I thought it was a masterful performance. He dealt with people like Jim Acosta as though they were children. As he said, "so full of hatred…" I expect a variety of opinions, none of them full of hatred. pl
RSS- Supreme Court oral arguments to be heard on April 25 about presidential immunity for official acts
- Nasa’s Voyager-1 sends usable data from deep space
- The Wondrous Oak
- Three Seas Summit: Vilnius 2024
- Tit for tat until it all goes boom
- Deadly H5N1 avian influenza strain detected on mainland Antarctica
- “BYD is launching its next-gen Blade EV battery soon with more range and even lower cost”
- Iran launches air attacks on Israel
- ISW on the developing Ukrainian defense industrial base and Russias strikes on the Ukrainian energy infrastructure
- Britain? Kaput! By Walrus.
Just saw clips but it seems the stress and unpopularity is starting to drain him. He appears old and weak.
All,
I am not fond of Trump and not interested in the protection he has on offer, however the take down of the journalists was like a stand up comic dealing with hecklers. It was a very amusing treat.
He did well. I think he made it pretty clear too that it’s Clinton and not Obama who’s causing the intrigue.
The reports of the Trump administration’s demise are greatly exaggerated.
For two years now every incident the media and other enemies can gin up is going to end him. He’s a fool, a Klutz, an unstable maniac, not a prayer in the world…..and then he comes out fighting and winning in a “masterful” performance.
IMO, Trump is ok – not a genius – just ok. But he’s gut guts and plenty of them. The presser displayed his guts, once again. The other side of the equation is that his opponents appear to be overly insolated, cowardly, arrogant fools. In effect, low grade versions of exactly what they accuse trump of being.
And there’s something else, like “I will win the crowd. I will give them something they never seen before.”
I think Trump came off as a master of stonewalling. I did not find any substance, and his reassurance to the effect that his team was running like a fine-tuned machine was akin to asking the audience to believe in Santa Claus, the tooth fairy, and the Easter bunny simultaneously. Col., I do not engage in hate, but I hope contempt is acceptable.
Trump has sacrificed a rook (Flynn) and a pawn (no tweets for a week) and not even been able to achieve a Jihadi ban. At this point Trumps biggest hope is that Sessions at DoJ starts coming up with some indictments soon. The plebians demand some red meat.
Trump gave a worthy sixth grader performance. Always make excuses and blame someone else for failures.
Sort of reminds be of Chauncy Gardner in Being There.
Sir
I agree with you that this was an exceptional press conference. His command of the room was impressive. His framing of the dishonesty of the MSM and why it would be politically expedient to walk away from Russia but it would be in our best interests to come to an arrangement was so spot on.
The real question is if he’ll be able to uncover and fire the fifth column in government. And how he’ll deal with all the Borgists that he has nominated.
I don’t know if this is meaningful or not but Pence was on one side of the first row whereas Bannon and Kushner were right in the middle of that first row. I’m sure the kremlinologists will have fun with that.
Nancy K
Does your son who is in the Navy think of the CinC the same way?
r Whitman
OK. You go in the anti-Trump hater group. pl
Nancy K
I will put and your mom in the “filled with hatred” column. pl
Trump gave the impression is that he’s about as up-to-speed on things as Sarah Palin was back in her day. But so what. Being a policy wonk’s not his schtick. Attacking the media apparently is, and as far as that goes, he was a huge success. Although I’m still not sure if he watches CNN or not.
I have not a clue, we never discuss politics. I make a point of not discussing it with close friends who I know are of a different political persuasion than me also. Family and friends are too important to be damaged by politics.
EA
Sorry, but he gave al least as good as he got. If you had any objectivity you would see that he dealt with Acosta and Alexander like the children that they are. pl
Col,
I thought this was a great press conference. I thought he pointed out quite clearly that Flynn got fired for lying to him not over what was leaked. The press seemed to avoid that obvious conclusion. Also important, probably more important, was the question from one reporter (I hope he calls on her more often) who asked “Reporter: Fixing the inner cities, what will be that fix and urban agenda, …?”
“Trump: We have to help African-American people that for the most part stuck there. Hispanic-American people, we have Hispanic-American people that are in the inner cities and they’re living in hell….. I mean, you look at the numbers in Chicago. There are two Chicagos, as you know. There’s one Chicago that’s incredible, luxurious and all. And safe. There’s another chicago that’s worse than almost any of the places in the middle east …?
And a bit further on in the exchange:
“I actually thought I had a meeting with Congressman Cummings, and he was all excited, and then he said, oh, I can’t move. It might be bad for me politically. I can’t have that meeting.”
Tonight’s ABC News broadcast did not have any of that, though they did have the faux outrage over Trump’s comment to the reporter to set up the meeting. Left unasked was why the Democratic Party leadership forced Congressman Cummings from meeting the President. It’s not like Baltimore is in any better shape than Chicago. Congressman Cummings wasn’t elected to represent the Democratic Party but the people of Baltimore. Shame.
An interesting presser, full of danger for the leaking members of the IC.
The leakers maybe uncomfortable as the new Mannings.
Fascinating responses on this thread.
I saw the whole presser and came away with a completely different impression than many who posted here. What it implies is that everyone is in a hardened position. Either you’re a NeverTrumper or a Trump supporter. There’s no more objectivity.
