The realities of the Trump administration

[Sandy Shanks]

On audio Trump admitted he knew weeks before the first confirmed US coronavirus death that the virus was dangerous, airborne, highly contagious and "more deadly than even your strenuous flus," and that he repeatedly played it down publicly, according to legendary journalist Bob Woodward in his new book "Rage."

Trump made a complete fool of himself by submitting to Woodward's interview on audio. Yesterday, he made a complete fool of himself on the Sean Hannity Show (Fox) trying to explain why he acted like an idiot. He failed miserably, only making matters worse.

Hannity asked Trump directly why he decided to participate in the Woodward book. To which Trump said this.

"Well, first of all, on the Woodward book, on the book itself, he called. He -- I didn't participate in his last one.

"And he does hit you, obviously, with everybody. He even did it on Obama, but constant hit jobs.

"On Bush, I guess they did three books. They were all terrible. So, I figured, you know, let's just give it a little shot. I'll speak to him. It wasn't a big deal. I speak to him, and let's see.

"I don't know if the book is good or bad. I have no idea. Probably, almost definitely won't read it, because I don't have time to read it."

Huh? Double huh? That does not make any sense. It's gibberish.

Source: Analysis: Donald Trump's ridiculous attempt to downplay Bob Woodward's book

 

[bripat9643]

On audio Trump admitted he knew weeks before the first confirmed US coronavirus death that the virus was dangerous, airborne, highly contagious and "more deadly than even your strenuous flus," and that he repeatedly played it down publicly, according to legendary journalist Bob Woodward in his new book "Rage."

Trump made a complete fool of himself by submitting to Woodward's interview on audio. Yesterday, he made a complete fool of himself on the Sean Hannity Show (Fox) trying to explain why he acted like an idiot. He failed miserably, only making matters worse.

Hannity asked Trump directly why he decided to participate in the Woodward book. To which Trump said this.

"Well, first of all, on the Woodward book, on the book itself, he called. He -- I didn't participate in his last one.

"And he does hit you, obviously, with everybody. He even did it on Obama, but constant hit jobs.

"On Bush, I guess they did three books. They were all terrible. So, I figured, you know, let's just give it a little shot. I'll speak to him. It wasn't a big deal. I speak to him, and let's see.

"I don't know if the book is good or bad. I have no idea. Probably, almost definitely won't read it, because I don't have time to read it."

Huh? Double huh? That does not make any sense. It's gibberish.

Source: Analysis: Donald Trump's ridiculous attempt to downplay Bob Woodward's book

Your post is ignored because you're a lying delusional moron.

 

[Sandy Shanks]

On audio Trump admitted he knew weeks before the first confirmed US coronavirus death that the virus was dangerous, airborne, highly contagious and "more deadly than even your strenuous flus," and that he repeatedly played it down publicly, according to legendary journalist Bob Woodward in his new book "Rage."

"This is deadly stuff," Trump told Woodward on February 7.

Trump put Republicans running for office in November in a tough spot. Some ignore what he said. Others pretend they know nothing about the audio conversation that has been on every major network. Not even Fox could ignore what Trump said.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell ignored what Trump said. He said he hadn’t looked at the book yet, so he couldn’t answer any questions about it, and told reporters to direct their questions to the White House.

GOP Sen. Joni Ernst of Iowa also buried her head in the sand. She declined to answer any questions about Trump's remarks. On Thursday, she told CNN, "I haven't read it, I haven't seen it, so give me a chance to take a look."

Republican Sen. John Kennedy of Louisiana says he is not interested in any "gotcha" books. Pam Brown of CNN fame told Kennedy Trump was on the record. Kennedy said again: "These gotcha books don't really interest me that much. There will be a new one out tomorrow."

Kennedy never has been very original, and, of course, Trump put him between a rock and hard spot, much like McConnell, Ernst and the others.

In addition, CNN reported, "Arizona Sen. Martha McSally said on Wednesday that she also hadn't reviewed the remarks, and her office didn't respond to a request for comment.

"Maine Sen. Susan Collins wouldn't take questions on Trump's comments as she left the Senate floor.

"Texas Sen. John Cornyn said on Thursday that he wouldn't comment since he did not have "personal knowledge" of the President's remarks and that he didn't "have any confidence in the reporting," even though Trump has not disputed its accuracy and the remarks are on tape."

Once again, I am seriously wondering what GOP lawmakers are saying in the privacy of their home or in closed meetings with colleagues. We can all assume it would not be complimentary toward the foolish President.

