This is always the theme, from executive orders in 2017 to Jan. 6: that staff is somehow failing Trump or to blame. Some staff tried stopping him from meeting with West. He wanted to do it.
— Maggie Haberman (@maggieNYT) November 29, 2022
I think we should just not talk about this damaging indictment of the de facto leader of my favored political party. No I don't have any ulterior motives why do you ask?? https://t.co/2ph647yKQN
— Jean-Michel Connard (@torriangray) November 28, 2022
I too thought, at first, that the publicity over Trump’s dinner with Ye / Fuentes was a too-clever-by-half Republican attempt to scapegoat Trump as an anomaly, a novelty figure whose removal would return the GOP to its former proud status as the Grand Old Party. But it seems like the Permanent Republican Party just isn’t that organized any more! It’s reduced itself to a bunch of random office drones and coatholders, individually scrambling to save what they can from the wreakage, while the petty grifters siphon off the shark’s vital bodily fluids.
Marc Caputo is second only to Maggie Haberman in the ‘Serious-Media Trump Court Sycophant’ field… and, like Avis, he tries harder:
Just two days before Thanksgiving, Donald Trump was planning to have a private, uneventful dinner with an old friend: Ye, the rapper formerly known as Kanye West.
But Trump may have been walking into a trap in Mar-a-Lago’s gilded halls — one that leveraged his own penchant for spectacle and showmanship against him. Ye arrived with three guests, including white nationalist and antisemite Nick Fuentes…
The headline-grabbing attention on his guests — and therefore the subsequent fallout — were all but ensured by Trump before the dinner when he made a grand entrance at about 8 p.m. on Nov. 22 to meet his guests.
“We saw everybody in the dining room get up and start applauding, and then the president entered,” Fuentes told NBC News. “He greeted us, and he invited Ye into dinner and Ye said that he wanted to bring us with him to the table. So we walked in and Ye took some pictures with some of the guests in the dining room and then we sat down at the table.”
Trump made sure they sat at his specially reserved table on the patio, for all to see, according to Fuentes.
But the dinner wasn’t the happy photo-op the president had planned.
Ye criticized Trump for not doing enough to help pay the legal bills of those arrested in the Jan. 6 Capitol riots; and he also told Trump he might run for president against him and said Trump should instead be his running mate — all of which angered the former president, who attacked Ye’s ex-wife, Kim Kardashian, according to two dinner participants and Ye, who blasted out a “Mar-a-Lago debrief” video to his 32.2 million Twitter followers the next day…
As advisers to Trump have attempted to quell the backlash, some have insisted that the former president was essentially tricked by the rapper and his guests — a suspicion backed up by Milo Yiannopoulos, the anti-Trump, far-right provocateur who is now acting as a political adviser to Ye.
Yiannopoulos, a former Breitbart editor who was banned from Twitter in 2016 for inciting a racist campaign against the comedian Leslie Jones, told NBC News that he was “the architect” of the plan to have Fuentes travel with Ye in the hopes of slipping him into the dinner with Trump. The intent, according to Yiannopoulos, was for Fuentes to give Trump an unvarnished view of how a portion of his base views his candidacy…
Some in Trump’s orbit had cautioned him not to have dinner with Ye, under fire for antisemitism, in the first place, according to two sources who had been briefed on an internal damage assessment the campaign performed after the controversy erupted.
But Trump is known for refusing to heed cautious counsel, guardrails and gatekeepers. So he went ahead with the dinner alone, telling confidants that he thought Ye needed his counsel. One confidant told NBC that Trump acknowledged he wanted the rapper to be seen because “it would be fun for the members” of Mar-a-Lago.
Trump issued three successive statements in as many days on his Truth Social media platform admitting Fuentes was there while disavowing knowledge of his identity prior to and during the dinner…
U.S. Secret Service distanced itself from the incident and said in a statement Monday that, as “a private club,” Mar-a-Lago’s security is in charge of “who may have been allowed access to their facilities.”…
Fuentes is a repulsive little fourth-tier grifter whose entire act is babbling Fox News talking points at high speed. That he was permitted within radius of the former White House Occupant is a sign of just how far TFG has fallen — not least in the estimation of his Secret Service guards.
