The Biden Era

[Nostra]

According to FiveThirtyEight, which is a poll that averages several leading polls, our President's current approval number is 42%. That's not very good, and it is somewhat of a mystery.

CNN reports, "The United States is rapidly approaching a major jobs milestone that highlights the historically strong economic recovery from Covid-19.

The axiom is true. Presidents, unless they do something drastic, have very little control over the economy. Nonetheless, if the economy is good, they get the credit, as in the case of Trump. If there are serious problems with the economy, the President gets the blame, as in the case of Biden.

ABC reports, "Employers posted a record 11.5 million job openings in March, meaning the United States now has an unprecedented two job openings for every person who is unemployed.

"The latest data released Tuesday by the the Bureau of Labor Statistics further reveals an extraordinarily tight labor market that has emboldened millions of Americans to seek better paying jobs, while also contributing to the biggest inflation surge in four decades."

According to CNN, 66% of Americans disapprove of Biden's handling of the economy.

The AP reports, "President Joe Biden on Wednesday highlighted new figures showing the government’s red ink will grow less than expected this year and the national debt will shrink this quarter as he tried to counter criticism of his economic leadership amid growing dismay over inflation going into midterm elections that will decide control of Congress.

"Biden, embracing deficit reduction as a way to fight inflation, stressed that the dip in the national debt would be the first in six years, an achievement that eluded former President Donald Trump despite his promises to improve the federal balance sheet."

Stocks rallied on Wednesday after the Federal Reserve raised interest rates by half a percentage point.

"The Dow ended the day up by more than 900 points, and the S&P 500 gained almost 3 percent," NPR.

When it comes to the economy, Americans are naive.

The Veggie Joe Era: A 650% rise in inflation in under 2 years.

 

[Sandy Shanks]

CNN reports, "As President Joe Biden arrived here on Wednesday, he is doing something he has never done on a foreign trip: Embracing one of his predecessor’s legacy achievements.

"While much of his foreign travel in his first 18 months in office has focused on reversing the foreign policy of former President Donald Trump and shoring up battered alliances, Biden on his first trip to the Middle East will embrace the Trump-era Abraham Accords that normalized relations between Israel and several Arab countries and pursue an expansion of growing Arab-Israeli security and economic ties."

"The Biden administration’s focus on the Abraham Accords more broadly, though, also reflects a recognition that a fundamental shift in regional dynamics has begun.

“In some ways, it’s a policy earthquake,” said David Makovsky, a distinguished fellow at The Washington Institute.

“Saudi Arabia, the way we see it, is that it is a very important country in the Middle East and beyond. In expanding Israeli normalization with the Arab world, we would also like to see Saudi Arabia as part of that expansion,” a senior Israeli official told CNN. https://www.cnn.com/2020/09/15/politics/israel-uae-bahrain-white-house-analysis-intl/index.html

 

[Sandy Shanks]

"When you catch somebody in a fraud, you are allowed to go by very different rules."
We fight like hell and if you don’t fight like hell, you’re not going to have a country anymore.”
Now it is up to Congress to confront this egregious assault on our democracy. And after this, we’re going to walk down, and I’ll be there with you. We are going to try and give them the kind of pride and boldness that they need to take back our country,” part of President Trump's instructions to the mob on Jan. 6, 2021.

CNN reports, "The House January 6 hearings have evolved from documenting a stain on history to a warning of a violent and tyrannical future that awaits if Donald Trump is allowed to again unleash America’s pent-up extremism.

"In the latest episode of its limited season television event, the House select committee on Tuesday traced Trump’s links to and inspiration for far right-wing groups that came to Washington to help his mob smash its way into Congress in early 2021. These were the forces that heeded the ex-President’s call to “fight like Hell” to thwart President Joe Biden’s election, including the Oath Keepers militia and the Proud Boys he once told to “stand back, and stand by” on national TV.

