I'm still wondering when GOP voters and those who voted for Trump are going to realize that he played them totally to get elected and he doesn't care one whit about them or what they need or want. I'm still hearing from my GOP friends to "get over it, he won" and "sore loser," but I think Jane Fonda said it well on Bill Maher last Friday night - they are acting like "sore winners."
33
If you want to drain a swamp, you have to call in professionals.
8
Did you guys actually pay attention to who Trump told his supporters he would put in his cabinet and what their background would be?
You guys really make me laugh. Did you really think that he would appoint a bunch of Harvard Wonks to his cabinet? Or some misfit who has only made a living feeding out of the public trough? One of FDR's top Ambassadors to the USSR was Joseph Davies a wealthy industrialist. Davies recorded in his book "Mission to Moscow" that FDA wanted "practical men of wealth who did not have to worry about making a living off the public dole". I actually think that is an excellent base filter for cabinet selections!
I would rather have 1/2 of Tillerson than 10 John Kerry whose claim to fame includes throwing his medals away and dishonoring his country and the vets who served and died there. I do give him credit for and marrying a ketchup heiress becoming financially independent.
If you disagree with the policies of Trump's cabinet picks (which as a far left wing paper you undoubtedly will) that is fine- but to say that their wealth and success disqualifies them from serving is silly. Exxon is simply the best run company on earth- and is acknowledge as such by most experts. But I don't expect the New York Times to either understand nor respect this.
If lack of wealth and achievement is the base criteria for cabinet secretaries I know where a couple of homeless people hang out regularly in DC. I am sure they would jump at the opportunity to serve.
You guys really make me laugh. Did you really think that he would appoint a bunch of Harvard Wonks to his cabinet? Or some misfit who has only made a living feeding out of the public trough? One of FDR's top Ambassadors to the USSR was Joseph Davies a wealthy industrialist. Davies recorded in his book "Mission to Moscow" that FDA wanted "practical men of wealth who did not have to worry about making a living off the public dole". I actually think that is an excellent base filter for cabinet selections!
I would rather have 1/2 of Tillerson than 10 John Kerry whose claim to fame includes throwing his medals away and dishonoring his country and the vets who served and died there. I do give him credit for and marrying a ketchup heiress becoming financially independent.
If you disagree with the policies of Trump's cabinet picks (which as a far left wing paper you undoubtedly will) that is fine- but to say that their wealth and success disqualifies them from serving is silly. Exxon is simply the best run company on earth- and is acknowledge as such by most experts. But I don't expect the New York Times to either understand nor respect this.
If lack of wealth and achievement is the base criteria for cabinet secretaries I know where a couple of homeless people hang out regularly in DC. I am sure they would jump at the opportunity to serve.
5
Make no mistake. Trump purposely misled voters to believe he was "for them." He's not. He's for "him" and his crony capitalist brothers. The people he's nominated to cabinet posts, in many cases, are the people who have done the most harm to the interests of the general public. Now they are being installed to wreak wholesale carnage. Not one of his cabinet nominees cares a fig about the needs of the ordinary American - in fact, they have no way of knowing what the life of an average American consists of. In their closed world of golden toilets, designer clothes, and private planes, with the Ferrari and Lamborghini dealerships (drive through Spring Valley NY if you don't believe me), they live in a different universe than the "typical" American - intellectually, socially, culturally, economically, ethically distinct from the rest of America. When they think of the "common good," what they are really thinking is "what is good for me and my class." It would be as easy as putting a camel through the eye of a needle as for these people to relate to the concerns of middle class Americans, let alone the millions dealing with extreme poverty. Instead, they see America as an object to be pillaged for their own enrichment, to which they feel entitled. What needs did the corporate raiders from Goldman Sachs think of when they were peddling sick mortgage backed securities to the public? Now they're in charge of looking out for all of us? Hardly.
23
And still the basket of deplorables gets more deplorable as we learn more
10
Why doesn't the NYT lead with the honest and informative headline: "Trump, Hypocrite-in-Chief, Appoints Cabinet Heads Opposed to All of the Values of the Constituents that Elected Him."
That would be honesty in journalism. It might win back some that think the Media was not sufficiently straight-forward in their characterization of politics during the election cycle. It would also serve to force him to answer why he appointed a Labor Secretary opposed to labor (what should Midwestern factory workers think of this pick?), an Education Secretary opposed to public education (what do working class Americans think of his necessary defunding of their schools?) and serving only very specific wealthy & religious special interests, and a Treasury Secretary who is already fudging his numbers as well as representing the offshoring he pretends to oppose.
That would be honesty in journalism. It might win back some that think the Media was not sufficiently straight-forward in their characterization of politics during the election cycle. It would also serve to force him to answer why he appointed a Labor Secretary opposed to labor (what should Midwestern factory workers think of this pick?), an Education Secretary opposed to public education (what do working class Americans think of his necessary defunding of their schools?) and serving only very specific wealthy & religious special interests, and a Treasury Secretary who is already fudging his numbers as well as representing the offshoring he pretends to oppose.
14
At least for this election cycle, the Democratic party is the party of Wall Street and big money. ($334 million v. $67 million for Trump) See NY Times June 22, 2016. We also know from the Wiki Leaks of the Wall Street speech made by Hillary that she intended to protect Wall Street over the middle class. We also know she was against using a "blind trust" for wealthy people serving in government, from the NY Times Article Oct. 7, 2016 on the matter where she is quoted as saying:
“There is such a bias against people who have led successful and/or complicated lives,” Mrs. Clinton said. The pressure on officials to sell or divest assets in order to serve, she added, had become “very onerous and unnecessary.”
“There is such a bias against people who have led successful and/or complicated lives,” Mrs. Clinton said. The pressure on officials to sell or divest assets in order to serve, she added, had become “very onerous and unnecessary.”
8
I would not be concerned about the fact that Trump is appointing former military who are conservative nor billionaires to his top positions. The confirmation process has already shown that his picks do not agree with a lot of his positions as he has expressed them, so far. He never vetted them with respect to his public agenda as expressed during his campaign and his tweets. It seems that he expects them to run the government while he continues in campaign mode while in office, focusing upon his base constituency as he perceives it to be. His first acts in office have conformed with his campaign promises, showing that he follows through with what he promised. But in every case he as acted without regard to the details which relate to many of the things that he said with respect to what he would do and not do. The TPP is a good example. It contained a lot of what Trump said needed to be done and despite it's flaws was a big step in the direction that Trump indicates he wants to go, but instead of renegotiating it he just dropped the whole thing. The ACA works for most people who have enrolled. The rises in premiums are less than they had been before and the means to pay for the program are mostly covered. The first step should be to identify where it can be done better, then either replace it or fix it. Instead, Trump just abandoned TPP and joined with Republicans in finding the quickest way to make the ACA go away. This is not a mind that thinks beyond short term outcomes.
11
The only people Trump knows are millionaires and billionaires an their attendant sycophants. So he is turning over the government to THOSE people. Maybe Kellyanne Conway is right - Look into Trump's heart and you will see his true intent.
6
Trump promised to drain the swamp. He did not promise anything about the disposition of the deep, nasty, sucking muck to be found at the bottom.
4
One of the most disturbing statements I heard on Sun was from Kellyanne Conway when pushed by Chuck Todd (good job Chuck, pressing while keeping your cool) for a straight answer to his question, she answered that if he kept pushing like that they (the White House?) might have to rethink their relationship. To me it sounded like a threat to cut off any news organization that does not toe the line. Very, very dangerous.
20
Trump is filling his administration with people he thinks have the special abilities needed to function effectively as managers and executives of the enterprises that they head, people who he believes he can trust. It's his job to satisfy his base who he is convinced will provide him with majorities of the electorate for as long as he is in office. So he talks to the middle class that is not urban and who feel that the country has left them behind and who expect Trump to bring them back in. The confirmation process shows that some of his candidates agree with what Trump promised as a candidate or in his tweets but a lot of them do not, meaning that Trump never vetted them with respect to his announced agenda, and likely just offered them because he was told that they were competent without considering them himself. His pick for HHS is a physician who believes that physicians should run health care as their own interests dictate not as society might, and so he wants to eliminate government administered programs and leave patients to figure out how to pay for their own care, not in line with Trump's campaign messages. His Treasury Secretary is a financial investor without credentials regarding the macro economic principles that the office demands in order to benefit the whole economy not just those who move capital around. We have seen that freeing up capital can lead to concentration without robust investments that benefit the whole, which is what has affected the base.
4
If I were one of the CEOs in attendance at the various show-meetings that Trump has been holding this week, I would ask the following three questions, after the Pretender-in-Chief got done hypocritically hectoring me about manufacturing stuff in other countries: "Mr. President, may I ask you when you plan to move your own manufacturing operations back to the U.S.? And, if you don't plan to move them back here, do you plan to target your own products and those of your daughter's companies to the same selective 'border' tax that you just threatened me with? And, by the way, when do we get to see your tax returns so that we can tell if you're treating your own companies more favorably with the powers of government that are now under your control than you just threatened to treat ours?" I swear I would ask him those questions.
What a horrifying freak show this administration is already.
What a horrifying freak show this administration is already.
16
Okay, he won. America lost. Can HE get over it already? What a sore winner. Keep calling your representatives in congress. Even if they don't listen, they'll be put on notice that we are watching. And I, for one, am afraid to look away, lest I miss some sleight of hand he and his cronies pull. Thank you, NYTimes; keep watching and reporting. We're reading and listening.
13
When a choice has to be made between corporate interests or the people's interests, the Republicans in Congress seem to always choose corporate interests. We see this again with Trump's executive order allowing the Dakota pipeline to go forward.
Bringing in big-money donors from corporate America to run the government doesn't give me any hope that things will change in the people's favor.
Bringing in big-money donors from corporate America to run the government doesn't give me any hope that things will change in the people's favor.
9
Trump is simply the salesman and doing the bidding of the American right wing and his benefactors, that want to privatize all aspects of government and to especially to remove any oversight, including the press, of their activity before or after joining the government.
9
Almost all of Trump's cabinet nominees are denizens of their particular "bizarro-universe" -- for Labor someone who hates workers' rights, for Education somehow who hates public schools, for Treasury someone who has ripped off mortgage payers, for Attorney General somehow who denies equal civil rights for millions of citizens, etc. etc. This is the great dismal swamp in extremis.
13
"I have nothing to fear from my enemies, but only God can save me from well intentioned friends,"
What will happen when the hopefull middle class, working class , and poor folks who voted for Trump, and who believe he will somehow redistribute wealth from the rich to improve their lives, get the rude and painful awakening that's doubtlessly coming thier way?
What will happen when the hopefull middle class, working class , and poor folks who voted for Trump, and who believe he will somehow redistribute wealth from the rich to improve their lives, get the rude and painful awakening that's doubtlessly coming thier way?
9
Bernie had not seen so many billionaires and billionaires, all in one place, sitting around Donald Trump, at his inauguration.
4
Munchausen syndrome by proxy thanks to the outdated electoral college. http://www.webmd.com/mental-health/munchausen-by-proxy#1.
The members of the electoral college should be liable for the damage the current occupant of the White House may inflict to the USA.
The members of the electoral college should be liable for the damage the current occupant of the White House may inflict to the USA.
5
Yes, there is always an establishment. By definition, there is someone in charge of government.
This one is not the establishment for the last decades of Bush and Clinton. Clinton's people are entirely out, and Bush's people are complaining they are not getting calls -- as if Trump would call on those who were part of Anyone But Trump.
Trump is anti the establishment that was. That does not mean there is now no establishment, just not that one.
This one is not the establishment for the last decades of Bush and Clinton. Clinton's people are entirely out, and Bush's people are complaining they are not getting calls -- as if Trump would call on those who were part of Anyone But Trump.
Trump is anti the establishment that was. That does not mean there is now no establishment, just not that one.
5
Trump and his Cabinet/agenda/actions may be in keeping with the Constitution (though, I doubt it in the long run) but they are clearly in violation of the Declaration of Independence. Perhaps it's time to determine once and for all, which of these documents is actually the driving force of America and whatever exceptionalism it possesses. The DoI seems to me to be the nation's Mission Statement and the Constitution the strategy for implementing it. This is what worries me about Trump. He appears to be a man of too few strategies most of which seem to run the course of: Bold Pronouncements>Bragadocious predictions>Borrowing to execute to those expectations>leveraging debt to appear to be keeping the machine running>resturucturing the debt to prevent collapse>and, finally, bankruptcy/tax avoidance to reset the whole thing or wipe it off the books and re-interpret history...
I hope his Cabinet is more thoughtful but, frankly, I'm worried.
I hope his Cabinet is more thoughtful but, frankly, I'm worried.
3
The Declaration of Independence has no place in US law except that we are not part of the UK
He can't drain the swamp. He has buried too many bodies in it.
In today's "Conversation" A. Brooks maintains that republicans like businessmen because they bring their expertise in management to issues of governance.
It should be pointed out that this greatest of all businessmen can't even staff his own administration with the mid level to top level managers that presidents hire for these positions. Positions that are essential to the running of the country.
That means that basically we do not have a functioning government right now.
This makes US look strong How?
It gives little satisfaction knowing that t rump's supporters are going to get what they deserve. Good and hard.
In today's "Conversation" A. Brooks maintains that republicans like businessmen because they bring their expertise in management to issues of governance.
It should be pointed out that this greatest of all businessmen can't even staff his own administration with the mid level to top level managers that presidents hire for these positions. Positions that are essential to the running of the country.
That means that basically we do not have a functioning government right now.
This makes US look strong How?
It gives little satisfaction knowing that t rump's supporters are going to get what they deserve. Good and hard.
13
When are his supporters going to realize that they have been had? How much damage will be done before they wake up?
16
more, fertile ground for impeachment! let the votes begin!!
6
trump drained the swamp, but he did so right into his own indoor swimming pool.
2
My impression of Trump supporters has been and remains that they really do not give a hoot about what happens to the overall economy or to global stability or to safety, health, education, and so on ... just as long as they and their friends have the factory jobs they want in the places they want without any requirement for additional training or education.
11
Betsy DeVos gives off an air of superiority, while the truth is-- it's as if she's on a baseball field, batting up, with either a swing and a miss, or a foul ball.
She is the least appropriate person sitting in committee.
Her inappropriate smiling gives it all away.
What is true is that psychologists note that inappropriate smiling often gives us a glimpse into an inner world of deception.
She is the least appropriate person sitting in committee.
Her inappropriate smiling gives it all away.
What is true is that psychologists note that inappropriate smiling often gives us a glimpse into an inner world of deception.
2
The same people who elected Trump are undoubtedly thrilled by his cabinet and other appointments. You don't get it editorial board. They look up to, respect and are impressed by rich people. These folks mirror success to them and they believe that success will be conferred on the nation including themselves. Are they right ? Like so much else about the election of this reality TV mogul, we just don't know. Probably the USA will just muddle along with things pretty much staying the same short of some cataclysmic tragedy.
1
Will Trump supporters believe this or the lies they hear?
To believe lies you need to be pretty far into the koolaid.
It is scary there are that many Americans.
To believe lies you need to be pretty far into the koolaid.
It is scary there are that many Americans.
4
Now that Jared is securely installed as Trump's key advisor, we need to vet him more thoroughly in the press.
4
steven mather was the founder of the national park system
a self made millionaire, he devoted the latter years of his life toward that end
he not only did not accept salary, he often funded projects and personnel from his own money
where are americans like that now, or is ameica sunk to a morally degenerate state where only greed rules
2
The cv's and bank accounts as a concept are offensive, but the real problem is in the legislation. Trump may like the idea of "tycoon" being synonymous with "the people"--they aren't politicians, after all! THE PEOPLE do not want the pipelines--the tycoons do. THE PEOPLE don't want a foreign leader running our country, regardless of the new world order Steve Bannon has in mind for the aging Trump and the fascist jr. THE PEOPLE don't want family planning reduced or eliminated regardless of whether abortion (a right) may be included. Women want their rights and their positions despite Trump's retro cabintet. We are the people.
But what about the deals? Obviously Republicans in Congress will not do the People's work of holding an ethical standard if in return, the President will sign whatever Regressive punishment onto the People they put in front of him.
And then there's the jobs deal. Trump will keep American jobs in the press, and they won't complain about anything he signs to keep the Republicans off his profits.
Is this what his supporters signed up for? Somehow I feel betrayal around the corner, oh, no wait--it's already here.
But what about the deals? Obviously Republicans in Congress will not do the People's work of holding an ethical standard if in return, the President will sign whatever Regressive punishment onto the People they put in front of him.
And then there's the jobs deal. Trump will keep American jobs in the press, and they won't complain about anything he signs to keep the Republicans off his profits.
Is this what his supporters signed up for? Somehow I feel betrayal around the corner, oh, no wait--it's already here.
2
I am pulling all my money from the market and will lie low til 2021. Come the crash I will not be caught off guard again. Lost under BUSH. Gained it back under Obama. Lesson learned and lots of storm clouds already.
10
President Trump is most focused on the big money establishment because of oil and fossil fuels. This is also why he is fawning over Putin. Russia and the United States depend upon oil and fossil fuels. A move to climate friendly alternative sources of energy would endanger the interests of the Koch Bothers and Exxon-Mobil. The same would happen in Russia. Putin and company need oil and fossil fuels to remain in power.
A full review of oil, money and power as being manipulated by Trump, Putin and their cronies will the underlying focus of Trump's policies. Any new auto manufacturing in the US will be automated. Trump's press opportunity is nothing more than that. Smoke and mirrors folks. Oil is the name of Trump's (and Putin's) game.
A full review of oil, money and power as being manipulated by Trump, Putin and their cronies will the underlying focus of Trump's policies. Any new auto manufacturing in the US will be automated. Trump's press opportunity is nothing more than that. Smoke and mirrors folks. Oil is the name of Trump's (and Putin's) game.
6
I guess those "...farmers and factory workers, truckers, nurses and housekeepers" who were instrumental to Trump's ascension to the presidency don't mind or are simply ignorant of the fact that he is not one of them, but one of THEM, a billionaire living in his guilded NY palace. And now he is ensconced in D.C. surrounded by his self-appointed super-wealthy, major-campaign-funding cronies who will run the country-- mostly to their own financial benefit.
7
The Republican Congress will set the laws to benefit these appointments. They will be given money and power to inflict the damage.
How can they be stopped? DeVos, for instance. Will a Republican Congress pass a few laws to create federally subsidized charter schools with no oversight, and no accountability? Taxpayers deserve better. Again, how can Democrates in Congress stop laws like this from being enacted? How can they be rolled back later, if the public system is dismantled?
How can they be stopped? DeVos, for instance. Will a Republican Congress pass a few laws to create federally subsidized charter schools with no oversight, and no accountability? Taxpayers deserve better. Again, how can Democrates in Congress stop laws like this from being enacted? How can they be rolled back later, if the public system is dismantled?
3
Besides editorials on Trump's big money appointees, I hope the NYT has a few editorials on the risks of Trump's plans and actions. Aren't Trump's plans for trade and foreign policy likely to benefit some industries while harming others and reduce American influence while increasing Chinese influence-- among other things? Doesn't the lying of Trump and his spokespersons make the Trump Administration look unreliable and less credible to other nations, thereby damaging the reputation of the U.S.?
9
"Standing in the rain during Mr. Trump’s inaugural speech, farmers and factory workers, truckers, nurses and housekeepers greeted his anti-establishment words by cheering “Drain the Swamp!”
Such sad stupidity makes one weep.
Such sad stupidity makes one weep.
12
One outrage will be piled upon the last in such quick succession that the people won't have time to digest and respond to the latest outrage before it is eclipsed by the next.
5
Trump is such a simplistic thinker. Hire plutocrats who have run businesses that marginally connect them with cabinet post they were nominated for and magically they will turn them into primo operations. I see the gov't turning into a den of sweet deals for the well connected. The US has always been a place where insiders flourish but with Trump he has made it a passion to make the US gov't a joke.
6
Trump supporters may believe he's draining the swamp, without noticing that he's filling the cesspool.
2
Same swamp same issue, self interest versus betterment of human kind. When is an alligator not an alligator? Never!
Warren Buffett, in a recent interview with CNBC, offers one of the best quotes about the debt ceiling:
"I could end the deficit in five minutes," he told CNBC. "You just pass a law that says that anytime there is a deficit of more than 3% of GDP, all sitting members of Congress are ineligible for re-election".
The 26th Amendment ( granting the right to vote for 18 year-olds ) took only three months and eight days to be ratified! Why? Simple! The people demanded it. That was in 1971 - before computers, e-mail, cell phones, etc.
Of the 27 amendments to the Constitution, seven (7) took one (1) year or less to become the law of the land - all because of public pressure.
"I could end the deficit in five minutes," he told CNBC. "You just pass a law that says that anytime there is a deficit of more than 3% of GDP, all sitting members of Congress are ineligible for re-election".
The 26th Amendment ( granting the right to vote for 18 year-olds ) took only three months and eight days to be ratified! Why? Simple! The people demanded it. That was in 1971 - before computers, e-mail, cell phones, etc.
Of the 27 amendments to the Constitution, seven (7) took one (1) year or less to become the law of the land - all because of public pressure.
7
NYTimes, you are too kind. "Knee deep"?
I'd say hip deep and rising.
I'd say hip deep and rising.
1
Congressional Reform Act of 2017
1. No Tenure / No Pension. A Congressman / woman collects a salary while in office and receives no pay when they're out of office.
2. Congress (past, present, & future) participates in Social Security.
All funds in the Congressional retirement fund move to the Social Security system immediately. All future funds flow into the Social Security system, and Congress participates with the American people. It may not be used for any other purpose.
3. Congress can purchase their own retirement plan, just as all Americans do.
4. Congress will no longer vote themselves a pay raise. Congressional pay will rise by the lower of CPI or 3%.
5. Congress loses their current health care system and participates in the same health care system as the American people.
6. Congress must equally abide by all laws they impose on the American people.
7. All contracts with past and present Congressmen/women are void effective 3/1/17. The American people did not make this contract with Congressmen/women.
Congress made all these contracts for themselves. Serving in Congress is an honor, not a career. The Founding Fathers envisioned citizen legislators, so ours should serve their term(s), then go home and go back to work.
If each person contacts a minimum of twenty people, then it will only take three days for most people in the U.S. to receive the message. It's time!
THIS IS HOW YOU FIX CONGRESS!
1. No Tenure / No Pension. A Congressman / woman collects a salary while in office and receives no pay when they're out of office.
2. Congress (past, present, & future) participates in Social Security.
All funds in the Congressional retirement fund move to the Social Security system immediately. All future funds flow into the Social Security system, and Congress participates with the American people. It may not be used for any other purpose.
3. Congress can purchase their own retirement plan, just as all Americans do.
4. Congress will no longer vote themselves a pay raise. Congressional pay will rise by the lower of CPI or 3%.
5. Congress loses their current health care system and participates in the same health care system as the American people.
6. Congress must equally abide by all laws they impose on the American people.
7. All contracts with past and present Congressmen/women are void effective 3/1/17. The American people did not make this contract with Congressmen/women.
Congress made all these contracts for themselves. Serving in Congress is an honor, not a career. The Founding Fathers envisioned citizen legislators, so ours should serve their term(s), then go home and go back to work.
If each person contacts a minimum of twenty people, then it will only take three days for most people in the U.S. to receive the message. It's time!
THIS IS HOW YOU FIX CONGRESS!
10
Time after time, I'm told that I'm too urban and elitist to understand Trump voters, who have been shafted out of all the good things that came naturally to white Americans after the war. So okay: I understand that they voted for the guy with the loudest voice who promised the most. Now how am I supposed to continue to understand them now that he's filled the government with people who are so obviously adversaries to the working man? Trump voters are just stupid, plain and simple. Trump, with congressional Republican help, is going to increase the deficit by eight trillion dollars. And all that spent taxpayer money is going to his cronies, not back to "the people".
12
I was going to correct you by saying trump voters are ignorant. Meaning we all are to one extent or another, and that education and experience diminishes that ignorance. But these voters haven't learned a thing, so stupidity applies.
1
At the end of this administration we'll have to dig ourselves out of another economic disaster. Trump, Bush, Bush, Reagan, Hoover. What do they all have in common? The ability to convince ordinary folks with little economic prowess, that it's the Republicans who have the right answer. Not seeing that it takes years to makeup for the disasters the Republicans have foisted upon the common folk while making themselves wealthier. Stop the stupidity. Make America smart again.
We had a First Lady who offered us ways to maintain health. Inspired women and girls to educate themselves. What's ahead, baubles, bangles and beads?
We had a First Lady who offered us ways to maintain health. Inspired women and girls to educate themselves. What's ahead, baubles, bangles and beads?
9
"...whose head Mr. Trump famously shaved in the ring?" I don't know what amuses people in New York, but this would not make sense in San Francisco.
In politics it is very unfortunate that businessmen are our modern day heroes - the entrepreneur that by almost magical powers brings wealth and job growth to countries. I work very close to CEO and business leaders and most of them are very ordinary individuals, some are bad, some are bright, most are like you and me. Some individualsjust got lucky, others really invented something. It's very clear to me what type Trump is, the one who steps on everyone he can on his way to the top. The bad type. John Oliver introduced the alternative family name Drumpf, to take out the glare from the Trump brand. Trump and his fellow billionaires should be held at the same standard as any other citizen. And they utterly fail that test.
2
To understand trump's grass roots support, ignore the NYT explanations. Instead, for those like me who are still stupid enough to use AOL, read the comments posted by subscribers. Here one will find the most vicious, ignorant, illiterate collection of hate based vitriol. Targets are Democrats, Obama, Clinton, liberals, among others.
10
Pete,
Definitely agree. Perhaps the New York Times should publish a selection of this 'commentary' including the photos they post as a matter of 'human interest.' It makes one's blood run cold. I sincerely believe there are a group of men out there who are itching to pull out their weapons, rape me, and take my property. I believe they are of the same type of personality who succumb to reality-based entertainment. They are able to dream of doing things and taking/owning things they would never be capable of in real life. Encouraging this type of behavior is reprehensible. To co-op the obscene vitriol of this group for political expediency is beyond reprehensible. The purpose of government should be to educate these people away from this destructive mindset, not encourage it.
And for those genuinely Christian people who are concerned with the 'rights of the unborn,' you are throwing your lot in with the devil. Read up on your Beatitudes. I think you're messing up bigtime.
Breitbart in the White House? Might as well change the address to 666 Pennsylvania Avenue.
Definitely agree. Perhaps the New York Times should publish a selection of this 'commentary' including the photos they post as a matter of 'human interest.' It makes one's blood run cold. I sincerely believe there are a group of men out there who are itching to pull out their weapons, rape me, and take my property. I believe they are of the same type of personality who succumb to reality-based entertainment. They are able to dream of doing things and taking/owning things they would never be capable of in real life. Encouraging this type of behavior is reprehensible. To co-op the obscene vitriol of this group for political expediency is beyond reprehensible. The purpose of government should be to educate these people away from this destructive mindset, not encourage it.
And for those genuinely Christian people who are concerned with the 'rights of the unborn,' you are throwing your lot in with the devil. Read up on your Beatitudes. I think you're messing up bigtime.
Breitbart in the White House? Might as well change the address to 666 Pennsylvania Avenue.
7
These individuals are the architects of today’s society and everything the voters rallied against.
Why does anyone believe these people will change overnight into servants for the public good? If they had the interests of people whom they have held power over, we would be reading today about the great policies for employees at multiple firms they controlled or the vast donations to charities they support.
The damage they can inflict on this country is scary.
Why does anyone believe these people will change overnight into servants for the public good? If they had the interests of people whom they have held power over, we would be reading today about the great policies for employees at multiple firms they controlled or the vast donations to charities they support.
The damage they can inflict on this country is scary.
11
I'm not a Trump supporter, did not vote for him and find his behavior often awkward and uncomfortable to watch. That said however, the stories and editorials by the NYTimes over that past several month seem to demonstrate a pathological dislike for him on the part of the paper that undermines the credibility of the Times. It appears to the attentive reader that the NYTimes is working overtime to create the news, not report it. That's a shame because it seems to be a wasted effort to indoctrinate the already indoctrinated at the loss of those who would like to have the truth reported.
They echo my sentiments exactly, James, and those of many of the 4,876,700 women and men who marched on Saturday. Thanks to the New York Times for calling The Con Don out. He's a Robber Baron who thinks he's a king. Time to knock him down to size.
6
As I mentioned it is the attentive readers who are troubled by the conduct of the NYTimes not the true believers.
1
I feel sad for all those who have been the victims of globalization that saw their cities and towns devastated as their high paying jobs were sent to China, India, The Philippines and Bangladesh. I feel doubly saddened for them because they are about to get the shaft again, this time by their own government.
No one pointed a gun to the head of Apple to force him to send 750,000 jobs to China. Over one billion iPods, iPads, and iPhones have been sold and every single one of them was manufactured in China. If you have a problem with your cable or internet service and call Comcast you are routed to a call center in the Philippines, 10,000 miles away. No one forced these companies or thousands of others to take good paying jobs, people earning $50K to $75K a year, and send them to countries thousands of miles from our shores to be be manufactured by people making $1.50 an hour. Instead of the constant blame against other countries we need to place the blame where it belongs...with American businesses and corporations.
I feel great sadness because the same people that voted for Trump are now about to buy into his lies that if we privatize Social Security and Medicare and give more tax breaks to the top 1% these same folks who helped bring our country to its knees in 2008 will somehow now be creating millions of jobs here.
The day is going to happen when this all falls apart, far worse than 2008, and when that happens anger, chaos, and mass rioting will envelope our nation.
No one pointed a gun to the head of Apple to force him to send 750,000 jobs to China. Over one billion iPods, iPads, and iPhones have been sold and every single one of them was manufactured in China. If you have a problem with your cable or internet service and call Comcast you are routed to a call center in the Philippines, 10,000 miles away. No one forced these companies or thousands of others to take good paying jobs, people earning $50K to $75K a year, and send them to countries thousands of miles from our shores to be be manufactured by people making $1.50 an hour. Instead of the constant blame against other countries we need to place the blame where it belongs...with American businesses and corporations.
