"What should he have known" may indeed be the right question (for the past five years' behaviors) but the standard for the presidency should be a tad higher than the standard for going to prison.
Regarding the Stop the Steal grifting scheme that The Bulwark called out long ago. Not only does it seems to be a fraud within a fraud, and not only does there seem to be criminal AND civil risks, BUT we could have an Al Capone situation. The entity that received those funds would need to file some type of tax return, and since most of the money got raised in 2020, the 2020 tax return would/should have been filed by now in both state and federal jurisdictions. The point is there has to be records of what's happened (receipts and expenditures) or that's a violation in and of itself. I can't imagine Trump structured the entity as a for profit, tax paying entity? If a not for profit, let's see who is taking money out and why. Not for profit tax and related financial statement filings I believe are supposed to be public record! So..GAME ON!! Let's let the current era mafia boss suffer the consequences of a prior generation role model. Calling on the IRS and state tax authorities (NY or FL?) and/or active investigative reporters.
Thank you , Charlie, for the links on "Vincible Ignorance", from Catholic theology, and "Willful Blindness", a legal term. They really helped me as I was musing on David French's piece, linked below, about "salt of the earth" people in deep red areas of the country who sincerely don't know the truth about the 2020 election and, in general, the facts about the current state of our government, because they only get their information from sources like Fox "news" that don't give them accurate information. French doesn't excuse the ignorance of these people; this is an explanation to help people like me understand people like them.
These concepts in your piece today really help me resolve for myself the question of whether to hold responsible both ordinary citizens for their ignorance and Donald Trump, if indeed he really believes the election was stolen rather than knowing the truth and lying about it. In both cases, people are responsible for finding out and accepting the truth, and then doing the right thing in response.
The danger from Trump and Trumpism is becoming more clear as the Hearings continue. This danger was brought home to me on a recent excursion to a tourist destination in a community near Phoenix. In a small shopping area I passed a T-shirt shop that identified itself as "Super MAGA". Our American flag and the word "patriot" was everywhere in the store, but the designs were so full of hate that you could almost feel it rolling out of the open door. My daughter and I went in so she could catch a few photos with her phone. I wish I could show you. The designs were all about guns, F-Biden, anti-vaccine, tyranny, and Trump. Some were anti-Fauci or anti-Pelosi. One carried a picture of an assault weapon with the words "Tyranny Task Force 2020, Armed and Ready". Another said, "American Patriot AF 2020" and a third one said, "take your Covid 19 & shove it right up your a$#". A couple of the worst items were framed wall "art", one that had a picture of Mt. Rushmore with the carvings holding mugs of beer and saying, "We the People, just want a beer. And ammo. Lots and lots of Ammo." Another carried a photo of President Lincoln surrounded by a long paragraph of extreme vile drivel beginning with " You can take your.....and ending with "right up your ...." You get the picture. They even had T's for kids and onsies for babies as well as bulk food buckets said to last 4 weeks. It was beyond disturbing. What is the next event being planned?
Still shaken and heading for home I realized that every time I saw an American flag or the word "patriot" on a shop or building I felt a little suspicious of what kind of shop it might be, and it made me angry that I should feel that way. I think it is time that we take back the use of our flag and also the word "patriot". I have a perfectly lovely blouse with a flag design on it, but I no longer feel comfortable in it because I don't want to be identified as a Trump supporter. I would like to see T-shirts, yard signs, and billboards in the next election cycle proclaiming "Patriots for (fill in the Democratic candidate's name)". This could be used for Independent candidates as well, and it would carry the American Flag image. I first thought it should say "Democratic Patriots for *******", but my daughter suggested that simply "Patriots for *******" might be best. It might even confuse enough Trumpists to garner a few votes for the other side.
I hope this isn't too wildly off the subject of today's Bulwark. I love your newsletter and love your Podcasts. Thanks for your good work.
Not to give Barr too much credit, but not willing to dismiss all of my own cynicism, could Barr's 'detached from reality' be taken as a standing invitation for Trump's next cabinet (if there is one) to be ready to invoke the 25th Amendment? Would a whacko in the White House be worse as a whacko constantly under threat of needing to prove he's sane? Would Trump as figurehead for a cabinet of the truly deplorable be an improvement?
