Patterico's Pontifications

2/16/2017

Trump Press Conference

Filed under: General — Patterico @ 9:14 pm



I really don’t care about it. The guy and all his antics are starting to just exhaust me and bore me at the same time. Plus I am busy with other things. But comment away if you care.

[Cross-posted at The Jury Talks Back.]

65 Responses to “Trump Press Conference”

  1. Ding.

    Patterico (115b1f)

  2. It’s enjoyable for me. I was exhausted seeing Bush seldom if ever hit back at the media. I enjoy watching Trump hit them, even puts a smile on my face.

    Cowpoke (922e59)

  3. I liked it

    I loved it

    I want some more of it

    Pinandpuller (943099)

  4. As Barack once memorably said during his speech at the White House Press Corps Dinner, “All of you voted for me.”

    Cruz Supporter (102c9a)

  5. I didn’t even know he had a press conference. Reporters get paid to hear him bluster and lie. I don’t.

    nk (dbc370)

  6. I suppose I could get bored with it at some point. I’m more of a Trump enthusiast.

    He reminds me of when Dolly Parton walked in off the street and got the talk show host job, but with more electoral votes.

    Pinandpuller (943099)

  7. “So called” Cruz Supporter

    If I were Trump I’d ask the reporters how many of them were crying about 11:45 on election night.

    Pinandpuller (943099)

  8. Oh you’ll hear about it tomorrow, just not the interesting parts.

    narciso (e490f4)

  9. Why does Trump keep saying he got 306 electoral votes? Did he forget that two faithless electors voted against him?

    Patterico (115b1f)

  10. A reporter for a Jewish magazine asked Trump about a wave of bomb threats at Jewish Community Centers over the last two months (60 bomb threats in January alone).

    Trump told him to sit down and be quiet, and called him a liar.

    When a second reporter later tried to get him to answer the question, Trump launched into a second rant about how it was all perpetrated by “the other side” to discredit him.

    Trump is coming completely unhinged in front of our eyes.

    Dave (711345)

  11. Jim Acosta holds his mic up high and he lies.

    Lyin’ Jim.

    Pinandpuller (943099)

  12. 306 “so called” electoral votes.

    Pinandpuller (943099)

  13. Cut and pastin’ Dave.

    Pinandpuller (943099)

  14. Cell phone jammers will stop a lot of those threats, Dave.

    Pinandpuller (943099)

  15. #6 Pinandpuller, from the annals of “I can’t believe they gave a talk show to that person!,” who could forget that Magic Johnson and Chevy Chase also had talk shows.
    Of course, they only lasted until people with television sets found out about them.

    I’m still waiting for Barack to be given a talk show. I hear Bill Ayers could use the money! (LOL)

    Cruz Supporter (102c9a)

  16. And he kids us not.

    “Will you look at the man? He’s a Freudian delight; he crawls with clues!” – Lt. Tom Keefer [Fred MacMurray] ‘The Caine Mutiny’ 1954

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  17. Well this,campaign against General flynnbhas been going on, for just about three months, considering Shane harris’scclips from the beast, it involves that brochure for rt that homeland out together, (re Masha gessen) to see how dubious that was,)

    Then there’s the dodgy dossier, the misrepresented conversations with the
    Russian ambassador, so much of a waste of time when you consider real concerns like the whereabouts of al rimi,

    narciso (e490f4)

  18. The media is and will continue to take a beating.
    As the conservative hack lawyers puke on themselves.

    mg (31009b)

  19. Maybe Trump was thinking of Bob Costas? Somebody should.

    Pinandpuller (943099)

  20. Why does Trump keep saying he got 306 electoral votes?

    The same reason Queeg insisted there was a duplicate key to the food locker even after he was told the mess boys ate the strawberries.

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  21. “Oh boy!”