I feel great sadness because the same people that voted for Trump are now about to buy into his lies that if we privatize Social Security and Medicare and give more tax breaks to the top 1% these same folks who helped bring our country to its knees in 2008 will somehow now be creating millions of jobs here.
The day is going to happen when this all falls apart, far worse than 2008, and when that happens anger, chaos, and mass rioting will envelope our nation.
11
Mark, if you read colonial history you will learn that the British tried to wipe out textile industries in India and Bangladesh."Very few in Britain know about the genocide in Bengal let alone how Churchill engineered it. Churchill’s hatred for Indians led to four million starving to death during the Bengal ‘famine’ of 1943. “I hate Indians. They are a beastly people with a beastly religion” he would say."
1
Sorry, but I have little sympathy for the "farmers and factory workers, truckers, nurses and housekeepers" who were standing in the rain during Trump's inauguration tirade (can't quite bring myself to call it an "address").
They are in for a big surprise when they realize that their complete lack of focus on this man's absence of an ethical core and moral fiber gave way to them voting for him because he "tells it like it is."
Please. A blind man could see the con coming long before it hit. Yeah, they were angry, and true, the Democratic Party needs a swift re-boot and sooner rather than later. But their votes to put this man in office is like hiring a wolf to guard the chicken coop.
Ronald Reagan said famously, trust but verify. The handwriting was on the wall way back at the beginning of Trump's campaign that he was a shallow egotist and a bully. How anyone could think this was the type of person who would fight for the middle class is laughable if it wasn't so depressing.
They are in for a big surprise when they realize that their complete lack of focus on this man's absence of an ethical core and moral fiber gave way to them voting for him because he "tells it like it is."
Please. A blind man could see the con coming long before it hit. Yeah, they were angry, and true, the Democratic Party needs a swift re-boot and sooner rather than later. But their votes to put this man in office is like hiring a wolf to guard the chicken coop.
Ronald Reagan said famously, trust but verify. The handwriting was on the wall way back at the beginning of Trump's campaign that he was a shallow egotist and a bully. How anyone could think this was the type of person who would fight for the middle class is laughable if it wasn't so depressing.
17
Would it have been different had Hillary ascended to the White House?
Is that not the way the USA has been ruled over by known and unknown own billionaires buying favour through donations to party and aspirants !That is America where the dollar reigns supreme and can buy what ever is on offer or held secretly for some real favorites!
The American political system is the source with two presumably different parties that do not differ when it comes to the real spoils of power.
It is is the fiasco of this diversity , the sham and travesty of a for sale Presidency at USD 30 millions and a congressional seat at USD 10 millions .
Unless and until a real progressive money free party comes into the arena there will be more and worst of the same
Is that not the way the USA has been ruled over by known and unknown own billionaires buying favour through donations to party and aspirants !That is America where the dollar reigns supreme and can buy what ever is on offer or held secretly for some real favorites!
The American political system is the source with two presumably different parties that do not differ when it comes to the real spoils of power.
It is is the fiasco of this diversity , the sham and travesty of a for sale Presidency at USD 30 millions and a congressional seat at USD 10 millions .
Unless and until a real progressive money free party comes into the arena there will be more and worst of the same
4
Considering the fact that Jordan is a constitutional monarchy with enough wealth to create social divisions of its own, it's very interesting that one could come to such conclusions without a hint of self-reflection.
And while some of the points made here are quite valid, one must also understand there is still more to our government than just "big money" -- there is also the voice of "the People", and that is guaranteed by our Constitution.
And while some of the points made here are quite valid, one must also understand there is still more to our government than just "big money" -- there is also the voice of "the People", and that is guaranteed by our Constitution.
2
The NY Times Editorial Board forgot to mention Trump’s repeated calls during the campaign for Hillary Clinton to release the text of her Goldman Sachs speeches. Maybe Gary Cohn and Steve Mnuchin had heard these and have now advised Trump that they were much ado about nothing?
But seriously, it’s long been known that the Republican base in the heartland inexplicably votes against its own economic interests. The “farmers and factory workers, truckers, nurses and housekeepers” who cheered, “Drain the Swamp” will soon discover that the swamp has engulfed them. And, they will be no better off than they were before Trump!
Several presidents have gone to Washington promising that they will change it and failed. Trump’s cabinet picks confirm that the Potomac swamp will most likely engulf his presidency too!
But seriously, it’s long been known that the Republican base in the heartland inexplicably votes against its own economic interests. The “farmers and factory workers, truckers, nurses and housekeepers” who cheered, “Drain the Swamp” will soon discover that the swamp has engulfed them. And, they will be no better off than they were before Trump!
Several presidents have gone to Washington promising that they will change it and failed. Trump’s cabinet picks confirm that the Potomac swamp will most likely engulf his presidency too!
I would much rather have these brilliant people running the show than political hacks like Axelrod who are just looking to use their "public service" to cash out. These men and women have made their money already. Lets give them a chance. I implore the Times to take a step back and allow Trump to prove himself. You gave Obama every break coming in.
2
Trump's ignorant supporters believe that his, and his cabinet cronies', billionaire's prowess will propel financial gains for the poor and middle class.
Trump supporters: Keep dreaming.
That prowess is already being directed chiefly for their own gain (and that of already money-fat corporations).
Trump supporters: Keep dreaming.
That prowess is already being directed chiefly for their own gain (and that of already money-fat corporations).
8
While this editorial competently addresses the billionaires that we can see, I wonder about two that we can't see. I would love for the NYT to examine the invisible links of Robert and Rebekah Mercer to Trump's cabinet and staff appointments. Start with Ms. Conway and work your way around them all.
The Mercers were the ones to stick with Trump after the damning video surfaced and many donors stepped back. Ms. Conway has direct linkage to them. I believe Ms. DeVos has direct linkage as well. Are the Mercers the real First Couple? Would be interesting to explore.
The Mercers were the ones to stick with Trump after the damning video surfaced and many donors stepped back. Ms. Conway has direct linkage to them. I believe Ms. DeVos has direct linkage as well. Are the Mercers the real First Couple? Would be interesting to explore.
13
Thank you Marilyn. I just searched on the Mercers. Wow, Yes, NYT must do an expose on these people. In the shadows too long.
1
With Trump, America gets the president it deserves. We let this happen on our watch when we all should have known better. This is a lesson, I guess, we are going to have to learn the hard way.
Elections are important. All politics are local. This means power is exercised from the bottom up for any political party or movements. It proceeds from the local elected offices to the state and then to federal offices. There is no short cut to organizing from the bottom up. Failure of Democrats to effectively do so, allows a Trump to wind up in the White House.
Elections are important. All politics are local. This means power is exercised from the bottom up for any political party or movements. It proceeds from the local elected offices to the state and then to federal offices. There is no short cut to organizing from the bottom up. Failure of Democrats to effectively do so, allows a Trump to wind up in the White House.
3
Except for periods in the 1950s and 1960s and possibly the 1990’s when tax rates on the rich just happened to be high enough to prevent overinvestment, the economy has generally suffered from periodic overinvestment cycles.
It is not just a coincidence that tax cuts for the rich have preceded both the 1929 and 2007 depressions. The Revenue acts of 1926 and 1928 worked exactly as the Republican Congresses that pushed them through promised. The dramatic reductions in taxes on the upper income brackets and estates of the wealthy did indeed result in increases in savings and investment. However, overinvestment (by 1929 there were over 600 automobile manufacturing companies in the USA) caused the depression that made the rich, and most everyone else, ultimately much poorer.
Since 1969 there has been a tremendous shift in the tax burdens away from the rich on onto the middle class. Corporate income tax receipts, whose incidence falls entirely on the owners of corporations, were 4% of GDP then and are now less than 1%. During that same period, payroll tax rates as percent of GDP have increased dramatically. The overinvestment problem caused by the reduction in taxes on the wealthy is exacerbated by the increased tax burden on the middle class. While overinvestment creates more factories, housing and shopping centers; higher payroll taxes reduces the purchasing power of middle-class consumers. ..."
http://seekingalpha.com/article/1543642
It is not just a coincidence that tax cuts for the rich have preceded both the 1929 and 2007 depressions. The Revenue acts of 1926 and 1928 worked exactly as the Republican Congresses that pushed them through promised. The dramatic reductions in taxes on the upper income brackets and estates of the wealthy did indeed result in increases in savings and investment. However, overinvestment (by 1929 there were over 600 automobile manufacturing companies in the USA) caused the depression that made the rich, and most everyone else, ultimately much poorer.
Since 1969 there has been a tremendous shift in the tax burdens away from the rich on onto the middle class. Corporate income tax receipts, whose incidence falls entirely on the owners of corporations, were 4% of GDP then and are now less than 1%. During that same period, payroll tax rates as percent of GDP have increased dramatically. The overinvestment problem caused by the reduction in taxes on the wealthy is exacerbated by the increased tax burden on the middle class. While overinvestment creates more factories, housing and shopping centers; higher payroll taxes reduces the purchasing power of middle-class consumers. ..."
http://seekingalpha.com/article/1543642
2
Trump's "pledge?"
Trump dusting with Pledge, un-credible as that would be, is more credible than anything else connecting Trump with "pledge."
Particularly the "Pledge of Allegiance."
Trump dusting with Pledge, un-credible as that would be, is more credible than anything else connecting Trump with "pledge."
Particularly the "Pledge of Allegiance."
1
Mr. Trump pledged to “drain the swamp” but he never explained what he meant. The news media repeatedly showed these sound bites which increased their veracity; or so it seemed. Trump juxtaposed so many unrelated ideas that the meaning could never be discerned. He is the master of modern doublespeak. The news media, and all of those around Trump, interpreted his meaning in some way to sound coherent. It never really was.
The swamp Trump referred to was interpreted to be the corrupt politics in Washington. We see now that the never meant the corruption as we, the ordinary people, see it. It was those ordinary people who struggle everyday with common issues, and those government officials working to improve their condition, who divert wealth from the elite to improve the general welfare, that is the ‘swamp’, the very muck that gets on your shoes of the aristocracy. Trump views the ‘general welfare’ as his personal welfare and his economic plan is Reaganomics on steroids. We can expect income inequality to explode.
The new aristocracy are the ultra-wealthy and Trump assumes these people have their money because of superior IQ. He lied saying that he went to Wharton because he was brilliant even though he did not, and his cabinet has the highest IQ ever, even though Rick Perry is tapped to the head of the Energy Department. Facts never interfere with the goal. The rise of the aristocracy is not a new idea and history has revealed this before. It is unstable and frightening
The swamp Trump referred to was interpreted to be the corrupt politics in Washington. We see now that the never meant the corruption as we, the ordinary people, see it. It was those ordinary people who struggle everyday with common issues, and those government officials working to improve their condition, who divert wealth from the elite to improve the general welfare, that is the ‘swamp’, the very muck that gets on your shoes of the aristocracy. Trump views the ‘general welfare’ as his personal welfare and his economic plan is Reaganomics on steroids. We can expect income inequality to explode.
The new aristocracy are the ultra-wealthy and Trump assumes these people have their money because of superior IQ. He lied saying that he went to Wharton because he was brilliant even though he did not, and his cabinet has the highest IQ ever, even though Rick Perry is tapped to the head of the Energy Department. Facts never interfere with the goal. The rise of the aristocracy is not a new idea and history has revealed this before. It is unstable and frightening
1
This is a white collar criminalization of our government in broad day light.
How many times are we going to hear this complaint? "Waaah, he said he was going to drain the swamp, but he's filling it with alligators!" How long are we going to boo-hoo about this? It's done. He's doing it. We're not dreaming. It's real. What we need is a sane, informed, fact-based version of the Tea Party, fighting back and getting loud (not violent!) about Trump's -- and Congress's -- lousy administration of our government.
2
What America now has is the equivalent of Gambia's ex-ruler, Yahya Jammeh ( who just plundered 11 million dollars from the nation's coffers and luxury items before going into exile). Only difference is America's plunders are now running the government.
6
and theres a lot more than a measly 11 mill to be had
2
I am beginning to think the problem liberals have getting elected in red states is that we cannot shamelessly lie about what we are planning to do. No such problem for Republicans.
8
I remain incredulous that millions of working class people voted for Trump. He and his cabinet of moguls are on a different planet from those who eke out a living. And looking at each cabinet pick: DeVos who will push her private school agenda; Price, who will try to dismantle a health care system people can afford; Mnuchin, who was only too eager to open up the floodgates on foreclosures, and Pruitt, who probably thinks the drinking water in Flint is perfectly fine. I get it that many people voted not for Trump but against Hillary, but was their hatred of her so intense as to spite themselves? If they think Trump is their knight on the white horse coming in to save them, they are already in for a rude awakening.
2
It's truly amazing that the circus is closing down, because it's obvious that P.T. Barnum's old edict still rings true.
Don't tell me you believed Trump's campaign rhetoric? You're surprised that he's filled his cabinet with people knowing only business and not government.....the people who can say "you're fired" when they want to? You let him lie his way through the campaign, calling Obama and Hillary every name he could sweep up from his mud, and you're surprised? Why didn't anyone call him on his lies?
1
Robber barons running the government...not exactly in the little guys' best interests.
4
Trump's cabinet picks are disproportionately wealthy when compared to their predecessors. In the late 1880's with the publication of Andrew Carnegie's article "Wealth", later referred to as the "Gospel of Wealth" debates took place both in America and England on the wealthy's responsibility to the less fortunate. Carnegie's philosophy was deemed radical at the time. Yet some extremely wealthy persons such as Carnegie and Phoebe Hearst set the tone for charitable giving that survives today witnessed by the Gates Foundation and by Warren Buffet. None of Trump's billionaires have shown sufficient altruistic behavior so it naturally leads one to believe that what ever endeavor these modern billionaires engage in will be for self enrichment.
4
In the mean time Trump picks workers over rich entitled environmentalists and the Keystone Pipeline is finally approved. Good news for tens of thousands of folk looking for work.
2
Can't wait to see the SCOTUS nominee. Maybe Hobby Lobby CEO?
3
The only 'swamp' he always fought against is the legal system. Otherwise he loves to grab the money of other people. It doesn't matter if it's legal or not.
The best way to drain the swamp is to simply dry it up. This is done through aggressive campaign finance reform. Do not allow corporations to donate to campaigns…. period. Limit individual contributions to $500. Take the money out of elections and we'll have more honest politicians.
5
I would go a step further: only natural persons who are registered voters can contribute and only to a candidate that they can vote for. Might need to be topped off with some government matching funds.
I think the bigger crime is that the Republican party is willing to overlook and not prosecute the overwhelming ethical issues presented by the Trump presidency (agghh, sorry, had to gag just writing those last two words. Unfortunately, it is not an alternative fact). It was always obvious that he was going to pick these kinds of people for the Cabinet & that he was not going to release taxes or step away from his business. The fact that he is being allowed to is, as another commentator said, infuriating.
5
Keep on holding Mr. Trump's feet to the fire even though most of his supporters will look the other way no matter how inaccurate his statements are or egregious his behavior has been thus far. It will finally start registering that even his most ardent supports cannot afford to look the other way anymore. What Pres. Trump and many his voters do not understand is that millions of voters hold their nose to vote for him because of how flawed Mrs. Clinton was and how the Russians, Wikileaks and the enabling media help him to get elected.
ACA changes now on the table; TPP - Off the Table; Keystone Pipe line- [now] on the table.. Does anyone believe our new President has or had a hand in selecting any of these Republican Wish list Objects? We have a puppet with no knowledge or curiosity; We have a grinning man with a sharpie in his hand pretending to be a grown-up; sitting in the Oval Office desk- swinging his legs back and forth like a happy child grading the teacher's paper.
3
Trump voters- Still- don't get it. Many interviewed, saw no problem with multi-billionaires running the government. Many expressed the views that "These people are already rich so they don't need any more money". Inferring they will "do good" by the Country because they are already Rich; having no concept of the intoxication of unrestrained Power. Four years from now- Trump voters still won't "get it".
2
I watched a few minutes of tv coverage on The Con Don's first day. It was a page directly out of the annuls of 15th century HIStory with The Top 1% Global Financial Elite Robber Barons Boys showing up to get their "spoils" from the 40+ year war on democracy. That is what "kings" used to do. Public land for some, dirty air for all, less government oversight for all, $$$ in Corporate Welfare for all, attacks on women's rights for "the boys", religious or otherwise", jobs for military and law enforcement and on and on.
Russian and Chinese tactics, along with those being put in place by dictators in Turkey and other "democracies", will be used to stifle dissent and spread more LIES, LIES, LIES. The Con Don's spokesman said they counted "electronic" viewers of the inauguration. What a crock. Those numbers are not even remotely valid because they can be so easily manipulated. That is what The Con Don is good at. Attempts to alter reality.
Organizations, government entities and individuals who care about democracy in America MUST join forces today and call for collective physical action by their supporters - large and small - to STOP THE ROBBER BARONS. It's up to US - WE The People. The Women's March on Washington at 673 locations, has an "official" count this morning of 4,876,700 and the there are many photos to prove it. Every single one of the marchers wants to get actively involved. Give them something to DO.
https://www.womensmarch.com/sisters/
Russian and Chinese tactics, along with those being put in place by dictators in Turkey and other "democracies", will be used to stifle dissent and spread more LIES, LIES, LIES. The Con Don's spokesman said they counted "electronic" viewers of the inauguration. What a crock. Those numbers are not even remotely valid because they can be so easily manipulated. That is what The Con Don is good at. Attempts to alter reality.
Organizations, government entities and individuals who care about democracy in America MUST join forces today and call for collective physical action by their supporters - large and small - to STOP THE ROBBER BARONS. It's up to US - WE The People. The Women's March on Washington at 673 locations, has an "official" count this morning of 4,876,700 and the there are many photos to prove it. Every single one of the marchers wants to get actively involved. Give them something to DO.
https://www.womensmarch.com/sisters/
7
We could look at this a different way. And that is, who better to know how to drain the swamp then those in the know?
Why don't you give Pres. Trump a break. We know Clinton was your choice but the election is over. I didn't vote for the guy but this dangerous backlash against Trump is not benefiting our country. And it is turning me against Democrats in general and the media.
Why don't you give Pres. Trump a break. We know Clinton was your choice but the election is over. I didn't vote for the guy but this dangerous backlash against Trump is not benefiting our country. And it is turning me against Democrats in general and the media.
3
If you've conveniently forgotten the Tea Party, you were never a Democrat.
3
"Why don't you give Pres. Trump a break."
Because, if the current cabal succeeds in gutting the existing government, the resulting privatized structure will be answerable to no one but it's owners and stockholders and it will be nearly impossible to replace with democratic structures. The purveyors of multinational conglomerates and ubiquitous information technology are the very ones who benefit from dismantling the federal government. Even it works somewhat in the short term, it's not democratic (small 'd'); fascism is fascism.
Here's an example: I worked at marina/yacht brokerage for years. It was a really nice well-run place. But, the best sales deals were always steered to the boss's son. Other members of the sales team can't complain about it, because he's the boss's son. Exactly. That how it works.
Can you say you are not at least a bit ambivalent about the boss's son-in-law being given such a powerful advisory position? First of all, based on what qualifications? Diplomatic experience, constitutional legal experience? How can anyone in the immediate advisory circle (let alone the larger population) criticize or challenge the boss's son-in-law? Exactly. That's how it works.
Sec. Clinton was berated for earning speaking fees from certain institutions, a common practice among world players (look up Widener Univ. Speaker's Series). But now, according to Republithink, it's OK to hire the heads of those same institutions themselves as cabinet members? Seems odd to me.
Because, if the current cabal succeeds in gutting the existing government, the resulting privatized structure will be answerable to no one but it's owners and stockholders and it will be nearly impossible to replace with democratic structures. The purveyors of multinational conglomerates and ubiquitous information technology are the very ones who benefit from dismantling the federal government. Even it works somewhat in the short term, it's not democratic (small 'd'); fascism is fascism.
Here's an example: I worked at marina/yacht brokerage for years. It was a really nice well-run place. But, the best sales deals were always steered to the boss's son. Other members of the sales team can't complain about it, because he's the boss's son. Exactly. That how it works.
Can you say you are not at least a bit ambivalent about the boss's son-in-law being given such a powerful advisory position? First of all, based on what qualifications? Diplomatic experience, constitutional legal experience? How can anyone in the immediate advisory circle (let alone the larger population) criticize or challenge the boss's son-in-law? Exactly. That's how it works.
Sec. Clinton was berated for earning speaking fees from certain institutions, a common practice among world players (look up Widener Univ. Speaker's Series). But now, according to Republithink, it's OK to hire the heads of those same institutions themselves as cabinet members? Seems odd to me.
6
Free speech is dangerous? I thought it was a fundamental American valiue.
2
Munchkin has a net worth of $500 million, but "overlooked" 20% of his net worth - $100 million? And you want to put him in charge of the Treasury? Sounds crooked to me.
13
The NYT's indignation of possible crony capitalism in the Trump administration was strangely silent during Mr. Obama's terms. Billionaire donors and Solyndra-type boondoggles are not new to Washington.
4
The only way to conflate the Trump administration with President Obama exists in your mind -- In no way, shape, or form did Obama use the White House to enrich himself or his family the way Trump is.
And if you don't see the differene, you've only yourself to blame.
And if you don't see the differene, you've only yourself to blame.
3
There's more than just one swamp, Board; don't get all hung up on a single word, as so often in the case with you.
Ok...and now James Comey....who effected the downfall of Hillary Clinton..is
staying on as head of FBI....
Editors.....Do You think....just MAYBE....there is something FISHY about this..
Perhaps....do you think spies can be bought and may just be compromised
by Russia ...just think about this...and please start reporting on Trump's
violation of the US Constitution and the legal procedures head by Harvard
Law Professor...just go to a fact sheet and start...reporting on this..PLEASE !!!
staying on as head of FBI....
Editors.....Do You think....just MAYBE....there is something FISHY about this..
Perhaps....do you think spies can be bought and may just be compromised
by Russia ...just think about this...and please start reporting on Trump's
violation of the US Constitution and the legal procedures head by Harvard
Law Professor...just go to a fact sheet and start...reporting on this..PLEASE !!!
14
http://occupydemocrats.com/2017/01/21/ny-times-just-admitted-hid-trump-r...
Is this story TRUE? Yet the Clinton emails (which proved to be nothing) were released. Very effectively, I might add. Did you really believe Trump would be the better leader? How's it working out so far?
Is this story TRUE? Yet the Clinton emails (which proved to be nothing) were released. Very effectively, I might add. Did you really believe Trump would be the better leader? How's it working out so far?
1
It is not knee deep in cronies. It is neck deep in cronies. Sheesh.
5
Let's be fair, a "swamp" is an area rich in life and diversity. A "swamp" filters and purifies vast amounts of slow moving, low lying water. A "swamp", Okefenokee for example, is a haven for wildlife and sustains rare and beautiful plant and, yes, microscopic life. By comparison, a "cesspool" is a container of waste and sewage -- a corrupt and disgusting place. Now, which of the two -- "swamp" or "cesspool" -- best describes the behavior and practices, the actions and plans, of the key players in the new administration?
8
Increasing political corruption to create a bull market is one way to move money toward the most wealthy. One startup is already reviving crisis-era derivatives to let investors bet on U.S. homeowner defaults (https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-01-24/remember-abx-wall-str....
"Drain the swamp?" You fell for that?!
"Drain the swamp?" You fell for that?!
6
There are TWO "systems of rule" in modern society: The representative regulatory state, and the Stalinist private corporate bureaucracies. Most people are mostly regulated by the latter, and yet their "anti-government" impulses have been mis-directed away from the totalitarianism in their lives.
When our society was healthy, representative government regulated the Stalinist private government. "The swamp" that Trump refers to reversed the process. Nothing in what Trump says shows any awareness that "the swamp" exists because of corporate control and intrusion upon representative government (mainly through campaign contributions, lobbying, and expensive and obstructive legal actions).
Trump can "sincerely" bash the symptom of corrupt politicians all he wants, exhibiting a junior-high understanding of civics, but he will have to get private, corporate, governance under control if he wants to attack the cause of our political dysfunction, and not just the symptoms.
When our society was healthy, representative government regulated the Stalinist private government. "The swamp" that Trump refers to reversed the process. Nothing in what Trump says shows any awareness that "the swamp" exists because of corporate control and intrusion upon representative government (mainly through campaign contributions, lobbying, and expensive and obstructive legal actions).
Trump can "sincerely" bash the symptom of corrupt politicians all he wants, exhibiting a junior-high understanding of civics, but he will have to get private, corporate, governance under control if he wants to attack the cause of our political dysfunction, and not just the symptoms.
More recidivism at the Times editorial board. For, as long as I can remember, it has obsessed about money in politics. For the record, Trump spent half as much as Clinton -- and won the election.
Now it is the wealth of Trump's cabinet nominees that has the Times waxing indignant. Why should we take its fears any more seriously this time?
Now it is the wealth of Trump's cabinet nominees that has the Times waxing indignant. Why should we take its fears any more seriously this time?
6
I subscribe to the NYT for information about Mr. Trump's actions and their consequences on my life. Not to read everyday about how rich his cabinet is. I know they are rich but that fact alone does not affect me since none of them is likely to send me a check in the near future.
Please cover the news. I haven't seen a word in you paper on the effect of the executive orders that he has already signed (gag rule on abortion counseling, ACA, and others). Is it too difficult a task for your journalists and your editorial board? May I respectfully suggest that you hire new ones, able to cover Mr. Trump intelligently, instead of engaging in pure speculative gossip.
Please cover the news. I haven't seen a word in you paper on the effect of the executive orders that he has already signed (gag rule on abortion counseling, ACA, and others). Is it too difficult a task for your journalists and your editorial board? May I respectfully suggest that you hire new ones, able to cover Mr. Trump intelligently, instead of engaging in pure speculative gossip.
4
Hillary Clinton offered just the vision you are espousing. She lost. I agree pink hats are no substitute for political action, but I think some of Trump's victory can be blamed on a silent swath of Americans that were enraged that a black man made it to the whitehouse, and are enraged that gays can marry. There are more of these people than you would think. Only getting out the millennial vote can overturn this. Maybe the next few years will light a fire under them.
3
Trump has hired not only cronies but rich, white, male cronies. His cabinet is the most male, most white (and the most rich) cabinet since St. Ronald Reagan. I guess that is what makes it OK.
But the world has changed. How can Trump claim to be representing all the people when his cabinet choices look like this? I suppose his answer would be that the non-white population didn't vote for him, so why should he try?
BTW Elaine Chow is Mitch McConnell's wife, and what can we say about the utterly unqualified (albeit talented) Ben Carson other than he is a token?
But the world has changed. How can Trump claim to be representing all the people when his cabinet choices look like this? I suppose his answer would be that the non-white population didn't vote for him, so why should he try?
BTW Elaine Chow is Mitch McConnell's wife, and what can we say about the utterly unqualified (albeit talented) Ben Carson other than he is a token?
8
Tomorrow, please tell us who Trump should have picked, since it's so simple a task to make everybody happy.
4
Follow the money...
1
"Draining the swamp" (of corruption and self-dealing) by replacing it with a septic tank is not progress. We all know what rises to the top in a septic tank.
5
So can we conclude that red state voters are just idiots yet?
6
Trump 3150 counties,hillary won 63, thoughtful characterization of a tremendous geographic area
One thing I have learned for certain: money talks.
This morning I read this Editorial and the excellent, very well written article about the White House mail office and the system run by Fiona Reeves to provide President Obama with 10 letters for his nightly reading file.
I am one of those people who believed that if you wrote a letter to the President about a real issue that it would be referred to the proper office in government.
After working my entire life in government, I have finally realized that the best device for communicating with the government is with money.
The men and women who will be in charge of government and its role in the well being of our society are largely people who have been living in an alternate universe, separate from the great majority of the people who make up the American society and the role that they play in the economy.
If government decides to invest in programs and projects that broadly benefit the American people, it is a matter of the benefit for the narrow few over the benefits that are broadly shared and the narrow few most always must benefit. That is what the soaring gap in income equality is all about.
Economic justice is difficult to come by in a representative democratic republic that elects its representatives by donor financed elections. So far no big ideas have come forward to improve our system. We still seem to be stuck in the slave owning, property owning Electoral College model of the 19th Century.
This morning I read this Editorial and the excellent, very well written article about the White House mail office and the system run by Fiona Reeves to provide President Obama with 10 letters for his nightly reading file.
I am one of those people who believed that if you wrote a letter to the President about a real issue that it would be referred to the proper office in government.
After working my entire life in government, I have finally realized that the best device for communicating with the government is with money.
The men and women who will be in charge of government and its role in the well being of our society are largely people who have been living in an alternate universe, separate from the great majority of the people who make up the American society and the role that they play in the economy.
If government decides to invest in programs and projects that broadly benefit the American people, it is a matter of the benefit for the narrow few over the benefits that are broadly shared and the narrow few most always must benefit. That is what the soaring gap in income equality is all about.
Economic justice is difficult to come by in a representative democratic republic that elects its representatives by donor financed elections. So far no big ideas have come forward to improve our system. We still seem to be stuck in the slave owning, property owning Electoral College model of the 19th Century.
3
A New Swamp Beats the Old Swamp Any Day – and Twice on Sundays
Donald Trump has known a lot of businessmen and he knows what businessmen do. They get in trouble. The make deals and they break deals. They cover things up and they don’t mind saying, “Your Fired”.
When you take a successful and experienced businessman and put him in charge of government policy a non-business person may assume that the businessman will favor business over the good of the country while the business minded may fear that these insiders may use their competitive skills to root out the public policies that promote unfair competition and inefficiency.
The men (and a couple of women) appointed by Mr. Trump have been more successful and less partisan than other presidents. None can be expected to throw money at a problem to appease a politically correct segment of the population. Creative solutions at less public cost will be expected. All of the appointees may be somewhat bewildered and skeptical about traditional “policy, philosophy and law”; but that can be an asset. The NY Times Editorial Board should give it a try and stop promoting failed Democratic “policy, philosophy and law”.
Donald Trump has known a lot of businessmen and he knows what businessmen do. They get in trouble. The make deals and they break deals. They cover things up and they don’t mind saying, “Your Fired”.
