Trump sees everyone he works with as an apprentice. Either they do whatever it takes to meet with his approval, or they're fired. He's turned our country into his own personal reality TV show, and there's no escaping it--it's on every channel. I cannot wait until it's canceled.
109
While Trump didn't sign the Whistleblower Protection Act, he IS the person who is ultimately responsible for enforcing it.
"... under that administrative process, who is responsible for ensuring that it is properly enforced? The answer to that is Donald Trump, the president of the United States. Congress says in the statute the president of the United States is responsible for the enforcement of the whistleblower laws."
https://www.pri.org/stories/2019-09-27/who-responsible-enforcing-us-whistleblower-law-president
The law is meant to ensure that people in government with knowledge of waste, fraud, abuse report it to the appropriate authorities.
Apparently, the law intended lower-level miscreants to be reported up the chain of authority. The drafters may not have foreseen the President using it to pick off and try to expose people reporting his misdeeds.
So, is that dereliction of duty on Trump's part -- not "faithfully execut[ing] the Office of President of the United States" as his oath requires, or abuse of power -- or both?
4
Please do, just one more example of obstruction of justice to add to the list
2
King Trump:
You dare to tell the truth? The truth is what I tell you!
That's why his BFFs are Putin, MBS, Erdogan, el-Sisi, Duterte, Bolsonaro, Kim Jong Un, and anyone else he envies who can jail, torture, and kill their opponents.
The truth with out!
4
"... Nervous Nancy Pelosi (who backed up Schiff’s lie), Shifty Adam Schiff" ... in Trump's characterization.
What lie?
Trump himself at last public tally told 13,435 lies while in office. https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2019/10/14/president-trump-has-made-false-or-misleading-claims-over-days/
I haven't seen a tally for Pelosi or Schiff -- but you could compare the early days of Trump's presidency to all of Obama's presidency. The New York Times did. In that analysis, using only “demonstrably and substantially false statements,” the NYT found 18 for all of Obama's presidency.
Readers who distrust the NYT or the WashingtonPost might want to check specific statements with fact checkers. Perhaps your favorite statement has been checked? Here's one fact checker. https://www.politifact.com/personalities/donald-trump/statements/byruling/false/
Others people recommend?
4
Like the Red Queen in “Alice in Wonderland,” Trump’s response to anyone he perceives as having damaged him by telling the truth or foing their jobs is “Off with their heads!”
4
Funny how Trump keeps bumping into inconvenient truths. Oh, excuse me, "fake news!" Could it be that Trump is an enemy of the truth, and therefore an enemy of the people?
4
We are a democracy, not a monarchy nor a dictatorship. Take treasonous Trump out of office. 🗽🇺🇸🗳🌊
5
Former prosecutor who joined the Justice Department after 9/11 (from a lucrative private practice, in which he was a partner), and successfully prosecuted a (Democratic) member of Congress for corruption. Sounds like someone with morals and ethics. No wonder Trump wants to get rid of him.
6
All the king’s horses and all the king’s men.......just get the boot by Donald J. Trump sooner or later.
Who would even want to work under these circumstances?
4
Here’s a list of those He has NOT considered Firing, for insufficient admiration, both Public and Private:
I got Nothin’.
Seriously.
56
@Phyliss Dalmatian ... Jared & Ivanka ...
7
@Phyliss Dalmatian
I don't think he would fire Ivanka.
4
Are we surprised? What else did we expect?
When I worked in state government I found our department OIG a big pain in the neck in the beginning of my tenure. But I soon saw how valuable the OIG was in protecting the integrity of our work. I came to truly value the OIG and vowed to never have my name or those of my direct reports cited in a negative way in any OIG finding.
52
Inspector General Atkinson found the whistleblower’s complaint to be credible, and it has been corroborated with depositions from numerous government officials. The Justice Department’s assertion that IG Atkinson lacked jurisdiction because Mr. Trump is not a member of the intelligence community is irrelevant — the whistleblower was an IC member, and it was his/her complaint that was found, after IG investigation, to be credible. Mr. Trump might have more standing to question others’ loyalty and integrity if he demonstrated his own.
