Trump, May 2017: 100 days of [unintelligible]

DCCC rapid response is unequivocal

DCCC calls on Gianforte to quit the #MTAL race after apparent assault of @Bencjacobs pic.twitter.com/N983vKm3nL

— Dave Weigel (@daveweigel) May 25, 2017

If assault charges are brought, that could change a few votes, even in Montana. Mug shots of politicians getting booked don't go over real big with some voters.

I haven't been following the MT special election closely, but apparently is was already a lot closer than was expected?

Regardless of outcome, the best move for gianforte is to say the reporter deserved it and act manly. Never apologize. If he shows any remorse he's instantly done; if he acts like a total asshole there's still a possibility of victory.

Isnt voting happening right now? No time for ads. Plus Trumpists hate the press and this is a natural extension of that.

Montana's by far the most interesting Midwestern state for bipartisan politics, but I gotta imagine this encourages Dem turnout.

Voting is tomorrow.

i think it makes dem voters smell blood in the water and get a bit energized yeah.

i can't really get enough really. could be santorumpaws of 2017...

https://scontent-mia1-2.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/18582421_1347234825367527_7776581158177580747_n.jpg?oh=6b9e497eea1189a9bf0feefc8b1c26b3&oe=59B6B7F9

^All this needs now is sweaty 1996 Billy Corgan in a Zero t-shirt

This'll be in an hour

Gallatin County Sheriff's Office will hold a press conference re: alleged Gianforte assault at 8 p.m. MST in #Bozeman. #bdcnews #mtal

— Whitney Bermes (@wabermes) May 25, 2017

How is this statement Gianforte released anything other than a bad idea

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DAogbOTW0AEd3SO.jpg

Two to one says he/his team didn't realize there was a recording.

I mean they mention the recorder, do they think it was off?

Prob better for him to just say "yeah i punched that weaselly liberal FAKE NEWS"

I sense a pattern

Local Montana newspaper Op-Ed from a month ago complaining about Gianforte's threats against reporters. pic.twitter.com/3PahLEyswY

— Elliott Lusztig (@ezlusztig) May 25, 2017

what are the trumpettes wearing in that popeshot

sorry if this was posted upthread, but here's the audio:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fhoH4v8xYlU

didn't realize gianforte was a tech millionaire. what a great guy

^ audio may be disturbing to some listeners tbh

i wouldn't be so sure that anything comes of this

also, montana isn't a midwestern state

*i wouldn't be so sure anything comes of this legally (not necessarily politically)

i saw a man beaten half to death on my neighbor's lawn in bozeman and no charges were ever brought

lol, the Gianforte version makes it sound like Jacobs executed some kind of advanced judo move.

Montana politico friend tells me that canvassers are now playing audio of the Gianforte assault on the doors. People changing votes. #mtal

— Henry Kraemer (@HenryKraemer) May 25, 2017

can't wait to see this asshole get 57% of the vote instead of 69%

Sad lol

Windup...

When you're a member of congress, your life is in hallways. Reporters ask questions. They wait outside bathrooms. the big leagues.

— Jake Sherman (@JakeSherman) May 25, 2017

Pitch

It's not for everyone. #mtpol https://t.co/KKsoa5fH7a

— Jon Tester (@jontester) May 25, 2017

Gianforte's response is, of course, intended to set up the counternarrative of "reporter had it coming," you know, what with the badgering and all. Anyone who was already at "fuck the media" is even more energized than they were to begin with (when you have Trumpspawn stumping for you that's the vote you're courting).

Corey Lewandowski's rough handling of Michelle Fields was breathlessly covered for weeks and didn't swing any votes; perhaps this is different.

well, it's the candidate this time

it seems like a more serious incident in terms of the degree of force involved.

EMS transported someone from the scene, I read in one of the write-throughs that are up already, I think

LIVE on #Periscope: Gallatin county sheriff gives a press conference on Montana Republican Greg Gianforte's alleged… https://t.co/jnMNTyEuE2

— Blake Montgomery (@blakersdozen) May 25, 2017

Jacobs released from hospital and being interviewed, 5 other witnesses were identified.

