I'm going to do something I never thought I'd do. I yield the floor to holocaust-denying, white supremacist, Trump dinner guest Nick Fuentes:
“And now he says if you are not on board with the Epstein coverup I don’t want your support. You’re a weakling. F**k you. F**k you. You suck. You are fat. You are a joke. You are stupid. You are not funny. You are not as smart as you think you are.
And honestly, and if you watch my show, you know I’ve been very critical. I’ve never been this far. This just goes to show this entire thing has been a scam. When we look back on the history of populism in America, we are going to look back on the MAGA movement as the biggest scam in American history. The Liberals were right. The MAGAs were had. They were.
When we look back in history, we will see Trump as a scam artist."
Better late than never? The problem with these people is that in these instances they see a brief glimpse of reality, but then something else always happens to move them back into their familiar, comfortable cocoon of conspiracy theories and the belief that God-man Trump is their savior.
It's already happened. All it took was the suggestion that Trump was being implicated, immediately mobilizing the victim defense squad and changing the narrative. Nothing like a little evidence to turn the tide. A conspiracy theory against the Deep State - specifically Democrats - is one thing, but accusing the chosen one will not be tolerated. The lemmings fall back into line.
I bet the milk money that this Wall St. Journal story about the lewd, infantile birthday card for his pal, which is the kind of junk they really love, gets them (and thus him) back on side defending Trump.
And likewise, I have to agree with one quote attributed to JD Vance- asking whether this "sounds like trump". I would never have imagined that the word enigma would be in his vocabulary!
Well, the German band Enigma was popular in the early 90's, about 10 years before Trump wrote that note. Even if he didn't listen to that kind of music, the word "enigma" was at least in the popular culture at that time.
Gee. That's all well and good, Nick. But you're a money-grubbing neo-Nazi podcaster.
So...
F**k you. F**k you. You suck. You are stupid. You are not funny. You are not as smart as you think you are. And you already had fleas before you laid down with this dog.
And at some point, when we look back in history, we will see you... not at all.
This is sounding less and less like a completely crazy conspiracy theory and more like a perfectly plausible plot line in a “Law and Order” episode…and the best alibi so far is “I’m not clever enough to use the word enigma”.
Trump was a smarter man before the cocaine, Adderall, and dementia set in. That won't be much of an alibi, not when enigma is paired with "never age". Just how Trump likes those girls - never aging.
There's a lot of pre-second wave feminist male code for women in that birthday letter.
The second half of the 20th century still had decades of pop music that infantilized and/or pedestaled women, not with malicious intent, but with a lack of awareness how even our most seemingly benign language participates in empowering in-groups and suppressing out-groups.
A song like "She's a Mystery to Me," sung hauntingly by Roy Orbison, perpetuates the mythos that the behavior of women is too incomprehensible for the average male mind to grasp. The chorus consists simply of the repeated line: "She's a mystery girl."
Darkness falls and she
Will take me by the hand
Take me to some twilight land
Where all but love is gray
Where I can't find my way
Without her as my guide
Night falls, I'm cast beneath her spell
Daylight comes, our heaven turns to hell
Am I left to burn and burn eternally?
She's a mystery to me
She's a mystery girl
She's a mystery girl
...
She tears again my bleeding heart
I wanna run, she's pulling me apart
Fallen angel cry and I just melt away
She's a mystery to me
She's a mystery girl
She's a mystery girl
She's a mystery girl
She's a mystery girl
A less serious ballad and more attuned to the dance floors of 1960 "You're sixteen, you're beautiful and you're mine" is sung to a bee-bop orchestra background by a visibly much-older-than-sixteen Johnny Burnette.
Or "Younger Girl," a truly beautiful song written and sung by John Sebastian, nevertheless has lyrics that can cause a cringe when placed in the context of pedophilia.
The Frankie Avalon song "Hey, Venus" makes one do a head shake when re-reading the second line.
Venus, if you will
Please, send a little girl for me to thrill
A girl who wants my kisses and my arms
A girl with all the charms of you
In other words, the birthday letter is replete with male-coded language from those years, like "enigma," that quite likely is talking about women "on the younger side."
Not as good as you think. Remember, it was typed out text. Do you think Trump types? Nope - he drew the doodle, and got someone who works for him to type up what he viewed (albeit, incorrectly) as a pithy blurb to go with it.
"Yer honor, the prosecution would have you believe -- and may it please the court -- that my client, Mr. Trump, is some kind of criminal mastermind. Yer honor, I believe the evidence that I will now present will show, clearly and compellingly, that he has never displayed anything that could be considered intelligence, yer honor."
I used to believe Trump lacked the capacity, but have come to see, amid the lies and the craziness, that there is a diabolical genius - or at least aptitude - for successful orchestration.
I would not fall for the explanations of Trump's health issues. Leaving aside the issue of whether chronic venous insufficiency is "benign" or not, why is Trump taking aspirin? Years ago, aspirin was prescribed to prevent a first heart attack or stroke. When some major clinical trials were released in 2018 (the ASPREE trial is most relevant, but the ASCEND and ARRIVE trials reached similar conclusions), guidelines changed: do not prescribe aspirin to prevent a first heart attack or stroke, because the risk of causing a bleed is unacceptably high. This is especially true in older patients. Prescribing aspirin to prevent SECOND heart attack or stroke is now the medical standard. This leaves questions: Does Trump's doctor not follow evidence-based, guideline medicine? Or did Trump himself insist on taking aspirin? Or did he already have a heart attack or stroke and the aspirin is being used to prevent another one? I wish a reporter or two would follow up on this, because it all seems strange. Also, shaking hands is not enough to causing bruising on someone who uses aspirin, unless the hand shakers consistently have gorilla grip. It might be enough to cause bruising if he were taking an anticoagulant plus aspirin, which would raise more questions.
