Stop Praising Horrible Republicans Just Because They Don't Like Trump

Many Republicans have come forward recently to admonish or outright reject the presidency of Donald Trump.

And while the media is heaping praise on men like George W. Bush and Jeff Flake, they completely ignore the fact that the agendas of the dissenters are no different than those of Trump.

We have to stop forgiving these Republicans of their past sins just because they don’t like Donald Trump, as Ring of Fire’s Farron Cousins explains.



https://www.thedailybeast.com/senate-republicans-increasingly-see-trump-as-a-threat-then-give-him-a-standing-o-at-lunch

Barack Obama Speaks On Trump

Here are some comments on the monster that American society has created.

John Kelly And Sarah Huckabee Sanders Must Resign

To defend Trump and to criticize a widow, they lied—and lost all credibility.

Ricky Gervais Questions Sanity Of Trump Voters: “Why Are They Falling For Drain The Swamp?”

Comedian Ricky Gervais wants to know why Trump supporters are so dull that they fell for his promise to “drain the swamp.” And that’s a fair question. From everything we’ve seen from this administration, he’s not only failed on that promise, but he’s made the government far worse than we’ve seen in recent years. Gervais also offered some not-so-subtle advice to the Democratic elites during a recent interview, as Ring of Fire’s Farron Cousins explains.



https://www.rawstory.com/2017/10/comedian-ricky-gervais-blames-authoritarian-liberals-for-trump-why-are-there-nazis-suddenly/

McCain Calls Out Trump's Draft Dodging

John McCain recently discussed people getting out of Vietnam by getting doctors to write letters saying that they have bone spurs. Guess who did that? Cenk Uygur, the host of The Young Turks, shows you McCain calling out Trump’s draft dodging.

This Amazing Pic Of Trump And Mitch McConnell Having Russian Flags Thrown At Them Is Priceless

By Jason Easley

A picture captures the precise moment when Trump and Mitch McConnell had Russian flags thrown at them as they arrived for the Republican Senate lunch.


A picture captures the precise moment when Trump and Mitch McConnell had Russian flags thrown at them as they arrived for the Republican Senate lunch.

The picture was taken by Roll Call photographer Bill Clark.

Pictures are capable of capturing the mood of a nation better than words ever could. This is one of those moments as a smiling Mitch McConnell, and thumbs up Trump are reminded of what they did to win an election as Russian flags fly toward them.

McConnell has been one of the cover-up artists for Trump in the Russia campaign. Going back to the 2016 campaign, McConnell refused to work with President Obama and issue a joint statement condemning Russian interference in the presidential election.

McConnell also allowed Russia to attack the election by expressing skepticism about the intelligence that Russia was interfering in the US presidential election.

Mitch McConnell is still working hard to cover-up Trump's crimes.

Sometimes a picture is worth a thousand words, or in this case, one stolen presidential election.

John McCain Brutally Mocks Trump For Being A Draft Dodging Coward

By Jason Easley

Sen. John McCain was talking about the Vietnam War on C-SPAN 3’s American History TV when he got the ultimate dig in on Trump by calling out rich kids who avoided the draft with issues like bone spurs.



Sen. McCain (R-AZ) said, “One aspect of the conflict by the way that I will never ever countenance is that we drafted the lowest income level of America and the highest income level found a doctor that would say that they had a bone spur. That is wrong. That is wrong. If we are going to ask every American to serve, every American should serve.”

Donald Trump has been insulting and threatening Sen. McCain even after his brain cancer diagnosis, but McCain has been through way worse than anything Trump can dish out on Twitter. Sen. McCain was right on one critical point. Trump is a man who wrapped himself in the flag but used his family’s wealth to avoid serving his country. A resident who is under federal investigation for collaborating with a hostile foreign power to undermine democracy and win a presidential election is no patriot.

The prognosis may not be good for John McCain, but if he is in the final act of his life, he is using it to defend his country against the threat that is Donald Trump.

12 Days of Silence On Niger Tragedy Exposes Donald Trump As A Fake Patriot

By Demetrius Harris

Donald Trump’s handling of the aftermath of the Niger tragedy, which claimed the lives of four American servicemen, has caused considerable outrage and raised troubling questions. But what it didn’t do, was reveal anything about Trump that we didn’t already know. Contrarily, it only reinforced perceptions that were previously witnessed, but somehow ignored by his voters. For twelve days Donald Trump publicly ignored the deaths of four men who he claims to hold so dearly.

Twelve days of silence proved him yet again, to be a malignant political fraud.

