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Meanwhile, back on topic, Alina Hubba doesn’t know how to introduce evidence whilst cross examining or even how to ‘object’ - or pretty much anything else to do with court procedure, or in her own words - she’d rather be pretty than intelligent 🤦🏻♂️🤦🏻♂️🤦🏻♂️
lot of noise about the “bloody” hand of Trump!
'noise' but not 'news' as such. Plenty of other photos taken on the same day don't show anything.
There seems to be a certain element with the anti trump 'side' that seem to feel that Trump has to be played at his own game. Trumps supporters seem to be more ready to believe lies, especially if they are disgusted by them, and are uninterested in, even allergic to, facts. The facts about him being a sex offender, a fraudster and so on don't interest them at all. The lies he tells about others do.
Disgusting lies - Yes please! Disgusting truth? Boring.
So perhaps for no reason other than every other stragegy seems to be a waste of time they're trying out course, clumsily told, schoolyard bullying and mean lies. Just on the offchance they find some traction. "#trumpstinks" for instance or "wealthy man suffering from completely curable 19th century disease the the bad guy has in post-covid movies"
I guess they feel it costs nothing so why not.
Your definition of “liberal” is similarly flawed. There is nothing intrinsic in it requiring a “safety net” as the Irish victims of the potato famine demonstrate.
Modern liberalism is a different thing from classical libertarianism. They are both concerned with liberty, but the definition is different. Libertarians focus on acting unconstrained by others (negative liberty), modern liberals on what individuals can actually do (positive liberty), so a safety net is seen as enhancing liberty. Marxists absolutely do not share libertarians' view of what liberty is so the two ideologies aren't really compatible.
You seem to have answered your own question.
Pointing out the flaws in Republican logic gets no traction with them. Engaging with Trump intellectually is pointless as he has no capacity to listen. Arguing points of policy is worthless as they have none outside 'own the Dems'
You might as well talk about his incontinence, ill health and the fact he doesn't know who is the current president (he seems to think it still Obama) rather than try to be a grown up about it
In other news, our disgraced, compulsive liar, philandering ex-pm thinks that what the world needs is the US to have their disgraced, sex-offending, psychopathic ex-presidents back......
Can you get blisters playing pitch n putt?
Or is secondary syphilis the accurate diagnosis?
My guess is either being dumb enough to touch a handrail in negative double-digit temperatures and peeling his skin off, or fake tan blotches.
the fact he doesn’t know who is the current president (he seems to think it still Obama)
I'm starting to take more seriously the theory that Trump has suffered some serious cognitive decline and that the MAGA crew's constant attacks on Biden's age are intended to distract attention from Trump's age and health.
https://twitter.com/DavidCornDC/status/1748542684367593960
https://twitter.com/TheNewsAgents/status/1748395667746091185?t=6EiLvS_FA15chtyYSrL1-w&s=19
Lord Owen suggesting Farage should be American Ambassador because he's got influence with Trump.
I listened to that, what an idiot.
probably - but I’m not really seeing anyone else in Uk politics making any plans or contigencies for a second trump term.
ive seen two disgraced former PM’s say they like the idea of a disgraced former president getting a second go- but with no actual plan attached to that for our country and its interests
Just by starting the conversation Owen’s done more than both our government and our government in waiting it seems
I’m starting to take more seriously the theory that Trump has suffered some serious cognitive decline and that the MAGA crew’s constant attacks on Biden’s age are intended to distract attention from Trump’s age and health.<br /><br />
Difficult to argue with these theories, he’s bragging about aceing a cognitive test that required identifying a whale, he was constantly tearing into Pelosi about security during the Jan 6th attack when it was nothing to do with her, not in any way her job, which he ought to know, and now he’s convinced Nikki Haley was Pelosi, while at the same time saying Haley isn’t an American, the whole Birtherism lie all over again.
The whole thing stinks. 💩 And it’s not just his hair products…
The Republican Party, however, have pretty much abandoned policy and are just trying to fight culture war battles.
