Trump Blasts Stimulus Bill and Vetoes Defense Spending Bill
[guest post by Dana]
[Ed. Busy baking, so I’m just dropping this here.]
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 23, 2020
[Ed. The sheer magnitude of pork n the bill is staggering. As it always is. And $600 is chump change for a struggling family during a pandemic. But where has Trump been and what has he been focused on for the last month? Certainly not a stimulus package.]
He’s gonna remember who was naughty and nice:
đ¨đ¨đ¨ INBOX: @realDonaldTrump has vetoed the National Defense Authorization Act because it removes names of confederate generals from US bases and does not repeal Section 230.
It passed with veto-proof majorities, setting up a humiliating override vote next week. pic.twitter.com/dYbBH7dD2v
— Andrew Feinberg (@AndrewFeinberg) December 23, 2020
Don’t miss Allahpundit’s astute analysis of Trump’s efforts to get back at those turncoat Republicans.
–Dana
Ugh all the way around!!
Dana (cc9481) — 12/23/2020 @ 3:14 pmR.I.P. Leslie West, guitarist/vocalist for the band Mountain
Icy (6abb50) — 12/23/2020 @ 3:23 pmâNYT reporter Maggie Haberman mused that defunding the military is an odd thing to do at a moment when cronies like Mike Flynn are whispering to the president that he should enlist the military to overturn the election.â
BAHAHAHA
Itâs an âodd thingâ only because reality has intruded on your coup narrative.
beer ân pretzels (042d67) — 12/23/2020 @ 3:29 pmI don’t see the override being humiliating, I see this more of Trump being as big a dick as he can on the way out. It won’t surprise me if he vetoes everything between now and the inauguration, just to make legislators come back to Washington when they’d rather be someplace else.
Soronel Haetir (58e8b7) — 12/23/2020 @ 3:30 pmTrump’s exactly right about how ridiculous it is that this bill is so lengthy and complicated, and how much of it has nothing to do with the crisis it’s supposed to be about. No doubt, Trump’s wrong not to own his role, but he’s right that congress’s bill is a disgrace. I find myself nodding my head through most of this speech linked above.
I know Trump’s section 230 stance is terrible and selfish, and I am amazed that Trump said maybe the next admin will be him (he’s basically a traitor to say that), but if Trump had a time machine and could actually try this leadership thing for the past four years, he would have crushed Biden.
Biden’s the kind of person who has made bills as bad as this one. He isn’t going to be much of an improvement.
Dustin (4237e0) — 12/23/2020 @ 3:38 pmHe isnât going to be much of an improvement.
A one horse pony.
DCSCA (f4c5e5) — 12/23/2020 @ 3:46 pmI agree re the bill, Dustin. The sheer magnitude of pork is staggering. As it always is. And $600 is chump change for a struggling family. But where has Trump been and what has he been focused on for the last month? Certainly not a stimulus package. Itâs a gamble for Trump to push this at this late date.
Dana (cc9481) — 12/23/2020 @ 3:50 pmSadly there is no line item veto.
Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 12/23/2020 @ 4:00 pm“War criminals get pardons, the military gets defunded. Merry Christmas”
Dave (1bb933) — 12/23/2020 @ 4:00 pmâNYT reporter Maggie Haberman mused that defunding the military is an odd thing to do at a moment when cronies like Mike Flynn are whispering to the president that he should enlist the military to overturn the election.â
Not odd at all. The military has made it clear that it’s not going to happen, so Trump is retaliating with no money for them. (Except maybe for the odd sailor in a 42nd Street bar like the old days with Roy Cohn.)
nk (1d9030) — 12/23/2020 @ 4:02 pmTrumpâs exactly right about how ridiculous it is that this bill is so lengthy and complicated, and how much of it has nothing to do with the crisis itâs supposed to be about. No doubt, Trumpâs wrong not to own his role, but heâs right that congressâs bill is a disgrace. I find myself nodding my head through most of this speech linked above.
That’s the problem with omnibus spending bills. Didn’t Trump promise not to sign them?
Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 12/23/2020 @ 4:03 pmClassic Trump, putting himself and his personal grievances against Twitter ahead of national security.
It’s always been Trump first, America second.
