Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Every reporter and pundit should have to declare if they ever vacationed with a billionaire.

Incompetence, fear, or corruption? why not all three?

When your entire life is steeped in white supremacy, equality feels like discrimination.

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

Everybody saw this coming.

SCOTUS: It’s not “bribery” unless it comes from the Bribery region of France. Otherwise, it’s merely “sparkling malfeasance”.

The frogs are rarely mistaken.

You don’t get to peddle hatred on saturday and offer condolences on sunday.

They love authoritarianism, but only when they get to be the authoritarians.

Impressively dumb. Congratulations.

White supremacy is terrorism.

When do we start airlifting the women and children out of Texas?

We are builders in a constant struggle with destroyers. let’s win this.

Teach a man to fish, and he’ll sit in a boat all day drinking beer.

Nancy smash is sick of your bullshit.

Perhaps you mistook them for somebody who gives a damn.

… riddled with inexplicable and elementary errors of law and fact

It is possible to do the right thing without the promise of a cookie.

Republicans: “Abortion is murder but you can take a bus to get one.” Easy peasy.

The republican caucus is covering themselves with something, and it’s not glory.

The worst democrat is better than the best republican.

Bad people in a position to do bad things will do bad things because they are bad people. End of story.

Stop using mental illness to avoid talking about armed white supremacy.

The words do not have to be perfect.

You are here: Home / Elections 2024 / Late Night Open Thread: Norman Desmond, in Sundowning Boulevard

Late Night Open Thread: Norman Desmond, in Sundowning Boulevard

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You know it’s legit, cuz Vanity Fair‘s Gabriel Sherman is usually holding a flashlight under his chin and telling “the unstoppable serial killer with a hook” campfire stories:

… Trump has been in a self-destructive spiral since the moment Democrats replaced Joe Biden with Kamala Harris. Trump’s descent began when he made a racist claim at a July 31 conference for Black journalists, saying that Harris changed her identity for political gain (“Now she wants to be known as Black,” Trump claimed). At a rally in Georgia a few days later, Trump ranted for nearly 10 minutes about the state’s popular Republican governor, Brian Kemp, whom Trump blamed for his 2020 loss to Biden. “Little Brian, little Brian Kemp. Bad guy,” Trump fumed. On Truth Social, Trump floated unhinged, evidence-free claims, such as his theories that Biden might crash the Democratic National Convention to take the nomination back and that Harris and Democrats are running a psyop by creating AI videos and images of the vice president’s packed rallies. “It’s nuts,” a Trump friend told me.

Republican donors and Trump campaign officials are struggling to understand why Trump seems to be sabotaging his own candidacy. One theory, according to sources, is that Trump has been experiencing trauma from his near-death experience following the assassination attempt at the rally last month in Butler, Pennsylvania. “He’s been watching that seven-second clip of how close he was to getting shot right in the head—over and over and over again,” the Republican close to the campaign said. “He may actually legit have PTSD.” A campaign official confirmed that the shooting continues to weigh on Trump. “He’s been through a lot,” the official said. (The Trump campaign did not respond to a request for comment.)

Another theory is that Trump can’t let go of the fact that Biden dropped out. “They cheated by swapping Biden,” Trump has told people, according to a person who recently spent time with the Republican presidential nominee. The Trump campaign believed that Harris’s honeymoon would fade, but instead, the opposite has happened: Her momentum is surging…

Many people are saying…


Aaand here’s their second-time-as-farce Joe Gillis:

… Lewandowski, who has remained an informal Trump adviser since his first campaign, is being brought on to advise the campaign’s senior leadership team, according to a person familiar with the move and granted anonymity to speak freely. He joins several other former Trump aides who will play similar roles…

In 2021, Lewandowski was removed from a top position in a Pro-Trump super PAC after he was accused by the wife of a donor to the former president, Trashelle Odom, of making unwanted sexual advances towards her at a charity dinner in Las Vegas.

Following the Las Vegas incident, a spokesperson for the former president said “Trump World” was no longer associated with Lewandowski. But Trump has long remained loyal to Lewandowski and has kept him in the fold. Lewandowski played a role at the 2024 Republican National Convention and has also consulted for the Republican National Committee…

During a press conference at his Bedminster resort on Thursday night, Trump, when asked about the staffing changes, replied, “Susie is fantastic, as you know. And Chris is fantastic. They are leading it.” He also said Lewandowski will be a “personal envoy or he’ll be at some level.”

