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babylonsister
babylonsister's Journal
babylonsister's Journal
June 19, 2020
On Tuesday, former vice president Dick Cheney’s cardiologist, Dr. Jonathan Reiner, went a step further, calling Trump’s plan for the rally “criminal endangerment” that was risking lives.
more...
https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2020/06/health-officials-despair-as-the-trump-rally-rolls-into-town
"This Shouldn't Be Happening": Tulsa Health Officials Despair as the Trump Rally Rolls Into Town
“This Shouldn’t Be Happening”: Tulsa Health Officials Despair as the Trump Rally Rolls Into Town
The science is clear: The COVID-19 curve is nowhere near flat enough to justify a massive indoor rally. But the president’s show must go on, and red state governors must go along.
By Katherine Eban
June 19, 2020
As executive director of the health department in Tulsa, Oklahoma, Bruce Dart has worked night and day alongside his staff to flatten the COVID-19 curve. “We started to trend downward,” he said. Hospitals got a breather and a chance to work on their “surge plans.”
But then, on June 10, with cases beginning to rise about six weeks into the governor’s aggressive effort to reopen the economy, Dart got almost unimaginably bad news: President Donald Trump was planning a massive political rally at the 19,000-seat BOK Center in Tulsa, essentially painting a viral bull’s-eye on the city. “It was all over Twitter,” said Dart, “and my marketing director brought it up.”
Helpless to stop the event, Dart now fears the worst. “I am personally extremely concerned not only for what is going to happen this weekend, but what we’re going to have to deal with two weeks from now,” he told Vanity Fair. “I think we’re in the potential for a perfect storm of disease transmission that Tulsa County does not need.” Calling the risks “horrific,” he added, “This could be a Beyoncé concert and I’d still feel the same way.”
On Tuesday, former vice president Dick Cheney’s cardiologist, Dr. Jonathan Reiner, went a step further, calling Trump’s plan for the rally “criminal endangerment” that was risking lives.
more...
https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2020/06/health-officials-despair-as-the-trump-rally-rolls-into-town
June 19, 2020
John Bolton Provides a Harrowing Portrait of Trump’s Surrender to Putin
His book offers more evidence that Trump won’t stop a Russian attack on 2020.
David Corn
Washington, DC, Bureau ChiefBio | Follow
John Bolton’s too-late book has produced a string of revelations that warrant headlines and outrage. President Donald Trump, in this account, encouraged Chinese President Xi Jinping to build concentration camps as part of China’s genocidal war on its Uighur population. Trump beseeched Xi to help him win reelection in 2020. He displayed brazen ignorance. (He didn’t know the United Kingdom is a nuclear power or that Finland is not part of Russia.) And he did indeed withhold military aid to pressure the Ukrainian president—for which he was impeached—to launch investigations to tar Joe Biden and promote a nutty conspiracy theory that holds that Ukraine, not Russia, hacked the 2016 presidential election. Receiving less attention than these made-for-Twitter disclosures is what Bolton says about Trump’s response to Vladimir Putin’s attack on that election. But this stuff is important, for here is yet another indication that Trump has no interest in thwarting a Kremlin assault on the current election.
According to Trump’s own top intelligence officials, Moscow is currently trying to intervene in the 2020 campaign. Both FBI Director Chris Wray and Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe have said so in congressional testimony, without providing details about the ongoing covert Russian efforts. So one obvious question is, what is Trump doing about this? The answer, per Bolton, is nothing.
In his book, Bolton does not go into great depth on this crucial matter. But Trump’s former national security adviser notes that Trump “willfully ignored or denied that Russia was meddling globally in US and many other elections.” This is the public posture Trump has taken since the 2016 election and through his years in the White House. He has downplayed or dismissed the Russian attack, even though the US intelligence community has concluded it occurred and was mounted by Vladimir Putin in part to help Trump win. (A recent Senate Intelligence Committee report cited an intelligence intercept of a communication from a Russian cyber-operative who described Election Night this way: “On November 9, 2016, a sleepless night was ahead of us. And when around 8 a.m. the most important result of our work arrived, we uncorked a tiny bottle of champagne…took one gulp each and looked into each other’s eyes…We uttered almost in unison: ‘We made America great.'”) Still, even in the privacy of the Oval Office, Trump would not discuss with his top national security aide the Russian intervention—or, worse, the prospect of a repeat performance.
snip//
Overall, the book illuminates Trump’s foremost sin: He has repeatedly placed his own personal interests ahead of the national security of the United States. Bolton could not even have an honest and straightforward conversation with Trump about this. In one chilling passage, Bolton recounts that he not once spoke candidly with Trump regarding Putin: “He never offered an opinion [of Putin], at least in front of me. I never asked what Trump’s view was, perhaps afraid of what I might hear.”
