Anyone who does not worship at the feet of Trump is an enemy. Trump does not understand that there is an objective reality, and a society where there are rules/laws that preclude the behavior he exhibits.
6
Time is running out, America. Every day Trump and the Republicans slide further toward dictatorship. This is not hyperbole - you can see that's what is happening, surely?
Where are the mass protests? Where is the push-back? Why are you letting them get away with this? WAKE UP!
10
Applause? The only applause was from the sycophantic robots (who allegedly "work") at the WH, and from those who were too afraid not to, lest they be outed by the sycophants like in the movie "Invasion of the Body Snatchers".
7
FINALLY, Pres. Trump is catching up with Presidents Obama and Clinton by placing people he already knows and trusts in jobs at the White House. 'bout time.
Had this Prez been a D.C. insider, he'd have started out with thousands of trusted friends of friends in roles close to him, but the American people specifically did NOT want any member of the D.C. swamp in the Oval Office this time.
The guy should have latched onto a D.C. inmate early on to find loyal people to work for him, but how many seventy-year-old men change their lifetime habits when changing their jobs?
2
Trump is President because of an echo chamber that has almost half of voters in a box impenetrable save by Fox, Hannity, paid-for Google links, robot Facebook accounts, and Kellyanne’s alternative facts.
Why wouldn’t Trump do the same entombment for himself? Does anybody think Trump sees anything beyond his mirror? He is Snow White’s wicked queen, always asking “Who is the fairest of them all?”.
6
It is not Mr. Kelly. It is General Kelly. He has more than earned that honorific.
5
There is a strategy hidden behind these moves...it's to set the grounds for these resignations through threats, bullying, obstruction, interference - implied or real. But rather than threaten the Administration (and the DoJ) the resignations serve them well. Departures leave a vacuum - a hole, ready to be filled with sycophants and acolytes of the Administration's choosing.
We've seen it in business - where actions triggering resignations are preferable to terminations - being fired. Why? It's cheaper. In Washington political capital is the equivalent of cash - and we are seeing the dirtiest of dirty political plays ever thought possible at this level of US Government. This is so dangerous. Republicans who side with Trump clearly fail to appreciate the damage being done to the nation by this feral, toxic, contaminated administration.
2
As a former supporter of the Republican Party, it is sad to say that the GOP that once existed and many loved and some loved to hate is dead. So-called "Republicans" in Congress have turned their backs on principle and ethics to be the plaything of a President that finds morality optional, laws inconvenient, truth irrelevant. Trump is not a true Republican or even a conservative. It seems to me to the time for the refugees from Trumpism who still hold true to conservative ideas & values to become active and loud in creating a new political grouping on the right to be the true alternative to Trump's fake Republicans and be a voice of sanity to the wider political discourse.
44
James Madison was five feet four and a giant.
5
Wouldn't it be great if Hope Hicks came back as a couple team with Corey Lewandowski, and Trump gave them a White House wedding on November 1st? Or if Sean Spicer came back as the White House dance instructor? Or if Sarah Sanders returned as the White House bouncer? All these sycophants would run to his call, and do these things. They are all that desperate.
8
Get ready, America: Trump unleashed. We ain’t seen nothing yet.
1
Fox and Kushner the constrictor tightening their holds on Dear Leader.
I'm not a big fan of Kelly, but in deciding between him and Trump on veracity it's not only no contest, it's an instantaneous judgment.
3
I see parallel behavior of Trump to Herman Wouk’s Captain Queeg from the Caine Mutiny.
3
Hey, if the whole audience is applauding you when you exit from the stage, that is a sign of gratitude for a performance well done….the whole building applauded…wow! Lt. Colonel Vindman take a bow!
Such immature behaviour in not being able to accept criticism for one's actions is not a good trait for strong leadership—you can't please all of the people all of the time. But, if you can legitimise why the actions you take are for the greater good of all and not for 'me, me, me' then that allows for consideration.
4
Americans can no longer joke about Britain's "Mad King George".
3
"“Vindman was the guy that, when we took him out of the building, the whole building applauded,” Mr. Trump said"
Perhaps they were applauding Col. Vindman's courage, honor, and integrity. I certainly would have.
11
Maybe the applause was for Lt Col Vindman, and not to approve of the way he was escorted out of the building? Maybe there are still people with a spine in that building? Who knows?
11
yep - now that Trump got his acquittal, the GOP will learn what the value of loyalty to Trump is. He will drop kick them and run more and more mini-Trump hacks to replace them.
Generally, those candidates are so blatantly corrupt or unqualified, they end up losing because they are not Trump, just wannabe ersatz Trumps.
And the GOP will find themselves outside in the cold, looking in.
3
Trump looks likely to end up in prison, but he can probably get the world’s best book deal.
3
Everything about the Roger Stone case has been tainted with bias, and let's not forget that the whole Mueller investigation never would have gotten that far if not for deep, anti-Trump bias by FBI agents and lawyers who basically lied to the FISA court in order to get wire taps targeting the Trump campaign. Look no further than a SWAT team dispatched to arrest the elderly Stone at his home in the wee hours of the morning (with tipped off CNN reporters in tow) to know the level of bias at work. Shameful. And requesting 9 years in prison is absolutely ridiculous, especially when the person Stone was accused of threatening has come out and said he himself thinks it was just false bravado and he never thought Stone meant it. But the left wants blood when it comes to anyone supporting Trump. They would cheer if Stone were sentenced to death and say he deserves it.
2
That's the absolutely worst thing a leader can do. It demonstrates deep arrogance and inability to accept anyone's advice. Trump is afraid of people who speak their minds and he is, to his discredit and danger, convinced that he knows best on all matters. After all, he has said he knows more about military matters than his generals, more about diplomacy than the State Department, more about every thing because he is "a genius". But since this arrogance is accompanied by his vanity and his obsession for self-aggrandizement, the combination is lethal for the country. I wonder when Republicans, the few who are still thinking, are going to wake up to the approaching disaster or are they going to wait until Nero burns Rome.
4
Haha.
A worried man.
He should be,
People will look back on Trump as a noxious curio.
Who did one or two good things.
And wince at the deluge of fearful hysteria he provoked?
1
So Colonel Vindman was applauded when he was escorted out of the office? Has this president stopped to think it was in honor of the man and his service to his country and not because his colleagues were glad to see him go? It just seems so obvious to me.
7
He rescued Stone out of spite, no feeling of kinship at all.
I don't think trump truly knows who his enemies are. The instinct he prides himself with is rittled with paranoia. The guy is an emotional mess. I think that if he did not have the SDNY waiting at his doorstep as a private citizen, he would be happy to leave this seat of office like tomorrow.
2
Donald believes that committing illegal acts in plain sight inoculates him from being charged with a crime. As with Richard Nixon, Donald believes that a US presidents actions are above the law. Obviously, the republican senate majority agrees.
When someone tells you who they are. Believe them. Donald has repeatedly stated that he can do anything he so chooses to do. With no personal accountability for his actions. It was true as a citizen for him. It is obviously true now as well.
2
"Mr. McEntee, who was forced from his job in 2018 over gambling debts that threatened his security clearance, recently returned to his old role as a personal aide to Mr. Trump."
The security clearance problems magically disappeared?
Was it the Russian Mob McEntee owed and Putin fixed it?
Or did Trump say don't worry about it and made the DOD give McEntree a security clearance anyway.
Well, who cares?
McConnell and the GOP have made it clear Trump doesn't have to follow any laws or the Constitution. Republicans aren't bothered by abuse and obstruction.
We vote in 263 days.
This is 1 more in the millions of reasons to vote Democratic this year.
Taking the Senate is even more important than the Oval Office. Trump is lawless because Mitch McConnell's Senate allows it.
We need a huge turnout.
Vote.
3
In the midst of events that make me want to scream, Bloomberg’s comeback to trump made me laugh. He knows exactly what most bothers him.
13
@Inkwell Mike is turning it into a street fight which is exactly what it needs to be to annihilate the ego of The Occupant.
5
As seen from the outside, maybe, just maybe the fact that Trump is unleashing such anger and insults at everyone who disagrees with him, may result is a self-inflicted defeat - he is perhaps digging his own grave in a way. If that's the case, then the impeachment inquiry will have had a welcome indirect and unexpected consequence. Let's hope.
8
@Bruno You’d have to understand the mind of a narcissist to know this is absolutely not the case.
Loved Bloomberg’s response.
8
The return of Hope Hicks is telling.
In February of '18 - while under oath behind closed doors - she reportedly admitted to telling "white lies" for Trump. (But if a liar tells you she tells only "white lies", why believer her?) Then she headed for the hills, as a number of her former colleagues in Trump's orbit plead guilty / were convicted /went to jail for lying under oath (among other things).
Now, with Barr having turned the DOJ into Trump's law firm, and having announced there will be no investigations of presidential campaigns unless he personally approves them, she knows she has immunity.
An admitted liar coming back on the team demonstrates that the team now knows they have nothing to fear, least of all the law.
3
The Atlantic alliance is broken, Japan s.Korean policies in disarray, ME is increasingly dominated by Russian & Chinese interests and The USA is retreating everywhere. More & more it points to the fact that this administration is advancing Russian interests and not the USA.
If one assesses the arc of achievements under this administration then it seems that Russian interests have been greatly enhanced.
When will the willfully blind Republicans realize we have a Russian stooge in the WH.
5
Do we see the yellow brick road of a supra-paranoid breakdown with goldilocks charging towards a near cliff?
The hiring of a 32 year old model who has roots at the Fox enterprise and a 29 yr old Fox production assistant whose greatest experience is quarterbacking in football suggests that our new king is gathering a tight and loyal inner circle now absolutely devoid of any experience with government, management or centrally pertinent national issues, without educational credentials, military credentials, political credentials, exhibiting at best the strengths of happy hour get together?
Do we see, right before our eyes, the terror of madness clutching to safety pillows and screaming out irreverence and profanities, insisting that white coats with nets are surrounding him improperly?
I say call the authorities? Or are they, too, his blind bodyguards passionately protecting their own turf?
4
I'm thinking that the people applauding were for Lt. Col Vindman's courage and perseverance in the defense of the country.
7
I can't remember how many Nixon had on his "enemies list".
However long that list was I'm sure that Trump's far exceeds it.
Going back to the Bible, & from numerous other sources since, there are statements about about knowing a person's true character by the enemies they make.
I do remember people being proud to be on Nixon's list & to be upset if they weren't.
I suppose the same is true this time round.
I think that Ms Collins can sleep easy at the moment.
4
It is not Trump any longer, he is beyond help.
It is about the people around him.
37
The way the universe handles these things, Miss Hicks is bringing the toxicity into her life now that will be the source of much pain and illness later. Anyone caring about her should warn her.
17
If you are threatening the megalomaniac position of a narcissist he will become dangerous and do anything to protect himself. Donald Trump is acting increasingly like a dictator threatening and bullying those who are not supporting him. It seems like he has succeeded.
19
Barr's "remarkable rebuke" is just a put on to try to reassert himself as AG rather than as Trump's personal consigliere. But no one is fooled. If Barr's remarks were sincere and not orchestrated, Trump would be tweeting vitriol about Barr instead of "crickets" and showing him the door.
The rest of the inner circle are not loyalists but rather brown-noses who would rather have the publicity associated with a WH position than any sense of integrity or self-worth. A pathetic group of clingers-on.
35
Sounds like the WH brought back Hope to get some kind of control over Trump. Can we just call her the Trump Whisperer?
8
If there actually was applause as Vindman left the building, it was for his heroism.
63
@Zelmira
Of course that was why people were applauding Vindman : for his stellar reputation and his excellent service! Trump doesn't have a clue.....
( Of course, Trump could lying yet again ,about the applause)
When Trump leaves ( PLEASE let him be removed with security escorts) he'll be booed for the pain, trouble and damage he's caused.
And THEN...... there'll be dancing in the streets !
1
@Zelmira - which all the clappers lack!
Commenting & complaining about Trump is pointless & completely ineffective..
-- The only response is to win in November, .. all the talk is empty.
24
Does anyone have a grenade? They are all in one spot.
18
Regarding trustworthy Trump advisors:
In a late bulletin, it was announced that Hope Hicks,trusted family friend, will rejoin the Trump administration as an advisor to the President and aide to Jared Kushner. Her new office will be in the well of the famous Oval Office partner's desk, "Resolute". (A partner's desk is one at which two people sit facing each other with their legs in the same well, which extends through the desk.) It is expected that this will facilitate meetings between the President and his trusted advisor and son-in-law, Jared Kushner, where they hope (no relation) to get things straight between themselves, with the assistance of Ms Hicks.
For the duration of the Trump administration the name of the desk, "Resolute", will be changed to "Dissolute", in honor of the President's famous declaration that,"If you're famous, you can do anything". A spokesperson said this was part of the President's intention to surround himself with "people he can trust for unflagging loyalty" and "keep it in the family. And their trusted friends".
16
That is sick. Really.
5
Vulgar. Unnecessary.
6
IF “Vindman was the guy that, when we took him out of the building, the whole building applauded,” (according to Trump), were they applauding because they thought Lt. Col. Vindman deserved to be removed from the White House or because they were applauding Lt. Col. Vindman's courage?
24
I am so very tired of donald trump, his constant immature drama and his incompetent "administration." Enough.
The day that he is gone from the Oval Office cannot come soon enough.
26
He’s sounding more and more like Stalin with his paranoid persecution of old comrades. The murders didn’t start right away. Trump is encouraging others to that end though.
19
Please, Mr. Trump. Take your bat and go home. Everyone’s tired of you and the game is over. Please.
23
Trump is losing it and needs “Hopie” to calm him down there at the adult day care center in the WH. Sad.
23
Is that what they are called? Loyalists?
Funny - I thought these were called "yes men", snd "yes women"
All know trump is nuts an all lick his boots.
25
Most of my foreign friends and acquaintances ask me, Is President Trump is as insane as he acts?". I reply, "No, he is much worse."
40
President Trump needs to remember that surrounding your self with loyalists isn't always the appropriate solution. Just ask the shades of Caligula, Claudius, and Nero. People like the Praetorian Guard are only loyal when it is in their best interest. If the interest fades then being thrown under a bus becomes a real possibility.
19
It is in fact not only raging against enemies outside. In an analysis before Donald Trump was elected, a bevy of psychiatrists alerted publicly that the candidate presented acute symptoms of narcissism and as such, one of them predicted it wouldn’t end well, as symptoms would grow with acute paranoia where less and less people would be deemed loyal to a gradually shrinking nucleus of loyalists.
We might even find some compassion watching the down spiral of someone who should never have been elected.
18
The applause was just as likely for Vindman, an acknowledgement of admiration for his courage and patriotism from his fellow workers.
36
@Ralph Averill The absurd notion that people would applaud when a person is removed from their job because they agreed with his removal is bizzaro world redux. I believe if that was the sentiment the crowd would have booed.
12
The most disgusting upshot of this entire affair with the trump crime family and Vladimir Putin is that senate republicans steadfastly refuse to support the brave men and women who have told the truth, and not just to write a book about it first. Good, honest, patriotic and intelligent people are being denied justice by your republican senator.
Think on that. What if it were you being interrogated, persecuted, blacklisted and fired for simply telling the truth? What if it were you who were "going to go through some things"?
43
Whatever Trump says or tweets, if he does NOT win on Tuesday Nov 3, 2020, all will stop. Chances are 50-50. The states like PA, MI, WI, OH added by FL with 29 Electoral College votes will decide who will be sworn in on January 20, 2021. If Trump does NOT win, Feds in SDNY are waiting, if to put him in the same place where his for attorney Michael Cohen is now.
12
@Trevor Diaz: Sorry, but if he does not win on Nov 3rd he will declare the election was a deep state fraud and that it is null and void, and he will continue to occupy the office until a new fair election can be conducted. Of course that can never happen because the deep state is oh so deep.
6
Trump is a sick puppy with no visible self control. His actions are those of a drunken fool without the restraint of sobriety. There is no space for any respect flowing his way unless you are one of the lowly cognitively challenged voters that said yes to him in 2016.
19
The good news is that very few decent, normal persons would remain "loyal" after being near this horrible (in)human being for a certain amount of time.
8
Part I
DJT is putting all our money in the military and cutting budget for programs that help the majority of our citizens, such as healthcare, education, social security, etc. This closely mimics North Korea’s economic model, where citizens have no choice but to join the military in order to eat, have shelter, and clothing, in other words, to survive. Kim Jong Un uses the military as his mercenaries to silence anyone he deems a threat. Trump is copying Kim and we already see him weaponizing our government to target whomever he feels threatens him and his agenda. Maybe that’s why Trump is so buddy buddies with Kim, because he wants what Kim has over his people, total control and compliance. If people don’t obey Kim, they get sent to slave camps where they’re worked to death, or they’re executed. Guess what? The infrastructure for those camps are pretty much in place inside the U.S. and abroad, they’re just stuffed with illegal immigrants and terrorists at the moment, and it wouldn’t take much for Trump to start putting dissidents in there as well. Who’s going to stop him if he does? The republicans have been stuffing the courts with hardcore right wing judges, so Trump can literally murder anyone and have no real consequences. He’s obviously above the law, and the entire republican party is backing him.
17
I hope that we are smart enough to know that William Barr is setting the media and us up to make it seem like he really is concerned about Trumps tweets interfering with his running the DOJ. Let us not be fooled by this.
36
Barr is as evil as Trump. Only smarter.
18
So they applauded. Anyone know if it was for his removal or for him? I'm curious, is all.
12
Who would applaud removal. They would have booed and insulted him. They did not. “Crosses his arms when he lies.” Just watch.
If there was applause when Col. Vindman left, it’s as likely as not it was for his courage and integrity not his departure at the behest of the unhinged mob boss in the White House. If they were indeed applauding Trump’s dictatorial dismissal of the honorable Col. Vindman, then a pox on all their houses.
20
If the republicans, with the exception of Mitt Romney, won’t stick their necks out when a re-election campaign is on the line, you can bet they won’t stick their necks out if their lives are threatened by Trump and his goons.
