Terrific reporting, Marc, thank you. I'm stocking up on popcorn.
The insider's remark about RFKjr factions: "These groups, the adviser noted, undermine and undercut each other and anyone else they perceive as threatening to their interests" - gosh, ya just hate to see it.
Tom Cotton standing firm on objecting to Bobby's D-i-L tho? Nah, he'll fold like a limp dish rag if Trump says "boo." And Cotton having doubts about her fitness for the job - isn't that the one unifying characteristic defining Trump's nominees & appointments?
As for potential infighting at CIA between Amaryllis & John Ratcliffe, what's a little dissention & confusion at the top of our chief foreign intelligence & security agency? Those battles for pecking order were so entertaining on The Apprentice; I'm sure Putin and Xi will be endlessly amused.
Lastly, re: Bobby's interest in the JFK assassination, I hope he's not ignoring Deep Fluoride or a renegade group of dentists working in cahoots with a shadowy figure referred to as Mr. T. Decay
I have to admit it is disturbing to continually see evidence that America is not getting a first, second, or even a third thought in the upcoming Trump administration. It's all everyone's personal grievance, advantage, or conspiracy.
"During the campaign, Trump promised Kennedy he would disclose all of the records concerning the assassination of his uncle, former President John F. Kennedy, in 1963. [T]he 1992 JFK Records Act . . . mandated disclosure of all documents in the case by 2017. . . . Kennedy, who is convinced that the CIA was involved in his uncle’s assassination, has advocated for Fox to help lead the agency in part to ensure those records are disclosed."
Tom Cotton and the rest of the trumpers are perfectly fine with all trump's unfit nominees--except Amaryllis Fox Kennedy for the CIA. Why is Cotton, an avatar of the far-right, going to the mattresses to stop her, despite her favor with trump? Those of us old enough to know the history of 1963 (and Watergate) might have some thoughts.
Simply amazing. I suspect Cotton may want his wife to have a job here perhaps the same one. As for Cotton he has repeatedly proved his disloyalty to America and the Constitution, no one should be surprised that he is all in for those like Kennedy and Gabbard because of the damage they will do to America.
There is sadly an endless parade of people who are most unfit for a position being greenlighted here, for dismaying reasons.
1. they have shown loyalty to Trump, so he wants to reward them.
2. they have shown a willingness to do whatever Trump wants them to do, including appear on tv regularly and spout his toxic lies about a variety of topics, hate on the media, and generally pretend they're not the swamp creatures they actually are, and/or
3. actively work to weaken the departments they head, by gutting the career professionals, putting in their own sub-stooges for Trump, and attacking various outsider groups, to highlight Trump's theatre of cruelty, which is what his voters want: people to be punished, for supposedly victimizing his voters, and of course the Victim-in-Chief, Trump himself.
It's going to be a long, long 4 ++++ years of Darkness, anti-science, anti-facts, anti-rationality, anti-civil rights, anti-environment, anti-democracy, anti-accountability, and that's the short list.
4. They are telegenic, straight out of Central Casting and Fox News. Except for a notable few like border czar Homan, necessary as background to elevate the more lovely players.
I'm certain that this country will look a lot like an airliner after it's made an unplanned landing on the side of a mountain. Chaos, bodies, and it ain't flying again.
I’m afraid you’re right. And it won’t take too long. Questions is, will Trump voters hold the incompetence and calamities against him, or one of his usual scapegoats?
This is all just more evidence that the moral and ethical health of the country is shot right straight to hell and as to its intelligence, having now had constant and copious bareback liaisons with the likes of Bobby World, MAGA, the GOP, Trump and sundry Trump escorts and lamp post leaners, Al Capone's fate awaits it, to be sped handily along by the coming congress with the likes of Gabbard and Fox.
Need confirmation of that? Not to worry. The Senate's gonna' give us all confirmation and give it good and hard.
Amaryllis looks surprisingly like the young Jane Fonda in the photo at the top of this post. Maybe trump thinks that's who Amaryllis is. After all, he thought a photo of young E. Jean Carroll showed his ex-wife Marla Maples. And he adores movie stars--they're right out of central casting.
