"Mr. Trump, who declined to be interviewed about the subject, was not the first to question Mr. Obama’s birthplace. The narrative that Mr. Obama, whose father was Kenyan and mother American, might not meet the requirement that the president be a “natural-born citizen” first arose during his 2008 bid." -- so it arose from the 2008 election and not from Donald Trump? Hmmm. I wonder who brought it up?? The NYT strangely doesn't mention the name of the candidate who brought it up during the 2008 primary season. Seems like the perfect place in the article to remind us that it was Hillary Clinton who originally brought up this issue, not Donald Trump.
15
I think Obama created a monster at the White House Correspondents Dinner in 2011. I have thought this since I saw the videos back when it happened. He really, really humiliated Trump. I wondered what lengths Trump would go to for revenge.
I think that we now are seeing the answer. And I cannot help but wonder, whether he would have been content to go back to just being rich and famous and having lots of beautiful women, if not for this.
I think that we now are seeing the answer. And I cannot help but wonder, whether he would have been content to go back to just being rich and famous and having lots of beautiful women, if not for this.
13
Donald Trump is looking more and like our next President. Not only is Hillary's indictment approaching, but the decisions by increasing radicalized Justice Anthony Kennedy is ensuring a sweeping Conservative vote for Trump despite his lifelong liberal stance on many issues.
By the Extreme Left getting what it wants today, the Right half of the country gets what it wants for the next 20 years - a Constitution-loving Supreme Court.
By the Extreme Left getting what it wants today, the Right half of the country gets what it wants for the next 20 years - a Constitution-loving Supreme Court.
4
The key word here is "acting" -- because that's all it is.
Take away his handlers and the teleprompter, and Trump's back to putting his foot in his mouth. No thanks.
As for that indictment you seem to be so earnestly wishing for, don't forget that thing called "Presumption of Innocence".
Another thing.
The thought of a Republican Supreme Court is enough to bring out the vote for anyone familiar with the Constitution.
Take away his handlers and the teleprompter, and Trump's back to putting his foot in his mouth. No thanks.
As for that indictment you seem to be so earnestly wishing for, don't forget that thing called "Presumption of Innocence".
Another thing.
The thought of a Republican Supreme Court is enough to bring out the vote for anyone familiar with the Constitution.
32
It is ironic to me that Mr. Trump hacked on Cruz for not being born her, but not Obama for not allowing someone to see the original birth certificate. The so-called digital copy that the NY times has is a forgery. I'm surprised the NYT brought this up again, and without context. Birtherism was created by Obama's reluctance to produce a valid Long Form certificate (one with his delivery doctor's signature on it). The press normally would have been all over that, but for Obama they instead attacked people doing the presses job. A followup for the press -- why did it take Trump multiple weeks of taunting the president before he finally broke down and showed something, and why didn't Obama allow anyone to see the original? There were millions of dollars of legal fees spent on preventing anyone else from seeing it. And more importantly, when investigators proved that this copy was a fraud, the press did not follow up with either the investigators or Obama.
I don't care where Obama was born. But there are so many unanswered questions still left that I won't hack on anyone who believes he was born on the Moon. Answer the questions, and this entire issue goes away. And no need to attack anyone for asking the questions -- that after all was your (the NYT) job, and all they did was follow the crumbs.
I don't care where Obama was born. But there are so many unanswered questions still left that I won't hack on anyone who believes he was born on the Moon. Answer the questions, and this entire issue goes away. And no need to attack anyone for asking the questions -- that after all was your (the NYT) job, and all they did was follow the crumbs.
7
Please provide a link to any CREDIBLE site that has scientifically proven Obama's birth certificate is a forgery. I've searched myself and just can't find one...
40
@absolute
That's funny. You don't seem nearly as concerned that Donald Trump hasn't produced ANY of his income tax information, even though it is prescribed by law for ALL Presidential candidates do so -- For somebody who doesn't care where Mr. Obama was born, you seem rather obessed with it.
That's funny. You don't seem nearly as concerned that Donald Trump hasn't produced ANY of his income tax information, even though it is prescribed by law for ALL Presidential candidates do so -- For somebody who doesn't care where Mr. Obama was born, you seem rather obessed with it.
50
There really isn't any deep mystery as to why Clinton has the support of black Americans by something like 97-3. It is because of racism.
But we aren't the racist ones. Trump is!
Nor is there any mystery about why Trump doesn't lose his support no matter what he says or does. His people ALL know what he did to President Obama, and they liked it. Just be real about this for a minute.
A lot of them pretended to support him because he said he is self-funding his campaign. Well, the very next day after he won the Indiana primary and forced Cruz and Kasich out of the race, Trump totally abandoned the self-funding myth. Did his people leave him? No.
He has been on all sides of every policy you can name. Do his people care? Not a bit.
Does anyone who supports him even pretend to care that he has taken both sides of the abortion issue, the free trade issue, the immigration issue, the universal health care issue?
Nope.
What they care about is that Trump hates, or pretends to hate, the same kinds of people they hate.
But we aren't the racist ones. Trump is!
Nor is there any mystery about why Trump doesn't lose his support no matter what he says or does. His people ALL know what he did to President Obama, and they liked it. Just be real about this for a minute.
A lot of them pretended to support him because he said he is self-funding his campaign. Well, the very next day after he won the Indiana primary and forced Cruz and Kasich out of the race, Trump totally abandoned the self-funding myth. Did his people leave him? No.
He has been on all sides of every policy you can name. Do his people care? Not a bit.
Does anyone who supports him even pretend to care that he has taken both sides of the abortion issue, the free trade issue, the immigration issue, the universal health care issue?
Nope.
What they care about is that Trump hates, or pretends to hate, the same kinds of people they hate.
63
To be a "birther" is to be a racist. There are no subtle shadings.
54
What needs to be done is for the "eligible" youth voters, those whose future is literally at stake, to do whatever is necessary to be able to vote, and get out there and vote. Talk to each other over "all" of the social media apps. Make this a "nonviolent" or "bloodless" revolution...make it a technical revolution where all of the youth in this country play the most significant part in their future that they have available to them today. That part is voting. Not just to rid our country of people like Trump and the GOP but to also make those in the democratic party tow-the-line in making choices that are supportive to the people of this country. For the "eligible" youth voters to have even have a fighting chance in their future, this kind of action must take place. 18 to 30. Get to work for yourself. You need and deserve good educations. You need and deserve jobs to be able to support yourselves. You need and deserve your environment to be stable and healthy to survive. You need and deserve good healthcare. You need and deserve not to be in a world where war is expected but "all" of the youth of the world band together to help each other. We may be on different places on this planet but everyone is inseparable. Make the future, your future.
24
The Republicans tacitly kept his Birther topic alive. If they had dismissed it as a wacko claim - they wouldn't have Mr. Trump as their flag carrier.
39
The GOP thought they could use Birtherism in order to mobilize their base voters, not realizing that the same hate-filled masses directed at Obama would devour the GOP establishment in the process. On the Plains there's an old saying: if you sleep with dogs, you'll catch fleas. Instead of fleas, the Republicans have Donald Trump - the guy vying for birther-in-chief. It is surprising how far the GOP has fallen once they adopted "the Southern Strategy. " Ever wonder what Honest Abe would have to say about today's Republican Party?
39
More NYT cover up. Obama's "short firm birth certificate was so obviously Photoshopped that he tried for a better copy with the online long form. Neither original was ever viewed by any unbiased source and even Obama's own cyber czar questioned the poorly Photoshopped long form.
Obama's trip to Hawaii to obtain original copies was curtailed by the sudden and mysterious death of the only Hawaii official with direst access when Ms. Fuddy was the only fatality in a mysterious plane crash barely off the Hawaii shore.
As is obvious in the weird photos of his youth including the unattached flying hand, the cut out wedding shot and others, Mr. Obama should hire a five year old to do his photoshopping. Anyone of them could better work and for less money.
Obama's trip to Hawaii to obtain original copies was curtailed by the sudden and mysterious death of the only Hawaii official with direst access when Ms. Fuddy was the only fatality in a mysterious plane crash barely off the Hawaii shore.
As is obvious in the weird photos of his youth including the unattached flying hand, the cut out wedding shot and others, Mr. Obama should hire a five year old to do his photoshopping. Anyone of them could better work and for less money.
8
Submit proof of your assertion. What or who, specifically, is the source of your information? I'm not interested in "Lots of people..." or "Some say..."
33
When one is blinded by racism you'll normally see responses like this.
30
What utter nonsense all this was. And still is.
16
Every new and enduring slur brings the defeat of the GOP and its winked bigotry one day closer:
one day less for them to figure out what else they can concoct, and one day less to figure out just how to try to buffalo the country with it.
one day less for them to figure out what else they can concoct, and one day less to figure out just how to try to buffalo the country with it.
25
Our Charters of Freedom are three founding documents, the Declaration of Independence, the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights, all of which have been obliterated by our courts, congress and the Executive Branch for more than a hundred years now.
Throughout those three documents, there are only three words that are there to prevent an unsuspecting American electorate from ever enslaving themselves under foreign rule via democratic process. Those three words are “natural born Citizen” found in Article II of the U.S. Constitution as a requirement for the offices of President and Vice President.
After eight failed attempts to eliminate the natural born Citizen requirement in Article II through amendment process, between 2003 and 2008, the global left once again simply sought to hijack the term…
http://www.newswithviews.com/JBWilliams/williams326.htm
Throughout those three documents, there are only three words that are there to prevent an unsuspecting American electorate from ever enslaving themselves under foreign rule via democratic process. Those three words are “natural born Citizen” found in Article II of the U.S. Constitution as a requirement for the offices of President and Vice President.
After eight failed attempts to eliminate the natural born Citizen requirement in Article II through amendment process, between 2003 and 2008, the global left once again simply sought to hijack the term…
http://www.newswithviews.com/JBWilliams/williams326.htm
4
Weren't the Clintons the original birthers? They raised this issue as part of the 2008 primary campaign against Obama.
6
This question has already been asked and answered MANY TIMES.
Do the research first -- or SCROLL DOWN.
Do the research first -- or SCROLL DOWN.
15
No, the Clintons were not the original birthers. That claim has been debunked.
19
I’ve been perplexed, disappointed and very angry with the “media,” specifically seasoned journalists, whom I hold accountable for allowing Trump to perpetuate dangerous and outright lies for years, starting with the Birther conspiracy. I’ve seen many (read few) “articles” about why Trump lies-theories that he’s a narcissist, it’s part of a master plan to attain the role of Presidency, etc. I don’t particularly care what motivates him. I DO care that he was not confronted about (where do I begin?), the thousands of cheering Muslims in NJ celebrating the tragedy of 9/11? The unemployment rate (in September of 2015) “may be as high as 42%.” ""If you're from Syria and you're a Christian, you cannot come into this country, and they're the ones that are being decimated. If you are Islamic ... it's hard to believe, you can come in so easily,” etc. These are not opinions or semi-falsehoods. They are outright lies and dangerous to our country. They feed into fear, racism and religious intolerance. Our First Amendment protects much, but the health of any democratic society depends greatly on the quality of information available to its citizens. Disseminating quality information is precisely the role of journalists, and until just very recently, the “quality” has been terrible. If Trump becomes President Trump, I hold the media largely responsible. As Mark Twain said, "It ain't what you don't know that gets you into trouble. It's what you know for sure that just ain't so.”
53
Granted. The American media is transfixed by Donald Trump.
Whether it's because they can't believe what he continually comes out with, the disbelief that someone as unsuited to be President as he is still hasn't been laughed off the political stage -- or, because it all comes down to business profit margins and the bottom line.
But unlike yourself, I don't blame the media.
I blame the American public for voting for him, putting him in the headlines -- and keeping him there.
Whether it's because they can't believe what he continually comes out with, the disbelief that someone as unsuited to be President as he is still hasn't been laughed off the political stage -- or, because it all comes down to business profit margins and the bottom line.
But unlike yourself, I don't blame the media.
I blame the American public for voting for him, putting him in the headlines -- and keeping him there.
28
Trump is an extremely insecure person which explains why he fears President Obama who he knows is far more intelligent and articulate that he is. The same insecurity explains his fear of Secretary Clinton who is also far more intelligent than he is. His first marriage probably failed when he realized his wife was far smarter than he is. Like all bullies, Donald lashes out because he realizes he is a sad piece of work or as he would put it, he is the biggest loser. American voters should be aware that Trump's insecurity makes him a very dangerous person to put in charge of our national security. They should have learned this reality with Nixon whose insecurity cost our nation so much.
35
Where are his taxes? Why doesn't Trump want to show us his taxes?
38
I am not a supporter of Mr. Trump. But come on. This is not news. It is a reiteration of something which occurred 5 years ago and which everyone knows about. It contained no new information whatsoever. Its sudden appearance at a time during which Hillary Clinton has experienced negative press is suspicious, as if there were a need to print something negative about Trump to balance things. if it were a current or little known development, or the result of analytical investigative reporting, that would be one thing. But it looks more like a story that had been gathering dust on a shelf, then seized to distract from the real news of the day. That may not have been its intention, but it does create that impression.
5
Americans cannot be reminded enough of how nuts this guy is.
And that a major political party that used to be serious is backing this stuff- no, remind us again.
41
Oddly enough Mr. Trump ridicules people when they're unsuccessful (i.e. McCain being captured in Viet Nam). Basically, the opponents, inept or capable, they become losers in his mind. Since Donald's birther movement failed magnificently, by the way Don Quixote Trump fails often, and I say that Trump fails and loses more arguments in day than anyone else on this planet, so we need to label Mr. Trump a major loser. Trumpian reasoning causes me to suffer, but today it works for me.
13
"The narrative that Mr. Obama, whose father was Kenyan and mother American, might not meet the requirement that the president be a "natural-born citizen" first arose during his 2008 bid."
And who brought up the issue in 2008?
The answer has been retroactively excised by the 1984 division of the NYT.
And who brought up the issue in 2008?
The answer has been retroactively excised by the 1984 division of the NYT.
7
Actually The Donald revisited the issue once again when during the recent GOP primary season he accused Ted Cruz of not being quite American since indeed he was born in a foreign country. He suggested there would be court action on his eligibility, but once he rushed ahead of Cruz in the polls, he again dropped the issue. Through all of this, however, those who follow World Net Daily still believed BHO was not a true US citizen, but Ted Cruz was although they knew for sure he was not born in America. I guess they were convinced as such by the differences between Kenya and Canada, and the skin color of the respective fathers.
13
Ted Cruz was born in Canada. He is a naturalized citizen . The common law says it all not the acts of Congress
4
President Obama was born in Hawaii. That makes him an American citizen.
(Increasingly rare) Common sense says that.
(Increasingly rare) Common sense says that.
19
"I don't talk about that anymore" says Dumb Donald.
History books will have a picture of Trump with his mouth hanging open under the title Birther Movement of the GOP. Future generations will see it as a repeat of Joseph McCarthy.
History books will have a picture of Trump with his mouth hanging open under the title Birther Movement of the GOP. Future generations will see it as a repeat of Joseph McCarthy.
24
Hilary Clinton brought up the issue of Obama's birth certificate first back in 2008.
5
It might have been a legitimate question at first, but the issue was laid to rest, and Hillary never brought it up again. That's a far cry from the absurdity of Trump and other conspiracy theorists not letting the issue drop once it was settled.
3
Wrong. This is a right wing trope totally disproven. Try again.
12
@joe
Actually, you're incorrect.
The question Clinton posed was "Is America Ready for a Muslim President?"
How it all got twisted is anybody's guess.
The thing is, even though President Obama is an American...and Christian,
it is still an entirely viable question, given what's going on in this world today.
Actually, you're incorrect.
The question Clinton posed was "Is America Ready for a Muslim President?"
How it all got twisted is anybody's guess.
The thing is, even though President Obama is an American...and Christian,
it is still an entirely viable question, given what's going on in this world today.
4
I felt like a needed a shower after reading this! This article registers 100 on the "yuck" scale and would expose how truly base and morally corrupt the GOP choice for our President is if it were not already so transparently clear.
23
Here again is an example of why Trump gets away with his antics. Our news organizations treat this guy with deference. Only in the last two paragraphs are we reminded that he fabricated the story about his investigators and their "unbelievable" findings in Hawaii. The one word that applies here, but is never used, is "liar." He was caught in this lie at the time, but the media dropped it, never pressing him, never asking him point-blank if he was lying. Even back then, the media knew he was a serial liar but shrugged it off. Chasing conspiracy theories is apparently more important than finding and reporting the truth. The entertainment news media has rewarded him with a shot at the presidency, and the chance to unleash mayhem on the United States.
24
If ever it were needed this is clear evidence that Trump has no interest in winning the election he is just interested in securing a significant customer base for subsequent business (scam) purposes by touting conspiracy theories to a impressionable electorate.
The GOP base have long been fed anti-intellectual propaganda (that intellectuals are socialists and anti-American) and therefore have not sought out the logic or reasoning skills to identify scams (Trump: "I love the poorly educated ..."). Huckabee, Cain and Gingrich already knew this and all have proven that politics can be very lucrative. Having lost their elections they all targeted their supporters with dubious products (Cain touted erectile dysfunctional remedies) and are seeking to extend their enterprise through association with Trump - the master scammer of them all.
The idea is very simple feed their base the notion that the establishment is corrupt along with other easily digestible conspiracy theory and herald yourself as their saviour. You have products and ideas that the corrupt establishment does not want you to know about because of their vested corporate interests and then promote your "snake oil".
Trump doesn't care if the GOP establishment supports him or sends him money for his campaign - it will all feed his narrative that the corrupt establishment conspired against him to ensure he lost the election.
The GOP base have long been fed anti-intellectual propaganda (that intellectuals are socialists and anti-American) and therefore have not sought out the logic or reasoning skills to identify scams (Trump: "I love the poorly educated ..."). Huckabee, Cain and Gingrich already knew this and all have proven that politics can be very lucrative. Having lost their elections they all targeted their supporters with dubious products (Cain touted erectile dysfunctional remedies) and are seeking to extend their enterprise through association with Trump - the master scammer of them all.
The idea is very simple feed their base the notion that the establishment is corrupt along with other easily digestible conspiracy theory and herald yourself as their saviour. You have products and ideas that the corrupt establishment does not want you to know about because of their vested corporate interests and then promote your "snake oil".
Trump doesn't care if the GOP establishment supports him or sends him money for his campaign - it will all feed his narrative that the corrupt establishment conspired against him to ensure he lost the election.
9
Describing "WorldNetDaily" simply as a "conservative website" is misleading. It's a far-right-wing, conspiracy theory-pushing, boil on the internet.
22
The birthers, like Trump and his base, are blithely uninterested in facts, which include:
There were reports of the birth of Barack Obama, in two different Honolulu newspapers, days after the date of birth as recorded in Obama’s published birth certificate. No serious person can believe that these were somehow presciently faked, decades ago.
If there were anything to the birther fable, we’d have seen any number of righty billionaires in 2008 and 2012 moving heaven and earth to unearth the proof.
Not even the orange-haired alleged billionaire has taken the fable seriously enough to actually spend a few bucks to have private detectives look for such “proof”, despite his loud and false assertion that he had done so. As the article notes:
“But for all of his fascination with the president’s birth certificate, Mr. Trump apparently never dispatched investigators or made much of an effort to find the documents. "
Dr. Alvin Onaka, the Hawaii state registrar who handled queries about Mr. Obama, said recently through a spokeswoman that he had no evidence or recollection of Mr. Trump or any of his representatives ever requesting the records from the Hawaii State Department of Health."
There were reports of the birth of Barack Obama, in two different Honolulu newspapers, days after the date of birth as recorded in Obama’s published birth certificate. No serious person can believe that these were somehow presciently faked, decades ago.
If there were anything to the birther fable, we’d have seen any number of righty billionaires in 2008 and 2012 moving heaven and earth to unearth the proof.
Not even the orange-haired alleged billionaire has taken the fable seriously enough to actually spend a few bucks to have private detectives look for such “proof”, despite his loud and false assertion that he had done so. As the article notes:
“But for all of his fascination with the president’s birth certificate, Mr. Trump apparently never dispatched investigators or made much of an effort to find the documents. "
Dr. Alvin Onaka, the Hawaii state registrar who handled queries about Mr. Obama, said recently through a spokeswoman that he had no evidence or recollection of Mr. Trump or any of his representatives ever requesting the records from the Hawaii State Department of Health."
12
Waste, waste and waste...that's what defines Trump, his ethos, and his campaign. Lots of noise and big words to draw attention to himself, with nothing of substance or of value to our society. Those who love loud shows with a big- hair MC were drawn to Trump in the primaries. The rest of us will support Hillary in the elections. I wish though that the GOP would have been able to produce someone serious and more capable to elevate the race. Maybe next time...
19
Obama showed his birth certificate - how about Donald showing his tax returns.
40
After reading the actual history of Obama as a child, about his mother and his fathers, he probably should be treated as if he was not born in the USA.
6
@bern
What books have you been reading?? -- And did you forget he had a mother too????? ... from the mid-West!
It doesn't get much more American than that.
What books have you been reading?? -- And did you forget he had a mother too????? ... from the mid-West!
It doesn't get much more American than that.
15
Are you serious or are you just as racially-challenged as the Donald because it sure appears that way?
17
What's next?
Will DJT doubt whether the Earth is an oblate spheroid, but claim it's actually flat (i.e. a "flat-Earther")? Don't laugh: these types are out there....
Someone might get the distinct impression DJT gets his ideas from reading tabloid news sources the Natl Inquirer, NY Post, etc.
Will DJT doubt whether the Earth is an oblate spheroid, but claim it's actually flat (i.e. a "flat-Earther")? Don't laugh: these types are out there....
Someone might get the distinct impression DJT gets his ideas from reading tabloid news sources the Natl Inquirer, NY Post, etc.
8
And yet roughly half of the electorate believe this man should be trusted with managing this great nation's internal and foreign affairs? Please say it ain't so.
23
The most odious candidate to seek the presidency since Richard Nixon, Donald Trump lacks even the vast knowledge Nixon had on domestic and foreign policy. Trump elevates Nixon to one of our greats were it not for his paranoia and self-hate.
And when it comes to competence, Donald Trump makes one of our most clueless presidents, George W. Bush, seem like a brilliant statesman and orator, a silver-tongued man of letters. How is it possible for anyone to see Donald Trump approaching in stature even our worse presidents in the past half century, men who have been a disgrace and embarrassment to this nation?
DD
Manhattan
And when it comes to competence, Donald Trump makes one of our most clueless presidents, George W. Bush, seem like a brilliant statesman and orator, a silver-tongued man of letters. How is it possible for anyone to see Donald Trump approaching in stature even our worse presidents in the past half century, men who have been a disgrace and embarrassment to this nation?
DD
Manhattan
31
Agree totally --- And not only that, the fact that Trump is even a Presidential candidate is a total disgrace and embarassment to this nation as well.
13
In response to a challenge thrown out in a recent commentary, the following have been selected as the top three choices:
(1) Birthur Trump
(2) Donald the Birthee
(3) Whose Donald?
For those not clearly remembering the question, please see the three choices.
The next top two responses worthy of 'Dishonarable Mention' are:
(4) Trump Means Passing Gas in England
(5) Who is Donald Trump?
Where is Bernie when we need him?
(1) Birthur Trump
(2) Donald the Birthee
(3) Whose Donald?
For those not clearly remembering the question, please see the three choices.
The next top two responses worthy of 'Dishonarable Mention' are:
(4) Trump Means Passing Gas in England
(5) Who is Donald Trump?
Where is Bernie when we need him?
3
Nobody needs Bernie... Mean old man .
He would love trump to win and he could say I told you so.
He would love trump to win and he could say I told you so.
5
@ed
Sorry. He lost. But where you need Bernie most is back in the Senate, where he might actually be able to do something about creating a broader base for a future Independent Party --- since he is most certainly not a Democrat.
Not only that, he wouldn't stand a chance against the bigoted populism of "The Donald".
Remember that when you vote.
Sorry. He lost. But where you need Bernie most is back in the Senate, where he might actually be able to do something about creating a broader base for a future Independent Party --- since he is most certainly not a Democrat.
Not only that, he wouldn't stand a chance against the bigoted populism of "The Donald".
Remember that when you vote.
5
No matter what you print and what you do to hurt Donald Trump pales in comparison to Hillary Clinton and FBI interviews.
1
Really? Another Clinton conspiracy manufactured by a party that thrives on conspiracy theories and is about to nominate the godfather of all conspiracy theories - Donald J. Trump.
19
You have it exactly the wrong way around Chris. Hillary's "transgressions" pale in comparison to Trump's serial lying and destruction of our image in the world. If only you and other Trump supporters were capable of feeling shame.
14
Now it's time for the public to form a group called "taxers." as opposed to "birthers." We want to know what Trumpet earns and what percent he pays in taxes. We want to know if he actually pays a fair share on all income.
Where are the income tax documents that prove the Trumpet has any net worth, and if so, what is it?
Does this megalomaniac seriously have mega-dollars or is he lying to the American people in order to redeem his oft bankrupt self?
Where are the income tax documents that prove the Trumpet has any net worth, and if so, what is it?
Does this megalomaniac seriously have mega-dollars or is he lying to the American people in order to redeem his oft bankrupt self?
33
Hillary started the Birther movement in her campaign in 2008 Look it up. Look, I know Trump is a nightmare but at least he isn't having people killed. The Clintons have a trail of more than 120 bodies behind their career in politics. Look it up. John Ashe, a former President of the United Nations General Assembly was just killed last week under very suspicious circumstances. He was slated to testify against Hillary and the Clinton Foundation this week. Odd no?
1
Chris: Look it up where, your Scientology manual?
But good for you that you believe what you think Clinton said but didnt say but you defend her anyway - a refreshing open mindedness in the conspiracy world of soybeans and Marxists. Don't operate heavy machinery however "out there".
But good for you that you believe what you think Clinton said but didnt say but you defend her anyway - a refreshing open mindedness in the conspiracy world of soybeans and Marxists. Don't operate heavy machinery however "out there".
6
That's not true, but Trumpettes have been known to believe anything, as long as it reflects badly on Clinton.
4
So there was an issue when at that budget press conference journalists spend more time asking about the birth certificate than about the budget.
I would like to know who those journalists were. And I would like the Times to go to them and ask them how they feel about it know and whether they are ashamed of what they did then.
I would like to know who those journalists were. And I would like the Times to go to them and ask them how they feel about it know and whether they are ashamed of what they did then.
17
Donald Trump wholly embraced birtherism. He was the lead birther, pushing this absurd and completely debunked conspiracy theory. There are two ways to think about this:
1) Trump believed this crazy conspiracy theory was true. This means Trump is not smart enough to be the president.
2) Trump knew the birther conspiracy was a big lie but pushed it anyway to try to undermine the legitimacy of America’s Commander and Chief. This means Trump does not have the character and integrity to be the president.
Both points come to the same conclusion: Trump is disqualified to be the president due to his embrace of birtherism. Opponents of Trump have to make it clear in voters’ minds what birtherism says about this person.
1) Trump believed this crazy conspiracy theory was true. This means Trump is not smart enough to be the president.
2) Trump knew the birther conspiracy was a big lie but pushed it anyway to try to undermine the legitimacy of America’s Commander and Chief. This means Trump does not have the character and integrity to be the president.
Both points come to the same conclusion: Trump is disqualified to be the president due to his embrace of birtherism. Opponents of Trump have to make it clear in voters’ minds what birtherism says about this person.
21
This is were Donald Trump resides on the far right fringe where comments lack facts and no one cares. This is the area where the anti Hilary Clinton people come. If you repeat a lie long enough people believe. The Nazi in Germany were masters of this.
18
Trump is taking the fringe and making it mainstream. As a fellow Kansan, you can readily attest to how it plays among the rubes who subscribe to the Goebbels big lie theory. Trump repeats falsehoods so often, and the mainstream media covers them as if they are factually true, the average citizen assumes that they accurately represent reality. Trump is counting on that to win in November. Let's hope voters are smarter than that.
7
The GOP is burning the candle at both ends. They say they want to separate themselves from Trump but yet support him. The difference between Trump and the GOP...well...there isn't any. The GOP has said, is saying, the exact same things Trump has said. The GOP has played upon the great fears of Americans. They have fed it, cultivated it and have used it to control a particular, malleable group of people. This group of people, they are the ones that Trump is using against themselves.
13
To all those asking why the national media have allowed Donald Trump free rein, given him millions of dollars worth of free publicity, never held his feet to the fire and breathlessly report his most ridiculous lies, the answer is unfortunately simple.
Decades ago those in charge of this nation's major media outlets --especially television-- decided in corporate boardrooms that the quest for money trumped (sorry!) the search for truth.
Serious investigative journalism (e.g. Edward R. Morrow) gave way to "infotainment," because sensationalism always draws more attention than in-depth reporting, and more watchers and readers mean more money for commercial sponsors and advertisers.
Carnival barker that he is, Trump is a draw, particularly to the dumbed-down portion of the American public which gets its information about this country and the world from the 90-second stories television provides on complex events.
And with all the column inches available each week in the New York Times, there have been no comprehensive interviews with the two major candidates for President, asking specific questions about where they stand on the most important issues facing the United States of America, and what --specifically-- they plan to do if elected about climate change, creating and keep good jobs, income inequality and child poverty, the country's crumbling infrastructure, etc. etc.
How long must we wait for our newspaper of record to do its job?
Enquiring minds want to know!
Decades ago those in charge of this nation's major media outlets --especially television-- decided in corporate boardrooms that the quest for money trumped (sorry!) the search for truth.
Serious investigative journalism (e.g. Edward R. Morrow) gave way to "infotainment," because sensationalism always draws more attention than in-depth reporting, and more watchers and readers mean more money for commercial sponsors and advertisers.
Carnival barker that he is, Trump is a draw, particularly to the dumbed-down portion of the American public which gets its information about this country and the world from the 90-second stories television provides on complex events.
And with all the column inches available each week in the New York Times, there have been no comprehensive interviews with the two major candidates for President, asking specific questions about where they stand on the most important issues facing the United States of America, and what --specifically-- they plan to do if elected about climate change, creating and keep good jobs, income inequality and child poverty, the country's crumbling infrastructure, etc. etc.
How long must we wait for our newspaper of record to do its job?
Enquiring minds want to know!
13
The single most appalling fact in this story is that even after the White House released the long-form certificate, only 47% of Americans definitely believed he was born in USA. When there are no more facts, gassy self absorbed demagogues can flourish. It's not just Trump. It's the People,too.
16
47% of Americans don't have a clue about Geography....
5
And their lack of education.
3
Is there actually a method to Trump's madness? Did he cynically use the bogus birther "issue" to advance his political ambitions, including a blatant lie about sending investigators to Hawaii? He may be an even more dangerous man than anyone has imagined.
17
Its one thing to exhibit simple cognitive biases, something very common and hopefully self-limiting. But this tendency by Trump to openly embrace and promote this and other conspiracy theories goes beyond that, and into the realm of clinical paranoia. Look up the definitions of 'paranoid personality disorder' from either the WHO or the APA and its easy to see that he exhibits more than three of the seven typical characteristics. If there were some basic mental health qualifications in place for federal political offices, I doubt he could meet any reasonable criteria.
14
"Birthism has nothing at all to do with the color of someone's skin. Less we forget, Obama was not the only 2008 presidential candidate challenged over his natural born Citizen qualifications, nor even the first. These dubious honors belong to John McCain.
Obama has also stated he was born, by descent, a foreign nation, as well as a Citizen of the United States at birth, this alone should disqualify him from the presidency. An Art. II, Sec. I, Cl. 5, natural born Citizens is a person born exclusively under U.S. sovereignty, with no foreign allegiances or attachments at birth; again, nothing to do with the color of someone's skin.
Obama has also stated he was born, by descent, a foreign nation, as well as a Citizen of the United States at birth, this alone should disqualify him from the presidency. An Art. II, Sec. I, Cl. 5, natural born Citizens is a person born exclusively under U.S. sovereignty, with no foreign allegiances or attachments at birth; again, nothing to do with the color of someone's skin.
2
Let me help.
Article II, Section 1, Cl. 5 reads:
No Person except a natural born Citizen, or a Citizen of the United States, at the time of the Adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the Office of President; neither shall any Person be eligible to that Office who shall not have attained to the Age of thirty five Years, and been fourteen Years a Resident within the United States.
Where are you coming up with all that stuff about no foreign allegiances or attachments at birth? I guess that disqualifies my US-born neighbor who flies his Italian flag every day.
Article II, Section 1, Cl. 5 reads:
No Person except a natural born Citizen, or a Citizen of the United States, at the time of the Adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the Office of President; neither shall any Person be eligible to that Office who shall not have attained to the Age of thirty five Years, and been fourteen Years a Resident within the United States.
Where are you coming up with all that stuff about no foreign allegiances or attachments at birth? I guess that disqualifies my US-born neighbor who flies his Italian flag every day.
13
Please don't try to explain away the racism central to the "birther" claims of not only Trump and his core supporters, but fundamental to modern Republicanism. It is not an accident that a plurality of Southern, white Republicans believe that that Obama is either a secret Muslim or a Kenyan. Now what makes allegedly intelligent people believe such malarkey? Racism clearly remains at the core of those harboring such absurd views.
19
Obama said he was a nation, Okey Dokey. Home schooling perhaps?
Well Georgia was obviously not in the US for a while- maybe you are writing from one of those little warps. It happens.
Well Georgia was obviously not in the US for a while- maybe you are writing from one of those little warps. It happens.
9
Why continue with old stories when there are so many new Donald stories to investigate? When will you investigate his false advertising claims that he would donate proceeds from book sales and other promotions to charity?
People bought the book or cap or doodad thinking they were doing a good deed when in fact, they were just enriching The Donald's bottomless pit of neediness and money-grubbing adventures?
The GOP keeps waiting for him to "pivot" and become more "Presidential" -- what a joke, and the joke's on them. Please do America a favor and put forth a presidential candidate who isn't a liar, thief and constant hoaxter.
People bought the book or cap or doodad thinking they were doing a good deed when in fact, they were just enriching The Donald's bottomless pit of neediness and money-grubbing adventures?
The GOP keeps waiting for him to "pivot" and become more "Presidential" -- what a joke, and the joke's on them. Please do America a favor and put forth a presidential candidate who isn't a liar, thief and constant hoaxter.
14
The Donald was actually born in Imbecile land and should be immediately deported. I suggest building a wall to keep him and others like him from America.
34
that would amount to at least 150 million natural born U.S. citizens and you would be hard pressed to find another country to take them.
4
I'm not a Trump fan, but no one who has made the fortune he has made can correctly be described as an imbecile. I know, I know - there are disagreements about whether his net worth is $5 billion or $15 billion. But any fortune that begins with a B is a really big fortune.
1
@azalea
It's not so much that Trump has made his fortune -- it's HOW he's made his fortune that rmarks him as an imbecile.
It's not so much that Trump has made his fortune -- it's HOW he's made his fortune that rmarks him as an imbecile.
2
It just proves that he is an expert at manipulating the press... and the media continues to be manipulated. When will the mainstream media start calling him out? So far the Post is the only one that does. CNN made a half hearted attempt but stopped shortly after they started.
16
And, then CNN hired Trump's former (read: fired) controversial campaign manager, Corey Lewkandowski, to be an on-air commentator. The news isn't about journalism anymore. It's info-tainment with on-air "talent."
11
The media is run by master manipulators, and the connections between the media and political parties and politicians are strong. Wish I could remember the location of a chart showing connections between news media and politicians. It looked like a giant spider web with connections between producers and talking heads and politicians and DNC and GOP king-makers.
We are fed all the news they want us to swallow. The news is massaged and spun and then fed to us. Sad.
We are fed all the news they want us to swallow. The news is massaged and spun and then fed to us. Sad.
4
@azalea
News organiztions, like ANY other business, must look out for the bottom line -- which is why some are more dependable than others, when reporting fact instead of fiction.
And fortunately, we STILL live in a country where 'Freedom of the Press' is still the maxim.
Don't like a certain newspaper or channel?? -- you have the right and the freedom to change it.
Another thing.
Speaking in pluralisms ("We are all fed the news they want us to swallow") -- only makes it sound as though you're incapable of independent thought.
News organiztions, like ANY other business, must look out for the bottom line -- which is why some are more dependable than others, when reporting fact instead of fiction.
And fortunately, we STILL live in a country where 'Freedom of the Press' is still the maxim.
Don't like a certain newspaper or channel?? -- you have the right and the freedom to change it.
Another thing.
Speaking in pluralisms ("We are all fed the news they want us to swallow") -- only makes it sound as though you're incapable of independent thought.
3
That the American press, and the world press at large has given this dangerous goof a pass for years is truly criminal. But I have come to realize that one must be a true narcissist to endure as a journalist.
16
Pardon me while I double over laughing. Republicans and the corrupt corporate media (hello Joe Scarborough) were fine with the birther theory and winked and nodded at Trump as he spewed his insane racist venom and slanderous lies at the president., that is, until it looked like HE might end up as president. He was only saying out loud what that all rattled on about behind closed doors over a bourbon at the country club when the help was out of earshot. Bigots, liars and hypocrites - all of them, no exceptions.
Ridding ourselves of the Republican Criminal Organisation is the first and most vital step in returning this country to its people.
Ridding ourselves of the Republican Criminal Organisation is the first and most vital step in returning this country to its people.
25
The worst fate imaginable for a person with Narcissistic Personality Disorder like DT is to be irrelevant, ignored, of no consequence. In my ultimate alternate reality fantasy, there would be a coordinated flash mob of millions where, instead of dancing in tandem to MC Hammer, we just instantly act as if DT were invisible and never existed. Never speak his name again. Show no pictures of him. Look through him as he walks by. No matter what he does, exhibit no reaction.
A narc's entire concept of their own worth is measured by externals. Receiving attention from others is the way a narc affirms their very existence. When there is no audience, no feedback...they wither, decompensate, implode.
A narc's entire concept of their own worth is measured by externals. Receiving attention from others is the way a narc affirms their very existence. When there is no audience, no feedback...they wither, decompensate, implode.
8
Aided by the right-wing echo chamber and talk radio, right-wing conspiracy theories and general slime has been prospering for years. The Donald flourished in that milieu, as long as he was just another nutball.
He doesn't do so well in the spotlight, and it's finally trained on him. The schadenfreude of watching all of his lies and grifting stunts dissected in the light of day may be worth the price of his candidacy.
Trump's narcissism seems to make him invulnerable to embarrassment, let alone shame. This has been his edge -- he hasn't cared if he's caught lying because there has always been another sucker around the corner. But with national publicity ... that's no longer true. Trump my not only lose the election, he may destroy his shtick, kill his 'brand.'
And stuff is coming out of the woodwork against Trump -- Trump University at least, and their are unrelated charges filed that so far the mainstream press has not been covering -- if they prove credible they destroy him.
But even if Trump pays them to go away, or manages to beat the charges -- they make more sense and have more behind them than "Obama is a Kenyan," or "the Clintons killed Vince Foster as part of a massive coverup."
Newt Gingrich said: "The thing she's got to worry about is if he is still alive as a candidate on the first of October."
And that's the back-handed way of saying Newt knows there's a great chance that this GOP candidate will be politically dead by October.
He doesn't do so well in the spotlight, and it's finally trained on him. The schadenfreude of watching all of his lies and grifting stunts dissected in the light of day may be worth the price of his candidacy.
Trump's narcissism seems to make him invulnerable to embarrassment, let alone shame. This has been his edge -- he hasn't cared if he's caught lying because there has always been another sucker around the corner. But with national publicity ... that's no longer true. Trump my not only lose the election, he may destroy his shtick, kill his 'brand.'
And stuff is coming out of the woodwork against Trump -- Trump University at least, and their are unrelated charges filed that so far the mainstream press has not been covering -- if they prove credible they destroy him.
But even if Trump pays them to go away, or manages to beat the charges -- they make more sense and have more behind them than "Obama is a Kenyan," or "the Clintons killed Vince Foster as part of a massive coverup."
Newt Gingrich said: "The thing she's got to worry about is if he is still alive as a candidate on the first of October."
And that's the back-handed way of saying Newt knows there's a great chance that this GOP candidate will be politically dead by October.
12
I want to see his tax returns!
28
This is a story about racism, and a rank opportunist's willingness to exploit it, which in itself is racist. He shouldn't have the luxury of not talking about it anymore. It was a despicable strategy that Trump should be made to own, given how it predicted his 2016 strategy of racist and xenophobic appeals.
25
The birther movement was fun for the whole nation. Quit taking everything so serious. Remember that we are talking politics here and everything is fair game.
You have a very strange sense of "fun".
23
The birther movement, its creators and those that believe in it are an embarrassment to the United States of America
19
Jimmy: Don't get all fussy- We are just fooling with you about that 1950s greasy wings on Dinky Don's head and his soft little girl hands. But come on- Trump keeps calling a conspiracy theorist who is "into" soybeans research. Weird, right?
Now the rubes from Trump U are whining about their rubber diplomas. Boo Hoo. it's all in fun- quit being so serious!
Now the rubes from Trump U are whining about their rubber diplomas. Boo Hoo. it's all in fun- quit being so serious!
3
We have seen that he will do most anything in his own self interest. Is this a political candidate to represent the interests of the people?
10
The U.S. has never elected a more mysterious president.
In my lifetime, presidents have been a known factor with a modicum of leadership experience. In 2008 there were too many unknowns about Obama, so I can see how the birther questions arose. Now we have his legacy: red lines that eventually led to a worldwide crisis that still boils,
Where he was born is not even in the Top 100 of things that should bother most thinking people about Barack Obama.
