# Are the elites blackmailing Trump now? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [April 13, 2018, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-the-elites-blackmailing-trump-now/812348 "2018-04-13T13:15:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2018, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-the-elites-blackmailing-trump-now/812348/41 "2018-04-13T22:41:54Z")
> [@Jim\_Peebles](#): > > I see that as tinfoil hat territory. Ok, that’s nice too. ---
**Author:** ![WillReadmore](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/6f9a4e/32.png) [@WillReadmore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WillReadmore)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2018, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-the-elites-blackmailing-trump-now/812348/42 "2018-04-13T22:42:31Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > What exactly is the blackmail about? Extramarital affairs? Trump’s first such was all over the NY Post at the time. Stormy Daniels? Why bow to blackmail after the story is out? > You think the FBI cares about TPP or Syria? If they are ganging up on Trump, maybe because it is due to Trump dissing them after the Comey firing? (Not a good idea when you have secrets.) BTW, do you think Trump’s double change of opinion on gun control came from blackmail? > If there is blackmail afoot, it is coming from Putin and involves videos and loans from Russian banks and dirty money. If the Stormy Daniels thing were limited to having an affair, I don’t believe there would be so much effort put into fighting that. I don’t believe anyone doubts there was an affair. And, even the evangelicals are pronouncing this as OK by them. Really, the only choice is that it leads somewhere in order to be so important. Would a video be enough? Could it lead to illegal acts during the election? Was there a pregnancy? I don’t know, but it can’t just be an affair. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2018, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-the-elites-blackmailing-trump-now/812348/43 "2018-04-13T22:49:38Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > Unlikely. There are precious few things that Trump is consistent about, but he’s been harping on “China is unfair” for decades. Long before anyone even knew who Obama was. And TPP looked like another way for China to “take advantage” of us. The funny thing is that the TPP was designed to blunt China’s influence. ---
**Author:** ![Measure\_for\_Measure](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/measure_for_measure/32/557_2.png) [@Measure\_for\_Measure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Measure_for_Measure)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2018, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-the-elites-blackmailing-trump-now/812348/44 "2018-04-13T23:18:04Z")
[Kevin Drum](https://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2018/04/trump-is-pretending-he-wants-to-rejoin-tpp/): “TPP haters can probably relax.” ---
**Author:** ![WillReadmore](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/6f9a4e/32.png) [@WillReadmore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WillReadmore)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2018, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-the-elites-blackmailing-trump-now/812348/45 "2018-04-13T23:38:48Z")
> [@Jim\_Peebles](#): > > Trump’s attorneys office got raided. Now suddenly he indicates he wants back in to the TPP talks. And he is talking about retaliating against Assad for a chemical weapons attack which it would have made no sense for Assad to do. I wouldn’t have expected any of this from Trump. Could it be that the elites are blackmailing Trump with info revealed from the raid on his attorney’s office? Or is this “4D chess” on Trump’s part? Or all just coincidence? Or this all seems more weighty than it is? That’s only two flip flops. He’s flip flopped multiple times each on DACA, taxes, healthcare, and pretty much every other policy consideration. I think you need more flip flops per unit time if you want to suggest a notable change in behavior. ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2018, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-the-elites-blackmailing-trump-now/812348/46 "2018-04-13T23:43:13Z")
> [@Jim\_Peebles](#): > > I hope there is no connection. Your question “What the heck does the chemical attack in Syria have to do with TPP?” makes me doubt you understood me. I never connected those two with each other directly. I was noting Trump reversing on both of them shortly after the raid. I assume you mean there is no reason to connect the raid to Trump reversing positions. Again, I hope you are right. Trump reverses himself on some issue or another after every fifth dump he takes; so are you suggesting that the water company might have the goods on him? ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Ace](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/6bbea6/32.png) [@Johnny\_Ace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Ace)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2018, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-the-elites-blackmailing-trump-now/812348/47 "2018-04-14T00:08:21Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > If there is blackmail afoot, it is coming from Putin and involves videos and loans from Russian banks and dirty money. Even Trump isn’t stupid enough to allow video recording of him. I think. ---
**Author:** ![WillReadmore](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/6f9a4e/32.png) [@WillReadmore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WillReadmore)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2018, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-the-elites-blackmailing-trump-now/812348/48 "2018-04-14T02:16:31Z")
> [@Johnny\_Ace](#): > > Even Trump isn’t stupid enough to allow video recording of him. > > I think. The $130K deal with Stormy Daniels specifies videos, pics and texts. Of course, that could be boilerplate for all his NDA’s, I guess. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2018, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-the-elites-blackmailing-trump-now/812348/49 "2018-04-14T02:39:28Z")
> [@Jim\_Peebles](#): > > I see that as tinfoil hat territory. The irony, it burns. You think Trumpo could keep his pants on in Russia? You think Putin and his KGB friends don’t know all about hidden cameras? The money angle is pretty well understood already. Hardly anyone but the Russians (laundered through Western banks, perhaps) want to lend to Mr. Bankrupt. And you have read about Comey’s book, right? ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2018, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-the-elites-blackmailing-trump-now/812348/50 "2018-04-14T02:40:33Z")
