If it wasn’t so serious–and terrifying–it would be funny.
Anyone who watched Trump’s Rose Garden “press conference” and still thinks that the guardian of the nuclear codes is sane, is equally demented.
Dana Milbank shared his bemusement in the Wednesday Washington Post.
President Trump’s window is closing.
All signs suggest it’s closing on his presidency because of his world-class incompetence with the coronavirus pandemic, the protracted economic collapse that resulted, and the increasingly overt racism Trump has embraced.
But it also appears the window is closing on his connection to reality, if it hasn’t already.
Milbank described Trump’s use of the ostensible press conference to launch a bizarre and lengthy attack on Joe Biden– “attributing a platform to his Democratic opponent that bore hardly any resemblance to anything occurring in the real world.”
Trump informed the assembled White House reporters that Biden would “incentivize illegal alien child smuggling,” “abolish immigration enforcement,” “abolish police departments” and “abolish our prisons.” According to Trump, Democrats are “calling for defunding of our military” and “wouldn’t mind” if terrorists blew up America’s cities.
He also said “Biden and Obama stopped their testing– they just stopped it.” (Presumably, they are also culpable for failing to prevent 9/11.)
The weirdest accusation was that Biden’s energy plan would require eliminating windows. According to Trump’s unhinged diatribe, Biden’s energy plan “basically means no windows” in homes or offices by 2030.
Uh-huh.
Lest you think Milbank was exaggerating for comic effect, his description of the “press conference” (note quotation marks) was echoed by a number of other observers. Cody Fenwick attributed the performance to Trump’s longing for the rallies he has been unable to hold.
There was no consistent thread or argument to his ramblings, aside from his own supposed greatness. It was pure stream of consciousness, supplemented by factoids apparently printed on notes on his lectern. He claimed to be the defender of African Americans at one moment because he favors school choice, but then slipped into attacking low-income housing and saying he’d preserve the suburbs — an unsubtle code for protecting white neighborhoods.
He lied so constantly that CNN’s Daniel Dale, one of the president’s most assiduous fact-checkers, noted that he couldn’t cover the speech in real-time on Twitter because there were just so many falsehoods.
The Lincoln Project tweeted out: “We’re watching the self-destruction of the president in real time.”
And back at the Washington Post, in a column that was far from amusing or bemused, Paul Waldman argued that people who aren’t furious with Trump and the GOP just aren’t paying attention.
Let me take you for a moment to a fantasy land. In this place, the coronavirus pandemic was bad for a couple of months but now it is largely under control. If you lived there you’d still be a little uncertain about going to a concert or a movie, but your life would have largely returned to normal.
You wouldn’t have lost your job; the government would have had a comprehensive support program that kept unemployment low. You’d be able to see your family and friends without fear. Your children would be returning to school in September. There would be some precautions to take for a while longer, but there would be no doubt that the pandemic was on its way to being defeated.
As Waldman says, this isn’t a fairy-tale; it’s life in numerous other countries around the world. (I know it’s true of the Netherlands, because I have a son who lives in Amsterdam, and that’s been his experience.)
Waldman provides data that should enrage us: new case totals from Monday. France: 580; UK: 564; Spain: 546; Germany: 365; Canada: 299; Japan: 259; Italy: 200; Australia: 158; South Korea: 52.
The United States? 55,300.
There are many reasons we have experienced this catastrophe (and it quickly became two catastrophes, an economic crisis added to the public health crisis), but one stands above all others: President Trump.
Is there a single aspect of his response to this pandemic that has not been a miserable failure? For weeks he ignored warnings and denied that the pandemic would be a problem. He didn’t prepare the equipment and systems we’d need to respond.
Waldman lists the failures, then focuses on the President’s disconnect from reality.
And he demanded that everyone around him echo his insane claims that everything is under control and the pandemic is being vanquished. It was a month ago that Vice President Pence pathetically proclaimed that “we are winning the fight against the invisible enemy,” and the administration’s great success was “cause for celebration.”
And now (since nothing bad can ever be Trump’s fault) the White House is trying to discredit Dr. Fauci.
