He lied. He never had any intention of releasing his returns, most likely because his debts are massive, his income not all that impressive (nowhere near what he claims), and his tax burden precisely zero. Hell, he even admitted as much in a debate that he has paid no taxes for years. Again, simply put, he lied. This is fact.

Which is something he seems chronically unable to stop doing. This is a man who is so petty and insecure, he needs to bring a cheering section with him to speeches at the CIA:

CBS Confirms Trump Brought His Own Studio Audience To Clap For Him At CIA Speech

He also lied, repeatedly, in his speech.

Trump's Speech to the CIA Made America Less Safe


You're right, we don't all need to think alike. But we definitely should all agree on the facts. And contrary to this administration's position, there is only ONE set of facts. It's too bad this administration refuses to stick to these facts.

If a person's tax returns were necessary to avoid conflict of interest, it would be a legal requirement that the President provide them. There is no such law. Trump has resigned all his associations with all Trump businesses and assigned the whole empire to his two oldest sons which he said he would do weeks ago. And he has filed a complete financial disclosure. That is all he is required to do. If I say I'm going to the movies today and later decide that I won't, I was not lying at the time I said it.

And as for your story re Trump padding his audience at the CIA, I went to the CBS website--a media group who despises Trump--and scoured it for anything about that. Nothing. That appears to be an entirely fake news story being perpetuated on anti-Trump hate sites.

Trump has no studio audience. And even if he did, it would have been entirely illegal for him to take it into the CIA. The identities of the people in that organization are fiercely protected--no photos of the personnel of any kind are permitted and certainly a studio audience would not be privy to observe them. And I don't trust Politicus, a decidedly hate-Trump or anything non-progressive site, to be very good at reporting anything.

And it is a small thing but you violated the thread rules for posting links with the links you posted.

Overall, most Americans seem to be quite satisfied with the way things are going, and I fully expect that 57% approval rating today to improve.

No, providing tax returns is not a legal requirement for president. But then again, neither is having a conflict of interest. Ethical rules would dictate that avoiding conflicts of interest and providing tax returns would be the best way to put any doubters at ease. Point being, Trump has no consideration for any of his doubters. He's not here to represent all of America. He's here to represent only his most rapid supporters. If his first few days in office is any indicator.

It is illegal, however, for the president to receive renumeration's from any foreign government, prince, or king.

You either didn't read the cbs link or you're lying.


"Authorities are also pushing back against the perception that the CIA workforce was cheering for the president. They say the first three rows in front of the president were largely made up of supporters of Mr. Trump’s campaign."

Trump CIA Speech may have made worsened intel community relations

I did not violate the thread rules and I'm annoyed that you would even say that.

Trump does not have a 57% approval rating. The Gallup rating is at 45%, the lowest for any incoming president. Ever.

OK, I used the keyword for studio audience at CBS, but I did read their whole story. There's certainly nothing in the CBS account about a 'studio audience'. And it is anybody's guess who is lying--a CBS anti-Trump reporter who cites unnamed sources or Sean Spicer whose reputation is on the line. I posted my link for the 57% approval rating. Disprove it if you can.

 

[Foxfyre]

"How his administration is doing" is a pretty vague topic. If you meant for that topic to not include any discussion of his popularity with constituents, you probably should've specified that.

If you don't like the topic, please feel free not to participate.

 

[GaryDog]

Terrible. Frankly, a disgrace.

He has lied about releasing his tax returns. There's simply no way around that truth. He said he'd release them, and now he's not going to. That's simply a lie, and not a small one. Without his tax returns, it's far more difficult to gauge possible conflicts of interest and how they will affect his ability to lead. If he owes millions (or billions) to people or companies, foreign or domestic, we need to make sure he doesn't use his office for personal gain to benefit those people in an effort to get out of debt. This is a clear sign that the president has no intention to put the American people at ease with regard to this.