During his presidential campaign, Donald Trump repeatedly showed a disgusting lack of empathy and respect for members of the military. He derided Gold Star parents and proclaimed himself more astute in military strategy than battle tested generals. He accepted a veterans Purple Heart medal, famously declaring that “was much easier” than serving in combat. He held a fundraiser for veterans but didn’t disperse the funds until he was prodded by the media about monies raised. He also dodged the draft with five deferments, including one instance in which he claimed to suffer from bone spurs in his foot. But when questioned, Trump couldn’t remember which of his feet were afflicted. Later his campaign released a statement, which said both of his feet suffered from the condition. He insulted the record of former P.O.W. John McCain.

Does any of this sound like a man who has the utmost respect for our armed forces?

Four American lives were lost in Niger on October 4th. Donald Trump, self-proclaimed patriot, didn’t bother to mention their deaths until October 16th. Twelve days passed before Donald Trump, resident of the United States and supposed champion of our great military, bothered to mention their names. He only did so after being questioned by a reporter. It’s been reported that the attack was carried out by members of ISIS, the same terrorist group that Trump has claimed victory against, without any proof whatsoever. If this is true, then Trump allowed his hubris to impede good judgment and protocol. What transpired next, can only be described as normal within an administration wrought with incompetence and stupidity.

Donald Trump made a mockery of a call of condolence to the family of fallen soldier La David Johnson, lied about it and his deplorable minions covered for him with more lies. For a self-professed patriot, this was an unforgivable sin. Trump lied about the content of his call, lied about calling the families of other slain servicemen and doubled down, impugning the reputations of past presidents and stating that they didn’t do as much as him in this regard.

The controversy over his call could have easily been diffused, with real compassion and common sense, neither of which Donald Trump has. Trump could’ve apologized for any misunderstanding and redoubled efforts to show proper respect with a heartfelt display of empathy. However, it’s not in his nature. His is the nature of a rebellious child, who’s been told to stand in the corner and draws on the wall. Ego and ignorance led Trump to lie, and cowardice led his enablers to empower his lies and stupidity.

In the ensuing twelve days between the time of the demise of our fallen soldiers and his public acknowledgment, Trump continued his attack on the NFL calling their patriotism in question. What must be understood is that his position has nothing to do with his fraudulent love of the flag. His attack is fueled by greed and bigotry.

Trump attempted to buy the Buffalo Bills in 2014 and was denied entrance into the exclusive boys club. This is after famously making a fool of himself, while simultaneously bankrupting the league when he led the now-defunct USFL, into a court battle against the NFL and was summarily crushed.

The USFL was a fairly successful venture until the idiocy of Donald Trump came into play.

The other stunningly obvious reason for his war on football is his unmitigated bigotry and that of his supporters. Trump is playing the race card by inflaming the emotions of his bigoted base, who are wholly threatened by the concept of wealthy men of color fighting for change. Trump went as far to initiate a fake protest by his despicable underling, Mike Pence. He cost taxpayers over $250,000 for a hoax designed to further divide the nation. For twelve days Trump also continued golfing and his dimwitted use of social media.


Trump’s narcissism is being enabled by everyone around him. His con game is moved forward by his sad sack administration. Once respected, John Kelly, has proven that he is not in the White House to keep Trump in line, but rather to fall in line with the Trump vision. Kelly forever tarnished his legacy by committing classic Trumpisms of dishonesty and distortions. Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders, has repeatedly proven there was never a lie or fabrication that she wouldn’t bestow upon American citizens. The entire White House staff colluded in Trump’s deception when they scrambled to form a list of soldiers killed in action, so Trump could contact them, after saying he had already done so. Where exactly is his profound patriotism in any of this? You won’t find it because it doesn’t exist.

Donald Trump is a shameless liar, a conniving con artist, an emotional wreck who is intellectually deficient and historically incompetent. But make no mistake. Donald Trump is not now or ever was a patriot. #RESIST…

Andy Borowitz: The End of Trump | The New Yorker

New Yorker contributor Andy Borowitz discusses Nazis, Donald Trump and impeachment, and starting his own movement, élitism.

Trump Says The “Piss Tape” Dossier Is A Conspiracy Funded By The FBI, Democrats, And Russia

Donald Trump is not happy about the resurgence of the “piss tape dossier” that claimed that Trump paid prostitutes to piss on him in a Russian hotel.

While there were far more explosive claims in the report, the “Golden Shower” claim has gained the most attention due to the overall creepiness of that assertion.

