“What a crowd, what a turnout,” Trump said from atop this firetruck, addressing hurricane victims. pic.twitter.com/0EdsLctHDi
— Christina Wilkie (@christinawilkie) August 29, 2017
Back in 1992, Bush the Elder had to pretend he empathized with the little people. Trump’s letting the world know that those days are gone, baby, gone!
"The president didn’t meet a single storm victim, see an inch of rain or get near a flooded street." Via @jdawsey1 https://t.co/A57b5pT9aa
— Annie Karni (@anniekarni) August 29, 2017
… But the daylong visit, during which President Donald Trump spent far more time in the air than on the ground, gave the optics-obsessed president some of the visuals he wanted, as he checked in on the government apparatus working on relief efforts and was buoyed by a roaring crowd of locals.
And it showed that the president, who often obsesses about crowd size and fame while speaking in hyperbolic superlatives, would not drop those traits even amid hurricane cleanup. He praised his Federal Emergency Management Agency administrator, Brock Long, for becoming “famous” during his frequent TV appearances, talked repeatedly about the historic nature of the storm and marveled at adoring Texas residents who greeted him…
The trip was a surreal presidential journey around the edge of a disaster zone in which the waters are still rising. The body of a Houston police officer who drowned trying to get to work was recovered while Trump was on the ground, and thousands continued to pile into shelters across the state, displaced from their homes for months.
Officials predicted years of recovery and billions in damage, and rescue efforts in some areas were barely underway, meaning the death count could quickly rise…
Trump, aides said, was determined to make a visit early. He had even pushed to come before Tuesday, one adviser said, wanting to be on the ground as quickly as possible. From Washington, he began giving administration officials assignments and told his entire Cabinet “that everyone is focused on this,” one senior administration official said.
Advisers saw the storm as a way for Trump to show decisive leadership. While the famed germophobe has never shown a streak of being the consoler-in-chief, these people said the hurricane gives his government a chance to show competency — and him as the chief executive of the response…
There were few interactions with people who hadn’t been screened, and the president spent far more time flying Tuesday — at least eight hours — than on the ground, where he spent about three hours. Reporters traveling with Trump saw little more than he did, often quickly whisked from rooms or away from survivors or volunteers…
Pres Trump to TX Gov Abbott on Harvey response: "We wont say congratulations…we'll congratulate each other when it's all finished."
— Karen Travers (@karentravers) August 29, 2017
Feels like someone said to Trump "Do not congratulate yourself or others until this is over" and this was his best effort at listening. https://t.co/MlOncGhTre
— Susan Hennessey (@Susan_Hennessey) August 29, 2017
Trump thanking FEMA dir William Brock Long: "A man who really has become very famous on television in the last couple of days." #Harvey
— Tasneem N (@TasneemN) August 29, 2017
eclare
The Queen of England and Prince William met with Grenfell survivors days after the fire. This fucking POS had a rally and advertising spot with that stupid hat.
Jerzy Russian
Cutting and pasting from last time, but Christ, what an asshole! He can’t even manage to serve soup at the food kitchen, help out with some sand bags, etc. What a waste of space.
Jeffro
If we could ever get this post-Labor Day “March For Shame” thing going, I’d personally like to make and carry a sign with Trumpov’s dumb face, and the caption, “What a monumental douche”
(while wearing my Dave Hause ‘Dirty Fucker’ t-shirt ;) )
Jeffro
Can’t we just lock him in a room with a TV that shows his “greatest hits” (such as they are) – his best rallies, the most fawning news coverage by the Village, on an endless loop? We wouldn’t even have to feed him, he’d be so enthralled…
Jeffro
Ed Gillespie’s going full Trumpov/white supremacist in his futile quest to be VA gov: People Trying to Take Down Confederate Statues are Communists Trying to Start Civil War
You go, Ed!
Percysowner
Tucker Carlson just got PWED by Charles Clymer. Charles Clymer has been hitting charlatan Joel Osteen hard about his non-action during the hurricane and Carlson asked him to appear on his show. His answer is a thing of beauty.
