A subversion of Unscripted Trump is Twitter-Intoxicated Trump (TWIT).
64
I'm waiting for DIRT: Disgraced, Impeached, Resigned Trump.
What's your pick in the office pool? Months? Less than a year? Less than two?
It looks increasingly likely that he may lose his new attorney general in less than a month, just as he lost his new national security advisor. His press secretary is a pathological liar and comedy punching bag. His closest advisors crawled out from under a slimy extremist rock. His sweeping visions are un-legislatable and wide-open to successful court challenges if they do struggle out of Congress.
He's the boss of a crime family. How appropriate that his name is Don. That the stock market, dominated as it is by his economic class, swoons after he speaks more than a few (scripted and telepromptered) sentences on national TV merely reflects that he's orchestrating a new speculative bubble, because aggregate demand in the real economy continues its slow-motion decline as inequality worsens.
And when he boasts about intending to pursue a historically large increase in our already obscenely bloated "defense" spending while pursuing huge high-end tax cuts, creating "tens of thousands of new jobs" (while his maligned predecessor's administration created nearly 15 MILLION over eight years), and somehow making fiscal sense of any of this, we're dealing with a psychotic political naif.
What's your pick in the office pool? Months? Less than a year? Less than two?
It looks increasingly likely that he may lose his new attorney general in less than a month, just as he lost his new national security advisor. His press secretary is a pathological liar and comedy punching bag. His closest advisors crawled out from under a slimy extremist rock. His sweeping visions are un-legislatable and wide-open to successful court challenges if they do struggle out of Congress.
He's the boss of a crime family. How appropriate that his name is Don. That the stock market, dominated as it is by his economic class, swoons after he speaks more than a few (scripted and telepromptered) sentences on national TV merely reflects that he's orchestrating a new speculative bubble, because aggregate demand in the real economy continues its slow-motion decline as inequality worsens.
And when he boasts about intending to pursue a historically large increase in our already obscenely bloated "defense" spending while pursuing huge high-end tax cuts, creating "tens of thousands of new jobs" (while his maligned predecessor's administration created nearly 15 MILLION over eight years), and somehow making fiscal sense of any of this, we're dealing with a psychotic political naif.
98
we're here in trumpland because the advice lady and her pen pans spent too much time having a good time and "throwing their socks at the tv" when they should have been on their feet, engaged...throwing cold water on a party leadership so corrupt it sold out one of its own and so self satisfied it couldn't take its eyes off its own image in the looking glass press (you again).
you sold us out advice lady, the advice from here is to pack up, take ms nancy and chuck and the new dnc chore boy chairman with you and make some oxygen available to a new generation of (let's hope) real progressives ...the party's response and its respondent to trump's congressional beatdown were proof of the poor air quality and the fitful gasping of those still breathing it.
you sold us out advice lady, the advice from here is to pack up, take ms nancy and chuck and the new dnc chore boy chairman with you and make some oxygen available to a new generation of (let's hope) real progressives ...the party's response and its respondent to trump's congressional beatdown were proof of the poor air quality and the fitful gasping of those still breathing it.
14
Having several versions is serial lying or a psychiatric condition. Out he goes.
27
We need the free press now more than ever, lest the state-run Trump News Network (TNN) takes over. Game over.
BTW: SNORT, LOL times 5.
BTW: SNORT, LOL times 5.
40
Thank you, Gail Collins, for once again upholding sanity when lunacy appears to be triumphant.
30
This is a Gail Collins column on a perfectly reasonable and well delivered speech. Imagine anything she didn't like.
If Trump upsets the coastal elites, it can only be good for me and the rest of the country.
So far I agree with all of Trump's actions and none of his "static", what Gail calls Version 1 Trump.
If Version 3 Trump stays around the democrats are in a world of hurt. We can only hope Version 3 is permanent.
If Trump upsets the coastal elites, it can only be good for me and the rest of the country.
So far I agree with all of Trump's actions and none of his "static", what Gail calls Version 1 Trump.
If Version 3 Trump stays around the democrats are in a world of hurt. We can only hope Version 3 is permanent.
4
How good it is to know that other American are just as alarmed by a somewhat normal Trump as the one we usually see. I watched out of duty, but I was appalled at how he used the widow of a Navy SEAL to create adulation for himself. I didn't hear a specific thing that he plans to do, just vague generalities and more promises. If he put half as much effort into our infrastructure as he does into worrying about losing the popular vote and tearing immigrant families apart, we'd have had roads yesterday.
40
It's not so much that infrastructure spending will be on the wrong things, but that the private-public nature is perfectly designed for graft and corruption.
45
Dear Advice Lady,
I'm getting used to watching Mr. Pres. D.J. Trump and was so grateful that he didn't drag out too many words in a sneering way (bad childhood memory there). The hard part for me was holding both of my hands over the TV screen so that I couldn't see Mr. Vice President M. ?. Pence and Mr. Speaker of the House P.D. Ryan clapping and smiling and standing in approval of Mr. Pres.
Yeah, I got so tired; do you have any suggestions? Thanks in advance.
Tired on the Left and Right
I'm getting used to watching Mr. Pres. D.J. Trump and was so grateful that he didn't drag out too many words in a sneering way (bad childhood memory there). The hard part for me was holding both of my hands over the TV screen so that I couldn't see Mr. Vice President M. ?. Pence and Mr. Speaker of the House P.D. Ryan clapping and smiling and standing in approval of Mr. Pres.
Yeah, I got so tired; do you have any suggestions? Thanks in advance.
Tired on the Left and Right
25
I think the "can't stand Trump" lady needs to see a doctor. She is either going to have a stroke or heart attack. She needs to calm down. President Trump is not all that bad. As a matter of fact, many of us actually think he is doing just fine in the relatively short time he has been in office. We approve of what he has done so far.
5
Gail Collins is right on. i wanted to throw more than a sock at most of the things he said.
It has certainly been amazing to see and hear the media fawn over 45 just because he read a teleprompter for 60 minutes without becoming distracted by the huge voter turnout for him, the beautiful and historic electoral college votes for him, media fake news about him, intelligence leaks against him, the huge numbers of people (misreported) who cheered him at his inauguration, etc.
And the talk about how this speech was so much more positive and upbeat than his inaugural is nauseating. (Did they actually read the contents of this speech?)
Is the bar now so low for this man that if he can get through 60 minutes without demonizing someone or some group or some idea he must be sane and therefore presidential in demeanor?
Kurt Bardella, a former Breitbart spokesman, who has since parted ways with the company and its beliefs, was asked in an interview with Steve Inskeep on NPR if he was impressed with anything in the speech. His response was an and pithy "NO." I think that says it all.
It has certainly been amazing to see and hear the media fawn over 45 just because he read a teleprompter for 60 minutes without becoming distracted by the huge voter turnout for him, the beautiful and historic electoral college votes for him, media fake news about him, intelligence leaks against him, the huge numbers of people (misreported) who cheered him at his inauguration, etc.
And the talk about how this speech was so much more positive and upbeat than his inaugural is nauseating. (Did they actually read the contents of this speech?)
Is the bar now so low for this man that if he can get through 60 minutes without demonizing someone or some group or some idea he must be sane and therefore presidential in demeanor?
Kurt Bardella, a former Breitbart spokesman, who has since parted ways with the company and its beliefs, was asked in an interview with Steve Inskeep on NPR if he was impressed with anything in the speech. His response was an and pithy "NO." I think that says it all.
28
We have only had one appearance by SNORT (thanks for the laugh) since Trump was elected. Is it possible that it's only because the wagons are circling closer and he is hoping to save his job?
13
Hey Gail, how about just Somewhat Normal Outlandish trump? You must admit that he is quite shiney and slippery.
5
The reaction to President Trump's speech has driven it home for me; liberals can't hold a candle to the right when it comes to pure politics. No wonder we've lost just about everything lately.
DJT-45 has pundits of all stripes drooling and the market rallying because he managed to not sound mentally deranged for about an hour. Not even President Obama's finest political hour - the raid that killed Bin Laden - produced that kind of praise from opponents. "Spiking the football" became the right wing phrase of choice. Just for a thought experiment, imagine the conservative response had newly elected HRC overseen a botched raid leading to a Navy Seal's death. The prolonged standing ovation would be replaced by a three month congressional investigation into Benghazi, Part Deux.
Yes, I'm whining. It's just hard to watch someone else be so much better at this than we are.
DJT-45 has pundits of all stripes drooling and the market rallying because he managed to not sound mentally deranged for about an hour. Not even President Obama's finest political hour - the raid that killed Bin Laden - produced that kind of praise from opponents. "Spiking the football" became the right wing phrase of choice. Just for a thought experiment, imagine the conservative response had newly elected HRC overseen a botched raid leading to a Navy Seal's death. The prolonged standing ovation would be replaced by a three month congressional investigation into Benghazi, Part Deux.
Yes, I'm whining. It's just hard to watch someone else be so much better at this than we are.
21
Where to start in this comment? Gun control? It's now legal for a mentally ill person to buy a gun? Why not? We gave Donald Trump the Atom Bomb.
The stock market is up? Of course it is. People with money know that business is where it's at now..not human rights, freedom. patriotism and so on.
The stock market is up? Of course it is. People with money know that business is where it's at now..not human rights, freedom. patriotism and so on.
23
There is serious intellectual meat in this column, but the odd, conversational format and the pithy acronyms completely trivialize the content.
3
We have dug a trench to set the bar low enough for this loser. He may have "won" the election, but he has already lost the presidency through incompetence.
And your last line -- "the next four years"? I've already seen bumper stickers "Pence in 2018."
And your last line -- "the next four years"? I've already seen bumper stickers "Pence in 2018."
6
But what about the Trump who channels Bannon and Miller?
Is that BMT?
Is that BMT?
9
And the orange one's "salute" to the widow of the Navy Seal who was killed in the raid OJ approved at the Mara Logo dinner was all about rump and had nothing to do with honoring the widow or her dead husband. If the rump really had any feelings about heroes he wouldn't have made reprehensible comments about John McCain or the Gold Family who's son was killed. It's always about the rump. But isn't he rilly, rilly good at reading a teleprompter! Like so, like, rilly, good at reading all those words! Are we REALLY going to survive this catastrophe!!
20
So, Ms Gail, what about T-AKA-PB (trump-AKA-president bannon)? Oh, wait a minute, president bannon probably edits trump's scripts if not write it himself. PB is probably beside himself that trump came off sort of 'presidential', and saying something like "going just as planned."
4
Dear Ms. Collins: Here is some advice for you and your fellow progressives. I'm 71 years old. I have lived a full life full of wonderful things and some of heartbreaking sadness. First of all, this was an election. It is not the end of the world. It cannot compare to the loss of a child, spouse or other loved ones. I suggest you do what the republicans did in 2008. We did not like the direction of the country, so we vowed to exercise of voting rights to change things. We changed things in 2010, 2012, 2014 and finally in the presidential election. We did not burn cars, stop traffic on freeways, nor did we break into businesses. We just got angrier and angrier at what we saw as lawlessness every day of our lives. I suggest you and your folks do the same. Vow to bring back the thousands of state government posts lost through the Obama years. Vow to bring back the Senate and House seats lost during the Obama years. And last, acknowledge that by following a personality of cult, you abandoned some of the best democrats. Those very democrats who have now made President Trump possible. Or, continue on your path and become a more irrelevant party than you now are. Your choice.
6
Ooooh! He managed to read some words written by somebody else and not sound like a raving idiot. Wow! That makes everything all good now, eh? I am so-o-o relieved. NOT!
24
You have 3 parts Trump all right. But what you mostly get is "id" Donald. Donalid. The disorganized ID part of his personality. The instinctual, image oriented, instant gratification, aggressive Donalid. The R.C.T. chatting up Dreamers and making them legal is the Super-ego. The responsible Donald. And before Congress we saw the Ego invoked that keeps the ID in check. But do not be fooled. It's mostly Donalid.
5
Gail! Gail! Please! Three years and 10.5 months, give or take a couple of days.
5
SNORT! Thank you, Gail!
16
Donald Trump is giving Multiple Personality Disorder a bad name.
21
On your last line about four years, Gail: I think that Reasonably Chatting Trump might take himself out of the equation - sort of like The Lone Ranger. In a five or six months he'll announce on Fox and Friends that his work is done here - he's made America Great, and he trusts a SNORT like Mike Pence to keep everything together. He will move permanently into Mar-a-Lago without ever returning to the White House. From there, he will revert to Unscripted Trump and continue his campaign to prove that his Inaugural Crowds were huge and that Barak Obama was born in Kenya.
8
Dear Ms. Colllins—
Where did the line about throwing your socks at the TV image of Trump come from? Perhaps you were describing yourself? If so, we have something in common. Maybe there’s a bunch of us sock throwers out there. We could form a group and call ourselves TYSATs.
Where did the line about throwing your socks at the TV image of Trump come from? Perhaps you were describing yourself? If so, we have something in common. Maybe there’s a bunch of us sock throwers out there. We could form a group and call ourselves TYSATs.
6
The other day the Times mentioned a quote from Ed Koch when he was mayor:
"I wouldn't believe Donald Trump if his tongue were notarized!"
That pretty well sums it up. After all the republicans ranting over the last couple of decades about 'honesty' and 'moral relativism' they give us this guy.
Just call me C.S.T.
"I wouldn't believe Donald Trump if his tongue were notarized!"
That pretty well sums it up. After all the republicans ranting over the last couple of decades about 'honesty' and 'moral relativism' they give us this guy.
Just call me C.S.T.
36
Gail, you nailed it! At least you have given us a way of keeping our sanity.
Three Trumps plus climate change x four years = hang onto sanity for dear life.
Good luck to us all.
Three Trumps plus climate change x four years = hang onto sanity for dear life.
Good luck to us all.
9
Gail,
Please do not stop writing about all of Trumps lies. This supposedly good speech was based on lies and most pundits now treat his fictions as the new normal. Let's not forget that a lying president is a criminal president. If I'm wrong please explain to my granddaughter that this particular president is allowed to lie.
Please do not stop writing about all of Trumps lies. This supposedly good speech was based on lies and most pundits now treat his fictions as the new normal. Let's not forget that a lying president is a criminal president. If I'm wrong please explain to my granddaughter that this particular president is allowed to lie.
9
Donald Trump seeks to accomplish one thing and one thing only: He wants a trophy for showing up. Everything else? Mere details.
8
Please tell me you are kidding about 4 years. Can you imagine all of the damage that can happen in that time. It only took 5 weeks to have most people in this country freak out, including most of the press. Now I understand why I loved Oscar night, something I rarely watch. I needed diversion for a short time.
Most of Trump's picks need to be removed as well as Trump himself.
Please, Advice Lady, give us hope.
Most of Trump's picks need to be removed as well as Trump himself.
Please, Advice Lady, give us hope.
6
SNORT made my day
6
I thank others with stronger stomachs to listen to Mr. Trump's latest campaign speech, because I just this morning read what he said after he mentioned the deceased soldier (whose life he casually tossed away after a quick chat in a public, open air restaurant). He bragged "I got the longest applause!"
This is deplorable insanity. He's in bed with Russians, owes them billions, and has loaded his cabinet with Fellow Travelers. He must release his tax returns, face impeachment, and be imprisoned.
This is deplorable insanity. He's in bed with Russians, owes them billions, and has loaded his cabinet with Fellow Travelers. He must release his tax returns, face impeachment, and be imprisoned.
14
I'm not sure why you suggest that shooter in Kansas "apparently assumed that the victims were Iranian." Maybe there was some comment to this effect? If not, you are implying that it would be more rational for a racist to shoot in Iranian than an Indian. The shooter was a drunk and hopeless loser, to use a Trumpian term, who felt jealous of two Indian men with STEM degrees who were unwinding from successful work in an economy that had long left the shooter behind.
6
With which would you rather deal, mad hatter, Tweeting Trump, the lying/inventing facts Trump or Teleprompter Trump?
These different Trumps are not unlike what he exhibited as a business wheeler dealer. From what I have read, he would enter into business arrangements all smiles, handshakes and charm and then act so unreasonable that people would make the deal just to get away from him. Putdowns, insults and personal attacks were all a standard part of his repertoire, especially when involved in court cases with depositions.
It reminds me of the old Seinfeld episode where George is trying to cut a deal for a television series with NBC. "I'm negotiating," he tells Jerry. "Ne-go-itating"
We must always remember that there is at least some method behind the Trump madness. He might, in most senses, be totally unsuited to the presidency and the expectations of decorum, discipline and restraint we have long expected, but the Republicans on the Hill, and some Democrats, will gladly cut some deals with him just to make it look like things are moving forward.
These different Trumps are not unlike what he exhibited as a business wheeler dealer. From what I have read, he would enter into business arrangements all smiles, handshakes and charm and then act so unreasonable that people would make the deal just to get away from him. Putdowns, insults and personal attacks were all a standard part of his repertoire, especially when involved in court cases with depositions.
It reminds me of the old Seinfeld episode where George is trying to cut a deal for a television series with NBC. "I'm negotiating," he tells Jerry. "Ne-go-itating"
We must always remember that there is at least some method behind the Trump madness. He might, in most senses, be totally unsuited to the presidency and the expectations of decorum, discipline and restraint we have long expected, but the Republicans on the Hill, and some Democrats, will gladly cut some deals with him just to make it look like things are moving forward.
6
The clown president can read from a teleprompter. Morning Joe praised the clown's delivery. Thank God, all is well now.
Ex-General Flynn, that despicable zenophobic racist is gone but, oopps, now we have Jeff (the bigot) Sessions, lying before the Senate and quite possibly guity of treason AND a Commerce Secretary who is the banker for Putin and his thugs. Warren, Pelosi, Schumer, won't one of you grow a set and and call this what it is......an attempted hostile takeover.
The clown in the white house is an ignorant punk, a bully, and the ultimate example of white trash despite his trappings. He's
Ex-General Flynn, that despicable zenophobic racist is gone but, oopps, now we have Jeff (the bigot) Sessions, lying before the Senate and quite possibly guity of treason AND a Commerce Secretary who is the banker for Putin and his thugs. Warren, Pelosi, Schumer, won't one of you grow a set and and call this what it is......an attempted hostile takeover.
The clown in the white house is an ignorant punk, a bully, and the ultimate example of white trash despite his trappings. He's
19
Has everyone forgotten how the GOP attacked Obama's every speech by saying it was just reading the words on the teleprompter? Then Trump reads the words on the teleprompter, includes numerous lies, and he's hailed as the God-President. Sad!
28
Gail -- you are way too funny and perceptive. Thank you for SNORT which may me "snort laugh" when I read it.
5
Is SNORT a hint? Is there a connection between that and sleeplessness/manic behavior?
5
I don't really care which of the 3 trumps show up - they're all liars. And since you mentioned guns - it doesn't matter which one signed a bill revoking Obama-era gun checks for people with mental illnesses. What matters is that it rolls back an important protection for Democrats/Republicans, Liberals/Conservatives - whatever anyone wants to call all the people of our Nation.
17
Ms. Collins should try making us laugh, rather than always trying to make a partisan point.She makes tiresome reading. Should look at old Youtube tapes of comedians of the past, or review some of Russel Baker's columns, even those of the late William Safire to see how you can make a political point humorously, and avoid being heavy handed. Ms. Collins had that gift once, but I believe she has lost the knack of keeping it light. If you know she is out to skewer the President, and only the President, then why bother reading her? Truly funny was the Democratic response given by a former Kentucky governor whom someone compared to Captain Kangaroo, surrounded by some people in a diner who, in the words of the same talk show host, looked like the walking dead. Now that is truly funny.Lighten up Ms. Collins, ad you will be convincing, not only to your loyal liberal elitist fans,but to readers of the paper in general.
3
Well, if she's lost the knack, I'd say that happened November 8, 2016. That's when we all stopped laughing.
I do agree with you, though, the Democrats still don't know how to stop shooting themselves in the foot. Diner guy was not a wise choice. Next time, they should just ask Gail Collins.
I do agree with you, though, the Democrats still don't know how to stop shooting themselves in the foot. Diner guy was not a wise choice. Next time, they should just ask Gail Collins.
12
There have been several Donald J. Trumps for a long time. At least two or three of them using different names used to call New York City reporters to pass along flattering news about Donald J. Trump. Mr. Trump, now President Trump, has created a variety of persona. On and Off Broadway they call it "acting." As for the reviews, however . . .
Doug Giebel
Big Sandy, Montana
Doug Giebel
Big Sandy, Montana
4
I'm positive that the teleprompter/SNORT version of Trump is also the medicated version of Trump. You cannot convince me that just having a teleprompter keeps him on message! Only pharmaceutical intervention would calm him long enough to read through "his" speech without the standard Trump-o-centric asides.
11
Thank you, Gail for starting my day with 'SNORT" I almost blew coffee out my nose.
Humor is the silver stake with the power to defeat the Vampire sucking the life blood out of our republic. Humor and the facts will be his downfall. He lashes out at humor (or hides) and fears the facts.
If humor doesn't succeed in defeating Trump at least our health and well being will be better for it. However, note to self: Swallow coffee before reading Gail Collins!
Humor is the silver stake with the power to defeat the Vampire sucking the life blood out of our republic. Humor and the facts will be his downfall. He lashes out at humor (or hides) and fears the facts.
If humor doesn't succeed in defeating Trump at least our health and well being will be better for it. However, note to self: Swallow coffee before reading Gail Collins!
8
Funny stuff, Gail, but that last line may be a bit premature... I give the three Donald's a year and a half.
6
give up kvetching about Trump for lent.
I put an envelope by the keyboard. With each post I make I put money in the envelope.
Sunday I total it up and send it this week to the ACLU.
Feel free to join me and spread the idea.
I put an envelope by the keyboard. With each post I make I put money in the envelope.
Sunday I total it up and send it this week to the ACLU.
Feel free to join me and spread the idea.
4
Sorry, I can't give all my money to the ACLU. I need to keep some for retirement in case Social Security hits the skids.
6
Most egregious is the creation of the Homeland Security program to "serve American Victims". The question begging to be asked is whether Srinivas Kuchibhotla and Alok Madasani qualify as "American Victims" and hence deserving of a VOICE
3
Why does he appear to be giving the Communist salute in the picture? Some coded message to Putin?
2
Still self-conscious about the stump fingers probably. Going for something more, air-quotes, manly, than baby fingers.
2
Wasn't that a symbol for "black power" once? Maybe it's a secret message that he's really not a racist.
1
The fact Trump changed his tone in Tuesday night's speech may work for him--this time.
But it was a dangerous move because it means that now we've seen all his pitches.
But it was a dangerous move because it means that now we've seen all his pitches.
2
Just don't tie the sock in knots first. It might do real damage.
2
"This is CNN. Tonight, John, great night for the president, who appeared very presidential in that he got through several minutes without violating the Constitution, exposing his utter ignorance, explicitly advocating the use of violence against truth tellers, or groping any serious pssy. To satisfy the Republicans he did nail his quota of lies, fabrications, pivots, and obfuscations, and if he continues in this way he may even finish the week without leaving a stain on his chair in the oval office. Now THAT's presidential.
8
Well, what happened at the Congress is: The president mentioned the hate crimes and condemned them, made sure he paraded the wife of the SEAL who lost his life in Yemen and show how much he cared, made several promises on jobs and healthcare (but remember, he has made them several times before and after the elections), without showing a concrete plan to achieve them. Now, why is the whole world applauding this and letting Trump and his team to bask in glory, so much so that they do not want to sign another executive order on immigration which was supposed to have happened yesterday, a day after his address? President Obama has been out of office for only 40-odd days, and has the standards for Presidential behavior hit rock bottom since then that merely reading from a teleprompter has become worthy of a celebration? Let's not forget - here is a man who has historically low approval ratings, is under investigation by the intelligence agencies, faces severe criticism for almost every move of his - trying to undo all of that with mere words and the country erupts in rapturous applause? We need action and positive results. The applause should wait until we see that.
2
Trump is a nightmare, a fake and a hater in the first order. His minions are worse; the puppet masters to this fool and preening Adonis. He has convinced himself and his deplorable base that he is the second coming. He has contributed to the swamp far more than draining it by appointing a cadre of losers, haters and selfish cheats and misguided thieves. Talk about an elitist collection of clowns. God save this country. This aberration needs to fall down the rabbit hole and never come back up.
12
There should be a reality show where contestants read serious speeches from a teleprompter and the winner gets to become president.
9
That the Dow jumped 300 points means absolutely nothing for 99% of the people of the U.S. The Dow measures corporate profits and nothing else. The sooner Americans quit looking at the Dow for anything related to their economic well-being the better.
D.J.T. is a dissembling character of the highest order in all of his permutations. Ronald Reagan was supposedly fond of the phrase 'trust but verify'. Concerning Trump, the phrase can be turned on its head 'do NOT trust, but resist'.
D.J.T. is a dissembling character of the highest order in all of his permutations. Ronald Reagan was supposedly fond of the phrase 'trust but verify'. Concerning Trump, the phrase can be turned on its head 'do NOT trust, but resist'.
9
Looking at Trump Von Clownstick last night I could not help but notice the two cloned suit wearing clowns behind their Ringmaster. Ryan aka Eddie Munster always had the constant stupid grin and smile on his goofy face, as if to say yeah I know this guy is an idiot, but no worries, me and Mitch the Turtle will get around him. We've got Pence None The Wiser to keep Herr Trump distracted. He'll say whatever nonsense he wants. We'll do the heavy lifting of legislating the dismantling of ObamaCares, Medicaid, Medicare, and finally Social Security.
I don't think so, Paulie. Once next year arrives the 2018 elections are going to put you out of the power seat. We Dems are tired of being Mister Nice Guy. No more. The gloves are now off. Trump, Pence, McConnell and you Paulie are going down for the count. Start counting.
DD
Manhattan
I don't think so, Paulie. Once next year arrives the 2018 elections are going to put you out of the power seat. We Dems are tired of being Mister Nice Guy. No more. The gloves are now off. Trump, Pence, McConnell and you Paulie are going down for the count. Start counting.
DD
Manhattan
14
I wonder what his response to the Kansas shooting would have been if it were reversed and an immigrant American shot a native-born American?
4
Grieving widow visual lined up for prolonged and excruciating (hopefully record-breaking!) ovation that she will not be prepped for will be standard protocol for the Trump year(s).
6
If you "bussed" millions of people you kissed them. If you "bused" them you transported them by vehicle. Spelling tip, Gail. Since you're my fave.
2
My theory is that Trump was wired to a little electroshock mechanism. Every time he started to show signs of deviating from his handlers' guidance - like beginning to wave his hand and escape out of the "Presidential" role, he got shocked. Underneath, same old Trump.
7
At lunch time he declares that this was Obama's general's mission; "...this was started before I got here..." (before I was commander in chief), and in the same breath, denounces the "best generals" as the generals [who] lost Ryan (not the commander in chief), and at the close of the evening, he shamelessly and calmly uses Mrs. Ryan as a poster child for his desire to build up the military in order to keep "Americans" safe (as only the commander in chief can do).
