US Politics, June 2018: This is a total goat rodeo.

gowanus in the news

USA Today says the assessed market value of the properties bought by the Kushner venture for $72.5 million, to start this series of transactions, was $3 million.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2018/06/07/cozy-land-deals-meant-big-money-trump-family-and-friends/677126002

He sets the terms of the G7, he sets the terms of what the press focuses on more than media wants to realize, he sets the terms of engagement over and over. All while arguing he is a victim of seen and unseen forces. https://t.co/KLofoRsAPh

— Maggie Haberman (@maggieNYT) June 8, 2018

so sick of her bullshit! you're part of the god damn problem Maggie

ugh yeah

It's like colonel sanders tweeting about how horrible the fast food industry is for making people fat. Fucking infuriating

I love that maggie well do a heinous tweet, get super fucking defensive and get in the mud with people in her menchies, then use 'im bad at twitter' as an excuse.. maybe stop fucking posting then?

that is otm

So why witness tamper for the sake of trying to weaken that charge

Maybe because he's an entitled jackass who thinks he's above the law no matter what he does - and has plenty of evidence to back up that belief - but ultimately at heart like all these people he's a fucking moron? Occam's Razor plz

otm. he sees a Justice Dept. special counsel investigation as just another system he can game his way past, like he always has before.

Man, there is so much greasy money rolling around in US politics with those 501 groups, Those groups don't have to say who gave them the money, it could be from literally anywhere and from anyone, Manifort is just one fish in a big oily sea. It is pretty much legalized institutional graft.

Beyond whatever happened with Russia, that is just one part of the sludge pile. And both parties and their partisans are deep in that muck.

used to work in the office next to krauthammer’s. fuck him tbh

he used to come into the bookstore where i worked. unlike several other DC figures, he was neither creepy nor a dick. but yeah

When people are actively trying to kill you you are allowed to cheer their demise gtfo everyone

When people are actively trying to kill you you are allowed to cheer their demise gtfo everyone

He should pardon DB Cooper and the real killers of JFK just to see if they come out of hiding

― President Keyes

he should pardon ted cruz's dad?

Read that Roger Stone was trying to get Trump to pardon Marcus Garvey. If Trump manages to somehow taint reggae along with everything else I will be extra pissed.

Re: Manafort, I'm sure he is an entitled arrogant asshole, but surely* his lawyers told him that the unregistered foreign agent charge was minor and not worth focusing on. That that is the charge we know he tried to tamper with speaks volumes, not the really legally bad stuff but the most seemingly inconsequential of the indictments. Maybe we'll find out there was more tampering going on, but the fact that this action also snagged Konstantin Kilimnik - literally a Russian operative middleman/possible spy - I still say shows what may be weighing on Manafort's mind more than the money laundering.

*I am sure of nothing anymore.

The imprint of French President Emmanuel Macron's thumb can be seen across the back of Trump's hand after they shook hands at the G7. Great frame from ⁦@LeahMillis⁩ pic.twitter.com/VA8RlkYX8a

— corinne_perkins (@corinne_perkins) June 8, 2018

at least krathhammer dies hating Trump so he regained one tiny smidgen of respect for him

Corey Long, one of the Charlottesville rally protestors (protecting himself and another with a makeshift can/flame) was just found guilty and sentenced to a year, all but 20 days suspended. Residents took to the street to protest and were arrested, including a person in a wheelchair who is in the wheelchair due to the white supremacist plowing through the crowd last July.
http://www.dailyprogress.com/news/local/city/activists-upset-by-corey-long-conviction-arrested-during-protest/article_73bebb1a-6b93-11e8-be35-1f7666f3511e.html

correction, last August.

I wonder if Trump's starting to regret the strong-arm handshakes now that every world leader is using their handshake as an opportunity to mash the living fuck out of his hand

die of a heart attack you fucking imbecile

“It’s going to stop. Or we’ll stop trading with them. And that’s a very profitable answer, if we have to do it,” Mr. Trump said, adding that “We’re like the piggy bank that everybody’s robbing and that ends.”

