BUT...BUT Trump said he was going to help the coal miners *rme*

Oh, he's helping them alright.  (Beat.)  Into their graves.

Reading this piece you get the sense that Trump and crew may have erred by making such scurrilous attacks on people who appear to be sitting on mountains of evidence abt Trumps involvement in the Russian criminal underworld and money laundering. https://t.co/cSlA54jddP

— Josh Marshall (@joshtpm) January 3, 2018

There is a move to add a question about citizenship status on the next Census questionnaire in 2020, which seems like a poor decision.

Many experts think this could render the results inaccurate and could also skew results that will affect redistricting and funding.

 

Critics Say Questions About Citizenship Could Wreck Chances for an Accurate Census

Oh my:

 

 

Ok. When Steve Bannon is way out in front of even ME on the use of the word “treasonous” I’m guessing we’re approaching the proverbial End Game https://t.co/1yHaTWEYU2

— Keith Olbermann (@KeithOlbermann) January 3, 2018

A few days after the election, Roger Ailes offered Trump a suggestion for WH chief of staff: John Boehner, who had stepped down as Speaker of the House only a year earlier.

“Who’s that?” asked Trump.https://t.co/2YxTp0ht9B

— Jebediah Reed (@jebediahreed) January 3, 2018

A few choice quotes from the above:

 

"It was Ann Coulter who finally took the president-elect aside. “Nobody is apparently telling you this,” she told him. “But you can’t. You just can’t hire your children.”

 

Rupert Murdoch described Trump as a “[!@#$%^&*] idiot” after getting off the phone with him shortly after the election

 

Trump wouldn't give the necessary funds to his own campaign because he was sure he was going to lose. Bannon asked for $50m. In the end, the best Trump would do is to loan the campaign $10 million.

Quote

In Wolff’s book, obtained by the Guardian ahead of publication from a bookseller in New England, he suggests White House hopes for a quick end to the Mueller investigation are gravely misplaced.

 

“You realise where this is going,” he is quoted as saying. “This is all about money laundering. Mueller chose [senior prosecutor Andrew] Weissmann first and he is a money-laundering guy. Their path to fücking Trump goes right through Paul Manafort, Don Jr and Jared Kushner … It’s as plain as a hair on your face.”

 

Also, like I always said - he never wanted to win:

 

Quote

Not only did Trump disregard the potential conflicts of his own business deals and real-estate holdings, he audaciously refused to release his tax returns. Why should he? Once he lost, Trump would be both insanely famous and a martyr to Crooked Hillary. His daughter Ivanka and son-in-law Jared would be international celebrities. Steve Bannon would become the de facto head of the tea-party movement. Kellyanne Conway would be a cable-news star. Melania Trump, who had been assured by her husband that he wouldn’t become president, could return to inconspicuously lunching. Losing would work out for everybody. Losing was winning.

 

I cannot stress the importance of reading both those articles in full enough.

 

The First Children couple were having to navigate Trump’s volatile nature just like everyone else in the White House. And they were willing to do it for the same reason as everyone else — in the hope that Trump’s unexpected victory would catapult them into a heretofore unimagined big time. Balancing risk against reward, both Jared and Ivanka decided to accept roles in the West Wing over the advice of almost everyone they knew. It was a joint decision by the couple, and, in some sense, a joint job. Between themselves, the two had made an earnest deal: If sometime in the future the opportunity arose, she’d be the one to run for president. The first woman president, Ivanka entertained, would not be Hillary Clinton; it would be Ivanka Trump.

Edited January 3, 20187 yr by Vee

Hoo boy:

 

 

Trump statement on Bannon comments in Michael Wolff book: pic.twitter.com/0uoIYXcbPk

— Laura Rozen (@lrozen) January 3, 2018

Paul Manafort's new lawsuit against Robert Mueller is an act of desperation https://t.co/k2A5ysmDOk pic.twitter.com/eO5KHJUZgo

— Judd Legum (@JuddLegum) January 3, 2018

^ Well, a hell of a lot is going on today. Never a break from the madness.  It would take someone of Mueller's caliber and with his resources to figure out the truth in those articles.  Some of it is obviously true, but given who the sources are I'd say there is a lot of self servings lies in there too.

 

My take away is that no one worthy or capable of being in charge is at the helm of our nation. It's terrifying. While I want to believe Bannon, I don't.  Not to say I am sure he's lying. I'm just saying he doesn't have much credibility with me. If this were a jury I would need a lot corroboration.

The important thing is they're ripping each other apart.

 

That being said: Everything that's written there about Trump not wanting to win, deep in his heart, is what I've said since before Election Day. I also think many of us have said what he does about Mueller's targeting of Kushner and the money.

 

Oh, and Eric has just accused Ellen DeGeneres of being part of the 'Deep State'.

I believe that he thought he was going to lose because all of the polling showed that.  I also believe he saw losing as something he could profit from.  However,  If he didn't want the job he's had nearly a year to resign. I wonder if there are 50 people in all of D.C. who wouldn't let out a huge sigh of relief, if he did just that. Meanwhile, I think he loves the attention that comes with being POTUS.

 

This stuff with North Korea is really disturbing.  It's like some dystopian novel where the real threat is always in the background, but overshadowed by what seems like more imminent disasters.

https://twitter.com/Max_Fisher/status/948609958882496512

 

 

 

Edited January 3, 20187 yr by Juliajms

Trump would never resign.  To him, resignation carries the same stench as failure, and failure is never an option for that man.

 

No, there's only two ways that man will ever leave the WH: either by defeat in another election (should there BE any more presidential elections ever in this country), or in handcuffs as he is escorted to prison; and either way, I don't expect him to leave quietly.

Edited January 3, 20187 yr by Khan

“Trump appeared more furious that Bannon appeared to take too much credit for the 2016 victory, and less focused on the ‘treasonous’ remarks.” https://t.co/pAKzNGrN3q

— Daniel W. Drezner (@dandrezner) January 3, 2018

1 hour ago, Khan said:

Trump would never resign.  To him, resignation carries the same stench as failure, and failure is never an option for that man.

 

No, there's only two ways that man will ever leave the WH: either by defeat in another election (should there BE any more presidential elections ever in this country), or in handcuffs as he is escorted to prison; and either way, I don't expect him to leave quietly.

 

Don't dismiss the possibility of a heath crisis or...worse. He's clearly in very poor health. He's gained a ton of weight. He's decompensating mentally at a truly alarming rate and, let's be honest, the Russian mob isn't big on leaving loose ends. If I had to make a prediction I think a stroke will take him down. But even then the Republicans will try to see if he can hold a pen and sign bills.

Ryan was meeting with Rosenstein today about the investigation. As I've said before, I wouldn't be shocked if Trump was pressed to cut a deal and walk back to his fantastic, amazing successful life as a businessman while declaring MAGA victory despite the haters.

In other good news, Donnie is dissolving the Voter Fraud Commission.