Trump voters, who won him the election, I think were heartened with his performance today and like his positions on the issues.
I think taking the fight and making the hysterical MSM look so compromised was perfect. It bolsters his direct line to his supporters. He now needs to take out those inside government who are in the NeverTrump camp.
Trump is absolutely correct we have been a divided nation for a long time. Well before he came on stage. Now the venom of one side is all focused on him. How he addressed the black woman’s question was so dead on that even though he’s interested in bringing in the Black Caucus and even when they are interested in talking, they can’t, because of how it will be made to look by the MSM spin.
I also thought his response to the Russian “provocations” question was so good. He could relate to how Putin was thinking seeing the anti-Russia hysteria here and how it would be more politically expedient for Trump to take a hawkish stand. And his recognition of Russia’s nuclear capability and the outcome of escalation. And the rationale for good relations.
It was so obvious that the media was only on the Borg talking points. And whitman above saying this was a “sixth grader” performance. Yeah, another NeverTrumper heard from!
Are the media and intelligence community colluding to break Trump?
Washington Examiner
the Trump style is something to behold
The media seems unable to grasp how reviled they really are.
Am I alone in my hatred for these dissembling fiction-writers?
It’s hard for me to be objective about Trump’s performance, since any blows he delivered I was applauding full volume.
It appeared to me that he stayed very calm and imperious throughout, looking down on them like them with the contempt they deserve.
Bravo, Trump
Harwood says no thanks to Trump’s offer to be national security advisor.
Who is not part of the Deep State but has the necessary security clearance?
wisedupearly
security clearance? An administrative action. pl
At some point, don’t we hold the guy in charge responsible? It’s the media, it’s the leakers, it’s the intelligence people? Start acting like a leader and lead.
Steve
@ Wisedupearly
You mean Vice Admiral Robert Harward who declined the position of NS Adviser? He wanted to have the freedom to do a cleanup starting with deputy KT McFarland and demanded his own team but was refused
The President seemed to have very little to say about the raison d’etre for the presser: Alexander Acosta.
Reagan was styled the great communicator. Trump, again and again, is able to speak directly to the people. Admittedly, not all the people. Perhaps not even a majority. But the majority better find someone quick who has the communication skills this guy has, if they want to not see a hell of a lot more of him.
If the election showed nothing else, it showed that he could, in fact, shoot someone in the middle of fifth avenue and still win every Republican primary. His victory in the general election was a little more tenuous and he had to lean fairly hard on a Constitution designed to protect the institution of slavery, but he won.
I think the most interesting question has fallen thru the cracks:
>>> What did Flynn say, or not say, to VP Pence? <<< Think it through. If Trump was fine with what Flynn did (as he claimed at the presser), why would he be concerned about Flynn's not be 100% forthcoming or evasive with Pence??? IMO There's only one answer to that makes any sense. VP Pence demanded to know (yes, demanded) if Trump asked Flynn to ask the Russians to not respond to Obama's sanctions. Think about it. Flynn MUST have known about Obama's executive order to share the NSA transcripts. So there's no reason for Flynn to be evasive or untruthful about what he had said to the Russian ambassador. If true this implies: >> 1) Trump dodged a bullet.
>> 2) Pence is not in the inner circle and is actually a risk.
Pence is a long-time friend of McCain’s. They visited Iraq together more than 10 years ago in a controversial publicity-stunt visit that caused people to get killed. Pence endorsed McCain’s campaign last fall over Trump’s objection.
Pence as frenemy helps to explain what Jack noted (above): “Pence was on one side of the first row whereas Bannon and Kushner were right in the middle of that first row. I’m sure the kremlinologists will have fun with that.”
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PS I’ve been saying for days at MoA that Trump HAD to dump Flynn because retaining him risked bringing down the Administration and that any appearance of a change in policy/tone should be discounted given Trump’s need to secure his Administration.
It should now be plain to all that Trump could not have pushed back on his critics the way he did at this presser if he had not said goodbye to Flynn.
background checks can be so painful.
Robin Townley was rejected because of? Makes little difference, CIA rejected him and that was that.
This is how CNN reports on it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m9oE8qRhuZc
Let me just quote the most obviously constructed part: “if you are a soldier in harms way right now, if you are a hungry child in Appalachia or in an inner city, if you are an unemployed worker in the hollow shield of a steal town…” … Trump is not your President. Right… CNN is doing what it can for the soldiers, the hungry and the unemployed… Right. Of course.
Anyhow, you only need to watch a bit to get the drift of the whole. I watched the press conference and certainly wouldn’t have reported on it the way CNN has chosen to present it. There is a lot of conscious misrepresentation by CNN in this, especially regarding the question of fake news, which they continue to pretend to not understand.
The strength of the media is repetition, day after day. It’s going to take an enormous effort to maintain a different narrative in the face of their repetition.
Trump, sarcastically suggesting an unusual way of allaying fears that his administration is tied to Russia: “The greatest thing I could do is shoot that [Russian] ship that’s 30 miles off shore right out of the water.”
Said in jest, but it’s not a joke that the President of the United States should be making. I’m reminded of Reagan’s “we begin bombing in five minutes.”