If he’s taking anticoagulant - aspirin in most cases is ill advised or, counter indicated . Not to say I am a doctor. Nor did I stay in a Holiday Inn last night. But I am an expert in one area; if the Trump administration is saying it, it is very likely bullshit.
My cardiologist at Vanderbilt Hospital told me to take a “baby aspirin” nightly as a guard against stroke. I have congestive heart failure, one of the symptoms of which was leg swelling. When I saw a closeup of his hand, I just thought perhaps the bruising was from an i.v. or blood draw.
You’re correct. Aspirin for primary prevention is no longer recommended - especially in the elderly who are more vulnerable to the side effects. It’s all bullshit as he likes to say.
The only artwork of Trump's that I've seen is his Sharpie addition to a hurricane map. I'm pretty sure that's what Trump was doing here. That's not a naked lady, it's the outline of a massive storm in the Gulf of Mexico. (One reason we had to change the name to Gulf of America is that we knew storms would never have the guts to go after America, especially if Trump's involved.) Where Donald's signature looks like pubic hair? Get your mind out of the gutter, groomer. That was the epicenter of the storm. Don't pretend you've never seen a weather map with squiggly lines indicating barometric pressures. (I saw one once that looked just like my uncle Fred, and he was no pedophile; that babysitter had it in for him - a total frame-up.)
So anyway, that's what's going on, not some kind of perversion from the most moral man ever to occupy the White House. And now I'll tell you the part of the story that will make you feel terrible for your dirty, Trump-deranged mind. Trump produced the map because he was in charge of weather forecasts for a bunch of dudes flying to Epstein's Island, for Bible Study.
So yes, he saved his own life, and the life of all the other souls eager for a quiet week of prayer, meditation and devotional readings. They got together in Epstein's Manhattan apartment instead, the men, and the "enigmatic" acolytes on the "younger side" who were there to help out around the house. I'd give you more details, but like the early Christians, these men worship in private. What happens in the apartment, or the plane or the island or the massage room, stays there.
So from now on, please don't jump to conclusions without exploring every explanation imaginable, even implausible ones, even explanations that defy the laws of reason or physics.
Yeah, they're going to have problems trying to ram through their extremist agendas with Vance. Not because he isn't willing, but because he isn't popular. Threats to primary congressional GOP who don't fall into line won't have weight coming from Vance.
Agreed and I think too the electorate loathes Vance....he cannot inspire MAGA as he is so patently ambitious, slithery and condescending. He will not be able to convince voters he is telling them the truth.
If he has to step in due to Trump's incapacitation, it won't matter what MAGA thinks of him, and the malevolent mastermind minions -Miller, Vought in particular - will proceed apace.
Yes, it appears he at least has congestive heart failure. He's in appalling shape, even for his age, and seems to have multiple medical conditions.
It is not that these conditions necessarily mean he's unfit for office (although for many reasons, he is), but I do resent the blatant, obvious and insulting lies about his health and cognitive status. That alone disqualifies him from office...thinking the American public is THAT stupid and weak. What cons won't he run on them, thinking that way?
They had to respond and chose the most benign explanation. That doesn't suggest he is on the road to resignation. It suggests the opposite. As a person of a certain age, taking an aspirin is the ultimate "so what?". Everyone over the age of 60 is instructed by their PCP to take aspirin daily. Yet we claim MAGA are the conspiracists.
In any event, the more we focus on this health issue the more we are distracted from Epstein. Why do we allow ourselves to that?
That’s not true. Prescribing daily aspirin for people without a history of cardiovascular disease is dangerous as it can cause serious bleeding. My dad is on it after having a heart attack and he took a fall that resulted in hospitalization due to the amount of blood loss from the injury.
You are right. Comment was anecdotal. Almost everyone I know is on a statin and 81mg of aspirin. I should know better than to use anecdotal evidence instead of researching a standard. An unfortunate victim of the times.
I really don’t know what the man’s medical prescriptions are? He tells his doctor what to write (2024, height 6’2”. 2025, height 6’3”-don’t tell me that was a typo), and no doctor publishes the findings. Fact Checker has Felon Trump lying over 33,000 times. I think he is buying time to try to get out of the quicksand he is in, which is of his own making.
On the other hand, he has clearly been on one of the miracle weight loss drugs, so his weight is lower than in years, and other health benefits reportedly come with that as well. This may put him at less risk than in the past.
Who is the they is the question of the hour because Trump sure ain't the one calling shots. The weaker Trump gets, the more evident the power vacuum will be and all the ones with money/power/influence will rush in to fill it. Going to be interesting.
I don't know if I agree with that. He clearly is calling the shots on the DOJ's response to Epstein. He is also calling the shots on tariffs. The entire Senate and House bow to his desires. He has a remarkable amount of control for someone who demonstrates a complete indifference to the substantive aspects of his job.
Those are good points, but the basic premise is Trump won't be alive either physically or politically for long. I mean, look at him. Rick Wilson makes a good argument. (He's on Substack. Can't recommend highly enough if you don't already.)
"Everyone over the age of 60 is instructed by their PCP to take aspirin daily." That would be true only if their PCP is oblivious to the fact that it is now considered bad medicine to advise everyone over a certain age to take an aspirin daily, even if they have never had a heart attack or stroke. That old way of thinking about aspirin was killed by some clinical trials in 2018 that all showed the risk of a bleed from taking daily aspirin is unacceptably high in patients who have never had a heart attack or stroke. Especially if that person is older, as Trump certainly is.