But Trump is fighting back, and he now says that this entire dossier was the result of the FBI, the Democratic Party, and Russia coming together to smear him. Ring of Fire’s Farron Cousins discusses this.



https://www.rawstory.com/2017/10/trump-floats-conspiracy-by-democrats-fbi-and-russia-to-pay-for-pee-pee-tape-dossier/

Trump Rates His Puerto Rican Response A Perfect 10 As Residents Continue To Suffer

Donald Trump says that he would rate his handling of the dire situation in Puerto Rico a perfect 10, even though 28% of people on the island still don’t have access to clean water.

Trump has bungled the situation in Puerto Rico just as bad, or possibly even worse, than George W. Bush with Katrina, as Ring of Fire’s Farron Cousins explains.



http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/356227-trump-on-puerto-rico-id-give-myself-a-10

https://www.rawstory.com/2017/10/trump-gives-his-response-to-puerto-rico-a-ten-even-as-28-of-residents-still-lack-drinking-water/

Oh, Just Fuck Off, John Kelly

Posted by Rude One

Let's get one thing straight right off the bat: No matter where the fighting is and no matter the cause, most soldiers will act bravely, sometimes even heroically, to support their fellow soldiers. In every bullshit war, there are men and women who fight, get wounded, and die, and their sacrifice should be honored and respected. They went to war because the leaders we elected made them go there.

But let's also get another thing straight: We have not fought a war that wasn't bullshit since World War II. And every death and every wound has been for nothing (beyond the soldiers protecting each other.) Korea was bullshit. Vietnam was bullshit. The Persian Gulf was bullshit. Iraq was bullshit. Afghanistan is bullshit. They are all built on lies. Sometimes we allow ourselves to believe they weren't lies. But each and every one was based on lies to advance some policy or ideology that no Americans should have had to die for.

Which gets us to White House Chief of Staff John Kelly, a retired Marine general. Yesterday, Kelly appeared at the White House press briefing to set the record straight or some fucking thing about President Trump's callous phone call to the widow of Sgt. La David Johnson, killed in Niger earlier in this month.

In doing so, Kelly took his career and any respectability he had, which he had already handed over to Trump when he agreed to work for him in the first place, and he allowed Trump to fuck it in the ass while he cheered Trump on.

You can read about the many ways in which Kelly lied about Congresswoman Frederica Wilson. You can get confused at Kelly's statement that Wilson "listened in" on a conversation that was on a fucking speakerphone in the car she was riding in and therefore she had no fucking choice but to listen in. You can roll your eyes at Kelly calling Donald Trump "brave" for reaching out to the family of a fallen soldier, as if Donald Trump has ever done anything braver than eat one too many Big Macs in a single sitting. You can even shake your head at Kelly's beyond ignorant invocation of the past when "Women were sacred, looked upon with great honor."

But I'm saying, "Oh, just fuck off" to John Kelly for a couple of reasons.

First, he should fuck off for talking about how Gold Star families (those who lost someone in battle) are no longer sacred because "I think that left in the convention over the summer." He is probably invoking the Khan family, who criticized Trump at the Democratic Convention, and not Patricia Smith, who lost her son in the Benghazi attack and called Hillary a murderer, more or less, at the Republican Convention.

And Kelly should fuck off because in the rest of his fucked-up appearance he completely politicized Gold Star families - who, it should be noted, often politicize themselves in honor of their lost loved ones. He ignored that the president didn't treat those families as sacred when he attacked the Khans. That didn't fucking crop up in his obsequious fluffing of Trump. As if to make his point clear about who he values, Kelly took a couple of questions but only from reporters who are in Gold Star families or are related to them.

Then he pretty much said that you're an asshole if you don't serve in the military: "We don't look down upon those of you who that haven't served. In fact, in a way we're a little bit sorry because you'll have never have experienced the wonderful joy you get in your heart when you do the kinds of things our service men and women do - not for any other reason than they love this country. So just think of that."

To which one can only say, "Fuck off. There are so many ways to serve your country and your community that don't involve the military and how fucking dare you diminish those."

Even more, John Kelly can fuck off because of what I started with here. Kelly said he was so upset that Rep. Wilson said mean things about Donald Trump (by, you know, quoting Donald Trump) that he had to take a walk. So, as one does, he went to Arlington National Cemetery, and "I went over there for an hour-and-a-half, walked among the stones, some of whom I put there because they were doing what I told them to do when they were killed."

What were they doing under his orders? Fighting in a bullshit war in Iraq, where Kelly had various commands, up to being in charge of the whole damn show in 2008. Yeah, Kelly led men to die for nothing. And so many in the military know that they were it was a war for nothing. Oh, he could have retired, but he didn't. Which means he believed in the bullshit war and sent soldiers to die for bullshit. I'm pretty fucking sure they didn't sign up for that.

