# Thoughts about the election that don't seem to belong anywhere else **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [November 14, 2016, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thoughts-about-the-election-that-dont-seem-to-belong-anywhere-else/772002 "2016-11-14T20:57:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 20
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2017, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thoughts-about-the-election-that-dont-seem-to-belong-anywhere-else/772002/381 "2017-01-22T15:57:41Z")
More evidence, as if we needed any, that our new President (I gag as I type that) is a shameless liar. [A Trump book riddled with falsehoods will no longer be sold by the National History Museum](https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/a-trump-book-for-sale-at-the-national-history-museum-is-riddled-with-falsehoods/2017/01/20/adb72e24-de6d-11e6-acdf-14da832ae861_story.html?hpid=hp_hp-cards_hp-card-local%3Ahomepage%2Fcard) > [@](#): > > _This story has been updated to reflect the fact that the book was pulled from the gift shop Saturday:_ > > The $50 book about Donald Trump was displayed at the very front of the National Museum of American History’s gift shop, its red-white-and-blue cover featuring the newly inaugurated president’s signature stare-and-hair. > > …\… > > The Trump book, which is heavy on photos and pullout memorabilia and bears the words “Make America Great Again” on its cover, contains a series of false assertions: > > -On Trump’s years of challenging of President Obama’s birthplace and citizenship: “Donald Trump took the fall for what should have been the fault of Hillary Clinton, whose campaign first propagated the misinformation about President Obama.” > > [[read the rest of the false assertions here:](https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/a-trump-book-for-sale-at-the-national-history-museum-is-riddled-with-falsehoods/2017/01/20/adb72e24-de6d-11e6-acdf-14da832ae861_story.html?hpid=hp_hp-cards_hp-card-local%3Ahomepage%2Fcard)] Whoa! That first one blew my mind! The author is saying Hillary came up with the birther issues and TRUMP got blamed for it?? His loyal sycophants will believe it, I’m sure. If it comes from Donnie’s lips, it’s golden… like everything else that [del]touches him[/del] he touches. Later in the article: > [@](#): > > Hall [Brandon Hall, the 25-year old author] was equally defensive in linking Clinton to birther claims about Obama. His book includes a copy of Obama’s birth certificate, underneath this account of the controversy: > > “Hillary had successfully scapegoated Donald, her friend and a man who trusted her, in order to save herself from being eaten alive by her own party for her disgraceful campaign tactics. The media also pushed the lie that Donald was the one who initiated the ‘Birther Movement’ to further cover up Hillary’s treachery. . . .” > > Obama, the book maintains, “eventually caved and released his long-form birth certificate to prove his citizenship. . . .” That young man has quite a career as an historian ahead of him. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2017, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thoughts-about-the-election-that-dont-seem-to-belong-anywhere-else/772002/382 "2017-01-22T17:04:35Z")
“An historian”? With an “N”, _an_ historian? Elitist! ---
**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:** [January 22, 2017, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thoughts-about-the-election-that-dont-seem-to-belong-anywhere-else/772002/383 "2017-01-22T23:50:31Z")
One wonders how the country managed to survive for nearly a quarter of a millennium without the Donald in charge of the affairs of state. (There was actually one time in which a true statesman was mandatory to the survival of the Republic, and we were lucky that he was there. Unfortunately for us, Trump is neither mandatory nor a statesman.) And his delusional supporters will eat it up with a full setting of silverware. This has the distinction of being the first official ‘alternative fact’ of his administration. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2017, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thoughts-about-the-election-that-dont-seem-to-belong-anywhere-else/772002/384 "2017-01-23T00:22:28Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > “An historian”? With an “N”, _an_ historian? Elitist! _Au contraire,_ the opposite of elitist. Before I hit “submit reply,” I always read my posts out loud in a Cockney accent, dropping the **aitch**. > [@Johnny\_Ace](#): > > One wonders how the country managed to survive for nearly a quarter of a millennium without the Donald in charge of the affairs of state. (There was actually one time in which a true statesman was mandatory to the survival of the Republic, and we were lucky that he was there. Unfortunately for us, Trump is neither mandatory nor a statesman.) > > And his delusional supporters will eat it up with a full setting of silverware. This has the distinction of being the first official ‘alternative fact’ of his administration. But certainly not the last. We need a thread called “Alternative Facts of the Trump Administration,” to keep track of them, but I’m not going to do it, as I’ve been accused of starting too many Trump threads. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2017, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thoughts-about-the-election-that-dont-seem-to-belong-anywhere-else/772002/385 "2017-01-23T02:55:23Z")
[Sad sight- empty stands on inaugural parade route.](http://tinyurl.com/zrgj223) ---
**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:** [January 23, 2017, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thoughts-about-the-election-that-dont-seem-to-belong-anywhere-else/772002/386 "2017-01-23T03:24:26Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > [Sad sight- empty stands on inaugural parade route.](http://tinyurl.com/zrgj223) Just look at those cheering throngs! ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2017, 4:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thoughts-about-the-election-that-dont-seem-to-belong-anywhere-else/772002/387 "2017-01-23T04:56:33Z")
That was kind of funny! Those seats were supposed to be reserved for the _primo_ Trumpiviks. And to prime the pump, they were at a celebratory luncheon but the transport arrangements to get them into those seats went south. Also east, west, and to shit. Woodstock was better organized. (snicker) ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2017, 5:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thoughts-about-the-election-that-dont-seem-to-belong-anywhere-else/772002/388 "2017-01-23T05:07:30Z")
> [@Johnny\_Ace](#): > > Just look at those cheering throngs! What the speech and the size of the crowd in the stand there reminded me of: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/KsBG34TSJJ4/maxresdefault.jpg "The Ducktators (1942)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KsBG34TSJJ4&t=180) (Il Duche (or the douche) Goose from the 1942 Ducktators cartoon) ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2017, 6:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thoughts-about-the-election-that-dont-seem-to-belong-anywhere-else/772002/389 "2017-01-23T06:06:46Z")
Between Bane in the 2012 Batman film and Trump’s similarity to Bane in his speech, it looks quite possible that the populist “Give power back to the people” message has been thoroughly well-poisoned. Might make it hard for the Bernie Sanders crowd and such candidates in 2020. ---
**Author:** ![galen\_ubal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/galen_ubal/32/4440_2.png) [@galen\_ubal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/galen_ubal)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2017, 7:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thoughts-about-the-election-that-dont-seem-to-belong-anywhere-else/772002/390 "2017-01-23T07:48:38Z")
Today, I’ve amused myself by tweeting @potus a couple of links: [One, which is a gif of Trump shaking hands with…most of the clergy types following the church service](https://twitter.com/hotterthanjuly/status/823344457705803776). I’d say the fellow deliberately dissed him. And this: [An article (which appears accurate)](http://theslot.jezebel.com/there-were-three-times-as-many-people-at-the-d-c-women-1791486811), stating that there were three times as many people at the Women’s March than there were at the Inauguration. Hey, anything that drives Trump closer to the edge is fine by me. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2017, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thoughts-about-the-election-that-dont-seem-to-belong-anywhere-else/772002/391 "2017-01-23T20:35:41Z")
