Trump

[Puja]

I genuinely thought that was sarcasm, but on closer examination, she's being serious. That is terrifying.

Puja

[morepork]

The most pressing issue of the day. What a sad joke. Satire cannot keep pace with this. Greatest President ever because glass of water. Way to go ‘Murrica. Who needs the CDC when you have panto like that.

[Galfon]

In terms of flippant remarks, D-man can out-trump the best:
New cases are going up..so 'I told my people to cut back on the testing ..' (the more you test, the more you catch). Can't fault his stunning logic..

[paddy no 11]

What a fucking Cracker

[Sandydragon]

I genuinely thought that was sarcasm, but on closer examination, she's being serious. That is terrifying.

Puja

Really?

Fuck me.

[Digby]

Did he go and clean up that mess he'd just made, or did he leave it for someone to clean up after him?

[Puja]

I genuinely thought that was sarcasm, but on closer examination, she's being serious. That is terrifying.

Puja

Really?

Fuck me.

Yeah. Who care about 120,000 dead Americans when your President has just "trolled the liberal media" by showing off that they were wrong when they said he couldn't drink with one hand. Lol, what a card.

Puja

[paddy no 11]

Guys a lowlife

[gransoporro]

I genuinely thought that was sarcasm, but on closer examination, she's being serious. That is terrifying.

Puja

Really?

Fuck me.

Yes, she is serious.

Have you picked up your jaw yet? Or is it still against your chest in a worrying angle?

[Sandydragon]

I genuinely thought that was sarcasm, but on closer examination, she's being serious. That is terrifying.

Puja

Really?

Fuck me.

Yes, she is serious.

Have you picked up your jaw yet? Or is it still against your chest in a worrying angle?

Fucking stunned!!

In most cases, the ability to drink from a glass with one hand is something considered normal for any person (without physical or mental handicap) past the age of 3 or so. Yet apparently this is considered to be a plus for the man who wants to become the US Commander in Chief.

Its pretty low criteria to judge against, although between Trump having to confirm that he can actually function as a post toddler and Biden having to confirm that he is still alive this week, its looking like one hell of contest coming up!

[gransoporro]

As long as Biden breaths he will be fine. So far he shows a pulse occasionally.

And as far as dementia accusations go, the debates between the 2 candidates will be fun to watch. Or terribly painful. Depending on your empathy levels.

[canta_brian]

[morepork]

I think I hit that at a New Year’s Eve rave at Takaka Hill in the late ‘90’s. The Cocteau twins provided a fitting backdrop as I gingerly entered my fate. Thank god I left the XY in first gear as the handbrake was dodgier than my judgement.

[Digby]

"Former US National Security Adviser John Bolton claims that President Donald Trump agreed to intervene in a federal investigation into Turkish state-owned Halkbank at the request of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, the Middle East Eye reported.

According to excerpts from his memoir, “The Room Where It Happened,” Bolton claimed that at a meeting in 2018 in Argentina Erdoğan gave Trump a memo from the law firm representing Halkbank insisting that the bank was innocent of charges against it.

Halkbank, one of Turkey’s biggest banks, has been under investigation by US prosecutors since 2018, when it was accused of using its currency businesses and front companies to transfer $20 billion in oil revenue to Iran — which was restricted by Washington’s sanctions against the Islamic Republic.

In the book, which is scheduled to be released on June 23, Bolton wrote: “Trump then told Erdogan he would take care of things, explaining that the Southern District prosecutors were not his people but were Obama people, a problem that would be fixed when they were replaced by his people.”

Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden, the ranking member of the Senate Finance Committee, said on Wednesday that Bolton’s book provided “damning evidence” corroborating the findings of his own investigation that “Donald Trump attempted to interfere in a criminal investigation into the largest sanctions violations scheme in US history as a favor” to Erdoğan.

Federal investigators in the Southern District of New York brought charges against Halkbank last October.

Two men with close ties to Erdoğan’s inner circle – Turkish-Iranian businessman Reza Zarrab and Halkbank’s former deputy chief executive, Hakan Atilla – were charged with conspiring to violate US sanctions against Iran and other offenses.

Atilla was convicted of the charges in Federal Court in New York.

