The aftermath of Trump's acquittal in his second impeachment trial

But you never do. You are all talk. I am not interested in your fantasies about Trump. I am interested in your defense of Trump concerning the issues raised in this thread.

For those issues, you have no defense.

Trump planned this well in advance. “Big protest in D.C. on January 6th,” Mr. Trump tweeted on Dec. 19, just one of several of his tweets promoting the day. “Be there, will be wild!”

“We’re going to walk down to the Capitol, and we’re going to cheer on our brave senators and congressmen and women, and we’re probably not going to be cheering so much for some of them, because you’ll never take back our country with weakness. You have to show strength, and you have to be strong.”

“When you catch somebody in a fraud, you are allowed to go by very different rules."

“We fight like hell and if you don’t fight like hell, you’re not going to have a country anymore.”

"Now it is up to Congress to confront this egregious assault on our democracy. And after this, we’re going to walk down, and I’ll be there with you. We are going to try — give our Republicans, the weak ones, because the strong ones don’t need any of our help, we’re try — going to try and give them the kind of pride and boldness that they need to take back our country.”
**************************************************************************************************************************President Donald J. Trump

That's why Trump's fans don't defend Trump. They look foolish doing so.

 

You definitely identify as a hater and that's ALL you do. I'll defend him right here and now. You, like the Communist leftist media, leave out the part where he said peacefully and patriotically. I could copy and paste but to no avail. You have an agenda and apparently you would die for it. So do I!

 

There are two dates that concern law enforcement in Washington, March 4 and the still undisclosed date of the State of the Union address.

This was written yesterday.

Now imagine this, the supporters of a former President of the United States are threatening the U.S. government as we know it.

Putin could not be more pleased.

CNET reports, "Former President Donald Trump left office on Jan. 20, but believers in QAnon, a baseless, far-right conspiracy theory that originated on anonymous message boards, still think he's going to return to the White House. People who believe the conspiracy theory are now looking forward to March 4, but law enforcement says it's aware of the threat."

The Times reports, "The Capitol Police force is preparing for another assault on the Capitol building on Thursday after obtaining intelligence of a potential plot by a militia group, just two months after a mob of Trump loyalists and extremists attacked the building, leaving five dead and hundreds injured.

"Leaving nothing to chance, House leaders on Wednesday abruptly moved a vote on policing legislation from Thursday to Wednesday night, so lawmakers could leave town, according to a senior Democratic aide familiar with the planning."

Everyone can relax. Trump's domestic terrorists -- so named by FBI director Christopher Wray -- are cowards. The threats are more “aspirational” than operational. The ignorant malcontents have no desire to face thousands of armed National Guards on station, protecting the capital. They like to make headlines with their moronic, overly boastful threats.

Nothing will happen on March 4th.

Nothing has happened today.

Nothing will happen today.

The vast majority of Republican lawmakers in Congress agree. Donald J. Trump is the titular leader of the Republican Party.

 

Hate is common tactic used by Trump's fans who can't defend Trump on the issues. ALL I DO is report what Trump has said and done. That's not hate. That is reality, and it is why you are unable to defend Trump.

Trump always wants it both ways. It is quite common for him to contradict himself as he did in his speech on Jan. 6. Tell me how can one "peacefully and patriotically" "fight like hell and if you don’t fight like hell, you’re not going to have a country anymore.”

At the end of the day Trump told the rioters, "We love you, you're very special."

That says it all right there.

 

Republican lawmakers who side with Trump and his lies about the election remain totally silent. In fact, all those who support Trump are remaining silent, both in the news media and this forum. It is almost as if they are embarrassed by their support for the former President.

Perhaps they are.

Anyway, some of those Republican lawmakers might be in trouble with the law.

CNN reports, "Federal investigators are examining records of communications between members of Congress and the pro-Trump mob that attacked the US Capitol, as the investigation moves closer to exploring whether lawmakers wittingly or unwittingly helped the insurrectionists, according to a US official briefed on the matter.

"The data gathered so far includes indications of contact with lawmakers in the days around January 6, as well as communications between alleged rioters discussing their associations with members of Congress, the official said.

"The existence of such communications doesn't necessarily indicate wrongdoing by lawmakers and investigators aren't yet targeting members of Congress in the investigation, the official noted. Should investigators find probable cause that lawmakers or their staffs possibly aided the insurrectionists, they could seek warrants to obtain the content of the communications. There's no indication they've taken such a step at this point."