Fuentes at the left of the photo, Yiannopolis on the right:
Ye could be hanging out with almost anyone on earth and he’s stuck himself into a bobsled with two goofs whose greatest ambition is to have their faces melted by the Ark of the Covenant.
— L O L G O P (@LOLGOP) November 29, 2022
— .nosaJ (@Big_Chillin_Tho) November 29, 2022
War for Ukraine Day 280: No Boom Today!
West of the Rockies
I doubt Kanye can still hang out with anyone he chooses; he’s damaged and (socially) dangerous goods. And why anyone would hang with Fuentes or Milo is a mystery.
Chetan Murthy
I know it doesn’t matter, b/c “you made your bed, now lie in it” but I still remember when Kanye dropped truth-bombs about Dubya, after Katrina. I won’t ask “how did he get from there to here?” b/c the answer is somewhat evident: “rich man” + “off his meds” + “rich man” + “rich man”.
Cheez Whiz
The GOP is in an odd state. The Party bureaucracy and infrastructure want Trump gone because he has no coattails and is an overall liability, but Trump owns the base, and without the base the Republican Party is as dead as the Whigs. Plus, some of them are starting to realize that if Trump wins in 2024, they will have no seat at the table. Trump learned that he has no need for the adults in the room, so he’ll go full Idiocracy in his administration.
cain
@Cheez Whiz: that’s why they kiss his ring but also that they would be replaced by someone else and they so want to be part of the grift machine
Ruckus
@cain:
Well, they really have nothing of any substance whatsoever, they want the power to stop any improvement at all in life or the country that they aren’t responsible for because it will cost them in so many ways. They will lose or at leas lesson the grift of the party and country if they can’t keep the show going and get rid of the solo grifter, SFB, who thinks he’s the world’s greatest human being, although there is far more than ample evidence that he isn’t within a million miles of being the world’s greatest human being. Hell, he’s not even close to being the world’s greatest grifter. But the rethuglicans chose him to be their leader, and he isn’t giving that up without a fight or a casket. And of course SFB is delusional about, well everything, but especially about his quality of being human, about his level of grift, his abilities at, well anything whatsoever. And it’s going to continue in this direction as long as he is living and not within the confines of a small wooden box or a jail cell, whichever comes first.
oatler
So now TFG boosts security at Mar a Lago….clowns to the left of him, jokers to the right…
DMcK
I’m at a loss as to the significance of that last tweet, particularly the zoom-in on Ye. Is the logo on his hat yet another coded right-wing dog whistle? Or am I just reading too much into it?
opiejeanne
I’m confused by the notion that Milo is anti-Trump, because I sure missed it. When did that happen?
The power came back on at 11am, so we were without power for 11 hours and the house got really cold. The cats told us how disappointed they were with us, that we wouldn’t stay in bed until the heater came on.
opiejeanne
@DMcK: I thought maybe the F A stood for Fuck Around, implying the Finding Out would follow, but maybe that’s giving too much credit to Ye.
Bruce K in ATH-GR
I was saying years ago that the GOP would turn on TFG the moment they realized that he was a net liability for them. I realize now I was wrong, because while it seems they now realize he’s a net liability, they’re at a point where keeping him, while it’s costly, is still less costly than turning on him. They still need the deplorables, now more than ever because they’re apparently losing the support of the younger generation and the older generation of their supporters is dying out.
That’s probably why they’re pushing DeSantis – hoping to, I don’t know, keep the deplorable base while exchanging their standard-bearer for someone younger and less vulnerable to indictment (and maybe a bit more pliable, from the POV of the oligarchs and plutocrats). But I can’t recall a time when TFG has ever accepted a reduction in his own status, so I don’t see him stepping aside while he can still draw breath and make language-like noise with it.
Chetan Murthy
@DMcK: I just took it as “boy Kanye’s having a great time, ain’t he? Just livin’ the life!” Also, did you notice that Milo is readin’ Teh Bibbul !?!?! HAHAHAHA. That fucker, he really thinks he’ll convince Talibangelicals he’s turned over a new leaf!