Before signing a plea deal with prosecutors, Zarrab is reported to have hired Rudy Giuliani, a longtime associate of Trump, to try to negotiate a deal between the US and Turkish governments to secure his release.

Giuliani reportedly attempted to broker a diplomatic deal with Turkey to withdraw Zarrab from US custody, trying to swap him for American pastor Andrew Brunson, who was being detained by Turkey.

At Giuliani’s request, Trump also asked then-Secretary of State Rex Tillerson to press the Justice Department to drop its case against Zarrab, Bloomberg News reported last year."


Worth specifically noting the action was being brought by the Southern District of New York as that's where Trump/Barr somehow between them just fired Geoffrey Berman without seeming to officially know between them how or if they fired Berman. Whether Trump can install his pick at SDNY isn't clear, whether his pick for SDNY knows part of their job is to halt the investigation into Halkbank and would have acted on that also isn't clear.

Drain the swamp and all that jazz

[Donny osmond]

Latest polling from the US is making a stir in twitter:

NYT/Siena battleground polls:
Michigan Biden 47 Trump 36
Wisconsin Biden 49 Trump 38 Pennsylvania Biden 50 Trump 40
Florida Biden 47 Trump 41
Arizona Biden 48 Trump 41
North Carolina Biden 49 Trump 40

Plenty of commentators saying we've been here before, 4 years ago, and he still came back to win. John Sopel, BBC America reporter, says it's different according to researchers on the ground, much worse than before, but doesn't say why.

Sent from my CPH1951 using Tapatalk

[morepork]

The fact that Trump would even register in double digits at the moment makes me want to staple a balsa would crucifix to my genitals, douse it in petrol, and set it alight.

[Digby]

You should probably go with your instinct there, Trump can't always be wrong

[Buggaluggs]

Latest polling from the US is making a stir in twitter:

NYT/Siena battleground polls:
Michigan Biden 47 Trump 36
Wisconsin Biden 49 Trump 38 Pennsylvania Biden 50 Trump 40
Florida Biden 47 Trump 41
Arizona Biden 48 Trump 41
North Carolina Biden 49 Trump 40

Plenty of commentators saying we've been here before, 4 years ago, and he still came back to win. John Sopel, BBC America reporter, says it's different according to researchers on the ground, much worse than before, but doesn't say why.

Sent from my CPH1951 using Tapatalk

Hillary was never this far ahead. + Hillary was very unpopular. Only slightly less hated than Trump. Biden isn't unpopular. That makes it hard for Trump to smack talk him down. Biden's handlers need to keep him on a short leash, though. He has it within himself to snatch defeat yet.

[morepork]

He is probably quite content getting hammered on hand sanitizer in his basement

[Puja]

Latest polling from the US is making a stir in twitter:

NYT/Siena battleground polls:
Michigan Biden 47 Trump 36
Wisconsin Biden 49 Trump 38 Pennsylvania Biden 50 Trump 40
Florida Biden 47 Trump 41
Arizona Biden 48 Trump 41
North Carolina Biden 49 Trump 40

Plenty of commentators saying we've been here before, 4 years ago, and he still came back to win. John Sopel, BBC America reporter, says it's different according to researchers on the ground, much worse than before, but doesn't say why.

Sent from my CPH1951 using Tapatalk

Hillary was never this far ahead. + Hillary was very unpopular. Only slightly less hated than Trump. Biden isn't unpopular. That makes it hard for Trump to smack talk him down. Biden's handlers need to keep him on a short leash, though. He has it within himself to snatch defeat yet.

Biden's greatest virtue - not being actively terrible enough to cause a problem.

Puja

[Sandydragon]

Morten Morland has just published an animation of the Trump campaign in the Times. Its very good; particularly the part where Pence is depicted as a popup clapping puppet.

[Digby]

Does an animated Mike Pence sound realistic though?

[Sandydragon]

Does an animated Mike Pence sound realistic though?

It just claps. The audio is all the Donald.

[Digby]

Does an animated Mike Pence sound realistic though?

It just claps. The audio is all the Donald.

Still, that suggests movement even if limited movement. Until this point I've been assuming Pence contracted a terminal illness back in the late 70s or early 80s and was only saved by a taxidermist

[Sandydragon]

Cant get the sound to record, so entire video is a bit pointless. But Pence seems to be captured pretty well as a clapping inflatable doll.