The blatant corruption of this administration is staggering. — Michael

In this situation I hope you share my optimism and think that Donald Trump will be the absolute worst US President in our lifetime.

(And I assume we both do see many US presidential elections still)

So our "morbidly obese" Commander-in-Bleach is daily dosing hydroxychloroquine ... IF TRUE, goooood.

:mask: vs :death:

Looking forward to Pence that much? :razz:

↪180 Proof Looking forward to Pence that much? :razz: — Benkei

Hell yeah! - praise jeezus :halo: :pray:

Yes, what's with that?

The only thing I can figure is that Trump or the Trump family has a personal financial gain in the selling of hydroxychloroquine, that they were somehow in the deal. I really don't believe otherwise Trump would be so enthusiastic and persistent in the promotion of the "miracle-drug". In fact, when going so far to fire people who have cautioned about the use of hydroxychloroquine:

Dr. Rick Bright, former director of the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, alleges he was reassigned to a lesser role because he resisted political pressure to allow widespread use of hydroxychloroquine, a malaria drug pushed by President Donald Trump. He said the Trump administration wanted to “flood” hot spots in New York and New Jersey with the drug.

“I witnessed government leadership rushing blindly into a potentially dangerous situation by bringing in a non-FDA approved chloroquine from Pakistan and India, from facilities that had never been approved by the FDA,” Bright said Tuesday on a call with reporters. “Their eagerness to push blindly forward without sufficient data to put this drug into the hands of Americans was alarming to me and my fellow scientists.”

Someone as lazy as Trump wouldn't do anything without personal gain. Trump personally has a small investment (1000$) in the pharma giant that makes the drug he's been pushing to fight COVID-19. Still, the US government has ordered 29 million doses of the malaria drug (see article) and there has been some hassle over these purchases (see here).

The only thing I can figure is that Trump or the Trump family has a personal financial gain in the selling of hydroxychloroquine, that they were somehow in the deal. I really don't believe otherwise Trump would be so enthusiastic and persistent in the promotion of the "miracle-drug". — ssu

It is odd. The normal Trump strategy would be to switch to some other miracle drug once discouraging evidence becomes undeniable. And then of course lie about ever being in favour of it in the first place.

Though it cannot be discounted that Trump drank his own Kool-Aid and is actually personally convinced it's a miracle drug.

In this situation I hope you share my optimism and think that Donald Trump will be the absolute worst US President in our lifetime.

(And I assume we both do see many US presidential elections still) — ssu

At my age, I doubt I will see many more elections...but, like you, I hope Trump is never surpassed as the absolute worst US President of ALL TIME.

The thing I am most disdainful of, though, is not Trump...but rather that he still has enthusiastic supporters. I truly hope those supporters are never surpassed as the most damaging to the Republic.

Trump personally has a small investment (1000$) in the pharma giant — ssu

Does $1,000 even mean anything to him?

Since we’re spouting conspiracy theories, maybe big pharma doesn’t like hydroxycloroquine because it’s super cheap and has been in use for decades. Many doctors from Gilead were a part of the NIH panel that advised against hydroxycloroquine in favor of Gilead’s expensive drug Remdesivir. Coincidence?

Fact is, many countries and some drug companies are researching hydroxicloroquine because it showed promise, not because Trump mentioned it. The NIH only recommended against taking it in high doses.

The Panel recommends against using high-dose chloroquine (600 mg twice daily for 10 days) for the treatment of COVID-19 (AI), because the high dose carries a higher risk of toxicities than the lower dose.

https://www.covid19treatmentguidelines.nih.gov/whats-new/

But that’s something you or the press fail to mention.

It is odd. The normal Trump strategy would be to switch to some other miracle drug once discouraging evidence becomes undeniable. And then of course lie about ever being in favour of it in the first place.

Though it cannot be discounted that Trump drank his own Kool-Aid and is actually personally convinced it's a miracle drug. — Echarmion

The normal Trump strategy is to double down on the bullshit when he is called out on it. And he is perfectly capable of believing his own bullshit after repeating it enough times. That some nasty people are telling him that he is wrong only serves to reassure him.