This continuing effort to undermine American institutions and the rule of law is showing that Trump’s threat to democracy didn’t end in 2021. Whatever impact the committee has on the ex-President’s future political prospects, and whether or not he ends up facing criminal charges, there’s a sense that while documenting Trump’s past transgressions, the committee is also racing to keep up with his new ones.

The public hearings are an effort to expose a seam of far right-wing extremism that exists below the surface of American political life, CNN.

In the meantime, the forum's Republicans remain totally silent about all this. Congressional Republicans are the quietest bunch of lawmakers in American history, and, if they say anything at all, it is to complain about inflation. According to a recent poll, 49% of GOP voters favor Trump becoming the Presidential candidate in 2024. The Democrats are doing all they can to ensure Republicans win control of Congress in November.

There is something seriously wrong with America.

 

[Nostra]

CNN reports?

Reality reports Veggie Joe has given us a 650% increase in the inflation rate.

 

[Sandy Shanks]

In the meantime, the forum's Republicans remain totally silent about all this. Congressional Republicans are the quietest bunch of lawmakers in American history, and, if they say anything at all, it is to complain about inflation. According to a recent poll, 49% of GOP voters favor Trump becoming the Presidential candidate in 2024.

There is something seriously wrong with America.

The WSJ reports, "Members of the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol are discussing the next steps in their investigation, including whether to seek an interview with former Vice President Mike Pence and potentially ex-President Donald Trump, according to one of the Republican members of the panel.

"Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R., Ill.), the panel member who will be leading some of the questioning at next Thursday’s prime-time hearing, said in an interview ahead of a meeting Thursday that the panel could decide to request a written interview with Mr. Pence. The committee could also discuss whether to issue a subpoena to the former vice president to try to compel him to testify, he said.

"The committee is also weighing whether it will ask Mr. Trump to testify, Mr. Kinzinger said. Earlier this year, Chairman Bennie Thompson (D., Miss.) had signaled it was unlikely that the panel would call Mr. Trump but other members indicated it was still under consideration."

The committee is unwilling to provide a soapbox for Trump's baseless conspiracies. That said, Republicans need to ask themselves a question.

The committee has not turned away anyone who wishes to testify. Why is it Donald Trump refuses to testify in his own defense?

The WSJ continued, "The next hearing, which hasn’t been formally scheduled, is expected to focus on what was happening during a 187-minute period on Jan. 6 that culminated in a 4:17 p.m. video by Mr. Trump in which he asked rioters, whom he called “very special,” to leave the Capitol."

“The information we’re going to present is going to be so compelling in terms of what was happening during the 187 minutes,” Mr. Kinzinger said.

 

[Sandy Shanks]

This is surreal!

CNN reports, "Indiana’s Republican attorney general said Thursday that authorities in his state are investigating – for potential failure to report child abuse – a doctor who said she recently helped a 10-year-old rape victim from Ohio obtain an abortion in Indiana, even as the attack already had been reported by the girl’s mother and Ohio police were investigating.

"Attorney General Todd Rokita first made the announcement Wednesday on Fox News.

"Dr. Caitlin Bernard, an Indianapolis-based Ob-Gyn, told CNN earlier this month that she helped the girl after Ohio banned abortion as early as six weeks of gestation following the US Supreme Court’s ruling that overturned Roe v. Wade. The young girl was raped in early May and police in Columbus were first alerted of her pregnancy on June 22, according to police documents and court testimony. A little more than a week later, the girl underwent an abortion in Indiana."

 

[Sandy Shanks]

Julian Zelizer writes, "Younger voters are frustrated and angry. To many of them, American politics feels broken. Elected officials are too old and out of touch. Gridlock and dysfunction have been the norm. On issue after issue, it seems crises go unaddressed.

"In a recent New York Times report on the generational anger that is brewing in 2022, a voter in her 20s doubted the abilities of President Joe Biden and other Democratic leaders and asked, “How are you going to accurately lead your country if your mind is still stuck 50, 60 or 70 years ago?”

