Quote:Eight weeks of Trump: Everything the President screwed up this week


Welcome to Everything The President Screwed Up This Week, our clumsily-titled new weekly column exploring what Trump’s tiny hands managed to bungle this week.

This column is, and always has been, primarily dedicated to pointing out the ineptitude of President Rotted Pumpkin Face (well, that and d**k jokes).

Having said that, it’s worth pointing out that this was a chaotic week for most of the Republicans.

Paul Ryan had his attempt to ditch Trump in October get leaked, found out 47% of Americans hate him (only?), and drank a terrible pint of Guinness. McCain went full McCarthy and accused Rand Paul of “working for Vladimir Putin”. And, least importantly but somehow most symbolically, Sean Spicer wore his American flagpin upside down.


Add that to a healthcare bill that seems to please nobody and Kellyanne Conway’s new obsession with Microwave cameras, and it looks like the GOP Is going to need some new figureheads real soon. You know that loon who jumped over the White House fence on Friday and ran around for a bit? If he’d stuck around a couple more minutes the Republicans would have made him Secretary of State.

Still, even in a week when everyone else tried their hardest, there’s only one King of Glorious F***-Ups, and he’s in the Oval Office (actually, he’s mostly in Mar-a-largo but whatever). This week, President Trump:

• Got roasted by the Irish Prime Minister
• Told a Pulitzer-prize winning journalist that no-one has ever heard of him.
• Stressed the need for a budget that cuts education, healthcare and housing. Meanwhile…
• Proposed adding $54 billion to America’s bloated defence budget (as I said last week, I’m all in favour of government cuts. But let’s not start with the military not Meals on Wheels).
• Set aside $2.1 billion for his ego wall along the Mexican border (which is about a tenth of what the Department of Homeland Security says it’ll cost).
• Got insulted by McDonalds:
  

• ^Seriously, you know you’re shitty President if you can get people to root for McDonald’s as if they were some plucky underdog. Although, I guess a restaurant selling tasteless slime-meat better than a President who’s a literal pile of tasteless slime-meat.
• Ensured that guests of the Republican Congressional Committee will stay at Trump Towers (thus allowing Trump to pocket some of that sweet taxpayer money)
• Still didn’t change his sh***y haircut
  

Quote:Trump blew off Friday’s ‘major meeting’ about veterans’ healthcare with no explanation

After saying that he would be holding a “major meeting” on Friday to discuss veterans’ affairs and issues around the VA healthcare system, Pres. Donald Trump canceled the meeting at the last minute.
According to Politico’s Rebecca Morin, the meeting was slated to take place at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, FL, but pool reporters who filed on Friday night said that the meeting was canceled and that an explanation would be forthcoming on Saturday.

The Palm Beach Post said that Trump announced the meeting earlier on Friday with VA Secretary David Shulkin. Trump said it would be held at his private club because “that seems to be the most convenient location. Everybody always wants to go to the Southern White House.”


However, when he turned to confirm with Shulkin, saying, “You’re going to be there, right?”, Shulkin shook his head.


“You heard about it, though?” Trump asked, to which Shulkin nodded.

According to TheHill.com, “The event never appeared on Trump’s official schedule for the day and such a meeting has not been included in future schedules. Trump will have dinner with Ike Perlmutter, the Marvel CEO, on Saturday, according to pool reports. Trump had named Perlmutter as one of the people who he expected to attend his ‘major meeting’ on Friday.”


Trump ran afoul of veterans’ groups during the 2016 campaign when he claimed to have donated millions of dollars to veterans’ charities, a claim that the Washington Post‘s David Fahrenthold proved to be a lie.


The meeting’s abrupt cancelation is another easily-avoidable misstep by a White House that many D.C. insiders describe as inept, chaotic and riven by internal feuds.

(03-19-2017, 11:58 AM)Fan_in_Kettering Wrote: Melt, little liberal snowflakes! You had your turn with your big government fat cat career politicians in charge and now the little guy like me gets a chance. It's about time.

(03-19-2017, 01:01 PM)oncemoreuntothejimbreech Wrote: https://www.consumerfinance.gov/about-us/newsroom/cfpb-launches-financial-coaching-initiative/

THE CFPB provides financial coaching to veterans as well as other services to "the little guy" like you. Trump wants to do away with it.

The Obamacare repeal and replace legislation provides tax breaks to those who earn > $250,000. Meanwhile, the working poor who can't afford healthcare or healthcare insurance get a tax credit on their income tax form which won't help them get healthcare or healthcare insurance.

I'm hard pressed to name one thing Trump has done for the little guy.

(03-19-2017, 01:01 PM)oncemoreuntothejimbreech Wrote: https://www.consumerfinance.gov/about-us/newsroom/cfpb-launches-financial-coaching-initiative/

THE CFPB provides financial coaching to veterans as well as other services to "the little guy" like you. Trump wants to do away with it.

The Obamacare repeal and replace legislation provides tax breaks to those who earn > $250,000. Meanwhile, the working poor who can't afford healthcare or healthcare insurance get a tax credit on their income tax form which won't help them get healthcare or healthcare insurance.