> [@galen\_ubal](#): > > … Hey, anything that drives Trump closer to the edge is fine by me. He’ll have some difficulty spinning this into a ‘win’: > [@](#): > > Donald Trump ‘should be ashamed’ of inauguration crowd remarks at CIA headquarters, ex-director says > January 22, 2017 > > John Brennan, a former counter-terrorism adviser to President Barack Obama, said he was “deeply saddened and angered at Donald Trump’s despicable display of self-aggrandisement in front of CIA’s memorial wall of agency heroes”. “Trump should be ashamed of himself,” he added. Before Brennan made his remarks Trump DID tweet that the visit was a “WIN!” but he seems to be alone in that view. Aside from the fact that in the video, the CIA people in attendance actually looked around to see who was doing the clapping and cheering—people Trump brought along with him, as it turns out—Trump’s speech itself puzzled some: > [@](#): > > “That was one of the more disconcerting speeches I’ve seen,” one senior US intelligence official told the Washington Post. “He could have kept it very simple and said, ‘I’m here to build some bridges.’ But he spent 10 seconds on that, and the rest was on the crowd size.”[at the Inauguration] [Donald Trump 'should be ashamed' of inauguration crowd remarks at CIA headquarters, ex-director says | The Independent | The Independent](http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/donald-trump-speech-cia-wall-heroes-john-brennan-ashamed-a7539836.html) ---
**Author:** ![Pearl\_Clutching\_Provocateur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c68b51/32.png) [@Pearl\_Clutching\_Provocateur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pearl_Clutching_Provocateur)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2017, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thoughts-about-the-election-that-dont-seem-to-belong-anywhere-else/772002/392 "2017-01-24T01:31:37Z")
More love from the Trump derangement crowd. ‘Saturday Night Live’ Writer Katie Rich Suspended After Controversial Barron Trump Tweet" > **[‘Saturday Night Live’ Writer Katie Rich Suspended After Controversial Barron...](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/saturday-night-live-writer-suspended-barron-trump-tweet-967491/)** > > Rich issued an apology Monday, calling her tweet “inexcusable.” ---
**Author:** ![Kron](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kron/32/12444_2.png) [@Kron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kron)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2017, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thoughts-about-the-election-that-dont-seem-to-belong-anywhere-else/772002/393 "2017-01-24T01:37:54Z")
> [@Pearl\_Clutching\_Provocateur](#): > > More love from the Trump derangement crowd. > > ‘Saturday Night Live’ Writer Katie Rich Suspended After Controversial Barron Trump Tweet" > > ['Saturday Night Live' Writer Suspended After Barron Trump Tweet](http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/saturday-night-live-writer-suspended-barron-trump-tweet-967491) Yep, good thing the conservatives suspended her. Wait a minute… ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2017, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thoughts-about-the-election-that-dont-seem-to-belong-anywhere-else/772002/394 "2017-01-24T01:51:53Z")
> [@Kron](#): > > Yep, good thing the conservatives suspended her. Wait a minute… Nonsense, **conservatives** don’t suspend entertainers for taking shots at Presidents’ kids. [As I noted elsewhere](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=19944824&postcount=7): > [@Kimstu](#): > > > [@hajario](#): > > > > Two wrongs still don’t make a right. > > Agreed. However, for the benefit of Republicans/conservatives who are feeling sanctimonious about this unacceptable behavior, it’s worth pointing out some of the things [their side have said about a President’s minor children in order to take political potshots at their parent(s)](http://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/obama-girls-targeted-criticism-again-conservatives). > > > [@](#): > > > > In 2010, during the BP oil spill crisis, Glenn Beck mocked Malia for reportedly asking President Obama about the clean-up. > > > > “Did you plug the hole yet, Daddy?” said Beck, imitating the president’s daughter. “Ask ‘Daddy’ why he ‘hates black people so much.’ ” The conservative radio host also mocked Malia’s intelligence, saying: “That’s the level of their education, that they’re coming to — they’re coming to Daddy and saying, ‘Daddy, did you plug the hole yet?’ “ […] > > > > Last year, following President Obama‘s statement that he would support the selling of Plan B, a birth control product, to girls as young as 15, Fox News host Andrea Tantaros speculated about the sex life of Malia, who was 14 years old at the time. > > > > “Are they gonna put her on birth control? Because he’s very concerned with contraceptives and pharmaceuticals that are going in the mouths of everybody else’s 15-year-old daughter,” Tantaros said […] > > > > Rush Limbaugh famously compared Chelsea Clinton to a dog and said Amy Carter was the “most unattractive presidential daughter in the history of the country.” > > I never heard of Limbaugh or Tantaros or Beck being suspended or disciplined in any way for any of those remarks. ---
