American Politics Thread: Orange is the new POTUS

[Senator Clay Davis]

Not too sure how much the Dems can read into the Kansas result, Brownback is the least popular governor in America so if anything that's an omen he's very likely to lose his reelection bid next year. But if they Dems can stay this motivated and energized 18 months from now they'll have a good chance to flip the House and maybe the Senate.

[troutman]

Originally Posted by handgroen

as wichita falls, so falls wichita falls.

hippest reference of the year

[FlameOn]

Bannon is getting thrown under the bus by Trump. When asked about if Trump still has confidence in Bannon, Trump claims that Bannon wasn't involved in his campaign until very very late and would not back Bannon up.

Amid internal tensions within the White House, President Trump said his chief strategist Steve Bannon was not involved in his campaign until the very late stages.

In an interview with the New York Post, Mr. Trump was asked if he still has confidence in Bannon.

“I like Steve, but you have to remember he was not involved in my campaign until very late,” he said. “I had already beaten all the senators and all the governors, and I didn’t know Steve. I’m my own strategist and it wasn’t like I was going to change strategies because I was facing crooked Hillary.”

Mr. Trump did not definitively say he has confidence in Bannon, the report said.

“Steve is a good guy, but I told them to straighten it out or I will,” the president told the newspaper.

This has been debunked already by politifact

"Trump claiming he didn't know Bannon till late in campaign is flatly untrue," tweeted Maggie Haberman of the New York Times. Added McKay Coppins of The Atlantic: "Just for the record: Trump is pretty blatantly not telling the truth when he says he didn't know Bannon until late in the campaign."

We've reached out to the White House and will update this post if we hear back.

Our ruling

Trump said that before the presidential campaign, "I didn’t know Steve," referring to Steve Bannon.

That’s contradicted by Trump’s own words and independent reporting.

We rate this claim Pants on Fire.

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/report-t...til-very-late/
http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-me...himself-wheth/

Combined this with the revelation that Paul Manafort, Trumps campaign manager, had received payments from Ex-Ukranian Putin backed President Victor Yanukovuch, there is I suspect something big is coming with Bannon related to the current Russia scandal.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Last August, a handwritten ledger surfaced in Ukraine with dollar amounts and dates next to the name of Paul Manafort, who was then Donald Trump's campaign chairman.

Ukrainian investigators called it evidence of off-the-books payments from a pro-Russian political party - and part of a larger pattern of corruption under the country's former president. Manafort, who worked for the party as an international political consultant, has publicly questioned the ledger's authenticity.

Now, financial records newly obtained by The Associated Press confirm that at least $1.2 million in payments listed in the ledger next to Manafort's name were actually received by his consulting firm in the United States. They include payments in 2007 and 2009, providing the first evidence that Manafort's firm received at least some money listed in the so-called Black Ledger.

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories...04-12-06-16-01

[Looch City]

I like how he still still calls her "Crooked Hillary" haha. What a child.

[Senator Clay Davis]

Clip is in the tweet, but uhhh yeah....

Kenneth P. Vogel‏Verified account
@kenvogel
Trump remembers details of cake he was eating while launching missiles, but not which country he was attacking.

https://twitter.com/kenvogel/status/852154762904653825

[troutman]

O'Reilly's last show may have already aired. He is going on vacation, and James Murdoch wants him out:

http://www.avclub.com/article/21st-c...ocialMarketing

[ernie]

I hope he forces Bannon out because that would just in general be good. But also because I don't think it takes long for Briebart and the alt-right to turn on Trump making the mid-terms a mess for the GOP.

[aaronck]

Originally Posted by Senator Clay Davis

Clip is in the tweet, but uhhh yeah....



https://twitter.com/kenvogel/status/852154762904653825

I am stunned each and every day how completely disconnected this guy is from reality. From the diamond ring on the first lady's official portrait/ mall glamour photo that is worth more than lots of people's houses, to launching missiles during dessert at his country club against Iraq/ Syria or wherever- it's very much a sad version of VEEP.

[troutman]

I liked when Michael Che called Trump's weekend retreat "Margaritaville".

[missdpuck]

Palm Beach County Sheriff Rick Bradshaw says it has cost the county $3.5 million in LEO protection for Trump since November.

Bradshaw "hopes we will be reimbursed".

Bwahhahaha.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[DuffMan]

Originally Posted by missdpuck

Palm Beach County Sheriff Rick Bradshaw says it has cost the county $3.5 million in LEO protection for Trump since November.

Bradshaw "hopes we will be reimbursed".