Ian
Yet another smug prig who has no sense of irony. you had a short career here. pl
wisedupearl
Who? background checks are for the little people. I have seen people cleared for TS/SCI who couldn’t pass a polygraph on deception. pl
I just looked at the tapes. He just seemed like himself to me. If he is still talking about his debates with Hilary in a year’s time or two he will be eligible for something, I’m not sure what. I suppose Acosta did come of as a bit of a bungler. But if the Colonel hadn’t mentioned him my guess is I would not have noticed that exchange. No surprises IMO. A real non-event. He certainly has stamina, more than I realized. Not too bad for a man of seventy. Would not be surprised if he endures his four years without impeachment. I keep expecting him to do or say something awful but he simply sticks to his personality quirks to which I seem to have become acclimatized. He is not nearly as annoying as Dubya, who I have never ceased despising to this day.
Does not have that dreamy far away oh-so-pleased-with-himself expression typical of Obama.
He is just who he is. No rug chewing or frothing at the mouth. I thought his handling of Bibi was fairly amusing.
Seems the only way to deal with the Flynn debacle is to start naming people progressively worse for the “deep state”. Scheuer or Freeman (now that the 2 state solution is dead) would be fun to watch go over like a lead balloon.
I was awed by Trump’s performance. The crap he has been getting 24/7 and doing battle with the federal courts, the media, Deep State, even Republicans in Congress, etc., and the guy comes out and is funny, tough, witty, and optimistic. Dude is an alpha male with the strongest victorious attitude I think I’ve ever seen. I don’t think there are too many men alive, or in history, that could’ve withstood what’s he’s faced. And then to come out and and be both funny and optimistic and deliver a message of hope for both world peace through a novel approach of getting along with other countries AND to highlight and plan to tackle the problems of the inner-cities is truly amazing.
My grandfather was a NYPD detective from Jackson Heights, Queens who knew Fred Trump well. Growing up we used to hear stories about what a sterling family the Trumps were and how they were always there to help the families of cops, fireman, and other working men down on their luck. I also met Donald Trump personally once for about a half-hour in 2009. He was the most gracious and respectful high-profile person I ever dealt with.
I feel a little more optimistic today after the press conference. I pray for President Trump each day and pray for our country to heal and flourish. I, like many of the conservative religious leaders– from Rev. Franklin Graham to Rabbi Daniel Lapin– think Trump was chosen by God to lead America at this time in history.
He was specifically calling out all these pro-WW3 people, saying that for THEM, theyd love him if he’d just start a war with Russia already, but he’s not dumb – USA and Russia have nuclear weapons, its better for the whole world if we get along.
Pure Goebbels: “A lie told once remains a lie but a lie told a thousand times becomes the truth”.
Don’t be hard to yourself: it’s not hatred it’s just indignation. THEY promote hatred toward others through lies and misrepresentations (have done it for a long time now) while they are supposed to keep us informed instead. Our right to objective information has been stolen from us. The very meaning of their existence has horribly mutated to make of them the cancer of modern societies.
The popularity issue is overrated.
Trump is as popular among his voters as Obama & G.W. Bush were.
It’s just the Democrat-leaning voters who really, really dislike him.
http://www.people-press.org/2017/02/16/in-first-month-views-of-trump-are-already-strongly-felt-deeply-polarized/
I didn’t see the press conference yesterday but just watched it.
Amazing performance by Trump. It is really masterful how he controls the room. He bitch-slapped the media (justified in my view) in a quite kind but very effective way.
Joe Sixpack will completely agree with him. Trump is a damned effective politician and he knows exactly how to handle a crowd.
I dislike his marketing language “great guy”, “very great”, “best ever”. It turns off a north German like me. We like understatement and instinctively dislike such vulgarian show-offs. But I am not the audience he is messaging to.
Trump avoids the insincerity of Obama who had held up a morally polished message but was acting ruthlessly amoral and often (seemingly) out of pettiness.
I say all that as a political opponent of Trump. His policies are anti-social. They will further enrich the very rich and devastate the poor. His foreign policy is belligerent. He has no control (yet) over the military (Obama had none at all) and no grip on intelligence apparatus (which ruled over Obama). He got rolled on the Yemen raid and will get rolled on Syria policies.
Those are the points were the media could and should effectively attack him. They don’t even try. Instead they come up with *their* hurt feelings, anti-Russian nonsense and yes, fake news.
The back-and-forth regarding Russian spy ships 30 miles off the coast was a hoot, and all credit to Trump for lambasting the journalist over it.
The one thing the Russians did know was that there would be a new US Administration by the time that ship took up station, which is an excellent time to be snooping the airwaves. Why get outraged over the obvious?
Pity that Trump didn’t fire the obvious zinger e.g. if it had been President Hillary and Chief of Staff Podesta then the Russians would be hitting the jackpot by now, but since it is a Republican Administration then the Russians are just going to come up empty.
Thought it was very amusing, the media narration on this side of the Atlantic during the news tried to make it seem like a sinister comment by Trump but it was quite clear to viewers that Trump was mocking the media for being the unhinged and dangerous ones.
Having had the misfortune to have worked with journalists I struggle to think of a more bigoted or close minded group and, given their trust ratings, I wasn’t the only one cheering Trump’s take down of them. Nixon and Spiro Agnew won elections big league attacking the media in their day, didn’t have the internet then either.
