Michael Wolff's "Fire and fury" revelations and slander of Trump administration
Was this a part of color revolution against Trump and might also be a smokescreen launched to destruct American
public
from finding the truth about the infamous Steele dossier. It sure looks like it. The success of Wolff's book be partially
explained by the following dynamics of neoliberal MSM: ‘We know that you are lying, and we know that you know this too, but we will
allow you to lie with a straight face in interviews, and will nod seriously and declare this book to be a groundbreaking revelation.’
"He is needy and amoral
enough to just, you know, insult people for attention" -- Gawker
In fact, unless Wolff had some of the White House bugged, it's difficult to imagine how he became privy
to some events and conversations portrayed in this book. ~
Amazon Customer review
it's mostly a collection of hear-say and rumors that are strung together... ~
Customer Review
As a non-fiction publisher, I admire Wolff's execution of a fast money publishing plan. ~
Customer Review
there is no way to determine 1st hand info, 2nd hand info, and third hand in a mirror info. ~
Customer Review
“Michael Wolff is a total loser who made up stories in order to sell this really boring and untruthful book. He used Sloppy
Steve Bannon, who cried when he got fired and begged for his job. Now Sloppy Steve has been dumped like a dog by almost everyone.
Too bad!”
“Well, now that collusion with Russia is proving to be a total hoax and the only collusion is with Hillary Clinton and the
FBI/Russia, the Fake News Media (Mainstream) and this phony new book are hitting out at every new front imaginable. They should
try winning an election. Sad!” Trump tweeted Friday morning. ~Trump tweets
He's getting royalties you fool. Y'all are getting excited about a bunch of slanderous words that mean absolutely nothing
but to a bunch of fools. If this country is so foolish as to buy this used toilet paper then, it doesn't matter who is president
at all.
When, on returning home one evening, after a pipe party at my friend Jephson's, I informed my wife that I was going to
write a novel, she expressed herself as pleased with the idea. She said she had often wondered I had never thought of doing
so before. "Look," she added, "how silly all the novels are nowadays; I'm sure you could write one."
Former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon was subpoenaed last week to testify before a grand jury in
special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into Russian efforts to influence the 2016 election, The New York Times reported.
Despite fears about the many negatives from Donald Trump presidency, one positive could be his initial attempt of shattering of the
monopoly that neocons and neoliberal hawks now hold over US foreign policy. He damaged the US neoliberal empire and that is a
positive thing. Yes he was emasculated and subdued by neocons and US warlords in less then a year, becoming something like Bush III,
but still it was the first attempt to question neocons dominance in the last 30 years or so. Most of damage to the neoliberal
US empire happened because Trump behaves himself on international arena as a bull in the china shop. So Trump questioning of the
status quo was a positive event of his election campaign, even if he betrayed most of his key election promises during his presidency.
Here is more coherent explanation of how Trump got to his current position
Trump isn't a Republican – he was NOT a politician before his presidency!
If anything Donald was a Democrat supporter – one of these liberal New York types – so happily derided by rednecks across
that demented continent. A big supporter of Hillary and golfing buddy of Bill.
Trump's job was to destroy the nominees of the Republican party and be installed as their candidate so that he would then
easily lose against Hillary – by being obnoxious and populist and sexist!
It was all part of her coronation – her right, she has been an operator all her life and her marriage was of a couple of
psychopaths hot housed to attain the chief executive role for the Pathocracy – she started as a Republican.
The whole pantomime was choreographed including the stalking on stage and the 'lock her up' shtick, probably by Bill with
his mesmeric political sensibility; a lot of the POTUS' tweets too, with their simplistic genius.
Unfortunately the plan didn't work because the Dems couldn't control their own grassroots and young activists – the leaks
of the plot to steal the nomination. And because Psycho Hillary is no Bill and couldn't campaign her way out of a wet paper
bag!
She asked the mirror who the prettiest of them was?
The reply was the Donald! He couldn't turn round and say he was only kidding and Hillary should get it could he?
So he ended up being the Chair of the Board of American Interests!
All the board positions taken by the CEO's of the lobby finance – no need for proxies when they could get in without political
experience just like their President – Tillerson ceo of Exxon Mobile at State! Hell who needs Hillary when he can drive himself.
All the neocon shithead psychos from the last 40 years. Bolton.
BUT – something seems to have gone wrong in the grand setup – maybe how General Flynn was targeted immediately.
Donald maybe realized that he was expected to put new blood on his hands – start new wars. He probably realized that the
Clintons weren't as straight with him as they claimed, he probably understood that the neocons foisted upon him were the same
and he probably got the gen on the fake plot of Russiagate and attacks on him personally being carried on in panic by the three
lettered agencies to have him resign and let their man Pence in before it was too late to put the boots on the ground in Iran,
Damascus and Ukraine – take on Russia! and incite the North Koreans causing a conflagration on that front and with the Uyghurs
on the other front take in China!
And send in the troops in Venezuela!
A full on World War.
He seemed a bit shaken when he came out of the long briefing with Obama at the White House and appears to have decided that
– he wouldn't be rubber stamping the shitshows that his 'pals' the Clintons were deep into and he wouldn't be blackmailed by
the western security services conspiracy against him and his family – so his inauguration speech was something unexpected and
ought to be watched again !
"That was some weird shit" dumb pres Dubya got caught saying live, to his DS cold eyed assassin daddy president as they
left the platform!
Yup – Trumps the nearest thing to an Independent President the US has had since JFK (and maybe Carter).
I'd only consider Paul and Gabbard as the only viable alternative non deep state owned politicians independents who could
be the game changers from a hundred years of FED owned and run exceptionalism.
Trump inadvertently has found himself to be in the right place at the right time – luckily for most of us in the world.
( I don't know whether the Clintons and Trumps are still great buddies or he fired them!)
Wolff's book was a big present to NeverTrumpers. They, including Wolff himself, hate Trump for the wrong reason: for the fact
that he represents a danger to neoliberal world order. And they will continue to hate Trump and try to depose him via Mueller
investigation and Russiagate witch hunt. Very little of what neoliberal MSM write about Trump is not colored by this visceral hatred
of neocons and neolibs to anybody who attempt to question the current neoliberal order with its "Washington
consensus" and "full spectrum dominance" political platforms.
This hate exists despite the fact that Trump does subscribed to "full
spectrum dominance" political platform in his own way: bulling is his manor foreign policy instrument. So their beef with
Trump is that he not subtle enough and exposes the real face of the American imperialism.
To be fair the book did hit the nerve of this particular audience and eventually reached 12K of Amazon reviews. So this
is a publication event of some sort. Few books break 10K limit. At the same time, this was clearly "make money fast" type of book and
the trajectory of such books is predictable in a sense that their price drips to $1 in approximately one year (used Wolff's
book costs $0.93 as of September 2018).
If we check the content against the reality on the ground. it is evident that Wolff's book is simplistic (and badly edited) collection
of exaggerated rumors. Negative things about Trump that it reveal were already widely know, so it was yesterday news even at the moment
of publication. Paradoxically Wolff also missed the key aspects of Trump personality. As former DIA intelligence analyst
Colonel Lang
observed (Nov 28,2018):
...He listens to the State Department, the CIA, DoD, etc. and then acts on ill informed instinct and information provided by; lobbies,
political donors, foreign embassies, and his personal impressions of people who have every reason to want to deceive him.
As I
wrote earlier he sees the world through an entrepreneurial hustler's lens.
He crudely assigns absolute dollar values to policy outcomes and actions which rarely have little to do with the actual world
even if they might have related opposed to the arena of contract negotiations.
He evidently learned about balance sheets at the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania and wishes to apply
the principle of the bottom line to everything. I will guess that he resisted taking elective courses in the Humanities as much as
he could believing them to be useless. That is unfortunate since such courses tend to provide context for present day decisions.
I have known several very rich businessmen of similar type who sent their children to business school with exactly that instruction
with regard to literature, history, philosophy, etc. From an espionage case officer's perspective he is an easy mark. If you are regular contact with him all that is needed to recruit him is to convince him that you believe in the "genius" manifested
in his mighty ego and swaggering bluster and then slowly feed him what you want him to "know."
That does not mean that he has been recruited by someone or something but the vulnerability is evident. IMO the mistake he
has made in surrounding himself with neocons and other special [interests] pleaders, people like Pompeo and Bolton is evidence that
he is very controllable by the clever and subtle. pl
In four months after the publication several "US warlords", which were the political force which greatly helped Trump to win the
election were gone (Generals Michael
Flynn, H.R. McMaster) with
John F Kelly and
Mattis barely "hanging in", energy executive Tillerson
was replaced with neocon Pompeo, several "Ivanka" people (Hope Hicks) were also shown the door and both Kushner and Ivanka were
sidelined. Those events make the book mostly historic document. Wolff also missed several juicy stories which are his specialty.
The most evident of such Wolff's blunders is "Mistressgate"
and
Omarosa Manigault-Newman presence in WH until mid 2018 (the ability of Wolf to get in WH actually means a total break-up of vetting
in Trump administration).
Also the position of Wolf is completely unethical. You might be highly critical about Trump personality, but as a politician
he initially did deviate from usual neocon foreign policy is several ways (although with time neocon influence in his administration
increased and he capitulated very soon). Although like Obama he mostly betrayed his voters in one aspect he proved to be true to his
word: he really want to reverse neoliberal globalization. And was not shy to impose economic sanctions on China. He unilaterally
launched several trade wars, including one with EU. On all other key election issues he folded as a typical Washington "despicable
coward" (NATO, relations with Russia, end of the US foreign wars, switch attention of the government from excessive militarism to domestic
problems, improving standard of living of working and lower middle class)
No one in their right mind would willingly drag himself through the festering piles of all possible humiliations that DJT has had
to endure in the hands of MSM (of which Wolff is a part) since the start of his presidency. And it was stupid on the part of Wolff to
suggest that a person coming from corrupt NYC environment, who was able to deal with mafia (activity of which is prominent in construction
and real estate) did not understand (and did not mind ;-) that they were going to drag his ass through so much mud, that his son, wife
and family will greatly suffer and his marriage might break.
So Trump as a politician that has some, let's assume incomplete and contradictory program to "modify" neoliberalism in the USA and
he risked his reputation (if not life, remember JFK), doing so. So he definitely has great courage. With all his faults
he is not a regular CIA stooge (CIA-democrat in politically correct neoliberal Newspeak) like Bill Clinton, Obama and Hillary.
Or son of former CIA director like George W Bush. And not a part of Deep State as Bush I and Bush II (the latter with Cheney at
the helm) and Obama were. That's why the Deep State attacks him and wants him to be impeached.
The book proved to be no less revealing about Wolff himself, then about Trump. Especially due to the number of interviews Wolff
was granted in MSM. The more Michael Wolff talks about his book, the more he exposes his own nasty narcissistic personality and his
unique form of "for profit slander" which we later see in Michel Avenatti pushing of
Stormy Daniels case. But he really adheres to the noble principle of "for profit
betrayal" of his sources.
The books is off by miles in assessment of key dimensions of the situation in White House and internal struggles in it (especially
rapidly growing neocon and Israeli influence demonstrated with the appointment of Bolton) as well as Trump complete capitulation to
the War Party that happened during the first eight months of Trump presidency with the first major "concession" being bombing of Syria
based on false flag chemical attack information on April 2017 (the defeat of Bannon wing of Trump movement -- "economic nationalists"
-- is just one tiny episode of subduing Trump by neocons). The most shocking evidence was the level of Trump subservience
to Israel interests. This development escaped Wolff's book
The publication of the book neatly fits a rumor-saturated full court MSM campaign against the “Trump-Putin presidency”. Which is
a big, nasty MSM lie (or more correctly Gaslighting),
a witch hunt designed to stop any efforts to readjust the USA to new international realities. All Hillary supporters and neoliberal
MSM want to do is just kick the neoliberal can down the road and to continue to enrich themselves at the expense of the US working
and lower middle class. So while the book mostly expose the author lack of professionalism and his profound vulgarity, it should
be viewed as a part of propaganda war to depose Trump (aka Russiagate), a historically important document about the color revolution
against Trump, which was launched immediately after the elections by Clinton wing of Democratic Party, rogue elements in intelligence
agencies and neocons.
BTW the pretext that Wolff used for gaining the entry to the White House was despicable, and smells like a dirty plot to dig dirt
on Trump (like one Clinton supporter said in his Amazon review: "I do not like President Trump, but I like Mr. Wolff even less."
March 10, 2018 ).
Simplifying, the first year of Trump WH can be divided into five partially overlapping periods
Inauguration speech to April. This was a period of gradual sliding and surrender to the neocon/neolib camp (represented
in Trump circle by Kushner or as it is call Jarvanka wing of the movement) and betrayal of his election promises in foreign policy,
but still decorum was still kept and some hopes that inauguration speech was not an Obama style "hope we can believe in" hopey dopey,
Yet another "bait and switch" maneuver *which unfortunately proved to be a valid suspicion -- Trump emerged more or less as the Republican
version of Obama; "clean slate" a candidate on which electorate can project its hopes, and who betray them at every turn)
The first major capitulation to neocons, and "uncertainty period" from April to May. During this period started with launching
a missile attack on Syrian airbase on false premises, Trump found himself under increasingly effective series of well coordinated
and damaging leaks. Anti-globalists, anti-imperial and anti war forces lost power in WH. "Generals" which represents interests
of Pentagon (which does completely correlated with the interests of CIA) were elevated to key positions. During this period
despite the fact that we did not yet know about
Strzokgate, it became clear that color revolution against Trump is supported by powerful forces including powerful factions
within CIA, FBI, State Department and the Department of Justice.
Brennan role as the mastermind
of the color revolution against Trump was also first exposed during this period: he played an important role in the "appointment
of the special Prosecutor" gambit, in which Comey was sacrificed like in bishop in the chess game to get the most powerful attack
tool in anti-Trump color revolution -- the Grand Inquisitor Mueller (of 9/11 and anthrax investigations cover up fame). Media during
this period fully used propaganda value of Brennan created
"Seventeen agencies" memo about Russian influence on elections and
Steele dossier.
"Trump under siege period: "Summer Triumphal March" of the color revolution against Trump administration" This period
started with the
Appointment of a Special Prosecutor gambit and ended with
Strzok-gate revelations. During this period Trump was already emasculated and put against the wall by the appointment of the
"Grand Inquisitor" Mueller. Paradoxically it did not stop vicious neoliberal media witch
hunt. This was the period of fueling Russiagate with various bizarre stories from Steele dossier and the further retreat
of "economic nationalists wing" and "Summer Triumphal March" of the color revolution against Trump administration. Globalist/neoliberal
wing (Jarvanka) restored and cemented its influence on foreign policy by cooping Tillerson (Haley, McMaster and Mattis were in their
camp from the very start, despite some differences). Foreign policy of Trump administration during this period "normalized" to the
level when Trump can be viewed as Obama II or Bush III, with somewhat more exaggerated saber-rattling component. Rumors about
coming Trump demise were abundant. As
Patrick Cockburn
reported:
Trump’s isolationism may be less risky than the neo-interventionism of his senior advisers. Reports from Washington suggest that
the decision to get more fully engaged in the Syrian civil war was contrary to what Trump himself wanted. By this account,
he would have preferred to use his State of the Union address to announce that the US mission in Syria had ended in triumph with
the defeat of Isis and that he was withdrawing US ground forces.Instead, the decision went the other way as McMaster
and Mattis supported by Tillerson successfully argued for keeping US ground forces in Syria and Iraq.
These senior officials
were only advocating the consensus opinion of the US foreign policy establishment, as was swiftly illustrated by media commentators.
Even as Turkish tanks were rolling into Syria, an editorial in The Washington Post was applauding Tillerson for having “bluntly
recognized a truth that both President Trump and President Barack Obama attempted to dodge” – which is that the US needs a political
and military presence in Syria.
Still color revolution against Trump during this period enjoyed its first successes such as indictment of Flynn, elimination of
Bannon, and reversal of Trump position on NATO and wars of expansion of neoliberal empire. Despite this capitulation, the behavior
of the neoliberal media (attacks dogs of anti-Trump color revolution) during this period
was so abhorrent that it can't even be called media. Wolff book is just one example of this (well paid) campaign for the de-legitimization
of Trump (smears is proved tool fro de-legitimization; accusations of corruption and connections to hostile groups such as "Russians"
or "mafia", are another)
Strzok-gate revelations till Nunn's FISA memo period: a counterattack of pro-Trump forces. It started with the revelations
of text messages between Peter Strzok who was the top investigator of Hillary "emailgate" scandal as well as the initiator of surveillance
of Trump associates (via fraudulent application to FICA court) and FBI lawyer Lisa Page, who was his mistress at this time and
worked for
Andrew McCabe. The term "Strzok-gate"
suggests that a part of FBI top brass (and a faction of Department of Justice, including Loretta Lynch, AG, Sally Yates, deputy AG,
and Bruce Ohr, associate deputy AG), are guilty of bias, corruption, and attempt to interfere with the US Presidential elections.
Strzok-gate allowed completely reexamine Hillary Clinton's private email server scandal (aka "bathroom server", see How FBI swiped under the carpet Hillary Clinton email scandal).
Essentially FBI pushed Sanders under the bus, depriving him of the chance to became the candidate from the Democratic Party.
It also became clear that
FBI Mayberry Machiavellians
used a dirty trick with
Steele dossier created by
FBI contractor Fusion GPS to
launch Russiagate investigation, put members of Trump team under surveillance, and eventually managed to appoint the Special Prosecutor
to paralyze Trump administration with the explicit goal to depose Trump.
A partial lift of the siege due to complete capitulation to neocons and "warlords": release of Nunes FISA memo which exposed
the dirty underlining of the FBI and Justice Department and undermined the legitimacy of Mueller investigation. This
Nunes FISA Memo, which
does not contain any groundbreaking information, was significant as it marks a strong blow, I would say a knockdown, putting "DemoRats"
(Clinton wing of the Democratic party) on the defensive. While Mueller fishing expedition will continue, for another year it provided
Trump with some "breathing space", at least for a couple of months. That actually happened in February 2018 and does
not belong to the first year of Trump administration, but added for completeness as it helps to understand Wolff's book.
What is really funny (and the testament of Wolff laziness and lack of qualification) is that Wolff was unable to sniff and completely
missed "porngate" stories involving
Stephanie Clifford (aka Stormy Daniels) and
Karen
McDougal. Information about which was already revealed by WSJ. And which would be his specialty to report ;-) And
later it became the major part of the efforts to discredit Trump. It also caused significant stress in his family, for obvious reasons,
especially Trump relations with Melania. As Trump was not known for excessive fidelity, the opportunity to reveal
this dirt on Trump was present from the very beginning, and was irrevocably missed by Wolff ;-). Here are some facts:
Clifford, 38, has told people privately that she had a sexual encounter with Trump after they met in July 2006 in Lake Tahoe.
Trump married his wife, Melania, in 2005. The Wall Street Journal
reported that a lawyer for Trump (Michael Cohen) arranged a $130,000 payment to Clifford just weeks before the 2016 presidential
election to stay quiet about the affair. He also illegitimately recorded his conversation with Trump about this issue. Later
Cohen got into Mueller laps and was indicted in order to milk him about Trump business misdeeds.
Karen McDougal filed the suit in Los Angeles Superior Court, according to the New York Times,
after she claims the Enquirer paid her $150,000 for the story of her nine-month-long affair between 2006 and 2007 (two year
into his marriage), but did not publish it when she gave the account in August 2016, several months before the 2016 U.S. election.
If is clear that she was pushed to do this as publishing a dirty story does not improve her social position. So she was in this because
of potential money.
Both Stormy Daniel and Karen McDougal proved to be pretty damaging to Trump despite best efforts of his lawyers ("A White House spokesperson
denied an affair with McDougal in a statement to the New Yorker: “This is an old story that is just more fake news. The President says
he never had a relationship with McDougal.”). For a French president that would be seen probably more of an advantage (albeit
the fact that Trump betrayed Melanie, who looks like devoted to him wife). In the USA the level of hypocrisy in political elite for
this type of affairs is higher (and promiscuity of the elite might be higher too ;-). Anyway, such "material" represent a real
goldmine for any Wolff-style book. Talk about the golden opportunity missed ;-)
Despite missing the key story, Wolff still tried to concentrate the story to as close to "between the bed sheets" trivia as he can,
just because he is not comfortable to describe the current (very complex) political situation in the USA (in a sense Trump victory meant
the rejection of neoliberalism by the Us voters) and events that followed Trump's victory. This happened mainly because his own
incompetence: he is organically unable (and unwilling) to see a bigger picture in this tragedy (or farce, if we view JFK assassination
as the tragedy and the anti-Trump color revolution a farce, as in famous saying "History repeats itself,
first as tragedy, second as farce") .
So even as the book in January-February 2018 occupied No.1 place in the "I hate Trump" line of books division, it position
started to slide in late February after what WaPo called "Michael
Wolff self-destruction tour" during which old sleazy playboy managed to alienated feminists by his unfounded dirty rumor about dalliance
between Trump and Nikki Haley. It became more and more clear that despite all hoopla, it is a second rate compilation of
un-substantiated rumors by a mediocre gossip columnist. "Make money fast" type of yellow journalism. The book was clearly rushed to
print, as it contains multiple typos and blatant errors; some parts of it were not even copyedited and were probably added at the last
moment. Published excepts contain all valuable parts of the book; the rest is
mostly fluff. It is possible to write much better anti-Trump book ;-)
Used copies cost less then a dollar in one year (in June they were $1.28 on Amazon and in September dropped below one dollar).
Which is typical for any garbage book. That fact confirm the default hypothesis that his book is a garbage. It actually it was interesting
to observe the dynamics of used copies prices on Amazon in this case. The slide started one month after the publication.
In late February it lost the status on the most read Kindle book (but still on March 20, 2018 was No.2; I wonder are those
people real or bots). The percentage of positive reviews also dropped from almost 90% to 78%.
On March 20, the lowest price of the used hardcover edition of the book was half of the initial price ($20) -- 10.30, and
lower than the price of Kindle ebook (which was stable -- $14.99).
In June they were $1.28 on Amazon
On September 20 the used copy price on Amazon dropped to below $1
Again, a large part
of the full cast of characters is no longer relevant -- they are all gone. And most like chess peaces are removed from the playing
board forever. And the book does not tell us anything more.
Along with misunderstanding the US foreign policy (misrepresented by neoliberal MSM), I think there is also a tremendous gap between
perception of the USA internal political landscape by the majority of the population (constitutional republic, elected representatives)
and the reality (empire, "one dollar one vote", "deep state" with the core of all powerful and out of control intelligence agencies,
"warlords", and financial sharks). Much like in Matrix.
Along with misunderstanding the US foreign policy (misrepresented by neoliberal MSM), there is also a tremendous gap between
perception of the USA internal political landscape by the majority of the population (constitutional republic, elected representatives)
and the reality (empire, "one dollar one vote", "deep state" with the core of all powerful and out of control intelligence agencies,
etc).
Looks like it was FBI which was the kingmaker in the last Presidential election. Directly responsible for election of Trump -- pushing
Sanders under the bus by exonerating Hillary. In all empires the real political power is transferred to "Warlords" and Praetorian
guard (intelligence agencies are just a modern form of the latter). In case of the USA the core of the "Deep State" includes Wall Street
and the combination of Pentagon and the intelligence agencies. If you observe the "revolving doors" game played by former government
officials it is clear that Wall Street and military contractors are major political force in the USA. Generally you need to be well
connected to "Deep State" mean anything in the the US federal elections ;-) Add to this persistent rumors about the role of Israeli
lobby in pre-selection and vetting of candidates (see The
Lobby - Al Jazeera English ) and you might get closer to real picture. Anti-Zionism is deliberately conflated with anti-Semitism
to suppress legitimate criticisms of Israeli policies. And rumors about influence of Israeli lobby of Trump have solid foundation
( What is AIPAC’s role in the age of
Trump The Times of Israel ) if we think that his close circle includes "Jarvanka":
Trump, on the one hand, has delivered on much of AIPAC’s agenda: He is moving the US Embassy to Jerusalem; he is pushing
Congress and America’s allies to toughen up the Iran nuclear deal; he is cutting funds to the Palestinians as a means of forcing
them to align more with Israel and the West; and he has spoken forcefully against United Nations members who go against the United
States on its Israel policies. AIPAC has advocated all of these policies in recent years.
... ... ...
An AIPAC insider said the focus on Congress would promote bipartisanship in an arena where the divisiveness Trump tends to elicit
is not so apparent. “AIPAC has always been about Congress; Congress is 90% of the relationship,” said the insider, who acknowledged
that there was more AIPAC could do to cultivate the Democratic grassroots.
The key problem is that Wolff's book focuses on personalities and petty trivia and avoids mentioning the fundamental crisis of neoliberalism
as a social system and the neoliberal institutions ( from Congress to media, from Intelligence agencies and Pentagon to Hollywood).
As well as the crisis of neoliberal policies (which in foreign policy area are essentially neocon foreign policies). After 2008
the USA will never be the same. This year marked the start of the crisis neoliberalism both as ideology and as asocial system.
And it was the consequences of this crisis (and first of all impoverishment of working class and lower middle class along with the increasing
inequality; the current narocasddtiction epidemic is the same sign of social crisis as epidemic of alcoholism in the USSR
in 80th and 90th) ware the main reason of election of Trump and rejection of establishment candidate Hillary Clonton by the US voters.
Rejection of Clinton Wing of Democratic Party was first of all the rejection of neoliberalism.
The crisis of neoliberalism (as a social system) in the USA is the key to understanding of Trump WH story as different players within
WH represent different factions in the internal WH struggle for power, which in miniature reflects the struggle between different oligarchic
groups within the USA "at large" (for example more globalist coalition of Wall Street financial oligarchy, CIA (which is connected to
Wall-street sometime viewed as Wall-Street "enforcers"), Silicon Valley tech giants and Hollywood (aka West Coast elite) vs. more
isolationalist traditional manufactures, real estate magnates, the "Rust belt" politicians, army which overextended and is sick and
tied of multiple foreign wars, and a small part of Pentagon brass, which probably includes military intelligence brass ( General Flynn
was a former head of military intelligence; military intelligence probably has a more realistic assessment of the situation, then politicized,
neoliberalized to the core CIA, which was sometimes viewed as Wall Street enforcement mafia). Many observers think that
CIA led the color revolution against Trump (see
Brennan elections machinations
)
The crisis of neoliberalism (as a social system) in the USA is the key to understanding of Trump WH story as different
players within WH represent different factions in the internal WH struggle for power, which in miniature reflects the struggle
between different oligarchic groups within the USA "at large" (for example more globalist coalition of Wall Street financial oligarchy,
CIA (which is connected to Wall-street sometime viewed as Wall-Street "enforcers") Silicon Valley tech giants and Hollywood (aka
West and East coat elites) vs. more isolationalist traditional manufactures, real estate magnates, the "Rust belt" politicians,
army which overextended and is sick and tied of multiple foreign wars, and a part of Pentagon, which probably includes military
intelligence)
Election of Trump was the most clear and powerful signal that the USA neoliberal elite is discredited and de-legitimized. Just
imagine that Hillary Clinton -- the quintessential establishment neocon warmonger, the card-carrying neoliberal, supported by the formidable
power of all neoliberal MSM, intelligence agencies (and large part of MIC) as well as financial oligarchy lost to the candidate who
represented rag tag team of forces discontent with neoliberal globalization.
You can't image more humiliating political fiasco (and that's why the smoke screen of Russiagate was erected to hide it and
depose Trump after the election). In this sense, Trump is not a revolutionary as he does not have any coherent plans of transformation
the country from neoliberalism to something else, but he is not the devil. He is the symbol of coming collapse of neoliberal
in the form that currently exists ion the USA. He might also represent a modest attempt of a more forward thinking part of the US elite
to slow down the empire downward cycle as well as correct few excesses and buy some time and ensure the "soft landing".
In the 1990s, victory over the USSR fueled extraordinary hubris and a pattern of reckless behavior of the US neoliberal elite
informed by an assumption that from now on the world would ultimately conform to the wishes of the "indispensable nation." In
almost three decades from this point, a sequence of costly foreign wars and blunders in domestic economic policies undermined the USA
and its global neoliberal empire. Maintenance of the overextended empire became way too costly. Economy went into life threatening crisis
in 2008, from which it never fully recovered. All this creates difficulties with the continuation of the previous course
of local wars for the extension of the empire (Wolff was actually a war correspondent during the Iraq war, so theoretically he should
understand those problems). Industrial base in the USA shrunk and moved from manufacturing to financial speculation, a typical for final
stages of previous empires, including British, development. There is also a classic trend of impoverishment of lower 80% of population
since 80th typical for the final stages of empires. After 2007 the US government needs to operate with high level of government
debt, which was the cost of bailing our Wall Street giants. Money gradually became tight in the empire and negative balance with
China makes things even worse and worse with time as dollar not spend it the USA on recovering of its manufacturing capabilities is
a dollar spend on increasing China manufacturing capabilities, which in the final count mean more that the power of the US investment
banks and financial oligarchy. That's why Trump initially (until his capitulation to neocons) tried to put some pressure on NATO
members, so that the USA can offload at least a part of the costs of the maintaining of the US military machine to foreign powers.
At the end he was overruled and the only part that remained from his initial plans is "buy more US weapons". But this might be"
too little, too late." It is OK for the empire to be feared. The problems start when it became despised. And if the USA did not reach
this stage already, it might be precariously close.
During the election campaign Donald Trump also argued for better relations with Russia. Which can save a lot of money and to slow
down or reverse deadly for the US empire formation of the Cino-Russian alliance (formation of which Obama accelerated by his reckless
actions in Ukraine). Trump plans were very modest: he wanted to share with Russia the costs of a fight against the Islamic State
and sell Russia the US airplanes, machinery and such and get preferential treatment of the US oil majors and US banks, halting
the slide of Russia from dollar zone, caused by Obama sanctions.
He also wanted to reverse some excesses of neoliberal globalization which destroyed parts of the USA manufacturing, make good paying
jobs less available, and impoverished common people. His opponent during the election, Hillary Clinton, argued
for a confrontational policy against Russia and for kicking the "globalization can" down the road. The foreign policy establishment,
the media, the CIA and FBI were solidly on Clinton's side. The people of the United States made the opposite choice. It was Trump and
his policies toward the globalization, NATO and foreign wars that were approved by those elections. At this point the "deep state"
decided to reverse the result of elections. and now we know how they proceed with this plan and partial list of people involved.
So Trump WH was from approximately May, 2017 under real siege, limping from one internal crisis to another. With the neoliberal
MSM amplifying any minor misstep, or creating the impression of a misstep when there was none. In this respect treatment of both Trump
and Melania was abhorrent; you would never imagine that "the swamp" of neoliberal press would have such a foil smell. so Wolff's book
falls firmly into this line; nothing new or surprising here. It did add to the stream of well coordinated and damaging leaks.
So Trump WH was trying to recover from an attack only for find themselves under another more vicious attack. Moreover
the power of neoliberal elite was such that Trump election tome policies managed to last just three months,. As we mentioned before
Trump capitulated to neocons in foreign policy in April, 2017. What is strange is that neoliberal/neocon elite is still determined
to eliminate after the capitulation violating the rule "Do not kick a man when he's down " Then his administration was
generally paralyzed in May via "Mueller appointment" gambit. At this point neoliberal establishment decided that using Mueller
as a Trojan Horse can reverse the results of the elections, people will be damned. That backfired as soon as
Strzok-gate was exposed with the most recent stage of release of Nunes memo, which while not exactly a bomb (most of
what it contained was already known) is pretty damaging to the "neoliberal swamp".
In other words this hubris backfired as in response to Muller hunt Trump supporters managed to prove the
Steele dossier was a falsification
created with the specific purpose of establishing surveillance on Trump team and
Strzok-gate was an attempt of intelligence agencies to dictate the result of the US presidential elections.
Steele dossier gambit suggests that we live in a neoliberal empire run by the intelligence services (the core of deep state), not
a republic. And democracy of federal level is severely curtained by the mere fact of existence of so powerful agencies, which tend to
escape the control of civil society. It is true there are some counterattacks of democratic forces under the banner of accountability,
but generally the horse already left the barn. Actually, for CIA it took less then twenty years when tail started wagging the dog, if
we assume that they played the key role in JFK assassination. Let's also remember that that Herbert Hoover was above any serving
President; none was able to get rid of him until his death.
So the proper context for understanding the events covered in Wolff book (Trump WH under relentless attack by superior forces represented
by the "neoliberal swamp") would be
Electorate does not matter much and is always presented with two “equally bad” choices, forcing typical for neoliberal
empires ceremonial voting for “lesse evil”.
POTUS is mostly a ceremonial figure which can be emasculated, impeached, or killed if the deep state decided that he is not
acceptable (actually Obama one time mentioned that he is not eager to repeat the destiny of JFK; so he felt the danger).
It took just three months for the deep state to emasculate Trump. The working hypothesis now is that FBI along with
rogue elements in the Department of Justice (Rosenstein,
Bruce
Our) and other intelligences agencies (Brennan)
tried to stage a soft coup against Trump after the elections along the lines:
After surprise victory of Trump in Republican primaries, the deep state launched a color revolution against him. Which
included anti-Russian hysteria in neoliberal MSM based on falsifications of
Steele dossier, spying
on him to collect dirt and find out which appointees Trump consider for key positions (On Nov 17, 2018 Trump became aware of
that and decided to move his headquarters from Trump tower to Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, New Jersey at least partially
avoid this) .
The "deep state" launched several false flag operations against Trump. One of which probably was Veselnitskaya meeting
with Trump Jr. at Trump Power (organized by FBI contractor
Fusion GPS) as an early false
flag operation, see below. The FBI and CIA contractor
Crowdstrike "analysis" of DNC "intrusion" (which was a leak, not an intrusion) also has all signs of a sophisticated false
flag operation. This putsch against the will of American people was the joint operation of at least three intelligence agencies:
FBI, CIA and MI6. Along with as rogue elements in the Department of Justice and the State Department. See
Colonel Patrick Lang discussion at
the-trump-dossier-becomes-a-disaster-by-publius-tacitus.
The recent revelations about Steele's dossier saga implicated intelligence agencies in a "soft coup" against the remnants of the
republic and democracy. To hide this development from the public after
Strzokgate revelations the deep state required a good smoke screen to be launched. "Fire and fury" fits the bill. Was it part of
the plan, or happened accidentally (it was actually rushed to print) does not matter. The key role of the book is to distract
the public from the revelations about Steele Dossier, abuse
of FISA court and intelligence agencies efforts to depose Trump. that's why since Jan 3, 2018 we observe efforts to replace discussion
of Steele dossier and FISA count abuses with the discussion of salacious gossip about Trump administration provided by Wolff. and
numerous Wolff interviews. This sleazy gossip columnist quickly acquired taste to them and even tried to "enhance" his book with salacious
accusation of extrametrical affair which 70 year old Trump supposedly having in WH (you can admire the man stamina in such case, as
being POTUS is a pretty exhausting job even for much younger people; look how quickly Obama aged during his term). He also now feel
as a proud member of the neoliberal swamp and interlaced his interviews with brave blabbing like
‘My book will bring down Trump,’
Not that Trump is a saint, he is far from it. But Trump could break the death grip that neoconservatives and their "liberal interventionist"
tag-team partners now have locked around the throat of U.S. foreign policy. His lack of diplomatic skills remains a handicap,
as is his apparent addiction to Twitter. He peruse "raw power" foreign policy (bulling, as demonstrated by two Tomahawk attacks in Syria
in 2017 and 2018; both under false pretences) and appointment of Haley to the UN are worse then crimes -- they were blunders.
But he was forced to defense mode by the color revolution launched again him and his fortitude, at least, is impressive. And deserves
respect. He also is a President who was, at least, was duly elected by electorate as a punishment to ruling neoliberal elite (which
promoted Hillary), even if he executed a "bait and switch" maneuver shortly after ( much like Obama with his famous "change we can believe
in" did).
Most Trump supporters suspect that he is a narcissist with a very fragile ego. So this is not a news and Wolff book comes short
on being the first to expose this trait. That's probably what drives Trump to post some of his damaging twits. Although he not
always behaved this way. See his interview to BBC Donald Trump,
1998 - BBC HARDtalk where he demonstrates both wit and diplomatic skills answering some very unpleasant for him questions.
Also see his assessment of Bush II and Clinton TRUMP on 'PIERS
MORGAN LIVE'- 2011 - YouTube and his assessment of US unemployment. Also
Donald Trump Barbara Walters Interview (look at his ISIS assessment).
His assessment of Obama administration was scaling and right. As was his anti-war stance during the election campaign.
Also some mistakes are to be made for any new person in the position of POTUS. What is really alarming is his "fluctuating"
position toward the US foreign wars (which he promised to stop). He already made his mark by bombing Syria under false premises (false
flag operations by jihadists) two times (as of April 15, 3018). Some people like Buchanan think that he was coerced by the War Party,
but most probably he like Obama before him played "change we can bereave in" trick on his electorate. A nasty "bait and switch" maneuver.
In foreign policy, there is no any "three dimensional chess" in his action. He continued foreign policy of his predecessors, fully subscribing
to neocon agenda. And he has too close relations with Israel, which already has oversized influence on the US foreign policy. All this
was well known with Wolf, as April 2017 events were no secret, but his book adds nothing to such an understanding.
Still Trump, in some ways, remain a better POTUS, a better option then Hillary with her crazy idea of Syria no flight zones
and out of control jingoism. Although in domestic policy Hillary probably would be less neoliberal then Trump. But in foreign
policy Hillary was such a rabid warmonger that she could do a lot more damage then Trump. From the very start of her campaign, she promised
regime change (which essentially means attempt to destroy Syria). Her promise to try to "tame" Russia, could well lead to nuclear confrontation.
She also has a hand in destroying Libya and launching a war in Syria. Although after one year Trump slides to position in Syria which
is virtually undistinguishable from Hillary (the second bombing of Syria was mockingly called "Operation Stormy Daniels")
. After yet another chemical weapon gas attack staged in April 2018 in Douma by head choppers with the help of British intelligence
services and supported White Helmets, Trump ordered to launch more then 100 Tomahawk against government of Syria. Essentially
delegating the US aviation to the role of head choppers own air force used for weakening Assad forces and destruction of military
equipment. Each time anti-Assad forces receive several strong blows from pro-government forces they stage such an attack (and then stage
counterattack trying to reverse losses of territory). He also changes his view on usefulness of NATO. Also it not overly idealistic
to hope for a world in which defense forces (and defensive alliances like NATO) are used for the proper purpose of defense and not for
expensive and destructive wars for expanding neoliberal empire dreamed up by the US neoconservatives.
In economic sphere only very few of his meek and by-and-large derailed efforts to confront the neoliberalism and globalization were
positive for the USA population developments. Tariffs might help to protect domestic US manufacturing, but how they will
be accepted by US trade partners is too early to tell. A trade war will be devastating for everybody.
In any case "economic nationalism" was what Trump as a presidential candidate in 2016 race was about, and that's why he won.
And neoliberal time have gone, which makes Trump to a certain extent a progressive force. So opposition to attempts of reversal of neoliberal
globalization and outsourcing, and related attempt to derail Trump are reactionary and bad for the country. In other words,
despite all Trump warts and all, Wolff is on wrong side of history and as such is a negative, a reactionary force that needs
to be opposed. This is the angle under which we should view Wolff's book and his machinations with the facts as well as his staggering
betrayal of his sources. Especially damaging for Bannon, who was Wolff main source of information/rumors for the book (to the extent
that the book tells us more about Bannon and his views on Trump, than Trump).
Opposition to efforts to tame neoliberal globalization and outsourcing, and attempts to derail Trump are reactionary
and bad for the country. In other words Wolff is on wrong side of history and as such is a negative, a reactionary
force that needs to be opposed.
Especially damning for Wolff in view of recently released Nunes memo were false revelations/Bannon (mis)quotes about Trump
Tower meeting of Trump Jr. with private Russian lawyer/lobbyist Natalia Veselnitskaya organized by FBI contractor Fusion GPS. Here Wolff
deliberately is pandering to Russiagate witch hunt, which in reality is about
attempted putsch of intelligence agencies against Trump. While mediocre writer, Wolff is intelligent enough and well
informed enough to understand that information he published about Trump Tower meeting is completely false. So it is reasonable
to assume that his main motivation was similar to a typical motivation of a NKVD informer (aka
stukach ;-).
All this means that Wolff and his book is a part of the problem, not the part of the solution, no matter how we view Trump.
In this sense Wolff is an "Evil doer" using an unforgettable phrase of Bush II ;-)
I would add extremely greedy and extremely sleazy "evil doer"... A bit lazy too. There are so much information
about "misdeeds" of FBI and selected officials from Justice Department that the hypotheses that Russiagate was a conspiracy organized
for the purpose of bringing down the elected president of the United States via a color revolution mechanisms is extremely plausible.
In this sense, any book that plays into Russiagate conspiracy is tantamount to treason. This is just a smoke screen that hides the war
of two faction of the US elite for power. Paul Craig Roberts aptly said "A case can be made that it would be just as well if the coup
succeeds as it would bring an end to Washington's cover as the government of a great democracy with liberty and justice for all" (Warns
The Russiagate Stakes Are Extreme )
There are so much information about "misdeeds" of FBI and selected officials from Justice Department that the hypotheses
that Russiagate was a conspiracy organized for the purpose of bringing down the elected president of the United States via a color
revolution mechanisms is extremely plausible. In this sense, any book that plays into Russiagate conspiracy is tantamount
to treason. This is just a smoke screen that hides the war of two faction of the US elite for power. Paul Craig Roberts aptly
said "A case can be made that it would be just as well if the coup succeeds as it would bring an end to Washington's cover
as the government of a great democracy with liberty and justice for all" (Warns
The Russiagate Stakes Are Extreme )
Unlike Russiagate innuendo, internal WH dynamics, especially super-important role of the chief of staff (who can be viewed as No.2
in US government power structure) as a private secretary/gatekeeper escaped Wolff (The
Gatekeepers How the White House Chiefs of Staff Define Every Presidency by Chris Whipple). The chief of staff generally works
behind the scenes to solve personnel problems, mediate disputes, and deal with issues before they are brought to the chief executive.
Often chiefs of staff act as a confidante and advisor to the chief executive, acting as a sounding board for ideas. If fact fate
of the Presidency now might depends as much on the WH chief of staff as the President himself. Simply because "Personnel is policy."
Ability to creates and maintain a workable team, that is congruent with the President goals is a unique gift that can't be acquired
and which POTUS himself does not necessary has. In fact, as Chris Whipple suggested "the fate of every presidency arguably hinges
on this little understood position". In several previous presidencies WH chef of staff was the real "power
behind the throne".
But Wolff is not interested in complex WH mechanics, only in salacious rumors and Bannon ramblings. The book largely comes
across as a disorganized, low-energy rant, obsessively cataloguing the multiple transgressions of Trump against political norms, while
offering little of the cogent analysis the political situation that drive Trump WH to particular course of actions, as well as
background the tag of war with intelligence agencies (due to Strzokgate we know some players on the opposite side of the rope).
The key question is: why such a rabid, take no prisoners, neolib/neocon effort to depose Trump failed. Was it Pentagon's
support that saved Trump scalp? After all it was coalition of CIA and rogue elements of FBI, which with the help of Rosenstein installed
Mueller as the Special Prosecutor (aka Grand Inquisitor, due to Rosenstein suspiciously overly bread definition of his mission).
And after which many assumed that Trump destiny was sealed.
As a writer Michael Wolff reveals himself
as a surprisingly mediocre story teller. He is definably unable to grasp the importance of events he observes. In other words he looks
to me more and more like a typical "neoliberal idiot." His style of writing
is clumsy and chapters are almost independent of each other. They can be read independently. There is no real storyline in the
book. His level is nowhere close to the level top layer of modern "dirt diggers" represented by
Matt Taibbi ( who called Goldman Sachs "Vampire Squid" in his
world famous 2010 article
in Rolling Stone).
Unlike Taibbi, the fame and money Wolff received for the books are completely undeserved. In essence, the book was a dirty, sleazy
"make money fast" operation. Moreover the book was poorly copyedited (if copyedited at all) and contains many typos and outright errors,
which undermine its credibility further (if you think that Wolff's reputation alone can't set the book credibility at zero; he is the
guy who supposedly stole and sold his mother-in-law jewelry to finance his and his former wife lavish lifestyle ;-).
There are misspelling of names of some important figures in Trump administration such as Stephen Miller (of
interview with Jake Tapper fame), which is completely unacceptable
by any standards.
But the book his the nerve of NeverTrumpers and sold more then a million copies (mainly Kindle edition and audiobook in proportion
three to one or higher; Amazon gave audiobook for free with trial of Audible) making Wolf a millionaire: assuming 15% of the list price
(typically $14.99 as most sold were Kindle version) royalty he can get about a million for his book. The article
Michael Wolff Could Reap
$7.4M From 'Fire and Fury' Sales suggests higher number, but I think the figure in it is overestimated (especially, the price
of the audiobook):
Publishing economics can be complicated, and details of Wolff's contract aren't public. Neither the author nor his publisher,
Henry Holt & Co., a division of Macmillan, responded to requests for comment.
But to get a rough estimate of what Wolff has made
so far, let's assume he gets 15 percent of the book's list price -- a typical royalty rate -- and a $500,000 advance.
In its first two days, Wolff's book, with a list price of $30, sold more than 29,000 hardcover copies, according to NPD BookScan,
which tracks 85 percent of the U.S. market. Retailers also sold 250,000 e-books, and 100,000 audio books, the publisher told the
Associated Press on Jan. 10. They go for $14.99 and $27.99.
Add up all those sales, multiplied by the prices, and you get revenue of $7.42 million. Subtract the advance, and at 15 percent
he gets $1.11 million.
Ever watched a movie because the trailers were so good and realized the trailers were the only good parts? All the good
bits have already been displayed publicly.
The main problem with Wolff is that he does not understand the political atmosphere (and does not care to understand) about which
he has written his book. He does not understand the term neoliberalism and the fact
that election of Trump was the result of the crisis of neoliberalism in the USA and rejection of globalization by the USA population.
From this point of view he is a complete and utter incompetent. Also Wolff tend to replace political tendencies and clash of ideologies
and corresponding clans with Trump administration (which are a boring stuff) with the clash of personalities and petty political infighting,
which make the story more entertaining and spicy, but ultimately wrong. For example "Bannon faction" (aka "economic nationalism" action
although Bannon does not have any real economic program and was mostly alt-right propagandist) which was defeated and expelled by "Jarvanka
faction" is far from being "good people". the same is even more true about neoliberal/neocon "Jarvanka faction", which is much closer
to Hillary "kicking neoliberalism can down the road" program, then you might assume. In other words, his level or writing is good only
for describing drunken fights in the pubs and sexual adventures of billionaires. Not much else.
At the moment of book publication most interesting and "juicy" parts of the book were already published and can be read for free.
See "Published excepts from the book" below. Amazon also provided a pretty long preview that gives you the sense of the book quality
and content. You can get audio version on Amazon for free with a trail. And most of the "bombshell" quotes you see in MSM are
from the first two chapters.
And although advertised as a tell-all insider view, outside Bannon quotes, almost none of quotes or opinions are attributed. In other
words this mix of yellow journalism and a book about Bannon (and his views on Trump WH after he was booted from WH ). Which was successful
sold as book about Trump ;-)
It just offers a cartoonish view that for $15 makes many NeverTrumper happy for a day or two. Confirming
their own illusion that Trump is a stupid buffoon (but watch this interview)
, unfit for the office (but who is fit, in a long run, If this Pence or Hillary ? And does POTUS actually matter that much if
"deep state" runs the show ? ) , and people around him are either evil or stupid (two classic types that any administration should have,
just think about Cheney and Bush II, or about "change we can believe if "bait and switch artist who used to live in WH before Trump
;-) .
Using such epithets doesn't provide any insight in Trump administration or what is happening with this country. You can get the same
stories from disgruntled employees about any large corporation for free. Or from any neoliberal MSM, if you really want this dirt
to be about Trump.
Another problem that not only the book was completely outrun by events in December 2017 and January 2018. It was outdated at the
moment of publication. And this "problem" was actually noticed by several Amazon reviewers as early as the day of publication:
Always Interested, January 5, 2018
Being pushed in many directions and certainly not loved by the old guard in the political bubble
Ordered the book but, my feeling is it's already outdated. From the interviews of the author it's based on the start
up in the WH when chaos was rampant and in fluctuation, Bannon being part of the problem. Remember this is and was a
new, non political family, being pushed in many directions and certainly not loved by the old guard in the political bubble.
I've wasted my money on two best sellers about Trump which turned out to be comically outdated and totally erroneous by the
time they were published and put out to the public.
Two stars based on the interviews I have watched with Mr. Wolff and the reason I purchased the book anyway, it's obvious
he was underhanded in his so called interviews, which weren't actually interviews, just collected angst from general conversation.
If I am wrong I plan on making updates, until then it's fair to gather opinions on both sides.
In other words, not only NeverTrumpers were taken for a ride paying around $15 (Ok, in late Feb it became $11)
for information what is mostly known to all who follow national news (unless they bought the book as an attempt to defend free screech,
as if dirty gossip is a free speech), but they also enjoyed it.
Wolff within the limits of his mediocre writer capabilities tried to follow this, already well established, anti-Trump
canon, publishing partially already known partially invented and exaggerated by himself hearsay to please the NeverTrumpers who
want "red meat" on the President and are ready to pay money for it. Money do not smell but the rush to get them can often be counterproductive
;-).
Unfortunately for Wolff, the period from inauguration to September 2017 was actually just a warm-up. BTW two key events of this period
-- bombing of the Syria airfield (which signified capitulation of Trump to neocons), and the appointment of the special prosecutor
gambit (which put the color revolution against Trump on fast truck) , were not covered well in the book. Events of December, 2017
and January, 2018 are revealing unprecedented corruption within the FBI, the CIA and the Obama White House. It goes from being almost
unbelievable to downright scary. The real game was tag of war between Trump and Intelligences agencies (supported by Mayberry Machiavellians
in Justice Department) started with the discovery of messages between Peter Strzok and Lisa Page, and culminated in the release
of Nunes memo. This, including the onslaught of negativity from neoliberal MSM (attack dogs of this color revolution) is actually
Agatha Christy level story -- a murder story.
There is a real murder in it --
Murder of Seth
Rich. Rich's mother told NBC's Washington affiliate WRC-TV, "There had been a struggle. His hands were bruised, his knees are bruised,
his face is bruised, and yet he had two shots to his back, and yet they never took anything... ".
Newt Gingrich said that Rich "apparently was assassinated".
In other words this is a really fascinating story of the first color revolution in the USA. The book
touches only one related to this intelligence agencies putsch against Sanders and Trump event -- an organized by FBI contractor meeting
in Trump power which well may be an attempt to entrap Trump Jr. (see
Meeting in Trump power). And it is covered all wrong, following standard for neoliberal MSM "Russiagate" agenda.
So not only "the book was outdated two days after it was published" (S.
Young, Jan 24, 2018),
you also get cheap, "National Enquirer" quality coverage with typos and unfinished sentences as a bonus (actually many articles
"National Enquirer" has more substance and credibility than this book).
The success of a book that lacks any semblance to real investigative journalism is sad testaments of the power of neoliberal propaganda
machine. That's why it become a bestseller. Non-ending stream of "revelations", Wolff's interviews (including his desperate and dirty
attempt to extend his 15 min of glory by suggesting that Trump has his Monica in WH ;-), lasted till the end of January (with the last
gasp of propaganda campaign when excepts from the book
were read on Grammies). If Wolff is really lucky it will be converted into TV miniseries, with some Brit participation (beware Brits
working on Wolff's book; they authored Steele dossier with "golden showers" gossip) But it looks he already got the money (hollywoodreporter.com,
Jan 17, 2018):
Michael Wolff's controversial Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House is coming to television.
Endeavor Content -- the financing and sales arm formed in October between sister companies William Morris Endeavor and IMG
-- has purchased film and television rights to the No. 1 best-selling book. The massive deal is said to be in the seven-figure range.
Endeavor Content plans to adapt the book as a TV series. A network is not yet attached, as Endeavor will now begin shopping
the project.
Wolff will executive produce the series, with veteran Channel 4 and BBC executive Michael Jackson -- now CEO of indie producer
Two Cities Television -- also on board to produce.
As of February 3, 2018 Strzokgate (intelligence agencies partially successful attempt to change the results of Presidential
elections) became the central story of the first year of the Trump presidency along with revelations about falsifications of so called
Steele dossier (another fantastic story which is waiting for a talented writer of caliber of Matt Taibbi to tackle) and Nunes memo.
That makes the book mostly a collection of salacious gossip about the first year of Trump administration. Which probably was the
original intent of the author.
That describes MacShaughnassy exactly. He does seem to know a tremendous lot. He is possessed of more information
than any man I ever came across. Occasionally, it is correct information; but, speaking broadly, it is remarkable for its
marvelous unreliability. Where he gets it from is a secret that nobody has ever yet been able to fathom.
Wolff started shopping for his book in February 2017 when Russiagate was already in full swing and it became clear that any
dirt on Trump will be highly profitable. In this sense Wolff is just another Russiagate enthusiast, notwithstanding his gossipy
drunken companions in the bars where he collected all this dirt :-). Unable to see that the main plot is not the chaos in WH, but a
FBI/CIA (or more correctly CIA/FBI, as in a fundamental way FBI is a department of CIA) plot to depose Trump, or, more formally,
a color revolution (the term far above his semi-sophisticated head ;-) What is interesting
is that someone wanted to talk with this treacherous ugly old man. Looks like way too many people are extremely lonely those days. Which
reminds me the quote of Jerome K. Jerome about Aunt Emma (Full
text of Diary of a Pilgrimage (and Six Essays):
" The house holds seven thousand people," answered my friend B., " and money is turned away at each performance. The
first production is on Monday next. Will you come ? "
I pondered for a moment, looked at my diary, and saw that Aunt Emma was coming to spend Saturday to Wednesday next
with us, calculated that if I went I should miss her, and might not see her again for years, and decided that I would go.
The key idea of the book is getting information by violation of trust. And Wolff has long and sordid story of such an activity.
The key to his personality and methods is the following video on CNN host interview of Wolff (
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=60o72NLxnT0 ). You probably
should listen to it before preceding. Key points is that Wolf admit himself behaving like a stukach flattering his way
in: "I certainly said whatever necessary to get the story". Unlike "kid gloves" interview here interviewer asks several
relevant questions and first of all: "Did you misrepresent yourself trying to get access to Trump?"
Because in emails provided by WH we have found phases like "I like the person", "I want to humanize the president", "Nobody
is doing it" , "You know that I like him", "I might be able to change perceptions" which are completely opposite to the actual intent
of the author. Such a "wolf in sheep clothing". Another interesting questions were "Where all those pledges accurate when
you made them? " and "Why you present yourself as a beacon to combat bias against the President?" You definitely need to listed
to this interview. It is only eight minutes. But neither doubts about Wolff credibility nor his tendency to burn his sources are new
(Journalists scrutinize
Michael Wolff's credibility - POLITICO)
“I wonder how many [White House] staff told Wolff things off the record that he then used on the record,” Bloomberg View columnist
Joe Nocera tweeted Thursday. “He’s never much cared about burning sources. Can’t imagine that many of those quotes were
meant for publication.”
...Rattner’s
claim that Wolff used his 7-year-old son, on a play date with one of Rattner’s children, to extract information. He’s “a total
sleazebag,” Rattner tweeted.
Wolff... has faced accusations in the past of playing loose with facts in his columns and books, and of not honoring ground rules
with sources.
...In a 2004 profile, The New Republic’s Michelle
Cottle wrote that “the scenes in his columns aren't recreated so much as created — springing from Wolff's imagination rather
than from actual knowledge of events.”
Also in February 2017 it did not require much brainpower to understand that any salacious gossip about Trump will be well received
and can bring the author substantial money. That there are serious money behind the Russiagate.
To get the necessary dirt in Trump (not that Trump was a saint, but here it does not matter -- he was the object of a treacherous
attach first and sinner second) Wolff essentially behaved not as a journalist but as undercover agent. Pretending to be a journalist
interested is opposing the wave of witch hunt unleashed on Trump by major MSM. And understandingly he found sympathetic ears,
and least one "long tongue" with pathologically large ego -- Bannon. Everything here looks like in second rate spy novels.
And as I noted above he his betrayal of his sources was not something new and unexpected of him. This is a 64 old sleaze with a long
trail of betrayals, not a new boy on the block. So his "sources" bear a large part of the blame. But him managed to hit a sensitive
point of Trump staffers -- the defense against the MSM witch hunt.
After he collected all this gossip, he never consulted his sources about accuracy of quotes before the publication of the book.
Which again makes him more like an undercover agent on a mission, then a journalist. But this also is a typically operation mode of
any sleazy gossip columnist.
People who talked to him now deeply regret the fact. The book was published on Jan 5, 2018 just two weeks before one year anniversary
of Trump inauguration. It is clear from book that for the most salacious parts of the book Wolff relied almost exclusively
on Bannon ramblings as a disgruntled employee after his eviction from WH. And, in effect, Bannon paid the personal price
for his transgressions, while Wolff was richly rewarded.