122
DJT demonstrating INTEGRITY?
That would be the day!
23
@Ken I would think that Trump IS a member of the intelligence community ex officio.
1
How does a member of the Trump administration know if he/she is performing his/her job well?
When Trump seriously considers firing you.
6
Please, please Mr. Trump fire Mr. Atkinson. It's the best thing that you can do for him (and for those of us who want you out of the White House).
6
This is truly an incredible "Off with his head" moment in the American presidency. Either willfully, deliberately, or through ignorance, this president doesn't seem to understand that government employees do not work directly for him.
He still treats his job as the equivalent of running USA incorporated from Trump Tower, only this is from the Oval Office, with a vast infrastructure of workers, norms, protocols, and laws.
But this "loyalty" test is beyond the pale. You would think he's a mob boss demanding "omerta" from his gang.
At this point, nothing this president says or does surprises me anymore. Again, I ask, is this simple ignorance, deliberate inability to learn or something more sinister?
Or perhaps a combination of all three?
6
Janms Comey, Jeff Sessions, Robert Mueller and now Michael Atkinson...all are Republicans but seen as disloyal to this president. Their public service means nothing to this man.
Public bullying by tweets is how the president keeps his party in line. Republicans claim to respect the rule of law but have sworn allegiance to the president. They can't have it both ways.
6
Another obstruction of justice count for when Trump is once again a private citizen
5
Just give Jared the responsibilities of this job, too. He has a security clearance, after all.
3
Renember when Trump belittled Obama over his two weeks annual leave to Hawaii?
Trump does very little actual work. He's either golfing, attending to his campaign rallies, or watching television....three ways he is consistently ripping off taxpayers every single week.
Has anyone tallied up the actual cost?
8
I fear the greatest national security threat we face, is not reforming education. The broader American population doesn’t have the ability to differentiate real news from fake. Facts hold know value in the world we live in today.
There has been a morality shift, a values shift in this country. Initiated by our success from World War 2 and 70 years of peace. We have become complacent, and selfish. We seem to only care about ourselves. Our elected leaders are a reflection of our selves and we elected the most selfish human being in the world. What does that say about who we have become? We better wake up, we are under attack as we speak. The Russians have initiated a war we can’t see. The division is widening. With no end in sight!
It’s time we have a larger conversation in this country. Automation and globalization are hear to stay. We need to address these problems now.
14
@Alex
Except that we have not had 70 years of peace. We have had cold war, hot war like Korea, Vietnam, Afghanistan, Iraq, and Syria (the latest of these propagated by neocons), etc.
As for your other points:
#BlueTsunami2020
3
Nixonion sans the years of conniving practice on the political front.
There is, however, plenty of conniving experience in every other fact of, well, conniving. That of course is a word closely related to conning. Or, you could say, cheating, stealing, lying, obstructing, blaming, deadbeating.
Aw shucks, it's an endless list.
Like the bumper sticker says - "I miss Nixon."
He even had some actual henchmen, as opposed to bumbling posers.
11
trump sabotaged his own presidency...and he’s been doing it for years. Glad its finally caught up to him. He runs his Administration like a small Mom & Pop business. Thinks he’s a “King”. As a tax payer, I’m tired of the continual issues and the inability to govern. All roads lead to Putin.
21
Once again the current occupant of the Oval Office confuses adherence to the Constitution with blind fealty to himself. And the Republicans just sit there & accept that. Hard to believe that they (the Republicans) call themselves Americans.
17
Hard to believe Ms Grisham could be more odious that Ms Huckabee Sanders but there you have it!
18
@Richard
“Hard to believe Ms Grisham could be more odious than Ms Huckabee Sanders but there you have it.”
Well look who hired her.