In my lifetime, presidents have been a known factor with a modicum of leadership experience. In 2008 there were too many unknowns about Obama, so I can see how the birther questions arose. Now we have his legacy: red lines that eventually led to a worldwide crisis that still boils,
Where he was born is not even in the Top 100 of things that should bother most thinking people about Barack Obama.
2
Most of these problems came from the freedom and democracy boys that were in charge from 01 to 09 if I remember correctly.
10
Look back to Everybody's All-American Clinton, who didn't have time to worry about growing terrorist threats or even about the "new" Russia, which his administration did nothing to help center. Never mind the renewal of the 1977 Community Reinvestment Act (made possible for people who couldn't afford homes to buy them anyway) or repeal of Glass Stegall (blurred lines between investment and commercial banks); and handed over to Bush a faltering economy - and the new reality of terrorism on U.S. soil. And now his piggy sort-of wife is on track to be our president.
1
"And now his piggy sort-of wife...." ????
So. Are you just be rude? -- or sexist, and rude????
Your script needs serious re-editing.
By the way, you do realize that when Bill Clinton left office, there was an economic surplus, don't you????
So. Are you just be rude? -- or sexist, and rude????
Your script needs serious re-editing.
By the way, you do realize that when Bill Clinton left office, there was an economic surplus, don't you????
7
in 2011, Donald carried the torch on the Obama birther issue as a favor to his friends, the Clintons. Hillary is the one who would have benefitted the most in 2012 if he has succeeded.
2
A drowning person will reach out for anything, no matter how ephemeral or how demonstrably ineffective, to stay afloat. Trump's business is self-promotion not developments, casinos, or golf-courses, and as a one-trick pony of self-promotion he'll grasp at any issue (no matter how silly or hare-brained) to further his 'brand'. Mexicans, birthers, walls, conspiracy theories, etc., it makes no difference so long as it serves the cause- keeping the hot air flowing into the Trump dirigible.
75
Who was grilled by the IRS for a criminal investigation yesterday, Trump or Hillary? exactly who is drowning and reaching out for anything???
2
"Officials at NBC had also been concerned that he was alienating the large black audience of his hit show, “The Apprentice.”"
--------------
I find it shocking that it is mostly black people who were being alienated by the carnival barker's lies and that to this day a majority of white people support him in the election polls.
--------------
I find it shocking that it is mostly black people who were being alienated by the carnival barker's lies and that to this day a majority of white people support him in the election polls.
6
"A majority of white people support him" -- not true. Probably a majority of his supporters are white (it seems obvious), but that is absolutely not the same thing as saying a majority of white people support him!!!
9
He's losing the minority vote by huge margins. What's keeping him close in the overall poll is his lead in the white vote.
3
@ted/oxford
"Probably a majority of his supporters are white..."
YES. it is obvious.
Another thing. Let me also assure you, there is NO "probably" about it.
But then again, when a Presidential candidate like Donald Trump is endorsed by a former Grand Wizard of the Ku Klu Klan-- it shouldn't be so very surprising, don't you think???
"Probably a majority of his supporters are white..."
YES. it is obvious.
Another thing. Let me also assure you, there is NO "probably" about it.
But then again, when a Presidential candidate like Donald Trump is endorsed by a former Grand Wizard of the Ku Klu Klan-- it shouldn't be so very surprising, don't you think???
6
It's quite a spectacle to see Trump's blabbing away about Clinton being the worst liar in US political history where he easily fits that label himself.
The real question though is where are his tax returns for the last twenty years? Americans need to know whether or not this jerk is a crook!
The real question though is where are his tax returns for the last twenty years? Americans need to know whether or not this jerk is a crook!
15
Oh we know he is a crook.
And why would a crook ever come up with their tax returns?
And why would a crook ever come up with their tax returns?
8
Donald Trump doesn't need tax returns to prove he's a crook...or a jerk.
Still, he really needs to show them.
Still, he really needs to show them.
6
In an article about how Mr. Donald Trump is reckless with the truth and a manipulator of the media you cite Mr. Jesse Jackson. The irony.
2
Either Donald Trump doesn't get it or he gets it better than anybody else that the greying of America is almost complete.
Give and take another thirty years or less, the majority of 100 members of the Senate and the majority of the House of Representatives' members, will be either Black,Hispanic or of Asian origin.
And if Trump is still alive then (he'll be almost 100 years' old then), he can see with his poor eyesight and bald head that all these talks against Obama's place of birth was nothing but criminal.
There is an unwritten rule among all the races that you cannot win a friend among the other parts if you attack any one of them, specially someone so prominent like the President of the country.
Romney paid a heavy price by going to N.A.A.C.P. gathering by saying he'll nullify the Obamacare in the first day of his Presidency.
And boy what boos he got in return.
Same way the White folks do not want hear any extreme criticism of Bush's war in Iraq.
So,as we can see in Trump's rhetoric, that he has no chance of getting in any Black or Hispanic votes because he's like millions of his all White followers, "Just don't get it."
He cannot get into the White House by insulting everyone on his way, specially The Blacks and the Hispanics.
Calling Obama not born in U.S.A., is going to haunt him till the night of November 8th when all the polling booths close.
Give and take another thirty years or less, the majority of 100 members of the Senate and the majority of the House of Representatives' members, will be either Black,Hispanic or of Asian origin.
And if Trump is still alive then (he'll be almost 100 years' old then), he can see with his poor eyesight and bald head that all these talks against Obama's place of birth was nothing but criminal.
There is an unwritten rule among all the races that you cannot win a friend among the other parts if you attack any one of them, specially someone so prominent like the President of the country.
Romney paid a heavy price by going to N.A.A.C.P. gathering by saying he'll nullify the Obamacare in the first day of his Presidency.
And boy what boos he got in return.
Same way the White folks do not want hear any extreme criticism of Bush's war in Iraq.
So,as we can see in Trump's rhetoric, that he has no chance of getting in any Black or Hispanic votes because he's like millions of his all White followers, "Just don't get it."
He cannot get into the White House by insulting everyone on his way, specially The Blacks and the Hispanics.
Calling Obama not born in U.S.A., is going to haunt him till the night of November 8th when all the polling booths close.
16
Donald Trump - Ly'N Loser Donald Trump.
An icon to the notion of how perceptive our founding father's were to limiting the degree of suffrage for presidential elections.
THEY KNEW the capacity of human nature to vote with emotion rather than using their intelligence.
Sort of like buying snake oil from a great traveling salesman vs. accepting medical treatment from an old slow talking doctor.
Buying into one or the other could get you killed.
An icon to the notion of how perceptive our founding father's were to limiting the degree of suffrage for presidential elections.
THEY KNEW the capacity of human nature to vote with emotion rather than using their intelligence.
Sort of like buying snake oil from a great traveling salesman vs. accepting medical treatment from an old slow talking doctor.
Buying into one or the other could get you killed.
8
Disgusting. This is the modus operandi of the new GOP. Tell a lie, tell it big, tell it often. Perception will make it true. As pointed out, the motivation is hateful racism. Ironic that the Party of Lincoln has become the Party of hate.
25
Still waiting for the reports of Trump's investigators he claimed to have sent
to Hawaii.
It's pretty clear he sent no one. He threw the racism against the wall and now
does nto want to talk about it.
He has been telling us who he is since jump street.
He may be a liar and a racist but at least he is an ignoramus.
to Hawaii.
It's pretty clear he sent no one. He threw the racism against the wall and now
does nto want to talk about it.
He has been telling us who he is since jump street.
He may be a liar and a racist but at least he is an ignoramus.
12
Why are you stirring this pot yet again? I hear enough of Trump and his wild ideas daily without waking to see this as the second story in my online edition of the Times.
Instead of giving more press to the side of Donald Trump that we can't get away from, why not start simply dismantling his platform in a concise and coherent way? Short rebuttals to his big-boy speeches as the second story of the morning might help those afflicted with Trumpism (or those who want to vote the party but not the man sort it out - guaranteed, though, that most don't want a long lesson in economics, just what will work, what won't, and why - points of view from cooler heads on the right as well as the left.
Trump's economic "platform" and his stance on immigration have no root in reality. Yet everywhere I turn I see his outlandish statement of the day proving again how bigoted and narcissistic he is instead of short rebuttals about why his promises are doomed to fail. The people who follow, and believe, all that he says are being scammed and shammed. Yes, they have more than valid complaints and need the economy on so many fronts made a more level playing field, but belief in a pretender who says what they feel but can't turn back time is much more of a bad hand than they've already been dealt.
The promises of "Brexit" and the disappointments there the very next day to the people who "believed", should be a wake-up call...
Instead of giving more press to the side of Donald Trump that we can't get away from, why not start simply dismantling his platform in a concise and coherent way? Short rebuttals to his big-boy speeches as the second story of the morning might help those afflicted with Trumpism (or those who want to vote the party but not the man sort it out - guaranteed, though, that most don't want a long lesson in economics, just what will work, what won't, and why - points of view from cooler heads on the right as well as the left.
Trump's economic "platform" and his stance on immigration have no root in reality. Yet everywhere I turn I see his outlandish statement of the day proving again how bigoted and narcissistic he is instead of short rebuttals about why his promises are doomed to fail. The people who follow, and believe, all that he says are being scammed and shammed. Yes, they have more than valid complaints and need the economy on so many fronts made a more level playing field, but belief in a pretender who says what they feel but can't turn back time is much more of a bad hand than they've already been dealt.
The promises of "Brexit" and the disappointments there the very next day to the people who "believed", should be a wake-up call...
18
Trump is a fraud. Period. Obama and Cruz both came out off American women,one in Hawaii and the other Canada. Obama's dad had school and immigration records proving he was present in the U.S. What more do birthed want? A birth video?? Even if an American woman gives birth in space the child is an American automatically. I don't recall any President beefing asked to prove their B/C,not even George Rommey who was both in Mexico and run for president in the 60s.
Responsible journalists should not give Lying Don a free pass and ask tough questions including showing his taxes ,since Obama showed his B/C . Be a real man little Don.
Responsible journalists should not give Lying Don a free pass and ask tough questions including showing his taxes ,since Obama showed his B/C . Be a real man little Don.
10
It is fortunate that Trump and his allies have chosen to bring Republicans racism out into the open and not do the dog whistle politics that they have practiced since Nixon and Reagan.
16
I feel SO helpless. If I could, I would press Trump about the things he says and claims. I would not let him off the hook until he admitted his lies.
But, I am no one and I cannot interview him.
The media should be doing this, but all they do is allow him to spew his garbage, then they move on to the next talking point, then on to commercial. I have not seen anyone in the media make him squirm, except Chris Matthews. WHY?
But, I am no one and I cannot interview him.
The media should be doing this, but all they do is allow him to spew his garbage, then they move on to the next talking point, then on to commercial. I have not seen anyone in the media make him squirm, except Chris Matthews. WHY?
26
The religious right appears to be heavily focused on the decline of moral values in our country. Instead of worrying about restrooms and other non-issues, I submit maybe they should worry about the candidate they support and his values. In our country it seems as if it is now perfectly acceptable to create misinformation and repeat it continuously until it becomes reality in the minds of many people. If this isn't moral decline at its finest, please educate me.
16
Creating "misinformation and repeating it continuously until it becomes reality in the minds of many people" sounds like the right wing's model for organized religion to me.
As someone once astutely observed, the "moral majority" is neither.
As someone once astutely observed, the "moral majority" is neither.
7
Of all the stories published about Trump to date, this one most portrays him as calculating, venal, and, to my mind, politically evil. I would like some Democrat with guts to challenge Trump on right-wing reverend Dobson's claim that Trump has become closer to Jesus. That claim achieves the same absurdity as Trump's claims about Obama's birth
11
The underlying problems are two-fold. First an all too large fraction of the U.S. population is unable to distinguish between reality TV and reality. Secondly, the media have for the last 5-10 years been roiled by rapid change threatening the survival of any one venue or type of venue. In turn, this created a willingness to exchange factual reporting for sensationalism. The end result is more a convergence of the media with reality TV than only reinforces the delusion that there reality TV is reality.
11
Nothing! He said "They cannot believe what they are finding,” Mr. Trump told ABC’s “The View”, because they are finding nothing!
11
It is extremely painful to watch how this clown, bully, and con artist has captured the dark side of many Americans...
13
This report skips over a very important fact. It concludes that Trump lied about sending investigators to Hawaii, but doesn't come out and say so directly. It says Trump claimed repeatedly that he sent investigators and that he said, "They can't believe what they are finding," but then concludes with saying that the key official in Hawaii has no record or recollection of anyone associated with Trump contacting his office.
So, it appears that Trump was lying. Why not say it, clearly?
Such falsehoods might be acceptable, even expected, of a blustery real estate promoter, but we generally expect more of presidential candidates. Yes, politicians and govt. officials often misstate or exaggerate, but when they are caught in a direct, obvious lie, it can often mean the end of their careers. Nixon and LBJ come to mind. Why not the same for Trump?
Trump has found a way to lie consistently, saying things he knows not to be true or assertions he should know are not true, and get away with it. Right now, the national media is trying to be very tough on Trump, but it appears to me that most outlets are also afraid of him.
So, it appears that Trump was lying. Why not say it, clearly?
Such falsehoods might be acceptable, even expected, of a blustery real estate promoter, but we generally expect more of presidential candidates. Yes, politicians and govt. officials often misstate or exaggerate, but when they are caught in a direct, obvious lie, it can often mean the end of their careers. Nixon and LBJ come to mind. Why not the same for Trump?
Trump has found a way to lie consistently, saying things he knows not to be true or assertions he should know are not true, and get away with it. Right now, the national media is trying to be very tough on Trump, but it appears to me that most outlets are also afraid of him.
17
Obama is going out of service in 100 days. It doesn't matter where he was born, it never did to all the democrats who could care less. That is the problem, that is why I will vote for Donald Trump. When he wins I will not be celebrating that incoming as much as Obama's departure. My whole town will be throwing a party.
3
You poor soul. It must be hard watching Cool Hand Luke bring the USA back from the brink of financial ruin, pass healthcare reform, end two wars, kill more terrorist than all his predecessors combined, and single handedly restore America's image with the rest of the world.
9
Do you live in Kansas? How are the roads and schools these days?
7
Carol, I misspoke about the number of days before Obama goes out of service. As he relates to my American values, this president never did go into service, in the first place. He has been an utter disaster for us and the future of our country. Sorry for any inconvenience, I never meant to leave such a positive impression about him. I'm sure there will be a few parties in Kansas to celebrate the end of his "Regime de golf." So if you want to use a perfume other than 40% DEET, put that state on your destination list.
1
All it needed to prove Obama was born in the US was a teeny, common sense thought experiment, no documents needed.
Imagine an intelligent,educated young American woman, pregnant with her first child in 1961. ALL pregnant women have an overwhelming visceral need to feel truly secure in the place they give birth, with medical safety, comfort, familiarity. And almost all find it harder to get around during pregnancy, after a while.
So OF COURSE any pregnant American woman would decide to travel to Kenya (How, in 1961? Several weeks on a steamer to Japan [nausea!], then overland via Mongolia, across the length of China, India, Saudi Arabia, through Ethiopia to Kenya, then... upriver? Carried in a litter? It is a 22 hour flight even today, if you could get a direct flight, which you can't. )
In order to give birth in a country where you do not speak the language, do not know a soul except your husband who cannot attend the birth, certainly with a much higher mortality rate for mother and child, probably without medical care as we know it, without clean running water, probably with customs and birth rituals you find incomprehensible but which you can't question or object because you don't speak the language...
Truly, what pregnant woman could resist the opportunity?
Imagine an intelligent,educated young American woman, pregnant with her first child in 1961. ALL pregnant women have an overwhelming visceral need to feel truly secure in the place they give birth, with medical safety, comfort, familiarity. And almost all find it harder to get around during pregnancy, after a while.
So OF COURSE any pregnant American woman would decide to travel to Kenya (How, in 1961? Several weeks on a steamer to Japan [nausea!], then overland via Mongolia, across the length of China, India, Saudi Arabia, through Ethiopia to Kenya, then... upriver? Carried in a litter? It is a 22 hour flight even today, if you could get a direct flight, which you can't. )
In order to give birth in a country where you do not speak the language, do not know a soul except your husband who cannot attend the birth, certainly with a much higher mortality rate for mother and child, probably without medical care as we know it, without clean running water, probably with customs and birth rituals you find incomprehensible but which you can't question or object because you don't speak the language...
Truly, what pregnant woman could resist the opportunity?
7
It has been revealed that Trump from time to time reads the book (‘My New Order’) about Hitler's speeches. It was Mussolini who used the phrase.
"Make Italy Great Again". It was Lindbergh who was fascinated with Germany and an anti-Semite who used the phrase, "America First". Trump is fascinated with Russian president Vladimir Putin and North Korea's leader Kim Jong-un, while showing no respect for our allies. Are these the men that inspire Mr. Trump? Is this the type of world leader he dreams of becoming?
Trump is a stone cold liar (once told thirty lies in forty minutes during one of his speeches) and does not honor his contractual agreements revealing his total lack of integrity. Trump is a narcissist who capitalizes on the anger, hate and fears of many Americans to receive attention for himself without one plan to solve any of their concerns. His character was revealed as he continued to lie as a birther about President Obama. Enjoying the attention from the Tea Party base, he decided he wanted more and is running for president. Many who have given Trump their trust have been badly burnt economically as he laughs all the way to the bank. Is this good business?
Is this the man we want and need as our president?
"Make Italy Great Again". It was Lindbergh who was fascinated with Germany and an anti-Semite who used the phrase, "America First". Trump is fascinated with Russian president Vladimir Putin and North Korea's leader Kim Jong-un, while showing no respect for our allies. Are these the men that inspire Mr. Trump? Is this the type of world leader he dreams of becoming?
Trump is a stone cold liar (once told thirty lies in forty minutes during one of his speeches) and does not honor his contractual agreements revealing his total lack of integrity. Trump is a narcissist who capitalizes on the anger, hate and fears of many Americans to receive attention for himself without one plan to solve any of their concerns. His character was revealed as he continued to lie as a birther about President Obama. Enjoying the attention from the Tea Party base, he decided he wanted more and is running for president. Many who have given Trump their trust have been badly burnt economically as he laughs all the way to the bank. Is this good business?
Is this the man we want and need as our president?
17
Donald has a penchant for planting seeds in people's minds on some bogus ideas such as 1) Obama's birthplace, 2) Ted Cruz's American citizenship; 3) Cruz's father being an accomplice in JFK's assassin. In the same vain, would it be fair to say that Trump's (German Drumf's) grandfather was a Nazi in Germany. I am not saying it, I will just add Trump's standard innocuous statement preceding his mischief, "I am not saying it, people are asking that question". I know that New York Times being a newspaper of good journalistic practice is not likely to publish this comment. Yet if Trump would have uttered a similar statement for any of his 16 Republican Primary opponents, it would be a front page item. So let me see if I am allowed to pay Trump back in the same coin.
9
please dont let him be the president. whatever the problem that the nation has, it is not right for us to give power to a man whose characters, skills and experience do not fit for the office.
10
Barak Obama IS the Manchurian Candidate. Multiple birth certificates, multiple social security numbers, sealed college records. Sometimes a cigar IS a cigar.
2
Where was Trump born? We haven't seen his birth certificate.
8
Keep in mind, Donald has not shown us his birth certificate, handprint, or head sans hairpiece. We do know his ego must be treated with kid gloves or it erupts with a profusion of off target attacks like his mouth was his AK-47 spewing threatening nonsense. On a positive note, he appears to be very nice to those who tell him he is the greatest, usually someone who wants something from him.
7
I believe he did show his birth certificate at the time he was an active birther. We should be more loud in demanding his tax returns. Someone needs to take on Trump tactics and demand his tax returns and the press needs to give them the same amount of time they did for Trump's allegations (which most news organizations knew not to be true).
10
If Trump is the president one would hope that he would pay down the national debt with the same dogged determination. None of the other career politicians are worried about it.
1
“The reason I have a little doubt, just a little, is because he grew up and nobody knew him,” he said in a March 2011 interview.
One of the problems with the media, yes, still today, is that you print a sentence like this and allow it to stand without refutation. How about you rebut the claim Trump is making? Nobody knew him? Really? You assume people will find the comment so silly and stupid that it doesn't need to be refuted, but Trump's whole candidacy proves that every single idiotic thing he says needs to be combated, fact checked, opposed with the truth. no matter how tiring it gets. I still see news outlets not bothering to refute Trump's blatant lies.
One of the problems with the media, yes, still today, is that you print a sentence like this and allow it to stand without refutation. How about you rebut the claim Trump is making? Nobody knew him? Really? You assume people will find the comment so silly and stupid that it doesn't need to be refuted, but Trump's whole candidacy proves that every single idiotic thing he says needs to be combated, fact checked, opposed with the truth. no matter how tiring it gets. I still see news outlets not bothering to refute Trump's blatant lies.
11
It is because the statement is true. No one knows him.
1
What does The Donald know about nationality? He thinks everyone born in Indiana is Mexican.
5
Too, too many Americans like sleaze. Otherwise, most of the TV programs that are shown would never make it onto the screen.
This Man is a master sleaze maker and those who support him seem to think that it is all a TV show and they are actors in it gaining their 15 minutes of fame.
This Man is a master sleaze maker and those who support him seem to think that it is all a TV show and they are actors in it gaining their 15 minutes of fame.
5
"Mr. Trump also said repeatedly that he had sent a team of investigators to Hawaii to unearth information about Mr. Obama’s birth records. “They cannot believe what they are finding,” Mr. Trump told ABC’s “The View.” "
And this article concludes that this did not actually happen. So why not tell your readers that he LIED? Go ahead, use the L word. Why are you afraid of it?
And this article concludes that this did not actually happen. So why not tell your readers that he LIED? Go ahead, use the L word. Why are you afraid of it?
10
Report after report gives solid evidence that Trump has no respect for the truth, if, indeed, he has any sense of what the truth might be.
Chris Cillizza in the Washington Post wrote: "Of the 158 Trump claims that PolitiFact has checked out, 95 have been rated either "False" or "Pants on Fire." That's 60 percent of all Trump claims. As PolitiFact notes, if you include the Trump statements rated 'mostly false' in that group, 78 percent of all of Trump's fact-checked claims have been scored 'mostly false' or worse."
Tom Kertscher of Politifact comparing the Presidential candidates:
*Highest percentage of claims rated True or Mostly True: Three-way tie -- Clinton, Sanders and Kasich, at 51 percent.
*Highest percentage of claims rated Mostly False, False or Pants on Fire: Trump, 77 percent. Cruz was second, at 66 percent.
*Trump is the only candidate to reach double digits in Pants on Fire ratings -- 19 percent of his claims got our worst rating.
Yet recent polls report that Trump--who lies about 80% of the time he speaks--is judged more honest and trustworthy than Hillary Clinton (45%-37%).
I can't understand the gap between the reality (Trump is a pathological liar and Hillary a reasonably trustworthy politician) and the apparent general perception of reality.
Is the polling being badly done? Are 45% of the people polled profoundly uninformed? Are they messing with the pollsters? Are some of them disgruntled Sanders supporters lashing out? What is going on here?
Chris Cillizza in the Washington Post wrote: "Of the 158 Trump claims that PolitiFact has checked out, 95 have been rated either "False" or "Pants on Fire." That's 60 percent of all Trump claims. As PolitiFact notes, if you include the Trump statements rated 'mostly false' in that group, 78 percent of all of Trump's fact-checked claims have been scored 'mostly false' or worse."
Tom Kertscher of Politifact comparing the Presidential candidates:
*Highest percentage of claims rated True or Mostly True: Three-way tie -- Clinton, Sanders and Kasich, at 51 percent.
*Highest percentage of claims rated Mostly False, False or Pants on Fire: Trump, 77 percent. Cruz was second, at 66 percent.
*Trump is the only candidate to reach double digits in Pants on Fire ratings -- 19 percent of his claims got our worst rating.
Yet recent polls report that Trump--who lies about 80% of the time he speaks--is judged more honest and trustworthy than Hillary Clinton (45%-37%).
I can't understand the gap between the reality (Trump is a pathological liar and Hillary a reasonably trustworthy politician) and the apparent general perception of reality.
Is the polling being badly done? Are 45% of the people polled profoundly uninformed? Are they messing with the pollsters? Are some of them disgruntled Sanders supporters lashing out? What is going on here?
9
This comment is right on target. Get to work, NYTimes.
2
A simple NYTimes silence on all things Trump would do the world a favor; quit the drug, just say No.
2
Blame a pretty dumb GOP leadership and Mitch McConnell for Donald Trump.
Political junkies, pundits, and the folks who purport to be political journalists need to first understand and then begin explaining the root cause of the malaise in our government which simply put is the McConnell Doctrine. It has thrown our Congress off its rails.
In 2009 McConnell crassly said that he would allow no progress under a highly popular new president. He more recently said he would not work in a bi-partisan manner on any legislation since bi-partisan meant that there was agreement on most of what was to become law.
The McConnell Doctrine has chewed away at our secret sauce for over twenty five years. This is what is fueling Trump.
Mitch McConnell and the GOP have stopped developing legislators who want to work and solve problems. McConnell, Boehner, and Ryan have worked to kill our government from the day Obama was inaugurated. They are driven by huge pressure from outside interests who backed the 2008 and 2012 GOP candidates who are still smarting. This is now three cycles where the GOP has no electable bench.
Do you want proof that the McConnell doctrine has been a colossal disaster? The approval rating of our congress is a direct grade on Mitch McConnell and his Doctrine.
Mitch McConnell is a political sociopath -- he has no empathy for his victims or the damage he has brought upon our spirit and our country. He is the one who should be dumped along with Trump.
Political junkies, pundits, and the folks who purport to be political journalists need to first understand and then begin explaining the root cause of the malaise in our government which simply put is the McConnell Doctrine. It has thrown our Congress off its rails.
In 2009 McConnell crassly said that he would allow no progress under a highly popular new president. He more recently said he would not work in a bi-partisan manner on any legislation since bi-partisan meant that there was agreement on most of what was to become law.
The McConnell Doctrine has chewed away at our secret sauce for over twenty five years. This is what is fueling Trump.
Mitch McConnell and the GOP have stopped developing legislators who want to work and solve problems. McConnell, Boehner, and Ryan have worked to kill our government from the day Obama was inaugurated. They are driven by huge pressure from outside interests who backed the 2008 and 2012 GOP candidates who are still smarting. This is now three cycles where the GOP has no electable bench.
Do you want proof that the McConnell doctrine has been a colossal disaster? The approval rating of our congress is a direct grade on Mitch McConnell and his Doctrine.
Mitch McConnell is a political sociopath -- he has no empathy for his victims or the damage he has brought upon our spirit and our country. He is the one who should be dumped along with Trump.
10
Every press story about this guy should begin with " Donald Trump, a hugh loser and known pathological liar..."
5
So, big surprise, Trump lied when he went on TV and said no one would believe what his investigators were turning up. He is a pathological liar. And why does the press not smash all these lies in his face over and over? The press are enablers.
7
The ugliest American....Trump...The face and voice are now enough to cause
nausea...Intelligent arguments can be made in opposition to what he is, but what he is, is disgusting.
nausea...Intelligent arguments can be made in opposition to what he is, but what he is, is disgusting.
6
It is claimed the this "Birther" thing is the item that convinced Donald that he should run for President. I suppose he was surprised himself at how driven by their emotions that people are. You just say the right words and they will follow you. The analogy with the Peid Piper of Hameln is appropriate. I hope the voters are not as pliable as the children of Hameln.
5
Where was NYT during those 6 weeks in 2011? Oh yeah, it didn't bother them then, because trashing Obama was just fine as far as MSM was concerned, but suddenly now they have a problem with it because he may be President and they are unsure of his attitude towards their favorite cause.
4
Not too many people are "unsure" about ANYTHING Donald Trump says or does these days -- he's constantly re-affirmimg it.
Can't blame everything on the media.
Can't blame everything on the media.
2
The GOP should have laughed and shamed Trump off the stage on the basis of this alone. Why didn't they? (None of Trump's 16 primary opponents even brought it up during a debate.)
13
Don the Con would not send investigators to Hawaii. He does not like to spend money. He really doesn't have as much as he says he does...
Maybe Hillary should take that tack...I don't think Trump really has money...why isn't he showing his financial statement...taxes...?
Or I do not think Donald really gives to charity...Why doesn't he show receipts...taxes?
Maybe Hillary should take that tack...I don't think Trump really has money...why isn't he showing his financial statement...taxes...?
Or I do not think Donald really gives to charity...Why doesn't he show receipts...taxes?
11
Sadly, this is probably not even rock bottom for this person. Somewhere, Lincoln is weeping at what's become of his party.
3
If he was covered in cement he'd be rolling in his grave.
The most frustrating thing about this whole matter is the people who think Trump makes sense and is talking like they think can never see the other side of the coin. Trump can show how Hillary gave Oswald the gun that killed Kennedy and they will just accept what he says.
4
When Oswald and his fellow conspirators killed JFK, Hillary Clinton had just turned 16 and was under close supervision by family and friends in suburban Chicago. I know, deniability would be helped if she hadn't been born yet.
1
if Donald wins this will be exhibit A in the case against a media that has utterly failed this country in its craven devotion to ratings.
13
Hey, this game is easy and fun:
I promised myself I would never write that someone might have called Donald Trump a child molester. I'm not saying he is or isn't. We just don't know. All he has to do is prove to us he isn’t. So why doesn’t Trump do that? What does that say about him?
This is an issue of transparency. I know some people who are now looking into it and they can’t believe what they are finding.
See? It really is easy and fun.
I promised myself I would never write that someone might have called Donald Trump a child molester. I'm not saying he is or isn't. We just don't know. All he has to do is prove to us he isn’t. So why doesn’t Trump do that? What does that say about him?
This is an issue of transparency. I know some people who are now looking into it and they can’t believe what they are finding.
See? It really is easy and fun.
9
You forgot to add that we all have 'Non-Child Molester' certificates. We are suspicious of the Donald's because it doesn't look authentic.
3
Yes, but it captures how Trump toss around non-accusation accusations all the time. Did Cruz's father help Oswald kill JFK? Did the Clintons kill Vince Foster? I could go on ad nauseam, each one more outlandish than the one before.
It was the old LBJ trick when he asked an aide to suggest to the media that some political opponent might be a child molester. The aide replied that such a charge was absolute nonsense, to which LBJ said, “I know. I just want to hear him deny it.”
It was the old LBJ trick when he asked an aide to suggest to the media that some political opponent might be a child molester. The aide replied that such a charge was absolute nonsense, to which LBJ said, “I know. I just want to hear him deny it.”
2
So what if Obama had been born in Kenya. It wouldn't have mattered. His mother was an American citizen, and he would have been granted the same status had he been born on the moon! The only reason Trump tried so hard to connect him with Africa, and his father, was to make him less white and more black.
7
Donald Trump plays fast and loose with the truth, faster and looser with lies. The things he hears and reads (or does he have them read to him) ricochet and echo around inside his skull until, one day his mouth opens and some semblance of what he heard comes back out. As often as not it is, as my dad would say, bass--ackwards. But when Trump says something, it is true. After all, he is the source, and he trusts no one as much as he trusts himself. A lie heard, once it escapes from Donald's head, becomes a truth said.
8
It is just not only the racist, bigot Trump. The real truth is some close to 90% of all malignant narcissists, chronic scapegoating, bigoted republican menace, with their perversity of inequality and rights only of their kind, mostly all white s and100% white supremacist have no stomach for a black man as the President. Any excuse they find serves, their bigotry and their cause.
5
'the press was chasing Donald Trump around for the next crazy thing he was going to say,”'
And that, my friends, is the story of the 2016 campaign. It will be squarely in the lap of the media if this buffoon is elected President. Even the press in the more sedate and supposedly thoughtful outlets like the NYT cannot resist Trump "would you believe" coverage. His nonsense dominates. The assumption seems to be that the American people are too bored, stupid, inane, and clueless to actually care about in-depth speeches and policy expositions, but will flock to one liners and zingers. Many outlets have become infotainment and are becoming lighter and lighter on the "info" part. The media also seems afraid to truly challenge Trump on his lies, half-truths, and flip-flops. He attacks and bullies anyone who dares to challenge him - sadly, fewer and fewer seem willing to risk that.
And that, my friends, is the story of the 2016 campaign. It will be squarely in the lap of the media if this buffoon is elected President. Even the press in the more sedate and supposedly thoughtful outlets like the NYT cannot resist Trump "would you believe" coverage. His nonsense dominates. The assumption seems to be that the American people are too bored, stupid, inane, and clueless to actually care about in-depth speeches and policy expositions, but will flock to one liners and zingers. Many outlets have become infotainment and are becoming lighter and lighter on the "info" part. The media also seems afraid to truly challenge Trump on his lies, half-truths, and flip-flops. He attacks and bullies anyone who dares to challenge him - sadly, fewer and fewer seem willing to risk that.
41
RE :"The assumption seems to be that the American people are too bored, stupid, inane, and clueless to actually care about in-depth speeches and policy expositions, but will flock to one liners and zingers."
It cold well be true. After all, a fickle low information electorate put a bunch of gleeful stalwart GOP obstructionists in power not once but twice since 2010.
It cold well be true. After all, a fickle low information electorate put a bunch of gleeful stalwart GOP obstructionists in power not once but twice since 2010.
2
I believe it was Hillary'e 2008 campaign that first floated the idea that Obama was not born in the US, but it didn't get traction at the time.
9
Checking your beliefs against facts is a good thing.
101
Nope. Sorry, that's not true.
1
Now, if that were true, why ever would the man recommend her for the office of the president of the United States of America? He's as amoral as she is?
2
Bigotry wrapped in slander and sold as a controversy to make it sound worthy of the media's attention. Media, please stop selling this snake oil salesman's witch hunts for him. When Trump starts out saying ,"he heard it somewhere.that means it should be treated as slander. Slander begets slander and Trump makes it in his basement.
67
The questioning of President Obama's place of birth, against all evidence and plausibility, marks one of the great outpourings of racist sentiment in American history. Donald Trump's eagerness to cast himself as Birther-In-Chief, by itself, should have disqualified him from ever running for political office and, had our media any decency and patriotism left, from further news coverage. Granting Trump wall-to-wall media coverage is the moral equivalent of granting wall-to-wall media coverage to David Duke. One can protest that Trump's offensiveness is "newsworthy" but only if one's notion of news is serving as an unfiltered megaphone for racist propaganda. For that is what Trump spews, in one form or another, to this very day.
127
Yep, the US media has the judgement of halfwits.
As if the fact that Trump is endorsed by David Duke, a white supremacist and former Grand Dragon of the Ku Klux Klan wasn't enough....
50
I see that this contact was made after Obama roasted Trump at the 2011 Correspondents Dinner. What a sore loser!
27
It would be so good to know what those investigators were finding out in Hawaii. Why does the media not ask him these questions? Why let him fan these racists, nonsensical flames and not hold him accountable? Ask him. Ask the follow up questions. Hold him accountable for his lies or don't call yourself a Journalist.
82
Basically, he lied when he said he'd sent investigators to Hawaii and "couldn't believe what he was hearing." He needs to be called out on that one too.
4
What is needed is a "taxer" movement to keep raising the issue of Trump's missing taxes. Is he really a taxpayer? You know, like the Donald, I've heard "people say" that when he talks about his missing tax returns he only ever says "returns" and never says "tax returns." Is it possible that he has never paid taxes? That he's not a tax payer but maybe only a tax taker. It is absolutely ludicrous that Trump has not released his tax returns when Obama's birth certificate was far far less important.
The taxer movement might also make note of the fact that Trump has been audited for the last 12 years. As one tax accountant said: “If the IRS examines your tax return and finds no issues they will not audit your return again for two years,” he said. “If returns are properly prepared, the IRS typically goes away.”
Why is the IRS not going away? Mitt Romney tweeted: “No legit reason @realDonaldTrump can’t release returns while being audited, but if scared, release earlier returns no longer under audit.”
Trump played the fear card because he is afraid. Afraid of what's in his tax returns. Why doesn't President Obama do a payback and take on the tax return topic to keep it front and center over the next four months?
The taxer movement might also make note of the fact that Trump has been audited for the last 12 years. As one tax accountant said: “If the IRS examines your tax return and finds no issues they will not audit your return again for two years,” he said. “If returns are properly prepared, the IRS typically goes away.”
Why is the IRS not going away? Mitt Romney tweeted: “No legit reason @realDonaldTrump can’t release returns while being audited, but if scared, release earlier returns no longer under audit.”
Trump played the fear card because he is afraid. Afraid of what's in his tax returns. Why doesn't President Obama do a payback and take on the tax return topic to keep it front and center over the next four months?
83
"Why doesn't President Obama do a payback and take on the tax return topic to keep it front and center.... ?"
Because the President is the President. He has important things to do. Other people can handle the dirty work of the presidential campaign. Believe me, they will.
Because the President is the President. He has important things to do. Other people can handle the dirty work of the presidential campaign. Believe me, they will.
28
Because our President, unlike Mr. Trump, prefers the high road.
3
Why doesn't the press investigate these things about Trump? That's why democracy needs a 'free press'. That's not supposed to mean free coverage for the wildest unsubstantiated statements.
And when is the press going to stop calling this extremism 'conservative'?
And when is the press going to stop calling this extremism 'conservative'?
1
Birtherism seems to have been created by Democrats who supported Hillary Clinton in 2008:
"If you haven’t been trolling the fever swamps of online conspiracy sites or opening those emails from Uncle Larry, you may well wonder: Where did this idea come from? Who started it? And is there a grain of truth there?
"The answer lies in Democratic, not Republican politics, and in the bitter, exhausting spring of 2008. At the time, the Democratic presidential primary was slipping away from Hillary Clinton and some of her most passionate supporters grasped for something, anything that would deal a final reversal to Barack Obama."
The 'birth issue' was first raised In the spring of 2008, as Clinton supporters circulated an anonymous email questioning Obama’s citizenship:
“Barack Obama’s mother was living in Kenya with his Arab-African father late in her pregnancy. She was not allowed to travel by plane then, so Barack Obama was born there and his mother then took him to Hawaii to register his birth,” asserted one chain email that surfaced on the urban legend site Snopes.com in April 2008."
Read more: http://www.politico.com/story/2011/04/birtherism-where-it-all-began-0535...
"If you haven’t been trolling the fever swamps of online conspiracy sites or opening those emails from Uncle Larry, you may well wonder: Where did this idea come from? Who started it? And is there a grain of truth there?
"The answer lies in Democratic, not Republican politics, and in the bitter, exhausting spring of 2008. At the time, the Democratic presidential primary was slipping away from Hillary Clinton and some of her most passionate supporters grasped for something, anything that would deal a final reversal to Barack Obama."
The 'birth issue' was first raised In the spring of 2008, as Clinton supporters circulated an anonymous email questioning Obama’s citizenship:
“Barack Obama’s mother was living in Kenya with his Arab-African father late in her pregnancy. She was not allowed to travel by plane then, so Barack Obama was born there and his mother then took him to Hawaii to register his birth,” asserted one chain email that surfaced on the urban legend site Snopes.com in April 2008."
Read more: http://www.politico.com/story/2011/04/birtherism-where-it-all-began-0535...
5
There is a big difference to be noted between the 2008 Clinton campaign (whose alleged connection to this nonsense has been fact-check disproved) and "anonymous alleged Clinton 2008 supporters" (who could be anybody).
If Barack Obama and his people thought Hillary Clinton had anything to do with beginning birtherism, he would not have endorsed her as among the most qualified people ever to get a Presidential nomination. He wouldn't be campaigning alongside her.
Are we going to try to connect Bernie Sanders to every wild thing one of his disappointed "supporters" tweets or facebooks, and tar Bernie with the blame for it? . . . Didn't think so.
If Barack Obama and his people thought Hillary Clinton had anything to do with beginning birtherism, he would not have endorsed her as among the most qualified people ever to get a Presidential nomination. He wouldn't be campaigning alongside her.
Are we going to try to connect Bernie Sanders to every wild thing one of his disappointed "supporters" tweets or facebooks, and tar Bernie with the blame for it? . . . Didn't think so.
53
So someone in desperation suggests something that is an error or a lie, and it's okay to continue the error or lie and say it is fact? Dems certainly didn't make it an issue at the time. People say dumb stuff, as any a Trump supporter can certainly attest to.
I read somewhere on some random website that people who love azaleas have trouble grasping reality.
I read somewhere on some random website that people who love azaleas have trouble grasping reality.
21
IMO, it's not okay to continue an error, or for desperate supporters either.
But it appears to be okay for the Clintons: "The idea of going after Obama’s otherness dates back to the last presidential election—and to Democrats. Long before Trump started in, Hillary Clinton’s chief strategist, Mark Penn, recognized this potential vulnerability in Obama and sought to exploit it. In a March 2007 memo to Clinton (that later found its way to me), Penn wrote: “All of these articles about his boyhood in Indonesia and his life in Hawaii are geared toward showing his background is diverse, multicultural and putting it in a new light,” he wrote. “It also exposes a very strong weakness for him—his roots to basic American values and culture are at best limited. I cannot imagine America electing a president during a time of war who is not at his center fundamentally American in his thinking and his values.”
“Every speech should contain the line that you were born in the middle of America to the middle class in the middle of the last century,” he advised Clinton. “And talk about the basic bargain ,,,,,,the deeply American values you grew up with, learned as a child, and that drive you today.” He went on: “Let’s explicitly own ‘American’ in our programs, the speeches and the values.”
