Busy weekend ahead for me.
Here's Rick Wilson's take on Biden's and Trump's townhalls. And it's gloriously snarky and laser-sharp insightful. Couldn't agree more.
Enjoy:
RICK WILSON: "Americans saw two men last night in the closing days of their respective pursuits of the highest office in the land, and their split-screen town halls clarified and catalyzed an understanding of this race in a way that their one debate so far did not.
It was one more sign of a Trump campaign in total collapse; broke, broken, and unmoored.
As Donald Trump was eviscerated by a smart and determined Savannah Guthrie, who put up with exactly zero bullsh*t from a subject who usually submerges interviewers under a tidal wave of bullshit, while Joe Biden connected with both his audience and interviewer George Stephanopoulos, it became clearer than ever that the choice is between the craziest possible uncle and a steady elder statesman, between a chaos president and a centrist Democrat.
Chicken Donald got what he asked for last night after ducking the presidential debate for what he’d expected to be the more amenable circumstance of a network town hall. And America saw him as he is, as Gurthrie opened up by pressing him on the key elements remaining in his base, white supremacists and QAnon maniacs, and Trump reeked of desperation not to further embarrass himself as he flailed to recapture his old media magic but instead dispelled once and for all the deeply-held belief that he cannot be bested by a reporter.
While Joe Biden looked and sounded compassionate, presidential and completely sane, Trump’s body language made it look like he was about to sprint off the set at any moment. He was wound like a spring. Biden looked ready for a cocktail, loose and happy.
It was one more example of why the Trump campaign’s nine-month effort to portray Joe Biden as senile, weak, and incapable of holding the presidency was such a stupid bet. The Biden on stage tonight was more presidential in 90 minutes than Donald Trump has been in four long years, let alone in his 60 minute flop-sweat bid at counter-programming.
Guthrie’s questions about QAnon clearly set Trump's tiny mental gears grinding. Trump knows his most fervent base voters now include an unhealthy leavening of conspiracy nutcases, and he was in on the scam until tonight. He knew he couldn't denounce them. He couldn't take the easy, sane path with an answer that might have had a chance of winning back a suburban voter or two who isn't Q-centric.
QAnon is an infection in the Republican body politics. The infection became a cancer and the cancer metastasized across the Republican Party.
Of course, Trump did manage to bridge to his favorite imaginary boogeyman;
Antifffffaaaaaa and the “radical left.” Antifa was a minor hit this summer during the post-George Floyd unrest, and exists primarily now as fodder for Trump Twitter and for people waiting for the caravans to announce new tour dates.
Perhaps no one was more deserving of feeling the chill wind of my Everything-Trump-Touches-Dies dictum tonight than Bill Barr. In recent days, Barr has fallen from presidential favor because the vaunted unmasking report long resident in the political spankbank of morons like Devin Nunes, Dan Bongino, and Mollie Hemingway of The Federalist turned out to be a complete bust.
Instead of discovering a vast conspiracy against Trump, the unmasking report ended with a super-sized nothingburger. Trump's allies screeched about it and now poor pitiful Donny is angry that his attorney general didn't make up some crimes for him to bitch about and that his FBI director, Chris Wray, won’t make up a story about widespread voting fraud to explain the historic thumping that’s coming in 18 days.
Trump also confessed to paying only $750 in federal income tax in 2017, and to owing mysterious foreign nationals $400 million. His blurted “It’s not Russher!” seemed a wee bit too defensive and eager.
In a moment of cultural dumbf**kery that says it all, Mercedes Schlapp, long-time Washington conservative doyenne and wife of lobbyist and Trump fave Matt Schlapp, decided the smart course in response to Donald’s dismal disaster was to attack “Mister Rodgers,” though she couldn’t spell his name right. Yes, that Mister Rogers.
The desperation rolled off Trump in fetid waves, reminding voters in this closing stretch that he cannot learn. He cannot change. He cannot take and execute on good advice anything that could potentially help his campaign and his political future. Tonight was another reminder that Donald Trump is always, and only, Donald Trump.
