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You are here: Home / Politics / Domestic Politics / President-elect Trump’s 11:00 AM EST January 2017 Press Conference Live Feed

President-elect Trump’s 11:00 AM EST January 2017 Press Conference Live Feed

by Adam L Silverman|  January 11, 201710:38 am| 403 Comments

This post is in: Domestic Politics, Election 2016, Foreign Affairs, Open Threads, Politics, Silverman on Security

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The President-elect is scheduled to hold a press conference at 11:00 AM EST today. Here’s the live feed:

It is currently streaming the Chao confirmation hearings.

The purpose of today’s press conference is, ostensibly, for the President-elect to publicly delineate how he is going to deal with his business interests and holdings as President and then, one would expect, take questions. Given the CNN reporting yesterday afternoon, followed by the release of further related information well into this morning, I’m not sure that anyone knows exactly what may or may not happen.

As a national security professional, what I would like to see is the President-elect address the now long standing and ongoing allegations regarding his connection to Russia. If the allegations are spurious, as he and his team have claimed every time they’ve come up, or if there is a straightforward and simple explanation that can be made, he needs to make it. I think a lot of the foreign, defense, and national security policy concerns that many across the political spectrum have with the President-elect’s longstanding policy preferences dating back to 1987 arise from all of the smoke around the claims of Russian connections and interference for Russia’s, not the US’s, not the President-elect’s, interests.

As I’ve noted in previous posts, the President-elect has had a long standing belief that the US’s allies and partners have been taking advantage of us and that our treaty and statutory alliances and agreements need to be revisited. He has an almost as long standing belief that the US and the then USSR should partner to deal with the threat of nuclear proliferation from non-superpower nations. And he has had a consistent stated preference for creating something of a bilateral partnership with Russia against ISIL throughout the campaign and into the transition as part of improved relations with Russia.

Throughout the campaign and the transition I’ve been somewhere between confused and concerned by what I’ve seen articulated by the President-elect as his foreign, defense, and national security policy preferences because they represent such a large break with longstanding US policy preferences under both Democratic and Republican Presidents. I would be a lot less worried if the seeming, alleged, rumored, Russian connections were put to bed. I completely understand that a lot of ego is tied up in running for public office, let alone the Presidency. And that winning the electoral college, but not the popular vote would be troubling to any incoming President even if they were not a political neophyte.  But the responses from the President-elect and his team on these questions have been inadequate throughout the campaign and the transition. From CNN’s reporting this appears to be one of the reasons that the two page annex summarizing the former MI6 officer’s oppo research was included in the classified report and briefings to the President, the President-elect, and the Gang of Eight on Russian active measures, desinformaziya, and kompromat in the 2016 US elections. The leaders of the US Intel Community wanted it made explicit to the current and outgoing President, the President-elect and his National Security Team, and to the Republican and Democratic leadership of the House and Senate and both chambers Intelligence Committees that this material existed, it presents an ongoing threat to both political parties and to the US and its interests, and could still be used. And I would add: regardless of whether any of it is true, false, or a combination of the two. As CNN reported (emphasis mine):

One reason the nation’s intelligence chiefs took the extraordinary step of including the synopsis in the briefing documents was to make the President-elect aware that such allegations involving him are circulating among intelligence agencies, senior members of Congress and other government officials in Washington, multiple sources tell CNN.
These senior intelligence officials also included the synopsis to demonstrate that Russia had compiled information potentially harmful to both political parties, but only released information damaging to Hillary Clinton and Democrats. This synopsis was not an official part of the report from the intelligence community case about Russian hacks, but some officials said it augmented the evidence that Moscow intended to harm Clinton’s candidacy and help Trump’s, several officials with knowledge of the briefings tell CNN.
The two-page synopsis also included allegations that there was a continuing exchange of information during the campaign between Trump surrogates and intermediaries for the Russian government, according to two national security officials.

There will always be breaks or changes or adjustments to policy from Presidential Administration to Presidential Administration, depending on who is elected, from which party, and what is actually going on. But the changes that President-elect Trump has either long argued for, or argued for throughout his campaign, would be a lot easier to understand if he and his upcoming Presidency were removed from under the cloud of alleged, possible influence by a hostile foreign power.

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Previous Post: « Twitler in the Bunker
Next Post: Open Thread: Meanwhile, At Trump’s Secretary of State Candidate’s Confirmation Hearings… »

Reader Interactions

403Comments

  1. 1.

    Major Major Major Major

    January 11, 2017 at 10:42 am

    So what’s the over-under on how late he shows up?

  2. 2.

    elm

    January 11, 2017 at 10:44 am

    How’s he going to address the recent decline in journalism? The sensational headlines? Are we returning to the days of the Yellow Press?

  3. 3.

    Cheryl Rofer

    January 11, 2017 at 10:44 am

    If he has no connections to Russia, his tax returns should show that.

  4. 4.

    PaulW

    January 11, 2017 at 10:44 am

    what’s the odds on him making clear he WON’T take questions after all?

  5. 5.

    PaulW

    January 11, 2017 at 10:45 am

    What’s the odds on him promoting his goddamn hotels again?

  6. 6.

    Ceci n'est pas mon nym

    January 11, 2017 at 10:45 am

    What cloud? I see in various places on the intertubes that Putin denies they hold anything on Trump, and Trump denies the charges and says “the intelligence agencies of the world are all poopyheads”. That’s case closed as far as I’m concerned.

  7. 7.

    chopper

    January 11, 2017 at 10:45 am

    I hope he makes more nazi germany references in his defense.

    to be fair, it is feeling a little like austria 1938…

  8. 8.

    dr. bloor

    January 11, 2017 at 10:47 am

    If your press conference Bingo card has “nepotism,””business conflicts of interest,” and “WH ACA replace plan” but not “Streep,” “Hillary” or “Phony,” you’re a sure loser this morning.

  9. 9.

    NotMax

    January 11, 2017 at 10:47 am

    You’re expecting rationality from a carnival barker. He will dissemble, misdirect, whine about being a victim, throw out cheap and crude insults directed at perceived enemies and quite possibly attempt to exert dominance by belittling one or more questioners/media outlets personally or professionally.

    As he hasn’t faced a press conference since last July, expect him to also be off balance so far as the format is concerned and to be expecting total obeisance.

  10. 10.

    dr. bloor

    January 11, 2017 at 10:49 am

    @Major Major Major Major: I’m imagining a scene in the Trump suite right now akin to the handlers and docs prepping Pink for his show in “The Wall.”

  11. 11.

    Yarrow

    January 11, 2017 at 10:50 am

    This press conference is not really happening, is it?

  12. 12.

    Steeplejack

    January 11, 2017 at 10:50 am

    I’ve got MSNBC on the box. Love how the lectern for the press conference has:

    The Office of the President Elect
    New York, New York

    Didn’t realize that was an “office.” What a preening jackanapes.

    ETA: Forgot to mention the obligatory wall-to-wall American flags in the background.

  13. 13.

    randy khan

    January 11, 2017 at 10:51 am

    I can’t watch. Others with stronger stomachs than mine will have to report on it.

  14. 14.

    Elizabelle

    January 11, 2017 at 10:51 am

    He is so gross. I am not going to watch.

  15. 15.

    резидент американской области Российской Федерации

    January 11, 2017 at 10:52 am

    First couple of rows need to wear ponchos, like a Gallagher show.

  16. 16.

    Timurid

    January 11, 2017 at 10:53 am

    @Steeplejack:

    The Orifice of the President Elect
    New York, New York

  17. 17.

    dr. bloor

    January 11, 2017 at 10:53 am

    @Steeplejack: Is there a table of “45” merchandise set up near the podium?

  18. 18.

    Yarrow

    January 11, 2017 at 10:54 am

    @Steeplejack: So they’ve set up the lectern? I guess they think he’ll show up.

    I can only imagine the whining in the Twitler bunker at this point. “KellyAnne! Whyyyyyyy do I have to do this press conference? I’m going to be president! You can’t tell me what to do!”

  19. 19.

    dr. bloor

    January 11, 2017 at 10:54 am

    @резидент американской области Российской Федерации: What? He brought the Russian hookers with him?

  20. 20.

    Major Major Major Major

    January 11, 2017 at 10:55 am

    @dr. bloor: they exit through the gift shop.

  21. 21.

    Duane

    January 11, 2017 at 10:55 am

    It’s pretty bad when a President-elect is coming into office under this kind of scrutiny.

  22. 22.

    Yarrow

    January 11, 2017 at 10:56 am

    Ooooh! I wonder if he’s going to publicly threaten the Intelligence guys? Like say he’s going to make them pay, or they’ll have to listen to him once he’s president, or they’re lying and he can prove it and he’s going to make them sorry they did this.

    *Popcorn*

  23. 23.

    Mike J

    January 11, 2017 at 10:59 am

    Emma Kennedy ‏@EmmaKennedy 3 hours ago
    BBC have just reported there is more than one source for the allegations against Trump and they are “credible”. Someone break it to Donald

    Emma Kennedy ‏@EmmaKennedy 3 hours ago
    BBC also said there is video and audio from different sources. This isn’t going away.

  24. 24.

    Elizabelle

    January 11, 2017 at 10:59 am

    I can’t stand that we are going from Barack Obama to this detestable jackhole.

    Thanks Red [State] America.

    Fucking nightmare.

    They. Didn’t. Vet. Him.

  25. 25.

    Emerald

    January 11, 2017 at 10:59 am

    Yeah sure. If he actually shows up, this will be his last presser. He’ll crash and burn. I can’t believe Ivanka is letting him do it.

    Should be comedy gold but I can’t watch.

  26. 26.

    Jeffro

    January 11, 2017 at 11:00 am

    Those watching will probably want to turn the volume down and the red tone down as well. This should be good…

  27. 27.

    Adam L Silverman

    January 11, 2017 at 11:00 am

    @Major Major Major Major: I have no idea.

  28. 28.

    Steeplejack

    January 11, 2017 at 11:01 am

    @dr. bloor:

    Ha! The chyron crawl is in the way. I’ll keep a lookout.

  29. 29.

    Yarrow

    January 11, 2017 at 11:02 am

    Why not? Kremlin has worse — much worse — on PEOTUS than golden showers with whores.https://t.co/nfasCX1vGZ— John Schindler (@20committee) January 11, 2017

    This isn’t going away.

  30. 30.

    Jeffro

    January 11, 2017 at 11:02 am

    @Elizabelle: Vetting is for Democrats! Republicans are always right! Critical thinking means “here, listen to me rant and justify absolutely anything no matter how much dissonance it creates”!

    Long term, Dems are going to want to throw some unbelievable resources into education.

  31. 31.

    O. Felix Culpa

    January 11, 2017 at 11:02 am

    @Mike J:

    This isn’t going away.

    Good.

  32. 32.

    NotMax

    January 11, 2017 at 11:03 am

    @Duane

    Donald Trump, ten days from becoming President, has an approval rating of 37%. […] For some perspective, by Gallup’s numbers, each of the last three presidents had approval ratings of at least 65% during their presidential transitions. Source

  33. 33.

    Served

    January 11, 2017 at 11:04 am

    FWIW, Tillerson’s hearing is going less than swimmingly for him.

    At some point the amateur hour luck was going to run out. As President Obama reiterated last night, “reality has a way of catching up with you.”

  34. 34.

    SenyorDave

    January 11, 2017 at 11:04 am

    I guess Trump will shower the middle class with well paying jobs.

  35. 35.

    SP

    January 11, 2017 at 11:04 am

    The press hot mic comments while waiting for the conference are pretty funny. “Copastetic, copastetic”- I assume he means “copacetic”? It’s the boom mike guy, now saying “You have to ride me, ride me.”

  36. 36.

    GregB

    January 11, 2017 at 11:06 am

    Well, we know why James Woolsey quit a few days ago.