His decision to withdraw from the TPP is something I'm waffling on. On one hand, yes, it's beneficial for us to pick and choose trade deals that benefit American manufacturers. On the other hand, this will almost certainly increase the price of goods and limit the ability of American companies to export said goods. I don't think Trump has been honest (or even mentioned?) the impact this will have on Americans. To his supporters, it seems, just getting rid of trade will mean we all have access to 40k-per-year manufacturing jobs overnight. Or that's the way his rhetoric seems.

Greenlighting the pipelines is a handout to the oil companies, and it is a rebuke of the environmentalists, and the native peoples on whose land the dakota pipeline in particular, will negatively effect. I'd expect nothing less, but I'm no less disappointed.

Next week he'll nominate a SCOTUS judge. I seriously doubt he ever gets one confirmed. He needs 60, and there's just no way he'll get an evangelical with open hostility for reproductive rights past a single Democrat. And he needs 8.

Smaller things: He's doing his darndest to destroy his administration's credibility by sending his press secretary out there to lie about the crowds who attended his inaugural. To what end? He ended up looking petty and small to all but his most devout supporters.

And apparently the polls reflect that:

Trump Sets New Low Point for Inaugural Approval Rating

President Donald Trump is the first elected president in Gallup's polling history to receive an initial job approval rating below the majority level.

If we're grading things, he's at a D+. And I feel I'm being generous.

I'm sure you aren't alone in your opinion GaryDog however much I don't share it. I liked the names I checked out on Trump's potential SCOTUS nominee list. I WANTED him to approve the pipeline and most Americans want no part of the TPP or any other large scale trade agreements like that.

So far he personally has not commented on his tax returns--not since the inauguration--but I have no reason to believe he didn't intend to release them under the conditions he stated in his campaign. And since then he may have changed his mind. Until he says so, I think it could go either way. But I allow him to change his mind on something that has no affect on us and doesn't affect my reasons to vote for him. I could care less what is in those tax returns so long as he made all financial disclosures required by law and nobody has said he didn't do that. 38 of our 45 presidents did not release tax returns for scrutiny by the general public so it isn't like he's breaking with any long tradition.

And I don't care what the ratings were for his inaugural or before then. What I am interested in is how he is doing since the inaugural. And apparently, most Americans are okay with it.

But it's okay to disagree on that too. if we all thought exactly alike we wouldn't need more than one political party, one candidate for President, etc.

My gallup poll was his rating AT inaugural time. And it's the lowest ever. Unless you really don't think a poll from last week is relevant this week. I do. Most reasonable people do.

You really do not care about his conflicts of interest? Seriously? I find that hard to believe. He used his spokesperson to state unequivocally that he would not release his returns. His excuse for not releasing them before was specious at best (audits prevent you from releasing nothing), and that leads me to believe he absolutely did not change his mind. He lied. He never had any intention of releasing his returns, most likely because his debts are massive, his income not all that impressive (nowhere near what he claims), and his tax burden precisely zero. Hell, he even admitted as much in a debate that he has paid no taxes for years. Again, simply put, he lied. This is fact.

Which is something he seems chronically unable to stop doing. This is a man who is so petty and insecure, he needs to bring a cheering section with him to speeches at the CIA:

CBS Confirms Trump Brought His Own Studio Audience To Clap For Him At CIA Speech

He also lied, repeatedly, in his speech.

Trump's Speech to the CIA Made America Less Safe


You're right, we don't all need to think alike. But we definitely should all agree on the facts. And contrary to this administration's position, there is only ONE set of facts. It's too bad this administration refuses to stick to these facts.

If a person's tax returns were necessary to avoid conflict of interest, it would be a legal requirement that the President provide them. There is no such law. Trump has resigned all his associations with all Trump businesses and assigned the whole empire to his two oldest sons which he said he would do weeks ago. And he has filed a complete financial disclosure. That is all he is required to do. If I say I'm going to the movies today and later decide that I won't, I was not lying at the time I said it.