...Several of the leaders responded aggressively to Mr. Trump’s demands — as they have repeatedly in public — listing their own complaints about American policies on tariffs and other trade measures, the official said. Several countries have said publicly they will retaliate against the United States’ new steel and aluminum tariffs with increased tariffs of their own.

“If they retaliate, they’re making a mistake,” Mr. Trump said, suggesting that the trade imbalance between the United States and those countries would make tariff increases more destructive for their economies.

In his remarks to questions on Saturday, Mr. Trump repeatedly insisted that the private discussions with his counterparts had been positive, saying that "the relationship that I’ve had with the people, the leaders of these countries has been — I would really rate it on the scale of zero to 10, I would rate it a 10.”

...Mr. Trump said some of the other leaders he met with during the Group of 7 summit appeared to admit that their trade arrangements with the United States were unfair.

“A lot of these countries actually smile at me when I’m talking,” he said. “And the smile is, ‘we couldn’t believe we got away with it.’ That’s the smile.”

That assessment by Mr. Trump stands in contrast to the public statements by those leaders, who have repeatedly insisted that they will not accept the kinds of tariffs that Mr. Trump has imposed on their industries.

...Mr. Trump also blamed former President Barack Obama for Russia’s invasion, in which the country sent troops into Crimea. Mr. Trump said that it was Mr. Obama who should take responsibility for Russia’s actions.

“Crimea was let go during the Obama administration, and you know, Obama can say all he wants, but he allowed Russia to take Crimea,” the president said. “I may have had a much different attitude, but, so, you really have to ask that question to President Obama. You know, why did he do that?”

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/09/world/americas/donald-trump-g7-nafta.html

anyone got an ebook of this

https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/41BK23E2V0L._SX287_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg

Macron is v adept at making sure he never looks displeased to see Trump, seemed actually delighted by his late arrival to the gender equality session (probably a lot of relief around the room at his initial absence).

I would really rate it on the scale of zero to 10, I would rate it a 10.

that means big tits, right?

Macron to Trump on JCPOA "You’re not comfortable with an agreement signed by your predecessor, maybe just because it was signed by your predecessor, but don’t stop others from respecting it and don’t push Iran to leave, because that’s the best protection we have today." #G7Summit

— Julian Borger (@julianborger) June 7, 2018

Angela Merkel's office has released this photo taken today at the G7, which tells you a lot about how things went. pic.twitter.com/IXX6K3ayys

— David Mack (@davidmackau) June 9, 2018

god just look at that petulant giant toddler

lol, good work trudeau

Trump's draft-dodging grandfather, who was deported from Germany, ran a BROTHEL in Canada. @JustinTrudeau just trolled Trump in the most amazing way, so yes Sarah, it was a great moment.https://t.co/1sCSGN09KI https://t.co/wAptgB7iSh

— Polly Sigh (@dcpoll) June 9, 2018

that picture is incredible

I had forgotten the face of John Bolton. I was happy, then.

Trump looks pretty chill in that photo tbh

Surely the people in that room collectively have the power to make him just...disappear.

“Canadians amused by the improbable presidential run of Donald Trump...”

the lede of that 2015 cbc piece. sigh

posting in full because none of this is real anymore

LA MALBAIE, Quebec (AP) — President Donald Trump threw the G-7 summit into disarray Saturday, tweeting that the U.S. was pulling back its endorsement of the group’s communique in part because of what he called Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s “false statements” at a news conference.Trump’s tweets from Air Force One, which was flying him to Singapore for next week’s summit with North Korea’s Kim Jong Un, came just as Canada released the group’s official communique, which took a generally positive view of the leaders’ positions on trade matters even though there were tensions with the U.S.In a pair of tweets, Trump lashed out at his G-7 host, accusing its leader of being dishonest and weak and contending that Canada had taken advantage of U.S. interests. A few hours earlier, Trudeau had told reporters that all seven leaders had come together to sign a joint declaration.