Reader Interactions

142Comments

  2. 2.

    Shalimar

    So the dumpsters are on fire and their reaction is to set another dumpster on fire in the parking lot next door as a distraction.  Sure, that will work.  It’s not like Lewandowski has shown no ability to work with anyone he’s not fucking.  Poor Susie Wiles should probably quit.

  3. 3.

    Aussie Sheila

    It’s looking good for the Dems. I have money on:

    1. Harris/Walz to win

    2. Dems control the HoRs

    3. Dems hold the Senate.

    Different odds on each bet of course, but I’m confident and I like gambling on politics, rather than horses, ( unlike my g father who was an inveterate horse gambler), let alone machines which aren’t gambling so much as maws for your money.

    I usually make money on my political bets. I’m confident I will this time around.

    I’m thinking I might make a small wager on the Texas Senate race. Seeing Cruz lose would make it an excellent day.
    If the Dems made a sufficient investment in that state over the next cycle, I think they might turn it over.

    Overall, the situation is not to the advantage of Republicans, as Hirohito once said (almost), but it’s the work, as usual, of ground level partisans that will carry it.

    I’m very confident and looking forward to another fine dining experience thanks to the US election results.

  5. 5.

    Betty Cracker

    I can never read the name of GOP mega-donor ex-wife Trashelle Odom without thinking that if I had a pet raccoon, I’d call her Trashelle.

    I know it’s rude to laugh at people’s names. But WTF were her parents thinking?!?

  6. 6.

    Ceci n est pas mon nym

    So let me see if I understand what they’re saying. He’s “sabotaging his own campaign” by rambling incoherently, wandering off the script, and throwing out juvenile and racist playground insults.

    As opposed to a few months ago when he was disciplined and firing up the crowd by rambling incoherently, wandering off the script, and throwing out juvenile and racist playground insults.

  7. 7.

    NorthLeft

    Of course Trump is going to have no problem with Lewandowski. Having another sexual predator on staff will just make Deadbeat Donald feel more comfortable.

  8. 8.

    satby

    They just refuse to admit, in spite of the copious evidence right in front of their own eyes, that the convict is clearly affected by some sort of dementia. They need to assume now that he’s trying to lose on purpose rather than admit they’ve been fluffing crazypants Diaper Don for years after it’s been obvious that whatever brains he used to have curdled long ago.

  9. 9.

    Chief Oshkosh

    The national press finds new ways to be a national embarrassment.

    Christ on a cracker, just REPORT on what’s in front of you.

  10. 10.

    WereBear

    Great title, AL!

    To me, Trump has always been ranty and full of lies and bizarre side routes. But it does seem the magic is gone for his followers.

  11. 11.

    tokyocali (formerly tokyo ex-pat)

    If Trump is purposely sabotaging his campaign, it must be a conspiracy because Vance is all in. So breakout the tinfoil hats!

    When I read that tweet about the fruit loops and cheerios, I thought it meant that Trump was loopy like the cereal and I was nodding my head. Then I read it again and am not sure if the writer really meant he brought the cereal to talk about inflation. Anyone know?

  12. 12.

    Aussie Sheila

    @satby:

    I think he will blame his loss, when it comes, as it will, on the Republican Party and ‘losers and traitors’ in the various States that refuse to rejig the results to his satisfaction.

    Buy popcorn futures now. It’ll be too late by late September.

  14. 14.

    tokyocali (formerly tokyo ex-pat)

    The other odd thing, among the countless already, is where are the articles asking about Melania? If the First Lady or Gentleman was absent as much as she was it would be front page every day until there was a sighting and an interview. Melania made clear her disdain for Trump, the position/title, the process, and the duties and she really hasn’t been called on it.

    Which goes to say that Kamala Harris should ignore the press until she doesn’t want to any longer.

  15. 15.

    Baud

    Unlike with aging rockers, people get tired of hearing politicians sing songs off the old album.

  16. 16.

    Aussie Sheila

    @tokyocali (formerly tokyo ex-pat):

    Exactly. Harris will need to sit for an interview at some point. At her time and place.

    She should be polite, no nonesense and straightforward. No one except the beltway Press gives a shit what the Press says about her interview. The voters she and other Dems need don’t read or watch what those wankers say or write.

