Donald Trump's Cabinet picks

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Holman
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Re: Donald Trump's Cabinet picks

Post by Holman »

malchior wrote:FWIW - I've seen Dem senators saying they are going to tear into Tillerson. They are going to dig into climate change denial at Exxon. They are going to dig into the Russia angle mercilessly I imagine. And they might not be able to stop any of these horrible appointments but in the grand scheme of things Trump is expending a lot of political capital via extremely dumb decisions. The Tillerson, Pruitt, DeVos, Carson, and Sessions confirmation hearings are going to be bombastic to say the least.

Another quick point - I also suspect Tillerson coming into play was what pushed Obama to order the Russia probe. This is beyond shady at this point. The guy has *no* background at all for the position. He is a total unknown in regards to diplomacy. That he has such close ties to Putin and business interests in Russia is a clear conflict and Trump is basically snubbing his nose at it. This is an extremely dangerous time for our country (and the world) and I think finally a lot of folks are waking up to it.
I would love to see the Democrats stand up to some of these appointments: Flynn, Sessions, Pruitt, DeVos, and Carson at the very least, and definitely Tillerson if he is picked.

These aren't the usual party-line differences. There are serious nonpartisan questions about extremism, qualifications, competency, and conflicts of interest all over the list Trump is putting together, and there's no reason the senate should roll over for a president who significantly lost the vote and is coming in under serious ethical clouds of his own.

Trump is probably still thinking like a CEO and a Master of the Universe. That's the only explanation for the reckless picks he's making: he thinks the winner makes all the rules, and he has never once experienced pushback from checks and balances. Hopefully there are still some Republicans with enough spine to remind him that the constitution doesn't establish a corporation.
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Re: Donald Trump's Cabinet picks

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Holman wrote: Hopefully there are still some Republicans with enough spine to remind him that the constitution doesn't establish a corporation.
I keep wondering what happened to the rogue (establishment!) wing of the party that opposed him prior to the election. Have they really all jumped on the bus, or should we expect intraparty gridlock?
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Re: Donald Trump's Cabinet picks

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Holman wrote:Hopefully there are still some Republicans with enough spine to remind him that the constitution doesn't establish a corporation.
I think McCain so far was the only one speaking against the Tillerson pick.
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Re: Donald Trump's Cabinet picks

Post by Rip »

I have to admit I don't get this pick. With Bolton as under-Sec and obviously keeping up day to day why not just appoint Bolton? Seems like an obvious decision made solely on his being close to Putin. Crazy optics to invite right now.

Perhaps he puts up Tillerson knowing he gets rejected then Bolton gets the easy ride?
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Re: Donald Trump's Cabinet picks

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This is all very exciting. I'm excited. I guess we get to find out once and for all what happens when you run the country like a business.

The inevitable failures will definitely be chalked up to not having run it enough like a business.
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Holman
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Re: Donald Trump's Cabinet picks

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Kraken wrote:
Holman wrote: Hopefully there are still some Republicans with enough spine to remind him that the constitution doesn't establish a corporation.
I keep wondering what happened to the rogue (establishment!) wing of the party that opposed him prior to the election. Have they really all jumped on the bus, or should we expect intraparty gridlock?
I imagine Trump can count on the House until 2018 at least, but the Senate is 52-48 in the best case for the GOP.

Of Republicans, there's talk of John McCain (AZ), Susan Collins (ME), Lindsay Graham (SC), and Jeff Flake (AZ) being largely incompatible with Trump personally and (on some key issues) ideologically. Rand Paul (KY) is also expected to be uncomfortable with a lot of what Trump is selling.

I've seen talk of Dean Heller (NV) too. I don't know much about him, but he's from a blue state and he's up for reelection in 2018, so his next campaign begins tomorrow.

Trump will probably get the appointments he wants, but it will be because of math, not mandates, and it will expend all of his capital. Democrats are in a decent position to take control of the narrative from the beginning.