If Republican senators think the American people won't object to their government's leaders destroying their health and safety, the senators are wrong. The first case of polio, the first child death from rubella, and the Republicans are done. Not to mention a 9/11-scale intelligence failure on Tulsi Gabbard's watch. Or a fusillade of live ammunition fired at peaceful demonstrators on orders from Pete Hegseth.
i believe you might be underestimating the fealty to their golden idol, Trump, and the extent of brainwashing over decades from Fox News and its farther-right spawn.
Witness covid. 1.2 million people, disproportionately in red states, dead. All Trump has to say is that he "did a great job" with covid, and his minions believe him. And blame Democrats for any problems.
The majority of German civilians were with Hitler right til the end, when Berlin was smoking rubble.
Everything you have written here is true, Jeffrey. After I posted this comment, I recalled the hundreds of thousands of covid deaths that occurred on trump's watch.
Here's what the AP said: "The 400,000-death toll, reported . . . by Johns Hopkins University, is greater than the population of New Orleans, Cleveland or Tampa, Florida. It’s nearly equal to the number of American lives lost annually to strokes, Alzheimer’s disease, diabetes, flu and pneumonia combined."
How soon people forget. How easily nonstop gaslighting and the price of eggs causes people to memory-hole their dead relatives and friends.
Stephen - did you know whether Randy Newman coined that or just borrowed in his lyric? (great social comment song BTW tho likely wouldn't write it today)
He recently said it was positioned mid-way between places they frequently fly to, the weather, and the culture in New Orleans. Like many red states, the cities are not so deep red.
“ But Fox faces a different audience on Capitol Hill. Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.)—who is the GOP Conference chair and an extremely influential voice on intelligence issues—has expressed doubts to others about her fitness for the job, according to two people briefed on the conversations. Cotton, an Army veteran and member of the Intelligence Committee, also has a familial tie to the CIA, where his wife was once employed as a staff attorney.”
But Cotton is ok with Patel, someone with zero law enforcement experience? Someone who said in an interview that FBI agents should spread out across the country and be “cops?” The mind boggles.
“They were knifing people to make it happen and it was not well received. It’s a slash-and-burn campaign, cutting and burning,” said a Republican briefed on the dynamics ...
What's the problem? This is standard Republican practice.
A REAL ENVIRONMENTALIST would never step into MAGA WORLD. That place is full of GLOBAL WARMING DENIERS. So, RFK,JR would surround himself with people who want to harm our earth..isn't it enough that this guy is adverse to life saving vaccines!!!? Or! Is he secretly trying to kill humans on this globe ? Trump killed over 1 Million Americans because he denied the existence of COVID ..AMERICAN lives ..RFK is aiming to kill millions in underdeveloped places by denying them vaccines..TWO MADMAN KILLERS ....SO HAPPY TOGETHER..
They do seem intent on destroying the population, starting with infants not receiving the vaccines that will ultimately save their lives and the lives of future generations.
And that low-vaccination reality will kill other vulnerable people with compromised immune systems who can’t protect themselves except by being a shut-in.
Mark, we will miss your reporting at The Bulwark. Good luck at Axios!
Terrific reporting, Marc, thank you. I'm stocking up on popcorn.
The insider's remark about RFKjr factions: "These groups, the adviser noted, undermine and undercut each other and anyone else they perceive as threatening to their interests" - gosh, ya just hate to see it.
Tom Cotton standing firm on objecting to Bobby's D-i-L tho? Nah, he'll fold like a limp dish rag if Trump says "boo." And Cotton having doubts about her fitness for the job - isn't that the one unifying characteristic defining Trump's nominees & appointments?
As for potential infighting at CIA between Amaryllis & John Ratcliffe, what's a little dissention & confusion at the top of our chief foreign intelligence & security agency? Those battles for pecking order were so entertaining on The Apprentice; I'm sure Putin and Xi will be endlessly amused.