    Bud Abbot

    Pinandpuller (943099)

  22. No, although you’ll find Alex Costa raises some of the same policy issues that made puzder problematic.

    narciso (e490f4)

  23. After Trump is impeached, I think they should give him a reality TV show.

    He could pretend to be a high-powered, ruthlessly efficient executive, the greatest manager of all time. They could even make it a game show, so the contestants could reinforce his alpha status by competing for his favor.

    What could they call it? The West Wing? Hmm, I guess that was taken.

    Any ideas?

    Dave (711345)

  24. Bill and CNN’s Fever Dreams.

    I mean, Chris Hardwick already has “The Wall”.

    Pinandpuller (943099)

  25. Conservatives and CNN caught performing for mitty without knee-pads.

    mg (31009b)

  26. Dave, whether or not you agree that Trump’s response was honest, fair, or decent, you can’t deny that it was well-received, and that his combative style is popular with his people.

    Trump read the situation accurately and behaved accordingly. That is the opposite of “unhinged.”

    Your perceptions, on the other hand, appear to be unhinged from the reality that Trump is an effective communicator and (thus far) a popular president.

    Daryl Herbert (7be116)

  27. Dave’s World! Dave’s World!

    Impeachment’s On! Excellent!

    Schwing!

    Pinandpuller (943099)

  28. Yeah, Dave’s a regular “Yes, and” machine like The Groundlings Sunday Show.

    Pinandpuller (943099)

  29. the republican party is the baby-ruth in the swimming pool

    mg (31009b)

  30. I doubt you care Dave, and that’s cool, but you remind me so much of this guy from Politico named Woodie Guthrie’s guitar.

    Pinandpuller (943099)

  31. You have a real postable persona, if that makes any sense. Take that in the spirit it was intended.

    Pinandpuller (943099)

  32. Ground Control to Colonel Haiku…

    Sigh.

    Pinandpuller (943099)

  33. I read where shepwhore smith is as bent out of shape as Dave.
    poor poor sad sacks.

    mg (31009b)

  34. I read where shepard smith is as bent out of shape as Dave.
    poor poor sad sacks

    mg (31009b)

  35. Dave, whether or not you agree that Trump’s response was honest, fair, or decent, you can’t deny that it was well-received, and that his combative style is popular with his people.

    Trump read the situation accurately and behaved accordingly. That is the opposite of “unhinged.”

    So by “read the situation accurately and behaved accordingly,” you mean “did what would elicit the most positive reaction from his alt-Right base”?

    As opposed to, say, doing what the President of the United States should have done? (Expressing his concern, outlining steps he has already ordered taken in response, making a commitment to bring those responsible to justice and end this domestic terror campaign, etc)

    I do not understand how anyone except a virulent anti-Semite could view Trump’s actual response as appropriate. The only charitable explanation is that he somehow misunderstood the question.

    Are you saying it’s not his problem if Jewish Community Centers are receiving bomb threats?

    Even if you think Jews don’t deserve the equal protection of the laws, Trump promised to end crime and violence (note: not reduce, “end”) as of January 20, 2017.

    Bomb threats – even against Jews! – are a crime, so he is reneging on his promise.

    Dave (711345)

  36. Alt-off, Dave, ya poofter.

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  37. The media meltdown was hilarious.

    SPQR (a3a747)

  38. Alt-off, Dave, ya poofter.

    No, you.

    Dave (711345)

  39. Dave, is your last name Drywall by any chance?

    NJRob (7d79d6)

  40. Dave, I think you know that the term “base” means the broad base of support that a politician has.

    The alt-right is, by definition, very small. Very small. They’re tiny. They’re not leftists, they’re not liberals, they’re not moderates, they’re not independents, they’re not establishment/deep state, they’re not mainstream republicans, and they’re not Tea Party.

    The alt-right, by definition, could not be Donald Trump’s “base” unless he was extremely unpopular. Which, you might have noticed, he is not.

    If you think the alt-right is more than a tiny handful of misfits and outcasts, you are hallucinating. One might even say: unhinged.