When the national security adviser to the president cannot talk to the commander in chief about a paramount threat to the country, it is a sign that neither one of them should continue in their jobs.
David Corn: John Bolton Provides a Harrowing Portrait of Trump's Surrender to Putin
https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2020/06/john-bolton-provides-a-harrowing-portrait-of-trumps-surrender-to-putin/John Bolton Provides a Harrowing Portrait of Trump’s Surrender to Putin
His book offers more evidence that Trump won’t stop a Russian attack on 2020.
David Corn
Washington, DC, Bureau ChiefBio | Follow
John Bolton’s too-late book has produced a string of revelations that warrant headlines and outrage. President Donald Trump, in this account, encouraged Chinese President Xi Jinping to build concentration camps as part of China’s genocidal war on its Uighur population. Trump beseeched Xi to help him win reelection in 2020. He displayed brazen ignorance. (He didn’t know the United Kingdom is a nuclear power or that Finland is not part of Russia.) And he did indeed withhold military aid to pressure the Ukrainian president—for which he was impeached—to launch investigations to tar Joe Biden and promote a nutty conspiracy theory that holds that Ukraine, not Russia, hacked the 2016 presidential election. Receiving less attention than these made-for-Twitter disclosures is what Bolton says about Trump’s response to Vladimir Putin’s attack on that election. But this stuff is important, for here is yet another indication that Trump has no interest in thwarting a Kremlin assault on the current election.
According to Trump’s own top intelligence officials, Moscow is currently trying to intervene in the 2020 campaign. Both FBI Director Chris Wray and Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe have said so in congressional testimony, without providing details about the ongoing covert Russian efforts. So one obvious question is, what is Trump doing about this? The answer, per Bolton, is nothing.
In his book, Bolton does not go into great depth on this crucial matter. But Trump’s former national security adviser notes that Trump “willfully ignored or denied that Russia was meddling globally in US and many other elections.” This is the public posture Trump has taken since the 2016 election and through his years in the White House. He has downplayed or dismissed the Russian attack, even though the US intelligence community has concluded it occurred and was mounted by Vladimir Putin in part to help Trump win. (A recent Senate Intelligence Committee report cited an intelligence intercept of a communication from a Russian cyber-operative who described Election Night this way: “On November 9, 2016, a sleepless night was ahead of us. And when around 8 a.m. the most important result of our work arrived, we uncorked a tiny bottle of champagne…took one gulp each and looked into each other’s eyes…We uttered almost in unison: ‘We made America great.'”) Still, even in the privacy of the Oval Office, Trump would not discuss with his top national security aide the Russian intervention—or, worse, the prospect of a repeat performance.
“Trump believed that acknowledging Russia’s meddling in US politics, or in that of many other countries in Europe and elsewhere, would implicitly acknowledge that he had colluded with Russia in his 2016 campaign,” Bolton writes.
snip//
Overall, the book illuminates Trump’s foremost sin: He has repeatedly placed his own personal interests ahead of the national security of the United States. Bolton could not even have an honest and straightforward conversation with Trump about this. In one chilling passage, Bolton recounts that he not once spoke candidly with Trump regarding Putin: “He never offered an opinion [of Putin], at least in front of me. I never asked what Trump’s view was, perhaps afraid of what I might hear.”
When the national security adviser to the president cannot talk to the commander in chief about a paramount threat to the country, it is a sign that neither one of them should continue in their jobs.
June 19, 2020
Trump Stares in Silence When Asked Why He Keeps Hiring ‘Wackos’ and ‘Liars’
DEJA VU
Justin Baragona, Contributing Editor
Updated Jun. 18, 2020 9:27PM ET /
Published Jun. 18, 2020 8:48PM ET
Trump Stares in Silence When Asked Why He Keeps Hiring 'Wackos' and 'Liars'
https://www.thedailybeast.com/la-county-deputies-shoot-dead-teen-security-guard-who-ran-from-them?ref=homeTrump Stares in Silence When Asked Why He Keeps Hiring ‘Wackos’ and ‘Liars’
DEJA VU
Justin Baragona, Contributing Editor
Updated Jun. 18, 2020 9:27PM ET /
Published Jun. 18, 2020 8:48PM ET
President Donald Trump stared in silence on Thursday afternoon when CBS News reporter Paula Reid asked him why he keeps hiring “wackos” and “liars,” referencing the president’s own label for his former national security adviser John Bolton, who has provoked the president's wrath by writing a highly critical book on his time in the Trump administration.
