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You are here: Home / Politics / Trumpery / Hail to the Hairpiece / Clown Car Open Thread: Will No One Sit At the ‘President’s’ Right Hand?

Clown Car Open Thread: Will No One Sit At the ‘President’s’ Right Hand?

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Uhhh… why did this just pop up?

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196Comments

  1. 1.

    TenguPhule

    Will No One Sit At the ‘President’s’ Right Hand?

    Obviously not, who knows who its grabbed recently?

  2. 2.

    TenguPhule

    “Either I’m qualified to handle state secrets or I’m not qualified to handle state secrets.” -Jared Kushner

    Jesus wept.

  3. 3.

    TenguPhule

    It is only an attractive position when “something to murder for” is understood to be strictly a figure of speech rather than a vaguely plausible qualification.

    I’m so old I remember when figurative speech actually meant what it said.

  7. 7.

    Corner Stone

    Jar Jar handles state secrets about as well as Jar Jar Binks handled those blue exploding bombs in whatever the F he did with them in Star Wars.

  10. 10.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    Uhhh… why did this just pop up?

    I didn’t bother to follow it up, but I assumed it came from Jared’s ‘interview’ with Hannity

  13. 13.

    BC in Illinois

    The office of White House Chief of Staff has its benefits.

    You might be able to meet Robert Mueller.
    Maybe even get his autograph.
    That’s valuable!

    (A repeat from the bottom of the last thread.)

  14. 14.

    TenguPhule

    Cake or Death
    ‏

    @Johngcole
    Follow Follow @Johngcole
    More
    Two nuns stole $500K from a California Catholic school and blew it gambling in Las Vegas –

    2:59 PM – 10 Dec 2018

  15. 15.

    pat

    There’s only one possible choice here, and that is Sean Hannity. They talk together very day and Sean seems to already be the one who guides his “thoughts.” So why not?

  17. 17.

    Ladyraxterinok

    Further info about ORU grads fron earlier discussion. MIichelle Bachman a grad from ORU Law School. David Barton a PE grad from ORU.

    Ron Luce anothervORU grad. He foundedcTeen Mania, which IIRC had HS kids going oon short mission trips. Was also involved in a syndicated Xn tv youth show
    Fire by Night (scenes often shot around Tulsa) and ap national organization Aquire the Fire. (IIRC one of the Tulsa ministers involved in this initiative was fired from his church for ‘sexual impropriety’.)

    Later he helped organize Battle Cry campaigns around the country that were directed toward young people. Wikipedia article on Battle Cry discusses the controversy and complaints about this program.

  18. 18.

    The Dangerman

    @debbie:

    It will be Ivanka.

    It should be someone that has worked well with his staff (well, not Stormy), Hasn’t Ivanka wanted to fire everyone?

  19. 19.

    Aleta

    Too bad we can’t put Jared in jail now, work out the charges later, like the Saudis would.

    Can someone please plant some whiskey chocolates on him (or powder) before his next trip to SA?

  21. 21.

    TenguPhule

    Two nuns stole $500K from a California Catholic school and blew it gambling in Las Vegas

    Michael Meyers, the church’s monsignor, told the crowd of a few hundred people that the archdiocese launched an internal investigation six months ago after the organization performed a standard audit of procedures ahead of Kreuper’s retirement after 28 years at the school.

    Around the same time, Meyers said, a family happened to request a copy of a check made out to the school, and the staff noticed it had been deposited in a bank account other than the school’s.

    Not everyone agrees with the decision not to file charges against the pair.

    “We were an ATM, and people know it and they won’t ask for justice,” Jack Alexander, a parent at St. James, told the Southern California News Group.

    Parents who spoke to the Press-Telegram said that they knew the nuns went on gambling trips, but were told that the trips were funded by gifts from a wealthy uncle.

    “These nuns took a vow of poverty and said, ‘Oh, no, we’ve got a rich uncle,’ ” Alexander said. “The rich uncle was the parents of the St. James students.”

    When the pair was confronted about their scheme, they reportedly admitted to it right away.

    “Sister Mary Margaret and Sister Lana have expressed to me and asked that I convey to you, the deep remorse they each feel for their actions and ask for your forgiveness and prayers,” Monsignor Meyers wrote in a letter to the parents and parishioners. “They and their order pray that you have not lost trust or faith in the educators and administrators of the school.”

    The archdiocese is cooperating with authorities, but is refusing to be a “complaining party,” reportedly because the nuns’ order, the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet, has agreed to fully reimburse the school and impose “severe sanctions” on Kreuper and Chang.