Anyone who would work for Trump should be fired using the 25th Amendment. Or whatever it takes to get rid of them. They're as crazy as he is or as much of a seditionist as he is or as much of a grifter as he is or they've been bought by our enemies as he has. I'd bet we could put together a terrifying list of future Trump cabinet members without too much trouble. How about Rudy or Sydney as AG?
We completely agree with you. When I read his biography well before he was elected, it became apparent his bullying, his expectation of his father buying him out of trouble, and his constant propensity for lying would make him a bad President. Of course it is hard to argue against his Charisma and projection of strength.
We agree, but hoards of people have flocked to him. Even intelligent people in our broad family have told us they admire him for his power. No accounting for taste!
Paying Mick Mulvaney to massage the messaging about Jan 6 on social and MSM is bull malarkey. While Mick was still in the administration, his niece (Maggie Mulvaney) was the Director of Financial Operations on the Trump Campaign from March-November and paid $5K every 2 wks (@ $90K). This was a real career leap for her. After this gig, she left to help organize the Jan 6 rally for Women for America First and has been subpoenaed. Even from the cheap seats, the Mulvaneys have the stench of garbage, conspiracy, and financial shenanigans.
Your “Cheap Shot” is indeed just that- you can’t be a “reasonable Republican” unless you acknowledge systemic, pernicious racism exists in the US.
If you acknowledge it- as you should, because it’s reality- then you must acknowledge efforts to combat and correct it are just and necessary. Those efforts will sometimes involve very wonky reviews of library policy- it’s not all red-lined neighborhoods and criminal justice disparities. The unfortunate reality is, racism in the US is every-bleeping-where.
IOW, "You're not reasonable if you don't fully agree with me." And: "Every white person is racist (except for me and my friends)"?
Not everything that some person perceives as racist is actually motivated by racism. Differential outcomes by group are not proof of racist practice (unless you think that Asians are gaming the system when they perform well disproportionately).
If a white person says that a policy or action is motivated by prejudice against white people -- e.g. the "racial sensitivity" training in which white people are presumed guilty, and assumed to hold an unfair advantage over every nonwhite person regardless of individual circumstances -- other people will say it's absurd, and that the white person's feeling of being treated prejudicially is irrelevant (even though the charge that all white people are inherently racist while other groups can't be racist is an objectively racist claim). In all other cases, the feeling is supposed to be treated as dispositive and not to be questioned. Why?
Boston was specifically referring to the Cheap Shot and its implied denigration of "social justice warriors." There is nothing wrong with going through official publications to weed out what may have been unintentional but still problematic descriptors. Kinda like finally getting rid of that wooden Indian that has been standing in front of the shop for decades.
Personally, I know this is speculative, but I think Trump really believes this stuff. Charlie is right that whether or not he believes is beside the point. But to me, Trump is such a narcissist that he can’t imagine a legitimate reason he wouldn’t be voted in as president. In his mind, the only way the election was lost is because it was rigged. After all, how could a majority reject such a stable genius?
For the prosecution (after Trump is indicted), it makes no difference at all. In American law one does not have to prove that a defendant KNEW he was breaking the law when performing an act of sedition, fraud, collusion, or conspiracy against the Federal government. Proving that the defendant DID any of those acts is enough to convict. (From the Brookings Institute's "Trump on Trial.")
Delusional or not, it matters not. The only thing that would matter is whether or not Trump met the legal definition of sanity / insanity. Which, in spite of how crazy he acts, I'm sure he does.
My fondest hope is that justice will at some point lay its heavy hand on his shoulder.
That's just my polite way of saying fry the no-good son of a bitch. Along with all the other no-good sons of bitches who broke the law while in a position of public trust and service. Of course, if we were to ever get around to all of them, we will need to pony up some tax $$ to build a couple of new jails and prisons. One use of taxpayer money I'd be totally down with.
"What should he have known" may indeed be the right question (for the past five years' behaviors) but the standard for the presidency should be a tad higher than the standard for going to prison.
