Trump’s End Game Becomes Clear
Trump blew out of town on Christmas Eve, headed for Hide-a-Lago to thrash the little white ball and wait out the subpoenas to start pouring in from New York. On the way out the door, he released yet another weird video, this time calling the joint appropriations and coronavirus response bill “a disgrace” for its spending and $600 per month relief payments to Americans, calling for $2,000 per month, which is what the House Republicans proposed IN MAY. The problem? Trump’s WH, through Steve Mnuchin, demanded the $600 per month and wouldn’t budge. Like most things Trump, what’s going on now doesn’t make any sense unless you look at the world through Trump’s ME ME ME lens.
McConnell, as usual, was the cause of the months-long delay in a new relief bill. Like Trump, McConnell really doesn’t care if you live or die, and is always happy to use you and me as hostages for no other reason than another political win that is only important to him and his circle of criminals. The one constant with McConnell is that he ALWAYS plays brinksmanship, holding legislation until the very last second, using those who need help as leverage to extract concessions from the Democrats and exact pain on the American people. This time, though, McConnell may have outsmarted himself by waiting so long.
Historian and Boston College history professor Heather Cox Richardson posted a very interesting piece yesterday on Facebook about she believes is going on. Her premise is that Trump is exacting revenge against his perceived enemies, including all of us as Americans for voting him out. He’s also furious with McConnell, Thune, and other Republicans who have recognized Biden as the legal and official President Elect. Apparently he actually did believe that he could bend reality and the courts and his party to his will to illegally seize power outside of any Constitutional authority. When our fragile democracy held (at least so far), he has determined to burn down as much as he can, including throwing boxes of nails out of the wagon on his way out of town.
How did McConnell outsmart himself, you ask? Richardson posits this: Under the rules, during a Congressional session, the President has 10 days (not counting Sunday) to sign or veto a bill. However, at the end of a session, though, if that 10 days runs beyond the end date, the bill just dies, called a “pocket veto”. The current congressional session closes on January 3rd. Richardson believes Trump received the bill to sign on the 24th, so that gives him until January 4th to sign. If Trump doesn’t sign by the 3rd, the bill dies, the government shuts down, and millions of Americans suffer. Millions.
This is the likely end game now for Trump. The voters said no; the states said no; the Electoral College said no; the courts, including the SCOTUS, said no; the military said no; and the Congress has said no (so far). If Trump burns it all down, there’s a fair chance that the Dems take the Senate by winning the Georgia runoffs. The mess he leaves behind will take years for Biden to fix, if ever. Trump’s stated plan is to run in 2024, and he’ll use the disaster of his own making as the reason to re-elect him to “fix” it. Our only chance, short of Republicans growing spines, is Trump being convicted of a felony in New York or having one of his thousands of scandals finally stick.
These will be the only things (short of his physical health problems) that can stop him.
All this leads the country to hum/sing: “I love New York!!!”…
1The Fickle Finger of Fate hovers above him…will he sign or will he not?
McConnell, if he really wanted to save anyone but himself (and in the long run himself) could pull an end run out by saying ‘Yes, yes, I will fully support $2000/month, c’mon back everybody and let’s vote on that bill ASAP and then see if Trumpy will sign it, since he’s said he wants it…”
It would mean giving up the Grinchiest Award to Mnuchin, but he’s still got a lot of Grinch points locked in.
Maybe the “so much Losing” will get to Trump enough that he throws Pence under his golf cart and then attacks him with his club bag, and in the ensuing row bursts an important blood vessel. He’s suffering SO MUCH, poor old lower, that maybe it’s almost-nearly (though not) acceptable to pray for his suffering to end and his nekkid soul to go home at last. As long as the person praying that does not specify where that home might be. (Thinking “a cockroach in the kitchen of the fancy restaurant at Trump Tower” ruins the “almost nearly acceptable” hope.)
2I agree that Drumpf’s opposition to the “relief” bill was a dig against McConnell. To hell with us little people.
There was an opinion piece published a few days ago with an interesting theory on what Drumpf may do on January 20 (or before because I can’t imagine him attending the inauguration). There is a Russian embassy in DC and New York City. If Drumpf enters one of those embassies, the US cannot touch him because they are sovereign soil. Further, the embassy can transport Drumpf to the airport and put him on one of their aircraft… and again we cannot touch him because of diplomatic immunity.
Good news is we would be rid of him. Sad news is I would like to see him tried and convisted for all his crimes, though I’m sure he will/would delay any trials til the day he dies.
Here’s hoping the Blue Wave takes Georgia in a few days!
3I agree with Professor Richardson. I told friends on Christmas Eve that I think f**king trump is basically giving us all the finger. Both of them. Out of malignant spitefulness. Also known as the underlying reason for everything he does. It’s the thing his worshippers love about him the most. What they’re talking about when they say he tells it like it is. And this morning on CNN.
https://www.cnn.com/2020/12/27/politics/trump-2024-analysis/index.html
4We all want a reason for Trump’s actions. I still find myself guessing and second guessing why and how he makes his decisions. We humans like neat and orderly explanations.
Deep down though, I realize Trump’s inexplicable. We can no more understand his thought process and movements than we can predict which way the pig in a greased pig contest will run. There’s right turns, left turns, squealing, and crashing into walls. But a greased pig only recognizes he must escape from the guy wrestling with him at that moment. With Trump we don’t even know who’s chasing him, or for what reason, or even who greased him up in the first place. But we still like to analyze and discuss what he did today, and why. I know I do. Even if I know its based almost entirely on guesswork.
