What does a TRUMP presidency look like?

[The Minsky Moment]

Does it appear to be well-regulated?

It's not the National Guard and its not one of the state guards, so no, it's not regulated at all.

[mongers]

Does it appear to be well-regulated?

It's not the National Guard and its not one of the state guards, so no, it's not regulated at all.

A Freikorps?

[derspiess]

[Razgovory]

Appalling

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/apr/18/new-mexico-migrants-armed-militia-detained

Videos appear to show armed militia detaining migrants at US-Mexico border
The American Civil Liberties Union is calling the actions a 'kidnapping' and a flagrant violation of the law

Welcome to the new reality.

[jimmy olsen]

Does it appear to be well-regulated?

Not especially.

Also, although we all have know that Donald is a pathetic narcissistic fool, every time I think I have a handle on just how pathetic he is, he lowers the bar.

https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2019/04/mueller-report-donald-trump-egomaniac-bad-boss.html

Donald Trump's Personality Is an Impeachable Offense

While I agree that he is completely unsuited for any public office, much less POTUS, that like is so deeply stupid that it basically eliminates any value the article may have otherwise had.

Oh no! A snarky title! Truly journalism is dead.

[Zanza]

"A few things spring to mind.

Trump lacks certain qualities which the British traditionally esteem.

For instance, he has no class, no charm, no coolness, no credibility, no compassion, no wit, no warmth, no wisdom, no subtlety, no sensitivity, no self-awareness, no humility, no honour and no grace - all qualities, funnily enough, with which his predecessor Mr. Obama was generously blessed.

So for us, the stark contrast does rather throw Trump's limitations into embarrassingly sharp relief.

Plus, we like a laugh. And while Trump may be laughable, he has never once said anything wry, witty or even faintly amusing - not once, ever.

I don't say that rhetorically, I mean it quite literally: not once, not ever. And that fact is particularly disturbing to the British sensibility - for us, to lack humour is almost inhuman.

But with Trump, it's a fact. He doesn't even seem to understand what a joke is - his idea of a joke is a crass comment, an illiterate insult, a casual act of cruelty.

Trump is a troll. And like all trolls, he is never funny and he never laughs; he only crows or jeers.

And scarily, he doesn't just talk in crude, witless insults - he actually thinks in them. His mind is a simple bot-like algorithm of petty prejudices and knee-jerk nastiness.

There is never any under-layer of irony, complexity, nuance or depth. It's all surface.

Some Americans might see this as refreshingly upfront.

Well, we don't. We see it as having no inner world, no soul.

And in Britain we traditionally side with David, not Goliath. All our heroes are plucky underdogs: Robin Hood, Dick Whittington, Oliver Twist.

Trump is neither plucky, nor an underdog. He is the exact opposite of that.

He's not even a spoiled rich-boy, or a greedy fat-cat.

He's more a fat white slug. A Jabba the Hutt of privilege.

And worse, he is that most unforgivable of all things to the British: a bully.

That is, except when he is among bullies; then he suddenly transforms into a snivelling sidekick instead.

There are unspoken rules to this stuff - the Queensberry rules of basic decency - and he breaks them all. He punches downwards - which a gentleman should, would, could never do - and every blow he aims is below the belt. He particularly likes to kick the vulnerable or voiceless - and he kicks them when they are down.

So the fact that a significant minority - perhaps a third - of Americans look at what he does, listen to what he says, and then think 'Yeah, he seems like my kind of guy' is a matter of some confusion and no little distress to British people, given that:

• Americans are supposed to be nicer than us, and mostly are.

• You don't need a particularly keen eye for detail to spot a few flaws in the man.

This last point is what especially confuses and dismays British people, and many other people too; his faults seem pretty bloody hard to miss.

After all, it's impossible to read a single tweet, or hear him speak a sentence or two, without staring deep into the abyss. He turns being artless into an art form; he is a Picasso of pettiness; a Shakespeare of shit. His faults are fractal: even his flaws have flaws, and so on ad infinitum.

God knows there have always been stupid people in the world, and plenty of nasty people too. But rarely has stupidity been so nasty, or nastiness so stupid.

He makes Nixon look trustworthy and George W look smart.

In fact, if Frankenstein decided to make a monster assembled entirely from human flaws - he would make a Trump.

And a remorseful Doctor Frankenstein would clutch out big clumpfuls of hair and scream in anguish:

'My God... what... have... I... created?

If being a twat was a TV show, Trump would be the boxed set."

-Nate White

I found the both well written, almost poetic, and reflecting my own view of the man. The context is Trump's announced state visit to the UK.

[The Brain]

Frankenstein didn't build his creature from body parts.

[viper37]

I feel the world is a better place when the leader of the free world discusses really important, gripping issues with multinational's CEOs.

Thank you for your work Mr President.  Thank you America.

Trump met with Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey — and complained about his follower count

A significant portion of the meeting focused on Trump's concerns that Twitter quietly, and deliberately, has limited or removed some of his followers, according to a person with direct knowledge of the conversation who requested anonymity because it was private. Trump said he had heard from fellow conservatives who had lost followers for unclear reasons as well.

But Twitter long has explained that follower figures fluctuate as the company takes action to remove fraudulent spam accounts. In the meeting, Dorsey stressed that point, noting even he had lost followers as part of Twitter's work to enforce its policies, according to the source, who described the meeting as cordial.

[Admiral Yi]

 

He's doing a parody of the parody now.

[Admiral Yi]

https://www.cnn.com/2019/04/16/politics/trump-vetoes-yemen-war-powers-resolution/index.html

The bill passed the House 247-175. Sixteen Republicans voted yes with Democrats and one voted present. In the Senate the vote was 54 to 46, with seven Republicans voting with Democrats.

This one flew under my radar until I read a blurb in the Economist.  Not that big a deal since, by my understanding, resolutions are nonbinding expressions of sentiment, but still.

[Barrister]

https://www.cnn.com/2019/04/16/politics/trump-vetoes-yemen-war-powers-resolution/index.html

The bill passed the House 247-175. Sixteen Republicans voted yes with Democrats and one voted present. In the Senate the vote was 54 to 46, with seven Republicans voting with Democrats.

This one flew under my radar until I read a blurb in the Economist.  Not that big a deal since, by my understanding, resolutions are nonbinding expressions of sentiment, but still.

Why veto a nonbinding bill?

[Admiral Yi]

Why veto a nonbinding bill?

Stubby fingered, boneheaded, narcissistic spite?  I dunno.

[Habbaku]

Did he understand it was nonbinding? Does he even know what nonbinding means?

[viper37]

https://www.cnn.com/2019/04/16/politics/trump-vetoes-yemen-war-powers-resolution/index.html

The bill passed the House 247-175. Sixteen Republicans voted yes with Democrats and one voted present. In the Senate the vote was 54 to 46, with seven Republicans voting with Democrats.

This one flew under my radar until I read a blurb in the Economist.  Not that big a deal since, by my understanding, resolutions are nonbinding expressions of sentiment, but still.

Why veto a nonbinding bill?

Because he can?
He did it once, and it was fun.  Why not do it again, evey chance he gets?

[mongers]

Because he can?
He did it once, and it was fun.  Why not do it again, evey chance he gets?

Maybe someone should tell him, the President isn't allow to veto himself (out of existence).