...the MAGA crew’s constant attacks on Biden’s age are intended to distract attention...snip
The MAGA group have pretty much abandoned democracy. If you're threatened by a vote that you don't want and couldn't win then you go on the attack.
You don't do that by making a sound argument in Congress, you assault Congress. If, three years later, you don't like the vote then you propose a "motion to vacate" the US Speaker; without them, no vote.
Kevin McCarthy (Rep) was ahoist his own petard in October; he agreed to lower the bar to one vote as a condition of him getting the Speaker's position. MTG used the same low bar to threaten Mike Johnson (Rep Speaker) "I told Speaker Johnson if he made that deal in exchange for $60bn for Ukraine, I would vacate the chair and I still stand by those words."
This all flies in the face of numerous public polls AND the majority of what Congress (Rep and Dem) want. I suppose the next question is how you raise the bar to a majority if you can't get a vote through so that Congress is able to vote
I do not believe Trump is living with cognitive decline as such, more that his narcissism and personality disorder has left him in such a fantasy world that his grip on reality is slipping further. Anything he says is true in his mind and has has been encouraged to make wilder and wilder claims. I think he genuinely believe the election was rigged
Owen still believes Brexit was right, again, an idiot 🤷♂️
I do not believe Trump is living with cognitive decline as such
Indeed - you just have to look at his words and actions all through his life. 'Decline' - decline from what exactly?. It's hard to measure cognisance in someone who has no interest in reality. In the simplest terms he's a Bullshitter.
To tell the truth you have to know the truth
To lie.... you still have to know the truth.
Bullshitters have no interest in the truth. For them things are 'true' if they are what they are saying or thinking at that moment, and thats all that matters. Trump's only real skill is to be able to answer a question that he doesn't understand because he bullshits all the time.
I remember an interview with a reporter who had covered Trumps entry into the Casino business - he remembers thinking it odd that Trump was undertaking such a large project with no prior experience in the industry. The reporter would ask Trump question about the industry and get the sort of 'A lot of people are saying... six of one half a dozen of the other' answers that Trunp is very practiced in giving. So the reporter started asking questions that were completely false premises - about, say an upcoming change in particular licensing rule - where there was not rule and no announced change. Trump would answer in exactly the same way - make a statement of that was just the words question arranged in a different order, qualified with what he said 'everyone' or 'smart people' were also saying about it.
Bullshitters have no interest in the truth. For them things are ‘true’ if they are what they are saying or thinking at that moment, and thats all that matters. Trump’s only real skill is to be able to answer a question that he doesn’t understand because he bullshits all the time.
Exactly.
De Santis has pulled out the race - not sure if that helps or hinders Haley and tne others. Will his supporters go to Trump?
BBC News - Ron DeSantis suspends campaign for president
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-68051757
De Santis has endorsed trump; even if only 50% of his supporters follow his endorsement I think that's Haley done for.
So, ten months of Biden and trump going
head-to-head with some 'seasoning' from various courts - looking at you, Supreme Court.
This is going to get very ugly very quickly.
Wonder if any deal has been done- join the ticket as VP?
De Santis has endorsed trump
After several months/years of abuse from trump for daring to stand against him. I have to wonder what goes through their minds.
If someone beats me to a promotion then thats life and I will work with them but if they spent the entire interview process abusing me then I think a)wouldnt endorse them and b)would be job hunting elsewhere.
That's a tragic outcome. By all means drop out, but don't endorse the Giant Wotsit when you do! Regardless of what "a majority of Republican Primary voters want", you should know better! Your country deserves better....probably.
After several months/years of abuse from trump for daring to stand against him. I have to wonder what goes through their minds.<br /><br />
I have my principles but if you don’t like them I have others
Terrified of getting on his wrong side and being victimised?
De Santis has pulled out the race – not sure if that helps or hinders Haley and tne others.
DeSantis tried to run to Trump's right - he seeded to figure that if he just went full attack on culture war stuff, the MAGA voters would choose him over Trump. Haley seems to have tried to run as "team normal" to pick up the more centrist Republicans who aren't into Trump's crazy stuff but don't like Democrats. Neither strategy worked but I can't imagine many DeSantis voters switching to Haley.
