Trump knows all the "Best People" up until they're determined to be the worst people, then he claims he never knew them.
1
I was conned into marrying a sociopath, who was far more likable and charming that Trump, right up onto the ink was dry on the marriage license.
As the ex-wife of a sociopath,I know that a sociopath can tell the most outrageous lies, and expect others to believe him, as my ex-husband stood outside the courtroom, denying that his signature on checks was his signature, as my divorce attorney held out check after check, which my husband had signed, and asked :"Is this your signature?" to which he responded :"No" , each time,
expecting my attorney and his to be deceived into believing that his signature was not his own.
Having been married to a con artist, it's not as surprising to me that Trump can claim that he doesn't know someone whom he clearly knows, and has stated that he knows, as it might be to the average person.
My question is : How is it that I had the strength and courage to boot this man out as soon as humanly possible and to fight a four year long battle against an attorney, and one who had tremendous power over me, as he held unilateral power over me, as only a husband can grant a "Get "(Jewish divorce), when there are people who have far more power than I did ,who have chosen, and continue to choose to sit on their hands as this dangerous , lunatic continues on his path to destroy our democracy, the environment, has incited violence ,racism, anti-semitism, tramples on the Constitution, and is turning the Presidency into a dictatorship ?
8
I guess we as a nation have decided just to play this farce out to the end. But I feel the end will be the end of our country as we know it. There is nobody with both power and integrity in this administration. And we all seem to be sitting on our hands just complaining about it. Now it is our fault.
3
We are suffering a total loss of leadership and were lied to by politicians on both sides of the Brexit referendum, however, to listen to Trump's lies and made up facts is beyond belief. Trump is scared to death of the Mueller investigation as it looks into his business dealings with Russia and the secret loans etc. He needs an attack dog to close this investigation down, as if he is proven guilty of criminal activities whilst president he will lose the Republican Congress as they will leave him like rats deserting a sinking ship and he will face the full force of the law after he leaves office.
3
The 2003 legal memo on which Trump is relying for his authority to appoint a mere employee to temporarily fill the AG job, which otherwise requires the advice and consent of the Senate, was written for distinctly different circumstances. In 2003, both the director and the deputy director positions of the OMB were vacant. No other OMB “officer” who had been appointed by the President with Senate approval was available to fill, temporarily, the position of director. In this case, the deputy AG, Rod Rosenstein, who fills an “officer” position appointed by the President with the advice and consent of the Senate, is in place. This raises the question whether the 2003 memo is applicable to this situation.
3
This all sounds vaguely familiar. Does anyone else remember DJT's appointment of the totally unqualified Surgeon General (Jackson?) who had once served as the WH physician? It did not take long for others to bring up problems in his background and out he went.
Will Whitaker suffer the same fate? The man's head must be spinning listening to the president he has pledged loyalty to declaring he doesn't even know him.
We are truly burrowing into new rabbit holes--unchartered territory!
BTW was it McConnell that I recently read quoted saying that Mueller will not go? Guess he saw the same election returns that the rest of us did . . .
Well done fellow patriots!
2
I think it’s time for a peaceful march on Washington to protest trump yet again.
5
Wonder if morning trump knows who the hell evening trump is?
Is it true trump went to france to check out if melania and he can seek asylum there should he be found with criminal financial wrong doings, like a lifetime of it, here in the US?!
1
We are at a disadvantage when it comes to understanding who Trump is referencing when he says that "they" recommend anything. We think he is referring to the WH staff or Congress or some authoritative source. I believe he is referring to Fox News and its pundits. They are his trusted source because they flatter him and reflect back to him an image of himself that he likes. He first saw Whitaker on Fox, so of course that makes Whitaker an esteemed person, one who also flatters him. Trump liked what he saw. He probably thought Whitaker would make a great Perry Mason. Such things form his frame of reference. While it makes sense to our t.v. president, it baffles the rest of us who can tell fantasy from reality.
Trump is distancing himself now because he is being criticized. He wants adulation for his excellent choice, but it isn't forthcoming. What's an egomaniac to do? Kick Whitaker to the curb in all likelihood. His fall may be as rapid as the Mooch's.
3
The appointment of Whitaker was clearly planned in advance of the elections. The very obvious lie that came out of POTUS's mouth yesterday is infuriating.
Of course Trump knew Whitaker well through his position as Chief of Staff to Jeff Sessions; the three of them met together approximately a dozen times in the Oval Office. The entire agenda was to put someone in charge of the Mueller investigation either to end it or to keep its report from becoming public.
It is also rumored that Whitaker's appointment as Chief of Staff to Sessions was to be a "mole" for the White House on Sessions' activities. Sort of like the kind of political appointments that infested the VA under David Shulkin, who openly acknowledged that he knew that they were appointed to push privatization.
Apparently, since that stunt worked without any serious repercussions, a repeat of this slimy scenario must have been easily accomplished with Sessions. The fall-out from Whitaker's appointment will probably be that the House orders an investigation in January, and the Senate will ignore any recommendations that they may make as a result.
The Heart of Darkness that is embodied in this ugly Trumpian universe is summed up in "The horror! The horror!"
1
Perhaps it was a philosophically profound question we all missed; after all, do we ever really know anyone, even ourselves? It’s quite likely that’s what he meant.
2
Does 'I don't know Matt Whitaker" mean "No pardon for you, Matt!'?
1
Of course, the Senate approved Rosenstein, in a vote of 94 to 6, in April, 2017.
Why, again, does Trump claim that Sessions had to "resign" and be replaced by someone Trump did, um, doesn't, know? Who, ya know, isn't Rosenstein? Not clear about that.
I thought the NYT was going to call Trump's lies lies? It wasn't "a falsehood" or any other euphemism when Trump claimed he didn't know Whitaker. It was a lie.
7
" I surround myself with the best people. I know the best people.."
-Donald Trump,
“I can tell you Matt Whitaker’s a great guy. I mean, I know Matt Whitaker.”
-Donald Trump 1 month ago
"I don't know Matt Whitaker,"
-Donald Trump Friday November 9th
" I know Nothing!"
-Sergeant Schultz, Hogan Heroes
I've always admired Sergeant Schultz's recognition of his own limitations and the wisdom it belies...
Donald Trump doesn't know what he is talking about most of the time, even when it is in regards to someone he knows and then says he doesn't know just a month later.
I also think he must be a liar.
Fictional German Prison Guard:1
President of The United States:0
1
He's taken kicking someone to the curb to a whole new level.
October 11th 2018 “I can tell you Matt Whitaker’s a great guy. I mean, I know Matt Whitaker.”
Nov 9th 2018 "I don't know Whittaker"
You couldn't make it up.
2
I suggest that the president's lying and hiring a questionable substitute, Mr. Whitaker, is far less important than is requesting answers why the president fired the Attorney General, Jeff Session in the first place?
Media, please do not bury this most relevant constitutional crisis issue (Session’s firing) by getting preoccupied with the latest drama discharged by the president’s egomaniacal brain. Instead,..
Imagine all the people (journalists)
Living life in peace (asking the same question: why did you fire Session?)
You may say that I’m a dreamer (it would really work!)
But I’m not the only one (we want the truth!)
I hope someday you’ll join us (please, at least try..)
And the world will live as one (journalist would show they one with all people, we'll be even more indebted to you, your jobs will become more secure).
All together now...
1
He lies, always. He has memory problems. He has limited knowledge of almost all things. He is not interested in the truth or facts. He only cares about his needs. He is a legend in his own mind.
2
The current front page headline for this article is: "Trump says 'I don't know Matt Whitaker,' despite several oval office visits." Lots of people visit the Oval Office. That's not very compelling - especially for a president famous for not paying attention to Oval Office presentations.
What is compelling is that Trump literally said the opposite a month prior. Why is that not the headline on the front page? Every time something like this comes up, the Times seems to select the path designed to give the benefit of the doubt to Trump.
"I know more about ISIS than the generals."
"I know more about taxes than anyone. Nobody knows more about taxes."
"I know more about infrastructure than anybody."
"Nobody knows banking better than I do."
"Nobody knows more about debt than I do. I'm like the king. I love debt."
What about Matt Whitaker?
I don't know Matt Whitaker.
4
Any intern at DOJ will tell you in five minutes that the appt is unconstitutional. It is just Don seeing what he can get away with...
3
This video shows the transformation into Nixon, alas without the intellect, is complete.
Just like he didn't know Stormy or David Duke. Weird how the man who claims the greatest memory in the history of the universe has so many convenient lapses of memory.
2
Maybe with his evangelical background Trump meant he didn't know Whittaker in a biblical sense?
2
Of course he claims not to know Matt Whitaker, even in the face of provable facts to the contrary. Pathological liars lie, regardless of the consequences or the obvious truth. With this clearly being the case then the only conclusion to draw is that we have a pathological president sitting in the White House with a nuclear football at his side and the keys to our nation hanging out of his pocket. Do you feel safe knowing that? I certainly don't.
1
If he didn't know him, why did he choose him?
1
Whitaker looks like a bouncer at a NY club.
tRUMP is so important that he never waits in line to get into a club. They let him in the back door. Hmmm.
So, of course, he "DOES NOT KNOW" the guy.
This person looks more like a bouncer at a lower east side club than a former govt official much less our latest Attorney General. Sounds like one too.
2
Today: “I don’t know Matt Whitaker.”
One month ago: "I know Matt Whitaker.”
Either he's lying, has some kind of serious dementia, or thinks both statements are true. All three are very scary.
1
Just an observation.... there is an inverse relationship between the truth of his statements and the number of times he repeats those statements.
1
Of course Trump doesn't know Whittaker, why else would he put him in place as 7th in succession? Right?
It sounds like Mr. Whitaker will be short lived and take the heat for anything that goes wrong. No one was more loyal than Jeff Sessions and look at the abuse he got. Mr. Whitaker might find his promotion more like being the lead gladiator into the tiger's den.
The Trump presidency is like 52 card pickup - his statements flying every which way and sounding like a mind that's lost control and grabbing at whatever passes for a thought.
Trump appears to have a memory disorder. He forgets a lot of things.
I’m pleased that The Times tells more than Trump’s story by contrasting his claims with . . . reality. Good golly, the man expects us to take every word he speaks at face value!
I appreciate The Times repeated efforts to tell us the “alternative facts” so we can judge the truth of the situation.
Trump rarely gives us the truth. As he admits, he tries to tell the truth . . . when he can.
1
Even listening to him describe his relationship and/or knowledge of Whitaker is painful.
3rd grade language skills. Repeats himself.
The man is not mentally fit to serve.
2
Trump on Matt Whitaker: I don't know Matt Whitaker.
Trump on George Conway (husband of the woman who has forgotten how to tell the truth): I really don't know the guy.
What I would give to answer the question: What do you think of Donald Trump?
I really don't know the guy.
At what point will Trump disavow Don, Jr.?
1
Would Donnie’s memory laps be considered “short” term memory issues ... or “long” term ... in either case, I was trying hard not to categorize this as another lie ...
What an utterly incompetent manager.
"I never heard of the guy, never talked to him, I gave him a promotion."
When is this nightmare over?
2
And Bush Jr. did not know Ken Lay. Whole lot of "not knowing" going on in politics.
who is this man? why am I even illegally appointing him? I just don't know? by the way - never heard of him either.
1
"I'm telling you, the President can appoint me without confirmation. so now that you have my verification, I can assure you that this President will appoint me. without confirmation. because I say he can."
"I don't know this man at all - wink, wink, nudge, nudge - but I know that his word is law, so even though I don't know him, I know him well enough to know that he'd never misstate anything that would be do his benefit. I know him, so he's great, even though I don't know him - nudge, nudge, wink, wink." "(how was that for throwing them off the scent??? am I great, or what??!!"
1
I don't know Matt Whitaker and I don't know Felix Salten.
The NYT publisher should meet with its staff and tell them to think, not feel. If they do, they won’t write politically biased headlines and “news” stories like this. Just ask any big shot in politics or business or entertainment about how well they know every person who they have been in a meeting with. The big shots in the room do all the talking and any secondary figures say little and are usually just bystanders. So it is silliness to suggest that Trump “knows” him because he showed up at a meeting.
The Times must stop calling Whitaker “Acting Attorney General”. He is not because he was illegally appointed. The correct description is: “Whitaker, whom Trump has illegally appointed to the position of Acting Attorney General.”
1
Why are we allowing this monstrosity called Trump to keep playing this little game?
1
Re: Whitaker. Do you remember the wonderful and "colorful" fairy books of Andrew Lang when we were children? The Red, The Blue, The Yellow, The Green, etc.? There was no Black Fairy Book. There needs to be one, for the adults. And in it, in place of Rumpelstiltskin and Rapunzel, we'll have Trumpelstiltskin and Repugnant. Every past and present Trump cabinet member--the whole colorful lot--would find a place in that Black book, not mere figments. but rather pigments, of Trump's black imagination. In that book--and only in that book--black would not be beautiful.
1
“They have chosen cunning instead of belief. Their prison is only in their minds, yet they are in that prison; and so afraid of being taken in that they cannot be taken out.”
― C.S. Lewis, The Last Battle
What a farce this administration continues to be. Republicans, does he really represent your core values?
1
Why would you put someone you don’t know in that important role? Are you responsible for the nation mr. president?
1
Chemistry is so real.
"Oh, that Matthew Whitaker!" said D. Trump, after his denial.
What is he doing these days?
1
"Sessions talked to the Russians a few times, Whitaker has not done that, so what would be the basis?" Grassley says, about Whitaker recusing himself.
Whelp, Chuck. I kinda assumed you were a smart guy, but ethics clearly ain't your thing.
Sessions recusal has been repeatedly vocally complained about by Trump. A veritable thorn in his side. It has been referred to again, and again and again in Trump's desire to fire sessions and replace him with someone who could "protect him" from the "Russia thing".
IF an AG is fired for what largely looks to be motivated by a desire to upend a federal investigation into the person who DID the firing (which would be obstruction, by the way), then an ethical step to take, would be to consider that ongoing investigation and recusal the REASON to recuse the newly appointed acting AG.
Its not rocket science, but I understand how ethics can sometimes seem to be in this crowd of charlatans.
3
Ouf, it is no small blessing that the House of Representatives will be Democrat during the next 2 years.
If Trump were thrown out of the White House, the clowns that voted for him would say it is unfair.
We just wait the 2 years, with Congress preventing anymore truly awful stuff. And then we vote him out, fair and square, in 2 years. Even if it is not good, it may be the best idea.
2
Question.... If Matt Whitaker physically sees papers which indicate that Pres Trump would have been tried for same offences as Michael Cohen, and then if Mr Whitaker blocked the passage of Special Counsel Report to the House, does that constitute Obstruction of Justice?
2
Perhaps, there is an alternative explanation for what Trump meant to say. When Trump is asked by a reporter the follow up question: "What did you mean when you said you 'did not know Whitaker'"?, perhaps Trump will respond by saying, "Well, what I meant or intended to say is that I did not 'know' Whitaker in the Biblical sense. I mean I never slept with him. I mean, we never . . . Well, you know what I mean. I don't know him that well and, of course, not in the Biblical sense of knowing a man." If Trump just explains these questions about "knowing Whitaker" in this Biblical way, then, perhaps, by this explanation, he can reveal and explain what he really meant to say. Indeed, is not that what his press secretary Huckabee Sanders has told us -- that is, judge Trump by what is in his heart, not his mere words?
1
Whitaker has all the qualifications necessary to be a member of the Trump Administration. It would appear from the evidence so far that he is corrupt, dishonest, ethically challenged, pathologically partisan, and willing to do whatever Trump tells him. The fact that he has failed at almost every endeavor he has undertaken and is profoundly unqualified for this position only makes him more attractive to Trump. Birds of a feather...
4
There is a nagging desire in me to see Trump disgraced, and fallen like Nixon. I cannot fathom how so many people voted for such a pathological liar.
Having just watched the 3-part Watergate series on the History Channel, I was struck by several interviews with Republicans from that era. Most of them had an ethical core. The disparity with today was crystal clear, and I felt a sense of doom.
6
Dear New York Times:
It is clear to everyone that president Trump chose Mr. Whitaker to sabotage or limit the Mueller investigation. It is also clear that the senate will not do their job and stand up to the president. Can you investigate the acting AG's past? Given the recent reports regarding his involvement in a fraudulent organization it would not be a big surprise if there are no other incidents that even the president's supporters will not like.
Like most of his associates and advisers; another shady character emerged. After they are exposed Trump distances himself. His famous line I don’t know him. They are all changed with crimes and some convicted.
When will this disgraceful man face some consequences? The wheels of justice grinds to a screeching halt.
Like Kavanaugh, Matthew Whitaker was a teen footballer. Perhaps taking all those blows to the head lets them imagine they can serve Trump without sustaining long-term damage. As if with CTE, Trump and his acolytes have problems with thinking, show symptoms of dementia and get worse over time.
You appoint someone to be the Acting Attorney General and you don't know who he is? The lies from Trumps and his minions just keep rolling in.
The one saving grace of this president and his administration--it is wholly inept. God help us if they were any better at lying or obstruction.
1
no surprise trump's Whitaker is tied to shady dealings. Must ask again - when will the Republicans get a spine?
Trump is overreacting to his fear of Congress. The dolt is unknowingly inviting Congress to take him down! This fearful bravado can work in a business deal with another low life but not with Congress.
Go ahead Trump - make our day.
This is NOT a contradiction
You can KNOW a person as an aquintance
You will NOT KNOW the person, on who she/he acts if the relation is closer
I thought I knew my wife - before marriage
After marriage - it turned out to be different
...and this is our president, this is our shame. In the future, world history will not be kind to us, the U.S., for having this kind of "leader" that denies, lies, denigrates, belittles, chides, mocks, and ...well, has made himself wealthy at the expense of others and the U.S. taxpayers.
Classic case of undiagnosed dementia - he’s forgotten the acting AG after meeting and talking to him multiple times. Sounds like a textbook case for enacting the 25th Amendment.
On the other hand, it could be a classic case of a congenital liar who has no loyalty to anyone and lies instinctively when confronted.
These are terrible possibilities that we face with the man sitting in the Oval Office.
1
Let’s say it is true that Trump doesn’t know Matt Whitaker. So he doesn’t know his administration own attorney general? How about “extreme vetting”, “the best people”?
Ok, ok, I know, Trump’s a liar.