1
Our President demands loyalty from everyone and gives loyalty to no one. The second they question him, they are discarded like trash. This is the behavior of a want-to-be dictator. Dictators demand loyalty from everyone and give loyalty to no one but themselves. The world is shrinking as communication improves and grows. No one man should be able to abuse the masses in their delusional grandeur. Unfortunately under the direction of Putin, our President, a Russian asset, is trying to join the other dictators as the apparently ignorant American public stands by. We can only hope our constitutional controls are strong enough to keep this President from handing the power to the many demagogues still in control of way too many countries on our planet. He is a habitual liar and is loyal to no one but the other demagogues and his children. The corruption is obscene. Too many Americans know nothing about government and governing in a democracy. And they follow the circus act as if they actually know something. The lies spewed are accepted as the truth in their unfortunate narrow blind views.
16
This alone would be an impeachable offense.
18
The constitutional crisis continues, drip by steady drip. Trump has absolutely no respect for the Constitution or any of its laws. He is profoundly, willfully ignorant as president. He truly acts as if he was anointed, not elected.
20
The Media needs to stop saying Individual 1 asked Zelensky for dirt, as if there were some, or that This president demanded Zelensky dig up or manufacture dirt. Trump asked Zelensky to lie.
This president said to Zelensky—Go on television and lie for me or your people will die.
Say that.
22
The president would be dumb enough to fire the person that cleared the way for letting the facts of the matter out. Not like that would indicate guilt or anything. Isn't there anyone in his inner circle to tell him how stupid this would look?
13
Trump's obsession with loyalty is abuse of office enough.
But he shows over and over an inability to understand the presidency; and his vastly demonstrated incompetence is a chilling risk to national security.
One would think that Republicans are devoted to preserving the idea of America enough such that two or three would vote to allow a secret ballot on impeachment in the Senate. A secret ballot would be a great gift of patriotism.
Also great patriotism: full Cabinet confrontation of Trump that causes him to resign (and permanently play golf in Florida).
We think of dictatorship in situations of ability to carry out impulsive edicts with police and military, which can't happen in the U.S. But otherwise, we are living with a real estate salesman accidentally in the Oval Office who WANTS dictatorship (and envies dictators who ARE effectively so).
That our great form of government protects us from dictatorship hides the fact that a dictator mentality has been awarded the presidency.
Given the risk to democracy in America posed by a dictatorial occupant of the Office—given the need for leadership in the world among America's allies—Republicans should let patriotism prevail.
Let's get this all over with and focus on our worthy lives.
12
@gary e. davis I envision the terrifying possibility that, were Trump to narrowly lose the 2020 election, claim it was rigged and refuse to vacate the office, the military might support him...good bye democracy.
4
"People close to the president believe the political consequences of firing Mr. Atkinson could be devastating..."
Really? This would be the thing Trump could do to hurt himself politically? I would laugh if I wasn't cringing so often....
9
Well, of course! Anyone who disagrees with Donald must go! Because anyone who is ethical, has a moral compass and tells the truth is perceived by Donald as disloyal to him. And it is always all about Donald... first, last and always. This dictator-like mentality where there is only one way to view the world -Donald's way - who is always right has become a progressive obsession since the 2016 election and is very alarming. Donald is never wrong, never admits wrong-doing and will always find a scapegoat for his lapses in judgement. He has the emotional development of a 5 year- old that obsessional characteristic puts the United States at risk with global consequences.
12
“The President does not understand why Mr. Atkinson..,”
That is the actual problem in a nutshell: the President does not understand that the USA is not a private Corporation of which he is the CEO with absolute authority to do as he wishes. Or he understands and he simply doesn’t care.
In either case this proves that he is unfit for office.
23
The IG's oath of office is to the Constitution and laws of the U.S.
It is not to our pale imitation of the Sun King.
So the IG, occupying an apolitical position by statute, has no obligation to be "loyal" to the President, regardless of what may Trump may think.
That he wants to fire the IG is confirmation of something I had long suspected, that Trump has a political death wish. The day after Robert Mueller's report, instead of relaxing after escaping Mueller, he tried to extort "a favor" from Ukraine's new President, a favor that would help Trump's re-election campaign.
Now, in the middle of an impeachment proceeding, he wants to add another article to the impeachment bill of particulars by firing the Intel community IG for doing his duty. It also suggests that he has, as reported, put CIA Director intense pressure to reveal the whistleblower's name, another patent abuse of power..
