Donald Trump, dragging the world along with him on his descent into madness

On Christmas day, Donald Trump tweeted that he would be going “back to work” the next day. He then proceeded to spend the next seven days golfing, sometimes doing so behind a large white truck that had been employed like a rolling barrier to prevent people from seeing what he was up to. Apparently, it would seem, our president, who ran for office with the promise, “I’m going to be working for you, I’m not going to have time to go play golf,” isn’t terribly keen on the idea of photos being taken of him with a golf club in his hands, especially after all the times he accused Obama of wasting taxpayer dollars for doing pretty much the same thing. While Trump and his team try as best that they can to downplay the president’s golf habit, we know that, during his first year in office, he’s spent 91 days at Trump-branded golf courses. We also have a pretty good estimate of how many games he’s played as president, and it’s probably about 75, which is considerably more than the 28 we know Obama to have golfed by this point in his presidency… I hesitate to mention any of this, as the hypocrisy clearly doesn’t matter to Trump’s supporters, who apparently believe that, wheres Obama golfed out of sheer laziness, Trump plays the game because that’s just what the world’s greatest dealmakers do, but I think it’s an important prelude to what happened today, when Trump really did get “back to work” in earnest. Starting at 4:09 AM this morning, there have been 16 tweets of escalating insanity from a president no longer tethered to reality by his desire to hit little, white balls into a cup… Here are just three examples of what we’ve seen thus far today.

1. Trump personally took credit for aviation safety in 2017, stating that it was, because of him, and his attention to this subject, that no one had died in a passenger jet since he took office. This, of course, ignores the fact that we’ve had no domestic airline crashes in this country since 2009. It also begs the question, “Why, if by applying himself to this particular problem, he’s made air travel so safe, has he not also focused on safety in the coal mining industry, or, for that matter, the epidemic of gun violence in this country?” [Coal mining deaths have nearly doubled over the year Trump has been in office.] Are we to believe that domestic air safety is a better barometer for determining the quality of a president, than, say, the fact that, over this past year, there have been more mass shootings than there have been days? [Just yesterday, in Colorado, we had yet another mass shooting by a middle aged white man with apparent alt-right sympathies.]

2. Referring to his own Justice Department as the “deep state justice department,” Trump then appeared to demand that they imprison his perceived enemies. This comes just days after Trump, in an impromptu interview with a New York Times reporter at one of his golf clubs, said, “I have absolute right to do what I want to do with the Justice Department,” apparently not understanding that, while technically a part of the executive branch, he does not control the Justice Department like a mafia boss controls a crew. I thought it should go without saying, but, in a functioning United States of America, one wouldn’t expect to see a president calling on members of the Justice Department to arrest potential witnesses against him. As former Deputy Attorney General of the United States Sally Yates said today on Twitter, this is “beyond abnormal (and) dangerous.”

3. And now he’s taunting a madman with nuclear weapons, essentially challenging North Korea’s Kim Jong Un to prove to the world that he’s got the ability to successfully launch intercontinental ballistic missiles at us. This, as I suspect many of you would agree, is absolutely fucking insane. The existence of humanity should not come down to the ability of someone like Kim Jong Un, who we all know to be unstable, to withstand the taunts of a man who is essentially yelling across the Pacific, “If you had a bigger dick than mine, you’d whip it out and show me, you limp-dicked, little loser.” This is not, to put it simply, how diplomacy is supposed to be done… at least not in traditional global politics, where, more often than not, stable nations work tirelessly to deescalate threats that could, you know, eliminate the human species from the universe.

To repeat a very common phrase heard these days, this is not normal. None of this is normal. The three above examples would not be normal if spread over the entire eight years of a presidential term, let alone over one 16 hour period. And I cannot believe that the Republicans, who control every lever of power in the United States at the moment, are not acting to stop it from happening. I get that they’re happy about getting their insane tax cuts passed on behalf of their donors, and that they don’t want to rock the boat before they kill Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security, which is the next thing on their agenda, but holy, fucking Christ… If they’re not concerned now, what’s it going to take? Do missiles have to be in the air before they begin to take the threat posed by this president seriously?

