An article on msn is saying that Trump wants to read the transcript of the phone call live to the American people, perhaps as a “Fireside Chat.”
Oh, and now claims he’s a Florida resident, not a New Yorker.
Not only was he born in a non-English-speaking country, but he’s Jewish to boot. Doubly “not really white”.
:eek:
Game over.
BTW, Shabbat shalom. 
I disagree that this helps his reelection chances. His base is going to show up and vote for him no matter what. I can’t see independents viewing an impeachment trial as the deciding reason to vote for him.
My bold prediction on the outcome of the Senate trial: Senate Democrats will vote to convict. Republicans up for re-election in 2024 will vote their conscience (if any). Republicans up in 2020 and 2022 will check the popularity of impeachment in their home state.
So…it could be close.
(Perhaps someone with time on their hands could research the numbers for those Republican categories?)
In his case, it would be a “Fireside Rant”. I think a more effective strategy for him would be to focus on infrastructure and background checks, attempting to show that he is capable of governing (which of course, like all things to do with him, is a lie). Instead, we’ll probably see him hold the government shutdown hostage until the House and Senate proclaim him as the most innocent person in galactic history.
I suppose the Florida residency is to dodge taxes and a recognition that his days as a NY wheeler and dealer are long over.
It’s a shame that the call wasn’t simply recorded. That could be played on TV for everyone to judge. What do ellipses sound like?
Speaking of TV, does anyone know if Pelosi has the power to call for hearings to be held during prime time?
I really doubt that the big networks want to carry that stuff live. Most Americans want to guess, and I’m not judging, who’s the singer in the costume, or to see who hits it off with the bachelorette.
Agreed, but at least live CNN and Fox.
According to Colbert: DOT DOT DOT , DOT DOT DOT
I don’t know. I could see ads like “MONDAY MONDAY MONDAY! DRAMA UNDER THE DOME! ADAM SHIFTY SCHIFF TAKES ON RUDY COLLUDY GIULIANI WITH THE PRESIDENTIAL BELT AT STAKE! CNN MONDAY MONDAY MONDAY!”
They really are. I felt better when public polls seemed to be edging toward being in favor of impeachment, even if only by a small margin in favor, but apparently now they are coming out “split” again. And even with whispers of economic problems, the job outlook turned out to be better than expected this month. Never mind that most of the jobs are probably crappy, it’s a win for “him.”
I’m scared. He’s going to use his office even more now to get help for 2020. If he was helped in 2016, he will get even more help now because he can just hide everything on a secure server with impunity and only a couple of tsk-tsks from some retired Republican somewhere.
There’s no positive news to talk me off the ledge I don’t think.
How it goes down in the history books years from now doesn’t help.
I had similar thoughts until the Republicans showed complete, unwavering solidarity in the House vote. If a House Republican, knowing full well that their vote won’t change anything, still couldn’t/didn’t vote their conscience, my only conclusion is that none of them have any. I have trouble believing that would be any different for Republican Senators where their vote indeed has the chance to actually change the outcome.
That “fireside chat” read of the transcript idea is bananas. Trump and his team apparently still don’t realize that the transcript that they put out demonstrates clearly a quid pro quo being intimated.
Also, TPM has put out a great interactive chart for the impeachment inquiry, showing which witnesses and documented have been requested and which ones have either been provided or are being held up:
https://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/infographic-tracking-the-status-of-the-impeachment-inquiry
I mentioned, possibly in this thread, that my daughter and I acted out the phone call - she was Zelensky, I was Trump - because I wanted to see what it sounded like.
Yeah. It’s not an exonerating experience for the person playing Trump.
Bolding mine.
I think this could be seen as a reason in favor of not “stepping out of line” in their eyes. It won’t change the outcome, but it would brand them as “not one of us” to the rest of the Republican House. There really are no upsides at this point in the proceedings for a House Republican member to break ranks. Now, when it comes time to vote on Articles of Impeachment I sincerely hope a few brave men and women will think more of their country than they do of their re-election chances, but I won’t hold my breath. Yes, it would probably still be the case of “won’t change the outcome”, but the stakes are higher in going on record saying that the President did nothing wrong in the final vote rather than voting to agree on rules of engagement.
They could have a tape of Trump saying “I spend my weekends murdering babies in the White House basement”, and all Trump has to say is “See? There is NOTHING on that tape about murdering babies!” to get his Trumpettes to fall in line.
I will say the complete lack of defense for this guy by the usual suspects is a bit of a surprise. Max S. is giving it the old college try, but as we’ve realized, there’s a lot of flash and fury signifying nothing in those arguments, so they’ve faded away. Ditka hasn’t been here in over 2 weeks, Peghead has apparently been convinced that one doesn’t need a signed agreement to be in a conspiracy… who here is left to defend the defenseless?