You would think that by now Republican House members and Senators would realize their defenses of the President are constantly undercut by Trump's new acts of self-impeachment. It is time to realize that their fear of the "base" ought to be outweighed by the costs of looking like idiots, over and over.
16
@Frank McNeil
The Republicans don't care WHAT they look as long as they can keep their high-paying-do-nothing-jobs!
Their traitorous party is going to pay a heavy price for their shameful betrayal.
They just don't know it yet!
1
Who demands unconditional loyalty? Organized crime kingpins and the President of the United States.
25
Trump has been trying to disappear the truth, but it keeps coming right back up. His family and team of wack-a-mole con artists don’t seem to be any help either .
15
My goodness, this is exhausting. We've seen enough of this childishness, haven't we, fellow Americans ? Trump voters, please - join the rest of us in getting rid of this childish man !
19
He would be doing him a favor if he fired him. There is no future to be had in this administration.
7
At this rate I think he should do everything himself. Then he'd have no one else to blame for the problems he's causing. Besides, he's said he's a stable genius.
13
It appears Mr. Atkinson is no longer one of those "best people" Trump could surround himself with.
Funny that the guy who wants to build a big beautiful wall now finds the walls closing in around him. How poetic.
One term or less.
15
How is it that, under this president, doing one's duty and job is "disloyalty"?!
As it was under Richard Nixon, the effectiveness and fidelity of American governance is seriously undermined currently and this needs a remedy.
30
For outside observers, it was alarming to see the sycophancy displayed by Republican members of Congress and cabinet members. It seemed inconceivable that an American President could govern in the banana republic fashion and get away with it. If democracy failed in the US, could it survive anywhere else?
The military guys (Generals Mattis and Kelly) must have known about the problems in the Administration but they did not speak up. The law enforcement guys in the Justice department must have known but AG Barr successfully muzzled them. The scientists is the EPA resigned en masse but no one heard their voices.
It is such a relief to see the hijacking of the US foreign policy by the President's cronies being taken seriously. The US owes a debt to the honourable members of the State department who have risked their careers to take a stand.
The world cannot afford to have a US administration that is as transactional and unprincipled as this one.
20
"The president has said he does not understand why Mr. Atkinson shared the complaint... He has said he believes Mr. Atkinson, whom he appointed in 2017, has been disloyal."
Both men swore to defend the Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic. Yet somehow Mr. Trump thinks that everybody should be defending (and protecting) him.
15
I guess plans to fire his way to "the very best people" for his cabinet and staff positions... who ever is left, is by definition, "the very best people." At that point, the swamp will be drained, Trump will make this a talking point at his rallies and 'the base' will believe it.
14
Just putting aside the utter chaos and deluge of lies, it would seem as though he can be steered away from dismissing people completely, or for some period of time. Tillerson and Kelly (according to Halley) had it right. The people who insist that he'll always do whatever he feels like at the moment are wrong.
So what is keeping him from dismissing Atkinson?
2
"The president blames Michael Atkinson, whom he appointed, for finding the anonymous whistle-blower’s complaint on his interactions with Ukraine to be credible."
While not exactly incorrect, that sub-text to the title of this article is, at a minimum, misleading. As becomes clear upon reading the article, Trump is considering firing Mr. Atkinson because Trump considers him to be "disloyal."
IG Atkinson found the complaint to be credible because it was. In Trump's mind, however, "loyalty" means always being willing to lie to protect and promote Trump. By failing to lie, Atkinson failed to live up to Trump's completely warped, narcissistic standards. For that crime, he faces retribution.
56
History will record the era of trump as one of a tyrannical dictator who tried to destroy a constitutional democracy and, through his misguided efforts, the planet?
Will republicans in congress be characterized as blind followers of this aberration? Or will the future narrative tell of how they finally saw the light and removed this stain on the American story?
39
@Steve Ell @Steve - blind as bats without clicking sonar to find insects. The GOP.
6
@Steve Ell
I'm going with door #1---the blind followers option.
6
"He abused presidential powers for personal advantage."*
It is as simple as that.
