The trump chronicles (topical thread)

[airportkid]

Something else that just struck me that I haven't heard addressed in the press is that Trump's concern was about articles appearing in the National Enquirer, not Newsweek, or Time, or journals with actual credibility.  Certainly he recognized that making deals with the publishers of Newsweek and Time would be out of the question, but it appears he was really concerned about how he appeared to the type of audience that reads National Enquirer.  I think if I were running for office the last publicity I'd be concerned with is whatever might show up in something like the National Enquirer, and would focus on how Newsweek and Time would be portraying me, and make efforts to appear presentable in their eyes.  But Trump put huge effort into how he (and his rivals) would be presented in National Enquirer.  That says quite a lot about Trump and what kind of audience he wants to appeal to:  people paying attention to the world through the eyes of the National Enquirer.

It's very disheartening to see how large that audience is.

[Minimalist]

Newsweek or TIME would most likely never have published those types of stories....at least not without reams of supporting evidence.


The National Enquirer is a rag sheet...they'll print anything even if they have to invent it.

[pattylt]

Newsweek or TIME would most likely never have published those types of stories....at least not without reams of supporting evidence.


The National Enquirer is a rag sheet...they'll print anything even if they have to invent it.

You mean those alien births and monkey children weren’t real! 

[Thumpalumpacus]

Something else that just struck me that I haven't heard addressed in the press is that Trump's concern was about articles appearing in the National Enquirer, not Newsweek, or Time, or journals with actual credibility.  Certainly he recognized that making deals with the publishers of Newsweek and Time would be out of the question, but it appears he was really concerned about how he appeared to the type of audience that reads National Enquirer.  I think if I were running for office the last publicity I'd be concerned with is whatever might show up in something like the National Enquirer, and would focus on how Newsweek and Time would be portraying me, and make efforts to appear presentable in their eyes.  But Trump put huge effort into how he (and his rivals) would be presented in National Enquirer.  That says quite a lot about Trump and what kind of audience he wants to appeal to:  people paying attention to the world through the eyes of the National Enquirer.

It's very disheartening to see how large that audience is.

A good salesman always knows his audience.

[Cavebear]

Something else that just struck me that I haven't heard addressed in the press is that Trump's concern was about articles appearing in the National Enquirer, not Newsweek, or Time, or journals with actual credibility.  Certainly he recognized that making deals with the publishers of Newsweek and Time would be out of the question, but it appears he was really concerned about how he appeared to the type of audience that reads National Enquirer.  I think if I were running for office the last publicity I'd be concerned with is whatever might show up in something like the National Enquirer, and would focus on how Newsweek and Time would be portraying me, and make efforts to appear presentable in their eyes.  But Trump put huge effort into how he (and his rivals) would be presented in National Enquirer.  That says quite a lot about Trump and what kind of audience he wants to appeal to:  people paying attention to the world through the eyes of the National Enquirer.

It's very disheartening to see how large that audience is.

You care about legitimate press exactly because you are not Trump or a supporter. His supporters don't care about those because they don't think they are legitimate. They are an enclosed society in an ever-shrinking world of conspiracy and fear of loss of self-identified group power. They are sure they are being lied to constantly. No one who isn't "just like them" in all ways can be trusted. Ever.

It must be horrible to think only they know the truth and the rest of us are saps, robots of "the system", or unaware of reality as they see it. And that they can't convince the rest of us about that.

[airportkid]

It just struck me that Trump should be charged with reckless endangerment, not just violating a gag order.  That is, after all, the point of the gag orders, to protect people from being harmed by lunatics driven by Trump's exhortations to attack them.  So, reckless endangerment every time that logorrheaic prick opens his mouth.  His speech has the power to incite others to action.  It's kind of like a prize fighter whose hands are legally considered lethal weapons.  In this case, it's Trump's reach and lack of restraint that make his mouth potentially lethal.

Sorry to raise this point again but it seems an obvious answer to the dilemmas the gag orders impose.  The penalties for reckless endangerment can be 7 years; for criminal endangerment, which it seems Trump has clearly committed knowing his calls for violence are heeded, can be 15 years and $250,000 fine.  If levied per violation Trump could be put away for more years than he has left, and fined into destitution.  I wish Ruby Freeman's attorneys had considered this.

[Minimalist]

Ruby Freeman's case was a civil matter - not criminal.

[Cavebear]

Some fun things to note...

1. Trump has complained that the court case is preventing him from campaigning. The court is closed Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday. So what did he do that first week on those days? Played golf... Meanwhile, Biden, with all the demands of his office (which he is fulfilling) managed to visit ~5 States.

2. The court's row behind Trump is reserved for "friends and family". No one has occupied a seat there yet.

3. Best quote of the presidential campaign (from the White House Correspondents' Dinner)... “Of course age is an issue. I’m a grown man, and I’m running against a 6-year-old,” Biden said, invoking concerns about his age to jab at Trump. “Age is the only thing we have in common; my vice president actually endorses me!”