As I view the comments on Friday evening over 900 people have made postings, most in some way expressing astonishment at this comment. But the whole thing is so bizarre, what is there really so say?
Well, maybe this. This is one of our best examples yet of how President Trump's mind works. He is a bully in many ways, and among them he is willing to bully simple logic. He says what sounds good, not caring whether it's true or not, or who he offends. President Obama was born in Hawaii? How boring! Let's say he was born in Africa—that's much more fun! One of the most prominent African-American news people in the country is asking tough questions at my news conference? She's a "loser," although she's in good company, with the "overrated" actress Meryl Streep, the "stupid" LeBron James, etc.
And maybe this. All good stems from him. And all bad? Well, from somewhere else. The stock market is down? Obama's fault! The stock market is up? My magic is working!
But this is the best. A congressman won his election? Clearly, an affirmation of the President's wonderfulness. Another lost? Well, he of course WOULD have won also, had he "embraced" President Trump and shown him some love, rather than quietly asking him not to campaign for him.
So he has been busted big-time here for failing to tell the truth. But he's been busted literally a thousand times, and so what? He stumbles on, and his supporters say well, he has a few rough edges, but he tells it like it is. Well, sorta.
This what happens when folks elect an hack to be president. The hack in question appoints others in his own image; craven, unqualified, and a mere opportunist.
One can only conclude that Trump doesn’t know who Trump is.
The 2003 legal opinion on which Trump is relying is of doubtful applicability because there is a suitable person to appoint, the deputy AG. So you cannot argue you need to find a stand-in person so government can continue to function.
In any case, the 2003 opinion was presumably not tested by the courts, otherwise the judgement would be produced not the opinion.
8
Trump "doesn't know" Whitaker like he "doesn't know" about the racist video he posted on his Twitter feed. More lies, no surprise.
9
Is Don's time up yet? His current reality TV shows needs to be canceled ASAP. He is just way too much to handle any more - and was way too much going back to his pre-nomination birther conspiracy days. We pay for this? Lock him up!
26
Trump is ahead of the scientific community on this. He both does know Whitaker and does NOT know Whitaker, at the same time. He is the quantum mechanic president. Schrödinger’s cat would be so proud.
Everyone says so.
34
If Trump doesn't know Whitaker and has never spoken to him, then he is incompetent. If Trump knows Whitaker and is lying to the American people, then (if in normal times) he can't be president. Either way is a no-go. But it's not normal times. So what now? I think that our way of governing is toast if this appointment stands. Whitaker's appointment to head DOJ cannot stand.
27
Someone should ask Whitaker if he knows Trump. That should settle the mutual fitness for office of either.
12
Trump could say, "We have always been at war with Oceania," at one moment in front of reporters, and then say "As I was saying a minute ago, we have always been at war with Eastasia." And Fox News will act as if there was no contradiction.
Matt Whitaker, whom Trump knows, or doesn't depending on the time of day (check Fox and Friends) who was deeply entangled with a scam patent company that makes Trump University look ethical, and who publicly recommends that only Christians should be judges, is "very very respected among law enforcement." Right. And so is Deputy Dog.
The holocaust historian Timothy Snyder says that one of the signs of incipient tyranny is when a leader and his followers "openly embrace contradiction."
Trump and his Fox News base are all the way there. The rest of us had better recognize that, and be able to respond.
18
Hired for one purpose only. He is a soldier, following an order; He is the fall man.
The Mueller Investigation will be shut down, or
Mike Pence will become President
This cannot and will not happen.
12
Perhaps it is time for Whitaker to make a statement.
"I don't know Donald Trump." Follow that up with:
"I believe Trump is just there acting as president."
We'd all believe him. He would become a hero overnight.
3
I'm tired of the media's complicity in reporting what Trump says as if it's a genuine statement of fact. We all know he spins outrageous, unbelievable falsehoods. Reporting that he says he doesn't know Whitaker as if it's a neutral statement gives him credibility and validity that Trump hasn't earned.
12
Trump will only fall and America be saved when its population cease to be entertained by him. A large swathe of the voting public find vindication of their own prejudices by having a president voice what they dare not. Others, too long disenfranchised, sense someone who shares their perceived enemy and is thus a friend. Fascistic elements within the US find his symbolism empowering and providing succour. Conservatives pretend that the man is a conservative deity (like the other false god, Reagan) because he enables an agenda that will hobble the very same people that feel disenfranchised, therefore demonstrating a Trumpian paradox.
Democrats cannot prosper by simply opposing Trump. Even if Whitaker stymies the investigation and gives his master a bit of breathing space, they will howl while the base sniggers, cheering on their man. The Democratic Party, the party of Pelosi, needs to ditch its figurehead and get back to the business of being the working class champion, rescuing the population from the gaping maw of the corporation. Its new generation of women and youth offer hope, but that hope has to be shared by the men and women who have a penchant for dictatorship as a desirable alternative to exclusive and effete liberalism.
4
Apparently, in another egregious excess of emoluments, Donald John Trump has rented or leased out the White House Oval Office to a look-alike, who has been holding meetings with those who would possibly pay for decent jobs with pay and prestige, and preferably, power. This alone explains the bizarre report from our president that he never knew Whitaker.
Or, is there another explanation for the reported quote from our president?
6
Donald Trump? Never heard of him. Name does not ring a bell. Some people are saying they’ve heard of him, seen him around Washington and in parts of Manhattan, but really, I have never encountered him. Not familiar. Next question?
7
Trump is now on his way to Paris ostensibly to mark the 100th anniversary of the end of WW1. He is expected to meet with Putin. Trump has also been notably more angry and disorganized since the mid term elections. Might this be his time to take Air Force one to Moscow?
15
October 2017 - "I have one of the great memories of all-time".... Obviously not.
9
Trump has a knack for attracting such an unique posse of talent from Whitaker to Zinke to Cohen to Manafort to Gates to Flynn to Pruitt to Price to Hicks to Spicer, and the list goes on. He makes Perry look like an Einstein. It speaks volumes about the stable genius’s leadership, and what we have become. There isn’t a single appointment or policy that isn’t controversial. It is just shame.
13
I don't understand why reporters, who generally have a far superior intellect than the President, don't call him out when he says a truly ridiculous thing like "I don't know Mike Whitaker." The very man he just appointed to the highest post at the Department of Justice, but the President doesn't know him? The man who is he hoping will get rid of his Mueller problem? He didn't speak with him, meet with him, review his videos before putting him in a position where he could help Trump keep his family and even himself out of jail?
Wouldn't your immediate response be "If you don't know him, why did you just make him the Acting Attorney General?"
12
It seems highly likely that, for all of his prevarication, Trump is trying to delay the inevitable: the collapse of his wacky world by fair means or foul. Whitaker has entered the administration at the worst possible time for him. If he ends or impedes the Mueller investigation, as Trump no doubt expects, his own career is finished. He’ll never work in government again, nor, likely, the legal profession.
It’s ridiculous to decry the character of the investigation as a witch hunt unless Trump is a witch surrounded by a coven. So many high profile figures have been indicted, convicted, and/or cooperating, terminating the investigation would be tantamount to criminal obstruction. How can Whitaker subvert these lucent facts?
Trump hopes that his Gary Cohn has finally appeared, but I wonder how far Whitaker will risk his neck to protect his easy familiarity with him?
The Democrats have inertia, but they must be careful not to appear vengeful. Trump has a lot of support, some apparently with bomb making skills, so there’s little point in vindictiveness where there’s plenty of petard with which Trump can hoist himself.
8
The No. 1 rule about honesty that Trump never learned. And the caution that will eventually bring him down.
‘One of the great things about telling the truth is that you don’t have to remember what you said.’
5
I simply do not understand why he would bother to lie about this. It's bizarre.
I don't think anyone who objects to, or approves of, the appointment cares if Trump knows him or not. It's a total non-issue.
Why does he bother with this kind of reflexive lying about things that don't even matter?
6
Where to begin? Our executive has become more racketeering enterprise than a legitimate arm of government. The same can be said of the U.S. Senate which is protecting the skulduggery by breathtaking acts of commission and cowardly displays of omission. How much more can the Republic take before all this thievery and chaos brings serious eruptions of violence?
10
“You didn’t have any problems with Matt Whitaker when he was working for Jeff Sessions,”
Well, no, Mr. President. Presumably Mr. Whitaker was qualified as a chief of staff. Now you have appointed him to a position for which may well be unqualified, likely has conflicts of interest, and for which Senate approval is arguably necessary.
You are sworn to execute the office you occupy and to uphold our constitution. Those principles and obligations are what Mr. Whitaker and his appointment should be judged against. It’s not personal — the law demands it.
7
When Trump says he doesn't know someone it's because he's about to torch them, or simply that they are not a member of his direct family - the only people he admits to knowing. However, when D T Jr gets indicted, let's watch Trump saying he doesn't know Don Jr either
8
Comiical ...the Sgt. Shutlz defense. "I know nuthink, Nuthink. " After declaring that if any investigation gets too close to him, he'll hinder whatever democrats want to do. That my friends is something that even republicans can't put up with. Trump has been consistently off the reservation but to threaten our duly elected representatives is just too far. Where is McConnell hiding that he seldom comments on Trump's mafia like style of ruling? Time for Trump to go and get back to normalcy.
6
He doesn’t know him, he knows OF him. He has a good reputation? I don’t know of ANYONE that hires someone, even in an “acting” postion (I guess that makes him an “acting president?), that they’ve never met or interviewed and would put them in a position of power. I guess to him that’s the norm now. SMH. This administration just keeps getting more and more of a swamp every day!
5
Previously the Harding administration was considered the most corrupt in this country's history by many historians, but this group has got to be far far worse than them. Trump will leave office as THE most corrupt in over 200 years.
5
The No. 1 rule Trump never learned. And the caution that will bring him down.
‘One of the great things about telling the truth is that you don’t have to remember what you said.’
5
Trump's lies are profligate, and they seem to make his supporters love him. I confess that I found his lies about who was and who was not confirmed by the Senate more amusing than most.
There is some legitimate debate about whether the Vacancies Reform Act, if considered alone, would forbid Whittaker's appointment. However you cannot consider the VRA alone. The US Constitution in plain language makes Trump's use of section 3 of the VRA unconstitutional.
For those of you who claim to have any doubt whether a law can simply overrule the US Constitution, consult the "Stable Genius". He says the Constitution's provisions on citizenship can be utterly wiped away not just by an act of Congress, but by an executive order by himself. If you claim to believe that, you support "Stable Genius"!
4
Besides the obvious partisan bias Whitaker has against the Mueller investigation - a bias that he has publicly stated several times- Whitaker is grossly unqualified to be the acting AG. Whitaker is even LESS qualified to run the DOJ than Dr. Ronnie Jackson was to run the VA.
5
Mr. Mueller, a small suggestion if you don't mind. Don't overcook the pasta!
4
The only thing more disgraceful and disturbing then Trump's daily assault on intelligence, common decency and law, (in both his words and actions), is the number of Americans ready and willing to step up and excuse his every word and action. Each day brings another example of how dangerously unstable this man is and how far his base will go to excuse and support him.
America - be concerned, be very concerned.
9
"I don't know him...never spoke to him..." but, he is very respected and... (I appointed him to get rid of Mueller).
Did the intelligent- thinking world expect something else from a two year old in a 72 year old body?
It must have been a very boisterous West Wing when the revelations of Mr. Whitaker's disdain for the U.S. Supreme Court came to light (wonder how Kavanaugh feels about an AG who thinks he & his is the Inferior branch of government)?
The Federalist Society "vetted" this hoped-for-permanent replacement to Jeff Sessions so Trump can blame them.
I just wish we could indict the millions of Americans who brought us this monstrosity preening around as a president.
7
Just because someone made a few visits does not mean that you know that person other than as a casual acquaintance.
It would appear, based on Trumps own words that he invested more time in the last 20 months composing tweets maligning Sessions than in picking his successor.
That learning curve described by Trumps defenders has yet to display any sign of flattening--he the same dumb as a brick as he was at his swearing in ceremony.
6
After a lot of criticisms, Mr. Trump probably feels sort of guilty about skipping the deputy attorney general. However, I don't understand, seemingly NYT either, why he abruptly started saying he doesn't know Matt Whitaker. Does he think this can be an excuse?
4
“No matter who I put in, they go after him,” Mr. Trump said of his appointees. “It’s very sad.”
Of course good government types go after whomever Trump appoints. The chief scammer only knows and appoints other scammers and criminals.
10
Almost funny that there are people who still trust the President.
7
He who shall not be named has just appointed a person as US AG who disagrees with Marbury v Madison-- the foundational SC ruling that has guided our judiciary's decisions interpreting the Constitution for over 200 years. He is trying to lay the foundation for an imperial presidency simply by lashing out at his attackers blindly. Whitaker is no more qualified to be US AG just because he is a lawyer and ex-US AG for the southern district of Iowa (?) from 2004-8 than I am to drive the Indy 500 because I have a driver's license.
Tick, tick, tick...
8
By saying “I don’t know Matt Whitaker,” can be taken in several ways and what the President probably meant that he doesn't know him personally just by reputation. Seems the author builds a sinister meaning behind the President comments assuming that now the President is lying. Same thing where another Times article made Whitaker look bad when maybe some company official used Whitaker's job as prosecutor as a threat. Anybody wonder why the country is so divided when the press is so negative with the President.
Trump's never told the truth about anything - why would he start now?
4
The president of the United States stood in front of reporters and TV cameras and lied to the American people. Blatantly lied. The silence of the GOP in the Congress serves a sign of their complicity in the lies. What a very sad and disturbing time in Americas history.
4
And when Jr. is indicted? "He was only in the family for a few weeks. I don't really know him. And who is this woman with him? I don't know her ..."
5
While the left argues about Whitaker they don't care about our 'war on terror' casualty totals. The report, which was published on Saturday by the Brown University's Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs, put the death toll between 480,000 and 507,000. These totals are very conservative but the left and the Democrats don't care.
As amply documented, Trump has lied his entire life.
What I don't understand is, why does he still do it so poorly?
3
Any chance we could get his press conferences under oath?
2
Let me get this straight. Trump fired the AG and replaced him with some guy who came highly recommended, but whom the president didn’t know. He makes it sound as if he just handed the job - the highest law enforcement position - to Whitaker without giving it much thought. Who appoints an AG they don’t know at all? This lie just makes Trump look even more reckless and foolish than he did when we thought he knew and liked Whitaker.
114
Of course Trump has "chemistry" with Whitaker. Trump goes for brawny, tough-looking bald guys. If they have criminal backgrounds, all the better. MAGA.
17
It does not pass the smell test, nor our Constitution. He would be elevated to the highest office of the Judiciary Branch after paying a large fine for fraud within the last 6 months. Certainly in keeping with Trump and friends, but certainly not American standards. He has not passed through the obliged scrutiny of congressional approval and pretty clear he would not pass.
13
If America survives the trump era, I hope someone writes a musical about it in the style of "The Producers." I'll take my grandchildren to it, and tell them I saw it with my own eyes.
27
I'm with you and hope I live that long.
1
Respect is something a President is expected to bring with him to the White House. It is something he has earned --
As Mueller has done and Whitaker hasn't.
It isn't something that is given simply because he claims temporary residency in place that has been occupied by some of the nation's most highly respected individuals.
They include Republicans like Lincoln and Eisenhower.
Presidents preside, they don't rule or dictate, otherwise we'd call them rulers or dicators.
We left rulers and dictators behind when our ancestors brought us here.
What we ask of those whom we have chosen to preside over our institutions is that they apply their accumulated respect/political capital to the office at hand and continue to demostrate the skills they claimed to have had when they sought office, and use those skills to solve even greater problems, with world-wide implications, for their country.
What has Trump done?
All I hear is what comes out of his mouth. Mostly belittling, demeaning, and boasting. Where is the steady hand guiding our ship of state amid the rocks and shoals strewn along its course.
Presidents work for the people and are responsible for looking after the public interest, placing it above their own.
A President who wants respect must earn it every step of the way as Bob Mueller has been doing.
Steady, determined and relentless in the pursuit of the public's interest.
That is what earns respect. Respect flows naturally from appreciation.
As with Jimmy Carter.
15
I am not surprised that Donald Trump has put his own personal interests ahead of those of the country since the first day he took office. What has been very surprising, and very disappointing, is that he has been aided and abetted in his actions every step of the way by others, who have also put their own personal interests ahead of those of the country.
18
That’s what’s really saddened me the most. Of course I knew when he announced his campaign that Trump would be this bad if he somehow made it all the way (such an impossible thought!). He’s a soulless, morally bankrupt person and always has been. I just didn’t count on so many others not only covering for him, but aiding him. It’s an American tragedy.
7
Trump’s unconstitutional 'appointment' of erstwhile AG Sessions Chief of Staff is truly bringing the nation into a severe constitutional crisis. As has been noted more eloquently by others, the AG must be vetted by the Senate for that position. In Trump’s world, he's the CEO of America, the Democratic House needs to remind him that America isn't the Trump Corporation.
6
You just have to wonder how a president can appoint someone he says, "I don't know" to be Acting Attorney General. Of course, in the case of truth-challenged Trump, the answer is obvious. Matt Whitaker is his latest "Get Out of Jail Free" card as chief law enforcement officer who will now oversee the Mueller investigation which has step-by-step been closing in on Mr. Trump and his family. Whether this patently crude attempt to obstruct and avoid justice will work is the Constitutional crisis that is now playing out in the eerily quiet confines of Washington as Trump flies off to Paris leaving behind the autocratic odor of corruption while the nation awaits word from Congressional leaders and Robert Mueller on how or if they will resist this attempted coup.
7
Trump normally repeats the same lie over and over again with each new opportunity, believing, and rightfully so, that eventually people will believe it.
Now he's upping his game by repeating the same lie over and over again in one sentence during a single encounter with the media.
He actually expanded on the classic Bart Simpson defense: "I didn't do it, nobody saw me, you can't prove a thing" to include "Never knew him or her, never met him or her, and, of course the old standby, "I never colluded with him or her".
4
Because he is Trump, everybody is supposed to believe that he knows him but he doesn't know him. Is that acceptable?, does the US deserve that?
4
Yes, people support him and elect his party.
Every time one of Trump's hires or appointments gets into trouble, Trump claims he doesn't know the guy.
He'll never take responsibility for anything, even his own subordinates.
3
Iowa Senator Joni Ernst was reported to have said today that she did not know if Mueller and his investigation should be protected, and she claimed that thus far the investigation has nothing to show for it (this, despite numerous indictments and guilty pleas).