It would appear that Trump and his domestic terrorist allies (so described by FBI director Wray) are out to destroy the Republican Party. No wonder his supporters are silent.

 

Sandy Shanks said, "Former President Donald Trump left office on Jan. 20, but believers in QAnon, a baseless, far-right conspiracy theory that originated on anonymous message boards, still think he's going to return to the White House. People who believe the conspiracy theory are now looking forward to March 4, but law enforcement says it's aware of the threat."

Today the capital is on high alert, and, thanks to our former President and his terrorist allies, it will remain so in the coming months. The capitol edifice was once a tourist attraction. Today it is a fenced-in fortress with armed troops at the ready.

The BBC reports, "Security has been ramped up at the US Capitol in Washington in response to "a possible plot to breach" the building.

"The move was prompted by intelligence that a militia group planned the attack for 4 March - the day conspiracy theorist group QAnon believes Donald Trump will return for a second term.

"A mob loyal to Mr Trump stormed the Congress building in January."

As one Republican lawmaker said, Trump could have put an end to this by simply telling his overly enthusiastic supporters to stand down.

Instead, on cue and Trump being his usual sociopathic self made matters worse by doubling down on the lie that it all.

The former president, who remains permanently banned from Twitter, released a statement Thursday once again raging against Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), blasting him as the "most unpopular politician in the country" while blaming him for Republicans' Senate losses in Georgia — losses for which Trump himself has been blamed by other Republicans.

https://news.yahoo.com/trump-inadvertently-boosts-bidens-stimulus-201300329.html

The vast majority of Republican lawmakers in Congress agree. Donald J. Trump is the titular leader of the Republican Party.

 

I won't try to keep up with you. You spend 100% effort on how you hate Trump. It's pointless.

 

Trump is nuts.

Trump, the head of the Republican Party, attacked the chief strategist for the Republican Party while his supporters continue their silence on this thread. Reality is not their long suit. Fact is, they hide from from reality. Reality has no role in a cult.

Politico reports, "On Thursday night, Donald Trump issued a statement in which he savaged Karl Rove, a longtime Republican strategist who rose to prominence as the political Svengali for George W. Bush.

"The statement read like a series of Trumpian tweets strung together -- untruths, exaggerations, bullying, preening etc. (Trump was banned from Twitter shortly after the January 6 riot at the US Capitol.)

1. "Karl Rove has been losing for years, except for himself."

2. "He's a RINO of the highest order, who came to the Oval Office lobbying for 5G for him and a group."

3. "After a lengthy discussion with Rove and Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, I said no, they're not qualified."

4. "On Election Evening, Nov. 3rd, at 10:30pm, Rove called to congratulate me on 'a great win.'"

5. "He's a pompous fool with bad advice and always has an agenda."

6. "He ran the campaign for two Senators in Georgia, and did a rotten job with bad ads and concepts."

There is more, but the reader gets the point. Trump could easily be talking about himself. This is a classic case of transference -- transfering one's own faults to someone else.

 

No link to Politico?

 

Your point?

 

You need to ask yourself a question. So do many, actually.

Why do you support Trump? You can't defend him. Your entire focus has been on me for simply reporting what Trump has said and done. You avoid Trump. Except for your fantasies about him while ignoring the issues raised on this thread, you have barely mentioned him.

You are not alone as this thread shows. Followers of Trump avoid Trump. They don't say a thing. The same is true of Trump Republican lawmakers. They support Trump in total silence, and that is very strange because Trump is regarded as the leader of their party.

You can't question any of this. Nor can anyone else. It's called reality.

So, why do you support Trump? Think about it. Don't answer to me. Pride will cause you to lie. Answer to yourself.

 

It is unlikely that the GOP will hold the presidency again until they've achieved some distance from Trump. The distancing from Trump may involve a rise in integrity in the party, though that may just be wishful thinking on my part.

The GOP is in a really tough position right now. How does a politician of integrity cope with a base that firmly believes things that aren't true?

 

I'd like to read it for myself. And its generally courteous of a person quoting from an article to provide a link to that article. I think its even a part of the forum rules. So, could you please provide the link?

 

Trump is being investigated by a grand jury!

ABC News reports, "A grand jury is expected to be seated this week in Fulton County, Georgia, to look into efforts by Donald Trump to overturn the 2020 election, signaling that the county's investigation into the former president is intensifying.

