No. (The Internet is full of people, today, who didn’t think they could despise Trump any more than they did already—but found out they could.)
I’m nearly as angry at news media that are acting as PR agencies for the Trump/Vance romancing of Putin. Describing the Oval Office ambush as a “shouting match” when it was Donald and Vance ganging up on Zelenskyy, and saying ‘Zelenskyy behaved badly’ or that Zelenskyy could have had a great peace deal if only he’d controlled himself!!!—that’s from CNN and MSNBC. (I’m sure FoxNews is saying nothing else.)
The obvious fact is that Trump/Musk/Vance planned to cut off Ukraine aid weeks if not months ago. NOTHING that happened in the Oval Office yesterday had anything to do with that decision. Pretending that Zelenskyy ‘brought it on himself’ is rank, stinking Russian propaganda.
That seems fair. There IS the precedent of Kent State. Of course that was in the pre-Internet age, which might make a difference—but back then there was almost universal shock that US military (National Guard) had fired on, and killed, unarmed protesters.
Many believe that shortened our involvement in the Vietnam war. Public opinion turned and staying in wasn’t politically feasible any longer.
Apparently others have had the same thought. I saw two short videos today that were SCARILY real-looking. (Okay, Discourse won’t link the videos directly. They’re between 3-5 seconds each.)
He can barely (if that) speak English. Those three are foreign languages to him.
Change it to felon47. BTW, thanks to those who have also used that term. Unless my searching is wonky, evidently I started that moniker for that criminal on this site.
As a comedian, Zelenskyy was in show business. He knows how things work. He’s a smart guy. I can’t believe he unknowingly walked into a trap He could surely see that Trump and Vance thought they were very, very clever, and were laughing up their sleeves at the kabuki performance they were about to put on. I wonder if he knowingly walked into the trap so that he could turn world opinion even more strongly agains the petulant toddler. The reviews from other countries that I’ve read of Trump’s skit have been universally negative
That’s possible. He’d have known that ANYTHING that happened in the meeting would have been cited by the Mango Malignity as “reason” to cut off aid to Ukraine.
If he’d worn a business suit, they’d have said they had to COATU* because he was clearly not serious about being at war. If he’d sat quietly and just nodded at every lie they spouted, they’d have said they had to COATU because he wasn’t engaged. If he’d done a real acting job and conversed as though they were saying sensible things, they’d have said they had to COATU because he wasn’t saying the same things he’d said in the past.
There was NOTHING he could have said or done that would have resulted in their saying Yes, we will continue aid to Ukraine.
Therefore he behaved like an emotionally-healthy, serious-minded head of state confronting unreasonable thugs. And the world is rallying to him (except the Axis of Evil, of course. Bigger by one whole country, now!!11!!!)
.
.
Yes, emotionally satisfying short bits of what-would-be-justice.
(Isn’t it scary how convincing they are, though? In line with my earlier thoughts about blaming a false-flag attack on Zelenskyy—it would be trivially easy, apparently, to come up with “proof” of him plotting to do violence against the USA.)
Love the videos, but yes, scary — we just entered a new era, for sure.
(With the recent death of JFK’s secret service agent, I read about the 1992 Clint Eastwood/John Malkovich film “In the Line of Fire.” The producers paid over a million dollars to use early CGI to create a few seconds of the Eastwood character, as a younger man, within a film with JFK - and also in then-new footage of Clinton and Bush in campaign events. Starting right about now, any one of us could do it for free, and fast.)
On April 20, 1990, Rose entered a plea of guilty to two charges of filing false income tax returns not showing income he received from selling autographs and memorabilia and from horseracing winnings. On July 19, he was sentenced to five months in the minimum security prison camp at the United States Penitentiary in Marion, Illinois, and fined $50,000.[70] Rose was released on January 7, 1991, after having paid $366,041 in back taxes and interest and was required to perform 1,000 hours of community service.[71][72]
Scarface and Charlie Hustle–both treated so unfairly.
It certainly wasn’t very diplomatic or respectful to interrupt and talk all over Zelenskyy, and berate him like a schoolchild. Then accuse Zelenskyy of litigating it in the press, when they brought up the topic. It was Vance who brought up negotiation with Putin.
It was also very disrespectful for Vance to jump in like that. What a baby.
Fabulous list.
It was a “shouting match”, if you mean two people on one side shouting at one guy on the other side. Trump and Vance matched each other in shouting.
But you got to admit, he’s the world’s greatest con man having persuaded people to vote him into leading one of the world’s leading powers twice.
Yes, the Republican Remora Party did help him a bit with voter registration finagling, mail-in denying, and poll-closures but I honestly think he would have won without it. A majority of the marks still don’t realize that envelope he’d handed them has nothing but newspaper in it.
Sure. But of course the news organizations using “shouting match” and similar phrases to describe the encounter, are intentionally implying it was a True Both Sides Did It situation.
And it just wasn’t. It was an ambush. It was planned. Cutting off aid to Ukraine had been decided long before Z arrived at the White House.
I feel safe in guessing that the Putin/Trump/Vance hope was a huge outpouring of contempt for Zelenskyy, which would have led to him being forced (by that overwhelming weight of public opinion) to resign the Presidency. Then a nice compliant Putin puppet could be installed, and all would proceed according to plan.
I’m guessing, again, that though the MAGA cult is obediently denouncing Zelenskyy, there is MUCH stronger sentiment on Z’s side, with plenty of contempt for Donald and JD. So that particular plan may have misfired.
Here Downunder, we’re looking at a Federal election to be called, likely in the next few weeks. Thankfully our election cycles aren’t drawn out and as theatrical as yours in the US, and once called, the election will probably be within 6-8 weeks.
HOWEVER, we have our political nutjobs just like yours. Fortunately our RWNJs tend not to pull the votes like yours, but thanks to the Orange Felon, they’re going to give it a jolly good try, making Australia Great Again.
Trump has emboldened the dangerous right-wing extremists that, prior to his ascendency, were merely lurking in the foetid shadows of political discourse.
Fuck you Trump, and FUCK YOU CLIVE PALMER. Get your shit off’ve my media please.
