The Trump Presidency | Biden Inaugurated

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Cheimoon

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Be that as it may, all Trump needs to do is say or tweet "Fake News" and claims like that go away. This is exactly what would have occurred if this detail had been released in February or March.
Not necessarily, I think. Back then, everybody was talking about COVID-19 and its possible impact. An actual quote from Trump acknowledging the severity of the situation could have had an impact. (Or not, but I think the possibility is there.) Now, everybody knows COVID-19 is bad and that Trump messed up. Trump doesn't have to tweet anything for this to go away pretty quickly. (But I'm sure there will be a Lincoln Project video soon - if there isn't already. EDIT: that video was posted already a few pages ago, actually.)
 

entropy

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Where's my arc, Paulie?
It should go without saying that people could use all the information they can get in the midst of a pandemic. Unlike the rest of us, Woodward has the access and platform to do just that. Why is this so controversial and why do folks feel the need to defend some crusty 77 year old dude who is clearly more invested in his legacy, is beyond me.
 

entropy

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Where's my arc, Paulie?
Like dude, we get it. We all read the book in college, watched the movie and heard podcasts retell the watergate scandal. It’s fun stuff to do to kill time. But withholding information during a fecking pandemic for your selfish reasons helps NO ONE.
 

Tincanalley

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Not necessarily, I think. Back then, everybody was talking about COVID-19 and its possible impact. An actual quote from Trump acknowledging the severity of the situation could have had an impact. (Or not, but I think the possibility is there.) Now, everybody knows COVID-19 is bad and that Trump messed up. Trump doesn't have to tweet anything for this to go away pretty quickly. (But I'm sure there will be a Lincoln Project video soon - if there isn't already. EDIT: that video was posted already a few pages ago, actually.)
Let’s say it would have had some effect then (and the moral dilemma debate is legit) but it arguably has far more now, both to The Donald’s election prospects and Woodward’s bank balance. The feed of painful revelations over the last three weeks has been like a storm; The Niece Book; Cohen memoir; the disrespect for war dead story; now this. Any strategy they had to control the news cycle was wiped out, Trump on the defensive. Don’t know if they can maintain that level of blitz for six weeks. But this is a crucial period especially and it’s not been good from the POTUS POV.
 

Cheimoon

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Let’s say it would have had some effect then (and the moral dilemma debate is legit) but it arguably has far more now, both to The Donald’s election prospects and Woodward’s bank balance. The feed of painful revelations over the last three weeks has been like a storm; The Niece Book; Cohen memoir; the disrespect for war dead story; now this. Any strategy they had to control the news cycle was wiped out, Trump on the defensive. Don’t know if they can maintain that level of blitz for six weeks. But this is a crucial period especially and it’s not been good from the POTUS POV.
I'm really not sure how much this will hurt Trump. Anyone with an open mind to this news will know already that Trump royally screwed up the US's response to the pandemic. This news doesn't change that perspective. Also, I would hope that no-one in that category would seriously believe that Trump in those months never received any correct scientific news on the severity of COVID-19.Further, there will also be a lot of people agreeing with Trump's his reasoning that avoiding a panic was his priority. So I think this might simply be another news items that comes and go without leaving much of a mark.
 

sebsheep

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It's for another thread but saying cops behave like pigs is offensive to pigs.
 

Oly Francis

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Seder is right now talking about Woodward having done this exact same thing with GW Bush in 2005.
The most interesting part would have to tell what Berstein answered when he defended Woodward and "ripped him a new A-hole". Who knows how this guys work, maybe he needed to corroborate what Trump said because he's so full of sh*t he could have been bragging and making things up for no reason. I'm pretty certain Trump accepted the interview with Woodward thinking he could easily outsmart a journalistic legend.
 

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Does everyone have me on ignore? I thought maybe it was my imagination that I'd posted this, but I actually did.

We already knew what Trump thought. This is just all further confirmation.

Also, we could totally already infer from available reports that this is what Trump thought.

"I like the numbers where they are" etc.
 

decorativeed

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To set up the idea that there is some sort of moral equivalence between a reporter and the POTUS when it comes to acting in the public interest is dangerous and insane.
I don't think anyone has said there's an equivalence at all, just a duty. This guy didn't sit on Watergate until the eve of an election, after all. If I had something like that on tape, I'd have released it much sooner.
 

WI_Red

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I don't think anyone has said there's an equivalence at all, just a duty. This guy didn't sit on Watergate until the eve of an election, after all. If I had something like that on tape, I'd have released it much sooner.
I addressed this earlier:
I should have been more clear that my post was more directed at the way social and regular media is framing this.
 

Zlaatan

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Various posters have been suggesting this now, that blaming Woodward means Trump did nothing wrong. I have no idea where that's coming from; no-one suggested any such thing. If Woodward made the wrong decision, that still means Trump made decisions that were much more wrong and had much more impact. These things are not mutually exclusive.
You're right of course but I'm not going to assume that everyone agrees with what you're saying which is why I asked that question. If a person is so appalled by Woodward's actions that they call them disgusting and repeatedly bash him in numerous posts with no mention of Trump's role in all of this then I'm just curious of what they have to say about Trump, that's all.