“Mr. President, why do you keep hiring people that you believe are wackos and liars?” Reid shouted at the end of a White House roundtable, to no response from Trump. Earlier in the day, Trump tweeted that “Wacko” Bolton’s book is “made up of lies & fake stories.” The president has repeatedly accused Bolton of being a “liar” in recent days as explosive excerpts from his book get reported on in the press.
Trump denouncing his former officials and aides as “liars” and “dopes” has become old hat for the president. Among those he’s smeared after the fact are former Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, ex-Defense Secretary James Mattis, former Chief of Staff John Kelly and one-time Attorney General Jeff Sessions.
“Mr. President, why do you keep hiring people that you believe are wackos and liars?” Reid shouted at the end of a White House roundtable, to no response from Trump. Earlier in the day, Trump tweeted that “Wacko” Bolton’s book is “made up of lies & fake stories.” The president has repeatedly accused Bolton of being a “liar” in recent days as explosive excerpts from his book get reported on in the press.
Trump denouncing his former officials and aides as “liars” and “dopes” has become old hat for the president. Among those he’s smeared after the fact are former Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, ex-Defense Secretary James Mattis, former Chief of Staff John Kelly and one-time Attorney General Jeff Sessions.
June 19, 2020
GOP Fears Biden’s Low-Key Campaign Is Working
June 19, 2020 at 8:06 am EDT By Taegan Goddard
GOP Fears Biden's Low-Key Campaign Is Working
https://politicalwire.com/2020/06/19/gop-fears-bidens-low-key-campaign-is-working/GOP Fears Biden’s Low-Key Campaign Is Working
June 19, 2020 at 8:06 am EDT By Taegan Goddard
“Joe Biden hasn’t held a press conference in 77 days but Democrats aren’t feeling much pressure to put the presumptive nominee front and center at the moment,” The Hill reports.
“Biden has, for the most part, kept a low profile throughout the coronavirus pandemic and weeks of demonstrations for racial justice across the country. Over that time, Biden has built up a healthy lead in the polls and emerged as the heavy favorite for now to be the next president.”
“Meanwhile, Republicans have watched with growing alarm as President Trump’s polling numbers have fallen to frightening new lows for an incumbent.”
“Biden has, for the most part, kept a low profile throughout the coronavirus pandemic and weeks of demonstrations for racial justice across the country. Over that time, Biden has built up a healthy lead in the polls and emerged as the heavy favorite for now to be the next president.”
“Meanwhile, Republicans have watched with growing alarm as President Trump’s polling numbers have fallen to frightening new lows for an incumbent.”
June 19, 2020
Trump’s Rallies Confirm Bolton’s China Story
Bolton says Trump sought a trade deal to use in the election. In public, Trump all but admitted it.
By William Saletan
June 18, 20206:36 PM
John Bolton, President Donald Trump’s former national security adviser, has just added a new chapter to the stockpile of evidence that Trump betrayed the United States. In his forthcoming book, The Room Where It Happened, Bolton reports that last year, Trump asked Chinese President Xi Jinping to help him get reelected. Bolton was a direct witness to these overtures. His story matches Trump’s solicitation of Russian assistance in the 2016 election and Trump’s extortion of Ukraine to get campaign help against former Vice President Joe Biden in 2020. But there’s one more very good reason to believe Bolton’s allegation: Trump, in front of thousands of people, has essentially confirmed it.
In a Wall Street Journal excerpt from his book, Bolton describes a December 2018 dinner between Trump and Xi. In that conversation, he recalls, Trump offered to reduce U.S. tariffs on China in exchange for “increases in Chinese farm-product purchases, to help with the crucial farm-state vote.” Then, in June 2019, according to Bolton, Trump told Xi that a “trade deal with China” would “be a big plus for him politically.” In a third discussion, later that month, Trump “turned the conversation to the coming U.S. presidential election, alluding to China’s economic capability and pleading with Xi to ensure he’d win.” Bolton recalls that in this meeting, Trump “stressed the importance of farmers and increased Chinese purchases of soybeans and wheat in the electoral outcome.” Bolton adds: “I would print Trump’s exact words, but the government’s prepublication review process has decided otherwise.”
Trump claims that Bolton “made up” these stories. But the president’s own words, delivered at reelection rallies before and after he signed the trade deal with China on Jan. 15, validate Bolton’s account. On Nov. 6 in Louisiana, Trump bragged about collecting billions of dollars in tariffs from China and warned voters that if Democrats were to gain power, they would lose that revenue stream. On Dec. 18 in Michigan, he said he was funneling money from China through the U.S. treasury to take “good care of our farmers.” On Jan. 9 in Ohio, he boasted that he was about to sign “a big, beautiful monster—$40 to $50 billion to our farmers” from China. He scoffed that Democrats could never have scored such a deal.