As Waldman points out, we should all be furious–because we’ve been robbed:
Even if you’re lucky enough not to have gotten sick or lost a loved one, you’re the victim of a robbery. Trump stole so much from all of us — our time with friends and family, our mental health, even our faith that our country could meet a challenge.
I can just hear the Trumpers’ response: but think how angry we’ll be when Joe Biden steals our windows…
I can only hope that China & Russia (or Iran or N Korea) do not make any moves in the next 6 months. We are adrift. Defenseless. A Crazy man with the nuclear code. Hang on tight. Here we go.
This being Trump; I find it necessary to ask, Windows as on my computer or windows as in our homes and businesses and does Trump know the differnce? A 2nd necessary question refers to “incentivize illegal alien child smuggling,”; is he referring to immigrant children or those of the “ET” entity?
He has changed the chairman of his presidential campaign; we are familiar with this action as we watched it happen in 2016 and we also know that Jared Kuschner, First Son-In-Law, is the actual propagator of this failing test of Trump’s mental acuity. The number of books published about Trump’s fiasco laden and chaotic life will require an entire section of our public libraries…IF any remain by the time he is out of office…IF he is ever out of office.
While we are concentrating on his own “fake news” regarding being a “stable genius”; what are the Electoral College members up to? Those mega millions in Trump’s campaign chest are being spent at local and state levels and the Electoral College, which Rudy reported as being “sewn up” 2 weeks before the 2016 appointment to the presidency, is controlled at state levels. The polls are looking good and being touted as assurance of ousting Trump but, “Dogs bark but the caravan moves on.”
People have pretty short memories and the election is a while off yet. I’d be ware of claiming the fat lady is singing on the Trump presidency. A poor Biden debate performance could easily tilt things back to his favor. Show up and vote. Insisting everything is locked up is what lost 2016.
What is the demographic of the approx 40% who still support Trump?
The Lincoln Project should pull excerpts from that “press conference” for use in their ads for the next few months. They couldn’t come up with anything better.
JoAnn,
That’s windows as in our homes. The things that keep out the rain and cold and, if you’ve got the good ones, the heat and the hurricanes.
The supposed press conference was the craziest hour of 45 yet, but did it cost him any support? I doubt it. Some of the funniest, yet scariest things anyone can watch are Jordan Klepper’s interviews with 45’s supporters. Sadly that is America today.
Yes. Trump is losing the rest of the few marbles he possessed when he told us how he alone can fix everything. Even he believes his own con man bullshit. Psychopath. Mary Trump has issued a stark warning about the real danger we are in. The COVID/economic crises are the ongoing symptom of abject government failure. This executive branch is fundamentally corrupt, fundamentally incompetent, etc., etc.
But the worst part is the nuclear codes thing. He’s going to lose in November. The question really is when will he start the next nuclear war. Psychopath. Will it be when the polls show him losing by 20 points or more? Or will it be when he gets only 70 electoral votes? What will happen between November 4th and January 20th? Those zombies in the Senate, aka Republicans, must be so proud of their stonewalling the impeachment of Donald Trump. They may have enabled the end to our democratic republic.
For those of us still alive on those dates, we will be waking up each day wondering if it will be our last as a nation.
Trump’s Rose Garden descent into further madness should have been the last straw with Republican Party leaders. Alas, it was not, as the unhinged rant fed their own embrace of necropolitics as the only way to retain power.