BTW: I campaigned for Clinton/Gore and can prove it.. there is a video still in existence of me talking with then Senator Gore during his visit to Georgia.
Get some sleep - it's 4 a.m. in London!
But it appears to be okay for the Clintons: "The idea of going after Obama’s otherness dates back to the last presidential election—and to Democrats. Long before Trump started in, Hillary Clinton’s chief strategist, Mark Penn, recognized this potential vulnerability in Obama and sought to exploit it. In a March 2007 memo to Clinton (that later found its way to me), Penn wrote: “All of these articles about his boyhood in Indonesia and his life in Hawaii are geared toward showing his background is diverse, multicultural and putting it in a new light,” he wrote. “It also exposes a very strong weakness for him—his roots to basic American values and culture are at best limited. I cannot imagine America electing a president during a time of war who is not at his center fundamentally American in his thinking and his values.”
“Every speech should contain the line that you were born in the middle of America to the middle class in the middle of the last century,” he advised Clinton. “And talk about the basic bargain ,,,,,,the deeply American values you grew up with, learned as a child, and that drive you today.” He went on: “Let’s explicitly own ‘American’ in our programs, the speeches and the values.”
BTW: I campaigned for Clinton/Gore and can prove it.. there is a video still in existence of me talking with then Senator Gore during his visit to Georgia.
Get some sleep - it's 4 a.m. in London!
1
Election Day November 2016 is going to be one great day, a day when one of the most mendacious personalities of our time will forever be affixed with the formal tag of "Loser." A tag he will wear every day for the rest of his life. That day can't come soon enough.
99
Hillary lost a humiliating loss to Barack Obama in 2008; is "loser" a tag she must wear every day of her life?
Oh wait. "That's different".
Oh wait. "That's different".
The problem is not Trump, the phony. The problem is the people that believe that phony. Trump is willing and wanton to lie and their are those that believe the lie. They are exploited by a phony.
50
We are transforming from the Statesman of the Century to the liar of decades. Shame upon the American people who tolerate such mendicants and ignore the moral fortitude of those such as Mr.Obama. Four More Years!
62
I was a reporter a long time ago. Today, Newspapers and TV stations behave like "flacks", which was the term we used to describe P.R. firms.
Too many people are trying to fill space between the
ads. What is the point of covering lies? The earliest
memories I have of such change are the Kennedy
assassination conspiracy stories, but even then, so
much of that tragedy was replete with conspiracy
material that some stories deserved a hearing.
But the birth certificate of a President?
Really.
Too many people are trying to fill space between the
ads. What is the point of covering lies? The earliest
memories I have of such change are the Kennedy
assassination conspiracy stories, but even then, so
much of that tragedy was replete with conspiracy
material that some stories deserved a hearing.
But the birth certificate of a President?
Really.
43
I've never seen my life seen such a blatant liar. He will sit there and lie directly to your face knowing full well that the facts dispute him. It's just gobsmacking.
99
Kinda like how Hillary told us for a year that her server was approved, and she was cooperating in the investigation, and that she had turned over all her emails, and then the SoS IGm, appointed by Obama, releases a report showing that everything she said was a lie. That kind of blatant liar?
Trump hasn't stopped questioning Obama's academic credentials, I have heard him in the last several months demanding that Obama release his grades.
24
I would love to see the full reports on the Donald's time at the military academy to which he was exiled because he wouldn't shape up.
21
I have heard that he got spanked a lot and more than spanked, and have dispatched a crack team of investigators to Hawaii to bring this honestly before the American pee-pul.
Under demands, President Bush 43 released his academic records -- which were mediocre at best, and proved he was a "C" student only accepted at Yale as a "legacy".
Obama claims to be an academic superstar. You'd think he'd be very proud of his academic records as such! is it possible that EVERYTHING in his resume is based on affirmative action?
Obama claims to be an academic superstar. You'd think he'd be very proud of his academic records as such! is it possible that EVERYTHING in his resume is based on affirmative action?
1
What's funny about the birther nonsense is that many of the people who thought Obama was ineligible to be president because he was not born in the U.S. later supported Ted Cruz's candidacy and presumably didn't even think twice about his eligibility. But Cruz's father was not American and Ted was not born in the U.S. Ted's mother was an American citizen, however.
Even if one believed that Obama was born in Kenya, despite the two birth announcements in Hawaii, his mother was an American citizen, just like Ted Cruz's mother. So he was as eligible to be president as Ted Cruz. Nothing like a great big double standard.
Even if one believed that Obama was born in Kenya, despite the two birth announcements in Hawaii, his mother was an American citizen, just like Ted Cruz's mother. So he was as eligible to be president as Ted Cruz. Nothing like a great big double standard.
125
I agree that the left pretty much lost the high ground, when they attacked Cruz for HIS citizenship.
However, the argument for Obama was different -- it said that even if his mother was an American by birth, the law also says the citizen parent must have been over 18 and resided in the US for the previous 5 years. The claim is that the very young Mrs. Obama Sr. did not live in the US for the 5 years previous to giving birth.
(I never agreed with birtherism -- on either side -- and think it is a stupid distraction.)
However, the argument for Obama was different -- it said that even if his mother was an American by birth, the law also says the citizen parent must have been over 18 and resided in the US for the previous 5 years. The claim is that the very young Mrs. Obama Sr. did not live in the US for the 5 years previous to giving birth.
(I never agreed with birtherism -- on either side -- and think it is a stupid distraction.)
It wasn't the left that questioned Cruz's citizenship. It was -- again -- Trump.
2
That an individual who espouses the Birther Theory is the odds on favorite to be the Republican nominee for President of the United States of America speaks volumes about the base of the Republican Party, bigotry in America, and the level of education and awareness of the average American citizen.
86
Much is made of the GOP base and the bigotry, very little about the third factor. To my mind, it's the most important one, but neither journalists nor politicians dare touch it. As Michael Kinsley explained so well in his essay Big Babies, no matter how ridiculous and contradictory their demands (cut taxes, increase military spending, and balance the budget), the "American people" are always right and the politicians are always wrong.
9
@mmm: that would be....because we live in a democracy!
If you are suggesting an IQ test, to determine who is qualified to vote....well, outside of the fact it is totally illegal and unconstitutional....how many inner city urban blacks would fail such a test? And they are LOYAL Democrats.
If you are suggesting an IQ test, to determine who is qualified to vote....well, outside of the fact it is totally illegal and unconstitutional....how many inner city urban blacks would fail such a test? And they are LOYAL Democrats.
The number one question that should be asked of Donald Trump is: "Did you pay any Federal income tax in 2015? Yes or No? And "Why will you not release your Federal Tax return."
And then ask him why he felt Mitt Romney had to release his Federal tax return when he was running for the Presidency in 2012? And again, what are you hiding in your Federal tax return? Foreign bank accounts? Loans due to Foreign Banks? American Voters are entitled to know the facts.
And then ask him why he felt Mitt Romney had to release his Federal tax return when he was running for the Presidency in 2012? And again, what are you hiding in your Federal tax return? Foreign bank accounts? Loans due to Foreign Banks? American Voters are entitled to know the facts.
78
Donald Trump did not get into Wharton in first attempt. He enrolled at Fordham University and then transferred to U Penn.
28
I find it so incomprehensible that in the latest poll released this week 45% of Americans find Mr. Trump honest and trust-worthy (vs. 37% for Mrs. Clinton).
Given the large number of lies that Trump has told, including this birther myth, how can such a high percentage of voters believe that he's honest and trustworthy and Clinton is the one being called a liar.
Among the many other lies told by Mr. Trump,:
- All Mexican immigrants are rapists and murderers (their crime rate is lower than U.S. natives)
- Judge Curiel is Mexican a(lthough he was born in the U.S.)
- Hillary wants to get rid of the 2nd amendment (she has never said that)
-Obama never attended Columbia U.
As a matter of fact, according to an article in the Washington Post, a fact checker looks into 158 things that Donald Trump said and 78% were false.
Given the large number of lies that Trump has told, including this birther myth, how can such a high percentage of voters believe that he's honest and trustworthy and Clinton is the one being called a liar.
Among the many other lies told by Mr. Trump,:
- All Mexican immigrants are rapists and murderers (their crime rate is lower than U.S. natives)
- Judge Curiel is Mexican a(lthough he was born in the U.S.)
- Hillary wants to get rid of the 2nd amendment (she has never said that)
-Obama never attended Columbia U.
As a matter of fact, according to an article in the Washington Post, a fact checker looks into 158 things that Donald Trump said and 78% were false.
51
Not a fan, but Trump never said "All Mexican immigrants are rapists and murderers."
11
Thinking about Hillary — a Plea for Reason
commentary by Michael Arnovitz
https://thepolicy.us/thinking-about-hillary-a-plea-for-reason-308fce6d18...
"[F]or a surprisingly large percentage of the electorate, the claim that Hillary is innately dishonest is...so ingrained in the conversation about her that any attempt to even question it is often met with shock. And yet here’s the thing: it’s not actually true. Politifact, the Pulitzer prize-winning fact-checking project, determined for example that Hillary was actually the *most* truthful candidate (of either Party) in the 2016 election season. And in general Politifact has determined that Hillary is more honest than most (but not all) politicians they have tracked over the years....."
Meanwhile, "there is very little dispute that Trump has been *significantly* less honest on the campaign trail than Hillary. According to Politifact he is in fact the least honest candidate they’ve ever analyzed! So...why are so many people (on the right and left) holding Hillary to such an obviously different standard than Trump?"
commentary by Michael Arnovitz
https://thepolicy.us/thinking-about-hillary-a-plea-for-reason-308fce6d18...
"[F]or a surprisingly large percentage of the electorate, the claim that Hillary is innately dishonest is...so ingrained in the conversation about her that any attempt to even question it is often met with shock. And yet here’s the thing: it’s not actually true. Politifact, the Pulitzer prize-winning fact-checking project, determined for example that Hillary was actually the *most* truthful candidate (of either Party) in the 2016 election season. And in general Politifact has determined that Hillary is more honest than most (but not all) politicians they have tracked over the years....."
Meanwhile, "there is very little dispute that Trump has been *significantly* less honest on the campaign trail than Hillary. According to Politifact he is in fact the least honest candidate they’ve ever analyzed! So...why are so many people (on the right and left) holding Hillary to such an obviously different standard than Trump?"
4
His exact words were the following.
"When Mexico sends its people, they're not sending their best. They're not sending you. They're not sending you. They're sending people that have lots of problems, and they're bringing those problems with us. They're bringing drugs. They're bringing crime. They're rapists. And some, I assume, are good people."
"When Mexico sends its people, they're not sending their best. They're not sending you. They're not sending you. They're sending people that have lots of problems, and they're bringing those problems with us. They're bringing drugs. They're bringing crime. They're rapists. And some, I assume, are good people."
3
Liar, liar, pants on fire!
The most interesting reporting from this piece was that Donald Trump never sent investigators or lawyers to Hawaii to search for the President's birth certificate. It is buried at the end of the article.
These facts prove that Donald Trump is a liar and he could have been sued for malice in court. Since any man of character would have apologized for making such an outrageous distortion, Donald shows he is unfit to hold any political office, especially President of the United States.
The most interesting reporting from this piece was that Donald Trump never sent investigators or lawyers to Hawaii to search for the President's birth certificate. It is buried at the end of the article.
These facts prove that Donald Trump is a liar and he could have been sued for malice in court. Since any man of character would have apologized for making such an outrageous distortion, Donald shows he is unfit to hold any political office, especially President of the United States.
74
What is a "birther" but someone who doubted that Obama was born in the US? Just by making it a pejorative term does not MAKE it so.
Lots of people thought something wrong.
Some people believed in the steady state theory of the universe. That theory was disproved by scientists from the Bell Labs.
Some people thought that objects fell because they were attracted by the earth. That explanation was destroyed by Einstein's General Theory of Relativity.
Some people thought that God created the universe (and that probably included most of the framers of the constitution). Indeed Dawkins himself says that until the early XIXth century, Intelligent Design was the MOST rational explanation of the world.
All these people were wrong. Are we going to invent pejorative terms for all of them?
Or are we going to say, "No, only for Republicans"?
Truth and rationality MUST NOT play second fiddle to campaigning and partisanship.
Lots of people thought something wrong.
Some people believed in the steady state theory of the universe. That theory was disproved by scientists from the Bell Labs.
Some people thought that objects fell because they were attracted by the earth. That explanation was destroyed by Einstein's General Theory of Relativity.
Some people thought that God created the universe (and that probably included most of the framers of the constitution). Indeed Dawkins himself says that until the early XIXth century, Intelligent Design was the MOST rational explanation of the world.
All these people were wrong. Are we going to invent pejorative terms for all of them?
Or are we going to say, "No, only for Republicans"?
Truth and rationality MUST NOT play second fiddle to campaigning and partisanship.
3
Your examples in fact prove you wrong. They each are examples of information about the natural world, where people did what they could with incomplete information, until evidence was brought forward whereby "no reasonable mind" could believe otherwise. You know... science. You left a big one out - the ptolemaic vs copernican cosmos. There is no need for pejorative terms - reality serves to show their fault, as those who refused to accept Kopernik's / Galileo's results were religious fanatics with a vested interest in the previous misinformation. The birthers are remarkably similar in this regard, Trump most of all. Investigations work the same way. With the flimsiest scraps of suspicion (misprints, unsubstantiated accusations, raw insinuations) birthers refused to accept reliable, verifiable evidence.
"Lots of people". That's rich. Wiggle words, with no weight of validity to them. "Lots of people" believe that aliens are hidden in Area 51 - doesn't maker it so or worth consideration. "Lots of people" believe blacks are inherently inferior to whites - doesn't make it so or worth consideration.
That you seek sympathy for birthers points to a secret wish that they were right. So please, spare us your claim of non-partisanship and admit you have a dog in the fight.
"Lots of people". That's rich. Wiggle words, with no weight of validity to them. "Lots of people" believe that aliens are hidden in Area 51 - doesn't maker it so or worth consideration. "Lots of people" believe blacks are inherently inferior to whites - doesn't make it so or worth consideration.
That you seek sympathy for birthers points to a secret wish that they were right. So please, spare us your claim of non-partisanship and admit you have a dog in the fight.
69
"o please, spare us your claim of non-partisanship and admit you have a dog in the fight."
Actually I have TWO dogs in the fight, and these dogs are truth and fairness.
Hillary lied about Bosnia. Trump made a false claim about Obama.
OK, let us evaluate them as candidates and not stoop to petty things. Each has serious faults and we just need to ask whose faults matter more to us.
There is NO objective truth here, just opinion and preference.
And, I am perfectly free to say what I think, I believe it is called the first amendment.
Actually I have TWO dogs in the fight, and these dogs are truth and fairness.
Hillary lied about Bosnia. Trump made a false claim about Obama.
OK, let us evaluate them as candidates and not stoop to petty things. Each has serious faults and we just need to ask whose faults matter more to us.
There is NO objective truth here, just opinion and preference.
And, I am perfectly free to say what I think, I believe it is called the first amendment.
4
"And, I am perfectly free to say what I think, I believe it is called the first amendment."
Of course you are. Did anyone here tell you that you can't say what you think? No. Not me, not anyone. Odd, therefore for you to bring it up. As for the First Amendment, you believe wrong. It only states that Congress shall make no law abridging the freedom of speech. This is a public forum, not Congress, not an agent of the US government. Freedom of speech is assumed. The First Amendment is of no further value or relevance.
Of course you are. Did anyone here tell you that you can't say what you think? No. Not me, not anyone. Odd, therefore for you to bring it up. As for the First Amendment, you believe wrong. It only states that Congress shall make no law abridging the freedom of speech. This is a public forum, not Congress, not an agent of the US government. Freedom of speech is assumed. The First Amendment is of no further value or relevance.
26
And where are Trump's tax returns?
33
In his upper right desk drawer. Behind the mini-snickers bars.
I personally don't care a whit about his taxes. So long as he is not under indictment by the IRS it's none of my business. Archaic concept that we need to see them.
I personally don't care a whit about his taxes. So long as he is not under indictment by the IRS it's none of my business. Archaic concept that we need to see them.
3
I don't think tax returns are an issue anymore, After Romney everybody knows rich people pay little to no taxes. The rich have another set of laws, like everybody was amazed that Romney could put millions in an IRA, my limit is $6,5000 a year. So our society now knows the rich are entitled to different laws and they seem to accept it, this is the reward of being rich.
10
Trump's tax returns? Jane Sanders is looking for them.
6
Do those who form Trump's political base, whomever they might be, really believe that he will keep his promises to them? There must be at least some awareness that he is a reality TV producer, a businessman who has in countless situations taken from others, not given to them. Broken promises extending into the distant future.
36
Only an idiot would think Trump WON"T come up with an excuse to duck any future debates. Certainly with Clinton. He's backed out of debates before. Debates like showing tax returns are not a law.
31
This article says to me that Trump may not have actually believed the story about President Obama's birth; rather, he saw the ridiculous tale floating around and decided that it could be a vehicle to raise his profile among the conspiracy theorists, racists, Fox News devotees, et al, who make up a significant portion of the Republican primary base of voters.
In other words, stop at nothing to test the waters for running for President. He withdrew after the birther hoax was debunked, but it gave him enough of a lift for him to understand that he could continue using lies, exaggeration, appeals to the aggrieved, fantastic promises, etc. to get where he is today.
Woe to us if this lunatic reaches his ultimate goal.
In other words, stop at nothing to test the waters for running for President. He withdrew after the birther hoax was debunked, but it gave him enough of a lift for him to understand that he could continue using lies, exaggeration, appeals to the aggrieved, fantastic promises, etc. to get where he is today.
Woe to us if this lunatic reaches his ultimate goal.
50
So you're saying he was clever and it worked.
Well having something work surely sounds like a reason to be disqualified from politics.
Well having something work surely sounds like a reason to be disqualified from politics.
4
No, Triump was cleverly dishonest and it didn't actually work except with conspiracy theorists who were primed to believe anything "bad" about Obama. It is Trump's mendacity and tricksterism that are disqualifying, Scotty.
15
Just because something is "working" doesn't mean it's right.
2
It's Trump's Looking Glass world, where his memory doesn't only work backwards, and he believes 60 impossible things before breakfast. To name a few -- Pres. Obama's magical birth in Kenya, asbestos is safe, no drought in California, Muslims in NJ celebrating 9/11, climate change as a Chinese hoax, vaccines cause autism, Scalia was murdered, etc.
He's crazy. And delusional.
He's crazy. And delusional.
41
And concern over global warming is somehow connected to whether he can still use his preferred kind of aerosol hair-spray.
4
It may not be the most stupid, hateful, obnoxious thing Trump has ever done.
But it's close.
But it's close.
31
Trump can dish it out but he can't take it.
When comedian Bill Maher said Trump was descended from an orangutang, Trump actually sued him for libel. A judge threw the lawsuit out.
As Obama remarked "Next he'll be investigating what really happened to Biggie and Tupac."
When comedian Bill Maher said Trump was descended from an orangutang, Trump actually sued him for libel. A judge threw the lawsuit out.
As Obama remarked "Next he'll be investigating what really happened to Biggie and Tupac."
38
I just hope he takes Gingrich as his V.P. What is it, six marriages between them? I guess it'll be okay with Dr. James Dobson, who gave Trump his seal of approval last week. What a hypocrite! I can just imagine the Donald accepting Jesus as his lord and savior, presumably on his knees. I wonder if there's a picture of that.
43
Dobson walked the conversion story back, it came from a prosperity gospel minister/con man.
7
I'd love to rehear the story about Gingrich leaving his second wife while she was in the hospital...was it that she had cancer or was on her deathbed? I can't remember, but that's when Newt supposedly told her he was leaving for another woman.
Did he do that once, or was there a second, similar "good" story? Let's rehash the whole thing! Go, Newt!
Did he do that once, or was there a second, similar "good" story? Let's rehash the whole thing! Go, Newt!
10
You can go to Cspan video archives and there is a three hour special on Newt which is quite interesting, his mother gives the good story of his separation from his first wife. she talks about the account commonly given and doesn't deny it, just says there was a lot more to how he treated his first wife that put him in a more positive light. Most remarkable in the show is his colleague who taught history with him, he tells a lot of good stories. his colleague was a democrat and tried to get Newt to become a democrat.
I always figured he did the Birther thing to gather his base. Perhaps I'm giving him too much credit. It seems like a show, or an Apprentice like project. Gather suspicious people who listen to hate radio and feed their fears then run for president. It sounds like fiction.
I wish it was.
I wish it was.
28
Schadenfreude, that wonderful German word now adapted into our vernacular, is defined as taking malicious delight in the suffering of others.
Perchance, might there be a similar German word to define the actor who himself is the actual architect and perversely proud perpetrator of the very actions that create suffering at the expense of others while simultaneously affording that actor the luxury of maliciously delighting in the fruits of his labor?
If so, that word would be the definition of Donald Trump. Yes, of course, as others have pointed out for over a year, he is the text book definition of a narcissist and a sociopath. But it is the deliberate manipulative and divisive behavior that is a hallmark of the Trump brand.
As many other commentators to this article have remarked, I too have found Trump to be a bigot. But after reading this article, I'm beginning to realize that his abhorrent anti-social behavior is far worse than bigotry. It is the deliberate manipulation and divisiveness of any group, irrespective of color, race or religion that guides Trump's modus operandi. He worships to the altar of Trump.
This is all a grand game for him, and on the largest stage in the world. He is the Teflon Don and everyone anywhere in the world should fear his achieving the Presidency of the United States of America.
Any spiritual leader worth his weight should be denouncing him. I can only hope that I will experience true Schadenfreude in November at his defeat.
Perchance, might there be a similar German word to define the actor who himself is the actual architect and perversely proud perpetrator of the very actions that create suffering at the expense of others while simultaneously affording that actor the luxury of maliciously delighting in the fruits of his labor?
If so, that word would be the definition of Donald Trump. Yes, of course, as others have pointed out for over a year, he is the text book definition of a narcissist and a sociopath. But it is the deliberate manipulative and divisive behavior that is a hallmark of the Trump brand.
As many other commentators to this article have remarked, I too have found Trump to be a bigot. But after reading this article, I'm beginning to realize that his abhorrent anti-social behavior is far worse than bigotry. It is the deliberate manipulation and divisiveness of any group, irrespective of color, race or religion that guides Trump's modus operandi. He worships to the altar of Trump.
This is all a grand game for him, and on the largest stage in the world. He is the Teflon Don and everyone anywhere in the world should fear his achieving the Presidency of the United States of America.
Any spiritual leader worth his weight should be denouncing him. I can only hope that I will experience true Schadenfreude in November at his defeat.
43
Have voters become thoroughly convinced that everyone in authority is manipulating them? Are they just rolling over and accepting manipulation by way of outright lies, as well as by other modes of misdirection, as simply the way it is? Is no one to be held accountable?
Since, within our free market, so many of us are engaged in manipulating others in order to make sales and close deals of all sorts, have manipulative lies now become just business as usual--nothing personal, just business as usual?
Are truth and trust so little valued?
If so, do we any longer live in a representative democracy or democratic republic? Have we become just a random collocation of free floating, mutually manipulative atomistic individuals?
Mr. Trump's eldest son, Don Jr., in a recent interview stated that his father often sent him off to school with the words: "Trust no one."
And now so many place their hopes in candidate Donald Trump who, they say: "Tells it like it is". What is the basis for such hope? Is it in their trust that he, unlike so many others, is HONESTLY MANIPULATING them and they fully recognize it--and simply do not care? Is the fact that one is being OPENLY MANIPULATED such a wondrous breeze of political fresh air?
Has our educational system wholly failed to foster an enlightened and responsible citizenry?
Whither then democracy?
Since, within our free market, so many of us are engaged in manipulating others in order to make sales and close deals of all sorts, have manipulative lies now become just business as usual--nothing personal, just business as usual?
Are truth and trust so little valued?
If so, do we any longer live in a representative democracy or democratic republic? Have we become just a random collocation of free floating, mutually manipulative atomistic individuals?
Mr. Trump's eldest son, Don Jr., in a recent interview stated that his father often sent him off to school with the words: "Trust no one."
And now so many place their hopes in candidate Donald Trump who, they say: "Tells it like it is". What is the basis for such hope? Is it in their trust that he, unlike so many others, is HONESTLY MANIPULATING them and they fully recognize it--and simply do not care? Is the fact that one is being OPENLY MANIPULATED such a wondrous breeze of political fresh air?
Has our educational system wholly failed to foster an enlightened and responsible citizenry?
Whither then democracy?
19
Trump's exaggerations, as they are exposed, should alarm his followers. But they seem oblivious to the inconsistencies in his past, his exaggerations, and his lies, focusing only on his promises for the future. But then, the reaction of those folks are in keeping with the short attention spans of people these days, when things said on Friday afternoon are long forgotten by Monday morning.
19
I find curious that this "Birther" story described how Don Trump conducted a veiled hatred promotion in America towards Barack Obama using non-absolute words and phrases to avoid libel and slander accusations and now being so childish and thin skinned, he resorts to threats of lawsuits and libel law changes to scare those who rightly speak out about him. He truly is a master of deception and innuendo.
26
Political performance art? Trump's artfulness is artifice. He is, indeed, the Joker in appearance and words.
10
When do we get to see his tax returns? Other presidential candidates have done so as far back as Harry Truman. Why is Mr. Trump the exception? See:
www.taxhistory.org/www/website.nsf/web/presidentialtaxreturns
www.factcheck.org/2012/07/romney-and-the-tax-return-precedent/
How about his birth certificate? Mr. Trump demanded that President Obama release his birth certificate. So I think that it is only fair that the current and future presidential candidates prove where they were born. Who knows maybe Mr. Trump’s immigrant mother made a trip to her homeland, Scotland, while she was pregnant with him and he was in fact born there? Or perhaps UK laws allow citizenship through descent and Mr. Trump is in fact a dual citizen. Who knows? Shouldn’t someone be investigating this?
www.taxhistory.org/www/website.nsf/web/presidentialtaxreturns
www.factcheck.org/2012/07/romney-and-the-tax-return-precedent/
How about his birth certificate? Mr. Trump demanded that President Obama release his birth certificate. So I think that it is only fair that the current and future presidential candidates prove where they were born. Who knows maybe Mr. Trump’s immigrant mother made a trip to her homeland, Scotland, while she was pregnant with him and he was in fact born there? Or perhaps UK laws allow citizenship through descent and Mr. Trump is in fact a dual citizen. Who knows? Shouldn’t someone be investigating this?
17
Love how such an ignorant man surrounds himself with books for his photo. Only in the USA!
18
Come on folks don't you realize that Obama used the time machine at Area 51 to set up his birth records and place the announcement in the Honolulu paper?
25
Nah, Doc Brown and Marty McFly just gave him a lift in the DeLorean...
8
I think this calls for a full scale House investigation. I understand Trey Gowdy is available again and of course Darrell Issa is always game for this sort of thing.
28
Conservatives are the prime example of how ignorance is a disease, and of what the disease looks like as it spreads through a vulnerable (uneducated) population. The greatest public health threat to America is conservative thought.
31
Absolutely. I have come to see that ignorance is the great evil of human existence. What is so absolutely disorienting is that ignorance takes immense pride in itself. Humans often believe complete nonsense, and gather in groups spouting complete idiocies. The stupider and more insane the ideas are, the more the group coheres.
Religion is at the core of this disease. After you have committed your life to completely idiotic nonsense, believing everything you want to believe is true---just because it makes you feel good, or feel comforted, or just because you want to believe it---is a literal no-brainer.
The world is a great mystery filled to the brim with infinite miracles right in front of our faces. But the beauty of that mystery and unfathomability of the universe is lost---even denied--by a need to think we know what life is, when, in truth, we know almost nothing. And what we do know, science has taught us.
Whenever someone thinks their religion is the "true" religion, all reason, rationality, thoughtfulness---everything---goes right out the window. And I write this as someone who has led a life completely ruled by my emotions and feelings, and not at all by "logic."
Religion is at the core of this disease. After you have committed your life to completely idiotic nonsense, believing everything you want to believe is true---just because it makes you feel good, or feel comforted, or just because you want to believe it---is a literal no-brainer.
The world is a great mystery filled to the brim with infinite miracles right in front of our faces. But the beauty of that mystery and unfathomability of the universe is lost---even denied--by a need to think we know what life is, when, in truth, we know almost nothing. And what we do know, science has taught us.
Whenever someone thinks their religion is the "true" religion, all reason, rationality, thoughtfulness---everything---goes right out the window. And I write this as someone who has led a life completely ruled by my emotions and feelings, and not at all by "logic."
8
Historians of the future, should we have any, will note that the moment the Republican Party refused to repudiate Trump's birtherism, that was the beginning of the end for the Conservative cause.
32
As it's been stated many times in many ways, it's not the side show, it's the side show barker that gets people into his tent. And that's exactly what "Agent Orange Donald Trump" is—a side-show barker.
24
The birther thing was Trump's own birth into politics, his pregnancy had lasted a while, and who would argue his birth was to be noticed? He is the perfect iconoclast. Imperfect himself, he is unafraid to call-out imperfection in others, specifically those we might call eletist. Bravo! To Trump I say, is the defectors elite need some kind of savior- funny, I always thought he'd be Jewish?!?
The nature of his birth was our media, he and the birther thing did not need the coverage it received, it was a test of our media, our media's want has been Trump's childhood, if you listen you will hear a different adult now, come November the American people will decide who is the adult in the room?
The nature of his birth was our media, he and the birther thing did not need the coverage it received, it was a test of our media, our media's want has been Trump's childhood, if you listen you will hear a different adult now, come November the American people will decide who is the adult in the room?
6
All Trump cared about was getting media attention. Remember his own words: "I know how to work the media in a way that they will never take the lights off of me.”
THAT is the "secret" of his success. Free media and handling the debates as though they were his very own right-wing radio talks show.
Now, his stunt for getting free media gets MORE free media. He is smiling, I assure you.
https://emcphd.wordpress.com
THAT is the "secret" of his success. Free media and handling the debates as though they were his very own right-wing radio talks show.
Now, his stunt for getting free media gets MORE free media. He is smiling, I assure you.
https://emcphd.wordpress.com
15
Nobody can deny it, he is The Master.
3
The press MUST GO AFTER him for releasing his tax returns before November. Dont make him and the people forget about this. Dont let him establish the US Trump University.
32
By the time all this is over I think we will all be graduates of Trump University, the question is, can we expect good value or can we expect poor value? Like any other learning opportunity, I guess it depends on how much we listen?
2
Mr. Trump understand the weaknesses of human being very well. He knows that by stoking suspicion and hate of one group of people against another., he can control them as they fight against each, as they become frighten of everything, as they give up their principles for survival. This is clearly the path of Mr. Trump chosen for political power. While I have not done the research, I suspect that he played the same game in business earlier and left lot of casualties along the way. He understands and successfully manipulates the lowest instincts of others because his own mind wallow in the same filth.
31
In times of great need, who would you rather have fight on your behalf. Someone who puts America First or someone who puts their self first? I ain't no soldier, but I know that were I forced into battle I be proud to follow someone who knows how to get down and dirty, rather than someone used to dictating through protective layers of staff.
Yes, Mr Trump understands human weaknesses, he also understands human motivations and how to create opportunities it takes on a big scale to bring out the best in us.
Be there or be square dude! :-)
Yes, Mr Trump understands human weaknesses, he also understands human motivations and how to create opportunities it takes on a big scale to bring out the best in us.
Be there or be square dude! :-)
2
If you genuinely believe that Trump has any intention of putting America First and not "his self" first then you are clearly one of his biggest victims.
3
Do you actually think Trump is for America as opposed to being completely dedicated to the proposition of The Donald? He has never put anyone but himself first. Applying your standard to our current president would make him the exact person you want to follow into battle. He has tirelessly put forth proposals that lift up those less fortunate, whether in the realm of health care or immigration. I suspect this flies in the face of your beliefs; be careful about using a rhetorical device without actually considering the facts...
2
". . . . in the big lie there is always a certain force of credibility; because the broad masses of a nation are always more easily corrupted in the deeper strata of their emotional nature than consciously or voluntarily; and thus in the primitive simplicity of their minds they more readily fall victims to the big lie than the small lie, since they themselves often tell small lies in little matters but would be ashamed to resort to large-scale falsehoods. It would never come into their heads to fabricate colossal untruths, and they would not believe that others could have the impudence to distort the truth so infamously. Even though the facts which prove this to be so may be brought clearly to their minds, they will still doubt and waver and will continue to think that there may be some other explanation. For the grossly impudent lie always leaves traces behind it, even after it has been nailed down, a fact which is known to all expert liars in this world and to all who conspire together in the art of lying." Adolf Hitler -- Mein Kemp.
13
The Art of Lying should be open to us all to defend against such attacks. Keep your friend close, but your enemies closer. I'm guessing Adolf Hitler was not the first or the last leader to have mastered the art of lying. Would it not be fair to say that many, if not most, of our political class are masters of the art?
4
I wish the New York Times would stop moaning about President Trump. It's futile, because, to paraphrase Emile Zola, "All the press in the world can not stop an idiot whose time has come".
Get used to it - a nation with a monstrously poor system of education, is fated to elect a monstrously poor President. Think of it, as the ultimate triumph of Republican Party principles, and not some kind of silly mistake - just swallow it down.
A nation that has survived for 170 years with a totally cracked Liberty Bell, will have no problem surviving 4 years with a totally cracked President; so, once again, stop your moaning!
Get used to it - a nation with a monstrously poor system of education, is fated to elect a monstrously poor President. Think of it, as the ultimate triumph of Republican Party principles, and not some kind of silly mistake - just swallow it down.
A nation that has survived for 170 years with a totally cracked Liberty Bell, will have no problem surviving 4 years with a totally cracked President; so, once again, stop your moaning!
7
We are stupid, but Trump isn't winning anyway. The only way he gets to be POTUS is if he wins both Florida and Pennsylvania and that's not happening. If he loses Arizona and Utah, which is very possible, it will be a Hillary blowout. Pretty impressive for a Dem candidate who no one really likes.
IMO, I think Trump has already lost interest in running. That's why he went off to Scotland, why he now has no campaign manager and no one raising money for TV spots. I don't know how, but I think he might find a way to back out because he'd rather do that than be a LOSER.
IMO, I think Trump has already lost interest in running. That's why he went off to Scotland, why he now has no campaign manager and no one raising money for TV spots. I don't know how, but I think he might find a way to back out because he'd rather do that than be a LOSER.
17
Uh, not when that prospective candidate could very easily start an unnecessary confrontation and trade war with China that then escalates into an armed stand-off between superpowers, similar to October 1962. Where would things stand if Trump had been president back then, instead of JFK?
19
The fact that Trump seems not to understand that:
1) Hawaii is part of the US so being born in Hawaii = being born in the US
2) Only one parent need be an American citizen for their child to be a citizen
should be enough to disqualify him. A person running for President should understand the basics of American citizenship.
1) Hawaii is part of the US so being born in Hawaii = being born in the US
2) Only one parent need be an American citizen for their child to be a citizen
should be enough to disqualify him. A person running for President should understand the basics of American citizenship.
19
Everyone knows that Hawaii was part of the US in the year Obama was born. The Birthers never questioned that, contrary to the commenter and the 13 people who recommend the comment. Instead, the Birthers claimed (incorrectly) than Obama was not born in Hawaii.
The comment is also incorrect in claiming that the citizenship of one parent is determinative of being a citizen. All you need to do is be born in the US; it doesn't matter who your parents are.
The comment is also incorrect in claiming that the citizenship of one parent is determinative of being a citizen. All you need to do is be born in the US; it doesn't matter who your parents are.
6
Richard Kuntz, George Romney (1968), John McCain, and Ted Cruz weren't born in the United States. All could have been sworn in as President because each had a parent who was a U.S. citizen (in Cruz's case, Trump questioned whether he mother might have renounced or abandoned her citizenship, but still. . .).
Yes, it's also true that if neither parent is a U.S. citizen at the time of your birth but the birth takes place in the U.S., you're eligible (because you have birthright citizenship).
Two things are true. That's often the way of it.
Yes, it's also true that if neither parent is a U.S. citizen at the time of your birth but the birth takes place in the U.S., you're eligible (because you have birthright citizenship).
Two things are true. That's often the way of it.
1
If you are born abroad, but one of your parents is an American citizen, you are also an American citizen. The American parent has to go to an American embassy to get a document that certifies the child has been born abroad.
But you're not allowed to run for president, because a president has to have been born on American soil or, if born abroad, to parents working for the American military or government. That's an old law that should probably be discarded at some point.
But you're not allowed to run for president, because a president has to have been born on American soil or, if born abroad, to parents working for the American military or government. That's an old law that should probably be discarded at some point.
1
Donald is dangerous because he will say anything regardless how ridiculous it is.
He is an embarrassment to our country. It would be like having a clown as our President-funny face and funny hair. But considering Brexit anything is possible.
The best thing that could happen for the Repubs is if Trumps losses. If he wins
that party will not have another elected officials for the next 50 years.
He is an embarrassment to our country. It would be like having a clown as our President-funny face and funny hair. But considering Brexit anything is possible.
The best thing that could happen for the Repubs is if Trumps losses. If he wins
that party will not have another elected officials for the next 50 years.
16
Why doesn't Donnie just do away with the pretense and start wearing klan robes? It would the one honest thing he manages in the scampaign he is running.
30
And give up his Brioni suits?
5
The media is complicit in this. The reptilian brain is not cogent on any topic, lies constantly and is not called out on his idiotic assertions.
He should be hammered over his birther assertions unrelentingly now. Until he admits he lied about his "unbelievable evidence or findings" in 2011.
He also claims he'll make the US great again by reversing globalization, bringing jobs back here. He again should be hammered on this. No one can reverse globalization.
The world is not going to move away from international trade and sharing of products, processes and information even more rapidly in the future. He should be questioned relentlessly on how he can back up his imbecilic statements.
And many manufacturing jobs even if they were to come back here would be done by robots, automated processes or AI. Again he has no realistic plan just inane assertions.
The fascist should be called out constantly on his past and present history of inflammatory and mendacious claims.
He should be hammered over his birther assertions unrelentingly now. Until he admits he lied about his "unbelievable evidence or findings" in 2011.
He also claims he'll make the US great again by reversing globalization, bringing jobs back here. He again should be hammered on this. No one can reverse globalization.
The world is not going to move away from international trade and sharing of products, processes and information even more rapidly in the future. He should be questioned relentlessly on how he can back up his imbecilic statements.
And many manufacturing jobs even if they were to come back here would be done by robots, automated processes or AI. Again he has no realistic plan just inane assertions.
The fascist should be called out constantly on his past and present history of inflammatory and mendacious claims.
31
Loretta Fuddy was the Health Director responsible for approving and releasing the “Certificate of Live Birth” that was sent to Barack Obama. She was also the sole fatality in a Hawaiian plane crash late in 2013. This was one of those floater planes, and her death was not related to the crash. They say she just floated out to sea, her body never recovered. And there was an investigation into how she payed off her mortgage in her first year of a modestly salaried job that still double her pay her first year she had filled it. Oh, yeah. And Donald Trump is a racist for asking about this.
4
Oh jesus....can you stop with all the conspiracy theories?
What part of "born to an American citizen" do you not understand?
What part of "born to an American citizen" do you not understand?
18
Nonsense, the body was autopsied. She was 65, she died of heart problems exacerbated by the plane crash.
15
It was not a floater plane but a fixed landing gear Cessna 208B Caravan. Her body did not float out to sea and not recovered. They held an open casket funeral for her in Honolulu which was covered by local television news a video (available on YouTube). Weeks before her death she reportedly told her sister and brother-in-law that she was suffering from an irregular heart beat. She was 65, overweight and by her relative accounts not a strong swimmer. The investigation showed that the engine suffered a turbin blade failure (not uncommon in Cessna's with those Pratt & Whitney engines). There is zero evidence that she suddenly paid off her mortgage. She was a long time employee of the Hawaiian Department of Health.
BTW, Director Fuddy did not sign or certify the President's birth certificate. That was Hawaii State Registrar Dr. Alvin Onaka. As this article indicates he is still very much alive.
BTW, Director Fuddy did not sign or certify the President's birth certificate. That was Hawaii State Registrar Dr. Alvin Onaka. As this article indicates he is still very much alive.
17
If he was born outside the United States and his mother was a US citizen he was a natural born US citizen. If not when and where was he naturalized? The Donald never looked for naturalization papers to prove that he was not natural born.
I think the matter of Cruz being born in Canada with an American mother make the question of where he was born mute.
I think the matter of Cruz being born in Canada with an American mother make the question of where he was born mute.
5
It should make it "mute." Unfortunately, it only makes it "moot."
20
If it's good for Ted, it's good for Obama, too. QED
3
I feel that the media should use the birther mess against Trump the same way he used it against Obama. Trump is all for transparency so what does he have to hide in his tax return. Did he violate tax law for decades? What is he trying to hide?
The media seems to willing to let this go but when a self described billionaire claims he's going to self finance his campaign but then takes donations anyway, sends out emails asking for donations, and even sends these emails to foreign officials before dipping into his own wealth… it raises questions.
The media seems to willing to let this go but when a self described billionaire claims he's going to self finance his campaign but then takes donations anyway, sends out emails asking for donations, and even sends these emails to foreign officials before dipping into his own wealth… it raises questions.
34
As Deborah said (further down), it's about time journalists stop letting him weasel out and nail him on subjects. John Kerry was called a 'flip flopper,' while Donald is 'evolving.'
No one seems to push him too hard- afraid he will walk out of the interview? That might show his true colors, again. He lies, exaggerates,brags and issues innuendos and no one calls him on it.