Trump is actually right, IMO, that $600 is too small and that the number should be closer to $2,000, but where was he two or three months ago? And as for Trump’s complaints about the spending items, funny how they’re so similar to what was in his budget.
Paul Montagu (77c694) — 12/23/2020 @ 4:10 pmIf you thought yesterday’s pardons were bad, today was worse: Trump just pardoned Roger Stone, Paul Manafort and Kushner’s dad.
Paul Montagu (77c694) — 12/23/2020 @ 4:30 pmAs I said on the other thread…
Man, that Omnibus spending bill the Senate demanded(generally a bad idea) that had all of that foreign aid pork that those liberal dems in charge of the Senate put in there for the deep state and stuffâŚ
Small thing, they are literally the exact amounts submitted for foreign aid by the Trump Administration earlier this year. So maybe Trump should remind Trump what Trump wants/or doesnât want right now, I mean now, noâŚnow.
Colonel Klink (Ret) (1367c0) — 12/23/2020 @ 4:37 pm@7. He pushed for $1200 in the summer/fall.
It’s no gamble for the corporatist vs. the swamp creature mentality.
He delegated a job and expected results. Results unsatisfactory, displeasure made known; action taken. Good for him. Americans have made it known this is the sort of Executive action they want from government now– and have increasingly sought it for years. The data shows it; the pattern is there.
_________
Roger Stone pardoned.
DCSCA (f4c5e5) — 12/23/2020 @ 4:38 pmManafort pardoned.
Kushner pardoned.
@13. Did you miss Pappy’s Iran-Contra pardons?
DCSCA (f4c5e5) — 12/23/2020 @ 4:39 pmYeah that’s a good point. Trump shows us he has had the power to affect legislation all along. The reason he failed to use it is because he wanted to fly around, get rich, play golf. He was lazy. He’s like the kid who failed a class and can’t accept it. Truth is Trump’s been fine with this kind of legislation, happy to tilt the scales in his favor too. I don’t even think he’s trying to use power to stay relevant or be a jerk. I think this is simply another distraction from the pardons.
What’s disturbing is how far this stunt will go on the day Trump pardons himself.
BnP, Trump is openly saying he could still be president despite having lost the election. Call it a coup, call it a crock, but don’t call it a narrative. Trump is all about staying in power.
Dustin (4237e0) — 12/23/2020 @ 4:42 pmThe reason he failed to use it is because he wanted to fly around, get rich, play golf. He was lazy.
No. He acted exactly as a corporatist does. He asked for action, delegated the responsibility and expected results. When results were deemed unsatisfactory, he responded accordingly. The swamp creature mentality makes excuses; the corporatist mentality makes things happen. You’re gonna be hearing familiar excuses from the plagiarist-elect in months to come spinning why promises made can’t be accomplished. It has already begun.
DCSCA (f4c5e5) — 12/23/2020 @ 4:50 pmhahahahahaha
I know it shouldn’t be funny but that’s actually pretty funny and convincing that this is just about creating drama to distract from his pardons. Those still praising Trump simply don’t care, but this will further cement opposition to him. All that bad stuff sounds bad to me, and Trump explains why it’s bad so clearly, but this came from Trump’s own administration? LOL
I agree it’s good for him, but at what point does Trump’s behavior turn out to be good for us? If he had said he won’t sign anything less than $2k or $1200, he would have that on his desk today. I bet you could do this job a lot better than Trump could. Just say what you mean and mean what you say.
Dustin (4237e0) — 12/23/2020 @ 4:56 pmDo you dispute that the specific stuff trump said was unsat came from Trump’s own administration? he’s responding to himself, a day late, a dollar short. I am sure there are corporatists who do that. Sears had some.
Dustin (4237e0) — 12/23/2020 @ 4:57 pmDrumpfy McSchnitzelface would have done even worse if he had been reelected, wallowing in his “political capital”. Trump in pique is no different than Trump on Wednesday. A 24/7 pissant.
nk (1d9030) — 12/23/2020 @ 4:58 pmTrump doesn’t care about how much the “stimulus” checks are, he made the ridiculous demand of $2,000 to jam the Senate Republicans after McConnell congratulated President-Elect Biden. He wants just to use it as an excuse to veto the omnibus spending bill and shut down the government, the same way he used the excuse of base naming and Section 230 to veto the defense authorization bill.
Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 12/23/2020 @ 5:01 pm@20. What does the corporatist do when results are unsatfactory?
Fire people— or transfer them out of the New York office and back to Bartlesville, Oklahoma.
DCSCA (f4c5e5) — 12/23/2020 @ 5:04 pmThe United States of America ain’t no corporation, Congress ain’t no Executive Board, and Trump ain’t no corporate CEO. The people of the United States delegated a job to a Constitutional officer and he didn’t do it.
nk (1d9030) — 12/23/2020 @ 5:05 pm@22. 74-plus million voters would likely disagree. You just don’t get it; it’s not about Trump or his persona; it’s about funding Latino museums and gender research in Pakistan then offering suckers $600. Hell, Sanders called for $2000 as well weeks ago.
Voters have had it w/this larded up crap. It’s what partly fueled Trump’s election in the first place.
DCSCA (f4c5e5) — 12/23/2020 @ 5:10 pmFor the next 28 days, the rest of the country will get to see the crazy Donald Trump that we always knew was there.
Attack everyone, veto everything… and drain the prisons!
noel (9fead1) — 12/23/2020 @ 5:14 pm@24. There in lies the struggle. Have hard data on this. Americans increasingly want corporatist action from the Executive. If you take it to the logical extreme, Wyoming only needs a dozen post offices; few people live there.
DCSCA (f4c5e5) — 12/23/2020 @ 5:14 pmWow! Those Kushners have hidden depths:
nk (1d9030) — 12/23/2020 @ 5:17 pmThe Big Dick has to be smiling upside Roger Stone’s back: Nixon gets pardoned again. đ
DCSCA (f4c5e5) — 12/23/2020 @ 5:17 pmIt’s amusing to see someone use the popularity of voting for Trump as an argument for him. He’s never won the popular vote. He never will.
Trump’s approval is down to 39%, biden’s is up to 65%. Maybe Trump’s begging for more handouts will help his polls, but the pardons won’t. Remember, Americans who voted for Biden are uniformly angry at Trump’s conduct. A lot of folks were hesistant to vote for Biden, but now that they did and trump’s constantly trying to cheat them out of their vote, they’ve been proven right.
I agree completely. Trump was fueled by folks who wanted to see a change. Instead Trump larded up bills with this crap, lying to us that he has a problem with it. This kind of thing fueled Trump’s election loss.
Dustin (4237e0) — 12/23/2020 @ 5:20 pmWait. What? He promised to drain the Swamp, not the prisons. Are you telling me he doesnât do what he says he will??!!!
Dana (cc9481) — 12/23/2020 @ 5:25 pmTrump was fueled by folks who wanted to see a change.
Right up to the point their favorite federal program is gored (farm subsidies, base closings, canceled weapon programs, social benefit programs, etc.) then they are all for the spending.
Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 12/23/2020 @ 5:26 pm@30. You just don’t get it; the vote tally rose, not decreased after four years. And the plagiarist-elect. ome-man-pony hasn’t done anything yet to merit any valid approval numbers– but talk of promises.
“The numbers, Mr. Keith. The numbers!”- USAF Systems Director [Frank Marth] ‘Marooned’ 1969
DCSCA (f4c5e5) — 12/23/2020 @ 5:29 pmthat’s a tweet from Jake Tapper. Nk’s right this is a hell of a story. This story, on its own, makes Hunter Biden look terrific.
Dustin (4237e0) — 12/23/2020 @ 5:31 pmI’m just glad we seem to be back to business as usual in Washington. Normalcy never looked so good.
Jerryskids (999ce8) — 12/23/2020 @ 5:33 pmGiven what happened yesterday and today, I’m guessing Trump will run the table and pardon Snowden and Assange, and maybe throw in a few more slimeballs for good measure.
Paul Montagu (62fcc1) — 12/23/2020 @ 5:36 pmThe population grew and everyone’s miserable after four years of Trump failing. Turnout goes up when people are unhappy. Trump was rejected in terms he considered a landslide in 2016.
This is such an ad hoc way of saying the guy who lost an election was validated in his performance. I mean, there’s also a third of a million dead folks too. How many of them voted for Trump by mail but are dead now?