Regarding the Stop the Steal grifting scheme that The Bulwark called out long ago. Not only does it seems to be a fraud within a fraud, and not only does there seem to be criminal AND civil risks, BUT we could have an Al Capone situation. The entity that received those funds would need to file some type of tax return, and since most of the money got raised in 2020, the 2020 tax return would/should have been filed by now in both state and federal jurisdictions. The point is there has to be records of what's happened (receipts and expenditures) or that's a violation in and of itself. I can't imagine Trump structured the entity as a for profit, tax paying entity? If a not for profit, let's see who is taking money out and why. Not for profit tax and related financial statement filings I believe are supposed to be public record! So..GAME ON!! Let's let the current era mafia boss suffer the consequences of a prior generation role model. Calling on the IRS and state tax authorities (NY or FL?) and/or active investigative reporters.
Thank you , Charlie, for the links on "Vincible Ignorance", from Catholic theology, and "Willful Blindness", a legal term. They really helped me as I was musing on David French's piece, linked below, about "salt of the earth" people in deep red areas of the country who sincerely don't know the truth about the 2020 election and, in general, the facts about the current state of our government, because they only get their information from sources like Fox "news" that don't give them accurate information. French doesn't excuse the ignorance of these people; this is an explanation to help people like me understand people like them.
These concepts in your piece today really help me resolve for myself the question of whether to hold responsible both ordinary citizens for their ignorance and Donald Trump, if indeed he really believes the election was stolen rather than knowing the truth and lying about it. In both cases, people are responsible for finding out and accepting the truth, and then doing the right thing in response.
https://newsletters.theatlantic.com/the-third-rail/62a3496595033600218a4dbb/january-6-committee-hearings-trump-republicans/
About the UCSF Garbage; nothing like someone's drug induced job description. What a croc.
I suspect the competitors would say "let them compete". I suspect the opponents,, as usual on such matters,, skew old, white and evangelical.
The danger from Trump and Trumpism is becoming more clear as the Hearings continue. This danger was brought home to me on a recent excursion to a tourist destination in a community near Phoenix. In a small shopping area I passed a T-shirt shop that identified itself as "Super MAGA". Our American flag and the word "patriot" was everywhere in the store, but the designs were so full of hate that you could almost feel it rolling out of the open door. My daughter and I went in so she could catch a few photos with her phone. I wish I could show you. The designs were all about guns, F-Biden, anti-vaccine, tyranny, and Trump. Some were anti-Fauci or anti-Pelosi. One carried a picture of an assault weapon with the words "Tyranny Task Force 2020, Armed and Ready". Another said, "American Patriot AF 2020" and a third one said, "take your Covid 19 & shove it right up your a$#". A couple of the worst items were framed wall "art", one that had a picture of Mt. Rushmore with the carvings holding mugs of beer and saying, "We the People, just want a beer. And ammo. Lots and lots of Ammo." Another carried a photo of President Lincoln surrounded by a long paragraph of extreme vile drivel beginning with " You can take your.....and ending with "right up your ...." You get the picture. They even had T's for kids and onsies for babies as well as bulk food buckets said to last 4 weeks. It was beyond disturbing. What is the next event being planned?
Still shaken and heading for home I realized that every time I saw an American flag or the word "patriot" on a shop or building I felt a little suspicious of what kind of shop it might be, and it made me angry that I should feel that way. I think it is time that we take back the use of our flag and also the word "patriot". I have a perfectly lovely blouse with a flag design on it, but I no longer feel comfortable in it because I don't want to be identified as a Trump supporter. I would like to see T-shirts, yard signs, and billboards in the next election cycle proclaiming "Patriots for (fill in the Democratic candidate's name)". This could be used for Independent candidates as well, and it would carry the American Flag image. I first thought it should say "Democratic Patriots for *******", but my daughter suggested that simply "Patriots for *******" might be best. It might even confuse enough Trumpists to garner a few votes for the other side.
I hope this isn't too wildly off the subject of today's Bulwark. I love your newsletter and love your Podcasts. Thanks for your good work.
Not to give Barr too much credit, but not willing to dismiss all of my own cynicism, could Barr's 'detached from reality' be taken as a standing invitation for Trump's next cabinet (if there is one) to be ready to invoke the 25th Amendment? Would a whacko in the White House be worse as a whacko constantly under threat of needing to prove he's sane? Would Trump as figurehead for a cabinet of the truly deplorable be an improvement?