I don't think Trump is getting a honeymoon this time.
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Re: Donald Trump's Cabinet picks

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What a fucking moron.
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Re: Donald Trump's Cabinet picks

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I'm starting to believe Putin has naked photos of Trump.
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Re: Donald Trump's Cabinet picks

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Trump is a less subtle Dr. Evil.
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Re: Donald Trump's Cabinet picks

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Also - here is Rip's favorite for Sec. of State - Herp a Derp! Yeah unsurprisingly he hasn't become less crazy over the years.
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Re: Donald Trump's Cabinet picks

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Smoove_B wrote:I'm starting to believe Putin has naked photos of Trump.
That's no joke.

The accepted rumor is that Trump attended sexy sexy oligarchy parties during his time in Moscow for Miss Universe. He wasn't a politician then, just an aging playboy looking to feel young again.

If he did, the FSB has it all on film.
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Re: Donald Trump's Cabinet picks

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Holman wrote:
Smoove_B wrote:I'm starting to believe Putin has naked photos of Trump.
That's no joke.

The accepted rumor is that Trump attended sexy sexy oligarchy parties during his time in Moscow for Miss Universe. He wasn't a politician then, just an aging playboy looking to feel young again.

If he did, the FSB has it all on film.
Unless it's sex with a minor, I don't see how that matters at all.
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Donald Trump's Cabinet picks

Post by Zarathud »

It would matter.

The outrage about "grabbing them by the pussy" was categorized as just "locker room talk" during the campaign. A little juicy footage of Trump frolicking with nekkid young Russian ladies couldn't be ignored so easily. If America gets all flustered by Weiner's dick pix, how much worse could an actual Trump sex tape be?
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Re: Donald Trump's Cabinet picks

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Alefroth wrote:Unless it's sex with a minor, I don't see how that matters at all.
Agreed. Trump is teflon.
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Re: Donald Trump's Cabinet picks

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Imagine video of Donald Trump actually grabbing a pussy when he thinks no one is watching. Imagine it going on for long uncomfortable minutes with Trump the only one not in on the joke.

The Russians know film. They'd have the angles and the ironies and the Eisenstein. With Trump's flabby manatee narcissism it would be Battleship Potemkin all over again.
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Re: Donald Trump's Cabinet picks

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Defiant wrote:Rudy Giuliani has chosen to withdraw himself from being considered from any post.
One small silver lining in the dark cloud shaped like Trump's head.
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Re: Donald Trump's Cabinet picks

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The Meal wrote:
Alefroth wrote:Unless it's sex with a minor, I don't see how that matters at all.
Agreed. Trump is teflon.
Maybe, politically, but would his wife stand for that? How much would he lose if she left him? He might not care about much, but I'm sure he cares about money.
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Re: Donald Trump's Cabinet picks

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Paingod wrote: Maybe, politically, but would his wife stand for that? How much would he lose if she left him? He might not care about much, but I'm sure he cares about money.
I would suspect she cares about (his) money even more, too much to leave him. All his wives signed prenups.
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Re: Donald Trump's Cabinet picks

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As the old saying goes, I think it would have to be a dead hooker or a live boy. I think that goes doubly (bigly) for Trump, since he already has a widely known reputation as a sexual harasser.

If Russia has leverage on Trump, I think it's more likely to be financial leverage, since Trump evidently can't get money on good terms with American institutions due to his past business practices, and Russia can offer good money making opportunities.
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Re: Donald Trump's Cabinet picks

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Re: Donald Trump's Cabinet picks

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Skinypupy wrote:Carly Fiorina for Director of National Intelligence

What. The. Fuck??
It makes sense. For every agency that does something that Trump doesn't support, he picks someone that is likely to undermine the agency's intended function. The failing American intelligence community is obviously full of sad anti-Trump Russophobe losers, so of course the DNI is going to be an alt-good pick. With Carly at the helm, I'm fully confident that the new-and-improved IC will confirm the complete and absolute lack of any sort of Russian espionage directed at the USA.
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Re: Donald Trump's Cabinet picks

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Skinypupy wrote:Carly Fiorina for Director of National Intelligence

