Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

New McCarthy, same old McCarthyism.

So it was an October Surprise A Day, like an Advent calendar but for crime.

Nothing says ‘pro-life’ like letting children go hungry.

We cannot abandon the truth and remain a free nation.

Come on, man.

Jack be nimble, jack be quick, hurry up and indict this prick.

Authoritarian republicans are opposed to freedom for the rest of us.

GOP baffled that ‘we don’t care if you die’ is not a winning slogan.

When someone says they “love freedom”, rest assured they don’t mean yours.

Fight them, without becoming them!

I’d like to think you all would remain faithful to me if i ever tried to have some of you killed.

They punch you in the face and then start crying because their fist hurts.

Whatever happens next week, the fight doesn’t end.

Museums are not America’s attic for its racist shit.

When they say they are pro-life, they do not mean yours.

The unpunished coup was a training exercise.

They want us to be overwhelmed and exhausted. Focus. Resist. Oppose.

Giving in to doom is how authoritarians win.

Washington Post Catch and Kill, not noticeably better than the Enquirer’s.

“I was told there would be no fact checking.”

It’s easy to sit in safety and prescribe what other people should be doing.

One of our two political parties is a cult whose leader admires Vladimir Putin.

Damn right I heard that as a threat.

Republicans: slavery is when you own me. freedom is when I own you.

You are here: Home / Elections / Election 2020 / Chese & Krakens

Chese & Krakens

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Fulton County Judge McAfee is creating a hellish charcuterie board, and the cheese doesn’t want to be paired with the crispy Kraken, but the judge says that’s too damn bad. (Daily Beast)

Attorney Kenneth Chesebro, the alleged architect of the so-called fake elector scheme launched in a frenzied attempt to keep former President Donald Trump in office, just can’t get away from Sidney Powell.

After ruling last week that the two will be tried together, Fulton County Supreme Court Judge Scott McAfee on Thursday further ruled that their trial will be conducted apart from Trump and 16 other co-defendants in the sprawling racketeering prosecution brought by District Attorney Fani Willis over attempts to subvert the state’s 2020 presidential election returns…

“Mr. Chesebro has never physically met Sidney Powell; Mr. Chesebro has never sent an email to Ms. Powell; Mr. Chesebro has never received an email from Ms. Powell; Mr. Chesebro has never called Ms. Powell; Mr. Chesebro has never received a phone call from Ms. Powell; Mr. Chesebro has never texted Ms. Powell; Mr. Chesebro has never received a text message from Ms. Powell; and Mr. Chesebro has never communicated with Ms. Powell through any social media or telecommunications application,” Chesebro’s motion stated. “In sum, there has never been any direct contact or communication between Mr. Chesebro and Ms. Powell. Similarly, there is no correlation or overlap between the overt acts or the substantive charges associated with Mr. Chesebro and Ms. Powell.

The defense lawyers consulted for the article (i.e., not affiliated with either coup plotter) imply the Cheese Bro is desperate to separate himself from the Kraken Lady because he expects a lot more damning evidence to emerge in her case and fears it will taint him in the eyes of the jury. Unfortunately for Cheese Bro, the judge interpreted his severance motion (and Kraken Lady’s much less vociferous one) as evidence that the risk of evidence overlap is minimal.

It’s starting to look like that speedy trial motion will not redound to Chesebro’s benefit. Womp-womp-womp-woooooomp!

Open thread.

Reader Interactions

153Comments

  3. 3.

    piratedan

    as long as we’re playing preferences and what people would like, I’m sure the judge would just as soon that they all pled guilty and we could then move on to the next step :-)

  5. 5.

    Trivia Man

    It is kind of funny to see the charts of who wants to join/ sever with whom based on individual actions. And there is some obvious advantage to talking about all the elector stuff together and all the machine stuff together.

    but it’s a conspiracy- even if one never communicated with another specific defendant it is all in furtherance of THE CONSPIRACY

  6. 6.

    Trivia Man

    I’m curious to hear other thoughts on the bit about starting early unless you formally file a waiver of speedy trial. Seems that waiver cuts off some possible future arguments.

  8. 8.

    trollhattan

    @Suzanne: ​
    Starstruck. It’s like voluntarily working for Jabba the Hutt, but there’s no explaining the draw of people who are famous for being famous.