those numbers above,are fact, see DW. com.theres now many a opinion that the U.S. has fallen on its largeness,and has diminished its clout..trump is now a gag joke and is used as a what not to do when elected. still few mention mcconnel and his mob. if sanity was present prior to king fingers reign, mcconnel shows he and his mob have used this to gain a monetary crown. latest wall street report,still atests to its denial of facts,and have now conviened a acceptance from the fed reserve and sec that alls good as long as the rich have the power,(capital) and will give the marching orders to whats left of our government. media is in denial here(paid off),or, its the status quo being the money rules,and damn you if ya bring that up, your investment will dwindle. being such a large population now rely on its income from the market scamming the living wages from the working class, (both in recent price increases and market shares)has become the norm,and be damn with the morals. if one works a full time job,and cant make ends meet in a country that has wealth beyond the stratosphere, then the issue is the whole,and the few who run this scam. ignorance may have been the trigger to kick someone to the gutter,for self indulgence.. nothing like watching this,and knowing what has happen while its swept conviently under the nose of those too inept to understand,or have a past experience where they see,and relate to,the now norms..money aint everything,its only everything to anyone.in a capitalistic society,we have denied the ones who do the work, equal protections,taken labor laws and kicked them to the curb,scammed the low wage people and now, have a economic system based on a future gain.. wall street scammed you into believeing the numbers last night are real. they have made it a game to treat you to a piece of candy,while demanding people like myself give our lives up to walk your pets. devos has a best of all, send em back to school,now damnit…lets get this fay care centers fired up so we can force the wage workers who do all the work to die for us while we reap the benifits. tell me im wrong,ill sell ya a bridge… after all, trump did bring us all together now,in the ICU…
best wishes.
Jack,
Excellent summary. The destruction of our nation is as complex as the society itself. When everything goes wrong at once, it’s a stunning wake-up call to all the citizens who haven’t been paying attention. As you point out, when you work full-time and still can’t afford food and shelter, the society has failed. Last night’s news show pointed out that 95% of those working minimum wage jobs cannot afford a place to live ANYWHERE.
How’s that for the success of American capitalism?
He’s beginning to sound like Howard Beale, but doesn’t make nearly as much sense. There is a legitimate issue about how in touch Trump is with reality. He’s
Trump has not stolen anything from us – the GOP has. Direct your anger squarely upon their decades-long campaign to deconstruct government, and vote accordingly.
Stephen,
According to Mary Trump’s book, Donald’s reality ship sailed decades ago.
The fact that he received 62 million votes speaks volumes about the attention span of the voters. Oh, and those 92 million voters who stamped their little feet because they didn’t like either presidential candidate WERE paying attention, but chose not to do their duty as citizens.
So, that’s where we were. Are we still in that spot, or have we finally awoken to OUR reality that the nation is being destroyed by a psychopath and his enablers like Moscow Mitch McConnell. There’s a reason why that nickname pisses Mitch off. It’s because he is on the take from Russian oligarchs. Yeah. Republicans. They come cheaply.
Vern,
thanks, Read an article yesterday,every state now has unaffordable rents.. but, lets take a look, those who invest have gone off the rails on expectations. they invest on a property, and make the renter pay their expected monthly payments.(hense,walking your dog) no carry on responsability if they the renter has a hickup. like the labor market is so sure it will grant everyone to a living wage job,everyday. now the virus has made it a overall problem. but,if it goes mnunchin,(foreclosure) then we will see again, how the banks and such structure operates again..in seattle, i went was there in winter 2018 for a job. the apartment rents were crazy,but the cost of a move in was first,last,security,and background check paid by the renter,figure $5K to move in.. alot of that property is a foreclosure deal, whereas the banks started a management company to oversee those properties,and,well guess whos making the money now..and ya wonder why, theres homeless people. im seeing a surge in markets, but what in guessing is, the demand to increase the stock price,at any price,to secure it doesnt fall back. i paying more for everything,and as a working class, im having my pockets picked clean along with the profit of my labors,going into investors pockets.
china had a bad time with a swine flu that killed millions of pigs, were now suppose to act like china,and kill,our labor force,to fulfill its contracts to provide china. were now being supervised to kill our own,at places like smithfield meats,sioux falls s.d.. we contract with the same folks that supplied the vietnam war with arms to kill Americans…same ol same ol, for money…
peace is cool, but ya cant make any money from peace..Gil Scott Heron
I will give crazy man 95% of the blame for the spread of COVID-19 and death and destruction it has caused, but I reserve the 5% remaining for the governors of too many red states (including my former home of Indiana) for not pushing back, ignoring his stupidity, keeping the states safer and making mandates stick. I DETEST masks but have one either in my pocket or on a hook by my door, and I have for some time. I put them on whenever I step into my condo building’s hallway, a shop, or other enclosed space. If my walking path (I do a 1-2 miler every day) is crowded, I slip on that mask, but usually I pick a different route, where I can walk blocks maybe passing one or two people bare-faced. Why? Not because I love masks, but because our governor here in Maine recommended them in April and mandated them some weeks ago. We rolled back indoor bar openings before the bars ever threw open their doors, and tasting rooms at the many mico-breweries here are all now great, fun outdoor sidewalk and street beer gardens. Oh, and we also closed off one or both lanes of some downtown streets so restaurants could set up tables, and shops racks in those outdoor spaces. The result thus far I shall quote from a bulletin just in from ther Portland Press Herald:
“Maine health officials reported 20 new cases of COVID-19 on Thursday but no additional deaths, as the state continues to be spared from the kind of increases other states are enduring.
