Topic: Typhoid Trump: the not-smart, corrupt, coward, loser, thread

[BarryCrocker]

Protection Racket Trump Style.

THAAD PAYMENT

Trump said the Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) missile system now being deployed in South Korea to defend against a potential missile attack from North Korea would cost about $1 billion and questioned why the United States was paying for it.

"I informed South Korea it would be appropriate if they paid. It's a billion-dollar system," Trump said. "It's phenomenal, shoots missiles right out of the sky."

Asked about the remarks, South Korea's defense ministry said in a statement there is no change to the existing agreement that Seoul provides land for the deployment while Washington shoulders the cost of installing and operating the system.

A top foreign policy adviser to South Korean presidential front runner Moon Jae-in told Reuters that Trump's suggestion would be an "impossible option" because the U.S. military operates the system.

The U.S. military started the deployment of THAAD in early March, despite strong opposition from China, which worries the system's powerful radar can be used to spy into its territory. Moon, the favorite to win South Korea's presidential election on May 9, has called for deployment to be delayed until after the next administration is in place and can review the decision.

Lockheed Martin (LMT, +0.29%) is the prime contractor for the THAAD system.

A former U.S. State Department official estimated the cost of the system at about $1.2 billion but said the United States would not want to sell THAAD to Seoul."We want to retain THAAD in our arsenal, consistent with all other U.S. weapons systems deployed on the Korean peninsula. We own them. We retain them. We have the right to redeploy them," the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

http://fortune.com/2017/04/28/trump-thaad-south-korea-trade/

[Banquo's Ghost]

I thought commentators here might be interested in this interview with one of the towering intellects of our time.

Donald Trump has given a wide-ranging interview to Reuters about geopolitics, trade and how his personal life has changed since assuming the highest office in the land. Here are some highlights:

On the presidency:
“I loved my previous life. I had so many things going. This is more work than in my previous life. I thought it would be easier. You’re really into your own little cocoon, because you have such massive protection that you really can’t go anywhere. I like to drive. I can’t drive any more.”

On Kim Jong-un:
“He’s 27 years old, his father dies, took over a regime, so say what you want but that’s not easy, especially at that age. You know you have plenty of generals in there and plenty of other people that would like to do what he’s doing. So I’ve said this before and I’ve, I’m just telling you, and I’m not giving him credit or not giving him credit. I’m just saying that’s a very hard thing to do. As to whether or not he’s rational, I have no opinion on it. I hope he’s rational.”

On Chinese president Xi and North Korea:
“He certainly doesn’t want to see turmoil and death. He doesn’t want to see it. He’s a good man. He’s a very good man and I got to know him very well ... We’ll see how it all works out. I know he would like to be able to do something. Perhaps it’s possible that he can’t. But I think he’d like to be able to do something.”

On North Korea:
“There’s a chance that we could end up having a major, major, conflict with North Korea, absolutely.”
Q: Is that your biggest global worry at this point?
“Yes, I would say that’s true, yes ... North Korea would be certainly that.”

On South Korea and Thaad:
“On the Thaad system, it’s about a billion dollars. I said, ‘Why are we paying? Why are we paying a billion dollars? We’re protecting. Why are we paying a billion dollars?’ So I informed South Korea it would be appropriate if they paid. Nobody’s going to do that. Why are we paying a billion dollars? It’s a billion-dollar system. It’s phenomenal. It’s the most incredible equipment you’ve ever seen – shoots missiles right out of the sky. And it protects them and I want to protect them. We’re going to protect them. But they should pay for that, and they understand that.”


On the end of Islamist terrorism:
“We can’t let them come over here. I have to say, there is an end. And it has to be humiliation. There is an end. Otherwise it’s really tough. But there is an end. We are really eradicating some very bad people. When you take a look at what’s going on with the cutting off of the heads. We haven’t seen that since medieval times. Right?”

On Nafta:
“You know I was really ready and psyched to terminate Nafta. You saw that, you wrote about it. And I said I’ve had it. I’ve had it ... I’m not looking to hurt Canada and I’m not looking to hurt Mexico. They’re two countries I really like. So they asked to renegotiate, and I said yes.

On speaking to Taiwan’s leader again:
“Well, my problem is that I’ve established a very good personal relationship with Xi. And I really feel that he is doing everything in his power to help us with a big situation, so I wouldn’t want to be causing difficulty right now for him ... So I would certainly want to speak to him first.”

On a possible government shutdown:
“If there’s closure, there’s closure. We’ll see what happens. If there’s a shutdown it’s the Democrats’ fault. Not our fault. It’s the Democrats’ fault. Maybe they’d like to see a shutdown.”