  37. 37.

    Tilda Swintons Bald Cap

    January 11, 2017 at 11:07 am

    @Mike J: To quote Warner Wolf, “Let’s go to the video tape !” Yee haw !

  38. 38.

    Steeplejack

    January 11, 2017 at 11:08 am

    Senate committee has been tongue-bathing State nominee Tex Driller, although Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) has just turned up the heat a bit: (paraphrased slightly) “Do you agree with characterization of Putin as a war criminal?,” showing pictures of assassinated Kremlin opponents. Driller remaining phlegmatic, basically saying “I would not disagree.” Wonder how his BFF Putin will take that? “Is okay, Tex. Is only biznezz.”

  39. 39.

    Steeplejack

    January 11, 2017 at 11:08 am

    No sign of Trump yet.

  40. 40.

    SiubhanDuinne

    January 11, 2017 at 11:09 am

    What’s the delay? Fog machine malfunction?

  41. 41.

    sloan

    January 11, 2017 at 11:10 am

    Come on dude, put down the Egg McMuffin and get your lazy ass on stage.

  42. 42.

    Betty Cracker

    January 11, 2017 at 11:10 am

    Breaking my vow not to subject myself to the sleazy creep’s voice to watch this presser, just on the off chance he completely decompensates, enters a catatonic state and has to be dragged offstage by paid minions.

  43. 43.

    Hildebrand

    January 11, 2017 at 11:11 am

    @SiubhanDuinne: Trump is still trying to figure out how to cancel.

  44. 44.

    Steeplejack

    January 11, 2017 at 11:11 am

    Trump entourage forming up offstage, word comes that Trump “is coming down momentarily.”

  45. 45.

    schrodingers_cat

    January 11, 2017 at 11:11 am

    @Betty Cracker: You are a braver soul than I, my friend.

  46. 46.

    JPL

    January 11, 2017 at 11:12 am

    @Mike J: It’s embarrassing enough that I had to ask a son about specific terminology, I just don’t want to watch the video.

  47. 47.

    O. Felix Culpa

    January 11, 2017 at 11:13 am

    @Betty Cracker: I’ll wait for the reruns.

  48. 48.

    Steeplejack

    January 11, 2017 at 11:13 am

    @Betty Cracker:

    As a former shoe-leather newspaper reporter in the late Bronze Age (i.e., the ’70s), I wouldn’t miss this for the world.

  49. 49.

    Yarrow

    January 11, 2017 at 11:14 am

    On CNN, just heard Rick Santorum try to claim that the leaders of the Intelligence organizations are political appointees so that puts their conclusions into question

  50. 50.

    Steeplejack

    January 11, 2017 at 11:14 am

    Okay, I’ve just spotted the golden mane coming through the offstage crowd!

  51. 51.

    mai naem mobile

    January 11, 2017 at 11:14 am

    @GregB: that was my thought exactly. Hell, Woolsey may have been a CIA agent spying on Lumpy and Cohen and was informed at to when to walk away before the shit, I mean the pee, hit the fan.

  52. 52.

    Elizabelle

    January 11, 2017 at 11:14 am

    CBS has pre-empted The Price is Right for this. How apropos.

    Looking at all those media whores, standing up with microphones at the front of the rooms.

    Emails, you whores. Emails!

    This is a LOT of your fault. I would not mind seeing the Washington press corps standing up there for a firing line. They are that awful.

    Emails, whores. Suck on it.

  53. 53.

    Jerzy Russian

    January 11, 2017 at 11:15 am

    Is this like game 1 of the World Series where it is scheduled for 8:00 pm, but the first pitch is actually at 8:20?

  54. 54.

    Humboldtblue

    January 11, 2017 at 11:15 am

    You’d expect more joy from a man who just won the presidency, I mean, wasn’t Donald watching in 2008?

    Now we’re gonna get hookers, blow, and really bad Russian haircuts.

    Kellyann is soon gonna look like this

  55. 55.

    hilts

    January 11, 2017 at 11:15 am

    Shorter Spicer: Wah Wah

  56. 56.

    sloan

    January 11, 2017 at 11:15 am

    15 minutes late.

    Orange People’s Time!

  57. 57.

    Steeplejack

    January 11, 2017 at 11:15 am

    Spokesdrone Sean Spicer is blasting Buzzfeed with both barrels.

  58. 58.

    Betty Cracker

    January 11, 2017 at 11:16 am

    Whining about Buzzfeed. Yawn.

  59. 59.

    Elizabelle

    January 11, 2017 at 11:16 am

    @SiubhanDuinne: Fog machine malfunction?

    Well played, Ms. Duinne.

  60. 60.

    Hildebrand

    January 11, 2017 at 11:16 am

    @Betty Cracker: I just want the press to ask a couple of nice, straightforward, questions. Ones with substance. Is that asking too much? Would it be likewise asking too much to have said reporters badger the fuck out of him with follow-up questions?

    A guy can dream.

  61. 61.

    Steeplejack

    January 11, 2017 at 11:17 am

    Weird: Pence is standing behind Spicer, like he’s the next hype man up before the big man himself.

    ETA: Pence wearing his usual “I was Robert Shaw’s stand-in for From Russia with Love.”

  62. 62.

    rikyrah

    January 11, 2017 at 11:17 am

    @Mike J:

    totally from MI-6

  63. 63.

    Betty Cracker

    January 11, 2017 at 11:17 am

    Spicer says Shitgibbon doesn’t know Carter Page. Shitgibbon released a list of FP advisers that includes Page.

  64. 64.

    Served

    January 11, 2017 at 11:17 am

    Spicer is so pressed over this right now! I’m screaming with joy.

  65. 65.

    Steeplejack

    January 11, 2017 at 11:17 am

    Pence bloviating. Fair amount of clapping from the audience, which seems odd for “journalists” at a press conference. Maybe Brietbart sent a whole team.

  66. 66.

    chopper

    January 11, 2017 at 11:18 am

    @Mike J:

    oh, fucking delicious.

  67. 67.

    Adam L Silverman

    January 11, 2017 at 11:18 am

    @Mike J: Would be nice if she had a link in her tweets.

  68. 68.

    SiubhanDuinne

    January 11, 2017 at 11:18 am

    Is this a press conference or a fucking rally?

  69. 69.

    Betty Cracker

    January 11, 2017 at 11:18 am

    Pence sounds awfully defensive. Hmmm.

  70. 70.

    Elizabelle

    January 11, 2017 at 11:18 am

    This is such a fucking tragedy.

    Going from Obama to …. this.

    Mike Pence is so damn dumb. My Republican relatives in Indiana could not stand him. And one of them, a beloved GOP lite cousin, wondered aloud why people were saying such bad things about Obamacare. Because it was really good for her husband and her. (The husband owns a roofing business.)

  71. 71.

    Mary G

    January 11, 2017 at 11:19 am

    I can’t watch, because I am afraid of destroying my TV and I have no money for a new one. I’m relying on you guys for commentary.

  72. 72.

    mai naem mobile

    January 11, 2017 at 11:19 am

    Pence can’t be spelled without P either.

  73. 73.

    Steeplejack

    January 11, 2017 at 11:19 am

    Pence: “The American people are sick and tired of it!” (Fake news.) WTF, dude, it just hit the fan yesterday.

  74. 74.

    Ohio Mom

    January 11, 2017 at 11:19 am

    @SiubhanDuinne: yeah, what’s with all the applause?

  75. 75.

    Larkspur

    January 11, 2017 at 11:20 am

    He starts with a lie. Big surprise.

  76. 76.

    JPL

    January 11, 2017 at 11:20 am

    Sad..

  77. 77.

    SiubhanDuinne

    January 11, 2017 at 11:20 am

    Oh man, they are REALLY rattled by the Russia stories, aren’t they?

    (Edited to fix stupid autocorrect thing.)

  78. 78.

    Yarrow

    January 11, 2017 at 11:20 am

    Yep. He’s going after the Intelligence Agencies first thing. This is not going to go well for him.

  79. 79.

    OGLiberal

    January 11, 2017 at 11:21 am

    @Elizabelle: Trump is like manna from heaven for them. All the Hillary stuff is boring and 4-8 years of reporting on her would have been no fun, just dull policy stuff and old, disproven rumors. But with Trump it’s a new thing every day. I swear they helped take out Hillary not because they like Trump or his policies but because they know that crap like this will happen at least once or twice a week and it is so fun and great for ratings. Even Obama, once he actually took the job, he got all boring and wonky and polite and reserved – if he wasn’t going to tour the country giving rousing speeches then they had no use for him. Plus, “black president” was just so 2008. So, manufacture controversy over Benghazi (which was a twofer because Hillary) or, well, was there anything else?

    Of course, most of these assholes won’t be affected by Trump’s policies until they are vaporized by a nuke strike on DC.

  80. 80.

    dmsilev

    January 11, 2017 at 11:21 am

    @Steeplejack:

    ETA: Pence wearing his usual “I was Robert Shaw’s stand-in for From Russia with Love.”

    Wait, Pence was the hooker who did the golden shower? I’m so confused.

  81. 81.

    Emerald

    January 11, 2017 at 11:21 am

    Is he actually there? Or is Pence doing it?

  82. 82.

    Barbara

    January 11, 2017 at 11:21 am

    @Steeplejack: When you have to rely on Pence to stir up outrage you are in big big trouble.

  83. 83.

    donnah

    January 11, 2017 at 11:21 am

    Trump hasn’t said anything in spite of talking for five minutes.

  84. 84.

    Larkspur

    January 11, 2017 at 11:22 am

    “Primarily one site and one news organization…” ooh, hit list has been assembled. Plutonium tea party, coming up.

  85. 85.

    Adrift

    January 11, 2017 at 11:22 am

    He is all over the place this makes no sense whatsoever.

  86. 86.

    sloan

    January 11, 2017 at 11:22 am

    Odds that he makes things worse for himself with this press conference?

    Put on your big boy pants and be the f’ing president.

  87. 87.

    Betty Cracker

    January 11, 2017 at 11:22 am

    Stupid fucking goober impugned the integrity of the intel orgs again. Is our shitgibbon learning? Nope.

  88. 88.

    bemused

    January 11, 2017 at 11:22 am

    I detect Trump sucking some air. He’s nervous.

  89. 89.

    SenyorDave

    January 11, 2017 at 11:22 am

    @Ohio Mom: yeah, what’s with all the applause?

    The media was promised free hoagies and dollar beers after the presser ends.

  90. 90.

    Mike in NC

    January 11, 2017 at 11:23 am

    Jesus Fucking Christ, these loons are despicably thin-skinned imbeciles, always attacking their perceived enemies. Trump will spend an hour now denouncing the media and then reveal his plans to shut it down.

  91. 91.

    Adam L Silverman

    January 11, 2017 at 11:23 am

    @Ohio Mom: Most of the people in the room are supporters, not journalists.

  92. 92.

    O. Felix Culpa

    January 11, 2017 at 11:23 am

    I can’t watch, first, because I can’t stand the sight nor the sound of that horrid man who will be President, and second, because I have no faith in our “journalists” doing their goddamn job. Please to inform me if they prove me wrong.

  93. 93.

    Humboldtblue

    January 11, 2017 at 11:24 am

    They supply our drugs but don’t make them here.

    Speak for yourself you fucking idiot.

  94. 94.

    Larkspur

    January 11, 2017 at 11:24 am

    @SenyorDave: He’s got all his people with him – not just Spicer and Pence, but Ivanka and other were trailing in. Enough to applaud loud right by the mics.

  95. 95.

    schrodingers_cat

    January 11, 2017 at 11:24 am

    @SiubhanDuinne: What do you expect from whores paid to piss on democracy and good governance?

  96. 96.

    hilts

    January 11, 2017 at 11:24 am

    @donnah:

    That’s par for the course with this knuckledragging neanderthal

  97. 97.

