The realities of the Trump administration

[Sandy Shanks]

As is evident from this thread, Trump's followers do not want to talk about what Trump is doing and saying. If they reply at all to a post, which is extremely rare, their focus is on the writer, not the writer's criticism of Trump.

It goes much farther than that. The entire White House staff, including members of the cabinet, are avoiding the press. They, most definitely, do not want to talk about Trump.

After the acting secdef announced Trump's retreat in Afghanistan and Iraq, he left the podium, not allowing questions from reporters.

After the national security advisor announced the withdrawal, he walked away. He obviously did not want to talk about Trump and the decision he made.

"We've made it very clear that when GSA makes a determination, we will ensure complete, cooperative professional transitions and planning," HHS Secretary Alex Azar said Wednesday.

Azar know the problem isn't with the GSA. The problem is with Trump, and Azar didn't want to talk about Trump. He walked away, not allowing questions from the press.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell strongly opposed Trump's retreat in the Middle East, but he did not mention Trump by name. The majority leader doesn't want to talk about Trump, either. Since he was speaking from the Senate floor, McConnell was not taking any questions from the press. That was intentional. McConnell opposes removing US troops from Middle East, saying terrorists 'would love' it

For the most part for the past two weeks Trump has been hunkered down in the White House, firing off fraudulent tweets or playing golf and having little interest in governing. There have been three public appearances since November 3 -- a lie-filled appearance in the briefing room about the election, a rain-soaked wreath laying at Arlington National Cemetery, and remarks in the Rose Garden about the coronavirus vaccine, all of which ended without any questions. He hasn't faced reporters in fourteen days.

Put a different way, not even Trump wants to talk about Trump.

This is all very strange. How did this guy get 73 million votes? Nobody wants to talk about him.

 

[Sandy Shanks]

1,658 Americans lost their lives to Covid yesterday. Over a quarter million Americans have lost their lives to the deadly virus.

Meanwhile, our President has not met with the White House Covid task force in five months. Trump is hunkered down in the White House and is unwilling to face the American people. He is calling the American elections fraudulent, and refusing to allow the transition to begin. This is most damaging to the Covid response and foreign intelligence.

All Trump has done is fire key members of the government, create a potential national security threat in the Middle East with a retreat, and fire off fraudulent tweet after tweet to his cult. Trump wanted to start a war with Iran, but he was talked out of it. There should be more of that.

The acting President is doing what he can. Biden has formed his own Covid task force, organizing his government, and, most importantly, keeping the American people informed. Something the current President is failing to do.

With the absence of a President, the acting President is doing all he can to stabilize America while Trump is making a complete fool of himself.

 

[Sandy Shanks]

Vladimir Putin aided Trump in the Presidential election of 2016. Today, Trump is acting very much like a Russian agent. The President is making every attempt to weaken American democracy.

Trump's legal team along with Trump himself, have continued to allege fraud on social media and in press appearances -- but not as stridently in court where evidence is required to support the claim.

Today, Trump's lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, conducted the nuttiest press conference in American history. He and others offered a series of far right conspiracies to indicate the election was fraudulent. There was not a shred of evidence. Trump and his people have long believed just making an accusation makes it true.

Trump directly interfered in a state's election, a clear violation of our Constitution. He called two Republican canvass board members from Wayne County, Michigan, on Tuesday. The board members filed affidavits Wednesday seeking to "rescind" their votes to certify the election result. Trump invited Republican state lawmakers from Michigan to the White House on Friday, according to CNN. They are not going to talk about the Wolverines or Spartans.

"Certification is usually a formality, but Trump is trying to block or delay the process in key states as part of a long-shot effort to overturn his election defeat through the Electoral College," CNN explains.

By refusing to allow the transition process to begin, Trump is weakening the incoming President, much to Putin's delight, and endangering American lives because of the pandemic.

Trump has fired vital members of the federal government and retreated from the Middle East, endangering the lives of American troops, the ones left behind.

Is Trump so freaking stupid that he would allow his extreme narcissism to get in the way of his legacy? Does he really want to go down as the American President who attempted to undermine American democracy?

I don't think so. That begs a question.

What other explanation is there?

To please his patron, Trump is acting out the role of a Russian agent.

I am forced to admit. He is doing one hell of a job.

 

[Sandy Shanks]

Fact-checking the craziest news conference of the Trump presidency

This clown show was presented by Trump's lawyers.

