Paul Revere by Cyrus Dallin, North End, Boston

~~~

~~~

Friday, February 17, 2017

TRUMP'S PUBLIC HUMILIATION


Despite what you read and hear from Trump's 39 per centers, yesterday's presser was a gigantic FAIL for the Liar-in-Chief. He's confirmed in the minds of mentally stable people in America and around the world that he's, to put a fine point on it, off his rocker.

In addition to Trump's public humiliation, he was rejected by the terrific replacement for Flynn that he promised America. Hint to the Liar-in-Chief: You don't offer a high-profile position in your administration unless you know it will be accepted. Otherwise, you get humiliated by the rejection, and that is exactly what happened to Trump.


Trump’s Public Humiliation 

By rejecting the national security adviser job, Robert Harward gave cover to every professional who wants to turn the president down. 

By Fred Kaplan 

 Donald Trump isn’t accustomed to hearing prospective underlings say “No.” So it came as a shock when retired Vice Adm. Robert Harward—his first choice to replace Michael Flynn as national security adviser—told the president he’d have to think about the offer. It must have been a double shock when, a few days later, Harward turned him down flat. 

[snip]

Trump may now have a hard time filling the position with anyone whose qualifications or prominence would help calm the jitters of allies worldwide—and foreign-policy specialists here—who are wondering what the hell is going on with this president. 

At the moment, retired Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg, a competent administrator who had been the NSC’s chief of staff, is the acting national security adviser, and it may be that Trump will have to settle on him as the successor. 

Three weeks into his term, Trump heads a White House with three or four vacant power centers. He has no national security adviser, a half-full NSC staff, hollow Defense and State Departments (where Trump has yet to nominate any deputy or undersecretaries), and the secretaries heading those departments—Mattis and Rex Tillerson—who, however smart and talented they may be, have never run a federal agency. 

 At his wild and woolly press conference Thursday afternoon, Trump twice insisted that his administration was “a fine-tuned machine.” It was a risible claim then. A few hours later, after news broke that a retired vice admiral and former Navy SEAL didn’t want to work for him, not even in one of the most vaunted jobs in the White House, the claim careened into total absurdity.



A friend of Harward's said he was reluctant to take the job because the White House seems so chaotic. Harward called the offer a "s*** sandwich," the friend said.

16 comments:

Shaw Kenawe said...

No American President has EVER comported themselves like this. Endless self pity , Dishonest assertions and scapegoating. -- Steve Schmidt

Les Carpenter said...

The Trump Express.

Heading into absurdity at breakneck speed. Taking America with it.

Anonymous said...

You know whats more frightening than Trump? The people who think there's a huge conspiracy to describe his presser as "unhinged" and "crazy." Those people see nothing wrong with Trump's psychotic performance at yesterday's press conference. They actually call it "refreshing" that the POTUS can be down-to-earth in his public appearances. What completely escapes their partisan hackery is that THEY are as nuts as Trump is so of course they see nothing wrong with his behavior. If they're batshit crazy like Trump, then how can they possibly see Trumps bat-shittery, you know, the way the rest of the sane world sees it?

Shaw Kenawe said...

I can understand why Lord Dampnut is so into Putin and Russia. He obviously would love to run the U.S. the way Pootie runs Russia: Intimidate or threaten the media for reporting on what Trump is doing instead of flattering the authoritarian twit:

Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump’s son-in-law and close adviser, met with a senior Time Warner Inc. executive in recent weeks and expressed the administration’s deep concerns about CNN’s news coverage, according to a White House official and other people familiar with the matter.

In a meeting at the White House, Mr. Kushner complained to Gary Ginsberg, executive vice president of corporate marketing and communications at CNN’s parent Time Warner, about what Mr. Kushner feels is unfair coverage slanted against the president, the people said.

The Trump administration’s hostile posture toward the news media, especially CNN, has been evident in the president’s own statements and those of his press secretary and top aides. On Thursday, Mr. Trump lashed into CNN once again at a news conference, calling it “very fake news” with expert commentary that is “almost exclusively anti-Trump.”
--Wall Street Journal

Anonymous said...