These phases of his waxing and waning, in and out of sanity, calm, railing, calm, railing, always exagerating or lying or both, is all bannon's Chameleon coaching to appeal to the audience of the moment.
The president's address was the perfect show so that his supporters would have at least ONE example to point to in order to day, "see, he's presidential." Unfortunately, the content of the address still revealed the true nature of bannon's intent: nationalism, isolationism, one-party reign.
These phases of his waxing and waning, in and out of sanity, calm, railing, calm, railing, always exagerating or lying or both, is all bannon's Chameleon coaching to appeal to the audience of the moment.
The president's address was the perfect show so that his supporters would have at least ONE example to point to in order to day, "see, he's presidential." Unfortunately, the content of the address still revealed the true nature of bannon's intent: nationalism, isolationism, one-party reign.
4
CORRECTION: Carryn Owens, not Ryan.
I love seeing all of the comments from the irate Trump supporters denouncing any Trump critic as a snowflake. I have news for all of you, you are the snowflakes. Go cry somewhere else. Go tell lies somewhere else. I promise, you will not find many gullible fools here. In reality, you ARE the gullible fools for believing Trump.
7
I love my new status as snowflake! My advanced engineering degree and my liberal bent usually makes me despised as an over educated east coat elite bleeding heart. Now I get to be despised as a snowflake! Much more concise.
3
Obama needed a teleprompter, too, despite being OBAMA.
Of course, a lifelong selfless politician and not a businessman interested only in his own bank account, happy to hear that He and Michelle will be getting $60 million for usual Post-POTUS memoir. Given his eight year tenure in White House, expect it to be short as a record of accomplishments, foreign or domestic, but I'm sure it will be another best-selling tome heavy on Hope and Inspiration.
Of course, a lifelong selfless politician and not a businessman interested only in his own bank account, happy to hear that He and Michelle will be getting $60 million for usual Post-POTUS memoir. Given his eight year tenure in White House, expect it to be short as a record of accomplishments, foreign or domestic, but I'm sure it will be another best-selling tome heavy on Hope and Inspiration.
3
We will soon find out about the fourth trump, the one who owes his soul to the Russians.
9
Can't stand to watch or listen to him! Remote changes channels. He's incompetent. I worry what our country will become over the next four years.
9
Ummm ... In this context, is SNORT a noun or a verb?
1
How about organizing a "Give Trump³ The Boot" movement?
2
Let's hope there will be a fourth Trump that will keep tweeting "I am not a crook" after he resigns before impeachment.
Even a broken clock is right twice a day. Trump will go back to being Trump #1. He can't help it. Getting around Washington is tough for him, especially having to drag around Paul Ryan whose lips are locked, leach-like, onto Trump's behind.
2
Dear Advice Lady,
I implore you on bended knee, which at my age is no small feat, to continue your column. The sanity of a nation depends on it.
Now I have to figure out how to get up again.
I implore you on bended knee, which at my age is no small feat, to continue your column. The sanity of a nation depends on it.
Now I have to figure out how to get up again.
12
The republicans appear to be too eager to embrace and cheer on this train wreck they've pushed on our country. The obvious fear of their base keeps them somewhat in check, but it'll be interesting to see what will happen when push comes to shove as they balk at his oversized budget and plans. Voter suppression, gay rights and the environmental cut backs will go on as planned, but even the House will find it hard to cut taxes and then find money for infrastructure and justify it. Plus the whopping sums he wants to give the armed services, all the while critiquing both their efforts on the battlefield and cost overruns. Yep, the republicans think they're setting this guy up to fail so they can get their guy in place, but Don the Con didn't get where he is by not playing the game well, so we'll see who has the better poker face when it's time to cash in.
2
Let's be honest....Trump is an embarrassment to the US. His presence in the White House is an insult to our founding fathers. Trump is nothing more than a street punk and a bully who probably skipped every Civics class, preferring to spend his time behind the barn leering at Playboy magazines when he wasn't beating up little kids for their lunch money. How else can we explain his ignorance? That he should represent us in meeting leaders of foreign governments should leave every one of us saying, "Mea Culpa."
9
"when he wasn't beating up little kids for their lunch money"
The worst thing about that is he didn't need the money. His sadism ruled (and rules) the day.
The worst thing about that is he didn't need the money. His sadism ruled (and rules) the day.
6
Honesty? That's out. Didn't you get the memo?
1
Trump is not a SNORT. He is a SNOT: a Supremely Noxious Orange Twit. Unfortunately, it will take more than a Kleenex to wipe him away.
17
REVOTE the election !
A partner in the Bank of Cypress is our commerce secretary?
The AG meets w the Russian ambassador and lies about it
Let's not even start with Trump himself.
Basta!
Basta!
A partner in the Bank of Cypress is our commerce secretary?
The AG meets w the Russian ambassador and lies about it
Let's not even start with Trump himself.
Basta!
Basta!
11
Insight and humor. I needed this.
5
I think there may be a 4th version, or at least a sub-group of the unscripted Trump.
The version that signed the important bill that guarantees severely emotionally troubled people to still purchase guns. Hallelujah! Depriving these people of a basic Constitutional right was a scandal. Check off one priority.
This same version sent out a representative to speak on the Sunday shows. He let us know that the president's powers are supreme and "will not be questioned." Soon after, on national tv, he was either adjusting his coat and tie, or flashing his version of a white power sign. Possibly both.
And lastly, despite warnings from one of the many generals he has hired, he knows it's important to use the words "radical Islamic terrorism." And of course he did not use the phrase, radical, white Christian terrorism. He knows there is no such thing, and never will mention it. The incident in Kansas was clearly a one-off.
Perhaps this version could be called, Unhinged Trump.
The version that signed the important bill that guarantees severely emotionally troubled people to still purchase guns. Hallelujah! Depriving these people of a basic Constitutional right was a scandal. Check off one priority.
This same version sent out a representative to speak on the Sunday shows. He let us know that the president's powers are supreme and "will not be questioned." Soon after, on national tv, he was either adjusting his coat and tie, or flashing his version of a white power sign. Possibly both.
And lastly, despite warnings from one of the many generals he has hired, he knows it's important to use the words "radical Islamic terrorism." And of course he did not use the phrase, radical, white Christian terrorism. He knows there is no such thing, and never will mention it. The incident in Kansas was clearly a one-off.
Perhaps this version could be called, Unhinged Trump.
9
And then there is Tovarich Trump, who got bailed out and compromised by Russian oligarch money years ago and now has to watch as, drip by drip, the puzzle comes together. The market will tumble as he eventually acknowledges that there was a conspiracy, born out of fear of losing, to work with the Russians to undermine Hillary's candidacy. Will it be enough to remove him from office? Maybe not. But it will leave him as a compromised, increasingly ineffective president, wailing as he will against the fake news of what he did to end up like this. It's the media's fault, he will say. And, of course, it is the media that often delivers the bad news. If they'd just lay off the politicians and let them succeed! There is a great American tradition of challenging power. It has kept us from letting our oligarchs rule. Right Tovarich?
5
There are four Trump's. Unscripted Trump is just the tip of the iceberg in terms of our worries. Hot mic'd Trump, the Billy Bush Trump -- that Trump we rarely see. My guess is the Russia scandal includes some version of the hot mic'd Trump.
2
SNORT! Love it!. Thank you, Gail Collins, for your ever witty and brilliant insights.
Some may think you are making light of a very serious situation, a dangerously incompetent President. However, I see it as underscoring his incompetence in a way that one does not forget or dismiss.
Some may think you are making light of a very serious situation, a dangerously incompetent President. However, I see it as underscoring his incompetence in a way that one does not forget or dismiss.
3
The national political press loves nothing so much as to be rolled by Republican operatives and politicians--to help some of the most anti-democratic, anti-constitutional forces in the country acquire a veneer of brilliance, thoughtfulness, and respectability.
This little dance goes all the way back to the Reagan Era, although perhaps it really found its legs with the inventions of "Maverick McCain" and the "Gingrich Revolution."
It has steadily grown worse since the turn of the century. This paper's own infatuation with White House spin helped to lead our nation into a disastrous war in Iraq, with the body count continuing to pile up.
So there's no real surprise in being reminded that all a Republican--even this Republican--needs do is to cock an eyebrow and wiggle a finger and say a few beguiling words, especially if luncheon is served in the process.
Like Pavlov's pups, the Fourth Estate responds to this stimulus by sprinting to the nearest keyboard or microphone to trill out "Presidential! Pivot! New leaf! Breakthrough! Nixon to China!"
Heaven help us, the country is in trouble, and without a tough, focused, independent political press, we really haven't a chance.
So based on the performance of the press this week I'd have to conclude We really haven't a chance, have we?
This little dance goes all the way back to the Reagan Era, although perhaps it really found its legs with the inventions of "Maverick McCain" and the "Gingrich Revolution."
It has steadily grown worse since the turn of the century. This paper's own infatuation with White House spin helped to lead our nation into a disastrous war in Iraq, with the body count continuing to pile up.
So there's no real surprise in being reminded that all a Republican--even this Republican--needs do is to cock an eyebrow and wiggle a finger and say a few beguiling words, especially if luncheon is served in the process.
Like Pavlov's pups, the Fourth Estate responds to this stimulus by sprinting to the nearest keyboard or microphone to trill out "Presidential! Pivot! New leaf! Breakthrough! Nixon to China!"
Heaven help us, the country is in trouble, and without a tough, focused, independent political press, we really haven't a chance.
So based on the performance of the press this week I'd have to conclude We really haven't a chance, have we?
1
A bit of Thorazine, a couple of speech writers, and some practice have made Mr. Trump sound almost presidential.
2
SNORT, finally got him on some drugs, now have to get the dosage right for each occasion.
1
I just have to ask, are RCT and SNORT horcruxes for Unscripted Trump? Must they be dispatched with before Unscripted can be dealt with directly?
1
The Op-Ed gave me a much needed chuckle on the subject - but the fact that a piece like that can even be written about the President of the United States, and has a ring of truth to it, is just pathetic. I just keep asking myself...how did this happen???
2
So many thought the speech was good, at least on presentation? Really? When scripted, Trump's speech is flat and mono tonal. The only real inflection in his presentation was when he perked up when speaking about the applause the dead Navy Seal received. An ad libbed line. A Crass and heartless line. Really? The dead hero is happy because he received applause? This is how Trump thinks. Nothing else matters except applause and adulation. And his supporters have bought into his malignant narcissism, while he and his minions continue to dismantle our hard fought for social and civil safety net. Way to go, Trumpettes!
5
His new demeanor , if it continues , is easily explained . It takes a few weeks for anti depressants to start working . They must have been spiking his diet cokes or sprinkling Prozac or Zoloft on his French fries ! From the concerned look on her face I'd say it's IVANKA doing it , incognito, for which she should get a Nobel prize !
Gail, as much as I love you and your columns, I beg you never again to say he will "be around for the next four years", in whatever form! I cannot accept this and am certain he will be impeached or otherwise removed from the position he should never have acquired. The bottom line is he is unfit to hold any public office, much less the one he now occupies. All the rest is sound and fury.
Gail, I absolutely love the SNORT acronym – so fitting because it also describes Trump’s tendency to breathe heavily, in between his long-winded nonsense, when he is speaking into a microphone that amplifies it into a snort! Fortunately, SNORT was sufficiently far from the mike during his address to Congress, so we were spared the snort.
2
A pretty reliable rule is: When a screaming toddler stops to take a breath, the length of the silence is directly proportional to the volume of the next wail.
8
He'll start ranting and tweeting again as soon as whatever it was President Bannon slipped into his taco bowl wears off.
6
I knew his heart wasn't in the denouncement of antisemitism because he didn't use the words "unbelievable" or "disaster."
And if Chicago's such a hellhole, why does its skyline include a 98-story office tower with Mister White House Person's name on it?
And if Chicago's such a hellhole, why does its skyline include a 98-story office tower with Mister White House Person's name on it?
3
Actually if you look at the actual body count Chicago is # 24 on the list behind Orlando. My city Atlanta is about #15 or 16- actually higher than Chicago.
6
A.L., with regard to the R.C.T. who forgets everything as soon as you say it: my mother (who is old enough to be T's mother, just barely) has mild dementia and takes Ritalin to help her concentrate and remember things better. I hear college kids get it on the black market for similar reasons. Possible solution to the R.C.T. memory problem?
2
Actually, Gail, there is a fourth Trump---the "Relaxed Trump" on the golf course or at dinner, sharing national security secrets in a casual relaxed setting among honored weekend guests. Get out the golf cart and score card!
1
How differentiated do Das Drumpf's personae have to be before he's diagnosed with a split personality or suffering (all of us) from schizophrenia?
1
Reports note that about 48 million folks watched his speech. The U S Census Bureau estimates there are approximately 324,630,000 individuals living in America. So about 15% watch some or all of his speech. I'd bet that more folks watch reruns on TVLAND and Basketball on ESPN. The media, right, left and in-between, like the Energizer Bunny, keep the Donald going and going and going.....
2
'Every word he says is a lie, including 'the' and 'and'.'
2
Nice approach. This is the closest anyone's come to explaining the guy.
2
If the Russians actually did influence the outcome of the election, they did us a FAVOR!
Definitely from Mars
1
It is interesting how journalists sit down with the Dumpster and are charmed to death. I suppose, (unless you are an attractive female who he has the jones for and then all bets are off on whether you get an interview, jumped or both) he is great to talk to. His one on one demeanor might be the only thing somewhat normal about this psychopath. But then, isn't that how psychopaths are: Bundy, Dalmer, Hitler and the rest?
3
Can't we make it less than 4 years????
1
Exactly Mrs. Gail... "Setting the bar too low"... because:
"Among the blind the one-eyed is king".
Trumpian approach is to get credit for mediocrity.
It's a shame that so many good men and women are much better than Trump... but the one with power is ruling this deplorable democracy.
"Among the blind the one-eyed is king".
Trumpian approach is to get credit for mediocrity.
It's a shame that so many good men and women are much better than Trump... but the one with power is ruling this deplorable democracy.
SNORT! I just love SNORT! Thank you, Gail, for a moment of much needed levity.
1
Yes. But what about Pyromaniac Donald who carries the gasoline for his team of arsonists? They flatter him to let him think he is in charge as they lead him to where they want a bigger fire.
SNORT is the scariest because that personality masks the others. I intuit that SNORT is a product of multiple voices and input, including Pence.
4
He walks, he talks, he grabs your crotch! So I guess he's presidential.... enough?
This more like an old cartoon than a government!
This more like an old cartoon than a government!
4
Three Donald Trumps = One Fool.
3
Trump wants to “invest in women’s health and to promote clean air and clean water.”
• by punishing women who have an abortion
• by "paving the way for the elimination" of clean-water rules.
• by punishing women who have an abortion
• by "paving the way for the elimination" of clean-water rules.
4
Nobody should be cutting Trump any slack for anything. Have you noticed how vengeful he is? He met with Al Gore, who cares and works hard to increase planetary understanding, and turned right around and appointed top climate ignorati to lead us all to fossil heaven (hell, really). He met with Romney and then humiliated him.
He has a skilled line in humiliating people.
The other thing he's good at is appropriating language. He saw how successful Bernie was, and his consciencelesss advertising genius used it to claim black is white. He saw how "fake news" was a thing, and immediately reversed its meaning to claim that lies are truth and truth is lies.
Nothing he says is honest, and he doesn't care about anyone but himself and his rich friends.
Meanwhile, he's in hock to Putin's oligarchs. Check out Rachel Maddow, for example.
At what point is treason going to become so obvious that even our enabling Republicans have had enough?
Profiteering and looting our only hospitable planet and most of the people most of the time is a loser's game, and we will all suffer.
He has a skilled line in humiliating people.
The other thing he's good at is appropriating language. He saw how successful Bernie was, and his consciencelesss advertising genius used it to claim black is white. He saw how "fake news" was a thing, and immediately reversed its meaning to claim that lies are truth and truth is lies.
Nothing he says is honest, and he doesn't care about anyone but himself and his rich friends.
Meanwhile, he's in hock to Putin's oligarchs. Check out Rachel Maddow, for example.
At what point is treason going to become so obvious that even our enabling Republicans have had enough?
Profiteering and looting our only hospitable planet and most of the people most of the time is a loser's game, and we will all suffer.
10
Susan -- we've been around this before ... but personally I think the karmic justice of Pruitt at EPA will be priceless ... as funny as watching the Republicans in their current circular firing squad as they try to "repeal and replace" Obamacare.
Pruitt now has the job from hell, with the boss from hell. It will be hilarious to watch him flail and get punched by reality, and eventually get dumped by Trump. Pruitt is one of those hapless contestants you see on the Japanese-style game shows -- boffed by the big whirly-gig, falling through the air, ending up in the jello; climbing out to try to keep going.
Pruitt simply cannot do what Trump wants him to do; the statutes are against it. And Pruitt is going to find out that everybody in the EPA and all the states are scheming against him -- he's become Dolores Umbrage trying to run Hogwarts.
It's going to be truly hilarious to watch ... buy popcorn! And if Pruitt isn't careful, there's reasonable chances to end up going to jail, too. Remember James Watt and Anne Gorsuch Burford?
Pruitt now has the job from hell, with the boss from hell. It will be hilarious to watch him flail and get punched by reality, and eventually get dumped by Trump. Pruitt is one of those hapless contestants you see on the Japanese-style game shows -- boffed by the big whirly-gig, falling through the air, ending up in the jello; climbing out to try to keep going.
Pruitt simply cannot do what Trump wants him to do; the statutes are against it. And Pruitt is going to find out that everybody in the EPA and all the states are scheming against him -- he's become Dolores Umbrage trying to run Hogwarts.
It's going to be truly hilarious to watch ... buy popcorn! And if Pruitt isn't careful, there's reasonable chances to end up going to jail, too. Remember James Watt and Anne Gorsuch Burford?
1
Funny and encouraging but the jokes are a little forced. Maybe it's the Q&A split personality thing going on. Our State is in a state of confusion and impending national crisis. Oddly, the crisis is both real and imagined at the same time. I feel like there's an appropriate quantum physics joke out there but I'm currently at a loss. Two quarks walk into a bar? I don't know. 2017 is like boxing in the dark. You know the hit is coming. You're just not sure where or when. Good for the stock market so far but I'm less than amused.
3
They will not either be around for the next four years, because he's going to get impeached after we see his tax returns and his Russian connections.
See, the problem, Gail, is that you write this great stuff, and then ... Jeff Sessions!
You have to stay awake 24/7.
See, the problem, Gail, is that you write this great stuff, and then ... Jeff Sessions!
You have to stay awake 24/7.
4
Fortunately, I didn't subject myself to the tortuous task of watching the address. It's painful enough to watch all the recaps which are almost impossible to avoid. I mute the TV every time this imposter speaks. What a sad state of affairs that he gets kudos for not ranting and raving. PLEASE, hopefully your last sentence will not be true (They’ll all be around for the next four years.)!!!
7
I avoid watching Trump too. Can't take it. I couldn't bear Reagan's speeches because of the politics and because he was an actor but a poor one. In Trump's case, I know that I will find out all I need to know soon after the speech as in the case of the immigration trick.
2
The speech only showed that he can, at times, read a teleprompter.
3
The President did a great job with his speech to Congress. Unlike Obama, he left us with hope that America could come together and solve our problems. Compromise is the name of the game. You Liberals need to realize that you can't have it all now. You need to do trade offs. One thing that has become apparent is the liberals with the help of the media have created this bubble where they think they are the only people in America and therefore it is their way or the highway. The Trump victory is such a shock that they have lost all perspective. OBTW, those white pantsuits where ridiculous!
1
Is this another joke comment? How come Democrats are supposed to compromise now after eight years of Republican obstructionism? Are you new to this country?
4
This is destined to be a Gail Collins classic! The three-way split layout of the Trump personality is perfect.
1
"They'll be around for the next four years". Yes, but I won't. I already have my airline tickets in hand. There are better places to live. Yes, really.
4
SNORT - I can't stop laughing. The real scary thing is that SNORT is the face that all his supporters will see. 35-40% of our fellow citizens will remain convinced that he IS a normal president and he might even convince a few more. That will make it even harder to stop his disastrous plans for our country. At least when he's Unscripted Trump, the danger is in full view.
You'll be amazed (perhaps)! Compare his great opportunity to speak before the entire Congress and the praise (from GOP) during that speech. Was that GREAT opportunity just 'another' speech to be tele-prompted by Trump? Compare his speech to CPAC (2/25) to his GREAT opportunity speech to Congress (2/28). "It seems I've heard most of those words before".
Gail you didn't mention :" for every new regulation adopted ,two existing regulations will be scrapped "
That mimics a well known epistemological principle:
For every solution learned to a new problem, solutions to two existing problems must be forgotten.
That mimics a well known epistemological principle:
For every solution learned to a new problem, solutions to two existing problems must be forgotten.
2
Lol it doesn't matter which one it is at the end of the day he will be the scorpion that stings the frog while crossing the river.
2
This is all so not funny, the man is nuts, when are you going to figure this out?
1
This so-called president, Benedict Donald, must be investigated by a special prosecutor and Congress for the nefarious Russiagate crimes.
Do not follow this so-called president's red-herrings!
Do not follow this so-called president's red-herrings!
2
Gail, your columns save us all from despair.
And you better stick around for the next four years to keep us sane.
And you better stick around for the next four years to keep us sane.
2
Gail Collins tries but it's just so hard to make this awful president amusing. There is nothing about him that can make one chuckle. His presence in office makes one question the meaning of being an American. Sorry to be gloomy but there's nothing to laugh about.
4
There truly is only one version of this so-called president and that is puerile.
3
Sorry, Gail, you're wrong. There's only one Trump: the classic abuser. When you look at the previous year of his campaigning and the first weeks of his presidency - the lying, the vitriol, encouraging his supporters to assault his protesters - you have to see Tuesday's speech, his civilized tone, his calls to be reasonable (what gall!) as behavior typical of a wife beater, bringing home a bouquet of roses and expecting his victim to believe he's changed.
6
Then there is the 4th Donald Trump, a figment of the collective imagination. . He's the one attacked for a reference to carnage in the cities even as the NYT was running a series on carnage in Chicago.. He's the one who spoke of problems with NATO who was alleged to be abandoning NATO. He's the one deemed anti-Muslim by a media which was then stirring up fear of Muslim terrorist attacks in the US instigated by ISIL -- all 0 of them. He's the one who was accused of fomenting election day violence that never happened, an email prosecution of Ms. Clinton that never happened, the creation of a brown-shirted dictatorship that never happened. the building of a border wall that has never happened and so and so forth. We all know that Trump says some stupid stuff. But taking the worst of it and putting it on the front page is not news. It's anti-Trump propaganda.
Gail, Gail, Gail, Gail,
If everything he says makes you start howling, your loved ones (and readers) are going to stop paying attention to you.
If everything he says makes you start howling, your loved ones (and readers) are going to stop paying attention to you.
'Classic Collins' returns! Thank heaven. Since the election results were tabulated Gail has been so 'down' that she couldn't muster her usual satire and irony to confront events. Well things were dire. But her readers (and people who should read her) NEED a way to come to terms with what the voters have handed us. I am for the 'Advice Lady.'
1
Dear Advice Lady,
I'm sad that so many Christians voted for Mr. Trump. I'm sad that Mr. Pence wears his Christianity like a badge of honor yet supports a man that tells lies, has angry outbursts, rips people apart with his tweets, boasts that he can shoot someone and calls other Americans his enemies. I know none of us are perfect, not even you or me Ms. Advice lady but why are many so blind? Why is ok for a White Man to say such hateful things and a Black Man is told,"you lie"! Why are these scriptures ignored by the Republicans that say they are Christians?
James 4:6 But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.
1 Timothy 6:9 But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition.
James 1:8 A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.
Ms. Advice lady will you please explain? In the meantime, I'm still praying for Mr. Trump and our Nation. I must say he was a better Mr. Trump Tuesday, but to truly be presidential, he needs to publicly apologize for the serious matters of the past that evoked fear, pain and damage and not just say, "move on".
I'm sad that so many Christians voted for Mr. Trump. I'm sad that Mr. Pence wears his Christianity like a badge of honor yet supports a man that tells lies, has angry outbursts, rips people apart with his tweets, boasts that he can shoot someone and calls other Americans his enemies. I know none of us are perfect, not even you or me Ms. Advice lady but why are many so blind? Why is ok for a White Man to say such hateful things and a Black Man is told,"you lie"! Why are these scriptures ignored by the Republicans that say they are Christians?
James 4:6 But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.
1 Timothy 6:9 But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition.
James 1:8 A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.
Ms. Advice lady will you please explain? In the meantime, I'm still praying for Mr. Trump and our Nation. I must say he was a better Mr. Trump Tuesday, but to truly be presidential, he needs to publicly apologize for the serious matters of the past that evoked fear, pain and damage and not just say, "move on".
5
In 1983 psychiatrist and author M. Scott Peck wrote a book called "People of the Lie . . . " in which he proposed that "evil" is, or is like, a particular kind of mental illness. If "evil" is a mental illness Peck would place it somewhere in the narcissistic personality disorder area. He said that you can tell that you are in the presence of such a person if that person makes you feel depressed, confused and doubtful about yourself, even doubtful about reality. Gas Lighting is sometimes used by such people.
The solution is to get away from such people as soon as possible. If you have to watch Trump's speeches, mute the sound. You will feel better.
The solution is to get away from such people as soon as possible. If you have to watch Trump's speeches, mute the sound. You will feel better.
1
When I see/hear Trump, all I can see is the hilarious cartoon, Pinky & The Brain. In any given scenario, Pinky could be Conway, Spicer, Sessions, Pence etc. In all scenarios The Brain is Trump. Each day they fail spectacularly in their nightly resolve to " take over the world ". They never give up. And neither can we.
1
Somewhat Normal Republican Trump, aka, SNORT.
Gail, thank you, I love it.
Gail, thank you, I love it.
The notion that Trump is going to be around for the next four years is far from assured.
Today's Times reporting suggests that where there's smoke there is indeed fire.
In the end we will find that the Russians started compromising Trump years ago. It was a bit of wonderful serendipity that he ran for President. As their man in the White House, the Russians told him what to do. Or else.
That's why his ranting about the press is right out of the GRU playbook.
It ain't a coincidence.
Today's Times reporting suggests that where there's smoke there is indeed fire.
In the end we will find that the Russians started compromising Trump years ago. It was a bit of wonderful serendipity that he ran for President. As their man in the White House, the Russians told him what to do. Or else.
That's why his ranting about the press is right out of the GRU playbook.
It ain't a coincidence.
1
I agree with all of the comments I read, though I did not read every one of them. On the issue of how did Trump become the disgustingly thin-skinned person he is—his sister states that her brother was a "brat."