“What we are really dealing with here and uncovering more by the day is the massive influence of communist money through Venezuela, Cuba and likely China and the interference with our elections here in the United States.”

— Sidney Powell, attorney for the Trump campaign, Nov. 19

The Post writes, " Powell described a convoluted scheme under which an “algorithm” manipulated by Democrats switched votes from Trump to Biden. But she claimed it broke down because support was so strong for Trump, so Democrats were forced to use a “back door” method to manipulate the vote with mail-in ballots slipped in during the dark of night."

“I can prove to you that he [Trump] won Pennsylvania by 300,000 votes. I can prove to you that he won Michigan by probably 50,000 votes. When I went to bed on election night, he was ahead in all those states, every single one of those states.”
— Giuliani

Obviously, Giuliani is clueless regarding election night protocol and the impact of the Democratic leaning mail-in ballots which take time to count.

Geez, this is embarrassing. He is the President's lawyer, for chrissake.

“Joe Biden told us a few days before the election that he had the best voter fraud team in the world.”
— Giuliani

“They made significant mistakes, like all crooks do. And we caught them. One of them was pushing out Republican inspectors.”
— Giuliani

“She [Jesse Jacob] was assigned to voting duties in September, and she was trained by the city of Detroit and the state of Michigan. She’s basically trained to cheat.”
— Giuliani

I can't take this anymore. Trump's lawyers forgot to bring the evidence.

I wonder if Trump enjoyed the show.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/poli...ng-craziest-news-conference-trump-presidency/ was the source for this report.

 

[Sandy Shanks]

Vladimir Putin aided Trump in the Presidential election of 2016. Today, Trump is acting very much like a Russian agent. The President is making every attempt to weaken American democracy.

Fact-checking the craziest news conference of the Trump presidency

This clown show was presented by Trump's lawyers.

Republican leaders in Congress remain virtually silent on what Trump is doing. I get the impression they can hardly wait until Jan. 20, when they will be rid of the S.O.B.

Of course, we will get only complete silence from Trump's fans as well. There really isn't much for them to say.

I get the distinct feeling, come Jan. 20, even Trump's followers will be happy to be rid of the idiot. They have suffered long and hard.

 

[ABikerSailor]

Remember when the Trump supporters were saying Biden was hiding in his basement? Since Trump lost, he's been hiding in the WH. Anyone seen Trump on the television or anywhere else lately? He's cancelled his Thanksgiving trip to Mar A Lago and decided to hunker down in the WH. Guess he's scared of the reporters.

Biden however, has been making regular public appearances.

 

[Sandy Shanks]

Nearly every American is pleased with the successes of the various vaccine companies, and it appears the effectiveness of the vaccines is very high.

I said nearly every American.

One American is very displeased with the vaccine companies -- our President.

The Independent reports, "Donald Trump has accused Pfizer and Moderna of working to stop his re-election by delaying their Covid vaccines."

“Pfizer and others were way ahead on vaccines, you wouldn’t have a vaccine if it wasn’t me for another four years,” he said.

“Pfizer and others even decided to not assess the results of their vaccine, in other words not come out with the vaccine, until just after the election,” Trump added.

Trump accuses Pfizer and Moderna of working to stop his re-election

Mr Trump again claimed falsely that he had ‘won’ the election

www.independent.co.uk

 

[Sandy Shanks]

Trump appeared in the press room today to talk about drug prices, falsely claiming “he won” the 2020 election, and accusing Moderna and Pfizer of working to stop his re-election efforts.

The gathering was not actually a press conference because, for the 17th day in a row, Trump was afraid of reporters' questions. Once he was through with his lies, Trump simply left the room.

Since Trump lost the election by over six million votes, he has turned himself into an emperor. He does not talk to the American people. He does not allow his staff to talk to the American people. He is ignoring reality, and he is refusing to allow the transition to begin. To Putin's everlasting delight, Trump is busy weakening the incoming President.

And the GOP leadership is allowing Trump to do this!

Mitch McConnell, Kevin McCarty, Lindsey Graham, Steve Scalise, et.al. appear unconcerned about their future and they are saying nothing. If anything is said, they support the new American emperor. This is unfathomable because in two months Trump will be gone.

These Republican geniuses can't think past two months?

As is evident from this thread, Trump's followers gave up on him months ago. So, what's the problem?

 

[Sandy Shanks]

I have no idea why Trump wants to continue to embarrass himself. He has lost 29 of 31 court cases. Now this.

