Can the West survive four years of either?
For all his myriad flaws, I think we’ll be much better off with him.
[Update a few minutes later]
Related: Will Israel save western civilization?
[Update a few minutes later]
Did Israel just get permission to retaliate against Iran from a (not so) surprising source?
[October 25th update]
Since it’s become an issue in comments, I think that this X post is relevant.
I worked in the White House with John Kelly, and I don’t believe a word he says. He was a terrible chief of staff who dishonestly kept information from the President to pursue his own agenda, an unelected former military official substituting his judgment for the duly elected… https://t.co/x1kk27vie6
— Mark Paoletta (@MarkPaoletta) October 25, 2024
[Bumped]
[Afternoon update]
How to solve the problem with the military:
I’ve had a number of people ask me what I think happened that caused our senior military leadership to go from being the most respected institution in America to being a bunch of banana republic narcissistic self-serving politicos.
— Cynical Publius (@CynicalPublius) October 24, 2024
There are so many ways to answer that, but I…
The biggest problem with Harris is her abject incompetence. The biggest problem with Trump is the oppositions willingness to literally do almost anything to stop Trump from winning POTUS again. Up to and including lawfare (including weaponizing the DOJ against political enemies), abortive assassination by deliberately nerfing his security, massive disinformation, ridiculous media bias, etc. The damage this does to public trust and the integrity of our leading private and governmental actors (elected or otherwise) will play out for likely decades to come.
It’s interesting that the betting markets (even PredictIt) have shifted to Trump even though such a bet requires not only that he wins but also that he survives to the election. I’d love to see the betting odds contingent on both candidates being alive on November 5 (or even the odds for who will be President on January 21), but as far as I can tell nobody is offering that bet.
Worse…every unethical, illegal, dishonest act(s) they commit in their own eyes are morally justified; they are in there view “saving the country (world)” etc. from the evil scourge of Hitler/Trump. “Why can’t all of you see that?!”
With the exception of a pandemic caused by China, I think the first Trump Administration is a good model of what to expect.
“I think the first Trump Administration is a good model of what to expect.”
One critical difference; he (Trump) will justifiably go after those who went after him. Expect (properly) appointed special counsels (or maybe an AG with balls) to investigate election interference by lawfare. Expect Schedule F type purging of the Federal bureaucracy of those who think they can subvert the will/policies of a lawfully elected POTUS simply because they think the can’t be fired. Frankly it will be both tumultuous and fun to watch at the same time; their whining and gnashing of teeth as they get their deserved comeuppance. The first time he was persuaded not to go after them “lock her up”; there will be no stopping him this time. He knows if he doesn’t they won’t let up going after him.
I guess it depends upon your definition of “go after”. Of course the Lefties have been prepping the battlefield – telling us how vindictive Trump will be so that the moment he fires some clerk they can accuse Trump of building gas chambers.
Trump should definitely fire anyone who doesn’t carry out his orders. He should fire anyone who obstructed him in his last administration.
Special investigations are good but they won’t amount to anything unless the GOP owns both houses of Congress too.
As I say – no matter to what extent Trump acts, all of it will be labeled as Gestapo-like by the media and the Lefties.
“As I say – no matter to what extent Trump acts, all of it will be labeled as Gestapo-like by the media and the Lefties.”
Yes to all of your points; but if Trump doesn’t “go after them” they will surely go after him big time. He really doesn’t have a choice, they will pursue him (and likely his family as well) for the rest of his life long after he is out of office for his 2nd term. This will establish a precedent that they (dems/lefties) can take out anyone who earns their displeasure. They will “go after” politicians supportive of Trump or not (De Santis) SCOTUS judges they don’t like (Thomas, Alito, Barrett ). Ultimately if left unchecked the mere threat of being targeted will be enough to make whatever token opposition is left to tow the line or else. This is about far more than Trump; as he has repeatedly said “There not after me there after you I am just in the way”.
Tim, I’m with you 100% on the concept that unless there is severe pain inflicted on people who obstruct a duly elected official, they will continue to do it. I do think, however, there is a line over which it is vindictive as opposed to strategic, an done must be aware of that line.
Add to that possibly testing the Constitutional limits of POTUS’s ~200yr history of being able to (up to Nixon) not spend all the money appropriated by Congress, returning it to the Treasury; so called “Impoundment”. Trump says he will attempt this to try to get control of the deficit; he will challenge the Nixon era legislation making said impoundment illegal as unconstitutional. See how that plays out in a conservative court; they said Roe vs Wade wouldn’t be overturned maybe get lucky twice.