It's about time to demand his answers for all these---as well as show his tax returns.
No one seems to push him too hard- afraid he will walk out of the interview? That might show his true colors, again. He lies, exaggerates,brags and issues innuendos and no one calls him on it.
It's about time to demand his answers for all these---as well as show his tax returns.
43
Why no mention of Trump reneging on his promise to release his tax returns if Obama released his birth certificate.
35
This is what fascism looks like.
30
So, NOW what do we do since we know Dodgy Donald has been "palling around" with soybeans? That his mother was an elderberry and his father a hamster? Paul Ryan? Anyone?
10
Didn't we steal Hawaii? If so, President Obama is not a U.S. citizen.:-) Happy Independence Day!
3
Um, what is the United States is all land that was stolen. Happy education day!
8
What is scarier than Don Trump?
That half the nation believes him and loves him.
Behold the power of Television.
That half the nation believes him and loves him.
Behold the power of Television.
32
Trump can day that the earth is a disc and was created ten thousand years ago. Nobody of his supporters cares. Because for them facts are part of "the establishment" and that he has the same non-education like them just makes him their candidate - because "he is one of us" - of us the angry, scared and frustrated ones. eduaction is evil. As seen in Great Britain - the brexit a result of the voices of the uneducated.
So it totally makes sense that the GOP has always made a by im education budget their main topic as keeping people uneducated guarantees that there will be always enough people voting for them.
So it totally makes sense that the GOP has always made a by im education budget their main topic as keeping people uneducated guarantees that there will be always enough people voting for them.
12
- because "he is one of us" -
trump lives in 5 star hotels/flats, eats at 5 star restos, dresses in $ 5, 000 custom made suits, serially marries supermodels, flies about in helos and a gold plated 757, yet th masses feel he is one of them
its too rich for words
trump lives in 5 star hotels/flats, eats at 5 star restos, dresses in $ 5, 000 custom made suits, serially marries supermodels, flies about in helos and a gold plated 757, yet th masses feel he is one of them
its too rich for words
35
I will take Trump over the serial liar, thanks.
1
According to Politifact, Trump has told more lies than all other candidates *combined.* Clinton has told fewer than most. So, if you are sincere that you won't vote for the "serial liar," then Trump will not be getting your vote.
15
I was relieved when I saw that you were from Texas. I would have been worried if you lived in a place where truth. honesty and integrity were still important, unlike Texit.
So when are y'all leaving the union?
So you y'all can getcha an indeypendence day.
After all your flag and your 'Boys just have one star.
Now you just need a slogan.
Wait! I got it!! Don't mess with Texas!!
Oops, the Supreme Court just did that, twice. Gotta get them secession papers in.
So when are y'all leaving the union?
So you y'all can getcha an indeypendence day.
After all your flag and your 'Boys just have one star.
Now you just need a slogan.
Wait! I got it!! Don't mess with Texas!!
Oops, the Supreme Court just did that, twice. Gotta get them secession papers in.
10
That's redundant.
1
The history of dirty tricks in Presidential politics is well-documented. The founding fathers used them. Democrats JFK and LBJ used then. They were used by Republicans against Democrats Kerry and Dukakis. Dirty tricks are used to gain a political advantage. That's why the birthers played their dirty trick. Check the KKK and white supremacists everywhere and tell me how many racists attack blacks for being foreigners.
5
There have been several white presidents with one foreign parent. Trump wpuld be one of them if he were elected? Perhaps the more precise question is why ONLY the black president's birthplace is questioned? Why isn't Trump being asked for his long -form birth certificate when his mother was born in Scotland?
16
Other than the early Presidents who were grandfathered in because there was no US prior to adoption of the Constitution, every president except for Arthur and Obama have had two US Citizen parents at the time they were born.
Arthur lied about his birth date so that it would show he was born after his father became a naturalized US citizen. He burned all his papers before his death so no one would find out.
It was only in the last 15 years that research digging through courthouse records proved that he had lied.
Obama is the first US President elected with the voters knowing that he had only one US citizen parent at the time he was born.
Arthur lied about his birth date so that it would show he was born after his father became a naturalized US citizen. He burned all his papers before his death so no one would find out.
It was only in the last 15 years that research digging through courthouse records proved that he had lied.
Obama is the first US President elected with the voters knowing that he had only one US citizen parent at the time he was born.
1
The man is a scam artist, nothing more. Clinton's surrogates should hit him for his tax returns every day, and accuse him of lying about being successful in business. If he picks Gingrich as a runnung mate, there will be twins.
Hit him hard on the tax returns.
Hit him hard on the tax returns.
55
Amy
Hillary is corrupt and may well be indicted. That is fact.
Your comment is not based on fact.
Hillary is corrupt and may well be indicted. That is fact.
Your comment is not based on fact.
4
Chaz, there is a better chance of Trump being indicted for the RICO Act for Trump U, soliciting campaign funds from foreigners and using donations to buy himself sport memorabilia than the possibility Hillary will be indicted for emails.
25
Not likely. The Republicans hate her and have been doing their best for 25 years to get her indicted. They haven't yet, nor are they likely to.
17
Having been exposed in his vicious, racist birther lie, how could anyone other than birthers vote for him? Have they no integrity or shame?
40
It's not merely a question of integrity or shame. The inescapable fact is that a large percentage of our fellow Americans are too lazy to do even rudimentary research to confirm or refute what they're told. They treat the issue of the American presidency as if it were no more consequential than the choice between two brands of soft drink.
17
That whole "birther" episode was just shameful and I am so embarrassed that President Obama had that foolishness thrown at him. My children's father is Swedish but they are born here in the USA. If they ever run for president no one would question their citizenship, but that is because they have blond hair and blue eyes. The one and only reason that this birther nonsense ever started was racism--ugly, stupid racism because Obama has dark skin. Trump is a racist lowlife. I don't agree with everything Obama has done, but he is one of the greatest examples of the "American Dream." Trump should go hide himself in shame.
68
So true. I was born in the US to immigrant parents, neither of whom were citizens at the time of my birth. I was never afraid that my parents would be deported or that anyone would doubt my citizenship. But then, my parents were from Western Europe and I was fair-skinned with blond hair and hazel eyes, so I looked "American". That face of America no longer exists. I'm lucky to have born at a time when immigrants were welcome in this country.
9
I saw Trump on the Big Screen Once and in Re-Runs of Back to the Future. He was Biff.
18
I've heard many, many people say that Donald is a delusional liar. I've seen it mentioned many, many times by people who are very wise. There have been people called fact checkers assigned to closely follow Trump and I can tell you that they are finding many many things. Mr. Trump may not be who he claims. Many things about him, that I've read many, many places, are not what they seem.
Trump has been allowed to spit out meaningless word salad, like the above, continuously without much challenge. Chris Matthews wouldn't let him wiggle out, and we found out his real views on abortion and nuclear weapons. Both were disqualifying and yet Trump endures.
McConnell assures us that once Donald starts to read the script written for him, he'll be fine. Forget all that racist blather and obvious lying. We just haven't seen the presidential Donald yet.
Apparently we have to wait for the debates. Even then, will moderators hold him accountable? Until then we're off down the rabbit hole with Donald leading the way.
Trump has been allowed to spit out meaningless word salad, like the above, continuously without much challenge. Chris Matthews wouldn't let him wiggle out, and we found out his real views on abortion and nuclear weapons. Both were disqualifying and yet Trump endures.
McConnell assures us that once Donald starts to read the script written for him, he'll be fine. Forget all that racist blather and obvious lying. We just haven't seen the presidential Donald yet.
Apparently we have to wait for the debates. Even then, will moderators hold him accountable? Until then we're off down the rabbit hole with Donald leading the way.
269
Bliss,
Well, that's the optimistic view.
Well, that's the optimistic view.
2
I doubt Mr. Trump will show up for the debates.
4
C. Morris,
Ridiculing the Donald is too easy- the amazing thing is his supporters don't care. And that's scary.
Ridiculing the Donald is too easy- the amazing thing is his supporters don't care. And that's scary.
3
This story aside--looking for Hillary the Secretary of State Middle East extortion Queen for the next NYT story (emails missing, of course)--the country appears to be quite divided over our current presidential candidate choices--bitterly so, too, so the drumbeat of the mass-media rhetoric seems to indicate.
Could be nasty days comin' for the nation, especially if it's a Brexit-edge result either way.
Assuming there's not a "blood in the streets" revolution as a result, this is actually a good thing--either we consolidate the Obama years or we put a full-stop to same.
Should be entertaining either way--Queen Hillary or The Donald.
Could be nasty days comin' for the nation, especially if it's a Brexit-edge result either way.
Assuming there's not a "blood in the streets" revolution as a result, this is actually a good thing--either we consolidate the Obama years or we put a full-stop to same.
Should be entertaining either way--Queen Hillary or The Donald.
2
When will it come out that never ending, the incessant persecution of the Clintons is simply Republican "hateism" at its worst. I have no way to prove it but I will bet a good sum that the Republicans are paying off some senior Justice Department/FBI personnel to continue the nonsense about the email "scandal."
If legal charges are indeed brought against Hillary, she will be done as far as a candidate is concerned. Let's just hope that Sanders will step into the fray and use his considerable talent to trash and condemn Drumpf for the bigoted, racist, criminally insane hate monger that he is.
If legal charges are indeed brought against Hillary, she will be done as far as a candidate is concerned. Let's just hope that Sanders will step into the fray and use his considerable talent to trash and condemn Drumpf for the bigoted, racist, criminally insane hate monger that he is.
16
When a significant portion of the American population still believes the earth is only six thousand years old, the devil exists and President Obama is really a Muslim, any wonder why Trump got away with the statement that Obama was not born in the U.S.?
53
a majority of americans believe angels are real and play a role in our daily ,lives
10
And a large part of those are minorities. Nothing wrong with that, now is there?
1
@otto
The only thing wrong is the term -- "minorities".
It still says, and means the same thing.
Think about it.
The only thing wrong is the term -- "minorities".
It still says, and means the same thing.
Think about it.
So, DT starts his test campaign based on a total and utter lie and he knew it. It's also a big different in core support - ignorance or stupidity vs more educated. This is an election based on lies and more lies. Keep it coming. I want to see how low his campaign can go. Wait, there he goes again. Same old same old.
15
Once again, Trump falls back on his fail-safe attitude: I've made up my mind, don't confuse me with the facts.
16
"...because the press was chasing Donald Trump around for the next crazy thing he was going to say..."
What is wrong with the American media?
Have they no clue of their destructiveness to our society and country?
What is wrong with the American media?
Have they no clue of their destructiveness to our society and country?
28
Trump recognized that even if a minority of US voters did not entertain the birther libel, a large portion of Republicans considered it plausible. Indeed, it's this core of delusionals who gave Trump his primary victory. And to this day, Trump hopes to trade on this. According to a CNN/ORC poll taken in September (http://www.cnn.com/2015/09/13/politics/barack-obama-religion-christian-m... 2015, 43% of Republicans and 54% of Trump supporters believe Obama is a Moslem (which I take as code for not being born in the US).
The question the GOP needs to answer is why its voters are so open to this garbage? Could it be that they found it useful during Obama's 2008 candidacy and in subsequent years to let these scurrilous notions circulate, and now have no way to disown them, especially because so many of their voters embrace such nonsense? Yes, John Kerry rather than a hero, was a coward in Vietnam, Obama is a Marxist/Moslem/Kenyan, the Clintons killed
Vince Foster, Hillary Clinton frustrated the military's attempt to rescue our men in Benghazi.... It's ironic that all the Democrats can come up with is that the GOP presidential candidate is a prevaricating narcissist with a penchant for conspiracy theories and no reason to even fancy himself presidential.
The question the GOP needs to answer is why its voters are so open to this garbage? Could it be that they found it useful during Obama's 2008 candidacy and in subsequent years to let these scurrilous notions circulate, and now have no way to disown them, especially because so many of their voters embrace such nonsense? Yes, John Kerry rather than a hero, was a coward in Vietnam, Obama is a Marxist/Moslem/Kenyan, the Clintons killed
Vince Foster, Hillary Clinton frustrated the military's attempt to rescue our men in Benghazi.... It's ironic that all the Democrats can come up with is that the GOP presidential candidate is a prevaricating narcissist with a penchant for conspiracy theories and no reason to even fancy himself presidential.
13
Trump is an opportunist and a bigot. He will use anyone and do anything including illegal and immoral acts. It is not ironic that Trump showed such disdain for President Obama.
Trump's father was a low income housing profiteer who discriminated against blacks and other minorities. Racism is learned behavior.
The birther conspiracy theory was the perfect opportunity to garner support from
racist who share these views and this is when Trump seized the opportunity to embark on his presidential bid. A very calculated move by a very dangerous man. Even if Trump is elected president. He will not succeed. This is a man with too much hatred in his heart.
Trump's father was a low income housing profiteer who discriminated against blacks and other minorities. Racism is learned behavior.
The birther conspiracy theory was the perfect opportunity to garner support from
racist who share these views and this is when Trump seized the opportunity to embark on his presidential bid. A very calculated move by a very dangerous man. Even if Trump is elected president. He will not succeed. This is a man with too much hatred in his heart.
20
It doesn't matter. it simply doesn't matter...to Mr. Trump's supporters. Facts don't matter to them. All that matters is their hatred of this President, Ms. Clinton and of the "establishment" (whatever that means to them).
I'm afraid that the Clinton approach will fail. Mr. Trump will be elected, and, then, we're all in for it. Mr, trump will use the same techniques as president as he has as candidate. There will be no do-overs.
Perhaps the only approach for Clinton is to become the "un-Trump". That is, minimal negative campaigning, no attacking, no snarking. Find a positive theme...something fairly concrete that will give those on the fence some hope. The Trump supporters can never be persuaded, but, the undecided can be. Ms. Clinton may not have the ability to be inspirational , but she can be hopeful.
I'm afraid that the Clinton approach will fail. Mr. Trump will be elected, and, then, we're all in for it. Mr, trump will use the same techniques as president as he has as candidate. There will be no do-overs.
Perhaps the only approach for Clinton is to become the "un-Trump". That is, minimal negative campaigning, no attacking, no snarking. Find a positive theme...something fairly concrete that will give those on the fence some hope. The Trump supporters can never be persuaded, but, the undecided can be. Ms. Clinton may not have the ability to be inspirational , but she can be hopeful.
26
If Trump gets elected, Melania is going to run the government on a day-to-day basis. One can not ask her birth certificate since, just like his IRS returns, it is a private matter. She would be handed the government just as he handed the reins to Ivana to run NYC plaza hotel or one of his children. One reason he will have to hurry up and make more of them -- the government is calling.
Trump himself is a 'big thinker', as big as a blimp filled with helium and whatever inert gases. The minutiae of actually running the government would not interest him. He is more into direct democracy -- bypass the senators, bypass the congressmen, talk directly to his 1000,000 followers which includes 1 black person, 2 mexicans and 0.5 muslim(just on the motherside).
For all we know he might outsource government to China or Saudis or perhaps even to North Korea once he finds a kindred soul in Kim.
Trump would be hands full updating his followers on Twitter and other social media personally--since that is truly something he enjoys. Nothing better than direct democracy!
Trump himself is a 'big thinker', as big as a blimp filled with helium and whatever inert gases. The minutiae of actually running the government would not interest him. He is more into direct democracy -- bypass the senators, bypass the congressmen, talk directly to his 1000,000 followers which includes 1 black person, 2 mexicans and 0.5 muslim(just on the motherside).
For all we know he might outsource government to China or Saudis or perhaps even to North Korea once he finds a kindred soul in Kim.
Trump would be hands full updating his followers on Twitter and other social media personally--since that is truly something he enjoys. Nothing better than direct democracy!
21
Trump lies for a living and yet Clinton has lower trust numbers in the polls. This isn't just the fault of an ignorant public. This is also the fault of the media chasing ratings.
91
Why is Trump allowed to get away with "I don't talk about that anymore"? He made astonishing charges, and he continues to do so today. Journalists--on our behalf--need to insist that he answer.
80
Challenge to all the Media:
During the Presidential Debates, the moderator should ask Trump why should the American voter elect a person who dwells in lies and conspiracy theories without any valid proof. How could the nation ever trust such a President when he advocates committing our nation to war?
During these Presidential Debates, the moderator should ask Trump specifically on his advocacy of the false statements such as the Birther theory, Cruz's father worked with Lee Harvey Oswald to kill JFK, etc. Once the question is asked, the moderator must not move onto another topic until Trump specifically answers the question. The moderator must not let Trump change the subject. Trump will most likely never answer the question put before him. In that case, the moderator should state to the viewing American voter, how can they ever have faith in a President who deals with constant lies and innuendo, yet will not answer a straight question about his support of those same lies and innuendos.
During the Presidential Debates, the moderator should ask Trump why should the American voter elect a person who dwells in lies and conspiracy theories without any valid proof. How could the nation ever trust such a President when he advocates committing our nation to war?
During these Presidential Debates, the moderator should ask Trump specifically on his advocacy of the false statements such as the Birther theory, Cruz's father worked with Lee Harvey Oswald to kill JFK, etc. Once the question is asked, the moderator must not move onto another topic until Trump specifically answers the question. The moderator must not let Trump change the subject. Trump will most likely never answer the question put before him. In that case, the moderator should state to the viewing American voter, how can they ever have faith in a President who deals with constant lies and innuendo, yet will not answer a straight question about his support of those same lies and innuendos.
53
Don't be surprised if one way or another Trump weasels his way out of the debates.
16
It seems that Donald cannot shut up. Could his problem be Tourette Syndrome? Tourette Syndrome is a neurological disorder that causes a variety of tics, according to the Tourette Association of America. They say the tics can include repetitive movements and involuntary vocalizations. These involuntary vocalizations may occur out of contex; the words may be inappropriate and include swear words, ethnic slurs and other socially unacceptable words or phrases. The cure, it seems, would be that he needs to get his mouth fixed.
15
Joan: What needs fixing is his soul, but the time for that is "past-due".
7
It seems to me he has serious problems with impulse control (e.g., raising issues all his advisors tell him to avoid) and fixation (e.g., the 6 week birther jag, Judge Gonzalo, Jeb Bush...)
IMO it adds up to an emotional immaturity that does not allow him to control himself for extended periods of time, no matter how hard the campaign tries to "button him up" to "appear" more Presidential.
IMO it adds up to an emotional immaturity that does not allow him to control himself for extended periods of time, no matter how hard the campaign tries to "button him up" to "appear" more Presidential.
13
It is not Tourettes, He is simply a pathological liar.
17
Trump is a con-man and the GOP went along with him for their own political benefit re the birther issue knowing all along it was false. Now the con-man has taken over their party and it's too late to dis-own him. Serves them right.
35
The Donald...all hat and no cattle...
13
Or to put it another way: all mouth and no message!
9
He has plenty of cattle — all bulls.
7
I can't constantly be disappointed by Don Trump and his very bizarre behavior. I can't keep knocking him and fearing him being President. I also have to look at the bright side of this. America is a nation lost in fantasy created by the Universal Television influence that has this nation in a trance apart from the realities of living life. Don Trump would make a great Master of ceremonies in a Circus.
To quote Emerson, Lake and Palmer, "Welcome here my friends to the show that never ends".
To quote Emerson, Lake and Palmer, "Welcome here my friends to the show that never ends".
12
Actually, it was Hillary Clinton's campaign that first raised this suspicion.
6
For the millionth time. False.
But it is touching that some of Donald's folks believe what they "think" Hillary Clinton said. Bodes well for her election anyway.
Bother yourself to look up these things. Factcheck.org.
But it is touching that some of Donald's folks believe what they "think" Hillary Clinton said. Bodes well for her election anyway.
Bother yourself to look up these things. Factcheck.org.
15
Really? Cite your source. Wait don't bother, you're from SC and haven't the intelligence to fact check.
14
Named, dated, and placed source?
15
Since he publicly stated that he HAD sent detectives to Hawaii, "and they cant't believe what they are finding', could someone with the opportunity to question him on the record please just get an answer from him: did you lie about the investigators? If not, what did they find?
Can we please start holding his feet to the fire for his incessant mendacity?
Can we please start holding his feet to the fire for his incessant mendacity?
107
Obamas deep hatred for Mr. Trump stems from this whole Birtha movement which undermined Mr. Obama's credibility amongst millions of Americans and galvanized the core of the grass roots movement that fast tracked Mr. Trump to the top of the Republican ticket. Mr. Obama took great pleasure in roasting Mr. Trump, even mocking him, 4 years ago at the white house correspondent's dinner. Now it appears that Mr. Trump is getting the last laugh as the lame duck Obama searches for a legacy even as Mr, Trump steels himself to take on the deeply flawed and vulnerable Mrs. Clinton. It will gall this President to have to give Mr.Trump and Melania the tour of the Whitehouse on the way out the door. That is now a distinct possibility. Stay tuned.
3
The only thing that galvanized the core of the grass roots movement that fast tracked Mr. Trump to the top of the Republican ticket were racism, bigotry, and ignorance. All of which you display so well. Stay tuned.
34
good luck..
you might need to get used to saying
President Hillary Rodham Clinton
as for foreigners, i am not sure if I want foreign born Melania in the white house
you might need to get used to saying
President Hillary Rodham Clinton
as for foreigners, i am not sure if I want foreign born Melania in the white house
20
Why the nasty personal attack? I thought you liberals were tolerant of divergent views? I am surprised it made it past the screener.
2
Trump is a master political performance artist whose abilities nearly equal those of Ronald Reagan, a TV series host and washing machine salesman who set a standard in US politics that has only now been surpassed.
The only performance that make it in this arena is one that achieves madness; The Donald is approaching that threshold. Fun!
The only performance that make it in this arena is one that achieves madness; The Donald is approaching that threshold. Fun!
23
Donald Trump says......"the reason I have a little doubt...[ that Obama was born in Hawaii and is an American] is because he grew up and nobody knew him" July2,2015 NYT. Not true. Barak (Barry ) Obama went to Punahou on Oahu in the state of Hawaii, which is a prestigious college prep school where my brother -in-law also spent 4 years. ( Barak was much younger!) He also attended Occidental College outside LA, where my husband taught (although at different times.) He is described by people who certainly did know him , (some of whom I know and am related to) as an out-going generous kind , and intelligent youngster and teenager. As our governing president, he still exhibits these qualities.
D.T. grew up in a plastic bubble trolling discos and nightclubs with the likes of Roy Cohn. I am one of the millions of nobodies who doesn't know the Donald, now or when he was coming up, but in terms of his provenance I agree that ...The whole thing is very strange",... very strange indeed.
D.T. grew up in a plastic bubble trolling discos and nightclubs with the likes of Roy Cohn. I am one of the millions of nobodies who doesn't know the Donald, now or when he was coming up, but in terms of his provenance I agree that ...The whole thing is very strange",... very strange indeed.
55
Everyone knows Obama attended grade school in Hawaii.
Occidental College is in LA.
Occidental College is in LA.
2
What's more is that Obama has been born again, while Mr. Trump's claim to fame is that he invented a sandwich that he likes to eat. Which is more believable? Which is more incredible? And don't even get me started on Calico cats. Are they vile or viral? That's what we'll know when we see Trump's tape. They do hope it will be viral and be vital. The tape is scheduled to be released on the Fourth. Planet Trump doesn't like to be eclipsed by anything, even fireworks. He's going to spend the 4th reading his fan mail.
5
The evidence that forced the donald to spend hours and days away from his business would shock us. So where is it. What turned his head from the stacks of 100's he could have made. Perhaps some of the hand picked professors from Trump U. will hold a conference. I am eager to see the agenda although it would have only one item
Lecture: "Pay attention to my Brand by Donald Trump"
Lecture: "Pay attention to my Brand by Donald Trump"
8
There can be little doubt Trump is a pathological liar and should be subject to a psychiatric evaluation. Why isn’t his mental health being examined more? We would ask no less from any job applicant going into the private sector.
Pathological Lying … is a behavior of habitual or compulsive lying. It was first described in the medical literature in 1891 by Anton Delbrueck. The individual may be aware they are lying, or may believe they are telling the truth … Sometimes however, the individual may be lying to make their life seem more exciting when in reality they believe their life is unpleasant or boring. Wikipedia
Pathological Lying … is a behavior of habitual or compulsive lying. It was first described in the medical literature in 1891 by Anton Delbrueck. The individual may be aware they are lying, or may believe they are telling the truth … Sometimes however, the individual may be lying to make their life seem more exciting when in reality they believe their life is unpleasant or boring. Wikipedia
26
Trump once said he doesn't need advisors because he has a very good brain. But it sure looks like he was taking advice from a man who thinks soybeans cause homosexuality.
A lot of people fear Trump becoming president. Be assured, if Trump does become president, he'll do something boneheaded to get himself impeached right away.
A lot of people fear Trump becoming president. Be assured, if Trump does become president, he'll do something boneheaded to get himself impeached right away.
24
And who's next in line? President Christie?
9
I'd rather have Christie . He's a bully and a criminal but at least he's sane.....I think.
1
Impeachment right away, absolutely. Congress would love nothing more than to get their boy Gingrich in. Another paragon of virtue.
I remember the controversy over Obama's birth certificate which Trump and others tried to use to disqualify him after he was elected but not before. The birthers claimed that the one released by the White House, stated, "Certificate of Live Birth," instead of "Birth Certificate". Talk about splitting hairs. Out of curiosity I looked at my birth certificate from a hospital in California and it also said, "Certificate of Live Birth" as I assume many others do. Such a bizarre reason over wording to discount the President's citizenship and it can only be attributed to the fact that he is an African American.
42
Pointing out the racism of others is racist. Just don't ask me why.
1
How about the made up controversy over the words "radical Islam"? As though saying those words would magically eradicate ISIS!
17
Many conservatives grew up believing that you should ALWAYS respect the President. This is a problem if you're a right-wing politician who wants to attack the president as well as his party and policies (and the Republican strategy since Karl Rove has been constant attack.) It's also a problem if you're a racist, of course. Birtherism was a way out for these folks - they could say that Obama's not legitimately the President so they don't have to respect him. It didn't have to be very credible - just enough to give them an excuse to let their other values override their patriotic leader-worship.
And because it wasn't official Republican party policy, the "moderate" candidates like McCain and Romney could let the impolite folks yell the racist insults and dodge responsibility for them.
And because it wasn't official Republican party policy, the "moderate" candidates like McCain and Romney could let the impolite folks yell the racist insults and dodge responsibility for them.
6
Now if people could get just as worked up about Hillary's missing emails. Oh wait. Those don't count.
6
There's no comparison between questioning a sitting President's legitimacy --not how he was elected, but his citizenship-- and poor to inadequate storage of a secretary of state's emails. None.
31
Maybe the FBI should interview both Hillary and Trump.
4
Cokie Roberts gave credence to birtherism back in 2008 when candidate Obama chose to vacation in "exotic" Hawaii instead of red blooded real American Myrtle Beach.
14
I've been to Hawaii, and to Myrtle Beach. Hawaii is better, as well as closer :-)
1
How is this credence to birtherism? Only Republican campaign logic of the Atwater/Rove kind could twist Roberts's foolish observation into "credence for birtherism." Barack's grandmother, who helped raise him, had only a few months to live, and she was in Hawaii. For pity's sake.
6
My coworker's father delivered Obama right here in Hawaii. Hawaii is a one of the 50 states! Who knew?! I'm pretty sure Trump knew when (likely) claiming local st and federal Tax breaks for his Trump hotel here in Waikiki. Hawaii being the 50th state conveniently works for his bottom line at tax time. We'll only know when he releases his tax records, won't we?
Compared to most of the other politicians in the orbit of president status/aspirations, I appreciate Obama's level headedness and plodding forward in day to day presidential duties despite a noncooperative senate and house. Although I don't agree with all of the things happening during his presidency (mainly Wash DC being too cozy with Wall St), on the balance, he has performed reasonably as POTUS.
I only wish he could have staggered his presidency terms so that his second was when he was 65-70, when I think he will be hitting the optimal intellectual/social/wisdom/respect/decisiveness zone of his political career. It will be interesting to see what he does with the remainder of his life post POTUS. I hold out hope that his (mostly positive imho) legacy will continue to grow based on actions post White House. If globalization continues, he may be a perfect candidate for a global governing body for social, moral, and common sense (which is his main attribute) directives/decisionmaking.
Compared to most of the other politicians in the orbit of president status/aspirations, I appreciate Obama's level headedness and plodding forward in day to day presidential duties despite a noncooperative senate and house. Although I don't agree with all of the things happening during his presidency (mainly Wash DC being too cozy with Wall St), on the balance, he has performed reasonably as POTUS.
I only wish he could have staggered his presidency terms so that his second was when he was 65-70, when I think he will be hitting the optimal intellectual/social/wisdom/respect/decisiveness zone of his political career. It will be interesting to see what he does with the remainder of his life post POTUS. I hold out hope that his (mostly positive imho) legacy will continue to grow based on actions post White House. If globalization continues, he may be a perfect candidate for a global governing body for social, moral, and common sense (which is his main attribute) directives/decisionmaking.
9
We all need to see Don Trump's 2015 tax returns to determine if he is becoming richer by running for office with all the free Television time and free advertising conveying his name brand. Prior stories seemed to indicate he his very focused on his brand name.
38
Still not clear why the press follows the antics of Trump's all but transparent bids for attention, clouding real issues, taking up time and space with invented scandals when there are substantial problems the President must deal with. Is it the job of the press to cover made up, hyperbolic nonsense? Can those in the press even tell the difference between a scam and a real story?
I am so bored with Trump, so very, very bored.
I am so bored with Trump, so very, very bored.
30
"Still not clear why the press follows the antics of Trump's all but transparent bids for attention"
Because it appears he will be a major party's nominee for the presidency, he has millions of scary followers, and he presents a real and present danger to the United States of America. Would you prefer NOT to know that a racist con artist is at the top of the GOP ticket? And yes, it is the job of the press to EXPOSE made up, hyperbolic nonsense. If only they did it more conscientiously.
Because it appears he will be a major party's nominee for the presidency, he has millions of scary followers, and he presents a real and present danger to the United States of America. Would you prefer NOT to know that a racist con artist is at the top of the GOP ticket? And yes, it is the job of the press to EXPOSE made up, hyperbolic nonsense. If only they did it more conscientiously.
16
Kind of ironic, the guy goes after the president for supposedly not releasing his birth certificate and yet he keeps coming up with excuses as to why he can't release his tax records. Hypocritical and cowardly.
88
Don Trump is the Television man, created by the Television industry to act like a circus showman to placate and entertain the masses addicted to the carnival fantasy world that is Television. His followers are weaned on cartoons and live a life of fictional two dimension fantasies. Neither Don Trump or his followers are rooted in the real world. They are the circus.
Watch out world.
Watch out world.
26
In the last election, Trump was the opening clown act in a long circus intended to convince the Tea Party and other right-wingers that they were going to have to accept a corporate-wing candidate instead of a right-winger because that was the only group that could win. They trotted out the Bachmann and Perry show, they brought out the Herman Cains and other middleweights, even offered us a few elephants like a second billionaire Mormon ex-Gov (Huntsman), let Ron Paul hang around (because he wouldn't go away) and eventually settled on Romney. Yuge Success!
This time it was Trump that wouldn't go away, and he's made it clear that he's the closing clown act, not just the opening show.
This time it was Trump that wouldn't go away, and he's made it clear that he's the closing clown act, not just the opening show.
2
So mainstream media was all over this birth certificate overblown non-issue. Meanwhile we have a presidential candidate who, for the first time in decades whatever the party, refuses to show his tax returns under the pretense that "it's none of your business". Well I have news for you fellow Americans, this is most definitely our business, especially with a person who boasts about his wealth and business expertise, a person who will represent us and is supposed to accept accountability for it, a person with a documented history of lying and shortchanging contractors, customers and shareholders of his own companies, to his exclusive benefit, and in certain cases is under investigation of the authorities for these motives. Fellow citizens of any political background, if like the rest of us you want to know who is claiming the presidential office and don't especially appreciate the possibility of being swindled, Republicans, journalists, if you have any shred of consistency in thinking any candidate should be subject to the kind of scrutiny Obama was about his birth, or Hillary Clinton is about Bengazi or email servers, then stop avoiding the subject and relentlessly demand that Donald Trump's returns be made public. How on earth is Trump getting a free pass on this?
95
Thank you. Well said!!!
9
No, Trump does not get a pass on this insulting issue he raised. Why aren't more reporters asking Trump about his stupid birther remarks? If Trump starts insulting Obama, I expect the media to once again remind Trump of his racist position. (But am not holding my breath. The media let Trump get away with these lies once, and will probably let him lie about the President again.)
32
It was Hillary's campaign who first brought it up.
1
The Washington Post was rude enough to ask Trump a few real questions, and they're banned. Everybody else wants access (except of course Univision, who did the same thing early on.)
7
Why, oh why, dear moderator, do you let Otto get away with this? There is no such evidence about "Hillary's campaign."
And what matters is not which anonymous rat pulled the garbage claim out of the sewer to begin with. What matters is who spent six weeks ginning up a base of supporters using the discredited claim and who now wants us to elect him President because he "tells it like it is." But don't remind him of his birtherism. "I don't talk about that any more."
And what matters is not which anonymous rat pulled the garbage claim out of the sewer to begin with. What matters is who spent six weeks ginning up a base of supporters using the discredited claim and who now wants us to elect him President because he "tells it like it is." But don't remind him of his birtherism. "I don't talk about that any more."
12
An investor who knew Donald Trump and sometimes teamed with him recently called him a "bottom feeding investor" because he always looks for distressed properties and exploits them. (At this time, golf courses are in that category because of the plummeting popularity of golf.)
Trump is a bottom feeding politician too. Unfortunately, he has found millions of American voters down there in the scummy muck where he swims.
Trump is a bottom feeding politician too. Unfortunately, he has found millions of American voters down there in the scummy muck where he swims.
37
Mr Trump is playing with the frustration and anger of many Americans. He does not know how to solve problems. He just magnifies them.
36
Much like Boris Johnson the "Brexit" fiasco over the pond. With the Leave campaign successful, Johnson fails to lead and provide solutions. This is what Trump is exactly doing... tearing down political structures by failing to provide alternative solutions which is where the real work is in society and nation building.
9
Everyone acts as if it's ok to question the presidents place of birth when Hawaii had previously confirmed that President Obama was born there.
Hawaii has done no such thing.
What they have said is that the information on file shows Obama was born there.
The question is who furnished the information. Was it the hospital or the grandmother.
The newspaper notices automatically followed the report as they do everyday in newspapers throughout america.
Hawaii because of its heritage is into ancestry.
They have kept the originals of all birth certificates starting as early as the 1850s.
The Obama birth certificate that was produced is not a photo copy of the original birth certificate.
This can be proven because there are on-line photos of the birth certificates of twins that were born the day before at the same hospital that Obama is supposed to have been born in.
They don't look anything like the Obama birth certificate.
The media and everyone else has decided to deep six this because of the serious ramifications otherwise.
Hawaii has done no such thing.
What they have said is that the information on file shows Obama was born there.
The question is who furnished the information. Was it the hospital or the grandmother.
The newspaper notices automatically followed the report as they do everyday in newspapers throughout america.
Hawaii because of its heritage is into ancestry.
They have kept the originals of all birth certificates starting as early as the 1850s.
The Obama birth certificate that was produced is not a photo copy of the original birth certificate.
This can be proven because there are on-line photos of the birth certificates of twins that were born the day before at the same hospital that Obama is supposed to have been born in.
They don't look anything like the Obama birth certificate.
The media and everyone else has decided to deep six this because of the serious ramifications otherwise.
4
Except the director of Hawaii's state department of health DID indicate that they had seen the original vital records in a USA today article from 2009.
6
Hawaii has confirmed several times the authenticity of the birth certificate.
13
Your post is filled with misinformation. A former Hawaii Department of Health Director, appointed by a Republican governor, did make a statement to the Honolulu newspaper confirming Obama's Hawaii birth. "Dr. Chiyome Fukino declared she has seen the 'original birth records' that verify Obama was born in Hawaii and is a 'natural-born American citizen,' the Honolulu Advertiser reported." (from an article by birther Jerome Corsi on birther site World Net Daily.) She did this in "apparent contravention of Hawaiian law" to attempt to quell the nonsensical birther conspiracy theories.
The Nordyke twins' birth certificates (released by their parents) look the same as the Obama birth certificate, the only difference being in the type of photocopying.
The Nordyke twins' birth certificates (released by their parents) look the same as the Obama birth certificate, the only difference being in the type of photocopying.
23
So he makes a big point about sending investigators to Hawaii and that it's 'unbelievable' (or something) how much they are finding. And, then, of course, it turns out that, no, actually he didn't.
He's a pathological liar and Hillary Clinton should be beating him by at least 15 points. But because she's a liar, too, that is not the case.
I guess we'll find out in November which Lying Liar will be our next president.
He's a pathological liar and Hillary Clinton should be beating him by at least 15 points. But because she's a liar, too, that is not the case.
I guess we'll find out in November which Lying Liar will be our next president.
8
Well, what is the evidence Hillary is a pathological liar? I've looked at this a little, and what seems to turn up are instances most people, rightly, wouldn't take notice of, but her adversaries have exaggerated and misrepresent ever since she has been in the public eye.
16
Has anyone ever tracked the number of lawsuits brought against this confidence man?
19
I worked for two of the largest banks in the world for more than a decade. If I sent top secret emails from my work server to my private server, I would have been terminated immediately and my employers would have explored pressing charges. This was company policy for 250,000 employees from the lowest to highest level employees. How much more egregious are the allegations against Hillary? She held one of the highest positions in the land. Yet, she breached her duties and violated thr law. Despite her liberal apologists' attempt to downplay her potentially criminal behavior, Hillary should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. But of course, the fraudulent and corrupt Loretta Lynch, under the tutelage of our Commander In Cheat Obama, will brush everything under the White House rug. In the meantime, I find it amusing to watch these rats squirm.
4
How does this even connect to the story?
19
You have gone to great lengths to avoid even touching on the topic of the article you're supposedly responding to. I wonder why?
14
Except that it was *not* a breach of any law, rule or regulation for her to use a private email server for public business at the DOS. See page 19 of the Inspector General's report. Her predecessors did the same thing. In fact, Colin Powell used a private account and then he destroyed all of his official emails (a clear and unequivocal violation of the Federal Records Act), something Sec. Clinton didn't do. It's all there in the Inspector General's report, which is easy to find on line for anyone who cares about the facts. But the Hillary haters *don't* care about the facts. They just want to keep on hating. So writing this comment was pretty much a waste of time and energy.
7
Trump's obsession with the birther issue (which continues by way of innuendo regarding President Obama being in cahoots with Islamic terrorists and still at times saying he's unsure about Obama's birth place) is a symptom.
From a mental health perspective, Donald Trump is apparently still an insecure child bent on proving to himself that rather than being as vulnerable as he feels, he's really powerful and in control. And that also means always winning; always being right; being unable to say "I don't know" or "I was wrong."
Imagine how powerful and in control and proud of himself he felt when through his own devious efforts he could finally force President Obama, who occupies the most powerful position in America, in the world, to cave in and prove that he was born in America. Remember when he tried to do the same to Ted Cruz.
Thus, because of the apparent sever nature of his insecurities, he will do or say anything, including blatant character assassination to keep his head above the inner waters of insecurity that threaten to consume him if he doesn't stay a step ahead by also denigrating others.
So, by achieving the enormous power/control that comes with the office he's seeking, which I truly believe is the basis for his seeking it. And since fame and fortune hasn't helped him feel grown up and secure, he's depending on occupying the highest office in the land to help him finally achieve that lifelong goal. And that's totally and completely terrifying.
From a mental health perspective, Donald Trump is apparently still an insecure child bent on proving to himself that rather than being as vulnerable as he feels, he's really powerful and in control. And that also means always winning; always being right; being unable to say "I don't know" or "I was wrong."
Imagine how powerful and in control and proud of himself he felt when through his own devious efforts he could finally force President Obama, who occupies the most powerful position in America, in the world, to cave in and prove that he was born in America. Remember when he tried to do the same to Ted Cruz.
Thus, because of the apparent sever nature of his insecurities, he will do or say anything, including blatant character assassination to keep his head above the inner waters of insecurity that threaten to consume him if he doesn't stay a step ahead by also denigrating others.
So, by achieving the enormous power/control that comes with the office he's seeking, which I truly believe is the basis for his seeking it. And since fame and fortune hasn't helped him feel grown up and secure, he's depending on occupying the highest office in the land to help him finally achieve that lifelong goal. And that's totally and completely terrifying.
20
Besides the fact that Obama was born in Hawaii, there is the fact that if an American citizen woman gives birth while out of the country, her child is still an American Citizen. This "controversy" is double baloney.
337
Barbara,
This has been explained and debunked dozens of times nationally on the news, the papers, the internets, you name it.
Yet tens of millions of American voters think it is so.
We as a nation have hit bottom politically.
Get ready for President Donald.
When Brexit won Trump became most likely to win here.
It all plays into his narrative.
Austria will do a redux' Here come the fascists.
LePen in France.
Neo-Nazis in Germany.
Trump here.
This has been explained and debunked dozens of times nationally on the news, the papers, the internets, you name it.
Yet tens of millions of American voters think it is so.
We as a nation have hit bottom politically.
Get ready for President Donald.
When Brexit won Trump became most likely to win here.
It all plays into his narrative.
Austria will do a redux' Here come the fascists.
LePen in France.
Neo-Nazis in Germany.
Trump here.
