Trump

[Tahlvin]

And now he's encouraging people in North Carolina to vote twice, once by mail and once in person. Committing a felony, if they do so.

[poorpete]

With the latest on Trump's views on Veterans, specifically those who were injured or died in service, is pretty yucky behavior. It's possible that these are all false accusations, possible, except for one: how he talked about John McCain. But his main defense of all of this is that he was always respectful of John McCain's service and never called him a "loser." Public comments say otherwise. Why start your defense with something we all know is a lie?

[Mike]

[Eliahad]

[Tahlvin]

He's incapable of telling the truth, because truth means nothing to him. Even if telling the truth would ultimately be helpful to him, he cannot do it because pathologically he is incapable of admitting he made a mistake, or like Eliahad says, if he repeats the lie often enough he convinces himself it is the truth. And that's not related to his possible mini-strokes, that's just part of Trump's psyche.

[FlameBlade]

[Mike]

Mostly stealing this from CNN:

In 2015, Trump said of John McCain: "He's not a war hero. He's a war hero because he was captured. I like people who weren't captured."

After the DNC of 2016, Trump attacked the Khans, a gold star family. He even compared the loss of their son's life to his own 'sacrifices', saying, "I think I've made a lot of sacrifices. I work very, very hard. I've created thousands and thousands of jobs, tens of thousands of jobs, built great structures."

In 2017, he called the wife of US Army Sgt. La David Johnson who was killed in Niger. The soldier's wife said that Trump had told her in that call that her husband "knew what he had signed up for."

In 2019, Trump referred to his former Secretary of Defense James Mattis, a highly decorated Marine, as "the world's most overrated general."

While campaigning in Iowa in November 2015, Trump said, "I know more about ISIS than the generals do."

So while there is not yet solid evidence that these newest reports are true, there IS solid evidence and a long history of reports of Trump saying terrible things about veterans. He has a history that makes these claims extremely believable.

[Tahlvin]

Fox News is even confirming at least part of the story.

[poorpete]

He cannot understand selflessness because he is selfish. He cannot conceive of courage because he is a coward. He cannot feel duty because he is disloyal.

- Sully Sullenberger

https://twitter.com/Captsully/status/13 ... 57772?s=20

[Phoebe]

This is what pathological narcissism is all about, though it's rarely seen in such an extreme. Narcissists are really a trip to deal with.

[Mike]

Just an issue that should outrage all Americans but will get absolutely zero traction in the current environment:

In 2018, E. Jean Carroll accused Trump of raping her in the 90s.

Trump, of course, replied with: "I've never met her" (a provable lie), "I couldn't have raped her, because she's not my type", and "she's a liar."

Carroll is currently suing Trump for defamation in connection with those statements.

So now Bill Barr has announced that Trump made those statements as part of his role as president, and therefore, the DOJ will take up his defense.

In addition to Barr and the DOJ acting as if they are Trump's replacement for Michael Cohen, this also means...

A. The United States of America will replace Trump as defendant. Therefore, any damages will be paid by the taxpayers.

B. The case moves to federal court where things may be friendlier to Trump.

C. (Most important to Trump and the primary reason for this filing, I think) a request for Trump's DNA to match against evidence from the original incident will be delayed until long after the election is over, at which point Trump and Barr can dismiss/pardon the whole affair if Trump wins.

It is a clear sign of the corruption of this administration and of the dangers we face if he wins again, and yet it is too complicated a point to rise above the general din of a messy election season. You can't fit it neatly into a Lincoln Project ad. Which is too bad.

[Stan]

Yea, it's like every week, there's a new abuse of power or an impeachable offense.

[Mike]

Update: NPR reports that because the US cannot be sued for defamation, and thus this move will kill the case entirely if successful.

[Phoebe]

The moment he said these things, you knew it was true: ""I've never met her" (a provable lie), "I couldn't have raped her, because she's not my type", and "she's a liar.""

They HAVE to make this move because it's the only way he can get rid of the case and/or avoid giving a DNA sample that would prove much of her story correct. She is writing a series at the Atlantic where she interviews other survivors of Trump assaults. Honestly I dislike her writing style so they are not great to read, but it is worth scanning them to get a sense of the stories that others are telling. He's so grotesque. It doesn't shock me that the person I know best who loves him the most is a survivor of totally unresolved child sexual abuse that has left her with severe mental illness. In the same way that she seeks out romantic relationships with abusive assholes, she loves Trump who echoes the patterns. It's horrifying to watch.

[Kyle]

If the move is allowed. It's not clear to me that it is. The DOJ can't just come in and get immunity because they say so. The judge says yes or no.

The argument is bullshit. Trump committing defamation is not "in his role" as POTUS- thus no immunity and thus not appropriate for the DOJ to represent him. But I don't know the judge or who appointed them- so who knows what the judge will say.

But it will work as a delay tactic- which is all they want.

[poorpete]

It's weird hearing about something recent in America, and go "woah that's straight up Nazi shit" and then read further that, well this was was legal in America until the 1970s (forced hysterectomies). I guess it's all a range of white supremacy, which Germany took to its largest level yet with mass genocide, but my goodness. Sickening.

[akiva]

I had a weird thought. Trump and his supporters often say that people who write critical books about the president are just doing it to make money. But if Trump is as popular as he says he is, wouldn't you make more money writing a sycophantic book? So why aren't they?

[Phoebe]

Well it is a tempting thought for all of us who need money. I have learned to speak the language of these people - after all, it is the familiar language of Sarah Palin, the language of convincing a bunch of beta cucks that they are actually glorious alpha males like their hero, DJT. All that stuff about not wanting death panels was merely a false front for today's full-throated (usually literally) support of avoidable mass casualties.

[Kyle]

Ewww- I hate the term "cucks." It's one of the terms that's been coopted by the white supremacists (to refer to people who don't agree with their politics being akin to white men that like to watch black men have sex with their wives).

[Phoebe]

Yes, I loathe the term as well. I only use it for the people who use it.