# Trump II, The Revenge of the Trump **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [February 7, 2020, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-ii-the-revenge-of-the-trump/847608 "2020-02-07T23:40:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Defensive\_Indifference](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/defensive_indifference/32/6502_2.png) [@Defensive\_Indifference](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Defensive_Indifference)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2020, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-ii-the-revenge-of-the-trump/847608/21 "2020-02-08T00:55:07Z")
> [@The\_Tooth](#): > > Think he’ll get a refund on his million dollars? I never thought the leopards would eat my face, says man who donated one million dollars to the Leopards Eating People’s Faces Party and then went to work for them. ---
**Author:** ![Defensive\_Indifference](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/defensive_indifference/32/6502_2.png) [@Defensive\_Indifference](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Defensive_Indifference)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2020, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-ii-the-revenge-of-the-trump/847608/22 "2020-02-08T00:56:10Z")
> [@Bijou\_Drains](#): > > I think you mean Utah Damn autocorrect. :mad: ---
**Author:** ![MulderMuffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldermuffin/32/2862_2.png) [@MulderMuffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MulderMuffin)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2020, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-ii-the-revenge-of-the-trump/847608/23 "2020-02-08T01:03:32Z")
> [@Defensive\_Indifference](#): > > Dammit! I knew that. :smack: Already a much better human than our president. You can admit your mistake, no sharpie maps needed. ---
**Author:** ![MulderMuffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldermuffin/32/2862_2.png) [@MulderMuffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MulderMuffin)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2020, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-ii-the-revenge-of-the-trump/847608/24 "2020-02-08T01:17:58Z")
Impeachment officials, where are they now: Sondland and Vindman have been removed from their posts by the president today. Yovanovich, Hill, Morrison, Taylor, Volker, and Williams have retired from their posts already. Holmes, Cooper, Hale, and Kent are currently (as of 8:15 PM EST today) still in their roles. Who is next? I vote Cooper. Trump hates a woman standing up to him. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2020, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-ii-the-revenge-of-the-trump/847608/25 "2020-02-08T01:36:09Z")
> [@D\_Anconia](#): > > Did he, or did he not, serve at the pleasure of the President? And what, pray tell, did Yevgeny Vindman do to deserve the displeasure of the President? ---
**Author:** ![DinoR](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dinor/32/2821_2.png) [@DinoR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DinoR)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2020, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-ii-the-revenge-of-the-trump/847608/26 "2020-02-08T01:45:42Z")
> [@jayjay](#): > > Trump also fired Vindman’s twin brother. To be clear, neither were fired in the civilian sense of that word. Both brothers continue to serve as Lieutenant Colonels in the US Army. They will continue to collect all the pay and allowances due their rank and time in service. They will be performing different duties tomorrow. Sondland was fired. ---
**Author:** ![eschrodinger](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschrodinger/32/122_2.png) [@eschrodinger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschrodinger)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2020, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-ii-the-revenge-of-the-trump/847608/27 "2020-02-08T02:31:46Z")
> [@D\_Anconia](#): > > Did he, or did he not, serve at the pleasure of the President? Sondland did. Is it the case that someone in either of the Vinlands’ positions is considered a political appointee? If you are asserting that they are, can you back that up? ETA: > [@DinoR](#): > > To be clear, neither were fired in the civilian sense of that word. Both brothers continue to serve as Lieutenant Colonels in the US Army. They will continue to collect all the pay and allowances due their rank and time in service. They will be performing different duties tomorrow. > > Sondland was fired. For now. The president has shown a willingness to interfere in those things, but I hope he does not. ---
**Author:** ![joebuck20](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/74df32/32.png) [@joebuck20](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joebuck20)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2020, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-ii-the-revenge-of-the-trump/847608/28 "2020-02-08T02:36:06Z")
> [@DinoR](#): > > To be clear, neither were fired in the civilian sense of that word. Both brothers continue to serve as Lieutenant Colonels in the US Army. They will continue to collect all the pay and allowances due their rank and time in service. They will be performing different duties tomorrow. I was kind of wondering about this. Who gets to decide where they will be re-assigned? Is it possible for Trump, in his role as commander-in-chief, to get them assigned to some crap post? ---
**Author:** ![RioRico](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f04885/32.png) [@RioRico](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RioRico)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2020, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-ii-the-revenge-of-the-trump/847608/29 "2020-02-08T02:55:57Z")
> [@joebuck20](#): > > I was kind of wondering about this. Who gets to decide where they will be re-assigned? Is it possible for Trump, in his role as commander-in-chief, to get them assigned to some crap post? Like latrine duty at Mar-a-Lago? Or eyeballing N.Korean warships from Nome? ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2020, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-ii-the-revenge-of-the-trump/847608/30 "2020-02-08T03:01:32Z")
I’m waiting for someone to get shot in the eye while getting a message. The Don has started to settle the scores. ---