  17. 17.

    Betty Cracker

    Gotta take our boy Badger to the vet for his annual check-up and shots this morning.
    Boston terrier

    He will feel betrayed and anxious, poor fellow. I always feel guilty, even though it’s for his own good…

  18. 18.

    Baud

    The media takes on the personality of the party they’re writing about. Republican voters don’t care about Trump’s mush brain, so the media doesn’t.

  21. 21.

    Betty Cracker

    @Baud: He is a good-looking boy! So photogenic! So svelte! When I take Pete to the vet, we get fat-shamed. Don’t have to worry about that with Badger!

  22. 22.

    Jeffg166

    After a lifetime of screwing people and being afraid someone would whack him someone almost did. His worst fear has come true. Good.

  23. 23.

    Baud

    @Jeffg166:

    Losing to a black woman must be among one of his other worst fears, so God willing he’ll experience that nightmare in a few months.

  25. 25.

    Aussie Sheila

    @Baud:

    True. So maybe it might be an idea if Dems didn’t care so much about what the elite Press thinks and writes, and then they might get the same treatment as the Republicans from the wankers.

  26. 26.

    tokyocali (formerly tokyo ex-pat)

    @Aussie Sheila: I think what will be talked about post election is the impact of non-traditional press. KH has a stellar social media team, but so much of this is organic with followers creating their own memes and tweets and shout-outs that can quickly become viral and generate unprecedented reach. There are going to be loads of studies trying to measure this all and determine what had impact and what didn’t.

  27. 27.

    Baud

    Thaksin’s 37-year-old daughter becomes new leader of Thailand

    Paetongtarn Shinawatra, who has never served in government, is the third member of her billionaire family to be prime minister of the Southeast Asian country.

    What could possibly go wrong?

  28. 28.

    tokyocali (formerly tokyo ex-pat)

    @Jay: Well he brought the right props for it. They summarized his speech perfectly.

  30. 30.

    Betty Cracker

    A weak cool front came through our area yesterday, and it’s 73 F and only 94% humidity right now. Any cooler and I’d have to find some socks!

  31. 31.

    lowtechcyclist

    @Betty Cracker:

    I don’t know if it’s any cooler down here on Anna Maria, but we’ve been getting a shitload of wind since yesterday afternoon. Like, you open the door partway, and the wind tries to take it from you and slam it against the wall.

  33. 33.

    Anne Laurie

    @tokyocali (formerly tokyo ex-pat): When I read that tweet about the fruit loops and cheerios, I thought it meant that Trump was loopy like the cereal and I was nodding my head. Then I read it again and am not sure if the writer really meant he brought the cereal to talk about inflation. Anyone know?

    All too true!  If you look at the bottom right of Acyn’s tweets, you can see some boxes. (The chyrons make them harder to pick out.)  Trump was *supposed* to use them as props to talk about inflation, but he never got around to doing so.

  34. 34.

    satby

    @Betty Cracker: good luck to Badger!

    I’m going to be waiting to hear how surgery went for one of my personal rescues, Buddy. He developed megacolon and has an obstruction the vets and I have been working to resolve without surgery for almost two weeks. If his prognosis wasn’t excellent I might have just let him go peacefully, but he’s only 5 and these vets are brutally honest about realities of fruitless intervention. But it’s pretty stressful.

  40. 40.

    waspuppet

    Isn’t the inability to respond to new situations, such as a change of opponents, one of the hallmarks of a declining mind?

    Of course it’s also true that as an abuser Trump feels like it’s important to be as much of a shithead as he wants at every moment of every day, and still win. It’s not “fun” if he has to act like a normal person.

    And then there’s the fact that he’s just plain stupid.

    So many possibilities. It’s fascinating without actually being interesting.

    PS: The cereal boxes and coffee tubs were for him. We all realize that, right? “Boss, talk about the economy, not windmills.”

  41. 41.

    rodwell

    Reading the local news site (NJ.com) on TFCG appearance and their headline captures the essence of his performance quite well.  The national media should be so honest.
    With Froot Loops by his side, Trump gives another cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs performance

  42. 42.

    satby

    @Betty Cracker: thanks. He’s an unusually sweet cat, even the vet hospital staff keep saying so; in spite of the miserable treatments (enemas, etc) once it’s over he’s all about snuggles.

