What does a TRUMP presidency look like?

[Eddie Teach]

Pence is awesome and I hope he becomes president.

Well you may get your wish soon enough.

Doubtful;  he's in on it all as well. God save President Orrin Hatch, because Paul Ryan would say, "I'm just a budget wonk."

Ryan ran for veep, he's not going to opt out for the top job.

[celedhring]

Donald J. Trump‏Verified account @realDonaldTrump  3h3 hours ago
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Thank you for your support. Together, we will MAKE AMERICA SAFE AND GREAT AGAIN!
#POTUSAbroad #USA🇺🇸

Yep, he's just bragged about having less than 50% support. 

[sbr]

Trumps such a baby. he pushed the Prime Minister of Montenegro out of the way so he could be in the front of a photo. Puffed his chest out after for good measure.

Precisely the guy getting accepted at the club. 

I saw a pretty convincing argument somewhere (maybe reddit) that the PM cut off and stepped on Trump's foot right at the start of that clip, which led to Trump "pushing" him out of the way.  Watch both the PM's and Drump's faces right before they come together.

You can make whatever you want of Drump's chest puffing at the end.

[FunkMonk]

Donald J. Trump‏Verified account @realDonaldTrump  3h3 hours ago
More

Thank you for your support. Together, we will MAKE AMERICA SAFE AND GREAT AGAIN!
#POTUSAbroad #USA🇺🇸

Yep, he's just bragged about having less than 50% support. 

[jimmy olsen]

As I mentioned yesterday, in a lot of surveys these days, Trump's strong disapproval rating is higher than his total approval rating, so that above survey would be one of his best in a while. Whether an outlier or a trend, we will see.

[Solmyr]

Macron totally owned Trump today.



Also, the video here, where Macron fucks with Trump like only the French can: https://twitter.com/HollandReid/status/867751717387063296

[grumbler]

I sort of hoped that the media would try to take the high road when covering Trump, even after his "enemy of the people" nonsense.  But no, not even an attempt.  It's entertaining anyway.

It's a hoot.  Hannity refusing to back down on his allegations even when his source admitted they lied was one of the funniest things I've seen.  Sometimes the media makes Trump look like a genius by comparison.

[Valmy]

Well some pre-schoolers look like geniuses compared to Hannity. He is an absolute moron.

[Valmy]

As I mentioned yesterday, in a lot of surveys these days, Trump's strong disapproval rating is higher than his total approval rating, so that above survey would be one of his best in a while. Whether an outlier or a trend, we will see.

Rasmussen has always polled much higher than everybody else when it comes to Trump.

[Grey Fox]

Handshakes are sure are important for the Donald.

[Ed Anger]

The Orb will bend Macron to it's will. ALL HAIL THE ORB

[grumbler]

Well some pre-schoolers look like geniuses compared to Hannity. He is an absolute moron.

I was agreeing with Spicey about the media not taking the high road.  Hannity is exhibit #1

[Legbiter]

He beat up a reporter? Well he is sure to win the election now.

True. 

"Hi, I'm running for Congress and I just beat up a nerdy liberal reporter with my bare hands. FUCK YEEEAAAA"

*wins by double-digit margin in majority-Republican state*

 

[Syt]

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/may/26/greg-gianforte-wins-montana-congress-race-body-slam-reporter

Greg Gianforte wins Montana race for Congress after 'body-slamming' reporter

Greg Gianforte has won a special election for Montana's sole seat in the House of Representatives, just one day after he was charged with misdemeanor assault for allegedly "body-slamming" a Guardian reporter.

The Associated Press called it after 522 of 681 precincts – or 77% – reported. At that point Gianforte had 163, 539 votes, or 51% of the vote, compared with challenger Rob Quist's 140,594 votes, or 44%.

After emerging from a blue curtain to greet a cheering crowd, Gianforte apologized for this actions on Wednesday, talking past the laughter of the crowd to say, "Last night, I made a mistake and I took an action that I can't take back, and I'm not proud of what happened. I should not have responded the way that I did and for that I'm sorry."

A member of the crowd shouted: "And you're forgiven."

Gianforte continued: "I should not have treated that reporter that way, and for that I'm sorry Mr Ben Jacobs."

The congressman-elect went on to hit his campaign themes, promising to work with the Trump administration and "drain the swamp". "It just seems when people go to Washington DC they just drink the water and slither into the swamp," he said, before announcing that he would continue to live in Montana and commute to the capitol. "Montana sent a strong message tonight that we want a congresssman who will work with President Trump to make Montana and America great again," he said.

He touched on public lands, veterans, the second amendment, and balancing the budget in his speech, but made no mention of the Republican healthcare bill – the topic of the question that he refused to answer on Wednesday.

