The realities of the Trump administration

[Sandy Shanks]

Americans are paying very little attention to Trump's ludicrous accusations of election fraud and his ridiculous claim that he won the election. Trump is just being an idiot, and we expect that from him.

However, as Trump continues to lose court cases -- over 30 now, the latest in PA where a judge appointed by Trump unceremoniously dismissed the case -- Americans are paying attention to the number of times our current President is making a complete fool of himself.

This time, as in a number of cases, Trump's humorous statement came in the form of a tweet. He made the inane suggestion that Biden had to prove the eighty million votes he got were legitimate.



Donald J. Trump

@realDonaldTrump

Biden can only enter the White House as President if he can prove that his ridiculous “80,000,000 votes” were not fraudulently or illegally obtained. When you see what happened in Detroit, Atlanta, Philadelphia & Milwaukee, massive voter fraud, he’s got a big unsolvable problem!

This claim about election fraud is disputed
7:56 AM · Nov 27, 2020·Twitter for iPhone

The humor of this tweet is self-evident.

I am looking forward to this fool going to Georgia and campaigning for the two Republican Senators. The Democratic takeover of the Senate is assured.

Fortunately, our new President is a wise man. Biden isn't biting. He largely ignores what Trump is saying and tweeting. Smart move because Trump is making himself irrelevant.

 

[Sandy Shanks]

Americans are paying very little attention to Trump's ludicrous accusations of election fraud and his ridiculous claim that he won the election. Trump is just being an idiot, and we expect that from him.

What an idiot.

Fox News reports, "President-elect Joe Biden picked up 132 more votes after an election recount in Milwaukee County, among the two places in Wisconsin that President Trump spent $3 million to force a recount."

Can anyone blame Trump's fans for avoiding this thread? Their support for Trump is based entirely on ignorance.

 

[Sandy Shanks]

The Post reports, "Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on Saturday blamed Israel for killing Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, a prominent Iranian nuclear scientist, saying it was aimed at causing turmoil before President-elect Joe Biden takes office and that Tehran would respond at the "right time."

Trump's pal, Benjamin Netanyahu, the Prime Minister of Israel, may have wanted to stir up problems for Trump's successor, acting President Joe Biden, but it doesn't appear to be working.

The Post continues, "Rouhani suggested that Iran could calibrate its possible responses with an eye toward the end of President Trump’s “maximum pressure” campaign, which is supported by Israel."

“Their pressure era is coming to an end and the global conditions are changing,” he said."

"Officials in Israel have not commented."

Trump made the huge mistake of withdrawing the United States from the nuclear pact that Iran struck with world powers five years ago. Unencumbered, Iran is free to work on its nuclear research all it wants. Biden has pledged to work more closely with allies on Iranian policies and to work on rejoining the nuclear agreement.

Trump has ordered a retreat in the Middle East. If hostilities broke out between Iran and America's ally, Israel, this no time for a retreat of U.S. forces. The assassination of the Iranian scientist took place on Friday, and, so far, there has been no cancellation of Trump's retreat.

In fact, three full days later, there has been no word from anyone in our government. Strangely enough, Trump has been silent. Also, there is nothing from the White House, defense department, and state department.

That is extremely odd. It is almost as if the entire Trump administration has gone into hibernation. The silence is deafening considering our most important ally in the Middle East has been threatened.

 

[Sandy Shanks]

In fact, three full days later, there has been no word from anyone in our government. Strangely enough, Trump has been silent. Also, there is nothing from the White House, defense department, and state department.

Actually, with the coronavirus raging and a new Middle East war threatening the world, Trump took the weekend off and went golfing.

Good thing, too, whether by accident or abnormal brilliance, for once Trump kept his mouth shut instead of aggravating the situation.

Four days later still no word from the Trump government. Trump is still busy with the November third election and losing court cases.

 

[Sandy Shanks]

"When you think of conservatism in America, you think of the National Review. Founded in the mid-1950s by William F. Buckley Jr., the publication has been a bulwark of conservative thought for almost the entirety of one Donald J. Trump's life.

"Which is why an editorial by the editors of NR that was published Monday morning is worth paying attention to.