The president made clear that to get China’s money, he was willing to sacrifice human rights. China and the United States were “making the largest trade deal in history,” Trump told Fox and Friends on Nov. 22. “We have to stand with Hong Kong, but I’m also standing with President Xi. He’s a friend of mine.” On Jan. 10, when Laura Ingraham asked Trump about “the human rights issue in China”—“a million people in reeducation camps, internment camps”—he replied, “Well, I’m riding a fine line, because we’re making … great trade deals.” Trump accused President Ronald Reagan of leaving money on the table: “He didn’t trade with the Soviet Union at all.” Trump told Ingraham, “We have a great relationship with China right now, so I don’t want to speak badly of anyone.”
snip//
Trump’s public boasts confirm Bolton’s account. The president put “his own political interests” ahead of “U.S. national interests,” Bolton writes, “not just on trade questions but across the whole field of national security.” Virtually every decision, according to Bolton, was “driven by re-election calculations.” Trump’s behavior with Russia and Ukraine substantiates that indictment. So does his collusion with China.
Trump's Rallies Confirm Bolton's China Story
https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2020/06/bolton-book-trump-china-election.htmlTrump’s Rallies Confirm Bolton’s China Story
Bolton says Trump sought a trade deal to use in the election. In public, Trump all but admitted it.
By William Saletan
June 18, 20206:36 PM
John Bolton, President Donald Trump’s former national security adviser, has just added a new chapter to the stockpile of evidence that Trump betrayed the United States. In his forthcoming book, The Room Where It Happened, Bolton reports that last year, Trump asked Chinese President Xi Jinping to help him get reelected. Bolton was a direct witness to these overtures. His story matches Trump’s solicitation of Russian assistance in the 2016 election and Trump’s extortion of Ukraine to get campaign help against former Vice President Joe Biden in 2020. But there’s one more very good reason to believe Bolton’s allegation: Trump, in front of thousands of people, has essentially confirmed it.
In a Wall Street Journal excerpt from his book, Bolton describes a December 2018 dinner between Trump and Xi. In that conversation, he recalls, Trump offered to reduce U.S. tariffs on China in exchange for “increases in Chinese farm-product purchases, to help with the crucial farm-state vote.” Then, in June 2019, according to Bolton, Trump told Xi that a “trade deal with China” would “be a big plus for him politically.” In a third discussion, later that month, Trump “turned the conversation to the coming U.S. presidential election, alluding to China’s economic capability and pleading with Xi to ensure he’d win.” Bolton recalls that in this meeting, Trump “stressed the importance of farmers and increased Chinese purchases of soybeans and wheat in the electoral outcome.” Bolton adds: “I would print Trump’s exact words, but the government’s prepublication review process has decided otherwise.”
Trump claims that Bolton “made up” these stories. But the president’s own words, delivered at reelection rallies before and after he signed the trade deal with China on Jan. 15, validate Bolton’s account. On Nov. 6 in Louisiana, Trump bragged about collecting billions of dollars in tariffs from China and warned voters that if Democrats were to gain power, they would lose that revenue stream. On Dec. 18 in Michigan, he said he was funneling money from China through the U.S. treasury to take “good care of our farmers.” On Jan. 9 in Ohio, he boasted that he was about to sign “a big, beautiful monster—$40 to $50 billion to our farmers” from China. He scoffed that Democrats could never have scored such a deal.
The president made clear that to get China’s money, he was willing to sacrifice human rights. China and the United States were “making the largest trade deal in history,” Trump told Fox and Friends on Nov. 22. “We have to stand with Hong Kong, but I’m also standing with President Xi. He’s a friend of mine.” On Jan. 10, when Laura Ingraham asked Trump about “the human rights issue in China”—“a million people in reeducation camps, internment camps”—he replied, “Well, I’m riding a fine line, because we’re making … great trade deals.” Trump accused President Ronald Reagan of leaving money on the table: “He didn’t trade with the Soviet Union at all.” Trump told Ingraham, “We have a great relationship with China right now, so I don’t want to speak badly of anyone.”
snip//
Trump’s public boasts confirm Bolton’s account. The president put “his own political interests” ahead of “U.S. national interests,” Bolton writes, “not just on trade questions but across the whole field of national security.” Virtually every decision, according to Bolton, was “driven by re-election calculations.” Trump’s behavior with Russia and Ukraine substantiates that indictment. So does his collusion with China.
June 19, 2020
“Make Sure I Win”: John Bolton’s Unredacted Book Shows What Trump Was Really Trying to Hide
Trump’s own words to Xi Jinping, among others, were so damning and politicized that the government insisted they be removed.
