Will Trump be Re-elected?

[Ad Orientem]

National Review: Trump — or What, Exactly?

https://www.nationalreview.com/2019/08/ ... t-critics/

An interesting piece. I am not a Trump fan at all. But they do raise some fair points.

[Cortopassi]

National Review: Trump — or What, Exactly?

https://www.nationalreview.com/2019/08/ ... t-critics/

An interesting piece. I am not a Trump fan at all. But they do raise some fair points.

All I wonder is could he have gotten to the same place with a kinder and gentler tone, or is the style necessary to get to where he's at.

I wish he'd run up against the medical/pharma industry a bit more than he has (seems very little). A bit too stuck on tariffs and immigration if you ask me.

[ochotona]

National Review: Trump — or What, Exactly?

https://www.nationalreview.com/2019/08/ ... t-critics/

An interesting piece. I am not a Trump fan at all. But they do raise some fair points.

All I wonder is could he have gotten to the same place with a kinder and gentler tone, or is the style necessary to get to where he's at.

I wish he'd run up against the medical/pharma industry a bit more than he has (seems very little). A bit too stuck on tariffs and immigration if you ask me.

People voted for him because they thought he had the balls to go after entrenched special interests. Turns out, his White House economic team are all swamp creatures, and also Trump trips over his own tie, and God only knows what Vlad has on him after how Trump was defending Russia at the G-7... PP tapes, maybe with minors, money laundering, ugh..

[WiseOne]

Judge the tree by the fruit it bears. The fruit we have gotten from Trump is all rotten to the core.

I completely agree with your first sentence, but not so much the second. How about this, for example:

https://www.cnn.com/2019/08/26/perspect ... index.html

I was really surprised that CNN published this. I guess they couldn't refute it.

Libertarian666: I didn't say that ANY Republican could beat Trump in the primary. I do think that an intelligent, well-spoken, centrist Republican like the ones I listed have a good shot, though. It depends on whether they will carry the flag of addressing what Trump saw (correctly, in my view) as the major threats to the US economy - while acting a bit more grown-up.

[WiseOne]

So if you like Trump's policies, why would you take a chance that an alternative candidate would actually fulfill them?

Well you may not agree with my thought process but for what it's worth...

What I like is how he has cut through the Washington insider B-S to identify serious problems that everyone else (politicians and mainstream media alike) either were blind to, or pretended not to exist or even pretended to be Good Things (like exporting manufacturing jobs to low-wage locales then importing finished products back here, or importing unskilled and welfare-dependent Latin Americans to keep corporate wages low). Because he has done this, the rest of the Republican field will know that they can't go back to the pre-2016 status quo, not if they want a chance at winning the primary.

What I don't like is that he has no idea how to go about addressing these problems. He's a bull in a china shop and doesn't play well with others, and as a result he is mostly limited to solving problems via executive order. All those can be (and probably will be) reversed the moment a Democrat takes office. The tax reform bill was a notable exception, but I doubt he can repeat that accomplishment for anything else given that he's gotten precisely nowhere with immigration and health care proposals, not to mention The Wall. And, those traits appear to be getting worse, although maybe that's just a perception because the press has lost all professional restraint. High turnover of Administration staff is probably a better indicator.

If another candidate with better people skills could pick up where Trump left off that would be ideal.

[ochotona]

People wanted a Change President. They got an incompetent Change President.

[ochotona]

Now Mr T wants to seize private land to build his wall, promising to pardon Federal officials charged with breaking the law.

"Just take the land".

Setting up for another Ruby Ridge, another Waco.

If Texas flips Dem in 2020, we won't see another Republican President for a long while...

[shekels]

Now Mr T wants to seize private land to build his wall, promising to pardon Federal officials charged with breaking the law.

"Just take the land".

Setting up for another Ruby Ridge, another Waco.

If Texas flips Dem in 2020, we won't see another Republican President for a long while...

Government Seizes land ALL THE TIME..through eminent domain. Agree with it or not they still seem to get the Land.

https://www.politico.com/2016-election/ ... ent/texas/

If Texas does flip, There will be a lot more call and pressure to push for the secession movement.

[Libertarian666]

People wanted a Change President. They got an incompetent Change President.

I disagree. I think he has done more than anyone could expect given the fanatical opposition by almost all of the media and most of Congress.