Over the last 10 days, the average daily number of new cases has been 18, down from an average of 32 over the previous 10-day period. Hospitalizations have been trending downward, as well — just 12 were hospitalized as of Thursday. No additional deaths were reported, which means the state’s total since the pandemic hit remains at 114.”
True, we do have a much more rural state than Indiana, but our Democratic governor and no-nonsense head of the Maine CDC have almost full support. They are not afraid to say what we need to do to keep those numbers low, and most of us look elsewhere and comply. That’s why Sunday, for the first time since March, I could dine at one of my favourite restaurants indoors… very well spaced from any other table, but I could do so and feel totally safe.
So while I blame 45 for everything from the economy to the anti-Semitism and racism we have seen growing, we do have some manner of local and personal control. I hope my Hoosier friends will send that message loud and clear to the statehouse so you all will stay well and be there for me to visit when we can travel again! Be well!
Sheila – I too hear the Trumpers.
“He is being misquoted”
“It. Is all true”
“I don’t care – isn’t it great how he just says what upsets people”
“Our great and most perfect emperor, our glorious leader has the most magnificent clothes of any king, any time in history”
OK, maybe not that last one — or
Joann – Love your questions, but the first one has already been answered as Peggy noted. I wonder if Trump actually knows that the operating system on most computers is called “Windows”. That would take a level of curiosity that is beyond him.
Dirk – Good reminder
Vernon – He will get a lot more than 70 electoral votes. Sadly, that is the state of our country.
Holly – So true!!!
Jack – You are so right about rents – a head hunter called me yesterday and asked if I would be interested in a job in San Jose, CA. I told him only if it paid seven figures, six wouldn’t be enough, but I did forget to mention the 20K signing bonus so I could afford the move-in fees.
No surprises. Trump has always and only been a pathetic human being defined by his father, Fred. No redeeming features. We knew that. However Republicans and Putin thought that they could take advantage of his failings in their war against who we must become and arrest our development at the times that entitled them. We knew that they would both succeed and fail at that experiment. The only uncertainty that I recall of 2016 is what would be left of the country.
The wreckage so far is not as bad as it could have been and there is plenty of evidence that electoral sanity has been restored but it won’t be over until the people’s house has been cleared and Congress has been freed, and the Cabinet fired. There is much that could still go wrong as desperation sets into Trump’s tiny mind and he realizes that there’s no escaping his past. There are still plenty of powerful people who don’t want to down with the ship but were pretty comfortable on board it. They too are desperate.
it’s easy to see on the radar plenty of turbulence for the rest of the trip.
Len,
then its the taxes,and cost of living.or gentrified frisco,where the working class was run off like a bad dog… i was in calif during the 70s and it was great. best years i ever lived. now i go back most every year for a music tour for a week. but nothing else still makes what it was like in the 70s..hollywood blvd looks like a garbage dump, along with van nuys blvd..your not missing anything..
NoDak, is counting the covid 45 cases, a few here and there. were rural, and trumped to death.
few wear a mask, and the restaurants dont make much of a effort to clean up after dinning. the wife and i went to a local owned restaurant, one of the better places. nope, wait staff isnt dead yet so i guess they wont kill anyone either… sanitize,,the arbys here in mandan, a pig sty, staff looks like runaway kids who wouldnt know a clean table from a pets bed… i wear mask when doing any buisness, and i havent been stabbed yet..
