A report card on the Trump administration

Yes, I know. The drama continues with Trump lashing out at Mich on Twitter (predictable)

With all this theater and power shift shaping it is no wonder they get so little done.
The dynamics are fascinating.......in a bizarre kind of way. The uncertainty all this creates can be anxiety provoking for many.

 

Agree about Mitch. Trump is no contest for him. We are seeing a shift in dynamics taking place currently.

Mitch is a very seasoned politician........ and knows how to play the game . But I do think he had his hands full with unpredictable . mercurial Trump.

 

Let's see now:

Pandemic is aging out of control Economy is not recovering as magically as was promised.

Death rate continues to soar

They are bickering over a critically important bill

while POTUS plays golf and is raging about some interior decorating flaws in his Mara Lago manor. (and tweeting his angst about Mitch)

It seems that even the most die hard Trump supporter must have questions about his performance , coping skills.and sanity.

Leadership: MIA

 

As expected, Trump gets nothing. I said over a week ago Trump was interrupting his golf game only to make a fool of himself. That's nothing new. He yearns to be the center of attention.

The silence from Trump's followers is overwhelming. Where are all those folks who voted for this idiot? Embarrassed? Is that why they are hiding?

CNN reports, "There is absolutely no sign right now that a standalone bill on $2,000 checks is going to get a vote on the Senate floor. It looks like McConnell is simply going to run out the clock.

"Meanwhile, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin tweeted Tuesday evening that direct payments to Americans were expected to begin arriving immediately. These would be the $600 payments included in the relief package President Donald Trump signed on Sunday evening.

"It's important to remember that McConnell is essentially ignoring Trump's request. In a lot of ways, this moment isn't that dissimilar to how McConnell has managed Trump for four years, letting the President rant and vent only to quietly conduct things the way he thinks is best for his members in his own chamber."

Then there is Trump's ridiculous veto of the defense bill which passed overwhelmingly in both houses of Congress.

The Hill reports, "The Senate appears poised to override President Trump’s veto of a defense policy bill, handing the president a stinging rebuke in the final days of his administration."

McConnell has made it clear that he expects "to have the two-thirds majority votes needed to nix Trump’s veto of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), marking the first time in four years that Congress has been able to successfully override Trump."

I made it clear days ago the mentally unhinged Trump is alone. With the exception of Azar (HHS), the White House and Trump's cabinet are silent. While Democrats and socialists like Senator Sanders agreed with Trump regarding $2,000 stimulus checks, no one in position of authority is listening to Trump's rants.

Is it any wonder why, when it comes to Trump, his supporters are totally silent?

 

He (Trump) always was and i s now even more so.......a cartoon character. It is not pleasant to admit that the POTUS falls into that category now. The rest of the world has seen him as such for along time. One cannot help but feel a tad bad for his supporters.......as they were sold a bill of "bad" by a con man with psych problems. Some say they benefited financially form his policies. Fine, but that is only one aspect of leadership.
Trump has seriously contaminated the GOP and now we have no idea what they stand for besides power ~ raw and absolute power. They are behaving i nondemocratic ways .....which is concerning. Raises the question: Are they .....and their supporters tired of democracy and want something more authoritarian/?.
Sometimes when folks support someone enthusiastically.......they lose sight of the whole picture of the person they are supporting. and become too subjective. Fans of anyone can have blinders to their hero's shortcomings.

Not sure if the country can establish credibility again.....let alone the respect for some of its ideals & achievements.

 

Georgia Republican Senators Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue are so enthralled with Trump they supported a lawsuit by the attorney general from Texas that would have disenfranchised Georgian voters.

“I’m delighted to support the president in this $2,000,” Mr. Perdue said on Fox News’s “America’s Newsroom” on Tuesday morning. “It’s the right thing to do for people in Georgia.”

Republican Senator Perdue's own party is squashing the $2,000 stimulus check. Is Perdue going against his party's leadership? Loeffler also endorses the $2,000 check instead of her party's support of $600. They both are defying their own party's leadership as well as the majority of Republicans in Congress.