That is an alternative fact. The CBC sent him a letter on Jan 19 requesting a meeting. The Trump administration never replied.
I guess I go in the “filled with hatred column” now.
Fyi, for whatever it’s worth, according to former MIT physicist turned relationship expert John Gottman, contempt is the worst of the 4 worst relationship killers, which he named the “four headless horseman of the apocalypse.
(https://gottman.com)
“visceral aversion” might be less toxic yet still authentic and worth trying on.
Don’t know about that….the handshakes he gives people are the types of an arm wrestlers…..lol
No, you’re not alone..
They’re Democrat party activists who wish they could become Democrat campaign “strategists”, but have only reached the level of semi-skilled stenographer, recording the actions of people more accomplished than they.
So we know what you think of draft dodgers. What is it about THIS draft dodger that gets him a pass?
I read a variety of sites to see what both sides are saying. The “liberal” sites have gone off the rails since Trump showed up. It really is amazing.
I no longer put any faith in what they say about him. If you want to know anything about what he is thinking you need to look ar what is actually said so I watched the press conference. I looked at Huffington post this morning and it was amazing what they said. No mention of getting along with Russia. In fact it does not seem they saw the same presser.
One of Trumps best points he made was that the hate and vitriol the main stream press prints is making regular folks not believe what they say and for me that is very true. He also indicated this is bad for our democracy.
I thought he did really well.
This is a man who his opposition should not underestimate.
Watching Cummings on TV at hearings shows what a dimwitted hack he is.
He probably couldn’t find the White House with Google maps.
Another swamp creature that needs to be gone.
I thought he did a great job, considering that he is still new at that particular context, and it looked to me like he was making a genuine effort to take communications criticisms to heart and improve his performance without throwing baby “Atlantic City casino scrapper Donald” entirely out with the bath water. He was trying to read his speech and keep that focus, while repeating it in his more personal voice. We should not underestimate the value of this apparent redundancy in the ears of his blue collar voters and listeners.
He had enough boardroom exec talk to assure that crowd, while keeping working classes elevated to sound like as his target audience, while adding boondoggle buzzwords for MIC constituents, and even mentioned peace and women in a nod to Berners, Greens, humanists, and libertarians.
In short, it sounds like team Trump got their voting data analytics reports back, showed that he recognizes the sectors and dynamics that got him elected, while keeping performance the core theme.
If he can square the circle of repurposing the military toward domestic defense and shift and expand to include more high performance infrastructure investment (like is seen in Europe and Asia in rails telecoms energy etc), and continue improving relational & communications skills, stay healthy, etc., he should be fine.
My wishlist is that he would call on his casino networks to reach out to substantially repair relations on behalf of the nation with the native american community. This would have enormous windfalls in the moral legitimacy dept where he has been most targetted by adversaries. Like call a round table w Koch bros and tribal chiefs. It would be a PR bonanza.
raven
No use for any of them but this one is president/CinC and you have to live with what you have. pl
Actually, I am not a Trump hater. I think he has some good ideas for the USA but his behavior is that of a 13 year old, not a serious adult trying to change the country.
Dear Colonel,
I listed to the Young Turks analysis and excerpts of the press conference, then read the transcript with comments by Rush Limbaugh, and then listened to the presser with Alex Jones’s comment and finally RT.
IMO s critical point is Trump’s use of a language and speaking style that connects with the working class not the liberal/media/ class (estimated at 10-20% of the US population. The media’s approach is to ridicule the language and the form (improper as it is not typical politician-speak and style). As a result, the media disconnect with the public is growing. I think Trump is using this red herring masterfully to strong effect to distract media attention and secure his base.
As I hoped (so there is a actual democratic with a small d feedback to Washington). if Trump is to be anything but a failure, he must continue to connect with the US public, which his planned Florida rally indicates he is not (as Obama did) retreating into a DC bubble of powerbrokers, lobbyists, and the deep state. This gives me hope because it may alter the current state where public opinion has near zero impact on laws (99% zero impact, I recall).
I recommend outreach by the liberal class to the majority deplorables, first and foremost by not referring to them as deplorables (or other names).
I think it is a mistake to get caught up in the interactions of a stage show. President Trump is a showman. The news people (particularly the television ones) are showmen. So he dominated them on the stage? He is a better showman than any of them. That’s how he got to be president. But nobody should trust anything either of them says without verification. So they argued over a preposterous CW theory of the Flynn affair, and he used it to explain himself? Did Flynn really lie to him? Did Flynn really make these contacts on his own? And when did all this come out? There is plausible (not proven) reporting that the White House knew the facts three weeks ago but did nothing until it morphed into a public liability. And does anybody care abut the actual content of the phone calls? The intelligence agencies, who know what was said, do not seem to consider the content threatening, only the fact of the conversations.
So the president used a ridiculous theory of the affair to move attention away from substance and the press guys used the weakness of the theory to try make him look bad. He’s a better showman, so he came out looking better. It’s a show, folks, not an investigation or an explanation. Public displays (and many face to face interactions) are like that. Much more playing to hominid instincts than dealing in information.
