President Trump has every right to seek vengeance. It was more of an attempted lynching than a legitimate impeachment.
5
This is all not unexpected by anyone familiar with Trump's life. Trump is, and always has been mean-spirited, petty, vindictive, convinced of his superiority (despite all evidence otherwise); and Trump takes gross pleasure in "winning" by being cruel and punishing to others, if he can.
Having completely conned his cult 'base' into mindless adulation, Trump has used their slavish following as a crude cudgel to beat the Congressional Republicans into abject obeisance, circumventing the Constitution's restraints on his behavior. Trump is now unrestrained, unchecked and unbalanced by any Constitutional boundaries.
Without Congress's threat of impeachment as a restraint, there is only one remedy left to Trump's egregious, ongoing, and sure to worsen abuses of the power of the presidency.
Trump must go... and it is up to the voters to so overwhelmingly defeat him that even Trumpian dishonesty cannot claim "rigged" to dismiss the election's results.
Beyond that, we must be sure that we are ready to defend our democracy with more than just votes, if that is what it takes. Trump, and all of Congress's Trump-fearing Republican boot-lickers, must go. Vote Them All Out!
16
You forgot that dishwashers and low-flow toilets top the enemies list.
1
It's tempting to say the voters will stop him, but how? Given that he only survived impeachment by obstructing justice and by the fact that his Republican enablers are so afraid of him that they decided that they didn't even need to hear witnesses, what are we going to do when he loses the election and simply refuses to leave office? His enablers will still be afraid, he will still have no respect for the rule of law, so what are we to do? (Other than resign ourselves to the fact that we no longer live in a democracy and have in fact fallen under control of a dictator?)
12
"...federal prosecutors are back in the crosshairs."
As much as the arm of the law is long, so is its memory. If anything, a second term for Trump will only give the feds more time to consolidate a formidable wall of evidence against the lifelong and ongoing criminal enterprise that is the Trump Organization. One day, this would-be emperor will be a civilian like the rest of us, naked before the law and called to account.
3
trump is well and truly on a rampage, determined to prove he was correct when he said he can do whatever he wants. In my view, this corruption of the DoJ and of justice itself makes him far more deserving of impeachment than he ever was before. This abuse of power is being perpetrated in much more public view than the Ukraine deal was.
Since trump's "acquittal" I have felt that he will over-reach - Sure enough, the firings of the Vindman twins and the conversion of the DoJ to his personal enforcer prove that he just can't help but do so. His hubris and vanity will get the better of him. The ancient Greeks in their fables and myths knew a thing or two real about human failings. trump will fall to earth like Icarus.
And about those GOP lawmakers who tied their fate to his: they deserve to fall to earth with him - especially the ones cowards like Susan Collins who pretended they were on the fence.
22:40 EST, 2/11
859
@mancuroc
Quite so. It is apparent that he can't help himself. One hopes he will self-destruct before November; it's not implausible.
133
@Thomas Zaslavsky
I expect the GOP will continue to protect Trump from being accountable unless and until they think their own chances for re-election are reduced by supporting an unstable head of state.
124
@mancuroc
You are correct about vanity and hubris, but the Icarus analogy contains none of the malevolence so present in our current leader.
We are living with a King Minos, in vengeance feeding people to the Minotaur, or betraying Scylla after she had helped him.
113
The House should take testimony from Bolton and Mulvaney
and revote to impeach and this time Senate must convict
3
I'm sure firing these people is blatantly Illegal.
However, since Trump controls the DOJ and his lapdog Barr, nothing will happen to him.
5
trump sought revenge in a family feud by cutting off healthcare for his nephew’s sick baby. Senator Collins has surely heard that story, so she cannot be surprised by the actions of the vindictive man whom she and her fellow banana republicans enabled with their vote to acquit.
7
Has there been anyone around the president, or is there now, who doesn't look like a sleeze?
6
The people of the US are passive and frightened. Trump has nothing to worry about.
2
Is it possible he will cause himself to be impeached a second time? Can that happen -- or he is somehow protected from a second impeachment?
2
Just a few years age, the very idea of an enemies list was shocking. Now, from this arrogant "President" it is expected. We are in deep yogurt.
6
Clint Eastwood in Unforgiven “We’ve all got it coming, kid.”
I'm just surprised that Trump's enemies haven't had any "accidents".
9
If things were really as bad as most people here claim, they would be in the streets, not online. (Unless Times comments are all from octogenarians.)
That is the lesson of the '60s/'70s. If you want to make change from any kind of progressive perspective, do not count on institutionalized media and an electoral savior.
Power is actually quite diffuse in America. Ensuring there will be no business as usual is how you put pressure on non-governmental loci of power, who then will put pressure on the government.
And remember, there's no free lunch: Kent State, Jackson State, Viola Liuzzo, Mickey Schwerner, James Chaney, Andrew Goodman, Medgar Evers, and so many more.........
4
Vengeance may make Trump feel good but it's dangerous and counter productive. It will contribute to Trump's demise. If you look at history you will find that when autocrats, dictators ,kings and czars and presidents go too far, they ultimately lose their position. It may be hard to endure while they abuse their power but eventually it is their excesses that begins their demise. Trump now feels he is invincible and above the law and can punish all he sees as his enemy but it is really the start of his undoing and demise. The 2020 presidential election will affirm that Trump went too far.
4
The Republicans have one more tactic of voter suppression in their trick bag: Nullify the results. Expect them to exercise this trick if Trumpy loses in November.
5
Were this a scripted TV show, one would expect a happy ending. But there'll be none. There won't be a Congress that suddenly grows a spine and finds the courage to stop Trump. There doesn’t seem to be a Democratic candidate strong enough to rise up and toss Trump out of the White House. There’s no superhero waiting in the wings to fly in and save the day. Unfortunately in real life, the bad guy sometimes wins.
3
If only Trump's executive accomplishments were as productive as his Twitter account activity he would be the most accomplished POTUS in the history of the country. Unfortunately his Tweets are all he knows how to offer.
2
What is the recent history that allowed the 2nd most egregious Supreme Court decision in American history since the Dred Scott case of 1857? It is the 2010 Citizens United decision, which empowered the lie: that a corporation is a person, to override the "one person one vote" bedrock of democracy.
This also is an existential threat to democracy, and a threat to the Declaration of Independence: "We the People....", and the US Constitution, which includes the articles of impeachment.
9
B-b-but, Senators Susan Collins and Lamar Alexander told Americans that Trump had learned his lesson about abuse of power!
Looks like We The People need to unseat a lot of Senate Republicans.
America needs a Senate that will defend our Constitution and be the check to a tyrannical POTUS as an equal branch of government Congress was designed to be. Mitch McConnell and Senate Republicans are complicit with Trump openly abusing the power of the Oval Office.
15
I hope the judge sentences Roger Stone to 10 years, adding a year for the corrupt interference with the sentencing recommendation.
26
Firing Alexander Vindman's brother could be considered close to a bill of attainder, which is specifically banned in Article One of the Constitution, except that only the legislature is banned from punishing family members for their "taint" of being related to someone who incurs the displeasure of the powerful. The Founders probably did not consider the possibility of a presidential hit list.
12
Other societies have attempted to remove dictators - let's call Trump what he is or would like to be - from office, and have failed. I could quote examples except that NYT would not publish this comment if I were to.
The result is invariably a purge. Ours will not be bloody in the sense that people will be killed (I hope) but it is a purge nonetheless.
This is all classic, and predictable to anyone who studies history.
At this point all I can do is to quote Nikolay Gavrilovich Chernyshevsky, a major influence to Vladimir Lenin, before the October Revolution, when discussing the House of Romanov: "The worse, the better."
And wait.
4
I think the Republicans who are clearly responsible for allowing this mentally ill toddler to continue to play president should change their slogan and adapt something that states what their plans are. Death to America would be quite fitting and I do not think the Iranians would mind.
There was a chance to remove this disgusting excuse for a human from the White House and they enabled a kangaroo court in the Senate where they, in clear sight, violated their oaths to be impartial. And, in case anyone is keeping score, guess who is going to Mar-a-Lago this weekend? Third weekend this year!!!! Where government officials pay his resort high fees to do their jobs while he socializes and plays golf. Thanks GOP!!
15
"When the president no longer has pleasure in the service of a political appointee, the president has virtually unlimited authority and discretion to remove that individual."
It is completely normal, it is not vengeance.
A person reporting to you clearly and loudly says to the whole nation 'you are sort of a criminal and disgrace for this country'. Turns out, according to the rules of the game, that was not the case. What is DT supposed to do? To thank those who disparaged him? To offer another cheek? To forget everything? Letting them go is perfectly normal, and it would have been even more normal that they quit beforehand since for moral reasons they should not be in service of such a 'criminal' any more. So, grow up, and stop crying, no surprises here.
From now on, Presidents Day should be one of national mourning. We used to have presidents. Now we have a despotic king.
17
At first I was going to answer your last question: nobody is going to stop him; we will now see what a fascist America looks like. But I do have a ray of hope that after he is re-elected, and he and the GOP fail to come up with a health care plan and attack Social Security and Medicare, enough people will wake up to his endless lies and treat him as a lame duck almost immediately. What better response to a narcissist than to ignore him and deny him the adulation he craves.
1
I’m dismayed to see the Times continuing to print Trump’s tweets in full and, even worse, reproduce them as graphics within articles. This is precisely the type of attention and coverage on which this egomaniac thrives. If you must, just tell what he said or, in his case, tried to say, and don’t give him the pleasure of seeing his tweets there for all the world to admire.
Also interesting to note that the Don is now tweeting in the middle of the night and throughout the night. Guess Bloomberg’s unrelenting messages are truly taking their toll. My guess is Bloomberg has plenty of dirt on the Don, which is driving him farther toward the edge.
11
Anyone who has read anything on Trump’s business dealings knows vengeance is his MO. Roy Cohn, Trump’s mentor, taught Trump when someone hits you, hit them back harder. It is called, “winning by intimidation.”
6
"Flushing the pipes" sounds to me like rhetoric from the former Soviet Union. And Fox News is doing an excellent job at being the state media apparatus of the Republican Party.
Just ask Lt. Col. Vindman. He'll tell you how the Soviet Union used to work and if there are any parallels to Trumpism.
7
With every firing Trump rips another layer off our Constitutional protections
AND
When that last layer is gone what do we have - the correct word is a dictatorship………
Speak up, act out
NOW
Or forever hold your peace because it will then be too late to change course - our ship of state will have already run aground………….
10
Once again it's the "night of the long knives" and will continue until November 3rd.
Unless y'all wake up.
Are y'all registered to VOTE?
12
Barr's weaponizing of the Justice Department with Trump's blessing and encouragement is the most worrisome trend. This will further undermine respect for the law . What if the next thousand defendants in Federal court all claimed that the law doesn't apply to them and that the judiciary is illegitimate? If justice is no longer impartial, it is no longer justice.
4
This vengeful behavior should give Trump voters pause. Right now, their support for him is voluntary. But it looks like he's the type of autocratic leader who demands complete and unwavering "loyalty," no matter what actions he might take. Or else.
Follow this power trip to its logical conclusion and one day, if Trump gains as much power as he would certainly like and they dare to object, they could find themselves in something akin to China's "re-education camps." I guess I'll see them there.
7
I'm generally a proponent of "stay above the fray" rhetoric, but given Trump's height shaming of other politicians, I would not be opposed to someone making "Double-Wide Donald" stick as a moniker to mock him despite its body shaming connotations.
13
We have become a dictatorship. There are no longer any checks and balances. Barr's DOJ is covering up all Trump's crimes. If Trump loses the election he is going to declare it rigged. He'll even blow off the Supreme Court if it rules against him.
6
@Erik K
I don't think you're there yet but we'll find out in November if Trump leaves the Whitehouse. It will either be the end or the beginning of a dictatorship
3
Anyone who didn’t see this behavior coming from the moment McConnell announced the preordained acquittal and total cooperation with the White House defense team is fooling themselves. As Adam Schiff said in his closing argument, “How much damage can he do between now and November? A lot!”. Even though I could clearly see how this contrived verdict was going to play, the reality of his behavior is all the more appalling.
I pray for America-and yes, Mr President, I do pray”.
And vote too.
12
Such gratuitous score-settling carries a whiff of the Cosa Nostra, in which talking to the feds results in one’s family being targeted
Stop it the Mob doesn't target someone's family, they have more honor than that. Show me even one example. It's bad business, like torturing people in war, it comes around to bite you.
3
Trump has operated like a mob boss and gangster all his life. He is exacting vengeance the way a mob boss does. Mob bosses and tyrants must establish and maintain an atmosphere of fear. They can never command respect, so they rely on fear. When Trump has had all those private discussions with Putin and other dictators, he was probably learning tips and techniques for tyrants, although tyrannical behavior has always come naturally to him. I hope the Republicans are pleased with their acquittal of Trump and the establishment of tyranny in America. The Republicans destroyed democracy. Thank them for this un-ending nightmare.
9
It's simple, if your Trumps friend, nothing can hurt you. Do whatever you want. Lie, steal, cheat, it's all fine.
If you're not Trump's friend, then the powers of the state will be used against you. Frivolous investigations, charges without merit, etc. The Justice Department is now an arm of the Republican party. Trump has made it clear that that's the way he thinks it's supposed to be, and all his allies clearly agree with him. If he gets re-elected he will work to have the justice department, FBI, etc. attack media outlets he disagrees with, attack politicians who are against him, crush anyone who stands in his way. They all work for him now.
You may think this is hyperbole. You may think this is fear-mongering. He's made it absolutely clear this is the way the thinks. . Maybe you think somehow the other arms of government will be able to resist him. You're nuts to count on that. You think he wouldn't shut down the New York Times tomorrow if he could? Of course he would. It's only a matter of time before he surrounds himself completely with people as morally bankrupt as he is.
If Trump is re-elected, rule of law is dead. There's no reason whatsoever to not see that as a real possibility. It should be your assumption. That's what this election is about.
10
His psychological trademarks are all over this - named by America's own psychiatrists - paranoia, narcissism and pathological lying. It's time for America to admit that it has a mental health problem and it is centered in the oval office. Nothing short of this accounts for an illness that infects its' believers (especially in the Senate) and does this much damage to the Constitution, law and order, and the nation.
9
Some things never change. The penalty for failure to overthrow the king is loss of ones head. I am going to enjoy watching them roll.
@Tony Wicher : I thought we decided not to have a king in 1776. Didn't we pledge "our lives and sacred honor" on the project of overthrowing the king and establishing a democratic Republic?
3
@Tony Wicher Plenty of kings -- and king wannabes -- have lost their own heads in the end, as well, especially as the result of overreaching and general nastiness.