    I’ll bet Jabba stiffed his creditors, too. The Hutt Tax was ten space cents on the space dollar. And if he DID pay you, chances are he’d take it back after eating you.

  17. 17.

    ...now I try to be amused

    While the Cheese won’t stand alone, at least he broke away from 17 of the Atlanta 19. Not a bad result in bicycle racing.

  18. 18.

    wjca

    @Suzanne: Seriously. I will never understand why anyone willingly goes to work for him. Everyone gets stiffed!

    Well, probably not Ivanka.  (And, by association, Jared.)

    But otherwise, pretty much.  Which is why it’s so hard for him to get competent and intelligent people to work for him.  For example, any decent legal firm will demand full payment in advance.  Which may explain part of the frantic fundraising.  Especially if he as aware of yet more potential charges.

  19. 19.

    West of the Rockies

    Shallow take:  I find Cheesebro’s face and Powell’s face to be extremely unpleasant, a weird mix of arrogance, boredom, and general pissyness.

  20. 20.

    thruppence

    Just got an email ad from the Biden/Harris merch team promoting their Dark Roast mug with aviator glasses Joe turning into laser eyed Dark Brandon with the addition of your hot beverage. Jaw droppingly corny, but I think I’m going to have to order one. Or two

    ETA: HumboldtBlue got there first.

  22. 22.

    ...now I try to be amused

    @trollhattan:

    For a dodderer (that a word?) Joe sure has a sly sense of humor, and the timing to know when to use it.

    It’s obvious Joe enjoys the Dark Brandon meme as much as we do.

  24. 24.

    Alison Rose

    @thruppence: I want one too, but dang, that’s a lot of money for a mug. I know it’s a donation to the campaign, but that’s doesn’t make it less money coming out of my bank account.

    Those heat-changing mugs can be fun though. My mom once had a Star Trek one that, when cold, showed Kirk and Spock and a couple others standing on the transporter platform, and then when you poured in hot liquid, they got beamed up :P

  25. 25.

    wjca

    @HumboldtBlue: Dark Brandon out here bringing the smnoke!

    What’s really needed is a mug of him without the dark glasses.  Right up until it’s filled with a hot liquid; then the dark glasses appear.

    ETA Thruppence got there first.  Oops

  26. 26.

    Chris

    @trollhattan:

    Jabba can’t have lived that long by stiffing all his creditors.  Boba Fett would have disintegrated his ass long ago if he’d pulled that on him, and probably wasn’t the only bounty hunter of whom that was true.

    If only Trump had hired an intergalactic bounty hunter and treated him like every other creditor.  We probably would’ve been rid of him back in the eighties or something.  Think of all the suffering that could have ended right there.

  28. 28.

    Ken

    Powell, Dec. 2020: “Fraud! Cheats! We need to find a way to overturn the election!”

    Chesbro, Dec. 2020: “With this one weird legal trick, we can overturn the election!”

    Chesbro, today: “What I did had nothing to do with what she did.”

  29. 29.

    lowtechcyclist

    @HumboldtBlue:

    I sympathize with the person who responded, “JOE STOP! I CAN ONLY FIT SO MANY MUGS IN MY CUPBOARD!” We’re in exactly that situation, I’ve got all sorts of cool coffee mugs I don’t want to part with, but there’s room for only so many.  And as cool as this new Dark Brandon mug is, it costs $32 which is way more than I’m spending on a coffee mug.

    I’ll just have to wear my Dark Brandon t-shirt more often.

  30. 30.

    Mai Naem mobile >44

    @HumboldtBlue: i love that.

    Chesebros is just a weird weird guy. He graduated from Harvard Law School and sounds like he decided not to go make big bucks. Married and divorced and moved to Puerto Rico with his new wife in 2020. I find the last part interesting. He was already a Trumper by then so I don’t see him going to Puerto Rico to do some good deed. I have to wonder if he got caught up on some grifting in the rebuilding of Puerto Rico post-Maria.

  31. 31.

    Hungry Joe

    One of the odder and more compelling things about the upcoming televised trial will be Trump just sitting there, quiet and still, hour after hour. When was the last time he appeared in public and didn’t dominate the scene, make himself the center of attention, and spew droning, fantastical nonsense, all while receiving lickspittle adulation?

    Will he even be able to walk into the courtroom, sit down, and shut up? I suspect he’ll manage it, but it’ll be something to see.

  43. 43.

