Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Bark louder, little dog.

They fucked up the fucking up of the fuckup!

He really is that stupid.

I was promised a recession.

These days, even the boring Republicans are nuts.

Even though I know this is a bad idea, I’m off to do it anyway!

There are no moderate republicans – only extremists and cowards.

Bad news for Ron DeSantis is great news for America.

Of course you can have champagne before noon. That’s why orange juice was invented.

Happy indictment week to all who celebrate!

Pelosi: “He either is stupid, or he thinks the rest of us are.” Why not both?

Never entrust democracy to any process that requires Republicans to act in good faith.

The most dangerous place for a black man in America is in a white man’s imagination.

Yeah, with this crowd one never knows.

Roe isn’t about choice, it’s about freedom.

“Cheese and Kraken paired together for the appetizer trial.”

Republicans firmly believe having an abortion is a very personal, very private decision between a woman and J.D. Vance.

We won’t go back.

New McCarthy, same old McCarthyism.

with the Kraken taking a plea, the Cheese stands alone.

… gradually, and then suddenly.

I wonder if trump will be tried as an adult.

Never give a known liar the benefit of the doubt.

Sadly, there is no cure for stupid.

You are here: Home / Politics / Trumpery / Dolt 45 / Late-Night Speculation Open Thread

Late-Night Speculation Open Thread

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My personal favorite rumor is that Jefferson Beauregard Sessions III will be the first target, on the grounds there’s no way he can claim he had no idea colluding with a foreign government to steal an election just might be against the law. As a devout Cynic, I’m prepared for the morning’s news to be anything from “nothingburger” to “opening the door to my worst fears”… but maybe I’ll be pleasantly surprised!


Of course, it’s good for the Wingnut Wurlitzer if this can be spun as “outside grifter abused the trust of poor, naive Trump.” But if anyone now hanging around the Oval Office is dumb enough to believe Manafort didn’t keep receipts, or that he wouldn’t cheerfully sell them all out in return for protection…

Reader Interactions

35Comments

  1. 1.

    Major Major Major Major

    A lot of bizarre behavior from Trump and his associates makes more sense if you consider the possibility that they’re guilty.

    This can’t be said enough. This whole time, they couldn’t have been acting more guilty if they’d tried.

  2. 2.

    Ruckus

    @Major Major Major Major:
    Well……. They could have confessed. Oh you said acting guilty. No they couldn’t.
    And

    Like Reservoir Dogs but with the entire cast of Minions.

    That needs to be in the rotating thingy. It is a widely useful phrase. Also funny.

  3. 3.

    Lapassionara

    I am trying to square Trump’s behavior with his heretofore lack of shame and his belief that the rules don’t apply to him. I don’t think he can feel guilt, so why is he acting as if he does?

  4. 4.

    LaNonna

    It’s morning here in Lucca, we are eagerly awaiting the next steps. The time difference of 5 hours means we’ll probably be home in Puglia before we hear/see anything. All of our Italian friends, and a few Minnesotans we met while here for a music festival, are hoping for some sign of a possible end to Trump.

  5. 5.

    Joyce Harmon

    You know what’s sad? I’m trying to think of someone in or involved in this administration or the campaign whose indictment would come as a gobsmacking shock. And I can’t think of a single person.

  6. 6.

    InternetDragons

    @Lapassionara –

    He’s got NPD, so his reactions aren’t about guilt. His image of himself is being profoundly threatened, so he’s freaking out. It looks like guilt for sure, but for him, guilt is never a reality – his first impulse will be to lash out and blame others.

    I wish he DID feel guilty. He’d be less dangerous. But he’s the kind of narcissist who wouldn’t hesitate to destroy the country in order to preserve his false self and narcissistic supply (likely his immediate family members).

  7. 7.

    SgrAstar

    @Lapassionara: He doesn’t feel guilty, he feels threatened. He hates that. I can’t imagine that he can hold in all his anger and angst. Future twitter tantrums are gonna be awesome.

  8. 8.

    Viva BrisVegas

    @Lapassionara:

    I don’t think he can feel guilt, so why is he acting as if he does?

    Because guilt in the moral sense is completely unknown to Trump, but he is very aware of guilt in the legal sense.

