[Discussion] Hope to Remember The Trump Administration Thread as being 'transparent and honest'

Let's follow and discuss what our newest presidential administration gets up to, the good, the bad, the lawsuits, and the many many indictments.

We also don’t talk enough about how easy it is to win the presidency as a Republican. You can lose the popular vote by millions and still win. You can be historically unpopular and responsible for the most casualties in US history and still be within striking distance.

In modern US history you have to be uniquely terrible to lose the presidential election as a Republican.

Blech- I know it shouldn't be surprising... He pardoned Bannon and a bunch of other grifters.

The White House had planned to release the list of those granted clemency earlier in the day, but the debate over Mr. Bannon, who encouraged Mr. Trump publicly to fight the certification of the 2020 election, was part of the delay, officials said.

By late afternoon Tuesday, advisers believed they had kept a pardon for Mr. Bannon from happening. But by about 9 p.m., Mr. Trump had changed his mind and Mr. Bannon was added to the list.

In addition to Bannon, three prominent Republicans who had served in the House before their convictions.

They were Rick Renzi, who was sentenced in 2013 to three years in jail in association with a bribery scheme involving an Arizona land swap deal

Robert Hayes of North Carolina, who pleaded guilty in 2019 to lying to the F.B.I.

Randall “Duke” Cunningham of California, who pleaded guilty in 2005 to taking $2.4 million in bribes from military contractors.

Mr. Trump commuted the sentence of Kwame M. Kilpatrick, a Democrat and former Detroit mayor who was convicted in 2013 for using his office to enrich himself and his family through shakedowns, kickbacks and bid-rigging schemes.

I'm surprised he commuted the sentence of a Democrat. I guess corruption and grift take precedence.

I think it is likely that a large amount of money Kilpatrick illegally obtained made its way to dump.

I wasn't aware of this turd...

From 538 wrote:

In one of its final acts before leaving office, the Trump administration released a 45-page document called “The 1776 Report.” The report, written by conservative scholars and administration figures, was intended to serve as a rejoinder to The 1619 Project, published in 2019 by The New York Times Magazine, which argued that much of America’s history is best understood by thinking of the nation’s founding as in 1619, when enslaved people from Africa were first brought to the United States. The White House report was a forceful denunciation of so-called identity politics, criticism of America’s founders for tolerating slavery and other ideas often espoused by more liberal-leaning Americans.

Many scholars refuted the 1776 report’s findings. But the report’s content and its release right before Trump left office was an apt conclusion for an administration that has in many ways been defined by its racial (and at times racist) politics.

Link to 1776 Report
From the closing "argument" in the "report."

The answer to this rising concern must begin by frankly and humbly admitting that the common ground of equal natural rights on which our common morality is based is no longer visible to many Americans. We mustrefocus on the proposition that united this nation from the beginning: the proposition of the Declaration of Independence that there are "self-evident truths" which unite all Americans under a common creed.

But it is almost impossible to hold to this creed—which describes what and who we are—without reference to the Creator as the ultimate source of human equality and natural rights. This is the deepest reason why thefounders saw faith as the key to good character as well as good citizenship, and why we must remain “one Nationunder God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

”The proposition of political equality is powerfully supported by biblical faith, which confirms that all humanbeings are equal in dignity and created in God’s image. Every form of religious faith is entitled to religious liberty, so long as all comprehend and sincerely assent to the fundamental principle that under “the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God” all human beings are equally endowed with unalienable rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. As the first American president wrote in 1790 to the Hebrew Congregation in Newport, Rhode Island:

JC wrote:

I wasn't aware of this turd...

Link to 1776 Report

From 538 wrote:

Many scholars refuted the 1776 report’s findings. But the report’s content and its release right before Trump left office was an apt conclusion for an administration that has in many ways been defined by its racial (and at times racist) politics.

For example, all of the times.

Re: Bannon:

(1) There are four named defendants on the federal indictment for fraud related to stolen campaign contributions: Bannon, Brian Kolfage, Andrew Badolato, and Timothy Shea. Those other three are not listed in the clemency documents. As for Bannon, the White House doesn’t even attempt to hide the reason he’s being singled out:

President Trump granted a full pardon to Stephen Bannon. Prosecutors pursued Mr. Bannon with charges related to fraud stemming from his involvement in a political project. Mr. Bannon has been an important leader in the conservative movement and is known for his political acumen.

(2) fraud and various forms of theft are illegal in every state; these aren’t charges specifically and uniquely federal. Therefore, you can bet that all the evidence and paperwork will be moved just down the street from the federal Southern District of New York prosecutors office to the state New York prosecutors office before this week ends.

This pardon will have significance in the Senate, but not as to Bannon’s criminal liability.

Buckle up for bullsh*t.

CNN wrote:

President Trump has just arrived at Joint Base Andrews for his final farewell ceremony, the first time he's been seen in public for over a week.

On the stage where Trump will deliver what are likely his last public remarks as President, there’s a podium with the Presidential seal. There are no teleprompters.

"Have a good life, see you soon."

So a few weeks back trumps people were seen taking things that didn't belong to them from the white house like a bust of one of the former presidents. Doesn't some of things have historical significance? Isn't that like stealing from the people of the United States? Will anything be done to get the items returned?

Baron Of Hell wrote:

So a few weeks back trumps people were seen taking things that didn't belong to them from the white house like a bust of one of the former presidents. Doesn't some of things have historical significance? Isn't that like stealing from the people of the United States? Will anything be done to get the items returned?