Made me chuckle.
https://twitter.com/santiagomayer_/status/1749161142700646618
De Santis has pulled out the race
Candidate who wasn't ever going to win, who nobody wanted finally gets the message and offers his support to a man who's done nothing but insult him...Welcome to the Republicans.
This whole thing could be an absolute disaster for both the USA and Europe.
Candidate who wasn’t ever going to win, who nobody wanted finally gets the message and offers his support to a man who’s done nothing but insult him…Welcome to the Republicans.
He's likely thinking he'd be a good bet for VP.
And in the right place in case DT gets incapacitated; either legally or physically.
Wouldn't have thought he was going to be a VP candidate, he'd have to do more than just endorse Trump in those circumstances, he'd have had to be a bootlicker from day one. He was slagging him off only a week ago.
Elise Stefanik seems to be the front-runner for that one. Absolutely devoid of a moral compass, will say anything to keep his favour.
Trump becoming president again is starting to look like a horrible inevitability, isn't it?
Trump becoming president again is starting to look like a horrible inevitability, isn’t it?
Yup.
I still think there are significant hurdles to Trump becoming president even if he wins the Republican nomination easily. The abortion issue has lost him a lot of support even among republican voters, which has woken them up to the abuse of the culture war. That may still be a minority of Republican voters, but is could be a significant minority.
However on the flip side the growth of the US economy is yet again not filtering down to those struggling with the cost of living crisis, these are the disenfranchised who last time came out to get rid of Trump. Now that they have 4 years again of being economically ignored by the Democrats it is likely they will not turn out again.
So there could be a significant percentage of the turnout in the last election who won't switch votes, but just feel they have no one to vote for and who will represent them.
With Joe Biden currently doing so much to undermine US influence and moral authority across the Middle East and the Global South, a second Trump presidency would prove to European governments that his first presidency was not simply a one-off never-to-be-repeated aberration, but a systematic failure of US society, thereby further emphasising the dangers of relying on close links with the US.
What we are witnessing are likely chapters in future history books which will be written to explain the decline of the United States as a world power.
Trump becoming president again is starting to look like a horrible inevitability, isn’t it?
I don't think it is. I think it will be tighter than 2020, but I don't think he can count his chickens. In nearly every election Trump endorsed candidates have lost, often quite badly, and where-ever Republican candidates have promoted stricter anti-abortion policies in their states, they're often facing such strong push back that some candidates are settling on a 15 week limit as a compromise.
What we are witnessing are likely chapters in future history books which will be written to explain the decline of the United States as a world power.
I don't think we are, there's still no military power anything like as capable as the US, the Russians military is practically worthless, and it turns out the massive corruption in the PLA has revealed that some missile silos are more or less irreparably broken, and in some cases filled with water rather than rocket-fuel - and this is just the stuff that the CCP has allowed to be published...I think this is a symptom of internal US politics where one party is only just holding itself together as a disparate group that are only loosely aligned (but still at least are committed to something approaching legitimacy and democracy*, and another party who've functionally left the planet and believe...well; nothing other than the desperate need to have power.
*As far as the word means in US politics. .
there’s still no military power anything like as capable as the US
United States global dominance has very little to do with military power. For example despite using tremendous amounts of resources Afghanistan was a total disaster for the US. And going way back they got their arses kicked in Vietnam. And we are talking about small impoverished and militarily weak countries.
US global dominance is based on its huge economic power and resources, which in turn relies heavily on influence, trade, and perceived moral authority.
This is currently taking a blow, for example South Africa taking a leadership role in the Global South by gaining moral authority as a result of its actions in the ICJ.
A second Trump presidency, were it to happen, would cause a huge strain to US-European relations.
And all this is occurring against the backdrop of growing Chinese global influence.
Military might won't massively help to stem the decline of US influence.
