What does a TRUMP presidency look like?

[celedhring]

Give it an hour or two.

He needs time to find the White House stationery.

[Syt]

DIPLOMACY!

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/16/us/politics/gordon-sondland-impeachment.html

Gordon Sondland Elbowed His Way Into Ukraine Policy. It Could Cost Him.

[...]

Fiona Hill, the former senior director for European and Russian affairs at the White House, described him to congressional investigators this week as a well-meaning but inexperienced liability.

He used his personal cellphone for official business and assured foreign officials they were welcome at the White House whenever they liked, she testified. On one occasion, she said, Romanian officials showed up at the White House gates with no appointment, citing Mr. Sondland.

[...]

At one dinner party, Mr. Sondland said his job was "to destroy the European Union,'' one senior European official said.

He repeatedly told European officials that their countries had long taken advantage of the United States through trade, according to one person who heard him complain. And he seemed unaware of protocol, inviting the leaders of European countries to dinner without understanding that they do not typically dine with ambassadors.

A June 28 dinner in Brussels was a case study in his unapologetic style. The German Marshall Fund originally organized it for 18 former and current diplomats and academics to discuss trans-Atlantic relations. Once Mr. Sondland heard about it, two participants said, he insisted on hosting.

As the plates were cleared in a small ornate room in the American Embassy, he delivered what one guest described as "a first-year master's student's" account of the Marshall Plan, the United States' multibillion-dollar effort to rebuild Europe after World War II.

"We paid all this money, but every room I go to in Europe, I get told no," he told his stunned guests, according to two participants. "Why?"

"It felt like a shakedown," said one of the guests.

[...]

[Barrister]

And now it's official: next year's G7 meetings will be held at Trump Doral.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-has-awarded-next-years-g-7-summit-of-world-leaders-to-his-miami-area-resort-the-white-house-said/2019/10/17/221b32d6-ef52-11e9-89eb-ec56cd414732_story.html

[Syt]

Would be funny if he were removed from office before that summit.

[Barrister]

Rick Perry to resign.

Not clear if pushed, or going voluntarily.  Perry has been implicated in the Ukraine scandal, and has been subpoenaed to provide information by tomorrow, so it may well be connected to that.  Or not.

https://www.politico.com/news/2019/10/17/rick-perry-to-resign-000290

[jimmy olsen]

Rick Perry to resign.

Not clear if pushed, or going voluntarily.  Perry has been implicated in the Ukraine scandal, and has been subpoenaed to provide information by tomorrow, so it may well be connected to that.  Or not.

https://www.politico.com/news/2019/10/17/rick-perry-to-resign-000290

Perry has said he will honor the subpeona, so there's that.

[Tamas]

Rick Perry to resign.

Not clear if pushed, or going voluntarily.  Perry has been implicated in the Ukraine scandal, and has been subpoenaed to provide information by tomorrow, so it may well be connected to that.  Or not.

https://www.politico.com/news/2019/10/17/rick-perry-to-resign-000290

Perry has said he will honor the subpeona, so there's that.

Snitches get stitches.

[Syt]

James Mattis poking fun at Trrump's comments about him:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g_sG7N7pJ6g

"I earned my spurs on the battlefield; Donald Trump earned his spurs in a letter from a doctor."
(and more!)

[crazy canuck]

A significant opinion piece in the NYTimes

Admiral McRaven is a former commander of the United States Special Operations Command.

Last week I attended two memorable events that reminded me why we care so very much about this nation and also why our future may be in peril.

The first was a change of command ceremony for a storied Army unit in which one general officer passed authority to another. The second event was an annual gala for the Office of Strategic Services (O.S.S.) Society that recognizes past and present members of the intelligence and Special Operations community for their heroism and sacrifice to the nation. What struck me was the stark contrast between the words and deeds heralded at those events — and the words and deeds emanating from the White House.

On the parade field at Fort Bragg, N.C., where tens of thousands of soldiers have marched either preparing to go to war or returning from it, the two generals, highly decorated, impeccably dressed, cleareyed and strong of character, were humbled by the moment.

They understood the awesome responsibility that the nation had placed on their shoulders. They understood that they had an obligation to serve their soldiers and their soldiers' families. They believed in the American values for which they had been fighting for the past three decades. They had faith that these values were worth sacrificing everything for — including, if necessary, their lives.

Having served with both officers for the past 20 years, I know that they personified all that is good and decent and honorable about the American military with genuineness of their humility, their uncompromising integrity, their willingness to sacrifice all for a worthy cause, and the pride they had in their soldiers.