No. She terribly worried. Her reluctance to move to D.C. in his first administration was to put pressure on Felon Trump to rewrite the prenuptial for better terms for herself and her son. She got them.
Why do you assume that these purported medical diagnoses are accurate? The explanation regarding the hands is transparently absurd. Therefore, it is silly to assume that the other diagnosis is valid. Sure, it could be the benign condition she described, but it is at least as likely that the swelling results from a more serious condition. Does anyone think that, if it were a more serious condition, the White House would be honest about that? They lie about his height and weight for god's sake. Surely they will lie about anything.
I would love to live in a world where these admittedly totally fair questions were the biggest thing we had to chew over in White House world this week.
While I'd agree with you, it is concerning when you consider what comes after Trump. Mike Johnson is number 3 in line as of this moment. How well do we really know him?
Despite The Bulwark's brilliant reasoning and revelations, deeply appreciated, we all seem to be forgetting a basic truth pervading MAGAworld. MAGA really stands for Make America Gullible Again. That unreal subset of the orange narcissist-felon's regime/cult will always struggle with . . . truth, facts, reality, critical thinking.
Watching that bunch thrash and flail, not knowing what to do, is positively amusing.
They have lost the capacity for logic, reason, observation. They are locked into a mind set, a disinformation bubble. They listen only to the confirmation-bias voices.
Here's the catch for Donald if he sues the WSJ: both WSJ and Fox are owned by Murdoch. Murdoch could direct Fox to back off on their ridiculously positive reporting of the Trump and start offering just a tiny bit of actual news. Losing his spin machine would be huge, and there is nothing Trump could do about it. He needs to think twice about that.
Of course, there are other stations. But they've been around for a while now. I suspect Murdoch doesn't like being told what to do, and he's probably as cantankerous as Trump..
I'll bet it would be pretty interesting to see what effect a Trump v Murdoch lawsuit would have on FOX News programming, even though Rupert is now only 'Chairman Emeritus' and Lachlan is Executive Chairman and CEO of FOX Corporation. But there's no real daylight between that apple and the tree it fell from.
I have a "News Mix" channel on my satellite feed in which the video for a half dozen news channels is displayed in a box grid all at once, the audio for each of which can be individually selected by scrolling with the remote.
The top row of the grid consists of CNN - FOX - MSNBC, and it's sometimes interesting to watch and listen for a few minutes to see how the "news" is being covered by each in a real time side by side comparison when a major political story breaks.
This morning CNN and MSNBC were unsurprisingly hammering away at the WSJ / Trump letter to Epstein thing. Sandwiched in between, FOX was going on about the recission bill and the defunding of the CPB, clearly happy that the libs had finally "gotten what's comin' to 'em" on this issue. Then it was on to other positive Trump / GOP whitewashing of the news about recent immigration "successes" and the Ds walking out of that Senate hearing on Bove's judicial appointment.
If Trump is really foolish enough to send his lawyers after the WSJ and Rupert, I'd expect to maybe see a bit different dynamic in play when doing such comparisons in the future.
It surely would be a, “man bites dog” event. Which means it’s likely the fever dream of some fool (me) thinking that in some small & faraway precinct in the universe, justice still exists. I also have that satellite service that provides those boxes with various choices: sports, news, reality shows, but never a multi-box offering of, “shows with value”. I guess that doesn’t really require a “multi view” array these days. There. Now, GET OFF MY LAWN!
But there’s always another waiting in the wings: OAN, NEWSMAX, ONE AMERICA….CBS? ABC??? Can you imagine a bizzaro world where FOX hires Joy Reid?? I am not betting on it, but I would never have bet on half our country attaching themselves to this, this, THIS!
In other news today, a bizarre incident has the nation's top scientists completely befuddled. After the announcement that Joy Reid would be working at FOX, it appears that the earth's poles have somehow switched locations, rendering travel by compass impossible and leaving millions in limbo and wondering where the hell exactly it is that they are...
He can’t follow through with the lawsuit because the discovery process by Murdoch’s attorneys would show the truth. Plus the Murdoch family has the money to fight in court. It will likely get dropped and never mentioned again once the Murdochs start asking for the receipts
Is there any online betting as to how long it will take? I wish people would open their eyes, but we've been here before many times and I can't buy it.
After years of Trump's criminal behavior towards women, his incessant lying to the public, his ignorant comments about any and all topics, and his leading an insurrection we find out those were all ok with the MAGA cult. But withholding the Epstein files is the line too far? And then to be scolded by him for their impertinence in not heeding his demand to shut up? This is delicious!
What's even more delicious is that this - not the Mexico-funded border wall, Obama's birth certificate, the cat-eating Haitians, etc. - is what's making some of his supporters say "hey, wait a second ..... Did Trump lie to us?"
I can only imagine the internal battle going on in so many MAGA minds, which heretofore I would always argue cannot exist; two little Donalds - one on each shoulder. One with a Dirty, soiled Halo, one with a red countenance and a long, spiked, pointy tail. Both arguing for the soul of the inflicted MAGA. It’s enough to make me feel some modicum of actual pity for them. Accept I agree that most will find an acceptable rationalization for the whole, sordid mess
The Epstein matter could be mostly nothing. Who knows. But we already know that Trump is a womanizer who was not above peeping at teen girls in their dressing room. We also know that in NYC that the well connected my cross paths at various events for the well to do to see and be seen.
But Trump already is a pig. So pig squared? The voters did not care when it mattered. Now it is too late.
The scorched earth response is the only surprising thing here. Of course in 2003 he wrote a bawdy birthday letter. The response seems extreme and makes me more suspicious.
