For fuck's sake. Another four years of this? Here are the highlights of Donald Trump's press conference this morning.
- The Gulf of Mexico should be renamed the Gulf of America.
Fact check: Too late. Mississippi already proposed this a decade ago as a joke. - He might seize the Panama Canal with military force.
Fact check: Sure he will. - Biden has no right to keep implementing policies he dislikes.
Fact check: The American people elected Joe Biden to a four-year term ending on January 20, 2025. - “We have inflation at a level we’ve never had before.”
Fact check:
- The FBI mounted a false flag operation on January 6. Or maybe Hezbollah.
Fact check: No, neither of them did. - He'll levy high tariffs on Denmark if it doesn't give him Greenland.
Fact check: Everyone who uses Ozempic will love this. - “All hell will break out in the Middle East” if Hamas doesn't release its hostages.
Fact check: Does this mean Trump plans to send US troops to Gaza? - He will use “economic force” to join Canada and the United States together.
Fact check: The joke is getting old. - Inflation is due to high energy costs.
Fact check:
The Canada "Joke" was old in the sixth grade.
He can also just be ignored.
This please. Stop letting a doddering old con man tell you want to talk and think about every single day!
And to think the Wise Men and Pundits of the Media world were concerned only about Joe Biden. Yeah, sure.
Except for the small matter that he would soon be president.
You can still ignore the president. Nobody forces anybody (yet) to keep their screens tuned to his every word, George Orwell’s 1984 style. It’s a choice to listen to him speak, since there are hundreds of channels and streaming services airing movies, scripted shows, game shows, etc. right now. You literally do not have to watch Trump on any screen, and if the service you’re currently watching cuts to Trump, you possess the ability to change it to something else. If all the services are broadcasting him, there is the entirety of human literature to read, a world full of trails to hike, etc, 99.9999% of which will have zero mention of Trump.
I am not worried about being misled or distracted by Trump for myself. It is the Trump voters/would-be voters that worry me.
Okay, so I should be surprised when he orders me into the campa or what?
same goes with trump's truth social. it has only a couple million followers but when the msm is done his bs is worldwide. simply turn him off. he's been saying basically the smae shit for 10 years-
You can bet the rest of the world is listening. Germany and France just warned Trump about making moves on Greenland. Keir Stamers focus on the desperately need reform of Britains health care system is being diverted by Musk’s focus on an old rape gang scandal that he is trying to pin on Starmer.
I wish ignoring him were the solution but a lunatic with immense power, friends in all the wrong places, and a mountain of grievance cannot be ignored for long.
I don’t have the answer but I think we may be headed for a darker place than anyone has yet reckoned.
We’re already in a darker place than I thought. The Felon isn’t even in office yet, and we’re already under an oligarchy.
That has been a problem at least since Citizens United.
If one were to take the Canada anschluss at all seriously, two of the first questions it'd raise are:
1. How many Canadians actually want to join the US? On a little half-assed Googling, I'm seeing numbers like...6%? That's really not enough to get the job done, is it?
2. Canada's population is about six times that of the average US State, so you might suppose it'd join as six new states. Has the creep considered the likely dynamics of adding twelve new senators, all from new states that are significantly more friendly to abortion rights and hostile to gun rights than the median US voter?
Hell, even adding Canada as a single US state means nobody like Trump would get elected ever again, as it would be like adding another California--something staunchly Blue with north of 50 EVs.
👍👍👍👍👍Go for it Donald.
They'll add Alberta as the 51st state, and the rest will be a territory, like Puerto Rico.
His Majesty has made it clear that "Canada" would be one State, withOUT Justin Trudeau as governor. And definitely NOT that Frenchy guy either. Trump would appoint Doug Ford as Governor of the Great State of Canaduh. He's one of the 6%-ers.
Not governor. Gauleiter.
Trump is ridiculous and deluded. But that said, if given the option I suspect a number of American states would be happy to become part of Canada. Here in Minnesota we’re already cold and really good at hockey. A good number of us would jump st the chance to become part of Canada and leave the MAGA baboon colony behind.