Look like his "manure fly on the wall" operation involved three steps: first he interviews Trump (big mistake on Trump's part, but
that was early in campaign; that's the only interview Wolff did (there were no interviews in WH). After that he managed to get
the trust of Bannon by publishing in November 2016 a
flattering interview with him in Hollywood Reporter (at the point Wolff was already booted from Vanity Fair):
The focus on Bannon, if not necessarily the description, is right. He's the man with the idea. If Trumpism is to represent
something intellectually and historically coherent, it's Bannon's job to make it so. In this, he could not be a less reassuring
or more confusing figure for liberals — fiercely intelligent and yet reflexively drawn to the inverse of every liberal assumption
and shibboleth. A working class kid, he enlists in the navy after high school, gets a degree from Virginia Tech, then Georgetown,
then Harvard Business School. Then it's Goldman Sachs, then he's a dealmaker and entrepreneur in Hollywood — where, in an unlikely
and very lucky deal match-up, he gets a lucrative piece of Seinfeld royalties, ensuring his own small fortune — then into the otherworld
of the vast right-wing conspiracy and conservative media. (He partners with David Bossie, a congressional investigator of President
Clinton, who later spearheaded the Citizens United lawsuit that effectively removed the cap on campaign spending, and who now, as
the deputy campaign manager, is in the office next to Bannon's.) And then to the Breitbart News Network, which with digital acumen
and a mind-meld with the anger and the passion of the new alt-right (a liberal designation Bannon derides) he pushes to the inner
circle of conservative media from Breitbart's base on the Westside of liberal Los Angeles.
What he seems to have carried from a boyhood in a blue-collar, union and Democratic family in Norfolk, Va., and through his tour
of the American establishment, is an unreconstructed sense of class awareness, or bitterness — or betrayal. The Democratic Party
betrayed its workingman roots, just as Hillary Clinton betrayed the longtime Clinton connection — Bill Clinton's connection — to
the workingman. "The Clinton strength," he says, "was to play to people without a college education. High school people. That's how
you win elections." And, likewise, the Republican party would come to betray its workingman constituency forged under Reagan. In
sum, the workingman was betrayed by the establishment, or what he dismisses as the "donor class."
... ... ...
It is less than obvious how Bannon, now the official strategic brains of the Trump operation, syncs with his boss, famously
not too strategic.
The next step was initiated by Trump himself, who phoned Wolff in February after Wolff's CNN interview in which he defended the administration.
At this point Wolff realized that he can gain and subvert access to EH by pretending to be a defender of the administration and
writing positive book about the first 100 days of Trump presidency.
He tried to court Kellyanne Conway. It looks like he was less successful then with Bannon. After Kelly replaced Priebus as chief
of staff at the end of July, Wolff was no longer allowed to linger in the West Wing lobby. Still Conway is mentioned dozens of times
in Wolff’s book, including in scenes in which he quotes her directly and describes her thoughts. Role of Hope Higgs is less clear, but
it looks that Wolff parasites on her inexperience. For the first six months of Trump’s presidency no one stopped Wolff from scheduling
around 17 visits to the West Wing (mostly to Bannon). According to Bloomberg
Some of Trump’s senior-most staff believed that Hicks, one of Trump’s longest-serving aides who has acted as a gatekeeper for
his interview requests, had authorized their cooperation with Wolff. They recalled that she encouraged them to engage with the author
as long as they made positive comments. Hicks hadn’t greenlit the book, people familiar with her handling of the matter said -- but
nor did she immediately put up a stop sign.
Bannon proved to be a real weakling who was deceived and mercilessly exploited by the "charmer". And the WH staff realized
that they got into a trap only in September after Bannon was removed. He also tried to capitalize on unusually high level
of chaos in the new administration to force his way into some additional offices (although 90% of his dozen or so WH visits were to
Bannon). This was not too successful as staff was instructed by Hope Higgs to provide only positive quotes and subverting this
in each case was probably way too complex for such an intellectually lazy person as Wolff. I strongly doubt that his White House
"catch" amounted even to 10% of salacious quotes he got from Bannon; most probably they were limited to brief "hello-goodbye"
interactions after Bannon interviews.
But after Bannon was booted from WH, Wolff got a unique, golden chance to spice his book which he probably utilized the full 100%
feeding on the resentment of the person with such an enormous ego. We all know the tales, how mercilessly disgruntled former employees
rat their former employers. That's life. That's probably was the time when Wolff got the most salacious quotes attributed to Bannon
in the book including quotes related to Trump Jr. meeting with Natalia Veselnitskaya at Trump Tower (probably a trap organized by FBI
contractor Fusion GPS)
Using typical NKVD informer methods Wolff works to get trust and then destroy his target by provoking them in order to extract salacious
quotes that would guarantee that his book sells well. Such a commercial conveyer belt of ratting of too trusting victims. And
first of all Bannon. The victims probably were assuming that they are "off record", not understanding that there is no such thing with
Wolff. This particular "feature" of Wolff personality and his tendency to invent quotes and situations to spice his writing was widely
known before, so Trump people actually failed to do an elementary due diligence before speaking with him. Which actually say something
positive about Trump administration: whatever it is does not look like CIA-controlled enterprise with restriction of who can visit whom,
strict checking of all "messages" by staff and using communication officers as "watchers" to help staff to stay on the message.
People automatically assumed that this "friend" of Bannon is one of Trump supporters. Big mistake. Most people mentioned in
the book were unpleasantly surprised with the quotes attributed to them, then the book was published. Bannon initially wanted to write
a disclaimer, but after Trump attacked him he changed his mind. Still he was forced to issue a half-hearted apology to Trump meeting
quotes and charging Trump Jr. with "collision with Russia" (the book includes a quote from Bannon describing Donald Trump, Jr. and former
Trump campaign chief Paul Manafort behaviour as "treasonous."). For his "loose lip sink ships" adventures with Wolff Bannon was
ostracized and lost his position at Bretbart. He also was summoned by Mueller to testify before a grand jury (probably because
if he suspected treason he should as a law abiding citizen to inform authorities).
The most disgusting is his coverage of Trump tower meeting, which deserves a
more detailed analysis.
Wolff book is a testament of the
sad state of journalism today. ("Were all those pledges accurate when they were made? Were they honest?"). Wolff
belongs pathological specie of "yellow press" journalists who specialize in spreading malicious rumors, usually about celebrities (
rumor=hearsay; As Comey defined it in exchange with Trey Gowdy
hearsay is an information that you do not know on you own, but learned from somebody else; legally they distinguish between
hearsay, double hearsay and so on ;-) As always the case with "yellow press" it was the money that was probably the main motive
for writing the book. So you need a critical mss of salacious rumors for a book to sell well. And to get them you betray the trust of
people who communicate with you "off record". As Russiagate is now in full swing it is interesting to remind that there is a special
term for people who betray the trust of friends for financial benefits, or personal advantages. Stukach is slang derogatory
name for an informer who betrays his friends for personal advantage (Urban
Dictionary stukach):
n. (from Russian) An informer. One who turns in one's friends, family, and neighbours to the secret police, usually for a
reward or advantage...
Wolff describes himself using more politically correct term “constant interloper” which is "a person who intrudes into
a region, field, or trade without a proper license. ", "One that interferes with the affairs of others, often for selfish reasons; a
meddler."
These people are a tiny minority, but they seek career advancement and other benefits, so they create great damage to the society.
Wolff was trying to pretend to be a "concerned citizen" while working to undermine Trump presidency, working as a stukach.
Nowhere this is more clear then in case of his coverage of
Veselnitskaya visit to Trump tower (which might well be an attempt of entrapment of Trump Jr. by FBI-connected Fusion GPS).
Coverage of this episode also vividly shows how sloppy, lazy and evil Wolff is a writer and a journalist.
Nowhere Wolff behaviour is more clear then in case of his coverage of
Veselnitskaya visit to Trump tower (which might well be an attempt of entrapment of Trump Jr. by FBI-connected Fusion GPS).
Coverage of this episode also vividly shows how sloppy, lazy and evil Wolff is a writer and a journalist.
It is prudent to view this book in the context of the color regulation launched to depose Trump. In this sense Wolff book might serve
as an opening move of the gambit "Unfit to serve in the office". Previous gambit connected with sacrificing Comey to appoint the Special
Prosecutor failed after Strzok-gate was uncovered and Stele dossier discredited. Is Wolff another CIA produced pawn sacrificed
in order to launch the next gambit to depose Trump (as well as provide a smoke screen cover for "
Steele dossier fiasco").
The key here is to understand who promoted Wolff's in MSM -- it is the same set of neoliberal MSM which promoted Steele dossier junk.
BTW Wolff's wandering inside WH without a press badge (he used visitor badge mostly obtained to visit Bannon) was such a gross violation
of WH security protocol that suggests that some powerful "sponsor" was involved. He masterfully exploited disgruntled Bannon, and played
with him "three-card monte" when "off-record" invectives toward Trump and Trump family suddenly became "on-record" to
great surprise of Bannon. It looks like Wolff's did not have any other reliable source inside WH and the book can be published
under the title "Bannon fury and revenge: burning the bridges". So we can say that Wolff's book side effect was elimination
Bannon from the US political scene.
Wolff's "carpet bombing" of Trump administration and personally Trump and his family raises many questions about the credibility
of the author, personality of Bannon, the credibility of the book and quotes in it. As well as the credibility of the Trump administration
("no smoke without fire" effect). The problem with Wolff is that he has provable history of fabricating quotes and events in his
publications (he called himself "famous bloviator".) There are multiple reason to believe that the book is "a mix of incorrect
anecdotes, sensationalism and score-settling." (wjla.com).
First of all this is connected with the personality of the author, who, in a way, proved to be perfect hired gun in the hand of forces
hell-bent to destroy Trump -- a greedy amoral person. As Gawker said: "He is needy and amoral enough to just, you know, insult people
for attention". Not that Trump is a saint, but it is not up to such a greedy, amoral person as Wolff to judge him.
Character assassination of Trump was a cheap trick but in this case it worked splendidly for Wolff, as the book sold in more that
a million of copies (most of the electronic kindle edition). But boomerang returns and it followed by character assassination
on Wolff. And they found a lot of dirty clothing and skeletons in the closet of "famous bloviator". So let's follow this story
-- in some ways Wolff is also an interesting character. His treatment of his sources suggests that he is completely amoral, "make money
fast" type of writer, which can sell his own mother for a good payment (actually there is lawsuit against him from his former
mother in law, who claims that he cheated her on Manhattan apartment swap, stole and sold her jewelry, and demands
eight million in compensation. And remember that an objective evaluation of a person is an evaluation of the person we do not
like ;-)
McCain went on to errors plaguing the book; referencing reporters, newspapers, magazines, and others that have accused Wolff of
outright fabricating events depicted in “Fire and Fury.”
“Did you ever interview Jared and Ivanka? How can I trust some of these quotes?”
“There are a lot of factual errors in here. So, what I want to know from you is, what do you say to people?” pressed McCain.
“I think this hits a special place for me because my family has been the subject of a book like this: “Game Change,” […] And lots
of disgruntled staffers give interviews like this. I’m curious, when you talk about staff, you didn’t talk to his cabinet. Did you
ever interview Jared and Ivanka? How can I trust some of these quotes?” she fired-back.
The tortured "Author's Note" preceding the prologue almost reads like a novel in itself. In fact, trying to follow
Wolff's idea of what "off the record" means or does not mean is like trying to follow the hands of a three-card monte dealer. It
just can't be done.
As a White House source put it, Wolff's narrative personality is almost like a comedy act in itself: "He's like the old
Jon Lovitz character from Saturday Night Live," the source said. "You know – 'Yeah, I went to Harvard, that's the ticket. And, yeah,
I was on the couch in the West Wing for months, that's the ticket.'"
Pushback against ‘Fire and Fury’ author Michael Wolff started immediately after the publication calling Wolff’s credibility into
question. Fox News’ Laura Ingraham tweeted a picture of chapter 17 from Wolff’s book titled Abroad and at Home with a caption,
"From Wolff book—this is TOTALLY FALSE. I was there!"
“ From Wolff book—this is TOTALLY FALSE. I was there! “Distanced themselves from Trump”?! Total fabrication. pic.twitter.com/75QbME75IL
— Laura Ingraham (@IngrahamAngle) January 5, 2018
Katie Walsh, a former White House adviser, disputed a comment attributed to her by Wolff, that dealing with Trump was “like trying
to figure out what a child wants.” (The
Washington Post questions 'Fire and Fury' author, Michael Wolff's credibility). As White House press secretary said “We
know the book has a lot of things, so far that we’ve seen, that are completely untrue”. While she did not provide any specific
example, she noted that Wolff's picture of White House operations is false and “the opposite of what I saw.”
stukach n. (from Russian) An informer. One who turns in one's friends, family, and neighbours to the secret police,
usually for a reward or advantage. It is considered one of the foulest insults in the Russian language.
Some people who have been burned by Wolff’s questionable tactics are now referring to him as “a total sleazebag”
...Rattner
claims that
Wolff used his 7-year-old son, on a play date with one of Rattner’s children, to extract information. He’s “a total sleazebag,”
Rattner tweeted.
Fahri writes that Wolff has been accused of re-creating scenes out of whole cloth.“He has been accused of not just re-creating
scenes in his books and columns, but of creating them wholesale,” Fuhri said.
Only slightly more then a dozen of interviews (90% of which were with Bannon, which means all but one out of 17) were confirmed so
far. Everything else is probably a product of Wolff own overactive imagination. Some liars believe in what they are saying. This is
BTW quite typical for sociopaths. And this is the way Wolf typically works: he engage anybody who foolishly wants to speaks to him,
flattering the person so that the person lower his guard, then provoking the person to reveal some dirty laundry which can be used to
Wolff's advantage. Typical NKVD informer staff. Matt Taibbi called such behaviour "Wolff's Three Card Monte".
While he probably is not informer of some agency and his attack of Trump is probably just a sign that he views himself as a part of
neoliberal elite, still in case of Bannon his behaviour is borderline to entrapment ("action by law enforcement personnel to lead
an otherwise innocent person to commit a crime, in order to arrest and prosecute that person for the crime").
Wolff claims that he has several tapes. Illegally recording the conversation without the explicit consent especially if the conversation
was agreed to be "off record" might constitute a crime in some jurisdiction (I beleave it is in NY). If done inside WH it might
also be a federal crime.
In this case Wolff by flattery and pretending that he is a friend who shares the victim political views managed to extract and then
report for his own advantage incriminating Bannon details of his conversation with his, which Bannon most probably thought were "off
record" and which already cost him his position at Bretbart News. And Bannon recently got an invitation to testify to grand jury
due to incriminating him quotes published in Wolff's book. And then he equates such an entrapment to "interview". The actual number
of people with which he has format interview is probably less then a dozen. Some people like Dr. Gorca recognized the trap and refused
to cooperate.
Like sociopath typically do, Wolff does not care about well-being of people, he used as his sources. In this sense Wolff is
completely amoral bottom feeder ("stukach"), treating of his sources as pawns in the goal of "earning a lot of money and scandalous
fame" (news.com.au)
“I wonder how many [White House] staff told Wolff things off the record that he then used on the record,” Bloomberg View
columnist Joe Nocera tweeted Thursday. “He’s
never much cared about burning sources. Can’t imagine that many of those quotes were meant for publication.”
Steven Rattner, a
journalist-turned-financier and former Obama auto czar,
tweeted Thursday that “[Steve] Bannon may
well have said all that stuff but let's remember that Wolff is an unprincipled writer of fiction.”
Wolff and Rattner have a history of animosity, with Wolff
writing critically about Rattner in his 2003 book,
“Autumn of the Moguls,” and also in
Vanity Fair. And then there’s
Rattner’s claim
that Wolff used his 7-year-old son, on a play date with one of Rattner’s children, to extract information. He’s “a total sleazebag,”
Rattner tweeted.
Wolff ... has faced accusations in the past of playing loose with facts in his columns and books, and of not honoring ground
rules with sources.
In a 2004 profile, The New Republic’s Michelle Cottle wrote that “the scenes in his columns aren't recreated so much as created
— springing from Wolff's imagination rather than from actual knowledge of events.” Instead of conventional reporting, she wrote,
Wolff “absorbs the atmosphere and gossip swirling around him at cocktail parties, on the street, and especially during those long
lunches at Michael's."
...he appears to be a closeted gay and my experience with them is that they tend to be sociopaths.
“They have a lot of bottled
up sexual rage and they want revenge on the world. I don’t trust these stories.”
(Actually Wolff is a heterosexual and has a girlfriend that is younger than him by almost 30 years, so he might present a quite different
"sexual minority" ;-). In any case, it was established that several people who spoke with Wolff without being told that this in
"on record" and who were never presented with the quotes for verification, suffered from publishing of his book. At least for
two of them that was a classic "career limiting move"
Similar to Steele dossier the book was a salacious bombshell based of false and maliciously interpreted rumors. It was equivalent
to writing the book about Wolff with the title "Is
Michael Wolff a closet pedophile?" (he definitely looks like a sociopath, almost like Dr. Evil, which was noted by many observers
;-). With the insinuations like
"According to a close friend of Wolff's former wife, whom he deserted to sleep with an intern who was 30 year younger,
there is something deeply troubling in a way ugly, Dr.Evil-like trout-pouted Wolff looked at pre-pubescent girls. His salacious face
gave up his inclinations" ;-).
For those who came in late you may have missed one Kitty Kelley. She had earned her reputation writing gossip books about Jacqueline
Kennedy Onassis, Elizabeth Taylor and Frank Sinatra. In 1991, two years after the Reagans had departed the White House, she penned
Nancy Reagan: The Unauthorized Biography. In which she claimed (among other things) that Mrs. Reagan had had an affair with Frank
Sinatra and that the President had date-raped a 19-year old girl. Neither was true, to say the least. It was gossip garbage.
This is (admittedly incompetent due to many factual errors) attempt to discredit the POTUS, a book in which it is "by design"
impossible to distinguish fact from fiction -- and pointless to even try. But the issue of credibility of the author was never addressed
in neoliberal MSM interviews of Mr. Wolff. Interviews that were specifically designed to promote the book to wider audience (Trump
also helped to promote the book with his reaction and "cease and desist" letter).
Wolff likes to invent thing if it suit his goals. For example, in the past Wolff was accused by Andrew Sullivan of putting
words in his mouth in 2001. Sebastian Gorka, former deputy assistant to President Donald Trump, said a controversial new book about
the first months of the Trump White House is full of "inaccuracies and lies." Newsbusters reports that many of Wolff’s
allegations
have been proven false.
This Wolff creep was asked by someone at MSNBC this a.m. if he could produce some proof that what he wrote was truthful and he
said that the proof is what he wrote in the book and that’s all the proof one needs. This Dr. Evil lookalike is not only a liar,
but he’s mentally ill.
Wolf in some case is capable producing entertaining (but not deep) analysis of pretty complex events like media mergers. Still even
in those rare cases he usually concentrating on personalities and gossip. His understanding of politics is pretty basic at best,
and the book shows that quite clearly that he is "dumb as a brick" to borrow his own characterization of Ivanka (attributed to Bannon).
The content clearly shows that despite his claims, the author doesn't seem to know Trump as a person (and probably does not care).
Instead of trying to understand this complex character he re-created typical neoliberal caricature on Trump pushed by such neoliberal
MSM as CNN and MSNBC. And to prove it he invented or misrepresented that facts and conversations, as he so often did in the past with
other people, if this can earn him a couple of bucks. He hurt several former and current WH staffers in the process, destroying
Bannon as a political operative.
But actually his goal is quite different from providing honest reporting: it is all about money. He made correct calculation
that the anti-Trump movement seems to be getting dumber and at the end of 2017 is ready to swallow tabloid gossip as it is ice-cream.
And that ability of Wolff as an author to time the release of his gossip books so that his machinations with fact were undetected was
noted long before, just after publishing of his first book (which was released in 1999 a year before the collapse of dot-com bubble):
In a 2004 cover story for The New Republic,
Michelle Cottle wrote that Wolff was "uninterested in the working press," preferring to focus on "the power players—the moguls" and
was "fixated on culture, style, buzz, and money, money, money." She also noted that "the scenes in his columns aren’t recreated
so much as created—springing from Wolff’s imagination rather than from actual knowledge of events." Calling his writing "a
whirlwind of flourishes and tangents and asides that often stray so far from the central point that you begin to wonder whether
there is a central point."[23]
He also is a real trusted member of neoliberal/neocon establishment press:
His second National Magazine Award was for a series of columns he wrote from the media center in the
Persian Gulf as the
Iraq War started in 2003
That desire to please and profit from the establishment by pushing Hillary "unfit for the office" meme was noted by White House press
secretary Sarah Sanders (who correctly defined the book as "trashy tabloid fiction"). She stated that the questions about Mr. Trump’s
suitability for office were both not only partisan, but also "disgraceful and laughable" as "if he was unfit he probably wouldn’t
be sitting there having defeated the most qualified group of candidates the Republican Party has ever seen."
From his first book
Burn Rate Wolff emerged as a person with enormous ego, and extremely, pathologically money hungry gossip columnist.
: ... If Michael Wolf really consider Trump so unfit and dangerous, why he was sitting on this material for more then a year.
so his motives are different and probably far from noble.
Wolff represent a brand of journalism in the USA which might be called "slanderous attack journalism" which is what some British
yellow press publications excel in. And he has penchant of making notes of the conversation that his counterpart consider private,
or off-record. The key suspicion about Wolff is that his main motivation is money and only money. As well as pandering to his
oversize ego.
While some of what is said in the book is true it is mixes with so many lies that the cocktail is really toxic. His is descriptions
of people who often helped him to write his garbage is cruel and insensitive. he essentially destroyed Bannon (to whom he actually owns
all this money and the minute of fame). You might be even entertained to read the clever caricatures of everyone Wolff lied to, swindled,
and stepped on in his quest for a quick buck (The
juiciest lines from Michael Wolff’s Trump book - NY Daily News)
Wolff had a lot to say about the head of Trump’s National Economic Council and quoted
from an email “purporting to represent the views of Gary Cohn” that circulated in the White House in April.
“It’s worse than you
can imagine. An idiot surrounded by clowns. Trump won't read anything — not one-page memos, not the brief policy papers; nothing.
He gets up halfway through meetings with world leaders because he is bored. And his staff is no better. Kushner is an entitled baby
who knows nothing. Bannon is an arrogant p---k who thinks he’s smarter than he is. Trump is less a person than a collection of terrible
traits ... I am in a constant state of terror and shock,” the email said, according to “Fire and Fury.”
Even media mogul Rupert Murdoch, a Trump supporter, hung up the phone after a conversation with the President about H-1B visas
for select immigrants and said, “What a f---ing idiot,” Wolff wrote.
Looks like he is completely devoid of dignity and does not respect the office of the President. Who, while not a saint,
was elected by beating several establishment candidates including Hillary Clinton. In other words, the book is a nice example
of "deception as an art form" and teaches us are much more grades of distortion of the truth them just intentional lying. Sometime
even wrong accent do the dirty job.
Despite what is touted as unlimited access most of the information appears was rehashed from existing articles (including previously
published by Wolff himself), rumors circulating in Washington, DC and NYC social circles to which Wolff can access, insiders
anonymous whisperings and drunken chat. From Guardian (which is the stalwart of #neverTrumper camp):
Bannon has criticised Trump’s decision to fire Comey. In Wolff’s book, obtained by the Guardian ahead of publication from a bookseller
in New England, he suggests White House hopes for a quick end to the Mueller investigation are gravely misplaced.
“You realise where this is going,” he is quoted as saying. “This is all about money laundering. Mueller chose [senior prosecutor
Andrew] Weissmann first and he is a money-laundering guy. Their path to fucking Trump goes right through Paul Manafort, Don Jr. and
Jared Kushner … It’s as plain as a hair on your face.”
Last month it was reported that federal prosecutors had subpoenaed records from Deutsche Bank, the German financial institution
that has lent hundreds of millions of dollars to the Kushner property empire. Bannon continues: “It goes through Deutsche Bank and
all the Kushner shit. The Kushner shit is greasy. They’re going to go right through that. They’re going to roll those two guys up
and say play me or trade me.”
Scorning apparent White House insouciance, Bannon reaches for a hurricane metaphor: “They’re sitting on a beach trying to stop
a Category Five.” He insists that he knows no Russians, will not be a witness, will not hire a lawyer and will not appear on national
television answering questions.
Some people observed that his book is more like the National Enquirer staff, somewhat plausible but mostly false.
If you've been reading the news, then there aren't too many surprises in Michael Wolff's transcript of the clash of the Trump
and Bannon egos. Bannon was a political arsonist who everyone knew would burn his bridges when he left the White House. And in
exchange for the access to the White House Wolff had gotten during Bannon's tenure, Wolff has written a book exclusively from
Bannon's perspective.
... ... ...
And BTW citing Roger Ailes left and right also was
pretty disingenuous -- he is now dead and can't defend himself and disprove the quotes the he never said. BTW Alies one made and observation
that is perfectly applicable to the Wolff's book (Wikipedia):
If you have two guys on a stage and one guy says, "I have a solution to the Middle East problem," and the other guy falls in the
orchestra pit, who do you think is going to be on the evening news?[10]
Again, Wolff does not mention the crisis of neoliberalism in his book even once, but this was the key factor that propelled
Trump to victory. Instead he tried to sniff Trump dirty clothing.
"He is needy and amoral enough to just, you know, insult people for attention" -- Gawker
"Long a media
provocateur Wolff has optimized his barbed bitching for the Internet" -- New York Magazine
bloviate -- To discourse at length in a pompous or boastful manner. ~Wiktionary
Wolff's recklessness fuels the Trump administration's critique of journalists and the media. It suggests that journalists
really are out to get the president -- after all, in Fire and Fury, Wolff suggests that journalists will print anything, so long
as it casts Trump in a bad light.
This book should be viewed in the context of Steele dossier fiasco and MSM media witch hunt (which are both a part of color
revolution against Trump). As many Amazon reviewers state this book is not a work of investigative journalist, but a cheap and rushed
attempt to earn money of sniffing dirty laundry. But it suit neoliberal narrative, so it was hyped to the stratosphere. For all January
2018 (starting from Jan 3, when Guardian published first excepts) it also supplemented the 24x7 attacks on Trump in neoliberal MSM.
The hoopla around this mediocre and dirty book was just insane. The number of Amazon reviews exceeded 4K in one month
since publication (on Jan 20, 2018, the number of reviews of Amazon reached 3.1K and on Jan 31 4.1K). Rate books attract
so many reviewers. Even 3K is a pretty rare occurrence (very successful
Trump The Art of the Deal has 3.2K reviews;
Blood Feud The Clintons vs. the Obamas Edward Klein, Lars Mikaelson has just 1.9K)
For such books there is period during which used copy reach their real price (one cent). I think for Wolff's book this period might
be very short: around a year. But the intensity of hype in neoliberal MSM like CNN and MSNBC was simply amazing and completely
insane. While in a short run the book inflicted serious damage to Trump, in a long run it might became a gift to Donald Trump (The
Bubble Michael Wolff's book a 'gift' to Trump, liberals say. Jan 25, 2018):
The New Republic's Alex Shephard said Wolff's work has always had a loose connection with the truth and that he has already
"has been caught making very suspicious claims" in Fire and Fury.
Wolff's work relies on gossip to tell us what we already know about the administration and in the process Wolff's apparent
willingness to "say anything, whether or not it's strictly true ... only bolsters the Trump administration's case that the fake news
media is out to get him," Shephard said.
Wolff's recklessness fuels the Trump administration's critique of journalists and the media. It suggests that journalists
really are out to get the president -- after all, in Fire and Fury, Wolff suggests that journalists will print anything, so long
as it casts Trump in a bad light.
The rewards are clear: His cavalier reporting has led to TV bookings, a #1 Amazon bestseller, and insane traffic for any of the
outlets that agreed to publish his work.
All January 2018 Wolff interviews and the book discussions in neoliberal MSM were like "an hour of hate" from Orwell 1984 novel.
Notwithstanding Wolff's well-known poor relationship with the truth, the most distributing part of Wolff's book is Wolff interpretation
of Russian lawyer Veselnitskaya visit to the Trump tower. There are two possibilities here:
Wolff is part of the "color revolution" efforts.This is the most plausible explanation. In this
sense his profits from the book are similar to Hillary honorarium for Goldman Sacks speeches.
Wolff is bumbling idiot who does not understand that the meeting itself most probably was a trap set by FBI contractor
Fusion GPS, specifically by British (beware of Brits setting up meetings ;-) "music publicist"
Rob Goldstone,
who intentionally deceived Don Jr. into believing that Natalia Veselnitskaya will
bring dirt of Hillary, while she was intended only to discuss Magnitsky Act removal (Veselnitskaya was a client of Fusion GPS
and a lobbyist against Magnitsky Act). This explanation is not plausible. After all Wolff was a war correspondent in Iraq and as
such he is a certified neoliberal/neocon establishment stooge. And he is definitely not an idiot, although some of his actions are
idiotic.
The author excels in "soap opera" style of books starting with his 1999
Burn Rate How I Survived the Gold Rush Years on the Internet. His forte is to make the hero to look a bumbling semi-uneducated
amateur (as if Trump killed his dog). This vicious level of dislike he has to Trump (who allowed him into WH, not a small fit for
a sleazy second rate gossip columnist) is really strange, unless we assume that Wolff has had a predefined agenda. Trump probably knew
him (or should have known) from New York social circle, so this was a real blunder. Trump definitely read his first column about him,
which was not too complementary and clearly demonstrated the author biases. As other people from Trump team who were familiar
with NY social life.
In this sense Trump mistake is inexcusable: he should discover his interviews with Bannon much earlier then at the moment of the
book publication. But the fact that Wolff was allowed into West Wing is explainable -- he managed to play Bannon enormous
ego, get his confidence and he was using him as a Trojan horse since this moment. It just confirms that Trump administration, with all
its warts, is more distant from "CIA controlled" administration then Barack Obama administration.
Reading this book was like watching a one guy just keeps pouring the dirt of the person sitting tied to the chair do
for some WH staffers this was a pretty educational moment (which actually undermines the press as whole, not so much "Sleazy Wolff"
who is at this point a played card). not only that are statements are intentionally wrong, designed for most damage/sensationalism,
Wolff really burned all his sources. But this is his business method, see below.
The key message is that Trump is out-of-touch with reality and as such is unfit to be the President of the USA.
Essentially this is a rehashed Hillary message. The sensationalist and outlandish tone of the book makes me wonder if
anything that is written is even remotely true. Again, if you're looking for an analysis of Trump's policies and internal struggle within
t he US elite, don't waste your dollars. This is mostly salacious gossip. In this sense the book belong to "make money fast" category.
The book properly compressed and rewritten with less grammar error, less repetition, as well as more solid logical structure would
make a decent article in Vanity Fair (actually you can buy compressed Cliff notes style write-up of the book on Amazon now.
There are several points that can be made about the events immediately prior the book release:
This is definitely attempt to take down Trump. A part of color revolution against Trump. So Michael "sleazy" Wolff
might have some powerful sponsors (and actually that is one such hedge fund billionaire in California, who would suit perfectly
for this purpose).
Trump reaction was amateurish and counterproductive. Which actually confirms some suspicion raised in the book. His "genius"
tweet was especially damaging. The only guy who actually raised to the moment was Stephen Miller. I like his characterization
on Bannon line attack on CNN in his interview with Jake Tapper.
Bannon was probably the main (or only) Wolff source (out of 17 Wolf "excursion" in WH 90%, or all by one, were for meetings
with Bannon). Bannon proved to relying of rumors in assessing Trump Tower meeting and was unable to grasp the meaning of the meeting
as a possible attempt to entrap Trump Jr. He also have pretty unrealistic ideas about foreign policy -- too much warmongering
toward China and actually also toward Russia (his assessment of Trump tower meeting is really idiotic to say the least).
Bannon proved to be a miserable human being, hell-bent of revenge. Actually the book is more about Bannon than Trump.
And his portrait is far from flattering. Bannon committed
stunning art betrayal of the President. Stunning even if
we take into account that Trump renegs on most of his election promises. See
Steve Bannon
Tells Michael Wolff Trump Is ‘Not Going to Make It’, Jan 4, 2018
Trump attorney Charles Harder
said in a
statement that “legal action is imminent” for Bannon allegedly violating his non-disparagement agreement with Trump and making
“in some cases outright defamatory” statements.
Calls Ivanka "stupid" and other character assassination.
Wolf proved again that his is just a second rate sleazy gossip columnist who will commit any unmoral acts for money. He
is now rightfully afraid of possible legal consequences.
Wolf completely destroyed Bannon as a political figure and promoter of "economic nationalism" in the USA. Wolff
probably have tapes with conversation with Bannon. Alt-right will never trust Bannon again. Actually nobody will trust him.
Bannon is effectively dead as a political figure Karl Rove
- YouTube
Wolf assertion that he want to inform people about danger that Trump represents is phony. All he wants is money and a
large scandal to feed his ego. That' why he waited for a year to launch the book at one year anniversary of Trump presidency. There
might be other motives too as the book distracted attention from Steele dossier fiasco and Strzok-gate (Ex-Bush
adviser Why was Wolff allowed in White House):
you guys , now after the fake witch hunt of Russian dossier you are cheat enough to come out with this fake book and fake author
story to malign Trump, , ..... leave us Americans alone , do not waste resources of American tax payers in satisfying your arrogance
and ego, ... instead you must call Obama/Clintons on the MSM and ask the relevant questions how much damage they done to this
great nation
... ... ...
Trump team was dysfunctional at the beginning and allowed this mole to do the damage. There was not clear lines of responsibility
and with flattery and a highly placed "protector" you can get pretty far. That person, by all accounts, was former White House
adviser Steve Bannon. There might be a couple of other too. While Trump may have simply known that the biographer of his idol, Rupert
Murdoch, was on site, it was Bannon who ensured Wolff had access. "
Why Steve Bannon
let Michael Wolff in the White House - Business Insider. As
The AP's White House reporter, Zeke Miller,
said, every time he saw Wolff there it was with an "appointment" badge rather than a "press" badge.
Of course right now Wolff is laughing to the bank, but there are some issues with the book on which he can lose his shirt. One such
issues which is much bigger that his tiny, slimy personality is Russian lawyer Veselnitskaya visit to the Trump tower story. And he
failed to understand this writing the book.
You write in your recent piece "The Russians are Coming, the Russians are Coming", "The complete and unmitigated
irrationality of the current epidemic of Russia-phobia does nothing to reduce its incredible virulence as it continues to infect
the entire political and media class."
..So we have had the coming together of these factors: the hatred of WikiLeaks by the intelligence community, the military's
need for Russia as an enemy to justify the billions and billions in military spending, and the need of the so-called liberal left
for a scapegoat for Hillary's defeat. So you have this kind of perfect storm that has led people to concoct this imaginary
scenario where Russia installed the president of the United States in collusion with Julian Assange.
This report of Bannon insinuations (probably exaggerated and uttered probably in a bout of narcissistic rage after his dismissal)
about Natalia Veselnitskaya was actually the most powerful attack on Trump contained in the
book. Such behaviour was typical for Bannon and was actually predicted by POLITICO Magazine (If
Trump Fired Bannon, Would He Seek Revenge):
And when Bannon was breaking up with his second wife, she accused him of grabbing her by the throat and threatening to take away
their children, while his lawyer reportedly threatened that she would end up with "no money" if the resultant domestic abuse case
went to trial.
...Taken together, their suggestions amount to an epic, Kill Bill-style revenge saga that starts with Bannon leaking personal
dirt on his enemies to the tabloids
...Jacobus said she expects Bannon would use his knowledge of the White House's internal dynamics to drum up stories that exacerbate
existing rivalries.
Meanwhile, Bannon could launder more salacious hits through the tabloids.
...Cernovich said. "All the gossip and drama and stuff that might be a little more personal is going to get leaked."
So this sleasy gossip columnist Wolff tells is that Russians told through some intermediary that they have some dirt on Hillary
and they want a meeting with Trumps son. This is quite a double idiocy. Because it denigrate the Russian diplomacy to some wild tribe
in Amazon. Even if they wanted to meet with Trump's son, they would never acknowledge the intermediary of the purpose of the meeting.
Bannon insinuations reported by Wolff already prompted an action of "Grand Inquisitor" Mueller, who quickly capitalized on Bannon
mistake and summoned him to the grand jury. Ironically, in Russiagate in general and in case of Trump power meeting in particular
the truth is on Trump's side. Nunes FISA memo confirms this. Wolff proved to be completely incompetent as investigative journalist.
But what you would expect from sleazy gossip columnist.
Like was the case with Steele dossier (British fabrication sourced, paid, and promoted by FBI contractor Fusion GPS)
Wolff book "hot staff" if as far from real events as one can get. He claimed in his book that Veselnitskaya meeting with Trump
Jr. in Trump tower was a treason. This is probably the most libelous statement you can find in the book. The reality it most probably
it was an attempt of entrapment of Trump Jr. by FBI contractor Fusion GPS, using Veselnitskaya as a patsy. See Was Natalia Veselnitskaya meeting with Trump Jr. a trap? This was a very short
meeting organized by false pretences by a British person who worked for FBI contractor Fusion GPS. All agree that the meeting
lasted no more than 20 minutes.
Wolff's attempt to publish this false statement even if it was an authentic Bannon comment suggest that he is a tool (the other possible
diagnosis might include a sociopath with completely inadequate view of his own personality; or a person with a damaged by alcoholism
and cocaine mentality). This is completely outrageous behaviour on the part of the Wolff both as a human and as a journalist.
It is beyond my competence to judge whether Trump is fit for the office, but it quite clear that Wolff is unfit to be a writer.
In any case, this is the part of the book where Trump lawyers can probably prove actual malice because Bannon statements were suspicious
as statements of any person who never was present during Veselnitskaya meeting with Trump Jr.,; add to this that he was a disgruntled
employee and he probably never understood the role of FBI contractor Fusion GPs in organizing the meeting. Although the danger of Wolff's
lawyers requesting information from WH as a part of "discovery" probably outweighs the benefits. It would much smarter to get Wolff
on some of his own semi-criminal dealings ( in the past he was accused of stealing and selling jewelry from his mother in law
to finance his and his former wife lavish lifestyle) ) by supporting the injured party. As French used to say "revenge is the
dish that is better to served cold"
The short term effect was clearly devastating both for Trump administration and Republicans, producing a new bout of anti-Russian
and anti-Trump hysteria. But like is the case with Steele dossier, as time pass by we learn more and more facts that undermine Wolff's
credibility. Still the short term effect was close the information bomb explosion. With the only difference from Steele dossier
that the position of Special Prosecutor was already occupied. But this was the episode which probably provoked Trump reaction and the
seize and desists letters, which definitely increased sales of the book. Here is how
David reviewed the book on January 5, 2018
I purchased this strange, cheesy book for three reasons: 1) Trump tried to suppress it (1st Amendment, anyone?); 2) to protest
the TrumpCo-driven devaluation of United States into a de facto Russian satellite country (are we great enough yet?); 3) to spit
in the eye of all congressional Republicans who are silent in the face of treason, collusion, money-laundering, profiteering, stealing
from the poor and middle-class, and a host of other high crimes and misdemeanors.
There are actually a of lot of reviews in the style "But when the administration sent the lawyers after it...best publicity imaginable.
The writing is not stellar. I'm giving it five stars mainly to annoy 45 and his hardcore supporters. " This Russiagate story was like
5
gallon carton of ice cream to Hillary supporters ;-). But the quality of this "ice crème" is suspect.
It looks like Wolff failed to understand that evidence-free attacks has strengthened Trump's base and convinced his supporters that
their leader is being unfairly attacked.
Russiagate originated in a conspiracy between the military/security complex (intelligence agencies are the key part of MIC), the
Clinton wing of the Democratic Party (which pushed Sanders under the bus), and the neoliberal MSM. The goal of the military/security
complex is to protect its budget and power by preventing President Trump from normalizing relations with Russia. Clinton wing of Democratic
Party wants to hide Hillary political fiasco by blaming it on Russians. Neoliberal MSM and their handlers just want an establishment
neocon warmonger like Hillary as a President and Trump does not qualify.
Bannon proved to be a real Trojan horse within Trump administration, who pursued his own agenda (and who ended with self-immolation).
And while disappointment with Trump, who reneged on most of his election time promises is understandable, whether this is a tactical
move or strategic retreat and conversion into "normal" republican was not clear at a time.
As the presstitutes are aligned with the military/security complex, Hillary and the DNC, and the liberal/progressive/left,
the Russiagate orchestration is a powerful conspiracy against the president of the United States and the "deplorables" who elected
him. Nevertheless, the Russiagate Conspiracy has fallen apart and has now been turned against its originators.
These people are the lowest form of life; vicious, ignorant, scheming, petty, savage, manipulative -- if given
the opportunity and the right incentive, he would stab any one of them, and not lose a minute's sleep... Again, what was
his motivation -- something is missing from this puzzle. Drugs or drink or mental illness? ... those rats in that sinking
sack, they're fighting... He may be the dictionary definition of a firestarter to some, to me he's a rancid piece of filth.
Guardian comment
"Fire and Fury's shoddy journalism manages to indict both Wolff's tactics and the whole media ecosystem around
him."
As soon as Wolff alleges that there was Trump collision with Russia (regarding the meeting with Russian lawyer in Trump
tower) it became clear what agenda he have had.
Wolff is definitely pandering to anti-Russian hysteria in neoliberal MSMs by pushing Veselnitskaya visit to Trump tower (which
lasted no more then 20 min and participants clearly were under surveillance by FBI and possibly British intelligence
services via Veselnitskaya special status as a visitor to the USA as a lobbyist for Magnitsky case as well as Steele dossier machinations).
all Veselnitskaya communication were intercepted (CONFIRMED
Mueller admits no collusion at Trump Tower meeting)
As is now becoming the way as the Russiagate scandal unravels,
confirmation of the collapse of one of its central pillars – the claim of proof of collusion between Russia and the Trump campaign
which some have claimed to see in the meeting in Trump Tower in June 2016 between the Russian lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya and Donald
Trump Junior – has slipped out in the most covert way possible.
Nonetheless the confirmation is there and originates in what all
the indications suggest is a deliberate leak either from Special Counsel Robert Mueller's team or from the White House's legal team.
The confirmation is provided in an NBC News
article which reads as follows
Two sources familiar with the questions Mueller's team have been asking about the meeting say the investigators are most interested
in why the president crafted a misleading statement about the meeting much later, in July 2017, after a New York Times report
about it. The sources say Mueller's office is trying to confirm every detail it can about the meeting.
Mueller's team is less interested in the meeting as a direct example of collusion, the sources said, although Trump Jr. accepted
the meeting after being told he would receive incriminating information about Hillary Clinton as part of the Russian government
effort to help his father.
No evidence has emerged publicly to contradict Veselnitskaya's account that she wanted to press a case about U.S. Magnitsky
Act sanctions, and that she did not possess significant derogatory information about Clinton, despite the email from a music promoter
to Trump Jr. promising incriminating details about the Democrat.
Moreover, no evidence has emerged publicly that connects the Russians in the meeting with the Russian intelligence effort
to interfere in the 2016 presidential election.
The issue of Donald Trump's supposedly misleading statement about the meeting is a red herring since it can have no possible connection
to the collusion allegations which Mueller's inquiry is supposed to be investigating.
Even assuming that Trump's statement was misleading – which some might question – it would hardly be the first case of a US President
making a misleading statement, and it is impossible to see how it can possibly give rise to a law enforcement issue for Mueller to
investigate.
Of much more importance is the confirmation that Mueller's team now acknowledge that there is no evidence to connect Veselnitskaya
to Russian intelligence and that her and Donald Trump Junior's accounts of their meeting must be accepted as true since there is
no evidence to contradict them. In truth this was obvious from the start as I pointed out in an
article I wrote on 12th July
2017, written immediately after details of the meeting came to light
The meeting with Veselnitskaya duly took place on 9th June 2016. It turned out that she had no information about Hillary
Clinton to offer and was not a "Russian government attorney". Instead she wanted to discuss the Magnitsky Act, upon which
a baffled Donald Trump Junior politely showed her the door.
That is the unanimous account of all the participants of the meeting including Donald Trump Junior and Veselnitskaya herself.
All agree that the meeting lasted no more than 20 minutes.
There is no evidence that contradicts their account and the absence of any follow-up to the meeting essentially corroborates
their account.
It seems that Donald Trump Junior and Veselnitskaya have never met since and have had no further contact with each other.
There is no evidence here of any crime or wrongdoing being committed or – contrary to what many are
saying – of any intention to commit one.
Russiagate would not however be Russiagate if this important news that Mueller and his team have come to the same conclusion was
not smuggled out in an NBC News article whose title gives the impression that it is about the totally meaningless fact that Veselnitskaya
after leaving the meeting with Donald Trump Junior had a brief encounter in the lift of Trump Tower with a blonde woman who might
– or might not – have been Donald Trump's daughter Ivanka.
So to quote Bannon about possibility of charges of money laundering (as in Beria famous quote: "Show me a man and I will find you
a crime") (The
Guardian) is clearly pandering to Russiagate hysteria in an attempt to increase sales of the book
The intensity of neoliberal MSM attack on Trump administration reminded me Steele dossier. As an amoral character in the center of
scandal we can't exclude that Wolff did not have any some connections to Fusion GPS or other CIA or FBI front. In this sense
we can view Michael Wolf book was essentially an opening shot of "unfit for the office" gambit, after fiasco of "Steele dossier" the
fact that Wolff rehash standard propaganda about.
At one point Wolff mentions the alleged collusion with Russia. He asserts that if there was collusion, Trump was an unwitting victim
of it, not realizing how his praise of Russia was affecting them and their actions. Paradoxically when Wolff writes about the
Steele dossier, he touched that problem of rabid neoliberal press that is way too enthusiastic to promote it. Like now they promote
Wolff's book. There was also Chunk Schumer advice not to piss off the Intel community or they'll have a 2-3 yr Russia investigation
with daily leaks. Which implies that there's no validity to the Russia investigation. It's just a part of color revolution against Trump.
But the same is actually true about the Wolff's book.
The meeting took place in June 2018. If was organized by FBI contractor Fusion GPS (which might also has CIA ties via some associates
and is in the center Steele dossier scandal and Strzokgate) and as such might be an attempt of entrapment. But now" Meeting in
Trump tower" is part of neoliberal myth of "Trump collision with Russia" and permanent feature of anti-Russian hysteria in neoliberal
MSMs. We can talk about mass paranoia fueled by neoliberal MSM in this case. A witch hunt.
Natalia Veselnitskaya was initially denied entry into the United States, only to be allowed in under "extraordinary circumstances"
by Obama's Homeland Security Department and approved by former AG Loretta Lynch so she could represent Fusion GPS client Denis Katsyv's
company, Prevezon Holdings - and attend the meeting at Trump Tower with Donald Trump Jr. - arranged by Fusion GPS associate
Rob Goldstone.
It is really interesting and not well know fact that it was a Fusion GPS associate British (beware of Brits setting up meetings ;-)
"music publicist"
Rob Goldstone
(who was a tabloid journalist in the past, much like Wolff) was the person, who set up this meeting misrepresenting Natalia Veselnitskaya
as a person connected with Russian government who might have goods on Hillary
(The Guardian):
June 3, 2016: Rob Goldstone emails Trump Jr. offering "official documents and information" that "would
be very useful to your father". Goldstone made clear the material came from Moscow and was "part of Russia and its government support
for Mr. Trump".
In addition to this he fraudulently used the name Russian-Azeri businessman Aras Agalarov to set-up the meeting (The
Guardian):
Russia's foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, said it was "wild" that Trump's son was being blamed for speaking with a Russian attorney.
Lavrov – who met Trump last week at the G20 summit in Hamburg, together with Vladimir Putin – said he knew nothing of the meeting
with the lawyer. Serious people were trying to "make a mountain out of a molehill", Lavrov said.
In the emails, Goldstone said he made contact with Trump Jr. at the behest of the Russian-Azeri businessman Aras Agalarov and
Aglaravov's pop-star son, Emin. The Agalarovs hosted Trump when he visited Moscow in 2013 for the Miss Universe beauty pageant.
On Wednesday, Aras Agalarov claimed the story was invented. "I think this is some sort of fiction. I don't know who is making
it up," he told Russia's Business FM radio station, adding: "What has Hillary Clinton got to do with anything? I don't know."
It turns out that Veselnitskaya was not working for Fusion GPS but rather Fusion GPS was working for her, in connection with her
work on the Magnitsky case.
That in itself makes it inherently unlikely that she was acting as a catspaw for Fusion GPS when she met Donald Trump Junior.
More to the point, Glenn Simpson's comments about Veselnitskaya are anything but complimentary. He basically describes her –
rather convincingly – as a self-important busybody and a minor league player, and expresses incredulity at the suggestion that she
was a Russian intelligence agent who was working for the Kremlin.
And it is reasonable to assume that she was a selected patsy due to the fact that she was a Russian. Also strange that Fusion GPS
associate from Britain was strangely active before the meeting travelling to Russia (probably collecting dirt for Steele dossier
in Moscow musical circles and bars ;-):
Goldstone's posts indicate that he was in Moscow 10 days before the 9 June 2016 meeting at Trump Tower, and then returned
to spend most of that July in Russia and Azerbaijan.
"If I'm guilty of anything, and I hate the word guilty, it's hyping the message and going the extra mile for my clients. Using
hot-button language to puff up the information I had been given. I didn't make up the details, I just made them sound more interesting."…..
[In] his first email to the younger Trump [Goldstone] appeared to give a very different impression. He wrote matter-of-factly:
"This is obviously very high level and sensitive information but is part of Russia and its government's support for Mr Trump
- helped along by Aras and Emin." Those words, he says now, were simply "puffery" from a publicist seeking to grab Trump Jr's attention.
"What I was talking about there was that I'd been in Russia many times and I'd seen how both government figures and the public
adored and supported Trump, and that included Emin and Aras. But because it's a rushed email, I understand that the implication sounds
like it's me giving an official statement about Russian government support. But it wasn't. And with hindsight, yes, I would have
written it differently."
Much has also been made of how Goldstone said Aras Agalarov had met Russia's "crown prosecutor". Given that Russia has not had
a crown since the 1917 revolution, there was a widespread presumption that Goldstone was referring to Vladimir Putin's prosecutor
general, Yuri Chaika. It has since been reported that the lawyer Veselnitskaya met Chaika in Moscow in the run-up to her trip to
New York, sharing with him the talking points that she delivered at Trump Tower. But Goldstone insists Veselnitskaya was the one
described to him by Emin as a "well-connected prosecutor" and that in his haste, he had said "crown prosecutor" as that was a British
term he used to use as a young reporter.
As WaPo stated Mark
Corallo, a spokesman for President Trump's outside counsel, alleged that (
The Washington Post July 11, 2017)
the meeting had been set up under false pretenses and implied that Veselnitskaya's association with Fusion GPS was relevant
to the alleged deception.
"Specifically, we have learned that the person who sought the meeting is associated with Fusion GPS, a firm which according
to public reports, was retained by Democratic operatives to develop opposition research on the president and which commissioned the
phony Steele dossier," Corallo said in a statement.
Even before Trump's legal team suggested the Veselnitskaya meeting was a dirty trick to set up the younger Trump, pro-Trump media
outlets had been calling on federal and Senate investigators to look into the activities of the firm, which is run by two former
journalists and has done research for both Republicans and Democrats alike.
What is really funny that later " William Browder, the chief of Hermitage Capital ... filed the complaint against Fusion GPS and
several other entities he alleges were working on behalf of the Russians." William Browder is suspected to be the former
agent on MI6, much like Christopher Steele was. As Josh Rogin wrote (
The Washington Post July 11, 2017) :
Browder told me the he will testify that the fact Veselnitskaya was trying to convince Trump campaign officials and family members
to change U.S. policy on Russia clearly shows she was acting as an agent of the Russian government.
... ... ...
Fusion GPS has said that it was working for the law firm BakerHostetler, which was representing Prevezon, a Russian holding company
based in Cyprus, in its defense against Justice Department allegations that Prevezon laundered money stolen in the fraud Magnitsky
uncovered. Veselnitskaya was Prevezon's lawyer. Fusion GPS started working on the case in 2013 and the case settled in May with no
admission of guilt by Prevezon.
... ... ...
Prevezon is owned by Russian businessman Denis Katsyv. His father, Pyotr Katsyv, was vice premier and minister of transport of
Moscow region from 2004 to 2012. Katsyv's deputy minister was Alexander Mitusov, Veselnitskaya's ex husband.
Another funny story is that "Veselnitskaya's meeting with Donald Trump Jr. is not mentioned in Steele dossier that Fusion GPS
produced for its American political clients." Despite all super-duper connection that Christopher Steele supposedly has had on
the highest levels of the Russian government ;-). Such a James Bond II.
Bannon was not part of Trump organization at this time (he joined the campaign only on Aug 17, 2016, two month later),
so why he uttered such suicidal (self-immolating as Karl Rove put it) comments about the meeting he has no first-hand information about
is completely unclear. Rage can do such things even if one has no first hand knowledge of the event. Wolff decided to milk the Trump
administration and write the book only in Feb 2017. So it is natural that he decided to spice the book with this quote, which
was probably made after Bannon ouster is September 2017.
There were eight persons in this very short meeting. One was the translator, as Natalia Veselnitskaya does not speak English (big
problem for a Russian agent sent to infiltrate Trump campaign; I do not thing Russian FSB, or whatever agency charged with such things,
is that stupid ;-).
Another funny thing about this meeting is that presence of Rob Golstone guaranteed that all information from this meeting goes directly
to FBI and Clinton campaign. So are supposed to believe that Russians with (according to Russiagate hysteria) all-seeing and super-capable
intelligence agencies did not know who he was and whom he represented.
Actually a couple of hours of Google browsing on this topic convinced me that the main audience of neoliberal MSM such as CNN, MSNBC,
WaPo, NYT, etc are brainwashed dummies, who are incapable or too lazy to do a couple of Google searches ;-)
The June 2016 meeting at Trump Tower with Donald Trump Jr., Jared Kushner and Paul Manafort included at least eight people.
The revelation of additional participants comes as The Associated Press first
reported Friday that a Russian-American lobbyist named Rinat Akhmetshin said he also attended the June 2016 meeting with Donald
Trump Jr. CNN has reached out to Akhmetshin for comment.
So far acknowledged in attendance: Trump Jr., Kushner, Manafort, Russian lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya, Akhmetshin and publicist Rob
Goldstone, who helped set up the meeting. A source familiar with the circumstances told CNN there were at least two other people
in the room as well, a translator and a representative of the Russian family who had asked Goldstone to set up the meeting. The source
did not provide the names.
Akhmetshin is a registered lobbyist for Veselnitskaya's organization, which has focused on lobbying Washington to overturn the Magnitsky
sanctions, according to lobbying records. The Magnitsky Act allows the US to withhold visas and freeze the assets of Russians thought
to have violated human rights. Veselnitskaya
founded a group purporting to
seek the removal of Moscow's ban on the adoption of Russian children by US citizens, which it put in place in retaliation for the
Magnitsky Act. She has also sought to repeal that law.
In early Jan 2018 the bank for opposition research firm Fusion GPS handed over financial records on Friday, after a Federal judge
struck down the firm's attempt to conceal the records from the House Intelligence Committee the previous day. At issue are 70
financial transactions from 2016, however Committee Chairman Devin Nunes (R-CA) demanded "complete" records going all the way back to
Aug. 2015 Fusion filed for an injunction - claiming Nunes issued the subpoena illegally, it was overly broad, and it was a violation
of the 1st amendment.
The request also covers a period in which Fusion was paid $523,651 by a law firm for a Russian businessman whose company, Prevezon
Holdings, Ltd. settled with the U.S. Justice department for $5.9 million. The Russian's attorney for this settlement was none other
than Natalia Veselnitskaya of Trump Tower meeting fame.
Federal District Court Judge Richard Leon, a George W. Bush appointee, wrote a scorching denial to Fusion's request - concluding
that Nunes legally issued the subpoena, it wasn't overly broad, and that the transactions are not covered by the first amendment.
In late November, The Daily
Caller's
Chuck Ross reported that
heavily redacted Fusion GPS bank records unsealed Tuesday reveal DNC law firm
Perkins Coie paid Fusion a total of
$1,024,408 in
2016 for opposition research on then-candidate Donald Trump - including the 34-page dossier.
Ross also reported that law firm Baker Hostelter paid Fusion
$523,651 between March and October 2016 on behalf of a company owned by
Russian businessman and
money launderer Denis Katsyv
to research Bill Browder, a London banker who helped push through the Magnitsky Act -- named after deceased Russian accountant Sergei
Magnitsky who helped Brower to avoid taxes in Russia via criminal schemes.
Katsyv was busted for a high level embezzlement and money laundering scheme, sanctioned by Russian Officials, in which large sums
of money were stolen from the Russian government and invested in New York real estate. Some of the missing funds were traced to Katsyv's
firm, Prevezon Holdings Ltd., which settled with the Justice Department in 2017 - paying $5.9 million in fines. Nunes' Subpoena cover
banking records from the period in which Katsyv utilized Fusion GPS services.
How in fact she was the lawyer for a company which was stealing from the Russian government and laundering money in the Western banks.