  43. 43.

    Princess

    Every word of this sounds like 2016 — Trump speeches that undermine his candidacy and make unnecessary enemies; pitting people involved with his campaign against each other with no clear hierarchy of precedence. People with names like Trashelle. Corey Lewandoski FFS. Remind me how that election turned out again?

    Oh well, let’s hope it works out better this time. We can trust the American people to do the correct thing, right?

  45. 45.

    lowtechcyclist

    Republican donors and Donald Trump campaign officials are struggling to understand why the former president seems to be sabotaging his own candidacy: “It’s like he’s choosing to lose.” his brain’s gone all Ootfray Oopslay.”
    Fixed that for them.​

  48. 48.

    MomSense

    @Betty Cracker:

    Trashelle is so funny.  I can think of a certain dog who likes to raid the garbage can and who already has a southern accent.  This would have been perfect for her.

  49. 49.

    TBone

    This plot twist is so great.

    The granddaughter of the late Rev. Billy Graham endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris during an “Evangelicals for Harris” Zoom call Wednesday and suggested that Christians who support former President Donald Trump are causing people to turn away from Christianity.    …

    “These things happen slowly over time. First, people professing the Lord made excuses for [Trump’s] lack of kindness, then for the name-calling. Soon it was making excuses for assault. Then it became making excuses for January 6, and now making excuses for convicted assault and 34 felonies,” Duford said on the Wednesday night Zoom call.

    https://www.christianpost.com/news/billy-grahams-granddaughter-joins-evangelicals-for-harris-call.html

  54. 54.

    JoyceH

    Fat Elvis? Norma Desmond? When I saw the setting for that Mar A Lago thing, the large, dark, creepy and overly ornate “living room”, swimming in a miasma of shattered dreams and near-homicidal bitterness, all I could think of was the late great Miss Haversham from Great Expectations. Someone get that man a filthy tattered wedding gown.

  55. 55.

    TBone

    @MomSense: 💜 if this group succeeds in giving cover for the saner people in that sect to act in the true spirit of what they profess to worship, I hope they pitch revival tents all across the nation!

  57. 57.

    Tony Jay

    @Betty Cracker:

    You’ve almost got to assume they were going for ‘Tray-Shell’.

    Almost, because FFS did they never look at it written down?

    Assume, because I bet they never did.

  58. 58.

    Deputinize Eurasia from the Kuriles to St Petersburg

    @MomSense:

    Not enough.

    That filthy faith has been a stain on society for far too long. The sooner people abandon it for sleeping in on Sunday, brunch and mimosas, the better.

  59. 59.

    lowtechcyclist

    @TBone:

    This plot twist is so great.

    Ain’t it though?

    I like her using the phrase “people professing the Lord” in pretty much the same way I’ve come to use the phrase “people identifying as Christian.”

    For me, it continues to be a matter of the essence of Trumpism being all about sticking it to the many people that he and his followers don’t like.  If someone considers themselves a Christian and is OK with that, then they’ve totally lost their way.

  60. 60.

    Gvgg something illeagle

    @tokyocali (formerly tokyo ex-pat): on the other hand the spouse is not an official position and I have always thought we shouldn’t make it one. We are kind of weird that way, and a burden on people who just happen to be married to a public figure. She doesn’t want to be a public figure, even though her husband does. Why should she have to be? That might even be why she seems mad at him. She clearly can’t stop him from being who he is. So I’d leave her alone unless she is also doing something illegal. I also don’t care what any of the spouses wear, etc.

  67. 67.

    lowtechcyclist

    I seem to have a comment awaiting moderation. Not sure why.
    Looks like my nym and email are being autofilled correctly.​
     

    ETA: I did refer by nym to a certain (former?) poster with a history of being rather anti-Christian. Does use of ‘ever sore’ without the space or the final ‘e’ get one’s comment tossed into moderation? If so, I hadn’t realized that.

  70. 70.

    TBone

    @Deputinize Eurasia from the Kuriles to St Petersburg: I have thusly abandoned my former little country church.  I miss the connection to my community.  But I don’t miss their politics.

    I woke up from a bad dream this morning where all of my neighbors went to the dark side instead of just the one family.  I came out of my bedroom yelling at hubby “WHAT IF IT WAS THEIR MOM WHO HAD BEEN PENETRATED IN A DRESSING ROOM?” I still have trouble dealing with this reality first thing before coffee.