Trump is like the worst 2 year old having a throw down tantrum in the middle of a fine restaurant. Totally out of control and unable to be restrained by a large group of parents called the GOP . I say just let him continue with his tantrums and look like child that parents stand by and wring there hands . Maybe the foolish ranting will wake up the GOP WOMEN and they will say enough is enough because Trump is destroying the integrity of the most important institutions of America.
4
He's a vicious criminal syndicate boss... If he could give his opponents cement boots and plop them in the center of the Potomac at midnight, he probably would. Oh my... I hope that doesn't give his storm troopers ideas... They rarely have thoughts of their own it seems.
8
Massacre? What massacre? The Union is at stake. The system is at stake. Why have prosecutors, when there is Barr? Where is the ABA? Gotham City is the Colors of the Day.
2
Honesty and truth has become an illegal four letter word according to this president. And he should know, he uses a lot of 4 letter words.
4
the only reason he can behave like this is all his enablers supporting him. If you had a congress that was interested in keeping a check on power or even heads of agencies that were willing to defend their independence, you would have a baby in chief that was at least corralled in a playpen. Instead you have a narcissistic president who is not at all interested in governance, policy or democracy, busy trashing the office and dividing the country, throwing bombs to distract from long term work that the country needs and overall destroying trust in democratic institutions. If you wonder how countries slip into dictatorship........look to the enablers
5
The complacency of the intelligent Americans is appalling. Take it to the streets guys. Lock down the Country. Guess the are not many left.
3
Sooner or later, Trump, like most mob bosses, will get his comeuppance. "Those whom the gods want to destroy, they first make mad.
3
I imagine that the honorable thing for Trump to do, would to pro-rate Soundlands campaign contribution and return his $250,000.00. After all,he only got three years as ambassador.
Excuse me, I must have had a senior moment. Trump is anything but honorable.
4
I learned absolutely nothing from this column, which is merely a summary of events that have occurred.
We'll take care of Trump in November, but I'd be ecstatic if the Democrats were to begin impeachment proceedings against Bill Barr.
4
Guess after this is over you guys will need a new constitution.
2
What we have to keep in mind, which is not obvious to see, is that Trump is really a very frightened, insecure and incompetent man. He is a narcissist, but the narcissist is really a self loathing individual. The sad part is his illness is being visited upon the entire country. Let’s vote him out of office, because the system is in such disrepair that it can’t move him.

7
New York knows Donald Trump and apparently this is nothing new. I think every DOJ official from the state of New York should be kicking themselves. You guys had the chance to put this crook in jail years ago. Because of your failure, the rest of the country now has to suffer his wrath.
4
Calling Trump out for anything he says or does is NOT ALLOWED. His followers love to brag that he’s a “counter-puncher.” “When he gets hit, he hits back ten times harder!” Stop and think about that. We’re talking vengeance, retribution, revenge. These are Mob tactics. You better be “nice” to Mr. Trump, or you’ll be picking your teeth up off the floor.
He is completely unleashed and unrestrained now. With his acquittal, Trump has become Vlad The Impaler. My one hope is that he will be so transparently hideous that, at long last, some of his devotees will see who he really is. A truly evil man.
5
On a television interview with Nora O’Donnell Senator Collins said that Trump would be restrained after the impeachment and the Senate Trial which is why she said that she did not vote to convict.
Her unbelievable naivety and blinding stupidity have now been revealed. One would hope that after committing such an stunning blunder she would have the decency to resign. However being a Republican excludes her from the world of people who possess common decency.
The solution is to support an opposition candidate to remove the fool Collins from office.
5
I am sure that Susan Collins will step up to the bar and stop Trump in his tracks. He did not learn his lesson, Senator Collins, so now what is your excuse for doing his bidding and that of McConnell's. How many times are you going to let these men make a fool of you?
4
Who’s to stop him indeed. These are scary times in our country. It’s only a matter of time before Trump does something even worse. When will it end? What will it take? I never thought I would understand how people let an insecure, paranoid failed artist take control of a country and start murdering people. But watching this nightmare here in this country, it is all to clear how easily these things happen. He’s got the courts, the justice department, the military, the religious right. The people who are supposed to keep him in check keep throwing up their hands in disgust and leaving, or worse yet just looking the other way. I guess when the circle of sycophants and enablers are all that is left, the transformation to a banana republic under a bloated dictator will be complete.
4
These are the actions of a tyrant. plain and simple. Trump must be removed from power if our democracy and system of laws is to be saved.
Vote Blue no matter what!
3
amazing that 45's core group
actively enjoy being lied to.
4
That Senator Susan Collins... she really taught this guy a lesson, didn’t she? Senator, you’re no Margaret Chase Smith, I’ll tell you that straight out.
4
I have been pondering the following for quite some time.
Was Trump dropped on his head as a child. If not, perhaps he should have been.
4
Trump is rapidly sinking America's reputation throughout the world. This petty vindictiveness isn't something a nation's leader in the developed world would undertake in 1950, let alone 2020. It should frighten everyone who's not Trump offspring that he now knows he can literally do whatever his corrupted heart desires with no one to stop him or hold him to account.
3
Hey, Melania, how is that anti-bullying campaign going? Or is there an exception for Republican politicians?
8
Vengeance is ours in November.
4
Trump is often described as "deranged." Many people who know him have called him that and with good reason; he really is deranged. His life has been defined by personal grievance but as a private citizen he could exact his paranoia-driven revenge only so far. Now, as president, he's is truly unleashed, and the full extent of his mental unbalance is being revealed. Never has a public figure so screamed out for psychiatric help but his enablers (Melania, Ivanka, Don Jr and Eric) are hooked on his financial support like a heroin addict with a IV.
His revenge on Col. Vindman's brother was appalling. This has been asked a billion times but, what will it take for Republicans to finally grow a backbone? Anything?
5
So unpresidential. For republicans, a deal with the devil. Some day he will turn on them too and they will have only themselves to blame.Meanwhile the rest of us shudder at what is happening in this country.
3
The avenging angel, Mike Bloomberg, will take down the psychopath.
He is already driving Trump to tweet without stop from his brilliant, non-stop ads.
Trump is going down and will take all his party sycophants with him.
Mike will get it done.
He is the one we need to rally behind.
His motto: In God we trust, all others bring data.
3
If trump is re-elected and his authoritarian proclivities continue, the nation is done. We may already be there, what with Barr in charge of Justice.
That this utterly mediocre man brought down the US is quite depressing.
5
"Mr. Trump is now hard at work making that happen. And who’s to stop him?"
The reason why there is no one to stop Mr. Trump now is that the media has already cried wolf so many times, they have no credibility any more.
People like Ms. Cottle knew perfectly well that there was no Russia collusion, that the Mueller report concluded Trump did nothing impeachable, that there was no bribery or obstruction, and that the impeachment articles were nonsense. But the Times and the rest of the mainstream media got bullied into hysteria because the radical left (we're looking at you, Rashida Tlaib) hated Trump's policies and his character.
Now, whenever Trump *really* does something wrong, we're all going to yawn.
Ms. Cottle and the rest of the Times Editorial Board should remember that they abused their power of the press, and now Trump is unleashed.
1
“This is a horrible and very unfair situation. The real crimes were on the other side, as nothing happens to them. Cannot allow this miscarriage of justice!”
Everybody watch out. Trump is still in 4th grade. That means tantrums. Build your shelters now, or leave the country.
3
And any of this is surprising in some way? None of these folks is so naive that they wouldn't have understood there would be repercussions and the usual hectoring and abuse.
Trump wants us all to understand that if we oppose him he can destroy us and our families. His nature as an authoritarian dictator has never been more clear. Everything that was predicted about his destruction of the country has turned out to be true. He is a traitor to everything the Constitution stands for and so are all those who support him.
4
Unfortunately for all of America, Trump will likely get re-elected by the same voters who put this vindictive, thoroughly dishonest, narcissistic person back in the White House. Many, if not most of those voters, were driven to Trump by nothing more than hatred of the alternative. They will also pay the price for this as his broken promises about the safety nets of Social Security and Medicare are revealed. Who will they blame then..... oh, right-Obama.
2
Please recognize Trump is doing whatever he has to do to save himself from prosecution and 'solitary confinement'. He knows Roger Stone is not willing to endure too much before he could break and spill the beans that the Trump administration orchestrated with Russia the whole Wikileaks dumping of hacked emails (DTJr.-'This is Russia's support for your father. Love it, especially towards the end of summer.") Manafort is suffering for his own crimes, but Flynn and Stone need protection as they are covering for him directly. As for harassing the impeachment witnesses and investigators, he can't have people telling the truth about his misdeeds. He needs to send the message that this will NOT be tolerated. He can't afford any more truth getting out there. Why he continues to project onto Hillary and the deep state his own misdeeds worthy of conviction, I believe he has lied so much and for so long, he has entered into his own alternative universe and took many with him, who can't be bothered to research the truth. The real travesty of justice is the Republican senators who failed to do their jobs and have witnesses and evidence because they knew that when confronted with the truth, they would have no other choice but to convict. Now, we got a run away executive, abusing his power indiscriminately and acting like he is a star who can do whatever he wants, as he said, 'When you're a star, they let you do whatever you want. You can grab them by the -----" He's grabbing.
4
Well, Coverup McConnell, how do you like your “blue-eyed boy” now, as he destroys careers and a party. The rest of America resolutely awaits to pounce in November, when the tidal wave sweeps the detritus away, for good.
5
The onion-thin-skinned, vindictive president is out to destroy the country and with the help of his republican co-conspirators he is doing just that. Putin must be laughing and scratching at how easily he has destroyed Russia's biggest enemy since the start of the cold war.
3
@Tom
"We were taught about this as small children.
At home. In school. At church. On the playground."
Why waste time "talking" to trump? he is a psychopath. ask these questions of Trump's supporters, especially in church.
nothing will happen to Trump unless we exhibit our displeasure either in the streets or at the ballot box.
"throw the bums out!"
4
Trumps wants a Russian style oligarchy. A banana republic. Barr is delivering.
9
Jimmy Carter didn't win a 2nd term. George HW Bush did not win a 2nd term.
Of course, they didn't have the help of a newspaper like this one that was cowed into normalizing the most corrupt actions.
Remember when Barr wrote his letter mischaracterizing the Mueller Report as exonerating Trump and this newspaper fell for it? No one at this newspaper does.
Every new outrage Trump or the DOJ commits for Trump is given the benefit of the doubt and immediately forgotten by journalists here in their search for the next self-serving leak from "senior White House officials" who know it will be printed as if it was the gospel truth.
1
Please continue with the Biblical headlines!
The soft belly of Trumpian support presumably are Christians with knowledge of the Bible, and of how disrespectful his speech at he National Prayer Breakfast was.
3
Do you think Trump has any idea what OUR backlash will be against HIM when this abomination is thrown out of the White House? He will scream "unfair" like a stuck pig and play the "poor me" card to the hilt. We must prove that this country can be run both responsibly and ethically under a rule of law and use Trump as the poster boy of what not to allow and what the penalties will be if this ever happens again. No pardons; no forgiveness.
He has destroyed the concept of what a REAL president should be. We neither want, nor will tolerate, a tyrannical despot, liar and crook.
5
Firing Vindman's twin brother is just beyond the pale - it is banana republic territory. Wake up, America, this behavior is serious and wrong.
5
@Kris
yes. what a reason to get fired. For both of them. One, because he testified under subpoena. The other one because he looks like the guy who testified
1
“...carries a whiff of Costa Nostra.” More like stinks to high heaven. And the stink comes from the rot between trump’s ears.
5
Trump cant handle the truth.
3
Keep up the horrible treatment of Trump.
We are being given a glance of what Trump's second term will look like: His crowning in January of 2021 will be the beginning of the reign of King Trump I. He will rule by decree, Lese Majeste will be a felony, independent thought will be outlawed, and he will institute the Triple Obeisance when admitted to his presence. People who work for him will swear personal fealty. He will institute a Security Service to maintain His Law and His Order, which of course will mean no one will need guns any more and they will be turned in by loyal citizens of the State (It is considered unhealthy for a despot's SS to be outgunned). Those who do not turn in their guns are traitors who cannot be trusted so there guns will be confiscated and they will be monitored. Only those media outlets approved by the Crown will be allowed to operate.
The scary thing here is that this is only partially tongue in cheek.
2
Now, my fellow Americans, brace yourselves for the vengeance that’s coming, for the unleashed power of a malignant narcissist, seeking retribution on his enemies, who may yet destroy our Democracy.
The descriptions and images of feverish supporters at Trump rallies are nearly exactly the same as those found in Orwell’s 1984 and Hitler rallies: Mindless, shouting clods whose brains have been taken over by master manipulators. Facts, data, science elude them, but they love being entertained by their god at the podium.
I’d like to see MSM show us split screens of past and current mobs gone berserk over these madmen, drunk with power, their faces red with rage, their voices shrill with anger. Switch them from one podium to another in the films and see if you can tell the difference.
But I fear these actual voting citizens are determined to remain ignorant of history, literature, or, for that matter, much else in print.
5
"Whom the gods would destroy they first make mad" - Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
2
Trump has become a full-bore dictator and, as with all such megalomaniacs, must be taken out, preferably nonviolently.
3
The OrangeUtang is Old Testament, fo' sure. May God help us.
2
As shocking and unlikely that even two could be so bereft of decency and honor, it seems to me trump, barr, miller (Stephen), mcconnell, graham, pompeo, jared and djtj prove at least eight to have been 'born this way.'
That so many others who spend or have spent time in the company of one or more of them have come to such indecency and dishonor themselves seems evidence that the desire for political 'relevance' (or what little power trump 'permits' them) is 'more viral' than the coronavirus.
1
All those terms that have been used through out Trump's presidency to describe his authoritarian tendencies such as banana republic, fascism, autocrat, dictator wannabe are becoming more accurate everyday.
3
If this corrupt and criminal president has his way, it won't be long before his name is added to our national Pledge of Alligiance, most likely preceding 'flag' and 'the United States of America'.
2
I miss the serenity, the calmness, the intelligence of President Obama. So much more could have been accomplished if the Republicans had not gotten together when he was elected and determined they would not allow him any victories. Now we have an incompetent, childish man as President. Where are the Republicans now? Bending over backward for this man. They are deplorable. I hope our country can withstand this.
4
Yes, the Caucus Room Putsch, when Paul Ryan, Mitch McConnell and other GOP leaders swore to never give President Obama any legislative victories, even if it hurt the citizenry.
3
"Mr. Trump is now hard at work making that happen. And who’s to stop him?"
The people must stop him. There should have been massive protests before he was acquitted; if there had been we might have been able to pressure the GOP into doing the minimum of allowing new witnesses and sworn testimony.
What was the problem? Where were we? Did we have to watch the super sports game? Was it too cold to stand outside and demand justice or were we merely fascinated watching the Senate make a capon of Congress as a whole?