23 comments:
Of course last night, FOX News and their army of victimized conservative bloggers has another take...
Savannah Guthrie was the interviewer and she kept saying "That’s NOT TRUE” And “NO, You’re wrong” EVERYTHING he said, she came back with “NO NO NO”… it was THE most disrespectful, biased interview I HAVE EVER EVER seen and that’s saying a lot. The GREAT NEWS is HE DID FABULOUSLY
"Her [Guthrie's] hostility and aggressiveness is a case study in media hostility to conservatives. Trump did an amazing job calmly taking her on."
"I just switched to NBC since ABC is in a commercial. Savanah Guthrie has interrupted Trump in these 60 seconds more than Stephanopulos has done to Biden in 40 mins. NBC is an interrogation. ABC is a picnic."
"So far, this is not a town hall for voters, it is designed to appease the angry NBC employees/Dems who are pissed off Trump’s on NBC at all."
"NBC fake News did their best to ambush President Trump at tonight's town hall... Questions, topics, tactics all reeking of nothing but pure political bias..."
It's as if people were watching and experiencing totally different events.
Pretty amazing...
I'm not sure anyone is still paying attention to the various Biden commercials, but I've noticed something very interesting. The closer we get to the election, still over 2 weeks away, his tone is changing. It's a tone that suggests the reality that he and his pollers are seeing. He's feeling like he's gonna win. So he's switched to a more upbeat, hopeful tone, a la Reagan's "Morning in America" theme that devastated Carter.
Shaw, maybe that reality will buoy you this busy weekend. Enjoy it, soon the cold and snow will be upon you.
This is how arrogant Democrats have become....to actually punish this crook Joe Biden on Democrat voters Twitter and Facebook are closing peoples accounts, and censoring everyone’s posts that is negative towards Joe Biden. Meaning that Your Free Speech.is in Jeopardy.
The national debt reached 18% annual deficit of of GDP, some $3 trillion this year.
That is the highest since 1945 when we fought a world war. Trump and the GOP Senate
in 'making America great again' have squandered the US assets in tax reductions for
corporations and the 1% while pumping millions into the stock market to keep it
artificially high. Yet, his unmasked minions cheer while he complains of the MI
governor with chants of lock her up..because she is trying to fend off Covid. At some point, he will have to stop blaming innocents and accept responsibility for
not being a Stable Genius. No country deserves this nightmare. Vote him out. Lock him up.
BB-Idaho, for GOPers deficits matter only when Democrats are presidents. Trump has been a disaster for fiscal responsibility. The Republicans seem not to care as long as they get judges. VOTE THEM ALL OUT!!!
Frank, get hold of yourself. Facebook isn’t the government.. it has the right to decide who gets published and who doesn’t. If the government shut it down, that would be against the 1st Amendment. How come you don’t know that?
Also, just to remind you, Joe Biden has NEVER BEEN INDICTED FOR ANYTHING. Trump is impeached and was let off the hook by a bunch of derelict GOP senators. Trump is eternally impeached.
Biden? NEVER. you seem to be confused on who’s a crook and who isn’t. HINT: It’s Trump.
If Trump weren't a billionaire spoiled president, his rapsheet would make Al Capone look like a kid with a popsicle. The stuff flooding the media is Soviet Intel crap,
funneled through slippery Giuliani. Any other administration would coldcock it, but
Trump just sucks it up. MAGA. Frank needs to check his credulity.
Just like all of the media, they have a right to be biased. Unfortunately the ability to reason and make our own decisions is being left up to the media so we know where that is going.
Free speech is no longer allowed as demonstrated in san francisco. If you are conservative you are a target of hate and possible violence.
There are several democrats who have never been indicted for anything. Is that a plan or a coincidence. Of course the swell guy who for eight years only served special interests and billionaires and basement joey who for 45 years occupied a seat and did little. Now he is going to occupy a seat for a few months so harris can move over. Nothing will come up about either one because they are the protected class.