Impoundment is only unconstitutional in the absence of a veto. I can’t see any Congress getting 2/3rds in this day of age for an override. https://chicagounbound.uchicago.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=3762&context=uclrev
I’ve got major issues with Trump.
I voted for Trump for one reason: Kamala Harris. She truly is the most effective campaigner that Trump could ever have.
Well, it’s hard to see how Kamala Harris is good for Dem party. And election isn’t about just Trump or her.
gbaikie, I 110% agree that the election isn’t about just Trump of Harris. Heck, I just spent 3 hours researching the 14 ballot initiatives on my ballot, and I’m still undecided on two of ’em.
Very simple: If Harris wins then the Dem party can continue the transformation and destruction of the country because they substituted one powerless president with another. The country isn’t being run by Biden – it’s being run by the underlings in the executive branch. Should Harris win, that continues.
It’s not that simple. One could say Dem party is controlled by old and new money class- which doesn’t have borders. As US is “interested” in global world, and the global world is interested in the US.
And one could mention the waning power of China, though one should mention the growing power of India, to be completely fair- but they are quite different animals.
But if going to talk about the global world, one has consider, State Dept and intel- they are and have always been married. And that related US arms exports which tied to the big aerospace company which mostly about military weapons.
And we can note that “big aerospace companies”, are not so effective at “aerospace” these days- and smaller companies focused getting to orbit are actually doing stuff in space.
Anyways, the CIA/intel have claimed to perform “cheaper wars”- but of course have been very expensive, instead- failing at everything they “do”.
And this intel, has been interfering domestically- not what they are suppose to do.
So US intel with other countries intel, are at war with the US public.
{and they will fail, again}.
G – you left out the Administrative monster in DC who is running things. They do not want a strong President – it interferes with their agenda.
For example, Harris was at a Beyonce concert and Biden out of town while Israel started their attacks….who’s minding the store?
“I’ve got major issues with Trump.”
People I know keep saying that but, when pressed, can’t come up with specifics.
Yeah, pretty much.
Mike, in my case, I can absolutely list my issues with Trump. If you want me to, just ask, and I’ll be happy to. However, I won’t do it until after the polls close. I have issues with Trump, but I want him to win (because for every issue I’ve got with Trump, I’ve got about twenty with Harris.).
how anyone could vote for a clown like trump is beyond me, if you tagged ANY democrat with all the insanity of trump the republicans would be not stop on pointing it out …but he gets a total pass from the maga nut cases.
He’s not a Democrat, and won’t destroy the country. If you want to see a real clown, look at Walz.
A clown wearing human makeup.
Commie La Harris is the poster child for Didn’t Earn It. Try listening to her when there is no teleprompter and when asked questions she wasn’t given beforehand. She’s a blithering idiot who has accomplished little to nothing in her entire life.
“, if you tagged ANY democrat with all the insanity of trump”
99% of that are hoaxes for gullible people or those who don’t have time to fact check what their propaganda press tells them to believe.
Then there is the heckler’s veto aspect where Democrats promise to riot if they aren’t elected.
Tell us about how horrible things were in his first term, what with the low unemployment, even for minorities, the lack of new wars, the low inflation, and so on…and how great the last four years were with all the opposite of that, and the massive illegal immigration, and how we shouldn’t vote for Trump.
wodun .. BS Are you saying a four star marine John Kelly is spinning? look what he had to day about trump .. and remember .. Kelly was IN THE ROOM when trump was spewing his authortarian bullshit .. always praising dictators and running down constitutionalists… WATCH Kelly’s views or read them..
Others in the room say that he’s lying. He’s a disgruntled former staffer who got fired. People like him aren’t used to being fired.
Rand, you have the dumbest, most boring trolls.
The number of stars means nothing when it comes to veracity.
You’re appealing to authority which is not wise, and is no argument.
“Are you saying a four star marine John Kelly is spinning? ”
Uh yeah. Do you think that 4 stars is like truth serum?
How about the fact that Kelly worked fro Trump for 2 years – and didn’t resign after allegedly hearing this. And then for the 6 years between then and now Kelly just sort of forgot about that? And then – again 6 years later – when we are less than 2 weeks away from an election, Kelly all of a sudden remembers it?
Wow…it takes nothing to confirm your biases.
Yeah, Kelly is full of shit. Endless lies out of you people. You believe any retarded conspiracy theory they feed you.