    WaterGirl

    @Ken:

    Powell, Dec. 2020: “Fraud! Cheats! We need to find a way to overturn the election!”

    Chesbro, Dec. 2020: “With this one weird legal trick, we can overturn the election!”

    Chesbro, today: “What I did had nothing to do with what she did.”

    well done!

  46. 46.

    WaterGirl

    @Hungry Joe:

    …about the upcoming televised trial will be Trump just sitting there, quiet and still, hour after hour.

    Unless they drug the hell out of him, he will not be able to sit still.  He will be constantly squirmy and fidgeting.

  49. 49.

    Scout211

    The Texas Senate  has begun deliberations.

    Paxton, who until Friday had attended only the first few hours of the trial, sat at the defense table and sipped from a cup, occasionally picking up his cellphone.

    His return did not go unnoticed.

    “He hasn’t even bothered to be here for the whole trial,” Murr said. “Clearly he thinks he might get away with this.”

    Sitting across the room from Paxton was his wife, state Sen. Angela Paxton, who was required to attend the whole trial but is barred from participating in deliberations or voting on her husband’s political fate.

  50. 50.

    RandomMonster

    I keep wondering — if these speedy trials end in convictions for Cheese and Krakers, will it motivate a bunch of the remaining conspirators to cop a plea?

  51. 51.

    rikyrah

    Nate Silver (@NateSilver538) posted at 11:02 PM on Thu, Sep 14, 2023:
    LOL Harris winning the California AG race by <1 point isn’t a sign that it was a tough race, it’s a sign she was a bad candidate. Here are winning margins for statewide Ds in CA that year. She’s a huge negative outlier.

    +20.3
    +19.1
    +15.0
    +13.0
    +12.9
    +11.2
    +10.0
    +0.8 (Harris)

     

    marc (@MGsquared) posted at 8:55 AM on Fri, Sep 15, 2023:
    .@NateSilver538, your profoundly uninformed take on Harris’ campaign against Steve Cooley not only undermines your credibility but raises serious questions about your character. Harris wasn’t just an underdog; she was significantly behind. Cooley was perceived as the victor. 1/

     

    marc (@MGsquared) posted at 8:55 AM on Fri, Sep 15, 2023:
    However, through meticulous groundwork and coalition-building—key moves for a candidate whose base constitutes a mere 6% of California voters—Harris surged like an Olympic sprinter.
    Republicans were so unnerved that a deluge of funding started pouring in to tarnish her 2/

    marc (@MGsquared) posted at 8:55 AM on Fri, Sep 15, 2023:
    reputation. Ads portrayed her as soft on crime, a mischaracterization that later evolved into the ‘cop’ label from Bernie supporters. In reality, Harris was discerning in her approach. She opposed the death penalty, set limitations on three-strikes laws, stopped marijuana 3/

    marc (@MGsquared) posted at 8:55 AM on Fri, Sep 15, 2023:
    possession charges, and initiated programs like Back on Track.
    Harris has the unique talent of transforming criticisms into strengths, a skill alluded to by Coco Gauff after her US Open victory. Contrary to what you may believe, y’alls prejudiced slights don’t weaken her; they 4/

    marc (@MGsquared) posted at 8:55 AM on Fri, Sep 15, 2023:
    fuel her resilience. It’s not just her policies or actions that you fear; it’s the concept of a Black Woman in power.
    So, @NateSilver538 and others, continue to propagate your uninformed criticisms. Kamala Harris is not rising; she’s already here. DONE!

     

    …………………..

     

    DrChavous on  | VP Kamala Harris is THEE GOAT! (@flywithkamala) posted at 0:43 AM on Fri, Sep 15, 2023:
    LOL keep cherry-picking boo. Fact is she won TWO tight races and was elected to positions nobody that looked like her held ever before. Very easy of you to gloss over this fact with your hue but any race where the margin is less < 1 point is a tough race literally by definition.

     

    ……………………

     

    Hope  (@HopeisaBison) posted at 5:29 AM on Fri, Sep 15, 2023:
    The national GOP threw the kitchen sink at her race… because they knew her potential. Turns out they were right.

    I know you think a Black woman doing something that had never been done before was easy, but don’t rewrite history.

     

    …………….

     

    I am so glad that people are clowning Nate. he deserves it.

  52. 52.

    mrmoshpotato

    @Suzanne:

    Seriously. I will never understand why anyone willingly goes to work for him. Everyone gets stiffed! 

