POTUS Donald Trump

[Hosken Bombo Disco]

Impeachments backfire. Clinton impeachment mid 90s backfired. Scott Walker's recall backfired. Just my opinion.

[jimmer]

I have been nauseous practically every day since his inauguration.

[Brock Beauchamp]

In all honesty, the pace and ferocity of what he's doing has a better chance of disrupting Republican support than anything else. If this was slow played it may be harder to get bi-partisan resistance. We're already seeing wide-spread doubt on the right from Senators, Reps, the Koch brothers, and others.

 

That might be our best, and only, hope.

My thoughts exactly. Our best chances lay in Trump and Bannon overplaying their hand.

 

Last night, I said to my wife "Could this go any worse for Trump? If he tried what he's trying over a calendar year, he might have gotten away with it."

[Brock Beauchamp]

Impeachments backfire. Clinton impeachment mid 90s backfired. Scott Walker's recall backfired. Just my opinion.

For good or bad, both of those guys had the popular vote on their side.

 

Trump acts as if he had a decisive victory yet lost the vote by 3m people.

[Squirrel]

 

For good or bad, both of those guys had the popular vote on their side.

Trump acts as if he had a decisive victory yet lost the vote by 3m people.

Oh no he didn't! Voter fraud! Voter fraud!

 

As his voter fraud investigator is registered to vote in three states.*

 

_{*I didn't verify this 'fact' from a meme I saw, so it could be an alt-fact.}

[Badsmerf]

I'm honestly shocked at what he is doing right now. I anticipated the Twitter nonsense, appointing horrible people around him, but the blatant and disrespect for the constitution and how our country is governed? That is shocking to me. The tea party has to be biting their tongue right now. Ted Cruz hates executive actions and i believe ran with the notion he would eliminate them. Trump on the other hand, has decided they are the only way to get what he wants. I really hope people who voted for him are paying attention.

[Brock Beauchamp]

 

I'm honestly shocked at what he is doing right now. I anticipated the Twitter nonsense, appointing horrible people around him, but the blatant and disrespect for the constitution and how our country is governed? That is shocking to me. 

It's not really surprising to me. The only thing I find surprising is how fast and furious it's all coming. I thought Bannon was smarter than this.

[drjim]

He has had a busy night - first the acting AG and now the director of ICE.

 

I Interesting choice of words saying he there was "betrayal" when firing the AG. No overreach of power here.

 

.http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/trump-replaces-acting-director-immigration-enforcement-n714491?cid=sm_tw_nbcnews

 

Semi-related -- what kind of leader teases his SCT pick as a prime time ratings event?

Not really an overreach. AG is a political position. Makes sense he'd want someone to do his bidding.

[drjim]

Good rule of thumb for AG is ideologue is much preferred to a lackey.

[drjim]

Within a few weeks Trump will be worse for Republicans than Democrats.

 

Tonight might be the last good chance to reassure conservatives.

[USAFChief]

I vastly underestimated how bad Trump would actually be.  

 

It's horrific.  It's a coup attempt in progress.

 

 

[drjim]

 

I vastly underestimated how bad Trump would actually be.  

 

It's horrific.  It's a coup attempt in progress.

 

Perhaps, but it is still amateur hour in so many ways. They won't have control of military and the Senate will stop him eventually.

 

If nothing else, we may get an Amendment out of this. We almost have to. Because the next one will be much more competent.

[TheLeviathan]

 

 I really hope people who voted for him are paying attention.

 

Many of them might be loving it.

[Squirrel]

 

I vastly underestimated how bad Trump would actually be.  

 

It's horrific.  It's a coup attempt in progress.

And THIS is what the 2nd amendment is for ... not that I will be going out to purchase a gun ... but this is what the founders were talking about, no?

[Squirrel]

 

 

Many of them might be loving it.

Yeah ... many are ... I have a childhood friend on FB who is all in favor of the refugee/immigrant ban ... it's making America safe from terrorists. But the irony in that statement is it likely makes us less safe both in making a certain segment of the world hate us more, and that our allies will also be backing away from us one step at a time.

[D. Hocking]

 

Not really an overreach. AG is a political position. Makes sense he'd want someone to do his bidding.

 

Yes - technically the AG firing was not an overreach, but was thinking more of the totality of his actions, including removing the ICE director without a reason, his various gag orders on agencies and trying to control the information they put out, telling the state department not to talk to congress, not vetting his EOs with the pertinent agencies, writing his EO's with just his inner circle, the elevation of Bannon, insisting everything is going well when there are massive protests, his extreme and often petty reaction to any dissent, his spokespeople not even attempting to telll a version of the truth,the elevation of his son-in-law and probably behind the scenes his kids, not truly divesting from his business etc.

[USAFChief]

 

Perhaps, but it is still amateur hour in so many ways. They won't have control of military and the Senate will stop him eventually.

 

If nothing else, we may get an Amendment out of this. We almost have to. Because the next one will be much more competent.

The Senate will stop him?  The Republican Senate?

 

Starting when?

[drjim]

 

The Senate will stop him?  The Republican Senate?

 

Starting when?

 

When it is no longer politically tenable to support him. They do value their jobs.

[Badsmerf]

The deafening silence from the majority of the GOP is pretty telling. They are letting Lindsey Graham and John McCain lead the opposition. I can't imagine Rand Paul or other small government proponents are feeling very good about what is taking place. Paul spoke out politically against Trump during the primaries about this.