    Humboldtblue

    January 11, 2017 at 11:24 am

    @Betty Cracker: Watch for the blots … the big, big, blots

  98. 98.

    Steeplejack

    January 11, 2017 at 11:24 am

    Okay, the big man himself:

    This is literally the first thing out of his mouth:

    Thank you very much. It’s very familiar territory, news conferences, because we used to give ’em on an almost daily basis. I think we probably, maybe won the nomination because of news conferences. And it’s good to be with you. We stopped giving ’em because we were getting quite a bit of inaccurate news.

    Back to real time.

  99. 99.

    bemused

    January 11, 2017 at 11:25 am

    @Betty Cracker:

    Learning? That would require brain and heart transplants.

  100. 100.

    john b

    January 11, 2017 at 11:25 am

    well the audio keeps cutting out of WP’s feed. Pain in the ass.

  101. 101.

    Betty Cracker

    January 11, 2017 at 11:25 am

    @Larkspur: That’s exactly what they’re doing. The press isn’t applauding — it’s the minions.

  102. 102.

    Adrift

    January 11, 2017 at 11:25 am

    This is like scratching your nails across the chalkboard.

  103. 103.

    Larkspur

    January 11, 2017 at 11:25 am

    “We have all of the bands, most of the bands, from the various segments of the military” – gonna be beautiful, elegant. Dude. You lie.

  104. 104.

    mai naem mobile

    January 11, 2017 at 11:25 am

    Fucking moron still fucking with the CIA. Oh,honey, they just got started with you. El Stupido doesn’t know that the GOP doesn’t want bidding on drugs. They’re going to be bidding on some massive amount of drugs just special for you,you fucking maroon. Who the fuck thought this guy was qualified for this job? He’s on some massive drugs right now. His affect sounds a little flat.

  105. 105.

    Betty Cracker

    January 11, 2017 at 11:25 am

    OMFG — he just called himself “the greatest jobs producer God ever created.”

  106. 106.

    Calouste

    January 11, 2017 at 11:26 am

    @Yarrow: Yep. As I have pointed out before, a lot of coups and revolutions started or gained momentum because the officer corps of the military wasn’t happy with their salary/conditions/promotion prospects. For officers in this case, substitute spooks.

  107. 107.

    hilts

    January 11, 2017 at 11:26 am

    @SenyorDave:

    What’s with all the applause?

    Maybe they hired some actors to portray Trump supporters.

  108. 108.

    mai naem mobile

    January 11, 2017 at 11:26 am

    @john b: try NPR dude

  109. 109.

    wenchacha

    January 11, 2017 at 11:26 am

    Oh my god. No one will ever die when Trump is Pres.

  110. 110.

    Yarrow

    January 11, 2017 at 11:27 am

    I saw whichever son (Uday or Qusay?) has the darker hair standing next to Twitler when someone else was talking. He looks tired. I wonder if this mess is taking a toll on the kids too. Good, if it is.

  111. 111.

    Betty Cracker

    January 11, 2017 at 11:27 am

    Now he’s saying he’s going to have great bands and big crowds at the inauguration. He’s sucking his own dick about the election. Again.

  112. 112.

    Humboldtblue

    January 11, 2017 at 11:27 am

    It’s a yooooge movement

    Man is so full of shit

  113. 113.

    Larkspur

    January 11, 2017 at 11:28 am

    They’ve been working on him, trying to make him look less ridiculous. His hair isn’t that dehydrated pee color, and he doesn’t have the white raccoon eyes so much. It isn’t working.

  114. 114.

    Yarrow

    January 11, 2017 at 11:28 am

    @mai naem mobile: Yeah, the “bidding on drugs” thing is hilarious. That would only apply to the government healthcare. You know, single payer.

  115. 115.

    Betty Cracker

    January 11, 2017 at 11:28 am

    Basically, he’s giving the “Suck It, Losers!” tour stump speech. Again. Sucking off himself first, then veterans.

  116. 116.

    Elizabelle

    January 11, 2017 at 11:28 am

    He is such a huckster.

    It’s like having the National Inquirer spew for President.

    And clue this gibbon in: twas the Republicans in Congress that denied us ability to negotiate on drugs.

    Have to laugh at how his priorities and his do not synch as much as they might wish.

  117. 117.

    Adrift

    January 11, 2017 at 11:28 am

    I thought he was going to discuss divestment. Not a peep. He is already taking questions so I guess nothing will ever be said about it.

  118. 118.

    Betty Cracker

    January 11, 2017 at 11:28 am

    Questions now!

  119. 119.

    ? Martin

    January 11, 2017 at 11:29 am

    After godwinning the country on Twitter and the whole pee thing, it seems like we’re in really creative new territory for protest and mockery.

  120. 120.

    Rommie

    January 11, 2017 at 11:29 am

    He’s going to destroy the VA in order to save it. Bigly.

  121. 121.

    Mike J

    January 11, 2017 at 11:29 am

    @Mike in NC:

    Trump will spend an hour now denouncing the media and then reveal his plans to shut it down.

    He said he wanted to change libel laws

  122. 122.

    dexwood

    January 11, 2017 at 11:29 am

    Fake news, fake news, fake news! The Trump mantra.

  123. 123.

    Jeffro

    January 11, 2017 at 11:29 am

    @Yarrow:

    Yep. He’s going after the Intelligence Agencies first thing. This is not going to go well for him.

    Couldn’t be happier…please proceed, Orange Jowlius

  124. 124.

    Patricia Kayden

    January 11, 2017 at 11:29 am

    @Elizabelle: I’m listening. Everything is “top of the line”, “fantastic”, “terrific”, “not gonna happen”, “great”, etc., etc. The man lacks humility to say the least. Anything good is because of him.

  125. 125.

    Yarrow

    January 11, 2017 at 11:29 am

    “It shouldn’t have entered paper” ??? What is that?

  126. 126.

    john b

    January 11, 2017 at 11:29 am

    @mai naem mobile: yeah. just switched to that. thanks

  127. 127.

    Emerald

    January 11, 2017 at 11:30 am

    So have there been any actual questions? Any bets on how many he takes before walking offstage?

  128. 128.

    NotMax

    January 11, 2017 at 11:30 am

    @Betty Cracker

    That no lightning bolt crackled down from on high, that no bottomless pit opened up beneath the bloviating fool, is proof there is no God.

  129. 129.

    cmorenc

    January 11, 2017 at 11:30 am

    @Cheryl Rofer:

    If he has no connections to Russia, his tax returns should show that.

    Yes indeed. How about returns from a recent year when Trump was not under audit? He won’t release his returns, because he knows there’s incriminating information in them about his financial empire, particularly who he owes money to, and who he has deals with.

  130. 130.

    SiubhanDuinne

    January 11, 2017 at 11:30 am

    Everything he says — it has no substance, less filling or nourishing than cotton candy.

    Names a new VA chief. “He’s fantastic, he’s fantastic, he’s going to do a fantastic job. Our vets have been treated horribly, horribly. Not gonna happen. We interviewed at least a hundred people, some good, some not so good. But David’s going to do a fantastic job.”

  131. 131.

    donnah

    January 11, 2017 at 11:30 am

    Good luck getting answers, folks! He will blow off every question and just serve up word salad and try to deflect the investigation.

    Much hacking going on? China? DNC at fault?

    jeezus

  132. 132.

    Jeffro

    January 11, 2017 at 11:30 am

    fakenewsfakenewsfakenewsfakenews

    Trump, it’s not a magical phrase…

    ETA: can see that dexwood got there first

  133. 133.

    Betty Cracker

    January 11, 2017 at 11:30 am

    Downplaying the Russian hack again. Jesus.

  134. 134.

    Larkspur

    January 11, 2017 at 11:30 am

    DNC was askin’ for it.

  135. 135.

    Adam L Silverman

    January 11, 2017 at 11:30 am

    Found the link for the BBC stuff:
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KyFTRVvhM5M

  136. 136.

    Botsplainer, Cryptofascist Tool of the Oppressor Class

    January 11, 2017 at 11:30 am

    @Betty Cracker:

    He’s sucking his own dick about the election.

    He’d be incapable of that – his gut would be in the way.

  137. 137.

    Steeplejack

    January 11, 2017 at 11:30 am

    @dmsilev:

    Mike Pence threatens reporters, tells them not to “get out of line.”

  138. 138.

    Adrift

    January 11, 2017 at 11:31 am

    Bringing up Hilary again, how horrible she is. OMG.

  139. 139.

    Hildebrand

    January 11, 2017 at 11:31 am

    @Betty Cracker:

    He’s sucking his own dick about the election.

    He is the only one who will.

  140. 140.

    GregB

    January 11, 2017 at 11:31 am

    Trump bemoaning leaks and is now quoting leaks.

  141. 141.

    Jeffro

    January 11, 2017 at 11:31 am

    Yes…Reince Priebus is a cyber-defense genius…

  142. 142.

    Yarrow

    January 11, 2017 at 11:32 am

    Wow, now he’s saying crap about John Podesta’s comments on Hillary? WTF?

  143. 143.

    Humboldtblue

    January 11, 2017 at 11:32 am

    This is a fucking terrible movie and this guy is a terrible actor.

  144. 144.

    Elizabelle

    January 11, 2017 at 11:32 am

    @Patricia Kayden: Striking that it’s an eight year old’s vocabulary. And boasts.

    So sad. So tragic.

  145. 145.

    Steeplejack

    January 11, 2017 at 11:32 am

    Questions! To the intelligence briefings!

    ETA: Oops, I’m still a few minutes behind.

  146. 146.

    Larkspur

    January 11, 2017 at 11:32 am

    This is nearly impossible to deal with, every word, every inflection is a distortion or a lie, and damn, he’s using the third person to describe himself.

  147. 147.

    Patricia Kayden

    January 11, 2017 at 11:33 am

    @Elizabelle: If you can, you should listen (not watch) it just for the sheer audacity that he displays. It’s breathtaking. I can’t believe that anyone takes him seriously. This must be a ploy by Congressional Republicans to put an idiot in the White House who they can completely manipulate and control. Otherwise, his ascendance doesn’t make any sense.

  148. 148.

    D58826

    January 11, 2017 at 11:33 am

    Time to look for real estate on Easter island or Pitcarin island.

  149. 149.

    Yarrow

    January 11, 2017 at 11:33 am

    Trump admits hacking was Russians, and others, but pins blame on the DNC again. Says RNC was not hacked.You sure there, Don? :)— John Schindler (@20committee) January 11, 2017

    “You sure there, Don?” Heh.

  150. 150.

    Wapiti

    January 11, 2017 at 11:33 am

    @Yarrow: Dad is unhinged. The entire family probably sits up with him when he gets on a tear in the middle of the night, Each is afraid that if they aren’t present, either Dad will get angry at them, or their siblings will cause Dad to get angry at them.

  151. 151.

    O. Felix Culpa

    January 11, 2017 at 11:33 am

    @Humboldtblue:

    this guy is a terrible actor.

    He’s a bad actor in every way.

  152. 152.

    Barbara

    January 11, 2017 at 11:33 am

    @Yarrow: He is the kind of person who will always revert to campaign mode. That’s all he can do. He has no other comfort zone. He has exceedingly few real skills and gets by on the ones he has honed to perfection.

  153. 153.

    Mike J

    January 11, 2017 at 11:34 am

    Dave Weigel ‏@daveweigel 41 minutes ago
    Sen. Whitehouse reading back Sessions endorsements from David Duke and the Daily Stormer.

  154. 154.

    GregB

    January 11, 2017 at 11:34 am

    By the way, the Trump people were saying that the Russian’s were terrified of Hillary Clinton.

    Now we hear she’s a pushover.

  155. 155.

