Tag Archives: Donald Trump

Trump has tossed the shackles … just now?

trump-ryan

Wait a second!

All this time I thought we were seeing the crude, rude and crass Donald J. Trump campaign for the presidency of the United States.

Now he tells us he’s been unshackled by the niceties of having to adhere to the good manners demanded of him by the Republican Party establishment. He’s going to war with the likes of House Speaker Paul Ryan, who this week has declared he no longer can “defend” Trump and that he’s going to spend all his energy trying to retain the GOP majority in Congress.

Does this mean he’s going to go even lower than he’s gone to date? Are the future insults against his foes going to make all the previous ones seem like fairy tales in comparison?

http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/trump-declares-war-on-establishment-republicans/ar-BBxihyE?li=BBnb7Kz

Yes, I do believe the GOP nominee is going to take this campaign straight into the gutter as it heads down the stretch with Trump trying to overtake Democratic nominee Hillary Rodham Clinton.

Good luck with that, Mr. Trump.

Clinton said she doesn’t intend to take the bait. “When they go low, we go high,” Clinton said the other night, quoting first lady Michelle Obama, who — along with her husband — knows a thing or three about how low political enemies can go.

So, here we are. Less than a month to go and we’re being threatened yet again by the GOP nominee’s pledge to go filthy against Clinton.

As if the video recording of his boasting about sexual assault against women isn’t enough.

Surely he’ll fire up the base of his party, which will stay with him to the end. As for the rest of the country, let’s just wait for everyone else’s reaction.

My sense is that the rest of us won’t like what Trump is threatening to do. Not one damn bit.

Trump keeps reaching way, way back

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It wasn’t enough, I guess, for Republican presidential nominee Donald J. Trump to dredge up a two-decade-old case involving a former president to link him to his wife, who happens to be Trump’s current opponent for the presidency.

Oh, no. Today, he went back even farther, July 1969, to allege that the media covered up a “crime” committed by the late Sen. Ted Kennedy after he drove off a bridge in Massachusetts, which resulted in the drowning death of a young woman who was riding in his car.

Trump again blamed the media for covering up Hillary and Bill Clinton’s “crimes,” just as it did for Kennedy.

I keep hearing about this alleged “cover-up” and keep wondering: What the hell is this clown talking about? What cover-up?

The media were all over the Kennedy story when it happened. They covered every single element of the tragedy. They reported on the delay in reporting the accident. They reported on the suspected favors done to protect Kennedy.

As for Clinton, the media have been covering her lengthy public career like a blanket. Every single aspect of Clinton’s life — public and private — has been examined more closely than a lab rat under a microscope.

http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/presidential-races/300286-trump-raises-chappaquiddick-in-anti-clinton-tirade

This kind of tactic simply is laughable on its face.

I always am tempted to ask when I hear of these so-called media conspiracies: How in the world do you know of the events the media are covering up … if you haven’t heard it or read it — in the media?

This ‘debate’ didn’t elevate the discussion

jfk-nixon

Of all the analyses I’ve heard and read about the second presidential debate between Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton and Republican nominee Donald J. Trump, one of them stands out.

It came from a talking head who referred to the initial 1960 debate between then-Vice President Richard Nixon and then-U.S. Sen. John F. Kennedy.

It was a serious affair. No audience in the room. Just the candidates and the questioners.

The analyst suggested that there was great hope in 1960 that these events might elevate the quality of the discourse. That it would force the candidates to be civil, collegial and serious. After all, the theory went, they were being beamed into voters’ living rooms. Who wants to hear such trash talk from candidates seeking to become the head of state?

Well, so much for high expectations.

Clinton-Trump II didn’t sink to the level that many prognosticators thought it might. But it damn sure didn’t rise to anything approaching a high-minded discussion about issues.

The overarching issue, of course, was that infamous video recording of Trump talking in 2005 about how he sought to do certain disgraceful things with and to women.

All of that context managed to lower the bar to a horrible level. It made the debate seem small.

As Chuck Todd, the NBC newsman and “Meet the Press” moderator, noted: The debate didn’t do much to enhance the principle of democracy.

‘Because you’d be in jail’

trump-vs-clinton

Donald J. Trump scored perhaps the biggest knee-slapper of the evening at his debate Sunday night with Hillary Rodham Clinton.

He said she’d “be in jail” if he were president.

Why? Well, I’d like to visit that notion for a moment.