Canada already has ten (10) "states" , aka provinces. So it would come in as ten (10) new US states. Maybe more; why not?
IF Canada was to join the US, which is NOT going to happen, I would expect it would join as nine states. The smallest of the Canadian provinces, Prince Edward Island, only has a population of 158,000 and would probably not be acceptable as a state. The second smallest in population, Newfoundland and Labrador, has about the same population as Wyoming. The outcome I would expect is that PEI would be merged with New Brunswick and the resulting nine provinces would become states.
Of course, no sensible Republican would even consider this. Canadians are MUCH more progressive on average than Americans and eighteen new senators and about fifty new representatives, almost all joining the left wing of the Democratic Party, would ensure that the Republicans would never win another national election.
BTW, repeal of the 2nd amendment would almost certainly be a non-negotiable term on the Canadian side.
So...we should all get behind this, then?
You forgot Medicaid for all healthcare.
Oops make that Medicare for all .
Yes, another four years of this. And Joe Biden was the confused old man?
the mainstream media has much, much to answer for by continually portraying Biden as an old man, and carefully sanewashing all the senile angry rants from Trump.
I mean, ffs, look at the headline that the nytimes used to describe this same press conference: "An Emboldened Trump Talks of Taking Greenland and Panama Canal by Force." Sure sounds like Trump is resolute and strong, doesn't it? Rather than, as Kevin more accurately puts it, appearing as a rambling, confused and angry jackass.
Not just confused, demented.
It wasn’t just the mainstream media. Kevin’s old blogging ground, Mother Jones, has been solidly in the ageist camp.
Kevin himself called Biden old and demented, and demanded he not only drop from the race but actually step down from being President.
Citation needed, because I'm calling BS. I think what Kevin expressed was roughly the same thing that a lot of other very reasonable people did - that Biden presented as a very old and frail man that struggled mightily to communicate and would likely lose the election. Kevin did call for him to resign, not because he couldn't do the job, but again because he was going to tank any democrat's chance of winning the election. I didn't agree with that, and I'm not sure how serious Kevin was about it, but I understand where he was coming from.
The point is that this was entirely about appearances and electoral politics. I don't think Kevin ever called Biden demented, or was ever particularly critical of his performance as president. He did rightly criticize Biden's horrific performance as a candidate though.
Sadly, all of this could have been avoided if Republicans had the spine to just convict the felon on impeachment. Or, to kick him out of the party for being an idiotic, un-American criminal. Failing that, Biden could have had the DOJ aggressively pursue him from day 1 and he'd be rotting in a jail cell right now instead of preparing to move back into the white house. What a fucking country...
Kevin himself called Biden old and demented, and demanded he not only drop from the race but actually step down from being President.
I don't know that Biden has dementia (I doubt it), but his cognitive decline (happens to all of us to varying degrees after age 40) was/is a lot more visible than Trump's because of Joe's mobility and voice box issues. But yes, he's clearly not a lunatic like Trump.
But I'd guess Harris's chances would indeed have improved had she become actual president, instead of just the nominee.
I think it serves the purposes of his entourage to have him keep throwing chum in the water to constantly distract and dilute the outrage.
The Times has a second article, too, purporting to explain to the confused why in the world Trump might have these impossible dreams. Greenland, for goodness sake? They have the answer.
And I do respect their work here (only its prioritizing sea routes over minerals may be mistaken). But attributing rational self-interest to him is no more reasonably than attributing it to the MAGA votes who emulate him. He may just have seen something on social media that triggered buzz words like "ours" and "them" and, for now doubled down on it, until of course his next inane impulse comes to make it forgotten forever.
Given that a strong majority of voters say they voted for Trump because they believed the economy is bad, even though most said they and their local areas were doing OK financially, I would say the media’s biggest sin was their refusal to acknowledge that under Biden the US economy has been the best in the world.
Jennifer Rubin made that case today:
“Surprise! The media just discovered Bidenomics works”
https://wapo.st/3DL5B9T
Although I'm sure Canada would object, I think every Democrat in the US would be fully on board with adding them as several brand new states. Now, why any MAGAt would want this is anyone's guess. Did I miss them pining for more competition in the job market?