[shekels]

https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/artic ... nald-trump

There’s even an argument that the election itself falls within the Fed’s purview. After all, Trump’s reelection arguably presents a threat to the U.S. and global economy, to the Fed’s independence and its ability to achieve its employment and inflation objectives. If the goal of monetary policy is to achieve the best long-term economic outcome, then Fed officials should consider how their decisions will affect the political outcome in 2020.

So is the Banking cartel pushing to control the President of the United States along with Monetary policy?

[shekels]

https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/artic ... nald-trump

There’s even an argument that the election itself falls within the Fed’s purview. After all, Trump’s reelection arguably presents a threat to the U.S. and global economy, to the Fed’s independence and its ability to achieve its employment and inflation objectives. If the goal of monetary policy is to achieve the best long-term economic outcome, then Fed officials should consider how their decisions will affect the political outcome in 2020.

So is the Banking cartel pushing to control the President of the United States along with Monetary policy?

Why not? They don't want any limits to their power.

Aah. Just follow us along on The road to Serfdom.

[dualstow]

Libertarian666,
what is your main reaction when someone suddenly resigns from the current administration or is asked to resign?
- There is something fundamentally wrong here
- Ok, this is part of Trump’s personality problem, but someone with a tougher constitution will come along and it’ll be a better fit to work with the President
- They were wrong for the job anyway / it’s hard to find good help these days
- Other:___________
- Some of the above?

[Cortopassi]

Libertarian666,
what is your main reaction when someone suddenly resigns from the current administration or is asked to resign?
- There is something fundamentally wrong here
- Ok, this is part of Trump’s personality problem, but someone with a tougher constitution will come along and it’ll be a better fit to work with the President
- They were wrong for the job anyway / it’s hard to find good help these days
- Other:___________
- Some of the above?

I am most amazed at these generals, heads of companies, top professionals, etc who come into this admin, and for the most part, apparently because he has the title of President, become these meek, reticent people toward him. Yes, Sir! type of mentality. Does no one ever call him out? Ok, yes, they do, but only once they've left generally.

They are all, also, for the most part, obscenely wealthy. Why in God's name would you want to put yourself through this?

[dualstow]

Does no one ever call him out? Ok, yes, they do, but only once they've left generally.

There’s a logic to that, though, right?
One hears talk of gentle attempts to educate the President- “Sir, you just can’t do that” — but there’s not much point in really calling him out until it’s time to go.

I should reiterate that I agree with Tech that Mr Trump has gotten some things done that his predecessors failed to accomplish. Maybe his Crazy Ivan approach is what we need to get some of the dirty work done, to counter Kim Jong Eun, etc, before we put a nice guy in the office and get back to sanity.

Still, things could easily go sour before his second term is over, and none of it will have been worth it.

[flyingpylon]

Libertarian666,
what is your main reaction when someone suddenly resigns from the current administration or is asked to resign?
- There is something fundamentally wrong here
- Ok, this is part of Trump’s personality problem, but someone with a tougher constitution will come along and it’ll be a better fit to work with the President
- They were wrong for the job anyway / it’s hard to find good help these days
- Other:___________
- Some of the above?

It's also possible that people take those jobs with the expectation that the political establishment's game will be played the way it always has, and are then surprised to find that the old rules no longer apply.

If you've been happy with the government's performance over the last several decades, you might see that as a bad thing. If not, you might think it's worth tolerating some turmoil to try a different approach.

[Kriegsspiel]

I listened to Bernie Sanders today on Joe Rogan, and one thing he said made me get on the search ("do american drug buyers subsidize other countries"). He said he could go across the border to Canada and get the exact same medicine for 1/10 the price in the US. I thought that sounded like we were subsidizing Canada's drugs. According to this article, that is what's happening:

The Europeans and Canadians (as well as the rest of the world) are free-riding on the back of American medical innovators. European countries and Canada – our trading allies – impede access and set artificially low prices for prescription medicines. If U.S. companies refuse to acquiesce on prices, these foreign governments threaten to steal their patents by using compulsory licensing. It’s that simple: Europe and Canada refuse to pay their fair share forcing Americans to pay more.

Americans pay the highest prices for prescription drugs in the world. In 2016, U.S. spending on pharmaceuticals totaled more than $450 billion – a rate that’s two to six times higher than the world average.

The reason boils down to “compulsory licensing.” As the World Trade Organization explains, this is when “a government allows someone else to produce a patented product or process without the consent of the patent owner or plans to use the patent-protected invention itself.” These foreign governments put U.S. biopharmaceutical companies in a proverbial “gun-to-the-head” situation – i.e., sell us the drugs at the bogus price we demand, or don’t and we’ll just take it.