Trump has been accusing Clinton of breaking the law while she was secretary of state. He and other Clinton critics have presumed her guilt for unspecified “crimes.” Trump also has tried and convicted Clinton’s husband, the former president of the United States, of various crimes against women. He called President Clinton the “worst abuser” of women in the history of the American politics.

To punctuate whatever point he sought to make Sunday night, Trump brought four women with him to St. Louis, all of whom have accused the Clintons of various crimes against them.

That’s it, then! They’re guilty because these women said so.

How about holding on for a second.

The FBI examined whether Hillary Clinton broke any laws by using her private e-mail account while serving as secretary of state. She testified before Congress for 11 hours over that very issue. FBI Director James Comey — the Republican career prosecutor who runs the agency — determined that there was nothing on which he could prosecute Clinton. In other words, she didn’t break any laws.

It doesn’t stop there.

Congressional critics now have accused Clinton of perjuring herself in her testimony. That’s it. They have leveled the accusation. Have they brought formal charges? No. Have they produced proof of her committing a crime? No again.

They’ve just leveled the accusation.

As for her husband … and the women whom Trump flew to St. Louis to create a spectacle in the debate hall, they, too, have leveled accusations.

Has anyone brought formal charges against the former president? No. Has any of them testified — under oath — in a courtroom to accuse the president of raping, groping or otherwise abusing them? No.

He, too, is presumed guilty of these accusations. I hesitate to call them “charges” because, I must stipulate again, he’s never been charged with a crime.

What we are witnessing is a perversion of the legal system that is supposed to presume someone is innocent until prosecuting authorities can prove guilt.

Both of these individuals — Bill and Hillary Clinton — have their flaws. I don’t for a second deny that. Their flaws are personal and political.

However, in all the accusations brought before both of them, only Bill Clinton has been charged formally with a “high crime and misdemeanor.” It involved lying to a federal grand jury about his relationship with a young White House intern. The House of Representatives impeached him for it.

Then he was acquitted of the charges by the Senate. He was allowed to finish his second term as president.

Are these two individuals guilty of any of the crimes others have accused them of committing? No.

They deserve the same presumption of innocence to which all American citizens are entitled.

Moreover, the know-nothings who keep saying otherwise ought to adhere to the laws they allegedly cherish.

Clinton-Trump II: bloodletting doesn’t occur

split2-clinton-trump-somber

What just happened in St. Louis?

The pre-debate analysis predicted a disaster. The pundits said Donald J. Trump was going to steer the debate into the gutter in response to that hideous video recording in which he bragged about being able to commit sexual assault on women.

That discussion occurred only briefly.

Trump and Hillary Rodham Clinton seemed a bit on edge tonight.

Two big takeaways …

First, Trump, the Republican nominee for president, disagrees with his running mate Mike Pence that the United States needs to punish Russia for its continued bombing of rebels seeking to topple the Syrian government of Bashar al Assad.

Second, Trump vowed to put Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton in jail over the e-mail controversy if he gets elected president. I do not believe that’s ever been stated quite like that in a debate between two major-party nominees for the presidency.

OK, maybe a third takeaway.

The sex-related rhetorical bloodbath that all those pundits said would occur … didn’t happen.

Rigged debate schedule, eh?

clinton-and-trump

Do you remember when the presidential debate commission scheduled the joint appearances with Hillary Rodham Clinton and Donald J. Trump?

Trump, the Republican nominee, bitched about the effort to keep viewership down. The commission put the debates at the same time as professional football games, which also were being televised. It became part of Trump’s mantra that the election would be “rigged.”

The audience for the first debate topped 80 million viewers, making it one of the most-watched TV events in history.

The audience for the next one, which is about to occur, well might exceed the first event.

How come? Donald Trump’s videotaped remarks about having sex with a married woman, how he wanted to grab one by her private parts and how his “star” status enabled him to have his way with women.

The reaction has been ferocious — from Republicans!

Yes indeed,, the audience for tonight will — to borrow a phrase — be h–u-u-u-g-e!

 

Trump prepares to go low … very low

donald-trump-flickr-cc

Donald J. Trump has just introduced four women to the press corps covering the upcoming debate with Hillary Rodham Clinton.

The women all purport to have been victimized by Bill Clinton, the former president and the husband of the Democratic presidential nominee.