The only authoritarians in the country are Democrats and they want to control every aspect of everyone’s lives, even how they cook their food! Democrats are campaigning on engaging in mass censorship and eliminating the 1a, the 2a, the electoral college, and SCOTUS among other anti-American totalitarian abuses.
Get out of your commie propaganda bubble and take a fresh look at what your party has become. They are lying to you not us. When they rigged your primary and lied about Biden, YOU were the victim. They don’t think you are smart enough to choose your own candidate.
Have a little self respect.
ya better off with a CONVICTED CRIMINAL like trump .. guilty of sexual assault guilty of fraud, he has been found guilty.. just how many fines does he have to pay after being found guilty of a crime before it is one crime to many?
AGAIN..
Tell me how many crimes does he have to be found guilty of before it it ONE to many for you?
“Trump is found guilty on 34 felony counts.”
Read the counts here
Jurors in the New York criminal trial against former President Donald Trump have convicted him of 34 felony counts of falsified business records.
This is the first time a former or sitting U.S. president has been convicted of criminal charges.”
https://www.npr.org/2024/05/30/g-s1-1848/trump-hush-money-trial-34-counts
THE FIRST TIME in the history of our Republic ya .. the conservative republicans have found their criminal they want to be president of the Nation that governs by the rule of law .
the grifter in chief.
“Trump’s Financial Disclosures Show Significant Debt and Abundant Grift
Trump owes millions from two civil court cases, but his investment portfolio offers a staggering portrait of wealth”
https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/trumps-financial-disclosures-liabilities-grifts-crypto-1235081631/
That bullshit will almost certainly be thrown out on appeal.
The indictment charges all follow this pattern:
“The defendant, in the County of New York and elsewhere, on or about February 14, 2017, with intent to defraud and intent to commit another crime and aid and conceal the commission thereof, made and caused a false entry in the business records of an enterprise, to wit, an invoice from Michael Cohen dated February 14, 2017, marked as a record of the Donald J. Trump Revocable Trust, and kept and maintained by the Trump Organization.”
The indictments fail constitutional muster, as well as NY Criminal Procedure Law §200.50:
“An indictment must contain…A plain and concise factual statement in each count which, without allegations of an evidentiary nature…asserts facts supporting every element of the offense charged and the defendant’s or defendants’ commission thereof with sufficient precision to clearly apprise the defendant or defendants of the conduct which is the subject of the accusation…”
Eventually the prosecution went with arguing that alleged record violations after the election abetted another crime that could have occurred only before the election, as defined by NY Election Law §17-152: “Any two or more persons who conspire to promote or prevent the election of any person to a public office by unlawful means and which conspiracy is acted upon by one or more of the parties thereto…” Court offered the jury three possibilities: FECA violation(s), tax law violations (by misreporting Cohen’s income), and causing other documents to be falsified. Prosecution offered no evidence in favor of any of the choices, or explained how any of them would have impacted the election even if they did happen before the election, and the jury was not required to say which alternative(s) they chose to convict him on. Nobody outside the jury knows what Trump was convicted of.
” intent to commit another crime”
Don’t forget that other crime was never stated, and the jurors were told “well, it could be one of three things, and unlike with every other jury ever, you don’t have to agree on which one of them it was.”
Yeah, that’s totally legit.
Rick, that’s a great point! I’ve been on plenty of juries, and my read on that is pretty simple; if the prosecution is saying it could be one of three things, I’d be inclined to believe them. Why? Because that’s reasonable doubt, by literal definition (Hence, “not guilty!”) . 🙂
I’d also love someone to answer the question; if what Trump did is election interference, then what, exactly, would it be called if someone disguised payments as campaign legal fees, payments that were actually to a literal foreign agent (Christopher Steele) and via him to actual Russian agents, to create a fake dossier to frame an opponent for “Russian collusion”? Even the FEC filed charges over that one (and won). And of course, where was Hilary’s campaign HQ? Same jurisdiction as the one that prosecuted Trump.
Frankly, I’d have been fine with them both being prosecuted, but the kind of political hatchet job, against one side only, that occurred is beyond the pale.
Fuck your kangaroo court and the horse it rode in on.
Funny .. not a single answer to a simple question .. just how many crimes does he have to commit before it becomes one crime to many?More charity fraud? Uuniversity fraud? Sexual assault? Penalty fines for crimes? it is a simple question? HOW MANY CRIMES is one to many? 5 – 10 – 20 ? what is the number that says to you .. that is one crime to many for this career criminal?
