[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.

OG_slinger wrote:
Kehama wrote:

Meanwhile CNN is reporting that recent polls shows Trump's approval rating at an all time high. What is wrong with this country?

If CNN was talking about yesterday's NBC/The Wall Street Journal poll, it might be that the respondents skewed a bit older.

49% of the respondents were 50 or older while that same age group only makes up about a third of the population. The 50-and-older crowd is much whiter and more conservative than younger folks.

Considering that in 2016 the median voting age was around 51 it seems like CNN is nailing those demographics pretty well.

Yonder wrote:

Considering that in 2016 the median voting age was around 51 it seems like CNN is nailing those demographics pretty well.

The NBC/The Wall Street Journal poll only counted registered voters so it's not surprising to see it matched the age demographics of the 2016 election.

FiveThirtyEight has a good page specifically on this topic, aggregating all the polls. Comparisons to prior presidents are down the bottom of the page. In summary, Trumps approval rating has moved up a bit but he he still has a low approval rating by historical standards and two months ago the trend was down.

Yeah, turned out I mentioned the same thing as above...older, whiter people tend to have higher voter turnout. They're less likely to have their votes suppressed, I'd imagine, which is part of it.

Voted last night. Hope MN can swing blue through this all. Saw a horrible propaganda video from the 45 America first org or something. Basically if you vote any Democrat you are voting for socialism and the horrors. I wanted to find and link it but the thought of giving it views sickens me.

Yeah I think the same ad is here in NC. It was like Revelations if you vote Democrat.

Obama being president was the sixth seal opening. Everyone knows this.

oilypenguin wrote:

Obama being president was the sixth seal opening. Everyone knows this.

Pod Save America made a good connection between the rise of trump-ism following the Obama Presidency, and the rise of Jim Crow following the first AA senators and congressmen immediately following the civil war.

Getting Socialism and Revelations just for voting democrats. Seems like a good deal honestly.

Hobear wrote:

Voted last night. Hope MN can swing blue through this all. Saw a horrible propaganda video from the 45 America first org or something. Basically if you vote any Democrat you are voting for socialism and the horrors. I wanted to find and link it but the thought of giving it views sickens me.

I need to get to the county building on Friday to vote.
Right now, the only state wide race that may go red is AG. The various legislative seats will be interesting.
At least, it seems Lewis will be gone.

oilypenguin wrote:

Obama being president was the sixth seal opening. Everyone knows this.

And who knew that the seven trumpets of the seventh seal would be named Donald, Melania, Donald Jr., Ivanka, Eric, Tiffany, and Baron.

lunchbox12682 wrote:
Hobear wrote:

Voted last night. Hope MN can swing blue through this all. Saw a horrible propaganda video from the 45 America first org or something. Basically if you vote any Democrat you are voting for socialism and the horrors. I wanted to find and link it but the thought of giving it views sickens me.

I need to get to the county building on Friday to vote.
Right now, the only state wide race that may go red is AG. The various legislative seats will be interesting.
At least, it seems Lewis will be gone.

Yeah Ellison is in trouble due to how the reds like to paint him and the assault allegations. We did our part on Lewis.

I am also seeing some pretty radical statements from people I know about how this is real America’s one chance to stop the liars, foreign sympathizers, and traitors from seizing total control of our democracy.

These were, naturally, right wing drones. But it honestly read like sh*t out of the German Nazi party pre-Night of the Long Knives.

(How f*cked up is it that I feel the need to clarify which era of Nazism I am referring to.)

Reaper81 wrote:

I am also seeing some pretty radical statements from people I know about how this is real America’s one chance to stop the liars, foreign sympathizers, and traitors from seizing total control of our democracy.

They're not entirely wrong about the content of that statement, just their target.

Jonman wrote:
Reaper81 wrote:

I am also seeing some pretty radical statements from people I know about how this is real America’s one chance to stop the liars, foreign sympathizers, and traitors from seizing total control of our democracy.

They're not entirely wrong about the content of that statement, just their target.