LOL! Go Joe...

[Minimalist]

Fuckface had a bad day in court, today!

https://www.rawstory.com/trump-trial-sta...s-exhibit/

'So devastating': Experts say new documents are 'star witness' in Trump hush money trial

Donald Trump's attacks on Michael Cohen, the projected star witness in his criminal hush money trial, may just have been proved fruitless after prosecutors submitted into evidence two documents that appear to back up his former fixer's claims, legal experts said Monday.


This analysis arrived after a Trump Organization employee and former controller appeared in Manhattan criminal court to explain a series of documents linked to a $130,000 payment made to adult film star Stormy Daniels.

Good.  Fuck him.

[airportkid]

Trump has lately promised to arrest Biden and his family among his highest priorities if put into the Oval Office.

This the same Trump who continues to demand the Supreme Court grant absolute immunity to Presidents.  Should SCOTUS actually accede such an insanity, Biden would be safe from any of the worst retributive tantrums Trump's promised.

But this is not a contradiction spat out from an addled mind, even though that's exactly what Trump's mind is.  To Trump, about whom the entire universe revolves, Presidential immunity is meant to apply only to him.

[Minimalist]

Fuckface is just running his mouth for the benefit of his idiot fan club.  He thinks he was a fucking king.

[Rhythmcs]

Trump has lately promised to arrest Biden and his family among his highest priorities if put into the Oval Office.

This the same Trump who continues to demand the Supreme Court grant absolute immunity to Presidents.  Should SCOTUS actually accede such an insanity, Biden would be safe from any of the worst retributive tantrums Trump's promised.

But this is not a contradiction spat out from an addled mind, even though that's exactly what Trump's mind is.  To Trump, about whom the entire universe revolves, Presidential immunity is meant to apply only to him.

Which is why the clerics on the court are looking for space to create a narrow ruling - single use only, like the one they engineered for bush v gore.

[Cavebear]

Trump has lately promised to arrest Biden and his family among his highest priorities if put into the Oval Office.

This the same Trump who continues to demand the Supreme Court grant absolute immunity to Presidents.  Should SCOTUS actually accede such an insanity, Biden would be safe from any of the worst retributive tantrums Trump's promised.

But this is not a contradiction spat out from an addled mind, even though that's exactly what Trump's mind is.  To Trump, about whom the entire universe revolves, Presidential immunity is meant to apply only to him.

Consistency of thought is not a Trump talent. He always plays the "heads I win, tails you lose" game. I would assume that if Trump was re-elected, pardoned himself, and then granted Presidents total immunity from legal actions (just to be doubly-sure for himself), he would exempt that rule "for all future Presidents" before he left office. Trump always protects himself and no others, after all.

It is entirely possible that SCOTUS would go along with Presidential Immunity. Chief Justice Roberts might gag on that, but that still leaves it a 5-4 approval. It is possible that Justice Amy Coney Barrett might join with Roberts for a denial, but that is very uncertain. Still she has joined the more liberal Justices on a couple of occasions...

[Cavebear]

Fuckface is just running his mouth for the benefit of his idiot fan club.  He thinks he was a fucking king.

But so have many Presidents. Nixon said "When the president does it, that means it is not illegal". When President Jackson was ruled against by SCOTUS, he basically said "You and what army"? I'm sure there are other examples, but at least those 2 come to mind.

And I compare that to the opposite. Washington decided 2 terms were enough for a democracy. John Quincy Adams served 9 terms in The House after his Presidency. And many former Presidents engaged in public service in various ways after serving their terms. Not until FDR did any President seeks a 3rd term, and that was in the major war of modern history. I will add that Lincoln might have gone for a 3rd term to complete Reconstruction in a civil and healing way.

So we have the Trumps, Nixons, and Jacksons on one side and the Washington, Adams, and Lincolns on the other. I know who I respect more, and you probably do too.

[Minimalist]

Fuckface does seem to have a problem, though......



https://www.politico.com/news/2024/05/07...p-00156750

Unexpected warning signs for Trump in busy Indiana primary

There were a half-dozen consequential GOP primaries Tuesday, but Nikki Haley’s performance in the already concluded presidential race could be a sign of trouble for Trump in more competitive states.

Indiana delivered the former president double-point margins in 2016 and 2020. But on Tuesday night, even though Trump won all of the state’s 58 delegates, Nikki Haley posted above-30-point performances in places like Marion County, home to Indianapolis, and affluent Hamilton County, its suburb to the north.

Not bad for someone who stopped campaigning 2 months ago.  It means people deliberately exerted themselves to vote against Fuckface.  

[Dānu]

I'm still getting emails from the Haley campaign.

[Thumpalumpacus]

Former President Trump referred to the notorious fictional serial killer Hannibal Lecter as a “wonderful man” during a weekend campaign speech in New Jersey.

