President Donald Trump called into his favorite television show, Fox and Friends, this morning. I’m sure some who saw the segment will say that he did an admirable job of “reclaiming” the narrative, or “reframing” the various scandals swirling around him, or some such thing. To me, though, it sounded like audio you might hear on a true crime show… like the kind of rambling, paranoid voicemail that a coked-up Florida nightclub club owner might leave on a stripper’s phone the night before being taken out by the mob, or something. It’s absolutely insane, even by Trump standards. He just goes on and on, for about half an hour, ranting about the imagined enemies that are aligning against him with their “phony” investigations, and jumping around between subjects like a someone who inadvertently smoked meth when they’d intended to take their ADHD meds. One second he’s talking about how he could have won the popular vote if he’d wanted to, and the next he’s off on a tangent about how he might not have bought his not-so-loving wife a birthday present. And it just gets worse from there, as he continues to jump from subject to subject like a coke-fueled squirrel leaping from branch to branch, with absolutely no clue as to where he’s headed, or what he’ll do when he inevitably jumps, only to find nothing in front of him but air. It’s like watching Robin Williams perform… completely unfunny, but still kind of trilling. Only now, of course, the stakes are life and death.
Here, for those of you who don’t watch Fox News, are just a few of the highlights.
HE SAYS HE MAY DECIDE TO INTERFERE IN THE RUSSIA INVESTIGATION:
After repeatedly calling the Mueller investigation a “witch hunt,” Trump says that, while he’s restrained himself thus far, he may step in and obstruct justice. [Many of us would argue that he already has.] “I try to stay away from it,” he told the hosts of Fox and Friends, “but at some point I won’t.” This should scare the hell out of any American, conservative or liberal, who values the rule of law.
Trump on him meddling in DOJ: Because of the fact that they have this witch-hunt going on against the president of the United States, I have taken the position, and I don't have to take this position and maybe I'll change, that I will not be involved with the Justice Department." pic.twitter.com/ZRTbTXz9PE
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) April 26, 2018
HE CONFIRMS THAT COHEN HANDLED “THE STORMY DANIELS DEAL” FOR HIM:
Trump, after arguing for the past week that Michael Cohen was his attorney, and that, as such, their communications are privileged, today told the Fox and Friends hosts that, in fact, Cohen only handled “a tiny, tiny little fraction” of his legal work. [This statement, it would seem, is already being used against Trump by the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, who has maintained the exact same thing since the raid of Cohen’s home and office a week ago, only to have been met by objections from Trump’s legal team, who said it wasn’t the case.] What’s more, Trump confirmed that Cohen represented him on what he called, “this crazy Stormy Daniels deal,” which, to my knowledge, is the first time Trump has acknowledged his involvement in the pay-off.
Trump gets very worked up talking about FBI raids of Paul Manafort and Michael Cohen — he's yelling — then tries to distance himself from Cohen: "I have nothing to do with his business."
Says Cohen only dealt with "a tiny fraction" of his legal work pic.twitter.com/csE9ATZq0M
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) April 26, 2018
HE SAYS IF WE DON’T BELIEVE HIM THAT THERE WAS NO COLLUSION, WE CAN ASK PUTIN:
A few days ago, news broke that, contrary to what Trump had told FBI Director Jim Comey, flight records indicate that he did stay overnight in Moscow after the Miss Universe pageant in 2013, as the Steele dossier had said. Interestingly, up until Bloomberg released these flight records showing that Trump had, in fact, stayed overnight in Moscow, the President never felt it necessary to correct this particular part of Comey’s story. [In his memos, Comey says that Trump told him on two occasions that the Steele dossier couldn’t be correct, as he left Moscow immediately after the pageant.] On Fox and Friends this morning, though, Trump couldn’t stop talking about how he’d never denied staying overnight in Moscow in 2013. “Of course I stayed there… I never said I left immediately,” he yelled. And, of course, he went on to add that he’s been harder on Putin than any president ever. “Nobody’s been been tougher on the Russians than I have, and you can ask President Putin about that,” he said, causing me to spit orange juice into my keyboard.