    What a time to be alive.

  22. 22.

    dmsilev

    King Leer, a contemporary reimagining of the classic play, is turning out even weirder than early reviews had suggested. A whole White House full of Regans and Gonerils? Very daring.

  26. 26.

    ruemara

    Hmmm. I’m guessing most of these crooks are seeing the writing on the wall & the writing is a list of charges. They don’t want none of this smoke.

  29. 29.

    Corner Stone

    @dmsilev:

    King Leer, a contemporary reimagining of the classic play

    Well, Trump did announce he went behind close doors to peep at underage girls as they changed…

  30. 30.

    Aleta

    A day or two before Ayers bailed (after 5 months of ‘sources’ publishing his name) someone told a reporter that pretty much the only people who wanted him were Ivanka and Jared. And that some staff were saying they’d resign if he was chosen, and many more were opposed and unhappy. So the announcement that he declined the job … it’s hard to believe they would lie but ….

  33. 33.

    Elizabelle

    WaPost had roundup on why it’s especially difficult to fill the CoS position. We could probably add to their 4 points. The Daily 202: Four reasons that even some Trump loyalists do not want to be White House chief of staff

    1) Javanka. Not controllable. Did end runs around John Kelly and eventually did him in.

    2) Trump himself. Not controllable.

    3) Exposure to legal issues/jeopardy for CoS too. Have that expensive lawyer on speed dial!

    4) Risk of public humiliation is high. (You think?)

    WaPost does not even get into the dignity wraith aspects. Only schlock willingly agrees to associate with Trump, and schlock is eventually outed as such.

    It would seem Nikki Haley might be the only staffer/Cabinet member who emerged relatively unscathed (actually, I would say she improved her situation).

  35. 35.

    sm*t cl*de

    Please let Kanye West refuse the job, so we can talk about “the raps leaving the sinking shit”.

  36. 36.

    debbie

    @Sab:

    Bill Sikes is angling for a 75% raise.* Let’s nominate him instead.

    * He’s trying to get a 75% COLA through the Legislature during the lame duck session. Apparently, they haven’t had a raise in 11 years. As someone used to say, Whomp, whomp.

  41. 41.

    different-church-lady

    @The Dangerman:

    It should be someone that has worked well with his staff (well, not Stormy)

    From what I’ve heard Stormy and his staff were not a good match.

  42. 42.

    Mike in NC

    With Kelly getting shown the door, there’s nothing to stop Fat Bastard from bringing back Steve Bannon, AKA the son he wishes he’d had.

  43. 43.

    kindness

    Well the way this is going I expect Air Force 1 to unexpectedly crash and burn the next time the Trumps go anywhere. With friends like these……..

  45. 45.

    eemom

    Repeat from last thread. I get that it’s fun to speculate, but how can anybody seriously give the remotest ghost of a fuck about Dump’s next CoS with every wall everywhere crumbling seven ways to Sunday?

  49. 49.

    Elizabelle

    The Los Angeles Times: Troubles past and future hinder Trump’s search for a new White House chief of staff

    “No rational qualified person would jeopardize their reputation,” said the former official, who requested anonymity to avoid upsetting his employer and relationships in the administration. “And you just can’t manage” Trump.

    Trump’s first choice to replace Kelly, Nick Ayers, abruptly withdrew his name over the weekend and will leave the White House to return to his home in Georgia and work on Trump’s reelection campaign.

    Since Ayers is chief of staff to Vice President Pence, his impending departure — as well as Kelly’s — will leaves two gaping holes near the top of the White House lineup, ….

    Two gaping holes is about right.

    And then:

    Anthony Scaramucci, who lasted 10 days as Trump’s top communications official and was fired by Kelly in July 2017, told CNN that Kelly’s lack of personal respect for Trump had hampered him in the job.

    “I want the next chief of staff to be somebody that really likes the president,” said Scaramucci. It’s not enough, he added, to believe “I’m serving the country, but I don’t really like the president.”

    Yeah. Good luck with that.

  50. 50.

    TenguPhule

    @?BillinGlendaleCA:

    When the pair was confronted about their scheme, they reportedly admitted to it right away.

    “Sister Mary Margaret and Sister Lana have expressed to me and asked that I convey to you, the deep remorse they each feel for their actions and ask for your forgiveness and prayers,” Monsignor Meyers wrote in a letter to the parents and parishioners. “They and their order pray that you have not lost trust or faith in the educators and administrators of the school.”