Dustin (4237e0) — 12/23/2020 @ 5:37 pmDustin, you’re hung up on his persona. Catch the CNBC series ‘Empires Of New York’ they’re airing. The Trump of the go-go 1980s Reagan cesspool era is exactly the same guy of today. He’s a Reagan creation and Trump, Rudy and the other NYC hot chocolate scum celebrated by the conservatism of that time are exactly the same personalities today as they were then. It’s all there, chronicled on tape in their own words and deeds.
DCSCA (f4c5e5) — 12/23/2020 @ 5:38 pm@37. Dustin: more people voted FOR him, flaws and all. Not fewer.
That speaks volumes. Ithas less to do w/his persona and more w/t POV he advocates. America first. My own late grandfather, a banker, lived by the motto, ‘pay yourself first.’ He was right; an NATO learned that PDQ.
DCSCA (f4c5e5) — 12/23/2020 @ 5:43 pmYes. The Trump fans are still having a hard time with the concept of a high-turnout election. “We got 74 million votes!”
Uh. That’s right. Congratulations.
noel (9fead1) — 12/23/2020 @ 5:48 pmI’ll give you a point for that observation.
Dustin (4237e0) — 12/23/2020 @ 5:49 pmI look forward to at least four years of larded up bills like this. Biden and the Democrats will have no problem finding willing recipients – foreign or domestic – of taxpayers money.
Thank goodness our political betters decided to send millions to Pakistan for gender education. What else is a COVID relief bill for if not that?
Hoi Polloi (139bf6) — 12/23/2020 @ 5:51 pm@36. Slimeballs? Try a spitball: Reagan pardoned George Steinbrenner.
Pop some corn and review these list– just amazing, particularly the Iran-Contra crooks.
https://www.justice.gov/pardon/pardons-granted-president-ronald-reagan-1981-1989
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_people_pardoned_by_George_H._W._Bush
DCSCA (f4c5e5) — 12/23/2020 @ 5:57 pm@40, Put the core aside; it’s not about Trump; it’s about the messaging he represents.
DCSCA (f4c5e5) — 12/23/2020 @ 5:59 pmI donât agree with this analysis:
Georgian voters, especially Republicans, donât care about the strategy and how this gives one party an advantage. They care that it is President Trump âcoming fighting for them againâ as he attempts to get them bigger checks. If the dumb GOP were smart and Georgia Republican Party, they mr be blowing a small fortune on ads with Trumpâs video linked in the post, with a voiceover âWho is fighting for you? The President of the United Statesâ. And ali effort and Perdue should do a spot at the end reiterating the presidentâs call for a larger cut of the pie to go to the American people. The average voter, especially those hurting donât care one iota about the politics of it. They just care that standing up for them. Nothing else matters. This is why and how we got Trump in the first place.
Dana (cc9481) — 12/23/2020 @ 6:05 pmLink.
Dana (cc9481) — 12/23/2020 @ 6:06 pmExcellent comments at 45 and 46, Dana. Maybe now some comrades will understand what Napoleon meant by history being “a fable agreed upon”. Even contemporaneously — an event unfolding right in front of people’s eyes — people will put their own interpretation on it for their own purposes.
nk (1d9030) — 12/23/2020 @ 6:13 pmNote that the bill is *both* a pandemic relief package *and* the general package for government funding for the year, without which the government will shut down.
There’s a lot that’s not related to the pandemic because there’s expected to be a lot that’s not related to the pandemic in the regular funding bill.
aphrael (4c4719) — 12/23/2020 @ 7:08 pmTrump had a time machine and could actually try this leadership thing for the past four years, he would have crushed Biden.
There is no indication that Trump learns from his mistakes.
Kevin M (ab1c11) — 12/23/2020 @ 7:09 pmIt’s ironic that Trump is so shocked to see such pork and corruption in government.
Kevin M (ab1c11) — 12/23/2020 @ 7:12 pmIf you thought yesterdayâs pardons were bad, today was worse
Tomorrow, today’s pardons will seem “average”, as the old joke goes.
Kevin M (ab1c11) — 12/23/2020 @ 7:13 pmThey just care that standing up for them. Nothing else matters. This is why and how we got Trump in the first place.
Particularly when both parties had been dumping on them for years in the furtherance of their ideological infighting.