And as for your story re Trump padding his audience at the CIA, I went to the CBS website--a media group who despises Trump--and scoured it for anything about that. Nothing. That appears to be an entirely fake news story being perpetuated on anti-Trump hate sites.

Trump has no studio audience. And even if he did, it would have been entirely illegal for him to take it into the CIA. The identities of the people in that organization are fiercely protected--no photos of the personnel of any kind are permitted and certainly a studio audience would not be privy to observe them. And I don't trust Politicus, a decidedly hate-Trump or anything non-progressive site, to be very good at reporting anything.

And it is a small thing but you violated the thread rules for posting links with the links you posted.

Overall, most Americans seem to be quite satisfied with the way things are going, and I fully expect that 57% approval rating today to improve.

No, providing tax returns is not a legal requirement for president. But then again, neither is having a conflict of interest. Ethical rules would dictate that avoiding conflicts of interest and providing tax returns would be the best way to put any doubters at ease. Point being, Trump has no consideration for any of his doubters. He's not here to represent all of America. He's here to represent only his most rapid supporters. If his first few days in office is any indicator.

It is illegal, however, for the president to receive renumeration's from any foreign government, prince, or king.

You either didn't read the cbs link or you're lying.


"Authorities are also pushing back against the perception that the CIA workforce was cheering for the president. They say the first three rows in front of the president were largely made up of supporters of Mr. Trump’s campaign."

Trump CIA Speech may have made worsened intel community relations

I did not violate the thread rules and I'm annoyed that you would even say that.

Trump does not have a 57% approval rating. The Gallup rating is at 45%, the lowest for any incoming president. Ever.

OK, I used the keyword for studio audience at CBS, but I did read their whole story. There's certainly nothing in the CBS account about a 'studio audience'. And it is anybody's guess who is lying--a CBS anti-Trump reporter who cites unnamed sources or Sean Spicer whose reputation is on the line. I posted my link for the 57% approval rating. Disprove it if you can.

If you're going to bust out of the gate with the unsupported assertion that CBS News is "anti-trump" then I can certainly refer to Rasmussen as "pro Republican". That's actually a pretty well-known fact. Gallup, on the other hand, is time-tested and non-partisan.

The sources that the CBS reporter was referring to were CIA employees. For obvious reasons, he cannot name then. There have been prior reports of Trump stuffing his audience with staff members to start applause. This is not new, nor is it a conspiracy. He's known for using props.

 

[GaryDog]

"How his administration is doing" is a pretty vague topic. If you meant for that topic to not include any discussion of his popularity with constituents, you probably should've specified that.

If you don't like the topic, please feel free not to participate.

"How his administration is doing" is a pretty vague topic. If you meant for that topic to not include any discussion of his popularity with constituents, you probably should've specified that.

If you don't like the topic, please feel free not to participate.

I didn't say I don't like the topic. I said either the topic is pretty vague, or your execution of what violates the threads rules is wrong. I also find it pretty ridiculous that you try to accuse me of violating the topic rules for using an opinionpoll, when you started the topic with the Rasmussen rating. Perhaps that was an oversight on your part. If so, I accept your apology.

 

[Foxfyre]

"How his administration is doing" is a pretty vague topic. If you meant for that topic to not include any discussion of his popularity with constituents, you probably should've specified that.

If you don't like the topic, please feel free not to participate.

"How his administration is doing" is a pretty vague topic. If you meant for that topic to not include any discussion of his popularity with constituents, you probably should've specified that.

If you don't like the topic, please feel free not to participate.

I didn't say I don't like the topic. I said either the topic is pretty vague, or your execution of what violates the threads rules is wrong. I also find it pretty ridiculous that you try to accuse me of violating the topic rules for using an opinionpoll, when you started the topic with the Rasmussen rating. Perhaps that was an oversight on your part. If so, I accept your apology.

Please re-read the thread rule - I believe Rule #3 - about using links. I did not violate my own rule.

The topic is not in the least vague. It is how you think he is doing. And if posting links reinforces your opinion about that, that is perfectly fine. But do follow the rule about posting those links.