"Many young Americans who were keen to vote former President Donald Trump out of office are now profoundly unhappy with Biden as well. Only 1% of 18 to 29-year-olds strongly approve of the way Biden is handling his role, according to a survey from the Times and Siena College."

Can't they wait? Or, apparently, these young Democrats think the Republicans can do better because they are virtually assuring that the Democrats will be turning control of Congress over to Republicans in November.

It was younger Democrats who gave us Trump in 2016. They voted in disgust in large enough numbers in Michigan, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania to give the Presidency to Trump, by far, the worst President in our history. A year and a half after leaving office Americans are still trying to undo the damage caused by Trump.

 

[Sandy Shanks]

Can't they wait? Or, apparently, these young Democrats think the Republicans can do better because they are virtually assuring that the Democrats will be turning control of Congress over to Republicans in November.

Republican leaning Joe Manchin just threw a wrench into President Biden's plans. He makes a habit of doing this. He is from rural West Virginia, coal country with marginal educationally equipped voters. Many of Trump's followers are from West Virginia.

The Times reports, "First, he killed a plan that would have forced power plants to clean up their climate-warming pollution. Then, he shattered an effort to help consumers pay for electric vehicles. And, finally, he said he could not support government incentives for solar and wind companies or any of the other provisions that the rest of his party and his president say are vital to ensure a livable planet.

Senator Joe Manchin III of West Virginia, who took more campaign cash from the oil and gas industry than any other senator, and who became a millionaire from his family coal business, independently blew up the Democratic Party’s legislative plans to fight climate change. The swing Democratic vote in an evenly divided Senate, Mr. Manchin led his party through months of tortured negotiations that collapsed on Thursday night, a yearlong wild goose chase that produced nothing as the Earth [heats up]."

Democrat Joe Manchin and young Democrats are virtually guaranteeing that the Democrats will lose their control of Congress in November. The party that led a coup attempt to overthrow our elected government will take over.

 

[Sandy Shanks]

The Post reports, "A government watchdog accused the U.S. Secret Service of erasing texts from Jan. 5 and 6, 2021, after his office requested them as part of an inquiry into the U.S. Capitol attack, according to a letter sent to lawmakers this week.

"Joseph V. Cuffari, head of the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Inspector General, wrote to the leaders of the House and Senate Homeland Security committees indicating that the text messages have vanished and that efforts to investigate the Jan. 6, 2021, attack were being hindered."

“The Department notified us that many U.S. Secret Service (USSS) text messages, from January 5 and 6, 2021 were erased as part of a device-replacement program,” he wrote in a letter dated Wednesday.

"Cuffari emphasized that the erasures came “after” the Office of Inspector General requested copies of the text messages for its own investigation."

The explanation from the Secret Service is nothing short of extraordinary.

The Post continued, "Secret Service spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said Thursday that the agency did not maliciously delete text messages following a request.

“In January 2021, before any inspection was opened by OIG on this subject, USSS began to reset its mobile phones to factory settings as part of a pre-planned, three-month system migration. In that process, data on some phones was lost,” he said.

Let's examine that explanation with one question. Is there anyone here dumb enough to replace their old computer with a brand new computer and not transfer the data from the old computer?

It is easy to assume the data was injurious to someone or several someones. Was the Secret Service loyal to Trump? Before anyone answers, it is one thing to be protective of the President. It is something quite different to be politically aligned with the President. The latter is a violation of the integrity of the Secret Service.

CNN reports, "The Department of Homeland Security inspector general on Friday briefed all nine members of the House select committee investigating the January 6, 2021, US Capitol attack about the Secret Service erasing text messages from the day of the riot and the day before.

"The committee now plans to reach out to Secret Service officials to ask about the erasure of text messages from the day of the US Capitol attack and the day before."