Part II
Another reason why he’s cutting funding to programs that assist citizens is right out of the playbook of dictators manipulating the population by making their existence so miserable that they become irrational. Said dictator gives them group(s) of people to blame, thus rallying their support and justifying genocide. Trump has been naming enemies and encouraging violence since day one.
Perhaps the second amendment activists were right all along. We do need to stock up on weapons and ammo in case this lunatic president and his fanatic base decides to execute a coup d’etat. The defenders of the constitution as well as honorable military leaders are dropping like flies in this administration. Trump is installing crazed loyalists to occupied the vacancy and getting rid of anyone
that diverges from his wishes. We’ve lived in this bubble too long thinking stuff that happens in Africa or the Middle East can’t possibly happen here. Well, Trump is disproving that, and it’s up to the citizens to take back the reins of this country and manifest our own destiny once again.
13
After reading this, I need a shower. Democracy needs a shower.
19
Hmmm, one would think, given the maturity level of lil’ Donny, and his unadulterated crudity, that he would have directed everyone to form a gauntlet and chant “Shame...Shame... Shame...” while throwing rotten vegetables. I’m sure he is a closet GOT fan (so much raw power in the rulers) and I’ll bet that scene with Cersei really got the old juices flowing.
If any of the staff applauded Al Vindman, they were recognizing his bravery and devotion to the country. It also makes sense that the Don is so sure of his own Perfectness that he totally misinterpreted their respect for the Colonel. Wonderful! Like lying to the boss right under his nose.
12
Did the Moron in Chief think that perhaps the reason people were applauding as Lt. Col. Vindman left is they were recognizing him for doing his duty? I mean usually when people clap it is in appreciation for someone. Trump is so deranged he can't fathom that.
24
Dear NYT:
Paranoid? Of course he is. A little loyalty goes a long way in Trumpworld.
President Trump has endured an unprecedented level of "Resistence" -- including illegal leaking, unrelenting media hostility, and an effort to brand him as a Russian traitor, as well as a racist, sexual predator, bully, etc.....
The media have still not retracted or apologized for pushing the debunked "collusion" narrative, and instead jumped on Ukraine quid pro quo silliness.
The Times showcased Anonymous, aka, John Kelly, who has recently come out to trash the president. Even John Bolton is trying to sell a tell-all book.
How's that for a finger poke in the eye?
One assumes that you are also very active in the, “Godzilla Got A Bad Rap on the Whole Tokyo Thing,” movement. I mean, sure, there were some little oopsies, and sure some of them involved a nuclear pland and frying a cruise ship, but I believe we can all agree that His Greenness has learned an important life-lesson by torching that orohanage,” can’t we?
7
The Vietnam war draft dodger is exhibiting the very paranoiac tendencies that define the homogeneous, insular, dull appearing members of his inner sanctum. Through frantic, extensive, vicious purges that would make Stalin's purges of the Soviet officer core of the 1930s look like child's play, the draft dodger is committed to surrounding himself with Caucasian males [and very few females] of privilege to assure blind allegiance. This, then, is the pathetic example of "Make America White Again." Trusting anyone who doesn't look like, sound like, or act like his less than college educated supporters is not even a far remote thought. And the nation will suffer greatly over the next 9 months. Removing him from office is absolutely positively mandatory. Terminate his command. Terminate with extreme prejudice! Race matters!
15
Am I crazy....or is trump on drugs? I have watched his speeches of late and they seem to be getting even more rambling and nonsensical than they previously were. His comments and tweets are so off the wall inappropriate; his thoughts wander; he doesn't complete sentences. Perhaps the stress is driving him to pop pills?
23
"Trump Places Loyalists in Key Jobs Inside the White House While Raging Against Enemies"
Gosh, how terrible. No President has every done THAT before (hello Rham? Valerie?) Most Presidents want disloyal people that would undercut them and testify against them at every turn in key positions, and eagerly bow down in humility to, and cooperate with, the enemies that want to see them fail and destroy them.
The NYT used to lean slightly left, but still maintain something resembling objectivity. I'm just wondering if it is now so far gone that it can publish an article with a title like that and even keep a straight face.
C'mon folks, you are better than that.
@ JRC
The point (which you and some other commenters seem to be unintentionally confirming) is that good leaders typically value loyalty as ONE OF MANY traits to be desired in one’s staff. Other desirable qualities might include honesty, competence, selflessness, integrity and so forth. Trump, however, values loyalty above all and may actually NOT want his minions to have too many of the others, which might undermine their willingness to unthinkingly support even his pettiest impulses,no matter how illegal, immoral or selfish.
9
trump's word order was mixed up in one of his promises.
What he has really done is swamp the drain.
23:15 EST, 2/13
5
trump is mentaly unfit for office.
Psychologists and commentators from all ideological camps agree that he has narcissistic personality disorder which perfectly “explains” his behavior. Among those making this assertion are more than 70,000 mental health professionals who signed a petition warning of Trump's potential dangerousness. 70,000.
I am absolutely gobsmacked that this person is still in the WH.
20
Guess what happens to this country when something truly bad happens, and Trumpy’s run everybody competent and honest with a backbone out of the Executive Branch.
Myself, I’ll be fine; good boots, tents, water purification and so on. Alas, I am pretty sure the Trumpists would be way, way hosed, long, long before they get to the “blame liberals and Hillary,” stage.
6
Keep it up Trump, it will ensure the rest of your life in prison.
14
"A ha, but the strawberries--that's where I had them." Captain Queeg, the Caine Mutiny. I've been reminded of this movie ever since Trump's acquittal. We're watching the same descent into insanity. His demand for loyalty and obedience, the firing of experienced crew members, and unchecked paranoia remind me of Queeg, who at least in Humphrey Bogart's portrayal was a somewhat sympathetic character. Where do we go from here?
16
Assuming that applause did occur in the WH as Colonel Vindman was escorted off the grounds, was that a recognition of "good riddance" or of "good and brave service"?
I'm not sure that the Current Occupant is capable of making the distinction, neither now nor when applause and rejoicing accompany his own departure.
12
I just can't lose the painful feeling regardling one of Trump's comments relative to the "ushering" out of Col. Vindman from his post.
I don't Tweet. What was read was that the President said Col. Vidman's departure was ( my reading) received with applause in support of his exit.
My sense is it was with respect for his years of service. Could any of you in the press find out what that was about? I don't believe that employees would ever be so unkind and rude to have an applause display that would be negative.
This bothers me. Again, could any in the press find that the clapping was not in praise of his departure, but praise in his strength for telling truth under power. Let us know.
21
@Tanis Marsh On the other side of the coin, Trump is a documented liar and perhaps the applause never happened.
If "the whole building applauded" when Vindman was taken out, it sounds like his colleagues were applauding FOR him, out of respect and showing their support. Trump misunderstood their gesture.
17
I really am confused and ask this without irony: Did people actually applaud as Col. Vindeman was removed from the White House and if so, was that audience applauding his brave stance against a disreputable phony rather than celebrating his removal as a troublemaker? I really find it hard to believe that anyone who worked with him would cheer his fate, aware as they must all be that a similar fate could well await him or her. Can anyone enlighten me?
12
There should be no surprise or outrage for any of Trump's actions from here on. Congress had the opportunity to do something about that and backed away. They said, "Do what you will, no one will hold you accountable." Trump is now unshackled. He will not be restrained by convention, morality, or the rule of law. Independent thought is no longer tolerated in this administration. You job as a loyal minion is to obey.
Mitch McConnell's comment that Trump would do well to heed Barr's advice comes way to late. You empowered him Mitch, what happens now is laid at your doorstep. If Trump is reelected it will get worse, even the pretense of being bound by the Constitution will go away, Trump will rule by decree. Congress & the Courts, your advice and consent is no longer needed or required.
10
So, has McEntee stopped gambling? Is he actually qualified for a security clearance this time?
9
I would like to know more about the applause when Col. Vindman was escorted out. Was it FOR him or because he was leaving. Or are there only Trump followers left in the building.
5
Is it possible they where applauding his valor and courage?
9
It sounds to me as if “the whole building” was applauding Colonel Vindman's actions reporting Trump's behavior, NOT his removal.
10
Trump will go down in 2020. Either escorted out in a straight jacket or voted out by one of the many, many amazing Dem candidates. But he's losing it...losing his mind, losing his team, losing the military. Down, down, down he goes.
9
Well we are down to the 4th string. Bring in the kids. This is the kind of conservative moral hypocrisy these guys signed up for. I am pretty sure by the end of his term trump will be the only government employee not to mention his only profitable business venture.
3
I hear that Trump is bringing back Hope Hicks to the White House? I believe Hope is now 31? Is there anyone over 40 in the White House now besides the President? This seems very weird to me to have your son-in-law, daughter, and the daughter’s former assistant all working as senior advisors to the president.
12
Lots of people mentioned in this article. The only one whose age is mentioned is Hope Hicks. Why is that?
1
Sessions will buddy up next now that he's running again.
If you rage against an ever growing list of perceived enemies, doesn't that make you paranoid, like Nixon was? I wonder if Trump is talking to the portraits of presidents like Nixon did when he was coming apart.
6
No one can be faithful to him in the end.
Every one he touches will become toxic.
They will soon flee and spill truth to protect themselves from his amoral narcissistic nature.
Trump is the noxious result of the compounding of a malignant narcissistic personality structure and absolute power.
6
At Trump’s press conference when the China deal was announced he gave a lengthy call out to Rob Porter who was forced to resign from the staff after stories surfaced about his physical and emotional abuse of two ex wives. (He couldn’t get a security clearance either.). “We love you, Rob,” he said. It seemed likely he was back working for Trump in some capacity, snd Trump couldn’t help crowing about it. Now a few weeks later Porter’s ex girlfriend Hope Hicks is coming back too. An interesting coincidence.
9
Here's a question: do supporters of the Oval Office occupant actually believe that when trump and putin finalize their merger that they will allow trump's followers to keep their guns? (Is that a Russian tank in the driveway?)
14
The President’s allegations are truly trumped-up charges.
6
For that tweet alone, Bloomberg has my vote. Finally a fearless man with a spine; letting Trump have it in ways no one else is willing to do. And I wish the media would stop saying Trump was acquitted by the Senate. He was acquitted by the Republicans in the the Senate and that is how the headline should have read. Stop with the complicity already!
27
@JJ He wasnt acquitted at all, impeachment is forever he just didnt receive any punishment for it. He can be impeached again too.
9
Perhaps Melania should take heed of the Biblical lesson in Judges 4:22
Then Jael, Heber's wife, took a nail of the tent, and took an hammer in her hand, and went softly unto him, and smote the nail into his temples, and fastened it into the ground: for he was fast asleep and weary.
So he died. And, behold, as Barak pursued Sisera, Jael came out to meet him, and said unto him, Come, and I will shew thee the man whom thou seekest. And when he came into her tent, behold, Sisera lay dead, and the nail was in his temples.
So God subdued on that day Jabin the king of Canaan before the children of Israel. 24And the hand of the children of Israel prospered, and prevailed against Jabin the king of Canaan, until they had destroyed Jabin king of Canaan.
4
Covering his lies, sounds as if Donald is exhibiting paranoia, along with increasing delusions of grander. Pretty soon he may be tweeting he's on the phone with Jesus. A danger to himself and others, at this point: Section to a psyche ward
13
Everyone is out of step but Donald.
9
Stop whining. The President's actions are absolutely logical. He was surrounded by shills. He has to replace them by people he can trust. Your whining is not going to stop him and will not affect his support. It only grows.
1
Yeah, frightening, isn’t it?
9
@J This is one very weak response. Only ardent supporters can like it.))
With Ms. Hicks in and so close to Trump, I wonder how long it will be take for Melania to leave ...?
19
We do need NYT reporting on the claim that LTC Vindeman's escorted departure from the WH was applauded by all.
It untrue, which I strongly suspect, DJT should be called out on the front page of the Times for this ugly lie.
18
@John B My thoughts exactly! Trump's word is not to be believed.
He's insane.
33
Dear Donald,
Please come here and open a Western White House where your friends are, heh, heh, heh.
6
What it must be to be Hope Hicks.
3
I am unable to comment on Hope Hicks honestly, without bringing various really foul jokes to bear.
2
Trump's caretakers need to keep this in mind: While most people show some form of aggression or anger occasionally, Alzheimer’s can make anger issues much worse. A number of studies show that anger issues generally worsen the more severe an Alzheimer’s or dementia sufferer’s condition becomes.
22
@Lan Sluder
Might want to pass that tip on to Biden's handlers.
Paranoid delusional may be too much, but seeing enemies everywhere and wanting to surround yourself only with "yes" men and women may assuage the raging ego, but does precious little to actually run the country. The 25th amendment is there for a reason. Maybe it's time to really start thinking of invoking it. The resemblance to Queeg of the Caine Mutiny is starting to look a bit too familiar. Without the finesse and depth that Bogart gave to the role.
26
Hope springs eternal. Truth is indeed stranger than fiction. Unfortunately, the times we are living in are not fiction.
11
Mr. Trump throws out Mr. Bloomberg's height as though that was relevant in some way. Let's see Mr. Bloomberg is 5'7" when standing up right on his feet? I would guess Mr. Trump might be taller than that when he is lying prone---if the height of his massive gut is measured floor to top of the mound....
13
Are there any more adults in the room?
8
This is the reason we need to get rid of this guy from the White House. The alternate reality that Trumpists are living in calls this "saying it the way it is", but all that's happening is that the dignity of the office is being demeaned and desecrated. I've said it before, if you're someone who believes in tradition, someone who believes in the rule of law, someone who believes in the preservation of the institutions that define our country, there is no way, NO WAY, you can accept this clown show coming from the White House.
If this is "saying it the way it is", then invite me to your house for dinner, I'll show you "the way it is" by wrecking the place up and trying to set fire to the sheets. And you will not blame me or make me liable for any damages that occurs as a result.
Cos I was just "saying it the way it is", wasn't I?
18
“We know many of the same people in NY,” he wrote. “Behind your back they laugh at you & call you a carnival barking clown. They know you inherited a fortune & squandered it with stupid deals and incompetence. I have the record & the resources to defeat you. And I will.”
Let the show go on, and finish the debates. This quote is all I need to see to know that Bloomberg will defeat Trump if he is the candidate.
Trump is choking on his french fries at this moment, trying to get one of those New York former friends of his to to speak out against Lil' Mike.
This could be fun.
30
If anyone is “way over his head” for a job, it’s Trump. Always projecting.
24
What a petty man.
Petty (def.): small-minded, mean, ungenerous, grudging, spiteful.
14
Just what is it that his body man, his son in law, and his new counsellor have in common? As far as I can tell it's that they are even dimmer and less knowledgeable than Trump himself but they all worship him. Also, will Melania be moving back to NY again to make room for Ivanka and Hope in the White House? Inquiring minds want to know.
13
Trump is the Whiner in Chief. He's been perfecting his technique since birth. and has gotten really good at it.
11
A weak leader hires weak people who are easy to bully.
Trump is a weak leader.
20
Best laugh I had all day reading Mike Bloomberg's tweet in response to trump's. “We know many of the same people in NY,” he wrote. “Behind your back they laugh at you & call you a carnival barking clown. They know you inherited a fortune & squandered it with stupid deals and incompetence. I have the record & the resources to defeat you. And I will.”
Most of us try to take the high road but maybe it's time to fight fire with fire. Hey Mike, here's a sample of something to start with.
https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2017/01/donald-trump-scandals/474726/
19
"Earlier Thursday, Mr. Trump engaged in an hourslong series of rants on Twitter and in a radio interview, hurling insults and unproved accusations in a tirade that rivaled his most grievance-filled moments since becoming president."
We - all of us - would be crazy to re-elect this crazy little nothing of a man.
42
So the rats are returning. Who's next, Sarah Sanders?
26
@Bigsister
why not Sarah Sanders?
Rats of a feather nest together, n'est-ce pas?
7
I stand with Lt. Colonel Alexander Vindman.
The manner in which Trump has slandered
this good man is heartbreaking and shameful.
56
If Lt. Col. was applauded out, it was a show of respect.
59
@janice
You are correct.
But Donnie is such an egotist that he thinks everybody thinks the was he does, and that they were applauding for HIM.
In his mind EVERYTHING IS ALWAYS ABOUT DONNIE (even when it isn't).
What a needy, small, weak, pathetic excuse for a human being.
18
President Trump is following the advice of “keep your friends close and your enemies closer.” He has discovered that there were/are leakers in his administration. He has to trust those who work for him. What is wrong with that. It is only common sense.
2
If you’re Machiavelli. And have a far higher IQ. And know stuff. And live in a late-feudal society.
In a democracy, not so much.
22
@KMW
It took him 3 and 1/2 years to figure out people were leaking?
What a dunce.
11
Perceived enemies? Really? Since before he was elected President Trump has been attacked on a daily basis. It is a fact that the Obama administration illegally spied on Trump. It is a fact that the Mueller investigation found no collusion. It is a fact that Hillary and the DNC paid for the dossier. It is a fact that the FISA court was lied to and crimes committed.
Perceived enemies? Really!
3
@JGaltTX Your entire comment is a bunch of cherry picked "facts" regurgitated by Fox news zealots with no context whatsoever. Fact - Trump has been "attacked on a daily basis" because he and his grifter family have abused the power of the presidency for their own financial and political gain since trump first took office. Get over it.
49
@JGaltTX
Donnie says that whatever he does is LEGAL because Article II of the Constitution says so.
I do not believe that for a NY minute, but let's assume that is the correct interpretation.
So by Donnie's interpretation, EVERY potus can do anything, under Article II, and all of it is LEGAL. Anything. Shooting somebody on Fifth Avenue. Having DOJ investigate anybody for anything. Having anybody hauled into court on whatever charges.
That also means that whatever President Obama did was LEGAL, because he too has the very same Article II. (There has been no amendment of the Constitution since 1992).
I guess that means all the complaining you conservatives have been doing all these years about President Obama is all a big mistake, because it was all LEGAL according to Donnie's interpretation of the Constitution.
