The realities of the Trump administration

[Sandy Shanks]

It's all over except for the fat lady singing.

NBC News reports, "Republican lawmakers and officials are pushing back against President Donald Trump's series of false claims Thursday night about the presidential election, although some did not mention him by name."

"It's going to take the time that it takes," Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Pa told the TODAY show. "I saw the president's speech last night and it was hard to watch. The president's charges of large-scale fraud, there's no evidence here."

"A sitting president undermining our political process & questioning the legality of the voices of countless Americans without evidence is not only dangerous & wrong, it undermines the very foundation this nation was built upon," Republican Will Hurd of Texas said in a tweet. "Every American should have his or her vote counted."

"We want every vote counted, yes every legal vote (of course). But, if you have legit concerns about fraud present EVIDENCE and take it to court. STOP Spreading debunked misinformation," Rep. Adam Kinzinger, R-Ill wrote. "This is getting insane."

Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan was one of the few Republicans to specifically mention whom he was talking about. "There is no defense for the President's comments tonight undermining our Democratic process. America is counting the votes, and we must respect the results as we always have before. No election or person is more important than our Democracy."

There is more, but the reader gets the point.

We should all remember that Vladimir Putin wanted Trump to be our President, and he helped Trump a great deal in 2016. In terms of dividing America, Trump is doing more than any Russian agent from the FSB (Russian intelligence). Putin is enormously pleased with Trump's performance, not the least of which were Trump's efforts to isolate America and cut us off from our traditional Western allies.

This source helped in this report: 'This is getting insane': Republicans push back against Trump's false election claims

 

[Sandy Shanks]

NBC News reports, "Republican lawmakers and officials are pushing back against President Donald Trump's series of false claims Thursday night about the presidential election, although some did not mention him by name."

CNN reports, "GOP leaders are nervously watching President Donald Trump's erratic handling of an election that's slipping away from him, delicately urging him and his team to clearly make a specific case about voting impropriety or accept the will of the American public.

"As they watch Trump make one unfounded claim after another, Republicans are worried about the lasting ramifications from the President's meritless barrage of attacks against a cornerstone of US democracy -- especially as they gear up for two months of intense battling over possibly two hugely consequential races in Georgia that will determine the next Senate majority.

"GOP sources said Friday that the idea is to give Trump and his team a chance to make their case and allow the disputes to work themselves out in the courts, arguing that if the lawsuits fall flat, then Trump will have little choice but to concede the election without their having to confront him."

In the meantime, while our President is making one false accusation after another, the coronavirus is raging, fueled somewhat by Trump's super spreader events throughout the country in the weeks leading up to the election.

There are now over ten million cases. Yesterday, the U.S. experienced 123,718 new cases and 1,154 Americans died in one day. Today, the U.S. experienced 123,722 cases and so far 1,179 Americans have died this day. The U.S. continues to lead the world in all categories. United States Coronavirus: 10,050,093 Cases and 242,163 Deaths - Worldometer

For the life of me I cannot understand why Trump can garner so much support. His supporters are too embarrassed by him to explain their position. Also, they probably can't. They don't talk about what Trump says and does.

 

[Sandy Shanks]

The three big broadcast networks — ABC, CBS and NBC — cut away from President Trump’s news conference at the White House on Thursday as the president lobbed false claims about the integrity of the election.

Mr. Trump timed his appearance to air during the networks’ evening newscasts, which draw the biggest collective audience in TV news. But the anchors broke in after a few minutes to correct some of his falsehoods.

“We have to interrupt here, because the president made a number of false statements, including the notion that there has been fraudulent voting,” said Lester Holt, the “NBC Nightly News” anchor. He added, “There has been no evidence of that.”
On ABC, the anchor David Muir broke in and told viewers “there’s a lot to unpack here and fact-check.” The CBS correspondent Nancy Cordes spent about 90 seconds ticking through several of Mr. Trump’s baseless statements.

Major Networks Cut Away From Trump’s Baseless Fraud Claims
Fox News and CNN stuck with the White House news conference but reported afterward that the president offered no evidence for his accusations of vote fraud.

www.nytimes.com


What is the intelligence level of those who voted for Trump?