Lastly, re: Bobby's interest in the JFK assassination, I hope he's not ignoring Deep Fluoride or a renegade group of dentists working in cahoots with a shadowy figure referred to as Mr. T. Decay
"They all are covered in each other’s blood ... "
That's going to be the hallmark of this administration. It's straight-up mob dynamics: a small core of hardened loyalists in the middle of a snakepit.
Icky though
Horrible. We won't be getting any kind of governance for a while, let alone good governance.
I have to admit it is disturbing to continually see evidence that America is not getting a first, second, or even a third thought in the upcoming Trump administration. It's all everyone's personal grievance, advantage, or conspiracy.
The crux:
"During the campaign, Trump promised Kennedy he would disclose all of the records concerning the assassination of his uncle, former President John F. Kennedy, in 1963. [T]he 1992 JFK Records Act . . . mandated disclosure of all documents in the case by 2017. . . . Kennedy, who is convinced that the CIA was involved in his uncle’s assassination, has advocated for Fox to help lead the agency in part to ensure those records are disclosed."
Tom Cotton and the rest of the trumpers are perfectly fine with all trump's unfit nominees--except Amaryllis Fox Kennedy for the CIA. Why is Cotton, an avatar of the far-right, going to the mattresses to stop her, despite her favor with trump? Those of us old enough to know the history of 1963 (and Watergate) might have some thoughts.
Simply amazing. I suspect Cotton may want his wife to have a job here perhaps the same one. As for Cotton he has repeatedly proved his disloyalty to America and the Constitution, no one should be surprised that he is all in for those like Kennedy and Gabbard because of the damage they will do to America.
There is sadly an endless parade of people who are most unfit for a position being greenlighted here, for dismaying reasons.
1. they have shown loyalty to Trump, so he wants to reward them.
2. they have shown a willingness to do whatever Trump wants them to do, including appear on tv regularly and spout his toxic lies about a variety of topics, hate on the media, and generally pretend they're not the swamp creatures they actually are, and/or
3. actively work to weaken the departments they head, by gutting the career professionals, putting in their own sub-stooges for Trump, and attacking various outsider groups, to highlight Trump's theatre of cruelty, which is what his voters want: people to be punished, for supposedly victimizing his voters, and of course the Victim-in-Chief, Trump himself.
It's going to be a long, long 4 ++++ years of Darkness, anti-science, anti-facts, anti-rationality, anti-civil rights, anti-environment, anti-democracy, anti-accountability, and that's the short list.
4. They are telegenic, straight out of Central Casting and Fox News. Except for a notable few like border czar Homan, necessary as background to elevate the more lovely players.
I'm certain that this country will look a lot like an airliner after it's made an unplanned landing on the side of a mountain. Chaos, bodies, and it ain't flying again.
I’m afraid you’re right. And it won’t take too long. Questions is, will Trump voters hold the incompetence and calamities against him, or one of his usual scapegoats?
I would expect it’s the former.
I agree. But I think it will fly again. I'm afraid all his sycophants will succeed him with with glee. Keeping his dream alive.
This is all just more evidence that the moral and ethical health of the country is shot right straight to hell and as to its intelligence, having now had constant and copious bareback liaisons with the likes of Bobby World, MAGA, the GOP, Trump and sundry Trump escorts and lamp post leaners, Al Capone's fate awaits it, to be sped handily along by the coming congress with the likes of Gabbard and Fox.
Need confirmation of that? Not to worry. The Senate's gonna' give us all confirmation and give it good and hard.
That's ALPHONSE Capone to us peons, please 😉
I’m sure the MAGA base is thrilled with their entertaining new reality TV show.
I do believe Trump is an Al Capone fan. I can't remember exactly when, but I saw a video of trump praising him for something or another.
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/25/opinion/trump-al-capone.html
Thanks!
Amaryllis looks surprisingly like the young Jane Fonda in the photo at the top of this post. Maybe trump thinks that's who Amaryllis is. After all, he thought a photo of young E. Jean Carroll showed his ex-wife Marla Maples. And he adores movie stars--they're right out of central casting.