Once he starts with a lie, he never lets go. Even when backing off a bit would benefit him greatly. Consider: he never knew E. Jean Carroll, and despite a remarkable resemblance to Marla Maples, she was not his type.
Yet it seems to be bothering him A LOT. Most of base will stay with him (where else can they go?). But a few will peel off, just as a few already have over things like tariffs. Every little bit helps.
Let me guess what “the pertinent information” is that Bondi will release. Anything that has nothing to do with Trump. Possibly even, wait now,…………democrats?
Dick Durbin is reporting that Bondi has 1000 FBI flunkies on overtime scouring all Epstein records for any Trump reference so they can be sanitized. The deck is stacked.
I have to confess to a certain amount of pleasure in watching Trump stew in his own juices over this whole Epstein thing. Nice to see a frog boiling itself for a change.
But I find a lot of the reporting and punditry around this sordid mess to likely be, in the end, wishful thinking perhaps worthy of former Fed Chair Alan Greenspan's proclamation of "irrational exuberance" concerning a then likely overvalued stock market.
Because the value of all of this may ultimately only lie in the entertainment of watching a whole lot of worms squirm and not in any seriously deleterious consequences for the moral despot about whom they're vigorously squirming in one direction or another.
But then, anything that causes Trump any kind of discomfort is worthwhile and quite OK by me. Because barring that chronic veinous insufficiency thing morphing into a truly debilitating or perhaps even fatal health event sometime soon (or more accurate roof-top marksmen), Trump's still going to be right here, screwing the American people for another 3 1/2 years at any and every opportunity as if he'd downed a whole order of Blue Chew at once, irrespective of whom he may or may not have screwed with the help of that sick Epstein POS in the past, and regardless of any growing disillusionment and discontent among any of his pathetic MAGA cult following.
It's nice to think that maybe there's a smoking gun aimed at him in those files somewhere, if only we could see them. But even if there were, we all know what happened the last time a gun was aimed at the son of a bitch. So, while he may have gotten a few free plane rides (and Lord knows what else) from his perverted friend back in the day, I'm quite good with no free rides for the Dead Pedo's Friend in Chief over having flown the friendly skies with that bastard back then.
Let Trump squirm right along with all the rest of the worms. Until the real worms finally come to claim him once and for all.
I agree with enjoying this schadenfreude on steroids episode...especially to sort of realize that it's just beginning especially if Trump does file a lawsuit which will have a discovery phase in it.
Honestly...I think what's really making this one different is that Trump's defenses are so ludicrous and poorly conceived that it's honestly causing his most strident followers to have to come to the realization that he's treating this incident like all of the others where he accuses everyone else of the nefarious behavior. This time, though, he's being eaten by a monster of his own creation and his base knows it. I think there's a realization of who Trump really is...happening for some of them...but obviously...it will never happen for all of them.
I'll take what we can get...and please pass the popcorn!
I'm going to do something I never thought I'd do. I yield the floor to holocaust-denying, white supremacist, Trump dinner guest Nick Fuentes:
“And now he says if you are not on board with the Epstein coverup I don’t want your support. You’re a weakling. F**k you. F**k you. You suck. You are fat. You are a joke. You are stupid. You are not funny. You are not as smart as you think you are.
And honestly, and if you watch my show, you know I’ve been very critical. I’ve never been this far. This just goes to show this entire thing has been a scam. When we look back on the history of populism in America, we are going to look back on the MAGA movement as the biggest scam in American history. The Liberals were right. The MAGAs were had. They were.
When we look back in history, we will see Trump as a scam artist."
He JUST came to that conclusion???
Better late than never? The problem with these people is that in these instances they see a brief glimpse of reality, but then something else always happens to move them back into their familiar, comfortable cocoon of conspiracy theories and the belief that God-man Trump is their savior.
It's already happened. All it took was the suggestion that Trump was being implicated, immediately mobilizing the victim defense squad and changing the narrative. Nothing like a little evidence to turn the tide. A conspiracy theory against the Deep State - specifically Democrats - is one thing, but accusing the chosen one will not be tolerated. The lemmings fall back into line.
He didn’t care until Trump foolishly attacked his base.
I bet the milk money that this Wall St. Journal story about the lewd, infantile birthday card for his pal, which is the kind of junk they really love, gets them (and thus him) back on side defending Trump.
I can only judge by the comments at the WSJ article. Most of the hardcore MAGA didn’t comment at all.
So they’re not defending him there (what they’re thinking is another story, I suspect most will stick with him, but he’ll lose a few.)
*insert photo of Leonardo DiCaprio pointing at the TV here*
Being a Nazi affected his ability to reason.
Let's just be glad he caught the Clue Bus.
Really! Where has he been?
Consider the source
This makes my day (which is, in itself, a sad comment on Our Times). Thank you.
IKR?
And likewise, I have to agree with one quote attributed to JD Vance- asking whether this "sounds like trump". I would never have imagined that the word enigma would be in his vocabulary!
Well, the German band Enigma was popular in the early 90's, about 10 years before Trump wrote that note. Even if he didn't listen to that kind of music, the word "enigma" was at least in the popular culture at that time.
I should have read today's Status Kuo before commenting. Jay Kuo has a lot to say about the word enigma.
https://open.substack.com/pub/statuskuo/p/enigmas-never-age?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android&r=3pb8c
And there was a movie starring Kate Winslett.
He used just that word to describe Ben Carson back in 2017.
That surprises me, honestly, he's always seemed to have an elementary school vocabulary to me.
Remember, he does not write his speeches.
How long before he's back to praising Trump?