One of the better F! yous I have seen/
Wag
Trump’s history repeats the old conceits, the glib replies, the same repeats. I’m beyond belief.
satby
Nauseating.
Enhanced Voting Techniques
I am thinking this was so bizarre that there has to be something seriously mentally wrong with Trump. Simple narcissism doesn’t explain this, I’ve worked for narcissistic bosses before and they can pretend to fake empathy when everyone is watching.
lamh36
@Percysowner: yes…good for him
Jeffro
@Enhanced Voting Techniques: Narcissism x billions of dollars x a lifetime of fawning media attention x possible dementia = me, Me, marvelous ME!! 24/7 Even after this kind of natural, national, disaster.
lgerard
Did they at lest let him sit in the fire truck and pretend?
lamh36
So according to the media, one storm ruined a presidency (Bush/Katrina) and now this one may just “save” another (Chump/Harvey).
I’m truly tired of half of this bullshit”
Been trying my best to not watch the news segments w/Chump and just focus on the folks in Houston trying to survive.
BTW, my cousin had to be evacuated via boat to dry ground. Right now he is trying to get to where his younger brothers are…so I have some personal stakes in this entire thing…so I can’t take anymore of bullshit coverage some of these folks have been giving Chump
Eljai
So, I gather Trump did not take the opportunity to pivot and unify the country? Glenn Thrush must be so embarass–oh fuck it.
dexwood
This fake president is such a fucking ghoul.
japa21
Wasn’t it just yesterday Trump complained that all Obama did regarding disasters was showboat?
And a goodly portion of the country will look at him today and say how presidential he was. You know, kind of how a president of a 5th grade class would be, that kind of presidential. Or am I being unnecessarily harsh on fifth grade presidents?
lamh36
I’ve been focusing on the stories about real people and trying my best to ignore the Chump stories.
Some of them are hopeful and heartwarming, and some aren’t…I came across this one and my heart wept.
RIP to the mother of this child…and I hope they were able to find/notify relatives…smh
eclare
Mattress Mack….
Adam L Silverman
@eclare:
jimmiraybob
Seriously, can anybody come up with some video of our greatest Evangelical Christian in Chief offering any prayers or soliciting any prayers for those in the path of destruction in Texas? Maybe some Hosannas or relevant Jesus parables? Anything Biblical?
Feebog
What, no play dough to give out?
efgoldman
@lamh36:
As the water goes down, as inevitably it will, the death count is going to shoot up. Every one is a tragedy, of course, but I feel worse for the people who don’t know, and won’t perhaps for days or weeks.
Enhanced Voting Techniques
@Jeffro:
I am thinking more than a little dementia going on now. That really is Second Childhood stuff to be playing at being the hero and thinking he’s being cute while the world burns.
Adam L Silverman
@eclare: Here you go:
efgoldman
@jimmiraybob:
Everything he knows about religion, he learned from Joel Osteen, the
chief crookminister of the megachurch, who had to be shamed on social media to open his facility as a shelter.If there really was a sky buddy, that grasping asshole would have been struck down by lightning years ago.
Luthe
@eclare: IIRC, the Queen didn’t show up with much of an entragoue, either. I don’t even think they alerted the press beforehand. Unlike the Tangerine Terror, who turned the whole thing into a rally.
Adam L Silverman
As I predicted:
efgoldman
@Luthe:
That’s what Noblesse oblige is all about.
eclare
@Adam L Silverman: Someone tweeted that the government should rescind Joel Osteen’s tax exempt status and give it to Mattress Mack.
Redshift
@Jeffro:
Excellent. My precinct volunteers today said they had people coming in who admitted they didn’t know a lot about the school board special election, but they didn’t want to miss a chance to vote against Trump.
