What does a TRUMP presidency look like?

[DontSayBanana]

I thought the foreign leaders debunked those stories. Particularly the Aussie PM.

Where there's smoke, there's fire.  The latest debacle between Putin and Trump regarding START has been downplayed by Spicer as "it was a personal call, so I won't comment on the contents."  This guy's got to be sweating so bad they could wring him out and solve California's drought.

[DontSayBanana]

Also, I'm really surprised the news are making a big deal out of this ruling.  It wasn't over the merits of the case at all, it was a refusal to grant a (completely unprecedented) emergency order without even giving the plaintiffs a chance to file briefs; the refusal seemed like it was almost a sure bet according to the lawtalkers I've been listening to.

For the same reason, I'm fully expecting the SCOTUS to decline to hear the appeal.

The real meat isn't going to be the injunction, it's going to be the meat of the argument when the district court judge  gives their analysis in a final judgment.  I expect THAT decision will be kicked all the way up to SCOTUS, probably to determine if/when the district court has purview to override an executive order.

[viper37]

has the Supreme Court ever refused to hear a case brought for by the government?

All the time.  It refused last fall to hear a case brought by the Obama administration when the lower courts invalidated the EO giving immigrants not charged with any crimes effective immunity to deportation, for instance.

thanks for the info

[derspiess]

I work 200 meters from the Sejong Government complex. I will be obliterated instantly.

Ed Anger and Seedy respond to the announcement:

[derspiess]

Is there anyone here that doesn't prefer Pence at this point?

[Valmy]

Is there anyone here that doesn't prefer Pence at this point?

Pence wouldn't fuck up our foreign policy. He would listen to advice and follow the traditional conservative line in this area. Which would be good.

[Berkut]

Pence would be a terrible President, and a huge improvement over Trump.

[Tamas]

In the old reality, Pence would be a pretty horrible candidate in my book.

But in this fucked up alternative reality into which we have been dumped all of a sudden, I would very much welcome him as President.

[Tamas]

Pence would be a terrible President, and a huge improvement over Trump.

Yeah, exactly what I wanted to say.

[The Minsky Moment]

Incredible story in the NYT (and other outlets) today about Trump's total climbdown on the "One China" policy.  NYT is reporting that Xi refused to talk to Trump until this matter was resolved.   Trump sends a Chinese New Year's card to Xi to signal willingness to talk, and then a call was arranged yesterday where Trump reaffirmed the OCP.

Recall that right after his election Trump had the call with Taiwan where the OCP was called into question.  At the time, the Trumpistas went on air, energetically spinning this as either a deliberate shift a policy, or a strategic masterstroke of a negotiating position to secure concessions on trade.  What is clear now is the truth is what the non-Trumpistas suggested: he simply had NO IDEA WHAT HE WAS DOING.  And the consequence is that Trump has fatally undermined his credibility in connection with the single most significant bi-lateral relationship the US has.

There are pretty obvious implications for pretty much everything else we have seen in the last couple of months - Mexico, Australia, the EOs etc. 

[Valmy]

Yeah I remember that. I don't think anybody bought the idea Trump had some sort of grand global strategy he was executing.

[viper37]

I don't think anybody bought the idea Trump had some sort of grand global strategy he was executing.

You sure?

[Eddie Teach]

Nobody important, anyway.

[viper37]

Chief information security officer fired

The chief information security officer for the White House's Executive Office of the President has been removed from his position, sources have confirmed.

Cory Louie was appointed to the position by former President Obama in 2015, charged with keeping safe the staff closest to the president -- including the president himself -- from cyber-threats posed by hackers and nation-state attackers.

But circumstances surrounding his departure, weeks after President Donald Trump took office, remain unclear.

It's thought he was either fired or asked to resign last Thursday evening, and he was escorted out from his office in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building across the street from the West Wing.

[merithyn]

Now we know who the phone call leaker was.