There. Solved all the problems for you. Move along. Nothing to see under the Obama administration.
What else do you have for us to take care of? The Astros stealing signs?
23
@Roberta How could Trump have abused the power of the Presidency before he was even elected or inaugurated? Pray tell, how has Trump abused the Presidency? He doesn't even take a salary.
Obama, on the other hand, has become a very wealthy man. Same with the Clintons. They have abused the Presidency.
1
And we STILL aren't in 25th amendment territory yet?
A narcissistic, paranoid demagogue with access to nuclear weapons. What could possibly go wrong?
35
White House no more. House of Corruption brought to you by congressional Republicans.
24
The guy who has the most powerful job in the world (if he only knew how to do it) sounds and acts like a victim who feels slighted by everybody and everything. Everybody is picking on him.
How messed up is that?
So he is trying to use all that power simply to put down anyone who he thinks is making him look bad.
Poor Donnie. You want mommy to kiss the boo boo? Will that make it all better?
Trump is a clear and present danger to our country.
Vote. Trump. Out.
34
Walling off all dissenting opinions is dangerous for our country. Trump's refusal to hear any view outside his own means that decisions about national security are based on his gut.
We are in perilous times and cannot afford another 4 years of this. I wish Democrats would talk about nothing but how they will do better than Trump and quit mud wrestling about tiny policy differences.
15
Got halfway through and just couldn't stand the stench of the team trump. Here's how the people's house gets fumigated of all cockroaches:
BARR, RESIGN.
TRUMP, RESIGN.
It's that simple. DO IT! GET OUT, NOW!
12
A true democracy would welcome dissenting voices, and gaining strength to the world's eyes, and sound judgment, and constructive criticism would be an excellent mechanism to show it, especially if there is a presidency not this fickle and insecure, appearing the wiser by being surrounded with people more prepared than himself. Not the case here however, as Trump demands absolute loyalty...irrespective of his breaking the law and his petty vindictiveness, placing Yes-men (and Yes-women, i.e clueless Grisham) as true sycophants, and doing his 'wheeling and dealing' counter to the country's benefit. This is becoming a democracy in name only, as authoritarian Trump has lost any and all restraints...for exclusive self-service.
9
Wundebar, Hope Hicks is back to work for Jared. Can peace in the Middle East be far behind?
Trump got yet another thing very wrong. The applause will be huge, the loudest the world has ever seen, when they walk him out of the White House like the perp he is.
27
@Dennis
Ivanka may need to keep a watchful eye on "Hopey".
5
He will be reminded for.being a liar and a reactive mad man. We hated him as the clown he was while I was growing up in NU. His behavior enabled by the GOP and Pence being cagey and demonic while Bannon is a sick puppet master behind the scenes. Illegal immigration ignored by both parties for 40 years gave us Trump. All at a time where it close to too late for the planet. Bernie Ocasio-Cortez will be why he stays if he does.
5
He’s a maniac. Anyone who doesn’t do his bidding gets humiliated and axed. Our only hope would be for the Republican controlled senate to get a spine.
So, we’re doomed.
Anyone But the Dumpster Fire 2020.
20
Much truth to your words. The angry illegal gimme gimme I got in I deserve to stay and have health care.
2
The walls are closing in. This sad show has gone on far too long.
15
Hope boomeranged?
Was she coerced?
This is the most intriguing news of the day.
She musta been under the influence of something when she signed on the dotted line.
This will not bode well for her in the long-term.
4
@At Times Disgusted
Like that lady's jacket said: "I really don't care. Do U?'
7
President Trump wants those working for him to be loyal. All presidents want their administrations to be loyal employees. President Obama had workers who were loyal. No one wants disloyal people in their employ. President Trump deserves loyalty and should accept nothing less.
1
@KMW President Trump can't get loyal people, because everyone who tries to work for him either gets fired and then repeatedly humiliated like Bolton and Kelly or ends up in prison like Manafort and Cohen. No one is loyal to Trump because he is loyal to no one. He rules through fear, not love.
18
The old motto of the SS was:
“My loyalty is my honor.”
This should concern you.
11
Stack the deck. Trump is scared to death that he will be overturned. Good luck to those who support him. They will soon reap the rewards of criminals who support a criminal.
8
Cadre?
So many wannabe novelists. Reporting just isn’t enough.
Nope. Sneering with word choices that give plausible deniability. The Times way.
3
Captain Queeg and his crew.
10
Let Trump surround himself with those who agree with all his tormented thoughts. One day in the not to distant future..those same people will be disgraced and historically marked as people who admired a "criminal".
Down deep most know this is true but are "bought" in some way and or some leverage personal or otherwise.
Trump is truly not mentally well and in the coming months, more people will begin to realize this fact.
19
"against an ever-growing cast of perceived enemies"
There you go again. When will you ever learn?
They are not "perceived". They are real enemies.
5
@Doug McDonald He doesn't even know who this juror is or if they actually exist. How are they a real enemy.
5
It appears that Trump will only be left with the most corrupt staff he can find to work for the American people. His second term will be all he needs to yank the keystone of our democracy, the constitution, and throw it out the West Wing's window.
5
Trump is eliminating anyone who will tame his impulses, is subverting the rule of law, is attacking intellectuals, has "good people" with guns marching in the streets, and has designated a minority group (Muslims) as Enemies of the State.
Does this sound like the 1930s in another country?
28
Trump's list of enemies is only going to get longer and longer, all because of his own actions.
It's like they say, once you start lying you have to keep lying, so he's making his own problems.
14
"Vindman was the guy that, when we took him out of the building, the whole building applauded."
OF COURSE they applauded.
They applauded because Vindman had done the right thing.
Gee, Donald, must we explain EVERYTHING to you?
59
I can’t wait for Mike’s ad on this topic. New material every day, with no funding restrictions!
16
It is simply too bad that trump does not like getting called out for his lying, his criminality, and his treason. It is simply too bad that he doesn't like it when decent people like Pelosi, Vindman, Schiff, Yovanovitch, Sondland, Taylor, and Kelly (well, this guy is not as decent as the others, in my eyes) reveal the truth about his treachery and corruption. trump can put back as many of his deplorable loyalists as he wants to into his administration, but there will always be someone who will come forth and tell us about trump's transgressions, and his spitting on The Constitution, and the rule of law. Whatever trump doesn't like, it is simply too bad, (let him suck it up) because millions of us don't like trump, his complicit conspirators, and his/their mental illness, and foul rot...and it seems that it is simply too bad for us, isn't it? trump tramples laws and norms, and laughs in our faces. It seems that no one can control this criminally insane lunatic and massive destructive force that is trump. he can be held accountable for nothing. He is not only crazy and disgusting; he is BEYOND dangerous. And as long as we have to deal with this traitorous, trump THING, it is simply too bad if he doesn't like the way we deal with him. Because he lets US know every single minute of every single day that he could simply care less what we think, what we want, what we need, what is right, what is moral, what is decent, and what is expected of an American president.
16
Awesome description of this despicable buffoon.
Why shouldn’t people mock him behind his back?
1
This situation is intolerable. Trump’s behavior, far from being presidential, is not even rational or sane. He is increasingly isolated, which will only increase his paranoia. How can anyone not see that this is borderline psychotic? His followers are cultists who don’t really listen to what he says, but follow him like groupies. The Republicans had their chance to get rid of him and blew it. I sincerely hope that there are enough sane people left in this country to soundly defeat him in November, even though Putin will be doing his best to rig the election again.
26
Just great....a paranoid with the nuclear codes. Worried?
18
Someone send him a copy of “The Emperor’s New Clothes”!
4
Hey Hicks. I don’t expect you will understand this, but it is a certainty of life that, ‘You can never go home again.’
8
In lieu of salary Ms Hicks will be receiving the Medal Of Freedom.
17
More and more like a deranged King Lear
16
The president is mentally ill. Anyone who disagrees with me in denial.
20
Where's Gen. Mattis?!?!
13
The president seems to be drawing the circle ever tiighter, reminding me of old cowboy movies. A big difference is that people in the cirlce, surrounded by their wagons against the Native Americans whose land was being taken.....never were so many "disloyal" cowboys/cowgirls tossed out of the circle to meet what the fates had in store.
Trump is about my age and my fingers are getting quite arthitic. Perhaps the osteo - arthritis will start to work on Trump's always-in-use twitter finger. Hope springs etermal.
9
Ohioans need to remember that Rob Portman is one of Trump’s staunchest allies and most loyal defenders. They are truly kindred spirits.
13
How in the world does trump distinguish between who are his enemies and who are his loyalists anymore? Looks like both sets of folks are on the same team.
6
Today, in an effort to appear unbiased, senate Republicans signed onto a bipartisan measure to rein in Trump's war powers against Iran. But it was just for show, as those same GOP senators already know they won't override Trump's veto of the measure. It was a meaningless attempt by Republicans like Susan Collins to trick their constituents into thinking that they're really not in Trump's pocket. Collins has repeatedly insulted the intelligence of her constituents ... Maine deserves better.
Is it any coincidence that while this measure was approved, William Barr was shedding crocodile tears in an interview with ABC news, making a show of protest against Trump's tweeting habits? Again, another attempt at damage control, a meaningless gesture designed to trick the public into thinking that Barr really isn't Trump's personal fixer.
Too little, too late, for both Barr and GOP senators like Susan Collins. The damage is already done and no one is falling for these partisan efforts to manipulate public perception. For all we know, Trump, himself, could've personally signed off on these charades.
Vote them all out, in numbers too large to manipulate.
41
@Roberta I thought the same thing, Roberta, when I saw Barr on the news today! Always a scam!!!
13
Where on earth did Trump get the idea that corrupt and politically partisan holdovers from the Obama administration are constantly trying to undermine him?
Answer: because it is true, and it has been true for the past three years, starting with the corrupt FISA warrants to place his campaign under surveillance, groundless accusations that he is a Russian agent, constant leaks to the press by government bureaucrats who dislike him, a partisan and dishonest impeachment attempt, and so on and so on.
Trump is right. He has been the target of thoroughly corrupt deep-state actors, and it should never happen again to another president.
5
@Jose Pieste Um, Kelly was appointed by him. Bolton was appointed by him. Fiona Hill was appointed by him. Vindman started his job in the NSC under Trump's watch. If these people are all corrupt, he shouldn't have hand-picked them. If they are all disloyal, that is his fault.
23
What more proof do we need that Trump is stark raving mad? The GOP will live to regret the acquittal as his majesty blows up.
34
I'm so glad Trump learned his lesson last week.
19
I am just so happy that Trump has enemies!
7
Can’t turn the channel, change the station
on the horror show that is my nation
Anxiety says something wrong with me,
when up at night as the clock says three
Then I realize it’s just the opposite,
these days losing sleep is the mark of a patriot;
Sound sleep that of an ignorant electorate
31
A president, like any executive, needs to choose his own team. I’m no Trump fan, but give him a break: these are staffing decisions that he has a right to make. He should be surrounded by those who believe in his vision and can carry out his agenda.
4
He is the leader of our nation, his agenda is not always ours. He NEEDS to be surrounded by people who will give their opinions to an open ear. People that will challenge him and debate with him. This is SUPPOSED to be a Democratic Republic, not his Royal Highnesses advisors.
16
@Sally I disagree. Trump has surrounded himself with grifters and sycophantic "yes men" of the very worst character. His cabinet members and advisors are rich oligarchs, religious zealots and compromised industry lobbyists, people who are bent on weakening and destroying the very agencies and departments they're supposed to head. Trump has shown that he's incapable of listening to those who know more than him, and he's gotten rid of anyone who would contradict him. That doesn't make for a strong leader... instead, it makes Trump look weak and fragile.
Even King Henry VIII, in his earlier reign when he was younger, brought on advisors with differing opinions and perspectives than his own. This was before he grew more unhinged in his later years -- historians speculate that the change in personality was due to a head injury sustained in a jousting accident. There's a lot of similarities between trump and the older, more tyrannical King Henry. But at least Henry might've had a good excuse. What's Trump's excuse?
16
@Sally : If his agenda is carried out, welcome to full-blown Fascism.
14
The beginning of the end. Loyalists mean you hear what you want to hear which means you are flying blind when in comes to competitive intelligence which means your barn door is wide open to a Trojan horse or coup. Trump will feel invincible until the doors swing open and the enemy troops storm his bedroom.
15
At least half of Trump's current enemies were formerly "loyalists"!
32
It's humorous to watch trump self destruct and take everyone down with him. He'll can Barr or Barr will resign. trump will pardon Stone. GOP will say nothing.
Someday he'll take them down with him.
He's so predictable.
27
@T : Garbage is always predictable. It never smells like perfume; it always stinks. Thus trump.
8
@T I'm convinced that the thing that'll bring down Trump will be trump himself. The more he acts like a vindictive thug, and the more his followers gloat and crow about it, the better it is for Democrats. No one likes an arrogant and spiteful "winner". People will eventually root for the underdog, and right now, it seems like the MSM is painting Democrats as the underdog. So let's hope trump keeps overreaching, while his more hardcore followers gloat and crow about "winning" and "owning the libs". Hopefully, trump will slash and burn his way to a miserable defeat in November.
7
"Trump Places Loyalists in Key Jobs Inside the White House While Raging Against Enemies Outside"
The headline should have read "sycophants and toadies" rather than "loyalists." A truly loyal Trump support would try to prevent Trump from self-destructing. Doing that, however, on occasion requires telling Trump something he doesn't want to hear. Sycophants and toadies always tell the boss exactly what he wants to hear and are therefore more dangerous for Trump and for America than real Trump loyalists.
23
It sounds like Mike is ready to get down in the mud with Don. God save us all.
5
So Ms. Hicks will return, and reporting to the president's (note small "p") son-in-law. Great! This is the U.S. government at its best???
19
This is dreadful, he's on a rampage.
Again.
11
Perhaps the lieutenant colonel was met with applause on the way out of the White House. But really, would that applause be motivated by a sense of relief and/or derision? Is the White House staffed by people still in high school? Let's hope if any applause occurred that it was done out of appreciation and gratitude. Afterall, fans applaud injured athletes when they walk off the field or the court -- and it has nothing to do with celebratory smarm.
22
Now the Commander in Chief is paranoid to add to his other mental problems.
Time for resignation or the 25th Amendment.
This man must not be allowed to destroy our democracy.
The country is more important than he is!
25
Himmler, Goering, Goebbels, Hess... We’ve seen this play before. It never ends well.
26
I fail to see the comparison.
1
@mjgruskin Then you haven't been paying attention.
8
@mjgruskin
I see the comparison clearly.
And I hear the dulcet tones of Ivanka singing the Horst Wessel song.
6
Just a note on a detail that gets overlooked in this avalanche of madness: The President of the United States just singled out an individual juror, a private citizen, and accused her of bias. That alone is impeachable, and yet it barely gets a mention.
53
The accusation does need to come from the judiciary and it appears that if true a new trial will be needed.
Invoke the 25th Amendment. Now.
36
Tyrannicide for the 21st century (with apologies to St. Thomas Aquinas): drive the sociopath crazy until he has a nervous breakdown.
18
Based on his latest "performances", it seems he is getting closer and closer to a psychotic breakdown.
19
Key word: perceived, as in, he is INSANE.
19
Win in 2020 or go to prison, that's pressure. A desperate man will do desperate things.
36
Our gangster-president has no allies, save for his spawn Don Jr, Ivanka and what's his name. I mean this quite sincerely. It's impossible for anyone to stay on amicable terms with a person who's only care is his own self-aggrandizement, No one with an iota of dignity could ever remain loyal or friendly with him for very long. Come to think of it, even Junior didn't talk to dad for several years after the divorce with Ivana, when Trump treated her with contempt causing Junior to not speak with his father for several years. He proclaims that his picks are perfect when he picks them and then when they can't take the abuse any longer and leave they're suddenly disloyal and stupid. Let me add that nothing is as stupid as those Americans who find this man Trump to be worthy of the office that he holds. In my view, this says more about THEM than it does about HIM. One doesn't expect anything good from Trump, but it cannot be denied that he hasn't tried to hide his perfidious nature. It's the character of those that sustain him that is the long-term problem facing this country because they're not going anywhere even after Trump's destructive tenure begins to wane. Let's just hope that his tenure ends in November, and with Mike Bloomberg in the race I've more and more confidence that Trump will be sent packing in a few month's time and it can't come soon enough.
54
Those creatures, including the wife, are not "allies". They are just vultures waiting for Trump to kick the bucket so they can cash in, if there is indeed any wealth left for them to fight over.
20
You mean surrounded by stooges.
13
Trump surrounds himself with boot licking yes men. No one with integrity would get within 100 miles of that corrupt administration
35
Surround yourself with yes-men and one day, Mr. President, you'll walk out into the public eye having forgotten to trade your Batman footie pajamas for a suit. Because nobody working with you would have dared tell you.
17
If Trump wasn’t such a bull in a china shop, he ought to be the one to learn to ‘keep his mouth shut’. With the Roger Stone case, the President could have simply played the long game, given that ultimately he holds all the cards anyway. Let Stone get sentenced to 9 years and then pardon him (which I’m sure he is planning to do ).
He could then argue that he is correcting a draconian sentence, with at least a fig leaf of plausibility.
...But he’s not that smart.
29
The whole Barr indignation thing looks like a smokescreen. Collusion between Trump and Barr. That’s why Trump,hasn’t responded. If he does, Barr has to resign. That’s why the response came from Grisham. It’s a faux admonishment to make Barr look like he is in control when, in reality, his strings are still being pulled by Trump.
37
@Sheriff of Nottingham : barr is another of trump's Stepford Wives. There is melania, and there is barr.
8
Reading this - and all of the comments - I cannot for the life of me understand how this criminal can be re-elected.
26
Never underestimate the power of hate. It doesn't matter if it kills them, as long as Trump keeps feeding his supporters their raw red meat daily ration, they will follow him.
25
Now we know what Nixon would have been like if he had not resigned and instead was acquitted of impeachment.