As JVL likes to say, gather ye rosebuds.
While ye may....
...in 3...2...1...
Gee. That's all well and good, Nick. But you're a money-grubbing neo-Nazi podcaster.
So...
F**k you. F**k you. You suck. You are stupid. You are not funny. You are not as smart as you think you are. And you already had fleas before you laid down with this dog.
And at some point, when we look back in history, we will see you... not at all.
The rats are always the first to know when the ship is taking on water.
And just like that….💥
Didn't he already know that and did what he does anyway?
This is sounding less and less like a completely crazy conspiracy theory and more like a perfectly plausible plot line in a “Law and Order” episode…and the best alibi so far is “I’m not clever enough to use the word enigma”.
Trump was a smarter man before the cocaine, Adderall, and dementia set in. That won't be much of an alibi, not when enigma is paired with "never age". Just how Trump likes those girls - never aging.
There's a lot of pre-second wave feminist male code for women in that birthday letter.
The second half of the 20th century still had decades of pop music that infantilized and/or pedestaled women, not with malicious intent, but with a lack of awareness how even our most seemingly benign language participates in empowering in-groups and suppressing out-groups.
A song like "She's a Mystery to Me," sung hauntingly by Roy Orbison, perpetuates the mythos that the behavior of women is too incomprehensible for the average male mind to grasp. The chorus consists simply of the repeated line: "She's a mystery girl."
Darkness falls and she
Will take me by the hand
Take me to some twilight land
Where all but love is gray
Where I can't find my way
Without her as my guide
Night falls, I'm cast beneath her spell
Daylight comes, our heaven turns to hell
Am I left to burn and burn eternally?
She's a mystery to me
She's a mystery girl
She's a mystery girl
...
She tears again my bleeding heart
I wanna run, she's pulling me apart
Fallen angel cry and I just melt away
She's a mystery to me
She's a mystery girl
She's a mystery girl
She's a mystery girl
She's a mystery girl
A less serious ballad and more attuned to the dance floors of 1960 "You're sixteen, you're beautiful and you're mine" is sung to a bee-bop orchestra background by a visibly much-older-than-sixteen Johnny Burnette.
Or "Younger Girl," a truly beautiful song written and sung by John Sebastian, nevertheless has lyrics that can cause a cringe when placed in the context of pedophilia.
The Frankie Avalon song "Hey, Venus" makes one do a head shake when re-reading the second line.
Venus, if you will
Please, send a little girl for me to thrill
A girl who wants my kisses and my arms
A girl with all the charms of you
In other words, the birthday letter is replete with male-coded language from those years, like "enigma," that quite likely is talking about women "on the younger side."
Not as good as you think. Remember, it was typed out text. Do you think Trump types? Nope - he drew the doodle, and got someone who works for him to type up what he viewed (albeit, incorrectly) as a pithy blurb to go with it.
Off topic, but what a cool screen name!
Thanks!
"Yer honor, the prosecution would have you believe -- and may it please the court -- that my client, Mr. Trump, is some kind of criminal mastermind. Yer honor, I believe the evidence that I will now present will show, clearly and compellingly, that he has never displayed anything that could be considered intelligence, yer honor."
I used to believe Trump lacked the capacity, but have come to see, amid the lies and the craziness, that there is a diabolical genius - or at least aptitude - for successful orchestration.
or spell it
I would not fall for the explanations of Trump's health issues. Leaving aside the issue of whether chronic venous insufficiency is "benign" or not, why is Trump taking aspirin? Years ago, aspirin was prescribed to prevent a first heart attack or stroke. When some major clinical trials were released in 2018 (the ASPREE trial is most relevant, but the ASCEND and ARRIVE trials reached similar conclusions), guidelines changed: do not prescribe aspirin to prevent a first heart attack or stroke, because the risk of causing a bleed is unacceptably high. This is especially true in older patients. Prescribing aspirin to prevent SECOND heart attack or stroke is now the medical standard. This leaves questions: Does Trump's doctor not follow evidence-based, guideline medicine? Or did Trump himself insist on taking aspirin? Or did he already have a heart attack or stroke and the aspirin is being used to prevent another one? I wish a reporter or two would follow up on this, because it all seems strange. Also, shaking hands is not enough to causing bruising on someone who uses aspirin, unless the hand shakers consistently have gorilla grip. It might be enough to cause bruising if he were taking an anticoagulant plus aspirin, which would raise more questions.
If he’s taking anticoagulant - aspirin in most cases is ill advised or, counter indicated . Not to say I am a doctor. Nor did I stay in a Holiday Inn last night. But I am an expert in one area; if the Trump administration is saying it, it is very likely bullshit.
You know how to tell when Ms. Leavitt [substitute any Trump 47 official] is lying?
Her lips move.
Absolutely!
Yeah, people in health care aren't falling for this one, but even the Bulwark takes the word of the White House. None of this passes the smell test.
My cardiologist at Vanderbilt Hospital told me to take a “baby aspirin” nightly as a guard against stroke. I have congestive heart failure, one of the symptoms of which was leg swelling. When I saw a closeup of his hand, I just thought perhaps the bruising was from an i.v. or blood draw.
It looked like an IV bruise to me too. And those cankles look painful. I hope they are.
I was thinking it must be hard for him to squeeze his feet into his shoes these days.
We at least they still fit into his mouth!
Along with a big mac.
Whatever it is, the hand bruising is showing with some frequency.
You’re correct. Aspirin for primary prevention is no longer recommended - especially in the elderly who are more vulnerable to the side effects. It’s all bullshit as he likes to say.
You nailed it. And does anybody believe any ass kissing Doctor who services the felon? Gimme a break.