NotMax
Like unto having the entirety of the DSM brought to life and seated at one table.
JoyceH
What kind of person wants to be a member at Mar a Lago? You’re eating your dinner and when this bloated ogre enters, everyone has to stand up and applaud, like he’s doing something amazing by showing up to dinner.
Princess
Worth remembering that before Yiannopolis was working for Ye (and Fuentes), he was working for MTG, who has met and praised Fuentes in public. MTG “denounced” Trump’s meeting with Ye and Fuentes (there are not enough quotation marks and eye-rolling emojis in the world to express how hypocritical this was). Laura Loomer (who I always confuse with Lara Logan) is accusing MTG of arranging this meeting in order to damage Trump.
None of us need to care about the truth behind this, or ins and outs of these disgusting people as they crawl over each other for money and power, but we can rejoice to witness their disarray, which weakens them and strengthens us.
Tony Jay
@JoyceH:
The kind of person who’s seen every Disney movie with a Royal Court full of well-fed, plump courtiers whose only job is to dance, flatter and – occasionally – jeer when something bad happens to someone who’s not them – and thought “That looks easy, I’ll do that!“
Princess
@opiejeanne: Laura Loomer posted Milo’s telegram chats for public viewing because she’s so angry with him. In them you can see that he was praising Trump to the skies until about mid November, and then did an abrupt right turn and started saying Trump was a has-been and Ye was the future. I guess the cheque cleared.
Yutsano
Is Milo still pretending to be an ex-gay? Asking for a friend…
Chetan Murthy
@Yutsano: If I’m not mistaken, he’s ostentatiously pretending to read Teh Bibbbul in that pic there, so …. signs point to “yes”.
NotMax
OT.
Le sigh. Having problems with one particular streaming channel on the trusty o’l Roku. Worked fine on Monday, then kept spitting up an error message on Tuesday and again today. After 2 days now of back and forth e-mails, maybe – maybe – making progress (know for damn sure it is NOTHING on my end). Latest missive from the company, the first one to acknowledge there is indeed something screwy with the service:
“Our engineers are aware of this issue and are working to fix the problem as soon as possible. We appreciate your patience while they look into this and sincerely apologize for the inconvenience.”
A step up from the boilerplate have you tried turning it off and back on again responses I initially received before being turned over to dealing with a specific person and not some nebulous ‘support department.’
David 🦃The Establishment🥧 Koch
West trolling Dump by asking him to be his running and Dump’s explosion at the notion of taking back seat to a black person is Chef’s kiss 🤌
David 🦃The Establishment🥧 Koch
@NotMax: have you tried kicking it? kicking it usually works. It’s in the manual.
*
*
*
Just kidding.but when I have trouble I restart and that usual solves any issue. Restart is usually under system update (image)
NotMax
@David 🦃The Establishment🥧 Koch
Trust me, first things attempted, even before contacting the company, were a system (Roku) reboot, an uninstall/reinstall of the affected channel and also a network (router) reboot. Also confirmed ability to log in to my account at the service online and encounter no glitches when connected via browser.
Yutsano
@Chetan Murthy: Heh. I hope it’s driving him mad having an “attractive” Black man right there.
West of the Rockies
@Princess:
That we are in actually competitive elections with such heinous and ignorant people is stupefying.
The shallowness and idiocy (and racist, homophobic, misogynistic bigotry) of 75,000,000 Americans is stunning.
West of the Rockies
Who comprises West’s fan base? He’s 45. Is he especially relevant to teens and 20-something’s? Do people of color like this Trump-loving loon? I doubt a ton of people over 55 are attending his venues.
The Thin Black Duke
@West of the Rockies: House Negroes are always given a spotlight because the concept of black excellence terrifies White American. Kanye is the embodiment of whatever stereotypes white bigots think about black people.
Frank Wilhoit
@Chetan Murthy: Doesn’t count, he’s holding it right side up.
brantl
@oatler: … stuck in the middle, with this douche.