"Headlined "Trump's Disgraceful Endgame," it amounts to an absolute takedown of the President's fanciful and false claims that the 2020 election was somehow stolen from him."

"There are legitimate issues to consider after the 2020 vote about the security of mail-in ballots and the process of counting votes (some jurisdictions, bizarrely, take weeks to complete their initial count), but make no mistake: The chief driver of the post-election contention of the past several weeks is the petulant refusal of one man to accept the verdict of the American people."

Analysis: This conservative outlet just crushed Donald Trump's election claims

When you think of conservatism in America, you think of the National Review. Founded in the mid-1950s by William F. Buckley Jr., the publication has been a bulwark of conservative thought for almost the entirety of one Donald J. Trump's life.

www.cnn.com

When are Republicans like Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell going to accept the verdict of the American people?

 

[Sandy Shanks]

Trump's lawyer, Attorney General William Barr declared Tuesday the U.S. Justice Department has uncovered no evidence of widespread voter fraud that could change the outcome of the 2020 election, disputing Trump’s persistent, baseless claims.

The AP reports, "Barr’s comments, in an interview with the The Associated Press, contradict the concerted effort by Trump, his boss, to subvert the results of last month’s voting and block President-elect Joe Biden from taking his place in the White House.

"Barr told the AP that U.S. attorneys and FBI agents have been working to follow up specific complaints and information they’ve received, but “to date, we have not seen fraud on a scale that could have effected a different outcome in the election,.'"

I have been asked to define stupid.

Trump has been telling his dwindling number of fans that the election was stolen from him. He has been lying to his fans that the election was rigged. That it was a fraudulent election. He has been putting pressure on Republican governors, legislators, and secretaries of state to usurp the wishes of the American people and overturn election results because of the non-existent fraud.

As everyone knows, and now Trump's attorney general is telling us, it is all lies. Why is Trump doing this? Answer: To raise money.

How gullible are Trump's fans? They are gullible enough to pay Trump to lie to them. Trump's campaign of lies to his supporters has raised $170 million dollars, according to the Post, Times, ABC and numerous other sources.

See, now that is stupid.

 

[Sandy Shanks]

After golfing over the weekend while the coronavirus raged, setting records in cases, deaths, and hospitalization, Trump returned to the White House to convince Americans the speedy approval of vaccines is politically motivated, not governed by scientific studies.

According to the AP, Stephen Hahn, the head of the Food and Drug Administration, "was summoned to the White House by Trump’s chief of staff Mark Meadows as the agency weighs whether to allow emergency use of the first vaccines that could begin the long road to defeating the coronavirus in the U.S."

The AP continued, "Trump has been livid with the FDA for not moving faster to approve the shots, blaming the fact that a vaccine was not available ahead of the Nov. 3 election in part for his loss. He also has leveled unfounded claims that drug companies deliberately delayed vaccine development to hinder his reelection chances, though there is no evidence to suggest that took place."

Hahn emerged from the White House meeting with his job intact, but it was a sign of the pressure he is under that the FDA offered guidance that “Dr. Hahn remains FDA Commissioner.”

Despite pressure from Trump or because of it, Hahn insisted the FDA will thoroughly review each vaccine before making it available to the public.

“We will make sure that our scientists take the time they need to make an appropriate decision,” Hahn said in a statement. “It is our job to get this right and make the correct decision regarding vaccine safety and efficacy.”

There has been no change in schedule. Pfizer and Moderna are seeking “emergency use” that would allow people in high-risk groups to get vaccinated while final-stage testing continues. Pfiser will be examined on the 10th, Moderna on the 17th. Approval for emergency use could come a week or two later in each case.

 

[Sandy Shanks]

Today Trump produced a 45 minute rambling video for Facebook stating that the election was fraudulent. For the umpteenth time he made the evidence free accusation that he won the election, and that it was stolen from him.

Although Trump's DOJ and state governors, Republican and Democrat alike, have stated he is dead wrong, millions of Trump's supporters take him to heart despite the total lack of evidence. Typically, they don't know why they believe Trump. They just do.

Their heart-felt emotions have produced threats to election officials.

The man’s voice shook with rage as he accused the Nevada Secretary of State’s Office of throwing the election to President-elect Joe Biden. “You guys cheated and lied. You guys f****** lied and cheated,” he said. “You guys are f****** dead.”

