Listen now | Donald Trump collaborated with a slimy crew to break the law, and it may have swung the 2016 election. Russia's election interference was troubling—and so is the National Enquirer's. And the deranged response from MAGA goons to his conviction only shows how much Trumpworld operates like an organized crime syndicate. Ben Wittes and Ron Filipkowski join Tim Miller for the weekend pod.
Sarah has said for a while that when Trump is not in the public eye his poll numbers increase, and when he returns the poll numbers drop. In light of this and Ron F’s mention of listening to every public performance from Trump for years, could the Bulwark start a new podcast that just plays (without comment other than date of comments) Trump speeches, interviews, etc? This way folks from all sides can tune in at any time and hear him. Episodes need to be created chronologically, so folks can experience deterioration and increasing crazy..
Brian Kemp HAS endorsed Trump. His game plan is obvious. He signed another voter suppression law last month that was passed without any input from Brian Raffensperger’s office.
I finally got around to listening to former President Trump's Friday post-conviction press conference today. I actually thought it had a great, strong opening - "if they can do this to me, they can do this to anyone." I stopped it right there and thought "Yes! Yes! You're exactly right! I hope to God if I ever do anything as remotely criminal as you have done, that our system of justice will treat me just as fairly regardless of my wealth and power, in the egalitarian manner that our Founders intended when they established the Constitution that we all still agree to live by." I should have stayed stopped, since that obviously wasn't what he meant, and it all went down hill from there. How flooded is the zone when a former President of the United States (or anyone for that matter) can utter the words that his witnesses in his trial were "literally crucified" and that doesn't get reported anywhere - literally...crucified...bringing to mind not only images of Jesus, but of Spartacus and his followers, lining the Appian Way. Trump made the comments like he had legions of witnesses standing by to testify on his behalf, yet all he talked about were Costello and the FEC Chair (who they decided not to call) and...oh, wait, that's it. I guess the paralegal who testified for the defense somehow escaped the fate of literal crucifixtion.
I am almost positive that I read/heard/saw this general analogy from some columnist or commentator but I honestly can’t remember where so I apologize in advance for failure to make proper attribution. When I was a kid I watched the Academy Awards because we only had a few channels and there wasn’t much else on TV on Sunday during that time of the year. One year Kathryn Hepburn and Henry Ford both won Oscars for some movie they co-starred in during their older years. The critics all seemed to agree that while neither of them deserved the award for their performance in that particular movie, they nevertheless applauded it because they were both great actors with illustrious careers who had been snubbed on other occasions. It was kind of a life time achievement award.
I have a similar reaction to Trump. I have huge problems with both the civil action against Trump on supposed banking violations and the Bragg criminal case. My hesitations and doubts are pretty much the same as those expressed by other commentators so I won’t detail them here. Both prosecutions are politically motivated and would not have been brought against anybody other than Trump. That should give us a little pause. We don’t want Trump anywhere near power because he might use the power of office against his political enemies. So we use the power of government in the form of highly selective prosecution against Trump to undermine his chances of re-election?
That being said I can’t generate much sympathy for Trump. This particular felony conviction MIGHT be bogus but it’s a lifetime achievement conviction for all of the other times he has slithered out of legal responsibility for sexually assaulting women, reneging on contracts from small businesses, deceiving investors ………………oh, and, almost incidentally, inviting a mob to storm the congress.
Just be careful guys. Go ahead and have a glass of champagne, but we don’t know how this will ultimately play out. Trump’s die hard supporters are going to cry holy murder no matter which crime he is convicted for (and the documents case is absolutely clear cut) but they do have some legitimate concerns on the Bragg case. Trump will always be a whiner, but let’s not make him a sympathetic martyr.
Tim, Listen to Ralph Nader Radio Hour. Guest was Professor N. STEVEN FISH who just purchased the book , "ROUTING TRUMPISM, RECLAIMING THE NATION, AND RESTORING DEMOCRACY'S EDGE". He explains how Trump is better at projecting strength and dominance. This UC Berkeley professor would make a great guest on The Bulwark.
Tim, it's so much fun watching you on YouTube in these pods: you're like a little kid at C'mas! Hey, we've got a celebrate victory when we can, huhn? It doesn't happen often.
There are innumerable adjectives that can be used to describe the typical MAGA base supporter, but the one that seems most apt is meanness. There has probably never been a more mean-spirited collection of individuals associated with a political movement in all of human history.
Megan Kelly et al are well aware of the lack of intellect among the MAGA faithful. She has no chance of ever becoming “mainstream” but she def has a good chance of being welcomed back i to Trump’s fold and when you lack all integrity (and she does)…….pedal to the medal baby!