My understanding is that Ernst defeated Whitaker in the Republican primary leading to her election. Would it be possible for a NYT reporter to look back on that campaign and report how Ms Ernst characterized her opponent then?
5
Melania? Never heard of her. I think she worked for me for a very short period of time. Minor stuff. Coffee girl.
6
@Ed L.
But he does remember MelaniE.
1
Our President lacks basic listening skills - he doesn't even listen to the things he himself says which is part of why he lies so often. The problem is the rest of us are listening, and what most of us are hearing is alarming.
6
While I appreciate most of what he has done for America and can agree that his accomplishments are poorly covered by the press, I have to conclude that his problems are self-inflicted. His latest gaff: He knows Whitaker/he never met the man. The only person he can blame is the one who looks back from the mirror.
1
I don't think Trump even knows when he's lying - he just says anything that seems to fit the circumstances.
5
It amazes me that there still are people who will accept his job offers. I realize that he is now literally "scraping the bottom of the barrel" but anyone who accepts a job from him has to be aware that their future career is toast.
3
Hang in there, everyone... Come tomorrow he'll remember he met Whitaker and then by Monday deny it again.
Trump's base still loves him. And we just haven't figured out why.
2
Two years and ZERO on collusion with Russia in the election. Instead of railing against Donnie, maybe the press should question the scope of the investigation. As every day goes by and there is nothing to show significant Russian efforts to "hack" the election and nothing to show "collusion" by the Trump campaign with Russia, the investigation looks more and more like a witch hunt. The US does so much more, including invasions and funding opposition groups in other countries, the only indictments with regard to social media abuse seem little more that an effort to show something, anything to justify the investigation and continued vilification of Russia.
Manafort, Gates, Flynn, Cohan...
Trump said, "I don't know Matt Whitaker," after telling Fox News, "He's a good man. I know Matt Whitaker." So clearly, he both knows and doesn't know Matt Whitaker. It just depends who's asking.
4
And which end is doing the talking it seems.
That Trump knew well enough Mr. Whitaker, and yet had to lie on camera that he did not know this man--is an event we've witnessed countless times. Clearly, he is under delusions that his words command belief--or ought to, a trait of a demented sense of self-imperialist untouchability. Now, if Trump were woke, he'd reflect more on not just the fact the the House of Representative was "lost." He'd see the writing on the wall: the Wall Street Journal (Murdoch terrain) issued a scathing report of Trump's full complicity in the hush money scandal that also violated campaign finance laws. The hard-core corporate world, he would realize, does not need him any more--they got their massive Tax Cut. Yes, the ethically moribund Evangelicals got their Supreme Court fellas (they might embrace Trump for one more). But Trump has "served" the old-Right well. Trump now should look over his shoulder. He can't count long-term on the larger wheels of financial power--which is not in hotels and casinos. And the Tea Party types are likely to wither in the wake of shifting demographics... Alas--he may be too blinded by his narcissism. Let the chips fall...Mueller. ... 2020...
4
Rather than keeping track of Trump's lies, someone should keep track of of the times he tells the truth. It will be a much much smaller figure and easier to document.
10
Sure - he is going to appoint a guy who he wants to help him obstruct the Mueller and he does not know him - right? He really has contempt for the intelligence of the average American. Would any employee (or spouse) THAT PERPETUALLY LIED TO EVERYONE BE KEPT ON?
5
As (acting) director of the Smithsonian Institution, I would like to obtain these objects:
- confessional, complete with heavy screen, where Donald Trump "talked" to Mr. Whitaker five times, without asking him his name.
- video of Trump leaving confessional without turning around to peek.
- Nun's habit or niqab worn by Trump, with heavy veil covering his face.
- Synthesizer used to alter both parties' voices.
3
The appointment was an obstruction of justice ploy. Trump realizes that. Therefore denies he even knows The guy he himself appointed.i don’t that stat is going to work.
1
Excellent article, and I appreciate the context and tone. The only elements that stand out are trumpian, to both know and not know; to deflect on Whitaker vetting by comparing to Mueller, a deflection most of us have learned to note, and ignore.
8
Trump "didn't know" or "barely knew" Paul Manafort, Rick Gates, George Papadopoulos, Michael Flynn, Michael Cohen, and all the others who have been indicted, and Donnie did not have anything to do with any of them. Pretty soon, he will say he didn't know Jeff Sessions either.
209
speak loudly and plainly and often, schumer..Your inspiration should be more winston churchill, these times need it..speak loud and clear and often, don't write letters..no-one even gets letters anymore, much less read them..speak, loud and clear, schumer and pelosi..I am waiting..
40
@Grace Thorsen: you are so right. But expecting Schumer to be Churchill is like expecting Trump winning the Nobel Prize in Physics.
NB: i despise Churchill’s politics but I give him credit where credit is due: intelligence and courage.
2
Well, that didn’t take long.
Usually, when he uses his distancing phrases, he’s ready to heave overboard anyone who is unfortunate enough to believe he’d take into consideration their loyalty, as he seeks to protect himself and what he cares about.
Which is again, himself.
Maybe The Implosion is not only eminent, but soon.
177
@MarcAnthony
Yes, it will be imminent, but not eminent (I'll guarantee you).
3
Has anyone calculated the number of days until The Convergence? That's the day that Trump's contradictory statements occur at precisely the same moment as in "I do not know this person, but I know him well," or "I have ordered ground troops into Syria because I will not put troops on the ground in Syria".
42
Yes. And if my calculations are correct, on this coming Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2019 at approximately 2215 GMT, the entire White House will abruptly be propelled into a chronosynclastic infindibulum.
Shame about the building, but it’s probably worth it.
2
If Donald Trump doesn’t remember knowing or speaking to Matt Whitaker, even though there is audio and video evidence to the contrary, then maybe he needs a cognitive re- examination.
91
"I know him...." I don't know him...."
Isn't this organized crime talk, signals about who is in and who is out, who gets protected and who gets taken out?
Or maybe it's illness, with all due respect to clinical medicine: "Dissociative disorders are characterized by an involuntary escape from reality characterized by a disconnection between thoughts, identity, consciousness and memory."
But wait. It is voluntary. Of course. It's just lies.
52
Trump will say the usual. He’s a good guy”, “very unfair to criticize him” - “ “his company was corrupt” “that’s unfair to say”. That’s the POTUS.
1
I am beyond bewildered by the constant stream of LIES by Trump and even more so by the SPINELESS Congress AND Cabinet that refuses to call him out.
There must be a point at which it is so abundantly clear that he is NOT FIT FOR OFFICE, cannot fulfill his role and needs to be removed.
What have we become?
89
@eaglone
Look, Congress and the cabinet have better things to do than listen to Trump. That job is for the rest of us. They are busy cutting regulations that hinder them or their patrons. They are busy robbing the public till and running up their expense accounts. They are busy leasing our public lands and harvesting our resources while further degrading the land, air, and water. Next they will turn their attention of removing all the guardrails.
Really? Do you think they can attend to EVERYTHING?
Only by taking to the streets in mass protest can this madness be halted and what's left of our democracy preserved.
41
He's the best Attorney General for Donald Trump. He's clearly not the best for the American People's Constitution. More obstruction of justice.
21
So Trump basically is saying that he doesn't know who he just appointed to be the Attorney General.
Got it.
63
“One of the saddest lessons of history is this: If we’ve been bamboozled long enough, we tend to reject any evidence of the bamboozle. We’re no longer interested in finding out the truth. The bamboozle has captured us. It’s simply too painful to acknowledge, even to ourselves, that we’ve been taken. Once you give a charlatan power over you, you almost never get it back.”
― Carl Sagan
59
Happily that's why we have elections -- as many aren't and never were under the GOP/Trump spell. Unfortunately we also have the reality of; "you can fool some of the people all of the time"
1
Didn't Whitaker serve on the board of Trump University, vouching for the quality education that fine institution was supposed to provide to its prospective scholars?
31
There's a quote from a LA Times article that is relevant -
"Understanding Trump as a deviant/delinquent, we can hope that he will be countered or contained by strong institutions such as courts, special counsel Robert S. Mueller III, Congress and the press. But it’s not a certainty because no one is willing to go lower in a fight than a deviant who has become a delinquent."
No one is willing to go lower, and that would include destroying those very same strong institutions such as the Justice Department and the 'enemy of the people', the press. Yet now the Democrats have Congress and there still is a great free press, minus that part of the press that no longer has White House access.
21
@Jim Sande
Democrats don’t have the Congress, only the House of Representatives part of it. Better than nothing, but need the Senate, too.
Trump's brazen move to both fire Sessions and immediately appoint Whitaker to take his place (once it became clear that the Democrats will be controlling the House) may have provided the president with some adrenalin this week, but that's it. Trump will need a lot more than adrenalin as the coming weeks unfold. He's shown his true intentions, which is to derail the Mueller Investigation as quickly as possible. This action, the way in which it was contemplated and executed, is Trump's first tangible act of "Obstruction of Justice". Sure, one can debate the nuances...but does anyone believe the president's behavior is going to be calm, cool and collected over the next eight (8) weeks? In eight weeks the new members of Congress will be sworn in, and Trump will no longer have Devin Nunes to rely on.
The Democrats will have subpoena power, they will be able to secure any and all the Federal documentation of their choosing, and they will control the Federal Budget.
As much as Trump claims to be a "great negotiator", he's going to be like a schoolyard bully backed against a wall, surrounded by authorities...with nowhere to hide.
18
Spider hole
1
This is a package deal. Whitaker will do the dirty work then Lindsey Graham will be nominated as Attorney General. Graham will get his due for his grand-standing during the Kavanaugh hearings and he will avoid the inconvenience of executing Trump's hit on Mueller. Nice and neat.
20
According to the Wall Street Journal Trump met Whitaker several times. Why does Trump have to lie about it? Our laws in this country are second to none and so are our lawyers. Why can't this man be prosecuted for crimes he undoubtedly committed?
27
If he doesn't know Matt Whitaker and who was the one introduced the name to Him? John Kelly the Chief of Staff? Trump thinks everything is a joke? He fired Sessions the first US senator endorsed him? America is in the hands of a great American. Hired and fired at his pleasure.
6
The “I never met Whitaker” ruse is a common lie that Trump uses. His mind seems to be untethered to any utility or necessity to tell the truth. In this way, he is a very scary guy. How horrible it must have been to be married to him. Now we citizens have the displeasure of endless exposure to his toxic manipulations and lies. A core-less , soulless, raging individual with desperate need for amounts of validation and admiration that will never be enough. He’s kind of Narcissus with out the good points.
11
@Rebecca Ramsey I agree. At least Narcissus was beautiful.
2
Either Trump is blatantly lying or he actually didn't know Whitaker before appointing him to serve as the top law enforcement official of the US (which, incredibly, is potentially plausible, given Trump). Regardless, either way, it's just another in the endless and countless series of proof points that Trump is off-the-chart unfit for office.
10
The lies emanating from president Trump, this man who represents my country before the rest of the world, have become mind-numbing.
I think that is what he counts on: outrage fatigue.
President Trump and his craven enablers in the Republican party must be defeated. This is not hyperbole. This is existential to the very foundation of America. A Democratic House is a positive step, but it's a long, difficult journey ahead.
Resist!
21
Shocking! Oh my goodness, the president has misspoken. And he's the president, our leader whom we are to trust because ... well, he's the president, fairly elected, more or less.
The press is Trump's pawn; and he uses the press to sow chaos. His MO; and he does this to stay in control. The press is his ally in a way the press surely realizes but can't do anything about. It's about that simple, I think. Follow the money, I suppose. But sadly, the danger of all this for our democratic way of life is certainly far more threatening than seems to be appreciated. And, making matters worse for me anyway, there are all those who have given their lives ... some losing them, some maimed for as long as they live ... for what? This? What a real shame we are living. And this shameless man "has" us, doing anything he needs to for self-service and aggrandizement ... probably laughing about it, given the strong support he knows he has.
6
"No matter who I put in, they go after him," Trump said of his appointees...
Could it be because they are all either corrupt or incompetent (or both)?
40
@Chris Hunter. The answer to your question is "Yes."
1
...and also that nobody that is competent and not corrupt will accept?
1
It amazing that it is accepted that the president of the US can lie and it does not seem to be a problem. It is interesting to watch TV news. People now accept it. It has been mainstreamed. Some news anchors try to explain it away. This not just Fox News.
The president knows that the people of the USA know he is lying. He just does not care.
He must have a very small opinion of the people that voted for him. He has an even lower opinion of those that did not vote for him.
We the people of this broken union allow him to do what ever he wants with no consequence.
22
This quote from one of his supporters fully captures what's happening, "I can't say that he tells the truth, but he's an honest person." What?!? Let that sink in.
3
Not a surprise.
Donald Trump lies as often as he breathes.
“I don’t know Matt Whitaker,” Mr. Trump told reporters as he left Washington for a weekend trip to Paris. But the president stressed that he did know Mr. Whitaker’s reputation well, calling him “a very respected man.”
"Mr. Whitaker has also visited the Oval Office several times and is said to have an easy chemistry with the president, according to people familiar with the relationship. And the president has regarded Mr. Whitaker as his eyes and ears at the Justice Department."
Delusional Donald is a laughingstock before the world, in addition to being a lying egotist who has no shame.
Time to start the campaign to boot him from office in 2020 if not before.
15
@Joe From Boston
No, no, no. Do not remove trump before next election. Then, Pence would step in and most hope would be lost. The “never trump” Republicans would have a man who comes off as calm and reasonable compared to trump and Democrats wouldn’t stand a chance against that, not with the GOP base still so convinced they are somehow being persecuted.
1
Classical Trump: he hires shady characters or outright crooks and then pretends he does not know them when their shady dealings are uncovered.
12
According to this paper, Mr. Whitaker was paid less than $10,000 for the use of his Federal credentials to bully the victims scammed by World Patent Marketing. It appears the Donald is so desperate to find anyone willing to work for him, he's scrapping the barrel bottom to the point where the miscreants for hire have been reduced from million dollar connivers, such as Cohen and Manafort, to the pettiest of sellouts.
Mr. Whitaker's failure to inform Trump about his sleazy involvement with World Patent Marketing, that he had to know would be exposed, speaks volumes about his lack of integrity, intelligence, and concern for his Don.
14
I'm puzzled seeing reasoned, studied and sincere opinions of the behavior of our President get carelessly brushed aside as so much drivel by Trump and his groupies. The Liar in Chief has no use for any reason. His supporters have no idea what reason or its uses may be. Moronistan has no law om its books because it has no books.
We're playing chess with ourselves.
The Trump establishment is grinding chess boards as fast as others can devise new challenges upon them.
5
Donald Trump lies because he can. He knows he is lying and those who are listening know he is lying, but it doesn't really matter. He is playing his role as expected and continues to fill up the space with meaningless rhetoric, positioning himself as a president - as a man who believes that he says what he means when he says it - or doesn't. No matter. Perhaps this method worked when he was a business man and he knows no other way. Americans expect more of their president.
222
@Marie
Trump doesn't care what Americans think. Its worse.
Trump enjoys telling us right to our faces, with a big liar grin, that he is stealing from us and we can't do anything about it.
Trump is an organized crime syndicate trying to take over our government from the top down, who just appointed another criminal, who is against the Supreme Court, to head the Justice Department!
I am hoping the American People will prove Trump wrong.
19
@Marie
Thank you, Marie. Very eloquent. And yes, we do.
7
@Marie
Only some Americans expect more from their president. Way too many seem to be very happy with trump.
6
Because the Clown is a LIAR.
22
lets ask ocasio-cortez., to get some honest answers..Schumer, just go home, please. Not interested in your life any more..get out of mine..
4
schumer, could you be weaker and less right?/get rid of the old guard..god, schumers comment galls me..
6
All of Trump's numerous lies are odious. But the obvious, petty, and unnecessary ones are particularly odious. An important part of Whitaker's job was to be "the liaison between the White House and the Department of Justice." For any president to suggest that he "does not know" the person who held that job for many months is too ridiculous for words.
55
Trump wouldn't know the truth if he fell over it. He lies. He lies daily and often.
50
Just another lie from the big mouth. I had to mute him this morning during his little impromptu rant on his way to his chopper -- I just can't stomach the lies anymore.
This latest nonsense from the man himself parroting some Fox-head on television stating that the Democrats are pulling "ballots out of the woodwork" is way over the top. Have they ever heard of absentee ballots not yet counted from our military? We have some very close elections that will end up with mandatory recounts because of "too close to call" calls being made by the MSM in haste. To call a very close race where only 98% of the votes are in and the absentee votes have not yet been counted is irresponsible. Trump may have been bragging about the fantastic election results prematurely but then again, he can't even remember what he said yesterday so it is all just hot air.
28
My understanding was that Trump cannot simply 'appoint' an AG. It has to be run through a Senate hearing. So I'm not understanding why this is being seen as a fait accompli.
21
The energy #45 keeps zapping from the American People to police him is a crime in itself.
The 2nd grade level idiocy that #45 typically spouts ("I don't know Matt Whitaker") is why I never listen to his press conferences. Garbage in; garbage out.
This acting AG appointment is an obvious and serious reason to pen an article for impeachment.
It is crystal clear that #45 is NOT upholding the constitution.
39
The cultural civil war is heating up.
Trump and his followers are trying to dismantle the constitution and the rule of rule.
THIS is serious.
51
@Louis J
Not "Trump and his followers". Trump and the GOP donor class.
Dismantling the Constitution and furthering distrust in government are their common goals. In exchange for his part in it, Trump is rewarded with daily press coverage, an adoring mob, and unfettered access to personal enrichment. What's not to like?
I’m shocked, SHOCKED to find that Trump lied.
Follow the sweat.
15
Cadet Bone Spurs - the wheels are falling off the wagon. Most American citizens are not blockheads. We see the conniving of you and Mitch. Machiavelli sometimes outsmarted himself. So, anticipate that Senator Fienstien will counsel with the House Leadership and seek a way forward to get those tax returns. Mueller can continue to focus on Russian interference in the 2016 election - interference that clearly led to your tainted "election". In tandem with that line of investigation, he can probe deeply into the issue of obstruction of justice and collusion by -- The Rotund One. Looks to me like the tag of Trumputin fits well. Democrats are now back in the Washington game - invigorated - will dig deeply into the wallets going forward.