Sounds like something that would drive Trump wild, analogous to the NATO military spending issue.

[dualstow]

I think that’s a fair point, flyingpylon. I don’t know if it accurately reflects the reasons for the majority of these people leaving, but perhaps it doesn’t matter.

[dualstow]

i am guessing a certain percentage of the people leaving is due to their being government workers.. used to having no accountability, passing the buck, and generally working political jobs where the only thing they really do is play politics to lever into the next one, the culture shock for a career bureaucratic being expected to preform and a business man used to having real world employees who do preform, is probably tough on both sides and leads to contentious relationships..

That sounds pretty much like what flyingpylon was saying. It must be true to an extent. But, it seems like there were just a few Nikki Haleys and John Kellys, vs an endless line of others through the revolving door.

Is it really a case of ‘they were the problem’ and Trump was not?

i would say a fare percentage are the problem.. some of it is that trump is undoubtedly an asshole and is abusive, in my experience many leaders/bosses that are driven to succeed in high pressure environments, and who are used to being the shot caller, tend to view everything through a success lens, and everything is either moving towards their vision of success or slowing progress towards it down, and when the people that work with them are seen as an impediment to success (real or imagined) they will be a real prick towards them, the "step or or get out of the way" world view tends to lead to a harsh and unforgiving environment where harsh and unforgiving assholes are trying to get stuff done...

[WiseOne]

If it were just a few people leaving the White House staff I might think that. Some of the people leaving hint at constant bullying, temper tantrums/rages, and gaslighting that sound like there's more going on than just the shift from politics as usual to a business environment.

Shekel, are you serious about your statement about Trump's re-election being "a threat to national security"? That's the single scariest thing I've heard in a very, very long time - that anyone would use such an unsupported and frankly ridiculous statement to justify what amounts to a coup and overturning of a US election. That would do far more damage to our government system than 8 years of Trump's tweets put together.

[flyingpylon]

Realistically, the current situation with people coming and going from the administration is probably a combination of all of the factors mentioned previously. I'm sure that includes some people that are nuts, some that think Trump is nuts, and everything in between. I don't claim to know what is really going on and I don't necessarily trust what "sources familiar with the situation" say, so I am left to speculate with everyone else.

One thing is for sure, people will express extreme indignation when they feel that their "way of life" is being disrupted or destroyed and they will go to great lengths to stop it. Many in the political establishment have spent decades of their lives navigating, working, and perpetuating a system of government that has become increasingly distant from what some would call the "real world". These establishment folks are not just going to give all of that up quietly. Trump is the first president in my lifetime to come from outside established political circles and it appears there's a lot of natural resistance to that from all sides of the political spectrum.

[shekels]

If it were just a few people leaving the White House staff I might think that. Some of the people leaving hint at constant bullying, temper tantrums/rages, and gaslighting that sound like there's more going on than just the shift from politics as usual to a business environment.

Shekel, are you serious about your statement about Trump's re-election being "a threat to national security"? That's the single scariest thing I've heard in a very, very long time - that anyone would use such an unsupported and frankly ridiculous statement to justify what amounts to a coup and overturning of a US election. That would do far more damage to our government system than 8 years of Trump's tweets put together.

Sorry, the statement came from the last paragraph in a Bloomberg article by Bill Dudley
"There’s even an argument that the election itself falls within the Fed’s purview. After all, Trump’s reelection arguably presents a threat to the U.S. "

https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/artic ... nald-trump

So some in the Fed are also Political, So there is one more reason to question their Fiduciary duty to the United States.

Bill Dudley is a senior research scholar at Princeton University’s Center for Economic Policy Studies. He served as president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York from 2009 to 2018, and as vice chairman of the Federal Open Market Committee. He was previously chief U.S. economist at Goldman Sachs.

[moda0306]

If it were just a few people leaving the White House staff I might think that. Some of the people leaving hint at constant bullying, temper tantrums/rages, and gaslighting that sound like there's more going on than just the shift from politics as usual to a business environment.

Shekel, are you serious about your statement about Trump's re-election being "a threat to national security"? That's the single scariest thing I've heard in a very, very long time - that anyone would use such an unsupported and frankly ridiculous statement to justify what amounts to a coup and overturning of a US election. That would do far more damage to our government system than 8 years of Trump's tweets put together.

Sorry, the statement came from the last paragraph in a Bloomberg article by Bill Dudley
"There’s even an argument that the election itself falls within the Fed’s purview. After all, Trump’s reelection arguably presents a threat to the U.S. "

https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/artic ... nald-trump

So some in the Fed are also Political, So there is one more reason to question their Fiduciary duty to the United States.