Agreed. I wasn’t explicit but it really struck me how true that statement was and how utterly it was misdirected.

Hobear wrote:

Yeah Ellison is in trouble due to how the reds like to paint him and the assault allegations.

I have doubts about his ability to win a statewide office even without the assault allegations. There's a lot of Islamophobia flying around this state. Though most of it might be Somali specific.

I haven't seen any recent polling for the third district. Paulsen was losing but it seems like they've been dumping a sh*t-ton of money into negative ads and people here seem easily swayed by that stuff.

Reaper81 wrote:
Jonman wrote:
Reaper81 wrote:

I am also seeing some pretty radical statements from people I know about how this is real America’s one chance to stop the liars, foreign sympathizers, and traitors from seizing total control of our democracy.

They're not entirely wrong about the content of that statement, just their target.

Agreed. I wasn’t explicit but it really struck me how true that statement was and how utterly it was misdirected.

You're a puppet!

They're just following their little orange leader. Accuse the other guys of all the illegal sh*t you're doing.

I continue to be amazed at the level of BS this administration spits out...

President Donald Trump on Tuesday defended his unsubstantiated assertion that "unknown Middle Easterners" are traveling in a migrant caravan traveling north to the United States from Central America, but admitted "there's no proof of anything."
"They could very well be," Trump reiterated during a bill signing in the Oval Office, referring to Middle Eastern individuals embedded in the caravan. "I have very good information."
However, pressed for the proof of Middle Eastern individuals in the caravan by CNN's Jim Acosta, Trump said "there's no proof of anything."
"There's no proof of anything but they could very well be," Trump said.
Trump added Tuesday that "there's a very good chance" of Middle Eastern individuals being in the caravan.
"I also think that over a course of a period of time you (will) have (Middle Eastern individuals in the caravan), or they don't necessarily have to be in that group. But certainly, you have a lot of people coming up through the southern border from the Middle East and other places that are not appropriate for our country," he said.
"They don't necessarily have to be in that group," Trump also said Tuesday. "But certainly you have people coming up through the southern border, from the Middle East and other places that are not appropriate for our country. And I'm not letting them in."
Vice President Mike Pence also said that the Honduran President Juan Hernandez told him over a phone call today that the migrant caravan was financed by Venezuela and organized by leftist groups.
"At the President's direction I spoke with President Hernandez of Honduras. He told me that the caravan that is now making its way through Mexico headed for the southern border was organized by leftist organizations and financed by Venezuela," Pence said.
"And the Democrats maybe?" Trump joked.
Pence also declined to offer specific proof that Middle Eastern individuals are in the caravan, instead citing a statistic of how many suspected terrorists are prevented from coming into the country daily.
"The United States of America intervenes and prevents 10 terrorists or 10 suspected terrorists from coming into our country every day. So, it is inconceivable that there would not be individuals from the Middle East as part of this growing caravan," Pence said.

And the cherry on top of the ignorance sundae....

Trump said he does not believe he is stoking fear for political gain by addressing the caravan.
"No, not at all," he said, "I'm a very non-political person. And that's why I got elected President."

More than 210,000 international non-residents arrive in the US each and every day and yet Trump's worried that a bunch of Spanish-fluent ISIS agents are going to try to sneak into the country by hiding in a highly publicized caravan of Honduran immigrants who are either going to be turned away at the border or cross, immediately be detained, and then deported.

NYT: When Trump Phones Friends, the Chinese Listen and Learn

WASHINGTON — When President Trump calls old friends on one of his iPhones to gossip, gripe or solicit their latest take on how he is doing, American intelligence reports indicate that Chinese spies are often listening — and putting to use invaluable insights into how to best work the president and affect administration policy, current and former American officials said.

Mr. Trump’s aides have repeatedly warned him that his cellphone calls are not secure, and they have told him that Russian spies are routinely eavesdropping on the calls, as well. But aides say the voluble president, who has been pressured into using his secure White House landline more often these days, has still refused to give up his iPhones. White House officials say they can only hope he refrains from discussing classified information when he is on them.