When you take a successful and experienced businessman and put him in charge of government policy a non-business person may assume that the businessman will favor business over the good of the country while the business minded may fear that these insiders may use their competitive skills to root out the public policies that promote unfair competition and inefficiency.
The men (and a couple of women) appointed by Mr. Trump have been more successful and less partisan than other presidents. None can be expected to throw money at a problem to appease a politically correct segment of the population. Creative solutions at less public cost will be expected. All of the appointees may be somewhat bewildered and skeptical about traditional “policy, philosophy and law”; but that can be an asset. The NY Times Editorial Board should give it a try and stop promoting failed Democratic “policy, philosophy and law”.
3
"His gilded cabinet, still being confirmed, presents a jarring contrast with his message."
well, it depends on its actions, doesn't it? This kind of superficial analysis doesn't really inform me or anybody else. It is like those stats on election day claiming that Hillary Clinton had 98% probability of winning the election. Real analysis would look at the substance of policies and ideas embodied by Trump's candidates. What this editorial really tells me is that the NYTIMES has no clue.
well, it depends on its actions, doesn't it? This kind of superficial analysis doesn't really inform me or anybody else. It is like those stats on election day claiming that Hillary Clinton had 98% probability of winning the election. Real analysis would look at the substance of policies and ideas embodied by Trump's candidates. What this editorial really tells me is that the NYTIMES has no clue.
4
What is interesting about that 98% figure the NYT was using is that it came from the prediction market "predictwise". At the same time IEM (Iowa Prediction Market at University of Iowa) showed the election much much closer - around 50/50. The NYT I'm quite sure was aware of this yet chose predictwise. Was that due to confirmation bias? I suspect so - my experience is that "progressives" are very prone to confirmation bias - they simply refuse to read or consider alternatives to their rigid dogma.
Donald Trump and his exponentially all-White, predominantly male, über-wealthy cabinet picks should come as a surprise to no one.
That is, no one who knew anything about him, and was actually listening to what he was saying.
How is managed to fool the millions of Americans who voted for him is no surprise either -- but the fact that they aren't slowly putting the pieces together, is.
They didn't get it when Trump exclaimed "I love the poorly educated". They thought he was 'one of them', when in truth, he never was, and never wanted to be.
They thought it was all great fun. He would make them rich, and make America great again by forcing out the illegals, deporting all the Muslims, clearing the inner-cities of violent Blacks, and abrogate Women's rights.
They didn't know the mines wouldn't re-open, and the jobs wouldn't come back, while he continued to make backroom deals and expand his own wealth. They didn't see 'The Art of the Con'.
Too late now. For them, and for the rest of us who knew better.
The only difference is, those who didn't vote for him aren't in denial about who he really is, and how it will all play out in the end.
Good luck, America.
That is, no one who knew anything about him, and was actually listening to what he was saying.
How is managed to fool the millions of Americans who voted for him is no surprise either -- but the fact that they aren't slowly putting the pieces together, is.
They didn't get it when Trump exclaimed "I love the poorly educated". They thought he was 'one of them', when in truth, he never was, and never wanted to be.
They thought it was all great fun. He would make them rich, and make America great again by forcing out the illegals, deporting all the Muslims, clearing the inner-cities of violent Blacks, and abrogate Women's rights.
They didn't know the mines wouldn't re-open, and the jobs wouldn't come back, while he continued to make backroom deals and expand his own wealth. They didn't see 'The Art of the Con'.
Too late now. For them, and for the rest of us who knew better.
The only difference is, those who didn't vote for him aren't in denial about who he really is, and how it will all play out in the end.
Good luck, America.
58
Has there ever been a cabinet so-filled with billionaires? It seems that we may have drained the swamp, but left the rapacious alligators in place. This cabinet only differs in their complete lack of experience in governance (aka the "swamp") for anything other than draining money from the public into their hands with their endless appetite for lower taxes and privatization of public entities. We are no longer looking at an Administration, but a Putin-like and Putin-friendly Trump Oligarchy. The deficit warning lights from the Congressional Budget Office are already flashing and the fiscal "carnage" has only just begun.
30
In a way, Mr. Trump's swamp is a blessing in disguise. With so many conflicts of interest and so much temptation to aid of their fellow millionaires and billionaires, Trump and his administration are setting themselves up for a spectacular demonstration of just how little the new Republican Party cares for the working class - or the middle class for that matter. Or, even pretty much anybody who earns less than $250k/year.
I personally hope they continue along this path that will enrich the billionaires and leave the rest of us in the lurch. It won't be pretty, but perhaps it will also convince enough people for once and for all that the Republican Party does not hold the interests of average people to heart in any way shape or form. In order to win the presidency, Trump created a parallel America where the average person was living in a wasteland of unemployment and crime. Trump now seems set on a course that will make that nightmare a reality. When it becomes real, and I believe it will given all current indications, perhaps then we Americans will realize our mistake and vote out these corporate stooges. Sometimes you have to stick your hand in the acid first before you learn not to go near it.
I personally hope they continue along this path that will enrich the billionaires and leave the rest of us in the lurch. It won't be pretty, but perhaps it will also convince enough people for once and for all that the Republican Party does not hold the interests of average people to heart in any way shape or form. In order to win the presidency, Trump created a parallel America where the average person was living in a wasteland of unemployment and crime. Trump now seems set on a course that will make that nightmare a reality. When it becomes real, and I believe it will given all current indications, perhaps then we Americans will realize our mistake and vote out these corporate stooges. Sometimes you have to stick your hand in the acid first before you learn not to go near it.
48
I agree with your comment. The only thing is it takes for ever to heal a hand burned by acid and even after healing certainly scars will be left behind. The same is true for reversing the damage Trump will cause to the US and it cetainly will leave deep scars behind.
1
You assume that the GOP and billionaire class will let go of power in the future. I don't. With Sessions as AG, the Federal government will be out of the voting rights business. GOP dominated states will gerrymander away, passing more and more byzantine rules on voting. We already have states sending more GOP representatives to Washington with less GOP votes.
It CAN happen here.
It CAN happen here.
1
"Nyah, nyah, my establishment's bigger, better and richer than yours, so there."
6
This hit piece really misses the mark. Trump is hiring people who have actually done things for positions that involve commerce and economics. He is not hiring academics and career politicians. Just remember, "if you want to get something done ask a busy person". Here is to the DOERS!
By the way that category doesn't include journalists.
By the way that category doesn't include journalists.
6
Old, old white and privileged. Carl Icahn? He was Gordon Gekko without the charm, wasn't he? Many of them inherited or are known as raiders and traders, and never created anything but a paper trail.
1
Undermine liberal arts education, dismiss the humanities and you get Trump and an ignorant public who doesn't even read newspapers to care about anything this editorial criticizes.
15
The proles simply misunderstood Trump's chant. It was not "Drain the Swamp"....idiots...it was "Reign the Swamp".
5
Be afraid, very afraid. Trump didn't drain the swamp, he just put in new alligators.
5
Can't drain the swamp with sewer water.
5
I am not sure if Trump supporters know or even care who is who in his cabinet. They are simply victims of their racial hatred that was echoed by Trump during the campaign and that is all that has guided them towards rallying around Trump, otherwise no reasonable person that has enough knowledge and information to ask questions and do some critical thinking would have opted for Trump. So, sad as it may be, your words shall fall on deaf ears.
10
It is a joke for Mr. Trump to belittle "elites". He is as much a member of an elite as the people who he denigrates every chance that he gets. The most troubling thing is that Americans ignored the fact that he represents a different branch of the political/business elite and consequently he is as much into benefiting his cronies as any other member of the elite. All of us need to be concerned with the growing amalgamation of the business and political interests that is so evident in Trump's view of the world.
6
Our new president is also a serial liar, whether it is about the size of his inaguration, his wealth, Ms. Clinton, his relationships with Russia, 65% of everything he said during his campaign, etc. And we have to pay for the lawyers to defend his indefensable mingling of government and business. Lying was a sin, last time I checked. When the tide goes out in the swamp, maybe he'll be carried away. It is going to be a long four years.
9
Most of these picks are successful private business people...not Government workers who are used to bureaucracy. We need to blow this whole thing up and start over.
Many of these nominees are like what the Founding Fathers had originally envisioned the congress to be...come to Washington, do your job quickly and then return home.
I doubt many of these nominees want to stay on for decades like some they would be replacing.
Many of these nominees are like what the Founding Fathers had originally envisioned the congress to be...come to Washington, do your job quickly and then return home.
I doubt many of these nominees want to stay on for decades like some they would be replacing.
4
Why attack Trump's people? They are not there to get rich, they already are.
Why didn't you attack people like the Clintons or other Democrats who
were not rich when they took positions, but became or will become very rich when their favors are rewarded?
That a rhetorical question. The answer is obvious: all you care about is
attacking Republicans and fawning adulation of anything far left.
You're outed. You know it.
Why didn't you attack people like the Clintons or other Democrats who
were not rich when they took positions, but became or will become very rich when their favors are rewarded?
That a rhetorical question. The answer is obvious: all you care about is
attacking Republicans and fawning adulation of anything far left.
You're outed. You know it.
2
Knee deep?? Ha! Up to their eyeballs. Fixed it.
3
Very effective graphic!
1
The New York Times is afraid of Trump because it cannot control him, and because the newspaper's owners are afraid he is going to reduce aid to Israel. If the Israeli lobby doesn't like Trump's agenda, they can move to Israel. We need citizens in this country who put America first. That means jobs for American citizens. Not Chinese citizens. And it means security for the United States. Not Israel. Call me anti-semitic. We are tired of American resources being used to fight your colonial war.
2
I have struggled to find the saying or proverb which is most applicable to the current President and his Cabinet picks, but finally decided it had to be " Birds of a feather($$$), flock together" although "Ignorance is Bliss" was a close second.
3
...Say one thing,....anything,...then do another. Lie, bully and obfuscate often enough and enough of the masses (sheep) will accept it as the "Alternative Truth"!...An immoral and unethical way to run a country.
5
Yeah, Donald has drained the swamp and filled it with his own swampees.
1
Trump is like a dry alcoholic.. denies reality, lies and leads you to believe you're the one with the problem. And his supporters are enablers.
9
We in New York already know how Donald Trump "drains a swamp." He builds a golf course.
3
don jon and carl I- perfect partners in .....
1
PyongYang-on -the Potomac. The Dear Leader had the largest inauguration crowd in history, and the employees at the CIA were "ecstatic" about his speech in praise of...himself.
11
And, pray tell, how was the Obama administration any different? Surrounded with crony capitalists and Wall Street banksters, Rubin and Summers? Half of Goldman Sachs might as well have taken up residence at the White House or the Dept. of Justice (sic) when Eric "never indicted a person I didn't love" Holder was running the con? And if Hillary had won would you be singing the same tune, or would all her "liberal elite" and Wall Street heavyweight friends in high places been given a pass?
Come on, Times…
Come on, Times…
4
Worst candidate ever who never won the presidency.
The "Goldman Sachs crowd" is no surprise.
Trump has always been the big-haired figurehead with others doing the real work. His hiring will be the same. Sign on a couple of bigshots you're impressed with and turn them loose. They'll have friends who have friends who have friends ....... and don't forget the requisite family members and toadies. Throw in a few cute young women for the photo-ops and Voila! Government is up and running and ready to suck us dry.
Trump has always been the big-haired figurehead with others doing the real work. His hiring will be the same. Sign on a couple of bigshots you're impressed with and turn them loose. They'll have friends who have friends who have friends ....... and don't forget the requisite family members and toadies. Throw in a few cute young women for the photo-ops and Voila! Government is up and running and ready to suck us dry.
7
A new day, a new whine from the NYT.
4
So, how's that drainy swampy thing goin' for yah?
5
NYT: when someone doesn't tell the truth, please do not call it a factual misstatement, or falsehood. Please call it a LIE, and the person who spoke it a LIAR. These people have a pathological inability to tell the truth, and every lie must be recorded and fervently reported. If the NYT is not there to bear witness, America suffers deeply.
7
Thinking of Donald Trump's dumb-headed experiment in "draining the swamp" makes me think about the political cartoon, where the fox is guarding the chicken coop. I don't think that I had seen such a concentrated gathering of overpriced ideologues in one place, since the Godfather ??? movie, where ALL the Families--from NYC, Jersey, Chicago, LA, etc--had a convention.
And, not surprisingly, James Comey will remain at the FBI!
https://thetruthoncommonsense.com
And, not surprisingly, James Comey will remain at the FBI!
https://thetruthoncommonsense.com
3
Your stop Trump movement isolated him so what do you expect?
1
Please let me ask the obvious question: Who didn't know this was coming?
5
Well, I saw a piece on NPR this morning about coal miners who believe that Trump's repeal of the ACA will leave their Black Lung benefits unchanged. They probably didn't predict this, or much of anything. But then, it takes a certain obliviousness about cause and effect to work in a coal mine to begin with.
4
I have an island some American might want to buy! Hugely beautiful! Has everything you want. Boats, babes and football!
2
The best way to assess this administration is to pretend you are an alien with no understanding of human language who learns about this group by watching their actions. What do they support? Whom do they help? How do they spend their time and resources? I imagine them in the mold of Mel Brooks in History of the World, Part One, saying "I love my subjects...pull!" as one flies across his shooting range. The Bard was right: truth will out.
2
..."And on it goes," indeed, with Steven Mnuchin probably as the complicated example. However, he is not beholden as had been Clinton - in a more opaque way. He's essentially his own person, and he knows this, those who voted for him know it, these wealthy folks close to him know it, and it's just the elite - you guys - who never talk about this great independence he has. You're prejudiced and it shows, and it's not helping good journalism to be served. Try being less unbalanced. It will help all of us, not the least being the NYT, too.
I can't countenance the sort of lowbrow, bullying behavior on display in the video you reference (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MMKFIHRpe7I) from a man who wants to be respected as our president.
This video, though disgusting and outrageous (even in the context of "entertainment" wrestling), shows Trump in his worst light. Though his handlers may simply dismiss it as a staged "entertainment," it is clearly indicative of a man obsessed with his perverse dominance over his "enemies."
It is, quite simply, horrifying to watch.
Why wasn't it widely circulated during his campaign to "make America great again"?
To watch it is to be sickened by his depravity.
This video, though disgusting and outrageous (even in the context of "entertainment" wrestling), shows Trump in his worst light. Though his handlers may simply dismiss it as a staged "entertainment," it is clearly indicative of a man obsessed with his perverse dominance over his "enemies."
It is, quite simply, horrifying to watch.
Why wasn't it widely circulated during his campaign to "make America great again"?
To watch it is to be sickened by his depravity.
2
'...and a new rank of shadowy wealthy “advisers” unaccountable to anyone but him.' Isn't that that the case with any Presidential appointee in any Administration?
You, the Board, have made all the points made in this article before. It's getting a bit boring. Move on. Have you nothing else to say? At least the members of the Cabinet has a mix of people that have had successful private sector or military careers and neither Rumsfeld or Cheney are there. Where was the NYT's angst when Junior appointed Rumsfeld or chose Dick as his running mate?
You, the Board, have made all the points made in this article before. It's getting a bit boring. Move on. Have you nothing else to say? At least the members of the Cabinet has a mix of people that have had successful private sector or military careers and neither Rumsfeld or Cheney are there. Where was the NYT's angst when Junior appointed Rumsfeld or chose Dick as his running mate?
The LIAR : the worst President ever to be sitting in The Oval Office is LYING !!!!
again and again and again....
Money is buying our votes...has bought Marco Rubio's vote for Tillerson who
is Putin's best buddy in the world so that Exxon and Russia can now drill
baby drill in the Russian Ocean to ruin this Ocean most likely...
Money is what motivates Trump...keeping his money protected by defying
our US Constitution...and I hope that those who are trying to impeach Trump
for violating the US Constitution will bring down Trump as well as Tillerson.
Let's not pull our punches Editors: Trump LIES....and so Do those who
want to be financed by Exxon as well..//////TELL THE TRUTH editors PLEASE !!!!
again and again and again....
Money is buying our votes...has bought Marco Rubio's vote for Tillerson who
is Putin's best buddy in the world so that Exxon and Russia can now drill
baby drill in the Russian Ocean to ruin this Ocean most likely...
Money is what motivates Trump...keeping his money protected by defying
our US Constitution...and I hope that those who are trying to impeach Trump
for violating the US Constitution will bring down Trump as well as Tillerson.
Let's not pull our punches Editors: Trump LIES....and so Do those who
want to be financed by Exxon as well..//////TELL THE TRUTH editors PLEASE !!!!
3
Who cares how much money these brilliant, accomplished people have accumulated. We live in the U.S.A. a capitalist country. President Trump and his son-law are not taking a salary. President Trump caught and squashed the Boeing deal HRC would have just singed. These men have run companies and they have STELLAR RESUMES. They are not "think tankers" like Obama's crew who did NOTHING. GET IT? NOTHING.
1
Really? Nothing? Support with evidence...
I'll be waiting ...
I'll be waiting ...
1
If you are still a Republican, you are either a greedy millionaire, a greedy billionaire or a sucker.
5
Why is anyone surprised , least of all the true believers who follow Fascist Trump?
Next we might be reading how the 3 jobs DT ' saved' in mid America with $10millon in fed govt
subsidies is a miracle wrought by an ' astute businessman'
Enough
No more please
Call him out for if the NYT doesn't we're lost
Next we might be reading how the 3 jobs DT ' saved' in mid America with $10millon in fed govt
subsidies is a miracle wrought by an ' astute businessman'
Enough
No more please
Call him out for if the NYT doesn't we're lost
2
And think. It's only been four days. What will it be like in four years...if we make it that far?
1
And I also grimaced at his impossible to verify bragging that his cabinet nominees have the highest IQ in history.
2
Where is your Editorial on The Harvard Professor's move to sue Trump for
violation of the US Consititution's Emolument Clause:
Editors this is THE NEWS.....this is what you should cover right now...our
new President is in violation of the US Consitution...and you Editors are
inexcusably ...SILENT...and why is that..Editors....report the news so that
you are not accused of being a camp follower of Trump or the Establishment.
NEWS today::The news is that Donald J. Trump is being sued for violation of the US Constitution .......are you BLIND...Please cover this today !!!! or the Chicago Tribune your antithesis ..will beat you to the punch..because the new President is being sued...and will have to reply to these charges......
violation of the US Consititution's Emolument Clause:
Editors this is THE NEWS.....this is what you should cover right now...our
new President is in violation of the US Consitution...and you Editors are
inexcusably ...SILENT...and why is that..Editors....report the news so that
you are not accused of being a camp follower of Trump or the Establishment.
NEWS today::The news is that Donald J. Trump is being sued for violation of the US Constitution .......are you BLIND...Please cover this today !!!! or the Chicago Tribune your antithesis ..will beat you to the punch..because the new President is being sued...and will have to reply to these charges......
4
DRAINING The Swamp means ending corruption. It does NOT mean building a bigger, better Swamp and filling it with wealthy, entirely unqualified political ideologues who will fill in admirably for the departing alligators and crocodiles.
75
He draining the swamp and putting up a parking lot, with toll booths.
The Hoodwinking of America by Donald Trump will be read in every political science and history class 100 years from now as an example of how we, as a country, derailed, shortly after the turn of the new century. It will illustrate how populism successfully, though temporarily, was used to counteract the effects of globalism, the digital revolution, with the inevitable modernization and automation of manufacturing . It will highlight all of the contradictions, false promises, and failed initiatives that were the result. In 100 years it will be remembered as as wasted 4 years with Trump as the cause.
72
Trump hoodwinked only those who wanted to be hoodwinked. Most of us saw him for what he is even before he ran for president. Trump is overtly mentally unbalanced, if not mentally ill. He is certainly overtly a rabid narcissist and megalomaniac; he is overtly on the emotional level of a miserable five year old, shown by his Tweets....I could go on and on but there isn't enough bandwidth.
So again, anyone who didn't see Trump for the very, very disturbed person he is simply didn't want to.
So again, anyone who didn't see Trump for the very, very disturbed person he is simply didn't want to.
4
Agreed. His infantile view of the world and the people in it, combined with his ability to to use his standing to attract similarly thinking types, (Bannon) allowed the message to be massaged and refined down to making it appealing to them and providing them hope. He won....we lost. For him to win...we had to lose.
1
Unfortunately, the movement being exploited by Trump will not be temporary unless the US focuses much greater attention and prudent spending on its pointedly inadequate educational system. Albeit a cliché, "Freedom is not free." Nor is it a spectator's "sport." The combination of a wholly mismanaged teacher's union, producing a level of civic ignorance which threatens our very national security, with a virulent rightwing controlled federal government, is, in fact, the recipe of future disaster leading to foreign enslavement we are now facing.
He's not draining the swamp, he's swamping the drain.
2
I agree with the points articulated in this editorial. Having said that, The NY Times would have a lot stronger and more honorable case to argue if it had not supported another candidate with almost identical ties to big money, while actively undermining the only candidate whose entire career has been built by fighting for working American men and women.
4
There are at least three meanings for the swamp. You are discussing only the least biased -- that the swamp is connected political operatives. Most of hose who chanted drain the swamp were thinking about liberals as the swamp. The third, and gladly the least represented, at least I hope and believe, is the group believing that the swamp is anyone who is anti-racist, pro LGBTQ, non-European decent, etc.
All three have been discussed in these pages in the past, why is the editorial board treating "the swamp" as a term with a single meaning. The question really needs to be -- which definition is Trump using as his guiding force? Based on the hard right cabinet you might think the liberals or the "whitest, most male cabinet since Reagan" it's the non-Europeans or simply the old boy network. Or a considering his love of Putin and close association with Steve Bannon (who was one of the first named to the administration after the election) it's the non-racist, anti-LGBTQ, European descent crowd.
Will the real Donald Trump please stand up.
All three have been discussed in these pages in the past, why is the editorial board treating "the swamp" as a term with a single meaning. The question really needs to be -- which definition is Trump using as his guiding force? Based on the hard right cabinet you might think the liberals or the "whitest, most male cabinet since Reagan" it's the non-Europeans or simply the old boy network. Or a considering his love of Putin and close association with Steve Bannon (who was one of the first named to the administration after the election) it's the non-racist, anti-LGBTQ, European descent crowd.
Will the real Donald Trump please stand up.
It's more like his slogan should be: Trump fills the swamp
Let's not pretend that the alternative, meaning Hillary, wouldn't have big dollar donors to her Clinton Global Initiative surrounding her. She'd be beholden to them.
CGI is shutting its doors, btw. Donations dried up after she lost the election. Every other news outlet on the planet has at least one story covering it. The Times? Crickets...
CGI is shutting its doors, btw. Donations dried up after she lost the election. Every other news outlet on the planet has at least one story covering it. The Times? Crickets...
2
NYT Editorial Looney Tunes need to get over it. Elections have consequences. He won. "That's all, folks!"
2
Here's the thing. The US Constitution specifically allows freedom of speech, assembly and the press. Of course Republicans don't know anything about the US Constitution.
2
That is not all, Greg. Not by a long shot. The win matters in sports and chess. It is the least of the matters in governing.
Trump has indeed drained the swamp---into his cabinet.
Keep it up Donnie! You're looking more like the squirrel hit in the road flailing about. As I watch international news, the rest of the world looks as though it is going to go along without us. And those in Congress whom you need cant help but flinch with each of your pronouncements and lies.
2
"There's a sucker born every minute..."
The unifying philosophy of this cabinet and the key to the trump phenomena.
The unifying philosophy of this cabinet and the key to the trump phenomena.
1
Grow up, Msr. 'Editorial Board'.
For better or worse, Trump is the president and the Congress is at the hands of Republicans.
Please rise above the pettiness this Editorial and your other inflated headline demonstrate.
For better or worse, Trump is the president and the Congress is at the hands of Republicans.
Please rise above the pettiness this Editorial and your other inflated headline demonstrate.
3
The Swamp is draining--into the Moat.
2
The president is not a leader. He does not inspire. Nor is he an original thinker. His world revolves around him.
When Trump tells the story how he fooled a bunch of potential investors at a job site with a bunch of back hoes and trucks pushing dirt around, in effect, as a rule of thumb he lies and confuses realities.
Chief Thin of Skin is our Liar-in-Chief. When you hear his modifiers, “really, honestly,” and “I will tell you,” whatever follows those modifiers, out of his mouth is a lie. There are other give-away’s.
http://michaelslevinson.com
When Trump tells the story how he fooled a bunch of potential investors at a job site with a bunch of back hoes and trucks pushing dirt around, in effect, as a rule of thumb he lies and confuses realities.
Chief Thin of Skin is our Liar-in-Chief. When you hear his modifiers, “really, honestly,” and “I will tell you,” whatever follows those modifiers, out of his mouth is a lie. There are other give-away’s.
http://michaelslevinson.com
3
Who could have foreseen it?
The neediness of the Clintons and refusal of the Democrats to hear the base has resulted in this awful mess.
We can already see the disastrous results starting to happen with the decree of "the global gag rule".
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/jan/24/trump-once-said-wo...
We can already see the disastrous results starting to happen with the decree of "the global gag rule".
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/jan/24/trump-once-said-wo...
2
In his inaugural address, Mr. Trump depicted a dystopian vision of America not as it is, but as it soon will become.
Republican politicians continue to promote financial and environmental deregulation, privatization of Medicare and Social Security, and tax reductions for the already wealthy. Once the regressive programs advanced by Speaker Ryan are firmly in place, there will be consequences:
(1) Financial institutions will be further enabled to encourage speculation and to market risky products. (2) Corporations will continue creating jobs for offshore employees and robots. (3) The enhancement of shareholder value and executive compensation will remain the chief objectives of corporate enterprises. (4) Workers’ interests, consumers' interests and the public's interests in a healthy environment will be sacrificed to secure those corporate goals. (5) Unemployment will likely increase and underemployment will become an established fact of American life.
(6) Wealth, instead of trickling down, will gush up to enrich the already well-off. (7) Increased national debt will result in further GOP demands that social service and education budgets be slashed.
The biggest fear throughout the land should be that Speaker Ryan's agenda, President Trump's self-serving interests, and his plutocratic cabinet will agree to a massive infrastructure project. These GOP worthies will soon design and construct a one-way superhighway to serfdom for the vast majority of Americans.
Republican politicians continue to promote financial and environmental deregulation, privatization of Medicare and Social Security, and tax reductions for the already wealthy. Once the regressive programs advanced by Speaker Ryan are firmly in place, there will be consequences:
(1) Financial institutions will be further enabled to encourage speculation and to market risky products. (2) Corporations will continue creating jobs for offshore employees and robots. (3) The enhancement of shareholder value and executive compensation will remain the chief objectives of corporate enterprises. (4) Workers’ interests, consumers' interests and the public's interests in a healthy environment will be sacrificed to secure those corporate goals. (5) Unemployment will likely increase and underemployment will become an established fact of American life.
(6) Wealth, instead of trickling down, will gush up to enrich the already well-off. (7) Increased national debt will result in further GOP demands that social service and education budgets be slashed.
The biggest fear throughout the land should be that Speaker Ryan's agenda, President Trump's self-serving interests, and his plutocratic cabinet will agree to a massive infrastructure project. These GOP worthies will soon design and construct a one-way superhighway to serfdom for the vast majority of Americans.
2
The 1% Takers.
1
"Standing in the rain during Mr. Trump’s inaugural speech, farmers and factory workers, truckers, nurses and housekeepers greeted his anti-establishment words ..."
Those must have been the same people, recently described "deplorables," who helped put the first African-American in the WH for eight years.
Working people are not stupid. It was a tough choice between Trump's problematic character, and the Dem party which until recently was more concerned over transgender bathrooms than working class unemployment and community disintegration.
During the campaign, the NYT tried to put distance between Trump's base and his candidacy. The NYT then decided that if it could not destroy Trump's candidacy, it would ignore his supporters. That of course led to the now infamous NYT prediction up until 10pm. on election night eve that Hillary would win in a landslide. Oops. The NYT kind of apologized to its readership for getting it so wrong and being so partisan.
The NYT apology lasted no longer than it takes to tweet to get anti-Trump voters,now protesters, on a plane to display their enthusiasm for womens' rights with, for example, a sign displaying a woman wearing a star-spangled hijab, that international symbol of tolerance.
Trump is not perfect. But we will give him a chance. The same way the NYT gave Barry a pass when he promised that we could "keep your plans, keep your doctors."
BTW, did Barry "lie" when he said the preceding?
If so, it must not have been "fit to print."
Those must have been the same people, recently described "deplorables," who helped put the first African-American in the WH for eight years.
Working people are not stupid. It was a tough choice between Trump's problematic character, and the Dem party which until recently was more concerned over transgender bathrooms than working class unemployment and community disintegration.
During the campaign, the NYT tried to put distance between Trump's base and his candidacy. The NYT then decided that if it could not destroy Trump's candidacy, it would ignore his supporters. That of course led to the now infamous NYT prediction up until 10pm. on election night eve that Hillary would win in a landslide. Oops. The NYT kind of apologized to its readership for getting it so wrong and being so partisan.
The NYT apology lasted no longer than it takes to tweet to get anti-Trump voters,now protesters, on a plane to display their enthusiasm for womens' rights with, for example, a sign displaying a woman wearing a star-spangled hijab, that international symbol of tolerance.
Trump is not perfect. But we will give him a chance. The same way the NYT gave Barry a pass when he promised that we could "keep your plans, keep your doctors."
BTW, did Barry "lie" when he said the preceding?
If so, it must not have been "fit to print."
1
In order to drain the swamp, one needs the best and brightest who understand it. Give the guy a chance.
1
Someone has said it before, but I'll repeat it here for good measure:
Donald Trump is not draining the swamp, he is swamping the drain!
Donald Trump is not draining the swamp, he is swamping the drain!
2
Don the Con tricked LoFo working class voters into supporting him. He will use his "presidency" to enrich himself and his cronies. While robbing the people blind, Trump will stage various stunts to pretend he cares about the LoFo working class voters to trick them into continuing to buy his scam. (An example is the Carrier "deal"). Will Trump's LoFo voters be able to figure out they've been conned and when?
