“There’s no posse and there’s no retinue and there’s no family,” says Chris Hayes on Trump’s arraignment. “The guy is alone. He is solo rolling with the lawyers who hope his checks clear.”
At this point an indictment of Trump in the US has reached the same level as mass shootings and our dying planet. Which indictment, mass shooting or catastrophic environmental disaster are we talking about? I’m numb and have lost track amongst the desperate hopes for change.
Exactly this. An arraignment of a former president has become a non-event. This is ideal for Trump, regardless of how MSNBC tries to spin it.
deleted by creator
This is definitely some of it. Although being in DC probably also helps to tone things down. DC is a pretty blue town outside of the federal buildings.
I can picture a world where Trump’s fervent supporters would descend upon DC and cause at least a little turbulence.
Impossible. They’d never do that.
I believe you’re referring to Antifa, Trump supporters would never ever never do anything like that.
What i find interesting is that somehow in developing countries justice was slow but eventually it arrived. I can think of places like Peru with Fujimori. Presidents got away for a while but eventually their own justice systems made them pay. I would be surprised if somehow justice didn’t prevail in this situation with Trump.
Justice has to prevail on some level if the US has any hope of protecting its democracy. This was a direct attack on the most fundamental parts of the country.
Its* democracy
if the US has any hope of protecting its democracy.
I don’t think that’s a priority as far as our leaders are concerned. The facade of democracy is just getting in their way now.
deleted by creator
In actuality America is a federal republic with representative democracy, so not wholly a democratic nation.
Having 3, possible 4 indictments, some of it very damning, I’m convinced shit will happen. IF nothing happens out of 3 (4*) indictments, then I’d lose pretty much all hope at that point. I am at a point now where I have no yet lost all hope.
At this point I’ll take a slap on the wrist for Trump if he’s barred from running for Presidency. I just want all this to end and for the country to move on.
I’ve wanted this all to end since 2016, but this steamroller keeps on going. Barring him from holding office anywhere, should be given at a minimum. These indictments are very serious. If you’re a mathematician, then you know by just the numbers, Trump is fucked and he knows it.
I want to believe, I really do. It just feels like we’re stuck in a Twilight Zone episode.
It’s going to take like 3-4 years between appeals for this all to play out within the courts. He NEEDS the Presidency again to even attempt to fix the courts in his favor. As it stands, right now he is royally fucked. It’s Presidency or bust.
I am at a point now where I have no yet lost all hope.
I’ll save you a seat down here at rock bottom.
Everyone’s bottom is different, no need to save it for me, thanks though!
Fucking traitor. Lock him the fuck up.
It’s never gonna happen. At most he’ll become bogged down in lawsuits and charges till he dies. But there’s no way they’ll ever allow a u.s president to set foot in jail
Hard disagree.
This stupid cuck is going to jail 100% if he does not win the next presidential election. Our legal system can be pretty fucked up sometimes but it’s not that fucked up, this guy literally tried to overthrow our democracy.
I’m not saying he’s not going to jail, but I am saying our system is absolutely fucked. This dude is free years after openly trying to overthrow our democratic processes. The most blatant example (Georgia) isn’t even one of the indictments he’s currently facing.
Yet.
cuck
I hate this word so much because his supporters used it ad nauseum.
But I’m okay with it just this one time.
Ahh, I wasn’t aware of that
I envy you.
I was told in my local pub yesterday that someone with a criminal record can still be president. But I’m British, and drink with people who chat shit. The landlord in said pub also said that Oceangate was eaten by a megalodon, and landlords like to chat shit.
Someone who is literally in jail can become President, technically. What the day-to-day reality of that would be, I’ve no clue. But it’s technically possible, and we’ve had people (most notably Eugene Debs) run from behind bars.
Yeah this was literally the conversation, with some speculation.
Can he pardon himself?
Theoretically, on the federal charges, but not any state charges (such as the ones expected to be brought in Georgia)
Of course, a self-pardon has never been tested, and while the composition of the Supreme Court should be favorable to him doing so, it’s not guaranteed that they would actually be on board. There would be a constitutional crisis if he tried to self-pardon, and the Supreme Court ruled that he could not (which could be nearly solved by impeachment of either the President or various Justices, but that will not happen under the present dysfunction of the Senate)
On the federal charges.
“it’s not that fucked up” - doubt.
All the legal analysis I read has suggested house arrest because of the secret service for life deal.
I hope he does real time but I’m not optimistic.
House arrest in Trump’s giant resort mansion.
It makes sense, but it’s more than a little unsatisfying.
Personally I’d love to see Trump in ADX Florence.
Removed by mod
I hope you’re wrong personally
Agreed the laptop should be plenty evidence how little they care
And the leaked call where they just used Ukraine to get more support? Actually disgusting
Lmao the sheer projection in bringing ukraine into this when Trump literally blackmailed them and broke the law to try to score political points. Straight up traitor
Not knowing the history of Nazi Ukraine is typical
Regurgitating Fox news talking points is also typical. Literally incapable of critical thinking.
They literally have Nazi factions lol
Ok Boris.
I imagine one of the prosecutors touches Trump’s forehead for a few seconds, then says: “It’s afraid!”
I would like to know more.
Excellent reference!
The only good bug is a dead bug
They’d never get the Cheeto fingers off.
Most of the protesters aren’t allowed near Washington DC government buildings due to their plea deals.
Headline: “Trump rawdogs own arraignment!”
Awesome
I also read he said he’d get his supporters to boycott elections.
One can only hope!
Oh no, the consequences of his own actions.
Well, the GOP is the party of personal responsibility, right?
The fascists aren’t stupid. They see the writing on the wall so they’re moving on. Completely expected and even if Trump gets the death penalty the threat is by no means gone. Trump is a symptom, not the disease itself.