By Gabriel Sherman
June 18, 2020
John Bolton’s account that Donald Trump asked Chinese President Xi Jinping last June to buy more American farm products to help Trump’s reelection is so explosive that White House officials prevented Bolton from directly quoting Trump in Bolton’s new tell-all memoir. “I would print Trump’s exact words but the government’s prepublication review process has decided otherwise,” Bolton writes in The Room Where it Happened.
For months, Bolton has been in a standoff with the Trump administration over the book’s contents. Back in January, the White House sent a cease-and-desist letter to Bolton’s lawyer demanding that Bolton’s book not be released without the removal of certain details from the manuscript. Most recently, William Barr’s Justice Department filed a federal lawsuit asking the judge to block the release of the book next week. Vanity Fair has seen unredacted pages from the book and it’s clear why the White House tried to keep Trump’s words secret: they are deeply embarrassing and illustrate Trump’s naked politicization of America’s foreign policy.
According to an unredacted passage shown to Vanity Fair by a source, Trump’s ask is even more crudely shocking when you read Trump’s specific language. “Make sure I win,” Trump allegedly told Xi during a dinner at the G20 conference in Osaka, Japan last summer. “I will probably win anyway, so don’t hurt my farms.… Buy a lot of soybeans and wheat and make sure we win.”
(The White House did not respond to a request for comment.)
Bolton renders Trump’s interactions with President Xi in vivid detail. In the passages, Trump comes off like a needy supplicant. For example, at last year’s G20 dinner, with only interpreters present, Xi explained to Trump why China was building concentration camps for the country’s minority Uighur population. Trump allegedly told Xi he approved of the brutal human rights violation. “According to our interpreter, Trump said to Xi, ‘go ahead, you’re doing exactly the right thing.’” Bolton writes. Earlier in the same passage, Bolton writes that Trump told Xi on a phone call ahead of their G20 meeting: “I miss you,” and then said, “this is totally up to you, but the most popular thing I’ve ever been involved with is making a deal with China.… Making a deal with China would be a very popular thing for me.’”
Another passage shows Trump’s racist views on immigration. Bolton describes how Trump derailed a White House meeting about Iran strategy by bringing up a right wing conspiracy that Black South Africans were killing white South African farmers and stealing their land. According to Bolton, Trump blurted out that he wanted to grant the white South Africans “asylum and citizenship.”
"Make Sure I Win": John Bolton's Unredacted Book Shows What Trump Was Really Trying to Hide
https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2020/06/boltons-unredacted-book-shows-trump-trying-to-hide“Make Sure I Win”: John Bolton’s Unredacted Book Shows What Trump Was Really Trying to Hide
Trump’s own words to Xi Jinping, among others, were so damning and politicized that the government insisted they be removed.
By Gabriel Sherman
June 18, 2020
John Bolton’s account that Donald Trump asked Chinese President Xi Jinping last June to buy more American farm products to help Trump’s reelection is so explosive that White House officials prevented Bolton from directly quoting Trump in Bolton’s new tell-all memoir. “I would print Trump’s exact words but the government’s prepublication review process has decided otherwise,” Bolton writes in The Room Where it Happened.
For months, Bolton has been in a standoff with the Trump administration over the book’s contents. Back in January, the White House sent a cease-and-desist letter to Bolton’s lawyer demanding that Bolton’s book not be released without the removal of certain details from the manuscript. Most recently, William Barr’s Justice Department filed a federal lawsuit asking the judge to block the release of the book next week. Vanity Fair has seen unredacted pages from the book and it’s clear why the White House tried to keep Trump’s words secret: they are deeply embarrassing and illustrate Trump’s naked politicization of America’s foreign policy.
According to an unredacted passage shown to Vanity Fair by a source, Trump’s ask is even more crudely shocking when you read Trump’s specific language. “Make sure I win,” Trump allegedly told Xi during a dinner at the G20 conference in Osaka, Japan last summer. “I will probably win anyway, so don’t hurt my farms.… Buy a lot of soybeans and wheat and make sure we win.”
(The White House did not respond to a request for comment.)
Bolton renders Trump’s interactions with President Xi in vivid detail. In the passages, Trump comes off like a needy supplicant. For example, at last year’s G20 dinner, with only interpreters present, Xi explained to Trump why China was building concentration camps for the country’s minority Uighur population. Trump allegedly told Xi he approved of the brutal human rights violation. “According to our interpreter, Trump said to Xi, ‘go ahead, you’re doing exactly the right thing.’” Bolton writes. Earlier in the same passage, Bolton writes that Trump told Xi on a phone call ahead of their G20 meeting: “I miss you,” and then said, “this is totally up to you, but the most popular thing I’ve ever been involved with is making a deal with China.… Making a deal with China would be a very popular thing for me.’”