On peace in the Middle East:
“It’s a possibility, we’re talking to both. It’s a possibility, but I want to see peace with Israel and the Palestinians. There is no reason there’s not peace between Israel and the Palestinians – none whatsoever.”

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/apr/28/i-thought-being-president-would-be-easier-trumps-reuters-interview-highlights

[Trada]

<a href="https://www.youtube.com/v/uxSPNEYMMv8" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" class="bbc_link bbc_flash_disabled new_win">https://www.youtube.com/v/uxSPNEYMMv8</a>

[Garrus]

"There is no reason there’s not peace between Israel and the Palestinians – none whatsoever.”

Yeah, it's really hard to think of any 

[BarryCrocker]

"There is no reason there’s not peace between Israel and the Palestinians – none whatsoever.”

Yeah, it's really hard to think of any 

So Jared should have no excuse if he fails.

[J_Kopite]

He thought the presidency would be easier than his previous working life? Good grief.

[Ray K]

He thought the presidency would be easier than his previous working life? Good grief.

Everyone knows being as a licenser of his celebrity brand name for other people's developments / appearing on a structured reality show is the hardest job in the world.

This is what he did in an interview with Reuters yesterday:

[BarryCrocker]

Can't even get a birthday tweet for the wife right.

[rafathegaffa83]

His interview with Reuters is absolutely staggering. It shows how fucking oblivious he is to what is going on and has yet to figure out his words have meaning. His comments re: North Korea are irresponsible.  Also you can add South Korea to the latest list of allies, he's pissed off. He needs to learn to start working behind closed doors and keeping quiet. Not everything requires a photo op or an interview. 

[stoa]

The sad thing is that his supporters have absolutely no clue what kind of idiot they have elected.

And what's even worse is that some of his stupid moves like with Nafta will give him the possibility to paint them as a "success". He'll now have talks with Canada and Mexico and will then claim that Nafta is now great because of him even if it stays the same. And certain people will buy it and give him credit...

[Ray K]

His interview with Reuters is absolutely staggering. It shows how fucking oblivious he is to what is going on and has yet to figure out his words have meaning. His comments re: North Korea are irresponsible.  Also you can add South Korea to the latest list of allies, he's pissed off. He needs to learn to start working behind closed doors and keeping quiet. Not everything requires a photo op or an interview. 

Every single interview he does is uniquely staggering. It's almost a gift, really.

I mean, could you ever have imagined a time when a president would say 'I want to see peace with Israel & Palestinians. There is no reason there's not peace between them - none whatsoever', and then says there's a chance of 'major, major conflict' with North Korea - and we're all kinda shrugging our shoulders in reaction?

He also said this:
MORE: Trump tells @Reuters he credits North Korean leader Kim as 'not many 27-year-old men could go in and take over a regime'.

3 literally insane things in one interview. During which he offered his interviewers an electoral college map while talking about China.

It boggles the mind. I've turned into Frank Grimes now.

[ericthered10]

Killer Frank Grimes reference, that's perfect.

Sent from my XT1030 using Tapatalk

[Giono]

"There is no reason there’s not peace between Israel and the Palestinians – none whatsoever.”

Yeah, it's really hard to think of any 

"Who would have thunk that that the Israel Palestinian conflict could be so difficult."

[Red Beret]

He thought the presidency would be easier than his previous working life? Good grief.

Who would have thought it would be so complicated eh?

Saw something by Lawrence O'Donnell the other day, describing a tax clause Ronald Reagan put in back in 86 to stop the rich wiggling out of their tax responsibilities.  Essentially a minimum tax payment.  Apparently, on the one tax return of Trump's we've seen, he paid $31m in tax because of that clause.  Without it he would have paid around $5m. 

I imagine he and his friends would very much like to remove this clause...

[Giono]

The sad thing is that his supporters have absolutely no clue what kind of idiot they have elected.

And what's even worse is that some of his stupid moves like with Nafta will give him the possibility to paint them as a "success". He'll now have talks with Canada and Mexico and will then claim that Nafta is now great because of him even if it stays the same. And certain people will buy it and give him credit...

Canada and Mexico will negotiate. But the problem with talks like this is that they are between politicians with different constituencies...similar to Brexit negotiations.

Trudeau in Canada can get political capital by appearing to stand-up to an American bully. Plus, I don't see a lot of room to manoeuvre either. The trade conflicts are due to how Canada harvests softwood (massive areas of crown land with low fees) and how Canada manages agriculture (marketing boards with fixed prices and production quotas).