Anyone who would work for Trump should be fired using the 25th Amendment. Or whatever it takes to get rid of them. They're as crazy as he is or as much of a seditionist as he is or as much of a grifter as he is or they've been bought by our enemies as he has. I'd bet we could put together a terrifying list of future Trump cabinet members without too much trouble. How about Rudy or Sydney as AG?
We completely agree with you. When I read his biography well before he was elected, it became apparent his bullying, his expectation of his father buying him out of trouble, and his constant propensity for lying would make him a bad President. Of course it is hard to argue against his Charisma and projection of strength.
I can't believe anyone would consider him charismatic or strong!
We agree, but hoards of people have flocked to him. Even intelligent people in our broad family have told us they admire him for his power. No accounting for taste!
True but I meant without any stuff his guys got from their break in.
Agree. The Democrats sent me a money raising text today asking why I hadn’t put my name on their petition. I answered your same way!!
Paying Mick Mulvaney to massage the messaging about Jan 6 on social and MSM is bull malarkey. While Mick was still in the administration, his niece (Maggie Mulvaney) was the Director of Financial Operations on the Trump Campaign from March-November and paid $5K every 2 wks (@ $90K). This was a real career leap for her. After this gig, she left to help organize the Jan 6 rally for Women for America First and has been subpoenaed. Even from the cheap seats, the Mulvaneys have the stench of garbage, conspiracy, and financial shenanigans.
Your “Cheap Shot” is indeed just that- you can’t be a “reasonable Republican” unless you acknowledge systemic, pernicious racism exists in the US.
If you acknowledge it- as you should, because it’s reality- then you must acknowledge efforts to combat and correct it are just and necessary. Those efforts will sometimes involve very wonky reviews of library policy- it’s not all red-lined neighborhoods and criminal justice disparities. The unfortunate reality is, racism in the US is every-bleeping-where.
FFS, Charlie. Pull your head out of your a**.
IOW, "You're not reasonable if you don't fully agree with me." And: "Every white person is racist (except for me and my friends)"?
Not everything that some person perceives as racist is actually motivated by racism. Differential outcomes by group are not proof of racist practice (unless you think that Asians are gaming the system when they perform well disproportionately).
If a white person says that a policy or action is motivated by prejudice against white people -- e.g. the "racial sensitivity" training in which white people are presumed guilty, and assumed to hold an unfair advantage over every nonwhite person regardless of individual circumstances -- other people will say it's absurd, and that the white person's feeling of being treated prejudicially is irrelevant (even though the charge that all white people are inherently racist while other groups can't be racist is an objectively racist claim). In all other cases, the feeling is supposed to be treated as dispositive and not to be questioned. Why?
Boston was specifically referring to the Cheap Shot and its implied denigration of "social justice warriors." There is nothing wrong with going through official publications to weed out what may have been unintentional but still problematic descriptors. Kinda like finally getting rid of that wooden Indian that has been standing in front of the shop for decades.
Mick Mulaney trying to claim any amount of moral superiority is beyond rich.
Personally, I know this is speculative, but I think Trump really believes this stuff. Charlie is right that whether or not he believes is beside the point. But to me, Trump is such a narcissist that he can’t imagine a legitimate reason he wouldn’t be voted in as president. In his mind, the only way the election was lost is because it was rigged. After all, how could a majority reject such a stable genius?
For people with reasonably normal brains, it's hard to fathom how different the thinking of a pathological narcissist might be.
For the prosecution (after Trump is indicted), it makes no difference at all. In American law one does not have to prove that a defendant KNEW he was breaking the law when performing an act of sedition, fraud, collusion, or conspiracy against the Federal government. Proving that the defendant DID any of those acts is enough to convict. (From the Brookings Institute's "Trump on Trial.")
Delusional or not, it matters not. The only thing that would matter is whether or not Trump met the legal definition of sanity / insanity. Which, in spite of how crazy he acts, I'm sure he does.
My fondest hope is that justice will at some point lay its heavy hand on his shoulder.
That's just my polite way of saying fry the no-good son of a bitch. Along with all the other no-good sons of bitches who broke the law while in a position of public trust and service. Of course, if we were to ever get around to all of them, we will need to pony up some tax $$ to build a couple of new jails and prisons. One use of taxpayer money I'd be totally down with.