Trump is planning on visiting Georgia soon to support Perdue and Loeffler. Trump lost his election in Georgia.

Today, Trump demanded that the Republican governor resign. “@BrianKempGA should resign from office,” Trump said in a tweet. “He is an obstructionist who refuses to admit that we won Georgia, BIG!”

Do Perdue and Loeffler really want Trump to come to Georgia to campaign for them?

Many are hoping he does. Those who want a united government for the next two years dearly hope that Trump goes down to Georgia. Undoubtedly he will talk about his election, not the one on Jan. 5.

 

Further evidence the Republican Party is in tatters. During the Trump era, the GOP has become a shadow of its former self.

Politico reports, "Sen. Josh Hawley on Wednesday pledged to challenge President-elect Joe Biden's victory in Pennsylvania and possibly other states on Jan. 6, when Congress is set to certify the results of the 2020 election.

"The Missouri Republican's announcement guarantees that both chambers will be forced to debate the results of at least one state and vote on whether to accept Biden's victory, a process that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell had urged Republicans to avoid, despite pressure from President Donald Trump, who is urging Republicans to overturn the democratic results.

"Though Hawley's challenge will have no bearing on the ultimate outcome of the election — numerous GOP senators have accepted Biden as president-elect — it will delay the certification of Biden's victory and force every member of the House and Senate on the record affirming Biden's win."

In other words, Hawley is forcing Republicans in Congress to reject the position of the Republican President and defend the Democratic victor, Joe Biden.

This is the position Trump has put the Republican Party in.

A handful of other Republican Senators are likely to join Hawley, but, for the life of me, I can't imagine why.

The erratic Trump forced me out of the Republican Party. I had been a member for over a quarter of a century. I am a declared conservative Independent now. That said, there is only sadness as I see the Republican Party of today. Where is Eisenhower, Reagan, and Bush, Sr.? Gone, perhaps forever.

It is Trump now. A politician who turned lying into an art form and a political tool.

 

Trump is planning on visiting Georgia soon to support Perdue and Loeffler. Trump lost his election in Georgia.

Today, Trump demanded that the Republican governor resign. “@BrianKempGA should resign from office,” Trump said in a tweet. “He is an obstructionist who refuses to admit that we won Georgia, BIG!”

Do Perdue and Loeffler really want Trump to come to Georgia to campaign for them?

CNBC reports, "Axios co-founder Mike Allen told CNBC on Thursday that some Republicans believe President Donald Trump is hurting the party’s chances in next week’s Georgia Senate runoffs.

“There’s a big strain of thought among Republicans that President Trump is sabotaging this race. He’s done so much to be unhelpful to those candidates,” Allen said on “Squawk Box,” referring to GOP Sens. Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue.

“I talk to Republicans and they look at what’s happening, and they say, ’You know, he must be thinking, ‘I want to send a message, If I’m not on the ballot, Republicans are in trouble,’” added Allen, a longtime political reporter in Washington."

Many are convinced that Trump wants to take down the GOP with him. How better than to deprive them of the majority in the Senate?

Because many Americans are weary of a divided government, many are hoping Trump is successful. What this country needs most of all is a unified government to deal with the raging paqndemic as well as other issues.

Such as funding our military. Or current President vetoed that proposal.

 

Senators Perdue and Loeffler are dedicated Trump loyalists.

 

How does one explain that?? Self preservation?? or ???

Party loyalty is one thing...........but to ONE MAN?? That opposes the democratic dynamic and system.

 

A significant number of Republicans are going to challenge the election results on Jan. 6. At least 140 House Republicans to vote against counting electoral votes, two GOP lawmakers say

Republican Sen. Josh Hawley and several Republicans are going to force members of their party to choose between the Republican President -- who lost by over seven million votes and a landslide Electoral College defeat -- or the will of the American people, our Constitution, and federal laws.