4
Better not cross King trump or YOU will suffer the consequences. He doesn't like tech as they aren't his biggest supporters. Now, he has the FTC investigating them. No checks and balances under this administration as it is being run like China, to a large degree.
1
There people were all part of a group think scheme to try to root out Trump any way they could. It became mindless especially in light of the absence of any investigation or even concern about the Biden’s little foray in the Ukraine. The charges were flimsy at best and some witnesses began to gravitate towards an unfounded and fantastical storyline that just was basically hearsay Ok so you don’t like the guy and he’s irritating - just don’t make things up about Trumps actions that you don’t agree with. Go vote for Hillary again or something!
1
Once Trump starts weaponizing the Justice Department, as the Roger Stone sentencing recommendations' revision would seem to indicate, all bets are off. What will stop him from using the IRS (as Nixon famously threaten to do) to target opponents? Why not have the FBI surveil any citizen who has the temerity to speak out against him? And, of course, since the GOP senators don't believe Trump's solicitation of a phony investigation by Ukraine of Biden and his son was worthy of impeachment, why wouldn't he call up his pal, Putin, to use Russian cyber trolls against the Democratic nominee? Just how low did you think Trump would go to win in 2020? Now, readjust your sights even lower.
5
If we give Trump four more years he’ll get really serious about calling for punishment for his foes, perhaps using the Dershowitz argument that anyone who opposes him is acting against “the public interest.” When one considers how many people fall into the “foe” category, how fond he and his supporters are of calling for “locking people up” and the sycophancy of AG William Barr, the prospect is terrifyingly Orwellian.
4
You know, another narrative might be that President Trump gave these formerObama staffers the opportunity to continue to serve their country when he could have dismissed them outright. Instead of proving their loyalty to country and following the policies of their duly elected leader Vindman, for example,went outside his chain of command (courts marshal behavior) in complaining that the President’s policies weren’t to his liking, thus demonstrating disloyalty to Country, in my opinion.
These “resistance” types need to follow their pledged loyalty to country or resign, in my view.
I know plenty of folks who are going to vote for Trump. They are not overt racists. They are friends in many cases .
What's going on? America is and always has been deeply dysfunctional. We are founded, in reality, on a genocide of Native Americans, and the enslavement of millions of who we now refer to as African Americans.
We are a nation of immigrants who all eventually seek to erase that label. Trump, for instance, lied for years about his German ancestry, just like his father did.
We are a nation of con artists, striving to get ahead in a hyper-capitalist economy.
No one, and I mean no one, wants to pay taxes. No one has the time to really care about the climate.
We are a cruel nation. Deeply cruel. A cruelty woven into our very founding.
So better to have a homeless man die on the street than for me to spend a penny on him.
My friends who are voting for Trump know he's a liar. A cheat. An adulterer who's married to a former nude model.
Trump is us. Warts and all. Trump is our Id revealed. Democrats need to figure out how to draw this revealed horror back to some kind of non-pathological place again. Hopefully that's Bernie. We'll see.
3
America is at war with Republicans right now. We need to defeat them at the ballot this November or they will work tirelessly to remove the ballots entirely and declare Donald Trump king. Make no mistake, we are currently being ruled by a fascist regime. If he wins again, it will get much, much worse. We have to defeat not only Trump, but every other Republican in the House and Senate - sans Romney - who violated their oaths of office and refused to defend our Constitution.
2
Each and every single one of this nations founders must be spinning in their graves at what has become of their government for, of and by the people being literally dismantled by the people foolish enough to not see the end coming with a bold print map and a flood light. The worst thing about all of this mistaken monarchial rule by the silliest man ever to run, much less win office, is that he's doing in out in the open for all to see and we just turn our backs so we'll have the luxury of saying "you can't blame me, I didn't see him do it".
1
It is incredulous that so many people will pay homage to this malignant narcissist. They do not seem to understand that the only thing that matters is Trump's agenda: not rule of law, not morality, not friends, not family. Where are they going to go when they too are thrown under the bus?
2
I wish I was confident that there is a line in the sand that when crossed would awaken the Cult of Trump. No chance. Should the House impeach him for further misdeeds? Yes. With the Senate not even deigning to act on House Legislation, what else should they do? Welcome to the autocracy.
3
@Bruce Maier
I almost agree with your call to impeach Trump again when he commits further misdeeds . . . as he certainly will. But who would testify against the president now? Who would be brave enough to risk ruination of reputation and career? Don't hold your breath waiting for a Republican Senator to stand up and be counted.
We see what happened with Lt. Col. Vindman and his brother, the firing of Ambassador Sondland, we see the childish smearing of impeachment figures like Adam Schiff and Nancy Pelosi. Even the once-safe venue of a prayer breakfast has become an arena of rage and venom.
One of the most important things I have ever done as an American, right up there with meeting RFK when I was young, was to take part in an impeachment rally last December. Maybe the taking back of America will require innumerable such rallies. Even Donald Trump has shown he is impressed by sheer numbers.
On my worst days I am discouraged, but when I'm working toward a cause, I feel more hopeful.
2
Trump is a man fueled by hatred. He channeled some decent people's anguish and frustrations (and some not-so-decent people's hatreds and bigotries) into the votes that sent him to the White House.
I'm not sure it's helpful to divide his enemies into various categories. Sure, we can classify his them -- political rivals; people he thinks have betrayed him personally, even if in the flawless commission of their own duties, etc. But the more compelling argument about Trump is that he NEEDS enemies, that he defines himself in relation to his adversaries, and that in the absence of such figures Trump as we know him (and as he knows himself) would cease to exist. And so... he will always hate and lash out at SOMEone.
This is not, or at least should not be, an acceptable trait in a POTUS. His constant fuming and seething should automatically disqualify him from this job (shouldn't his defective psyche alone qualify as 25th Amendment territory?). One need not be particularly prescient to know he will hate his way into further damaging the nation, and select individuals in it. That's who he is and what he does.
As for the final question of this piece, who will stop him? Alas, we may have to wait for the 2020 voters to do that. I just hope that even his supporters come around by then to understanding that no one is off limits, and Trump would all too easily enact policies (as he did to the farmers with his tariffs) that show his disdain for them as well.
3
How much worse can this destruction of civility go! Republican members are fully responsible for this pending collapse of a once great nation.
1
May Trump succeed; America deserves as much.
Dictators don’t like being told anything that doesn’t agree with them. Trump has learned a lot from his mafia lawyer and friends. In his second term, there will be absolutely no controls.
1
Trump's tantrums should be an embarrassment to that wing of the Republican Party (Alexander, Collins, Sasse, et al) in the Senate that thought he would be "humbled" and "chastened" by their assertions that he acted "inappropriately" but in a non-impeachable manner. What a laugh! If Trump should lie, cheat, or steal his way to a second term (by getting trounced in the popular vote but squeaking by in the Electoral College, thanks to his Republican enablers and co-conspirators), I predict he will become the first President ever impeached twice. If any of the clowns who voted for acquittal the first time around are still in office, here's hoping at least a few of them have learned something about their Dear Leader that might better inform their vote the next time so that Trump can really put his name in the history books--as the only President ever convicted. And may that be the first conviction of many...
2
Trump is running amok, as he always does, but what makes him truly dangerous now is that Republican senators and a tame attorney general are letting him tear into his enemies list. The Justice Department, Pentagon, State Department, Supreme Court and Treasury have all been corrupted into becoming tools of the president's wrath. The Senate is a rubber-stamp Duma, having ceded all its oversight authority. And the House has proved to be toothless.
2
Keep it up Donald. Nothing serves to confirm the claims of those who stood up to you better than your bothering to go after them. The truth really hurts, doesn't it?
2
No one damages Donald Trump like Donald Trump.
His fall is going to be spectacular.
5
Was Harry Truman being vengeful when he fired Douglas MacArthur?
Hardly the same thing and you know it.
2
Well, it's only a small thing, but I have written to my City Council rep asking to name either 5th Avenue from 56th to 57th Street (the public entrance to Trump Tower) or 56th Street between 5th and Madison (where residents, including the Trump family, enter] Yovonovich/Vindman Way in honor of wise, brave, law abiding public servants who stood up to dictatorship in America's hour of great need.
Please join me.
2
Those who pursued sedition and who sought to undermine and supplant the President's policies with their own.
Are the National Prayer Breakfast organizers still happy they invited Trump now? Pray tell us what part of their Christian creed does Trump's behavior align with now?
2
Vengeance against enemies is what Despots do.
Everyone knows this, except senator Susan Collins, who must have skipped History 101 and Psychology 101, given that she declared Trump "learned a lesson" from his impeachment. Sad.
3
In light of Trump's actions, I would like to challenge my fellow Christians who support this man, how they reconcile his behavior with Jesus' admonition to love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you (Matthew 5:44), and St. Paul's teaching against vengeance (Romans 12:9-21)? Clearly, his "enemies" did not persecute him; they spoke the truth, and "the truth will set you free." Trump lives in the prison of his own ego.
1
It is terrifying to watch Trump pick off those who oppose him one by one, abetted by his accomplice Bill Barr in unraveling the justice department and trying to strong arm the military into punishing Lt. Col. Vindman even further than he has already done. Cheered on by his base he is morphing into a genuine tyrant.
2
Why does Trump's reign remind me of Stalin's. Erratic behavior urged on by paranoid delusions of fantastical plots carried out by a magical entity (Deep State).
1
This is a national emergency.
It will not present as that. We will all get up, go to work, come home, care for our families and tune into yet another breach of decorum, rule of law, crime spree and carry on.
This is a test. We're flunking it. It's the job of a malignant narcissist to ensure the world revolves around him. The GOP just gave him carte blanche to do WHATEVER he wants, including, according to a lawyer who had the gall to put this in writing, killing someone on 5th Ave. So a nation with an ounce of self-preservation would be taking this seriously. A nation with an eye to survival would be holding him accountable. A functioning Congress would be taking action NOW to corral him.
We are not that nation. Thanks to this GOP we are in full-blown crisis. This gets worse fast. Every check and balance has failed. There is only one firewall remaining. We, the people.
It's time for mass protests, targeted actions, and a loud, sustained and vociferous engagement.
1. Investigate the GOP's role in colluding with and covering up crimes.
2. Make targeted donations to every candidate running against a GOP member at any level. Make it symbolic. I'm giving $$ in Susan Collins' and Murkowski's names. Pure symbolism but it's about time these two women who coyly pretend to do right were held accountable for doing grievous harm.
3. Call and write your elected officials around the clock. Hound them into doing the right thing.
4. Protest.
5. Work for the candidate and vote.
4
I agree completely, except for your use of"questionable behavior" in describing DJT. That's akin to a Cat 5 hurricane being described as a "mild atmospheric disturbance".
Mr. Trump is the reincarnation of Typhoid Mary, dangerous,
often fatally, to those he comes in contact while he
remains... healthy. His base has sowed the wind. Tragically, we shall all reap the whirlwind.
1
It is truly amazing that such a vile human being is the president of the United States, and that his party and its supporters, follow him unreservedly.
But I hold special ire for the so-called evangelicals who are among his strongest backers. These are folks who go to church every Sunday, apparently pray to the same loving God many of us do, yet support a bigoted fool who's assaulted women, put people in holding pens, and belittles opponents like a twelve-year old.
Then again, as Abraham Lincoln said in his second inaugural address, the North and South prayed to the same God, though, he aptly noted, it was curious that a people would ask the Almighty to help it protect its right to enslave another human being.
Unfortunately, Trump's appeal is primarily a racial one and unless white people are willing to acknowledge that and reject it, he will be re-elected.
2
So let’s get this straight - Trump got himself impeached for asking Ukraine to announce an investigation into possible corruption by Joe Biden who, at this point, probably will NOT be his political rival?
Get everyone registered to vote NOW! Support get out the vote efforts and anti- voter suppression organizations. The election will be the only way to stop the madness.
1
"Heads may not wind up on literal pikes"
But they very well may... at least the modern equivalent.
The American public needs to begin speaking the unspeakable, and acknowledge that IT CAN HAPPEN HERE.
Is it really that far from Charlottesburg to lynchings, from chants of "Lock her up" to the imprisonment of political foes?
Nerve agents work as well in America as they do in Russia, the UK, and South Korean airports. Immigrant Detention centers are easily converted to "Re-education Centers". Investigative reporters can fall off balconies in New York as conveniently as they do in Moscow.
His shooting someone on Fifth Avenue may become the least of our fears under this tyrant.
3
Trump does not understand that the sun rises on a new tomorrow. Like most dictators, he can only see today. A Democratic administration will deconstruct most of what (little) he has done, between bouts of "Executive Time."
Not understanding tomorrow, as in the consequences of his actions, is one reason why he never made any money in his life; why he has failed at literally everything that he has done, and why his lackeys (e.g. Barr) will be dragged down with him.
This too shall pass. See you in November in the election booth.
Republicans write your Republican senators: Did you take an oath to the Constitution, or not? Veterans, please do likewise.
Cutting off my right arm will be easier than referring to myself as a "Democrat", as everything they're for, I'm against - but such are these times.
1
Trump performed his "snake" bit in NH this week, how apt. You all knew or should have been warned by those who did that Trump was a snake but the existential question is what are you going to do about it? A political system that encourages and rewards a candidate whose character flaws are proven and obvious and then allows him to retain power by exercising the worst of these traits demands change. Will Americans have the guts to make those wrenching changes or will the political divide caused by the flaws prevent any correction? If current events are any indication it is not looking good.
1
OK, I am not a lawyer, or a 'living in fear' republican house or senate member. I am just an ordinary citizen that knows retribution when I see it.
This vengeful man, who exhibits fake victimization as an excuse to go after 'anyone' who shows any signs of honor and respect for the law, continues to be an embarrassment to the country and nothing short of a petty bureaucrat who will not admit that all of his troubles have been brought on by his own corrupt behavior.
Can someone who is a lawyer explain to the president why there is a the Whistle blower law? And while your at it a few things about honesty would be helpful.
This bully in the playground administration has to go!
3
Somehow, the Republican electorate chose a deplorable man with enormous anxieties about the size of his hands. None of this should come as a surprise.
1
Trump has been under attack for 3 years. The Russian collusion assault fizzled and the House couldn’t even find a crime to base their impeachment on. The Obama Justice Department misled the FISA Court in order to get Trump and many federal employees showed the reality of the deep state by concluding g they—and not the elected President, should make foreign policy. Given all of that, Trump is justified in being angry and legally responding to his attackers.
Susan Collins and others - have you reconsidered your statements when you cast 'No' on the articles that Trump learned a lesson with impeachment and won't abuse his powerful position? He's become even more emboldened. Thank you Senator Romney for following logic, oath, constitution, heart and head - wish others had and Trump was censored.