The threat was one of an “abnormal” number of threats to election officials and ballot counters across the country. Threats to Election Officials Piled Up as President Trump Refused to Concede

"Anybody who thinks the election went well, like that idiot Krebs who used to be the head of cybersecurity. That guy is a class A moron. He should be drawn and quartered. Taken out at dawn and shot," Joe diGenova, the attorney for the Trump campaign.

One Republican from Georgia has a different opinion about all this.

“It has to stop. Mr. President, you have not condemned these actions or this language,” Gabriel Sterling, Georgia’s voting system implementation manager, a Republican.

Sterling continued his condemnation of Trump. “This is elections. This is the backbone of democracy, and all of you who have not said a damn word are complicit in this. It’s too much.”

"Mr. President, stop inspiring people to commit potential acts of violence. Someone is going to get hurt, someone is going to get shot, someone is going to get killed. And it’s not right.”

With the support of his mindless followers, our President continued his assault on American democracy.

Mindless? Trump's followers will not comment on this report. His American followers don't know what to say.

 

[Sandy Shanks]

Ho-hum, Trump has issued still another empty-headed threat. He has issued countless brainless threats throughout his Presidency. No one really takes him seriously.

CBS News reports, "Trump threatened Tuesday to veto a must-pass annual defense policy bill unless Congress agrees to end a federal law that provides social media companies with a crucial legal shield.

"Mr. Trump made his threat in a pair of late-night tweets, in which he said Congress must include a repeal of the law known as Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act in the $740 billion National Defense Authorization Act for it to receive his signature."

Congress finally agreed on something, and this idiot threatens to veto it, claiming the 24-year-old law allows platforms like Twitter and Facebook to censor and suppress conservative speech.

That is false, and everyone knows it. Twitter and Facebook do not censure conservative thought. They censure lies from Trump. Lies such as this one.



Donald J. Trump

@realDonaldTrump
I WON THE ELECTION!
Multiple sources called this election differently

As the reader can see, Twitter flagged that one. Trump doesn't like that. Twitter also flagged this whopper.

"He only won in the eyes of the FAKE NEWS MEDIA," Trump subsequently tweeted. "I concede NOTHING! We have a long way to go. This was a RIGGED ELECTION!"

Most observers feel Trump doesn't have the balls to veto a bipartisan military defense bill on such a flimsy personal reason.

Not even on his way out the door.

 

[Sandy Shanks]

Three ex-Presidents and one acting President are filling the role of the absent President Trump who is mindlessly fixated on an election that took place a month ago to the exclusion of all other issues, including a raging pandemic that is setting records for number of cases, number of deaths, and hospitalizations.

CNN reports, "This is what presidential leadership looks like.

"As President Donald Trump ignores America's slide into a tragic winter and obsesses over his false claims of a stolen election, three of his predecessors are volunteering to bare their arms on camera to build confidence in the vaccines that could finally end the pandemic.

"The effort by former Presidents George W. Bush, Bill Clinton and Barack Obama, which was reported by CNN's Jamie Gangel, is sure to infuriate the current commander in chief. Trump is claiming the lion's share of credit for the unprecedented speed of development of several vaccines -- despite his neglect of other aspects of the public health disaster that has killed more than a quarter of a million Americans.

"The former presidents are stepping up as America plunges into its toughest battle against Covid-19 before the new vaccines, expected to soon be approved by US regulators, bring deliverance. But there are few signs that the current President is ready to call on the nation to muster for one last fight against the worsening pandemic before the immunizations become available to most Americans."

The recorded daily death toll hit a record of more than 2,800 Wednesday and 100,000 Covid-19 patients -- more than ever before -- are hospitalized as fears mount of an even worse post-Thanksgiving surge.

Other than claiming credit for the vaccine development, Trump is mute on the deadly pandemic. On Wednesday Trump provided a rambling 45 minute video to Facebook, claiming once again without evidence the election was fraudulent and stolen from him. He appears to be the only official in the country who believes that is true. Even his lawyer, Attorney General Bill Barr, has said there is no evidence of fraud.

All of which makes Trump a lunatic, which explains why previous Presidents are filling the vacuum of leadership.