**Author:** ![penultima\_thule](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/penultima_thule/32/3833_2.png) [@penultima\_thule](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/penultima_thule)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2020, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-ii-the-revenge-of-the-trump/847608/31 "2020-02-08T03:03:50Z")
DETRIMENTO•MALIGNITAS•VICTORIA•VLTIO Antony Jay: Yes Minister vol. 1 “In defeat, malice. In victory, revenge” ---
**Author:** ![rocking\_chair](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocking_chair/32/2918_2.png) [@rocking\_chair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rocking_chair)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2020, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-ii-the-revenge-of-the-trump/847608/32 "2020-02-08T03:15:04Z")
> [@Kent\_Clark](#): > > And what, pray tell, did Yevgeny Vindman do to deserve the displeasure of the President? They are twins, he can’t tell them apart; so fire both just to be sure. Reminds me of umbridge in Harry Potter. ---
**Author:** ![KMS94](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ad7895/32.png) [@KMS94](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KMS94)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2020, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-ii-the-revenge-of-the-trump/847608/33 "2020-02-08T04:24:27Z")
> [@Kent\_Clark](#): > > And what, pray tell, did Yevgeny Vindman do to deserve the displeasure of the President? An article I read today in the NYT said that he had accompanied his brother to his testimony and sat behind him. ---
**Author:** ![MulderMuffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldermuffin/32/2862_2.png) [@MulderMuffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MulderMuffin)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2020, 4:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-ii-the-revenge-of-the-trump/847608/34 "2020-02-08T04:53:57Z")
Atkinson might not last much longer, either. The cheek! Imagine the inspector general of the intelligence community actually sending a whistleblower report to Congress! Obviously he has to go. /s > **[Trump ousts Vindman and Sondland, punishing key impeachment witnesses in...](https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-ousts-vindman-and-sondland-punishing-key-impeachment-witnesses-in-post-acquittal-campaign-of-retribution/2020/02/07/dafbdb90-49be-11ea-bdbf-1dfb23249293_story.html)** > > The president appears fixated with settling scores rather than moving on to less divisive issues in the wake of his acquittal. > [@](#): > > The president and his advisers have also discussed removing Michael Atkinson, the inspector general of the intelligence community, though no final decision has been made, officials said. Trump has expressed frustration that Atkinson allowed a whistleblower report documenting Trump’s alleged misconduct toward Ukraine to be transmitted to Congress. ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2020, 4:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-ii-the-revenge-of-the-trump/847608/35 "2020-02-08T04:54:22Z")
If Trump announces that the United States will be reorganised into the [del]First[/del] [del]Second[/del] _Third_ American Empire, for a safer society, would that get him removed? Or a crown? ---
**Author:** ![Horatius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horatius/32/3572_2.png) [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2020, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-ii-the-revenge-of-the-trump/847608/36 "2020-02-08T05:04:36Z")
> [@DinoR](#): > > To be clear, neither were fired in the civilian sense of that word. Both brothers continue to serve as Lieutenant Colonels in the US Army. They will continue to collect all the pay and allowances due their rank and time in service. They will be performing different duties tomorrow. > > Sondland was fired. Sure, but for an officer, being unceremoniously dumped from a prestige job like working in the Whitehouse is huge hit, and will probably spell the end of their career. “Up or out” is a pretty firm rule in the US military; if you’re not getting regular promotions, they pretty much assume you should be gone. And promotions are very unlikely for either of these guys so long as Trump is in charge. ---
**Author:** ![D\_Anconia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@D\_Anconia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Anconia)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2020, 5:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-ii-the-revenge-of-the-trump/847608/37 "2020-02-08T05:37:05Z")
> [@Kent\_Clark](#): > > And what, pray tell, did Yevgeny Vindman do to deserve the displeasure of the President? I don’t know, never heard of him until today. Doesn’t change the meaning of “serves at the pleasure of the President”. And that applies to all Presidents. ---
**Author:** ![RioRico](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f04885/32.png) [@RioRico](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RioRico)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2020, 9:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-ii-the-revenge-of-the-trump/847608/38 "2020-02-08T09:38:32Z")
> [@D\_Anconia](#): > > I don’t know, never heard of him until today. > > Doesn’t change the meaning of “serves at the pleasure of the President”. > > And that applies to all Presidents. Sure, and state government executive staff serve at the pleasure of their Governor. But firing, punishing, or threatening staff who have or may testify sure looks like witness tampering, a form of obstruction. ---
**Author:** ![2nd\_Law](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/2/f475e1/32.png) [@2nd\_Law](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/2nd_Law)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2020, 11:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-ii-the-revenge-of-the-trump/847608/39 "2020-02-08T11:38:50Z")
> [@D\_Anconia](#): > > And that applies to all Presidents. So you won’t have a problem with the next Democratic President behaving exactly the same way Trump has been behaving? Maybe some of the Democrats ought to be calling Putin about that Trump Hotel Moscow deal. And calling China about the deals they made for Ivanka. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2020, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-ii-the-revenge-of-the-trump/847608/40 "2020-02-08T13:02:14Z")
> [@penultima\_thule](#): > > DETRIMENTO•MALIGNITAS•VICTORIA•VLTIO > > Antony Jay: Yes Minister vol. 1 “In defeat, malice. In victory, revenge” Wow, so appropriate. Thanks for this. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-ii-the-revenge-of-the-trump/847608.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-ii-the-revenge-of-the-trump/847608.md?page=3)