Pence and Putin have just abruptly cancelled events

[jberryhill]

https://www.nbcboston.com/news/local/Mike-Pence-Talks-Opioid-Addiction-Drug-Flow-in-New-Hampshire-512106221.html

Mike Pence Called Back to White House, NH Visit Canceled

A spokesperson for the vice president originally said Air Force 2 was turned around due to an "emergency," but the organizers of the event are now characterizing it as a "diversion"

[Afromania]

1. ?

[jberryhill]

4. Pence's plane turned around on the way to New Hampshire

Putin cancelled his schedule, but that could be due to the submarine accident.

[Afromania]

8. uh, boy. either something stupidly serious is happening or somebodies fav puppet is out to lunch.

[lapfog_1]

2. pence recalled to white house from N.H.

[Skraxx]

3. Uh Oh Spaghettio!

[Sneederbunk]

5. Only Pence knows where the Sherman Tanks are.

[VOX]

58. Those "brand new" Sherman tanks, hermetically sealed since 1957!

Not a scratch on them, these babies are showroom fresh!

[global1]

6. Trump Needs A Big Distraction Because......

The House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Richard Neal is filing a lawsuit in federal court today seeking to compel the IRS to turn over Trump's tax returns, according to a person familiar with the matter. And you know how much Trump is trying to prevent his tax returns from becoming public.

[Hortensis]

19. :) Yes. We know he'd be doing something.

But is this it or was he planning to insult some rockstar instead?

[fleur-de-lisa]

7. Trump needs another diet coke. Where's Pence?

[NRaleighLiberal]

9. He forgot to put another roll of Charmin on the golden spool...

[Johnny2X2X]

10. White House saying Trump is fine

And saying this was not a health related diversion.

Which probably means it's health related, this White House says the opposite of what is true 95% of the time.

[DesertRat]

22. Exactly. We can't believe a word they say. nt

[Proud Liberal Dem]

26. Which is really scary

because if something ever happens (for real) that we the people REALLY need to know about, we'd be so screwed because we wouldn't know for sure (or without further verification) whether or not what we're being told by Trump, et. al was actually real and not a diversion or a distraction or hoax.

[triron]

40. Here's wishing.

[Blue_true]

62. Maybe a bad batch of KFC. nt

[wryter2000]

11. Maybe

They're going to announce Putin is taking over with Trump as VP.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

12. Any info on location of Air Force 2? Seems WH is denying it took off while reports are that....

Any info on location of Air Force 2? Seems WH is denying it took off while reports are that it was on the way to NH and turned around to bring pence back?

Link to tweet

[MineralMan]

13. Where is the link for the Putin cancellation.

I can't find that anywhere.

[jberryhill]

14. It's probably related to this

In all probability, Putin's schedule change is independently due to this:

https://news.usni.org/2019/07/02/14-sailors-die-on-secretive-russian-nuclear-submarine

A fire that broke out on a secret Russian submarine has killed 14 sailors, according to a statement from the Ministry of Defense in Moscow.

“On July 1, 14 submariners – sailors died in Russian territorial waters as a result of inhaling combustion products aboard a research submersible vehicle designated for studying the seafloor and the bottom of the World Ocean in the interests of the Russian Navy after a fire broke out during bathymetric measurements,” read a translation of the statement from the state-controlled Tass news service.

-----

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-russia-submersible-incident-putin-idUSKCN1TX272

Putin to meet Russian defense minister after death of sailors: RIA

[MineralMan]

15. That's what I was thinking, too.

I think this "emergency" is not anything significant, really.

I mean like Trump having a stroke or something, you know.

[Delmette2.0]

25. Maybe it was thought to be a serious medical problem.

IF 45 collapsed and the WH staff are aware or suspect some other medical problem, they could have called Pence back to be on the safe side. We may never know what happened.

[smirkymonkey]

42. That's what I was thinking. Other than having the title of "Vice President" and

technically being Trump's successor, what ELSE does Pence do and what could possibly be so urgent that they would need his brilliant mastermind to be called back to Washington at once?

[GusBob]

21. Early in Putins career, like within months of taking power

There was a submarine accident, a big one I cant remember it all, but sailors got trapped and died when they may have been rescued. Putin turned down international help and went to his dacha while his admirals tried to cover it up.

Putin caught a lot of flack for how he handled that incident

[True Dough]

29. I believe that was the Kursk

What a horrible way to go.

[Proud Liberal Dem]

27. What does that have to do with *us* though?

[jberryhill]

31. Nothing

Probably just a coincidence.

[jayfish]

36. Or...

The nuclear powered sub had a nuclear accident. Or, they were trying to tap a transatlantic cable, ended up destroying it and killrd 14 crew members in the process. Did you notice a large portion of the internet go down today?

[jberryhill]

37. Cloudflare had a network problem

1. The issue with Cloudflare - which provides a huge swath of the internet with DNS and DDOS protection - was with their servers.

2. The sub went down in Russian waters in the Barents Sea. Anyone with the barest inkling of geography knows there are no transatlantic cables there. What the fuck would an international cable be doing in a body of water that is nearly completely bounded by Russia in the first place? Where does this cable go, in your fevered imagination?

[jberryhill]

16. The initial reporting, however, downplayed the submarine

https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/9421808/vladimir-putin-defence-mike-pence-air-force-washington/

VLADIMIR Putin has pulled out of an event in Moscow as US Vice President Mike Pence's plane has been recalled to Washington over an "undisclosed emergency".

The Russian leader is thought to have cancelled his schedule for the rest of the day and is urgently meeting with his defence minster Sergei Shoigu.

Mr Pence was due in New Hampshire today but his jet turned back and he is said to be at the White House.