We're past the point where reasonable people are going to give Trump the benefit of the doubt. All their worst fears have been confirmed. I don't see anyone with genuine integrity throwing their good name away to serve a president who is clearly mentally unbalanced.

ORAXX

Kevin Robbins said...

I came here to comment on this guy turning down the job. I love it that he gave the old "wants to spend more time with his family."

Ed said...

Wait til his approval numbers get into the low 30's then see how the congressional Rethugs support him.

Joan said...

So you want our President to fail?
That's very HYPOCRITICAL of you don't you think!

Shaw Kenawe said...

"Joan said...
So you want our President to fail?
That's very HYPOCRITICAL of you


Joan Troll, Even though I've never said I hope Trump fails, if I had, it wouldn't have been hypocritical, it would have been patriotic. And sane.

Joan Troll: "don't you think!"

Yes, I DO think!

Try it, Joan Troll, a/k/a TOM/LUKE/Steve. It's so LIBERATING!

Flying Junior said...

So the latest from six days ago is that Michael Flynn and Jill Stein were treated to a banquet at Putin's table last August heralding RTV. So Stein was the Trojan Horse and Flynn was the mole.

Les Carpenter said...

No Joan, nobody WANTS to see an American president fail. If he has the interests of the people of the country at heart, is qualified and competent, is essentially honest, is level headed and has good judgement, has respect for diplomatic protocol, and the list goes on. Trump but his words and actions has not demonstrated any of these character traits. He has done the opposite.

BTW, he has embarrassed our nation in front of the whole world.

Les Carpenter said...

Say what you might Putin isn't stupid, eh Flying Junior?

I'll go so far as to say he's a genius compared to Trump.

Take my comment in the context it was intended 😉.

skudrunner said...

You only have another 7 3/4 years of trump bashing and then what are you going to focus on

Shaw Kenawe said...

skud, every time you came to this blog, you bashed President Obama and continued even after his presidency was over. Go read your comments since January 20. You keep bashing him.

I'm not alone in criticizing trump. He has a 39% approval rate. That means a majority of Americans don't like him or his policies. And a majority of our allies thinks he's a jerk. The Brits had to tell trump not to come in June, his planned visit to the UK, because of the massive anti-trump demonstrations that were going to greet him. Trump has postponed his visit to the UK until late summer, when most people are on vacation. In case you've forgotten, the Brits are our closest allies and cultural cousins. They think he's a buffoon.

Trump has bashed our southern neighbor, Mexico, and other allies, Australia, for example. But he's done nothing but tongue kiss the Ruskies. He hasn't said a nasty word about the former Communist head of the KGB, Vlad Putin. He even told FAUX NOOZ Bill O'Liely that we're just as bad as Russia when it comes to murdering journalists and people who are opposed to a sitting president.

The so-called FLOTUS, Melania, refuses to live in Washington DC because she doesn't want to disturb her 10-year old son's school experience and move to the White House. Michelle Obama's daughters' school experiences were disrupted when the Obamas moved into the White House. If Mrs. Obama had stayed in Chicago so her daughters weren't inconvenienced, you and your friends would have raised Holy Hell about the expense of having the Secret Service protect her and the children when she should have moved to DC like every other FLOTUS.

Also, trump's been president for less than a month and he's on his third vacation weekend at tax payers' expense at his mansion in Florida, which includes having to fly the FLOTUS from her New York Golden Tower in a separate flight, since she won't live in DC with her hubby.

Yeah. I will point all of this out because the hypocrites on the right are ignoring what they would have been screaming bloody hell over if this were being done in the Obama administration.

You and the other righties are just going to have to suck it up like big boys and girls.

Flying Junior said...

Les,

Your comment reminds me of one I made in jest on the Swash Zone.

"Say what you will about Trump, I think bringing Putin on to the ticket was a stroke of genius."

By 2024, Putin will have been the president of Russia for nineteen years. I suppose he will never be the POTUS. We can take some comfort in that.

Les Carpenter said...

Trump, like the demagogue he is and tyrant he wishes to be is methodically and purposefully trying to destroy the credibility of the legitimate media. Without a free and independent press not much stands in the way of tyranny.

Trump wants Breitbart as the Approved Official State News methinks.

We have much to be concerned over.