Indeed, if the woman seeks citizenship for the child. But that does not necessarily make him/her a "natural born citizen." Why didn't Trump challenge Cruz's ability to be president, which is certainly questionable, since he is not a "natural born citizen," whereas President Obama, born on US soil, is.
Barbara has hit the proverbial head. The same applied to John McCain and Ted Cruz. The only issue is whether the truth was told. Obama was disbarred for lying on his application to the Illinois Bar, so the question is legitimate and none of the lame stream media ever looked into the matter at all.
George Stephanopoulos was at Columbia at the same time as Obama, and in the same program, but he has said that he never once saw Obama, nor has anyone else who was there during those years.
To be fair, there is an air of the Manchurian Candidate about this president and he has hardly been forthcoming in clearing the air over the many years.
George Stephanopoulos was at Columbia at the same time as Obama, and in the same program, but he has said that he never once saw Obama, nor has anyone else who was there during those years.
To be fair, there is an air of the Manchurian Candidate about this president and he has hardly been forthcoming in clearing the air over the many years.
1
Sleazy Donald J. Trump at his insinuating worst: “The reason I have a little doubt, just a little, is because he grew up and nobody knew him,” he said in a March 2011 interview. “The whole thing is very strange.”
Slugs look down upon this critter.
Slugs look down upon this critter.
42
National Cable/Network CEOs given Trump time and space, that despots usually kill not to prevent them from taking• As an alcoholic once said of his minds eye, that it told him booze could kill me, but it would go on living. Media bought into USA being led by licensor of hate and continue on as before without internecine racial strife.
5
"A lie told often enough becomes the truth".
15
The attempt to link Mr. Trump's birther comments to his current success as a nominee is weak, at best. If he were simply a "birther candidate" no one would listen.
Brexit proved that Mr. Trump's focus on bad trade agreements, national security and illegal immigration has appeal to a broad spectrum of voters, not just in America.
Yes, many do not like Mr. Trump the messenger, but his message has value. Why doesn't the NY Times denigrate the voters of "Leave" as poorly educated, racist xenophobes, too?
Brexit proved that Mr. Trump's focus on bad trade agreements, national security and illegal immigration has appeal to a broad spectrum of voters, not just in America.
Yes, many do not like Mr. Trump the messenger, but his message has value. Why doesn't the NY Times denigrate the voters of "Leave" as poorly educated, racist xenophobes, too?
4
Many of those British leave voters have denigrated themselves as such in their interview comments about why they voted as they did.
17
So treaties are imperfect, immigration has inconveniences, globalization comes with tough, less than optimal compromises? Thanks for the message. Now I'm interested in what actually realistic steps the guy would really carry out to change this course were he elected, aside from making constitutionally illegal claims such as shutting out whole segments of the population, and beating his chest. If you look at the Brexit example you seem to prize, it has become self evident in the meantime that the Brexit advocates made high profile claims that turned out to be outright counter truths, which they themselves had to retract almost immediately after the election, and that they have no clue what to do next. What makes you think Trump's election will have any different outcome?
11
Trump's "message" consists entirely of lies, spin, and propaganda. As such, it has no value.
7
"You know what? Donald Trump, based on the way you eat pizza, I want to see your long form birth certificate. I don't believe you were born in New York." - Jon Stewart after showing a video clip on the Daily Show of Trump eating a slice with a fork
33
Or as Obama commented when Tex Cruz talked about putting the ball in the ring (basketball, that is) ."and they call ME the foreigner!)
12
Why do the reporters call Farah and Corsi 'conservative'? What is conservative about their vews?
I would perhaps use 'rightwing,' although 'nutcase' would be even better, even if too out-there for the august Times.
I would perhaps use 'rightwing,' although 'nutcase' would be even better, even if too out-there for the august Times.
46
For me, this single issue indicates that Mr. Donald Trump is unfit for the highest office. Unfit. This issue also indicates how hungry people are for obviously false, hateful junk. Scary.
77
At least you can always trust Trump to lie.
Given how long the audit of Trump's taxes has taken, there must be "something" there. Time for an investigation!
Given how long the audit of Trump's taxes has taken, there must be "something" there. Time for an investigation!
60
Not everybody can be pure as the driven snow like Hillary Clinton.
4
Actually, with the decades long, tax payer paid non-stop investigation of the Clintons - how much factual information of wrongdoing has been found? A little white lie by Mr. Clinton is all! She is clean as snow while Trump is no better than "Clean Coal".
9
So let me know when those indictments actually come through--it's been what... 2 years now on Benghazi, and a year and a half on the emails?
2
Of course Trump didn't send investigators to Hawaii. His approach is to insinuate lies with no facts to support him. He does not care what the facts are, he just wants to maliciously stir the pot. To use his own terms, he's a "hater" and the closest thing to Huey Long (on the nominally Republican side) since 1935. Trump doesn't know what the truth is and does not care.
63
This falls into the category of crazy. Just how much crazy would Trump indulge in if elected president?
I honestly think this candidate needs therapy. There are too many signs of OCD, evidenced in his obsession with germs and his fixation on conspiracy theories. And his knee-jerk middle of the night tweets, called Tourette's tweeting by some here, is also a sign of lack of self control.
He reminds me a bit of Howard Hughes, who ended his bizarre unhappy life curled up in a ball in Las Vegas, felled by obsessions and disabling thoughts. Despite a successful business career, he was impulsive and inherently unstable.
The number one criterion for an aspiring president is sound mental health. While I know Trump indulges in stuff like birtherism to widen his base, there's a part of him who actually believes some of this junk.
Which is scarier than his total lack of intellectual and emotional fitness and government experience in his year for the Presidency.
I honestly think this candidate needs therapy. There are too many signs of OCD, evidenced in his obsession with germs and his fixation on conspiracy theories. And his knee-jerk middle of the night tweets, called Tourette's tweeting by some here, is also a sign of lack of self control.
He reminds me a bit of Howard Hughes, who ended his bizarre unhappy life curled up in a ball in Las Vegas, felled by obsessions and disabling thoughts. Despite a successful business career, he was impulsive and inherently unstable.
The number one criterion for an aspiring president is sound mental health. While I know Trump indulges in stuff like birtherism to widen his base, there's a part of him who actually believes some of this junk.
Which is scarier than his total lack of intellectual and emotional fitness and government experience in his year for the Presidency.
74
You're just way too kind.
1
53% of people polled AFTER the long form was released still didn't believe President Obama was born in the US? Pathetic.
61
Never underestimate the stupidity of the American public. It is why Trump is Trump.
21
The Donald J Trump phenomenon says much more about the news institutions and Republican Party (both leaders and voters) than it does about "The Donald". He has always been a carnival barker, completly self-centered, and self-interested, never bothering to learn much except how to manipulate others for his own gain. The real "religion" of the Republican leadership and funders is the gospel of Ayn Rand--paraphrased as "greed is good"--so Trump fits right in.
The broadcast news media has almost no interest in investigative journalism--unless a celebrity, conflict, sex, or violence is featured. All it wants is eyeballs. Trump gets eyeballs, so he is treated very gently, lest he go away. Unfortunately, the only recourse that might change things is to not watch--and avoid purchasing from the advertisers to the extent possible.
The Republican party has become more of a religion, and far less of a political party, with much dogma and many purity tests needed to be a member in good standing. Prosperity through austerity, trickle-down, ACA is a failure, reducing taxes on the wealthy generates jobs, government never works, free enterprise is perfect, immegrants are all job-stealing crooks, black skin is criminal, climate change does not exist, scientists can't be believed (but Fox can be). So many "beliefs", all proven false over and over.
Republicans have converted Congress to a strange theater, increasingly plot driven and content free. Yes, Trump fits right in.
The broadcast news media has almost no interest in investigative journalism--unless a celebrity, conflict, sex, or violence is featured. All it wants is eyeballs. Trump gets eyeballs, so he is treated very gently, lest he go away. Unfortunately, the only recourse that might change things is to not watch--and avoid purchasing from the advertisers to the extent possible.
The Republican party has become more of a religion, and far less of a political party, with much dogma and many purity tests needed to be a member in good standing. Prosperity through austerity, trickle-down, ACA is a failure, reducing taxes on the wealthy generates jobs, government never works, free enterprise is perfect, immegrants are all job-stealing crooks, black skin is criminal, climate change does not exist, scientists can't be believed (but Fox can be). So many "beliefs", all proven false over and over.
Republicans have converted Congress to a strange theater, increasingly plot driven and content free. Yes, Trump fits right in.
35
Hyperbole is common in politics. Harry Reid did much the same, when he falsely claimed that Mitt Romney didn't pay taxes for 10 years. When confronted by Dana Bash about this prevarication, his response was "Romney didn't win, did he?" In other words, the end justifies the means.
In fact, even the NY Times’ Frank Bruni was appalled by Reid's "unbecoming, corrosive game." "Spew first and sweat the details later, or never," Bruni wrote. "Speak loosely and carry a stick-thin collection of backup materials, or none at all. That’s the M.O. of the moment, familiar from the past but in particularly galling and profuse flower of late."
BTW - Harry Reid was the former Democratic Senate Majority Leader. And an embarrassment to US politics.
In fact, even the NY Times’ Frank Bruni was appalled by Reid's "unbecoming, corrosive game." "Spew first and sweat the details later, or never," Bruni wrote. "Speak loosely and carry a stick-thin collection of backup materials, or none at all. That’s the M.O. of the moment, familiar from the past but in particularly galling and profuse flower of late."
BTW - Harry Reid was the former Democratic Senate Majority Leader. And an embarrassment to US politics.
3
But one of the things his supporters love about the Donald is that he is supposedly this breath-of-fresh-air, straight-talking, tells-it-like-it-is truthspeaker. Yet here is another instance where Mr. Staright-Shooter was lying through his teeth (unless you can explain just why he's never actually released this bombshell dirt on Obama that his "people in Hawaii" supposedly uncovered, that was so incredible "they couldn't believe what they were finding."
And as you yourself point out, Frank Bruni (as well as others in the media) called out Reid on his comments about Romney's taxes. Has anyone in the media challenged Trump about his birtherism? Have they ever asked Trump the queestion I ask above?
And as you yourself point out, Frank Bruni (as well as others in the media) called out Reid on his comments about Romney's taxes. Has anyone in the media challenged Trump about his birtherism? Have they ever asked Trump the queestion I ask above?
16
I'm hearing a lot that cretinous right wing texans can't can't fart and chew gum at the same time.
I don't know if it's true, I hope it isn't true.
But a lot of people are saying this, many people are saying this.
Something's going on there.
I'm sure some of them are good.
Until we figure out what's going on, we have to ban gum sales in texas.
We have no choice, the texans have to cooperate with us, they know who the bad ones are.
We'll have to waterboard or more, maybe take out the families of texans caught with gum.
We don't win anymore, our leaders are ...
I don't know if it's true, I hope it isn't true.
But a lot of people are saying this, many people are saying this.
Something's going on there.
I'm sure some of them are good.
Until we figure out what's going on, we have to ban gum sales in texas.
We have no choice, the texans have to cooperate with us, they know who the bad ones are.
We'll have to waterboard or more, maybe take out the families of texans caught with gum.
We don't win anymore, our leaders are ...
6
It is technically true that Romney did not pay taxes for 10 years. He used offshore accounts to avoid paying taxes, which means he did not pay them. Reid did not say Romney did not file a return. Reid said Romney did not pay taxes -- and that is true.
11
If America elects Mr. Trump I guess we can say that it's one of those cases when a majority of the people were fooled. If so, those of us who knew better will have to grin and bear it and hope for the best.
8
...or, we can say that our party put up such an unlikable nominee that someone like Donald Trump was able to defeat her.
3
…anyone who does that has also been fooled.
I'm not sure that not wanting to hand my party back over to the Clintons is getting "fooled".
Forget the birth certificate, I want to see Trump's tax returns.
59
A ten year old caught in a lie (who isn't a Richie Rich) would never get away with saying I'm not interested in this story anymore. Trump lived as a birther and as a birther he will go to his reward.
21
If Donald Trump says something which, if true, would be important, he gets his statement covered by the news media and thus multiplied in impact.
This is not what journalism is about, this uncritical recording of orchestrated pseudo-events. Murrow and Lippmann are turning over in their graves.
Journalists need to reconsider how they define "news." You too, NY Times.
This is not what journalism is about, this uncritical recording of orchestrated pseudo-events. Murrow and Lippmann are turning over in their graves.
Journalists need to reconsider how they define "news." You too, NY Times.
23
Trump said something absurd and his crack-pot conspiracy theory deserved the attention it got for what it was- completely crazy.
It is, however, unfortunate that some gullible people believed him.
I don't think the problem is with the news producers, I think the problem is with the news consumers.
It is, however, unfortunate that some gullible people believed him.
I don't think the problem is with the news producers, I think the problem is with the news consumers.
13
Obama could have ignored this. By giving in he was make to look even more weak. He was being played and didn't get it. Just like he gets played by the rest of the world and doesn't get it.
2
Would you like to try again?
18
I like the way we're getting "played" by the rest of the world better than the years of the "decider." Now, there are no body bags, no daily moments of silence for American servicemen and women on the national news, Osama bin laden is dead, and Isis is on their backfoot, slowly being decimated by gradual and patient tactical means, with no "pottery barn" aftermath. Oh, and as far as the birth certificate, victim-blame much? In addition, the article clearly points out the administration held off until it felt the birth certificate issue was getting in the way of its policies. Comb-over Javert forced their hands.
26
He did ignore it. And as you can see Dumb Donald kept it up for 6 weeks.
10
Seems it's all about tv ratings. Too bad the general public can't see beyond that.
9
While the birther issue was one of Trump's trivial pursuits it demonstrated his drive to complete unfinished business. Hopefully a president Trump, if that were to happen would not spend time on trivial pursuits.
1
He may have completed the business of chasing to the ground a patently false, and totally absurd accusation - which would indicate that Trump is, as you seem to imply, dogged - but would also be strong evidence that he is intellectually challenged, at best, and/ or completely delusional. My money is on the latter.
21
Goodfornothing. Are you a psychiatrist or qualified to make such sweeping diagnosis? Americans have a history of electing a president like Bush. I would worry more about the delusional mind set of the American people who could elect a president with poor judgement and a disgraceful performance when appointed to cabinet position.
1
He wants to see a birth certificate, while not showing his taxes? Republicans have traditionally selected leaders who were less obvious about their xenophobic and hypocritical beliefs, but in handing over the keys to the next generation of Republican voters, who get their inspiration from “reality tv”, there is no point in hiding anymore. The new generation of Republican voter is apparently ready to take off their white hoods and show their faces, much to the chagrin the the old guard. This is the new “reality”, extremism in art, imitating in life. From the first racial slur ever recorded in the “Curse of Canaan” to Trump’s slurs and denial of Obama’s birth, the actors have changed but the story is very much the same. So much for “change.” It’s like a cruel joke.
31
Actually, there's not much difference between a cruel joke and a curse, is there?
For enough Americans, Trump's nonsense works.
Ultimately, we have to blame the American people who listen to him.
I don't what the cure is.
Ultimately, we have to blame the American people who listen to him.
I don't what the cure is.
31
Regardless of where he was born, the fundamental truth is that Obama has been an abismal failure as president. He has tapped into the brain-dead, low information voting element, and his incompetent leadership is evidence he is among the worst and least effectual presidents of all time. His legacy will be that of the Roman emperor Nero; unable or unwilling to recognize the real threats to his country, and complicit in the breakdown of moral and ethical standards that will ultimately lead to incindiary and destructive consequences.
2
He's actually been one of our best Presidents. The biggest mistake he made was trying to reach across the aisle to avowed obstructors and haters. The fact that he's accomplished as much as he has is a testament to his persistence against all odds and of course, his intelligence and leadership.
73
Obama was elected twice by hefty margins and now still scores well in opinion polls, despite the best efforts of right-wing wackos (Senator McCain's term) to dicredit him.
27
Agree, Susan, that Obama is great. History will be very kind to this great President whom so many despise because they are racists.
Agree also that his mistake was treating the Republicans as if they were there to serve our country rather than the most obdurate haters in their party. He tried, but their determination to block him every step of the way was relentless.
-----
He has not been an "abismal (sic) failure", Mark. He has accomplished a lot in spite of the bitter racists who denounce him, block his appointments, lie about him, etc.
Agree also that his mistake was treating the Republicans as if they were there to serve our country rather than the most obdurate haters in their party. He tried, but their determination to block him every step of the way was relentless.
-----
He has not been an "abismal (sic) failure", Mark. He has accomplished a lot in spite of the bitter racists who denounce him, block his appointments, lie about him, etc.
19
And when will Trump produce the documents to prove that his paternal grandparents were Swedish, as he claimed in his book "The Art of the Deal"? (They were German.)
Btw, Paul Ryan is the Manchurian Candidate.
Btw, Paul Ryan is the Manchurian Candidate.
40
Why doesn't he show his tax returns? I want to see his tax returns.
51
If he picks Bernie to be his running mate, there will be TWO of them concealing their financial shenanigans.
5
Brilliant idea. By tapping Bernie for veep, the Donald could make himself impeachment-proof. He literally could shoot someone on 5th avenue and get away with it ...
1
Donald Trump is not a serious person. He never was. That he's either the next American president or its runner-up is a question that should worry us. But it doesn't.
We're now a nation that, like bobby-soxers once did when the Beatles were on stage, screams for Trump and Sarah Palin and other personalities who belong on the fringe but are in the mainstream, diluting reason and thought with offal and gore. Recall Nicolle Wallace's "16 vanquished rivals who were accomplished." Republicans all, with no positive vision for America but a nostalgic pull towards the unthinkable.
We're careless with our precious franchise of citizen participation in governing and government. We yield the tedium of citizenship to "elected officials" who, in their turn, re-district towns and counties to amass as much of a punitive voting dynamic that is tyrannous in its conception and is undemocratic in practice. Hence, we have a Tea Party Congress and a House Speaker and Senate Majority leader in thrall to their narrow whims.
This is where Donald Trump was born. This is both where we are ad who we are.
Who among them told him, when he launched this nonsensical lark five years ago, "this is the president of the United States. Respect the office even if you dislike the occupant." No one, not former presidents or vice-presidents, nor cabinet officials, nor ambassadors, nor senators nor house members, nor governors, nor mayors. Their silence was their consent.
They said to Donald Trump, "attaboy."
We're now a nation that, like bobby-soxers once did when the Beatles were on stage, screams for Trump and Sarah Palin and other personalities who belong on the fringe but are in the mainstream, diluting reason and thought with offal and gore. Recall Nicolle Wallace's "16 vanquished rivals who were accomplished." Republicans all, with no positive vision for America but a nostalgic pull towards the unthinkable.
We're careless with our precious franchise of citizen participation in governing and government. We yield the tedium of citizenship to "elected officials" who, in their turn, re-district towns and counties to amass as much of a punitive voting dynamic that is tyrannous in its conception and is undemocratic in practice. Hence, we have a Tea Party Congress and a House Speaker and Senate Majority leader in thrall to their narrow whims.
This is where Donald Trump was born. This is both where we are ad who we are.
Who among them told him, when he launched this nonsensical lark five years ago, "this is the president of the United States. Respect the office even if you dislike the occupant." No one, not former presidents or vice-presidents, nor cabinet officials, nor ambassadors, nor senators nor house members, nor governors, nor mayors. Their silence was their consent.
They said to Donald Trump, "attaboy."
27
No serious person can believe that the two newspaper reports of the birth of Barack Obama in Honolulu, in two different newspapers, days after his birth on the date recorded in the published birth certificate, were somehow presciently faked.
If there were anything to the birther fable, we’d have seen any number of righty billionaires moving heaven and earth to unearth the proof. Not even the orange-haired alleged billionaire has taken the fable seriously enough to spend a few bucks looking for “proof”. As the article notes:
“But for all of his fascination with the president’s birth certificate, Mr. Trump apparently never dispatched investigators or made much of an effort to find the documents.
"Dr. Alvin Onaka, the Hawaii state registrar who handled queries about Mr. Obama, said recently through a spokeswoman that he had no evidence or recollection of Mr. Trump or any of his representatives ever requesting the records from the Hawaii State Department of Health."
If there were anything to the birther fable, we’d have seen any number of righty billionaires moving heaven and earth to unearth the proof. Not even the orange-haired alleged billionaire has taken the fable seriously enough to spend a few bucks looking for “proof”. As the article notes:
“But for all of his fascination with the president’s birth certificate, Mr. Trump apparently never dispatched investigators or made much of an effort to find the documents.
"Dr. Alvin Onaka, the Hawaii state registrar who handled queries about Mr. Obama, said recently through a spokeswoman that he had no evidence or recollection of Mr. Trump or any of his representatives ever requesting the records from the Hawaii State Department of Health."
30
Are we really sure that Trump was born on the planet Earth? I mean REALLY sure?
70
Well, we haven't seen his birth certificate. Hmmm...
15
Pretty sure whatever that is on his head is made from soybeans.
3
Democratic party should hire Mr. Farah the birther theorist who Trump used to investigate Mr. Trump's tax return and his medical record which got him out of draft. These will reveal the truth of Mr. Trump's past and will show his character.
26
Keep asking Trump during every debate, about what he found that was so unbelievable. The man is a fraud and a liar. I hope he wins so few states that we will never have to hear from him again. He is an embarrassment to the United States.
38
And it's embarrassing that so many Americans support him for the presidency. I'm afraid that the media has been manipulated by this con man and the outcome may well be terrifying.
28
This is one case in which Trump was telling the truth. They found that Obama was indeed born in Hawaii and Mr. Trump did not believe it. Therefore, to him it was "unbelievable."
2
I remember when Donald Trump said of the investigators he sent to Hawaii, "They cannot believe what they're finding." No one pressed him on it at the time for specifics. And no one in the media followed up on the comment after the president released his birth certificate. (Odds are, the investigators were finding great sushi, umbrella drinks, and beautiful beaches.)
An early example of the press giving this irresponsible blowhard a pass when he makes outrageous, unsubstantiated remarks.
An early example of the press giving this irresponsible blowhard a pass when he makes outrageous, unsubstantiated remarks.
508
I don't want to steal your thunder NA but I would like to add this: The mainstream press, especially the mainstream NYC news media (and Saturday Night Live which ain't a news medium but has had the content of its shows reflected in news accountings) was more than just irresponsible, they were complicit with Donald Trump's remarks getting good news coverage. Trump is too much, well accepted by the core establishment of NYC's Powers That Be. He's considered one of the Big Apple's loved ones.
7
Not really. He lost his home borough of Manhattan. To know him is to want to vote for somebody else. Anybody else.
7
it had no investigators, it would have had to spend money for that, it is really good at making up stories that come to its mind and when they do, in its head, out its mouth
1
Almost verybody now understands Trump. Cruz calls him a "pathological liar", and Warren characterizes him as a "little, insecure, money-grubber". Romney notes, probably correctly, that there's something in Trump's tax returns that Trump doesn't want known. And didn't Graham say something lide that he'd prefer to vote for Harding (I think it was); Harding is dead, but nobody's perfect. Repeatedly Trump has lied, and then lied about his lies.....and on and on. Maybe he needs a rerun of birtherism to close the loop.
But Republicans are offering Trump up for the Presidency of the US. It's certainly the case that this stuff just can't be made up.
But Republicans are offering Trump up for the Presidency of the US. It's certainly the case that this stuff just can't be made up.
39
Yes, and you are under the impression that lies equal truth and Trump is fit to lead ... anything. Poor us.
11
Sam,
Your first sentence is a lie, your second paragraph your own speculation. Or hallucination.
-dlj.
6
The construction of your last sentence made me laugh. I picture some ancients "offering Trump up" as a great prize to run a mythical kingdom.
How much more about Donald Trump's antics do you have to reveal before America wakes up?
29
A whole lot. Because a lot of Americans aren't giving educating themselves on what Trump is about. It's not unlike Brexit in that many people voted without realizing what Brexit really means.
10
I think the media and the society must hold him accountable for bringing up issues like this without any basis.
17
I'm a Democrat who has never considered voting for a Bush. Sill, I would be interested in a comparison between the birthers and the Bush National Guard story. The Bush story was fueled by fraudulent documents cited as real by Dan Rather. A lunatic fringe insisted, without evidence, that Bush had gone AWOL. Bush, of course, used family influence to get in the Guard -- everyone knew that. The lunatic issue arose following his portrayal of his service positively and as a reason to support his candidacy. In order to discredit him, his service was misrepresented to suggest that he was a scofflaw. The evidence for this allegation was primarily based on fraudulent documents and had no basis in fact..
1
Since you are interested in a comparison, how about this? G. W. Bush did something wrong, as you point out; the only question is how much. Did he skip showing up for required weekends with his Texas National Guard unit? "People are talking about it" (Trumpspeak).
There is nothing wrong with having been born in Hawaii.
There is nothing wrong with having been born in Hawaii.
12
In fact, fellow Air National Guardmen recalled that he had not showed up for his last two years of service. The forged documents were a plant to discredit this testimony. Bush's official documents had conveniently disappeared.
18
I have a good memory. The Republicans could not believe George Bush was not being hailed as the greatest leader since Alexander the Great. They then could not believe that Sarah Palin was not greeted as our generation's Joan of Arc. The media bubble of fox News and talk radio told them, this is outrageous, the country is being stolen from us. Innuendo and dog whistles where part of the 24/7 news cycle. Sheriff Joe will get to the bottom of this! Donald Trump will get to the bottom of this! The people are being lied to! Lamestream media is skewing the polls!
Then Obama won. The fury and disbelief deepened. He's a secret Muslim not even born here! He does not understand our values! Our number one job is to make sure he is a one-term president!
Horrors! He gets re-elected! Maybe we weren't being crazy enough? Go more crazy! "You lie!"
The Republicans have been ginning up their base ever since Bush's presidency started to fall apart as a gigantic blunder. They were supposed to be the winners!
Maybe someday, before I die, the Republicans will try something other than stoking fear and paranoia and ludicrous conspiracy theories among the conservative electorate. But I doubt it. There is too much money in it.
Then Obama won. The fury and disbelief deepened. He's a secret Muslim not even born here! He does not understand our values! Our number one job is to make sure he is a one-term president!
Horrors! He gets re-elected! Maybe we weren't being crazy enough? Go more crazy! "You lie!"
The Republicans have been ginning up their base ever since Bush's presidency started to fall apart as a gigantic blunder. They were supposed to be the winners!
Maybe someday, before I die, the Republicans will try something other than stoking fear and paranoia and ludicrous conspiracy theories among the conservative electorate. But I doubt it. There is too much money in it.
61
pjc,
Many of us also remember the constant hearings of alleged crimes of the Clintons by the Republican-controlled congress during the mid and late 1990s. They never obtained any proof from these investigations by Ken Starr. The House of Representatives only impeached President Clinton after they learned the existence of a stained blue dress worn by a lovelorn young woman whose private yearnings to an older female confidant were abused.
These same allegations are thought truthful by the same miscreants to this day.
Many of us also remember the constant hearings of alleged crimes of the Clintons by the Republican-controlled congress during the mid and late 1990s. They never obtained any proof from these investigations by Ken Starr. The House of Representatives only impeached President Clinton after they learned the existence of a stained blue dress worn by a lovelorn young woman whose private yearnings to an older female confidant were abused.
These same allegations are thought truthful by the same miscreants to this day.
I grew up in a time when a lie was a source of shame and embarrassment and facts were something that strong, solid people would ask you to "stick to". Now we live in a time when lies are embraced and used and used again long after they are exposed. Stating facts is acting too big for your britches and being caught and exposed for manipulating the truth and flat out lying can be remedied by a simple shrug of the shoulders while saying, "I know you are, but what am I?". Mr. Trump is opening the doors and welcoming a not insubstantial portion of the electorate into his strange country club of conspiracy theory, where there are no facts and the truth belongs to whoever gets the last word in.
34
Lawrence, it wasn't ENTIRELY a falsehood though technically it was false. The truth is that Mr. Obama had a Muslim step father, a Muslim grandfather, grew up in part in Indonesia and until recently Hawaii was not one of the states. Also only one of his parents was American - an objection which would apply also to Ted Cruz.
And note that Mr. Trump never claimed to be shot at when he went to Bosnia. It was Hillary who, in reality, was received with flowers.
"Equal justice under the law" and not "one justice for Democrats and a different one for Republicans."
And note that Mr. Trump never claimed to be shot at when he went to Bosnia. It was Hillary who, in reality, was received with flowers.
"Equal justice under the law" and not "one justice for Democrats and a different one for Republicans."
1
I should have clarified that his Muslim Stepfather and his Muslim grandfather were NOT US citizens. Of course he would be qualified if both his parents had been US citizens regardless of what their religion was.
Even Catholics have been elected so why not Muslims? (smile).
Even Catholics have been elected so why not Muslims? (smile).
2
Ludwig, what are you talking about> Hawaii became a state in 1959, two years before Obama was born. That his father and grandfather were Muslims in Kenya means absolutely nothing. My grandfathers were born in Italy, my father in the Dominican Republic, but I was born in New York City in 1938. The difference between Hillary saying that she was shot at in Bosnia, where there was plenty of shooting, and Trump claiming on the basis of nothing but his own hateful bigotry that Obama was not born in the USA, is that Trump's claim was a LIE, where Hillary's was an over-dramatization of travel to a war zone. If a statement like Trump's is "technically" false it is a lie, pure and simple!
16
"...apparently never dispatched investigators or made much of an effort to find the documents," says the article.
Would it not be more relevant today to say "...has lied repeatedly and emphatically that he had spent time, money, effort, and the despatch of employees on investigating the question in Hawaii itself"?
The point is not that this is all funny, ha-ha-ha. The point is that a major political party is lining up behind a dishonest man.
-dlj.
37
This is an odd comment with the Lynch/Clinton plane meeting and the FBI questioning HRC this morning. Isn't there another political party also lining up behind a dishonest woman?
2
Donald Trump never should have been "birthed."
He has brought to light the racist beliefs by a substantial
percentage of Americans that one must be "white" to be an American.
Simply appalling.
He has brought to light the racist beliefs by a substantial
percentage of Americans that one must be "white" to be an American.
Simply appalling.
37
At this point, who really cares, the Obama years are pretty much over and the president will go on his merry way.
However, not sure this has been settled with many in this country. Given that, Obama's claim just after leaving Harvard while doing a press tour for his book that he was the only African-born Harvard Review editor needs to be looked into by the FBI--after they finish up with Hillary, of course.
By then, good chance Trump's Justice Department will be looking into it, though.
However, not sure this has been settled with many in this country. Given that, Obama's claim just after leaving Harvard while doing a press tour for his book that he was the only African-born Harvard Review editor needs to be looked into by the FBI--after they finish up with Hillary, of course.
By then, good chance Trump's Justice Department will be looking into it, though.
3
The phrase "Trump's Justice Department" just sent a cold and horrifying chill up my spine. Heaven help us all if that comes to be.
19
Tell us this story again on Nov 9, ok.
3
Oh Please.
Foghorn Trump will be back to looking for chumps for his Trump U after Nov 9.
If he is anywhere near the Justice Dept it will be because they are investigating his fake university, his fake institute, and his phoney promises.
Foghorn Trump will be back to looking for chumps for his Trump U after Nov 9.
If he is anywhere near the Justice Dept it will be because they are investigating his fake university, his fake institute, and his phoney promises.
9
Do we really want to have this guy at the Oval Office? Do we really want to have someone who will make all of us disregard the very basic humanity value that no one must be valued from his/her skin, religion. After all the advancements that human can possibily achieve, are we going to go back to a dark moment when a man is valued other than his/her own merits. God has given us intellectual capabilit as well as compassion - let us not forget about that - let us not allow someone who insults our intellegence and compassion for humanity to lead the country..
20
Now Candidate Trump refuses to release his tax returns, and his supporters couldn't care less. How can people this stupid survive from hour to hour?
67
Following Bernie's lead.
Thanks for proving my point.
Reprehensible, despicable, opportunistic, devious, obnoxious, ignorant, reckless, disingenuous, callous.
Trump is all these things and more.
If a majority of American voters identify with this demagogue and these " qualities" in November we are in DEEP trouble.
Trump is all these things and more.
If a majority of American voters identify with this demagogue and these " qualities" in November we are in DEEP trouble.
38
Trump should never have been considered presidential material on the basis of the "birther" lie, the insult to Senator John McCain regarding his imprisonment during the Vietnam War, the insults to a disabled reporter, and many many other things, too numerous to list here.
23
Even though the whole birther issue is bogus, Trump's draft issue is not. He claims that he got out on a high draft number but the first draft lottery was a year and half after Trump graduated college, and reclassification was pretty quick from student deferment status so that wasn't true. He did get out later on a physical exemption for "bone spurs" though there is no record that this condition interfered with any of his athletic activities at college. Maybe its Trump who should be producing documentation - his medical records.
42
The media needs to be aggressive with Trump. Instead of being conned by him. And worse, intimidated.
11
Even as he engaged in the most ferocious racism and demagoguery, the GOP did much of the same. And the mainstream press clucked helplessly because they saw him as a carnival barker. The GOP is unlikely to do much about it because their base of resentful, badly educated, racist whites won't let them, but the press better stand up to him.
19
I have been calling the Birther The Chief Birther or Birther-in-Chief ever since the Birther formally declared his presidential bid.
The reason is simple. The Birther promoted a known falsehood and refuses to repudiate the Hi Lie.
Unfortunately, too many people bought the lie.
The Birther has a propensity for telling lies and not acknowledging his lies.
Another classic Birther lie is his claim that he saw on TV thousands of Muslim-Americans cheer as the Towers fell.
The Birther is a proven liar.
The reason is simple. The Birther promoted a known falsehood and refuses to repudiate the Hi Lie.
Unfortunately, too many people bought the lie.
The Birther has a propensity for telling lies and not acknowledging his lies.
Another classic Birther lie is his claim that he saw on TV thousands of Muslim-Americans cheer as the Towers fell.
The Birther is a proven liar.
20
Like many commentors who ask why so many people support a sick individual like Mr. Trump, I too was confused. Then I figured out that many of them are "contrarians" who acturally want and believe that Ms. Clinton - probably, in their view, the lesser of two evils - will win - but will vote for Mr.Trump just to reserve themselves an "I told you so" the first time President Clinton should make a mistake. Problem is, they better watch who they vote for, least he does win and we all will suffer the major war, economic deverstation, racist exploitation, etc., etc........ sure to ensue if he were elected. Just look at the damage he has already done in making America "Great" again. :(
16
Trump's actions on this birth certificate issue alone are disqualifying for him to be president. He lied to the American people about the qualifications of the sitting president to hold the office and did so purely to gain notice for himself. The Republican party should have denounced him at the time and certainly now, the only honorable thing to do is what George Will did, walk away. It is frightening that he is getting the support of anything above a fringe element of this country.
30
The very end of the article reveals this gem, that Trump’s political con/career not only began with the racist-based birther issue itself, but also that he never actually investigated it as he bragged:
“But for all of his fascination with the president’s birth certificate, Mr. Trump apparently never dispatched investigators or made much of an effort to find the documents.
“Dr. Alvin Onaka, the Hawaii state registrar who handled queries about Mr. Obama, said recently through a spokeswoman that he had no evidence or recollection of Mr. Trump or any of his representatives ever requesting the records from the Hawaii State Department of Health.”
“But for all of his fascination with the president’s birth certificate, Mr. Trump apparently never dispatched investigators or made much of an effort to find the documents.
“Dr. Alvin Onaka, the Hawaii state registrar who handled queries about Mr. Obama, said recently through a spokeswoman that he had no evidence or recollection of Mr. Trump or any of his representatives ever requesting the records from the Hawaii State Department of Health.”
17
One of the many reasons Trump is not only unqualified to be president but would be dangerous is no one would ever know when, or if, he's telling the truth. He lies endlessly, with impunity.
He said he had people in Hawaii and it was incredible what they were finding. A complete fabrication. Yet proof was never demanded. A president cannot behave like that. No one would trust Trump, certainly not our allies and not our enemies either. His threats would be hollow.
Trump has exposed how a good portion of our country does not live in the reality-based community. He and his supporters are a danger to our country and must not be allowed to gain power.
He said he had people in Hawaii and it was incredible what they were finding. A complete fabrication. Yet proof was never demanded. A president cannot behave like that. No one would trust Trump, certainly not our allies and not our enemies either. His threats would be hollow.
Trump has exposed how a good portion of our country does not live in the reality-based community. He and his supporters are a danger to our country and must not be allowed to gain power.
26
Trump's behavior, including his wild lies, conspiracy theories, ugly slurs, and so on has been beyond despicable and disqualifying.
Top Republicans know this. But they keep protesting, "If we don't support him, we won't win." That's true. But (a) the idea that his winning means your winning—your being able to control a loose cannon, narcissist, and liar—is delusional; and (b) exactly what are you now "winning" as a political party? Your honor, intellectual respectability, and ability to discuss serious policy is down the tubes.
Top Republicans know this. But they keep protesting, "If we don't support him, we won't win." That's true. But (a) the idea that his winning means your winning—your being able to control a loose cannon, narcissist, and liar—is delusional; and (b) exactly what are you now "winning" as a political party? Your honor, intellectual respectability, and ability to discuss serious policy is down the tubes.
15
Considering the Republican leadership sometimes silent and sometimes noisy acquiescence of Trump's statements, it is clear that Trump is the spawn of the present Republican party (not that of Eisenhower, of course!).
The Republican rhetoric against President Obama and the Republican rhetoric against undocumented folks (who do most of the heavy agricultural work in the US) is simply just a bit magnified in Trump's speeches.
The Republican party in cahoots with international corporations and their lobbyists who sometimes actually write our legislative proposals and our law, spawned Trump and his supporters.
The Republican rhetoric against President Obama and the Republican rhetoric against undocumented folks (who do most of the heavy agricultural work in the US) is simply just a bit magnified in Trump's speeches.
The Republican party in cahoots with international corporations and their lobbyists who sometimes actually write our legislative proposals and our law, spawned Trump and his supporters.
11
So lying for a political operative is a "great niche and wedge" issue even by someone not wearing the tin foil hat?
8
Is the NYT too respectable to simply call a lie a lie? There is no birther issue. There's just a New York City con man who brazenly lied about the president. It's not "political performance art" or "getting an idea into the mainstream". It's lying, and to add to the irony, Trump's supporters say they like him because he tells it like it is.
Sad.
Sad.
28
“In the birther movement, Mr. Trump recognized an opportunity to connect with the electorate over an issue many considered taboo: the discomfort, in some quarters of American society, with the election of the nation’s first black president.”
That is the most round-about way of saying “an opportunist/racist pandering to racists” that I can ever remember seeing.
That is the most round-about way of saying “an opportunist/racist pandering to racists” that I can ever remember seeing.
64
Just as I thought, and this should really be the cold slap in the face of all Americans regarding the personality of Donald J. Trump. Per the article it was Donald Trump who originated the thesis of Obama being born outside of the United States and the whole Hawaii birth certificate matter. If nothing else, the foundation of the Birther Movement displays the extent to which one individual will go to promulgate propaganda to promote hate and bigotry.
Trump is clearly a vengeful person who teeters on the hinge of vindictive behavior for selfish reasons. That ought to disqualify Donald Trump from running ANYTHING that impacts the lives of other people. Nations ought to manage policies from real data, not from the perspective of making up stuff so nefarious outcomes can be perpetrated upon our nation.
Trump is a hateful, narrow-minded, narcissist who has demonstrated how petulant and dangerous he truly can be. The fact he can whip up passions of so many individuals who have similar feelings speaks to a bigger picture. Trump (and all of the Republicans and national media types) who engaged in the Birther movement need to be flushed from our national discourse. They are all very dangerous and reckless people who can do tremendous harm.
Trump is clearly a vengeful person who teeters on the hinge of vindictive behavior for selfish reasons. That ought to disqualify Donald Trump from running ANYTHING that impacts the lives of other people. Nations ought to manage policies from real data, not from the perspective of making up stuff so nefarious outcomes can be perpetrated upon our nation.
Trump is a hateful, narrow-minded, narcissist who has demonstrated how petulant and dangerous he truly can be. The fact he can whip up passions of so many individuals who have similar feelings speaks to a bigger picture. Trump (and all of the Republicans and national media types) who engaged in the Birther movement need to be flushed from our national discourse. They are all very dangerous and reckless people who can do tremendous harm.
46
This is becoming a serious problem for this country: people who believe (or promote) lies, nonsense, and misinformation simply because it supports their political views.
How can we solve problems if people don't respect facts? I've really had enough of this. What do we do? Other than lean on the media and have even bigger arguments with friends and family, I don't know.
How can we solve problems if people don't respect facts? I've really had enough of this. What do we do? Other than lean on the media and have even bigger arguments with friends and family, I don't know.
25
Why did this even matter? Even if Obama had been born in Kenya he would be a natural born citizen and able to run for president because his mother is American. Right Mr. Cruz?
30
I felt my insides twisting of unguer and my heart filled with hate, I wish this men pain, and much suffering I hope he wend up alone and sick
7
I wonder how much money Trump has made the media?
Kardashian-levels, I would guess.
Craziness leads to coverage. Coverage is the essence of money to media.
So craziness yields money.
10
This page has many, many articles about Trump. Almost nothing about Clinton and nothing about Sanders....WOW....you are enabling him....I can't stand him and refuse to read any of this....GET a grip!!!!!
9
The article is about Trump.
2
Problem is that the birth certificate was a forgery. Media and the left has gone out of their way to deny this, but it remains the fact.
1
A fact is based in evidence, not mere assertion.