19
Go figure. Trump lying about something. He lies more often than he breathes.
16
If Trump doesn’t remember meeting Whitaker, isn’t it safe to say that Trump has dementia and is therefore unfit for office?
72
@Melissa M My thoughts exactly, have made a similar comment here. Either he is lying - intentionally telling something he knows is not the truth, or he really doesn't recall his multiple meetings only weeks ago. What a choice!
11
"I don't know the man" has Trump in an unexpected St. Peter type of role. Signals that he already knows this guy's past is going to toss up some disqualifying features. #deniability
13
True tragedy, democracy being destroyed - but we got our tax cuts, got conservatives on the Supreme Court, took care of the religious right, destroyed the environment, consumer protection, lined our pockets....
36
Add this to his running list of lies
6
Donald Trump needs to place an order with AcornBrainLifts.com ASAP. Covered by Medicare. They now have a TeeVee special where it includes a free 2 year supply of neural floss.
8
Maybe Trump forgot he met him. He wouldn't lie of course
4
Dear Mr. Whitaker,
Given your checkered past, please be advised that your new, reinforced association with D, Trump is assured to cause destructive future business success. Bailing out early may save your reputation, but, due to your lack of such previous cognizance, you, sir, are doomed.
21
He doesn't even care how brazen his lies are anymore.
18
Trump lies...and lies...and lies...and lies...and his GOP still slavishly serves him (and not the United States of America).
As for the blatantly conflicted choice of Whitaker as AG, that corrupt con-man and bully is a perfect and obvious choice to debase the justice department for a corrupt con-man president who has debased the executive branch.
The Republicans are a disgrace and it is up to the rest of us to save our country that so many better people then they suffered and sacrificed to make and maintain.
17
“Trump falsely states he doesn’t know the man he handpicked to kill the Mueller probe.”
That should be the headline.
29
Every day I just think - who are the people who actually thought Donald Trump as President was a keen idea? Each day more disturbing than the prior. I wish NYT could stop covering this juvenile crook.
19
Just some coffee boy. Like Melanie, don't even know her.
8
Is TRUMP truly crazy because he does not really know or care what the truth is, or is this an effort to keep everyone else confused and off balance until WE all go crazy and can no longer tell what the truth is?
See cartoon in this week's New Yorker: "Trump-Era Follies: Malice in Wonderland"
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2018/11/12/trump-era-follies-malice-in-wonderland
7
“Trump is a kook. He is unfit to be the President of the United States.”
— Senator Lindsey Graham, circa 2016
42
I am sure this is probably a repetitive comment, but how on earth do you appoint someone to be the highest ranking federal law enforcement officer in the nation if you don't know him? This is a whopper even by Trumpian standards.
15
Yeah, he's not here to wreck the investigation, see? I barely know him, see? Now see here, see?
Get up, get up, get down. Donald Trump is a joke in your town.
17
We observe a president in mental-emotional meltdown.
24
Perhaps the only plausible explanation for Trump’s latest outrage is that he figures that if he continues to commit blatant acts of obstruction of justice virtually every day, Mueller will never be able to complete the investigation, and Trump will just run out the clock on his term.
18
Let's call Mr Whitaker by his true and proper title, shall we? That would be Retainer to the President, not AG, Acting or otherwise. This is a man apparently cut from the same cloth as Mr Trump, as the companion article on his involvement in consumer fraud (World Patent Marketing) amply shows. This is a man whose loyalty is not to the Constitution, the American people or even to the Office of the President, but very specifically to Mr Trump and Trump Inc. -- a man and an enterprise as morally abject and as legally questionable as Mr Whitaker's Florida scam. The appointment is a disgrace (and unconstitutional as the Neal K. Katyal and George T. Conway III rightly argue in their op-ed in this same paper). Mr Trump continues to pervert American democracy and trample the Constitution. The supine, cynical, and morally debased GOP leaders in Congress have let him get away with it. I hope the change in the House will finally restore things to what they should be.
34
This is quite the admission of utter irresponsibility on Trump's part. Seriously? He appointed someone he now claims not to know to be acting attorney general of the US? Is trump admitting he has serious memory problems? Clearly something is not right in the White House.
16
One of the most marked characteristics of the Trump administration is both their outspoken criticism of law enforcement and their common criminality. They really don't try to hide their antipathy toward the very things they so often run afoul of- from the IRS to the FBI and CIA, this administration demands unfettered ability to profit from their positions and exploit the unsuspecting, relieving them of their money and their vote. However we rid ourselves of these career criminals infesting our federal leadership, this chapter of U.S. History will have students gawping over the utter crass venality of all involved. They simply won't believe they got away with it.
12
Mueller was conformed by the Senate to be Director of the FBI. Whitaker was confirmed by the Iowa senate, about ten years ago, not the US senate. Of course, Trump knows who Whitaker is..he chose Whitaker after he saw him on TV being critical of the Mueller commission. I am up to three false or misleading statements..and I am not even trying that hard!!
11
How about presenting the question this way next time: Since you don't know Mr. Whitaker (or any other flawed appointee), what was your selection criteria?
12
How much do we really know each other? Can we ever really know ourselves? Perhaps our gold-plated philosopher king was offering us an epistemological lesson.
13
@Chad Except that our king cannot spell philosophy, nor any of its areas of expertise.
Anyone want to weigh in on how long it will be before Trump throws Whitaker under the bus?
10
11 Oct 2017, at 34:40 in video, Trump is asked about an article in The Post.
https://m.youtube.com/watch v=_CI6dPvi2bY&feature=youtu.be
Doocy: This morning it says that you talked to the Attorney General's Chief of Staff about replacing the Attorney General ... Anything to that story?
DJT: Well, I'd never talk about that but I can tell you Matt Whitaker is a great guy, I mean I know Matt Whitaker, but I never talk about conversations that I had, but you know, the Washington Post gets it wrong a lot that's the..
Doocy: Yeah, the conversation is that you are in active talks to replace the Attorney General in the United States?
DJT: I'm not doing anything. I want to get the elections over with we'll see what happens. I'm very disappointed that we go through the witch-hunt this ridiculous witch-hunt even and now even Richard Burr who's the highly respected senator in charge of the Senate Intelligence Committee, he just came out and said 'no, there's been no collusion' he sees absolutely. This is after spending a year and a half on this stuff, there's no collusion. Devin Nunes came out 'there's been no collusion' from the committee in the House. Devin said 'no way' and they came out with a very strong report 'no collusion'. There's no collusion. There's no collusion. There is collusion with Hillary Clinton and the Russians, but there's no collusion with the Republicans and there's certainly no collusion with Donald Trump...
"Very Stable Genius" is very terrible liar.
19
Donald knows Matthew Whitaker as well as he knows Stormy Daniels. The difference is that she'd make a better AG.
32
In a normal presidency, one where the oath of office actually means something, "to defend and protect the Constitution of the United States," this appointment would be unheard of. Whitaker has stated his unsettling remarks regarding the legitimacy of the Mueller Investigation, the unfounded reasons for his remarks even though he has no knowledge of what is actually in the hands of the Mueller Investigation. This is dangerous precedent.
This is another question most thinking people ask: If President Trump is completely clean why is he so bent on reviling each and every probe? An innocent man would welcome transparency. An innocent man would welcome a clearing of his name. Of course, even giving him the benefit of the doubt, the innocence of a man such as Trump is rather hard to imagine. We know his character. We know his unsavory business practices. We know him because he has been in public life for decades.
11
Just like Trump didn't know Putin . He will continue to push the envelope , all part of Trump's playbook because he has gotten away with this type of behavior condoned by the Mitch McConnells of the Republican party . Anything to get their agenda fulfilled , lying outright , cheating , bullying , and demonizing anyone who stands up and calls them out . In hindsight , at least Sessions had the fortitude to recuse himself . Predict Whitaker will be gone once Trump installs Chris Christie as AG; he fits the loyal bully boy bill .
6
My guess is the idea is not to appoint Whitaker to be Attorney General but for Whitaker to be the interim Attorney General until they appoint one.
The interim position is good for 7 months and they hope that is enough time for Whitaker to shut down Mueller.
4
More Trump lies. How does this go on?
5
I am old enough to remember when Republicans were pro-FBI and anti-Putin.
That seems like a long time ago and so quaint.
:-)
30
With his power weakened after losing the House and the upcoming Mueller's investigation report; expect Trump to try to strick a deal with China to settle the trade war. This likely means a better deal for China.
5
@Truth is out there: If he doesn't the stock market will continue on it's directionless volatility.
Suppose, for the sake of argument, that we believe Mr. Trump's statement that he doesn't even know Matt Whittaker. What does it say about Mr. Trump that he would appoint a person he doesn't even know to be the chief U.S. law enforcement officer, even on an Acting basis?
How casually Trump must take his Presidential and common-sense responsibilities?
10
...or Manafort, Cohen, Flynn, Scaramucci, and I wish I could remember the endless line of people who “I didn’t really know.”
12
We should not be any surprised by this---Trump will go to any limit to protect his skin. The House getting his tax returns---for get it
3
It's time for the American people to come out and say what 2/3 of our citizens already know: that Donald Trump is a Clear and Present Danger to our American democracy, to our rule of law, and to our system of government.
15
@RD
But, apparently, that 2/3 of our citizens aren’t that convinced enough to vote more effectively to change the Congress, the only body able to truly control trump. If that 2/3 of citizens really felt as you stated, the results of this election would be overwhelmingly positive for the Democrats. Instead, many of the blue wins are squeakers, and the Senate is still, probably, lost to GOP.
1
Whoever is whispering these appointees to Mr Trump does not have his best interest at heart for sure. Why is Kelly not vetting these people in the first place. How could no one have noticed Mr W. could be a witness somewhat if S. Clovis spoke to him about the investigation and RussianGate prior to his appointment. Why is it hard for the administration to do one thing honorable for once and stop acting like a bunch of confused people. What is hard for the Acting AG to mak a statement to the fact that the Mueller team still reports to the Deputy AG. What exactly am I missing here?
11
Donald's neurons are hard wired in alternate reality also known as falsehood. He is incapable of truth and facts.
9
Whitaker should familiarize himself with former Atty General John Mitchell who was disbarred and imprisoned for his “defense” of Nixon rather than the Constitutuon.
Whitaker must be dumb as a post to put himself in the Mueller crosshairs which actually may have been the qualification which secured the gig.
Frankly all the GOP who associate with Trump falsely assume it’s politics as usuals and people won’t care 2 years from now. The Trump stench is permanent .
11
I didn’t know Paul Manafort
I didn’t know papadopolis
I didn’t know rick gates
I didn’t know roger stone.
Shheeeeesh. When will this nightmare end?
13
I guess he’ll say he doesn’t know Don jr. When the time comes. It’s rapidly approaching.
13
Don’t U.S. Attorneys and deputy U.S. Attorneys and Justice department officials swear to defend and uphold the Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic?
They cannot and must not take direction from the Trump lackey Trump has tried to install in violation of the Constitution. At a minimum they should all call in sick or take personal days until this is all worked out. And don’t take his calls or respond to his memos. Turn around and walk the other way if you see him.
7
Nobody should believe a word Trump says, not even "Hello."
6
So are we supposed to feel better that the President would appoint someone he doesn’t know? Really?!
This is a sign of the times, if ever there was one.
6
Can we once and for all call Donald J. Trump as liar, whose lies are so easily proved as such hardly worth the effort? But, because he occupies the White House, I'm willing to make the effort.
5
How would we know trump is lying? His lips are moving!
7
Matthew Whitaker is not fit to be Attorney General. Whitaker is on the board of World Patent Marketing; which scams consumers. Whitaker is a scam artist. Whitaker is not fit to be Attorney General. Ray Sipe
8
Donald Trump lies with every breath. He is a national embarrassment right along with the Republicans in Congress who continue to support him and remain complicit.
6
I'm sure when Eric and Donald Jr are
indicted Trump will deny knowing them
as well.
13
"NO NO ! I remember him NOW". HE was a Coffee Boy"!!!
How did this attorney get to be to be J.B.S.'s Chief fo Staff?
AND When?
1
Trump is lying? What a shock! Instead of The Times repeatedly headlining each of his lies as if it were some kind of a first, it should have a running headline: "Today's Presidential Lies."
7
In the words of Kurt Vonnegut:
Foma, Foma nothing but Foma.
Remember, not that long ago, when the NYT and other media published a count of the lies that Trump told?
It’s now time to publish a running count of truths that Trump tells. Perhaps the tally shouldn’t be limited to Trump. Include Sanders, Graham, McConnell, et.al. The whole rotten lot of them are proven liars.
9
If Matt Whitiker is anything like previous Trump staff favorites, Whitiker will publicly flame out within 5 months time. When will this Trump nightmare end.
2
Trump is so entertaining -- like a mashup of Benny Hill and Ted Nugent (but with a bit more money). I love the comment: "Matt Whitaker is very well respected... and at the top of the line." Well--Whitaker, like Trump--is at the "head" of the line, insofar as individuals most likely to run afoul of the law and risk indictment and perhaps prison.. This I can tell you!
11
@Telly55
OMG, news outfits should play the Benny Hill chase song whenever they hi-light Trump.
6
@Telly55. This two are birds of same feather and this is why they flock together. Both are con men involved in bilking vulnerable people, weather investors, contractors, students at Trump's "fake University" . Whitaker's CV is precisely why Trump picked him to become his "Roy Cohn".
4
"Trump says..."
Who can trust him? When he was a small child, 'earning' only a few hundred thousand a year, it is readily apparent that he was never exposed to the tale of the little boy who cried 'wolf', and then when the wolf really came nobody believed him.
Trump has lied for so long, about so many things, in many cases so obviously lying, that now everything he says is automatically discounted as untrue. Why would anyone believe him about this?
It is just as likely that Trump determined to get himself an AG who would understand that their first and foremost job duty was protecting Trump from the law, any law, and particularly the Mueller investigation. Trump probably asked the Trumpian 'litimus test' question: "Do you believe a president is above the law?" - and got the answer he wanted... thus appointing (however legitimately, still TBD) the resigning AG's chief of staff, instead of the Deputy AG, the logical choice.
Who would believe him if he said otherwise? Oh wait, he did... and nobody with any sense believes it. Cry 'wolf' some more, Trump.
12
The premise of this "opinion piece" is absurd. Mr. Whittaker was a commentator on CNN and was voicing an opinion based upon the conversation at hand. He was the commentator giving the opposite opinion of the rest of the panel who were all Democrats or liberal.
He was not representing the Justice Department and has no reason to recuse himself. This is just more political theater from the Left.
2
Sounds good, so it would be fine to have an AG appointee who previously said that it was dead certain that Trump colluded with the Russians. What works one way must work the other, eh?
9
@Rosie James Is that going to be his defense against not recusing himself for his obvious conflict of interest? It won't play at all.
10
Let's face the Iron Law of Trumpian Evasion: Deny anything and everything that would, to any extent possible, reflect adversely upon yourself irrespective of the truth. The I.L.T.E. would, of course, encompass relationships with your former legal counsel, business associates, friends, campaign officials, and acquaintances. Its necessary, burden-shifting corollary is for the for the asserting party to "prove it". MAGA.
5
I always interpret Trump's comments as the opposite of what he says. Then, everything makes sense.
16
Someone call up Iowa Senator Joni Ernst and ask her opinion of Whitaker. She beat him in a Republican Senate primary in 2014, so she ought to have some perspective on the guy.
Or not. If she says she doesn't know him, we'll know the fix is in.
7
I can't imagine any of us tolerating a liar like this in our relationships with family, friends or business associates. And yet this country managed to put this evil character in the White House.
The election was a good start, but we have GOT to get rid of him in two years. We are up against some really stunning ignorance in this country, aided by the small-state gerrymander otherwise known as the Electoral College. it can be done IF the Democrats choose the right candidate, which we/they did not in 2016.
14
@Grandpa If not of either Comey's last minute , oops he's opening the email investigation and then he is not right before the election OR the Russian meddling and likely Trump collusion, Ms Clinton would have won in a landslide. EVEN despite this she still won 3 million more votes. We haven't even discussed the shenanigans with Kushner's illegal use of FB's users.
8
Something does not make sense here ... how is an individual
appointed to a position by the executive and, yet, remain unknown?
9
I think commenters and the article miss the point. Regardless of whether the investigation is shut down, there is a giant body of work that could be problematic for the President. He intends to use Whitaker to get that information to help protect himself - a natural impulse.
Unfortunately for Trump, the impulse is also highly illegal and corrupt. That should be the focus.
11
Only the best and most respected work for DJT. Au contraire. Another day, another ginned up comment by the malignant narcissist to keep himself in the headlines, ensuring said headlines begin with "Trump." Of course, we've all noticed he is no longer satisfied with a few headlines...he now spends most of his waking hours working to dominate all the news headlines.
Who actually is running the country as the president demonstrates hourly, sometimes more often, that he is not?
11
@KB Who is actually running the country? Miller and Kushner.
4
Donald "The Blond" Trump disavows any knowledge of Mr. Whitaker, but knows "he's a very respected man." Why do we always find ourselves back in the Queens social club? Perhaps Mr. Trump has been given to us as an indicator, showing that light needs to be shone on the racketeering that runs our society, in politics, business and finance.
We should heed that offering. It's by no means just Trump. He's just a symptom of the systematic sleaze. People aren't resisting Mueller and congressional investigation merely out of some pure principle of constitutional authority, they're worried how far it will go.
4
I worked for a corporation for 43 years, 33 in management. During that time I met Presidents Ceos and the Chairmans of the Board. They are the Gods of the business, period! trump is trying to run this country like a CEO, It doesn't work that way! Obvious to everyone but him. He is a Gemini and they are very smart. He uses lies and miss-direction. His whole outlook on life, business and politics is nothing more than a game of three card monte. When the media keeps questioning him, he can't handle it! Except for the beacon of truth FoxNews!
2
Senator Blumenthal say's he's "considering" a lawsuit. How about he stops thinking too much and get it done?
8
Shakinspear,
Senator Blumenthal was a formidable and highly effective attorney general for the state of Connecticut.
You can trust that when he says he's going to do something he always follows through. He is one of the senators who filed the current emmoluments lawsuit against Trump.
Trump should be very afraid.