18
Do we really want another 4 years of rich oligarchs, religious fanatics, bigots, racists, industry lobbyists and Fox news zealots running our country? William Barr, Mike Pompeo, Stephen Miller, Jared Kushner, Betsy DeVos, Andrew Wheeler, Rudy Guiliani, Mick Mulvaney, Sean Hannity ... these grifters and "yes men" who Trump has surrounded himself with are as good of a reason as any to vote him out of office. Same goes for his Republican lackeys in Congress, who've chosen to protect and enable trump at all costs to the country.
21
If anyone applauded Lt Col Vindman as he left the White House, I'm sure it was to recognize his honor, courage and loyalty to the Constitution of the United States and the values it represents. Only a person as thoroughly narcissistic as Trump could think that if there's applause it, must be for him (or against his enemy).
Thank you Col Vindman for your shining example. Now is the time for anyone left in the White House that has a shred of respect for this country to follow your lead.
43
Bloomberg would crush Trump in an election and Trump knows it! Bloomberg is smarter and hits harder.
Bloomberg2020
25
I’ll be happy to vote for Mike on November 3rd 2020.
3
Meltdown...
15
Having friendly idiots placed in charge of departments is a strategy for failure. Good job stupid POTUS!
14
For the first time in my adult life, I'll be a "single issue" voter this year -- that issue will be to get trump out of office. Same goes for his Republican lackeys in Congress who protect and enable him at all costs to the country. I don't feel great about it, but the damage that trump and the GOP will do if they retain control has left me no choice. This country cannot risk another 4 years of Trump's chaos chipping away at our national security. It won't be safe for any of us.
We can debate what's wrong with the Democratic party, but Democrats aren't the existential threat that Trump and the GOP are. Not even close. As a lifelong Republican until 2016, I don't say that lightly.
Whether you support him or not, Joe Biden is right -- this year's elections will be for the "soul" of our country.
41
Resign Donald, you aren't in the right job.
26
“We know many of the same people in NY,” he wrote. “Behind your back they laugh at you & call you a carnival barking clown. They know you inherited a fortune & squandered it with stupid deals and incompetence. I have the record & the resources to defeat you. And I will.” This could be an election between two big-mouth New Yorkers. Can the nation handle it?
10
I’ll be thrilled to cast my vote for Mike or any other worthy democrat nominee.
I’ll vote straight blue, no matter who, no doubt about it.
4
I'm glad Donald got Hope back. She will be of great service, and actually seemed to enjoy her privileged position on the presidential staff...
1
@Rick : No doubt she will be of great service. She can tell more "white" lies, and God knows what else she does.
7
Lincoln brought into his cabinet his competitors in order to hear all points of view. Trump brings in yes men/women. What do we think works best?
25
Mad King Donald. Maybe we should be a monarchy - we could at least put a regent in place of a demonstrably unstable individual.
13
Maybe he could have Melania give him a "Medal of Freedom" and retire?
Is it my imagination - but even though we've come to expect twitter eruptions, he is sounding more and more manic? Looking more disheveled? enlarging his personal enemies list?
What bad thing could possibly happen if Trump is ensconced with his daughter Ivanka, Jared, Hope Hicks and Stephanie Grisham, and there's a crisis? Something more than the orange "tan" line reveal.
17
@cheryl, yes. He is sounding more nasty, more petty, and just lower than ever. It's jaw dropping that this man is the president of our beloved country. And I cannot imagine who these people are, or want to be, who are supporting him.
12
If there was indeed applause when Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman was being escorted out of the White House, perhaps it was applause in favor of him, not against him.
37
wishful thinking. they applauded after he was escorted. not during.
1
So much for Trump “ learning a lesson “ from his impeachment, eh Senator Collins ? He learned a lesson alright, but just the opposite of what you suggested. God help us!
19
American populace to Trump: You tell 'em, big guy!
Sound sincere. Maybe he'll wander away.
4
Let him keep raging. At least people on the fence will have enough of him.
21
It is hard not to feel that the President is a cornered rat.
And I'm sorry to speak that way about the President of the United States.
The man was never--no, never--no, never--loyal (at bottom) to anyone or anything but himself.
With the result that his staff and entourage inevitably feel an ever dwindling sense of loyalty to him.
And there's more.
The life of a crook must be difficult. I mean, hang it all--the U.S. government employs what? Around two million people (give or take). That is one immense body of people--all of them (in their different ways) helping to rule and administer these United States.
And hang it all! SOME of those people--no help for it, Mr. President!--SOME of those people are bound to be--
--honest.
What can a crook do? Threats and blandishments take you only so far. Somewhere along the line SOMEONE or other is gonna put his (or her) country ahead of YOU, sir.
That's where the pain comes.
When all these sometime toilers for Trump cut loose from their maleficent boss and begin TALKING about their experiences. Or about what they saw. Or heard. Or know.
Well, I hand it to the guy. He lashes out as he can.
Eyes glinting.
Fangs bared.
Maybe I'd do the same if I were he.
Thank God I'm not
6
Trump has kicked out and vilified anyone who has a spine and dares to say something against his lies and his wild moves. I hope they all band together and call a rat a rat.
15
Hope Hicks told 'white' lies and resigned. trump, as an
accomplished liar, only wants to staff the White House
with loyal, functioning liars. Welcome back Hope Hicks.
13
This is similar to the way Trump operated in his own company. Doesn’t seem to have worked there, either.
26
Jamie,
If any of our people (black, brown, female, intelligent, caring, military, government, parents, LBGTs, immigrants....etc) want a government that eventually can speak to these varied stake holders - it first has to elect a government that shows an inkling of wanting to do so - this is not Trump or the GOP.
The Dems may not be perfect, and they certainly don't have their ground game perfected yet - but do you want another 4 years of Trump/GOP?
If not, give the Dems, as imperfect as they may seem, a shot. At least they have a history about caring for the people, the country and fiscal responsibility.
Get the people out to vote for anybody that can oust Trump....
Nobody could be worse.
20
Today we find out the judge allowed a Trump resistance fighter to become a juror in the Roger Stone trial, with evidence that she gave false testimony in court. With unlawful FISA warrants, spying on political campaigns and senior FBI and DOJ officials plotting to remove a duly elected President, how much more evidence do we need that the DOJ Trump inherited from President Obama is corrupt?
4
@J House What? Jurors don't give evidence. Also, what does "Trump resistance fighter" even mean?
16
The judge didn’t allow her to become a juror. During voir dire she was questioned by both the prosecutor and the defense and neither objected to her serving on the jury. Get your facts right and stop listening to far right blather before commenting. Stone was convicted by a jury of his peers on all seven counts. Does that mean that all 12 jurors were biased against him.
22
@J House
delusional
15
In 24 hours, Trump has gone completely off the rails, attacking a judge, a juror, prosecutors, his former chief of staff Kelly, vindeman and Bloomberg. But he is a very stable genius. Just hope people hold him accountable in November.
36
If Mr. Kelly was “way over his head” as chief of staff, what does it say about Trump that he hired him? Could it possible be that it is Mr. Trump who is over his head?
27
@Huge Grizzly Yeah. Kelly, Bolton, Vindman, all these guys are incompetent and the worst. Well, who appointed them then? Funny how that works out.
8
Trump is a narcissist of outrageous proportions who is raging out of control, putting our democracy at the greatest risk it's ever been in. His fervent supporters either don't care or don't fully understand the implications of an autocracy in which one can be imprisoned or worse simply for speaking out of line.
Mental health professionals are urgently needed, and a padded room. Funny that William Barr is finally seeing the situation for what it is, but only after a slipshod performance that just emboldens Trump. In the future, just wait for Donnie Jr. to aspire to the presidency. Or the imperious Ivanka.
11
Is Trump really that dense? Did he even consider that perhaps the applause was for doing the right thing?
20
Trump has no concept of what constitutes the “right thing.”
5
Trump - the Paranoid-in-Chief who truly does have many, many, enemies.
7
he's losing his .....
11
The crime family circles the wagons.
14
Not Mr Vindman, please. It’s Lt. Colonel if you don’t mind, NYT.
33
Who ought become a General.
12
This isn't news, but TV-style teaser for the next soap situation. Why are these banalities even aired? Come on NYT, use some editorial discretion and stop airing the advertisements for Trump's next episode. PLEASE.
3
No one forces AG Barr to do Trump’s bidding. No one. After all, he volunteered to be Trump’s poodle.
15
As usual, the fat, gutless draft dodger holds forth on Twitter, to the benifit of no one....
17
Please, someone remove the toddler from the Oval Office. He’s wearing me out with his tantrums and whining.
16
Good grief quit with the "fires back" headline! That's what his handlers always brag that he does. C'mon NYT.
11
Trump is going to find millions of Americans one day ready to tar and feather him
17
One day?
7
Thank you, John F. Kelly and others, for supporting and backing the intelligent, courageous, patriotic, and honorable Lt. Colonel Alexander S. Vindman.
How we wish your fellow Republicans in the House and Senate had even an ounce of his, and your, integrity and love of our dear country and Constitution.
26
No board of directors of any major American corporation would tolerate the kind of behavior President Trump is displaying. The would demand that he get back to work or demand his resignation. Any employer would certainly demand that an employee spending so much time on social media while on the clock would demand the employee to put his cell phone away and get back to work.
As a member of the American Psychiatric Association, it is unethical for me to render a diagnosis concerning President Trump. As a citizen of the United States, however, I think that President Trump's behavior suggests that he might benefit from a psychiatric assessment. If such an examination were to identify a diagnosis, President Trump and his job performance might benefit from treatment.
To be clear, it is wrong for someone to be terminated from employment simply because he or she has a medical condition, psychiatric or otherwise. Medical leave might be appropriate and reasonable accommodations can be made.
13
Ten years later when there are debt problems or hyperinflation, all the history professors will easily be in a position to start writing the truth in the history books.
Trump thinks he will be remembered as some sort of hero that saved the nation, and maybe his supporters think that too, but history is going to be very unkind to this guy, and rightfully so.
The only thing that is really going well for the moment is the economy, and that is because of the trillion Dollar deficit.
18
Saved the nation from what, exactly? Good governance and democratic norms? Mission accomplished then.
4
Stone had the best defense money can buy - and now he’s claiming his lawyers didn’t know a juror was “biased”?
And Donald Trump continues to alienate his closest allies - Bill Barr would serve the country best by dropping the “sitting president can’t be indicted” falsehood and sign what Mueller wanted him to sign, then turn himself in for conspiracy to obstruct justice and Congress.
It’ll never happen, but one can dream about saving our democracy, and the rule of law.
18
Trumpet said Kelly's "... public comments violated a “military and legal obligation” to remain silent."
Huh? I was in the military. I never heard of such a thing. The military has a code of honer, but that has more to do with integrity, obedience to lawful orders, and the international rules of warfare. The only people who have an obligation to remain silent are those entrusted with top secret, encrypted information that may not ever be published. My brother has never, to this day, said a word about what he did in Vietnam at his Army Security Agency desk.
The Trumpet is clueless, and makes up his own laws in order to insult, slander, and reject people of honor, dignity, and intelligence.
Senators, why is the trumpet still occupying the White House?
20
For someone who, in his usual loudmouth fashion, once boasted he hires only the best, Trump seems to spend a lot of time raging on Twitter about 'best people' forced out of his administration, or left it when obviously became fruitless to work with him.
15
I think I’d rather read the FB fights between teenagers than this juvenile twitter stuff from supposed adults.
4
There is a chance that Collins, Murkowski, and Alexander have learned a lesson, namely - trump does not learn lessons.
Time to add a few more items to the list the articles of impeachment, then resubmit.
8
@oldBassGuy sorry, they are all obtuse...they seem kinda dumb actually.
1
These government flunky's will do anything to keep their influence and power in the federal governments industrial complex. President Trump is the firewall they can't seem to destroy. I hope they keep failing.
4
John Kelly is a disgruntled ex employee who was let go. He is seeking revenge but it will not go well in the end for him. He should have gone out quietly.
2
False evaluation of John Kelly.
2
His vindictive, inaccurate and sometimes bizarre tweets aside, this is a reckless, unpredictable, loathsome individual who is unfit, incompetent and unable to govern the United States and uphold his oath of office. Those closest to him (i.e., Graham, McConnell, Pence, Mulvaney) have a responsibility to the Country to restrain and contain his increasingly impulsive and unpredictable behavior which threatens the safety of the nation. Their continued silence is feckless and they are complicit in his malevolence.
23
Nope. Only the Russian “diplomats” and “press” (i.e., spies) were invited in to see and spend time inside the Oval Office, as American press and others were forbidden to enter or look. Remember?
19
the founders said " This is Republic - if you can keep it" as democracy and the rule of law dies - the republic slips through our collective fingers - a petty and vindictive wanna be dictator plays a violin on his way to the bank.
4
I’m not sure how you can defend someone that brags in their Senate testimony that the Ukrainians asked him to be their Minister of Defense no less than three times...makes you wonder, just whose interests he was defending on the White House NSC?
2
@J House
He didn't brag about it, he was asked about it during his testimony and added that he had reported the offer immediately to his superior officer in his chain of command.
Perhaps they could settle this mano a mano, in a public fist fight. I’d pay good money to watch the Marine against the prep school boy.
3
Has anyone else noticed? The men around Trump are very flawed. Very weak. It's the women who are the cagiest and the toughest.
2
Trump is not worthy of the affection or admiration of our brave and self-sacrificing service members. As a CiC, and as a man, he is an abomination.
10
"Bone spurs" or four-star Marine...
"Bone spurs" or four-star Marine...
"Bone spurs" or four-star Marine...
Who to believe? Who to believe...? What a tough choice.
Vote Them All Out!
And thank you for your service, Gen. Kelly - even if trying to be 'the adult in the room' didn't work out for you.
9
Time to hit the streets.
13
To whom, among the members of his cabinet and his various advisors, does the president actually listen?
Anyone?
Is there someone in the federal structure who can explain to DJT the difference between a POTUS and the King of America? Between a president and a dictator?
Some “someone” who can shut Trump up, and get him to pay attention, as well as he’s able? To get serious or get out.
This business of having a chief executive who neither understands our constitution nor the rule of law AND apparently isn’t at all concerned by his amazing ignorance, has grown very, very old.
Mr. Trump, you need to show us a remarkable behavioral turn around — maybe tomorrow. Saturday at the latest. Your craziness, malice and unfitness need to end. The country can’t put up with you, as the obnoxious embarrassment you presently are, very much longer.
11
Being in over your head is certainly an area in which Trump has a lot of experience
11
General Kelly is a patriot, a soldier and a man of experience.
Trump is a draft-dodger, a coward, a braggart, a bankrupt and a bully.
Which would you invite to your home to meet your family and friends? Whom would you believe?
10
Evidently, this man is so simple-minded that he doesn't realize the applause was for Vindman, not for the fact that he was being unceremoniously escorted out.
51
That’s what I thought but was not sure from the description. It came from Trump after all.
1
“Vindman was the guy that, when we took him out of the building, the whole building applauded,” Mr. Trump said. “Many people applauded.”
Well, some people applauded.
Well, I applauded. And Jarad chuckled. Ivanka smirked. See, everyone hated him.
11
To Trump, “biased” means a person who is logical and fact based and not willing to believe in unicorns, fairy tales, and cheap shiny objects.
22
Perhaps it did not occur to the President that the staff was clapping for/in support of LTC Vindman in the only way available to them? I certainly would have.
26
Mr. Trump also suggested that he could stop the tradition of allowing numerous national security officials to listen to his phone calls with foreign leaders. “I may end the practice,” Mr. Trump said. “I may end it entirely.”
Gee, who could have seen that coming?
29
Trump has a very serious alcohol problem. He doesn't use any of it. If there was ever someone who needs a stiff one it's Trump. Both of them.
12
That apparently is a lie also. There are photos from the 2020 New Years Eve party at Mar a Lago. He’s drinking red wine. While I don’t think less of him for drinking wine, or whatever form of alcohol he prefers, why oh why does he have to lie about it?
1
@MorningInSeattle There are non alcoholic sparkling cidars that are red.
This aggressiveness is due to Trump's fear of unknown perils, fear of not being able to control events, so he strikes out to scare away his own fears. Time to recognize that Trump is not some cruel and tough person but a scared person who cannot contain his apprehensions and who does harm because he's always frightened.
10
Unhinged?
The door has fallen off the oval office!!
And everybody can now see inside.
17
There’s a special place in hell for those who dishonor war heroes like John McCain and speak ill of marines who served selflessly like John kelly. Donald trump might think he’s ok on earth but he should know there’s a Bad Place waiting for him..he’s scoring really high ramping up the scores for this bad place..
12
"John Kelly can't keep his mouth shut" Really?
What a silly little man your president is.
30
Maybe Trump should follow his own advice and "keep his mouth shut." The rest of the world watches as our country is becoming a fascist state.
6
I can not understand why anyone, especially military or former military would support the liar and nut bar wanna be Dictator Trump.
He and his group need to be tarred, feathered and sent out of the country.
This insanity has to stop.
30
@Seymour
Trump's skin is so thin that I am surprised it holds all that fat in his body inside. He is the meanest and most vindictive man ever to occupy the White House, worse than Nixon and his enemies list.
8
"like so many X’s"
Most people don't have some many X's.
33
Whilst reading reader’s comments, a comment came to mind - would you mind a comment upon your reading of my mind ?
1
I'm sure the more than capable Hope Hicks will be fulfilling the role of White House Chief of Staff in the near future.
11
Kelly has more integrity in his pinkie toe than Trump has in his entire body. Please, keep speaking out and exposing the ever increasing stench emanating from this nightmarishly corrupt president.
27
Et tu Kelly, et tu? So Kelly was the noblest Chief of Staff of them all? Not!
5
The only one way over his head is the President.
31
Unfortunately, our president is sounding more and more like a mob crime boss. Next it will be, “Don’t forget to kiss my hand when you come asking for a favor.” Such a sorry state our country is in.
33
". . . just can’t keep his mouth shut."
This is like Tiny Tim complaining about someone else's singing voice.
21
DOD/DOJ/IG itself needs to investigate Trump for retaliation.