10
The fact is, beside, you'll believe anything.
10
Fact? Really? Where's your proof? Oh, wait.
11
Gee, a big wet kiss for Donald Trump, Joseph Farah, who must be delighted with the free publicity, and that dapper spreader of mischief and mayhem, Roger Stone. None of this is new, but it is a very clever way to keep the old accusation that President Obama isn't a real American in the news. And how surprising that the Multibillionaire took so much of his valuable time to pursue the truth of it all. Yes, there is a bit of a subtext that it was all a hideously cynical and knowing ploy to spread lies about our first black president. But the subtext is very very sub, deep enough that the people who still believe it will find comfort in the story being so gently handled in the Times. Most thinking people would call the whole episode an exercise in racism.
27
Interesting to me is that the news media didn't go out to Hawaii and track down Obama's birth certificate. I think I know why: because keeping the "birther" controversy alive generated viewers and readers over six weeks.
And that is precisely why Trump can pull off this election. He can always depend upon free media coverage, whether what he says is true, false, off the wall, unsubstantiated, or just plain goofy.
And that is precisely why Trump can pull off this election. He can always depend upon free media coverage, whether what he says is true, false, off the wall, unsubstantiated, or just plain goofy.
23
What bothers me the most about this article is the lack of criticism of Trump at his audacity to question the leader of the free world. Everyone acts as if it's ok to question the presidents place of birth when Hawaii had previously confirmed that President Obama was born there. That there is no condemnation of Trump at all from the author of this article and the editors for Trumps outrageous behavior is amazing to me and I wonder what the same article would look like if Hillary Clinton had been the person who spent 6 weeks questioning the Presidents birth place .
25
Of course the media keeps enabling him, because we keep reading all of it. It's the gruesome car wreck that you can't help but look at. I did the same thing with Sarah Palin. Read every word, trying to make sense of something that made no sense at all. The most disgusting part of this birther obsession of Trump's, was that not one single Republican official, congressman or senator stood up and said "don't be ridiculous. This is stupid, untrue and a waste of time." Trump is exactly the candidate that they deserve.
38
Didn't Trump at the time claim there was no photos of Obama as a child to make his point. This after Time Magazine had a cover with Obama's mother and her son as a toddler?
The frightening question is how is it that so many Americans actually believe Trump's ranting? Or rather, why do they share in them? I'm beginning to think that illiterate 13nth century European peasants were better informed than present day Americans in spite of all the information technology at our disposal?
The frightening question is how is it that so many Americans actually believe Trump's ranting? Or rather, why do they share in them? I'm beginning to think that illiterate 13nth century European peasants were better informed than present day Americans in spite of all the information technology at our disposal?
32
I don't think all of the media is entirely to blame for letting Donald Trump slide for so long. I do think most of the media didn't take him seriously until too late - until recently - but if you think about it, who would take Donald Trump seriously as president? That's the disconnect. Some voters just aren't listening to anyone even if people do point out how terrifying Mr. Trump would be as a president.
Mr. Trump has the luck of a riding a perfect wave of: 1) citizen anger at everybody and anybody, doesn't really matter who 2) Intense hatred of Hillary Clinton which blinds people into voting for someone else out of pure petulance and not that person's policies, and 3) The people in 1) and 2) not realizing/caring that the people they've been putting in office forever are the people they should be angry at - and that Mr. Trump of the 1% won't make it even 1% better for them, which is what they're counting on.
He's selling them up the river. But he's been doing that for a while. I just saw the first episode of the old series "Sex and the City". I'd seen episodes of this very good show before but never the first one. And guess what? The tycoon everyone admires and desires from afar, Mr. Big, is called "the next Donald Trump" by Samantha. Really. So Mr. Trump has been in the business of fooling people for a very long time. He's good at it. It's not his first rodeo, as they say. The question is, how to convince people of that before November?
Mr. Trump has the luck of a riding a perfect wave of: 1) citizen anger at everybody and anybody, doesn't really matter who 2) Intense hatred of Hillary Clinton which blinds people into voting for someone else out of pure petulance and not that person's policies, and 3) The people in 1) and 2) not realizing/caring that the people they've been putting in office forever are the people they should be angry at - and that Mr. Trump of the 1% won't make it even 1% better for them, which is what they're counting on.
He's selling them up the river. But he's been doing that for a while. I just saw the first episode of the old series "Sex and the City". I'd seen episodes of this very good show before but never the first one. And guess what? The tycoon everyone admires and desires from afar, Mr. Big, is called "the next Donald Trump" by Samantha. Really. So Mr. Trump has been in the business of fooling people for a very long time. He's good at it. It's not his first rodeo, as they say. The question is, how to convince people of that before November?
27
None of these people who "suspected" that Obama was born on foreign soil had any inside information. We all understand why Trump launched his crusade to cast doubt on Obama's place of birth. Trump is a childish, godless, immoral piece of trash and it's disheartening to see how many followers he could round up.
44
Trump doesn't have to prove any of his absurd allegations. There are millions of Americans who believe that President Obama..1. Was born in Kenya. 2. Is a Muslim. 3. Is sympathetic to terrorists. A few weeks ago, he alluded to a connection to Foster's death and Hillary. No proof but no problem. It's good enough for the people who support him.
What saddens me is a large amount of people who actually believe him. It's today's America. The hatred is both sad and sickening and Trump is smart enough to play on it. Maybe we are fortunate that he has taken all the haters and put them under one tent. Al least we know who they are.
What saddens me is a large amount of people who actually believe him. It's today's America. The hatred is both sad and sickening and Trump is smart enough to play on it. Maybe we are fortunate that he has taken all the haters and put them under one tent. Al least we know who they are.
31
Donald Trump and the entire leadership of the republican cabal knew very well that this charge was a fraudulent charge meant to rile their base. This same base howls about how their leaders have lied to them and then put up for presidency a man who wouldn't know the truth unless it had a dollar sign attached to it. Go figure.
22
This article omits that in at least one poll more Republicans believe that Cruz was born here than Obama. 40% to 29%.
http://www.publicpolicypolling.com/main/2015/08/trump-supporters-think-o...
It is journalistic malpractice not to ask trump about his birtherism at every opportunity.
http://www.publicpolicypolling.com/main/2015/08/trump-supporters-think-o...
It is journalistic malpractice not to ask trump about his birtherism at every opportunity.
26
As the major evangelical he is, one would think he might have shown a smidge of contrition on the hallucinogenic birther issue so as not to burden his children with the consequence of his sin(s).
5
Where was the "Republican Establishment" during this birther hootenanny? Where were Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan and Mitch McConnell? Silent, and therefore complicit, hoping against hope that this repugnant exercise would rally the base and bring the Party to victory. Donald Trump has simply filled a moral and political leadership vacuum in the GOP.
29
Rather than worry about where a presidential candidate was born, let’s examine how he or she would see the role of our government. Would the candidate’s primary concern be with how the United States could help other countries and migrants from other countries? Or would they be more interested with America’s well-being, and secondarily concerned with aiding the rest of the world?
Both Obama and HRC appear to wake up every morning and ask themselves how they can use the United States to help other nations. Trump puts America first.
If we don’t focus first on our own country, it will get harder and harder to help others.
Both Obama and HRC appear to wake up every morning and ask themselves how they can use the United States to help other nations. Trump puts America first.
If we don’t focus first on our own country, it will get harder and harder to help others.
2
Every morning our elected representatives wake up and ask themselves, 'what can I do to thwart the president today?" The president has been stymied nonstop in his efforts to help Americans first by a Congress that obstructs rather than represent the views of their constituents. He has been denied his constitutional obligation of seating judges of all levels, including the Supreme Court. These representatives seem to be motivated largely by the belief that if we don't have a Republican president/ government, we will have no government at all until a Republican makes it back into the White House. Secondly, and most shamefully, they apparently can't stand to have a black president due to their racist views. These views have long existed, but have been spoken of in a coded manner. The code has been broken, and now we must confront the racism of the people we elected to represent us. Many of us are not at all racist, and we are horrified at this unexpected backlash. So, when you find President Obama to be doing too little for Americans, remember who is really holding back progress.
9
In putting his country first, does include employing people of other countries to make his tacky products? Or how about the big investment in a golf course and employing lots of people to run it that he bragged about last week? Oh yeah, that was in Scotland ... oops, forget it.
Sure, he is putting Amarica first. Thankfully not all Americans are so easily conned as you clearly have been.
Sure, he is putting Amarica first. Thankfully not all Americans are so easily conned as you clearly have been.
14
@Ann,
Interesting viewpoint. I wonder how you arrived there. As far as Trump putting "America first" the only parallel I can come up with was Charles Lindbergh doing the same in trying to keep this country out of World War II. That didn't work out too well if I remember correctly.
Interesting viewpoint. I wonder how you arrived there. As far as Trump putting "America first" the only parallel I can come up with was Charles Lindbergh doing the same in trying to keep this country out of World War II. That didn't work out too well if I remember correctly.
13
Since he started his campaign a year ago I've been waiting for a real journalist to directly ask Trump to his face.
"Can you prove that you actually sent investigators to Hawaii? Please provide their names with bills and receipts for their work."
Maybe this article will get one of the talking heads on the Sunday morning news shows to actually ask him this question,
"Can you prove that you actually sent investigators to Hawaii? Please provide their names with bills and receipts for their work."
Maybe this article will get one of the talking heads on the Sunday morning news shows to actually ask him this question,
29
They asked but when he said he didn't want to talk about it anymore they let him off the hook. How would Trump have responded to his actually ridiculous assumption that the President wasn't born here if the President had continued to act like an adult unwilling to give the RWNJ credibility to their "question"? He would never let up even with truth staring him in the face.
4
Given his utter lack of sophisticated English I have always wondered how Trump got into and graduated "first in his class" from Wharton School of Business. Well, he didn't. He was never at the "School of Business" as most people understand it to be, a highly respected graduate MBA program. He spent two years at an UNDERGRAD program. He got in using connections. He was never first in his class. And given his fractured, ungrammatical and repetitive speeches - uuuge, great, fantastic, is that all you got?- I suspect he didn't even do the work he can actually take credit for. More fraud from the biggest fraud of the decade. PT Barnum is writhing in his grave with envy.
44
Kimberly the Wharton undergrad school is actually prestigious. And it is really a four year program. You have to apply to it separately from the U penn college of arts and sciences, also a highly regarded part of the Ivy League university. I can't stand trump, but I have to defend my undergrad program, which is consistently considered the best undergraduate business education in the world.
1
Trump spent 2 years at Fordham before going to Wharton. He probably didn't have the grades for Wharton out of high school.
9
Trump raised another issue along with his birther tripe. It was the "Report Card" issue. He wanted to see the transcripts of Obama's undergraduate work, essentially arguing that Obama was admitted to Harvard Law School through affirmative action and noting that several of his friends had well qualified sons and daughters whose applications for admission to Harvard Law School were rejected.
This was an attempt to play on the right-wing assertion that whites are now the principal victims of racial discrimination.
This was an attempt to play on the right-wing assertion that whites are now the principal victims of racial discrimination.
28
Yes. HE won't release his taxes which EVERY modern candidate does (even Romney who released only one year (after it was redone to show him paying more with less deductions which he probably amended after he lost). Why would the President be the ONLY person to release his transcripts? The "birthers' would call them fake anyway as many continue to do with his BC
6
Trump is like a little kid who sees a shiny new toy and becomes entranced with it and then drops it like it was toxic. In 2011 he said" "I have people that have been studying it and they cannot believe what they're finding," What, indeed, did they find? Oh, right, nothing.
Asked if he has assigned people specifically to search in Hawaii, Trump said, "Absolutely." Really? Whom did he assign? Did anyone ever actually get on a plane and go to Hawaii? I have seen is no record of such. And if there is a record somewhere, why not release the bombshell news that they gathered?
As Billy Martin said about Reggie Jackson and George Steinbrenner, "one's a born liar and the other is a convicted liar."
Trump is both.
Asked if he has assigned people specifically to search in Hawaii, Trump said, "Absolutely." Really? Whom did he assign? Did anyone ever actually get on a plane and go to Hawaii? I have seen is no record of such. And if there is a record somewhere, why not release the bombshell news that they gathered?
As Billy Martin said about Reggie Jackson and George Steinbrenner, "one's a born liar and the other is a convicted liar."
Trump is both.
25
I would like to see the media call out Trump for what he is -- a racist or a race-baiting opportunist. He should not be treated as a serious candidate.
21
I can show you MY birth certificate. Why was our exceptional president the only one in 300 million Americans who couldn't couldn't produce this basic document for months? If Trump didn't you'd be all over him too.
1
Because no one should feel obligated to do anything simply because a delusional clown like Donald Trump demands it. If you choose to live your life following Trump's orders, that is your prerogative.
14
Can you provide me with the link to show where he produced his birth certificate? Thanks
4
So where ARE Mr Trump's tax forms?
22
Trump has been planning his quest for the presidency for a long time. His current "off the cuff" pronouncements which gather so much media attention are I suspect not spontaneous. They have been carefully planned.
The man is a PR genius. He is extremely dangerous and must be taken seriously.
The man is a PR genius. He is extremely dangerous and must be taken seriously.
9
No his off the cuff remarks are the gas of his bloviating narcissism that he can't reign in. Those scripted remarks are not his that is why he has so much trouble reading them. He wants to kill the people who are making hi sound sane
5
Mr Trump says the issue with President Obama's birth certificate was one of "transparency". Of course, the release of Trump's tax returns would have nothing at all to do with issues of transparency! What a hypocritical charlatan Trump proves himself to be on a near-daily basis.
27
Does Trump understand the impact of his antics? We could say "... He doesn’t get it or he gets it better than anybody understands... ”
9
At the time I thought that he was the worst thing to ever happen to the Republican Party since Pat Buchanan, though they seemed not to know it. He actually bragged about promoting birtherism as if he won something rather than made fools of himself. Yet Romney, showing how weakened he was by the primaries, let Trump campaign for him.
Those who count Trump out are not recognizing how little we can prognosticate accurately, more so about him. It's the times we live in. For many people, he is a savior from identity politics, political correctness and progressive policies. For others, he is a bigoted know-nothing. For still others, he is the wrong messenger with some of the right messages (some days at least, when he is not hawking his brand or saying the complete opposite in the next sentence or tweet).
For me, although I detest both major parties, he is still the worst thing to happen to the former - win or lose - a huge embarrassment of a candidate who has taken the practice of both parties to lie shamelessly to new levels. But - and it is a big but - he is also one half of the worst two nominees in our history, the culmination of a deterioration of our process since after Poppa Bush.
For the first time in many years, especially since Gary Johnson's strategy seems to be to bore his opponents and us to death, my optimism is wavering. In my view, whichever one of the two wins, we lose. My hope is in the words - you never know.
Those who count Trump out are not recognizing how little we can prognosticate accurately, more so about him. It's the times we live in. For many people, he is a savior from identity politics, political correctness and progressive policies. For others, he is a bigoted know-nothing. For still others, he is the wrong messenger with some of the right messages (some days at least, when he is not hawking his brand or saying the complete opposite in the next sentence or tweet).
For me, although I detest both major parties, he is still the worst thing to happen to the former - win or lose - a huge embarrassment of a candidate who has taken the practice of both parties to lie shamelessly to new levels. But - and it is a big but - he is also one half of the worst two nominees in our history, the culmination of a deterioration of our process since after Poppa Bush.
For the first time in many years, especially since Gary Johnson's strategy seems to be to bore his opponents and us to death, my optimism is wavering. In my view, whichever one of the two wins, we lose. My hope is in the words - you never know.
You mean since RR was elected. False equivalency is not your friend. Hillary Clinton is highly qualified. While there was nobody else in the clown car that would be better than Trump. The Republican brought him to the country with their pandering to all levels of bigots and Christians who think that while they runt eh country they are "victims". And the libertarian Party? Anyone who has seen their convention ALMOST might think Trump is a better choice. But only for a delusional minute. It is quite clear that if Trump wins everybody loses including his fans as he likes to call them. The only thing he loves or knows is the sound of his own voice. HE has sent jobs overseas for decades. Of course he tried to fool people by manufacturing this "hats" in Los Angeles probably by non raping Mexicans. He KNOWS those jobs are NEVER coming back. But if they did they would not be "good" jobs. He has already said the average American makes too much money. SO there would no "good" jobs and those goods would still cost a fortune because they were not being manufactured in third world countries for peanuts
7
Hillary will not be let off the hook, but Trump keeps having "his party's" elder statement prop him up with wet noodles hoping for the day he becomes a real biy, a real man. I will never vote Republican ever again in my life. What a bunch of lazy, corrupt, antagonistic people.
12
Don't let's forget how Sheriff Joe Arpaio sent 'Investigator' Mike Zullo to Hawaii to study the issue.
14
And isn't it true that, after skewering Trump at the Corespondent's Dinner, Obama preempted the last 15 minutes of the season finale of Celebrity Apprentice to announce the death of Osama Bin Laden.
11
Of course, none of this nonsense would have happened if Barack Hussein Obama had a very Anglo name, such as Frederick Douglass.
12
Six weeks of non-stop coverage on Fox and the other stations about the Trump the Hoaxer's No Show on his taxes. Maybe an Occupy by Sarah Palin at the IRS and Dinesh D'Sousa can channel dead Roy Cohn for how he mentored young Donald to tell tales about others. Throw in the Koch Bros' dad working for Stalin in the commercials.
10
Mr. Trump either believed the birther nonsense in the face of all actual evidence, or he attempted to manipulate Americans with lies for his own ends. Either disqualifies him for the office of president.
14
So when is the Donald going to release his tax returns, just like every presidential nominee has for the past 40 years? Reporters should press him with that question at every one of his "interviews".
19
Imagine the power of the federal government harnessed in service of the unbalanced political fantasies of men like Farah and all the other fringe characters who would find a voice on the national stage for the first time. Yup, it wouldn't be a simple one-ring circus, it would be Trump and associates, and what a crew it would be.
6
Of course the birth certificate issue was an attempt to discredit Obama but it also inadvertently discredited the government agencies that are responsible for vetting all Presidential candidates to make sure they are born in the United States. Besides being racist it was also a symptom of how many people do not trust large bureaucratic organizations and the mainstream media. Trump knows this and uses it in his "us against them" story line that is the center of his campaign. His supporters feel vindicated by him for their distrust in government. That they wave the American flag at every opportunity seems to contradict their distrust until you realize that they think they are the real Americans and that everyone else doesn't count. This explains his supporter's anger at political correctness too. They feel they should be the ones who get to tell everyone what to believe not the other way around. As one example, Trump is popular for saying, "When I'm President we will all be saying Merry Christmas again."
13
The game Trump plays is to make the accusations very strongly, a show of faux strength, even though he has no proof of those claims. In fact, there was plenty of proof to oppose all of his accusations already before his televised accusations. He is then presented with more proof, the long form. Then he shows his "strength" by never acknowledging that additional proof or acknowledging that his original accusations were wrong. He just brushes these questions off, never backing down, stating he still thinks he was born outside the country but that he doesn't want to talk further about it anymore. That gives "conservatives" (bigots, radical conservatives) the signal that he is their man, because he will stop at nothing to bring down the Democrats. No fact will get in his way.
35
You know what? Now that corporations have been ruled people, I want to see Hobby Lobby's birth certificate. Was it born in the US? Is it really entitled to its own religious beliefs, or is it actually not a US citizen at all? And I want to see the original long form, not just some computer generated summary.
44
I always thought this "Birther" nonsense was classic Rovian projection where you preemptively attack your opponents precisely at your own weakness. Going back to 2008, if anyone remembers, McCain it came out that was actually born in the Panama Canal Zone, and a case could be made he was not "natural born" in the United States, but for some reason his birthplace eligibility was hardly questioned at the time...
If you've actually seen the movie "The Manchurian Candidate" (both the old one with Sinatra or the remake with Denzel Washington) you'll remember that this referred to a character who was a scion of a rich, powerful family who was held in a POW camp and recondioned through torture, hypnosis, and psych-war techniques with the plan to "activate" him once he became President.
Who does that remind you of?
At any rate, why did it take the press so long to call Trump on his disingenuous allegations, clearly proven to be lies? All the reporting on the horse race and hardly any one asking for say, the names of the "investigators" he sent to Hawaii ("the best people"),
I suppose this article is a start. I hope it's not too little too late...
If you've actually seen the movie "The Manchurian Candidate" (both the old one with Sinatra or the remake with Denzel Washington) you'll remember that this referred to a character who was a scion of a rich, powerful family who was held in a POW camp and recondioned through torture, hypnosis, and psych-war techniques with the plan to "activate" him once he became President.
Who does that remind you of?
At any rate, why did it take the press so long to call Trump on his disingenuous allegations, clearly proven to be lies? All the reporting on the horse race and hardly any one asking for say, the names of the "investigators" he sent to Hawaii ("the best people"),
I suppose this article is a start. I hope it's not too little too late...
13
What a deliberate fraud Trump is. Has he no shame at all? Apparently utterly no shame that normal people would have about pursuing a clear lie. He could easily slip into a criminal mindset. Trump is a serious danger to the Republic.
21
One needs a fully functional prefrontal cortex to have a sense of shame.
15
Byron- looks like something got short-circuited big time when they attached Trump's wig.
8
I believe this too, he is a dangerous man. So devious, all to win the top prize when he has not the knowledge, intellect or the vision or curiosity to lead our nation. He totally lied about dispatching people to Hawaii 're the birth certificate. Then he embellished saying you won't believe what they are finding. All lies. With his own eyes he saw thousands of Muslims celebrating in NJ after 9/11. All lies. I know that they all, we all lie sometimes, but he lies to incite and smear. His message and persona is so repugnant and despicable, I don't understand his support.
7
Political performance art. That's all this is, and just like you stop using a plot device on TV when it gets tired, poor Donald stops using rhetorical weapons when he can make a deeper cut with newer ones. And in the misguided effort to appear fair and balanced, our broadcast media follows right behind Donald like a dog looking for its next treat.
193
Or maybe like a dog eager to sniff something utterly disgusting.
1
As the GOP has long known and practiced. Sometimes you got to keep those wedge issues coming. The more the merrier, it supposes.
1
I hope the media has the courage to ask this man about these comments at the debates. This sleaze was reprehensible and he should not get a free pass on it.
45
These kinds of political games have always gone on, they certainly did when I was young. Back then, though, on the whole the political press didn't dignify them or turn them into headlines (aka revenue-drivers).
Sure, there were crazy regional papers, e.g. the Chicago Tribune in the era of Colonel McCormick: and it can be embarrassing to read archived editions of the Times from the 1950s and 1960s, especially on matters of race and gender and the Red scare.
Generally, though, our 20th century political press had a certain establishmentarian sobriety. Now, not so much. There's been a change, not in our politics, which have always included cut-throat tactics and a robust lunatic fringe, but in in journalism itself as news outlets have been bought up by right-wing ideologues and profiteers (not always the same people) and transformed into conduits of profit and/or propaganda, selling everything from birth certificates and Benghazi to "austerity" and climate change skepticism.
Stories that shouldn't have seen the light of day have driven out real news and polarized news consumers, dumbing us down, leaving us bereft of the information we need to make good decisions as a community of citizens and voters.
The apotheosis of Trump (some news outlets are now scrambling too take it back, but it turns out it's not as easy to undo something as it was to do it in the first place) may have been one of the ghastliest sins of our press in recent times, but it's only one among many.
Sure, there were crazy regional papers, e.g. the Chicago Tribune in the era of Colonel McCormick: and it can be embarrassing to read archived editions of the Times from the 1950s and 1960s, especially on matters of race and gender and the Red scare.
Generally, though, our 20th century political press had a certain establishmentarian sobriety. Now, not so much. There's been a change, not in our politics, which have always included cut-throat tactics and a robust lunatic fringe, but in in journalism itself as news outlets have been bought up by right-wing ideologues and profiteers (not always the same people) and transformed into conduits of profit and/or propaganda, selling everything from birth certificates and Benghazi to "austerity" and climate change skepticism.
Stories that shouldn't have seen the light of day have driven out real news and polarized news consumers, dumbing us down, leaving us bereft of the information we need to make good decisions as a community of citizens and voters.
The apotheosis of Trump (some news outlets are now scrambling too take it back, but it turns out it's not as easy to undo something as it was to do it in the first place) may have been one of the ghastliest sins of our press in recent times, but it's only one among many.
20
I knew that we weren't in Kansas anymore, when the assertions of blatant lies by a presidential candidate leads not to the end of present and future campaigns, as would have happened in previous years, but actually becomes a catapult for a successful nomination bid.
27
"In the birther movement, Mr. Trump recognized an opportunity to connect with the electorate over an issue many considered taboo: the discomfort, in some quarters of American society, with the election of the nation’s first black president."
I think that this text illustrates the real root of all that went on then. It is now known as Obama Derangement Syndrome. However, badly articulated it was back when Mr. Obama was first elected, I say that this is what was the root of the formation of that pick-up side known as the Tea Party Patriots, what drove Republican intransigence, and explains why the other Republican candidates could not defeat Mr. Trump. You can't say a man is lying when he shouts from the rooftops exactly what you have been whispering all along.
Over the last nine years or so, the Republicans have demonstrated a pronounced disrespect of the American people. First by foisting Mrs. Palin on the people, now with the carnival barker running as the Republican nominee for election to President of the United States. I only hope the damage currently being done is repairable.
I think that this text illustrates the real root of all that went on then. It is now known as Obama Derangement Syndrome. However, badly articulated it was back when Mr. Obama was first elected, I say that this is what was the root of the formation of that pick-up side known as the Tea Party Patriots, what drove Republican intransigence, and explains why the other Republican candidates could not defeat Mr. Trump. You can't say a man is lying when he shouts from the rooftops exactly what you have been whispering all along.
Over the last nine years or so, the Republicans have demonstrated a pronounced disrespect of the American people. First by foisting Mrs. Palin on the people, now with the carnival barker running as the Republican nominee for election to President of the United States. I only hope the damage currently being done is repairable.
43
This article, perhaps more than any other, captures the racist roots of Donald Trump's presidential bid. Contrast Trump's long hours of plotting to smear President Obama with a blatant lie with Obama's practice (as described in another article in today's Times) of spending long hours each night thinking deeply about the nation's problems and carefully crafting speeches to address them while providing hope and inspiration. How could anyone think that this racist charlatan would make a good commander in chief?
64
I voted for Hillary in 2008 because I want my 7 year old daughter to grow up in a world where a woman can be President of the United States. How can we keep telling our little girls "you can be whatever you want to be.....well, except a US President"? This time around, there is absolutely no way I will vote for her. Just no way. I don't expect our politicians to be perfect and pristine, but I do expect them to not get paid $200k to do private speeches for Wall Street crooks or be under an FBI investigation for possible criminal activities. That's where she lost me. I am now a closet Trump supporter. I went to one of his rally's with my 17 year old son but no one knows about it and neither of us will ever admit to anyone that we were there. LGBT rights our very important to the both of us because my son is gay, which is why I normally despise Republicans. Surprisingly, there were a lot of gay supporters at the rally. Nothing Trump has said or done leads me to believe that he will trample on my son's rights. He might be a narcissist to the umpteenth degree but he owes nothing to special interest groups or lobbyists and has spent tens of millions of his own money funding his campaign. If we want to get corruption out of politics, well, here's our chance.
2
Rachel - Let's check out the logic. You previously liked Hillary but you now despise her because she took money to give speeches to Wall Street businesses. But you're OK with The Donald, who got rich by taking money from anybody who he could cheat using any number of Trump-branded businesses, including his core business of real estate development. And electing him is how we get the corruption out of politics? Really?
7
Wow! Are you confused! Hilarie got paid for speeches that she showed up and gave. Trump got paid for many things that were never delivered, that, in fact, involved outright fraud.
7
If you really want to get corruption out of politics - including all offices, not just (maybe) the president - we need Supreme Court justices who understand that money is not the same thing as free speech. Considering that every Republican justice believes that it is, and every Democratic justice believes it is not, do you really believe that a Republican president is going to start appointing justices who think otherwise?
7
And we're supposed to believe that the racial divisions in this country are, somehow, President Obama's fault. Someone should check Trump's birth certificate to see if he is even an earthling. Hair like that doesn't exist anywhere else on the planet and if that theory shows up in print, even if it is only The National Enquirer, The Onion or anywhere on the internet, Trump will be forced to believe it's possible. You can't make this up folks but Donald can.
21
The kid gloves remain on among reporters. When an ostensibly tough piece reminding us of this person's indecent behavior can parrot his cronies' use of the term "political performance art" to justify disgusting behavior, we have a problem. On the other hand, it demonstrates how treating indecency with decency is a lost cause. NYTimes readers are doing the job that reporters cannot or will not do: call the man out for what he is. Bravo!
This shameless narcissist will fade. But the fact that his inanities have roused support in this country is deeply disturbing. Contempt for facts has perhaps never been more virulent. Distraction will be our downfall. We need to overcome dark money, gerrymandered congressional districts and our tendency to take our eyes off the ball.
This shameless narcissist will fade. But the fact that his inanities have roused support in this country is deeply disturbing. Contempt for facts has perhaps never been more virulent. Distraction will be our downfall. We need to overcome dark money, gerrymandered congressional districts and our tendency to take our eyes off the ball.
22
Donald Trump has no moral center or compass. He lies, cheats others, demeans and debases opponents, women, Mexicans, Muslims, Native Americans, etc. He is a self centered egomaniac who excels at drawing attention to himself. Unfortunately, the media complied, and without correcting his falsehoods. He is temperamentally unfit, and knowledge challenged to be any where near the presidency. His SCOTUS nominees will return us to a pre Civil Rights agenda.
23
If you asked a Canadian if Obama was born in the US, probably 95% would answer YES. I'm AMAZED that there is such a large percentage of Americans who could believe the nonsense that he wasn't. It's incredible. The same goes for the 42% percent of Americans who still don't believe in evolution. It's incredible. American exceptionalism writ large, as nowhere else on the planet, in either developed or undeveloped countries would you find such a large percentage of the population subscribing to a nonsensical viewpoint.
29
Trump's behavior is this incident was beyond shameful - and absolutely disqualified him to lead a UNITED States of America.
But the greater shame here lies with NBC, which kept him on the air - and with all the media outlets that continued to give him face time.
This dude needed to be unceremoniously yanked off the air - and then not allowed back until he was sincerely willing to atone for his loathsome effort to delegitimatize the first African American President in our long, tortured history.
Trump is but one example of how knaves continue to profit from moral hazard in America - and just about every other aspect of his life testifies to this same pattern.
But the greater shame here lies with NBC, which kept him on the air - and with all the media outlets that continued to give him face time.
This dude needed to be unceremoniously yanked off the air - and then not allowed back until he was sincerely willing to atone for his loathsome effort to delegitimatize the first African American President in our long, tortured history.
Trump is but one example of how knaves continue to profit from moral hazard in America - and just about every other aspect of his life testifies to this same pattern.
77
I read that James Dobson, the guy who brought Amendment 2 to Colorado - the anti-gay discrimination attempt in the 90s that was turned over after the Supreme Court declared it unconstitutional, has declared Donald Trump "a baby Christian".
I guess that qualifies this bigot to pick on Hillary Clinton's faith. Do your job American Press. This whole "birther" thing was a hoax perpetuated by Foghorn Leghorn Trump for attention. Let this morally bankrupt twit own something.
I guess that qualifies this bigot to pick on Hillary Clinton's faith. Do your job American Press. This whole "birther" thing was a hoax perpetuated by Foghorn Leghorn Trump for attention. Let this morally bankrupt twit own something.
94
You might like to Google, Kay, James Dobson to learn that he's now "walking back" his claim that Donald Trump is a born again Christian.
You will, no doubt, be as surprised as I was to learn that still another Conservative lied.
(Irony intended)
You will, no doubt, be as surprised as I was to learn that still another Conservative lied.
(Irony intended)
11
Hey Kay, How about you acknowledging the entire "birther" movement began in the Hillary Clinton camp during her 2008 campaign.
I know that facts are difficult to reconcile with your Trump hatred, but give it a try for once. As for the Obama long form birth certificate, it lists places that did not exist at the time of his birth as has been shown to have been created using an Adobe graphics program that also did not exist then. Just more of those inconvenient facts that you and the media prefer to ignore.
I know that facts are difficult to reconcile with your Trump hatred, but give it a try for once. As for the Obama long form birth certificate, it lists places that did not exist at the time of his birth as has been shown to have been created using an Adobe graphics program that also did not exist then. Just more of those inconvenient facts that you and the media prefer to ignore.
Have lost all respect for Dobson, never liked Franklin Graham, and all the other faux-pastors that preach to make money instead of truly tend to a person's soul as well as guide and love.
7
Trump's birther binge foreshadowed the Republican establishment's timidity in taking him on in 2016. Rather than calling Trump out on his bigoted nonsense, they kept silent for fear of alienating "the base."
59
Donald Trump still claims he does not believe President Obama's birth certificate is real and wants sworn documents from the doctor and nurses who delivered the President in Hawaii.
I say this to Mr. Trump and his supporters. I want Mr. Trump to give a copy of his birth certificate to the American voter to prove he is a "Natural Born Citizen". Also, just like Mr. Trump, I want a sworn document from the doctor and nurses who delivered Mr. Trump in the United States. After all, Mr. Trump's mother was born in Scotland. How do I know Mr. Trump was not born there also?
If Mr. Trump's birth certificate is good enough for his supporters, then President Obama's birth certificate from the State of Hawaii is good enough for the American voter.
I say this to Mr. Trump and his supporters. I want Mr. Trump to give a copy of his birth certificate to the American voter to prove he is a "Natural Born Citizen". Also, just like Mr. Trump, I want a sworn document from the doctor and nurses who delivered Mr. Trump in the United States. After all, Mr. Trump's mother was born in Scotland. How do I know Mr. Trump was not born there also?
If Mr. Trump's birth certificate is good enough for his supporters, then President Obama's birth certificate from the State of Hawaii is good enough for the American voter.
52
I'd settle for a release of his tax returns.....
10
I'd settle for that too!
4
That this man had the time and energy to spend on creating and promoting this heap of lies is troubling. As President he would also fixate on inconsequential obsessions, leaving matters of state to...others? I think it is so clear he no longer knows the difference between truth and falsehood, from repeating his own lies so often. I would bet he has not donated the money he often promised on The Apprentice to various charities. That should be investigated. America-is this the man you want representing us on the world stage?
34
The man is a liar and fraud.
The media did and does nothing to hold his feet to the fire and the people who have embraced him are fools looking for quick and easy answers to complex problems.
He is probably going to be our next President.
Disgusting.
The media did and does nothing to hold his feet to the fire and the people who have embraced him are fools looking for quick and easy answers to complex problems.
He is probably going to be our next President.
Disgusting.
23
Trump's psychopathology may well suggest that the gentleman is deranged; but that is neither here nor there.
What to make of 50% who think he is fit to run the country? His coalition is broad, and broader yet in the key states that will decide the election. I.e., his appeal crosses over from the white rural uneducated welfare junkie with no skills and debt. Despite every evidence of his hucksterism and fraudulence, proclivity for scamming others, nearly all of his acolytes (that include women) think he is a great businessman, and will implement great trade deals. His dog whistles overcome his otherwise pervasive incoherence in speeches. It does suggest that half of Americans are closet racists, and will accept a white supremacist with no other questions asked.
Evidence? Any attempt by his opposition to point to his weaknesses serves to strengthen and not weaken their resolve to vote for him. Thinking and evaluation are weak and irrelevant given their attitudes toward race.
Time to wake up to the reality, I think. The right wing, the religious right, the social conservatives - despite the fiscal conservatism, family values, and godliness they publicly espouse, their overt and covert motivations are racist.
I did not believe that for the 30 years I have lived here, but now the evidence is simply overwhelming. And that wont go away if he loses.
Win or lose, how long before his acolytes affect an ISIS-like tone, and adopt ISIS-like behaviors?
Kalidan
What to make of 50% who think he is fit to run the country? His coalition is broad, and broader yet in the key states that will decide the election. I.e., his appeal crosses over from the white rural uneducated welfare junkie with no skills and debt. Despite every evidence of his hucksterism and fraudulence, proclivity for scamming others, nearly all of his acolytes (that include women) think he is a great businessman, and will implement great trade deals. His dog whistles overcome his otherwise pervasive incoherence in speeches. It does suggest that half of Americans are closet racists, and will accept a white supremacist with no other questions asked.
Evidence? Any attempt by his opposition to point to his weaknesses serves to strengthen and not weaken their resolve to vote for him. Thinking and evaluation are weak and irrelevant given their attitudes toward race.
Time to wake up to the reality, I think. The right wing, the religious right, the social conservatives - despite the fiscal conservatism, family values, and godliness they publicly espouse, their overt and covert motivations are racist.
I did not believe that for the 30 years I have lived here, but now the evidence is simply overwhelming. And that wont go away if he loses.
Win or lose, how long before his acolytes affect an ISIS-like tone, and adopt ISIS-like behaviors?
Kalidan
22
We need someone as dogged as Trump was about Obama's birth certificate to ask Donald to show his tax returns. So far Donald says "my tax returns are very complicated." You know what? Everybody's tax returns are complicated. That's not a reason not to share them.
But when that story first broke Donald followed up with some other media-grabbing nonsense that took the spotlight off of his tax returns. The media have been letting Donald be the tail that wags the dog for too long.
But when that story first broke Donald followed up with some other media-grabbing nonsense that took the spotlight off of his tax returns. The media have been letting Donald be the tail that wags the dog for too long.
112
If required, most people could show you their tax returns for the last 5 years in about 10 minutes, as the IRS requires that tax information be kept and available for that period of time. All the other candidates produced their tax returns a long time ago - where are Trump's tax returns?
17
Donald Trump's central organizing principle, in business and politics (or rather campaigning) is blustering with one "foray into falsehood" after another. He is shameless and his base is angry and ready for anything but the status quo. Unfortunately this same base is often quite ill informed (about the status quo or much else beyond their own skins), to put it nicely, and their apparent champion is without principle connected to truth -- his only truth is winning and there is no scurrilous slander he is not willing to use to get there. No matter the path of destruction, and lies, he leaves in his wake. I suspect his own ruins will be in that wake come November.
22
One would have thought that the internet would have made the general public more intelligent, but I believe that the reverse is true, the general public is stupider. Instead of taking the time to investigate spurious claims, people accept them as truth, as long as they come from the particular source which supports their bias. Trump knows this, and he uses it to his advantage. He knows that people will not look back to see that he did not send any investigators to Hawaii, he only knows that he had to merely raise the issue of the birth certificate, and the gullible public and news media supplied the rest. This is a classic con man scheme. The con man let's the individual convince him or herself of the con and thus when the belief has been invested by the mark, then nothing else matters. However, with Trump candidacy, the stakes are too high as compared to someone losing a few dollars because of a scam. There is simply too much to lose to be entertained by this scallywag.
43
Maybe Comrade Trump needs a dose of his own medicine. What's the down and dirty behind the Trump/Putin reciprocal praise displays? What's up with holding the Miss Universe pageant in Russia, and inviting Putin? Did Trump strike secret deals with Russian oligarchs to sell out the US in exchange for a green light for a Trump Tower in Moscow? And then there's Paul Manafort working on behalf of Ukraine backers of Putin. What's the payback Trump will owe from the White House? Trade deals favorable to Russia? Backing Russia's allies? Sharing the codes? Next up -- Kim Jung Un. Someone dispatch some PIs. Inquiring minds want to know.
33
Putin raising soybeans for personal use, yes, all of it needs to come to light.
5
I can't help but wonder if indeed, Mr. Trump has ever considered being straight and honest. His ability to fabricate and disillusion is his foundation to his notoriety and uninherited wealth. While it is accepted that a political will embellish and stretch the truth, Donald Trump relies on complete whoppers that only appear to impress his audience.
He also has a great huge bridge that is for sale.
He also has a great huge bridge that is for sale.
12
He's a story teller. Every con man is. Every great sales person is. So is every preacher, any religion.
A skilled con artist can push any story to the bounds of credibility. His job is to create believers. Apparently people need to believe in something.
Anything will do.
27
There is a difference between a pastor who preaches as opposed to a preacher who thinks he or she can pastor.
2
The birther issue is similar to Mr. Trump's steaks. Rare and non existent
15
Trump himself, though despicable, worries me less than the large swath of the American public that is prone to believe in all this hogwash. This subset of our population was able to disregard all the facts and convince themselves that Obama is foreign, Muslim, communist, out to take everyone's guns, part of a decades-long plot to destroy American from within, and, worst of all, unable to speak publicly without a teleprompter. It seems like most of these people call themselves Christians but spend nearly all their free time hating. What does this say about the U.S. in the 21st century?
34
He is a cynical, manipulative man with sociopathic tendencies. He cannot be allowed within throwing distance of the White House.
29
Trump seems to have the brain of an 8th grader. I don't believe that he graduated from the University of Pennsylvania. He should prove it by releasing his diploma and transcripts of courses taken and grades received.
88
I can't comment on this man Trump anymore. What nearly always gets typed then deleted is enough to bring the Secret Service to my door. With flagging restraint, I submit this. For money and little else, the main stream media gave this virus of man an unrivaled public platform. It is up to that same media to deconstruct their monster daily in every way possible over the next four months.
50
This article is infuriating.
I understand that Mr. Trump is a gasbag, a fraud, a charlatan. What I don't understand is that the media has gone along with his antics and given him free air time to fill the airwaves with his lies. For instance, why do so many networks allow Trump to call in and lie whenever he feels like it? Why are they letting him lead them by the nose?