 

[Mr. Culpepper]

CBS or the alt-fact "the White House can disagree with the facts" guy... For me, it's a no brainer who to believe. One is a news source the other admitted to disagreeing with facts.

 

[Billy_Kinetta]

I didn't expect them to have hypnotized the media as quickly as they have. The media are completely off balance.

 

[Foxfyre]

I'm sure you aren't alone in your opinion GaryDog however much I don't share it. I liked the names I checked out on Trump's potential SCOTUS nominee list. I WANTED him to approve the pipeline and most Americans want no part of the TPP or any other large scale trade agreements like that.

So far he personally has not commented on his tax returns--not since the inauguration--but I have no reason to believe he didn't intend to release them under the conditions he stated in his campaign. And since then he may have changed his mind. Until he says so, I think it could go either way. But I allow him to change his mind on something that has no affect on us and doesn't affect my reasons to vote for him. I could care less what is in those tax returns so long as he made all financial disclosures required by law and nobody has said he didn't do that. 38 of our 45 presidents did not release tax returns for scrutiny by the general public so it isn't like he's breaking with any long tradition.

And I don't care what the ratings were for his inaugural or before then. What I am interested in is how he is doing since the inaugural. And apparently, most Americans are okay with it.

But it's okay to disagree on that too. if we all thought exactly alike we wouldn't need more than one political party, one candidate for President, etc.

My gallup poll was his rating AT inaugural time. And it's the lowest ever. Unless you really don't think a poll from last week is relevant this week. I do. Most reasonable people do.

You really do not care about his conflicts of interest? Seriously? I find that hard to believe. He used his spokesperson to state unequivocally that he would not release his returns. His excuse for not releasing them before was specious at best (audits prevent you from releasing nothing), and that leads me to believe he absolutely did not change his mind. He lied. He never had any intention of releasing his returns, most likely because his debts are massive, his income not all that impressive (nowhere near what he claims), and his tax burden precisely zero. Hell, he even admitted as much in a debate that he has paid no taxes for years. Again, simply put, he lied. This is fact.

Which is something he seems chronically unable to stop doing. This is a man who is so petty and insecure, he needs to bring a cheering section with him to speeches at the CIA:

CBS Confirms Trump Brought His Own Studio Audience To Clap For Him At CIA Speech

He also lied, repeatedly, in his speech.

Trump's Speech to the CIA Made America Less Safe


You're right, we don't all need to think alike. But we definitely should all agree on the facts. And contrary to this administration's position, there is only ONE set of facts. It's too bad this administration refuses to stick to these facts.

If a person's tax returns were necessary to avoid conflict of interest, it would be a legal requirement that the President provide them. There is no such law. Trump has resigned all his associations with all Trump businesses and assigned the whole empire to his two oldest sons which he said he would do weeks ago. And he has filed a complete financial disclosure. That is all he is required to do. If I say I'm going to the movies today and later decide that I won't, I was not lying at the time I said it.

And as for your story re Trump padding his audience at the CIA, I went to the CBS website--a media group who despises Trump--and scoured it for anything about that. Nothing. That appears to be an entirely fake news story being perpetuated on anti-Trump hate sites.

Trump has no studio audience. And even if he did, it would have been entirely illegal for him to take it into the CIA. The identities of the people in that organization are fiercely protected--no photos of the personnel of any kind are permitted and certainly a studio audience would not be privy to observe them. And I don't trust Politicus, a decidedly hate-Trump or anything non-progressive site, to be very good at reporting anything.

And it is a small thing but you violated the thread rules for posting links with the links you posted.

Overall, most Americans seem to be quite satisfied with the way things are going, and I fully expect that 57% approval rating today to improve.

No, providing tax returns is not a legal requirement for president. But then again, neither is having a conflict of interest. Ethical rules would dictate that avoiding conflicts of interest and providing tax returns would be the best way to put any doubters at ease. Point being, Trump has no consideration for any of his doubters. He's not here to represent all of America. He's here to represent only his most rapid supporters. If his first few days in office is any indicator.