But let's go even further here because, you know, if you're gonna tell someone to "Fuck off," you may as well go all the way. One of Kelly's sons died in combat. He usually doesn't talk about it because it's horrific and personal and why should he. But Trump dragged the corpse of Kelly's son into this shitpool. And Kelly brought him up yesterday. Kelly's son died in Afghanistan in 2010 in a war that should never have been started and was fucked up from the start by President Bush and it wasn't even unfucked by President Obama. Like every other soldier in this war, he died for nothing because he shouldn't have been there in the first place. Kelly's younger son is now on his fifth tour of duty in Afghanistan.

Yeah, John Kelly walked out in front of the world yesterday to announce that he is just another piss whore in Trump's bed, and he'll willingly degrade himself and his family in order to stay there.

(Note: I support the troops so much that I don't want them to have to fight because some politician needs to prove that a think-tank's position on democracy or terrorism is correct. I want them to defend us and defend our allies. And, yes, I have family in the military. I don't want them to die for bullshit.)

'Stunned' By John Kelly's Attack On Rep. Frederica Wilson

While defending resident Donald Trump's "brave" condolence call to a Gold Star family, Chief of Staff Gen. John Kelly attacked Rep. Frederica Wilson, calling her an "empty barrel." Lawrence O'Donnell explains why Kelly was noble and cruel all at once.

The Opposite Of Empathy

Trump Won't Stop Lying About Fallen Soldiers And Past Presidents

Donald Trump believes that the only way to get out of a hole is to keep digging, and that’s exactly what he’s doing right now while trying to downplay his lack of concern over the American soldiers who died after being ambushed during an attack in Niger. Trump claims that he’s done more than past presidents have, but that’s not even close to being the truth. Ring of Fire’s Farron Cousins discusses this.



https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2017/10/17/disrespectful-lie-anger-grows-over-trumps-claims-that-past-presidents-didnt-honor-fallen-troops/

http://www.businessinsider.com/sean-spicer-interview-with-robert-mueller-trump-russia-investigation-2017-10

Trump Drops 92 Spots On Forbes Rich List After Losing $600 Million This Year

Donald Trump, and the few people who still support him, love to tell us that he is one of the best businessmen the world has ever known. If that were the case, then how did he manage to lose $600 million in the last year, causing him to drop 92 spots on Forbes list of 400 richest Americans?

Trump is about as good as running businesses as he is at running the country, as Ring of Fire’s Farron Cousins explains.



http://money.cnn.com/2017/10/17/news/trump-billionaires-forbes-richest-americans/index.html

Donald Trump Is Fucking Crazy

Let’s be honest here, Donald Trump's brain does not work correctly.

DNC Appoints Anti- $15 Minimum Wage Stooge To Finance Committee

Elections have consequences, and the consequence of Tom Perez winning the DNC chair is that we now get anti-progressive, pro-corporate, anti-worker millionaires appointed to important positions inside the DNC.

Donald Trump Ignores Fallen Soldiers In Niger - Lies About Obama As Cover!

In this ‘Dollemore Daily’ Jesse addresses Donald Trump's remarks in a press conference at the White House with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. Trump obfuscated and made excuses for not mentioning the loss of four Green Berets in Niger 13 days ago.



Trump has written letters to the families of the fallen. Or he will. They’ll go out tonight. Probably. Cenk Uygur, host of The Young Turks, breaks it down.

"So given how vocal Trump was about his support for the military, his silence after the Oct. 4 ambush in southwestern Niger in which four U.S. Special Forces soldiers were killed was noticeable. He finally commented on the incident Monday — 12 days after it happened. Asked by a reporter about his delayed response, Trump said he had written letters over the weekend and would “at some point” call the families of the fallen soldiers.

He also said of Obama and other previous presidents that “a lot of them didn't make calls,” an assertion former Obama aides forcefully denied. He did not explain why it had taken so long to publicly acknowledge the incident.

CNN reported over the weekend that Trump was golfing while the remains of La David Johnson, one of the four killed in the attack, were returned to Dover Air Force Base, a juxtaposition critics pounced on.”



https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2017/10/16/why-was-trump-so-quiet-after-the-deaths-of-four-u-s-soldiers-in-niger/

During a Monday news conference, resident Trump was asked about the killing of four Green Berets in an ambush in Niger and why he hadn't addressed their deaths. The panel criticizes Trump's response.