Maybe it’s just because we’re still so close to Christmas, and I just watched A Christmas Carol, but, lately, I’m seeing Trump as a kind of Scrooge-like character, minus, of course, the last act and the redemption that comes with it… a terrified and lonely man lashing out in the darkness against the truth as its being shown to him. Here, with that in mind, is how I summed up the events of today on Twitter earlier this evening: “Back to work after a 7 day long golfing vacation and completely unable to focus due to the 12 Diet Cokes, which have been cooked down and mainlined, our mentally ill protagonist decides to flip on Fox News and start randomly tweeting at the specters he sees circling around him.”

The time to act is upon us. The water, my fellow frogs, is beginning to boil around us.

I don’t know what the long term solution is, but, for right now, I’d like to suggest we all stop calling him a hypocrite for his golfing, and encourage him to spend more time away from the White House, his televisions, and his phone. Short of the Republicans taking the threat seriously, and making a move to get him out of the White House, I think that might be our next best option… Seriously, I think we should consider a series of “please golf more” rallies around the United States. For our own survival, I think we need to encourage him to spend what’s left of his time as a free man on the golf course, engaging in sexist banter with his buddies, and driving around in his little cart.

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33 Comments

  1. Meta
    Posted January 2, 2018 at 11:06 pm | Permalink

    If you’re wondering why he seems especially unhinged today, I’d encourage you to read the New York Times op-ed by Glenn R Simpson and Peter Fritsch of Fusion GPS , the political research firm responsible for the Steele dossier. Here is it.

    A generation ago, Republicans sought to protect President Richard Nixon by urging the Senate Watergate committee to look at supposed wrongdoing by Democrats in previous elections. The committee chairman, Sam Ervin, a Democrat, said that would be “as foolish as the man who went bear hunting and stopped to chase rabbits.”

    Today, amid a growing criminal inquiry into Russian meddling in the 2016 election, congressional Republicans are again chasing rabbits. We know because we’re their favorite quarry.

    In the year since the publication of the so-called Steele dossier — the collection of intelligence reports we commissioned about Donald Trump’s ties to Russia — the president has repeatedly attacked us on Twitter. His allies in Congress have dug through our bank records and sought to tarnish our firm to punish us for highlighting his links to Russia. Conservative news outlets and even our former employer, The Wall Street Journal, have spun a succession of mendacious conspiracy theories about our motives and backers.

    We are happy to correct the record. In fact, we already have.

    Three congressional committees have heard over 21 hours of testimony from our firm, Fusion GPS. In those sessions, we toppled the far right’s conspiracy theories and explained how The Washington Free Beacon and the Clinton campaign — the Republican and Democratic funders of our Trump research — separately came to hire us in the first place.

    We walked investigators through our yearlong effort to decipher Mr. Trump’s complex business past, of which the Steele dossier is but one chapter. And we handed over our relevant bank records — while drawing the line at a fishing expedition for the records of companies we work for that have nothing to do with the Trump case.

    Republicans have refused to release full transcripts of our firm’s testimony, even as they selectively leak details to media outlets on the far right. It’s time to share what our company told investigators.

    We don’t believe the Steele dossier was the trigger for the F.B.I.’s investigation into Russian meddling. As we told the Senate Judiciary Committee in August, our sources said the dossier was taken so seriously because it corroborated reports the bureau had received from other sources, including one inside the Trump camp.

    The intelligence committees have known for months that credible allegations of collusion between the Trump camp and Russia were pouring in from independent sources during the campaign. Yet lawmakers in the thrall of the president continue to wage a cynical campaign to portray us as the unwitting victims of Kremlin disinformation.

    We suggested investigators look into the bank records of Deutsche Bank and others that were funding Mr. Trump’s businesses. Congress appears uninterested in that tip: Reportedly, ours are the only bank records the House Intelligence Committee has subpoenaed.

    We told Congress that from Manhattan to Sunny Isles Beach, Fla., and from Toronto to Panama, we found widespread evidence that Mr. Trump and his organization had worked with a wide array of dubious Russians in arrangements that often raised questions about money laundering. Likewise, those deals don’t seem to interest Congress.