2
Wouldn't it be fun to demand the IRS pay attention to the unpaid, uncollected taxes of billionaires such as DJT - and relax their fearsome grip on us, the poor slobs who pay the taxes of the above-mentioned.
5
With the election of Trump and his selection of his cabinet of billionaires, you will see very quickly an end to regulations on Wall Street and corporations and an end to the fair and progressive tax code. Trump and his people are oligarchs whose goal is to destroy our democratic government with their money. Jan. 20, 2017, will be another date in infamy in the history of the U.S. The right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, as guaranteed by our Constitution, will end for the middle class.
In the future, if you have a problem with being swindled by Wall Street, you will have to go to Goldman Sachs and Mnuchen for a remedy.
In the future, if you have a problem with being swindled by Wall Street, you will have to go to Goldman Sachs and Mnuchen for a remedy.
I wish the NYT would keep a constantly updated chart of all of these things The Donald is doing. With his appointments. With gutting the EPA. With lies. With Russians. With his businesses. Everything. And keep it in chart form so it is easily accessible to a 6th grader. Make it a permanent link on the front page of the digital edition. Print the link on the front page of the printed edition.
Be the Walter Cronkite of this era. Please.
Be the Walter Cronkite of this era. Please.
7
When I think of Mr. Trump's fat cat picks I instantly think of Mnuchin's 100 million he "inadvertently" forgot in off-shore accounts. How relevant his policies will be to the vast majority of us who could never "misplace" such a sum.
But then, haven't we already learned? Trump's words and his actions have bear no relationship to each other. "Draining the swamp" was just a campaign gimmick--in Trump's own words during a victory rally: "When I said it like I meant it (draining the swamp)..." the crowd roared.
But then, haven't we already learned? Trump's words and his actions have bear no relationship to each other. "Draining the swamp" was just a campaign gimmick--in Trump's own words during a victory rally: "When I said it like I meant it (draining the swamp)..." the crowd roared.
3
Don the Con is wasting no time doubling back on his campaign promises and his ersatz populism. President Obama's last minute cut of the mortgage fees to ease the financial burden on low and middle-class home buyers was a brilliant chess move to sucker Trump into reversing the cut and demonstrating that he is really a friend of the banks, not the people who elected him. The knee-jerk speed of the reversal only underscores this fact. All you need to do is to look at his appointees, as pointed out in this editorial, to see the scam that Trump ran on America during the election.
His supporters are in denial and, unfortunately, will probably remain so. But his actions should galvanize the clear-eyed thinkers into action now and through the next two election cycles. It is time to fight back and fight back hard. The stakes on everything from finance to the environment are monumental. And the media must do its part and expose Trump's mendacity at every turn.
P.S. Betsy DeVos is so far out of her league and looked so much like a deer caught in the headlights at her hearing that I almost felt sorry for her.
His supporters are in denial and, unfortunately, will probably remain so. But his actions should galvanize the clear-eyed thinkers into action now and through the next two election cycles. It is time to fight back and fight back hard. The stakes on everything from finance to the environment are monumental. And the media must do its part and expose Trump's mendacity at every turn.
P.S. Betsy DeVos is so far out of her league and looked so much like a deer caught in the headlights at her hearing that I almost felt sorry for her.
3
No swamp draining in Washington with President Trump. Merely stirring the swamp to see what's living on the bottom.
1
"President Trump’s Big-Money Establishment"
Very much the same Money-Insider Establishment represented by Queen Hillary and the New York Times.
If the Times were instead for The People, it would have focused on America's great problem: That our economy and government have been taken from The People, by and for the Money-Insider Establishment. The Times would have reported and supported the candidacy of Bernie.
Instead, through the nomination-contests year the Times gave us blackout of Bernie, in favor of daily floods of twitters of PR for the name of TrumpTrumpTrump.
And once the result was degraded to choice of Queen Hillary versus madman Trump, the Times gave us silence on Russian corruption of our American election in favor of floods of stuff about Hillary's emails.
And now the Times purports to attack the Money-Insider Establishment? Purports to attack the Money-Insider Establishment from inside the Money-Insider castle within which the Times comfortably sits?
Appears the Times remains under leadership of Baquet.
Very much the same Money-Insider Establishment represented by Queen Hillary and the New York Times.
If the Times were instead for The People, it would have focused on America's great problem: That our economy and government have been taken from The People, by and for the Money-Insider Establishment. The Times would have reported and supported the candidacy of Bernie.
Instead, through the nomination-contests year the Times gave us blackout of Bernie, in favor of daily floods of twitters of PR for the name of TrumpTrumpTrump.
And once the result was degraded to choice of Queen Hillary versus madman Trump, the Times gave us silence on Russian corruption of our American election in favor of floods of stuff about Hillary's emails.
And now the Times purports to attack the Money-Insider Establishment? Purports to attack the Money-Insider Establishment from inside the Money-Insider castle within which the Times comfortably sits?
Appears the Times remains under leadership of Baquet.
2
why would anyone be surprised? This is perfectly in line with Mr. Trumph's track record.
1
It is a terrible nightmare one is trying to wake up from but can't.
1
Then you wake up - feel nauseous - and immediately want to fall back asleep and pretend it's not happening.
White man speak with forked tongue! But he did refuse the TTP (for better, for worse.)
I know our big lesson of this election was supposed to be to stop accusing redstatists of being backward gullible conned tools of newscorp propaganda, but what more proof do we need that Trumpists are exactly that? We tried to tell them they were being conned, again. But they'll ride this guy right down to their own demise like they did the neocons.
1
How long will it take Trump's pigeons to figure out that he's got a plan to kill them off? They really are a sight to behold.
It is also scary that Mr. Trump refuses to disclose his tax returns. What is he hiding? Does he have shady business with other countries?
2
"Trumple thin-skin" cannot let go of losing the popular election.
"Trumple thin-skin" cannot control his anger about being called out as the liar he is.
"Trumple thin-skin" cannot control his overreactions toward being detested by millions of people around the world.
Can "Trumple thin-skin" be man enough and ever apologize for being a liar?
I lived thru Truman, Eisenhower, Kennedy, even Nixon and Johnson, respected Reagan and the Bushes, but have no respect for the arrogant boastful hypocritical unpresidential "Trumple thin-skin."
The world needs leadership we can respect.
What are you hiding behind your failure to release your tax returns?
Why do you dismiss truth?
"Trumple thin-skin" cannot control his anger about being called out as the liar he is.
"Trumple thin-skin" cannot control his overreactions toward being detested by millions of people around the world.
Can "Trumple thin-skin" be man enough and ever apologize for being a liar?
I lived thru Truman, Eisenhower, Kennedy, even Nixon and Johnson, respected Reagan and the Bushes, but have no respect for the arrogant boastful hypocritical unpresidential "Trumple thin-skin."
The world needs leadership we can respect.
What are you hiding behind your failure to release your tax returns?
Why do you dismiss truth?
7
He's not knee deep in the swamp... He's waste deep in the sewer.
It's a billionaire's bellyache club.
If USA wasn't "great", how did they amass such wealth ?
When was the last time America was great according to them, and what made it "great" back then.
What did they exploit and how did they exploit it to get to their current positions?
Econ Crash and mortgage foreclosure accumulation of property ?
Disappointing cross-examination of nominees in the Senate confirmation hearings. Senators should ask Perry, DeVoss, Carson, and others, what have you studied about the Departments of Energy - Education - HUD ?
When did you study it; what are your criticisms; what are your solutions ?
How did you prepare. They are empty, and that can be established swiftly.
Perry is a lightweight, exemplified by wanting to destroy Dept of Energy as a Presidential candidate, without knowing what it did.
Climate science: what are their backgrounds in science ? Are they qualified to critique scientific articles ?
What if their collective climate science "denial"mentality is wrong ? That is comparable to asking, "what if we're wrong about Weapons of Mass Destruction" in Iraq's secrete arsenal ?
DeVoss is clueless regarding "STEM" education.
It's a billionaire's bellyache club.
If USA wasn't "great", how did they amass such wealth ?
When was the last time America was great according to them, and what made it "great" back then.
What did they exploit and how did they exploit it to get to their current positions?
Econ Crash and mortgage foreclosure accumulation of property ?
Disappointing cross-examination of nominees in the Senate confirmation hearings. Senators should ask Perry, DeVoss, Carson, and others, what have you studied about the Departments of Energy - Education - HUD ?
When did you study it; what are your criticisms; what are your solutions ?
How did you prepare. They are empty, and that can be established swiftly.
Perry is a lightweight, exemplified by wanting to destroy Dept of Energy as a Presidential candidate, without knowing what it did.
Climate science: what are their backgrounds in science ? Are they qualified to critique scientific articles ?
What if their collective climate science "denial"mentality is wrong ? That is comparable to asking, "what if we're wrong about Weapons of Mass Destruction" in Iraq's secrete arsenal ?
DeVoss is clueless regarding "STEM" education.
2
Everyone needs to understand that 'drain the swamp' is not and never has been about fixing conflicts or getting money out of govt, or developing sound, fair policy. it's about getting rid of liberals. Trump supporters know this and approve it.
2
Having seen it a time or two years back, World Wrestling was an obviously staged production, geared to a 12 year old boy's mindset, emphasizing image, braggadocio, blather and hot air, to the exclusion of any form of legitimate sportsmanship. It was disgusting.
Any parallels with the Trump administration?
Any parallels with the Trump administration?
2
With apologies to Mark Twain, there are lies, damn lies, and alternative facts.
Statistics, however, are beyond Trump's comprehension.
Statistics, however, are beyond Trump's comprehension.
2
How are his picks any different than what prior administrations have done? Every one of them have reward those who provide campaign support or other benefits from their networking through the years. Come on people, this is politics. The only difference between Trump and the others, regardless of party affiliation, is that Trump is an in your face person whose lies are out in front and the rest are slimy, behind your back where you cannot see what is going on but I am still lying to you types but they all do the same things.
2
"His gilded cabinet, still being confirmed, presents a jarring contrast with his message."
Orange man speak with forked tongue.
Orange man speak with forked tongue.
I feel sorry for all you people who live in a country where your leader stole the office illegally. How terrible.
In my country, the USA, we just had an election, too. In it, run exactly by the rules established 240 years ago at our founding and enshrined in our founding Constitution, we legally elected our current leader. Some Americans didn't vote for him, but every American knows he is now our legal leader.
Maybe you complainers should immigrate here. We welcome immigrants.
But be sure to immigrate legally!
In my country, the USA, we just had an election, too. In it, run exactly by the rules established 240 years ago at our founding and enshrined in our founding Constitution, we legally elected our current leader. Some Americans didn't vote for him, but every American knows he is now our legal leader.
Maybe you complainers should immigrate here. We welcome immigrants.
But be sure to immigrate legally!
To Govern is to serve and protect the Citizen. Regulation is to protect the Citizen from the profiteers. We have been turned inside out.
2
I am retired from a career in engineering and business management. As one might guess, I have far more respect for corporate big-wigs like Tillerson than political big-wigs like Kerry. I have worked with two guys of Tillerson's level and both were very results oriented. The old saying, "Foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of a small mind", describes them well. As business and poltical conditions change they were quick to change. The best of them was the quickest to abandon policies he had championed when the business or political environment changed to disfavor the policies. Kerry and Clinton and all political big-wigs are pedants who insist on their old, newly immaterial polices as global geopolitics shifts from under their feet.
And with yesterday's decision to keep James Comey as FBI director, the stink of quid pro quo for services rendered during the election pervades the atmosphere.
Donald Trump isn't so much draining the swamp as renovating it into the most tremendous swamp anyone has ever seen.
Donald Trump isn't so much draining the swamp as renovating it into the most tremendous swamp anyone has ever seen.
3
Trump speaks truth absolutely never. This nation has fallen of a cliff of abject idiocy. Americans are stupid helpless suckers and hopeless victims of psychopaths.
4
We New York Times readers need help getting out of our bubble. No matter how outrageous Trumps's appointments and policy pronouncements, and no matter how much they go against the interests of his "constituents of lesser means", those who voted for him still seem to support him. It's totally baffling.
The Times could do its readers a huge favor by helping us understand why those Trump supporters keep ignoring the reality that their candidate, now President, is working against them. Please report on "what they are hearing on FOX and what are they reading on the Internet, and what is swaying their opinion." Are they getting swept up by "alternate facts" that we aren't hearing about in the Times and on NPR? Are they all as delusional as Trump himself.
I urge the Times to dedicate more resources to revealing where this irrational support for the opposing viewpoint is coming from, so that we all have a clue how to fight against it.
The Times could do its readers a huge favor by helping us understand why those Trump supporters keep ignoring the reality that their candidate, now President, is working against them. Please report on "what they are hearing on FOX and what are they reading on the Internet, and what is swaying their opinion." Are they getting swept up by "alternate facts" that we aren't hearing about in the Times and on NPR? Are they all as delusional as Trump himself.
I urge the Times to dedicate more resources to revealing where this irrational support for the opposing viewpoint is coming from, so that we all have a clue how to fight against it.
6
It is funny how, no matter the view, no matter the side, if someone else has a different perspective on things, they are simply irrational. As a nation we have so lost our ability to compromise and to listen to different viewpoints to try and find a common ground that we had the election we just had. You can continue to take your perspective that Hillary was doing everything right and was for all good things where Trump is the anti-Christ but the truth is both are severely flawed, both have their share of skeletons in the closet, both are beholden to the rich and elite, and both lie. The only difference is that Trump does it to your face and Hillary was more polished and knew how to say one thing in public and do something else behind the scenes.
"...farmers and factory workers, truckers, nurses and housekeepers greeted his (Trump's) anti-establishment words by cheering "Drain the Swamp".
As a retired 72 year old Vietnam Veteran who has believed in all that America once stood for, I am now witnessing a America where our real enemies lie not outside our borders but our own fellow Americans who live within our nation.
As a retired 72 year old Vietnam Veteran who has believed in all that America once stood for, I am now witnessing a America where our real enemies lie not outside our borders but our own fellow Americans who live within our nation.
6
It's awful. The issue can be TTP, crowd sizes, border walls, making fun of the disabled, flat out lying and then defending those lies - we've let the 6th grade class bully with failing grades become principal of the school. Credible people with the reach of their varied pulpits - Dan Rather, Michael Moore, Chuck Schumer, even the refreshing and brilliant America Ferrera, and so many more - MUST be unrelenting about exposing the fraud in the Oval Office. Then, of course, those in power and other "deciders" MUST take action. Seriously, we cannot see Trump ride out this term of office.
3
President Trump's big-money establishment is very closely related to Presidential loser Clinton's big- money establishment. No class in either camp. All too crass New York City.
Donald John Trump made his fortune the old fashioned way. Donald wisely chose a second generation German American multimillionaire real estate baron father and a gold digging Scottish mother. Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner displayed similar wisdom in being born to a multimillionaire real estate baron convicted felon father. And Jared smartly married Ivanka Trump.
Mrs. William Jefferson Clinton made her multimillionaire fortune the new fashioned way. Hillary converted her elective and selective public service into a pot of privileged gold. Hillary's son-in-law Mark Mezvinsky followed the Trump path by being born to a convicted felon politically powerful wealthy father. Before having the wisdom to marry Chelsea Clinton and working for Goldman Sachs.
Mr. and Mrs. William Jefferson Clinton were honored guests at the nuptials of Donald and Melania Trump. Ivanka and Chelsea are buddies.
Bernie Sanders was the only high class honorable humble humane empathetic native Big Apple New Yorker in the 2016 Presidential. Bernie spoke for and to me. Now I am following and listening to Women's March leader Tamika Mallory. Neither she nor he have any big-money establishment.
Donald John Trump made his fortune the old fashioned way. Donald wisely chose a second generation German American multimillionaire real estate baron father and a gold digging Scottish mother. Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner displayed similar wisdom in being born to a multimillionaire real estate baron convicted felon father. And Jared smartly married Ivanka Trump.
Mrs. William Jefferson Clinton made her multimillionaire fortune the new fashioned way. Hillary converted her elective and selective public service into a pot of privileged gold. Hillary's son-in-law Mark Mezvinsky followed the Trump path by being born to a convicted felon politically powerful wealthy father. Before having the wisdom to marry Chelsea Clinton and working for Goldman Sachs.
Mr. and Mrs. William Jefferson Clinton were honored guests at the nuptials of Donald and Melania Trump. Ivanka and Chelsea are buddies.
Bernie Sanders was the only high class honorable humble humane empathetic native Big Apple New Yorker in the 2016 Presidential. Bernie spoke for and to me. Now I am following and listening to Women's March leader Tamika Mallory. Neither she nor he have any big-money establishment.
5
Hey, Trumpets say it takes a rich guy who knows how to make money to work in the government, right? What could possibly go wrong? That is if the rich doesn't forget he's suppose to make money for those poorly educated Trumpets and not line his portfolio of off-shore accounts.
What do you think? I'm not betting much on ethical fat cats who have never done a damn thing for the American people except give them the shaft, then send them a bill for it. Good luck, suckers.
DD
Manhattan
What do you think? I'm not betting much on ethical fat cats who have never done a damn thing for the American people except give them the shaft, then send them a bill for it. Good luck, suckers.
DD
Manhattan
4
It is so disheartening, indeed terrifying, that these cabinet nominations would clearly even be confirmed if they were serial killers, as long as they are überwealthy and staunchly supportive of their fascist cause. We must now accept the fact that our moribund Democratic system had a good run for some 230 years. Now an unknown tempest is on the horizon. God have mercy on us.
6
Trump, so far, is an embarrassment, no doubt. But what about the NYTimes? One used to be able to pick up the Times and at least could count on getting the news, without tortured or misleading accounts of facts. I know the article is an OpEd, but even here you should be held accountable for not misrepresenting facts. Having listened to the Mnuchin hearing myself, your article left no reason to read beyond the paragraph describing it. It is certainly possible for Mnuchin to say he was proud of the job he did - he could not have been clearer and more believable in describing the mess he inherited at IndyMac, his team's devotion to seeking mortgage workouts for those facing foreclosure (for lots of reasons, including the fact that it made good business sense and his sense of interest in borrowers keeping their homes), and the fact that there were in some cases mistakes made, even in some cases involving Veterans. When reported correctly he doesn't sound like Darth Vader at all. And, he reported his founding and ownership of Dune Capital, and included the offshore (perfectly legal and typical) entity you menacingly describe - but seems to have not included the ministerial role of being one of the directors of that entity (not material once he disclosed that he runs the whole company). Are your proud of the work you do at the NYTimes misleading your readers?
Yes. And he forgot to claim $100 million.
3
And, that omission was not the big deal it seems either. Do you really think, with a team of lawyers assisting and the Congress watching, he would purposely leave his personal residences off the asset list if he thought they should be included? In fact, in most requests for assets it's hardly unusual for the request to specifically exclude the value of residences (which are not considered investment assets - which presumably what Mnuchin thought, with advice of counsel, needed to be disclosed). Is it a good fact that his advisers misread the disclosure request? - most definitely not. But worthy of multiple character assassinations by the NYTimes? Absolutely not, unless the goal is to paint the desired picture of "rich fat cats skirting the law." Mnuchin seems perfectly qualified for the job - listen to the hearing yourself. I think like me you will be stunned by the Times' take on this...
The US have been ruled by all kinds of political-economic forces, from slave-holders to clandestine socialists disguised as liberal democrats. Now the time has come, for good or for bad, to be under the regime of super-rich. Grind the teeth, but bear it.
So while Trump vilifies "the establishment" that " reaped the rewards of government while the people have borne the cost" he conveniently excludes himself and his billionaire cabinet nominees as fellow "reapers". Another example of our newest concept: "alternative fact".
7
Many times in various comment sections I've seen the argument that these people are so wealthy that they don't have any use for more money, so they'll put their efforts toward altruistic endeavors that help the people of our country.
Baloney.
Look at it this way. If an ordinary person wins a million dollars, chances are one of two things will happen. If they have no experience with finances they will blow it and go back to their humble life Or, if they're a financially aware striver they will build on it and move up. And build more and move up further. Very few people, even very generous and philanthropic people like Bill and Melinda Gates, suddenly decide they have enough and stop building on their assets. So why should a bunch of professional swindlers and manipulators take that view?
Baloney.
Look at it this way. If an ordinary person wins a million dollars, chances are one of two things will happen. If they have no experience with finances they will blow it and go back to their humble life Or, if they're a financially aware striver they will build on it and move up. And build more and move up further. Very few people, even very generous and philanthropic people like Bill and Melinda Gates, suddenly decide they have enough and stop building on their assets. So why should a bunch of professional swindlers and manipulators take that view?
7
In his inaugural address, Mr. Trump depicted a dystopian vision of America not as it is, but as it soon will become.
Republican politicians continue to promote financial and environmental deregulation, privatization of Medicare and Social Security, and tax reductions for the already wealthy. Once the regressive programs advanced by Speaker Ryan are firmly in place, there will be consequences:
(1) Financial institutions will be further enabled to encourage speculation and to market risky products. (2) Corporations will continue creating jobs for offshore employees and robots. (3) The enhancement of shareholder value and executive compensation will remain the chief objectives of corporate enterprises. (4) Workers’ interests, consumers' interests and the public's interests in a healthy environment will be sacrificed to secure those corporate goals. (5) Unemployment will likely increase and underemployment will become an established fact of American life.
(6) Wealth, instead of trickling down, will gush up to enrich the already well-off. (7) Increased national debt will result in further GOP demands that social service and education budgets be slashed.
Be not deceived by rumors of "a new populist GOP." As their agenda indicates, Republican leaders promote Plutocracy--as does President Trump and his cabinet composed of billionaires, banksters , CEOligarchs and finagliaciers.
Republican politicians continue to promote financial and environmental deregulation, privatization of Medicare and Social Security, and tax reductions for the already wealthy. Once the regressive programs advanced by Speaker Ryan are firmly in place, there will be consequences:
(1) Financial institutions will be further enabled to encourage speculation and to market risky products. (2) Corporations will continue creating jobs for offshore employees and robots. (3) The enhancement of shareholder value and executive compensation will remain the chief objectives of corporate enterprises. (4) Workers’ interests, consumers' interests and the public's interests in a healthy environment will be sacrificed to secure those corporate goals. (5) Unemployment will likely increase and underemployment will become an established fact of American life.
(6) Wealth, instead of trickling down, will gush up to enrich the already well-off. (7) Increased national debt will result in further GOP demands that social service and education budgets be slashed.
Be not deceived by rumors of "a new populist GOP." As their agenda indicates, Republican leaders promote Plutocracy--as does President Trump and his cabinet composed of billionaires, banksters , CEOligarchs and finagliaciers.
7
I did NOT expect any thing different from this snake oil salesman now referred to as the President of the United States. When he kept saying I will make America great again he meant "North European White" again. And those who voted for him knew what he meant.
I am now laughing all the way to the bank and not feeling much sad for this con man supporters who will be worse of when they realize that their taxes will go up and all their institutional support will disappear in order for this snake oil salesman and his billionaire friends to get richer on their back.
Welcome to the age of the Barbarians.
I am now laughing all the way to the bank and not feeling much sad for this con man supporters who will be worse of when they realize that their taxes will go up and all their institutional support will disappear in order for this snake oil salesman and his billionaire friends to get richer on their back.
Welcome to the age of the Barbarians.
2
The difference here is that Trump is beholden to no one, unlike Clinton who took blatant bribes via the now shriveling up Clinton Foundation and inflated fees for terribly bland speeches.
2
Seriously? Not beholden? His cabinet is largely the biggest contributors to him and the Republican Party.
1
Trump is bought and paid for by Putin and beholden to him. Clinton is history and none of the accusations against her had any substance to them as many investigations proved, but Trump is POTUS now. A liar, con man, tax and draft dodger and sexual assaulter. Enjoy!
2
Show me the donations and bribes from Putin. And thank goodness, Clinton is history, and she is lucky she is not in jail and won't be, thanks to Trump's benevolence.
Catch 22. He knows he's drastically unequipped to do this job and needs an inner circle, but he has only ever known "tycoons, Wall Street heavyweights, cronies and a new rank of shadowy wealthy “advisers”. One more example of believing that "business models" are the answer to all types of institutions.
4
The Trumps have built their businesses on globalization. Brand marketing? Foreign investment? Outsourced manufacturing? Give us a break. If they aren't the epitome of the "global elite" who have prospered while the American middle class spun wheels, who is? And the cabinet?! Does he really think we are all such idiots to believe his shtick?
9
The righteous indignation here is amusing. Ms. Clinton was Goldman Sachs preferred candidate, as they paid her $675,000 for her wisdom. Think "Big-Money" people like her friends and herself would not be a a major part of her cabinet? Look who she spent the summer getting donations from. The remainder would be folks paid good money by the foundation that bears her name for many years. It was her storage space for instant campaign staffers, promised to move right on to the white house.
2
Yawn - the same worn-out yada yada about Hillary Clinton again, to distract attention from Trump's egregious behavior. She should never have shown her tax returns, then there would not have been such trumped up right-wing hysteria about her speaking fees - quite the norm for vips of her stature by the way. Where are Trump's tax returns?
"President Trump says..."
Trump lies like the rest of us breathe. And worse, he could care less that he does and just shrugs off anyone who tries to hold him accountable for those lies. Trump has a particularly cynical and sinister nature, taught to him by his mentor, Roy Cohn.
Anyone who believes anything Trump says is foolish and naive. Sadly, we have a president who should first not be believed, not given the benefit of the doubt, because of his stunning record of lying, and if on occasion he tells a truth, we can all be glad to learn he at least knows how to do so, even if infrequently.
Who listens to a person whose every utterance is a lie? And worse, who votes for someone like that to be president?!
Trump lies like the rest of us breathe. And worse, he could care less that he does and just shrugs off anyone who tries to hold him accountable for those lies. Trump has a particularly cynical and sinister nature, taught to him by his mentor, Roy Cohn.
Anyone who believes anything Trump says is foolish and naive. Sadly, we have a president who should first not be believed, not given the benefit of the doubt, because of his stunning record of lying, and if on occasion he tells a truth, we can all be glad to learn he at least knows how to do so, even if infrequently.
Who listens to a person whose every utterance is a lie? And worse, who votes for someone like that to be president?!
10
This is serious. No!.... not just the swamp, but the gestalt.
The US needs to conduct a deep and comprehensive introspection. The Elected Guy is a reflection of a long and sustained metamorphosis of the North American Society, sorry... Canada and Mexico are there too: the USA Society.
Trump is a symptom and not either the solution or the demise executed by "the others". The famous USA politeness of "have-a-nice-day!" and those sweet and civilized manners have been masking EXACTLY what was slowly brewing.
US people as a mass are extremely ignorant of history, philosophy, and culture in general, placing a heavy accent only on materialism, consumerism and banality.
There you have it: 1932 all over again. Germany, mired in a post war depression while "assuming" to be "the most cultured and advanced nation" on Earth, produced what was the biggest devastation ever seen in history, by just a populist that could be stopped with a $0.25 bullet in 1919 when he first announced his devious plans.
But, this is democracy, right? RIGHT? Wait, wasn't that she got 3M more votes?
Another lie: democracy.
We better look at the mirror....and quick. Maybe is too late.
The US needs to conduct a deep and comprehensive introspection. The Elected Guy is a reflection of a long and sustained metamorphosis of the North American Society, sorry... Canada and Mexico are there too: the USA Society.
Trump is a symptom and not either the solution or the demise executed by "the others". The famous USA politeness of "have-a-nice-day!" and those sweet and civilized manners have been masking EXACTLY what was slowly brewing.
US people as a mass are extremely ignorant of history, philosophy, and culture in general, placing a heavy accent only on materialism, consumerism and banality.
There you have it: 1932 all over again. Germany, mired in a post war depression while "assuming" to be "the most cultured and advanced nation" on Earth, produced what was the biggest devastation ever seen in history, by just a populist that could be stopped with a $0.25 bullet in 1919 when he first announced his devious plans.
But, this is democracy, right? RIGHT? Wait, wasn't that she got 3M more votes?
Another lie: democracy.
We better look at the mirror....and quick. Maybe is too late.
5
I know this is a lot to ask, but the Times should try to look at both sides, the positives too -- it is not all negative.
Trump's approach (which America knew and embraced going in ) is simply to enlist the support and expertise of the most powerful, successful and influential persons in America -- and have them apply themselves to solving problems that prior administrations has been unable to remedy.
Already, we are seeing results on the jobs / business side, working with industry business leaders, and talking with foreign leaders -- current projections are for 3.5%-4% growth. Give the president a chance.
We all need to get over the issue of these people being wealthy. These people have zero interest in lining their pockets. The fact that they are wealthy indicates they know how to maneuver the system and understand economics, business, and politics. If they fail to produce, they will be shown the door. In case you have not sensed it, Trump has zero tolerance for all talk, no action types.
Trump's approach (which America knew and embraced going in ) is simply to enlist the support and expertise of the most powerful, successful and influential persons in America -- and have them apply themselves to solving problems that prior administrations has been unable to remedy.
Already, we are seeing results on the jobs / business side, working with industry business leaders, and talking with foreign leaders -- current projections are for 3.5%-4% growth. Give the president a chance.
We all need to get over the issue of these people being wealthy. These people have zero interest in lining their pockets. The fact that they are wealthy indicates they know how to maneuver the system and understand economics, business, and politics. If they fail to produce, they will be shown the door. In case you have not sensed it, Trump has zero tolerance for all talk, no action types.
2
I want to see Trump's tax returns. The wealthy not interested in lining their pockets? How did they get wealthy if they are not interested in getting wealthy? By winning the lottery? Trump himself is all talk, and lies at that. You have been conned.
2
It is easy to fool someone, but very difficult to prove to them that they have been fooled. The psychic investment of voters who believed that Trump - the celebrity - was an "outsider" who would drain the swamp will make it even harder to convince them that he has always been a city-slicker insider who told them what they wanted to hear and played them for rubes. He has trained his fan-base to shoot the messenger on sight, to deny what their ears and eyes tell them, and to see their enactment of such willful ignorance as a virtue. We have entered a new dark ages, where empirical rationality is denounced as "condescending," and acquiescence and groupthink are praised as patriotic humility. The free press can only hope that the drumbeat of fact-based reporting will eventually be heard through the noise of disinformation and propaganda that will only get louder as the conflicts of interest become more obvious.
