What does a TRUMP presidency look like?

[Barrister]

Being Evil Grand Vizier ain't what it used to be.

Except an actual Grand Vizier was enormously powerful in their own right, as a sort of equivalent to a Prime Minister.

[celedhring]

Wait, Rick Perry is subbing in for Bannon? I guess it's still an improvement, if only because Perry comes across as a political dimwit.

[garbon]

Wait, Rick Perry is subbing in for Bannon? I guess it's still an improvement, if only because Perry comes across as a political dimwit.

I guess Trump can't ever do something that makes sense without fucking that up. But yeah, Perry seems less problematic as basically no one on the council will care what he thinks. And we know Trump doesn't care.

[CountDeMoney]

[jimmy olsen]

To no one's surprise, the GOP health care plan failed again

http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/house-prepares-leave-recess-without-health-care-deal-n743106

Also, that find is gold Seedy. That defensive coordinator crack is priceless.

[jimmy olsen]

What a whinner.

http://www.electoral-vote.com/evp2017/Pres/Maps/Apr05.html#item-9

Trump Stumbles in Public Appearance

In the last year or two of his presidency, Lyndon B. Johnson was wildly unpopular, thanks (primarily) to the Vietnam War. He was also possessed of a huge ego, and so his handlers made sure that his public appearances took place only in front of friendly audiences (military bases, mostly). Like LBJ, Donald Trump is an unpopular egotist, and has taken care to appear only before friendly crowds. At a Tuesday appearance, however, he (or his handlers) screwed up.

The appearance was before the North America's Building Trades Unions National Legislative Conference, which was being held in Washington. Trump, of course, fancies himself the hero of the blue collar America, but the unions represented at the conference all endorsed Hillary Clinton. It was thus something of a mixed crowd, and when Trump launched (yet again) into a monologue about his surprise electoral victory, they grew a little restless. The president then doubled down, declaring that, "I had the support of, I would say, almost everybody in this room. We had tremendous support." That was greeted with palpable booing, which clearly aggravated Trump. So, he told the crowd, "Well, would you like to make a change, folks? Would you like to make a change? Because if anybody wants to make a change, you won't have so many jobs, that I can tell you. Your jobs will be a whole different story." The crowd didn't much care for being threatened, of course.

As is so often the case with Trump, much of this is unprecedented. While it's true that LBJ began sequestering himself, that took four years, and not two months. Meanwhile, one struggles to think of a president who was so bad at handling hostile crowds, to the point of essentially taunting them when things go south. Trump is already running for re-election in 2020 (such that any public appearance should really be regarded as a campaign stop). Can he possibly run a campaign where he only speaks to the true believers and avoids everyone else? It's true that he essentially did so in 2016, but he won by the barest of margins, and he almost certainly needs to broaden his support to win again. It is also the case that he flew under the radar for much of the campaign; that won't happen again, and we can expect that 2020 rallies and speeches will be liberally populated by opponents. The upshot is that he needs to improve in terms of learning to keep his cool, or he's setting himself up for a yuuuge defeat in his re-election bid. (Z)

[Monoriu]

Trump flew under the radar in 2016?  What is the author talking about?  Trump is practically on the front page in the entire campaign.

[garbon]

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/apr/05/climate-change-legal-challenge-donald-trump

Coalition of 17 states challenges Trump over climate change policy

A coalition of 17 US states filed a legal challenge on Wednesday against efforts by Donald Trump's administration to roll back climate change regulations, deepening a political rift over his emerging energy policies.

Led by New York state, the coalition said the administration has a legal duty to regulate emissions of the gases scientists believe cause global climate change.

"The law is clear: the EPA must limit carbon pollution from power plants," New York attorney general Eric Schneiderman said in a statement announcing the challenge.

Trump signed an executive order last week targeting climate change regulations ushered in by President Obama, saying they hinder US energy production and jobs without providing meaningful environmental benefits.

The order's main target was Obama's Clean Power Plan, a law that would require states to slash carbon dioxide emissions from power plants, but which was never implemented because it was challenged in court by 26 Republican-led states.

Trump's order directed the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to review the regulation to decide whether to "suspend, rescind, or revise it". Shortly after, EPA filed a legal motion asking the US court of appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit to delay ongoing court proceedings on the regulation to allow for the review.

The New York-led coalition's motion on Wednesday asked the court to throw out the EPA's request to delay court proceedings, saying the delay "would waste the substantial resources already expended in this litigation".

"This case is ripe for decision now, and nothing that EPA has proposed to do obviates the need for this court*s review," according to the statement.

The coalition includes attorneys general from California, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, and Washington –- along with the District of Columbia and a number of smaller localities.

[The Larch]

All of those are blue states, right?

[jimmy olsen]

All of those are blue states, right?

Iowa is a swing state that went Red and Virginia is a swing state that went Blue, but aside from Maine which split it's electoral votes and giving one to Trump, the rest are solid Blue.

[jimmy olsen]

Gowdy! What's the fucking point! 

http://www.politico.com/story/2017/04/nunes-to-step-aside-from-russia-probe-236951

Nunes to step aside from Russia probe
By JOHN BRESNAHAN and JOSH DAWSEY 04/06/17 09:35 AM EDT

House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) will temporarily step aside from an investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 election, including interactions between Moscow and the Trump campaign.

The probe will be taken over by Reps. Michael Conaway (R-Texas), Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.) and Tom Rooney (R-Fla.)

[derspiess]

Gowdy rules and the Red Sox are gonna suck this year.

[Valmy]

Reps. Michael Conaway (R-Texas), Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.) and Tom Rooney (R-Fla.)

Can we refer to them as the Triumvirs?

[jimmy olsen]

Gowdy rules and the Red Sox are gonna suck this year.

According to 538 the Sox have the best starting 5 in the American League.

[Eddie Teach]

The important one is the FBI investigation, the Congressional one is theater.