Testing...

[davesaddiction]

May he always be remembered, by the vast majority of Americans and the world, as a loser.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/nov/11/donald-trump-loser-president

Think he’ll ever actually concede, or just leave office once it becomes incredibly clear to him it’s over and go back to being a Florida man, letting Pence handle the handover?

Only the biggest loser complains about the refs before, during and after the game...

[Smallbear]

Frankly he's well within his rights not to concede until every last scrap of paper has been counted, no matter how clear-cut and inevitable everything looks. Not that it makes him look any better, but that's not my problem...

IMO this thing gets dragged out to the 11th hour but in the end he'll concede and do it graciously. Because the alternative is get physically dragged out like a small child, and with someone like Trump to whom optics are everything, I can't imagine him leaving without trying to salvage some scrap of... well, not dignity, but something along those lines.

[MasterMario]

@smallbear My biggest concern is that he basically makes the transition as difficult as possible and purposely screws things up on the way out

[Smallbear]

@mastermario Valid concerns. But as far as what he has the right to do, he hasn't violated anything. Yet. In any case, this too shall pass.

Honestly, at this point my bigger worry is him rage-tweeting state secrets once he's gone

[davesaddiction]

@smallbear What's the point of replacing heads of organizations (including at the Pentagon) now, if he's not planning on being as obstructionist as possible in the next few months?
What Pompeo said is an outrage, even if it was a joke.
He's within his rights to pursue any legal challenges, but any Senator who is echoing his baseless claims that the election has been stolen should be impeached, honestly.

[DipodomysDeserti]

@smallbear No one from Trump’s camp is arguing that they’re waiting for the votes to be counted. In fact, they wanted to stop counting votes. They’re questioning the legitimacy of the election itself.

And they have never cared about optics. Rudy boy just did a presser from in front of a freaking landscaping company.

[Smallbear]

@davesaddiction said in Testing...:

@smallbear What's the point of replacing heads of organizations (including at the Pentagon) now, if he's not planning on being as obstructionist as possible in the next few months?

That one is news to me and does affect my opinions. At very least it's a power-tripping dick move. At most, it's a... yeah.

[davesaddiction]

@smallbear
https://www.cnbc.com/2020/11/10/trump-loyalists-promoted-to-powerful-pentagon-roles-after-esper-firing.html
Dictator shit, man...
Get him out, and quick.

[Smallbear]

@dipodomysdeserti said in Testing...:

@smallbear No one from Trump’s camp is arguing that they’re waiting for the votes to be counted. In fact, they wanted to stop counting votes. They’re questioning the legitimacy of the election itself.

And they have never cared about optics. Rudy boy just did a presser from in front of a freaking landscaping company.

1. Never said he had. Just saying that until then, he's got every right to wait it out, and anything he says in the meantime is just irrelevant, bloviating noise. Once every last vote is counted is when he's out of runway. At that point, he's got to go, or be removed.
2. Rudy is IMO certifiably insane at this point. I wouldn't take a single thing he says seriously. As far as Trump goes, I think it would be going too far to say he doesn't care about optics. After all, throwing his "daddy money" out the window, almost everything he's ever earned has been brand based. Which somewhat relies on image... I can't see him torching that completely once the inevitable becomes clear...

'course, I could be putting too much faith in logic and not enough in ego

[Smallbear]

@davesaddiction

um
<tugs collar>
Well, that's mildly disturbing.

I know nothing about the individuals and I'm not going to base an opinion of them on one article. But regardless of qualifications, that some disturbing tactics

[DipodomysDeserti]

@smallbear Well, Rudy is Trump’s personal lawyer. I know they say that someone who represents themself in court has a fool for a client. What about someone who has an insane person represent them?

Between that, the spray tan, the hair, the unabashed support for white supremacists, the misspelled tweets, his son and his gf giving speeches high on coke, serving fast food to champion athletes, disparaging war heroes from his own party...doesn’t look like optics are a big concern. The guy is a reality TV star. Any attention is good attention.

[Smallbear]

@dipodomysdeserti said in Testing...:

The guy is a reality TV star. Any attention is good attention.

That may well be his view. Which is disturbing.

imma sit up here in canada being an optimist for the next couple months I think... it's easier for the mental health

[CobraJoe]

Some of the rhetoric and actions taken recently make me wonder... Did Trump do something that would be considered treason?

There's been plenty of talk about what lawsuits will be back on the table once he leaves office, but that's nothing new to him. What if the consequences are far more extreme than a fine or even a white collar prison?

[davesaddiction]

@cobrajoe I don't think anything's reached that level yet, even though he's very fond of calling treason on others.

I think Biden said he wouldn't pardon Trump, and as much as I want to see him pay, one way or another, for his flouting of the law, I'm wondering if a pardon is the best thing for our nation (in order to start the healing process) right now...

[CobraJoe]

@davesaddiction

Yeah, I wouldn't put money on that "Trump Treason" theory, but I also wouldn't be that shocked if it came out as true in a year or two.

But for trying to heal the divide that has been growing over the past 4 years, I really doubt that Biden pardoning Trump will do anything productive.

After all, the "true believers" will likely never acknowledge that Trump needed pardoning, and any pardon would just be lip service to try and gain their favor (which could backfire) or seen as an acknowledgement that he was doing the right thing. Plus, there is a seemingly equally large group on the other side that wants to see justice for any and all of Trump's illegal actions.

I think the only way to heal the divide in the country is to ignore Trump (leave him to his own consequences) and start a conversation with some of his "followers". Listen to their fears, explain the actions being taken that could benefit them, and help them to realize that screaming and threatening and blaming aren't the only ways to affect change.

I know that's a hard message to get across right now, but I believe a lack of communication is the largest part of the divide in the country right now.

[davesaddiction]

@cobrajoe
Way too many content to live in their own personal echo chambers, ignoring the need and desires of those outside it.

[doodon2whls]

@DipodomysDeserti

He came from the school of: "There is no such thing as bad PR."