    Patricia Kayden

    January 11, 2017 at 11:34 am

    @donnah: We used to laugh at Sarah Palin’s speech and now look who we have as President. The joke is on us.

  156. 156.

    zhena gogolia

    January 11, 2017 at 11:34 am

    @NotMax:

    God works in a mysterious way His wonders to perform

  157. 157.

    SenyorDave

    January 11, 2017 at 11:34 am

    @Larkspur: he’s using the third person to describe himself.

    George is getting upset.

  158. 158.

    kindness

    January 11, 2017 at 11:35 am

    Best comment on FB this morning:

    “Mr. President, do you know the difference between a chickpea and a garbanzo bean?”

    “No.”

    “Well, have you ever had a garbanzo bean on your face?”

  159. 159.

    Adam L Silverman

    January 11, 2017 at 11:35 am

    @Yarrow: Also 180 degrees opposite of the official GOP position.

  160. 160.

    Jeffro

    January 11, 2017 at 11:35 am

    @D58826:

    Time to look for real estate on Easter island or Pitcarin island.

    Unh uh, this is my country…Il Douche can leave, but not me.

  161. 161.

    Hellbastard

    January 11, 2017 at 11:35 am

    IS he gonna drag his family around with him to every public event? Reminds me of 3rd world dictators grooming their kids for succession. And what’s with the applause? DId he sprinkle the crowd with fans?

  162. 162.

    khead

    January 11, 2017 at 11:35 am

    Yeah, we are pretty much doomed.

    “Does anyone really believe” that we are not?

  163. 163.

    OGLiberal

    January 11, 2017 at 11:36 am

    I saw at least one journo and maybe more saying the golden showers with hookers story couldn’t be true because Trump is a germophobe. I think you can have one without the other. When I read the dossier I never thought that the prostitutes peed on him. I thought that he had the prostitutes pee on each other on the bed Obama and Michele slept on while in Russia because a) he wanted to show that “boy” who made fun of him who the real man is and b) because he likes to degrade women and wanted to show that he can. Never thought they were peeing on him. I pictured him sitting a gold plated chair saying, “Yeah, Barack…they’re pissing on you and you can’t do a thing…who’s laughing now, skinny-boy?”

  164. 164.

    James Powell

    January 11, 2017 at 11:36 am

    @Patricia Kayden:

    The joke is on us.

    I still have not been able to laugh about any of this.

  165. 165.

    ? Martin

    January 11, 2017 at 11:36 am

    Honestly, at this point I think I’m open to trolling him into a suicide.

  166. 166.

    Mike J

    January 11, 2017 at 11:36 am

    ABC News PoliticsVerified account @ABCPolitics
    Rex Tillerson says he has not yet discussed Russia policy with Trump; @SenatorMenendez replies, “That’s pretty amazing.”

  167. 167.

    lamh36

    January 11, 2017 at 11:36 am

    Fuq each and every jim bob, carry anne, meemaw, peepaw…complete idiots who voted for #PEEOTUS

    Watching this press conference should make you feel nothing but contempt and pity for dumb as people (majority white) who voted for this dumb ass mofo to be our next President…all cause of what…some misguided, racist bullshit snub against the first Black President…

  168. 168.

    wenchacha

    January 11, 2017 at 11:36 am

    Total name-drop conference.

  169. 169.

    mai naem mobile

    January 11, 2017 at 11:36 am

    I am guessing the CIA will do another dump soon. Or M16. Or the French. Or the Germans.

  170. 170.

    Rommie

    January 11, 2017 at 11:36 am

    Okay, I *really* hope Twitler is watching himself on Nightly Television. Karma demands it.

  171. 171.

    cosima

    January 11, 2017 at 11:36 am

    Post on my facebook newsfeed (by someone fabulous):

    Dear Trumpers:
    Turns out that steaming mug of liberal tears you were sipping was something else entirely

  172. 172.

    NotMax

    January 11, 2017 at 11:36 am

    The Art of the Shpiel.

  173. 173.

    Jilli Brown

    January 11, 2017 at 11:37 am

    Trump sounds like Crazy Uncle Al, drunk crazy uncle al. Sweet jeebus…he’s the blowhard everyone avoids at parties, offices, everywhere.

  174. 174.

    bemused

    January 11, 2017 at 11:37 am

    I just keep saying, omg, omg…..

  175. 175.

    Yarrow

    January 11, 2017 at 11:37 am

    Now he says he didn’t know about the “no conflict of interest” provision until “about three months ago.” WTF? WTF?

  176. 176.

    zhena gogolia

    January 11, 2017 at 11:37 am

    @lamh36:

    Yeah.

  177. 177.

    O. Felix Culpa

    January 11, 2017 at 11:37 am

    So, are the “journalists” asking probing questions? With hard-hitting follow-ups even?

  178. 178.

    Thoroughly Pizzled

    January 11, 2017 at 11:37 am

    He talks about turning down a bribe and expects us to be proud of him. He is the worst American and a traitor to his country.

  179. 179.

    dexwood

    January 11, 2017 at 11:38 am

    Wow. The contrast between Mr. Obama and Traitor Trump is so stark, so shocking. An adult leaves, a petulant, ill-behaved brat takes over.

  180. 180.

    Adrift

    January 11, 2017 at 11:38 am

    Good Lord he is an arrogant ass. I want to throw the teevee out the window.

  181. 181.

    Yarrow

    January 11, 2017 at 11:38 am

    Now he’s saying the American people don’t care at all about his tax returns.

  182. 182.

    cosima

    January 11, 2017 at 11:38 am

    This may have already been noted in these comments, but I’ll be getting to those in a moment… Before that, though, wtf with the little banner at the top that has his b.s. MAGA slogan? Thought this was news, not propaganda.

  183. 183.

    Larkspur

    January 11, 2017 at 11:38 am

    Getting pushback from that great reporter, tax returns tax returns. She’s on his list now. Keep pushing.

  184. 184.

    Jeffro

    January 11, 2017 at 11:39 am

    He’s Superman – he can run the Trump Organization AND the entire US!

    Oh no tax returns btw…

  185. 185.

    celticdragonchick

    January 11, 2017 at 11:39 am

    Hitting hi on tax returns…

  186. 186.

    Betty Cracker

    January 11, 2017 at 11:39 am

    Trump to reporter: “You’re the only person who cares about my tax returns.” Lying fuck.

  187. 187.

    SiubhanDuinne

    January 11, 2017 at 11:40 am

    Holy fuck.

    I’ll say it again.

    HOE.

    LEE.

    FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK.

  188. 188.

    FlipYrWhig

    January 11, 2017 at 11:40 am

    @Hellbastard:

    IS he gonna drag his family around with him to every public event? Reminds me of 3rd world dictators grooming their kids for succession.

    My theory is that his kids are always there because he needs someone he can trust to remind him what other people said to him, because he can’t remember things and can’t tell what was important. I used to suspect he was illiterate until I saw him read from the TelePrompTer.

  189. 189.

    Thoroughly Pizzled

    January 11, 2017 at 11:40 am

    I’m gonna have a lot of graves to piss on when (if) this shitshow ends.

  190. 190.

    Betty Cracker

    January 11, 2017 at 11:40 am

    Now he’s introducing his lawyer to discuss full-sight trust.

  191. 191.

    Larkspur

    January 11, 2017 at 11:40 am

    Now he’s outsourced his press conference. Does this attorney have to answer questions? Probably not. Ask them anyway.

  192. 192.

    celticdragonchick

    January 11, 2017 at 11:40 am

    Holy shit he bailed out…

  193. 193.

    D58826

    January 11, 2017 at 11:40 am

    Ah so der Fuhrer is going to turn his business over to his sons and they will not talk to Dad about it. That fails to pass the smacked ass test. The family still owns the assets and Poteus decisions will affect the value of those assets.

  194. 194.

    Larkspur

    January 11, 2017 at 11:40 am

    Sheri Dillon needs to answer to the bar association.

  195. 195.

    hilts

    January 11, 2017 at 11:41 am

    @Thoroughly Pizzled:

    Trump belongs on a psychiatrist’s couch. His delusions are out of this fucking world.

  196. 196.

    GregB

    January 11, 2017 at 11:41 am

    Corruption only applies to the Secretary of State.

  197. 197.

    Betty Cracker

    January 11, 2017 at 11:41 am

    And with that, I suppose he escapes additional questions.

  198. 198.

    Mary G

    January 11, 2017 at 11:41 am

    @lamh36: Every time I hear that Trump has a 37% approval rating now and that 46% of voters chose him, I want to lock that 9% up for racism, sexism and treason. Too little too late, assholes.

  199. 199.

    Emerald

    January 11, 2017 at 11:41 am

    @FlipYrWhig:
    Sarah Kendzior says authoritarians generally have their families high in the government. Only people they can trust.

  200. 200.

    Yarrow

    January 11, 2017 at 11:42 am

    Wow. Now he’s gone – okay still standing on sidelines – while lawyer talks about business. “Nelson Rockefeller didn’t have to do any of this. No one cared about it then.”

  201. 201.

    Thoroughly Pizzled

    January 11, 2017 at 11:42 am

    He showed us who he was. Every damn time. And 60 million people voted for him. Worthless fucks.

  202. 202.

    Humboldtblue

    January 11, 2017 at 11:42 am

    @lamh36: A man whom I used to hold in high esteem pretty much admitted to me that his vote for Trump came from a deep sense of racial resentment. I repeatedly see and hear comments that echo that theme all long the lines of — you forced us to live under a black man and this is pay back!

    Petty, ill-informed and resentful, that’s the GOP.

  203. 203.

    lamh36

    January 11, 2017 at 11:42 am

    This is gonna be my constant answer anytime a Trump supporters says anything about any fuqn thing…

    Me for the next 4 years when discussing politics with Republicans

  204. 204.

    Patricia Kayden

    January 11, 2017 at 11:42 am

    @Thoroughly Pizzled: It would be funny if he weren’t the most powerful man in the world. Yikes!!

  205. 205.

    ? Martin

    January 11, 2017 at 11:42 am

    Dear America,

    Prince Joffrey was the bad guy – not a role model for how America should be led. Perhaps the show was too subtle on that point.

  206. 206.

    Larkspur

    January 11, 2017 at 11:42 am

    Goodness gracious, this is not a press conference, is it? Sheri Dillon, you are going to attorney hell.

  207. 207.

    Emerald

    January 11, 2017 at 11:43 am

    So how many questions did he take? One?

  208. 208.

    O. Felix Culpa

    January 11, 2017 at 11:43 am

    @Yarrow:

    “Nelson Rockefeller didn’t have to do any of this. No one cared about it then.”

    WTF. Nelson Rockefeller wasn’t President!

  209. 209.

    Thoroughly Pizzled

    January 11, 2017 at 11:43 am

    “If the president does it it’s not illegal.”

  210. 210.

    hilts

    January 11, 2017 at 11:43 am

    @celticdragonchick:

    Holy shit he bailed out…

    He’ll soon need a diaper change.

  211. 211.

    Gin & Tonic

    January 11, 2017 at 11:44 am

    @Mike J: I met Sheldon a couple of times when he was first running and, frankly, wasn’t super impressed, but he’s really grown in his role.

  212. 212.

    Adrift

    January 11, 2017 at 11:44 am

    argle bargle

  213. 213.

    Elizabelle

    January 11, 2017 at 11:44 am

    @celticdragonchick: Talk about stamina.

    The only thing more fun than listening to you guys would be being a fly on the wall in the Capitol Hill GOP leadership offices. You know they’re watching this from between their fingers.

    Got to give Trump credit for bringing up negotiating drug prices. People think it’s a good idea, and it’s the GOP that stopped us being able to negotiate. Like every other first world country (to my knowledge, anyway).

  214. 214.

    Larkspur

    January 11, 2017 at 11:44 am

    @Emerald: Three.