His parents saw that Donald would not tell the truth about anything so they dumped him into a Military boarding school as the beginning of his puberty. He was tall, strong for his age and a punk wise guy.
I believe his fellow classmates gang raped him the first night—initiation—and the experience stunted his genital and emotional growth.
We know that when attacked Trump "counter punches" and viciously will do all that he can, in his own words, to destroy the attacker—not normal.
Trump's recent conversation with Bill O'Reilly that played and replayed is telling.
O'Reilly stated that Putin is a thug who arranges the murder of journalists he does not like. Trump said America is not innocent of killing people—words to that effect that Trump repeated. O'Reilly wanted to know what Trump meant—what was he talking about.
Trump answered, "Well . ." and slightly changed the subject.
Last year Rachel Maddow devoted part of her show to the fact that FBI Special Agents murdered 155 people in America and not one of the agents was brought before a grand jury.
An FBI official, not the Director, met Trump shortly after he took office. Trump was informed that he could call and the agency would move against a Trump enemy person with 'extreme prejudice.
michaelslevinson.com
His parents saw that Donald would not tell the truth about anything so they dumped him into a Military boarding school as the beginning of his puberty. He was tall, strong for his age and a punk wise guy.
I believe his fellow classmates gang raped him the first night—initiation—and the experience stunted his genital and emotional growth.
We know that when attacked Trump "counter punches" and viciously will do all that he can, in his own words, to destroy the attacker—not normal.
Trump's recent conversation with Bill O'Reilly that played and replayed is telling.
O'Reilly stated that Putin is a thug who arranges the murder of journalists he does not like. Trump said America is not innocent of killing people—words to that effect that Trump repeated. O'Reilly wanted to know what Trump meant—what was he talking about.
Trump answered, "Well . ." and slightly changed the subject.
Last year Rachel Maddow devoted part of her show to the fact that FBI Special Agents murdered 155 people in America and not one of the agents was brought before a grand jury.
An FBI official, not the Director, met Trump shortly after he took office. Trump was informed that he could call and the agency would move against a Trump enemy person with 'extreme prejudice.
michaelslevinson.com
3
I always love Ms. Collins' writing, but I have to wonder how this column would have read, if breaking news about Sessions could have been included. There might have been a 4 part Donald!
I figure it's only a matter of time before GOP legislators start wearing special armbands to match their distinctive lapel buttons, & pick up on the Breitbart "Hail Victory" salute.
I figure it's only a matter of time before GOP legislators start wearing special armbands to match their distinctive lapel buttons, & pick up on the Breitbart "Hail Victory" salute.
Isn't it obvious by now that Trump is dyslexic? Even with a teleprompter and hours or preparation he made mistakes. Without a teleprompter he is the Trump we now now too well. Admitting his disability would be empowering to other dyslexics, but don't bet on that ever happening. Trump could never, never admit a weakness.
1
Thank you Gail. Frankly many of your colleagues made Trump's speech sound like Lincoln's second inaugural simply because he didn't projectile vomit while his head did a 360. (Although I would have enjoyed him going full Exorcist on Pence and Ryan.)
3
There are three Donald Trumps. The puppet version and the dummy version are both controlled by the puppeteer and ventriloquist Mr. Blonde Blue-Eyed macho crooner charmer Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin singing his greatest hits. Like St. Petersburg is my kind of town and Moscow, Moscow. Then there is " The Presidential Apprentice"reality TV show where Trump pretends to be President of the United States for the next four years.
1
I have heard about SNORTing before.... the addiction ended badly... SAD!
1
While there are three Donald Trumps, there is no real Donald Trump, and therein is the conundrum for anyone trying to deal with him. He has no moral compass, so lies are the norm with him. No one can believe anything that comes out of his mouth. You get whiplash from what he says one day to the next. He said in his speech that he wants to "invest in women's health and to promote clean air an water", when he gutted the regulations regarding dumping waste into rivers and streams. Women beware, because who knows what he means by "(investing)in women's health". I can only imagine a foreign leader trying to separate the wheat from the chaff in a meeting with Trump, when there is probably only chaff. The only time Trump may have told the truth was when he said the election was rigged, because it is becoming more apparent that it was.
2
Twitter Tantrum Trump. Teleprompter Trump. Toddler Trump.
The terrible twos plus one.
The terrible twos plus one.
Thank you Gail Collins for your sharp wit and invective. I have noticed severe anxiety levels with my compatriots and me included. Its just hard to handle the destruction of the USA.
1
SNORT! You gotta love it, folks. Gail Collins, you have a gift that keeps on giving.
2
Well done, Advice Lady. It's well said
"Ridentem dicere verum quid vetat?"
(What prevents me from speaking the truth while smiling?)
"Ridentem dicere verum quid vetat?"
(What prevents me from speaking the truth while smiling?)
Silver lining: the fact that our President has multiple personalities means we may have dodged the dictatorship bullet. If he's clearly sharing power with two "others," then he really isn't as autocratic as we imagine, right?
Please. Please tell me I'm right. I need one less thing to worry about. Just one, I'm not being greedy.
Please. Please tell me I'm right. I need one less thing to worry about. Just one, I'm not being greedy.
I guess it was the Unscripted who promised to completely defeat ISIS in 30 days. So which Trump failed to do anything towards that end? SNORT? So normal Republicans are impotent and incapable too?
1
EEEK! A 3-headed monster! And we thought he just had Narcissistic Personality Disorder. Maybe we misdiagnosed it. Maybe it's Multiple Personality Disorder: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dissociative_identity_disorder
Transparent good cop/bad cop routine, both roles played by a former reality TV celebrity.
No one should be fooled by Trump's "superficial makeover" in his Tuesday night speech to Congress and the nation. It's the same agenda he had on the campaign trail, only he's being coached on "being presidential" by his cohorts. Old wine in new bottles - that will soon crack.
1
Trump really needs to stop with his inflammatory speech about "The Other". Trump probably doesn't realize that there are many armed Americans with racist beliefs that only need a ranting President to push them over the edge.
What I find most unsettling about Trump(s) is he has no core, no convictions, other than self-enrichment. Nothing he utters is meaningful; his "Make America great again" could easily be construed as"Make Donald rich again". He has no business being president of anything, as he really doesn't care.
You forgot "Play Acting Trump". That "speech" was self adulation to the extreme. It's all Trump cares about - product and applause - for himself. In fact, what speech? It's already been erased by the next scandal - Jeff Sessions and Russia, Russia, Russia!
loved SNORT - it reminded me of his 1st & 2nd debate with Hillary. I was with you right to the end until you said they would be around for the next four years. The only thing that gives me hope for our democracy is that somehow either Russia or the emoluments clause (and those two things are surely intertwined) will see him on his way to jail (my most optimistic hope!). And perhaps Pence will be so tainted he will also have to go . . And then Ryan will have lost all credibility . . . And then the Democrats will get their act together . . . And then . . . hmm, perhaps just one dream at a time.
1
Gail you are back to your old form. Thanks for the chuckles. A perfect Christmas present, 'The Three Faces of Donald'. or A Portrait of Dorian Trump'. Does the White House loony bin have an attic?
SNORT!
1
Since there are three Donald's, does this mean that all three have to be impeached? And what if there's a fourth Donald? Let's call it the Richard Nixon Donald. That's the Donald with black bag guys and enemy lists. And there's that historic question: what did he know and when did he know it? He doesn't actually know stuff. He just makes it up.
1
Gail,
You finally topped Seamus, SNORT, beautiful, short and sums up Trump to the T!!!!
You finally topped Seamus, SNORT, beautiful, short and sums up Trump to the T!!!!
it's time to watch the movie A Face in the Crowd
1
Three drumps: Dull. Oafish. Cunning.
Dear Gail,
There's a simpler explanation. He's an alien. As in, another PLANET.
There's a simpler explanation. He's an alien. As in, another PLANET.
1
Before, I thought of DT as a wannabee 20th century Fascist Dictator, but now I can't help but see him wearing the mask of Caligula. Aah...such clumsy intrigue.
I can't wait to see the movie and wake up from this nightmare. (as funny as it is)
I can't wait to see the movie and wake up from this nightmare. (as funny as it is)
I admire your correspondent C.S.T. for his willingness to watch that speech. I couldn't. His throwing of a sock made me think of a lost opportunity at that event. What if all the Democratic congresspeople attending did that at some planned point during the speech? All deflected by trump's sneeze shield I suppose, but consider the interviews afterward, as the Dems proudly exit barefoot, shoes in hand. And then form the Shoeless Joe Biden Caucus in the House. Wouldn't THROW shoes; wouldn't be prudent. Socks are cheaper, anyhow.
If anybody comes after me for this instigation to insurrection, I will state for the record, 'I am Shoeless Joe', and hope that others will take up that cry, just like the movie 'Spartacus'.
If anybody comes after me for this instigation to insurrection, I will state for the record, 'I am Shoeless Joe', and hope that others will take up that cry, just like the movie 'Spartacus'.
Ok, your very last sentence was the most chilling: "They’ll all be around for the next four years."
2
Considering that Somewhat Normal Republican Trump (SNORT) only appears with the aid of a telprompter - and with sincere apologies to the pre-school TV show Teletubbies - I prefer to think of this Trump version as Teletrumpy.
I see that Ryan has adopted the Donald 'look' where you scrunch your mouth up under your nose and try to keep from breaking into a huge, triumphant grin. A mirror of his new idol.
1
In Donald Trump's vocabulary, there's only one letter: "I".
1
Instead of demanding his tax returns, we should have demanded to know his IQ.
1
I turned the TV off after about 2 minutes and 2 sentences - there were I think already 4 standing ovations, including one with everyone jumping to their feet when Trump mentioned the First Lady. Ugh. I can't stand to listen to any of Trumps lies, I can't stand to hear his voice, I can't stand to watch his crazy gestures and can't stomach looking at his face and expressions! I would have managed tolerating just about any of the other Republican candidates if one of them had won. Nothing that comes out of Trump's mouth is to be trusted and I don't believe he'll get decent guidance or advice from anyone he's appointed. And Pence is not to be trusted either, that weasel face bigot.
1
Gail, an excellent column today. You should be commended for finding humor in even the most frightening situation. And humor is needed now more than ever.
As for your vision of three Trumps, I couldn't agree more. But where you see humor, I see a mentally unstable person. His mood seems to shift with the winds. He can be downright chatty, or ranting against the press, or reading off a teleprompter like someone on drugs. I believe his mood swings are another sign of his instability.
The only comment I have trouble with is your last sentence. I hope and pray that we don't have him around for another four years. I really believe that Unscripted Trump will get us into another war if he lasts that long.
As for your vision of three Trumps, I couldn't agree more. But where you see humor, I see a mentally unstable person. His mood seems to shift with the winds. He can be downright chatty, or ranting against the press, or reading off a teleprompter like someone on drugs. I believe his mood swings are another sign of his instability.
The only comment I have trouble with is your last sentence. I hope and pray that we don't have him around for another four years. I really believe that Unscripted Trump will get us into another war if he lasts that long.
I loved the two versions of Advice Lady describing the three versions of Trump!
'There’s such a thing as setting the bar too low.' Yes there is, and you know who set that bar? Gail, et al. Nice work NY Times.
From your Opinion Pages to your Editorial Pages to your "news" coverage, you have abandoned any pretense of unbiased, objective coverage of Trump. The result was the overwhelmingly positive reaction to his joint session address. Not only was the stock market up, but for all those people in the middle that you set the bar on Trump so low for, they are going to poll in his favor following the speech, and he will enjoy a meaningful bounce. All thanks to you folks.
I realize that you got a bit of cabin fever over the last eight years from kid gloving Obama and now your claws are sharp and ready to be used. I also realize that nothing sells papers or views to your subscribers like crucifying Trump for every minor detail. But there is no doubt, in the process, you are all be guaranteeing Trump will be in the White House for 8 years. And he's loving it.
From your Opinion Pages to your Editorial Pages to your "news" coverage, you have abandoned any pretense of unbiased, objective coverage of Trump. The result was the overwhelmingly positive reaction to his joint session address. Not only was the stock market up, but for all those people in the middle that you set the bar on Trump so low for, they are going to poll in his favor following the speech, and he will enjoy a meaningful bounce. All thanks to you folks.
I realize that you got a bit of cabin fever over the last eight years from kid gloving Obama and now your claws are sharp and ready to be used. I also realize that nothing sells papers or views to your subscribers like crucifying Trump for every minor detail. But there is no doubt, in the process, you are all be guaranteeing Trump will be in the White House for 8 years. And he's loving it.
Make no mistake, Jared. We all know who the real Donal Trump is: a demented, hateful narcissist with a flair for swindle. Getting the old guy to read off the teleprompter fools no one, not even the old guy. Repeat: swindler.
5
That last sentence sure wiped the smile off of my face real fast.
2
Thank you for this column. Well done. I did not watch the speech, I knew it would make me vomit, howl, and catch the next plane out of Logan to wherever! I watched it the next morning so that the nightmares would not immediately follow.
There IS only one real Herr Drumpf. The misogynist, racist, xenophone, etc. etc. The rest of his personae are on medications and a speech that was scripted (somewhat) to pass the palatability test. He seems to be able to fool most of the people all the time.
There IS only one real Herr Drumpf. The misogynist, racist, xenophone, etc. etc. The rest of his personae are on medications and a speech that was scripted (somewhat) to pass the palatability test. He seems to be able to fool most of the people all the time.
1
Gail, just for that acronym, 'SNORT', I would gladly offer you space atop the roof of my car when I next drive to Canada. For free! Don't think of it as deportation, self- or otherwise, but as escape.
2
Ugh - to see that trilogy of evil depicted in the photo - Pence, Ryan and the dump - I need a swig of pepto abysmal... quick....
1
Same greatest hits of lies -- crime rate, economy crumbling, inherited mess, ACA being a job killer, immigrants evil and dangerous. What I'd be more worried about is Bannon learning to moderate his tone. Once DJT realizes that this softer tone gets people to say nice things about him, I bet we see a lot more of it. His infrastructure plan? A give away to Wall Street. Building a road nobody needs with private money and charging tolls to make a huge profit isn't going to rebuild our "beautiful, beautiful" country.
Well, he won't be around for four years IF we can unite and get him impeached.
1
SNORT!!!!
gale - i love you.
xox
ahmet
gale - i love you.
xox
ahmet
Turned out not only is he narcissistic ,paranoid and suffers from who knows what other mental disorders, he is also schizophrenic.
This can't end well.
This can't end well.
1
What I find surprising is how little criticism there has been of the disgraceful exploitation of the grief of Ryan Owens' widow, obviously using patriotism to garner a standing applause which, which typically "broke a record" and, typically, smacked of an insidious but in-your-face rebuke of Owens' father's refusal to meet Trump. Shameless exploitation of racism, antisemitism, xenophobia and now patriotism will be remembered as the signature marker of this repulsive presidency.
3
Thank you Ms. Collins. Witty, amusing and bang-on the clown we have have for President. Glad to read you rather than the tiresome Trump-ette Dowd. Kudos from a confirmed CST on recognizing a SNORT when you see one and ignoring the DT sideshow that is meant to divert our attention away from the important horrible bills/budget cuts/ideas that are being passed while we bemoaned the latest idiocy. "Who knew health care was so complicated....?!"
Well, we could all play Trump Bingo or have a drinking game... like every time he says "Chicago" you could throw back a shot. It could help numb the pain.
1
Dear Advice Lady: I am 72 years old. Are you really saying that I will have to spend four of my remaining years on this earth with a multiple personality -- all three of which are bad -- as my president. I mean, your president. His tenure so far has been like a ride on a roller coaster that only goes down. How can my old heart take it?
7
Earl, although I wish everyone a long, happy life, even the president, my hope is that you and I outlive Mr. Trump (although I'm but a spry 55) so that we enjoy at least a few years of peace.
2
I suppose it make sense to laugh in order to hold back the tears. NER (no emojis required)
The Jeff Sessions lies.
How many more lies does the Trump administration have to tell before even the staunchest Trump supporter calls for his resignation?
How wide how deep do the ocean of lies have to be?
How many more lies does the Trump administration have to tell before even the staunchest Trump supporter calls for his resignation?
How wide how deep do the ocean of lies have to be?
1
For emphasis, the bystander who intervened was unarmed!!! Now that's a real hero.
Meanwhile Facebook is rife with outrage that Wasserman and Ellison did not stand (now it's apparently Sanders and Pelosi, too) during the ovation for Carryn Owens and to honor the sacrifice of her son. While a view of the crowd freely available on YouTube shows clearly that the story is nonsense, it has now been established as fact that Democrats hate our military.
My question is this: what about the dishonor the person is showing who, instead of showing reverence for the mother's grief, is scanning the crowd with a camera looking for people to rat out. In Trumpworld, this is what we've come to.
My question is this: what about the dishonor the person is showing who, instead of showing reverence for the mother's grief, is scanning the crowd with a camera looking for people to rat out. In Trumpworld, this is what we've come to.
4
The Three Faces of Donald. No, thanks. Shudder.
1
There is really only one Donald Trump. He's the fellow the tabloids used to shout about: a self-indulgent son of privilege with white-trash behavior.
His business dealings, his private life -- all gaudy, tawdry, and self-serving. That was his campaign, and that will be his presidency.
His business dealings, his private life -- all gaudy, tawdry, and self-serving. That was his campaign, and that will be his presidency.
The fact that President Trump drives CST and AL mad with crazy is perhaps his most endearing quality.
Well, CST, if you insist upon throwing footwear at your television screen, you are wise to limit the hurled objects to socks. Shoes can do seriously expensive damage. Trust me; I know.
www.endthemadnessnow.org
www.endthemadnessnow.org
1
Ms. Collins,
Another entertaining and thoughtful op-ed, thank you.
Consider though, there may not be another 4 years of the three Donalds. The truth regarding his business and personal dealings with Russia and satellite countries will emerge eventually. Just another thought, although one that will strip away this rich gold mine for journalists in due course.
Another entertaining and thoughtful op-ed, thank you.
Consider though, there may not be another 4 years of the three Donalds. The truth regarding his business and personal dealings with Russia and satellite countries will emerge eventually. Just another thought, although one that will strip away this rich gold mine for journalists in due course.
1
Yeah, but you didn't ask him about the Mem Fox Incident? That's the one where the innocent looking foreign lady author turned into a HUGE! were fox while being interrogated en route to a literacy conference. (Probably paid for by the Soros Foundation.)
The Mem Fox incident--It was Horrible. Oh, the humanity. Blood, carnage, carnage and blood! You've never seen such carnage. It was coming out of her Wherevers? Also, there was a copy of Stendahl involved. French! Nato! And an old Iranian lady. Also, an insult to an international ally.
Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of Mem? The Donald knows. It's hard figuring out how tough health care is when you have the Mem Fox incident to puzzle out.
The Mem Fox incident--It was Horrible. Oh, the humanity. Blood, carnage, carnage and blood! You've never seen such carnage. It was coming out of her Wherevers? Also, there was a copy of Stendahl involved. French! Nato! And an old Iranian lady. Also, an insult to an international ally.
Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of Mem? The Donald knows. It's hard figuring out how tough health care is when you have the Mem Fox incident to puzzle out.
Dear Advice Lady,
You've knocked out of the ballpark! Thank you so much for this glossary to three of the president's iterations. Best contribution to understandings of multiple personality disorder since "The Three Faces of Eve."
Sincerely,
Your appreciative reader
You've knocked out of the ballpark! Thank you so much for this glossary to three of the president's iterations. Best contribution to understandings of multiple personality disorder since "The Three Faces of Eve."
Sincerely,
Your appreciative reader
1
Multiple personality Donald. Is this a new Mattel doll? Or a pet rock?
4
Why is it such a big deal that the president can read? We know his vocabulary is usually on par with a 6th grader's and he is lacking in many areas, but no one has ever doubted his ability to read. But, he's being lauded like he deserves the Nobel Prize because he read a speech. Everything about him is ridiculous, including the country's reaction to this.
3
I believe that the SNORT will be short-lived as details about his ACA replacement is released (no plan), the infrastructure spending is released (pipe dream), and the press continues (well, the reputable press) to report everything, the good and the bad. Then the unhinged Trump will emerge from the swamp he is draining.
1
Here's the strangest part: he's actually NOT a "good showman." He's inarticulate. Unimaginative. Unattractive. He sports an extreme orange, fake tan and wears a ludicrously comical hairstyle not unlike Tiny Tim or one of the Marx Brothers (all the while with a deadly serious pout). He has NONE of the features of a good showman.
It's our culture's pathological adulation of celebrity and wealth. It allows a creepy, tubby, hugely insecure nut-case to become our President--and to get standing ovations for reading a script he didn't write. It's the world we are living in.
It's our culture's pathological adulation of celebrity and wealth. It allows a creepy, tubby, hugely insecure nut-case to become our President--and to get standing ovations for reading a script he didn't write. It's the world we are living in.
4
You made me SNORT laugh, Gail! I needed that. And on a more serious note, I live in Downtown Long Beach, the "inner city," as it were, and it is nothing like the hellish crime-infested place that Unscripted Trump likes to conjure. I wonder if Trump once saw footage of the Watts riots and thinks all of South L.A. is still like that 50 years later. Sigh.
1
"SNORT" ... LOL! You're terrific, Ms. Collins.
2
So do we add multiple personality disorder to Trump's mental illness diagnoses? I suspect it's a symptom of his malignant narcissism.
2
As much as I enjoy Gail Collins writing, the sad fact is that after the laughter dies down, Trump is still president.
3
Americans are going to end up like Trump's Atlantic City investors when he's done with us; or Trump University graduates.
1
WE need more attention on Steve Bannon. Trump is simply the front man. Bannon is running the show. The press keeps ignoring him.
2
If there are three Donald Trumps, there must be ten NYTimes.
Dear Advice Lady-
Can we find out who writes the words that appear on SNORT's teleprompter? Perhaps we can exert influence on this person or persons to sneak in little words like "Russia," "dignity," and "responsibility" that seem to be omitted.
And I know it is asking a lot, but would it also be possible to have him explain how he is going to implement all these wonderful ideas? Surely those Mexicans won't want to pay for everything. They're already down for The Wall.
Thanks, and keep up the good work.
Can we find out who writes the words that appear on SNORT's teleprompter? Perhaps we can exert influence on this person or persons to sneak in little words like "Russia," "dignity," and "responsibility" that seem to be omitted.
And I know it is asking a lot, but would it also be possible to have him explain how he is going to implement all these wonderful ideas? Surely those Mexicans won't want to pay for everything. They're already down for The Wall.
Thanks, and keep up the good work.
1
What's with those little flag pins on everyone's lapel? What's with the blue and/or red ties? And boring, colorless suits and white shirts, for that matter?
Are they uniforms? Are they supposed to make blue-collar workers feel less threatened? Are they saying, "Look, we haven't the guts to not wear these stupid, insipid outfits?" Are they an attempt to disguise bodies that would look yucky in, say, tights and tank tops? (Though that wouldn't be the reason for the silly flags; so I don't have a clue about that.)
Who dresses these schmendricks?
Are they uniforms? Are they supposed to make blue-collar workers feel less threatened? Are they saying, "Look, we haven't the guts to not wear these stupid, insipid outfits?" Are they an attempt to disguise bodies that would look yucky in, say, tights and tank tops? (Though that wouldn't be the reason for the silly flags; so I don't have a clue about that.)
Who dresses these schmendricks?
1
Relaxing White House staff infections?
"Alternative Ex-Lax"
"Alternative Ex-Lax"
1
Dear C.S.T.,
I know you're head is spinning from the dizzy array of outrageous lies. I know you keep thinking this is all too bizarre. Don't collapse and give in. We need you. Try to find some comfort in knowing that some Senators and Congressmen, a minority it's true, are trying their best to get to the truth. Prepare yourself. Don't start smoking or drinking. Read a good book, hug your children. It's going to get worse before it gets better.
The Orange Creature will in time destroy himself.
I know you're head is spinning from the dizzy array of outrageous lies. I know you keep thinking this is all too bizarre. Don't collapse and give in. We need you. Try to find some comfort in knowing that some Senators and Congressmen, a minority it's true, are trying their best to get to the truth. Prepare yourself. Don't start smoking or drinking. Read a good book, hug your children. It's going to get worse before it gets better.
The Orange Creature will in time destroy himself.
2
Lovely chat...about a deplorable antediluvial brute...seeking relevance. Pity him, having to carry such a heavy load, his ego.
1
Trump is the Forrest Gump of Presidents where" life was like a box of chocolates... you never know what you're going to get". Or maybe more accurately, the Three Card Monty Scam President where, no matter how hard you follow the Ace of Spades and think you've got it, you're always wrong. It's all about distraction and diversion. The speech was a bit of both. He distracted, or attempted to distract us, the public and Congress from the existing, 40 day old record consisting of insults, lies, conflicts of interest, lack of planning, lack of understanding of the impact of his behavior, more lies, and finally, impulsive and explosive tweets. The speech was designed not so much to show a "pivot" but to reveal the "serious and Presidential Donald". The one who has finally put away "childish things" and appreciate his growth into "manhood". The distraction from any substance were things like his reliance on the dead soldiers wife and her grief, his wearing a new necktie, and a somewhat and newly adopted conciliatory tone.
The problem he has to overcome, is his batting average. 40 days into the season he's 1 for 300. Notwithstanding lack of substance or any tangible plan of action, yes, he hit "one out of the park". But then his overall average is held down by the 300 or so other speeches, lies. inaccuracies, his misogynistic behaviors, conflicts of interest, disrespect for the office of POTUS, and overall lack of fitness for office.
So, for me, Trump is Gump...
The problem he has to overcome, is his batting average. 40 days into the season he's 1 for 300. Notwithstanding lack of substance or any tangible plan of action, yes, he hit "one out of the park". But then his overall average is held down by the 300 or so other speeches, lies. inaccuracies, his misogynistic behaviors, conflicts of interest, disrespect for the office of POTUS, and overall lack of fitness for office.
So, for me, Trump is Gump...
Nailed it Gail! So glad I don't have to encounter Reasonable Chatting Trump. I'd definitely have to throw a flip flop at him for that!
1
And then there's Duck the Buck Trump, aka Donald Duck the Buck, who, after he orders his generals to conduct an unsuccessful military mission, says "They lost Ryan."
Why not "I lost Ryan," or even just "We lost Ryan"? Where does the buck stop in this administration?
Why not "I lost Ryan," or even just "We lost Ryan"? Where does the buck stop in this administration?
2
The Unholy trinity.
God help us all!
God help us all!
4
I was watching these three, trying to put words to my feelings, when my husband says "it's like watching The Three Stooges." Yeah, that was it.
1
Get ready for Trump #1 when he responds to the Sessions scandal---
1
Around for the next four years? He will go down and he will bring his geniuses down with him before the date expires. Liars and crooks, all of them starting with the little man from Alabama.