The advice that Gillespie should appeal to rural voters in ways that make him toxic to the parts of the state where most people live is idiotic, but I hope he keeps listening to it.
eclare
@Luthe: You’re absolutely right, and she and Prince William met with actual, real survivors.
efgoldman
@Adam L Silverman:
And somehow that study is going to end up buried in a desk drawer somewhere, although I suspect if it’s honest, it will show no harm to readiness or cohesion
Ruckus
@Jeffro:
I’m not so sure about the billions of dollars, I think he owes more than he’s worth, but other than that, spot on.
I truly believe that he is well out of the starting gate on the road of dementia. Might not be Alzheimer’s but it sure could be. The anger, the living in the past….. Add in the narcissism and it really does fit.
Omnes Omnibus
@Adam L Silverman: I can’t even….
@Adam L Silverman: Well, one shouldn’t take any rash decisions whilst one is studying the best way to address the issue. In March, 2018, a report issues saying more studying is necessary?*
*Yes, I switched to passive voice.
jl
I’m taking a break from criticizing Trump’s odd behaviors while he is visiting the Harvey disaster. Seems like a lot of it is Trump actually listening to his competent advisers for once. Don’t get too close to actual front lines of disaster while it is still ongoing, in order to avoid bad press Dub got for interfering and supposedly angling for PR photo ops. I guess it’s the best Trump can do. I for one welcome Trump listening to competent people. Good practice for other crises where Trump could get too many people killed and stuff wrecked if he did not.
But this made me laugh:
“A man who really has become very famous on television in the last couple of days.”
Jeez. I looked Long up in wikipedia, which says he has almost 20 years of experience in state, regional and national level disaster planning and relief. True, there is a law that says Trump must pick a person like that to head FEMA. But all Trump can think of to say is that now he is famous on TV. Figures. At least Trump didn’t suggest that Long should thank the hurricane.
Redshift
@Luthe: Yeah, the Trump equivalent there is Teresa May, who didn’t go, claiming it wouldn’t be safe, and then the Queen showed up without much of an entourage.
StringOnAStick
This isn’t an open thread but I work tomorrow and can’t wait for an open thread, so here goes.
About a month ago I posted about my husband being charged by a bear on a local hiking trail and getting so close he was hitting it in the face with his rain jacket. The next easy my boss’s son was charged while mountain biking, and I heard that same day that 2 weeks prior a jogger was clawed in the ribs after being charged. So I reported this info to the county Open Space agency, who responded by putting up “aggressive bear in area” signs; then someone saw it was a mother with 2 cubs, so that explained the aggression. I posted about it on the local Next-door email site to warn people to be careful; this trail gets a lot of hikers and bikers and I didn’t was to see someone, their kid or dog get mauled or worse. My husband was sure he was going to be mauled until he acted crazy enough for her to back off.
She went after another person and her dogs so the county agency decided she was dangerous and shot her and the cubs, which is horrible. Bears are apparently common enough here now that they don’t move them. I feel bad about it, but I am seriously pissed that some woman has called me out by name for reporting 3 charges/attacks and said the death of the bears was all my fault and I should “learn how true nature lovers live and stop getting wildlife killed”. I’d feel worse if I had never reported the first 3 times and someone ended up seriously injured or worse. The trail area isn’t big enough to support 1 bear much less 3 and hibernation is at least 8 weeks away so the chances of someone getting hurt by her were high for at least 2 more months.
Next step: unsubscribe from Next-door. I’m done with the endless bitching there and this was the final straw.
Adam L Silverman
@eclare: I 100% agree with that. These knuckleheads have been screaming and yelling about their precious tax exemptions for years, and yet when they were really called on to be good shepherds they had feet of clay. And pockets lined with gold.
I’ve seen reports of small churches – many ethnic (Vietnamese or LatinX because of the demography of the area), as well as mosques and synagogues and Sikh temples making it known they were open to provide shelter and comfort. With far fewer resources and far less space.
stinger
Why is he wearing a big shady baseball cap indoors? Because he’s selling it on his campaign website.
