Kelly O'Donnell (MSNBC) bitterly complaining from Italy

[madaboutharry]

Trump has refused to hold a press conference, answer questions, and has completely shut out the American journalists covering the G7.

All of the other leaders have held press conference and provided access.

She was complaining to Thomas Roberts that she has never experienced anything like this. She has covered three other administrations and this conduct by the Trump team is totally out of the norm.

Trump is in survival mode. He is hunkering down. He is too dumb to understand that hiding from the press will only make them more motivated to do their jobs.

[Cooley Hurd]

1. Saw it...

...and she looked nonplussed by it all.

[Mr. Ected]

2. He'll be running the government from his war room from now on

Ironic that the man who proposed a wall is now mortified as the walls close in on him.

[Siwsan]

5. Hmmm, let's see. What other world leader ended up running things from a 'war room'?

And hid away from the world as his mind and body spiraled downward? History is repeating itself. Again.

[Cooley Hurd]

15. I believe you meant "bunker"

Maybe a movie will be made about it and will launch a thousand memes.

[Siwsan]

16. I seem to recall that he had a war room in his bunker.

The parallels between then and now is pretty terrifying, aren't they.

[Stonepounder]

27. Not really. Hitler had a brain, a plan, and fulfilled enough of his promises in the beginning

to keep the masses happy.

Trump has no brain, his 'plan' changes from day to day, and he's set out on a mission to make everyone hate him.

[FakeNoose]

30. Hitler was crazy too - the parallels are amazing

[Stonepounder]

49. Yeah, Hitler was crazy as well.

But Hitler was crazy like a fox. Shitgibbon is crazy like a box of rocks.

[brush]

61. Both megalomaniacs who love/loved the adoration from the crowds. Both with screws loose.

One with screws not just loose but missing.

[tomp]

63. after he pushed the president? of Montenegro out of the way....

...his affect was like that of mussolini in a film of him standing on a balcony above the crowd...pompous narcissistic arrogance beyond belief.

[brush]

64. Yeah, I saw that. After the shove he straightened his coat and thrust out his chin like...

Mussoline.

Such a poser. He's obviously studied Mussolini's mannerisms.

[tomp]

65. I think it's a bodily expression of his illness.

that's why it's so similar to other narcissistic, anti-social autocrats. not "studied."

[Siwsan]

50. You are so right about the promises, in the beginning

My fear is the trump* crowd will cling to him, no matter WHAT he does. I don't think they can imagine anything worse than having to admit that they made a gigantic mistake, in voting for him. If (WHEN) he is impeached, or if he leaves office early, I anticipate a big explosion of rage.

And it's not trump* that I worry about, so much. It's the people who are ACTUALLY "running the show". They scare the living beejeebees out of me!

One thing, for sure. Hitler was calling shots well into his mental and emotional divebomb, and people were too intimidated to stand up to him. I don't think trump* is calling anything, save for perhaps "FORE!" on the golf course. If he would even bother to do that. He just thinks he's in charge.

[workinclasszero]

51. Trump has a nuke button in his bunker that would end the entire world in about a half hour

Hitler never had that in his bunker.

[FarPoint]

31. Yes...

Let's not forget..he has the nuke launch codes at his finger tips.

[workinclasszero]

45. Yeah Hitler didn't have that

Twitler does.

[TNNurse]

60. We should make an effort to ask whenever we see reference to the "war room", "do you mean bunker"???

[Alice11111]

18. When top people in Pres's circle speak thru their lawyers,

it pretty much says it all. Just one more, never before.

Now, he is an International Asshole. Obama raised our standing in the world, which wasn't so easy after GWB. DT has made it worse than ever in just one trip.

[karynnj]

47. With all due deference to Obama, who is my opinion the best US President of my life

- and I am 67! , it was EASY for Obama to restore our standing in the world. He did it the instant he won election. He electrified Berlin when he spoke there during the campaign. All he had to do to restore our standing was to let the world get to know who he was and his values -- approval ratings were high almost as soon as he was in office.

This is an important point, because it means that even though we are now going through the worst Presidency in my lifetime - and very likely going back to the very beginning of our country's history, we can change ON A DIME by electing a Democrat in 2020 and winning back at least one House of Congress in 2018. The House leans Republican due to gerrymandering -- and the numbers of seats up in the Senate work against us. That is why it is so important for us to not just despair or mock Trump, but to work hard to change the government.

I never thought we would have a more dysfunctional government than in 2005-2006, when the Republicans controlled everything, but that now looks far less bad than the current situation. As to Europe, it may be interesting to see if a coalition of leaders - maybe led by Merkel may actually be the real leaders of the free world.

I wonder what they make of his bizarre claims - from unifying the 3 Abrahamic faiths (!), getting others to pay NATO, and creating millions of US jobs (!) from deals on this trip. What do you do when the leader of the world's most powerful nation is either delusional or willing to lie to the world? The only answer may be to lead in his stead and to hope that this ends at least in 4 years.