I just hope joey didn't get bruised by any of the cotton balls thrown at him by george in the virtual ad.
BB and others...
First off, Capone was a piker compared to Trump. As was Nixon and any other politico down through the ages. After Watergate we depoliticized the DOJ so presidents would not use the levers of government to ever again attack political opponents.
Sadly, we forgot that there was a sizable group with folks like Dick Cheney and Bill Barr who believed in a "muscular unitary executive" branch and have been waiting almost 40 years to reverse those reforms.
Finally, there is no Frank.
He's a figment of the blogosphere, a creation of someone, a caricature of a person who can actually think, develop and original idea. He copies and pastes, is unable to think and for all intents and purposes, like the previous Frank who used a pic of Sinatra as his avatar, is nothing more than a sock puppet troll.
I find it interesting that cons are worried about free speech. Given it is the blind trump lovers and john birch type cons who are actively pursuing limiting freedom of speeck and expression. They ALWAYS have.
Poor skudrunner. He really believes that Democrats have somehow gotten away with crimes and that’s why they haven’t been indicted. It never occurs to him or the sailors on the Mother Ship that the reason that Trump was impeached and that so many of his close aides and associates are in jail is because they went though our justice system and were found impeachable or guilty.
When a Republican is found guilty, that means in skud’s world that it was a set up; when there are no charges brought against a Democrat being investigated by a GOP Department of Justice, that means the Dems got away from something, or maybe the GOPers running the DoJ are incompetent.?
After all we’ve been through over the almost four years of the Trump nightmare, not one Trumper on those far right blogs and news sites will admit that there’s any malfeasance going on in the Trump administration. Well HUNDREDS and HUNDREDS of GOPers who’ve left the party disagree, and they’ve thrown their support to Biden.
Skud comes here and whines almost every day about some irrelevant thing some Democrat said or speculates on how Biden and Harris will govern, but NOT ONCE does Skud mention that Trump and his cultists screamed “LOCK HER UP!” Referring to Gov. Whitmer. Not once!
Trumps rhetoric is directly responsible for the White Supremacist terrorists plot to kidnap and murder Whitmer, and now we find out, the governor of Virginia. Not anti family, not BLM, White Supremacist terrorists who listen to Trump!
Skud says nothing about this. And we can only assume that he’s okay with having the POTUS encourage kidnapping and murder. Trump has not outright condemned the plotters. Not once.
Never in the history of our country has there been such a cowardly and lawless creature in the White House. In two weeks we’ll see if we care about decency and rule of law or we’ll sink further into the sewer than we already have with Trump.
That should say Antifa, not anti-family. Damn auto correct.
“The depths of his dishonesty is just astounding to me. The dishonesty, the transactional nature of every relationship, though it's more pathetic than anything else. He is the most flawed person I have ever met in my life,"
Gen. John Kelly ... describing Trump.
Note to skudrunner, no one ever used those words to describe President Obama. NO ONE. Your whining defamation of Mr. Obama is nothing more than jealous rage over the fact that America and the world know that Mr. Obama is a better, kinder, more decent human being than Trump is or will ever be. And he cannot achieve that because Trump is a morally diseased human being.
Like I pointed out Ms Shaw, With the exception of the swell guy who was just a special interest president and supported his people who lied, which is not a crime the remainder have not been found guilty of a crime yet. Trump has caused all of his own problems and the media eats it up so when he loses it is his doing.
Why did georgie not ask one single question about hunter during the cotton ball quiz. You always turn it into trump did this and that but seem to ignore questions about joey.
The media controls public opinion and they have never hated a politician more than they hate trump. Over 200K have died from corona which any thinking person knows is not true. Over 200K have died having corona but not because of it. Even the science community says 95% of deaths are for other issues so that leaves 5% from covid. Our corrupt elected elite created a perfect excuse to elevate the number of deaths by covid. The political geniuses decided to pay hospitals a premium for treating covid so any person that dies and has covid dies from covid. You and the Rev are smart enough so you should know better but it does serve your agenda.
