Mourning in America - Trump Year One: November '16 to

Like I don't think a lot of people not in Trump's base are going to be scrolling through "Why Women Are Happier in the Kitchen" articles by Milo just so they can get exciting white house coverage.

That's nuts, I can totally see it! One, all Trump has to do is give exclusive interviews/access to Breitbart. And two, clearly no one cares about the misogyny, racism, etc, or Trump wouldn't be president.

Trump has to do is give exclusive interviews/access to Breitbar

that's what i was thinking

Let's not get carried away. Even RT tries to present itself as a legit news source, and sometimes presents accurate coverage of things that don't negatively impact Putin. Right now it's a much more sophisticated operation than Breitbart imo. Breitbart would really have to massively change for that to work. Not saying it can't happen, just not in its current form.

BTW, guess who doesn't have a problem calling the "alt-right" neo-nazis, unlike the craven American press:
https://www.rt.com/viral/367766-cnn-jews-people-reaction/

It's alarming to me how much I've let myself forget about the W presidency, which spakred near-daily frustration and rage and anxiety at various levels for basically the entire eight years. At first, regarding the press, all I could remember was the disgusting embedded-journalist scam for good coverage (basically an extension of the carefully-managed press pools of Gulf War I) and Bush and Cheney being caught on a hot mic calling Adam Clymer a ''major league asshole from the New York Times'' or whatever it was.

Still I think what Trump is doing is much more broadly corrosive to democracy and civic discourse. It's not *new* - as others have pointed out, it just extends the dismissal of fact-based reporting that we've long become accustomed to from the right-wing media sphere - but coming from the soon-to-be President.... like, there are huge swaths of this country that have spent years handwaving away any contrary evidence with ''oh well, the New York TIMES, that's just a liberal tabloid'' and now that's to be even more permanently cemented.... ughghghghghghhghgg. I mean there is so much to be anxious and enraged about with where things are headed, but this is the one tensing my shoulders and stomach today. Fuck, four years of this!

yea it is bad

Correction, EIGHT years. Didn't you see Trumps's tweet?

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has had a strained relationship with the U.S. since taking office in June, mainly because of U.S. criticism of his controversial — and often brutal — war on drugs. But he says he's hoping to get along with President-elect Trump.

Toward that end, he's appointed real estate magnate Jose E.B. Antonio as a special trade envoy to the U.S. — and he just so happens to be the man building Trump Tower Manila.

http://www.npr.org/sections/parallels/2016/11/22/502895797/whos-the-new-philippine-envoy-the-man-building-trump-tower-manila

I think nearly the entire media being owned by 3 conglomerates is a genuine threat to the 1st Amendment

and he just so happens to be the man building Trump Tower Manila.

the stark, horrific reality of a trump presidency is going to far outstrip the creative efforts of all the people who've imagined 'lol president trump' scenarios over the years, isn't it

too bad the Dems ran some awful Senate candidates (eg Evan Bayh) so can't impeach, right?

xxpost These are by no means mutually exclusive threats.

Worst, when we emerge from this daily disaster, the tendrils of Trump will be everywhere, from the top down, from the government to private sector, from media to the courts. He and his family will be richer, more powerful, more pervasive, and installed in the fucking Hall of Presidents at Disneyworld.

the stark, horrific reality of a trump presidency is going to far outstrip the creative efforts of all the people who've imagined 'lol president trump' scenarios over the years, isn't it

― trump le monde (bizarro gazzara), Tuesday, November 22, 2016 9:28 AM (six minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

On the plus side, the man's ego has ensured that every one of his properties is clearly labeled when shit gets real and people are weighing their property damage options.

The attraction will close on January 17, 2017 for refurbishment and the addition of Donald Trump as a new audio-animatronic figure. It will reopen on June 30, 2017.

Yeah, he'll probably make that. In order for him to leave office early he'd need:

• Something that offends the Democrats enough to start impeachment proceedings.
• Something that offends enough Republicans enough to join impeachment proceedings.
• Something where it would be of more benefit to the Republican party to have President Mike Pence.
• Something that drops his popularity with his base enough that neither side is worried about re-election.

I can't see him not hitting that combo some time in the first four years.