Later that week, at the O.S.S. Society dinner, there were films and testimonials to the valor of the men and women who had fought in Europe and the Pacific during World War II. We also celebrated the 75th anniversary of D-Day, recognizing those brave Americans and allies who sacrificed so much to fight Nazism and fascism. We were reminded that the Greatest Generation went to war because it believed that we were the good guys — that wherever there was oppression, tyranny or despotism, America would be there. We would be there because freedom mattered. We would be there because the world needed us and if not us, then who?

Also that evening we recognized the incredible sacrifice of a new generation of Americans: an Army Special Forces warrant officer who had been wounded three times, the most recent injury costing him his left leg above the knee. He was still in uniform and still serving. There was an intelligence officer, who embodied the remarkable traits of those men and women who had served in the O.S.S. And a retired Marine general, whose 40 years of service demonstrated all that was honorable about the Corps and public service.

But the most poignant recognition that evening was for a young female sailor who had been killed in Syria serving alongside our allies in the fight against ISIS. Her husband, a former Army Green Beret, accepted the award on her behalf. Like so many that came before her, she had answered the nation's call and willingly put her life in harm's way.

For everyone who ever served in uniform, or in the intelligence community, for those diplomats who voice the nation's principles, for the first responders, for the tellers of truth and the millions of American citizens who were raised believing in American values — you would have seen your reflection in the faces of those we honored last week.

But, beneath the outward sense of hope and duty that I witnessed at these two events, there was an underlying current of frustration, humiliation, anger and fear that echoed across the sidelines. The America that they believed in was under attack, not from without, but from within.

These men and women, of all political persuasions, have seen the assaults on our institutions: on the intelligence and law enforcement community, the State Department and the press. They have seen our leaders stand beside despots and strongmen, preferring their government narrative to our own. They have seen us abandon our allies and have heard the shouts of betrayal from the battlefield. As I stood on the parade field at Fort Bragg, one retired four-star general, grabbed my arm, shook me and shouted, "I don't like the Democrats, but Trump is destroying the Republic!"

Those words echoed with me throughout the week. It is easy to destroy an organization if you have no appreciation for what makes that organization great. We are not the most powerful nation in the world because of our aircraft carriers, our economy, or our seat at the United Nations Security Council. We are the most powerful nation in the world because we try to be the good guys. We are the most powerful nation in the world because our ideals of universal freedom and equality have been backed up by our belief that we were champions of justice, the protectors of the less fortunate.

But, if we don't care about our values, if we don't care about duty and honor, if we don't help the weak and stand up against oppression and injustice — what will happen to the Kurds, the Iraqis, the Afghans, the Syrians, the Rohingyas, the South Sudanese and the millions of people under the boot of tyranny or left abandoned by their failing states?

If our promises are meaningless, how will our allies ever trust us? If we can't have faith in our nation's principles, why would the men and women of this nation join the military? And if they don't join, who will protect us? If we are not the champions of the good and the right, then who will follow us? And if no one follows us — where will the world end up?

President Trump seems to believe that these qualities are unimportant or show weakness. He is wrong. These are the virtues that have sustained this nation for the past 243 years. If we hope to continue to lead the world and inspire a new generation of young men and women to our cause, then we must embrace these values now more than ever.


And if this president doesn't understand their importance, if this president doesn't demonstrate the leadership that America needs, both domestically and abroad, then it is time for a new person in the Oval Office — Republican, Democrat or independent — the sooner, the better. The fate of our Republic depends upon it.

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/17/opinion/trump-mcraven-syria-military.html?action=click&module=Opinion&pgtype=Homepage

[Sheilbh]

James Mattis poking fun at Trrump's comments about him:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g_sG7N7pJ6g

"I earned my spurs on the battlefield; Donald Trump earned his spurs in a letter from a doctor."
(and more!)

But. He won't criticise Trump substantively in interview. At least until his book comes out.

The jokes are fine, but I find it a bit frustrating. If people have something to say or genuine concerns - and there's lots of indications they do - I think their duty is to say it. Not make jokes at black tie events or wait for the book tour

[Eddie Teach]

It's all been said.

[Sheilbh]

So Trump sent another letter - to Bibi wishing him a happy 70th:

"You are great!"

[frunk]

Tell me it's fake.

[Eddie Teach]

I still don't know how that EKG line spells Donald Trump.

[Sheilbh]

Tell me it's fake.

Nope:
https://twitter.com/netanyahu/status/1186647558401253377