In other words "the Russians" in this story could well be Fusion GPS, FBI Mayberry Machiavellians and some Justice Department People.
A couple of points on the Browder matter, which in an era of anti-Russian hysteria, seems to taken on a life of its own and resulted
in the passage of the Magnitsky Act by our "diligent" congress:
Magnitsky was not a lawyer, he was an accountant; maybe a small matter but it does shade Browder's legal arguments.
Not surprisingly, the Russian govt has an entirely different take on the Browder matter and has sentenced Browder to several
years in prison (in absentia) for tax fraud:
https://www.rt.com/politics/414540-moscow-court-sentences-us-investor/
(yeah, ok, it is from RT but the report is accurate.)
A documentary film was produced some months ago with adverse commentary on Browder's claims-the film was so adverse that
Browder and his army of lawyers have spared no expense nor effort to block its public showing -- I believe this effort speaks
for itself as to the accuracy of the film.
From treatment of general Flynn we can assume that
FBI Mayberry Machiavellians
were capable of pretty dirty tricks. We all remember Strzok words about "insurance". So arranging this meeting might well be a
step in creating such an insurance which allow later to blackmail Trump and his team, or even depose him. Some event that happened
before the visit look somewhat suspicious (and some highly suspicious, such as Jun 3, 2016 Goldstein email). Partially adapted
from Luke Harding timeline in
The Guardian
June 3, 2016: FBI contractor Fusion GPS associate and British citizen Rob Goldstone emails Trump Jr. offering
"official documents and information" that "would be very useful to your father". Goldstone made clear the material came from
Moscow and was "part of Russia and its government support for Mr. Trump".
June 7, 2016 Donald Trump Jr. confirms the meeting – brokered by Goldstone – with Russian lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya.
The same day his father made a speech in which he promised fresh revelations about Hillary Clinton's "crimes", to be "probably" delivered
the next week. The "major speech" didn't materialize, however. Trump has denied any knowledge of the meeting.
June 9, 2016:A very short (half an hour?) Trump Jr's meeting with Veselnitskaya takes place with Paul Manafort and
Jared Kushner also attending. Veselnitskaya pushed her Magnitsky law case. She has denied having information on Clinton and links
to the Kremlin.
[Jul 12, 2017]: Reference to Aras Agalarov by Rob Goldstein proved to false. On Wednesday, Aras Agalarov claimed
the story was invented. "I think this is some sort of fiction. I don't know who is making it up," he told Russia's Business FM radio
station, adding: "What has Hillary Clinton got to do with anything? I don't know." Agalarov added that "I really don't know
Rob Goldstone well". Goldstone, however, has travelled to Moscow and Baku – where Agalarov has a fan base – on numerous occasions
and appears to be the singer's concert promoter. Photos of the two of them appear on Goldstone's Facebook page, including from a
meeting in May 2015 with Trump at Trump Tower. In 2014, Goldstone also posted a group portrait of Emin with Trump and his daughter
Ivanka. Meanwhile, Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov insisted that the Kremlin had not spoken to Agalarov and has no ties to
Veselnitskaya. (The
Guardian and guess who is the author of the article ;-)
The three senior guys in the campaign thought it was a good idea to meet with a foreign government inside Trump Tower in the
conference room on the 25th floor with no lawyers," Bannon said, according to a copy of the book obtained by NBC News.
"Even if you thought that this was not treasonous, or unpatriotic, or bad shit, and I happen to think it's all of that, you should
have called the FBI immediately," he added.
Bannon also said he believed that the Russians were taken after the meeting to meet Trump, something the president has denied
happened.
"The chance that Don Jr. did not walk these jumos up to his father's office on the twenty-sixth floor is zero," Bannon says
in the book.
Russian lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya told NBC News that she and her colleagues at the Trump Tower meeting did not meet or see
then-candidate Trump. "Absolutely not true," the Russian lawyer told NBC's Natasha Lededeva.
Trump issued a scathing statement attacking his former adviser, saying Bannon had "lost his mind."
"Steve had the honor of working in the White House & serving the country," Trump Jr. tweeted. "Unfortunately, he squandered
that privilege & turned that opportunity into a nightmare of backstabbing, harassing, leaking, lying & undermining the President."
Seldom cited in neoliberal MSM (they preferred to interview Wolff instead of Trump Jr.) and difficult to find on
the Internet.
"This is all about money laundering," Wolff quotes
Bannon
saying. "Their path to [expletive] Trump goes right through Paul Manafort, Don Jr. and Jared Kushner." For good measure he
added, "It's as plain as a hair on your face."
"It goes through Deutsche Bank and all the Kushner stuff," Bannon adds. "The Kushner stuff is greasy. They're going to go right
through that." (He used a nastier word than "stuff," but let's keep things family-friendly around here.)
Bannon then roasts the Trump White House for how ill-prepared it is to take on Mueller's team: "They're sitting on a beach trying
to stop a Category Five."
[Jan 16, 2018]:Bannon testifies before House intelligence committee in a closed session.
[Jan 16, 2018]: Bannon summoned to testify before grand jury by Mueller.
During election campaign and shortly after Trump was highly critical of "intelligence community" (which is more a can of worms
then a community) and attacked CIA understanding the they are out to get him:
Donald Trump spent a lot of time trashing the United States intelligence community when he was candidate Trump. And with less
than 40 days until he becomes the boss of every intelligence officer in the government, President-elect Trump is once again questioning
the competence of America's spies.
His public comments, most recently a statement on Friday, have left some intelligence officials stunned and worried about a contentious
relationship between the White House and the intelligence services, at a time when the country is still tracking and killing suspected
terrorists and working to improve its footing in the growing world of cyberwarfare.
Late Friday night, after a Washington Post report
revealed a CIA finding that Russian-backed hackers actively worked to influence the course of the 2016 election in favor of Trump,
the president-elect's transition team sent out a scathing statement.
"These are the same people that said Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction," the statement read. "The election ended
a long time ago in one of the biggest Electoral College victories in history. It's now time to move on and 'Make America Great Again.'"
Wolff describes the speech Trump made to the CIA shortly after his inauguration. He says, "Witnesses would describe his reception
at the CIA as either Beatles-like emotional outpouring or a response so confounded and appalled that, in the seconds after he finished,
you could hear a pin drop."
It looks like Wolff interpretation that Trump speech changed attitude of CIA staff, which after his speech experienced some
kind of "Beatles-like emotional outpouring" of support and it is no longer so hostile to Trump is false and just a
wishful thinking. CIA is an organization which is interested in maintenance and expansion of global neoliberal empire led by the
USA. And this is a problem as "tail is wagging the dog" and this causes overextension of the USA resources which flow into empire-relates
tasks instead of improving life of Americans at home. sometimes loot from such imperial adventures compensates spending (Iraq, Libya),
but often it is not (Afghanistan). Also it produces a steady steam of crippled US servicemen who need to be supported for the rest of
their life.
So my take is that CIA reaction was deeply hostile. And this Wolff's idea of a 'Beatles-like emotional outpouring' is a pure crap.
CIA was (Brennan is an important figure in anti-Trump color revolution) and remnants hostile to ideas of Trump election campaign
(which he himself by-and-large abandoned since April 2017), considering them, as a threat for its existence and prosperity, especially
a large caste of "national security parasites" deeply entrenched in Washington headquarters who does not experience danger and deprivation
of field CIA officers stationed abroad. Michael Morell is a nice example such glib "national security parasite" (Former
Acting Director of CIA Mike Morell Sought to Covertly Kill Russians in Syria - YouTube). He never served abroad (Brennan actually
did). He openly stated that Donald J. Trump represents "... a threat to our national security." (Former
CIA deputy director on why he endorsed Clinton - YouTube) Later he actually admitted the existence of the coup d'état against
Trump within "intelligence community".
Former Prosecutor Katie Phang called for investigation of CIA Director John Brennan over whether he leaked information about the Russian
hacking investigation to the media (CIA Director under fire,
Dec 19, 2016)
It would be more interesting if it had some notes on sources, but there is no way
to determine 1st hand info, 2nd hand info, and third hand in a mirror info.
Like Steele dossier (especially golden showers), Wolff books promote unproven hypnosis' as a fact. Here instead of "golden showers"
we have Veselnitskaya meeting. In both case CNN, MSNBC and several other neoliberal MSM teamed up with a rogue intelligence
community hype those rumors to stratosphere in order to slime Trump and destroy his presidency.
Of course, Wolff himself is now laughing to the bank, but as got into "intelligence agencies staff" (iether as patsy or as a willing
accomplice) he can lose his shirt as this is a big game, much bigger than his slimy personality. He failed to understand
this while writing this particular chapter of his book. There are two main possibilities here:
Patsy: Wolff is bumbling idiot who does not understand that claiming that this meeting was equal to treason is
a part of anti-Trump "color revolution" meme and the meeting itself most probably was a trap set by Fusion GPs which deceived
Don Jr. into believing that Veselnitskaya will bring dirt of Hillary, while she was intended only to discuss Magnitsky Act
removal (Veselnitskaya was a client of Fusion GPS and a lobbyist against Magnitsky Act). This explanation is not plausible. After
all Wolff was a war correspondent in Iraq so he is a certified neoliberal/neocon establishment stooge. And he is definitely not an
idiot, although some of his actions are idiotic.
Willing accomplice: Wolff himself is part of the "color revolution" efforts as a part of NYC neoliberal elite. This
is the most plausible explanation. In this sense profits from the book are similar to Hillary honorarium for Goldman Sacks
speeches.
the most regions is Wolff quote which suggests that the meeting of Natalia Veselnitskaya with Trump Jr. is equal to treason.
This amounts to slander and characterize Wolff as a tool of Clinton wing of Democratic party pushing Russiagate story. Veselnitskaya
was a private lobbyist against Magnitsky law representing one of Russian oligarch or Russian bank, not an agent of the Russian government.
But this is exactly like Steel dossier was written and that suggests that it would be interesting to probe for Wolff
connections with FBI contractor Fusion GPS (private intelligence agency) . Which, as proven, paid journalists and news outlets to blackmail
Trump.
After the except were published, Bannon claimed that critical quotes about Trump Tower meeting are not accurate and that alone can get
Wolff in hot water. When confronted with the request to provide confirmation to events described in his book Wolff only managed to say
"read the book" (Michael Wolffs Alternative
Facts). On Jan 8, Bannon issues a statement that was reproduced in many MSM including NYT:
Steve Bannon's Statement on Donald Trump Jr. - The New York Times
"Donald Trump Jr. is both a patriot and a good man. He has been relentless in his advocacy for his father and the agenda that
has helped turn our country around.
"My support is also unwavering for the president and his agenda - as I have shown daily in my national radio broadcasts, on the pages
of Breitbart News and in speeches and appearances from Tokyo and Hong Kong to Arizona and Alabama. President Trump was the only candidate
that could have taken on and defeated the Clinton apparatus. I am the only person to date to conduct a global effort to preach the
message of Trump and Trump_vs_deep_state, and I remain ready to stand in the breach for this president's efforts to make America
great again.
"My comments about the meeting with Russian nationals came from my life experiences as a Naval officer stationed aboard a destroyer
whose main mission was to hunt Soviet submarines to my time at the Pentagon during the Reagan years, when our focus was the defeat
of 'the evil empire,' and to making films about Reagan's war against the Soviets and Hillary Clinton's involvement in selling uranium
to them.
"My comments were aimed at Paul Manafort, a seasoned campaign professional with experience and knowledge of how the Russians operate.
He should have known they are duplicitous, cunning and not our friends. To reiterate, those comments were not aimed at Don Jr.
"Everything I have to say about the ridiculous nature of the Russian 'collusion' investigation I said on my '60 Minutes' interview.
There was no collusion and the investigation is a witch hunt.
"I regret that my delay in responding to the inaccurate reporting regarding Don Jr. has diverted attention from the president's
historical accomplishments in the first year of his presidency."
Literally meaning "who benefits?," cui bono? is a rhetorical Latin legal phrase used to imply
that whoever appears to have the most to gain from a crime is probably the culprit. More generally, it's used in English to question
the meaningfulness or advantages of carrying something out.
Wolff is an extremely greedy and unscrupulous individual. The idea of writing the book to improve his financial wellbeing was
a brilliant business move, but you need "startup" money for such thing beyond advance from the publisher. I doubt that advance exceeded
$100K in this case. And speeding considerable time in Washington (if we are to believe Wolff) costs a lot of money. Just 25 train trips
(and Wolff has had 17 confirmed meetings in WH) for several days $4K each (assuming train $600, hotel $1.2K and "other expenses" $2K)
is already around $100K. If one need to collect dirt in some Washington social circles, add to this cost "presents", cost of dinners
with potential source (some females Bannon associates with whom Wolff was schmoozing really like expensive champagne), and you might
need to double that. Add to those expenses schmoozing in NYC such as a dinner with Roger Ailes and Bannon, etc.
Truth be told Wolff did not took any brake for writing the book. He continued to produce his columns, so he has no lost income and
continued to get his regular salary (which probably now is much less then in his Vanity Fair days).
But he is the guy for whom exceeding expenses over income is a way of life and he probably has debts to service. So it can
well be that he got some financial help from external sources, possible from Clinton circle of fiends and financiers including FBI contractor
Fusion GPS. It is well known that Fusion GPs paid certain journalists and media outlets for blackmailing Trump. That's why they
probably resisted the disclosure of their financial records (
https://www.redstate.com/streiff/2018/01/07/devin-nunes-gets-slam-dunk-fight-fusion-gps/(
Why is Fusion GPS fighting so hard to resist the subpoena? Because the redacted records already released showed Fusion GPS
paying money to journalists and to media organizations. We don't know if these payments were for pushing the totally irrelevant
Trump dossier but we can be very sure that we will soon know the names of the journalists and organizations involved.
Two interesting questions are: (1) what was Wolff's financial position at the end of 2016 ? (2) Was he desperate for money to pay
debts ? He has a young girlfriend (around 30 year younger or so see
Victoria Floethe
8 facts About Michael Wolff's Younger Girlfriend) so may be he has additional expenses and not only on Viagra ;-). He also might
need some money for legal expenses if lawsuits against him and his former wife were not settled before (according to one old lawsuit
they cheated on Manhattan apartment swap and stole and sold Wolff's mother-in-law jewelry). He wife was adamantly against Wolff leaving
with his girlfriend so he might need to pay support/settlement for his divorce.
And living with a "trophy wife" usually also add to expenses. She need to be entertained, clothes and pandered or she might say a
goodbye. Also in February 6, 2015 Richard Johnson reported that the couple is expecting a baby
(Page Six)
so you need add child caring expenses:
Media scourge Michael Wolff and his much younger girlfriend Victoria Floethe are infanticipating. Floethe is sporting a baby bump
and expecting a baby girl in the spring.
Trout-pouted Wolff, 61, whose think-pieces have moved from Vanity Fair to USA Today, has been dating the blond journalist since
2009, the year he suddenly left his wife, lawyer Alison Anthoine, the mother of his three grown children.
After her relationship with the married Wolff was exposed, Floethe-a writer for Wolff's information curation site Newser-wrote
an essay
for the Spectatorcasting herself as the victim of a moralizing
New York gossip media and puritan Internet websites. Would she leave the city?
Or would the free spirit flourish, despite (or perhaps even as a result of!) the haters?
I would not be too surprised if Fusion GPS was involved ;-). They are all over the place in a conspiracy to get Trump removed.
Bear in mind that John Derbyshire once wrote a column titled
"Journalists are scum."
Sara Sanders said the same about Wolff, but in more diplomatic form: "Participating in a book that can only be described as
trashy tabloid fiction exposes their sad desperate attempts at relevancy" hinting at both Wolff and Bannon.
One more comment here about Michael Wolff and his claim that everybody in the White House thinks that Trump's a child,
that he's a moron, he doesn't like to read, he's mentally unbalanced, all this. This is really irresponsibly absurd. And for this
claim to be 100% of the people around Trump, andWolff is the guy saying that he can't guarantee everything in his book
is right, and he's also admitting that he did anything to get his story, including not tell people they were on the record when
he was talking to 'em.
In East Germany, Stasi leader Markus Wolfe took things a step further with the "zersetzung" tactic. The idea was to *induce*
a "personal crisis" through clandestine harassment, including at the hands of acquaintances secretly recruited by the Stasi. In
other words, ... trying to cause *real* mental illness by relentlessly gaslighting selected individual dissidents until they cracked.
Gaslighting is a form of manipulation that seeks to sow seeds of doubt in a targeted individual or in members of a targeted
group, hoping to make them question their own memory, perception, and sanity. Using persistent denial, misdirection, contradiction,
and lying, it attempts to destabilize the target and delegitimize the target's belief.[1][2]
Wolff is just "number six card", a toady in a much bigger game. He just capitalized on the rather obvious opportunity created
by other and (successfully) tried to get some money out of it. But witch hunt of Trump and his administration is far more important
event that gossip columnist insinuations.
If he was so concerned about Trump unfitness to the office why he waited so long to tell this horrible turn to people? Why he concealed
those explosive materials for year and put them into gossipy book instead of doing what concerted citizen should do in such
cases -- try to inform Congress. that actually another confirmation that we are dealing with unscrupulous and sleazy gossip columnist,
who in no way is interested in the well being of the country, only about his own.
Politically Wolff book can be viewed as an opening salvo for the palace coup, which became more interesting and existing because
of the fiasco with Steele dossier and exposures by Nunes commissions of malefactors in FBI and Justice Department. So this is just a
part of the counterattack of neoliberalism and neocons after Trump surprise victory. The neoliberal US elite felt the threat to
its legitimacy and that's why the attacks on Trump are so vicious and unrelenting. This is the game of elimination under smoke screen
of Russiagate.
Presenting any political who is "dissident" and does not support neoliberal globalization as crazy, dishonest and morally deprived
traitor is a variation of methods used in classic (BTW invented by Brits) war propaganda. It's principles are well known since the WWI
(Falsehood in War-Time):
1. We do not want war.
2. The opposite party alone is guilty of war.
3. The enemy is the face of the devil.
4. We defend a noble cause, not our own interest. 5. The enemy systematically commits cruelties; our mishaps are involuntary.
6. The enemy uses forbidden weapons.
7. We suffer small losses, those of the enemy are enormous.
8. Artists and intellectuals back our cause.
9. Our cause is sacred. "The ages-old 'God bless America' is playing once more."
10. All who doubt our propaganda, are traitors.
It's definitely objectionable that such a sleazy hack like Wolf with his penchant to alcohol (and may be some other controlled substances)
assumes the role of psychiatrist and tried to declare the President "mentally unstable" or, worse, "unfit for the office". But this
theme/meme is not his invention. It was actually invented directly after the election as a part of Russiagate witch hunt with such insinuations
and Trump "stupid" questions about nuclear weapons and his obsession with the access to the "red button" (and fake concern that
he might use it at impulsively, at the whim of the moment, as if the President is that sole decision maker in this case). Weaker
variant ("unprepared for the office") was used by Hillary Clinton campaign. As Caitlyn Johnstone aptly noted in her article
Russiagate Isn't About Trump, And It Isn't Even Ultimately About Russia (Jan 28, 2018):
Establishment muppets like Swalwell and the unelected elites who own them don't care about Trump, they care about crippling China's
right arm Russia so that they can set about sabotaging the agendas of a potential rival superpower unimpeded by the skilful opposition
of a nuclear superpower. But, getting back to the hypothetical situation I asked you to envision earlier, they can't just come right
out and say that.
They can't. The US oligarchs, the oligarch-owned media outlets, and the oligarch-aligned intelligence/defense agencies can't
just come right out and say "Hey America, we need to ensure our power structures remain unrivalled for the foreseeable future, so
we're going to have to try and shut down Russia's influence using ever-tightening economic sanctions, NATO expansionism, proxy wars
and troops along Russia's border to squeeze them until they lose the capacity to interfere with our ability to crush China. We'll
also need a vastly inflated military budget to help facilitate our geopolitical agendas and prepare for a possible world war, please."
A few Americans might consent to it, but by and large the US public would rather see those resources spent on making their lives
better.
In several media interviews, Wolff with a confidence of chronic alcoholic insisted that all his interviewees – "100 per cent
of people" – were concerned about President Trump's mental fitness. The "dog whistle" words for "unfit for office" meme are words
"paranoid, unstable, impetuous, repetitive, infantile and semi-literate".
Which can be viewed in total as a direct instigation of a palace coup. That also suggests that even such a small threat to global
neoliberal empire led by the USA as election of Trump on "economic nationalism " platform caused really visceral counterattack from
the US neoliberal elite, which unleashed this witch hunt against Trump (with Mueller investigation as a pretty regular hunt, without
prefix "witch") using media as attack dogs. Recently
MSNBC's Chris Hayes asked a question of his
Twitter that nicely summarize the "gaslighting" of the American public by neoliberal MSM:
"Aside from genuine cranks, is there anyone left denying it was the Russians that committed criminal sabotage in the
American election?".
In the context of insinuation about Trump mental health this question can be reformulated as "Aside from genuine cranks,
is there anyone left denying it Trump is insane and unfit for the office of the President?"
Demonization of Trump is part of this witch hunt and "gaslighting" of the US public goes full speed. Recently
MSNBC's Chris Hayes asked a question of
his Twitter that nicely summarize the situation "Aside from genuine cranks, is there anyone left denying it was the Russians
that committed criminal sabotage in the American election?". In the context of insinuation about Trump mental health this question
can be reformulated as
"Aside from genuine cranks, is there anyone left denying it Trump is insane and unfit for the office of the President?"
All this means that this part of the book should be viewed as a part of general campaign by neoliberal MSM for gaslighting Trump.
Throughout the campaign and Trump's first year in office, news, articles, op-eds, interviews of "very important persons" and now books
pushed this meme. We can see routinely deployed "dog whistle" words such as "crazy," "insane," and "unstable" as epithets.
Dog-whistle politics is political messaging employing coded language that appears to mean one thing to the general population but has
an additional, different, or more specific resonance for a targeted subgroup. But what are the implications of the use of mental
health language in analyzing Trump actions? This is just the necessary pre-condition for the palace coup -- removal of Trump using
25th Amendment.
It was just three days and a lifetime ago that I wrote a column about Donald Trump's unfitness for the presidency that affected
a world-weary tone. Nothing about this White House's chaos was surprising given the style of Trump's campaign, I argued. None of
the breaking scandals necessarily suggested high crimes as opposed to simple omni-incompetence. And given that Republicans made their
peace with Trump's unfitness many months ago, it seemed pointless to expect their leaders to move against him unless something far,
far worse came out.
As I said, three days and a lifetime. If the G.O.P.'s surrender to candidate Trump made exhortations about Republican politicians'
duty to their country seem like so much pointless verbiage, now President Trump has managed to make exhortation seem unavoidable
again.
He has done so, if several days' worth of entirely credible leaks and revelations are to be believed, by demonstrating in a particularly
egregious fashion why the question of "fitness" matters in the first place.
The presidency is not just another office. It has become, for good reasons and bad ones, a seat of semi-monarchical political power,
a fixed place on which unimaginable pressures are daily brought to bear, and the final stopping point for decisions that can lead
very swiftly to life or death for people the world over.
One does not need to be a Marvel superhero or Nietzschean Übermensch to rise to this responsibility. But one needs some basic
attributes: a reasonable level of intellectual curiosity, a certain seriousness of purpose, a basic level of managerial competence,
a decent attention span, a functional moral compass, a measure of restraint and self-control. And if a president is deficient in
one or more of them, you can be sure it will be exposed.
Trump is seemingly deficient in them all. Some he perhaps never had, others have presumably atrophied with age. He certainly has
political talent - charisma, a raw cunning, an instinct for the jugular, a form of the common touch, a certain creativity that normal
politicians lack. He would not have been elected without these qualities. But they are not enough, they cannot fill the void where
other, very normal human gifts should be.
Both psychiatrists and psychologists
operate under ethical rules that prevent them from offering professional diagnostic opinions about the mental health of public figures
they have not personally examined. The American Psychiatric Association's version of this
is known as the Goldwater Rule
- named for another polarizing Republican presidential candidate.
The rule has its roots in the September/October
1964 issue of
a magazine
called Fact, which was entirely devoted to parsing the results of a survey the editors had sent to more than 12,000 psychiatrists.
The survey only had one question: "Do you believe Barry Goldwater is psychologically fit to serve as president of the United States?"
Most of the psychiatrists - 9,939 of them, to be exact - didn't respond. Of those who did, 571 said they didn't know enough about
Goldwater to answer, and another 657 declared him fit as a fiddle. But 1,189 psychiatrists said "no," and many of them added colorful
commentary that the magazine reprinted under a headline ("FACT:
1,189 Psychiatrists Say Goldwater is Psychologically Unfit to Be President!") that conveniently left out the fact that they didn't
represent a majority opinion. The Republican presidential candidate was called "paranoid" and "a dangerous lunatic." One respondent
suggested that Goldwater had "a stronger identification to his mother than to his father" - fighting words in 1964 America, apparently.
In the aftermath, Goldwater sued
Fact (andwon), Fact went defunct, and the American Psychiatric
Association tried to make sure that none of this would ever happen again. The result was Section 7.3 of the APA's Principles of Medical
Ethics:
Before you read Wolff's book please listed to Trump old interview
Donald Trump -- Charlie Rose. IMHO he does not come out of this interview as bumbling idiot. I strongly recommend
to listen to it in full.
Before you read Wolff's book please listed to Trump old interview
Donald Trump -- Charlie Rose. IMHO he does not
come out of this interview as bumbling idiot. I strongly recommend to listen to it in full.
The Democrats' strongest card was to present Trump as an existential threat and to foresee the breakdown of democracy's fail-safe
mechanisms. This also was quite an alarming approach. The guttural "Lock her up!" chants at the RNC seemed extreme enough. But in
a way, the Democrats' position was much more radical. Trump cannot be allowed; Trump is immoral; Trump is - the ultimate disqualifier
- insane. In other words, if Duck Dynasty-type voters carry the day in November, that would not be an example of democracy
but a failure of it.
... ... ...
The Democrats' approach, in a convention whose television ratings outpaced the Republicans until the final day (Trump himself
remains a bigger draw than Hillary) was to argue that there is an onrushing Trump apocalypse, but not to address any of the issues
causing people to vote for the apocalypse.
Sarah Sanders, the White House press secretary, said: "This book is filled with false and misleading accounts from individuals who
have no access or influence with the White House." Trump own attempt to inject some humor in the situation ( "being, like, really
smart…" and "and a very stable genius at that!") badly backfired:
Speaking at the weekend from his Camp David retreat outside Washington DC, Trump's rebuttal of the
claims about mental instability were far from convincing. He
described himself as a "stable genius".
"Throughout my life, my two greatest assets have been mental stability and being, like, really smart…
I went from very successful businessman to top TV star to president of the United States… I think that would qualify me as not smart,
but genius… and a very stable genius at that!"
I view this as a bad attempt of humor, because in all other scenarios it really created concerns about Trump mental fitness (he does
not consume alcohol, which would be another fitting explanation ;-)
Wolff is seasoned journalist who can write entertaining "celebrity gossip" and he really excelled in this "concerns about Trump
mental fitness" ( although is post publication interviews he was way to too smug to be convincing). Still I really admire
execution of this meme. This probably is the only literary success of Wolff as a writer. He managed to inject this poisonous (and
destructive to the country) line into lion part of the book which no small fit. I would expect that most readers of the
book probably were moved in "unfit for the office" direction, if they were not at this point already. And "smart genius" twit
does not help iether. It actually strengthens this hypoesthes.
that also means that while a bad (sophomoric in case of Trump Tower meeting description) writer, Wolff certainly knew
his market, and that NeverTrumpers are less interested in facts, sourcing, and evidence of truth in statements, and far more
interested in the confirmation of pre-existing bias. And ready to pay, say $14 (Kindle edition) for even as little entertainment as
Wolff book provides. In addition being outdated even at the moment of publication, these feeding of pre-existent prejudices
probably suggests that the cost on a used copy will drop to about 1 cent in a year or two.
We can distinguish several subtypes of his "unfit for the office" meme in Wolff's book. among them:
President actions like was in case of Bush II are based on instinct, not so much of rational calculations. A plausible
hypothesis. But the fact is that he managed to depose all republican contenders. That can't be done on instinct.
Those closest to the President wield the most power. This is always true in any WH administration. Like for example was
the case with Carter and Brzezinski to great detriment of the USA. So trying to exaggerate this just show the evil nature
of gossip columnist, not so much the inner working of Trump WH.
The president is unfit for the office. This is also not a news. actually few presidents were fit for the office
in a sense having the necessary political experience (Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, and Bush I come to mind about those who were prepared).
You need to have at least a couple of terms as the US senator to be prepared. But the US presidency is more then one person.
We also have a Deep state to provide the balance ;-). And the fact that left hand does not know what right is doing is
also a possibility with such amount of staff and various Departments in federal government. For example intelligence
agencies are semi-autonomous entries, which like praetorian guard can revolt against the president and FBI did this recently.
And despite such a long time for writing rather short book, his writing remained clumsy and the book has no plan. It is just
a collection of episodes and hearsay. Now let's discuss how disingenuously Wolff pushes those quotes. Which along with Veselnitskaya
meeting quote represent the most powerful attack lines on Trump in the book.
First of all those quotes are provided without any context, which makes them a malicious slander. For example it is common
in any large corporation to call management "those f--ing idiots" to protest against excessive bureaucratization or other typical
large organization ills. This is just a release valve for frustration, nothing more then that. In such cases people do not
put in such phrases the meaning that the other person is stupid, just that fact that the organization led by those people behave
disappointing and/or disrupting some reasonable plan or action. Or provide distorted vision of the situation (corporate-speak).
The real meaning is "I got in some troubles due to your action or the organizational problems". Or even simply "I disagree with you".
This constant elevation of "watercooler chat" to the level of revelation about Trump is annoying and probably that's why the
book got around 12% of three and less stars reviews on Amazon. So even people who would like a confirmation of their anti-Trump bias,
and were ready to pay $14 for this (Amazon does not allow the reviews form people who did not buy the book), sometimes are very
disappointed with the content of the book. Here is a typical example of such a review:
If you value your time, read the excerpts variously published. The book adds marginal value and fails on several fronts.
First, the book isn't particularly well-written. The prose is inflated, laborious to read, not the tight disciplined accounts
we are accustomed to from wordsmith journalists. More the writing of a tabloid writer trying too hard to appear otherwise.
Second, on the content side, the book is essentially a psycho-babble that is sprinkled with salacious quotes, some over-interpreted
and others clearly speculative. There are many instances where staffers and friends/advisers of Trump allude to him in unfavorable
terms ("idiot," "fool," etc.). If you've been in an organization, for a period of time, with underlyings and superiors, sometimes
that's how others refer to you behind your back. Or, even in your company. It's not that uncommon. In many cases, this doesn't
mean a whole lot beyond a temporary relief of feelings. The author makes too much of it. The book is organized around such quips.
Sure, when it comes to the President of the United States, one would think that more caution and discipline would be in order.
However, keep in mind that Trump has been a reality TV star for many years which breeds false familiarity. People feel they
know him, they have a measure of the man, and are more prone to engage in discourse reserved for pals, colleagues, and overbearing
bosses. And, certainly the oftentimes crass manner in which Trump expresses himself does not lend itself to an atmosphere of civility
and decorum by those around him.
The speculative component permeates as a narrative glue of the book. A mild example is the statement, "for many years, he had
humored Trump more than embraced him" (referring to J. Kushner) which, obviously, no one outside Jared Kushner can truly know.
I even don't know if I "humored person XYZ more than embraced him" without engaging in significant contemplation and reflection.
Even then I might not. The book is replete with such speculative account.
A second weakness on the content-side is the over-simplified superficial characterization of Trump as a person. There is
a penchant for popular media, including journalists, to engage in a cartoonish characterization of Trump which should be left
to political cartoonists and comedians. This book is no exception. We are inundated with personal deficiencies of Trump which
have been evident, for all to see, from the moment he ran for office in the Republican primaries. Surely, the leaking of
the Billy Bush tapes was horrifying (whether locker room talk or not) and would have sunk the candidacy of any other man/woman.
How did Trump manage to get elected despite all that? His uniquely polarizing opponent, Hillary Clinton, had something to do with
it. So did the concerns of the middle class that the establishment, Democrat or Republican, had not given sufficient voice to.
But surely Trump, beyond the superficial characterization espoused in the book, had something to do with it as well.
Distilling the information provided by the author, there is little insight. The author doesn't seem to know Trump. Nor have
those who have been part of Trump's inner circle for many years confided in the author. All that the author has going are quips,
anecdotes, and second hand accounts, from which he weaves a story consistent with the dysfunction and chaos we have been coming
from The White House. Oh yeah, and the book's not particularly well-written.
"What happens, ... is that people say, well if you've changed that, what else have you changed? If you've manipulated
that, what else have you manipulated?"
"Uninterested in the working press, Wolff's special focus (fixation, even) has always been on the power players-the moguls-most
of whom he has relentlessly and repeatedly skewered, scraping away the sheen of power and money to reveal the warts, flab, and
psychic scars plaguing that rarefied breed of (in Wolff's view) super-wealthy narcissists who buy, run, and ruin media companies
for the gratification of their insatiable egos." ... "Much to the annoyance of Wolff's critics, the scenes in his columns aren't
recreated so much as created-springing from Wolff's imagination rather than from actual knowledge of events. Even Wolff acknowledges
that conventional reporting isn't his bag. Rather, he absorbs the atmosphere and gossip swirling around him at cocktail parties,
on the street, and especially during those long lunches at (a then-hot restaurant) Michael's."
"Michael will say anything about anybody. He's fearless in a way that people attribute to sociopathology but that I always
thought was a business strategy.
David Carr, the late New York Times media writer(cited from vanityfair.com)
If Michael Wolff really has the level of access he claim to have (which is strongly doubtful; only seventeen visits with 90%
of them to Bannon; which means all but one), he is the most inept/corrupt journalist I ever encountered -- he squandered
really golden opportunity to tell American people about the fight between globalists and neocon on one hand and rag
tag coalition of opposition forces. He also was from the beginning highly suspect about the methods he uses to collect the information
(Telegraph,
Jan 5, 2018)
Michael Wolff, a balding and bespectacled journalist with a sharp tongue, has previously written books on
Rupert Murdoch and other big media "money guys". His acerbic
columns for magazines and newspapers over the years have become known for their "first-class gossip" and unrivaled access to those
in the know. The writer has at times become the source of media attention himself, not least over his divorce and a new relationship
with a women 30 years his junior. But it is the method behind Mr. Wolff's vivid accounts that has been thrust into the spotlight
after
his new book, Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House, sent shockwaves through Washington.
Wolff has been known for perfecting an art out of blurring the lines between gossip and facts, creating salacious re-creations of
events he did not witness himself and only heard rumors about. Such a modern fairy tale story-teller, a highly perverted version
of Hans Christian Andersen.
There are obvious inconsistencies in salacious details and gossip that fill the book. Also most of the people who were
"interviewed" by Wolff do not suspect this and were never consulted about accuracy of their quotes before the publication of the
book. The most evident victim of "Wolff treatment" of his sources is Bannon. Wolff essentially pored gasoline on Bannon and lighted
it. Bannon now is ostracized.
Trump didn't intend to win, nor did he live a life planning toward the Presidency. Pssoble at the beginning, but
later as curcumstances changed Trump changed with them. So this is a very weak rumor (I would like to avoid the word "insinuation"
here for political correctness reasons ;-) on Wolff's part. And he already was hand slapped for this even in a couple of "kid gloves"
interviews. This blunder is way to obvious to ignore and there are not members of Trump team who confirmed this rumor. There are
two issues with this rumor
It Trump and his close team did not expect to win why bother with "collision with Putin"? Is not Wolff compete and utter idiot
putting two mutually excusive narratives in the same book? And that was noted by some commenters early on:
if Trump didn't really want to win the election (as noted in Fire and Fury ) then why would he collude with Putin
to win the election? It doesn't make sense. I'm a Democrat and strongly believe Donny is one can short of a six pack.
Covfefe!
Funny that neoliberal MSMs never asked this question to this sleazy gossip columnist. It's like destroying cherished
myth. they just can't handle the disappointment.
If we assume the Trump is a narcissist this is also a very shaky hypothesis. Such people organically can't image themselves
losing. The fight to the bitter end to win even in cases where opponent superiority is evident. That's what makes them dangerous.
In other words in such case then behave like Bruce Willis in Die Hard.
Claiming that Ivanka is a "dumb as brick" and attributing this quote to Bannon. Such a generalized statement taken
out of context might be a defamation as quoting defamatory statement by somebody else does not release the author from the legal
responsibility even if the quote is accurate. This alone can sink Wolff and leave him without a shirt. He can't claim that
he is a website and thus is not responsible for spreading malicious rumors. This is a book.
Ivanka Trump is 'as dumb as a brick' according to Steve Bannon, new book claims The Independent
Former White House strategist Steve Bannon once called President Donald Trump's daughter and White House adviser Ivanka Trump
"dumb as a brick", according to the latest excerpt from a book that claims to provide a near-inside view of the tumult within
the West Wing during the first year of Mr. Trump's presidency.
Mr. Bannon's quote is detailed in an excerpt provided to the Wall Street Journal. The book has been met critically by some
who point out seeming factual inaccuracies. The White House has also denied many of the allegations.
This statement does not correlates well with her grades from the University. According to Wikipedia: "After graduating from Choate,[13]
she attended Georgetown University for two years, then transferred to the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, from
which she graduated cum laude with a bachelor's degree in economics in 2004" ... "In December 2012, members of 100 Women
in Hedge Funds elected Ivanka Trump to their board"
At the same time within specific context, for example her rumored behaviour in instigating rocket launch on Syrian airbase based
on unproven allegation of chemical attach she can be extremely stupid, or even worse. See
Khan Sheikhoun gas attack
She also Ivanka is definitely more neoliberal then Trump himself (especially "election time Trump"), so her "stupidity" in a sense
not understanding the deep crisis of neoliberalism which led to election of her father and despite that defending neoliberal globalization
extents to a wider range of political behaviour. It might be fair to say that politically Ivanka is stupid.
Suggesting that Melania cried in the day of election as she does not want Trump to win. Possible, as this event signified
the end of her comfortable life. also she probably better then many other knew Trump weak points and the level of his narcissism.
Disputed by many people who were present. Can be classified as malicious rumor from a questionable source. She might
be upset by coming changes of her lifestyle and associated scrutiny, but at the same time Melania understood that this will be a
peak of her modeling career :-) Also her behaviour in case of malignant allegations against her by tabloids suggests that she is
a fighter. And probably does not cries very often.
Trump infatuation with junk food. This is probably just a malignant rumor based of some self-depreciating quote that Trump
excels in (which often do not viewed as a humor -- look a the case of " 'I'm, like, a really smart person'", which in my book
is a sarcastic remark, a bait for #neverTrump crowd. According to his former butler, he actually prefers very high quality
stakes and does not eat many vegetables including, but not limited to, French fries). It's just trivial anecdote coming from questionable
sources.
Trump's famous love of the fast food chain is explained, to some degree, by being motivated by his fear of being poisoned.
Wolff writes that Trump's one reason why "he liked to eat at McDonald's - nobody knew he was coming and the food was safely remade."
During the transition, when former Fox News chief Roger Ailes suggested John Boehner, the former House Speaker, for chief of
staff, Wolff writes that Trump responded, "Who's that?" White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders has already cited this
story as one of the false assertions in the book, as Trump had tweeted extensively about Boehner in the lead up to the 2016
campaign.
That Wolf has had direct access to Trump in WH (one five minutes or so phone call only), plus probably a couple of usual
"Hello"
That the book based on "200 interviews" with WH staff and key players in election campaign. Only a dozen of interviews
(90% of which were with Bannon) were confirmed so far. Everything else is probably a product of Wolff own overactive imagination.
Some liars believe in what they are saying. This is BTW quite typical for sociopaths. And it is the way Wolff typically works: he
engage anybody who foolishly wants to speaks to him provoking the person to reveal some dirty laundry that can be used and by taking
notes or illegally recording the conversation, even if the conversation marked "off record". this is what is called "Wolff's three
card monte". Then by flattery or other means he tried to extract salacious details that he can use. And then he equates
such an entrapment to "interview". The actual number of people with which he has format interview is probably less then a dozen.
Some people like Dr. Gorca recognized the trap and refused cooperate.
That Ailes and Bannon were close fiends/confidants and Ailes treated Bannon as equal. Rush disputes that, and he
knows quote a bit about Ailes. Bannon was several levels below Ailes.
Wolff attributes to former deputy chief of staff Katie Walsh [in
the New York magazine excerpt] he quoted her saying managing Trump is 'like trying to figure out what a child wants.'] Katie
told me she never said those things; and when I told that to Wolff's spokeswoman she said he stands by his reporting.'" Yes, that's
pure Wolff. "As CNN New Day co-host Alisyn Camerota this morning: "We should mention that it sounds
like Michael Wolff's modus operandi was to let the people he interviewed spin yarns. And then he didn't necessarily fact-check them.
He didn't necessarily need two sources. This isn't really journalism"
vanityfair.com.
Now Bloomberg reports that Kathie can lose her current job due to Wolff's quote
White House Weighs Ousting Katie Walsh From Pro-Trump Group - Bloomberg
At an event at Mar-a-Lago just before the New Year, Trump "failed to recognize a succession of old friends," Wolff wrote in
The Hollywood Reporter, previewing the book, bolstering his theme that Trump was "incapable of functioning in his job." Unlike
Wolff Trump does not drink.
Sam Nunberg, a campaign aide, was given the task of having to explain the Constitution to Trump. "I got as far as the Fourth
Amendment before his finger is pulling down on his lip and his eyes are rolling back in his head," Nunberg is quoted as saying.
For good of for bad Trump co-authored a number of books (not as salacious of Wolff's) and somehow graduated from Walton School.
"Trump liked to say that one of the things that made life worth living was getting your friends' wives into bed."
In a juicy story in the book, Wolff writes that Trump, in pursuing a friend's wife, "would try to persuade the wife that her husband
was perhaps not all that she thought." Wolff writes that Trump would bring the male friend into his office, engage in sexual banter,
while the wife would be listening in on speakerphone.
Wolff writes that Trump "was visibly fighting with his wife" Melania on Inauguration Day, and that she "seemed on the verge
of tears." He writes that "almost every word he addressed to her was sharp and peremptory." Might be true. This is a very
stressful day and Trump is a narcissist.
Ivanka Trump would mock her father's hair. Wolff writes, "The color, she would point out to comical effect, was from a product
called Just for Men - the longer it was left on, the darker it got. Impatience resulted in Trump's orange-blond hair color."
In the famous meeting of Trump and NYT staffers in Trump tower Trump hairs were examined and presumed to be natural.
Wolff makes clear that Trump and Murdoch converse regularly, much to the dismay of Bannon, who saw the media mogul as
a part of the establishment. Wolff writes that Ailes, after his dismissal from Fox News, told Bannon at a dinner that Trump "would
jump through hoops for Rupert. Sucks up and s-s down. I just worry about who's jerking whose chain." The conversation reportedly
took place at a Jan. 4, 2017, dinner party at Wolff's home.
Various "What a f-ing idiot," quotes designed to support Wolff's main thesis "unfit for the office". Actually
in certain circles they are part of speech patterns and do not carry much meaning other the disagreement with some position:
After a meeting with tech industry executives, Trump talked to Murdoch, Wolff writes, and the mogul asked him how the meeting
went. "These guys really need my help. Obama was not very favorable to them, too much regulation. This is really an opportunity
for me to help them," he said.
Murdoch, however, then informed Trump that "for eight years these guys had Obama in their pocket," sharing a sentiment common
among traditional media executives.
Murdoch, Wolff writes, also found it problematic that Trump seemed willing to help the tech executives with H-1B visas - a position
that would conflict with his hardline on immigration.
"What a f-ing idiot," Murdoch is quoted as saying.
Trump's family is not just his saving grace, they are part of who he is and who provides him balance. This contradicts
the fact that Trump is a narcissist. The latter are "lone wolf" type of people, whom the family usually hates and fear.
In short Wolff is simply unable to picture the real picture of Donald Trump or understand what his election was about:
it was about the crisis of neoliberalism in the USA and rejection by electorate establishment stooges like Hillary. The victory
of this neocon warmonger would be a much bigger slap in the USA face then Trump.
Ultimately, Wolff's cruel streak surfaced again. In March he wrote a hate-filled elegy for Elaine Kaufman,
who ran the restaurant Elaine's on the Upper East Side. Although Kauffman was unable to defend herself, being dead and all,
Wolff began kicking the corpse of this "loud, stupid, uncomprehending woman":
She would slog through her restaurant, Elaine's on the Upper East Side, like a punch-drunk prizefighter, or a low-class madam,
or public-house wench vastly past her prime, more threatening than hospitable, muttering discordant and guttural oaths, and,
given her size, taking up far more space than the front room in her narrow establishment could afford.
Her crime? She ran a successful club room for famous New York media folk. Media and advertising walk hand in hand in New York,
and some have not forgiven him
for this act of cowardice. His
ability to alienate people
was one of the reasons he was let go.
Wolff claims that Ailes was close to him and openly shared his views on Trump sound like a stretch. First of all Ailes,
being a high level media executive did not care much about such a small fish as Wolff, when he was at the helm of Foxnews. And
after his ouster he probably cared even less about Wolff taking into account Wolff insinuations about the event (Michael
Wolff Roger Ailes' Stunning Fall Marks the End of a Murdoch Era Hollywood Reporter ):
It was James Murdoch's cold calculation that ended the hand-wringing debate: Whither Fox News and its $1.2 billion
in annual profits without Roger Ailes, no small concern of his older brother Lachlan and their father, Rupert? "Ailes is 76 and unhealthy,
so how much longer could he last anyway?" the younger Murdoch is said to have asked, and to have argued: Since they would lose
Ailes soon enough anyway, why not turn lemons into lemonade and get credit for kicking him out for being a sexist pig?
This quote alone (with "a sexist pig" metaphor) means that, in no way they could be friends, or Ailes could
be Wolff's confidant. Moreover, he was a real professional in Presidential politics and for him Wolff was always a second rate gossip
columnist. He probably understood who Wolff is as a person better then most, and behaved accordingly keeping him at a safe distance.
Rush Limbaugh who was
a friend of Ailes was dismissive about Wolff claims. He actually took Wolf down and that suggest the Ailes probably would do this
too (Rush Limbaugh Wolff's reference
to me '100% false' ):
Setting aside the unworkable logic, however, Limbaugh said Wolff's reference concerning his attendance at the Roger
Ailes memorial is unconnected to reality.
"At the funeral, nobody spoke other than members of the family. It was at the memorial that people took turns speaking.
But, folks, I can tell you, Donald Trump never came up! The subject of Donald Trump was never discussed at the memorial, much less
'Trump_vs_deep_state.' I don't even know what this means."
Yet the book claims, at the event, "Rush Limbaugh and Laura Ingraham struggled to parse support for Trump_vs_deep_state
even as they distanced themselves from Trump himself…"
It also describes an encounter between Wolff and Limbaugh. However, the talk-show host said, "This didn't happen."
"Now, as to the Wolff book, I learned over the weekend that I'm mentioned in this thing," Limbaugh said on his program.
"It's not a big mention, but it's totally false. And I'm just gonna throw my experience of being in this book in the column of 'it's
fake.' I mean, it is so untrue, it's not even close. There's not even a single word in this reference that is anywhere near the truth,"
the famous radio host explained.
Rush then referenced the specific paragraph in the "Fire and Fury" book that dealt with him.
"(Roger Ailes') funeral in Palm Beach on May 20th was quite a study in the currents of right-wing ambivalence and even mortification,"
Wolff wrote.
"Right-wing professionals remained passionate in their outward defense of Trump but were rattled, if not abashed, among one another.
At the funeral, Rush Limbaugh and Laura Ingraham struggled to parse support for Trump_vs_deep_state even as they distanced themselves
from Trump himself."
That's where Rush interjected and called out the anti-Trump author for simply making things up.
"At the funeral, nobody spoke other than members of the family," Rush said. "It was at the memorial that people took turns speaking.
But, folks, I can tell you, Donald Trump never came up!"
"The subject of Donald Trump was never discussed at the memorial, much less 'Trump_vs_deep_state.' I don't even know what this means,"
Limbaugh continued.
"This is entirely… I mean, it is completely made up. I don't even understand what the basis for that little reference is. Cause it's
totally fake, a hundred percent."
In other words, Wolff took a small sliver of fact - the memorial for Ailes - and then turned it into fantasy. He created a version
of events that only happened in his own mind, but peddled it as fact.
Incredibly, even Michael Wolff himself has admitted that he played fast and loose with reality when writing the book.
"These conflicts, and that looseness with the truth, if not with reality itself, are an elemental thread of the book," the author
wrote in the prologue of the very same book. Yet the press has conveniently ignored this warning and treated the writing as some
sort of anti-Trump gospel.
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Roger Stone: Anything Written By Michael Wolff Has To Be Taken With A Grain Of Salt
Posted By Tim Hains
On Date January 4, 2018
... ... ...
ROGER STONE: Based on many years experience with him, anything Michael Wolff writes has to be taken with a grain
of salt.
He once quoted the great Roger Ailes saying something about me that perturbed me. When I went back to Ailes, Ailes said he had
never said anything of the kind. Wolff had no recording to disprove it. I would prefer to believe my friend of 30 years, Roger Ailes.
So, also I think some context is important here, Alex. When you are in a presidential campaign --and I have been
in 10-- when you are in the bunker, you are seeking grenades to throw over the wall at the enemy, and you are approached by someone
you know who claims authoritatively that they have information that would be of value to you, you take the meeting. The meeting is
not illegal. The meeting is not improper. The meeting could be politically embarrassing if it turns out to be a setup.
In this case, the Russian woman lawyer who reached out to Don Jr. through a British PR man who Don Jr. knew,
and who had worked with, turns out to be a nothing burger. She has nothing. Making it clear that it was just the meeting itself she
was trying to achieve, so it could then be spun into something it was not...
Look, Steve Bannon's animus for the president's son in law is well known. The president's son in law was the
helmsman who inserted so many of these establishment quislings around the president: H.R McMaster comes to mind.
I have tried to mute my criticism of the president's son in law, because frankly, I would rather be shooting at liberal
Democrats or outside the tent Republicans instead of shooting at our own people, even when I have my own disagreements.
If you are Secretary of State Tillerson, UN Ambassador Haley, and you disagree with the president... you are supposed
to keep it to yourself, or verbalize your objections to the president directly ina private conversation, but going public and urinating
on the person who appointed you to high public office, who gave you the privilege to serve your country at the highest levels, that
is treasonous. A lack of protocol, lack of manners, and entirely inappropriate in my opinion.
The firing of Wolff as editor of Adweek has got all the ingredients he loves most: the proud rise and hubris-laden fall
of a prominent media figure, sex, ugliness and just the right amount of snark and unfairness to start a catfight.
A clue
to Wolff's character emerged in 2009, when the "bald,
trout-pouted" 55-year-old was caught sleeping with a 28-year-old intern at Vanity Fair. His wife kicked him
out of their Manhattan home, but not before joining him in
an attempt to evict her 85-year-old mother
because they wanted to sell the apartment she lived in. As you can tell, he's a charmer.
If you think abandoning your wife and cashing in on your "batty" mother-in-law's home is cruel, it turns out this is par
for the course.
...Wolff came to fame when he published Burn Rate in the late 1990s, a book that charted the comically inept efforts of
venture capitalists and other investors to cash in on the worthless new media dot-com that he owned. As the company bled money,
he asked his staff to take a cut -- three months without pay. Then he wrote himself a check for $70,000 and left -- for Tuscany.
... He recycled his New York experiences into a book titled Autumn of the Moguls, about media owners such as Rupert Murdoch
and Barry Diller et al. The tome was distinguished by two things:
The abject lack of access he had to his subjects (in one chapter he manages to spend only seconds with financier Steve
Rattner, simply to exchange pleasantries; in another he fails to meet Martha Stewart entirely).
His prediction -- in 2003 -- that Rattner, Murdoch etc. were all at death's door, and thus their empires would shortly
totter. Needless to say, they're all still going strong. Unlike Wolff.
The history repeats. And "a charmer" managed to claim another victim.. Who was caught in a typical disgruntled employee rage against
Trump which was meticulously recorded and presented in the book as the key to get "fast money". Bannon quotes, especially
Veselnitskaya Trump tower visit quotes does represent a stunning betrayal of a person who he in the past claimed to be his personal
friend.
Truth be told Trump objections to Bannon quotes in the book are somewhat questionable. "The
lady doth protest too much, methinks" Before Bannon stunningly betrayed Trump by providing Wolff (who as a neoliberal is opposed
to everything Bannon represents and was happy to push him under the bus) with the salacious information Trump reneged on almost all
his election-time promises, which in part represented the platform of economic nationalism -- fuzzy and incoherent replica of
ideas of the New Deal promoted by Bannon as something new under the label of "economic nationalism" (Steve
Bannon on white nationalism, Donald Trump agenda - CBS News )
"It's everything related to jobs," Bannon said and seemingly bragged about how he was going to drive conservatives "crazy" with
his "trillion-dollar infrastructure plan."
"With negative interest rates throughout the world, it's the greatest opportunity to rebuild everything. Ship yards, iron works,
get them all jacked up," he proposed. "We're just going to throw it up against the wall and see if it sticks. It will be as exciting
as the 1930s, greater than the Reagan revolution - conservatives, plus populists, in an economic nationalist movement."
Bannon, in the Reporter interview, also gave some insight into how he viewed his political foes (presumably, liberals and the media)
-- and the "darkness" he touts in fighting against them.
"Darkness is good," Bannon said. "Dick Cheney. Darth Vader. Satan. That's power. It only helps us when they...get it wrong. When
they're blind to who we are and what we're doing."
But on a personal level Bannon behaviour toward Trump, who put him on the national political stage, leaves much to be desired. As
Oliver Stone aptly put it "it is stunning betrayal". This is a typical petty behaviour of disgruntled (and foolish -- revealing
all this information to Wolff was definitely foolish and self-destructing) former employee.
Also some of his views are incorrect, not to say foolish, which depicts him as a very limited individual unable to grasp the complexity
of the political events, especially the mechanics of the color revolution against Trump. This is excusable for a sleazy
gossip columnist, but is inexcusably primitive and misguided for the top Presidential advisor.
For example, Mr. Bannon had been quoted in the book saying that a meeting between Donald Trump's son and Russian-linked layer Natalia
Veselnitskaya in Trump tower was a almost a treason. If true, and not the product of Wolff overactive imagination, that suggest
that Bannon really lost his mind; the meeting was about lifting Magnitsky sanctions by a minor Russian lobbyist acting on behave of
some affected oligarch and not directly connected to the Russian government.
Still the fact remains that Michael Wolff in his book quoted Bannon describing a June 2016 meeting at Trump Tower in New York between
Donald Trump Jr., Trump campaign aides and a Russian lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya as "treasonous" and "unpatriotic." As
Guardian which got the book before anybody else (which is, of course, a mere coincidence and is not connected with Steele dossier and
MI6 efforts to depose Trump) reported (The
Guardian):
Donald Trump's former chief strategist Steve Bannon has described the Trump Tower meeting between the president's son and a group
of Russians during the 2016 election campaign as "treasonous" and "unpatriotic", according to an explosive new book seen by the Guardian.
Bannon, speaking to author Michael Wolff, warned that the investigation into alleged collusion with the Kremlin will focus on
money laundering and predicted: "They're going to crack Don Junior like an egg on national TV."
... ... ...
He is particularly scathing about a June 2016 meeting involving Trump's son Donald Jr, son-in-law Jared Kushner, then campaign
chairman Paul Manafort and Russian lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya at Trump Tower in New York. A trusted intermediary had promised documents
that would "incriminate" rival Hillary Clinton but instead of alerting the FBI to a potential assault on American democracy by a
foreign power, Trump Jr replied in an email: "I love it."
The meeting was revealed by the New York Times in July last year, prompting Trump Jr to say no consequential material was produced.
Soon after, Wolff writes, Bannon remarked mockingly: "The three senior guys in the campaign thought it was a good idea to meet with
a foreign government inside Trump Tower in the conference room on the 25th floor – with no lawyers. They didn't have any lawyers.
"Even if you thought that this was not treasonous, or unpatriotic, or bad shit, and I happen to think it's all of that, you should
have called the FBI immediately."
Bannon went on, Wolff writes, to say that if any such meeting had to take place, it should have been set up "in a Holiday Inn in
Manchester, New Hampshire, with your lawyers who meet with these people". Any information, he said, could then be "dump[ed] … down
to Breitbart or something like that, or maybe some other more legitimate publication".
Bannon added: "You never see it, you never know it, because you don't need to … But that's the brain trust that they had."
Bannon also speculated that Trump Jr had involved his father in the meeting. "The chance that Don Jr did not walk these jumos
up to his father's office on the twenty-sixth floor is zero."
It is clear that Bannon tried bury Trump Jr. as a part of his revenge on Trump family members. It looks like Bannon also deeply
hates Ivanka and Kushner, who, in his view, are much more close to neoliberal camp then to Trump camp.
In is interesting to note that the Guardian article cited above contains most "talking points" which in slightly modified form became
a standard feature on articles about the book in neoliberal MSM in the USA as well as questions in Wolf's "kid gloves" interviews about
the book by neoliberal MSM.