  52. 52.

    Fleeting Expletive

    As the CoS position’s duties are to suborn felonies o/b/o the Boss man, or to otherwise encourage and direct the performance of those directed felonious activities, I can see it being hard to recruit a pet rock to take the job.

  53. 53.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @A Ghost To Most: Once Senators start peeling off, it could go quickly.

    I’m not holding my breath, but it is interesting the Nikki Haley and Ayers, two people who I assume still have political ambitions, stepped off the boat while still pleading loyalty. Kinda surprised Mnuchin, and other private-sector types, have stuck around

  55. 55.

    debbie

    I must be in a time warp. Colbert was making fun of Trump’s “Smocking Gun” tweet last night, yet here it is with a time stamp of 12 hours ago (about 7 am):

    “Democrats can’t find a Smocking Gun tying the Trump campaign to Russia after James Comey’s testimony. No Smocking Gun…No Collusion.” @FoxNews That’s because there was NO COLLUSION. So now the Dems go to a simple private transaction, wrongly call it a campaign contribution,…— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 10, 2018

    How can this be?

  58. 58.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: can’t edit, but one senator who doesn’t get a lot of attention is Burr, who from what I can tell has worked pretty well with Warner, and said last week that he had made criminal referrals from the Intel Cmtee

  61. 61.

    Schlemazel

    I VOLUNTEER! I will be hair furor’s CoS!

    I will encourage Trump to be Trump as loudly has he can be
    I will give him unlimited executive time
    I will wear a wire & chat with mueller’s team daily

  63. 63.

    Corner Stone

    @Fleeting Expletive: I can see it being hard to recruit a pet rock to take the job.</blockquote
    But you must be sure to choose the correct rock for the end of the driveway. Green to keep leprechauns away, or red to keep dragons at bay. Choose wisely.

  65. 65.

    TenguPhule

    Trump’s top White House adviser on energy and climate stood before the crowd of some 200 people on Monday and tried to burnish the image of coal, the fossil fuel that powered the industrial revolution — and is now a major culprit behind the climate crisis world leaders are meeting here to address.

    “We strongly believe that no country should have to sacrifice economic prosperity or energy security in pursuit of environmental sustainability,” said Wells Griffith, Trump’s adviser.

    Mocking laughter echoed through the conference room. A woman yelled, “These false solutions are a joke!” And dozens of people erupted into chants of protest.

    The protest was a piece of theater, and so too was the United States’ public embrace of coal and other dirty fuels at an event otherwise dedicated to saving the world from the catastrophic impacts of climate change. The standoff punctuated the awkward position the American delegation finds itself in as career bureaucrats seek to advance the Trump administration’s agenda in an international arena aimed at cutting back on fossil fuels.

    That was awkward — at world’s biggest climate conference, U.S. promotes fossil fuels

  66. 66.

    geg6

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist:

    Yes, Burr may be the one GOPer senator who, in the end, gets a few others to peel off when the going gets unsustainable. Maybe he’ll be this generation’s Barry Goldwater and lead the delegation to the White House to let the Orange Menace know he’s going to be convicted in an impeachment trial.

    A girl can dream, can’t she?

  67. 67.

    TenguPhule

    @debbie:

    Colbert was making fun of Trump’s “Smocking Gun” tweet last night

    Last night was Sunday. Late show is weekday nights.

  69. 69.

    Corner Stone

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist:

    Kinda surprised Mnuchin, and other private-sector types, have stuck around

    His wife won’t let him. She has a whole Spring Collection of outfits to sell via tweet in just a few months.

  71. 71.

    Elizabelle

    NPR re Trump announcing he would soon announce a new CoS: “Candidates aren’t exactly jumping at the position.”

    LOL.

    “You have to wonder who would take this job.” — Not sure who said that, but he’s right!

  72. 72.

    TenguPhule

    House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) said Monday that Democrats shouldn’t focus on investigating President Trump when they retake the House majority in January because there are bigger issues facing the country.

    In an interview with Fox News Channel, McCarthy also dismissed the news that Russians interacted with at least 14 Trump associates during the 2016 campaign and the presidential transition, casting such encounters as common in an “international city” such as Washington.

    And he played down the significance of a new court filing that directly implicates Trump in plans to buy the silence of women alleging affairs with him, arguing that the matter amounts to little more than a routine campaign finance violation.