The two choices are mutually exclusive. The rebellious Republicans can't have it both ways because they are directly challenging American democracy. They want the Republican President to usurp the power of the people and install himself as our next President.

The Supreme Court, 59 judicial decisions, the Department of Justice, and all 50 states have certified the results of the election. Consequently, election fraud is not an issue, despite what Senator Hawley and others have said.

That is why Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell beseeched his caucus not to get involved in this rebellion.

Notwithstanding Senator Hawley's views which have little relationship to reality, the unruly Republicans have very little to say. They are unwilling to explain themselves and their motives.

Trump's followers on this forum are also silent. There is not one thread from them in support of what Trump is doing and saying. There is not one thread from them in support of what Republicans are doing.

Trump remains in hiding. He refuses to address the American people and is scared to death of the press.

There is only silence from those who challenge our democracy. Their position dictates that they all metaphorically crawl under a rock.

Which is what they are obviously doing.

 

Republican Sen. Josh Hawley and several Republicans are going to force members of their party to choose between the Republican President -- who lost by over seven million votes and a landslide Electoral College defeat -- or the will of the American people, our Constitution, and federal laws.

Vladimir Putin could not be more pleased with his protégé, President Donald J. Trump, who he helped become President in 2016. Trump's attack on American democracy and the fragmentation of the Republican Party are a blessing to the Russian dictator.

 

I think most thinking people expect him to go down in history as the worst president ever, not just because of the botched pandemic response. https://www.huffpost.com/entry/max-boot-donald-trump-worst-president_n_5e8a99c4c5b6e7d76c663267

 

Absolutely. It is astounding how ONE MAN........the wrong man for the job.......can create so much turmoil, angst, confusion because he is a psychopath who is now inebriated on power .....itself and what it afforded him. He is a con man who is filled with rage and uses it to control others , as he has the GOP. But the splinters are showing now. As I said before. Party loyalty is one thing......but fanatical loyalty to one man is a huge danger to democracy., as is the man himself. As all psychopaths, he is leaving a trail of destruction behind him. Poor relations with allies, bizarre "friendships" with dictators The US has lost credibility and many nations feel they can't trust it anymore. He has single handedly damaged the GOP / turned it into something one can't quite define anymore. He never had real policies......as he is unable to mentally conceptualize that kind of thinking. Does not read , and has a limited attention span. He plays the distraction game to the point things become a circus He is prone to binary thinking and that is limiting. Bottom line: he does not have the skill set for the job and certainly not he personality that demands diplomacy and tact. And he is not going away . He might be out of the job ,but he will make his presence known in a negative way as he makes Bide's life miserable.

Good bye to a bad year but one can't help but be concerned about the path 2021 will take given how much baggage we are carrying over into it.

Happy New year and lets hope for the best

 

Joe Lockhart opines, "As the last days of Donald Trump's administration wind down, most will remember four years of sound and fury. Explosive and vulgar tweets targeting anyone opposing the President.

"But it would be a mistake to remember Trump only for all the vitriol he spewed from the White House and on Twitter. Just as important were the long and never-explained silences and reluctant and insufficient acknowledgment of important issues.

"In fact, on a range of issues that called for presidential leadership, Trump routinely spoke and acted in his own interests rather than the country's.

"There was silence and denial on the Russian efforts to undermine the US elections in 2016, most starkly in Helsinki when Trump stood with Vladimir Putin against the verdict of US intelligence agencies. There was the failure to bring up with Putin the report of Russian bounties being offered on American soldiers in Afghanistan. "No, that was a phone call to discuss other things, and frankly, that's an issue that many people said was fake news," Trump told Axios' Jonathan Swan.

"And Trump was silent for days when Russia engineered perhaps the most widespread and damaging hack ever of the US government computer systems, putting our national and economic security at risk. When pressed, Trump contradicted his own secretary of state and questioned Russian involvement at all."

Can anyone argue with Lockhart? If so, I would love to hear it.

Of course not. Trump's followers, like Trump himself, are in hiding. There is nothing they can say.