Mr. Bannon infuriated Mr. Trump with comments to author and Trump gave one in life opportunity for minor sleazy gossip columnist
to get millions for his book. Bannon also suffered a quick demise, which he actually deserved (Bannon
Betrayal Latest Deep State Attack On MAGA - Capitol Hill Outsider ):
Bannon Fired for Leaks
Rush Limbaugh said that he believes Steve Bannon was responsible for the majority of
the first-year leaks coming out of the Trump administration.
"Steve pretends to be at war with the media, which he calls the opposition party, yet he spent his time at the White House leaking
false information to the media to make himself seem far more important than he was," the president added.
Any attacks on our President's children are verboten whether you like what the children do or not, and that's where Steve
Bannon's alleged statements against Don Junior and Jared and Ivanka have created animus from Mr. Trump. Our President trusts
his family, and well he should over any outsiders.
Alleged inflammatory quotes from Bannon about President Trump and his family are in Michael Wolff's tawdry tabloid, Fire and
Fury.
I didn't believe the story about Bannon when I first read it, but I expected Steve to go on Dobbs, Carlson and Hannity's shows
last Wednesday evening and deny it. He did not. Now, Rebekah Mercer and her father, who funded Breitbart, have
pulled their funding, and the new billionaire benefactor behind Bannon is allegedly Chinese businessman,
Miles Kwok, aka
Guo Wen Gui.
Leftwing website Axios claims Wolff has
dozens of hours of recorded conversations
with Trump officials even though many of them thought they were off the record. Perhaps that is why Bannon is not denying the
words he's been quoted as saying, even if they've been embellished by Wolff. However, Sean Spicer said in
an interview that Wolff claims he just took notes.
All-in-all the book reads more like a leaked by Bannon revenge tale. Or even a Steve Bannon book. It pushes Bannon and his agenda.
It makes Bannon seem far more important in WH than President Trump. But in reality Bannon was a fiasco. His economic nationalism were
empty words, a bait. He has no real economic program. He has no real ideas of how to bring jobs back and is, in heart, yet another
neoliberal hell-bent on deregulation (which not surprising taking into account his biography).
That means that in Trump administration Bannon with his pandering to Israel, desire to deregulate as much as possible and political
adventurism and jingoism toward Iran and China was a part of the problem not a part of the solution.
But anyway Trump himself quickly moved to traditional republican platform with deregulation as the key. Trump also betrays most of
his election promises in foreign policy and continues the positioning the USA as the world gendarme
Steve Bannon had just finished hosting his daily Breitbart radio show on Wednesday morning when he received an urgent e-mail from
an adviser. Donald Trump Jr. had just called; he was furious over quotes attributed to Bannon that appear in Michael Wolff's bombshell
new book about the Trump White House. The Guardian had obtained a copy and was reporting that Bannon called Trump Jr.'s June 2016
Trump Tower meeting with Russians "treasonous" and "unpatriotic." Bannon's shocking comments seemed to suggest the Trump campaign
colluded with Russia-or at least tried to. The adviser warned that Bannon risked his political future if he didn't issue a statement
walking them back. "This is the president's family," one Bannon ally told me.
While Bannon had granted Wolff extensive access, he was caught off guard by the book's rollout and hadn't read the Guardian piece.
Working from the Breitbart Embassy, steps from Capitol Hill, Bannon quickly organized a series of conference calls with his kitchen
Cabinet that included, among others, political adviser Andy Surabian; Breitbart Washington editor Matt Boyle; communications strategist
Arthur Schwartz; and Breitbart London editor Raheem Kassam. According to sources briefed on the conversations, Bannon denied making
the comments about Trump Jr. to Wolff, but was resistant to the idea of issuing a statement disputing them. He explained to his advisers
that Trump Jr. "surely knew" he would never say those things to a journalist. "Steve was like, 'I don't respond to bullshit attacks,'"
a source briefed on the conversation said. (Bannon declined to comment).
The other people on the line told Bannon he was badly misjudging the situation. "Steve can be kind of delusional," a Bannon ally
told me. Bannon's camp had been in touch with Trump Jr. and White House official Ira Greenstein throughout the morning, and they
were told the president was preparing for war if Bannon didn't recant. Another concern: Bannonworld worried that while Trump Jr.
was a media punch line, he remained highly popular with the deplorables from his many appearances on the campaign trail. In a blood
feud with Trump's son, Bannon might actually lose. "The base loves Don Jr.," an adviser said. And, in the early stages of the crisis,
the Breitbart audience, Bannon's own constituency since before the president began his campaign, appeared to be siding with Trump.
Reluctantly, after much lobbying, Bannon agreed to draft a statement. According to a person who viewed the draft, it read Trump
Jr. was a "patriot" who "loves his country," and went on to trash Wolff. A copy was sent to both the White House and Don Jr., and
was approved. The plan was to release it to Axios's Jonathan Swan.
But Bannon had waited too long. Around 2 P.M., Trump released a blistering four-paragraph statement ripping Bannon and questioning
his mental health. "Steve Bannon has nothing to do with me or my Presidency. When he was fired, he not only lost his job, he lost
his mind," Trump said. "Now that he is on his own, Steve is learning that winning isn't as easy as I make it look." The level of
vitriol in the press release reflected the contempt Trump had built up for Bannon. On his way to Mar-a-Lago for Christmas, Trump
had reportedly wanted to flame Bannon for comments Bannon had made to me about his disdain for Ivanka and Jared Kushner, not to mention
his frustration with Trump; but at the time, White House aides successfully persuaded Trump not to speak out.
Wolff defended his tactics in gaining enough access to the White House that he was able to speak very freely with numerous top
administration officials.
"I literally kind of knocked on the door and said, 'Can I come in?' and they said, 'OK.' And I came in, I sat on the couch, and that's
the point of view I've written this," he recounted.
... ... ...
The author also claimed that he did not violate any "off the record" agreements with his sources but instead tried to blend in
with work as usual in the West Wing.
"I tried to be inobtrusive," he said. "So I tried not to have anyone quite notice me, or not notice me above the level that they
notice the furniture. So my goal was to keep going until somebody said go away."
Wolff probably also violated any "off the record" agreements with his sources. The fact the Wolff acted as a spy inside West Wing
also can give a gifted lawyer some openings. And cost Wolff a lot of money to defend himself. But it was Bannon who served
as lord-protector of this gossip columnist
Over the next few months, Wolff would get similarly conspicuous access at the White House. With his distinctive bald head and
New York fashion affectations, he stood out from the throngs of Washington media seeking inside information from Trump's inner circle.
Armed with a blue "appointment" badge from the Secret Service - unlike the grey press badges that gain access to the press briefing
room - he walked into the West Wing and, he says, took up semi-permanent residence on a couch in the lobby, where he could see the
daily interactions of top players in the Trump White House.
Adding to the intrigue, the White House now says that it was Trump's chief strategist, Steve Bannon, who signed off on most of
Wolff's access.
"I literally think you go in there and say, 'I'm writing a book,' and they go, 'Oh. A book.' It's like a cloak of invisibility,"
he told THR. "And then also they would do this thing that would be like, 'Oh, this is off the record.' And I would say, 'I would
like to use it for the book.' And they would say, 'Well, when does that come out?' And I would say, 'Next year.' 'Oh, oh, yeah, OK,
fine.'
After access that Wolff obtained was obtained via flattery and deception. for example he boasts that he manages to convert
Trump "non-denial" into "yes" by himself.
As Bloomberg reports Wolff misrepresented himself as a fighter against MSM witch hunt. He also deceived an inexperienced staff
Author Michael Wolff's pitch to the White House to win cooperation for his book included a working title that signaled a sympathetic
view, a counter-narrative to a slew of negative news stories early in Donald Trump's presidency.
He called it "The Great Transition: The First 100 Days of the Trump Administration." And in part due to that title, Wolff was
able to exploit an inexperienced White House staff who mistakenly believed they could shape the book to the president's liking.
Nearly everyone who spoke with Wolff thought someone else in the White House had approved their participation. And it appears that
not a single person in a position of authority to halt cooperation with the book -- including Trump himself -- raised any red flags,
despite Wolff's well documented history. His previous work included a critical book on Trump confidant Rupert Murdoch, the Twenty-First
Century Fox Inc. co-chairman.
... ... ...
Wolff's entree began with Trump himself, who phoned the author in early February to compliment him on a CNN appearance in which
Wolff criticized media coverage of the new president.
Wolff told Trump during the call that he wanted to write a book on the president's first 100 days in office. Many people want
to write books about me, Trump replied -- talk to my staff. Aides Kellyanne Conway and Hope Hicks listened to Wolff's pitch in a
West Wing meeting the next day, but were noncommittal.
Several aides said Hicks later informally endorsed talking with Wolff as long as they made "positive" comments for the book, which
they said Wolff told them would counter the media's unfair narrative.
It wasn't until late August that alarm bells were raised in the White House -- when Hicks, Jared Kushner and their allies
realized that fellow aides who had spoken with Wolff, especially Bannon, may have provided damaging anecdotes about them.
... ... ...
Publicly, White House officials have laid much of the blame for the book's most controversial revelations on Bannon, who arranged
for Wolff to enter the White House grounds at least a handful of times. "Close to 95 percent" of Wolff's White House interactions
were "done so at the request of Mr. Bannon," White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders told reporters.
But privately, Trump allies say other top aides also allowed Wolff into the building, including Conway on multiple occasions.
Some of Trump's senior-most staff believed that Hicks, one of Trump's longest-serving aides who has acted as a gatekeeper for
his interview requests, had authorized their cooperation with Wolff. They recalled that she encouraged them to engage with the author
as long as they made positive comments. Hicks hadn't greenlit the book, people familiar with her handling of the matter said -- but
nor did she immediately put up a stop sign.
In fact, for the first six months of Trump's presidency no one in his White House -- including then-Chief of Staff Reince Priebus
and then-Press Secretary Sean Spicer -- stopped Wolff from repeatedly scheduling appointments in the West Wing. He visited about
17 times, according to a person familiar with the matter. Nor did they monitor what Trump's aides were telling the controversial
author.
One former aide, Sebastian Gorka, said he was asked to meet Wolff "by an outside mutual contact" he declined to identify. "The second
we met I had a bad feeling about him and his real agenda," Gorka said.
Wolff conducted himself with assurance on his visits to the West Wing, playing up his relationship with Trump. Officials recall Wolff
telling them he'd known Trump a long time and that the president called him "the best."
Bannon was sidelined in April and the book actually presents events after April exclusively from Bannon point of view. That suggests
that Wolff did not have much real access despite his efforts to spy in West Wing.
But there might be some external forces that ted to push wolf toward better access Gorka reveled that he got an external call recommending
him to be interviewed by Wolff (which Gorka declined). See
Gorka says he was told to cooperate with Wolff
Now there are statement that Bannon himself was involved in efforts to remove Trump from the Presidential campaign done of
behave of Mercer family:
Breitbart Executive Chairman Steve Bannon's fall has accelerated into a plummet. A conservative watchdog group helmed by
Bannon worked to discredit President Donald Trump during the onset of the 2016 presidential primary, according to opposition research
obtainedby CNN.
Collected by the Government Accountability Institute (GAI) and author Peter Schweizer, the document reportedly describes
connections between Trump's companies and mafia figures, allegations that have long circled the president's business enterprise.
GAI was co-founded by Schweizer and Bannon in 2012 and received heavy funding from the Mercer family-one of Trump's largest campaign
contributors. Before backing Trump, the Mercer family publicly supported Texas Senator Ted Cruz for the presidency.
"We research political figures from all political parties and our basic premise is follow the money. That's what guides our
research approach," Schweizer told CNN.
A source familiar with the organization confirmed to CNN that GAI collected research on all Republican and Democratic candidates
during the 2016 presidential election. Additional sources confirmed that the document was shared with GOP donors during the primary,
but made no indication as to whether Trump was aware of its existence when he hired Bannon as his campaign's CEO.
"He is needy and amoral enough to just, you know, insult people for attention". ~Gawker
Who is Michael Wolff? In short -- a money hungry gossip columnist. As he is now 64 he has a long career and published
half-dozen books. That was clear from his first book
Burn Rate How I Survived the Gold Rush Years on the Internet published in 1999 before the crush of dot-com bubble. This
"fire and Fury" book was impressively timed, which maximized the monetary value of his the slapdash gossip and, sometimes, slander.
This is a typical "greed is good" journalist. In a review of Wolff's book Burn Rate,
Brill's Content criticized Wolff for "apparent
factual errors" and said that 13 people, including subjects he mentioned, complained that Wolff had "invented or changed quotes."
Check out, The truth about
Burn Rate.
His writings are very uneven and some columns actually are not bad. But most often he is lazy, superficial and sensationalist. He
also has penchant to sniff somebody else dirty clothing.
Writing is extremely sloppy, repetitious and it is clear that Wolff did not spend much time writing the book. It was definitely rushed.
Even copyediting is extremely poor and in some parts of the book (probably added at the last minute) completely absent.
For example, this James Bond of Trump White House calls Stephen Miller -- Jason. May parts of the book look like a product of over-excited
(by alcohol ? ;-) imagination" ;-). And the term "product of imagination" (aka
figment) is a politically correct term for
fabrication. When confronted with the request to provide confirmation to events described in his book Wolff only managed to say
"read the book" (Michael Wolff's
Alternative Facts):
An appearance with Katy Tur in the afternoon was bookended by a morning gig on Morning Joe and on Lawrence O'Donnell's show at
night. And while Mika Brzezinski and Joe Scarborough made their interview as much about them as Wolff, and O'Donnell was as solicitous
as one could be, Tur was persistent in raising the basic questions about Wolff's modus operandi (Colbert articulated doubts but didn't
forcefully inquire about them).
Why not release tapes of conversations that people are contesting? Why not go public with the evidence of is handiwork being flawed?
"I am not in your business. My evidence is the book. Read the book. If it makes sense, if it rings true, it is true"!!!
Yes, yes, Tur said, she read the book. "There were a lot of factual errors." Wolff pooh-poohed the premises of her queries, as
if bring up errors was even vaguely relevant to his great undertaking. And, anyway, what might surface were the kind of mistakes
"you will find in any book, including yours (also on Trump)." I've got bigtime author friends, whom I've occasional helped a bit
with editing, and that's baloney.
"I am up to a particular scrutiny because I am threatening the president of the United States," Wolff said, sounding as if
he were a journalistic Archibald Cox, the independent special counsel fired by President Nixon during the Watergate scandal (part
of the Saturday Night Massacre).
He at least offered Tur a self-serving rationalization. By comparison, there was the response to Brzezinski when she 13 hours
earlier noted that an anecdote about Trump and daughter Ivanka is flat wrong. In reality, the particular interaction he
purports to describe involved Trump and Brzezinski, not Ivanka, at a particular function.
Oh, well, said Wolff with cavalier nonchalance, sometimes you just rely on your sources and are wrong. Sheesh. On this day
he seemed rather more prudent about his neckwear than the genesis of his gaudy revelations.
As Sam Nunberg put it Wolff's book for Democratic Party is like Obama birth issue for Republican Party after Obama victory. It is
the matter of faith as well as the rallying cry: "let's win midterm" (Ex-Trump
aide: I called Trump a fool).
Looks like Wolff in his attempt to "make money fast" by denouncing Trump and helping to prove that he is unfit for the
office (as if this fact is of primary importance when the deep state runs the country and managed to coerce Trump into compliance in
foreign policy is just three months) hit the nerve of NeverTrumpers. It created such an outpouring of hate toward Trump administration
that far exceeds the animosity toward Bush II, or Obama. And Wolff's portrait of Trump makes Bush II look like a good president
;-) A wall of hate from neoliberals of all sorts directed at Trump, that far exceeds in intensity the same wage against Bush II after
Iraq war, although Bush II deserved such a level of hate much more then Trump. With all his fought Trump yet did not invade and destroy
another small country.
On Amazon Wolff's book on Jan 11 has had slightly over 2K reviews, the number reached 3K on Jan 20(with around 90% positive)
and 3.6K on Jan 25. For the same period the book was sold in over one million copies (all formats, including Kindle and audio).
Talk about average IQ of the population and the level of hate of Trump in neoliberal camp ;-)
It not it so difficult to understand that Wolff's insinuations notwithstanding "Trump Isn't Another Hitler. He's Another Obama":
the POTUS that is under full or almost full control of the "deep state" and who easily betrayed most of his election promises
in order to survive that color revolution (Russiagate, or Purple revolution against Trump) launched against him after elections.
And if Trump was another dictator, who just came to power, there would be already a round hole in Wolff's scull, or some mysterious
car crash with Wolff as one of the fatalities. So this is simply stupid. Actually the level of chaos and the fact that Wolff was able
to wander in West Wing suggests quite an opposite -- that Trump is a sense was much more liberal then Obama (who actually had pretty
strict, CIA style control on the visitors to WH).
And Wolff is laughing running to the bank, capitalizing of this gigantic wave of hate, which is promoted and sustained by neoliberal
MSMs and which resulted in fantastic sales of his mediocre and sleazy book. We, in "anti-neoliberal" camp, can denigrate
Wolff as an mediocre tabloid writer as much as we want, but it is clear that he is a pretty shrewd businessman.
We, in "anti-neoliberal" camp, can denigrate Wolff as an mediocre tabloid writer as much as we want,
but it is clear that he is a pretty shrewd businessman.
What a million of people who already bought Wolff's book do not understand is that independently of whether Trump is crazy or not,
he does not matter much. No POTUS is. For example in foreign policy he was crushed and emasculated in just three months. His tax cut
is a variation of the theme of Bush II -- so he acting like a regular Republican President would. If so, why we have an orgasm
in neoliberal MSM masturbating on this mediocre and salacious book which sniffs President's dirty clothing. The attraction of the book
is connected to definition of the word "gossip" cited by Bret
Stephens in the NYT: "Hearing something you like about someone you don't." (The
Wolff Eats Its Own - The New York Times). He also admits:
In "Fire and Fury," however, Trump really does have something resembling fake news. The book is
replete
with casual errors of fact. Invidious stories are unsourced or unverifiable
or, on close
inspection, simply nonsensical. It was written with white-hot venom. The book's only truly credible voice, if credible is the
right word, is the peerlessly self-serving Steve Bannon.
"Fire and Fury" is catnip for everyone who detests this president. But truth be told the Deep State forced to betray most of his
election promises very quickly, so his difference with President Hillary during the first year is overstated. Not much, especially in
foreign policy, depends on POTUS. For example, "Trump the isolationalist" was gone in April, 2017. That means that the executive
branch is partially a Potemkin Village now, and in some important areas it is the "Deep State" that runs he country. The
book also was used as smoke screen to hide
Steele dossier fiasco.
BTW Wolff does not mentioned the crisis of neoliberalism in his book even once, but this was the key factor that propelled
Trump to victory. Instead he tried to sniff Trump dirty clothing. And you can hate Trump, but it should on principal issues like domestic
or foreign policy issues, not on dirty clothing issues. The latter just proves Wolff's pettiness and personal insignificance.
In this sense "Kid gloves" interviews of Wolff on CNN, MSNBC and other neoliberal MSM channels are disgusting. This is not
journalism. This is 100% pure anti-Trump propaganda. Of worst kind. I watched around a dozen interviews of neoliberal MSM of this guy.
And all of them insult the intelligence. Only
Megan McCain
in ABC interview tried to put a little bit of cold water on Wolff's overheated from sudden success bold head. But issues she mentions
were really minor.
(v.) To kick a man when he's down is to attack at the persons weakest moment. It defies the gentlemanly code of ethics, and does
detract from reputation. Used literally or figuratively, it still has pretty much the same meaning.
"There are four kinds of people to avoid in the world: the assholes, the asswipes, the ass-kissers, and those
that just will shit all over you."
― Anthony Liccione
In his book and, especially, in his interviews Wolff repeatedly claimed that his book can lead to successful coup d'état against
Trump. So in his interviews he pretends that his depiction of Trump might lead to Trump removal. Moreover he pretends that this is his
most cherished goal (in reality it is money). There is saying fully applicable to his dream: "Life contains but two tragedies.
One is not to get your heart's desire; the other is to get it"? In the second case this idiot will get President Pence, which is too
much for his Hollywood Reporter fiends even in comparison with Trump.
Is Pence better then Trump is the areas that are dear to Hollywood and metrosexual crowd Wolff represents ? you need
just to look at readers comments at Yahoo and similar neoliberal outlets to see when those people say about "true believer" Pence. Dunce,
and "an opportunistic politician who may even truly believe his own bullshit" are probably the most polite words. This is the
person who eschew dining alone with any woman other than his wife simply to appear squeaky clean and avoid accusations. Because
he is a former radio talk show host, we knows which side his matzo is buttered on. With all his warts, Trump was and sill to a
certain extent is a wildcard, who represents potential threat to neoliberal globalization. That's why the campaign by neoliberal MSM
against him is so vicious. Pence is and was a neocon and globalist, a typical Washington sellout, not to say bottom-feeder.
As for CIA operative Philip Giraldi said about Trump and Pence (Let's
Keep Donald Trump)
I would like to see him go due to his sheer fecklessness, particularly if he can take Mattis, McMaster, Pompeo, Tillerson
and Haley with him. But there is a serious fly in the ointment, namely what would come next? The answer is President Mike Pence.
Mike Pence caught some heat during the campaign because of some of his idiosyncrasies like "never eat[ing] alone with a woman
other than his wife." Whether that was true because of the apparently overwhelming sexual urges that seem to afflict nearly all congressmen
and Hollywood producers, or because of something in the Bible, or even to avoid possible allegations of misbehavior, was not at all
clear.
And speaking of the Bible, Pence is both a Christian fundamentalist and a dispensationalist, which means that he thinks every word
in the Good Book is literally true and that Christianity is going through phases or dispensations that will lead to the rapture of
true believers into heaven followed by the wrath of God descending on those who refuse to see the light.
The odd thing about people like Pence is that they stick like glue to their Scofield Reference Bibles but apparently rarely venture
into the New Testament part with its talk of compassion and forgiveness. They much prefer the fire and brimstone in the Jewish part
with Joshua smiting and Philistines (Palestines?) falling left and right. Pence and his co-believers, who are sometimes labeled Christian
Zionists, consider Jews to be the Chosen People of God and Israel's creation and survival are all part of the master plan that will
lead to the end of the world as we know it. The re-creation of a Jewish state and the gathering in of as many of the world's Jews
as possible is seen as a critical step to achieve the Second Coming of Christ, which Pence and his associates fervently hope will
occur soon. At that point, it is assumed that the Jews will realize that Christ is truly their Messiah and will mass-convert. If
they do not they will be consumed in fire like all the other unbelievers.
Well, Pence is undeniably a true believer in the worst way, but he can choose to believe whatever he likes. The problem with him
is that, given his senior role in the government, his firmly held religious beliefs are no longer a personal issue. They inevitably
have political, economic and national security consequences for all Americans, not just for those who see things as he does. Only
20% of Americans actually go to church and of those only a portion are aligned with Pence on what Christianity means, suggesting
that his is a minority viewpoint within a minority viewpoint.
Pence's views on the Middle East as influenced by his particular religiosity were on full display during his recent trip to Israel,
a country that he has visited eight times. The Vice President's speech before the Knesset first required the removal of all Arab
members of that body, who had loudly expressed their disapproval of what they knew was coming.
When I recall Trump's inauguration speech there is this painful sense of a totally missed opportunity: to push neocons into dustbin
of history and at least partially restore the sovereignty of the US to the American people. As well as return to a civilized and rational
international policy. Instead of current schoolyard bully style excesses. This did not happen, but still the idea of the
change of the neoliberal status quo was the key for many supporters of Trump.
And Trump after first three months of his administration actually deflated and became a regular neocon in foreign policy. In this
area he is now just at sex change operation distance from Hillary election promises. Unrelenting attacks by neocons and infiltration
of neocons into his administration (Kushner is a neocon, so is Haley and McMaster) make him more of Obama II in foreign policy,
then "election time Trump". Such a "change we can believe in". And it is impossible to be non-neocon if you are pandering to military
industrial complex as they are essentially lobbyists of MIC. I doubt that there is big difference between
Nikki "Binomo" Haley a female neocon
bully in best tradition of Madeleine Albright and Samantha Power, who was yet another neocon
chickenhawk and a potential criminal as she was involved in "unmasking campaign" unleashed on Trump team after the elections.
As for creation of jobs, there are some jobs created in military industrial complex. that's for sure. Will super-inflected military
budgets some cramps will go to this category of workers. But in all other areas this is "business as usual". The direct continuation
policies of impoverishment of working class that Clinton, Bush Ii and Obama implemented so effectively.
The rule for civilized person, which Wolff pretends to be, is "Don't kick a man when he is down"
"Much to the annoyance of Wolff's critics, the scenes in his columns aren't recreated so much as
created - springing from Wolff's imagination rather than from actual knowledge of events," Michelle Cottle wrote in the New Republic.
"Even Wolff acknowledges that conventional reporting isn't his bag. Rather, he absorbs the atmosphere and gossip swirling around
him at cocktail parties, on the street, and especially during those long lunches at Michael's."
An editor who worked with Wolff
told the New Republic,"[Wolff's] great gift is the appearance of intimate access. He is adroit at making the reader think
that he has spent hours and days with his subject, when in fact he may have spent no time at all."
Wolff's New York columns included several claims that were later decried by the people he was discussing, including book
editor Judith Regan - who said she hadn't spoken to Wolff in 30 years when disputing a column about her - and New Republic
columnist Andrew Sullivan.
Wolff's books have also been flagged by critics as not wholly representing the truth. His 1998 book Burn Rate - which itself
included a story about Wolff lying about his father-in-law having open heart surgery, the Post noted - was heavily criticized
as containing false reporting. Now-defunct publication Brill's Content
cited 13 individuals mentioned, portrayed in or familiar with events in the book who said Wolff had either invented or changed quotes.
None could recall Wolff recording or taking notes on their conversations.
"Wolff exploits the human tendency to confuse frankness and cruelty with truth-telling," Jack Shafer wrote in a review of the
book for Slate.
Carr's 2008 New York Times review
of Wolff's book on Murdoch also pointed out the factual inaccuracies in some of the author's reporting. He noted that Wolff "prefers
the purity of his constructs."
"Historically, one of the problems with Wolff's omniscience is that while he may know all, he gets some of it wrong," Carr wrote.
In a 2004 review of his book Autumn of the Moguls published in the Atlantic, critic
Eric Alterman acknowledged that "sometimes [Wolff] gets it righter than anyone" - though he, too, points out how "wrongheaded" the
author's reporting sometimes can be.
"One doesn't read Wolff to find out what's true; one reads him to find out what people may think is true," Alterman wrote. "And
the act of his writing and publishing it helps make it 'true' in this sense."
"Does it all add up? That depends on the meanings of 'it,' 'all,' 'add' and 'up,'" Alterman wrote. "As I said, there's a reality
here to which Wolff is the world's greatest living anthropologist, but it is a reality that is lighter than air."
"A provocateur and media polemicist, Wolff has a penchant for stirring up an argument and pushing the facts as far as they'll
go, and sometimes further than they can tolerate, according to his critics,"
Washington Post media reporter Paul Farhi said in one report. "He has been accused of not just recreating scenes in
his books and columns, but of creating them wholesale."
Roger Stone has said, "Based on many years' experience
with him, anything Michael Wolff writes has to be taken with a grain of salt."
President Trump called out Michael Wolff for the lies in his book, and well he should have. Wolff admits not everything
in his book is true and that he said whatever he had to say to get his story. He printed and embellished "off the record" statements,
and therein lies the deceit. His claims are irresponsibly absurd.
Claiming our President is dumb, childlike, that he's a moron, he doesn't like to read, he's mentally unbalanced, etc. is pure
libel. Trump did three and four rallies per day during the campaign, and has given some of the finest foreign and domestic
speeches we have heard from a president in over 50 years, not to mention
his first year
accomplishments. Tell me how many people could accomplish in their lives what President Trump has accomplished! Our President
is brilliant and in charge, and the left hates it, and they denigrate him for it. Obviously, publishing company Henry Holt
and Co. is printing Wolff's pile of dung because they know their leftist friends will love the lies.
Quotes attributed to longtime Trump friend Thomas Barrack Jr. and former White House adviser Katie Walsh were denied or disputed.
Tom Barrack adds, "It's clear to anyone who knows me that those aren't my words and are inconsistent with anything I've ever said."
He says Wolff never ran that quote by him to ask if it was accurate.
Wolff reported that Melania Trump cried when her husband won the election because she didn't want him to win. However, it's
a well-known fact that Melania actually encouraged her husband to run for President, and was thrilled when he won.
Roger Stone said that Bannon was right on one thing, that Don Jr. should have had an attorney with him when he met with the
Russian woman who claimed she had info on Hillary, but there was nothing illegal or treasonous about it as Bannon was quoted as saying.
His reliability has been challenged before - over quotes, descriptions and general accounts he's provided in his many newspaper
and magazine columns and in several books. Wolff has even acknowledged that he can be unreliable: As he recounted in "Burn Rate"
- his best-selling book about his time as an early Internet entrepreneur - Wolff kept his bankers at bay by fabricating a story
about his father-in-law having open-heart surgery.
"How many fairly grievous lies had I told?" he wrote. "How many moral lapses had I committed? How many ethical breaches had
I fallen into? . . . Like many another financial conniver, I was in a short-term mode." Wolff's business collapsed in 1997.
"Burn Rate" came under siege from critics who challenged its credibility, including the long verbatim conversations that Wolff
recounted despite taking scant notes. Brill's Content, a now-defunct media-review publication, cited a dozen people who disputed
quotes attributed to them in the book.
Wolff followed up "Burn Rate" by taking over the media column at New York magazine, where he almost immediately ran into trouble.
Judith Regan, then a hotshot book editor who had been a classmate of Wolff's at Vassar, vigorously disputed almost every paragraph
of Wolff's column about her. She said she hadn't had a personal conversation with Wolff in 30 years.
Wolff's response: "She doesn't speak to me. . . . I suppose the world is full of people who no longer speak to me."
New Republic columnist Andrew Sullivan accused Wolff of putting words in his mouth when Wolff wrote in 2001 that Sullivan "believes
that he is the most significant gay public intellectual in America today." Sullivan said he never made any such claim.
In a 2004 cover story for the New Republic,
Michelle Cottle wrote that Wolff had become the "It Boy" of New York media after winning two National Magazine Awards for his
commentary: "His quick wit, dizzying writing style, and willingness to say absolutely anything about anybody made his column a
must-read," she wrote.
But she added, "Much to the annoyance of Wolff's critics, the scenes in his columns aren't recreated so much as created - springing
from Wolff's imagination rather than from actual knowledge of events. Even Wolff acknowledges that conventional reporting isn't
his bag." An editor who worked with Wolff told Cottle, "He is adroit at making the reader think that he has spent hours and
days with his subject, when in fact he may have spent no time at all."
Even Wolff's anecdote about Trump being unaware of who Boehner was last year seems a bit suspect. The reason? Trump had tweeted
about Boehner multiple times since 2011. In September 2015, for example, Trump tweeted this: "Wacky @glennbeck who always seems
to be crying (worse than Boehner) speaks badly of me only because I refuse to do his show - a real nut job!"
New York law defines libel as a written statement of fact regarding the plaintiff published by the defendant that is false
and causes injury to the plaintiff.
...(U.S. Supreme Court holding that a statement or publication containing provably false factual assertions constitutes
defamation);
...A communication is defamatory if it tends so to harm the reputation of another as to lower him in the estimation of the
community or to deter third persons from associating or dealing with him");
... Libel per se involves a false allegation that a person is engaged in a crime, or that otherwise tends to injure a person
in his or her trade, business, or profession.
The book has garnered much attention thanks to explosive quotes,including from Bannon, who called a Trump Tower
meeting with Russians "unpatriotic" and "treasonous."
Trump can't file libel suit against Wolff for obvious reasons. Even
cease-and-desist
letter (which means nothing in legal sense and is just a warning that a lawsuit can be bought against you) already did more harm
to him then good by somewhat increasing the book popularity. Mr. Trump's attorney Charles Harder sent a letter to Mr. Wolff and
publisher Henry Holt and Co demanding no further confidential information is disclosed. Still the book was published on January 9 which
means the legal fight is on.
"Your publication of the false/baseless statements about Mr. Trump gives rise to, among other claims, defamation by libel,
defamation by libel per se, false light invasion of privacy, tortious interference with contractual relations, and inducement of
breach of contract," the letter to Mr. Wolff read.
Mr. Bannon was also sent a letter informing him of coming legal action, citing "disparaging statements and in some cases outright
defamatory statements" he is said to have made to Mr. Wolff.
The same in probably true about lawsuit against Bannon. Just image request for discovery of WH email by Bannon's lawyers. Boob
did quit a bit for his self-destruction already and probably does not need outside help.
The truth is that Bannon is actually both a victim and a villain -- in exchange for the access to the White House Wolff had gotten
during Bannon's tenure, Wolff has written a book exclusively from Bannon's perspective to serve his narcissistic ego and (what was probably
the most important for Wolff) to sell his book to wider audience as Bannon is correctly depicted in the book not as a strategist but
as a political arsonist eager to burn his bridges when he left the White House. You can virtually feel his rage against his dismissal.
So while Bannon violated his NDA, he might pay a high price for his "revelations" in a different way that via lawsuit against him. the
same actually is true for Wolff. He already was summoned by Grand Inquisitor Mueller, who probably was elated at such a chance to get
even with Bannon and sink Trump with the hands of his former close associate (Trump
rejecting Bannon's hard line against Mueller - CNNPolitics):
Bannon spoke with Trump following Monday's announcements from the special counsel, and advocated taking a harsher approach to
Mueller, a person familiar with their conversation said. While Trump encouraged Bannon to lead the public charge against Mueller,
the President made clear to aides Tuesday that he's not adopting Bannon's advice.
..A person close to the President said that more donors and outside friends are starting to wonder if Bannon is right, saying:
"The thinking is 'you will take the same abuse whether you go after (Mueller) or you don't.' "
Formally it does not matter much, but still it is bad for Wolff that Bannon already claimed that critical quotes about Trump Tower
meeting are not accurate which suggests actual malice on the part of Wolff. If we add to this his statement in his interviews
that the book with bring Trump down that became even worse for Wolff.
But the critical peace here is Wolff's decision to include red meat about Veselnitskaya case. Which puts Wolff directly of
indirectly into the conspiracy to take Trump down (the meeting probably was a designed by Fusion GPS trap for Trump team). Now he can
legitimately be deposed to testify in House Intelligence committee. Or he can be suited for violation of security protocols for
West Wing visitors (remember he did not have a press badge; he has had a regular visitor badge and as such was a subject to rules for
visitors, not the press). Also Wolff might record conversations without informing the other party in WH (he boasted that he has
tapes, but refused to release them) which taking into account Wolff's character is quite probable. Hidden recording of conversations
is a crime in some states. So the fact that Wolff claimed that he has tapes might alone constitute an admission of the criminal
act.
So in more then one way Wolff's "way too long tongue" and availability of more then a dozen interviews in addition to
the book text can really hurt him. In such cases the more you talk the deeper you sink. For example, Veselnitskaya case involves
national security and his repeated his claim that the "President is unfit for office" in each second interview looks somewhat
suspicious and beg the question: "Did he took money from DNC, Soros, or Clinton wing of democratic party to write a book and not
only an advance from the publisher?" Of course,
Fusion GPS would probably be the
best option ;-) . In this case Wolff would became a part of
Strzok-gate.
So while direct legal attack on Wolff might fail, there are always multiple possibilities of indirect attack looming on the horizon
for such a sleazy and unscrupulous character as Wolff (BTW Wolff was sued for 8 million by his mother in law, whom he allegedly cheated
on Manhattan apartment swap, as well as stole and sold her jewelry (Page
Six); It there is still a lawsuit pending it might benefit from a little bit of legal help from Trump supporters ;-).
But in an e-mail to Page Six, another family member fumed: "It's really, really creepy . . . This guy Wolff epitomizes everything
that is simply wrong about this generation of spoiled-brat, entitlement children."
It might well be that some of those possibilities will prevent Wolff sleeping well at night, despite solid stream of
money that are flowing right now to his account. Any person over 60 has an elevated risk of stoke, especially if he/she abuses
alcohol and has a very young and demanding sexual partner (Wolff's girl friend
Victoria
Floethe, if he still has her, was around 30 years younger then him). And here the stakes are high while cards are currently hidden
(for example, Hogan sued Gawker for 100 million) . The possibility of a long and expensive lawsuit can't be completely discarded.
All this means that while defamation suit against him from Trump is a "no go", it's not "all clear" situation for Wolff and
his book.
This is "reviews of the day" collection. In most cases only one review per day was selected for its relevance and insightful critique
of the book. No positive reviews here. All reviews are three stars or below. Only around 17% of reviews belong to this category.
As of Jan 12, there were around 2.4K reviews of the book. On Feb 12 5K, so the book is still selling well (mostly audio and Kindle).
Few books exceed 2K reviews on Amazon. For example Edward Klain
The Amateur has 2.5K. But as ancients said it is always wise to listen to opposition to mainstream opinion and most reviews are
one-liners and a lot of selling was driven by MSM hype
This book is full of lies, half truths and just complete nonsense. Wolff can not substantiate most
of the claims in this piece of drivel. It's nothing but a hatchet job on Trump by a has been, know nothing author. Don't waste
your money on it.
Nothing that I hadn't heard before on CNN. It was so much in the news the week before it came out, I felt I had to read it, but
wished I hadn't wasted my money. Let me sum it up for you according to the author: Trump is senile, Jarod and Evanka should go
home to New York City, Trump doesn't read books, Steve Bannon is a genius and reads lots of books. Trump is stupid and so are
all of his kids. There is no explanation given as to how he was able to become a successful billionaire business man and become
elected President of the United States. I would imagine just because he is a very lucky senile stupid person. Don't waste your
money. Its not even interesting to read or well written. Trust me on this one.
They should call this book Bannon vs. Kushner. This book so far is boring. I really wanted to love the book but the book
is too repetitive and devotes whole Chapters to things that does not matter like CPAC. This book also is 90% about Bannon vs.
Kushner not getting along. After 150 pages you will still be on the first month of Trump's presidency. This book should be
125 pages not over 300 pages.
151 pages- end of the book
How many Chapters do we need on Steve Bannon? I will tell you upfront that this book has at least 5 Chapters on Bannon.
I can tell that Bannon played a large part in this book as the author makes it seemed that Bannon tried to warn Trump on how
to do things like not firing the FBI Director Comey but Trump chose to listen to his son-in-law and daughter who keeps giving
him bad advice and is the main reason for the leaks and the nonsense going on in the White House. This book did give out some
inside information on the Trump White House such as Trump refusal to listen to his military advisers instead choosing to listen
to Ivanka on troop deployments. The book also tells us how dumb Trump is and how he can't read or comprehend anything so his
daughter and assistant must make child like videos for him to watch and comprehend military issues. Overall, this book needed
more and fell way short of being great.
After reading this book. I do not want to hear Steve Bannon's name again because this book is largely about him.
I am not judging whether Wolff was truthful or not. But, he wrote this like a sensationalist
tabloid gossip column without citing any sources. I understand why he would not explicitly disclose his sources, but I think he
should have at least vaguely hinted or even said something as simple as whether it came from his observations or somebody telling
him, and if so, whether that source witnessed it first hand or was telling a second hand story. And how does he know what
Trump is thinking in an exact moment? Is he inside Trump's brain? Did Trump tell him directly? Did he overhear something?
This book just gives Conservatives more leverage in the whole Fake News debate because Wolff wrote this book in a way that
makes his information sound, frankly, like fake news. The book was disorganized and poorly written, frankly.
And why is there such a fuss over this? Trump is an incompetent troll and a misogynist-- What a surprise!!
Helped make clear who/what/where some of the lesser known characters in this B- "script" Wolff's imagined responses of real
people in actual situations was amusing if not factual. Reminded me of the movie gossip magazines I loved when I was 12/13 years
old.
I don't like Donald Trump, didn't vote for him, and never would. That said, this book is pure speculation
and innuendos about family, staff, enemies, and Trump himself. There are few, if any, sources for the things said and done. I
think Michael Wolfe is as big a con man as Trump. The only real reason to read the book is because Trump tried to stop it's publication.
Save your money, though, and check it out from your local library.
I would recommend this book to those that like political gossip and or like to hear what people really say when the cameras
are off. I would caution to the validity of the book, but point out that the over arching tone, that the president is ill informed
or that he is unwilling to learn seems to be true. This book is also poorly written almost as if it was rushed out to beat the
many other books set to hit the market about this administration. Happy Reading.
The author takes huge liberties describing conversations, in quotes, as
if he were there. The only information I believe is the author's name.
The writing style is tacky tabloid, the dates jump around enough to confuse, and the use of obscure vocabulary inconsistently,
causes unintended humor. Save your money. In the old days of brick and mortar bookstores, this drivel would be on the 'take
one leave one' table.
Such a poorly written book of innuendo and zero facts. Very hard to follow. Seems like it was written by a 9th Grader over
a weekend. I learned NOTHING that hadn't been written about previously. Disappointing.
Needs to be in the fiction section. This is a book with a clearly anti-trump agenda made to pander to those who already don't
like Trump. He writes "everyone in the room felt awkward", "They were thinking he was an idiot" without anything to verify the
claims.
If your watch anything other than conservative
news, there's really no need to buy this book/ It's basically one more source to add to the pile of incidents and remarks the
media has told us about ad nausea.
A couple sources might surprise you , Roger Ailes, now dead, and Rupert Murdoch, and a rich man who author states is Trumps
best friend, Tom Barret.
In fact, with the news cycle and Trump News at present, the book was outdated two days after it was published. It was worth
the dollars to show Trump how freedom of speech works, he apparently hasn't a clue.
Donald Trump's miniscule attention span, intellectual shallowness and massive narcissism should be no surprise to anyone who
has read any of the Trump biographies or who closely follows the news. Fire and Fury has a few choice quotes and scenes from the
Trump Whitehouse, but overall the sad truth is the book is boring. Almost all of the good parts in the book have been covered
by publications like the New York Times and the Washington Post.
I finished the book, but I was really skimming through it. There is not much meat in this book. The definitive book
on Trump, a President so disastrous that he makes George W. Bush look good, has yet to be written. That book will not be written
by Michael Wolff, who is little more than a bitchy hack writer.
All this said... I bought the book as a political act. Trump will hate the fact that the book is a massive success. Trump also
made a pathetic attempt to suppress the book. Both were motivations in my purchase. But if you want a great read, look elsewhere.
As a non-Trump supporter, this book is a disgrace, and even more disgraceful is the media's embrace of it. There are many
wonderful books on the inner workings of the White House, the most recent being the excellent book by Chris Whipple, The Gatekeepers.
It has verified facts, no mis-representations, no fabricated conclusions. Anyone who buys this book should claim fraud and
ask for their money back.
Badly written. It's like no one edited this book. Really makes me question the author's credibility and journalistic integrity.
Doesn't cite sources, even when providing direct quotes. That's not okay.
I'm glad someone had the courage to write about the imbecile in our White House, but this kind of crappy writing that borders
on tabloid-level makes our side look just as bad as "the other side".
Wolff is lucky that the Bannon controversy happened, otherwise this book wouldn't have sold more than a handful of copies.
Interesting in a voyeuristic sense but stylistically and factually flawed.
The inaccuracies are off-putting. How credible is the rest of this book if he calls Stephen Miller Jason? I am far from being
a Trump fan, but I am also far from being a Bannon fan. Wolff clearly likes Bannon and admires the daily chaos and "war footing"
tactics he engendered. I would love to read a book like this but one that is edited and vetted before going to print.
This chronicle of life in the White House is more about Steve Bannon and his buddies versus Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner's
more liberal views. Highlights of President Trump's first nine months provide material for the book's chapters.
There are almost no good words for Trump. The reader gets tired of hearing he's confused, stupid or uninformed. The writing
is tedious and relies on Yiddish and journalistic jargon to add gravitas. If you want to know more about Trump, this is not the
book.
One reads about White House chaos and the book explains the political infighting that contributes to it. The communications
professionals' comings and goings are explained. The chief of staff gyrations and Air Force One trip insights provide interest.
If you keep up with the news you won't learn much about Trump, but as a partial biography of Bannon this is worth reading.
To begin with, I was very irritated by all the editing mistakes that appeared in the Kindle edition. Writers lose some credibility
when their "finished" product is riddled with grammatical errors. This book is just not well-written. At first the account was
galvanizing, especially seeing in print one of Trump's speeches -- which I would assign a D-minus at best. Incoherent, highly
repetitive writing (or in this case Trump's speaking) indicates incoherent thinking; the president does not argue, he asserts.
He has anecdotes but no evidence. Facts are clearly anathema to him; logic escapes him. But all this is really no surprise because
he has shown himself over and over to be a vain, emotionally needy idiot, who is a compulsive liar being propped up by immoral
toadies (in his staff and in congress). That said, after the first 90 or so pages, I became really bored. And why not? Trump (the
subject of the book, after all) has nothing to say. He has no plans to solve the country's many problems and seems dangerously
susceptible to repeating what the last person he talked to said.
This is a poorly sourced, hearsay laden book that would get ripped to shreds and given a C- if presented as a final project
in any top 500 journalism graduate school in the country. However, I very much doubt the author intended it to adhere to The Rulebook
of Journalistic Ethics and Integrity. In short, it revels in being a salacious story about gossip and innuendo -- fitting quite
well in our age of social media, aggregated and questionable sources, and our own attention span lacking president. In effect,
it reads like an extremely long, multi-part post in Reddit's /r/bestof section.
Regarding the "truthiness" and authenticity of the facts that lies within: yeah, I generally believe most of it is probably
true. There is not much secrecy in the bumbling ineptitude of the Trump administration and the in-fighting that is hidden in plain
sight. Rake stepping seems a constant favorite past time of our Dear Leader and his cohorts. Bear in mind, 'Fire and Fury'
seems clearly on the side of Bannon, so I would certainly take any of his character opinions -- particularly, of those he clearly
despises (Jarvanka) -- with a boulder sized grain of salt. Also, there are some factual errors that are troubling to say
the least. For example, Wolff suggests that Trump's father was definitely a member of the KKK. From my cursory research on the
topic, this claim seems circumstantial at best. There are also errors in poll numbers sprinkled throughout the text.
Should you read it? Perhaps, but don't expect anything terribly enlightening. If you're like me: a mainstream liberal who reads
the failing New York Times and the Bozos Washington Post, I doubt any of this will be much of a surprise to you. What the book
mainly does is sum up the top 50 forehead slapping headlines of this disastrous presidency in the past year, so if you've been
paying attention, you've already read a version of this. I suppose it is useful to have a story arc within a single book that
covers the first year of the Trump presidency. Had it been better written, properly sourced, and factually correct, it might have
really been something.
Reading this is like reading a tabloid. Lots of gossip and snark. Plenty of revealed secrets of the stars. A satisfying confirmation
that all the received wisdom about Trump is true -- unless it isn't. Enjoy the book -- it's lots of fun -- but look for better
resources when it comes to judging this president and his administration.
Seriously? Slapdash, less informative the real-time news sources we already have
So poorly written and incoherent that I'm surprised the White House had trouble disputing what it says. Wolff constantly concludes
a paragraph with seemingly unrelated, garbled points. The opening chapter was engagingly fly on the wall at Roger Aisle's dinner
though what you get is no more than sugar candy. The next two chapters are a running account of how the campaign got down to serious
business but nothing seems authoritative or thought provoking. Opening premise is that everyone thought Trump was a joke.
Think we knew that. Painful to read because Wolff floats along the surface of second hand narrative with no interest exploring
his material. Mostly a blab; written for money and no real care for discovery. Reads like a first draft. Maybe I'm not accepting
of the standard for political books but this is an effort to read.
I was pretty disappointed in the book, to be honest. There is SO MUCH conjecturing.
How could Wolff know what people were doing and thinking behind closed doors? There are few reliable quotes. I saw Wolff on "The
View" and he just did not seem to be a very honest person. The book DOES set down the facts of who was in the White House and
when. If that interests you, go ahead and get this book.
I will not recommend this book to my friends as the juiciest parts of the book were already discussed on the major news
outlets. They have already moved on to the sh*thole comment. (Which was predictably denied)
Terrible reading. The author must be a mind reader to know what so many people are thinking. Cannot believe this book got so
much media coverage. About 90 percent unsubstantiated speculation that could easily have been plagiarized from Washington
Post op-eds.
At Least Yellow Journalism Should be Entertaining!
Michael Wolfe's "tell all" is a bore! The fact is we all know that the President is a narcissist. We all know that Steve Bannon
is another narcissist and a snake.
We all know that the Kuschners are out of their depth! After the first 200 pages of gossip and already published facts and perceptions
-- I gave up even after promising my (radio) listeners a full review of the book on my show. Oh -- I guess that is the review,
isn't? I bought the book on Kindle -- don't waste your $14 bucks --
If one reads this with an open mind rather than an ideological bias, you'll soon discover that the big winner here is Michael
Wolff. Not only did he publicly admit that he wasn't sure what was true and what was either false, conjecture, or opinion, he
told us this was largely fiction with a not so well cloaked veil in the first 25 pages or so. He said that the press had ALWAYS
given accolades and positive treatment to a new president--the first time they did not was with Donald Trump. Ha! Many readers
will remember how the press treated G.W. Bush from day one, actually before the election, and I'm old enough to remember the fire
and fury the press gave Ronald Reagan. At the time, I had been working for Jimmy Carter traveling the region setting up campaign
booths and forums, and I well remember how the vicious comments about Reagan somewhat softened the blow of us losing the second
term. So, with some clouded honestly, right there he told us this book was not to be regarded as factual.
And, for fiction, I actually enjoyed it. It's so removed from what has been known to us previously as the current White House
reality that even a stalwart Trump fan should not be offended. Nor should a neverTrumper or solid Democrat think this book
is going to make a particle of difference in the coming years and elections. It won't because it's narrative and mostly fiction--we
don't know what could be true as there's no sourcing.
As a non-fiction publisher, I admire Wolff's execution of a fast money publishing plan. He certainly knew his market,
and that this market was less interested in facts, sourcing, and evidence of truth in statements, and far more interested in confirmation
bias content. And, that's OK from an enterprise point of view, and that's partially why he gets three stars, even in the face
of largely fictional and sometimes fraudulent content.
One reviewer mentioned he uses $5 words when a $.05 word would suffice, and I'll agree that was annoying. Others have complained
about editing, and that publication phase was apparently all but absent; the errors are glaring. His writing, although it does
not flow well, nor is any chronology evident, is typical of a pulp fiction detective novel, which I do enjoy on occasion.
I don't feel cheated from buying the book, as this isn't Wolff's first rodeo, and the writing is not atypical of his previous
works. His "insider secrets" never are, and his conclusions are always subjective and always lacking sourcing. Still, he's fun
to read and he's a pretty good story teller.
Vegans need not apply--this is USDA red meat, Select grade.
Rambling psycho-babble sprinkled with salacious quotes
If you value your time, read the excerpts variously published. The book adds marginal value and fails on several fronts.
First, the book isn't particularly well-written. The prose is inflated, laborious to read, not the tight disciplined accounts
we are accustomed to from wordsmith journalists. More the writing of a tabloid writer trying too hard to appear otherwise.
Second, on the content side, the book is essentially a psycho-babble that is sprinkled with salacious quotes, some over-interpreted
and others clearly speculative. There are many instances where staffers and friends/advisers of Trump allude to him in unfavorable
terms ("idiot," "fool," etc.). If you've been in an organization, for a period of time, with underlyings and superiors, sometimes
that's how others refer to you behind your back. Or, even in your company. It's not that uncommon. In many cases, this doesn't
mean a whole lot beyond a temporary relief of feelings. The author makes too much of it. The book is organized around such quips.
Sure, when it comes to the President of the United States, one would think that more caution and discipline would be in order.
However, keep in mind that Trump has been a reality TV star for many years which breeds false familiarity. People feel they know
him, they have a measure of the man, and are more prone to engage in discourse reserved for pals, colleagues, and overbearing
bosses. And, certainly the oftentimes crass manner in which Trump expresses himself does not lend itself to an atmosphere of civility
and decorum by those around him.
The speculative component permeates as a narrative glue of the book. A mild example is the statement, "for many years,
he had humored Trump more than embraced him" (referring to J. Kushner) which, obviously, no one outside Jared Kushner can truly
know. I even don't know if I "humored person XYZ more than embraced him" without engaging in significant contemplation and reflection.
Even then I might not. The book is replete with such speculative account.
A second weakness on the content-side is the over-simplified superficial characterization of Trump as a person. There is
a penchant for popular media, including journalists, to engage in a cartoonish characterization of Trump which should be left
to political cartoonists and comedians. This book is no exception. We are inundated with personal deficiencies of Trump which
have been evident, for all to see, from the moment he ran for office in the Republican primaries. Surely, the leaking of the Billy
Bush tapes was horrifying (whether locker room talk or not) and would have sunk the candidacy of any other man/woman. How did
Trump manage to get elected despite all that? His uniquely polarizing opponent, Hillary Clinton, had something to do with it.
So did the concerns of the middle class that the establishment, Democrat or Republican, had not given sufficient voice to. But
surely Trump, beyond the superficial characterization espoused in the book, had something to do with it as well.
Distilling the information provided by the author, there is little insight. The author doesn't seem to know Trump. Nor
have those who have been part of Trump's inner circle for many years confided in the author. All that the author has going are
quips, anecdotes, and second hand accounts, from which he weaves a story consistent with the dysfunction and chaos we have been
coming from The White House. Oh yeah, and the book's not particularly well-written.
Not one footnote, outlandish claims, no background material
Michael Wolff pushes all the right buttons. "Watergate" is even in the very first sentence of the book (author's note). The
events described are based on "conversations that took place over a period of 18 months with the president, with most members
of his senior staff -- some of whom talked to talked to me dozens of times." ***dozens of times*** The book starts out explaining
how Trump had no idea what he was doing during the campaign, and get this... he was a puppet of Roger Ailes, Breitbart, Fox News
and Bannon. (Are those not the right buttons to push) Trump never intended to win. He ran in order to get broadcast cred so he
could start his own cable network. -- -- This is a novel with real names.
There are no footnotes and conversations held when Wolff was NOT present are amazingly detailed. Conversations in which
the chatting parties engaged, could not talk enough about how big a louse and scumbag Trump is. This piece of fiction validates
everything Trump-haters have already claimed, with loads of bonus dirt. He's delusional, phony, and is even a crook. As the author
claims, real estate is a good front for money laundering. The extraordinarily outlandish claims continue, Trump was the leaker
of Melania's nudes early in her career. "...a shoot that Melania had done early in her modeling career -- - a leak that everybody
other than Melania assumed could be traced back to Trump himself." (No footnotes).
Before they wedded, Melania asked Trump if that's the way things are going to be, because she wouldn't be able to take it.
Trump told her to sue him and he subsequently set up lawyers for her to see. The pages are full of this type soap opera material.
-- - The locker room talk tapes are apparently supposed to give us the impression Trump reveals this sort of stuff all the time,
and to a guy like Michael Wolff. -- -- Those who want to hate Trump will love it. It really is a sign of the times. Someone
can make as many groundless and preposterous claims they want, and there is a large audience who will eat up every syllable.
I have read the first two chapters and it's hard to read because it's so surreal. I will attempt to plod on.
described in detail gets really boring. As far as a story goes
Assume a fly on the wall listened to each and every meeting and phone conversation from Trump and all of his campaign members.
Then accept all quoted remarks, especially from each party during a phone conversation. That would be a remarkable assumption.
Yet that is what you would have to accept to believe this book.
Personally, there is nothing new for anyone following political news closely. But acknowledging a plethora of characters, and
most you probably could care less about, described in detail gets really boring. As far as a story goes, this jumps all over the
place with no consistency of time line, place, or even continuity of thought.
It is quite obvious discovering a political bias at play but where the prejudices get lost is the attempt to describe the elected
leader of the free world as an uneducated low IQ moron even though this same person managed to reach the apex of New York business
success and recognized as brilliant throughout the world. In the real estate development arena, Trump could memorize a complex
construction critical path much to the amazement of contractors yet according to the book, did not know what a spread sheet was.
Surprise, surprise! He didn't even know his way around Washington. That made him an idiot. To make him look bad, mention
that sometimes he would not even see his wife for two weeks. If this is the kind of information that strengthens your disgust
and energizes your hate, then this can be an enjoyable read, For me, if is just plain gossip and exaggerations to support a Hate
Trump campaign!
It would be an understatement to simply indicate that Trump demonstrates the characteristics of a short sighted, pompous ego
driven narcissist; A conclusion easily reached by his daily Twitter rants combined by his apparent inability to intelligently
string multiple words together and not sound like a 12 year old child. I concede that he is far from presidential and further
admit that he received my vote, not a vote of support but a vote against Hillary, basically the lesser of two evils.