    To that end, it looks like the White House has grabbed Manafort by the collar and is waiting for the next bus to pass by.

  9. 9.

    hitchhiker

    @Lapassionara:

    He’s displaying fury at being disrespected. In his world, literally everybody is on the take in some way or another. His wife, his ex-wives, his children, his friends, his appointees, his business partners — every single person is just like him, muscling their way to the front of the line if they can.

    He thinks winning is muscling harder than the rest, and he thinks he accomplished that a year ago. He still doesn’t get that he was in the weirdest job interview ever, and that what he won was the duty to do a job. He’s enraged that he didn’t even win respect. Guilt, shame, embarrassment, none of that applies. What we’re looking at is anger that we don’t appreciate him & his achievements.

    It’s grotesque.

  10. 10.

    Mike J

    If it’s a daylight raid we should know in three and a half hours. If it’s not, it could be any time tomorrow, or even not at all.

    For many reasons I hope it’s a daylight raid.

  11. 11.

    Lapassionara

    @InternetDragons: I am very worried about what he might do.

    And it does not help that his cabinet and the Republican leadership in congress appear to be validating his sense of grievance.

  13. 13.

    Ruckus

    @Chitown Kev:
    How would it be a shock? He lied to congress. On camera. That’s the least of his faults and issues. I’m not thinking this round will include him but it wouldn’t be a shock if it did.
    @Joyce Harmon:

    I’m trying to think of someone in or involved in this administration or the campaign whose indictment would come as a gobsmacking shock. And I can’t think of a single person.

    Not one person that has come on board since noon Jan 20. How many do we know that lied on security clearances? How many do we know that lied on financial disclosure? And those are the ones that we know about. Next I put it out there than anyone, anyone, that works for him in any political office or cabinet position is guilty of at least gross stupidity while breathing. And there is no lack of proof of that. Including high ranking military officers, retired or not.

  14. 14.

    Amir Khalid

    @Chitown Kev:
    If Jefferson Beauregard Sessions Aiyaiyai were the one arrested on Monday morning, a lot of jackals (and not only them) would be thrilled rather than shocked.

  15. 15.

    Splitting Image

    I’ll put five quatloos on Manafort.

    Politically, Mueller has to take into account that if he indicts one of the Trump family or someone with longstanding ties to the Republican party, like Sessions, the Fox wurlitzer will rally to his defense. If he goes after a guy they see as an outsider, they’ll drop him like hot lead and call him a Democrat plant. The patsy needs to have enough dirt on the rest of the collaborators that he can implicate the rest when they turn on him. That’s Manafort.

    Anyway, we shall see. Tall oaks from little acorns grow.

  16. 16.

    TS

    @Ruckus:

    anyone, that works for him in any political office or cabinet position is guilty of at least gross stupidity while breathing.

    You have found the perfect way to describe those who would work for the moron. Many thanks.

  19. 19.

    OzarkHillbilly

    More than anything, Irtiza Hasan wants to see his team play in the World Series. After years of heartbreak and waiting, he finally has his chance.

    But now he can’t risk it.

    Hasan, 38, is a senior human resources manager in Houston. His father has been taking him to see the Astros play since he was 9 years old. He and his father didn’t always see eye-to-eye when he was growing up, but they had sports and those baseball games. Now, Hasan’s wife and their kids join him and his father when they can.

    It’s that kind of love of a team — built on family relationships and memories — that is familiar to fans everywhere. While baseball is a famously superstitious sport, Hasan never considered himself superstitious.

    That is until he did the math this postseason. The Astros were a hot, 101-win team in the regular season, but in the games he had attended at Minute Maid Park, they were 9-7, barely above .500. So when it came down to the do-or-die sixth game of the American League Championship Series, Hasan realized a great sacrifice was needed.

    He put on his Astros socks and jersey and disconnected from the world. He told his father he was welcome to take his grandsons to their regular seats behind home plate, but he wouldn’t be joining them. He turned off his phone, refused to read or watch the news or even talk to his friends, who were bound to discuss the game. He wanted to distance his beloved team from any whiff of the jinx he could be carrying.

    “This was incredibly hard for me,” he said.

    His mother told him that whether the Astros won or lost was up to God.

    “Yup,” he agreed. “And God wants me to stay away.”