“Based on Justin’s false statements at his news conference, and the fact that Canada is charging massive Tariffs to our U.S. farmers, workers and companies, I have instructed our U.S. Reps not to endorse the Communique as we look at Tariffs on automobiles flooding the U.S. Market!” the president tweeted.

He followed up by tweeting: “PM Justin Trudeau of Canada acted so meek and mild during our @G7 meetings only to give a news conference after I left saying that, “US Tariffs were kind of insulting” and he “will not be pushed around.” Very dishonest & weak. Our Tariffs are in response to his of 270% on dairy!”

"justin's false statements"

what a fucking asshole

i can't believe it took him 18 whole months to start a trade war

All I know how to say in response to news these days is "cool, cool, cool," but it's the "cool, cool, cool" of someone who is about to be run over by a steamroller and knows that isn't really cool.

it's not just bullying, it's bullying that is literally of the 3rd to 4th grade style. a few years back i was at some event that involved someone else's extended family. there were all these people there i had never before met and probably never will again. still, i tried to be polite with everybody and asked them questions and got to know them a bit. somehow i ended up playing a game of chess against a precocious 8-year-old while his family watched and cheered him on. i'm not very good at chess and my end game is terrible, but i understand the rules and i can usually at least avoid obvious fatal mistakes, so i thought i could take this kid without much effort. i did some stupid things near the end, but eventually i cornered his king with a couple of my pieces and i thought it was over. the mood had gotten really sour in the room as the endgame approached, but suddenly they all lit up with laughter and joy as one of them noticed that we were in a stalemate condition, meaning that the game would be declared a draw. honestly i didn't fully understand the conditions and ramifications of a statemate, until they gleefully explained it to me. but they were so fucking happy that it was a draw and not a loss, the kid was trash talking me and the family was high-fiving each other and shouting and pulling in people from the kitchen to explain what had happened and laugh together. trump reminds me of that kid

Starting to really get worried about how this NK summit is gonna go

The only other thing I know to say is VOTE, VOTE, VOTE YOU FUCKERS

it's bullying that is literally of the 3rd to 4th grade style

He has freely said, in one of his only two introspective statements ever, that his personality has not changed since he was seven or eight years old and judged a problem child by his school

Starting to really get worried about how this NK summit is gonna go

I honestly hope they poison him.

xp I suppose one is forced to ask what it is about the nature of US politics which has allowed this personality to rise to its zenith #trenchantcommentary

Fingers crossed, unperson

that was a very engrossing story about the chess game, but I'm stoned. I want more.

Never spent so much time wishing death upon someone.

Lately I've been wishing that he would shit himself to death during a speech.

It's a bummer to focus so much on hopes of misery.

Every so often, my perspective shifts and I feel awed and grateful and humbled to live in the same society with thousands of people who have such a level of faith in justice and the basic tenets of our civilization that, over the course of seven decades of interactions with Donald Trump, they have to a number refrained from what I'm sure was an almost overwhelming instinctual urge to drive a steak knife directly into his jugular. Not even an attempt, as far as I know. It's quite astounding to consider, and it gives me a great deal of hope in our species.

i mean, what, he's going to break the economy? fuck it, why not, he's broken everything else, why not the economy too? god, if he was a half-decent dictator, which isn't hard, i could at least be afraid of him, but there's no real benefit in that, is it? fear isn't going to keep anyone safe. historical metaphors are wholly suspect at this juncture, but i can relate to how anybody living under one of the later julio-claudians must have felt.

I honestly hope they poison him.

No. No. No. Hope that the person who poisons him is a U.S. citizen of WASP background. If NK does it we'd have to go to war and millions would die. You should want his assassin to be unconnected to anybody we'd end up nuking or sending out troops against, or lynching. That includes Bernie Bros or anyone associated in the slightest way to Planned Parenthood.

the only good thing that could happen is a murder (family over 18)/ suicide

Anything else will garner way too much sympathy

p sure Krauthammer hates Trump for being uncouth, not for his destructive actions