Lets see if we can keep this thread a little more civil.

I found this interview very interesting.  A lot of soft balls thrown at Trump, he explained his back pedalling on his more extreme issues as a lot of his claims as opening bids for negotiation purposes.  Which .. whatever .. I still think that those are insincere claims he used to get elected.

He does now come across way more presidential then he did prior to the election.  A lot of his noise, yelling, and rhetoric has been scaled back.

Do respect this one though:

Quote

 

Lesley Stahl: Are you gonna take the salary, the president’s salary?

Donald Trump: Well, I’ve never commented on this, but the answer is no. I think I have to by law take $1, so I’ll take $1 a year. But it’s a -- I don’t even know what it is.

Donald Trump: Do you know what the salary is?

Lesley Stahl: $400,000 you’re giving up.

Donald Trump: No, I’m not gonna take the salary. I’m not taking it.

 

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/60-minutes-donald-trump-family-melania-ivanka-lesley-stahl/

I don't want to get too Art Bell on this... but what ******* species is Stephen Miller and why is he cheaping out on his human suit?

Edited January 8, 20188 yr by johnzo

Have seen Miller and his act before.    Nasty little fascist hatchet man, who yesterday.....indulged in more public Trump boot licking.    But then, The Don only hires the best people, you know.....being a genius and all....

Edited January 8, 20188 yr by do or die

16 minutes ago, do or die said:

Have seen Miller and his act before.    Nasty little fascist hatchet man, who yesterday.....indulged in more public Trump boot licking.    But then, The Don only hires the best people, you know.....being a genius and all....

These guys are all living in a bubble.  Trump is dumb to surround himself only with yes-men.  It will come back to bite him.  Spicer did the same thing and then seemed to regret it.  They know what they're doing, they just dont care.  Miller was very close with Bannon and now rips him.

And notice Miller refused to answer if Trump knew or met the Russians?  He could have asked what colour suit he was wearing and would have rattled off the same canned answers.  He was there to say XYZ no matter what was asked.  And he came across terribly.  If Trump actually thinks Miller defeated Tapper in that exchange, he's dumber than he looks.

1 hour ago, The Unknown Poster said:

he's dumber than he looks.

Is that possible?

Did you see the picture of the freaks "laying hands " on Trump in the Whitehouse? 

Wow. These people really are in a bizarre dreamworld.

just read that Trump lawyers are negotiating with inquiry about questioning Trump directly.

 

Edited January 8, 20188 yr by Mark F

1 hour ago, Mark F said:

Is that possible?

Did you see the picture of the freaks "laying hands " on Trump in the Whitehouse? 

Wow. These people really are in a bizarre dreamworld.

just read that Trump lawyers are negotiating with inquiry about questioning Trump directly.

 

They're probably going to have to.  Will be interesting to see what form of questioning it takes.  Can Mueller subpoena the President?  I think he can, but Trump could decline citing Exec Privilege or use that to fire Mueller (or order his AG to fire him).  Firing him tips the US into Constitutional Crises mode.

More likely, Trump negotiates an interview where he isnt sworn in because the problem for Trump is he simply cannot tell the truth.  His lawyers cannot protect him from himself.  And if he provides sworn statements and lies in any way, he's in trouble.

Its a no-win situation.  Trump is likely the last person Mueller will want to question, once he has all other available info (unless he wants to broadside Trump...for example, maybe he questions him before questioning the family out of concern they'd tip Trump off, where as he could question Trump about matters relating to Don Jr, get Trump lying and then use that against Don Jr and effectively corner Trump into either confessing or throwing Jr under the bus).  If Mueller comes to Trump near the end...Trump has to know Mueller has everything and is simply looking to trip him up and get him caught in lies. 

But if Trump declines to be questioned, he's really sending a poor message to the country.  Its possible he uses that request for questioning as the final straw and tries to fire Mueller.  I have a feeling Mueller wouldnt go quietly.