BH,
Trump ran an election campaign based on the electoral system we have as did Hillary. If we had a different electoral system Trump (and Hillary) would have run different campaigns and who knows, he might have have won (or lost). The meme that he is not the real president because he didnt win in an alternate reality where there was an alternate election system in the US is a counter factual.
I note that media calls to change the electoral system have disappeared – presumably as the Democrats are optimistic about their ability to win in 4 years under a Constitution designed to protect the institution of slavery.
b
What is it that you do not understand about the chain of command in the US Department of Defense? pl
I beg your pardon for a Freudian slip here: Gottman did his degree in mathematics, not my undergrad topic of physics.
mea culpa!
I like your take on the press conference.
This deplorable would be fine with a little less tweeting and a little more press conferences like the one yesterday.
Trump’s handling of the press reminded me of that great movie line(which I am mangling here), “you’re good kid, damned good, but as long as I’m around, you’re second best, and you better learn to live with it.”
IMO, his exchange with the BBC guy was masterful, he used the same exact line on them he used last time. That should show how a busy guy like him remembers every little details, and punch with them. Masterly done.
FredW,
“The intelligence agencies, who know what was said…”
Why precisely do the intelligence agencies know this? Not important apparently is who released what to whom and on what authority other than personal ax grinding.
b,
“Those are the points were the media could and should effectively attack him.”
I disagree. The press shouldn’t do this at all but being highly paid and poorly camouflaged operatives of the democratic party with by-lines they probably will.
The other impressive point was that unlike Obama he did not have a premade list of which freindly reporter to allow to ask question.
If Colonel would oblige, I would like to take this opportunity to offer 3 points about the DAPL:
1. I can be persuaded (somewhat) by an argument that it is prudent to allow as a trade in order to let go of M.E. disastrous regume changing policy, even if the end products are merged on the global market and hence ultimately gives little national advantage while carrying much risk of precendents to imminent domain let alone peace and health.
Yet, there is a wrong way and a better way to pursue what is imo a troublesome project as it is presently configured (not counting private thuggery for hire strong arming which risks should be self evident):
2. There are engineering steps that could be taken to for example route pipelines around private sovereign native lands (including more public buffer zones) as well as technical innovations like engineering triple sheathing emergency failsafe pipeing that could evacuate any pipe contents for watershed contact in a continuous pump external fluid circulation mechanism in concentric sheaths, along with a coated concrete safety basin installed under all pipesegments crossing riverways. This is just my own physicist vision so I have no doubt professional civil engineers in a team of experts could come up with more riskproofing of the system at the mechanical level.
3. That leads to the financials. I have yet to see any bona fide risk capitalization and REAL equity securitization auditing done for this project which presently reeks of cut corners and cronyism emblematic of “swampism,” if you will. I’m talking about Lloyd’s of London, PriceWaterHouse Cooper style massive auditing not only of installation and operational risks, but also drinking water catastrophic disaster risk. It may please you to know that this is something I have been sending tweets requesting to publicly see this kind of audit and data regularly not only to Lloyd’s and PWC for at least 6 months now but to the self styled conscientious financial journos like DDayen, DSirota, and IB Times, and have never gotten so much as a reply.
On this last point especially, it is not only the real concerns of local and down water residents risk, but also the chumps lucky enough to have retirement funds but having these funds invested in another naked emperor uncapitalized investment of nothing but risk and hot air, passed off as a rated securitization instrument pimped out by the dons of fake financial confidence on Wall St. Catastrophic disasters improperly audited and securitized will cheat residents, investors, block any confidence in even private real estate purchases (who wants to buy land that can be turned inhabitable by an external power?): all of this would go down in history with DTs name on it, not Energy Partners and Sunoco (part of Podesta Group no?), etc.
On the other hand, if this process was done thoroughly and properly, maybe so many people would not be so opposed to it. It is the corrupt process as much as the added CO2s, abuse of imminent domain powers/pipeline economic colonialism, blatant disregard for sensitivities and valid concerns of native land owners, etc. that make DAPL suspect.
We should also recall that Obama ignored these concerns until hundreds of veterans descended on the lands to protect it, ad even then never acknowleged the corrupted approval process lacking steps such as those outlined by me, a mere amateur here. Any incumbent voting for this project as it is currently configured should be put on notice to start looking for a new profession.
I understand that Obama got rolled by the military with the useless “Afghanistan surge” as soon as he entered office.
I understand that the “mistake” attack by CentCom on the SAA in Deir Ezzor was to sabotage Obama administration policy (Kerry’s agreement for coordination with Russia).
I understand that the Yemen raid was a poorly though through operation for little potential value and botched by too aggressive SEALs. It was hustled to Trump by the military (active and past) in his cabinet without thinking through the political consequences.
I understand that the current military “Russian danger” propaganda is running against Trumps declared policies.
Chain of command? Which side actually yanks on that chain?
It seems to me that it is a mistake only if one misappropriates conclusions about communications and media handling behaviors observed and takes them as indicating critical thinking, policy knowledge base, management or diplomatic skills, etc., for which we have perhaps not seen the respective relevant evidence. I.e., demonstrated processes vs. merely inferred contents.
