deanrd
Gold Member
- May 8, 2017
- 29,411
- 3,634
- 290
- Banned
- #1
From 'total exoneration' to 'total bullsh**': Trump lingers on damning report
Instead of the "total exoneration" Trump had proclaimed earlier, the report portrayed the President as deceitful and paranoid, encouraging his aides to withhold the truth and cross ethical lines in an attempt to thwart a probe into Russia's interference in US elections -- his "Achilles heel," according to one forthcoming adviser.
Perhaps more angering to a leader who detests weakness -- but doesn't necessarily mind an amoral reputation -- were the number of underlings shown ignoring his commands, privately scoffing at the "crazy sh**" he was requesting and working around him to avoid self-implication.
Now, those close to him say Trump is newly furious at the people -- most of whom no longer work for him -- whose extensive interviews with the special counsel's office created the epic depiction of an unscrupulous and chaotic White House. And he's seeking assurances from those who remain that his orders are being treated like those of a president, and not like suggestions from an intemperate but misguided supervisor.
-----------------
We know Trump is weak. How will the rebuttal of "total exoneration" affect his presidency. Will Trump have a complete mental breakdown now that everyone is slowly learning Trump is implicated in multiple felonies?
---------------
But Trump grew angry as he watched cable news coverage because, sources familiar with the matter said, a theme was emerging that vexed him: a portrait of a dishonest president who is regularly managed, restrained or ignored by his staff.
What is clear is many of those who avoided carrying out Trump's demands related to Mueller's probe -- often, it seemed, in a bid to protect themselves from criminal wrongdoing -- are no longer employed by the White House. Instead, the aides who now surround the President appear less willing to write him off and more likely to encourage him to follow his gut.
Instead, the most prominent aides who do remain are depicted in the report as the most dishonest. Press secretary Sarah Sanders, who was out the office when the report was released, is shown repeatedly misleading the press, a fact she attempted to downplay in morning television interviews on Friday.
In his report, Mueller describes both of Mulvaney's predecessors -- Priebus and Kelly -- as working in at least some capacity to contain the damage of Trump's behavior.
McGahn described Trump asking him to do "crazy sh**," according to Priebus. Trump, meanwhile, deemed McGahn a "lying bastard" whose habit of taking contemporaneous notes raised suspicion.
"Watch out for people that take so-called 'notes,' when the notes never existed until needed," the President wrote.
---------------
Watch out for people who take notes???? Doesn't everyone take notes? His staff "restrained" his worst impulses? Now there is no one willing to restrain him?
-------------
How Trump's staff's insolence may have saved him
Trump has long disliked the impression he is being managed by aides, and on Thursday, after that truth was inextricably etched into the special counsel's report, he still insisted it was he who decided not to fire Mueller.
"I had the right to end the whole Witch Hunt if I wanted. I could have fired everyone, including Mueller, if I wanted. I chose not to," he tweeted.
"Why do you take notes? Lawyers don't take notes. I never had a lawyer who took notes," Trump said upon learning McGahn had written down his recollections of an earlier meeting. "I've had a lot of great lawyers, like Roy Cohn. He did not take notes."
Speaking to Mueller about her comments following the firing of FBI Director James Comey, Sanders conceded she made statements to the media that were not based in fact. Specifically, Sanders said her assertion in response to a question about FBI agents supporting Comey wasn't "founded on anything," according to Mueller.
--------------
Wow!
What does this mean for the rest of Trump's presidency? A total meltdown? He wants to "get back" at those who told the truth about him? He wants to "get back" at those who refused to break the law in his name?
Trump wants everyone to be loyal to him but he is loyal to no one. How does that affect such a person?
Now that the guard rails are lost and the people who protected Trump and the rest of the country from his worst excesses, what will the rest of his presidency be like? Revenge, lies and tax cuts for billionaires? Is that what we are to expect?