 

The Times reports, "The Senate on Friday voted overwhelmingly to override President Trump’s veto of the annual military policy bill as most Republicans joined Democrats to rebuke Mr. Trump in the final days of his presidency.

"The 81-to-13 vote was the first time lawmakers have overridden one of Mr. Trump’s vetoes. It reflected the sweeping popularity of a measure that authorized a pay raise for the nation’s military.

"The House passed the legislation on Monday in a similarly lopsided 322-to-87 vote that also mustered the two-thirds majority required."

During the waning days of his administration, as he has done for the past four years, Trump is making a complete fool of himself. He was never interested in the duties as President. He was only interested in the power of the Presidency along with the pomp and circumstance.

Since his overwhelming defeat at the polls, he has challenged the will of the American people, our Constitution, and our laws. He was shot down by members of his own party.

Trump strongly urged the socialist giveaway of $2,000 to the majority of Americans. He was shot down by members of his own party.

For purely personal reasons that were totally unrelated to our defense, Trump ridiculously vetoed the National Defense Authorization Act. He was shot down by members of his own party.

How did Trump react to news of the veto? You have to see it to believe it.



Donald J. Trump

@realDonaldTrump

I hope to see the great Governor of South Dakota @KristiNoem, run against RINO @SenJohnThune, in the upcoming 2022 Primary. She would do a fantastic job in the U.S. Senate, but if not Kristi, others are already lining up. South Dakota wants strong leadership, NOW!

10:40 AM · Jan 1, 2021

You can't make this up. Trump has turned into a recluse. He has a really serious mental problem.

 

Of course he has mental problems. That has been obvious since his first year at messing things up. and then doing the rage rants on twitter /over reacting and projecting his failures onto others. He is not recursive enough......as he still creates anti democracy issues......

He had been voted into a position of his level of incompetence. He had NO CLUE and after four years , has learned very little..........or selectively only. He is not the brightest man to hold that ofice..........but he is defiantly the MOST MANIPULATIVE and destructive. There is a great deal of pathos in the man.

 

It will be a long time before the Republican Party is trusted again!

Despite the fact that in 59 court cases Trump's attorneys were unable to provide evidence of fraud; the attorney general of the United States, Trump's lawyer, Bill Barr, ruled there was little evidence of election fraud; the Supreme court with three judeges appointed by Trump declared insufficient evidence to bring the case forward; and all 50 states certified the election results, most of them with a Republican government; twelve Senators have decided to challenge the results of the fair election.

In addition, the cyber security director at DHS declared the election free of fraud. He was fired by the Republican President.

In addition, 140 Republican members of the House will challenge the election results.

So, a substantial part of the Republican Party is challenging the will of the American people, attempting to violate the 12th Amendment of our Constitution, and they wish to break a few of our federal laws.

This will be remembered for a long time!

It is logical to ask, why is the Republican Party doing this? Why is it they are forcing Republicans who recognize reality when they see it to vote against the Republican President while defending the Democratic President-elect?

Here is their statement.

Congress should immediately appoint an Electoral Commission, with full investigatory and fact-finding authority, to conduct an emergency 10-day audit of the election returns in the disputed states. Once completed, individual states would evaluate the Commission’s findings and could convene a special legislative session to certify a change in their vote, if needed.

Accordingly, we intend to vote on Jan. 6 to reject the electors from disputed states as not 'regularly given' and 'lawfully certified' ... unless and until that emergency 10-day audit is completed.

They offer no basis for the need of a "full investigatory and fact-finding authority or an emergency 10-day audit of election returns" while completely ignoring the judicial history of the election.

Typical of Trump Republicans, they just say it as if that was sufficient basis.

On Jan. 5, voters in Georgia will decide if Republicans control the Senate for the next two years.

 

So, a substantial part of the Republican Party is challenging the will of the American people, attempting to violate the 12th Amendment of our Constitution, and they wish to break a few of our federal laws.