**Author:** ![HurricaneDitka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/96bed5/32.png) [@HurricaneDitka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HurricaneDitka)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2017, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thoughts-about-the-election-that-dont-seem-to-belong-anywhere-else/772002/395 "2017-01-24T02:06:02Z")
> [@Kimstu](#): > > Nonsense, **conservatives** don’t suspend entertainers for taking shots at Presidents’ kids. [As I noted elsewhere](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=19944824&postcount=7): At least in the case of Glenn Beck and Rush Limbaugh, I believe they own their own companies, which certainly helps when the boss is deciding if you get suspended or not. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2017, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thoughts-about-the-election-that-dont-seem-to-belong-anywhere-else/772002/396 "2017-01-24T02:31:20Z")
> [@HurricaneDitka](#): > > At least in the case of Glenn Beck and Rush Limbaugh, I believe they own their own companies, which certainly helps when the boss is deciding if you get suspended or not. True. But AFAICT nobody who paid to broadcast their shows pushed back against them in any way, either. Nor have I heard of any conservatives at any point calling for any such pushback. ---
**Author:** ![HurricaneDitka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/96bed5/32.png) [@HurricaneDitka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HurricaneDitka)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2017, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thoughts-about-the-election-that-dont-seem-to-belong-anywhere-else/772002/397 "2017-01-24T02:41:39Z")
> [@Kimstu](#): > > True. But AFAICT nobody who paid to broadcast their shows pushed back against them in any way, either. Nor have I heard of any conservatives at any point calling for any such pushback. I vaguely remember a leftist campaign to pressure Beck’s sponsors to drop him, but I don’t think it was because of the quote you posted, and it certainly wasn’t driven by conservatives, so probably not applicable here. ---
**Author:** ![Fiveyearlurker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/da6949/32.png) [@Fiveyearlurker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiveyearlurker)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2017, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thoughts-about-the-election-that-dont-seem-to-belong-anywhere-else/772002/398 "2017-01-24T02:46:27Z")
Trump’s spokesperson [refuses to be nailed down](http://www.slate.com/blogs/moneybox/2017/01/23/what_trump_s_spokesman_dodge_a_question_about_the_unemployment_rate.html) on what the unemployment rate is. Because Trump lied about the unemployment rate so many times on the campaign, that he can now no longer acknowledge that there is an actual rate. What will we use instead? Why “faces”, apparently: “I think far too often in Washington we get our heads wrapped around a number and a statistic. And we look at, and we forget the faces and the families and the business that are behind those numbers. For too long it’s been about stats, Mara. And it’s been about what number are we looking at as opposed to ‘what face are we looking at?’” ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2017, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thoughts-about-the-election-that-dont-seem-to-belong-anywhere-else/772002/399 "2017-01-24T03:15:00Z")
> [@Fiveyearlurker](#): > > … > “I think far too often in Washington we get our heads wrapped around a number and a statistic. And we look at, and we forget the faces and the families and the business that are behind those numbers. For too long it’s been about stats, Mara. And it’s been about what number are we looking at as opposed to ‘what face are we looking at?’” Well, numbers and statistics are awfully close to…uh…facts. Can’t be havin’ any of those nasty things. Unless they’re _alternative_ facts, of course. Truthiness rules! ---
**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:** [January 24, 2017, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thoughts-about-the-election-that-dont-seem-to-belong-anywhere-else/772002/400 "2017-01-24T21:22:11Z")
In other news: [George Orwell’s ‘1984’ hits bestseller list again](http://www.cnn.com/2017/01/24/us/george-orwell-1984-bestseller-trump-trnd/index.html) Sad (to translate into doublespeak that Trumpeters will understand) but true. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thoughts-about-the-election-that-dont-seem-to-belong-anywhere-else/772002.md?page=19) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thoughts-about-the-election-that-dont-seem-to-belong-anywhere-else/772002.md?page=21)