Interesting article about the 15th Amendment and how unlikely it is to be used to remove Trump against his will.

http://www.cnn.com/2018/01/08/politics/25th-amendment-would-require-a-political-apocalypse/index.html

On the subject of whether Trump will give an interview:

great thread here 

 

 

Great gig if you can get it 

https://www.google.ca/amp/s/www.vanityfair.com/news/2018/01/donald-trump-schedule-white-house-executive-time/amp

The schedule says Trump has "Executive Time" in the Oval Office every day from 8am to 11am, but the reality is he spends that time in his residence, watching TV, making phone calls and tweeting. Trump comes down for his first meeting of the day, which is often an intelligence briefing, at 11am.

That's far later than George W. Bush, who typically arrived in the Oval by 6:45am. Obama worked out first thing in the morning and usually got into the Oval between 9 and 10am, according to a former senior aide.

Trump's days in the Oval Office are relatively short – from around 11am to 6pm, then he's back to the residence. During that time he usually has a meeting or two, but spends a good deal of time making phone calls and watching cable news in the dining room adjoining the Oval. Then he's back to the residence for more phone calls and more TV. Take these random examples from this week's real schedule:

• On Tuesday, Trump has his first meeting of the day with Chief of Staff John Kelly at 11am. He then has "Executive Time" for an hour followed by an hour lunch in the private dining room. Then it's another 1 hour 15 minutes of "Executive Time" followed by a 45 minute meeting with National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster. Then another 15 minutes of "Executive Time" before Trump takes his last meeting of the day — a 3:45pm meeting with the head of Presidential Personnel Johnny DeStefano — before ending his official day at 4:15pm.
• Other days are fairly similar, unless the president is traveling, in which case the days run longer. On Wednesday this week, for example, the president meets at 11am for his intelligence briefing, then has "Executive Time" until a 2pmmeeting with the Norwegian Prime Minister. His last official duty: a video recording with Hope Hicks at 4pm.
• On Thursday, the president has an especially light schedule: "Policy Time" at 11am, then "Executive Time" at 12pm, then lunch for an hour, then more "Executive Time" from 1:30pm.

Edited January 9, 20188 yr by The Unknown Poster

These people are so out of touch 

 

So what does everyone think of Oprah's chances should she decide to run in 2020 which, apparently, she is giving serious thought to...?

16 hours ago, The Unknown Poster said:

Great gig if you can get it 

https://www.google.ca/amp/s/www.vanityfair.com/news/2018/01/donald-trump-schedule-white-house-executive-time/amp

The schedule says Trump has "Executive Time" in the Oval Office every day from 8am to 11am, but the reality is he spends that time in his residence, watching TV, making phone calls and tweeting. Trump comes down for his first meeting of the day, which is often an intelligence briefing, at 11am.

That's far later than George W. Bush, who typically arrived in the Oval by 6:45am. Obama worked out first thing in the morning and usually got into the Oval between 9 and 10am, according to a former senior aide.

Trump's days in the Oval Office are relatively short – from around 11am to 6pm, then he's back to the residence. During that time he usually has a meeting or two, but spends a good deal of time making phone calls and watching cable news in the dining room adjoining the Oval. Then he's back to the residence for more phone calls and more TV. Take these random examples from this week's real schedule:

• On Tuesday, Trump has his first meeting of the day with Chief of Staff John Kelly at 11am. He then has "Executive Time" for an hour followed by an hour lunch in the private dining room. Then it's another 1 hour 15 minutes of "Executive Time" followed by a 45 minute meeting with National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster. Then another 15 minutes of "Executive Time" before Trump takes his last meeting of the day — a 3:45pm meeting with the head of Presidential Personnel Johnny DeStefano — before ending his official day at 4:15pm.
• Other days are fairly similar, unless the president is traveling, in which case the days run longer. On Wednesday this week, for example, the president meets at 11am for his intelligence briefing, then has "Executive Time" until a 2pmmeeting with the Norwegian Prime Minister. His last official duty: a video recording with Hope Hicks at 4pm.
• On Thursday, the president has an especially light schedule: "Policy Time" at 11am, then "Executive Time" at 12pm, then lunch for an hour, then more "Executive Time" from 1:30pm.