And what about his mental state? When someone thinks everyone around them is disloyal, that is one lonely and paranoid person. Will that show up even more in public? And at his rallies?
Instead of the "total exoneration" Trump had proclaimed earlier, the report portrayed the President as deceitful and paranoid, encouraging his aides to withhold the truth and cross ethical lines in an attempt to thwart a probe into Russia's interference in US elections -- his "Achilles heel," according to one forthcoming adviser.
Perhaps more angering to a leader who detests weakness -- but doesn't necessarily mind an amoral reputation -- were the number of underlings shown ignoring his commands, privately scoffing at the "crazy sh**" he was requesting and working around him to avoid self-implication.
Now, those close to him say Trump is newly furious at the people -- most of whom no longer work for him -- whose extensive interviews with the special counsel's office created the epic depiction of an unscrupulous and chaotic White House. And he's seeking assurances from those who remain that his orders are being treated like those of a president, and not like suggestions from an intemperate but misguided supervisor.
-----------------
We know Trump is weak. How will the rebuttal of "total exoneration" affect his presidency. Will Trump have a complete mental breakdown now that everyone is slowly learning Trump is implicated in multiple felonies?
---------------
But Trump grew angry as he watched cable news coverage because, sources familiar with the matter said, a theme was emerging that vexed him: a portrait of a dishonest president who is regularly managed, restrained or ignored by his staff.
What is clear is many of those who avoided carrying out Trump's demands related to Mueller's probe -- often, it seemed, in a bid to protect themselves from criminal wrongdoing -- are no longer employed by the White House. Instead, the aides who now surround the President appear less willing to write him off and more likely to encourage him to follow his gut.
Instead, the most prominent aides who do remain are depicted in the report as the most dishonest. Press secretary Sarah Sanders, who was out the office when the report was released, is shown repeatedly misleading the press, a fact she attempted to downplay in morning television interviews on Friday.
In his report, Mueller describes both of Mulvaney's predecessors -- Priebus and Kelly -- as working in at least some capacity to contain the damage of Trump's behavior.
McGahn described Trump asking him to do "crazy sh**," according to Priebus. Trump, meanwhile, deemed McGahn a "lying bastard" whose habit of taking contemporaneous notes raised suspicion.
"Watch out for people that take so-called 'notes,' when the notes never existed until needed," the President wrote.
---------------
Watch out for people who take notes???? Doesn't everyone take notes? His staff "restrained" his worst impulses? Now there is no one willing to restrain him?
-------------
How Trump's staff's insolence may have saved him
Trump has long disliked the impression he is being managed by aides, and on Thursday, after that truth was inextricably etched into the special counsel's report, he still insisted it was he who decided not to fire Mueller.
"I had the right to end the whole Witch Hunt if I wanted. I could have fired everyone, including Mueller, if I wanted. I chose not to," he tweeted.
"Why do you take notes? Lawyers don't take notes. I never had a lawyer who took notes," Trump said upon learning McGahn had written down his recollections of an earlier meeting. "I've had a lot of great lawyers, like Roy Cohn. He did not take notes."
Speaking to Mueller about her comments following the firing of FBI Director James Comey, Sanders conceded she made statements to the media that were not based in fact. Specifically, Sanders said her assertion in response to a question about FBI agents supporting Comey wasn't "founded on anything," according to Mueller.
--------------
Wow!
What does this mean for the rest of Trump's presidency? A total meltdown? He wants to "get back" at those who told the truth about him? He wants to "get back" at those who refused to break the law in his name?
Trump wants everyone to be loyal to him but he is loyal to no one. How does that affect such a person?
Now that the guard rails are lost and the people who protected Trump and the rest of the country from his worst excesses, what will the rest of his presidency be like? Revenge, lies and tax cuts for billionaires? Is that what we are to expect?
And what about his mental state? When someone thinks everyone around them is disloyal, that is one lonely and paranoid person. Will that show up even more in public? And at his rallies?
