Trump has always craved the respect of NYC's elite, but he's tacky and they hate him. So Bloomberg drives him nuts. https://t.co/jGhLS83k1s
— Josh Barro (@jbarro) July 29, 2016
Gotta love the rich cosmopolitan parochialism of New York City dwellers. It’s a high-stimulus city, too demanding for a lot of us, but when we flee we open up spaces for aspiring hustlers with big dreams. Like Mike Bloomberg, who’s become so much a NYC archeotype it can be hard to remember he was born in a streetcar suburb of Boston. New York’s always got room for immigrants, as long as they’re willing to learn the local mores…
… Bloomberg is not a Democrat. Nor is he running for office. But he gets the threat of physical violence and a fun nickname because someone like Bloomberg offending Trump is especially offensive to Trump.
Any New Yorker can tell you why. It’s because Trump has spent decades ignoring one of the cardinal rules of being publicly rich in this town: If you must flaunt your money, then you must also give it away in large sums. If you don’t, then you’ll spend your life feeling like an outsider, building resentment against those who should be your set. And that’s exactly what Trump has done…
No, this isn’t Edith Wharton’s New York City, but there are still rules. For one, if you want to attend everyone’s fancy charity parties, then you’ve got to make a donation. If you don’t make the donation, then prepare for everyone to stare daggers at you, to worry about your financial situation, to judge you.
If you don’t give, then eventually people will invite you to fewer events. They’ll consider you especially rude for going to the ones that you have been invited to out of politeness. That is when you are truly rejected by people who, ideally, since you’re a “billionaire, too,” should be your peers.
And that’s when the gauche things you do as a rich person are suddenly inexcusable. People may see you at parties, but they do not really see you. They see a clown, a joke, a fraud…
Over the years, Trump has yearned for Bloomberg’s acceptance as he has been for the acceptance of others in Bloomberg’s cohort. Again, he considers himself, as a fellow billionaire, part of their world. Back when Bloomberg was considering a run for president himself, Trump told CNN, “We used to be friends. I guess we’re not friends anymore.”
Oh, you thought you guys were friends? …
This understanding of Trump’s relationship with those in his social class should also provide some clarity as to why Wall Street has given relatively no money to Trump’s campaign. You see, it’s like this: He never gave to their charity cases.
So they’re not giving to his.
"Little" Michael Bloomberg, who never had the guts to run for president, knows nothing about me. His last term as Mayor was a disaster!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 29, 2016
Last recorded gift by Bloomberg to his charitable foundation: $645 million, 2014.
By @realdonaldtrump: $30,000, 2008 https://t.co/Nwo8j9jdns— David Fahrenthold (@Fahrenthold) July 29, 2016
Mike J
A snark open thread? Thank god. I’m sure everyone is exhausted from restraining themselves in the other snark free threads.
scav
@Mike J: Who among us doesn’t stand in front of the fridge in their pjs, deciding which exact midnight snark they really want?
Bill E Pilgrim
I believe it was Carlin who took the 1964 Snark Open. In three sets if I recall correctly.
RK
Yeah, there can be no doubt that Trump totally wants to win.
Tissue Thin Pseudonym
@RK: He’s sacrificed more investors than I can count.
Mike in NC
Real billionaire Bloomburg vs faux billionaire Drumpf? Got it.
Mike J
@Bill E Pilgrim: Beautiful use of the Bayonne opening. Of course that was when purple tokens were only allowed after the fifth round.
RK
@Tissue Thin Pseudonym: Ya made me laugh.
Bill E Pilgrim
Someone who can draw needs to do a cartoon of Donald Trump dressed in high priest robes tossing contractors and other little people into a volcano, saying “I’ve sacrificed a lot!”
scav
@Mike J: Mornington Crescent.
Bill E Pilgrim
@Mike J:
Now that was darn good. Just saying.
allium
@scav: That’s Numberwang!
Scott Alloway
Even when I was a poor college student in 1970, I knew when you went to an event, you donated something. Back the, $5 was understood as a sincere gesture. But Trump doesn’t get sincerity.
scav
@allium: Yellow Car.