I can remember when a Democratic vice president got in trouble for making campaign fund-raising calls from the White House. IOKIYAR.
Adam L Silverman
@efgoldman: He’s going to slow walk this thing as long as he can. Every report I’ve seen on his reaction to that tweet changing the policy was a combination of flabbergasted and unhappy disagreement. As I’ve written: it may not be how things should be given the premium we put on CIV-MIL relations and civilian control of the government and the military, but Mattis is serving as Secretary of Defense to ensure that while things may be strained now, they don’t break.
yet another jeff
“Last time I saw a disaster like this, it was the unpresidented win the Electoral College gave me! Did you hear about that?”
Omnes Omnibus
@Adam L Silverman: Assuming that his background is reasonably clean and we have a sane president, this guy is a Medal of Freedom candidate. I don’t know about my first condition, but the second is not met.
eclare
@StringOnAStick: That abuse is awful, all for trying to do the right thing.
Adam L Silverman
@Omnes Omnibus: Given the amount of water involved I believe he wants to be called President-Commodore.
As for Mattis: yep.
Smitty
@Adam L Silverman: Same for Mexico.
Adam L Silverman
@jl: Long is a legit disaster management professional. One of the best things to come out of the Katrina mess is that Congress passed a law requiring that the FEMA director had to be a disaster management professional with significant experience in administrating these types of departments and agencies. It makes it really hard to just plunk a political operative or crony or donor into the job.
efgoldman
@Adam L Silverman:
I saw a report (don’t remember where, but a reliable source) that all the mosques which are still accessible in the Houston area have opened their doors as shelters. Frankly I’d expect nothing less. It’s the megachurch guy acting like the asshole he is, which is shocking.
Osteen is the prosperity gospel guy, isn’t he? I wonder if he tried to charge people.
Adam L Silverman
@StringOnAStick: You did the right thing. It is not your fault, nor is it your responsibility, that your state’s fish and wildlife agency has made a policy decision against relocating wildlife that has negative, but non life threatening interactions with people (and pets).
Not only did you do the right thing you have likely saved lives – both people and their pets. Moreover, your actions have prevented some hiker or biker or camper from having to be in the position of taking the mother bears life in order to save their own.
I’m a huge bear fan. I think they are incredibly intelligent and amazing animals. But they can be/are also very dangerous.
Again: you did good. No ifs, ands, or buts!
lamh36
jl
@Adam L Silverman: OK, thanks. Yeah, sure, I guess you’re right. But thanks to the hurricane, now he’s famous on TV.
I emulate my government leaders and cultural heroes in all ways. So I had to throw that in. Not sure how I’m going to juggle emulating you, Anderson, Cole, Cracker, Jerry Brown and Trump and Chuck D simultaneously, but I’m trying my best.
stinger
In the days before and during the eclipse, I kept thinking of how Obama would have turned the event into a national teaching moment, and a celebration. He would have joined kids and astronomers in looking at it and learning about it. This guy just wasted the entire event, as far as I could tell.
And now he’s wasted an expensive trip to TX just to talk about how big his crowds are and how the help his admin provides will become what people 5 and 10 years from now will point to as how to handle disasters. It’s just all about HIM.
Adam L Silverman
@Omnes Omnibus: Yep. Everyone should take heart that the real measure of Americans is being taken and their worth demonstrated right now in Texas and Louisiana and some other places (forest fire in Oregon, flooding in Ft. Myers, FL). We are not the President, nor the worst portions of his administration.
Luthe
@Adam L Silverman: I only wish we had a similar law regarding all the Cabinet level department heads… *cannot get over Ben Carson leading HUD*
lgerard
@stinger:
I was astonished that he did not try to take credit for the eclipse in some way.
Ruckus
@efgoldman:
I don’t find it shocking at all that a megachurch owner is an asshole or that he is acting like one. Would you like to bet that Joel is only about 2 steps behind drumpf in his level of narcissism and greed?