Kevin M (ab1c11) — 12/23/2020 @ 7:17 pmDoes anyone remember The GOP debates in 2015-16, where Trump kept up his rants against D.C. and Rubio and Cruz continually fought over which of them had offered the better amendment to some Senate bill?
Kevin M (ab1c11) — 12/23/2020 @ 7:20 pmWho will he pardon tomorrow? Bernie Madoff? Khalid Sheik Mohammad (Bush framed him)?
Kevin M (ab1c11) — 12/23/2020 @ 7:29 pmGhislaine Maxwell on January 7.
nk (1d9030) — 12/23/2020 @ 7:32 pmThe writer that I quoted at 45 is Greg Sargent from the WaPo. He demonstrates that he – and I dare say other journalists and âcoastal elitesâ donât understand how we got him and why we got Trump. Theyâve learned nothing. That in turn assures us that we will get another Trump-like populist in office.
Dana (cc9481) — 12/23/2020 @ 7:42 pmAfter Trump was elected, I heard of several coastal elite journalists who went out to discover flyover country and determine why voters elected Trump. Never heard the results of the road trip. I think it was just easier for the journalists to look down their noses at conservatives, rather than get to know them.
Hoi Polloi (139bf6) — 12/23/2020 @ 7:46 pmI agree that Trump tapped into distrust of some aspect of our society that seems to be in control of things.
I want to note that Manafort actually cooperated with Russian intelligence, he did provide them with valuable information. He gave our enemies something that worked. The three folks who helped the Russians got pardons, and the two who helped the investigation of collusion did not.
It’s a shame the media, the democrats, the couple of so-called RINOs who complained about Trump, really had no credibility with enough of Trump’s supporters. Trump has played the ‘that’s fake news’ card every day. It’s going to be great to see him go. If the GOP can keep Biden from being productive, even better.
Dustin (4237e0) — 12/23/2020 @ 9:14 pmhow could he learn from his mistakes when he never makes them mr kevin?
Dave (1bb933) — 12/23/2020 @ 11:38 pmYou have now had four years to study it. So… what do you think.
Have an exaggerated sense of self-importance
Have a sense of entitlement and require constant, excessive admiration
Expect to be recognized as superior even without achievements that warrant it
Exaggerate achievements and talents
Be preoccupied with fantasies about success, power, brilliance, beauty or the perfect mate
Believe they are superior and can only associate with equally special people
Monopolize conversations and belittle or look down on people they perceive as inferior
Expect special favors and unquestioning compliance with their expectations
Take advantage of others to get what they want
Have an inability or unwillingness to recognize the needs and feelings of others
Be envious of others and believe others envy them
Behave in an arrogant or haughty manner, coming across as conceited, boastful and pretentious
Insist on having the best of everything â for instance, the best car or office
Become impatient or angry when they don’t receive special treatment
Have significant interpersonal problems and easily feel slighted
React with rage or contempt and try to belittle the other person to make themselves appear superior
Have difficulty regulating emotions and behavior
Experience major problems dealing with stress and adapting to change
Feel depressed and moody because they fall short of perfection
Narcissistic Personality Disorder (Mayo Clinic – Symptoms)
noel (9fead1) — 12/24/2020 @ 3:51 amHe prefers to have his name on everything. “Trump Personality Disorder”.
noel (9fead1) — 12/24/2020 @ 3:52 amHe prefers to have his name on everything.
“Trump Personality Disorder”.
noel (9fead1) — 12/24/2020 @ 3:53 amtext carrier and protective
Extractionbpe (7b66aa) — 12/24/2020 @ 7:11 am@58
Out of all of the Mueller targets, Manafort’s is the most deserving.
However, none of what he was convicted for was over anything to do with Russian Collusions. He was a low hanging fruit designed to taint the Trump administration, feed the narrative and a trophy for the Special Counsel Office’s scalp room.
Since the Mueller team was larded up with anti-Trump animus that was so blindingly to look at… I’m not butthurt over this pardon.
I mean… take a look at this jackwagon:
This scum was a federal prosecutor… it’s not about justice with these people, it’s about using the awesome powers of the federal government against their political adversaries.
This is why the pardon power exists.
