Trump and McConnell Locked in a Cold War, Threatening the G.O.P. Agenda

[brooklynite]

Source: The New York Times

The relationship between President Trump and Senator Mitch McConnell, the majority leader, has disintegrated to the point that they have not spoken to each other in weeks, and Mr. McConnell has privately expressed uncertainty that Mr. Trump will be able to salvage his administration after a series of summer crises.

What was once an uneasy governing alliance has curdled into a feud of mutual resentment and sometimes outright hostility, complicated by the position of Mr. McConnell’s wife, Elaine L. Chao, in Mr. Trump’s cabinet, according to more than a dozen people briefed on their imperiled partnership. Angry phone calls and private badmouthing have devolved into open conflict, with the president threatening to oppose Republican senators who cross him, and Mr. McConnell mobilizing to their defense.

...snip...

In a series of tweets this month, Mr. Trump criticized Mr. McConnell publicly, then berated him in a phone call that quickly devolved into a profane shouting match.

During the call, which Mr. Trump initiated on Aug. 9 from his New Jersey golf club, the president accused Mr. McConnell of bungling the health care issue. He was even more animated about what he intimated was the Senate leader’s refusal to protect him from investigations of Russian interference in the 2016 election, according to Republicans briefed on the conversation.

Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/22/us/politics/mitch-mcconnell-trump.html?_r=0

[janterry]

1. Good

The more infighting the better.

Good luck, Mitch! You deserve this

[haveahart]

9. Ditto!

[NCjack]

22. All Obama's fault!

[ailsagirl]

49. That goes without saying!!

[leftofcool]

50. And Hillary's too

She is part of the "deep state" ya know.

[Flaleftist]

2. LOL

[Phoenix61]

3. Not surprised

They are all evil little shits. No different than mob bosses.

[nycbos]

7. So which one is Don Corleone and which one Don Barzini.

But I have heard Trump is Fredo.

[Scarsdale]

35. Nah, tRump is

the opposite end of the horse's head! McConnell is being paid back for the way he treated President Obama, a man with more CLASS, intelligence and dignity than all the gop rolled together. Now he is faced with an uncouth buffoon who has no idea what he is doing.

[Auggie]

48. LOL

Opposite end of the horse's head!

[sandensea]

4. Let the Battle of the Doublechins begin!

[Blue Owl]

18. Watch that little finger get snapped

n/t

[sandensea]

20. Thread winnah!

[C Moon]

21. :D :D :D

[not fooled]

31. Do you mean

Like this?

[link:|]

[Ligyron]

70. Oh, that was quick!

Good catch!

[Juliusseizure]

19. Wow

McConnell perpexed by maniacal narcissist.

#Karma

[nycbos]

5. Hope we can see a circular firing squad.

[FakeNoose]

61. To me it's like the scene from "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly"

Only in their case, it's the Bad, the Badder and the Ugliest.

[ffr]

6. PPP has McConnell at 74% disapproval

http://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/347362-poll-mcconnells-approval-in-kentucky-at-18-percent

America's Cancer that is McConnell is more powerful than tRump, so if tRump can eliminate McConnell, that would be swell for all concerned. We can deal with ShartOTUS next.

[BigmanPigman]

39. Ryan has a 17% approval rating but both he and McConnell are 100% GOP

and that is the percentage that counts in the end.

[TNNurse]

8. Go ahead

continue to fight among yourselves.

[Corgigal]

10. Haha

They deserve it all. The probably all voted for Hillary because it was much easier to be against something then to actually have to do something you're going to be responsible for.

Can't wait to vote against turtle, if America wakes it that long. Then is the other nagging issue in who may/ may not be rigging our voting booths.

[CatWoman]

11. LOL

[riversedge]

12. NEW: Mitch McConnell is privately questioning whether Trump will finish his term.

Yashar Ali?Verified account @yashar 39m39 minutes ago

NEW: Mitch McConnell is privately questioning whether Trump will finish his term. @alexburnsNYT @jmartNYT report

Link to tweet

Richard Coeur d'Leon? @reggiejackson78 40m40 minutes ago

Wow. If McConnell's trying to give Trump a stroke, that would be the way to do it.
2 replies 5 retweets 31 likes

harris? @canadeeana
Replying to @reggiejackson78 @yashar and

more . quickly ...
4:41 PM - 22 Aug 2017




Richard Coeur d'Leon? @reggiejackson78 11m11 minutes ago

Replying to @canadeeana @yashar and

lol... well we can't rely on KFC since they took most of the trans-fats out. So yes, more quickly....