*Dana Milbank
39
Bad form. Everyone knows that a massacre like this is best done in a Saturday Night.
15
"He has said he believes Mr. Atkinson, whom he appointed in 2017, has been disloyal"
There it is again. Loyalty to Trump is all that matters. Forget about loyalty to the truth, or to the country.
58
Unfortunately Trump has the power to fire whomever he wants.
He does not need a valid reason.
Not ruling or acting in Trump's interest is sufficient reason for Trump.
So what if the House impeaches Trump.
He knows he has the votes in the Senate to acquit.
The GOP has shown they will tolerate anything Trump does in exchange for tax cuts for the rich and slashing social programs and gutting financial and environmental regulations.
35
@david - Don't forget court packing. Trump and his Republican enablers have done incalculable damage to the republic but the hundreds of unqualified, young, MAGA loving lifetime appointments to the federal bench will be with us for decades.
For everyone in 2016 who stayed home, or voted for a third party because they weren't enthusiastic about Hillary, or whatever else, please, don't make the same mistake again. Vote in 2020 like our republic depends on it, because it does. Even if you don't like the nominee, even if they were your last choice, because we won't have a democracy left after four more years of Trump.
2020: Literally anyone but Trump. A pet rock would do less damage to the republic, and probably just about as much thinking.
17
@david I'd hire Atkinson in a minute if he gets the sack. An honest man?
Dying breed in GOPeeer land.
7
Well...let's see, again it is someone else's fault that this reality show has gone off the rails. Do you think the President would ever consider that maybe he is the problem of all this mayhem?
22
"Then I have an Article II, where I have the right to do whatever I want as president. But I don't even talk about that because they did a report and there was no obstruction."
- Donald Trump
Trump believes that he can do whatever he wants and not have to obey laws.
He can’t.
The House of Representatives has the power as a co-equal branch to provide oversight and prevent the abuse of power on his part.
They are doing their job.
66
@Grove
What do you mean he can't? He's doing it. After the Senate finds him "perfect" he'll have gotten away breaking the law again. I'm not even going to try calculating how many times that will make.
I'm am sick and tired of people repeating "No one is above the law." That is not true as a factual matter. What we should be primarily concerning ourselves with is formulating how this never is allowed to happen again.
36
@Mike Holloway
Unfortunately, at this point, you are correct.
And Trump is betting that the rule of law won’t be enforced, and he has reason to believe that.
It sure looks like those who decide to abide by dear leader Trump’s demands are part of the cabal, active co-conspirators.
And it seems that they should be charged as accessories after the fact for enabling his assault on the Constitution.
This conspiracy can boast a membership of much of the president’s staff, the Attorney General, the Secretary of State, the Republican Congress, and the majority of the Supreme Court.
This may be why Trump feels so confident in his lawlessness.
If this confederacy holds strong, it could prove very troublesome.
It appears that it can happen here.
10
Trump still can't wrap his head around the idea that the Constitution is bigger than the Presidency.
101
@JB
He’s still trying to prove that no one can stop him.
Unfortunately, it appears to be a stalemate for now.
2
You think he's even read the constitution? I don't.
10
Trump will fire anyone who puts loyalty to him as second to the country first.
Trump has never had a job where he had someone looking over his shoulder, so to his way of thinking these people are spies and disloyal.
They are only doing their job being patriots.
51
America's most lawless Presidency sails full speed ahead into a sea of icebergs.
May the Trump Titanic soon find its rightful resting spot in the basement of deplorable American history.
What a Presidential disgrace.
143
This unsurprising development speaks speaks volumes about the President’s* criminal disposition. It’s more evidence to support his removal from office, should Senate Republicans per chance exercise thought, integrity, and courage. It is tragic that the fate of our republic rests in their questionably capable hands.
37
Please yes Mr. Trump behave as a crackpot dictator and show the world and the Republicans propping up your regime and abetting their own destruction as they dive into the miasma of your corruption that all for you is abuse of power and illegality.
23
Talk about wanting to kill the messenger: Trump is so paranoid, so devoid of conscience, he would decapitate his own children if he thought they were talking about him behind his back.