5Rick, I disagree. I think Trump is easily explicable, if not always easily predictable. He is a con artist who enjoys the con more than the proceeds.(Lucky for him since there were frequently no proceeds.)
The reason is self-affirmation. Inside he knows he’s hollow so all his efforts go to puffing up himself. I used to write about con artists when I was a newspaperman, and not all are like that but quite a few are.
For them the payoff is proving they are smarter than everybody else. If there is no apparent way forward, they sweep off the pieces on the board, because they know they are smart enough to be the winner when the pieces are gathered up and replaced.
When they are not smart, they invent reasons to say they eon, realy they did.
Looking for a strategy with Trump is pointless. He doesn’t think he needs one (and is way too stupid to devise one if he did). As he gets closer to the denouement without achieving his goal, he will resort to wilder measures.
It is evident that he is preparing to attack Iran. He already has asked for mobs in the streets.
I expected those. I did not expect blowing up the appropriations.
As Jefferson said about slavery: It is like holding a wolf by the ears.
6Trumpf and McConnell are similar in that what really turns them on – their power over people. They’re kind of like serial murderers that get a thrill out of using their power to see people squirm and cry out before they snuff them out. I believe that is McConnell now and forever- lust for power. As for Trumpf, it’s much more complicated because he is truly delusional and mad. He’s always been vindictive and that’s playing out in a much broader way now and includes the second most powerful politician in the country-Mitch. Trumpf felt he was being played by Mitch and in the moment, was appearing more powerful than Trumpf. But I think Trumpf is too stupid to figure out all his moves. I think he has a couple of vile people that have his ear- like Steve Bannon and Stephen Miller who are expert schemers advising him on how to create the most pain and get under the skin of democrats. They’re figuring out right now how to cause the most pain against their perceived enemies in the last 24 days in office. Those enemies include 84 million voters and now a handful of repugnanticans.
7One of the most depressing things is that the “never Trump” Republicans are still wedded to policies that, though quieter, are still designed to inflict “punishment” for the crimes of poverty, ignorance, gender, race, etc. as Trump was, but at a level they can tell themselves are instructional rather than cruel.
8I agree with all the ‘Trump will burn it all down’ as punishment for people not seeing how great he is.
But I really do believe people have forgotten what started all this. As Pelosi says: “All roads lead to Putin”.
People wonder about Trump’s devotion to Putin, it’s because Putin is paying Trump to do what he is doing. What do you think all those millions Russia has given to Trump is for? Destroy America….
Personally, I consider their relationship to nothing more than Main Mob boss (Putin) and lieutenant or junior mob boss (Trump). Nothing different than a Mafia boss getting one of his people to run for Mayor.
Special note to Elizabeth Moon: Love your books, I’m 66 and been reading them for years…
9https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2016/10/donald-trump-obsessed-with-revenge/
Trump has never been shy about letting us know this in every way and at every opportunity. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see that he meant every word of it.
10Correction: “and $600 per month relief payments to Americans, calling for $2,000 per month”
This contentious ‘$600/$2000’ federal payment to most citizens is -not- a monthly payment, it is a one-time only ‘stimulus’ payment; just like that previous $1200 one of seven or eight months ago.
The rest is spot on. Many millions are going to needlessly suffer even more, and with nearly 500,000 [one half million] more dead of COVID45 by 20 January, at the bloody hands of Rethug mass-murderers led by DJT and Mitch.
Herr Trumpff is not dumb, insane, clueless, or lots of other denigratory terms bantered about.
He is a semi-intelligent, hyper-cunning, wholly self-centered, vicious, vindictive SOB. Who has just LOST the biggest gamble of his stinking life [even rigged in his favor]. If DJT were as smart as Hitler, and had surrounded himself with the evil geniuses that Adolf did, we’d be in much deeper shit today. Would that DJT meet the same kind of end.
Nevertheless, Kamerad Donnei can’t stand it, losing, and is going to fight it to the bitter end. And he’ll burn the whole damned nation down on his way out if he can, just for spite.
24 more days.
11I’m sure just being mean is a lot of it, but there’s also this.
https://www.worldpoliticsreview.com/amp/articles/29282/is-trump-s-real-target-in-the-ndaa-its-anti-corruption-measures?espv=1
12I checked the Texas delegation’s votes per the Chronicle this morning and Cruz also voted against the bill, along with quite a few GOPers. You’re wrong when you say his majesty is going to hurt millions – he’s going to hurt millions even MORE! And he has help to do it. When 2024 comes around, I hope some fiery Dem. takes Cruz on and whips him bad . . . But this is Texas.
13US and Israel are building up in the Persian gulf around Iran. Would not surprise me if nutenyahoo and Trumpf have a plan to really create chaos in the world before the last 24 days are done. Flynn flam man is probably pushing Trumpf on this, too.
14There’s a considerable element of spite against the Rs. They gave themselves into trump’s hands; they should have remembered that everything trump touches dies. Couldn’t happen to a nicer political party (/s).
15There is enough time for the House to Impeach, and the Senate to Convict, for failure to honor the Presidential Oath of Office.
He can leave claiming he is #1 (at least in impeachments).
16I have faith in NY AG Letitia James. Indictments are due be unsealed on 1/21/21. She’s ready
17p.s.
18he’s had a case of the shanks for the last 2-3 months as far as I am concerned.
There was a fatal flaw in the assumption underlying this post.
It was the assumption that Trump plans.
19