Trump

[billy.pilgrim]

Trump won't debate more than once. This is prep work for cancelation

[Vrede too]

He may show up for #2 & #3. If Hillary is nice, she might even bring along the tiny balls she took from him in #1, if she hasn't already given them to the Khans as souvenirs.

[rstrong]

Trump: Dancing with the Tsars

The story so far:

- Techdirt: Putin's Internet Trolls Are Stoking The Vitriolic Fire By Posing As Trump Supporters

- Trump publicly urged Russia to cyber-invade the United States to find and publish the 30,000 hacked emails that have not been released.

- Paul Manafort, Trump's campaign chairman, has spent decades as a political adviser in eastern Europe. He worked closely with Putin-supported former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych who was ousted from power in 2014.

- Trump's foreign policy advisor Carter Page has "deep and continuing financial and employment ties" to Gazprom, Russia's trillion dollar energy company.

- Mr. Trump no longer does business with many US banks. Instead he "has steadied and rebuilt his financial empire with a heavy reliance on capital from Russia" according to a lawsuit uncovered by the New York Times.

- Trump has often praised Putin. But when asked by reporters last week if Russian President Vladimir Putin might favour a win for Trump, he said "I don't know who Putin is".

- Trump promises to pull the US out of NATO.

- The Republican National Committee shifted their stance on Russia under pressure from Trump staff in the days leading up to the convention in Cleveland, softening their position on the invasion of Crimea and Western Ukrain and weakening their support for Ukraine.

Update:

Yesterday George Stephanopoulos questioned Trump about that last point. Trump's defense of Putin - who has already invaded Crimea and western Ukraine: "He's not going into Ukraine, OK, just so you understand. He's not going to go into Ukraine, all right? You can mark it down. You can put it down. You can take it anywhere you want."

[Vrede too]

Thanks, already shared.

I wonder about the Russian end, though, yuuuge risk if they're caught and Trump loses. Could Trump be sucking up to them without their direct high-level involvement?

Deeper conspiratorial - could the Russians be playing Trump because they'd prefer the stability of Hillary?

[rstrong]

With Trump's Russian-connected advisors and Russian-connected financing, it's hard to imagine that they wouldn't try to help elect him. They'd be crazy not to. They've already gotten some return on their investment with the softening of the Republican position on the invasion of Ukraine. Even if he were to suddenly oppose Putin, as Hillary said, Trump can be baited with a tweet.

I suspect that at this point they're realizing that their horse in the race has some problems. He's crazier and more unstable than they imagined, switching for example from praising Putin to having "never heard of him" and denying that Putin would invade Ukraine.

Watch the trailer for the 2009 movie "The Informant!". Replace the FBI with the Federal Security Service (KGB: The Next Generation) and Matt Damon's character with Donald Trump:

The Informant! - Trailer


Then read the plot in Wikipedia.

[Vrede too]

The Manchurian Candidate

This whole campaign is a bizarre movie plot. Who would play the leads?

How about Gary Busey in a fat suit for Trump?
Pee-wee Herman as Little Marco Rubio?

[Vrede too]

The Truth About Russia And Me
Putin is a leader. And I think we’ve all seen that topless picture of him riding a horse. I’ll stop there.
Donald J. Drumpf
Winner

... I know some people were upset this week when I suggested that the Russians should launch a malicious cyber attack on Hillary Clinton in an effort to help me become President. But I was just being sarcastic! I’m definitely not on Putin’s payroll. OK, maybe the Russians did get my attention when Russian oligarch Dmitry Rybolovlev bought a Palm Beach estate from me in 2008. Some haters are asking if this was some kind of secret payoff from Moscow. But really I just made a terrific deal. I paid $41 million for the property at the height of the market and flipped it for $100 million in the midst of the biggest real estate collapse in Florida history. I’m such a great dealmaker! I definitely don’t owe Russia anything in return for that much-needed cash infusion in the middle of the crash! And I most certainly did not strike a secret deal with Putin when I was in Moscow for the Miss Universe contest in 2013....

[Vrede too]

I know we joke about it, but I'm beginning to suspect that Trump will have an actual full-blown psych crisis before Nov. If he wasn't so dangerous, I'd start feeling a little sorry for him.

[neoplacebo]

I dreamed the other night that someone asked Trump a question and he said "no comment." I couldn't fucking believe it.

[Vrede too]

I had a similar dream, but in it he said, "I was wrong."

[JTA]

[billy.pilgrim]

I know we joke about it, but I'm beginning to suspect that Trump will have an actual full-blown psych crisis before Nov. If he wasn't so dangerous, I'd start feeling a little sorry for him.

He may well do so if Mr. and Mrs. Khan keep bitch slapping his sorry ass

[billy.pilgrim]

I thought it was fake- at first

[rstrong]

The Manchurian Candidate

[Vrede too]

Great minds . . .

[Vrede too]

This just get better.

Trump Spokesperson Blames Obama for Khan’s Death — Four Years Before He Became President (Video)

Love the tweets.

[rstrong]

On Monday night Trump decided to show that he's a "man of the people" by eating KFC.

With a knife and fork.

On his executive jet.

Some good tweets on that one too.

[Vrede too]

What group have I not completely lost yet? Aha, the evangelical Chick-fil-A voters!

[Seth Milner]

I thought it was fake- at first

"You aren't doing it wrong if no one knows what you are doing."

[Seth Milner]