1
Does this mean if the Democrats win the senate and the presidency it will be open season on Trump and all his enablers in their own version of retribution? What a horrible precedent is being set by Trump. This is not the country I know and love. The Republicans must reign the president in for the good of the country. But, will they?
1
This is the time not to fall for the false equivalence argument so favored by a few that there is excess on both sides of impeachment and why can’t we just move on and get along. Well, because the child in the White House who thinks himself to be a stable genius is having a tantrum caused by his own malpractice in office. His partisans have no problem arguing along with him that because it rains all night it will be dry and dusty in the morning. Memo (borrowed) to the opposition: Do not try to wrestle with a pig in the mud. You’ll just get muddy, and the pig will enjoy it.
Clearly DT’s enjoyment comes from humiliating people who do not bow low to him as emperor but who simply do their ethical and legal duty, even when it displeases this pathological narcissist. That behavior is sick enough, but it also extends to supporting decades-long strategies to crush the working poor by hollowing out the ACA, kicking recipients of government aid off the rolls, and in general lying and cheating to benefit himself. He has many apologists. You wonder how they sleep at night until you fully understand that he attracts those like himself, hungry enough for power in one of these cases to cozy up to a monster who in turn figuratively ate him in a paroxysm of revenge.
Has this become a great country or what?
1
Trump's addiction to power and money has brought us to this point. Like any addict he will do anything to serve his addictions lest he would have to face his addictive nature, feel the pain of withdrawal, admit to himself and to his God his faults, face his defects of character. He would have to give up the highs he gets from his addictions, those feelings of power, excitement, control that coarse through his veins each time he scores, more power, more money, and with each score he NEEDS more to feed his addiction.
We are like a big alcoholic family in our country, with enablers (the senate and sychopant republicans), keeping the dysfunctional system going. Those of who see and name the dysfunction enrage him. The enablers just join him, getting off on his power trips, riding high with him, feeling their own power highs.
Trump will ultimately self destruct, as all addicts eventually do. But the destruction he creates to serve his addiction in the meantime is and will continue to increase just as the demand for More will increase as his addiction spirals.
Hey Republicans, keeping Trump in power is like giving the car keys to your drunken family member or friend. He will drive recklessly, dangerously, until someone pulls him over. If he isn't stopped he will do grave damage not only to others but to himself as well. If you loved him you would take away his keys. If you were true friends you would remember, "Friends don't let friends drive drunk".
It's a good thing Mr Trump doesn't have a Palace Guard to enforce his petulance.
2
And Sen. Susan Collins thought trump would learn from the sting of impeachment. Henceforth is it Sen. Chamberlain or is it Sen. Chambermaid?
2
Trump is an autocrat who always claims to be the victim. While his claims generally seem absurd to those who follow the mainstream media in the alternate universe of the right wing media he appears to justified with truth not mattering and conspiracy theories mattering a lot. With much of social media also spreading lies Trump has the ability to act like an autocrat and get away with it. This is a precarious situation for democracy.
1
It doesn't take a gifted historuan to associate Trump's "purge" with dictators past and present.
Trumpism, is not unique as it's appeal to an all powerful "leader" as opposed to democratic rule of law was the engine of 20th Century fascism and continues today.
"Blood and Iron" or "Race and Power" still creates religious devotion in the 21st Century as Mussolini once noted that, "Fascism us a religious concept. "
If fascism indeed is still a religious idea disloyalty to the self proclaimed "Chosen One" is a mortal sin which under most dictators carried a death sentence.
Trumpism as it destroys the Justice Dept and State Dept along with defiance of Congressional Oversight is modern fascism.
1
This is NOT normal and we need to remind ourselves of that every single day until this disastrous president and the officials in his administration are removed from office.
Permit one addition/correction:
...until this disastrous president and the officials in his administration, AND ALL HIS REPUBLICAN ENABLERS IN CONGRESS, are removed from office.
2
How can anyone blame him? Trump has been harassed and literally ‘persecuted’ from day one.
I would not just purge, but sue them all.
1
Man, I wish I had the time (and interest) to troll Trump. (I used to be a master troller, and even got called on to deal with kooks on USENET by friends almost becoming one of them ("he who fights monsters") - there's even an alt.fan.* group created for me. I grew up.)
It's easy enough to get under his skin. Rather than do legal stuff like impeachment, the goal should be to get Trump to impode/explode on his own. I think it's doable but otherwise we'll be having a US of Trump. Sad.
Alas, who IS to stop him.
I'll give him a few more months until he cancels the 2020 presidential election. Probably the reason will be something to do about national security and he's the only one who can save the nation.
2
Someone should tell the Donald (Speaker Pelosi perhaps?) that nothing in the Constitution says impeachment has to be “one and done”.
2
I only wish I could say with assurance that the mass of American people don’t give a hoot about who Trump likes or dislikes.
No one will stop him. John Roberts? He's in Trump's pocket. Mitch McConnell? Don't make me laugh. Vladimir Putin? My guess is that he's very happy with his real estate investments.
4
I find myself thinking that I am glad that I am not bringing up young children anymore.
We taught our children that even if we disagree with people, we treat them with respect.
And we taught them that even if our country sometimes went wrong, and our leaders made bad decisions, our country stood for democracy, forward movement on civil rights, and we taught them about the cherry tree, and George Washington who said, "I cannot tell a lie."
What now?
3
The Lincoln rules
We stand in one of those moments in time when in scifi novels they send a person back in time to the' hinge moment' to avert a horrible future.
There are 3 ways to check Trump. The simplest way is for all good Americans to rise up, see the danger and vote him out of office. If that fails ( once again because of the electoral college) then we have to hope the Senate swings to the democrats
The senate is up for grabs, and the democratic party should be investing all its treasure in the states where a republican can be ousted, but knowing Doug Jones will probably lose in Alabama because i doubt a pedophile will run against him this time, this becomes a long shot.
The third way to check Trump is the most radical, but desperate times call for desperate measures:
It was Abraham Lincoln himself who said: "This country, with its institutions, belongs to the people who inhabit it. Whenever they shall grow weary of the existing government, they can excercise their revolutionary right to overthrow it."
Every American with a soul most vote on election day, and if Trump win the electoral but loses the popular vote by more that the 3 million he lost it last time, lets say its a whopping number like 5 million or 10 million, that it is up to the American people to overthrow the electoral college and pick their own President in the manner of every other country on earth, by strict voter majority. Our greatest President has given us our marching orders.
3
Can anyone say that any President would have kept
the Vindman twins on in the NSC ?
Lt. Col Alexander Vindman purposively met with
EC, the Whistle Blower, to tell him about the phone call.
Vindman thought he had the right to influence US policy
concerning the Ukraine.
I am still waiting for the 25th Amendment to be invoked.
Meanwhile the NY Times needs to stop showing a
"raging Trump", in its pictures of him, I know it hard
to find a picture of Trump being calm, but be fair as
you can be as a Newspaper, even though it is difficult.
2
To the demi god Donald Trump every message is a message from on high. Like Zeus he throws down his vengeance on the world. Sometime I think he forgets that he is a fat old unhappy in his deepest soul who has forgotten how to be human.
4
It has become meaningless entertainment, like Gilligan's Island level boring, season 4 episode 32. The man now resembles a cardboard cutout with the volume control stuck at 11, a store display nobody can figure out how to turn off and the only way to get rid of it is to throw it in the dumpster.
But wait. All the garbage control specialists are on holiday. The threshold of entertainment vs. governance has been crossed and there's no going back. It's a true situation comedy turned tragedy. A situation tragedy.
5
@Siebert
Actually it seems like this Trump Administration is a re-run of "House of Cards".
5
I hope Susan Collins and the rest of the Republican senate are proud of themselves. They succeeded in letting a plague have free reign. We now have a leader in Washington who has the brain of a rabid dog. When he was in New York city we could laugh at his stupid antics. We can't laugh anymore.
15
@joyce So disappointed in Collins and Murkowski. I had hoped women in power would not just try to imitate the males but stand for something. Murkowski's vote is the scariest for she states that she thinks what the Republicans did is wrong, but since it is a sham and she can not change it anyway, she went aheaded and voted with them. What?
2
It’s “free rein”, as when you drop the reins from your hands and let the horse wander at will.
1
Trump unleashed!
1
American democracy has always been more promise than reality. Our founding documents speak to liberty and freedom while legally denying large segments of the populist full representation and participation in our system of government. Despite its failings, American democracy was always on the ascendency. Over time, wrongs were righted and peoples previously denied the franchise were (slowly) welcomed under the tent. Those gains were achieved at the same time that our system of government became more transparent by virtue of congressional and judicial oversight, the Freedom of Information Act and vigorous protection of press First Amendment freedom. We have always been an imperfect union, but until 2016 we continuously strived to correct that which prevented us from realizing the full benefits of freedom and democracy.
Donald Trump was, from the start, a profoundly flawed leader. Future generations will look back on this era with confusion - how did we possibly allow things to slip so far from the promise of America. Every day we wake to news that is worst than the day before, and the unimaginable realization that he was right from the start, nothing he does will dissuade his followers from supporting him. By refusing to hold him accountable for serious breaches of his oath of office, the GOP controlled Senate has removed any restraints from this undisciplined man. He will extract vengeance for perceived slights because those who should provide a check have failed.
2
Trump's Senators will give lip service in opposition to the retaliatory actions Trump is taking. The public is witnessing the Senator's doublespeak but it only matters to the Senators if the White House approves, and they do. The President loves it when his Senators say one thing and then do another, so long as that other thing that the Senators do subordinates them to the President.
4
Attacking witnesses and whistle blowers, twisting the justice arm to protect guilty friends, favouring his own financial interests, preventing investigations by the congress by blocking witnesses subpoena, twisting elections through gerrymandering and tampering with the electoral list, playing with the air and water quality in the interest of economy at the expense of the people, barring scientific advice are hallmarks of dictators. And I don't count the thousands of blatant lies.
I do not see the difference between Trump and dictators anymore. And the best is yet to come.
The US is not a democracy anymore.
4
Trump was not really acquitted, since the jurors had not heard the evidence yet. He's still under impeachment.
8
President Trump is a leader who is turning all of us into what we were not....I find myself (uncharacteristically) hoping that he is "going to go through some things."
8
The US is becoming more and more like Russia. Oligarchs govern. Politicians subdued. What is the next step?
13
The often overlooked absurdity of the Stone intervention is the prosecutors had already recommended a lenient sentence. Stone's multiple felonies carry a maximum charge of 50 years in prison. 7-9 with the likelihood the judge will knock it down even more is nothing but generous. Stone would probably get 5 and be out in 2.
Now that Trump has stepped into the process, everything is a mess. The judge is going to have a hard time sentencing Stone based on anything less than the original recommendation. Trump will then probably use the harsher sentence he created to justify commuting or pardoning Stone. Roger Stone ends up serving little or no prison time at all.
You can see where things might go down hill from there.
12
Trump has reduced the presidency to a series of playground squabbles. He lacks the critical thinking skills and the capacity to resolve the major issues affecting our nation.
Currently, his personal feuds and the democratic party's sorting out of a candidate to oppose him in the next election are dominating the headlines.
Too, the Manchurian Candidate, Jerome Powell keeps printing money to mask our underlying economic problems. Rising markets are a great narcotic.
5
The real threat is that once trump and barr have opened witch hunts into all of trump's adversaries within the federal government, what is to stop him from going after ordinary people? Barr has so emboldened trump's criminal behaviors with his complicity, it's not a stretch to see federal investigations into anyone making any negative comments about him. Whether on the pages of newspapers or tweets, or even facebook, barr has signaled that he is more than happy to prosecute people for either following the law, doing their civic duty, or simply exercising their first amendment rights.
12
Just as North Korea is doing at this time: if the citizens don’t appear sufficiently joyous or grieved, depending on the situation, they can be arrested.
I don't know what is sadder...that the president is allowed to openly attack and punish whistleblowers or that the electorate sits silently and allows it. Where is the American spirit that advocates for democratic principles?
10
@Sierra
It's still there but shouted down by too many people supported by too many (so-called) legislators. Sad display of democratic principles being discarded by those who should know better.
5
@Sierra :
The American spirit was a wonderful thing, until it became road kill beneath the wheels of Fox "news."
2
@Stephen Agreed.
2
I live in a zip code in North Carolina which is known as Democratic stronghold. But I have been getting phone calls from Republicans who look like robocallers. But there seem to be real, live people calling, saying that "we" must hold the senate as Republican and only 3 senators can be replaced to hurt Trump. "He was acquitted, you know." Save-the-endangered-Trump phone calls suggest Trump is not as secure as his public image seems to show.
11
In a comment denying DoJ meddling yesterday, Trump said he did not, but repeated the line that it was his "absolute right" to take the actions if he chose to do so. He and his toadies have repeated the same grounds for the firings and re-assignments. I forget which Republican member of Congress or Administration official first used the term "absolute right," but it is wholly incorrect. Any government official has exactly the same RIGHTS as every other citizen. The power they are clumsily trying to reference is presidential AUTHORITY, which is not absolute and is (or used to be) limited by the Constitution and the citizens' reservation of their collective rights.
5
Or I suppose you could just say that the president doesn't like to rely on advice from Obama era holdovers, who have made clear they despise the current president and think he is a criminal (as well as, in some cases, having been shown to be incompetent, as well)?
Would anyone like such people working for them? Of course not. But it's more fun to once again condemn an action that every president would take, in similar circumstances, and pretend that Trump is actually the devil.
1
Exercising legitimate authority doesn’t include pardoning Arpio or unilaterally reducing Stone’s recommended sentence. It doesn’t include using a private — unpaid! — attorney to carry out foreign policy.
The country does not belong to Donald Trump. The government does not work for him. He, and the other government employees, are paid by the American taxpayer. He works for us. That obliges him to uphold the law, not to use it for his personal advantage and satisfaction.
19
@james Political appointees are one thing, but many of these are career professionals, who pledge their loyalty to the people and constitution of the United States. The new standard for success is measured only by loyalty to the Chief Executive, and unwavering support for his opinions. Bringing knowledge and experience to decision making has no place in a Trump government
11
No pretense needed. Trump is a lifetime hardened criminal and you have to act malevolently deaf and blind not to know it. Just like the US Senate. Evidence? We don’t need no stinkin’ evidence.
Remember how Nixon was vilified for his “enemies list”? It’s amazing how our standards have eroded. Now it’s just business as usual. At least in the current administration.
11
RIP rule of law in the United States. Very sad to have to see this. how would someone feel if this kind of thing happens to them, if someone commits a crime against you or your family and the president interferes on the behalf of the criminal to save them from complying with the law, how is this possible? no one can stop this now. I wonder how people in congress can sleep at night and how voters feel when they see these actions. is this the kind of president you want? is this the kind of country you want to live in, where people get away with crimes?