 

[Sandy Shanks]

Trump on Friday night whined about how his initial lead in the Presidential race "miraculously disappear as the days went by" and urged his opponent Joe Biden not claim victory in the election.

"Joe Biden should not wrongfully claim the office of the President,"d Trump tweeted. "I could make that claim also. Legal proceedings are just now beginning!"

Now we know Trump is talking to his base here because the logic of his statements is completely missing. His intellectually challenged base will believe anything Trump says, logic and reason not required.

There is nothing miraculous about this. It is called mailed in votes, over 100 million of them, and dominated by Democrats who chose to mail their ballots because of the raging pandemic. Trump may not know this. Paper ballots take longer to count than computer generated votes.

Americans have had it up to here with this fool of a President. Putin's protégé has been a disaster for the U.S.

 

[Sandy Shanks]

We should all remember that Vladimir Putin wanted Trump to be our President, and he helped Trump a great deal in 2016. In terms of dividing America, Trump is doing more than any Russian agent from the FSB (Russian intelligence). Putin is enormously pleased with Trump's performance, not the least of which were Trump's efforts to isolate America and cut us off from our traditional Western allies.

It's all over! The S.O.B. was fired by the American people.

This thread was dedicated to the defeat of an incompetent, narcissistic, paranoid big mouth who is responsible for massive divisiveness and racial violence in our country.

And now he is gone. Good riddance.

Fox News reports, "Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden has defeated President Trump, denying him a second term after a bitter campaign and dramatic, prolonged vote count in battleground states that sparked a flurry of lawsuits.

"The Fox News Decision Desk projected Saturday that Biden will win the state of Nevada and the commonwealth of Pennsylvania, giving the former vice president the electoral votes he needs to win the White House."

The lame duck will hang around for another two months, but it no longer matters what he says or does. No one will pay attention to him except his devoted sycophants, and, like Trump, they don't much matter either.

I wish President Biden good luck. With Trump gone and soon forgotten our great country will return to normalcy.

 

[Sandy Shanks]

Putin is enormously pleased with Trump's performance, not the least of which were Trump's efforts to isolate America and cut us off from our traditional Western allies.

NBC News reports, "LONDON — Sighs of relief rippled through the capitals of the United States' traditional allies Saturday after Joe Biden became president-elect.

"Many leaders have been battered by four years of the convention-smashing President Donald Trump, and see in Biden a counterpart who will try and return America onto a path of multilateralism and international cooperation."

"Our two countries are close friends, partners, and allies. We share a relationship that’s unique on the world stage. I’m really looking forward to working together and building on that with you both [Biden and Harris],” Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau

"Welcome back America!" Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo.

NBC continued, “If you count the legal votes, I easily win,” Trump has said, repeating a baseless claim — there's no evidence that any fraudulent ballots have been counted.

"Comments like these deal a blow to America's image as an exponent of democracy and will likely further warm some of America’s longstanding allies to a Biden victory.

"Relations with NATO, and in particular Germany, were strained under Trump, so a new U.S. leader will be greeted warmly by many in the military alliance. Trump also publicly criticized Chancellor Angela Merkel."

"We look forward to working with the next U.S. government. We want to invest in our cooperation for a new transatlantic beginning, a new deal," German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas.

 

[Sandy Shanks]

As expected, Trump is acting like a jerk.

The Times reports, "Aides called Mr. Trump to let him know that their predictions over the past several days had come true: Every major news outlet had projected Mr. Biden to be the winner.

"The aides said Mr. Trump had no plans to immediately deliver the kind of concession speech that has become traditional in past presidential elections, and his campaign vowed to continue waging the legal battle across the country. In a statement issued while he was still on the golf course, Mr. Trump said Mr. Biden was trying to “falsely pose” as the winner."

“The simple fact is this election is far from over,” Trump said, “Beginning Monday, our campaign will start prosecuting our case in court to ensure election laws are fully upheld and the rightful winner is seated.”

But that is okay because it no longer matters what Trump says or does.

 

[Sandy Shanks]

Mark Meadows, Trump’s chief of staff, routinely shrugged off the need to wear a mask, and he embraced Trump’s strategy of playing down the threat from the coronavirus.

