Trumpland

Trumpland Day 173: Donnie Dumbass, Jr.

Last night the New York Times dropped a bomb on the Turdpol Kakistocracy. After a weekend where the Times reported that Donald Trump, Jr. met with Russian lawyers with Kremlin ties, reporting that Trump Jr. and his father both confirmed, it was further reported that Trump Jr. took the meeting with the understanding he would be receiving materials damaging to Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign. Then last night the Times reported that before the meeting, Trump Jr. received an email about the meeting that claimed that the promised materials were coming from the Russian government, which was engaged in an effort to aid the campaign of Donald Trump. If these articles from the Times are accurate, then this is the proof of collusion between the Trump campaign and the Russian government to undermine American democracy we all knew was out there somewhere. Continue reading “Trumpland Day 173: Donnie Dumbass, Jr.”

Trumpland Day 119: What a Week

A review of the last week in the Turdpol Kakistocracy:

  • May 9, Tuesday: President Trump fires FBI Director James Comey. The administration claims the firing is over the Director’s handling of the Hillary Clinton email investigation.
  • May 10, Wednesday: Trump meets with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Russian Ambassador to the Unites States Sergey Kislyak in the Oval Office and reveals highly classified intel to the Russians.
  • May 11, Thursday: Trump has an interview with NBC’s Lester Holt where he torpedoes all the spin over the Comey firing coming from his own aides, and reveals that he fired Comey because of the ongoing investigation into the Trump campaign’s ties to Russia.
  • May 12, Friday: Trump threatens Comey on Twitter, warning him not to leak anything to the press.
  • May 15, Monday: News breaks about Trump revealing the classified intel to the Russians.
  • May 16, Tuesday: Reporting reveals that James Comey kept memos of his interactions with President Trump. One memo describes a meeting in February where Trump asked Comey to end the investigation into disgraced National Security Advisor Michael Flynn’s ties to Russia.
  • May 17, Wednesday: The Department of Justice appoints former FBI Director Robert Mueller as a special prosecutor to continue the investigation into the Trump campaign’s ties to Russia and possible obstruction of justice.

There’s more, but those are the broad strokes. Without a doubt, this past week has been the most damaging to Trump’s presidency in a long string of weeks with not a lot of good news. Continue reading “Trumpland Day 119: What a Week”

Trumpland Day 84: Let’s Kill Some People!

Back in the wake of the election and the early days of the Turdpol Kakistocracy, a common theme in the media were warnings not to ‘normalize’ President Donald Trump. There is nothing normal or typical about a barely literate egomaniacal narcissist who lacks the temperament, consistency, gravitas, and intelligence to be president, yet who still finds himself the leader of the free world. The man is a huckster who has no competency for the job, and whose primary accomplishment as president so far has been stuffing the family coffers. Continue reading “Trumpland Day 84: Let’s Kill Some People!”

Trumpland Day 60: And the Beat Goes On

How much of a disaster is the Turdpol Kakistocracy? The Senate Judiciary Committee begins its hearings for Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch today. This is a nomination that was stolen from President Obama by obstructionist Senate Republicans, led by Kentucky Senator Mitch McConnell. The refusal by Senate Republicans last year to give Obama’s pick for Justice Antonin Scalia’s vacated seat, Merrick Garland, so much as a hearing, much less a vote, stands as one of the most frightening actions the GOP has taken to undermine American democracy since the party went extremist. Yet, it feels like battling over the Gorsuch nomination is near the bottom of the list of priorities for the Democrats in opposition. Normally that would be because the Democrats loathe confrontation. But President Trump has turned that all upside down. This is where we are. A Supreme Court pick was stolen from a sitting president, and that is less of a crisis for the republic than all the other stories dominating political news. Continue reading “Trumpland Day 60: And the Beat Goes On”

Trumpland Day 35: The Old Ways Are Dead

A Gallup poll released on Tuesday shows 21% of Americans have a favorable view of President Vladimir Putin of Russia. That’s up 8 points from a similar poll conducted in 2015. Most of that gain comes from Republican respondents. Among Republicans, Putin holds a 32% favorability rating, up from 12% in 2015, while among self-styled independents, 23% hold a favorable view, up from 12% in 2015. As would be expected, Putin’s favorability among Democrats has taken a hit since the 2015 survey, dropping from 15% to 10%. Continue reading “Trumpland Day 35: The Old Ways Are Dead”

Trumpland Day 28: It’s Time for President Pence

Four weeks. That’s how long we’ve been living under the Turdpol Kakistocracy. During that time, President Trump and his administration have proven that they are every bit as incompetent as many feared during the campaign. That’s actually good news. Owing to their collective embrace of tyrannical ideas, it’s encouraging to find out that the administration is incapable of implementing its most outrageous ideas without running foul of reality. But while their most evil tendencies are being tempered, that incompetency, and a possible malignant embrace of foreign influences, means that it’s time for Congress to end this farce. Continue reading “Trumpland Day 28: It’s Time for President Pence”

Empty Balcony: Seven Days in May

This may have been the wrong film for me to watch while there’s a lunatic in the White House. Seven Days in May, the classic political thriller from 1964, tells the story of a Marine Colonel who stumbles upon a military plot to overthrow the president. It’s a gripping story, full of the opposing ideologies of the Atomic Age, and of deterministic governance. Its ideas are grand, and yet simple. The nuance of true politics is lacking, as are the skeletons in every president’s closet that make declarations about fairness and the will of the people awkward to hear, but that doesn’t matter. The story is amazing. Continue reading “Empty Balcony: Seven Days in May”

Trumpland Day 20: Rambling About the Turdpol

Let’s take some time to insult the President of the United States, for two reasons. One, this is the United States, and despite our many troubles as a nation, we have among the most robust free speech rights in the world. Two, Donald Trump has very thin skin. I don’t believe for a second that this little website will ever be read by Trump, but that won’t stop me from adding to the miasma of ridicule that Trump and his administration have earned. Continue reading “Trumpland Day 20: Rambling About the Turdpol”

Trumpland Day 4: Narcissism or Disinformation?

Donald Trump has been inaugurated as the 45th President of the United States. At no time in our history has such a scoundrel held the highest office in the land. He is also now the most powerful person in the world — the head of state of a gargantuan national economy, and the commander in chief of the most advanced and deadly war machine that the world has ever seen. Trump’s temperament, his lack of knowledge, his displays of ego, and every other negative trait he showcased before, during, and after his campaign should fill people with fear for the future of the country, and perhaps the world. Unlike the freakout that consumed the right wing for the entirety of Barack Obama’s presidency, fear and concern about the Trump administration is not based on imaginary conspiracies or identity politics. Continue reading “Trumpland Day 4: Narcissism or Disinformation?”