    Daryl Herbert (7be116)

  41. The press keeps waiting for him to fall in line and take his beatings like a normal GOP President.

    But he’s out-flanked them every time.

    The Flynn takedown could not have happened without an obliging press. The actual FACTS today seem to be that Flynn didn’t do anything wrong in connection with the Russians.

    But yesterday, based on EMPTY reporting that he — and other Trump campaign officials — had regular contact with Russians, the press spun out for the Dems the entire conspiracy agenda, i.e., that Trump is a Putin-loving fascist who was in on the Russian hacking of Podesta and the RNC, and it was all orchestrated to take the election away from Bernie.

    After all, Bernie would have beating Clinton for the nomination if the DNC hadn’t cheated him out of it.

    Once that target was in clear view, Trump took aim and fired today.

    The best part of the day for me was the Chuck Todd tweet where he lamented the delegitimazation of the press – I think he called it “unAmerican”, and then said “take your partisan hats off”.

    There’s deep failure of self-awareness in that comment.

    shipwreckedcrew (553aa3)

  42. Dave, I think you know that the term “base” means the broad base of support that a politician has.

    I don’t think that usage of the term is exclusive of others. People refer to various minority or other interest groups as a politician’s base, without implying that they make up a majority of the candidate’s support.

    In any case, I was reacting to this statement:

    Dave, whether or not you agree that Trump’s response was honest, fair, or decent, you can’t deny that it was well-received, and that his combative style is popular with his people.

    Trump read the situation accurately and behaved accordingly.

    This says: Trump’s response to the question about Jewish Community Center bomb threats may have been dishonest, unfair and indecent, but it was well-received by “his people”. It also says that Trump read “the situation” (reporter from a Jewish magazine asking about anti-Semitic bomb threats) accurately and “behaved accordingly”.

    How is one to interpret this, except to infer that “his people” are pleased when the president responds to the representative of a religious minority, currently being terrorized by bigots, by telling the reporter to sit down and shut up, calling him a liar and then (in true paranoid-delusional fashion) claiming it is part of a vast, left-wing conspiracy to make him, Trump, look bad?

    As I said, the only defensible response is that Trump misunderstood the question. But no, the poster I was responding to went out of his way to insist that, far from misunderstanding the question, Trump “read the situation accurately”. And he further insisted that this is what “his people” appreciated.

    Anyone who think’s Trump’s indefensible response was appropriate is effectively on-board with the racist, anti-Semitic alt-Right, whether they realize it or acknowledge it. If the response among Trump supporters here is any indication, apparently that is a lot larger segment of the population than you would have us believe.

    By conditioning Trump’s supporters to reflexively defend him, however insane or unhinged his actions, Bannon and Trump are in the process of bringing the alt-Right, the Nationalist (formerly Republican) party, and the government of the United States into alignment and making them one and the same. Gleichschaltung was the historical term for this process.

    Dave (711345)

  43. It’s also interesting that an Israeli reporter asked about the rise of anti-Semitic incidents in the US during the press conference with Netanyahu the day before, and Trump completely blew off the question, launching into an incoherent non-sequitur about how many electoral votes he had received in the election.

    More red meat for “his people”, I guess.

    Dave (711345)

  44. The typical Republican acts as a punching bag for the MSM, Bush for example, per a previous comment. Trump fights back.

    DN (21cace)

  45. Have to agree with Daryl on how it was received. Was listening to the radio when it came on. Normally I can’t hit the mute button fast enough when politicians are speaking but Trump actually talks like a real person (pacing and inflection, not necessarily content) and his speaking didn’t grate on me so I left it on and chuckled (and cringed a points I’ll admit) at the battle.

    mark (ca18be)

  46. I would have waited until he and Bannon were in the same room to ask the same question. When Jack Ryan vowed he would go after Springfield corruption during a presser with multiple Illinois R Combine members, the facial reactions by Lee Daniels, Dillard, Hastert et al alone were enough to tell me that he was gonna get the hook before the general.

    urbanleftbehind (5eecdb)

  47. Why does Trump keep saying he got 306 electoral votes? Did he forget that two faithless electors voted against him?

    Because he GOT THEM! It’s a ratchet. Anything that favors Trump is remembered forever, anything that doesn’t is a lie.