Edit: Obviously extremely different circumstances but Great Britain in 1914 was a huge military power. The British navy was the largest in the world and more than twice the combined size of the next two largest navies. How did that pan out 50 years later?
I heard it suggested a few years back that the United States was where Britain was in 1915. I suspect that might be a fair assessment.
and where-ever Republican candidates have promoted stricter anti-abortion policies in their states, they’re often facing such strong push back that some candidates are settling on a 15 week limit as a compromise.
That is looking like a major issue that the democrats can use to galvanise support - a tangible example of the dangers of a 2nd trump presidency
With Joe Biden currently doing so much to undermine US influence and moral authority across the Middle East
Trump is fully playing to the evangelicals, his moving the embassy to Jerusalem was wildly popular with that base.
Trump 2.0 wont just be a huge victory for Russia, it will see Israel completely unrestrained by America
I thought "the silver lining" to the first Trump presidency would be a pushback against US influence and the neoliberal economics it forces on much of the world through trade deals etc, unfortunately it never happened and I probably have less faith that it will have that effect a 2nd time around.
It was certainly a wake-up call for European governments MSP, they realised the folly of over reliance on the United States, and took measures with that in mind.
How did that pan out 50 years later?
We exchanged all our money for not being invaded by the Nazis, d'you remember?
And all this is occurring against the backdrop of growing Chinese global influence.
Authoritarian systems excel at showcasing their strengths and concealing their weaknesses. China, for all it's growth still has a declining population, low educational attainment and very obviously rampant central government sponsored corruption on a massive scale. It may dominate regionally, but it's never going to be a global super-power in the style of the US has been since the 1940's
never<br />
that’s a bold claim..I’m pretty sure once the nazi’s had dealt with everyone else they’d have turned their attention back to us..
Nah, @gobuchul is right, they'd never have managed it, even if they'd somehow got across the channel (Royal Navy) then they have to land on the coast, and not get bombed to shit by the RAF and mauled to bits by the Army and commonwealth forces already stationed in the UK They ran some war-games in the 1970's (using the 'at the time' plans and making it up on the hoof as the invasion progressed) and the Wehrmacht get their arses handed to them.
I was talking figuratively...
Anyway,,,Thread drift!
I thought “the silver lining” to the first Trump presidency would be a pushback against US influence and the neoliberal economics it forces on much of the world through trade deals etc
Most countries want trade deals with the U.S. so it would make no sense that they would do this. The U.S. is the wealthiest country on the planet and getting access to that market is really important for most other countries. Similarly with defense treaties - being in an alliance with the U.S. is very important for countries like Japan, South Korea, Poland, etc. who have hostile neighbours. Taiwan and Ukraine would utterly love to have formal defense treaties with the U.S. The international concern about Trump was that he would cut off access to the U.S. market and walk away from defense treaties. Other countries want those things, they have no desire to walk away from them.
There is also a cost to those deals, a cost in legal and financial independence that the countries later realise restrict their freedom to run their own countries for their own interests. They find that subsidizing their industries to develop them brings punishment from the US, that they cannot take control of their own resources, they cannot even control their own drug policies but have to align to US policies.
Most countries want trade deals, but without the unnecessary baggage forced on them, which is just financial imperialism that ultimately benefits the US more. Trump brought this into focus by his usual greedy bullying loudmouth antics, however it is just normal US policy, and a more presentable face on the policy just pushes it into the background but doesn't make it any more acceptable.
I was talking figuratively…
And I was talking of the 1960s! .... 50 years after 1914.
The 1960s was the decade that the Empire, on which the Sun never sets, was finally wound up. Apart for a few silly little bits like Gibraltar and the Falklands.
There is also a cost to those deals, a cost in legal and financial independence that the countries later realise restrict their freedom to run their own countries for their own interests.
I believe this was the main argument in favour of Brexit. I'm not a Tory so I don't buy that argument.