  81. 81.

    MomSense

    @Deputinize Eurasia from the Kuriles to St Petersburg:
    Much as I love brunch and mimosas, I’m not anti faith.  It is often the liberal religions who provide welcome and support.  In my new R+ at least 40 town the United Methodist Church has a trans pride flag out front. It’s a revolutionary act here given how many trump flags and signs there are and knowing the awful world view that goes along with those trump flags.
    The televangelical, prosperity gospel dominion bullshit sects are abominations, but Christians are going to have to fight those battles.

  83. 83.

    Baud

    LA Times seems to be making a play for decent people looking for a media source.

    News Analysis: Trump seeks to reclaim spotlight with old playbook of lying, talking smack to media

  85. 85.

    🐾BillinGlendaleCA

    I am shooting the Pleaides and on one shot, the stats went really wrong, looked at the shot once it was done and the stars are moving…  Think we had a very small earthquake during that shot.

  87. 87.

    Another Scott

    @Ceci n est pas mon nym: +1

    Similarly, Harris has been Refusing to say what her Actual Policies are and how she Differs from Biden.  What is she Hiding?  What is she Afraid of?  Why is she Running from her Record?  Is she a Secret Lizard Person?  Why does she Hate America so much? Will she Abdicate to the Queen of the Fire Ants?  What if they Enslave us all?  Why does she Smile so much??  Is it a Secret Message for Sauron that the time of the Rapture is close at hand??!  I am a Serious Journalist from a a Major newspaper with Judgment, why won’t she give me an Exclusive Interview??!…

    [ groucho-roll-eyes.gif ]

    Looking forward to the DNC.

    Hang in there everyone.  Forward!!

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  89. 89.

    Tony G

    I’ll play amateur neurologist here.  As is the case with many elderly people, my mother suffered from increasingly bad dementia during the last 17 years of her life.  One of the early signs of her dementia was her inability to cope, emotionally or cognitively, with any unexpected changes in her life.  Biden exiting the campaign and Harris/Walz becoming the new nominees were unexpected changes in Trump’s life.  Time for a nursing home for that guy!

  90. 90.

    Another Scott

    @lowtechcyclist: Yup.  Happened to me too a while ago.  If you say a banned commenter’s nym, it goes into the dungeon and has to be freed by WG.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  92. 92.

    Tony G

    @Tony G: What’s remarkable is the fact that “Biden quitting the race” was actually not unexpected at all because it was loudly debated for weeks before it happened.  Again, as an amateur neurologist, I think that that means that at this point Trump cannot handle ANY changes in his life, unexpected or not.

  93. 93.

    Ken

    @Anne Laurie: I was wondering about the props last night, thanks for confirming. I imagine some poor staffer primed Trump to use them to talk about inflation, then was listening in disbelief through the whole thing, thinking “the coffee and cereal, you idiot, we went over this three times...”

  97. 97.

    Ken

    @Baud: They’re struggling to understand why the shtick that worked for 9 years stopped working.

    It would be delightful if what finally does him in is his followers getting bored with him. “Get some new material, you hack!”

    Wasn’t there a hint of that four years ago — he held a rally, and the venue was half-empty and the crowd was yawning? There’s the famous photo of him leaving the place looking tired, and old, and defeated.

  98. 98.

    Geminid

    @BellyCat: I doubt it. Eversor drops in and out, and now he often comments on subjects unrelated to his personal obsession with Christianity.

    He may be moving his domicile in the aftermath of a home invasion, and that could be taking up time and energy.

  99. 99.

    MomSense

    @Ken:

    As Kamala said, it’s the same old show.  I think I love this messaging most of all because it is directed at the media as much as his followers.

  100. 100.

    Ken

    @Tony Jay: Almost, because FFS did they never look at it written down?

    That happens with hashtags too. My favorite would be the one for Susan Boyle’s album party, though the Swiss release of The Hobbit is a close second.

  101. 101.

    Geminid

    @Anne Laurie:

     

    @Ken: One problem may be that Trump never handles these containers in real life. Everything is prepared for him; coffee cans and cereal boxes are for the “little people,” and he sensed that handling them would make him appear small. It would in a way.

  102. 102.

    BritinChicago

    @satby: Being a boomer I had to look up SSDD. It’s a useful acronym, but I still think the crucial distinction is between SNAFU and FUBAR.