32
Does DJT have learning disabilities?
Did he NOT see how much worse he made things when he fired Comey?
I thought the Older one gets, the WISER they become; but apparently that is NOT going to happen with Trump.
The man is UNHINGED!
35
Nothing comes out of this liar of a president’s mouth is truthful, ever.
Wait a while, soon this game of teflon don will be over, and it will be less than pleasant.
16
Trump said he could do anything he wanted as president. He meant it. Impeach him! Now!
26
Trump needs to be relieved from making any decisions at all at this point...he should simply stop, sit, and be quiet until he goes to prison.
38
Of course.
Dictators always get rid of anyone “disloyal”.
One way or another.
What would Putin do??
39
Go ahead, add another article of impeachment to the list.
61
And the US thought, during the Obama administration, that the Ukrainian government needed to be pressured to end corruption. Talk about glass houses!
9
Obstruction continues unabated.
21
Good grief already. It just never ends with this guy. . .
Trump is contemplating dumping the intelligence community’s inspector general, Michael Atkinson because “he believes Mr. Atkinson, whom he appointed in 2017, has been disloyal.”
That’s the ticket. Dump an appointee of two years not for cause or incompetence, but because of feeling insecure and believing someone on his staff has been disloyal.
WOW.
If anything, Michael Atkinson should be applauded and given some kind of medal for placing the good of the country over politics and/or personal loyalty.
One can only hope that Trump will not listen to those close to him who “believe the political consequences of firing Mr. Atkinson could be devastating, especially when Mr. Trump needs all the Republican support he can get for a potential impeachment trial in the Senate” and will actually cross that political Rubicon.
A gal can hope, can’t she?
33
Of course Donald Trump has considered firing the IG. He considers and sometimes proceeds with the firing of all and any whose loyalty is to the USA instead of to him. The good news is that the USA is considering and hopefully will fire him. No, not through impeachment. Through the 2020 election, in a repudiation that will be more profound. I look forward to wearing a “You’re FIRED” shirt after the election. I just hope Trump leaves the White House voluntarily.
29
Trump had a perfect phonecall extorting the Ukrainian President the day after Mueller testified in Congress, after the FBI director stated accepting or soliciting foreign help in an election was illegal, after the director of the Federal election commission sharply made the same point, both after Trump said on TV he would accept foreign help if offered. And yet it is the IG's fault Trump is in this mess. It is not like he didn't know or wasn't warned BY A TWO YEAR investigation. Yet he did it anyway. There is only one solution impeach him. If the senate refuses to convict him, vote every last Republican out of the senate and house.
54
Yeah, that won't look bad at all...
12
Hey 45*. You're getting warmer. Please fire yourself and all of this insane nonsense will simply evaporate (like much of your rhetoric does on a daily basis).
63
Go ahead King Donny. Fire him for his disloyalty. Show the world how a proper "business man"/mafia/royalty operates. Make America Gasp Again.
111
@DS
I have mixed feelings about this comment. I agree with its substance, but I don’t like it when foreigners (even our friendly neighbors to the north) tell us how to run our internal affairs.
1
@ Marc ... but it’s okay for Russians, Turks, and North Koreans to light the way under Trump? (perhaps a little friendly advice may not be so out of place, as when one friend sees another overwhelmed by trouble...
27
@Marc
Actually it's not just "our internal affairs." The trashing of the environment & the spread of support for corrupt rulers and dictators harms the whole world. Remember "no man is an island..."?
7
To anyone that is surprised by this, I have only one question.
Would you like to buy the Brooklyn Bridge?
48
If you're trying not to be impeached and removed from office, you probably ought to think twice about firing the IG.
74
@Cheeseman Forever The operative word here is "think," and I'm not sure there's much evidence for that sort of thing with regard to out president.
7
Nothing will happen if the man is fired. Trump is the original "Teflon" President. Remember when we all thought Reagan was? He is an Angel compared to our current president.
12
@Jane B ...That’s what Nixon thought when he fired Archibald Cox, and we know how that turned out.
41
Back then there were Republicans with integrity in Congress. Those were the days.
25