[Alice11111]

66. Well, it looks like merkle agrees w us

Pulling away from the US. DT has treated her like shit. Very threatened by her.

[Achilleaze]

3. KGOP fascists do not recognize the First Ammendment

the republican fascists and their russian bullyboyfriends just want to put a boot in the face of anyone telling the truth.

[spooky3]

4. Maybe the media should fight back by

making statements like, "we can only speculate as to why he's scared to meet with us. One possibility is that not only is Jared guilty as hell, everyone from Trump to Paul Ryan and Mitch McConnell is taking money from the Russians..."

That might flush him out.

Only a little

[HipChick]

13. Exactly...

[lpbk2713]

14. Or focus on statements that start off with "no other president has ever ... "

To show he is one of a kind. And not the good kind.

[uponit7771]

37. Right and finish with... "Been so lame"

[Alice11111]

19. True, but since they are all in on it, and in the majority,

it makes it so hard to break through.

[FarPoint]

46. Exactly...

Time to use " trigger" words to evolve a response.

[wishstar]

6. His entourage is afraid of what further damage Trump can cause with impromptu statements

News media said yesterday WH communications will be now trying to stop him and his spokespersons from saying anything not vetted by legal team. But he is so hopeless with his spontaneous remarks and tweets that I wonder if his handlers will consider a medicinal solution such as sedatives and start spiking his evening dessert with Xanax so he will sleep more soundly and not wake up and tweet in middle of night. They are probably begging Melanie to move to WH ASAP to intervene to control him but if she's smart, she'll find some excuse to stay in NY as long as possible.

[Arkansas Granny]

11. Lol. I see we're on the same page.

[FakeNoose]

33. Yes I believe this is correct

... so why even plan this trip when they know it's going to be a disaster?

You really have to wonder, somebody will fall on their sword soon. They can't continue like this.
I predict that a top guy will crack, like Reince Prebus maybe.

[Arkansas Granny]

7. His handlers are afraid of the comparison that would be drawn between Trump and the other G7 leaders

Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak and to remove all doubt.

[Kittycow]

10. Exactly what I was thinking!

He's too DUMB to even understand the basics, let alone the nuances!

[atreides1]

52. Maybe

But a lot of people already realize he's a fool, thanks to his many twitter posts!!!

[FM123]

9. What a big baby

Let's see how long he can hold his breath

[writes3000]

12. Trump is icing out the media to punish them for reporting on TrumpRussia.

Like his firing of Comey, this will bigly backfire on him.

[pangaia]

17. We must not loose sight of the fact that if this idiot is taken down,

we then are stuck with someone who will seem by comparison to be sane.
This will NOT be the case.

it will then be perhaps even harder to fight the pure evil that is the republican party and those who vote for them.

[Alice11111]

20. But he lied abot Russians too. Almost all of the Repubs

are liars. You would think some would be trying to save the party. I guess they think the base is too stupid to know, so they will bury it and move on.

[Chemisse]

22. That may be. But we have to think of what is best for the country, not just the Dem party.

I can't even fathom what damage Trump and crew can do if this goes on for four years.

I wouldn't worry about the GOP redeeming itself very successfully. Both Pense and Ryan are badly tainted with Trump's stench.

I hope for a quick resolution to the problem of Trump in the White House, but if it does drag on long enough for the Dems to take over in the midterms, Nancy Pelosi could be the next president!

[pangaia]

24. I agree..

I just meant that if he is dumped, we must keep fighting and not let the world think that, "ok, now everything is fine."

[MrPurple]

34. I agree, but would consider that a "good" problem

Pence is less likely to gin up a war or do something destabilizing just to distract people. It might be better for the party for Trump to be in office in Nov., 2018, but it's better for humanity if he is not.

[Chemisse]

42. You're totally right.

A president Pence or Ryan is still a big catastrophe, just (hopefully) not a world-ending one.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

28. If Trump goes down, Pence might go with him.

Even if he doesn't, this administration is such a disaster, he and his party will be seriously weakened. The GOPers who have been supporting Dolt 45 will have his stank all over them and they will have a tough time getting it off.

[pangaia]

32. I sure hope, hope, hope you are right......

[emulatorloo]

35. Pence is up to his eyeballs in this

Especially the Flynn part.

Even if he survives he has zero charisma.

Trump has the charisma to convince working class people that tax cuts for the rich are great for the working class.

Pence not so much.

[CrispyQ]

55. If they get Trump, he will rat everyone else out.

I think that's why they are protecting him. The rot runs deep in the GOP. I'm hoping we see the whole corrupt house of cards fall. It will be bigly ugly, but our government needs a house cleaning.

[charlyvi]

21. Is this guy dumb or what?

See what making an enemy of the IC did for him? Well, he has now made enemies of the media. If he's expecting a different result this time, he's even more stupid that I thought. By denying access to the media, he is not only pissing them off, he's forcing them to actually do their job. They have to develop sources, contacts and leaks within the bureaucracy, from many people who see what he is doing to this country and are more than willing to give them all the info they want. Trump's worst enemy is himself.