Former FBI Dir. James Comey says he’s not a leaker. President @realDonaldTrump reacts. pic.twitter.com/a497Yp8ESl
— FOX & friends (@foxandfriends) April 26, 2018
PEOPLE LOVE ME, HE SAYS:
Kanye, he tells the Fox and Friends hosts, isn’t the only one who love him. “If I ever called for at that rally in Washington, D.C., we would have millions of people coming into Washington because they love what’s happening,” he says. He then goes on to say that, had he wanted to win the popular vote in 2016, he could have. He says, however, that he made a conscious effort to focus instead on the electoral college vote, as that’s what decides the presidency.
TRUMP: "If I ever called for at that rally in Washington, D.C., we would have millions of people coming into Washington because they love what's happening." 🤣😂 #LargestInauguralCrowdEver pic.twitter.com/EfgqJRDPKQ
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) April 26, 2018
IT’S ALL FAKE NEWS:
One again demonstrating how little he understands about the role of the media in a democracy, Trump says that NBC should be treating him much better, given how much money he’s made for the company. “By the way,” he said, “I made them a fortune with the Apprentice… I made them a fortune… You would think these guys would treat me great.” And, of course, he talks at length about how all of the negative press coverage about his administration is “fake.” [Speaking of which, Ronny Jackson, his choice to lead the Department of Veterans Affairs – a man that Trump says was vetted four times – today withdrew his nomination, after it became known that he’s a hard-drinking crasher of cars with a history of handing out opioids and harassing subordinates.]
Trump, who regularly live-tweets Fox News, claims he doesn't have time to watch TV 🙃 pic.twitter.com/o2uqBS1li9
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) April 26, 2018
THE MUELLER PROBE, IN SPITE OF BEING RUN BY A REPUBLICAN, AND OVERSEEN BY HIS OWN REPUBLICAN DEPUTY ATTORNEY GENERAL, IS A WHOLLY DEMOCRATIC UNDERTAKING:
After saying earlier that he never watches television, Trump goes off on former FBI Director Jim Comey’s interview the night before on CNN, calling him a “liar” and a “leaker,” and suggesting that, under his leadership, the FBI’s senior leadership was corrupt. [Trump, however, maintains, that the rank and file FBI agents love him.] The best part, however, is at the very end of the segment, when the shell-shocked Fox and Friends hosts, cut the President off, saying, “We’re running out of time.” [Clearly, they knew that Trump was saying things that he shouldn’t be, and they decided to pull the plug.]
Trump concludes @foxandfriends interview by screaming about conflicts of interest on Robert Mueller's team, and promising to meddle more aggressively in the Department of Justice going forward. pic.twitter.com/ITak7tEEJJ
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) April 26, 2018
For what it’s worth, I remember being told once that Obama was “unpresidential” for wearing a short sleeve shirt in the Oval Office.
55 Comments
Haw I learned to stop worrying and love the insanity!
Regardless of our particular party affiliations or political philosophy – can we all finally agree that this man is unhinged, and at this point likely a danger to the country?
But what about his brilliant work with North Korea? And the economy? Plus the pure entertainment value?
A significant number of people in our country agree with everything he said. The danger to our country are those who seek to destroy his administration by any means necessary. In spite of the continual opposition and obstruction by MSM and bureaucrat holdovers from Obama’s administration, Trump is accomplishing a great deal. He gets results. And yes, getting both Korea’s to call an end to the Korean War, which has only been a ‘ceasefire’ since 1953, and getting both Korea’s to relinquish all nuclear warheads is a great thing. And this blog was worried about Trump instigating a nuclear war with North Korea. At some point you need to admit that your assumptions are wrong.
“getting both Korea’s to relinquish all nuclear warheads is a great thing”
This has not happened.
It’s being discussed.
“getting both Korea’s to call an end to the Korean War”
This has also not happened. North Korea is after two things, a removal of sanctions and a removal of US troops from the Korean peninsula. This horrifying regime has no interest in relinquishing power or giving up nuclear arms.
It is worth looking at a bit of North and South history to see where previous discussions have gone in the past.
“It’s being discussed.”
It has “been discussed” for decades.
US troops on the Korean peninsula serve only as a tripwire to guarantee US involvement should the North attack. The 25th infantry, based in Hawaii, will defend Korea.
Wait and see the deal Trump negotiates. Doesn’t matter what was done in the past.