The twelve Senators are Ted Cruz (Texas), Ron Johnson (Wis.), James Lankford (Okla.), Steve Daines (Mont.), John Kennedy (La.), Marsha Blackburn (Tenn.) and Mike Braun (Ind.) and Sens.-elect Cynthia Lummis (Wyo.), Roger Marshall (Kan.), Bill Hagerty (Tenn.) and Tommy Tuberville (Ala.).

“The election of 2020,” they said, “like the election of 2016, was hard fought and, in many swing states, narrowly decided. The 2020 election, however, featured unprecedented allegations of voter fraud, violations and lax enforcement of election law, and other voting irregularities.”

No hard evidence for such claims has been presented. As shown in the post above, the opposite if true. The election was fair according to GOP leaders. The courts and influential members of the Trump administration have ruled election fraud played no part in the Presidential election.

In other words, the above statement is pure B.S. meant strictly for Trump's base because they believe anything.

So, why is it a substantial number of Republicans are going along with this con of Trump loyalists?

The question answers itself. These Republicans are earning America's scorn because they are afraid of Trump's base.

That is beyond ludicrous. In the first place, Trump is a buffoon. He was the most incompetent President in American history, has shown signs of mental illness, and has become a recluse, afraid to face the American people and the press.

This man has a political base?

That's ridiculous and the GOP leadership can't wait to be rid of him.

What about this so-called base, Trump's cult, his followers? As this thread shows, they can't even defend their President of choice, the amateurish Trump. For chrissake, they can't even defend themselves.

Put a different way, Trump can have them. Only the foolish would regard them as a political force. This is why the Republican Party is earning America's scorn?

 

Trump is a pathetic little man. He was defeated badly in the election, and now he wants to take his party down with him.

His own party rejected his liberal demand that a majority of Americans each receive $2,000.

He vetoed the defense bill -- a first in sixty years -- for purely personal reasons unrelated to our nation's defense. His own party led the effort to override his veto. That, too, was a first for a Trump veto.

The Post reports, "Trump urged fellow Republican Brad Raffensperger, the Georgia secretary of state, to “find” enough votes to overturn his defeat in an extraordinary one-hour phone call Saturday that legal scholars described as a flagrant abuse of power and a potential criminal act."

CNN reports, "Early Sunday, Trump claimed on Twitter that the number of cases and deaths of the "China Virus is far exaggerated" because of the CDC's "ridiculous method of determination" compared to other countries, which "report, purposely, very inaccurately and low.'"

CNBC reports, "Trump on Sunday said he will attend protests in Washington, D.C. on Jan. 6, the day Congress certifies Electoral College votes and declares President-elect Joe Biden’s victory.
The president shared a video clip on Twitter encouraging supporters to protest the November election results and said he will be there."

"The Proud Boys, a far-right group that has promoted violence, have vowed to attend incognito," the network added.

Little wonder why Trump's followers do not wish to talk about him. The little man is an embarrassment.

 

I presume you hard about the audiotape that came out today. ??

Trump is heard using mob style persuasive tactics (pressure)on Georgia's secretary of state to increase the number of votes , so he could come out the winner. Trump is such a sleaze......... in how he does this too. The child 'emperor wanna be" has no real intellect, or sophistication. He is as shallow (superficial) as the fancy clothes he wears . He is heard to be allover the place, taking a stab at anything for his "argument" His not so veiled threats are there for all to hear. In reality , his conduct comes very close to criminal.......if not definitely so. He is desperate to over turn the election.

He is now suing who ever recorded this conversation. ( which validates it as authentic )

He has almost destroyed the GOP and will continue to do so indefinitely. It too has a major fissure in it now.



Trump is not just an embarrassment, he is a danger to USA democracy.

 

The Times reports, "Trump on Tuesday escalated his efforts to force Vice President Mike Pence to overturn President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr.’s victory, falsely asserting that Mr. Pence had the power to unilaterally throw out electoral votes on Wednesday when Congress meets to certify the election results.