Healthiest president ever!
That persistent hand bruising has the appearance of an IV site to me, but the truth won't be divulged.
"Nudging Bondi back under the bus..." Turn of phrase for the day.
The only artwork of Trump's that I've seen is his Sharpie addition to a hurricane map. I'm pretty sure that's what Trump was doing here. That's not a naked lady, it's the outline of a massive storm in the Gulf of Mexico. (One reason we had to change the name to Gulf of America is that we knew storms would never have the guts to go after America, especially if Trump's involved.) Where Donald's signature looks like pubic hair? Get your mind out of the gutter, groomer. That was the epicenter of the storm. Don't pretend you've never seen a weather map with squiggly lines indicating barometric pressures. (I saw one once that looked just like my uncle Fred, and he was no pedophile; that babysitter had it in for him - a total frame-up.)
So anyway, that's what's going on, not some kind of perversion from the most moral man ever to occupy the White House. And now I'll tell you the part of the story that will make you feel terrible for your dirty, Trump-deranged mind. Trump produced the map because he was in charge of weather forecasts for a bunch of dudes flying to Epstein's Island, for Bible Study.
So yes, he saved his own life, and the life of all the other souls eager for a quiet week of prayer, meditation and devotional readings. They got together in Epstein's Manhattan apartment instead, the men, and the "enigmatic" acolytes on the "younger side" who were there to help out around the house. I'd give you more details, but like the early Christians, these men worship in private. What happens in the apartment, or the plane or the island or the massage room, stays there.
So from now on, please don't jump to conclusions without exploring every explanation imaginable, even implausible ones, even explanations that defy the laws of reason or physics.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-40760000
My first thought was that the buyer was even dumber than the guy who drew it, making this a non-cinematic chapter in the Dumb and Dumber franchise.
First thought on seeing the "chronic venous insufficiency" diagnosis: It's much worse.
Second thought: He's had or is about to have a stroke.
Next thought: They're teeing up his resignation owing to health issues. (Please!)
Well, they probably don't think they really need him any longer. But Vance, he's a dead weight.
Dead weight walking
Yeah, they're going to have problems trying to ram through their extremist agendas with Vance. Not because he isn't willing, but because he isn't popular. Threats to primary congressional GOP who don't fall into line won't have weight coming from Vance.
Agreed and I think too the electorate loathes Vance....he cannot inspire MAGA as he is so patently ambitious, slithery and condescending. He will not be able to convince voters he is telling them the truth.
If he has to step in due to Trump's incapacitation, it won't matter what MAGA thinks of him, and the malevolent mastermind minions -Miller, Vought in particular - will proceed apace.
Yep. See my post about how curious the whole aspirin thing is. I would love to see a reporter follow-up on that.
Swelling in the ankles is common in the elderly, swelling in the calves is much more serious. (Nurse speaking here).
Yes, it appears he at least has congestive heart failure. He's in appalling shape, even for his age, and seems to have multiple medical conditions.
It is not that these conditions necessarily mean he's unfit for office (although for many reasons, he is), but I do resent the blatant, obvious and insulting lies about his health and cognitive status. That alone disqualifies him from office...thinking the American public is THAT stupid and weak. What cons won't he run on them, thinking that way?
Oh wait...
The list of disqualifying factors is never-ending.
Trump will never ever voluntarily relinquish power.
Who is "they" that will convince him to resign?
They had to respond and chose the most benign explanation. That doesn't suggest he is on the road to resignation. It suggests the opposite. As a person of a certain age, taking an aspirin is the ultimate "so what?". Everyone over the age of 60 is instructed by their PCP to take aspirin daily. Yet we claim MAGA are the conspiracists.
In any event, the more we focus on this health issue the more we are distracted from Epstein. Why do we allow ourselves to that?
That’s not true. Prescribing daily aspirin for people without a history of cardiovascular disease is dangerous as it can cause serious bleeding. My dad is on it after having a heart attack and he took a fall that resulted in hospitalization due to the amount of blood loss from the injury.
You are right. Comment was anecdotal. Almost everyone I know is on a statin and 81mg of aspirin. I should know better than to use anecdotal evidence instead of researching a standard. An unfortunate victim of the times.
You are correct.
I’m over 70 and I’m not taking aspirin nor has it been suggested.
I stand corrected, I guess. When you learned he was prescribed aspirin, did you think it was a game changer, a precursor to resignation?
I doubt he’d resign. Not the type.
I really don’t know what the man’s medical prescriptions are? He tells his doctor what to write (2024, height 6’2”. 2025, height 6’3”-don’t tell me that was a typo), and no doctor publishes the findings. Fact Checker has Felon Trump lying over 33,000 times. I think he is buying time to try to get out of the quicksand he is in, which is of his own making.
On the other hand, he has clearly been on one of the miracle weight loss drugs, so his weight is lower than in years, and other health benefits reportedly come with that as well. This may put him at less risk than in the past.
Who is the they is the question of the hour because Trump sure ain't the one calling shots. The weaker Trump gets, the more evident the power vacuum will be and all the ones with money/power/influence will rush in to fill it. Going to be interesting.
I don't know if I agree with that. He clearly is calling the shots on the DOJ's response to Epstein. He is also calling the shots on tariffs. The entire Senate and House bow to his desires. He has a remarkable amount of control for someone who demonstrates a complete indifference to the substantive aspects of his job.
Those are good points, but the basic premise is Trump won't be alive either physically or politically for long. I mean, look at him. Rick Wilson makes a good argument. (He's on Substack. Can't recommend highly enough if you don't already.)
Pure evil never dies.