I'm hard pressed to name one thing Trump has done for the little guy.

(03-19-2017, 11:58 AM)Fan_in_Kettering Wrote: Melt, little liberal snowflakes! You had your turn with your big government fat cat career politicians in charge and now the little guy like me gets a chance.  It's about time.

(03-19-2017, 03:49 PM)Dill Wrote: And how are you doin' there little guy, with all those billionaires in your cabinet and your healthcare, Medicaid and Medicare about to go down the toilet. 

Tired of winning yet?

(03-19-2017, 03:54 PM)Fan_in_Kettering Wrote: Oh no!  It's another intellectually superior liberal who is coming to correct me!  Oh how could I be so blind to the greatness of centralized government?

(03-19-2017, 11:58 AM)Fan_in_Kettering Wrote: Melt, little liberal snowflakes! You had your turn with your big government fat cat career politicians in charge and now the little guy like me gets a chance. It's about time.

(03-19-2017, 03:54 PM)Fan_in_Kettering Wrote: Oh no! It's another intellectually superior liberal who is coming to correct me! Oh how could I be so blind to the greatness of centralized government?

(03-19-2017, 04:30 PM)Belsnickel Wrote: so, the White House cited a satirical article, thinking it was supportive of their budget measures. http://gizmodo.com/white-house-cites-satire-story-to-support-trumps-nightm-1793377945

I recommend reading the satire piece, it was pretty good.

(03-19-2017, 03:45 PM)Fan_in_Kettering Wrote: I'm so sorry to have questioned your wisdom. You're a liberal which gives you license to make decisions for me. How could I be so stupid?

(03-19-2017, 04:58 PM)GMDino Wrote: I read that yesterday....did the WH ever figure it out and change it or acknowledge it?

(03-19-2017, 09:11 PM)Belsnickel Wrote: Anyone see this?
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2017/03/17/this-west-virginia-newspaper-front-page-should-scare-republicans/?utm_term=.ad452f8bfc6f



Trump won WV by 42 points. This is the state's largest newspaper.

Quote:The political appointee charged with keeping watch over Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt and his aides has offered unsolicited advice so often that after just four weeks on the job, Pruitt has shut him out of many staff meetings, according to two senior administration officials.


At the Pentagon, they’re privately calling the former Marine officer and fighter pilot who’s supposed to keep his eye on Defense Secretary Jim Mattis “the commissar,” according to a high-ranking defense official with knowledge of the situation. It’s a reference to Soviet-era Communist Party officials who were assigned to military units to ensure their commanders remained loyal.

Most members of President Trump’s Cabinet do not yet have leadership teams in place or even nominees for top deputies. But they do have an influential coterie of senior aides installed by the White House who are charged — above all — with monitoring the secretaries’ loyalty, according to eight officials in and outside the administration.

This shadow government of political appointees with the title of senior White House adviser is embedded at every Cabinet agency, with offices in or just outside the secretary’s suite. The White House has installed at least 16 of the advisers at departments including Energy and Health and Human Services and at some smaller agencies such as NASA, according to records first obtained by ProPublica through a Freedom of Information Act request.

These aides report not to the secretary, but to the Office of Cabinet Affairs, which is overseen by Rick Dearborn, a White House deputy chief of staff, according to administration officials. A top Dearborn aide, John Mashburn, leads a weekly conference call with the advisers, who are in constant contact with the White House.

(03-19-2017, 09:29 PM)GMDino Wrote: Literally Matt they don't care.

They are sure the voters will forget everything and blame someone/something else.

My FB page is littered with conservative friends that simply ignore everything bad that directly affects them because they think they're going to get a tax cut and the stock market is doing "better".

Quote:Comey Confirms F.B.I. Inquiry Into Trump Campaign Links to Russian Hackers; Sees No Evidence of Wiretapping


■ The F.B.I. director, James B. Comey, publicly confirmed an investigation into Russian interference in the presidential election and whether associates of the president were in contact with Moscow.

■ Mr. Comey also said the F.B.I. had “no information” to support President Trump’s allegation that Barack Obama wiretapped him.

■ The hearing’s featured witnesses: Mr. Comey and Adm. Michael S. Rogers, the director of the National Security Agency.

Comey confirms F.B.I. investigation into Russian election interference
The F.B.I. is investigating Russian interference in the 2016 election and possible links between the Trump campaign and the Russian government — and whether there was any coordination, Mr. Comey said.


Mr. Comey said that it was unusual for the F.B.I. to confirm or deny the existence of any investigations, but that in unusual circumstances when it is in the public interest, the bureau will sometimes discuss such matters.

“This is one of those circumstances,” he said.

“The F.B.I., as part of our counterintelligence effort, is investigating the Russian government’s efforts to interfere in the 2016 president election,” he continued, adding that the investigation included looking at whether associates of Mr. Trump were in contact with Russian officials, and whether they colluded with them.

