Judging Trump's performance

You do know that in the case of the U.S. Senate, the Republicans have BARE NUMERICAL CONTROL.

IIRC when President Trump got Obamacare passed he had a 59 or 60 vote majority.

 

Always be careful what you wish for. You wanted facts. I got facts. This is a tiny sample.

As I predicted soon after the Comey hearing last week, Trump is now being investigated by special prosecutor, Robert Mueller.

The Washington Post reported, "The special counsel overseeing the investigation into Russia’s role in the 2016 election is interviewing senior intelligence officials as part of a widening probe that now includes an examination of whether President Trump attempted to obstruct justice, officials said.

"The move by special counsel Robert S. Mueller III to investigate Trump’s conduct marks a major turning point in the nearly year-old FBI investigation, which until recently focused on Russian meddling during the presidential campaign and on whether there was any coordination between the Trump campaign and the Kremlin. Investigators have also been looking for any evidence of possible financial crimes among Trump associates, officials said."

https://www.washingtonpost.com/worl...28ba60fbb98_story.html?utm_term=.2cdc2d13ff26

The strange thing is Trump brought every bit of this on himself. Omitting the Comey testimony for the moment, we know these facts.

Mike Flynn, a private citizen in December, spoke with the Russian ambassador about Obama's sanctions commencing that very same day. The very next day, Putin declared he would deal with the matter with the incoming Trump administration and did not retaliate.

Later, in January, Flynn became Trump's NSA. He then lied about the phone call and was fired.

While working with the Trump election campaign and as the NSA, Flynn had financial ties to Russia and Turkey.

Comey was investigating Flynn.

Comey was also the lead investigator into the relationship, if any, between Trump's staff and the Russians who had interfered in our election.

On May 9th Trump fired Comey.

Twice, Trump admitted the Russian probe was behind the firing of Comey. Once to Lester Holt in a television interview. The second time when he boasted to the Russians in the Oval Office. “I just fired the head of the F.B.I. He was crazy, a real nut job,” Trump told Russia’s foreign minister, Sergey V. Lavrov and the Russian ambassador to the United States, Sergey I. Kislyak. “I faced great pressure because of Russia. That’s taken off.”

Trump added solemnly, “I’m not under investigation.”

That has now changed.

The irony is overwhelming. There might not be any collusion between Trump's staff and the Russians, but Trump, because he could not keep his nose out of the controversy, may be guilty of obstruction of justice.

This is very much like the Nixon scenario. Nixon didn't break into the Democratic headquarters in the Watergate complex. But Nixon was going to be impeached on the charge of obstruction of justice because he was guilty of the cover-up of the incident. For the sake of the country, Nixon resigned rather than putting our nation through impeachment and Senate trial proceedings.

The very same thing may happen again with Trump.

Those who forget history are condemned to relive it.

 

You misunderstand. I am not about to get involved in a discussion about obstruction of justice and impeachment. It is way to early. It is not a question of backing off. It is a question of not wanting to be premature.

And I have other things on my agenda.

 

Sandy is gathering material for a book.

 

"Musings of an Internet Trolling Man"?

 

Naw, I'm not doing that again. Too much work. This forum is child's play compared to writing a book.

 

Which book did you write?

 

I wrote two, The Bode Testament and Impeachment.

 

Washington (CNN)Former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort filed documents with the Justice Department showing his consulting firm was paid more than $17 million between 2012 and 2014 for work on behalf of a pro-Russia political party in Ukraine.

The filing completed Manafort's registration under the Foreign Agents Registration Act, known as FARA, one of several legal issues that have been the focus of scrutiny by the FBI and Justice Department prosecutors, according to US officials briefed on the investigation.
The registration doesn't end the years-long US probe of Manafort and his firm which, because of Manafort's role as Trump campaign chairman last year, have become part of the broader investigation now led by special counsel Robert Mueller looking into Russian meddling in the 2016 election.

http://www.cnn.com/2017/06/28/politics/manafort-registers-foreign-agent/index.html

That's twice. According to Fox News, former national security adviser Michael Flynn was paid more than $67,000 by Russian companies before the presidential election, according to documents released in mid-March.

