He was naïve, and if you listen to his current interviews you'd hear he understands now that they don't care about what's best for the country.
I read some excepts from his book and honestly the most telling section was when he said how often he would talk with a Republican Senator or Representative, in private, who would tell him he was right about something and that they agree with his outlook, but that they would vote against it anyways because voting in his favor at all was political suicide for them. That is how fucked up things are.
He says as much to Teri Gross in his interview. And I agree with him, it was obvious from the start.
Holy molly... that must have been hilarious for someone uninvolved...
I've used Google Translate between languages i know so i don't have to type all those words, and it has gotten better over time, but it still requires plenty of editing to make everything actually sound right.
The GOP needs to figure out what it's doing because Trump requested a second recount in Georgia, which he is entitled since the difference was only .5%, but the thing is Georgia has no law that would make it so Trump Campaign would have to pay for it, thus the cost is going to go to the Georgia taxpayers. It will also be the second recount, and will be done by machine rather then hand counted, so the likelihood that anything will change is slim to none. He lost Georgia very heavily due to the suburbs, and "wasting" tax money on a second recount after one was already done could be a disaster for the GOP during the runoffs.
I don't think people will care.
I can understand the pessimism, but the only reason Biden won the state was because there were enough people in the Atlanta suburbs that remained Republican and voted for Perdue, but didn't want Trump anymore and thus flipped to Biden. Perdue barely beat out Ossoff but not enough to prevent the runoff (needed over 50%) and since a lot of these fence sitters are likely in that "fiscal responsibility" crowd compared to the average Trumper (who really does not give a shit about anything other then Trump winning, and maybe abortion), there is a high chance that doing this and wasting their state taxes is going to push a lot of those suburbanites to vote Ossoff and Warnock out of protest. Parler is already alight with Trumpers threatening not to vote in the runoffs at all if Trump isn't made the winner in December, so anything that might flip suburbanites that already think Trump is being a big baby isn't the best strategy if they want to win.
In the end you are right, and it could not matter, but I really think Republicans willing to vote for Biden over Trump in Georgia need way less of a nudge to flip then the more die-hard followers.
If they don’t care about him supporting white power organizations, and killing hundreds of thousands due to mishandling COVID, wasting money on a recount will mean nothing. There is no hope for those that still vote republican, my family included. They will never change their vote. All we can hope for is they either don’t turn out, or they die off.
The Trump legal team begins to implode. Giuliani and Jenna Ellis just ditched Sidney Powell.
The "fight the election in the courts" phase is coming to a close. Next up: the "we'll beat the cheaters in 2024" phase.
The "fight the election in the courts" phase is coming to a close. Next up: the "we'll beat the cheaters in 2024" phase.
You forgot the “Convince state politicians to abandon the idea of democracy and just install me as dictator for life” phase that comes after court battles.
You're right. That part has kind of been overlapping/intertwined with the court battles. It won't last long either, though.
figmentPez
Staff member
Great article here, with some solid examples from history:
Watergate's lesson? If Democrats want to heal America, Trump must be held accountable
Watergate's lesson? If Democrats want to heal America, Trump must be held accountable
Trump reminds me of a particular kind of person who gets their home foreclosed. I saw their type all over my home region (Southern California) when the financial crisis hit in 2007. They figured that since they couldn't enjoy the house, nobody else could either. So they trashed it, let the toilets overflow, and smeared excrement on the walls. Trump and his team are doing the same thing to the White House. I'm surprised they haven't yanked out the copper wiring yet.
figmentPez
Staff member
I do not envy the Biden team moving in. Hopefully the Secret Service will check thoroughly for traps.
If orange boi himself doesn't do it, coked-out-of-his-mind junior certainly would.
I HIGHLY doubt it'll happen, but i wouldn't put it past Trump to set the White House on fire or try to destroy it on his way out.
If I remember correctly, it had work done to it after 9/11 to prepare it for the possibility someone might try to crash a plane into it. Here’s hoping that made it harder to destroy from the inside, too.
—Patrick
It just seems like exactly the kind of petty thing Trump would do.
Neighbor two houses down from me did that when they got foreclosed on. Dumped concrete down the drains, outright stole the air conditioner, and graffitied up the walls among other things. He was a shithead that blasted music late into the night anyway, so I'm glad he's gone.
I wonder how he will do it. I doubt he will hold Secret Service protection. Because they will have to turn him in for the crimes he commits while out of office.
Not to mention that Biden is too old, even though he is 3 years older than Trump.
figmentPez
Staff member
Trump fears Giuliani, other lawyers in Biden vote challenge are ‘fools that are making him look bad’
Well, they are fools that are making him look worse....
Well, they are fools that are making him look worse....
One of the known downsides of being a former President is that you pretty much become a ward of the Secret Service for the rest of your life. You can't drive on your own anywhere public, you can't leave the house alone, you get no privacy on the phone, no privacy through the mail (every letter is checked before it goes to you), you still have to go through daily intel briefings, and any small little thing you want to do becomes an event. George W Bush did an interview once where he talked about how he loves driving his truck, but is only allowed to drive it on his ranch because the Secret Service won't let him behind the wheel of a car while out.
Of course, like you implied, a President CAN opt out of the service, but they have to sign a waiver that anything that happens to them isn't the Secret Services' responsibility. End up getting kidnapped? Not their problem. Killed? Take it up with local law enforcement or the FBI.
Funny enough, I think Trump would be okay with half of that (Free chauffeur!) but there are going to be a lot of other things he isn't going to be happy with. For instance, reports are already coming out that the Secret Service has started to gather members to become Trump's main detail, and they are looking into "expanding an office complex" on the Mar-A-Lago property for operations. If there is one thing Trump hates, it's someone else erecting a building on his properties without having a say in the matter.
Faithless Electors is really a non-issue. The way most states work is each party selects their Electors before the election. Whichever party is then certified the winner gets to send their Electors to the vote. This means in most of the states Biden won, they are going to be Democratic Electors. This is why people were scared of the states not certifying, because if they didn't certify it would go to the state legislature, who would then get to pick their own Electors. Since Biden has been certified in those states, it means Democrats are going to be the ones voting for the President.
Even the few times we have had faithless electors, they usually don't cross the aisle. In 2016 we actually had a few faithless electors, but they just wrote in the names of other candidates for their party instead. (One elector for a state Trump won in 2016 just wrote in John Kasich in protest.)