5
Dear A.L., should we be finding comfort in the limp phrase "promote clean air"? We have laws that mandate clean air. Could this suggest we will get a PR campaign to replace the requirements? Do people actually listen the the "comforting" words he is reading?
1
Whether there are three Donald Trumps or not is immaterial - they all lie as naturally as drawing breath. I read a quote about Donald Trump in an article in yesterday's NYT from some just published papers of the late Ed Koch, who had some dealings with "the Donald" while mayor.
"I wouldn't believe Donald Trump if his tongue were notarized." Perfect!
"I wouldn't believe Donald Trump if his tongue were notarized." Perfect!
1
Gail, brilliant work but my pick is to send all three packing as a result of the one thing they all have in common--a not-so-hidden smoking gun lurking in his tax returns that will lead to the biggest political scandal in US history, one that will send the Three Donalds to a rubber room in lieu of a jail cell & will leave Pence and the Repugs so crippled that they will lose their so-called "governing edge" not just in 2018, but for the foreseeable future.
3
Perfect description and pretty accurate!
1
If there is a future, this column will be the text book definition of DJT. He SNORT. UP and RCT. the man has dementia.
Haiku
Impeach 45;
And when the dust has settled...
Impeach 46.
Impeach 45;
And when the dust has settled...
Impeach 46.
4
A hilarious column and depressing at the same time. I am like CST; I am trying not to be depressed but it is not working. Seeing the commentators saying how presidential he was make my blood pressure sore. So do the sight of Trump supporters who don't realize he has no intention of cleaning up the swamp. He is instilling hate and fear and destroying all evidence that Obama ever lived in the WH. And those smug Republicans make me even angrier. I can't stop being angry. Help!
"He’s going to be totally open to all your suggestions, nod frequently and leave you with the impression that you’ve scored a huge breakthrough. But he will not remember a thing that you discussed."
Collins describing F.D.R.
"Take your pick. They’ll all be around for the next four years.'
Make that 8 years and 3 new conservative Supreme Court justices later.
Collins describing F.D.R.
"Take your pick. They’ll all be around for the next four years.'
Make that 8 years and 3 new conservative Supreme Court justices later.
I LOVE "SNORT".....could this be the new Seamus, the dog on top of the car?
Dear Gail, I love your columns and always have. I look forward to them more than breakfast.
But here's the problem: When the subject is Trump, I no longer find them humorous/clever/entertaining.
It's not that your talent has diminished. It's more that being humorous/clever/entertaining about Trump has the same degree of difficulty as being humorous/clever/entertaining when receiving the news that a loved one has terminal cancer. Even the most brilliant observation or bon mot falls flat.
Not your fault, Gail. It's just that the subject is too great a challenge for humor. Even yours.
But here's the problem: When the subject is Trump, I no longer find them humorous/clever/entertaining.
It's not that your talent has diminished. It's more that being humorous/clever/entertaining about Trump has the same degree of difficulty as being humorous/clever/entertaining when receiving the news that a loved one has terminal cancer. Even the most brilliant observation or bon mot falls flat.
Not your fault, Gail. It's just that the subject is too great a challenge for humor. Even yours.
Just a suggestion: Do not listen to - and do not watch Trump on TV.
It only encourages him.
Instead, buy a newspaper, and read what he's said and what the analysts say. It's a lot less stressful and you'll be supporting a free and honest Press.
It only encourages him.
Instead, buy a newspaper, and read what he's said and what the analysts say. It's a lot less stressful and you'll be supporting a free and honest Press.
3
"SNORT" it is. Thanks Gail.
Dear A.L.: Imagine SNORT Trump declaring the dead SEAL would never be forgotten! Already I cannot remember his name, and unless more facts emerge about the carelessness with which Trump authorized the deadly mission, only the poor hero's family will remember him. Even Ronald Reagan, the last SNORT president would never have stooped so low.
It was shocking (though at this point, it should not have been) to see Trump using the animal-like grief of the young widow to show his "softer" side. The man may be able to manipulate poor ignorant boobs who cannot see that they are their own worst enemy, but he will never be able to convince the great majority of us that he is anything other than a con artist and narcissistic sociopath.
Desperate in Dallas
It was shocking (though at this point, it should not have been) to see Trump using the animal-like grief of the young widow to show his "softer" side. The man may be able to manipulate poor ignorant boobs who cannot see that they are their own worst enemy, but he will never be able to convince the great majority of us that he is anything other than a con artist and narcissistic sociopath.
Desperate in Dallas
2
I can read from a text about particle physics without saying anything stupid or false without comprehending a word. We have discovered that he can read and that they finally found a speechwriter. T suppose that is encouraging to one people. Still, every time words that are not read from a teleprompter come out of his mouth, he either lies, displays profound ignorance of whatever the topic, or is embarrassingly self-promoting, often all three is a sentence. Wake up, people, we have no President.
3
The Three Faces of Trump. Are we dealing with a multiple, in addition to the narcissist and other disorders of this unhinged person? Heaven help us.
2
Love your column!
1
Ah yes! The president can read! Surely it was the single longest document he has read at one time since reviewing his divorce document from Ivana. Humor is often the salve to tragedy: in every dissolute iteration of his many countless personalities however, he continues to prove his absolute inappropriateness as our president. There is nothing humorous about him - he is totally bankrupt as a human being, a real danger to our democracy, and a continuing threat and embarrassment to America.
3
So everyone falls all over themselves now because Trump gave a speech in the time, place and appropriate manner that Presidents do give such speeches. Hooray. Everything's fixed. Did I say hooray?
2
Dear Advice Lady:
Trump did worse than quote (and lie about) his electoral victory when asked about anti-semitism. He acted offended that this was mentioned, telling the reporter that he hated the auestion and was the least anti-semitic person you will ever meet. And that's the real Donald - It's About Me (IAM) Trump. The man so stuck on himself he can't address things for what they are, without going back to himself. And IAM Trump is far too needy to ever be a leader.
Trump did worse than quote (and lie about) his electoral victory when asked about anti-semitism. He acted offended that this was mentioned, telling the reporter that he hated the auestion and was the least anti-semitic person you will ever meet. And that's the real Donald - It's About Me (IAM) Trump. The man so stuck on himself he can't address things for what they are, without going back to himself. And IAM Trump is far too needy to ever be a leader.
1
The real fourth Trump is ghoulish Trump. or GT. GT emerges whenever he talks about war dead.
Gail,
Before I read your column I had no idea President Trump's speech was as successful as you indicated.
This together with the women in white, and the Dems running for the doors indicate a more successful night than DT could ever had hoped for.
Thanks so much. Keep up the good work.
Before I read your column I had no idea President Trump's speech was as successful as you indicated.
This together with the women in white, and the Dems running for the doors indicate a more successful night than DT could ever had hoped for.
Thanks so much. Keep up the good work.
And there was I thinking you'd made an oblique reference to van Dyck's painting of Charles the First in three poses. The man thought himself a little god on earth and started a war with Parliament over taxes (and look at what subsequently happened to him).
2
Prioritize, and then categorize. SNORT is a classic, and I applaud your ability to stop tearing your hair out long enough to find analytical sorting devices with superb acronyms.
Then there is the "who, me?" attorney general - Worst "Innocent" Liar Ever. WILE, guile, and, it seems to the ordinary mind, treason.
Then there is the "who, me?" attorney general - Worst "Innocent" Liar Ever. WILE, guile, and, it seems to the ordinary mind, treason.
4
SNORT! I like that. It will help while Republicans implement the scorched earth policies embedded in their Party Platform. The horror goes much deeper than Trump.
7
There may be three Donalds but there is only one Republican congress:
Excuses, Excuses, Excuses.
Excuses, Excuses, Excuses.
118
Was that a bunch of imported North Koreans in disguise sitting on the republican cheering section at Trump's speech? I haven't seen such fervent, violent clapping since the North Korean great leader took over.
But clap the robot republicans did. Even Rubio and Cruz, now under the spell of our great leader, completely lacking in shame or self respect, said what a wunnerful thing Trump didn't insult the last three or four people in the world he has yet to insult.
And poor Pence and the mini-Dracula behind Trump will have to ice their knees for all the upping and downing they did. In tandem. It was almost mesmerizing.
This country currently is ruled by a pack of really awful people, and most of them aren't very good looking either, especially Trump in his orange pancake. But I guess to the republicans, Trump is as magnificent as he tells them he is.
For the rest of us in the dark and cold, whose votes didn't count, and who do not take kindly to living in a country where the likes of Trump gets to be president, it was a toss up which comments won the top gagging prize.
And speaking of snorting, does our great leader have a sinus problem? Did he get hold of some bad coke? Is his brain seeping out through his nostrils?
But clap the robot republicans did. Even Rubio and Cruz, now under the spell of our great leader, completely lacking in shame or self respect, said what a wunnerful thing Trump didn't insult the last three or four people in the world he has yet to insult.
And poor Pence and the mini-Dracula behind Trump will have to ice their knees for all the upping and downing they did. In tandem. It was almost mesmerizing.
This country currently is ruled by a pack of really awful people, and most of them aren't very good looking either, especially Trump in his orange pancake. But I guess to the republicans, Trump is as magnificent as he tells them he is.
For the rest of us in the dark and cold, whose votes didn't count, and who do not take kindly to living in a country where the likes of Trump gets to be president, it was a toss up which comments won the top gagging prize.
And speaking of snorting, does our great leader have a sinus problem? Did he get hold of some bad coke? Is his brain seeping out through his nostrils?
9
The three well-described Trumps have one thing in common and that is their faulty memory banks.
Given this failing it is possible that all suffer from early-onset Alzheimer's Disease (AD).
Demonstrated are severe memory problems and a great deal of confused thinking.
One thing is said in one sentence and then contradicted almost immediately thereafter.
We've been overly exposed to obvious memory problems, inability to focus on the matter at hand, tendency to wander off topic, confusion regarding facts and figures, and the desire to avoid the task of answering questions in Q & A forums.
Another attribute of AD can be irascible behavior and poor anger management.
Bring in 3 neurologists for consultation on all three personas ASAP.
If the Trinity is so afflicted the sooner it is known the better.
Any delay only serves to create further damage.
A NYT article preferred to take on only one persona at a time and noted:
"In the last decade of his life, the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease slowed Fred Trump, according to his friends and relatives, and he died at the age of 93 with difficulty recognizing people."
"Mr. Trump said he wasn’t scared that the disease might be the last thing he inherits from his father. 'Do I accept it? Yeah,' he said. 'Look, I’m very much a fatalist.'
Times that all by 3 ....... for amusement.
Given this failing it is possible that all suffer from early-onset Alzheimer's Disease (AD).
Demonstrated are severe memory problems and a great deal of confused thinking.
One thing is said in one sentence and then contradicted almost immediately thereafter.
We've been overly exposed to obvious memory problems, inability to focus on the matter at hand, tendency to wander off topic, confusion regarding facts and figures, and the desire to avoid the task of answering questions in Q & A forums.
Another attribute of AD can be irascible behavior and poor anger management.
Bring in 3 neurologists for consultation on all three personas ASAP.
If the Trinity is so afflicted the sooner it is known the better.
Any delay only serves to create further damage.
A NYT article preferred to take on only one persona at a time and noted:
"In the last decade of his life, the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease slowed Fred Trump, according to his friends and relatives, and he died at the age of 93 with difficulty recognizing people."
"Mr. Trump said he wasn’t scared that the disease might be the last thing he inherits from his father. 'Do I accept it? Yeah,' he said. 'Look, I’m very much a fatalist.'
Times that all by 3 ....... for amusement.
4
Anyone who is to any degree reassured by Trump's civilized mein during his speech should have been in Australia just a few weeks ago when he made his "get acquainted" call to the Prime Minister. Trump immediately insulted him, whined that it was "my worst call of the day, by far", and eventually hung up on him. People in Sydney were discussing whether he was mentally deranged. This in the most benign situation imaginable, with a very friendly ally. What will he do in a tough situation?
I think that this episode in itself demonstrates that he is not of sound mind; people who are thinking clearly simply do not behave this way. The fact that he can read a speech does not compensate. Trump is begging for the 25th Amendment to be applied. I believe that if we fail to remove him from office our nation and people will regret it for a very long time.
I think that this episode in itself demonstrates that he is not of sound mind; people who are thinking clearly simply do not behave this way. The fact that he can read a speech does not compensate. Trump is begging for the 25th Amendment to be applied. I believe that if we fail to remove him from office our nation and people will regret it for a very long time.
12
Version 4: Trump in need of therapy.
Earlier presidents have been referred to as "the most powerful man in the world." Trump is the neediest man in the world, with lifelong emotional issues. He is not going to stop lying, bullying and boasting without a LOT of help. Professional help.
Russia, China, Iran and other US adversaries will soon learn to manipulate a leader with such a weak and predictable emotional state. They won't fall for the empty-fraudulent statements that fool out-of-work coal miners in West Virginia and Trump University students.
Earlier presidents have been referred to as "the most powerful man in the world." Trump is the neediest man in the world, with lifelong emotional issues. He is not going to stop lying, bullying and boasting without a LOT of help. Professional help.
Russia, China, Iran and other US adversaries will soon learn to manipulate a leader with such a weak and predictable emotional state. They won't fall for the empty-fraudulent statements that fool out-of-work coal miners in West Virginia and Trump University students.
6
The Donald's pre-speech comments were subsequently labeled a throw-away, simply misdirection, by an unnamed White House official. That same official probably helped to write the official speech and so did not label it another misdirection, which it was. It was just a misdirection in tone - as has been pointed out, the actual words are not much different than Donald's speech to CPAC, which scared the moderates and liberals to death. But then again, the same people wrote both speeches.
Get used to it, media. Figure it out, moderates and liberals. The Donald and his puppeteers are just jerking us around. The real Donald is the One Who Tweets.
The people who have figured it out include those "bad hombres" like the mothers and Dreamers who have been deported. The people who have figured it out work in intelligence agencies and have spread around the Russia story so it can't be suppressed. The people who have figured it out include scientist who have been making back-up files of research data so it can't be deleted as the Enforced Ignorance squads take over federal agencies.
Figure it out. It's all misdirection until the machinery is in place to grind up democracy in America. After that, misdirection will no longer be necessary.
Get used to it, media. Figure it out, moderates and liberals. The Donald and his puppeteers are just jerking us around. The real Donald is the One Who Tweets.
The people who have figured it out include those "bad hombres" like the mothers and Dreamers who have been deported. The people who have figured it out work in intelligence agencies and have spread around the Russia story so it can't be suppressed. The people who have figured it out include scientist who have been making back-up files of research data so it can't be deleted as the Enforced Ignorance squads take over federal agencies.
Figure it out. It's all misdirection until the machinery is in place to grind up democracy in America. After that, misdirection will no longer be necessary.
149
The fantastic growth in the economy? It's all going to be in consumer electronics, as half the country constantly replaces broken TVs. This could even turn Samsung around.
24
If you can't watch tv and keep your shoes on, wear slippers.
Just as I have suspected all along: Ivanka would have been a better president than her father
7
Probably right, but this is not saying much.
Barron would probably be a better president than either of them. Ivanka's childcare position is just another one of the Republicans' give them a tax credit mantra. None of them have any concept that a tax credit does absolutely no good to the people who don't earn enough taxable income to benefit from the credit.
I'm not sure of that. It appeared to me that she was standing guard over Mrs. Owens like a female concentration camp guard, making sure she didn't deviate from her script.
The late Ed Koch had the true measure of Donald Trump decades ago when he seconded the opinion of former deputy mayor, Alair Townsend who wrote: “I wouldn’t believe Donald Trump if his tongue were notarized.”
(Reported in The Times earlier at
www.nytimes.com/2017/02/27/nyregion/trump-koch-feud-letters-new-york-cit...
(Reported in The Times earlier at
www.nytimes.com/2017/02/27/nyregion/trump-koch-feud-letters-new-york-cit...
37
I miss ED!
Only Donald Trump could get praise for giving a boring speech that is filled with normal political rhetoric. Its tone did a good job of masking his disturbing agenda. The country is so starved for some sense of stability and normalcy in the White House that this unremarkable speech with no details on how he will accomplish his goals is heralded as a turn around moment for him. It is just an illustration of how low we have sunk in our expectations of our 45th president.
24
Still he is President of the United States of America...
And if the Puppenspieler, Steve Bannon, keeps alternating the 3 Donald Trumps successfully and maintains his mastery over the real, the quasi- and the pseudo-informantion streams, which isn't at all as difficult as it would appear, he's even likely to add another term.
Trump's cohorts and collaborators are many and varied. That makes him a dangerous man to underestimate. Joseph Djugashvili was a lowly Georgian petty criminal, before becoming Stalin and upsetting the world order. Adolf Hitler was an Austrian corporal in the defeated Bavarian Army of 1918 and was widely ridiculed by those in the German military and industry who thought him to be their front-man, while they would set out the course and take the decisions. You are all still underestimating what you have unleashed on the world.
If you want to be effective in combating this, continuing to carp about "what the Donald has said or done" won't bring any rewards. And of course mainstream Republicans are as much in for a shock as anyone, but with gerrymandered districts and a public that, I imagine, will soon tire of hearing about the "latest so-called outrage", hoping that the 2018 elections will somehow bring solace is, to put it mildly, the height of folly.
And if the Puppenspieler, Steve Bannon, keeps alternating the 3 Donald Trumps successfully and maintains his mastery over the real, the quasi- and the pseudo-informantion streams, which isn't at all as difficult as it would appear, he's even likely to add another term.
Trump's cohorts and collaborators are many and varied. That makes him a dangerous man to underestimate. Joseph Djugashvili was a lowly Georgian petty criminal, before becoming Stalin and upsetting the world order. Adolf Hitler was an Austrian corporal in the defeated Bavarian Army of 1918 and was widely ridiculed by those in the German military and industry who thought him to be their front-man, while they would set out the course and take the decisions. You are all still underestimating what you have unleashed on the world.
If you want to be effective in combating this, continuing to carp about "what the Donald has said or done" won't bring any rewards. And of course mainstream Republicans are as much in for a shock as anyone, but with gerrymandered districts and a public that, I imagine, will soon tire of hearing about the "latest so-called outrage", hoping that the 2018 elections will somehow bring solace is, to put it mildly, the height of folly.
21
Here's the problem: Trump tries so hard to present himself as a strong leader that it is disturbing, telling, and worrisome. Actually, I think Trump is a sheep in wolf's clothing.
Unfortunately for us and our country, Trump a very insecure, unstable, self-absorbed man, who covers up his insecurities (which are many) and fears (he is in way over his head) by lashing out, bullying, refusing to accept responsibility and blaming others.
Pushed to the wall if he makes a major mistake, heaven knows what desperate act Trump might take to either cover up his mistake or to retaliate against those whom he sees as threatening him.
As President Eisenhower said: The qualities of a great man are "vision, integrity, courage, understanding, the power of articulation, and profundity of character."
Or maybe Trump is more like President Reagan who said: "You can tell a lot about a fellow's character by his way of eating jelly beans."
Unfortunately for us and our country, Trump a very insecure, unstable, self-absorbed man, who covers up his insecurities (which are many) and fears (he is in way over his head) by lashing out, bullying, refusing to accept responsibility and blaming others.
Pushed to the wall if he makes a major mistake, heaven knows what desperate act Trump might take to either cover up his mistake or to retaliate against those whom he sees as threatening him.
As President Eisenhower said: The qualities of a great man are "vision, integrity, courage, understanding, the power of articulation, and profundity of character."
Or maybe Trump is more like President Reagan who said: "You can tell a lot about a fellow's character by his way of eating jelly beans."
122
Or is he a wolf in sheep's clothing?
It would be funny if it weren't so sad. You forgot the part about him exploiting the death of one particular soldier and his grieving wife. There is a reason we have the tomb of the unknown soldier. There are many other soldiers and innocence people who will die under Trumps watch, such as the hate crime victims. It is a disgusting practice to choose who"s life has more value based on political expediency. I am sure he enjoys playing God at God's expense.
21
Yes. The way he exploited the Kahn family at his nominating convention. Oh, wait...
Trump's schtick with the grieving wife was one of the most brutal acts I have ever seen. Thank you, Bruce for mentioning it.
In the right hands it's bleeping hysterical. It's in the right hands.
"How Will We Get Over the Trump Addiction" (All three of them) asks Robert Fisk in an extraordinary piece (excerpt below) that appeared in the "Independent"
"For Trump, let’s face it, is an addiction. Nothing will ever trump it. We all now need our evening fix – a mad press conference, laws hurled out of court, a square-jawed general brought low by an inane conversation with a Russian spy – just one more shot in the arm till the morning. The roller-coaster of Trump imitators has become the equivalent of one for the road.
Donald Trump is the new Richard Nixon
That’s what disqualifies all the Hitler parallels, even the Mussolini comparisons, although the comical side of Italian fascist imperium is clearly there. It’s not that Trump is no longer terrifying. He should be. Nor that he is mentally unstable – he clearly is. It’s that his performances are so rivetingly zany, so absolutely inside the prison of the absurd that I swear some of the human race will commit suicide when he’s gone.
I’m still not sure why the Trump shows have such depth. Maybe it’s because of the revolting seriousness of all around him. This thing, after all, has a cast of thousands. While the Chief Clown froths in the East Wing, his Attendant Lords blather away at immensely important conferences in Europe, desperately trying to assure the EU, Nato, Russia, Saudi Arabia, the World Bank, Isis, al-Qaeda, you name it, that nothing has changed."
"For Trump, let’s face it, is an addiction. Nothing will ever trump it. We all now need our evening fix – a mad press conference, laws hurled out of court, a square-jawed general brought low by an inane conversation with a Russian spy – just one more shot in the arm till the morning. The roller-coaster of Trump imitators has become the equivalent of one for the road.
Donald Trump is the new Richard Nixon
That’s what disqualifies all the Hitler parallels, even the Mussolini comparisons, although the comical side of Italian fascist imperium is clearly there. It’s not that Trump is no longer terrifying. He should be. Nor that he is mentally unstable – he clearly is. It’s that his performances are so rivetingly zany, so absolutely inside the prison of the absurd that I swear some of the human race will commit suicide when he’s gone.
I’m still not sure why the Trump shows have such depth. Maybe it’s because of the revolting seriousness of all around him. This thing, after all, has a cast of thousands. While the Chief Clown froths in the East Wing, his Attendant Lords blather away at immensely important conferences in Europe, desperately trying to assure the EU, Nato, Russia, Saudi Arabia, the World Bank, Isis, al-Qaeda, you name it, that nothing has changed."
12
i get my laughs elsewhere..........I'm bloody scared of the entire
Republican Party.......So in love with power........their power
Republican Party.......So in love with power........their power
2
I find a lot of liberals' attempts at humor at the expense of President Trump to be tedious. This column, however, was very entertaining. I don't think it really shows an understanding of what President Trumps' administration is doing, but it was very funny.
Six months from now, it may be that Ms. Collins and her friends will have a better understanding of Mr. Trump's methods, but, at the moment, I believe she and they are still missing the real story. Words are given to the press to keep them stirred up--like a disturbed wasp nest. It is the administration's actions, more quietly pursued in the halls of Congress, that will tell the tale. As far as I am concerned, so far, Mr. Trump and his administration have shown surprising effectiveness in that arena.
That said, I enjoyed Ms. Collins' response to the latest flurry of words.
Six months from now, it may be that Ms. Collins and her friends will have a better understanding of Mr. Trump's methods, but, at the moment, I believe she and they are still missing the real story. Words are given to the press to keep them stirred up--like a disturbed wasp nest. It is the administration's actions, more quietly pursued in the halls of Congress, that will tell the tale. As far as I am concerned, so far, Mr. Trump and his administration have shown surprising effectiveness in that arena.
That said, I enjoyed Ms. Collins' response to the latest flurry of words.
15
I agree. Nothing in the column was nearly as funny as a touching, childlike faith in Trump's "methods."
1
Those quiet pursuits are far more terrifying than his speeches, which are full of sound and fury and signify nothing.
2
Oh, he's been effective all right! Before he's done, he'll tear down the entire government. If that's not effective, nothing is.
We liberals DO understand what's going on. What you don't get is this is gallows humor.
We liberals DO understand what's going on. What you don't get is this is gallows humor.
1
I ignore Snort. Trump does too.
I ignore Unscripted, because it is entirely reactive. He's like a comedian playing to his audience. He says whatever gets the response. It has nothing to do with what he thinks, and everything to do with audience reaction.
Reasonable Trump is the same as Unscripted, but with a smaller and more reasonable audience. Again, he is playing the room for the reaction. Change the room, and Trump changes. He's very good at that, but it has nothing to do with what he thinks.
There must be a fourth Trump -- the one with his own thoughts. We never see that. Ivanka probably does. She knows the real Daddy like nobody else.
There is a fifth Trump too, the one who uses subordinates to get what he wants. That's Bannon, a useful subordinate, not close to his heart. The moment he is not useful, he is disposable.
In contrast, Ivanka would never be disposable. Melania might be, like his other ex-wives, and any ex-husband of Ivanka would be instantly gone, but not his daughter.
She is the one thing keeping him human, and the one thing we can look to in order to get a read on the real Trump, number four of five.
I ignore Unscripted, because it is entirely reactive. He's like a comedian playing to his audience. He says whatever gets the response. It has nothing to do with what he thinks, and everything to do with audience reaction.
Reasonable Trump is the same as Unscripted, but with a smaller and more reasonable audience. Again, he is playing the room for the reaction. Change the room, and Trump changes. He's very good at that, but it has nothing to do with what he thinks.
There must be a fourth Trump -- the one with his own thoughts. We never see that. Ivanka probably does. She knows the real Daddy like nobody else.
There is a fifth Trump too, the one who uses subordinates to get what he wants. That's Bannon, a useful subordinate, not close to his heart. The moment he is not useful, he is disposable.
In contrast, Ivanka would never be disposable. Melania might be, like his other ex-wives, and any ex-husband of Ivanka would be instantly gone, but not his daughter.
She is the one thing keeping him human, and the one thing we can look to in order to get a read on the real Trump, number four of five.
3
Thanks Gail. Trump is like a hurricane, and it appears that his speech to congress represents the eye of the storm. It would appear that some people want to enjoy the quiet while they can, and pretend that it is a sign of better things to come. Woe unto them that let their guard down.
I can only imagine how we would react if instead of Trump, we were listening to a speech by Putin to the Ukranian people, and told them how it was time to put differences behind them, and the Russian press spent their time discussing how reasonable and presidential Putin sounded. They would say that he has the press exactly where he wants them.
It is unbelievably sad how much the media is letting themselves be played. Trump and the Republicans have made no bones about waging war against everything Obama has done and stood for, and nothing in his speech suggested that that has changed.
I can only imagine how we would react if instead of Trump, we were listening to a speech by Putin to the Ukranian people, and told them how it was time to put differences behind them, and the Russian press spent their time discussing how reasonable and presidential Putin sounded. They would say that he has the press exactly where he wants them.