5
I recall another President who kept an enemies list. And in the good old days, remember how that worked out.
Boy, how times have changed!
9
Nice going, Susan Collins and Lamar Alexander. You thought Trump learned his lesson from being impeached. (It's what you said; but of course you knew better.) What he learned is that Senate Republicans will do nothing to restrain him. God help the United States of America.
14
With a Senate Democratic majority in November 2020, the impeachment enquiry should be reopened with additional evidence.
2
Vengeance, revenge, call it whatever, the bully in the White House relishes dismissing anyone who defies him. With him it's a game. He is so callous that he doesn't care if he hurts or insults anyone. He must have had a very sad life growing up. It's not so much what he does, but rather the way he goes about it.
Sen. Collins must be living in la-la land. Dream on Ms. Collins.
Let's dismiss this administration and put someone in the White House who understands and respects our Constitution. Someone who will bring our country back together again instead of dividing it. Someone who will not be BFF with the dictators of the world. We need so much better than what we have now.
3
Aside from a complete absence of empathy, a persistent sense of victimhood and resentment is the most identifiable symptom of a narcissist. The US Senate has guaranteed us all that we will see this many more times while Trump is still in power. We are all living inside the distorted perceptions of an extremely powerful person with a chronic personality disorder. Brace yourself: This is how it will be until Trump is gone.
16
Who is to stop him? It certainly will not be the Senate Republicans, now lap dogs rather than honorables, sycophantic rather than courageous. It will have to be the American voter in November. Register to vote. Give money to the DNC and to your favorite candidate. Work in the campaign of the eventual winner of the Democratic primaries. That means you, too, if you are a Republican who respect decency and respect for American traditions and the Constitution and its separation of powers. If you are afraid of the word Democratic socialist, listen to Joe Walsh, Republican candidate in the primaries against Trump, who said on national TV that he would support a socialist over Trump because Trump is a dictator. If you are a Bernie Brother and Bernie doesn't win, swallow your gall and vote for the Democrat candidate for president, even if it turns out to be a billionaire. We have a Republic to save.
3
There is a large slice of America that for so long, repressed their contempt for anything intellectual - especially for concepts they didn't understand. They are like children, forced to wear dress clothes at a meal and observe decorum. In walked their boorish cousin who told them that anything goes - smash the china, engage in food fights and cuss all you want. It's all good because someone else will clean up the mess tomorrow morning. And then there are people who are Trump supporters but aren't boorish and they will tell us in a sheepish way that they don't care for Trump's manner and when pressed, they'll go to great lengths to try to explain Trump firing Vindman or talking derisively about McCain being a POW. What they're really saying is that money is more important than all of that and we should not take seriously Trump's desire for vengeance.
10
Trump's actions just prove how really incapable he is of governing. Really? Hoping a highly respected Lt Col is somehow punished for speaking the truth.
The real horror is Donald Trump and his GOP treasonous enablers.
As for TRump being safe from impeachment. Some of these actions could lead to yet another round of rightly deserved impeachment. Maybe Trump can be the ONLY occupant of the WH to be charged twice with high crimes and misdemeanors.
10
@stefanie - but not removed from office. He is totally loved by his Spineless cultists in the Senate!
@George They are not cultists--simply greedy corrupt people who want to keep their money and power. If Pence was less wooden and more winnable they would have dropped Trump in a heartbeat.
So it looks like our southern neighbors continue their slide towards imperial rule, with the senate and department of justice ceding their powers to the Princeps. Students of history might recognize the parallels. Is this the end of the modern experiment in democracy?
10
How many more lives are to be shattered by this American president as he punishes courageous people for telling the truth? For Trump's own sake, his friends should escort him off stage and get him so help.
7
Uh, yeah. It's good to be the King. To those who chose to defy him, what were you thinking? I'm astounded that there are folks who feel they have freedom of action AND freedom from consequences. The hard lessons are the best learned.
3
Trump's February 6 East Room speech is one for the pages of American infamy, not simply for what was said, cruel and vindictive though it was.
Seated before the podium were men and women of accomplishment and position, some who have been around for decades and witnessed Presidential speeches of an altogether different kind.
Yet many of these same people, seasoned Republican politicians in particular, grinned and clapped as “Don” Trump commended them for shutting down impeachment.
One felt embarrassment for them and the country.
America has fallen under the influence of a vindictive mob boss and a collection of shameless underlings.
14
A small man with zero humility. The OJ Simpson of Presidents could well end up being the only POTUS to be twice impeached.
Ms Pelosi and Mr Schiff should open permanent hearings into his gratuitous abuses of power and sue for all of Trump Inc's tax records.
The only true way to hurt this tiny man is to hit him where it hurts, in his wallet.
9
Vindman STARTED the impeachment. He was not allowed by Schiff to testify on that part.
Lt Colonels are not supposed to run their own policies inside the WH.
The only question is why didn't Trump replace everyone connected with Obama at the beginning. They sure continued to work for Obama... Better late than never, though. It's a cautionary tale.
2
You seem to be unaware that the federal civil service is in the employ of the American taxpayer, not Donald Trump.
The United States invented the civil service. It had to, to replace the very system of patronage you seem to think does and should exist. It produced a bureaucracy largely free of corruption and bribery, a model for the world. Don’t be so quick to condemn it just because "the Obama people" think the law is more important than the president.
6
@novoad,
Pure disinformation, Comrade.
Yavanovitch and Sondland were both Trump appointees and Vindman became a soldier way before Obama lifted the US from Dubya’s economic depression.
Nice try though — knowing that free speech is not allowed in Soviet Russia.
Trump was treated horribly. The facts kept chasing him around until McConnell found a way to kill them.
Trump lovers think he was been under unfair attack since he won the presidency but they neglect to consider that Trump daily, hourly, supplies fuel to the fire. This fact is both Trump's greatest weakness and his greatest strength (aside from the propaganda machine at Fox News). It is a strength because those who signed away all questioning to Trump take the noise flowing in and around the White House as a definitive sign that Trump is on their side and being targeted by the establishment. It is his greatest weakness because, at some point, perhaps in the November voting, people are going to say ENOUGH of this nonsense.
If Trump supporters were even moderately judicious (ha!) they would confine him to this one term feeling satisfied that he had "accomplished" all he was likely to do. Instead, most will seek vindication, as if Trump's bloated ego had melded with their own, as if they had to have him back to prove he was right to be there all along.
If all the fluffy coverage about how much Trumpsters love him, it is hard to tell if there is a counter movement rising from these ashes but it appears there is one gaining strength.
6
Bravo, especially for your third paragraph. I’ve been comparing Trump’s fervid backers to kidnap victims who have become absorbed into a Stockholm Syndrome of sorts.
Or they are just childish.
Mr. Trump is one tough dude; he wants to win, whatever it takes to win, he'll do it. Those who don't support him pay a price for not doing so. People learn from experience and observation that he's in charge. Mr. Trump is just the president America needs.
3
@Ronald B. Duke
Trump is not tough, everyone around him is a cringing, craven, weasel; there's a big difference.
69
@Ronald B. Duke
Words to raise our children by.
11
The difference between a Democracy and a Monarchy is we don’t put our opponents’ heads on pikes. In a Democracy we would be the loyal opposition, not the enemy. It’s not wrong to have reached the limit of tolerance and taken action on Trump’s seeking foreign help in our election. He is an unrepentant repeat offender. In ordinary times he would have expressed regret and moved on. Or at least would have been quietly grateful for his Senate support and moved on.
But since Fox News and Rush Limbaugh went on the air, the Republican Party has turned into a vicious gang and anyone who dares defy them gets offed. We don’t have a US Attorney General, we have a Fox News Attorney General who will prosecute Trump’s enemies, pardon his thugs and investigate all the conspiracy theories that have been debunked as Russian propaganda but live on at Fox. Today we learn that Vinman won’t just be fired; he will be prosecuted. What criminal action will AG for Fox News bring against Romney? It’s only a matter of time until we are a Democracy in name only and the White House will be surrounded by Republicans’ enemies’ heads on pikes.
460
@L osservatore the mainstream media has never been as partisan or overtly dishonest as the
modern conservative attack media machine. In the past some conservatives didnt want to be contradicted by anyone and the modern conservative media gave such conservatives a safe bubble of delusion.
This new conservative media gets a lot of financial support and legitimacy from powerful conservative backers who do not want a government getting in their way. Lies and hysterical smears proved more effective than trying to influence the public through traditional journalism
48
@Sherry
My brother went on jury duty this week. Unlike the Republican Senators, he was not allowed to say that he had better things to do, or to complain that listening to witnesses would take too much time.
The Senate's "deliberations" were a farce and the acquittal should not be taking seriously.
60
@Sherry
Between a (non-constitutional, autocratic) monarchy and a democracy, there must be a transition. Logically, such a transition would go through oligarchies. So, when we keep insisting that we are a democracy, let's remember we are being idealistic. Nothing wrong about that aspiration, but to make our aspirations get nearer to reality, we must constantly seek ethically sound practicalities.
That surely means we MUST find ways that rid our societies and organizations of the loss of fairness intrinsic to what is often called the rise of the "0.1 percent" and the concomitant of our elections of such people as Trump and Johnson. In that context, it is philosophically essential to bear in mind that IMF studies have been showing for some years that egregious inequality is associated with violence and civic unrest.
So, isn't it time for the New York Times and the so-called 'Democratic establishment' to take the IMF's warnings seriously? If that means the directions indicated by Sanders and Warren must be supported for a few years, then that it also means that people like Michael Bloomberg, Tom Steyer, Joe Biden, Amy Klobuchar, and Pete Buttigieg must consistently and responsibly act in ways that nourish a strong shift to the left.
8
Trump’s first mistake in office was not cleaning house immediately. Many of the Obama holdovers were mere saboteurs. Understandable that he didn’t broom many of them sooner since Trump really was an outsider. But he waited too long.
22
@Keith Colonna
Sure, if Trump’s plan was to obstruct justice, obstruct Congress, and try to strong-arm a foreign leader into helping him politically, he really should have gotten rid of those Obama holdovers immediately. That would have made it so much easier for him to do whatever he wanted, regardless of the ethical and legal considerations.
151
@Keith Colonna, this has nothing to do with “Obama holdovers”. That’s not what we call dedicated public servants who serve in the military or State Department. Your very words indicate ignorance of the oath they take when they assume their careers. The same oath the man you defends ignores on a daily basis. Trump is an outsider who will now always be designated as the frustrated and vindictive bumbler he is. In the metropolitan NY area, we knew this before 2016 from his repeated failed real estate and business endeavors. Unfortunately, much of the rest of the country failed to heed the warnings and we all are paying a heavy and lasting price for the damage.
144
@Keith Colonna you say this becuse trump was actually elected to put down the non conservative half of the country by any means necessary. Trumps purge of the rest of us who are not "real American" enough is what MAGA is all about. Its all about punishment. My question is can a Democrat populist now enact vegence the way trump has? Is this the kind of politics that makes us great again?
66
Even in ‘right-to-work’ states where almost every employee, public or private, is an at-will employee who may be fired for any reason or no reason, an employee may not be fired for an illegal reason. Retaliating against a whistleblower witness and using retaliation to intimidate witnesses is statutorily illegal. Is that crime blatant enough for Republicans? Never.
12
The GOP has enabled the stable genius. They emboldened him with the acquittal. We must hold the GOP responsible for everything the stable genius does.
We must vote them all out of office!
15
I cannot help but wonder what will happen after he loses in November. He will have ten weeks in which to pardon anyone who has praised him. Ten weeks to pardon his family, his businesses, his Vice President. Ten weeks of consequence free mischief.
He probably won’t be able to inflict too much lasting pain, but that won’t stop him from trying. Any executive order that will allow more pollution, any order that will line his pockets. Any directive to Barr to begin prosecuting his “enemies.”
And if this nation has fallen so far as to re-elect him, then his petty vengeance plans will be unlimited. It would take a Democratic super-majority in the Senate to keep him from tearing the nation apart, and that is unlikely to happen in any election that retains him.
He must be defeated. Soundly.
12
He will outlaw the Democratic Party.
That’s what Putin would do. Then he would start to chase down and murder any opponents who had fled.
1
The American people have some score settling to do with Trump. Once he loses the election he can not use the Presidency as a shield against prosecution. It is my fondest hope that he will be tried, convicted and jailed for the myriad of criminal acts he has committed. And sitting in adjacent jail cells will be Donald Trump, Jr. and WIlliam Barr.
14
Ironically, many of the saddest, most unprophetic and hypocritical comments about Trump's acquittal came from the mouths of his most vocal supporters when, in lockstep, they proclaimed he had learned his lesson and, as a 73-year old, would not repeat his mistakes again. What could go wrong?
10
Think many times about vetting a potential president, for there are many Trumps in the crowd. His extreme sense of majesty and his intolerance for all, make Trump the worst president this country has ever had. But not necessarily the worst we will ever have judging by those who support and enable him. He has a foot hold and he will not let go without a very big push.
5
Trump was an angry, combative child, and remains so in his 70s. The extreme depth of his insecurity is reflected in the
panicky way he responds to adverse events. Maybe his emphasis on vindictiveness is meant somehow to appeal to his voter base. Maybe he thinks it makes him seem "strong." Maybe someone in his family will explain to him that he has it completely backwards. Throwing a hissy fit when other people obey the law instead of the Donald shows his lack of self control and his persistent disrespect of the law. The supposedly most powerful man in the world should work on trying not to have a tantrum when things don't go as he would like. I believe he is incapable of acting presidential, but if he could calm down a bit, that would be progress.
1
"And who's to stop him?
The answer is NO ONE.
Not even the voting public as we know by his "win" against Hillary, who indeed did win the popular vote and should be president.
Oh, I forgot, the popular vote doesn't count, only the Electoral College. We should all bow down and worship it.
9
Firing a twin brother? Interfering in Stone's sentencing? Republican Senators got what they wanted, King Trump. More than ever, the Trump rallies look like Germany in the 1930's. Whoever wins the Democrat nomination, get behind her/him, because we are in a fight to preserve a civilized society.
20
You didn't see this coming?
You KNEW he was not going to be removed by the Senate, and did the impeachment anyway, delighting in how enraged he was about it all.
So this is of course what had to happen. There was never any question.
1
To answer Ms. Cottle, those of us who understand the evil being done by Trump and his followers in and out of government are the ones to stop him and them.
OK, write and read the essentially redundant anti-Trump et al. comments in the Times and similar venues. But the real action must be active political campaigning and financial support between now and the November election.
Volunteer to support Democratic candidates where you vote and in other states where Democrats have a chance of winning.