16
Donald Trump.
Can we all just agree that he's nuts?
I mean, honestly, to attack his former chief of staff. To attack a juror. To attack so many people that he has hired and fired. To attack the free press. To attack sitting federal judges who have nothing to fear if they enforce the law.
He proves time and again that he's ignorant of so much.
He is nothing more than a tired old fool. His family must be humiliated.
55
@Bob
No. You are letting him off the hook by calling him nuts. He is an evil, ignorant bigot.
32
@Bob - His family emulates him and delights in his
buffoonery.
10
@Max Deitenbeck Your right Max, evil indeed.
1
So Trump is still a dangerous, self-absorbed narcissist.
Huh. Who woulda guessed?
30
Trump is a little baby in a playpen, pouting or lashing out when he doesn't get his way and ignorant of the damage it's doing to the country. He has about a zero macro view of what's going on.
17
"They are all crooked!"
Mr President, just because you are paranoid doesn't mean they are not all out to get you.
11
@Kim what trump should know is everyone is laughing behind his back teehee he has no idea! All the world leaders too..such a comic Donald trump!
10
No way he tweeted the word "insubordinate". Too many syllables.
21
trump tweeted "that Mr. Kelly “misses the action & just can’t keep his mouth shut.”
This from a man who comments and/or tweets about people in the news, for example: Meghan and Prince Harry, Greta Thunberg, Larry David, Paul Krugman, Seth Meyers, Alec Baldwin, Joy Behar, Whoopi Goldberg, Kathy Griffin, Megyn Kelly, Meghan McCain, Cynthia Nixon, Ronda Rousey, Molly Sims, Snoop Dogg, and Meryl Streep.
Or he insults Parkland survivors on the 1-yr. anniversary and tells American Citizens to "go back where they came from..."
We would all love for trump to keep his mouth shut and to keep his tweets to himself.
25
NYT, why report on this? Don't be part of the problem.
2
This guy is below the word “unfit”! He needs to get another job so he can be blobbing whatever he wants without hurting our beloved country.
Vote blue to save our country!
18
“Vindman was the guy that, when we took him out of the building, the whole building applauded,” Mr. Trump said. “Many people applauded.”
And Muslims in New Jersey cheered when the twin towers fell. I don’t believe anything this guy says.
30
Trump, you have no empathy nor can you think nor see beyond the nose on your face. They were cheering FOR Vindman and his integrity.
10
NYT... Please get that audio of the applause... I’d like to hear that, if it even exists.
2
This deeply offensive President has the brass neck to criticise two soldiers - honourable, truthful, courageous - unlike Trump of course he four times avoided the draft to Vietnam, so scared was he to don a uniform and fight for his country. He is what he always has been - a gigantic fraudster on an epic scale. Not only does he shame his office, the rest of the world looks at his behaviour and quite frankly holds not only Trump in contempt - but his office also. This is not healthy.
20
Now I know why none of his X cabinet and staff is willing to open his mouth and spill the beans on the horror show they witnessed first hand @ WH. He had them all-without exceptions-signed an NDA with the threat of suing for financial penalties if they dare open their mouths.
Were they that desperate to work in WH or cabinet they accepted the humiliations of signing an NDA to get the gig.
Was Mattis, Kelly, Tillerson, McMaster, etc in such dire position they willingly sign an NDA?
Does anyone left-except the so-called base-still doubt he is a mobster and runs the wH as a crime family?
16
@morGan
Can’t they just violate said NDA and take their chances? This is what I do not understand.
1
Trump doesn’t understand the saying: When you point your finger at someone else, there are three pointing back at you.
4
He is a master at using Projection!
4
Trump needs to be on medication to help him get a handle on all the overpowering negative emotions he experiences on an hourly basis. His angry, vindictive bullying and his in-your-face "I have the absolute right to do anything I want to do" is escalating. It's like a cry for help. He's out of control.
11
Come on. Who are we to follow on military conduct?
Decorated veterans or a draft dodger? According to the GOP, the draft dodger who fancies himself as General Patton.
Or rather George C Scott playing Patton, a war movie being as close to a war as Trump ever got.
5
Donald - when we take you out during the election, the whole country will applaud. And until that happens, i would advise you to stop insulting the people who have served in our armed forces. You will never for a minute understand the notion of courage, integrity, honor and commitment. I doubt if you can even spell any of these words.
35
The most bizarre Tweet of today was Donald J. Trump accusing General Kelly of being "way over his head". Many people in the Trump White House are way over their heads in the jobs assigned to them by Trump. But the one who is most egregiously so far under water in his job is Donald J. Trump himself. Trump is a walking textbook of psychopathology and his continual attribution of his own blatant failings to others is amazing, but also pathetic.
25
mad king donnie: "OFF WITH THEIR HEADS"
isn't this insanity what the 25th Amendment was supposed to solve? (seeing how the GOP Senate seems to have misplaced their spine and the Constitution)
13
John Kelly is a disappointment and he is a traitor. I used to think he was an honorable man. I do not any longer. He should have remained silent about this situation with Lt. Colonel Vindman. This does not concern Mr. Kelly.
1
Thank God there are some patriots like Mr. Kelly left in the country. The treason against America is being perpetrated on a daily basis by Trump and the rest of his corrupt syncophants.
25
@KMW
It concerns all of us.
9
Sorry General Kelly, you are a day late and a dollar short. Racist, weak, without honor. Another life long stellar reputation down the drain in a few moments. Take a seat next to all the other trump refuse from past and future.
9
And a lot of people will be clapping when you leave the White House too. Except history will record Vindman as an honourable man who did his duty repeatedly for country. You not so much if at all, if ever.
16
John Kelly..."just can't keep his mouth shut." Haha! This is irony in the extreme.
15
WASHINGTON — John F. Kelly, the former White House chief of staff, expressed support for one of the key impeachment witnesses whom President Trump abruptly fired last week, drawing a swift response from the president, who tweeted Thursday morning that Mr. Kelly “misses the action & just can’t keep his mouth shut.”
The one who needs to keep is mouth shut is Donald.
------------------------------------------------------------
7
But the hair looks good./s
3
How do his quotes here and on end not concern his supporters? I’m serious. Are they all nuts too?
14
All the lame excuses, starting with Paul Ryan's "He's new at this--let's give him a chance" up until Susan Collin's "He's learned his lesson" continue to show how delusional the Repubs are. And spineless.
24
I've been skeptical of the characterizations of Trump as a fascist, but when a president expresses displeasure at a sentencing recommendation by career professionals that falls within established guidelines, and then the AG undermines his own staff by catering to the president's whim, it's scarily reminiscent of life under a Peron or a Franco. Likewise, when a president who clearly dodged military service in his youth heaps calumny on Purple Heart recipients and decorated generals, such vindictiveness reflects the self-aggrandizing ethos of the autocrat. I've not served in our armed forces, but I respect the commitment and sacrifices of those who have. If their fundamental dignity and honor is clear to me, and I'm no stable genius, why does the president have such disdain for men like General Kelly and Lt. Col. Vindman--and why does he feel free to vent that rancor so openly? This is why I was hesitant to pursue the impeachment process. It did not take a prophet to see that, once he was acquitted by the Senate, the president would forego all restraint, especially since the White House is now empty of anyone willing to challenge or check the president--as General Kelly tried to do. We, the loyal opposition, have handed Trump a victory, all the adults have left the room, and he is up for reelection, with less reason to restrain himself than ever. It's not just that this will end badly; it will end in tragedy. Voting is no longer a civic exercise; it is now a sacred duty.
18
Attacking someone of John Kelly's stature. Wow. Boy, when Don's supporters turn on him, and they will, he is going to go down fast. If I were him or his family, I'd start investing in real estate on Mars.
3
Normal presidents want witnesses to calls with foreign leaders to protect themselves from misunderstandings or deliberate mischaracterizations by the foreign government. Trump is afraid that the truth will get out.
16
When payback comes to Trump..so many of his initial personnel on staff will finally sigh a relief that what comes around goes around.
That day is coming..
5
Most likely the bias accusations and the reduced sentence request are going to be the excuse for a pardon, using it to justify calling the trial process unfair, regardless of the type of sentence.
3
And Donny is sure that when the guy left the building his co-workers weren’t applauding because he was finishing an assignment well done ?
6
I'm the daughter of a WW II Pacific theater combat veteran, and the sister of a Vietnam veteran. I'm a registered Democrat, as was my father and perhaps my brother. I respect the military and I especially respect veterans.
I have long been horrified by how Team Trump, from Trump supporters on social media to the president himself, talk about our men and women in uniform.
John McCain, Humayun Khan, Bill Taylor, and now Lt Col Vindman -- their vilification by Team Trump disgusts and repels me more than I can say.
I am so glad to learn that John Kelly has had the courage and decency to speak out on this matter. I hope and pray that Jim "Mad Dog" Mattis someday finds his voice.
18
@Danusha Goska
Was it for this those fields of the flowers of youth
were mowed down storming those beaches,
so that the inheritors we might be
of the defeated tyrant’s ideology?
4
Juror's who are deciding cases involving Trump and his cronies need to fall in line like the Republicans have, otherwise they will face the consequences. Laws and evidence don't matter in this vision of America, thank you Mr. President your genius is something to behold.
1
Pres Trump's response to Gen Kelly's speech is telling. Mr. Trump offers insults but no facts in support of his argument. In sharp contrast, Gen Kelly explained that Lt Col Vindman acted as he was trained, and as a military officer should.
As for Mr Trump's claim that Gen Kelly "was way over his head" as chief of staff, the President has given new meaning to the expression "the pot calling the kettle black."
12
This story should help everyone who worried how the defense department might handle the kind of pressure from Trump that caused Justice Dept. and the State Dept. bow down in obeisance.
The Generals apparently have no reason to treat Trump with the fear and incapacitation as have Republicans in Congress or the top appointees in State and DOJ.
Now Kelly has irretrievably joined Generals Jim Mattis, H.R. McMaster, and Admirals James Stavridis and Bill McRaven as top ranking military men that tried to served Trump and were either fired or resigned.
But most evidently galling to star officers was the pardoning of Navy Seal Eddy Gallagher. With that act of stupid arrogance effectively overruling the Universal Military Code which the military reveres and reserves to its own determination.
Kelly’s said Lt Col. Alexander Vindman’s reporting to legal counsel what he believed was an illegal order was completely correct. “He did exactly what we teach them to do from cradle to grave.”
This should give everyone skittish about our president who using the military roughly as he has used State and Justice lately some confidence that Generals will make their own choices.
I breathe a deep sign of relief today, after reading General Kelly’s comments because I know what it means—Generals have no intention of obeying an illegal order from a commander of chief they don’t respect.
7
@Dennis
Like it or not everyone in the Department of Defense reports to Trump and serves at his pleasure, not yours or mine.
1
Trump thought acquittal meant he was out of the woods. He still doesn't realize how he creates his own problems, over and over.
8
@slightlycrazy rush Limbaugh is dying..trump should take his job! He loves to listen to his own voice and read his own tweets.
5
Some folks benefit from criticism or deflect remarks to avoid the appearance of being petty or a perpetual grievance tweeter. No one spared once criticism of Trump launched.
I remember the President saying he only hires the best. That must have applied to General Kelly. I don’t understand.
5
Doesn't Trump have an actual job to do? All his predecessors were very busy with 16 hour days 7 days a week. It doesn't seem that Trump has put in a 40 hour week let alone a presidential week since he took office. He spends his time sniping at perceived enemies. It's like we're all trapped back in high school and the bully is out of control.
21
When will folks get past the point that this POTUS takes no prisoners.?
Very foolish and even childish of Gen Kelly to make these comments when he was not even on the call or not even part of staff.
It's like a general criticizing another general - in this case a Commander in Chief - over a decision he took on a battlefield.
As to this so called Ukraine expert - the shamimpeachment hearings showed that other than having been born in Ukraine - he has nothing special to offer - like he studied for a PhD in its history etc.
I can't imagine a single supervisor or even a military commander having that man on his staff. What he seems to be an expert on is back stabbing.
As to POTUS and Roger Stone - why cannot POTUS criticize a verdict when he just went thru a witch hunt.
And if folks in power can lobby for an illegal to remain in the country even after an order to remove has been passed or even give a sanctuary so that the Feds cannot touch him - why a different standard here.
Ok, even if they say they are doing a service to s constituent - the same difference here.
I know it's not possible - but after 3 years of tweets - if every tweet is to be taken as a cause for removal - may be folks who read these tweets need to remove themselves.
1
Kelly's public comments violated a “military and legal obligation” to remain silent.?? The test--Will they harm Trump? Then, of course, there is an obligation to secrecy. We just had a decision from a federal judge that says Trump is not obliged to keep transcripts, tapes, documents of calls and other contacts with foreign leaders...We are into an era of absolute non-accoutability and deception.
5
@stefanie
Like it or not, there is a rule in the military against insubordination.
2
@Mark Shyres he was not insubordinate. He reported questionable activity to his superiors who took appropriate action.
7
Trump: Vindman was the guy that, when we took him out of the building, the whole building applauded,” Mr. Trump said. “Many people applauded.”
Trump forgot to add, "He ran into a dead-end tunnel whimpering and crying and screaming all the way".
4
I'm not an American but I have, since I first developed consciousness I guess, seen the USA as the "leaders of the free world". Just as the USA has advertised itself. I have seen many of its flaws and I have often been annoyed that the obvious corruption around the two-party system has never been seriously tackled. Still, the general feeling has been that "good" had a decent advantage over "bad" and that "common sense" made sense.
It is different now. Trump is a despicable person. There's no way around it. He lies, he insults, he humiliates, bullies and he does all that without giving any evidence of being as smart as he claims to be. That gives me very little hope that he, who has the power to advance civilization and help saving humanity, has either the ability or wish to do so.
Thing is that even if global warming is a hoax (it isn't) there are so many other ways that in we are destroying our planet. Worse, we do that at an increasing speed and your President has for some obscure reason decided that he want to speed it up even more. That is horrifying.
Can there be a worse crime against humanity, against life itself, to refuse to see that we are heading straight into doomsdays and instead of trying to avoid them, call for a hurry up?
8
"...came in with a bang, went out with a whimper"? No way Trump read T.S. Elliot and came up with that allusion in a tweet. Someone wrote that for him -- someone as vicious and self-serving who actually has an education.
10
Steven Miller!.
6
Kelly is the face of the DC swamp.
Always acting sanctimonious. He reminds me of McCain.
Hope he understands it's time to retire to seclusion.
4
Trump must not be criticized. He is too fragile.
7
Good thing we have the sterling character and the always well-informed President to lead us. Please!
4
@Bhaskar
There’s nothing swampier than the ballad of The Donald and Stone.
6
Look at the angle in that picture by Doug Mills. Doesn't it look like Trump has small hands? That, or else he has an oversized head.
19
@Catalin Sandu: That was a campaign issue raised by Senator Marco Rubio when he ran against Trump for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination. It didn't work for him.
Like the hands of a small child.
3
Of course Trump never told Barr to intervene; Barr knew exactly what his job was and he moved before even needing a nudge.
20
Is there anyone left Trump hasn't tried to tweet-shame (except of course lovely, soulless Ivanka)?
23
My god, is anyone safe in the trump administration? Speak the truth and get publicly vilified.
Disagree and get thrown out of the swamp.
Dare to infer the that the King is wrong and suffer the tweet storm of the 'oh poor me' president.
Thank you Susan, and Lisa, and all you other fearfull republican senators...the president has really learned his impeachment lesson.
29
@Lalo: Getting vilified is only the half of it. Lawyering-up is expensive.
@Steve Bolger
Thank you. Your Right, even trumps lawyers have lawyers. They should organize a go-fund-me campaign because the anger, petty meanness, and vindictiveness from this child is far from over.
2
So the draft-dodging Trump attacks Kelly for "violating a legal obligation”?
That's rich! Especially coming from a serial violator of legal obligations! Not to mention obligations of office, normal standards of ethical conduct, or simple human decency!
33
@NYer: Only the president has personal discretion to declassify anything. All others with security clearances must be authorized to disclose something. Criminal penalties apply to unauthorized disclosures.
If one has no security clears one can comment on the obvious without penalty.
1
Trump is unqualified to be President. His impeachment trial was a fraud in which he was protected by the Republican Party and McConnell. In any fair trial with an impartial jury he would have been convicted unanimously of abuse of powers and obstruction of Congress and be removed from office. Col. Vindman is an American hero who showed great courage and loyalty to our Constitution in testifying before Congress and telling the truth. Trump is a stranger to the ideas of truth and honor. He behaves like a buffoonish mafia don who lives a life of crime, lies, and is in fear of good honorable men and whistleblowers. Trump should be impeached again and again by Congress; for his mendacity and abuses of power are never ending. When will his supporters see the light and stop supporting a man of utter depravity? He acts like a strong person; but in reality he is a very small bully; an emperor without clothes, devoid of honor and decency!
32
You might as well copy this letter and save in a file. Submit it again tomorrow. And every tomorrow after that until he is gone. It’s like living in a Groundhog’s Day nightmare. Wish a twofer of arthritis and laryngitis would befall him.
5
"Republicans" are the problem. They became Trumpists and abandoned their role of being a check on the president. Both Trump and his corrupt enablers need to go. Susan Collins, your a lady so you get to go first.
28
See there's duty to America...and duty to the big guy. Hard to do both.
10
I missed the part where the jury forewoman announced to the world prior to the beginning of the trial what her vote would be - which would be a clear admission of bias and a tainted jury. Oh wait.
12
"Mr. Kelly said in a speech Wednesday evening that Lt. Colonel Alexander S. Vindman, an expert on Ukraine for the National Security Council removed from his post last week, was right to raise questions about a telephone call with the president of Ukraine in which Mr. Trump pressed for investigations of his political rivals.“He did exactly what we teach them to do from cradle to grave,” Mr. Kelly said. “He went and told his boss of what he just heard. We teach them: ‘Don’t follow an illegal order. And if you’re ever given one, you’ll raise it to whoever gives it to you that this is an illegal order, and then you’ll tell your boss.’”