Skud, I’ve left your comment up as an example of the far right’s obsession with conspiracy theories and lies.
You’ve provided absolutely no evidence for what you posted, not one link. Tell us why anyone should believe you?
I certainly don’t. It’s utter rubbish and a perfect example of where the current GOP is now: drowning in lies, conspiracies, and disinformation.
I feel pity for all of you because you’ve bought into all that propaganda and don’t know any better.
Skud hasn’t said a word about President Dotard saying lock her up about the governor the white supremacists wanted to kidnap and murder.
Ms Shaw, I will admit when I am wrong and I was. It was 94% not 95% According to the CDC and JEMS. https://www.jems.com/2020/08/31/cdc-report-underlying-conditions-94-percent-covid-19-deaths/
CDC: 94% of Covid-19 deaths had underlying medical conditions according to CDC report but would you believe what the CDC has to say, it is not from CNN or MSDNC.
FACT CHECK: HOSPITALS GET PAID MORE IF PATIENTS LISTED AS COVID-19, https://www.healthleadersmedia.com/finance/fact-check-hospitals-get-paid-more-if-patients-listed-covid-19-ventilators
Would they have died anyway we will never know but science has spoken. What I said was not rubbish or disinformation just fact.
The good thing is maybe in January we will get factual information after all harris/biden have a plan.
So, Skud, if someone with diabetes went for a ride in a car and that car was hit by a train and no one survived, what would have caused that persons death? The underlying diabetes or the train that hit the car and killed him or her?
As for hospitals getting paid more, FAUX NOOZ carried that disinformation. Fact-check.org. Disagrees: https://www.factcheck.org/2020/04/hospital-payments-and-the-covid-19-death-count/https://www.factcheck.org/2020/04/hospital-payments-and-the-covid-19-death-count/
"...he is going to occupy a seat for a few months so harris can move over".
"Over 200K have died from corona which any thinking person knows is not true".
Huh? Biden is going to die a few months after taking office? He's going to step down? Also, thinking people know more than 200k have dies from covid. That's the Dotard administration official number. Comorbidities don't cancel out the fact that covid pushed these people over the edge (if not for covid they'd be alive).
As for the town halls, I watched Dotard lie for awhile, then switched over to Biden. No evidence of any "cognitive decline". Just competent and thorough analysis of the issues. Biden knows what he's talking about, while Dotard doesn't have a clue (it's all conspiracy theories, BS and lies with him).
And I heard Dotard gave a shout out to QAnon and and then claim that their lies about Democrats (and Hollywood stars) being pedophiles means "they are very much against pedophilia". Sure. I wonder why QAnon hasn't said anything about Dotard raping that 13yo girl then.
The CDC guidance says that officials should report deaths in which the patient tested positive for COVID-19 — or, if a test isn’t available, “if the circumstances are compelling within a reasonable degree of certainty.” It further indicates that if a “definite diagnosis of COVID–19 cannot be made, but it is suspected or likely (e.g., the circumstances are compelling within a reasonable degree of certainty), it is acceptable to report COVID-19 on a death certificate as ‘probable’ or ‘presumed.'”
“If we think it’s presumptive … we can go ahead and put down COVID-19,” Jensen said, “or even in some situations, even if it’s negative.” He pointed to the example of a 38-year-old man in Minnesota whose death was attributed to the coronavirus even though he tested negative.
The man’s mother, however, told the St. Paul Pioneer Press that doctors determined the test result was likely a false negative. It’s not known exactly how common false negatives are in the U.S., but public health experts and doctors have raised concerns about many instances of tests showing negative results even when all other indicators point to COVID-19.