10
trump's campaign played to two groups. The digital age illiterates and the understanding of economics illiterates. A Venn diagram would show a considerable overlap. CEOs say that thousands of jobs are available, few are qualified.
Oddly enough, where education is paramount in other countries and cultures, the physical technology and infrastructure is not there. So, why shouldn't the USA take advantage of the brain power available. Immigrants. After WWII both the east and west scrambled to entice former enemy scientists to their side. We wanted the scientists from Germany and even the chemical and bacteriological warfare experts from Japan. Now we need cyber people. Those are the ones we have to flip.
Oddly enough, where education is paramount in other countries and cultures, the physical technology and infrastructure is not there. So, why shouldn't the USA take advantage of the brain power available. Immigrants. After WWII both the east and west scrambled to entice former enemy scientists to their side. We wanted the scientists from Germany and even the chemical and bacteriological warfare experts from Japan. Now we need cyber people. Those are the ones we have to flip.
2
As this editorial explains, Trump does not look for talent and wants to rip off the country, so he rewards suck-ups and awards posts to the least deserving and most venal and unprepared public servants who not only have no background in serving people, but actively despise them. They will reap a whirlwind of revolution.
10
I didn't vote for Trump, but I can honestly say that, so far, he has met every expectation I had for him. I'm so glad that I am 70 and not 25.
9
You mean he's the only politician who meant what he said during the campaign?. How many thousands of jobs has he saved so far? canned the TPP? sorry you preferred Hillary who was caught by Wikileaks to admit she has 2 policies 1 for the masses and 1 for her donors.
No animal will knowingly drain whatever habitat it requires for its continued existence.
The voters who put Mr. Trump into office, including the "farmers and factory workers, truckers, nurses and housekeepers" mentioned here, seem not to realize the fact that that very swamp is what has kept Mr. Trump and his associates alive for decades.
It pays to acknowledge reality, and they will find out sooner, rather than later, how very life-threatening it can be to ignore reality.
The voters who put Mr. Trump into office, including the "farmers and factory workers, truckers, nurses and housekeepers" mentioned here, seem not to realize the fact that that very swamp is what has kept Mr. Trump and his associates alive for decades.
It pays to acknowledge reality, and they will find out sooner, rather than later, how very life-threatening it can be to ignore reality.
12
He is not draining the swamp. He is re-populating it. The problem is that the "newcomers" are, almost to a person, unfit for the positions they will be assuming holding views contrary to the missions of their respective departments.
With this said, while undoubtedly capable in their former corporate lives, they can not use their approaches when leading government departments. This presents functional problems which only add to their "unfitness" for office.
With this said, while undoubtedly capable in their former corporate lives, they can not use their approaches when leading government departments. This presents functional problems which only add to their "unfitness" for office.
6
So you prefer the same politicians that are dependent on campaign donors that got us into Iraq and all related Syria to Pakistan wars using a slimy 2001 Iraq resolution as the justification?. The same politicians that use 4 Billion dollars more a day over the budget to let the government function that game would put any one us into bankruptcy. How did Obama 'save' the economy in 2009? by increasing the deficit by $10,000,000,000,000.
1
Iraq was one huge mistake most likely brought about by Chaney's oil interests. That mistake has drained our country ever since. And the issue is not Pakistan but Afghanistan. And since you are so worried about the debt, how in the world can one reconcile slashing taxes and embarking on a significant infrastructure program at the same time? This is good business practice?
Finally throwing out big numbers with a lot of zeros is simply what? to frighten? The issues is how does that number fit with the GDP in terms of obligation.
Finally throwing out big numbers with a lot of zeros is simply what? to frighten? The issues is how does that number fit with the GDP in terms of obligation.
At least when the swamp reaches from sea to shining sea, no will be able to complain about drought. Whee! One problem solved by Trump. Of course, the folks in former dust bowl states will soon start complaining about alligators nibbling at their backsides. Ingrates. But Trump will tell them the reptiles were all released into NYC sewers by disgruntled coastal elite democrats. Despite 'alternate news' to the contrary.
5
I thought the mass hysteria over Trump's election would subside, instead it seems to be growing. Pretty soon some psychiatrist is going to give it some clinical term.
1
No dear, this is factual reporting, not mass hysteria. Are you interested in a nice bridge made with Chinese steel? Oh you have one already, I see, bought from Trump you say?
3
Common sense?
2
it's really disgusting how the New York Times continues to rail against the President's cabinet appointments. Whatever happened to giving the newly-elected president a fair chance before embarking on narrow-minded liberally oriented criticism. As for the fact that some cabinet members have attained financial success in their careers, where's the evil that they would come to work for the country, taking huge pay cuts in some cases to do so? We have a group of highly successful and qualified individuals, some with extensive military and national security backgrounds. Any legitimate basis for the NYT to label those dedicated Americans as "shadowy" is difficult to discern.
6
Mr. Fenley:
Then you are clearly not paying attention to the hearings.
Putting it another way:
Let's say someone says they intend to rob me if they get elected. He gets elected anyway and everyone says "give him a chance, he didn't mean what he said." The next day, he shows up at my door with ten thugs and wants me to open the door.
Thanks, but no thanks,
Even if I knew nothing about Trump, many of those nominees dug their own holes.
Then you are clearly not paying attention to the hearings.
Putting it another way:
Let's say someone says they intend to rob me if they get elected. He gets elected anyway and everyone says "give him a chance, he didn't mean what he said." The next day, he shows up at my door with ten thugs and wants me to open the door.
Thanks, but no thanks,
Even if I knew nothing about Trump, many of those nominees dug their own holes.
7
Because none are qualified for cabinets they have be chosen to run that's why. They were picked more to dismantle the department then to run it for the good of the nation.
7
Hmmm, your point that "they would come to work for the country, taking huge pay cuts in some cases" is a pretty weak contribution to your argument. I think most billionaires can afford to take a pay cut for four years. I also wouldn't exactly call taking a position in the president's cabinet a major career sacrifice.
Does Trump really deserve a fair chance? He's been anything but fair himself. Is it not the press's responsibility to draw attention to our president's egregious promise-breaking? Or, do you not agree that he consistently promised to drain the highest office of the rich and powerful, and then proceeded to appoint many rich and powerful people anyway?
Does Trump really deserve a fair chance? He's been anything but fair himself. Is it not the press's responsibility to draw attention to our president's egregious promise-breaking? Or, do you not agree that he consistently promised to drain the highest office of the rich and powerful, and then proceeded to appoint many rich and powerful people anyway?
6
President Trump promised in his inaugural address that he was giving power back to the people. We the people doubt the truth of that and all of his other lies and promises. President Trump, still aggravating over the fact that his Inaugural crowds on the Mall were larger than Obama's is like a dog with a rag, biting and tossing it around as if he can change the facts of the matter. Face it, Trump won, we lost, and we'll see if his Wall Street cronies and his Gilt Brand Trump Cabinet will be able to govern where they never governed before. Cheap theatrics - and his followers, standing before him in the drizzle while he was giving (haranguing) his followers with his address, didn't realize when they shouted "Drain the Swamp!" that they were standing in the swamp.
63
Sad, so sad, when the MAGA guy largely surrounds himself with a bunch of ill informed fat cats. But is this really a surprise to anyone (except perhaps his supporters)?
This is the guy whose ego seems bruised more easily than an over-ripe peach. No one should appear better or smarter than he is.
This is the fellow who may be so full of business conflicts that he could more closely resemble the outgoing Yahya and his plane stuffed full of riches than trusted leader of the free world.
He is the alternative facts guy who has continued to evidence that Dear Leader could be a more apt label for him than Mr. President.
With this entangled administration, I hope that our intelligence agencies and excellent investigative journalists will continue to follow the money and show us when and how any of these incoming officials enrich themselves at the public's expense.
This is the guy whose ego seems bruised more easily than an over-ripe peach. No one should appear better or smarter than he is.
This is the fellow who may be so full of business conflicts that he could more closely resemble the outgoing Yahya and his plane stuffed full of riches than trusted leader of the free world.
He is the alternative facts guy who has continued to evidence that Dear Leader could be a more apt label for him than Mr. President.
With this entangled administration, I hope that our intelligence agencies and excellent investigative journalists will continue to follow the money and show us when and how any of these incoming officials enrich themselves at the public's expense.
66
Trump’s message doesn’t conflict at all with the filling of key administration posts with people who by his lights actually have DONE something in America, as opposed to merely talking about doing something, coming up short yet having great and well-studied rationalizations for their failures, complete with 2000-page exculpatory PowerPoint decks in which the word “Libya” prominently figures.
If a 70-year-old man who, despite the entertaining self-focus must realize that he’s not immortal, knows that he doesn’t have endless time or energy to make a lasting dent in American reality, and can’t afford to have people working for him who offer great reasons for why they failed instead of succeeding, wants people around him to take names and kick Alec Baldwin, then … who are we to question it? Unless …
If the editors are unsure of what Trump really is seeking to accomplish, yet certain that whatever it is they’re agin’ it, then what better means of torpedoing his ability to secure his objectives than by being effective at calling into question the qualifications and probity of the people he nominates? THEY ARE NOT WORTHY!!!
The BIGGEST fear here may be that this (mostly) exceptional group of people will SUCCEED.
Fortunately, it appears that the editors are crashing and burning at this effort every bit as badly as Chuck Schumer is.
GAME ON!
If a 70-year-old man who, despite the entertaining self-focus must realize that he’s not immortal, knows that he doesn’t have endless time or energy to make a lasting dent in American reality, and can’t afford to have people working for him who offer great reasons for why they failed instead of succeeding, wants people around him to take names and kick Alec Baldwin, then … who are we to question it? Unless …
If the editors are unsure of what Trump really is seeking to accomplish, yet certain that whatever it is they’re agin’ it, then what better means of torpedoing his ability to secure his objectives than by being effective at calling into question the qualifications and probity of the people he nominates? THEY ARE NOT WORTHY!!!
The BIGGEST fear here may be that this (mostly) exceptional group of people will SUCCEED.
Fortunately, it appears that the editors are crashing and burning at this effort every bit as badly as Chuck Schumer is.
GAME ON!
3
Goldman is a failed company to the tune of a $12.9 billion bailout in 2010. How could they be considered a success! I would speculate that their leadership is to blame for their failure. Where is their success track record? Just like trump's it is all al lie!
Here is the thing. Government isn't working for your own gain (which these folks are pretty good at) at the expense of others. It's working for others at the expense of your personal gain.
These folks are the most self serving group to be in an administration since Reagan.
These folks are the most self serving group to be in an administration since Reagan.
trump's merry band of billionaires & millionaires will surely steal from the poor and give to themselves, the opposite of Robin Hood.
I always found it darkly amusing that during the campaign, the great hero of the working man, Trump, often cited Carl Icahn as one of his friends.
The only question in my mind is how long will it take for Trump's supporters to realize that they have been conned?
The Trump agenda is no different than the radical right's agenda: destroy the social safety net, eliminate protections for workers and the environment, protect the wealthy at the expense of the rest of us.
The only question in my mind is how long will it take for Trump's supporters to realize that they have been conned?
The Trump agenda is no different than the radical right's agenda: destroy the social safety net, eliminate protections for workers and the environment, protect the wealthy at the expense of the rest of us.
59
Nice to see the NY Times is finally concerned about big money and politics. The Clinton Foundation which was a slush fund for play for pay politics never mattered to you people because the Clintons are democrats. Hillary was greedy and her lust for cash was too much baggage for the American electorate to bare. But Trump is open season for this born again ethical watchdog Editorial Board who will use any excuse or reason to bash our President and the country he leads. If there is any doubt look at that silly story above the fold today about illegal aliens and the vote. Really? The real lead story should have been the myriad of executive actions Mr. Trump took to reverse Obama's paper thin legacy. Business as usual for you people.
1
Trump has put the foxes in charge of the hen house. Now, it is up to us as citizens to be vigilant during the next four years. So many people have stopped caring about current events and do not take the time to educate themselves on the "real" facts of issues. It is easier to get alternate news off of Twitter or right-wing radio. I urge everyone to check their sources and to start supporting newspapers, TV stations or other sources of news at all levels, as that is all we have left to keep tabs on Trump. The news media is not perfect, but they are all we have. It's time to recognize the important role they play in our society. [No, I did not receive any money from NYT for this post ;-)]
8
What a bunch of lap dogs the Republicans turned out to be. So many at certain jaw-dropping moments during the campaign actually called out Trump regarding some of the more extreme comments. Seeing Ryan sitting next to Trump with that imbecilic grin on his face is stomach churning.
16
To the Editors,
I am not defending Trump nor his Cabinet of "swamp dwellers" but, really, if net worth is a problem among his cabinet members then what was Secretary Clinton's net worth as Secretary of State? I might ask this of all of Mr. Obama's cabinet choices but, in reality for ALL these politicians of both parties, "to the victor belongs the spoils". Presidents seem to select Cabinet jobs and ambassadorships based on loyalty and campaign contributions.
I know, Trump seems a bit extreme in that prior political experience is anathema to him and his followers but, in my eyes, he's just doing "business as usual" in D.C. In case you didn't notice, he sold himself as just the opposite (A common trait in every politician) and won the election.
Now those who actually thought he might be a "champion" of the little guy are going to find themselves needing stilts to navigate this new "swamp".
Mosquito netting anyone?
I am not defending Trump nor his Cabinet of "swamp dwellers" but, really, if net worth is a problem among his cabinet members then what was Secretary Clinton's net worth as Secretary of State? I might ask this of all of Mr. Obama's cabinet choices but, in reality for ALL these politicians of both parties, "to the victor belongs the spoils". Presidents seem to select Cabinet jobs and ambassadorships based on loyalty and campaign contributions.
I know, Trump seems a bit extreme in that prior political experience is anathema to him and his followers but, in my eyes, he's just doing "business as usual" in D.C. In case you didn't notice, he sold himself as just the opposite (A common trait in every politician) and won the election.
Now those who actually thought he might be a "champion" of the little guy are going to find themselves needing stilts to navigate this new "swamp".
Mosquito netting anyone?
7
Trump's cabinet picks are without a doubt, eager for war on a massive scale. Their children are immune to military service, and war is the most erotic game each of the appointed cabinet picks has yet to play on their newest, legitimate stage. Their sexy wars will be highly profitable, and while low wages, deportations, and the lack of jobs drive people to despair, along with border taxes, Medicare, and Social Security also in the hands of billionaire bankers, eager Trump voters will sell their own son and daughter for a chance at the same blood thirsty pie. This will not end well. We are not strong enough to drain the swamp, and in the long run, no one cares.
6
Trump, by the way, has a political party that gave him the
nomination.
Republicans now own a clown and his political circus
and that is set to haunt them for decades as Trump's
stumbles multiply into disasters.
nomination.
Republicans now own a clown and his political circus
and that is set to haunt them for decades as Trump's
stumbles multiply into disasters.
6
Rex (Latin for 'king') is ready. Get those sanctions lifted, Rex. Then Exxon can restart the drilling in the Russian Arctic (shuttered by the sanctions) and tap the $500 billion in oil reserves while recovering their leasing expenditure to Vlad. One wonders how Rex and his boss will cover up the palm-greasing that will smell like Vlad's cologne.
10
Live your three score and ten in the fast lane meanwhile buying and bankrupting casinos = nine hundred million in debt
Mess around with the heads of the poorly educated little people by pretending to run for president meanwhile promising, the sun, the moon and the stars in the sky = tax write offs up the wazoo.
Actually win the presidency (how doesn't matter) and elevate every wealthy slime boy and slime girl you ever met to positions of responsibility when not a one of them even understands the meaning of the word = priceless!
Mess around with the heads of the poorly educated little people by pretending to run for president meanwhile promising, the sun, the moon and the stars in the sky = tax write offs up the wazoo.
Actually win the presidency (how doesn't matter) and elevate every wealthy slime boy and slime girl you ever met to positions of responsibility when not a one of them even understands the meaning of the word = priceless!
9
I think his cabinet choices is another form of his "gaslighting sales approach." He says one thing repeatedly and publicly and then he does another. It's like a magician. His words are the card trick. Americans need to trust what they see and hear. He lined his cabinet with billionaires. What does that say? Look at the Fight for $15. Those workers need and want a living wage. Is the Trump cabinet for a living wage? Also, Trump was a celebrity and is often super concerned with ratings, yet he condemns and shames other celebrities. He was extremely proud to be on the Apprentice. Then, he leans in hard on companies to manufacture in America. What about his businesses? Are all of his products stamped with "Made in the USA.?" Keep your eye on what he does or you will feel confused. The media is finally calling out the lies, half truths, and " alternative facts." That is progress. I really hope he does some positive things for America and that his presidency is not just more greed. I support ethical prosperity and wealth, but not myopic , humanless greed. I hope our country can find some common ground.
4
Trump is doing what he always does. His family and friends won't get extremely high salaries, but like Trump, will be allowed to enrich themselves while taxpayers -- other than the "1%" -- will be in a worse place than ever.
Chrysler? They've been caught in the same kind of emissions scam as VW. Trump apparently doesn't mind fraud and abuse from companies partly owned by US business, but the company name is Fiat-Chrysler.
Trump's pals at EPA will protect Fiat-Chrysler from US law. VW paid billions, lost more, and the bosses are being jailed. Trump's corruption knows no bounds, but he learned from Roy Cohn, a world-class low-life.
FDA is so underbudgeted that they are unable to sensibly review drugs and the safety of foods; medical devices are even more frightening. The "patent" situation has raised the prices on drugs needed to live: EpiPens, asthma inhalers, and many others. Of course, Mylan's CEO is the daughter of a Senator; Mylan can't decide if its corporate offices are in the EU, UK, or the US.
The everyday citizens of the District and the surrounding area are not getting rich. I don't know how lower-grade employees live on what they're paid, but unless you're rich, Trump doesn't acknowledge your existence.
Why does he insist on stretching the Secret Service to cover his NY penthouse, his "winter" White House, and the real White House? Does the hiring freeze cover the Secret Service?
Chrysler? They've been caught in the same kind of emissions scam as VW. Trump apparently doesn't mind fraud and abuse from companies partly owned by US business, but the company name is Fiat-Chrysler.
Trump's pals at EPA will protect Fiat-Chrysler from US law. VW paid billions, lost more, and the bosses are being jailed. Trump's corruption knows no bounds, but he learned from Roy Cohn, a world-class low-life.
FDA is so underbudgeted that they are unable to sensibly review drugs and the safety of foods; medical devices are even more frightening. The "patent" situation has raised the prices on drugs needed to live: EpiPens, asthma inhalers, and many others. Of course, Mylan's CEO is the daughter of a Senator; Mylan can't decide if its corporate offices are in the EU, UK, or the US.
The everyday citizens of the District and the surrounding area are not getting rich. I don't know how lower-grade employees live on what they're paid, but unless you're rich, Trump doesn't acknowledge your existence.
Why does he insist on stretching the Secret Service to cover his NY penthouse, his "winter" White House, and the real White House? Does the hiring freeze cover the Secret Service?
15
People tend to trust people similar to them. Even something so simple as the Veterans' Committee of the Baseball Hall of Fame, who can grant membership to the Hall for players not voted in, tended to send to the HOF mostly players they played with themselves.
So Donald Trump born to great wealth, who never worked a day in his life for a boss who wasn't his daddy, who never faced being fired or laid-off, trusts mostly similar men (and so far one woman) of similar elite circumstances. As he brushes off his own conflicts of interest and lack of real performance-based management experience, so he brushes off the conflicts and lack of relevant experience of his fellow trust babies.
And, with the exceptions of Mattis, Kelly and (even) Pompeo, all of Trump's appointees have agendas that do NOT help "you, the People", but either only their class, or, deVos's case, her insane Taliban-like agenda for destroying public education. Has ANY GOP President after Reagan actually ever attended public school? Has any idea just how good they are? ALL the best high schools in the nation are public. My own town's system in NJ has produced entertainers, generals, journalists, a Nobel Laureate, and the current Governor. All jokes aside about the last, how bad can it be? deVos's buying of politicians in Michigan has crashed that state's school systems, but made money for for-profit schools, while making education worse.
But, as Trump proved, uneducated White people make great Trump voters!
So Donald Trump born to great wealth, who never worked a day in his life for a boss who wasn't his daddy, who never faced being fired or laid-off, trusts mostly similar men (and so far one woman) of similar elite circumstances. As he brushes off his own conflicts of interest and lack of real performance-based management experience, so he brushes off the conflicts and lack of relevant experience of his fellow trust babies.
And, with the exceptions of Mattis, Kelly and (even) Pompeo, all of Trump's appointees have agendas that do NOT help "you, the People", but either only their class, or, deVos's case, her insane Taliban-like agenda for destroying public education. Has ANY GOP President after Reagan actually ever attended public school? Has any idea just how good they are? ALL the best high schools in the nation are public. My own town's system in NJ has produced entertainers, generals, journalists, a Nobel Laureate, and the current Governor. All jokes aside about the last, how bad can it be? deVos's buying of politicians in Michigan has crashed that state's school systems, but made money for for-profit schools, while making education worse.
But, as Trump proved, uneducated White people make great Trump voters!
15
R. Law makes a great point. The real worry is not so much Trump as the Republican party. It would be great if the Time quit referring to Trump as "Trump" and began calling him "the Republican President" without ever mentioning his name. It would both infuriate Trump and hold the Republicans accountable for Trump's policies and their support of those policies.
18
Yes he is the richest president? As Trump proves time and again, lots of money does not equate to smarts and common sense, both of which Trump will never have behind his wall of selective ignorance, otherwise know as his brain. Just ask him what books he has read growing up and in school; then ask his favorite passages. If he ever completed a book I bet it was "Leadership Secrets of Atilla The Hun."
8
So, Trump has a cabinet of people that have been incredibly successful in the private sector.
It could turn out that already rich and successful people can put the average persons' interests first better than an assortment of Hillary hangers on who are still expecting their government job is the way they will get rich.
It could turn out that already rich and successful people can put the average persons' interests first better than an assortment of Hillary hangers on who are still expecting their government job is the way they will get rich.
5
Sure. That's why shutting down the ethics office in the dead of night was the first thing on the GOP's agenda.
1
So, Ken, how come the military is exempt from the federal hiring ban just imposed by TRump? Is there no waste at the Pentagon? Is the military just holy? How in the world does that make sense? I know, this is a great opportunity to bash Clinton supporters, but try to stick to the facts. I'll look for your reply.
After years of Fox News propaganda decrying the "waste, fraud, and abuse" in Washington and undermining the faith of the American people in their own Federal government, we now have the Trump administration that will prove the "waste, fraud, and abuse" will be official, but unstated, government policy.
The rest of the world will look elsewhere for leadership.
The rest of the world will look elsewhere for leadership.
25
The fact that economically struggling Americans could view Trump as their kind and savior is weird, but very American. People have to get beyond the "aspirational myth": that unregulated capitalism gives everyone a fair chance to become the next billionaire. In fact, pure capitalism doesn't even recognize such basic rights for all as universal health care or affordable higher education. Such rights only deserve to become actual realities from the laissez-fairist/libertarian standpoint when one succeeds through luck, pluck or inheritance at the chicanery of capitalist money-making.
24
Like in Ocean's Eleven, Trump is methodically assembling his team for the biggest swindle in world history. I almost wouldn't care if the Trump supporters I know got robbed blind, but unfortunately we're all going to have to pay through the nose to see this particular movie.
46
Lyin' Don John confuses high I.Q. with greed. He will have the greediest cabinet ever assembled on Earth.
Lyin' Don John claims that it is the establishment (i.e. government) that “has reaped the rewards of government. A Trumpian Lie. HE is the beneficiary reaping the rewards from the establishment not paying his taxes for decades. It is the private sector wealthy, like him, that have reaped the benefits from their politician employees scalping American tax payers..
“transferring power from Washington, D.C., and giving it back to you, the people” - people like the Goldman Sachs crowd, the winners, not the losers who will be losing their health coverage, minimum wage protections, clean air and water, etc.
I like the idea of machines replacing CEOs like Puzder - so overpaid, self entitled, arrogant, impolite, selfish, constantly up-selling their worth and success that really belongs to others. They won't spread the wealth like they won't spread the success or acknowledge the real hard workers for the success.
Perhaps Puszer and CEOs like him would prefer to have machines as their customers while the rest of us that are still employed give other people our business.
Lyin' Don John claims that it is the establishment (i.e. government) that “has reaped the rewards of government. A Trumpian Lie. HE is the beneficiary reaping the rewards from the establishment not paying his taxes for decades. It is the private sector wealthy, like him, that have reaped the benefits from their politician employees scalping American tax payers..
“transferring power from Washington, D.C., and giving it back to you, the people” - people like the Goldman Sachs crowd, the winners, not the losers who will be losing their health coverage, minimum wage protections, clean air and water, etc.
I like the idea of machines replacing CEOs like Puzder - so overpaid, self entitled, arrogant, impolite, selfish, constantly up-selling their worth and success that really belongs to others. They won't spread the wealth like they won't spread the success or acknowledge the real hard workers for the success.
Perhaps Puszer and CEOs like him would prefer to have machines as their customers while the rest of us that are still employed give other people our business.
38
It is not enough to have this information in the opinion page. Detailed analysis of the finances of these billionaires in the Cabinet and billionaire "financial advisers" is needed right out in the face of the public, on the front page of every paper, and on social media. How has Carl Icahn, for example, added to job growth over the past three decades? Minuchin? Tillerson? The public does not know this, we need more information. Trump may talk nicely about manufacturing, and trade, but where is his daughters clothing made? Exactly how many jobs has the Trump Organization created over the years? We need to know this. The truth (and actual facts) will set us free.
181
Reporters at this paper and across the nation need to remember that in a fascist state reporters are generally out of work and in prison.
The Trump cabinet and its acceptance by Trump supporters represent a different value system. There is a belief among certain segments of American society that the super-rich cannot be corrupt, because they are already so rich they do not need to be. There is also admiration for someone like Mnuchin who manfully won his wealth through savvy wheeling and dealing, but loathing for career public servants who are nothing more than cowardly bureaucrats sucking blood off the American taxpayer.
I think that's why as much as Trump supporters rage about politicians who are in the pockets of the super rich, they have no problem with politicians who actually are super rich. Actually, they probably would not even describe Steve Mnuchin or Donald Trump as politicians. They are entrepreneurs who have kindly offered to put their business acumen at the service of the American people.
Crazy? Maybe. But remember, we live in the era of alternative facts.
I think that's why as much as Trump supporters rage about politicians who are in the pockets of the super rich, they have no problem with politicians who actually are super rich. Actually, they probably would not even describe Steve Mnuchin or Donald Trump as politicians. They are entrepreneurs who have kindly offered to put their business acumen at the service of the American people.
Crazy? Maybe. But remember, we live in the era of alternative facts.
When I was a candidate for the Board of Supervisors in 1992 in Marin County California, the 20 year entrenched encumbent was a lawyer as was the third candidate on the ticket. The Board of Supervisors oversaw all county government programs but the typical political candidates were from the private sector and knew nothing about government administration.
Except me. I was the office manager for a state government program that provided career counseling and training to disabled individuals that usually needed retraining in a field that their disability did not preclude. My employees were vocational rehabilitation counselors, many with masters degrees in their professional field as did I.
One day while I was greeting voters who were arriving to hear the candidates debate local issues, one man stopped to say why he was going to vote for me. He said that he reviewed my resume and listened to me speak at the debates, coming to the conclusion that my government work experience meant I was the most qualified candidate.
I thanked him for his support but was reminded of how few voters thought like him or even questioned why private sector business men or women were not the most qualified to oversea government programs. I lost the election to the lawyer in the job and was left feeling I hadn't emphasized my government experience enough.
Soon enough, Trump's voters will realize they voted for someone who is looking out for himself and his friends rather than their own lives!
Except me. I was the office manager for a state government program that provided career counseling and training to disabled individuals that usually needed retraining in a field that their disability did not preclude. My employees were vocational rehabilitation counselors, many with masters degrees in their professional field as did I.
One day while I was greeting voters who were arriving to hear the candidates debate local issues, one man stopped to say why he was going to vote for me. He said that he reviewed my resume and listened to me speak at the debates, coming to the conclusion that my government work experience meant I was the most qualified candidate.
I thanked him for his support but was reminded of how few voters thought like him or even questioned why private sector business men or women were not the most qualified to oversea government programs. I lost the election to the lawyer in the job and was left feeling I hadn't emphasized my government experience enough.
Soon enough, Trump's voters will realize they voted for someone who is looking out for himself and his friends rather than their own lives!
2
Wonder what Trump supporters are thinking? Are they speaking, or just worrying?
Not solely about this but also about Trump's continuing multiple lying ways and double-down lies, some lies supported by lyin' Kellyanne, who has now, finally so confused herself she lies about press sec'y and Trumps lies, calling them "alternate facts."
5 million fraudulent votes Trump lied about in a restatement yesterday. He can't stand he was beaten by 3 million votes.
( The fire next time will accompany the continuing Dems' loss of elections because of the Funnyway vote we participate in.)
This furious spate of Republican flying lies, almost blinding the populace...Only lying Ted, is absent, nowhere to be found in the Lyin Trump miss-administration.
I miss the Marx brothers today.
Not solely about this but also about Trump's continuing multiple lying ways and double-down lies, some lies supported by lyin' Kellyanne, who has now, finally so confused herself she lies about press sec'y and Trumps lies, calling them "alternate facts."
5 million fraudulent votes Trump lied about in a restatement yesterday. He can't stand he was beaten by 3 million votes.
( The fire next time will accompany the continuing Dems' loss of elections because of the Funnyway vote we participate in.)
This furious spate of Republican flying lies, almost blinding the populace...Only lying Ted, is absent, nowhere to be found in the Lyin Trump miss-administration.
I miss the Marx brothers today.
Well said. Wealth does not disqualify or qualifies to serve your country. It is the mix of populism with an authoritarian twist, surrounded by a lack of skills what makes the president and his new cabinet picks seem to be in a fast lane in creating a brand new swamp where Trump's absence of transparency starts with the nondisclosure of his tax returns.