Another passage shows Trump’s racist views on immigration. Bolton describes how Trump derailed a White House meeting about Iran strategy by bringing up a right wing conspiracy that Black South Africans were killing white South African farmers and stealing their land. According to Bolton, Trump blurted out that he wanted to grant the white South Africans “asylum and citizenship.”
June 18, 2020
The Rude Pundit
Proudly lowering the level of political discourse
6/18/2020
Trump Doesn't Know Shit or Give a Shit About African Americans or History or Anything, Really
snip//
...This motherfucker is taking credit for Juneteenth. No, really. In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, he said about scheduling his hate rally in Tulsa on June 19, "I did something good: I made Juneteenth very famous. It’s actually an important event, an important time. But nobody had ever heard of it."
Think of the framing of that. "Nobody" means him and white people. It excludes, for instance, African Americans, most of whom have fucking heard of Juneteenth because it's so goddamn important. Trump said, "I had political people who had no idea." And then he asked an assistant, "Did you ever hear of Juneteenth before?" who, in a hilarious moment, responded that she learned about it when the White House put out a statement last year for the date, as it had every year. Even then, Trump couldn't help but be a fucking dickzit. "I don’t think it was put up by others. But we made people aware of it," he said, implying that no previous president had recognized it, despite the fact that both Barack Obama and George W. Bush issued multiple statements for Juneteenth. Trump did admit, "Actually, a young African-American Secret Service agent knew what it was." No shit.
Even on the most pressing racial issue, the one that caused him to have his fucking weirdo police event, the protests over the deaths of black people at the hands of police and people who took the law into their hands, Trump's proud ignorance just highlights his unabashed racism. He's pissed that people are still even talking about how he's failed to lead (as if he ever led a goddamn thing in his life other than the line to the omelet bar at Mar-a-Lago). The New York Times reported, "The remarks he made about [George] Floyd when he attended the launch of the SpaceX spacecraft should have been enough, the president told aides."
He couldn't be bothered to learn the names of the people who were killed. Asked by the WSJ about meeting with the families of murdered black Americans, as he did on Tuesday before speaking, if any stories stood out, Trump said, acting like he was asked about favorite passages of the Bible, "All of them." Pressed on it, he offered, "Ahmed. Ahmad. He is the young man who was running. It was just sad to see. Mother was a fantastic woman. Made a great impression. They all made a great impression on me." And then, forgetting Ahmaud Arbery's name, he moved on to how important his law enforcement speech was.
By the way, the families declined to appear at the ceremony where Trump gave that speech and signed his bullshit executive order. A lawyer described the meeting with Trump as "very contentious." Did they think this void of a human-shaped rage vessel would want anything more than to hear their praise? Did they expect empathy when, really, Trump probably thought they should comfort him for all that their loved ones' deaths had put him through politically? What a fucking tragic farce.
And, when it comes to Rayshard Brooks, the black man who was sleeping in his car at Wendy's drive-thru in Atlanta and got shot in the back running from police, well, Trump isn't gonna try to pretend to give a jolly donkey shit. On Crazy Sean Hannity's Circus of Self-Fellatio, Trump said, "I heard today and just got a report that the police officer's lawyer said that he heard a sound like a gun, like a gunshot. And he saw a flash in front of him. So, that's an interesting -- you know, I don't know that I would have necessarily believed that. But I will tell you, that's -- that's a very interesting thing." That's the kind of punk-ass shit he does all the time. He's not saying something's true. He's just asking questions about things he "heard," whether it's about the supposed "miracle" of hydroxychloroquine or the possible sinister motives of the elderly man pushed over by police in Buffalo. We call that the "little bitch" approach to arguments.
Trump's actually going along with much of conservative media on Brooks. As far as Tucker Carlson's bitch face and the rest of the right-wing machine are concerned, they're done pretending that cops do anything bad. Brooks pointed a taser at a cop and didn't listen to every word the cop said, so he deserved to die. Trump is always an echo chamber for whatever he saw on the TV just before speaking.
Back at the police "reform" event, Trump concluded his speech, in part, with this odd statement: "To go forward, we must seek cooperation, not confrontation; we must build upon our heritage, not tear it down." Yeah, that cruel orange bastard wrapped up an event that happened because white people murdered black people by saying we shouldn't tear down symbols of the Confederacy. Motherfucker, if we really were tearing down our heritage of American racism, almost nothing would remain standing.
Rude Pundit: Trump Doesn't Know Shit or Give a Shit About African Americans or History or Anything,
https://rudepundit.blogspot.com/2020/06/trump-doesnt-know-shit-or-give-shit.htmlThe Rude Pundit
Proudly lowering the level of political discourse
6/18/2020
Trump Doesn't Know Shit or Give a Shit About African Americans or History or Anything, Really
snip//
...This motherfucker is taking credit for Juneteenth. No, really. In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, he said about scheduling his hate rally in Tulsa on June 19, "I did something good: I made Juneteenth very famous. It’s actually an important event, an important time. But nobody had ever heard of it."
