I hope there are some local and state charges he CAN’T pardon.
I don’t doubt for a moment he’d do it, either. It’s the perfect opportunity to achieve cult status with the neo-confederates whom he’s being forced to repudiate. He might be forced to say “Uh, yeah, sorry! :rolleyes:” to the media (whom he once again labeled his enemies in a campaign ad that just rolled out). He can say “Sorry” while winking and nodding and immediately following it up with the pardoning of Joe Arpaio.
The extremists in this country are going to take their cues from the Donald, and as I warned, this is his counter-strategy to the investigation. Trump finds himself being cornered by the rule of law, by law and order, by the Constitution. He’s fighting not only for his political survival, but the survival of his family name and empire. This is going to be a no-holds-barred fight, and he’s not going to play by the rules. He has millions of rabid pit bulls he could unleash at any time, and he’s whipping them up into a frenzy. He’ll use them to intimidate anyone who gets in his path. Classic strongman, authoritarian stuff here, folks.
Whether Trump turns out to be America’s first rule authoritarian or ends up being a proto-authoritarian, we’re getting closer to the point of no return. It will take us years to clean up this massive hurricane of shit that the country stupidly allowed to gain power, and I don’t see any scenario in which this ends well.
I hope you’re wrong. I fear you’re right.
The CEO of Under Armour has joined the Chairman of Merck in resigning from Trump’s Manufacturing Council.
Yeah, I would not be so sure about “millions”, at least at present. Things could, in theory, swing toward their favor, but seeing how effective they are (e.g., Malheur Wildlife Refuge), it would not surprise me to see them trip over their own dicks (or bags of them) trying to impress people and win them over.
The threat is, yes, real, but the anti-threat is equally real
He just retweeted a Fox and Friends tweet saying this, so he must really be considering it.
The problem is, it doesn’t really require millions of them to destabilize the country; it just requires millions of them to countenance the behavior of extremism, either through active support or just plain indifference. Extremists are by definition on the fringes, marginalized, a minority that is controlled much of the time by an equilibrium of powers who understand that values such as compromise and tolerance are what make society stable and functional. That equilibrium has long ago been upset, which allows the extremists to disrupt and encourage more disruption. This can turn into a cycle.
:mad:
Holy hell, the man just tweeted a picture of a train hitting a CNN reporter, and then deleted it.
Bannon: Here’s your twitter message addressing the Charlottesville issue. Since the radical left clearly provoked the violence, it covers all sides so you won’t look like you’re singling anybody out.
Trump: OK, fine. Short and sweet. This has been a productive meeting. A very productive meeting. There should be more meetings like this. Gets things done quicker.
Sessions: People are demanding you condemn the white supremacists.
Trump: Are you seriously going to bother me with that shit when I’m on the back nine? I’ll deal with it when I get back from my working vacation.
Ivanka: Seriously daddykins, this white supremacy thing is freaking my customer base out all over the Internet!
Trump: Where the fuck’s Jared? Deal with your hysterical wife for me. Buy her a diamond necklace or something.
Pence: Oh glorious leader of the free world, it is an honor to bask in your presence. God bless you president Trump.
Trump: See? That’s how you get things done around here. The rest of you should take notice.
Random Trump aid: Mr. President, here is your morning report. As you can see here, the stock market continues to rise, thanks to you, President Trump. Your approval rating did not plunge below 30%. That’s better than President Clinton for about 30 seconds on this same date in 1993.
Trump: Morning Joe say anything about me?
Random Trump aid: Er, ah, that’s in the 2nd draft I believe…
Trump: What 2nd draft? You mean this isn’t the 1st draft?
Random Trump aid: I believe this is the 10th draft. There was a lot of negativity over Charlottesville we thought you wouldn’t want to hear.
Trump: What the fuck do you mean negativity? I already released a statement about it. What more do those sheep want? CNN’s behind this. I just know it. Do you work for them? How much are they paying you to destroy me? You’re fired! Drain the swamp!
Kelly: Mr. President, denounce the white supremacists or we’ll cut off your FOX feed.
Trump: All right, fine, but it was you who gave in, not me.
The worst part of this is, that’s probably pretty damn close to the truth.
All they need is the “right” extremists in the “right” places.
So the alt-right is demanding the firing of McMaster. Various congressional caucuses are demanding the firing of Bannon, Miller & Gorka.
The battle for Trump’s “soul” is on.
OK, so in his first 7 months he has threatened to invade Mexico, North Korea, Venezuela and Chicago. Am I missing anybody? Iran?
Namely Trump and his cronies.
Melania.
:rim shot:
Sad but true!
Exactly.