However, watching how the president still talking non-stop about the size of his crowds and repeating lies about illegal immigrants voting against him instead of focusing on his very difficult job, concerns me.
Pulling out of trade agreements without an analysis of pros and cons and, without a plan to boost the economy is experimenting with the American future.
All this trend of wearing your wealth publicly disregarding potential conflict of interests and forgetting the voters, remind me of Evita, all covered in gold and diamonds, who never delivered to the poor. Certainly, Trump has his devoted "descamisados".
However, watching how the president still talking non-stop about the size of his crowds and repeating lies about illegal immigrants voting against him instead of focusing on his very difficult job, concerns me.
Pulling out of trade agreements without an analysis of pros and cons and, without a plan to boost the economy is experimenting with the American future.
All this trend of wearing your wealth publicly disregarding potential conflict of interests and forgetting the voters, remind me of Evita, all covered in gold and diamonds, who never delivered to the poor. Certainly, Trump has his devoted "descamisados".
1
This is more of the daily attack from the left attempting to create it's own reality. First, must we read daily how Trump's appointments are clear evidence he is reneging on his promise to drain the swamp. His drain the swamp comments were specifically directed toward Washington insiders. But the Times insists on telling us every day that he meant something entirely different. It would also have us accept as gospel that wealthy people in government are inherently unfit to govern and unfit to work for the average American's interests. I have no idea what kind of President Trump will be. But as we read stories every day of him creating his own truth it's clear he isn't the only one guilty of that.
1
I see possible oil price fixing through the interactions of the State Department with the former head of Exxon Mobil as Secretary. The emerging Republican economic idea is the export of American oil to decrease the trade deficit.
It is quite obvious.
It is quite obvious.
2
Precisely. Thank you.
So, the question everybody's asking: how long will it take working men and women in the Red States to grasp that they've been suckered by a big con?
My friends hope that Trump himself, along with his cabinet and a Republican Congress, will do that job. When prices for goods increase thanks to Trump's international trade wars, and people's relatives and friends lose health insurance, Medicare has been gutted through "privatization," public schools and staff starved for federal support ... then Donald's voters will recognize the error of their ways.
But psychologists say Nope, it's not gonna happen because people find new information to justify their decisions, especially when their original choices were inspired by partisanship and a resolve to crush the opposing team.
President Trump has been photographed repeatedly in the last few days sitting at a desk, signing executive orders that rip apart Obama's programs. Now fewer women around the world will have access to contraception. Fewer Americans will receive the federal aid necessary to help them become homeowners. Many Americans will lose health insurance.
How do wealthy, corporate Republicans keep playing this con game and getting away with it? We'll see if a little boy watching the parade yells, "But that Emperor's got no clothes on!"
Or, better yet, we could support Democrats and Republicans who are committed to people's welfare and organize for 2018.
So, the question everybody's asking: how long will it take working men and women in the Red States to grasp that they've been suckered by a big con?
My friends hope that Trump himself, along with his cabinet and a Republican Congress, will do that job. When prices for goods increase thanks to Trump's international trade wars, and people's relatives and friends lose health insurance, Medicare has been gutted through "privatization," public schools and staff starved for federal support ... then Donald's voters will recognize the error of their ways.
But psychologists say Nope, it's not gonna happen because people find new information to justify their decisions, especially when their original choices were inspired by partisanship and a resolve to crush the opposing team.
President Trump has been photographed repeatedly in the last few days sitting at a desk, signing executive orders that rip apart Obama's programs. Now fewer women around the world will have access to contraception. Fewer Americans will receive the federal aid necessary to help them become homeowners. Many Americans will lose health insurance.
How do wealthy, corporate Republicans keep playing this con game and getting away with it? We'll see if a little boy watching the parade yells, "But that Emperor's got no clothes on!"
Or, better yet, we could support Democrats and Republicans who are committed to people's welfare and organize for 2018.
3
This going to be the Wild West administration. Say hello to more pollution, more women dying from lack of healthcare, more children receiving a poorer education, more people with disabilities left without needed services and more people with mental illness going without treatment. It's a dark, dark world in America now.
6
Being rich and successful certainly is no disqualification for office. You can even argue that it lessens the temptations of using office for your own advancement, and the likelihood of corruption.
It also looks like most of the wealth of the new ruling elite was not inherited, and they earned it on their own merit. While I find the new president's disregard for facts and narcissistic style appalling, his appointments are consistent with a Republican creed of self support and hard work bringing financial rewards. Some of the appointees' remarkable lack of experience will certainly irk the competent older Washington hands and will likely be detrimental to those Trump voters relying on the services they provide, but again, if you despise the system, it is consistent.
And it will be interesting to watch! Electing Trump was a foolhardy choice. Good luck America!
It also looks like most of the wealth of the new ruling elite was not inherited, and they earned it on their own merit. While I find the new president's disregard for facts and narcissistic style appalling, his appointments are consistent with a Republican creed of self support and hard work bringing financial rewards. Some of the appointees' remarkable lack of experience will certainly irk the competent older Washington hands and will likely be detrimental to those Trump voters relying on the services they provide, but again, if you despise the system, it is consistent.
And it will be interesting to watch! Electing Trump was a foolhardy choice. Good luck America!
1
Alternative facts, alternative realities, individuals so removed from those they have exploited and those they will lie to , a special national day of dedication to patriotism -what happened to July 4th?- , petty resentments followed by attempts to diminish, undermine, and demean. Where's the eye of newt?
Will our own radical rightinistas wring the last drops of corruption from the fabric of our, in their opinions, dirty rotten country? Sounds rightly patriotic. We need to hear the voices of trusted, experienced current and former public servants. We need to carefully consider restoring checks and balances at the mid-terms.
Will our own radical rightinistas wring the last drops of corruption from the fabric of our, in their opinions, dirty rotten country? Sounds rightly patriotic. We need to hear the voices of trusted, experienced current and former public servants. We need to carefully consider restoring checks and balances at the mid-terms.
4
Before DeVos uttered a word in her confirmation hearings, it was obvious to all but the most anti-public education zealot that she was utterly unqualified for, indeed hostile to, the office of Secretary of Education.
The cluelessness of her responses to many questions only confirm the above. DeVos is not only unqualified, she is dangerous.
Public education has been and will continue to be the path to the American Dream for the vast majority of young people no matter how much money is diverted (legally and morally questionable as that may be) to vouchers, charters, and private schools. If the Republicans in the Senate have any sense of justice, what is best for public education, and the willingness to admit they know DeVos is completely unfit for the job, they will vote down her confirmation by a large majority. A message must be sent that public education matters, that it is much too important to the future of America to be left in the hands of a clueless one-percenter who who is seemingly committed to, as are so many other appointees, destroying the institution they are sworn to protect.
The cluelessness of her responses to many questions only confirm the above. DeVos is not only unqualified, she is dangerous.
Public education has been and will continue to be the path to the American Dream for the vast majority of young people no matter how much money is diverted (legally and morally questionable as that may be) to vouchers, charters, and private schools. If the Republicans in the Senate have any sense of justice, what is best for public education, and the willingness to admit they know DeVos is completely unfit for the job, they will vote down her confirmation by a large majority. A message must be sent that public education matters, that it is much too important to the future of America to be left in the hands of a clueless one-percenter who who is seemingly committed to, as are so many other appointees, destroying the institution they are sworn to protect.
5
Trump is clearly not calling the shots for his presidency, any more than he was calling the shots in his campaign. He remains a useful idiot, good for distractions, but I'd really like to know who's pulling his strings and really running things while Trump is obsessing with the minutiae of his pathetic inauguration turnout.
May the constitutional scholars win their case and force Trump to choose either the presidency or his revenues. And getting Trump's tax returns via a subpoena would qualify each of those scholars for a Congressional Medal of Honor.
May the constitutional scholars win their case and force Trump to choose either the presidency or his revenues. And getting Trump's tax returns via a subpoena would qualify each of those scholars for a Congressional Medal of Honor.
5
Yes, Trump is presenting his alternative reality so that he can accomplish his own purpose.
His continued claim that he would have won the popular vote if not for voter fraud by illegal aliens is an attempt to both assuage his ego by gaining acceptance of his alternative facts as reality and allow voter suppression in 2020 so that Trump can maintain power in his little hands.
His continued claim that he would have won the popular vote if not for voter fraud by illegal aliens is an attempt to both assuage his ego by gaining acceptance of his alternative facts as reality and allow voter suppression in 2020 so that Trump can maintain power in his little hands.
6
Trump wants these filthy rich people to owe him favors. He's believed to be heavily in debt to foreign entities (let's see those tax returns!) and who would be more sympathetic and cooperative than a bunch of financial manipulators who have their own assets tucked away in tax havens?
Betsy DeVos is the nastiest cog in the Trump machine. During her hearing you could tell she often didn't have a clue, but knew that wouldn't matter. She's smug, entitled, self-righteous, and has no experience with or empathy for the families in this country who need educational help the most.
Betsy DeVos is the nastiest cog in the Trump machine. During her hearing you could tell she often didn't have a clue, but knew that wouldn't matter. She's smug, entitled, self-righteous, and has no experience with or empathy for the families in this country who need educational help the most.
13
I think it was Ronald Reagan who was the first "Teflon President." I suppose there's a bit of teflon coating on all Presidents irrespective of their political ideology, but I have to believe that President Trump realized that in spite of what he said or did, during his campaign, he received pass after pass after pass. Now that he's gotten the job he sought, he's still "hot" at the political card table and is playing his hand accordingly, continuing to get a pass. The newest Teflon President.
4
Well, it's important to realize that the people attending Mr Trump's inaugural speech believe themselves to have been left behind by the political elite ... of both parties. That is, in addition to their scorn for liberal democrats, they by and large rejected the GOP for ignoring their grievances.
Neither fact nor ethics will stand in the way of conservative republicans, whether they are billionaires lining their nests at the nation's expense or whether they are voters who cannot tell the difference between right and wrong.
Together, they are trying to bring the country into the Orwellian realm of not just politics, but more fundamentally, culture and thought management. The Newspeak of republicans is reinforced by the pervasive and repeated propaganda of Fox News, the WSJ editorial page, and basically any media outlet owned by anyone named Murdoch.
Mr Trump was elected by mobocracy and the continued secessionist beliefs of the former Confederacy; eg, transfer of power and money from the feds to the states. This is the political civil war declared by the right wing on the rest of the country.
Those who voted Mr Trump into office include "good Americans" (the 21st century version of the 1930s "good Germans") as well as the current version of the secessionists. They will continue to support Mr Trump until they experience economic pain or political disenfranchisement. They will do so because our political parties, primarily the republican, have failed America.
Neither fact nor ethics will stand in the way of conservative republicans, whether they are billionaires lining their nests at the nation's expense or whether they are voters who cannot tell the difference between right and wrong.
Together, they are trying to bring the country into the Orwellian realm of not just politics, but more fundamentally, culture and thought management. The Newspeak of republicans is reinforced by the pervasive and repeated propaganda of Fox News, the WSJ editorial page, and basically any media outlet owned by anyone named Murdoch.
Mr Trump was elected by mobocracy and the continued secessionist beliefs of the former Confederacy; eg, transfer of power and money from the feds to the states. This is the political civil war declared by the right wing on the rest of the country.
Those who voted Mr Trump into office include "good Americans" (the 21st century version of the 1930s "good Germans") as well as the current version of the secessionists. They will continue to support Mr Trump until they experience economic pain or political disenfranchisement. They will do so because our political parties, primarily the republican, have failed America.
6
To the press: your job is to focus on Congress! It matters not who he nominated if Congress does not approve the person! Do not relent. Insist on factual evidence for their support or lack of support. No more flowery statements about how great the nominee is or how much you despise them as a person.
Take Rick Perry for example. Ask very specific and pointed questions to the congressional members who support him. Ask and ask and ask until they provide factual evidence that he is qualified. Which is going to be hard to prove. DT followers might not care but he evidenced by his own words he is not qualified.
Don't publish stories about Dems and Repubs name calling of each other. Don't let them take you off point.
Ask the same question over and over and get their statement on record. If they get angry, fine. You will have that on record. It may be useful one day.
Make Congress accountable!
Do not relent. Do not cave in. Report the facts. They will speak for themselves.
Take Rick Perry for example. Ask very specific and pointed questions to the congressional members who support him. Ask and ask and ask until they provide factual evidence that he is qualified. Which is going to be hard to prove. DT followers might not care but he evidenced by his own words he is not qualified.
Don't publish stories about Dems and Repubs name calling of each other. Don't let them take you off point.
Ask the same question over and over and get their statement on record. If they get angry, fine. You will have that on record. It may be useful one day.
Make Congress accountable!
Do not relent. Do not cave in. Report the facts. They will speak for themselves.
9
One Thousand Four hundred and Fifty Six days to go if Trump gets to complete his term. America will need an iron will to sustain it through this man's narcissism, lack of intellectual curiosity and his overall megalomaniacal personality. So far all his bluster about being a man of the people turns out to be another alternative fact in his alt universe that his sycophants continue to bolster. He travels with a fan club complete with a laugh track ready to stand, clap or give the nervous "business" laugh that anyone who has worked in the Corporate world has experienced whenever the boss tries to be a comedian. America has endured worse and like the neurotics we are this too shall pass. Those who voted for him knew exactly what they were getting as did those of us who voted against him. Democracy is not supposed to be easy and Mr Trump and his band of Billionaires will do their part to prove it to America for the next One Thousand Four hundred and Fifty Six days. Midterms 2018 gives America another shot at resistance.
85
The appointments of the President should be no surprise. He and his appointees believe, to their core, that most functions of government should be privatized and that,with the exception of the Reagan Administration , we have gotten it wrong for the past 50 years. Regulation,oversight, trade agreements and socio -economic safety net programs are what have held us back, according to our new administration. During the election cycle there was only one candidate that talked of the 1% having control of our Government and by extension every aspect of our lives. It appears his beliefs have been validated. The hope is the Democratic Party Leadership will find its way and take the mid term election by storm. What the Democrats missed, when they controlled Congress, is good governance is not just opposing those across the aisle.
73
Actually, they would go back to Teddy Roosevelt. They don't even believe in national parks or anything FDR or Truman did.
Crooked lying Trump is a clinical case worth studying, extreme narcissism requiring self-adoration and applause, unable or unwilling to recognize reality nor facts, witness his constant lying while denying he did so the following day. He is corrupt, but by no means a new phenomenon, if you were willing to follow his trajectory since inheriting his father's real estate business, where discriminating against blacks was the norm ('racism'). Raised in privilege, he never got a chance to grow up, and act responsibly, and certainly has shown no scruples in cheating his fellow men and women. His cabinet choices, a distinct 'swamp' of extremely wealthy fellows, so distant from the people they claim to represent, inexperienced for the tasks assigned, a mockery of democracy, and adding insult to injury, clowns laughing at our expense. Trump's insults and vulgarity seem unending, a bully (coward in disguise) trying to impose his prejudices and arrogant ignorance on others, has deservedly earned the dubious title of "the ugly american". What a circus, and no bread to appease the 'masses'.
158
google " dark triad" personality disorder grouping
narcissistic
machiavellianist
sociopath
they usually float to the top or prison
( maybe both)
narcissistic
machiavellianist
sociopath
they usually float to the top or prison
( maybe both)
It's infuriating.
It's infuriating that Trump continues to call himself the savior of the people while continuing to refuse to divest himself of his business interests around the country and the world, and calls it a blind trust when he does hand some business functions over - to his fanatically loyal sons - who he promises won't discuss business around the family dinner table.
It's infuriating when Trump finally - finally - announces that he will never release his tax returns in spite of numerous protestations and promises to do so, when that damnable government audit was over, to induce people to vote for him, ensuring that we will never know his net worth when he came into office to compare with that when he leaves.
It's infuriating when he blatantly lies about things of inconsequential matter - like the size of his inaugural crowd and even the weather that day - and more serious matters like blaming the media for reporting the long list of disrespectful and insulting and even degrading references he made publicly to our intelligence community for months.
And it's infuriating to hear him talk about getting rid of people who profited over the last decades at the expense of the little people and then name billionaire after billionaire, business tycoons and Wall Street predators, lobbyists and donors and sycophants to his inner sanctum.
It's gone beyond infuriating - it's a collective slap in the face.
It's infuriating that Trump continues to call himself the savior of the people while continuing to refuse to divest himself of his business interests around the country and the world, and calls it a blind trust when he does hand some business functions over - to his fanatically loyal sons - who he promises won't discuss business around the family dinner table.
It's infuriating when Trump finally - finally - announces that he will never release his tax returns in spite of numerous protestations and promises to do so, when that damnable government audit was over, to induce people to vote for him, ensuring that we will never know his net worth when he came into office to compare with that when he leaves.
It's infuriating when he blatantly lies about things of inconsequential matter - like the size of his inaugural crowd and even the weather that day - and more serious matters like blaming the media for reporting the long list of disrespectful and insulting and even degrading references he made publicly to our intelligence community for months.
And it's infuriating to hear him talk about getting rid of people who profited over the last decades at the expense of the little people and then name billionaire after billionaire, business tycoons and Wall Street predators, lobbyists and donors and sycophants to his inner sanctum.
It's gone beyond infuriating - it's a collective slap in the face.
334
Trump promised to drain the swamp. But he's replacing it with a cesspool.
3
Turn the other cheek as uneven tans are a fashion no--no.
1
To augment Nancy.
Only a "slap in the face". ???
It is more like a noose around our necks.
Or better yet - our ball and chain.
Only a "slap in the face". ???
It is more like a noose around our necks.
Or better yet - our ball and chain.
3
Trump's billionaire appointments should concern us not necessarily because they're billionaires per se, but instead because many of them are uniquely opposed to the functions of the departments they're selected to run (e.g. DeVos and Pudzer), because their histories show zero to little interest in public service and/or altruism, and because many of them have enriched themselves in unsavory ways (Mnuchin). Oh yeah, and because these appointments are quid pro quo patronage positions for Trump's benefactors.
There are other billionaires he could have tapped who would not emit the same stench -- say, Bill Gates, whose foundation works to eradicate disease; Dean Kamen (ok, he's a half-billionaire), whose inventions purify water for African villages; or Warren Buffet, who understands the societal implications of ultra-concentrated wealth in too few hands, and has encouraged people of extraordinary means to pledge to give away the bulk of their fortunes. These are people of principle and grander vision than the ones currently scheduled to assume positions on the public payroll.
Maybe people of this caliber wouldn't covet a role in this administration, but that their like wasn't considered tells us what we need to know about the intentions of the man who did the picking.
Trump's appointees: sullying the reputations of billionaires everywhere.
There are other billionaires he could have tapped who would not emit the same stench -- say, Bill Gates, whose foundation works to eradicate disease; Dean Kamen (ok, he's a half-billionaire), whose inventions purify water for African villages; or Warren Buffet, who understands the societal implications of ultra-concentrated wealth in too few hands, and has encouraged people of extraordinary means to pledge to give away the bulk of their fortunes. These are people of principle and grander vision than the ones currently scheduled to assume positions on the public payroll.
Maybe people of this caliber wouldn't covet a role in this administration, but that their like wasn't considered tells us what we need to know about the intentions of the man who did the picking.
Trump's appointees: sullying the reputations of billionaires everywhere.
232
The three you named, while tops in their individual fields of endeavor, are apologists who are ashamed of their achievements. They owe no one anything. Nada. Zip.
"these appointments are quid pro quo patronage positions for Trump's benefactors"
There is no evidence that Trump is doing that, but it is clear that Hillary did that extensively. Projection is ugly.
There is no evidence that Trump is doing that, but it is clear that Hillary did that extensively. Projection is ugly.
Betsy DeBos is one that threatens to impact the lives of every American. Public education is the cornerstone of our great democracy and her plan will derail it.
If kids move out of their slated public schools, they take with them a set amount from the federal government. This means that although the public school has fixed building costs and upticks in the healthcare of the teachers, they now have that less revenue. This can only be accommodate via property taxes or state infusion of cash....all things that are already diminishing. So where will they cut from? Programs.
Nowhere is this model more evident than in cities where the elite put their kids in private school. When we lived in Atlanta, the delta between the public school experience and the private school was staggering. This created a self-feeding mechanism which ultimately led to a two-tiered system of education. The same sort that I experienced growing up in a third world country.
In other words, well meaning as vouchers etc may sound, they will hurt the very people they seek to serve.
Consider that private schools will always have their foundations, endowments and means to pay for their rising costs, Vouchers are unlikely to cover the full cost of tuition. So these kids will be forced back into now underfunded public schools that have been greatly diminished by the initial exodus or all sorts of students and by the permanent exodus of students of means.
I sincerely hope the Times gives this topic more air.
If kids move out of their slated public schools, they take with them a set amount from the federal government. This means that although the public school has fixed building costs and upticks in the healthcare of the teachers, they now have that less revenue. This can only be accommodate via property taxes or state infusion of cash....all things that are already diminishing. So where will they cut from? Programs.
Nowhere is this model more evident than in cities where the elite put their kids in private school. When we lived in Atlanta, the delta between the public school experience and the private school was staggering. This created a self-feeding mechanism which ultimately led to a two-tiered system of education. The same sort that I experienced growing up in a third world country.
In other words, well meaning as vouchers etc may sound, they will hurt the very people they seek to serve.
Consider that private schools will always have their foundations, endowments and means to pay for their rising costs, Vouchers are unlikely to cover the full cost of tuition. So these kids will be forced back into now underfunded public schools that have been greatly diminished by the initial exodus or all sorts of students and by the permanent exodus of students of means.
I sincerely hope the Times gives this topic more air.
269
Teachers unions, through school taxes, are the largest single drain on our economy. They need to be stopped. If there really is a demand for quality education, the private sector will pursue it. A side benefit would be only providing students with the education they require for the jobs that need to be filled. The savings from that alone will be tremendous. Why on earth is the taxpayer funding K-12 education for those who end up stocking shelves at Walmart or changing oil at JiffyLube when an eighth grade education would more than suffice?
I totally agree with you! Betsy DeVos has done nothing to improve Michigan schools, and in fact, the state has slipped farther and farther down the rankings the last ten years. There is no real evidence that charter schools or vouchers improve education or benefit children in any way. She uses her wealth and influence to peddle free-market principles that benefit those seeking to make a buck off of our education system. What's more, as the Senate hearings proved, she has no real qualifications to serve as Education Secretary, other than her wealth.
4
The consistency of Donald J Trumps public statements and the opposite effect of his actions. His love for Low Information Citizens (LIC) will be nurtured by Betsy DeBos as she endeavors to grow and harvest legions of LICs by deprived of adequate educational funding by eroding the fundamentals of what truly made America Great.
2
Unfortunately the working class geniuses who voted for him are going to be slow to learn. How easy is it for any of us to admit you made an error. It's only going to happen when they start to experience the consequences like losing health insurance or if a recession hits.
4
Keep pointing this stuff out. Every day. Every action or statement that is inconsistent with prior statements or campaign promises, or inconsistent with ethical norms, or inconsistent with objective fact.
49
Please explain the difference between an administration stocked with the uber-wealthy as employees and an administration elected with enormous financial backing supplied by...the uber-wealthy?
16
@Marge
Fulton
Trump promised to drain the swamp. Please explain how he is doing it with these appointments? The burden of proof is on him not anyone else.
Fulton
Trump promised to drain the swamp. Please explain how he is doing it with these appointments? The burden of proof is on him not anyone else.
1
The "employees" make the policy and the rules.
The backers try to influence the policy makers.
It is like the difference between two oil men as President and Vice-President and oil men as lobbyists. The Commander in Chief can send the military into Iraq for oil, the lobbyists can only suggest that.
The backers try to influence the policy makers.
It is like the difference between two oil men as President and Vice-President and oil men as lobbyists. The Commander in Chief can send the military into Iraq for oil, the lobbyists can only suggest that.
1
The difference is the policies both advocated and previously demonstrated by each candidate. One does not preclude the other.
Trump seems to acknowledge no law other than his own instincts. His tax returns; his co-mingling of business, family, and the presidency; and his flaunting of international law (we should have taken the oil) speak to an unmoored sense of ethics.
At his inauguration, Trump trashed the DC establishment, but failed to say that the people who brought the world economy to its knees in 2007-2008 were not politicians but the kind of people he had picked for cabinet positions. He failed to mention Enron, the S&L crisis, or the many recessions that are a constituent part of the US economy: this was the worst kind of sleight of hand.
It might be too much to expect Trump to read about the Punic Wars and the destruction of Carthage. That city grew out of Phoenician trade that originated in the area of the Levant. A tribe there traded in a precious dye, and much else, and carried a proto-alphabet all across the Mediterranean, combining a civilizing influence with trade. That’s what US soft power has been about. NAFTA will probably be re-negotiated, but that ignores the fact that few Mexicans now cross the border illegally, a benefit of NAFTA. Those crossing into the USA are from farther south in Central America. Alt-Facts can be made to support any assertion, however wild. It’s time to drop the word demagogue and use the synonym “rabble rouser.”
At his inauguration, Trump trashed the DC establishment, but failed to say that the people who brought the world economy to its knees in 2007-2008 were not politicians but the kind of people he had picked for cabinet positions. He failed to mention Enron, the S&L crisis, or the many recessions that are a constituent part of the US economy: this was the worst kind of sleight of hand.
It might be too much to expect Trump to read about the Punic Wars and the destruction of Carthage. That city grew out of Phoenician trade that originated in the area of the Levant. A tribe there traded in a precious dye, and much else, and carried a proto-alphabet all across the Mediterranean, combining a civilizing influence with trade. That’s what US soft power has been about. NAFTA will probably be re-negotiated, but that ignores the fact that few Mexicans now cross the border illegally, a benefit of NAFTA. Those crossing into the USA are from farther south in Central America. Alt-Facts can be made to support any assertion, however wild. It’s time to drop the word demagogue and use the synonym “rabble rouser.”
24
He's replaced the swamp with a cesspool.
46
This summer I went on a swamp tour in Louisiana and discovered that swamps are rich and vibrant places. Birds, fish, alligators and all manner of plants and trees exist together in a complex and fascinating ecology. Far from being something to be drained, a good swamp should be nurtured and protected in the same way we would any other natural habitat. We would never chant "clear cut the rain forest!" or "pave the Savannah!"
The bottom line is that Trump's mantra in an insult to swamps.
The bottom line is that Trump's mantra in an insult to swamps.
A very dangerous cesspool!
It’s interesting. We read a lot of articles about how bad things are, how we’re not going to recognize the country in four years, how Trump is an elitist surrounding himself with elitists. Well then stop talking or writing and do something. The Tea Party mobilized and changed the course of the country through grass roots tactics, winning local congressional districts and tapping into the heads of people about the things they cared about. Don’t let the momentum built this past weekend die down like the OWS did. The Dem’s have always been the party of progress and success. Clinton’s years were historic (in many ways) but most importantly in economic growth, staying out of wars, and building the economy which means job creation. Technology and the jobs it creates flourished under the Dem’s. That went away under the Repub’s and then a Dem fixed it again. Even disenfranchised people can see that. They’re not stupid, they’re angry and Trump tapped into it. They can now see what he’s actually doing for them, and that’ll get worse. Go out and work on your local level and tap into that vein of voters, get young people to appreciate the vote and get Dem’s elected to Congress and the Senate. That will make an inestimable difference in just two years, there’s no reason to wait for four. Talk won’t change anything, put the time in helping, not espousing and you’ll be amazed at where we could be in 22 months.
16
"tap into the vein of voters" could be interpreted as bleeding them dry with taxation, known as non-elective surgery by the Democrats. Not the best of analogies.
What's OWS? Clinton did lots of damage... don't kid yourself. He got rid of the luxury tax meaning that some very pricey things like Picasso can be purchased and not one penny of tax paid... legally... (Any idea how many Joe Blows have to pay income tax to make up the 17 million federal tax that would be due on a 170 million dollar Picasso? -- the tax supposedly hurt the Connecticut luxury yacht business!! ) He deregulated Wall Street and also pulled benefits for poor people/mother and kids and passed legislation putting more people in privatized prisons. The myth of Bill Clinton is just that.
2
I read the NYT everyday. I didn't vote for Trump. I'm not a fan of his brashness. But the all out 24/7 war on the President is over the top. His every move is subject to non stop tirades by all your columnists. Even innocuous events merit front-page headlines with the obligatory negative reporting. It's too much, it's too shrill. Is this what we have to look forward to for the next four years? I feel like your staff is trying to make up for the fact that you were embarrassed by election results you never saw coming, didn't understand, and refuse to accept. So you are compensating now. Too much. Get over it. Trump is never going to govern as a liberal. You are never going to drive him from office. If you do then Pence is President,which might be worse. It's like you want him to fail....which is weird because that means we fail as a country. I know this plays well with some of your readers who's wounds are still tender. But you need to take your foot off the outraged accelerator a tad. Over 62 million people voted for Trump....why not try to understand their concerns and fears...why not report on that? They are not going to vanish. They will return to the polls in greater numbers in 2020.You are playing perfectly into the narrative that the NYT is biased and the media attack dog for the DNC. I believe one day you will regret how you played this hand. I know you will never endorse this administration...I don't...but I also think your reporting could be a little more balanced.
13
What if you believe if he succeeds in what he says he wants to do it will have a negative impact on the US (or even the world)? He says that he does not believe in climate change, which I believe is of utmost importance to address as we're going to pay (yes, a lot) now or much more later. If he succeeds in his stated goals, he will be making things worse, not better.
When there is a smoldering bed of embers in a wood pile, shouldn't people warn about the possibility of a fire?
3
One of the problems during the election was that the opinions of both sides were given equal weight. It didn't matter that one side was spreading lies and half truths. I applaud the Times for calling out Trump on his lies. You talk about shrill. His side has incessant propaganda machines that make Times reporting seem quaint. A demagogue left unchecked can cause incalculable damage.