MisterDancer
I’m gonna differ a bit from my colleague TBD, because there’s a real and serious answer, here.
West really is (I’m not ready to say “was”, quite yet) a gifted artist. I suppose it’s the norm to say, now, that one never liked him, but in my personal case it’s more because I struggled thru much of the commercialized “gansta rap” era, and never really recovered my love for hip-hop.
But if you know hip-hop — and hip-hop is still a powerful and influential genre of music, and not just in the US — then you know Kayne and his contributions. First, in terms of his work as a producer, where he truly broke new ground in how sonic landscapes are made. And then, he also proved to be astonishing in his lyrical and rap stylings as well, rapping with power and skill about issues that were, up until that point, poorly-served in the rap game.
So no, he’s not just some person to a LOT of people. He’s someone who made rap better, and there’s real and potent tragedy in losing that talent, that voice, over the last decade or so. And some people still cling to that person, whom I fear we’ve lost, forever.
Geo Wilcox
@The Thin Black Duke: So is Herschel Walker.
trnc
I don’t mean to be rude because I do appreciate the posts, but that was kind of funny to see in this one. I know Mags’ history as a DT suckup, but the 2 tweets included from her were as anti-suckup as I’ve ever seen. That doesn’t mean she won’t revert to access journalism inside of a minute, but these were the “stopped clock” tweets.
The Thin Black Duke
@MisterDancer: I understand where you’re coming from, and I share your grief and disappointment in what Kayne West has devolved into.
Problem is, the brilliant urban visionary that West used to be doesn’t exist anymore. Unfortunately, Kayne West is an obedient sock puppet for white supremacists, and that’s a problem that won’t go away.
I don’t think it’s an accident that White America gives the biggest microphone to house negroes that represent the worst stereotypes about the African-American community.
Diamond and Silk. Kyrie Irving. Killer Mike. Herschel Walker. Clarence “Uncle Tom” Thomas. These tapdancing, bootlicking fools will always find a home on op-eds, Tik Tok and Fox News, because their function is to trivialize the genuine concerns of how black people are brutalized in White America.
Ordinarily, I would feel sympathy for Kayne West; the brother obviously is having a meltdown in front of the world. However, once he claimed that George Floyd died from a fentanyl overdose, I didn’t give a damn how sick in the head he is.
Kayne West isn’t just a pathetic weirdo anymore. He’s dangerous.
MisterDancer
@The Thin Black Duke: I was more trying to explain historically why Kayne mattered, not defend his shit. And answer to the question “who is Kayne’s fans” that was asked, not a defence of all the shit he’s stirred over the years.
There’s a reason I said he’s been a disappointment for a decade+, after all — he’s been Trouble for a damned long time.
That wasn’t sympathy for him, but for what he was. And like I said, that coming from someone who never really connected with his work on a personal level, but I get his importance to the genre.
Outside of that — I dealt with this kind of situation with my own Mom, who was targeted to switch to the GOP so they could use her as a mouth piece for School Choice. I’ve seen The Game up close, as it were, and I have no time for it, either. I got a cousin who I have to smack down every few months in a similar way. Trust me, I know first hand how utterly infuriating thee people be, and this wasn’t a defense of those toxic fools.
The Thin Black Duke
@MisterDancer: Fair enough, and I apologize for misunderstanding you.
Falling Diphthong
Reminder that Trump isn’t just the de facto head of the GOP–if you pull up their party platform (adopted in 2020 and not replaced) it literally is devoid of all principles and policies save blind devotion to Trump. They have no idea what he’s going to do, but pledge their complete support.
President is a serious job with real power, and no candidate should be allowed for a minute to express surprise at how a raging anti-Semite wound up at an intimate dinner. (The other raging anti-Semite brought him–I hate to agree with Ben Shapiro, but that was an easy one to predict.)