Now the White House is mocking Trump for his cognitive decline.
https://twitter.com/JoeBiden/status/1749131121114091648
I still think there are significant hurdles to Trump becoming president even if he wins the Republican nomination easily. The abortion issue has lost him a lot of support even among republican voters
The abortion is is problematic for the Republican Party but it doesn't seem to the a problem for Trump. Trump can be credited with the Supreme Court judgement..... if you like the judgement. But he can't really be blamed for it if you don't becuase the judgement was probably as much of a surprise to him as every one else. but it wasn't his idea and he hasn't really nailed his colours to that mast. If someone is pro-trump and also pro-choice he's still your man becuase in his usual 'lots people are saying' way he hasn't really positioned himself with either lobby but said enough for people to cherrypick what they want to hear. Turn isn't a republican. He's a cuckoo in the Republican nest
Trump really repulsed suburban college educated women, enough of them switched to Biden to make the difference in 2020. Even if they don't personally blame Trump for the abortion ban, they blame the Republican Party and Trump's name is at the top of that list. I think the poll numbers show that people are ambivalent about Biden, but once it gets back to a Trump versus Biden showdown, the dislike for Trump and the Republican Party will be what matters.
that’s a bold claim..I’m pretty sure once the nazi’s had dealt with everyone else they’d have turned their attention back to us..
Even if they had defeated the Soviets, they could never of invaded the UK mainland.
They simply didn't have the Naval power, skills or knowledge to invade.
Operation Sealion was planned to use ad-hoc civilian ships and barges. The majority were un-powered barges that were to be towed by under powered barges. They would of been stationary or going backwards at some point in their crossing of the English Channel.
Even if the first wave had made it across, then the possibility of turning those beached barges around and getting back to France was very slim.
Basically the Royal Navy would of absolutely destroyed them.
Regarding Russia, after Operation Barbarossa failed in 1941, Case Blue, that was launched in 1942, had objectives that were further than achieved in 1941 with less resources.
This pretty much nails Trump's influence.
https://twitter.com/mckaycoppins/status/1749977606684828024
Germany could never of invaded the UK mainland.
True, but the Russians wouldn't have stopped at Berlin if the Allies hadn't landed. The Americans were absolutely essential to Britain's survival and Europe as a democratic collection of countries. Thank you USA. Brits recently voted to weaken Europe as political, economic and strategic entity, I'm sure that the US population is equally capable of voting to self harm.
Speculating and rewriting history gets you nowhere. And if you are going to do it at least look at the bigger picture.
Look to the future and the future looks bleak if enough Americans vote for Trump, Bernie Sanders ain't wrong. The US is for the moment a democracy, something of a rarity on planet Earth, Trump doesn't like that.
I visited this thread... then went over to the gram and this popped up immediately... algorithms be algorithming today 🤣
Look to the future and the future looks bleak
The future’s bright. The future’s orange.
I'm increasingly in the camp that POTUS Trump 2.0 is inevitable.
Trump is not the problem - he's just a very effective stupid magnet and American has an astonishingly large number of stupids considering (or maybe because of) their collective wealth and privileges.
No, the problem is that the old saner GOP have not stood up to him to give the sane republican voter a place to hang their hat. And more importantly the Democrats have not succession planned properly. Biden should have been here as a one term president to steady the ship and restore grown up governance and made clear from year one that he was not going to stand again. I'm not sure if it is the act of an egotist or a desperate old man prepared to sacrifice the last years of his life as no one else could do the job. My suspicion is it's both - an egotist who thinks no one else could do the job. Too many traditional democrat votes have no confidence in him because of his age and Trump is too skilful/nasty at sowing seeds of doubt in the stupider swing voters of Biden's faculties. He's just too easy a target.
Whatever - sad times ahead I fear. I'm no fan of the US - either the people or their general attitude/ethos or their influence across the globe. Too many Americans make my teeth itch. But I'm not sure I'm ready for what's next.
What is the chance of two old men meeting their natural ends in the next 8 months? Got to hand it to Trump - for a 77 year old who has made little effort to look after himself all his life, he seems to have remarkable energy levels. Unfortunately.
I’m increasingly in the camp that POTUS Trump 2.0 is inevitable.