  215. 215.

    Patricia Kayden

    January 11, 2017 at 11:44 am

    Is it normal for an attorney to take over a Presidential press conference? This is so bizarre. I’m scared!!

  216. 216.

    RealityBites

    January 11, 2017 at 11:44 am

    If you rob a bank, and you get caught, you can’t keep the money. I STILL can’t believe that someone who became PEOTUS as a result of criminal activity will allowed to take office. It is amazing that there is no law giving the office to the robbed party or at least requiring another election.
    The Republicans should get zero benefit from this. They allowed this obscene creature to run as a member of their party, with all the benefits that the (r) after his name would bring. If Trump goes, no Republican should be able to step in. Not Pence, not Ryan, not ANY Republican.
    I can’t really get through the denial. I actually feel ill if I think about it too much.
    And what is WRONG with our law enforcement? Trump has apparently been working with the mob doing money laundering for YEARS. The FBI has a huge presence in NYC. They are supposed to investigate the mob and protect against espionage here in the U.S. Not to mention all other law enforcement entities and the IRS. If ordinary citizens can get a good idea what Trump has been doing by reading newspaper and magazine articles, how did it happen that no LAW ENFORCEMENT agency anywhere did anything? It’s not like he was some small-time bookie. There is something very, very wrong going on.
    And some agents in the New York FBI office supposedly were pressuring Comey to go after HRC. Why? They had to know the emails were bunk. And how could Comey do what he did when he knew about the Russian involvement? Is he Kompromat, too? Does he have ZERO regard for the rule of law and simple honest, decent behavior?
    Maybe Trump should pardon Robert Hanssen and give him his job back, or a promotion. He was just ahead of his time.

  217. 217.

    Steeplejack

    January 11, 2017 at 11:44 am

    I’m still a couple of minutes behind, but, holy fuck, Trump seems to believe that the “no-conflict situation” for the president and vice president actually means that he is exempt from any conflict-of-interest scrutiny, or that he cannot have any conflicts of interest simply because he is the president. I can’t even.

  218. 218.

    Yarrow

    January 11, 2017 at 11:45 am

    @O. Felix Culpa: No, she did say when Rockefeller was Vice President. Sorry, I wasn’t clear. The rest is accurate.

  219. 219.

    Thoroughly Pizzled

    January 11, 2017 at 11:45 am

    I’m absolutely sure that things would be just as bad with Hillary.

    [farts wetly]

  220. 220.

    donnah

    January 11, 2017 at 11:45 am

    looky! Folders!

    He can’t even describe his own trust agreement, which, honestly, he didn’t have to do anyway because he’s going to be president. But he’s divested! He won’t know how the trust will be run!

    This is a terrible, terrible harbinger of what lies ahead.

  221. 221.

    Patricia Kayden

    January 11, 2017 at 11:45 am

    @Thoroughly Pizzled: Then how did Nixon get impeached? And Clinton? He really thinks he’s above the law. The scandals from his Presidency will be humungous. Believe me!

  222. 222.

    Cacti

    January 11, 2017 at 11:46 am

    @OGLiberal:

    I saw at least one journo and maybe more saying the golden showers with hookers story couldn’t be true because Trump is a germophobe.

    Urine is sterile.

  223. 223.

    Thoroughly Pizzled

    January 11, 2017 at 11:46 am

    Oh, you’re going to lose money? My heart bleeds for you.

  224. 224.

    Yarrow

    January 11, 2017 at 11:46 am

    @Elizabelle: Yeah, but the GOP is against negotiating on drug prices. It’s never going to happen because they’ll have to give him a bill to sign. I guess he’ll just claim it happened, like everything else.

  225. 225.

    Larkspur

    January 11, 2017 at 11:46 am

    Why isn’t someone yelling “We want a press conference!”

  226. 226.

    Patricia Kayden

    January 11, 2017 at 11:47 am

    @lamh36: The irony is that President Obama had no problems winning two elections. It’s strange that White people waited to take their anger out on a White woman by electing an idiot over her.

  227. 227.

    Brachiator

    January 11, 2017 at 11:47 am

    @Humboldtblue:

    A man whom I used to hold in high esteem pretty much admitted to me that his vote for Trump came from a deep sense of racial resentment.

    Really? That’s quite an honest admission. Did this person expand on his sentiments?

  228. 228.

    Kathleen

    January 11, 2017 at 11:48 am

    @Adam L Silverman: With The Village it’s hard to tell the difference. Keep waiting for Mainslime Media to somehow spin this back to aggrieved and economically angsty white working class.

  229. 229.

    sigaba

    January 11, 2017 at 11:48 am

    @Jeffro:

    fakenewsfakenewsfakenewsfakenews

    Trump, it’s not a magical phrase…

    Of course it is, he understands the press is obsessed with it and will immediately repeat it as the lede. They’ll be desperate not to have to report anything else from this thing.

  230. 230.

    Yarrow

    January 11, 2017 at 11:48 am

    I’ve muted the lawyer speaking. Is she saying anything interesting?

  231. 231.

    Mike J

    January 11, 2017 at 11:48 am

    @Yarrow: Rockefeller: https://pbs.twimg.com/media/C153VuxXEAIgnB5.jpg

  232. 232.

    OGLiberal

    January 11, 2017 at 11:48 am

    @Cacti: I know that…do you think Trump would?

  233. 233.

    SiubhanDuinne

    January 11, 2017 at 11:49 am

    Don, Ivanka and Eric are mentioned again and again. But, like the dog that didn’t bark in the night, I’m starting to wonder if Tiffany has any kind of behind-the-scenes role. She is beginning to be almost conspicuous by her absence. I’m not saying that’s a bad thing, by the way. She may be smarter than the rest of them combined.

  234. 234.

    ruemara

    January 11, 2017 at 11:49 am

    @OGLiberal: These “reporters” don’t seem to read details. It clearly stated he was having them perform for him, not that they peed on him. And there’s far more than just the hooker use.

  235. 235.

    Patricia Kayden

    January 11, 2017 at 11:49 am

    @OGLiberal:

    he wanted to show that “boy” who made fun of him who the real man is

    Wouldn’t he have to tell President Obama about this urine-filled episode for that to make any sense? This is all so strange.

  236. 236.

    Rommie

    January 11, 2017 at 11:49 am

    Shorter Attorney Briefing: Trump has ordered steps to ensure he’s not CAUGHT in a conflict of interest.

  237. 237.

    NotMax

    January 11, 2017 at 11:49 am

    Treating the man as normal and the situation as business as usual is Egregious Mistake #1.

  238. 238.

    Mike J

    January 11, 2017 at 11:49 am

    @Gin & Tonic:

    I met Sheldon a couple of times when he was first running and, frankly, wasn’t super impressed, but he’s really grown in his role.

    He also got Sessions to say that religious people know more about ultimate truth than secular people.

  239. 239.

    Thoroughly Pizzled

    January 11, 2017 at 11:50 am

    Why do you care about the Trump Organization? I’m not sure if Trump’s shriveled brain can even form the concept of public service.

  240. 240.

    rikyrah

    January 11, 2017 at 11:50 am

    Read this Twitter thread connecting the Russian dots

  241. 241.

    O. Felix Culpa

    January 11, 2017 at 11:50 am

    @Yarrow: Thanks for the clarification. But still, Rockefeller was not elected. Furthermore, people did in fact object to his conflicts of interest: https://twitter.com/MrDanZak/status/819223608866336772/photo/1.

    And, do the Trump people want to remind us of the unsavory circumstances of Rockefeller’s death? No sense of irony, these people. (No sense of decency either, but you knew that.)

  242. 242.

    Patricia Kayden

    January 11, 2017 at 11:50 am

    @Yarrow: “The President Elect is not committing any crimes because he told me so and I’m so honored that he picked me to take over his first Presidential press conference. Believe me. You all believe me, right? Please believe me.”

  243. 243.

    Larkspur

    January 11, 2017 at 11:51 am

    She’s just saying that acting ethically would be too darn hard, and he doesn’t like to do hard stuff, and he’s president and doesn’t have to do anything he doesn’t feel like doing.

  244. 244.

    Adrift

    January 11, 2017 at 11:51 am

    “the so-called emoluments clause”

  245. 245.

    lamh36

    January 11, 2017 at 11:51 am

    Wait…that’s it? US media should be tired of getting played

    Wake da fuq up

  246. 246.

    Humboldtblue

    January 11, 2017 at 11:51 am

    @Brachiator:

    No, and I openly laughed at him when he tried to defend the Sessions pick by declaiming “well I’ve had to deal with Holder all these years”.

  247. 247.

    Brachiator

    January 11, 2017 at 11:52 am

    Can we just burn the Constitution now? It’s been replaced by the Trump rules for how wealthy elitists will openly run the country.

  248. 248.

    raven

    January 11, 2017 at 11:52 am

    HOTELS!!

  249. 249.

    JPL

    January 11, 2017 at 11:52 am

    @Yarrow: I did too! This is becoming an infomercial, about Trump.

  250. 250.

    Gin & Tonic

    January 11, 2017 at 11:52 am

    @O. Felix Culpa: I didn’t find Nelson’s death “unsavory” at all. When my time comes, I certainly wouldn’t mind it being like that.

  251. 251.

    NotMax

    January 11, 2017 at 11:53 am

    @Yarrow

    Rockefeller was a multi-term governor. Info was already out there.

  252. 252.

    hilts

    January 11, 2017 at 11:53 am

    @Steeplejack:

    Trump has a totalitarian mindset and I only hope our planet can withstand 4 years of this lunatic being the most powerful person in the world.

  253. 253.

    Enhanced Voting Techniques

    January 11, 2017 at 11:53 am

    @Yarrow: Sanaturim does know a stain when he sees it.

  254. 254.

    Yarrow

    January 11, 2017 at 11:53 am

    Oh look. Trump’s back at the podium.

  255. 255.

    Adrift

    January 11, 2017 at 11:53 am

    clap clap clap. this is NOT a rally. its a press conference. smh.

  256. 256.

    SenyorDave

    January 11, 2017 at 11:53 am

    How disgusting that our president-elect is corrupt coming into office, and has pretty much stated that he will continue his corruption. Growing up, my dad was head of the planning board in our town (population 8,000), and he had his own engineering firm. He was so scrupulously honest that he would recuse himself if there was even the most remote possibility of any conflict of interest. I’m convinced that if he wasn’t already gone, seeing Trump as POTUS would have killed him.

  257. 257.

    Thoroughly Pizzled

    January 11, 2017 at 11:53 am

    He constantly acts like basic decency is doing us all a favor.

  258. 258.

    O. Felix Culpa

    January 11, 2017 at 11:54 am

    @Gin & Tonic: I find infidelity unsavory. YMMV.

  259. 259.

    OGLiberal

    January 11, 2017 at 11:54 am

    @Patricia Kayden: Nixon didn’t get impeached but he would have if he didn’t resign before the House voted. Clinton didn’t resign because unlike Nixon he knew it would never get through the Senate. This guy, if impeached, wouldn’t resign even if he knew the entire Senate was going to vote for it. He’d just hole up in the West Wing with his private security force and refuse to leave because, dammit, he just so great and all those senators are looooosers…and fake news!

  260. 260.

    Steeplejack

    January 11, 2017 at 11:54 am

    Lawyer is slicing and dicing the emoluments clause all over the place. I hope someone brings up the point that, screw the emoluments clause, the contract with the GSA for the Trump hotel in Washington forbids any government official to profit from it. Emoluments, shmemoluments.

  261. 261.

    SiubhanDuinne

    January 11, 2017 at 11:55 am

    The lawyer gets applause?!?!?

  262. 262.