It is not clear if the two are linked.

The White House and the Kremlin would not say the reason for the change of plans.

There is some speculation that Putin, 66, could be discussing the fire on board a Russian submarine earlier today which left 14 dead after they were poisoned by fumes.

[MineralMan]

17. Well, I suppose will learn the answer in due time...

[jberryhill]

45. .

Portsmouth NH...

https://www.wmur.com/article/pease-air-national-guard-base-on-lockdown-after-shots-heard/28263184

[MineralMan]

48. Ah, OK...

Nothing to see here, folks. Move along...

[DesertRat]

30. I only found this

https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/9421808/vladimir-putin-defence-mike-pence-air-force-washington/

[nolabear]

18. "Something came up"??

WTF kind of information is that? Where's the "The White House stated that the President and Vice President are fine, there is no cause for concern, and further details on the diversion will be forthcoming" statement? You know, something that sounds like they gaf.

[DesertRat]

35. This came up

https://www.democraticunderground.com/10142336025

[DesertRat]

20. There's only one emergency that requires the V.P. to be called to the W.H. nt

[Vinca]

23. Don't toy with us. LOL.

It did occur to me that there is the slightest possibility New York state is about to arrest the whole lot of them. Keep hope alive.

[asiliveandbreathe]

28. You beat me to it - this from a twitter message from NYAG..yesterday morning...

As the elected AG of NY, I have a sworn duty to protect & uphold state law. My office will follow the facts of any case, wherever they lead.

Make no mistake: No one is above the law, not even the President.

P.S. My name is Letitia James. (You can call me Tish.)

[Ilsa]

56. It would be delish, Tish, if tantrummy toddler trump missed his big

special parade on Independence Day.

[Takket]

24. Could be anything

I can’t imagine the Russian fire causing the VP to do anything different.

Pence could be diverted for dozens of reasons.

Credible threat to plane
Threat at event in N.H.
national security issue
Drumpf is incapacitated (we should be so lucky)
He heard there may be women in N.H.

etc

[DesertRat]

34. Maybe he's dumping Pence and replacing him with Ivanka

To hell with the constitution.

[SMC22307]

60. I fully expect that to happen. (n/t)

[rusty fender]

41. The last one!

[jberryhill]

44. Report of shooter at base in NH

https://www.wmur.com/article/pease-air-national-guard-base-on-lockdown-after-shots-heard/28263184

PEASE AIR NATIONAL GUARD BASE —

Pease Air National Guard Base was placed on lockdown for about an hour Tuesday after the sound of gunshots was reported, but an all-clear was issued after nothing was found in a search of the facility.

The incident was initially treated as an active shooter scenario, but National Guard officials said there was no evidence found of shots being fired.

[Ilsa]

47. Oh, Takket, you win DU today!

"He heard there may be women in N.H."

[LonePirate]

32. If he does not attend his rally on Thursday night then we'll know something is up.

Otherwise it is anyone’s guess what is going on because these people lie as frequently as they breathe.

[jberryhill]

33. Maybe Drumpf doesn't want Pence campaigning

[Historic NY]

38. Diaper change.

[ScratchCat]

39. NY State warrants coming

Thats one rumor

[AJT]

43. What better way to celebrate the 4th of July than to have real fireworks....

like bombs and gunfire? War with Iran?

[KY_EnviroGuy]

46. The Syria/Israel conflict possibly?

..........

[Hekate]

49. Why did Manafort choose Pence for VP?

That question haunts me

[jberryhill]

50. Maybe it was the best move electorally

You know, the Russians paid Manafort for advancing their political interests in the Ukraine. It's not as if Manafort was an idiot at that sort of thing.

Pence locked up the Christians - which gets you 30 to 35% of the vote. From 35%, you only need another 15%.

Evangelicals are 26% of the population, and have crazy high turnout relative to other groups, giving them an oversized chunk of the vote. 80% went for Trump/Pence.

[Ilsa]

59. Pence is a cowardly weasel, I suspect and afraid of being alone with women.

[Hekate]

61. My question is driven by the fact that Manafort is bought & paid for by Russia long since...

Trump was on the cusp of choosing Chris Christie as a running mate. His plane had touched down in Pence's home state. Manafort arranged with the pilot for the plane to "need repairs" that necessitated an overnight stay. Manafort introduced Trump to Pence, and arranged the "marriage."

The unanswered question is: why?

[jberryhill]

65. Trump is much more useful to them having won

Russian psy-ops will only get you so far, they still had to have some plan to attract votes, and Pence was a better pick for what they needed electorally.

[Claritie Pixie]

51. Well, a Russian nuclear spy sub caught fire and 14 died. Link to story:

https://news.usni.org/2019/07/02/14-sailors-die-on-secretive-russian-nuclear-submarine

[uponit7771]

53. Pence and Trump know Putin would want them on point when things like this happen to their country

[watoos]

52. I am an internet doctor,

if Trump isn't feeling well, I suggest 3 Big Macs, a bucket of KFC, and a bucket of Diet Coke.

Maybe Trump was eating too healthy being out of town?

[leftieNanner]

55. It was all that damned rice and fish

In Asia. And no tartar sauce in sight.

Upset his lil tumtum.

[kairos12]

54. Mother didn't put a jell cup in his lunch.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

57. I really doubt the Russian submarine fire

has anything to do with this. It happened more than 24 hours ago, and if Putin was going to change his plans in connection with that it would have happened yesterday.

[Blue_true]

63. If our tv networks interrupt regular programming to play funeral music.

We should know that something is going on. We are Russia now, that is how they do it in Russia.

[dflprincess]

64. Putin invoking the 25th Amendment?