  103. 103.

    Scout211

    Steven Collinson’s analysis on CNN.com is a good summary.  Here is the part about the groceries:

    Trump’s team did their best for him on Thursday. Someone went to a local supermarket and stocked up on groceries, including Cheerios, tubs of coffee and ketchup, and provided Trump with charts showing the high cost of goods in the Biden era. But their boss didn’t even get to the end of his first point before veering into a furious aside while falsely accusing Democrats of acting illegally by replacing Biden with Harris. “It was a coup by people that wanted him out, and they didn’t do it the way, not the way they’re supposed to do it. $129 more on energy, and $241 more. This is all per month on rent,” Trump said, running two thoughts together in his fury.

    As if trying to keep himself on course, the former president sometimes followed with his finger on the text of his remarks inside a ring binder. But the argument going on in his head and the text on the paper again diverged. “We have wars breaking out in the Middle East. We have the horrible war going on with Ukraine and Russia. All these things would have never happened if I was president. Would have never, ever happened, and they didn’t happen. Since Harris took office, car insurance is up 55%,” Trump said, in another dizzying shift in direction. As his remarks stretched into a second hour, a squadron of flies assembled, likely attracted by several packs of breakfast sausages sweating in the summer heat. The bizarre spectacle only heightened the incongruity of using Trump’s private golf club as the backdrop for an event meant to illustrate the pain faced by millions of Americans at grocery checkouts.

  104. 104.

    Shalimar

    @Ken: The one good(?) thing you can say about Trump is that he’s no Gallagher.  He fails as a prop comic.

  105. 105.

    Geminid

    Politico Playbook linked to an article from a Northern Virginia site, FauquierToday, about an FBI search of Dmitri Simes’ property in Rappahannock County.

    The 76 year-old Simes is a prominent figure among right-wing foreign relations specialists. Robert Mueller’s team focused on Simes’ relationship with Russia but found nothing actionable. Now it looks like the FBI is taking another bite at the Simes apple.

  107. 107.

    catclub

    CNN Fact check: Trump makes more than 20 false claims at news conference

     

    I assume this is news because it is a record low.

  108. 108.

    The Kropenhagen Interpretation

    @Geminid: FauquierToday

    I don’t know how to pronounce Fauquier and my best guess rhymes with the sequence of animals duck, ewe.

    All I can think, “oh, yeah, buddy? Well Fauquier today, tomorrow, and twice next Sunday.”

  109. 109.

    The Kropenhagen Interpretation

    @catclub: I  assume this is news because it is a record low.

    That “more than” might be putting in some heavy work.  A thousand is, after all, more than twenty.

  110. 110.

    Betty

    @satby: Obsessively watching that disturbing video over and over is similar to what my husband, who has begun having dementia-related episodes, does. It does appear as if Trump’s already shaky psyche has been broken by the assassination attempt.

  113. 113.

    The Kropenhagen Interpretation

    @Ken: “We got bored counting them so went with more than” is what I’d expect for today’s reporters

    I like your theory. It makes 20 a rather conspicuous number, though. Clearly the reporter ran out of fingers and toes.

    @JoyceH: Gotcha, thanks.

  114. 114.

    Geminid

    @The Kropenhagen Interpretation: People pronounce it Fawk-Yer, so you are not far off. Fauquier County used to be rural but now it is more suburban/exurban on account of its proximity to DC.

    Rappahannock County, where Simes lives, is a little further out and is popular with wealthy people seeking nice surroundings for primary or weekend residences.

  116. 116.

    OzarkHillbilly

    An intrepid varmint dubbed Colonel Custard – so named for the frozen custard shop and mini-golf outlet where he was discovered – was found stowed away with a passel of stuffed animals prizes in an arcade game two weeks ago. Players were maneuvering a mechanical claw to pluck toys from the glass game case when they suddenly realized a real live groundhog was blinking back at them.

  119. 119.

    The Kropenhagen Interpretation

    @Geminid: I gotta be in DC in October. Don’t know where I’m staying yet. Maybe I’ll get the fam to consider VA destinations.

  124. 124.