    Totally!  The orange shitstain had a well-earned reputation as a conman and ripoff artist since the 1980’s!

  54. 54.

    Jeffro

    @RandomMonster if these speedy trials end in convictions for Cheese and Krakers, will it motivate a bunch of the remaining conspirators to cop a plea?

    Almost certainly.

  55. 55.

    patrick II

    Question.

    When trying RICO participants in separate trials, is it necessary to show all of the conspiracy along with the individual charges to get a guilty verdict?  I am sure that the more of the RICO hand the government shows in the first trial the better the odds for a conviction of Cheseboro and Powell.  But the more you show the more the later conspiritants have a chance for an early peek at the evidence.  Is it legal to hold back parts mostly irrelevant to these two?  I understand you want to show enough to establish a conspiracy, particularly that evidence most relevant for these two.  But is it legal to hold back some evidence for later advantage?

  57. 57.

    Hungry Joe

    @rikyrah: “Will/should the President dump the V.P.?” is just a thing that they DO.* Like, “What if it’s a brokered convention? Let’s look at how that could play out.” Neither has come close to happening for a fistful of decades.

    * Although they’re doing it to Kamala Harris WAY too gleefully.

  59. 59.

    wjca

    @Hungry Joe: Will he even be able to walk into the courtroom, sit down, and shut up? I suspect he’ll manage it, but it’ll be something to see.

    Once the judge explains to him that his options are

    a) sit down and shut up, or

    b) be locked up in jail for the duration, with

    c) being free to head out to campaign, play golf, etc., NOT being an option.  Then yeah, I expect he will somehow manage to restrain himself.  (Although it might take a day in jail to being the reality home first.)

  61. 61.

    ...now I try to be amused

    @Hungry Joe: Yep, people love their political fantasy.

    * Although they’re doing it to Kamala Harris WAY too gleefully.

    I don’t see anyone suggesting one fantasy scenario, “What if the President resigns so the current VP can run as the incumbent?” I remember that one in the 2000 campaign.

  64. 64.

    wjca

    @patrick II: But the more you show the more the later conspiritants have a chance for an early peek at the evidence.  Is it legal to hold back parts mostly irrelevant to these two?  I understand you want to show enough to establish a conspiracy, particularly that evidence most relevant for these two.  But is it legal to hold back some evidence for later advantage?

    IANAL, but isn’t there a “discovery” process which reveals the evidence to opposing counsel anyway?  All a trial would do is show the public what the lawyers already know.

  65. 65.

    ...now I try to be amused

    @wjca: I’m guessing Trump will manage to shut up and sit (mostly) still, though his thumbs might twitch going through the motions of typing out the social media posts he will write after court adjourns for the day.

  66. 66.

    Alison Rose

    On the one hand, you’ve got DeSantis kidnapping migrants and shipping them to various spots around the country and Abbott stringing razor wire across the river to try to keep them out.

    On the other, you have this welcoming and loving video from Gov Newsom and the First Partner praising and shining a light on our Latino community (40% of the state!).

    But idiots out there will still say they’re “independent” because “both sides are bad”. Yeah, sure. Okay.

    (Also, I see people whine about in comments on various FB posts and such, but “First Partner” was the title Jennifer herself wanted. People think it was Newsom doing some kind of gender-woke stuff or whatever. No.)

  67. 67.

    eversor

    @Chris:

    Along your line logic the catch with Trump is we don’t know if he stiffed his criminal creditors.  You can stiff a lawyer, a contractor, or even a bank and if you have the cash nothing will come of it.  You cannot stiff the mob, a drug dealer, or a hitman as it’s not going to end well.

    The fact that Trump did run in the criminal side of things for so long means he can’t have been stiffing those types and they are all interlinked.

    His creditors in the dark are the ones I’m interested in.

  68. 68.

    Baud

    @rikyrah:

    I am so glad that people are clowning Nate. he deserves it.

    He really does.  That’s shockingly bad analysis.  Barbara Boxer beat Carly Fiorina by only 10 (52-42) and Jerry Brown beat Meg Whitman by 13 (54-41). Their opponents were notoriously bad candidates. And 2010 was a bad year for Dems.

  70. 70.

    Ocotillo

    @rikyrah:  Yeah, someone (don’t recall who exactly) had a column recomending Biden drop Kamala for Big Gretch.  That would only result in demoralization of the key Biden demographics.