And everyone knows DJT is taking hydroxychloroquine because?

At the White House, the press secretary, Kayleigh McEnany, told CBS News Trump was taking hydroxychloroquine.

“I can absolutely confirm that,” she said.

“The president said himself he’s taking it. That’s a given fact. He said it. The president should be taken at his word.” — The Graundian

That's a good one.

Yup...a good one indeed.

At the White House, the press secretary, Kayleigh McEnany, told CBS News Trump was taking hydroxychloroquine.

“I can absolutely confirm that,” she said.

“The president said himself he’s taking it. That’s a given fact. He said it. The president should be taken at his word.”


And she did it while maintaining a straight face.

Now I understand why, on her first day in this job, she said that she would never lie to the press.

Since we’re spouting conspiracy theories, maybe big pharma doesn’t like hydroxycloroquine because it’s super cheap and has been in use for decades. Many doctors from Gilead were a part of the NIH panel that advised against hydroxycloroquine in favor of Gilead’s expensive drug Remdesivir. Coincidence? — NOS4A2

Jeez, Trump has screwed with your mind. Remdesivir is a broad-spectrum anti-viral medicine. Hydroxychloroquine is not. If the latter turns out to be effective, it would be a surprising coincidence. If remdesiver is effective, it shouldn't be all that surprising.

Hydroxychloroquine may have SOME antiviral effects, but it also acts as an anti-inflammatory. Anti-inflammatory medicines are contra-indicated for COVID-19 because they suppress the immune system, which is a bad idea. That's why we're told to avoid anti-inflammatory medicine if we have COVID-19 - take Tylenol, not ibuprophen or aspirin. That's why it's unclear if the positives outweigh the negatives. That said, I'm perfectly happy to let Trump try it out. We've got absolutely nothing to lose.

With a bit of luck he now thinks he's safe and he actually gets it.

Some rumblings from Ukraine. Leaked calls between Quid Pro Joe and former Ukrainian president Poroshenko have been leaked, giving ammunition to the Biden/Ukraine corruption narrative. Also featured is John Kerry.



Ukrainian president Zelensky said a probe into the call is beginning, as it “might be perceived, qualified as high treason”. I guess Trump didn’t need to demand an investigation of his political opponent after all.

I'm tempted to go back and quote all of the mental gymnastics you used to defend Trump regarding the Ukraine thing, so that we can do the thing where you're arguing with your own quotes.

Why would you do that? Sounds tedious.

mblings from Ukraine. Leaked calls between Quid Pro Joe and former Ukrainian president Poroshenko have been leaked, giving ammunition to the Biden/Ukraine corruption narrative. Also featured is John Kerry.

Ukrainian president Zelensky said a probe into the call is begin — NOS4A2

OMG! Does this mean Joe Biden threatened to held up aid to Ukraine if Poroshenko wouldn't fire the corrupt Shokin? I'm shocked!

...shocked because we already knew this occurred, and that it does not imply Biden did this for personal gain (unlike Trump's impeachable quid pro quo).

It's telling that Trump desperately wants to change discourse to anything other than the prevailing pandemic.

But the truth is that this pandemic clearly shows how utterly inept and incapable this populist bully is. I can understand that in 2016 Trump was for many the perfect middle finger to wag at Hillary Clinton and even the leadership of the GOP. But the truth known then and still totally apparent is that this person has no leadership abilities and is unfit to be the president of the US. He simply is not up to the job elected to, to be the head of the executive branch of the federal government. This person has no ability to lead people, to motivate them to perform better and make agencies with opposing agendas to work together as a team.

Perhaps the US Constitution should be amended to create a position of Chief Commentator of the US, where Trump tweet his heart out and the media, the officials and citizens would have to listen to his great wisdom, thanks to his constitutional position. Trump would like that so much. If Trump would have lost the election (which he anticipated happening), he would have been OK having his own TV channel where he could vent his anger on Hillary, the democrats and the liberals and everything, but as we know from experience, that TV network would have gone bankrupt as Trump is such a lousy businessman.