"

 

[Sandy Shanks]

"This is deadly stuff," Trump told Woodward in a Feb. 7 conversation."You just breathe the air and that's how it's passed. And so that's a very tricky one. That's a very delicate one. It's also more deadly than even your strenuous flu."

As incredible as this may seem, Trump told reporters and the nation today that Woodward should have warned Americans about what he, the President, said. His statements have to be read to be believed. Good Lord, this man is really stupid.

"If Bob Woodward thought what I said was bad, then he should have immediately, right after I said it, gone out to the authorities so they could prepare and let them know," Trump said at a White House press conference.

Earlier in the day he tweeted: "Bob Woodward had my quotes for many months. If he thought they were so bad or dangerous, why didn’t he immediately report them in an effort to save lives? Didn’t he have an obligation to do so? No, because he knew they were good and proper answers."

I saw and heard all this today, and I still have a hard time believing it.

What do Trump's followers think about all this? We have no idea. When it comes to Trump, they have nothing to say. What a strange phenomenon. We are told that 90% of Republicans support Trump and everyone of them on this forum avoid Trump.

 

[ABikerSailor]

Trump blames everyone but himself. That is a crappy way to be a leader. Leaders actually take responsibility for what happens under their command, even if it wasn't their fault.

RADM Dunleavy comes readily to mind.

 

[Sandy Shanks]

The headline in The Hill read:

Trump disclosed secret weapons system to Woodward

The Hill reports, "I have built a nuclear — a weapons system that nobody’s ever had in this country before. We have stuff that you haven’t even seen or heard about We have stuff that Putin and Xi have never heard about before,” Trump added, referring to Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping. “There’s nobody — what we have is incredible."

"I have?" There is no doubt about it. Our President goes out of his way to make himself look stupid. Perhaps this is his idea of humor. Unfortunately, considering his extreme narcissistic personality, it rings too truthful to be humor.

In any case we know why Trump is so misinformed. Our intell agencies will not tell him about the latest intelligence. Why? Because he will blab it out to anyone listening. He is that stupid.

Once again, I am wondering why his followers support this guy. They want a fool for President? We will never know. Trump's followers do not talk about Trump, and, of course, they are unable to defend him.

They have plenty of time to talk about Democrats, though. They talk more about the Democrats then do the Democrats.

 

[Sandy Shanks]

Once again, I am wondering why his followers support this guy. They want a fool for President? We will never know. Trump's followers do not talk about Trump, and, of course, they are unable to defend him.

I know part of the reason why Trump's followers are unable to confront criticism of Trump, why they don't support their hero. The reason: they have nothing to work with.

Obviously, I pay a great deal of attention to what Trump says, although I pay very little attention to the lies he tells his adoring admirers at political rallies.

I watch news segments of Fox News every single day. On weekdays I watch Bret Baier. On weekends it is "America's News Headquarters" with Arthel Neville and Eric Shawn. Vittert is a Trump clone.

In either case, Trump or Fox, if Trump's supporters used that material, they would be laughed at. They sometimes try with material they have gotten from Fox, but they are smart enough not to use anything from Trump. Often times, when Trump is defending himself, he digs his hole deeper. Trump's worst enemy is Trump.

On the other hand, to be fair, Fox has a tough job. Because of Fox's conservative leanings, they are forced support a fool for President. Some of Fox's correspondents refuse to do it.

On the other hand, to be fair, Trump's followers have a tough job.

 

[Sandy Shanks]

Fox News reports, " President Trump on Friday announced that Bahrain has agreed to normalize relations with Israel, another diplomatic win for the president coming after a similar agreement with the United Arab Emirates just last month."

“This is really something special, very, very special," Trump said in the Oval Office, predicting that the region "will become more secure and prosperous" as a result of the diplomatic moves.

First, the exaggeration and bragging, then the usual melodrama you would expect from a reality show host.

"The sand was loaded up with blood, and now you’ll see a lot of that sand will be loaded up with peace," Trump said.

The pathetic little man is trying to make something from nothing. He is trying to solve a 70-year old major conflict with rhetoric. The pathetic little man is trying to look important.

Trump is dealing with an accommodating ally in the Middle East and secondary players.

First, it was UAE, now Bahrain, hardly major players in the Middle East. Who is next? Qatar?

Why? Because Trump has gotten the U.S. thrown out of the Middle East, in some respects replaced by Russia. Trump's unilateral decisions (Jerusalem, etc.) benefited only Israel. No Middle East deal counts unless it involves the major Arab republics -- Egypt, Jordon, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and the Palestinian government.

But those Arab republics do not trust the U.S. as long as Trump is President, and neither does Great Britain, France, and Germany because he gave away the ranch with nothing to show for it. Those are the genuine brokers in the Middle East.