It is illegal, however, for the president to receive renumeration's from any foreign government, prince, or king.

You either didn't read the cbs link or you're lying.


"Authorities are also pushing back against the perception that the CIA workforce was cheering for the president. They say the first three rows in front of the president were largely made up of supporters of Mr. Trump’s campaign."

Trump CIA Speech may have made worsened intel community relations

I did not violate the thread rules and I'm annoyed that you would even say that.

Trump does not have a 57% approval rating. The Gallup rating is at 45%, the lowest for any incoming president. Ever.

OK, I used the keyword for studio audience at CBS, but I did read their whole story. There's certainly nothing in the CBS account about a 'studio audience'. And it is anybody's guess who is lying--a CBS anti-Trump reporter who cites unnamed sources or Sean Spicer whose reputation is on the line. I posted my link for the 57% approval rating. Disprove it if you can.

If you're going to bust out of the gate with the unsupported assertion that CBS News is "anti-trump" then I can certainly refer to Rasmussen as "pro Republican". That's actually a pretty well-known fact. Gallup, on the other hand, is time-tested and non-partisan.

The sources that the CBS reporter was referring to were CIA employees. For obvious reasons, he cannot name then. There have been prior reports of Trump stuffing his audience with staff members to start applause. This is not new, nor is it a conspiracy. He's known for using props.

If you can find anything complimentary about Donald Trump at CBS, you're a better reporter than I am. Scott Rasmussen, however, was a registered Democrat who switched to Independent when he started Rasmussen Reports to avoid any appearance of bias. He has reported the dismally low approval ratings for Trump the whole way, so his 57% posted today is no reason to think he is pro-Republican.

 

[GaryDog]

"How his administration is doing" is a pretty vague topic. If you meant for that topic to not include any discussion of his popularity with constituents, you probably should've specified that.

If you don't like the topic, please feel free not to participate.

"How his administration is doing" is a pretty vague topic. If you meant for that topic to not include any discussion of his popularity with constituents, you probably should've specified that.

If you don't like the topic, please feel free not to participate.

I didn't say I don't like the topic. I said either the topic is pretty vague, or your execution of what violates the threads rules is wrong. I also find it pretty ridiculous that you try to accuse me of violating the topic rules for using an opinionpoll, when you started the topic with the Rasmussen rating. Perhaps that was an oversight on your part. If so, I accept your apology.

Please re-read the thread rule - I believe Rule #3 - about using links. I did not violate my own rule.

The topic is not in the least vague. It is how you think he is doing. And if posting links reinforces your opinion about that, that is perfectly fine. But do follow the rule about posting those links.

Let me try this again. You said that this is a thread about how we think the president is doing, not presidential ratings.

Wouldn't presidential ratings figure big in evaluating how we think the president is doing?

And I sandwiched all of my links with summaries regarding what I believed they contained. I did not violate any thread rules.

 

[GaryDog]

My gallup poll was his rating AT inaugural time. And it's the lowest ever. Unless you really don't think a poll from last week is relevant this week. I do. Most reasonable people do.

You really do not care about his conflicts of interest? Seriously? I find that hard to believe. He used his spokesperson to state unequivocally that he would not release his returns. His excuse for not releasing them before was specious at best (audits prevent you from releasing nothing), and that leads me to believe he absolutely did not change his mind. He lied. He never had any intention of releasing his returns, most likely because his debts are massive, his income not all that impressive (nowhere near what he claims), and his tax burden precisely zero. Hell, he even admitted as much in a debate that he has paid no taxes for years. Again, simply put, he lied. This is fact.

Which is something he seems chronically unable to stop doing. This is a man who is so petty and insecure, he needs to bring a cheering section with him to speeches at the CIA:

CBS Confirms Trump Brought His Own Studio Audience To Clap For Him At CIA Speech

He also lied, repeatedly, in his speech.