“He may decide to obstruct in the Russia investigation”.
This seems like an obvious misrepresentation of what Trump was saying.
My opinion is the right wing America should be horrified at the current President and should work to install Pence as President as soon as possible.
Given that this is not happening, I can only assume that right wing America cares little for the dignity of the office and basic American ideals.
I know it is hard to take your eyes off a train wreck, but in case anyone cares
“On Tuesday, the Mauna Loa Observatory recorded its first-ever carbon dioxide reading in excess of 410 parts per million (it was 410.28 ppm in case you want the full deal). Carbon dioxide hasn’t reached that height in millions of years. It’s a new atmosphere that humanity will have to contend with, one that’s trapping more heat and causing the climate to change at a quickening rate.”
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/we-just-breached-the-410-ppm-threshold-for-co2/
IL,
I doubt the right wing is looking to you for advice.
It’s dated but none the less relevent.
https://www.thenewamerican.com/tech/environment/item/17207-al-gore-forecasted-ice-free-arctic-by-2013-ice-cover-expands-50
http://www.standard.net/National/2018/04/26/Half-of-Republicans-say-in-new-poll-that-news-media-should-be-described-as-enemy-of-people.html
There’s plenty of room for legitimate criticism regarding what some types of “news media” cover (and doesn’t), and how they choose to do it – but condemning the press as “enemies of the people” is incendiary and dangerous, and further erodes our democratic norms and values.
There you go – blame the victim. I wish they weren’t enemies of the people. Not many trust them anymore.
If Hitler had a favorite television program to call from the bunker it would sound like this.
I call Godwin’s Law – you lose.
We’re dealing with a mind controlled cult. “Abortion is murder” mantra, repeated enough times, allows them to accept the utterly incoherent ramblings of a fucking moron because, you know, abortion is murder. And they willing to tolerate porn star adultery, being Pootin’s Stooge, corruption off the charts, destruction of democratic institutions, overt nazism, alienation of allies, destruction of the planet for future generations, because, you know, abortion is murder. Oh, and also “Moslems”….
Plato already made the call. Democracy leads to tyranny.
The right wing is not looking to me for advice but that is my opinion.
Republicans used to appear to have the country’s best interest at heart, even if I personally disagreed with how they proposed to get there.
Now, it simply looks like they only have the interests of one person at heart and I find that disappointing.
I dont like Pence but I like to think that he maintains some level of commitment to public service that Trump does not.
Clearly, the American right wing disagrees.
No, I think Pence will make a great President – in 6 years.
Trump supporters, in their blind allegiance, seem to be morphing into some kind of strange cult – seemingly committed to supporting him no matter how crazy he becomes, no matter how outrageous his actions, or how much he endangers the well-being of the nation.
As I said above, this goes way beyond mere party affiliation, political philosophy, or dislike/distrust of any particular opponent.
And the Democrats, who still haven’t been able to accept the results of the last election will go to any length to promote unsubstantiated attacks against our President, no matter how much it endangers the well-being of our nation. We’re trying to figure out what KoolAid you are drinking and why there seems to be so much mass hysteria and numerous conspiracy theories. It cuts both ways. I don’t even call myself a Trump supporter. I’m just willing to give him a chance and have been very much surprised at how well he has done so far.
Every President and every person associated with him or her should be under constant investigation.
If they have done nothing wrong, nothing will be found.
Many people are going to some day wake up (or not) and realize EOS has been more like Dave Chapelle; and many of you guys have behaved more like a weirder and less-honest-with -themselves-real- version of Dana Carvey’s church lady.
“Every President and every person associated with him or her should be under constant investigation.
If they have done nothing wrong, nothing will be found.”
Sure, but should they block 1/2 his appointments after more than 16 months in office? And do you think the way they treat Trump is the same level of scrutiny that they treated other administrations?
When they investigated Hilliary’s emails it was quite a bit different. Her staffers were granted immunity before they answered questions. Their laptops were destroyed. Hilliary’s lawyer was present during her questioning even though she herself was under investigation too. Hilliary wasn’t questioned under oath. No recordings were made of her testimony. They never even looked at the servers. And in spite of much evidence to the contrary and many FBI staffers chagrin, Comey announces on the 4th of July weekend that she won’t be charged.