What. The. Fuck??
HP printers...used to make copies of daily intelligence briefings...so, the former CEO of the company that made the printer seems like a solid pick.
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Re: Donald Trump's Cabinet picks

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Max Peck wrote:
Skinypupy wrote:Carly Fiorina for Director of National Intelligence

What. The. Fuck??
It makes sense. For every agency that does something that Trump doesn't support, he picks someone that is likely to undermine the agency's intended function. The failing American intelligence community is obviously full of sad anti-Trump Russophobe losers, so of course the DNI is going to be an alt-good pick. With Carly at the helm, I'm fully confident that the new-and-improved IC will confirm the complete and absolute lack of any sort of Russian espionage directed at the USA.
It could also be Trump dangling a formal rival for a prime post to get them to say something nice about him before humiliating them by picking someone else.
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Re: Donald Trump's Cabinet picks

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This has to be a test balloon, right? Like, he has to just be screwing with the press and seeing what he can get them to report. If she's legitimately his pick for National Intelligence, oh lord.
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Re: Donald Trump's Cabinet picks

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El Guapo wrote:It could also be Trump dangling a formal rival for a prime post to get them to say something nice about him before humiliating them by picking someone else.
He's just trying to live up to the image of the Party of Lincoln® by including rivals in his cabinet. Sort of like Obama picking Clinton for Secretary of State (not that a Trump would ever copy an Obama).
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Re: Donald Trump's Cabinet picks

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Chaz wrote:This has to be a test balloon, right? Like, he has to just be screwing with the press and seeing what he can get them to report. If she's legitimately his pick for National Intelligence, oh lord.
Why? She's probably a better fit for National Intelligence than Carson is to run HUD. Sure, she's woefully unqualified, but at least she appears (unlike Carson) to not be a complete lunatic.
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Re: Donald Trump's Cabinet picks

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El Guapo wrote:
Max Peck wrote:
Skinypupy wrote:Carly Fiorina for Director of National Intelligence

What. The. Fuck??
It makes sense. For every agency that does something that Trump doesn't support, he picks someone that is likely to undermine the agency's intended function. The failing American intelligence community is obviously full of sad anti-Trump Russophobe losers, so of course the DNI is going to be an alt-good pick. With Carly at the helm, I'm fully confident that the new-and-improved IC will confirm the complete and absolute lack of any sort of Russian espionage directed at the USA.
It could also be Trump dangling a formal rival for a prime post to get them to say something nice about him before humiliating them by picking someone else.
It's a sick authoritarian dominance pattern, but I have to say it would be fun to see a Supreme Court appointment dangled and then snatched from the paws of Ted Cruz.
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Re: Donald Trump's Cabinet picks

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Holman wrote:
El Guapo wrote:
Max Peck wrote:
Skinypupy wrote:Carly Fiorina for Director of National Intelligence

What. The. Fuck??
It makes sense. For every agency that does something that Trump doesn't support, he picks someone that is likely to undermine the agency's intended function. The failing American intelligence community is obviously full of sad anti-Trump Russophobe losers, so of course the DNI is going to be an alt-good pick. With Carly at the helm, I'm fully confident that the new-and-improved IC will confirm the complete and absolute lack of any sort of Russian espionage directed at the USA.
It could also be Trump dangling a formal rival for a prime post to get them to say something nice about him before humiliating them by picking someone else.
It's a sick authoritarian dominance pattern, but I have to say it would be fun to see a Supreme Court appointment dangled and then snatched from the paws of Ted Cruz.
No, the fun move would have been to appoint Cruz as Attorney General (which was floated, before Sessions), and then fire him as soon as his senate replacement was confirmed.
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Re: Donald Trump's Cabinet picks

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Jesus - these confirmation hearings are going to be a complete 3 ring circus at this rate.
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Re: Donald Trump's Cabinet picks

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Trump has seen Carly's performance history at HP and Putin considers her perfect for the Intelligence job. They're all losers who deserve each other.
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Re: Donald Trump's Cabinet picks

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So, yeah, it's Rex Tillerson. Trump picked him for his wide knowledge and experience in international diplomacy and not at all for his ties to Putin and Russian oligarchs.