    Soprano2

    @Baud: I had to look to see which Springfield that was. It was the wrong date for our “event”, which happened in 1906. Three black men were pulled out of the jail and lynched on the Square on Easter Sunday here. That’s when most of the black population that was in Springfield fled – it used to be around 25% black people here. There was a whole chapter about this period in the book “Lies My Teacher Told Me”. I had always known about the Square lynching, but I didn’t know it was part of a nationwide trend during that time period.

  125. 125.

    Soprano2

    @Tony G: That could be why he’s not doing many rallies. That, and the fact that he’s stiffed people in almost every major city in every battleground state and even in some that aren’t battleground states.

  126. 126.

    Soprano2

    @The Kropenhagen Interpretation: We stayed at One Washington Circle both times. All those rooms are suites with kitchens; we saved quite a bit of money by shopping at the local Trader Joe’s and having breakfast in the room every morning. It’s close to a good subway station, too.

  127. 127.

    tokyocali (formerly tokyo ex-pat)

    @Gvgg something illeagle: I kind of agree with you. Isn’t that the problem that Hilary had? She had to give up her legal career but couldn’t be given anything beyond the usual First Lady projects because when she did take something on, she was demonized for it. That said, when you get to the top of the political pile it is expected that the spouse will be supportive and raise awareness for important causes that are often overlooked or underfunded, and serve as an additional host. For the present, it’s the American way, as well as the way in many other parts of the world.

  128. 128.

    Tony G

    @Soprano2: That’s right.  No halfway intelligent person will do business with Trump, and he’s running out of dumb people.  My brother-in-law is at the end of a long career in  real estate in New York City going back to the early eighties.  He says that, from the beginning, anyone  who knows what he’s doing has refused to do business with Trump  because he delays paying his bills or doesn’t pay them at all.  There’s a reason why Trump has been despised for more than forty years in the city that he grew up in.

  130. 130.

    Anne Laurie

    @🐾BillinGlendaleCA: I am shooting the Pleaides and on one shot, the stats went really wrong, looked at the shot once it was done and the stars are moving… Think we had a very small earthquake during that shot.

    Spousal Unit & I went out to Pleaides-watch early Sunday morning (which was predicted to be the best day here in New England).  Saw lots of ‘sparks’ and a few streaks, better than we’ve done the last couple years.  But Himself complained ‘What is that light pollution in the north, at this hour?’… and then realized that the double pinkish-mauve curtains ruining the dark was actually an aurora borealis!  Not a *fantastic* display, but pretty good for a truck pullover this far south…

  131. 131.

    artem1s

    Trump’s The GOP’s descent began when he Trump made a racist claim at a July 31 conference for Black journalists on June 16, 2015 during an announcement of his candidacy to a lobby full of unsuspecting passersby.

    He made similar claims throughout his campaign, in GOP debates, and when he was in the WH. During all this time, not one of the presumptive GOP candidates and most GOP leaders have declined any opportunity to disavow racism as the central platform of his administration – and by extension, their own party. Even the ones who have disavowed the convicted felon’s boorish behavior, J6, and disastrous administration, have merely sidestepped away from his insistence on ‘saying the quiet parts out loud’ and most quickly reversed themselves. And the GOP has studiously avoided putting together a policy platform at all since Mitch McConnell’s disastrous fixation on making Barack Obama a one term president.  Their 2012 convention was focused almost solely on undoing President Obama’s first term accomplishments.

    TCF discovered, almost by accident, that he could get the most attention (and campaign dollars) by repeating certain phrases.  If it appeared that he was trying to lose this election, it’s because he was actually planning on losing in 2016. Only his thirst for easy money from the rubes got the better of him. His ‘positions’ have always been ones of convenience and he has tossed aside any that didn’t produce the results he wanted.*

    It just happened that he settled on the one position that had been quietly driving the GOP’s successes in Red state elections and their thirst for power for decades. And it came with the added bonus of getting votes in primary and eventually the general.  The GOP loved the new MAGA voters and fully embraced them the way they had fundamentalists and tent revivalist preachers during W’s administration. The GOP has always been willing to embrace another set of rubes and haters into their fold.

    The MSM has been fixated with this notion that the pivot to a Presidential Trump is going to come any day now. The GOP didn’t care if a pivot ever came. They have been fully committed to reaping the benefits of his addlepated ramblings from day one. They were perfectly willing to let millions of Americans and people around the world suffer as long as they could remain in power. If Donald Trump had been able get folks to send him millions by wearing a pink tutu (or a long red tie, red hats, selling bad steaks, ear tampons) he would have done so. He has done so. But nothing has returned his investment of time the way racism has. Obviously, we know he had nothing to pivot to. The GOP knows this too, but they still think winning elections is his primary goal.