    Droppy

    January 11, 2017 at 11:55 am

    Emoluments, n. Not a goddam hotel bill. It’s something else. So not a problem. Shut up. Donating to the U.S. treasury. All who believe that will happen may stand in the line over here to the left to make your binding pre-paid bid on the Brooklyn Bridge. Thank you.

  263. 263.

    Ridnik Chrome

    January 11, 2017 at 11:55 am

    @Thoroughly Pizzled: The revolution will end up being cancelled because with so many deserving candidates, nobody will be able to agree on who should be first against the wall.

  264. 264.

    Betty Cracker

    January 11, 2017 at 11:55 am

    Blimey, he’s taking questions again.

  265. 265.

    Yarrow

    January 11, 2017 at 11:56 am

    Oh, good. He’s back on the trade war with China thing. Short comment, but still there.

  266. 266.

    aimai

    January 11, 2017 at 11:56 am

    @lamh36: giving new meaning to the phrase “I turned white with rage.” Where is my winking emoji?

  267. 267.

    D58826

    January 11, 2017 at 11:56 am

    last part of the lawyers spiel sounded more likre a campaign speech.

  268. 268.

    rikyrah

    January 11, 2017 at 11:56 am

    @SiubhanDuinne:

    Oh man, they are REALLY rattled by the Russia stories, aren’t they?

    Cause, it’s the truth.

  269. 269.

    Larkspur

    January 11, 2017 at 11:56 am

    Smart. Brilliant. Great. Greatest ever. Beautiful. So smart. Good deals. Very very very everything.

  270. 270.

    FlipYrWhig

    January 11, 2017 at 11:56 am

    @Patricia Kayden:

    The irony is that President Obama had no problems winning two elections. It’s strange that White people waited to take their anger out on a White woman by electing an idiot over her.

    If Ferguson MO had happened before the 2012 election, I’m not sure Obama would have been reelected.

  271. 271.

    OGLiberal

    January 11, 2017 at 11:56 am

    @Patricia Kayden: He’s too much of a pussy to have told Obama if it happened…he’d just revel in the symbolism and in how he could get women to pee on each other on command.

  272. 272.

    Steeplejack

    January 11, 2017 at 11:56 am

    Trump is not even really a businessman. He’s a deal-maker. That’s all he is. And he revels in it. That’s how he describes all the great things he’s going to do in government: “We’re going to make great deals!”

  273. 273.

    Adrift

    January 11, 2017 at 11:57 am

    Obamacare is a complete disaster. It’s imploding.
    He is now saying 2017 is going to be catastrophic. That I can believe.

  274. 274.

    Timurid

    January 11, 2017 at 11:57 am

    Trump is going to speed up the timeline on his kleptocracy and autocracy agenda. He has no choice. As wounded as he is now, if he tries for the long con and pretends to honor rules and institutions for a while, he will slowly bleed to death. The first thing that gets unpacked in the White House on 1/20 will be a steamer trunk full of executive orders…

  275. 275.

    Betty Cracker

    January 11, 2017 at 11:57 am

    His answers are all just excerpts from his stump speech. It’s all he knows. And the toady entourage who conspicuously cheer and clap are there to help create a rally-like atmosphere, maybe to help him barf up stump speech excerpts.

  276. 276.

    Thoroughly Pizzled

    January 11, 2017 at 11:57 am

    @FlipYrWhig: And Trayvon Martin. The levee broke. :(

  277. 277.

    Yarrow

    January 11, 2017 at 11:58 am

    Oh, so they’re “submitting a plan” for Obamacare replace. Uh huh.

  278. 278.

    Larkspur

    January 11, 2017 at 11:59 am

    He says he’d like to let Obamacare implode on its own, but that would take too long so he has to rouse himself to do something, um, repeal and replace, very complicated, but we will do that with the very best people. The greatest health care.

  279. 279.

    FlipYrWhig

    January 11, 2017 at 11:59 am

    @Thoroughly Pizzled: That one WAS before the election. And notice how the 2012 election was a lot closer than the 2008 one.

  280. 280.

    trollhattan

    January 11, 2017 at 11:59 am

    Jesus, Sarah Palin in an ill-fitting suit. Word Taco salad.

  281. 281.

    D58826

    January 11, 2017 at 11:59 am

    He still hasn’t told us what the replacement PLAN is!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  282. 282.

    OGLiberal

    January 11, 2017 at 11:59 am

    @FlipYrWhig: That was it. They were happy to say, “see, we’re not racist – we elected a black president”, as long as black Americas continued to let themselves be shit on and kept their mouths shut – or at least kept their complaining off TV. Once they pushed back, even just a little, white America collectively wet its pants and lost its mind.

  283. 283.

    Thoroughly Pizzled

    January 11, 2017 at 12:00 pm

    I was mad at the Democrats for taking way, way too long to write the ACA, but the Republicans not even having a semblance of a plan to replace it is even more pathetic.

    And fuck you, Trump, and fuck you, Republicans. People are alive because of that law.

  284. 284.

    Steeplejack

    January 11, 2017 at 12:00 pm

    Crowing again about saving those 1,000 Carrier jobs. Whoop-de-do.

  285. 285.

    Yarrow

    January 11, 2017 at 12:01 pm

    He’s not saying Obamacare is the Democrats’ fault. He’s saying he wants the Democrats to be blamed for it. He’s telegraphing political strategy. Not super smart.

    And yay, more trade war! Now with Mexico.

  286. 286.

    chris

    January 11, 2017 at 12:01 pm

    @D58826: They’re gonna rename it Trumpcare. It’ll be great!

    I can’t take anymore.

  287. 287.

    FlipYrWhig

    January 11, 2017 at 12:01 pm

    @Steeplejack: And the one deal he knows is to license his name… for stuff other people want to do. He managed to go broke on gamblíng and football, two of America’s three favorite pastimes, the third being p0rn0.

  288. 288.

    Larkspur

    January 11, 2017 at 12:01 pm

    “We don’t even have a border now, it’s just a sieve…” Take that, Border Patrol and associated agencies. You suck.

  289. 289.

    Rommie

    January 11, 2017 at 12:02 pm

    It’s too bad the Democrats won’t call his bluff and leave the ACA to “implode” on it’s own. That’s a tell, his hand is garbage.

  290. 290.

    Larkspur

    January 11, 2017 at 12:03 pm

    “It’s a wall. It’s not ‘a fence’. You just misreported it.” Mocking the reporters.

  291. 291.

    Yarrow

    January 11, 2017 at 12:04 pm

    Christ, now he’s reliving his campaign rallies and what the crowd shouted out (“Build the wall.” who’s going to pay for it? “Mexico!”)

  292. 292.

    NotMax

    January 11, 2017 at 12:04 pm

    Ah, so we’re going to tax Mexico.

    Sheesh.

  293. 293.

    Emerald

    January 11, 2017 at 12:04 pm

    @Thoroughly Pizzled:
    I’M alive because of that law!

  294. 294.

    Larkspur

    January 11, 2017 at 12:04 pm

    He really needs those ball bearings to roll around in his tiny hands.

  295. 295.

    bemused

    January 11, 2017 at 12:04 pm

    Big mistake listening to this. I’m about to vomit.

  296. 296.

    Yarrow

    January 11, 2017 at 12:04 pm

    @Larkspur: I hope the media figures this out. He is not their friend.

  297. 297.

    Elizabelle

    January 11, 2017 at 12:05 pm

    Obamacare is personal to Trump. He’s so venomous about it. He wants to erase Obama’s accomplishment.

    Problem is: Obamacare is working. Not as well as it could be, but nothing but opposition from the vast majority of Republicans.

  298. 298.

    FlipYrWhig

    January 11, 2017 at 12:06 pm

    @Elizabelle:

    He wants to erase Obama’s accomplishment.

    He wants to hire people to piss all over it.

  299. 299.

    Rommie

    January 11, 2017 at 12:06 pm

    So we should take advantage of other countries. Not that we haven’t, but let’s turn it up to 11. It’s Bidnezz!

  300. 300.

    hovercraft

    January 11, 2017 at 12:06 pm

    @Mike J:
    My senior senator actually being useful for a change, yay. According to the GOS, Little Marco was also pretty good with Tillerson this morning trying to get him to acknowledge that Putin is a war criminal. He was only espousing the neo-con position, but still.

  301. 301.

    Betty Cracker

    January 11, 2017 at 12:06 pm

    @Yarrow: Sadly, if penning them up and subjecting them to his violent supporters at rallies didn’t do it, I don’t think light mockery will.

  302. 302.

    Larkspur

    January 11, 2017 at 12:06 pm

    @Yarrow: Yeah, it’s not a traditional give and take, with clashes, but basically some mutual respect. They disgust him. He will go after them individually.

  303. 303.

    Steeplejack

    January 11, 2017 at 12:07 pm

    Big signings starting on Monday the 23rd, because people need to party on inauguration weekend.

  304. 304.

    AndoChronic

    January 11, 2017 at 12:07 pm

    Drink! He said Nazi!

  305. 305.

    Yarrow

    January 11, 2017 at 12:07 pm

    Question about his “We’re living in Nazi Germany” tweet. Now he calls the Intelligence agencies false and fake. Now, info false and fake.

    He’s going to go after Buzzfeed. I hope they’re prepared. Oh, and now CNN.

  306. 306.

    Betty Cracker

    January 11, 2017 at 12:08 pm

    Now he’s attacking the intel agencies again, calling them Nazis. Are you gonna take that lying down, spooks?

  307. 307.

    Elizabelle

    January 11, 2017 at 12:08 pm

    I suspect some people who voted for Trump out of a fantasy might have felt some apprehension watching that presser. It’s a torrent of words. From a grade schooler.

    I don’t know how the country stands four years of this. I think we may not get four years of Trump, personally, but will befall us?

  308. 308.

    Larkspur

    January 11, 2017 at 12:08 pm

    Oh Buzzed is fighting back. Come on reporters, back up Buzzfeed. Come on!

  309. 309.

    Yarrow

    January 11, 2017 at 12:08 pm

    Oooh! What reporter was that that just told Trump “Mr. President-elect, that’s not appropriate.”

    Now question about Lindsey Graham. He’s beating up on him.

  310. 310.

    p.a.

    January 11, 2017 at 12:09 pm

    The tRump Presidency, 2017-?. Brought to you by the ghost of Salvador Dali.

  311. 311.

    bemused

    January 11, 2017 at 12:09 pm

    Which new org is he singling out?

  312. 312.

    Mike Hamilton

    January 11, 2017 at 12:09 pm

    If we raise tariffs on Mexican imports, and increase the cost of those imports, who actually pays that cost?

  313. 313.

    Aleta

    January 11, 2017 at 12:09 pm

    He’s shocked that information that was false and fake was released to the press.

  314. 314.

    dmsilev

    January 11, 2017 at 12:09 pm

    @FlipYrWhig: The Republican Congress will do that for free.

  315. 315.

    Hellbastard

    January 11, 2017 at 12:09 pm

    Props to the CNN reporter…

  316. 316.

    Humboldtblue

    January 11, 2017 at 12:09 pm

    @FlipYrWhig: He can’t stand the respect Obama gets from across the political and cultural spectrum. It drives him bonkers, what did he say to reporters right after the election, that he wanted positive coverage like the kind Obama got for eight years? When told Obama got plenty of bad press he denied “not Obama!”

  317. 317.

    Thoroughly Pizzled

    January 11, 2017 at 12:10 pm

    Thank God for BuzzFeed. Bulldoze the New York Times, change the name of “Times Square” to “BuzzFeed Square.”

  318. 318.

    GregB

    January 11, 2017 at 12:10 pm

    Last question to Jeff Gannon at Talent News.

  319. 319.

    hedgehog the occasional commenter

    January 11, 2017 at 12:10 pm

    @Elizabelle: I’m not sure we’ll make it 30 minutes after he gets the launch codes.

  320. 320.