Meadows now has contracted the coronavirus, raising fears of another outbreak sweeping through the ranks of the nation’s top officials as cases surge to record levels in the country.

Yesterday there were 126,921 new cases of the virus, and the U.S. is averaging between a thousand and 1300 deaths a day. That is likely to go up. Hospitalizations are at record levels in the majority of states.

Five other White House officials also tested positive for the virus in the days before and after Election Day, according to the New York Times.

Recall that the President, the First Lady, and their son contracted the disease and the threat to the White House staff becomes very real.

Meadows and Trump have said repeatedly that they did not need to wear masks or maintain social distancing because they were frequently tested.

According to CNN, the new wave of infections rattled and angered members of the White House staff even as they struggled to come to grips with Trump’s loss in the Presidential race. News of the infections emerged despite warnings to keep quiet about the new cases.

 

[Sandy Shanks]

Is this only the beginning?





Donald J. Trump

@realDonaldTrump
·
Nov 9, 2020
I am pleased to announce that Christopher C. Miller, the highly respected Director of the National Counterterrorism Center (unanimously confirmed by the Senate), will be Acting Secretary of Defense, effective immediately..




Donald J. Trump

@realDonaldTrump
...Chris will do a GREAT job! Mark Esper has been terminated. I would like to thank him for his service.
9:54 AM · Nov 9, 2020

Trump being Trump will seek revenge on the only people he can -- his own staff.

In an extraordinary break with Trump, Esper told reporters in June that he did not support the invoking the Insurrection Act, a law from 1807 that would allow Trump to deploy active-duty U.S. troops to respond to civil unrest stemming from protests against police brutality across the country.

“I say this not only as secretary of Defense, but also as a former soldier and a former member of the National Guard, the option to use active-duty forces in a law enforcement role should only be used as a matter of last resort, and only in the most urgent and dire situations. We are not in one of those situations now,” Esper said.

Trump says Defense Secretary Mark Esper has been 'terminated'

Esper's tenure as top Pentagon official followed the resignations of James Mattis, Trump's first Defense secretary, and Patrick Shanahan.

www.cnbc.com

 

[Sandy Shanks]

As expected, Trump is acting like a jerk. “The simple fact is this election is far from over,” Trump said."

We already have a new President! His name is Joe Biden.

As the pandemic surges dangerously, Biden is creating a Covid-19 task force. He has revealed the three co-chairs of the panel: Dr. Vivek Murthy, a surgeon general under former President Barack Obama, who has been a key Biden adviser for months and is expected to take a major public role; David Kessler, a former commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration for former Presidents George H. W. Bush and Bill Clinton; and Dr. Marcella Nunez-Smith, a professor of public health at Yale University.

In addition he has named a number of other epidemiology experts to the task force.

Over the weekend, while Trump was playing golf, the pandemic surged. While Trump played golf, the nation averaged over 100,000 new cases and over a thousand Americans were dying daily. While all this was going on, Trump whined about the election results and asserted fraud, but failed to explain how.

Returning to Washington, Trump began the firing of his senior advisors, first, the secretary of defense, with the directors of the FBI and the CIA likely to follow.

In addition, he launched legal challenges to the election that have no chance of changing the result.

Technically, Trump is still the President, but there has been no semblance of governing for quite a while.

As a Putin disciple, it would appear that Trump is going to try to take the government down with him.

Fortunately, the nation has a worthy successor to Trump who has already started to govern.

 

[Sandy Shanks]

We should all remember that Vladimir Putin wanted Trump to be our President, and he helped Trump a great deal in 2016. In terms of dividing America, Trump is doing more than any Russian agent from the FSB (Russian intelligence). Putin is enormously pleased with Trump's performance, not the least of which were Trump's efforts to isolate America and cut us off from our traditional Western allies.

Countless world leaders have offered President-elect Joe Biden their congratulations and best wishes.

There is one notable exception -- the Russian dictator, Vladimir Putin.

 

[Sandy Shanks]

Three days ago the Times reported, "Six White House aides and a Trump campaign adviser — including Mark Meadows, President Trump’s chief of staff — have contracted the coronavirus, officials said, raising fears of another outbreak sweeping through the ranks of the nation’s top officials as cases surge to record levels in the country."