    Kevin M (25bbee)

  48. After all, Bernie would have beating Clinton for the nomination if the DNC hadn’t cheated him out of it.

    Yeah, I am sensing a future “Bernie would have got us out of VietNam” meme.

    Kevin M (25bbee)

  49. the most anti-semitic act was president food stamp’s deal with iran to do nuclear genocide on israel

    plus it’s bad for property values

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  50. I love how sensitive Trump’s fans are to terms like alt-right. They really get worked up.

    Dustin (ba94b2)

  51. alt-right is so good it’s the healthy alternative

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  52. Bernie has achieved the legendary status that RFK did without taking one from a Pally.

    urbanleftbehind (5eecdb)

  53. 53 — LMAO. Nice.

    shipwreckedcrew (56b591)

  54. The press keeps at the whole “Campaign contacts with Russia” from a completely duplicitous angle. Either they are a brigade of idiots, or they are purposely distorting the facts:

    1. Yes, there were contacts between people associated with the Trump campaign and “Russians”. But its now clear that its very unlikely that the campaign officials knew the “Russians” they were talking to were Russian intelligence operatives. Like Manafort said “I do business in Russia, I talk to Russians, its not like they wear a badge saying “I’m with Russian Intelligence.” So far there isn’t a single sourced report which says campaign officials KNOWLINGLY contacted or worked with Russians known by the campaign to be with Russian Intelligence or the Russian Government.

    2. The only person for whom there is any reporting on the substance of the conversations is Flynn’s contact with the Russian ambassador following the announcement of sanctions. But now the reporting is that — based on the transcript — nothing in the conversation was inappropriate. Sanctions were brought up by the Ambassador — specifially the expulsion of 35 Russian diplomats in the US — and Flynn said all aspects would be reviewed by Trump when he took office.

    So why is Preibus still being asked today if there were contacts between campaign officials and Russians prior to the election???

    Hasn’t this ground been plowed. Hasn’t the adversarial branch of the IC gotten their “dirt” out and claimed Flynn’s scalp based on empty reporting about his “conversations” with the Ambassador?

    Flynn got canned because he lied to Pence. The sad thing is he didn’t need to lie.

    shipwreckedcrew (56b591)

  55. Shipwrecked yes, they don’t have the awareness from a single ncis episode, this is how they were fooled by that bogus story with alpha bank, yes bolshakov rfk’s gru cutout was officially a journalist, now if they mentioned one of the png’d officers as a contact. They might begetting somewhere, this is where the story falls apart.

    narciso (d1f714)

  56. The reason the guy on the anti-Semitic attacks deserved to be quashed is….well, where to begin and where to end….for the past 8 years I’ve watched when NYC police cars beefed up their presence in Williamsburg on Saturday morning to make sure they were there if there were anti-Hasidic attacks. For even longer than that, I’ve seen concrete barriers in front of synagogues throughout NYC, and had to pass through metal detectors when I’ve visited any synagogue (not routinely, I’m not a Jew, or any religion), and looked carefully to see – usually – someone who is only partially concealed so that miscreants know of their presence – armed guards ready to act. And this is in NYC. The idea that the threat has somehow increased is pure fantasy.

    Next. Which is it? Trump’s daughter is an Orthodox Jew and her husband, for whom she converted,
    is an advisor to Trump. His other kids in several cases are heavily involved with romantic partners who happen to be Jewish. His lawyers fit the normal demographic of lawyers in the NYC area, and he has thrived in NYC real estate. I wonder how anyone could be considered anti-Semitic against that background…aside from his support of Israel. Which is it? Is he actually a philo-Semite?

