The Presidency of Donald J. Trump: No smocking guns. - Page 834 - Politics and Economics

Random question/thought - everyone says if you impeach Trump that just means President Pence. But, Pence was on the Trump ticket and part of the Trump campaign. If the impeachable offenses are related to campaign shenanigans with Russia or whatever, is it possible to impeach Pence as VP simultaneously, or otherwise prevent him from ascending to the presidency (resulting in a severely neutered President Ryan instead)?

More broadly, the real point/question I'm posing is - if the punishment of being found guilty of impeachable election tampering means that your #2 still keeps power - isn't that still a pretty damn good incentive to engage in this kind of behavior to win at all costs anyway, knowing that even the downside of being caught is still vastly better for your side than losing?

03-23-2017 , 07:13 PM

#20828

57 On Red

Pooh-Bah

Join Date: May 2014 Posts: 5,746

Quote:

Originally Posted by goofyballer

Hm, maybe depends on viewing location if you aren't in USA?

If you click that in London, you get 'Police identify Westminster attacker' and a round-up of the latest developments on the crime. You do not get a picture of Trump apparently trying to re-enact the Father Ted episode, 'Speed 3', with the milk-float wired to explode if it goes under 5mph.

Last edited by 57 On Red; 03-23-2017 at 07:19 PM.

03-23-2017 , 07:15 PM

#20829

Namath12

Carpal \'Tunnel

Join Date: Jan 2011 Posts: 55,849

Quote:

Originally Posted by goofyballer

This is pretty good

It does appear that if you're only interested in 4 years to jam whatever policies through that you truly believe in, the EV in rigging seems to be to the right of zero

03-23-2017 , 07:22 PM

#20830

raheem

temp-banned

Join Date: Sep 2012 Posts: 2,235

Does anyone think a lot of weird things have been happening this week? Far more so than other weeks of Trump's presidency?

Last edited by raheem; 03-23-2017 at 07:47 PM.

03-23-2017 , 07:41 PM

#20831

FlyWf

It's the other way

Join Date: Apr 2004 Posts: 58,097

Quote:

Originally Posted by raheem

Does anyone think a lot of weird things have been happening this week? Far more so than other weeks of Trump's presideny?

03-23-2017 , 07:53 PM

#20832

th14

old hand

Join Date: Aug 2012 Posts: 1,460

GOP policy on health care is deficient so it makes political sense they would punt the issue and continue to blame Dems for all shortcomings

https://twitter.com/BresPolitico/sta...56007558610944

03-23-2017 , 07:57 PM

#20833

simplicitus

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Join Date: Jun 2007 Posts: 10,840

This is all so glorious. Reality is finally asserting itself.

The reason Trump could spout all those lies in the campaign is that he didn't know any better. He's now learning.

03-23-2017 , 08:02 PM

#20834

Clovis8

Carpal \'Tunnel

Join Date: Mar 2006 Posts: 16,503

Quote:

Originally Posted by simplicitus

He's now learning.

I literally wouldn't bet a nickel on that at 10,000:1 odds.

03-23-2017 , 08:03 PM

#20835

raheem

temp-banned

Join Date: Sep 2012 Posts: 2,235

Quote:

Originally Posted by simplicitus

This is all so glorious. Reality is finally asserting itself.

The reason Trump could spout all those lies in the campaign is that he didn't know any better. He's now learning.

I still think Trump is very smart. I just worry he has bad intentions.

03-23-2017 , 08:04 PM

#20836

dlk9s

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Join Date: Nov 2004 Posts: 22,502

Quote:

Originally Posted by Namath12

Would exclusive access to the pee vid (if it exists ldo) be worth $1 billion?

No matter how high the dollar (or ruble) amount is, we know it would be the fastest and most successful GoFundMe of all time.

03-23-2017 , 08:04 PM

#20837

raheem

temp-banned

Join Date: Sep 2012 Posts: 2,235

You know when Trump says he'll deport criminal illegal immigrants? The way he might define criminal is anyone who crosses the border unlawfully. Which means he'll deport every single one, like he said in the Kentucky speech.

03-23-2017 , 08:07 PM

#20838

AllTheCheese

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Join Date: Nov 2007 Posts: 11,898

Quote:

Originally Posted by raheem

Of course. Everyone with a brain knew that was what he meant since "Mexicans are rapists" way back in 2015.

03-23-2017 , 08:08 PM

#20839

AllTheCheese

Carpal \'Tunnel

Join Date: Nov 2007 Posts: 11,898

Quote:

Originally Posted by raheem

I still think Trump is very smart.

lol wat? Why?

03-23-2017 , 08:09 PM

#20840

Clovis8

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Join Date: Mar 2006 Posts: 16,503

Quote:

Originally Posted by AllTheCheese

lol wat? Why?

Cause he's rich, LDO.

03-23-2017 , 08:12 PM

#20841

stinkubus

Pooh-Bah

Join Date: Jan 2012 Posts: 4,422

The man has spent almost his entire adult life in front of TV cameras. It would be foolish to think his public persona is anything other than an act.

03-23-2017 , 08:13 PM

#20842

raheem

temp-banned

Join Date: Sep 2012 Posts: 2,235

Quote:

Originally Posted by AllTheCheese

lol wat? Why?

Nazis were smart.

03-23-2017 , 08:14 PM

#20843

Kirbynator

Carpal \'Tunnel

Join Date: Aug 2006 Posts: 52,004

im surprised some trump voters are actually aware enough to realize the healthcare isnt everything he promised, and that maybe he's just a bull****ter.