Democrats can't start impeachment proceedings unless they control the House

I think reelection is the only reason most Republicans would think twice about preferring a President Pence.

With great reservation, I'd prefer a President Pence too -- less of a wild card and easier to defeat in 2020.

But I guess this is all going to depend on how Trump plays ball with the GOP.

yea it would have to be something truly toxic for it to be mutually beneficial to have impeachment proceedings xps

Pence is a known quantity within the standard GOP party structure, in that sense he represents a preferable opponent

http://i.imgur.com/C09oz2A.png

breitbart not going easy on thier guy!

no one knows what can happen next year, let alone 2020.

Pence is a known quantity within the standard GOP party structure, in that sense he represents a preferable opponent

― Οὖτις, Tuesday, November 22, 2016 10:55 AM (two minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Pence would probably have zero appeal outside the predictable GOP base, which IMO means he probably loses. Trump is a walking question mark. So I don't know who the GOP prefers but I know who I'd rather face. Ever actually listen to Pence speak? He has this timeless creepiness in affect and diction, like it could just as easily be the 1950s.

i think pence is pretty dangerous actually, that VP debate when he lied about basically everything w/ smooth confidence is cheney-esque

Democrats can't start impeachment proceedings unless they control the House

Anyone can start impeachment proceedings - they have to clear the House, but it's a safe bet that they'll get a majority of Democrats, no?

I think reelection is the only reason most Republicans would think twice about preferring a President Pence.

This is probably true - but they don't need most Republicans.

Bah, misread that last one, sorry man alive.

Yeah he is dangerous, but I also don't see him having the appeal of a Trump. Neither are great, just saying I think Pence is easier to beat in an election because his record is clear, it matches the way he looks and speaks, and he's not the kind of galvanizer Trump is. You're not going to see 30K people showing up for Pence rallies.

otm

I guess his biggest threat is big turnout among the evangelical base. He was probably a smart pick for the Trump ticket in that regard. He'd be very strong with the old republican coalition but no crossover appeal imo. My guess is that's not enough to win presidential elections anymore, granted I don't want to sound too sure of anything right now. He's certainly slick and polished and intelligent and has some amount of charisma, I just think there are a lot of Trump voters who wouldn't go for him.

But I guess this is all going to depend on how Trump plays ball with the GOP.

― the last famous person you were surprised to discover was actually (man alive), Tuesday, November 22, 2016 9:54 AM (eight minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

He's going to start behaving presidentially any day now, I just know it.

In an election season chock full of things that defy belief, I think the most shocking thing to me is that people still harbor any illusions that Trump is anything other than the narcissistic black hole that he's nakedly presented himself as for years.

Someone posted a short video he made about his transition effort, very bland and underwhelming. He talked a little about his first 100 days and the blustery stuff about muslims and building a wall wasn't in there, the nonsensical line about "deleting two regulations for every new one" was in there. Wasn't sure if it spoke to a moderation in policy direction or just an attempt to quiet things down or what.

could just be that he hasn't got a fucking clue what he's going to do

He's definitely a narcissistic black hole but he still has to operate within the existing structures, so long as they still exist.

according to David Remnick Trump's telling journalists that he "loves" Obama now

black holes tend to be pretty destructive iirc

and he's had two (TWO!) whole phone calls with obama in the last fortnight! an amazing relationship, just terrific xp

the nonsensical line about "deleting two regulations for every new one" was in there

I keep coming back to this because it is so hilariously nonsensical - it's not what's *in* the regulation that's important to him, it's how many there are! Should just write one giant sweeping regulation for everything and tell him that that all the other regulations have been eliminated. Magic!

Yeah they're going to start naming all brand new regulations "3b" "35f" etc. as a loophole

On day one, every government employee named Walter will be shown the door. Walter is a terrible name, so so bad.

Like I read regulations all the time in my job and I don't even know what he really means by "a regulation." An entire section of federal code? A subsection?

Donald Trump is not a person to whom words mean things

he doesn't mean anything he doesn't understand anything

^^^

regulators mount up

yeah it's about as vague and meaningful as his "5 year lobbying ban...unless they sign a piece of paper" plan

odds on trump quickly getting fed up with all the hassle of being president and just abdicating?

I don't think he'd resign, just stop coming to the office

our greatest hope