Wouldn't it be great if at least one of Trump's picks reassured our actual allies?
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Re: Donald Trump's Cabinet picks

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Flynn thinks Bin Laden should have been taken alive. Oh and the CIA is a political organization that doesn't run for the people but Obama. Why? Mostly because they criticized our baby lord (though they didn't). Oh and he has a huge grudge against them that lead to him getting shit canned. Prepare for the ride folks! These are the top men in Washington now!
Mr. Flynn also questioned the decision to kill Bin Laden. “Killing Bin Laden was the wrong thing to do,” he said. “They could have captured him.”

In killing Bin Laden, he said, “we created a new version of Allah.”

“What we should have done is shown him to be a decrepit old guy, put him in a freaking cage, in a cell, and put him on trial,” Mr. Flynn added. “Make it a big messy trial, make it global.”
Uh, what?
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Re: Donald Trump's Cabinet picks

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So it's Rick Perry for Secretary of... um, what's the 3rd one?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EwG67GpJ63E
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Re: Donald Trump's Cabinet picks

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malchior wrote:Flynn thinks Bin Laden should have been taken alive. Oh and the CIA is a political organization that doesn't run for the people but Obama. Why? Mostly because they criticized our baby lord (though they didn't). Oh and he has a huge grudge against them that lead to him getting shit canned. Prepare for the ride folks! These are the top men in Washington now!
Mr. Flynn also questioned the decision to kill Bin Laden. “Killing Bin Laden was the wrong thing to do,” he said. “They could have captured him.”

In killing Bin Laden, he said, “we created a new version of Allah.”

“What we should have done is shown him to be a decrepit old guy, put him in a freaking cage, in a cell, and put him on trial,” Mr. Flynn added. “Make it a big messy trial, make it global.”
Uh, what?
Flynn is a lunatic. He despises the CIA and goes in for fake news and conspiracy theories that are easily debunked by actual intelligence. During the campaign, there were accounts of Flynn going on tirades during the briefings given to candidate Trump. At one point it got so bad that Chris Christie tried to intervene to get Flynn to calm down.

Trump is said to defer to him on intelligence. There's little doubt that he's the one persuading Trump that briefings don't matter.

If Bannon is Strangelove, Flynn is Ripper.

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Re: Donald Trump's Cabinet picks

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At least Flynn will protect our precious bodily fluids.
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Re: Donald Trump's Cabinet picks

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Daveman wrote:So it's Rick Perry for Secretary of... um, what's the 3rd one?
I need this to be recorded somewhere, but Rick "I've got glasses now" Perry is replacing a guy that holds a PhD in Theoretical Physics. Maybe Perry's experiences on Dancing with the Stars will somehow aid him in guiding the development of national energy policies. I am now thinking Trumps strategy is to surround himself with individuals that can give him plausible deniability when everything implodes.
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Re: Donald Trump's Cabinet picks

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Trump wants people who are street smart*, not smart smart!

*meaning they know what street they live on.
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Re: Donald Trump's Cabinet picks

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Trump's narcissism demands that he is always right and that his followers are personally loyal rather than professional or patriotic. That means surrounding himself with flatterers and people he has dominated.

Remember all the firings during the campaign, and how often the top lieutenants turned on each other? Trump's court is a sick place.
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Re: Donald Trump's Cabinet picks

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Smoove_B wrote:
Daveman wrote:So it's Rick Perry for Secretary of... um, what's the 3rd one?
I need this to be recorded somewhere, but Rick "I've got glasses now" Perry is replacing a guy that holds a PhD in Theoretical Physics. Maybe Perry's experiences on Dancing with the Stars will somehow aid him in guiding the development of national energy policies. I am now thinking Trumps strategy is to surround himself with individuals that can give him plausible deniability when everything implodes.
Or explodes ... Secretary of Energy is responsible for maintaining the nuclear capabilities of the nation. Honestly though a clueless pick...Perry at least has run government agencies before.
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