Politico reports, "A delegation of Republican state lawmakers from Michigan came to Washington on Friday as part of President Donald Trump’s Hail Mary attempt to usurp the results of the election he lost.

"But when the day ended, the lawmakers were unequivocal: President-elect Joe Biden's victory in Michigan was still intact.

"Trump has baselessly cast doubt on the presidential election in Michigan, which he lost Biden by approximately 150,000 votes, and has waged a campaign over the past two weeks to pressure Republicans in the state to back him in reversing the outcome.

"Trump met with Michigan state Senate Majority Leader Mike Shirkey and House Speaker Lee Chatfield. After the meeting, Shirkey and Chatfield said in a joint statement they had "not yet been made aware of any information that would change the outcome of the election in Michigan."

In the meantime, the White House has become a coronavirus wellspring.

"Rudy Giuliani and other key members of Trump's outside legal team did not attend today's meeting with two Michigan lawmakers because they've been exposed to the coronavirus, two sources familiar with the internal discussions tell Axios."

Andrew Giuliani, a White House staffer and son of Rudy, tested positive for the virus.

It was determined that Rudy Giuliani should not attend the White House meeting because he'd surely been exposed to his son. Then Jenna Ellis, a Giuliani sidekick, said if that was the case then the entire Giuliani-affiliated legal team was probably exposed, sources said.

Donald Trump Jr. confirmed with Fox News Friday night that he tested positive for the coronavirus earlier this week and is now under quarantine.

Junior joins the President, the First lady, their son, the chief of staff, the HUD secretary, countless members of the White House staff, members of Republican campaign team, and members of the Secret Service.

Why did the White House become a breeding ground for the virus? Part of the reason could be because the President mocked those who wore facemasks, discouraged social distancing by holding super spreader events, thought testing was the cause of the growing number of cases and deaths, and has not attended a meeting with the Covid task force in five months.

And still his supporters and the GOP leadership hang with him. I don't get that.

 

[Sandy Shanks]

I have no idea why Trump wants to continue to embarrass himself. He has lost 29 of 31 court cases. Now this.

"But when the day ended, the lawmakers were unequivocal: President-elect Joe Biden's victory in Michigan was still intact.

Week offers snapshot of how Trump, Biden approach presidency

The AP writes, "One spent the week at his home in Delaware carefully trying to build a government and preparing to take on a pandemic.

"The other largely kept to himself behind closed doors at a mostly empty White House, angrily tweeting and using his office and allies to try to subvert the results of an American election in a dangerous breach of democracy.

"Trump has largely abandoned governing, despite a pandemic that has now killed more than 250,000 people in the U.S. and is raging out of control. He has rejected the results of the election, concocted conspiracies that are now believed by his most loyal supporters and refused to allow his government to participate in the peaceful transition of power to the next administration while trying to pressure state legislators and election officials to overturn the will of the voters."

Week offers snapshot of how Trump, Biden approach presidency

WASHINGTON (AP) — One spent the week at his home in Delaware carefully trying to build a government and preparing to take on a pandemic.

apnews.com

Trump's followers will not read this post or the AP article provided. They don't know the reality of the situation, and they don't want to know.

They want only to believe the words of their savior, Trump, no matter how ridiculous those words are. Meanwhile, Vladimir Putin is immensely proud of his protégé as Trump weakens the incoming President.

 

[Sandy Shanks]

As the coronavirus worsens exponentially Trump plays golf. Part of the reason -- everything he is doing is turning to crap, failure after failure. As this thread attests, even his followers have left him.

CNN reports, he "requested a second recount in Georgia, a day after top Republican state officials certified his defeat following a statewide audit. This one will be done by machine and is even less likely to reverse his fate. Hours earlier, a federal judge rejected the Trump campaign's latest effort to disenfranchise millions of voters -- this time in Pennsylvania.

"All around the country, Trump lawyers and loyalists are seeing their baseless allegations of systemic voter fraud treated with increasing contempt by disbelieving judges. A wave of certification deadlines are about to crash down.

"On Saturday, it was Judge Matthew Brann, a Republican, who in tossing out a Trump-backed lawsuit felt compelled to underscore, with a literary flourish, the absurdity of the campaign's assertions."

"This claim, like Frankenstein's Monster, has been haphazardly stitched together from two distinct theories in an attempt to avoid controlling precedent," Brann wrote.