That’s his answer to the videotape released this past week showing him talking in quite vulgar terms about sexual assault on women? This is how he’s going to respond? This is the Republican nominee’s answer to questions about his own character, his moral fiber, his fitness for the job he seeks?

This stunt very well could explode in Trump’s face.

Someone help me out here. Is Bill Clinton running for president yet again?

Can this man ‘speak from the heart’?

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Donald J. Trump’s allies say his task at tonight’s debate with Hillary Rodham Clinton can be defined cleanly and crisply.

He has to “speak from the heart” that he is truly sorry for the ghastly remarks he made 11 years ago about women.

The recording, released this past week by the Washington Post, has put Trump in a lot of political trouble. It has given Clinton an enormous amount of ammo she can throw at him.

Trump’s pals say he must deliver the apology of his life.

My questions? Is this individual wired sufficiently to convey such sincere contrition — and will it expunge the record of the terrible things he has said?

Early voting bites ’em in the rear

thmyadek02

This is going to so very Trumpian, so please forgive me.

I called it, man! I’ve been saying for years that early voting carries tremendous risk, that the candidate who gets one’s vote before Election Day could mess up royally and make the voter regret the ballot he or she has just cast.

Donald Trump, anyone?

Several states have begun allowing residents to vote early for president. Many thousands of Americans have done so. Many of those who have cast their ballots early did so for Donald J. Trump, the Republican nominee for president of the United States.

Texans will commence early voting on Oct. 24.

Perhaps those who’ve voted early walked away from the polling booth feeling pretty darn good about the vote they cast.

D’oh! And then something happened! The Washington Post uncovered an 11-year-old video and audio recording of Trump saying some ghastly things about women.

You know what has happened in the 48 hours since then. The Republican Party is in full crisis mode. GOP members of Congress have pulled their endorsement of Trump back; many of them have called on him to quit the race; House Speaker Paul Ryan disinvited Trump to a political rally in Wisconsin; and in the Mother of All Political Insults, Trump’s running mate, Mike Pence, cancelled an appearance with Trump.

Has there been a clearer demonstration than this — at the presidential election level — of what can happen to someone’s vote?

I posted this blog item four years ago.

https://highplainsblogger.com/2012/10/down-with-early-voting/

I am disgusted by what we’ve learned about the Republican presidential nominee.

However, the revelations that have come out about the candidate’s behavior fill me with a sense of validation.

Early voting? No thanks. When your candidate messes up, you can’t take it back.

Calls for Trump to quit race are mounting, but …

donald

The Deseret News of Salt Lake City has joined a growing chorus around the country in demanding that Donald J. Trump, the Republican nominee for president, quit his campaign.

The editorial is attached here:

http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865664336/In-our-opinion-Donald-Trump-should-resign-his-candidacy.html

He probably won’t quit, although I hate to predict anything at this point of a growing scandal that only promises to get worse.

My own sense is that Trump is thinking about it, considering at some level to call it quits, to hand this presidential nomination over to VP nominee Mike Pence.

He has vowed to go the distance.

Frankly, I want him to stay in the race. It’s not that I want this man to redeem himself. I believe that politically speaking he is beyond redemption.

Republican Party primary voters very well could have known this kind of news would splatter itself all over the campaign. Yet they punched their ticket next to a man who “tells it like it is,” who eschews “political correctness,” who has promised to “build a wall” to keep out the Mexican “rapists, drug dealers and killers” and who has pledged to ban all Muslims from entering the United States of America.

Oh, the personal stuff? The three marriages and his boasts about all his sexual conquests, the language he uses to describe women? Pfftt! Doesn’t matter, man.

Trump “isn’t a politician,” the mantra goes. Well, actually he became a politician the moment he rode down the escalator at Trump Tower to announce his campaign for the presidency.

The media are largely complicit, too, in allowing this man to get to this point. They didn’t call him out immediately for the lies he told about seeing “thousands of Muslims cheering” the collapse of the Twin Towers on 9/11, or for the phony excuses he gives for refusing to release his income tax returns.

The Deseret News has taken a bold step in calling for Trump to quit the race. I get that it dislikes Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton, too, and cannot endorse her candidacy.

There will be more of this kind of demand in the days to come before the election.

Let us not kid ourselves, though. The Republican Party’s primary voters have made their choice. It’s Donald J. Trump. They now must swallow what he fed them on his march to their party’s presidential nomination.