Think of the framing of that. "Nobody" means him and white people. It excludes, for instance, African Americans, most of whom have fucking heard of Juneteenth because it's so goddamn important. Trump said, "I had political people who had no idea." And then he asked an assistant, "Did you ever hear of Juneteenth before?" who, in a hilarious moment, responded that she learned about it when the White House put out a statement last year for the date, as it had every year. Even then, Trump couldn't help but be a fucking dickzit. "I don’t think it was put up by others. But we made people aware of it," he said, implying that no previous president had recognized it, despite the fact that both Barack Obama and George W. Bush issued multiple statements for Juneteenth. Trump did admit, "Actually, a young African-American Secret Service agent knew what it was." No shit.
Even on the most pressing racial issue, the one that caused him to have his fucking weirdo police event, the protests over the deaths of black people at the hands of police and people who took the law into their hands, Trump's proud ignorance just highlights his unabashed racism. He's pissed that people are still even talking about how he's failed to lead (as if he ever led a goddamn thing in his life other than the line to the omelet bar at Mar-a-Lago). The New York Times reported, "The remarks he made about [George] Floyd when he attended the launch of the SpaceX spacecraft should have been enough, the president told aides."
He couldn't be bothered to learn the names of the people who were killed. Asked by the WSJ about meeting with the families of murdered black Americans, as he did on Tuesday before speaking, if any stories stood out, Trump said, acting like he was asked about favorite passages of the Bible, "All of them." Pressed on it, he offered, "Ahmed. Ahmad. He is the young man who was running. It was just sad to see. Mother was a fantastic woman. Made a great impression. They all made a great impression on me." And then, forgetting Ahmaud Arbery's name, he moved on to how important his law enforcement speech was.
By the way, the families declined to appear at the ceremony where Trump gave that speech and signed his bullshit executive order. A lawyer described the meeting with Trump as "very contentious." Did they think this void of a human-shaped rage vessel would want anything more than to hear their praise? Did they expect empathy when, really, Trump probably thought they should comfort him for all that their loved ones' deaths had put him through politically? What a fucking tragic farce.
And, when it comes to Rayshard Brooks, the black man who was sleeping in his car at Wendy's drive-thru in Atlanta and got shot in the back running from police, well, Trump isn't gonna try to pretend to give a jolly donkey shit. On Crazy Sean Hannity's Circus of Self-Fellatio, Trump said, "I heard today and just got a report that the police officer's lawyer said that he heard a sound like a gun, like a gunshot. And he saw a flash in front of him. So, that's an interesting -- you know, I don't know that I would have necessarily believed that. But I will tell you, that's -- that's a very interesting thing." That's the kind of punk-ass shit he does all the time. He's not saying something's true. He's just asking questions about things he "heard," whether it's about the supposed "miracle" of hydroxychloroquine or the possible sinister motives of the elderly man pushed over by police in Buffalo. We call that the "little bitch" approach to arguments.
Trump's actually going along with much of conservative media on Brooks. As far as Tucker Carlson's bitch face and the rest of the right-wing machine are concerned, they're done pretending that cops do anything bad. Brooks pointed a taser at a cop and didn't listen to every word the cop said, so he deserved to die. Trump is always an echo chamber for whatever he saw on the TV just before speaking.
Back at the police "reform" event, Trump concluded his speech, in part, with this odd statement: "To go forward, we must seek cooperation, not confrontation; we must build upon our heritage, not tear it down." Yeah, that cruel orange bastard wrapped up an event that happened because white people murdered black people by saying we shouldn't tear down symbols of the Confederacy. Motherfucker, if we really were tearing down our heritage of American racism, almost nothing would remain standing.
June 18, 2020
Trump calls for 'new justices' on Supreme Court after unfavorable rulings
By Brett Samuels - 06/18/20 01:33 PM EDT
President Trump on Thursday escalated his criticism of the Supreme Court after a pair of rulings this week against his administration, calling for new justices to be appointed and pledging to release a new list of potential nominees ahead of November's election.
In a separate tweet, Trump said he would release a list of potential Supreme Court nominees by Sept. 1, similar to the one he published during the 2016 campaign that won over support of skeptical conservatives.
more...
https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/503413-trump-calls-for-new-justices-on-supreme-court-after-unfavorable
Trump calls for 'new justices' on Supreme Court after unfavorable rulings
Trump calls for 'new justices' on Supreme Court after unfavorable rulings
By Brett Samuels - 06/18/20 01:33 PM EDT
President Trump on Thursday escalated his criticism of the Supreme Court after a pair of rulings this week against his administration, calling for new justices to be appointed and pledging to release a new list of potential nominees ahead of November's election.