Bill Dudley is a senior research scholar at Princeton University’s Center for Economic Policy Studies. He served as president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York from 2009 to 2018, and as vice chairman of the Federal Open Market Committee. He was previously chief U.S. economist at Goldman Sachs.

WiseOne,

What do you consider a “very, very long time?” That statement pales in comparison to what was said by broad swaths of “the right” about Obama.

[shekels]

If it were just a few people leaving the White House staff I might think that. Some of the people leaving hint at constant bullying, temper tantrums/rages, and gaslighting that sound like there's more going on than just the shift from politics as usual to a business environment.

Shekel, are you serious about your statement about Trump's re-election being "a threat to national security"? That's the single scariest thing I've heard in a very, very long time - that anyone would use such an unsupported and frankly ridiculous statement to justify what amounts to a coup and overturning of a US election. That would do far more damage to our government system than 8 years of Trump's tweets put together.

Sorry, the statement came from the last paragraph in a Bloomberg article by Bill Dudley
"There’s even an argument that the election itself falls within the Fed’s purview. After all, Trump’s reelection arguably presents a threat to the U.S. "

https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/artic ... nald-trump

So some in the Fed are also Political, So there is one more reason to question their Fiduciary duty to the United States.

Bill Dudley is a senior research scholar at Princeton University’s Center for Economic Policy Studies. He served as president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York from 2009 to 2018, and as vice chairman of the Federal Open Market Committee. He was previously chief U.S. economist at Goldman Sachs.

WiseOne,

What do you consider a “very, very long time?” That statement pales in comparison to what was said by broad swaths of “the right” about Obama.

Yes 0bama caught crap from "the right " So does that make the statement OK?

How many in "the right" that held key positions, could crash the economy and then 0bama's Presidency?

[moda0306]

Sorry, the statement came from the last paragraph in a Bloomberg article by Bill Dudley
"There’s even an argument that the election itself falls within the Fed’s purview. After all, Trump’s reelection arguably presents a threat to the U.S. "

https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/artic ... nald-trump

So some in the Fed are also Political, So there is one more reason to question their Fiduciary duty to the United States.

Bill Dudley is a senior research scholar at Princeton University’s Center for Economic Policy Studies. He served as president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York from 2009 to 2018, and as vice chairman of the Federal Open Market Committee. He was previously chief U.S. economist at Goldman Sachs.

WiseOne,

What do you consider a “very, very long time?” That statement pales in comparison to what was said by broad swaths of “the right” about Obama.

Yes 0bama caught crap from "the right " So does that make the statement OK?

How many in "the right" that held key positions, could crash the economy and then 0bama's Presidency?

I think it's totally reasonable to assess a President as a threat to this country (though I'd like more specifics laid out). I agree that it's a terrible idea to use the deep state to engineer a coup or anything similar. Hence me being an advocate of disassembling the CIA, most of the FBI, vast swaths of the NSA, ICE, DHS, and 2/3 of the military. But what's dangerous is that they have the ability to do so and have done so, not that someone with little power says it out loud.

I don't mind valid assessments of anti-Trump hysteria in certain instances being overblown in the context of modern politics or more crucial issues. What I find ridiculous is folks leaning on the bad arguments and straw-manning the entire "left" as having no valid complaints while simultaneously ignoring the barrage of horse$hit attacks that Obama received... while, of course, he was committing war-crimes, expanding the surveillance state, etc (all of which were valid criticisms, rarely levied by "the right").

Making "the left" into a uniquely duplicitous group, while trying to combine the worst aspects of centrist corporatist war-mongers (Hillary Clinton), radical socialist revolutionaries (Antifa), and hysterical immature feministas into some sort of caricature is utterly ridiculous when juxtaposed against collective behavior of similar wings of "the right." For every AOC there are two Rapey Roy Moore. For every Hillary there is a Jeb. For every antifa nazi-puncher there's a white nationalist planning to shoot up a public locale (if they haven't already).

When AOC has her finger on the button, I'll worry about the soc-dem wing of the Democratic Party taking over. Until then, we have a man-baby with his finger on the button and fascistic police forces (but I repeat myself) at his disposal. Let's be adults and focus on the most powerful and violent powers/institutions in the country and how they should be used or, preferably, disassembled.

[ochotona]

Mar A Lago is going to be destroyed by the hurricane