Trump's lawyer Rudy Giuliani made a rare appearance in front of Judge Brann to his everlasting regret. Addressing the former New York City mayor, who was parroting Trump's lie about massive voter fraud, Brann posed a devastating question at the hearing.

"You're alleging that the two individual plaintiffs were denied the right to vote. But at bottom, you're asking this court to invalidate more than 6.8 million votes, thereby disenfranchising every single voter in the Commonwealth. Could you tell me how this result could possibly be justified?"

Thus proving once again that Trump is an idiot, and you won't hear his followers deny it.

 

[Sandy Shanks]

It is over!

Michigan certifies its election results, making Biden’s win official and rebuffing Trump.

The Times reports, "Emily Murphy, the administrator of the General Services Administration, on Monday formally designated President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr. as the apparent winner of the presidential election, providing federal funds and resources to begin a transition and authorizing his advisers to begin coordinating with Trump administration officials."

Murphy's decision came shortly after the Michigan certification.

The Times continued, "Michigan’s statewide electoral board approved its presidential vote tally on Monday, resisting pressure from President Trump to delay the process and paving the way for President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr. to receive the state’s 16 electoral votes.

"The Michigan vote was one of the biggest setbacks yet for Mr. Trump, who had directly intervened in the state’s electoral process."

 

[Sandy Shanks]

Cutting through his usual B.S., Trump acknowledged that the transition process can begin.

"Nevertheless, in the best interest of our Country, I am recommending that Emily and her team do what needs to be done with regard to initial protocols, and have told my team to do the same," Trump Tweeted.



Donald J. Trump

@realDonaldTrump

I want to thank Emily Murphy at GSA for her steadfast dedication and loyalty to our Country. She has been harassed, threatened, and abused – and I do not want to see this happen to her, her family, or employees of GSA. Our case STRONGLY continues, we will keep up the good...

3:16 PM · Nov 23, 2020·Twitter for iPhone



Donald J. Trump

@realDonaldTrump
·
Replying to
@realDonaldTrump
...fight, and I believe we will prevail! Nevertheless, in the best interest of our Country, I am recommending that Emily and her team do what needs to be done with regard to initial protocols, and have told my team to do the same.

Of course, Trump, as is his habit, could change his mind, and all this could be different an hour from now.

 

[Sandy Shanks]

Very much unlike his predecessor, Biden is picking highly experience people for his cabinet and staff, not toady politicians whose only qualification is loyalty to him personally.

If you doubt me, check out these picks. Joe Biden Cabinet picks: Running list of the president-elect’s nominees

 

[Sandy Shanks]

It is over!

Very much unlike his predecessor, Biden is picking highly experience people for his cabinet and staff, not toady politicians whose only qualification is loyalty to him personally.

You know a President is in serious trouble and is highly vulnerable due to his own activities when he is too embarrassed to face the American people. Trump has not faced our reporters' questions in twenty days.

I am so looking forward to Jan. 20 and a return to sanity. I am so weary of Trump. I think we all are, including his supporters. They are tired of being laughed at and ridiculed.

Trump is having construction work done in the final months of his Presidency on his living quarters at Mar-a-Lago, where he plans to be a full-time resident. The fact of the work being done underscores that Trump is preparing for life after the Presidency.

Good riddance, Florida can have him.

I feel so sorry for Florida.

 

[Sandy Shanks]

You know a President is in serious trouble and is highly vulnerable due to his own activities when he is too embarrassed to face the American people. Trump has not faced our reporters' questions in twenty days.

We all know why Trump is the first -- and most likely the last -- President to choose Twitter to make his outrageous official Presidential statements.

Despite all his meaningless bluster, Trump is a coward!

Twitter is one-way communication. When making his ludicrous statements meant strictly for his base because they believe anything, Trump uses Twitter because no one else is around, no reporters, no White House staff, and, most importantly, not the American people.

Trump is afraid of reporters, his own staff -- many have been fired for telling the truth about Trump -- and, most importantly, the American people!

 

[Sandy Shanks]

On Oct. 22, 2020, Trump stated that if he was reelected, the stock market would “boom,” and “If he [Biden] was elected, the stock market will crash.” He made the claim again during a campaign rally in Pennsylvania on Halloween, saying, “If [Biden] gets in, the market will crash.”

Today, Trump briefly emerged from his cocoon to tout the Dow Jones Industrial Average breaking 30,000 for the first time ever, and then vanished after a minute without taking questions.