It is unbelievably sad how much the media is letting themselves be played. Trump and the Republicans have made no bones about waging war against everything Obama has done and stood for, and nothing in his speech suggested that that has changed.
10
Wasn't "Trump Is Like a Hurricane" a hair metal song from the 80's? Scorpions, I think. Horrible song. Horrible band. Horrible subject. At least the hair was real.
Ms. Collins has suffered a bout of apoplexy, brought on by a shudder of fear. She now sees in triplicate and confuses the current President with the former, one who didn’t know a teleprompter he didn’t like, one able to shift syntax and style depending on the audience; one able to utilize emotion and guilt effectively to confuse and camouflage the issue, bringing tears and blame, but no resolution, one who allowed Russia to usurp sovereign territory without lifting a finger.
The one-dimensional Trump is now revealed as multi-faceted, morphing, is it fair to suggest, as eloquent, measured, and unifying, not via emotion, but instead centered on reason and pragmatism. As such, he is Presidential, unlike the former Teflon coated, red line etch-a-sketcher.
Ms. Collins and cohorts need their vision checked and their own one-dimensionality scrutinized.
The one-dimensional Trump is now revealed as multi-faceted, morphing, is it fair to suggest, as eloquent, measured, and unifying, not via emotion, but instead centered on reason and pragmatism. As such, he is Presidential, unlike the former Teflon coated, red line etch-a-sketcher.
Ms. Collins and cohorts need their vision checked and their own one-dimensionality scrutinized.
11
Grant: lest we forget, the former president was critiqued for using a teleprompter by fox repeatedly, who then praised the new president for being able to get the hang of using them. Also, the FBI was asked to look into the Russian hacking, but instead sent reports and letters to congress about Clinton's emails. It is a constant conservative ruse to turn a criticism into a jab at Obama and blame their faults on him.
7
"Eloquent, measured and unifying." Just laughed so hard at that my breakfast came out through my nose.
7
Multi-faceted but just as shallow as ever. The speech was calm, and maybe even presidential, but totally lacking in substance. Vision check? Sounds like your hatred of Obama has blinded you. The new emperor has no clothes....still.
4
While watching the president's address to Congress, I noticed that he did not talk to the entire Congress, but pivoted toward the applause, i.e., the Republican side of the house. Occasionally, he turned to the Democrats while pointing his finger at them. At other times he just voiced a negative comment in their direction. I recollect that twice he made a neutral statement toward the Democrats. His physical behavior was an enormous tactical error if he plans to get Congressional Democrats to side with him. Had no one told him that when speaking to a large audience of great import and value he should give equal attention to all parts of his listeners?
19
For some of us reading the comments about the "presidential" tone of the Trump speech to Congress was very like hearing a neighbor tell us how well-behaved our children are when visiting at their houses; we are pleased the child is able to behave but stunned when he does.
Perhaps now we who resist can focus on the actual policies and not the tweets which announce them. Perhaps now all the noise generated by the distractions of Trump's non-presidential behaviour can become less important than the actions which change our lives and the lives of so many in the US. While Trump the man makes it possible to underestimate the appeal of his policies to so many voters, a more presidential Trump helps to focus on the danger those policies present to national security, to healthy communities and to the economic equality of more people in the US.
Perhaps now we who resist can focus on the actual policies and not the tweets which announce them. Perhaps now all the noise generated by the distractions of Trump's non-presidential behaviour can become less important than the actions which change our lives and the lives of so many in the US. While Trump the man makes it possible to underestimate the appeal of his policies to so many voters, a more presidential Trump helps to focus on the danger those policies present to national security, to healthy communities and to the economic equality of more people in the US.
87
Your last paragraph is the critical one.
All of the social issues you noted up to that point will be with us for eternity. The prejudice (anti-antisemitism in this case), his personality problems, his mental problems, the inner city social/crime problems,i infrastructure, etc. They need "fixing" and we can continually work on them but they will no doubt cycle back to us. Human nature, human weakness.
But your last paragraph gets to the really serious dilemmas of our time. Climate change, air and water quality, resource depletion (water and energy problems, etc.), overpopulation.
He and his key people are in denial about climate change and if we do not get really serious about this within the next decade, there is no turning back. Some think it might be too late already. In his first month he has been destroying basic air and water quality regulations and policy. This will soon be noticed all around us.
Keep trying Gail; we need all the help we can get.
Our only hope is that his promises to his base are being ignored or in fact their original complaints are being exacerbated. The jobs, and better economy and the bigger better cheaper health insurance and world peace, etc. They are not coming. He will hopefully have one term or we take him out legally.
All of the social issues you noted up to that point will be with us for eternity. The prejudice (anti-antisemitism in this case), his personality problems, his mental problems, the inner city social/crime problems,i infrastructure, etc. They need "fixing" and we can continually work on them but they will no doubt cycle back to us. Human nature, human weakness.
But your last paragraph gets to the really serious dilemmas of our time. Climate change, air and water quality, resource depletion (water and energy problems, etc.), overpopulation.
He and his key people are in denial about climate change and if we do not get really serious about this within the next decade, there is no turning back. Some think it might be too late already. In his first month he has been destroying basic air and water quality regulations and policy. This will soon be noticed all around us.
Keep trying Gail; we need all the help we can get.
Our only hope is that his promises to his base are being ignored or in fact their original complaints are being exacerbated. The jobs, and better economy and the bigger better cheaper health insurance and world peace, etc. They are not coming. He will hopefully have one term or we take him out legally.
144
Dear Frank m,
Well done.
I would only like to add that the miners of Kentucky, deprived of health care, federal aid, and clean water, who voted for DT and Mitch McConnell, will be among the first to feel the results of their folly. West Virginia miners, who voted for Joe Mamchin who is now voting with the Republicans, will be second.
Sad.
Well done.
I would only like to add that the miners of Kentucky, deprived of health care, federal aid, and clean water, who voted for DT and Mitch McConnell, will be among the first to feel the results of their folly. West Virginia miners, who voted for Joe Mamchin who is now voting with the Republicans, will be second.
Sad.
They are not in denial about climate change, it simply doesn't suit their fossil fuel agenda.
Meanwhile, state-run TV (formerly known as Fox News) is reporting that the speech was "historic" and "triumphant." Fox has behaved as such a lap dog for the new administration that even North Korean TV has critiqued their coverage as "a little over the top; they need to keep their propaganda believable."
28
Gail, This might be my favorite of all your columns. Thank you for helping us survive this debacle. Totally agree about his several faces...works so well with his uncomfortable position with the truth/reality. Keep up the great work.
17
Interesting how the Republicans eviscerated Obama for using a teleprompter, but now cheer their guy for using one.
28
C.S.T: Why did Snortus point to so many people in the audience?
A.L.: It was a dare for the Democrats: could they stay seated. Sure, the treatment of rare disease had nothing to do with Trumpacare, but let's see if they want to look rational now ! The real prize was linking his first military decision to a fallen hero, the Democrats had to get up and applaud, and now questioning the raid is the same as disrespecting Ryan.
A.L.: It was a dare for the Democrats: could they stay seated. Sure, the treatment of rare disease had nothing to do with Trumpacare, but let's see if they want to look rational now ! The real prize was linking his first military decision to a fallen hero, the Democrats had to get up and applaud, and now questioning the raid is the same as disrespecting Ryan.
3
Dear Advice Lady: When I think of the words "President" and "Trump" used together there is something within that makes me want to laugh. I know there's nothing funny about anything any of these three Donald Trumps might do as Commander-in-Chief. But the absurdity of putting "President" before "Trump" is amusing in a gruesome, satyrical sort of way.
My question is whether or not I am being disloyal to our nation by laughing? Does it rise to the level of treason?
- Confused in KC
My question is whether or not I am being disloyal to our nation by laughing? Does it rise to the level of treason?
- Confused in KC
15
This a'int no joke KC
Trump can read from a teleprompter! He's presidential!
Did you notice his hand gestures? They were ... unusual ... do we know have Trump mudras? I was trying to figure them out.
We never saw the common mudras of the Buddha -- I was waiting for Vitarka Mudra: Intellectual Argument, Debate, Appeasement. "This gesture of discussion and debate indicates communication and an explanation of the Dharma. The tips of the thumb and index finger touch, forming a circle. All other fingers are extended upwards. Sometimes the middle finger and thumb touch, which is gesture of great compassion. If the thumb and ring finger touch, they express the mudra of good fortune."
No, not that. But as Trump bloviated onward with his telepromptered "I love me, you love me" Barneyzations, I gave him and the TV the 'Merican Yahoo mudra, aka the one-finger salute ... and turned the TV off.
Did you notice his hand gestures? They were ... unusual ... do we know have Trump mudras? I was trying to figure them out.
We never saw the common mudras of the Buddha -- I was waiting for Vitarka Mudra: Intellectual Argument, Debate, Appeasement. "This gesture of discussion and debate indicates communication and an explanation of the Dharma. The tips of the thumb and index finger touch, forming a circle. All other fingers are extended upwards. Sometimes the middle finger and thumb touch, which is gesture of great compassion. If the thumb and ring finger touch, they express the mudra of good fortune."
No, not that. But as Trump bloviated onward with his telepromptered "I love me, you love me" Barneyzations, I gave him and the TV the 'Merican Yahoo mudra, aka the one-finger salute ... and turned the TV off.
14
Love it Lee.......on the other hand....keep an eye on this clown and those
button-pushing fingers......the Yemen raid decided over desert?.......
Maybe not such a good idea.......
button-pushing fingers......the Yemen raid decided over desert?.......
Maybe not such a good idea.......
2
I don't like any of them.
14
Unluckily for America, Foxy Lady over at Fox News holds more appeal for Donald's adoring fans than Advice Lady, so they don't even have to bother with selective listening. Foxy may stick in the occasional gentle jab so she appears to be "fair and balanced" but she's very careful with her Republican treasure. Flattery, bravos, and no double chin close-ups. And that stuff about Donald and his new best friend Russia is just plain mean.
But at least we learned one good thing about Little Donald during his big speech. Our President can actually read, and some really big words to boot.
But at least we learned one good thing about Little Donald during his big speech. Our President can actually read, and some really big words to boot.
6
It's apparently enough for America the Stupid that its bratty baby president hasn't launched a nuclear war overnight.
18
After that speech, he'll be around for 8 years.
If the merit of a President can be gauged on aspirational language without any substance, it's pretty pathetic.
1
doing a round on the Golf Course...............the man is definitely under par
3
Sure, just not as President.
"The Apprentice" awaits.
"The Apprentice" awaits.
2
Gail, thanks for the first playbook on your new pres that makes any sense! One thing though, do all three Trumps have to be impeached or will impeaching only one of them do the trick?
19
I found SNoRT/RCT, formerly known primarily as UT, boring in the extreme. Turned the TV off at 8:35, was in bed by 8:45. I heard his lead-off segue from the fleeting mention of Black History Month to his commiseration for the plight of the Jews caused by his supporters (while not exactly telling them to back off and take it easy, just for a while anyway), but I missed the part that would really have triggered me to haul out the 12-Ga. double-barrel and fine-tune the reception: Trump's introduction of the widow of the SEAL killed in the raid in Yemen. Oh, the words spoken were fine, it was their source. Cynical, cheesy accolades wrapped in gaudy patriotism and tied with a heroic bow from a man who knows zero, zip, nada about bravery and service to country.
He won't even pay taxes; how in Hades are we gonna be able to pay for sand and leaves to fill potholes, let alone gazillions for something like an entire road or nation-capable septic tank with Trump as our example? (Yeah, yeah, I know. Eliminate the EPA and siphon that money off for his fantasies.) He probably pays more in tax lawyer and accountant fees annually than most of us pay in taxes during our entire working careers.
Sorry, A.L., I with C.S.T. all the way on this one.
He won't even pay taxes; how in Hades are we gonna be able to pay for sand and leaves to fill potholes, let alone gazillions for something like an entire road or nation-capable septic tank with Trump as our example? (Yeah, yeah, I know. Eliminate the EPA and siphon that money off for his fantasies.) He probably pays more in tax lawyer and accountant fees annually than most of us pay in taxes during our entire working careers.
Sorry, A.L., I with C.S.T. all the way on this one.
29
CST: Can we expect Trump to answer investigative reports by the New York Times and Washington Post that Attorney General Jeff Sessions lied during his confirmation hearings regarding his contacts with Russia? If he does answer, which Trump will respond?
AL: He will call it fake news so that will be unscripted Trump. His followers will shrug it off just like stories about " Golden Showers" in Russia. They believe that the truth be damned when it comes to making America great again.
AL: He will call it fake news so that will be unscripted Trump. His followers will shrug it off just like stories about " Golden Showers" in Russia. They believe that the truth be damned when it comes to making America great again.
17
SNORT got high approval ratings largely because the only people who watched the speech were those who 1) actually like him, 2) were professionally obligated or 3) drank heavily beforehand.
No matter who writes the words he reads his core is utterly rotten and beyond redemption.
No matter who writes the words he reads his core is utterly rotten and beyond redemption.
34
Will it be necessary to impeach the three separately, or can we oust them all with one proceeding?
47
Have you looked into the possibilities about who would replace an impeached Mr. Trump? First, the stolidly obtuse conservative Vice President; second,a man who tries simultaneously to worship Jesus and Ayn Rand, one of whom preaches selflessness and the other of whom preaches selfishness; third, Orin Hatch, for heaven's sake. Mr. Trump has a pretty good insurance policy against impeachment. We need to find alternative solutions to impeachment, as impeachment is merely a question of moving from a frying pan directly into a flame.
1
Excellent question!
Gail, thank you for your humor while hitting the nail on the head, as usual! The truth you write is too sad beyond belief. Now with Jeff Sessions' lies under oath, we can hope this begins the unraveling that leads to the end of the nightmare that is this entire administration.
37
The Three Faces of Donald. Can't wait for the movie.
25
How about Face The Music?:
1
While not a movie, Kurt Andersen and Alec Baldwin will team up to write “You Can’t Spell America Without Me: The Really Tremendous Inside Story of My Fantastic First Year as President Donald J. Trump.” The book is scheduled for publication in November.
Sadly we are watching it on the news every day - Groundhog Day in perpetual play!
You may have missed a few other of his multiple personalities, as he has so often been called and or accused of, such as the corrupt businessman, the cheating husband, the sexual pervert, the pedophile, the self-proclaimed genital grabber.
37
I don't miss any of them at all.
don't forget rapist...
I can't shake the vision in my head of Steve Bannon the ventriloquist doing his schtick at a seedy night club in Atlantic City, with Trump sitting on his knee. It is "Deplorable Night" at the club -- $1 shots -- and the crowd of four patrons is staring blankly at the stage waiting for Bannon/Trump's long joke about the administrative state to finally, blessedly, end.
31
So instead of "The Three Faces of Eve" we have the three faces of Steve (Bannon)?
18
Plus Kellyanne Conway, who at last check was playing all three Weird Sisters.
1
Apparently now to be presidential means to not speak like a raving sociopath.
65
A Bowl movement would make a better president than Putins puppet.
3
And this particular glass ceiling is now about three inches off the floor. Women: turn your attention to more important matters elsewhere.
2
The news media seems to perfectly happy grading on a curve. Of course, that curve keeps getting adjusted. A passing grade for this student used to consist of making sense, then since that was so difficult for him, just being consistent from one moment to the next, then it changed to just "not lying". Then, since *that* didn't work either, a passing grade meant just plain not raving like a complete loon. The bar has since been lowered to not screaming. Yes, folks, reading off a teleprompter, no matter with what obvious difficulty, and not screaming is now a "presidential" grade of A+.
1
Apparently, most commentators ( CNN, David Brooks) bought into SNORT, relieved no doubt. Once again he was successful in his real agenda, (beyond the usual cruelty). Deflect deflect deflect. Russia, Russia, Russia. Taxes, Taxes, Taxes.
27
So instead of "The Three Faces of Eve" we have the three faces of Steve?
41
Or three faces of Ev-il.
1
It may be a good thing that the news media said complimentary things about the Trump speech. If Trump is feeling good, he might back off on his attacks for just a bit and let everyone get on with their jobs.
Nah, that would be too satirical to imagine. SNORT
Nah, that would be too satirical to imagine. SNORT
31
Multiple personalities are fun to watch, but disasterous in a public figure with power.
28
I disagree, none of this is fun to watch.
1
From: Populace Undergoing Multiple Personality Disorders
To: Ms. Gail Collins
Dear Ms. Collins,
As spokesperson/persons for P.U.M.P.D., I, and my group, take umbrage at your slanderous treatment of President Trump, a fine member of "PUMPD". Wait, my Thursday self is telling me that Mr. Trump's "dues payment' is overdue while my Friday self is quite happy with the current arrangement.
In any case, it's obvious you have absolutely no regard for the plight of our membership however members there may be (You understand "polling" all of us is similar to, well, the situation you pointed out; just how "many" there are of us depends on which of us/me/we you talk to or have talk to you/them..a bit confusing). The "Tuesday Trump" was a fine example of just how constructive and logical one of his personalities can be!
As for the Monday/Friday Trumps, well it's better that the media just turn off the microphones and scratch their heads; those are the two most stressful days for PUMPD members and in the president's case it means either;
a. He's leaving for Mar-a Lago or
b. Darn it, he has to come back to D.C. and deal with people like Paul Ryan.
In a recent study, PUMPD has found many members of Congress suffer from the same problems though seek no treatment for their condition. Some have slanderous remarks yelled at them in "town meetings" even though their condition is really uncontrollable.
So please stop picking on this new "face" of mental illness?
Regards,
Ima Trio, CEO P.U.M.P.D.
To: Ms. Gail Collins
Dear Ms. Collins,
As spokesperson/persons for P.U.M.P.D., I, and my group, take umbrage at your slanderous treatment of President Trump, a fine member of "PUMPD". Wait, my Thursday self is telling me that Mr. Trump's "dues payment' is overdue while my Friday self is quite happy with the current arrangement.
In any case, it's obvious you have absolutely no regard for the plight of our membership however members there may be (You understand "polling" all of us is similar to, well, the situation you pointed out; just how "many" there are of us depends on which of us/me/we you talk to or have talk to you/them..a bit confusing). The "Tuesday Trump" was a fine example of just how constructive and logical one of his personalities can be!
As for the Monday/Friday Trumps, well it's better that the media just turn off the microphones and scratch their heads; those are the two most stressful days for PUMPD members and in the president's case it means either;
a. He's leaving for Mar-a Lago or
b. Darn it, he has to come back to D.C. and deal with people like Paul Ryan.
In a recent study, PUMPD has found many members of Congress suffer from the same problems though seek no treatment for their condition. Some have slanderous remarks yelled at them in "town meetings" even though their condition is really uncontrollable.
So please stop picking on this new "face" of mental illness?
Regards,
Ima Trio, CEO P.U.M.P.D.
26
SNORT. Perfect.
Is that a sub-species of RINO?
SNORT RINO has a certain ring to it and actually some passing resemblance to the truth.
Thanks for making me smile this morning Gail.
Is that a sub-species of RINO?
SNORT RINO has a certain ring to it and actually some passing resemblance to the truth.
Thanks for making me smile this morning Gail.
40
There are all sorts of cultural connotations for SNORT.
Think: 1980's.
Think: 1980's.
1
The thing about SNORT is: he can't actually read very well--see his pathetic squinting at his vile and deliberately misleading Bannon-script. He hasn't read anything more complicated than a cereal box for years so what do we expect.
43
I think you're giving him too much credit there: some of those cereal boxes are very complicated.
He's seventy years-old. He probably should be wearing glasses. But, you know, vanity.... On the other hand, we all know that he's not a reader or particularly literate, so maybe he's dyslexic, and that may be the secret sorrow that he's been frantically trying to hide with bluster and bullying for all of these years. On the other, other hand, I do know people who are brilliant and dyslexic, and who communicate far better than he does, with big words and everything. So maybe his problem is that he knows that he's really not all that bright, but since he's a narcissist, he really wants to believe that he is the smartest person in the room and that two plus two really does equal five.
1
Sorry, but you are in error - he only reads the MacDonald's or Taco Bell menus.
It's getting hard to laugh at our class clown.
We may have the most corrupt administration in the history of our country.
We may have the most corrupt administration in the history of our country.
77
Maybe he's actually a robot, and his staff finally got the software bugs out.
30
Sad to see Trump supporters still think Trump has the ability to be President.
54
Not as sad as the attitude of our storied press that says once again that Trump has pivoted and is now a real President. Sad.
Gail Collins, you are really good! You are the only high-minded, serious journalist that can actually make me laugh while telling me the truth AND giving me a fresh perspective. THANK YOU! Your use of an epistolary form was a hoot.
74
Is it just a coincidence that Three Part Donald has an uncanny resemblance to a game called Three Card Monty. You all do know that its a trick game where the "marks" rarely win? His adoring fans some who lost life savings in his casinos love that game and I wonder if they realize he took their money then declared bankruptcy. What a card that Number 45.
67
You know the word trump means to cheat. Look it up.
Trompe loeil. The French trick of the eye.
Trompe loeil. The French trick of the eye.
1
In Trump's lexicon, VP stands for Vladimir Putin.
63
Trump reading off a teleprompter is not the real Trump.
Tuesday morning, the same day he gave his State of the Union Speech, Trump met with state attorney generals.
According to the WaPo:
Pennsylvania AG Josh Shapiro (D) asked about anti-semitic acts and "told reporters Tuesday that Trump expressed horror at the situation but also appeared to suggest it might not be anti-Semitism and that it could be “the reverse,” The Post's Mark Berman confirmed."
Shapiro told BuzzFeed: “He just said, ‘Sometimes it’s the reverse, to make people — or to make others — look bad,’ and he used the word ‘reverse’ I would say two to three times in his comments. He did correctly say at the top that it was reprehensible.”
Earlier in the day, Anthony Scaramucci, Trump’s pick for director of the Office of Public Liaison and Intergovernmental Affairs, suggested the attacks might not be as simple as they seem, pointing to a Breitbart story about Democrats allegedly inciting violence at Trump rallies.
Trump changes opinions mid-sentence. For instance, he can say he's for clean water, yet sign a bill that overturned stopping coal mining companies dumping their debris into people's drinking water.
I don't believe Trump, I don't buy what he's selling.
And, for some reason, he didn't mention Russia or his taxes, because I do remember that he said he would, as soon as his so-called audit was done, release his tax returns when he was running for president?
Maybe Oprah will run and save us all?
Tuesday morning, the same day he gave his State of the Union Speech, Trump met with state attorney generals.
According to the WaPo:
Pennsylvania AG Josh Shapiro (D) asked about anti-semitic acts and "told reporters Tuesday that Trump expressed horror at the situation but also appeared to suggest it might not be anti-Semitism and that it could be “the reverse,” The Post's Mark Berman confirmed."
Shapiro told BuzzFeed: “He just said, ‘Sometimes it’s the reverse, to make people — or to make others — look bad,’ and he used the word ‘reverse’ I would say two to three times in his comments. He did correctly say at the top that it was reprehensible.”
Earlier in the day, Anthony Scaramucci, Trump’s pick for director of the Office of Public Liaison and Intergovernmental Affairs, suggested the attacks might not be as simple as they seem, pointing to a Breitbart story about Democrats allegedly inciting violence at Trump rallies.
Trump changes opinions mid-sentence. For instance, he can say he's for clean water, yet sign a bill that overturned stopping coal mining companies dumping their debris into people's drinking water.
I don't believe Trump, I don't buy what he's selling.
And, for some reason, he didn't mention Russia or his taxes, because I do remember that he said he would, as soon as his so-called audit was done, release his tax returns when he was running for president?
Maybe Oprah will run and save us all?
161
Quite an inventive and entertaining twist on the Three Faces of Trump.
Thank you, Ms. Collins!
Thank you, Ms. Collins!
86
No matter how many Trump updates we get, the underlying code is the same for each version. And it's not user friendly, is nearly impossible to input new data into, and is susceptible to hacking.
50
All 3--or more--Donald Trumps are delusional con men. The con takes different forms as he and his handlers decide what will be politically expedient at the moment.
The man is a fool. He can "win, win, win" all he wants, but that does not preclude that he is an uneducated, incurious, foolish narcissist who is Putin's useful idiot.
The man is a fool. He can "win, win, win" all he wants, but that does not preclude that he is an uneducated, incurious, foolish narcissist who is Putin's useful idiot.
130
Which one is the degenerate Trump who has already blood on his little fingers of four Navy Seals that lost their lives in Yemen, when Trump ordered to attack without adequate preparation to score political points and the blood of an Indian engineer who was shot in Kansas City by a bigot when Trump fanned hate across America?
49
He unfortunately blew his opportunity to praise by name the hero who intervened in the Kansas anti-immigrant hate crime at risk to his own life. Or better, to invite him to his speech.
1
be careful, if you are pushing false info you are no better than Trump himself. Where do you come up with the extra three deaths in the Yemen raid?
When will we learn to stop listening to anything Pres. Trump says and start concentrating on actions?
We are about to see the first big action in the attempted destruction of health care. The proposal is so bad that the Republicans refuse to disclose any part of it.
The only other thing we've seen for sure is the Administration appears to be totally incompetent.
We are about to see the first big action in the attempted destruction of health care. The proposal is so bad that the Republicans refuse to disclose any part of it.
The only other thing we've seen for sure is the Administration appears to be totally incompetent.
92
Yes, severe depression has set in. In addition to an inexplicably high number of voters selecting unscripted trump in the first place, we now have significant numbers of citizens who just want their "ruler" to act presidential, regardless of his radical agenda. I thought from the beginning that if this administration was more clever and devious, particularly with "messaging" aka propaganda, their path to autocracy would be easier. Heavens, even white supremacists understand you have to temper your real message so as not to scare people.
Couple all of this with an inept Democratic Party, all feels lost. All I can come up with is that the Dems need fresh, young, but not far left, leadership.
Couple all of this with an inept Democratic Party, all feels lost. All I can come up with is that the Dems need fresh, young, but not far left, leadership.
48
I didn't read this as a humor column. More than amusing, it was an attempt to understand the multiplicity of faces that Trump flashes at us and to remind us that, at his root, he is a shape shifting conman. No one should be surprised by his "pivots"; all we can do is keep our eyes on what he does, or tries to do. The proof, after all, is in the pudding.
183
I agree, Jeff. What is really troubling is that he may just give Ryan all the cuts to the safety net that he wants. As soon as it was announced that Social Security and Medicare would not be cut, I knew these were one the table.
23
Aside from this, I'm ignoring him and the voters as much as I can. I'm putting politics aside before I have an embolism. People voted for him, and people usually get what they deserve.
I'll be back from wherever my mind is in about three years. By that time we will see the affects of his policies. I.E. the economy, the environment, education, immigration etc. And we will see if the middle-class whites from rural areas who voted for him are satisfied, or are disgruntled. Then we can all have a discussion on Trump without just speculating as to what will occur--there will be results and direction. but now, I need to just get away from Trump and the press obsessions with him.