Compare that to an early morning raid of Trump’s lawyer’s office and confiscation of all computers and files.
And you wonder why Republicans have lost faith in the system?
Hand model of the brain from Dr. Daniel Siegel.
“The cortex is the higher part of the brain that allows us to perceive the outside world, think and reason. And the frontmost part of the brain right behind your forehead…is actually the part that regulates the sub-cortical, limbic, and brain stem areas. This regulation is very important because sometimes things happen in our lives.. and we can “flip our lids” so that rather than being tuned in and connected and balanced and flexible, we can lose all that flexibility… even lose moral reasoning and act in ways that are terrifying to others…. including our children.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gm9CIJ74Oxw
There is also a great article in this month’s Harper’s on Mike Pence and Christian feelings of persecution. The analogy of Pence / Trump to Daniel / Nebuchadnezzar is not perfect, but worth reflecting on in terms of flipped lids and why evangelicals don’t give a rat’s ass about Trump’s utter lack of self governance.
https://harpers.org/archive/2018/05/exiled/
Republicans did the exact same kind of obstruction and relentless investigation during the Obama administration with a lot less cause, EOS. And you loved it. Spare us your tears.When the GOP become a party willing to compromise on anything across the aisle, let us know.
EOS as Dave Chapelle! This from the commenter who, by his own account, can’t get sarcasm or irony. The MM follies is amusing; I’ll grant you that.
Sad– Are you trying to make the argument that any kind of success Trump has negates all the damage he has done since taking office? Please look over Amy Siskind’s weekly lists again. And. remember that Hitler was a Democratic Socialist who ran and was elected on a platform of social reforms.
There is no one out there worth their salt on either side of political journalism who thinks Trumpism is no big deal. Not one. Some may be more willing than others to give him credit for successes, some may even think the Russia investigation is overblown, but none believe that those successes wipe the rest of the slate clean. None. And in private they are a lot more damning.
Why are you sounding like a tool of the right lately?
Just keeping things in perspective.
https://youtu.be/SJUhlRoBL8M.
EOS, ” Hilliary wasn’t questioned under oath. ” This is another right wing meme that is not entirely true. According to the NYtimes on Aug 19, 2016 “A federal judge on Friday ordered Hillary Clinton to provide written testimony under oath about why she set up a private computer server to send and receive emails while secretary of state..”
https://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/20/us/politics/hillary-clinton-judge-emails.html
Just keep pushing your false narratives. The Democrats should block every Trump appointee in retaliation for their refusal to give Obama’s Supreme Court nominee a hearing. Everything you whine about EOS the Republicans pioneered against either Obama or Clinton. Admittedly the Democrats are rag dolls that usually role over for Republicans, but for you to complain when they show some spine on occasion is the height of hypocrisy, that great christian attribute you demonstrate so well.
JH your false equivalency can be just as bad. Hitler was a National Socialist. No where in the German National Socialist Party (NAZI), do they talk about Democratic Socialism. A hall mark of Democratic Socialism is Internationalism. The exact opposite of National Socialism. Which is why the Reichstag under Hitler outlawed the German Democratic Socialist Party. The Leader Principle which is a key element of the NAZI program repudiates Democratic decision making in its core. I thought you actually read Arendt.
Dave,
Your post of the Harper’s article was interesting. But I doubt many American Christians feel they are persecuted. We know what persecution is and it is not here yet. https://www.persecution.com
Daniel is looked to as an example of being ‘in the world’ but not ‘of the world’. Daniel and his friends were selected from the Jews in exile to live in the Palace and be trained to take over positions of responsibility. They were to eat only the best foods, some of which were sacrificed to idols. Daniel was faced with the dilemma of following the culture he was in or following God. He chose to eat a diet of vegetables and forgo eating meats sacrificed to idols. When the King issued an edit that no one could worship anyone other than the King for a period of time, Daniel went to his room in a high tower, opened all the windows, and prayed to God three times a day where all the people of the town could see him. He risked his life on earth rather than disobey God. And when the King reluctantly threw him in the den of lions for disobeying his edict, Daniel survived the night unscathed. The next day, the King acknowledged Daniel’s God. Contrary to the belief of the writer of the article, Daniel isn’t an icon of persecution. He is the image of the blessings that follow obeying God during dark times. What the writer missed is that Daniel didn’t suffer at all.