And possibly Russia, in the case of Syria.

Not the U.S.

Trump's attempts to make a big deal out agreements between a compliant ally and minor Arab powers is both laughable and tragic. It is the story of a little man trying desperately make himself look important and failing miserably.

There are times I almost feel sorry for Trump.

Almost!

I would have to forgive him for thousands of American lives lost because he would not act while lying to the American people. That I can't do.

 

[Sandy Shanks]

Question: Why would a senior Trump supporter vote for Trump?

As usual, the answer is because he/she does not know what Trump is doing and saying, and doesn't want to know. They prefer fantasy to reality. Trump is famous for his fantasies. "The coronavirus will be over in April with warmer temps."

One way U.S. voters are being played during this presidential election campaign is the deceitful manner in which key issues are being framed for their consumption. Arguably the biggest and most important of these concerns the so-called “third rail” of American politics: Social Security.

President Donald Trump has vowed to kill funding for this critical, gargantuan program that nearly 70 million Americans depend on.

What? You haven’t heard Trump say he wants to kill Social Security’s funding? Actually, you have. Trump says he wants to kill the payroll tax — which is how Social Security is funded.

Perhaps like many Americans, you’re unaware of how Social Security is financed. It comes from payroll taxes that are paid by you and your employer. The past four years have convinced me that there are many other things that Trump’s supporters don’t seem to understand either (trade/tariffs, regulations, the stock market, etc.) but I digress.

“If victorious on November 3rd,” the president said on Aug. 8th, “I plan to forgive these taxes and make permanent cuts to the payroll tax.” He then added: “I’m going to make them all permanent.”

So when Trump talks of a “payroll tax cut,” you might think that sounds great. A tax cut! But this is deceptive election year politics, designed to take advantage of voter ignorance. Anyone going along with Trump’s framing of this as a mere tax cut is also being played.

Why you might not know that Trump is threatening your Social Security

For 70 million Americans, the president’s bid to end the payroll tax could be the most important election issue of all, writes Paul Brandus.

www.marketwatch.com

Well, now you know.

On the other hand, you can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink.

Why in the world would anyone vote against their own best interests?

 

[Sandy Shanks]

It does not matter to Trump how many of his followers get sick, become hospitalized, or even die from the highly contagious virus. He is well protected from the virus, but not his followers. It is important to Trump to hold this rally. Nothing else matters.

Trump is holding an indoor rally for the first time in three months. The event will be held at Xtreme Manufacturing’s warehouse in Henderson, Nevada. The previous indoor rally was held in Tulsa, Okla.

More on that later.

Trump is breaking state law. His rally will be in direct violation of Nevada’s restrictions on gatherings of over 50 people. The City of Henderson issued a verbal warning to the event organizer that the event as planned would be in direct violation of the governor's COVID-19 emergency directives.

Attendees will have their temperatures checked before entering but will not be required to social distance or wear masks.

The Trump White issued this incomprehensible statement that only could have been written by Trump.

“If you can join tens of thousands of people protesting in the streets, gamble in a casino, or burn down small businesses in riots, you can gather peacefully under the 1st Amendment to hear from the President of the United States,”

No one person controls the protests. Trump decided to hold this rally. Casinos are open with heavy restrictions. Doing something stupid doesn't justify doing something else stupid. No one person controls riots. Trump is totally responsible for this rally.

Yes, one definitely has the right under the First Amendment to endanger yourself, members of your family, and close friends by attending this indoor rally.

The statement is totally ludicrous.

 

[Sandy Shanks]

Trump is holding an indoor rally for the first time in three months. The event will be held at Xtreme Manufacturing’s warehouse in Henderson, Nevada. The previous indoor rally was held in Tulsa, Okla.

More on that later.

Trump’s last indoor rally was held in June in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The rally had modest attendance. Local officials reported an immediate spike in COVID-19 cases after the indoor rally. Since the June rally, Trump’s events have been held outdoors.

Not this one.

The Post reports, " Herman Cain, the former pizza chain executive who ran in the Republican presidential primary in 2012, has been hospitalized with covid-19 less than two weeks after attending President Trump’s campaign rally in Tulsa."

The Tulsa World leter reported, "Soon after it was announced that former presidential candidate Herman Cain had died Thursday of COVID-19-related complications, many theorized that he was exposed to the virus during an appearance at President Donald Trump’s campaign rally in Tulsa.

"Cain, 74, who had been hospitalized since July 2 before his death, was one of the Trump campaign surrogates at the June 20 rally in the BOK Center."