Thank you John Kelly for standing up for honesty, integrity, the constitution and being a patriotic American Citizen.
20
Trump did say he had the very best people. Then why does he have to tweet, "but like so many X’s, he misses the action & just can’t keep his mouth shut,". So many X's? These are the very best people Trump had? And like so many, they can't stop bad-mouthing Trump? John Kelly, the "he" in this tweet, is imprinted in my memory as the man standing off to the side in Trump Tower, head bowed, as Trump went off on his Charlottesville rant of good people on both sides. And that was before the guardrails came off after the Senate vote.
19
Many here are discussing Twitter suspending Trump’s account for violating terms of service, I say he should be indicted for violating our laws. He has committed many of the same felonies his friends have been sentenced for including but not limited to lying to Congress, campaign finance violations, outright fraud of charitable giving, conspiracy to interfere in our elections (both 2016 and 2020), misuse of taxpayer funds, self serving against Emoulments clause, misleading the public, violating his oath of office, probable money laundering through his real estate, and possible treason against these United States! Congress do your job and at least censure the barbarian, impeach him again (Maybe, this time the Republicans will be ready to remove him.) or simply indict him, even if he is a sitting president. He isn’t ‘too busy to defend himself with presidential affairs of our country’ obviously, or he wouldn’t have hours to watch FOX and Twitter. Justice must be served. The day of reckoning will come.
14
Trump is run amok.
The House should arrest any individuals that have declined to answer to subpoena power.
There’s a jail in the house for that purpose.
This should have been done months ago.
Do it now, even if it feels too late. There really is nothing left to lose.
14
Get the scales; one side a Marine who is known as a straight shooter, on the other side NYC developer known to lie when he opens his mouth.
Humm.
Tough call.
I'll take the leatherneck.
25
I’m looking forward to the applause heard round the world when trump is escorted from the White House to the Big House.
26
Someone asked me who can beat Trump
I said:Trump
His approval ratings are already falling
Keep raging Stable Genius
13
With so much of what the president is doing is so wrong, when will the Senate stand up call him on it? I can almost see the majority of them hiding under their desks. It's disgusting.
7
If I had done a fraction of what Trump has done I would be in prison by now.
This is unacceptable behavior for an ordinary citizen but for the president it is inexcusable.
19
This is not normal and it’s not acceptable behavior from a president. When will MAGA nation wake up? I keep waiting for an “emperor’s new clothes” moment when someone will speak up in just the right way and it will shock them out of their trance.
9
Massive demonstrations by US citizens who value the Constitution and the rule of law should protest interference by DJT in the sentencing of Roger Stone. There may be re is no way to oust DJT from the presidency before preventing his re-election in November 2020. However, DJT cannot stand criticism and demonstrations against his violations could promote tweets full of lies and nonsense and drive him crazy until he would be forced to resign even by his cowardly republican supporters in the House and Senate.
6
What Trump is too blind to see is that Vindman was applauded for testifying, not for being removed.
23
A new chapter in the bottomless democracy dark hole that is the Trump as president reality show. And whatever his enablers said after the acquittal it will get worse not better. Dictatorship is real.
10
If anyone applauded as Mr. Vindman was escorted out, I would suspect their applause was to indicate their support for Mr. Vindman. Trump can't read any social situation correctly.
20
The thing about Trump is that he can do and say anything even if it contradicts the last thing he said. He literally does not care. He is so uneducated on the law and the constitution that he has no sense of the difference between right and wrong. Imagine driving a car if you had no ideas of any of the rules of the road but you had a huge monster truck. It would be a blood bath. And we are in the middle of a blood bath. His fall back and protection is " I'm the President. I can do anything I want." The Republican Congress who have deftly enabled and encouraged this despicable behavior have a significant responsibility in Trump's out of control attack on our rule of law. That his followers do not see the enormous danger in this is, in and of it self, an enormous danger. We are in terrible times.
14
We should stop responding to this nonsense with indignation and critical thinking. Instead, we should, at minimum, commit, unequivocally, to whomever the Dems eventually nominate to run in 2020. And if we want to take it a step further, we should put our energy pre-election into supporting any candidates or causes that help end the Trump era: postcards, canvassing, phone banking, etc.
Intentionally or not, Trump has been playing rope-a-dope with the Left for 3+ years. Ignore him and help rid our system of this sickness.
12
What were people expecting, post-impeachment acquittal?
That Donald Trump would have "learned his lesson"?
That the President would be chastened and keep carefully within the boundaries of his Constitutional powers?
No, my dears. This is a President who will continue to subvert and evade the law, undermine the courts, and ignore the limits on Presidential powers set forth in the Constitution.
Nancy Pelosi may have ripped up Trump's State of the Union address--but Trump is surely ripping up the US Constitution.
17
I think the authors buried the lede. The most significant item is the attack on a private citizen, chosen at random for jury duty, who survived voir dire, and fulfilled his or her oath as a juror.
Trump's attack on General Kelly is just another run-of-the-mill lashing out against a public figure.
13
If I had to guess, I'd say they were applauding him for his courage and professionalism.
14
Will Trump now "out" the names and addresses of the Stone jurors? As we have learned, he is immune from punishment for illegal activity.
9
Trump predictably attacks his former staff members when they tell the truth. They can probably handle themselves. But the attack on a private citizen who served on a jury is absolutely unacceptable. That woman could be any one of us.
18
It is time for a non-partisan, highly-esteemed team of psychiatrists to be appointed to examine the president. A determination of whether his psychological state is such that he can/cannot continue on in his duties as president is clearly indicated.
Things have recently moved into the realm of complete irrationality. Since his aquittal at the senate impeachment trial, the president’s powermad behavior has crossed all bounds of reason.
14
Trump is on a roll that only Republicans of honor can stop.
First Mitt, now Kelly, we need more voices chiming in. Trump is directly upending the rule of law. We need more protestation and less resignations. Keep your jobs. Be a force for right. Yes, there is right and wrong.
12
Of course they applauded Vindeman. Not because he was being forced out, as Trump assumed, but because he’s a hero.
17
All the senators who acted like sheepish herd feared of Trump’s angers and fierce opposition while facing future elections,need to learn how to grow up themselves and be brave to protect righteousness,not the lies and propaganda rampant in governance for personal interests and purposes instead nation & its people. Alexander,Graham,Collins,Marsha,Devin,Rand Paul and likes need to retire as being champion for lies.
3
Trump doesn't seem to understand that applauding a departing colleague is a sign of respect.
12
Who would ever have ever believed that any of this would happen just by electing an amoral, thrice married, six time bankrupt business failure to the highest office in the land?
Of course, we now get to hate our fellow citizens, so at least there’s that.
12
I understand where Kelly is coming from, but I don't see where Vindman was given an illegal order and it's in dispute whether whatever President Trump said would qualify as an illegal order.
This is a real example of an a proposed illegal order and consequences: "We need to shoot the fishermen. We're spotting for the North Vietnamese." "The hell we will! The U.S. Navy does not shoot fishermen!" That was the end of it. No fisherman were shot and no one was court martialed for proposing it. I can't think of a scenario where anyone in the military got court martialed for having a bad idea that didn't get acted on.
@Jim You are flat out wrong. Tobias Wolff in a book about his service in 'Nam, In Pharaoh's Army, recounts the murder of fishermen the result of orders of his CO. This incident was never reported as an atrocity and no one was ever brought to trial. Then there is the Calley murder of 500 (that number is accurate) Vietnamese women and children, of which we have photographic evidence, by Calley and some, not all, of his unit. These murders were only documented well after the war ended in a report by General Peers. The report establishes that the murders were covered up at the highest levels of the US military. Calley was convicted of criminal behavior, yet the preponderance of the public and the military believed that Calley was innocent and a scapegoat. He may have been a scapegoat, but he was also guilty of atrocities.
2
@Don Alfonso
You forgot to add that Calley was pardoned by Nixon.
3
Trump has his fat little fist on the scales of justice and his boot heel on the throats of a cowardly Republican Senate. The last few days have probably brought forth more evidence that Trump should be removed from office. I am beginning to wonder if he loses the election will he indeed vacate the White House? American democracy appears to be on the ropes because of so many fearful Republican Senators.
63
@Pancho -
I don't care if he leaves under his own will or not.
The police might have to dart him like a wild beast and carry him out strapped to a gurney.
It would make for great TV.
7
My God, that man must be exhausted from constantly bullying everyone who disagrees with him. What a way to always be, he is despicable!
74
Exhausted? A Man-God knows not the toll of "exhaustion" upon human flesh or brain. He strides His Land where all must kneel and adore. -- Heart of America.
1
@Ellie Barrett
Must be why he has no time to read his briefs.
1
@Ellie Barrett Yes. He is his own reward and his own punishment. He gets to be him, for life! I'm sure he thinks others want to be him too. A misguided soul and a waste of tremendous opportunities.
2
Funny .Kelly way over his head.Ithink everybody knows Trump is way over his head.
33
@richard addleman Try the Trump Algorithm: whenever Trump accuses X of doing bad thing B (a "coup," "corruption," "in over his head," etc) then it follows that Trump is doing that bad thing B. Works for nearly every accusation. The lies seem to dissolve when you apply the Algorithm, and you feel a bit better about being an American citizen.
4
What is so cute about Mr. Trump, is that he can’t keep his mouth shut.
This makes him so much less frightening than Comrade Stalin was.
24
@Ernst Mathys: Vlad Putin is taciturn. He's rather let Trump babble.
2
He really should get that make-up spread out wider as it looks extra-comical just in the front. The white circles around the eyes look like an opossom. Aside from that, he's just loony and dangerous.
25
Would any adult constantly attack and denigrate and smear people so publicly? Of course not.
Then why would anyone tolerate, and even laud, such behavior, especially when it is accompanied by such willful and ignorant incompetence?
28
@Emily Clark: Trump still runs the family business in the Trump Tower of his mind.
1
A grotesque bully of limited intellect describes Trump.
28
@Imperato: Trump has what has been called Emotional Quotient. He can read other people's vulnerabilities.
Trump’s tweets are like potato chips that the Times can’t stop eating except having to read them here in the paper is giving me the indigestion. Trump certainly has them hooked on them.
4
@John Doe: You do realize that those same tweets attract conservative media like flies to an outhouse in July as well, right? I mean, without them, where would their narrative be?
3
I suggested a couple of years ago that the Times should have a Trump free day every now and then. Repetition doesn’t really enhance the news experience.
2
it's called reporting. if you wish them ignored it is possibly because they embarrass real Americans. oh all media report his rants.
4
''“misses the action & just can’t keep his mouth shut.”
That's a line out of a 30's gangster movie with Edward G. Robinson.
He runs it like he is a mob boss.
18
@Lawrence
That's an insult to the memory of Edward G. Robinson!
3
It's obvious to everyone who is paying attention.
From Day 1, we knew the only person who was “way over his head” is Trump himself.
Not only incompetent, inarticulate, and monotonous, but an amoral bore without a shred of decency.
It's obvious what his con-game has been from the days he hosted NBC'S "Apprentice" and frequently appeared on the fakery act of World Wide Wrestling.
Nothing but a phony through and through, who is now cornered like a crazed rat.
30
@Paul Use the Trump Algorithm: whenever Trump says X is doing bad thing B (a "coup," "corruption," "in over his head," etc) then it follows that Trump is doing that bad thing B. Works for nearly every accusation. The lies dissolve when you apply the Algorithm.
2
“...his public comments violated a ‘military and legal obligation’ to remain silent.”
Is Trump using NDAs to gag his former staffers from telling the truth?!? Sure sounds like it.
This clown proves himself more dangerous daily.
19
Mr. Trump accuses Mr. Kelly of being unable to keep his mouth shut. What a confounding accusation from such as Mr. Trump who is known world-wide for his logorrhea.
As for the other story that is breaking, AG Barr saying that Trump's tweets prevent him from doing his job, strike me as mere cover as Trump hired Barr as AG job to protect Mr. Trump from all accountability.
12
@E C Scherer Try the Trump Algorithm: whenever Trump accuses X of doing bad thing B (a "coup," "corruption," "in over his head," "can't keep his mouth shut," etc) then it follows that Trump is doing that bad thing B. Works for nearly every accusation. The lies seem to dissolve when you apply the Algorithm, and you feel a bit better about being an American citizen.
Of course, it won't work well with Barr, who CAN keep his mouth shut, and who was clearly telling the truth when he said that Trump's tweets prevented him from "doing his job" (a job which he has previously described as keeping the executive branch "unitary," with no dissent about its doings from the Justice Department).
3
Do you think if some adult in this Administration turned off the TV in the West Wing, that DJT might actually have to find something presidential to do for our country...? No...I didn't think so....
9
@Jackson T Firefly - Can't they just flip the channel to Family Feud or Judge Judy or something?
3
Kelly: Too little...too late.
15
I don't know how Donald Trump doesn't make himself sick with his bile, vitriol and vengeance. It's a disgusting brew, it spews forth hourly, and why more Americans don't find it tiresome and depressingly negative is just beyond me.
17
@kglen Try the Trump Algorithm: whenever Trump accuses X of doing bad thing B (a "coup," "corruption," "in over his head," "can't keep his mouth shut," etc) then it follows that Trump is doing that bad thing B. Works for nearly every accusation. The lies seem to dissolve when you apply the Algorithm, and you feel a bit better about being an American citizen.
Of course, it won't work well with Barr, who CAN keep his mouth shut, and who was clearly telling the truth when he said that Trump's tweets prevented him from "doing his job" (a job which he has previously described as keeping the executive branch "unitary," with no dissent about its doings from the Justice Department).
Doesn't our "President" have, you know, actual work to do running the country?
One would think his *only* job is to tweet, lie whenever he opens his mouth, and attack anyone who dares to criticize him.
18
Nobody getting under chicken hawk trump’s thin skin more than honorable distinguished veterans questioning —even ridiculing—the dear leader’s moral turpitude.
17
Trump has learned his lesson alright.
7
Trump is the result of republican moral decay. The stench is overwhelming.
20
@SN That's Rrepublican, both capital-R and small-r. A "republic" (as John Adams found in Dr. Johnson's Dictionary long ago) is a state ruled by more than one person at a time. The decay is both moral and political.
It appears from the book, A Very Stable Genius, that Trump spends approximately 5-6 hours M-F “ at work.” The rest of the time is spent tweeting, watching TV, talking with his friends and flying off to play golf or hold rallies. Much of the time in the Oval Office is spent raging against press reports, his perceived enemies and his staff.
General Kelly was one of the last adults in the WH to keep him reined in...something the president hated. Now he has successfully surrounded himself with enablers and family who allow him to do as he wishes. He makes the decisions based on his gut and genius-knowledge and his compliant GOP makes sure they do as they are told.
No more adults in the room, no advisors ( he thinks he knows more people anyone and says so), few briefings and no strategy or policy plans.
Thank you, General Kelly. Thank you Colonel Vindman. You both will be remembered as honorable, patriotic men who had the courage to work for a madman.
15
I honestly don’t understand why Americans aren’t marching en masse on the White House and demanding that your clearly unhinged ‘president’ step down. I don’t think that even he wants him as president. You’d be doing everyone, including Crazy Donnie, a big favour. The only reason he feels compelled to stay there is because he knows he’ll be frog marched from the White House to the Big House. The rest of the sane world lives for that day.
28
@David Which Americans? 30% would call those marching demonstrators "traitors," and cry "lock 'em up."
Protests are a tried and true way by Americans of bringing change. For example, constant demonstrations against the Vietnam war went a long way towards ending it. And the U.S. is in far greater real peril now than it was during that war.
2
Trump unleashed and going over the edge.
7
Gee, who else do we know who can't keep his mouth shut? Who shares his every lie and grievance with the entire country? Who has lied to the public over 16,000 times in the last 3 years. Who pretends to be a president but doesn't have the knowledge, skill, or temperament to do the job ???
9
No one has a right to a White House job; that's not the issue.
What is at stake, as John Kelly pointed out to the Presidents's discomfort, is the rule of law. During my army days, I worked in a military government unit. With nothing to govern, the Korean War having just ended, we practiced. I rewrote manuals for military government which stressed among other things, the principles derived from the Nuremburg and Tokyo war crime trials that required our military to refuse unlawful orders.
At My Lai and elsewhere the principle was observed in the breach but remains part of the UCMJ because it protects our troops as well as POWs and innocent civilians. (See the 4th Geneva Covention from 1949). Only an idiot would want to change this particular law of war.
Even AG Barr appears to have a breaking point. In calling out the President for throwing rocks in the wheels of justice, perhaps Barr established a predicate for an Article 25 proceeding. I wonder if Barr realizes the Department of Justice's predicament with Trump is a logical consequence of Barr's pet theory of the Unitary Executive.
10
@Frank McNeil Barr, who CAN keep his mouth shut, was clearly telling the truth when he said that Trump's tweets prevented him from "doing his job" (a job which he has previously described as keeping the executive branch "unitary," with no dissent about its doings from the Justice Department).
1
@Frank McNeil - The only thing that has changed in the last couple of days is that the House started talking about impeaching Barr. Otherwise, I fully expect that he would have supported everything his boss tells him to do.
2
Yesterday we watched a variety of journalists from different sources on YouTube discussing this "president," and were again reminded of how lazy Trump is in comparison to real U.S. presidents. All he does is watch T.V., tweet, fly back and forth to Mar-a-lago to socialize and play golf, and attend rallies where his fans stroke his ego. He is essentially just a PR guy for himself and his "brand," not a president.
17
I’d ask what happens if something truly bad comes up, and Trump has run out everybody with a brain who’s honest—bit nah, everybody knows what happens.
Bad things happen to a lot of Americans and to the world, is what happens.
2
“'Vindman was the guy that, when we took him out of the building, the whole building applauded,' Mr. Trump said. 'Many people applauded.'"
If there was applause, then you would have to know why they applauded.
2
To put down John F Kelly, decorated patriot for his entire life and who has lost his own son in war, is a despicable act by anyone let alone by the president of the US, to put most mildly. It is heartbreaking that seeing Trump's profound moral deficit is now a part of our every day life in this country.