I don't think so, he is appealing to his base, not expanding it.
The problem could be how many votes Biden loses since 2020, Biden will still comfortably win the popular vote IMO, but with voter suppression and gerrymandering the electoral college could be close.
It's not a commanding win for Trump in NH, despite two rivals who (in theory at least) took votes from him pulling out. His vote share really should have increased substantially. DeSantis polled at 20% in Iowa - where have all these voters gone?
Remember, these are committed Republican voters, a large chunk of whom, when asked, said they wouldn't vote for him in an actual general election vs Biden.
He's effectively the incumbent and leading light of the Republican party, only taking just over half of the votes, whereas Haley, who has had to share the spotlight with the also-rans, was pretty close.
South Carolina is crucial. Home turf for Haley, if she doesn't win there, fair enough.
Plus, Trump's brain is a heap of rotting cabbage. The breakdown in his mental faculties is accelerating hard right now, he can't even string a sentence together.
I don’t think so, he is appealing to his base, not expanding it.
I think that's all he needs to do. Democrat and swing voter apathy or lack of resolve to keep him out will do the rest.
Yes, but in Trump’s case, It’s difficult to quantify cognitive decline for someone who had so little cognitive ability to begin with.
To be fair to Trump, he is (or was) quite talented at spotting what audiences liked and following up on those. He is an effective salesman who knows how to trigger people's emotions. He has always been a bullshitter, but he was very good at it. Now he really does seem to get confused and lose the plot of what he's saying.
Actually, more depressingly, I notice that the NH primaries allow non-republicans to sling in a vote for their favoured republican candidate (which is rather weird), so if you take those out, it's 74% for Trump in a primary that should be fairly good for Haley.
Oh well.
Haley 'bet the house' in NH - and didn't even get close.
As for un-registered voters in NH registering to vote for a preferred candidate - that's not weird; what definitely is weird is...
un-registered voter goes to vote in NH, registers, votes and can then de-register to become un-registered again.
I have no idea if that is unique to NH or if it's allowed in other states.
In NH the electorate numbers are un-registered 342k, registered dems and GOP at 263k each - as reported by CNN.
The primary was Haley's to lose - and she did.
November will, disappointingly and concerningly, be a straight fight between Biden and trump.
Trump only needs to lose a few percent of Republican voters to make November an easy win for Biden.
https://twitter.com/GregTSargent/status/1750128693161128138
$83 million dollars in damages: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/world-us-canada-68109585
Second E Jean Carrol case
Donald Trump fined $83.3m
The former president must pay E Jean Carroll a total of $83.3m, including to $65m in punitive restitution. He will also have to pay $7.3m for Carroll’s reputation repair.
Lolz
dagnamit! too slow
And only 3 hours to come to that decision
He did a flounce out of court I hear too?
Petulant little sh*t bag.😁
Offffff good
the prosecution only asked for £24 million
Tw*t tax on top
lols
he will be furious
Will he actually pay anything though? Can he instruct his lawyers to appeal and tie it up in court till he dies?
Will he be able to restrain himself from doing it again?
has he even got that much money?
Good.
It's already been legally established that he 'forcibly inserted his finger(s) into...' I won't go on.
But as it's a civil case, this action is purely to define how much he should pay, not whether he is guilty of sexual assault/rape. He's already been found guilty.
How on earth can people still vote for him?
Trumps initial reply on his own media network:
Absolutely ridiculous! I fully disagree with both verdicts, and will be appealing this whole Biden Directed Witch Hunt focused on me and the Republican Party. Our Legal System is out of control, and being used as a Political Weapon. They have taken away all First Amendment Rights. THIS IS NOT AMERICA!
Ok, don ....
I understand (off twitter) that he has to put the $83 million up in order to appeal
Delicious
If he gets back in that tweet will be more prophetic than we could imagine but with manbaby pulling the levers.
Trumps lawyer confirming that “yes….she is thick as mince”
https://twitter.com/Acyn/status/1751007094528975289?s=20