Some of the items were personal, and some of them were being returned to the collections . And some of them, well, some were just weird... Looking at you Navarro
IMAGE(https://static.independent.co.uk/2021/01/15/06/2021-01-13T230957Z_1488377107_RC2B7L9NSZOY_RTRMADP_3_USA-TRUMP.JPG?width=982&height=726&auto=webp&quality=75)

Wait that navarro one isn't just photoshopped?

Hobear wrote:

Wait that navarro one isn't just photoshopped?

Nope. I assume he wanted it because he is in it. Still weird in my book.

Wondering whether the Q keys have been popped off the keyboards in the West Wing?

Wow, that looks so fake.

JC wrote:
Hobear wrote:

Wait that navarro one isn't just photoshopped?

Nope. I assume he wanted it because he is in it. Still weird in my book.

There is that but the lighting is just really weird. The past 4 years...also weird.

Bye Donnie!

Keithustus wrote:

Re: Bannon:

(1) There are four named defendants on the federal indictment for fraud related to stolen campaign contributions: Bannon, Brian Kolfage, Andrew Badolato, and Timothy Shea. Those other three are not listed in the clemency documents. As for Bannon, the White House doesn’t even attempt to hide the reason he’s being singled out:

President Trump granted a full pardon to Stephen Bannon. Prosecutors pursued Mr. Bannon with charges related to fraud stemming from his involvement in a political project. Mr. Bannon has been an important leader in the conservative movement and is known for his political acumen.

(2) fraud and various forms of theft are illegal in every state; these aren’t charges specifically and uniquely federal. Therefore, you can bet that all the evidence and paperwork will be moved just down the street from the federal Southern District of New York prosecutors office to the state New York prosecutors office before this week ends.

This pardon will have significance in the Senate, but not as to Bannon’s criminal liability.

So perfect that the pardon specifically leaves out that Bannon was charged with de-frauding *Trumpers.* That's all this was ever about.

We are finally rid of that bastard. Today is going to be an excellent day.

"we have to reject the culture of manufactured 'facts (but seek forigiveness and unity with those who manufactured them)"

Trump left a letter for Biden. I would pay money to read what it says. Is it written in crayon? Does it say more than "f*ck you Joe"?

Thoughts?

My thoughts are that he didn't write it.

Pat Bagley, Salt Lake City Tribune:

IMAGE(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EsMJvhqUwAADLoI?format=jpg&name=medium)

I realize now that Donald Trump was a two-term president, because 2020 lasted at least four years.

I am pretty sure it was the longest decade of my life.

Imagine going into a coma on Nov 7 2016 and waking up today.

Chairman_Mao wrote:

Imagine going into a coma on Nov 7 2016 and waking up today.

Sounds PHENOMENAL.

DSGamer wrote:

We also don’t talk enough about how easy it is to win the presidency as a Republican. You can lose the popular vote by millions and still win. You can be historically unpopular and responsible for the most casualties in US history and still be within striking distance.

In modern US history you have to be uniquely terrible to lose the presidential election as a Republican.

I will never stop being baffled by this. Democrats have to be near-perfect and a Republican can get an insane amount of votes by being Trump. What does that say about us?

Natus wrote:

So perfect that the pardon specifically leaves out that Bannon was charged with de-frauding *Trumpers.* That's all this was ever about.

At 1:07 AM last night Trump also signed a new EO that quietly rescinded his "drain the swamp" ethics EO, which banned Trump administration officials from becoming lobbyists for five years.

This is probably also the time to remind everyone that Bannon was arrested on a $30 million yacht owned by his friend and business associate Guo Wengui, an exiled Chinese billionaire who's wanted on charges of bribery, kidnapping, money laundering, fraud, and rape.

Bannon was often featured on G News, a website owned by Guo Media, and was paid $1 million by the company for "consulting services." Bannon also partnered with Guo in 2020 to form GTV Media Group, which managed to find itself the target of FBI and SEC investigations within a few months that involved the $300 million the company had raised from private equity.

Guo is also a member of Mar-a-Lago and, perhaps, Trump's new sugar daddy. At a minimum, Guo's money and Bannon's right-wing media experience would make a pretty good springboard for something like TrumpTV.

OG_slinger wrote:

At 1:07 AM last night Trump also signed a new EO that quietly rescinded his "drain the swamp" ethics EO, which banned Trump administration officials from becoming lobbyists for five years.

To be fair, Clinton and Obama did the same at the end of their terms.

Natus wrote:
DSGamer wrote:

We also don’t talk enough about how easy it is to win the presidency as a Republican. You can lose the popular vote by millions and still win. You can be historically unpopular and responsible for the most casualties in US history and still be within striking distance.

In modern US history you have to be uniquely terrible to lose the presidential election as a Republican.

I will never stop being baffled by this. Democrats have to be near-perfect and a Republican can get an insane amount of votes by being Trump. What does that say about us?

Voter fraud, gerrymandering, and anything other than a fair or legitimate process. Whatever they accuse everyone else doing, they do with impunity until they're caught bad enough. They play by different rules. See ratchet effect. The fact that any democrats win is because they have to overwhelm the margins by which the reps usually slime their way around fair and democratic processes.

(Not that the dems don't also do similar things, they're just not as bad or as blatant in their disregard. politicians gonna politic).