But, the Panama/Denmark/Canada stuff is just idiotic distraction from whatever the miscreants are actually up to (pilfering the Treasury and hurting immigrants/women/LGBTQ/PoC mostly). It's all just too dumb to even acknowledge.
What I'm never going to get past is his habit of boldly proclaiming things that are obviously wrong and trivial to refute - and then nobody bothering to say anything. I mean, Kevin just did, but nobody coming to this blog needs to be told, and the people that need to hear it won't. Utter nonsense - literally the opposite of the truth - has now become functionally equivalent to cold, hard facts. The war on objective reality continues apace, and it looks like reality is on the ropes.
The Times has a fact check of the new conference. Marvelously enough, it has an entirely different list of lies from Kevin's. Just so many lies to go around.
"The Gulf of Mexico should be renamed the Gulf of America."
To be followed by New Mexico being renamed "New America," and I guess New England likewise being renamed.
Somebody should start agitating for the suspiciously Mexican-sounding "Mar-a-Lago" to be renamed a more patriotic "Sea-to-Lake," while they are at it.
New York. New Jersey. Pretty much any name with "New" in it.
Then what about San Diego, Los Angeles, San Francisco, etc? Those will need to be translated to English.
Then Wisconsin, Illinois, any place derived from Native American names. Those have to go.
We're going to have a hard time finding our way around for a while.
Here in Minnesota (hi, jambo!) we’re going the other way. A lake in Minneapolis once named after a racist enslaver who seems to never have set foot in the state is now Bde Maka Ska. Maps are available with many more of the original Dakota/Lakota and Ojibwe place names.
Personally, I like the idea of renaming Mexico "New New Mexico".
Or perhaps "Old New Mexico".
Four more years of this clown's inane yammering?? The world wasn't laughing at us before, but they are now. Whatever were American voters thinking?
They were voting to make "Libs" cry.
Most of the democratic countries in the world are fighting their own right wing threats. Even Finland recently elected a right wing government.You can bet Putin has been funding the propagandists who are driving this movement.
Yes its utter bull shit but he got elected twice by slinging it daily, and the media just keeps reporting it, mostly without context or any pushback. His superpower is the ability to relentlessly lie without shame (or that he is just fucking delusional).
Great, the US threatening to attack a NATO member (Greenland). Putin could not have done better when he recruited President Elect Agent Orange.
I don't think Trump is worried about how Canadians would vote. Everyone knows that the only legitimate votes are the ones cast for him.
As for the age of the Canada myth, I remember my fourth-grade teacher suggesting Canada would soon join the U.S. That would have been around 1960.
in Earth 14042 that happened and as a result of it there was never a President Nixon, Ronald Reagan was remembered for being a shitty actor in cheesy westerns, and Donald Trump was nothing but a slumlord known for his racism until one day he eventually spent the rest of his days in prison for all his frauds.
And like the rest of the developed world, the US ditched a for profit private Healthcare system.
Is there a wormhole connection to this Earth 14042? Or does one have to fall through a black hole?
Is it to soon to discuss 25th amendment solutions? His brain is going fast.
That just gives us Vance, infinitely worse.
The critical difference between Vance and Trump which makes Vance preferable is that almost nobody loves Vance. Congresspeople who oppose Trump are at real risk of being primaried; I don't think opposing acting president Vance would stir up the MAGAts nearly as much. Vance would find it much more difficult to bend Congress to his will than Trump does.
All true.
One reason for hope is that none of the other guys have trump’s ability to inspire quasi-religious devotion. Hawley, Desantis, Vance, etc are pale by comparison. Little men guided by polls and focus groups. With trump out of the picture they’ll get the stone racists but not much more.
I don’t know how much more hell Gaza could “pay”. But have at it. Dalek Trump says, “Exterminate!”
https://youtu.be/mxD-5z_xHBU?si=vRQejlD1dbYGXIJz
Just slightly off the topic: Trump has gotten an injunction to prevent release of Jack Smith's report on his investigations from his favorite little Federal judge down in Florida. He only needs a few more days of delay before he owns the Justice Department and can eradicate it.