We have answered – indirectly.
The “convictions” are null because of the way the law were bent and twisted to get those “convictions”. When the convictions are thrown out, the slate will be clean.
We believe they will be thrown out
Fruit of the poisoned tree.
You believe every single hoax and didn’t find out Biden was an invalid until after the debate but now, you think he is OK and it was totally cool to not have a primary. Gullible lol
He probably still doesn’t know about Hunter’s laptop, either, like the other LIV dopes I know. Or the ones who couldn’t bring themselves to admit anything a Democrat does was wrong, like the black people in 2017 who pulled a old white guy out of a car “because he must have voted for Trump” and beat the hell out of him. And yeah, I know Democrats who literally couldn’t say that was a bad thing, including one who unfriended me on FB over it.
One actual, real life crime will suffice.
Such as taking bribes laundered through a blood relation.
interesting new report on the grifter trump not paying cities for his rallies.. some go back to 2016 when he ran the first time .. LOL
“Trump Sending Cities Into Financial Crises By Not Paying His Rally Bills”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B12ITwZybBw
lolol … do a google search .. literally dozens of articles from cities, mayors, town councils .. about the grifter trump not paying his creditors .. but he is well know for screwing people what owes them..
of course no one will search trump debt because of cognitive dissonance
none of you want the truth thrown in your
“none of you want the truth thrown in your..”
You ended before you completed the sentence but as far as wanting the truth…I think we have a very good handle on it.
“Trump Sending Cities Into Financial Crises By Not Paying His Rally Bills”
Trump better be very careful how he pays said “Rally Bills”; given the lawfare against Trump. If he uses say campaign funds to pay for it they will scream that he is “misappropriating” said funds; more fodder for some ambitious democratic DA/AG in said city/state to go after him. If he uses funds completely separate from campaign donated funds they will say he didn’t record said transactions appropriately for “tax purposes” or some such. If I were Trump I would proceed slowly and carefully in how he pays said bills; also not sure I would trust a dem city to “calculate” how much he owes for said rally fairly.
Speaking of “cognitive dissonance” it will be curious to see the reactions from folks like Vladislaw when the ridiculous 34 felony count conviction is thrown out on appeal. When Leticia James’ fake “fraud” conviction is thrown out by the highly skeptical appeals court. When Carol’s “lets rewrite statue of limitations laws to get Trump conviction”, is reduced and/or thrown out on appeal. Jack Smith’s Florida documents case already thrown by Cannon and the Jan6th case likely thrown out because of Trump’s SCOTUS decided immunity. The reason why the appeals court in Florida hasn’t ruled yet on Jack Smith’s appeal of Cannon’s decision is they know they would lose at SCOTUS. And more importantly they know that if Jack Smith appointment was ruled illegal/inappropriate by SCOTUS it would also deep 6 the Jan6th case.
ya lets wait for trump and the fiscal conservatives get in again … trump rang up 8 TRILLION in debt … of all the debt the nation accrued over 2 centuries … 1/3 of was did by trump in only 4 years ..LOL
Tim …you are just being silly now …you act like trump can’t wait to get into the courtroom to get this tossed. he fights an delays every chance he gets.
A guy that gets hot miked while is BRAGGING about grabbing women in the crotch an his slobbering unwanted kisses,,,,
ya Tim …pretend all you want that trump isn’t a criminal…IGNORE EVERYTHING what people he appointed have said about him ..first hand accounts… you guys are just freakin’ laughable about EVERYONE is a liar … except trump.