That is in addition to the President, First Lady, their son, Trump's press secretary, Chris Christie, and a number of others close to Trump testing positive for Covid-19.

Now ABC News is reporting, "Housing and Urban Development Secretary Dr. Ben Carson, a member of the White House coronavirus task force, tested positive for the coronavirus Monday morning after experiencing symptoms that prompted him to receive a test -- becoming the latest member in Trump’s orbit to contract the virus.

"Dave Bossie, President Trump’s outside adviser who was recently tapped to lead the campaigns legal challenges, has tested positive for COVID-19, two sources familiar with the diagnosis told ABC News Monday," ABC added.

It is, perhaps, safe to say Trump's approach didn't work.

 

[Sandy Shanks]

More good news for millions of Americans, although it does not affect me directly.

Trump was defeated in court again.

The Post reports, "A majority of the Supreme Court appeared ready Tuesday to uphold most of the Affordable Care Act in the face of a challenge from Republican-led states and the Trump administration.

"Two key members of the court — Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. and Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh — said that Congress’s decision in 2017 to zero-out the penalty for not buying health insurance did not indicate a desire to kill the entire law.

“I tend to agree with you this a very straightforward case for severability under our precedents, meaning that we would excise the mandate and leave the rest of the act in place,” Kavanaugh said to a lawyer defending the law.

"Roberts, who wrote the 2012 Supreme Court decision upholding the act’s constitutionality, suggested again that the justices should not do something Congress itself has failed to do — repeal the law."

“I think it’s hard for you to argue that Congress intended the entire act to fall if the mandate were struck down when the same Congress that lowered the penalty to zero did not even try to repeal the rest of the act,” Roberts said.

 

[Sandy Shanks]

Pfizer and its partner, the German company, BioNTech, announced preliminary results that suggested their vaccine was more than 90 percent effective.

Pfizer's vaccine announcement has helped, but ever since last Wednesday when it became clear Biden was going to win the election, the stock market has been going nuts. The market is headed into record territory.

So much for our erratic President being good for the economy. Investors seem to be happy to be rid of Trump.

 

[Sandy Shanks]

CNN reports, "Biden on Tuesday spoke with President Emmanuel Macron of France, Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany, Taoiseach (Prime Minister) Micheál Martin of Ireland and Prime Minister Boris Johnson of the United Kingdom, according to Biden's transition team. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada said Monday that he had called Biden to congratulate him on his win."

"I know from my discussions with foreign leaders thus far that they are hopeful that the United States democratic institutions are viewed once again as being strong and enduring," Biden said.

Is that refreshing or what, a President-elect actually acting like a President. Someone acting like a President has not happened in four years.

Although there are others, there is one notable exception to the congratulatory statements from the world's leaders, Trump's bud, the Russian dictator Vladimir Putin.

As expected from a Trump stooge, Pompeo stepped on it today.

Trump's top diplomat, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, said there would be "a smooth transition to a second Trump administration."

Pompeo just lost the respect of every capital in the world.

I take that back. Trump's secretary of state might be welcomed in Pyongyang, Beijing, and Moscow, capitals hosted by dictators friendly to Trump.

Trump's supporters have no idea what I am talking about, and they don't want to know. They have completely ignored this thread that contains a brief history of the Trump administration.

Like I said, they don't want to know. Ignorance is bliss.

 

[bripat9643]

Trump wanted a large bounce coming out of the Republican National Convention, and early evidence is that he did not receive one. The new ABC News/Ipsos poll is especially harsh for Trump. Although it did not poll the horse race, it did poll the candidates' favorability ratings.

Detailed findings:

Among all Americans, responses to the RNC are more negative than the DNC.

Slightly more than one in three Americans (37%) approve of what the Republicans said and did at their convention, compared to 59% who disapprove. After the DNC, 53% approved of the Democrats’ message.

Sixty-two percent feel the Republicans spent too much time criticizing the Democrats, compared to 51% of Americans who said Democrats spent too much time criticizing Republicans at their convention.

Currently, 31% of Americans feel favorable toward Donald Trump, unchanged from last week (32%) and similar to his standing before both conventions (35%).

