The Trump Administration: A Clusterfuck in the Making

[Snowboarder_Bo]

Bill Barr is shooting his mouth off some more:

Attorney General William Barr believes the Russia investigation that shadowed President Donald Trump for the first two years of his administration was started without any basis and amounted to an effort to “sabotage the presidency,” he said in an interview with Fox News Channel that aired Thursday.

Barr offered no support for his assertion that the FBI lacked a basis for opening the investigation and made no mention of the fact that the bureau began its probe after a Trump campaign adviser purported to have early knowledge that Russia had dirt on Democratic opponent Hillary Clinton.

Then he said shit that’s really troubling, only not in the way he is troubled:

Barr, who has appointed a U.S. Attorney to scrutinize the origins of the Russia probe, said the Justice Department has evidence there was “something far more troubling” than just mistakes during the investigation that was eventually taken over by special counsel Robert Mueller.

Why do I think that’s troubling? Well:

The Justice Department’s inspector general found in a December report that the FBI was justified in opening the investigation to protect against a potential national security threat. It did not find any evidence that the decision to start the probe was motivated by political bias.

But:

Trump and his supporters are counting on different conclusions from the investigation led by John Durham, the U.S. attorney Barr selected to examine the early days of the Russia probe. Durham’s investigation is ongoing, and Barr did not provide any evidence about what Durham has found so far.

[Superdude]

This is why Harris would be a great Attorney General. Turn her loose on the Trump administration

[Fugazi]

@jsc1953

(Let me consult my crystal ball) his first recommendation to get us on the road to recovery will be…corporate tax cuts.

You have a bright future as a Republican disaster recovery expert.

[Ike_Witt]

@dasmoocher

Since Trump can’t hold his rallies, he sort of treats these briefings in part as pseudo campaign rallies to get his fix of being the center of attention and as a platform for his boasting and airing of grievances.

It sure as hell isn’t a festivus for the rest of us.

[ThelmaLou]

Trump Keeps Talking. Some Republicans Don’t Like What They’re Hearing.
Aides and allies increasingly believe the president’s daily briefings are hurting him more than helping, and are urging him to let his medical experts take center stage.

Take a look at that subhead and identify the ONE WORD that is a tip off this will never work.

URGINGThese poor bastards keep thinking the leopard might change his spots. I’ve highlighted a few more words that illustrate how doomed this project is:

…Mr. Trump “sometimes drowns out his own message,” said Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, who has become one of the president’s informal counselors and told him “a once-a-week show” could be more effective. Representative Susan Brooks of Indiana said “they’re going on too long.” Senator Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia said the briefings were “going off the rails a little bit” and **suggested **that he **should **“let the health **professionals **guide where we’re going to go.”

Even the conservative Wall Street Journal editorial board chastised the president for his behavior at the briefings. “Covid-19 isn’t shifty Schiff,” it wrote in an editorial on Thursday, using Mr. Trump’s nickname for Representative Adam Schiff. “It’s a once-a-century threat to American life and livelihood.”
…

He doesn’t take suggestions. He’s never wrong. He is always the smartest guy in the room. Period.

This one will make you laugh right out loud:

…Some even suggested he summon a broader range of the country’s leaders, including former Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama, in an all-hands-on-deck moment to respond to the national emergency…

:eek:

Barack HUSSEIN Mooslim Kenyan Obummer who’s married to a MAN, FFS. Not fucking likely!

This part made me very happy:

…One of Mr. Trump’s top political advisers, speaking on the condition of anonymity so as not to anger the president, was even blunter, arguing that the White House was handing Mr. Biden ammunition each night by sending the president out to the cameras…

Like I said, keep up the good work, Mr. President!

Vice President Mike Pence, this adviser said, should be the M.C. because he projects more empathy than the president, rarely makes mistakes and, as a former governor and the chief of the coronavirus task force, has a better grasp on the details of the response…

Let Mikey take over??? This deserves an even bigger belly laugh!

What planet have these people been living on for the last three years?

[asahi]

Opinion | American Democracy May Be Dying (Published 2020)

Until recently, it seemed as if Viktor Orban, Hungary’s de facto dictator, might stop with soft authoritarianism, presiding over a regime that preserved some of the outward forms of democracy, neutralizing and punishing opposition without actually making criticism illegal. But now his government has used the coronavirus as an excuse to abandon even the pretense of constitutional government, giving Orban the power to rule by decree.

To Snowborder Bo’s point about Barr, consider the timing of all this: the removal of inspector generals. It’s clear that Trump and his entourage intend to remove all restraint and weaponize the justice department. They want direct top-down control over federal agencies that have anything to do with law enforcement, national security, and intelligence collection.

If you say that something similar can’t happen here, you’re hopelessly naive.

…which most of us are, unfortunately.

In fact, it’s already happening here, especially at the state level. Wisconsin, in particular, is well on its way toward becoming Hungary on Lake Michigan, as Republicans seek a permanent lock on power.