Trump’s false or misleading claims total 30,573 over 4 years
https://docs.house.gov/meetings/FD/FD00/20240515/117301/HHRG-118-FD00-20240515-SD003.pdf
“Tim …you are just being silly now”
Yeah…”silly me”; Cannon threw out the Florida documents case because Jack Smith was improperly appointed. Cannon did so after SCOTUS judge Thomas signaled his support in writing for said decision by saying the issue of Smith’s improper appointment needed to be addressed before said cases (both Florida & Jan6th) moved forward. The Florida documents case was broadly considered by most objective legal experts (like Alan Dershowitz) to be the strongest case (legally). The appeals court in the James “fraud” case was openly broadly skeptical of James’s rationale for bringing the case in the first place. Likely will be thrown out as well. As for the Jan6th case you have both the stated issue about Jack Smith’s dubious appointment as well as the issue of broad Presidential immunity granted for official acts granted by SCOTUS. This leaves only Merchan/Bragg’s case using a ridiculous legal theory that a long statutorily expired misdemeanor can be resuscitated and promoted to a felony if it was to facilitate another crime. Said “crime” by Bragg’s and hizzoner’s judgment didn’t have to be even identified by the prosecution. The jury didn’t even have to agree amongst themselves on what said “other crime” was; they were given a smorgasbord of crimes to choose from, mix and match I guess. These cases are insane abuses of our justice system to target a political opponent. As for the Georgia “election interference case” you have a State attorney who perjured herself in open court and misused Federal funds to take lavish trips with her unqualified boyfriend at the time who himself recently lied under oath about his “recollections” about meeting at the white house with senior biden administration officials. Silly my ass Vladislaw
you are hopelessly deluded if you think there isn’t a high liklihood of these cases being thrown out on appeal (assuming the Ga case even makes it to trial).
You know who controls spending, who controlled the House, and what your people do to anyone who suggests even the teeniest tiniest cuts.
Stalinist show trials are just that and you should know better than to support them.
A comedian working in the entertainment industry telling a joke off camera isn’t what you think it is.
Like many Democrat Mobys he will never admit anything or even acknowledge proof he’s wrong.
Biden and company are adding a trillion dollars to the debt every 100 days.
Some Free Association Thoughts…
All I can say is that Trump appointed these people to these positions and he certainly could have fired all of them. If he earns another term I *expect* he will do far better this time. Either upon advice and counsel of Vance or Trump’s immediate family.
Sessions was a total disaster too. No more purely political appointments. There shouldn’t need to be any. A Trump win will be a one-term presidency. And a fruitless one should the Republicans not control both houses of Congress.
There will be no more FBI “sending a couple of guys over” to provide “answers” from anyone on his transition team. In the present time however, I get the feeling that Wray is far less duplicitous than Comey. Don’t know about Wray’s underlings however. BTW you’re on LSD if you think Comey would have survived a Hillary administration. I suspect the communication between the Hillary transition team and the outgoing Obama Admin would have been nearly non-existent. “Just leave the keys on your desk” level of co-operation. That’s the way it should be this time too, *if* Trump wins.
If Trump loses he needs to stay in Florida to stay out of jail. Until he wins on appeal anyway.
It’s 3am the day after the election. The phone is ringing with the news. I expect Trump will “lose” this election around that time. At least that’s what the MSM computer models will show…
I see the Democrat favorite “He’s Hitler!” charge is back. They called W Bush Hitler, and then McCain and Romney. And then, of course, Trump. And that’s just presidential nominees.
Though, I’m also old enough to remember when the Democrats tried to paint Trump (Much of whose family is Jewish) as an anti-semite, though that, of course, was 2016, before the Democrat party embraced so many actual anti-semites.
And now Democrats actually wonder why so many don’t take them seriously anymore. Perhaps they ought to look in the mirror.
And, gee, now we’ve got Obama publicly wondering how US politics became so hostile and adversarial. Perhaps, just maybe, he should have a close look at the party who routinely brands every opponent Hitler, a fascist, etc.
This thread is a dumpster fire. Better pray Trump wins.
“Tough and dumb.” I like that. It’s close to my definition of “boob.”
If anyone cares…here is the link to the three hour Joe Rogan/Trump podcast:
Joe Rogan Experience #2219 – Donald Trump
Donald Trump is currently the 2024 Presidential Candidate of the Republican Party. He previously served as America’s 45th president, and is also a businessman and media personality.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hBMoPUAeLnY&t=285s
Kids, I think you’re old enough to learn about a politician who rose to power in an important country despite having ancestry elsewhere, who liked to wear brown and black, and who claimed to be saving the country from foreign conspiracies.
Her name is Kamala Harris.
https://x.com/bonchieredstate/status/1850323803903037862
That’s amazing – serious Austrian painter vibe in that clip! I wonder if she practiced that or if it came naturally?
All that’s missing is the arm band, the black belt across the mid-section and pistol with shoulder harness and holster.
Oh and a hat, always the hat….
She should be leading by 420 points…. 🙂
Trump would have less problems with this, if he weren’t saying stupid stuff like this:
Now, I keep hearing how Trump will be dictator from day one. Trump’s inability to even fake being a better candidate than Harris is a large part of the reason he’s not winning easily.
Well, I already voted for Chase Oliver. I won’t bother with a major party candidate when they’re both this terrible.