  71. 71.

    ...now I try to be amused

    Nate Silver is an object lesson in the seductiveness of a political pundit gig. He made his name with the approach of “Let’s cut the pundit BS and look at some hard numbers.” Which means he’s beclowned himself more than your standard political pundit.

  72. 72.

    Sure Lurkalot

    From Uncle Ebeneezer in the morning thread:

    Thing is Biden IS COOL!  He’s witty, funny, smart, exercises and proudly stands with Black People, Women, LGBTQ People etc.  He’s probably more in-touch with current culture than most old, white politicians.

    Just bears repeating again and again.

    Joe and Kamala are laser focused on the needs of America’s younger generations and this old lady is here for it. I’m hoping to smother the kids in postcards when the time comes. They may never have a president who has their interests in mind as much as Joe.

  74. 74.

    Miss Bianca

    @Ocotillo:

    That would only result in demoralization of the key Biden demographics.

    That’s a nice diplomatic way to say “commit electoral suicide.” :)

  75. 75.

    WaterGirl

    @patrick II: Fani’s office argued that they need to put on the WHOLE CASE for every trial.  I suspect you have to go for broke on every case, otherwise you may not get convictions and that, I would think, would make it more likely that the other defendants could get off, too.

  78. 78.

    lowtechcyclist

    @WaterGirl:

    It’s a campaign donation, silly!

    I know, but the Presidential campaign will have plenty of money. I prefer giving to races further down the food chain.

  79. 79.

    Yarrow

    @Suzanne:

    Seriously. I will never understand why anyone willingly goes to work for him. Everyone gets stiffed!

    Completely agree. Maybe 50 years ago when people didn’t know him but anytime since the 1980’s why would ANYONE work for him? He’s got a terrible track record of nonpayment and leaving disaster in his wake. Why would anyone do it?

  80. 80.

    Redshift

    @Suzanne:

    Seriously. I will never understand why anyone willingly goes to work for him.

    I’m sticking with my theory that TFG is an alien with short-range mind control powers. But he’s a really stupid alien, so he always makes people do really stupid things.

  81. 81.

    Ken

    @Ocotillo: That would only result in demoralization of the key Biden demographics.

    If by “demoralization” you mean “provoke a rage with the heat of a thousand suns”, then yes….

  82. 82.

    Jackie

    @Hungry Joe:

    Will he even be able to walk into the courtroom, sit down, and shut up? I suspect he’ll manage it, but it’ll be something to see.

    Tranquilizers

  84. 84.

    wjca

    @WaterGirl: DRUGS.  Trump will be totally drugged up, carefully managed, I imagine.

    I’m sure his lawyers would like him to be.  Would even strongly recommend it.  But we’ve seen repeatedly that he doesn’t much care for doing what someone else recommends.  (With the occasional rare exception, e.g. Putin.)

  85. 85.

    Old School

    @NotMax:

    Maybe just me, but introducing an apparent 12-year-old as “senior weather and climate producer” made me snort.

    According to LinkedIn, he graduated high school in 2008, so he’s likely in his early 30s.

    Not everyone ages like Ron DeSantis.

  89. 89.

    Redshift

    @wjca:

    IANAL, but isn’t there a “discovery” process which reveals the evidence to opposing counsel anyway? All a trial would do is show the public what the lawyers already know.

    Discovery is the research notes, and the trial is telling the story. A list of facts alone isn’t what convinces a jury, especially in a conspiracy case, it’s weaving them together and showing how they relate to each other, to the defendants, and to the elements of the crimes.

    That’s why it’ll be an advantage for the defense in the later trial(s). Of course, it’s entirely possible this is just a tactic for avoiding splitting the trials, and they won’t actually present exactly the same case.

  90. 90.

    lowtechcyclist

    @Ocotillo:

    Yeah, someone (don’t recall who exactly) had a column recomending Biden drop Kamala for Big Gretch.  That would only result in demoralization of the key Biden demographics.

    Josh Barro.  I think he’s even more worthless than Nate.

    And switching running mates would be an absolutely terrible idea for a whole host of reasons, starting with Black people quite understandably feeling like they were being thrown under the bus to get White people’s votes.

    Which is exactly the sort of thing Biden hasn’t done with any part of our coalition, and I’d bet a shitload of money he wouldn’t start now.  He’s not that sort of person.

