Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Hi god, it’s us. Thanks a heap, you’re having a great week and it’s only Thursday!

A democracy can’t function when people can’t distinguish facts from lies.

Their freedom requires your slavery.

Their boy Ron is an empty plastic cup that will never know pudding.

“And when the Committee says to “report your income,” that could mean anything!

The new republican ‘Pastor’ of the House is an odious authoritarian little creep.

Russia bombs Ukraine’s maternity hospitals; Republicans in the House can’t sort out supporting Ukraine.

I’d try pessimism, but it probably wouldn’t work.

When you’re in more danger from the IDF than from Russian shelling, that’s really bad.

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

There is one struggling party in US right now, and it’s not the Democrats.

I am pretty sure Katy Tur wasn’t always such a bootlicking sycophant.

“In the future, this lab will be a museum. don’t touch it.”

Maybe you would prefer that we take Joelle’s side in ALL CAPS?

And now I have baud making fun of me. this day can’t get worse.

Since when do we limit our critiques to things we could do better ourselves?

I like you, you’re my kind of trouble.

Impressively dumb. Congratulations.

Cole, when it comes to calico cats, restraint is overrated.

Speaker Mike Johnson is a vile traitor to the House and the Constitution.

Russian mouthpiece, go fuck yourself.

Baby steps, because the Republican Party is full of angry babies.

Meanwhile over at truth Social, the former president is busy confessing to crimes.

Let the trolls come, and then ignore them. that’s the worst thing you can do to a troll.

You are here: Home / Foreign Affairs / Cold Grey Pre-Dawn Open Thread: Nobody Loves A Charmless Grifter

Cold Grey Pre-Dawn Open Thread: Nobody Loves A Charmless Grifter

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The NYTimes withdrew the tweet, but Maggie Haberman’s two-faced encomium remains — “For Trump, London Visit Is a (Royal) Family Affair”:

… Whether they had official roles in the visit or not, the extended Trump family seemed to materialize in London overnight — all save the president’s youngest son, Barron, who stayed home. But Monday’s lavish audience with the British royals was the culmination of more than a month of planning by White House officials who have grown accustomed to accommodating President Trump’s children, whether that includes redrawing plans for a state visit or evicting guests from their seats at the State of the Union address.

As Mr. Trump presides over a White House with unprecedented turnover, he has relied on his children the same way he has for decades — asking them for advice or seeing them as surrogates in the fight against his real and perceived enemies.

On this visit, another family opportunity surfaced: The Kennedys have long occupied the American political culture as the unofficial royal family, but this week, the Trumps appeared to present themselves as the 2019 version…

Our British ‘cousins’ have an expansive acquaintance with that class of professional grifters which organize themselves as an Aristocracy, so they have rather higher standards for such gentries’ entertainment value than the gawping rubes of Trump’s loyal (very) Base. Per the Daily Beast, “William, Harry and Kate Deny Trump What He Wanted Most: a Photo Op”:

Prince Harry and his brother Prince William have successfully denied Donald Trump the opportunity of appearing in a photo with either of them or their glamorous and popular wives during his state visit to the U.K., which would have been invaluable PR for his 2020 re-election campaign, after the president used the word “nasty” while discussing Harry’s wife, Meghan Markle…

It was also noticeable that when Trump visited Westminster Abbey on Monday to lay a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Warrior, he was not accompanied by William, as might have been expected, but by Prince Andrew, the queen’s second son.

Andrew’s name-recognition in the wider U.S. is minimal, meaning the trip will have little PR value for the 2020 campaign…

[Perhaps the two men had met before: “Randy Andy” was notoriously another Friend of Jeffrey Epstein.]

And yet, President Trump has made it clear to those close to him that he actually does care about his reputation among the British royals. According to several former and current White House officials, Trump will grow visibly more animated or excited when the topic of meeting prominent members of royal families comes up, including the British royals. He makes a point of repeatedly asking aides about what he and others should wear during state visits and high-profile events with foreign countries’ royalty, the sources said, and enthusiastically asks advisers about what kind of pomp and pageantry he should expect…

…[A]Whitehall official told The Times that the queen’s meeting last year with President Trump was “kept to the bare minimum. The Queen will do her duty, but among the wider family, they were not as enthusiastic as they were when [President Barack] Obama came over.”

Reader Interactions

26Comments

  1. 1.

    Patricia Kayden

    Maggie needs to share her weed with everyone so we can understand how she could compare Trump and his criminal kids with royalty or the Kennedy’s. Idiot.

  3. 3.

    OzarkHillbilly

    Doctors’ organization: calling abortion bans ‘fetal heartbeat bills’ is misleading

    Obstetrician and gynecologist Dr Sarah Horvath said that accurately describing the bans is important, to avoid confusion among patients and providers alike.

    “I don’t think the coverage tends to line up with medical reality,” said Horvath. “No one seems to know what is allowed – and what isn’t – even when it’s medically appropriate,” she said.

    Several state bans allow for criminal penalties for doctors performing abortions, including a 99-year penalty in Alabama. Physicians said the bans, if they ever went into effect, will have life-threatening consequences for women.

    “There’s this noble ideal you all have,” she said about reporters, but added, “But one is a viewpoint, and one is science and medicine.”

  4. 4.

    Joey Maloney

    Re that RSchooley tweet, my guess is that at least one Trump ends his or her days in a gilded cage in Saudi, hiding from extradition.

  5. 5.