That's not all where Flynn is concerned. The former national security adviser Trump—who lasted only 22 days in the job—is at the center of various investigations. He has drawn scrutiny for his contacts with the Russian government (and for lying about those contacts), for his pocketing of $45,000 from Kremlin-backed RT (and his failure to disclose the payment), for his lobbying for Turkish interests (and his failure to disclose that as well), and for attending a meeting with Turkish officials during which a plan reportedly was discussed for abducting a US-based foe of that country’s president. But one Flynn mystery has received little attention: What was the original source of the $530,000 he was paid last summer and fall—when he was Trump’s top national security aide—to be an agent for Turkish interests?

Some say Flynn is singing like a canary to Mueller's investigators.

More and more it is beginning to look like Trump's campaign staff colluded with the Russians when they interfered in our election. There is an awful lot of people associated with Russia who are also associated with Trump.

Another good example is Trump's attorney general, Jeff Sessions. He met with the Russian ambassador, Sergey Kislyak, twice in 2016 while a member of Trump's campaign staff. He then lied about it at his Senate confirmation hearing. Sessions claimed meeting Kislyak was in the performance of his duties. In 2016, of the 26 members of the Senate Armed Services Committee, only one member met with Kislyak, Jeff Sessions. Sessions recused himself from the FBI investigation involving Trump's campaign staff and the Russians.

Others on Trump's campaign staff who had Russian connections include Carter Page, former Trump foreign policy adviser; Roger Stone, informal adviser; and JD Gordon, former Trump campaign national security adviser.

Either Trump's staff colluded with the Russians or Trump did a lousy job of vetting his personnel. It's one or the other. There is no third choice.

Jared Kushner, the president's son-in-law and senior adviser, is also a focus of the FBI investigation for his contacts with Russia.

It is no wonder Trump is trying desperately to change the narrative. He is terrified of Mueller's investigative staff.

Is this positive proof of collusion? Of course not, but it is strong circumstantial evidence.

 

This is unbelievable, even for Trump.

Barely five months into office, President Donald Trump keeps taking time out from governing to run for re-election in 2020!. It is becoming a weekly occurrence.

Campaign director Michael Glassner has said the rallies give Trump the chance to speak directly and powerfully to his base of supporters. In other words, it gives him a chance to get away from the rigors of being a President so he can be with an adulating crowd that cheers his every word, something his persona requires. One can easily ask, why did he even run for President? Was it to be with cheering crowds who think he is the Second Coming?

On Wednesday night, he attended his first 2020 campaign fundraiser, rubbing elbows with some of the Republican Party's top donors on familiar turf, his own hotel down the street from the White House! He's already spent five evenings on the road at political rallies, always in states that supported him in November and always in front of an audience of thousands of fans who are screened and selected by his campaign aides.

His early campaign efforts are historic, and, seemingly, he does whatever he wants to do. Never mind his responsibilities as President, never mind Presidential decorum, never mind the damage done to his Presidency by his self-centered activities, Trump simply does not care.

His base loves him for it. They sent a wrecking ball to Washington, and Trump is performing beautifully where they are concerned.

Wednesday's dinner was his first solicitation of larger donors, with tickets starting at $35,000. Proceeds will be split between his re-election campaign and the Republican Party.

The decision to hold a fundraiser at the Trump venue has raised alarms from ethics lawyers, who have repeatedly criticized the President's decision to retain a financial interest in his global real-estate and branding empire.

Businesses owned by Trump made more than $14 million off his 2016 campaign, according to a Bloomberg analysis. He has mingled official business with his presidential duties from the start of his term, hosting foreign leaders at his Florida resort, Mar-a-Lago, which he has dubbed the Winter White House.

Income at his Palm Beach resort, surged to $37.3 million between Jan. 1, 2016 and spring of this year, according to Trump's recently filed financial-disclosure report, a 25% increase from his previous disclosure.

Does Trump care? Heck, no, and he is drooling over his additional income. Also, he raked in $10 million for himself and the RNC.

Now we know why he ran for President.

 

Trump is proving that he has no foresight what so ever. He has no clue that he will be considered the worst POTUS in American history. He will have no power to change that either, in less than four years.

 

Even I am shocked by his Presidential statements this morning. The White House has said that Trump's tweets are official Presidential statements.

Here is what an official Presidential statement said today. "I heard poorly rated @Morning—Joe speaks badly of me (don't watch anymore). Then how come low I.Q. Crazy Mika, along with Psycho Joe, came to Mar-a-Lago 3 nights in a row around New Year's Eve, and insisted on joining me. She was bleeding badly from a face-lift. I said no!"

The casual observer is sickened by this despicable statement from our President. What does the White House say about this malicious statement? Trump is a fighter. Huckabee Sanders had this to say about Trump's tweets. "I think the American people elected somebody who's tough, who's smart, and who's a fighter."