[wryter2000]

28. I guess if the House impeached him

The Senate might convict.

How do we get the Shitgibbon fighting with Ryan?

[FlightRN]

13. Look at Trumpies face

He looks like that chubby, insecure bully in middle schools across the Country. The one who eventually gets his ass beat once he enters high school because he just cannot stop being a bully.

Why can't the GOP have one kid with an actual spine, just one. Turtle surely does not count. Sad.

[Juliusseizure]

23. I wonder if he's ever gotten in a fight

Just reverting to 9th grade for a minute, I think he was one of those that picked on the small nice kids, but was fake charming to everyone else. Just a mean glare would send him away. I read big pussy in every gesture. Ok, back to adulthood. Sorry.

[bettyellen]

25. He's an asshole, not a pussy. Pussies are awesome - great givers of pleasure and life!

And he is quite the opposite.

[Dave Starsky]

14. Trump just cut all the racists aside by "firing" Bannon

So it's full speed ahead on everything else the turtle wants to get through Congress.

[lark]

15. Great strategy for drumpf!

Make himself toxic to the very people he's counting on to pass his tax cuts for himself. He's so very stupid it's almost unbelievable.

[groundloop]

16. Yep.... 45* just can't get it that President of US is not the same as CEO

Not that 45* was any good at being a CEO either (i.e. SIX BANKRUPTCIES) but he's certainly a hard headed bastard who's used to getting his way and refuses to compromise..... traits that definitely won't help him one bit in Washington.

[NCjack]

24. #45 believes that he is the boss of Turtle and Ryan, but Turtle knows better. nt

[alcibiades_mystery]

17. In the reality teevee drama, the fighting always precedes the reconciliation

Frenemies forever!

[Juliusseizure]

26. When one goes low, let the other go lower

I want complete karmic based implosion and won't accept anything less.

This is a good match.

Trump - evil sociopath, overt, charismatic, shallow, very impulsive, delusional, maniacal, paranoid, strong intuition, loyal base of Trumptards.

McConnell - evil sociopath, covert, dull, highly informed, astute, very strategic, loyal base of GOP congress

[wryter2000]

27. And now Bannon's out for his political blood

Sa-weet

[cstanleytech]

29. I think to many of you are celebrating way to soon.

After all remember how alot of us though the Repugnants would end up shooting each other during the election but they managed to come together and support Donald still so if they were willing to do that once then it can happen again.

[mr_lebowski]

66. My thought too ... Trump's I do think had a little hissy fit re: being embarrassed by the Senate ...

when they failed to repeal ACA by one vote ... and I've no doubt the Orangefaced Shitgibbon honestly lit Turtle Mitch up over that little cock-up, and Turtle may've been briefly pissed about it ... but in the end (likely well before now) they will (or have) reconciled cause they're both evil fucking assholes w/way more in common than not.

I consider this to be basically Kabuki Theater and 'red meat' for the Trumpista's consumption ... they're working together to sell him as the DC outsider, this is just the media again being suckered in by cheap and salacious "news stories" ... they may as well be narrated by Roger Stone or Rove or any of those types.

I absolutely think this 'conflict' is a bunch of bullshit, part and parcel of the 'Drumpf as Outsider' con, keep The GOP Base of crazies, racists, and idiots ... onboard the Trump/GOP train.

This con 'works for both of them', you see ... crazies show up to the booth mainly to pull the lever for The Con, their 'outsider hero' ... but who they gonna vote for for Congress? The DEM? They'd die first. They'll vote the Mitch's of the world, no matter what.

But first, they have to keep them interested enough to 'show up' ... and hence this sort of entertainment, which the MSM is only too happy to sell on their behalf.

Not buying this whole thing ... not without some real proof.

[shadowmayor]

30. Please

Pass the Popcorn!!

[elleng]

32. Pretty much best news we've seen in ages, imo.

[not fooled]

33. Unfortunately

the koch brothers--who are really running the country now--likely will step in to enforce order among the squabbling pukeocracy.

[Ligyron]

34. My, Trump is really worried about that Russia investigation.

Just obsessed with it. How dare they!! ME, with the bigglyist election victory EVAH!!

Crooked Hillary, blah, blah

[flibbitygiblets]

45. he tips his hand every time on this subject.

Blaming everyone around him for not fixing the problem he clearly created himself because he truly believes he's above the law. (As do apparently 1/3 of Americans, unfortunately.)