If Republican senators think the American people won't object to their government's leaders destroying their health and safety, the senators are wrong. The first case of polio, the first child death from rubella, and the Republicans are done. Not to mention a 9/11-scale intelligence failure on Tulsi Gabbard's watch. Or a fusillade of live ammunition fired at peaceful demonstrators on orders from Pete Hegseth.
I was picking up a Sarah Palin vibe, just from the photo. I’ve never seen her before.
i believe you might be underestimating the fealty to their golden idol, Trump, and the extent of brainwashing over decades from Fox News and its farther-right spawn.
Witness covid. 1.2 million people, disproportionately in red states, dead. All Trump has to say is that he "did a great job" with covid, and his minions believe him. And blame Democrats for any problems.
The majority of German civilians were with Hitler right til the end, when Berlin was smoking rubble.
Cult membership dies hard.
Everything you have written here is true, Jeffrey. After I posted this comment, I recalled the hundreds of thousands of covid deaths that occurred on trump's watch.
Here's what the AP said: "The 400,000-death toll, reported . . . by Johns Hopkins University, is greater than the population of New Orleans, Cleveland or Tampa, Florida. It’s nearly equal to the number of American lives lost annually to strokes, Alzheimer’s disease, diabetes, flu and pneumonia combined."
How soon people forget. How easily nonstop gaslighting and the price of eggs causes people to memory-hole their dead relatives and friends.
Cotton (and Vance) epitomize the New Orleans bon mot (about LSU graduates): “Went in dumb, come out dumb, too.”
Stephen - did you know whether Randy Newman coined that or just borrowed in his lyric? (great social comment song BTW tho likely wouldn't write it today)
Do you know why Tim Miller lives in Louisiana? Since he says he's originally from Colorado I've wondered why. Maybe his husband is from there?
He recently said it was positioned mid-way between places they frequently fly to, the weather, and the culture in New Orleans. Like many red states, the cities are not so deep red.
He's a Kennedy. Comes by it honestly.
This is interesting:
“ But Fox faces a different audience on Capitol Hill. Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.)—who is the GOP Conference chair and an extremely influential voice on intelligence issues—has expressed doubts to others about her fitness for the job, according to two people briefed on the conversations. Cotton, an Army veteran and member of the Intelligence Committee, also has a familial tie to the CIA, where his wife was once employed as a staff attorney.”
But Cotton is ok with Patel, someone with zero law enforcement experience? Someone who said in an interview that FBI agents should spread out across the country and be “cops?” The mind boggles.
Cotton's furrowed brow and concerned demeanor hide a devious mind.
He has an evil affect.
Kind of got a "Damien grows up into Norman Bates" vibe
Hey, dog catcher…. You want a job??? We got one for ya!!!
Glad to hear that nepotism is alive and well in the ranks! You get a job and you get a job!!!! Jesus!
The nepo-crypto-corrupto-billionaire-kakistocracy. Did I leave anything out?
“They were knifing people to make it happen and it was not well received. It’s a slash-and-burn campaign, cutting and burning,” said a Republican briefed on the dynamics ...
What's the problem? This is standard Republican practice.
I copied that same bit. The irony is killing me.
A REAL ENVIRONMENTALIST would never step into MAGA WORLD. That place is full of GLOBAL WARMING DENIERS. So, RFK,JR would surround himself with people who want to harm our earth..isn't it enough that this guy is adverse to life saving vaccines!!!? Or! Is he secretly trying to kill humans on this globe ? Trump killed over 1 Million Americans because he denied the existence of COVID ..AMERICAN lives ..RFK is aiming to kill millions in underdeveloped places by denying them vaccines..TWO MADMAN KILLERS ....SO HAPPY TOGETHER..
They do seem intent on destroying the population, starting with infants not receiving the vaccines that will ultimately save their lives and the lives of future generations.
And that low-vaccination reality will kill other vulnerable people with compromised immune systems who can’t protect themselves except by being a shut-in.
JF - Covid redux. Cuz that turned out so well
It must be the brain worm, that makes him nutty.
Or the acid. Or the shrooms.