"But there is nothing in the Constitution or the law that explicitly gives a vice president that power, and aides close to Mr. Pence, who concede that he is facing a politically perilous moment, are convinced he will follow the normal procedures and confirm Mr. Biden’s election.

"Still, most agree that Wednesday promises to be a long and confusing day on Capitol Hill — and a potentially agonizing one for Mr. Pence — as Mr. Trump’s Republican allies move to challenge Mr. Biden’s victory and force at least one vote on the matter that is expected to fail.

"The proceeding will test what had long been considered little more than a paperwork exercise in American democracy: the certification of the election by Congress. The vice president’s role is to be the master of ceremonies rather than arbiter of the outcome, declaring the winner based on who has the most electoral votes."

Georgia will decide today if the Republicans control the Senate for the next two years. Does anyone think they deserve it? If so, please explain and do not use fantasies. Only hard, cold facts will do. Please consider the conduct of the Republican President.

No reply is anticipated. Trump's followers are too embarrassed to respond.

 

Recently, the Republican President committed election fraud when he spoke for an hour with the Republican secretary of the state of Georgia. He demanded that Raffensperger "find" 11,780 votes for him. "All I want to do is this. I just want to find 11,780 votes, which is one more than we have because we won the state."

CNN reports. "Cleta Mitchell, a lawyer who assisted President Donald Trump on the January 2 call when Trump pressured Georgia officials to "find" him votes, has resigned from her law firm.

"National law firm Foley & Lardner previously said it was "concerned" with Mitchell's involvement in Trump's call with Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, and said the firm wasn't engaged in any legal work challenging the election results. Tuesday, it announced Mitchell was no longer with the firm."

The Star-Tribune reports, "The top federal prosecutor in Atlanta left his position Monday, a day after an audio recording was made public in which President Donald Trump called him a "never-Trumper."

"Byung J. "BJay" Pak, who was appointed by Trump, announced his resignation as U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Georgia in a news release. The statement did not say why Pak was leaving or what he plans to do next.

 

CBS reports, "In an extraordinary rebuke just before the joint session convened, Vice President Mike Pence defied the president and told lawmakers he does not have the authority to reject states' electoral votes. Mr. Trump has repeatedly pressured Pence to reject votes from several states, a power the vice president does not have under the Constitution.

"The plan from some GOP lawmakers to challenge the electoral votes has split Senate Republicans, with more than a dozen committing to counting the results. The effort to throw out certain electors would require a majority of both chambers, and is virtually certain to fail."

It appears as though the Republican Party is going to lose everything as a consequence of the Trump Presidency. That was Trump's intent after he lost the election. He has worked feverishly to take down the GOP with him.

Warnock has been declared the winner in Georgia, and Ossoff is heavily favored to win as well.

The Republican Party won the Oval Office, Senate, and House in 2016. They lost the House in 2018 largely because of Trump, Now it looks like they will lose the Senate largely because of Trump's incompetence and strange behavior that borders on a mental illness.

 

As I speak there is an insurrection in Washington. The insurrection was being led by our President, and authorities ordered out police and the national guard to clear out Trump’s mob from the capital building.

“These are the things and events that happen when a sacred landslide election victory is so unceremoniously & viciously stripped away from great patriots [?] who have been badly & unfairly treated for so long,” Trump tweeted Wednesday evening after spending the day watching the violence unfold, violence perpetrated by a mob of his followers.

By breaking into the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday and disrupting the electoral vote count, Trump's mob has committed a federal felony in a seditious conspiracy.

As Trump supporters bounded up the Capitol steps to occupy the building, the President encouraged the mob with a tweet. “Mike Pence didn’t have the courage to do what should have been done to protect our Country and our Constitution, giving States a chance to certify a corrected set of facts, not the fraudulent or inaccurate ones which they were asked to previously certify. USA demands the truth!”

Finally, tongue in cheek, Trump told his rioters to go home. “You have to go home now,” he said in a video message filmed at the White House and posted on Twitter.

“We love you. You’re very special,” and “I know how you feel,” our President added.