  91. 91.

    Baud

    @lowtechcyclist:

    The point isn’t to get Biden to do it.  Everyone knows that’s a lost cause. The point is to make the ask, so that when Biden says no, people who have bought into the idea will be offended and discouraged.  It’s the same thing that’s going on with Biden’s age — no one really expects he will drop out because of that.

  92. 92.

    Alison Rose

    @lowtechcyclist: I didn’t read Barro’s column and have no desire to, because I don’t feel like lowering my own IQ a few points. But like…the admin would have to explain WHY they were doing this, and what reason could they possibly give that wasn’t just “we’ve decided to buy the media BS that people don’t like her so we’re tossing her overboard”. What, would they make Harris say she got bored with being VP and didn’t wanna do it anymore? She got a better job offer somewhere else?

  93. 93.

    Redshift

    @Alison Rose: Well, I heard audio from a pre-trial proceeding where Powell’s lawyer (I think) was whining and complaining that in the trial date proceeding prosecutors had “lied about” his client and “defamed” her, and McAfee cut him off with “that is over, this is not the time to raise that.” So you never know.

  94. 94.

    Matt McIrvin

    @Hungry Joe:

    “Will/should the President dump the V.P.?” is just a thing that they DO.* Like, “What if it’s a brokered convention? Let’s look at how that could play out.” Neither has come close to happening for a fistful of decades.

    * Although they’re doing it to Kamala Harris WAY too gleefully.

    It’s up there with “Will he resign late in his second term just to give his VP a leg up?” and “The cross-party unity ticket!” and “Co-Presidents!” There’s something about the Vice-Presidency that particularly invites these scenarios.

    In this case the basic fallacy is assuming that the switch is cost-free and it’s just like flipping to an alternate timeline in which the other candidate had been the choice all along.

  96. 96.

    ...now I try to be amused

    @Redshift:

    I’m sticking with my theory that TFG is an alien with short-range mind control powers. But he’s a really stupid alien, so he always makes people do really stupid things.

    Your theory sounds good to me, but I think of Trump as a bargain basement Satan. His marks all think they can make a deal with him and come out ahead. He must have some strong temptation powers.

  97. 97.

    Ken

    @Alison Rose: If he did keep talking and interrupting the case, I would die a happy woman if the judge said “would you shut up man” à la Biden in the debate. I know he wouldn’t.

    Of course not. A judge would say “Bailiff, remove this person from the courtroom to a place of custody.”

  98. 98.

    mrmoshpotato

    @WaterGirl:

    Unless they drug the hell out of him, he will not be able to sit still. He will be constantly squirmy and fidgeting. 

    And screaming that this would never happen in his beloved Russia.

  99. 99.

    NotMax

    @Redshift

    On the video said lawyer was playing to the cameras. Judge’s admonition, although not as bluntly put, amounted to “Not in my court you don’t. Clam up and sit your ass down.”

  100. 100.

    Redshift

    @Baud: The other point is to appeal to Republicans. Joe is so obviously nice and harmless that it’s hard for them to get non-hardcore GOPers to hate him, so leadership and wingnut media is going hard at racism and misogyny with either he’s senile and she’s really running the show or he’s likely to die and then she’ll be in charge.

    So Barro is laying the useful idiot and pretending that is he replaces her that would stop (so it’s “for the good of the country), when the reality is they’d just shift to a different kind of hate.

  103. 103.

    AM in NC

    I know it’s from the Daily Mail, but did y’all see the story that God-Fearing Family-values fascist Kristi Noem has apparently been having a years-long affair with Corey Lewandowsky?

    What is up with these GOP women that so many of them seem to have gone to bed with that creep?

  104. 104.

    Bill Arnold

    @Redshift:

    I’m sticking with my theory that TFG is an alien with short-range mind control powers.

    Well, sort of, but (obligatory IMO :) he (well, his contracted [redacted]/parasite) is a local. A rather stupid [(evil)demon], in the Abrahamic religion schema. Still doesn’t understand why DJT (the host) lost in 2020. Does and says dumb stuff. Often slips and has the Trump mouth say “we”. 
    ETA this is the details-filled-in version of “…now I try to be amused” version.
    See e.g. “The Rise of Io”, Wesley Chu for a fictional treatment of this. (Those are aliens (two camps), but refugees, that have been around since multicellular life.)