I'll be back from wherever my mind is in about three years. By that time we will see the affects of his policies. I.E. the economy, the environment, education, immigration etc. And we will see if the middle-class whites from rural areas who voted for him are satisfied, or are disgruntled. Then we can all have a discussion on Trump without just speculating as to what will occur--there will be results and direction. but now, I need to just get away from Trump and the press obsessions with him.
18
There's an election in two years, come back for that.
2
I agree with you. If you're ever in VT, look me up and I'll buy you a beer and a burger and we'll talk about anything under the sun except SNORT.
Thank goodness the Advice Lady is accessible to the C.S.T. hordes. The heartbreak of P.T.S.D.( post Trump stress disorder) leaves tens of millions of the afflicted suffering from a "willing suspension of belief". "I can't believe it" is becoming the mantra chanted by millions when referencing Trump's election. I do have a question for the A.L. "Every time I see Reince Priebus and Steve Bannon together I mentally flash to those images of the Egyptian Plover, the little bird that spends his days inside the open jaws of huge, menacing African crocodiles". Is this normal or should I seek further therapy?
25
There has been much debate on what exactly is wrong with Trump psychologically. Is Gail Collins implying he might have dissociative identity disorder (multiple personality)?
23
Thank you Dr. Waugman, As another MD (but not a psychiatrist), this sounds far more serious than the truly MPD. Which is treatable through reintegration techniques and supportive environments, and which do not require the person to be in the very high-stress position of being the President of the US.
This performance is purposely planned and executed to manipulate and deceive at a narcissistic, neotonic, level far off the charts.
What do I know, I am just appalled at the collective mental disorder in our country that brought this person to this position of gravitas.
This performance is purposely planned and executed to manipulate and deceive at a narcissistic, neotonic, level far off the charts.
What do I know, I am just appalled at the collective mental disorder in our country that brought this person to this position of gravitas.
4
Wow, did you actually go to medical school?
Does Trump take drugs before he gives a teleprompted speech, or do the rays emitting from the devise have some kind of tranquilizing effect? There is a notable slur to his speech when he's reading aloud from a teleprompter.
Better that kind of slur, I suppose, than the kinds of slurs that issue forth when he's unscripted. What a poor excuse for a president.
Better that kind of slur, I suppose, than the kinds of slurs that issue forth when he's unscripted. What a poor excuse for a president.
38
Don't forget the constant sniffing when he is on teleprompter.
I think that Pence and Ryan have strings that run the puppet Trump during the speech, can't see them on the screen.
2
In response to Smitaly:
What a frightening excuse for a president!
What a frightening excuse for a president!
"they'll all be around for the next four years." Please, please, please. One of the bedrocks of our fantasies is that he's going to be impeached or forced out facing impeachment by the end of the year. Actually, he's already lasted longer than I thought he would.
26
Be careful what you wish for - remember who is waiting in the wings.
1
People talk about the bar being set so low that even a poorly delivered meaningless speech written by someone else and read from a teleprompter represents a triumph for trump. The reality is there is no bar for Trump. If he stood there and kept his mouth shut for the whole time it would be considered a triumph of restraint.
50
All of the various iterations of Trump have at least one thing in common. They are very depressing.
52
President Trump is something of a chameleon who wants to stand out, always doing his best to blend in and be considered a part of the crowd he is in front in the moment, while also seeking their praise and adulation, longing to be recognized as the supreme representative of their crowd.
In this sense, SNORT and Reasonable Chatting Trump are perfectly consistent--Trump is modifying his malleable character to try to be one with the crowd he is performing in front of.
In this sense, SNORT and Reasonable Chatting Trump are perfectly consistent--Trump is modifying his malleable character to try to be one with the crowd he is performing in front of.
30
How low can the bar drop? The leader of one of the most powerful countries in the world makes a speech without devolving into a narcissistic rant and citizens of that country are celebratory? No wonder he loves the uneducated. We're in big trouble people!
954
Hi, Martha -
What is also interesting and revealing is that if you read the reaction of Trump supporters to the speech, it's all about how it made them feel. If you read the reactions of those in opposition, they'll tell you what they thought.
There's a lesson there for the new DNC leadership. I hope Mr. Perez is paying attention.
What is also interesting and revealing is that if you read the reaction of Trump supporters to the speech, it's all about how it made them feel. If you read the reactions of those in opposition, they'll tell you what they thought.
There's a lesson there for the new DNC leadership. I hope Mr. Perez is paying attention.
1
And why not. His speech had 34% less references to himself as compared to Obama's speech.
We are indeed. That bar is lower than in the last turn of a limbo contest!
Dear Ms. Collins: Your columns are terrific but could you please try to title your op-eds without using djt's name? You're very creative; I know you can do it. Thank you sincerely, MaryAnn
15
i suggest "El Lider Maximo Loco" or "El Lider Boca Grande" as the appellations for our Trumpster. He's clearly new-world banana-republic material.
And i wonder if like Noriega (aka "the pineapple," but who insisted on "El Lider Maximo") and El Chapo Guzman, Trump will end up in ADX Max?
And i wonder if like Noriega (aka "the pineapple," but who insisted on "El Lider Maximo") and El Chapo Guzman, Trump will end up in ADX Max?
1
At many newspapers, a copy editor or someone other than the columnist or reporter writes headlines. I suspect that is the case at The NYTimes.
1
Yes, I so agree with this! Creativity and humor are two important ways we can survive this so-called president.
Remember, his name is his brand. Why give him free advertisement?
Remember, his name is his brand. Why give him free advertisement?
1
I'm not sure why everyone is so impressed by the fact that Trump can read from a teleprompter--he did even that poorly. It seemed, to hear him speak, as if he hadn't even read the speech he was giving.
But I can only judge by the first 15 minutes, because that's as far as I got. As soon as he started talking about the "tens of thousands of jobs" he'd supposedly brought back to the US in his first month of office, I shut it off. I have better things to do on a Tuesday night than listen to this man tell his ridiculous lies and exaggerations, even if it is just watch Futurama on Netflix. At least then I'm laughing for the right reasons.
But I can only judge by the first 15 minutes, because that's as far as I got. As soon as he started talking about the "tens of thousands of jobs" he'd supposedly brought back to the US in his first month of office, I shut it off. I have better things to do on a Tuesday night than listen to this man tell his ridiculous lies and exaggerations, even if it is just watch Futurama on Netflix. At least then I'm laughing for the right reasons.
663
Look, there is awhole category of journalists who cannot seem to wrap their minds around the reality of trump. And thus are desperate for any hint of 'normal' so that they can get back to their version of business as usual 'balanced' journalism.
It was amazing afterwards on his way out how there was a mike on so loud to hear what all his Republican enablers said to him about his speech. Planned in advance?? Nevrr heard that before.
And the Republicans heeded the advice of those in his administration to always say nice things and reinforce how well he is doing. He hates negativity pointed at him.
So all the Republicans were saying: 'Great job', 'You were great'. 'You hit it out of the ball park', 'Great speech', One of the best speeches to Congress ever', yada,yada,yada.
And you could see and hear him asking if they really thought so; or if they could repeat what they said (though he herd them).
All a shrewd plan for his fanatic followers and to build his ego.
And the Republicans heeded the advice of those in his administration to always say nice things and reinforce how well he is doing. He hates negativity pointed at him.
So all the Republicans were saying: 'Great job', 'You were great'. 'You hit it out of the ball park', 'Great speech', One of the best speeches to Congress ever', yada,yada,yada.
And you could see and hear him asking if they really thought so; or if they could repeat what they said (though he herd them).
All a shrewd plan for his fanatic followers and to build his ego.
I chose to watch the UK/Vandy game!
Both Obama and Trump sound very different when they use a teleprompter to deliver an address as opposed to situations where they speak spontaneously.
When asked a question, Obama would pause, think, and weigh each word. His pauses became comic fodder that he himself often joshed about. He never apologized for thinking things through, ever conscious that the president's words, every one, have weight and significance.
Trump begins talking before the questioner is done and never stops. His vocabulary seldom advances past monosyllables; his tone is either abrasive, cynical, smug, or fake-funny.
That said, he read his speech well. I coach presentation skills at a major business school; I'd have given him a solid B.
When asked a question, Obama would pause, think, and weigh each word. His pauses became comic fodder that he himself often joshed about. He never apologized for thinking things through, ever conscious that the president's words, every one, have weight and significance.
Trump begins talking before the questioner is done and never stops. His vocabulary seldom advances past monosyllables; his tone is either abrasive, cynical, smug, or fake-funny.
That said, he read his speech well. I coach presentation skills at a major business school; I'd have given him a solid B.
407
I'm professional public talker -- a preacher who delivers a sermon more than 40 times a year (different one each time). And before each sermon I read from the Bible. My sermons are written in advance and carefully crafted. I am a student of preaching and public speaking, and I take time to rehearse both the Bible reading and the sermon so that I'm not just making sounds or changing my tone and rhythm randomly to simulate good delivery. I choose my pace and emphasis to compliment the story and message and to help create meaning.
Based on my study and experience, I would give Trump no more than a C. He was blatantly reading from the teleprompter and not moving his eyes -- or even blinking -- for long periods. This shows that he didn't have full command of his material or the ability to be several words ahead with his eyes (like musicians whose eyes are always a few bars ahead of what their fingers are executing, good public speakers are always a few words ahead of what their mouths are saying). Trump also failed to really read the meaning of the text as shown by his odd and awkward cadences, pauses and emphases. His speech was often more an exercise in phonics; he made the right sounds but without understanding what those sounds mean. Sort of like the way I can read Spanish aloud because I know the rules of pronunciation, but because I don't know grammar or vocabulary, I'm just making sounds.
For much of the speech Trump was just making sounds. Hardly worthy of a B.
Based on my study and experience, I would give Trump no more than a C. He was blatantly reading from the teleprompter and not moving his eyes -- or even blinking -- for long periods. This shows that he didn't have full command of his material or the ability to be several words ahead with his eyes (like musicians whose eyes are always a few bars ahead of what their fingers are executing, good public speakers are always a few words ahead of what their mouths are saying). Trump also failed to really read the meaning of the text as shown by his odd and awkward cadences, pauses and emphases. His speech was often more an exercise in phonics; he made the right sounds but without understanding what those sounds mean. Sort of like the way I can read Spanish aloud because I know the rules of pronunciation, but because I don't know grammar or vocabulary, I'm just making sounds.
For much of the speech Trump was just making sounds. Hardly worthy of a B.
332
Regarding President Obama and press conferences: have you ever read the scripted part and then the Q. and A. transcript? The quality is the same. The message is the same. Obama was a person you could believe. Maybe you didn't like what he was saying, but at least with him the next day you knew you would hear the same thing. You knew where he stood and what he stood for.
Forget all that now.
Forget all that now.
14
Differentiates a politician from a man of action.
Analysis paralysis is why we still have decade old problems that are not ye solved by Washington.
Analysis paralysis is why we still have decade old problems that are not ye solved by Washington.
2
Wolf in sheepish clothing.
Policies unchanged, administration unchanged, intentions unchanged.
WH staff was reportedly surprised that people responded so favorably, but say nothing will change their direction. Ivanka strives to recover her reputation by becoming the daddy whisperer. Trump loves the posititve attendtion, so maybe he won't break anything for a couple of days.
Nothing to see here. Don't normalize Trump.
Policies unchanged, administration unchanged, intentions unchanged.
WH staff was reportedly surprised that people responded so favorably, but say nothing will change their direction. Ivanka strives to recover her reputation by becoming the daddy whisperer. Trump loves the posititve attendtion, so maybe he won't break anything for a couple of days.
Nothing to see here. Don't normalize Trump.
52
Unhinged and Pseudo liberal. Were it a Democrat entering White House it would be conversations about First Lady re-decorations. Instead we MFG. insidious stories of Russia. Shouldn't two super powers talk?
We are seeing leaks that seem to tie back to Obama influences. Not surprising! Obama will usurp all past Presidents in re-inserting himself! Will you support that?
We are seeing leaks that seem to tie back to Obama influences. Not surprising! Obama will usurp all past Presidents in re-inserting himself! Will you support that?
2
even GWB is commenting on politics again. Anyone with half a brain (like W), is disturbed by this so-called President.
11
If it is OK to talk to the Russians, why lie about it under oath?
5
Man, you have hit rock bottom.
3
Which Trump is the compromised asset of Russia's Putin?
Trump seems very scared and somber when Putin or Russia come up.
Trump seems very scared and somber when Putin or Russia come up.
21
Imagine, the stock markets go up 'bigly" because someone reads a speech from a teleprompter. There is a magnificent scene in VEEP where President Meyer holds a press conference the day after the Presidential election has ended in a 269-269 tie. She is calm and self-assured but because of a large pimple on her cheek the market falls 900 points. Remember the unhinged presser of two weeks ago? Not much of a market reaction at all, and a 300 point gain when 45 proves that adage that a chimp left alone with a typewriter will sooner or later type the works of Shakespeare. Time to stow the money in the mattress people.
34
Happy to hear that someone else was not taken in by the speech. The weird comment about the late Navy Seal being happy about the standing ovation - I do wonder why the widow showed up. Then there was the was Mrs. Scalia - are the other judges not noteworthy? The wars we never one - the Republican one that spawned ISIS? The State Dept, science, the EPA and medical research will be cut. So how will there be space exploration? How will diseases be cured? What exactly will the military spend it's money on? "beautiful " planes, ships? The speech was a mishmash of catch phrases. From the most insincere politician of all time.
62
The Navy Seal's dad wouldn't meet with Trump...he's waiting for an investigation. So am I.
4
First it will be shipbuilding and tank building jobs and then new military personnel going to work. After he revs up a current battle or starts a new one, think of all the replacements who will be needed for those killed and maimed, work for funeral parlors and grave diggers, monument makers and medical care staff. Lots of new jobs, just not the kind most people would prefer for a "thriving" country.
I think I have this straight. SNORT is not Donald Trump. He is a manufactured avatar of a person certain people – Mitch, Paul and two guys named Stephen – want Trump to be.
Reasonable Chatting Trump also is not Donald Trump. There is no such person as R.C.T. for the simple reason that the mind of Donald Trump – to the extent that you can call it a mind – is not present. What R.C.T. says is no more than a polite gesture like a casual wave to a crowd. You might as well call it Snapchat Trump, because the message disappears a few seconds after it is uttered.
The bad news is that Unscripted Trump is the only person who really exists. That unreasoning, unpleasant, uninformed and selfish bundle of prejudices is President Donald Trump.
Ignore him at your peril.
Reasonable Chatting Trump also is not Donald Trump. There is no such person as R.C.T. for the simple reason that the mind of Donald Trump – to the extent that you can call it a mind – is not present. What R.C.T. says is no more than a polite gesture like a casual wave to a crowd. You might as well call it Snapchat Trump, because the message disappears a few seconds after it is uttered.
The bad news is that Unscripted Trump is the only person who really exists. That unreasoning, unpleasant, uninformed and selfish bundle of prejudices is President Donald Trump.
Ignore him at your peril.
73
Dear Advice Lady - who says that the three Donald Trumps will be around for the next four years? We who didn't vote for him or his eminences grises - Bannon, Conway and the Kershners - think Trump's reign will be brief and short as March, in like a lion out like a lamb.
As for his campaign promises that will not be kept (who expected the "unpresidented" President to keep his promises? ) we may see some big league beefing up of the military, a wee bit of infrastructure repair or maintenance, some wall-building in the Southwest, and nothing re the environment - except "to promote clean air and water and investing in women's health".
All of the Republicans (including the Bobbsey Twins, Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum - Pence and Ryan sartorially alike in white shirts, blue ties - almost uniforms - standing over Trump at his Joint Session address on Tuesday night) were pleased with the SNORT("Somewhat Normal Republican Trump") President! Fortunately, the President wore a navy and white tie, so they wouldn't look like the song "Triplets" from the 1953 MGM musical "The Band Wagon".
Advice Lady, whether we can or can't stand Trump, nota bene and vita brevis, he may not be around for four more years. Investigations may bear strange fruit and bring down the Trump tree. Otherwise, we may have to grin and bear him till 2020
As for his campaign promises that will not be kept (who expected the "unpresidented" President to keep his promises? ) we may see some big league beefing up of the military, a wee bit of infrastructure repair or maintenance, some wall-building in the Southwest, and nothing re the environment - except "to promote clean air and water and investing in women's health".
All of the Republicans (including the Bobbsey Twins, Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum - Pence and Ryan sartorially alike in white shirts, blue ties - almost uniforms - standing over Trump at his Joint Session address on Tuesday night) were pleased with the SNORT("Somewhat Normal Republican Trump") President! Fortunately, the President wore a navy and white tie, so they wouldn't look like the song "Triplets" from the 1953 MGM musical "The Band Wagon".
Advice Lady, whether we can or can't stand Trump, nota bene and vita brevis, he may not be around for four more years. Investigations may bear strange fruit and bring down the Trump tree. Otherwise, we may have to grin and bear him till 2020
9
Lurking unpleasantly behind all these versions of Trump is the B.C.T version.
The "C" stands for crazy.
If someone criticizes him or says something unpleasant about him, the BCT version foams at the mouth or tweets nutty things. Sad!
The "C" stands for crazy.
If someone criticizes him or says something unpleasant about him, the BCT version foams at the mouth or tweets nutty things. Sad!
15
Perhaps Trump has Multiple Personality Disorder. We've seen Eve White and then Eve Black on full display and then in the Congressional speech the more stable Eve emerged. Apparently the public (70%) was very happy with this new reset Trump. Polls also indicate that people are very optimistic about the direction Trump is taking us in. Although that is really hard to figure out since on any given day one of three personalities may show up leading us in polar opposite directions. All this talk about analyzing Trump's mental state is misplaced, perhaps we should actually be evaluating Americans who apparently love this guy.
19
Yes, that grieving military widow was free to attend the so-called President's speech and expect to be acknowledged there. But I doubt if she an inkling that she would not merely be acknowledged, but shamelessly exploited to a degree that bordered on the pornographic.
The record-long applause (that trump made sure to gloat over) reminds me of (another) Russian tie. There's a story of a western reporter who attended an address by Stalin to a Soviet party congress. At the end of the speech, the applause had gone on, and on, and on.... Finally the journalist turned to his Russian escort and asked why the audience was still applauding after several minutes. "Oh, that's simple", said the host, "nobody dares be the first one to stop." That sums up the hold that trump seems to have over his party. Sooner or later, the last straw will be added, and they'll suddenly be falling over themselves to abandon the sinking ship.
The record-long applause (that trump made sure to gloat over) reminds me of (another) Russian tie. There's a story of a western reporter who attended an address by Stalin to a Soviet party congress. At the end of the speech, the applause had gone on, and on, and on.... Finally the journalist turned to his Russian escort and asked why the audience was still applauding after several minutes. "Oh, that's simple", said the host, "nobody dares be the first one to stop." That sums up the hold that trump seems to have over his party. Sooner or later, the last straw will be added, and they'll suddenly be falling over themselves to abandon the sinking ship.
51
Ivanka (who does seem to be reasonably decent) should have had the sense to tell her "we can sit down now" after a decent amount of applause. If the two of them sat down, the exploitation would have stopped. Instead, Trump milked it for a new Trump Record (to add to his Electoral College record) for longest applause to a line in a presidential address to Congress.
1
Many have written about how Gail's humor has a palliative effect on those of us who are genuinely frightened by the danger Trump poses to our democracy and our way of life. This column is no exception--but coupled with the truth which seems to have been preserved in the last days of President Obama's term and emerged just when so many were sure that we had witnessed Trump's "pivot" the other night--I hope that the investigation into this "president's" road to White House is serious, complete and that Trump and his inept/corrupt administration is sent packing.
37
SNORT!
omg, Gail i'm sitting at my desk here at work and laughing! THANK YOU for putting this big silly smile on my face. i love your columns!
a fan (American woman in London so grateful for the NHS)
omg, Gail i'm sitting at my desk here at work and laughing! THANK YOU for putting this big silly smile on my face. i love your columns!
a fan (American woman in London so grateful for the NHS)
26
Please do SOMETHING to help our country!! It's being run by people with no heart, no compassion, and enormously selfish, greedy, and bigoted. Is this what we want for our country? If we believe that our country is so great, can't we do better than this? We're the laughing stock of the world!!
40
Lulu, your plea brings to mind this question: Given that checks (and balances) are integral and fundamental to our democracy, what recourse or remedy (short of the four-year voting cycle) is available when the majority of citizens recognize the winner of the presidential contest to be incompetent for the position (not to mention behaviorally unworthy of it)?
2
Hell, if it takes only NOT saying crazy things, making up statistics and beating on someone in order to be president, I eminently qualified to be one.
24
"We will call him Somewhat Normal Republican Trump, or SNORT."
I love SNORT, because Trump DOES snort a lot when he's close to a microphone. Remember the debates? He sounded like a raging bull--the only thing missing was a set of clawing hooves.
When he's ad-libbing (Unscripted Trump) nobody can hear the snorts because he's yelling so loud. But the debates, yes, oh dear god, it was maddening. I could hardly focus on what he was saying because I was counting the snorts, trying to see if there was a pattern.
Trump must be a mouth-breather, like that stupid ad here in the east. I suggest he get the Breathe-Right strips or nose-guards like athletes and people with colds wear. It might look stupid, but it would refocus his audience waiting for pearls of wisdom.
Wait, scratch that last phrase--it belongs to Reasonable Trump. Whose moments are few and far between.
I love SNORT, because Trump DOES snort a lot when he's close to a microphone. Remember the debates? He sounded like a raging bull--the only thing missing was a set of clawing hooves.
When he's ad-libbing (Unscripted Trump) nobody can hear the snorts because he's yelling so loud. But the debates, yes, oh dear god, it was maddening. I could hardly focus on what he was saying because I was counting the snorts, trying to see if there was a pattern.
Trump must be a mouth-breather, like that stupid ad here in the east. I suggest he get the Breathe-Right strips or nose-guards like athletes and people with colds wear. It might look stupid, but it would refocus his audience waiting for pearls of wisdom.
Wait, scratch that last phrase--it belongs to Reasonable Trump. Whose moments are few and far between.
52
snorting = cocaine addiction perhaps?
many of his actions support this hypothesis.
many of his actions support this hypothesis.
The real Donald Trump doesn't exist, presumably because he was never held or hugged as a small child, or because his parents never told him they loved him, thereby releasing Trumpsycho into the world where he could toxify the environment for 70 or 80 years of deranged attention-addiction behavior and megalomaniacal grasps for psychological reassurance from society that he is loved and adored.
The man whose lifetime office in Trump Tower - a giant, gold-plated, erection-like-building tribute to himself (that was built on a Manhattan site that was cleared by hundreds of imported, undocumented, underpaid Polish workers in 1979) - is lined with magazine covers of himself congratulating himself on being himself, has always needed a psychopathic amount of attention to feel 'normal'.
What else in the world could account for a man who 'boldly' authorized the Yemeni raid that killed Navy SEAL Ryan Owens over dinner one night and then blamed it on the 'generals' just hours before walking into a Joint Session of Congress to display his 'leadership' by waving Ryan's freshly stricken military widow to his Celebrity Presidential Apprentice TV audience and then grotesquely adding “and Ryan is looking down, right now, you know that. And he’s very happy, because I think he just broke a record” referring to the length of the ovation.
It's hard to imagine a human being with such an Everest-like sense of shamelessness and insatiable need for applause.
The Psychiatric-Patient-In-Chief speaks.
The man whose lifetime office in Trump Tower - a giant, gold-plated, erection-like-building tribute to himself (that was built on a Manhattan site that was cleared by hundreds of imported, undocumented, underpaid Polish workers in 1979) - is lined with magazine covers of himself congratulating himself on being himself, has always needed a psychopathic amount of attention to feel 'normal'.
What else in the world could account for a man who 'boldly' authorized the Yemeni raid that killed Navy SEAL Ryan Owens over dinner one night and then blamed it on the 'generals' just hours before walking into a Joint Session of Congress to display his 'leadership' by waving Ryan's freshly stricken military widow to his Celebrity Presidential Apprentice TV audience and then grotesquely adding “and Ryan is looking down, right now, you know that. And he’s very happy, because I think he just broke a record” referring to the length of the ovation.
It's hard to imagine a human being with such an Everest-like sense of shamelessness and insatiable need for applause.
The Psychiatric-Patient-In-Chief speaks.
912
Where is Sigmund Freud when he is desperately needed.
6
Much, perhaps too much, has been said abut Trump's mental condition. And doubtless it is all true. But we need now a means to counter his abusive actions, his bad judgements, a senate that approves, willy - nilly his asinine appointments.
Some of the people who voted for him may realize they have been conned. I would hope that new awareness would spill over in 2018 because it does not look promising that the Senate otherwise will come to its senses.
Some of the people who voted for him may realize they have been conned. I would hope that new awareness would spill over in 2018 because it does not look promising that the Senate otherwise will come to its senses.
6
What about the parents of U.S. Army Capt. Humayun Khan, killed by a car bomb in Iraq. Curious how they were treated so disrepectfully. Perhaps because are brown, or perhaps because they are Muslim. In either case, is their sacrifice any less then Ms. Owens'? Sadly we know the answer.
5
One other American death from terrorist violence went unmentioned Tuesday night. That of a 8-year old American child, "Nora," killed from a shot through the neck inside her home, during the Navy SEAL raid that violated Yemen's sovereignty and crossed its borders without permission, to retrieve hard discs and flash drives. (Yes, her father was a "bad dude," but he had been killed five years earlier by an Obama-ordered missile attack in Yemen's northern provinces.)
Her sacrifice should be remembered as a part of the carnage of innocents in an undeclared war, a reminder of the need for peace--more important than victory. Every loss brings its own grief. Peace embraces them all, (Too often, victory is about who is the bigger ugly.)
Her sacrifice should be remembered as a part of the carnage of innocents in an undeclared war, a reminder of the need for peace--more important than victory. Every loss brings its own grief. Peace embraces them all, (Too often, victory is about who is the bigger ugly.)
291
Indeed.
2
"Somewhat Normal" ?
As if delivering lies, exaggerations and baseless promises in a "conciliatory" tone is not nineteen times more to be feared than the braying, snarling timbre of his off-the-cuff remarks.
If anything has not sufficiently demonstrated the irrationality of Wall Street, yesterday should do it. To my fellow working people: how many times do we have to point out that good news for them is usually bad news for us?
As if delivering lies, exaggerations and baseless promises in a "conciliatory" tone is not nineteen times more to be feared than the braying, snarling timbre of his off-the-cuff remarks.
If anything has not sufficiently demonstrated the irrationality of Wall Street, yesterday should do it. To my fellow working people: how many times do we have to point out that good news for them is usually bad news for us?