The story omitted some important time frames:

"Nap Time"
"Bottle Time
"Potty Time"
"Teething Time"
"Tantrum Time"

51 minutes ago, The Unknown Poster said:

So what does everyone think of Oprah's chances should she decide to run in 2020 which, apparently, she is giving serious thought to...?

Well, after Trump....there is no longer any potential candidate, who could be considered "unqualified"

1 minute ago, do or die said:

Well, after Trump....there is no longer any potential candidate, who could be considered "unqualified"

Yeah.  Some people will say its a job for a politician but the right of all citizens is to run for office.  Thats the point.  Oprah admits she has voted for both Dems and Repubs so, not knowing where she stands on the issues, its possible she's a more measured, center-ist candidate than most.

She'd have to be willing to do everything the Dems demand of Trump, namely release her tax returns.  She's never come under fire and she would if she ran, how can she handle that.  What skeletons are in her closet.  etc.

The money doesnt really matter since Trump spent almost nothing.  But her success would counter any sense of Trump as a business genius.  She'd easily win with women and minorities and very likely get a lot of the voters who came out for Obama but didnt come out for Hilary.  She'd have Obama endorsing her too.  Would she lose any of the Dems "base" to the Republicans?  I cant see it if Trump is the candidate (which I tend to doubt anyway).

Trump vs Oprah seems like an easy win for Oprah unless there is even more of the vile right who didnt vote for him that would be so moved by the "horror" of a black woman as President that they'd come out for him.  Given that Hilary *should* have won and Obama would have creamed him, Oprah should beat Trump fairly easily.  Thats without knowing of any scandals or skeletons.

I could see Kimala Harris as her running mate but thats just a guess. 

Good, ole Sheriff Joe wants to be in the Senate.   Another outstanding Republican candidate.

http://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/368083-arpaio-announces-arizona-senate-bid

Ivanka wants to be the first female president.  And she’s trying to talk out of both sides of her mouth. 

 

http://www.cnn.com/2018/01/09/politics/arizona-senate-joe-arpaio/index.html

Oopps did not notice DOD's post. Forgives?

 

Edited January 9, 20188 yr by FrostyWinnipeg

18 hours ago, The Unknown Poster said:

 

wait you mean like Bannon was a mole this whole time or something?

4 minutes ago, FrostyWinnipeg said:

http://www.cnn.com/2018/01/09/politics/arizona-senate-joe-arpaio/index.html

 

wait a minute.....when did McCain announce his retiremenet?

Just now, iHeart said:

wait you mean like Bannon was a mole this whole time or something?

Nah, they likely wanted him to not run so they could back someone else.

Its also not uncommon to do opposition research on yourself.  But Bannon's dossier on Trump would be interesting because clearly it contained information he thought might squeeze Trump out of running if it became public.

1 minute ago, iHeart said:

wait a minute.....when did McCain announce his retiremenet?

Its Jeff Flake's seat

1 minute ago, The Unknown Poster said:

Nah, they likely wanted him to not run so they could back someone else.

Its also not uncommon to do opposition research on yourself.  But Bannon's dossier on Trump would be interesting because clearly it contained information he thought might squeeze Trump out of running if it became public.

too bad he didn't release it

1 minute ago, The Unknown Poster said:

Its Jeff Flake's seat

oh okay I guess it's a local politics thing.

Just now, iHeart said:

oh okay I guess it's a local politics thing.

Senate is national.

Just now, FrostyWinnipeg said:

Senate is national.

but.....well it's just that I never heard that McCain retired, I know he has been sick for awhile (sick enough to not vote on the tax bill) oh wait is Flake currently sitting in his seat as some kind of deputy senator or something