Dadadadadadada
Someone mentioned this earlier, but there’s now a hashtag: #TrumpSacrifices. Many of the contributions are hilarious. My favorite: “I sent my son to kill dangerous animals in Africa to keep us safe,” over a photo of Uday and/or Qusay proudly posing with a dead water buffalo.
Hal
Trump has the gay porn narrative down pat.
https://pics.onsizzle.com/i-andrew-lameboycolor-why-does-this-sound-like-dialogue-from-1631360.png
Mary G
Tweeted by John Kasich about two hours ago.
Amidst the deafening silence from Ryan and McConnell, one Republican is playing it smart for 2020. Too bad he is still a total asshole.
karen marie
The Colorado event where Trump verbally abused the fire marshal? He was late getting there because …
I screamed laughing. Yeah, nobody finds it peculiar that the talking yam would “potentially lash out at the fire department,” because if he’s known for anything, it’s his easy temper.
redshirt
I, too, often pretend I’m a fake Billionaire, and share all the concerns of a real Billionaire.
Tragic!
Cat48
I,had forgotten how turbulent & violent the 1970’s were. I started watching the 1970’s on CNN & we just left Ghana with,mass suicides & now we’re up to Gacy & Bundy. This of course was after the terrorist attack at the Olympics, numerous plane hijacks, and of course the group that Obama was a member of when he was 10, the weather underground, according to McCain.
I wonder if we were punished for Vietnam & the 60’s. The narrator says Americans love violence? No. It started with Kent state. That’s when I realized the Govt will kill your ass.
Mnemosyne
@Mary G:
Wasn’t there some story recently that Kasich used the last of his super PAC money to make an ad bashing Trump? My Google-fu is failing me.
You know things are bad when John Kasich seems to be a voice of reason.
Lizzy L
Um. I was in the Weather Underground in Chicago in the late 1960s – early 1970s, and I’m willing to swear on a stack of Bibles that 10 year old Barack Obama was not there.
Wait. The 1970s on CNN?
I'mNotSureWhoIWantToBeYet
@Mary G: I’d have more respect for Kasich and his apparent efforts to do the right thing regarding the Khans if that tweet didn’t come 2+ days after the event. It was only worth his comment after Donnie did yet more damage to the Teabaggers?
Cheers,
Scott.
(Who also agrees that Kasich still is a monster.)
RK
Bloomberg also drives Trump nuts because he’s a self-made man with a first-rate mind not a daddy’s boy who thinks electoral math is “basic physics.”
Cat48
@Lizzy L:
Yes, on CNN. It was a joke bc McCain accused Obama of hanging around with Bill Ayers, bc he lived in Obama’s neighborhood & Obama told McCain he was only 10 & lived in Hawaii then. It was stupid but funny!
CNN is doing 1970 entertainment now, so terror is over
Lizzy L
@Cat48: That’s right — I’d totally forgotten that. Obama Derangement Syndrome.
danielx
No snark, but…..
Origuy
Heard this on KALW this evening; It was written in 2008, but it applies even more today
Vote, by Spook Handy
patroclus
@Lizzy L: Yeah, but I heard that 1-year-old Barack was the sole author of the Port Huron Declaration (not that watered down 2nd version).
(BTW, C-SPAN just replayed Hillary’s speech and I got to see Bill with the balloons and that hottie Tyler Clinton, both of which I missed the 1st time).
RK
The overgrown Oompa Loompa cannot be amused.
danielx
Traveling on 70 today, and thinking how amazing the scenery in Kansas(!) and how old it shows the world to be. Between Kansas City and Ft Riley, you can look at the land and the way it’s been sculpted by wind and weather and the bones of the earth are a lot closer to the surface. It’s not unmarred, but you get the impression that it looked the same to the Plains indians (and Custer for that matter) 150 years ago. This is a truly amazing and YOOOOOGE country, and ever so beautiful.
danielx
@efgoldman:
Yeah, yeah, fuck you very much. With all due respect, of course. ;)
MattF
@efgoldman: Also, Bloomberg is an ex-Republican. Very much the sort of guy that the DNC is looking for.