    We explained how, from our past journalistic work in Europe, we were deeply familiar with the political operative Paul Manafort’s coziness with Moscow and his financial ties to Russian oligarchs close to Vladimir Putin.

    Finally, we debunked the biggest canard being pushed by the president’s men — the notion that we somehow knew of the June 9, 2016, meeting in Trump Tower between some Russians and the Trump brain trust. We first learned of that meeting from news reports last year — and the committees know it. They also know that these Russians were unaware of the former British intelligence officer Christopher Steele’s work for us and were not sources for his reports.

    Yes, we hired Mr. Steele, a highly respected Russia expert. But we did so without informing him whom we were working for and gave him no specific marching orders beyond this basic question: Why did Mr. Trump repeatedly seek to do deals in a notoriously corrupt police state that most serious investors shun?

    What came back shocked us. Mr. Steele’s sources in Russia (who were not paid) reported on an extensive — and now confirmed — effort by the Kremlin to help elect Mr. Trump president. Mr. Steele saw this as a crime in progress and decided he needed to report it to the F.B.I.

    We did not discuss that decision with our clients, or anyone else. Instead, we deferred to Mr. Steele, a trusted friend and intelligence professional with a long history of working with law enforcement. We did not speak to the F.B.I. and haven’t since.

    After the election, Mr. Steele decided to share his intelligence with Senator John McCain via an emissary. We helped him do that. The goal was to alert the United States national security community to an attack on our country by a hostile foreign power. We did not, however, share the dossier with BuzzFeed, which to our dismay published it last January.

    We’re extremely proud of our work to highlight Mr. Trump’s Russia ties. To have done so is our right under the First Amendment.

    It is time to stop chasing rabbits. The public still has much to learn about a man with the most troubling business past of any United States president. Congress should release transcripts of our firm’s testimony, so that the American people can learn the truth about our work and most important, what happened to our democracy.

    Read more:
    https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/02/opinion/republicans-investigation-fusion-gps.html

  2. Iron Lung
    Posted January 3, 2018 at 12:04 am | Permalink

    It’s over. Trump is going out of his way to destabilize the world.

    North Korea, Iran, Palestine.. note that he’s picking the most sensitive areas.

  3. Laura
    Posted January 3, 2018 at 3:03 am | Permalink

    We’re already dead. We just don’t know it yet. We’re like the characters on Lost.

  4. M
    Posted January 3, 2018 at 7:15 am | Permalink

    ‪I like that he refers to his cock as a “button”. Seems appropriate.‬

  5. wendyo
    Posted January 3, 2018 at 9:44 am | Permalink

    I think he is mixing up the button for Diet Cokes with the nuke thing.

  6. Kit
    Posted January 3, 2018 at 9:54 am | Permalink

    Your first point is good. He’s bragging about airline fatalities while there have been over 32,000 gun deaths since he was sworn in. #ImpeachTrump

  7. Jean Henry
    Posted January 3, 2018 at 9:54 am | Permalink

    Sometimes when I get too sad about all of this, I watch old interviews with Sam Ervin. He’s a throwback. A Southern Dem, and a strict constitutionalist who favored states rights. That was a time when politicians could have complexity of position and integrity and character and a belief in the process as larger than any one man. https://www.instagram.com/p/BUPQyaKBuFv/

    It seems that Mueller has that kind of integrity, but he’ll never be as entertaining.

  8. Erin O'Leary
    Posted January 3, 2018 at 9:55 am | Permalink

    Agree!! More golf is infinitely safer than having him in office “working”!!

  9. M
    Posted January 3, 2018 at 9:59 am | Permalink

    I’ve been listening to the “Slow Burn” podcast on Watergate, and, like you, I’m gaining an appreciation for how Sam Ervin navigated it. Even a segregationist, it would seem, can find some degree of redemption.

  10. M
    Posted January 3, 2018 at 10:07 am | Permalink

    Steve Bannon, by the way, just came out saying that the Trump Tower meeting between Donald Trump Jr. and a group of Russians during the 2016 election campaign was “treasonous” and “unpatriotic”.

    https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/jan/03/donald-trump-russia-steve-bannon-michael-wolff

  11. VoteVets
    Posted January 3, 2018 at 11:14 am | Permalink

    We have two assignments for you.

