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T R E 4 5 O N

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You are here: Home / Politics / Trumpery / Dolt 45 / Saturday Evening Open Thread: *Whew!*

Saturday Evening Open Thread: *Whew!*

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We’re going out of town for a few days. I’ll be bringing my laptop, but if this is my last post for a while, blame it on the tech gremlins.
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With that load off his tiny mind, Lord Smallgloves can give full attention to his more recent grievances. AP‘s joined the media crowd poking him with sticks:

After a summer of staff shake-ups and self-made crises, President Donald Trump is emerging politically damaged, personally agitated and continuing to buck at the confines of his office, according to some close allies.

For weeks, the West Wing has been upended by a reorganization that Trump has endorsed and, later, second-guessed, including his choice of retired Marine Gen. John Kelly as chief of staff. The president recently lashed out at Kelly after a boisterous rally in Phoenix, an incident relayed by a person with knowledge of the matter. In private conversations, Trump has leveled indiscriminate and harsh criticism on the rest of his remaining team.

Seven months into his tenure, Trump has yet to put his mark on any signature legislation and his approval ratings are sagging. Fellow Republicans have grown weary of his volatility, and Trump spent the summer tangling with some of the same lawmakers he’ll need to work with in the coming weeks to pass a government funding bill, raise the country’s borrowing limit and make a difficult bid for tax overhaul legislation.

“He’s in a weak position,” said Christopher Ruddy, the CEO of Newsmax and a longtime Trump friend. “A lot of the Republican establishment has not been supportive, his poll numbers are down and he has spent most of his early presidency appealing to his base while most presidents would be seeking more consensus.”…

…[T]he government’s largely well-received handling of [Hurricane Harvey] has not soothed Trump’s own frustrations, according to those who speak with him regularly. Trump told one associate he missed his old life in New York. And he’s become increasingly focused on the prospect of losing support among his core supporters — the voters he once said would stick with him even if he shot someone on New York’s Fifth Avenue.

“I don’t think it’s a worry or a concern as much as it’s a reality,” Roger Stone, a longtime informal adviser to the president, said of Trump’s preoccupation with his base. “It’s a reality that he understands politically.”

Polls show Trump losing a bit of ground with some of his core constituencies. A Fox News survey released last week put Trump’s overall approval rating at 41 percent, and notably cited a 7 percentage point drop among conservatives and a 9 point drop among whites without a college degree, one of Trump’s strongest voting groups…

Reader Interactions

71Comments

  3. 3.

    mike in dc

    In another 5 months there’ll be another Friday night dump clearing Loretta Lynch of any wrongdoing in the handling of the Clinton investigation.

  4. 4.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    …[T]he government’s largely well-received handling of [Hurricane Harvey] has not soothed Trump’s own frustrations

    it’s been a week

  5. 5.

    Amaranthine RBG

    He needs to make a third trip to Houston. Drive around in a tank! Or maybe climb up in a big truck and blow the air-horn.

    Dishing out food is just no Commander in Chiefy enough.

  11. 11.

    Jeffro

    Hard to believe that just three short weeks ago we were looking at the possibility of millions dead on the Korean Peninsula. Good thing that’s no longer a concern.

    And I think something come out late this week about Trumpov trying to negotiate a Trump Tower Moscow during the campaign? While he was busy protesting “I have nothing to do with Russia”?

    Where’s the media? Busy covering a few half-hearted Trumpov hugs down in Texas??

  13. 13.

    mike in dc

    @Jeffro:

    The Norks are now claiming to have developed a hydrogen bomb, which they can put on an ICBM. Maybe it’s a good idea to stop threatening them?

  14. 14.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    (potential) LOL

    Kevin RothrockVerified account @ KevinRothrock
    Head of immigration services firm in SF says several Russian consular staff have asked his office about acquiring U.S. political asylum.

    Counterchekist‏ @ counterchekist 1h1 hour ago
    LOL. If true, this could make for some interesting revelations…

    (potential) Oh, shit

    Max Fisher‏Verified account @ Max_Fisher 18m18 minutes ago
    Well… shit. North Korea has revealed what it claims is a thermonuclear warhead that can fit in its missile reentry vehicle.

  16. 16.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    @Jeffro:

    Hard to believe that just three short weeks ago we were looking at the possibility of millions dead on the Korean Peninsula. Good thing that’s no longer a concern.

    You know who’s not concerned about this? Koreans. Madame watches the news from Korea(KBS and MBC) and they are unconcerned about North Korea.

  17. 17.

    debbie

    This is the best bit from that quote up top:

    Trump told one associate he missed his old life in New York.

    He will never, ever get that life back. And I’d bet he doesn’t even realize that yet.

  21. 21.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    @Baud: I think they claimed to have tested a thermonuclear device a few years ago, no one believed them since the yield was too low. I think the Koreans are worried about Trump doing stupid shit more the Kim Jong Un.

  23. 23.

    clay

    Here’s the thing: Trump was lying about the wiretap; we all knew he was lying when he said it. And I mean everyone knew he was lying — media, politicians, everyone but the Fox dead-enders (and even they probably knew, deep down inside).