[Zeb]

Rick Wilson (Republican Never Trumper) on Trump's first 100 days had me howling laughing. Some fantastic lines in it.

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2017/04/28/white-house-death-match-plutocrats-vs-racists

Bannon and Team Pepe ran into a hard wall of political and cultural reality; most of what they want Trump to do is box-office poison to anyone except his most febrile supporters, and would take more organization and effort than fevered blog writers now how to put in. The TV character of Trump the executive was never a reality, and it took official Washington little time to realize it; the Bannonites made it worse with sloppy execution, terrible messaging, legislative wrong-footedness, and a stubborn belief that their beloved bullshit tornado was a substitute for governance. Drinking their own bathwater by only playing in the media of their own creation left them shocked when their cunning plans were rightly portrayed as a dumpster explosion on top of Burning Tire Mountain.

At this point, Pepe has a sad.

The rise of Jared and Ivanka (no, I will not use that portmanteau to describe them, ever) is another triumph for the Goldman Branch of the Trump government; lavishly raised in the bluest-of-blue Manhattan bubble, they’re as far away from the average Trump voter as Stephen Hawking is from a slime mold.

As for Trump’s base, if they can briefly rouse themselves from their Fox-n-OxyContin stupor, they’d realize they were conned by the populist scam and that the White House today is run by people more than willing to leverage every tool in the D.C. toolbox to enrich the Wall Street mothership.

[Chakan]

 The Associated Press‏Verified account @AP 43m43 minutes ago

BREAKING: US economy grew just 0.7 percent in Q1, weakest showing in 3 years.

[Ray K]

Good ol' Grimey here again.

'I'm a details-oriented person, I think you would say that'.

Me right now

[rafathegaffa83]

Daily Beast is reporting Flynn hid $33k from work for RT. He didn't ask permission beforehand and didn't disclose it.

Also

POLITICO‏Verified account @politico

“I kind of pooh-poohed the experience stuff when I first got here,” one W.H. official said. “But this s--- is hard.” http://politi.co/2oRj4C0

Which includes this gem

Trump remains reliant as ever on his children and longtime friends for counsel. White House staff have learned to cater to the president’s image obsession by presenting decisions in terms of how they’ll play in the press. Among his first reads in the morning is still the New York Post. When Trump feels like playing golf, he does — at courses he owns. When Trump feels like eating out, he does — at hotels with his name on the outside.

Rick Wilson (Republican Never Trumper) on Trump's first 100 days had me howling laughing. Some fantastic lines in it.

His distaste for Trump on Twitter is quite brilliant.

[ericthered10]

Who would have thought it would be so complicated eh?

Saw something by Lawrence O'Donnell the other day, describing a tax clause Ronald Reagan put in back in 86 to stop the rich wiggling out of their tax responsibilities.  Essentially a minimum tax payment.  Apparently, on the one tax return of Trump's we've seen, he paid $31m in tax because of that clause.  Without it he would have paid around $5m. 

I imagine he and his friends would very much like to remove this clause...

It's called the Alternative Minimum Tax, and it's repeal has it's own bullet point on his one page list of tax proposals.

Sent from my XT1030 using Tapatalk

[Red Beret]

It's called the Alternative Minimum Tax, and it's repeal has it's own bullet point on his one page list of tax proposals.

Sent from my XT1030 using Tapatalk

Cheers! 

[stoa]

Trump will be talking at the NRA convention shortly. This might be fun...

[Red Raw]

Donald Trump has spoken about what he misses about his life before he was president.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/world-us-canada-39743332/what-trump-misses

What like being surrounded by his family and mates, weekends off playing golf at his tacky resort . . . ?   

[stoa]

What a boring bastard he is when reading off a teleprompter. The highlight so far has been him describing his relationship with Ted Cruz: "I liked him, then I disliked him and then I liked him again..."


He doesn't want to be ruled by bureaucrats in Washington. He does realise that he's one of them now, right?

[Red Beret]

A Trump drinking game.  Take a shot of rum every time you hear Trump say "(he she they're) doing an incredible job."*

You'll get alcohol poisoning within an hour.

*substitute whatever phrase you like:

"Everything's gonna be great"
"Who thought it would be so complicated?"
"I like him/her/they"
"Amazing"

[Gnurglan]

A Trump drinking game.  Take a shot of rum every time you hear Trump say "(he she they're) doing an incredible job."*

You'll get alcohol poisoning within an hour.

*substitute whatever phrase you like:

"Everything's gonna be great"
"Who thought it would be so complicated?"
"I like him/her/they"
"Amazing"

Indeed alcohol poisoning.