Michael Wolff's book adds little to my impression of the Trump organization but is an affront to my intelligence in his attempt
to sell this rubbish as the result of investigative reporting. Short of Mr. Wolff having a supernatural gift of clairvoyance and
thought reading, it would be impossible for him to create a factual representation of Trump and staff as throughout the book he
references the collective and inner thoughts of groups and individuals. I suggest the reader highlight the terms " everyone",
"they", "in Trump's view", etc. Somehow Mr. Wolff is able to discern the unspoken thoughts of essentially every member of the
Trump team, Trump's wife, daughter, son-in-law and acquaintances without them actually saying what is written in the book. The
author liberally takes every opportunity to inform the reader what an individual or collective group of people are not saying
but "believe", "think", "in their view", etc.
While there may be much truth in the story that the White House is far from organized and the President has few redeeming attributes,
this book falls short in meeting the standards of credibility based on well researched facts. Mr. Trump's questionable character,
demeanor and erratic behavior should give reason for concern for our nation. The impossible perspective and insight required for
Mr. Wolff to present this as a factual account of the Trump organization is an insult to any one of average intelligence.
...Only a few pages in and I will probably stop reading this book. I caught a factual error that shouldnt have been missed.
Wolff states that Boehner was ousted by the Tea Party in 2011. Not true. He resigned frustrated by the Tea Party in 2015. When
you write a book about the president, especially one who constantly disparages the press for being wrong, you better to further
call the press fake.
This book is nothing more than a rehashing of publicly available information about the Trump administration with a few shock
quotes thrown in to get headlines and sell the book. I'm neither a never-Trumper nor am I a supporter, and was hoping to gain
some insight through Wolff's supposedly exclusive access. Instead, there is hardly anything in this book that we didn't already
know. I suppose there is some value in hashing it all together in one place, but not a lot. In addition, it's very poorly written.
Wolff uses hip-hop slang words like "dis" and pens confusing sentences like: "She and Jared, or Jared, but by inference she too,
were in effect the real chief of staff-or certainly as much a chief of staff as Priebus or Bannon, all of them reporting directly
to the president." Goodness, where is the editor? Regardless of whether you like or hate President Trump, don't waste your money
on this book, as you won't learn anything.
Fire and Fury reads like a book-length blog entry. The insider perspective is interesting and entertaining but Henry Holt and
Co. should be ashamed of themselves for being quick to release a book that is filled with awful writing habits and A LOT of typos
and grammatical errors. The lack of editing is frustratingly distracting. The author constantly interrupts his sentences with
tidbits of mildly interesting, but not crucial, information and he has a bizarre fondness for parenthetical "fun facts." THEY'RE
CALLED FOOTNOTES. USE THEM. To write in the voice of the author, "I can't even believe he writes for GQ and Vanity Fair."
Read it, or don't read it, but I'd advise keeping your expectations low.
I can barely get through this book. While there are some surprising admissions, most of what is in the book, we already know
or assumed. The rest of the book is a tribute to Bannon and creates more smoke screen for Trump.
At one point Wolff mentions the alleged collusion with Russia. He asserts that if there was collusion, Trump was an unwitting
victim of it, not realizing how his praise of Russia was affecting them and their actions. When Wolff writes about the Steele
dossier, he addresses two positions. The dossier is either true or false but believed true by a rabid press. He also mentions
that the Trump administration was advised not to piss off the Intel community or they'll have a 2-3 yr Russia investigation with
daily leaks. This implies that there's no validity to the Russia investigation. It's just vengeance being taken by an angry Intel
community.
Wolff describes the speech Trump made to the CIA shortly after his inauguration. He says, "Witnesses would describe his reception
at the CIA as either Beatles-like emotional outpouring or a response so confounded and appalled that, in the seconds after he
finished, you could hear a pin drop." While, the latter description is accurate, Wolff slips in a positive reaction that sounds
completely false. I can't believe anyone at the CIA responded to Trump's speech with a 'Beatles-like emotional outpouring'. That's
pure crap. The whole books is like that. It's supposed to be a tell-all, but there is this undercurrent of praise and 'alternative
facts' about Trump. I've only read about 20% of the book and I don't think I can go any further.
This book doesn't ring true and it doesn't serve a purpose. It's like listening to Alex Jones or reading National Enquirer
on steroids, just gleeful childish destruction. Wolff writing is the journalistic equivalent of the straw-men he portrays.
The story started as an article and just grew endlessly. There is little structure, pointless mean gossip and no analysis.
Wolff is lacking focus and strategy. He doesn't know why he wrote the book and he feels surprised about the success of the book.
The juiciest parts of the book has already been published for free in The Guardian, New York Magazine and GQ.
I'm not American and I don't live in the US so I have no personal agenda writing this review. I follow American politics and
have read several good books about the subject and the characters involved, including biographies of key people in US history.
Trump is "the great white hope" for many conservative populist voters in Europe. We have suffered much worse leaders and are 40-50
years ahead of US in disaster immigration politics. Compared to most ultra-liberal leaders in Europe, Trump is full of wisdom
I read 4-5 chapters. The beginning and the end and some chapters in the middle. I asked for a refund and was granted one of
this sad tabloid. Thank you Amazon. Wolff just won a lottery ticket and is now running around ruining his life and reputation.
Not one footnote, outlandish claims, no background material
Michael Wolff pushes all the right buttons. "Watergate" is even in the very first sentence of the book (author's note). The
events described are based on "conversations that took place over a period of 18 months with the president, with most members
of his senior staff -- some of whom talked to talked to me dozens of times." ***dozens of times*** The book starts out explaining
how Trump had no idea what he was doing during the campaign, and get this... he was a puppet of Roger Ailes, Breitbart, Fox News
and Bannon. (Are those not the right buttons to push) Trump never intended to win. He ran in order to get broadcast cred so he
could start his own cable network. -- -- This is a novel with real names.
There are no footnotes and conversations held when Wolff was NOT present are amazingly detailed. Conversations in which
the chatting parties engaged, could not talk enough about how big a louse and scumbag Trump is. This piece of fiction validates
everything Trump-haters have already claimed, with loads of bonus dirt. He's delusional, phony, and is even a crook. As the author
claims, real estate is a good front for money laundering. The extraordinarily outlandish claims continue, Trump was the leaker
of Melania's nudes early in her career. "...a shoot that Melania had done early in her modeling career -- - a leak that everybody
other than Melania assumed could be traced back to Trump himself." (No footnotes).
Before they wedded, Melania asked Trump if that's the way things are going to be, because she wouldn't be able to take it.
Trump told her to sue him and he subsequently set up lawyers for her to see. The pages are full of this type soap opera material.
-- - The locker room talk tapes are apparently supposed to give us the impression Trump reveals this sort of stuff all the time,
and to a guy like Michael Wolff. -- -- Those who want to hate Trump will love it. It really is a sign of the times. Someone
can make as many groundless and preposterous claims they want, and there is a large audience who will eat up every syllable.
I have read the first two chapters and it's hard to read because it's so surreal. I will attempt to plod on.
Indeed, the underlying theme last night was a shift away from selfless and caring Hillary - a message from the previous sessions
targeted to Democrats and, specially, women Democrats - to seeing her more broadly as the contrast gainer. It was a clearer pitch
to the independent and undecided and, thinking big, to perhaps even a meaningful part of the Republican Party. It was, in a sense,
a formal lowering of the bar. Hillary was at least sane.
And yet, taking Trump on his face, as a set of literal political positions and attitudes, preposterous as they may be, had over
the course of a year not worked very well. John Hutson, a former Judge Advocate General of the Navy, gave an angry rejoinder last
night to Trump's casual attitude about international rules and laws, and his general besmirching of the military.
"You're not fit to polish John McCain's boots," said Admiral Hutson, unmindful that Trump's famous dismissal of McCain for
having been taken prisoner - one of the early disqualifiers of Trump as a credible candidate in the eyes of all reasonable people
- had no effect on his standing at all. Except perhaps to buoy it.
I have always hated Trump (I despise oligarchs and narcissists, and I find the shallow
fakery of "reality TV" and pro wrestling repellent) but Trump's artifice, boorishness
and obnoxiousness could never compare to any of the other heads of state America has had
since that hayseed peanut farmer guy. It might take some time, but give perspective and
distance history will be kinder to Trump than any other president in the last half century or
more.
@MLK tle difference between GHW Bush's and WJ Clinton's substantive policies that it
absolutely did not matter who won, having written a 4,500 word think piece analyzing
the reasons for those non-existent differences which was published in a Little Rock news
weekly just before election day.
One key issue, when evaluating Trump, is the disconnect between his rhetoric and
appointments. It is not possible to drain the swamp by appointing swamp creatures to
oversee the work.
There are only three explanations for this: 1) Trump, as Paul Craig Roberts notes, was
unseasoned and in over his head; or 2) is simply a fool; or 3) knew exactly what he
was doing.
@Spanky r bean even though they were all pulling for him anyway, they were never able to
break Trump and they have never and will never forgive him for it.
Whether one characterizes Trump as staggeringly courageous and tenacious, or foolhardy
beyond belief. really tells us more about the opinion-holder than it does Trump.
The older I get the more I attribute actions even at the commanding heights to base
emotions and irrationality. The younger I was the more I was willing to believe these
characters knew what they were doing and, even if misguided, believed they were acting in the
national interest.
Among Trumps many achievements is putting that one to bed. They're not fooling anyone
anymore.
@MLK 1) their spurious and failed claim that Trump fanned insurrectionist flames
when compared to their actual support for violent racially-motivated riots, and 2) several of
Biden's executive orders directly harm their numerically larger and far less radical base.
No wonder H.R. 1 and S. 1 are at the top of their agenda.
the overwhelming majority of Americans [are] still stubbornly attached to the Rule of
Law, free and fair elections, and that consent of the governed thingie. -- MLK
One of the keys to unlocking the political chains forged by the privately-owned
political parties is that consent of the governed thingie .
Many Republicans are afraid of the following that Trump enjoys and do not want to lose
those votes. That's why Trump was not convicted. Otherwise, loyal Republicans constitute a
minority of about 25% of the country because most people realize that Republicans are worse
than the pathetic Democrats, especially when it comes to populist programs.
Trump is a despicable excuse for a human being. A con artist that could not make a go of a
gambling casino and has dodged fraud convictions while paying civil fines for a fake
University and being forced to shut down his New York Charity because he used it for his
personal enrichment and aggrandizement. His campaigning as a populist is a fraud. He has
sought to cut every government benefit that remained after Bill Clinton took an axe to them,
with the full support and delight of the Republican Party.
Trump lost the popular vote in 2016 and 2020. The bizarre Electoral College h.as delivered
the two worst Presidents in American history. But even those victories would have been
impossible without gerrymandering and voter suppression tactics of the Republican Party which
have never been properly punished because the perpetrators control the State Governments
which practice these election crimes.
We have already seen more deaths from Covid-19 than from Vietnam or WWII. Democrats made
the decision to put lives before profits with mixed results. But, the recommendations of
pandemic experts work best when enforced with dictatorial certainty or nearly full compliance
from a population that trusts its government to be looking out for its best interests. That
explains why almost every country in the world has been better able to manage Covid risks
than the United States. Socialist Sweden regrets the outcomes from following policies similar
to what Trump and the Republican Party recommends, which is the economy is more important
than poor peoples lives. To a Republican immigrants working in agricultural harvesting or
meat packing are both essential and disposable.
We probably haven't seen the last of Trump criminal cases of attempted vote tampering in
Georgia or tax evasion and fraud in New York. Trump has never had a health care plan to
replace the Obama plan which secured the insurance industry's profit position. Trump and the
Republicans prefer a system in which every citizen loses their health care whenever they lose
their job and never has any health care for pre-existing conditions. The notion that Trump is
a populist comes straight out of the Geoobell's handbook, as does most of Whitney's
commentary here.
I hear ya, laughable at Trump's Winning .lost the election, lost Georgia, lost Michigan,
lost Arizona, lost the Georgia Senate seats, veto of military budget bill overturned,
rebuffed by Pence, more illegal and legal immigration than ever, impeached twice. Pardoned
the likes of Kwame Kilpatrick on the way out of office. Trump's a big loser. He can now
retire and play golf with his best party friend's the clintons.
Retired Marine Corps Gen. John Kelly, who served as President Donald Trump's chief of staff
and homeland security chief, was one of hundreds of administration officials invited to help
give Trump a rousing send-off on his last day in office as the departing president skipped the
inauguration of Joe Biden and instead ordered up a military salute to himself at Joint Base
Andrews.
Kelly declined to attend; his 18 months at the White House left a bitter taste in his
mouth.
"From a distance, it's impossible to understand who he actually is. But when you work
closely with him, you understand he's a very, very flawed human being," Kelly told CNN the day
after the Jan. 6 siege of the Capitol.
"All I ever heard from some of the real devotees in the White House was, 'You got to let
Trump be Trump.' Let me just say, this is what happens as a result of letting Trump be Trump,"
Kelly said of the deadly attack.
Kelly's experience, hoping to help Trump make better, more informed decisions only to be
blindsided at every turn by Trump's erratic, impulsive nature, is a story repeated by many
other national security officials who worked with him.
"He believes what he believes, and he will go and find people that will give him the opinion
he's looking for," Kelly said. "You don't survive by telling this president the truth, for very
long, anyway."
Defense Secretary Mark Esper discovered early on that he would have limited influence with
Trump.
The best he could expect to do would be to keep his head down and try to translate Trump's
tweets and bolt-from-the-blue orders into something resembling coherent policy, all while
quietly pushing the Pentagon to adapt to the changing nature of warfare in the age of
hypersonics and artificial intelligence.
"I can only control what I do," an exasperated Esper said in an
exit interview with Military Times after Trump fired him, post-election. "The
president's very transparent in terms of what he wants."
By all accounts, Esper went beyond the call of duty to carry out Trump's often mercurial
wishes while at the same time attempting to maintain the integrity of the department and to
shore up America's strained alliances.
"I'm not trying to make anybody happy. What I'm trying to do is fulfill what he wants and
make the best out of it," Esper said. "I mean, he's the duly elected commander in chief."
When Trump ordered 12,000 troops out of Germany to punish the NATO ally in his feud over
defense spending, Esper came up with a plausible rationale to defend the very expensive
move.
When Trump objected to the banning of Confederate flags on DOD and military installations,
Esper crafted a policy that finessed the problem without mentioning the rebel colors.
The reward for his fealty was to hear Trump mockingly refer to him as "Yesper," casting
Esper unfairly as just another of the president's yes men.
"Who's pushed back more than anybody? Name another Cabinet secretary that's pushed back,"
Esper said in his own defense. "Have you seen me on a stage saying, 'Under the exceptional
leadership of blah-blah-blah, we have blah-blah-blah-blah?'"
But Esper, like many who labored on behalf of Trump's agenda, eventually reached his
breaking point.
Last June, after Esper pushed back against Trump's desire to invoke the Insurrection Act to
deploy active-duty troops to put down protests for racial justice, Trump appeared to hoodwink
Esper and Joint Chiefs Chairman Mark Milley into accompanying him on a staged photo op after
mostly peaceful protesters were cleared by force from the park in front of the White House.
The rank politicization of the military was an embarrassment to both men, they said, and
both later apologized.
From that point on, Esper said he knew his days were numbered.
For Rex Tillerson, Trump's first secretary of state, the break came when Trump, against his
advice, met with Kim Jong Un with no plan other than to try to charm the North Korean dictator
with promises of peace and economic riches after threatening him with "fire and fury."
"We squandered the best opportunity we had on North Korea. It was just blown up when he took
the meeting with Kim," said Tillerson in an
interview with Foreign Policy . "That was one of the last straws between him and
I."
Tillerson said he accepted the job as top diplomat to help the neophyte Trump but found the
real estate developer and former reality TV star's total inexperience and short attention span
to be insurmountable obstacles.
"His understanding of global events, his understanding of global history, his understanding
of U.S. history was really limited," Tillerson said. "I started taking charts and pictures with
me because I found that those seemed to hold his attention better. If I could put a photo or a
picture in front of him or a map or a piece of paper that had two big bullet points on it, he
would focus on that."
"It's really hard to have a conversation with someone who doesn't even understand the
concept for why we're talking about this," he said.
Tillerson's account is one of many from former advisers, who uniformly described how
national security briefings had to be dumbed down to engage the president.
"It's really hard to have a conversation with someone who doesn't even understand the
concept for why we're talking about this," Tillerson said.
"Donald Trump is not really able, in most instances, to carry on discussions about policy,"
offered former national security adviser John Bolton, whose scathing book detailing Trump's
erratic decision-making was dismissed as total fiction by the White House, which tried to block
its publication on the grounds that it revealed classified information.
"When he disagrees with somebody, when he sees somebody as an adversary, it immediately
becomes personal. That's the only thing he understands," Bolton said in an appearance on CNN in
October.
"We couldn't have a discussion on the Iran nuclear weapons program without Trump saying to
anybody who was in the room that John Kerry needed to be prosecuted under the Logan Act for
talking to the Iranians," Bolton said. "I think it shows that the president doesn't fully
understand the nature of civil life in the United States. But I think it also reflects the sort
of low cunning that exemplifies his thinking."
For Navy Secretary Richard Spencer, the breaking point came when Trump inserted himself into
the military justice system on behalf of a Navy SEAL who killed a teenage Islamic State
prisoner but escaped a war crimes conviction when a medic in his unit, who had been granted
immunity by prosecutors, suddenly volunteered that he caused the prisoner's death by blocking
his breathing tube in a "mercy killing" after the stabbing.
Spencer was fired for trying to broker a back-channel deal that would have kept Trump from
overtly interfering in a review board that was deciding if the SEAL should be allowed to retire
with full honors and keep his SEAL Trident insignia.
But flouting military protocol, Trump intervened and granted him full clemency, calling him
"one of the ultimate fighters," infuriating Spencer.
In his letter acknowledging his termination by Esper, Spencer wrote that Trump's action was
in opposition to the Constitution and the Uniform Code of Military Justice.
Spencer
told CBS he didn't think Trump "really understands the full definition of a war
fighter."
"A war fighter is a profession of arms, and a profession of arms has standards that they
have to be held to and they hold themselves to," he said.
The SEAL in question was described by one
fellow SEAL as "toxic," a term used for a special kind of bad military leader who should
not be in command of any troops.
A
2012 Army manual describes toxic leadership as "a combination of self-centered attitudes,
motivations, and behaviors ... The toxic leader operates with an inflated sense of self-worth
and from acute self-interest. Toxic leaders consistently use dysfunctional behaviors to
deceive, intimidate, coerce, or unfairly punish others to get what they want for
themselves."
Trump's critics within the officer corps, who by law cannot publicly criticize their
commander in chief, argue that under that definition, Trump himself would be removed from
command were he serving in uniform instead of as president.
In the end, it was the deadly siege of the Capitol by Trump supporters, egged on by the
president's false claim of a stolen election, that proved too much for even some of the
president's most loyal servants.
"I respect the president. I worked for him. I've defended his policies, and there is much to
be proud of," said Alyssa Farah, who was a Pentagon spokeswoman before moving over to work in
the White House.
Farah told Fox News that the ransacking of Congress and the threat to lawmakers was "a
tragic day for our country" and, for her, "a breaking point."
"I have spent time in fragile democracies in other parts of the world, and our country
looked like those countries. That is not who we are. It is not what we stand for."
Those who have worked the closest with Trump and know him the best all describe him as a
driven man who is obsessed with winning.
"To Trump, life was a game, and all that mattered was winning," wrote his former longtime
fixer Michael Cohen in the forward to Disloyal , a book Trump's Justice Department
attempted to prevent from being published before the election.
"In these dangerous days, I see the Republican Party and Trump's followers threatening the
Constitution -- which is in far greater peril than is commonly understood -- and following one
of the worst impulses of humankind: the desire for power at all costs," Cohen wrote.
In testimony before Congress a year ago, Cohen prophetically warned, "Given my experience
working for Mr. Trump, I fear that if he loses the election in 2020 that there will never be a
peaceful transition of power."
Jamie McIntyre is the Washington Examiner's senior writer on defense and national
security. His morning newsletter, "Jamie McIntyre's Daily on Defense," is free and available by
email subscription at dailyondefense.com.
"... "We will never give up. We will never concede, it doesn't happen. You don't concede when there's theft involved", ..."
"... "We will never give up. We will never concede, it just doesn't happen." ..."
"... " Biden's America Would Be A Dystopian Hellhole ", ..."
"... Trump has not signed the Insurrection Act. ..."
"... 'trust the plan' is a never ending story psyop ..."
"... 'best is yet to come' .. ..."
"... to beam back to the mothership. ..."
"... the humans are out to get them ..."
"... it happening you watch just donate ..."
"... without symptoms. ..."
"... Amnesty run by US State Department representatives, funded by convicted financial criminals, and threatens real human rights advocacy worldwide. ..."
"... Yes yes yes – as if we didn't fucking know! ..."
"... YOU MEAN TO DESTROY THE NHS AND YOU WILL REPEAT THIS OVER AND OVER AND OVER UNTIL IT IS DONE! ..."
The Trump Era is over after the incumbent announced in the day after
Wednesday's storming of the US Capitol that "My focus now turns to ensuring a smooth, orderly
and seamless transition of power", which was widely interpreted by friends and foes alike as
the tacit concession that he previously promised never to provide a little more than 24 hours
prior during his speech at the
Save America Rally .
At that event, he literally said that "We will never give up. We will never concede, it
doesn't happen. You don't concede when there's theft involved", yet completely changed his
tune following the day's tumultuous events and after mysteriously "going dark" for over 24
hours, during which time some speculate that he was forced by his enemies in the permanent
military, intelligence, and diplomatic bureaucracies (" deep state ") to give
up the fight.
BETRAYING HIS BASE
This totally devastated his supporters who elected him primarily
for the purpose of executing his chief promise to "drain the swamp" that all of them so
deeply despise. They truly believed that he could irreversibly effect significant long-term
change to the way that America is run, something which Trump himself also sincerely thought he
could do as well, but he ultimately lacked the strength time and again to take the decisive
steps that were necessary in order to do so.
Thus, he ended up getting swallowed by the same "swamp" that he attempted to drain, which is
licking its lips after feasting on the political carcass that he's since become as a result of
his capitulation. For as much hope as he inspired in his supporters and the respect that many
of them still have for him, most of them are profoundly disappointed that he gave up and didn't
go down fighting.
That's not to say that the vast majority of them expected him to forcefully resist Biden's
impending inauguration, but just that they never thought they'd see the day where he publicly
capitulated after carefully cultivating such a convincing reputation among them as a fighter
who literally said a little more than 24 hours prior that "We will never give up. We will
never concede, it just doesn't happen."
This prompted an ongoing soul-searching process among the most sober-minded of them who
aren't indoctrinated with the cultish Q-Anon claims that Trump still has a so-called "master
plan" that he's preparing to implement after this latest "5D chess" move. It's over, the Trump
Era has ended, and the "Make America Great Again" (MAGA) movement that he inspired is now at
risk of being declared a "
domestic terrorist " organization in the coming future.
TRUMP'S MOST FATAL POLITICAL
MISCALCULATION
" Biden's America Would Be A
Dystopian Hellhole ", like the author predicted a few months ago, and all of Trump's
supporters know that. Some had already resigned themselves to its seeming inevitability after
his efforts to legally reverse the contested results of the latest elections failed for a
variety of reasons that most of them attribute to the "swamp's" corruption, but they
nevertheless remained as positive as possible after having believed that their hero would go
down with them to the end.
None ever thought twice about his promise to "never give up, never concede", and they even
expected him to have to be escorted from the White House on 20 January, yet his tacit
concession is forcing many of them to re-evaluate their views about him in hindsight. Not only
is he going out with a whimper on the "deep state's" terms, but he never fully "drained the
swamp".
Trump's most fatal political miscalculation is that he thought that he could change the
system from the "inside-out" after symbolically -- yet importantly, not substantively -- taking
control of it as America's first modern-day "outsider" President. He immediately switched from
an "outsider" to an "insider" shortly after his inauguration by capitulating to the "deep
state's" demands that he fire former National Security Advisor Flynn, which was his "original
sin" that paved the way for all that would later follow.
Trump the self-professed "deal-maker" thought that he could strike a "compromise" with his
enemies through these means, but all that he did was embolden them to intensify their fake
news-driven efforts to oust him and continue sabotaging him from within through many of the
same "swamp" creatures that he naively continued to surround himself with.
RINOS + MSM =
TRUMP'S DEFEAT
The most reviled among them in the eyes of his base is "Javanka", the popular portmanteau of
Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner and his daughter Ivanka. He continued listening to these
"Republicans In Name Only", or RINOs as many MAGA members describe them, as well as many others
such as those who still sit in Congress but pretended to be his friend just to win
re-election.
Furthermore, the influence that his former reality TV career had on him resulted in Trump
remaining obsessed with how his enemies might malign him in the Mainstream Media (MSM) for any
decisive moves that he took to smash the "deep state". This weakness of character proved to be
his greatest personal flaw since he should have followed his instincts instead of submitting to
the egoistic desire to be "liked" by his foes.
So influenced was he by the MSM that his enemies were able to employ the most basic
"reverse-psychology" tricks to manipulate him into "playing it safe" in his struggle against
the "deep state". They fearmongered since even before he entered office that he'd turn into a
so-called "dictator", yet he never seriously contemplated any such authoritarian moves in that
direction despite always having the possibility of utilizing the immense powers vested in him
by the Constitution to do so if he sincerely wanted.
His MAGA supporters passionately pleaded that he should have turned into his enemies' worst
nightmare by declaring at least limited martial law in response to the decades-long Hybrid War
of Terror on America finally going kinetic last summer after Antifa and "Black Lives
Matter" (BLM) orchestrated nationwide riots to oust him.
TRUMP'S THREE GREATEST
FAILURES
Bewildering his base, Trump also failed to revoke Article 230 despite now-proven fears that
it would empower Big Tech to censor him and
his supporters , nor did he thwart the Democrats' mail-in ballot and Dominion voting system
schemes which they argue ultimately led to them stealing the election.
Just as concerning was his decision to not stop the Democrat Governors from locking down
their populations for political reasons under the convenient pretext of COVID-19. The author
addressed all of these issues in his analysis published shortly after the election about why "
The Anti-Trump Regime
Change Sequence Is Worthwhile Studying ". Trump could have legally exercised
near-"dictatorial" powers to avert all of this and thus save America as his supporters see it,
yet time and again he failed to gather the strength needed to do so due to his deep personal
flaws.
THE HYBRID WAR ON AMERICA IS OVER
While Trump was unquestionably victimized by the "deep state" during his entire time in
office, he's no longer as much of a martyr as he used to be after suddenly giving up the fight
following Wednesday's storming of the US Capitol. He surrendered to the shock of his base, was
subsequently swallowed by the "swamp", and is now being mercilessly destroyed in an ominous
sign of what awaits the rest of the MAGA movement in the Biden-Kamala era.
Had he gone down fighting to the end and "never gave up" like he promised, then it would be
an altogether different story, but instead his over-hyped "deal-making" instincts got the best
of him at the very last minute and he foolishly thought that he could save himself by
capitulating to their demands. The "deep state" is now showing their "thanks" by censoring him
from social media and pushing for his impeachment.
The MAGA movement always believed that the country has already been at "war" for years even
though most couldn't articulate the hybrid nature of it like the author did in his piece last
summer about how " The Hybrid War Of Terror
On America Was Decades In The Making ".
They truly felt that Trump shared their threat assessment after he was viciously attacked by
the "deep state" from the second that he stepped onto the campaign trail, but it turned out
that he underestimated the threat even though his enemies never did. To the "deep state" and
their public Democrat proxies, this was always a "war" in its own way, which they never shied
away from expressing.
The supreme irony is that while Trump lambasted the "weak Republicans" in his Save America
Rally speech, he himself ultimately epitomized that very same weakness by later
surrendering.
THE "DEEP STATE" WON
His opponents know no limits and believe in classic Machiavellian fashion that "the ends
justify the means", whereas he thought that he could play by the rules -- and not even all of
them as was early explained by pointing out his refusal to employ the near-"dictatorial" powers
vested in him by the Constitution -- and still come out on top.
His naïveté will go down in history since it's what's most directly responsible
for him failing to fully recognize the seriousness of the "deep state's" no-holds-barred war on
him and the rest of America.
As a born-and-raised New Yorker, Trump perfected the art of slick talking, so much so that
he even managed to dupe his base into believing that he shared their threat assessment about
the decades-long Hybrid War of Terror on America. They fell for this charade since they
desperately wanted to believe that there was still some hope left.
There isn't, though, since the war is over and the "deep state" won once and for all. The "
Great Reset "/"
Fourth Industrial Revolution " brought about by
World War C is
barreling forward at full speed ahead, and practically every domestic accomplishment that Trump
has to his name will likely be reversed by Biden-Kamala during their first year in office,
especially since the "deep state's" Democrat proxies control all branches of government now
(remembering that the Supreme Court's supposed "conservative supermajority" really just
consists of RINOs as was proven by their refusal to hear his team's convincing election fraud
cases).
In fact, the only real "master plan" was that of the "deep state", which effectively
thwarted every one of Trump's moves and ultimately turned his supporters' "last hurrah" of a
mostly peaceful rally into the nail that'll now be hammered into the MAGA movement's
coffin.
It's extremely suspicious that the US Capitol was so poorly defended despite there being an
ongoing session of Congress on such an historic day and after weeks of preparation to ensure
the site's safety ahead of Trump's long-planned Save America March.
It's even more baffling that some of the police officers removed
the barricades and even
opened the doors to some of the protesters, which in hindsight suggests that the "deep
state" wanted to tempt the most "overly passionate" among them (to say nothing of suspected
provocateurs) into storming the site as the pretext for what followed.
The whole point in passively facilitating this scenario through the masterful exploitation
of crowd psychology was to lay the basis for a comprehensive nationwide crackdown against the
MAGA movement on the grounds that it's now "proven" to be a "domestic terrorist" group.
That explains the push behind impeaching Trump less than two weeks before he himself
acknowledged just the other day that he'll be leaving office after ensuring the "transition of
power".
Had he not surrendered, then he probably would still be a martyr to most of the MAGA
movement, but now he's just a palace hostage awaiting his highly publicized political execution
as the opening salvo of the "deep state's" Democrat-driven reprisals against his supporters in
the name of "defending against domestic terrorism". That, not whatever Q-Anon imagines, is the
real "master plan", and it succeeded.
CONCLUDING THOUGHTS
Trump was swallowed by the "swamp" because he lacked the strength to drain it. Every MAGA
member needs to accept this harsh truth no matter how painful it might be. Time and again, he
failed to muster up the strength needed to meaningfully fulfill what many sincerely believed to
be his destiny.
This was due to his fatal political miscalculation of transforming from an "outsider" into
an "insider" in a doomed-to-fail attempt to change the system from within. He continued relying
on RINOs despite their proven unreliability. Trump's obsession with how his foes portrayed him
in the MSM also led to him never seriously countenancing the use of the near-"dictatorial"
powers vested in him by the Constitution to save America.
He pathetically surrendered after the "deep state's" "master plan" succeeded, and now he
can't even go down in history as a martyr.
Originally published on One World Press Jan
20, 2021 2:08 PM
Trump was part of the show nothing more nothing less. They had the goods on him for decades.
He made Izzrail grate again. That was about it. Notice Jizzlaid Maxwell, the Mossad kiddy
victim procurer watching her mark in the background of the video below from 92 as the king of
bankruptcy eyes the broads and "struts" his stuff.
Meanwhile Kill Bill Gates gets to poison Planet Sheeple and nobody ever questions his
association with Mossad kiddy porn snuff director, Epstein or Kill Bill's sojourns on Pedovore
Island. Anyone remember the CIA Operation Brownstone"? It's global and it's Satanic.
How could Trum 'drain the swamp' when he lives in the swamp. contributes to the swamp and
essentially is part of the swamp.
This story is sh!te. Trump is a swamp dweller.
Trump is just the same as all the other oligarchs and would be oligarchs. He is a rich,
privileged, white entrepreneur. His propaganda campaign in which he claimed to be on the side
of the poor and unemployed whites is just about the biggest lie which has been swallowed
wholesale since Goebbles was whitewashing the Nazi regime.
How you fools here can fall for this tripe has me absolutely beat.
Aethelred , Jan 13, 2021 10:17 AM
Trump in his political ineptitude resembles Jimmy Carter, an idealist incapable of
wielding power. Neither man had the gumption, nor the charisma (much the same thing) to win
over the apparatchiki. Both vain and selfish men (like all politicians), neither inspired
sufficient love nor fear to gather support, unlike Reagan or Clinton, both of whom exuded
calm confidence. Trump differs from Carter in that Trump's social incapacity manifests in
bombast, and Carter's in staged humility. Neither could convince the ruling classes, and so
were ushered away.
The elevation of Biden, an aged hack, is a signal the republic is finally overturned. The
feds not only can convict but now can elect and govern through a ham sandwich.
Blather , Jan 13, 2021 8:21 AM
Does the author know how to read Trump's speech or is he so BIAS as not to see?
Trump DID NOT capitulate. Read careFOOLY. It can go both waze.
ZenPriest , Jan 12, 2021 8:50 PM
Trump was never going to drain the swamp. He was a clown put in place by America's
masters, to keep an endless supply of material for their media and to stir up hatred among
citizens.
It's funny because citizens should be uniting against the puppeteers. Or they would be if
they knew they even existed, or knew they were being played.
S Cooper , Jan 13, 2021 2:47 AM Reply to
ZenPriest
"Quite a number already know this. That number keeps growing with each passing day. Got
Debs?"
"The nine most terrifying words in the English language are: I'm from the government and
I'm here to help." Remember that line? That was Ronnie Raygun back in 1986, with one of his
(or his ghost writers') versions for 'draining the swamp' then, getting government off our
backs, and blah, blah, blah. Agitprop thrown the masses so the corporate state could get down
to bizzness as usual in dispossessing 'we the people' by rolling back government programs for
social welfare and building up wealth and power for elites via the MIC and Wall Street
(complementary to Iron Bitch Thatcher's neoliberal programs for a greater fascism in
Britain).
Hardly anything original, such marketing ads. Politricking fronts of the ruling class have
been campaigning before and after getting into office with noble lies of populism covering
for their brands of treachery as long as the fraudulence of capitalist democracy and
representative government have been around. In the post-WWII era of Pox Americana, the U$
CEOs for the Fortune 500 routinely have disguised their institutional role in managing the
empire under cover of brands of reform that keep promising power to the people with one hand
while taking it away with the other.
But when it comes to the greatest show on earth, it's the words attributed to P.T. Barnum
that there's a sucker born every minute (or at least every election season) which ring
truest. So now we've got the ringmasters retiring the Donald and installing good ole Creepy
Joe to 'build back better' on behalf of the Great Reset. That's after Swamp Thang has played
his part as dictator of distraction overseeing such achievements as the greatest robbery of
the commons in human history and launch of technofascism under Operation Warp(ed) Speed, all
thanks to a global coup with which he's been entirely complicit. And his manufactured base of
true believers still carry on with the covidiocy as much as the controlled opposition of the
faux left.
The more things change, the more they stay the same (only worse!).
Chris , Jan 12, 2021 5:14 PM
The Q group are patriots with access to a quantum computer able to untangle timelines from
a possibility/probability vortex.
Their movement was designed to awaken many individuals with key roles to play in the real
Operation Warpspeed.
The majority of these folks had some connection to the military or other branches of
government including the police.
In 2012 nearly all technology, ancient or more modern, was suddenly rendered non
functional.
The Mayans were obviously dead right with their calender.
The race was on to gain absolute supremacy in the prediction game.
All major stakeholders have access to quantum computing, but the US has the upper hand.
The true value of quantum computers lies not in the task of pure number crunching, but in its
ability to predict probabilities of complex situations.
The quantum computer exposes the most probable timelines and delivers the results in
numerical form that correspond to actual events and dates/times .
Igby MacDavitt , Jan 12, 2021 3:43 PM
"The only kinds of fights worth fighting are those you're going to lose, because somebody
has to fight them and lose and lose and lose until someday, somebody who believes as you do
wins."
― I.F. Stone
Laurence Howell , Jan 12, 2021 12:42 PM
President Trump has declared a State of Emergency in the District of Columbia.
White House
OW look the fruitcakes and cult follower spent another new moon being juiced , Trump
has not signed the Insurrection Act. BUT BUT BUT
Cult of BIG disclosure keep watching.donate huge Arrests and stay tuned keep watching
it happening – keep watching- it happening soon, BIG disclosure huge Arrests . it
Happening soon psyop AND distraction
Simple simon and Q nonsense told another lie to the sheep
Laurence Howell , Jan 12, 2021 12:16 PM
President Trump has signed the Insurrection Act.
YouDontCareAboutGrandma , Jan 12, 2021 12:47 PM Reply to
Laurence Howell
Proof? And don't link to Simon Parkes' YouTube channel. He's provided no evidence
whatsoever for his claims. He says he talks to aliens and "Q" on the telephone.
Gosh, evrn more baffling and scarey and reminescent of 1963, never seen footage of the
murder of Ms. BABBIT showing collusion between police and antifa agitators, taken by an
independent Japanese reporter!
Great article but consider how many thousands of people the Islamist extremist, Erdogan of
Turkey, had to fire and imprison, to dismantle the positive Deep State structure Attaturk put
in place to keep that country secular? Functioned admirably for many years.
DimlyGlimpsed , Jan 12, 2021 1:06 AM
Dems enthusiatically voted from Bill Clinton, Obama, Hillary and Biden. All corrupt and
compromised. Repubs voted for Bush Jr., Romney, and Trump. All corrupt and compromised. Both
accuse the other of corruption, dishonesty and hypocrisy. Both are right, of course.
Reality, though, is not possible to perceive when limited to a diet of mainstream news.
Neither is it a trivial task to navigate the rough seas online disinformation.'
Unless one is privy to big-picture high-level (and secret) information, one is left to
attempt to identify and assemble a complex jigsaw puzzle using one's own sleuthing and
intuition skills.
Common people without inside knowledge can still interpret the world, however. War is evil,
and those who advocate war have been seduced by evil. Kindness and generosity are among the
highest values. On the other hand, those who are selish and cruel pollute our world. Etc,,
etc.
Let us keep in mind that the most evil cloak themselves in the garb of peace, kindness and
generosity, in order to dine on sheep who wishfully and willfully refused to judge behavior
rather than be seduced with addictive slogans. Let us also keep in mind that no leaders can
remain in power without the compliance of the rest of us.
Any of should be able to recognize Joe Biden as evil. His "track record" is one of
corruption, budget cutting, war and authoritarian legislation. And Trump? One of the great
mysteries of human civilization is that Trump, the ultimate swap creature, was elected by
promising to "clean the swamp".
That is fairly accurate but Trump did push back against America's China Class and the CCP
-- more than you can say for commies like the Bidens, Obamas, Clintons, Bushes, etc.
Trump's America First Hoax: Trump is an Israeli agent. He put #Mossad asset #JaredKushner
in charge of infiltration of US Intelligence and Defense. Bidens are Chinese agents? Charles
Kushner (Jared's father), is an agent of #AnbangInsurance, a Chinese Communist front
group.
Jams O'Donnell , Jan 13, 2021 6:54 PM Reply to
REvail
All US presidents, vice-presidents, chiefs of staff, etc are Israeli agents, or more
accurately, are in effect the same thing.
Jams O'Donnell , Jan 13, 2021 6:53 PM Reply to
Sgt_doom
"commies like the Bidens, Obamas, Clintons, Bushes, etc."
If you think that the above mentioned capitalist clowns are "commies", then you really,
REALLY, need to get an education, because clearly you don't know your arse from your
elbow.
Igby MacDavitt , Jan 12, 2021 3:46 PM Reply to
DimlyGlimpsed
"Trump, the ultimate swap creature " I do not think you have any idea what the 'swamp' is
to make such a claim.
Otherwise, a great post.
Lost in a dark wood , Jan 12, 2021 12:40 AM
Note: I drafted this as a response, but the person is not worthy of a reply, so I'll post
it here instead.
--
I've always said that Q is a deep-state operation. It's the NSA, military intelligence,
etc. It's just a different deep state to the CIA/MI6 deep state. And I've always said that
people should at least know what "the plan" is. They should know what it is because it's by
far the most coherent explanation for what is happening now, and for what has happened over
the last four years.
A couple of years ago I thought a deal had been struck between the opposing factions, and
it was all going to be wound down. But I changed that view after the Covid911, attempted
colour revolution. The overwhelming view on this site, from contributors and posters, was
that Trump would fall in June 2020. I was one of only a handful of people saying Trump would
survive.
I can't predict the details of what's happening now, but I think Trump will survive this
because:
a) he has the ammunition
b) it would make no sense to go this far and not see it through
c) even though it seems to be going to the precipice, it still fits a coherent plan
I've only recently started following Simon Parkes, but in his latest update he claims to
have spoken to the real Q. Of course, as anybody who's been following Q posts would know,
this would breach the "no outside comms" principle.
I'm not at all impressed. Appeared on the scene coincidental with Gen McInerney and all
the misinformation about "hammer and scorecard" which was a blatant distraction from clear
and convincing evidence of election fraud.
Parkes does far too much, "I could have told you beforehand but then I'd have had to kill
you."
Your on the ball wow from 1 psyop to another Now your following simon charlatan
parkes.
HE gets excepted into the Q nonsense and trump Savior psyop and becames one of there star
leaders over night.
Do you not do basic checks on who you start to worship?? or do they have to say code words
like Q and trump maga and its like there chosen to lead you.
Negative, far too silly and cartoonish and tracks back to a Filipino Maoist group directed
by the CCP!
Asylum , Jan 11, 2021 7:34 PM
We've been manipulated into fighting against each other over trivial differences to divert
us from the fact that we're all in the same boat.
Lost in a dark wood , Jan 11, 2021 6:33 PM
Andrew Korybko: "That, not whatever Q-Anon imagines, is the real "master plan", and it
succeeded."
Okay, I'm trying to figure this out. With regard specifically to this thread, are we
allowed to post direct links to Q posts? For instance, Q has stated explicitly that there is
no "Qanon" (#4881). Instead, there is Q and there are anons. I personally think this is
debatable, and that Qanon is a collective name for a highly amorphous movement and method of
enquiry. Furthermore, that movement and method predates Q and was to some extent co-opted by
Q. The movement will also outlive Q, though it may retain the name. As a movement, Qanon
stands in opposition to the hierarchical, hive-mind vacuity of the Rationalists and
Neo-Platonists. In short, Qanon is Blakean. Welcome to Jerusalem!
We do not want either Greek or Roman models if we are but just & true to our own
imaginations, those Worlds of Eternity in which we shall live forever; in Jesus our Lord.
– William Blake https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Milton_(excerpts)/Preface
Q Alerts is back up so I'll try again. The following is a critical part of "the plan".
--
Q (Oct 17, 2020):
I'm going to bring the whole diseased, corrupt temple down on your head. It's gonna be
Biblical.
Enjoy the show! https://qalerts.app/?n=4884
Please – can we have more of Andrew Karybko. I've seen him on Peter Lavelle. For
such an acutely well informed young chap about international politics, he demonstrates an
equally rigorous understanding about Trumps psyche.
Andrew Korybko is probably one of the best geo-political analysts I've come across and his
depth of knowledge across all continents shines through. A very warm and engaging person.
He runs a site called OneWorld Press. Recently accused by mainstream media and The Daily
Beast of being GRU agents. Well if it is, they are most measured and balanced in the history
of intelligence services.
Your be saying that on the way to the concentration camps!!! 'trust the plan' is a never ending story psyop
Similar to the 'best is yet to come' ..
you trumpsters have your own Down Syndrome language.
WWG1WGA, another bunch of devotees similar to a cult who will not except there guru is a
oppressor
mikael , Jan 11, 2021 1:09 PM
Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the
things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference."Reinhold Niebuhr
Pardon moi for the lenght.
I dont know whats with people this days, the shere avalange of bollocks is baffling, the
inability to conect the dots to what was, the past, to the present is making me think there
must be something, hehe, with the narrative, or should we say in this uh . conpiracy tinfoil
hat wearing days, in the tap water, and the rethotic, about Trump, I have my issues, and I
have never been quiet about them, but then to whine about things when most of it have been
inplace before Trump came into the WH, incl children in gages to wars, Obamalama started more
wars than any other American president ever, with Hitlary the Beast from Little Rock beside,
after Her husband stole Social sec and now, witch could be massive, is completely eradicated
out of existence, and the sactions, etc, most of them are just continuations of existing
systems, we can always blame Trump for something, but please, do know the difference and dont
just throw bollocks because of the people whom wanted change, when Obamalama said it, you
belived, and what happened, again, he pissed upon you all, and have since laughed all the way
to the bank, the economic crashes, the insane austeritys, the bailins and outs, you name it
to color revolutions.
This isnt to defend Trump, for me, He was more an castrat, singing but otherwise balless, but
also tied, unable to move, and been relentlessly attacked by those that defenses the past
witch in no way was better.
Then we have the eh .. storming?, and if you look at videos, what sticks out is, what
storming, some gass clouds, yea, means what, an Cop throving an gass can, but take an look
for your self, it was never in any way what the MSM wants you to belive, and the army of
people crawling all over the sites wants you to persive, along with profanitys about people
whom did suported Trump, because they hoped for change, you cant attack them, maybe for been
a bit naive, but one thing shal be the thing Trump did, exposed them all, in an way witch is
unpresedented despite His flaws, nobody have done that in this level, He exposed them all,
and if you havent gotten it yet, you have an problem, nobody else, incl the people whom did
their duty as free citizens of the USA, did the protesting.
Rioting, again, what riot, the worst thing I can come up with, after watching some videos, is
minore, a window, probably by the AntiFags/BLMs/eh leftards?, and one man whom ran off with
an piece of the furiture, nothing else, and if I drag that further, maybe the stormers should
have wiped their shoos off before entering the Hill, stepping on the fine carpets on the
floor in the hallway, what an horrible crime, right.
What storming, do you see anything, do enlighten us.
So, I know I am pushing the attention span to the limit.
BUT, I have thru the years found out that Americans, not that I want to call em stupid, but
regarding world poltics, more infantile, naive, brainwashed to such an extent thru the
decades/centurys of propaganda, where the various Gov always have had an enemy, it have
variated, from muslims etc to what it have become to day, domestic terrorism aka
conservatives whatever that means, and not only in the MSM but also thru an army of so called
Alternative MSM, witch have feed upon this narratives and played upon this, but overall, gone
the same erant as the Gov wanted them to go, and witch have resulted in wars upon wars, and
stil some want more wars, like the broad attack line on Iran, just to give you one ex to the
strangling of others, like western sahara to the Palestinians.
Then we have the new enemy, in mainly the so called alternative ugh .. rightwinged? whatever
whom sommehow manages to blame everything on socialism, yea, apart from the weather because
thats Putins fault, despite that, I found Putin to be an scoundrel, the Russian Gov rotten to
its core, that dont mean I hate Russians but there will always be those that cant
differentiate at all.
Whom is the "enemy" Americans, socialism, China, Russia, Iran, huh.
I have saxed this from P. L. Gonzalez.
Social media networks, payment processors, airlines, hotels, streaming services, and online
vendors are strangling people based on ideology but TPUSA is still complaining about
"socialism." Burn your money or donate it to TPUSA, it's the same thing.
Yup, briliantly summarised everything in some few lines, and why, do you refuse to see
them when they are right infront of your very own eyes, and yet, you blame some imaginary
enemy witch have nothing to do with this coup, its an class war, its the oligarcs, the robber
barons, witch have an army of buttspreaders in the capitol Hill to their abuse, and this
bitches do whatever they are told, do notice how the RepubliCONs threw you under the buss, is
that to the Chines fault.
So, I hope the Americans whom stil have some parts of their bran fuctional, can notice the
difference, in Norway we have the same problem, but we are an so called socialistic nation,
but we are held hostages by the same pack of scums that is plundering your nation and
resources, and have nothing but contempt for everyone of us, and an Gov that do whatever they
want and whom are we then to blame, the Hottentots, Maoris, communism is an tool for social
unrest, and when they have done their job, thrown under the buss, because the PTB wants us to
fight each others, as long we do, they will win.
Unite and you have an chanse, if not, well, I am old, and my life span expectanse isnt that
long anymore and I will not have to live in the totalistaian regime that comes, but the sole
reason for me to even bother, is for our children, and their children.
And to all of you whom went to the protest, you have my deepest respect.
It truly is an war, against the dark forces.
You all need to take an stand.
Be the light.
peace
Igby MacDavitt , Jan 12, 2021 3:53 PM Reply to
mikael
We have the same problem worldwide. Singling out and scorning the Americans is simply
divisive. It has always been the People against the Oppressors. The Americans are people and
have Oppressors bearing down on them like the rest of us. There is a cancer that needs to be
removed lest it devour us all.
Chris , Jan 11, 2021 10:57 AM
The overtone of Korybko's writing is excessively defeatist. When the "Deep State" applies
such overt tools to steal the U.S. election, imposes censorship, labels millions of American
citizens as potential "domestic terrorists", silences the still incumbent U.S. President,
resorts to provocation, deprives Americans of essential liberties through Covid, curfews or
other bogus emergencies, then it means that the establishment behind the "Deep State" is
scared. Scared not as much of Donald Trump as scared of You – the People. I know it
since I live in a central European country with a very bitter experiences with dicatorship.
When the power starts to resort to an open forgery and uses coercion or force it reveals its
weakness, not strength. Its power derives only from the passive attitude of majority of
population, nothing more. What this so called 'liberal elite' in America hopes for is to
return to the good old days, when the whole Middle America remained voiceless, silent,
isolated, without any leadership or political representation. Now it is their objective to
'legally' separate the 'progressive America' from the 'populist' one and they might even
inspire separation, violence or secessionist moves to achieve it. But MAGA movement must not
play this delusional vision of retreat to entrench in false sense of local security. That's
what the 'Deep State' wants to achieve – to herd the popular opposition into their home
arrests and their privacy soon to be possibly separated by walls, sanitary wards, wired
fences or a new Indian reservation. Americans would never win their Independence by acting in
defense only, by retreating to 'wait and see' tactics as Korybko suggests. What must be done
is to recapture Your state institutions that have been stolen and turned into a travesty of
American political tradition. Before that happens a common awareness is needed that those who
appear to rule as a new 'government' are just a tiny bunch of criminals who try to impress
the whole world that their power has no limits, that they monopolised the mass media and
economy, that they are invincible. Do not let this delusion of 'Deep State' victory to
dominate Your outlook. Yes, I agree that Trump failed as a leader in a time of crisis but
MAGA (or however we call it) but all the people who really care for America need to maintain
representation, authority and leadership. They shouldn't accept a comfortable fantasy that
sooner or later the 'Deep State' would crumble under its own weight and then by some miracle
a new movement would be born. If Trump indicates that 'its only the beginning' then his
supporters should join him in any action he offers. All Republican politicians, conservative
or libertarian societies, local communities, state legislatures or any other active group
must be engaged in this action. Struggle for political freedom always involves risk and
mistakes. Trump certainly made a lot of them. But it is the People who are sovereign, not any
office, institution or technological dicatorship. When the Constitution, the congressional
debate and civil liberties are ruined by 'elite' it is the responsibility of the People to
act in emergency to restore law, order and liberty. The 'Deep State' perfectly understands
that after the four years of Trump and the emergence of trumpism as a social-political fact
there can not be any turning back to the business as usual. Not under normal and peaceful
circumstances. That's why they are so frightened and act in panic. That's why they impose
health and security 'emergencies' to incapacitate the population, to make it superfluous and
useless. We saw it in totalitarian regimes.
The world needs the U.S. not as an imperial power but as an example of well established
social contract, human liberty and hope for a better future. The European 'elites' are in
revolt against their people too but here we won't have a chance for any anti-establishment
president to support us. That's why in Europe we still believe that not all has been lost in
America.
Laurence Howell , Jan 11, 2021 12:17 PM Reply to
Chris
Lt. General Thomas Mcinerney,
"special forces imbedded in Antifa rioters have Nancy Pelosi's laptop"
laptop always the laptop it on the laptop he/she left the laptop at
it etc etc et was found there# etc etc etc bullshit
laptop psyop used as much as the immaculate passport psyop found at the scene of crime in a
burning inferno it aimed at idiots
Laurence Howell , Jan 12, 2021 10:37 AM Reply to
Asylum
Are you saying that Hunter Biden's laptop and the released information that it contains is
of no value?
Conflating 911 with the current conspiracies is not helpful. This would need an article of
longer length and written by an unbiased observer which you are not.
Instead of saying etc. etc. bullshit, why not explain why this is your position?
Or does this not fit in with your soundbite posting?
Jacques , Jan 11, 2021 9:41 AM
Historically speaking, the problem with the "deep state" is essentially that the current
system has corrupted itself to a point where it is so far from what is claimed, or perhaps
appears to be, that there is no way to fix it from within by rebuilding it, by "draining the
swamp".
Klaus "Cockroach" Schwab et al understand this, hence the Great Reset, a new vision for
the future. Of course, they want a future for themselves, but that's another story.
Even if Trump were entirely sincere in his effort to "drain the swamp", he had nothing to
offer apart from some vague anachronistic concept of Making America Great Again. What the
fuck is that supposed to mean anyway, eh? The only thing he had behind him was populism which
in itself is an empty concept.
Like it or not, a change will only come if people formulate a new philosophy, ideology,
and if the new ideology is proposed and embraced on a broad scale. Ideally in a non-violent
fashion.
Right now, there is fuck all, people are still stuck on all sorts of left-right bullshit
dichotomies, (fake) democracy, the games that have been played for decades if not hundreds of
years.
If you ask me, it would be nice if the ideology of the future was loosely based on Hayek's
spontaneous order.
If Trump can pull something off this week or early next, the new plan is already waiting
in the wings. It's called Nesara/Gesara. It's a new economic system not based on a debt based
system.
rechenmacher , Jan 12, 2021 3:45 PM Reply to
Thom1111
Heard that one before. Fraud.
Thom1111 , Jan 12, 2021 7:09 PM Reply to
rechenmacher
It's a real framework plan, it's just whether it can be implemented is the question.
Igby MacDavitt , Jan 12, 2021 3:57 PM Reply to
Jacques
"Like it or not, a change will only come if people formulate a new philosophy, ideology,
and if the new ideology is proposed and embraced on a broad scale. Ideally in a non-violent
fashion."
Sure. So we the people have had centuries or more to figure the answer out. Repeating the
dilemma is not enlightening. Idealism has no voice with tyrants.
ZenPriest , Jan 11, 2021 8:53 AM
All this talk of the 'deep state' yet no one can name them. Lol.
Thom1111 , Jan 11, 2021 3:04 PM Reply to
ZenPriest
you must have been born yesterday. In America it's the alphabet agencies but obviously all
runs back to Rothschild and the Vatican.
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𝚠𝚠𝚠.𝚓𝚘𝚋𝚜𝟷𝟼.𝚝𝚔
The 6 January protest march clearly shows that the majority of Trump voters had already
given up on Trump so did not join the protest. There was originally talk of a possible one
million people attending, it didn't get anywhere close. If half the nation was still behind
Trump, this was a very puzzling showing.
Trump just did not have what it takes, or was not really trying, to ruthlessly cut out the
cancer of corruption in government. History will show that he was a weak leader who allowed
the deep state to distract him to the extent that he never did anything of note other than to
reveal, through no action of his own, how extreme is the corruption that he had promised to
drain.
The Democrat distractions, paid for by their oligarch owners, showed the world that
extreme corruption is running the USA. Even the most loyal Democrats must be puzzled by the
current purges and threats of extreme centralised thought control, the arrogance of the swamp
now that it has gotten rid of the peoples' man.
To his credit, I am still willing to believe that Trump tried to do the right thing.
Although the author is trying to place Trump as a coward who resigned, going back on his
word, I think this is not how his original supporters see him. From what I can see, the
majority of his original supporters still support him and see him as a figurehead, but they
recognise that he doesn't have the skills to do the job. He is not a coward, he did not cave
in, he recognised, probably because of the low protest numbers, that he did not have what is
takes to continue the fight, he could see that his base had already given up on him. He is
still a figurehead in the patriot movement. He may have lost the far right, but he still has
a lot of centre-ground supporters.
I disagree with your claim that the majority of supporters had already given up on him. It
was the middle of the week. People have jobs. It was a significant turn out. People
understand what is at stake. I would not place the blame for failure on Trump. He is amazing
in so many ways.
I just don't understand here how anybody can believe Trump was sincere in wanting to
change anything: he's a narcissistic bully in it for his own benefit and that of his
offspring. Fighting corruption??? Come on!
Igby MacDavitt , Jan 12, 2021 4:06 PM Reply to
Carmpat
The mere fact that hundreds and hundreds of treasonous actors throughout government and
business have been clearly and openly revealed through the process started by Trump is a damn
good start.
"What is going in DC right now is like what went on at Jonestown after Jim Jones went
crackers. Except instead of cyanide laced Kool-Aid they are going to use 'Doc' Billy Eugenics
EUTHANASIA DEATH SHOT to off the 'faithful'. If only Billy and they would just off themselves
and leave the rest of the World out of it."
" EUTHANIZE the World! Corporate Fascism and Eugenics forever."
"Time now for Na n zi Pelosi, Chuckie 'Upchuck' Schumer and all the rest of the war
criminal gang of CORPORATE FASCIST FABIAN EUGENICISTS to beam back to the
mothership. They see insurrections, rebellions and conspiracies everywhere. They believe
the humans are out to get them . They are going full Jim Jones. "
"Also Nasty Na n zi should lay off the hooch. It is beginning to have a deleterious and
harmful effect upon the sad thing's cognitive faculties and behavior."
