The Next President of the United States

[MintTrav]

There is a lot of nonsense going on about statues now, distracting from the real issues.

And who better to point it out than Diamond and Silk?

That's right!

[TightEnd]

Scientists: Climate change is real.
Trump: Climate change is a hoax!
Scientists: Don't look at the sun during Solar Eclipses:

Click to see full-size image.

[TightEnd]

this is quite something

2200 advertisers have left Breitbart. 26 remain. If Amazon stops advertising on Breitbart it could finish them.

Breitbart’s Traffic Plummets, Advertisers Flee Under Trump Presidency http://bit.ly/2qYUOmi

[TightEnd]

Two former British ambassadors to Washington have now weighed in - one said Trump made him "puke", the other saw parallels with 1933 Germany

Click to see full-size image.

Click to see full-size image.

[hector62]

I am not sure why, but this really tickled me.

Click to see full-size image.

[Karabiner]

The one on the left is Louis Van Gaal - not sure about the chap on the right.

[Karabiner]

Scientists: Climate change is real.
Trump: Climate change is a hoax!
Scientists: Don't look at the sun during Solar Eclipses:

Click to see full-size image.

Hopefully the donald has ignored the hurricane warnings and is planning to play golf all weekend at mar-el-largo king canute style.

[booder]

The one on the left is Louis Van Gaal - not sure about the chap on the right.

Uncanny.

[MintTrav]

Kim Jong Trump reminds me of Billy Carter, who used to embarrass his President brother on a weekly basis in ways that used to be regarded as borderline unacceptable, but would be inconsequential these days:

[Marky147]

Gorka off now, too.

Resigned, but 'WH officials' say he was pushed out.

[MintTrav]

Suddenly, the White House top team, the people Trump is coming into contact with every day, is looking much stronger and more sensible. The alt-right faction has been all but wiped out and while Huckabee Sanders, Kellyanne and Stephen Miller all came from the Republican Party, none of them are really batting for it in the way Priebus was. The Javanka group, on the other hand, including Gary Cohn and Dina Powell, is pretty much intact, having only lost Scaramucci, who was their weakest link anyway. Then there are the Generals, predominantly Kelly and McMaster, and some Trump Org people, most prominently Hope Hicks. This finally looks like a very talented team that can work together without feeling that they have to compete with each other.

Miller is the lone remaining high-profile true believer, and is rumoured to be next to go in the Kelly purge. I'm not so sure. Trump owes him a lot from the campaign, when he warmed up a lot of rallies for Trump and wrote a lot of the speeches, including the acceptance speech at the Convention and did the Inauguration speech jointly with Bannon. A lot of Trump's policies mirror those of Jeff Sessions, for whom Miller worked for seven years, before Sessions donated him to Trump. I have a feeling he might be harder to dislodge.

We should be talking about the Secretary of State as part of the inner circle, but Tillerson seems detached from the White House. He tried to take on the WH on staffing and lost, and he has been undermined several times by Trump on policy. He will probably be gone by the end of the year. The Attorney-General is another who you would expect to be more involved than he is. Unlike Tillerson, Sessions is clearly not going to resign - your guess is as good as mine as to whether he keeps his job.

[MintTrav]

Public criticism of Trump at the very top this weekend, as the Charlottesville controversy refuses to die down. First Gary Cohn gave an interview on Friday in which he made his feelings clear, though they were already widely known. Then Tillerson separated the State Dept from Trump on Sunday, using a phrase we will probably hear repeated in the future "The President speaks for himself". This should be astounding - the most senior people in the Administration going for the President and not even trying to sugar-coat it in political speak.

Subordinates criticizing him always makes Trump blow a gasket, and here they are, effectively, agreeing with the mainstream 'fake news' media in opposition to him, so there could be repercussions. Neither of them seems resolute in continuing in their roles, and Trump may help them on their way in the next few months. The main reason that he wouldn't could be that it would mean he has replaced virtually his entire inner circle, bar Javanka and Sessions (if he still counts), within the first year, and even Trump must see that that wouldn't look good. Cohn looks like a fish out of water in this Administration, but he is matey with Kushner and he has Dina Powell to share his feelings with, so he might hang around. Tillerson is a dead man walking.

Cohn:
"This administration can and must do better in consistently and unequivocally condemning these groups and do everything we can to heal the deep divisions that exist in our communities."

"I have come under enormous pressure both to resign and to remain in my current position. As a patriotic American, I am reluctant to leave my post... But I also feel compelled to voice my distress over the events of the last two weeks... Citizens standing up for equality and freedom can never be equated with white supremacists, neo-Nazis, and the KKK."


Tillerson:

[rfgqqabc]

Questionably racist trump supporting sheriff pardoned for a misdemeanor before sentencing lol

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-41064787

[TightEnd]

Questionably racist trump supporting sheriff pardoned for a misdemeanor before sentencing lol

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-41064787

the pardon was announced just as hurricane harvey was beginning to dominate the news

i know all politicians do it, but still

[TightEnd]

This is—in effect—America's highest office-holder saying legal checks and balances are politically correct nonsense

https://www.economist.com/blogs/democracyinamerica/2017/08/no-act-grace?fsrc=scn/tw/te/bl/ed/anunforgiveablepardonforsheriffjoe