 

[Flopper]

On audio Trump admitted he knew weeks before the first confirmed US coronavirus death that the virus was dangerous, airborne, highly contagious and "more deadly than even your strenuous flus," and that he repeatedly played it down publicly, according to legendary journalist Bob Woodward in his new book "Rage."

Trump made a complete fool of himself by submitting to Woodward's interview on audio. Yesterday, he made a complete fool of himself on the Sean Hannity Show (Fox) trying to explain why he acted like an idiot. He failed miserably, only making matters worse.

Hannity asked Trump directly why he decided to participate in the Woodward book. To which Trump said this.

"Well, first of all, on the Woodward book, on the book itself, he called. He -- I didn't participate in his last one.

"And he does hit you, obviously, with everybody. He even did it on Obama, but constant hit jobs.

"On Bush, I guess they did three books. They were all terrible. So, I figured, you know, let's just give it a little shot. I'll speak to him. It wasn't a big deal. I speak to him, and let's see.

"I don't know if the book is good or bad. I have no idea. Probably, almost definitely won't read it, because I don't have time to read it."

Huh? Double huh? That does not make any sense. It's gibberish.

Source: Analysis: Donald Trump's ridiculous attempt to downplay Bob Woodward's book

IMHO, Trump admitted to downplaying and misleading the American people simple because, no one would believe his lies denying it. Before he admitted it, 30% of republicans and practically all democrats said they didn't trust Trump to tell the truth about the virus. So he lost nothing by admitting to what everyone already believed. In the debates, Biden would be constantly accusing him of lying and misleading the public and Trump would look like a fool denying. So now, he will defend himself by claiming he did it for a worthwhile cause, preventing panic. As weak as that reason might be, it is far more believable that claiming he never downplayed and lied to the public.

The American public has never panicked when the president was truthful about, Pearl Harbor, the Cuban Missile Crisis, the disastrous attempt to end the Iranian hostage crisis, and the 911 terrorist attack. There is no reason to suspect that their would be panic over cronavirus. A united front in the federal and state governments supporting methods of stopping the virus was the key to victory but it escaped us because of Trump's lies, downplaying, and misleading information which made it impossible. Whenever the president downplayed the virus, he was going directly against what state governors and his medical advisors were saying thus undermining their recommendations and order. So now we are dealing with the results.

 

[Sandy Shanks]

Our Comedian-in-Chief is worth a laugh a minute. Trump knows people are laughing at him -- how could he miss it? -- so he plays a long. Recently he compared himself to FDR and Churchill, FDR dealing with the Great Depression and Churchill dealing with the disaster called Wprld War Two and Hitler's Nazi Germany.

Trump compared himself to Winston Churchill as he defended his decision to lie to the American people about the dangers posed by the novel coronavirus in the early weeks of the outbreak.

"As the British government advised the British people in the face of World War II, keep calm and carry on," Trump told a Michigan rally on Thursday. "That's what I did."

Beyond being ridiculously presumptuous, Trump lacked the awareness of the fallacy of the comparison. Trump lied to the American people about the danger while while Churchill sought to build the country's morale amid attacks from Nazi Germany. The prime minister was bluntly honest about the dangers and hardship Britain faced.

Then Trump invoked the memory of one of America's greatest Presidents.

"America will prevail over the China virus," Trump said, using a racist nickname for the coronavirus. "As Franklin Delano Roosevelt said: 'The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.' We do it very well."

The pure irony of that outrageous statement escaped Trump.

"We do it very well." Trump didn't want to give the American people the chance to "do it very well." He lied to us.

Trump's extreme narcissism requires that he be the center of attention at all times. If that means making a fool of himself, so be it. The more outrageous the statement the better.

The American people gave up trusting anything this President says a long time ago.

By their silence, even his followers tacitly agree.

 

[Sandy Shanks]

It does not matter to Trump how many of his followers get sick, become hospitalized, or even die from the highly contagious virus. He is well protected from the virus, but not his followers. It is important to Trump to hold this rally. Nothing else matters.

No doubt about it. Trump is doing his best to kill off his followers. Nearly 199,000 Americans have died from the contagious virus. Far more have been seriously ill and been hospitalized. United States Coronavirus: 6,748,381 Cases and 198,957 Deaths - Worldometer

Trump is holding still another indoor political rally, this time in Phoenix, AZ. It is being billed as "Latinos for Trump." This begs a question.

The Latino community if Arizona has been devastated by the pandemic. A pandemic during which Trump was slow to react. I wonder how many Latinos will attend the "Latinos for Trump" rally. Or was it misnamed for political benefit?

