The Trump Presidency

I think it was Jonathan Chait (who is of the left) who wrote when the Trump Presidency was merely a figment in many's imagination that if Trump were to become President, it would resemble a television show. Ratings dip and there would either be a plot change or a character would be killed off. Here's hoping for the good of the country that Chait isn't perfectly prescient. One of the problems for Trump is that he has chosen a lot of really high profile folks with idiosyncratic (I'll be kind) views and public personas. That's not to say they aren't talented, but they are really sitting ducks. Flynn borders on being unhinged and has an electric personality. I don't advocate being buttoned-down for the sake of appearances, but I always thought Flynn would transgress in some way or another.
 
Leaving aside the larger ramifications, the politics, and the optics, this is just a good thing. Flynn seemed like a nutter and not the kind of person you want an inexperienced president counting on for sober and impartial FP advice.
 
Joy Reid Verified account
‏@JoyAnnReid

Donald Trump has his first major resignation and scandal THREE WEEKS into his presidency. This has to be some kind of record.
 
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" but the emails show a possibility that there might be a conflict of interest ."

the emails also remind us the reason for the above paraphrase was a verifiable, registered legal charity.

AIDS research

Like I said months ago, many of you wouldn't know "corruption" if it ran off with your wife
 
Jen Psaki ‏@jrpsaki 1h1 hour ago

Important to remember Flynn is the tip of the iceberg. Russia ties with Trump team, and interest in creating chaos in US are ongoing.
 
Runnin said:
Although there is nary a whiff of this anywhere in the "liberal" press, is there anyone on this God's earth who doesn't believe that anything Flynn said to the Russian ambassador with regard to future foreign policy toward Russian DID NOT come directly from Trump himself?

When shall we see this obvious question?
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You think Trump has enough of a clue about what his Russia policy is to give instructions to someone else about it?

Foreign policy is one of those things that I am hoping he finds boring. The best we can hope for there is that he provides a general framework and then forgets about it. China BAD, Russia meh, Islam EVIL...MANUFACTURING JOBS!
 
Jaw said:
You think Trump has enough of a clue about what his Russia policy is to give instructions to someone else about it?

Foreign policy is one of those things that I am hoping he finds boring. The best we can hope for there is that he provides a general framework and then forgets about it. China BAD, Russia meh, Islam EVIL...MANUFACTURING JOBS!
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Using what he says as a guide, he cares as much about keeping Russia happy as about creating jobs. The odds that Flynn went to meet with the Russian ambassador without taking orders from his boss first seems miniscule. I think the fact that Flynn resigned shows they feel the Prez needs protection from something.
 
Jaw said:
You think Trump has enough of a clue about what his Russia policy is to give instructions to someone else about it?

Foreign policy is one of those things that I am hoping he finds boring. The best we can hope for there is that he provides a general framework and then forgets about it. China BAD, Russia meh, Islam EVIL...MANUFACTURING JOBS!
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I agree with you at a level in that Trump likely didn't urge Flynn to go in the direction he did, but it is still troubling. Trump appears to be an empty vessel on foreign policy, which makes it very important to vet his leadership team that deals with this subject. I doubt he'd stage an invasion unless counseled that it was of utmost importance to do so. Problem is, I fear Bannon and company may recommend just that.
 
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Jaw said:
You think Trump has enough of a clue about what his Russia policy is to give instructions to someone else about it?

Foreign policy is one of those things that I am hoping he finds boring. The best we can hope for there is that he provides a general framework and then forgets about it. China BAD, Russia meh, Islam EVIL...MANUFACTURING JOBS!
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Yeah, I would agree with that if I trusted the people delegated to handle it...which speaks to the judgement and credibility of the guy calling the shots.
 
Judge Brinkema's ruling has been lost in the other headlines. But it contains something important:

Brinkema's written decision on Monday further recounted the public comments made by then-Republican presidential candidate Trump, calling for a "complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States," and more recent statements from former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani that Trump wanted to find a way to implement the ban "legally."
"Defendants have not denied any of these statements or produced any evidence beyond the text of the (executive order) itself, to support their contention that the (executive order) was primarily motivated by national security concerns," Brinkema explained.
"Defendants have argued that the court may not go beyond the text of the (executive order) in assessing its purpose, or look behind its proffered national security rationale, but the Supreme Court has rejected that position," she added.
"The evidence in this record focuses on the president's statements about a 'Muslim ban' and the link Giuliani established between those statements and the (executive order)," Brinkema wrote. "Based on that evidence, at this preliminary (stage) of the litigation, the Court finds that the Commonwealth has established a likelihood of success on the merits."

It is important that the courts scrutinize any "national security claims" made by this administration given that there now exists a paper trail that shows its willingness to use those claims to cloak unconstitutional actions.
 
nsacpi said:
It is important that the courts scrutinize any "national security claims" made by this administration given that there now exists a paper trail that shows its willingness to use those claims to cloak unconstitutional actions.
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You'll notice that the Judge didn't actually rule on the bad faith component here.

And maybe you'll draw a connection between a Clinton appointee in McAuliffe's DOJ. Maybe you won't.

We can make a lot of noise about what's unconstitutional in our own eyes, but we should also understand that our laws interpreting the constitution aren't open to personal opinion.
 
emptywheel
‏@emptywheel

Reminder: In addition to dealing code word intel to his girlfriend, Petraeus also lied to FBI about it. That's your Flynn replacement?

Glenn Greenwald ‏@ggreenwald 4h4 hours ago

That Petraeus is considered an acceptable candidate for any DC job speaks volumes:
 
Hawk said:
You'll notice that the Judge didn't actually rule on the bad faith component here.

And maybe you'll draw a connection between a Clinton appointee in McAuliffe's DOJ. Maybe you won't.

We can make a lot of noise about what's unconstitutional in our own eyes, but we should also understand that our laws interpreting the constitution aren't open to personal opinion.
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These questions will be decided in court, and quite possibly as you indicate, but it seems pretty hard to dispute that this thing looks like an own-goal right now.
 
Evan McMullin Verified account
‏@Evan_McMullin

Flynn is the third Trump team member to resign over Russia-related issues. This pattern betrays a serious problem & Trump is at its center.
 
Julio3000 said:
These questions will be decided in court, and quite possibly as you indicate, but it seems pretty hard to dispute that this thing looks like an own-goal right now.
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Yes, it does right now, but let's allow it to play out.

It's only been judged in enemy territory so far.
 
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