First of all, The American people did not elect Trump. 25% of eligible voters chose Trump, which equates out to less than 20% of the American people. Also, Trump was elected with the help of Putin who, with the help of hackers, severely damaged Trump's opponent. Truth be told, if Putin had chosen an operative to occupy the Oval Office, he couldn't possibly be doing more damage than Trump is doing right now.

Secondly, we certainly did not wish to elect cyber-bullying leader. Chris Cillizza writes, "What Trump did is the opposite of being tough; it's bullying, plain and simple. Tough people don't go around talking about how tough they are or trying to prove it. Toughness is about resilience. It's about getting knocked down and getting back up. it's about taking the high road. It's not about tweeting about alleged face-lifts."

Republican lawmakers agree with Cillizza. A Google search did not reveal one single Republican lawmaker who supported the Presidential statements. A large number of Republican lawmakers disagreed with Trump. Here are some examples.

House Speaker Paul Ryan responded, "Obviously I don't see that as an appropriate comment." He added: "What we're trying to do around here is improve the tone, the civility of the debate. And this obviously doesn't help do that."

"Please just stop. This isn't normal and it's beneath the dignity of your office," GOP Sen. Ben Sasse tweeted.

Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska‏ tweeted to Trump, "do you want to be remembered for your tweets or your accomplishments? Stop it! The Presidential platform should be used for more than bringing people down."

Sen. Lindsey Graham tweeted, "Mr. President, your tweet was beneath the office and represents what is wrong with American politics, not the greatness of America."

Rep. Lynn Jenkins, R-Kansas, tweeted: "This is not okay. As a female in politics I am often criticized for my looks. We should be working to empower women." She later said she was "extremely disappointed." "That's not OK," she said. "It's just not acceptable. We need to demand better of folks in positions like myself, the President ... We should just appreciate if the President could focus with us on doing some really good things for the American people and leave comments like that to himself."

GOP Sen. Orrin Hatch said, "It's incumbent on all of us, then — from the President to Congress on down — to be responsible for our speech."

GOP Sen. Susan Collins of Maine tweeted, "This has to stop -- we all have a job -- 3 branches of gov't and media. We don't have to get along, but we must show respect and civility."

You get my drift. For the umpteenth time, this time far more severely, Trump marginalized himself. And the pattern is set. We talk about his controversies. We talk about his tweets. And absolutely nothing gets done in Washington, no healthcare, no tax reform, no wall, and no funding for infrastructure.

The July 4th recess is just around the corner. After that is the August recess. The debt ceiling needs to be raised by mid-October. You get the picture.

From Trump's friends to Trump: You are doing a great job. Keep it up.

 

This is one thread Trump's fans are staying away from. Now why is that?

Answer: When it comes to Trump, they are unable to deal with reality.

Some may be getting that queasy feeling in the pit of their stomachs. We made a mistake, a big one.

 

I wrote this in a post on Wednesday.

I sat and watched Fox News for about two hours today, including Neil Cavuto. I am still trying to figure out what Trump, Senators, and Fox were trying to say. Once again, Trump promised us a big surprise but held back on what it was. We are all so used to this. He still thinks he is a reality T.V. star and must hold us in suspense. Actually, it is a little silly. He acts like a child at times.

Today, Republicans in favor of Trumpcare like Senator John Thune, the majority whip, are talking about a deal being worked out by Friday. They made it sound like it was a done deal, one Senator promising they will have 50 votes by Friday. You had to listen close to realize, they are not voting on Friday. That is coming after the July 4th recess, maybe. Other than Trump's pep talk, no Senator explained what had changed in the last twenty-four hours. This is rather important because Trumpcare lost support, not gaining it in the past twenty-four hours.

That sure sounds like a Trump scheme. Make a no-deal by Friday with a huge fanfare to fool Americans into thinking something is being done.

It is a ruse. Senators are fervently praying that when they go home to face their constituents, they will have good news. That will be particularly difficult since the popularity of Trumpcare is 17% according to the latest poll.

Trump's big surprise is there is no surprise. Surprise!

As I said, I wrote all that on Wednesday. Today the Senators have gone home for the July 4th recess. There is no revised deal. There is no big surprise. Things are now as they were on Wednesday.