    So Dave and all the other skeptics – if he interpreted the question as “why don’t you care about Jews at all?” – a not irrational interpretation – “sit down and shut up you unprofessional hack” is a reasonable response whether said in dipomatically oblique language or direct Queens dialect.

    Lazlo Toth (363aa1)

  57. My 6:19 link explains why.

    The more interesting element is who the Leakers probably are, taking a cue from Shane Harris’s file at the daily beast, the attacks on fLynn go back to mid November, this suggests someone with nsa or atl east access to sigint

    narciso (d1f714)

  58. they gonna do confirms on Mr. Pruitt in 20 minutes or so

    this is good for America

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  59. In the past 30 years, New York has always had more “threat” and more potential bad actors (dating back to Crown Heights, the first WTC, through the “McVeigh/militia” era on into the GWOT), than synagogues relatively isolated enclaves and second-tier large cities. The question is to the increase in threats largely to the latter group across the country. It never should have been interpreted by Trump as a point-black accusation of Trump’s own degree of anti-semitism. It may have been better not to preface the question with the “I know YOUR not an anti-semite because X, Y, Z” if only not to obfusciate the issue -though he maybe felt the need to set up the what-if-your-grandkids… scenario. Again, I say wait til Bannon is in the room and if Bannon is the longest neck/biggest head of that hydra, step up to Bannon 1-on-1.

    urbanleftbehind (5eecdb)

  60. I think there is a link to a piece by the reporter who Trump cut off, and he’s not at all angered at Trump with the way Trump responded. He understands exactly why Trump was quick to get away from a question based on a mistaken impression that the question was going to head off into an angle about Trump and anti-Semitism which continues to be peddled by the left-wing just because Bannon is a key player in the Administration, and he is linked to Breitbart.

    But the reporter says in his piece that the people he knows in the Orthodox community fully understand that Trump is a huge supporter of Isreal, and is as far from being an anti-Semite as can be imagined. You saw that in his press conference with Netanyahu.

    So he gave Trump as a pass on cutting him off because Trump didn’t know where the question was going to go, and he wasn’t going to be accused of anti-Semitism in the news conference.

    shipwreckedcrew (56b591)

  61. Trump is kicking butt. I hope he keeps it up.

    Lyle Smith (b8a684)

  62. LOL — at 11:57 pm (Pac Time I think) on 2/16 I posted comment 42 above, the last part of which reads

    “The best part of the day for me was the Chuck Todd tweet where he lamented the delegitimazation of the press – I think he called it “unAmerican”, and then said “take your partisan hats off”.

    There’s deep failure of self-awareness in that comment.

    At 4am on 2/17, Jay Caruso at RedState puts up a story on the same Chuck Todd tweet, and immediately after pasting the “unAmerican” tweet into his story he writes:

    The lack of self-awareness here is stunning.

    He then goes on to write about how the press delegitimized itself with the way it failed to be critical of Obama, but now can’t do anything but criticize Trump, and cited the low approval rating of the press.

    Farther down the piece he includes Todd’s second tweet about “take your partisan hats off”.

    I AM NOT claiming Caruso “plagarized” my BRIEF comment.

    I just find it funny/curious that he writes his story so close in time after my comment here — I think its a fair surmise to suspect he reads Patterico’s comments section.

    shipwreckedcrew (56b591)

  63. I am not a Trump “supporter”. I will admit that, when faced with the possibility of a lying, corrupt, spiteful harridan who had spent most of her life with her snout in the public trough becoming POTUS, I scrawled an X next to Donald J Trump on my ballot.

    That said, I found the news conference amusing. I really like the fact that when Trump is p*ssing on the media’s collective head, he, unlike most politicians, doesn’t even try to tell them it’s raining.

    bud (f9ec02)


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