    Jeffro

    January 11, 2017 at 12:10 pm

    So to sum it all up:
    – no tax returns, ever (“post-audit” was a lie)
    – no divesting, no blind trust (also lies)
    – going after the IC
    – going after the press
    – has no business, loans, etc with Russia

    Hmm…

  321. 321.

    Lizzy L

    January 11, 2017 at 12:10 pm

    Big thanks to all of you for watching/listening and reporting what’s going on. I CANNOT watch the man.

  322. 322.

    The Moar You Know

    January 11, 2017 at 12:10 pm

    Next four years aren’t going to be America’s best moments, looks like.

  323. 323.

    trollhattan

    January 11, 2017 at 12:10 pm

    “Moral compass…very dishonest people…”

  324. 324.

    p.a.

    January 11, 2017 at 12:11 pm

    @Lizzy L: seconded

  325. 325.

    Miss Bianca

    January 11, 2017 at 12:11 pm

    @SiubhanDuinne: Girl, you keep cracking me up…

  326. 326.

    mai naem mobile

    January 11, 2017 at 12:11 pm

    CNN didn’t even report the orIginla Michael Cohen deal. It was Buzzfeed. And he’s a fucking moron if he looks at Cohens passport and that’s all. It’s a lie anyway but jeezus he’s a fucking moron.

  327. 327.

    Steeplejack (phone)

    January 11, 2017 at 12:12 pm

    @bemused:

    BuzzFeed, a “pile of garbage.”

  328. 328.

    Larkspur

    January 11, 2017 at 12:12 pm

    Gosh, he really hates the United States. We are the worst in everything. We suck. We do everything really badly.

    Only he can save us.

  329. 329.

    Yarrow

    January 11, 2017 at 12:12 pm

    Trump looks more and more like older Boris Yeltsin.

  330. 330.

    aimai

    January 11, 2017 at 12:12 pm

    @FlipYrWhig: Agreed. Besides–the Clintons (and the democrats) have always been tagged as “other/nonwhite” for purposes of right wing attacks. They feared Bill Clinton’s good ol’ boy affect and ability to appeal to the White Working Class and they always attacked him for it. HRC was always considered an outsider/pro-black/agitator/feminist/liberal and she paid for it. Not for being white but for the ways white liberal were considered identical to black radical by the republicans and the media.

  331. 331.

    O. Felix Culpa

    January 11, 2017 at 12:12 pm

    The dog is telling me it’s time for a walk. He’s right. I trust you jackals to let me know if anything meaningful happens.

  332. 332.

    Betty Cracker

    January 11, 2017 at 12:12 pm

    Again, minimizing the Russian hacking. Trump is Putin’s PR flack.

  333. 333.

    catclub

    January 11, 2017 at 12:13 pm

    @Elizabelle:

    It’s a torrent of words. From a grade schooler.

    I tried to read the transcript that NPR has up. It was gibberish. I will wait until they get a better one.

  334. 334.

    cosima

    January 11, 2017 at 12:13 pm

    I’m confused about who this press conference is being given to ———

    I cannot bear to watch the video, listen to it, etc., fortunately many good BJ folk here willing to take one for the team, and I’ve read all of the comments.

    But this does not seem to be a press conference in a historically understood sense. Are these hand-picked MSM scum asking the questions + a touring Pro-T/P mob that he’s hired full-time (providing the obligatory claps & cheers)?

  335. 335.

    Steeplejack (phone)

    January 11, 2017 at 12:14 pm

    I really think Trump’s “the RNC didn’t get hacked” thing is going to come back to bite him in the ass, bigly.

    And of course he takes credit for it: “I told Reince Priebus blah blah blah.”

  336. 336.

    Yarrow

    January 11, 2017 at 12:14 pm

    Now he’s claiming he set up the Intelligence Community by having a secret meeting that he “told nobody about” and then after the meeting it leaked. Implying the IC is to blame. Wow.

  337. 337.

    Thoroughly Pizzled

    January 11, 2017 at 12:15 pm

    @aimai: Bill Clinton was poor and from Arkansas. I’m sure that had something to do with it.

  338. 338.

    Larkspur

    January 11, 2017 at 12:16 pm

    WTF is this about a re-set button. Garbage. Is this the end of the press conference? What a *-ton of bullroar.

  339. 339.

    Betty Cracker

    January 11, 2017 at 12:17 pm

    Dragging on Hillary again while minimizing Russian malfeasance. What a fucking baby.

  340. 340.

    JPL

    January 11, 2017 at 12:17 pm

    He did not answer the question about whether or not his campaign had contacts with Russia..

  341. 341.

    Thoroughly Pizzled

    January 11, 2017 at 12:17 pm

    He’s STILL complaining about the Democrats and Hillary. They have nothing other than “You too, neener neener neener.”

  342. 342.

    Rommie

    January 11, 2017 at 12:17 pm

    RESPECT MAH AUTHORITA Putin! (Fred Flintstone voice) “Oh, boy”

  343. 343.

    bemused

    January 11, 2017 at 12:18 pm

    It’s all gibberish. What was he going on about reset button and Hillary? Not that it matters. Even dumber word salads than Palin.

  344. 344.

    Yarrow

    January 11, 2017 at 12:18 pm

    Trump always has a tell. As he was ending the press conference he said, “Goodbye everybody. Goodbye.” I think he’s signaling…

  345. 345.

    Larkspur

    January 11, 2017 at 12:18 pm

    “A big fat nothing cake” – good MSNBC reference to everything the lawyer said.

  346. 346.

    khead

    January 11, 2017 at 12:18 pm

    I’m confused about who this press conference is being given to ———

    It’s just another Trump rally. Same talking points even.

  347. 347.

    Jerzy Russian

    January 11, 2017 at 12:18 pm

    Jesus fuck, what just happened?

  348. 348.

    Thoroughly Pizzled

    January 11, 2017 at 12:18 pm

    @Larkspur: Conservatives are fucking obsessed with the “reset button,” along with the “pen and a phone” and “If I had a son.”

  349. 349.

    cynthia ackerman

    January 11, 2017 at 12:18 pm

    I had to tune out at, “It would have been the biggest story in the history of stories.” Self-important, repulsive jerk.

  350. 350.

    Elizabelle

    January 11, 2017 at 12:19 pm

    @The Moar You Know:

    Next four years aren’t going to be America’s best moments, looks like.

    LOL. That’s tagline material.

  351. 351.

    Yarrow

    January 11, 2017 at 12:19 pm

    Apparently John Schindler has a scoop coming. Keep tuned to his Twitter feed.

  352. 352.

    Mike in NC

    January 11, 2017 at 12:20 pm

    That was just fucking surreal. Too early to start drinking.

  353. 353.

    FlipYrWhig

    January 11, 2017 at 12:20 pm

    @aimai: Yup. Drifting towards OT but I have a lingering suspicion that Hillary Clinton lost significant votes from the exact opposition direction too: from younger people of color and college-aged people of all races who bought into the arguments about “the Clintons” and mass incarceration aired most prominently by Michelle Alexander’s _New Jim Crow_. She ended up too intersectional-feminist-“SJW” for one side and not enough for the other. SMH.

  354. 354.

    p.a.

    January 11, 2017 at 12:21 pm

    @Elizabelle: we may end it aspiring to BananaRepublic status.

  355. 355.

    Larkspur

    January 11, 2017 at 12:21 pm

    Oh it was the CNN reporter who got smacked around, not Buzzfeed. Wow.

  356. 356.

    dexwood

    January 11, 2017 at 12:22 pm

    @Mike in NC:
    Perhaps a good day to revive the three martini lunch.

  357. 357.

    Aleta

    January 11, 2017 at 12:22 pm

    An offspring of Captain Bligh raised by Capt. Hook and trained by Capt. Ahab is at the helm of the Good Ship of No Return.

  358. 358.

    Larkspur

    January 11, 2017 at 12:23 pm

    @Aleta: You forgot Captain Queeg.

  359. 359.

    bemused

    January 11, 2017 at 12:23 pm

    @Jerzy Russian:

    Ha! That is the daily reaction to Trump. Stuff of nightmares.

  360. 360.

    hovercraft

    January 11, 2017 at 12:24 pm

    @Patricia Kayden: President Obama got elected for the same reason this asswipe, in one sense. They never thought that America would really elect a black man president, so many of them took it for granted and stayed home, because they didn’t love McCain and RMoney, that is why there were so many people out in “heartland America” available to come out of the woodwork and swing the election to him. They hadn’t voted in at least a decade, so they were not polled, but to stamp out the stain of that black man in the White House they were wiling to come out, this time they would make sure that a woman closely associated with him, and you know a woman, would not get in. Too many people on our side, watched spectacles like the one many of you just witnessed, and said, there is no way in hell that America would elect a rancid racist asshole, and they stayed home because Hillary was not their perfect candidate.
    The big difference of course is that we were counting on America to live up to all of it’s promise and potential by electing an eminently qualified mature person to lead our nation, they were counting on America to do all it could to exclude and subjugate those who are different, and their candidate was and is a rancid boil.

  361. 361.

    Tom65

    January 11, 2017 at 12:24 pm

    BUT WHAT ABOUT THE YELLOW PERIL?

    So many unanswered questions…

  362. 362.

    Aleta

    January 11, 2017 at 12:25 pm

    @Larkspur: Perhaps he will board in the night.

  363. 363.

    Adrift

    January 11, 2017 at 12:25 pm

    Oh God Schmuck Todd is mediasplaining why Trump is perfectly normal. Disgraceful.

  364. 364.

    ruemara

    January 11, 2017 at 12:26 pm

    @Patricia Kayden: No. It’s a mental thing. Be glad you don’t understand.

  365. 365.

    hilts

    January 11, 2017 at 12:27 pm

    @Larkspur:

    It was Jim Acosta from CNN.

  366. 366.

    Yarrow

    January 11, 2017 at 12:28 pm

    @Adrift: So…what do the Russians have on Chuck Todd?

  367. 367.

    p.a.

    January 11, 2017 at 12:30 pm

    “… a Republic if you can keep it…” Well 228 years is a pretty good run. Too slow on ending slavery, genocidal to natives, fitful at expanding equality for all, helped defeat fascism, some positives towards international cooperation, wore down Soviet Communism albeit with some tragic military adventurism. C+, B-
    Time to learn Mandarin.

  368. 368.

    Adrift

    January 11, 2017 at 12:31 pm

    @Yarrow:

    So…what do the Russians have on Chuck Todd?

    Well, now that it’s out there It would be irresponsible to not speculate..

  369. 369.

    Barbara

    January 11, 2017 at 12:33 pm

    @Humboldtblue: You know what? People have been screwing themselves over by elevating their felt “need” to voice resentment over other needs for a long time now. I can’t feel sorry for these people anymore. I can only feel sorry for people who try in good faith to get over their lizard brain feelings.

  370. 370.

    muddy

    January 11, 2017 at 12:34 pm

    @Adrift: In fact I recently read on the internet that the Russians have something on Chuck Todd.

  371. 371.

    O. Felix Culpa

    January 11, 2017 at 12:36 pm

    We’re back from our walk. The dog marked sundry bushes and stones and left a few piles here and there. Any difference from the press conference?

  372. 372.

    Adrift

    January 11, 2017 at 12:38 pm

    @muddy: I heard that many, many people, great people, amazing people say that Schmuck was behind Tim Russert’s demise.

  373. 373.

    rikyrah

    January 11, 2017 at 12:41 pm

    @Humboldtblue:

    He can’t stand the respect Obama gets from across the political and cultural spectrum. It drives him bonkers, what did he say to reporters right after the election, that he wanted positive coverage like the kind Obama got for eight years?

    Not just him, but the entire GOP.