Sgt Oddball , Jan 10, 2021 10:35 PM
I *Hope* they name the next Carrier after him – USS Donald J. Trump – CVN
83
😉
Sgt Oddball , Jan 10, 2021 10:38 PM Reply to
Sgt Oddball
- Nickname: – 'Big Don'
Voxi Pop , Jan 10, 2021 9:57 PM
https://worldchangebrief.webnode.com INSURRECTION
ACT "PROBABLY" SIGNED –
Military In Control of the US, Under Commander In Chief Trump/
Updates Will Follow Throughout The Day
Cal , Jan 10, 2021 9:56 PM
.
Sgt Oddball , Jan 10, 2021 9:26 PM
"Captain America's been torn apart,
Now he's a court jester with a broken heart,
He said, "Turn me around and take me back to the start",
"I must be losing my mind!" Are you blind?!
– I've seen it all a *Million Times* "
You are going to be very surprised. See what happens.
David Meredith , Jan 10, 2021 9:08 PM Reply to
Sukma Dyk
I was just about to post a comment saying: It's not over yet, but you beat me to it! Well
done.
John Smith , Jan 11, 2021 6:17 PM Reply to
Sukma Dyk
Why the secrecy? If you know summit then spill.
Jacques , Jan 10, 2021 8:49 PM
I don't know what Trump's intentions were, and I couldn't care less.
From where I'm standing, it appears that he was elected on a wave of populism, which
seemed to be an alternative to the "liberal democracy" fakery, the swamp. An interesting
presentation of that was here ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qA50BE7d1X8
). IMHO, Bannon kicked Frum's butt in that debate.
It would appear that populism was a big enough threat for the "swamp" to unleash four
years of a hate campaign against Trump, possibly, probably culminating with COVID. Hard to
believe that it was a coincidence.
Be it as it may, and allowing for the possibility that this or that or the other thing has
been staged this way or that way, Trump's presidency has certainly set things in motion,
woken up people. Had somebody more slick been elected, the transition to the dystopia that
seems to be in the pipeline would probably have been less noticeable, perhaps not noticeable
at all. With the shitshow that has been going down since last February, all of a sudden there
is a public debate. Perhaps misinformed, perhaps mislead, but there is a debate nevertheless.
Will it result in something positive? Hard to say, hopefully.
Bottom line, Trump's presidency has been historically a good thing.
YouTube_censors_unfortuna , Jan 11, 2021 10:05 AM Reply to
Jacques
Covid 19 was DECIDED? But of course, yes, it's just a detail .. lol
Researcher , Jan 10, 2021 8:45 PM
Turns out the Viking Guy aka QAnon Shaman aka Jake Angeli aka Jacob Anthony Chansley aka
Actor and self proclaimed "Super Soldier" pals around with Bernard Kerik and Rudy Giuliani
when he takes time off from memorizing the latest NSA script:
Lost in a dark wood , Jan 10, 2021 9:42 PM Reply to
Researcher
Oh look, a photo at some sort of book-signing type event. I'll file it alongside the one
of Oswald and Mother Teresa.
Lost in a dark wood , Jan 11, 2021 4:37 PM Reply to
Researcher
BTW: if that's what Bernard Kerik looks like when he's "palling around", you definitely
wouldn't want to fall out with him!
James Meeks , Jan 10, 2021 10:10 PM Reply to
Researcher
Haven't you figured out yet that QAnon is an intelligence agency psyop based in the type
of magical thinking that will get you killed and lose the nation? If not, you really aren't
qualified to participate in what is currently hitting us. The enemy has your number. This is
obviously a photo op staged by the security state to feed the false narrative created around
QAnon.
Researcher , Jan 10, 2021 11:23 PM Reply to
James Meeks
Can you read? Read what I wrote again. Read it enough times until you understand.
QAnon = Q Group NSA
Nothing is hitting you except the Democrats and Republicans together against the citizens.
That's not new.
"If there was a non WAR RACKETEER CORPORATE FASCIST in SHAM DEMOCRACY USA for whom to vote
and the REPUBLICRATS did not FAKE the counts and rig the SHAM elections WE THE PEOPLE might.
Where is a Eugene Victor Debs when the world needs one?"
"Soon that is not going to be an issue, however. There will be no need for SHAM ELECTIONS
after Billy EugenIcs and the CORPORATE FASCIST FABIAN EUGENICISTS cull all the untermenschen
and useless eaters with their EUTHANASIA DEATH SHOT."
"Just can not give up the opportunity for a good lead up (segue'). In good faith and in
all seriousness, thanks for providing it."
Cmiller , Jan 12, 2021 5:27 AM Reply to
Researcher
Masonic handshake
Dayne , Jan 10, 2021 8:40 PM
Peasants in 19th-century Russia clung to a notion of the Czar as a benevolent, fatherly
figure. Even when he rained misery and oppression down on them, it was only because he was
"misinformed", "surrounded by bad guys", etc.
It makes sense: Those were desperate, illiterate people living in misery. Hoping against
hope was all they had. But why would anyone in 2021 think of Trump in essentially the same
way is beyond me. An entrenched military-industrial-media-psychiatric-intelligence system,
hundreds of years in the making and with untold trillions in funding, just stood by as a
Robin-Hood-type hero and people's champion rose to take the Oval Office? Sorry. Trump might
as well sprout wings and fly.
Sgt Oddball , Jan 10, 2021 10:10 PM Reply to
Dayne
Thanx for your comment, Dayne – I've been trying to put this into words, and as I'm
autistic, I could frankly, literally *Sperg'-out* over this, right now
- TL:DR version is this, tho': – Ever wonder why 'Populism' is such a dirty word for
the establishment and their MSM bullhorn? – The argument I've heard thus far generally
goes like the South Park underpants gnome's plan for world domination: – Phase 1:
Popular Uprising (aka: 'Civil Unrest') Phase 2: ? . Phase 3: Fascist 'Strongman' Dictatorship
– Why is that?
- Also that we're *Too Stoopid*(/ie: Self-Absorbed) – Like the Mud-Pickin' peasants
in Monty Python' Holy Grail
- I would suggest 2 reasons for this:
- 1.) The Davostanis (Global Banksters/Oligarchs) never *merely* back the *winning horse*
in the race, – In fact they back *every* horse that they *allow* to run (ergo: Trump
was an Establishment-groomed *Stalking Horse* )
- 2.) The Davostanis (again), have *long since* seen to it that *most everyone*, from
birth onwards, is psychologically conditioned, first with childhood myths and fairy-tales
about Charming Princes and Fair Princesses, then with religio-spiritual 'adult' myths and
fairy-tales about (In Judeo-Christian terms) Messianic, White-Knight champion/rescuer types
who, if *we would only* put our lives and our *Utmost Faith* in their holy, heaven-sent
hands, would *Save Us All* from all the terrible, terrible *Mess We've All Made* for
ourselves down here on Earth, by collectively *Shitting The Bed*
*Obviously*, this is *All* just so much *Childish Nonsense*, and, more to the point, a
*Writ-Large Con-Job*
- Cutting to the chase: – The 'Great-Man' theory of history is *Bunk* – Always
*Has Been*, always *Will Be*
If you're still "Holding Out For A Hero", I invite you to stare *Long And Hard* into the
nearest available mirror, *Take A DEEP Breath*, and then go out and *Elect Yourself* to the
office – *Better Yet*, elect your family, elect your friends, elect your neighbors,
elect *Everyone*
- And then let's *Do This Shit* – *Together*!
James Meeks , Jan 10, 2021 10:23 PM Reply to
Dayne
It could have something to do with the fact that Biden is backed by every billionaire
member of the Davos gang of criminals getting ready to use this event, coupled with medical
martial law, to stage the "great reset" scheme. A wet dream of Malthusian eugenecists like
Faucci & Gates, since it includes a drastic reduction in world population aka genocide of
the elderly, vulnerable, poor and non compliant. This Globalist Technocracy will be led by
un-elected bankers and corporate CEO's effectively ending any form of Democracy planet wide.
MSM mockingbirds are completing the programming of the public to make Casey's statement to
Reagan ring true" We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the
American public believes is wrong."
Ow look Simon one trick pony parkes been laughed at and ridiculed and busted for his many
many many many lies and it happening you watch just donate psyop
gets excepted into the Q nonsense and trump Savior psyop and became s one of there
leaders!!!
doesn't anyone go back 5 years and do basic check on thsoes they watch and then make idols
of them.
fools follow fools
Mike , Jan 10, 2021 8:15 PM
Trump was never going to be Ameica's hero. He was played to depict America as a fascist,
racist, neo-nazi country that needs to be saved by the Left aka Joe Biden/Kamala Harris. The
Left can now "save us all" from the "damage" caused by the MAGA movement and Trump. They can
do this through heavily increased mass surveillance and what is essentially imprisonment, to
make sure that we don't fall victim to the "domestic terrorism" that is represented by Trump
and his fan base.
David Meredith , Jan 10, 2021 9:10 PM Reply to
Mike
saved by the left? The left has been selling out the US to the globalist agenda for the
last 20 years (in power or out). Trump is not finished restoring America to a country that
doesn't sell out to China.
"Left-Center-Right" seems that paradigm is a tad askew. It is more like a top to bottom
pyramid [scheme/racket]. The CORPORATE FASCIST OLIGARCH MOBSTER PSYCHOPATH SLAVE MASTERS
sitting on their gold platinum thrones at the very top of the tower/pyramid and all their
prole slave victims, WE THE PEOPLE (HUMANITY) in the mud at the base. The PSYCHOS will say or
do anything to get the prole slaves at each others throats. IF WE ARE FIGHTING AMONG
OURSELVES WE ARE NOT FIGHTING THEM."
Well, being saved by the left was a sarcastic comment. And Trump is clearly done with
"restoring America" because it was never his to restore, let alone him conceding to the left
after the Capitol "riots".
falcemartello , Jan 11, 2021 3:53 AM Reply to
David Meredith
@ David
The left is as left as my right GONAD
Martin Usher , Jan 10, 2021 10:12 PM Reply to
Mike
Biden/Harris "the left"? Surely you're joking? These two are conservatives, in another
timeline they'd be Republicans. What they have going for them is they, like many Americans,
believe in the Constitution of the United States, about what the country is and what its
trying to acheve. It strives to build "a more perfect union".
This the fundamenal error many people made about the Deep State. I've no doubt that
there's a fom of Deep State out there, an ingrained conservative streak in the bureaucracy,
because there is in all bureaucracies. But the real Deep State is all of us, its every last
person who believes in the system, in the American form of democracy and the principles upon
which the nation was founded. There are innumerable personal interpretations of exactly what
this means but the sum total is the United States.
Trump, MAGA and the modern GoP represent 'capture', the idea that the capture of the state
can be turned to personal profit. In doing so Trump and his enablers degraded the notion of
what the US is and why it exists. This is what's caused the backlash, its not 'the left' or
'socialism'.
Sgt Oddball , Jan 10, 2021 10:54 PM Reply to
Martin Usher
"Biden/Harris "the left"? Surely you're joking?"
- The proverbial 'Overton Window' has, at this point, collapsed to a quantum singularity,
about a nothingth of a planck length wide
- Prepare for *Teh Great Suck*!
Peanut butter wolf , Jan 10, 2021 8:11 PM
You seriously think Trump was genuinly elected? All the points you make show obviously he
was a puppet and psy-op of the deepstate from the very beginning.
The deepstate won because they never had an enemy, they created him from the start, with or
without him knowing we dont know, but anyone on that level is on a need to know basis anyway.
It's clear that his every move is steered with the goal to bring down rogue antiestablishment
sentiments.
And it worked very well. Radical left antiestablishment is suddenly prodemocrats and
radical right antiestablishment is totally disillusioned and just became domestic
terrorists.
Trump wasn't supposed to win in 2016. The deep state probably wanted liberal Jeb Bush or
Rubio or Cruz in there. Trump destroyed all the competition in the GOP primaries. Remember,
Trump wasn't picked by the deep state to be their guy. He financed his own campaign. He was a
major burr in their saddle. The Trump phenomenon is real and he proved it with a landslide
victory that was stolen.
Martin Usher , Jan 12, 2021 6:16 PM Reply to
Thom1111
What 'landslide'? The numbers tell a very different story. Trump should have won a second
term but he didn't because of two things, one being the grass roots efforts of Democrats to
motivate voter groups despite systematic road blocks being placed in those groups' path and
the other -- a important one -- being that there's quite a lot of life long Republicans out
there that cannot stand Trump.
Trumpism is like a cult in many ways. One feature is that those who 'believe' find it
difficult to come to grips with the fact that they might hold a minority view. They're used
to being embattled, that's a signature feature of such groups (they're always fighting for
something against an implacable enemy, preferably an unseen one) but its just inconceivable
that they're really a fringe group. The events of last Wednesday have probably done more to
promote Democrat candidates than anything else this cycle; fortunately for the most part the
election was over so all they lost were the two Senate seats.
PS -- May I draw your attention to an old Beatles song -- "Revolution"? (I'd also suggest
an even old song "Trouble Coming" from the Mothers of Invention.)
Voz 0db , Jan 10, 2021 7:58 PM
Under the CURRENT MAIN SYSTEM – The Monetary System – there is no "drain the
swamp"!
James Meeks , Jan 10, 2021 10:29 PM Reply to
Voz 0db
Then you're going to love the technocrats "social credits" scheme such as China currently
imposes on it's population.
Voz 0db , Jan 11, 2021 10:43 AM Reply to
James Meeks
China developed that system with the HELP of the Western Corporations, so that in a near
future the tech will be deployed in the western Plantations. OPERATION COVIDIUS is just the
1st of many operations that will create the FEAR & PANIC conditions among the herds of
modern western moron slaves, that will make it really easy for THEM to deploy that tech.
Why do you think China was the chosen one to practice a "city lockdown" during EVENT 201
planning?
Why do you think China was on the news of western countries while they were executing the
lockdown and then no more China news?
China is also under the Shadow of the SRF & Billionaires at least for now. The only
thing China is trying to achieve is to shift the POWER of the SRF into Chinese Families,
nothing more.
maxine , Jan 10, 2021 7:48 PM
What has Off-G come to? .One must be truly mad to imagine that D. tHRUMP
"SINCERELY" thought ANYTHING EVER, let alone "changing the way America is run" .He's
incapable of comprehending what the word "SINCERITY" means .Sorry the author has lost his
hero.
OffG publishes articles and anybody who wants to can comment on them.
It does not push, or imagine, any group philosophy other than to support us all in a deep
distrust of what the mainstream media ram down our throats every day, and to give us space to
express our personal disgust in our own way.
We are not going to imagine what you would like us to imagine merely on your say-so
either, although you are quite free to tell us what your personal recommendations are.
OffG has never been pro-Trump, and we are all aware that the alternative is far from being
any better.
Perhaps you would like to tell us what is really bugging you, given that you have
never been under any pressure even to show up here At the very least, you could stay on
topic:
So, what about the swamp, and who you think is most likely to succeed in draining it ?
Carol Jones , Jan 10, 2021 8:53 PM Reply to
wardropper
Hear Hear!
Gezzah Potts , Jan 10, 2021 10:26 PM Reply to
wardropper
Spot on W👍
YouTube_censors_unfortuna , Jan 10, 2021 7:40 PM
Trump's racist fan base supported America's bogus War of Terrorism against blameless
Muslim countries, did they not? What goes around, comes around.
I think you are getting fan bases mixed up. Trump inherited these conflicts from Bush,
Iraq 2002 invasion & Obama's 2015 invasion of Syria and it was Trump that threatened to
end the propping up of the endless war industry. In fact that played the major role in why
Trump had to be removed at all costs including selling treason and vote rigging as Democracy
to be defended against "domestic terrorists".
YouTube_censors_unfortuna , Jan 11, 2021 9:45 AM Reply to
James Meeks
Did America's white patriots oppose the demonisation of Muslims as being terrorists who
did 9/11 or did they participate in this US government fiction?
No, at least half of the patriots are and were aware that 9/11 was an inside job.
Geoffrey Skoll , Jan 10, 2021 7:25 PM
Right! The Donald was too weak and too stupid. A smarter president got shot for his
troubles, but the rulers knew they didn't have to resort to that against the Donald. He was
obsessed with his mirror. All those meeting between Ike and JFK, what do you think they were
talking about?
Sounds like you came to Off Guardian thinking it was the Guardian and expected to find a
group of like minded consumers of security state propaganda in a Trump bashing fest.
Do u relly guys think Trump was a hope for all pf us? I am still amazed that
people(including off-guard) still thinks in terms of left vs right, good vs bad, and all that
narrative. I am afraid that nnarrativ has never been true. It is part of the game of "the
matrix" to keep us entertained in shows programmed for tth masses, division, polarizaiomn,
saviours and "heros". In my opinion it is time for a deep shift. Continuing to hope that some
guy will save us all, it is just seeing a tree but not being able to see the woods. While
some keep waiting for somebody to save us, they are moving forward with their plans really
fast. But no problem guys. Sooner or later the rrality will knock on you door, and you will
have to decide if you are going to be a slave or a free human. And it will be all about what
you decide. No american hero or any messiah will do it for you.
Sophie - Admin1 , Jan 10, 2021 9:50 PM Reply to
MANUEL
We have warned against accepting the Left/Right paradigm many times. This is NOT an
editorial and therefore is not 'the voice of OffG'.
Some visitors here need to up their sophistication level to the point they understand we
publish a SPECTRUM of dissident opinion that we consider merits discussion or a wider
audience, without necessarily agreeing with all of it.
"Some visitors here need to up their sophistication level to the point they understand
we publish a SPECTRUM of dissident opinion "
- Yep, well that's as may be, but Andrew Korybko's position is *Lame As All Hell* –
Every establishment talking point *Covered* – just from the 'Contrarian' side
- Trump was an 'Outsider' who 'Became' an 'Insider'?! – Aww Puh-lease! – He
was a *Stalking Horse
- "He didn't have the *'Strength'* to 'Drain The Swamp'(tm)"??!?! – *No-One*
*Indivudal* in all Creation could've
- Do you think we're *Children*?!
Asylum , Jan 11, 2021 3:26 PM Reply to
Sgt Oddball
been on this site a whole while now not seen any articles discussing trump failures
James Meeks , Jan 10, 2021 11:06 PM Reply to
MANUEL
We are all aware that we are the playthings of the rich and powerful but all you're doing
is stating what most of us already know. What is your solution? So tell us please what you
are doing to that makes you feel free and not a slave? Are you living off the grid? Not using
currency? What is it you're doing that makes you different from those of us you claim are not
facing reality? I think many people, myself included, who have no love for Trump see that he
is being denounced by every billionaire member of the Davos gang of criminals as a threat to
world order and the economy while they shut down the planet with medical martial law and
create an authoritarian Globalist Technocratic dictatorship ending Democracies worldwide and
targeting "domestic terrorists" who oppose them.
George Mc , Jan 10, 2021 6:35 PM
The steps on how to destroy all of the services, public and private though
focussing on the NHS:
Seize on a moderate flu variant. Build it up to be the blackest
death since the black death. Seize on all the old people who die anyway and claim their
numbers as an indication of the carnage. For anyone still hesitant, introduce hypocritical
emotional blackmail about "the most vulnerable" in our society to shame everyone into the
game On the basis of those appropriated death figures, endlessly circulate fear porn –
enhanced by the fact that the symptoms of this apocalyptic virus are indistinguishable from
the regular flu or even the common cold. Get everyone to steer clear of everyone else. Close
down all "inessential" work plus communal gathering places to ensure everyone is isolated
before the droning monolithic message you are pumping out. Introduce even more draconian
measures for anyone who "has" the bug – effectively barring them even (especially) from
care work. Prioritise the new bug cases so that they have access to hospital facilities
– while anyone with other (real) illnesses are barred to "protect" them! This fills up
the hospitals with hypochondriacs with the common cold. Introduce the notion that some may
carry the bug without symptoms. Introduce a new test which can determine who has the
symptomless bug. On the basis of those magical symptomless bug test kits, bar the
essential workers from supporting the vulnerable – in order to "protect the
vulnerable"! Constantly report on how the NHS is collapsing – which it is, being filled
up with folks with the cold and turning everyone else away, and also being deprived of
essential workers who tested positive for the symptomless bug. Just stand back and watch it
all collapse whilst continuing to report on it with increasing horror!
George Mc , Jan 10, 2021 6:41 PM Reply to
George Mc
PS the list is not exhaustive. I didn't even touch on the phony Left/Right divide.
AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL , Jan 10, 2021 7:18 PM Reply to
George Mc
EXCERPTS FROM THE AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL REPORTS INTO COVID-19 AND CARE HOMES.
A must read.
The Department of Health and Social Care . adopted a policy, that led to 25,000 patients,
including those (known to be) infected (with Covid-19, and also those who were) possibly
infected with Covid-19 (but) had not been tested, being discharged from hospital into care
homes between 17 March and 15 April -- exponentially increasing the risk of transmission to
the very population most at risk of severe illness and death from the disease. (This, while
being denied) access to testing, (being denied) personal protective equipment, (while having)
insufficient staff, and limited (and confusing) guidance.
Looks like Trump is elevated well beyond his standing and abilities. He proved to be mediocre politician who got into
the prepared trap and endangered and then betrayed his supporters.
Notable quotes:
"... Four years ago the Anglo-American deep state concluded that liberal democracy is no longer guaranteed to keep them in power. The new threat comes from populist like Trump. Instead of democracy they decided to turn to totalitarianism. The first step was a totalitarian media regime . ..."
"... LMFAO. Trump is no threat. Listen to his farewell speech . Summary: bend over and salute the flag. ..."
Four years ago the Anglo-American deep state concluded that liberal democracy is no longer
guaranteed to keep them in power. The new threat comes from populist like Trump. Instead of democracy they decided to turn to totalitarianism. The first step was a
totalitarian media regime .
I think McConnell is right. Trump speech was very incoherent but it contained some elements
that can be classified as incitement. But I think that he got into trap organized by neoliberal
wing of DemParty. BTW giving a 78-year-old Senator a six-year term is a
modest gamble, as an actuarial table will show you .
Probably McConnell, who is pretty shrewd political operative despite his age, understands
that Trump does not matter anymore. He was spent. Politically on Dec 6, he committed a suicide.
So his impeachment might not as harshly affect the Republican Party as some ZH commenters assume.
The party does need a new leader, anyway. Trump proved to be mediocre politician and this is an
worse then any of his real or imaginable crimes.
" We stood together and said an angry mob would not get veto power over the rule of law in
our nation. Not even for one night. We certified the people's clear choice for their 46th
president.
Tomorrow, President-elect Biden and Vice-President-elect Harris will be sworn in. We will
have a safe and successful inauguration right here on the west front of the Capitol -- the
space that President Bush 41 called 'democracy's front porch.' And then we'll move forward
."
... ... ...
This, according to Kentucky Senator Rand Paul, is a major problem for the GOP who told Fox
News' Ingraham Angle on Friday that he believes that if Senate Minority Leader Mitch
McConnell and other Senate Republicans join the Democrats to impeach President Donald Trump,
a third of Republican voters will permanently abandon the party as a result.
"I don't understand how they can be moving forward with this," he said, before
adding
"The thing they're doing now is an overreaction, and if they think they're going to have
a positive feeling from the public, when they're going to go through a partisan impeachment
again, I think that's absolutely insane and wrong headed ."
Ingraham then asked Paul if he was surprised that McConnell is reportedly planning to
instruct Republicans to vote to convict President Trump after he leaves the presidency, in a
move that could strip him of his security and prevent him from running for office in
2024.
"I don't often get asked my advice from leadership on how they should react, but my
unsolicited suggestion would be this: They will destroy the Republican Party if leadership is
complicit in impeachment, or if leadership votes for impeachment, they will destroy the
party."
"Impeachment is purely a partisan thing, it's for the moral, 'Oh I'm so much better than
you, and you're a bad person, because I'm so moral.'" Paul added, "These are the kind of
people that are going to do this."
"The impeachment is a wrongheaded, partisan notion. If Republicans go along with it, it
will destroy the party. A third of Republicans will leave the party."
"This isn't about, anymore, the electoral college," Paul concluded.
"It's about the future of the party, and if you're going to ostracize and excommunicate
President Trump from the party, then guess what, millions of his fans will leave as
well."
Additionally, congressional leaders, including House GOP leader Kevin McCarthy and Senate
Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, will skip President Trump's departure ceremony in Maryland
tomorrow morning in favor of attending mass with incoming President Joe Biden ahead of his
inauguration,
congressional sources familiar with their plans tell Axios .
lay_arrow
Gaius Petronius 31 minutes ago (Edited)
No. If McConnell impeaches Trump, the U.S. becomes an instant one party state. The
entire GOP will collapse and collapse quickly. It would destroy the party. But maybe it's
time for the GOP to die? The Senate has a bunch of RINOs in it. Impeaching Trump will end
their Senate career come their next election. I think if Mitch is doing this, he knows he
is doing this and he knows the consequences and he doesn't give a damn because this is
really *NOT* about Trump, it's about preventing a true outsider (like Trump) from coming in
and running the country when for decades who runs the country has always been decided by
the elite. They don't like the people being able to pick their president. They want to be
the ones who pick the president. The surest way to make sure that Trump never runs again is
to impeach him, but Mitch better get ready to change his party affiliation to D because
there won't be a Republican party after that.
zerofucks 28 minutes ago
the uniparty needs the 2 party cover to keep the illusion going
Gaius Petronius 23 minutes ago remove link
He's just part of the deep state. He likes his power.
Buzz-Kill 6 minutes ago (Edited)
Yep... McConnel is a Deep State operator.
chunga 1 hour ago
People love to throw around this term "rino" which is misleading and dumb. It suggests
there are a handful of them that suck and block the good ones.
If that were the case Moribund Mitch and House Minority leader what's his name would not
be in these "leadership" positions. And they are.
"Read Fake President .This book can help us replace Trump with truth."
-- Gloria Steinem
"Terrific new book . Fake President informs as it entertains."
-- Laurence Tribe
An incisive, witty roadmap into the disinformation and betrayals of President Trump --
just in time for the impeachment hearings and the 2020 election.
Donald Trump was lawfully selected as the US president...but is still a "fake" president
because he simply lacks the integrity, intelligence, and stability to perform the duties of the
office as the Constitution intended. "If you spend so much time golfing, tweeting, and
seething," write Green and Nader, "it's understandable that a POTUS doesn't get around to
appointing one-third of all agency inspector generals...Might as well expect a surgeon to be an
opera singer."
As the House Impeachment Inquiry unfolds based on a similar premise , Fake President
decodes many of his worst scandals and "twistifications" (a Jefferson coinage). And it's bound
to get even worse as the House gets closer to actual Articles of Impeachment and the Fall
election approaches. Since it's nearly impossible to keep track of Trump's "daily lava of
lies," two of America's foremost public advocates do that work for you. This is your one-stop
shop that explains what the Lyin' King means to our democracy.
It's a cheeky, deadly rebuke of Trump's incorrigible "fakery"...from his dishonesty about
foreign policy to blatant ignorance about the environment to his messianic narcissism.
Fake President is an essential guide to help you understand the two biggest news
stories of the coming year -- impeachment and the 2020 presidential election.
46 Follow RT on Outgoing US
President Donald Trump has delivered his "parting gift" to the Moscow-led Nord Stream 2 gas
pipeline, with newly announced sanctions targeting a pipe-laying vessel and companies involved
in the multinational project.
The specialist ship concerned, named, 'Fortuna,' and oil tanker 'Maksim Gorky', as well as
two Russian firms, KVT-Rus and Rustanker, were blacklisted on Tuesday under CAATSA (Countering
America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act) as part of Washington's economic war on Moscow.
The same legislation had been previously used by the US to target numerous Russian officials
and enterprises.
Russian energy giant Gazprom warned its investors earlier on Tuesday that Nord Stream 2
could be suspended or even canceled if more US restrictions are introduced.
However, Moscow has assured its partners that it intends to complete the project despite
"harsh pressure on the part of Washington," according to Kremlin press secretary Dmitry
Peskov. Reacting to the new package of sanctions on Tuesday, Peskov called them
"unlawful."
Meanwhile, the EU said it is in no rush to join the Washington-led sanction war on Nord
Stream 2. EU foreign affairs chief, Josep Borrell, said that the bloc is not going to resist
the construction of the project.
"Because we're talking about a private project, we can't hamper the operations of those
companies if the German government agrees to it," Borrell said Tuesday.
Nord Stream 2 is an offshore gas pipeline, linking Russia and Germany with aim of providing
cheaper energy to Central European customers. Under the agreement between Moscow and Berlin, it
was to be launched in mid-2020, but the construction has been delayed due to strong opposition
from Washington.
The US, which is hoping to sell its Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) to Europe, has hit the
project with several rounds of sanctions over scarcely credible claims that it could undermine
European energy security. Critics say the real intent is to force EU members to buy from
American companies.
Think your friends would be interested? Share this story!
46 Follow RT on
Trends:
Fatback33 4 hours ago 19 Jan, 2021 11:20 AM
The group that owns Washington makes the foreign policy. That policy is not for the benefit
of the people.
DukeLeo Fatback33 1 hour ago 19 Jan, 2021 02:06 PM
That is correct. The private banks and corporations in the US are very upset about Nord
Stream - 2, as they want Europe to buy US gas at double price. Washington thus introduces
additional political gangsterism in the shape of new unilateral sanctions which have no merit
in international law.
noremedy 4 hours ago 19 Jan, 2021 11:22 AM
Is the U.S. so stupid that they do not realize that they are isolating themselves? Russia has
developed SPFS, China CIPS, together with Iran, China and Russia are further developing a
payment transfer system. Once in place and functioning this system will replace the western
SWIFT system for international payment transfers. It will be the death knell for the US
dollar. 327 million Americans are no match for the rest of the billions of the world's
population. The next decade will see the total debasement of the US monetary system and the
fall from power of the decaying and crumbling in every way U.S.A.
Hanonymouse noremedy 2 hours ago 19 Jan, 2021 01:37 PM
They don't care. They have the most advanced military in the world. Might makes right, even
today.
Shelbouy 3 hours ago 19 Jan, 2021 12:25 PM
Russia currently supplies over 50% of the natural gas consumed by The EU. Germany and Italy
are the largest importers of Russian natural gas. What is the issue of sanctions stemming
from and why are the Americans doing this? A no brainer question I suppose. It's to make more
money than the other supplier, and exert political pressure and demand obedience from its
lackey. Germany.
David R. Evans Shelbouy 2 hours ago 19 Jan, 2021 01:58 PM
Russia and Iran challenge perpetual US wars for Israel's Oded Yinon Plan. Washington is
Israel-controlled territory.
Jewel Gyn 4 hours ago 19 Jan, 2021 11:34 AM
Sanctions work both ways. With the outgoing Trump administration desperately laying mines for
Biden, we await how sleepy Joe is going to mend strayed ties with EU.
Count_Cash 4 hours ago 19 Jan, 2021 11:20 AM
The US mafia state continues with the same practices. The dog is barking but the caravan is
going. The counter productiveness of sanctions always shows through in the end! I am sure
with active efforts of Germany and Russia against US mafia oppression that a blowback will be
felt by the US over time!
Dachaguy 4 hours ago 19 Jan, 2021 11:24 AM
This is an act of war against Germany. NATO should respond and act against the aggressor,
America.
xyz47 Dachaguy 42 minutes ago 19 Jan, 2021 03:20 PM
NATO is run by the US...
lovethy Dachaguy 2 hours ago 19 Jan, 2021 01:04 PM
NATO has no separate existence. It's the USA's arm of aggression, suppression and domination.
Germany after WWII is an occupied country of USA. Thousand of armed personnel stationed in
Germany enforcing that occupation.
Chaz Dadkhah 3 hours ago 19 Jan, 2021 12:19 PM
Further proof that Trump is no friend of Russia and is in a rush to punish them while he
still has power. If it was the swamp telling him to do that, like his supporters suggest,
then they would have waited till their man Biden came in to power in less than 24 hours to do
it. Wake up!
Mac Kio 3 hours ago 19 Jan, 2021 12:34 PM
USA hates fair competition. USA ignores all WTO rules.
Russkiy09 2 hours ago 19 Jan, 2021 01:33 PM
By whining and not completing in the face of US, Russia is losing credibility. They should
not have delayed to mobilize the pipe laying vessel and other equipment for one whole year.
They should have mobilized in three months and finished by now. Same happens when Jewtin does
not shoot down Zio air force bombing Syria everyday. But best option should have been to tell
European vassals that "if you can, take our gas. But we will charge the highest amount and
sell as much as we want, exclude Russophobic Baltic countries and Poland and neo-vassal
Ukraine. Pay us not in your ponzi paper money but real goods and services or precious metals
or other commodities or our own currency Ruble." I so wish I could be the President of
Russia. Russians deserve to be as wealthy as the Swiss or SIngapore etc., not what they are
getting. Their leaders should stand up for their interest. And stop empowering the greedy
merchantalist Chinese and brotherhood Erdogan.
BlackIntel 1 hour ago 19 Jan, 2021 02:27 PM
America i captured by private interest; this project threatens American private companies
hence the government is forced to protect capitalism. This is illegal
Ohhho 3 hours ago 19 Jan, 2021 12:15 PM
That project was a mistake from the start: Russia should distance itself from the Evil
empire, EU included! Stop wasting time and resources on trying to please the haters and
keeping them more competitive with cheaper Russian natural gas: focus on real partners and
potential allies elsewhere!
butterfly123 2 hours ago 19 Jan, 2021 01:58 PM
I have said it before that part of the problem is at the door of the policy-makers and
politicians in Russia. Pipeline project didn't spring up in the minds of politicians in
Russia one morning, presumably. There should have been foresight, detailed planning, and
opportunity creation for firms in Russia to acquire the skill-set and resources to advance
this project. Not doing so has come to bite Russia hard and painful. Lessons learnt I hope Mr
President!
jakro 4 hours ago 19 Jan, 2021 11:37 AM
Good news. The swamp is getting deeper and bigger.
hermaflorissen 4 hours ago 19 Jan, 2021 11:49 AM
Trump finally severed my expectations for the past 4 years. He should indeed perish.
ariadnatheo 1 hour ago 19 Jan, 2021 03:06 PM
That is one Trump measure that will not be overturned by the Senile One. They will need to
amplify the RussiaRussiaRussia barking and scratching to divert attention from their dealings
with China
Neville52 2 hours ago 19 Jan, 2021 02:01 PM
Its time the other nations of the world turned their backs on the US. Its too risky if you
are an international corporation to suddenly have large portions of your income cancelled due
to some crazy politician in the US
5th Eye 2 hours ago 19 Jan, 2021 02:03 PM
From empire to the collapse of empire, US follows UK to the letters. Soon it will be
irrelevant. The only thing that remains for UK is the language. Probably hotdog for the US.
VonnDuff1 1 hour ago 19 Jan, 2021 02:10 PM
The USA Congress and its corrupt foreign policy dictates work to the detriment of Europe and
Russia, while providing no tangible benefits to US states or citizens. So globalist demands
wrapped in the stars & stripes, should be laughed at, by all freedom loving nations.
Is there anything more pathetic than competition between two political mafias hiding as some
sort of disagreement over principle?
Notable quotes:
"... Absolutely his instinct to rebalance the economic relationship with China was correct. But he's too stupid to do it in a way that actually benefits or improves the US long term. Every once in a while with him there was hint of a good instinct but he never followed through because his base instincts always win out. ..."
"... The cries of censorship are asinine. Real censorship of diverging opinions was accomplished decades ago. Banning Donald trump from twitter isn't censorship. They didn't ban the POTUS account (they did delete tweets when he tried to use it), they banned his personal account because he's an asshole who broke the rules. Republicans have been telling me about the sanctity of property my whole life. Now they change their minds? ..."
It's all just farts in a jar. The trajectory was set decades ago and the political
oligarchy and gerontocracy aren't going to let go of that trajectory. Trump was only a
"populist" insofar as it was a means for him to be popular. In reality, he's a dishonest,
craven asshole. If he was a populist he would have responded to Covid way differently. What
he is, however, is a nationalist. Those are dangerous because they don't think clearly.
Absolutely his instinct to rebalance the economic relationship with China was correct.
But he's too stupid to do it in a way that actually benefits or improves the US long term.
Every once in a while with him there was hint of a good instinct but he never followed
through because his base instincts always win out.
The cries of censorship are asinine. Real censorship of diverging opinions was
accomplished decades ago. Banning Donald trump from twitter isn't censorship. They didn't ban
the POTUS account (they did delete tweets when he tried to use it), they banned his personal
account because he's an asshole who broke the rules. Republicans have been telling me about
the sanctity of property my whole life. Now they change their minds?
The empire is in terminal decline. Trump doesn't change it. Biden doesn't change it. Who
controls Congress doesn't change it. Because all of them are beholden to the declining empire
and/or they believe in America's myths (they are nationalists). A failed color revolution run
by people who don't want to accept an election result just says real loud that the empire is
falling.
"... I hate virtually all of Trump's policies. I hate his stupidity in continually hiring people who hated him. He could have turned to members of the genuine left -- men such as Stephen Cohen -- for advice. ..."
"... n a classic act of projection, woke Dems accuse Trump of not conceding, whereas in fact they are the ones who never conceded the presidency in 2016. This is so obvious, and yet it has apparently become invisible to most!!! Memory hole opened up like a crack in the earth behind each step. ..."
"... The gullibility of Trump is astounding. He did everything to keep the swamp happy, to keep Israel happy, flipped on Nato and on Russia, had hawks left and right and at the end he will be discarded like a used condom. ..."
"... can't help but think that Donald Trump is a man with no common sense, lacking the real conviction of his words and just not very bright or he was to some degree willfully complicit in this now obviously dire state the U.S. finds itself. ..."
"... If anyone thinks there is some good news because this murderous, warring empire is coming to an end, I suggest you think again. The war machine is still fully intact and funded. The international bankers who are in complete control are buying up everything and are planning on a 'reset' dictated by them. To the world! Understandably, there will likely be a few countries who do not feel inclined to agree with this reset and it's terms. There will have to be war to correct this thinking, even if a billion or more are killed. The more the merrier. Less 'useless eaters' to deal with. ..."
Mr. Roberts is right on point when he says that Trump will be locked up.
The people running the United States are going to make an example of Trump. They will send
a message that no "outsider" should ever again dare to run for President.
Trump will spend the rest of his life behind bars.
I fear you are right. In this case it might be better if he weren't such a street fighter,
because standing up for himself to me isn't worth the price he will pay. He should get
himself and his family post haste to a country with no extradition and simply live the rest
of his life in peace. No one needs the vitriol that has been and will continue to be heaped
on him.
Trump _should_ spend the rest of his life behind bars -- for contributing to the deaths of
tens of thousands of human beings. Ordinary Syrians, Iranians, Cubans, and Venezuelans died
because of the murderous sanctions Washington put on their countries, and Pres. Trump did
nothing to help -- and in fact, intensified them.
Very similar to his indifference to the plight of Edward Snowden & Julian Assange.
Trump is a monster of self-centredness. In fact, in the words of his own former White House
Chief of Staff, he is 'the most damaged human being I have ever met.' Just the sort of
creature we would expect to find as head of the US empire
I'm afraid you are spot on -- Trump lies to the World when he was running for President
& then broke almost all of his promises -especially to drain the Swamp. He also
unforgivably allowed the Jews to take over Palistinian land etc. He has alot to answer for
even if he wasn't as War like as the 3 Presidents before him.
YOu re problably right, Jimmy.
But it turns out differently when one gets the point where Trump locked up prospect here is
not him but a whole lot of american people trying to get rid of globalism and the need for
wars
Who might be buried up along with him.
But not a word about the crimes of those who preceded him, which included the ultimate
crime, that of engaging in unjustified warfare?
Your post implies you have a standard of behaviour you are judging Trump by. By definition
it must be universally applied, otherwise all you are seeking is the selective imposition of
your view.
I agree. If Trump deserves lockup, so do Obama, Bush, and the Clintons.
I hate virtually all of Trump's policies. I hate his stupidity in continually hiring
people who hated him. He could have turned to members of the genuine left -- men such as
Stephen Cohen -- for advice.
But that is not the point. Since 2016 those who tried to eliminate Trump did so not for
his real crimes but for made-up. Basically his crime of being president in the first
place.
I n a classic act of projection, woke Dems accuse Trump of not conceding, whereas in
fact they are the ones who never conceded the presidency in 2016. This is so obvious, and yet
it has apparently become invisible to most!!! Memory hole opened up like a crack in the earth
behind each step.
Trump's crime, for which he may actually be locked up, was in truth just winning the
presidency in 2016 and humiliating Hillary (whom everyone hated anyhow). I am becoming quite
terrified of people I have known all my my life and even am related to.
Corrected assessment. His wealth and his 5 children (and their future) are too much of a
liability for him to do the necessary. His policy of appeasement will not work though with
the rabid bolshevik kabal.
I think he and his family will be persecuted and likely prosecuted unless the has the
foresight to move to Russia and save his skin.
The gullibility of Trump is astounding. He did everything to keep the swamp happy, to
keep Israel happy, flipped on Nato and on Russia, had hawks left and right and at the end he
will be discarded like a used condom.
Russia saw it from the get go, at the end he will have the full weight of both parties
against him, and instead of locking her up it will be the other way around. The cowards have
no sense of decency, they will not show any good will like he did.
Trump betrayed his base, failed to organize again and again, put his trust in all the
wrong people and now is done. I'll be surprised if he doesn't face jailtime on some trumped
up charges.
For all his charisma and good intentions he turned out a clueless clown, sad clown at the
end. History will not be kind, and neither will the victors.
True Americans have seen their last train leave the station, it will take time to realize
that there are no more trains. Game over.
I thought this was a good summation by Dr. Roberts. I can't help but think that Donald
Trump is a man with no common sense, lacking the real conviction of his words and just not
very bright or he was to some degree willfully complicit in this now obviously dire state the
U.S. finds itself. Maybe he owed the Rothschild clan a favour.
If anyone thinks there is some good news because this murderous, warring empire is
coming to an end, I suggest you think again. The war machine is still fully intact and
funded. The international bankers who are in complete control are buying up everything and
are planning on a 'reset' dictated by them. To the world! Understandably, there will likely
be a few countries who do not feel inclined to agree with this reset and it's terms. There
will have to be war to correct this thinking, even if a billion or more are killed. The more
the merrier. Less 'useless eaters' to deal with.
Try to see something good in creation every day. Try to do good every day. This world as
it is does not have much time. Someone said that what cannot go on forever won't! At some
point, the One who gives life to all will say it is enough. Some of us just celebrated his
most blessed nativity.
This guy biden is king of promises, and as every year goes by and so many promises are not
met, don't think these people wont show up on D.C.'s doorstep looking for revenge.
Who better to preside over the collapse of the empire? The usual rules will apply: the
feckless Dems – always at their abysmal worst when they assume power – will blame
the "evil Reps" for everything that goes wrong (and there will be plenty – although
none of it will ever be discussed publicly!), and the Reps will be at their sterling
obstructionist best. Talk of impeachment for Biden – who will be nowhere in sight for
most of his term – will linger throughout his term, while Trump will soon be prosecuted
and jailed, his entire administration canceled from the official histories, with Queen
Hillary named "Presidentess in Exile" for 2016-2020 due to alleged Russian interference with
her rightful coronation. The Empire will trumpet from on high for all to hear that this
signals the glorious victory of US Democracy (angelic chorus sounds here) over the forces of
darkness, or some such agitprop; and the skies will clear, the birds will sing, and a rosy
glow will return to the cheeks of all the fair maidens and indeterminant gendered of our
great land. The masks, of course, will remain firmly in place, as the "new normal" slowly
becomes merely business as usual, and the sheeple graze contentedly in their prison stalls,
content in the knowledge that Big Brother is looking out for their health and welfare, at
least until the ritual sacrificial slaughter of the lambs should be deemed necessary. For the
good of all, of course. Should all make for some excellent reality TV.
Well the empire is going to collapse the citizens before it collapses, and even before the
empire collapse comes a global scare of epic proportions to shake and rattle the cage for
those whom are not prepared.
Trump isn't going anywhere. I was at the rally in DC and listened to his
entire speech on the ellipse. He stated that he would not concede. With
this assurance why would the demonstrators have any reason to aggressively
breach the Capitol building? The whole thing was a staged provocation by antifa.
There are videos of how this was staged all over the internet. Let us all
hope and pray that the Scarlet(Whore) color revolution against Trump is finally
eradiated and extirpated now that all the Deep Satanists have been exposed for
their participation in the coup and election fraud.
The question has been asked – what is the US military going to do? Will they just
stay put and watch the theft unfold?
Whilst many commentators were soiling themselves in phantasies of a pro trump military coup
to end the charade, drain the swamp and burn down DC, PCR had a very clear view (expressed
elsewhere): why would the military object to a new leadership if it promises more war, more
blood, more money? It won't, it will welcome it in fact.
Be it as it may, and despite all the stinkin' lies about the election I would think it is
too tall an order for a non-murrican to mourn the self-destruction of the most evil, ghastly,
ruthless hegemon the world has seen in the last 100 years.
I second the sentiment. It's not even that. The media are full of Muricans' moaning about
their fate. It's everywhere – and on top of that, the scumbags are accusing China and
Russia for their "tribulations".
We don't care and we don't want to hear about how hard the life is for Billy Bob who would
die for the very criminals that have condemned him to a life of meth, moonshine and
malingering – while telling him that he is solely responsible for his own miserable
existence.
There is a huge big world elsewhere that is currently booming – thousand flowers are
blooming despite the oppression by the parasitical cancerous sub-empire – and yet, we
obsess over whether Trump is a fraud or not.
I suppose it provides a great platform for ranting :-)
Trump run his election complain of 2016 as champion of common Americans. After he won the
office the betrayed them all and governed like Bush III with his own cabal of neocons and
neoliberals. \
He betrayed his followed again on Dec 6, when he first incited them for the action but did not provide organization, security
and the plan needed to press Congress to appoint the commission for investigation of election "irregularities" for then days
before Biden inauguration. He is now completely spent politically and his enemies and first of all, Ms Pelosi, are after him.
Moreover he gave a shot in the arm for the gang of Russiagaters who were pursuing him
since his inauguration.
The fact that Trump leaves the political scene is good. While useful as a wrecking ball for
the neoliberal empire and neoliberal establishment he proved to be completely inept as
a politician and lack courage necessary for the national leader. Which he proved again on Dec 6. Famous quote from
Friedrich Schiller's play Fiesco "The Moor has done his duty. The Moor can go." is probably applicable. What is interesting
is that Zionists betrayed Trump.
But the fact hat he will be replaced by neocon warmonger and staunch neoliberal Biden means
that there is no light at the and of tunnel for the common people.
Like Trump, Biden was never Presidential material. He a a mediocre politician, by all
accounts. And extremely corrupt in addition to that.
Notable quotes:
"... Donald Trump denounced the people whom he personally called to protest. His close political allies withdrew their support. ..."
"... The deck was stacked against President Trump from Day One. His orders were ignored. The US courts, judges, police, the whole system of law enforcement was against him; his orders were blocked or overturned, while the media made fun of him and the opposition relentlessly delegitimised him. ..."
"... On January 6, a massive demonstration in his support gathered in Washington, DC. Hundreds of thousands Americans came to the capital to demand justice after the election fraud became obvious. They hoped that the Republican representatives would refuse to certify the fraud and appoint a commission to check and recount the votes. ..."
"... The horror and outrage of the Dem politicians and media were as faked as their news. During last year, many government buildings were taken over by Dem-sponsored BLM activists, and in not one case did the police use lethal weapons or even rush the protesters out of buildings. ..."
"... For them, it was an honest and funny way to express their indignation. But the real gambit plotters intended to frame them. They even murdered four protesters hoping they would respond with violence, but in vain. ..."
"... White American protesters are exceptionally non-violent lot; as with Occupy Wall Street a few years back the January 6 Capitol protesters were timid and obedient as lambs. For this reason, BLM was invented, for Blacks are able to riot violently, as opposed to well-trained whites. It is not a race thing: lily-white French Yellow Vests and Ukrainian nationalists have fought the police all right. But US whites are not prone to riot, not since the Civil War. ..."
"... Anyway, their non-violence didn't help them. The president-elect Biden begrudged them even the name of protesters: "Don't dare call them protesters. They were a riotous mob, insurrectionists, domestic terrorists." Indeed, the name should be preserved for Deep State-authorised looters and their brethren all over the world, whether in Hong Kong or Minsk, in Seattle or Portland. ..."
"... researchers will argue whether duplicitous Biden's minions organised it or just capitalised on the Trumpers' sincere protest. ..."
"... There is no doubt that to an objective observer the 2020 elections were profoundly unfair. I won't trouble you with too many published details about the statistically impossible results, but here is one example of fraud. The city of Detroit gave 95 per cent of its vote to Biden/Kamala, a number that Mr Kim Jong-un would view with slight envy, while Mr Lukashenko would murmur, "How can it be done?" It is highly likely this mind-boggling result was achieved in the following way. ..."
"... The problem is, Trump was a poor organiser. He could win elections, if he could prevent Cynthia Stephens's kind of legislation, outlaw postal ballots, enforce obligatory IDs for voting, mobilise his people for election control. A formidable task, but not impossible, while dealing with a prone-to-cheat adversary. He could even do a revolution on January 6, tasking the right people to act, forming a revolutionary HQ, planning a strategy of takeover, but he didn't do anything of the sort. He probably thought Congress would see the vast crowds and allow for the checking of election results. ..."
"... Alternatively, he was so naïve that he believed revolutions just happen by themselves, as in the movies. They do not. Behind every successful revolution, there is a lot of planning, armed force, weapons ready for use, supply lines, logistics, media support, and communications. Trump had none of that. It was enough to turn off Twitter to make him deaf and dumb. ..."
"... There was no coup attempt, as correctly stated by Tyler Durden : "Trump has never had the concentration, organizational acumen, or ideological coherence to mount a bona fide "coup," and a mob intrusion which was swiftly dispersed by armed agents of the state doesn't change that. ..."
"... Many Trumpists believed in the QAnon and Kayfabe conspiracies; they posted reports of bad guys being arrested, of servers snatched by the FBI, of Clinton and Biden waiting for rough justice behind bars. This belief disarmed people who would otherwise have fought to achieve this very result. That is the problem with conspiracies: imaginary conspiracies prevent real action. ..."
"... He succeeded against enormous odds in improving the lot of American workers: for the first time since the 1970s, their incomes rose in relation to the other classes. He stopped mass migration to the US: legal immigration went down to a trickle. He avoided new wars; he tried to make peace with Russia. He refused to bomb Iran even in the last days of his presidency, though some pro-Israel supporters promised him a second term if he would. ..."
"... His fight against the corona madness was his great achievement. He was against the lockdowns that are about to destroy our world so completely that few things will survive. The last great US ruler who didn't wear the cowardly mask will be remembered. He could not defeat the mighty medical complex, or FAGMA, or the Masters of Discourse, but he tried. ..."
President Trump was decisively beaten, if not fair and square. The hopes of millions of
American voters were squashed and extinguished. The saga of the Orange Man is over. The victors
used a gambit: they sacrificed the sanctity and security of the Capitol, allowed intruders in,
permitted them to take selfies in the Speaker's office, and then faked horror and outrage. The
attempted calls for electoral transparency were deflated in real time as huge crowds were
dispersed, electors were confirmed, and the ascendancy of Biden was assured, while Trump
followers were branded 'domestic terrorists'.
Donald Trump denounced the people whom he personally called to protest. His close political
allies withdrew their support. Within hours, or even minutes, this ruler of the world admired
by millions became a non-person. Like a boy who posted an obscenity, he was banned by Twitter
and Facebook. Time will tell whether he will go to prison, as so many Dems pray for, but his
political life seems to have ended, even if his cause may live.
The deck was stacked against President Trump from Day One. His orders were ignored. The US
courts, judges, police, the whole system of law enforcement was against him; his orders were
blocked or overturned, while the media made fun of him and the opposition relentlessly
delegitimised him. He was blocked even by Fox News. Dem-run states adjusted their laws to
assure the elections' result. Trump was a lame duck from the very beginning of his presidency
to its bitter end. He was kept on a short leash by the almighty Deep State, and when he tried
to free himself, they pulled the leash.
On January 6, a massive demonstration in his support gathered in Washington, DC. Hundreds of
thousands Americans came to the capital to demand justice after the election fraud became
obvious. They hoped that the Republican representatives would refuse to certify the fraud and
appoint a commission to check and recount the votes. Some of the protesters managed to break
into the Capitol, or were let in by the police. This peaceful Occupy Capitol action, the
exercise of a natural right to protest, was met with lethal fire, and a young female protester
from San Diego, Ashli Babbitt, was murdered by the plainclothes police. The Republican
representatives were cowed and surrendered; Biden was confirmed to take office.
The horror and outrage of the Dem politicians and media were as faked as their news. During
last year, many government buildings were taken over by Dem-sponsored BLM activists, and in not
one case did the police use lethal weapons or even rush the protesters out of buildings.
"Shortly after 8 p.m. Wednesday, hundreds of protesters gathered outside the locked King
Street entrance to the Capitol, chanting "Break down the door!" and "General strike!" Moments
later, police ceded control of the State Street doors and allowed the crowd to surge inside,
joining thousands who had already gathered in the Capitol to protest the votes. The area
outside the Assembly, which is scheduled to take the bill up at 11 a.m. today, was crowded
with protesters who chanted, "We're not leaving. Not this time."
Department of Administration spokesman Tim Donovan said although protesters were being
encouraged to leave, no one would be forcibly removed. Mayor Dave Cieslewicz said he had
instructed Police Chief Noble Wray not to allow his officers to participate in removing
demonstrators from the building."
This was what happened in Madison, Wisconsin in March 2011, as
Steve Sailer reminded us. Indeed, this is what the protesters expected; some were dressed
in flamboyant carnival attire; they behaved well and peacefully, within acceptable limits. It
was not an insurrection; they didn't try to take over the Congress in any meaningful sense.
For them, it was an honest and funny way to express their indignation. But the real gambit
plotters intended to frame them. They even murdered four protesters hoping they would respond
with violence, but in vain.
White American protesters are exceptionally non-violent lot; as with Occupy Wall Street
a few years back the January 6 Capitol protesters were timid and obedient as lambs. For this
reason, BLM was invented, for Blacks are able to riot violently, as opposed to well-trained
whites. It is not a race thing: lily-white French Yellow Vests and Ukrainian nationalists have
fought the police all right. But US whites are not prone to riot, not since the Civil War.
Being a foreigner, I do not understand why the Americans want to keep their guns if they never
use them, but that's the way they are.
Anyway, their non-violence didn't help them. The president-elect
Biden begrudged them even the name of protesters: "Don't dare call them protesters. They
were a riotous mob, insurrectionists, domestic terrorists." Indeed, the name should be
preserved for Deep State-authorised looters and their brethren all over the world, whether in
Hong Kong or Minsk, in Seattle or Portland.
Russian social networks were comparing the Washington DC events with those nearer to home
and complained of 'double standards'. The US media expressed no indignation when their
appointee Boris Yeltsin shelled the Russian Parliament in 1993. The New York Times and
the State Department had encouraged the nationalist mob to storm Ukrainian government offices
in 2014. They cheered on the opposition in Minsk in taking over their parliament after failing
to win elections. The Belarus protesters claimed their country's election results were rigged,
just like Trump supporters did for the US elections, but Biden didn't call them "domestic
terrorists". (Actually, neither did President Lukashenko: he called them 'protesters', and
their violent demos were dispersed without a single shot fired.) In such cases, Jews respond
with "How can you compare?!"
The Russians compared the Capitol 'coup attempt' with their own semi-staged 'coup' of 1991,
a partly pre-planned provocation. In 1991, the feeble coup organisers could not detain Yeltsin
and surrendered as if on cue; the wave of indignation removed Gorbachev and the Communist party
from power. In the Capitol, too, police waved the 'invaders' in, as you can see on this video
forwarded by the BBC. More videos suggesting Capitol police involvement in the ostensible
provocation are presented
here . The orchestrated indignation allowed the victors to censor and purge the defeated
Trump and his followers. Just as the USSR went down in August 1991, Trump's America went down
in January 2021, and the liberal elites representing the big corporations came to power. It was
achieved by a provocation, but ordinary Trump followers were really angry with the Election
Steal. Likewise, 1991 was a provocation, but ordinary Russian citizens were angry at
Gorbachev's perestroika, while the liberal elites used it to dismantle the Soviet state and
transfer all assets to their oligarchs.
People with a good knowledge of history refer to the Reichstag Fire of February 1933, the
arson contrived by the newly formed Nazi government itself to turn public opinion against its
opponents and to assume emergency powers. Alternatively, other researchers have contended that
there was no proof of Nazi complicity in the crime, but that Hitler merely capitalised on the
Dutch Communist van der Lubbe's independent act. The fire is the subject of continued debate
and research, says
the Encycopaedia Britannica . Probably the same will be said about the Capitol "invasion",
and researchers will argue whether duplicitous Biden's minions organised it or just
capitalised on the Trumpers' sincere protest.