    And now his own Justice Department confirmed he was lying, so…. what now? What consequences will he face? You’d think even a partisan Congress would care that a sitting President lied about his predecessor abusing the levers of state power. But we know they won’t do anything. Maybe Mueller will add it to the list, but he has his plate full already. The media already knows that he’s a blatant liar, but they keep reporting on what he says at face value. Obama could sue him for damages (I’d love this!) but he’s too classy for that.

    So, once again, Trump can tell blatant, obvious, damaging lies with no apparent consequences, simply by not caring a whit about poltical and societal norms. (And by having a Congress that suddenly doesn’t care about checks and balances.)

    On the one hand, it’s nice to be vindicated about Trump being a liar. On the other, it’s depressing because he keeps doing it, and he’ll keep on doing it until someone forces him to stop.

  26. 26.

    Bruuuuce

    @Baud: Sure they can. But a ball gag (or other, less NSFW devices) is, at the very least, undignified. Which is to say, exactly what El Jefe deserves.

  28. 28.

    jl

    The world has been relatively quiet since the inauguration. I hope it stays that way. Harvey death toll is tragic (I think now around 50) but seems limited to the minimum number expected in such a disaster, not a catastrophic disgrace like Katrina.

    So, Trump has done this to himself. He could at least stop the slide, maybe even turn it around a little, if he could find a way to not talk and act like toxic jerk 90 percent of the time. And maybe focus enough on actual facts and policy so that even low info voters stop rolling their eyes whenever he talks. But what are the chances of that?

    Just checked Gallup tracking poll. Trump’s been at 35 percent or below approval for over ten days, and the trend is clearly downward. And exactly what has happened in last 6 months to make that happen? Trump himself and nothing else.

    Edit: if he ditches DACA, I expect enough horrible stories of disgraceful fed sponsored injustice and tragedy inflicted on entirely innocent people, that will drive it down to low 30s quick enough. Despite all the corporate media slobbering over the white bigot Trump base, it isn’t big enough to do jack squat on its own. it will require help, incompetent Dems or voter suppression to stop a election blood bath next year.

  29. 29.

    lollipopguild

    @clay: As you just said everyone even Faux knows that donald lies. You would find it hard to find more than 27% of Americans who believe anything he says and many of them “believe” just to piss us off.

  31. 31.

    Cheryl Rofer

    @Jeffro:

    Hard to believe that just three short weeks ago we were looking at the possibility of millions dead on the Korean Peninsula. Good thing that’s no longer a concern.

    You meant that ironically, right?

    Well… shit. North Korea has revealed what it claims is a thermonuclear warhead that can fit in its missile reentry vehicle. pic.twitter.com/BZEPZiaG2M— Max Fisher (@Max_Fisher) September 2, 2017

    And Trump has been thinking about starting a trade war with South Korea. Good times.

  32. 32.

    MomSense

    O/T but my dog is going psycho. She is humping everyone and every dog that she meets today. She was even humping an ottoman. WTF

  38. 38.

    Tilda Swintons Bald Cap

    Good post by Booman about John Kelly and how much longer he may be staying in his job.

    If he’s a patriot and doing this because the situation is so dangerous, he should focus on only two things: protecting the country’s credit rating and keeping us out of a shooting war with North Korea or anyone else. But, really, when he leaves he should explain to the whole country what peril we are in and how urgently necessary it is to remove the president from power.

    That’s the best and only way he can really serve his country now.

  40. 40.

    JPL

    @MomSense: Was there a change in the dog’s routine that caused him to be stressed? I’m not a vet, but something medical could be going on. You could try google, but then you will get unwanted ads.

  41. 41.

    ? ?? Goku (aka The Hope of the Universe) ? ?

    “A lot of the Republican establishment has not been supportive, his poll numbers are down and he has spent most of his early presidency appealing to his base while most presidents would be seeking more consensus.”…

    So not impeaching his was doesn’t count as supporting?

  42. 42.

    Mike J

    @Cheryl Rofer: If you want your twitter timeline to be a little more surreal, follow https://twitter.com/RealTimeWWII . Tweets from WWII, as it happens, just a few decades after the fact. He’s on 1939 right now. So you get tweets like:

    WW2 Tweets from 1939‏ @RealTimeWWII 1 hour ago
    Polish authorities estimate 2000 people killed in bombing so far. Figures don’t include deaths in captured towns or strafed refugee columns.

  43. 43.

    efgoldman

    @jl:

    Can you back that up with pix?

    He’s going to end up polling 98% to two dozen old, white, racist meth addicts on the Ohio/Indiana border. Go get that base!

  45. 45.

    JPL

    From the NYT feed.

    Charleston Gazette-Mail | Trump nominates former coal exec to run mine safety and health agency

  46. 46.

    ? ?? Goku (aka The Hope of the Universe) ? ?

    @Tilda Swintons Bald Cap:

    But, really, when he leaves he should explain to the whole country what peril we are in and how urgently necessary it is to remove the president from power.