Once again, Trump's followers -- the American ones -- have nothing to say.

 

[Sandy Shanks]

Trump produced a 45 minute rambling video for Facebook stating that the election was fraudulent. For the umpteenth time he made the evidence free accusation that he won the election, and that it was stolen from him.

The Trump White has become a joke. With the exception of the coronavirus task force which is trying desperately to do its job despite Trump, everyone else in that place has gone nuts.

Like a man afflicted with extreme paranoia and narcissism, Trump made the rambling video mentioned above. Devoid of all common sense, his mindless followers eat this stuff up and pay Trump to lie to them.

Trump's favorite network, Fox News, suggested that a vaccine be named after Trump. We all had a good laugh at that one. Like I said, Trump is becoming a joke.

The latest act of Presidential insanity was committed by Trump's secretary of state, political hack, Mike Pompeo.

Yesterday there were over 206,000 new cases of the virus. Yesterday the virulent virus killed 2,875 Americans, about the number killed on 9/11. Hospitals in the U.S. are rapidly running out of ICU beds. Today, Governor Newsom closed down the state of California.

In this environment there will be "large indoor holiday parties hosted by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and his wife, Susan, on the eighth floor of the State Department involving hundreds of guests, food and drinks," according to the Post.

And, of course, we have Trump who is determined to be the center of attention nearly every day of the week from now to Jan. 20 by making a complete fool of himself. He has lost all interest in governing, and has fixated on an election he lost by over six million votes.

The Trump White House has, indeed, become a joke.

 

[Sandy Shanks]

What has happened to the Republican Party?

For over a quarter of a century I was a member of the Republican Party. I voted for Reagan and both Bush's. I am now a conservative Independent.

That said, Trump and the Trump Republicans drove me out of the Republican Party with their lunacy. For over a month the Republican President has become fixated on the election he lost by over six million votes. He has lost interest in governing (that's probably a good thing). Republican leadership in Congress refuses to recognize President-elect Biden who secured 306 votes in the Electoral College, and the election has been certified in all battleground states.

The insanity of the Republican Party is fully illustrated by the comments made by Senator Perdue.

President Trump is right. The presidential election’s integrity is in doubt. And Joe Biden is not the legitimate winner. But you should channel your anger over this by voting in the runoff election, whose integrity I will guarantee to right the wrong done to you, so I can act as a check on Biden.

In some cases it is simply a question of intelligence.

The Republican Party and its leadership is directly attacking the integrity of American democracy.

This insanity is further illustrated by Trump's Republican followers. Like a cult, they follow Trump, but they have no idea why. They will be unable to respond to this post. They can't defend Trump and they can't support him. For the most part, they avoid what Trump is doing and saying.

Good reasons for leaving the Republican Party for a while.

 

[Sandy Shanks]

This insanity is further illustrated by Trump's Republican followers. Like a cult, they follow Trump, but they have no idea why. They will be unable to respond to this post. They can't defend Trump and they can't support him. For the most part, they avoid what Trump is doing and saying.

How gullible are Trump's lemming-like followers?

Trump's rhetoric consisting of a continuous stream of baseless allegations claiming Biden won because of fraud, and the election was stolen from him has raised $207 million dollars!

Trump's fans are paying him to lie to them.

See, now that's gullible. In fact it is just plain stupid.

The point being, these are the people who chose our President in 2016.

Never again!

 

[Sandy Shanks]

In addition to Trump's lawyer, Bill Barr, who said there was no evidence of voter fraud, another political hack has now criticized Trump's ludicrous accusations.

Trump appointed John Ratcliffe as his Director of National Intelligence. Ratcliffe has no experience in intelligence. His only qualification is he is loyal to Trump.

Now Ratcliffe is turning on Trump.

Fox reports, "President Donald Trump and his allies continue to mount new legal cases alleging voter fraud in battleground states since he lost the November presidential election to Joe Biden. But they have been losing in court. And Trump’s own attorney general has declared the Justice Department uncovered no widespread fraud.

"National Intelligence Director John Ratcliffe says foreign adversaries are using social media and other platforms to amplify allegations of voter fraud. But he won’t say which countries are using the issue to try to undermine public confidence in the U.S. democratic process (we know the President is, but the toady didn't say that).