There is no doubt that to an objective observer the 2020 elections were profoundly
unfair. I won't trouble you with too many published details about the statistically impossible
results, but here is one example of fraud. The city of Detroit gave 95 per cent of its vote to
Biden/Kamala, a number that Mr Kim Jong-un would view with slight envy, while Mr Lukashenko
would murmur, "How can it be done?" It is highly likely this mind-boggling result was achieved
in the following way.
Detroit Dems outsourced ballot
harvesting to local drug lords, offering them as a prize – recreational marijuana
business licenses. These licences are the best thing sincea licence to print
money . Having such licenses is like having your own ATM. Here
you can read about their profitability and the lengths criminals will go to obtain them.
Detroit Dems had
changed local laws allowing the sale of marijuana in their fine city (it was forbidden
until November 2020). They changed local laws prescribing the
issuing of marijuana licences to drug dealers with previous convictions for drug dealing.
They let drug lords out of
jail . They changed local laws to allow ballot harvesting; that is, collecting postal votes
and assisting with the filling in of ballots. After that, the drug dealers went around
collecting postal ballots and filling them in immediately, if they were conscientious, or just
filling them in at their leisure, if feeling lazy. They had a judge at their disposal,
Cynthia Stephens , who
single-handedly
changed Michigan election laws, and then
rejected Trump's claims of fraud.
Yes, Virginia, there was election fraud in many American states. They are used to
gambling; they aren't surprised by a beautiful hand of four aces, as Mark Twain suggested.
Usually the two parties deal in turns, and cheat in turns. Only this time, Trump convinced many
people that it is different; that this is their last chance.
The problem is, Trump was a poor organiser. He could win elections, if he could prevent
Cynthia Stephens's kind of legislation, outlaw postal ballots, enforce obligatory IDs for
voting, mobilise his people for election control. A formidable task, but not impossible, while
dealing with a prone-to-cheat adversary. He could even do a revolution on January 6, tasking
the right people to act, forming a revolutionary HQ, planning a strategy of takeover, but he
didn't do anything of the sort. He probably thought Congress would see the vast crowds and
allow for the checking of election results.
Alternatively, he was so naïve that he believed revolutions just happen by
themselves, as in the movies. They do not. Behind every successful revolution, there is a lot
of planning, armed force, weapons ready for use, supply lines, logistics, media support, and
communications. Trump had none of that. It was enough to turn off Twitter to make him deaf and
dumb.
There was no coup attempt, as correctly stated by Tyler
Durden : "Trump has never had the concentration, organizational acumen, or ideological
coherence to mount a bona fide "coup," and a mob intrusion which was swiftly dispersed
by armed agents of the state doesn't change that. Shortly after the breach, he released a
video instructing his followers not to take Senators hostage or imprison Mike Pence, but to "go
home." No factions of the federal government joined the mob on Trump's orders, because he
didn't bother issuing any. The whole episode never stood the remotest chance of preventing the
certification of Joe Biden, much less overthrowing the government. It was just another goofball
charade, and in that sense, a fitting end to the Trump presidency."
Conspiracy theories played their disappointing part in the debacle. Many Trumpists
believed in the QAnon and Kayfabe conspiracies; they posted reports of bad guys being arrested,
of servers snatched by the FBI, of Clinton and Biden waiting for rough justice behind bars.
This belief disarmed people who would otherwise have fought to achieve this very result. That
is the problem with conspiracies: imaginary conspiracies prevent real action.
Still, I do not want to finish this piece on such a sad and disappointing note. President
Trump was a great leader. He succeeded against enormous odds in improving the lot of
American workers: for the first time since the 1970s, their incomes rose in relation to the
other classes. He stopped mass migration to the US: legal immigration went down to a trickle.
He avoided new wars; he tried to make peace with Russia. He refused to bomb Iran even in the
last days of his presidency, though some pro-Israel supporters promised
him a second term if he would.
His fight against the corona madness was his great achievement. He was against the
lockdowns that are about to destroy our world so completely that few things will survive. The
last great US ruler who didn't wear the cowardly mask will be remembered. He could not defeat
the mighty medical complex, or FAGMA, or the Masters of Discourse, but he tried.
The day of his defeat, January 6, was the Epiphany, or Adoration of the Magi, of the Three
Wise Men who came to worship Jesus in his cave. It was also Christmas Eve for the Eastern
Church. It is the darkest time of the year; from now on, the day will increase and so will our
hopes.
"... Monitors, equipped with distinguishing "uniforms", bullhorns and an array of communications devices, along with a set of security personnel, should have been front and center at the capitol to make sure that agents provocateurs, contract hired by the intel agencies of the Deep $tate, would not be able to fool a number of genuine Trump supporters into entering the building at the behest of these highly organized and ultimately protected Cointelpro types. ..."
Was Trump for real, or was he an actor following a predetermined script? There were many
occasions where he could have used the presidential powers to disarm the corporate state,
the deep state and even the ruling banksters. Yet he did not act. Perhaps the most telling
of all his "failures" was the fact that he called a rally in the Di$trict of Corruption
without setting up an organization (or even having one) that would have been specifically
instructed to make certain there would be no "riotous" disruptions in the process.
Monitors, equipped with distinguishing "uniforms", bullhorns and an array of
communications devices, along with a set of security personnel, should have been front and
center at the capitol to make sure that agents provocateurs, contract hired by the intel
agencies of the Deep $tate, would not be able to fool a number of genuine Trump supporters
into entering the building at the behest of these highly organized and ultimately protected
Cointelpro types.
It was a setup, folks. That should be obvious to any informed observer. Did Trump play a
role, whether passive or active, in creating the media spectacle which is now being used to
once again convince the terminally deluded boobtoob noose addicts that the Kamala's Foote
and Biden nominees were the "good guys" who actually won the election fair and square and
that the bedizened patriots who showed up in DC in huge numbers were actually the foes of
"democracy"?
@Majority of
One ut the Insurrection Act and how he should have used this or that presidential power,
but unfortunately he didn't know enough about what he COULD do. I'm sure he had lousy
counsel. He was surrounded by people like Mitch McConnell and Newt Gingrich who would have
strung Trump along, saying, "No, you can't do that, we are a democracy," etc. Blah, blah,
blah.
Hard to govern when you're surrounded with knives. The White House should be called "The
House of Knives".
But Trump did do something very important. He awakened the country to what's really going
on. I don't see that as failure. The elite don't either; that's why they're fighting him so
hard.
What people do not understand, is that he was screwed before he got the nomination.
Republican Inc. would have fixed the convention to deprive him of the nomination, had he not
agreed to take Pence and Priebus.
rump the New Yorker was a stranger in a strange land, having nothing of the sensibility of
the insular, self-serving swamp-dwellers in Washington and no grasp whatsoever of the power of
the Deep State, whose ire he quickly aroused. Trump was a terrible statesman, too
seat-of-the-pants, but what was to him dealmaking was at bottom diplomacy, an activity
Washington has little time for.
Why did Trump surround himself with people who opposed him and not infrequently sabotaged
those few foreign policy ideas one can approve of -- constructive ties with Russia, an end to
wasteful wars, peace in Northeast Asia, sending "obsolete" NATO into the history books? What
were H.R. McMaster, John Bolton, Mike Pompeo, and numerous others like them but of lesser
visibility doing in his administration?
I am asked this not infrequently. My reply is simple: It is not at all clear Trump appointed
these people and at least as likely they were imposed upon him by the Deep State, the permanent
state, the administrative state -- whatever term makes one comfortable. Let us not forget,
Trump knew nobody in Washington and had a lot of swivel chairs to fill.
We must add to this Trump's personal shortcomings. He is by all appearances shallow of mind,
poorly read (to put it generously), of weak moral and ethical character, and overly concerned
with appearances.
Put these various factors together and you get none other than the Trump administration's
nearly illegible record on the foreign policy side.
Trump is to be credited with sticking to his guns on the big stuff: He held out for a
new-détente with Russia, getting the troops out of the Middle East and Afghanistan,
making a banner-headline deal with the North Koreans. He was scuttled in all cases.
Complicating the tableau, the prideful Trump time and again covered his impotence by
publicly approving of what those around him did to subvert his purposes. A year ago, the record
shows, Pompeo and Mark Esper (then the defense secretary) concocted plans to assassinate Qasem
Soleimani, the Iranian military leader, flew to Mar–a–Lago, and presented
Trump with a fait accompli -- whereupon Trump acquiesced as the administration and the
press pretended it was White House policy all along.
Now We Come to Iran
Hassan Rouhani, President of the Islamic Republic of Iran, addresses the 74th session of the
United Nations General Assembly's General Debate, Sept. 25, 2019. (UN Photo/Cia Pak)
Pulling out of the Iran nuclear accord a year into his administration was among the most
destructive moves Trump made during his four years in office. It was afterward that the
shamefully inhumane "maximum pressure" campaign against Iranians was set in motion.
Trump's intention, however miscalculated, was the dealmaker's: He expected to force Tehran
back to the mahogany table to get a new nuclear deal. As secretary of state, Pompeo's was to
cultivate a coup or provoke a war. It was cross-purposes from then on, notably since Pompeo
sabotaged the proposed encounter between Trump and Rouhani on the sidelines of the UN GA.
Now we have some context for the recent spate of Iranophobic posturing and the new military
deployments in the Persian Gulf. We have just been treated to four years of a recklessly
chaotic foreign policy, outcome of a war the Deep State waged against a pitifully weak
president who threatened it: This is the truth of what we witness as Trump and his people fold
their tents.
Trump the dealmaker a year ago now contemplates an attack on Natanz on the pretext Iran is
not holding to the terms of an accord he abandoned two years ago? The only way to make sense of
this is to conclude that there is no sense to be made of it.
Who ordered the B–52 sorties and the Nimitz patrols? This question promises a
revealing answer. It is very highly doubtful Trump had anything to do with this, very highly
likely Pompeo and his allies in hawkery got it done and told the president about it
afterward.
Trump is out in a few weeks. The self-perpetuating bureaucracy that made a mess of his
administration -- or a bigger mess than it may have been anyway -- will remain. It will now
serve a president who is consonant with its purposes. And the eyes of most people who support
him will remain wide shut.
Patrick Lawrence, a correspondent abroad for many years, chiefly for the International
Herald Tribune , is a columnist, essayist, author and lecturer. His most recent book is
Time No Longer: Americans After the American Century . Follow him on Twitter
@thefloutist . His web site is
Patrick Lawrence . Support his
work via his Patreon site
.
The views expressed are solely those of the author and may or may not reflect those of
Consortium News.
Ed Rickert , December 31, 2020 at 10:06
A first rate analysis of the inconsistent and inchoate policies of Trump as well as an
acute assessment of his psychology, notably his weakness when challenged. Equal cogent is
Lawrence's trepidation and concern over the policies and potential actions of the
administration that is to replacement Trump. Thank you for your thoughtful work.
Pierre Guerlain , December 31, 2020 at 06:51
I would just like to have a linkto the sources for Pompeo hoodwinking Trump for the
assassination of Soleimani.
Linda , December 30, 2020 at 18:42
Thank you, Patrick, for this very clear article summarizing Trump's clumsy attempts at
making peace with other countries (a campaign offering to voters) and the Deep State's
thwarting of those attempts. My friends and I intuitively knew the people taking roles around
the Trump presidency were put there by the "system". Trump had been made into a pariah by the
Press, his own Republican Party, and shrieks for 'Resistance' by Hillary Democrats in the
millions across the country even before he was inaugurated. There was no 'respectable' person
in Washington DC who would dare help Trump make his way in that new, strange land. Remember
one of the Resistanace calls to the front? . "Become ungovernable!!!!" Tantrums, not
negotiations, have become the norm
So long, any semblance of Washington DC respectability. It was nice to think you were
there at one time.
Dear readers and supporters of Consortium News around the Earth,
Please pass the following important message along to the genuine war criminals United
States President Donald Trump and United Kingdom Prime Minister Boris Johnson:
"Do the right & moral thing for once in your hideous, miserable & pathetic lives,
– and free genuine peacemaker Julian Assange."
***
Please consider making the (1st ever in history) establishment of genuine Peace on Earth
the absolute overwhelming #1 New Year's Resolution worldwide for 2021. The quality of life
for future generations depends on the good actions of this generation.. Thank you.
I thank these commentators, a couple of whom read these pieces regularly, and all others
who've taken the time this year gone by to put down their thoughts. I read them always and
almost always learn things from them. Blessings to all and wishes for a superb new year! --
Patrick.
Lee C Ng , December 30, 2020 at 14:02
I agree 100% with the writer. Example; if Bolton, probably pushed into the administration
by the Deep State, didn't sabotage Trump's talks with the N. Koreans in Vietnam, we might've
had a peaceful settlement on the Korean peninsular by now. And it's no surprise that Trump on
several occasions prevented the success of US-China trade talks – it was more than
likely he was forced to do so. Trump wasn't a politician, much less a statesman. But he
wasn't an orgre either, despite the hostility of the corporate press towards him (and I'm no
fan of Trump).
Biden will represent better the real forces behind all US administrations – the
forces responsible for the over 200 wars/military interventions in its 242 years of
Independence.
Jeff Harrison , December 30, 2020 at 00:19
Thank you, Patrick, you have made some sense out of a nonsensical situation. "We have just
been treated to four years of a recklessly chaotic foreign policy, outcome of a war the Deep
State waged against a pitifully weak president who threatened it: This is the truth of what
we witness as Trump and his people fold their tents." What is it that the Brits call their
Deep State? It's something like the civil service but it's actually called something
else.
You called Donnie Murdo a deal maker. Donnie Murdo is a New York hustler. His
"negotiation" style only works when his interlocutor must make a deal with him. If his
interlocutor can walk away, he will and Donnie Murdo will go bankrupt. The real problem is
that the US doesn't need a deal maker – we have people for that. The Prezzy & CEO
is frequently called that, the chief executive officer. But that's an administrative title.
He is also frequently called the commander in chief but that really only applies if we are at
war which we should be at as little as possible. What the prezzy really is supposed to be is
a leader. If Donnie Murdo were, in fact, a leader, John Bolton would have been taking a
commercial flight back to the US after his little stunt in Vietnam. But he didn't. So the
question isn't what could Donnie Murdo do in the next three weeks, it's what can Donnie
Murdo's henchmen do in the next three weeks?
Casper , December 29, 2020 at 18:19
One of the other personal things about Donald Trump, was that he had no skill nor
experience in leading and manipulating a bureaucracy. He had basically directed a family
business and his personal publicity machine. To the extent that Trump hotels had thousands of
employees, Trump hired managers to do that. It would appear that the Trump family business
largely concentrated on making of new deals for new hotels.
Thus, Donald Trump arrived in Washington completely unprepared to be the leader of a
bureaucracy and completely unskilled at being able to get it to do what he wanted it do
do.
I'm not a Joe Biden fan, but he's been in Washington since the 1970's. He's seen the
bureaucracy from the Senate point of view for 40 years, then got at least a view of what it
was like to try to direct it from watching as Veep. I still suspect the real power lies with
the military command, and has since the 1950's, but this administration is going to come in
with at least some skills in terms of trying to get a government to do what it wants.
PEG , December 29, 2020 at 17:46
Perfect article – and epitaph on Trump's foreign policy record.
Anne , December 29, 2020 at 14:00
Indeed, Patrick, they (the eyes of most of the electorate) will remain shut, eyelids
deftly closed Only other peoples commit barbaric, heinous war crimes, invade other cultures
completely without cause, bomb other peoples to death, devastation, loss of livelihood, home
water supply We, the perfecto (along with one other group now ensconced – illegally,
but apparently western acceptably – in the ME) people do what we do because, well, we
are perfecto and thus when we commit these barbarisms, they aren't such. And are, it would
seem, totally ignorable. Wake me in the morning style .
Truly, the vast majority of those – whatever their skin hue, ethnic background
– who voted for the B-H duo are comfortably off, consider themselves oh so bloody
"liberal" (do they really know what that means, in fact? Or don't they care?), so to the left
of Attila the Hun (which obviously doesn't mean much, Left wise) .and what the MICMATT does
to other people in other societies matters not flying F .After all, aren't they usually of
"swarthy" skin hue and likely not western and of that offshoot religion of the one gawd, the
third go around?
The west (US, UK, FR, GY etc ) really and truly need to develop a Conscience, a real
morality, humanity but I fear that that is all too late
"... 1. When campaigning in 2016, he promised his non-Goldman Sachs supporters (i.e., the "deplorables") that infrastructure and a wall to be paid by Mexico would be among the major priorities during his first two years; instead he came out of the chute with a tax-cut for the wealthy and a phony "repeal and replace" assault on the Affordable Care Act which led to the R loss of the House when it became clear to voters in November 2018 that the Rs and the President had nothing to offer as a replacement ..."
"... He failed to purge the bureaucracy of Obama administration holdovers on January 21, 2017, unlike Dick Cheney who threw all the Clintonians out of government on January 21, 2001, thus, leaving people in place like Sally Yates and the Vindman brothers who never missed an opportunity to knife President Trump in the back. ..."
"... He failed at the outset to investigate the case against General Flynn (engineered by Strzok, Comey and David Ignatius) who was his only close advisor with previous governmental experience and left the General twisting in the wind. ..."
The optics of a defeated outgoing President appointing a Special Counsel to investigate
the electoral victory of his victorious successor at the ballot box and in the Electoral
College, over the objections of his attorney General, do not look particularly palatable and
doubly so if the President had to fire the Attorney General to make the appointment. The
ensuing firestorm would make Nixon's firing of Archibald Cox look like a brush fire.
If the outgoing President were to make such an appointment, one can be assured that Joe
Biden's first executive on January 21,2021 would be the firing of the putative Special
Counsel, and he would be generally applauded for doing so.
Even if Biden didn't move quickly, there is the question of who should be appointed (and
Trump is not particularly good at hiring good lawyers), funding (is Pelosi going to be
particularly keen on appropriating the funds?) and staffing up with supporting (and
supportive) attorneys, paralegals and FBI agents (you can be sure that Chris Wray will not be
too enthusiastic about helping out).
That said, there is one Special Counsel that needs to be appointed and that is a Special
Counsel to investigate the Hunter Biden affair[s} which reached all the way to the "Big Guy",
according to Tony Bobulinski. Joe Biden appears to have been the electoral beneficiary of a
massive cover-up of "Biden-gate" with the black-out of the New York Daily News story by Big
tech, the almost-total suppression of the Hunter laptop and the Tony Bobulinski revelations
by the MSM and the coordinated fabrications of the former IC biggies, like Clapper, Brennan
and Morrell, who very publicly dismissed the New York Post Story and Bobulinski revelations
as the product of Russian disinformation and artful lies embedded in a KGB-engineered fake
lap-top.
The 2020 election, with its cover-up and potential denouement, is beginning to look more
and more like the 1972 election where the cover-up led to the resignation of a President who
just 20 months prior had been elected in one of the biggest landslides in American history.
This is the investigation we need NOW to save our Republic.
IMO the presidential election was stolen and Biden is a crook, has always been a nasty.
That being said if you want a special prosecutor for l'affaire Hunter, have at it.
Hunter the bag man for crooked Joe? What did Obama know and when did he know it? The same
should be asked about his and Brennan and Clapper's involvement in The Steal.
Given that Hunter's troubles were non-news but a month ago and now are big-news the vision
in my head is Hillary sneaking up on China Joe's back with a rather large dagger. Good luck
Joe!
Gosh, what about the optics of the outgoing Obama administration plotting to take down
Flynn and Trump.
Bad manners for sure, because a lot of this anti-Trump plotting sure looked like the work
of the sore losers still occupying the WH until the 11th hour when the infamous Susan Rice
CYA memo was typed and filed. And the last Samatha Power FISA unmasking request was unmasked
for purposes still unknown.
Ah, yes, the bad optics of it all. Bummer. Bad optics is seeing the thoroughly discredited
and rejected Obama team warming up in the dug out.
Bad optics is Trump leaving office and NOT appointing a special counsel to investigate
both election fraud and Hunter Biden incestuous influence peddling. Two transgressions we
never want to see in this country again.
The optics of a defeated outgoing President appointing a Special Counsel ...
Who cares about optics. I mean, what're the Dems going to do at this point? Impeach Trump
again? Meanwhile, our constitution is dying. THAT'S the only issue that matters at this
point.
That said, there is one Special Counsel that needs to be appointed and that is a
Special Counsel to investigate the Hunter Biden affair[s} which reached all the way to
the "Big Guy", according to Tony Bobulinski.
Hunter Biden is beside the point. His daddy ain't gonna be president for too long
anyway. The only issue that matters now is the fraud and nothing else. Don't let the
Mockingbird media--the same that adamantly refused to cover anything about Hunter
BEFORE the election--distract you with a bunch of irrelevant BS now.
@akaPatience: If they weren't Trump's picks, then what was Trump doing there? If he can't
pick his own cabinet, he was just wasting his and everyone else's time. Yes, they have to be
approved by the senate. What happens if the president and the senate can't agree?
As for the remarks about optics, I think it's all a bit late to worry about optics. The
dems just stole the election right in front of everyone's faces. They aren't worrying about
optics. They essentially just stole it and then turned round and said, "What are you going to
do about it?"
Col., OT, perhaps impertinent, but inspired by the Wisdom of SWMBO--
I'm just a few years younger than you. I carry a few excess pounds but retain the immune
system of my Italian peasant ancestors. Not a chance in the world that I will allow myself to
be injected with an "emergency authorized" vaccine.
If I may ask: Will you?
nb. Not entirely off-topic, since the rigged election relied on Covid hysteria propagated
by media and the same usual suspects as should be the subject of Special Counsel.
In other words, the Covid pandemic should be investigated. More urgently: distribution of
vaccine should be HALTED before anyone is (potentially} harmed.
I had a talk with my immigrant Chinese doctor about this. That was two days ago. He was
still working out how this would be funded but he said to me that we (his family and mine)
would wait just a bit to see how bad the reactions are.
My memory of the very early days of Trump WH staffing was having to run interference past
the Democrats standard and vicous politics o personal destruction out to destroy anyone who
even thought about particpating in the Trump administration, the renegade GOP establishment
undermining him at every turn denying him any establishment help or advice, and the normal
learning curve of someone 100% outside of the political establishment who was bound to
stumble and falter before hitting his stride.
Democrats declared it was treason for anyone to aid and abet the "enemy" even though Trump
did try to reach out - remember his very early High Tech guru meeting? The liberal media
never let up, the deep state leaked and sabotaged as a fifth column from within.
The most remarkable thing about Trump is what in fact he did accomplish anyway, despite
the constant opposition, churning and revolving door of staff appointments.
#45 presidency remains a story of amazing accomplishments. Thank you President Trump. I
did not think you had this in you. But you did. Sitting in Dr Norman Vincent Peale's Marble
Collegiate Church in NYC, taking early lessons from his Power of Positive Thinking and
practicing The Method held you in good course.
(See PBS Peter Graves Biography on the early Donald Trump -from the Marla Maple days -
what you saw then is what you also got in 2026 - youtube)
The man is transparent and consistent. No one can complain they were duped or he is a
false charade. He is what he says and he delivered. How refreshing.
Please excuse my "politeness" in using the phrase "bad optics" to describe a proposed
potential action by a defeated outgoing President to appoint a "Special Prosecutor" to
investigate the election of his victorious successor when such an action, to be blunt, would
be politically stupid, subversive of our Constitutional order and futile, as such action
would be immediately reversed in the first minutes of the incoming administration. If we are
talking about "savor[ing]", it would only give the Ds an opportunity to "savor" another
victory.
The President has only himself to blame for the legal setbacks suffered by his ineffective
lawyers who have never been able to produce sufficient evidence to convince even his judicial
appointees that substantial electoral fraud took place during the 2020 balloting.
Constitutional challenges to gubernatorial changes to balloting procedures for usurping
legislative authority should have been mounted immediately after they were announced, not at
the 13th hour after the ballots had been counted. In 2000, Jim Baker organized a team that
included four lawyers who now sit on the Supreme Court. The failing, flailing Rudy Giuliani
and Sidney Powell (as much as I admire her advocacy for General Flynn), by contrast, have not
cut any mustard with their post-hoc and sometimes bizarre arguments. IMHO, the President
should cease and desist now from taking actions which detract from the R effort to save the
Senate seats in Georgia which, if lost, will immediately begin the de-Republicanization (used
Constitutionally) of our American system of government.
IMHO, the President has only himself to blame for losing the 2020 election due to a
succession of self-inflicted miscues which began on Day 1 of his administration. Let me count
the ways:
1. When campaigning in 2016, he promised his non-Goldman Sachs supporters (i.e., the
"deplorables") that infrastructure and a wall to be paid by Mexico would be among the major
priorities during his first two years; instead he came out of the chute with a tax-cut for
the wealthy and a phony "repeal and replace" assault on the Affordable Care Act which led to
the R loss of the House when it became clear to voters in November 2018 that the Rs and the
President had nothing to offer as a replacement . Thus, he repeated the same mistake
that Clinton and Obama made in 1993 and 2009 and suffered the same fate that they suffered in
1994 and 2008 when they lost the House. In this case, President Trump's mistake was near
fatal as he gave his bitter enemy, Nancy Pelosi, the whip hand in which to drive the Country
to impeachment. We are still waiting for a "replacement" and a completed "Wall".
2. He failed to purge the bureaucracy of Obama administration holdovers on January 21,
2017, unlike Dick Cheney who threw all the Clintonians out of government on January 21, 2001,
thus, leaving people in place like Sally Yates and the Vindman brothers who never missed an
opportunity to knife President Trump in the back.
3. He failed at the outset to investigate the case against General Flynn (engineered
by Strzok, Comey and David Ignatius) who was his only close advisor with previous
governmental experience and left the General twisting in the wind.
4. He bungled the firing of Jim Comey after getting Rod Rosenthal to sign onto a memo
citing Comey's botched and procedurally defective Clinton email investigation as the reason,
then publicly boasted of having done so with the Russian Foreign Minister and Ambassador and,
for a self-inflicted coup de grace, told Lester Holt that he fired Comey because of Russia
fatally undermining the laboriously constructed Justice Department rationale. The Comey
firing and the President's ineptitude led directly to the appointment of a Special
Prosecutor.
5. Moving ahead three years, after narrowly escaping the Mueller noose, the President
immediately bungled the effort to get the Hunter Biden/Joe Biden corruption story out to the
public, thus putting the noose back around his neck, by seeking in a conversation with the
Ukrainian President, with his many enemies listening in, to get the Ukrainians to appoint a
special prosecutor to investigate the Biden-Burisma connection. Surely, there was a competent
way to get the story out without igniting an impeachment controversy. He could have taken a
seminar with Dick Cheney to figure out how this is done, all the while keeping his
fingerprints off the weapon.
6. Another egregious self-inflicted and, perhaps, fatal wound: He gives Bob Woodward (a
mortal enemy) the right to conduct a taped-interview during which he admits to Woodward,
among other things, that he had been briefed at the outset about the lethality of COVID19,
which gave the lie to his previous pronouncements that the virus was little more than another
version of the flu. The election of 2020 was in many respects a referendum on President
Trump's handling of the Corona Virus. Had he leveled with the American people, under-promised
and over-delivered, instead of over-promising and under-delivering by election day, he would
most likely be taking the oath of office for a second term. BTW, Pfizer had all the
information that it needed to announce prior to the last weekend in October that its vaccine
was 90+ % effective, but, instead, Pfizer stopped trials the Friday before the election and
did not make its announcement until after the election. It's amazing that the President's
people did not have their fingers on the pulse of what was happening at Pfizer. One more
fatal error.
7. On Attorney General Barr, the AG saved Trump's bacon and what was left of our Republic
when he put a harness on Bob Mueller, took control of the Mueller Report, ordered up the
Horwitz investigation (disagreeing with Horwitz's conclusion that there was no impropriety at
the outset), put his own gloss on the Mueller Report before its dissemination, appointed a
Special Counsel to investigate the origins of the Russia Investigation. If he can't find the
demonstrable, provable evidence of ballot fraud sufficient to overturn the election and is
hesitant to undertake a Constitutionally dubious and futile action, I am satisfied with the
AG's conclusions.
I do not think the COVID economic disaster can be blamed on him. What you face now is
infinitely worse than the political blunders that can be blamed on him.
"... Here context matters. The US, or those who control the US, are trying to maintain American hegemony, or near hegemony, over the world. America has 600-800 military bases around the globe depending on what you regard as a military base. While many tens of thousands of America sleep on the sidewalks, while infrastructure crumbles, while standards of living fall and medical care is pricey but poor, the Pentagon always gets its budget. At the level of the White House, the Five-Sided Wind Tunnel, the arms industry, the important thing is to maintain the flow of money. And dominate the world. ..."
"... Trump is the embodiment of this looking-for-a-fight attitude. Not good. He has surrounded himself with over-age Cold Warriors, with generals, with the pathologically aggressive hangers-on from think-tank Washington: John Bolton, Mike Pompeo, Nikki Haley, Steve Bannon, and minor squibs of like outlook. He has pulled the US out of the arms-control treaties, START, INF, Open Skies. He has pushed NATO against Russian borders. In the Legion halls of Idaho, this may seem virile, the sort of thing that John Wayne would do. Back the commies down. Show them who is boss. No. It is just pointless and dangerous. ..."
"... Worse, there is a new kid on the block. China is growing. It behaves no worse than other countries, does not inflict on the world nearly the destruction and horror that the United States does, but it is growing. For Washington, this makes it not a competitor but an enemy. This is very much Trump's policy. Don't negotiate. Threaten. "Do as I say, or I will break you." ..."
"... Those favoring the continuance of Empire might note that, even at this, Trump has been a disaster. The First Rule of Empire is Don't let your enemies unite. Trump, having made Russia and China into enemies (why?) has forced ..."
"... Then there is Iran, a geopolitical linchpin, having eighty million people, a large and competent military, and lots and lots of oil. Under the JCPOA, the nuke deal, the Iranians were posed happily to integrate themselves into the Western economy -- buy hundreds of airliners from Boeing and Airbus, telecommunications gear, sell oil, have western companies develop its huge hydrocarbon reserves. ..."
"... Then Trump pulled out of the treaty and, led by the egregious Pompeo, tries to starve the Iranians into installing a puppet government. Iran, seeing that the West is not friendly, turns to the East, allies itself tightly with Russia and China. Tehran and Beijing are about to sign a twenty-five year, multimanymuchoslotsa billion dollar development deal. ..."
"... Then Trump had Soleimani, an Iranian hero, murdered. This doubtless played well with his partisans in Joe's Bar in Chicago, being manly and decisive and making America great again. It was also idiotic, making Iranians even less likely to cave to American pressure. ..."
"... With Trump the country elected an attitude, not a President. Truculence, bravado, and an in-your-face aggressiveness are no substitute for competence. ..."
Everybody and his goat has weighed in on the election, so I will too. This will make no
difference to Trump's core followers, for whom he is a cult figure, or to those who detest him.
The undecided may be interested.
Note how insubstantial Trump has been, pretending to be what he isn't and claiming to have
done what he hasn't. Does no one notice? He has heavy support from Evangelicals. Ask him to
name the books of the Pentateuch, or the second book, or what church he regularly attended, or
ever attended, in New York. He was going to end the wars, but what war has he ended? To reduce
the trade deficit, but it has grown . To get rid of
all illegal aliens withing two years, but have they gone? To bring back factories from China
and Mexico, but how many have returned? He is called a law-and-order President. Yet he hid,
besieged, in the White House during the greatest eruption of lawlessness the country has ever
seen, with a statue being pulled down across the street from his house. His handling of the
virus? America remains hardest hit in the world, and it worsens by the day.
Trump, like all Presidents, has fulfilled the two critical jobs expected of him, protecting
Wall Street and the military budget. What else has he done?
Almost nothing. All in good fun. But in the crucial field of international relations, he has
been a disaster. I suspect that few of his followers in Flint and Gary study things beyond the
borders. They should.
Here context matters. The US, or those who control the US, are trying to maintain
American hegemony, or near hegemony, over the world. America has 600-800 military bases around
the globe depending on what you regard as a military base. While many tens of thousands of
America sleep on the sidewalks, while infrastructure crumbles, while standards of living fall
and medical care is pricey but poor, the Pentagon always gets its budget. At the level of the
White House, the Five-Sided Wind Tunnel, the arms industry, the important thing is to maintain
the flow of money. And dominate the world.
Trump is the embodiment of this looking-for-a-fight attitude. Not good. He has
surrounded himself with over-age Cold Warriors, with generals, with the pathologically
aggressive hangers-on from think-tank Washington: John Bolton, Mike Pompeo, Nikki Haley, Steve
Bannon, and minor squibs of like outlook. He has pulled the US out of the arms-control
treaties, START, INF, Open Skies. He has pushed NATO against Russian borders. In the Legion
halls of Idaho, this may seem virile, the sort of thing that John Wayne would do. Back the
commies down. Show them who is boss. No. It is just pointless and dangerous.
Worse, there is a new kid on the block. China is growing. It behaves no worse than other
countries, does not inflict on the world nearly the destruction and horror that the United
States does, but it is growing. For Washington, this makes it not a competitor but an enemy.
This is very much Trump's policy. Don't negotiate. Threaten. "Do as I say, or I will break
you."
Those favoring the continuance of Empire might note that, even at this, Trump has been a
disaster. The First Rule of Empire is Don't let your enemies unite. Trump, having made Russia
and China into enemies (why?) has forced them to unite. This is -- how shall I
put it? -- stupid. Russia and China are not natural allies. China is a crowded country with 1.4
billion smart, industrious people, rapidly growing influence, and a very long indefensible
border with Russia. Russia has barely 146 million people, a comparatively static economy, vast
empty lands with rich resources. The Russians may have noticed this. The two have had
territorial disputes. This is not a marriage made, as we say, in heaven. Instead of playing
them against each other, allying with one against the other, or leaving them the hell alone,
Trump has forced them into close alliance.
This is Trump's policy, in the sense that if it happens during his presidency, it is his
baby, though it is fairly evident that Pompeo is Trumps brains and Trump is Pompeo's
enabler.
Then there is Iran, a geopolitical linchpin, having eighty million people, a large and
competent military, and lots and lots of oil. Under the JCPOA, the nuke deal, the Iranians were
posed happily to integrate themselves into the Western economy -- buy hundreds of airliners
from Boeing and Airbus, telecommunications gear, sell oil, have western companies develop its
huge hydrocarbon reserves.
Then Trump pulled out of the treaty and, led by the egregious Pompeo, tries to starve
the Iranians into installing a puppet government. Iran, seeing that the West is not friendly,
turns to the East, allies itself tightly with Russia and China. Tehran and Beijing are about to
sign a twenty-five year, multimanymuchoslotsa billion dollar development deal.
Three enemies, united, where none was before. Fucking brilliant, Mike. Just fucking
brilliant.
Then Trump had Soleimani, an Iranian hero, murdered. This doubtless played well with his
partisans in Joe's Bar in Chicago, being manly and decisive and making America great again. It
was also idiotic, making Iranians even less likely to cave to American pressure.
The same counterproductiveness appears in his "trade war" with China, in fact an attempt to
wreck China commercially and technologically. This is packaged by Trump as "standing up to
China," "deterring China," "containing China," but it might as accurately be called
"encouraging the genie to leave the bottle," or "asking for it."
A quick example: Huawei was contentedly using Google's Android operating system on its
smartphones. Android and iOS, both American, dominated the world market for operating systems.
Huawei, with the predictability of sunrise, responded by crash-developing its own OS,
Harmony . With equal predictability and suddenness it will improve it, further grow its app
store (HMS, Huawei Mobile Services) and, on a guess, encourage other companies to use it. It
will be said that a new OS won't work, can't compete, will take decades, and all the things
that are customarily said of things China does. Wait.
Trump's result: A new and, likely, serious competitor to Google. Good job, Don.
There is more to come. Precisely because of Trump's technology-denial policy, China has
launched a massive program to make itself tech-independent. It will take time, but it will
happen. Every time China develops a replacement for an American product, US companies will lose
the Chinese market for it -- and shortly face a competitor.
The root of the matter? With Trump the country elected an attitude, not a President.
Truculence, bravado, and an in-your-face aggressiveness are no substitute for competence.
Trump has demonstrated repeatedly that he is blankly ignorant of history, geography,
technology, the military. In Hawaii, when taken to the USS Arizona memorial, he didn't know
what it was. He has opined that the Spanish flu of 1917 (his date)
influenced the end of WWII . It would be instructive for a reporter to ask him what
countries border Iran, where one finds the Strait of Malacca, and why it matters.
The more enthusiastic of his followers seem to be equally ignorant and, worse, have no idea
why a President should know such things. Is this how we choose Presidents, and the sort of
Presidents we choose?
Write Fred at [email protected] Put the letters pdq anywhere in the
subject line to avoid heartless autodeletion.
Check out Fred's splendid
books ! Sedition, outrage, distortion, treason and other amusements. Enjoy accounts of
America, not the disaster by the same name now peddled as the real thing. Cheap at the
price.
This chart is a good reminder why Trump should be re-elected.
Suck it, Fred.
Oh and Mexico's doing worse on Covid when you account for their criminal undercounting of
Covid deaths. When you have one of the lowest testing rates of any large country, then it's
easy to undercount.
This article would read fairly well if you would just replace all instances of "Trump"
with "the US Feral Government". You're gonna blame the continuing stupidity of this huge
Beast of a Government on the one man? Do you think he is King of America? He can hardly get
anything done, which IS, BTW, partly his problem – the one thing you are quite right
about is the stupidity in the President's hiring of swamp creatures to drain the swamp. I
don't understand this myself but chalk it up to a lack of confidence in his own
instincts.
Commenter Bragadocious has already brought up the very encouraging numbers of admitted
"refugees" that I have read on VDare, but there are other below-the-radar good efforts by the
President regarding immigration. Of course, most of us have been disappointed quite a bit,
but lately I've been more gung-ho – anyone interested, please read VDare's "NYT Delivers Unintentional Endorsement Of Trump's Immigration Triumph" . (Hey,
didn't you use to work there, Fred? You ought to at least keep up a bit.)
Peak Stupidity points out "The Bad, the Good, and the Ugly" regarding the President
and this election – see "The Bad" , "The Good" , and
"The
Ugly" .
I honestly don't understand why you're so concerned with what happens to America anyway,
Fred. You live in the great country of Mexico. Is it that everything disparaging you write
makes you feel better about your decision to high-tail it down there?
Presidentially and socially we face two alternatives: an easy anesthetized slide into
certain doom or a panicked descent kicking against the looming walls of our trap. Of course,
that is not what either pretends to be, nor what the masses think they are.
In the end I can't tell a nickel's worth of difference. If someone could guarantee that
one alternative was more likely than another to end in nuclear holocaust than the other I
would allow a difference, but I don't see it. Which ever we "choose" this time, the pendulum
will swing until a tipping point is reached.
It would be nice to have a serious realist in the White House, but I don't see the people
voting for one. Maybe one will ride in on a white horse.
An excellent and accurate article. However, it should note that Biden's history shows he
will probably be worse. Despite his tough talk, Trump never started a new war, which is why
the Deep State hates him. They teed up four excuses to attack Iran: the strange drone attack
on a Saudi oil facility, the strange mines placed on a tanker, flying a drone over Iran that
was shot down, and doing nothing when Iran fired missiles at American bases in Iraq.
Those favoring the continuance of Empire might note that, even at this, Trump has been a
disaster. The First Rule of Empire is Don't let your enemies unite. Trump, having made
Russia and China into enemies (why?) has forced them to unite. This is -- how shall I put
it? -- stupid.
This isn't accurate, letting Russia and China unite was a notable feature of the Obama
administration and probably goes back further than that. Remember the pivot to Asia? Remember
Victoria Nuland handing out cookies at the Maidan? But you are absolutely right about Trump
solely pushing Iran into the arms of Russia and China.
Fred is right, Trump is a hee-haw Jackass who takes the prize for the dumbest, most
delusional, most corrupt and most incompetent POTUS in all history.
He's run America into the ground with his failed trade war, his delusional (un)management
of Covid-19 and all his damn fool gross stupidity. Just like his 6 failed casinos, his Trump
University and his bankrupt listed company DJT.
Everything just fail, fail, and fail. Even an Orangutan taken from the zoo would have done
better as POTUS than him.
Sorry, but to rewrite your comment, Trump, just like all his predecessors, has fulfilled
the Three critical jobs expected of him: 1. Armed and expanded Jewish colonial fascism
in Palestine, 2. Continue to protect the 1% (Wall Street) and 3. Increased U.S. military
budget by continuing to sale arms to fascist regimes.
Yes, he is a blathering, bullshitting salesman who built hotels and had a reality TV show.
But he didn't start any wars. Bombed the odd airstrip, but that was about it. Who was the
last President you could say that about? If he loses, strap in for more wars, possibly even
the Big One. And as for China, before we get too awestruck about their economic 'miracle' --
which was remarkable -- note that their money supply (M2) is 2.5 times their GDP. $2.50 for
every $1 they need for their economy. Why? To prop up a banking system that is a total Ponzi
scheme. To say they have an internal debt problem doesn't begin to cover it. Sure, it allowed
them to build super fast trains and cities with no-one in them, but they can't get Chinese
people to consume because they are all desperately saving for health care. The public health
care is dreadful. It was a miracle, sure, but full of holes (which makes it no less
impressive).
Fred highlights lots of problems, but I don't see why the other two Presidents will be
better at solving them. They certainly won't be, because they don't see them as problems.
They will start more wars, they will ignore the trade deficit, they will bring in millions
of immigrants, they will keep selling off manufacturing to cheaper places indifferently, and
they will be indebted to their BLM fascists when in power, meaning violence will increase
either way.
They are for Empire, and they don't keep to the treaties anyways – at least Trump is
honest when he tears them up. It is, according to Al-Anfal 55-63 at least, up to those who
get betrayed to tear up the treaties, and they should have long done so anyways.
Killing Suleimani? Is there a bigger misstep that could have been done by the Empire, that
cost so little in terms of human life to the ME, and actually improved the reputation of
Trump with the crazies whilst making the wind down accelerate?!
They will be for NATO, which will stop being an NA and will become a World Treaty
Organisation.
He sure ain't perfect – he is a very weak or trusting manager, it seems – but
he tries to move in the right direction often, even if he is prevented from taking even more
than baby steps. The other two Presidents will march into the abyss whilst laughing at their
awesome brilliance!
Why was Trump elected in the first place, Fred? In a well-run country with real options,
Trump would have been laughed at. When your rulers actively sell you out, hate you, and are
in the process of replacing you, a Donald Trump is a realistic option. That is sad. What's
worse is that even after Trump's election, the PTBs are doubling down on the treason and
hatred of Americans. As bad as Trump is, what is the option? And what can one man really
do?
It's too easy to just blame the situation on stupid Trump supporters, as if their votes
created America's problems.
@Weston Waroda rm the Ukraine military. Ukies don't just take their kalashnikovs and send
them to the metal cutters – their corrupt generals sold all the rifles, motors, and
assorted other arms and kept the 35 million. This makes Neo Nazi's much more stronger at the
Maidan, which was delayed because of Yanukovych and his kleptocrazy regime. Thanks to the
African born Obama and Joe the War lover – Ukraine to day is totally CIA,Mossad, Nato
etc. We could dissect Libya and Syria but we would find the same Satanic World Order boys
– Barrack and Joe – doing their thing for the Cabal. Oh – I lived in
Ukraine 08 – 2014 and then had to switch residency – for obvious reasons. Spacibo
You have to give credit to Trump for stopping the anti white brainwashing AKA
as 'diversity training' which was based on the white hating manifesto AKA 'critical
race theory.' It turned out that under the radar big business and many parts of the
government were forcing whites to repent for their racist attitudes and write forced
confessions. President Trump gave the middle finger to that with much deconstructing
still to come.
I can't fathom how a descendant of the illustrious Tidewater Reeds can
turn his back on the accomplishments of his Anglo Saxon people.
America began as a Protestant project which is why we are fortunate to have
the most enlightened system of jurisprudence in the world. Say what you will about
Trump's brash New York City manner but at least he is a defender of Western
Civilization. I most look forward to cleaning house at the DOJ & CIA if he wins.
That and smashing Big Tech into a thousand pieces.
I'm not sure I want someone like you lecturing us on morality, Fred.
You're basically stating over and over, that the US should strive to maintain its 'Only
Empire in the World' approach (which it did since at least Clinton),
but Trump is just doing it wrong.
@Craig Nelsen f stupidity is Mr. Reed's part about Trump causing Russia and China to be
allied. WTH? Trump wanted to ignore the pretension by the Neocons (if they are serious it be
even stupider) that Russia is still the USSR, our arch enemy. The MIC and Neocons blocked his
rapprochement with Russia. President Trump's attempt to end the completely unfair trade deal
the sell-outs handed to China in the mid-1990s is one of his admirable efforts. Relations
have become bad mostly due to that the Chinese don't want a fair deal with trade. They are
used to taking advantage of us in every way possible – even the Great Chinese Visiting Scholar
Scam .
Trump is a symptom of the disease which the author mistakes for the disease itself. That's
why Trump won in 2016 because the white masses who elected him needed to vomit their own
existential angst against the System. The more petulant Trump became, the more love the white
masses have for him because that's how they feel against the System which has betrayed their
own white interests.
The author correctly points out that Trump does exactly what other US Presidents before
him have done which is to promote the economic interests of the US Capitalist Class and the
US Military-Industrial Complex, by cutting income taxes and increasing the defense budget,
respectively. He also mentions Trump's trade war and technology bans against China which has
served more as a "canary in a coal mine" than anything else, hastening the pace by which
Chinese companies have been diversifying away from the USA, since the GFC in 2008, including
developing their own indigenous technologies which have given rise to homegrown tech giants
like Huawei and TikTok. While Trump's anti-China moves were driven by political
self-aggrandizement, China's response was driven by its economic self-interest, which
explains its low-key approach to resolving its trade disputes with the USA.
But the author missed something else which is Trump's hostility to Globalist causes such
as unrestricted immigration, outsourcing of manufacturing and services jobs, foreign wars,
multilateral treaties such as the Paris Climate Accord, international institutions such as
the WHO, trade deals such as the TPP and NAFTA, among others. His most glaring omission is to
avoid any mention of Trump's decision to withdraw US troops out of Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan,
Germany as well as preventing another regime-change war against Iran.
While his economic policies range from the patently mediocre (promoting "fracking") to
outright stupid (imposing tariffs), Trump's biggest successes are in fact in the areas of US
foreign policy in which he DID carry out his "America First" strategy which has endeared him
to his white supporters but which has disheartened his enemies in the US Deep State.
Of course, that's exactly why his white supporters elected him in 2016 and why the US Deep
State is doing everything it can to defeat him in 2020 because a second term of Trump would
hasten the decline and fall of the US Empire.
"He has pushed NATO against Russian borders." No, after Reagan assured Gorbachev that NATO
would not move an inch closer to Russia with the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Bill
Clinton moved NATO to Russia's borders as a provocation, along with slaughtering Slavs and
proving the inability of Russia to continue its traditional role as protector of the Slavs.
This was followed by BUSH's and OBAMA's continuation of Color Revolutions to establish US
puppets in former Soviets (and more NATO bases).
The Biden/ Nuland-led Maidan Revolution in Ukraine meant that the per capita GDP dropped
over half by deflecting the internal corruption into external Americans' and American
Ukrainians' pockets. For calling out that US corruption and briefly holding up more weapons,
money and provocation with Russia, Trump was impeached. Ukraine lost Crimea BEFORE Trump, and
he was stymied from removing troops by a Congress who refused to accept him as an Elected
President and Commander-in-Chief.
While Trump has lots of issues, calling him out for doing exactly what the last three
Presidents before him did, really undercuts the article's message. Scapegoating Trump doesn't
change reality.
Trump is the embodiment of this looking-for-a-fight attitude.
Wow, you have been asleep for the last four years? The antics of the Democrats and their
female goddess seem to have completely passed you by. Just to fill you in on some basic
detail, the Democrats (what an ironic name) have been waging battle after battle, you could
call it a war, against the President because they just couldn't accept the result of the last
election. They felt they were entitled to the presidency. You say Trump is looking for a
fight, the Democrats didn't just look, they launched the war and lost.
We all know that Trump is bellicose and a blowhard but he said all the right things in
2015-16. My issue with Trump is his betrayals. He threatened to end birthright citizenship
but never followed through. He was working with Tom Cotton to reduce legal immigration and
end chain migration but gave up after less than a year. He should have ended AFFH shortly
after taking office but didn't do so until just two months ago. The list goes on.
Another reason his administration wasn't as successful as we all hoped is that he didn't
know how to staff a government as PCR feared and predicted. He thought he could just ride in
to Washington and wing it and start barking orders it doesn't work that way.
Trump is not a visionary like Obama was. In order to qualify for Obama's administration
you had to think and see the world exactly like he did. Trump seems to get his jollies from
hiring people who disagree with him and work to undermine his agenda.
Now Trump is courting black nationalists like rapper Ice Cube while condemning white
nationalists. This would be like Obama courting David Duke on a plan to help poor and working
class white Americans.
Trump has given us three conservative SCOTUS's justices. He has also exposed the deep
state, the alphabet agencies, and the MSM for what they are. Evil anti American forces.
And all the while, staving off three bullshit coup attempts and constant personal and
political assault!
And what better would we get from proven corrupt and dementia laden career politician Joe
Biden Fred?
Fuck you!
I'm voting for the entertaining one. Politics is interactive theater. Was it George Carlin
who said that if voting mattered they wouldn't let us do it? No truer words. Plus I like the
Melania fashion watch on Breitbart....
BRICS began back in Obama days. More importantly its inception was due to crippling
Russian sanctions due to the bogus Magnitsky Act, which was passed during the W. Bush reign.
BTW do you know who sponsored the act in Congress? McCain, Biden, and Obama. All are/were
Zionists and Necon approved.
Hmm, as disappointing as Trump has been, and believe me, he has been a disappointment, he
is the best President in my lifetime of 59 years. Of course, given the list of empty suits
that we have been given as our leaders over the last 59 years, saying Trump is the best of
the lot is not saying much. Honestly has America elected a decent man to hold the office of
POTUS in the last 120 years?
At the very minimum Trump has exposed the FAKE MEDIA, hell, that is more than the others
ever did while in office because as we all know the American people have been lied to by the
Jew Media for over 100 years and counting. IF anyone can come up with reasons why anyone from
JFK to Obama were better for America than Trump, I am all ears. Personally, I give Trump an
overall D on his report card while the others I give a flat F. Do Whites really want a
Biden/Harris Presidency? I voted Trump, again. No REAL choice as usual.
All the potus have been under zionist control since they had JFK assassinated and then
came the zionist/Israeli and traitors in the ZUS government attack on the WTC on 911 and this
was blamed on the Arabs and gave the zionists the excuse to destroy the middle east for
Israels greater Israel agenda, using the ZUS military and AL CIADA and MOSSAD and MI6 created
mercenaries to to the destruction and the killing.
Trump is just another in a long line of zionist puppets and Biden is the same and the one
ie the libertarian Joanne Jorgensen who is against these wars, is ignored, and the beat goes
on.
Nobody gives a shit in Joe's Bar in Chicago about the killing of the Iranian general but
you may want to check the bars in Tel Aviv to see if they're rejoicing
Now enough about China there are plenty of other sycophants on unz.com without you joining in. Stick to defending wetbacks which
suits you naturally and it's more palatable.
As to Russia and China: first, you outline Chinese population treat to Russia and then
second, you breathlessly claim they're boon companions so, which is it?
Lastly, I noticed that the one group which has most benefited from the orange man
presidency while undercutting his nationalist credentials which would help traditional
Americans isn't even mentioned in the article no names or hints. What gives?
The seldom-seen niece's shoddy attempt at psychoanalysis may, despite its flaws, point to
worthwhile considerations. (By Gino Santa
Maria/Shutterstock)
President Trump is obviously not happy about about the highly unflattering portrait of him
painted by his niece, Mary Trump, in her best-selling book, Too Much and Never Enough: How
My Family Created the World's Most Dangerous Man.
On July 17, reacting to her description of him as "narcissistic," "dysfunctional," and
"perverted," the president jabbed back in a tweet , describing her as
"a seldom seen niece who knows little about me, says untruthful things about my wonderful
parents (who couldn't stand her!) and me."
Of course, the Main Stream Media loves the new book; indeed, pressies are always careful to
insert that Mary Trump is a "clinical psychologist," thereby seeking to assign greater weight
to her judgment on the famous uncle; she's not just an estranged family member, she's a
trained clinician . Thus when Mary declares that Donald's "pathologies are so complex
and his behaviors so often inexplicable that coming up with an accurate and comprehensive
diagnosis would require a full battery of psychological and neuropsychological tests that he'll
never sit for" -- the MSM treats her words as the voice of an oracular psycho-authority.
Indeed, speaking of long-distance diagnosis, it might be small comfort to the 45th president
to know that plenty of other American presidents have been similarly psychoanalyzed. In fact,
no less than the father of psychoanalysis himself, Sigmund Freud, co-authored
an unsparing assessment of our 28th president, Thomas Woodrow Wilson: A Psychological
Study .
Moreover, we've learned, over the last century or so, that the mind of any individual, when
perceived though the Freudian prism, appears to be nothing more than a heaving mass of
Greek-named complexes and phobias. And yet through it all, most people manage to get off the
couch and do things, including becoming politicians -- a very few even becoming president of
the United States. So how do they manage that? And what does that mean for the rest of us?
Some enduring answers to such questions can be found in Harold Lasswell's 1930 book,
Psychopathology and Politics. Lasswell is obscure now, but in his day, he was a
professor at Yale Law School as well as president of the American Political Science
Association. Moreover, he was active when Freud was at the peak of his influence;
Psychopathology and Politics is much shaped along the contours of the Viennese Herr
Doktor 's thought.
Evidently realizing that the word "psychopathology" in the title would send a strong signal,
Lasswell opened his book, a bit defensively, with the declaration, "The purpose of this venture
is not to prove that politicians are 'insane.'" In fact, Lasswell, being mostly a political
scientist, was careful to stipulate that "the specifically pathological is of secondary
importance to the central problem of exhibiting the developmental profile of different types of
public characters." In other words, for all his fascination with individual minds, in the end,
the author was actually most interested in collective political outcomes.
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For purposes of analysis, Lasswell categorized three types of political personality: the
"agitator," the "administrator," and the "theorist." To illustrate this triptych, Lasswell
named a few names; Herbert Hoover, for instance, was labeled an administrator, while Old
Testament prophets were labeled as agitators, and Karl Marx labeled as a theorist.
Interestingly, Vladimir Lenin was listed as all three types.
Still, for the most part, Lasswell chose to focus, in the Freudian clinical style, on
anonymized exemplars of each political personality type, detailing the mental circuities of
"Mr. A," as well as "B," "C," and so on.
From there, Lasswell considers how each type meshes with politics. As he puts it, the state
is a "manifold," into which political figures enter, and through which political events "are to
be understood."
He writes, "political movements derive their vitality from the displacement of private
affects upon public objects." Using dark Freudian terminology, Lasswell asserts that "Political
crises are complicated by the concurrent reactivation of specific primitive impulses." In that
same bleak spirit, he also avers, "Politics is the process by which the irrational bases of
society are brought out into the open."
Yet while phrases such as "primitive impulses" and "irrational bases" are the stuff of
psychiatry, Lasswell also wrote in political science-y language, as when he laid out his
equation for political action: p } d } r = P . Here, p stands for "private
motives," } stands for "transformed into," d equals "displacement on to public
objects," r stands for " rationalization in terms of public interest," and
P "signifies the political man."
In Lasswell's formula, individuals bring their personality with them into the political
arena, and then, if they wish to make a mark in politics, they must reconcile, somehow, their
own personalities with the political environment. As Lasswell explains, "The distinctive mark
of the homo politicus is the rationalization of the displacement in terms of public
interests."
We might note that in no sense was Lasswell saying that homo politicus was
necessarily good-hearted, or that people were always wise about their own well-being; as he put
it, oftentimes, "people are poor judges of their own interests." And so the "solution" in
politics, he continued, is "not the 'rationally best' one," but rather, "the emotionally
satisfactory one."
Still, Lasswell did not believe in autocracy or dictatorship; he approvingly quoted another
political scientist who argued, "Society is not safe . . . when it is forced to follow
the dictations of one individual."
Yet because Lasswell shared Freud's gloomy view of human nature, he argued for a sort of
guided system, dubbing it "preventive politics." As he put it, "The politics of prevention
draws attention squarely to the central problem of reducing the level of strain and
maladaptation in society." Thus Lasswell endorsed the application of therapeutic psychology to
the population as a whole -- putting the country, as it were, on the therapist's couch.
If that doesn't sound like a plausible solution, we might note that we often do just that to
our country's leaders -- and the latest instance is what Mary Trump has done to her uncle.
Yet even those who mistrust a long-distance diagnosis -- and who might see Mary Trump's book
as opportunistically timed to the election -- might nonetheless reflect on Lasswell's political
equation, p } d } r = P.
After all, individuals do enter into the political system, and they do what they do -- and
so it's best if we understand them as well as we can. Indeed, each new entry can be seen as a
case study, providing us with an opportunity to learn: What went right? Or, what went wrong?
And who makes a good leader?