“I just want to congratulate everybody. The stock market, Dow Jones Industrial Average just hit 30,000, which is the highest in history,” Trump said in the briefing room.

“We’ve never broken 30,000, and that’s despite everything that’s taken place with the pandemic. The stock market’s just broken 30,000 — never been broken, that number. That’s a sacred number, 30,000, and nobody thought they’d ever see it,” Trump added.

For the twenty-first day, Trump refused to deal with reporters' questions. He has become a hermit.

Yesterday, despite Trump, the transition process began. Today, it was announced that our new President will be receiving the essential Presidential Daily Briefing. Biden continues to appoint people with decades of experience.

All of this is very refreshing, and, no doubt, the market feels that way as well.

 

[Sandy Shanks]

Biden said it was a team that will provide the intelligence he needs to hear, not the intelligence he wants to hear. "It's a team that reflects the fact that America is back, ready to lead the world. They embody my core beliefs that America is strongest when it works with its allies," Biden said.

It is possible that, after Trump leaves, his Presidency will be good for country.

Why? It's simple. We learned the dangers of apathy and allowing others to decide who our President will be.

In 2016, the Democratic Party was assured of a win. So, they picked the worst possible candidate, a candidate with a truck load of baggage, and a candidate who was being investigated by the FBI for improper use of her private server. It has been argued that the Republican Party is not responsible for the Trump Presidency. The Democratic Party is.

Despite all this, up until Comey's last minute re-investigation of Clinton, she was hands down the victor, according to the polls.

Whatever the incongruous reason, as support for Clinton slipped away during the last week before the election, ninety million American voters stayed home on Election Day 2016. Another ten million or so voted for a third party candidate in protest!

Trump's victory was by the slimmest of margins, a total of less than 80,000 votes in three key states.

As a consequence America had to experience the most incompetent, most unpopular President in modern American history, a President who suffers from extreme narcissism and paranoia. A President who remains in isolation while attacking American democracy on Twitter while scared to death of dealing with reporters' questions.

His Presidency caused America to become isolated. The leaders of our traditional allies wanted nothing to do with Trump, and he was even more unpopular in Western Europe as he left those allies swinging in the wind with the Russian dictator -- who helped Trump become President -- brandishing his sword.

Never again!

We will never allow such a person to become our President again. We have learned our lesson as over eighty million Americans chose to fire Trump -- effective immediately.

Well, Jan. 20 anyway.

However, for all intents and purposes his Presidency ended on Nov. 3. What he says and does now is irrelevant. Any harm he causes will be undone by the incoming President.

 

[Sandy Shanks]

It is possible that, after Trump leaves, his Presidency will be good for country.

Why? It's simple. We learned the dangers of apathy and allowing others to decide who our President will be.

Ho-hum, Trump pardoned Flynn who lied to the vice-president and the FBI about his illegal deals with a hostile foreign government. Trump fired Flynn 24 days after appointing him as his national security advisor.

So what? In the grand scheme of things, Trump's pardon is completely irrelevant. At the time, a few years ago, Flynn dealing with a hostile power was a big deal because the scheme fully illustrated Trump's abuse of power at a very early stage in his Presidency.

Today it no longer matters. Trump is gone. Moreover, while Trump is hunkered down in the White House avoiding the American people while pardoning a turkey and a confessed felon, the acting President is engaging the American people and choosing his team.

While Trump is imitating a hermit, the acting President is keeping Americans informed and crying for unity. The Divider-in-Chief will soon be gone.

That is what is important, not Flynn's pardon by a President who was ousted by the American people!

 

[Sandy Shanks]

This is surreal!

Yesterday there were 183,500 new cases of the coronavirus. Yesterday, 2,322 Americans lost their lives to Covid, and we are averaging over 2,000 deaths per day. Because Thanksgiving is regarded as a super spreader event by medical experts, matters are expected to get far worse in two to three weeks. United States Coronavirus: 13,245,267 Cases and 269,508 Deaths - Worldometer

So, Trump decides to issue a proclamation encouraging Americans to gather for Thanksgiving.

“I encourage all Americans to gather, in homes and places of worship, to offer a prayer of thanks to God for our many blessings,” he said in a proclamation.

Under the circumstances it is quite clear Trump has lost his mind.

Or, because he has nothing to lose, Trump has decided to become the biggest jerk on the planet as he holes up the residence, avoiding all public appearances and those dreaded reporters.