Now you're just quoting movie trailers. Have a wonderful, joyful day.
That or he is totally under Miller and Vought, but can act like he knows what he is doing, if only for short periods of time.
"Everyone over the age of 60 is instructed by their PCP to take aspirin daily." That would be true only if their PCP is oblivious to the fact that it is now considered bad medicine to advise everyone over a certain age to take an aspirin daily, even if they have never had a heart attack or stroke. That old way of thinking about aspirin was killed by some clinical trials in 2018 that all showed the risk of a bleed from taking daily aspirin is unacceptably high in patients who have never had a heart attack or stroke. Especially if that person is older, as Trump certainly is.
"In any event, the more we focus on this health issue the more we are distracted from Epstein. Why do we allow ourselves to that?"
Actually, I have come to the conclusion that the Coldplay concert incident yesterday was created by the Trump team to distract from the Epstein issue
If that is true, why did my PCP tell me (over 60 years) I was correct to stop taking aspirin? How did I get thrown out of everyone?
"We have certain things in common, Jeffrey."
It's mornings like these that makes me wonder what's in Trump prenup with Melania.
Melania lives in peace somewhere quiet. She’s going to outlive him.
She doesn’t care about a prenup.
Yes ! It’s the Trump children who should worry about poison pills attaching to any inheritance
No. She terribly worried. Her reluctance to move to D.C. in his first administration was to put pressure on Felon Trump to rewrite the prenuptial for better terms for herself and her son. She got them.
Every time I read this, it gets creepier.... *Shudder*
Why do you assume that these purported medical diagnoses are accurate? The explanation regarding the hands is transparently absurd. Therefore, it is silly to assume that the other diagnosis is valid. Sure, it could be the benign condition she described, but it is at least as likely that the swelling results from a more serious condition. Does anyone think that, if it were a more serious condition, the White House would be honest about that? They lie about his height and weight for god's sake. Surely they will lie about anything.
I would love to live in a world where these admittedly totally fair questions were the biggest thing we had to chew over in White House world this week.
Just precede everything with "the White House claims..." What they are stating cannot be regarded as fact, but it is factual that they are stating it.
While I'd agree with you, it is concerning when you consider what comes after Trump. Mike Johnson is number 3 in line as of this moment. How well do we really know him?
Enough to know he ain’t up to prime time.
Andrew Egger, you have outdone yourself this morning. Bravo!
Despite The Bulwark's brilliant reasoning and revelations, deeply appreciated, we all seem to be forgetting a basic truth pervading MAGAworld. MAGA really stands for Make America Gullible Again. That unreal subset of the orange narcissist-felon's regime/cult will always struggle with . . . truth, facts, reality, critical thinking.
Watching that bunch thrash and flail, not knowing what to do, is positively amusing.
I really hope some of them will start to understand that trump is lying and not just about this.
They have lost the capacity for logic, reason, observation. They are locked into a mind set, a disinformation bubble. They listen only to the confirmation-bias voices.
They know that he's lying. They want to be lied to, and breaking the cult is getting enough people to not want to be lied to anymore.
Here's the catch for Donald if he sues the WSJ: both WSJ and Fox are owned by Murdoch. Murdoch could direct Fox to back off on their ridiculously positive reporting of the Trump and start offering just a tiny bit of actual news. Losing his spin machine would be huge, and there is nothing Trump could do about it. He needs to think twice about that.
He will tell the cult to switch over to OANN and Newsmax and they will do as the Il Caro Duce commands.
However there are some mainstream MAGA who FOXNews could get to.
Of course, there are other stations. But they've been around for a while now. I suspect Murdoch doesn't like being told what to do, and he's probably as cantankerous as Trump..
And he is a lot smarter.
That's a pretty low bar.
But 94. I think Lachlan will make the key decisions. Notice he wasn't named in the lawsuit.
I'll bet it would be pretty interesting to see what effect a Trump v Murdoch lawsuit would have on FOX News programming, even though Rupert is now only 'Chairman Emeritus' and Lachlan is Executive Chairman and CEO of FOX Corporation. But there's no real daylight between that apple and the tree it fell from.
I have a "News Mix" channel on my satellite feed in which the video for a half dozen news channels is displayed in a box grid all at once, the audio for each of which can be individually selected by scrolling with the remote.
The top row of the grid consists of CNN - FOX - MSNBC, and it's sometimes interesting to watch and listen for a few minutes to see how the "news" is being covered by each in a real time side by side comparison when a major political story breaks.
This morning CNN and MSNBC were unsurprisingly hammering away at the WSJ / Trump letter to Epstein thing. Sandwiched in between, FOX was going on about the recission bill and the defunding of the CPB, clearly happy that the libs had finally "gotten what's comin' to 'em" on this issue. Then it was on to other positive Trump / GOP whitewashing of the news about recent immigration "successes" and the Ds walking out of that Senate hearing on Bove's judicial appointment.
If Trump is really foolish enough to send his lawyers after the WSJ and Rupert, I'd expect to maybe see a bit different dynamic in play when doing such comparisons in the future.
It surely would be a, “man bites dog” event. Which means it’s likely the fever dream of some fool (me) thinking that in some small & faraway precinct in the universe, justice still exists. I also have that satellite service that provides those boxes with various choices: sports, news, reality shows, but never a multi-box offering of, “shows with value”. I guess that doesn’t really require a “multi view” array these days. There. Now, GET OFF MY LAWN!
But there’s always another waiting in the wings: OAN, NEWSMAX, ONE AMERICA….CBS? ABC??? Can you imagine a bizzaro world where FOX hires Joy Reid?? I am not betting on it, but I would never have bet on half our country attaching themselves to this, this, THIS!