The media outlets are typically delivering finished propaganda products to the public with these things hopelessly confounded. But the simple fact that respected Colonel screens posts alreadly indicates that a higher standard of observation and interpretation is expected among SST readers according to that higher quality control ethos. However, your point is well-taken and it never hurts to be reminded to practice due diligence!
All:
I watched this news conference and I believe that Trump came out as the lone sane man in the United States who is trying to do right by the United States.
He articulated a positive vision for the common man, he stated his willingness to do a deal, and he demonstrated that the Fourth Estate does not exist in the United States in any reliable form; the representatives of that Estate never challenged his assertions that they are writing lies.
The most poignant part of the news conference were his comments on that Russian ship and Nuclear War with Russia.
For myself, he confirmed to me the truth of Rosalyn Carter’s assertion in 2015 that “American people prefer war to peace.”; and there was the real estate developer who is presiding over a war-loving population and trying to steer a path towards peace.
One ought to wish Trump well just on that stand alone.
I also think it would be a good idea for leaders of such countries as Russia, China, Iran, Venezuela, Cuba, North Korea to not stand on protocol and go out of their way to help him succeed.
Just passing on the leaks/rumors as they come. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/14/us/politics/russia-intelligence-communications-trump.html?ref=todayspaper These leaks may be ax grinding, but that doesn’t make them untrue. (Or true.) I have not seen any actual denial so far, only shifting of the subject. It does seem plausible that the lines were bugged. If that is so, then the content must have been such that it couldn’t be construed as “reporting to his KGB handler”. Still, such considerations only relate to plausibility, not truth. Denials would raise the possibility of the transcripts surfacing. Or even just some official adjudication of fact. Far better to blame it all on outrage over being lied to. (Really? I mean Really???) I await developments.
More like he’s found something that’s finally concentrated his attention, and he will not be beat.
Cincinatti Kid
Edward G Robinson to Steve McQueen
paul
You have played these roles? Congratulations. pl
fred w
How about this? Flynn called the Russian ambassador as he was calling many ambassadors and other people in pursuit of the functioning of his coming job. He knew as a mainstream intelligence guy that the Russians, the FBI and NSA would all be listening and recording. What he did not expect was that conspirators in the US IC who were stay-behinds for Obamaworld would give US SCI information to the press? Do you know what that is? pl
b
Like mike your comprehension is uninformed by service above very low troop unit levels, battalion of something like that. Perhaps in Germany the armed forces are not serious players in the policy debate, but that is not rue here. At the interagency levels and in the interaction between the CinC and the JCS and COCOM commanders there is an active debate. In fact, Obama did not decode the Afghanistan troop surge until he had been in office nine or ten months. In that period there was an active effort by Petraeus, Rodriguez and McChrystal to persuade Obama to do what they wanted. They massively flattered his, and his narcissism came to the fore. I knw this because I was a participant in the debate. If had said no, that would have been the end of it. All your examples are the same kind of things in which someone attempts to persuade the president. without their skill in persuading him they have no authority at all. pl
Babak
I couldn’t agree more with you.
Trump showed that not only does get the core of the issues especially when you strip all the BS that surrounds them, he is also a realist.
The NeverTrumpers are going to whine hysterically for his entire term and the MSM will continue to hyperventilate on all the trivialities. But I hope those countries targeted by our Borg get the message that their best long term opportunity for peace and stability lies with Trump. You are right that they should drop their standard methods and strike when the iron is hot and work on deals with him, recognizing that the Borg and their media will be raving and ranting at the “appeasement”. Trump gets it that he will be attacked by our fifth column the whole way but his obligation to those that voted for him is less war where their kids fight. Not the chicken hawks in the Borg. The left who traditionally opposed US foreign interventions are now aligned with the warmongers. Their credibility will continue to erode in the eyes of middle America.
Colonel Lang and All,
If American democracy means anything, those who leaked these conversations should be relentlessly searched out and punished. And I mean seriously punished.
Otherwise, what conceivable moral or indeed pragmatic objection can Americans – or indeed other Westerners – have to the Putin ‘sistema’?
If what American ‘liberals’ – the likes of ‘Tailgunner Joe’ Krugman – really prefer is a Clinton ‘sistema’ – an alliance of the likes of Joe Brennan with Sheldon Adelson, Haim Saban, et al – then what meaningful difference is there between this and the ‘chekist-oligarchic’ order in Russia?
And if one is going to have a ‘chekist-oligarch’ order, would it not seem preferable to have one where the spooks in charge are at least reasonably competent? And one where leading oligarchs do not have what appears to be an overriding allegiance to a foreign country?
So the next question becomes why Flynn apparently was not frank with Pence? That supposedly is the reason that Trump fired him.
Then you should have watched the entire thing, because clips don’t give you any sense of how it went.
“the stress and unpopularity is starting to drain him.?” Not in the press conference I watched. And he hardly appeared old and weak. In fact, the opposite. He was relishing every minute of it.
I completely agree with the Colonel. It was masterful.
Trump gave the impression is that he’s about as up-to-speed on things as Sarah Palin was back in her day.
Hunh? Palin killed the ticket. Trump absolutely trumped anything she was able to do. And if you think he doesn’t understand policy or how the world works, you’re naive.