Admiral Rogers made it clear that Russian efforts to interfere in democratic elections were not a one-off intrusion. They continue — now in Europe.

“We’ve seen some of the same things we’ve seen in the U.S. in terms of disinformation, fakes news,” he said.

President Trump, offering commentary on Twitter, put the best spin on it, noting that the witnesses did not say Russian hackers had changed vote tallies.

[/url]

Quote: Follow
President Trump 

✔@POTUS
The NSA and FBI tell Congress that Russia did not influence electoral process.
12:42 PM - 20 Mar 2017

But Democrats clearly had the advantage, sending out campaign fundraising appeals as the hearing unspooled.

Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, the Democratic leader, responded: “The possibility of coordination between the Trump campaign and Russian officials is a serious, serious matter. The investigation must be fair, independent, and impartial in every way, and the F.B.I. must be allowed to follow the facts wherever they may lead.”

Much of the questioning focused on the Trump confidante Roger J. Stone Jr. and his public bragging that he was in contact with the hacker Guccifer 2.0, believed to be a front for Russian intelligence officials. Mr. Comey would not confirm or deny the subject of the F.B.I.’s investigation, but Mr. Stone, never a shrinking violet, did speak up on Twitter.

Quote: Follow
Roger Stone @RogerJStoneJr
It’s only fair that I have a chance to respond 2 any smears or half truths about alleged “Collusion with Russians” from 2day’s Intel Hearing
11:33 AM - 20 Mar 2017

Mr. Nunes did seek to bring Hillary Clinton’s campaign into the discussion about Russian election meddling.

“If this committee comes to you with information about the Clinton campaign, will you add that to your investigation?” Mr. Nunes asked Mr. Comey.

Mr. Comey said he was not prepared to comment on the particulars of contacts between Russians and any campaigns. But “if people bring us info,” he said, “we will evaluate it.”

F.B.I. director says there’s ‘no information’ to support Trump wiretapping charge
Mr. Comey told the House Intelligence Committee, “We have no information to support” President Trump’s assertion on Twitter that President Barack Obama wiretapped Trump Tower.

“We have no information to support those tweets,” Mr. Comey said, repeating moments later, “All I can tell you is that we have no information that supports them.”

The N.S.A. chief, Admiral Rogers, weighed in as well, saying that he had no knowledge of anyone asking the British or any other ally to wiretap Mr. Trump. That seemed to refute another claim made by the White House.

“I’ve seen nothing on the N.S.A. side that we engaged in such activity, nor that anyone engaged in such activity,” Admiral Rogers said.
He then explicitly denied having any indication that Mr. Trump was wiretapped by British intelligence at the request of Mr. Obama.

Quote:[url=https://twitter.com/SenSchumer] Follow
Chuck Schumer 

✔@SenSchumer
The FBI director has now confirmed: Pres Obama wiretapping Trump Tower did not happen. 

Pres Trump needs to retract his claim immediately.
11:17 AM - 20 Mar 2017

Comey revelation raises questions about Clinton email inquiry
Mr. Comey’s statement that the F.B.I. is investigating the Trump campaign is certain to raise comparisons to his disclosure in October that the bureau had discovered a new trove of Mrs. Clinton’s emails.

“Some folks made one of a comparisons to past instances where the Justice Department and the F.B.I. has spoken about the details of some investigations,” Mr. Comey said. “Please keep in mind that those involved with the details of completed investigations. Our ability to share details with Congress and the American people is limited when those investigations are still open, which I hope makes sense. We need to protect people’s privacy. We needed to make sure we don’t get other people clues as to where we are going.”

Mr. Comey said that he had consulted the Justice Department about whether to disclose the existence of the investigation — something he had not done before he held a news conference in July to announce that there was not enough evidence to charge Mrs. Clinton with a crime.

Mr. Comey’s statements on Monday brought immediate criticism from Mrs. Clinton’s allies and former campaign officials. “In refusing to discuss an ongoing investigation, Director Comey is appropriately adhering to the Justice Department’s standards,” said Brian Fallon, the spokesman for Mrs. Clinton’s campaign. “The question he has never satisfactorily answered is why he deviated from those standards so egregiously in Hillary Clinton’s case.”

Daniel C. Richman, a longtime confidant of Mr. Comey’s and a professor at Columbia University, defended Mr. Comey. “There is no fair comparison between announcing a material status change in an investigation that you publicly declared to be closed — in an announcement the public can be expected to rely on — and speaking about investigative moves, or non moves, in a covert national security investigation,” Mr. Richman said.

McCarthyism? Um, no.
Mr. Comey provided a rare moment of levity when asked if he believed the inquiry into Russian meddling and possible connections to the Trump campaign was a form of “McCarthyism.”

The question came during a stretch of questioning in which both he and Admiral Rogers unequivocally rejected claims by Mr. Trump that he was wiretapped during the campaign.

As for McCarthyism, Mr. Comey’s reply was similarly definitive: “I try very hard not to engage in any ‘isms’ of any kind, including McCarthyism,” he said.