I strongly reject the assertion that Trumpism=Republicanism. Trump has no actual philosophy. He is opposed to federalism, free trade, and holding down budget deficits. He expresses open disdain for the Constitution, including freedom of speech and freedom of press. He wants the President of the United States to have dictatorial powers, while warmly embracing dictators that abuse human rights, while undermining our allies. Donald Trump has open distate for America’s democratic values and norms. None of these things are traditional Republicanism. Nor is Trump a “conservative.” (In fact, self-identified Republican conservatives tend to be less supportive of Trump than Republican moderates.) Trump is leading a personality cult. The issues he uses to lead his followers are merely political props.
Democrats need to be careful. There is no reason why a personality cult can’t spring up and take over the Democratic Party like which has happened with the Republicans.
remember it is early.
Jack Smith- you are spot on in everything you have said. Capitalism, BY DESIGN, is a zero sum game for those who can afford to play. The peasants? Don’t bother. In their design, we are to work when, how and for whatever they want to pay. Full stop.
This disaster we are seeing in real time (thanks to high tech comm tools) has been in the works, arguably, since the federal reserve was created. The FR was the missing link to be the back up plan for a zero sum monopoly game. Even economic expert Thomas Piketty knows that Capitalism is unsustainable and has been able to survive this long ONLY because of FDR’s tax table for the well to do. Well, that boat sailed 40 years ago folks. Anyone paying attention???
As Jack has stated, the bills have to be paid by someone in this game, and it is the struggling peasant class. How is the 1% in this game doing today? Just fine thank them very much. Oh, by the way, what political letters do those 1%ers hold? BOTH the R and the D. I cannot understand how anyone cannot see how this game of austerity for the peasant class and nice retirements for the 1% has not been the result of BOTH PARTIES. Take off the rose colored glasses. It is far worse than it appears. Biden is a Wall Street poster boy. He has said, and I quote, “You (Wall Street) have nothing to worry about (if he becomes President).”
So what if he is more sane, can complete long sentences and discernible paragraphs??? LOOK AT HIS RECORD. How will his record reform a SYSTEM that was killing us BEFORE the pandemic???
I would urge folks to stop being sucked in by the parade of crazies. Yes, it is like a terrible car wreck, none of us want to slow down and look, but for some damn reason, we do! Stop looking and figure out how in the hell we get off this corrupt, broken, criminal zero sum game of capitalism??? THAT is the real killer. Universal Health Care anyone???
I appreciate Mary Trump’s inside contribution to the country’s current stew, and while I can understand that a cold mother and a greedy father can affect their progeny’s views of reality, I am not willing to lay all the blame for our current situation on mom and pop. Whatever his childhood and adolescence, it is Trump who decided to be a bully; who decided to lie, insult, cheat, and engage in sexual situations. He is not the only one who has had a cold mother and greedy father and I do not buy the argument that he as a sick person had no choice but to be who he is. He lived in a civil society where other influences were available and could have chosen to be a good citizen. He didn’t.
I am beginning to come around to Vern’s view that it is not just Trump but the Republican Party that is responsible for his excesses. Apparently that party will trade off this country’s future for tax cuts and judges while ignoring a nude emperor in the Oval Office. That exchange amounts to a bribe from that party’s campaign contributors once removed and I hope we neuter that toxic exchange come November.
Gerald,
As always, a sober analysis. The housecleaning list is so very long. But first, Republicans everywhere must be voted out of office. They have defiled 40% of our citizens by being so eager to accept bribes and to molly-coddle the criminal president.
Gerald; we have always been aware that Trumpism does not equal Republicanism, this is why so many of us have questioned the Republican party dumping 16 viable nominees in favor of Trump. From Trump’s biography on Wikipedia:
Republican 1987-1999
Reform 1999-2001
Democrat 2001-2009
Independent 2011-2012
Republican 2016
Guess he couldn’t decide which party would be the most profitable for him from 2009-2011 and 2012- 2016; 2015 maybe he spent debating which party. Wonder where he will go from here if we are fortunate enough to leave Trumpism behind and jump-start with the Democratic party in 2021.