 

[Sandy Shanks]

CNN reports, "President Joe Biden is on a landmark trip to the Middle East. One country he won’t be visiting, however, is dominating the agenda: Iran.

"Biden’s itinerary includes just two countries, Israel and Saudi Arabia. Those are Tehran’s biggest regional foes, and they are coming closer together than ever before.

"Saudi Arabia has been pressuring the US for security guarantees that would contain Iran should nuclear talks fail. The last round of talks in Doha two weeks ago resulted in a standstill, with the US saying Iran added unrelated demands to the table.

"Early on Friday, just hours before Biden was due to touch down in the kingdom, Saudi Arabia moved one step closer to normalizing relations with Iran’s arch-enemy Israel by opening its airspace to all airlines. Israeli carriers were previously barred from entering Saudi airspace on most flights.

"Last month, US lawmakers introduced legislation to create an integrated air defense system to increase cooperation between Israel and its Arab neighbors, including the countries whose leaders Biden will meet in Saudi Arabia this week. The defense system is aimed to protect those states from Iran."

While forgetting that diplomacy was not invented to communicate with our friends, but to communicate with our adversaries, the media is greatly concerned about a murder that took place a year and half ago along with fist pumps and handshakes. In the meantime our President quietly goes about his job without fanfare or controversy. In other words, our kind of President.

Unfortunately, too many Democrats are seeking to get Trump back.

 

[Sandy Shanks]

Diplomacy was not invented to communicate with our friends, but to communicate with our adversaries.

That is how the major wars in our history have ended. Adversaries talking to one another and coming up with an agreement to end the fighting and the killing. This is known as diplomacy.

Our President greeted an adversary last week and we still haven't heard the end of it.

Politico reports, "Upon Biden’s arrival at Al Salam Royal Palace, where he was scheduled to participate in a meeting with the king, the crown prince was on hand to greet the president as he stepped out of his vehicle. Biden and bin Salman then fist-bumped one another before walking inside.

"The exchange prompted immediate backlash from human rights activists who criticized Biden for offering what they called too-friendly of a greeting to the crown prince. The president also received criticism from Washington Post publisher Fred Ryan, who called the fist bump “shameful.'"

Fred is unaware of the meaning of diplomacy.

Immediate backlash? The former President sponsored and, perhaps, led a coup attempt on Jan. 6, 2021, to overthrow our elected government. Where is the backlash to that?

A fist pump vs. the first ever coup attempt in American history, the former receives an "immediate backlash," the latter, a ho-hum. The coup attempt is low on the list of priorities for voters.

The former President is the leading candidate for the Republican nomination for President in 2024, and his party is likely to win Congress in November.

Americans have their priorities screwed up.

Politico continued, "A reporter asked whether he can be sure a murder like Khashoggi’s won’t happen again. Biden responded: “God love you. What a silly question. How can I possibly be sure of any of that?”

I like this President.

Incidentally, our relations with Saudi Arabia are complicated. It can be argued that Saudi Arabia is more of a friend than Turkey.

Turkey is a member of NATO.

 

[Sandy Shanks]

CBS reports, "The House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol assault expects the Secret Service to hand over text messages that the panel subpoenaed by Tuesday, committee member Rep. Zoe Lofgren said Sunday.

"The committee issued the subpoena last Friday after the Department of Homeland Security's inspector general told lawmakers that the Secret Service had erased text messages from Jan. 5 and Jan. 6, 2021. DHS Inspector General Joseph Cuffari said the messages were deleted after his office requested them, and the Secret Service claimed some phone data was deleted unintentionally as a part of a pre-planned system migration.

"In a statement, a Secret Service spokesman said the agency "confirmed to OIG that none of the texts it was seeking had been lost in the migration." On ABC's "This Week," Lofgren said the committee expects to receive the relevant messages "by Tuesday."

The inspector general said that he had been trying to get this information, but it had been deleted after he asked for the text messages.