The media never held Trump's feet to the fire then, just winking at him and laughing, and even now when Trump decides he doesn't want to talk about it anymore he shows his ability to manipulate them and not be held accountable for his divisive, toxic behavior.
Disgusting.
I understand that Mr. Trump is a gasbag, a fraud, a charlatan. What I don't understand is that the media has gone along with his antics and given him free air time to fill the airwaves with his lies. For instance, why do so many networks allow Trump to call in and lie whenever he feels like it? Why are they letting him lead them by the nose?
The media never held Trump's feet to the fire then, just winking at him and laughing, and even now when Trump decides he doesn't want to talk about it anymore he shows his ability to manipulate them and not be held accountable for his divisive, toxic behavior.
Disgusting.
946
In Iowa we believe it is how you elect Hillary.
V,
"For instance, why do so many networks allow Trump to call in and lie whenever he feels like it? Why are they letting him lead them by the nose?"
Why?
The print media and the old line broadcast media have no power or credibility any longer.
The only thing that matters are the social media and the 24 hr. cable news cycle.
I agree he and they are disgusting, but it's become apparent that Trump is our next POTUS.
Iv'e no idea what we will do. Hopefully, if Bernie stays in, he can replace Hillary if she is indicted.
Given Trump's plan to cancel all trade treaties, terminate our NATO membership, and aggressively confront China the only outcome can be a global depression with a major war of some sort with China or Russia, or incredibly, with our former European allies. He seems to align with Russia and Putin!
Apparently tens of millions of Americans want this outcome.
"For instance, why do so many networks allow Trump to call in and lie whenever he feels like it? Why are they letting him lead them by the nose?"
Why?
The print media and the old line broadcast media have no power or credibility any longer.
The only thing that matters are the social media and the 24 hr. cable news cycle.
I agree he and they are disgusting, but it's become apparent that Trump is our next POTUS.
Iv'e no idea what we will do. Hopefully, if Bernie stays in, he can replace Hillary if she is indicted.
Given Trump's plan to cancel all trade treaties, terminate our NATO membership, and aggressively confront China the only outcome can be a global depression with a major war of some sort with China or Russia, or incredibly, with our former European allies. He seems to align with Russia and Putin!
Apparently tens of millions of Americans want this outcome.
1
Agreed 100%!
Oh, the irony. We now have a man running for president who probably has a gold-plated birth certificate only to become a national embarrassment.
13
I remember that period when Trump unrelentingly badgered President Obama to release his birth certificate. I had seen Trump on his "Apprentice" show and found him likeable. However, after being exposed to his obnoxious side, I no longer found him pleasing. Even Barbara Walters told him to "Donald, Stop it."
17
Donald Trump likable??
I suppose if you like narcissistic thin skinned bullies.
I suppose if you like narcissistic thin skinned bullies.
13
Trump lies when he calls himself a truth-teller. He was happy to lie then about the non-issue of President Obama's birth certificate, repeatedly, just to manipulate peoples' worst instincts. Today, he is happy to lie about 'thousands of Muslims in Jersey City cheering 9/11,' refugees being 'a Trojan Horse,' Mexican rapists, and so on, just to manipulate peoples' worst instincts. Trump tells it like it isn't.
The basic decency that keeps other people from going where Trump does is what he dismisses as 'political correctness.' Political correctness is not destroying our nation, but Trump pitting people against each other just might.
The basic decency that keeps other people from going where Trump does is what he dismisses as 'political correctness.' Political correctness is not destroying our nation, but Trump pitting people against each other just might.
52
Trump said repeatedly that he had sent "a team of investigators" to Hawaii, and "they can't believe what they are finding." Joseph McCarthy said repeatedly that he had a list "in his pocket" of 120 communists in the State Department. Both statements were completely false, but they surely worked. No one ever went broke underestimating the American public.
66
Yet, there is no question of Cruz's birthplace.
23
Funny how that works, hein?
1
This Republican is ashamed of its "front-runner" fool. His poor judgement is not fit for a POTUS.
16
My recollection is that Trump did not entirely back off after the long form birth certificate was released. He kept the racist spirit of the birther thing alive by demanding more information about Obama's past, specifically his academic transcripts from Harvard and Columbia. This stunt gained less traction because his white supremacist supporters care a lot less about how someone got through the Ivy League. Ultimately only NBC was able to shut him up. A low rent grifter like the Donald was not going to jeopardize his TV show -- his best source of easy money for himself and his family.
26
That's interesting that Trump demanded Pres. Obama's academic transcripts from Harvard and Columbia. Trump, too, has a mystery surrounding his attendance at Wharton. No one in his supposed graduating class remembers him. And Wharton will not release records. Trump did say that he worked for his father at the same time he attended Wharton. How did that work? Does Wharton have a work-study program?
21
why do we continue to give credence to Trump? the moment he's no longer in the limelight, getting free Press coverage, and has to start paying for his campaign advertising, he'll slink away into the darkness where he belongs.
18
Uh, maybe you all should take a breath and pause to remember who was one of the first people to jump on the "birther" idea and popularize it. Here's a hint: his initials are WJC....this whole article is a distraction from the highly questionable meeting that took place between the disbarred, disgraced former lawyer and a barely competent attorney general who should have known better.
1
Please not the Clinton's were the first birther nonsense. Politifact, FactCheck, the Washington Post and the Associated Press investigated and came to the same conclusion that it is not true.
How is it a distraction when the Lynch/Clinton story has several articles on it on today's front page?
How is it a distraction when the Lynch/Clinton story has several articles on it on today's front page?
14
They weren't THE first, but they sure were happy to grab the ball and run with it.
1
Trump tells a certain segment of under-educated, under-achieving Americans the lies they want to hear.
It's that simple.
It's that simple.
36
We should also never forget that he was the guy who claimed he could shoot a stranger in the street and get away with it.
22
The love of conspiracy theories seems deeply ingrained in Trump's view of the world. In this, he reminds me more of TV's Geraldo Rivera, who famously uncovered a sealed vault beneath Chicago's sidewalks, claiming that Al Capone's car was hidden there. The vault was empty.
At least Rivera had some integrity as a journalist (he didn't pretend he was doing anything but a publicity stunt) and lawyer. Trump has none, and when he finds nothing, he still claims something's there. And there is: racism. This is the same racism that pervades the Republican party, which more and more expresses a certain group of white citizens' hatred of other races, other cultures, other styles of life that they somehow fee; threatens them.
Republicans are hucksters too, selling a vision of America that never existed and (we can hope) never will. Trump represents them perfectly as the personification of their politics.
At least Rivera had some integrity as a journalist (he didn't pretend he was doing anything but a publicity stunt) and lawyer. Trump has none, and when he finds nothing, he still claims something's there. And there is: racism. This is the same racism that pervades the Republican party, which more and more expresses a certain group of white citizens' hatred of other races, other cultures, other styles of life that they somehow fee; threatens them.
Republicans are hucksters too, selling a vision of America that never existed and (we can hope) never will. Trump represents them perfectly as the personification of their politics.
16
I demand to see Trump's birth certificate. He looks foreign to me.
18
What's that expression? "People get the government they deserve." If Americans elect this bigoted, hateful, ignorant man then we as a country deserve whatever the consequences are of our choices.
18
Please have pity on the rest of the world....we wouldn't vote for him.
7
I can't wait for the comment in the debates, or perhaps from President Obama. "You saw the birth certificate. Now, let's see your tax returns"
44
The Donald gets far too much credit for being an accomplished con man when all he’s doing is fooling some of the people all of the time. As George Carlin noted, the average person is dumb and half of the population are even dumber (and scared, easily threatened, and much more interested in blaming scapegoats for their real and imagined fears than admitting to their own cowardice).
I’m not suggesting that all Trump supporters are dumb, just most of them. To complicate matters, the GOP witless test eliminated any formidable contenders which turned Trump into a giant among pathetic pygmies.
I’m not suggesting that all Trump supporters are dumb, just most of them. To complicate matters, the GOP witless test eliminated any formidable contenders which turned Trump into a giant among pathetic pygmies.
17
This is an extremely useful reminder. I have been rather appalled at how the news media seem to have avoided talking about this episode while giving Trump billions of dollars of free coverage during the campaign. This was a deceitful and scurrilous attempt by Trump to delude the American public into believing that its first nonwhite president was born outside the US and not eligible to occupy that office. He compounded lie after lie including the apparently phony story that he had sent investigators to Hawaii and that they "cannot believe what they are finding." (And what did they find, Donald? He never said, of course.) Apart from the enormous pile of garbage that Trump has already created in the current election season, the thought that anyone who had pulled a stunt like this could ever occupy the Oval Office is truly chilling. And yet he remains an apparently viable candidate. Can anyone imagine the deafening cries of outrage that would have greeted any similar effort by a Democrat with regard to a white Republican president? That Trump nevertheless has a large amount of political support says something quite unattractive not only about Trump himself, but also about a large portion of the American public.
26
Donald Trump is a cockroach, who feeds on media coverage.
26
Narcissistic personality disorder (NPD) is a personality disorder, characterized by exaggerated feelings of self-importance, an excessive need for admiration, and a lack of empathy for others.
There is no cure.
There is no cure.
54
So... It was all a scam for branding and recognition: Just a power play to get some air time and play. This was suspected at the time, but not definitively proved.
This is yet more added to the pile of overwhelming evidence that Trump does NOTHING but cultivate and enhance his brand. The Presidency is not about Public Service, or helping America: it's just a play to get the best Reality TV show of all time, with Trump and only Trump as the central star.
What a small, vain, and utterly pathetic human being!
This is yet more added to the pile of overwhelming evidence that Trump does NOTHING but cultivate and enhance his brand. The Presidency is not about Public Service, or helping America: it's just a play to get the best Reality TV show of all time, with Trump and only Trump as the central star.
What a small, vain, and utterly pathetic human being!
24
'A lie will travel half way around the world while the truth is still putting on its shoes', Mark Twain. Obviously the modus operandi of the Orange One and any Flim-flam man. The Royalists GOP are also proficient practitioners of the fine art of the big lie. Will the American people succumb again? The recent past is not reassuring. Vote in November.
19
Pray for Mr. Trump. He really is a sick man. Pray also that he never becomes President.
16
The so called "Birther" lie was invented by Hillary Clinton. Why was that relevant bit of info kept from this article?
I'm deeply disappointed with the Times regarding the grossly slewed distortions & lies that have embraced on 2 subjects: Hillary Clinton and the Syrian refugee crisis. Fairness, reason and truth have been abanadoned in favor of an agenda.
I'm deeply disappointed with the Times regarding the grossly slewed distortions & lies that have embraced on 2 subjects: Hillary Clinton and the Syrian refugee crisis. Fairness, reason and truth have been abanadoned in favor of an agenda.
1
Zoot...thanks for the propaganda .
http://www.factcheck.org/2015/07/was-hillary-clinton-the-original-birther/
There is zero evidence Hillary Clinton was a Birther.
Have you no moral compass ?
http://www.factcheck.org/2015/07/was-hillary-clinton-the-original-birther/
There is zero evidence Hillary Clinton was a Birther.
Have you no moral compass ?
27
Politifact, FactCheck, Washington Post and Associated Press all investigated and found no evidence that Clinton was the first birther or even ever a supporter of the idea.
15
The absence is explained by the fact your statement is untrue.
6
Why would anyone trust the intelligence or judgement of a person who assassinated the character of the President and fraudulently claimed he knew the President was not an American? Why would a working person support a candidate whose history of making money by cheating contractors and other employees is well documented. This article reports on his willingness to hurt others so he can get publicity. He is a fame addict.
Support the candidate with the right experience to be President.
Support the candidate with the right experience to be President.
33
the GOP deserve to have Mr. Trump as their Presidential candidate because not one of them questioned Mr. Trump on the birther issue as being appropriate concerning President Obama .
13
What galls me is that the only president pressed to show his birth certificate and his college transcripts was our first non-white president. Instead of hounding Trump and demanding an apology from him, the major media followed his helicopter around and spent countless minutes of airtime in just waiting for Trump to emerge not to speak of airing his despicable speeches. The media has created this narcissist. Even now why aren't they demanding the release of his tax returns, fact-checking his idiotic statements, reacting with moral disgust at his remarks about torture, even questioning why a maximum of 9 seconds spent talking about grandchildren and 2 minutes about golf doesn't seem downright contemptible.
26
I am surprised you did not mention that Hillary was the one that first started the birther controversy.
That whole episode is an example of the petty nature of politics today.
You must be born a US citizen to be able to run for President. It is a rule. That Obama was offended that anyone (Hillary) asked him to simply prove that he met the qualification standard was ridiculous. All he had to do was produce his birth certificate and the whole thing would have been over.
Instead we were treated to years of whining about how unfair it would be for him to have to prove his eligibility to run for President. Unnecessary controversy for political theater. That he refused to produce the proof of eligibility enabled the conspiracy theorists and certainly did leave one wondering why he was refusing.
That whole episode is an example of the petty nature of politics today.
You must be born a US citizen to be able to run for President. It is a rule. That Obama was offended that anyone (Hillary) asked him to simply prove that he met the qualification standard was ridiculous. All he had to do was produce his birth certificate and the whole thing would have been over.
Instead we were treated to years of whining about how unfair it would be for him to have to prove his eligibility to run for President. Unnecessary controversy for political theater. That he refused to produce the proof of eligibility enabled the conspiracy theorists and certainly did leave one wondering why he was refusing.
4
You are mistaken, Ken.
http://www.factcheck.org/2015/07/was-hillary-clinton-the-original-birther/
There is no evidence Hillary Clinton was a Birther.
Thank you for the propaganda, though.
Very thoughtful of you.
http://www.factcheck.org/2015/07/was-hillary-clinton-the-original-birther/
There is no evidence Hillary Clinton was a Birther.
Thank you for the propaganda, though.
Very thoughtful of you.
21
Socrates, did you read the article?
Ok, it was "diehard Hillary supporters" that started the birther movement. Not Hillary herself.
It was a Hillary supporter that filed the first suit to obtain Obama's birth certificate. Not Hillary herself.
So it had nothing to do with Hillary. She probably didn't even know anything about it.
Want to buy a bridge?
Ok, it was "diehard Hillary supporters" that started the birther movement. Not Hillary herself.
It was a Hillary supporter that filed the first suit to obtain Obama's birth certificate. Not Hillary herself.
So it had nothing to do with Hillary. She probably didn't even know anything about it.
Want to buy a bridge?
3
So are you saying that Trump is responsible for anything his "diehard" supporters do? David Duke for example.
9
“Why doesn’t he show his birth certificate?” he asked"....Why doesn't he show us his tax returns?
551
Yes. Someone should step up and publicly badger the heck out of him for his tax returns.
8
Joseph Goebbels in 1928 on the importance of the Big Lie to win over the masses:
"To attract people, to win over people to that which I have realized as being true, that is called propaganda. In the beginning there is the understanding, this understanding uses propaganda as a tool to find those men, that shall turn understanding into politics. Success is the important thing. Propaganda is not a matter for average minds, but rather a matter for practitioners. It is not supposed to be lovely or theoretically correct. I do not care if I give wonderful, aesthetically elegant speeches, or speak so that women cry. The point of a political speech is to persuade people of what we think right. I speak differently in the provinces than I do in Berlin, and when I speak in Bayreuth, I say different things from what I say in the Pharus Hall. That is a matter of practice, not of theory. We do not want to be a movement of a few straw brains, but rather a movement that can conquer the broad masses. Propaganda should be popular, not intellectually pleasing. It is not the task of propaganda to discover intellectual truths. Those are found in other circumstances, I find them when thinking at my desk, but not in the meeting hall."
Donald Trump channels the worst devils of humanity for the sake of 'winning'; he's a Goebellian disgrace, perfectly at ease as a Grand Old Prevaricator in the independent country of Republistan, happy to lie for a living and drive the country off a cliff of unreason.
"To attract people, to win over people to that which I have realized as being true, that is called propaganda. In the beginning there is the understanding, this understanding uses propaganda as a tool to find those men, that shall turn understanding into politics. Success is the important thing. Propaganda is not a matter for average minds, but rather a matter for practitioners. It is not supposed to be lovely or theoretically correct. I do not care if I give wonderful, aesthetically elegant speeches, or speak so that women cry. The point of a political speech is to persuade people of what we think right. I speak differently in the provinces than I do in Berlin, and when I speak in Bayreuth, I say different things from what I say in the Pharus Hall. That is a matter of practice, not of theory. We do not want to be a movement of a few straw brains, but rather a movement that can conquer the broad masses. Propaganda should be popular, not intellectually pleasing. It is not the task of propaganda to discover intellectual truths. Those are found in other circumstances, I find them when thinking at my desk, but not in the meeting hall."
Donald Trump channels the worst devils of humanity for the sake of 'winning'; he's a Goebellian disgrace, perfectly at ease as a Grand Old Prevaricator in the independent country of Republistan, happy to lie for a living and drive the country off a cliff of unreason.
397
Socrates,
Much as I enjoyed your anti-GOP screeds when I was a Democrat now that I am an independent socialist you are beginning to sound like a broken record.
When are you going to give us positive reasons to vote for Hillary Clinton? Or are you having problems coming up with any to give us?
Now that I think about it your extreme antipathy towards "The Donald" makes us seem that it is personal with you, that in the past you were stupid enough to get conned by "The Donald".
How is that "degree" from Trump University working out for you buddy?
#BernieOrBust #NeverHillary #NeverTrump
Much as I enjoyed your anti-GOP screeds when I was a Democrat now that I am an independent socialist you are beginning to sound like a broken record.
When are you going to give us positive reasons to vote for Hillary Clinton? Or are you having problems coming up with any to give us?
Now that I think about it your extreme antipathy towards "The Donald" makes us seem that it is personal with you, that in the past you were stupid enough to get conned by "The Donald".
How is that "degree" from Trump University working out for you buddy?
#BernieOrBust #NeverHillary #NeverTrump
1
Allow me to address your rather rudely worded question to Soc. A positive reason to vote for Hillary you ask - umm... because she's not insane. Oh, one more thing, if there's anything Soc. is not, it's stupid. As for the rest of your comment... for a Bernie supporter, you've just embarrassed both yourself and Bernie.
5
I disagree with the phrase "independent country of Republistan"; it's been bought and paid for by dredge funds, "nonprofit" "nonpartisan" wrong-wing churches, Right-To-Serf union-busters, and Right-To-Kill anti-CSGRers.*
Republistan is as independent as an old British colony, and its policies about as repugnant as theirs were. Their independence from our Sweet Home Nonwhackadoodlia would bring mutual improvement.
*The fact that I can write CSGR, and someone out there can instantly know what it abbreviates, only underscores our critical need for it.
Republistan is as independent as an old British colony, and its policies about as repugnant as theirs were. Their independence from our Sweet Home Nonwhackadoodlia would bring mutual improvement.
*The fact that I can write CSGR, and someone out there can instantly know what it abbreviates, only underscores our critical need for it.
Donald Trump's supporters have swallowed his lies and demented promises for more than a year. As long as they're wearing their red golf caps blazoned with the mantra "Make America Great Again!", they're happy as lemmings, mean as honey badgers, ignorant as the little oysters gathered round the Walrus and the Carpenter not recognizing crocodile tears and that they were going to be swallowed. Mr. Trump played the "Birther" card for 6 weeks in 2011 and our great President Barack Obama warned us, his nation, not to be distracted by "sideshow and carnival barkers". The carnival barker, Donald Trump, after the slaughter of innocents at The Pulse, in Orlando last month, had the gall to insinuate that President Obama might sympathize with Muslim extremists. Hogwash, calumny, blatherskite from an iggerodie, a man we can only pray will not come close to winning the White House in four months. How to stop his headlong putsch to the Presidency? Even his Republican colleagues loathe him and won't endorse his candidacy, including two Republican Presidents (Bush I and Bush II) and Jeb Bush, whose candidacy he demolished with his zealous name-calling ("low-energy JEB, weak", etc.);
and are not attending the Republican National Convention this month in Cleveland. We can only pray that his Vice-Presidential choice has zip, zero, no chance at all to occupy the Naval Observatory next January.
and are not attending the Republican National Convention this month in Cleveland. We can only pray that his Vice-Presidential choice has zip, zero, no chance at all to occupy the Naval Observatory next January.
74
If the New York Times thinks anyone other than Clinton lovers and Trump haters reads or cares aboult this irrelevant drivel --- they are mistaken.
4
So how do you know it's irrelevant drivel?
32
Apparently you read it, so I assume you fall into one of those categories?
6
It is the nature of the Trump campaign that his most ardent supporters are of a maturity level to stick their fingers in their ears and shout "wallwallwallwall" -- even when reading a newspaper.
9
I find it somewhat sad, if not amusing, that a segment of our population is gullible to the point of believing anything and everything that many carnival barker politicians, or aspiring politicians, state whether the statement be a conspiracy theory or blatant lie.
I find it sad that so many people in the electorate continue to believe every word that is spewed by the lead GOP flim-flam man.
While true that every politician will tell us what they believe they want us to hear, some candidates are able to take their campaign statements to a whole new level, and the voters believe those statements-then complain when that person is in office.
Sad days for our political environment when carnival barking overwhelms intelligent debate and discourse.
I find it sad that so many people in the electorate continue to believe every word that is spewed by the lead GOP flim-flam man.
While true that every politician will tell us what they believe they want us to hear, some candidates are able to take their campaign statements to a whole new level, and the voters believe those statements-then complain when that person is in office.
Sad days for our political environment when carnival barking overwhelms intelligent debate and discourse.
27
that segment of th population you refer to is 90 %
and wo that massive gullibility americans seem to be born w. what would become of th advertising industry
and wo that massive gullibility americans seem to be born w. what would become of th advertising industry
1
The casino guy has been doing this stuff for years, why are people surprised? The larger evil in this story is that the Republican party (I'm looking at you, Paul Ryan) has endorsed this man for president.
135
and think that they can can control this maniac. Thanks GOP. You deserve to lose in a landslide.
9
The press is as much to blame as anyone for allowing Trump to get this far. As this piece reminds us, the 'birther' issue showed him to be a fraud and a charlatan, yet the press allowed him to walk away scot free. The press allowed him free air time during the primaries for the entertainment value, bestowing on him a legitimacy he never deserved. Not being themselves a member of Trump's core base, under-educated white males, the press has allowed Trump to perpetrate a fraud on this large segment of the population. The press needs to show the public Trump for what he is, instead of acting politically correct with 'balanced reporting'.
55
The press needs to ask important questions and demand hard answers. ...Where are your tax returns? Where do you stand on global warming? What is your position on ACA and healthcare? When should we remove our troops from Afghanistan? Do you support the nuclear agreement with Iran? Should Russia be punished for their actions in the Ukraine. Do you support gay marriage and gay service in the military? Was the Supreme Court ruling on Texas abortion clinics correct? Should we raise the gas tax to support road and bridge improvements? and etc........In my opinion the press has been greatly negligent in not demanding answers and forcing Trump to go on record on these and other issues. If ever and when ever the press actually decides to do there job, Trump will be history.
15
Agreed. Also- the press is yet to call Trump what he is: a psychopath
3
The persistence of interest is juveile delinquent twit suggests that the US has a serious death wish.
18
I remember in the 1980s when Trump spent the same amount of time and energy—including full-page ads—to "bring back the death penalty and our police" so the Central Park Five could be executed; this, during the time of intense racial unrest in NY. They, of course, turned out to be wrongfully convicted. I will never, ever forget that.
149
@JS, Thanks for remembering....
3
For those who keep asking how can anyone believe Donal Trump, &c. and therefore all one has to do is expose the lies and fabrications ....but you see, 'they' do not believe his nonsense. All evidence so far point to one salient fact, Trump can not be beaten by pointing out the nonsense, that all serves his purpose. First, one has to repeat the nonsense to debunk it; Secondly, the debunking only shows how out of touch with "the real meaning of his candidacy" the tired out experts and "strategists" are. The so-called "pivot" to the general election is a trope of the tired out experts and strategists. Time for a new approach and time to send the experts home. Why can't Hillary Clinton manage her own ideas and message? That would be the best counter-measure.
10
"Scapegoating is a hostile social - psychological discrediting routine by which people move blame and responsibility away from themselves and towards a target person or group. It is also a practice by which angry feelings and feelings of hostility may be projected, via inappropriate accusation, towards others."
Glad to see this author raising the terrible fact about Trump's willingness to scapegoat President Obama for personal gain.
Fast forward to the present: now that his "birther" lies no longer work, Trump has switched scapegoats from President Obama to Mrs. Clinton.
If scapegoating, malicious defamation, and libel form the foundation of Trump's approach to politics, what should we expect from him going forward?
Unless his scapegoating of Mrs. Clinton is reigned in by the GOP, he will wreak havoc upon our nation's collective conscience inflicting damage upon our trust in governmental leadership for decades to come. We deserve better.
Trump's lies and the media's complicity in those lies are creating a national tragedy for U.S. citizens who are working and paying for competent, effective, governmental leadership.
On the bright side, Trump's character disorder(s) is costing the GOP the White House and the Senate, as well it should.
Glad to see this author raising the terrible fact about Trump's willingness to scapegoat President Obama for personal gain.
Fast forward to the present: now that his "birther" lies no longer work, Trump has switched scapegoats from President Obama to Mrs. Clinton.
If scapegoating, malicious defamation, and libel form the foundation of Trump's approach to politics, what should we expect from him going forward?
Unless his scapegoating of Mrs. Clinton is reigned in by the GOP, he will wreak havoc upon our nation's collective conscience inflicting damage upon our trust in governmental leadership for decades to come. We deserve better.
Trump's lies and the media's complicity in those lies are creating a national tragedy for U.S. citizens who are working and paying for competent, effective, governmental leadership.
On the bright side, Trump's character disorder(s) is costing the GOP the White House and the Senate, as well it should.
30
JUDITH HANEY – well said! I hope you and like-minded Alabamans will work to get out the vote in an effort to turn your state, if not blue, at least a bit less red.
11
During the six weeks and since, the silence of other Republicans--to the raw bigotry--was deafening.
They have not even a fig leaf to cover their moral bankruptcy.
They have not even a fig leaf to cover their moral bankruptcy.
155
Years ago there was another big-mouth in a political administration, a grandiose dresser, almost the same size physically, who also was full of lies, and had similarities to Donald Trump. His name was Herman Goering, and we know what happened to him.
41
Utter nonsense. Typical liberal fallacious reasoning.
1
Yeah, but we know how long it took and what it cost.
5
More like Caligula. The establishment at that time finally put an end to him.
2
"Dr. Alvin Onaka, the Hawaii state registrar who handled queries about Mr. Obama, said recently through a spokeswoman that he had no evidence or recollection of Mr. Trump or any of his representatives ever requesting the records from the Hawaii State Department of Health.
And, why, pray tell, did no one in the News Business ask this simple question of Dr Onaka four years ago? The News Business treated Donald Trump as a side-show entertainer, happily chasing him around for the next outrageous comments. In other words, the news media manufactured interest in Donald Trump by chasing him around and then publicizing the outrage of the week, or day. No questions asked.
And, why, pray tell, did no one in the News Business ask this simple question of Dr Onaka four years ago? The News Business treated Donald Trump as a side-show entertainer, happily chasing him around for the next outrageous comments. In other words, the news media manufactured interest in Donald Trump by chasing him around and then publicizing the outrage of the week, or day. No questions asked.
125
When your income depends on your doing the wrong thing, it is hard to do the right thing.
Pity (not) the poor media.
Pity (not) the poor media.
3
Because he's white and rich supposedly
4
Trump was lying, saying basically that his people "were finding out incredible things in Hawaii". I guess the press "forgot" to ask what these geniuses were supposedly asking.
4
I served a parish in Hawai'i for 10 years. Hawai'i is and always has been a multi-cultural, multi-racial society that welcomes outsiders and melds them into the community. We eat each others' foods, celebrate each others' traditions and marry each others' children. What we consider normative is, I think, viewed with suspicion if not downright hostility by many in the United States who (in the words of Sarah Palin) consider themselves to be "real Americans". Having been born in Hawai'i (way out there somewhere) is alone reason enough to make President Obama suspicious in the eyes of many. Trump just jumped on an opportunity to get face time on TV and in the news.
Having had Roy Cohn as a legal advisor and Roger T. Stone as a political advisor are reasons enough to question his judgment.
Having had Roy Cohn as a legal advisor and Roger T. Stone as a political advisor are reasons enough to question his judgment.
935
Fr. Bill thank you for speaking up for Hawaii. I am fortunate to attended high school in Hawaii. It is one of the most beautiful place in our country with some of the friendliest and happiest people. It is a shame that Mr. Trump spreads rumor against one of Hawaii most successful native sons. Of course, Mr. Trump has nothing to lose as Hawaiian people will not fall for this demagogue and knows that Democrats speaks all people of the United States no matter where your ancestors came from.
1
Circa 1950, during the Korean War my Hawaii born 2nd generation Chi-Am Father in uniform was taking a Greyhound bus east to New York for Army Intelligence Training. As the bus was crossing Arkansas a shower curtain was put up in the mid-bus and Dad was told to come sit in the front or the bus would not move. After some heated discussion my father left his comfortable duffle cushioned B of B perch to sit in the front. The bus pulled into a station somewhere in TX and a chicken wire fence divided the front and rear bus doors and waiting area, White and Black. Dad offered his seat to a Black Woman and her young daughter at the diner and she looked at him embarrassed and said that she couldn't accept. Eventually, Jim Crow and Segregation was explained to my Hawaii raised Dad. What a different world it would be if Hawaiian culture of that time could be imported everywhere.
2
Are you Ruth's Father Bill?
Donald Trump is an ugly man-ugly on the outside and particularly ugly on the inside-we cannot allow him to become president...
97
Or we will truly become "ugly Americans".
3
This is a completely disgusting man, and I am ashamed he is mouthing off in the name of a candidate for our country's highest office. What a disgrace the press including the NYT is still giving him space.
68
The media, including the Times, must inform the public on the goings on of the Republican Party's candidate for President of the United States.
Besides, this piece is critical of Trump.
We need more pieces like this.
Besides, this piece is critical of Trump.
We need more pieces like this.
9
Now is the time for "freedom of the press" to actually choose freedom.
2
I applaud the New York Times reporters for reporting the background and character of Donald Trump. It is becoming obvious that there is a strain of irrationality in a segment of American citizens which encourages them to believe this mountebank and grifter, no matter what he says.
As Roger Cohen pointed out recently in these pages on another matter: a person is known by the company he keeps. Donald's father, Fred, had more than a passing acquaintance with the KKK. Both were ordered by the FHA from which they received large low-cost construction loans to desist from discriminating against blacks and Latinos who wanted to rent apartments in their buildings.
An early mentor was Roy Cohn, Senator Joe McCarthy's chief aide, a self-hating gay, and a lawyer who was disbarred by the state of New York. Cohen notoriously said: "Don't tell me what the law is, just tell me who the judge is."
Trump was accused of forcible rape by several women, including in a legal deposition by his then wife, Ivana. She later said that her testimony was false.
I won't go on, but I recommend reading Wayne Barrett's carefully reported book on Trump, which has just been reissued with a new Foreword.
It is clear that Donald Trump is the most dangerous person ever to receive the nomination of a major American political party. He is destroying that party. Let us hope he doesn't get the opportunity to wreck the country.
As Roger Cohen pointed out recently in these pages on another matter: a person is known by the company he keeps. Donald's father, Fred, had more than a passing acquaintance with the KKK. Both were ordered by the FHA from which they received large low-cost construction loans to desist from discriminating against blacks and Latinos who wanted to rent apartments in their buildings.
An early mentor was Roy Cohn, Senator Joe McCarthy's chief aide, a self-hating gay, and a lawyer who was disbarred by the state of New York. Cohen notoriously said: "Don't tell me what the law is, just tell me who the judge is."
Trump was accused of forcible rape by several women, including in a legal deposition by his then wife, Ivana. She later said that her testimony was false.
I won't go on, but I recommend reading Wayne Barrett's carefully reported book on Trump, which has just been reissued with a new Foreword.
It is clear that Donald Trump is the most dangerous person ever to receive the nomination of a major American political party. He is destroying that party. Let us hope he doesn't get the opportunity to wreck the country.
124
I'm sure this topic has been covered, but I'd love to see a thorough cultural analysis detailing how Fox_News has normalized outlandish nonsense. As an intellectual I keep my finger on the pulse of Fox, marveling at the topics they cover and the way they cover them. It's like a petri dish of viruses designed to infect the unsophisticated viewers (including many in my family) with a fevered spell of fear and anger. Their various personalities embody the same or strikingly similar positioning on issues that constantly signal viewers how to feel about something. That's the trick. Not how to think about it, but how to feel about it. Roger Ailes is an evil genius of propaganda and millions of Americans are sufficiently ignorant to believe that what they are watching is "news."
142
Media outlets and Trump are totally entwined -- the conjoined twins can't be separated. He manipulates the media for free promotion and they get high ratings for their advertisers that sell us crap from countries Trump rails against. The joke is on us, folks.
50
So many lies. One day Planet Earth will become just another dead planet circling in outer space.
18
I don't understand why you would say that. The rest of the biosphere would definitely benefit from Homo sapiens dying off. Perhaps by "dead planet" you mean one without human beings.
2
This story, in a nutshell, shows what a thoroughly despicable human being Donald Trump is. Furthermore, it is quite appalling that so many "patriotic" Americans should embrace this obviously dangerous, selfish, egotistical fool.
249
This story says volumes more about the press, the Republican Party and the psychological health of the American body politic than it does about Donald Trump, whose long-standing propensity for swimming in septage is only too well-known.
The section in this piece about Trump's birther ranting in 2011 drowning out the President's major budget address shows the media's obsession with shallow sensationalism it knows to be not only an outright lie but also damaging to national political discourse.
For the remaining Americans who care to take the trouble, it's hard to sort through the muck that parades as "news."
www.endthemadnessnow.org
The section in this piece about Trump's birther ranting in 2011 drowning out the President's major budget address shows the media's obsession with shallow sensationalism it knows to be not only an outright lie but also damaging to national political discourse.
For the remaining Americans who care to take the trouble, it's hard to sort through the muck that parades as "news."
www.endthemadnessnow.org
82
Murrow, Sevareid and Cronkite would be embarrassed by what passes as modern journalism
11
Donald Trump has a mental illness. He has spent a lifetime putting himself in front of a camera, making himself the center of attention. Put these two things together and you have the toxic brew which is Trump as presidential candidate: The most unqualified, dangerous person ever to run for President. Disgusting! Sad! Horrifying!
114
It really does NOT matter how much analysis is done on INCREDIBLE number of falsehoods this man propagates. To his base of supporters NOTHING matters - NO amount of evidence showing how corrupt this thin skinned bully is will sway them.
Donald Trump has shown, time and again and then again and again, what kind of liar he is. Every sane person knows that.
However, what amazes this commentator is how he is handled MOSTLY with kid gloves by mainstream media, particularly by the TV journalists. VERY VERY rarely they confront Trump to PROVE what he states when they KNOW for certain that he is fabricating, let alone when he is exaggerating.
Why is it that the reporters did not just get up and leave when Trump called a ABC Reporter “A Sleaze” during news conference about Veterans Fundraiser??? Why did they not retort by saying that it is Trump who is indeed a sleaze?
CNN is perhaps among the worst. It seems that in the name garnering viewership, they not only treat him gingerly but talk about him and his side-kicks ad infinitum, even though lately the side-kicks such as Kayleigh McEnany - a smart young lady - seemingly had been having a pained facial expression while supporting Trump.
So and unless reporters - particularly the TV journalists - FORCEFULLY confront Trump with VERY hard questions, it is UNLIKELY that ANY of the Trump believers will be swayed. American reporters MUST be like Stephen Sackur, the famed BBC HARDtalk journalist. Chances are then it will work.
Donald Trump has shown, time and again and then again and again, what kind of liar he is. Every sane person knows that.
However, what amazes this commentator is how he is handled MOSTLY with kid gloves by mainstream media, particularly by the TV journalists. VERY VERY rarely they confront Trump to PROVE what he states when they KNOW for certain that he is fabricating, let alone when he is exaggerating.
Why is it that the reporters did not just get up and leave when Trump called a ABC Reporter “A Sleaze” during news conference about Veterans Fundraiser??? Why did they not retort by saying that it is Trump who is indeed a sleaze?
CNN is perhaps among the worst. It seems that in the name garnering viewership, they not only treat him gingerly but talk about him and his side-kicks ad infinitum, even though lately the side-kicks such as Kayleigh McEnany - a smart young lady - seemingly had been having a pained facial expression while supporting Trump.
So and unless reporters - particularly the TV journalists - FORCEFULLY confront Trump with VERY hard questions, it is UNLIKELY that ANY of the Trump believers will be swayed. American reporters MUST be like Stephen Sackur, the famed BBC HARDtalk journalist. Chances are then it will work.
34
That the Republican Party primary candidates failed to challenge Donald Trump on his "birther" notion is but more evidence that his candidacy wasn't taken seriously until it was too late. Back in 2012 when he announced he "birther" beliefs Trump was given a free pass by Republican leaders including Mitch McConnell who delighted in any effort which might discredit Mr. Obama's legitimacy. Had Mr. McConnell challenged Trump's position he might have slowed the "birther " movement within the Republican Party. His reticence gave implicit approval of an inane idea which while serving the Republicans in the short term, ultimately gave credence to the rise of Trump in 2016. Donald Trump is qualified to be president of The Flat Earth Society
25
Looking at the Republican leadership sometimes silent and sometimes noisy acquiescence of Trump's statements, it is clear that Trump is the spawn of the present Republican party (not that of Eisenhower, of course!).
The Republican rhetoric against President Obama and the Republican rhetoric against undocumented folks (who do most of the heavy agricultural work in the US) is simply just a bit magnified in Trump's speeches.
The Republican party in cahoots with international corporations and their lobbyists who sometimes actually write our legislative proposals and our law, spawned Trump and his supporters.
The Republican rhetoric against President Obama and the Republican rhetoric against undocumented folks (who do most of the heavy agricultural work in the US) is simply just a bit magnified in Trump's speeches.
The Republican party in cahoots with international corporations and their lobbyists who sometimes actually write our legislative proposals and our law, spawned Trump and his supporters.
3
What's more significant--two colleagues stopping to chat with each other on a tarmac between flights, or an elderly sex maniac being confronted in court by a woman he raped when she was just 13 years old?
HRC committed no crimes, yet the GOP desperately wants her in prison. The GOP candidate has raped, stolen, defrauded and lied, lied, lied about everything, and the GOP want him to be President. That tells me all I need to know about today's worthless Republican Party.
HRC committed no crimes, yet the GOP desperately wants her in prison. The GOP candidate has raped, stolen, defrauded and lied, lied, lied about everything, and the GOP want him to be President. That tells me all I need to know about today's worthless Republican Party.
65
Donald Trump is noxious. Everything his eye falls upon is used to advance Donald. Every one of his books tells you how to advance "you." My bet is that you'll never get The Donald's tax records and you'll never find out for sure that his detectives found nothing in Hawaii. Only the gullible believe any of his accusations, and only the ignorant and those who have no problem with hate agree with his ideas, which are almost all slogans, except of course for his plan to build a wall.
19
Words are cheap.
If those of us who are repulsed by this hateful man and who are alarmed by the prospect of him being elected president by an ignorant electorate and the subsequent harm to America which surely would follow do nothing more than comments in the Times, we will be contributing to our country's downward course.
We must become INVOLVED in this presidential election, and do everything within our human and financial resources to make sure that Trump is beaten and not ----God forbid---- elected president.
If those of us who are repulsed by this hateful man and who are alarmed by the prospect of him being elected president by an ignorant electorate and the subsequent harm to America which surely would follow do nothing more than comments in the Times, we will be contributing to our country's downward course.
We must become INVOLVED in this presidential election, and do everything within our human and financial resources to make sure that Trump is beaten and not ----God forbid---- elected president.
37
Typical of Trump: saying that he was dispatching investigators to Hawaii and then not doing it. Like saying that he was donating a million dollars and not doing it. Saying he would fund his own campaign and then only lending the money.
Has a thoroughly distrustful and ignorant person ever had the effrontery to be a candidate to the presidency?
To quote him: Why doesn't he show his income tax?
Has a thoroughly distrustful and ignorant person ever had the effrontery to be a candidate to the presidency?
To quote him: Why doesn't he show his income tax?
454
Typical Trump: Lies, lies and more lies. Totally shameless.
1
Frank, He DID donate the million dollars. As for the campaign, he is lending money to his own campaign. If it fails, do you think he will sue himself?
The shrillness of the Hillary trolls tonight is quite overboard. Take a Xanax and enjoy the fireworks Monday.
The shrillness of the Hillary trolls tonight is quite overboard. Take a Xanax and enjoy the fireworks Monday.
"Then, almost as quickly as it began, the controversy subsided"
There was no controversy. Repeat: there was no controversy.
This type of shoddy writing gives legitimacy to something that was nothing more than political opportunism fueled by lies and delusions. And it continues. Trump continues to say things that are patently untrue and the media continue to give them an air of legitimacy. The only way these falsehoods should be reported is: "Trump Tells Another Lie Today."
Trump is a loser and he's making the media into losers, too.
There was no controversy. Repeat: there was no controversy.
This type of shoddy writing gives legitimacy to something that was nothing more than political opportunism fueled by lies and delusions. And it continues. Trump continues to say things that are patently untrue and the media continue to give them an air of legitimacy. The only way these falsehoods should be reported is: "Trump Tells Another Lie Today."
Trump is a loser and he's making the media into losers, too.