Periscope comment bubbles far too annoying for me to keep watching

http://scontent.cdninstagram.com/t51.2885-15/sh0.08/e35/p640x640/18580805_1946119242338116_7555043148079038464_n.jpg

I'm not big on loltrump memes but that one is pretty good

Fox news reporters wete eyewitnesses to Gianforte atrack:

Fox News crew witnessed it—says Gianforte grabbed @Bencjacobs by the neck, slammed him to the ground and punched him https://t.co/f8gkvLV4oU pic.twitter.com/VSeOLTlpYE

— Bradd Jaffy (@BraddJaffy) May 25, 2017

Good to see that the Fox reporters got the apology they deserved from gianforte

All three fox reporters were so stunned that they didn't respond when the guy who pummeled asked for their names as witnesses. Also, it didn't sound like anyone asked this guy if he was alright after he got chokeslammed. Everyone must have been very stunned.

A minor little detail as to why Gianforte wasn't immediately arrested...

This is a huge conflict of interest, isn't it? Sheriff Gootkin is a @GregForMontana donor. #mtpol #mtal pic.twitter.com/d4ICX0uNP4

— Don Pogreba (@dpogreba) May 25, 2017

Politicians always need to keep their cool. But what would most Montana men do if "body slammed" for no reason by another man?

— Laura Ingraham (@IngrahamAngle) May 25, 2017

"i can't believe this reporter cucked out and didn't shoot Gianforte in the head"

xpost That...makes no sense.

there are so many more obits i'm gonna go shakey on than there were a year ago

RE: Ingraham
how does she (and hannity and coulter and all other blowhards) manage to find the exact worst way to respond, every single time?

Unerring moral compass aimed by their personal relationship with Christ

They really are wired differently than normal people.

Viva Trump!

"Carrier, the company President Trump pledged to keep on American soil, informed the state of Indiana this week that it will soon begin cutting 632 workers from an Indianapolis factory. The manufacturing jobs will move to Monterrey, Mexico, where the minimum wage is $3.90."

Mark Meadows suddenly seems human.

http://ijr.com/2017/05/881482-cbo-health-care-bill-sick-people-face-higher-premiums-even-priced-market/

Freedom Caucus Chairman Mark Meadows (R-N.C.), — who played a pivotal role in including state waiver options in AHCA — hadn't read the full report yet, but initially said he saw it as “good news.”

When reporters pointed out the portion of the CBO report saying individuals with preexisting conditions in waiver states would be charged higher premiums and could even be priced out of the insurance market — destabilizing markets in those states — under AHCA, Meadows seemed surprised.

“Well, that’s not what I read,” Meadows said, putting on his reading glasses and peering at the paragraph on the phone of a nearby reporter.

...

After reading the paragraph, Meadows told reporters he would go through the CBO analysis more thoroughly and run the numbers, adding he would work to make sure the high-risk pools are properly funded.

Meadows, suddenly emotional, choked back tears and said, "Listen, I lost my sister to breast cancer. I lost my dad to lung cancer. If anybody is sensitive to preexisting conditions, it’s me. I’m not going to make a political decision today that affects somebody’s sister or father because I wouldn’t do it to myself.”

He continued:

“In the end, we’ve got to make sure there’s enough funding there to handle preexisting conditions and drive down premiums. And if we can’t do those three things, then we will have failed.”

Meadows indicated he would support less-conservative changes to provide more funding for high-risk pools in the Senate, if needed.

But what would most Montana men do if "body slammed" for no reason by another man?

Does she think Jacobs attacked Gianforte?!?

Your guess as good as anyone's

i think she was suggesting that jacobs couldn't have been "body slammed" by gianforte because if it really happened that way, jacobs would have fought back like a true XY manly man (instead of what really happened, which was jacobs bravely calling out a powerful politician in front of everyone in the room, none of whom offered any sort of support)