Such cumulative study gives us all a chance to practice a Lasswellian "politics of
prevention." That is, while we don't seem to be able to cure the mentally ill, we can
nevertheless take sterner measures to keep the pathological out of political office, especially
high political office.
In particular, we might take the view that the electoral political system should serve as a
kind of filter, separating out the gold from the dross. If, as
Max Weber put it, politics is "the slow boring of hard boards," then maybe we should favor
politicians who actually know how to drill a hole, and who know to drill it in the right place
-- and not smash the board.
Indeed, if we think of prosaic electoral politics as a filtering process, we might gain more
respect for those who prove themselves in a minor office before seeking a major office -- and
major responsibility. To put the matter bluntly, if a wannabe pol is maladaptive, let's know
early on, when the stakes are low.
This wisdom was well expressed by Sam Rayburn, the Texas politician who served in the U.S.
House of Representatives for 48 years, as well as in the Texas state house for six years before
that -- and, remarkably, rose to be speaker in both chambers, in Austin as well as in
Washington, D.C. As recorded in David Halberstam's classic book about the origins of America's
fiasco in the Vietnam War, The Best and the Brightest , in 1961, then-Vice President
Lyndon B. Johnson gushed to his old pal Rayburn about how smart and impressive were the men of
John F. Kennedy's administration, bandying about brilliant ideas for saving the world. To which
Rayburn responded to LBJ, "You may be right and they may be every bit as intelligent as you
say, but I'd feel a whole lot better about them if just one of them had run for sheriff
once."
In other words, it would be better if the soaring kites of their intellects were tethered to
mundane human experience and political reality -- including the reality of running for office.
As we know, absent such tethering, those best and brightest led us into an Asian quagmire,
drowning even the political career of LBJ.
So now, in 2020, in these extraordinarily trying times, the voters are about to run their
political filter yet again. Indeed, if the
presidential polls are to be believed, this filtration system is favoring Joe Biden, who
has, after all, undergone the "extreme vetting" of a half-century in elective politics.
So is this an instance in which Lasswell's idea of "preventive politics" is being applied?
We can never know from the Yale professor himself, of course, since he long ago went to that
great ivory tower in the sky. Yet still, one senses that the author of Psychopathology and
Politics would be pleased.
Because, after all, the fate of the nation is more important than the strange case of Trump
vs. Trump. ABOUT THE AUTHOR
James P. Pinkerton is a longtime contributing editor at The American Conservative
, columnist, and author. He served as longtime regular columnist for Newsday. He has
also written for The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Los
Angeles Times, USA Today, National Review, The New Republic, Foreign Affairs, Fortune,
and The Jerusalem Post. He is the author of What Comes Next: The End of Big
Government--and the New Paradigm Ahead (1995) .He worked in the White House domestic
policy offices of Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush and in the 1980, 1984, 1988 and
1992 presidential campaigns.
Unreliable narrators are a staple of literature. Consider the delusional, self-serving
narrator of Gillian Flynn's Gone Girl or the way Humbert Humbert used his cultured
references and gorgeous prose to dress up his crimes in Nabokov's Lolita .
Now along comes John Bolton and his account of time served in the Trump administration as
national security advisor.
Bolton's latest book has been attacked as fiction by the president, members of his
administration, and even members of the administrations of other countries (like South Korea ). Bolton
is a thoroughly unpleasant hatchet man who has opposed arms control treaties, diplomacy in most
forms, and international institutions of all varieties. He is reliably paleoconservative. But
does that make him a reliable narrator of his own story as well?
The picture Bolton paints of the Trump administration is a familiar one. We've been treated
to a succession of tell-all accounts of the horror that has been Donald Trump's tenure as
president: Michael Wolff's Fire and Fury , Philip Rucker and Carol Leonig's A Very
Stable Genius , even A Warning by Anonymous. Each one has added a little more paint
to the Hieronymus Bosch picture of the presidency: monsters, unspeakable acts, darkness, and
chaos.
Other than a morbid, rubbernecking fascination with atrocity, why is yet another account
necessary, and from such a potentially unreliable narrator as John Bolton to boot?
The critics of Bolton's trustworthiness have a point. But Bolton's unreliability resides not
so much in his ideology as his opportunism.
As a "kiss-up, kick-down
kind of guy," he'll do whatever it takes to attain power. He has a terminal case of
Washingtonitis: he thinks he's the smartest man in the room and he reeks of entitlement. He
entered the Trump administration not as a true believer in Trump, only a true believer in
himself. His book not surprisingly portrays John Bolton as the only person in the Trump
administration with any sense at all.
It's easy enough to dismiss Bolton's so-called revelations.
Here's why you shouldn't.
Taking China Off the Table
Foreign policy will not likely be the tipping point for the 2020 presidential election.
Trump's base generally doesn't care what happens beyond America's borders (except to keep it
beyond America's borders). And the anti-Trump camp just wants to get rid of the president,
regardless of what he has done in the international arena.
Still, Trump is running on his foreign policy record. For instance, he has been busy trying
to portray his opponent, Joe Biden, as somehow pro-China. "China wants Sleepy Joe sooo badly,"
Trump tweeted back in
April. "They want all of those billions of dollars that they have been paying to the U.S. back,
and much more. Joe is an easy mark, their DREAM CANDIDATE!"
Then came
the ad campaign that portrayed "Beijing Biden" as "China's puppet" who favors engagement
with Beijing without caveats and Biden's son as the beneficiary of sweetheart deals with the
Chinese. The Trump ads slam China for its handling of the coronavirus and suggest that Biden
would have fumbled the U.S. response out of deference to Beijing (uh, sound familiar?).
The inconvenient truth, however, is that Trump, to quote
Nicholas Kristof , "has been China's stooge, a sycophantic flatterer and enabler of
President Xi Jinping."
In fact, Beijing would prefer four more years of Trump, not so much because of this
sycophancy, but because Trump has been busy upending U.S.
alliances that have constrained Chinese geopolitical influence. The trade disputes are an
irritant, but China can't expect Joe Biden to be any easier to deal with on that score. Four
more years of Trump, on the other hand, would mean four more years of the ebbing of U.S.
engagement in world affairs.
As Trump and Biden escalate their China-bashing, along comes Bolton. No friend of Beijing,
the national security advisor is appalled at Trump's exchanges with Xi Jinping. In one such
conversation, Trump effectively signs up the Chinese leader as an in-kind contributor to his
reelection campaign. Bolton had to excise Trump's actual words from his book, but Vanity
Fair has filled
in the blanks :
According to an unredacted passage shown to Vanity Fair by a source, Trump's ask is
even more crudely shocking when you read Trump's specific language. "Make sure I win," Trump
allegedly told Xi during a dinner at the G20 conference in Osaka, Japan last summer. "I will
probably win anyway, so don't hurt my farms. Buy a lot of soybeans and wheat and make sure we
win.
Trump was, of course, impeached for attempting the same strategy with Ukraine.
The other shocking revelation from Bolton's book is Trump's response to China's construction
of "re-education" camps for the Uyghur minority in Xinjiang province. It's not simply that
Trump ignored China's action, as he contends, to ensure that trade negotiations moved forward.
According to
Bolton , "Trump said that Xi should go ahead with building the camps, which Trump thought
was exactly the right thing to do."
An American president encouraged another country to engage in a massive human rights
violation?
True, American presidents have given the green light to such things in the past: Sukarno's
slaughter of suspected Communists in Indonesia in 1965, Pinochet's coup and subsequent
crackdown
on Allende supporters in Chile in 1973, the Salvadoran government's
widespread human rights violations in the 1980s. Horrifying as these atrocities were,
American conservatives could rationalize U.S. support for these dictatorships because they were
U.S. allies.
But China? That's going to be a difficult sell for an electorate that's already been primed,
by the Trump administration itself, to demonize Beijing.
So, in effect, the Bolton book has removed China from the 2020 election campaign. Trump will
think twice about accusing Biden of cozy ties with Beijing when the Democrats can literally
throw the book (Bolton's, that is) at the president.
Impeachment: Not Dead Yet
Trump loves to play the role of a cornered badger that emerges triumphant in the end.
Impeachment would have given an ordinary politician pause. Trump simply held up the Senate's
failure to convict as exoneration, despite all the damning evidence produced by the
whistleblower and the subsequent Mueller investigation.
The Democrats wanted Bolton to testify during the hearings. He refused to do so voluntarily.
Later, he said that he would testify before the Senate if it issued a subpoena. The
Republicans, with the exception of Mitt Romney (R-UT) and Susan Collins (R-ME), voted against
calling additional witnesses.
Bolton argues in his book that the Democrats made a mess of the impeachment inquiry. Yet, he
could have corroborated the charge of collusion with Ukraine and provided evidence of
impeachable offenses in other realms of foreign policy. He didn't do so.
Now, of course, some Republicans are saying that it would have been better for Bolton to
have testified before Congress rather than save his revelations for now. "One of the things
about making allegations in a book for $29.95 -- certainly it's going to be a best-seller I'm
sure -- the problem is that when you're selling it in a book, you're not putting yourself in a
position to be cross-examined," Tim Scott (R-SC)
recently said .
If Scott and one other Republican had simply voted for additional witnesses, they could have
made that happen. And they could have saved themselves the cost of buying Bolton's book.
In the end, it probably wouldn't have made much of a difference in the final votes on
impeachment. Except for Romney, the Republicans were unwilling to break with the president.
Bolton's book, however, is disinterring all the issues surrounding impeachment and in a
light unfavorable to the president. Bolton confirms the infamous quid pro quo -- military
assistance in exchange for an investigation into the Ukraine dealings of Biden's son -- that
Trump discussed in a phone call with the Ukrainian president and that was flagged by a
whistleblower. "Nor, at the time, did I think Trump's comments in the call reflected any major
change in direction; the linkage of the military assistance with the Giuliani fantasies was
already baked in. The call was not the keystone for me, but simply another brick in the wall,"
Bolton
writes .
Before you shell out $29.95 for the book (actually $32.50 list price), you might wait to see
if Congress drags Bolton back to tell his story. This week, Adam Schiff (D-CA)
hinted that he might depose the former national security advisor before the House
Intelligence Committee.
Who knows? Trump might have to reckon with a second impeachment hearing as he heads into
November.
The Benefits of Being Bolton
Bolton predictably criticizes Trump for not being sufficiently hawkish. The president wanted
to withdraw troops from the Middle East. He wanted to make nice with North Korea. He had the
gall to prioritize trade with China.
From a progressive point of view, that makes Bolton an unreliable narrator. Maybe he was
tweaking the facts to make himself look stalwart and wise at the expense of a slow-witted,
insufficiently martial president.
But here's the thing: Bolton hasn't written anything in his book that contradicts other
accounts of the presidency. There was plenty of evidence of the quid pro quo with Ukraine.
Trump did not hide his admiration for Xi Jinping. The president is obsessed with getting
re-elected, not because he particularly likes his job but because he must prove that he is a
winner.
What makes Bolton's observations most valuable is not their novelty or their acuity but his
credentials as a hawk's hawk. His book isn't going to make any Democrats or independents or
moderate Republicans change their minds about Trump. But it will introduce some doubts into
hardcore conservative supporters. They might not publicly renounce the president. Like
Bolton himself , they might not even pull the lever for the Democratic candidate.
But they might decide, because of Bolton, to stay home on November 3, just like so many
Republicans decided not to attend Trump's rally in Tulsa this last weekend.
And that, ultimately, is what really puts the fear of Bolton into the Trump reelection
campaign.
John Feffer is the director of Foreign Policy In Focus.
Giraldi's first paragraph is spot on. But after corona dealing the economy a heavy blow, I
don't think Trump will start a war before the election. I don't think he would have done that
otherwise either, though there was some risk. Trump has caved numerous times, he is an idioht
when it comes to hiring his enemies hoping to appease them, but there is no question that he
opposes mass immigration and invasions.
I suppose most people here know this, but let's look at how many of the pro-war names
mentioned belong to the 2.5 % "Chosen":
George Bush
Donald Rumsfeld
Hillary Clinton
Michael Ledeen (White, but studied history under *George Mosse, immigrated from Germany)
Reuel Gerecht
Dan Senor
*Richard Perle
*Paul Wolfowitz (The architect of the Afghan-Iraq invasions, who gathered support for them in
Congress and organized the pro-war communication)
*Douglas Feith (would have been the Sec. of Defense if people hadn't objected too much, as he
was infamous after the Iran-Contra affair)
*Eliot Abrams
*Lewish "Scooter" Libby of the dead eyes
*Robert Kagan
*Frederick Kagan
*Victoria Nuland
*Madeleine Albright (Half a million dead Iraqi children from starvation sanctions and bombing
the infrastructure for twelve years was "worth it")
That's six Whites and nine Tribe.
If those nine hadn't existed millions would have been alive today, there would have been
no flood of Somalis, Afghans, Iraqis and Syrians to Europe, and the U.S. and the Middle East
would have been far better off.
Charlotte Russe Jun 13, 2020 1:21 PM CONTROLLED OPPOSITION
In the 20th Century approximately 30 world leaders were assassinated. I bet in most cases
those prosecuted for the crime were little more than Oswald-like patsies. And this list doesn't
even include government leaders killed in mysterious plane crashes.
One such political figure was Senator Paul Wellstone who died in a highly suspicious 2002
plane crash. "Wellstone's death comes almost two years to the day after a similar plane crash
killed another Democratic Senator locked in a tight election contest, and that was Missouri
Governor Mel Carnahan, on October 16, 2000.
Wellstone was in a hotly contested reelection campaign, but polls showed he was beginning to
pull ahead of Republican nominee Norm Coleman, the former mayor of St. Paul, in the wake of the
vote in the Senate to authorize President Bush to wage war against Iraq.
The liberal Democrat was a well-publicized opponent of the war resolution, the only Senator
in a tight race to vote against it. there are enormous financial stakes involved in control of
the Senate. Republican control of the Senate would make it possible to push through new tax
cuts for the wealthy and other perks for corporate America worth billions of dollars -- more
than enough of an incentive to commit murder." The death of US Senator Paul
Wellstone: accident or murder?
It would appear, politicians risk being murdered if they "genuinely" go against the grain
remaining true to their beliefs and principles by deliberately using their power to jeopardize
insidious ruling class lucrative schemes and scams. By the way, this is how you know ALL the
nonstop "resistance" against the orange buffoon is just utter bullshit. If Trump was a actually
a threat to the military/security/surveillance/corporate state he would have already been JFK'd
or Olof Palme'd.
The worldwide gangster ruling class is just like any other criminal organization which
regularly eliminates anyone who has the power to alter the status quo. The security state like
common mobsters use extortion or murder to get their way. We all know about J Edgar Hooverr and
his extortion files. Hoover maintained a special official and confidential file in his office.
The "secret files," as they became widely known, guaranteed Hoover's longevity as Director of
the FBI. In fact, today those intelligence agency "dirty files" are even more extensive given
the sophisticated and heightened nature of surveillance. Funny, that gives the term "controlled
opposition" a whole new meaning. Gezzah Potts Jun 13, 2020 1:57 PM Reply to
Charlotte Russe You hit the nail on the head Charlotte. If Trump really was a genuine
threat, they would've already got rid of him. It's all one giant charade.
A Punch and Judy Show for the masses.
Find it quite startling the divisiveness in the United States, and those that I often come
across who fervently believe that Trump or Qanon will save the United States and also lock up
Obama, the Clinton's, Soros, etc, etc. What can you say?
While reading your comment, four names popped into my head: Thomas Sankara, Patrice Lumumba,
Maurice Bishop and Salvador Allende.
And we know what happened in Chile after Allende's death. It became the test tube guinea pig
for Neoliberalism. 6 0 Reply Charlotte Ruse Jun 13, 2020 3:47 PM Reply to
Gezzah Potts Yes it's all showbiz ..
But even among those who justified the unrest, there was a sense that it, particularly the
video of looting and violence, could result in a sense of "white backlash" and play into
President Trump's reelection effort. This is a president who used his inaugural address to
promise to fight "American Carnage" and has successfully appealed to "white backlash"
throughout his career.
The history of urban unrest – starting with the 1967-68 riots,
but extending through 1992 and 2014 – was consistent with the belief that Trump could
benefit politically. Indeed, the 1968 riots helped both George Wallace and Richard Nixon run on
"law and order" platforms, the 1992 riots arguably helped lead to the 1994 "Super Predators"
crime bill, and the 2014 protests clearly, in the end, benefited Trump politically.
Indeed, many assumed that the response would help Trump successfully benefit from the 2020
unrest. Among those was Trump himself, who came out strongly arguing for "law and order"
–criticizing governors who were not dealing sufficiently harshly with protesters, sending
the U.S. military into Washington, D.C., and suggesting he was going to send them into other
cities as well.
But so far, it hasn't worked out politically as some expected. Trump's poll numbers continue
to decline – Biden currently leads him by eight points in the RealClearPolitics
average
"... All this race hatred, discrimination and societal engineering should have been over in the 60s and 70s , but the USG always needs to have an enemy . In fact it pays to have several , ask the Pentagon and the Law Enforcement Agencies, in regards to wages, benefits, kickbacks, cash theft, and pensions , these days. ..."
"... You want the Trump you voted for? You got him. A liar with all the integrity of a corona virus. You indirectly voted for Bibi too. Don't try to claim you didn't know for heavens sake. Kushners and Trumps are openly in Bibi's pocket. It was in plain sight and you voted accordingly. ..."
"... Trump was always a weak coward who believes in nothing, save the ego of Trump. Events have simply caught up to him. If the Republicans stick with this useless coward, not only are they committing suicide as a Party, they are dooming the nation as well. ..."
Trump is a narcissistic windbag clown, that lied his way into Bill Clinton's Oral Office.
I know, personally, how evil he is.
Total JooStooge and he deserves nothing less than complete rejection by those he fooled honest law-abiding working Christian
Americans.
Good riddance.
Of course Hillary is worse. Of course Biden is worse.
But until real Americans finally realize that we can't wait for a saviour, but have to save ourselves, Trump and his kind will
continue to drag us deeper into the bog of Joogoo.
All this race hatred, discrimination and societal engineering should have been over in the 60s and 70s , but the USG always
needs to have an enemy . In fact it pays to have several , ask the Pentagon and the Law Enforcement Agencies, in regards to wages,
benefits, kickbacks, cash theft, and pensions , these days.
But the Owners knew, that keeping the populace fighting, is like money in the Banks { literally } so those folks breaking through
for Peace in the 60s, had to be silenced, bought off, run off or assassinated. It's been one evil social game after another –
and its more visible today , than it was 50 yrs ago- I won't get started on what or who put the nail in the coffin, with the 1965
Open, Unlimited, Unvetted Immigration changes.
You want the Trump you voted for? You got him. A liar with all the integrity of a corona virus. You indirectly voted for Bibi
too. Don't try to claim you didn't know for heavens sake. Kushners and Trumps are openly in Bibi's pocket. It was in plain sight
and you voted accordingly.
Where were all these voters weeping into their coffee when the primaries were held?. The best
choice was Rand Paul – got nowhere – as all these now weeping cupcakes voted for Trump – a man with such an appalling record of
honesty and integrity and an insult to any decent person.
You voted for Trump. And have voted for Hillary for years too. Probably the worlds biggest financial criminal and a war criminal
without parallel even by US standards.. You also voted for Bush one and two. Obama twice. And one of the most corrupt and hideous
candidates – Bill Clinton also Twice. And you imposed this roll of lies and dishonour onto the entire planet.
No wonder America and its people are being seen as depraved and stupid, lacking in simple understanding of international law
and any decency and honour.
And now all set to vote for Biden are you? A rapist and vilely corrupt, outstandingly so in a bed of of corruption misnamed Washington.
So you will vote for a man who has so far refused to arrest and put on trial the group of men and women who would appear
to be guilty of sedition and treason against your country?
Wow!. Traitors going to walk – so it seems.. Vote for a man so devoid of respect for America, its people, its rule of law and
its constitution. A band of absolute traitors to the state – laughing..
The day you see indictments of Comey, Brennan, McCabe and the rest of the nest of vipers – then consider your vote – but to
vote for a man who refuses – so far and its now years – to take action against those guilty of trying to overthrow the governance
of the United States – is not a man fit for the office of President. You need an outstanding third party candidate and the brains
to vote for them
Dream on. Biden ot Trump – are you mad or just brainwashed psychos. Its makes Xi look good.
Trump was always a weak coward who believes in nothing, save the ego of Trump. Events have simply caught up to him. If
the Republicans stick with this useless coward, not only are they committing suicide as a Party, they are dooming the nation as
well.
The current situation is nothing new. In '92 Mayor Bradley publicly announced no police would intervene in the LA riots because
it was too dangerous–thereby guaranteeing widespread arson and looting. Same thing in Baltimore a few years ago, it's okay 'we
just need to let the rioters blow off some steam'.
And why wasn't Antifa declared a terrorist organization three years ago? Why did they get a free pass all this time?
I guess nothing will happen until Netanyahu picks up the phone and tells Trump what to do.
@Herald Don't believe for a second that Joe Biden is being helped by any of this. Trump is a weak blowhard, but naming Antifa
a terrorist organization will be very important over the next three months.
Trump will win, but it'll be a vapid and lukewarm next four years of him trying to develop a "legacy" of sweetness and liberality.
Someone will come along, then, who will make him look like a pussy.
Trump has one weakness that he can't overcome even if his life depended on it. the love of money which is the driving force
behind his decisions and not the jingoistic hogwash about the love for America!
That weakness is one that is shared by those that rule this country. It is called avarice avarice for wealth and power. Trump
is a minion of the Deep State. Today in spite of all the shit the stock is up in pre market trading. If the market were valued
realistically it would have been down at least 30% from here before the recent bullshit.
@Anonymous Kirkpatrick was declaring Trump in freefall, a fool who abandoned his early promises, etc., as early as the 2016
Wisconsin primary. He has been writing variations on this theme for four years, and I don't know why anyone takes him seriously.
Do I want Trump to declare martial law, round up every last BLM and Antifa member, and start telling everyone that Floyd got what
was coming to him? Of course. Do I expect him to do it? Of course not. A lot of people don't seem able to understand that Trump
is not playing to us, or to the blacks, when he tries to take the middle road when dealing with situations like this; he's playing
to the enormous amount of middle-class suburban Boomers and Evangelicals out there, who unfortunately he can't get elected without,
and who will never be willing to accept the truth about vibrancy and its effects. To them, black folks are still sacred objects,
and they will freak out in large numbers if the President starts mouthing "white nationalist" rhetoric and having "protesters"
gunned down in the streets. I love Trump and appreciate what he's been able to do, but he can't save people who aren't willing
to be saved–and since that includes a majority of the "conservative" citizens, America is ultimately unsalvageable, regardless
of what Trump does or doesn't do.
This riots in no way represent a danger to Trump other then in PR. They have zero
organization and most rioters soon iether be arrested or gone home. In a way "Occupy Wall Street"
was a more dangerous for the elite movement. This is just a nuisance.
As for elections on one side Trump again demonstrated upper incompetence and inability to act
with some nuance, on t he other it discredited Democrats identity politics.
Notable quotes:
"... Live Updates, George Floyd Protests Continue ..."
"... Twitter changed its profile to honor Black Lives Matter amid George Floyd protests ..."
"... Business Insider, ..."
"... Looter shot dead by pawn shop owner,' during George Floyd riots ..."
"... Family identifies federal officer shot, killed in connection with George Floyd protest in Oakland ..."
"... Woman Found Dead Inside Car In North Minneapolis Amid 2 nd Of Looting ..."
"... , Fires, CBS Minnesota, ..."
"... Separate shootings leave 3 dead in Indianapolis overnight ..."
"... Attorney General William P. Barr's Statement on Riots and Domestic Terrorism ..."
"... , Department of Justice, ..."
"... Tim Walz Blames Riots On 'Outsiders,' Cartels And White Supremacists -- Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Joy Reid Join in ..."
"... St. Paul police rebut social media theory that officer instigated Minneapolis unrest ..."
"... Right-Wing Conspiracists Pull From Old Playbook: Blame George Soros For Riots ..."
"... LA appeals for National Guard as looting spreads, ..."
"... George Floyd's brother says Trump 'kept pushing me off' during call ..."
"... Advantage Biden, with risks; Trump disapproval grows: POLL ..."
"... Bush Wins Points for Speech on L.A. Riots ..."
"... The Christian Science Monitor, ..."
"... When trump spoke at AIPAC before the 2016 election, I already wrote him off. I was 1000% on the money. ..."
"... Trump was always the Pied Piper, following Hillary's orders while leading foolish populists off the cliff. If you're still expecting anything else from him, you're deluded. ..."
"... A true opponent of Deepstate would have spent the first month firing and jailing thousands of bureaucrats. Trump didn't fire anyone at all. ..."
"... Trump is finished. Unfortunately, his opponents are just as corrupt and criminal. ..."
"... I see a lot of whites among the protesters. How much of that is anger over Floyd and how much is pent up rage over the senseless lockdowns I cant say. ..."
"... As in 2016, people will again vote Trump as a giant FU to the Left, which they'll perceive as having caused, if not instigated this crisis. Disaffected Trump supporters who might not have bothered this time, are rethinking that as we speak. At this point, a Trump landslide is a very real possibility. ..."
"... the unholy and fragile Democrat alliance that includes white-hating blacks, left-indoctrinated students, hysterical femmes, radical queers, antifa terrorists, disaffected POC, and white 'moderates' constitutes an arranged political marriage that will not endure ..."
"... On the other hand, Trump now gets to advocate for political stability, cultural continuity, and even physical safety. The unhinged, far-too-left looters now seen on TV are actually a Godsend for Trump. Watch him amass most of what's left of America's silent (white, middle class) majority on election-day. Regular folks will reemerge as a unified block in the wake of these despicable acts of lawlessness and greed. ..."
"... It would take more then a department store and a police precinct to make a point: "We want leadership, not profiteering", "Bust the bulb" add focus. Corporate headquarters, gated communities, the White House, Capitol Hill, Millionaire communities, airports, bridges, paralysing the hardware farms of Google, Facebook and Twitter, spreading to cities as London, Amsterdam, Paris, great opportunities there. "No borders, no castles". Disruption is a start and a means to an end. Explaining comes later. Only going that direction would cause any effects that last. ..."
President Donald Trump ran on a Law And Order platform
in 2016 but he's currently presiding over the most widespread civil disorder of this
generation. The obvious reality: these riots are simply an excuse for
blacks to loot without fear of punishment. Without an immediate policy of
ruthless coercion directed and executed by the federal government, most Americans will
correctly assume that Trump is unwilling or incapable of defending their lives and property. If
so, his re-election campaign is probably finished -- and America along with it.
Link Bookmark It's hard to overstate the extent of the violence, with riots, arson and
looting in Scottsdale, Dallas,
New York , Ferguson, St. Louis, Richmond and countless other cities [
Live Updates, George Floyd Protests Continue, by Tony Lee,
Breitbart, May 30, 2020]. In Minneapolis, where the riots began, Mayor Jacob Frey
blamed riots on " white
supremacists ," an insane conspiracy theory which went completely unchecked by Twitter's
"fact checkers." Twitter itself, showing utter contempt for President Trump's
executive order alleging political bias, changed its profile to show solidarity with Black
Lives Matter [ Twitter
changed its profile to honor Black Lives Matter amid George Floyd protests,
by Ellen Cranley, Business Insider, May 31, 2020].
It is useless to try to find all the examples, they are incalculable, as is the number of
businesses destroyed or the amount of property damage.
President Trump said Sunday morning the government would declare Antifa a
terrorist organization. Attorney General William Barr said violence "instigated and carried out
by Antifa and other similar groups in connection with the rioting is domestic terrorism and
will be treated accordingly" [ Attorney General William P. Barr's Statement on Riots and Domestic Terrorism,
Department of Justice, May 31, 2020].
We'll know that this is serious if these Leftist networks, which raise money and operate
openly, are arrested using the RICO statutes and other prosecutorial tools.
President Trump has avoided addressing the nation, reportedly because
First Son-In-Law Jared Kushner thinks
it will make things worse [ LA appeals for National
Guard as looting spreads, by Ella Torres, William Mansell, and Christina Carrega,
ABC News, May 31, 2020]. But, as with his handling of the coronavirus, Trump is
suffering politically not because he is being too forceful, but because he is being too
weak.
Trump called George Floyd's family, but the family is condemning him for it, not praising
his compassion [ George Floyd's brother says Trump 'kept pushing me off' during call, by
Martin Pengelly, The Guardian, May 31, 2020]. He now heavily trails Joe Biden in the
polls and is once again falling into his signature trap: saying tough things that infuriate
Leftists without backing up his words with action that rallies the Right [ Advantage Biden, with risks; Trump disapproval grows: POLL, by Gary
Langer, ABC News, May 31, 2020].
During the Los Angeles Riots, even
President George H.W. Bush eventually sent in the Marines and then addressed
the nation, simultaneously displaying leadership and paternal concern for the American people [
Bush Wins Points
for Speech on L.A. Riots, by Linda Feldmann, The Christian Science
Monitor, May 4, 1992].
President Trump thus far is limited to vague tweets about "STRENGTH!' without much tangible
proof of it.
Even worse, in the case of this "STRENGTH" tweet, Twitter once again instantly suspended the
account of the person President Trump quote-tweeted.
The company knows the White House won't do anything. This situation is becoming increasingly
humiliating not just for the president, but for his supporters.
During the 2016 campaign, Trump seemed to have remarkable luck, with extraordinary events
breaking in his favor. In the run-up to this election, he hasn't had great luck, but he has had
a series of crises that any competent nationalist politician could have easily exploited:
He
had a
foreign pandemic and huge public support for enacting at least a
temporary immigration moratorium or more creative economic
populist policies . Instead, he disastrously tried to downplay the pandemic to try to
appease the stock market in the short term. He has Twitter revealing its bias to the entire
world, giving him a sure-fire rationale for protecting the free speech of his supporters. This
would dramatically ease his task of fighting the Main Stream Media/ Democrat cartel during the
re-election campaign. However, the president has done nothing substantive, once again coming
off as weak and feckless and leaving his supporters isolated. Now, he has nationwide riots and
videos of businesses being burned to the ground, all being essentially cheered on by his
MSM/Dem opponents. America is begging for a crackdown. Instead, President Trump is blaming
Democratic state and local elected officials rather than taking action himself.
If he doesn't, he can't be surprised if Leftists simply become more emboldened, and if
demoralized patriots stay away from the polls.
This is President Trump's one last chance not to let his voters down. If he blows it, I
think the 2020 campaign will be irredeemable -- and unlike Republicans, Democrats will have no
problem in using government power to
crush their political enemies once they are in the White House again.
Why doesn't Trump realize Jared is a viper at the heart of his family and administration? He
absolutely needs to address the nation. Jared might be setting up another style of coup
attempt.
You're four years late. Trump was always the Pied Piper, following Hillary's orders while
leading foolish populists off the cliff. If you're still expecting anything else from him,
you're deluded.
There's one small point of forgiveness for fools. Obama showed his Deepstate loyalty
BEFORE the 2008 election, so there was no reason for any honest observer to vote for him.
Trump didn't show his hand until just AFTER the 2016 election. After the first week it was
amply clear that he had no intentions of "draining the swamp". A true opponent of
Deepstate would have spent the first month firing and jailing thousands of bureaucrats. Trump
didn't fire anyone at all.
Another white supremacist trash piece. You guys never learn. Trump is finished.
Unfortunately, his opponents are just as corrupt and criminal. This country is doomed
and it will not be able to redeem itself, and deserves what's coming to it. Especially, not
with the moronic and insensitive example of articles, authors and a blind culture that is
portrayed above.
I see a lot of whites among the protesters. How much of that is anger over Floyd and how
much is pent up rage over the senseless lockdowns I cant say.
If you look back to last year Barr developed his precrime program, Trump pushed HARPA/SAFE
HOME, bills for Domestic Terrorism were proposed, FBI issues memo that conspiracy theories
(question official narratives) promote terrorism , etc. This all happening while Crimson
Contagion exercises, Urban Outbreak Exercises and Event 201 simulation are happening.
Coincidence?
The Rockefeller Lockstep Report in 2010 predicted pushback
After Lockdowns over the virus , conditions were ripe for an explosion that would allow
the pre-crime/domestic terrorism agendas to get political support. Just needed a trigger and
I think the Floyd killing was an operation intended to be that trigger. Push back begins. The
protests gone violent with a convenient supply of bricks may be due to agent provocateurs.
Contract tracing apps issued before the protests will certainly be put to good use. Contract
tracers will be given another job.
Trump now declares antifa a Terrorist Group. Basically anyone opposed to fascism and
authoritarianism can be suspected of being antifa and a terrorist. How convenient for
fascists and authoritarians.
At this point people have to be considering the fact that Trump is more of a hindrance than a
help. He appears to be nothing more than a lullaby used to put his supporters to sleep,
secure in their delusions that they have a viable political future as long as they vote hard
enough.
If it takes a president Stacy Abrams to wake them up, then why not now? In the extremely
unlikely event that Trump pulls off another victory, what will be the purpose? He's clearly
demonstrated that he is incapable of any action beyond nominating a SC justice and tweeting.
4 more years of having to listen to delusional MAGA people is too much to stomach for no
payoff.
I'd rather have an obese gap toothed woman of color ordering the construction of all POC
settlements in white neighboorhoods. Maybe then the MAGA folks would wake up. Of course it's
more likely that they would start cheering Marco Rubio by claiming that he only wants to
build 10 apartments per un-diverse town instead of 30.
I'll preface this with I'm no fan of Donald Trump.
That said, I believe the soon-to-be-wrath of the people will fall mainly on state
governors and city mayors rather than on Trump. Polls mean nothing these days. 2016 proved
that one. What's right in front of many people today is that they've not only lost wages to
CV-19, but now, just as they're gearing up to return, their workplace is gone -- either
burned down, or indefinitely closed due to the riots and related damage to public
infrastructure.
Meanwhile in flyover country, people look on in horror at what, rightly or wrongly, is
associated in their minds with BLM and ANTIFA. That is to say The Left. Cartoonish, yes, but
that's what they see.
As in 2016, people will again vote Trump as a giant FU to the Left, which they'll
perceive as having caused, if not instigated this crisis. Disaffected Trump supporters who
might not have bothered this time, are rethinking that as we speak. At this point, a Trump
landslide is a very real possibility.
This is not the outcome I want -- that doesn't actually exist at this time -- but FWIW,
it's the way I see it playing out. I know history doesn't always repeat, but this looks a lot
like 1968 to me.
Trump is hiding in a bunker . Hope he stays there for good.
Yes. It's why some of us stayed home in 2016. A choice between Hillary, a lifelong flake,
and yet another third-rate actor. Did everyone forget that the other third-rate actor,
Reagan, gave the country away?
It's fitting for Trump to tweet and hide. He has successfully updated hit and run.
Welcome back, James Kirkpatrick! Trump has disappointed, and he may be down in the polls, but
he's not out.
This Mau Mau power grab (and the media's role in promoting it) is actually winning votes
for Trump. The President represents the rule of law. Civilization. This is a winning ticket.
And people are fed up with all the slick media favoritism. It's toxic.
Meanwhile, the unholy and fragile Democrat alliance that includes white-hating blacks,
left-indoctrinated students, hysterical femmes, radical queers, antifa terrorists,
disaffected POC, and white 'moderates' constitutes an arranged political marriage that
will not endure . Most of these assorted malcontents have only one thing that unites
them: hatred of Trump and his base. This is not a winning platform. Plus, sleepy Joe will
have to repudiate all this liberal violence and looting if he's to maintain his (allegedly)
leading position in the polls. BLM may not like this, nor will the uber-progressive wing of
the Democrat party. Expect fireworks.
On the other hand, Trump now gets to advocate for political stability, cultural
continuity, and even physical safety. The unhinged, far-too-left looters now seen on TV are
actually a Godsend for Trump. Watch him amass most of what's left of America's silent (white,
middle class) majority on election-day. Regular folks will reemerge as a unified block in the
wake of these despicable acts of lawlessness and greed.
After Trump chews up sleepy Joe in the debates, watch this race flip into a Trump
landslide. It happened for Nixon. Maybe then, Trump the two-term President will revisit the
agenda that got him elected as a candidate in 2016. This final scenario might not be likely,
but stranger things have happened.
@Pft Even all this arson may be of benefit the business community. Weren't we reading
endless comments how the lockdown has badly affected small businesses, many of which would go
bankrupt due to lack of customers? Perhaps the best thing for them is to get burnt down so
they can claim the insurance as many of them would probably have had to close shop anyway.
@Anon show me one single pick of his admin. who ended up beneficial for him or his
reelection: Jared is the personification of Netanyahu in the White House: clusterfuck nation
will be his signature at the court of History.
Where Have You Gone, Donald Trump? A Nation Turns Its Yearning Eyes to You
James Kirkpatrick • May 31, 2020
Out of context, the whole of the elites bulb is irrecoverable. The "bend" to turn it into
politics, is going to be little of a patch, won´t last the next round.
The "ramble" in the streets is way exaggerated, nothing will come of it if all
semi-organized groups that have ambitions do not add to the noise, and get some pertinent
rusults: bargaining power. It is a dream opportunity to "vote" with one´s feet. Real
disorder cannot be worse, when the asserted elites are morally corrupt and have no
ethics.
It would take more then a department store and a police precinct to make a point: "We
want leadership, not profiteering", "Bust the bulb" add focus. Corporate headquarters, gated
communities, the White House, Capitol Hill, Millionaire communities, airports, bridges,
paralysing the hardware farms of Google, Facebook and Twitter, spreading to cities as London,
Amsterdam, Paris, great opportunities there. "No borders, no castles". Disruption is a start
and a means to an end. Explaining comes later. Only going that direction would cause any
effects that last.
These are few things that come to mind. When historically, "real" leaders can have a
chance to re-assert and reorganize, effectively stump out the "rot at the top", there must be
some serious rioting first.
There is not much of an alternative, and outside the US forces, Russia, China, Iran,
Venezuela, people up to dumps as Bangladesh, Libya, will gladly stomp the US obese
backside.
These above are thoughts that come to mind, regarding a minor overblown bush-fire for now.
The thing is a fizzle.
"... The failure of the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) against COVID-19, with nearly four times the annual budget of the WHO, is visible to the world. The CDC failed to provide a successful test for SARS-CoV-2 in the critical months of February and March , while ignoring the WHO's successful test kits that were distributed to 120 countries. ..."
"... Trump has yet to hold his administration and the CDC responsible for this criminal bungling. This, more than any other failure , is the reason that the U.S. numbers for COVID-19 are now more than 1.5 million and about a third of all global infections. Contrast this with China, the first to face an unknown epidemic, stopping it at 82,000 infections, and the amazing results that countries such as Vietnam and South Korea have produced. ..."
"... Taiwan was the first to inform the WHO of human-to-human transmissions in December, but was completely ignored. ..."
"... "Just how evil does this situation become? Is the general leadership of the American political economy trying to be evil just for the fun of it?" ..."
"... And at what point does the general indifference to this state of affairs that still, incredibly, obtains, turn over into mass outrage and condemnation? Skrelli, Bayer, and all the rest are frelling evil. Extortion writ large, with easily preventable death and suffering. ..."
"... As you note it's about profits. One of the disturbing condemnations of the now fading American Century, which most USians remain contentedly oblivious to is that during their watch as global hegemon, the US, in what can be seen, in the best light, as bad faith, worked to undermine the democratic functionality of international cooperative organizations like the WHO, the UN, etc. ..."
"... The intention of granting copyrights and patents was noble, to provide a limited monopoly on an invention or literary work for a limited period. IP has been distorted and twisted, extended to insane time limits to protect works that for any common sense thinkers have already become public domain (see, e.g. the Happy Birthday song, Mickey Mouse or re-formulation of a drug that's gone out of patent). Software should have had its own IP regime but that ship has sailed (thanks Bill G.). ..."
Donald Trump launched a new vaccine war in May, but not against the virus. It was against
the world. The United States and the UK
were the only
two holdouts in the World Health Assembly from the declaration that vaccines and medicines
for COVID-19
should be available as public goods , and not under exclusive patent rights. The
United States explicitly disassociated itself from the patent pool call, talking instead of
"the critical role that intellectual property plays" -- in other words, patents for vaccines
and medicines. Having badly botched his COVID-19 response, Trump is trying to redeem his
electoral fortunes in the November elections this year by promising an early vaccine. The 2020
version of Trump's "Make America Great Again" slogan is shaping up to be, essentially, "
vaccines for us" -- but the rest of the world will have to queue up and pay what big pharma
asks, as they will hold the patents.
Trump has yet to hold his administration and the CDC responsible for this criminal
bungling. This, more than any
other failure , is the reason that the U.S. numbers for COVID-19 are now more than 1.5
million and about a third of all global infections. Contrast this with China, the first to face
an unknown epidemic, stopping it at 82,000 infections, and the amazing results that countries
such as Vietnam and
South Korea have produced.
One issue is now looming large over the COVID-19 pandemic. If we do not address the
intellectual property rights issue in this pandemic, we are likely to see a repeat of the AIDS tragedy . People
died for 10 years (1994-2004) as patented AIDS medicine was priced at $10,000 to $15,000
for a year's supply, far beyond their reach. Finally, patent
laws in India allowed people to get AIDS medicine at less than a dollar a day , or $350 for a year's supply.
Today, 80
percent of the world's AIDS medicine comes from India. For big pharma, profits trumped
lives, and they will continue to do so, COVID or no COVID, unless we change the world.
Most countries have compulsory licensing provisions that will allow them to break patents in
case of epidemics or health emergencies. Even the WTO, after a bitter fight, accepted in its
Doha Declaration (2001) that countries, in a health emergency, have the right to allow any
company to manufacture a patented drug without the patent holder's permission, and even import
it from other countries.
Why is it, then, that countries are unable to break patents, even if there are provisions in
their laws and in the TRIPS Agreement? The answer is their fear of U.S. sanctions against them.
Every year, the U.S. Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) issues a Special
301 Report that it has used to threaten trade sanctions against any country that tries to
compulsorily license any patented product.
India figures prominently in this report year after year, for daring to
issue a compulsory license in 2012 to Natco for nexavar, a cancer drug Bayer was selling
for
more than $65,000 a year . Marijn Dekkers, the CEO of Bayer, was quoted widely that this
was "theft," and "We did not develop
this medicine for Indians We developed it for Western patients who can afford it."
This leaves unanswered how many people even in the affluent West can afford a $65,000 bill
for an illness. But there is no question that a bill of this magnitude is a death sentence for
anybody but the super-rich in countries like India. Though a number of other drugs were under
also consideration for compulsory licensing at that time, India has not exercised this
provision again after receiving U.S. threats.
It is the fear that countries can break patents using their compulsory licensing powers that
led to proposals for patent pooling. The argument was that since many of these diseases do not
affect rich countries, big pharma should either let go of their patents to such patent pools,
or philanthropic capital should fund the development of new drugs for this pool. Facing the
pandemic of COVID-19, it is this idea of patent pooling that emerged in the recent World Health
Assembly , WHA-73. All countries supported this proposal, barring the
United States and its loyal camp follower, the UK . The
United States also entered its disagreement on the final WHA resolution, being the
lone objector to patent pooling of COVID-19 medicines and vaccines, noting "the critical
role that intellectual property plays in incentivizing the development of new and improved
health products."
While patent pooling is welcome if no other measure is available, it also makes it appear as
if countries have no other recourse apart from the charity of big capital. What this hides, as
charity always does, is that people and countries have legitimate rights even under TRIPS to
break patents under conditions of an epidemic or a health emergency.
The United States, which screams murder if a compulsory license is issued by any country,
has no such compunction when its own interests are threatened. During the anthrax scare in
2001, the U.S. Secretary of Health issued a threat to
Bayer under "eminent domain for patents" for licensing the anthrax-treatment drug
ciprofloxacin to other manufacturers. Bayer folded, and agreed to supply the quantity at a
price that the U.S. government had set. And without a whimper. Yes, this is the same Bayer that
considers India as a "thief" for issuing a compulsory license!
The vaccination for COVID-19 might need to be repeated each year, as we still do not know
the duration of its protection. It is unlikely that a vaccine against SARS-CoV-2 will
provide a lifetime
immunity like the smallpox vaccine. Unlike AIDS, where the patient numbers were smaller and
were unfortunately stigmatized in different ways, COVID-19 is a visible threat for everyone.
Any attempt to hold people and governments to ransom on COVID-19 vaccines or medicines could
see the collapse of the entire patent edifice of TRIPS that big pharma backed by the United
States and major EU countries have built. That is why the more clever in the capitalist world
have moved toward a voluntary
patent pool for potential COVID-19 medicines and vaccines. A voluntary patent pool means
that companies or institutions holding patents on medicines -- such as remdesivir -- or
vaccines would voluntarily hand them over to such a pool. The terms and conditions of such a
handover, meaning at concessional rates, or for only for certain regions, are still not clear
-- leading to criticism that a voluntary patent pool is not a substitute for declaring that all
such medicines and vaccines should be declared global public goods during the COVID-19
pandemic.
Unlike clever capital, Trump's response to the COVID-19 vaccine is to thuggishly bully his
way through. He believes that with the unlimited money that the United States is now willing to
put into the vaccine efforts, it will either beat everybody else to the winning post, or
buy the company that is
successful . If this strategy succeeds, he can then use "his" COVID-19 vaccine as a new
instrument of global power. It is the United States that will then decide which countries get
the vaccine (and for how much), and which ones don't.
Trump's little problem is that the days of the United States being a sole global hegemon
passed decades ago. The United States has shown itself as a
fumbling giant and its epidemic response
shambolic . It has been unable to provide virus tests to its people in time, and failed to
stop the epidemic through containment/mitigation measures, which a number of other countries
have done.
China and the
EU have already agreed that any vaccine developed by them will be regarded as a public
good. Even without that, once a medicine or a vaccine is known to be successful, any country
with a reasonable scientific infrastructure can replicate the medicine or the vaccine, and
manufacture it locally. India in particular has one of the largest
generic drug and vaccine manufacturing capacities in the world. What prevents India, or any
country for that matter, from manufacturing COVID-19 vaccines or drugs once they are developed
-- only the empty threat of a failed hegemon on breaking patents?
Clearly the Trump and Johnson administrations are completely wrong in not supporting that
all COVID vaccines and medications be declared as public goods. This is an unprecedented
global threat requiring unprecedented global response.
But as a Canadian I have to reluctantly admit, there are legimate reasons to oppose the
WHO. Trump like a broken clock can be correct twice a day, even if he is wrong the other 1438
times a day.
The worst offence is that the WHO (World Health Organisation) is suppose to represent the
world, and yet it deliberately excludes Taiwan, which it a known part of the world with 24
million people.
Taiwan was the first to inform the WHO of human-to-human transmissions in December, but
was completely ignored. And Taiwan has best handled its response to the pandemic.
Personally I think that all countries should stop supporting the WHO until it restores
Taiwan's observer status it previous had until 2016. The only other reasonable option would
be to create an alternative health organisation to the WHO which does not exclude any part of
the world.
The WHO also has other failings, including corruption, exorbitant travel expenses, and an
unqualified president beholden to the CCP. But these failings pale in comparison to Taiwan's
exclusion, and hopefully the other failings can be fixed within the organisation.
"Just how evil does this situation become? Is the general leadership of the American
political economy trying to be evil just for the fun of it?"
And at what point does the general indifference to this state of affairs that still,
incredibly, obtains, turn over into mass outrage and condemnation?
Skrelli, Bayer, and all the rest are frelling evil. Extortion writ large, with easily preventable death and suffering.
it did NOT begin with trump.It's been there for most of my life. What will it take for ordinary people to get mad enough about it all to do something about
it?
Even in this article, the unspoken assumption is that our hands are somehow tied that these
corps have agency far beyond anyone else's but those corps can be seized, and exist only at
the pleasure of governments in the places they pretend to exist in.
They are a human creation an Egregore, set tottering about as if it were willful and
alive
but even Lefties treat them as untouchable godlike entities "oh, well lets appeal to
"Benevolent Capital, instead "
"Behold, I show you the last man.
'What is love? What is creation? What is longing? What is a star?' thus asks the last man,
and blinks.
The earth has become small, and on it hops the last man, who makes everything small. His race
is as ineradicable as the flea; the last man lives longest.
'We have invented happiness,'say the last men, and they blink. They have left the regions
where it was hard to live, for one needs warmth. One still loves one's neighbor and rubs
against him, for one needs warmth
One still works, for work is a form of entertainment. But one is careful lest the
entertainment be too harrowing. One no longer becomes poor or rich: both require too much
exertion. Who still wants to rule? Who obey? Both require too much exertion.
No shepherd and one herd! Everybody wants the same, everybody is the same: whoever feels
different goes voluntarily into a madhouse.
'Formerly, all the world was mad,' say the most refined, and they blink
One has one's little pleasure for the day and one's little pleasure for the night: but one
has a regard for health.
'We have invented happiness,' say the last men, and they blink.""
As you note it's about profits. One of the disturbing condemnations of the now fading
American Century, which most USians remain contentedly oblivious to is that during their
watch as global hegemon, the US, in what can be seen, in the best light, as bad faith, worked
to undermine the democratic functionality of international cooperative organizations like the
WHO, the UN, etc.
Thus when emergencies arise such as international diplomatic crisis or pandemics, it is
found these organisations have been rendered untrustworthy, corrupted and unreliable;
unsuited to purpose. American exceptionalism?
It is clear now that the USA will not fund a national public health system to fight the
coronavirus epidemic. The only conclusion is the reason is to allow Pharmaceutical
Corporations to make huge profits by marketing patented drugs and vaccines to treat the
illness; if and when, they become available sometime in the future.
Due to incompetence, lack of money and bad messengering; the economic reopening of the USA
could kill close to a million Americans. To Republicans and Libertarians, this is of no
concern. Democrats may acknowledge the deaths but say they are unavoidable.
For the Elite keeping their wealth is more important than spending a portion to prevent
the huge costs in lives and treasure that will come once the Wuhan Coronavirus is established
across North America like the related common cold.
This is a teachable moment on the immorality of all "intellectual property". I am pleased to see that so many countries – other than the US and the UK –
can get together on the common decency of allowing everyone to live, and set that above the
"justice" of paying off intellectual property assignees. But these countries still have some
ways to go in understanding that this applies to all information. That the creation of
information can never be a living – in contrast to a living based on the creation of
essential goods and services, about which we are learning so much right now! – and that
information can never be owned.
They do not yet fully comprehend that all claims to own and extract rent from information
are in fact crimes against humanity.
The intention of granting copyrights and patents was noble, to provide a limited monopoly
on an invention or literary work for a limited period. IP has been distorted and twisted,
extended to insane time limits to protect works that for any common sense thinkers have
already become public domain (see, e.g. the Happy Birthday song, Mickey Mouse or
re-formulation of a drug that's gone out of patent). Software should have had its own IP
regime but that ship has sailed (thanks Bill G.).
Either a giant reform is due or people will ignore the law and infringe the IP. Chinese
companies do it with impunity. Maybe they're right to do so.
Patent applications for the top 20 offices, 2018
Rank Country Patent applications
1 China 1,542,002
2 U.S. 597,141
3 Japan 313,567
4 South Korea 209,992
If one sums up USA patent applications vs Asia (China, Japan, SK), it is USA 597K vs Asia
2066K.
So Asia is putting in patent applications, vs the USA, at a 3.46 multiple vs the USA.
It will be interesting to see if the USA attitude about the sanctity of intellectual
property changes when important key patents are held by the rest of the world.
Teachable moments. This could get really interesting if China or a non US & associated puppets develops
an effect Covid treatment first.
I will dream of something like this: China develops vaccine, offers it free to US on condition it reduce it's Dept of War &
Aggression by 80% and honor all existing and recently existing arms control agreement, and
withdraws it's Naval forces though out the world and confines them to the North Atlantic and
California coast.
I wonder if a geopolitically powerful nation/bloc of nations such as China/India/etc might
announce that they disregard pharma IP, & announce that they will adhere to the economist
Dr Dean Baker-type policy of open source pharma R&D/recipe publication, any private
manufacturer may manufacture & sell the resultant pharma SKU. I am referring to any type
of pharma or medical device (such as ventilators), not just a COVID-19 vaccine. I would
guesstimate that the "soft power" & goodwill generated by such a policy would be
extremely beneficial to those nation(s). Furthermore, the US if it tried to retaliate via
sanctions or other threats would get a corresponding additional decrease in soft power.
To be honest, in some instances Indian govt practices on pharma are quite bad. It is
extremely hard in some instances to recoup investments at prices they ask for.
"The American people are miserable amid the epidemic, and their president is an eccentric
who does not care about the safety of ordinary people and is good at passing the buck," Li
said.
Many analysts have noted the epidemic in the US might not end before the US election ,
and Trump's repeated emphasis on work resumption would not take off as long as the coronavirus
enjoys freedom to spread.
... ... ...
Ni Feng, director of the institute of American studies at the Chinese Academy of Social
Sciences in Beijing, told the Global Times the death notice of COVID-19 victims on the New York
Times' front page could "deal a fatal blow to Trump's re-election" as most of the names on the
front page were elderly people, his potential voters.
The elderly are always conservative, and thus most are potentially Trump's voters, Ni
opined.
The voter turnout of the elderly is also higher than young people, said Ni, noting Trump's
behavior will make the firmest supporters change their mind, "facing the crisis of life."
The anxiety over Trump's standing with the Christian right surfaced after a pair of
surveys by reputable outfits earlier this month found waning confidence in the
administration's coronavirus response among key religious groups, with a staggering decline
in the president's favorability among white evangelicals and white Catholics. Both are
crucial constituencies that supported Trump by wide margins in 2016 and could sink his
reelection prospects if their turnout shrinks this fall.
The polls paint a bleak picture for Trump, who has counted on broadening his religious
support by at least a few percentage points to compensate for weakened appeal with women and
suburban populations. One GOP official said the dip in the president's evangelical support
also appeared in internal party polling, but disputed the notion that it had caused panic.
Another person close to the campaign described an April survey by the Public Religion
Research Institute, which showed a double-digit decline in Trump's favorability among white
evangelicals (-11), white Catholics (-12) and white mainline protestants (-18) from the
previous month, as "pretty concerning."
More:
Following the PRRI survey, which was conducted while Trump was a dominant presence at
televised daily briefings by his administration's coronavirus task force, Pew Research Center
released new data last week that showed a 7-point increase from April to May in white
Catholics who disapprove of Trump's response to the Covid-19 crisis and a 6-point decline
among white evangelicals who previously gave him positive marks.
The open-the-churches call from Trump today is just rhetorical. The president doesn't have
the power to re-open them; state governments do. The president is trying to send a signal that
he is on the side of churchgoers. Not sure that's going to do the trick. From Politico:
It's unlikely that critics of church closings alone are responsible for the decline in
Trump's favorability among critical religious demographics. According to the Pew survey, 43
percent of white evangelicals and 52 percent of white Catholics think the current
restrictions on public activity in their areas are appropriate versus 42 percent and 31
percent, respectively, who think fewer restrictions would be better. Greater shares of white
evangelicals and white Catholics also said they are more afraid about their state governments
lifting restrictions on public activity too soon than they are about leaving the restrictions
in place for too long.
Maybe the truth is that conservative Christians may prefer Trump to Biden on issues that
matter to them, but his handling of the global pandemic overrides everything else this year. No
doubt that many Christian voters would vote Trump no matter how he performed on pandemic
response.
Andrew Sullivan writes today:
A year ago precisely, Trump's approval rating was, in FiveThirtyEight's poll of polls,
53.8 percent disapprove, 41.1 percent approve. This week, the spread was 53.1 percent
disapprove and 43 percent approve. Almost identical. None of the events of the last year --
impeachment, plague, economic collapse -- have had anything but a trivial impact on public
opinion.
It is true also that Trump's knot of popular support–about 43 percent of the
electorate, based on approval surveys–is remarkably solid, willing to accept just about
anything he does or says so long as he continues to attack those dastardly elites.
But presidential elections also don't turn on any incumbent's base of support. Reelection
requires that a president build upon that base and create a governing coalition by bringing
in new converts through Oval Office achievement. Richard Nixon, a 43 percent president
following the 1968 election, pulled to his party much of the George Wallace constituency,
nearly 14 percent of the popular vote in 1968. The result was a reelection landslide.
Similarly, following the 1980 election Ronald Reagan pulled to his banner the so-called
Reagan Democrats, which contributed to his margin of victory in numerous congressional
battles and in his own landslide reelection in 1984.
Or consider the case of Bill Clinton, like Nixon a 43 percent president after his 1992
victory against incumbent George H. W. Bush and upstart candidate Ross Perot, who garnered 19
percent of the popular vote. Clinton had his head handed to him in the 1994 midterm elections
following a sub-par performance during his first two years in office. But after that he
brilliantly calibrated his leadership to capture a significant portion of the Perot vote.
Thus did he build on his base through performance in office and become a two-term
president.
Trump has proved himself incapable of this kind of political calibration. He can't even
talk to those Americans who might be receptive to his policies but haven't yet joined up. He
talks only to his base.
Directly challenging him, even when his numbers are wrong, appears to erode Mr. Trump's
trust, according to former officials, and ultimately he stops listening. In other words, the
officials who tell him things he doesn't want to believe are soon sidelined or fired.