Trump / Musk (other than DOGE) Omnibus Thread

[finesse]

A toddler wouldn't be believed. I don't care about or respect his opinion even though, in this case, we agree. However, it's an opinion worth hearing and there are people that will hear it from him who won't from us. It's not about insight, it's about getting the message out. Didn't we just see that this election?

 

[Paine]

A toddler wouldn't be believed. I don't care about or respect his opinion even though, in this case, we agree. However, it's an opinion worth hearing and there are people that will hear it from him who won't from us. It's not about insight, it's about getting the message out. Didn't we just see that this election?

Again, who is listening to Bolton that is still on team Trump? Was this not the whole theory of Harris’ campaign? That the “normal Republicans” would turn against him by hearing other “normal Republicans” speaking out against Trump?

Anyone that gives a damn what Bolton has to say either voted for Harris or wrote in Ronald Reagan or something. We don’t need a Jesse Helms acolyte in our coalition.

 

[finesse]

There's as many people that didn't vote at all as voted for either candidate. Obviously nobody motivated them. We don't know what might. Nothing about this says we support Bolton, because I certainly don't, but it's not exactly time or even prudent to be running purity tests on favorable opinions. We need everything in our favor we can get.

 

[Paine]

There's as many people that didn't vote at all as voted for either candidate. Obviously nobody motivated them. We don't know what might. Nothing about this says we support Bolton, because I certainly don't, but it's not exactly time or even prudent to be running purity tests on favorable opinions. We need everything in our favor we can get.

I don’t think the people that didn’t vote were just sitting out waiting to hear from neoconservatives. Again, isn’t that exactly what Harris did in the closing days of the campaign?

IMO, amplifying this kind of stuff has always exceptionalized Trump. It makes him seem like he’s not a normal Republican to voters or that the Republican Party is somehow distinct from Trump.

Bolton and his ilk are directly responsible for the conditions that allowed Trump to rise. They don’t get to escape blame now.

 

[Zoo_View]

I don’t think the people that didn’t vote were just sitting out waiting to hear from neoconservatives. Again, isn’t that exactly what Harris did in the closing days of the campaign?

IMO, amplifying this kind of stuff has always exceptionalized Trump. It makes him seem like he’s not a normal Republican to voters or that the Republican Party is somehow distinct from Trump.

Bolton and his ilk are directly responsible for the conditions that allowed Trump to rise. They don’t get to escape blame now.

Trump and Trumpism didn’t happen because John Bolton, Donald Rumsfeld, Dick Cheney, Paul Wolfowitz, Condi Rice and others trumped up invading Iraq in 2003.

The MAGAts, including Trump, supported, overwhelmingly supported, invading Iraq in 2003 and trying to orchestrate nation-change (on the cheap) in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Saxby Chambliss didn’t beat Max Cleland in the 2002 US Senate race in Georgia because Saxby opposed invading Iraq.

John Kerry wasn’t “Swift-boated” in 2004 because he was proposing escalating the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

 

[Paine]

Trump and Trumpism didn’t happen because John Bolton, Donald Rumsfeld, Dick Cheney, Paul Wolfowitz, Condi Rice and others trumped up invading Iraq in 2003.

The MAGAts, including Trump, supported, overwhelmingly supported, invading Iraq in 2003 and trying to orchestrate nation-change (on the cheap) in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Saxby Chambliss didn’t beat Max Cleland in the 2002 US Senate race in Georgia because Saxby opposed invading Iraq.

John Kerry wasn’t “Swift-boated” in 2004 because he was proposing escalating the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

American imperialism has created the conditions for Trump to rise. That’s my point.

 

[nycfan]

OK, so MSNBC is owned by NBC. They aren't going to sell it to Elon. It would pulverize their brand. I read somewhere they are thinking about spinning it off, but I would be surprised if the spin off would sell to Elon either. I would assume NBC would put some sort of anti-Elon provisions in the new company's certificate of incorporation (if it does get spun off).

Doesn’t Comcast own NBCUniversal? I doubt Comcast cares so long as whoever buys MSNBC takes NBC out of the name.

 

[nycfan]

At least this guy is t the Sugeon General nominee, I guess. Winning!

 

[nycfan]

 

[superrific]

Super said something about him being a tariff guy. I assumed Trump would pick someone who likes tariffs, but do we know what Bessent really thinks about them?

Here's his op-ed piece published a week ago. Tariffs are the greatest thing, even Hamilton loved them!

SCOTT BESSENT: Let's talk tariffs. It's time to revitalize Alexander Hamilton's favorite tool

Prior to the 16th Amendment, which authorized the individual income tax, tariffs had been one of the federal government’s chief sources of funding.

www.foxnews.com

 

[superrific]

Bolton puts his ideology over his country. I don’t think he cares about the Republican Party. He’s committed to American imperialism. If that means young men and women need to die in a war against Iran, so be it.

What are you arguing here? I don't think there's a single person on this thread who wants Bolton as part of the Dem coalition. Pubs can keep him.

The thing about him is that he's a straight shooter. Like, he gives you an honest assessment of what he thinks. That's what made him a really shitty ambassador, but it is useful as a commentator. Of course, a lot of what he thinks is messed up, but unusually for the GOP, he doesn't bullshit. He says, "this is what I think we should do" without all that much regard for whether people will like it.

That said, I can't imagine we really disagree about him in any meaningful way. I do think he should get props for shutting down Trump's Ukraine bullshit. Who else in Trump's administration would stand up to Trump like that. It's not nearly enough to make up for what he did in decades prior. And maybe he did it for bad reasons, but he still did it.

 

[superrific]

Doesn’t Comcast own NBCUniversal? I doubt Comcast cares so long as whoever buys MSNBC takes NBC out of the name.

Right. But how do you take NBC out of the brand name of MSNBC, without pulverizing the property you're trying to sell? You can't go with MS (that's microsoft; people don't remember that MSNBC was originally a partnership between NBC and MS).

It would be as if the state legislature passed a law requiring all sports teams in the state to have one word nicknames. We could be the UNC Tars, but come on. that would be terrible.

 

[altmin]

I went to college with Bradley George and we ran in the same circles. We have talked occasionally since he started working at NPR.

At the state level, NPR is doing the best they can. And I will continue to argue that NPR at the national level remains among the best services at reporting international news.

We have a good friend who is a reporter at NPR. Apparently behind the scenes, NPR is tearing itself apart as the upper levels seem hell bent on kowtowing and sane washing the new admin.

 

[donbosco]

Seb Gorka's wife is a UNC grad. She was a St. A. Class of ''82 I believe. She was part of the crowd that I hung out with back in those days. I can't say that we were friends though.

Katharine Cornell.

 

[nycfan]

 

[nycfan]

 

[DiehardHeelFan]

This.

 

[mpaer]

We have a good friend who is a reporter at NPR. Apparently behind the scenes, NPR is tearing itself apart as the upper levels seem hell bent on kowtowing and sane washing the new admin.

And I guess I understand that-don't agree-but they be scared for good reason

 

[nycfan]

Right. But how do you take NBC out of the brand name of MSNBC, without pulverizing the property you're trying to sell? You can't go with MS (that's microsoft; people don't remember that MSNBC was originally a partnership between NBC and MS).

It would be as if the state legislature passed a law requiring all sports teams in the state to have one word nicknames. We could be the UNC Tars, but come on. that would be terrible.

Agree that a lot of value is in the names but businesses often agree to rebranding efforts after a spin-off. But who knows. I think it will be easier for CNBC to rebrand than MSNBC b/c the former is already a lot more independent from the NBC mothership.

 

[nycfan]