    A man’s gotta do what a man’s gotta do.

  20. 20.

    JGabriel

    @Lapassionara:

    I don’t think [Trump] can feel guilt, so why is he acting as if he does?

    Because Trump can feel: fear.

    Fear that he’ll be caught.

    Fear that he’ll be impeached and removed from office.

    Fear that he’ll go down in history as a common criminal.

    Fear that he’ll go down in history as a traitor to the country.

    Trump isn’t feeling guilt – he’s feeling fear and panic.

  21. 21.

    mike in dc

    Even odds:
    1. Manafort
    2. Flynn Sr.
    3. Page
    25% chance:
    1. Kushner
    2. Flynn Jr.
    3. Don Jr.
    10% chance:
    1. Sessions
    2. A bunch of Russians/Russian-Americans
    3. Ivanka
    1% chance:
    1. 45
    2. VP
    3. Speaker Ryan

  24. 24.

    JGabriel

    @Joyce Harmon:

    I’m trying to think of someone in or involved in this administration or the campaign whose indictment would come as a gobsmacking shock. And I can’t think of a single person.

    Maybe it wouldn’t be a shock, but I guess I’d be a little surprised if Barron or Tiffany were indicted.

    Or if it were … Nope. Nada. No one else would even be surprising.

  25. 25.

    Zach

    It’s weird how Manafort’s KEY role in the Trump campaign has been written out of history. The candidate was floundering, the never Trump movement was at it’s peak, and Trump had zero support from the religious right. Manafort came in, fixed all of that, and ran a convention that was far less of a complete disaster than any other week of Trump’s campaign.

    And he did it all for free, from Trump’s point of view. He brought the religious right to the table and won nearly universal (all except LDS) support for Trump. He used Bob Dole to get begrudging approval from most establishment Republicans… getting Rubio, Cruz et all to kowtow at the convention.

    Manafort had a bigger impact on the election than Bernie Sanders or the emails. No one talks about it.

  28. 28.

    TenguPhule

    @Lapassionara:

    I don’t think he can feel guilt, so why is he acting as if he does?

    He may be more afraid of the Russians then the Feds.

    Putin don’t give a shit about lawyers, after all.

  29. 29.

    Zach

    @Splitting Image:

    Politically, Mueller has to take into account that if he indicts one of the Trump family or someone with longstanding ties to the Republican party, like Sessions, the Fox wurlitzer will rally to his defense. If he goes after a guy they see as an outsider, they’ll drop him like hot lead and call him a Democrat plant. The patsy needs to have enough dirt on the rest of the collaborators that he can implicate the rest when they turn on him. That’s Manafort.

    Manafort’s a Trump-world insider via the sketchy real estate investment/money-laundering connection. But much more so he’s a lifelong GOP insider. He’s worked in the zone between dirty tricksters such as Stone and more legit GOP operations since Ford’s primary campaign in ’76.

    The fact that both Trump and the GOP are disowning him now… and have been distancing themselves since he left the campaign… worth re-reading the story that came out when Manafort left: https://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/20/us/politics/paul-manafort-resigns-donald-trump.html

  31. 31.

    Ruckus

    @?BillinGlendaleCA:
    I wasn’t clear. I just think that is the least of his problems, the lies he told congress, but the most public. I suspect that where there is a visible fire of that magnitude, there is a massive possibility that there is more fire somewhere. I don’t expect him to be in the first round but this entire mess is so fucked up that I would not place any bets on who, what, when or why.

  32. 32.

    Joyce H

    @Zach:

    Manafort came in, fixed all of that, and ran a convention that was far less of a complete disaster than any other week of Trump’s campaign.

    But even he couldn’t talk Trump out of that dorky smoke machine stunt.

  33. 33.

    Zinsky

    Manafort is toast. He is going down on money laundering and FCPA violations. Unless he has a super attorney, he could be looking at prison time. I think Jared Kushner is in deep shit too – for trying to set up the “back channel” communication line with the Kremlin. Creepy and unAmerican.

  35. 35.

    bystander

    I’m guessing Manafort, but if it turns out to be Sessions or any Trump, I’m headed for Union City, NJ, to join in the fullvoiced ululating and celebratory gunfire.

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