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

36. Got to love when the opposition gets into a circular firing squad.

Last edited Tue Aug 22, 2017, 08:24 PM - Edit history (1)

[FakeNoose]

51. Yep! It's music to our ears

[Cary]

37. It will only get worse

These people refuse to be reality based.

Reality has its way. In this instance the inept, unqualified leader prove himself to be inept.and unqualified.

[SammyWinstonJack]

38. Heh.

[BadgerMom]

40. K and R

Best news in some time!

[Leith]

41. heh heh heh

Fuck'em both!

[BumRushDaShow]

42. I doubt there is much daylight between them

Turtle doesn't need the type of care and feeding of the ego that Drumpf needs. He has his own agenda to carry out and as Grover Norquist directed - he just needs a President "with enough working digits" to sign the legislation.

But Turtle's problem is also Eddie Munster's problem - the factions that THEY nurtured and helped get elected to give them the majority, and who also have their own agendas - often to the extremes of their party. And those factions have started resisting and refusing to back down from those agendas.

[Cary]

43. When you dance with the devil you don't change the devil

The devil changes you.

They can't win without this coalition. Oh well.

[BumRushDaShow]

44. They are all in hock to the devil

and are now realizing that there is that other side of the bargain that they have to deal with.

[Duppers]

46. Trump's inability to understand democracy is...

Backfiring bigly!

LOVE IT! Too bad dualing went out of style.

[muntrv]

47. Let the circular firing squad begin.

[Maxheader]

52. Go ahead and beat

his worthless ass mccain. The gop needs you
and will have you out in 3 months...sure
thing.

[JNelson6563]

53. There are lefties who would do the same.

See how they (GOP) have all power now? See how they are at each other, getting little done? Yeah. That's what I foresee if we ever achieve all three branches again. So many on the left ready to throw down and not contribute AT ALL if things are not 100% to their liking.

[pat_k]

54. DT juggernaut is doing just fine accomplishing...

... what the reactionary right and analstocrasy have been dreaming of getting done for decades.

https://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=9499666

[ImpeachTheGOP]

55. Good. This is why we want him to stay.

Pence is far more dangerous.

[NanceGreggs]

56. Not usually a fan of "war" ...

... but in this instance, I'm praying for many casualties on both sides.

[Iliyah]

57. I hope they destroy each other and take down the GOPs while at it.

[Turbineguy]

58. Looking for a deal

on a set of dueling pistols.

[Squinch]

59. Probably be easier to list those who Trump(R) is NOT in cold war with. Answer: Russia, KKK. The end.

[BigmanPigman]

60. Obstruction of Justice AGAIN/STILL!

[flibbitygiblets]

62. Yup, another nail in the coffin

I wonder when Mueller will bring in the turtle to document exactly how much obstruction/coersion has taken place THIS time?

I also wonder if it makes a difference when there are multiple obstruction allegations, in terms of establishing a pattern of obstruction as a whole?

[BigmanPigman]

63. Good question. Can the FBI accumulate the same charge like multiple rapes

or murders? Would that just be the same charge or if he is found guilty would it result in more penalties?

[DeminPennswoods]

67. Yes, they are called "counts"

2 counts of obstruction of justice, 1 for firing Comey to try and end FBI investigation of Russia's election interference, 1 for trying to interference with a Congressional investigation by the Senate Intel, and possibly Judiciary, committee.

As former US Atty Barbara McQuade said on MSNBC yesterday, the 2 counts would be mutually reinforcing.

[JohnnyLib2]

64. Put your money on McConnell

In Kentucky, we've been trying to ditch Mitch forever.

[onetexan]

65. the Chinese often built burial graves in the shape of a turtle, which symbolizes longevity

Mcconnell just might be the "grave turtle" of 45's presidency

[DeminPennswoods]

68. Why does the GOP even want to keep Trump

when Pence would sign the same legislation? Even if the fear is of their crazy wing, odds are a primary challenge to incumbent Rs wouldn't succeed.

[riversedge]

69. They want to avoid the optics of a @GOP President resigning in Shame.

[DeminPennswoods]

72. Except Trump only cares about himself

so why not do as he'd do to them, throw him under the bus of history? Pence is their ideal president anyway and if Trump stays around, the Rs are much more likely, imho, to lose both the House and Senate.

Don't get me wrong, Trump is a complete disaster for the GOP and if they all want to go down with his ship, that's ok with me.

[steve2470]

71. music to my ears, keep on fighting boys!!!!!

However, I'd rather the Orange Buffoon resign and give us Pence. A more sane evil guy. Really sad when it comes down to a choice between a Nazi and a RW fanatic.