108
Nancy, I think what you're trying to say is, "we have Donald Trump, but it could have been nineteen times worse if we had any of those other normal-sounding yet more effective Republicans in office." I agree completely.
3
'One Bonaparte in the family is enough'! was the only time I saw my French stepfather mimic an ancestor of his. He never spoke of the fate of his two great-aunts. Judging from historians, the eldest daughter was quite content in matrimony, her husband known as the more gentle one, became the King of Spain. 'Napoleon is still regarded as somewhat controversial', whispered my parent on an aside, 'but he was always kind to his women' which makes one wonder if Josephine felt the same at the end of her life.
'One' Donald Trump is enough alright already, he was too much three decades ago. Lies and Deceit? We don't care as long as the Republican Party takes the lead apparently. That's right, if there was enough space on Mt. Rushmore, Infrastructure would begin with a monument to Reagan.
Never mind if a wedding party has taken place between Russia and its bride, young America. That's not important when you think about all those crippling emails on Hillary's server and the Democrats are still grousing.
This American hopes that a National Holiday will be declared in honor of President Obama, and perhaps if this Administration does not put a seal on the Press, a new publication could be released entitled 'The Octopus'. Something independent to wake up the Nation which is still fast asleep, dreaming of riches and The Elite at the top of the Pyramid, while the foundation of our Country, We The People, is crumbling daily and out to lunch like the Three Blind Mice.
'One' Donald Trump is enough alright already, he was too much three decades ago. Lies and Deceit? We don't care as long as the Republican Party takes the lead apparently. That's right, if there was enough space on Mt. Rushmore, Infrastructure would begin with a monument to Reagan.
Never mind if a wedding party has taken place between Russia and its bride, young America. That's not important when you think about all those crippling emails on Hillary's server and the Democrats are still grousing.
This American hopes that a National Holiday will be declared in honor of President Obama, and perhaps if this Administration does not put a seal on the Press, a new publication could be released entitled 'The Octopus'. Something independent to wake up the Nation which is still fast asleep, dreaming of riches and The Elite at the top of the Pyramid, while the foundation of our Country, We The People, is crumbling daily and out to lunch like the Three Blind Mice.
17
One thing for sure ... Trump is no Bonaparte.
Bonaparte fought over 60 battles personally. Trump had flat feet, or so he says. Didn't stop him from playing tennis though.
Bonaparte fought over 60 battles personally. Trump had flat feet, or so he says. Didn't stop him from playing tennis though.
3
The real miracle to me, and I am trying real hard to be as much humble as possible, is what makes the USA still stay standing and not sinking either into a terminal debacle, a civil war or complete social collapse.
It is a miracle indeed.
Since there's a strong chance that either scenario becomes a reality, we urgently need to understand that not even jokes should deviate our attention from the main task: get read of this ignorant, vile, and ominous gang.
It is understandable that a flaw in democracy allowed it to happen: he wasted by several million desperate ignoramus hoping to fulfill a mirage. They did it to "ourselves." Sounds like an incongruence, right? Well, it is not!
The US is the laughing stock of the world.
The whole world is watching the show with a mixture of amusement and terror. Amusing circus and the fear of a cataclysmic and irresponsible terminal accident caused by lack of preparedness and knowledge, temperamental tantrums, and/or plain and simple stupidity.
PS: And my picture got blurred by dismay due to what happened at the DNC.
It is unconscionable that those two "beings" may represent "the alternative". It could be that we are immersed in an unstoppable civilizational collapse. No question about it: we deserve what global warming has saved for all of us .... coming soon. Some say in 10 years. I will consider it a saving event.
It is a miracle indeed.
Since there's a strong chance that either scenario becomes a reality, we urgently need to understand that not even jokes should deviate our attention from the main task: get read of this ignorant, vile, and ominous gang.
It is understandable that a flaw in democracy allowed it to happen: he wasted by several million desperate ignoramus hoping to fulfill a mirage. They did it to "ourselves." Sounds like an incongruence, right? Well, it is not!
The US is the laughing stock of the world.
The whole world is watching the show with a mixture of amusement and terror. Amusing circus and the fear of a cataclysmic and irresponsible terminal accident caused by lack of preparedness and knowledge, temperamental tantrums, and/or plain and simple stupidity.
PS: And my picture got blurred by dismay due to what happened at the DNC.
It is unconscionable that those two "beings" may represent "the alternative". It could be that we are immersed in an unstoppable civilizational collapse. No question about it: we deserve what global warming has saved for all of us .... coming soon. Some say in 10 years. I will consider it a saving event.
19
Well at least he buttoned his jacket for SoU.
18
Good observation, MB. Too bad he didn't button his lip, instead of smilingly reading some of the tough-guy nonsense from the teleprompter.
Gail, please stop trying to make me laugh! I'm much too frightened by the anti-Semitic, anti-immigrant, anti-black and brown, and anti-free press rhetoric to lsugh. Finding Mr. Trump's gaffes and excesses amusing got us into his presidency -- all those clips played over and over in the primary season. Now some Americans feel empowered to phone in bomb threats against Jewish pre-schools and kill darker-skinned Americans.
61
Narcissists, manipulaters, and other emotionally abusive people engage in behaviours known as "crazy-making," which causes the abuser's target to question his or her own sanity. A prime example of this is gaslighting. So is presenting several "versions" of the self so that targets scramble to get hold of what they fervently hope is the key to the abuser's consistency--and, in the process, the targets wind up behaving in ways that look crazy. It's all designed to keep the target off balance and constantly vulnerable. As a survivor of domestic violence, I am sickened by Trump's display of this all-too-familiar pattern. I love your humour, Gail, but this one hits a little too close to home.
88
Greek Goddess, you are so right. As the survivor of emotional abuse, Trump's behavior is so spot on Borderline that it makes me horrified. Talk about a trigger, every time he opens his mouth I cringe. There is no cure for this kind of madness, he will not change, he will continue to lie and create chaos.It will escalate. It is very disturbing for those of us with first hand experience of this kind of crazy.
Very good points. What is there to trust or invest in when this Janus has three masks? Why does a nation as accomplished as the US have to devolve as Yugoslavia did simply to feed egos the size of oceans? How can anyone with the sense God gave a field mouse buy this horse pile?
34
President Trump is the title and he is doing a great job. He is watching money and spending carefully as the budget. He has infrastructure plans and a tax reform policy. He is not a spendthrift like Obama, yet the libs do not want to hear the error of their socialistic democratic ways. Get rid of Isis and the illegals who have broken the law, cost American taxpayers billions of dollars per year. The U.S. is not the world orphanage. If anyone does not like it, they are certainly free to leave.
5
Jan, would you please explain Trump's tax reform policy? Please explain his infrastructure plans? What about his wall?
Please explain how Obama was a spendthrift, when it is Congress that controls all spending, and that Congress has been, and continues to be, Republican.
Please explain how illegals cost America how many billions of dollars per year. Arrive at a defensible number, and include the fact that illegals pay into social security in many cases, but will never receive it.
Read here:
http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2016/sep/01/donald-tr...
where it rates the Hannity/Trump claim as "mostly false."
So out of everything you say "President Trump is the title" .. is clearly true.
But guess what? He's not my President. I refuse to acknowledge a proven groper and fraudster who will not release his taxes and divest his businesses, whose campaign appears to have colluded with Russia, and who idolizes Putin, and promotes neo-nazi beliefs.
Please explain how Obama was a spendthrift, when it is Congress that controls all spending, and that Congress has been, and continues to be, Republican.
Please explain how illegals cost America how many billions of dollars per year. Arrive at a defensible number, and include the fact that illegals pay into social security in many cases, but will never receive it.
Read here:
http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2016/sep/01/donald-tr...
where it rates the Hannity/Trump claim as "mostly false."
So out of everything you say "President Trump is the title" .. is clearly true.
But guess what? He's not my President. I refuse to acknowledge a proven groper and fraudster who will not release his taxes and divest his businesses, whose campaign appears to have colluded with Russia, and who idolizes Putin, and promotes neo-nazi beliefs.
28
Will you pay for my plane ticket?
6
Infrastructure plan? What is his infrastructure plan, exactly?? Where is the money coming from without a tax increase? Your pocket, Jan? There are never any specifics in any of 45's speeches, even those written by someone else with sham rationality.
8
SNORT!
Dear Advice Lady: Can you explain why did those old men in the audience applaud and stand up -90 times in 90 minutes ?
AL
a) Because the seat were wired with electric shock devices.or
b) their hemorrhoids were bothering them, or
c) the more they clapped, the less time he had to speak, decreasing the risk of reverting to crazy talk.
Dear Advice Lady: Can you explain why did those old men in the audience applaud and stand up -90 times in 90 minutes ?
AL
a) Because the seat were wired with electric shock devices.or
b) their hemorrhoids were bothering them, or
c) the more they clapped, the less time he had to speak, decreasing the risk of reverting to crazy talk.
253
d) remember what happened to Education minister Kim Yong-Jin, 63, who was shot dead after his 'bad sitting posture' in parliament incurred the wrath of the North Korean dictator.
Notice the similarity between the Korean fat-boy dictator and ours?
Notice the similarity between the Korean fat-boy dictator and ours?
3
Very good Cheryl, thank you.
Has anyone pointed out that his grammar really really bad! Sad. Bigly.
48
Despite having attended college (?), he's obviously not well-educated and apparently doesn't read. If he weren't in charge of anything ( a shoe store, a classroom, or the United States), that wouldn't be such a big deal.
3
He don't gotta know good grammar. He's smart, OK?
Or, he knows good grammar and he just doesn't have the time to use it.
Or, those losers who think grammar is really, really important are wrong. Sad.
Or, he knows good grammar and he just doesn't have the time to use it.
Or, those losers who think grammar is really, really important are wrong. Sad.
6
I'm still trying to figure out how a chorus becomes an earthquake.
Can the President say the words "Presidential Popular Vote"? Can the President say the word "Gerrymander"? Why is he afraid of those words?
36
Dean,
Can you say,"The Electoral College is the Constitutional way we have always elected our President"?
Can you say,"The Electoral College is the Constitutional way we have always elected our President"?
1
Remember what we exclaimed when our first child said his or her first word: "Genius."
Now we're witnessing talking heads from the right go ballistic with good cheer because the rumors are true; trump can read and actually force himself to appear reasonable. Appearances can be deceiving.
He's more dangerous than ever.
Now we're witnessing talking heads from the right go ballistic with good cheer because the rumors are true; trump can read and actually force himself to appear reasonable. Appearances can be deceiving.
He's more dangerous than ever.
180
Remember the days when Obama was regularly excoriated for using a teleprompter in major speeches? As if it were a sign of shallowness and incompetence?
At least Obama regularly proved that he could at the very least construct full and coherent sentences in the absence of a teleprompter.
Talk about moving the goal posts! In this case the goal post has been moved behind the line of scrimmage, and a touchdown has been declared the moment the ball was snapped -- just because the quarterback didn't fumble it.
At least Obama regularly proved that he could at the very least construct full and coherent sentences in the absence of a teleprompter.
Talk about moving the goal posts! In this case the goal post has been moved behind the line of scrimmage, and a touchdown has been declared the moment the ball was snapped -- just because the quarterback didn't fumble it.
204
It's so not funny. The dangerous part is it could continue for 4 years.
A spectacular level of incompetence where the administration's claims are contradicted by its own Homeland Security Department.
Where we have to be concerned whether Trump/Trump surrogates/Russia investigations by the FBI and by Congress are conducted aggressively--if at all--and if they are indeed credible.
Where video shows administration officials potentially perjuring themselves.
This administration has such a low bar right now that not slobbering on his tie gives Trump rave reviews for teleprompter speeches---- while inside the White House, a power hungry clique takes over every aspect of government.
Even arranging for dubious military raids in the Middle East that they subsequently lie about.
Flip flopping daily on major policy endeavors, as we look like an emerging banana republic to the rest of the world.
A spectacular level of incompetence where the administration's claims are contradicted by its own Homeland Security Department.
Where we have to be concerned whether Trump/Trump surrogates/Russia investigations by the FBI and by Congress are conducted aggressively--if at all--and if they are indeed credible.
Where video shows administration officials potentially perjuring themselves.
This administration has such a low bar right now that not slobbering on his tie gives Trump rave reviews for teleprompter speeches---- while inside the White House, a power hungry clique takes over every aspect of government.
Even arranging for dubious military raids in the Middle East that they subsequently lie about.
Flip flopping daily on major policy endeavors, as we look like an emerging banana republic to the rest of the world.
45
SNORT was refreshing in his standard boiler plate of bad GOP ideas. We could talk about how the policy will rain down misery on a lot of people and relax about all the Trumpiness that Trump usually brings to the table. We could briefly go back to the relaxing discussion of how to use taxes and military power, and which plan really has death panels.
But lurking beneath the calm surface is Unscripted Trump, like Nessie in Scotland's loch, like something out of a horror movie. You see the ripple in the surface and know he is really there, behind the scenes and he is still making unscripted decisions.
How is it that we are celebrating that the White House staff managed to get him to stay on task, to act Presidential in a Presidential situation? Can they make him act Presidential when the camera is off? He has given us too many examples of vanity and ego and petulance to make us comfortable that those are not integral parts of his personality.
And it is exhausting to worry about the misery of policy while worrying about the stability of the policymaker.
But lurking beneath the calm surface is Unscripted Trump, like Nessie in Scotland's loch, like something out of a horror movie. You see the ripple in the surface and know he is really there, behind the scenes and he is still making unscripted decisions.
How is it that we are celebrating that the White House staff managed to get him to stay on task, to act Presidential in a Presidential situation? Can they make him act Presidential when the camera is off? He has given us too many examples of vanity and ego and petulance to make us comfortable that those are not integral parts of his personality.
And it is exhausting to worry about the misery of policy while worrying about the stability of the policymaker.
27
He is a classic Gemini. A man of many faces. Nothing is concrete, lives in the realm of ideas. Always shifting, speaking and changing.
7
It is said the 24 hour news cycle has no memory. I was reminded of that, watching the big gears turn, setting the TV stage for the Big Speech, with endless trappings and greetings and applause...and the Emperor read a speech that was less incoherent and offensive than usual, but showed no detailed grip on the subject matter, delivered with serious scowls and tightened irrelevant gestures...and lo & behold, afterwards it was as if the man had never before said a malicious word or sounded an invented fact!
66
It was interesting to watch the president with a death grip on the podium address Congress with lots of verbiage but no substance.
It was interesting to watch the kudos of "so presidential" being tossed towards the president the next day.
After 40 some days of chaos, with a campaign trip thrown in to massage his bruised ego, most of the nation bought into one evening of reading off of a TelePrompTer a script obviously written not by the president.
It was two faced bit of theatrics and disgusting to see him use a war widow as an example in his speech after months before disrespecting the loss of a son of an immigrant service family, the Khans.
It was interesting to see the First Lady and the first daughter dressed as though they were going to a cocktail party. At least the First Lady was in an American designer dress, although at a cost of over $9000.00, out of the reach of most of the president's beloved blue collar base.
The first daughter sported a dress from a U.K. designer. So much for the "Made in America" and "Buy America" that the president is so fond of demanding. Of course his tie probably wasn't made in America either. Wow, that's most likely at least 4 jobs he could have brought back to the US right there.
It appears it will be 4 years of a daily crap shoot as to which donald we will see.
It was interesting to watch the kudos of "so presidential" being tossed towards the president the next day.
After 40 some days of chaos, with a campaign trip thrown in to massage his bruised ego, most of the nation bought into one evening of reading off of a TelePrompTer a script obviously written not by the president.
It was two faced bit of theatrics and disgusting to see him use a war widow as an example in his speech after months before disrespecting the loss of a son of an immigrant service family, the Khans.
It was interesting to see the First Lady and the first daughter dressed as though they were going to a cocktail party. At least the First Lady was in an American designer dress, although at a cost of over $9000.00, out of the reach of most of the president's beloved blue collar base.
The first daughter sported a dress from a U.K. designer. So much for the "Made in America" and "Buy America" that the president is so fond of demanding. Of course his tie probably wasn't made in America either. Wow, that's most likely at least 4 jobs he could have brought back to the US right there.
It appears it will be 4 years of a daily crap shoot as to which donald we will see.
59
We need a Special Prosecutor to look into the Russian connexion, the conflict of interests and the tax returns.Do not let the daily farce which preoccupies journalists lose our focus on this.
249
No More Years! No More Years! No More Years! (I'm starting early). Investigate - early and often.
305
Perfect! You just gave me an idea for my next protest sign.
4
Impeach and replace! It's fun to co-opt his mindless campaign slogans to use against him. And you don't even have to change "Lock him up!" much at all to make it relevant.
3
It is interesting how many different ways there are to say "I don't like Trump (or the other two Trumps.) With all the Times columnists agreeing on this, there is little new in the editorial section each day. Trump has gotten 2 1/2 laws passed and NYT columnists have written 172 editorials saying "I don't like Trump." I think you all would be more constructive if you helped the homeless. I hope the censors let this one through.
9
You've got a point, Michjas. We should get out there more and help the homeless.
Because #45 doesn't know they exist. And, if someone told him about them, he'd round them up and put them in cages somewhere.
(What "2 1/2 laws" did he pass?)
Because #45 doesn't know they exist. And, if someone told him about them, he'd round them up and put them in cages somewhere.
(What "2 1/2 laws" did he pass?)
6
You are right. But like Trump, its hard for us to resist a bright and shiny object.
1
Michjas
Go cry somewhere else snowflake. If you don't like it DON'T READ IT!
Go cry somewhere else snowflake. If you don't like it DON'T READ IT!
5
Ms. Collins, if you get distracted by the shiny objects he throws in our way (a sane speech, or an insane one,) you will miss the real story (back-room deals for a share of Rosneft, his nonpayment of suppliers, his tax returns that show his incumbrances, etc.)
There is only one Trump: the marketer who plays to whatever audience he's trying to impress, and whose only and ultimate goal is self-enrichment.
Trump and his team are dismantling liberal democracy in order to make money, and you're making jokes.
There is only one Trump: the marketer who plays to whatever audience he's trying to impress, and whose only and ultimate goal is self-enrichment.
Trump and his team are dismantling liberal democracy in order to make money, and you're making jokes.
41
The people aren't laughing.
It is so disturbing when he does his tiny hand fist pump into the air like Mussolini did during his rants during the Second World War.
The fist is negative and agressive and immature.
His hands are disturbing in all they reveal.
I still hate his lack of intelligence and obvious dangerous pathology.
No abnormal human should have been given the right to lead this nation. We have had way to many narcissists leading us.
Possibly only Jimmy Carter .... was a true patriot. Everyone else selfish opportunists.
It is so disturbing when he does his tiny hand fist pump into the air like Mussolini did during his rants during the Second World War.
The fist is negative and agressive and immature.
His hands are disturbing in all they reveal.
I still hate his lack of intelligence and obvious dangerous pathology.
No abnormal human should have been given the right to lead this nation. We have had way to many narcissists leading us.
Possibly only Jimmy Carter .... was a true patriot. Everyone else selfish opportunists.
37
Couldn't agree more. Is anyone else here old enough to remember the Black Panther salute at the Olympics and the apoplectic response from the GOP then? If Donald pumps his fist in the air like a fifth grader that's fine. Anyone else, not so much.
1
Thanks Gail. More red meat for the base. Cheap insults. Back handed compliments. An attempt at humor at the expense of millions of Americans. Nice work and I am quite sure the loyal close minded reader will raise their collective fists in the air.
Truth be told, the bar is actually set very high for this administration. The division in this country is at all time high and opinions like this only fuel the narrative. The debt is at an all time high. Healthcare is a mess and we have reached a point in Congress when our representatives don't show up and the ones that do show up mock the wife of an American hero.
Truth be told, the bar is actually set very high for this administration. The division in this country is at all time high and opinions like this only fuel the narrative. The debt is at an all time high. Healthcare is a mess and we have reached a point in Congress when our representatives don't show up and the ones that do show up mock the wife of an American hero.
4
Wow. You need to take a deep breath. This was humorous. Not a manifesto.
20
Actually BCY123 I lost my sense of humor. I ( like many others) are tired of the so called "humor" on both sides of the aisle. I find it all so trivial, unproductive, and downright mean.
3
Did you catch that brilliant conclusion from your chuckleheaded leader that healthcare was really really complicated? Did you hear that he's going to have to get back to us on that, maybe really really later?
Humor is the next best weapon (after a guillotine) to use to vanquish a monster,
Humor is the next best weapon (after a guillotine) to use to vanquish a monster,
4
Another brilliant column by Ms. Collins which she concludes with "Take your pick. They’ll all be around for the next four years."
That is a tad generous on her part to give him four more years. Listen closely to the chatter about Trump campaigners contacting Russian officials prior to the election. Follow that lead. What were they discussion? I am sure it wasn't recipes to bake a cake. More likely it was a recipe to cook the election.
Also follow the money. Why hasn't Trump released his tax returns? No banks in America would lend him money. He was not a good credit risk. Remember how he got others to bail him out 20 years ago and stuck them with the debt while he took the tax write off? Overseas banks with Russian connections must have lent him the money. As Deep Throat said, "Follow the money."
That is a tad generous on her part to give him four more years. Listen closely to the chatter about Trump campaigners contacting Russian officials prior to the election. Follow that lead. What were they discussion? I am sure it wasn't recipes to bake a cake. More likely it was a recipe to cook the election.
Also follow the money. Why hasn't Trump released his tax returns? No banks in America would lend him money. He was not a good credit risk. Remember how he got others to bail him out 20 years ago and stuck them with the debt while he took the tax write off? Overseas banks with Russian connections must have lent him the money. As Deep Throat said, "Follow the money."
39
Speech takeaway
1. It was the same exclamations from his campaign speeches except it was given to the excited GOP caucus and GOPers in the hall
2. It was a compilation written just for the teleprompter
3. The only thing missing was the campaign signs
4. There was no move to unity instead it treated the people who did not vote for him as if they were not there.
5. His remarks on tariffs and stopping the drugs and the drug cartels were appealing
6. He seeks to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act with nonsensical features that will make it liked – it's a smokescreen
7. 9. His remarks on the Care Act are reckless claims and exaggerations – it’s in trouble because of the withdrawal of subsidies to exchange insurers.
8. 10. His stance on allowing immigrants to come in based on merit is what we do now for H1 visas.
9. 11. Chicken packers, tomato pickers, bed makers, house cleaners, strawberry pickers, mortar mixers, lawn rakers and cutters -- forget it.
10. 12. Mexican immigrants are a menace – they are rapists and killers and we have the evidence here in the balcony.
11. 13. It’s OK for a President to stigmatize
12. 14. The state will bully businesses to meet new guidelines in their production and import/export decisions and stop enforcing EPA regulations
13. We will lower taxes but no one has seen the spreadsheets
14. We respect our police but let’s not mention the Black Lives Matter folks
15. The only thing new was the buttoned coat and the blue- and white-striped tie
1. It was the same exclamations from his campaign speeches except it was given to the excited GOP caucus and GOPers in the hall
2. It was a compilation written just for the teleprompter
3. The only thing missing was the campaign signs
4. There was no move to unity instead it treated the people who did not vote for him as if they were not there.
5. His remarks on tariffs and stopping the drugs and the drug cartels were appealing
6. He seeks to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act with nonsensical features that will make it liked – it's a smokescreen
7. 9. His remarks on the Care Act are reckless claims and exaggerations – it’s in trouble because of the withdrawal of subsidies to exchange insurers.
8. 10. His stance on allowing immigrants to come in based on merit is what we do now for H1 visas.
9. 11. Chicken packers, tomato pickers, bed makers, house cleaners, strawberry pickers, mortar mixers, lawn rakers and cutters -- forget it.
10. 12. Mexican immigrants are a menace – they are rapists and killers and we have the evidence here in the balcony.
11. 13. It’s OK for a President to stigmatize
12. 14. The state will bully businesses to meet new guidelines in their production and import/export decisions and stop enforcing EPA regulations
13. We will lower taxes but no one has seen the spreadsheets
14. We respect our police but let’s not mention the Black Lives Matter folks
15. The only thing new was the buttoned coat and the blue- and white-striped tie
37
There's only one creature, whatever the personas. Read the 2006 classic 'Snakes in Suits: When Psychopaths Go to Work' by Hare and Babiak, noting step 4, 'character assassination'.
8
The notion that this sack of garbage reads a speech written by someone else from a teleprompter has somehow altered every lie, every insult, every hate, every ignorant and stupid idea out of his mouth is deeply offensive.
Has the press not leaned anything at all?
Has the press not leaned anything at all?
401
Sorry there is nothing funny or amusing about this. The media
was slobbering all over itself to lower the bar. If the bar got any
lower, they could build a subway tunnel
According to one tally, he told 51 lies in 61 minutes Using
a war widow for a prop was obscene. Bigly
was slobbering all over itself to lower the bar. If the bar got any
lower, they could build a subway tunnel
According to one tally, he told 51 lies in 61 minutes Using
a war widow for a prop was obscene. Bigly
841
bill b
I agree, not one thing funny. When I think of the disgusting facial grimaces behind Barack Obama, no claps, and no stand ups, (John Boehner and Paul Ryan) and the giddiness of the now Paul Ryan and continual smiling and nodding of Mike Pence for the values Trump dictates, it indeed is not funny.
Oh well. You know, America first....whatever America is these days. I hardly recognize what we're being told what America is.
MIMA
I agree, not one thing funny. When I think of the disgusting facial grimaces behind Barack Obama, no claps, and no stand ups, (John Boehner and Paul Ryan) and the giddiness of the now Paul Ryan and continual smiling and nodding of Mike Pence for the values Trump dictates, it indeed is not funny.
Oh well. You know, America first....whatever America is these days. I hardly recognize what we're being told what America is.
MIMA
32
Some of the press and public reaction to Trump's speech reminded me of how pundits treated George W. Bush's performance in the 2000 debates. Bush, noted for his verbal gaffes, communicated his ideas in relatively comprehensible English and avoided making a fool out of himself. The ideas, themselves, however, remained classic Bush, poorly thought out and often opaque. The observers on tv, nevertheless, focused on the presentation and not the substance. Grading him by different standards than they used with Gore, they praised the governor's performance.
Trump received high marks Tuesday night because he spoke in a normal tone of voice and peppered his oration with complete sentences. Aside from meaningless pleas for inter-party cooperation, however, the president outlined the same agenda he had articulated in his inaugural address. On healthcare reform, he even included specifics, basically advocating the Ryan plan.
Clinton's problem arose from the fact that she, like Gore earlier, always spoke rationally and clearly, so reporters never praised her for doing so. The media displayed no partiality for Bush or Trump; pundits simply expressed their astonishment that the two men had spoken in complete sentences.
Trump received high marks Tuesday night because he spoke in a normal tone of voice and peppered his oration with complete sentences. Aside from meaningless pleas for inter-party cooperation, however, the president outlined the same agenda he had articulated in his inaugural address. On healthcare reform, he even included specifics, basically advocating the Ryan plan.