Trump's Speech to the CIA Made America Less Safe


You're right, we don't all need to think alike. But we definitely should all agree on the facts. And contrary to this administration's position, there is only ONE set of facts. It's too bad this administration refuses to stick to these facts.

If a person's tax returns were necessary to avoid conflict of interest, it would be a legal requirement that the President provide them. There is no such law. Trump has resigned all his associations with all Trump businesses and assigned the whole empire to his two oldest sons which he said he would do weeks ago. And he has filed a complete financial disclosure. That is all he is required to do. If I say I'm going to the movies today and later decide that I won't, I was not lying at the time I said it.

And as for your story re Trump padding his audience at the CIA, I went to the CBS website--a media group who despises Trump--and scoured it for anything about that. Nothing. That appears to be an entirely fake news story being perpetuated on anti-Trump hate sites.

Trump has no studio audience. And even if he did, it would have been entirely illegal for him to take it into the CIA. The identities of the people in that organization are fiercely protected--no photos of the personnel of any kind are permitted and certainly a studio audience would not be privy to observe them. And I don't trust Politicus, a decidedly hate-Trump or anything non-progressive site, to be very good at reporting anything.

And it is a small thing but you violated the thread rules for posting links with the links you posted.

Overall, most Americans seem to be quite satisfied with the way things are going, and I fully expect that 57% approval rating today to improve.

No, providing tax returns is not a legal requirement for president. But then again, neither is having a conflict of interest. Ethical rules would dictate that avoiding conflicts of interest and providing tax returns would be the best way to put any doubters at ease. Point being, Trump has no consideration for any of his doubters. He's not here to represent all of America. He's here to represent only his most rapid supporters. If his first few days in office is any indicator.

It is illegal, however, for the president to receive renumeration's from any foreign government, prince, or king.

You either didn't read the cbs link or you're lying.


"Authorities are also pushing back against the perception that the CIA workforce was cheering for the president. They say the first three rows in front of the president were largely made up of supporters of Mr. Trump’s campaign."

Trump CIA Speech may have made worsened intel community relations

I did not violate the thread rules and I'm annoyed that you would even say that.

Trump does not have a 57% approval rating. The Gallup rating is at 45%, the lowest for any incoming president. Ever.

OK, I used the keyword for studio audience at CBS, but I did read their whole story. There's certainly nothing in the CBS account about a 'studio audience'. And it is anybody's guess who is lying--a CBS anti-Trump reporter who cites unnamed sources or Sean Spicer whose reputation is on the line. I posted my link for the 57% approval rating. Disprove it if you can.

If you're going to bust out of the gate with the unsupported assertion that CBS News is "anti-trump" then I can certainly refer to Rasmussen as "pro Republican". That's actually a pretty well-known fact. Gallup, on the other hand, is time-tested and non-partisan.

The sources that the CBS reporter was referring to were CIA employees. For obvious reasons, he cannot name then. There have been prior reports of Trump stuffing his audience with staff members to start applause. This is not new, nor is it a conspiracy. He's known for using props.

If you can find anything complimentary about Donald Trump at CBS, you're a better reporter than I am. Scott Rasmussen, however, was a registered Democrat who switched to Independent when he started Rasmussen Reports to avoid any appearance of bias. He has reported the dismally low approval ratings for Trump the whole way, so his 57% posted today is no reason to think he is pro-Republican.

I can't see any reason for any media to say something "complimentary" about Trump. That's not the media's job. That is the job of sycophants. The likes of which populated the front three rows of his CIA address.

You are engaging in a classic logical fallacy here.

 

[Foxfyre]

CBS or the alt-fact "the White House can disagree with the facts" guy... For me, it's a no brainer who to believe. One is a news source the other admitted to disagreeing with facts.

CBS or the alt-fact "the White House can disagree with the facts" guy... For me, it's a no brainer who to believe. One is a news source the other admitted to disagreeing with facts.

But how do you think the Trump administration is doing so far?