Headline: FOX NEWS HIRES JOY REID
Then in a follow-on story...
In other news today, a bizarre incident has the nation's top scientists completely befuddled. After the announcement that Joy Reid would be working at FOX, it appears that the earth's poles have somehow switched locations, rendering travel by compass impossible and leaving millions in limbo and wondering where the hell exactly it is that they are...
Tonight, Rachel Maddow interviews Nick Fuentes.
He can’t follow through with the lawsuit because the discovery process by Murdoch’s attorneys would show the truth. Plus the Murdoch family has the money to fight in court. It will likely get dropped and never mentioned again once the Murdochs start asking for the receipts
The sheep will go back to grazing, they always do.
Is there any online betting as to how long it will take? I wish people would open their eyes, but we've been here before many times and I can't buy it.
After years of Trump's criminal behavior towards women, his incessant lying to the public, his ignorant comments about any and all topics, and his leading an insurrection we find out those were all ok with the MAGA cult. But withholding the Epstein files is the line too far? And then to be scolded by him for their impertinence in not heeding his demand to shut up? This is delicious!
What's even more delicious is that this - not the Mexico-funded border wall, Obama's birth certificate, the cat-eating Haitians, etc. - is what's making some of his supporters say "hey, wait a second ..... Did Trump lie to us?"
I can only imagine the internal battle going on in so many MAGA minds, which heretofore I would always argue cannot exist; two little Donalds - one on each shoulder. One with a Dirty, soiled Halo, one with a red countenance and a long, spiked, pointy tail. Both arguing for the soul of the inflicted MAGA. It’s enough to make me feel some modicum of actual pity for them. Accept I agree that most will find an acceptable rationalization for the whole, sordid mess
Yeah, why would he do THAT?!
It won't last. They just can't quit him.
The Epstein matter could be mostly nothing. Who knows. But we already know that Trump is a womanizer who was not above peeping at teen girls in their dressing room. We also know that in NYC that the well connected my cross paths at various events for the well to do to see and be seen.
But Trump already is a pig. So pig squared? The voters did not care when it mattered. Now it is too late.
The scorched earth response is the only surprising thing here. Of course in 2003 he wrote a bawdy birthday letter. The response seems extreme and makes me more suspicious.
This is a great point and one I wish I'd included this morning. Why not just write it off as "locker room talk"?
Exactly. From the movie Clear and Present Danger: "Give the press nowhere to go" (loosely quoted)
https://youtu.be/h3-FbseDp2w
Once he starts with a lie, he never lets go. Even when backing off a bit would benefit him greatly. Consider: he never knew E. Jean Carroll, and despite a remarkable resemblance to Marla Maples, she was not his type.
He always has a rolling series of responses - something for everyone.
Yet it seems to be bothering him A LOT. Most of base will stay with him (where else can they go?). But a few will peel off, just as a few already have over things like tariffs. Every little bit helps.
Or make some more sit on the sofa come election time.
He can't handle even the thought of Trump criticism. Maturity of a 3-yr-old.
Let me guess what “the pertinent information” is that Bondi will release. Anything that has nothing to do with Trump. Possibly even, wait now,…………democrats?
Dick Durbin is reporting that Bondi has 1000 FBI flunkies on overtime scouring all Epstein records for any Trump reference so they can be sanitized. The deck is stacked.
I have to confess to a certain amount of pleasure in watching Trump stew in his own juices over this whole Epstein thing. Nice to see a frog boiling itself for a change.
But I find a lot of the reporting and punditry around this sordid mess to likely be, in the end, wishful thinking perhaps worthy of former Fed Chair Alan Greenspan's proclamation of "irrational exuberance" concerning a then likely overvalued stock market.
Because the value of all of this may ultimately only lie in the entertainment of watching a whole lot of worms squirm and not in any seriously deleterious consequences for the moral despot about whom they're vigorously squirming in one direction or another.
But then, anything that causes Trump any kind of discomfort is worthwhile and quite OK by me. Because barring that chronic veinous insufficiency thing morphing into a truly debilitating or perhaps even fatal health event sometime soon (or more accurate roof-top marksmen), Trump's still going to be right here, screwing the American people for another 3 1/2 years at any and every opportunity as if he'd downed a whole order of Blue Chew at once, irrespective of whom he may or may not have screwed with the help of that sick Epstein POS in the past, and regardless of any growing disillusionment and discontent among any of his pathetic MAGA cult following.
It's nice to think that maybe there's a smoking gun aimed at him in those files somewhere, if only we could see them. But even if there were, we all know what happened the last time a gun was aimed at the son of a bitch. So, while he may have gotten a few free plane rides (and Lord knows what else) from his perverted friend back in the day, I'm quite good with no free rides for the Dead Pedo's Friend in Chief over having flown the friendly skies with that bastard back then.
Let Trump squirm right along with all the rest of the worms. Until the real worms finally come to claim him once and for all.
I agree with enjoying this schadenfreude on steroids episode...especially to sort of realize that it's just beginning especially if Trump does file a lawsuit which will have a discovery phase in it.
Honestly...I think what's really making this one different is that Trump's defenses are so ludicrous and poorly conceived that it's honestly causing his most strident followers to have to come to the realization that he's treating this incident like all of the others where he accuses everyone else of the nefarious behavior. This time, though, he's being eaten by a monster of his own creation and his base knows it. I think there's a realization of who Trump really is...happening for some of them...but obviously...it will never happen for all of them.
I'll take what we can get...and please pass the popcorn!
“Nice to see a frog boiling itself for a change”. Nice phrasing.