…and in North Carolina, and other places where Republicans still have power. This is what not enough people understand: it’s a political culture that despises an inclusive, diverse democratic society.

[Buck_Godot]

@jsc1953

(Let me consult my crystal ball) his first recommendation to get us on the road to recovery will be…corporate tax cuts.

Well that goes without saying, but what about social distancing?

I have a little back of the napkin graph that should shed light on that.

If we do no social distancing we can expect two million deaths in the US, but if we do complete social distancing for 100 years then no babies get born and the human race dies out. So there must be some point where more social distancing is actually worse than less social distancing. Therefore we can conclude that to save lives everyone should congregate in large crowds.

[ThelmaLou]

@Buck_Godot

Well that goes without saying, but what about social distancing?

I have a little back of the napkin graph that should shed light on that.

If we do no social distancing we can expect two million deaths in the US, but if we do complete social distancing for 100 years then no babies get born and the human race dies out. So there must be some point where more social distancing is actually worse than less social distancing. Therefore we can conclude that to save lives everyone should congregate in large crowds.

With that kind of reasoning, I believe there is a place for you in the current administration. How would you like to be Secretary of Something? We’re expecting openings very soon.

[Steve_MB]

Doctor Donald explains the pandemic:

@The Stable Genius

The germ has gotten so brilliant that the antibiotic can’t keep up with it … there’s a whole genius to it … not only is it hidden, but it’s very smart.

[jsc1953]

He sounds like Quint talking about the shark.

[ThelmaLou]

@jsc1953

He sounds like Quint talking about the shark.

Or Ahab…

[psychobunny]

@ThelmaLou

With that kind of reasoning, I believe there is a place for you in the current administration. How would you like to be Secretary of Something? We’re expecting openings very soon.

Hate to jump in here but the only openings available in this administration are for *Acting *Secretary of Something. There hasn’t been an actual Senate-confirmed appointment since Trump figured out this hack.

[running_coach]

@psychobunny

Hate to jump in here but the only openings available in this administration are for *Acting *Secretary of Something. There hasn’t been an actual Senate-confirmed appointment since Trump figured out this hack.

Someone else suggested it. Trump understands how the government works in much the same way an ant understands quantum mechanics.

[Great_Antibob]

And it’s not much of a ‘hack’. There are a lot of powers that Acting personnel cannot wield and they can only stay on the job for a short period. It really is more of a way to keep things from falling apart than keeping them working.

That’s ok if you have no interest in the efficacy of those Departments, but it’s a bit more of problem when you want things done or want coordinated leadership, like say during pandemics and such.

[Snowboarder_Bo]

Trump today:

At the same time, Trump said he would be announcing the launch of what he dubbed the “Opening our Country” task force next Tuesday to work toward that goal.

“I want to get it open as soon as possible,” he said at a Good Friday briefing, while adding: “The facts are going to determine what I do.”

With the economy reeling and job losses soaring, Trump has been itching to reopen the country, drawing alarm from health experts who warn that doing so too quickly could spark a deadly resurgence that could undermine current distancing efforts.

But Trump, who had once set Easter Sunday as the date he hoped people in certain parts of the country might begin to return to work and pack church pews, said he would continue to listen to health experts like Drs. Anthony Fauci and Deborah Birx as he considers what he described as the “biggest decision I’ve ever had to make.”

Re: the bolded parts: what the fuck is he talking about? It’s not his decision to make. He didn’t shut things down; state governors did. He’s “backup” and “a cheerleader”.

[romansperson]

He thinks all things begin and end with him, that’s what he thinks. Of course.

[Aspidistra]

Best headline of the week, from the Guardian

Peter Navarro: What Trump’s COVID-19 Tsar lacks in expertise, he makes up

They had me going - I clicked on the link expecting the rest of the sentence. Nope. There is no ‘rest of it’

[Skywatcher]

@romansperson

He thinks all things begin and end with him, that’s what he thinks. Of course.

Point of order: that’s what he believes. He’d sprain his brain if he actually tried thinking.

[asahi]

@Aspidistra

Best headline of the week, from the Guardian

Peter Navarro: What Trump’s COVID-19 Tsar lacks in expertise, he makes up

They had me going - I clicked on the link expecting the rest of the sentence. Nope. There is no ‘rest of it’

From the article in your link:

Five of Navarro’s books cited a China hand with a particularly pithy turn of phrase called Ron Vara, who turned out not to exist. The name is an anagram of Navarro and the imaginary expert operated as an alter ego, confirming the author’s views.

Nothing like an author who refers to a third person academic source…who happens to be a made up version of himself.

You just can’t make this shit up.

[romansperson]

@Skywatcher

Point of order: that’s what he believes. He’d sprain his brain if he actually tried thinking.

Excellent point. I stand corrected!