I think the real reason Trump wanted a change in venue is not because "NY is all Democrat and hates me" is because NYers D and R alike have had his number for 40 years+ and his father's before that so thet had no problem treating him "just like any other defendant" - there was no awe.
Admittedly, whenever people I deeply respect warn against celebration and remind us that this is a sad day for America, I agree and feel sheepish for a few minutes. But, Tim, you wear shadenfreude with such style. How can something that feels so right be so wrong?
One element that we shouldn't look past is that these jurors made their decisions based SOLELY on the testimony and evidence. No internet, no news, no propaganda, just facts. When you clear all of the noise and deflections and distractions away and let the facts speak for themselves, it's amazing how clear the decision becomes.
This edition of Decency and Sense references an incumbent state representative in Colorado. The phenomenon is of course prevalent among Republican office holders at all levels of government across the country.
A brief excerpt appears below the link. Click through for the damning case.
*****This past Friday, a jury convicted the 45th president of having falsified business records as part of a scheme just before the 2016 election to prevent the revelation of an alleged 2006 sexual encounter with a porn star. That night, the current representative of Colorado House District 39 registered her objection to the verdict by changing her official Facebook profile picture to an inverted United States flag – the sign of distress that some of the January 6 insurrectionists carried as they rallied outside the Capitol and assaulted police to gain unlawful entry. After a Facebook user commented enthusiasm for her adoption of the symbol, she replied with an image that stated, “I am more MAGA now than ever.”
This response is puzzling. Over the last several years the civil and criminal justice systems have made abundantly clear what a loathsome individual the 45th president is. His felony conviction is only the latest official legal marker of his turpitude.
Consider some recent developments.
[...]
I am confident that the decent and sensible people in House District 39 who oppose the 45th president outnumber those who, for whatever reasons, thirst for his restoration. Perhaps someday – perhaps in retrospect – the current representative of House District 39 will reconsider her own position.*****
😆Community: when you are inclined to think how bad things are ....shed a tear for me on the cusp of Mike Johnsons and Julia Letlows distracts in rabid Maga North Louisiana. 😆
Sarah has said for a while that when Trump is not in the public eye his poll numbers increase, and when he returns the poll numbers drop. In light of this and Ron F’s mention of listening to every public performance from Trump for years, could the Bulwark start a new podcast that just plays (without comment other than date of comments) Trump speeches, interviews, etc? This way folks from all sides can tune in at any time and hear him. Episodes need to be created chronologically, so folks can experience deterioration and increasing crazy..
For those who denigrate the serioiusness of this case, I would point out that the way they got Al Capone was on income taxes.
Also, Trump operates like a mob boss, another parallel. Elie Honig's Untouchable: How Powerful People Get Away With It documents this very well https://www.washingtonpost.com/books/2023/02/01/untouchable-review-honig-powerful-people/
Brian Kemp HAS endorsed Trump. His game plan is obvious. He signed another voter suppression law last month that was passed without any input from Brian Raffensperger’s office.
I finally got around to listening to former President Trump's Friday post-conviction press conference today. I actually thought it had a great, strong opening - "if they can do this to me, they can do this to anyone." I stopped it right there and thought "Yes! Yes! You're exactly right! I hope to God if I ever do anything as remotely criminal as you have done, that our system of justice will treat me just as fairly regardless of my wealth and power, in the egalitarian manner that our Founders intended when they established the Constitution that we all still agree to live by." I should have stayed stopped, since that obviously wasn't what he meant, and it all went down hill from there. How flooded is the zone when a former President of the United States (or anyone for that matter) can utter the words that his witnesses in his trial were "literally crucified" and that doesn't get reported anywhere - literally...crucified...bringing to mind not only images of Jesus, but of Spartacus and his followers, lining the Appian Way. Trump made the comments like he had legions of witnesses standing by to testify on his behalf, yet all he talked about were Costello and the FEC Chair (who they decided not to call) and...oh, wait, that's it. I guess the paralegal who testified for the defense somehow escaped the fate of literal crucifixtion.
I am almost positive that I read/heard/saw this general analogy from some columnist or commentator but I honestly can’t remember where so I apologize in advance for failure to make proper attribution. When I was a kid I watched the Academy Awards because we only had a few channels and there wasn’t much else on TV on Sunday during that time of the year. One year Kathryn Hepburn and Henry Ford both won Oscars for some movie they co-starred in during their older years. The critics all seemed to agree that while neither of them deserved the award for their performance in that particular movie, they nevertheless applauded it because they were both great actors with illustrious careers who had been snubbed on other occasions. It was kind of a life time achievement award.