    “Well, it’s a challenge,” McCarthy told Fox News Channel’s Bill Hemmer when asked about Democrats’ return to the majority in January. “It looks like what they’re going to focus on is just more investigations. I think America’s too great of a nation to have such a small agenda.”

    He added that there are “other problems out there that we really should be focused upon” and that “both sides have come up with nothing” in investigating Trump.

    Critics were quick to point out that in 2014, McCarthy and other House Republican leaders set up a special committee dedicated to investigating the 2012 attacks in Benghazi, Libya, in which four Americans were killed. The following year, in an interview with Fox News Channel’s Sean Hannity, McCarthy credited the panel with having put a dent in Hillary Clinton’s poll numbers.

    “Everybody thought Hillary Clinton was unbeatable, right?” McCarthy said at the time. “But we put together a Benghazi special committee, a select committee. What are her numbers today? Her numbers are dropping. Why? Because she’s untrustable. But no one would have known any of that had happened had we not fought.”

    Kevin McCarthy is overdue for a fatal automobile accident.

  75. 75.

    Ruckus

    @A Ghost To Most:
    Agreed.
    WG seemed to be a nothing burger for, well not as long but really that was simpler as well. This is far more convoluted. And has a lot more major players. WG was like the appetizer for this mess.

  76. 76.

    Princess

    With all the (very wise) reluctance from the usual subjects to take on the CoS job, it makes it more interesting that William Barr is willing to be the AG. AG will, if anything, be even more exposed to the constitutional crisis that is Trump. Barr has already done it, so he doesn’t need the prestige and he probably makes way more money where he is. So what is he getting out of it?

  78. 78.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @geg6: Collins is also on the Intel committee, and Blunt who a couple of years ago I would have said was a non-lunatic right-winger, they might be willing to follow someone else. I guess it depends on what kind of gig Collins is aiming for after 2020 (lots of rumors that she’s not running again). Rubio I could also see jumping if the wind shifts enough. The rest are all full mooners or might as well be, I think, Lankford, Cotton, Risch, Cornyn

  79. 79.

    WaterGirl

    @Elizabelle: Sounds to me like Ivanka thinks Ivanka would be great for the job, the The Mooch’s description of someone who likes Trump… well, at this point, that’s not a long list but it does include The Mooch.

    Maybe Ivanka and Mooch can time-share the chief of staff position. At this point, Trump surely needs someone around him every minute to make him feel safe.

  81. 81.

    Ruckus

    @A Ghost To Most:
    Thing is how is any of this going to help them?
    If they get out in front 12-18 months from now they are going to be dragged for just playing politics, if they get out in front of it now they are going to look like traitors to their party. If they are in anyway involved nothing will really matter.

  85. 85.

    SFAW

    I’ll do it.

    My hope would be to gaslight the fuck out of him. Although I like Schlemazel’s idea of wearing a wire. Maybe I’d do both.

  86. 86.

    MCA1

    @eemom: Most of us aren’t really speculating, at least not seriously. Rather, I think the majority of the jackals here are delighting in the fact that, precisely because the walls are falling in all around the Orange, he’s having to go to such pathetic lengths to find someone to take what’s normally one of the most sought after jobs in America. I mean, it’s hysterical that it’s hard to tell if Kid Rock is actually a possibility or not. (And horrifying and sad, I know).

  87. 87.

    Ruckus

    @WaterGirl:
    individual 1 would be safe behind bars. I doubt he feels really safe any where today. His BS isn’t working any longer. And it’s all he knows. He’s got holing up in his bathroom and cheating at golf.

  88. 88.

    Schlemazel

    @TenguPhule:
    I agree with the good Congressman, we should follow the wonderful example the GOP set during the Benghazi and email investigations. We simply can’t allow ourselves to investigate the criminal activity that has already been exposed to look for more

  92. 92.

    BC in Illinois

    @Cheryl Rofer:

    And yes, that should be Stephen Miller, not Roger.

    I was wondering.
    Roger Miller (aside from being severely dead) was experienced enough to know that it’s really hard to roller skate in a buffalo herd.

    (But you can be happy, if you’ve a mind to . . .)

  93. 93.

    TenguPhule

    Trump administration: It’s ‘extraordinary’ judges won’t let military restrict transgender troops

    The Trump administration pressed a federal appeals court Monday to allow the U.S. military to restrict service by transgender men and women, calling it “truly extraordinary” that judges throughout the country have stood in the way of its policy.

    Judge Thomas B. Griffith noted the way in which Trump announced the initial ban last year on transgender troops in a series of tweets — and to the surprise of military leaders — “was extraordinary, too.”