    1. On behalf of the American troops at the DMZ, as well as the millions more who would die if war breaks out, report Trump’s tweet to @Twitter as a violent threat.

    2. Call your member of Congress and tell them to step in. 202-224-3121.

  12. Jean Henry
    Posted January 3, 2018 at 11:16 am | Permalink

    Ervin was a segregationist as were most Southern Dems, and he had a strong hand in taking down the ERA amendment. He also took down the two greatest US political villains of the 20th century, Joseph McCarthy and Nixon. This idea, so common now, that our representatives must perfectly align with our own beliefs or be held in contempt, is highly problematic. We have a diverse country and should have equally diverse representation. It’s all supposed to balance out in the process. What Ervin was clear on is the existential threat of tyranny to democracy. And he was one of our most valuable congressional representatives in fighting the same, even though I loathe much of what he did otherwise. There is a lot of self-delusion on the left about what Dems used to be, in the good old days of strong (and racist) labor movements. People are more complex than that and so is history. I would prefer to see our political parties return to complexity of belief as broadly representative coalitions than fall into ideological formation of any sort. There is a prevalent view that politics is a winner takes all game, and that’s not just Trump. I don’t think the American people really understand how democracy works anymore. They have good reason for disillusionment with the process, but that disillusionment is not leading us forward. It is manipulated to lead us farther apart, into our corners, sniping. That’s how we got Trump. Maybe when Trump falls away to ignominy, our country will be able to restore some balance to the democratic process (and representation) and move forward again. Incrementally… because that’s how it works.

  13. Jean Henry
    Posted January 3, 2018 at 11:24 am | Permalink

    you know, if we survive.
    (small wrinkle in my plan)

  14. M
    Posted January 3, 2018 at 11:35 am | Permalink

    FWIW, Jean, that’s what I was referring to when I said, “Even a segregationist, it would seem, can find some degree of redemption.” While I find those views of his reprehensible, I still appreciate what he did on Watergate. That was my point. I wasn’t saying, “He sucks because he failed my litmus test.” I was saying, “Even a man with flaws can be a hero, or at least attain some level of redemption.”

  15. Sad
    Posted January 3, 2018 at 11:43 am | Permalink

    That’s why I look forward to Mitt Romney getting into the Senate. I may not like him but it will be interesting to see what he does with President Trump.

  16. Scott Dworkin ‏by proxy
    Posted January 3, 2018 at 11:59 am | Permalink

    Multiple people told me this morning Trump is infuriated beyond belief at Steve Bannon’s comments about Don Junior. Saying that Trump thinks Bannon is the traitor. They’ve never seen Trump this angry. The sound of their voices? Absolutely terrified. Expect an unhinged response.

  17. Peter Alexander from NBC News
    Posted January 3, 2018 at 12:01 pm | Permalink

    SIREN: “Steve Bannon was certain that after the (July 2016 Trump Tower) meeting, Trump, Jr. had taken the participants to see his father,” per excerpts from new Michael Wolff book, “Fire & Fury.”

    Trump has claimed he was unaware any meeting with Russians took place.

  18. Hyborian Warlord
    Posted January 3, 2018 at 1:34 pm | Permalink

    His tweets are right on. Huma Abedin sent classified information and passwords to Anthony Weiner on YAHOO. She knew that is illegal. There is no way around it. That’s way worse than taking a selfie on board a submarine.

    Regarding North Korea, Trump smells a rat. His tweet is hilarious and signifies that he is operating from a place of confidence in dealing with them. I predict Kim’s (phony) regime will fall and Korea will be united.

  19. Anonymous
    Posted January 3, 2018 at 2:10 pm | Permalink

    Don’t overlook this quote from Bannon about what the administration is doing right now. It’s even better.

    “They’re sitting on a beach trying to stop a Category Five.”