6
It’s not so easy to assemble a crime family. You can’t just invite resumes or look on internet job sites. Best is word of mouth from other career criminals, former inmates, or a search of criminal records, using whatever filters you need to fill vacancies. Since you need a pledge of loyalty, a kissing of the Don’s ring, the more vulnerable and corrupt they are, the easier to invite in to do your bidding. Plus you can always offer 15 minutes of fame, a huge salary, whatever perks you can grab and a, ahem, promise of immunity. Though that hasn’t worked out too well. The offered “get out of jail free cards” have not been accepted so far.
6
Says a lot about his hiring skills - if he picked someone for such an important position and didn't know him or his positions on important issues. It's not like he could ask Sessions for a recommendation for replacement prior to firing him. He was the hiring manager here....
1
The Appeals Court has asked the "Justice Department," that is Whitaker, to review the authority to supervise Mueller.
"Who is Mueller? There is no Mueller."
What chief executive, especially one with a controlling nature, would appoint a person that reports to him to head one of his divisions without knowing or getting to know the person?
No one. That's who. Especially if the division was as important to them as the Justice Department is to Trump.
What touted "business person" would do that in the real corporate world? Even in the unreal world of realty TV Trump ran a show called the Apprentice where he got to know people to select one as his "apprentice".
So either Trump is lying, incompetent, or both.
Anyone supporting him on this matter is either supporting a liar or an incompetent executive. And no, "he's too important, he's got too much to do to deal with these 'little matters'" doesn't work.
3
The chief bloviator is so accustomed to lying I think he actually believes his latest regarding one of his Trump trolls, Whitaker. The president is obviously happy with his appointment of Whitaker as temporary Attorney General. Trump has no problem associating with those most like himself. He has no problem, either, ignoring the rule of law, namely, the Constitution. With so many supporters who can't even name the three branches of our government, Trump's chicanery doesn't trouble them.
4
We really should stop dignifying anything Trump says and simply should say there he goes again. For example we should have taken his overturning of the 14th amendment as laughing matter than seriously hold discussions on it by pundits and editorials , op-Ed’s etc. That unnecessarily elevates his nonsensical statements to a credible level as if it should be seriously considered. He talks nonsense and we start discussing it. Just stop it. Not worth discussing.
6
"President Trump said on Friday that he had not yet spoken to the new acting attorney general, Matthew G. Whitaker, about the special counsel investigation..."
Seems to me like he should never speak to the acting AG about it because doing so would be another obstruction of justice!
And why did you name Whitaker anyway? You clearly did it to prevent the job from going to Rosenstein, who is next in the line of succession and has no conflict of interest!
Keep up the pressure - Whitaker must recuse!
3
Trump might not know Whitaker by name, but rephrase the question as Does he know the guy who was on the Board of a company that scammed its customers. That will simplify Donald's brain's search to Trump U- type buddies.
Or just look under C for Con.
7
Let Congress ask Whitaker "have you spoken personally with trump (regarding the acting atty. gen. position)?"
When he lies, he has rendered himself ineligible to "assume the postion."
5
Why is CNN and the NYTs still covering Trump's lies? Just assume everything he says is a lie and cover what his policies are doing to make us less safe, less democratic and less respected in the world. We and especially the Trump base need to be bombarded on what is happening to the country and long term consequences of every day he remains in office. Saying he doesn't know Whitaker is not news. How he intends to use Whitaker is.
4
Query,
Why would you appoint a person to a leading law enforcement position within the government of the USA (that you lead) when you do not know him?
We only "hire the best people".
How do you know he is the best if you "do not know" him?
3
Matthew Whitaker, a Mueller critic with ties to a shady business, working hand in hand with Donald Trump, a Mueller critic with numerous shady businesses.
What can possibly go wrong?
5
Trump doesn't know Whitaker:
This is the same Trump who is sure he knows everything. But now he doesn't know anything, like Sgt Schultz in Hogan's Heros "I know nothing, I hear nothing, I see nothing".
This is the same Trump who didn't know any Russians ('til many connections were proven), didn't know his kids met with them ('til it came out that he helped draft the reply from Don Jr), barely knew Manafort (once he got in trouble), and hardly had anything to do with Cohen (once he was raided and cooperated with FBI). Whenever trouble gets close, he suddenly doesn't know anyone or any thing, like other Dons in other crime rings.
When has Trump (or any Pres) put someone into such an important position, even temporarily "acting", without knowing a lot about him? Are we to believe that this Pres, who claims he's such a good judge of character, is now just picking a name from a list of Department employees? And it just happens that this particular blind pick also wants to kill the investigation and also doesn't like the courts?
Ironic that the person who made popular the phrase "Biggest liar in the world", actually is the biggest liar in the world; which would be funny if it wasn't so sad what he's doing to the once-great country.
5
President Trump is the best thing that ever happened to the comic strip industry.
4
Perhaps this will be seen as a harsh and judgmental,
but I'm not at all sure this man is in full charge of his faculties.
6
@Blue in Green Since 2015 I have been convinced that Trump has every symptom of narcissistic personality disorder. This incurable condition distorts his perception of reality. He is so focused on preserving his delusions of being smart and successful and widely admired that he has no bandwidth left for dealing with reality as most of us perceive it.
4
So now he doesn't know Whitaker. This after trying to get people to believe that Manafort and Cohen, etc. etc were really never part of his coterie. He's just lying again and showing how ignorant he is. He appoints someone as acting AG but doesn't "know" him. Add incompetent to the list.
6
Wow. Usually it takes a few months or more for Trump to slime someone he formally showered with fake praise. But one day! This is one for the record books.
7
Trump caught lying -- still again. We can expect no better of President Flim-flam.
12
Is there anything Trump won't lie about?
16
@alayton: Perhaps if asked whether he had been to the bathroom yesterday?
1
He's on tape on Foxnews saying "Matt Whitaker is a great guy, I know Matt Whitaker"
What a LIAR Number 6000+
26
@Cruzio Hmm. Has Trump been checked by a neurologist lately. His memory is questionable.
4
Whitaker is a sign of panic from a political amateur in adult diapers. He's just a central casting distraction that in the end will have little or no effect on the outcome of events. If the GOP ever regains the White House after this they can nominate him to the Supreme Court as reward for his disservice to the rule of law. That should come with a complimentary Nixon tattoo.
17
Whitaker is a con man's con man. Lots of bridges yet to cross to rid ourselves of him and Menace to Democracy in Chief but we will (and his ilk) thanks to a 'con' waking up sleepy America.
9
See when Trump fakes news and you report it that is Fake News.
He hates that. it proves you are bad people.
Mitch says yeah so?
Lying, delusional, or both Trump is a danger to America.
10
Just like he didn’t know Michael Cohen, his personal attack-lawyer. He also really had hardly met or knew crown prince Mohammed bin Salman. Any barely knew Manafort, who “had nothing to do with me”.
This presidency has become an utter joke. The unfitness for office is so profound it transcends anything partisan.
32
Another day of blatant lies and pathetic sniveling from the President of the United States.
The Trump White House is the primary source and distributor of Fake News in our once great democracy.
18
Matt Whittaker on the advisory board of World Patent Marketing accused of scamming would-be inventors, sending threatening communications to complaining customers?
The donald knows nothing, did no vetting, says he doesn't know the man even though he had met him at the WH?
What swamp?
It's a stinking cesspool.
13
Wait....you mean trump lied? No! Impossible! He's the most honest man on the planet! What a joke. And still he sits in the oval office.
7
@Edmund I sense that Donald's self-proclaimed big brilliant brain is actually not firing on all cylinders. Sad, except of course, he should never have left his gilded tower in New York to play at being president.
3
Doesn’t know Whitaker, eh? Of course, the statement is ambiguous. If it means: “never met the man”, then it’s a lie, on the other hand, no-one would doubt Trump if he said: “Melania? Don’t know that woman.”
6
He'll be gone in half a Scaramucci.
22
There's a knack to this. You just set your brain to hear the opposite of what he says. That is where the truth lies.
6
Everyday Trump thinks about how stupid he is for ruining his own life. The walls are closing in Donald, it’s only going to get harder and when your tax breaks destroy the economy, you’ll have no friends.
6
On October 11th, this so-called president placed a call into Fox News and stated clearly - for the NATION to hear that he "knows Matt Whitaker and he's a great guy"....blah, blah, blah, blah.
https://www.mediaite.com/tv/watch-trump-says-i-dont-know-matt-whitaker-one-month-after-saying-i-know-matt-whitaker/
How many times has he gotten away with "he or she is a great person..." and later "I never knew him or her...never met"....?
8
#45 is a criminal, liar, clearly mentally incompetent, and unable to perform the duties of his office. He must be impeached.
5
Lier, Lier pants on fire.
7
Trump lied? No!!!!
2
Just like Trump stated back during the election that he "didn't know who David Duke was" when Duke endorsed him for the white supremacist party.
5
Trump, what a stupid answer. You tell a lot of fake, stupid answers. We watch you and you tell stupid lies all the time. Have you no respect for truth and honesty? Have you no obligation to uphold the dignity of the presidency? Shame on you for sullying our White House.
5
This is so stupid on Trump's part. he knows we can check if he has met him in a few minutes. He is obviously afraid of whats coming down the road.
4
@John Lusk It's not quite too late for Donald to take the advice Howard Stern gave him - make up a diagnosis that requires you to resign. Not that Mike Pence is any prize...
1
I believe Trump when he says he doesn’t know Matt Whitaker.
This happens when you have the attention span of a cocker spaniel.
9
Please don‘t insult dogs by comparing them to that low life
2
From what little I have heard about Matt Whitaker, I am very impressed and lot forward to his leadership of the Justice Department. He's the man for the job. Thank you.
1
@Southern Boy - Your delusional blind obedience is kind of amusing.
24
@Southern Boy
Please tell us what you've heard. Because it must be quite different than what everyone else has heard.
22
@Southern Boy
LOL!
20
If I were Mr. Whittaker, I might be worried about my long term job prospects. Of course the same concern should be shared by every Trump appointee, but there is usually at least some honeymoon period during which the president likes someone, until he doesn't. In Mr. Whittaker's case, he's barely been on the job a couple of days before President Trump has started the now familiar "reposition and hedge" dance that is likely to lead to his ultimate firing or reshuffling to obscurity.
One has to wonder why Whittaker was even given the nod in the first place, other than the obvious fact that credible candidates willing to work in this administration who aren't otherwise suicidal, are increasingly hard to find these days. Given some of Mr. Whittaker's intemperate comments that have already surfaced, even some GOP senators might have trouble holding their noses long enough to confirm his appointment as permanent AG. Perhaps in light of this, we should not be surprised that President Trump now claims he doesn't "know" Mr. Whittaker.
9
Short, Rude and Crude - is he using the English of King Janes when he says “know”?
@Scott B These embarrassing episodes keep happening to poor Donald, partly because he thinks he is brilliant and infallible, and able to carelessly "wing it" as president.
2
Recuse from everything until confirmed by congress.
---
No matter how this goes, it doesn't end well for republicans. No dems didn't get the Senate... but they did gain 33 top seats and nearly 400 around the country. They gained the ability to stop harmful legislation and investigatory powers.
It was a blue wave. Trump, coming out guns blazing, completely misread the situation. America is tired of this.
Many Reagan republicans have left the party, or made some kind of pact to vote split ticket to check Trump... many voters still believe Trump is awful but that their representatives will keep him in check until 2020... we haven't seen how bad it really is for republicans until it actually is Trump on the ticket.
Never has a republican been more popular within that party... but never has the republican party been so vilified and openly hostile to anyone not a republican... they aren't gaining numbers... they're bleeding them. Consolidating in key areas, but losing everywhere else.
If the trend of the midterms continues, and the actions of the last few days indicate it's only going to get more divisive, republicans are going to lose everything in 2020.
Meddling with Mueller might help his base, but it exacerbates everything I mention above...
And knowing Trump, I cannot imagine the Mueller report not being ugly for Trump.
Stop it or not, I feel really confident for the first time in two years...
Just hang on RGB...
9
The problem is that the Constitution gives the holders of the Big Empty Center, the powers the House of Lords once possessed, and the longest terms in office short of the Judiciary.
Now we need two functional parties usually working together with the warning: go too far, and ...
I would suggest 51-Democrats, maybe 2/3rds of the Grand Old Party in the Senate should come to their senses, and agree to caucus with the Other Party until their party becomes functional again.
Or break away and form the Grand Old Party, willing to join with what is, rhetoric aside, a fairly moderate group, until the Republicans are again, rhetoric aside, were a fairly moderate group - there were differences, measured in yards not miles, and, in reality, only Trump and his demagogues have moved.
How many senators want to give power to the Presidency?
How many really want to see US troops rolling through the streets as a nuclear-armed police force?
How many really want to see our debt and deficit balloon? Our President laughed out of the UN?
An empty treasury refilled with tariff fees, when the tariff was only supposed to be imposed on products being “dumped” for less than their cost of production only a very few months ago?
1
"Yet, on Friday morning, Mr. Trump said four times that he did not know Mr. Whitaker."
Since he is a devout liar, this in Trumpspeak of course means Trump knows Whitaker very well. The fact Trump repeated it four times shows how heavily invested he is in Whitaker's willingness to act as a loyal tool and torpedo the Mueller probe.
Trump knows that Mueller is about to nail him to the post with an overwhelming recitation of interconnected illegal behaviors, along with Don Jr. and Jared. He will twist any arm, tell any lie and embrace any dodge to derail this process -- first, because such strategy is in keeping with his nature and, second, because he now has nothing to lose by trying. No other exit is on offer.
Blumenthal and other senators should promptly file suit to enjoin this scheme based on the illegality of the Whitaker appointment, asking for a temporary restraining order against Whitaker taking any actions adverse to Mueller. That would preserve the status quo while the constitutional and statutory issues are being researched and litigated.
16
The "president" claims not to know Whitaker, despite multiple office visits.
Just another lie that the Washington Post can add to its chart.
Its "Trump Lies Meter" is moving almost as fast as the National Debt Clock (to which he has made his own contribution).
4
Trump has surely heard the rumbles of an imminent indictment of DJT Junior. Trump has indicated that he is not willing to accept that, and I believe he has decided he is going to act aggressively to halt the investigation. No one has effectively bucked him on other issues when he has been aggressive. I think he believes no one will push hard enough on this, either. Trump is in full belief mode that his instincts are better than anyone else around him, and he has waited long enough. Get rid of Mueller now while he still has a Republican House.
I also think Robert Mueller expects that this could happen this way, and that he is ready to go very quickly. He must be perceptive enough to understand that he could be fired in the next couple of days to a week. And it is imperative that he has made contingency plans.
Mitch McConnell has said once again that the President will not try to end the Mueller investigation. That is all I need to hear in order to know that the opposite is probably the truth.
The real action is getting close.
9
When people realize that Trump and the Republican's can get away with nothing short of a murder, pushing this country into an illiberal democracy, they will be so jaded that the 2020 election will be a civil war of lie after lie, voter suppression after voter suppression, and American against American. United States of America will only be something in print with the spirit long gone. Who's the real winner? Billionaires and foreign powers.
8
Trump asserts that "was Senate confirmed at the highest level when he was the U.S. attorney from Iowa" as potential qualification for Whitaker to be attorney general. It seems to me that Senate confirmation is tied to the position in question. For example, Brett Kavanaugh was confirmed by the Senate to be an appellate judge on the federal D.C. Circuit, but he needed confirmation again when Trump nominated him to the Supreme Court. So it is just more Republican specious nonsense to suggest that Whitaker does not require Senate confirmation to become AG because the Senate previously confirmed him for U.S. attorney. As Kavanaugh agreed, a witness (here, Trump) who lies once can be disbelieved regarding all matters.
3
Did Trump just demonstrate that he has a reasonably advanced stage of dementia? He met the guy several times in the Oval office, but now states that he doesn't know him. Wasn't that one of the scenarios that Section 4 of the 25th Amendment is intended for? We wouldn't want somebody with clear signs and symptoms of dementia flying a plane or driving a bus, so should such a person run the country? Time for a thorough medical exam!
10
President Trump said on Friday that he didn't know the man he appointed to be acting attorney general, Matthew G. "Obstruction of Justice" Whitaker, even though people familiar with the relationship between the two men say that not only have they met multiple times but that they have an easy chemistry that revolves around their mutual disdain for truthfulness and their determination to keep Trump from being held legally accountable for his corruption.
4
I just had thought. Should Trump be careful what he wishes for? He doesn't want a "boy scout", or the Deputy AG (as would be normal) to fill the role, he wants someone who will be loyal and protect him.
Whitaker, who “is a very respected man,” is known to have view points that would support Trump's monarchy and to have few ethics or morals that would be valuable in protecting Trump.
Here is a twist that just occured to me. That works both ways. Trump installs a ruthless man lacking any ethics (like Trump himself) to protect him from Mueller. The question here is, is there any loyalty is there among thieves?
Is that really where Trump wants any secrets to rest, in the hands of man who as a former federal prosecutor threatened customers who had been scammed? what if Whitaker decides not to take Mueller's findings to Congress? On the face of it it appears to end the problem for Trump. But then, Whitaker, who then has the goods on Trump. What then? How might he threaten to use this information to get what he wants from Trump?
1
Seems to fall into the category of,"as you know, he worked for me for a very short period of time."
1
Whitaker's nomination is quintessential Trump: unconstitutional, unqualified, with a history of recent scams. In other words, he mirrors the boss and is probably just as shady. You have to wonder how he even got a job in the Justice Dept in the first place -- another gift (like Kavanaugh) from Don McGahn? You'd think with his background he wouldn't be fit to go on coffee runs, but he's supposed to lead a department of people better qualified (and not tied to scams)? Clearly, Whitaker will and should be challenged.
8
After a two year review, we are not certain Mr. Trump is longterm chief exectutive material, therefore we must let him go.
I know, it's sad.
7
Every Trump supporter should be demanding that Muller leave no stone unturned in order to clear Donald Trump's good name, and Trump should be offering Muller all the federal resources he needs to accomplish his job.
9
Where is our Congress in dealing with Trump criminal enterprise? Why are our hard earned tax dollars going to pay Trump/GOP?
3
With my own eyes I have seen footage and heard footage of Mr Trump saying he does know Whitaker and footage of him saying he doesn't know Whitaker. So who is fake? The media or the President?
2
@Bob Guthrie
The answer to your question depnds on who you're asking....
If you're asking a reasonable human being who has clear cognitive functionality, they'll respond that Trump is the fake, because the evidence is clearly visible.