"Ratcliffe is a Trump loyalist. He says on CBS that U.S. intelligence agencies have no indication that any foreign adversary or criminal group had the ability to change vote results but that they are still analyzing all the information collected."

That is exactly what the top cybersecurity official Chris Krebs said, and Trump fired him. Is Trump going to fire Barr and Ratcliffe, too.

There are significant reports that the environment of the Trump White House is toxic as staffers are preparing to get out.

Meanwhile, Trump has lost all interest in governing, only retribution.

Trump has also lost his followers. They remain totally silent.

 

[Sandy Shanks]

That is exactly what the top cybersecurity official Chris Krebs said, and Trump fired him. Is Trump going to fire Barr and Ratcliffe, too.

There are significant reports that the environment of the Trump White House is toxic as staffers are preparing to get out.

Meanwhile, Trump has lost all interest in governing, only retribution.

With the nation facing a raging pandemic that is now killing over 2,000 Americans each day plus a crushing unemployment crisis, many are hoping Georgians make the right decision and vote for a united government.

A government that will get things done in a multi crisis environment.

If Georgians elect either Republican Senator, they voted for government of stagnation. They voted for a divided government that will be paralyzed for a minimum of two years.

For that reason the vast majority of Americans are looking forward Trump going down to Georgia to campaign for the two Republicans. Trump has been making a complete fool of himself for the past month, and there is no sign he will relent.

Hopefully he will talk about the fraudulent Georgian election on Nov. 3. Maybe he will talk about the Republican governor of Georgia and tell Republicans again how Brian Kemp is a "moron and a nut job." Maybe he will tell the Republicans in Georgia not to vote by mail during this deadly pandemic because mail-in ballots are a source of fraud and he can prove it.

We can all hope Trump spends a lot of time in Georgia and makes lots of speeches to "help" the Republican Senators.

 

[Sandy Shanks]

With the nation facing a raging pandemic that is now killing over 2,000 Americans each day plus a crushing unemployment crisis, many are hoping Georgians make the right decision and vote for a united government.

A government that will get things done in a multi crisis environment.

Did Trump help or hurt the two Republican Senators? The Guardian tries to answer that question.

The Guardian reported, "Trump’s attacks on Republican officials in Georgia and insistence his defeat by Joe Biden must be overturned are disgusting, the Republican lieutenant governor of the southern state said on Sunday.

“It’s not American,” Geoff Duncan told CNN’s State of the Union. “It’s not what democracy is all about. But it’s reality right now.”

"The president staged a rally in Valdosta, Georgia on Saturday night. He began his speech, which lasted more than 90 minutes, by falsely claiming he won the state, which in fact he lost by around 12,000 votes in a result certified by Republican secretary of state Brad Raffensperger more than two weeks ago."

“They cheated and they rigged our presidential election, but we will still win it,” Trump falsely insisted. “And they’re going to try and rig this [Senate] election too.”

The Guardian continued, " In Valdosta, the president invited Perdue and Loeffler on to the stage. Neither reiterated his baseless claims about election fraud, Perdue coming closest by saying: “We’re going to fight and win those seats and make sure you get a fair and square deal in Georgia.”

As Perdue spoke, the mindless crowd chanted: “Fight for Trump!”

As is their custom, Trump's supporters will not respond to this post.

 

[Sandy Shanks]

Rudy Giuliani, the former New York City mayor and Trump’s personal and campaign lawyer, has tested positive for the coronavirus.

The Times reports, "Mr. Giuliani has been admitted to Georgetown University Medical Center, according to a person who was aware of his condition but not authorized to speak publicly. Mr. Giuliani, at age 76, is in the high-risk category for the virus.

"His son, Andrew H. Giuliani, a White House adviser, said on Nov. 20 he had tested positive for the virus. He had appeared at a news conference with his father the day before.

"Mr. Giuliani has been acting as the lead lawyer for Mr. Trump’s efforts to overthrow the results of the election. He has repeatedly claimed he has evidence of widespread fraud, but he has declined to submit that evidence in legal cases he has filed."

The White House continues to be a super spreader for the highly contagious virus.