This is why Trump is going to pardon everyone, and it wouldn’t surprise me if he pardoned himself. (to be really cheeky, he should just pardon all the Bidens too)
whembly (c30c83) — 12/24/2020 @ 7:31 amBusying himself with disputing or reversing the election, and, when not doing that, concerning himself with pardons.
He did go on record as favoring a $2,000 per person payment (and not much of anything else) but he let Secretary of the Treasury Mnuchin do all his neotiating for him, and it was generally understood, he’d sign anything Mitch McConnell was comfortable witth. So it was basically, McConnell and House Speaker Pelosi and President-Elect Biden doing the negotiating. Biden moved Pelosi along by indicating he’d be very interested in a second bill to take effect maybe next April, although McConnell isn’t. But Biden wanted something now. So she went along instead of trying to get everything into one bill.
Trump didn’t concern himself much with the coronavirus after November 3 or 4, except to make sure they gave him credit, but his people did.
His only reaction to the Russian hack was to say it didn’t do as much damage as people feared (which is true because, the Russians did not try to affect operations) and that maybe it wasn’t Russia. (which is highly unlikely)
In any case, sanctions or a response (which might involve doing something illegal under international law, like hacking them in return, on the grounds this was an Act of War) will wait till after January 20. His people are merely working on ideas. They’re not going to ask Trump to do anything.
He also warned he might veto the Defense bill because he wanted something in the bill to make sure he wouldn’t be kicked off Twitter wen and if he’s no longer president. Or he’s persuaded it will.
The bill will be overridden. Moderate Republicans won;t like doing that. Trump may be forcing a break.
Also, about the Defense bill: He stood up against renaming military bases that had been named after obscure Confederate generals, like Ft. Hood and Ft. Bragg.
They’re still actively getting rid of Confederates now. Just the other day, Virginia removed a statue of Robert E, Lee that had been standing next to a statue of George Washington (Virginia’s other statue) in the Capitol since about 1909. It was replaced with one of an unmemorable young female person connected to Civil Rights – I think a teenager who integrated a school circa 1951.
https://www.cnn.com/2020/12/21/us/barbara-johns-virginia-statue-capitol-trnd/index.html
Sammy Finkelman (081278) — 12/24/2020 @ 7:36 amRip Murdock (d2a2a8) â 12/23/2020 @ 4:03 pm
Sammy Finkelman (081278) — 12/24/2020 @ 7:58 am13. Paul Montagu (77c694) â 12/23/2020 @ 4:30 pm
Trump’s doing them in order of acceptability.
Sammy Finkelman (081278) — 12/24/2020 @ 8:01 amNo, it’s about a scum president who hired criminal scum. There’s no excuse for pardoning someone like Manafort, who sold out his country by giving intel to a Russian spy and took millions working for a Putin political stooge in Ukraine. Tim Miller:
Manafort is one of those unpatriotic un-American types who deserves to rot in a concrete box for the rest of his sorry, and Trump is only slight less unpatriotic and un-American than that piece of sh*t Manafort. Roger Stone is no less swampy.
Paul Montagu (77c694) — 12/24/2020 @ 8:13 amAlong with Snowden and Assange, I forgot one other person who he’ll likely pardon: Himself.
Paul Montagu (77c694) — 12/24/2020 @ 8:14 amI expect that a veto of both the stimulus and defense bills will be overriden, with the promise that a new pork-filled stimulus bill will pass in the new administration. Why combine that $2000 into this bill when there is another pork opportunity forthcoming?
Kevin M (ab1c11) — 12/24/2020 @ 8:39 amI forgot one other person who heâll likely pardon: Himself.
Only because it’s stupid and won’t work, the hallmark of the Trump years.
Kevin M (ab1c11) — 12/24/2020 @ 8:39 amI don’t see Snowden being pardoned. Unlike Assange, he didn’t do a thing for Trump.
Kevin M (ab1c11) — 12/24/2020 @ 8:40 amJust override Trump’s veto. For one thing, this noise is intended to help distract from profound pardon corruption. Trump losing the enduring election every day is getting old. I want to see him lose this too.
Dustin (4237e0) — 12/24/2020 @ 8:52 amI see Trump pardoning Snowden to stick it to Obama, Kevin, not for anything Snowden did for Trump, and our president seems dead set on running the pardon table. But since I’m terrible at predictions, it probably won’t happen.