However, if you're asking a Republican congressman, a deplorable Trumpkin, or a host from Fox News, they'll tell you that the evidence is fake because Trump says it's fake.
It's impossible to force delusional people to acknowledge reality, because that's the definition of delusional.
3
Is the appointment of Whitaker, a biased and clearly unqualified political hack, simply leverage to be used with the Senate such that any permanent AG nominee sails through confirmation hearings just to get us out of this perilous and potentially serious "Constitutional crisis" situation? Bait and switch for a "qualified" sycophant?
Why would be the first day of his presidency that Trump did NOT lie? What a nightmare he is. A daily parade of chaos, lies, and fear.
4
Do you suppose that Whitaker has realized yet that if he acts against Mueller without being confirmed by the Senate that would be an illegal act and he will be an obvious co-conspirator in obstruction? He may, and just not care. Perhaps because he thinks the coup will be successful. With the Senate we have, he may be correct.
It's also possible that both he and Trump are ignorant of the law to the extent that they didn't know the fault in their plan. If so, Trump will have just as much love for Whitaker as he did Sessions. When you are of no use to the baby man he casts you aside like the rubbish you are.
We will know when the congress comes back and Trump tries to install a permanent Senate approved personal protector, or if Whitaker tries to act ahead of their return.
2
The headline should read "Trump Lies About Relationship With Whitaker". If you're going to insist on constantly promoting the Trump circus, at least be accurate.
2
Whitaker is worse. He's not just a vocal Mueller critic: he was paid hundreds of thousands of dollars to undermine the investigation. He doesn't just have shady ties: he actively participated in the scam to defraud his company's patent customers out of millions of dollars by intimidating people using his former title as a "federal attorney." He's yet another of Trump's "very respected" criminally complicit people who ought to be in jail, not running the Justice Department. It's inconceivable how Trump continues to get away with this.
7
“No matter who I put in, they go after him,” Trump.
Still no eureka moment in the offing!
2
Donald Trump is the only person who has made Bill Clinton look like an honest man.
1
If Mr. Whitaker did indeed visit the Oval Office, Trump is either a liar in the face of the evidence, or he really does not remember several visits with him.
Either explanation makes Trump unfit to hold office. Like we've been saying for over two years now.
2
“I tell the truth when I can”
12
Trump’s a liar.
13
I think our President meant it in the Biblical sense. I'm sure the NYT can appreciate that.
9
@Ziegfeld Follies
The Lex-Luther-looking Whittaker did say that “judges should believe in biblical justice”.
3
You know what would be news? The day 45 says something truthful. That's news. This? Just another string of fantasy and lies perpetrated by President Bone Spurs.
9
There has never been an individual who has lied with such alacrity and frequency as this menace. And he’s our president. Heckuva job fellow Americans.
14
Another “coffee boy.”
4
He looks like a guy that would look good with an armband.
6
I literally thought this was an Onion headline when I first saw it. This must be just be another Friday in the Trump Administration.
6
Wow, this person actually admitted, he does not know something.
3
Trump was literally on his favorite show, Fox and Friends, last month talking about Matt Whitaker and replacing Sessions.
"Matt Whitaker is a great guy. I know Matt Whitaker."
So much for extreme vetting and only the best.
Also, Trump has known he was going to fire Sessions for over a year, but doesn't have a replacement lined up? What an incompetent White House.
https://www.mediaite.com/tv/watch-trump-says-i-dont-know-matt-whitaker-one-month-after-saying-i-know-matt-whitaker/
8
@Winston Smith
Winston,
Where in the world did you find a rule requiring “statement consistency?”
You seem to be implying that what the president says today should coincide with what he said yesterday, or even last week!
That is asking a lot from someone with limited verbal abilities and an abnormally short attention span.
C’mon! Give the guy a break. He’s juggling a LOT of lies.
2
Gosh, Trump lying? Really? Huh.
3
He doesn't seem to know a lot of people he knows.
Loss of memory or trump-speak dictionary?
Allegedly Whitaker said he wanted a TV spot on CNN as a legal commentator so he could audition/interview for Trump. Whitaker then used the TV-Op to muse on ways to grind the investigation to a halt and even wrote an oped about it, flagged by https://lawworksaction.org/
Mueller's investigation of Trump is going too far.
By Matthew Whitaker
https://www.cnn.com/2017/08/06/opinions/rosenstein-should-curb-mueller-whittaker-opinion/index.html
3
Please NY Times, say us all some time. Just point out when Trump tells the truth.
5
Trump says he doesn't know Matt Whitaker? Well, apart from the fact that Trump is a relentless liar, he doesn't know much of anything. He seems increasingly demented, probably remembers very little.
8
“It depends on what the meaning of the word ‘is’ is.”
Bill Clinton
"It depends on what the meaning of the word "to know" is
Donald Trump
4
Trump doesn't know Whitaker, whom he has met several times? The onset of of dementia perhaps? Sad!
6
trump..... he's got nothing. nothing but lies and a thin skin.
3
That's it, Trump, play dumb. That tactic has worked for you about as well as brazening-it-out.
2
Time to have Pres. Bone Spurs re-take the dementia test. This is Not Normal and Not OK to have a president whose mind is blowing around like some piece of plastic in the wind.
Enough.
11
what a bunch of second rate goofballs, we have to quit taking this seriously
2
On the flight home from France, drop him off at Mar-Ra-Largo to await trail!
Come on Mr Mueller it's time.
5
More lies.
No surprise.
3
Another day, another lie; another day another questionable sycophant wades into the swamp.
3
Hey NYT: Please take this article -- really any article about Donald Trump that has been written in the past 2 years -- and swap out Trump's name and put in Hilary Clinton's. Then send the new article to Fox News and all its like-minded media brethren. Send the new article to Mitch McConnell...and Paul Ryan...and all the rest of the GOP leadership in Washington.
I'll bet we could end the fictitious Hilary Clinton presidency in a matter of hours!
Whenever a news source like the Times runs a quote from Trump, the reader has permission to skip over that section since nothing truthful can be learned.
2
Apparently 44% of the population is not concerned that our Commander in chief is a habitual liar. Hope we never again hear the term 'family values' come from a Republican's mouth.
4
Trump playing dumb works only for the very dumb... So -- He didn't know Stormy Daniels either. And M. Cohen was just a low-level paper shuffler. And he has no idea that Russia was even remotely interested in his ascendance to the Presidency. Never before in the history of politics has there been a figure who has earned the reputation of being a Serial Liar. It is truly a marvel of advanced pathology. But there is a language that Trump knows -- and fears. And it is coming. It called litigation at the highest level, the Grand Jury. Mueller is about to be Trump's Santa--and he's bringing a lot more than a lump of coal for Trump's stocking...
2
Liar, liar pants on fire. I do not cease to be baffled and confused by how Trump's base continues to readily swallow up lie after lie. In spite of the evidence right in front of their eyes. Does the truth not matter to anyone any more? If it did, they would be demanding that Mueller be allowed to finish his work unimpeded and present the facts (which means Whitaker needs to recuse).
1
trump is a pathetic excuse for a man, much less a president. The fact that he puts someone like Whitaker in a position of such power is a fine example of trump viciousness. When are we going to remove this pretend president from office? He is not the people’s choice and at every turn he has done only what will protect him. America deserves to be rid of this wannabe dictator.
2
a criminal background is sorta a pre-req for working in this Administration
5
The President's financials are NOT to be investigated? Firstly, let's hopr you are too late on that one, messers Whitaker and Kaninaugh. The President was a resident of New York State wjile cavorting with money launderers, as many in real estate are in this neck of the woods, where hundreds of millions can be "invested" by a faceless DE LLC.`That does not make it OK. If you do not want to make your finances public, do not run for president. Did you Trumpets not study history and Nixon? The American people are entitled to know if their president is a crook. They are entitled to know if their vice-president is a crook. They were promise your tax returns, Mr. President, as soon as the audit was over - how's that going? Promises made, promises kept except for me, for l'etat cest moi?
3
It’s ok to have repubs spend 5 yrs on Benghazi but 1 yr investigating a traitor President is too long? Maybe the new AG is aware of Dear Leaders Russian loans were laundered by Deutsche Bank.
I believe Whitaker may be exibining early stage CTE.
4
Wrong again. It should be "Trump lied(again) when he said....". Call it by the name. Lie lie lie liar lying
1
@Michel One could be right wing PC and say "no he is not lying. He has an elastic sense of the truth." or
'Its baked in to the cake. The voters knew when they elected him". or
"We knew we were not electing a saint... as long as he does what we want" or
"We know he tells some mistruths but when he says no collusion we know for sure he is telling the truth".
2
Mr. president, regarding "I don't know Matt".
Please submit a better fib, this one's a bit thin....
If you say everything twice using almost exactly the same words then everyone will believe you and no one will suspect you are lying, or have dementia.
4
Just another "coffee boy", eh Donald?
Tick-Tock...
2
What’s with this weird practice of trump’s meeting the press backed by loud helicopter noise so that reporters have to shout their questions and he shouts back? It’s plainly arrogant, uncaring and inconsiderate. This guy is no president ... he’s a phony and a coward.
6
"Liar, Liar, pants on fire!"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Except that trump is down to 2 pair of pants, and those are burning fast. He's burned through millions of pairs of pants with all his lies. The taxpayers are spending a fortune on his pants!
4
Moronism.
4
I despise this ignorant fool.
You don’t know the man you just appointed Attorney General?
6
He's plain and simply a liar. And The Stupid 28% are too stupid to care. Also, he wears asbestos pants.
2
lunatic. in the. white. house.
2
Why is it that I haven't found a single pro-Trump or pro-Whitaker comment on this story? Is the Times not approving them for publication?
OR is it because even a troll (well, except for Sarah Huckabee) couldn't come up with even the flimsiest defense of these two walking obstruction cases?
Hmmm. Which could it possibly be?
5
How foolish do you feel when you go back and find the Pro-Trump and Pro-Whitaker comments that you claim don’t exist here?
This article states that "Mr. Trump, however, has authorities provided in a separate law that gives him options for making temporary appointments without Senate confirmation." But a law may not contravene the Constitution. If the Constitution requires Senate advice and consent for appointment of a principal officer, then a law cannot permit the President to appoint such an officer without Senate advice and consent. Congress simply lacks the power under the Constitution to authorize such an appointment.
3
In what jurisdiction is attorney Whittaker licensed to practice law? If that jurisdiction has the same ethical rules under which I practice, he would have to recuse himself from overseeing the Mueller investigation. Someone licensed in his jurisdiction should file a complaint with the bar if he doesn't.
14
Someone should remind the president that he entered into a contract with the American people. When he eats, we paid for the food and the utensils, when he sleeps we purchased the linens, when he bathes we filled the tub with warm water.
We entrusted him with the controls, but we did not give him powers that cannot he taken away.
17
The Grassy Press conference and the favorite stop before the copter
are stunning and frightening examples of a man whose faculties
are strained in the extreme, whose whining exhortations presage
a psyche stretched beyond it's limits.
He is cornered..and is relying on his usual means of plea copping as in the Old New York Days...when no one was listening
and couldn't have cared less about any part of him. A joke,...a New York, long running, page 8 joke.
.... Everyone is listening now
The Spotlight he has chased all his life
has finally caught up with him......and it will reveal "the big empty"
of his existence.
If in doubt write his words down verbatim ....then read them again and again. He's cornered. He doesn't have the 'real' smarts
to find the next bit of patience his followers might lend him. Soon the swooning over him will stop when these folks leave another endless rally and its "boring sameness" and go home with a red hat and nothing in their pockets. You can lay money on the fact that Mitch and his minions will follow him......all the way up to the cliff,
but not over it......
15
I also believe we will see 45 start building a wall of people around him so they take the blame. This would explain Whitaker now being involved. It would be interesting to research 45s methodology of running a business and how he prepares for the moment when he is ready to hit the eject button and leaves all those behind him decimated.
1
Whitaker isn't smart enough to see he is being set up to be Trump's next fall guy?
How many people have Trump thrown under the bus?
8
Has anyone looked at the timing of appointing Whittaker to be Sessions chief of staff? This whole thing smells like a plan that has been long in the making. BTW, isn't time for another Infrastructure Week?
9
@Rusty Carr
It may well be time for another Infrastructure Week -- but then again, aren't we still waiting for a bigger and better G.O.P. Health Care Act, Trump's tax returns, and promised tax cuts for the middle-class?...
Ooops! My bad.
1
Update: CNN is reporting that White House aides put Whittaker into Sessions' chief of staff position. With all of the other reporting on Whittaker's background (see FACT and McCoy), the stench is becoming overpowering. It's time for Dems to start playing hardball with Lindsey Graham to get him to convince Trump to appoint a new acting AG. It's pay me now or pay me later time.
Maybe it's time to stop treating Trump's every word like it's newsworthy. Just create a box where you count his lies. Save the rest of the ink for people who work for the betterment of the world.
14
I don't know President Trump. I know of someone named Trump who calls himself a President. I know there are some people who respect him, though I don't know many of those people personally. I don't know what exactly Trump said yesterday, or what he might say today. He said or will say something, or he said or will say nothing, even though he spoke and will speak a lot.
13
The swamp seems to be getting more murky with this Whitaker guy. Donald Trump sure knows how to select devious people for his administration.
8
Now THAT’S a vote of confidence!
7
Trump, as usual, fired before he aimed. Turns out that Whitaker is a first class corporate grifter and right-wing blowhard (sound familiar Donald?). Suddenly Trump wants some distance and deniability from the guy he just promoted. Gee, gosh golly, if only there were things in government like background checks and vetting processes....
13
This is so sick. As an non-us person, I should probably not be to harsh and outspoken but how long can you, and with that I mean all US citizens, put up with this ?
Don’t you see that the greatness, the things that made and makes US great, quickly erodes into a dumb mass .
The country was built on diversity, consolidation of people and individuality. And now the complete opposites are reversed. If that would have been in effect when your ancestors set foot and built your inherited strength, well, it would never happen and you would not exist.
I know that asserting onces power is considered a strength in your country but at length it just becomes stupid, embarrasing and obviously a thin shield for personal protection.
Math is quite universal and if you add them all up, they just become a large number. You can not just change that by saying it is not so or by creating a new scandal or outrageous proposal. Then number of misconducts, falsehood and just stupidity is just staggering.
Nevermind that some results are looking good in the short term. You should know that it will definitively pay out bad eventually.
But then again, im non-us and just observing. Maybe Im wrong and since half the country seems to think this is the right approach, I guess they cant be totally wrong and this is what you would like to be seen as.
6
@Marcus We're just as angry, perplexed, frustrated, anxious, nauseated, etc. etc. etc. as you are.
2
Why is this being reported like it's a legitimate appointment? It is illegal and unconstitutional, and should be reported as such. We should assume the appointment is illegitimate until/unless a court decides otherwise. If this person makes any "decision" that affects the special counsel, it should be ignored.
8
This guy also said he didn’t know Stormy Daniels. What we do know is that Tiny never a tells the truth.
16
So once again, the oaf in office blatantly lies to the American people. He keeps firing officials because they refuse to help him in the Mueller investigation. If Trump is allowed to put Whitaker in, someone who appears to be totally unfit for A.G. and he virtually stops Mueller, it will be the end of this country as we know it.
5
What is it to “know” anyone anyway? I’ve worked with many other men for years but as a man certainly not “know” all the other things about them that my wife as a woman would expect that based on what she would have known had they been women. Now I think I understand the basis for what “is” is. It’s definitely a matter of perspective and hardly an absolute word as implied.
How in the world do you give the Attorney General position to someone you don't know?!?! Isn't that a part of the "inner circle"? Walmart employees must have been vetted more than this guy.
7
Unfortunately the joke is on us. We made this guy President. We are still not considering impeaching him (for tactical reasons we are told as if this is a chess match or even a football game). We are watching how sheep still are voting for him and gaining in the Senate.
The Times has to lead in agitating the citizens of the USA to rise against this man and his GOP enablers. The time to go to the barricades is now. We need our Rouget de Lisle to compose our marching song!
3
@Blunt
NO. Only some of us made this guy president.
I certainly didn't vote for him, and neither did the MAJORITY of Americans -- so best rephrase your sentence.
In any case, Donald Trump may be a "joke on us" , but he's a joke that most of us saw coming.
1
Maybe we should use "Trump" as a replacement for "Panic".
"Stop trumping! Everything will be fine."
1
Trump now directly runs two of our three branches of government. Apparently it isn't news.
3
Matt Whitaker is so irrelevant that Trump doesn’t even know him. Have no fear, Matt! Like previous lapdogs Spicer and Scaramucci, you too will be kicked to the curb where you can force yourself into the public consciousness and remain in career limbo on every talk show known to man!
4
I am disappointed that Trump did not pull this stunt when the racist rapper claimed he has woken up and found out he was used by another racist.
It would have been great to hear:
“That failing rapper? I hardly knew Ye!”
2
A president who lies so easily exposed shows contempt for the American people. When he lies us into a war lives will be lost as many men and women without bone spurs may die for his ego to be massaged. The GOP under the thumb of Trump cower in fear of this loud mouth bully but the new democratic House will not behave in this manner and will get testimony and documents exposing the malfeasance of our Dear Leader. The Mueller report along with New York state agencies will expose the criminal president we have in place.
4
Solid reporting.
Just one minor suggestion to the headline editor: an accurate summary of the story would be simply "TRUMP LIES TO AMERICA AGAIN"
8
"Trump Says ‘I Don’t Know Matt Whitaker,’ Despite Several Oval Office Visits"
Phony president Trump is a disgusting serial liar. He is not only incapable of telling the truth, he actually revels in lying, knowing his dopey supporters don't care. They claim to care about the First and Second Amendment, all the while chanting, "Go Mr. President, go! We believe EVERYTHING you say and do!"
American democracy is being shredded every minute of every day under this despicable excuse for a real man. Our founders weep, not to mention the millions who have fought and died for our once-vaunted freedoms.
7
Who will rid us of this turbulent President? No one; we will have to do it ourselves through due process.
3
A sick part of me would like to see Whitaker as some kind of judge, just to see a sign on his office that says "Whitaker's Chambers."
But he's obviously just a corrupt scam artist. Every patent marketing firm is a fraud. They uae canned, fill in the blank "marketing reports " and do nothing substantive or valuable. They pop up until shot down, then start over. They rent the gravitas they need, very cheaply in Whitaker's case. Birds of a feather.
3
Trump is being brutally honest for a change. As a man without empathy, he really doesn't know anyone.