StringOnAStick
@Adam L Silverman: Thanks, this has been hard. I didn’t want the bears to be killed, I thought she’d move deeper into the foothills because of all the people who use that trail or that DOW would move her. Since there are so many houses around I bet she had a garbage source or someone was feeding her because the cubs were so cute. A fed bear is a dead bear but people do it.
jl
@lgerard:
” I was astonished that he did not try to take credit for the eclipse in some way. ”
If you think about it the right way, a solar eclipse is a little too low energy for Trump. Probably he doesn’t mind letting a short novelty act get a few moments of notice. Box office for eclipse fell through the floor after the first week. No one’s tuning in to it anymore. Sad.
justawriter
HEADLINES FROM THE FUTURE
Sept. 4, 2017, WASHINGTON D.C. — President Donald Trump broke with tradition of praising American workers on Labor Day, instead announcing he is sending a bill to Congress to rename Hurricane Harvey as Hurricane Donald.
“It was a great, terrific storm,” said the POTUS. “It deserves to have a great, presidential name. What’s Harvey? Some dumb bunny only a moron can see. In this nation we can do better.”
Adam L Silverman
@Smitty: Yep. They came and helped after Katrina and, if I’m recalling correctly Rita, and they’ll do it again.
Adam L Silverman
@efgoldman: They even sent teams out to help get people out of the water and get people to safety.
Mike in NC
Trump will only settle for the BEST hurricanes, the BIGGEST floods.
sukabi
@Adam L Silverman: more appropriate title would be pResident* Commode.
stinger
@lgerard: “It’s a big eclipse, huge, just tremendous, you’ll be sick of all the eclipsing. The Trump Eclipse, I call it. My eclipse was bigger than Obama’s.”
Adam L Silverman
@lamh36: That is very strange, because Holiday Inn corporate policy has always been to allow dogs (and cats) with a pet fee. While my preferred stop while driving with my dogs is La Quinta, which always as a matter of corporate policy takes dogs, Holiday Inn Expresses are usually my backup because they also take dogs.
Adam L Silverman
@jl: To the President famous on TV is all that matters.
Adam L Silverman
@Luthe: His wife is a realtor, so…
Adam L Silverman
@StringOnAStick: You’re welcome, but no need to thank me. You did the right thing. You don’t deserve to be dumped on for doing so. And it’s no sweat to point that out and reinforce it.
Captain C
As this is an Open Thread:
I mentioned Friday that I had to take my cat Kashmir in to the vet as she was gravely ill (with kidney failure). Saturday, I went in to visit her, and the vet told me she hadn’t improved, and probably wasn’t going to. I asked to give her one more day, and then I’d make the decision. Then, I picked her up and put her in my lap. She purred for a few seconds, then had a seizure, and just like that she was gone. I can be thankful that I gave her a good life, and that I think she waited so that she could die in my arms. I put some pics of her on my facebook here if you’d like to see.
Adam L Silverman
@Captain C: My sincerest condolences. Hang in there.
Luthe
@Adam L Silverman: And if the reports are true, she’s half-running the place for him. Which would be bad enough, but realty is a far cry from public housing management.
justawriter
@StringOnAStick: Too many people think Disney movies, like The Jungle Book, are documentaries.
eclare
@Captain C: So sorry…..
Adam L Silverman
@Luthe: My take away from that piece is that she and Jr. are around all the time because he can’t function without a family minder. I’ve long been convinced that there is something neurologically wrong with him based on his behavior on the national stage starting with the national prayer breakfast outburst that launched his political career.
Captain C
@Adam L Silverman@eclare: : Thanks :^). It’s never easy to lose a pet, but she did have a good run and gave and got lots of love.
Adam L Silverman
@Captain C: And when you’re ready and able to do it, you can show her one last bit of love by getting another cat and giving him or her a great life too.
Roger Moore
@Adam L Silverman:
Strictly speaking, the SecDef is a civilian job, so this is strictly a civilian appointee slow walking something he thinks is a bad idea, not a military commander being insubordinate.