Paul Montagu (77c694) — 12/24/2020 @ 8:54 am“Lock her up!”
The governor of Georgia “will soon be going to jail” because he wouldn’t disenfranchise voters for Trump’s benefit.
Etc.
Trump has shown a pattern of declaring other people criminals or traitors because they have opposed or criticized him personally. The idea that he’s on a righteous mission to combat the abuse of power is ridiculous. Why did he pardon Manafort but not Michael Cohen? Why did he pardon war criminals who massacred civilians and brought shame on the U.S. military?
One of the most bizarre beliefs about Trump is that he is sincerely committed to stamping out corruption and abuse of power.
Radegunda (b6cc34) — 12/24/2020 @ 9:20 amIt’s hard to see how the pardon of Charles Kushner could be a remedy for politicized prosecution.
Radegunda (b6cc34) — 12/24/2020 @ 9:25 amIf Trump wants chaos, he’ll pull the pocket veto of the budget bill. That will shut the government down until Jan. 20th. Tank the economy, and probably add a few tens of thousands of dead Americans.
If the cabinet decided to invoke the 25th Amendment Sunday, that’s pretty much the only work around. Trump would have no recourse, kind of like America would have no recourse to a pocket veto.
Colonel Klink (Ret) (1367c0) — 12/24/2020 @ 9:31 amA thread on what was done by some of the people Trump has pardoned, and their victims. Here’s a striking detail concerning the 9-year-old victim:
MAGA!
Radegunda (b6cc34) — 12/24/2020 @ 9:33 amI have not heard a good explanation as to why Trump replaced so many at the Defense Department and the advisory committees with just a month to go. Is it possible for him to stack it in his favor to the point of their supporting martial law?
noel (9fead1) — 12/24/2020 @ 10:10 am72. The thinking I read was that Trump wanted to withdraw all or nearly all U.S. troops from Afghanistan and Iraq and he didn’t want opposition or foot dragging. He replaced civilians, not anybody in the military chain of command.
Meanwhile Trump seems satisfied with the decision he reached.
Sammy Finkelman (081278) — 12/24/2020 @ 12:46 pmHouse Republicans Block $2,000 Coronavirus Stimulus Checks, Defying Trump
Trump demanded Congress increase direct payments in the COVID-19 relief bill from $600 to $2,000. Speaker Pelosi happily obliged. Republicans blocked it.
Merry Christmas, suckers.
DCSCA (f4c5e5) — 12/24/2020 @ 5:36 pmHouse Republicans can’t block anything. They’re the minority as Pelosi has made clear.
That said, split the bills.
NJRob (eb56c3) — 12/25/2020 @ 8:17 am82. House Republicans can, and did, block a proposal to pass new legislation by unanimous consent (i.e. against the usual rules) that would have have raised the stimulus payments from $600 to $2,000.
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy didn’t come out against it but said they should remove $2.3 billion of foreign aid from the bill.
Every member of Congress as his own excuse.
It was new legislation, because of course the old bill can’t be amended any more (amended was the word Trump used.)
It is not all that uncommon to pass a “technical corrections” bill after a big bill has passed, so passing a second bill is not a totally novel idea.
Meanwhile the bill has been flown down to Florida, in case Trump should decide to sign it.
Sammy Finkelman (081278) — 12/25/2020 @ 10:03 amTrump tweet this morning…. “A young military man working in Afghanistan told me that elections in Afghanistan are far more secure and much better run than the USAâs 2020 Election. Ours, with its millions and millions of corrupt Mail-In Ballots, was the election of a third world country. Fake President!”
That does it. I am going to be there. Even if they tell us not to go. I am heading to Washington on inauguration day in hopes that I can see the Secret Service drag Trump’s a$$ out of there and throw him in some dirty cab. Oh what a glorious day it will be.
They will be writing about that fool for a hundred years. Minimum.
noel (9fead1) — 12/26/2020 @ 8:41 am“Fake President”? No, but Trump is a REAL loser.
noel (9fead1) — 12/26/2020 @ 9:03 amThe pardon power isn’t so bad if you consider what Trump might do with the warrant power.
Kevin M (ab1c11) — 12/26/2020 @ 10:07 am