If You Think Trumps Summer Was a Bummer, Wait Til Fall Starts

[babylonsister]

http://www.thedailybeast.com/if-you-think-trumps-summer-was-a-bummer-wait-til-fall-starts


If You Think Trump’s Summer Was a Bummer, Wait ’Til Fall Starts
The five factors that are going to combine this fall to create a perfect storm that will drive Trump crazy and bring our nation to the brink of peril.
Rick Wilson
08.31.17 1:00 AM ET

snip//

There are five political elements in the fall forecast that will combine to make Trump’s first autumn in office rough going.

First, the basic, fundamental problem is President Short Attention Span himself. Trump’s inability to focus for longer than the duration of a tweet will make his troubles in the coming months much, much worse. Consider last Sunday as an example. At first, he greeted the day with a few on-point messages of support for the people hit hard by Harvey. Then things went off the rails, with a logrolling promotion of Sheriff David Clark’s book, some bleating about Mexico paying for the imaginary Wall, and a swipe at Senator Claire McCaskill of Missouri. While FEMA, the State of Texas, and tens of thousands of volunteers buckled down for recovery operations, Donald Trump was engaged in his usual Twitter logorrhea.

If you thought that Trump would improve once Steve Bannon, Seb Gorka and a few of the other hangers-on were fired, think again. Trump is always Trump, and never, ever improves. Even the scripted statements and speeches where he reads from the teleprompter are done through gritted teeth, and you can practically see the mania building as he plots his next attention-whoring outrage. John Kelly’s thankless task won’t get easier. The prisoner never loves his warden, even if he obeys the rules from time to time. The White House staff will need to keep the shock collar charged in the next 10 days, as the scope of the deaths and destruction becomes clear.

Second, Donald Trump’s disaster on race isn’t over, no matter how many variations of the staff-driven cleanup speeches and remarks he reads. The cat was out of the bag the moment the “both sides” speech lowered the bar on presidential moral character, and it’s cracked the loyalty of his Cabinet and deeply embarrassed an already shamed and disgusted Republican Congress.

snip//

Finally and fifth, the topic that makes Trump climb the Oval Office walls like a rabid animal; Russia. The Russia crisis never goes away, and never gets any better. The Trump and Bannon efforts to oust Mueller (or Jeff Sessions in order to move the chess pieces to get a pliant replacement attorney general who would fire Mueller) failed, despite the full-throated outrage of Trump’s media machine. The Special Counsel continues to grind methodically through the evidence of connection, collusion, and obstruction in the Russia case that drives the president mad. No tweet will stop Mueller, and nothing good is coming for Trump in the months ahead.

For the first 200 or so days of this show, Donald Trump brought most of his trouble on himself and did little to give people hope he would in any way improve. Even on the few scripted, controlled days when he briefly Plays President on TV, he’s always itching to fall back into his bad behaviors. When it was one small crisis, or internecine White House backstabbing, or an upcoming vote in Congress, Trump’s could move on to an easier task.

Not anymore. The perfect political storm this fall is coming. And the forecast calls for pain.

[Solly Mack]

1. Worse...

Winter is coming.

I couldn't resist. Sorry. Still, it is true and it will be worse than Fall. Trump gets worse with each passing hour.

K&R

[gordianot]

2. If only Trump could develop some empathy.

If only rocks could grow feathers they could fly. Trump's fall has not reached terminal velocity and there is no parachute.

[Princess Turandot]

3. Plus, while it's not political, he won't be able to compensate by playing 'Lord of the Manor'...

at Mar-a-Lago very much at all this fall/winter. The major weekend events there when the club is open are the black tie/society dinners in support of various charities. Apparently, he regularly crashed those events when he was down there.

Now, after Charlottesville, most of the larger charities have cancelled their events, leaving only three or four of the galas to take place there. So it's not going to be the ego-charging trip that it was in the past.

Poor fellow.

[roscoeroscoe]

4. Great point

When he realizes how the social scene turns the back...

[Ligyron]

14. They never did like him down here in Palm Beach.

It's not hard to imagine why - he's got absolutely no class whatsoever.

Oh sure, there are a few political allies like Rush around but not all that many locals join his club and he's treated rather like "new money" in polite society. The Best People avoid him like the plague and Ms Post, the original owner, is spinning in her grave I'm sure.

Plus, his very presence screws up traffic and disrupts business on both Worth Ave and the mainland.

I used to love to catch (and release) the juvenile Jack Crevalle that hung out along Mar-a-Lagos's sea wall on the lagoon side. Those fish put up a great fight and I'm teaching them to avoid artificial lures. There is a huge Mangrove covered bird sanctuary island a hundred yards away that acts as a nursery for many, many forms of sea life.

Well, I can't do that anymore or really come anywhere near the place. In fact, that's exactly where they're putting the stupid helicopter pad so he doesn't have to drive from the airport to the club and maybe see people moon him, give him the finger or even throw things at his orange ass.

The bad thing is: even if he's driven from the Presidency we'll still be stuck with him down here.

[Cosmocat]

5. This is what is going to happen

We are going to see him become an absentee POTUS.

The situation room photo with Pence in charge is going to be the standard in DC while 45 holes up wherever he wants on any particular whim. He will continue to do his twitter ambush BS and have the occasional hate rally to stoke his ego.

Pop and rear his ugly head during high profile times like these.

[regnaD kciN]

6. "The forecast calls for pain"...

Yes, but his -- or ours?

[bucolic_frolic]

7. Bring it on!

Americans will overthrow any dictator, fight any oppression, side with the underdog every time. History teaches us this fundamental truth. It's what keeps our society fresh, vibrant, and growing. We bottle freedom like no other. But we have to find our mojo and scrap for every inch.

[pangaia]

11. I must disagree,

"America" has been dropping like a rock since at least the mid-seventies.

"America" has sided with the oligarchs and they are now in nearly full control. Just for starters, if what you say were true, average salaries would be double what they are today and there would be no fucks newsless.

And please, please, do not ever say bring it on. They already are.

[progressoid]

8. Is it too early to start drinking?

[babylonsister]

9. For them or us? nt

[progressoid]

13. I was thinking about me.

Maybe I'll just check with my doctor to up my Zoloft medication instead

[Javaman]

10. I have this feeling that the government won't pass the budget in it's current form. nt

[DetlefK]

12. Congress has shit-ton of work scheduled for September. And just 12 work-days.

- debt-ceiling
- budget
- flood-relief
- someting-something tax-reform