MisterDancer
@The Thin Black Duke: It’s pre-coffee, so I should expect to spout confusion. :)
Tony G
The half-assed excuses by some “journalists” are so transparently idiotic. I am a simple country boy, not a former president with Secret Service protection, but people don’t show up at my house on a holiday unless they’ve been invited. Period. The premise behind these stupid “analyses” is that the former president’s home is some kind of late-sixties crash pad where people just randomly show up. The white supremacist (and the anti-semitic rapper) were there because Trump wanted them to be there — and he wanted them to be there because he is a white supremacist
Argiope
@MisterDancer:
@The Thin Black Duke:
At the risk of being completely cringe, as da yoot say, I appreciate both of your perspectives on this blog. In dialogue, it’s especially cool. Thanks for starting my day with some education into the phenomenon formally known as Kanye and then contextualizing him. I feel better informed— and also sorry things are turning out this way for him, as well as for the rest of us. I realize he’s grown and had a choice about taking his meds. Yet extreme wealth plus being surrounded by grifting sycophants and manipulators telling you the voices in your head are correct about how great you are — while siphoning off all you’ve built and simultaneously reinforcing your antisemitism and setting you up to be the face of that particular group of assholes— is a recipe for disaster. Tragedy is when it all seems kind of inevitable in retrospect.
ETA reading you both further, I understand that he’s probably always been problematic. But losers and users like Milo can’t have helped, is what I guess I mean.
Ohio Mom
@MisterDancer: I’m an white old lady who pays next to no attention to pop culture, until your comment I thought Kayne/Ye was like a Kardashian (wasn’t he married to one of them?), famous merely for being famous. I had no idea he’d ever accomplished anything.
Really, not a day goes by that I don’t learn something from this blog.
Ohio Mom
@Argiope: Every time Kayne/Ye draws attention to himself, an image pops up in my mind of NAMI support groups, each sitting in a circle and all shaking their heads in unison.
They’ve been there, done that, doing that, with family members and friends who are careening put of control because they won’t take their meds.
Argiope
@Ohio Mom: Yeah. I’m not sure there’s enough meditation and serenity prayer available to anyone to make that situation any easier. Sometimes I’m amazed that so many folks can just get through a day with that kind of stress to deal with.
Ken
Sounds like the premise for a running SNL gag, or even its own show.
EmbraceYourInnerCrone
Trump was President for fuck’s sake, he’s a grown adult, if he doesn’t know the back ground of who he is having meetings with that’s on him. I am so beyond tired of grown men, with every advantage in life, whining that “someone” should have saved them from themselves. Too bad, so sad I have been held responsible for all my actions since before I was 18. And lack of complete information was never considered an adequate excuse for anything. I had to live with the consequences of my decisions. I wish Trump had to.
Soprano2
I think this part is hilarious, has he paid any attention at all to how TFG operates? TFG never pays for anything he doesn’t have to, instead he cons others into paying for him.
That said, here’s one thing I don’t understand – Republicans portray themselves as Israel’s best bud ever, yet they won’t criticize their party leader for meeting with not just one but multiple raging anti-Semites. How does that work exactly? “We’re the best friend the Jews have” and “Our party leader meets with and listens to known anti-Semites” don’t really go together, do they?
252man
@Bruce K in ATH-GR: They’re at the point where they need to keep the skunk in the tent pissing out.
BenCisco 🇺🇸🎖️🖥️♦️
@The Thin Black Duke:
Just wanted to see this again.
Achrachno
@DMcK: He’s not ANTIFA, just FA
My take anyway. It’s all the rage in some circles these days.
J R in WV
@BenCisco 🇺🇸🎖️🖥️♦️:
Yes, indeed, and thanks for the quick rerun! Clarence is especially odd, isn’t he? Married to a white supremacist, what must that be like? Is he also one of those? Majik 8-ball says “Maybe…” Too weird.
Bill Arnold
@NotMax:
Ah, a new table type at functions like weddings, the “DSM Table”.
Paul in KY
@Soprano2: Repubs are the ‘Useful Idiots’ to Israel’s Likud Party.
MaryRC
@Ohio Mom: He has enormous cultural clout, not just through his influential musical career but his clothing lines as well. He has lost lucrative contracts with Adidas and Nike but he is still a very rich man, probably richer than Trump. All this made his association with the GOP dangerous and probably still does.