The moment of praise for the cannibal from “The Silence of the Lambs” came as Trump was comparing migrants to Lecter, repeating the unsubstantiated claim that migrants crossing the border are violent criminals or are coming from other countries’ “insane asylums.”

“Has anyone ever seen ‘The Silence of the Lambs’? The late, great Hannibal Lecter. He’s a wonderful man. He oftentimes would have a friend for dinner. Remember the last scene? ‘Excuse me, I’m about to have a friend for dinner,’ as this poor doctor walked by. ‘I’m about to have a friend for dinner.’ But Hannibal Lecter. Congratulations. The late, great Hannibal Lecter,” Trump said.

https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/46...erful-man/

He's like syphilis ... the gift that keeps on giving.

[Szuchow]

Former President Trump referred to the notorious fictional serial killer Hannibal Lecter as a “wonderful man” during a weekend campaign speech in New Jersey.

The moment of praise for the cannibal from “The Silence of the Lambs” came as Trump was comparing migrants to Lecter, repeating the unsubstantiated claim that migrants crossing the border are violent criminals or are coming from other countries’ “insane asylums.”

“Has anyone ever seen ‘The Silence of the Lambs’? The late, great Hannibal Lecter. He’s a wonderful man. He oftentimes would have a friend for dinner. Remember the last scene? ‘Excuse me, I’m about to have a friend for dinner,’ as this poor doctor walked by. ‘I’m about to have a friend for dinner.’ But Hannibal Lecter. Congratulations. The late, great Hannibal Lecter,” Trump said.

https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/46...erful-man/

He's like syphilis ... the gift that keeps on giving.

When presidential candidate starts praising fictional murderer and cannibal one knows that shit is beyond bad.

[brewerb]

Former President Trump referred to the notorious fictional serial killer Hannibal Lecter as a “wonderful man” during a weekend campaign speech in New Jersey.

The moment of praise for the cannibal from “The Silence of the Lambs” came as Trump was comparing migrants to Lecter, repeating the unsubstantiated claim that migrants crossing the border are violent criminals or are coming from other countries’ “insane asylums.”

“Has anyone ever seen ‘The Silence of the Lambs’? The late, great Hannibal Lecter. He’s a wonderful man. He oftentimes would have a friend for dinner. Remember the last scene? ‘Excuse me, I’m about to have a friend for dinner,’ as this poor doctor walked by. ‘I’m about to have a friend for dinner.’ But Hannibal Lecter. Congratulations. The late, great Hannibal Lecter,” Trump said.

https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/46...erful-man/

He's like syphilis ... the gift that keeps on giving.

His supporters are living the fantasy, just giving them what they want. Is there a stupid smart category?

[pattylt]

The question is…did Trump lose any potential voters for his Hannibal comments? I think maybe five…at the most. I’m just baffled by his supporters and I realize I will never understand them. I don’t know whether it’s better to consider them despicable or just pathetic.

[Fireball]

Why not both? 

[brewerb]

The question is…did Trump lose any potential voters for his Hannibal comments?  I think maybe five…at the most. I’m just baffled by his supporters and I realize I will never understand them.  I don’t know whether it’s better to consider them despicable or just pathetic.

They love charismatic leaders, any charismatic leaders, no matter what that leader(s) say or do. 

At the end of the day all they hear is 'Trump loves me'.

[pattylt]

At the end of the day all they hear is 'Trump loves me'.

Which is so ironic because he only loves himself. How does anyone get that through their thick skulls? Yes, I realize the stupidity of many of them but those that do have more than two neurons still firing?

The fact that poor and middle class people even think that Trump needs their money, will improve their lot in life and feel it’s necessary to have a leader that supposedly hates the same people they do….when he really doesn’t hate anyone…he just likes using anyone (including them) to accomplish his goals. I accept that many think Trump hates certain people. I don’t. I don’t think he gives a shit. In order to hate, you also need to love and Trump seems incapable of loving anyone besides himself. He’s the classic definition of a narcissist.

[Cavebear]

https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/46...erful-man/

He's like syphilis ... the gift that keeps on giving.

When presidential candidate starts praising fictional murderer and cannibal one knows that shit is beyond bad.

And, as one TV talking head pointed out, Trump spoke of Hannibal Lecter as if he was a real person. And I think he was thinking that, not knowing the difference between fiction and reality. Some of Trump's associates have also mentioned that about him. It seems that if Trumps hears about someone, he assumes they are real. It is a failure of Trump to grasp the difference between reality and unreality the makes him so very dangerous.

[Cavebear]

The question is…did Trump lose any potential voters for his Hannibal comments?  I think maybe five…at the most. I’m just baffled by his supporters and I realize I will never understand them.  I don’t know whether it’s better to consider them despicable or just pathetic.

More likely pathetic than despicable. They do truly believe. They think they are fighting for "good".