Villago Delenda Est
@danielx: That’s getting into the spirit of things!
Cat48
@RK:
He told Chuck Toddler on MTP he would think abt being Hillz VP, but their policies would be different. Maybe he couldn’t resist after Bloomberg got on board. Good for him, but it will make purists unhappy.
Percysowner
@scav: Those of us who sleep in the nude.
James E Powell
@Mary G:
Not so sure he is or ought to be thinking about 2020 or any future in elective office. I spent the week of the RNC in my beloved hometown of Cleveland. I walked among the RWers, spoke with them, listened to them, and they were near unanimous in their anger toward Kasich for not showing up. Every one of them referred to his promise to support the nominee of his party and the fact that he is the governor of the state that hosted the RNC. They were extremely angry at him because they believed his absence made the party look bad. I really did hear this everywhere and every day from Republican faithful. I do not know if it will be something he has to pay for.
MattF
Another reason NYC doesn’t like Trump is his bad taste. A lot of the ‘taste’ industry is centered in New York, and there are a dozen iconic museums that allow us little people to develop a good eye. And Trump has Trump Tower, which is bad enough– but his disfigurement of the West Side Highway is deeply resented and seen every day by millions of commuters who never go near Fifth Avenue.
MattF
@MattF: And now I go back to sleep, after awakening from a dream where I was explaining to someone why all these weird things were happening.
Cat48
@James E Powell:
The GOP was angry at Kasich during the primaries bc he implemented Obamacare in OH. They will never forgive that sin.
Mnemosyne
@James E Powell:
I’m not sure, but I’m suspecting that Kasich is thinking, I’m old and rich, I don’t need to take this bullshit anymore.
redshirt
It seems the heart of snark is still beating.
James E Powell
@efgoldman:
No, not really. These were people I’ve known most of my life who are Republican regulars, plus my parents’ golf and church friends. I spoke with very few people who would be described as enthusiastic Trump supporters.
Mnemosyne
@James E Powell:
It was weird — when I was in Arizona visiting my parents, they and everyone they knew seemed to hate John McCain for not being conservative enough, and yet the guy would win every election by a large margin. I suspect the Kasich thing is like that.
Major Major Major Major
@James E Powell: I know several MBA types who are what the ‘business wing’ of the GOP used to look like, or they would be if they weren’t, like, 30 years old. They totally buy into the Hillary-is-corrupt-also-the-emails thing and had quite a sad when Kasich couldn’t take the nom. But they’re generally very turned off by the blatant racism and sexism on display. The class warfare, doesn’t bother them so much.
redshirt
@Major Major Major Major: We are on the verge of a domination.
dogwood
@I’mNotSureWhoIWantToBeYet:
I wouldn’t be surprised if Kasich didn’t see the Kahn speech. He might not have been watching the DNC or if he watched it on Fox, they didn’t cover it. So he might be behind a bit. Keeping up with every idiotic thing Trump says is a full time job.
Villago Delenda Est
@srv: They’re trolling the fundigelicals. And doing a terrific job of it, too!
James E Powell
@Mnemosyne:
There’s a good chance you’re right. He’s old, he’s rich, and he’s not going anywhere politically. He’s termed out as governor and there is no F in weigh that he can get within a blue mile of Sherrod Brown. His only chance at more public paychecks was to be someone’s swing state VP candidate. Now, I think he returns to FOX.
Amir Khalid
@dogwood:
Khan, not Kahn.
redshirt
@Amir Khalid: KHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAN!
piratedan
@Mnemosyne: well, Johnny Maverick is in trouble this year…. first he is being primaried from the right (that takes place on 8/30) and he has an honest to goodness Democratic challenger and with Trump and Sheriff Joe’s antics, I’m pretty sure that Dem are registering more voters as we speak, Reps outnumber Dem by about 170k with a huge number of independents (equal to Rep registration). At least 50k new voters as of 2015 and no new numbers exist for this year by the local state party have been working hard, especially in the minority communities. It’s possible that we get a twofer, taking down Arpaio and McCain (and maybe get another congressional seat too). There is a huge number in indies out here and the GOP hasn’t been stellar. Plus, Trump has really pissed off the Mormons and a number of them may stay home this year.