And because political campaigns cost money, contribute whatever you can, and maybe a bit more, especially to Democratic candidates for the Senate, for example Amy McGrath, amymcgrath.com, in Kentucky running against Mitch McConnell and Mark Kelly, markkelly.com, in Arizona running against Martha McSally.
It would be great to see 2 million Democrats sending $35 to each of those two true patriots, both highly decorated and experienced veterans.
5
It is frightening to witness a democracy turning into a dictatorship. Because this is exactly what Trump is: a dictator, enabled by the silence of those who were and are supposed to counterbalance him. He now knows he can do anything he wants, and will not be stopped. How many lives of honorable civil servants will this man destroy before the end of his presidency ? USA, sadly, looks like it is not anymore the land of the free and the home of the brave.
14
As has been said many times, Trump is a cowardly bully. He is reinforced by praise and adulation, bloating himself up like a giant frog as the love washes over him.
But he is a coward because he can’t summon the principled beliefs that he appears to hold. He can’t face opposition or criticism without striking back with greater force—as if every expression of doubt and disbelief hits like a hammer blow and drives him lower and lower. He isn’t the brave hero he pretends to be.
Beginning with Obama's election, almost all conflicts have been reduced to simple stories with simple morals, good guys and bad guys, and fairy tales with heroes and villains. All complexity has gone out the window. In this piece, for example, we're told who are the victims, who are the worthy victims, and who are the most worthy victims. And there's nothing else to be said.
Politics used to be nuanced. Not any more. It's all black and white. This reduces analysis to a third grade level. Most notably, based on the prevailing narrative, Trump is the devil, and there is nothing else to say. There is no meaningful debate here. The Times gives us an elementary view of the issues and those who comment here do the same.
This gross oversimplification suppresses free thought and thoughtful debate. Any analysis of Trump's actions that go beyond the word "immoral" is dismissed with scorn and anyone who adds a second thought to the mix is considered deluded. This renders the prevailing dialogue childish, and it causes great harm to popular debate..
4
The republican senators who voted to acquit this president of all charges stemming from the impeachment inquiry now whistle past the graveyard as the last shreds of co-equal branches of government are laid to waste like a bad remake of the Godfather. Whistle they go, pretending that an out-of-control president (the thought of such should put every legislator in Washington on high alert) is not a threat to the integrity, honor, and trustworthiness of the United States government. Whistle as the go, pretending that this new normal is not a complete abdication of their responsibilities to the American people. Whistle they go, whistle they go.
1
Romney ditched his principles to get far-left adulation? He was elected senator in Utah, by NOT the far left. Trump's White House staff is nothing short of a propaganda machine, but this makes no sense whatsoever. How does this hurt Romney? We have a childish president, duh, who's lashing out in very childish ways. It seems Trump's goal is to convince his base that Mitt Romney is a Bernie Sanders operative within the Republican Party. To what end?
2
The thought of enduring a second term with this childish, petulant pretender of a president is almost more than I can bear.
There is one positive aspect to the Trump debacle: Republicans have been forced to remove the mask. This is who they are. Take a good look, everyone. And vote accordingly.
10
I was stunned to see the most important story of the day, the week, the month, buried under story after story about the New Hampshire primary. What Trump and Barr did yesterday will make things like primaries —or opposition parties, or law—meaningless.
17
Who will stop Trump?
It's up to us, the voters.
Turnout is everything.
Vote Democratic - whoever the nominee is, he or she will be better than Trump.
Vote Democratic in your state's Congress seats.
Mitch McConnell is Trump's loyal servant.
Removing him will help stop Trump's damage.
Having the House and Senate under Democrats will hold Trump to the Oath of Office he swore.
Vote.
It's our only hope.
13
Had Trump had even a smidgen of understanding of the ruthlessness of Washington politics, he would have replaced all the Obama holdovers the day after he was sworn in - as almost all presidents have done on the advice of their political advisors.
Failing to do so has cost him a lot, and after the Russia Collusion LIe, and the Impeachment LIe, who can blame him for tidying up a little.
The NSC is supposed to be comprosed of trusted advisors, not opposition activists in uniform.
2
How about all his appointees who have lost their jobs and have nothing good to say about him? This isn’t all Obama holdovers with a grudge to settle as you suggest.
The burden of Trump's actions will fall heavily on the GOP for decades to come, and on the nation and the world for even longer.
- End of Story.
5
It's worth remembering that revenge is a theme in the story of Frankenstein's monster. The monster seeks revenge after being abandoned by its creator. Trump's "base" hasn't abandoned him, so the parallel isn't exact. But still...
1
Republicans who gutlessly gave Trump a pass in the Senate vote on the impeachment should now be terrified. Professional civil servants need to be secure from terror or the U.S. will lose one of its most important pillars of competitive advantage.
The benighted Stephen Bannon, Trump's chief strategist in the first months of Trump's term, called for the destruction of the Administrative State. Like all other non-oligarchs so far, Bannon was fired but has continued his radical agenda in
Europe. Bannon describes himself as a Leninist, a Bolshevik who rejects reforms for revolutionary change.
Bannon's strategy fits Trump's personality like a glove. Compared to Trump's extremism, Sanders is a moderate centrist who remains committed to the major institutions of the American Republic.
16
We hope that committees in the House who continue to investigate his "lawlessness" are taking good notes. They could consider setting a new precedent, a second impeachment trial.
14
What is stopping the House from starting another impeachment proceeding? There are plenty of possible charges.
24
Let’s ask Ms Collins if Trump has been restrained? She had told us that Trump has learned his lesson and would change. Does she think he did that?
Let’s ask each and every one of the Republican Senators who will be up for elections this November, what happens when the President of the United States changes the sentence recommendations of prosecutors? What happens when impeachment witnesses are retaliated against by the President?
31
My wife and I are considering changing political party affiliation if Trump wins four more years. Frankly, we are concerned that we may be the target of political retribution. Perhaps we would see our taxes audited and scrutinized, or our children denied access to the private school we would like them to attend. We worry about how far the DOJ arm may reach to find us and we may protect ourselves by simply signing up to be RINOs. Does anyone else have similar fears?
15
Who’s going to stop him? How about Susan Collins? Lis Murkowski? Mitt Romney, the voice crying in the wilderness? Didn’t think so.
Even if Donald Trump is defeated in November, unless the Democrats take the Senate by a wide margin and enlarge their majority in the House, the best that we can hope for is stasis, a repetition of Obama’s last six years in office, when the GOP obstructed every initiative of a duly elected president. And on the sidelines, urging them on with his rants on Twitter, an aggrieved Trump.
The answer isn’t just defeating Trump. The answer is burying the modern Republican Party so deep under the detritus of their horrible policies that it can never emerge.
88
@Ockham9
Yes it's pointless to defeat trump if the dems don't take the senate. trump controls the AG, the supreme court and the senate. if he refuses to leave the white house in november it doesn't matter who is elected. he will declare the election invalid and roberts will refuse to administer the oath of office to the new president. the AG will start "investigations" into voter fraud. trump will not leave the white house. who is to stop him? our democracy is gone.
Vote, especially if you live in a battleground state. Our institutions will not save us.
58
Winning the battleground states will not be enough to be rid of the imperial republicans. They must suffer a routing defeat along with trump so that our country can return to being a democracy again. We must elect to Congress and the presidency those who can read and understand the laws of our Constitution . One vote per person......rid us of the corporate rule. After this year it may be too late. We must have a Congress again before we lose to the oligarchs.
16
President Trump is unstoppable. He will win again in November but with much larger numbers this time. Twenty five percent of those attending his New Hampshire rally were Democrats. If Bernie Sanders should win the Democratic presidential nomination, that number should rise significantly. He is just too liberal for the country and the voters will agree.
15
I feel like I've been at war just reading this. How long will it be before these ideas turn into violent actions?
27
@KK
People turn to violence when legitimate means to obtain justice and other basic needs, fail.
1
This newspaper keeps normalizing Trump. The actions of William Barr's DOJ today were reported with all the Republican spin presented as fact.
Even now, if a DOJ spokesperson or leaker tells the reporter that this has nothing to do with Trump and the people at DOJ "never spoke" to Trump, it is reported as if it is true. But even worse, this newspaper portrays the entire story if Trump is totally exonerated if the guy at the DOJ who ordered this did not speak directly to Trump!
The fact that top DOJ officials from Barr's office intervened to reduce Roger Stone's sentence is corrupt. Period. And this newspaper still reports it as if reporters and the public must accept that this action is perfectly fine without a full public confession UNDER OATH by Trump that he ordered it.
It is absurd. What is happening is wrong because the actions are clearly reprisals and there doesn't need to be a confession by Trump under oath before any journalist can be sure that it wasn't just a very happy coincidence that Trump's DOJ gave Trump exactly what Trump publicly announced he wanted!
82
@RJ I agree that the NYTimes, while I love it, has failed in this respect. Check out the new email newsletter Press Run. An ongoing progressive critique of the media that rings all too true. It’s run by Eric Boehlert.
9
I applaud your clarity and analysis. I do not know why the NYT is doing this - but I imagine the money side has a say in this.
7
Don't forget his actions to pardon the war criminal Eddie Gallagher, in direct conflict with the recommendations of the military courts. Punishing the innocent and absolving the criminals, including his grifting self and family, at an ever-escalating pace. That's what we have to look forward to if we don't all work to get behind the eventual democratic nominee, NO MATTER WHO THAT MAY BE. The similarities between the Democrats far outshine the differences. We must commit to work together post-July.
85
All politicians do this - they need to to keep the troops in line. Democrats as well. To cite a recent example
"Pelosi gets revenge against one of the Dem rebels"
"Rep. Kathleen Rice loses out on a Judiciary seat after opposing Pelosi’s return to the speakership."
"House Speaker Nancy Pelosi exacted revenge against one of her most outspoken detractors Tuesday night, blocking Rep. Kathleen Rice from landing a seat on the high-profile House Judiciary Committee."
"The effort came despite a full-court push from the New York delegation to secure a spot for Rice, a former prosecutor, on the panel that oversees everything from impeachment and guns to immigration."
Politico, 01/15/2019
Kindly note : "The effort came despite a full-court push from the New York delegation "
That is , Ms. Pelosi action damaged the political standing of NY .
6
Nowhere near equivalent. I think you know that.
1
Apples and Oranges.
If a Democrat is ever elected President again (and I certainly hope it will be this November!), one of his/her first acts should be to create an incentive program to rehire every government employee who departed during the Trump administration. Give these career employees, who have been true patriots, an opportunity to return to their former positions, along with a nice “hardship bonus” for the abuse they had to endure while working under Trump.
72
Our laws and Constitution are being ignored, and even ridiculed, everyday by Trump and the Republicans. No Democracy can prevail when these events become routine. I’m not sure it matters anymore about how things were organized in the past, because if Trump is re-elected, there won’t be any recognizable organizational structures being used. There certainly won’t be any people who are able to think and act independently on the White House premises. More than four years of Trump in charge and there will be nothing but chaos and despair. Chaos and despair caused by the Republicans.
Please, citizens of America who recognize the damage being caused by Republican rule, VOTE THEM OUT!
81
It will be recorded that the Senate Republicans did not so much acquit Donald Trump last week as declare that there will henceforth be no such thing as impeachable offenses, that it's just politics whether you call it abuse of power or "shaking things up" - and you know what their politics are.
It is really coming down to this: are there more of us than them, and are we going to show up in November?
122
@Bill Levine: I can scarcely believe what I read people saying in his rallies. I know I can rely on as factual quoted passages in this newspaper. It also lines up with my experience listening to them. These people literally act as though they are brainwashed. I agree with you there is no reasoning with them. He’s following Putin’s playbook. It is so obvious. It is us or them. God help us if we don’t use what’s left of our democracy to eject him from power.
16
@Bill Levine
Oh, but there will be impeachable offenses if a Democrat is elected and Republicans control Congress! Wearing a tan suit, playing golf occasionally at Camp David, not showing your college transcript or your "real birth certificate". You know, bad stuff.
4
None of the people in the Executive Branch exist to serve the President. They may hold their jobs at his pleasure, but they all are supposed to ultimately serve to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution and the laws thereof. The President is supposed to respect that.
That Trump finds those who can tell and act upon the difference to be intolerable is an indictment upon him. Of course, none of that matters anymore in this new post-integrity America, or I should say MAGA America.
45
My fellow readers, I think its time to stop using the expression "History will not be kind to those who supported Trump." The last reasonably fair election of a president was Obama in 2012. After that the continuum stops and we enter into Late-stage Capitalism and its defeat of democratic government. American history as we know it is over - unless we somehow stop Trump in the 2020 election.
68
911 occurred on one of those beautiful fall days that can happen in N.Y.. As the DOJ covers up crimes and corrupts it's mandate, as the Constitution is shredded to applause and standing ovations, as our checks and balances are checkmated, as the philosophical foundations of our country crumble before my eyes, all the Republicans keep telling me is what beautiful weather we're having.
86
When fascism comes it will wrapped in the flag.
165
@Stephan
When it comes? It's already here.
6
@Stephan
We’re gonna need a bigger Flag.
5
And promoted on FOX.
7
If we keep our heads in the sand we have nothing to fear from Trump. Maybe.
4
What was that article of impeachment called? Oh yes, abuse of power. Well this is what abuse of power looks like.
No problem though, because if the president abuses his power, especially for personal gain, Congress can impeach him, as prescribed in the Constitution. Oh, but wait! We tried that and the Republicans said that was not grounds for impeachment because it does not involve violating a criminal statute. Darn it!
That means that the president can abuse his power and get away with it. Kinda sorta looks like Trump has figured that out.
153
@Bruce Rozenblit
If Trump violates a criminal statute, it will make no difference to the Republicans (save Romney, perhaps). We know that because he violated criminal statutes before the impeachment process and it made no difference.
22
@Bruce Rozenblit Me thinks they may have to indict a sitting president after all, to avoid anymore abuse of power by this president. He will be the first president to be indicted while in office. The Republican senators gave us NO other choice.
13
President Trump has learned his lesson well: he can give his middle finger to anyone who displeases him, and there will be no repercussions at all. What he has proven is that the American system of checks and balances was an illusion: the President can pack the Federal and Supreme Courts with whoever he wants (the Republican Senate will automatically confirm his choices, regardless of their competence) and that same Senate can block any legislation passed by the House. The electorate is the only thing that can stop him in November 2020, but the reality is that the incumbent almost always wins a second term. For those of us who want to see Trump out of office, it is a scary and sad time. The election will once again be determined by a small number of swing states, and for those readers in the NY/NJ area, that is not us.
40
@Pete
The incumbent usually does win a second term. But then, in 228 years the American electorate have never faced the like of incumbent D.J. Trump.
24
Its not just that Trump is a feral creature, it's that he has been able to normalize his bad behavior to the "Ho -hum Trump will be Trump" cliche.