1
Every single thing about Donald Trump is illegitimate.
4
Another head fake. Five cents it's Jeanine Pirro, who'll leap at any chance to escape Fox News's No Blonde Zone.
1
Question "When do we know that Donald is lying" - when his lips are moving.
4
Trump states he doesn’t know Whitaker......methinks he realizes that Whitaker’s appointment will be short lived with the surrounding and mounting controversy.....so “not knowing Whitaker” is Trump’s way of backing out of the appointment and/or blaming his staff for this appointment. Trump is a pathetic,scared failure.
3
He also tries not to lie...
Thanks, Mr. Trump. Initially, I had only one, albeit solid, basis for asserting that this appointment was stupid. Now, I’ve got my pick: heads I win, tails I win.
Mmmmh.
Alzheimer maybe???
2
And now, a summary of the comments deploring this (illegal) choice for an (unqualified) Attorney General from Republican Senators:
5
If trump doesn’t know Whittaker then why would he put him in charge of all law enforcement in the country as it makes trump look irresponsible and stupid. If he does know him (which is the case after multiple meetings with him at the White House) then it makes trump look sleazy and like he’s obstructing justice. Either way, trump is unfit for his office and has broken his vow to uphold the Constitution (so many times I’ve lost count.)
5
What I find disgusting in another episode of trump's lies is the republicans total lack of accountability. Isn't that part of their job? Every time in the last two years that trump has blatantly disobeyed the constitution and/or settled law, his minions go along like sheep to the massacre. It's disgusting that we have a government run by a moron, supported by do nothings. The indictments should fill a big binder. As to his statement that he doesn't know Whitaker, I don't know anymore if it is willful ignorance or dementia. In either case, he needs to be taken by the hand and sent to the woodshed. Enough is enough of this clown car of a presidency. It's time Americans told their representatives (I use that word lightly) to step up and do their jobs. Unfortunately, the rubes that have those representatives are as much to blame as the do nothings that hold office in their districts. I voted to flip the House; it's time to start impeachment!
5
So...Trump does not know his "appointee" for Acting Attorney General??
Why am I not surprised??
Given that Trump has little/no respect for the rule of law, it is logical that he would name an unknown person to head the legal system in the entire U.S. Sad, but true.
Just 1 more sign that Trump has reached functional incompetency. He should be replaced immediately and allowed to receive needed treatment.
5
Trump lies so much it has become impossible to believe anything he says. And this is a very big problem. If this country faces an actual emergency (and not some “trumped up” border invasion), we need to be able to believe that what elected officials say is the truth. As a country we can no longer do that and that is a very frightening set of circumstances. If he went on the air in an hour and said we were under attack, it’s quite likely that the majority of people either wouldn’t believe him at all or would think he was grossly exaggerating to further some unknown and unrelated agenda.
7
Follow the money. What has Trump done for Russia and what has it done for him?
8
"Ms Sanders later clarified that 'The President obviously meant that he didn't know Mr. Whitaker in the Biblical sense.' "
10
@KSG
Right. And Trump obviously didn't know Jesus, either.
1
It may be, for once, Trump is telling the truth. He may not know that he knows Whitaker.
His statements and behavior indicate cognitive decline.
11
Each day, I think that Trump cannot possibly top his actions of the previous day.
It raises the point of how Trump perceives American citizens. It appears continually that he thinks he can railroad them. Or that citizens are a throwaway. His grandiosity may lead him to think that because he is in office until 2020, he is untouchable.
4
25th Amendment, article 4.
I've been saying, nay, SHOUTING it since he moved into the White House.
The man's not all there.
6
“Matt Whitaker is a very highly respected man.”
As is Donald J. Trump...
“I don’t know Matt Whitaker."
Perhaps. But, suddenly, we certainly do.
Mr. Whitaker registers with us in yet another gut-wrenching, soul-gutting moment.
2
Trump at his word: "I don't know Matt Whitaker".
After all, that is entirely consistent with the way he takes all his responsibilities of office.
Perhaps he bonded with Whitaker watching him shill for the company that was shut down by the government for scamming its customers.
1
One thing trump says is true, he doesn't know anything.
4
Trump earnestly makes baldfaced lies in front of the camera and expects the electorate to believe them. Is he living in his third grade world? It's either that, or he is so disconnected from reality that he actually thinks "It doesn't matter what is true. I get to decide what you should think." Looks like Don the Con is losing it.
4
I don’t think he is losing it. He keeps his messages very simple, repeats them often, and knows his base, and much of the Republican Party, has no interest in fact-checking. Thus they still have a senate majority.
Whitaker shouldn't unpack his boxes. Typically, Trump doesn't disavow knowledge of someone until they are indicted. Even Peter waited to deny Jesus until after Jesus was arrested, not on the third day of work.
2
"I named a guy I don't know as acting attorney general."
Has that ever happened in the history of this country?
10
The amount of lying done by Trump and his surrogates undermines our national security. He should be impeached on that alone.
4
He only appoints, nominates, employs, and sleeps with the best people he doesn't know.
8
So let's see. He didn't know Whittaker. So he thinks that will get him off the hook for conspiring to obstruct justice. Of course, it will make him look ignorant and incompetent to choose someone he doesn't even know, but I guess, in his mind, that's better than being guilty of conspiracy to obstruct. Of course he's lying. He's met Whittaker many times. They have definitely conspired to obstruct the Mueller investigation.
3
When is trump going to appoint the "my pillow" guy to a high level post? He's often on fox as a sponsor and has a checkered past.
4
Trump doesn't know Robert Mueller either. Let's hope he gets to meet him very soon.
8
The bottom line is this: Trump lies like he breathes and you shouldn't believe ANYTHING he says at ANY time. Maybe the Press should just stop covering him completely. Public attention is his oxygen, maybe we should just cut off the supply...
4
I'm shocked, absolutely shocked that this President lied!
2
If Lincoln went down in history as "Honest Abe," what should we call this man, who is perhaps the most prolific liar in all of history?
3
"Dishonest Donnie" works for me. I have other suggestions, but it's very unlikely that they'd be published.
Is that an unknown known, or a known unknown?
He doesn't know he does know, or he does know he doesn't know.
3
Yesterday, upon the stair,
I met a man who wasn't there.
He wasn't there again today,
I wish, I wish he'd go away...
2
Trump doesn't know Robert Mueller yet. Let's hope he gets to meet him in person very soon.
2
Whitaker, based on his corporate history as a member of the board for a company that fed on "inventors'" dreams of patenting the next iPhone, has a natural appeal to the founder of Trump University. How useful it would have been for Trump to threaten disgruntled "students" by having a lawyer, who in passing thought it pertinent to mention that he was once a US Attorney, respond to their complaints with references to repercussions. Whitaker like Trump is a bully.
The man has a masters degree in Implausible Deniability.
3
Let's see . . .Trump announces the appointment of The Attorney General of the United States. And it is a person he HAS NEVER MET????
1
Who among us would actually expect POTUS to tell us the truth about anything?
2
“I don’t know Matt Whitaker,” Mr. Trump told reporters as he left Washington for a weekend trip to Paris. “Matt Whitaker is a very highly respected man.”
Trump never lies, so I guess someone told him he is. I am sure they didn't mention Whitaker's previous statements that just coincidentally help Trump, just that he was very highly respected con man. Perfect for Trump.
Whitakers joins the list of very fine and highly respected criminals that Trump has praised:
Joe Arpaio
The very fine white supremacists in Charlottesville
Kim Jong-un
Paul Manafort
Michael Cohen
Lewis “Scooter” Libby
Dwight Hammond Jr.
Steven Hammond
Being complimented by Trump would be about the last thing an honest person would want.
1
Well in his defense Trump doesn't know David Duke either. He just doesn't get out much except for the golf course so if their not on Fox and Friends how is he supposed to know who the heck they are?
1
It’s so disappointing and frustrating to see the New York Times’s editors asleep at the wheel. It seems as though every other headline is “trump says....” he’s not merely saying something ; he’s issuing a public statement for a political purpose. In this case, it’s almost certainly an intentional lie. So as it is, the headline is misleading and completely misses the point. Time to get with it and come up with a worthy and meaningful headline. “Trump says...” doesn’t cut it.
1
Trump doesn't even bother to make his lies plausible. It's obvious that he has spoken to Whitaker and that he knows, just like the rest of us do, that Whitaker has spoken out against the Mueller investigation. Is he really trying to fool anyone or just providing talking points to his cult members?
1
why lie about something so easily verifiable?
2
@ME - Trump lied about the weather. He lies constantly and never has to suffer the consequences.
@ME Habit.
Unfortunately the joke is on us. We made this guy President. We are still not considering impeaching him (for tactical reasons we are told as if this is a chess match or even a football game). We are watching how sheep still are voting for him and gaining in the Senate.
The Times has to lead in agitating the citizens of the USA to rise against this man and his GOP enablers. The time to go to the barricades is now. We need our Rouget de Lille
1
This appointment is political theater and electoral chaff. The kind of chaff that an aircraft ejects when a missile is headed its way.
It matters nothing what Mr. Whitaker thinks about financial inquiries, because any forensic accounting has already been done by the Mueller team as an obvious first step. (The Trump corporation was subpoenaed for records eight months ago, and records parsed by Weisselberg's grand jury testimony.)
Nor, after cooperating agreements from Gates, Manafort, Cohen and Flynn, does constraint on the investigation matter much. The knife is already between the ribs.
Finally, there's the power of the purse over all things executive, now in the hands of democrat HoR.
Trump's only goal at this point is to increase the breathlessness -- "My god! What next??" -- of the electorate.
What are the psychological consequences of breathlessness? Read the clinical lit on that: "Anxiety is an emotional response to breathlessness, and increases the perceived consequences of breathlessness itself."
300
@drollere
You had a great comment going, kudos.
But why you segued into the breathlessness ending is puzzling.
It makes little sense to me.
Better luck next time in finalizing your point.
None the less, I believe your comment points toward the dismantling of the Trump agenda, so I will recommend it.
14
@GP
Drollier is actually on to something. but is not so much breathless, as tired and confused. You may have heard the saying, "never let a disaster go to waste?" What it means is that disasters can be used to ram through policies while the public is too exhausted to stop it.
Trump keeps attacking normal to keep the entire country off balance so that he can ram through policy with little opposition.
Its working.
12
@drollere
Except a large portion of the Trump base are heavily armed, and training in fight clubs, and their anxiety seems to make them more violent, while Trump and Fox repeat their memes back to them.
Birtherism (how did that become a word?) is how Trump made sure all of the White supremacists know he is on their side. They have been feeding off of each other for over a decade.
Trump is a white supremacist whisperer.
Trump wants control over the 14th Amendment so he can cross groups of citizens off of the list.
7
Let's not forget that you can't appoint someone to a post that requires Senate confirmation. Otherwise, Trump could appoint "acting" Justices to the Supreme Court. Trump is not a king, or a dictator (yet). Mr. Whitaker has no legal authority to perform this job until he is confirmed.
4
@Rick C.
Agree. And not only is Whitaker's appointment unconstitutional, but Kellyanne Conway's husband wrote a comprehensive and informative legal description of why it's unconstitutional:
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/08/opinion/trump-attorney-general-sessions-unconstitutional.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Fopinion&action=click&contentCollection=opinion®ion=stream&module=stream_unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=5&pgtype=sectionfront
1
@N. Smith
Interesting articles on same topic.
https://lawworksaction.org/news/
I would like to see a response to Conway and Katyal's essay about the unconstitutionality of Whitaker's appointment. Of course. with McConnell and Graham in the senate, Whitaker would be easily confirmed, but it would take some time.
5
@Jean Travis
Because of his involvement, as counsel and board member in the business scandal which defrauded thousands of people, - I don't think he would make it through.
Trump can never have allies. He breaks promises and throws people under the bus at the first sign of trouble for him, including people who made sacrifices to serve him. It will make his demise easier because he will have no one in the end to lean upon.
4
In all ways - except for recusing himself in the Mueller investigation and defending Rob Rosenstein - Sessions has been a Disaster as AG. And yet, here we are, in the position of having to defend him and even protesting his removal, so that Mueller is not defanged or worse. We are truly living in "Looking Glass" times.
3
I guess that I should at least take some relief in knowing that, while Trump lies constantly about matter important and trivial, he is so bad at lying it is very easy to spot. Does he think that the American people will be happy to know that he appointed somebody to one of the most important positions in the US Government that he does not even know? Does he really think that we will believe that it just happens that the "highly respected" person that was recommended to him has a long record of opposition to the investigation against Trump?
Whitaker was clearly hand picked by Trump with the overall goal of obstructing the ongoing investigation. Trump does not have the courage or respect to speak to Sessions in person, and he cannot admit his intentions with his AG appointment.
3
Trump's strategy seems to be say 1,000 outrageous things a day and they will never be able to keep up with me.
5
Hmm, sounds like the "I don't know him" deniability defense used for George Papadoupolos, Paul Manafort (from time to time), Mike Flynn among others. I'm waiting to hear him say it if Don Jr. is indicted. Hopefully, Trump will pull Whitaker or someone (please) will file suit challenging his appointment as illegal and unconstitutional. The political silence is as deafening as it is frightening with such a blatant attempt to put the Department of Justice under the rule of Trump instead of the "rule of law." There's a dust-covered "Profile in Courage" award waiting for someone to stand up for the Constitution.
3
The question is not whether Matthew G. Whitaker impedes or damages the Mueller investigation. The question is how is he planning to do it.
We are hours, possibly moments away from banana republic status.
The people who have the solution to this situation are neck deep in Trumps efforts to destroy our country.
They are the republicans who seem to find some weird satisfaction in our country being brought so low.
Matthew Whitaker is a republican zealot, who seems to have a special relationship with a disembodied voice in his head. That voice is telling him to protect Donald Trump and the republican machine no matter what. At any cost.
2
Trump has honorably avoided discussing Russia with his new appointee. Heck, he doesn’t even know him, so how could he possibly know that Whitaker might curtail or end Mueller’s investigation?
But if Whitaker did so, that is out of Trump’s control, and I expect Congressional Republicans would understand that and recognize that it would be inappropriare for them to intervene. It’s just the way the system is supposed to work.
And if Whittaker at some point has to go because of all the controversy over such actions, well, Trump might have to do the right thing and fire him.
The term “patsy” comes to mind, but I am sure that is just because I have been subjected to all that media stuff.
1
Contrasts.
Here in Minnesota, Senator Amy Klobuchar handily won re-election. She is a leader in the Senate, is smart, funny, decent, serves Minnesota and the nation well, and is respected and well-liked by her colleagues on both sides of the aisle.
Yet there were several (largely rural) counties in Minnesota who voted for her Republican opponent by a 70%-30% margin. What the...? It makes no logical sense.
These are the same voters who are not at all bothered by Trump's staggering level of incompetence and blatant lying (with the Whitaker situation being just the latest example), and in fact embrace and approve it, but find fault with a good human being like Amy Klobuchar.
And no doubt, many call themselves "Christians".
HypoChristians is more like it.
8
The Repubs became hysterical when they thought Obama told one or two lies. None of which were lies (proven by Republican congressional investigations!).
The Republican party has shown itself to be utterly corrupt and sycophants to a compulsive liar. Their brand is now the Party of Lies and Corruption. No Republican will ever get my vote for any position anywhere.
836
@Joe Rockbottom
And not only that -- they became hysterical while even maintaining the lie that Obama wasn't an American citizen....Remember the "Birther Movement", anyone?
47
@Joe Rockbottom When we go against the President we need to keep in mind that his party, the Republican Party, is virtually and secretly supporting everything he does. They hide in their offices, going out to expensive meals and refuse to represent this country. Any vote for a Republican shows support for Trump.
76
@Joe Rockbottom
Right on, Joe. I'm a middle-of-road, left-leaning guy who tries to keep my mind open to conservative points of view. But the insane and evil behavior of the repubs and the extreme right have pushed me to a similar level of extremism: No Republican Will Get My Vote. EVER.
They are a doomed party until the shifting demographics of the electorate force them to reform.
58
Leaving behind the Prez's no-nothing meme; another look at the press conference indicated that he is becoming MORE threatening to members of the press- essentially saying that if a reporter doesn't treat him "with respect" he will ban them from "HIS" hallowed White House.
Once again -- it is OUR White House, he must not be allowed to decide who represents the free press and who does not. Some- legal - pushback has got to come from the Press. He is not content with keeping Mexico behind a wall, he is building a private iron curtain around the White House.
He exudes all of the hallmarks of a dictator at this point. I've come to believe that if not stopped by a Constitutional wall soon, through Congress, he will attempt to suspend various civil rights. Except for the right to bear arms,
16
So he lies. He lied.
What else is new. Anyone who panders to the liar in chief is complicit.
Republicans, are you listening? Are you really going to grovel to these lies?
Here's how you get to Fascism:
Blame victims and hurt people below you.
Isolate your tribe and try to hurt those who are different.
Admire predators and try to become one.
The earth is real, it has the only seat at the table, and it bats 1000. It's been trying to get a message to you for quite some time:
United we stand, divided we fall: E Pluribus Unum
Jesus wouldn't care for all this, so don't call it Christian. Try the Gospels and think again.
17
Even our fellow banana republics and oligarchies would be embarrassed by this situation.
37
'fellow' banana republics and oligarchies.
You got that very right, Cowboy Marine.
4
@Socrates Colorado "cowboy" now, formerly (way back) a Montclair NJ cowboy LOL. One of your neighbors. Honored to receive a Reply from the celebrity commenter Socrates.
1
He doesn't know someone who worked directly under Sessions and who publicly took a stand that Mueller cannot investigate the Carny Guy's financial situations?
There are only two things the Carny Guy needs to know about any of his appointees. 1. The appointee will do anything he asks of that appointee, 2. The appointee has no scruples and has proven that by being involved in one or more scams in the past.
Only one highly respected, highly qualified, and apparently very honest person has been appointed to any position in this administration: Mueller.
No on can seriously question Mueller's intelligence, experience, qualifications, or character. That is why the Orangu-tan Carny Guy is desperately reaching for someone like Whitaker, who has not been approved by the Senate, to squash the special investigator's efforts to get the the truths we need to know.
If we were not in the midst of a Constitutional Crisis we are now.
24
I'm waiting for the day when Trump claims, "I don't know Don, Jr."