[NastyRiffraff]

25. I don't think he's capable of connecting dots

To him, things like his dissing the IC, the media, and most of America are dots scattered all over the place with no relation to each other; certainly not to how Americans and the world sees him. TrumpWorld is a chaotic, turbulent collection of unrelated puzzle pieces that don't combine to make a picture.

[charlyvi]

43. I think he's capable of connecting them

He just doesn't care. He thinks his power is such that he ought to be able to command away any controversy spawned by his behavior. He is THE paradigm now and anyone who doesn't see or agree with it must be crushed.

[uponit7771]

38. He's pretty stupid... mentally slow I get like that after seizures I wonder if he has them

[charlyvi]

40. My mom had seizures and was the same way after one.

I don't think seizures are his problem. I think he has a creeping senility problem, as well as an absolute belief in his own authority and victimhood.

[CakeGrrl]

23. I really can't feel at all sorry for the MSM

I remember the first days after Nov 8, some of them just seemed almost bubbly at the upset and the prospect of the Trump administration.

So, this is the president they helped get to where he is.

I wonder, like his flock of deplorables, if they thought they could observe whatever he planned to unleash on the targets of his policies from a distance?

[FakeNoose]

39. Yep - some of them were Trump cheerleaders

I'm sick of the American media and how few reporters did their job last year.

All they had to do was report the dirt on Trump last year - before the election - and we wouldn't be in this situation now. We'd have a totally different, normal President and life would be good.

But the media all agreed to create a false equivalency and pretend that Trump was OK just for the election. Why did they do that? Because the owners (NBC, CBS, ABC, Fox, CNN and probably others) all decided that "Trump was good for business." There was too much ad-money to be made as long as Trump was the candidate.

So as a result nobody dug up any dirt, nobody turned over a rock. The dirt was all there but nobody reported any of it.

[JDC]

26. They need to say it is "Totally Unacceptable"

Calling it out of the "norm" or "Unprecedented" fuels the Trumpanzees' fire. That's why they elected him

[DeminPennswoods]

29. If the media stopped following him,

stopped attending Spicer press briefings and just disappeared, Trump would be on the phone calling them and spilling whatever the next gumball to pop out of the machine of his brain is.

I can't say this enough. Trump cannot live without media attention. He craves it. He lives for it. Outside of money, I doubt there is anything more in life Trump wants more than hearing his name spoken by the media or reading his name in the print media.

[BarbD]

41. Throwing the baby out with the bathwater.

We have to be careful here. Because this is unprecedented, we must be sure we get it right. We need the media to be responsible and we can hold them accountable by threatening their advertisers. As much as we would like to, we can't shove our heads in the sand. Be calm, be cool and we will prevail.

[lindysalsagal]

36. At what point does "hiding" become "quitting."

If any of us hid from our jobs and bosses, we'd be called "resigned." If he can't have his photo and tv ops, and rsllies, it won't be fun anymore. He may be closer to resigning than anyone knows.

[workinclasszero]

44. Twitler is withdrawing into his bunker

I can only hope his 4th republican reich is on its deathbed.

[Calista241]

48. They're going to ask him a question about the investigation

At which point he's going to say there's a special council, and that he supports the investigation, but on the advice of council, he's going to refrain from commenting publicly.

That's probably not a press conference he wants to have on foreign soil, or at a time not of his choosing. He's going to do it in a 1 on 1 interview with a friendly reporter. Maybe Sean Hannity or someone like that.

[pansypoo53219]

53. they are afraid he will wonder off again.

[Tatiana]

54. Too stupid to answer the most basic of questions.

His earpiece was probably not a direct translation, but someone translating speeches into "Trumpspeak."

[obliviously]

56. I thought we decided we didn't need Trump for anything a long time ago

This thread is confusing!

[Danascot]

57. I understand why she feels that way

but if he had given a press conference it would just be more boasting, lies and drivel.

[Skittles]

58. the main reason Trump hates the press is TRUMP IS INCOMPETENT

he has no fucking clue what he is doing, and answers to PUTIN

[spanone]

59. he's an asshole. first and foremost.

[Sunlei]

62. instead of taking up 'air time' on complaints, interview the other "world leaders" about American pl

interview & question all the other world leaders about American plans.

Report that the Americans refused an interview/avoided questions but another world leader answered questions about American plans. Way to much airtime is wasted on the tabloid republicans family behavior and nothing reported about the G7 conference. Many uber wealthy all act like the trumps.

INTERVIEW THE OTHER COUNTRIES LEADERS IF THE AMERICAN LEADER CAN'T.

[AgadorSparticus]

67. He is in so far over his head. Overwhelmed and out of his element.

"Trump is in survival mode. He is hunkering down. He is too dumb to understand that hiding from the press will only make them more motivated to do their jobs."


That's it!! He is hiding because he knows he is in over his head and nothing good will come out of his mouth. But, it doesn't change reality when you choose to ignore it. But, really, he doesn't know how to deal with the press, either. The incompetence coupled with the mental limitations are just too much.