 

[Sandy Shanks]

Will Trump quit early? Of course, it can be argued Trump quit right after the election. Anyway, back to my question.

CNN reports, "Where President Donald Trump decides to spend the final weeks of his presidency has become a matter of internal speculation as aides wonder whether he'll leave the White House for the holidays -- and never return.

"At this stage, there are plans for Trump to remain at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach over Christmas and New Year's, but the guidance offered to staffers ends there, people familiar with the plans said.

"Trump could return to Washington for the final days on his term. But there have also been some discussions about the President and the first lady remaining in Florida and not coming back to the White House, a White House official said."

There is little doubt this speculation was caused by Trump. He must always be the center of even if it means making a complete fool of himself.

Since no one is paying any attention to what he says except the dwindling members of his cult, this kind of speculation fits perfectly with Trump's persona -- create a really dumb scenario.

 

[Sandy Shanks]

With the nation facing a raging pandemic that is now killing over 2,000 Americans each day plus a crushing unemployment crisis, many are hoping Georgians make the right decision and vote for a united government.

A government that will get things done in a multi crisis environment.

If Georgians elect either Republican Senator, they voted for government of stagnation. They voted for a divided government that will be paralyzed for a minimum of two years.

Trump has put both Republican Senators in a tough spot with his ludicrous accusations about the election in Georgia. He has insisted the state election in Georgia was corrupt. Biden was allowed to cheat, and the election in Georgia was stolen from him, so says Trump. He has called the Republican governor a "moron" and a "nut job," and Trump has had similar comments about the Republican secretary of state.

All that has put Senior Georgia Sen. David Perdue and Republican Sen. Kelly Loeffler between a rock and a hard spot. Do they support the sanctity of the Georgian elections which have been certified and the Republican heads of state or do they support Trump and his allegations of voter fraud?

Control of the Senate hangs in the balance of this election. It takes enormous stupidity on the part of Trump to put the two Republican Senators in this position.

Perdue was a no-show in this debate, apparently not willing to handle this conundrum before a live Georgian audience. Either way, he comes out a loser. So, he passed, perhaps realizing that is a losing gesture as well. The Democratic candidate, Jon Ossoff, took full advantage of the free air time, and he explained to the audience why Perdue took the coward's way out.

Loeffler did show up, but she didn't fare any better. She lied about the Democratic position. The Democrats have no wish to defund police and they are not socialists.

Loeffler, who has called for Brad Raffensperger, Georgia’s Republican Secretary of State to step down in the wake of Trump’s loss there, repeatedly refused to answer the question of whether or not the President won the state of Georgia. “President Trump has every right to use every legal recourse available… We’ve run two audits, and those audits discovered thousands of ballots across several counties here in Georgia that were not counted.”

In the first place, that doesn't answer the question. In the second place, caused by recounts, Georgia certified the election results for the third time today.

Trump, Loeffler, Perdue, what the hell, they are all losers and it shows.

 

[Sandy Shanks]

What has happened to the Republican Party?

For over a quarter of a century I was a member of the Republican Party. I voted for Reagan and both Bush's. I am now a conservative Independent.

That said, Trump and the Trump Republicans drove me out of the Republican Party with their lunacy.

Why are Republicans acting like idiots? The Electoral College is about make Joe Biden our next President, and we have Republicans in the House assaulting the very fabric of American democracy.

The Hill reports, "Rep. Jim Jordan, one of President Trump's staunchest defenders in the House, said in remarks published Monday that doesn't think Trump should concede the 2020 election after the Electoral College certifies President-elect Joe Biden's victory next week.

“No. No way, no way, no way,” the Ohio Republican told CNN, adding: ”We should still try to figure out exactly what took place here. And as I said that includes, I think, debates on the House floor — potentially on Jan. 6.”

“I know we have members who feel that way, feel very strongly about we should be debating what took place in Pennsylvania,” Jordan said. “But, you know, you had all kinds of crazy things happening in Georgia, Michigan, Wisconsin, all these in Nevada. … So everything you look at doesn't make sense.”

“There are members who believe there could be value in having substantive debate of what occurred in states with substantial irregularities,” Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.)

Republicans in the House are challenging the Constitution? That's crazy!