 

I hope you're right about an amendment coming to limit the power of the executive branch. It's obvious now we need one.

[ashbury]

Trump and his pals continue with the rookie mistakes. Just waiting until his AG was in place would have done a lot toward making this travel moratorium a one-day kerfuffle. They can't really have thought time was of the essence on what is largely a PR move.

[drjim]

We're primarily liberal elitists that comment in this section, but I think it is important to realize that a significant portion of the people who vote for Republicans approve of all that Trump is doing. The Republicans in Congress are not in a place that it makes sense politically to come out strong against Trump.

 

Tonight is going to be telling in my mind. It represents a chance for Trump to strengthen his support. If they nominate someone who splits conservatives, he'll be in a lot more trouble.

 

Ultimately, Trump works as long as two things happen - the economy stays relatively strong and The Thing either doesn't happen or is responded to in a competent matter.

[nicksaviking]

 

Impeachments backfire. Clinton impeachment mid 90s backfired. Scott Walker's recall backfired. Just my opinion.

 

Well we'll just have to wait for more information about his involvement with Russia to surface. Screw impeachment, let's go right to the treason trial.

[PseudoSABR]

Firing AG Yates is an overreach for a couple of reasons.  1) The AG must be independent and is not simply the President's enforecer.  2) The Whitehouse could have appointed a special attorney to defend their order from the Whitehouse legal counsel or even a private attorney. 3)  Had Trump waited mere days, he may have had Session as his AG.  4) Session himself compounded the problem b/c when Yates was confirmed, Session asked about the independent duty of the AG to hold the president accountable. 

 

It was logistically unnecessary and politically stupid. 

[drjim]

 

Firing AG Yates is an overreach for a couple of reasons.  1) The AG must be independent and is not simply the President's enforecer.  2) The Whitehouse could have appointed a special attorney to defend their order from the Whitehouse legal counsel or even a private attorney. 3)  Had Trump waited mere days, he may have had Session as his AG.  4) Session himself compounded the problem b/c when Yates was confirmed, Session asked about the independent duty of the AG to hold the president accountable. 

 

It was logistically unnecessary and politically stupid. 

 

The AG can be whatever the Senate allows it to be.

 

I certainly agree with the last sentence. They may view it as a "win" to force opponents to so publicly protest something that their base supports, but when the narrative is incompetence, that is hard to shake, especially when challenges arise and aren't met.

[Mike Sixel]

My RW friends love what is happening so far. They'll love it even more after he nominates a RW for the Court that will strip our freedoms from us.

[Brock Beauchamp]

Sure, there are always people out there who approve of "their guy".

 

But, again, this is not normal. Nothing about this is normal.

 

http://fortune.com/2017/01/29/donald-trump-approval-rating-gallup/

 

Fortune isn't exactly a liberal haven and they do a pretty good job of explaining out how unusual it is for a president's disapproval rating to spike before he's been in office even two weeks.

[diehardtwinsfan]

 

My RW friends love what is happening so far. They'll love it even more after he nominates a RW for the Court that will strip our freedoms from us.

 

If you were truly worried about that, you would have rejected Bush, Obama, and Hillary as well.

[Craig Arko]

Don't know how many have seen this little item. If passed, this is likely to have the opposite effect of driving high tech companies, particularly startups, elsewhere.

 

http://www.msn.com/en-in/news/newsindia/h-1b-visa-bill-introduced-in-us-minimum-pay-more-than-doubled/ar-AAmrdMz?ocid=sf

[diehardtwinsfan]

 

Sure, there are always people out there who approve of "their guy".

 

But, again, this is not normal. Nothing about this is normal.

 

http://fortune.com/2017/01/29/donald-trump-approval-rating-gallup/

 

Fortune isn't exactly a liberal haven and they do a pretty good job of explaining out how unusual it is for a president's disapproval rating to spike before he's been in office even two weeks.

 

Truthfully, I don't think Trump cares, and he may be approaching this from a one and done standpoint to 'fix' all that he sees wrong with the country.  The flip side is that I wonder how much of this crap is simply the left falling for Trump's antics over and over and over again.  The News media hasn't quite figured out just how little respect they have, and these approval ratings are without question tied to the same questionable practices that missed Trump getting elected in the first place.

 

Here's some fun reading.  http://finance.yahoo.com/news/op-ed-left-falling-trumps-173600932.html

 

This kind of ties back into Drjim's article on post modernity, but telling none the less. Trump is going to end up with evidence of voter fraud. Millions of votes?  Who knows.  But that's all he's going to need to show he was on to something, and this doesn't take into account some of the questionable issues found during Jill Stein's recount, with pictures of broken tamper seals on voting machines found in heavy Clinton districts.

 

Falling all over this crap is going to give the left a black eye and give Trump even more go-ahead as right now it just looks like a bunch of cry-babies screaming (much like the Reps during a lot of the Obama admin I might add).  Trump is pretty good at tossing out some distraction bombs to keep the left off balance. He's smarter than we all give him credit for... which is kind of scary.

[Mike Sixel]

 

If you were truly worried about that, you would have rejected Bush, Obama, and Hillary as well.

 

Not a fan much at all about recent appointees, frankly. But, there are degrees, not switches...I think Obama's were/are more liberal than Trump's. It's a degree thing, no?