White House officials say they can only hope he refrains from discussing classified information when he is on them.

THIS IS NOT HOW THINGS SHOULD BE WORKING!!!!

(Sorry for the past 2 years I've been feeling the need to shout that at least 3 times a week.)

Tscott wrote:
White House officials say they can only hope he refrains from discussing classified information when he is on them.

THIS IS NOT HOW THINGS SHOULD BE WORKING!!!!

(Sorry for the past 2 years I've been feeling the need to shout that at least 3 times a week.)

NYT wrote:

Administration officials said Mr. Trump’s longtime paranoia about surveillance — well before coming to the White House he believed his phone conversations were often being recorded — gave them some comfort that he was not disclosing classified information on the calls. They said they had further confidence he was not spilling secrets because he rarely digs into the details of the intelligence he is shown and is not well versed in the operational specifics of military or covert activities.

That's some amazing spin right there: "We don't worry about Trump leaking secrets because he's lazy, incurious, and generally ill-informed about everything."

But her emails, y'know.

That's "buttery males"...

OG_slinger wrote:
NYT wrote:

Administration officials said Mr. Trump’s longtime paranoia about surveillance — well before coming to the White House he believed his phone conversations were often being recorded — gave them some comfort that he was not disclosing classified information on the calls. They said they had further confidence he was not spilling secrets because he rarely digs into the details of the intelligence he is shown and is not well versed in the operational specifics of military or covert activities.

That's nice that he's not really into military and covert affairs. But an important question arises. Who is running these things if he isn't? Who is the real Commander in Chief?

Mixolyde wrote:
OG_slinger wrote:
NYT wrote:

Administration officials said Mr. Trump’s longtime paranoia about surveillance — well before coming to the White House he believed his phone conversations were often being recorded — gave them some comfort that he was not disclosing classified information on the calls. They said they had further confidence he was not spilling secrets because he rarely digs into the details of the intelligence he is shown and is not well versed in the operational specifics of military or covert activities.

That's nice that he's not really into military and covert affairs. But an important question arises. Who is running these things if he isn't? Who is the real Commander in Chief?

IMAGE(https://memesbams.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/aliens-meme-original.jpg)

Mixolyde wrote:
OG_slinger wrote:
NYT wrote:

Administration officials said Mr. Trump’s longtime paranoia about surveillance — well before coming to the White House he believed his phone conversations were often being recorded — gave them some comfort that he was not disclosing classified information on the calls. They said they had further confidence he was not spilling secrets because he rarely digs into the details of the intelligence he is shown and is not well versed in the operational specifics of military or covert activities.

That's nice that he's not really into military and covert affairs. But an important question arises. Who is running these things if he isn't? Who is the real Commander in Chief?

The Moscovian Candidate?

I find myself somewhat missing the days when Cheney was in power.
But only somewhat.

Does he even hear what he says?

https://www.cnn.com/politics/live-ne...

He then said it’s the news media’s responsibility to set the national political tone.

“The media also has a responsibility to set a civil tone and to stop the endless hostility and constant negative and oftentimes false attacks and stories. Have to do it,” he said.

Trump took no responsibility for his own rhetoric -- which has included attacks on news outlets and Democratic opponents, as well as moments like a recent rally in Montana where he praised a Republican congressman who pled guilty to charges stemming from his body-slamming a reporter.

“I’m being very nice,” Trump said.

Mixolyde wrote:
OG_slinger wrote:
NYT wrote:

Administration officials said Mr. Trump’s longtime paranoia about surveillance — well before coming to the White House he believed his phone conversations were often being recorded — gave them some comfort that he was not disclosing classified information on the calls. They said they had further confidence he was not spilling secrets because he rarely digs into the details of the intelligence he is shown and is not well versed in the operational specifics of military or covert activities.

That's nice that he's not really into military and covert affairs. But an important question arises. Who is running these things if he isn't? Who is the real Commander in Chief?

Serious answer: Either Ret. Gen James Mattis or Gen Joseph Dunford