    The exchange in Washington came during oral argument at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit and after four lower-court judges have temporarily blocked the restrictions in challenges from civil rights and gay rights organizations. Thousands of transgender troops have continued to serve and enlist.

    It is still Monday, yes?

  95. 95.

    Steeplejack

    @Elizabelle:

    It would seem Nikki Haley might be the only staffer/Cabinet member who emerged relatively unscathed [. . .].

    I wonder if something will come out later about her sudden resignation around the time of Khashoggi’s murder that will scathe her.

  100. 100.

    cain

    @pat:

    There’s only one possible choice here, and that is Sean Hannity. They talk together very day and Sean seems to already be the one who guides his “thoughts.” So why not?

    It takes him off the air, and saddles him with the job from Hell.

  104. 104.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    Manu Raju @ mkraju
    Hatch dismisses allegations of Trump crimes over hush money.
    Asked if he had any concerns, Hatch said: “The Democrats will do anything to hurt this president.” Told it was alleged by SDNY, Hatch told me: “Okay but I don’t care; all I can say is he’s doing a good job as President”

    Jack Pitney @ jpitney
    Orrin Hatch, 2/23/99: “[A]cts or conduct that demeans the integrity of the office, or harms an individual’s reputation in such a way as to engender a lack of public confidence in the office holder or the political system is an impeachable offense.”

  105. 105.

    MCA1

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: My suspicion is that during Watergate one could have done a similar whip count and concluded there weren’t nearly enough R’s out there who’d vote to convict on impeachment because they were all hard core and had been defending Nixon tooth and nail to that point.

    It’s only when it becomes clear that (a) their personal political future is dead if they’re forced into a “no” vote on the floor of the Senate because/when (b) there’s ample, public acceptance of the fact that the impeached is guilty as sin (which conveniently also gives them the crowbar they need to separate themselves from the decaying albatross, 27%ers be damned), that a bunch of these R Senators will peel off.

    The map in 2020 for the GOP in the Senate includes Kyl, Ernst, Gardner, Sullivan, Thillis in bluish trending (or in Gardner’s case, deepening blue) states, not to mention Collins’ seat. That’s half a dozen. I don’t care how true believer any of them are, they’ll see their own necks on the block. Cornyn saw what happened with Beto. Perdue sees where Georgia’s going. Roberts and Sasse might sense things are shifting on the Plains. Graham’s such a flake you never know which way he’ll turn on any given day. Even McConnell, venal as he is, cares about keeping his own power more than anything in this world, and will turn on Drumpf if that appears to be the key to not losing the Senate (for what it’s worth, if Dems can turn out anything close to the enthusiasm they did a month ago, nothing will save the Senate for him, but he’ll try his damnedest, anyway).

  108. 108.

    West of the Rockies

    @pat:

    Hey, what about The Nuge, or maybe Underdog, Scrappy Doo, Kanye, Evil Spock… The list is endless!

  110. 110.

    cain

    @A Ghost To Most:

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: Lots of R senators up for reelection in 2020. If a parade (or mob) forms, they will rush to get in front of it.

    Rush to get in front of the mob? Good luck with that. :-)

  111. 111.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @BC in Illinois: Roger Miller and Buffalo herd skating. I am forever fonder of Dang me:

    Roses are red and violets are purple
    Sugar is sweet and so is maple surple
    Well I’m the seventh out of seven sons
    My pappy’s a pistol, I’m a son-of-a-gun

    Well, dang me, dang me
    They oughta take a rope and hang me
    High from the highest tree
    Woman, would you weep for me?

  112. 112.

    Roger Moore

    The only people surprised by the difficulty in finding a new chief of staff are probably also surprised that no rats are interested in boarding a sinking ship.

  113. 113.

    Roger Moore

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist:

    Kinda surprised Mnuchin, and other private-sector types, have stuck around

    I’m not. They don’t have political reputations to ruin, and most of them aren’t likely to be implicated in the Mueller investigation. They have no reason to leave while there’s anything left to loot.

  115. 115.

    BC in Illinois

    @Cheryl Rofer:
    @SiubhanDuinne:
    @OzarkHillbilly:

    Balloon Juice: a blog where you come for a discussion of the staffing of the White House and leave, wondering whether “Dang Me,” “Buffalo Herd,” or “King of the Road” is the most enduring song of the Roger Miller era.

    A good case could be made for “Chug-a-Lug.”