  374. 374.

    artem1s

    January 11, 2017 at 12:44 pm

    @? Martin:

    Dear America,

    Prince Joffrey was the bad guy – not a role model for how America should be led. Perhaps the show was too subtle on that point.

    also, everyone was relieved when he finally died. no one is gonna weep or be sorry when Twitler is gone.

  375. 375.

    cynthia ackerman

    January 11, 2017 at 12:48 pm

    @O. Felix Culpa:

    Your dog actually made sense and good use of everyone’s time.

  376. 376.

    Yarrow

    January 11, 2017 at 12:50 pm

    @Adrift: It’s a story I’m hearing.

  377. 377.

    Chris T.

    January 11, 2017 at 12:52 pm

    @Adrift: Yes, it’s one of the so-called “laws” in the so-called “Constitution”…

  378. 378.

    Fr33d0m

    January 11, 2017 at 12:54 pm

    Mr. Trump, did you have sex with Russian whores, escorts, or animals? Considering your love of gold, are the rumors that you engaged in or received golden showers accurate?

  379. 379.

    Miss Bianca

    January 11, 2017 at 12:56 pm

    @O. Felix Culpa: As far as I can tell, no.

  380. 380.

    O. Felix Culpa

    January 11, 2017 at 12:58 pm

    @cynthia ackerman: @Miss Bianca: We also had the benefit of good, fresh air and beautiful views. My Pippin chose rightly.

  381. 381.

    satby

    January 11, 2017 at 1:00 pm

    @O. Felix Culpa: I nominate Pippin for President. Clearly a better choice than the shitgibbon.

  382. 382.

    tobie

    January 11, 2017 at 1:25 pm

    @FlipYrWhig:

    I have a lingering suspicion that Hillary Clinton lost significant votes from the exact opposition direction too: from younger people of color and college-aged people of all races who bought into the arguments about “the Clintons”

    It’s anecdotal but everything you say here rings true with my phone banking experiences in Wisconsin. Young person after young person told me they couldn’t pull the lever for her because she was owned by the banks. It was so depressing. Now we have to deal with this whole mendacious, incompetent and destructive crew. Maybe we should call the Trump White House the Wrecking Crew.

  383. 383.

    pat

    January 11, 2017 at 1:30 pm

    @tobie:

    I did a lot of door-to-door canvassing in Wisconsin and met several young people who thought Hillary was “corrupt” and they might vote for Jill Stein. Could not get through to them, all I could say was, Well, it’s going to be Hillary or Trump.
    Sad.

  384. 384.

    Peale

    January 11, 2017 at 1:31 pm

    I just can’t get the hatred from my heart right now and it will only get worse. I hate him. I hate his voters. I hate veterans groups that cry. I hate evangelical Christian groups and their constant emotional baby religion. I went somewhere this weekend and we couldn’t get started for all the stops for stupid rituals honoring veterans, then those serving now, then our fucking men in blue then their false Christian god. All tears all the time. I hate them. I hope the VA is privatized then closed then all the whiny veterans groups can turn to their churches for help only to find that those false Christians don’t give a fuck about men without arms. I hate their guns. I hate their fetus worship. I hate them for this. I hope their meth head children die young. I hope they suffer from bury their children. I can’t stop this. But I can’t go on pretending that I can tolerate married white people, their brats, their dead soldiers and their public piety that masks private depravity. Fuck them.

  385. 385.

    Enhanced Voting Techniques

    January 11, 2017 at 1:34 pm

    @Betty Cracker: “His answers are all just excerpts from his stump speech. It’s all he knows. And the toady entourage who conspicuously cheer and clap are there to help create a rally-like atmosphere, maybe to help him barf up stump speech excerpts.”

    If this is the best Trump can do before he’s even in office I don’t see Trump lasting. Maybe we should be speculating when pulls a Palin and resigns.

  386. 386.

    Peale

    January 11, 2017 at 1:41 pm

    @tobie: I hope the millenial non voters never get a real job, and are sold into debt slavery in Siberia. I hope by the time they figure out what neoliberalism is, they come to the realization that they aren’t being denied wealth by anyone. They just aren’t good enough to work.

  387. 387.

    hilts

    January 11, 2017 at 1:45 pm

    @Yarrow: @muddy:

    What about the possibility that Chuck Todd is simply a horse’s ass?

  388. 388.

    Miss Bianca

    January 11, 2017 at 1:45 pm

    @pat: @tobie: this is the thing that depresses the shit out of me. This is what makes me despair, sometimes. Hearing shit like this. And it’s not just young people – I got into arguments with Wilmerbros/sisses out here in CO who “knew” that HRC was corrupt, and there was nothing you could do to change their minds. You couldn’t appeal to her record, you couldn’t ask them for facts, you couldn’t do anything – they knew what they knew, damn it! And what they “knew” was a toxic stew of lies and disinformation.

    I mean, at least with young people you have the hope that they’ll wake the fuck up some day, sadder but wiser. But people my age or older?

    God damn the media and the right-wing noise machine. God damn them all.

    I’ll have to ask Major4 to repeat me the wonderful thing his husband (I think it was his husband) said, about voting – how you could vote your conscience, or vote to prevent bad shit from happening – and that both were valid philosophies of voting, but only one would prevent bad shit from happening.

  389. 389.

    FlipYrWhig

    January 11, 2017 at 1:46 pm

    @pat: @tobie: I hate saying and even thinking this, but I think it’s the “woke” who are the most unexpectedly blameworthy — the ones who rightly are concerned about black lives but picked a hell of a target at a hell of a time to vent about it. That was the other unintended effect of #blacklivesmatter and Ferguson. It made middle-of-the-road white people susceptible to law-‘n’-order posturing, which has been fairly widely discussed; and it _also_ reinvigorated The New Jim Crow argument in such a way to take a big-enough bite out of the Obama ’08 coalition. I can’t lecture someone about How To Be An Ally, OK, but, jeez, _bad_ convergence of new arguments, new argument styles, new sensitivities, and new media bubbles.

  390. 390.

    FlipYrWhig

    January 11, 2017 at 1:49 pm

    @Miss Bianca: See, but that kind of lefty has been around, and insufferable, since SDS. IMHO the new element was the young white people who wanted to be outraged on behalf of black people and took it out on Hillary Clinton. I have no idea how large it was, but I suspect it was large enough to matter.

  391. 391.

    Thor Heyerdahl

    January 11, 2017 at 1:53 pm

    Since George HW Bush is ex CIA, is still eligible for PDBs, and since Trump mocked and defeated ¡Jeb!, how much Bush family revenge will happen toward Donny Littlefingers via CI and deep state?

  392. 392.

    Mnemosyne

    January 11, 2017 at 2:02 pm

    @Patricia Kayden:

    It’s strange that White people waited to take their anger out on a White woman by electing an idiot over her.

    Only if you don’t realize how creepily misogynist many white people are, and not just men. There really are white guys who were willing to vote for Obama because of his biological equipment, but would not vote for Hillary because she was a woman.

  393. 393.

    Miss Bianca

    January 11, 2017 at 2:03 pm

    @FlipYrWhig: Sigh. Yes – and this is what makes me wonder about the new crop o’ young folks. The SDS’ers got their opinions formed about “sticking it to the man” early on and never, apparently, grew up politically. I lost a friend – white guy – who told me that he and his daughters couldn’t vote for HRC because Reasons, and I told him white privilege was a hell of a drug.

    White privilege IS a hell of a drug, and we’re seeing its effects even when white people think they’re being “allies”. Sigh. Like TRUMP is going make things better for POC in America? Mr. “Hang ’em High, the Central Park Five, even tho’ they were found Not Guilty”?

    Sigh. SMH.

  394. 394.

    manyakitty

    January 11, 2017 at 2:33 pm

    @rikyrah: Jeebus

  395. 395.

    Enhanced Voting Techniques

    January 11, 2017 at 2:33 pm

    @Mnemosyne: Except Trump wasn’t elected – he was aided by a massive voter suppression effort and a foreign power who views Trump as a useful fool. That last bit might be enough to get the conservatives to come to their senses that winning to the point of breaking the system hurts them too and the fact that Trump is polling at something like 40% under what the president elect should be doing is a sign that might be happening.

  396. 396.

    notoriousJRT

    January 11, 2017 at 2:43 pm

    @Adrift:
    This is exactly why I don’t watch or listen.

  397. 397.

    hedgehog the occasional commenter

    January 11, 2017 at 2:46 pm

    @rikyrah: holee fuck…

  398. 398.

    notoriousJRT

    January 11, 2017 at 2:49 pm

    @Mary G:
    Every time I hear that Trump has a 37% approval rating now and that 46% of voters chose him, I want to lock that 9% up for racism, sexism and treason. Too little too late, assholes.
    Approval ratings are weird things, it is possible the 9% are pissed that he’s backing off some of his more outrageous promises or that he isn’t out on the hustings saying “what they think” every damn day. But, in any event, eff them all.

  399. 399.

    Lurking Canadian

    January 11, 2017 at 3:19 pm

    @Enhanced Voting Techniques: Why would he resign? He can just sit there, being BIGLY YUGE and not doing anything, not answering anybody’s questions, and saying all the bad news is fake. He can invite the Russian hookers to pee on the Great Seal of the USA in the middle of the Oval Office rug and there isn’t a goddamn thing anybody can do about it.

    Well, of course, there is a very simple solution, but it would require Mitch McConnell and Paul Ryan to be human beings with conscience and decency, so…you know.

  400. 400.

    catclub

    January 11, 2017 at 3:26 pm

    @Peale: What was her name, who said: “if you can’t say anything nice about someone, come sit by me.”

    Dorothy Parker?

  401. 401.

    Steeplejack (phone)

    January 11, 2017 at 3:33 pm

    @catclub:

    Alice Roosevelt Longworth.

  402. 402.

    Miss Bianca

    January 11, 2017 at 3:36 pm

    @catclub: Alice Roosevelt

    ETA: beaten to the punch by Steeplejack, once again! Curse you, Red Baron!

  403. 403.

    MCA1

    January 11, 2017 at 6:41 pm

    @notoriousJRT: That’s not it, I think. I had the opportunity, over New Year’s, to spend two hours at a dinner table defending my Clinton vote to a bunch of rich, white people who ought to know better but who all voted Trump. Hardcore Republicans, all of them, despite half of the older generation there being diehard Democrats and Kennedy lovers back in their own youth.

    Anyway, there were two subgroups among these Trump voters:

    (1) bring the anarchy, tear down the establishment (sheer blindness to the fact that they are said establishment), tempered by a foolish confidence that because Trump will surround himself with people who actually know what the fuck they’re doing they’ll only engage in worthwhile, Republican-friendly arson (delicious cognitive dissonance, given that anyone who knows what the fuck they’re doing in the way of governance has been the exact definition of the establishment that needs to be thrown out on the street in Trumpland); and

    (2) I think Trump is a terrible person, and I’m on board with MCA1’s characterizations of him and nodding my head in agreement with the overall assessment of this loathsome, hate-filled, ignorant bully and his irresponsible rhetoric, and I’m pretty sure he’ll be a terrible president. But his pending shitty presidency probably won’t hurt me that much personally, and in fact might help my tax rate, so I am free to wallow in OMIGOD Hillary Clinton is the worst, most entitled stuck up bitch of all time and I used my vote to prove to her that we don’t owe her the Presidency and she should have divorced Bill, who disgraced the Presidency far more with Monica Lewinsky than Trump could ever hope to.

    It’s Group (2) above that comprise the 9% gap there. They’re going to disapprove of Trump through his entire presidency, and the only open question will be whether or not time, and the constant exposure to him as an actual, acting POTUS instead of just Not-Hillary on a ballot, will make them admit to themselves that they were engaged in the utmost foolishness with their Trump vote. Not that they’ll ever admit it outwardly, or do anything other than blame Democrats for not beating Trump, of course.

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