The vengeance roll he is on now is quickly morphing in the media from criticism of his behavior, to a warning to all individuals, regardless of their status or position, that any criticism, or contrary activity, will be dealt with publicly, harshly, and with a "colorful" choice of words. Pink slips will be issued if within his reach.
And that is just normal.
43
The McConnell/Barr doctrine, recently approved by the Republican Senate: "It is not a crime if Trump says it's not a crime"
This covers all of Trump's personal criminal behavior and the crimes committed by his loyal henchmen. No doubt post election pardons will be handed out to All the President's Felons.
The next step down into the Trump authoritarian abyss is when McConnell and Barr finally acquiesce to Trump and expand the doctrine to include. "It IS a crime if the Trump says it is a crime". Arrests to follow.
Show trials will take more effort as judges and juries get involved. But who knows what the Republicans can accomplish if the electorate decides to give our democracy away and give Trump/McConnell/Barr another 4 years dismantle our justice system.
56
The President has the right to remove anyone he wants in the Executive Branch. Apparently, he also has a right to say anything he wants to anyone. He can tell the Justice Department to do anything he wants them to do within the law. As soon as Trump commits a crime or abuses his power in violation of our Constitution, the House will begin Impeachment proceedings. Meanwhile, we all suffer anxiety and embarrassment from his juvenile behavior. I hope Adam Schiff and Jerry Nadler are getting enough rest to fight again another day, soon.
34
Trump's vindictive anger and unwillingness to ever admit a mistake (consider: the "Sharpie" weather map) is simply a reflection of his pathological narcissism. Where are the "Patriots" in the Republican party to defend Co. Vindman, an immigrant, decorated military officer whose only "crime" (in Trump's warped vision) was to tell the truth?
In addition to his outbursts of vengeance, Trump abuses the National Prayer Breakfast to directly contradict Arthur Brook's keynote--based on Jesus' teaching--calling for politicians to "love your enemies." Where is the expected backlash from his evangelical supporters?
This man is promoting and normalizing incivility and hatred. He is no patriot and needs to be removed in the upcoming election so we can heal our country.
130
Too bad everyone in Wisconsin is going to hate the Democratic nominee and will have no choice but to vote for 45, or stay home like they did in 2016.
The election will not remove this monster.
1
I will stop THEM. I vow to never, ever VOTE for any GOP candidate the rest of my life, as before. And I will do everything in my power to convince others to Vow the same. Its the LEAST they deserve.
95
@Phyliss Dalmatian, while I’m sure we appreciate your wonderful sentiments, you are going to be working overtime out there in the heartland which sent him to the White House in the first place. Start by running a continuous loop of newspaper and TV ads with all his failures as a businessman, his failed marriages and publicly announced adulterous behavior, his wife’s nude photos on the front page (ought to offend the faux christians), and his repeated insults to women, the handicapped, the military and countless immigrants. We don’t even have to mention the defense of Putin’s policies.
5
I challenge every person to Donate $5 to Stacy Adams Fair fight campaign , to the payback campaign, or to a Democrat in a swing state race for each comment they make.
27
@As-I-Seeit, already done. I’m contributing to every Senate campaign in which a Democrat is running in a competitive race, and my Congresswoman who flipped our district after 30 years of incompetence.
@As-I-Seeit Um, it's Stacey Abrams.
Trump is guilty. He continues to put himself ahead of the country when he removes highly trained people, such as the Vindman brothers and Fiona Hill, from their positions. The taxpayer has trained these professionals and Trump is throwing our money away by removing them.
26
Who’s going to stop him? The voters, that’s who.
21
Only two words needed to describe his actions and motivations for his entire sordid Life: Spite and Greed. Anything else is just incidental.
NOVEMBER.
61
"And I will strike down upon thee with great vengeance and furious anger those who attempt to poison and destroy my brothers. And you will know I am the Lord when I lay my vengeance upon you."
These lines from Pulp Fiction unfortunately describe the nonfiction mindset of Trump in retaliating against those he believes are responsible for his impeachment (other than himself of course). Yet another reason why he is mentally and emotionally unqualified to be President.
25
Those lines quoted in pulp fiction are actually from the Bible the book of Ezekiel
1
I certainly hope that a military that thinks what Gallagher did is no big deal (murder people and pose with their bodies) would also support Vindman and his brother's careers.
11
Horrible times. All the more reasons to go all and vote in November. I hope the Dem candidate won't be Sanders. His extreme views won't get a majority. In exchange, either Buttigieg or Bloomberg could get many Republicans crossing lines. Trump must be stopped for the sake of this nation. Imaging four more years of Trump, Barr, McConnell, Pompeo, Jared, Don Jr and all the other repulsive and dangerous characters. God save us.
41
@Sam Th at this anyone but Trump would be better for America. If we can survive Trump’s to this point we can survive Bernie. One thing for certain 4 more years of Trump will literally destroy the America I grew up in.
2
Something tells me that no one wins this and it ends with a scorched earth. Could we possibly be more wasteful with our time?
6
Trump must have been severely beaten as a child, ignored, chastised, abused or otherwise neglected. There’s no reason why someone with his station in life should be so angry, so vindictive, so evil, so cruel, so vile, so horrible and so deeply troubled. Ask yourself: Would you let Donald Trump babysit your children or grandchildren? The answer will speak volumes.
52
@H. Clark he has infamously stated that everything he knows about life, he learned about age 8 and that he hasn't changed his views since. THAT'S the sick person occupying the highest office in our country. An old vainglorious man who's mentally 8 years old.
4
@H. Clark, he’s a prime example of why abortion should remain legal. Had we known, we all could have chipped in on his mother’s behalf.
2
Who's going to stop him? We are.
At the polls and,if necessary, in the streets.
This man is mentally ill and extremely dangerous. Ultimately, it's up to us to decide that this mafioso must go so we can restore our status among civil nations. How sad to have fallen so far.
95
Susan Collins has been shown to be an absolute fool this week. Trump learned absolutely nothing, and is behaving more like a dictator than ever before.
93
Collins always was an unprincipled fool, self dealing and corrupt. She just had a bit of acting skills.
7
@Jasmine Armstrong
Just this week? I thought that was determined long ago.
5
@Jasmine Armstrong
I really hope she gets kicked out of office
5
With every uptick of lawless behavior Trump ratchets up potential voter interference at the same time. If he can change a judicial outcome with a tweet, he can shoot someone on the street. If he can do either of those things, he can squirrel this election as surely as his pointy little finger can oppress a keyboard.
27
Everyone was in the loop...
These words will echo in history as we watch the desecration of our justice system and the shamelessness of those in this administration and the Republican Party who have sacrificed their honor and dignity to support a corrupt, immoral man.
Turns out the Deep State, in reality, includes the vice president, secretary of state, and attorney general. They flout the rule of law, led by Bill Barr who slants the truth, overrules career prosecutors who would rather resign than continue to work for him, opens a back channel for Rudy Giuliani and his conspiracy theories, and goes after Trump's political enemies like we're in a third world dictatorship.
This is NOT normal and we need to remind ourselves of that every single day until this disastrous president and the officials in his administration are removed from office.
756
@Morals Matter
"This is NOT normal and we need to remind ourselves of that every single day until this disastrous president and the officials in his administration are removed from office."
Removal from office will be just the beginning.
A hard cleansing must follow.
And I mean every single coconspirator, especially the careerists cult in Congress
They must pay for their naked assault on over 200 years of rule of law, traditions, norms, self-enrichment, and betrayal of public trust.
42
@Morals Matter
And we need the dems and the press to remind us daily and loudly. But they don't. Curious, this.
10
@Morals Matter
In orfe for Republicans to sacrifice their honor and dignity they require to possess said honor and dignity in the first place. I doubt they ever did.
14
We were taught about this as small children.
At home. In school. At church. On the playground.
Love prevails over hatred.
Truth wins over lies.
Forgiveness overcomes vengeance.
Reason is stronger than nonsense.
Facts win over made-up stories.
Consideration over rudeness.
Science over fantasy.
Fairness over cheating.
Justice overcomes malice.
Sharing is better than greed.
Friends take away fear.
Mr. Trump,
How can you have missed all of these simple lessons? Why are you always on the wrong side of every moral question?
617
@Tom W
I'm sure your question was rhetorical, but it has to be said: He wasn't taught any of those things. He was taught only that the ends (the greater glory and enrichment of oneself) justify the means.
88
@Tom W
Not only Trump, but also millions of his enablers, who have been given permission by Trump's behaviour to act according to the most base impulses without accountability. That is what the Trump's BASE means.
We all might have such impulses but we keep them in check for many reasons, which seem to be totally lost now in your country.
79
@Tom W
Trump was schooled by his father and by Roy Cohn that he must always win against any opponent, and aim to destroy the opponent in the process. Trump is extremely afraid of being seen as a "loser." I would guess that's a big part of why he over-reacts when he doesn't get his way.
28
These people serve at the pleasure of the President. What amazes me is that he didn’t clean house sooner.
18
@T Smith, And the President serves the people. What amazes me is that Senators, who represent a minority of voters, were able to keep the majority of voters from "cleaning house".
129
@T Smith: Who are "these people" you talk about? Trump has not been good at recruiting and keeping knowledgeable, experienced staff and advisers. But many people mentioned in this opinion piece are not presidential appointees and do not serve at the pleasure of the president at all. Take Mitt Romney, Nancy Pelosi, and Chuck Schumer, for starters. Then there are Adam Schiff, Doug Jones, and Joe Manchin.
116
@L It seems to me most of those Trump considers enemies are in fact trying to uphold the laws and the Constitution.
155
"Such gratuitous score-settling carries a whiff of the Cosa Nostra, in which talking to the feds results in one’s family being targeted — in part to send a message to other potential rats."
Of course Trump isn't really a mob boss (despite his impression being realistic) because he commits his stuff right out in the open. With a snap of his tweeting fingers, comes William Barr to the rescue with a preordained outcome to whatever the president demands.
So what if career prosecutors resign in protest? Barr's supply of ready to give up scruples lawyers is limitless. he's already replaced the one he needs in Washington.
A pundit predicted Barr won't stop until every single conviction during the Mueller investigation is reversed. And that doesn't count other investigations Barr launched just in case they missed something on the first and second try.
You gotta hand it to Barr: he sure works hard. Too bad, its for the wrong people.
407
@ChristineMcM "With a snap of his tweeting fingers, comes William Barr to the rescue" ? Just wait a little longer when some Trump related cases will reach the Supreme Court in the spring. Barr in his courageous rescue will be joined by these intrepid protagonists: Thomas, Alito, Gorsuch, Kavanaugh plus of course the superbly qualified Roberts.
41
@ChristineMcM Sorry, Christine, but the mob actually commit its crimes in the open--often in public places. So yes, tRump is a mobster, and unfortunately, he has the DOJ in his pocket, along with the frightening number of judges he and McConnell have pushed through. We are in this mess for the long haul--think lifetime appointments.
34
For gratuitous score settling, see the Russian Collusion Delusion and the framing of Colonel Flynn and Mueller Special Counsel as hatched by Comey.
With all of these McCarthyite tactics, expect eventual pushback.
1
I'm going to need some propping up through all of this. I'm a fighter, but I'm also in Texas where more than half the population is so uninformed that they actually support a political party that exploits and abuses them. Whatever happens, we who understand the corruption of our current administration need to support each other.
55
As one who lives in Kentucky, I share your grief and ask also for some support. We suffer from watching McConnell and Rand Paul, our two ignoble senators, pull the wool over the eyes of our state’s voters as well. It is almost more than I can face each day.
22
@Really? in Texas and @Demkey in Kentucky
I empathize with your situation in red states because I live in red Alabama. Some days, like today with the double whammies of Barr's interference on behalf of Roger Stone and Trump's wish to punish Lt. Col. Vindman, it is nearly impossible to take in the depth of corruption in the current administration.
The only way I am able to function now is to become involved in voter organization and registration. I would suggest that kind of involvement for anyone, but especially for those in red states--even though we are the ones least likely to see any success in overturning the GOP. where we live.
It has been the greatest comfort to spend time working with others whose eyes are opened to the reality of the sleaze oozing from the White House. Also I have been bolstered by being with those who can remember what America used to be.
And will be again. I was so inspired to see my Democratic senator, Doug Jones, stand on principle and vote to convict Trump of both articles of impeachment. That was an act of bravery and sacrifice.
Let's not forget the vow made by those who signed the Declaration of Independence: "We pledge our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor."
16
@Demkey, get out and vote. Work on Amy’s campaign. Contribute your dollars, if you can spare it or your time, if you cannot. Get out the under-30 vote by working on one of the get out the vote campaigns. You can change things.
5
Really America, this is where we are just before we celebrate Presidents Day? There is a dark cloud hanging over the current occupant of the White House and his actions show that it’s not leadership that he’s concerned about but destruction of an semblance of rule of law.
No surprise here. Another one of his cronies facing a long prison term after being convicted by a jury of his peers and Trump is promoting his deep state nonsense again.
Collectively, we have to be the adults in adults in the room when the duly elected republican representatives refuse to stand up to this tyrant. History will not be kind to people in power who know better and stand in silence in fear of this brute.
253
@PatMurphy77
He already ruined Fourth of July with his tanks and his Revolutionary War airports. Why not President's Day?
5
“The anger of a man does not achieve the righteousness of God.”
Book of James
10
Public servants’, whether civil or military, protect and defend the Constitution, not el presidente. Such a small man.
46
Who's to stop him? Who indeed.
9
It truly is winter in America.
30
@Jean
Old time ( I mean 19th century) Siberian winter.....
14
What's the sentencing range for Stone?
1
@joe new england
I'd say the range is now somewhere between probation and presidential pardon.
12
The mere fact that Trump has great prospects for reelection is a signal that this country is doomed to go the way of the Lambada
19
I am writing this, Ms. Cottle, so as not to run out into the street. Screaming. Gesticulating. Tearing out my hair.
Sorry to get to personal. But I just got off the phone, talking to the offices of my U.S. senator (Mr. Toomey), excoriating the U.S. Senate. That--
--having acquitted Mr. Trump after a sham trial, a nothing trial, a trial that was a whitewash from beginning to end--
--is likely to remain silent and servile as this man, Mr. Donald J. Trump--
--destroys the government of the United States--
--turning his baleful and malignant eye upon anyone--upon ANYONE--
--that has presumed to challenge him or (even worse) has presumed to tell the truth about him and the pitiful machinations he has resorted to--
--to remain in office. To preserve his power. To continue living (and defiling) the White House--
--the home of LIncoln and Roosevelt in time past.
Can we do nothing? Nothing?
What CAN we do?
Please tell me.