> [@Johnny\_Ace](#): > > Even Trump isn’t stupid enough to allow video recording of him. > > I think. You think he knew? You think he wouldn’t have gotten steered to a room with a camera. Assuming that there is a room without a camera, that is. Don’t you guys read any spy stories at all? ---
**Author:** ![Jim\_Peebles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Jim\_Peebles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jim_Peebles)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2018, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-the-elites-blackmailing-trump-now/812348/51 "2018-04-14T02:42:19Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > The irony, it burns. > You think Trumpo could keep his pants on in Russia? You think Putin and his KGB friends don’t know all about hidden cameras? The money angle is pretty well understood already. Hardly anyone but the Russians (laundered through Western banks, perhaps) want to lend to Mr. Bankrupt. > And you have read about Comey’s book, right? Yeah, I read ABOUT his book. I dont’t plan to read it. What about his book? ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2018, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-the-elites-blackmailing-trump-now/812348/52 "2018-04-14T02:44:24Z")
> [@WillReadmore](#): > > If the Stormy Daniels thing were limited to having an affair, I don’t believe there would be so much effort put into fighting that. I don’t believe anyone doubts there was an affair. And, even the evangelicals are pronouncing this as OK by them. > > Really, the only choice is that it leads somewhere in order to be so important. > > Would a video be enough? > > Could it lead to illegal acts during the election? > > Was there a pregnancy? > > I don’t know, but it can’t just be an affair. Nah, the important thing was that the story would have broke just before the election. $130 K would have been considered small change to prevent that. Just like Watergate the interesting thing here is the coverup and the campaign financing issues. Plus this one was consensual, which not all the others were. Now the doorman story could be something else. Scorecard, scorecard, you can’t keep track of Trump scandals without a scorecard. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2018, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-the-elites-blackmailing-trump-now/812348/53 "2018-04-14T02:46:37Z")
> [@Jim\_Peebles](#): > > Yeah, I read ABOUT his book. I dont’t plan to read it. What about his book? He talks about Trump freaking out about the supposed pee video. More than someone would who know any such video had to be faked. Every knew the rumors before, but it was not big news until we learned that Trump cared about it. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2018, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-the-elites-blackmailing-trump-now/812348/54 "2018-04-14T02:50:10Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > Unlikely. There are precious few things that Trump is consistent about, but he’s been harping on “China is unfair” for decades. Long before anyone even knew who Obama was. And TPP looked like another way for China to “take advantage” of us. Yeah, that’s because Trump thought China was a party to TPP. Which it isn’t. Is Taiwan a member? Shit, what would happen if Trump ignorantly called Taiwan China? Scary. ---
**Author:** ![China\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/779978/32.png) [@China\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/China_Guy)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2018, 6:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-the-elites-blackmailing-trump-now/812348/55 "2018-04-14T06:55:48Z")
I’m so confused. Hillary was against TPP, so why wasn’t Trump for it??? Of course, it \*was \*an Obama initiative, so that must have muddied the waters. ---
**Author:** ![Jim\_Peebles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Jim\_Peebles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jim_Peebles)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2018, 7:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-the-elites-blackmailing-trump-now/812348/56 "2018-04-14T07:53:17Z")
> [@China\_Guy](#): > > I’m so confused. Hillary was against TPP, so why wasn’t Trump for it??? Of course, it \*was \*an Obama initiative, so that must have muddied the waters. [https://www.politico.com/story/2016/10/hillary-clinton-trade-deal-229381](https://www.politico.com/story/2016/10/hillary-clinton-trade-deal-229381) ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2018, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-the-elites-blackmailing-trump-now/812348/57 "2018-04-15T01:08:46Z")
> [@Jim\_Peebles](#): > > [https://www.politico.com/story/2016/10/hillary-clinton-trade-deal-229381](https://www.politico.com/story/2016/10/hillary-clinton-trade-deal-229381) The (in)famous Clinton triangulation gambit. Didn’t quite work out that time. ---
**Author:** ![GoodOmens](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/d26b3c/32.png) [@GoodOmens](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GoodOmens)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2018, 9:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-the-elites-blackmailing-trump-now/812348/58 "2018-04-15T09:38:07Z")
> [@Measure\_for\_Measure](#): > > I hope it’s not blackmail as well. Let’s list the key players in this liberal elite conspiracy: > Attorney General Jeff Sessions (R) > Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein (R) > Special Prosecutor Robert Mueller (R) > FBI Director Jim Comey (R) > U.S. Attorney Geoffrey Berman (R) The “R” stands for “geoRge soRos.” ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2018, 10:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-the-elites-blackmailing-trump-now/812348/59 "2018-04-15T10:48:31Z")
> [@Ravenman](#): > > Trump is an idiot and has no idea what he’s doing. Worse: Trump is way out of his depth but thinks he knows what he’s doing. ---
**Author:** ![UnwittingAmericans](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/d9b06d/32.png) [@UnwittingAmericans](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UnwittingAmericans)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2018, 11:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-the-elites-blackmailing-trump-now/812348/60 "2018-04-15T11:05:18Z")
I just thank god this is not happening in 1997, or we’d be seeing “l33t” everywhere. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-the-elites-blackmailing-trump-now/812348.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-the-elites-blackmailing-trump-now/812348.md?page=4)