It should go without saying that people could use all the information they can get in the midst of a pandemic. Unlike the rest of us, Woodward has the access and platform to do just that. Why is this so controversial and why do folks feel the need to defend some crusty 77 year old dude who is clearly more invested in his legacy, is beyond me.
I guess you missed my question. What are your thoughts about Trump in all of this in regards to his access to this info (this info being his own opinion which he lied about for 8 months or however long its been) and his platform to present it to the American public?
 

SirAF

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Surreal reading the first few pages and seeing how optimistic some people were :lol:

To quote the mighty Pete Donaldson: «it’s an absolute shitshow».
 

Beachryan

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Is there anyone here that thinks that Trump was not as bad a president as many predicted?
I honestly wouldn't have believed it was possible, even when he was elected. I honestly, naively, thought that societal, political, judicial norms would restrain him, not bend over backwards for him.

You could probably make a list of 100 separate actions that he has done as President that would have had Obama impeached and removed from office. I'm not even exaggerating. Just the two this week would have sufficed.

He has been a spotlight shining on just how utterly broken America and the GOP are. And the whole world is watching, and I presume, horrified but also a bit schadenfreude-y too.
 

MTF

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Is there anyone here that thinks that Trump was not as bad a president as many predicted?
Hard to think back to what my expectations really were after he won. But its been just bad. A really tough time for a leading democracy. He's been about as uninformed, uncaring and as egotistical as he seemed to be before. The main counterbalance to a president attempting to do self-dealing and illegality at every turn would really be Congress more than the judiciary, but we've found that in the 21st century its impossible for a member of congress to go against the sitting president of their party and survive beyond their next election.

I think it was already very frustrating through early 2020, then covid came and was the additional reminder that the US government only really moves on big things if the president gives a shit, and this one didn't. I don't think a democracy can survive more than a few Trump-like leaders, even the oldest one. So in my view, its just been pretty shit. Not sure how shit I expected it to be before hand, but its probably met or exceeded my expectations.
 

Marcosdeto

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Well, I was afraid he would nuke either North Korea, Iran or Cuba. So far he didn’t.
it worries me that he might win again, and that the democrats are making the same electoral mistakes they did in 2016.
 

MTF

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Well, I was afraid he would nuke either North Korea, Iran or Cuba. So far he didn’t.
it worries me that he might win again, and that the democrats are making the same electoral mistakes they did in 2016.
I admit it's a bit surprising that it turns out he's a chickenhawk in a sense, and that's probably been good.
 

fishfingers15

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Well, I was afraid he would nuke either North Korea, Iran or Cuba. So far he didn’t.
it worries me that he might win again, and that the democrats are making the same electoral mistakes they did in 2016.
It's a low fecking bar to have your expectations met. Wish you extend that courtesy to CR7 mind you
 

Dr. Dwayne

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Not necessarily, I think. Back then, everybody was talking about COVID-19 and its possible impact. An actual quote from Trump acknowledging the severity of the situation could have had an impact. (Or not, but I think the possibility is there.) Now, everybody knows COVID-19 is bad and that Trump messed up. Trump doesn't have to tweet anything for this to go away pretty quickly. (But I'm sure there will be a Lincoln Project video soon - if there isn't already. EDIT: that video was posted already a few pages ago, actually.)
Fake news. Presidential harassment. Etc.
 

Bobcat

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I honestly wouldn't have believed it was possible, even when he was elected. I honestly, naively, thought that societal, political, judicial norms would restrain him, not bend over backwards for him.

You could probably make a list of 100 separate actions that he has done as President that would have had Obama impeached and removed from office. I'm not even exaggerating. Just the two this week would have sufficed.

He has been a spotlight shining on just how utterly broken America and the GOP are. And the whole world is watching, and I presume, horrified but also a bit schadenfreude-y too.
Think this is important to remember. Its not like he did some brilliant coup that swept the party and system with him. Hes the product of years and years of increasing corruption and bigotry that has been festering in the US right wing for years
 

krautrøck

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Been worse, and the next four years are going to be even more terrible with him not needing to worry about a third term and probably being able to pick 2 more Supreme Court seats.
If he gets a second term only a fool would rule out a third term.
 

Cheimoon

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Not sure what's new about this. It's been happening for years and years and years with stuff like climate change (which will kill and hurt many more people long term) and guns (which have already and will continue to hurt many more people). Also anything to do with pollution and the environment more generally. Why would anybody be surprised that it also happens with the next hot-button topic that's got scientists involved?

That doesn't make it any better, mind. If anything, this should remind people how ubiquitous this practice probably is, also with stuff that doesn't attract headlines.
 

calodo2003

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Not sure what's new about this. It's been happening for years and years and years with stuff like climate change (which will kill and hurt many more people long term) and guns (which have already and will continue to hurt many more people). Also anything to do with pollution and the environment more generally. Why would anybody be surprised that it also happens with the next hot-button topic that's got scientists involved?

That doesn't make it any better, mind. If anything, this should remind people how ubiquitous this practice probably is, also with stuff that doesn't attract headlines.
Your second paragraph sums it up well.
I just don’t think there will be a breaking point in the next two months. The inevitable deluge of more info like this won’t matter.
 
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