44
tRump should look at the NYT article detailing his relationship with whittaker at the time that Rod Rosenstein was thought to be on the way out. (FAKE NEWS, of course). It was the Heritage Foundation's Leonard Leo who got tRump together with whittaker in the first place. All these attempts to evade Democracy to retain power due to changing demographics come together. Whose the real enemy of the people?
17
It’s impossible to believe anything Trump says. He lost whatever remaining credibility he had the first week of his presidency with his bogus claims about the number of people attending his inauguration.
If Matt Whittaker has full access to the work that Robert Mueller has done, than will he be sharing this information with the president? Do we have any reason to believe a fire wall exists between the acting attorney general and the president?
11
We are all counting on the integrity and experience of Robert Mueller. Hopefully, he is two steps ahead of the president which shouldn't be too hard to do.@Clare
I'm not sure what is more disturbing. Does Trump know him and did he put a political hack in Justice? Or, did Trump put someone he doesn't know into a really important position? Given that Trump lies about just about everything, I'll guess the former.
13
Oh, come on.
Many folks writing below are making the same mistake many made in 2016.
His opponents take him literally and his supporters take him seriously.
In my mind, "I don't know him" - could rank as hedging his bets whether he would be a permanent replacement or a recess appointment.
This article does not tell us the question he was responding to so I listened to this event on Cspan.
And the reporter started his question about criticism of Mr Whitaker in the media and the POTUS jumped in before question was completed.
So, my take is he was saying "he does not know" as in all this criticism being talked about and whether it is true or not.
Folks below and the article should have told us this question.
Then, it is indeed true that he does not know about all this background noise about him.
So, don't take him literally if even the context is not provided.
2
@Neil
Oh, OK. I'll try to remember that he might be speaking figuratively or metaphorically -- or maybe just loosely, or incoherently -- when he tells us that there's a national emergency. Wasn't the last national emergency something about steel imports from Canada? Oh, sorry, that was just a national security risk.
2
@Neil -
Why should we have to determine IF, let alone WHEN, to take the president literally? This isn’t a guessing game!
Sure, politicians fudge. Even occasionally mislead, maybe even lie - but not as their primary form of behavior. Trump’s been dishonest at every level on every topic in every forum since he announced his candidacy.
Cut us a break that we shouldn’t take him literally or seriously. How did you get to become his interpreter of truth?
2
I also saw Trump say that if every one of the ex Federal Prosecutors and FBI agents that have expressed an opinion on TV about the Russia investigation had to recuse themselves, there'd be no qualified person left to nominate as Attorney General. Apparently, the most important qualification for Attorney General is having appeared on TV, which rules out the scores of highly qualified people who currently or have worked in the Justice Dept, but aren't paid media commentators. It reminds me of the "I'm not a doctor, but I play one on TV" commercial. In Trump-world, playing one on TV (and pledging personal loyalty to his Orange-ness) is far more important than actually knowing anything about the job you're being consider for.
10
@teejtee, he should hire Dr. Drake Ramoray from Friends.
1
If history is our guide, then all we have to do is wait for yet another Trump associate to be indicted.
4
Unless the recent reporting is in error, Trump has met with Mr. Whitaker several times. Judging by the sheer size of Mr. Whitaker and his distinct appearance it is hard to believe you could forget that you knew him. Maybe this was one of those, "When you say, do you know the man? Can anyone say they really know the man?", moments. I'm sending this idea on up to the White House. Maybe they can use it for spin.
2
What CEO would say, let alone, hire, a man he doesn't know to manage one of the most important branches in his organization, OUR government?
It's a great vote of confidence when your new boss starts to distance himself from you the moment he smells blood in the water.
Mr. Whitaker should not be included in any briefings until it is determined whether the appointment by his Majesty is even legal.
7
@LivingWithInterest
The man has been phoning the presidency in since he took office. What with his tweets, tv watching and golf he's spent nearly 190+ days away. Nice work if you can get it.
2
What vetting occurred? Apparently none. Except by "them," and "they" who "say" he's good. That should make us feel good. Very good. The best we've felt.
9
We are truly past the province of bald-faced lies and now into the territory of delusion.
"I don't know Matt Whitaker. Matt Whitaker is a highly respected man."
Only in Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland can those two sentences be uttered in the same presidential sound bite.
We know that Trump is a pathological liar. Now it appears that he's genuinely delusional. This sort of fractured and distorted perception of reality should not be allowed within a thousand yards of the "nuclear football".
10
Number one- Trump is the ONLY person who has said that Whitaker is highly respected,besides Chuck Grassley Number two- Trump wants to preserve plausible deniability in case this rogue appointment turns out badly Number three- Trump knows no one because within days of their appointment to his inner circle they are out because they crossed him in some slight way.He does not run a tight ship as manager, he has to spend all of his time bailing out his sinking Ship of State.
4
Another of "the very best people." And why these very best people never seem to work out.
5
Can the media just start issuing the following:
President Trump Lie 1,259: "I don't know Matt Whitaker."
Truth: Mr. Whitaker, as Chief of Staff for then Attorney General, Jeff Sessions, had numerous Oval Office Meetings. Further, on a Fox News cast (insert date here), Trump mentioned that he knew Matt Whitaker."
5
With this statement Trump has finally reduced his entire identity and political approach to the basic values which he seeks in supporters: fear & ignorance ...
5
@CD
True. But you forgot to mention racism and hatred.
@N. Smith
thanks, tryin' to go easy on the poor guy ... NOT
As of this morning, it certainly sounds as though Trump is trying to blame Sessions for Whitaker, in order to dodge taking any blame himself. It's almost but not quite enough to make us feel sorry for Sessions. Karma can be vicious.
5
As a CNN pundit, Whitaker suggested a way to shut down the Mueller investigation without formally doing so would be to cut the budget to the point it could no longer function.
So, which of us is going to start the GoFundMe account?
7
@JB - I will gladly contribute to it.
Please don't pull punches in reporting the President's lies.
This could have been headed:
"Trump lies by claiming he has no prior relationship with the man he appointed Attorney General."
The President said, "I don't know Matthew Whitaker."
Yet the paper knows that Mr. Whitaker visited the "Oval Office several times," and that "people familiar" with the "relationship" say he had an "easy chemistry" with Mr. Whitaker.
Am I missing something?
9
"
when I say something you can take it to the bank as the absolute truth. I never lie. Oh, sometimes I exaggerate a BIT, but so does everyone else - which excuses my exaggerations. And if I lie -- and I say I never do - and you have seen a video or heard my voice saying something that I later said I did not say, then you are wrong and obviously your ears and eyes need examining."
6
It seems like there hasn’t yet been a word divised to explain the bewildering mix of Narcissism, arrogance, ignorance and dishonesty we see daily from this President.
The man can barely string two coherent words together. It’s like his vocabulary is a hodgepodge of self-regarding aphorisms and no-truths. No wonder he eats so much McDonald’s; “I’ll have the number one” is about as complex a thought as he can muster...
8
Having Mueller present the findings of his investigation to AG Whittaker, is like a Suggestion Box that's concealing a shredder.
And, whatever happened to "advise and consent?" Oh, that's right...in a Trump presidency, "He don't need no stinkin' advise and consent!"
6
Right...that is about as believe as me saying I don't know my wife.
Lesson for Trump for today - better the devil you know than the devil you don't. Maybe he should have stuck with Jeff Sessions (after all, remember the old days in 2016?) rather than promote Whitaker in his post-election euphoria. Less tweeting, more reading would be good.
3
The complete destruction of democracy, majority rule, and most importantly, the rule of law with this appointment, all being accomplished right in front of our eyes, by an aristocrat and his string-pulling puppet masters.
6
I think it would be a good idea to have a column every single day fact checking what Trump says compared to the truth."Daily Facts vs Trump". The minute he lies there are uncountable amounts of people who believe him and will never know the facts. People will just think "Oh Mueller was never even checked by the FBI". "Oh he's never even met that nice fellow who took over for poor Sessions" etc. Trump wins his voters over with his lies. He is corrupt and purposefully misleading the public. Trump should be impeached.
5
It appears that Trump spends only three hours a day of “structured” presidential work. Which means that he gets up early, and lies around in his bathrobe watching TV and kibitzing with his friends at Fox. Then he gets dressed and proceeds to lie some more.
9
As long as the press treats this pathological liar with the respect accorded past presidents, he will continue to so with impunity.
Stop with the soft headlines and "objectivity". He lies every single time he opens his mouth. Every single time. How hard is that to understand?
Try this, "Trump Lies About Matt Whitaker". How hard is that? Are you going to wait for one of your reporters to be assaulted before you realize what is going on and what is at stake?
Wake up! Now would be a good time to start.
7
A delicate kind of softening and normalizing is clear in the first paragraph, which refers to Trump "suggesting" that he did not know Whitaker. Even though Trump's following quote makes clear he lied very directly, the Times fails readers when it uses soft-focus verbs like "suggest." "Stated" or "falsely claimed" could be factual substitutes if "lied" is too potent.
Sometimes embracing formal language produces fuzzy language, even in our august NYT. I approve of dignified style in journalism, but not style that dignifies the degradation of truth.
6
Mr. Trump- we don't believe you here. We honestly don't believe much of anything you've said since you began your campaign.
Your only honest moment was when you said that you fired James Comey to try to end the Mueller - Russian investigation. Perhaps a lapse in judgement and honesty there?
8
Jeff Sessions learned to his everlasting regret that his relationship with Trump was built on quicksand and that he was an expendable dupe. If Whitaker is listening he should be learning the same lesson. And it only took a day for Trump to send the message. “I don’t know him”.
2
Shades of Michael Cohen resurrected by The Donald. Remember the quick exchange he had with a reporter on Air Force One, when he said 'you'll have to ask Michael, Michael is my attorney'. Yet in the following months, Trump threw Michael under the bus, claiming that Cohen had done only little things for him, nothing serious.
Now he appoints Mr. Whitaker as acting AG but as soon as bad press arises about Matt Whitaker, it's yet another lie and con, when Trump claims 'I don't even know the guy'.
'Truthful hyperbole', Mr. Trump? How is that Art of the Deal thing working out for you?
8
Until the press changes how they report the news, they will continue being played by Trump. Take, for example, this headline that states what Trump says as a factoid, though clearly a lie. How about a title of "Trump lies, saying "I don't know Matt Whitaker"" instead? Most people today don't get past the article title, so make it count.
I'd recommend placing actual facts on page one and the Trump noise be placed onto page 3, like the girls in the British tabloid "The Sun" for so many years, as it contained the same newsworthy content. It would also make "real" newspapers look more like real newspapers, rather than "The Onion". At this point, they look nearly the same and that's a real problem. It's time for the press to act like a free press, before it is too late.
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Watching Trump and the GOP destroy the Constitution is like watching a passenger train speeding down the tracks with no one at the controls heading into the abyss, all in slow motion, it all ends in darkness, chaos and death. The inevitability of absolute corruption by the oligarchy.
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Don't you be corrupted either. Call them Republicans, not the abbreviation for "Grand Old Party."
On the Pinocchio rating system where 4 noses is the highest level of lie, Trump scores a 50 score. Whitaker was Chief if Staff for Sessions and has been Trump's not-at-all secret spy. If Trump didn't know him then why was Trump or WH counsel frequently meeting with him so routinely and so often , and why was he hired by Sessions in the first place?
8
Even if Whitaker & Trump try to attempt to quash the Mueller investigation the Democratic congress can now call Mueller & Co for public testimony as to what's in the report for all to hear. Bad & desperate move on Trump's part. Appointing Whittaker reeks of obstruction and has the beneficiary ramifications of sending out constitutional alarm bells.
A nice big open hearing.
In this case, Trump's short attention span and not ever thinking anything through serves to benefit us all. Fingers crossed.
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@RH
So DJt says, "I don't know Matt Whitaker".
Why does Mitch McConnell let this president continually insult the american people?
McConnell is totally to blame for Trump's continuing egregious behaviors and his incessant lies to the American people.
McConnell is now the only person in the U.S. government who has the power to STOP this unhinged man, Trump, but McConnell continues to DO NOTHING.
With his cowardly silence, not only does McConnell enable Trump, he EMBOLDENS him to cross the lines of decency and rule of law.
Time to start a campaign against McConnell for his utter failure to do his job, his constitutional duty to act as a "check" on this president's egregious lies to the American people.
2
Trump's comment may be many things at this point, but in my estimation it is one of the clearest indications of what many have believed for a long time: Trump is a puppet, even as he bends the GOP to his will. He selects those whom he is told to select.
1
Good article overall, but it sadly (and once again) pulls punches. The headline should have read "Trump Lies About Not Knowing Whitaker." Trump met with Whitaker multiple times in the Oval Office. He knows him.
Since that is an obvious lie, the only logical conclusion is that Trump's statement that he did not discuss the Mueller investigation with Whitaker is also a lie. Whitaker was with Sessions multiple times (reportedly over a dozen) when the two met with Trump in the Oval Office. It is not believable that the Mueller investigation never came up during any of those meetings.
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It's obvious now that there are two Matt Whitaker's -- one that Trump knows who "has visited the Oval Office several times and is said to have an easy chemistry with the president" and the other Matt Whitaker that President Trump does not know except by his reputation that he "is a very highly respected man.”
I wonder if these two Matt Whitaker's have ever met.
We shall soon find out.
10
Whitaker’s intimate association with the scam patent business is made all the more ironic by his persecution/prosecution when he was U.S. Attorney for the Southern District in Iowa of my state senator, Matt McCoy, on phony, ginned-up charges of extortion relating to a business endeavor of McCoy’s. McCoy was then the only openly gay person in the Iowa General Assembly, which, of course, offended Whitaker’s fundamentalist Christian sensibilities. It took the jury less than two hours to find McCoy innocent of all charges. It was later revealed that Whitaker’s office had paid McCoy’s former business associate—a pathological liar and the only witness the prosecution put on the stand—thousands of dollars in exchange for his testimony. The Times could do worse than to look back into that little legal debacle to get a good picture of Mr. Whitaker’s ethics and incompetence.
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Lie-counting has become our national pastime. It's a crying shame, but the only thing worse would be to stop keeping track, to stop caring, and let this prolific prevaricator destroy the concepts of truth, facts, and an objective, reasonably shared reality completely.
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@DoTheMath And the repubs were hysterical when they thought Obama told one or two lies. None of which were lies (proven by Republican congressional investigations!).
The Republican party has shown itself to be utterly corrupt and sycophants to a compulsive liar. Their brand is now the Party of Lies and Corruption. No Republican will ever get my vote for any position anywhere.
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@DoTheMath The question is, what are the consequences? It used to be enough to get you in hot water -- or even removed from office if the lie was serious. Now..nothing. We need to find the hammer that's going to permanently and effectively brand him a liar that's unfit for office and use it!
5
Trump didn’t know Lil’ Jon either, until he was reminded. Nor did he know David Duke, or half of the cooperating witnesses who were working on his campaign, or any Russians...
For a guy that claims to understand so much that us plebs just can’t grasp, Donald Trump certainly seems to be bereft of knowledge.
8
“I don’t know Matt Whitaker,” Mr. Trump told reporters as he left Washington for a weekend trip to Paris.
Maybe he means in the Biblical sense?
10
Trump is a known and proven liar, why is this particular lie be any different from all the others?
5
One of the classic trump lies: I don't know this person (but he's highly respected ... the credebility deflection).
Now the Mueller investigation can be monkied (appropriate usage here) with by these clowns (trump and his circus).
How and when can this nonsense be stopped? The Senate does not appear willing to step up and do anything.
Hopefully, when the new Congress is in session (goodbye jeff) in Jan 2019 some controls can be initiated to calm all this nonsense down! Oooops... not likely with trump... for him it will be fodder to simple go more authoritarian and out of control! SAD!
3
Am I supposed to believe that one of the most important positions in the U.S. was seated without any conversation or due diligence by the man who appointed him. Am I to believe that a man who serves a business the size of the U.S. government will hire someone without the slightest inclination to meet him and know what his background is. Or am I to believe that Trump got caught with his pants down and doesn't have the courage to stand up for himself.
11
How can he appoint someone he doesn't know? Did he just go through a directory of staff & close his eyes to pick a name? It's like...I didn't know Stormy Daniels, never met her, but I paid money to shut her up.??? He knew Whitaker from reading his criminal record & chose him because he is a major scammer & bilko artist. The man cannot tell the truth at all. SAD a liar cannot tell a better lie than this. He just got caught again...the best of the bestest...bigly.
5
Oct 11: "I mean, I know Matt Whitaker."
Nov 9: "I don’t know Whitaker."
Tell me again how trump is not a liar.
10
His age, diet and prior sexual history put him at considerable risk of dementia of some type.
Follow the doctors. Count the number who've signed nondisclosure/nondisparagement agreements. Somebody knows something.
Donald is really ramping things up in an effort to cross the 7000 lies told threshold before Thanksgiving. Thus, he doesn’t know Matt Whitaker.
How does it feel to have the wheels of Donald grinding over you Matt?
4
Based on Trump’s completely unhinged performance in the White House driveway this morning it might be time to invoke the 25th Amendment and turn over the presidency to the next person in line. Pence is a science denying, homophobic, religious zealot who has the intellect of a turnip, but he does not, at least outwardly, seem to be crazy.
7
trump doesn´t "know" the man he's putting in charge of the highest justice office of the land? Well who does?
Hardly seems fitting for a man who asserts he graduated from Wharton business school “at the top of my class”. The truth is he was admitted through graft and graduated without honors of any kind. Fellow graduates say they’re surprised he even graduated given his sloppy study habits and long
absences. Professors reported he was disruptive and arrogant in class and thought he knew everything. One was quoted as saying “he was the dumbest god---- student I ever had”.
Go figure.
6
Our Liar-in-Chief spouts several lies every day, but this time we can be sure he's telling the truth. Right?
2
If Trump is breathing, he's lying.
8
Mr. Trump told reporters as he returned to Washington, I meant to say “I don’t NOT know Matt Whitaker,”.
5
Trump does know Whittaker, as crooks know each other. Trump has scammed the government out of taxes, scammed investors and scammed students. Wittaker, a person he claims he doesn't know, sat on a board of a company, the government shut down, for bilking patent applicants out of millions of dollars.
Birds of a father.
Then comes more Trump incompetence. He appointed a non-vetted person to be the US Attorney General. He did so without any "advise and consent" of the Senate.
But, in the world of the 1%, criminals can appoint criminals, and designated "fall people" assume the crime and do the time.
5