Clinton's problem arose from the fact that she, like Gore earlier, always spoke rationally and clearly, so reporters never praised her for doing so. The media displayed no partiality for Bush or Trump; pundits simply expressed their astonishment that the two men had spoken in complete sentences.
329
Donald Trump will not change. What the American people saw
for the first 30 days of his Presidency, is what the people can expect
going forward. His inauguration speech was written by someone else, probably
Stephen Bannon, or Jared Kushner, and just toned down so of his outrageous
statements. Trump is a veteran of the real estate wars of Manhattan, under Roy
Cohn, and the former emperor of the "Apprentice" show. Spots on a dog don't
change, and neither will Trump. Expect four years of turmoil.
for the first 30 days of his Presidency, is what the people can expect
going forward. His inauguration speech was written by someone else, probably
Stephen Bannon, or Jared Kushner, and just toned down so of his outrageous
statements. Trump is a veteran of the real estate wars of Manhattan, under Roy
Cohn, and the former emperor of the "Apprentice" show. Spots on a dog don't
change, and neither will Trump. Expect four years of turmoil.
48
First comes the stock market euphoria brought about by colossal government overspending, then comes several years of government by whim, caprice and executive order featuring widespread social disorder throughout the country, wild inflation and military engagements overseas galore; finally ending up in some form of modernized Fascism headed up by him or one of his future acolytes.
A dark prognosis to be sure, but given the unstable character and mentality of the man with delusions of grandeur we chose to honor with the Presidency, how could it be otherwise?
It was a grand experiment while it lasted, but nothing great lasts forever.
A dark prognosis to be sure, but given the unstable character and mentality of the man with delusions of grandeur we chose to honor with the Presidency, how could it be otherwise?
It was a grand experiment while it lasted, but nothing great lasts forever.
47
It is the classic con-man's game. Trump is Good Trump/Bad Trumping us. As with all shallow charlatans, how do we know which is the real one? Well, we have to wait for a real crisis - then God help the US and the rest of the world.
23
We managed to elect a new President, one apparently envisioning himself an emperor, who is doing little to no positive work for the People. He wants to build more nuclear bombs for no sane reason while cutting taxes on the wealthy (that is, himself and his friends). The people who will pay for all this, assuming it will be paid for at some point, are the working class and the poor. We toil for the emperor. Yet our elections are supposedly meant to identify and employ those who will work in public service to help us, the People. So how did our system of government, our democracy, become so perversely twisted up in this way? And can we fix it?
80
It became this way by discontinuing the " League of Women Voters " national presidential debates and the debates becoming a media event divorced from real issues and real debate format.
And our 50 states thru the party system gerrymandered districts so elections were swaying their way politically.
Now we have entire states locked into the party machines left and right and no real governing.
The " administrative state" is real and it runs the day to day with our taxes from our hard earned paychecks. The legislators just pile on more burdens for us . We must .... middle upper classes " that support the rich and the poor with our payroll deductions realize our plight as the new " slave class" .
The reality is too horrible to comprehend.
And our 50 states thru the party system gerrymandered districts so elections were swaying their way politically.
Now we have entire states locked into the party machines left and right and no real governing.
The " administrative state" is real and it runs the day to day with our taxes from our hard earned paychecks. The legislators just pile on more burdens for us . We must .... middle upper classes " that support the rich and the poor with our payroll deductions realize our plight as the new " slave class" .
The reality is too horrible to comprehend.
18
The common thread between all 3 versions of Trump is that he completely makes it up as he goes and you should take nothing (not one thing that he states) as factual. Additionally you have to ignore the ever present segues into fairy tales meant to bolster his image. If you asked him for the time of day he'd answer by telling you that nobody has a more accurate time piece than the one he is wearing on his wrist. When you pressed him for the time, he'd make it up.
61
He actually does occasionally say something factual, but I now realize it is purely by accident.
He is like the broken clock that happens to show the correct time twice a day, if you look at it at exactly the right moment.
He is like the broken clock that happens to show the correct time twice a day, if you look at it at exactly the right moment.
29
Calling the guy with the teleprompter Somewhat Normal Republican Trump, or SNORT, made me snort my coffee. It also made me think of the poor lost hatchling in P.D. Eastman's classic children's book who goes around asking every creature and machine he meets, "Are you my mother?"
When he asks a power shovel it says, "SNORT!" The bird says, "You are not my mother! You are a Snort!"
Thanks to Gail, we can now have fun saying, "You are not my president! You are a Snort!"
When he asks a power shovel it says, "SNORT!" The bird says, "You are not my mother! You are a Snort!"
Thanks to Gail, we can now have fun saying, "You are not my president! You are a Snort!"
120
Do you honestly think he's going to last four years?
21
Since a sizeable chunk of the population was dumb enough to vote for him nothing would surprise me about the Liar In-Chief
26
So to pathological narcissism and extreme dyslexia we now add schizophrenia? Where will this end?
28
A.L.,
Iran and India both begin with the letter I. I would suggest not showing our OCD side when critiquing our mass murderers.
Anyhow, it sure did seem like Trump smoked pot before he addressed the public. So it was "Peacenik Trump" who showed up. You know the guy that loved the Beatles and Stones so much he stubbed his toe to avoid going to Nam, where he might have had to kill people! And Nam doesn't even begin with an I.
Thank you for making me feel good about waking up in the middle of the night with a leg cramp.
SBR
Iran and India both begin with the letter I. I would suggest not showing our OCD side when critiquing our mass murderers.
Anyhow, it sure did seem like Trump smoked pot before he addressed the public. So it was "Peacenik Trump" who showed up. You know the guy that loved the Beatles and Stones so much he stubbed his toe to avoid going to Nam, where he might have had to kill people! And Nam doesn't even begin with an I.
Thank you for making me feel good about waking up in the middle of the night with a leg cramp.
SBR
27
And remember, when asked last year for details about his medical deferment , he could not recall which foot had the problem. Amazing how he outgrew this disability! But perhaps that was version 4 (Routinely Lying Trump)
7
The bar is so ridiculously low, yet we have to start somewhere. Put it this way - in front of Congress he did not gloat about his margin of victory, blame Hillary for anything, speak rudely, repeat absurd claims about millions of fraudulent illegal voters, tell us how really really smart he is or denigrate the free press.
So at least we were spared the usual nonsense and can talk about policy. Or rather his total lack of policy detail beyond saying every problem will be solved, taxes will be cut, Obamacare will be gone and replaced by something marvelous that costs less, our economy will boom, the military will be beefed up bigly, there will be jobs for everyone, and immigrants' awful crimes will be publicized along with a new agency to support their victims.
I guess money for all this, plus the wall, will pour down from the heavens as God's way of letting us know how happy he is with us for electing this amazing magician.
Oh, sadly there will be no new agency to support victims of domestic gun violence, school/church shootings, etc., which vastly outnumber incidences of immigrant violent crime. Maybe he is saving that for his second term?
So at least we were spared the usual nonsense and can talk about policy. Or rather his total lack of policy detail beyond saying every problem will be solved, taxes will be cut, Obamacare will be gone and replaced by something marvelous that costs less, our economy will boom, the military will be beefed up bigly, there will be jobs for everyone, and immigrants' awful crimes will be publicized along with a new agency to support their victims.
I guess money for all this, plus the wall, will pour down from the heavens as God's way of letting us know how happy he is with us for electing this amazing magician.
Oh, sadly there will be no new agency to support victims of domestic gun violence, school/church shootings, etc., which vastly outnumber incidences of immigrant violent crime. Maybe he is saving that for his second term?
174
I'm sure you're getting a lot of these suggestions. Nevertheless, rather than R.C.T. I suggest:
Personally Reasonable Amicable Trump (PRAT).
Thanks for the great column - your humor is sorely needed at this time in history!
Personally Reasonable Amicable Trump (PRAT).
Thanks for the great column - your humor is sorely needed at this time in history!
The fact that this editorial can be written, and is an accurate description of the behavior of the American President, is horrifying beyond relief.
558
er, belief.
15
It is horrifying beyond both.
7
No worries. Relief works too!
3
This is funny, Gail. But he's not a dissociative. They genuinely switch back and forth. There's a method to Trump's madness: Money, power and fame. That's it, now and always. Book it take it to the bank invest in it. Under the shifting veneers, this troika is tried and true. Be not fooled.
50
it's not that much different. Again he promised huge tax and cuts huge increases in spending. Why is this not a huge red flag?
36
It worked out really well for Reagan and GW Bush. Not so well GHW Bush.
1
We would all be better off with the two Clinton voices, Hillary and Bill's.
45
There are not three versions of this man; only one.
That is a man that has had a lifetime of getting essentially what he has wanted. He was first given a fortune, only to go bankrupt a few times. He has been married a few times. He has deviated from the truth multiple times. He has tried uncountable times to destroy people that have told the truth. He got lucky once, by being in the right position at the right time against the wrong candidate(s) to win the Presidency.
Through it all, the bare bones core of the man has remained the same; ugly
That is a man that has had a lifetime of getting essentially what he has wanted. He was first given a fortune, only to go bankrupt a few times. He has been married a few times. He has deviated from the truth multiple times. He has tried uncountable times to destroy people that have told the truth. He got lucky once, by being in the right position at the right time against the wrong candidate(s) to win the Presidency.
Through it all, the bare bones core of the man has remained the same; ugly
663
"The wrong candidate" won almost three million more votes. I prefer to write that we ended up with the WRONG president. At this point, I feel even subtle put downs of Hillary Clinton play to djt and his myriad distractions from truth.
10
If HRC was the “wrong candidate”, then why bother with all the Russian machinations to strike the final blows to make sure she couldn’t win? Even so, more people actually voted for her--and most of us were not holding our noses.
11
Janet,
No, more people voted for a Not HRC choice, 51.4%! We can only wonder how Bernie Sanders would have done. I probably would have voted for him!
No, more people voted for a Not HRC choice, 51.4%! We can only wonder how Bernie Sanders would have done. I probably would have voted for him!
1
Leave it to Gail Collins to create an Instant Classic we can all cling to when we feel our courage waning in the face the trump presidency:
SNORT.
Classic Gail. Pure Classic. Can't stop laughing. Thanks; I needed that!
SNORT.
Classic Gail. Pure Classic. Can't stop laughing. Thanks; I needed that!
190
What about MAST.....mean as a snake Trump?
9
You do snakes a disservice.
3
There is also Chinese Lucky Cat Trump. That garish golden cat, usually found in Chinese establishments, that incessantly moves its paw up and down and up and down, just like Trump.
20
Whether three Trumps, four Trumps or five,
What comes out of Donald is jive,
His brain is pure scatter
Not real world based matter
He's here but no thought did arrive.
Every plan he has is awesome, great,
But nothing is detailed to date,
Keep it under your hat
He may this, he may that,
More fickle than Fingers of Fate.
What comes out of Donald is jive,
His brain is pure scatter
Not real world based matter
He's here but no thought did arrive.
Every plan he has is awesome, great,
But nothing is detailed to date,
Keep it under your hat
He may this, he may that,
More fickle than Fingers of Fate.
280
Fab!
6
The trick with surviving Trump is too remember that he is a good showman but he's nothing but fluff. For those of us who disagree with him nothing he does is going to change that. But if he continues to sound presidential his base will remain energized and they will continue to support him and his policies.
The media must not be allowed to normalize this president. We need the media to continue to accurately report the policies that he has that are unamerican. An informed public can fight back so keep us informed.
The media must not be allowed to normalize this president. We need the media to continue to accurately report the policies that he has that are unamerican. An informed public can fight back so keep us informed.
338
Another way to survive trump: somebody must write a smart TV app to replace the image of trump with My Pretty Pony. The hair is nearly the same so it shouldn't be that hard. There's already a browser add-on that substitutes 'Drumpf' for 'Trump' on every web page displayed.
2
Fluff, maybe. But he's still a con man who can do (and is doing) a huge amount of damage to the republic.
4
Ms. Collins, I doubt that many Americans bought the president's pivot act during his speech Tuesday night. A blue and white striped tie in place of the familiar blood Republican red may have toned down his swagger but his campaign rally style was on full display. Is Chicago the only city where homicides occur, and a code word for inner city black crime? Why does he continue to exploit the trauma and devastation of families who lost loved ones? He's not concerned about their grief and loss of loved ones, he only wants to bask in the applause and attention and outpouring of sympathy for the surviving family members.
The elephant in the room at the Capitol was Russia, which received no mention at all. The 45th was tethered to his teleprompter and sought to appear as a calm, rational and thoughtful world leader. His vice president and the House Speaker bobbed up and down all night and applauded as if on cue to celebrate the demagogue turned president and world leader.
And Ms. Collins, you forgot about the fourth president. His name is Jeff Sessions and he's the Attorney General, at least for now. If the nation's top cop issues false and misleading statements before a Congressional committee, we can assume that he took his marching orders from his boss.
The elephant in the room at the Capitol was Russia, which received no mention at all. The 45th was tethered to his teleprompter and sought to appear as a calm, rational and thoughtful world leader. His vice president and the House Speaker bobbed up and down all night and applauded as if on cue to celebrate the demagogue turned president and world leader.
And Ms. Collins, you forgot about the fourth president. His name is Jeff Sessions and he's the Attorney General, at least for now. If the nation's top cop issues false and misleading statements before a Congressional committee, we can assume that he took his marching orders from his boss.
1188
Trump knows Russia is his Achilles heel. "The trauma and devastation of families who lost loved ones" is just one small component of his vast arsenal of diversionary tactics used to confuse and obfuscate. Trump is a horrible person.
17
Did they buy it or did they grab it like a drowning man grabs anything that looks like it might float? People are so afraid of and creeped out by the man in the White House, they will cling to anything that appears to show he is not crazy and incompetent. I don't think he is crazy (incompetent is another story) but the real problem with DT is that at his center is nothing but a empty insatiable hole that can never be filled. I fear that his need to fill it will take this country over the cliff.
16
I thought Steve Bannon was the fourth president. Actually, he's the first; Donald just hasn't figured it out yet.
6
Dear Gail, It looks like you've begun talking to yourself.
I've started doing that too ... since November. My neighbors, when we pass each other outdoors, think I'm singing to myself. Tunelessly.
Perhaps the four of us should meet for lunch?
(I have another intimate acquaintance who lacks any sense of humor, obsessively despises and fears Donald Trump, has collected many adjectives ... infantile, vindictive, hollow, etc. ... to describe the man, but she's not much fun to be around. Wouldn't invite her.)
IMP (It's My Party)
I've started doing that too ... since November. My neighbors, when we pass each other outdoors, think I'm singing to myself. Tunelessly.
Perhaps the four of us should meet for lunch?
(I have another intimate acquaintance who lacks any sense of humor, obsessively despises and fears Donald Trump, has collected many adjectives ... infantile, vindictive, hollow, etc. ... to describe the man, but she's not much fun to be around. Wouldn't invite her.)
IMP (It's My Party)
22
Now this is the kind of column from Ms. Collins I really enjoy. She nails the 3 versions of the POTUS perfectly. It's so frustrating in her "conversation" columns that her arguments and voice get lost, while she effectively positions her discussion partner to make their own points. She seems to end up as the "questioner" without ample column space to rebut her opponent's arguments.
20
Dear Advice Lady:
Apart from my pseudonym I must be honest with you. I’m really one of the intelligence agents who “seeded” unsubstantiated rumors about Trump’s people cahooting with Russians. All of us are appalled at Trump, we’re all liberals and we didn’t need President Obama’s suggestion that we sow an innuendo minefield for Trump hinting that he and his people are traitors. Mr. Obama’s motivation was to cover his administration’s failure to detect Russian efforts to affect the election until it was too late to prevent Podesta’s mortification and Wasserman Schultz’s self-destruction. But our primary motivation was different: it was a patriotic duty to sabotage Trump’s agenda however we could. We’re as convinced today of this as we were then.
I understand the “three Donalds”, but this just covers everyday activity. The REAL problem is “Traitor Trump”, and it’s important that you put aside scruples and join us in this scam. We can think of no OTHER means of torpedoing his agenda, and it’s critically important to America that we get this done.
Sincerely, Can’t Stand Trump
Dear C.S.T.:
I’m … embarrassed. I’m ALSO one of those intelligence agents, operating undercover as a beloved pundit, and I’m already onboard with the scam. Don’t worry, I’m hatching additional traitorous deeds that Trump’s team can be accused of committing, this time with the Chinese: they cahooted to steal the Best Picture Oscar from “La La Land”! THIS should get them the noose!
Sincerely, A.L.
Apart from my pseudonym I must be honest with you. I’m really one of the intelligence agents who “seeded” unsubstantiated rumors about Trump’s people cahooting with Russians. All of us are appalled at Trump, we’re all liberals and we didn’t need President Obama’s suggestion that we sow an innuendo minefield for Trump hinting that he and his people are traitors. Mr. Obama’s motivation was to cover his administration’s failure to detect Russian efforts to affect the election until it was too late to prevent Podesta’s mortification and Wasserman Schultz’s self-destruction. But our primary motivation was different: it was a patriotic duty to sabotage Trump’s agenda however we could. We’re as convinced today of this as we were then.
I understand the “three Donalds”, but this just covers everyday activity. The REAL problem is “Traitor Trump”, and it’s important that you put aside scruples and join us in this scam. We can think of no OTHER means of torpedoing his agenda, and it’s critically important to America that we get this done.
Sincerely, Can’t Stand Trump
Dear C.S.T.:
I’m … embarrassed. I’m ALSO one of those intelligence agents, operating undercover as a beloved pundit, and I’m already onboard with the scam. Don’t worry, I’m hatching additional traitorous deeds that Trump’s team can be accused of committing, this time with the Chinese: they cahooted to steal the Best Picture Oscar from “La La Land”! THIS should get them the noose!
Sincerely, A.L.
9
Dear A.L.,
I have just "discovered" that the same accounting firm that conspired to "steal" the best picture Oscar from "Moonlight" and award it instead to "La La Land" not only works for GAZPROM the "dreaded Russian State Oil Company" but they allow their staff to stay at Trump Hotels!
In view of this "clear" connection between Putin (GAZPROM), The Accountants and Trump in the "bungled" attempt to misdirect the Oscar, oh please can we now demand impeachment proceedings against "So Called" President Trump?
It's one thing to steal the election from HRC using the DNC's own emails against her, but it's far more serious "crime" to tamper with the Oscars!
Sincerely, Lost in Liberal La La Land.
I have just "discovered" that the same accounting firm that conspired to "steal" the best picture Oscar from "Moonlight" and award it instead to "La La Land" not only works for GAZPROM the "dreaded Russian State Oil Company" but they allow their staff to stay at Trump Hotels!
In view of this "clear" connection between Putin (GAZPROM), The Accountants and Trump in the "bungled" attempt to misdirect the Oscar, oh please can we now demand impeachment proceedings against "So Called" President Trump?
It's one thing to steal the election from HRC using the DNC's own emails against her, but it's far more serious "crime" to tamper with the Oscars!
Sincerely, Lost in Liberal La La Land.
6
Trump's administration is being "sabotaged" by revelations of the truth -- i.e. actions that have been known for some time and bear further investigation in order to be 'substantiated' (or be shown false, as the case may be).
Now, that's Rich!
Seriously, the Richard Luettgen Ministry of Disinformation sorely needs to take some time off.
The complaint that 'truth is sabotage' that 'gets in the way of 'getting things done for America' is the complaint of authoritarian regimes, not of a constitutional democracy.
And by the way -- Gail is funny; you're not.
And against your regular complaint that "the left has no sense of humor," Richard, I would present Seth Myers, Stephen Colbert, Trevor Noah, Samantha Bee, Jon Stewart, Bill Maher, Larry Wilmore, and so on and so on -- as over against those classic comics on the Right, like...ummmm...
Maybe people on the Right have such a sharp sense of humor that they don't NEED comedians.
Of course, your own 'humor' is more redolent with the comic stylings of Rush Limbaugh and Dennis-What's-His-Name-The-Guy-With-The-Beard.
Now, that's Rich!
Seriously, the Richard Luettgen Ministry of Disinformation sorely needs to take some time off.
The complaint that 'truth is sabotage' that 'gets in the way of 'getting things done for America' is the complaint of authoritarian regimes, not of a constitutional democracy.
And by the way -- Gail is funny; you're not.
And against your regular complaint that "the left has no sense of humor," Richard, I would present Seth Myers, Stephen Colbert, Trevor Noah, Samantha Bee, Jon Stewart, Bill Maher, Larry Wilmore, and so on and so on -- as over against those classic comics on the Right, like...ummmm...
Maybe people on the Right have such a sharp sense of humor that they don't NEED comedians.
Of course, your own 'humor' is more redolent with the comic stylings of Rush Limbaugh and Dennis-What's-His-Name-The-Guy-With-The-Beard.
52
Richard's ego is just somewhat below Trump's.
It may turn out that the Russian allegations are more ''trumped-up" than the Benghazi witch hunt, about which I never heard Richard ever whine about.
We'll know if there is a smoking gun soon. Until then, expect more unfunny commentary from our resident Trump apologist.
It may turn out that the Russian allegations are more ''trumped-up" than the Benghazi witch hunt, about which I never heard Richard ever whine about.
We'll know if there is a smoking gun soon. Until then, expect more unfunny commentary from our resident Trump apologist.
48
SNORT!!! and when he slips SNORIN Only: Somewhat Normal Republican in Name Only.
13
Ah, Ms. Collins, I fear that you are cheating No. 45. He doesn't have, as you write, three distinct public personas. He's the shattered egg shell that hit the pavement. All those fragments are the miniscule remains of what, one would assume, once was whole (not to say that it was sane). The Trump presidency, if you want to call it that, is 40 days old and there is yet no clear path to where the "greatness" that he promised lies. Lies? Well, we could start there.
While a candidate, Ms. Collins, His Orange Lowness bragged that he "knows more than the generals do." This, of course, is a man who, when much younger, opted out of serving the country that he would one day beg to lead. He's not much of a leader, either. He's the commander-in-chief. And the boss is supposed to have the backs of the subordinates. Yet he said that "the generals lost Ryan." Yes, blame every failure on someone else. That'll work, especially after an ill-considered raid that was on the drawing board under President Obama but, for some wise reason, was not given the green light. Oh, and BTW, Mr. Obama watched in real time the SEALS' raid on the hidey-hole that OBL used before he was eliminated. No. 45 was at dinner when "the generals lost Ryan."
His tenure, thus far, is an abortion in every conceivable (sorry to use that word) way. His excusers were bright in their praise on the morning after when they gave three cheers because he read from a TelePrompTer without mashing any words.
Lucky, aren't we?
While a candidate, Ms. Collins, His Orange Lowness bragged that he "knows more than the generals do." This, of course, is a man who, when much younger, opted out of serving the country that he would one day beg to lead. He's not much of a leader, either. He's the commander-in-chief. And the boss is supposed to have the backs of the subordinates. Yet he said that "the generals lost Ryan." Yes, blame every failure on someone else. That'll work, especially after an ill-considered raid that was on the drawing board under President Obama but, for some wise reason, was not given the green light. Oh, and BTW, Mr. Obama watched in real time the SEALS' raid on the hidey-hole that OBL used before he was eliminated. No. 45 was at dinner when "the generals lost Ryan."
His tenure, thus far, is an abortion in every conceivable (sorry to use that word) way. His excusers were bright in their praise on the morning after when they gave three cheers because he read from a TelePrompTer without mashing any words.
Lucky, aren't we?
232
I'd like to know why Trump would trust the Yemen plan of a Muslim socialist in the first place!
I saw a stylish dark-blue suit,
a grinning suit that walks,
but when the grinning disappears
there’s just a suit that talks….
and talks and talks, a tailored suit
inflated with hot air,
that read a speech that someone wrote
and didn’t turn a hair…
or rant and rave and carry on
like some poor kid in school
who thinks the way to make some friends
is acting like a fool…
and just because it managed that
without a wild tirade
Republicans rejoiced and thought
their suit had made the grade…
but one small speech is not enough
to hide a grubby past
of dodgy deals and blatant lies
and vows that didn’t last…
and ego-driven power-plays
on television shows,
and insults blasted left and right
that hit like body-blows…
so don’t believe a shiny suit
that loves the spotlight’s glare,
for when that suit is stripped away
it’s clear that nothing’s there.
a grinning suit that walks,
but when the grinning disappears
there’s just a suit that talks….
and talks and talks, a tailored suit
inflated with hot air,
that read a speech that someone wrote
and didn’t turn a hair…
or rant and rave and carry on
like some poor kid in school
who thinks the way to make some friends
is acting like a fool…
and just because it managed that
without a wild tirade
Republicans rejoiced and thought
their suit had made the grade…
but one small speech is not enough
to hide a grubby past
of dodgy deals and blatant lies
and vows that didn’t last…
and ego-driven power-plays
on television shows,
and insults blasted left and right
that hit like body-blows…
so don’t believe a shiny suit
that loves the spotlight’s glare,
for when that suit is stripped away
it’s clear that nothing’s there.
581
Actually his suit is pretty cheesy. Def fits poorly.
13
Kudos!
3
Bravo!
1
Just on the Yemen raid: if it was a desaster, the generals owned it, if it was a success, it goes into Trump's column.
40
Accepting your assertion for the purpose of discussion, how is this different from every administration that preceded this one?
Do you remember Kennedy taking responsibility for the Bay of Pigs debacle?
3
Dear C.S.T., do like we have, buy stock in a bourbon distillery, then play the drinking game with your friends where you all choose which word the 3 DJT hucksters will use most in his sound-bites/tweets of the day: amazing, incredible, beautiful, wonderful, fantastic, extreme vetting, etc.
It's a trend.
And under no circumstance, never ever look at a graph showing how much of DJT's 208-week term is left, compared to the less than 6 weeks we've slogged through so far - unless you want to ponder again that the extreme vetting we really need is of our presidential candidates' tax retrurns, before they ever get close to speaking to tiny tiny teensy little inauguration crowds.
btw - If you buy enough bourbon for you and your friends, you can all make wagers on what the 3 DJTs will say on that day the Dow inevitably declines, and whose fault it will be, since we all know the 3 DJTs are only responsible for stock market increases.
It's a trend.
And under no circumstance, never ever look at a graph showing how much of DJT's 208-week term is left, compared to the less than 6 weeks we've slogged through so far - unless you want to ponder again that the extreme vetting we really need is of our presidential candidates' tax retrurns, before they ever get close to speaking to tiny tiny teensy little inauguration crowds.
btw - If you buy enough bourbon for you and your friends, you can all make wagers on what the 3 DJTs will say on that day the Dow inevitably declines, and whose fault it will be, since we all know the 3 DJTs are only responsible for stock market increases.
63
That is easy. it will be Hillary's, Obama's or the Generals' fault.
5