"The recent Supreme Court decisions, not only on DACA, Sanctuary Cities, Census, and others, tell you only one thing, we need NEW JUSTICES of the Supreme Court," Trump tweeted just hours after the court ruled against his move to rescind deportation protections for young undocumented immigrants.
"If the Radical Left Democrats assume power, your Second Amendment, Right to Life, Secure Borders, and Religious Liberty, among many other things, are OVER and GONE!" Trump added.
"If the Radical Left Democrats assume power, your Second Amendment, Right to Life, Secure Borders, and Religious Liberty, among many other things, are OVER and GONE!" Trump added.
In a separate tweet, Trump said he would release a list of potential Supreme Court nominees by Sept. 1, similar to the one he published during the 2016 campaign that won over support of skeptical conservatives.
more...
https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/503413-trump-calls-for-new-justices-on-supreme-court-after-unfavorable
June 18, 2020
Trump's Self-Sabotage Worries Aides
womp womp 
https://politicalwire.com/2020/06/17/trumps-self-sabotage-worries-aides/
Trump’s Self-Sabotage Worries Aides
June 17, 2020 at 5:13 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard
New York Times: “They say his repeated acts of political self-sabotage — a widely denounced photo-op at a church for which peaceful protesters were forcibly removed, a threat to use the American military to quell protests — have significantly damaged his re-election prospects, and yet he appears mostly unable, or unwilling, to curtail them.”
“Mr. Trump doesn’t want to be seen as a ‘loser,’ a label he detests, in the campaign against Joe Biden… But for now, they said, the president is acting trapped and defensive, and his self-destructive behavior has been so out of step for an incumbent in an election year that many advisers wonder if he is truly interested in serving a second term.”
Also interesting: “Mr. Trump has also become consumed, once again, with leaks from the White House, demanding that officials find and prosecute those responsible for information getting out about his trip to the bunker beneath the White House during unruly protests.”
“Mr. Trump doesn’t want to be seen as a ‘loser,’ a label he detests, in the campaign against Joe Biden… But for now, they said, the president is acting trapped and defensive, and his self-destructive behavior has been so out of step for an incumbent in an election year that many advisers wonder if he is truly interested in serving a second term.”
Also interesting: “Mr. Trump has also become consumed, once again, with leaks from the White House, demanding that officials find and prosecute those responsible for information getting out about his trip to the bunker beneath the White House during unruly protests.”
June 18, 2020
Decaturish has calls out to public affairs officers in Gwinnett, DeKalb and Cobb counties for confirmation. A message to the spokesperson for Atlanta Police was not immediately returned.
Zones 3 and 6 cover south Atlanta, where Rolfe killed Rayshard Brooks after a June 12 DUI arrest turned into an altercation. Rolfe fired three bullets at Brooks as he fled with a taser in hand. Video of the shooting suggests Brooks pointed the taser at officers as he fled.
more...
https://decaturish.com/2020/06/atlanta-police-walkout-following-murder-charge-against-officer-who-shot-rayshard-brooks/
Atlanta Police walkout following murder charge against officer who shot Rayshard Brooks
They don't get it at all.
Crime and public safety Metro ATL
Atlanta Police walkout following murder charge against officer who shot Rayshard Brooks
George Chidi Jun 17, 2020
This story has been updated.
Atlanta, GA — The head of Atlanta’s police union confirmed Wednesday that officers from the Atlanta Police Department in Zones 3 and 6 walked off the job Wednesday afternoon.
Vince Champion, southeast regional director of the International Brotherhood of Police officers, said that police officers had stopped answering calls midshift, in response to charges against Officer Garrett Rolfe who is accused of murdering Rayshard Brooks in Atlanta.
“The union, we would never advocate this. We wouldn’t advocate a blue flu,” Champion said. “We don’t know the numbers. Apparently we’re learning that command staff are asking outlying counties for support and aren’t getting it.”
Decaturish has calls out to public affairs officers in Gwinnett, DeKalb and Cobb counties for confirmation. A message to the spokesperson for Atlanta Police was not immediately returned.
Zones 3 and 6 cover south Atlanta, where Rolfe killed Rayshard Brooks after a June 12 DUI arrest turned into an altercation. Rolfe fired three bullets at Brooks as he fled with a taser in hand. Video of the shooting suggests Brooks pointed the taser at officers as he fled.
more...
https://decaturish.com/2020/06/atlanta-police-walkout-following-murder-charge-against-officer-who-shot-rayshard-brooks/
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