1133
Joseph Goebbels: "If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it. The lie can be maintained only for such time as the State can shield the people from the political, economic and/or military consequences of the lie."
The media is complicit in facilitating the repetition of this lie.
The media is complicit in facilitating the repetition of this lie.
7
Obama's handlers spent millions having his past rinsed and secreted from public scrutiny. One of the ways you know that is if you go back and look for any signs--whatsoever--of papers like the NYTS vetting he president. No investigative journalism whatever was done to look into Obama. Put another way, you definitely know more about Sarah Palin than Obama. Why? Because legions of intensely hostile "journalists" scoured the record to find something on her. Not so with Obama. Not so even with Hillary. Obama's birth certificate was exhumed (or forged) after years and years of questions. Why? Why should it remake years to get a simple birth certificate?
You should ashamed of yourselves for allowing the country to get into the hands of this untested and unskilled junior senator.
You should ashamed of yourselves for allowing the country to get into the hands of this untested and unskilled junior senator.
3
You are kidding...right? Or are you just practicing from Trump's book "Art of the Smear"? (Drives you nuts that Obama is broadly educated, a brilliant thinker, committed public servant, and a grown-up vested with great maturity and gravitas...all the things #DonTheCon is not.)
15
Right. He has served two terms as President of The United States.
The birthers are are great example of the invincible ignorance fallacy. Trump fell right into it, Obama picked him as the birther he would reduce to a cartoon character that night at the annual correspondence dinner? He not only laughed at the birther's lunacy he responded to the rich ignorant bully bigot who was basically insulting his mother. He picked the biggest birther that would not be destroyed by being called out by The POTUS since he was already rich and famous, unlike that troll Farrah.
Trump as not even seen the beginning of the campaign phase when Obama really focuses on helm, he will shred him over and over again like he did that night, the birther conspiracy is one of many stupid and untrue things Trump promotes.
The birthers are are great example of the invincible ignorance fallacy. Trump fell right into it, Obama picked him as the birther he would reduce to a cartoon character that night at the annual correspondence dinner? He not only laughed at the birther's lunacy he responded to the rich ignorant bully bigot who was basically insulting his mother. He picked the biggest birther that would not be destroyed by being called out by The POTUS since he was already rich and famous, unlike that troll Farrah.
Trump as not even seen the beginning of the campaign phase when Obama really focuses on helm, he will shred him over and over again like he did that night, the birther conspiracy is one of many stupid and untrue things Trump promotes.
16
Beside: Proof. Proof that millions were spent "rinsing" and "secreting" Obama's past? That's all I ask.
16
The rise of DT shows Americans (and the world) where exactly the hurt in the U.S. really lies.
Of course most of us see that DT is a buffoon.
But... what can we as Americans do to address the concerns/"hurt" of DT's American supporters?
Of course most of us see that DT is a buffoon.
But... what can we as Americans do to address the concerns/"hurt" of DT's American supporters?
6
What we really need to get to the bottom of is Trump's tax returns. It's amazing that this buffoon is allowed to get away with so much, while Hillary has been held to a much higher standard.
426
I am starting to think that Donald Trump was not born in the United States. I want to see his birth certificate. I am a Birther. Anyone else want to join my movement?
14
As with Bachmann and Palin, I have doubts Trump was born on this planet.
22
I would prefer to see his tax returns.
9
Trump is such a bald-faced liar, I can't believe anyone could ever believe anything that comes out of his mouth.
50
Classic Trump. All sound and fury, signifying nothing.
34
The birther issue was a sign of how little Donald Trump knows or respects about the office he currently seeks. Without a thought for President Obama's platform, political knowledge, or even the will of the people who would ultimately make him a two-term President, Donald Trump essentially insinuated that being a man of color disqualified him from the White House. And today, Trump shows no more familiarity with the doings of our highest office with nothing to recommend him personally, and more ire toward the decent man named Barack Obama.
825
I truly wish people would do what I do when I hear people praising Trump. I tell them, "The guy is a racist. So what does that make you?"
2
With nothing to hide, Obama has certainly gone to a lot of trouble hiding his history, his school records, his diplomas, and health records. Most transparent administration ever! Yeah, sure, ROTFLOL!
Nothing but racist red meat.
70
Donald's definition of success is "I win!" He has managed to convince big chunks of the US that he's a great businessman. In actuality, he measures his success by how much of other people's money he can milk from a business venture before it declares bankruptcy. This county does not need such an ego-centric maniac in the White House looking for his next personal win. He may have questioned Barack's birthplace, I would question if Donald's parents were actually human....
40
"He has managed to convince big chunks of the US that he's a great businessman."
Not such a bigly amount... only the usual 30%. That's about the same percentage that's been hammering on Obama since the day he was elected... their emotion based opinions should be dismissed.
Not such a bigly amount... only the usual 30%. That's about the same percentage that's been hammering on Obama since the day he was elected... their emotion based opinions should be dismissed.
11
For the sake of "transparency", Trump should disclose his tax returns. But he won't because they would establish beyond any doubt, if any still remains, that he is nothing more than a walking, talking con man. Show us your tax returns you old fraud.
766
If he does that we will know for sure that he's NOT a billionaire and that he has failed to pay his bills and his taxes. He's living off some foolish associate whom he will never pay back. He's in such deep doo doo, he'll never get out.
14
And I am sure there are a lot of people out there that think Trump's team of investigators are still on the job, and that President Obama did not attend Columbia or Harvard. I know this is an old trope now, but why did any legitimate news source, and I'm not talking about Fox, give this guy the time of day for his crackpot theories? I know, ratings and money over all.
687
Exactly
1
I've wondered throughout this entire campaign season where were the legitimate press reporters? Why aren't they challenging Trump's insanity?
So Carol Lee, when are we going to see his transcripts from College? What does he have to hide by not releasing them? Why are you not curious::??
I am shocked, SHOCKED, to find that Donald Trump promoted a fake story just to generate publicity for himself.
As a christian, this would violate one of the Ten Commandments.
As a brilliant businessman, this would hurt his brand.
As a person who "tells it like it is", this would be telling it like is isn't.
However as a con man, this is right up his alley.
As a christian, this would violate one of the Ten Commandments.
As a brilliant businessman, this would hurt his brand.
As a person who "tells it like it is", this would be telling it like is isn't.
However as a con man, this is right up his alley.
553
DT is a very capable,accomplished con man. Con = "they are able to persuade you to do something or believe something by telling you things that are not true" Granted, he has a receptive audience ready to believe/accept the "stuff" he says. But, really, he found all kinds of information in Hawaii when he never sent anyone to investigate? What a lier. But that is what a con artist does - lie.
51
More wrongwing racism. I'm so glad that the dixiecrats became republicans . . they're repulsive on so many levels that it's nice to have them all located in one party . . the Rs.
33
Trumpty Dumpty wants a wall.
Trumpty Dumpty evil and small.
GOP women and GOP men
can't put their party together again.
Trumpty Dumpty evil and small.
GOP women and GOP men
can't put their party together again.
28
Thanks. I like your "Trumpty Dumpty".
3
When Trump becomes President the NYtimes I'm guessing will open up a dedicated wing in the office there just for bashing the President articles.
2
Perhaps the GOP can let them use the president-bashing offices they set up 7 1/2 years ago? Now, let's get to the bottom of that fake moon landing.
7
Trump didn't just 'threaten' to send investigators to Hawaii. He emphaically stated he HAD DONE SO.
Interview with NBC April 7th
Following a stream of false claims about the validity of Obama's 'short form' birth certificate [and other matters]
Trump: "I have people that have been studying it and they cannot believe what they're finding"
Reporter; You have people now down there...I mean in Hawaii, searching?
Trump: "Absolutely and they cannot believe what they're finding".
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aHhoDvHnkIo
Interview with NBC April 7th
Following a stream of false claims about the validity of Obama's 'short form' birth certificate [and other matters]
Trump: "I have people that have been studying it and they cannot believe what they're finding"
Reporter; You have people now down there...I mean in Hawaii, searching?
Trump: "Absolutely and they cannot believe what they're finding".
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aHhoDvHnkIo
82
LOL, a classic dodge. Likely if he sent ANYONE over to Hawaii, they found out....that the Obama's put a birth announcement in the Honolulu papers.
Note that Trump did not say they found anything BAD. He just said "they found stuff you would not believe". It's a classic, vague dodge that says nothing.
Note that Trump did not say they found anything BAD. He just said "they found stuff you would not believe". It's a classic, vague dodge that says nothing.
4
Yes. Why hasn't anyone in the media asked Trump to provide the names of the investigators along with their bills and receipts?
4
TPierre - and his party - certainly deserve Donald Trump. They also deserve the thumping he'll take in November.
14
A Rasmusen poll shows Trump with a small lead. I find that mind-blowing.
And the long form birth certificate is a forgery in the minds of many GOPers.
And the long form birth certificate is a forgery in the minds of many GOPers.
5
Trump achieved his objective which was to raise doubt that still remains strong amongst a hardcore of believers within the base of the GOP. This no doubt helped to propel him to the Republican nomination - this is todays GOP a group of disenfranchised, angry conspiracy theorists who are unable or unwilling to accept facts lest it interfere which their own perception of reality.
Sadly Trump's nomination has, in his own mind, vindicated his high profile flirtation with the birther movement notwithstanding that it was categorically debunked. Trump's genius is that he has recognised that the GOP base is unconcerned with facts but instead open to emotional manipulation.
Sadly Trump's nomination has, in his own mind, vindicated his high profile flirtation with the birther movement notwithstanding that it was categorically debunked. Trump's genius is that he has recognised that the GOP base is unconcerned with facts but instead open to emotional manipulation.
15
The responsibility for the rise of Donald Trump is wholly the fault of the compliant media. Finally, this paper has begun to examine the history and motives of one who wishes to be the leader of the free world. As a Canadian, I will endeavour to persuade my political representative not to allow our government to follow the lead of Mr. Trump into any of the military escapades that he no doubt wil launch. As a matter of fact America should no longer be considered capable of sound judgement on the world stage, as it has shown that it is incapable of doing so domestically. America destabilized the Middle East because of the flawed judgement of one man and his advisors, and unleashed on the world that which we now see happening all over. I say never again. If America wishes to elect people with personal agendas as your president, then Canada should say, 'No, you go it alone'. This way we'll remain the tolerant inclusive country we've become.
56
Well, Canada, I absolutely understand your thinking here. If I were you, I'd be tempted to write us off and never look at us again either.
On the other hand, would you consider invading and imposing martial health care? We'd be very grateful.
On the other hand, would you consider invading and imposing martial health care? We'd be very grateful.
6
Republican leaders who play the "support yes, endorse no" game have clearly placed party far above country. Mr. Trump repeatedly demonstrates that he is a dangerously unstable candidate of the highest order. Some may disagree strongly with the politics of a George Will. At least former republicans like him, have enough personal integrity to understand that Donald J. Trump is a clear and direct threat to the nation itself. As for the thirty to forty percent still willing to vote for him, you need to stop deceiving yourself into believing that this man is in any way capable of magically solving any of your problems. He is clearly a liar and a cheat of the highest order. Any demands that he makes of world leaders will be immediately scorned and rejected. The US will become a nuclear armed, global laughingstock. He will accomplish nothing, leaving a level of damage to the very fabric of America that may take decades to repair. Even worse, how would he eventually take out his frustrations on a world that rejects him as a joke? To what deep and dark places would the narcissistic, torturer in chief eventually lead us all? Are you really willing to bet your family's future on such a strong likelihood of total global chaos?
53
Trump's call to a dingbat conspiracy theorist who believes soybeans make you gay to fill his empty head with ugly ugly garbage about a sitting president is not forgivable. That the GOP is carting him out of their asylum to "fix America" is unforgivable.
96
They worried that having Mr. Obama himself release his birth certificate from the White House briefing room would undermine the dignity of the office
If I had to pick one sentence that sums up the unwillingness of Obama to fight for the things he believes in a passionate way, this is it. Some things are worth getting undignified over. Fighting thugs like Trump and some of the other Republican liars is one of them. Yet, even over his own Supreme Court nominee and with such high stakes, the President seems to "Coast". Sometimes you have to fight and fight hard.
If I had to pick one sentence that sums up the unwillingness of Obama to fight for the things he believes in a passionate way, this is it. Some things are worth getting undignified over. Fighting thugs like Trump and some of the other Republican liars is one of them. Yet, even over his own Supreme Court nominee and with such high stakes, the President seems to "Coast". Sometimes you have to fight and fight hard.
12
The real story here is the complete inability of the press, 'journalists' if they can even be called that any longer, to confront utter non-sense when it first arises and to unmask bald faded liars, conspiracy theorists, and other fringe lunatics when then give 'birth', if you will, to stupid sideshows that then take on a life of their own because such a large segment of the American public is so seriously challenged intellectually.
1264
It was our "fake" journalists at the time, Jon Stewart and especially Seth Meyers, who took on the Donald and sent him slithering back into his cave.
4
The trend today is to give 'equal access' the to small fringe of antis. Creationists, climate change deniers and other crazies are given equal space in newspaper as if they actually represented a cogent and respected alternative to real information.
No wonder that the American public cannot differentiate between real science and pseudo-science.
No wonder that the American public cannot differentiate between real science and pseudo-science.
4
Agree that the press hasn't done its job following up on Trump's outrageous pronouncements. Exhibit No. 1: How many reporters/pundits know that Judge Curiel issued a half dozen rulings against Trump before Trump said anything about "building a wall"? Even if you accept that the judge is "Mexican" and would consequently be biased against Trump, none of those six rulings could have been prejudiced by an announcement that hadn't yet been made. But the political experts were too busy debating whether the judge was an American or if Trump's claims were racist to bother with actually investigating the facts of the case. Disgusting!
2
It's so obvious that Trump is wildly jealous of the President. The criticism, the birtherism, the alluding of his being a Muslim, ... One of the best moments was when the President nailed Trump at the Correspondents' Dinner, it looked like Trump would explode. It was a beautiful moment, to see the Narcissist mocked in front of everyone. Trump can dish it out but boy, he can't take it.
Now, as President Obama is in the twilight of his successful second term, he'll be out on the campaign trail for Hillary. It's gonna get good, peeps. Or as Charles Blow said, once Obama, Biden, Warren all came out for Hillary, "we didn't come here to play, we came to slay". Hahahaha.
Now, as President Obama is in the twilight of his successful second term, he'll be out on the campaign trail for Hillary. It's gonna get good, peeps. Or as Charles Blow said, once Obama, Biden, Warren all came out for Hillary, "we didn't come here to play, we came to slay". Hahahaha.
79
I agree that the combination of Obama, Biden and Waren will have a wonderful effect on HRC's campaign. But still, isn't it sad that Sanders is not on your list?
5
The recurring theme is that Trump is always "market testing", trying to find either a derogatory label or decisive issue to stir up the angry base he relies on. Truth has nothing to do with it. Every speech is riddled with new insults and theories - when he gets a reaction it becomes a standard line moving forward.
This has served him well getting through the primaries, but is likely to backfire in the general election. Most Americans, and even most Republicans, understand this is the behavior of a narcissistic self-promotor, not a president.
He will be remembered as the clown who brought down the Republican party. Expect new Republican party in 2020, as the realization sinks in that Angry White is no longer a viable base.
This has served him well getting through the primaries, but is likely to backfire in the general election. Most Americans, and even most Republicans, understand this is the behavior of a narcissistic self-promotor, not a president.
He will be remembered as the clown who brought down the Republican party. Expect new Republican party in 2020, as the realization sinks in that Angry White is no longer a viable base.
30
I doubt the GOP will, in the near future, realize that "Angry White is no longer a viable base." I believe that when Romney lost the last round it was the Asian American Bobby Jindal who claimed "We must no longer be the party of stupid."
5
So Donald Trump has swapped one wild goose chase for another. His odds of success are exactly the same.
11
One snake oil salesman colluding with another snake oil salesman....
That is what we can expect from a Trump presidency. Fraudsters, crooks, criminals, liars, and thieves...wrapped in a nice little tax relief package to eliminate taxes on inheritances allowing the crooks to keep all the spoils.
That is what we can expect from a Trump presidency. Fraudsters, crooks, criminals, liars, and thieves...wrapped in a nice little tax relief package to eliminate taxes on inheritances allowing the crooks to keep all the spoils.
36
He's been pushing media's buttons for a long time. Thanks for the NYT piece a few weeks ago about Roy Cohn's tutelage of DJT. But hey: when are y'all going to stop letting your buttons be pushed? This is a childish, willful, resentful ahd relentless person who doesn't much care what damage he does as long as he gets his way in the end, and if he makes money all the better. Please never forget any of that. Please stop issuing so much coverage of him, because even negative coverage lends him some credibility and makes him more a part of the normal spectrum of things, and therefore harder to beat. He's an lethal infection, not a clickbait toy.
19
Trump's fixation on conspiracy theories makes me wonder if I'm watching "The Apprentice" or a re-run of "The X-Files."
Ooops, sorry! "The X-Files" was better and more entertaining. No offense 1013 fans...
Ooops, sorry! "The X-Files" was better and more entertaining. No offense 1013 fans...
11
"Mr. Trump was egged on by one key adviser — Roger J. Stone Jr."
Roger Stone lost his job advising the NYS Senate Majority Leader after leaving a threatening tirade on the answering machine of Eliot Spitzer's 83 year old father. Trump was quoted in response as saying, "They caught Roger red-handed, lying. What he did was ridiculous and stupid."
And, now Trump is back to listening to Stone's incendiary squawking. Sickening.
Roger Stone lost his job advising the NYS Senate Majority Leader after leaving a threatening tirade on the answering machine of Eliot Spitzer's 83 year old father. Trump was quoted in response as saying, "They caught Roger red-handed, lying. What he did was ridiculous and stupid."
And, now Trump is back to listening to Stone's incendiary squawking. Sickening.
85
You'd be hard press to identify a single republican who was hurt by questioning where Obama. It's not our fault the guy is so out of touch with American values that he *seems* like an alien. And I mean the kind from a different planet.
4
I'd say Barack Obama is the perfect example of American values at their best. The pack of do-nothing conspiracy followers that passes for today's GOP is not.
112
Wrong. Obama's numbers are at around 56%. America likes Obama just fine.
The aliens are the GOP who think America is going to buy this warmed-over Trump "university" swamp-deal they are trying to foist off with the help of folks like Mr. Farah who sounds like he just landed his space ship in Roswell.
The aliens are the GOP who think America is going to buy this warmed-over Trump "university" swamp-deal they are trying to foist off with the help of folks like Mr. Farah who sounds like he just landed his space ship in Roswell.
44
What is of any real value in what you value?
11
Breaking news... Trump is a publicity seeking troll, and would even disparage the POTUS to fulfill his sordid fetish for attention.
434
Breaking news: Trump is also a genius and will do a much better job of running the country than Obama.
1
... which is why the GOP and most Americans, not to mention, world leaders find him reprehensible.
Genius really? Truly LOL and even you don't believe this.
Genius really? Truly LOL and even you don't believe this.
9
@beside - one can only surmise the truth in "ignorance is bliss".. sigh.
1
If Trump had not been born into fantastic wealth and prviledge, I highly doubt he would have graduated high school. This man is an ignoramus of the highest order.
593
The Wharton School must be so proud.
16
You really think that just anyone could take a million dollar loan and do what he's done? I don't think so. The problem you're having is that you can't recognize someone of genius when he's presented to you. You think that is reserved for chatty "intellectuals" in academia.
A real genius would not take all that daddy gave him and actually shrink it. If he was really smart he would have left the hundred or more million he inherited and was "loaned" alone and it would be worth more. He is good at attracting the blind adulation of "geniuses" In the US population who cannot think for themselves, I grant you.
15
“The appeal of the birther issue was, ‘I’m going to take this guy on, and I’m going to beat him,’”
Except he lost...what a loser!
Except he lost...what a loser!
206
Yeah.... giving up after 6 weeks.. Low energy.
10
Jonathan, A little fact checking will show you that the "birther" movement had its start with Hillary's 2008 campaign. You know, Hillary, your homie from the new murder capital of the country.
Be safe this weekend, all that noise is not fireworks in your hood.
Be safe this weekend, all that noise is not fireworks in your hood.
1
I know that at any minute I am going to wake up and it will be February; Ted and Rick, along with Marco and maybe even Carly will be fighting it out to win the GOP nod to run for president. None of the Trumpinista stuff ever happened, just a long bad dream.
9
Shame on the press for giving this carnival barker any attention, then and now.
54
You do know he won the primary races? fair and square? even his enemies acknowledge this?
So what you really want is to undo the votes of millions of citizens in choosing their own candidate.
Got it.
So what you really want is to undo the votes of millions of citizens in choosing their own candidate.
Got it.
1
@Concerned Citizen: Nobody is denying that millions of Republicans have chosen this malicious racist to represent them. That's the most horrifying aspect of the story.
26
And, sadly, doesn't say much for our country.
4
A shameful article about a shameful man. His theme song appears to be, "Whatever Donald wants, Donald gets."
England has its Boris Johnson and we Americans are stuck with Trump. We both have lost.
England has its Boris Johnson and we Americans are stuck with Trump. We both have lost.
39
Wait! I'm not stuck with Trump ... and neither are you. Talk to 25 friends and neighbors and click on the right candidate in the voting booth. That will go a long way toward removing the threat.
18
Trump is an expert at "just putting something out there" or not so subtly "suggesting" something then immediately declaring non ownership of it ( at least until he knows its effect politically).
Curious that so many fall for this schtick without ever realizing Trump "suggests" many things, but always qualifies that he just heard it somewhere, can't attest to it, but you know, still, he's a rich guy who heard it, so, maybe......
Curious that so many fall for this schtick without ever realizing Trump "suggests" many things, but always qualifies that he just heard it somewhere, can't attest to it, but you know, still, he's a rich guy who heard it, so, maybe......
24
And just as dangerous as yelling "fire" in a theater!
1
dapperdan37:
"Trump is an expert at "just putting something out there" or not so subtly "suggesting" something then immediately declaring non ownership of it ( at least until he knows its effect politically)."
I'm not sure whether the Times will allow this comment, but I heard somewhere that Trump owns a farm on which he raises goats for his own sexual purposes. I don't know if it's true, but somebody ought to look into the question, don't you think?
"Trump is an expert at "just putting something out there" or not so subtly "suggesting" something then immediately declaring non ownership of it ( at least until he knows its effect politically)."
I'm not sure whether the Times will allow this comment, but I heard somewhere that Trump owns a farm on which he raises goats for his own sexual purposes. I don't know if it's true, but somebody ought to look into the question, don't you think?
4
I find the Times so funny about Mr. Trump. Everyday there are articles about what a terrible person he is. A blowhard, a liar etc. And yet, Hillary remains unscathed. But then again that's the role of newspapers. To tell a story with their point of view.
However, this article is even funnier than most since The Donald is not much different then The Bill. Both are 'egomanical'. Both are scoundrel businessmen. Oops...so is Hillary. Both change their view to suit the political environs.
It would appear if you like Bill you should love Donald. They are the same old white man selling overripe fruit.
And Hillary....well she's more like a bad John Le Carre novel.
However, this article is even funnier than most since The Donald is not much different then The Bill. Both are 'egomanical'. Both are scoundrel businessmen. Oops...so is Hillary. Both change their view to suit the political environs.
It would appear if you like Bill you should love Donald. They are the same old white man selling overripe fruit.
And Hillary....well she's more like a bad John Le Carre novel.
2
Well ... both are "scoundrel businessmen" if no bankruptcies equals six bankruptcies. If one failed real estate deal equals 3500 lawsuits. Yeah ... exactly the same.
34
I find it laughable that anyone would believe Hillary to be unscathed. Or confuse her for her husband.
21
Actually, the role of news media in a DEMOCRACY is to provide fair, impartial, NON PARTISAN reporting.
If I wanted opinion, I'd read the opinion pages. Here, at the NYT, EVERY page is an opinion page whether labeled as such or not.
They are so heavily tilted left, I am surprised they don't fall over. Also: the harder they try to destroy Trump, the stronger he becomes.
@Deborah: it's an analogy. Clinton is not a "businessman". So it is not a shock he has no business bankruptcies. No risk, no failure. Not too impressive. The Clinton's have run Bill's post Presidency years like a mafia collection agency, demanding money from their "friends". Also, Bill was IMPEACHED for LYING TO CONGRESS (*not for having an affair with Monica). Is Trump perfect? Surely not. But he is also not a "career politician".
If I wanted opinion, I'd read the opinion pages. Here, at the NYT, EVERY page is an opinion page whether labeled as such or not.
They are so heavily tilted left, I am surprised they don't fall over. Also: the harder they try to destroy Trump, the stronger he becomes.
@Deborah: it's an analogy. Clinton is not a "businessman". So it is not a shock he has no business bankruptcies. No risk, no failure. Not too impressive. The Clinton's have run Bill's post Presidency years like a mafia collection agency, demanding money from their "friends". Also, Bill was IMPEACHED for LYING TO CONGRESS (*not for having an affair with Monica). Is Trump perfect? Surely not. But he is also not a "career politician".
1
Like so much of Trumps' reality, his "team of investigator" that he claimed to have dispatched to Hawaii existed only inside his head.
121
One of the scary aspects of our times was 'birthed' by the tech-start-up economy and their backers: disruption as a philosophy. You can hear it everywhere. UBER disrupts. AIRBNB disrupts. And so forth.
Whether we talk Brexit or the constant disruptions of Republican Congress to achieve anything meaningful, the idea that disruption without an actual workable game plan passes as useful policy is scary; in reality it isn't anything more than a blend of fraternity pranks and anarchy.
Whether we talk Brexit or the constant disruptions of Republican Congress to achieve anything meaningful, the idea that disruption without an actual workable game plan passes as useful policy is scary; in reality it isn't anything more than a blend of fraternity pranks and anarchy.
33
Wonderful comment!
"(T)he idea that disruption without an actual workable game plan (that) passes as useful policy is scary" brought to mind the GOP "bathroom bill." In the fantasy world of the GOP, that disruption passes for the #1 policy issue facing the largest, (arguably) most powerful nation in the world.
"(T)he idea that disruption without an actual workable game plan (that) passes as useful policy is scary" brought to mind the GOP "bathroom bill." In the fantasy world of the GOP, that disruption passes for the #1 policy issue facing the largest, (arguably) most powerful nation in the world.
8
I'd like the first question posed to the repugnant Trump in the first presidential debate in the fall with Hilliary Clinton to be exactly what his investigators found that was so interesting when they were dispatched to Hawaii. Ask Trump the plausibility of our future president traveling back in a time machine to 1961 Hawaii and planting two birth notices in two local newspapers. Let's all laugh this cynical manipulator off the stage.
189
The argument was (and I never believed in "birtherism", think it is stupid and know Obama was born in Hawaii) that Obama's parents were eager to have him have US citizenship. Not that they knew he would one day run for President. They faked the documentation to be able to say he was born in the US, to get automatic citizenship, because his father was a citizen of Kenya, and his mother had been out of the US too many years to confer her own US citizenship on her child if that child was born in another country.
1
They should ask Trump to actually provide the names of the investigators with copies of their bills and receipts.
Shameful that no one in the media has actually asked him to do this yet.
Shameful that no one in the media has actually asked him to do this yet.
8
So Concerned Citizen isn't a strict adherent of "original" birtherism, but a member of a breakaway sect with its own conspiracy theories about Obama's birth. That's not too insane, is it?
23
One private citizen, who is an ignorant gas bag, incessantly beats the drum of a conspiracy theory until a perfectly respectable public servant and the sitting President of the United States succumbs to pressure to provide a piece of paper that is totally unnecessary and unwarranted. All of the major news and media outlets provide support for this idea by reporting on it and giving interviews, thereby feeding the beast.
Meanwhile years have passed and the media continues to let this idiot frame the debate instead of the other way around.
By accommodating the behavior you validate the behavior. It is that simple.
Meanwhile years have passed and the media continues to let this idiot frame the debate instead of the other way around.
By accommodating the behavior you validate the behavior. It is that simple.
1243
Amen!
12
It's a tragedy that the media has been, as you say, "feeding the beast". The result, to a large degree, is that they have been bamboozled by this phony and, if we're not careful, he may be in the oval office yet. It's very disturbing. Shame on the media and Americans who are fooled by this guy. The media should focus on pulling back the curtain on Trump so we can see the wizard of oz for what he is.
7
One has to read to the last 2 paragraphs to reach the weak tea word "apparently."
Millions of pounds of ink later the NY Times has to resort to the word "apparently?" Embarassing
"But for all of his fascination with the president’s birth certificate, Mr. Trump _apparently_ never dispatched investigators or made much of an effort to find the documents.
"Dr. Alvin Onaka, the Hawaii state registrar who handled queries about Mr. Obama, said recently through a spokeswoman that he had no evidence or recollection of Mr. Trump or any of his representatives ever requesting the records from the Hawaii State Department of Health."
Millions of pounds of ink later the NY Times has to resort to the word "apparently?" Embarassing
"But for all of his fascination with the president’s birth certificate, Mr. Trump _apparently_ never dispatched investigators or made much of an effort to find the documents.
"Dr. Alvin Onaka, the Hawaii state registrar who handled queries about Mr. Obama, said recently through a spokeswoman that he had no evidence or recollection of Mr. Trump or any of his representatives ever requesting the records from the Hawaii State Department of Health."
3
Transparency. Shoe us your taxes Donald.
170
It would be easier to prove that Trump was hatched, by aliens, on Mars than it has been to prove that the president was not born in Hawaii.
40
Donald Trump has zero interest in the truth. He is interested only in winning personally. That's it. Whether in business., politics or for that matter romance. It's about winning for Donald Trump. He does not care whom he slanders or hurts. Anyone who thinks he is presidential material is delusional in the extreme.
239
How right you are, Jim. And when he loses, he remorselessly frames his losses as victories. It'll be a fine day when his followers are forced to see the Trumperor has no clothes.
9
Trump, the carnival barker
24
The steady stream of the Trump highlight real continues. Next the Times should revisit Trump's involvement in the failed USFL football league. More examples of 1) what he said yesterday has no bearing on how he will act today, and 2) he has absolutely no problem blowing everything up and sinking thousands of people to pursue his own selfish interests.
47
The "Birther Movement" gave Donald Trump a prescient insight into the American political psyche. Spewing forth of one falsehood after another, didn't matter. Appealing to people's prejudices won public approval and adoration which "trumped" substantive or accurate content. He soon began to exhibit the narcissistic behavior that exemplifies him, and it became obvious that position papers don't matter, facts don't matter, and basic civility and "political correctness"don't matter. He became an addict who needs a continual "fix"of approval. His craving can only be satiated by the positive response of his immediate crowd. His addiction and his receptive white working class audience, explain his outrageous statements and will make it extremely problematic to convert him to a TelePrompter candidacy. His reaction to shrinking poll numbers will be intriguing. His audience feeds on the inappropriateness, he feeds on them.
160
Yes, but... His appeal is to a large fraction of Republicans. Those are the people who vote in their early primaries. While their numbers are not trivial, they are far from a majority of the voting public, or the public at large. It's a long scary horror movie, but it will have a happy ending on election night.
4
@ MM, It's really surreal that Donald Trump could ever be considered for the Presidency. I agree with you that this journey into the political theatre of the absurd will have a happy ending.
2
Donald never seems to actually do anything himself. He never dispatched investigators. He directs his "fans" to attack protesters. He says he'll pay their legal expenses (has he ever actually done this?). He's ready for inciting others, but I can't imagine him actually getting into the fray of anything. He seems to just sit on his behind on his gilt and velvet chairs and tweet and talk on the phone, and when his nonsense is exposed he moves on to the next stupid thing.
He doesn't "investigate" a single thing. President Obama wrote a book about his life and his childhood, but I doubt Donald read it. Secretary Clinton has been open about her Methodist faith for ages, but he knows she has no religion. Why do people listen to him at all? That's the mystery to me.
He doesn't "investigate" a single thing. President Obama wrote a book about his life and his childhood, but I doubt Donald read it. Secretary Clinton has been open about her Methodist faith for ages, but he knows she has no religion. Why do people listen to him at all? That's the mystery to me.
1375
He's amusing and breaks taboos left and right. That's why.
4
Amusing to whom? Everything about him and everything that comes from him is disgusting.
28
If I want someone "amusing" in the White House who "breaks taboos," I'd vote for Stephen Colbert (or George Carlin or Richard Pryor, were they still alive). They could also actually accomplish something.
24
"I don't talk about that anymore" is not good enough. Reporters should keep asking what Trump's alleged investigators in Hawaii allegedly found that we "cannot believe." This appears to have been a bald-faced lie, and someone who wants to be President doesn't have the luxury of shrugging it away.
1895
Bald faced lies sums up Trump's appeal. It's so much easier to just believe every word this megalomaniac spouts then actually bother to determine the truth.
11
The favor should also be returned by continuous demands from all the news organizations for all tax returns. Where is PROOF that he is being audited. Has any news organization investigated whether he is even truly being audited?
30
They should ask Trump for the names of the investigators and to provide their bills and receipts.
7
Please don't allow a former TV executive to speak anonymously in the NYT just because he's not comfortable sticking his neck out. Save the privilege of anonymity for when it really matters.
268
What a shameless huckster, this crooked lying Trump, carving out his name for political gains at a huge cost to the integrity of the presidency. This demagogue, a vulgar bully cheating his way to higher office so, but so undeservedly, must end in defeat so to maintain some decorum and sanity in our already degraded democracy. Trump, the "ugly american", is a disgrace and an ever danger as he continues to spew hate and division in a most arrogant fashion, cheating his 'mob' of misinformed and prejudiced folks into believing his nonsense.
270
....but you see, 'they' do not believe his nonsense. All evidence so far point to one salient fact, Trump can not be beaten by pointing out the nonsense, that all serves his purpose. First, one has to repeat the nonsense to debunk it; Secondly, the debunking only shows how out of touch with "the real meaning of his candidacy" the tired out experts and "strategists" are.
The so-called "pivot" to the general election is a trope of the tired out experts and strategists. Time for a new approach and time to send the experts home. Why can't Hillary Clinton manage her own ideas and message? That would be the best counter-measure.
The so-called "pivot" to the general election is a trope of the tired out experts and strategists. Time for a new approach and time to send the experts home. Why can't Hillary Clinton manage her own ideas and message? That would be the best counter-measure.
2
People did belief Trump's 'slander' for far too long, and did not hold him to the fire and demand he produces the evidence he had, as (nonexistent) proof that Obama might be foreign. No lawsuit nor jail for his irresponsible lying, and with the complicit silence of the republican party. Clinton must counter Trump's lies and racist comments, over and over. Although those that exercise willful ignorance of Trump's slanderous ways, for many others it may be an eye-opener to withdraw their support.
4
Trump represents all that is hateful--his words a fiction that so many Americans have mistaken for reality.
And just like the 2012 election--the republicans I know have nothing good to say about Trump--just hateful comments to express about Hilary Clinton. I NEVER heard a single republican voter talk about how fine Romney was--only how "bad" Obama was. This is the new politics in the USA. A toxic brew of lies, racism and despair.
I will do everything in my power to ensure that trump is beaten. I hope others will see how, if elected, he will crash our fragile economy with his "let's blame others (Muslims, Latinos, Gays, etc.) for all our problems" mentality.
America already IS great! And if the trumpers think we are not a great nation--they need to look in the mirror to see just where the problem is. If they think we've hit bottom, they should take a good look down....down into what hatred and "white-power" will reep. Because this "make America white again" pitch of trump's is a recipe for war and economic suicide.
And just like the 2012 election--the republicans I know have nothing good to say about Trump--just hateful comments to express about Hilary Clinton. I NEVER heard a single republican voter talk about how fine Romney was--only how "bad" Obama was. This is the new politics in the USA. A toxic brew of lies, racism and despair.
I will do everything in my power to ensure that trump is beaten. I hope others will see how, if elected, he will crash our fragile economy with his "let's blame others (Muslims, Latinos, Gays, etc.) for all our problems" mentality.
America already IS great! And if the trumpers think we are not a great nation--they need to look in the mirror to see just where the problem is. If they think we've hit bottom, they should take a good look down....down into what hatred and "white-power" will reep. Because this "make America white again" pitch of trump's is a recipe for war and economic suicide.
382
Wrong. Trump represents the common man.
Trump is not even remotely running on any "white power" or "make American white again" issues -- that is totally a fantasy of hysterical lefties.
He is not opposed to any nationalities or religions amongst US CITIZENS. He is opposed to illegal immigration and to border security so bad they are letting terrorists into the country.
Also, he has spoken out -- courageously and one of the few voices -- against the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and asked why they are STILL ongoing, 8 years into an Obama presidency. To accuse him of wanting war is unfair and based on nothing.
He is not opposed to any nationalities or religions amongst US CITIZENS. He is opposed to illegal immigration and to border security so bad they are letting terrorists into the country.
Also, he has spoken out -- courageously and one of the few voices -- against the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and asked why they are STILL ongoing, 8 years into an Obama presidency. To accuse him of wanting war is unfair and based on nothing.
1
"the republicans I know have nothing good to say about Trump--just hateful comments to express about Hilary Clinton."
Not a Republican here but it seems the Democrats have nothing good to say about Hillary Clinton either. I mean why else clog these comments with negative anti-Trump personal attacks like yours rather than giving us positive reasons to vote for Clinton?
I guess it is hard to say good things about your candidate when she is in the pocket of Wall Street:
http://userctl.com/BlueVsRed/064.png
And when she is afraid to let us peons know what she told the Wall Street elites in her "speeches" that sure screams "transparency":
http://userctl.com/BlueVsRed/063.png
Seeing as how Texas is a red state and will be voting for Trump anyway I personally don't have to be unethical and immoral and vote for Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders will be getting my write-in vote:
http://userctl.com/BlueVsRed/061.png
I will write in Bernie to protest the shenanigans of Debbie Schultz Wasserman and the DNC, not that they will be paying attention to me amidst all the wailing and gnashing of teeth after "The Donald" is elected president.
#BernieOrBust #NeverHillary #NeverTrump
Not a Republican here but it seems the Democrats have nothing good to say about Hillary Clinton either. I mean why else clog these comments with negative anti-Trump personal attacks like yours rather than giving us positive reasons to vote for Clinton?
I guess it is hard to say good things about your candidate when she is in the pocket of Wall Street:
http://userctl.com/BlueVsRed/064.png
And when she is afraid to let us peons know what she told the Wall Street elites in her "speeches" that sure screams "transparency":
http://userctl.com/BlueVsRed/063.png
Seeing as how Texas is a red state and will be voting for Trump anyway I personally don't have to be unethical and immoral and vote for Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders will be getting my write-in vote:
http://userctl.com/BlueVsRed/061.png
I will write in Bernie to protest the shenanigans of Debbie Schultz Wasserman and the DNC, not that they will be paying attention to me amidst all the wailing and gnashing of teeth after "The Donald" is elected president.
#BernieOrBust #NeverHillary #NeverTrump
1
The lead for this piece about Drumpf repeatedly, prolifically lying to the American people, was buried in the last 2 paragraphs:
" But for all of his fascination with the president’s birth certificate, Mr. Trump apparently never dispatched investigators or made much of an effort to find the documents.
Dr. Alvin Onaka, the Hawaii state registrar who handled queries about Mr. Obama, said recently through a spokeswoman that he had no evidence or recollection of Mr. Trump or any of his representatives ever requesting the records from the Hawaii State Department of Health. "
What a fantastic slug Drumpf is.
" But for all of his fascination with the president’s birth certificate, Mr. Trump apparently never dispatched investigators or made much of an effort to find the documents.
Dr. Alvin Onaka, the Hawaii state registrar who handled queries about Mr. Obama, said recently through a spokeswoman that he had no evidence or recollection of Mr. Trump or any of his representatives ever requesting the records from the Hawaii State Department of Health. "
What a fantastic slug Drumpf is.
864
It reqlly is stunning to see how many American respect Trump as a blatant con artist.
20
The long form birth certificate was not available to the public; that was the POINT of birtherism. (For the record, I never believed Obama was born anywhere but in Hawaii, and I think birtherism is silly.)
Other parties had already tried to get the long form BC, and failed. I know this is true, because in my county, you can no longer get your long-form birth certificate. I have an old xerox of mine; they are fascinating because they are full of interesting information -- the hospital you were born in, the signature of the obstetrician, etc. But due to security concerns, my county now will ONLY issue a sort of fake looking document -- a bit like a diploma, with a gold seal! -- and it only gives the date, your parents names and your name.
The only way Obama got his OWN long-form birth certificate was to use his influence as POTUS on the Hawaii registrar's office. I kinda think he had more influence than Trump, who held no political office nor power in 2011.
Other parties had already tried to get the long form BC, and failed. I know this is true, because in my county, you can no longer get your long-form birth certificate. I have an old xerox of mine; they are fascinating because they are full of interesting information -- the hospital you were born in, the signature of the obstetrician, etc. But due to security concerns, my county now will ONLY issue a sort of fake looking document -- a bit like a diploma, with a gold seal! -- and it only gives the date, your parents names and your name.
The only way Obama got his OWN long-form birth certificate was to use his influence as POTUS on the Hawaii registrar's office. I kinda think he had more influence than Trump, who held no political office nor power in 2011.
2
concerned - The point is the singling out/otherhood that Drumpf despicably drove making this the 1st POTUS in our history feeling the need to produce such documents, having to capitulate to the most sensational portions of the media kindergarten that was drowning out actual issues.
19
In the end, there really was and is no excuse or possible rationale that could be given, outside of one that necessarily precludes him from the office he seeks, unfortunately.