Quist told supporters he called Gianforte and stressed the need to listen to all Montanans, adding he was "sure that Montanans will hold Mr Gianforte accountable".

Gianforte supporter Diane Willard, a retired stockbroker and member of Gianforte's church, praised him for his philanthropy and said the Republican businessman was "nothing but honorable and gracious". Like many of Gianforte's supporters, she blamed Jacobs for the altercation.

"Whatever that guy did had to be awful," she said. "I've never seen [Gianforte] even angry."

Bruce McGee, a Republican alderman from Laurel, Montana, traveled two hours by bus to attend the party. McGee said he was "a little disappointed" about the alleged assault, but that Gianforte still had his "undying support".

The scandal might even have an upside, he said. "It certainly propelled him into the national spotlight," he said. "So many of these things are providence."

Ileana Indreland, who works in real estate in Bozeman, said the alleged altercation was a symptom of Americans getting tired of the "bullying" media. "I used to dance to Rob Quist's band, and they were a fun band," she said. But she credited Gianforte with a superior "depth of knowledge" about policy, and said his background in technology and business would be good for the state.

On Wednesday afternoon, the candidate was at his Bozeman campaign headquarters for a volunteer barbecue when he was approached by reporter Ben Jacobs. When Jacobs asked Gianforte a question about the Republican healthcare bill, Gianforte allegedly threw Jacobs to the ground and punched him.

Gianforte's campaign spokesman released a statement blaming the altercation on Jacobs, but audio of the incident captured by Jacobs and the eyewitness statements from three Fox News reporter who were in the room at the same time, as well as a Buzzfeed reporter just outside the room, backed up Jacobs' account. Late Wednesday evening, the Gallatin county sheriff's office charged Gianforte with misdemeanor assault.

The alleged assault drew widespread condemnation from the news media and lawmakers, including some Republicans. Montana's three largest newspapers all rescinded their endorsements of the Republican, and speaker of the House Paul Ryan called for the candidate to apologize.

The electoral impact of Gianforte's outburst – the audio of which was quickly turned into a radio advertisement for Quist – was blunted by the large proportion of early voters in the state. More than 250,000 vote-by-mail ballots had been cast by Wednesday evening.

The special election was called to replace Republican Ryan Zinke, who was confirmed as secretary of the interior on 1 March. The unexpectedly competitive race pitted Gianforte, a transplant who made a fortune running a local software company, against Democrat Rob Quist, a Montana native and a popular folksinger.

The race soon became a focus for national attention as a testing ground for the popularity of both Trump and the Republican proposals to repeal and replace Obamacare. Over $17m was eventually spent on behalf of both candidates in the rural state's truncated special election. Both candidates had deep flaws. Gianforte, whom one top Republican operative derided as a "C- minus candidate," was unpopular with voters and was stiff and wooden on the stump. Quist, a first time candidate, had little policy knowledge and came under scrutiny over his checkered financial history.

Although Montana has notoriously quirky politics and a fondness for ticket-splitting, the national political environment has had a major influence in a state that Donald Trump won by over 20 points.

For the special election, Gianforte embraced Trump's rhetoric on "draining the swamp", touring with Donald Trump Jr, and promising voters to work closely with the administration if elected. He also adopted Trump's hostile attitude toward the press, drawing rebukes from local editorial boards even before he allegedly attacked a reporter.

This served as a contrast from his 2016 campaign for governor against incumbent Democrat Steve Bullock. Gianforte distanced himself from Trump and lost by four points in a state where the Republican presidential nominee romped to victory.

Quist ran as an unapologetic progressive and barnstormed the state with Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders the weekend before the election. A political neophyte, Quist relied on his local celebrity from his music career as well as denouncing his Republican opponents for wanting to privatize public lands and dismantle Obamacare.

Though Gianforte's altercation dominated the airwaves on election day, it made little difference to several Bozeman residents casting their vote at the Gallatin county fairgrounds on Thursday evening. For Quist voters, the allegation confirmed their choice, while Gianforte voters expressed skepticism that the Republican had done anything wrong.

"It got really blown out of proportion," said David Runia of the alleged assault. "I think the reporter is the one who should be charged, if anything."

"We know him," added Hannah Runia, speaking of Gianforte. "He's a great guy."

Lowell Springer, another Gianforte voter, agreed. "He's a very polite guy," he said. "There's an end to everyone's patience."

Colter Dykman, a finance manager and Quist supporter, said that the incident had given him hope that his candidate might win.

"If that doesn't change your vote, where do you draw the line?" he asked.

But overall, no one seemed particularly shocked that the campaign season had come to this.

Seth Thomas, who declined to state how he voted, said that the incident had "tarnished" Gianforte's reputation, but added: "Everyone gets in fights in Montana."

[garbon]

Expected behavior in Montana.