"There was a statement made by the spokesperson for the [Secret Service] saying that it wasn't true, it wasn't fair, and that they, in fact, had pertinent texts — and we go, fine, if you have them, we need them. And we expect to get them by this Tuesday. So we'll see," Lofgren said.

There is something really strange about all this. At first glance, it appears the Secret Service can't get its story straight. Lofren agreed with this.

She was "shocked" to hear the Secret Service didn't back up the data before resetting agency iPhones, calling that "crazy."

Or extremely unlikely. No one could be that stupid.

 

[Sandy Shanks]

This is surreal!

CNN reports, "Indiana’s Republican attorney general said Thursday that authorities in his state are investigating – for potential failure to report child abuse – a doctor who said she recently helped a 10-year-old rape victim from Ohio obtain an abortion in Indiana, even as the attack already had been reported by the girl’s mother and Ohio police were Postinvestigating.

The Post reports, "A misconduct complaint alleges Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita intended to “harass and intimidate” doctors who perform abortions when he publicly cast doubts about whether an Indianapolis OB/GYN complied with state law after helping a 10-year-old rape victim terminate a pregnancy.

"The newly filed complaint against Indiana’s top prosecutor is expected to trigger a probe by the state’s Supreme Court Disciplinary Commission after Rokita, a Republican, claimed last week on Fox News that physician Caitlin Bernard had a “history of failing to report” abortions in child-abuse cases and rapidly launched an investigation into her licensure.

"A record obtained by The Washington Post showed that Bernard, who administered the abortion medication to a girl forced to travel from her home state of Ohio for the service, reported the incident to relevant state agencies as required by Indiana law."

Rokita first announced he was going after the doctor on Fox News.

 

[Sandy Shanks]

"In a statement, a Secret Service spokesman said the agency "confirmed to OIG that none of the texts it was seeking had been lost in the migration." On ABC's "This Week," Lofgren said the committee expects to receive the relevant messages "by Tuesday."

There is very little doubt now. The Secret Service intentionally deleted those text messages on Jan. 5 and 6, 2021.

That becomes self-evident when the Secret Service, after a sequence of confusing statements, was forced to admit that the messages are unrecoverable. Unrecoverable means they were deleted permanently so the committee could not get their hands on them.

It is apparent that the Secret Service is hiding something. There simply is no other explanation.

The Times reports, "The Secret Service said it may [may?, bull] not be able to recover a batch of erased text messages from phones used by its agents around the time of the attack on the Capitol last year, a development that comes amid intensified scrutiny over lapses in the agency’s accounting of its actions during the riots.

"The Secret Service informed the House Jan. 6 committee that it was still attempting a forensic search for the phone records on Tuesday morning, when it delivered not the missing text messages the panel was seeking but “thousands of pages of documents” and other records related to decisions made on Jan. 6, according to the agency’s spokesman, Anthony Guglielmi."

Later, in an interview, Mr. Guglielmi said the phone records were probably not recoverable, the Times.

This is the song and dance the Secret Service gives, according to the Times.

"The Secret Service has said the missing messages were purged as part of a technology update and were not related to its work around Jan. 6. Other messages directly related to the work of its agents during that period, the agency has said, were backed up and have been turned over to the inspector general."

Of course, they can say anything they want regarding the missing messages. The Secret Service destroyed them. They must really think Americans are stupid.

All of this is simply another nail in Trump's coffin. It is circumstantial evidence that the Secret Service was attempting to hide what Trump was doing that day.

That becomes an interesting question when one realizes that our capitol was under attack, the lives of the members of Congress were being threatened, and the Commander-in-Chief did nothing for over three hours.

Donald Trump is currently the leader of the Republican Party, and he is expected to announce his intentions of running for President in 2024. Grassroots Republicans adore him.