    Or alternatively, he is controlled by an advanced cordyceps like parasitic fungus like the zombie ant fungus, with mind control powers. (Perhaps the hair is the fruiting body.)

  107. 107.

    mrmoshpotato

    @Alison Rose:

    Maybe one of his lawyers will shove a whole hamburger bun in his mouth. 

    I still can’t believe that orange trash got a bunch of McTrashass’s for guests at the White House.

  108. 108.

    Miss Bianca

    @Redshift:

    I’m sticking with my theory that TFG is an alien with short-range mind control powers. But he’s a really stupid alien, so he always makes people do really stupid things.

    I love this theory, if only because it adds fuel to my conviction that I would never, never ever, want to be in any closer proximity than 100 yards away from TIFG.

  111. 111.

    Old School

    @AM in NC:

    What is up with these GOP women that so many of them seem to have gone to bed with that creep?

    He seems to have hit on everyone, so maybe it’s a low percentage, but occasionally pays off.

  113. 113.

    JPL

    @AM in NC:  The alleged affair was covered by the NYPost also.   I assume that the gop members who they spoke with were headlined by Kari Lake and MTGreene

    I haven’t read it, but add Vanity Fair to the list.

  116. 116.

    Betty Cracker

    @AM in NC: Back when Nikki Haley was SC gov, there were persistent rumors that she was shagging a local wingnut blogger. I wonder if those stories will resurface now that she’s running for POTUS? Or maybe they already have — I don’t pay as much attention as I used to.

  117. 117.

    Bill Arnold

    @Miss Bianca:

    I would never, never ever, want to be in any closer proximity than 100 yards away from TIFG.

    Yes, 100 meters appears to be the approximate max range, though it can be extended with binoculars, and even with Zoom. I suspect DJT is not capable of using either.

  118. 118.

    RaflW

    re: Kamala. Josh Barro is a f**ing Republican. He’ll tell you he isn’t, because it’s embarrassing for a gay guy to be rooting for the party that hates him.

    But he’s a conservative. Of that there’s no doubt. And there’s only one party in our duopoly for cons.

    So, yeah, taking punditry from Barro? Never.

  119. 119.

    Betty Cracker

    From NBC News:

    Former President Trump said Thursday that former First Lady Melania Trump may be back on the campaign trail with him “pretty soon.”

    “We’ll see her on the trail soon?” “Meet the Press” moderator Kristen Welker asked the former president.

    “Yes. Soon? Yeah, pretty soon. When it’s appropriate, but pretty soon,” he said. “She’s a private person, a great person, a very confident person and she loves our country very much.”

    Translation: prenup renegotiations are ongoing.

  121. 121.

    Yarrow

    @Betty Cracker:  For sure. Also, she’ll only make a few appearances.

    Re that MTP interview, first, yuck. Kristen Welker is worse than I thought. But also, I accidentally saw a portion of a clip of TFG in that interview and he looks BAD. I mean really bad. He does not look like a well man.

  123. 123.

    Scout211

    @Betty Cracker: Ha Ha!

    NBC keeps trying to generate interest in that Kristen Welker interview but each time they publish a tease, it’s just more of the same old, same old from TFIG.

    “Pretty soon” Melania will be on the campaign trail and yesterday, asked if he will pardon himself he said, “not likely.”

    My god, that ex-president, current indicted co-conspirator sure knows how to take a strong stand.  LOL

  124. 124.

    Bill Arnold

    @AM in NC:

    God-Fearing Family-values fascist Kristi Noem has apparently been having a years-long affair with Corey Lewandowsky

    Also the New York Post, which has done a little independent contacting of sources.
    SD Gov. Kristi Noem having ‘absurdly blatant and public’ affair with ‘handsy’ Trump aide Corey Lewandowski, sources say (Emily Crane and Steven Nelson, Sep. 15, 2023)

    A fifth person told The Post that he and fellow GOP operatives were “well aware” of the fling and suggested the story finally appeared in print thanks to “one of her competitors for VP.”

  126. 126.

    eclare

    @Scout211:

    I think he “thinks” that if he doesn’t say anything in absolutes, he can never be held accountable for what he says.

    Worked for 77 years, but those days are done.

  127. 127.

    wjca

    @mrmoshpotato: And screaming that this would never happen in his beloved Russia.

    Absolutely true.  He would never, ever, be subjected to the ignominy of an actual trial.  Just a straight shot to prison.  (Or maybe a high window.)