Pence isn’t the evangelical hero. When faced with the boycott of his state and the loss of revenue from conventions and NCAA tournaments, he backed down and withdrew the Religious freedom legislation. He’s not condemned for it, since we are all flawed humans, but there is skepticism whether he will cave when the going gets tough. He may get the opportunity to make a different choice in the future, and we pray that he will choose differently next time. Our culture is becoming less friendly to Christians, but there will always be a root that survives and does not bow to false idols and will not be swayed by the bandwagon.
Lol
EOS –
Thank you for your insights. This topic of acting in accord with one’s faith and/ or convictions when it is out of sync with conventions seems to be at the heart of the current political discord. Conventions shifted and lids flipped.
Bartelby’s mantra of “I would prefer not to” solves the problem of acting or being acted upon… a refusal to take part in “life’s rich pagent.”
Liberals who talk about Trump, born again Christians anD hypocrisy have never read the Bible. Look at some of the screwed up stuff David did. But he was God’s favorite.
I have read the Bible. It is mostly horrifying.
Dave,
I don’t agree that Bartelby’s mantra applies in this case. Daniel (and Evangelicals) do not refuse to take part in “life’s rich pagent”. Many have risen to high levels of authority because of their talents, abilities, and efforts.
Daniel 1:20
In every matter of wisdom and understanding about which the king questioned them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and enchanters in his whole kingdom.
And asserting that persons of faith act on their limbic brains assumes faith is an emotional response. The large body of intellectual philosophical writings throughout history shows that faith and reason are most certainly not mutually exclusive. Following a consistent ideology rather than being carried assunder by the fickle changes of contemporary concensus is the most rational intellectual pursuit.
Sad,
John was God’s favorite as he referred to himself as the apostle that Jesus loved. David was a man after God’s own heart. He did horrible things for which he was remorseful and repented. Read the Psalms to understand his thinking.
Come on IL, you didn’t enjoy Ecclesiastes?
“If a man is caught in the act of raping a young woman who is not engaged, he must pay fifty pieces of silver to her father. Then he must marry the young woman because he violated her, and he will never be allowed to divorce her.”
“If within the city a man comes upon a maiden who is betrothed, and has relations with her, you shall bring them both out of the gate of the city and there stone them to death: the girl because she did not cry out for help though she was in the city, and the man because he violated his neighbors wife.”
“Thus says the Lord: ‘I will bring evil upon you out of your own house. I will take your wives [plural] while you live to see it, and will give them to your neighbor. He shall lie with your wives in broad daylight. You have done this deed in secret, but I will bring it about in the presence of all Israel, and with the sun looking down.’
Then David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.” Nathan answered David: “The Lord on his part has forgiven your sin: you shall not die. But since you have utterly spurned the Lord by this deed, the child born to you must surely die.” ”
““When you go out to war against your enemies and the LORD, your God, delivers them into your hand, so that you take captives, if you see a comely woman among the captives and become so enamored of her that you wish to have her as wife, you may take her home to your house. But before she may live there, she must shave her head and pare her nails and lay aside her captive’s garb. After she has mourned her father and mother for a full month, you may have relations with her, and you shall be her husband and she shall be your wife. However, if later on you lose your liking for her, you shall give her her freedom, if she wishes it; but you shall not sell her or enslave her, since she was married to you under compulsion.””
“When a man sells his daughter as a slave, she will not be freed at the end of six years as the men are. If she does not please the man who bought her, he may allow her to be bought back again. But he is not allowed to sell her to foreigners, since he is the one who broke the contract with her. And if the slave girl’s owner arranges for her to marry his son, he may no longer treat her as a slave girl, but he must treat her as his daughter. If he himself marries her and then takes another wife, he may not reduce her food or clothing or fail to sleep with her as his wife. If he fails in any of these three ways, she may leave as a free woman without making any payment. ”
No wonder Christians voted for Trump. He embodies everything the believe in.