Beard has a great quote from her book SPQR
“If the assassination of Julius Caesar became a model for the effective removal of a tyrant, it was also a powerful reminder that getting rid of a tyrant did not necessarily dispose of tyranny.”
An analogy I like: If you have a toxic, dangerous plant in your garden, like the Gympie Gympie maybe, do you remove it by snipping off the leaf bud at the very top, or do you pull it out roots and all?
I leave it there, dripping in glyphosate, as a message to other weeds.
I don’t think that those are the only options. But I will think on it.
I think that my problem is that I don’t agree with the analogy between the tree between the human. Every human, I believe, have a context to find personal change. And GimpyGimpy trees do not. And that is why I disagree with the premise.
The fascists aren’t stupid.
Citation needed
Never assume the enemy is stupid. That’s how you lose. If they were truly stupid they wouldn’t have gotten this far and wouldn’t even be a threat.
Agreed. We can always look back at our over-prepping and laugh, or…
There’s a distinction to be made between the fascists—the people in power pushing fascism—and the people voting for it. The latter are ignorant and stupid. The former are wringing the country dry for money and power.
Indeed, the fascists are monumentally stupid.
This is a major problem with the right wing, there is no principles or loyalty or anything. It’s not the major problem, it’s just one.
Additionally, a leader is just a tool used by a collective. The collective is in power, not the leader. Trump is no longer useful to them so he is being replaced, just like how a medieval king who fails to please his court of nobles is overthrown for a king that can.
Whether you can overthrow a leader simply depends on if you’re part of the collective they serve or not. The reason the general public can’t get rid of corrupt politicians or near universally hated people like Bezos or Elon, is because the collective that appoints them is not the public, but much like the medieval king, they only have to answer to a small group of modern day nobles (AKA the corporations, investors, and ultra rich in general).
It’s the ruling class, not the individual ruler, that calls the shots. Always. Because a single person can never enforce their rule alone, it requires a group that collectively has sufficient power to enforce their collective rule.
This sounds eye openingly Putin-esque
Absolutely. I was talking to a friend the other day and he suggested hiring a hitman through crowdfunding to shoot Macron. I told him, Macron is just a symptom. This hydra has a bunch of other heads ready to sprout, you’ll get life for nothing
I’m reminded of the NoFX song “the man I killed”
Unfortunately, he’s still vastly in the lead for the gop nomination.
deleted by creator
I think the point is that usually there is a gaggle of hangers on, that think they can avoid being thrown under the bus. That group is shrinking.
Supporters are still supporters, but less inclined to make an effort to support. It’s a sign of waning power as the emperor’s new clothes are indeed missing.
What even is this article?
An itchy word-worm crafted to crawl under his thin orange skin
Well said 👏🏻
Sad that he can’t Grab Them By The Posse!!!
/s
Lol well done.
I couldn’t believe when that came out and had no effect. Like when George W would just misspeak or Clinton admitted smoking weed in college or whatever, it always seemed like there were huge political consequences.
Remember Howard Dean lost the nomination because of the way he said “wooo”?
Yeah, that was news editors cutting the background noise and the crowd scenes: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dean_scream#Media_coverage
Always worth remembering that the news editors likewise played a part in the rise of Trump: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Trump_2016_presidential_campaign#Media_coverage
An excited scream specifically when he was up on stage, at his own campaign rally, in front of a crowd cheering the hell out of him.
I truly believe that scream is no less than any single one of us would let fly if we found ourselves in front of a crowd that size, all waving signs with our name on them and cheering to our success.
Nice one
So sad.
Oh that facial expression is priceless!
What facial expression?
I don’t know if you’re looking at the same thumbnail I was looking at, but it’s the pic of Trump under an umbrella, looking like he’s about to cry!
Nice picture!
He’s still the frontrunner for the Republican nomination by a wide margin, there is no one who is showing like they will compete, even after this most recent indictment. Republicans will still rally behind him if he gets the nomination. Unless his trials are ahead of the election, which they likely aren’t, nothing will change.
He’s a frontrunner from lack of options, not from appeal. Other potential candidates are too intimidated knowing that if they run against him, he will shower them with insults and innuendo daily and try to bully them into backing out.
Sad trombone lol
Removed by mod
Maybe I’m just a cynical old man, but likely nothing is going to happen to him.
PS: I was alive for Watergate. Ford pardoned Nixon.
Isn’t this such an awesome, totally non hypocritical country
Watergate was a soft coup. He was taken down by the same structure that killed Kennedy. Your country is run by spooks, pretending to be a democracy.
What checks? They think they’re getting paid?
He’s raked in hundreds of millions in political donations since this started, they’ve been paid more than 40m so far
And yet he still stiffed Rudy Giuliani.
Giuliani should have seen it coming though, it’s like someone who marries a known cheater and is shocked they got cheated on.
That’s one of the coolest things he’s ever done though. You’re redeeming Trump in my eyes right now
Well, Rudy had a number of embarrassing moments in public that I think caused Trump to lose any respect he might have had for the former mayor. Two that I can think of, the hair dye sweating down his face and the fart picked up on mic in a courtroom.
But his worst offense, in terms of how Trump views people: he lost. He’s a loser.
You forgot their perfect press conference at the lovely Four Seasons Landscaping company.
That was one of the funniest things ive ever witnessed on tv. I talked about it for weeks with friends.
Next to an adult novelties store.
Win or lose, Trump would never pay. He stiffs vendors for good or bad jobs.
deleted by creator
I didn’t think I needed to state that that was a joke.
He’s not alone. He still has millions of US voters on his side.
keep donating to his reelection campaign. his lawyers appreciate it.
He has to be pissed that Jarvanka took the 3 billion and booked without kicking up to the head czar
You mean his pattern of betraying everyone somehow backfired?