10
The military answers to the Country and the Constitution before answering to an unstable, incompetent, corrupt, immoral unfortunate excuse for a leader.
10
Lock us up. History will never remember you correctly unless you lock all of us up.
3
"Fights back"? Cut it out with this "fight" business. NYT used this phrase for what was done to Vindman, who wasn't fighting anyone, merely doing his duty. Kelly isn't fighting either, just speaking his mind. And Trump? What he is doing cannot be described as fighting, either. His are displays of naked rage launched at anyone who disagrees with him and at anything that doesn't go his way.
15
There were no biased jurors. The only ones biased here are Trump and Barr. And if Trump's tame basset now protests that he won't let himself be bullied by his leash holder, it's a little late. He should have stopped licking his master's boots long ago and declared some independence before allowing Trump to turn his office into the Injustice Department.
5
@Christy Try the Trump Algorithm: whenever Trump accuses X of doing bad thing B (a "coup," "corruption," "in over his head," "can't keep his mouth shut," etc) then it follows that Trump is doing that bad thing B. Works for nearly every accusation. The lies seem to dissolve when you apply the Algorithm, and you feel a bit better about being an American citizen.
Of course, it won't work well with Barr, who CAN keep his mouth shut, and who was clearly telling the truth when he said that Trump's tweets prevented him from "doing his job" (a job which he has previously described as keeping the executive branch "unitary," with no dissent about its doings from the Justice Department).
I find it absolutely fascinating - in a car-crash kind of way - that Trump really has no idea why all of those people were applauding Vindman. I wonder if he thinks that minutes-long standing-O that Ambassador Yovanovitch got the other night was really for him, too. Trump’s narcissism is probably the worst in recoded history.
Thanks, Republicans. You had the perfect chance to rid yourselves and the country of this scourge and you blew it. You should have taken the golden opportunity when it was offered to you. All you had to do was say “yes”.
12
@InterestedObserver Republican Senators betrayed the republic. A "republic," as John Adams found in Johnson's Dictionary, is a state ruled by more than one person. The Senators have sealed the change of the U.S. into a special kind of monarchy, an elective dictatorship.
trump feels betrayed yet he totally ignores the fact that he has betrayed the constitution, the oath of office, and every American.
The only reason he has to counterpunch is that his evil and deceitful actions become public and draw criticism.
I truly hate that some republicans voted to limit the president’s war powers to “own up to their responsibilities” in terms of checks and balances. Where were they when it came to the vote to convict trump on the articles of impeachment?
A day late and a dollar short is where they were.
Politicians! Ugh!
4
@Steve Ell, Republican Senators betrayed the republic. A "republic," as John Adams found in Johnson's Dictionary, is a state ruled by more than one person. The Senators have sealed the change of the U.S. into a special kind of monarchy, an elective dictatorship. Other "politicians," I think, have behaved in ways more worthy of respect.
1
You guys just can't quit with the both-sides-ism, especially in the headlines, can you?
The headline is basically from Fox News style guidelines: the subject is always to be Trump, never the person who initiated the issue. It should, preferably, be "Trump strikes back", or "Trump returns fire" or some such; the "attacker" should not be in the headline, nor should the Trump ever be described as on defense, always attack. It should always strike a Trump supporter as a positive headline, conveying action, strength, and aggression.
I looked hard for all the direct quotes from the Kelly speech I could find, and the man apparently never "attacked" the president, as such: he defended Vindman's actions. The strongest terms The Atlantic could use was, "At times Wednesday, Kelly sounded like the anti-Trump. He said he did not believe the press is 'the enemy of the people,' for example. "
Yet the NYT headline writer goes along with what would surely be the Fox News interpretation of the speech: that this was an "attack" on Trump, to defend the press and the act of truthful testimony. Then, of course, it has to make that implicit in the Trump-positive "Fights Back" headline.
I don't think this is even a conscious decision; it's such a deeply internalized mindset at The Times that nobody gave this a thought. As Al Franken put it, the press doesn't have a right-wing or left-wing bias; it has a "sell eyeballs to advertisers bias". Conflict sells. That's how Trump owns you.
9
@roy brander, Try the Trump Algorithm: whenever Trump accuses X of doing bad thing B (a "coup," "corruption," "in over his head," "can't keep his mouth shut," etc) then it follows that Trump is doing that bad thing B. Works for nearly every accusation. The lies seem to dissolve when you apply the Algorithm, and you feel a bit better about reading the papers and being an American citizen.
@roy brander - All press uses words that I would never have considered in a headline. They say that so and so "slayed on the red carpet" or other dramatic war-like words.
I miss Walter Cronkite so much. Just a boring numbers cruncher passing for a journalist.
@tom harrison
Then again, Cronkite served as a shill for NASA.
1
How many more examples do Republicans need to admit that Trump is unhinged and bad for our democracy?!
6
total chaos seems part of a plan
1
How many more Times headlines must the readership endure that start with "Trump fires back" or "Trump lashes out"? The megalomaniacal backbites needn't be sensationalized or even reported by an honest press and other media. There is enough of an audience for this among his Twitter followers and Fox News viiewers.
4
I can believe Vindman was being applauded as he departed, not because those applauding were being derogatory, but rather celebrating a hero who stood up to the lies of Mr. Trump. Donald just doesn’t understand.
7
"Many X's?"
Exes?
Everything about this is terrible.
1
How can someone get away with intimidating a judge this way?
3
Every President leaves a legacy and will be judged by history. It is a balancing scale. Many of the things MR. Trump has done, how he has personally conducted himself,how he has treated people, and how he has wielded power will not caste him in a good light. He may ultimately go down as our worst president
3
What does it say about America that the Senate, and quite possibly a majority of voters, still support this nasty, lying, corrupt sociopath as their leader and chief representative?
From Europe, it is truly shocking.
We have a similar nasty populist in Hungary who has the same disregard for things like facts, reason and ethics... but he's been on the Naughty Step for a while.
I can't get away from the idea that Trump in America, and his British version Johnson, together represent a terminal expression of the decline of anglophone colonial, then neocolonial hegemony.
Can someone over there please manage relative global decline a bit more gracefully and constructively?
5
@Martin
We could learn a great deal of global decline from Amsterdam.
1
This story should help everyone who worried how the defense department might handle the kind of pressure from Trump the Justice Depat. and the State Dept. to totally bow down in obeisance.
The Generals apparently have no reason to treat Trump with the total fear and incapacitation as have Republicans in Congress or the top appointees in State and DOJ.
There was the pardoning of Gallagher and effectively vetoed the Universal Military Code which the military reserves to its own determination. Then there were the Generals who served with him at first who he has since trashed, now including General Kelly.
This should give everyone worried about our president who would be our king tried to use the military as he has recently used State and Justice, the Generals will make their own choices.
What could Trump do anyway? Call Putin for help? That seems more plausible after these three years, but perhaps Generals are also plenty gassed about other Trump actions as well.
One, not so bad as the rest of the things you could say about Trump is that he really hasn't a clue how to act in the society the rest of us inhabit. His is a world of celebrities, hotel rooms, family shunted aside often, and a gang of inept, loony and inept accomplices meeting in bars.
It's not even real! He's not a mobster. He has bone spurs and he's a momma's boy. He's a mobster-wannabe.
Generals suspect that Trump was the kind of young man they tried to avoid drafting, and definitely lament serving.
3
Trump does a lot of his destructive work on Twitter. I hope he will not be allowed to dominate this particular medium. Will the Democratic candidates please fire back at him using Twitter, and will the NYT report on the firings.
1
Is this really all that Trump has to do all day? Didn't the presidency previously have responsibilities beyond tweeting and binge watching TV?
6
"When I terminated John Kelly, which I couldn’t do fast enough, he knew full well that he was way over his head. Being Chief of Staff just wasn’t for him. He came in with a bang, went out with a whimper, but like so many X’s, he misses the action & just can’t keep his mouth shut,."
This is clearly not a Trump composition. No absurd capitalization, the punctuation (apart from a superfluous terminal comma typo) is correct, the narrative is coherent, and -- the glaring giveaway -- a reference to T. S. Eliot?
I can picture Stephen Miller, Brad Parscale, Stephanie Grisham, or the bunch of them in committee, writing this for their illiterate master.
6
@GFE
Do you think past presidents actually wrote and edited their own speeches? JFK had Ted S to make him look clever. Well, Lincoln was the exception.
1
@Mark Shyres
Please don't compare President Kennedy's speeches, or any other previous president's speeches for that matter, to the indecorous, moronic "tweets" issuing from this classless clown and his lackeys in the White House.
2
This is our President. I’m so proud.
This President is obviously inventing his own reality. To know the true facts it suffices to believe the opposite of what he says.
@RNA
Everyone creates his or her own reality. It's called rationalization. That a primary function of your brain.
I question how Trump has the ability or the background to criticize Vindman and Kelly. Despite being “commander in Chief” he’s a grifter and a game show host. He’s not fit to shine their shoes, nor to be president. He reminds of us of this near daily.
5
@Wolf
He does not need the ability. He has the authority and the podium. And the presidential seal. For now.
1
Wasn't Vindman merely moved to a different position ahead of schedule, with his pension still intact? Is Trump not simply creating the impression that he 'fired' Vindman to fire up his base and further enrage the #resistance?
The Roger Stone debacle really outweighs this non-story in its political import.
Let's get mad about the right things, people.
1
Is anyone surprised that trump would interpret the applause Vindman received as he exited the White House to suit his bizarre, alternative world view? Get a grip on reality trump, the applause was done in recognition of someone admired.
5
According to Trump, when Vindman left the whole building cheered. Much like the FBI did when Comey left; like the biggest crowds in Inaugural history cheered the new President in 2017. And if you don't believe him, just ask the new freedom medal winner who regards Trump as "manly."
4
If indeed people applauded as Col. Vindman was being escorted from White House, I suspect it was to salute him, much like a crowd will cheer when a pitcher is taken out of the game after pitching many scoreless innings.
5
Trump vs. Gen. Kelly. Guess which one has credibility as a man and as a patriot, and which one does not and never will. Guess which one who in faithful dedicated service to the nation, even in retired status, supports the troops without comprising integrity for the sake of the Constitution, and which one does not consider such unwavering disinterested support high priority due to personal ambition and thus obsession with self. Gen. Kelly is in a class by himself; though surely so is Trump ... however, not in the same way as regards nobility and honor. And with respect to the latter, whimpering is a major distinguishing factor. As for LTC Vindman? A dedicated US Army officer. As for Stone? Well, patriotism and personal integrity do not seem to be high priority for him, at least in his devoted allegiance to Trump.
1
“Trump Fights Back After John Kelly Defends Vindman”
Characterizing the President of the United States levying as hominem attacks against his former Chief-of-Staff as “fighting back” is an adaption of Trump’s framing and highly misleading. Kelly did not “attack” Trump, he opined as to appropriate treatment of a decorated military officer who obeyed the law, as military officers are required to do. The fact that the President perceived anyone standing up for the rule of law as a personal attack on him does not make it so.
7
The Impeached President of the United States is attacking a person who had jury duty.
How can we expect to ever have a nation of laws, when a juror has to worry about an unpopular verdict against the powerful leading to them being attacked by the most powerful government official in our country?
5
Hilarious that Trump would interpret 'the whole building applauded' when Alexander Vindman was escorted out of the White House - as automatically being anti-Vindman and (by extension) pro-Trump. I'd guess that the exact opposite might well have been in play. Many, many people are applauding what Lt. Col Vindman did, and all who testified under such adverse circumstances.
2
"The charges against Mr. Stone stem from the special counsel investigation into Russia’s interference in the 2016 election,"
What Russian [state] interference in the 2016 election?
We've been reading claims that such interfering occurred since Oct. 2016, and so far no evidence has come out to support the claims.
Nope, the Mueller report and Mueller indictments don't include such evidence; they're a set of claims.
And the claims about the Facebook meme posting by the non-Russian state Internet Research Agency are laughable.
Everything Mr. tRump says is terrifying. This one sentence, in particular, should keep us all awake for the next nine months ... "Mr. Trump also suggested that he could stop the tradition of allowing numerous national security officials to listen to his phone calls with foreign leaders. “I may end the practice,” Mr. Trump said. “I may end it entirely.”
The thought of tRump and a world leader in a meeting or on the phone alone is utterly terrifying. I'm sure it's terrifying as well to that world leader.
I remember reading an article before his election in 2016 when an attorney from a law firm his used said, "Never would we allow only one person to sit in with Mr. Trump. We always had a minimum of three attorneys during every meeting."
5
Every time I read the sentence " Trump fires back", I cannot help think how wonderful it would be if someone fires at him, and not necessarily with words only.
The U.S. is obsessed with the worship of its own ignorance. Most people know nothing about government politics or geography and history, let alone other people’s cultures. Just like Trump. They reject the division of specialized information. From intelligence specialists to scientists and doctors,they often think we know more than the experts.
“The Death of Expertise.” “Americans have now reached a point where ignorance, especially of anything related to public or foreign policy, is an actual virtue. To reject the advice of experts is to assert autonomy, a way for Americans to insulate their increasingly fragile egos from ever being told they are wrong about anything.” Consequently, my opinion-even if it is wrong-is just as important as your facts or the truth. This country does not deserve to survive.
2
Way to go John Kelly. Every utterance and action by Trump since his "acquittal" shows the brilliance of Sen. Romney's principled stand. Ultimately Romney alone can reclaim the Reagan mantle of the Republican Party, an allegiance to traditional GOP values of freedom, opportunity for all, free enterprise and opposition to tyranny and tyrants - the governing principles rejected by Trumpists long ago.
As expected from the crowd of commenters on this article, Trump himself, should shut-up, resign, or be defeated in the upcoming presidential election. And, since he won't shut-up or resign, who in the minds of the over 1000 commenters is going to rise as the one who can defeat him, in November? Who's the heavyweight in the Democratic field that can convince us that their "if elected" promises are what will convince voters to remove Trump and his promises (there are likely more of them coming)?
1
If it hasn't been done already, I suggest that ALL of the people Trump has threatened, fired, called names, etc. etc. get organized and do "whatever" is necessary to get rid of him. Everyone in the US cannot be "on the take" for God's sakes.
@Lois Lettini
WELL?? Maybe they are!!
At what point will Republicans say "enough is enough"? Trump's continued doubling down on his drive to rule as a monarch must surely raise serious concerns in some minds. Or at least embarrassment.
1
I suspect the deal is simple:
mitch won't convict donnie or expose his tax fraud - which would expose donnie to the REAL law & jail time - as long as donnie appoints whack-rightwing activist judges & keeps mitch's wife in the cabinet.
another massive quid pro quo
1
Stone has incriminating evidence on Trump. As suspected, the President of the United States is compromised.
5
Trump has pretty much run out of competent people willing to work for him. Kelly was one of the last.
My only question is, who exactly is still running the US government? Because Trump sure does not seem to be doing it. He's too consumed with vengeance over perceived wrongs and digging up dirt to throw in the election. Everyone other than Trump has either quit or been fired. My only conclusion is that nobody is really running America anymore and we're just sort of drifting vaguely towards a ditch like a car with the driver asleep at the wheel.
3
Maybe Kelly wasn’t used to dealing with mobsters, but we could see it before trump’s election. The signs of imminent destruction of our constitution and lawlessness were obvious even to people like me, a retired grandma.
I will forever be proud to tell my family that I didn’t vote for a republican in 2016.
3
I expect there will be tumultuous applause when trump leaves the building which can't be soon enough.
2
Could the applause Mr Trump mentioned in his radio interview actually have been an expression of support for Lt. Colonel Vindman and his testimony, rather than for his removal from the White House?
Great infrastructure week we're having.
5
Keep speaking out against the President's mistakes, I say. Every time someone criticizes him it puts him in a tizzy and keeps him from getting any real work (i.e., in his case, damage to our country) done.
3
I love how Trump mentioned the applause surrounding Vindman's exit – as if those who cheered were happy to see him go. I'll bet there was applause, from those saluting a man of integrity, devotion to duty, love of country and Truth, who was tossed out of his job because he dared to speak the Truth while under oath. Much of this country applauds Lt. Col. Vindman– even, I'm guessing, those who support the President but who also recognize a brave patriot when they see one.
172
after the farce of a senate vote when the gop had the votes counted before the trial even began is is hilarious to see trump whine about a jury. Has he no shame? No obviously not
73
The first sentence lays out our problem. Trump is not leading, he is following. Our real “President “ is Fox News.
Remind me, how many votes did Fox get?
88
Stone protected Trump and now Trump is going to reward Stone with a pardon. All the complaints of "bias" are just a rationale to justify what he planned to do all along.
28
@Dave
Are you aware that, if pardoned, Stone can be compelled to testify under oath, as a pardoned person has no legal jeopardy and thus no 5th Amendment right?
2
Please, please, please Mike - pick Kelly or Mathis for your VP now. The show couldn't get any better than that.
14
Only if these cowards become more principled and more vociferous.
1
“Vindman was the guy that, when we took him out of the building, the whole building applauded,” Mr. Trump said. “Many people applauded.”
It is customary to applaud individuals who act courageously.
200
I was wondering if anyone else thought this. Assuming there was actually applause, seems likely folks were applauding a courageous and mistreated colleague.
10
“Vindman was the guy that, when we took him out of the building, the whole building applauded,”
For whom were they applauding? The article doesn't say.
At the last debate, a whole auditorium full of people applauded.
15
The lesson trump learned after his impeachment conviction failed in the Senate is obvious and expected - he can continue to do whatever he pleases with impunity.
18
My interpretation was that the senate republicans dont care what Trump does regardless of the effects to our country and constitution. Unfortunately I believe they would not think the same if a democrat was caught red handed trying to bribe a foreign leader with congressionally approved funds to investigate a leading republican presidential candidate. The republican meta-excuse cover all the bases allowing each republican to grasp on to something they were comfortable with to use to acquit the president.