  116. 116.

    joel hanes

    @OzarkHillbilly:

    As I kid, I learned to sing the Jimmy Dickens song
    “May The Bird Of Paradise Fly Up Your Nose”

    which nicely sums up my best holiday wishes for the members of the Trump administration and family

  118. 118.

    misterpuff

    @Cheryl Rofer:

    My soul for sale or rent, all you get, fifty cents.
    No cell, no pool, no pets, I ain’t got no Self respect
    Ah, but, two hours of pushin’ Trump
    Buys an eight by twelve four-bit Dump
    I’m a man of means Now real mean, Chief of the Staff.

  123. 123.

    Redshift

    @MCA1: That’s part of the problem, though. If McConnell (and others) think their majority is doomed either way, they have a choice between sticking with the base and losing (and maybe having a path back) or doing the right thing for the country, pissing off the base, and ending their careers (because no one but the base is actually going to vote for them as a reward for doing the right thing.)

    I don’t think most of these guys are actually owned by Russia. I do think they’re selfish assholes who’d be happy to have someone else nobly sacrifice themselves to save the country, but are never going to be the one to step forward.

  126. 126.

    A Ghost To Most

    @Ruckus: It’s what happened during Watergate. The Rs were with Noxin until the bitter end, then they weren’t. They will attempt to save themselves at some point. Fortunately, they may be too late.

  128. 128.

    eemom

    @cain:

    Rahm actually has a piece in the Atlantic today about CoS-gate, which I did not read.

    I’d forgotten he existed. Is he still mayor of Chicago?

  131. 131.

    SFAW

    @BC in Illinois:

    Roger Miller (aside from being severely dead)

    First of all, he’s not dead
    Second: not a whole lot of people were fans of Mission of Burma, and I doubt that a 72-year-old asshole from Queens knows of them
    Third: the Secret Service might look askance at having the author of “That’s When I Reach for My Revolver” as the CoS. [OK, so it was really Conley that wrote it. So?]
    Fourth: I don’t know if Miller’s tinnitus would help or hurt him. On the negative side, he might not hear all the crap that Shitgibbon burbles. On the plus side, he might not hear all the crap that Shitgibbon burbles.

  132. 132.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @A Ghost To Most: A while back, maybe summer of 2017, one of the staff lawyers from the Senate (I think) committee that was investigating Nixon wrote a piece demolishing the myth of St Howard Baker, I can’t remember the details but I wonder if the author is now one of the MSNBC stable of Watergate vets

  133. 133.

    SFAW

    @eemom:

    How come nobody has mentioned the acting AG thug? Seems like he’d be perfect for the job

    I saw his name floated in a tweet yesterday or Saturday. Don’t recall who tweeted it.

  134. 134.

    Roger Moore

    @Elizabelle:

    It would seem Nikki Haley might be the only staffer/Cabinet member who emerged relatively unscathed (actually, I would say she improved her situation).

    There are a few other Cabinet members who appear to be unscathed but haven’t left yet, like Rick Perry and Elaine Chao.

  135. 135.

    Platonailedit

    @debbie:

    I was the first to say it here. And not proud of it either.

    I am glad finally the thug totus’ turd touch has hit himself.

  136. 136.

    different-church-lady

    @SFAW: I know the Roger Miller you refer to, and he’d be more likely to slug Trump than work for him.

  137. 137.

    TenguPhule

    @Roger Moore:

    There are a few other Cabinet members who appear to be unscathed but haven’t left yet, like Rick Perry and Elaine Chao.

    Reducing Rick Perry any further would require cold fusion.

  140. 140.

    Roger Moore

    @Frankensteinbeck:

    McConnell will choke on his own bloody bile before he gives Democrats a victory like that.

    Not to mention that McConnell is likely to be implicated for his own role in Trump/Russia, so his best chance of remaining unincarcerated is to protect Trump. I suspect “personally implicated” is going to be the sticking point for the last of the dead-enders.

  141. 141.

    jl

    So, the Trump constitutional crisis might be him moping in his office, and no one is willing to go in there an deal with him?
    That would be interesting. I go look at what the Federalist Papers have to say about that.

  144. 144.

    kindness

    Not meaning to threadjack but speaking of Monday Night Football…..those uniforms Seattle are wearing are horrible! Didn’t their media people look at them before they ordered it up? Hurts my eyes to watch.

  145. 145.

    jl

    Also, I heard that there are feelers to and/or from Christie? Any status on that? Trump figures problematic due to maybe too much pilfering on the McDonalds food runs?