 

[Sandy Shanks]

CNN reports, "Matthew Pottinger, who served on former President Donald Trump’s National Security Council before resigning in the immediate aftermath of January 6, 2021, will testify publicly at Thursday’s prime-time hearing held by the House select committee investigating the US Capitol attack, according to multiple sources familiar with the plans.

"Pottinger is slated to appear alongside former Trump White House aide Sarah Matthews.

"CNN previously reported that Matthews, who served as deputy press secretary in the Trump White House until resigning shortly after January 6, 2021, was expected to testify publicly. When she resigned, Matthews said she was honored to serve in Trump’s administration but “was deeply disturbed by what I saw.” She said at the time, “Our nation needs a peaceful transfer of power.”

"The committee’s vice chairwoman, Republican Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming, described Pottinger like this during one of the committee’s previous hearings: “A former Marine intelligence officer who served in the White House for four years, including – including as deputy national security adviser, was in the vicinity of the Oval Office at various points throughout the day.”

"The committee played a video clip from Pottinger’s interview in which he described the moment he knew it was the moment to resign."

“One of my staff brought me a printout of a tweet by the President, and the tweet said something to the effect that Mike Pence, the vice president, didn’t have the courage to do what he – what should have been done. I – I read that tweet and made a decision at that moment to resign. That’s where I knew that I was leaving that day once I read that tweet.”

Dare I say it. Still another nail in Trump's coffin. This is Trump's inner circle at the White House.

 

[Sandy Shanks]

A strong majority of Americans favor meaningful gun control laws and a ban on assault rifles.

The NRA sponsored Republican Party is vehemently opposed to meaningful gun control laws and a ban on assault rifles.

When it comes to abortion, a strong majority of Americans support the woman's right to decide her health decisions as well as decisions on related matters.

The Republican Party strongly opposes the woman's rights in this matter and favor government control of the woman's health.

The Earth is heating up and people are dying. A strong majority of Americans favor enacting climate change initiatives.

The oil, gas, and coal sponsored Republican Party along with Senator Manchin are opposed to climate change legislation because it is inflationary. Beyond that, their sponsors wouldn't like it.

Republicans are better than Democrats at managing the economy. Really? U.S. economic history belies that myth promulgated by Republicans.

10 of the last 11 recessions started under Republican presidents. Every Republican president since Benjamin Harrison, who served from 1889 to 1893, had a recession in their first term in office. Below is the start date of recessions; the following list includes the president in office at that time and their party:

1.) February 2008 (Bush 43 / R) House - D / Senate - D

2.) December 2007 (Bush 43 / R) House - D / Senate - D

3.) March 2001 (Bush 43 / R) House - R / Senate - R

4.) July 1990 (Bush 41 / R) House - D / Senate - D

5.) July 1981 (Reagan / R) House - D / Senate - D

6.) January 1980 (Carter / D) House - D / Senate - D

7.) November 1973 (Nixon / R) House - D / Senate - D

8.) December 1969 (Nixon / R) House - D / Senate - D

9.) April 1960 (Eisenhower / R) House - D / Senate - D

10.) August 1957 (Eisenhower / R) House - D / Senate - D

11.) July 1953 (Eisenhower / R) House - R / Senate - R

12.) November 1948 (Truman / D) House - R / Senate - R

The economy was in recession for 49 quarters from 1949-2013; 8 of these quarters were under Democrats, with 41 under Republicans.

Our latest recession took place under the Republican administration of Donald Trump in 2020. Recovery took place under the Democratic Biden administration. We currently have full employment and healthy spending by consumers.

Within the next few months, while under investigation by the DOJ for sedition, Donald Trump is expected to announce his candidacy for President in the next few months.

Question: Why in the world are Republicans expected to win control of Congress in November? Sheer ignorance? Americans vote against their interests? Party first, their own interests second?

Our economic history was provided by this source, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S._...mocratic_and_Republican_presidents#Recessions

 

[Sandy Shanks]

Question: Why in the world are Republicans expected to win control of Congress in November? Sheer ignorance? Americans vote against their interests? Party first, their own interests second?