Since the odious Supremos have made presidents immune from anything they do in office that is colorable as an official act, why can't Biden ask for the unredacted report to be uploaded to two hundred thumb drives and pass them out at a press conference? The day before the inauguration would be good. He can then pardon himself and everyone else involved just to be on the safe side.
+1
Biden should just order Jack Smith to upload the report, and perhaps issue a pardon for him. Its an official act, so Sleepy Joe is untouchable according to SCOTUS.
I suppose Biden can just cut out the middleman and have his office upload the report. Again an official act. Smith may still have faith in the legal system and refuse to violate a court order. Biden is under no such court order.
He wouldn't do it. Unfortunately, he's not like Trump.
Serious question here, does she have the jurisdiction to do that? Jack Smith is legally obligated to give his report to Merick Garland. I have no idea whether Aileen Canon then has any say over what Merick Garland does with it.
I'm sure if asked, the Supreme Court would find a way of upholding her decision (most likely by saying no, she doesn't have that authority, but they do, and they are exercising it).
But as you imply, she doesn't have to be "right", she just has to delay things for another 13 days, and then it won't matter. I hope that Garland just ignores them all and goes ahead and releases it regardless. (Yeah, right ...)
Over on Talkingpoints, txlawyer says Cannon doesn't have jurisdiction, so her decrees are irrelevant:
10+
Trump's current main project is to stuff the FBI with his people, so he can use it to harrass opponents. The rest is distarction.
Any minute that the his plans for the FBI and DOJ are not discussed gets him closer.
On Swisher's latest podcast, Haberman reiterated the point that Trump equates wealth with intelligence. One should encourage Trump to pursue his wildest dreams, to reveal how wildly fucked up his transactional, ego-driven brain is.
My thought was that Trump thinks Jimmy Carter is getting way too much attention, attention that rightfully belongs to Trump. So the thing to do is go out and say a bunch of outrageous shit and get the attention back where it belongs. I expect this type of thing for the next 4 years.
+1
+1
At least this is predictable babble; it's Trump being Trump.
Just imagine if, instead, we had President Vance.
And we may, sooner than anyone tired of Trump's babble would like.
If he's this stupid and ignorant now, just imagine how he'll be after January 20th.
shitflood-zone, SZ
(noun)
See also: "shitzone" and "MSM"
- A part of the media environment where low-quality, bad, or false information is put out as frequently as it is produced, partly or wholly without any factchecking or pushback.
Ex: Trump's favorite shitflood-zone, Fox News, is at it again, repeating his 2024 top-10 hits of lies.
shitflood -ing, -ed
(verb)
- A series of rapid actions to spread low-quality, bad, or false information into a willing media environment, often done with the goal to either make it impractical to counteract; to "see what sticks"; to overtake coverage of another person; or a combination of these goals.
Ex: Trump did his usual morning shitflooding in a rambling press conference which was covered by all three networks and all of the cable news outlets.
Unfortunately, if the President (or President-elect) says it, it's news, no matter how inane. News media have to cover it, but they don't have to do it uncritically. But who takes him seriously when he rants about Greenland and annexing Canada?
IDK about you, but I want to call his bluff. I want him to propose a timeline for getting er done at the same time that he's claiming he'll cut the deficit.
I'd like to note that the price I paid for gas today is the lowest price I have paid in at least 20 years. Seriously. It's way, way down.
Even without looking, I'm pretty sure it was cheaper during the 2008-9 recession.
And during the initial lockdown weeks of the Pandemic.
When is t-Rump going to blow his squash with these rants? Soon I hope.
I've always been fascinated by people who can believe:
a) Jan. 6 was a false flag operation mounted by BLM or Antifa or someone,
and
b) The imprisoned Jan. 6 rioters are patriots being held as political prisoners
at the same time.