    Since no BJ commenter, nor Cole, has volunteered for Chief of Staff, maybe Sasha Barron Cohen play one in a reality show. In the Morad character.
    “Mr Trump, I have done (not done!) exactly what you asked!”

    But could he do it at the same time he plays Theresa May?
    “Parilament, I have worked hard on Brexit deal (not deal) for many months, you must pass it or UK will end. Now, show your buttocks to Europe, it will scare them and they will give you a better deal or maybe not deal.”

  146. 146.

    A Ghost To Most

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: When I was in basic (Oct 1974), our bad cop TI assaulted a recruit by shoving a tube of verboten shoe shine down his throat. The guy was the nephew of Sen. Sam Nunn. All hell broke loose, and the TI lost a stripe. He was a real MFer after that.

  147. 147.

    The Dangerman

    @A Ghost To Most:

    …if B3STX also has the goods on Pence.

    I’m thinking that is damn near a certainty.

    I hope Pence is the first to go; the theater of trying to replace him would be quite a show (in a train wreck kinda way).

    I said over the weekend, the Republicans should pull the plug on this shitshow and have a President Ryan as opposed to waiting and risking a President Pelosi.

  148. 148.

    cain

    @eemom:

    I’d forgotten he existed. Is he still mayor of Chicago?

    Yeah, I believe he is. I was just in Chicago like on Saturday. I thought I saw his little welcome sign to Chicago. I’m not really impressed that much with his work as Mayor.

  149. 149.

    Schlemazel

    @Roger Moore:
    HA! We need upvoting on comments!

    I would try to bleed it for the full mooch! It would be worth it just to get on Press the Meat and Deface the Nation some Sunday. I am pretty sure I could humiliate those people into retirement. Then there would be my tell all book and $50k a pop speaking gigs

  152. 152.

    Roger Moore

    @TenguPhule:

    Reducing Rick Perry any further would require cold fusion.

    I think that’s unfair. There are so many ways he could be worse. Perry is an idiot, but he does have some redeeming features. He appears to be a loyal citizen, he hasn’t been accused of outrageous corruption, and he isn’t actively undermining the work of his department. He also seems to be smart enough to know he’s in over his head and should let the career civil servants run the place. That may be a pretty low bar, but it still puts him at the head of the class in Trump’s cabinet.

  153. 153.

    A Ghost To Most

    @The Dangerman:

    I’m thinking that is damn near a certainty.

    That’s the thing. I agree he’s dirty, but Mueller hasn’t shown his cards on that pious dbag yet.

  155. 155.

    jl

    @Schlemazel: OK, Thanks. Make sure they do a fundraiser for you. Need legal defense and mental health coverage. Probably a couple of million or so is plenty. BJ blog can whip that up in a day or two.

    Edit: which reminds me, I read that Pence’s asst. the NIck Ayers guy is a multi-millionaire dark media money GOP operator. So, looks like he turned down the COS deal because, as a business proposition it did not pan out. The Trumpsters!!

  160. 160.

    Roger Moore

    @The Dangerman:

    I said over the weekend, the Republicans should pull the plug on this shitshow and have a President Ryan as opposed to waiting and risking a President Pelosi.

    They can’t just pull the plug. They could impeach- the Democrats would probably go along- but it ain’t gonna happen in the time they have before the next Congress is seated. They’re also terrified of pissing off their base by doing it, so they would never try even if they had the time.

  161. 161.

    The Dangerman

    @A Ghost To Most:

    …but Mueller hasn’t shown his cards on that pious dbag yet.

    Not unredacted, no. Pence and Manafort are tied together somehow so Pence might show up in the Manafort Memo.

  163. 163.

    The Dangerman

    @Roger Moore:

    They can’t just pull the plug.

    Sadly, no … still, if this goes the way it’s headed right now, pissing off the base might be the least of their concerns.

  165. 165.

    Skepticat

    @cain:

    It takes him off the air, and saddles him with the job from Hell.

    You say that as though it’s a bad thing.

  166. 166.

    Platonailedit

    44 former U.S. senators write to the Senate as the Mueller probe nears an end: "We urge current and future senators to be steadfast and zealous guardians of our democracy by ensuring that partisanship or self-interest not replace national interest." https://t.co/yLnDBX90vQ— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) December 11, 2018

    the Mueller probe nears an end? wtf? He just got started.

  170. 170.

