A deliciously wicked thought just occurred to me. Convicted felon, the

[niyad]

RAPIST/TRAITOR**, did this to himself. I don't mean in the sense of being the one to sign the checks, etc. I mean, if he had just displayed his usual arrogance, his usual, "I can do anything I want, and who is going to stop me" cluelessness, his belief that his cultists will accept any of his sick, twisted, appalling behaviours, it would not even have occurred to him that he needed to make a hush money payment. This is the one thing I have never understood about this. His base does not give a damn what he does, and the rest of us are not surprised by anything he does. So WHY, in this one insignificant, brief (in all senses of the word) encounter, does he feel the need to pretend, to hush things up? Pretty sure malaria does not care.

I am reminded of an old spell, the ending line of which goes, "May he be brought down by his own hands."

[leftieNanner]

1. Now, today, he wouldn't bother to cover

His experience with Ms. Daniels. But in 2016, he didn't have such a firm hold on his cult. This would have come out right after the Access Hollywood tape and he figured it would likely sink his candidacy.

[usonian]

2. Egomaniacs fear everyone, because their image depends on adulation.

They are their own worst enemies, and distrust everyone around them.



reflecting their own emptimess.

[Metaphorical]

3. Timing

Trump did not do it because of his family. He did it because it there were two weeks to the election, Hillary had been severely damaged by Comey's (ultimately spurious) disclosure, and he knew that if the scandal broke then, Comey's investigation would have been bumped from the headlines and negative attention would have been turned towards him at the worst possible time. This is ultimately why this case was not about a tryst, which in this day and age is barely newsworthy. Remember that Nixon resigned because he was facing impeachment for covering up a crime that he had covertly authorized, and he knew that if impeached, he would be facing criminal charges. This case is not that different.

[summer_in_TX]

7. Comey's announcement of a new investigation into Hillary's emails actually was three weeks later.

The Access Hollywood tape broke October 7, 2016. Women in particular were outraged and vowed to never vote for him. The campaign arranged for the Wikileaks dump that afternoon of stolen DNC emails to distract from the story about Trump's vulgar and vile comments. Still, women were not coming back, but I feel sure his campaign hoped that many would stay home rather than voting for Hillary.

If the Stormy Daniels story came out then, I think his campaign knew it would be devastating. So they quashed that, and then ratcheted up pressure on Comey through allies of Giuliani's within the SDNY and the FBI. At least, that is a plausible explanation of likely campaign strategy. Trump and Co. thrived on skullduggery.

James Comey's announcement was October 28, 11 days before Election Day. Turnout where early voting was underway immediately tanked.

[unblock]

4. Yeah hard to remember but back then, quite a lot of republicans actually called for him to drop out

The access Hollywood thing nearly killed his campaign.

He could not get away with murder back then.

[ecstatic]

5. from my understanding, it wasn't about appeasing his supporters

He didn't expect to win but he was trying to keep his brand alive. During the campaign he formed new business relationships and opportunities to grift. Of course, fucking idiots elected him (or helped elect him).

For me, it all goes back to the White House correspondents' dinner. Had he just laughed along with the fucking jokes, his criminal enterprise would still be intact and his stupid ass show might still be on the air.

[tanyev]

9. Yes. Had he never decided to run for president

he probably could have kept committing crimes undisturbed for the rest of his life.

[louis-t]

6. I've said for 8 years "He wasted his money".

And Pecker's. His worshipers thinks it makes him 'manly' that he cheated on his wife.

[Demobrat]

8. That story, as she told it, was bad.

That was no affair. Every woman alive knows exactly what that was. Including the woman on the jury who put her hand up to her face and looked away.

That story would have ended him.