BM,
…”…The most poignant part of the news conference were his comments on that Russian ship and Nuclear War with Russia…”
I agree – it was the most impressive part, that was a statesman talking. On another of your comments (I forgot which thread)about your mathematical model (law?) of humanity and wars, it happens that I am reading the biography of Leo Tolstoy, (by Henri Troyat)in which there is a quote from Tolstoys article “Some Words about War and Peace” – Tolstoy says, quote “Why did millions of men kill each other, when everyone has known since the beginning of time that it is morally and physically wrong to do? Because the thing was so inevitable that in doing so they were obeying the same elementary zoological law, as the bees when they kill each other in the autumn, and all male animals who exterminate each other”.
A couple at my local bar (retired) both worked for Trump in Manhattan. She earned what the men around her earned, and jeers at his supposed anti-woman charge. Both sing their praises for the fair, generous, and thoughtful though demanding boss that he was. They had nothing but genuine affection for the man, and credit him with giving them the kind of retirement they have now. I believe she worked in his accounting department, and called him assiduously honest and straight-forward, a straight-shooter. And yes, they used the same word: gracious.
I agree, Babak.
james
Yes, the management cadres and the political implants left behind. pl
I agree wholeheartedly as far as the first section went. For once I must disagree with you when it comes to the question and answer session. That’s because I thought the performance of the questioners was poor. They seemed to be mostly trying to score points rather than elicit information. Of course I paid particular attention to the efforts in that line of the BBC reporter; and ended up not at all proud that that great institution could produce nothing better for such an occasion. It all finished up looking more like a zoo than a collection of reporters trying to find out what their President intended to do and how.
Then I reflected that it was that zoo that determines what we see in the papers, on a good deal of the internet and, most importantly, on our TV screens. Not a happy thought.
I was impressed by how Trump coped with such a determinedly hostile crowd. Told them off, too, which was no more than they deserved. Nevertheless I hope he avoids such sessions as much as he can in the future and uses more direct means of getting information across to the American people. Why entrust your message to people whose intention is solely to distort it?
I agree with Colonel Lang. This was a masterful performance. A performance worthy of P.T. Barnam. Given my opinion of the man, I would expect nothing else. He owned the room. Of course, as a President among a pack of reporters, he should own the room. He has the stamina to engage in vigorous, extended debate. He can bully. He can lie with impunity. He enjoys this. As long as he can establish and maintain a position of power, I think he can conclude favorable deals for the American people. I don’t have the same confidence in his ability to do the art of the deal when he must face an opponent on even terms. Without the bullying, blustering and lying, he will be at a disadvantage.
but it would be in our best interests to come to an arrangement was so spot on.
I agree, Jack. if I distinguish between my dislike of the man/his style/some of his patterns and his more matter concerned statements.
Only watched parts of it late yesterday. But the point he made was: Flynn did nothing wrong, but he should have passed on the correct information. Makes sense. Had he done, quite possibly there wouldn’t have been a case. No media hype about lies.
Flynn of course was the most easy target. …
The Press dwells too much on challenging and debunking DJT’s “alternative facts” and beliefs, but spends relatively little time conveying his administration’s policy messages. Frankly, I don’t care about the man’s poll numbers, the size of his audiences, or the in-and-outs of his business dealings. What I care about are the policies his administration supports and implementation plans thereof. The man is a BS generator — that’s his nature and I, for one, need to adjust my POTUS behavior expectations accordingly. Likewise, the Press can do us all a favor by adjusting its reporting behavior, ignoring/filtering POTUS BS and not compounding the situation with its own BS behavior and opinions.
CBS News is reporting that today “Much of seventh-floor staff, who work for the Deputy Secretary of State for Management and Resources and the Counselor offices, were told today that their services were no longer needed.”
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/state-dept-layoffs-under-rex-tillerson-being-carried-out/
More at Russia Insider:
http://russia-insider.com/en/great-draining-begins-trump-purges-state-departments-7th-floor-shadow-government/ri18969
FredW
Just passing on rumors? You mean you have nothing constructive to add or ask.
Colonel,
Go ahead and put me in the column marked “Enemy of the people”.
https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/832708293516632065
Colonel,
Or if I might suggest, go ahead and make my column: враг народа or “vrag naroda”.
“The Soviet Union made extensive use of the term (Russian language: враг народа, “vrag naroda”), as it fit well with the idea that the people were in control. The term was used by Vladimir Lenin after coming to power, as early as in the decree of 28 November 1917:
all leaders of the Constitutional Democratic Party, a party filled with enemies of the people, are hereby to be considered outlaws, and are to be arrested immediately and brought before the revolutionary court.”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enemy_of_the_people#cite_note-Black-2
Colonel,
Thanks to your posts, I think we are getting a vision of the future of the Trump Administration. There is a coup ongoing right now against it comprised of the corporate media, cosmopolitan congresspersons and embedded neo-conservatives over two huge issues; détente or war with Russia and nationalism verses globalism. If Donald Trump is not neutered; one major misstep or economic crash and he will be gone.