    Schlemazel

    @jl:
    I am beyond the reach of mental health
    Since I go in flipped I don’t think my legal bills will be that high and should be easily covered by the coloring book I will publish about my experience leaving me to retire on the hardcover

  181. 181.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Elizabelle: that’s rough. Ten years since I lost my dog and I still miss him. My life’s not dog-friendly these days, so I haven’t adopted another one.

  186. 186.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Platonailedit: Brian Beutler often writes about the bad faith at the heart of all the pseudo- scandals the Rs manage to gin up, of the reporters who pretend to believe them. I agree with the first part, but I think political reporters, and most pundits (especially the ones who brag about their “centrism”) make themselves believe Republicans are sincere. Chuck Todd and Maggie Haberman think bothsidesism is the height of savvy sophistication.

  187. 187.

    Aleta

    The Boston Globe’s Annie Linskey reported this year that White House officials have been drafting tweets for Trump using “suspect grammar” and Random Capitalization, “believing that debates over presidential typos fortify the belief within his base that he has the common touch.”

    Likewise, Trump needs a chief of staff who will fortify this belief, not one who is proficient in common English usage. In this spirit, I offer the president the following cover letter, in which every sentence uses a spelling first deployed by the president or his enterprising staff.

    Dear Mr. Predisent :

    I am dieing here! The situation with you finding a chief of staff has become rediculous.

    Nick Ayers turning down the job was a big shoker. You already had reached a dael! Well, to bad for him. And I hear your wife Melanie didn’t like him either.

    You were right to fire John Kelly — a real lose cannon. What a discgrace to the Marine Core! In the end, the great general was just another chocker. And that little schitt Reince Priebus? One of the dummer people I’ve met. He just could not handel the job.

    Don’t worry that leightweights such as Steve Mnuchin and old politicions such as Mick Mulvaney don’t want the job either. They are a waist of your time and they are not profesional. They would wind up being disloyal, like Nikki Hailey. It’s the principal of the thing.

    This is a time for heeling in your White House, and heel we will! And so I hear by make you this unpresidented offer: I will serve as your chief of staff. If you tapp me for the roll, I will make you proud to have me at your side on Air Force Once.

    Quite simply, I smock the competition. I will give you my honest councel at all times. I would implement your polices without question and never challenge your judgement. Your insticts are my insticts.

    I don’t know wether you are aware of this, but I, too, am a tarrif man. Like you, I abhor an open boarder, and I think family seperation is compassionate and human. I admire the way you are ending the opiod crisis, and the way you have made friends with Chairman Un and President Xinping. And then their was Afghanistan.

    For me, this would be the honer of a lifetime. I have traveled the world in preparation for this moment, from Denmakr to San Bernadino, from Phoneix to West Virginina. All along the way, I have poured over your record and payed close attention to your accomplishments. As chief of staff, I would work day and knight to develope new ways to make you win.

    And I promise we will win — despite the constant negative press covfefe (V was poorly covered). I can promise you a big win for Republicans! We. And when we leave the White House together in 2025, Scott Free, you will say there wss never a more historical decision than naming me chief of staff.

    Please, sir, do not waite. Mr. President, your attakers are everywhere: Mr. Comey’let. The Dick Blumenthal. Barrack Obama. But with me running your White House staff, you simply cannot loose. For us, no challenge is to great. Together, we will promote the possibility of lasting peach.

    Dana Milbank, WP

  189. 189.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    a small thing, but I relish the thought of stomping around the residence looking for someone to yell at, and Melania says, “You really think you want piss me off, Mushroom Man? maybe think two times”

    Josh Marshall @ joshtpm
    lol “Multiple sources telling CNN Mr. Trump is angry and feels humiliated after he was turned down”

    Ali Velshi quoted a WH source saying he was “super pissed”

  193. 193.

    A Ghost To Most

    Pro-Trump actor Jon Voight was seen cavorting at the White House on Monday — and suggested to a reporter that he’s ready to be the president’s next chief of staff.

    The hilarity began when CNN’s Kaitlin Collins, who flagged his arrival at the White House earlier in the afternoon, asked the actor if he was going to be outgoing chief of staff John Kelly’s replacement.

    He reportedly told Collins that his “credentials are ready,” per her tweet.

    Kaitlan Collins
    ✔
    @kaitlancollins
    · 5h
    Jon Voight was just spotted entering the West Wing, per @abdallahcnn.

    Kaitlan Collins
    ✔
    @kaitlancollins
    Update: He’s now in the briefing room. I asked if he’s going to take the open chief of staff job. He said his credentials are ready.

    Trump gets Deliverance!

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