His use of words is one of the biggest alarm bells. He can't stay normal. He has to attack or claim he's so clever, say he hires great people etc. He hijacks expressions so nobody uses more positive words than him. He will sound powerful, he will sound the most positive, but it's an act. It's powerful, but it's just an act. And then he moves on to the next topic. Same kind of language. It's all labels and statements.

[beardsley4ever]

Trump will be talking at the NRA convention shortly. This might be fun...

They banned guns from the event.  The irony.

[Red Beret]

The way Trump has essentially threatened South Korea over that missile system is remarkable.  It's almost like he's trying to turn it into a protection racket.

"Nice missile system you got there.  You should be paying the $1bn for it though, you know?  I mean, you wouldn't actually want to USE it now, would you?  Would be terrible if another country thousands of miles away from your little peninsula launched a pre-emptive attack on your warmongering neighbours now, wouldn't it...?"

[Jshooters]

They banned guns from the event.  The irony.

 

[12C]

They banned guns from the event.  The irony.

after reading about the dickhead NRA employee (a tour guide at their HQ?) who accidentally shot himself whilst holstering his gun, the Secret Service must have had nightmares about that visit.

[12C]

The way Trump has essentially threatened South Korea over that missile system is remarkable.  It's almost like he's trying to turn it into a protection racket.

"Nice missile system you got there.  You should be paying the $1bn for it though, you know?  I mean, you wouldn't actually want to USE it now, would you?  Would be terrible if another country thousands of miles away from your little peninsula launched a pre-emptive attack on your warmongering neighbours now, wouldn't it...?"

King Gillette would have approved the business model

"Buy this tremendous bigly rocket system, the most tremendous rocket system, for only $1b, and if you happen to fire the rockets that come with it, tremendous rockets - you have no idea, then we will provide them at a cost of only $2b. As I was saying to Jar 'Ed just the other day, we have to show this guy we mean business."

[Red Beret]

after reading about the dickhead NRA employee (a tour guide at their HQ?) who accidentally shot himself whilst holstering his gun, the Secret Service must have had nightmares about that visit.

<a href="https://www.youtube.com/v/XTGmTrQXrwg" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" class="bbc_link bbc_flash_disabled new_win">https://www.youtube.com/v/XTGmTrQXrwg</a>

[Trada]

Its the White House correspondents' dinner tonight that might be interesting.

[GreatEx]

It's one of life's great disappointments that Trump isn't attending the event. I can see the tweets at 4 o'clock the following morning: "I made the BEST jokes, but the FAKE MEDIA refused to laugh!"

But the idea of Trump doing anything self-effacing, or making a humorous remark, or laughing, or smiling with anything other than menace or schadenfreude, is unimaginable, so he was obviously never going to attend.

[Garrus]

They banned guns from the event.  The irony.

They should have allowed them in. The ratings would have been YUUUGE. SAD!

[stoa]

They banned guns from the event.  The irony.

Isn't that a violation of the second amendment? Let alone that it doesn't make sense. A bad guy with a gun won't be stopped by that. So to be save they would have needed loads of good guys with a gun...

[Banquo's Ghost]

Isn't that a violation of the second amendment? Let alone that it doesn't make sense. A bad guy with a gun won't be stopped by that. So to be save they would have needed loads of good guys with a gun...

My understanding of the NRA argument is that the president doesn't need government protection such as the police and security services* but should be armed himself with a concealed weapon. Thus, if anyone shoots at him - even with a high powered rifle from great distance -  he can shoot back and protect his family. Since he is president of the entire country, he is in fact legally entitled to treat the nation as his own back yard, which means he can shoot anyone trespassing, before they become a threat to his family.

In addition, the conference delegates should have been allowed to carry whatever weapon they could lift, thus providing a whole new layer of protection for the president from an emotional crowd tooled up and so skilled that hundreds of them shooting in self defence the moment a black person entered the hall would not, in any way, result in cross-fire casualties.

Irrefutable.

* Known agents of the lizard illuminati of islamic-zion anyway.

[Garrus]

Isn't that a violation of the second amendment? Let alone that it doesn't make sense. A bad guy with a gun won't be stopped by that. So to be save they would have needed loads of good guys with a gun...

Guns aren't allowed at presidential events.

[12C]

<a href="https://www.youtube.com/v/XTGmTrQXrwg" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" class="bbc_link bbc_flash_disabled new_win">https://www.youtube.com/v/XTGmTrQXrwg</a>

Yeeeehaaaaaah!
 

[Thush]

Guns aren't allowed at presidential events.

But, apparently, required at schools.