As a displaced Seattleite, I am convinced what will sabotage him in the end is his weird “alt.right” beliefs. Today he was at the Boeing plant in South Carolina to take part in the roll out of a new 787-10 and promise jobs, jobs, and more jobs just days after the workers there voted against unionization. This is the epicenter of globalization. The 787 is made across the world and assembled here when it would have been much cheaper and faster to manufacture all of it in the USA. Boeing then spent 2 billion dollars to build a second line in South Carolina in order to bust Washington State Unions. The 787 is one reason why there are fewer good paying manufacturing jobs in America. This is tone deafness by the new Administration. In addition, Donald Trump will likely succeed in ending environmental and consumer protections; antagonizing even more Americans who are already mad at the jump in medical and education costs (if they are lucky enough to have jobs). I do not see how this will turn out well.
Fact checking is a growth industry with this president.
Stu Wood
Yes, but we need a fact checker outside the media to fact check them. pl
TTG, that was one for the Gipper, sorry no two last week, i call the first one was with the Bibi Nut.
Colonel,
Might I respectfully suggest the creation of a Ministry of Truth in order to fact check the fact checkers?
Yodagoggy, I read the letter and it is not a request for a meeting. Moreover, its pretty lame.
I had a chance to watch it today. To me, it had the air of a CEO who’s company has had a rocky IPO and who is now trying to reassure the shareholders – and more importantly, the Vulture money men on the board – that the short sellers are mistaken. Was he successful? Clearly it depends on who you ask. I did find it heartening that he expressed what appeared to be genuine concern for the plight of inner cities. As a resident of one that is a case study in American Carnage, I hope that concern results in policies that create more jobs here.
I should give an example of lameness. the CBC disagrees with Trump, because it supports the rights of law abiding immigrants to have a pathway to citizenship.
Egads, their statement implies that all illegal immigrants do NOT deserve a pathway to citizenship because they are by definition not law abiding. So there is no strong disagreement even though they say there is.
The rest was a non-starter list of demands.
EO,
I think he will go back to calling on the smaller outlets for awhile then try again. I’ve noticed Twitter and FB and other on-line social media outlets are stepping up the censorship via computer automated banning of people or news that doesn’t fit the narrative. They are just going to create competition and lose even more money.
Yeah, like Cummings agreeing to meet with Trump and then backing out because Chuckie says its not gonna look good with the bloviators on CNN.
Keep to downward dog, better than making up fake news.
All
Nassim Taleb’s tweet on the presser:
I watched the press conference. Trump played the press like a violin. Calling this “Meltdown” proves that Huff Post is low-IQ propaganda.
Richard Armstrong
“Ministry of Truth?” How clever. I do not wish to provide a propaganda platform for “enemies of the people.” Adios. pl
Your analysis presupposes that Trump has an astute grasp of the Israel-Palestine situation. About that I humbly permit myself to have some doubts. Most interesting would be to know how exactly Trump’s decision to officially throw the one-state solution into the fray came about. Trump himself said that Kushner was a “natural” to fix the I/P issue, and Kushner is no doubt a “hard core Zionist”. This would hardly be compatible with your account, would it?
Dante Alighieri
You don’t actually think you are going to be told that, do you? The Man has made it clear that he is going to dance like a butterfly and sting like a bee. He wants you and the Israelis to keep guessing. pl
Trump was definitely relishing the press conference. He was totally in command of the situation. Masterful, is a very good description!
Most of the press looked like complete idiots, esp. with every stupid repetitive follow up question about Russia. I was impressed that he kept answering those Russia questions relatively politely & calmly. The idiocy of the questions combined with Trump’s much more presidential behavior only made Trump look better and impressively sane (as Babak points out below), and the media worse.
I was initially very reluctant to watch the full press conference because I really dislike political press conferences in general. But after all the comments here I felt I need to see it for myself.
For those of you complaining about Trump being a liar or dishonest… please point out another president who did not keep repeating their own talking points and tout their accomplishments and generally spin events in their own favor. Granted, Trump is more grandiose about it, and more showmanlike, but he is not any less honest than any typical politician is when giving a speech.
I am really quite perplexed by anyone over 40 that complains about lack of honesty in politicians. It is merely the natural state of affairs in that career path. Which is not to say they are always dishonest either. It’s that politicians say what they feel they need to say for best effect… effect on their colleagues, media effect, effect on the masses, etc, so that they look good and maybe make some progress on their own goals.
Trump came across as a powerful leader, a man in charge of the situation. That was refreshing compared to the relative wimpiness of both Bush and Obama. Bush remains my least favorite Republican president. It was painful to watch and hear him speak. Obama was quite irritating to watch, generally vague and condescending behind supposedly inspirational words. He always felt like a nothing-burger to me.
But he keeps you guessing too.
If the American press were not “info-tainment,” they could turn the tables on the Administration by tuning out all the dramatic distractions surrounding Trump, the Russians, etc. and report on the policies being shaped by the Republicans in Congress. It would be interesting to watch what would happen if none of the press ask Trump about his theatrical battles with America’s enemies but instead pose a steady stream of questions about what is happening with his promise to replace Obamacare with something much better for the people and how that comports with what is happening on the Hill. Important decisions are being made that impact those who voted for President Trump that are getting only second rate coverage, if at all.
Fred,
Any competition which might arise would not even have to censor the “other way”. They could just straight-up not censor anyone. At all.
Or they could set up some politeness and niceness rules and otherwise not censor anyone. At all.
And they could advertise that as a real strength. ” We don’t censor. Period.”