Wobblie— you are right; I was inaccurate. I often am, though I did read Arendt and keep doing so, I often make mistakes re detail. My entire life, dudes like you have capitalized on my hapless errors to dismiss my points. Whatever. Hitler ran and was elected on a platform of social reforms and populist protectionist messaging that sound eerily familiar to me from far left and right. As for the parallels between the rise of Trump and European nationalism and the rise of Nazi-ism, I have lots of good company there. You’d be a fool to assert false equivalency.
They think that the New Testament came along and made it alright, but any sensible person would see that is revisionism at it’s worst.
The reality is that Christianity is a vile slave cult, predicated on violence and the subjugation of the lower classes in the name of profit and exploitation.
People pick and choose the parts they like, but it doesn’t make the more horrific aspects of the religion go away. They are there and they’ve been used for centuries to justify the enslavement of the world and the denial of even the most basic of human rights to shore up power for a chosen few.
EOS would like to have a theocracy in the US, where people like Pence governed not in a manner consistent with liberal representative democracy, but according to the extreme views of a few religious zealots with a violent and oppressive worldview.
Disgusting.
Unexpected Robin Williams driveby.
SAd– I’m convinced at this point you merely jump in to stir the pot. It’s impossible to know what you think. I hope you know. Some of us here, who are liberal and not fond of organized religion, grew up in Christian homes and communities and have in fact read the bible. And not just the Sunday school version, where God has favorites. You are fond of dismissing others’ points with broad strokes but never go so far as to make a point to which you can be held. And always you present your sloppy relativism as some kind of morally superior position. It impresses me that you are self-inflating but lack the courage of your convictions. Or maybe you are just playing here. If that’s so, why should we take your admonishments seriously? Diogenes had more integrity.
PS the hypocrisy on the Christian Right is not in that they offer forgiveness to the sinner, but that they do so selectively, to those who look and pray as they do.
Fist bump Kanye!
Many people feel fearful or threatened by things they don’t understand and lash out with hostility. Be it faith traditions, political philosophy or the creative endeavors of artistic genius. It’s unfortunate, but sad. Oh-well, i’ve got to go, I don’t want to be late for church.
P.S. Now that DAY is starting to get active in Ann Arbor politics will they change their name? Will there be any memse with Ann Arbor themes? Will POC and native Ann Arbor housing activist be forced into hiding because of DAYs tactics? As the world turns…..
Jean,
God is the only entity that can offer forgiveness to the sinner – which includes every single one of us. He is the one who created all beings and who loves each and every one of us. I doubt He appreciates the Left dishonestly using race as a wedge for political advantage.
Sad— members of DAY are Working with POC in Ann Arbor as well as Ann Arbor Yimby’s to advocate for cut repurchase of the Y lot and construction of affordable housing or, if that fails. retention of revenue from sale for affordable housing. (I’ve been involved from the start) The entire diverse group was organized to collective action by a woman of color, BTW. We are following her lead. We don’t all agree on many many things, but we can agree on this. And that is precisely how effective collaborative participatory democracy can be effective. The housing crisis is regional not A2 or Ypsi specific. I welcome DAY’s presence in this action.
I will note however that DAY activists are now directly opposing the actions of the Block of A2 council reps they supported last year. Now maybe they are better informed about how anti-growth conservatives will wave the flag of anti-capitalism in liberal cities to garner support.
Ps there’s a critical special A2 city council session Tuesday, May 1 at 5pm the this issue. Members of wards 1 and 4 are especially needed as speakers and advocates. My understanding is that Kanye is not showing up.
Thanks for reminding everyone that only God can forgive, and at the same time speaking for Him as to the intents of what you call the “left”, and how He will judge each one of us. If salvation is available only through Him, but open to all of us up until the time of our death, then how is it possible for you to know the internal conversation between anybody and Him? Can you see the future? Can you read people’s minds?
I was merely expressing my doubts.
EOS acts as if she alone is designated to speak for God which would indicate eithere heresy, arrogance or that EOS is an instrument of Satan sent to mislead and decieve.
I should make it clear that I personally approve of heresy. I just assume EOS is not similarly oriented.
“A critique does not consist in saying that things aren’t good the way they are. It consists in seeing on just what type of assumptions, of familiar notions, of established and unexamined ways of thinking the accepted practices are based… To do criticism is to make harder those acts which are now too easy.” Michel Foucault