Bwahhahaha.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

stop providing the service until they are paid. thats what Trump would do.

[missdpuck]

Originally Posted by DuffMan

stop providing the service until they are paid. thats what Trump would do.

One proposed solution is levying a special tax on Margaritaville.

Hell, do they really think he can't loophole himself out of that?

Surely hope he can't.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[chemgear]

[HotHotHeat]

This Fox Business interview of Trump is pretty hilarious. The guy needs to be in a care home.

BARTIROMO: When did you tell him?

TRUMP: But I'll tell you (INAUDIBLE)...

BARTIROMO: Before dessert or what?

TRUMP: But I will tell you, only because you've treated me so good for so long, I have to (INAUDIBLE) right?

I was sitting at the table. We had finished dinner. We're now having dessert. And we had the most beautiful piece of chocolate cake that you've ever seen and President Xi was enjoying it.

And I was given the message from the generals that the ships are locked and loaded, what do you do?

And we made a determination to do it, so the missiles were on the way. And I said, Mr. President, let me explain something to you. This was during dessert.

We've just fired 59 missiles, all of which hit, by the way, unbelievable, from, you know, hundreds of miles away, all of which hit, amazing.

BARTIROMO: Unmanned?

Brilliant.

TRUMP: It's so incredible. It's brilliant. It's genius. Our technology, our equipment, is better than anybody by a factor of five. I mean look, we have, in terms of technology, nobody can even come close to competing.

Now we're going to start getting it, because, you know, the military has been cut back and depleted so badly by the past administration and by the war in Iraq, which was another disaster.

So what happens is I said we've just launched 59 missiles heading to Iraq and I wanted you to know this. And he was eating his cake. And he was silent.

BARTIROMO: (INAUDIBLE) to Syria?

TRUMP: Yes. Heading toward Syria. In other words, we've just launched 59 missiles heading toward Syria. And I want you to know that, because I didn't want him to go home. We were almost finished. It was a full day in Palm Beach. We're almost finished and I — what does he do, finish his dessert and go home and then they say, you know, the guy you just had dinner with just attacked a country?

BARTIROMO: How did he react?

TRUMP: So he paused for 10 seconds and then he asked the interpreter to please say it again. I didn't think that was a good sign.

And he said to me, anybody that uses gases — you could almost say or anything else — but anybody that was so brutal and uses gases to do that young children and babies, it's OK.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/...=.abc11164c3f0

[puffnstuff]

Originally Posted by Senator Clay Davis

Clip is in the tweet, but uhhh yeah....



https://twitter.com/kenvogel/status/852154762904653825

Did anyone else catch when after the Trumpster says, the first time, 59 missiles heading and all of them hit, the reporter kind of cuts him off and says 'unmanned?' Really? These arent drones, theyre missiles. They blow up. Missile pilot would not be a good job to have.

[direwolf]

Originally Posted by Senator Clay Davis

Clip is in the tweet, but uhhh yeah....



https://twitter.com/kenvogel/status/852154762904653825

Jesus, what a f'n jackass.

[DuffMan]

Forgot to add facial expressions... I'll edit

BARTIROMO: (INAUDIBLE) to Syria?

Trump gets serious confused and stunned look on his face, at this point

TRUMP: Yes. Heading toward Syria. In other words, we've just launched 59 missiles heading toward Syria. And I want you to know that, because I didn't want him to go home. We were almost finished. It was a full day in Palm Beach. We're almost finished and I — what does he do, finish his dessert and go home and then they say, you know, the guy you just had dinner with just attacked a country?

[DownInFlames]

Originally Posted by aaronck

I am stunned each and every day how completely disconnected this guy is from reality. From the diamond ring on the first lady's official portrait/ mall glamour photo that is worth more than lots of people's houses, to launching missiles during dessert at his country club against Iraq/ Syria or wherever- it's very much a sad version of VEEP.

David Mandel from VEEP was on Pod Save America, and he was glad they chose to have Selina lose the Presidency because there was no way they could make up situations as ridiculous as what Trump and crew do on a daily basis.

[FanIn80]

Originally Posted by chemgear

Spoiler!

[KootenayFlamesFan]

I never saw this tweet until now, but is any of this right?

Donald J. Trump‏@realDonaldTrump
Great win in Kansas last night for Ron Estes, easily winning the Congressional race against the Dems, who spent heavily & predicted victory!

First, they didn't win 'easily', especially considering how much of a gap the GOP has won in the past.

Did the Dems spend heavily? I was under the impression they didn't spend much of anything. And who predicted victory? Everything I read before the election was that it would be close, much closer than past races.