73
@Susan Fitzwater
I can't answer your anguished words for Ms. Cottle, but only for myself:
What CAN we do?
Vote in our millions this November. Vote in such overwhelming numbers that no monkeying with the vote, no Russian-inspired lies on Facebook, and no howls from the MAGA-hatted dupes can stop the grim determination of all of us who love Truth and Freedom to keep our Republic, drive this man and his enablers from power, and ensure that they are delivered up to real justice.
And among those who we must drive from defiled offices that they hold are every last elected Republican politician who has excused or defended Trump.
Let this be our high resolve and purpose. No one can stand aside from his or her duty to defend our country with our votes. And no quibbling over who might be the purest candidate we can pick to lead our struggle. When our democracy is restored we will have plenty of opportunity to debate specific policies. Now, the only priority must be: We the People SHALL have the last word.
32
@Susan Fitzwater, you can vote. You can work on political campaigns. You can donate to the campaigns of those Democrats running for Senate office in vulnerable state’s - NC, CO, AZ, ME, KY, AL. Most importantly, you can work on a get-out-the-vote or voter registration drives.
12
@Susan Fitzwater
What James and Joyce said - vote.
If the vote is over-turned by rigging: Time to get a gun.
4
Susan Collins, if she is true to the character she professes to be, should switch parties. She is either Charlie Brown to Trump's Lucy as football handler or just another GOP hypocrite.
24
@Hank Schiffman, she's a GOP hypocrite, through and through. Her vote for witnesses in the impeachment trial was a total con job, covered by Lamar Alexander's no vote on witnesses, and she voted to acquit. Just like she voted for Kavanaugh. She's been given political cover by McConnell so as to retain her seat (and by extension the Republican majority in the Senate).
47
She will be voted out! This bet I’m willing to make.
3
Wonderful headline, for the pious poseur who behaves just like the power-hungry conscience-less heads of gangs and mobs.
Vengeance, and also pardon. He has "sympathy" for strange Roger Stone, and so the sheep and the goats are separated by the Don.
He is practicing idolatry toward himself. How ironic that it took, among so many others, a devout Mormon to stand up to him. There will be more.
34
@Lee Let's hope there will be more......
15
There are a lot of people around this president who will one day be forced to view their own cowardice
52
Trump exhibits the finest qualities that a certain segment of Americans adore:
Vengefulness, spitefulness, persecution-complex, contemptuous of thoughtful public policy, a liar, a cheater, a tax-dodger, a draft-dodger, a scofflaw, a religious faker, and a limited command of English.
Time for the rest of America to soundly outvote these troubled folks on November 3 2020.
443
So, you think there will still be an election? I’m not so sure anymore.
26
@Socrates
He enables every category of non-achiever and self-appointed victim to excuse and rationalize his own failures and shortcomings.
Vicarious living at its finest.
17
@Socrates Excellent point. Thank you. To this day, I am struggling to believe that there are people in our country who otherwise are educated and appear to me as intelligent but who admire Trump and his doings. I just shake my head.
7
Wait until he figures out how martial law works.
34
@Slr, don't you know his advisors already have figured this out, and it is just another weapon in the arsenal, waiting to be unloaded at the right time and place (e.g., when he loses the election in November but doesn't want to vacate the White House)?
16
To those who ask where is the bottom, rest assured that with this creature there is no bottom. Stop reacting in horror like you couldn’t see it coming, gird your loins, nominate a viable candidate, don’t in a suicidal fit of pique if your candidate isn’t selected take your vote and stay home, and vote in November. Trumps base has always been a minority, you know that, so if you fail you have only yourself to blame.
55
Acquitted isn’t the same as innocent. OJ got off too, but eventually the universe catches up with these folks.
44
@Matt, from your mouth to the ear of god, if indeed there is one. It’s looking doubtful right now.
Donald Trump is devoid of any positive human attribute.
He lacks honesty. He lacks decency. He lacks kindness. He lacks generosity. He lacks thoughtfulness. He lacks intelligence. He lacks humor. He lacks forgiveness. He lacks humility. He lacks loyalty. He lacks courage. He lacks honor.
And such a person possesses more power than anyone else on earth.
One is forced to wonder how people felt in the early days of Hitler, thinking that all they knew and valued of their society couldn't possibly be slipping away. No one would cast aside all of the norms that allow a nation to function and allow a people to live in freedom.
I know it happened much faster in 1930s Germany. But when a person with no regard for anything other than himself and his accumulation of power--and with a burning desire to destroy anyone who criticizes him or challenges him--does whatever it takes to prevail...
I guess it feels like this.
168
@pczisny it didn’t happen much faster, though- this is quite literally history repeating, because these guys studied all the worst ideas and how to implement them.
5
A pox on the houses of Collins and Portman and Alexander. They are Trump's most willing enablers because they (among others) have known all along what a psychotic autocrat the president is. Do they have no shame? No sense of decency? No conscience? Their behavior is beyond despicable. History will record it as traitorous.
195
@g. harlan :
History, as is well known, is written by the winners. I wish I could say it's obvious that the right side will win Nov 3.
4
You forgot McConnell!
4
As Trump lashes out at all those that disagree with him, he is going to continue to lose support.
I'm not optimistic, just trying to be realistic. And if the Democrats don't all agree to fully support their eventual candidate, Trump may still win the election this November.
But he gradually grows more unhinged. He will probably pardon Stone if he gets a realistic sentence (which is now in doubt). And he may get his buddy Barr to "punish" Vindman. But among those voters who still support Trump, some are going to question his autocratic behavior.
22
@Richard Phelps Some will question his autocratic behavior, but not enough. Why? Because they fear his armed-and-ready cult-members.
1
@Richard Phelps
I would say, if Stone gets ANY sentence besides 30 days 'house arrest', there will be extreme retaliation against all those involved. Megalomania has taken over the WH; there is no limit.
Trump was the kid who had no friends in school because he was an incessant braggart. He swore revenge. He’d accumulate power, by God. He’d regale himself in the trappings of his father’s wealth, and those kids who shunned him would be eaten up by jealousy someday, when they reached adulthood and saw what an important person he’d become. There would be women. Private jets. Yachts.
In time, he became the denier of all his failures: the 6 massive bankruptcies, the failed casinos, the failed airline, the failed university, and the failed marriages were not, to him, failures: they were examples of where partners who could not keep pace with him, and/or yield to his superior intellect, instincts, and drive, eventually dragged him down and had to be discarded. That is what happens to his partners in failures: they are discarded, unless they are family members, or unconditional loyalists, who know better than to cross him.
He will win re-election in November because impeachment was not a failure: the Senate proved him right about that. Denial is the new model for acquiring votes, adoration, and loyalty from those trying to become better deniers, with him as their role model. Hatred from the non-deniers, those he vanquished, and the ones who (like back in school...) make fun of him every day is jet fuel for him and his followers. America is great again: any data suggesting the contrary are downright fun to deny. No one can beat him at Denial - it’s The New American Way, stupid!
194
@TM
Please don't give in to defeatism. That plays into Trump's hands (and those of the toadies who support him). Fight like heck to get him out--please! (And we especially need help from those of you in Pennsylvania!)
136
@TM
A friend of mine grew up with Trump in Queens. Her only comment is, "He never gave the ball back."
Enough said.
26
@TM
Good psychology, TM, but vkt's plea seems to me worth considering if you want to be more introspective than simply abandoning all hope that the New American Way can be better than it looks to you to be becoming.
7
Where are the hashish-eaters when you need them?
2
Well, once a paranoid, narcissistic, ignorant, thuggish authoritarian gets started, just ask the ghost of Stalin how far it can go.
Graham and Barr should start reading up on the dismal end of Bukharin.
112
Barr behind bars, disbarred.
4
With this amoral, vindictive egomaniac in the White House, someone like Bloomberg is looking better and better as the best alternative.
29
He clearly has a problem with anyone who makes him look bad. A mystery how his hairdresser and his spray tan guy continue to dodge the bullet.
48
@Uncle Monty Easy. Because when Trump looks in the mirror, he sees the man he was forty years ago. That is, provided he can bear to look himself in the mirror.
How come your "Comments are moderated for civility" and our President isn't?
158
@Charles Shafer If only someone, anyone, was able to moderate his behavior.
5
Maybe it’s a good thing there’s such a long list.
It might distract him from doing something really dumb like bombing Iran or some other country that really annoys him.
17
@Bronx Jon Or encouraging North Korea to bomb the West Coast and Saudi Arabia to bomb the East Coast. Would they do it? Sure, why not? Would he do it? Sure, why not? They're not going to vote for them, and Trump is just the sort of man to torch the parts of the country for scorning him, and if the middle gets caught in the fire, I'm quite sure that he wouldn't care.
Vengeance is mine saith the president. And Jesus? I am sure Trump thinks he is just a loser.
16
@Joan
Exactly. Case closed for President Trump, because Jesus, like John McCain, was captured and tortured.
In response to a favorable comment about John McCain, the self described "very stable genius" famously retorted:
“He’s not a war hero,” said Trump. “He was a war hero because he was captured. I like people who weren’t captured.”
12
@Joan Yes, I'm sure Trump has no sense of Christian values. Without over-drawing the comparison (I'm not sure we are there ... yet), if you read about the Nazi movement you will find that in the 1930s they created an alternative Lutheran church (a church from which Christians of Jewish ancestry were barred, in keeping with Nazi racism) and Hitler, at least, had the long-range hope of eliminating the Christian faith because its values -- kindness, "turn the other cheek," etc. -- were inconsistent with Nazism.
@Joan
Yeah. Trump doesn't like people who were crucified!
1
With apologies to Rodgers and Hammerstein:
‘The Sound of Fury’
How do you solve a problem like the Donald?
How do catch a fool and pin him down?
How do you find the word that means the Donald?
A babbler! A menace to all! A clown!
Many a thing you know you’d like to tell him
Many a thing he ought to understand
But how do you make him stay and listen to all you say
How do you keep a country not be banned?
Oh, how do you solve a problem like the Donald?
How do you hold a reptile in your hand?
When I’m with him I’m confused, out of focus and at sea
And I’ll never know exactly where I am
Unpredictable as weather, he's as flighty as a feather
He's an idiot! He's a demon! He's a bad man!
How do you solve a problem like the Donald?
How do you catch a louse and pin it down?
How do you find the word that means the Donald?
A babbler! A menace to all! A clown!
Many a thing you know you'd like to tell him
Many a thing he ought to understand
But how do you make him stay and listen to all you say
How do you keep the country not be banned?
Oh, how do you solve a problem like the Donald?
How do you hold a Judas in your hand?
55
What fascism looks like.
109
Welcome to the new North Korea
17
All those Republican Senators who think they "got it right" are about to get irrefutable evidence that they were so wrong.
146
@Dumb Engineer
Most of those “acquitting” Senators never thought they were right. They acquitted to maintain power. Period.
67
My fear is that even if voters turn out in record numbers for the Democratic candidate, it won't matter because foreign entities will hack our election and change votes. This is Trump's only priority until November, and he will collude with multiple countries to make this happen.
256
@Lake Thank you! I've been saying this every time I hear someone say "leave it to the voters" how can it be in the hands of the voters if Trump is using foreign interference?
91
@Lake There is only so much that the Trump cartel can do to mess with the elections. A true landslide in America cannot be ignored.
30
It certainly seems that way. The confidence among GOP leaders that there is no possible blowback from his and their actions is astounding. You don’t behave like this unless you think there is nothing to worry about. Dems say turn out and vote, register, get out there. Republicans hear these entreaties and say “whatever.” They see something the rest of us don’t, or they know something the rest of us don’t.
19
Ms Cottle bears witness to President Trump's petulant wrath and presciently asks: "who's to stop him?"
Certainly not the Republicans in congress, who, save Mitt Romney, abased themselves and bowed down as if before the throne.
And Press Secretary Grisham warned us that President Trump would be talking about "just how horribly he was treated and, you know, that maybe people should pay for that".
I think it is only fair that Senator Collins be required to speak to the press on the occasion of every Trump retaliation, outrageous or petty, criminal or merely juvenile - because she predicted that he would be better.
Recall that Ms. Collins told CBS News that President Trump "has learned from this case", that he "will be much more cautious in the future."; and, "I obviously am not in favor of any kind of retribution against anyone who came forward with evidence."
Of course, since then, Mr. Trump canned Lt. Col. Vindman and his NSC attorney twin brother as well as Gordon Sondland in order to "flush out the pipes".
At least many others are a bit more circumspect, a bit ashamed, too, as they mumble the most mild of rebukes in the general direction of the Oval Office.
But if past is prologue, Senator Collins will react with continuous, feigned "surprise".
207
@Mark Keller. Fed up with Collins? Send a donation to Sarah Gideon, the Dem running against her.
10
@Mark Keller In addition to counting the number of lies told by Trump (16,000 and counting), I'd like to see counts of 1) how many news stories start with "Trump lashes out at [fill in the blank], and 2) how many times Trump accuses some person or organization of being "unfair". Ill-tempered child.
8
@Mark Keller Lamar Alexander should also be quizzed until he drops along with Susan Collins.
7
Trump is all about the past--he can't move beyond it and wants us to stay stuck in it with him.
The rest of us, however, can move forward into a new, clean future, leaving him far,far behind. We cannot continue to be dispirited by him unless we allow it.
We can have a vision of a united, strong and proud country with liberty and justice for all. it is our heritage and such is our power that it cannot be denied to us.
144
@New Eyes Fine by me but first Trump has to be voted out. The more I see his evil and his tentacles, in Congress, DOJ, State Dept, the more I see American democracy being left behind.
33
We are the ones to stop him. It was always going to come down to the election. In our hearts we knew it. Mueller, Impeachment, the GOP finally coming to their senses, hoping one or all of these things would result in, if not removal, significant constraints that would let us all sleep better. Alas, this was never to be, and now we know it for certain. It's frightening, terrifying actually to know our democracy may well depend upon the November election. But it also is liberating. It's up to us. Yes, there will be voter suppression, and agitprop, and gerrymandering to contend with. The solution is to register as many as possible and overwhelm these other factors.
381
@Steve
Well said, Steve.
And, since you are from Ohio, it would be great if you could recruit 2 or 3 thousand of your closest friends to call the elections officials now, gently remind them of egregious electioneering of the Ohio variety exemplified by the 10 to 12 hour lines at Kenyon College when Bush the Younger was "elected" for the second time, and let them know you will be watching and will hold them accountable.
53
@Mark Keller
But this is the problem, isn't it? There is no guarantee of fair federal elections when the evidence points to "legal" cheating through voter registration purges, short poll hours and an inability to perform a credible recount in most states.
Why aren't elections held on Sundays or declared a national holiday?
Why indeed.
65
@ehr
Like Mark Twain said:
"If election were important, they wouldn't let us vote."
12