  129. 129.

    Ruckus

    @Hungry Joe:

    I doubt that SFB will be able to keep his mouth shut. Hopefully to his great detriment. He’s been a fourth rate stringer in the money race since he was a kid. He’s done little to make a lot of it, considering how much he started with and how long ago that was. As one of the financial papers showed a while back, he started with 400 million rather a long time ago and should have been able to be worth 15-16 billion now if he’d invested it even anywhere close to sensible. He’s failed at every turn and he’s supposedly worth around 2 billion but likely owing more than that. Being president was several billion miles outside his skill level, which I’d rate at maybe second grade.

    And bottom of his class.

  130. 130.

    gvg

    @Sure Lurkalot: Of course decades ago with Anita Hill and Clarance Thomas he screwed up badly with the same demographics. He had to screw up and learn from it first. Most people double down and deny they screwed up. They don’t sponsor laws to try and push back at misogyny later…after being yelled at by many women and hearing many stories.

    Also watching Thomas votes from the courts and seeing the results on real people.

  131. 131.

    bbleh

    @Ken: concur.  But I have way more trust in Ol’ Handsome Joe than that

    @Jackie: maybe just cut back on the Adderall a bit and sink into “Executive Time” stupor?

  132. 132.

    Jeffro

    @…now I try to be amused:I think of Trump as a bargain basement Satan.

    that’s pretty spot-on!

    I’ve mentioned a few times that he’s made me question my own atheism, but time and reflection have helped me remember that he’s exactly who his followers want him to be, nothing more.

  133. 133.

    Scout211

    @Baud: At the CNN town hall, he did answer that question, but it was more of the wishy-washy qualifiers that basically say nothing.  link

    “I am inclined to pardon many of them,” Trump said at a town hall hosted by CNN at Saint Anselm College in New Hampshire. “I can’t say for every single one, because a couple of them, probably they got out of control.”

    He added that “most likely” he would pardon “a large portion of them.”

  135. 135.

    wjca

    @Baud: I’m more interested in what he says about pardoning the J6 defendants. Not that I would trust his response.

    Just can’t see him doing that.  Perhaps a couple high level ones, pour encourager les autres.  But in general, unless someone has the goods on him (i.e. is a credible thread) or has some potential future utility, he wouldn’t bother.

  136. 136.

    Ruckus

    @Hungry Joe:

    But a gag would be a nice touch, as would duct taping him to the chair.

    If they really wanted to they could use the duct tape as a gag. And I don’t mean gag as in funny. Duct tape his mouth shut.

  138. 138.

    eversor

    @AM in NC:

    The dating pool in the GOP is slim on women and heavy on men.  The elite GOP dating pool is even slimmer on both.  Hence all the screams about redistribution of sex, cuteservatives, GOP can’t get dates in DC articles.  Small pond with a few large fish.

  139. 139.

    MisterDancer

    @rikyrah: Any of the FrontPagers want to do an extensive deep dive into the nightmare that is Project 2025?

    As much as I think it matters, it’s also a case of “how much horrific crap can I process and turn into readable material?”

  141. 141.

    ColoradoGuy

    TFG has a very low tolerance for boredom. With no in-court access to social media, forced to keep silence for hours on end, and worst of all, not the center of attention, he’ll go nuts.

    He’ll especially resent the judge being the person in authority, and not him.

  143. 143.

    rikyrah

    @MisterDancer:

    As much as I think it matters, it’s also a case of “how much horrific crap can I process and turn into readable material?”

     

    I know. But, this is the GOP blueprint – NO MATTER WHO IS THE NOMINEE.

     

    WE need to put this out there for people to know about. To make it clear what they are getting if they vote GOP.

  146. 146.

    Jackie

    @Yarrow: I noticed he’s kept his Mug rats nest hairstyle and the close ups show bloodshot eyes along with pink/red lower eyelids. He’s not sleeping well.

  147. 147.

    Sister Golden Bear

    @rikyrah: Among other things, it recommends the new president declare trans/non-binary people to be inherently pornographic — and then born all porn.

    Not that they’d use that to eradicate us for public existence or anything…

  148. 148.

    Jackie

    @wjca: There’d be no reason to pardon them; he wouldn’t be able to run for Office again, so it’s not like he’d need their support anymore – but those pansies haven’t figured that out yet.

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