The "false flag" gambit was idiotic from the start. Whenever I heard anyone trot that one out, I'd just ask very simply, "why?". Biden already won, so what would be the point of disrupting a pro forma ceremony confirming his victory? It never made any sense at all. In fact, MAGATs regularly trot out the false flag coping mechanism when they're caught red handed doing something awful, but I'm not sure I've ever heard of an honest to goodness false flag event. I'm sure it happens occasionally in some very specific settings, but if it's your go-to theory, you've got problems.
Boy I wish everybody covered Trump the way Kevin Drum does.
I have not watched the press conference if that is what it was, but it seems to me our media still does not know how to deal with Mango Mussolini. They need to be MUCH more aggreesive in their questioning and followup questioning imho. If that means shouting over Trump's attempts to move on or stating that what Trump just said was a lie, again, so be it. Yes, that reporter will not be allowed in again but there are a ot of reporters and they should not just be stenographers for our descent in fascism.
+1
The only Gulf of America is the one between his ears.
"For fuck's sake. Another four years of this?"
I'm quite certain that this sort of press conference is a feature, not a bug, for a lot of (though not all) Trump supporters. The vast majority of them know perfectly well that Trump is spouting nonsense. And they like it. That's what they want. Spouting obvious and random nonsense is a selling point for tens of millions of American voters. I did not in fact know that before 2016. It's a lesson that Trump has taught the country, and we all should have learned it by now.
But perhaps even more than watching Trump spout the most ridiculous absurdities imaginable, his fans love watching Liberals go nuts in response. That may, in fact, be the main point: owning the Libs. No one in my lifetime, not even Dick Cheney, has ever driven Liberals so utterly bonkers as Trump does. And that's simply an ecstatic experience for his devotees.
Your average MAGA follower is transported by bliss every time a die-hard liberal like Kevin asks, "Another four years of this?" I don't think it gets any better for them than that.
I think you are correct. I said something to fellow bar patron when he acknowledged his MAGA- “hey your boy is a moron- spouting that shit about Canada and Greenland today”. His response “ why do you believe that shit?” I left but my retort would have been “because he is the President of The US, not a fucking game show host”
I don’t think so. That would in many cases require more cognitive effort than his cult applies while listening. I mean, only minimal effort is needed to get from “he’s going on about Hannibal Lecter (or Rosie McDonnell, or Graydon Carter, or restricted-flow plumbing) again” to “Should a person who wants to be the leader of a superpower be obsessing about these things?” Are they evaluating ‘Trump won’t rule out taking the Panama Canal by military force’ in terms of the effect on our foreign relations, or of possible reactions by the world community? Or do they just admire his ‘strength’? And/or fantasize about America throwing its weight around?
You mistake extreme concern for the future of the country for ‘being driven bonkers’.
Someone from President Musk's camp needs to figure out whether or not the January 6th people were good guys or bad guys, and whether they should be pardoned by Trump. This flip-flopping on whether it was just legitimate political discourse, a coup, a riot, or a false-flag attack by an Antifa/FBI DeepState group is getting confusing even for those of us who know who was actually responsible.
better heading, madman still barking at the moon.
+1, true, he’s one tiny step from throwing his feces in all directions.
He's testing the limits of what he can get away with. Time will tell how much of his idiocy the GOP will tolerate. For that matter how much the electorate will tolerate. I have faith in neither one of them though.
The Groveling Obsequious Party has shown us who they are.
The fact that a blathering idiot was elected not once, but twice, reflects poorly on our country. Forcibly taking the Panama Canal, or any of his other idiotic ideas, might impress his autocratic and dictatorial heroes, everyone else not so much. This is our President. A disgusting ignorant asshat with delusions of grandeur with the power of the office of the POTUS.
The man's a pathetic toddler who's jealous if anyone else is in the news. So, he. just generates crap as fast as he can to stay in the headlines. Most three year olds facing the presence of a new baby act more maturely than Donnie.
There's really no reason to pay attention to anything he says. Congress isn't going to declare war on Denmark, Canada or Panama. He accomplished very little last term, and I'll be surprised if he manages to do anything significant this term, either.