I have a similar reaction to Trump. I have huge problems with both the civil action against Trump on supposed banking violations and the Bragg criminal case. My hesitations and doubts are pretty much the same as those expressed by other commentators so I won’t detail them here. Both prosecutions are politically motivated and would not have been brought against anybody other than Trump. That should give us a little pause. We don’t want Trump anywhere near power because he might use the power of office against his political enemies. So we use the power of government in the form of highly selective prosecution against Trump to undermine his chances of re-election?
That being said I can’t generate much sympathy for Trump. This particular felony conviction MIGHT be bogus but it’s a lifetime achievement conviction for all of the other times he has slithered out of legal responsibility for sexually assaulting women, reneging on contracts from small businesses, deceiving investors ………………oh, and, almost incidentally, inviting a mob to storm the congress.
Just be careful guys. Go ahead and have a glass of champagne, but we don’t know how this will ultimately play out. Trump’s die hard supporters are going to cry holy murder no matter which crime he is convicted for (and the documents case is absolutely clear cut) but they do have some legitimate concerns on the Bragg case. Trump will always be a whiner, but let’s not make him a sympathetic martyr.
Tim, Listen to Ralph Nader Radio Hour. Guest was Professor N. STEVEN FISH who just purchased the book , "ROUTING TRUMPISM, RECLAIMING THE NATION, AND RESTORING DEMOCRACY'S EDGE". He explains how Trump is better at projecting strength and dominance. This UC Berkeley professor would make a great guest on The Bulwark.
Tim, it's so much fun watching you on YouTube in these pods: you're like a little kid at C'mas! Hey, we've got a celebrate victory when we can, huhn? It doesn't happen often.
There are innumerable adjectives that can be used to describe the typical MAGA base supporter, but the one that seems most apt is meanness. There has probably never been a more mean-spirited collection of individuals associated with a political movement in all of human history.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WFQLktl21aM - British tourist STUNNED by how dumb Trump supporters are
Megan Kelly et al are well aware of the lack of intellect among the MAGA faithful. She has no chance of ever becoming “mainstream” but she def has a good chance of being welcomed back i to Trump’s fold and when you lack all integrity (and she does)…….pedal to the medal baby!
Ron Filipkowski is also very active on Threads. He’s definitely with a follow https://www.threads.net/@ronaldfilipkowski
I think the real reason Trump wanted a change in venue is not because "NY is all Democrat and hates me" is because NYers D and R alike have had his number for 40 years+ and his father's before that so thet had no problem treating him "just like any other defendant" - there was no awe.
Admittedly, whenever people I deeply respect warn against celebration and remind us that this is a sad day for America, I agree and feel sheepish for a few minutes. But, Tim, you wear shadenfreude with such style. How can something that feels so right be so wrong?
One element that we shouldn't look past is that these jurors made their decisions based SOLELY on the testimony and evidence. No internet, no news, no propaganda, just facts. When you clear all of the noise and deflections and distractions away and let the facts speak for themselves, it's amazing how clear the decision becomes.
This edition of Decency and Sense references an incumbent state representative in Colorado. The phenomenon is of course prevalent among Republican office holders at all levels of government across the country.
A brief excerpt appears below the link. Click through for the damning case.
.
https://decencyandsense.substack.com/p/decency-sense-and-the-maximum-felon
*****This past Friday, a jury convicted the 45th president of having falsified business records as part of a scheme just before the 2016 election to prevent the revelation of an alleged 2006 sexual encounter with a porn star. That night, the current representative of Colorado House District 39 registered her objection to the verdict by changing her official Facebook profile picture to an inverted United States flag – the sign of distress that some of the January 6 insurrectionists carried as they rallied outside the Capitol and assaulted police to gain unlawful entry. After a Facebook user commented enthusiasm for her adoption of the symbol, she replied with an image that stated, “I am more MAGA now than ever.”
This response is puzzling. Over the last several years the civil and criminal justice systems have made abundantly clear what a loathsome individual the 45th president is. His felony conviction is only the latest official legal marker of his turpitude.
Consider some recent developments.
[...]
I am confident that the decent and sensible people in House District 39 who oppose the 45th president outnumber those who, for whatever reasons, thirst for his restoration. Perhaps someday – perhaps in retrospect – the current representative of House District 39 will reconsider her own position.*****
😆Community: when you are inclined to think how bad things are ....shed a tear for me on the cusp of Mike Johnsons and Julia Letlows distracts in rabid Maga North Louisiana. 😆