    I’ll doubt he’ll do that. He and Trump of like mind on immigration matters

  47. 47.

    MomSense

    @JPL:

    My dog is a she! Could be that we watched too much news today, including Dolt45 in Texas, and now she is acting out. Guess he brings out the worst in humans and canines.

  49. 49.

    Bruuuuce

    @eclare: I have the Detroit-Cleveland baseball game on at the moment, with plans to watch Yu Darvish pitch against the Padres momentarily. But somehow, I doubt those are the games you mean.

  52. 52.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    Jackson Diehl of the Broderton Daily Penny Saver aka the Washington Post

    Why aren’t we talking about regime change in North Korea?
    “The U.S. has no interest in regime change or accelerated reunification of Korea,” wrote Tillerson and Mattis in a recent joint op-ed. But why? Regime change is the only way to definitively end the North Korean nuclear threat. As former State Department human rights chief Tom Malinowski has argued, “Political change in Pyongyang and the reunification of Korea, as hard as it may be to imagine, is actually much more likely than the denuclearization of the present regime.”
    The United States can’t force a political opening in Pyongyang; probably even China can’t. But it can foster conditions for one, just as it did in other seemingly impenetrable places, such as the former Soviet bloc. The same tactics are available: campaigning for the human rights of North Koreans, drawing maximum attention to the regime’s crimes and opening channels of information for ordinary people in North Korea.

    the article isn’t as bad as the headline, but this seems straight out of David Brooks’ “let democracy flower in Iraq” delusions of 2002

  53. 53.

    jl

    @Baud: @efgoldman: Baud could have had all the hobo and trailer park, and van-down-by-the-river vote, and now he’s down to knucklehead Trumpsters whose only hope after the Trump crash is some guy humping an ottoman. Sad!

    Baud: get those pix ready, you’ll need them. (and it better be the best, top, classy ottoman! Or you’re in real trouble)

  54. 54.

    Chyron HR

    @MomSense:

    O/T but my dog is going psycho. She is humping everyone and every dog that she meets today. She was even humping an ottoman. WTF

    That Medina’s a monster, y’all.

  56. 56.

    Matt McIrvin

    @jl: There’s another monster hurricane coming, Irma, with an excellent chance of hitting somewhere on the East Coast about 10-14 days from now. Nobody has any idea where it will hit–could be anywhere from Florida to Maine, or it might run up the whole coast chewing up everything. It won’t be a Harvey-style rain catastrophe but the wind damage and storm surge are potentially enormous. Better hope FEMA can keep being marginally competent in spite of Trump.

  60. 60.

    jl

    @Matt McIrvin: Congress passed a law mandating minimum requirements for FEMA director, and the guy has 20 years experience. So I think we are doing OK on that front, since it was taken out of Trump’s hands.

    Some improvements did emerge from the horrible Dub administration.

  62. 62.

    jl

    @Matt McIrvin: Though the worrying thing is that the days of saying ‘well, one anomaly doesn’t say anything about the effect of (man made) climate change’. That is true. But yet another ‘monster storm’? How many 100- 500-year events have we had in the last decade.

    Seems like enough extremes and record breakers that we are ready to start doing some real work with ‘statistics of extremes’/ I been putting off reviewing that topic so I could keep up with events. But we will have enough data to be out of small sample analysis of statistics of extremes much sooner than expected. Which is bad news. I gotta go find that damn book, around here someplace.

  63. 63.

    efgoldman

    @jl:

    I think we are doing OK on that front, since it was taken out of Trump’s hands.

    Doesn’t mean they’ve appropriated the necessary billions of dollars.
    [No idea whether they have or not, but it wouldn’t surprise me if they haven’t]

  65. 65.

    jl

    @efgoldman: True, but that is a GOP problem that predates Trump. Trump might actually be a benefit here, since he needs some certifiable accomplishments, and getting disaster relief through Congress is a no brainer even for him (maybe…)

  67. 67.

    Just one more canuck

    @Quinerly: that would liven up the campaign trail. Now if we could get them to bite reporters, we would really have something

  68. 68.

    jl

    @efgoldman: In SF 1906 earthquake, Congress, by unanimous vote, started money and real in-kind resource disaster relief appropriations within 48 hours.

    Amazingly, no BS and delay arguing about spending offsets! And that was back when we had to worry about sound currency. Some differences between then and now. I think current Congress is in recess (right?) and we have standing agencies that start operations immediately and automatically. But still…

    Edit: and gave General Funston a chance to show he handled unruly civilians pretty much the same, whether stateside or in the Philippines. Was reading that his disaster crowd control techniques ended up with over 1000 locals shot and killed.

  70. 70.

    Chris T.

    @jl: “Well, yes, Hurricane Zeke the Third *is* the 40th 500-year storm to hit the US so far this week, but that proves nothing about Global Warming!”

  71. 71.

    evodevo

    @MomSense: Urinary tract infection? or has she come in contact with an estrogen-containing substance? Even a whiff of estrogen/progesterone/etc. will trigger mating behavior in both sexes in dogs

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