"Prosecutors in Fulton County are expected pursue subpoenas for documents and witnesses and rely heavily on them, people familiar with the investigation told ABC News.

"The district attorney's office in Fulton County formally launched a criminal probe into Trump's efforts to overturn his election loss in the state last month, after Trump was heard in a Jan. 2 phone call pleading with Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to help him "find 11,780 votes," the exact number he needed to win Georgia."

"This investigation includes, but is not limited to, potential violations of Georgia law prohibiting the solicitation of election fraud, the making of false statements to state and local governmental bodies, conspiracy, racketeering, violation of oath of office and any involvement in violence or threats related to the election's administration," Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis wrote in her letter to the governor.

This is only the beginning. It's only a matter of time before Trump will be investigated for his role in the Jan. 6 insurrection.

 

We'll start with one (just one item). Trump did a very good job thwarting illegal immigration. Mexico detained those that would be here illegally until their status could be determined. He built a lot of wall that allowed ports of illegal entry to be concentrated. That made ICE easier to surveil. The message sent South of the border was....if you feel you have refugee status, apply in the 1st nation you come to. Trump slowed down the waves of Cartel driven immigrants and he dealt tough with those here illegally.

Your President has done the exact opposite of what I just said. Your President stood next to Obama as Obama declared the invasion of the time a "Crisis". Your President now has welcomed the illegal invaders and caused a much worse crisis than under Obama. But he calls it merely a "challenge". To deal with the problem of detention, he ships unaccompanied minors to the interior where they will not be heard from again. To date, 140 of those minors are carrying Covid to the interior. You cannot get around this. Americas borders are open to make the Socialism of America more convenient. I know you will try and slip this one punch as you always do. This subject is not my main thing in life as it is yours. I'm done entertaining you.

 

Rove declared Trump did not have a chance to win prior to 2016.
Trump's right on every point. Rove is a Bush/ Cheney warmonger. An establishment Repub. He played along when he thought Trump might do something for him, but now the gloves are off. Thank God. How many establishment Repubs have now crawled out of the swamp? They will now be easier to identify and dismiss.

 

Politico pulled the article, but it is all over the internet. Here is the CNN version. https://www.cnn.com/2021/03/05/politics/donald-trump-karl-rove-2020-election/index.html

I write articles for this forum and, as you can see, I provide sources. I don't like putting in links because it interrupts the flow of the article. It's the writer in me. I am not trying to hide anything.

It takes seconds to find the link when the source is provided.

 

Finally, I got you to defend Trump. That was like pulling teeth.

Are you a Republican? You don't sound like one. It would have been better for the GOP if Trump had not won. Under Trump's leadership, the party lost the House, Senate, and the Presidency all within four years. That is 90 year old record, and, with the disgraced Trump as the leader of the party, the GOP is going to lose many more elections.

Why? Things are worse now for the GOP than they were going into the 2020 elections and Jan. 5 Georgia Senate runoff. Trump led an insurrection against our government, and he is attacking incumbent Republicans. That is not going to help the Republican Party.

Or, you don't care about that?

I was a Republican, but Trump drove me out, not unlike many others. I am now a conservative Independent.

 

Trump led an insurrection against the swamp. Of course things were heated, and they are heated. It is your fantasy and the fantasy of the left that he led what happened on the 6th. Had he incited an insurrection, there would have been a legal court case not a political one. Dems didn't want to do that for lack of evidence. An insurrection involving Trump supporters would have completely overwhelmed Capitol police. They would have had their way. Instead, you had the Capitol Police allowing entrance in some areas, a break in in others then a sixties style sit in by a bunch of crazies in costumes.
No, I am not an establishment Republican. I am a Populist who came to the realization that establishments in both parties are leading us down the road to "socialist /globalization. The concentration of power away from the Individual Liberty we once had. Trump has plenty of support now, but after what Dementia Joe and his handlers are doing, in two more years the House and Senate will be Trump friendly.
You never refuted my defense of President Trump. The "Biden let us in T-shirts" is really going to wake up a lot of people that placed style above results.

 

The Republican Party is really screwed up. The worst thing that ever happened to the GOP was when Trump was elected President. Trump is extremely erratic, and he does very foolish things.