James E Powell
Which Obama twice state does Trump think he can flip most easily? Which one will be his first target as we move into Labor Day? If you were running that shit show, where would you focus for the month of August?
redshirt
@piratedan: If Clinton wins Utah I don’t even…
Shalimar
@Villago Delenda Est: Effective trolling would explain why srv didn’t recognize what they were doing.
Amir Khalid
@redshirt:
I’ve always wondered about that scene: why is Kirk calling out some Jewish dude?
redshirt
@James E Powell: Florida? It’s even Trump South!
Steeplejack
I saw Café Society tonight (Friday). Didn’t know much about it going in. It was a bit of a hot mess, but pleasant enough and very funny in places. Vittorio Storaro’s cinematography was gorgeous. The big surprise to me was that Kristen Stewart was amazingly good. Maybe Oscar bait, depending on how things go this year.
ETA: No snark.
Dog Dawg Damn
Woah. Just saw the Melania photos. Trump is exposing the GOP for the fraud that it is. The party that spent decades telling everyone gays are evil because Jeebus nominates this guy….what’s the over/under on Melania being outed as a prostitute by time this is finished? Will it even matter ?
opiejeanne
@Cat48: There were mass suicides in Ghana in the 60s/70s?
James E Powell
@redshirt:
I feel like that’s go to be where what passes for his campaign organization has to be. His chances without Florida are very slim.
opiejeanne
@Dog Dawg Damn: I’ve seen it mentioned that Melania worked as an escort before she married Donald.
opiejeanne
@Cat48: Oh, not Ghana, Guyana. The Jonestown massacre.
mike in dc
Trump doubled down on the Khan thing with a press release. How long before he retweets something truly reprehensible about the Khan family? This is a precarious situation for him, because aside from Fox, the media loves their story, and he has positioned himself as the villain of the piece(because, well, he basically is the villain of the piece). If he digs himself deeper, it may finally force Ryan and McConnell to confront their party’s nominee…particularly if the polls are turning towards the Democrats. RABA Research, a new poll, shows Clinton up by 15(!) after the convention, 46-31, with Johnson getting 7 and Stein 2. They had Trump 39, Clinton 34 right after the Republican convention.
Worst case scenario for Trump: Clinton gets a huge bump that is supplemented by the Khan-troversy(sorry, I can’t help it), and Ryan and McConnell either retract their endorsements or demand a Trump apology. Trump.Never.Apologizes. They cut him loose and get to work solely on holding seats in Congress, while Trump goes into a death spiral. That said, probably won’t happen. He’d have to down double digits for them to even consider abandoning him.
gene108
Can’t sleep. Found CSPAN3 had a talk by Justice Breyer on about a book he wrote. I think it was about what Justices go through (or him at least) in reaching decisions.
He’s a very engaging speaker. I think he spoke for an hour basically off-the-cuff about various court cases.
I had dozed off for a bit, when they had some guy who wrote a book about The Revolutionary War on. He was not an engaging speaker.
I wake up to here Beyer, and I think, man this guy is so much better than the previous speaker. I put my glasses on to see who it was and the caption said Justice Stephen Breyer.
Patricia Kayden
@mike in dc: Trump is Trump’s worst enemy so yeah, he’s going to keep attacking the Khans until he maximizes the damage to his campaign. That’s just how he rolls. This is why he’s going to bring down the entire party in November. Party Leaders should never have endorsed such a loose cannon.
Amir Khalid
I’ve seen the Khans referred to as a Gold Star family. I reckon I’ve picked up what it means, but can anyone enlighten me as to the history of the term?
ThresherK (GPad)
So, “The Unsinkable Molly Brown” Trump isn’t. I think Brown grew up in nowhere, poor, and married for love someone who then became rich. Trump is another ThanksDad* guy.
Both of them were not liked by the social bigwigs, but she was so much better a human being, and had an attitude which made everybody else like her.
(*Lifted from the Boston Globe’s late David Nyhan, whom I miss.)