  20. Hyborian Warlord
    Posted January 3, 2018 at 2:20 pm | Permalink

    No doubt Bannon studies The Art of War like Trump. Appear weak when you are strong, appear strong when you are weak.

  21. Jean Henry
    Posted January 3, 2018 at 2:29 pm | Permalink

    Listening to Trumpers try to pivot away from the oncoming cat 5 hurricane has become one of my favorite past-times. The capacity of the right to disseminate propaganda through the loyal is impressive. HW’s much asserted ‘truth’ is indistinguishable from Fox News talking points. At least Bannon has a mind of his own.

    Mark— I got your point. My issue was with the word ‘redemption.’ Sam Ervin did Great things long before Watergate. He took down McCarthy. And he voted for Jim Crow laws at the same time. People are complicated. They are often two things at once and redemption implies salvation. In my view, it ain’t like that. And we should expect our greatest leaders to also be equally flawed as they are decent, just like us.

  22. Jean Henry
    Posted January 3, 2018 at 2:34 pm | Permalink

    And yeah this all leads back to the cult of personality built around Sanders and why it frightened me. We have to be able to criticize our leaders without being attacked. Their followers can’t expect them to be pure or uncompromosed (what does that really mean in politics?) Any leader that produces that kind of allegiance scares the shit out of me. And for good reason.

  23. Hyborian Warlord
    Posted January 3, 2018 at 3:13 pm | Permalink

    You forgot about The Calm Before The Storm, didn’t you Jean? Trump is the eye of it and it is bearing down on the corrupt and the downright evil.

    Nothing you say about me is right. I don’t even watch tv. I graduated from that a long, long time ago. Your people are going down and you are going to be sorry you ever liked them at all.

  24. Eel
    Posted January 3, 2018 at 3:20 pm | Permalink

    HW graduated from television long ago. Now Alex Jones beams directly into his head.

  25. Hyborian Warlord
    Posted January 3, 2018 at 3:29 pm | Permalink

    TMZ reporting a structure is on fire at the Clinton’s Chappaqua home. Huh! I wonder what’s up?

  26. Hyborian Warlord
    Posted January 3, 2018 at 3:56 pm | Permalink

    Alex Jones has been right on way before mainstream media many, many times. He has got things wrong sometimes too. I try not to believe in anything too much, let alone any particular source.

  27. Hyborian Warlord
    Posted January 3, 2018 at 4:01 pm | Permalink

    But I mean don’t you people get tired of saying that kind of thing about me? It’s so stale!

  28. Rex
    Posted January 3, 2018 at 4:30 pm | Permalink

    After threatening nuclear annihilation, Trump then said he’d be holding a “Fake News” awards ceremony at the White House on Monday. No joke.

  29. Katherine
    Posted January 3, 2018 at 4:48 pm | Permalink

    The press wants to know if they’ll be invited to the Fake News awards.

    http://insider.foxnews.com/2018/01/03/white-house-press-asks-about-invitation-donald-trumps-fake-news-media-awards

  30. Amanda
    Posted January 3, 2018 at 4:51 pm | Permalink

    Anyone else fantasizing about getting a fallout shelter?

  31. Hyborian Warlord
    Posted January 3, 2018 at 5:35 pm | Permalink

    I wonder who will get Biggest CIA Puppet!!!

  32. Donald Trump
    Posted January 4, 2018 at 10:01 am | Permalink

    @realDonaldTrump:

    With all of the failed “experts” weighing in, does anybody really believe that talks and dialogue would be going on between North and South Korea right now if I wasn’t firm, strong and willing to commit our total “might” against the North. Fools, but talks are a good thing!

  33. Anonymous
    Posted January 5, 2018 at 5:06 pm | Permalink

    It’s getting worse. Grassley and Graham are referring Christopher Steele for criminal investigation for giving the FBI evidence of criminal activity by Trump.

2 Trackbacks

  1. By The plot to shutter the Department of Justice on January 3, 2018 at 11:23 pm

    […] « Donald Trump, dragging the world along with him on his descent into madness […]

  2. […] how, a few days ago, we were talking about Trump’s descent into madness? Well, I guess we were wrong. Our President issued a formal statement this morning announcing […]

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