Slaughter
@efgoldman: I was near Johnstown when it had its most recent 500-year flood, July 20, 1977. Eighty-four people died, with a couple bodies found around a year later, I recall.
Captain C
@Adam L Silverman: Eventually, yes. Thankfully, I still have her sister (Misty), who will hopefully stick around another couple years at least (she’s 17 too).
Adam L Silverman
@Roger Moore:
You missed my point. Mattis as a retired four star, who required a waiver of Federal law to actually be confirmed in his position as secretary, pushes the envelope of civilian control. Especially when it is apparent he is partnered with LTG McMaster and Gen. (ret) Kelly to try to keep the worst from happening.
Adam L Silverman
@Captain C: We’ll keep good thoughts. Or you could do what I do with my dogs: I get puppies for my dogs.
Because I’m a sad person…
Sab
@Captain C: I am so sorry.
I have a wonderful cat with lymphoma behind his eye. Debating how much medical intervention is helpful, and when it is torture to an already dying animal.
Ruckus
@Captain C:
Sorry about Kashmir. You gave her a good life, you stood by her when she needed you, that’s exactly what you are supposed to do.
@Sab:
That’s a tough decision to have to make. You don’t want to of course but suffering with no possible recovery is where I can draw the line. That’s even on my list for me.
My roommate went through that with her cat a couple of weeks ago. For 2 or 3 weeks the cat seemed to be off a bit and roommate took her to the vet who said he though the cat had gotten into something and gave her meds. It got worse, so different vet, who though she had throat or tongue cancer. Second vet had same diagnosis with no prior knowledge of other vet. Roommate put her down as she was obviously starting to suffer and with a not good prognosis. She had a hard time eating and would have to get pretty hungry to have much of anything. She was about 16.
hitchhiker
Joel Osteen is the creepiest looking mofo I’ve seen in a long time. Like, I’d cross a lot of streets in heavy traffic to get away from that dude. There’s something wrong with him.
Ruckus
@hitchhiker:
There’s lots of somethings wrong with joel. The list is almost endless.
lgerard
@hitchhiker:
What;s creepy is how all these “ministries” are nothing more then family businesses handed down from father to son
Zinsky
Sociopaths are incapable of feeling sorrow for others or showing any genuine emotion when it comes to others suffering. Trump is no different, psychologically, than any serial killer.
satby
@Captain C: Kashmir was a beautiful girl and the pictures show how happy and well loved she was. Condolences on her loss, you gave her what is heaven on earth to every companion animal: a loving home and devoted owner. It’s the very best we can do for them.
Citizen Alan
@stinger:
IIRC, Gore got into trouble simply for using the wrong phone! If he had made the calls from the White House but in a different room, it would have been perfectly fine.
Amir Khalid
@Redshift:
Theresa May did go to visit the Grenfell survivors eventually, after the Queen and Prince William’s visit had demonstrated that it was perfectly safe. (May had cited security concerns as a reason for not going.) The PM was, to put it mildly, not as warmly welcomed.
WaterGirl
@Sab: Someone may have already mentioned this, but I learned a bit about this when my dod and another beloved dog both had this.
edit: I don’t know if this is the same for kitties, but this is what I know from my dogs.
If they haven’t already, you can ask them to test to see if this is the slow-moving type or the fast-moving type. If it’s slow-moving then treating with pred is a good possibility. If it’s the fast-moving kind, then at least you have better data for your decision.
My good friend whose dog was like my own went with chemo for our beloved Bear at the urging of the vet because she was such a special dog, even though she had the slow-moving kind. Two days after the first treatment and Bear was in terrible shape, by day 4 she was gone. That decision haunts my friend to this day.
I hope you have a lot of good time left with your kitty.
cwmoss
@efgoldman: RAND has apparently already done such a study. Petty sure Adam Silverman linked to it a few weeks ago.