David Fud
@srv: FTFY:
Elmo
@Amir Khalid: My understanding: During WWII, the closest this country has ever come to total mobilization, families would hang banners with stars showing the number of family members in the military. The stars for living members were blue. If a family member was KIA, the star was gold.
But I bet Adam knows more.
Matt McIrvin
@James E Powell:
A straight answer: The one where he’s probably been doing the best is Nevada. Though it’s small.
It’ll be interesting to see what the polling looks like now. I’m actually starting to think there’s a slim possibility that the Republicans will dump Trump before the election, and Clinton will have to pivot to campaigning against some non-freakshow seat-warmer who starts with generic-Republican numbers. At this point, it might be their best strategy: the high-profile anti-Trump Republicans, at least, would all come home immediately, though many of Trump’s legions would rebel. But it might be hard even getting the replacement’s name on ballots if they wait too long.
Matt McIrvin
@Amir Khalid: There’s a brief history here; the term dates from World War I.
debbie
@RK:
His children sacrificed their noses. They’ve all had work done.
Truegster
With all the billionaires against Trump, they could hold the most massive countrywide star-studded GOTV event for the demographic that doesn’t vote, register kids with Katy Perry & Bieber playing on stage. Although, Trump does have Chachi…
Uncle Cosmo
@Shalimar: Crap, even ineffective trolling would ‘splain why our resident bag-o’-hammers didn’t get it.
scav
@Percysowner: probably make their midnight snark decisions quickly, especially if the freezer door is open.
Amir Khalid
@Matt McIrvin:
How would the party dump Trump now, when they ran out of ways to do it before the convention? They’d have to pull a process out of thin air, it seems to me. And if they did dump Trump, they’d need a new nominee. I’m not sure that anyone they named now would be ready to run.
Steeplejack (phone)
@Amir Khalid:
It dates from World War I. Wiki article on the Gold Star Mothers with related links.
Peale
@Truegster: but they won’t. Since the last thing they want are people other than TEA nuts to vote. They built Trump’s voter base for him. They would support a candidate who supports Trump’s views. Just not Trump.
Sister Rail Gun of Warm Humanitarianism
@Amir Khalid: Ricin?
And then Pence stepping in as the other half of the ticket?
Matt McIrvin
@Amir Khalid: The RNC could pull a process out of thin air if they wanted to. Presumably they’d just declare Trump incompetent to run and name Mike Pence the nominee. But there’s probably some point at which it becomes impossible to change the ballot listings in most states.
I don’t think they’re really going to do it. For one thing, Trump would go completely and publicly apeshit on them, since they would have genuinely and literally stolen the nomination from him. It’s too late for him to make a serious effort to get on ballots as an independent, but he could scream about write-ins a lot. They’re probably wrecked either way.
Ken
@James E Powell:
I’d take Trump’s phone and computer away, and only allow him to appear in taped speeches. The speeches would be heavily edited so he isn’t totally repulsive. If that means 30 minutes of “I’m Donald Trump” looped, so be it.
PurpleGirl
@MattF For many years Bloomberg was a Democrat; he became a Republican so he could run for Mayor in an open field instead of in a field of 4 or 5 Democrats. Once he was out of office he declared himself an independent. He has also pushed non-partisan elections and the Third Way thing. The Republicans took him in because he really could self-finance, which they could spend their money on other races and not the mayoral.
FlipYrWhig
@Ken: That’d still be repulsive.
PurpleGirl
@ThresherK (GPad): Yes, Molly Brown was a Gilded era pauper until her husband’s silver mines began producing. She got the nickname “The Unsinkable…” because she was a Titanic survivor.
Glennis
@Dog Dawg Damn: Are these new Melania photos? Or the ones that have been around for a while?
J R in WV
@Amir Khalid: Gold Star Mothers Club formed right after WW I to help mothers who lost their sons.
pluky
@MattF: Which makes Graydon Carter’s dig from so long ago so sweet. Trump obsesses about the finger remark, while completely missing the killer “vulgarian” slur. No one in NYC gives a rat’s ass how digitally endowed he is (or isn’t). Having no class is to be utterly disdained by all classes.