    His only goal since 2015 has been to continue the grift and collect as much money as possible for as long as possible and then ‘declaring bankruptcy’ as he has done dozens of times before. It’s his baseline survival strategy. So yes, if it looks like he’s trying to lose the 2024 election it’s exactly because he doesn’t care about winning elections.

    His legal troubles, mental decline and diminishing circle of advisors has made him more and more desperate as the circle closes in. But he ran out of tricks to distract the crowds years ago. He was always going to ‘decline’ and The GOP was counting on it. They hoped it would be in time for Jeb to take over in 2016. They hoped losing in 2020 would make him go away. But then Team Project 2025 couldn’t bring themselves to disavow J6 or disembark Team Trumptanic and now they are stuck with him in 2024. Whether P25 successfully manages to get in a lifeboat in time remains to be seen. But the GOP is forever tarred with the conman, twice impeached, and convicted felon.

    *Remember his early COVID press conferences?  For a brief time they were actually somewhat informative about supply chains, etc. But then he got bored, his cult got pissed about masks and isolation, and the outlandish attacks on Blue state governor and the CDC commenced with the sidebar comments straight out of traveling circus medicine shows complete with ‘miracle cures’ of Ivermectum, anal light bulbs and bleach injections. He was in full swing grift mode from there on out.

  133. 133.

    Dave

    @Princess: The difference is that he was new and exciting for too many people then and while it may sound the same on the surface he’s lost the ability to hone in on people’s weaknesses. It’s a sad broken down band trying to play it’s greatest hits but that’s an unfair comparison for the bands.

    More so the media had a decades long hate-on for HRC and she is not the public facing politician that Harris is and Kaine is not the public facing politician that Walz is.

    Every glamor collapses eventually and while there are no certainties it appears that whatever glamor and weave of bullshit that has served Trump so well to this point is unraveling.

    The common thread is that both 2016 and 2024 are change elections and despite Harris being the sitting VP now that Biden is no longer in the race Trump is vibing more like the incumbent than she is.

    Hell this might be an  accidental advantage of the press refusing to acknowledge her existence for the last four years.

  135. 135.

    tam1MI

    @satby: I’m going to be waiting to hear how surgery went for one of my personal rescues, Buddy.

    Sending healing vibes Buddy’s way!

  136. 136.

    Attempted Chemistry

    @Betty Cracker: “Tricia” + “Michelle”, with an ‘a’ rather than an ‘i’ so it’s /truh-SHELL/ rather than /trih-SHELL/.

    And then not vetting the name. (Pro tip: check initials. I know a kid whose initials were going to be APB, especially funny since his dad was a felon.)

  137. 137.

    bluefoot

    I know it’s petty, but I don’t have much sympathy for TCFG if he is experiencing PTSD from being shot at. He’s actively promoted and incited violence against people of color, people who are LGBTQ+, specific people he doesn’t like, etc etc. He gets off on other people’s suffering and death. He wouldn’t survive a day being in a minority group with all the bullshit we/they have to deal with every day.

    My hope is that if he continues to melt down, it will have an effect on down-ticket races and Dems have a better chance in Congressional races, not to mention in locally.

  139. 139.

    Ruckus

    @Baud:

    He’s not singing songs off the old album, he’s just writing a worse one.

    OTOH it’s always less than fun, watching and listening to an old fart, become an even louder, smellier, rapidly decaying barely older fart. It is rather normal for one with such an oversized ego to look, not like he’s aging normally, but symbolically falling off the top of a NYC skyscraper, the decline is so rapid. And public.

  140. 140.

    Ruckus

    @waspuppet:

    Act like a “normal person”? SFB has never, ever been normal. Not at any time in his life has he been anywhere near normal. Hell he can’t even describe normal, let alone get anywhere near it. And if he fell off a cliff into a vat of normal, the vat would evaporate faster than a fighter jet. He’s the anti normal, the prime example of how not to be human in any way, shape or form.

  142. 142.

    Paul in KY

    @satby: Wonder what the lady will do when the crazy king brings out some ridiculous, skimpy outfit & commands her to wear it?

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