He has attacked 17 incumbent Republicans and the chief strategist for the GOP. He has attacked the Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell. Now this: He wants the GOP to stop using his name.

Politico reports:

SCOOP: TRUMPS SENDS CEASE-AND-DESIST TO RNC, NRCC AND NRSC. Lawyers for former President DONALD TRUMP sent out cease-and-desist letters Friday to the three largest fundraising entities for the Republican Party — the RNC, NRCC and NRSC — for using his name and likeness on fundraising emails and merchandise, a Trump adviser tells Playbook.

We reported yesterday that Trump was furious that his name has been bandied about by organizations that help Republicans who voted to impeach him — without his permission. Trump, who made his fortune in licensing, has always been sensitive to how his name has been used to fundraise and support members, even while in office.

I have long believed that Trump wants to destroy the Republican Party, wrecking havoc on the American political scene. No doubt Putin would be pleased if Trump is successful.

 

If draining the swamp means destroying the Republican Party then so be it, but in all actuality, it is saving the brand. The ones that brought us the war in Iraq will be missing.

 

Trump has attacked 17 incumbent Republicans and the chief strategist for the GOP, Karl Rove. He has attacked the Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell. Now he wants the GOP to stop using his name.

CNN reported last week that Trump is weighing the creation of a super PAC as he seeks to assert his authority over the Republican Party and expand his post-presidential political operation.

Creating a super PAC would allow Trump to raise unlimited amounts of money from virtually any source while facing no limits on spending. The former President also made several changes last week to his growing fundraising apparatus.

Trump lacked the intelligence, experience, persona, and leadership qualities to be President. In addition he has mental quirks that do not comply with leadership such as extreme narcissism and vindictiveness. He is sent careening off track by the merest slight and seeks revenge nearly every time.

These are extremely poor qualities for a leader to have. Yet he is extremely popular, has political clout and is able to amass millions of dollars in contributions.

Where is that money coming from?

Why is it his supporters lack the ability to communicate, including his fans in Congress?

Many have long suspected that -- possibly with Russia's help as in election 2016 redux --there is a powerful consortium that wants Trump in a leadership role.

Why? So they can control him, and, by virtue of that control, sharply influence matters within the United States.

With Trump's enormous ego, he would be extremely easy to manipulate as many rulers have done already, rulers like Putin, Kim, the crown prince of Saudi Arabia, Turkey's Erdoğan, as well as others.

Does this consortium exist? Perhaps. Perhaps not. Under the circumstances, though, the theory is logical.

 

There is a simple one word reason why Trump wants them to stop using his name - money

Trump ain’t done milking his base for all they can give

 

When it comes Trump Sen. Lindsey O. Graham is all over the map.

He was arguably Trump’s biggest critic on the 2016 debate stage, saying that nominating Trump would deservedly destroy the party, but he later became one of Trump’s biggest Senate allies. All the while, he seemed to want to make clear that this was a marriage of convenience rather than true conviction — the price to pay for getting things done.

On Sunday, though, Graham (R-S.C.) described the relationship between Trump and the GOP in starker terms: as something akin to a hostage situation.

In a must-watch interview with Axios on HBO, Jonathan Swan pressed Graham on why he continued to stand by Trump.

“Donald Trump was my friend before the riot,” Graham said. “And I’m trying to keep a relationship with him after the riot. I still consider him a friend. What happened was a dark day in American history, and we’re going to move forward. So here’s what you need to know about me: I want this to continue — I want us to continue the policies that I think will make America strong. I believe the best way for the Republican Party to do that is with Trump, not without Trump.”

He described Trump as “a cross between Jesse Helms, Ronald Reagan and P.T. Barnum,” and someone who both has a “dark side” and is capable of “magic.”

“What I’m trying to do is just harness the magic,” Graham said.

“He could make the Republican Party something that nobody else I know can make it. He can make it bigger. He can make it stronger. He can make it more diverse. And he also could destroy it.”

“I just don’t understand how you could — you don’t really believe that, do you?” Swan said. “You’re just BSing so he doesn’t go off and form a third party.”

Graham, tellingly, didn’t dispute the premise.

“A third party would be a disaster,” Graham said instead.

“I know it! That’s what you’re doing,” Swan said. “You’re stroking his ego.” [Viewers had the same distinct impression of the wayward Senator.]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2021/03/08/sen-lindsey-graham-describes-gop-hostage-trump/