1
Goldman Sachs was the most hated firm in America after the 2008 economic collapse. Trump used any association with that entity as a bludgeon against his opponents in his campaign. Remember Kasich of Ohio. Yet now Trump has hired two of their past high level officers to play lead roles in our economy. You would think working people would be in an uproar. But no working class people have drank Trump's Kool-Aid. As most con men know, victims buy their words and ignore their actions. Yesterday, I talked to a Trump supporter who indicated Trump had the largest turnout for at his inauguration of any President. I asked if he had seen the overhead photos at the mall; he had.
25
So, you might ask, how does a politician get away with such blatantly hypocritical choices? The answer is simple: He isn't a politician, any more than Jim Jones, Kim Jung Un, David Koresh, or Vladimir Putin. They are all cult leaders. They believe whatever will justify their lust for power and amplify their glory, and their followers believe whatever they say. The more Trump's assertions conflict with objective reality, the greater loyalty is displayed by those who buy his nonsensical jabber. Now that it is too late to turn back, and the poor sods are in for a dollar after they wasted their dime, he can tell them we are going to make Lithuiania pay for an escalator to the moon, which is made of blue cheese, and they will force themselves to believe it, just like they do "Coal is coming back!"
19
Here we go. Say one thing do another. For people who only listen to what trump says, they have no idea what he really does.
I'm still back at conflicts of interest, namely conflict of the nation's interest with self-interest. Yes, purchase of a trump product by a foreign state IS a conflict. For instance Russia could rent a floor in a hotel as it's operatins center and promise to do so in the future--in exchange, wink, wink, nod, nod, for ignoring say rumors of an upcoming military action.
It does not matter that trump does not get money today for taking such an action deferring the benefit of the cash until he is no longer president. In this scenario, Russia would benefit now and later.
It's done in business all the time. How stupid do trump and his advisors really think we are.
If your a statesman, then be one or get out.
I won't stop wanting to see taxes either. As far as I am concerned, this is a minimum requirement and until he does, trump is not my legitimate president.
I'm still back at conflicts of interest, namely conflict of the nation's interest with self-interest. Yes, purchase of a trump product by a foreign state IS a conflict. For instance Russia could rent a floor in a hotel as it's operatins center and promise to do so in the future--in exchange, wink, wink, nod, nod, for ignoring say rumors of an upcoming military action.
It does not matter that trump does not get money today for taking such an action deferring the benefit of the cash until he is no longer president. In this scenario, Russia would benefit now and later.
It's done in business all the time. How stupid do trump and his advisors really think we are.
If your a statesman, then be one or get out.
I won't stop wanting to see taxes either. As far as I am concerned, this is a minimum requirement and until he does, trump is not my legitimate president.
14
Going after Hillary, the way he did, was all for misdirection, theatrics aside. Money often appears to make people do things they might not want to, but...
Billionaires and generals makes for an interestingly evocative picture.
Billionaires and generals makes for an interestingly evocative picture.
5
Trump voters are suckers who let themselves be conned against their better judgment. Now they own him. Hopefully they remember his promises and what he delivered when they can vote again in 2018 and 2020. But by then I fear they will blame someone else for their predicament: Illegal immigrants, the Democrats, the media, feminists, etc. Please keep up reporting the truth and calling out Trump and his apologists for their lies!
21
Turns out the swamp is filled with federal workers not lobbyists.
10
Hey, lighten up on Mr. Mnuchin. Who hasn't forgotten the odd extra $100 million in his or her assets from time to time?
42
We are witnessing a new TV game show called, Oligarch Boss. It lets everyday people get a behind the scenes look at what it's like to be ruled by billionaires. Ratings are very high, especially in the rural areas. Low income and out of work folks from small town America gather around the TV every week to see how cutting taxes on billionaires will greatly improve their impoverished lives. They dream that the miracle of tax cuts for the super rich will flow into their pockets as a torrent of manna from heaven. Billionaires are god like figures as only they can create jobs.
The show is a big hit because it's a fantasy. The calvary always rides to the rescue and saves the homesteaders from the Indians. Makes for good TV.
Fantasies don't happen in real life. They are just dreams. In real life, tax cuts don't trickle down. They just enrich the rich. In real life, billionaires don't create jobs, they use their money to reduce the costs of production to increase profits. They do this through automation, offshoring, and ringing more productivity out of each worker. They endeavor to reduce employment.
But no matter. The viewers love their show. They dream that someday, they will be a featured contestant. Then it will be off to the food pantry to get some donated groceries. Donated by their neighbors.
The show is a big hit because it's a fantasy. The calvary always rides to the rescue and saves the homesteaders from the Indians. Makes for good TV.
Fantasies don't happen in real life. They are just dreams. In real life, tax cuts don't trickle down. They just enrich the rich. In real life, billionaires don't create jobs, they use their money to reduce the costs of production to increase profits. They do this through automation, offshoring, and ringing more productivity out of each worker. They endeavor to reduce employment.
But no matter. The viewers love their show. They dream that someday, they will be a featured contestant. Then it will be off to the food pantry to get some donated groceries. Donated by their neighbors.
29
To me the really pathetic ones are single-digit millionaires who don't see how these plutocrats are sopping up all their investment opportunities.
1
It was Malcolm X (among others) who said a leopard doesn't change his spots. Dr. King spoke of a “world house,” a place of justice and peace. Trump speaks in chimeras: his chicanery encouraging complicity and complacency—what the Times finally called a lie in a headline today. To call him out is not enough: the lie and its leaders, its benefactors, its oglers must be exposed, discredited, tracked and hounded with the same commitment that Trump wants to apply to epidemics and immigrants—and Muslims, the press, Congress members, women, and any opposition.
Time to use our moral and spiritual imaginations (as did the women who created the largest global rally in world history!) to transform this strange season of our lives. The transformation must look and begin within! It cannot be a reaction to the whiplash of indecision that masks theft and bunce; it cannot be guided by the actions of empty promises and national abuse (as the nation loses health and jobs). It cannot follow like blind mules and get stuck in the morass of conflict and deflections. If so, it will always be a step behind, a minute too late.
America must set its own agenda. Repealing Obamacare will kill more people than acts of terrorism. America's agenda must get out front of the lies to save lives.
Time to use our moral and spiritual imaginations (as did the women who created the largest global rally in world history!) to transform this strange season of our lives. The transformation must look and begin within! It cannot be a reaction to the whiplash of indecision that masks theft and bunce; it cannot be guided by the actions of empty promises and national abuse (as the nation loses health and jobs). It cannot follow like blind mules and get stuck in the morass of conflict and deflections. If so, it will always be a step behind, a minute too late.
America must set its own agenda. Repealing Obamacare will kill more people than acts of terrorism. America's agenda must get out front of the lies to save lives.
79
The Elect's hatred is plain. All of his first actions are aimed not at policy but to dis and repeal Obama's legacy.
18
Malcolm advocated separation. And that is exactly what we should do. Our own political party, our own schools, our own businesses. Erudite scribblings and native clothing solve nothing, advance no one. We don't need them and they don't want us. Divorce is far preferable to a rotten marriage.
1
Trump NEVER tells the whole truth and nothing but the truth.
For someone who doesn't like losers, Trump is showing odd taste. Linda McMahon tried twice to buy her way into the Senate, but Connecticut voters didn't want to be represented by the genius of fake wrestling. She and her husband built the World Wrestling Federation into a gazillion dollar industry by using merchandizing and brand marketing to lure children into their fan base. In the nineties my young son would go across the street to a neighbor's to watch it when I thought they were playing Magic adventure cards. After I learned this I started watching the show with him as a reality check on its addictive, testosterone-driven narrative. He believed it was a true athletic competition, and it took years for him to accept that the whole show was a choreographed cartoon-reality show on steroids. Then he finally lost interest.
Given her lack of experience in administering small businesses beyond building up the WWE into a behemoth, it's unclear why Trump thinks she's the best person in the country to head up the Small Business Administration. I mean, aren't there other more qualified deep-pocketed donors he has to pay back? Maybe he chose her because in 2012 she backed a proposal that would have actually gotten rid of the post she's taking.
Given her lack of experience in administering small businesses beyond building up the WWE into a behemoth, it's unclear why Trump thinks she's the best person in the country to head up the Small Business Administration. I mean, aren't there other more qualified deep-pocketed donors he has to pay back? Maybe he chose her because in 2012 she backed a proposal that would have actually gotten rid of the post she's taking.
34
A consistently reliable predictor to Trump’s actions is to ask “What is best for Trump at this moment?” When he needed votes, he was a swamp drainer. After gaining office, it’s replenishing the swamp to enrich family and friends.
He demands loyalty but offers none and anyone who expects the most nakedly self-interested person to ever hold the office to do otherwise will be disappointed.
He demands loyalty but offers none and anyone who expects the most nakedly self-interested person to ever hold the office to do otherwise will be disappointed.
127
Trump and "the boys" are the swamp.
1
Just think of all the lies, anger, criminality, hate and belittling shenanigans perpetrated by our Scandeler in Chief. This after only four days. Four very surreal days that each feel more like a month to me. There aren't nearly enough antidepressants to combat this building dread.
Please wake me when it's over.
Please wake me when it's over.
33
I had hoped he'd grow into the job, but no. Trump's ossified into old age with no idea how to handle the power we, the people, have stupidly given to him.
1%'rs rejoice, time to celebrate the rise of corruption to the upper echelons of power. It is once again time for working class Americans to accept that trickle down economics is best for everyone. Just like it was under GW. The privileged after first taking what they need to fill whatever space might be left in their vaults will let loose the crumbs to their minions. The minions should rejoice because their overlords see fit to allow them to feast on the spoils.
23
Trump's enablers will see this nation blow up in their faces. They are pure social poison.
1
The Times didn't endorse a set of principles when they endorsed Hillary Clinton. That endorsement was of an individual. While they were backing Hillary with every chart, graph, analysis and editorial a movement was taking shape. We had a chance at a populist revolution in principled governance with a trustworthy leader at the helm. The Times worked against this man of principle and those that thought that principles matter.
And now you complain that our cabinet is stacked with billionaires.
And now you complain that our cabinet is stacked with billionaires.
21
So just accept Trump and whatever he does?
Trump is utterly with out integrity, and his enablers are even worse.
Not necessarily Rita but my view on newspapers is that they should report the news. Not try to make or be the story.
1
Benjamin Franklin asserted that the power of impeachment and removal was necessary for those times when the Executive "rendered himself obnoxious,"
Just thinking out loud!
Just thinking out loud!
46
A whole government can lose all confidence when run by a mob of liars and embezzlers.
What we're witnessing is the ultimate triumph FOX "news" propaganda; Trump's supporters chant "Drain the swamp," like they were at a football game; seemingly unaware of how their government even functions and uncaring, as long as "their side" wins. That's all that Trump represents; white men grousing about how "unfair" things have been to them and how "those people" don't deserve anything coming out of their paychecks. All that matters is that somebody, somewhere underneath their economic station "get's it."
115
I guess that explains why many of those who don't want their money going to "those people" voted for one of "those people" twice.
Agreed. But it's beyond those they consider under their economic station. They want to stick to any and ALL of 'the others'. They especially want to stick to any and all of 'the others' they feel have exceeded their 'station' somehow. That seems to whip them into an amazing frenzy.
And I'm not sure the ability to check in on inner motives rests in the heart of the angry, scared, stingy and selfish. Pity.
And I'm not sure the ability to check in on inner motives rests in the heart of the angry, scared, stingy and selfish. Pity.
1
It's been 4 days and the stories keep repeating themselves. Lies.
The point is this. No one will be holding this republican administration accountable for the next 2 years. ( at least ) The press has been essentially neutered for all intents and purposes with ''alternate facts''
The story of course, being those alternate facts and who said what and at what time did they say it. The press is again, being led around by the nose, instead of being a solid 4th estate and doing its job.
Meanwhile America is being pillaged behind the scenes.
The point is this. No one will be holding this republican administration accountable for the next 2 years. ( at least ) The press has been essentially neutered for all intents and purposes with ''alternate facts''
The story of course, being those alternate facts and who said what and at what time did they say it. The press is again, being led around by the nose, instead of being a solid 4th estate and doing its job.
Meanwhile America is being pillaged behind the scenes.
51
In two years the federal judiciary will be Bleak House.
"He pledged in his campaign to tend to the interests of the forgotten workingman, and, in his Inaugural Address on Friday, said he was “transferring power from Washington, D.C., and giving it back to you, the people.”
His cabinet picks are a clear indication he has no intention honouring that pledge. So what to do about it?
Two things. First, objectively shine the light on every decision he takes that go contrary to his campaign pledges so that it is those decisions that are exposed for his betrayed followers to see rather than the opinion of that dispised MSM concerning those decisions that are on display.
Second, let's not look or talk down on his betrayed followers as in "look at what you guys brought upon all of us and especially onto yourselves". Help them reach that conclusion by themselves. It's important that they direct their anger at the conman, not the messenger, the conman's favorite whipping boy. Because whatever Kellyanne thinks, facts still matter.
His cabinet picks are a clear indication he has no intention honouring that pledge. So what to do about it?
Two things. First, objectively shine the light on every decision he takes that go contrary to his campaign pledges so that it is those decisions that are exposed for his betrayed followers to see rather than the opinion of that dispised MSM concerning those decisions that are on display.
Second, let's not look or talk down on his betrayed followers as in "look at what you guys brought upon all of us and especially onto yourselves". Help them reach that conclusion by themselves. It's important that they direct their anger at the conman, not the messenger, the conman's favorite whipping boy. Because whatever Kellyanne thinks, facts still matter.
100
His followers have been swallowing lies from Rush and Fox for years. They will swallow Trump's lies. They cannot be reached. GIve it up.
13
N B, Some may never be reached, but most will be convinced by hard facts over time. There will be a wall or there won't, a manufacturing plant will reopen in their town or it won't, etc. It's worth trying.
2
Trump is campaigning against career politicians, not the Liberal Elite. Even Trump know that liberals have no power right now.
There are countless reasons for why i don't support Trump or his Administration, but his Cabinet picks are key ones. I don't like the focus on military and industrial leaders under an authoritarian leader. Call me crazy, but that worked out poorly for the world a few decades back.
As for the myth of the business leader's superb skills - well, mostly in the US they have figured out how to capitalize on selling off their industry for parts and maximizing short term gains by unemploying large swaths of people and shifting labor to machines or cheap foreign markets. Think of Twinkies - selling off the brand and firing the bakers. I fully expect a good CEO to see the value in selling off low performing states for a short term cash influx, and banking the proceeds in the Caymans or Ireland.
And when they fail, they expect to be paid millions, just because they are so darn good.
So my cynicism with Trump's Cabinet starts with not liking what I think amy be his policies, and end with not liking who he has chosen to enact them.
There are countless reasons for why i don't support Trump or his Administration, but his Cabinet picks are key ones. I don't like the focus on military and industrial leaders under an authoritarian leader. Call me crazy, but that worked out poorly for the world a few decades back.
As for the myth of the business leader's superb skills - well, mostly in the US they have figured out how to capitalize on selling off their industry for parts and maximizing short term gains by unemploying large swaths of people and shifting labor to machines or cheap foreign markets. Think of Twinkies - selling off the brand and firing the bakers. I fully expect a good CEO to see the value in selling off low performing states for a short term cash influx, and banking the proceeds in the Caymans or Ireland.
And when they fail, they expect to be paid millions, just because they are so darn good.
So my cynicism with Trump's Cabinet starts with not liking what I think amy be his policies, and end with not liking who he has chosen to enact them.
26
Yes,Trump's big money donors will be controlling the fate of this country from now on and his pledge to his supporters "I'm going to "Drain the Swamp" and give the power back to the people" was nothing but a lie.
By looking his appointments of donors who themselves are hedge-fund managers like Steven Mnuchin as Treasury secretary who failed to 'disclose about $100 million in personal assets to the Senate committee vetting him', as stated by you in this article, is a sign that Trump will not "drain the swamp" in Washington. But create new ones.
And as bad was Mr. Mnuchin's hiring is, who has an investment fund registered in one of the world's infamous tax-havens called Cayman Islands, but by hiring Carl Icahn,a corporate raider from the '80s, Mr. Trump is violating all of his populist campaign promises of looking for the 'little guys' .
He's deliberately turning over his administration to rich guys who already have a lot of money to throw around.
Even hiring of Linda McMahon as the boss of S.B.A., is a no no for a clean administration because this billionaire from W.W.E. had gained this favor from Trump only because of $7 million she donated to his campaign and also for allowing Mr. Trump win a staged wrestling match against her husband where Mr.Trump got to shave up the 'swamp' growing up on top of her husband's head.
So,with all these high profile appointees in his cabinet, Trump's followers will be very disappointed and sorry to find a new swamp created by their leader.
By looking his appointments of donors who themselves are hedge-fund managers like Steven Mnuchin as Treasury secretary who failed to 'disclose about $100 million in personal assets to the Senate committee vetting him', as stated by you in this article, is a sign that Trump will not "drain the swamp" in Washington. But create new ones.
And as bad was Mr. Mnuchin's hiring is, who has an investment fund registered in one of the world's infamous tax-havens called Cayman Islands, but by hiring Carl Icahn,a corporate raider from the '80s, Mr. Trump is violating all of his populist campaign promises of looking for the 'little guys' .
He's deliberately turning over his administration to rich guys who already have a lot of money to throw around.
Even hiring of Linda McMahon as the boss of S.B.A., is a no no for a clean administration because this billionaire from W.W.E. had gained this favor from Trump only because of $7 million she donated to his campaign and also for allowing Mr. Trump win a staged wrestling match against her husband where Mr.Trump got to shave up the 'swamp' growing up on top of her husband's head.
So,with all these high profile appointees in his cabinet, Trump's followers will be very disappointed and sorry to find a new swamp created by their leader.
16
Well, try discussing this with your next door neighbor and listen to all the self-destructive excuses why you should still support Trump all these Republican gangsters.
Good luck.
Good luck.
1
Trump believes in government of his people, by his people and for his people. It just so happens his people are millionaires and billionaires.
41
According to Kellyanne Conway: Facts/Evidence don't matter anymore in Idiocracy of Trump Land. it's simply all in how you look at things! Praise Jesus!
2
Rick Perry's interview should have aired on the Comedy channel. If I would have known what the Dept of Energy does, I wouldn't have proposed to eleminate it(now that I'm going to be in charge of it!) This collection of Uber Captalists and Airheads defy any rational explanation.
We should do all we can to make sure they don't get to fulfill their destructive agenda. This is truly a Dismal Swamp
We should do all we can to make sure they don't get to fulfill their destructive agenda. This is truly a Dismal Swamp
25
Trump appointed an Aggie airhead to a PhD physics job. What does that tell you about Trump's management judgment?
1
Money is always good for the rich, but bad for the poor.
The planned destruction of Medicaid by turning it into GOP governors' slush funds will deprive millions of adequate health care, but someone has to underwrite billionaire tax cuts, right?
Next up is Medicare for tapping into OPM (other people's money) for those who think it can't happen to them.
Company people who love Trump beware! His man, Tom Price, wants to end employer based health insurance so don't believe you'll be immune from the destruction. They will be be coming for YOU too.
The planned destruction of Medicaid by turning it into GOP governors' slush funds will deprive millions of adequate health care, but someone has to underwrite billionaire tax cuts, right?
Next up is Medicare for tapping into OPM (other people's money) for those who think it can't happen to them.
Company people who love Trump beware! His man, Tom Price, wants to end employer based health insurance so don't believe you'll be immune from the destruction. They will be be coming for YOU too.
23
If Trump's policies are consummated and public promises like Medicare, Medicaid, etc., are reduced or magically disappear, I hope I won't be around to see that. Never EVER thought I'd say such a thing...
2
This editorial seems to conflate two separate issues with respect to Trump's appointees, their wealth and employment background, on the one hand, and their qualifications for the position, on the other. The piece contains a perfunctory statement to the effect that membership in the economic elite should not disqualify an individual from service in the higher echelons of government, but most of the editorial implies otherwise. Virtually every administration over the last century, including those of FDR and Obama, has included some wealthy cabinet members. Roosevelt, moreover, chose Joseph Kennedy, a man with a highly dubious background in business, to chair the new SEC, and he apparently performed well.
The problem with Trump's appointees stems from their values and philosophy of government, not their wealth or business ties. Betsy DeVos, who scorns public education, will oversee a department designed to promote state-run schools. Andrew Puzder will head a department created to champion the welfare of the very workers he wants to replace with machinery. And Steve Mnuchin, the new Secretary of the Treasury, leaves behind a record of smashed lives from his years as CEO of a real estate foreclosure firm.
Trump, as is his wont, lied about his predecessor's record. Mr. Obama filled his administration with competent, often distinguished, people. The new president seeks to create a swamp populated in part by predators who aspire to undermine the departments they head.
The problem with Trump's appointees stems from their values and philosophy of government, not their wealth or business ties. Betsy DeVos, who scorns public education, will oversee a department designed to promote state-run schools. Andrew Puzder will head a department created to champion the welfare of the very workers he wants to replace with machinery. And Steve Mnuchin, the new Secretary of the Treasury, leaves behind a record of smashed lives from his years as CEO of a real estate foreclosure firm.
Trump, as is his wont, lied about his predecessor's record. Mr. Obama filled his administration with competent, often distinguished, people. The new president seeks to create a swamp populated in part by predators who aspire to undermine the departments they head.
683
I’m glad you called Joe Kennedy’s business practices “dubious.” To paraphrase Wikipedia, after Roosevelt called Kennedy to Washington to clean up the securities industry, somebody asked FDR why he had tapped such a crook. “Takes one to catch one,” replied Roosevelt. Could Trump be thinking along these lines too? Moreover, Kennedy’s term as Ambassador to Britain ended abruptly during the Battle of Britain in November 1940 with the publishing of his controversial remarks saying, "Democracy is finished in England. It may be here (in the US)." Let’s hope that comment doesn’t turn out to be prescient.
2
"The bigger the lie the easier it is to sell." Paraphrased from A. Hitler and propagated by J. Goebbels in 1941.
3
The problem is that Trump elected to appoint very wealthy cronies, friends and businessmen with mostly NO government or political experiences or knowledge of what the responsiblilities in the varies agencies entails. Case in point the ex-governor Rick Perry of Texas. Therefore, he did NOT drain the swamp. Most certainly nobody would have criticized him if he would have chosen a wealthy individual with political or governmental experience or some NOT so wealthy person from the middle class with the aforementioned experience. It is astonishing to me that people, no matter from what walks of life, who voted for him do not see this glaring disconnect from their mdaily lives. Do these people live in an alternate reality? Do they realy believe that Trump and his very wealthy appointees can bring wealth to them as well? Lastly, I do realize that the Democrats in Congress are certainly NOT poor, some are very wealthy as well, but they certainly can not match Trump's multi billionaire and multimillionaire appointees. Furthermore, most Democrats on the Hill have some political or governmental experience. We shall wait and see how Trump and the BIG-Money Establishment in Washington will fare.
4
Thank you, NY Times, for calling out Trump and using the word "LIES" in your lead story today. It's long overdue.
If the media had been that honest about Trump for the last year, we might not be reading this editorial today.
If the media had been that honest about Trump for the last year, we might not be reading this editorial today.
202
Yes, I find it interesting that the NYT now uses "lies" against Trump but I do not recall that "lies" was used against Pres. Bush or Pres. Obama.
1
I agree, HDNY, and those of us who read articles like this and understand what is happening MUST e-mail articles and post them on social media so others are aware. Most people simply do not take the time, think they "don't count" so don't care, are blinded by fox so-called news and hate radio/social media, think their elected officials are taking care of them, are afraid to speak out and are too uninformed. WE must help them see the light.
1
HDNY,
If the NYT and the Media had been honest Bernie Sanders would be President now. You will note that he is not, but he supported Trump's decision to quit the TPP!
If the NYT and the Media had been honest Bernie Sanders would be President now. You will note that he is not, but he supported Trump's decision to quit the TPP!
1
Where I live - when you drain a swamp you gotta watch out for saltwater crocodiles and pythons because neither take prisoners. President Trump, having rid the Washington swamp of it's resident reptilians, would appear to be in the process of replacing them with his own.
111
The salient point in this editorial is:
"His gilded cabinet, still being confirmed, presents a jarring contrast with his message."
And there you have it.
Trump will continue to mouth his great support for the common people and how he plans to diligently work hard for them all in order to save them all from whatever.
Meanwhile the Cabinet he is diligently putting into place represents exactly the opposite of what he preaches.
The Cabinet's task is to make all of Trump's promises impossible in the real world.
In the great market place of our country Trump is the "loss leader" in every sense of the word.
His job is to entice and mislead the consumer and to set them up for the store's merchandisers to reap the rewards of untold profits.
Do not forget that all that Trump really knows and practices is exploitative business practices utilizing glitz, bling, deception, and little or no rewards.
The word suckers springs to mind and now the national minute has arrived for the birth of the population.
The Ringling Bros. has gone and Trump has taken its place. The Circus has come about - to the Maximus.
"His gilded cabinet, still being confirmed, presents a jarring contrast with his message."
And there you have it.
Trump will continue to mouth his great support for the common people and how he plans to diligently work hard for them all in order to save them all from whatever.
Meanwhile the Cabinet he is diligently putting into place represents exactly the opposite of what he preaches.
The Cabinet's task is to make all of Trump's promises impossible in the real world.
In the great market place of our country Trump is the "loss leader" in every sense of the word.
His job is to entice and mislead the consumer and to set them up for the store's merchandisers to reap the rewards of untold profits.
Do not forget that all that Trump really knows and practices is exploitative business practices utilizing glitz, bling, deception, and little or no rewards.
The word suckers springs to mind and now the national minute has arrived for the birth of the population.
The Ringling Bros. has gone and Trump has taken its place. The Circus has come about - to the Maximus.
228
The Republican party has had no trouble branding itself as the party of "Christians" over the last few decades by embracing wars of choice, torture, capital punishment, gun violence, prejudices of various kinds, & by the incessant demonizing of the poor & needy.
They will likely have no trouble branding themselves as economic populists while continuing to put the hands of billionaires into the pockets of working people.
If the country were fighting about government policy and its consequences, instead of about lies, morality, "entitlement," and all the names we call each other, then our political division would map our economic division: the 1% vs. the rest of us.
They will likely have no trouble branding themselves as economic populists while continuing to put the hands of billionaires into the pockets of working people.
If the country were fighting about government policy and its consequences, instead of about lies, morality, "entitlement," and all the names we call each other, then our political division would map our economic division: the 1% vs. the rest of us.
93
Would it make you feel better if we appointed unsuccessful and poor candidates?
6
Wow, is that how you see the world--one of these two options? Then there's the problem.
7
How about qualified candidates? How about appointees with policy and some government experience? Those are few and far between. Let's see how the cabinet of the wealthy understand what the blue collar and middle class need and why many voted for Trump believing his campaign promises. Do you really believe someone whose entire life and career was upper class, who never went through financial and economic hardships will have the same understanding to help those that voted for Trump?
23
What a childish question. How about competent, experienced, candidates, who are not dedicated to the destruction of the department they are going to run?
31
These people will trample Trump's working class voters under their $600 shoes. They deserve Trump. I don't.
57
Who cares as the true character of America is reveled which is "let them eat cake". Nothing confirms "truth" more substantially than a hundred million dollar stock trade or a "pooling of interest" merger. Face it, uber wealth means that you're (by definition) smarter, more capable and talented that most others. Trump is delusional about popular vote counts but he is clear eyed about wealth: more is better.
11
Really? Support this one to one relationship with real evidence, not alternative facts. For example, DT inherited much of his wealth. Pray tell, how does that make him smarter, more capable, and more talented?
1
No,they're more avaricious, rapacious and sociopathic than others. What most of these people do to attain their wealth could not be stomached by ethical people.
2
These swamp rats are wearing the sable coats that clog the drain. More than this kind of president, we need a plunger.
21
From the first brief questions of Betsy DeVos's hearing where she stated she had never gone to s public school,neither had any of her children, the question of voting for her should have been settled. The GOP now have just become enablers for the wealthy elite to force their unpopular agenda on the American public. And,of course, make money in the process.
Will we recognize America in four years? Not with this support group. Trump supporters, take heed of what he does, not what he says.
Will we recognize America in four years? Not with this support group. Trump supporters, take heed of what he does, not what he says.
96
No surprises at all. Trump is only doing what he said, draining the swamp. To him, the residents of the swamp are academic experts, federal employees, career politicians. He campaigned clearly on this and won the election. I never heard him one time say wealthy individuals are the problem facing our nation. So, at least in this he did not lie. Since, he did not have to reveal his sources of income or divest anything, of course he feels his nominees should not be bound either. The issue is not Trump since he is doing what he said. It is the Republicans in the Senate who need to be held to account for their lack of principles.
48
U miss the real issue. R the nominees qualified?
Their personal success is a positive sign. Do u want to disqualify someone just because they r successful? In the previous administration it seemed that political success led to cabinet appointments. In my view this alone is not sufficient. Being the wife of a former President or a Senator in and of itself doesn't give u qualifications to be Secty. of State or any other Cabinent position. With respect to conflict why do u think past financial history is any more of a conflict than past political history. If a govt. offical favors a policy or person because of political involvement isn't this as bad as favoring a policy or person because of political position. It is time our Govt. does things because it is in the interest of the USA. Let's give the new people a chance to act before we complain.
Their personal success is a positive sign. Do u want to disqualify someone just because they r successful? In the previous administration it seemed that political success led to cabinet appointments. In my view this alone is not sufficient. Being the wife of a former President or a Senator in and of itself doesn't give u qualifications to be Secty. of State or any other Cabinent position. With respect to conflict why do u think past financial history is any more of a conflict than past political history. If a govt. offical favors a policy or person because of political involvement isn't this as bad as favoring a policy or person because of political position. It is time our Govt. does things because it is in the interest of the USA. Let's give the new people a chance to act before we complain.
4
Actually, I think the real issue is that not one of them have any experience in public policy or managing the type of agency they now lead, and some of them can financially benefit from decisions they and Trump make. So no, they're not qualified and the nation shouldn't stagnate while they do their on-the-job training.
Quick question: can you ever benefit from the shenanigans they can manipulate? I know I sure can't.
Quick question: can you ever benefit from the shenanigans they can manipulate? I know I sure can't.