I guess those are voters that mostly hated Clinton and werent deep in the trump sewers

03-23-2017 , 08:15 PM

#20844

raheem

temp-banned

Join Date: Sep 2012 Posts: 2,235

Quote:

Originally Posted by AllTheCheese

Of course. Everyone with a brain knew that was what he meant since "Mexicans are rapists" way back in 2015.

I had a brain, but I was brainwashed. My ex-gf was very conservative and that affected my thinking.

Please, don't be a snarky elitist. These Trump supporters, some of them are smart, but they're just brainwashed.

I woke up from the brainwashing on Monday.

03-23-2017 , 08:15 PM

#20845

AllTheCheese

Carpal \'Tunnel

Join Date: Nov 2007 Posts: 11,898

Quote:

Originally Posted by stinkubus

The man has spent almost his entire adult life in front of TV cameras. It would be foolish to think his public persona is anything other than an act.

Such a bad take. If it's an act, it's one he has long-internalized. It IS his real personality now.

03-23-2017 , 08:19 PM

#20846

MyrnaFTW

Carpal \'Tunnel

Join Date: Nov 2011 Posts: 7,557

Quote:

Originally Posted by raheem

So what did this administration do to directly affect you on Monday ?

03-23-2017 , 08:19 PM

#20847

Gizmo

Hottest Khaleesi

Join Date: Nov 2009 Posts: 11,951

Quote:

Originally Posted by raheem

What caused this?

03-23-2017 , 08:19 PM

#20848

AllTheCheese

Carpal \'Tunnel

Join Date: Nov 2007 Posts: 11,898

Quote:

Originally Posted by raheem

Nazis were smart.

Well not really, but that wasn't my point anyway. My point wasn't that he's stupid because he's evil. Steve Bannon is evil, but I don't think he's particularly stupid. I think Trump's stupid because he's stupid. He knows nothing about anything and hates learning. He displays no facility for seeing complex solutions to complex problems. Illegal immigration is a problem? Build a wall. That's how all of his thinking is. He's the businessman donk of every live poker game. If he has the nuts, he's gonna overbet the river and make a big speech about how he never gets hands.

03-23-2017 , 08:21 PM

#20849

Huehuecoyotl

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Join Date: Sep 2009 Posts: 29,257

I haven't read anything that says that Trump isn't just as shallow, dumb, and narcissistic as he is in front of the cameras

Quote:

His latest outrageous edict on banning all Muslims from entering the country comes as no surprise to me based on the man I met nearly 20 years ago. He has no coherent political philosophy, so comparisons with Fascist leaders miss the mark. He just reacts. Trump lives in a fantasy of perfection, with himself as its animating force.

Quote:

I was prepared to like him as I boarded his black 727 at La Guardia for the flight to Mar-a-Lago, his Florida home—prepared to discover that his over-the-top public persona was a clever pose. That underneath was an ironic wit, an ordinary but clever guy. But no. With Trump, what you see is what you get. His behavior was cringe-worthy. He showed off the gilded interior of his plane—calling me over to inspect a Renoir on its walls, beckoning me to lean in closely to see . . . what? The luminosity of the brush strokes? The masterly use of color? No. The signature. “Worth $10 million,” he told me. Time after time the stories he told me didn’t check out, from Michael Jackson’s romantic weekend at Mar-a-Lago with his then wife Lisa Marie Presley (they stayed at opposite ends of the estate) to the rug in one bedroom he said was designed by Walt Disney when he was 18 (it wasn’t) to the strength of his marriage to Maples (they would split months later).

It was hard to watch the way he treated those around him, issuing peremptory orders—“Polish this, Tony. Today.” He met with the lady who selected his drapery for the Florida estate—“The best! The best! She’s a genius!”—who had selected a sampling of fabrics for him to choose from, all different shades of gold. He left the choice to her, saying only, “I want it really rich. Rich, rich, elegant, incredible.” Then, “Don’t disappoint me.” It was a pattern. Trump did not make decisions. He surrounded himself with “geniuses” and delegated. So long as you did not “disappoint” him—and it was never clear how to avoid doing so—you were gold.

What was clear was how fast and far one could fall from favor. The trip from “genius” to “idiot” was a flash. The former pilots who flew his plane were geniuses, until they made one too many bumpy landings and became “****ing idiots.” The gold carpeting selected in his absence for the locker rooms in the spa at Mar-a-Lago? “What kind of ****ing idiot . . . ?” I watched as Trump strutted around the beautifully groomed clay tennis courts on his estate, managed by noted tennis pro Anthony Boulle. The courts had been prepped meticulously for a full day of scheduled matches. Trump took exception to the design of the spaces between courts. In particular, he didn’t like a small metal box—a pump and cooler for the water fountain alongside—which he thought looked ugly. He first questioned its placement, then crudely disparaged it, then kicked the box, which didn’t budge, and then stooped—red-faced and fuming—to tear it loose from its moorings, rupturing a water line and sending a geyser to soak the courts. Boulle looked horrified, a weekend of tennis abruptly drowned. Catching a glimpse of me watching, Trump grimaced.

“I guess that’ll have to be in your story,” he said.

“Pretty much,” I told him.

This apparently worried him, because on the flight home a day later he had a proposition.

“I’m looking for somebody to write my next book,” he told me.

I told him that I would not be interested.

“Why not?” he asked. “All my books become best-sellers.”

The import was clear. There was money in it for me. Trump remains the only person I have ever written about who tried to bribe me.

http://www.vanityfair.com/news/2015/...layboy-profile