The same is true for Joe Biden: 46% feel favorable, virtually the same as last week (45%). However, more Americans feel positive toward Biden than negative, an improvement from earlier in August.

Just over a third of Americans (35%) approve of how Trump is handling the response to the coronavirus, unchanged from the end of July (34%).

Views toward Trump, Biden unchanged after the conventions | Ipsos

Polls are fake news.

 

[Sandy Shanks]

Trump is a very sick man.

The Post reports, "The White House budget proposal is typically issued in February, which would be at least two weeks after President Trump is scheduled to depart the White House. He lost the Nov. 3 election to former vice president Joe Biden, who is set to be sworn in on Jan. 20, though Trump has refused to accept the results.

"The decision to proceed with Trump’s budget for the 2022 fiscal year has rankled and surprised several career staffers given Biden’s victory, as well as the fact that the incoming Biden administration is expected to submit its budget plan to Congress early next year.

"The insistence on budget planning, even though Trump won’t be in office to offer a budget in February, is part of a recent pattern of behavior from White House officials and senior political appointees who have sought to reject the election results."

In other words, Trump has the entire White House rejecting reality.

In addition, if staffers begin to look beyond Jan. 20 in terms of getting a job, they will be fired.

 

[Sandy Shanks]

Trump is a very sick man.

Trump continues to do Putin's bidding as he attempts to tear this nation apart.

He is now absent without leave.

CNN reports, "Trump made his first public appearance in six days Wednesday when he visited Arlington National Cemetery for a somber ceremony commemorating Veterans Day alongside first lady Melania Trump and Vice President Mike Pence. He did not speak at the event.

"But as he mounts a fierce battle to remain in office and refuses to concede the election he lost, Trump has shown little interest in the work of being President. Since he vowed to fight the election results in the wee hours after Election Day, Trump, who has spent four years producing television moments showcasing his office, has made few efforts to show the American people he is still governing.

"Instead, he is firing off inflammatory and baseless claims on his social media accounts, many of which have been flagged by Twitter as misinformation, and hitting his golf course."

"Just as he promised, President Trump is fighting hard for a free and fair election while at the same time carrying out all of his duties to put America First," deputy press secretary Judd Deere said in a statement.

There is absolutely no evidence of that. It is readily apparent that White House staffers have taken up Trump's policy of lying to the American people.

In the meantime, the President is avoiding the American people and the countless embarrassing questions from reporters. Instead, he prefers making a complete fool of himself.

Trump's followers continue to bury their heads in the sand. They avoid reality, and they do not want to know the truth. That is how they still loyal to Trump.

 

[Sandy Shanks]

Wow! Yesterday's totals on Covid-19 are staggering.

The number of new cases yesterday is unbelievable, 142,212.

1,465 Americans died yesterday from the coronavirus. Total cases is over 10,500,000. United States Coronavirus: 10,621,048 Cases and 246,428 Deaths - Worldometer

"By the way, on November 4 you won't hear about it [coronavirus] anymore," Trump said.

 

[Sandy Shanks]

Wow! Yesterday's totals on Covid-19 are staggering.

The number of new cases yesterday is unbelievable, 142,212.

1,465 Americans died yesterday from the coronavirus. Total cases is over 10,500,000.

The ABC News headline reads:
Biden projects image of governing while Trump stays out of sight

While the pandemic rages and is killing over a thousand Americans a day, Trump has lost interest in the pandemic and governing.

Meanwhile, the acting President, Joe Biden, on Monday held a briefing with his newly unveiled coronavirus advisory board and pleaded with Americans to wear a mask as he warned of a "dark winter" ahead in fighting the pandemic.

With 47 years of experience in Washington as both a Senator and an influential vice-president for eight years, Biden has a powerful and experienced bench upon which to choose his staff.

This contrasts sharply with Trump who had no experience in governing when he took office. It was an experiment that, as predicted, failed miserably.

Trump initially appointed an experienced staff. However, after about nine months, most were fired or chose to quit. Trump wanted yes-men. He appointed inexperienced politicians, sycophants who always agreed with the President.

Little wonder why Trump did not gain experience while in office. Much like his followers today, Trump has no use for reality.