Trump and Republicans engage in pure rhetoric to attempt to prove to Americans they are doing something when they are not. They are not fooling anybody except their mindless base that believes everything Trump throws at them. Meanwhile, they are playing with peoples' health insurance and money.

Trump, as the leader of his party, simply doesn't care. Guess what he is trumpeting now. Repeal Obamacare now, replace later.

"If Republican Senators are unable to pass what they are working on now, they should immediately REPEAL, and then REPLACE at a later date," tweeted Trump.

Trump no longer cares about his base. Strangely enough, his base will still care about him nevertheless.

You know, I just don't understand that.

 

Like Hitler, Trump never cared about his base....yet even after WWII 35% of Germans still supported Hitler. Still no cure for stupid.

 

You can't get anything straight, can you? That's what happens when you are blinded by your hatred of anything not to the far Left, like you.

1. Trump didn't "anger" Great Britain. He replied to the IDIOT mayor of London, who said in effect, get used to terror attacks. They're no big deal.
2. If you can't distinguish Great Britain from London's IDIOT mayor, why should anybody believe anything else you say.

As to childish popularity contests, the United States were founded with only about 33% "popularity rating."

One third of residents were Tories and the other third were impartial. They didn't much care either way.

However, you will find that in North Korea, Kim Jong-Un is VERY POPULAR! Isn't that special.
Jesus Christ was so unpopular, that the crowd demanded to "Free Barabbas," the thief instead. I'll bet you would have been one of those cheering for
Barabbas. No doubt about it.

A piece of good advice for Leftists and everybody else:
Don't mind what anyone thinks about you. The only thing that matters is what God thinks about you.

 

I have to admit, I am not crazy about that example.

 

The man has an obvious reading comprehension problem. In the para he quoted there was this statement. "In Britain, long considered America’s closest European ally, Trump had just a 32% approval rating. That poll was taken in January. Certainly, it is far worse now."

A later poll produced these results. "Mr Trump meanwhile had an approval rating of 18 per cent with the British public and disapproval of 60 per cent." http://www.independent.co.uk/news/u...proval-rating-gorton-survey-gfk-a7653576.html

The casual observer would note that Trump did anger Britain. Perhaps, my friend also has math comprehension problem, too, and thinks 18% approval rating means a guy is popular. Who knows what his problems are. Enemy identification is another one. I am a conservative.

And, oh, yes. I do know the difference between Great Britain and London.

Judging by your rhetoric, I'm guessing you voted for Trump.

 

Your gears don't turn, Shank.
I won't bother pointing out why. It obviously won't do a bit of good. Conservatives don't prattle such nonsense as you.

 

Yeah, that's what I thought. All talk and no substance. You have two posts on this thread and you didn't say a thing.

Other than meaningless personal insults, that is. Two posts and all you gave us was trash talk.

Let me guess. You voted for Trump.

 

This is your President. Scroll down to video showing the wrestling mat. The video is only a few seconds long, but it will take a lifetime to understand how our President could do something like this. It is as if he is begging to be impeached for conduct unbecoming; technically, high crimes and misdemeanors. What he does here ought to be a crime.

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/trump-tweets-video-him-attacking-cnn-1018417

 

Sandy Shanks said: ↑
His base? They are cheering. This video represents the very reason they voted for Trump. They wanted a wrecking ball administered to the Office of President, and that is exactly what they got. You can see it from their comments on this thread.

I rest my case. Read this screwball's comments.

navigator2 said: ↑
Maybe, just maybe Trump ought to say............."You know, it might be time for a President to assassinate an actor. You, know, they owe us one. The time is right". (re:Booth & Johnny Depp)

Trump is proving how easy it is for him to make a complete fool himself. Get a series of left-wing entertainers to continually insult Trump, preferably on T.V. because Trump watches a lot of T.V., but widely publicized tweets will do.

Trump cannot tolerate ad hominems. The First Lady even said it. "As the First Lady has stated publicly in the past, when her husband gets attacked, he will punch back 10 times harder."

So, Trump will retaliate, over and over again. Just as he is doing right now. He is that stupid, and his fans love him for it.

 

I have to say this much. Just how thin skin was Obama?

Look how he went bonkers over things he says he heard of.

 

We have had marches today in the SF Bay Area where dumb Democrats think by marching, it triggers the impeachment of Trump.

Too bad none of them learned simple rudimentary civics.

Watch Democrats brawling.


http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/don...ozens-cities-call-trump-s-impeachment-n779131

 

Yeah, just like the numbers showed Hillary winning in a landslide.