30
The real issue is now evident from comments he made to both Democratic and Republican leaders yesterday in the Oval Office.
The real issue is Trump is emotionally unstable.
That he would even broach the subject that he was robbed of a majority victory before these jaded men and women is worrisome enough.
What has he said to Putin, his avatar, during his private conversations, both before and after his election?
And what will Putin read into his whining?
Nothin' good, my fellow Amer'kins.
The real issue is Trump is emotionally unstable.
That he would even broach the subject that he was robbed of a majority victory before these jaded men and women is worrisome enough.
What has he said to Putin, his avatar, during his private conversations, both before and after his election?
And what will Putin read into his whining?
Nothin' good, my fellow Amer'kins.
17
They will post the talk show talking points over and over: What's wrong with wealth? Doesn't wealth imply qualifications and success?
So for the trumpteenth time: There is nothing wrong with wealth. There is nothing wrong with success. However if the President claims to be for the working class and will make things better for the working the working class appointing the people from the very group who he claims to have been sticking it to the working class and who's record indicates an antagonism toward not only the working class but the very organization they are to lead is demonstrating another lie from Trump and a valid point of discussion.
And as Trump himself shows, wealth and success are not indications of being qualified to serve. Even in the working world we are familiar with people who have had success and reaped the rewards while all around them know that they weren't qualified. There was even a well known business book written about some people - the Peter Principal.
So for the trumpteenth time: There is nothing wrong with wealth. There is nothing wrong with success. However if the President claims to be for the working class and will make things better for the working the working class appointing the people from the very group who he claims to have been sticking it to the working class and who's record indicates an antagonism toward not only the working class but the very organization they are to lead is demonstrating another lie from Trump and a valid point of discussion.
And as Trump himself shows, wealth and success are not indications of being qualified to serve. Even in the working world we are familiar with people who have had success and reaped the rewards while all around them know that they weren't qualified. There was even a well known business book written about some people - the Peter Principal.
95
Wells said! And we are the people are in for it. No doubt cabinet positions go to bundlers for the cause at a high proportion. Look no further than Penny Pritzker, outgoing at Commerce. But balance that with the scientists at DOE that just left. For every Robert Rubin there was a Robert Reich. But this crew, oye vey. Seems like the requirement is you were a Yuge contributor. The only exception is Energy. And I am still scratching my head on that one, a guy too dumb for any job above service station attendant. What is that smell? Swamp gas.
25
Trump is a walking, talking, apparently breathing, family pyramid scheme or family scamming operation. It is a family without business, public or personal ethics- or Morals.
Giving Washington back to the people, means stiffing the people of this country, perhaps for generations. He will allow the sawdust brained dummies to think he's doing something that he's not. He tells the sucker voters his tax returns and they keep insisting there really is do a right card in the deck or that the shell game really has winners not suckers.
Trump is a too big to fail person. The banks that thought they could control him allowed him to borrow hundreds of millions on the thought he actually was a turnaround artist. Instead he left the banks and Atlantic City to hang out to dry.
He and his crooked New Jersey political pals created huge alligator swamps. Where the rail tunnel under the Hudson, down the river with Trump types like Chris Christie.
All over the country, there are enablers like Chris Christie and the casino kings who get payoffs from political and corporate.
Selling the brand name of this crook is poison for business partners and the American people. But by the time they wake up, it will be too late, but expect an end to political hucksters.
Giving Washington back to the people, means stiffing the people of this country, perhaps for generations. He will allow the sawdust brained dummies to think he's doing something that he's not. He tells the sucker voters his tax returns and they keep insisting there really is do a right card in the deck or that the shell game really has winners not suckers.
Trump is a too big to fail person. The banks that thought they could control him allowed him to borrow hundreds of millions on the thought he actually was a turnaround artist. Instead he left the banks and Atlantic City to hang out to dry.
He and his crooked New Jersey political pals created huge alligator swamps. Where the rail tunnel under the Hudson, down the river with Trump types like Chris Christie.
All over the country, there are enablers like Chris Christie and the casino kings who get payoffs from political and corporate.
Selling the brand name of this crook is poison for business partners and the American people. But by the time they wake up, it will be too late, but expect an end to political hucksters.
18
You keep preaching to the choir. over and over.
Wake up! He tells it like it is. It is a lie. The American people chose him because of who he is, not despite it. How much clearer does it have to be?
His truth is whatever he can convince others of. The fact that we fell for it,,.well, we didn't really. The measure of our government is its incompetence. Or thievery. Its exactly what we voted for. It might work, for some. Not for most, not for all. But it will work for the wealthy and since we all may become wealthy, that's good. Right?
He's doing his best to dismantle everything I thought we represented. And he does so in a cringingly familiar manner. (You can trust me because...)
He is a creep. Sorry, but no higher words describe him. We elected him. Live with it!
Wake up! He tells it like it is. It is a lie. The American people chose him because of who he is, not despite it. How much clearer does it have to be?
His truth is whatever he can convince others of. The fact that we fell for it,,.well, we didn't really. The measure of our government is its incompetence. Or thievery. Its exactly what we voted for. It might work, for some. Not for most, not for all. But it will work for the wealthy and since we all may become wealthy, that's good. Right?
He's doing his best to dismantle everything I thought we represented. And he does so in a cringingly familiar manner. (You can trust me because...)
He is a creep. Sorry, but no higher words describe him. We elected him. Live with it!
13
The majority did not elect him and they have no intention to live with it, as demonstrated by the women's marches all over the country last Saturday. He was elected through the electoral college, voter suppression, Russian hacking interference, Comey's action, and lies and systematic character assassination of his opponent. "Legal" in a strict sense: yes. "Legitimate" in an ethical and moral sense: no. I am disappointed but I don't beat myself up about it and neither should you. "We" did not elect him.
2
Those of us who would like to believe that Trump's working class supporters will be unhappy with his white male, billionaire, upper-class appointees are going to be badly disappointed.
In many countries, there have been rebellions against the very wealthy. Not in America. University of Chicago's famed economist, Thorstein Veblen, explained that, in this country, where money is worshiped like a god-like substance, the down-and-out want to imitate--indeed--want to BE among the very wealthy! Rather than hating Trump for his ostentatious behavior, they aspire to be Donald Trump and acquire his lifestyle: the glamorous wife, the private jet, the penthouse, on and on.
If Trump replaces the "swamp" with a "billionaires only" golf course, his blue-collar constituency will be ecstatic--even if they can't get in.
In many countries, there have been rebellions against the very wealthy. Not in America. University of Chicago's famed economist, Thorstein Veblen, explained that, in this country, where money is worshiped like a god-like substance, the down-and-out want to imitate--indeed--want to BE among the very wealthy! Rather than hating Trump for his ostentatious behavior, they aspire to be Donald Trump and acquire his lifestyle: the glamorous wife, the private jet, the penthouse, on and on.
If Trump replaces the "swamp" with a "billionaires only" golf course, his blue-collar constituency will be ecstatic--even if they can't get in.
39
Well put. I would add that those who were once referred to as "the great unwashed" yearn to live vicariously through the exploits and successes of others. I happen to be a career Federal employee. Trump and Co. will gut the service delivery system of every Federal agency until privatization can be justified. Then this country will grind to a halt.
15
This piece helpfully points out the way forward through a DJT term, focusing on what's actually happening vs. the over-blown rhetoric and antics - same as we all would normally do when confronted with a condo sales guy/serial casino bankruptcy magnate.
DJT is merely the distracting hood ornament for the same ol' same ol' GOP'er gang, representing the same ol' same ol' policies, except their out-of-this-world wealth makes them even more susceptible to the conflicts of interest laws that bring criminal penalties for Cabinet officers.
DJT is merely the distracting hood ornament for the same ol' same ol' GOP'er gang, representing the same ol' same ol' policies, except their out-of-this-world wealth makes them even more susceptible to the conflicts of interest laws that bring criminal penalties for Cabinet officers.
52
My biggest concern is the appointment of Rex Tillerson as Secretary of State as he is the former head of Exxon Mobil and reminds me of the great recession, that I firmly believe, was brought about by the spike in the price of oil with a peak of 147 dollars in July 2008.
Everyone is convinced that the housing crisis precipitated the fall in the economy, but what caused the housing crisis? Hardships paying for oil and oil products and every other product from plastics to food whose prices escalated as a result of the high oil prices.
I see two problems here. First is that Tillerson, Trump and Congress will probably enable the export of our vital strategic resource and fuel of our economy; oil. Second will be a resulting hike in oil prices that will once again crush the economy.
Everyone is convinced that the housing crisis precipitated the fall in the economy, but what caused the housing crisis? Hardships paying for oil and oil products and every other product from plastics to food whose prices escalated as a result of the high oil prices.
I see two problems here. First is that Tillerson, Trump and Congress will probably enable the export of our vital strategic resource and fuel of our economy; oil. Second will be a resulting hike in oil prices that will once again crush the economy.
10
If housing foreclosures en mass caused the housing crisis widely throughout the population then there must have been a common cause...........oil.
2
Is the State Department going to be a front for price fixing internationally?
Patrick,
You are partly right, but you might want to look at why the U.S. imported so much oil back then and from where (Canada & Mexico) most of it came.
We have lots of energy right here in the U.S., but it has been the Government's policy to make it as difficult as possible to use it.
That will now change!
You are partly right, but you might want to look at why the U.S. imported so much oil back then and from where (Canada & Mexico) most of it came.
We have lots of energy right here in the U.S., but it has been the Government's policy to make it as difficult as possible to use it.
That will now change!
1
Just because he said he would drain the swamp doesn't mean anything. They were just words and most likely one of his many falsehoods.
21
True enough, Chris, but that's not the point--which is that it got elected. Now ask why so many were so gullible.
3
From Trump's inauguration speech: "Every decision...will be made to benefit American workers and American families. "
It's a proven fact that union membership benefits American workers (https://www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/2013/04/art2full.pdf). So, based on Trump's speech I'm looking forward to, at the very least, passage of the Employee Free Choice Act and new legislation guaranteeing swift and harsh punishment for employers who resort to coercion to avoid unions in the workplace and who refuse to bargain collectively.
Some other things that would undoubtedly "benefit American workers" are higher wages, universal health care, and overtime pay. So I'm sure Secretary of Labor nominee Andrew Puzder is going to work hard to secure these things for American workers, right? He'll uphold the mission of the Department of Labor, which is "To foster, promote, and develop the welfare of the wage earners, job seekers, and retirees of the United States; improve working conditions; advance opportunities for profitable employment; and assure work-related benefits and rights," won't he?
No, of course he won't. And his nomination for the post makes Trump's statement about benefiting American workers just another lie in a long succession of lies. It would be difficult to find anyone more big-money (and anti-worker) establishment than Puzder. I've read rumors that he may be thinking of bailing on the nomination because he can't stand the scrutiny. Who will Trump's next pick be? Scott Walker?
It's a proven fact that union membership benefits American workers (https://www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/2013/04/art2full.pdf). So, based on Trump's speech I'm looking forward to, at the very least, passage of the Employee Free Choice Act and new legislation guaranteeing swift and harsh punishment for employers who resort to coercion to avoid unions in the workplace and who refuse to bargain collectively.
Some other things that would undoubtedly "benefit American workers" are higher wages, universal health care, and overtime pay. So I'm sure Secretary of Labor nominee Andrew Puzder is going to work hard to secure these things for American workers, right? He'll uphold the mission of the Department of Labor, which is "To foster, promote, and develop the welfare of the wage earners, job seekers, and retirees of the United States; improve working conditions; advance opportunities for profitable employment; and assure work-related benefits and rights," won't he?
No, of course he won't. And his nomination for the post makes Trump's statement about benefiting American workers just another lie in a long succession of lies. It would be difficult to find anyone more big-money (and anti-worker) establishment than Puzder. I've read rumors that he may be thinking of bailing on the nomination because he can't stand the scrutiny. Who will Trump's next pick be? Scott Walker?
26
Of all the articles I've read lately about President Trump's swamp versus his rhetoric, the best summation I can find is: "he ran as a populist but governs like a conservative Elitist republican."
This is classic bait and switch. I don't know if his supporters care because their main concern is jobs. But having read today's analysis about Mr. Trump's meeting with CEOs, it became abundantly clear that there is only so much he can do on the jobs front.
A quote from that analysis really gave me pause: "global capital has no social conscience." President Trump may think he is all powerful to lessen the impact of corporate profit-seeking, but he's not a magician.
corporate Profit-seeking goes where the profits are, which means finding ways to lower labor costs. Even the secretary of labor is blunt about the efficiency of robots.
Clearly President Trump has promised too much to his base. He can't turn the tide of capital decision making, and slapping tariffs will only increase prices for consumers.
I want to see the reactions of all these Rust Belt Trump supporters one or two years from now, when the economy has nosedived, they still have no jobs, and life is more expensive.
I think they will find they have been duped by Mr. Trump and his swamp bog of inexperienced billionaires appointed for more for their campaign donations than any any expertise in helping Trump deliver inn his campaign promises.
This is classic bait and switch. I don't know if his supporters care because their main concern is jobs. But having read today's analysis about Mr. Trump's meeting with CEOs, it became abundantly clear that there is only so much he can do on the jobs front.
A quote from that analysis really gave me pause: "global capital has no social conscience." President Trump may think he is all powerful to lessen the impact of corporate profit-seeking, but he's not a magician.
corporate Profit-seeking goes where the profits are, which means finding ways to lower labor costs. Even the secretary of labor is blunt about the efficiency of robots.
Clearly President Trump has promised too much to his base. He can't turn the tide of capital decision making, and slapping tariffs will only increase prices for consumers.
I want to see the reactions of all these Rust Belt Trump supporters one or two years from now, when the economy has nosedived, they still have no jobs, and life is more expensive.
I think they will find they have been duped by Mr. Trump and his swamp bog of inexperienced billionaires appointed for more for their campaign donations than any any expertise in helping Trump deliver inn his campaign promises.
39
His base will be the ones to ruin this monster. They are hot headed and when they realize he has LIED to them all hell will break loose. Remember they are not Mensa members but they will be the angriest and may be the ones who will start a revolution or some other danger to the US when it finally sinks in to their addled brains.
1
The only way Trump is going to "drain the swamp" is by being the biggest monster to jump in and displace all the water.
19
With every beat of his heart, with every breath he takes, he spins, lies and deceives all within sound of his voice.
108
I went yesterday to a group which sprang up to harness the enthusiasm of people who want to put their energy into actually draining the swamp. Ninety percent of the efforts suggested were aimed at contacting elected officials, and involving the press. We, the people, will not be able to effect real change to protect our democracy and get it to work until the voters (and those who did not vote) get involved in their government. Instead of just outing those whose behaviors belie the positions they hold (and I DO believe we need to keep shining a light on them), we need to reach out to the millions who were taken in by the PR for Trump's reality show. They need to realize that the fantasy did not invite them to ride the "Make America Great" train, but that they were the pawns that were used to gild the vehicle that gives more power to the monsters of the swamp.
25
How long will it be before the residents of the red states wake up to Trump’s swamp? How long will it be before they realize that when he said he was giving Washington back to the people he was actually referring to his swamp-people? How long will it be before they notice that his swamp-people know nothing at all about the forgotten workingman and have absolutely no interest in helping him (or her)? How long will it be before they see that the only people whose lot in life is improving are his swamp-people? How long will it be before…ah, what’s the point?
The answer is that they’ll never find out. Scientific studies carried out at Trump University before it collapsed clearly established that forgotten workingmen can survive for at least four years on “alternative facts”.
The answer is that they’ll never find out. Scientific studies carried out at Trump University before it collapsed clearly established that forgotten workingmen can survive for at least four years on “alternative facts”.
160
David:
Maybe when the predator in chief's supporters get hit in the wallet, they will see they've been conned; however, in their "alternative facts" world, they will probably blame Obama.
Maybe when the predator in chief's supporters get hit in the wallet, they will see they've been conned; however, in their "alternative facts" world, they will probably blame Obama.
They love his lies .They will never wake up as long as he increases the wage difference between them and members of minorities. Obama reduced the difference. Big mistake for their ego. If they lose their jobs it will make a difference. But first he will take everything away from blacks, Hispanics and women. They will love it.
This was probably the most predictable thing about the Trump administration. Trump has always been an elitist. He surrounds himself with the rich, famous, successful, and beautiful. Regular people need not apply to love in Trump's world.
Now Trump is the establishment. And the new establishment is even more corrupt and elitist than any other in modern history.
The 1% will be fine. Big pharma and bank stocks are doing great thanks to the end of Obamacare and regulation. But the value of the dollar is showing signs of weakening, which won't be good for the buying power of the working class in the upcoming trade wars.
Now Trump is the establishment. And the new establishment is even more corrupt and elitist than any other in modern history.
The 1% will be fine. Big pharma and bank stocks are doing great thanks to the end of Obamacare and regulation. But the value of the dollar is showing signs of weakening, which won't be good for the buying power of the working class in the upcoming trade wars.
45
In the fact free administration of President Trump, promises are no longer defined as commitments of action made to others. In his world, a promise is just another instrument designed for the primary purpose of serving him. They are only made to help Trump get elected, deflect his critics, impress his friends or feel good about himself. When promises are broken, Team Trump will simply insist they were either misheard or never existed. Another politician might also claim his or her enemies caused them not to be fulfilled, but not Trump. His fragile ego can't tolerate the thought of ever admitting defeat. In the event some of his promises do end up helping someone else, that should just be considered a collateral positive outcome.
14
Mr. Mnuchin's failure to disclose his fortune in personal assets was dismissed as "an oversight", so no big deal. The Republican Senate wants to fast-track the president's Cabinet nominees through the confirmation process but where is Jason Chaffetz, Chairman of the House Oversight Committee now, when it is obvious that many of these nominees need to be "extremely vetted".
Mr. Chaffetz said recently that he had no interest in going on a "fishing expedition" to examine the fitness of these Cabinet nominees. He was ready enough to go after Hillary Clinton last year for her tenure and conduct as secretary of state but now turns a blind eye to potential conflicts-of-interest and "oversights" by this president's appointees for important administration posts. And for the multitudes who cheered the president's acceptance diatribe last Friday, what the 45th will drain will be their wallets and their hopes, not the Washington establishment.
Mr. Chaffetz said recently that he had no interest in going on a "fishing expedition" to examine the fitness of these Cabinet nominees. He was ready enough to go after Hillary Clinton last year for her tenure and conduct as secretary of state but now turns a blind eye to potential conflicts-of-interest and "oversights" by this president's appointees for important administration posts. And for the multitudes who cheered the president's acceptance diatribe last Friday, what the 45th will drain will be their wallets and their hopes, not the Washington establishment.
380
Chaffetz also has no problem going after Walter Shaub, Head of the Office of Government Ethics, for Shaub's comments on the potential for ethical conflicts in Trump's refusal to fully divest himself from his business. The GOP line seems to be that ethics are for losers.
10
Small hands, small inaugural crowds. I'm a failed reality TV star losing money on my DC hotel...SAD.
134
no worries
he doesnt pay his contractors anyway
Donald Trump’s new Washington hotel, located just blocks from the White House, owes electricians, wood workers and a plumbing and heating business more than $5 million for unpaid labor, according to liens filed against the property with the District of Columbia.
The 263-room hotel, located on the historic site of the city’s former main post office, opened in October following a $212 million renovation of the 1899 structure. The liens were filed in November and December, according to public records.
Trump has acknowledged not always paying all his bills, saying it’s often a negotiating tactic when work is subpar. His companies have been sued numerous times over unpaid work. Among them were landscapers at Riverside South Park in Manhattan, who sued in 2001 seeking $111,000. Contractors at Trump Park Avenue sued in 2003 seeking $206,000. And in 2010 a painter in Chicago sued a Trump entity developing a high-rise claiming to be owed more than $4 million.
https://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2017-01-05/trump-s-dc-hotel-...
he doesnt pay his contractors anyway
Donald Trump’s new Washington hotel, located just blocks from the White House, owes electricians, wood workers and a plumbing and heating business more than $5 million for unpaid labor, according to liens filed against the property with the District of Columbia.
The 263-room hotel, located on the historic site of the city’s former main post office, opened in October following a $212 million renovation of the 1899 structure. The liens were filed in November and December, according to public records.
Trump has acknowledged not always paying all his bills, saying it’s often a negotiating tactic when work is subpar. His companies have been sued numerous times over unpaid work. Among them were landscapers at Riverside South Park in Manhattan, who sued in 2001 seeking $111,000. Contractors at Trump Park Avenue sued in 2003 seeking $206,000. And in 2010 a painter in Chicago sued a Trump entity developing a high-rise claiming to be owed more than $4 million.
https://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2017-01-05/trump-s-dc-hotel-...
44
Last week Donald Trump wrote a check for 25 MILLION DOLLARS to settle claims of FRAUD and RACKETEERING. The man is a CRIMINAL.
540
the trump uni case showcases trump ability to profit from anything
he settled the case out of court of 25 mill, which lawyers agree was a pittance
not only did he avoid negative buzz from a trial,but the 25 mill was tax deductible
Teflon don, the weaselly con
( and bernie madoff is in jail -- go figure )
he settled the case out of court of 25 mill, which lawyers agree was a pittance
not only did he avoid negative buzz from a trial,but the 25 mill was tax deductible
Teflon don, the weaselly con
( and bernie madoff is in jail -- go figure )
27
It is extremely troubling to me how companies, or individuals in this case, can pay huge fines yet not have to acknowledge guilt. If you paid it, you are guilty, or incredibly stupid for letting the government con you out of that money. Large settlements should come with an admission of guilt.
9
Of course if you are not worth millions of dollars fraud and racketeering land you in jail for a long time.
8
The draining of swamps is a tricky business best left to professionals. Here is Pete Seeger's take on the subject:
Waist deep in the Big Muddy
And the big fool says to push on.
Waist deep in the Big Muddy
And the big fool says to push on.
Waist deep! Neck deep! Soon even a
Tall man'll be over his head, we're
Waist deep in the Big Muddy!
And the big fool says to push on!
Waist deep in the Big Muddy
And the big fool says to push on.
Waist deep in the Big Muddy
And the big fool says to push on.
Waist deep! Neck deep! Soon even a
Tall man'll be over his head, we're
Waist deep in the Big Muddy!
And the big fool says to push on!
27
A.,
If there had been any "Professionals" in D.C. to "drain the swamp" lo these last 30 years, the 6 counties around D.C. Wouldn't be among the richest in the nation.
That's why it's past time for some "non D.C. amateurs" to give it a try!
If there had been any "Professionals" in D.C. to "drain the swamp" lo these last 30 years, the 6 counties around D.C. Wouldn't be among the richest in the nation.
That's why it's past time for some "non D.C. amateurs" to give it a try!
2
So, is Mr. Mnuchin's oversight an alterna-fact or just an attempt to hide assets? Do Rick Perry and Betsy Devos live in an alternaverse where they need to use Cliffnotes just to read the job description? Perhaps Trump has an alterna-dictionary that he uses to define 'swamp'.
If this is the world we live in then my alterna-facts of the day are that I'm 30 years younger and 30 pounds lighter.
If this is the world we live in then my alterna-facts of the day are that I'm 30 years younger and 30 pounds lighter.
116
The alt.right uses alt.facts to create alt.truth and promulgate their alt.reality. The result is everthing is confused and uncertain, everyone's a suspect. The only way to cut through it is to follow the advice of Mark Felt, follow the money. Watch the blood drain from our faces and the value drain from our holdings as the entire net worth of America starts showing up in a few offshore accounts. Someone has to pay off the russians and deutsche bank to settle Trumps indebtedness, and like his alt.friend Christie, he's always used other peoples money to bail himself out. Pray you're not one who receives an "invitation" to Mar a Gitmo, or Mar a Siberia. The problem isn't so much that Trump is mentally deficient or ill, it's that so many of us seem to be.
4
I was struck, in particular, by a photograph of a woman on the Mall last Friday. She was sobbing, seemingly uncontrollably, at the great event of her lifetime: the inauguration of a man who stood for everything in opposition to her life story. The photograph displayed a matronly person, rather shabbily dressed, hunched under an umbrella, thrilled at the ascension of a gilded president who got there by stepping on and over folks like (presumably) her husband, her sons, her father, her grandfather and her extended anti-elitist family.
This woman, it seemed to me, wouldn't have been allowed into the lobby of Goldman Sachs if she were anything but an upwardly-mobile executive, fast-tracked to the higher floors by dint, perhaps, of her education and GOP bona-fides, all the trappings of wealth.
The woman, it seemed to me, wouldn't have protested the poor grades that her sons or brothers or nephews would likely have earned in charter schools because the public money used to fund them was earmarked for purposes other than education.
The woman, it seemed to me, would hardly have misplaced "$100 million in personal assets" and passed it off an "an oversight."
She was there, in all probability, to witness the new administration's draining of the swamp of privilege and exclusivity. She was there to bear witness to the return to a great America that had been radicalized by a foreign-born community organizer, a stranger to America.
The new cabinet wouldn't give her the time of day.
This woman, it seemed to me, wouldn't have been allowed into the lobby of Goldman Sachs if she were anything but an upwardly-mobile executive, fast-tracked to the higher floors by dint, perhaps, of her education and GOP bona-fides, all the trappings of wealth.
The woman, it seemed to me, wouldn't have protested the poor grades that her sons or brothers or nephews would likely have earned in charter schools because the public money used to fund them was earmarked for purposes other than education.
The woman, it seemed to me, would hardly have misplaced "$100 million in personal assets" and passed it off an "an oversight."
She was there, in all probability, to witness the new administration's draining of the swamp of privilege and exclusivity. She was there to bear witness to the return to a great America that had been radicalized by a foreign-born community organizer, a stranger to America.
The new cabinet wouldn't give her the time of day.
360
I probably saw those pictures too. The whole thing just makes my head explode. The one person I know who voted for sTrumpy, a man but what difference does that make, and I probably know more if I thought hard enough, but why? fits what you describe exactly. It is all so sad.
5
Right on baby!!!!!!!!
3
To be human is to revel in the resonance of our own destruction.
3
Donald "old swampy" Trump is practicing the art of political theatre. All his actions are meant for the cameras and Fox News. The business executives he's gathered are driven by Wall Street and the next quarters profits. Building factories in the US sounds good but unless there's a economic rationale to do so, it won't get done; threats of tariffs notwithstanding. The executives are happy to play because the end game is lower taxes and fewer regulations.
Trump is playing with fire in his actions and will likely drive trade wars throughout the world. Rest assured when the smoke clears, he and his billionaire cohorts will sail off in the sunset far richer than before and America will be holding the bag.
Trump is playing with fire in his actions and will likely drive trade wars throughout the world. Rest assured when the smoke clears, he and his billionaire cohorts will sail off in the sunset far richer than before and America will be holding the bag.
30
Trump's crowded cabinet "club"of crony capitalists reflects every aspect of his existence and experience. Money, power, influence, and his special "friends" isolate themselves from the "little people" who have no "real money." They believe their money was earned, that their holdings are a reflection of their inherent brilliance, and that the rest of the rabble are ignorant and less worthy, then they. Their smug arrogance is reflected in their lack of empathy, lack of independent education, lack of charity, and lack of humility. So don't blame Trump for intentionally selecting billionaires-- aside from the .01 %, he has absolutely no one whom he can trust to provide him with the false hope that he can lead this great nation.
67
The choir reads this article and factors it into its future voting plans. But how to take it to those nurses and factory workers standing in the rain to support Trump with their Drain the Swamp cheers, so determined to ignore that they've been played?
Obama said, "Instead of arguing with strangers over the internet, get together with people who disagree with you and talk with them." That sounds like a good starting point. It's up to all of us.
Obama said, "Instead of arguing with strangers over the internet, get together with people who disagree with you and talk with them." That sounds like a good starting point. It's up to all of us.
22
To Sean and indirectly to former President Obama.
It has been my experience that trying to talk with Trump supporters, at the stages of the before election and after election game, was then and is now impossible. It is a useless exercise and very unproductive.
They all are so certain of their strong and determined support of Trump that it is impossible for them to consider any alternative thinking.
I have been greatly surprised by the diversity of the Trump supporters.
This includes friends, relatives, and all types of everyday persons and workers.
What we have is a situation whereby there is nothing to be gained until the passage of an indeterminate amount time proves that the election of Trump was a very large mistake.
In the end we will have only the great satisfaction of being able to say:
"I tried to tell you so."
So until that time ......... we can only just let events unfold.
It has been my experience that trying to talk with Trump supporters, at the stages of the before election and after election game, was then and is now impossible. It is a useless exercise and very unproductive.
They all are so certain of their strong and determined support of Trump that it is impossible for them to consider any alternative thinking.
I have been greatly surprised by the diversity of the Trump supporters.
This includes friends, relatives, and all types of everyday persons and workers.
What we have is a situation whereby there is nothing to be gained until the passage of an indeterminate amount time proves that the election of Trump was a very large mistake.
In the end we will have only the great satisfaction of being able to say:
"I tried to tell you so."
So until that time ......... we can only just let events unfold.
85
I don't really want the Trump supporters to know they were played until the rug gets pulled out from under them. By then hopefully I'll have made my retirement fund by shorting the American markets while investing in China and the Pacific.
Then it's southern Spain or the Caribbean while the US is in an economic collapse.
Yeah, it's selfish, but I don't have kids and I don't feel bad for people who brought it on themselves. Everybody needs to look out for themselves now.
Then it's southern Spain or the Caribbean while the US is in an economic collapse.
Yeah, it's selfish, but I don't have kids and I don't feel bad for people who brought it on themselves. Everybody needs to look out for themselves now.
11
Trying to talk to a supporter of Don the Con is like trying to talk to a cult member. They do not see what the problem is because they have been brainwashed. One might as well talk to the wind. You can point out all the lies ("alternative facts") you want and they won't believe you because the leader has said otherwise. The only real answer is to get out the vote and turn Congress, in particular the Senate. The House is a bigger problem since they have been gerrymandered into a significant number of safe districts.
2
In the end, what do we got? It's just putting lipstick on a pig. I can imagine the first full cabinet meeting with Trump calling the meeting to order by saying: "Let's eat!".
13