2
Senators were given the opportunity to rescue American values and democracy. But they wouldn't even allow witnesses to testify! Rather than "learning a valuable lesson," Susan Collins, Trump is now further eroding the rule of law with public attacks on the judiciary. Whether the American people are as concerned and outraged as I am is another question.
33
@Mark Paskal: The whole Republican Senate delegation acts like resurrected Know-Nothings.
1
Kelly says soldiers are taught to never follow an illegal order.
That reminds me of Swawell’s questioning of Morrison during the hearings before impeachment. He asked Morrison to outline who sets policy: the President. And what is your job: to follow all lawful orders. Swawell then asked Morrison how many times he brought up the Bidens and Burisma when he talked with the Ukrainians after hearing the President ask for the favor on the July phone call. Morrison said never. Swawell asked why not, since the President sets policy and clearly wanted an investigation. Morrison never clearly answered. But the answer was clear. Morrison didn’t bring it up because he knew it wasn’t a lawful order.
16
Irrelevant: an investigation of Bidens would have found them innocent
2
@ Ben Adolph
Actually, I agree. But my point is that Morrison, who also described himself as loyal to our President, refused to follow an order from the President to push an investigation because he knew it was illegal. Even someone loyal to the President knew it was illegal.
Soldiers, like Kelly and Vindman, know to follow all legal orders. Let’s hope we have more people who say no when asked to break the law.
2
"The response to Mr. Kelly came just hours after the president..."
It is our custom and habit to refer to Presidents, Ambassadors, and military officers, etc., by their highest rank, in or out of office/service. And this has been the New York Times' custom and habit.
Whatever he is, or whatever he isn't, General Kelly?
9
Cabinet secretaries and cabinet level appointees are near the top of the Oder of Precedence. For former White House Chiefs of Staff, “Mr.” might be the highest former title. It’s surprising how low the heads of Combat Commands and other Generals ate in this list. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_order_of_precedence?wprov=sfti1
Jack Dorsey and the Twitter board of directors will always be remembered for their role in the rise of Mr. Trump.
27
“I watched his testimony. Don’t forget he was the one who thought my call was bad and he ran in and started saying terrible things about the call.”
Such "terrible, terrible things"! This sounds like a second-grade child. "My call was bad"! Yep, this sounds like the real deal from someone with an alleged IQ of 156.
17
More like 1.56.
2
Biased jurors? In the joke impeachment trial of Donald Trump several Senators declared ahead of time that they were biased and then took the oath and voted to acquit.
In Stone's jury all jurors swore an oath to non bias, BEFORE THE TRIAL. The judge reviewed bias claims against one juror during the trial and found no bias. If Trump finds bias after the trial, after hearing evidence, well of course jurors voted to convict Stone. That isn't bias.
Trump lives in the ridiculous topsy turvy world of a pathological narcissist who doesn't care about anyone but himself.
Vote him out of office in November and charge him and try him for crimes such as obstruction of justice, using an unbiased real jury. Then send him to jail to play checkers with Roger Stone.
That message needs to be sent. This is a Democracy and a Republic not a Dictatorship and an Oligarchy. Republicans might actually get that message.
28
Kelly and Romney are the beginning of a movement to stand up to Trump.
15
Dare I be so optimistic?
1
@Coy
That time has passed. There are only two remedies. Impeachment which is binary he stays or is removed. Or the 25th amendment.
At least as I understand it. We can hope he chokes on a hamburger but my experience is the evils ones tend to stick around and the best of us are taken far to soon.
"We Were Warned".
So many smart and patriotic people in 2015/2016-2020 warned us about the potential and future realities of the corruption of the law and ethics of the Rep/Trumpian philosophy and integrity.
But we let it happen because of the powers of the multi m/billionaire paid pundit alt-facts of Fox, Trumps, Limbaughs, Jones's, Bannon's, Mnuchins, Preppy White Boys, Murdochs, Sinclairs, Deep State Federalists, Barrs, Miller's, etc.
It was a temporary aberration and citizens and esp. our young conscientious new votes came to the paper ballot polls and said No. They just said, No.
8
It’s quite amazing, but every time Trump throws out a disparaging comment against his perceived enemies and critics, he describes himself. “crooked” Hilary. lie’n Ted. And describing Kelly as “Way over his head” to perform as Chief of Staff.
22
Trump has long engaged in projection. The fact that he does so with little or no self awareness is a good indicator of his mental state.
3
Projection. All ego no Id
Check it out Lindsey Graham. That is what you are in for once you are on the other side.
11
When does this guy get any work done? All it seems he does is tweet, golf, watch fox and call friends on a insecure cell phone.
52
Work? Surely you jest. He was a millionaire at 8. He has never done actual work at any time in his life.
7
@Fred
Excellent point
2
@Fred
Surely, he also spends some time on his hair every day.
3
"when we took him out of the building, the whole building applauded,” Mr. Trump said.
Trump is so ignorant about human nature that he doesn't understand that the meaning of the applause was to congratulate someone that places honor and integrity above personal position.
40
Trump actually thinks people like him. One who rules by fear vs love should know better by the time they are in their 70s. Goes to show how isolated he has been from reality his whole life.
2
The jury reached a unanimous verdict on all charges. Were they all biased? The Republicans on Trump's senate jury last week were certainly biased. Does that mean that his acquittal is invalid?
Being called in over one's head by Trump is like being called a clown by Bozo. Give me a break.
20
It's funny, Trump didn't seem to mind 53 pro-Trump activists on his own jury...
36
I hope Judge Jackson sentences Stone 7-9 years as was recommended - I also hope the president ends up in jail for breaking law after law after law after his term is over - a really bad hombre! One of those jail cells that doesn’t have air conditioning - let him get a taste of what regulars folks doing what he’s done receive!
17
Why hasn't Kelly come out with his book yet ? It looks like all these generals who worked for Trump are timid and afraid of him. They would rather kill and main innocent Iraqis and afghans than stand up to a bully who is a draft dodger.
3
The man who would be king just might. He's certainly working hard at it.
3
Let's get real -Trump Sr. has never been photographed holding his phone. All Trump's Twitter attacks first come from the broken mind of loser rich kid Don Jr.
So I ask you all-should we the people be providing the secret service care to a domestic terrorist? He's only flame throwing on social media and Fox because he has special protection. So much embarrassment would end the second that he lost his federal shield and returned to being a more exposed and sensitive citizen.
7
I am utterly exhausted watching the slow death of the desperate formerly-Republican party. You’d better believe Trump and his Republican cult are combusting as we speak. It’s just a way-too-slow shriveling death that we are all forced to witness.
Buh-Bye already and good riddance.
9
This obviously unfit billionaire low-life is making fools of everyone who idolize him, defends him, or looks the other way - politicians and plebes alike. The sooner people wake up and admit the truth we can move back to normal and begin to repair the damage. One can only wish.
10
Trump is not a billionaire
3
Mr Kelly may “miss the action” as Commander-in-Chief Bone Spurs Tweeted. He, at least, has SEEN action both as an grunt Marine as well as Marine officer. Lt Col Vindman has also, with a Purple Heart to prove it.
The Orange Menace, by his account, suffered his own Vietnam dodging VD while on tour of the Manhattan nightclubs in the 1970s.
Mr Trump is an immature and petulant fool.
Sad that he is a position to wield so much power.
27
If anyone would know a biased jury it would be the republicans.
16
Last I checked, for seven guilty verdicts, the verdict must be unanimous to be guilty.
12
How low will King Donald 1st drag USA... The perfect Putin's puppet who will make all US allies and partners get distance and go away. Canada just signed trade treaties with EU and Asiatic countries, we will hopefully diversify our commercial exchanges to lower our vulnerabilities to the US erratic policies.
Four more years of this and the world's American leadership will be permanently terminated.
Make Russia great again should be Donald 1st 2020 campaign slogan. Trump is now diverting more and more Pentagone budget to his useless wall, cutting F-35 and other vital defence assets from that budget. Boy oh boy how Putin must be happy!!
Mission accomplished for Putin & Xi.
10
Many of us are working to make him a one term president. Unfortunately there is a segment on the left that you'd think would make ousting him priority number one, but instead they hold fast to their idealistic dreams. Dreams I hold as well, I should add. Unfortunately they can't or won't understand that an such an opponent would likely lose to Trump as many independent or otherwise moderate voters aren't comfortable with dramatic policy changes when they aren't hurting financially. A more moderate candidate is likely to win them over, but the idealists (mostly Bernie supporters) are determined to make the perfect the enemy of the good. They won't support a moderate and will instead vote for their preferred candidate if he/she doesn't win the nomination. Or they'll simply sit out the election all together. Meanwhile Trump will get a second term and fill the Supreme Court with hardcore right-wing judges eager to take America back decades for the foreseeable future. It's madness. I wish I could get out before the country implodes.
3
Observe that Philippines Duterte—called a little Trump before there was—-just abruptly ended what had been a full century military base US relationship. Trump has created an incredible shrinking American presence in the world
3
@Topher S - There is a HUGE segment on the left that wants the status quo of Washington to continue and will keep shouting that we need Biden to save us!
At this point, the Dems' best shot at a moderate is Mayor Pete who is gay and is hated by African-Americans. That is a real vote getter!
Maybe Trump will attack Judge Berman in advance of Stone's sentencing. That would be a smart thing for the Smartest President to do.
10
How is Trump that small in the picture (not mentally or figuratively, but physically)
1
Does anyone know when Trump actually works?
13
It's obvious to everyone who is paying attention.
From Day 1, we knew the only person who is “way over his head” is Trump himself.
Not only incompetent, inarticulate, and monotonous, but an amoral bore without a shred of decency.
It's obvious what his con-game has been from when the days he hosted NBC'S "Apprentice" and frequently appeared on the fakery act of World Wide Wrestling.
Nothing but a phony through and through, who is now cornered like a crazed rat.
28
It was obvious who and what Trump was since he and his toxicity oozed onto the world stage in the 1980s.
6
@Topher S
I agree.
However, when I lived in New York City in the 1970s, he was not "in-our-face" everyday through orchestrated media appearances controlled by Fox News, and horrendous "softball" interviews thrown his way by Christian minister Mike Huckabee and his so-called Press Secretary daughter, Sarah Huckabee Sanders.
1
We have gone so far through the looking glass it's hard to see how we'll ever climb out. Trump is fashioning this country into a dictatorship, with the full assistance of the Republican party.
When someone aids and abets you in committing a crime, he/she is also a criminal. We can all see what's going on: a White House and a Congress full of criminals.
11
I imagine those applauding Vindman as he left the White House were doing it as a show of approval. I certainly approve of his honesty and service. He has my applause.
27
Finally, the NY Times finally reports what I have been posting in comments about in the last week. At the beginning of my military training, probably as early as Boot Camp, we were told that we must be able to differentiate between a legal and an illegal order and that we were mandated to refuse to execute any illegal order. We were also ordered to report it to the next higher up.
I think that this grew out of the trials (Nuremburg?) the Nazis underwent after the WWII Holocaust issues were brought up and the officers defended their actions as, "Following orders, as required." First it was rejected as a defense and then individual representatives reported back to their governments where laws were enacted barring that defense.
11
Does trump do anything beyond watching Fox and tweeting?
18
@Bill he is in campaign mode a lot, huge rallies and all. Question, is the RNC paying for it or are we poor tax payers (corporations don’t pay enough taxes).
Kind of like how some interpret Godwin's law, the first "man" to drag another man's wife into an argument loses the argument.
1
"“Vindman was the guy that, when we took him out of the building, the whole building applauded,” Mr. Trump said. “Many people applauded.”"
They were applauding in support of Vindman you lying president.
27
My question to Susan Collins is, Mr Trump has not learned his lesson , have you?
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Maybe I missed it but I didn't experience this kind of stupid melodrama and deep corruption during President Obama's entire eight years in office. It seemed like a group of intelligent adults was running the executive branch. Oh wait, there was that time that President Obama once had the sartorial temerity to wear a tan suit and another time when he put mustard on a hamburger, two towering scandals that no doubt had Fox News anchors foaming at the mouth.
24
America ..... how low can you go?
Trump is fully out of control now, with his republican toadies standing behind, applauding him. Your country is going down with him.
Do his supporters have any inkling of what this looks like to the rest of the world? You are becoming the new North Korea. No western democracy can trust America anymore.
Please end this in November, because the Trump virus is contagious and is infecting other countries as well. If he gets another 4 years the planet will be finished and our generation will have failed our children and grandchildren.
16
Wow! Talk about the pot calling the kettle
black. Mr. Trump is clearly in over his "head"
and clearly cannot keep his mouth shut.
Most of us cannot get rid of him fast
enough.
14
Anyone out there stressed out by Donald Trump and his henchmen?
11
Talk about not being able to keep ones mouth shut; the pot calling the kettle.
5
Stone's lawyers knew about the jurors history and allowed her on the jury. Cry me a river, Trump!
7
Poor Donald all those who don’t do your bidding are plotting against you.
Guess what Donald there really are people who are out to get you. They’re out to get you out of office.
9
So, so, so, so, exhausting and undeniably blatantly obfuscating the rule of law. But the WH mafia don continues on. Is anyone listening? Certainly the spineless GOP have become experts at ignoring whatever comes out of the WH. The rest of us? It's pretty appalling when I hear people make excuses for this WH thug, like 'Well, the economy IS doing much better under Trump.'
Is that all we care about? If so, we're doomed.
6
The world is learning about mental illness first hand.
11
Are trumps comments rated for civility.!?
4
Even I am shocked how venal and cowardly Republican politicians are.
10
Why are we free to ponder Trump's and even Biden's mental decline - but not Susan Collin's?
8
Carnivore Donald bullies and purges anyone who is not loyal to him. Bloomberg is the antidote against this dude.
3
Again, on this Thursday the 13th, Mister Trump shows off his corrupt self in unyielding fashion. Resign today, Mister Trump. Then you can get back to what your really enjoy: running a tee vee show.
5
When our fearful leader says that everyone in the Whitehouse applauded as Vindman was marched out one can only picture his good friend, Kim Jong-il mandating/requiring the same from his minions.
4
What’s with the document on his desk:
Trillion’s Club
Microsoft
Apple
Google
Amazon
??
Talk about way over one's head. Ahem, ahem Mr. Trump. You're way over yours.
6
You mean way over his weave
John F. Kelly is no profile in courage. Just another loose brick in the foundation of our democratic institutions. Just another paper resume who mistakes commentary with action. Everyone is waiting for the election to remove the cancer from the White House. That is our plan to save the Republic? After what we have experienced for three years? I do not trust it. Do you? Where is our much vaunted American Exceptionalism? Is trump that American Exceptionalism? Is Barr? The seeming veracity of that possibility makes me sick to my stomach.
7
We all need to take a break from draining the swamp
and turn our attention to cleaning the Sewer, starting with
the Trump rat.
9
Trump is an embarrassment to the human race.
16
America, what does your president do? Does he and his administration ever actually do anything productive?
He just burns up your tax dollars having tantrums, spewing hate and golfing. He is so evidently unfit for office. It just boggles the mind how people can support him the way they do.
November is your last hope America.
19
When will this clown show finally come to an end. This guy has no desire to lead a himself let alone a country.
4
Kelly was way over his head being the only adult in the room of an incorrigible child.
7
the president [...] tweeted Thursday morning that Mr. Kelly “ [...] just can’t keep his mouth shut.”
Pot? Meet Kettle.
4
Why is the stable genius so bad at hiring people. He's fired nearly everyone in every position and then tried to convince us they are the worst most inept humans on the planet as if they were forced on him.
Liar.
And the Cheeto munchers eat it up.
8
Trump. Self-immolation is underway.
3
What is there left to say about this noxious cretin? He's a howling moral void, ready to slash to ribbons anyone who even intimates that his power should not be absolute. L'etat, c'est trump...and anyone who thinks otherwise is in his crosshairs.
6
So why isn’t the Times investigating the juror who is alleged to be a Democratic activist?
This point is actually the most important part of this story.
A clearer case of a psychotic man who, at the end of the day, lives in the knowledge of his own shortcomings, I've never seen.
5
Susan Collins must be stunned.
8
When Trump threatens to shut down the New York Times because he doesn't like the facts you've published or journalistic code of conduct you're adhering to will you write a headline saying "Trump fights back..."?
The special counsel investigation concluded that there was Russian interference in the 2016 election and that Trump welcomed it. Why leave that out but include that Trump has dismissed it.
You, New York Times, need to get right the tenor and subtext of the systematic dismantling of our democracy before you lose the opportunity to do so.
7
Donald there will soon be a new job for you on talk radio Rush has stage IV lung cancer.
7
That would involve reading from script
It sounds more like it's Trump who's in way over his head than Gen Kelly. After all, Trump's the one who hired him in the FIRST place. What is Trump's problem? Tillotson, Kelly, Mattis, Powell. The list goes on and on of people Trump himself hired and who he now claims are slime, unqualified, idiots. By this point, an intelligent person would have looked into the mirror and seen the problem. What a lackey!
3
Bind man was a Democrat plant to take down a duly elected president of the United States
The man who has been way over his head since the day he lied his way into the Oval Office with his promises of releasing his tax returns and having Mexico pay for his wall has dared to say that John Kelly was over his head.
The idiot has no clue that the people who were applauding as Vindman was marched out of the White House on orders of the most vicious and vindictive president in our history were applauding Vindman and his courage to stand up to trump.
8
Kelly was Trump's enabler. Still is by not telling what he knows. He's therefore also a coward. I pay him no mind.
2
Gen. Kelly has done the unforgiveable- disagree with the boss!! Now he is a worthless cur who must be tweeted to death Trump hasn't learned that Generals .are not like the sheep populating the Senate and White House. They don't like to see honorable soldiers attacked by the Draft Dodger in Chief !! !!Keep talking, General Kelly, so America can see the real Donald Trump and its worse than anyone could imagine.
5
This thing is the head of your state. Hang your heads in shame.
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He's not mentally or emotionally right. He has not been for years. It was clear before the election, and millions still voted for him and will again. There has beenno action or statement low enough to make his supporters take notice. Why are we still continuously surprised?
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