But as a Chief Commentator he would have what he wants: to bask in the media spotlight and have people talk about him. And likely many people would like his outrageous style and it would be great entertainment, and wouldn't have actual effect on things like how many people die of a pandemic because this nutjob doesn't know anything and dragged his feet in responding to a global pandemic and still is having a real negative effect on how the US fights the pandemic.

It would simply be amusing to hear all the media outlets discussing the Chief Commentator's idea of using bleach to fight the virus and his other bizarre remarks. Now it's not.

ssu
2.5k
It's telling that Trump desperately wants to change discourse to anything other than the prevailing pandemic.

But the truth is that this pandemic clearly shows how utterly inept and incapable this populist bully is. I can understand that in 2016 Trump was for many the perfect middle finger to wag at Hillary Clinton and even the leadership of the GOP. But the truth known then and still totally apparent is that this person has no leadership abilities and is unfit to be the president of the US. He simply is not up to the job elected to, to be the head of the executive branch of the federal government. This person has no ability to lead people, to motivate them to perform better and make agencies with opposing agendas to work together as a team. — ssu

His supporters suspected that then...and know it for certain now.

But instead of making adjustments...and disavowing this buffoon, they continue their support.

Continued support for Trump is a crime against our Republic.

Whereas this article, strictly speaking, commits mind-reading (and ad hominem), it seems fairly obvious that Trump is an opportunist and a bullshitter.
On the other hand, the article does expose some of Trump's voter base — people that he has successfully conn...err spoken to and secured.

I Questioned the Sincerity of Donald Trump's Pro-Life Stance. The Response From My Fellow Evangelicals Was Troubling
Robb Ryerse
TIME
Feb 2020

Trump has become a folk hero to some. But to others he has become a folk devil, a scape goat for the world’s ills and evils. This is what occurs when a pliant mind is caught in an amplification spiral of the media’s making. He steps into a moral panic the likes of which he refuses to retreat from. They render themselves dumb, Trump confined in the heads where rational thoughts once stood.

@NOS4A2 @StreetlightX

If you're going to flame each other, make sure it has decent content to back it up.

Trump has become a folk hero to some. But to others he has become a folk devil, a scape goat for the world’s ills and evils. — NOS4A2

And then there are the rational people in the middle who simply recognize that he's a terrible person and a terrible President who enacts terrible policies.

And then there are the rational people in the middle who simply recognize that he's a terrible person and a terrible President who enacts terrible policies.

You have constructed an effigy upon which you can swing your pitchforks in sight of everyone else.

You have constructed an effigy upon which you can swing your pitchforks in sight of everyone else. — NOS4A2

I'm not big on metaphor. I see him say and do terrible things and I call him out on it. That's it.

I'm not big on metaphor. I see him say and do terrible things and I call him out on it. That's it.

I’m not sure “terrible” is a fair and accurate description.

Trump's handwoven basket of shit lol.

I think you give way too much charity in interpreting a president whose public statements include:

"When Mexico sends it people, they're not sending their best. They're not sending you. They're sending people that have lots of problems, and they're bringing those problems with us. They're bringing drugs. They're bringing crime. They're rapists. And some, I assume, are good people," he said.

You are not supposed to say that as a presidential candidate appealing to racist, you are supposed to talk about job security and national sovereignty.

Retweeting stuff from white supremacists and neonazis - which you and I both know would get you fired from an entry level position in an office, but apparently not being the POTUS.

On some level you are right though; people hate on Trump the symbol when they should be criticising based on his administration's policies. People hate on Trump the symbol rather than criticising the ludicrous theater of American politics. People also hate on Trump's public persona for the wrong reasons; he functions as a valuable hate sink for symbolic political action.

At the same time, his supporters are just as bad if not worse; they love love love Trump the symbol because he trolls decorum and the dens, because he makes a joke of the theater of American politics while being a seamless part of it, and because he absolutely positively is shining light of racist nationalism.

Being anti-anti Trump in the way you are is a really neat way of showing support to everything he stands for while retaining some veneer of intellectual decorum.