    SRW1

    The photo of the Trump balloon in the Haberman tweet is by far not as hilarious as the short clip right below it of the squinting Trump on the side of a bus.

  7. 7.

    Brachiator

    As I pointed out to @donlemon on CNN earlier tonight, not many people in the UK like @realdonaldtrump and many of those who say they do like him, for example @borisjohnson, who used to attack him in the past, are clearly now just pretending to like him:

    Note that Boris Johnson, one of the Conservatives seeking to take over from Theresa May, decided not to meet with Trump. Trump had to settle for a quick chat with that abominable toad, Nigel Farage.

    On this visit, another family opportunity surfaced: The Kennedys have long occupied the American political culture as the unofficial royal family, but this week, the Trumps appeared to present themselves as the 2019 version

    I usually cut the NY Times more slack than many other folks here, but this boot licking from Maggie Haberman doesn’t even pretend to be journalism.

    I can imagine an editor telling her, “Social media is all in love with Obama’s youngest daughter and her prom date. You’ve got to sell Ivanka as America’s princess and the rest of the family as our new royalty.”

    But these fools don’t understand that kissing up to Trump gains them nothing. He will still call them fake news and save the good stuff for Fox News.

    ETA. Trump made rude comments about Meghan Markle in an interview with the Sun, which is owned by Rupert Murdoch. No surprise there. But American media still believe that Trump will throw them a bone.

  8. 8.

    Brachiator

    @OzarkHillbilly:

    “There’s this noble ideal you all have,” she said about reporters, but added, “But one is a viewpoint, and one is science and medicine.”

    It’s really quite sad that anyone believes that right wing nut jobs care about science.

  9. 9.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @Brachiator: About the only people who think RWNJs care about science are RWNJs who care about their Biblically approved version of science.

  10. 10.

    OzarkHillbilly

    Trump’s trade wars sent global investment tumbling – World Bank

    Donald Trump’s trade wars with China, Mexico and Europe have sent global investment tumbling, according to a World Bank report that forecasts worldwide growth this year will slip back to levels not seen since 2016.

    The Washington-based lender to developing world countries said in its half-yearly global health check that spiralling political uncertainty was to blame for a slowdown in trade and a collapse in investment spending that will push down GDP growth to 2.6% this year “before inching up to 2.7% in 2020”.

    The decision by the Trump administration to impose higher tariffs on Chinese imports and prolonged Brexit uncertainty were among a string of events to increase the World Bank’s policy uncertainty index to a record high.

  11. 11.

    plato

    bbc

    Trump baby posters put up on bus shelters

    A number of signs on bus shelters in Portsmouth have been broken into and posters of the Donald Trump baby blimp put up.

    A spokesman for Clear Channel UK, which runs the signs, says one of its team is “manically” driving around the city in a van trying to take them down.

    Kennedy’s, my foot.

  16. 16.

    Cermet

    As the orange fart cloud embarrasses the US further (no surprise there considering that thee rural hicks, of course, just think that makes him even better) and destroy’s Obama’s great economy, our allies (I hope) realize this ever explaining stinking fart cloud is just a temporary puss filled pimple on the amerikan ass that will be popped come 2020.

    Well a 1200-1500 lbs (!) branch broke off the 80 foot tall Popular tree and it covers a good part of my front yard and part of my driveway (just missed my parked car – maybe there is karma(?)) So I need to go to work late and instead, spend the morning using the chainsaw to reduce that thing into a neat pile of stacked wood. The tree is healthy as hell but Poplar tree’s are just a accident waiting to happen – now I see why a friend cut his monster tree’s down that were around his house.

    Chainsaws unnerve me but I’ve used them a good bit and respect their aggressive nature. Still, at least I’ll have some nice wood for the fireplace late this fall. Perfect size, too.

  22. 22.

    J R in WV

    @Cermet:

    I met with a tree service company guy yesterday to see about getting a truly large beech tree removed from behind the house. We learned a couple of weeks ago that we have a carpenter ant infestation in the house from an Orkin guy. Who told us that the huge hollow beech tree is “The Trump Tower of Carpenter Ants” right beside the house. He said there are hundreds of thousands of them right nest door, and looking to more up in the world into the house next door.

    We went to lengths to save the tree back in 1990-91 when we started serious plans to build the house, and it’s been great shade out back. Looking nearly to $8K to cut and remove the beast. You see, there’s no vehicular access back there. I was just glad they were willing to tackle a hollow beech tree like that. My friends who do some tree work didn’t even want to just drop it away from the house, which would damage other trees who dis no hard.

    Also glad that won’t break the bank. but still, ouch, unexpected hit. Will have the wood mostly removed, the trunk dragged off into the woods a few hundred feet. And sprayed for ants.

  23. 23.

    zzyzx

    Who is it that thinks that a photo with a prince would be that important for 2020? “Well I hate his policies but he met Prince William, so count me in!”

  24. 24.

    david finberg

    @Cermet: Hard to get spur of the moment, but for many tasks a JawSaw works nicely instead of a true chainsaw, without the whole anxiety inducing part. Essentially a mini chainsaw, but enclosed so you don’t run the risk of it kicking away.

  26. 26.

    lethargytartare

    @Brachiator:

    It’s really quite sad that anyone believes that right wing nut jobs care about science.

    she wasn’t talking about RWNJs, she was talking about reporters promulgating RWNJ propanganda by “objectively” “reporting” RWNJ propaganda without comment.

Comments are closed.