Trump headlined two large rallies in Nevada over the weekend, including one indoors at Xtreme Manufacturing in Henderson. He said he is not concerned about getting coronavirus at indoor campaign rallies because he speaks from a stage “very far away” from attendees.

“I’m on a stage that’s very far away, and so I’m not at all concerned.”

Trump did not respond to a question posed by the Las Vegas Review-Journal on whether he's concerned about risking the health of people who attend his rallies.

On August 14, the coronavirus pandemic was raging in the US. More than 168,000 Americans had died. More than 1,300 deaths on that day alone. On that day Trump called journalist Bob Woodward to find out one thing. Trump wanted to find out how he'd be portrayed in Woodword's book. With respect to the pandemic Trump told Woodward,

"Nothing more could have been done!"
Later they began talking about the economy, and Woodward told Trump there were 30 million unemployed Americans.

Trump responded, "But the economy is doing ... look, we're close to a new stock market record."

Later, Trump added,"You know the market's coming back very strong, you do know that."

"Yes, of course," Woodward said.

"Did you cover that in the book?" Trump asked.

Can you say sociopath?

Trump says he's not worried about contracting coronavirus at rallies and 'Nothing more could have been done': Trump's final phone call to Woodward aided me in the writing of this report.

 

[Whodatsaywhodat.]

“I’m here to help you. We will bring back law and order to your community. We will bring it back, and we will bring it back immediately,” Trump told the people of Minnesota.

Should Biden be elected, Trump apparently was very concerned about the possibility of uncontrolled violence in the streets of Minneapolis following a racial event like the killing of at black man at the hands of law enforcement.

Trump warned us that if Biden is elected there could be months of unfettered violence in a peaceful American city like Portland, Oregon.

If Biden is elected, Trump told us that shootings would become common place in cities like Chicago.

If Biden is elected, Trump warned there would constant BLM protests and racial strife from Los Angeles to Baltimore and every city in between.

If Biden is elected, Trump warned us that a peaceful little town in Wisconsin would be torn apart when a local cop shot an unarmed black man in front of his kids. Trump suggested that things would get so bad the NBA would have to cancel tournament games. Many thought Trump was going too far this time.

“Everything we’ve achieved is now in danger. This election will decide whether we will defend the American way of life or allow a radical movement to completely dismantle and destroy it. Joe Biden is not the savior of America’s soul. He is the destroyer of America’s jobs, and if given the chance, he will be the destroyer of America’s greatness,” President Trump.

This is classic Trump. He knows the country is being torn apart by racial strife, violence, destruction, and murder on his watch. So, he blames his Presidential rival for what may happen if his rival is elected.

In classic Trump he does this by using lies, gross exaggerations, and overwhelming hyperbole that only his loyal faithful will believe because they don't know the truth, and they don't want to know the truth.

Overwhelming ignorance right there folks.

What do you expect . Just read his past doozies. Probably Iranian. Certainly is an enemy of America.

 

[basquebromance]

Trump is a lonely man surrounded by inexperienced imbeciles who don't know how to control his fascistic impulses

 

[bripat9643]

The headline in The Hill read:

Trump disclosed secret weapons system to Woodward

The Hill reports, "I have built a nuclear — a weapons system that nobody’s ever had in this country before. We have stuff that you haven’t even seen or heard about We have stuff that Putin and Xi have never heard about before,” Trump added, referring to Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping. “There’s nobody — what we have is incredible."

"I have?" There is no doubt about it. Our President goes out of his way to make himself look stupid. Perhaps this is his idea of humor. Unfortunately, considering his extreme narcissistic personality, it rings too truthful to be humor.

In any case we know why Trump is so misinformed. Our intell agencies will not tell him about the latest intelligence. Why? Because he will blab it out to anyone listening. He is that stupid.

Once again, I am wondering why his followers support this guy. They want a fool for President? We will never know. Trump's followers do not talk about Trump, and, of course, they are unable to defend him.

They have plenty of time to talk about Democrats, though. They talk more about the Democrats then do the Democrats.

So where did he disclose these secret weapons programs?

 

[Billiejeens]

Trump is a lonely man surrounded by inexperienced imbeciles who don't know how to control his fascistic impulses

No

 

[Sandy Shanks]

Why are college students going to large parties on and off campus across the United States? Why are thousands, going to the beaches again, particularly on summer holidays? Why are bars filling up again with business as usual along with indoor restaurants?

That's easy.

Our President is doing it.

 

[bripat9643]

Why are college students going to large parties on and off campus across the United States? Why are thousands, going to the beaches again, particularly on summer holidays? Why are bars filling up again with business as usual along with indoor restaurants?

That's easy.

Our President is doing it.

How is Trump "doing it?"