A relatively large number of Democrats are working to ensure that Republicans win control of Congress in November.

NPR reports, "With friends like these ...

"President Biden is facing his lowest approval rating since taking office, and it's largely due to Democrats, the latest NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist poll finds.

"Biden's approval rating in the poll is now at 36%. That's a 4 percentage-point drop from June, and inside the numbers, it's attributable to a 9-point decline within his own party.

"While 75% of Democrats approve of the job Biden is doing, that's considered low for a president's own party."

Sure is. It also means 25% of the party are petulant, immature, naive Democrats who are working to turn control of Congress over to Republicans.

 

[fncceo]

"Employers posted a record 11.5 million job openings in March, meaning the United States now has an unprecedented two job openings for every person who is unemployed."

And farm yields are up 10,000%!

 

[Sandy Shanks]

The Republican leaning Supreme Court is interfering with the Biden administration's efforts to govern.

The Post reports, "The Supreme Court on Thursday refused the Biden administration’s request to reinstate a policy limiting immigration arrests, after a Texas district judge said the guidance to immigration officers violated federal laws.

"The court instead said it will hear the merits of the case in December. Four justices — Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, Amy Coney Barrett and Ketanji Brown Jackson — said they would have granted the administration’s request to put a lower court ruling on hold. It was Jackson’s first vote since joining the court.

"Republican attorneys general across the country filed suits, and those in Texas and Louisiana were successful. Judge Drew Tipton in Texas agreed with the argument that the policy burdened them with the costs of immigrants’ education, health care, and other services, and ignored federal laws that require ICE to detain and deport immigrants who commit serious crimes or have been given a recent deportation order.

"Tipton, appointed to the bench by President Donald Trump, sided with the states and vacated the ICE priorities, leaving the agency without any operational guidelines."

The Republican Supreme Court sided with the Republican judge appointed by Trump.

Is anyone surprised?

Somehow I have it in my head that justices were supposed to be impartial and above politics. That axiom went the way of the Trump Presidency. Trump is gone but his questionable legacy remains.

 

[Sandy Shanks]

That becomes an interesting question when one realizes that our capitol was under attack, the lives of the members of Congress were being threatened, and the Commander-in-Chief did nothing for over three hours.

CNBC reports, "The Jan. 6 select committee’s eighth public hearing Thursday will go inside the White House to detail then-President Donald Trump’s hourslong refusal to call for an end to the Capitol riot.

"The hearing marks the final scheduled presentation of the committee’s initial findings from its investigation of the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection, when throngs of Trump’s supporters stormed the Capitol and temporarily stopped Congress from confirming President Joe Biden’s victory.

"The nine-member committee, which is comprised of seven Democrats and two Republicans, has accused Trump of being at the center of a multi-pronged conspiracy to overturn his loss to Biden in the 2020 contest.

"The panel is expected to present audio and video evidence, as well as live testimony from two former White House officials, to drill down on Trump’s inaction during a crucial 187-minute gap between the end of his pre-riot rally near the White House and his eventual Twitter call for the mob to go home.

Trump was watching television in a White House dining room while rioters were raging at the Capitol, multiple witnesses told the select committee.

“To the best of my recollection, he was always in the dining room,” former White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany told investigators.

"Retired Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg said he recalled, “everyone was watching the TV.”

"Trump’s former executive assistant Molly Michael told the committee that when she talked to Trump on Jan. 6, “It’s my understanding he was watching television.”

"Former White House counsel Pat Cipollone, a highly sought-after witness who spoke with the investigation under subpoena in recent weeks, confirmed that the violence occurring at the Capitol was visible on the television screen when he was in the dining room with Trump."

The testimony speaks for itself, and no one, including Trump, disputes what he was doing -- better yet, what he was not doing -- while the attack on the capitol was going on.