Trump can't hold President Obama's jock strap

Trump, Chieftain of Spite

Charles M. Blow OCT. 15, 2017

It must be cold and miserable standing in the shadow of someone greater and smarter, more loved and more admired. It must be infuriating to have risen on the wings of your derision of that person’s every decision, and even his very existence, and yet not be able to measure up — in either stratagem or efficacy — when you sit where that person once sat.

This is the existence of Donald Trump in the wake of President Barack Obama. Trump can’t hold a candle to Obama, so he’s taking a tiki torch to Obama’s legacy. Trump can’t get his bad ideas through Congress, but he can use the power of the presidency to sabotage or even sink Obama’s signature deeds.

In fact, if there is a defining feature of Trump as “resident,” it is that he is in all ways the anti-Obama — not only on policy but also on matters of propriety and polish. While Obama was erudite, Trump is ignorant. Obama was civil, Trump is churlish. Obama was tactful, Trump is tacky.

There is a thing present in Obama and absent from Trump that no amount of money or power can alter: a sense of elegant intellectualism and taste.

The example Obama set makes the big man with the big mouth look smaller by the day. But I believe that this nonadjustable imbalance is part of what has always fueled Trump’s rage against Obama. 

Trump, who sees character as just another malleable thing that can be marketed and made salable, chafes at the black man who operated above the coarseness of commercial interests and whose character appeared unassailable.

America — even many of the people who were staunch opponents of Obama’s policies — admired and even adored the sense of honor and decency he brought to the office. Trump, on the other hand, is historically unpopular, and not just in America. 

As The Pew Research Center pointed out in June: “Trump and many of his key policies are broadly unpopular around the globe, and ratings for the U.S. have declined steeply in many nations.” Trump is reviled around the globe and America’s reputation is going down with its captain.

All of this feeds Trump’s consuming obsession with undoing everything Obama did. It is his personal crusade, but he also carries the flag for the millions of Americans — mostly all Republicans — who were reflexively repulsed by Obama and the coalition that elected him.

Trump has done nearly everything in his power to roll back Obama’s policies, but none are as tempting a target as the one named after him: Obamacare.

Republicans — including Trump — campaigned for years on a lie. They knew it was a lie, but it was an enraging one that excited their base: Obama was destroying America’s health care system, but Republicans could undo the damage and replace it with their own, better bill.

First, Obama wasn’t destroying America’s health care system. To the contrary, he simply sought to make it cover more people. He moved to take American health care in a more humane, modern and civilized direction, to make it more universally accessible, even by the sick and poor who often took its absence as a given.

Second, the Republicans had no replacement plan that would cost less and cover as many or more people. That could not be done. So, their repeal-and-replace efforts failed. But that also meant that Trump’s promise was proven a lie. Trump has no problem lying, but in the end he wants his lies to look plausible.

Trump makes assertions for which there is no evidence — either knowingly lying, recklessly boasting or wishfully thinking — then seeks support for those statements, support that is often lacking because the statements are baseless.

He violates a basic protocol of human communication: Be sure of it before you say it. His way is to say something wrong, then bend reality to make it appear right. This is why the age of Trump is so maddening and stupefying: He is warping reality.

Last week he took more swipes at undermining the A.C.A.: Asking his administration to find ways to increase competition among insurers (a move many worry will move younger, healthier people out of the marketplace) and stopping the so-called “cost-sharing reduction” (CSR) payments — federal subsidies paid to insurance companies to help finance coverage for low-income Americans (a move many believe will send premiums soaring for those people).

Trump is doing this even though it will likely wreak havoc on countless lives. He is doing this even though a Kaiser Health Tracking Poll released Friday found that most Americans want Trump and Congress to stop trying to repeal the law, and instead work on legislation to stabilize the marketplaces and guarantee health care to Americans.

Furthermore, six in 10 Americans believe Congress should guarantee cost-sharing reduction payments, as opposed to only a third who view these payments as a “bailout of insurance companies,” as Trump has called them. There is no real reason to cut these payments, other than to save face and conceal the farce.

Trump isn’t governing with a vision, he’s governing out of spite. Obama’s effectiveness highlights Trump’s ineptitude, and this incenses Trump.

I invite you to join me on Facebook and follow me on Twitter (@CharlesMBlow), or email me at chblow@nytimes.com.

Follow The New York Times Opinion section on Facebook and Twitter (@NYTopinion), and sign up for the Opinion Today newsletter.

A version of this editorial appears in print on October 16, 2017, on Page A21 of the New York edition with the headline: Trump, Chieftain of Spite. Today's Paper|Subscribe