Fact sheets for different COVID-19 tests from the Food and Drug Administration note that a “negative result does not exclude the possibility of COVID-19. When diagnostic testing is negative, the possibility of a false negative result should be considered in the context of a patient’s recent exposures and the presence of clinical signs and symptoms consistent with COVID-19. The possibility of a false negative result should especially be considered if the patient’s recent exposures or clinical presentation indicate that COVID-19 is likely, and diagnostic tests for other causes of illness (e.g., other respiratory illness) are negative.”
As for the accuracy of the death toll, other experts have previously told us that while it’s true that some deaths attributed to COVID-19 likely would have occurred regardless of the disease, other factors — like the deaths of undiagnosed COVID-19 victims, including those that occur at home — contribute to a more significant problem of under-counting the deaths.
All you need to do is google COVID deaths higher than reported and literally dozens of articles come up -- from the CDC to Reuters, to large medical institutions. All stating that COVID deaths are much higher than what is reported. Are ALL those articles from dozens of different sources and institutions conspiring together?
Two of my nieces developed COVID. One here in the DC area (age 35 and otherwise healthy), who tested positive and was very ill for three weeks but stayed at home. My other niece in Minnesota (42 and extremely healthy and fit) developed stomach issues, nausea and diarrhea, lost taste and smell, extreme fatigue (some days sleeping 20 out of 24 hours). After 3 weeks she developed shortness of breath and heart palpitations where she then wore a heart monitor for a while. She, too, stayed at home but was in daily video contact with her doctor. Her doctor has put her down as having COVID, though she tested negative. She just started back working after being ill for 10 weeks!
Possumlady
Possum... YES! All those articles, written by the Deep State and a biased agenda driven media are false and only the extremist right wingers are privy to the real truth.
It's like this... my mom chain smoked most of her life, dying of COPD in her early 60's. Did she dies of smoking? No, she died of COPD and pneumonia... but smoking caused what eventually killed. Folks pushing the 5% line are essentially clones of the old smoking lobby. People never died from tobacco, the tar, the nicotine or the smoke. They died from COPD. Or pneumonia. Or lung cancer. Nut never smoking.
Sophistry.
Ms. Shaw, Thank you for further confirming what I said and to address PL, it is a shame the American people are not given reliable facts but I am sure that is trumps fault. Everyone has people the know who have had covid. The last one I talked to felt terrible for a week then couldn't wait to get back to work and did in two weeks. Some people get a cold and are bed ridden so everyone is different. If you have a false positive when your pregnant there is a way to prove the test was mistaken, with covid not so much.
Derbie, yes you are a sanders supporter. When did I or anyone say joey was going to die I just said he will not make it through his term and is holding the seat for cruella. The election cannot come soon enough because hunter is making the press and if joey doesn't take the throne soon hunter may be in trouble. He may have to use those millions paying legal fees instead of not paying child support.
We can't have a dialog with skud because when we present conflicting reports answering his comment about COVID and causes of death, he came back and jive-talked about the Bidens.
Over 200,000 Americans have died during the COVID pandemic, and all the Trump cultists can answer for that is "they didn't die from COVID," or "it's no big deal; I know people who've survived." Tell that to Herman Cain, John Prine, Broadway star, Nick Cordero, who was 41, former lead singer for the Temptations, Bruce Williamson, 49; former Dream Street singer Chris Trousdale died from complications due to the coronavirus -- he was 34; Adam Schlesinger, a noted songwriter and co-founder of the pop-rock band "Fountains of Wayne," passed away from complications related to COVID-19 -- he was 52; Country singer Joe Diffie died from complications caused by the coronavirus -- he was 61." Just to name a few who were not elderly.
220,000 Americans have died because of Trump and his administration's incompetence on this pandemic, and skud and his fellow Trump cultists want Trump elected for another 4 years?
I've heard people call the Trump Administration a Death Cult. I'm beginning to believe that.
But besides the fact that Trump is responsible for the deaths of so many Americans because of his undermining specialists in infectious diseases and the science that gives us ways to minimize the virus' spread, Trump is a liar, cheat, and fraud.
Why would ANY American want four more years of that?
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